who is this "us" he is talking about? because with just a little thought, you quickly realized these "billions of dollars" are just transfers from the (assumed) wealthy building owners to the less wealthy contractors and workers.

one person's cost is another's paycheck and kids tuition payment.

if the public good is really being served here by improving safety of citizens, why isn't the discussion framed more along these lines?

its not down...

http://thepiratebay.cr/

also, there is always the "google search 'stuff you want' thepiratebay, hit "Cached" and "Get this torrent" hack

just saying

...to fork his repository.

i think they are calling that delivery service "Amazon" these days.

...and when it blows up in their face, they should be allowed to sue to manufacturer too.

exactly my point...i was being sincere about how i understand the economics and politics of the situation.

...how more they could have got if they stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

idk, maybe because HR tells you they have a blanket policy to automatically deny all convicted felons employment for legal reasons?

really???

i got convicted of felony because i got caught with some personal MDMA pillis in 2001 at an electronic music concert.

that's a "serious crime"??

hello and welcome to my life.

it's well documented here on /. that i struggle with this same issue, and have for over a decade.

i wish i had good news for you, but i don't. it's going to be hard for you for find "regular" employment.

my advice? try to find a small company where you can get hired without a lot of fanfare. finding and owner/ceo who does the hiring, or a contracting company where they have no real interest in caring about your background because it will cost them money if they don't place you, is pretty much the only way i've been able to get back into a stable, well-paying job.

pretty much anyplace with a fulltime HR department will discover your transgressions and gleefully report to the hiring manager that they "gotcha" and are doing a really great job keeping reprobates like us away from their "sanitary" workplace.

i've started my own small consulting company and have found that it's fairly easy to work from home (im a software guy) doing the code monkey thing...it beats digging ditches that's for sure. i advertise back-end/full-stack web development/server management on craigslist and it works.

good luck...you are going to need some.

about a month ago i was reading a 20th century US history book and discovered that Calvin Coolidge, Jr,, president Calvin Coolidge's 15 year old son, died from a blister on his foot he got when playing tennis on the White House lawn in 1924.

consider that for a moment...only 90 years ago, the son of perhaps the most powerful and well connected man on the earth died from a blister. playing tennis.

if this doesn't explain truly how much and how quickly things have changed, i'm not sure what could.

...in the US we call it "lobbying and advertising" and corporations of course spend billions trying to influence people to engage in behaviors that increase the profitability and public image of their business.

so it's in Russia's interest to prevent fracking...ok well they spend money to sway public opinion...sounds like SOP to me.

it should still be able to render porn at 30fps.