> it's simply that hardness and flexibility are orthogonal axes

I'm afraid they're not orthogonal: they're negatively correlated. The harder a a substance, typically the less flexible it is likely to be.

I'm afraid that "working harder" has not translated to controlling the bloat of undesired features (of which I'm afraid HTML 5 is a major one), crashing frequently, and memory leaks. I'm quite unhappy with its performance in the last two years.

> For example if the manager is very hands-on, goes into the details, produces proper mock-ups, flow diagrams, and everything is properly documented

Then I'm afraid that nothing will get done, because the "proper mockups" take so much time to develop and build that they literally lock up all management time and prevent the developers from being able to write even a single line of code that actually does anything not already hand-written by management.

This kind of fraud is much like multi-level marketers and other spammers.I'm afraid that those fradulent companies which are even less traceable, and have overseas offices to avoid US prosecution, will fill the ecological niche very quickly.

Unless the universe has a modest net charge. You'd get localized charge cancellation, but even the slightest charge imbalance would have profound effects on an interstellar scale. Even a charge imbalance far too small to detect in any ordinary, solar system contained instrumentation would have enormous effects in the long-term history of the universe.

It is something to think about.

> Good writing eliminates ambiguity

I'm afraid not in most fields. Good writing, in general, entertains or enlightens the reader. Part of the point of poetry is to _condense_ meaning into as small a message as feasible. The result is inevitable ambiguity.

Good _scientific_ writing, like good engineering documentation, is a bit unusual in its need for clear, unambiguous messages.

Any reported locations on comets yet?

                          http://io9.com/xkcd-animates-t...

> Firefox existed before it was a huge business and it will still exist if the huge business aspect falls apart.

I'm afraid it's gotten too large to maintain as a normal freeware project. It has too many platforms, with far too much extraneous bloatware that must be tested and operate correctly to run on a normal freeware shoe string.

How would this be different from current law in most, if not all, nations?

That could be well worth checking. They'd also tend to share the same fetal hormones and biochemistry from their mother.

It's also not "free". If you don't buy drinks or tip the girls, you're asked to leave the club.

Note that this also does makes a real legal difference. The regulations for products or services that you _sell_ tend to be very different than those which may apply to personal activity or political speech.

It certainly can be "the state's damn business", when the "nose picking" is in food preparation areas or in hospital wards where infections are a large risk. Look up the history of "Typhoid Mary" and the resulting changes in food preparation regulations and laws. It's also the state's business when "sugary carbonated drinks" lie about their ingredients or their health benefits, such as selling aspartame based diet soda past its "sell by date", or making fraudulent health claims for "acai berries". You may not remember that multi-level marketing scam, I certainly do.

"Innocent until proven guilty" is a legal practice that is documented from the Roman Empire and many civilizations since then. It is not a particularly American principle. The presumption of innocence has _never_ been taken as an excuse to discard all regulation of workplace activity, including simple employment itself in the USA. Employment normally requires an I-9 form to verify visa status to work.

> Actually, there is. Its to keep underage dancers and those with criminal (prostitution) records out of the clubs.

I'd be much more concerned about convictions for theft or violence.

There are other, sensible reasons for such a law. Many strippers engage in prostitution, and many have a history of drug problems. Education and safety training, and simple disease control, can be profoundly eased by reaching out to the registered strippers. It's also a way to check the age of employees, and try to keep children, especially runaways, out of that dangerous line of work.

Such a registry is certainly subject to abuse. Sex workers are certainly subject to stalking, and many families or former sexual partners who would harass or even endanger them. Others are just trying to make ends meet to take care of family and don't want their families to discover how they're paying the bills.

It's also well worth a Nobel prize and the gratitude of millions of people worldwide.