The energy companies are the target of a organized coalition of devoted leftists whose goal is the destruction of modern technological civilization. One tactic to is create some phony issue such as "water protection" to radicalize clueless sheeple. Their long range goal is a Marxist "paradise."
It is appropriate for the energy companies to gather as much information about the activities of such operatives as possible.
In our overly regulated society, from City Hall to the Federal Government, unless coercive penalties are certain one should always act first and seek permission only when necessary. This is especially true when the regulations are there only to benefit some entrenched monopoly to the detriment of enterprising individuals or startups.
Since the International Space Station is on GMT which is four hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, this means that the 8:05 A. M. spacewalk begins at 4:05 A. M. EDT on the east coast of the US.
Unless experimental therapy is done outside government regulation, it will not be done. Human beings are not white mice. Because of the length of human lifespans, in order to satisfy FDA regulations, the therapies would have to be tested for decades, not years. Who wants to wait until they are dead to try something that might extend one's healthy years? If this means that such research must be done in China or some other country, then so be it.
There is a world of difference, morally speaking, between being "ordered" to do something and being "coerced" into doing something. Anyone who hurts an innocent person because some authority figure ordered them to do so is morally culpable. In the case of coercion it hinges upon whether one has a choice and what degree of harm is involved. If there is truly no choice, then morality does not apply. Moral principles guide us only in cases where we are free to act in the face of an alternative. If coerced to kill or be killed, whichever action one takes, one's action is outside the realm of moral judgment. Not so for the one compelling the action they would bear 100% of the moral culpability. Consider the metaphor of "Sophie's Choice." Sophie was morally blameless.
One hundred years ago a US dollar was worth twenty-three 2016 US dollars and a penny was worth 23 cents. We do not need any coin smaller than a quarter nor any bill smaller than a twenty. We should have only four coins: quarter, $1, $5 and $10. The $20 bill should be the lowest denomination of currency.
A pure democracy is indistinguishable from mob rule.
Congressmen swear to uphold the Constitution. Not that they take the oath all that seriously, but at least they generally have a better understanding of constitutional limits on government power than the average citizen. If anything, our current state of education in this country actually contributes to ignorance of the Constitution.
And if the online voting also incorporated the one-man-one vote rule so popular nowadays, the people living in the so-called 'flyover' states would, in effect, be disenfranchised. We could see demands for secession from the union from all but the northeast and the west coasts. This is also an argument against eliminating the Electoral College, but I'll not get into that here.
Until Mars becomes a self-sufficient planet any discussion of 'should' it have a government independent from Earth is pointless speculation. Should a Mars population ever become self-sustaining it will govern itself independently of Earth. It is not an ethical question, it will simply come about. In any event if profitable trade can be maintained between the two worlds, both worlds will maintain such trade and protect it with objective laws.
There are so many things now that are illegal that we all are lawbreakers even if we do not know it. Congress passes laws and leaves it up to judges and bureaucrats to decide what they mean. Anyone brash enough to bring down public wrath upon his head can now be assured of a prison sentence, especially if he or she is a member of a despised class, such as businessmen. Welcome to the Brave New World.
Thanks to over regulation by the FDA it now costs hundreds of millions of dollars in research and in years of testing to bring new drugs of any kind, including antibiotics to market. And those companies which choose to risk spending those millions have only a few years to recoup those millions before the drug becomes generic and the price drops to marginal cost. So companies are less eager to pursue research for which they may never be financially reimbursed and for which they will be publicly vilified for charging a high enough price to recoup their expenses plus a profit for their investors. It is politically and culturally easier to vilify drug companies than to reform an entrenched bureaucracy such as the FDA.
The only reason I keep a Windows partition is so that I can once a year run H&R Block's tax preparation software. Their software does not run under either wine or Crossover.
Assuming this 'apocalypse de jour' actually comes to pass, we will slam into it with eyes wide open. The tragedy of the commons has been a well-understood and ignored concept for hundreds of years. Until mankind intellectually outgrows its collectivist, communal evolutionary past and the legacy infatuation with community ownership we will continue to individually pollute that which is unowned.
I suppose this clears the way for the Federal Trade Commission to outlaw volume discounts on all products. Why should I have to pay say $15 for a new computer fan when a computer manufacturer can buy 20,000 of the same fans for $8 apiece? Isn't it the same principle? And if our naive notions of fairness are inconsistent with basic facts of economics, shouldn't it be the facts of reality that we reject? Especially when there is an ignorant voting block to mollify?
Slashdot Mirror
The energy companies are the target of a organized coalition of devoted leftists whose goal is the destruction of modern technological civilization. One tactic to is create some phony issue such as "water protection" to radicalize clueless sheeple. Their long range goal is a Marxist "paradise."
It is appropriate for the energy companies to gather as much information about the activities of such operatives as possible.
In our overly regulated society, from City Hall to the Federal Government, unless coercive penalties are certain one should always act first and seek permission only when necessary. This is especially true when the regulations are there only to benefit some entrenched monopoly to the detriment of enterprising individuals or startups.
Since the International Space Station is on GMT which is four hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, this means that the 8:05 A. M. spacewalk begins at 4:05 A. M. EDT on the east coast of the US.
Oh my God! We are all going to suffocate, die of thirst and of starvation--in that order.
These idiots can go sit with the flat earthers, birthers and other fanatics.
Well, that's all the Europeans wanted all along: loot.
Here's a thought. Government's should stick to protecting rights and stop interfering in people's economic activities.
Putin is a megalomaniac. A megalomaniac believes that the very laws of nature will bend to his wishes.
At least a few of those facing unemployment because of AI will write books promoting dystopian visions of the future.
The most shocking thing about the article is that the guy has a girlfriend!
I believe that it is much more likely that Neil deGrasse Tyson is a simulation.
Unless experimental therapy is done outside government regulation, it will not be done.
Human beings are not white mice. Because of the length of human lifespans, in order to satisfy FDA regulations, the therapies would have to be tested for decades, not years. Who wants to wait until they are dead to try something that might extend one's healthy years?
If this means that such research must be done in China or some other country, then so be it.
There is a world of difference, morally speaking, between being "ordered" to do something and being "coerced" into doing something. Anyone who hurts an innocent person because some authority figure ordered them to do so is morally culpable. In the case of coercion it hinges upon whether one has a choice and what degree of harm is involved. If there is truly no choice, then morality does not apply. Moral principles guide us only in cases where we are free to act in the face of an alternative. If coerced to kill or be killed, whichever action one takes, one's action is outside the realm of moral judgment. Not so for the one compelling the action they would bear 100% of the moral culpability. Consider the metaphor of "Sophie's Choice." Sophie was morally blameless.
"What does Slashdot think Austin should do?"
The Austin city council should stop trying to manage Austin's businesses.
One hundred years ago a US dollar was worth twenty-three 2016 US dollars and a penny was worth 23 cents. We do not need any coin smaller than a quarter nor any bill smaller than a twenty. We should have only four coins: quarter, $1, $5 and $10. The $20 bill should be the lowest denomination of currency.
A pure democracy is indistinguishable from mob rule.
Congressmen swear to uphold the Constitution. Not that they take the oath all that seriously, but at least they generally have a better understanding of constitutional limits on government power than the average citizen. If anything, our current state of education in this country actually contributes to ignorance of the Constitution.
And if the online voting also incorporated the one-man-one vote rule so popular nowadays, the people living in the so-called 'flyover' states would, in effect, be disenfranchised. We could see demands for secession from the union from all but the northeast and the west coasts. This is also an argument against eliminating the Electoral College, but I'll not get into that here.
Until Mars becomes a self-sufficient planet any discussion of 'should' it have a government independent from Earth is pointless speculation. Should a Mars population ever become self-sustaining it will govern itself independently of Earth. It is not an ethical question, it will simply come about. In any event if profitable trade can be maintained between the two worlds, both worlds will maintain such trade and protect it with objective laws.
There are so many things now that are illegal that we all are lawbreakers even if we do not know it. Congress passes laws and leaves it up to judges and bureaucrats to decide what they mean. Anyone brash enough to bring down public wrath upon his head can now be assured of a prison sentence, especially if he or she is a member of a despised class, such as businessmen. Welcome to the Brave New World.
Thanks to over regulation by the FDA it now costs hundreds of millions of dollars in research and in years of testing to bring new drugs of any kind, including antibiotics to market. And those companies which choose to risk spending those millions have only a few years to recoup those millions before the drug becomes generic and the price drops to marginal cost. So companies are less eager to pursue research for which they may never be financially reimbursed and for which they will be publicly vilified for charging a high enough price to recoup their expenses plus a profit for their investors. It is politically and culturally easier to vilify drug companies than to reform an entrenched bureaucracy such as the FDA.
The only reason I keep a Windows partition is so that I can once a year run H&R Block's tax preparation software. Their software does not run under either wine or Crossover.
Anywhere south of the 50th parallel this could be called a man-sized toaster oven. Call me back when it's powered by a miniature nuclear reactor.
Assuming this 'apocalypse de jour' actually comes to pass, we will slam into it with eyes wide open. The tragedy of the commons has been a well-understood and ignored concept for hundreds of years. Until mankind intellectually outgrows its collectivist, communal evolutionary past and the legacy infatuation with community ownership we will continue to individually pollute that which is unowned.
Well, duh!
It's premature to talk about compassion when no one has any idea how to make a robot which is even as conscious as a cockroach.
How do surgeons get away with calling a Waldo a robot? There is no such thing yet as a 'surgical robot.'
I suppose this clears the way for the Federal Trade Commission to outlaw volume discounts on all products. Why should I have to pay say $15 for a new computer fan when a computer manufacturer can buy 20,000 of the same fans for $8 apiece? Isn't it the same principle? And if our naive notions of fairness are inconsistent with basic facts of economics, shouldn't it be the facts of reality that we reject? Especially when there is an ignorant voting block to mollify?