Comment Re:Couples where one partner says, "Well yeah but" (Score 1) 447
How about if one says;
"No divorce" does not equal "long-term stable marriage". It can equally mean "long-term nightmare marriage".
Comment Re:Or... (Score 1) 191
Somehow I don't think your average drug cartel cares about the distinction between helping the DEA, and appearing to help the DEA.
Comment Re:Trading Freedom for Security? (Score 1) 264
I'm really looking forward to the date when a politician makes a speech regarding the end of these temporary "for some time to come" shifts.
Happily, we have reached the point where the authorities no longer need these measures. So we will be putting and end to what we always suggested was only a temporary inconvenience. We are freely relinquishing these powers and the balance between freedom and security is restored."
Somehow I doubt this will ever happen and I can't remember it ever happening before. Funny that, isn't it?
Comment Re:uhm (Score 1) 66
This is down to the magic of perception. As demonstrated by the Checker shadow illusion. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C... )
Your wall is most certainly green, but your brain sees it as white.
Comment Re:What do you expect? (Score 1) 367
The purpose of testing is to collect data about the system itself and how it operates in end user environments; this is collecting information about the end users themselves rather than just the machine
The end user is part of the end user environment. Some would even say they're the most important part of it.
This is a non-story. If you don't want your Windows 10 use to be monitored then maybe don't enroll in a program for testing Windows 10, and don't use it for your everyday computing.
Comment Re:Uh seriously? (Score 1) 71
How about "can I check my email to see if the delivery of anti-malaria medicine for my village is on its way" ?
Or "can I send an email to offer my crop for sale" ?
Comment Re:Funny (Score 1) 261
I don't think those figures demonstrate what you think they demonstrate. They still show that the average American produces twice as much carbon as the average Chinese.
Obama Presses China On Global Warming 261
HughPickens.com writes: The NY Times reports that President Obama spoke at the United Nations Climate Change Summit and challenged China to make the same effort to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions and join a worldwide campaign to curb global warming. Obama's words were directly focused on putting the onus on China, an essential partner of the U.S. if a global climate treaty is to be negotiated by 2015. The U.S. and China bear a "special responsibility to lead," said Obama. "That's what big nations have to do." The U.S., Obama said, would meet a pledge to reduce its carbon emissions by 17 percent, from 2005 levels, by 2020 — a goal that is in large part expected to be met through proposed EPA regulation.
There were indications that China might be ready with its own plan, although many experts say they will be skeptical until Chinese officials reveal the details. A senior Chinese official said his country would try to reach a peak level of carbon emissions "as early as possible." This suggests the Chinese government, struggling with air pollution so extreme that it has threatened economic growth, regularly kept millions of children indoors and ignited street protests, was determined to show faster progress in curbing emissions. In recent years, the Chinese government has sent other signals about addressing carbon pollution, some of them encouraging to environmental experts. "Five years ago, it was almost unimaginable to discuss China putting a cap on carbon, but now that is happening," said Lo Sze Ping, chief executive officer of the World Wildlife Fund's office in Beijing. "Chinese leaders have seen that it is imperative to move toward a low-carbon economy."
There were indications that China might be ready with its own plan, although many experts say they will be skeptical until Chinese officials reveal the details. A senior Chinese official said his country would try to reach a peak level of carbon emissions "as early as possible." This suggests the Chinese government, struggling with air pollution so extreme that it has threatened economic growth, regularly kept millions of children indoors and ignited street protests, was determined to show faster progress in curbing emissions. In recent years, the Chinese government has sent other signals about addressing carbon pollution, some of them encouraging to environmental experts. "Five years ago, it was almost unimaginable to discuss China putting a cap on carbon, but now that is happening," said Lo Sze Ping, chief executive officer of the World Wildlife Fund's office in Beijing. "Chinese leaders have seen that it is imperative to move toward a low-carbon economy."
Comment Re:Why do they take the risk? (Score 1) 144
But in this case, TPB are making money. Lots of it.
But I'm sure they're happy for you to suggest nobler causes for their business model.
Comment Re:This is bullshit from start to finish (Score 1) 494
but it would certainly be rational for us to impose one to pay for the cost of maintaining roads to enable good to travel to and from Scotland.
Well this has to be the stupidest idea here.
Does France charge Spain for the cost of maintaining roads to and from Spain? Or do they maybe realise that roads go both ways, as does the goods on it.
Comment Re:stupid fear mongering (Score 1) 494
Luxembourg, Switzerland , Liechtenstein, Monaco and Norway all have a good credit history. That's all the banks care about. Scotland, on the other hand, would be the equivalent of an 18 year old with no credit history. That makes it, as far as the banks are concerned, an unknown risk. Banks do not like unknown risks.
Comment Re:Scotland third time lucky (Score 1) 494
In 1914 Scotland voted for independence from the UK
No such thing occurred. All you can say is that some in Scotland voted for a party which had a policy of Scottish home rule. That party then prepared a bill, which didn't propose independence, only devolution. Unfortunately the First World War intervened before it progressed through parliament. By the end of hostilities there was no appetite from anyone to restart the process.
some dodgy rule dictated that at least 40% of the total registered electorate had to vote for devolution, and even though they got the majority winning by 51.62% Yes to 48.38% No the vote was overturned because the vote was overturned because the Yes vote comprised only 32.9% of the total possible vote
I think it's quite a sound policy that only 32.9% of the electorate shouldn't be deciding what happens to the country. Particularly when people were told before the vote that not voting was equivalent to voting no. Think of it like this; 48.38% of those who voted made the effort to vote no, when they actually didn't have to do a thing. And those who did need to make the effort (the ones who wanted a change) only amounted to less than a third of the population.
Comment Re:Wait, these are for real? (Score 1) 72
If only there was an answer to your questions. Perhaps some reliable source on the subject could publish details on it that we could link to. We could then RTFA.
Comment Re:Obvious (Score 1) 73
Coffee mornings. Plotting coffee mornings. Getting a nice cup of tea and a lovely moist bit of cake, not blown up.
I hate it when people get these things confused.
Comment Re:BTW, this proves piracy is irrelevant for artis (Score 1) 610
I don't think you can compare the two. Radio play is a degraded, time limited, copy that takes effort to replicate. If you like what you hear there are plenty of incentives to buy your a copy that will suffer from none of these limitations. A copied MP3, on the other hand, is available always, pristine and effortless. Once it is available for free there are no limitations to it and no further incentive to buy a copy.
