Are you schizophrenic?

"It may not be the most effective, but it is the most common by far. Shaming performance "meetings", stern "talking-to" and threats of poor performance reviews are the standard motivational tools. Bonuses, free pizza and beer on fridays, and the occasional "attaboy" are far and few between, from my experience."

No argument here, that is definitely the most common, despite the fact that I don't think it works.

Also, sometimes someone can play the "asshole" role (strict or no-nonsense project management) without it being a completely negative reinforcement. Someone needs to stay focused on the overall objective and unfortunately has to "crack the whip" once in a while to remind others to stay focused as well.

Granted, it's a fine line. Unfortunately for Linux, Linus is incompetent at that aspect of his job.

You don't know what an "assumption" is, do you...

"I've worked with some people who pretty much *had* to play the a**hole in their job-role at times."

The problem with this philosophy is it assumes, without adequate proof, that negative reinforcement is the most effective way of managing people.

Whoa, hold the phone there, bubba. The federal defender's office is elite; when a position opens up experienced lawyers with Ivy League educations fight each other for the job. While not as adequately funded as US attorneys' offices they aren't on a shoestring budget. Speaking as an experienced lawyer myself I would take a federal public defender any day of the week if I was charged.

That's the thing, from what I read he WAS prepared for this. Wasn't this an act of civil disobedience, which by its very nature requires the person doing it publicly accept punishment?

I am not signing the petition myself for a variety of reasons, but I do note that district attorneys and their subordinates are part of the executive branch, not the judiciary, and can be removed from office anytime.

Since he was charged with something that could result in that much jail time he was also entitled to a federal public defender if he couldn't afford his own lawyer.

I think you're on to something, I have worked in both IT and law and both fields seem to have a higher than average incidence of people with little or no empathy.

It takes a special kind of artist to draw something for 10 years and not get any better.

I AM a trial lawyer.

Free speech incorporates the right not to say things just as much as it incorporates the right to say things. YouTube should be allowed to determine what it is saying on its network just as much as the creator of the video should on whatever channels it controls. EFF is wrong about this.

Wow that may be the most incorrect series of assertions I have seen on slashdot for years, and that's saying something. Judges and juries really don't care how much you spend on lawyers, they care about what you present to them in court.

"we have a right to civial disobediene, we are not counterfitters or criminals, just dissidents"

Only if you break the law openly and accept the punishment willingly.

It might be redundant but he/she typed the sentence really fast.