Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:RAND PAUL REVOLUTION (Score 1) 500

I fully expect us to end with an arrangement whereby the work of 1% (largely maintenance of automated systems that do all the "dirty work") will be sufficient to provide for the needs of the remaining 99%, and still have potential left. I also fully expect people to actually compete for the right to do that work.

You "expect" these things, yet provide no details on how exactly you "expect" these things to be or become fact.

Why should the 1% slave to support the 99%? What would be their motivation? Why would they not join the majority or simply move someplace else where they can keep more of the value created by their labor? Altruism? Altruism is a virtue only when it is voluntarily given. Otherwise it is theft and slavery.

On the other claw, it could also create tyrants from that 1% as they could demand compliance or cut off the tap, so to speak.

Like so many socialist style schemes, it requires humans to behave and act counter to basic human nature and without attempting to game the system. History has proven time and again that such schemes only work among a relatively small and culturally/politically homogenous population, and do not scale to multiple hundreds of millions of a culturally/politically diverse population.

Strat

Comment Re:RAND PAUL REVOLUTION (Score 0) 500

I support universal basic income guarantee

Then you have not thought things through logically, I'm afraid.

That's all fine and good until you have a large portion of the population either receiving said 'mincome' or in retirement. Have you checked what direction the demographics are trending in the US? Ever-fewer workers are supporting an ever-increasing population dependent on government. It's unsustainable and quickly approaching collapse already.

Where's the money going to come from to pay collective Pauls when you run short of select Peters to rob?

I'll just leave this here:

AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,

I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.

Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn

That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:

But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,

So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,

Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,

But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come

That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,

They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;

They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;

So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.

They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.

But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life

(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)

Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,

By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;

But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew

And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true

That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man

There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.

That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,

And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins

When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,

As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,

The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

Strat

Comment Re:of course! (Score 1) 363

Hmm... maybe someone should start up a spin-off called LobbyRoad where politicians can meet to trade kickbacks and favors in an anonymous setting?

Done & done.

https://www.clintonfoundation....

Unfortunately, HRC's private email servers she hosted at her home while SoS are temporarily down due to a security issue. Authorities wanted to see the contents.

Strat

Comment Re:Nonsense (Score 2) 389

In reality, it's even worse, as requiring the telecoms to keep this data guarantees that the telecoms will use that data -- so the end result is an expansion of the the amount of spying that is being inflicted on us.

Exactly this. Government spying on its citizens is bad, don't get me wrong. However, there are remedies for this. It isn't easy, but you CAN vote out the current government and vote in people who will end the spying. Again, it's not easy and it might take time, but it's doable.

The problem is that ending domestic bulk data collection requires enforcing the Constitution, and although many are against mass surveillance, many more are against other things that the Constitution enshrines & protects, like civilian gun ownership and freedom of religion as just 2 examples off the top f my head.

Unfortunately, there are many people out there that would be more than willing to sacrifice many civil rights if only guns were banned, and/or any church that performs any weddings was forced to wed anyone of any sex regardless of long-held religious beliefs/doctrines of said church/religion.

Strat

Comment Re: And I'm the feminist deity (Score 1) 446

Not everyone is a fit parent.

See, that's the problem. There is disagreement among large numbers of people on exactly what the definition of "fit parent" is, who gets to decide what that definition is, and how it is interpreted/implemented/enforced, and if government even has the power under the Constitution to be involved at all.

Strat

Comment Re:And I'm the feminist deity (Score 3, Insightful) 446

"Why should there even be a "solution"?"

Because we're a progressive world, where we successfully freed women from the oppresion of having a nice household, a partner who takes cares of them, and pursuing the ultimate biological goal of reproduction. Now they can enjoy being forced into being competitive just as men are. Remember girls, now you have to earn the right to use your womb now, better get working because you'll need the money in case you decide to unfreeze your eggs and have a baby a couple of years before your retirement.

So better get into engineering even if you don't like it because babies are fucking expensive now! Uh? you don't like it? well that's because your internalized patriarchy doesn't let you think straight you silly girl.

Obviously the only real solution is to force all children to be taken at birth to be raised and educated in government-run facilities until the age of majority, safe from bad parenting decisions and dangerous political/ideological ideas. /s

I felt the need for the '/s' sarc tag, as there are actually a number of people, some in positions of power, who would take the above as a given, that children belong to the State first and parents second.

Strat

Comment Re:Are they LEOs (Score 4, Funny) 104

Is an apparent law enforcement officer (or group thereof) who is conducting their work illegally, really a law enforcement officer?

Nope, they are just Low-Earth Orbits then.

Take from that what you can comprehend. Don't try to understand it. My head hurts.

It's quite simple.

They are acting as agents of State Security, or "SS".

The SS operates without regard to laws or Constitutionally-mandated limits/restrictions to government powers. They believe as tyrants always have, that power comes from the barrel of a gun.

At a 2008 "distressed investors" forum, Ron Bloom, appointed Senior Counselor to President Obama for Manufacturing Policy in September 2009, said:

"Generally speaking, we get the joke. We know that the free market is nonsense. We know that the whole point is to game the system, to beat the market. Or at least find someone who will pay you a lot of money, 'cause they're convinced that there is a free lunch. We know this is largely about power, that it's an adults-only, no-limit game. We kind of agree with Mao, that political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

This mentality is not uncommon across government, especially the higher one looks.

Strat

Sci-Fi

The Hoverboard Flies Closer To Reality 81

Dave Knott writes: Fans of 1980s cinema were disappointed when the year 2015 arrived without a practical version Marty McFly's hoverboard. Now, a Montréal-based man has brought it closer to reality by setting a new record for longest "flight" by hoverboard. In a filmed test recognized by the Guiness Book of World Records, Catalin Alexandru Duru pilots his somewhat cumbersome looking rig for 250 meters — five times the previous record — at a height of five meters above Quebec's Lake Ouareau. Duru and his business partner "hope to have a new prototype finished by the end of the year and then have hoverboards available for purchase across the country. He wouldn't say how much the prototype cost to build, but said that the first generation of the machine will likely be 'quite expensive.'" "This thing is still quite dangerous," he added, explaining that the pilot uses only his or her feet to fly the contraption. The commercial version's software will limit it to flying below a height of about one-and-a-half meters above the ground.

Comment Re:Effect? (Score 0) 385

Then what exactly are you saying you want? Don't hide behind the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers and tell me exactly what it is you are advocating that is in some way different to what George Washington delivered.

"Hide behind the Fed/Anti-Fed Papers"? Seriously? Why do you think "what George Washington delivered" and what the *other* founders agreed on and included in the design of the nation based on the discussions carried out through those very Fed/Anti-Fed Papers is different? You *do* realize that the Federalist/Anti-Federalist Papers are as close to code-comments for the Constitution as we can get, right?

It sounds like you have not invested sufficient time in learning and understanding the history of the design and theory of governance behind the US Constitution.

Until you have, there is no possibility of having a rational discussion.

Good day, sir.

Strat

Earth

ESA Satellite Shows Sudden Ice Loss In Southern Antarctic Peninsula 268

ddelmonte tips news that the ESA's CryoSat spacecraft has detected a sharp increase in the rate at which ice is being lost in a previously stable section of Antarctica. In 2009, glaciers at the Southern Antarctic Peninsula began rapidly shedding ice into the ocean, at a rate of roughly 60 cubic kilometers per year (abstract). From the ESA's press release: This makes the region one of the largest contributors to sea-level rise in Antarctica, having added about 300 cubic km of water into the ocean in the past six years. Some glaciers along the coastal expanse are currently lowering by as much as four m each year. Prior to 2009, the 750 km-long Southern Antarctic Peninsula showed no signs of change. ... The ice loss in the region is so large that it has even caused small changes in Earth’s gravity field, detected by NASA’s GRACE mission. Climate models show that the sudden change cannot be explained by changes in snowfall or air temperature. Instead, the team attributes the rapid ice loss to warming oceans.

Comment Re:Effect? (Score 1) 385

If not, then say what you mean instead of this childish shit of suggesting we are better of with something other than an elected government.

Congratulations!

What a marvelous strawman you created and killed! Too bad I never said anything like that.

It was Congress who passed the Patriot Act in a rush in the first place to create this mess, and you want to give them even more ability to stampede things through without ample time for people to learn about, understand, and form opinions and advocate for or oppose legislation?

Please take the time to read the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers before criticizing a system you obviously do not understand.

A runaway/out-of-control Legislative branch is equally as dangerous to liberty as a runaway/out-of-control Executive or Judicial branch.

If you have a problem with the built-in safeguards against a runaway/out-of-control Congress included in the design of the US Congress by the authors of the Constitution, amend it.

Strat

Comment Re:Effect? (Score 1) 385

So that the NSA et al can just get on with business as usual without elected officials telling them what to do?

Wait, I thought it was these same elected officials who authorized the "business as usual" you refer to? They were about to re-authorize the same "business as usual" when Sen. Paul filibustered, were they not? The US Freedom act which codified into law many of the provisions re: domestic surveillance, but which has been promoted as a "fix" despite that fact, was not up for a vote.

Gridlock was intentionally designed into the system as a safeguard against knee-jerk legislative responses in order that there was at least a chance that adults could rein-in such knee-jerk/runaway legislative actions.

You need to check your facts.

You'll love China. They've got all that without those expensive elections. Or how about the colonies when the King was in charge?

Again, rather than tossing accusations & insults you *really* need to check the facts and think before you embarrass yourself further.

As far as Kings and decrees go, the current occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. has been doing a pretty good impression.

Strat

Comment Re:Effect? (Score 1) 385

the rather obvious point is that our legislative rules are specifically designed so that congress accomplishes nothing when there is no majority to push things forward

Yes, quite true.

The tone of your replies to me seems to suggest I am arguing against the things you've stated when I've made no such statements, and in fact agree that gridlock is not a bad thing, and is in fact an intentional feature meant to slow and in some cases curb legislative excesses.

Strat

Slashdot Top Deals

"What man has done, man can aspire to do." -- Jerry Pournelle, about space flight

Working...