Yup, in a true meritocracy, everybody would have the same starting position, which would mean, for example, that we introduce a 100% inheritance tax. Even then, nature is unfair with the skills it distributes. I therefore reject meritocracy. A much better alternative is to organize society in such a way, that everybody can contribute according to his or her skills and aptitude, and everybody is rewarded at least a decent income for that. Economically and technically we have the means to do so, only the political will and understanding is missing. (Reading tip: The Tyranny of Merit by Michael J. Sandel).
If you are talking about merit, you should also focus about what merits you actually want to look for and reward, because often, the merits that are rewarded are those that happen to be more prominently present in men -- which in itself is already discriminatory. This also means organizations do not function optimally, as perfectly illustrated in this article. If we refocus on what skills and personalities we actually want positively contribute to an organization, and recognize that diversity in itself has significant value (read Rebel Ideas by Mathew Syed), we don't even need discriminating methods to get a more diverse workplace.
With a proper understanding of who adds value, we don't get to hire only those minority people that show majority traits as token representatives to meet some arbitrary quota, which will not lead to a healthy viewpoint diversity, and that latter is what is actually called for.
Believing that this is an intentional tactic is grossly over-estimating the intelligence of those who cause the trouble in the first place, which is mostly short-sighted greed by people accidentally in positions of power (both inside and outside the country: in Syria, the Assad family aren't exactly known as friendly chaps with prudent forward looking policies either).
Also, if we have a shortage of skilled labor, there are much better ways to lure those in than creating a holy mess abroad. Just paying a better salary or creating better living conditions here already works.
Considering the anti-abortion law that was passed in Texas, and ignored by the Supreme Court, I wouldn't bet on what the American Taliban is willing to do to push through their agenda.
Joining such an outlet in a large number could be used to actually change the charter and remove all such bigoted ideas from it. Just make sure you get the majority.
Should have quoted a fee high enough to retire immediately after the case, because that is what such a case does with your reputation. And don't forget to require payment up-front.
I must vehemently oppose the idea of collecting information about a persons race, ethnic background or gender (point 2). I am actually in favor of a total ban for governments and legal entities to collect such information at all. These aspects are totally irrelevant for the social value or inventiveness of an invention, and by collecting such information, you further strengthen the forces that try to divide and separate people on such features, that is, you are actively promoting discrimination.
The lesson learned: you can never buy anything with DRM, until the DRM on the product is fully broken: it is rental at best.
Of the two crimes of supporting a business that uses unfair business practices or the infringement of copyrights held by the same business, the latter is clearly the lesser.
Lets reformulate that to "effectively commercially available, as shown by a the continued sale of copies to unrelated third parties, over which all applicable taxes have been paid."
I wouldn't agree with the statement that drugs are cheaper because of the huge amounts of money wasted on criminalizing and prosecuting it. It is more expensive because of it, and drug lords know that: they love the fact that it is illegal, because it increases the profit margins more than a hundred-fold. That is the lesson they learned in the Prohibition Era, and never forgot. Most common drugs cost next to nothing to produce, and, if it weren't for the artificial scarcity, combined with constant advertising accompanying enforcement of crazy laws, the stuff would be available for a few cents per dose, and probably less people would use it. The solution to the drugs-issue has the following ingredients: 1. decriminalize, and 2. de-commercialize: allow sale, but not advertising or profits (note how this is going wrong with the legalization of marijuana). Provide it at cost to those who want it. 3. Resolve the underlying social and psychological issues, this is the hardest part, but probably far cheaper than continuing on the senseless road we're on now.
That German word is "Idiot": perfectly understood by speakers of English as well, but if you want something with a more alien sound "Dummkopf" is also appropriate.
If properly done, taxes are on profits, and since profits are excess income over and above what is needed for a company to operate and recoup its costs, it can even be argued that higher taxes actually do more to induce companies to work hard. With low or non-existing taxes, they might very well become lazy with the status quo as long as the profits are high enough to make the shareholders happy -- especially if you also have the law-makers on board with a heavy dose of regulatory capture -- which is the real killer if you want to "foster growth."
Reality is always more amazing, more weird, and therefore more interesting but also more scary than fantasy, because it is not constrained by the limits of our imagination.
For most of us it is probably not that hard but pretty meaningless to put John Deere on your "never buy" status -- most of us are not in need of large tractors.
I did the same with Amazon 10 years ago, and at times it was frustrating, but never enough to break my rule. Sony is on my never buy list as well, but they have plenty of alternatives.
On the other hand, with their faithless behavior, they have demonstrated that self-regulation doesn't work, and right-to-repair laws are urgently necessary to force companies to behave properly -- and probably also lost some goodwill that could have helped to weaken future regulations.
On the post: A Guy Walks Into A Bra
Re: Re: myth and legands
Yup, in a true meritocracy, everybody would have the same starting position, which would mean, for example, that we introduce a 100% inheritance tax. Even then, nature is unfair with the skills it distributes. I therefore reject meritocracy. A much better alternative is to organize society in such a way, that everybody can contribute according to his or her skills and aptitude, and everybody is rewarded at least a decent income for that. Economically and technically we have the means to do so, only the political will and understanding is missing. (Reading tip: The Tyranny of Merit by Michael J. Sandel).
On the post: A Guy Walks Into A Bra
Re:
If you are talking about merit, you should also focus about what merits you actually want to look for and reward, because often, the merits that are rewarded are those that happen to be more prominently present in men -- which in itself is already discriminatory. This also means organizations do not function optimally, as perfectly illustrated in this article. If we refocus on what skills and personalities we actually want positively contribute to an organization, and recognize that diversity in itself has significant value (read Rebel Ideas by Mathew Syed), we don't even need discriminating methods to get a more diverse workplace.
With a proper understanding of who adds value, we don't get to hire only those minority people that show majority traits as token representatives to meet some arbitrary quota, which will not lead to a healthy viewpoint diversity, and that latter is what is actually called for.
On the post: Error 403: Syrians Blocked From Online Learning Platforms
Re:
Believing that this is an intentional tactic is grossly over-estimating the intelligence of those who cause the trouble in the first place, which is mostly short-sighted greed by people accidentally in positions of power (both inside and outside the country: in Syria, the Assad family aren't exactly known as friendly chaps with prudent forward looking policies either).
Also, if we have a shortage of skilled labor, there are much better ways to lure those in than creating a holy mess abroad. Just paying a better salary or creating better living conditions here already works.
On the post: GOP Hollowly Threatens To 'Shut Down' Telecom Companies For Cooperating With Legal January 6 Inquiries
Re: Re:
Agreed, that law is wrong on more than front.
On the post: GOP Hollowly Threatens To 'Shut Down' Telecom Companies For Cooperating With Legal January 6 Inquiries
Considering the anti-abortion law that was passed in Texas, and ignored by the Supreme Court, I wouldn't bet on what the American Taliban is willing to do to push through their agenda.
On the post: Fake 'U.S. Copyright Office' Imposter Gets Google To Delist URLs On Section 1201 Grounds
Wouldn't a fake imposter be the real thing pretending to be an imposter? That is how I read the title of this article. :-)
On the post: Appeals Court Denies Immunity To University Officials Who Apparently Banned A Christian Student Group Just Because They Didn't Like It
Re: Re: Good idea, abhorrent application
Joining such an outlet in a large number could be used to actually change the charter and remove all such bigoted ideas from it. Just make sure you get the majority.
On the post: Naturopath Sues Twitter After It Bans Her Account For Spreading Medical Misinformation
Re: Re: Re:
Should have quoted a fee high enough to retire immediately after the case, because that is what such a case does with your reputation. And don't forget to require payment up-front.
On the post: 10 Steps The Biden-Harris Administration Should Take To Bring Equity To Our Patent System
I must vehemently oppose the idea of collecting information about a persons race, ethnic background or gender (point 2). I am actually in favor of a total ban for governments and legal entities to collect such information at all. These aspects are totally irrelevant for the social value or inventiveness of an invention, and by collecting such information, you further strengthen the forces that try to divide and separate people on such features, that is, you are actively promoting discrimination.
On the post: DRM Strikes Again: Ubisoft Makes Its Own Game Unplayable By Shutting Down DRM Server
The lesson learned...
The lesson learned: you can never buy anything with DRM, until the DRM on the product is fully broken: it is rental at best.
Of the two crimes of supporting a business that uses unfair business practices or the infringement of copyrights held by the same business, the latter is clearly the lesser.
On the post: Upload Filters Will Always Be A Bad Idea, But Germany's New Implementation Of Article 17 Is An Attempt To Provide Some Protection For Users, Which Others May Follow
Re:
Lets reformulate that to "effectively commercially available, as shown by a the continued sale of copies to unrelated third parties, over which all applicable taxes have been paid."
On the post: Lying NYPD Narcotics Detective Just Cost Prosecutors Nearly 100 Convictions
I wouldn't agree with the statement that drugs are cheaper because of the huge amounts of money wasted on criminalizing and prosecuting it. It is more expensive because of it, and drug lords know that: they love the fact that it is illegal, because it increases the profit margins more than a hundred-fold. That is the lesson they learned in the Prohibition Era, and never forgot. Most common drugs cost next to nothing to produce, and, if it weren't for the artificial scarcity, combined with constant advertising accompanying enforcement of crazy laws, the stuff would be available for a few cents per dose, and probably less people would use it. The solution to the drugs-issue has the following ingredients: 1. decriminalize, and 2. de-commercialize: allow sale, but not advertising or profits (note how this is going wrong with the legalization of marijuana). Provide it at cost to those who want it. 3. Resolve the underlying social and psychological issues, this is the hardest part, but probably far cheaper than continuing on the senseless road we're on now.
On the post: Parler Forced To Explain The First Amendment To Its Users After They Complain About Parler Turning Over Info To The FBI
That German word is "Idiot": perfectly understood by speakers of English as well, but if you want something with a more alien sound "Dummkopf" is also appropriate.
On the post: Senator Elizabeth Warren Goes Over The Line; Threatens To Punish Amazon For 'Snotty Tweets'
Re: Re: Way to shoot your own foot there Warren
If properly done, taxes are on profits, and since profits are excess income over and above what is needed for a company to operate and recoup its costs, it can even be argued that higher taxes actually do more to induce companies to work hard. With low or non-existing taxes, they might very well become lazy with the status quo as long as the profits are high enough to make the shareholders happy -- especially if you also have the law-makers on board with a heavy dose of regulatory capture -- which is the real killer if you want to "foster growth."
On the post: Life Imitates Art: Warren Spector Says He Wouldn't Make 'Deus Ex' In Today's Toxic Climate
Reality is always more amazing, more weird, and therefore more interesting but also more scary than fantasy, because it is not constrained by the limits of our imagination.
On the post: DMCA Complaint Claims Copyright On The Word 'Outstanding', Wants Entries From Top Dictionaries De-Listed From Google
I want to copyright the word copyright, and then forbid everyone from using it.
On the post: John Deere Promised To Back Off Monopolizing Repair. It Then Ignored That Promise Completely.
Re:
For most of us it is probably not that hard but pretty meaningless to put John Deere on your "never buy" status -- most of us are not in need of large tractors.
I did the same with Amazon 10 years ago, and at times it was frustrating, but never enough to break my rule. Sony is on my never buy list as well, but they have plenty of alternatives.
On the post: John Deere Promised To Back Off Monopolizing Repair. It Then Ignored That Promise Completely.
Re:
On the other hand, with their faithless behavior, they have demonstrated that self-regulation doesn't work, and right-to-repair laws are urgently necessary to force companies to behave properly -- and probably also lost some goodwill that could have helped to weaken future regulations.
On the post: A 90 Year Old Shouldn't Have To Buy A $10,000 Ad Just To Get AT&T To Upgrade His Shitty DSL Line
Re: AT&T wrecking sports as well
If their greed kills this business, and kids in poor families go out to play the games instead of watching them, that would actually be a big win.
On the post: Latest Anti-Accountability Move By Cops Involves Playing Music While Being Recorded In Hopes Of Triggering Copyright Takedowns
Playing music in public is also copyright infringement, so they should turn this against them and sue those people. Evidence is clearly available.
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