I can confirm that S. Korea and Sweden have better service than us. In fact, my trips out of the US have helped me realize that other countries aren't catching up to our standard of living. Many have already surpassed the US.

Your boss is a retard.

I'm guessing you don't think cops are power hungry assholes because you're a WASP.

I live in Berkeley so I know about the Bart and broken glass situation. Bart cop had a concussion and needed sto itches. The drunk asshole just had some minor cuts. This goes along with the Bart story that the drunk wasn't neccesarily the one whose face broke that glass.

The vast majority are *not* scumbags. Many inmates are nonviolent drug offender such as myself.

Being homeless on public property may be a crime, but have you ever been homeless? I have. It sucks getting cops come up to you, handcuff you, search through all your shit for crack or whatever, then tell you you're not legally allowed to exist there for the night. This has happened to me on multiple occasions. When I asked the cop where I could spend the nigh, I was told not within the county border. Do you understand how shitty this is? Just because being homeless is a crime doesn't mean you can have zero compassion for "law breakers." Seriously, do you know how much it sucks to be homeless???

It's fact that the US is falling behind techonolgy wise and infrastructure wise. We don't have the best cell phones, or good internet access, or a highway system that's in good shape. Most of our energy is from coal and oil. Compare to ther counties that have modern nuclear power plants. Hell, we quit our own particle accelerated program and now cutting edge science is done at the LHC. I don't need the US to be the best, but I don't want the country to seem run down after a couple of decades of not moving forward.

Past evidence shows what is likely here. I know this doesn't have anything to do directly with music, but corporations have taken over the government. They insist on having the same rights as a human being, yet when it comes to punishments they know they can get away with murder.

If I had attempted to root kit even a small fraction of the PCs that Sony did, or commit copyright infringement on a much much smaller scale than what this story talks about, I would be ruined. I would lose all my possessions, probably be thrown in jail, unable to contribute to society, and disconnected from social ties. But we all know that these record companies won't be drastically hurt by this. Besides, the executives have already given themselves bonuses and spent the money on blow, or whatever else it is that these people spend millions on.

No one is going to jail over this. The industry will not be hurt. And no lessons will be learned.

You don't have to pay to go to Salon? News to me. I haven't visited that site for at least a couple of years.

My fee to friends and family is generally a six pack of beer. If I'm not in the mood, or if it's just the user not learning how to not screw up his system, then my fee is a 12 pack. People usually figure it out before I start charging a keg per repair.