Like all people, some have a sense of fairness, some don't.
The problem is that business schools teach that fairness has no place in corporate management. So those with a sense of fairness get talked out of it (most of them), and those with a sense of fairness don't get hired for management positions (because biz school said that's inappropriate).
The problem is mostly with "professional" managers - they're the ones with the MBAs.
Business schools are evil.
Corporations run by founders and family usually show a sense of fairness.
I once went to a Halloween party dressed as a paranoid schizophrenic. I even wrapped my cellphone with foil (the bars really do disappear, even if you leave a hole to see them).
Turns out tinfoil hats are really *hot*. Uncomfortable indoors.
If the FBI goes around claiming they're the AP as part of an investigation, I'd think after a while AP would have trouble doing real reporting - sources would think the reporter might be a FBI agent.
This would seem to do real harm to AP's business. Something they should be able to claim compensation from.
This is the sort of thing that gives capitalism a bad name
...which is not entirely fair, as people can be asshats in any system, and eventually the market does "reward" such people in the same way that they "serve" the customer.
But those wheels of karma can turn slow.
The solution of course is to buy somebody else's printers.
And the people who post at TechDirt are well above average in intelligence and education. (And propensity to spout, of course.)
This is what the human race is like. Has always been like. Most people are clueless about most things.
This is the challenge for democracy - how do you get reasonable decisions out of people who on average don't know much about anything? Decisions that are not only reasonable, but also acceptable to most people (so you don't get a revolution, even if it's a revolution of idiots).
I suppose there may be some people who open margin accounts without having any idea what they're doing or reading anything about how they work (let alone the actual agreement they sign).
But anybody who does even a little research before doing this stuff learns how it works. It is in no way any kind of secret.
The SEC makes every broker who offers margin accounts (where your stock can be borrowed by a short seller) send all kinds of info to the customer to inform them.
I don't know what more you want. If people insist on paying no attention to what they're doing, of course they're going to be ignorant.
Yes. A "naked" short is when the short seller doesn't own a call option on the stock.
They still borrow the stock and sell it. They're called "naked" because they're 100% exposed if the stock price goes up - they'll have to buy it at the new price (no matter how high) and return it to the lender.
In a non-naked short, the short seller borrows and sells the stock, but also owns a call option on the stock. If the price rises too high, he/she executes a the option and buys the stock (to return it) at a pre-agreed price.
That's why I think we need major reform to the system - the voters are not going to change, so the system has to.
Altho I'm not at all a fan of Elisabeth Warren, despite being one of her constituents here in Massachusetts. But I will say she's a lot more honest than 90% of Congress. I think she's honestly wrong about a lot of things, but not corrupt.
I'll say the same for Rand Paul, who is actually running.
Actually, I'd love to see a Warren vs. Paul election - it would be fascinating. But without reform, probably not a successful administration for whoever wins.
On the post: From Internet Connected Drink Mixer To Any Remote Configuration On The Internet: August's Stupid Patent Of The Month
Re: Re: Re: RIdiculous
Like all people, some have a sense of fairness, some don't.
The problem is that business schools teach that fairness has no place in corporate management. So those with a sense of fairness get talked out of it (most of them), and those with a sense of fairness don't get hired for management positions (because biz school said that's inappropriate).
The problem is mostly with "professional" managers - they're the ones with the MBAs.
Business schools are evil.
Corporations run by founders and family usually show a sense of fairness.
On the post: Parents Sue School, Claim Wi-Fi Made Son Sick
Re: The problem with a tinfoil hat...
I once went to a Halloween party dressed as a paranoid schizophrenic. I even wrapped my cellphone with foil (the bars really do disappear, even if you leave a hole to see them).
Turns out tinfoil hats are really *hot*. Uncomfortable indoors.
Probably great for the winter, tho.
On the post: Parents Sue School, Claim Wi-Fi Made Son Sick
Re: Banned wireless gizmos
People joke about "tinfoil hats", but they really work - just wrap your phone in foil and watch the bars.
Faraday cage.
On the post: Parents Sue School, Claim Wi-Fi Made Son Sick
Re: Re:
A WiFi router across the room is hardly comparable.
(*Even* if those studies were substantiated; there's a lot of controversy about them.)
On the post: From Internet Connected Drink Mixer To Any Remote Configuration On The Internet: August's Stupid Patent Of The Month
Re: RIdiculous
People are people - some of them don't have a sense of fairness, of the idea that in order to get paid you should supply some kind of *value*.
But that's just how people are.
The problem is the law.
On the post: Study: 15% Of Wireless Users Now Tracked By Stealth Headers, Or 'Zombie Cookies'
Re: Re: Re: Friday night lynching
Still, it's better than the alternative. Usually.
On the post: AP Sues FBI Over Impersonating An AP Reporter With A Fake AP Story
Valid defamation claim?
If the FBI goes around claiming they're the AP as part of an investigation, I'd think after a while AP would have trouble doing real reporting - sources would think the reporter might be a FBI agent.
This would seem to do real harm to AP's business. Something they should be able to claim compensation from.
On the post: Study: 15% Of Wireless Users Now Tracked By Stealth Headers, Or 'Zombie Cookies'
Re: Friday night lynching
I know it's fun to vent. But fundaments of civilization rely on regulation of violence.
Make clear rules, have a fair and impartial method of judging if people have violated them, have reasonable punishments set for those found guilty.
Keep your torches and nooses at home. That is the way to barbarism.
On the post: Study: 15% Of Wireless Users Now Tracked By Stealth Headers, Or 'Zombie Cookies'
Re: market is self regulating
The telecom industry is heavily regulated. Thanks to regulatory capture (as you note), the regulations serve to keep out competitors.
Once firms don't have to worry about competition, they are free to abuse their customers.
The solution is to open the market to free competition. Once you do that, the market *will* punish bad actors.
But not until.
On the post: As Part Of Its War On Encryption, Russia Briefly Blocks All Of Wikipedia Over One Weed Reference
Re: Re: Re: little difference between major corporations and the government
If I don't want to deal with Apple or Google, I just don't.
They can't arrest me. They can't fine me. They can't close down my business. They can't take away my passport.
They don't make rules about what I can't do. Or what I must. They don't tell me what places I can visit and which airplanes I can fly on.
The government, on the other hand, can and does do all of those things.
Those, it seems to me, are indeed "major" differences.
On the post: As Part Of Its War On Encryption, Russia Briefly Blocks All Of Wikipedia Over One Weed Reference
Re: "Hmm... NO"
On the post: Carl Malamud Asks YouTube To Institute Three Strikes Policy For Those Who Abuse Takedowns
Re: I, Claudius
But, yes, a sincere apology would go a long way.
On the post: DOJ Tells Me It Can't Find Any Internal Guidelines For When It Seeks Gag Orders For Subpoenas
Re: There may not be any. Gag orders are rare and extra-ordinary as you remark, can't be rigidly defined.
If you don't like TD's policies, you're welcome to go elsewhere, or start your own.
Governments don't work that way. They claim and enforce an monopoly on power. The level of scrutiny required is different.
On the post: Your Toner Is No Good Here: Region-Coding Ink Cartridges... For The Customers
This is the sort of thing that gives capitalism a bad name
But those wheels of karma can turn slow.
The solution of course is to buy somebody else's printers.
On the post: Yes, The Appeals Court Got Basically Everything Wrong In Deciding API's Are Covered By Copyright
"Software interfaces" are not software
Someone unfamiliar with APIs might think, from the term, that software interfaces are interfaces *made out of* software.
Which of course, they're not. They're interfaces *for* software.
It's like the difference between an electrical connector and electricity. Or a plumbing fitting and water.
On the post: Could A Hedge Fund Manager Trying To Short Stocks Of Pharma Companies With Bad Patents Derail Patent Reform?
Re: Stunning ignorance
This is what the human race is like. Has always been like. Most people are clueless about most things.
This is the challenge for democracy - how do you get reasonable decisions out of people who on average don't know much about anything? Decisions that are not only reasonable, but also acceptable to most people (so you don't get a revolution, even if it's a revolution of idiots).
It's hard. But we could do better.
On the post: Could A Hedge Fund Manager Trying To Short Stocks Of Pharma Companies With Bad Patents Derail Patent Reform?
Re: Re: It's not fraud
But anybody who does even a little research before doing this stuff learns how it works. It is in no way any kind of secret.
The SEC makes every broker who offers margin accounts (where your stock can be borrowed by a short seller) send all kinds of info to the customer to inform them.
I don't know what more you want. If people insist on paying no attention to what they're doing, of course they're going to be ignorant.
On the post: Could A Hedge Fund Manager Trying To Short Stocks Of Pharma Companies With Bad Patents Derail Patent Reform?
Re: Re: It's not fraud
They still borrow the stock and sell it. They're called "naked" because they're 100% exposed if the stock price goes up - they'll have to buy it at the new price (no matter how high) and return it to the lender.
In a non-naked short, the short seller borrows and sells the stock, but also owns a call option on the stock. If the price rises too high, he/she executes a the option and buys the stock (to return it) at a pre-agreed price.
That limits the short seller's risk.
On the post: School, Police Chief Must Face Lawsuit Brought By Student Suspended For 10 Days For Tweeting 'Actually, Yes'
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Tax Payers
That's why I think we need major reform to the system - the voters are not going to change, so the system has to.
Altho I'm not at all a fan of Elisabeth Warren, despite being one of her constituents here in Massachusetts. But I will say she's a lot more honest than 90% of Congress. I think she's honestly wrong about a lot of things, but not corrupt.
I'll say the same for Rand Paul, who is actually running.
Actually, I'd love to see a Warren vs. Paul election - it would be fascinating. But without reform, probably not a successful administration for whoever wins.
On the post: School, Police Chief Must Face Lawsuit Brought By Student Suspended For 10 Days For Tweeting 'Actually, Yes'
Re: Re: Re:
Who, if she has a college degree, would be at least FOUR YEARS OLDER than the student.
It was that four years that caused the freakout.
But it's hard to control biology. Heinlein said "when they're big enough, they're old enough".
Juliet was 13 years old. And as her mom said, "Younger than you, here in Verona, ladies of esteem are made already mothers."
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