a reliable method for financing comfortable lifestyle to a whole class of individuals in the politics theater.
That in itself is not enough to declare the cause "invalid".
war on drugs is one
The cause of the war on drugs is valid.
right to be forgotten is another
And this one is not valid.
It is the validity of the cause, that ought to be the benchmark — not whether or not fighting for it makes somebody comfortable.
Some witnesses said Michael Brown had been shot in the back. Another said he was face-down on the ground when Officer Darren Wilson "finished him off." Still others acknowledged changing their stories to fit published details about the autopsy or admitted that they did not see the shooting at all. An Associated Press review of thousands of pages of grand jury documents reveals numerous examples of statements made during the shooting investigation that were inconsistent, fabricated or provably wrong. For one, the autopsies ultimately showed Brown was not struck by any bullets in his back.
All of these witnesses testified under oath. Will any of them be now prosecuted for perjury?
core business model is, frankly, illegal in most of its markets as well.
We sure are lucky, pay-phones weren't able to legally block the introduction and use of cell-phones. From what I hear, we weren't quite as lucky with horse-drawn carriages being obsoleted by autos — but sanity prevailed.
Now the traditional — licensed — taxis are being obsoleted by Uber and the likes and that is a good thing, even if the taxi industry and the rent-seeking city halls don't like it.
All, that cabbie-licenses told you, was that the local town considers the driver (if it is even the same man!) and his car to be compliant with its requirements. Well, Uber does the same sort of vouching for you, the consumer. And they are able to provide that guarantee faster and at (much) lower cost. Sure, there are cases of Uber-drivers going bad, but it happens to taxis too.
EU is not going to shut Google down.
But they can fine Google — something like $1mln per day to fund something For The Greater Good. The fine can't be crippling, as you point out, but it can still be large.
The Stalin-era edition of Soviet Encyclopedia — a monumental collection of large volumes not unlike Britannica — once had a large article (full of praises, of course) about Lavrenty Beria. When Stalin died, Beria lost to others and was promptly shot.
To erase the memory of those praises, all owners of the encyclopedia (there weren't that many) were required to cut out the article about him — and replace it with an article about Bering Strait. True story...
We can't stop the government from doing it to us, but at least let's feel positive if they try to stop corporations from doing it to us TOO
Before saying a particular measure is good against KKKorporations (and that is the proper spelling for a rant like yours), apply it against yourself first.
For example, if you want the minimum hourly pay to be $15, remember, that it will apply to you, when you are blessed with a child and need to hire a nanny. Oh, and if she works for you full time — you'll need to provide her with health insurance and a few other things.
Likewise with the right to be forgotten — what you welcome for KKKorporations, may some day be applied to you. Manipulating human memories is already possible. Would you like your ex to be able to obtain a court order requiring you to undergo the procedure to make you forget the good times you two once had?
no better than "war on drugs" or any other method of milking the tax payer..
Well, drugs really are bad for both the Individual taking them and the Collective he belongs to. They may or may not be be sufficiently bad to wage a "war", but they are bad.
Google maintaining their indexing unaffected by the whims of subjects of some of the texts out there is not bad. Not at all.
This sort of logic was present and functioning on the first steam-engines! You have such a system in your toilet — it closes the water-valve, when the "sensor" detects, the tank is full...
It'd be way safer to get a fan going to circulate the air than to crack the windows open. You really want car makers to open themselves up to having cars stolen easier?
Spinning fan will drain battery quickly. A slightly-open window will not make theft much easier — and the alarm will still go on, if the door is opened.
People do leave windows rolled-down a little on hot days as a matter of course. Would be nice, if the car could do it itself. And even close them back up, if rain starts.
* continuous monitoring will drain your battery, so you will come to a dead battery every time you go on vacation;
I have an outside temperature sensor, that radios figures to the display unit inside. Its puny little battery lasts a year... You too can get one at Home Depot.
the system will also have to monitor for precipitation
As I said, such sensors are already built into my car. The wipers start automatically, when the rain or snow hits the windshield.
there are better ways to spend ~100$ in parts and 5lb of weight.
All the hardware is already in the car. Just need to teach the existing software a new trick.
You want a machine to decide that for you...
No, I want it to decide for itself — when I am not there.
How would that make a difference? They're the government. They *are* all the money, right?
The government does have unlimited pockets, but the budgets of individual prosecuting agencies is limited...
And if they don't have the money now, can't they can just raise taxes during the next budget cycle to cover those costs?
It would still force prosecutors to be more restrained. If, for example, we paid $10K for each alleged felony and $5K for each misdemeanor, the guy in TFA would've been due $440K. Well, maybe, $430 if one of the felonies was downgraded to misdemeanor. Whether the agency has money or not, making the accused rich like that is embarrassing and prosecutors would be more careful. And, maybe, some of the funds may even come from the prosecutor's own bonus...
If all else fails, lower your standards.
