People complain that our public school system is ineffective at teaching our nation's children, but I'm beginning to think those people are mistaken about what the school system is intending to teach.
They fail at teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, to be sure, but if their goal is teaching children blind obedience to authority, they are very much succeeding.
1. This doesn't imply that those members who voted to push the merger through were only doing so because they received contributions. People tend to support politicians who support them. That's not necessarily corruption.
2. It says nothing about the % of other senators who received money and did not sign the letter.
I know where you're trying to go, but this:
whether or not there is actual corruption here obscures the point that it certainly looks corrupt
Strikes me as a bit silly. Statistics can be used to support any position you like, depending on how you frame it and define your terms. Therefore, any statistic can be made to make an arbitrary group of politicians look corrupt.
I'm not saying politicians aren't corrupt, but this kind of simple correlation adds nothing interesting to the debate on its own.
If a door is locked, no matter how weak the lock, pushing it open is still breaking and entering.
The user would have to have some inkling that there were doing something untoward for this to be a valid analogy.
It's more like being arrested for trespassing when walking through a public park, because you accidentally crossed into private territory. However, there were no doors, no fences, and no signs stating where one ended and the other began.
(However, the judge finds you guilty because, unbeknown to you, the owner put a "No Trespassing" sign on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of The Leopard".)
Well, they have exactly zero evidence of any cheating having occurred, except for the idea they just manifested in their own minds, so clearly the unethical nature of the developers is a solid fact.
I think you are confusing two different (but related) concepts.
H.264 is just a codec to compress/decompress video (like Theora, which Google is pushing as an open alternative to H.264).
The thing that allows you to interact with the video (popup ads, floating comments and links by the video creator, etc.) is not the codec used, but the wrapper around the video content. Currently, the most widely-used wrapper for video is this little known, oft-overlooked piece of software made by Adobe, called "Flash". :)
Google is pushing WebM as an alternative wrapper, and Theora as an alternative encoder.
Neither of these will give Google the ability to do anything new, to my knowledge (other than avoid paying millions in royalties to MPEG-LA for the use of H.264 patents)
Actually, there is also no way to "prove" that autism isn't caused by vaccines.
The best you can do, scientifically, is to say "There is currently no proof that vaccines cause autism", much like you can only say "There is currently no proof that God exists."
Ostensibly machines are overseen/tested by the state to ensure that they don't defraud the customer (i.e. never pay out), but it does make you wonder: how would you know if one did?
It's easy for a casino to claim that your winning is a software glitch, and therefore not valid, but who's going to stand up and claim that your losing is a software glitch?
On the post: Indoctrinating Children To Hate Freedom Of The Press?
Not The Only Example
They fail at teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, to be sure, but if their goal is teaching children blind obedience to authority, they are very much succeeding.
On the post: Still Trying To Track Down Who Controls Patent Used Against Reddit, Digg, Fark, Slashdot & TechCrunch
Re:
On the post: Goldman Sachs Says Facebook Offer Barred From US Investors, Blames NYT's For Making Plans Public
Another Example
Maybe I'd like to invest in a risky investment? Barring me from doing so merely because "I might get tricked" is pretty lame.
On the post: Big Record Label 'Innovation': Actually Release Songs For Sale The Same Time They Hit The Radio
Reminds Me Of . . .
It's cute how proud they are of themselves.
Congratulations on moving into 10 years ago guys!
On the post: Big Record Label 'Innovation': Actually Release Songs For Sale The Same Time They Hit The Radio
Re:
[Citation Needed]. Mike never said either one of those. I'll say it though: Those guys are complete idiots.
Wow, another amazing day in TD-land.
"They see me trollin', they hatin'."
On the post: No, Just Because A Site Contains 'Academic' 'Advantage' & 'Scam' On The Same Page, It Is Not Defamation Against Academic Advantage
Getting Their Money's Worth, No doubt
On the post: 82-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Demands Apology From Airport Security Over Screening
The Goal is Not Safety
Just because it's not physically possible for you to comply is no excuse. Obey or be punished.
On the post: New Study Shows As More People Talk While Driving, Accidents Are Dropping
Re: Seriously.
I am hard pressed to think of any kind of legislation that should not be "talked about".
On the post: Amazon Sued For Copyright, Design Patent, Trademark & Trade Dress Infringement Due To Marketplace Seller
Re: Re: Re: Mint's legal team acted properly.
And lawyers wonder why people hate them so.
On the post: Interview With Nina Paley: The More You Share, The More Valuable Your Works Become
Re:
Using your music to sell a plastic disk = good.
Using your music to sell a t-shirt = bad.
Got it.
On the post: What Corruption Looks Like: 87% Of Congressional Reps Supporting Comcast/NBC Merger Got Money From Comcast
Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: What Corruption Looks Like: 87% Of Congressional Reps Supporting Comcast/NBC Merger Got Money From Comcast
Re:
Fixed that for you.
On the post: What Corruption Looks Like: 87% Of Congressional Reps Supporting Comcast/NBC Merger Got Money From Comcast
Hmmm, Not Enough To Draw Conclusions
1. This doesn't imply that those members who voted to push the merger through were only doing so because they received contributions. People tend to support politicians who support them. That's not necessarily corruption.
2. It says nothing about the % of other senators who received money and did not sign the letter.
I know where you're trying to go, but this:
whether or not there is actual corruption here obscures the point that it certainly looks corrupt
Strikes me as a bit silly. Statistics can be used to support any position you like, depending on how you frame it and define your terms. Therefore, any statistic can be made to make an arbitrary group of politicians look corrupt.
I'm not saying politicians aren't corrupt, but this kind of simple correlation adds nothing interesting to the debate on its own.
On the post: Deep Linking Could Be Infringement In Germany If Website Puts Even Ridiculous Weak Attempts To Block It
Re:
The user would have to have some inkling that there were doing something untoward for this to be a valid analogy.
It's more like being arrested for trespassing when walking through a public park, because you accidentally crossed into private territory. However, there were no doors, no fences, and no signs stating where one ended and the other began.
(However, the judge finds you guilty because, unbeknown to you, the owner put a "No Trespassing" sign on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of The Leopard".)
On the post: First Test Of Computer Jeopardy Player Goes Well; Watson Beats Mere Humans
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Clearly.
On the post: Rock & A Hard Place: Will Google Dropping H.264 Lead To Antitrust Questions?
Re:
H.264 is just a codec to compress/decompress video (like Theora, which Google is pushing as an open alternative to H.264).
The thing that allows you to interact with the video (popup ads, floating comments and links by the video creator, etc.) is not the codec used, but the wrapper around the video content. Currently, the most widely-used wrapper for video is this little known, oft-overlooked piece of software made by Adobe, called "Flash". :)
Google is pushing WebM as an alternative wrapper, and Theora as an alternative encoder.
Neither of these will give Google the ability to do anything new, to my knowledge (other than avoid paying millions in royalties to MPEG-LA for the use of H.264 patents)
On the post: Amazon Sued For Copyright, Design Patent, Trademark & Trade Dress Infringement Due To Marketplace Seller
Re: Mint's legal team acted properly.
Yikes.
On the post: Press Realizing That Treatment Of Bradley Manning Is Indefensible
Re: Re: Re:
Troll better.
On the post: The Amazing Ability Of People To Simply Ignore Data That Proves What They Believe Is Wrong
Re: Re:
The best you can do, scientifically, is to say "There is currently no proof that vaccines cause autism", much like you can only say "There is currently no proof that God exists."
On the post: Is Figuring Out A Slot Machine Software Glitch & Making Money From It A Crime?
Re:
It's easy for a casino to claim that your winning is a software glitch, and therefore not valid, but who's going to stand up and claim that your losing is a software glitch?
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