not to mention many people have got so used to having governments that fail utterly to represent them that they conclude, on some level, that they pay taxes as, essentially, the cost of services, and that legislation is utterly irrelevant to how they live their lives.
a lot of people who would be in a position to oppose things like this are probably of the mindset of 'well, nothing i say's going to be taken seriously because i don't have the resources to back it up, and given that i can simply bypass the whole thing it's not worth the effort to bother trying'
i want to be amused by this comment and outraged by it at the same time... and i can't quite pin down Why. (well, not in my current sleep deprived state anyway)
good points... while mocking valid points... or something?
if it's a republican or democrat you're just going to get the same crap again... just comes in a different coloured wrapper.
then there's the unelected bureaucracy who actually run most of the government. (NZ partially solves this issue by requiring all ministers (department heads, i guess?) be chosen from the elected legislature... this, of course, works just fine... so long as your Head of State doesn't abdicate all the responsibility of his office in favour of the 'tradition' of doing whatever the hell the head of government says... the head of government being chosen by the head of state by the 'tradition' of picking the leader of the largest party... condensed pet rant right there.)
his point about the impossibility of actually having a candidate presented as an option who is in anyway an improvement does stand though.
the US system is set up so as to make the votes worthless on every level. even ignoring everything else, the Elites choose who you get to choose between.
Stalin, i think it was, said something to the effect of 'it matters not who the people vote for, it only matters that the vote was taken, and who counts the votes' this is true enough, but the modern US is more like 'it matters not who counts the votes, only who chooses who may be voted for'
... this is true of every representative democracy with a party system, actually, but the USA is a particularly bad example.
... ok, seriously, you guys need to isolate whatever vector is used to transmit this utter Stupidity is that makes so many Americans think EVERYTHING is about republicans vs democrats.
what password? it's voicemail. it's tied to a physical device which is associated with a phone number.
this comment sounds like it's trying to insinuate something to undermine someone's point... but it honestly doesn't make enough sense to do anything but make it look like you don't know what you're talking about.
mm. unfortunately, a Lack of government rapidly leads to might makes right, which...
ok, long story short, anarchy breads warlordism breeds either feudalism or dictatorship, which either shift into a more representative system (dictatorship faster than feudalism if it wants to survive) or breed revolt leading to a representative system.
(note that Any of these stages other than anarchy can be called a monarchy if the highest position is hereditary)
the earlier points in that path are Always more brutal and oppressive.
the main problem here is that the USA has a plutocratic oligarchy running the show. it is NEVER in their best interests to act in ways that are most beneficial to the nation as a whole, let alone the general public. it's all about the short term profits for shareholders, getting the money for the next election... no long term planning at all and no understanding of what happens on the ground when actions are taken at the top level.
the main thing that enables a government to lose touch with that which is governed, and inevitably slide back into more oppressive methods, is bureaucracy.
Bureaucracy is the buffer between the government and reality. you want as little of it as possible while still allowing everything to function. it's not the Only problem, but it goes a long way towards making everything else harder to fix.
because that would increase the odds of them actually employing the one method of getting their point accross that'll ever get anywhere: armed revolt.
the whole point in 'representative democracy', including the USA's utter bastardization of the concept, is stability. based on a myth. to cease even pretending to believe the myth is to undermine the entire structure.
see, you make a lot of good points here. i actually agree with a lot of them.
problem: Iran's Leadership, at least, is made up of "crazed religious fanatics" (or at least a couple right at the top and a number who find it to their advantage to exploit that.) it tends to colour perception of the nation as a whole (much as the US's disastrous monument to plutocratic oligarchy their leadership tries to pass off as a 'democracy' and it's ridiculous behaviour tend to colour perception of the United States of America as a whole)
this was pretty much my thought.
'yay for getting busted on that... but... isn't that basically standard behaviour for collection societies in general?'
i guess the issue here is that they were using non-standard means of getting that money into their pockets, rather than just conspiring with their superiors to get insane payouts for finding more ways to screw everyone over.
because to really pull those off require the silly troll to play along. this one doesn't, is horribly insulting, and fits the general tone of the entire post.
(my opinion, anyway. dunno if it was Jacob's reasoning :D)
to be fair, he did say Regional super power, and the middle east isn't exactly the global peak in that regard. not that i know all that much about the countries in the middle east except that they keep loosing when they attempt to invade Israel.
any particular reason you can't seem to spell 'fuck'? or 'shit' for that matter.
also, hurray for insults that, in English, either get you laughed at or immediately and violently beaten, depending on the nature of the person insulted and proximity. (i mean, seriously, they're pretty bad, but at the same time, they sound completely ridiculous. )
in other news: we need more 'do not feed the trolls' signs. or possibly an automatic troll feeder. *ponders possibilities*
worst insult in this entire post? the implication that I'm an American :P
actually, most postal systems have rules against 'cash in a plain envelope' starting with 'if someone steals it, it's not our problem' and ranging up to 'will not be delivered' or possibly even 'yeah, thanks for the money'
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On the post: Dear People Of Australia: If You Don't Want Widespread Gov't Censorship Of The Internet, Speak Up Now
Re:
a lot of people who would be in a position to oppose things like this are probably of the mindset of 'well, nothing i say's going to be taken seriously because i don't have the resources to back it up, and given that i can simply bypass the whole thing it's not worth the effort to bother trying'
On the post: Dear People Of Australia: If You Don't Want Widespread Gov't Censorship Of The Internet, Speak Up Now
Re: Re: Don't tase me, bro!
good points... while mocking valid points... or something?
On the post: The Latest Attempt By The Obama Administration To Punish Whistleblowers
Re: Whistleblowing
if it's a republican or democrat you're just going to get the same crap again... just comes in a different coloured wrapper.
then there's the unelected bureaucracy who actually run most of the government. (NZ partially solves this issue by requiring all ministers (department heads, i guess?) be chosen from the elected legislature... this, of course, works just fine... so long as your Head of State doesn't abdicate all the responsibility of his office in favour of the 'tradition' of doing whatever the hell the head of government says... the head of government being chosen by the head of state by the 'tradition' of picking the leader of the largest party... condensed pet rant right there.)
On the post: The Latest Attempt By The Obama Administration To Punish Whistleblowers
Re: Re: Angry sheeple = still sheeple
On the post: The Latest Attempt By The Obama Administration To Punish Whistleblowers
Re: Re: Re: Support for....
the US system is set up so as to make the votes worthless on every level. even ignoring everything else, the Elites choose who you get to choose between.
Stalin, i think it was, said something to the effect of 'it matters not who the people vote for, it only matters that the vote was taken, and who counts the votes' this is true enough, but the modern US is more like 'it matters not who counts the votes, only who chooses who may be voted for'
... this is true of every representative democracy with a party system, actually, but the USA is a particularly bad example.
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Re: Re: Seriously...
On the post: The Latest Attempt By The Obama Administration To Punish Whistleblowers
Re: antisec
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Re:
this comment sounds like it's trying to insinuate something to undermine someone's point... but it honestly doesn't make enough sense to do anything but make it look like you don't know what you're talking about.
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Re: You get Rich by pleasing millions of dolts.
it also sounds amusingly communist.
On the post: The Latest Attempt By The Obama Administration To Punish Whistleblowers
Re:
ok, long story short, anarchy breads warlordism breeds either feudalism or dictatorship, which either shift into a more representative system (dictatorship faster than feudalism if it wants to survive) or breed revolt leading to a representative system.
(note that Any of these stages other than anarchy can be called a monarchy if the highest position is hereditary)
the earlier points in that path are Always more brutal and oppressive.
the main problem here is that the USA has a plutocratic oligarchy running the show. it is NEVER in their best interests to act in ways that are most beneficial to the nation as a whole, let alone the general public. it's all about the short term profits for shareholders, getting the money for the next election... no long term planning at all and no understanding of what happens on the ground when actions are taken at the top level.
the main thing that enables a government to lose touch with that which is governed, and inevitably slide back into more oppressive methods, is bureaucracy.
Bureaucracy is the buffer between the government and reality. you want as little of it as possible while still allowing everything to function. it's not the Only problem, but it goes a long way towards making everything else harder to fix.
On the post: The Latest Attempt By The Obama Administration To Punish Whistleblowers
Re: Why...
the whole point in 'representative democracy', including the USA's utter bastardization of the concept, is stability. based on a myth. to cease even pretending to believe the myth is to undermine the entire structure.
....
i don't see that as a bad thing.
On the post: Iran Declares Victory Over Internet-In-A-Suitcase
Re: Re: "product in question isn't even completely out of R&D yet"
perhaps the author's name needs to be displayed more prominently?
On the post: Iran Declares Victory Over Internet-In-A-Suitcase
Re: Remember the lies about Iraq?
problem: Iran's Leadership, at least, is made up of "crazed religious fanatics" (or at least a couple right at the top and a number who find it to their advantage to exploit that.) it tends to colour perception of the nation as a whole (much as the US's disastrous monument to plutocratic oligarchy their leadership tries to pass off as a 'democracy' and it's ridiculous behaviour tend to colour perception of the United States of America as a whole)
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Re: Typica
'yay for getting busted on that... but... isn't that basically standard behaviour for collection societies in general?'
i guess the issue here is that they were using non-standard means of getting that money into their pockets, rather than just conspiring with their superiors to get insane payouts for finding more ways to screw everyone over.
On the post: Iran Declares Victory Over Internet-In-A-Suitcase
Re: Re: Re: Idiots
(my opinion, anyway. dunno if it was Jacob's reasoning :D)
On the post: Iran Declares Victory Over Internet-In-A-Suitcase
Re: Re:
On the post: Iran Declares Victory Over Internet-In-A-Suitcase
Re:
On the post: Iran Declares Victory Over Internet-In-A-Suitcase
Re: Idiots
also, hurray for insults that, in English, either get you laughed at or immediately and violently beaten, depending on the nature of the person insulted and proximity. (i mean, seriously, they're pretty bad, but at the same time, they sound completely ridiculous. )
in other news: we need more 'do not feed the trolls' signs. or possibly an automatic troll feeder. *ponders possibilities*
worst insult in this entire post? the implication that I'm an American :P
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