You are confused as to what a government is. A government has the 'legal authority' to steal from me, to kidnap me and to murder me. No corporation has the legal authority to do that.
1) See, "Academi"
2) See "Prisons, Privatized"
A government uses mob power that it buys with promises to the mob at the expense of the people who are actually paying for all these promises.
I'll put it to you like this - with stronger and longer recent IP protections recently, have you noticed a decrease or an increase in creative output?
"Creative output"? No change whatsoever.
Indie authors and musicians are not "sharply on the rise". There's just a new word, "indie", invented to make it seem like it was something that didn't happen until millennials invented "being creative while making hardly any money". And to think that stronger and longer IP protections is the reason behind the rise of indie artists is just dumb. Do you really believe some kid making music with ProTools in his bedroom cares about whether or not his grandchildren are going to share in the profits?
The people who say "stronger and longer IP protections is good for creativity" are almost universally people who have never done anything creative.
While I appreciate patriotism, I personally feel that we should be trying to make life better for humanity in general, rather than greedily holding onto wealth in the USA.
So write a check.
Taking at face value the Wharton study quoted above
A business school thinks what's good for corporations is good for humanity? What a surprise.
Coming back to TPP, it has some leaked aspects that I think are truly terrible, such as the intellectual freedom troubles. Those criticisms I consider reasonable, and I can appreciate why that would cause an informed and intelligent person to oppose the TPP. On the other hand, a kind of knee-jerk hatred to trade agreements in general appears to drive much of the opposition, and I think of those anti-trade arguments as having no moral standing, just like the ones put forth by the sugar lobby.
That's like saying, "I can appreciate people being against cancer, but I just do not understand the opposition to disease in general."
Stronger IP protections are generally being welcomed by the creative types I know.
"Stronger IP protections" are not for the "creative types you know". They're for the ownership types you know. And for the government types you know. Whistleblower protections would disappear and so would anything like fair use. It's the DMCA on a global scale. You comfortable with global enforcement?
The countries signing the TPP are not ones that generally violate IP protections, anyway.
Has anyone here ever met anyone who is in favor of the Trans Pacific Partnership?
I mean, I've met people who don't know what it is, but I have yet to meet someone who's all, "Yes! We need this Trans Pacific Partnership to make my life better."
Queue the comments from idiots who think a drug derived from old herbal remedies is the same thing as using old herbal remedies...
"The fact that this researcher won a Nobel for isolating an effective drug from old herbal remedies is proof that old herbal remedies are completely useless!"
The first known medical description of Qinghao lies in a 2000-year-old document called "52 Prescriptions" (168 BCE) that had been unearthed from a Mawangdui Han Dynasty tomb. It details the herb's use for soothing hemorrhoids. Later texts also mention the plant's curative powers. Tu discovered a passage in the Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies (340 CE) by Ge Hong that referenced Qinghao's malaria-healing capacity. It said "Take a handful of Qinghao, soak in two liters of water, strain the liquid, and drink." She realized that the standard procedure of boiling and high-temperature extraction could destroy the active ingredient.
With this idea in mind, Tu redesigned the extraction process, performing it at low temperatures with ether as the solvent. She also removed a harmful acidic portion of the extract that did not contribute to antimalarial activity, tracked the material to the leaves rather than other parts of the plant, and figured out when to harvest the herb to maximize yields. These innovations boosted potency and slashed toxicity. At a March 1972 meeting of the Project 523 group's key participants, she reported that the neutral plant extract —number 191—obliterated Plasmodia in the blood of mice and monkeys.
So basically, she found a 2000 year-old book that says the plant heals malaria, extracted the malaria-healing part and got a Nobel for discovering a malaria drug.
HFCS tastes like sugar, only morons would claim it "tastes like ass". It is also engineered to have a balance of fructose to glucose similar to sucrose specifically so it would taste the same.
So then, why do soda pops made with cane sugar taste so different from the same pop made with HFCS?
If you take a teaspoon of HFCS (you can buy a bottle at the supermarket) and a teaspoon of sugar and taste them one after the other, you'll see the difference.
Maybe one of the problems caused by eating too much HFCS is that it dulls your tastebuds? Because if you couldn't tell the difference...well, I'd find that surprising.
I'm surprised that so few of you have noticed the difference. It's got a treacly, too-sweet flavor with a slightly metallic aftertaste. And,I believe patenting basic foodstuffs is almost criminal. Bad economically, bad for the environment and immoral. So, HFCS is unhealthy for a lot of reasons, in that it's bad for people.
What do those Princeton egghead PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS know about nutritional science? Nothing. That study is bogus.
Let's see...
"In results published online Feb. 26 by the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, the researchers from the Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute reported on two experiments investigating the link between the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity."
I'm not. I throw beer down my neck. But sometimes I'm out shopping and I feel like an OJ - and once in a while I get the urge for a Coke.
Even though my comment was a reply to yours, I wasn't really directing any criticism at you, drywit. I agree. I'll have a Coke now and then, too. If that's what I'm served at a backyard BBQ or something. I just try to add enough Jack Daniels to kill the taste of the HFCS.
high fructose corn syrup: 55% fructose, 45% glucode
table sugar: 50% fructose, 50% glucose
yep, huge difference there.
And yet, the research. Maybe high-fructose corn syrup has more differences than just the fructose/glucose levels? Despite what the powerful corn lobby in the US would have you believe, corn is just not all that good for you in large amounts. And with the amount that goes into HFCS, drinking soda pop is getting corn in large amounts.
Plus, it's all patented-gene bullshit with a heaping side order of glyphosates, and who wants to give money to Monsanto?
Slashdot Mirror
I was just about to say that.
1) See, "Academi"
2) See "Prisons, Privatized"
3) See, "Koch Brothers".
He also used "Henceforth", which is a sure sign of admirable lunacy.
Tomorrow's Slashdot headline:
"How Will The Apple Watch Affect the Future of Self-Driving Cars?"
or,
"What Year Will The Self-Driving Car Cure Cancer? We Ask Travis Kalanick."
"Creative output"? No change whatsoever.
Indie authors and musicians are not "sharply on the rise". There's just a new word, "indie", invented to make it seem like it was something that didn't happen until millennials invented "being creative while making hardly any money". And to think that stronger and longer IP protections is the reason behind the rise of indie artists is just dumb. Do you really believe some kid making music with ProTools in his bedroom cares about whether or not his grandchildren are going to share in the profits?
The people who say "stronger and longer IP protections is good for creativity" are almost universally people who have never done anything creative.
So write a check.
A business school thinks what's good for corporations is good for humanity? What a surprise.
That's like saying, "I can appreciate people being against cancer, but I just do not understand the opposition to disease in general."
Corporations are your government. The TPP makes their power stronger, while doing nothing at all to lessen "regulation"..
Nah, juice is delicious and there's vitamins and stuff.
See, most people who make and drink fruit juice aren't drinking 60-ounce Mega-Gulps of them. Have you ever seen the size of a "juice glass"?
"Stronger IP protections" are not for the "creative types you know". They're for the ownership types you know. And for the government types you know. Whistleblower protections would disappear and so would anything like fair use. It's the DMCA on a global scale. You comfortable with global enforcement?
The countries signing the TPP are not ones that generally violate IP protections, anyway.
https://www.eff.org/issues/tpp
Has anyone here ever met anyone who is in favor of the Trans Pacific Partnership?
I mean, I've met people who don't know what it is, but I have yet to meet someone who's all, "Yes! We need this Trans Pacific Partnership to make my life better."
I'll bet the physicians who used the plant and the people who were cured by the plant 2000 years ago had a little proof themselves.
Hypothesis, experimentation and publishing results were not invented by Roger Bacon. Human beings didn't suddenly become smart in the 13th century.
Las Vegas cabbies are terrific. In 25 years' worth of Vegas trips (some with my wife!) I've never had a negative experience with them.
They're not as cool as New Orleans cabbies, who are among the best in the world, but the Vegas hacks are pretty damn good.
Translation: "I NEVER WIN AWARDS!"
"The fact that this researcher won a Nobel for isolating an effective drug from old herbal remedies is proof that old herbal remedies are completely useless!"
So basically, she found a 2000 year-old book that says the plant heals malaria, extracted the malaria-healing part and got a Nobel for discovering a malaria drug.
Ge Hong is laughing his head off.
I wish I could see the difference between a regular display at and 4k one. 8k is just too damn many pixels.
I should have listened to my Ma when she said not to sit so close to the TV screen, but Julie Newmar as Catwoman was too much to resist.
http://www.julienewmar.com/ima...
My own extensive, peer-reviewed research proves that the Jack Daniels counteracts the negative effects of the HCFS.
Until morning.
So then, why do soda pops made with cane sugar taste so different from the same pop made with HFCS?
If you take a teaspoon of HFCS (you can buy a bottle at the supermarket) and a teaspoon of sugar and taste them one after the other, you'll see the difference.
Maybe one of the problems caused by eating too much HFCS is that it dulls your tastebuds? Because if you couldn't tell the difference...well, I'd find that surprising.
HFCS tastes nasty, though.
I'm surprised that so few of you have noticed the difference. It's got a treacly, too-sweet flavor with a slightly metallic aftertaste. And,I believe patenting basic foodstuffs is almost criminal. Bad economically, bad for the environment and immoral. So, HFCS is unhealthy for a lot of reasons, in that it's bad for people.
Because it's drenched in glyphosates? Because eating a basic foodstuff that is patented is bad economically and morally repugnant?
No, they were taken by Stanley Kubrick.
http://news.discovery.com/spac...
Let's see...
I posted two studies elsewhere in this conversation. One from Princeton and one from the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
I don't know if you find those sources reputable.
Even though my comment was a reply to yours, I wasn't really directing any criticism at you, drywit. I agree. I'll have a Coke now and then, too. If that's what I'm served at a backyard BBQ or something. I just try to add enough Jack Daniels to kill the taste of the HFCS.
And yet, the research. Maybe high-fructose corn syrup has more differences than just the fructose/glucose levels? Despite what the powerful corn lobby in the US would have you believe, corn is just not all that good for you in large amounts. And with the amount that goes into HFCS, drinking soda pop is getting corn in large amounts.
Plus, it's all patented-gene bullshit with a heaping side order of glyphosates, and who wants to give money to Monsanto?
That's why I only drink gasoline. It tastes terrible, but the buzz is great.