You know this article starts out cool enough, with the link to the romans and such, but then...what?!
You know, I've heard so many theories on how the internet is going rebirth our society, that I'm about ready to puke. Damnit, I'm convinced that the net is going to transform into a damn robotic lizard and start wreaking havok all over the world.
This idea is less than insightful, it is pure speculation with no basis in fact. And John Katz - ooh, we're dissillusioned, that means the net has removed us from society. Bullshit.
Because we've never been dissillusioned before. We've never questioned how we interact with our environment before. And damnit, I was dissillusioned years before I even knew what the internet was.
Rebirth? Negative, just another generation in a society where each generation is a reaction to the previous.
Below is a list of things which the US would like to see happen in China, either through intervention or through natural courses. (These are based on our past history with China)
Freedom of Speech/Press.
Local Elections (at the provincial and city level).
National Elections (the Central Committee and Premier).
Abolishment of the One Party System.
Recognition of Taiwan as a independent nation.
Overthrow of the current government.
The acceptance of Christianity, and no more persecution of Chinese christians.
Which two are the most important, and how should the US go about seeing they are implemented?
Will of any of these happen on their own? Through what means?
Lastly, what should be the overall policy towards China? Please, a definitive answer, no
"proceed cautiously."
If yes, why, despite the fact that nearly every global ally of the USA is against it? Who are the enemies who threaten us with missile attack ("rogue nations" is not acceptable, be specific)?
If no, why? How should the United States deal with potential threats? Do you also oppose using the US military as a peacekeeping force, such as was done in Haiti and the Baltics?
i hate the Digital Millenium Copyright Act as much as the next guy, but it's hardly a grand conspiracy, and it has little to nothing to do with the consumers. The threat of MP3s come from artists who use them. If an open medium for distribution is embraced the recording industry is cut out of the picture.
As for that crap you were talking about universities...please. Napster IS a bandwidth hog, and a number of the universities have publicly stated they'd allow napster, were it to be "leaner."
John Katz, you talk a good game, but I listen to way to much Art Bell to be taken in by standard conspiracy theories. Provide more evidence, please.
okay, so before I start, I will admit that no one thinks that Arthur C Clarke is a bigger crackpot then me. I remember watching his stupid TV show along time ago. Everything that happened "challenged man" or "eradicated a concept of nature." The fact of the matter is, Arthur C Clarke is a wannabe Isaac Asimov / Carl Sagan figure. But he does have a decent point. I think what he is getting at is...if a machine one day can think "I", and we can download that thought on to say an Iomega ZIP disk (the official removable media of the robot existentialist), and we look at the thought on a computer and play with it, or buy it at Software etc, what exactly does that say about the quality/purity of our own thoughts? i have no idea, myself. but when this happens, I hope to god (even though this suggests there probably isn't one) that humanity doesn't drone on like a bunch of consumers. I think that what clark was getting at with the whole education thing, is that in order to momentarily push back the veil of politics, religion, consumerism, and examine the situation as it really is we'll all need to be pretty damn smart. If the opposite is the case, we'll have every ozark preacher, politician, and "family value" housewife yelling out in protest. Of course, we'll all know that they're all just being stupid, and not thinking for themselves, but a bunch of nerdy folk like us sitting at a computer screen, can't do much to stop an angry torch weilding mob from smashing the first AI to bits. peace out.
Slashdot Mirror
You know this article starts out cool enough, with the link to the romans and such, but then...what?!
You know, I've heard so many theories on how the internet is going rebirth our society, that I'm about ready to puke. Damnit, I'm convinced that the net is going to transform into a damn robotic lizard and start wreaking havok all over the world.
This idea is less than insightful, it is pure speculation with no basis in fact. And John Katz - ooh, we're dissillusioned, that means the net has removed us from society. Bullshit.
Because we've never been dissillusioned before. We've never questioned how we interact with our environment before. And damnit, I was dissillusioned years before I even knew what the internet was.
Rebirth? Negative, just another generation in a society where each generation is a reaction to the previous.
Below is a list of things which the US would like to see happen in China, either through intervention or through natural courses. (These are based on our past history with China)
Which two are the most important, and how should the US go about seeing they are implemented?
Will of any of these happen on their own? Through what means?
Lastly, what should be the overall policy towards China? Please, a definitive answer, no "proceed cautiously."
Do you support a national missile defense system?
If yes, why, despite the fact that nearly every global ally of the USA is against it? Who are the enemies who threaten us with missile attack ("rogue nations" is not acceptable, be specific)?
If no, why? How should the United States deal with potential threats? Do you also oppose using the US military as a peacekeeping force, such as was done in Haiti and the Baltics?
john katz, you ignorant slut.
i hate the Digital Millenium Copyright Act as much as the next guy, but it's hardly a grand conspiracy, and it has little to nothing to do with the consumers. The threat of MP3s come from artists who use them. If an open medium for distribution is embraced the recording industry is cut out of the picture.
As for that crap you were talking about universities...please. Napster IS a bandwidth hog, and a number of the universities have publicly stated they'd allow napster, were it to be "leaner."
John Katz, you talk a good game, but I listen to way to much Art Bell to be taken in by standard conspiracy theories. Provide more evidence, please.
IU banned Napster, yes, but they've also been working with Napster on helping them develop a Napster that eats less bandwidth.
Believe it or not, IU actually facilitates MP3 distribution by not monitoring scratch drives and FTP sites run out of the dorms.
okay, so before I start, I will admit that no one thinks that Arthur C Clarke is a bigger crackpot then me. I remember watching his stupid TV show along time ago. Everything that happened "challenged man" or "eradicated a concept of nature." The fact of the matter is, Arthur C Clarke is a wannabe Isaac Asimov / Carl Sagan figure. But he does have a decent point. I think what he is getting at is...if a machine one day can think "I", and we can download that thought on to say an Iomega ZIP disk (the official removable media of the robot existentialist), and we look at the thought on a computer and play with it, or buy it at Software etc, what exactly does that say about the quality/purity of our own thoughts? i have no idea, myself. but when this happens, I hope to god (even though this suggests there probably isn't one) that humanity doesn't drone on like a bunch of consumers. I think that what clark was getting at with the whole education thing, is that in order to momentarily push back the veil of politics, religion, consumerism, and examine the situation as it really is we'll all need to be pretty damn smart. If the opposite is the case, we'll have every ozark preacher, politician, and "family value" housewife yelling out in protest. Of course, we'll all know that they're all just being stupid, and not thinking for themselves, but a bunch of nerdy folk like us sitting at a computer screen, can't do much to stop an angry torch weilding mob from smashing the first AI to bits. peace out.