"leaving millions of users without access to one of the most popular sites on the planet" is a bullshit plea. Don't give me this "would somebody think of the children!" argument. It's bullshit.
It isn't that hard to understand why a court might not be fans of a website whose content is at least 95% links to stuff that is illegal!
Nothing is going to make illegal downloading go away. I think it's fair to say some folks have spent a good portion of the last two decades trying. But, let's not act like it's a travesty that a court didn't side with the downloaders.
I'm not gonna link to the video itself. It falls under the heading of shit you cannot unsee. Suffice it to say, if you search for the terms "man fucked to death by horse" or "mr hands video" you will find it.
I remember seeing this video on Joe Rogan's blog (already off to a bad start) where he was talking about Two Girls, One Cup and expressing exasperation that anyone would care after all the vile shit that was posted on the internet way before that.
They didn't warn your ass before they arrested you. This is progress. Russians are thankful for Putin's soft fascism. It's not the cops fault this guy has a hearing problem when he was told to cut the shit out.
The Nationalists really, really fucked that country up. I mean, Robert Mugabe-style. Complete with deliberate currency devaluations to eradicate debt.
Then Mao really fucked the country up after that.
To say that China is better today is to simply state that it still exists. Because it could not have gotten worse without turning into Somalia.
The biggest thing that defends the Communist Party today is that Chinese culture is so rife with the corruption that the CCP largely functions as a clearinghouse for bribery and extortion. Everyone gets their cheap goods, and no one asks how it happened. For all intents, China is nothing but a better organized version of Nigeria.
Big changes in China tend to take a long time, and then brutally wreck the entire country.
It's not a culture disposed to ideological revolution. Historically, the Chinese government rots away from the inside over a long period of time, until eventually the outer fringes -- essentially the non-Han ethnic areas -- no longer respect the central authority. They start testing what they can get away with, and then the downward spiral begins.
Right now the Chinese government is doing a good job of keeping the fringes under control. There just isn't much chance of China undergoing meaningful change anytime soon.
And, frankly, should it happen, it will be a humanitarian nightmare.
I said it in the other thread, but it bears repeating: the Chinese government wants its own little kiddie pool of an internet. The presence of a foreign search provider is inherently a bad thing in China's eyes. Now, if that foreign search provider wants to take it in the ass and censor everything, then sure the Chinese will tolerate it. But, if Google folds its tents in China, I guarantee you no one in the Communist Party is going to shed a single tear over it.
Even if China were the most open democracy in the world, the disappearance of Google wouldn't bother the Chinese. It's in their national character to disdain outsiders. Hell, google.cn might as well be Mandarin for Great Barbarian Ignorance Network. It's just how the Chinese see the world.
It is to Google's credit that they finally figured out the truth about China.
Of course, even truthier is the fact that China wants them gone anyhow, since they'd prefer to build their own little world inside their own little internet.
I was watching a documentary a while back on PBS about the runaway problem during the early 1960s. You watch video of all these kids -- tens of thousands -- suddenly all descending on one neighborhood in San Francisco all during the same summer. And you watch the interviews with the police, who are basically standing there saying, "Holy fuck! Where did all these runaways come from? Why the hell did they all show up at once?"
I look at stuff like that and think it takes a certain audacity to say today's kids are more fucked up.
I've said it before, but I'll say it again -- the darker re-imagined ALF would be a blockbuster (I'm seeing this version of ALF as a movie, just to be clear).
We could establish with the big effects piece: the destruction of Melmac. We could shock the audience right away by killing off Lucky. Pretty soon it's a hunted man movie -- this year's District 9 -- and away we go!
We'd do all the big character surprises, too. Willie would be a female, maybe a hard-drinkin' fighter pilot with a bit of the reckless sex streak. The nosy old lady next door could be a transvestite (very edgy). Before the first act is done, ALF is halfway across the country -- a vast break from the original series, I should add -- and has left a trail of broken lives and broken promises behind him. There would the climactic fight. Willie avenging her dead cat. Lots of dialogue -- total ripoff of Kill Bill's climax. And the final blow. ALF is dead.
Slashdot Mirror
That's not exactly an argument.
I'm pretty certain it is the role of the courts to curtail illegal activities when brought to their attention.
"leaving millions of users without access to one of the most popular sites on the planet" is a bullshit plea. Don't give me this "would somebody think of the children!" argument. It's bullshit.
It isn't that hard to understand why a court might not be fans of a website whose content is at least 95% links to stuff that is illegal!
Nothing is going to make illegal downloading go away. I think it's fair to say some folks have spent a good portion of the last two decades trying. But, let's not act like it's a travesty that a court didn't side with the downloaders.
ATM machines in Paris
How to make quick cash in Paris
Where is the consulate in Paris?
How to say "I am broke" to French airline official
Homeless life for foreign nationals in paris
What can I say? I would have made better use of the weekend in Paris than this dude did.
I thought everyone had seen that video. That it was the XXXtreme version of Two Girls, One Cup. Hmmm . . .
I'll start you off soft with a news article, with no pic/vid . . . News item.
Then we'll ease you up to reax.
I'm not gonna link to the video itself. It falls under the heading of shit you cannot unsee. Suffice it to say, if you search for the terms "man fucked to death by horse" or "mr hands video" you will find it.
I remember seeing this video on Joe Rogan's blog (already off to a bad start) where he was talking about Two Girls, One Cup and expressing exasperation that anyone would care after all the vile shit that was posted on the internet way before that.
My understanding -- as a complete outsider to the field -- is that a lot of the elements are already there.
It's kinda hard not to be depressed . . . thank you, Internet.
A lot of publicly traded companies use PHP. You've clearly put me in my place.
What with their stupid success and their stock options growing in value. Man, what a bunch of fucking retards.
But, it does apparently make a very good smoke screen for a good offense.
So, what you're saying is the Russians are so backwards we should just be glad they don't make their women wear burkas, right?
They didn't warn your ass before they arrested you. This is progress. Russians are thankful for Putin's soft fascism. It's not the cops fault this guy has a hearing problem when he was told to cut the shit out.
+1
For the love of Ceiling Cat! Put down your poker chips and blow up dolls! Somebody get the big truck! We gotta unclog the tubez!
The Nationalists really, really fucked that country up. I mean, Robert Mugabe-style. Complete with deliberate currency devaluations to eradicate debt.
Then Mao really fucked the country up after that.
To say that China is better today is to simply state that it still exists. Because it could not have gotten worse without turning into Somalia.
The biggest thing that defends the Communist Party today is that Chinese culture is so rife with the corruption that the CCP largely functions as a clearinghouse for bribery and extortion. Everyone gets their cheap goods, and no one asks how it happened. For all intents, China is nothing but a better organized version of Nigeria.
Big changes in China tend to take a long time, and then brutally wreck the entire country.
It's not a culture disposed to ideological revolution. Historically, the Chinese government rots away from the inside over a long period of time, until eventually the outer fringes -- essentially the non-Han ethnic areas -- no longer respect the central authority. They start testing what they can get away with, and then the downward spiral begins.
Right now the Chinese government is doing a good job of keeping the fringes under control. There just isn't much chance of China undergoing meaningful change anytime soon.
And, frankly, should it happen, it will be a humanitarian nightmare.
Islam is the one true religion. It says so right on the box.
It's not the fault of any Muslim that the other religions simply neglected to try this key marketing ploy. Geez.
http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-CN&q=tiananmen%20square%20massacre&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
Because I sure see some pictures of tanks if you add the word massacre to that search.
I said it in the other thread, but it bears repeating: the Chinese government wants its own little kiddie pool of an internet. The presence of a foreign search provider is inherently a bad thing in China's eyes. Now, if that foreign search provider wants to take it in the ass and censor everything, then sure the Chinese will tolerate it. But, if Google folds its tents in China, I guarantee you no one in the Communist Party is going to shed a single tear over it.
Even if China were the most open democracy in the world, the disappearance of Google wouldn't bother the Chinese. It's in their national character to disdain outsiders. Hell, google.cn might as well be Mandarin for Great Barbarian Ignorance Network. It's just how the Chinese see the world.
Now if only people could eat inflection points.
It is to Google's credit that they finally figured out the truth about China.
Of course, even truthier is the fact that China wants them gone anyhow, since they'd prefer to build their own little world inside their own little internet.
It's kinda sad when you think about it.
I was watching a documentary a while back on PBS about the runaway problem during the early 1960s. You watch video of all these kids -- tens of thousands -- suddenly all descending on one neighborhood in San Francisco all during the same summer. And you watch the interviews with the police, who are basically standing there saying, "Holy fuck! Where did all these runaways come from? Why the hell did they all show up at once?"
I look at stuff like that and think it takes a certain audacity to say today's kids are more fucked up.
We just now have entire industries backed by science to prove it! Haha!
Patrick Warburton is one of the great underutilized comic actors.
I've said it before, but I'll say it again -- the darker re-imagined ALF would be a blockbuster (I'm seeing this version of ALF as a movie, just to be clear).
We could establish with the big effects piece: the destruction of Melmac. We could shock the audience right away by killing off Lucky. Pretty soon it's a hunted man movie -- this year's District 9 -- and away we go!
We'd do all the big character surprises, too. Willie would be a female, maybe a hard-drinkin' fighter pilot with a bit of the reckless sex streak. The nosy old lady next door could be a transvestite (very edgy). Before the first act is done, ALF is halfway across the country -- a vast break from the original series, I should add -- and has left a trail of broken lives and broken promises behind him. There would the climactic fight. Willie avenging her dead cat. Lots of dialogue -- total ripoff of Kill Bill's climax. And the final blow. ALF is dead.
Some of them want to be used by you.