And there's some truth behind what Dr. Phil said. A violent person when exposed to violent media will tend to act...wait for it...more violently! Wow, what a novel concept.
Think of it this way: a conservative watching Fox News is going to have their conservative beliefs reaffirmed. An environmentalist at an Al Gore lecture will get the same. (And maybe a good nap, too. *zing!*) When you surround yourself with people and media that espouses beliefs like your own, you're going to embrace those more. If you are a violent, aggressive person and spend all your time listening to, watching, and playing violent entertainment, you are encouraging yourself to become more violent.
Think about it...what is the best way to marginalize a set of opinions? By being very radical in a very public way. Thompson's crusade has made him the poster boy for all those who would try to ban violent video games, and his status as a laughing stock means other like-minded individuals don't want to be identified with him and back down from their positions.
So could it be that Jack Thompson is really working for the game industry, out there embarassing into silence anyone who would voice a similar opinion if it weren't for his incessant babbling?
What's more, good ol' JT has done more to get consumers educated about game ratings with his public displays of affliction than the government and ESRB ever could have. Thanks to him and others like him, parents are aware of the ratings system that is the standard rebuttal by the game industry when they get airtime thanks to Jack.
I think we need to stop hating Jack Thompson and thank him. Thank him for crippling the efforts to ban or restrict violent games. Thank him for giving the game industry a voice in the national media in the form of rebuttals to his statements. Thank him for giving the media a reason to discuss how the game industry and retail stores already provide concerned parents with the ability to know what their child will be playing.
Thank you, Jack Thompson. Thank you. Your secret is safe with us.
But I see that tag stuck on everything remotely relating to bugs in Windows.
I make the comment mostly to bug the "Apple can do no wrong" fanboys more than anything. They're the ones (and the Linux fanboys to a lesser extent) who are tagging that on *everything* they see about MS.
But we're told time after time after time by the media that nothing is ever deleted.
What's that saying? "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity," I think. In this case, ignorance might be the correct term. Note that I'm not trying to excuse any violations of law; I'm simply looking for more rational alternatives than "omg they deleted thousands of e-mails to hide something".
I'm not arguing that anyone should be let off if they did indeed violate the law, I'm just wondering if they did so deliberately, or if this is news to them as well.
The law is not so black-and-white as you might think. Intent is important.
Could we perhaps read my post before assuming it's one of those?
I was making the point that there are other scandals in the history of the White House that this incident might better be compared to. This looks a lot more like "crap, we lost some files" than "there is a small and conspicuous gap in this record that we can't explain".
I must wonder if you did the typical American thing and stopped reading halfway through the post.
"Parallels are being drawn with the infamous '18 minutes' missing from the Nixon Watergate tapes."
Just like with the documents that went missing during the Whitewater investigations, right?
In fact, mine is likely the more apt comparison: because the odds are that those "thousands of e-mails" are as innocuous as the missing documents found in (iirc) the attic of Clinton's White House. They certainly aren't each a smoking gun the way the unexplained "18 minutes" might have been. The question is, who is to blame? I'm more prone to look to IT first and the administration second.
The second part, about them using RNC domains, is far more troubling to me. I'd be interested to know the specifics of the law they reportedly violated, and whether it was intentional.
Hmm...I wonder if someone could make it work that you could get a free console that would only work so long as it was able to process and transmit work units for a commercial application.
I'm pretty sure it's more that pure helium is far more expensive than "helium-rich air", which is sufficient for inflating some balloons for junior's party. There are plenty of things on the market that can kill you if inhaled, I don't see why they'd be protecting us from helium.
What's so bad about that? Are they just afraid no one will take them seriously if they sound like the chipmunks when they report their findings? I mean, it's not like it's spraying O2 in the direction of the pilot light of their oven.
I'm curious how political positions can "destroy the lives of foreigners", and how that justifies a military attack or is the responsibility of Americans.
There are thousands of homeless people who are homeless because some rich guy's business failed or moved or just laid off a few hundred people in order to stay competitive. Their lives were destroyed by the actions of these powerful people...does that justify an attack? Are those in power not innocent simply because their actions resulted in one person's life being "destroyed"? I don't think so. Sure there are a lot of rich men who simply don't care about the workers they trod all over in search of the almighty dollar; but there are plenty who agonize over every layoff, every person whose life is affected by their efforts to maintain a healthy business.
Here's a better argument:
We are number 172 out of 230 countries in poulation density. Many of the nations below us either possess vast areas of inhospitable land (Russia and Canada). The rest...well, I wouldn't want to visit most of them. In other words, we're a nation with a lot of room to grow.
I make that point to say this: the more work we do, the more we cut down our population growth. Look at Japan with its negative growth rate; they're a nation obsessed with work. They're also the nation that reports the least frequent sex among narried couples; as a married man, I strongly object to this!
oops...finishing that incomplete sentence:...you can bet player sales will skyrocket once their name is out there and people are aware (via advertising and inserts) that they don't need another copy of the movie if they just go HD-DVD.
Of course, we'll see hybrid players soon enough. This won't be an either/or battle for long.
Slashdot Mirror
And there's some truth behind what Dr. Phil said. A violent person when exposed to violent media will tend to act...wait for it...more violently! Wow, what a novel concept.
Think of it this way: a conservative watching Fox News is going to have their conservative beliefs reaffirmed. An environmentalist at an Al Gore lecture will get the same. (And maybe a good nap, too. *zing!*) When you surround yourself with people and media that espouses beliefs like your own, you're going to embrace those more. If you are a violent, aggressive person and spend all your time listening to, watching, and playing violent entertainment, you are encouraging yourself to become more violent.
Think about it...what is the best way to marginalize a set of opinions? By being very radical in a very public way. Thompson's crusade has made him the poster boy for all those who would try to ban violent video games, and his status as a laughing stock means other like-minded individuals don't want to be identified with him and back down from their positions.
So could it be that Jack Thompson is really working for the game industry, out there embarassing into silence anyone who would voice a similar opinion if it weren't for his incessant babbling?
What's more, good ol' JT has done more to get consumers educated about game ratings with his public displays of affliction than the government and ESRB ever could have. Thanks to him and others like him, parents are aware of the ratings system that is the standard rebuttal by the game industry when they get airtime thanks to Jack.
I think we need to stop hating Jack Thompson and thank him. Thank him for crippling the efforts to ban or restrict violent games. Thank him for giving the game industry a voice in the national media in the form of rebuttals to his statements. Thank him for giving the media a reason to discuss how the game industry and retail stores already provide concerned parents with the ability to know what their child will be playing.
Thank you, Jack Thompson. Thank you. Your secret is safe with us.
So you assert there's no hypocrisy on the part of the Mac fanboys?
To illustrate my point:
2 1214
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/22/21
But I see that tag stuck on everything remotely relating to bugs in Windows.
I make the comment mostly to bug the "Apple can do no wrong" fanboys more than anything. They're the ones (and the Linux fanboys to a lesser extent) who are tagging that on *everything* they see about MS.
defectivebydesign
Hey, it shows up on every article about MS updates, let's give Mac the same treatment.
Come on, all you non-fanboys. Get to tagging.
But we're told time after time after time by the media that nothing is ever deleted.
What's that saying? "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity," I think. In this case, ignorance might be the correct term. Note that I'm not trying to excuse any violations of law; I'm simply looking for more rational alternatives than "omg they deleted thousands of e-mails to hide something".
"you can't unintentionally use a mail server"
No, but you can unintentionally violate a law by doing so.
I'm not arguing that anyone should be let off if they did indeed violate the law, I'm just wondering if they did so deliberately, or if this is news to them as well.
The law is not so black-and-white as you might think. Intent is important.
Could we perhaps read my post before assuming it's one of those? I was making the point that there are other scandals in the history of the White House that this incident might better be compared to. This looks a lot more like "crap, we lost some files" than "there is a small and conspicuous gap in this record that we can't explain". I must wonder if you did the typical American thing and stopped reading halfway through the post.
"Parallels are being drawn with the infamous '18 minutes' missing from the Nixon Watergate tapes."
Just like with the documents that went missing during the Whitewater investigations, right?
In fact, mine is likely the more apt comparison: because the odds are that those "thousands of e-mails" are as innocuous as the missing documents found in (iirc) the attic of Clinton's White House. They certainly aren't each a smoking gun the way the unexplained "18 minutes" might have been. The question is, who is to blame? I'm more prone to look to IT first and the administration second.
The second part, about them using RNC domains, is far more troubling to me. I'd be interested to know the specifics of the law they reportedly violated, and whether it was intentional.
Including my two favorites: Bluebeard and Galapagos.
RIP Kurt, your books sustained my love of literature in the desert of creativity that is a university's liberal arts department.
That would be a commercial supercomputer, and those do exist. Sony apparently has no interest in building one.
I'd sign up.
Better yet...free console. $600 is a bit steep.
Hmm...I wonder if someone could make it work that you could get a free console that would only work so long as it was able to process and transmit work units for a commercial application.
Oh, you'll get there. The question is, will you be able to get back?
"What do you mean 'a fatal error has occurred'?"
I just have to ask...why zoom? Did the director not get a close enough view of Amber's naughty bits for you?
Seriously...I just don't see a lot of value in a TV that can zoom.
I'm pretty sure it's more that pure helium is far more expensive than "helium-rich air", which is sufficient for inflating some balloons for junior's party. There are plenty of things on the market that can kill you if inhaled, I don't see why they'd be protecting us from helium.
So basically Apple TV is retro?
:)
Retro = stylish and cool
Perfect fit for Apple
(disclaimer: due to a handful of oversensitive Mac zealots, I feel the need to point out that that WAS A JOKE.)
What's so bad about that? Are they just afraid no one will take them seriously if they sound like the chipmunks when they report their findings? I mean, it's not like it's spraying O2 in the direction of the pilot light of their oven.
Chupathingy.
It's really not news when you find out that the summary is completely wrong, and he resigned.
:D
When the editors don't bother to RTA, why should we?
I'm curious how political positions can "destroy the lives of foreigners", and how that justifies a military attack or is the responsibility of Americans.
There are thousands of homeless people who are homeless because some rich guy's business failed or moved or just laid off a few hundred people in order to stay competitive. Their lives were destroyed by the actions of these powerful people...does that justify an attack? Are those in power not innocent simply because their actions resulted in one person's life being "destroyed"? I don't think so. Sure there are a lot of rich men who simply don't care about the workers they trod all over in search of the almighty dollar; but there are plenty who agonize over every layoff, every person whose life is affected by their efforts to maintain a healthy business.
Here's a better argument:
We are number 172 out of 230 countries in poulation density. Many of the nations below us either possess vast areas of inhospitable land (Russia and Canada). The rest...well, I wouldn't want to visit most of them. In other words, we're a nation with a lot of room to grow.
I make that point to say this: the more work we do, the more we cut down our population growth. Look at Japan with its negative growth rate; they're a nation obsessed with work. They're also the nation that reports the least frequent sex among narried couples; as a married man, I strongly object to this!
Draft lawyers.
More people than ever are using the internet. This just in: more internet users than ever are censored.
Should we be surprised here? I'm not.
oops...finishing that incomplete sentence: ...you can bet player sales will skyrocket once their name is out there and people are aware (via advertising and inserts) that they don't need another copy of the movie if they just go HD-DVD.
Of course, we'll see hybrid players soon enough. This won't be an either/or battle for long.