Posts by slarty
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Some stuff:
CYA Security - it's not about making us safer, it's about being able to say we did something so don't blame us;
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/02/cya_security_1.html
This is the article where he coins the term "Security Theater", which has now entered the lexicon in the security industry (and don't forget, like all conflict, it is a great way to make money);
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_theater
Homeland insecurity: another magnificent article from Atlantic. I presume 60% of Americans can't read, or they wouldn't put up with all the cr4p.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200209/mann
The Cato institute nail it...
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=2865
This is the web site of the community of airport screeners.
Check out their T shirts.http://www.tsa-screeners.com/start/index.php
And finally, you think you got it bad?
http://www.stupidsecurity.com/
[PS. I reckon Auckland is pretty good by any standard other than the huge money pits in places like KL)
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So many threads!
1. I have occasion to work with plod. IMHO the culture shift started after the Scott Watson case. Has anyone else noticed how professional the investigations have been in recent years? This is one of those situations where they recognised the problem and have been quietly addressing it. To rake over the coals now would be counter productive.
2. DRM. Told you so. I'm going to allow myself a few seconds of smugness. I read an article in Salon or The Economist (can't remember) years ago, where they opened with a paragraph from an article written in the 20's. It was explaining how gramophones would be the death of the sheet music industry (and it was...)
3. I don't think we should get too heated about the NIWA / MetService thing. My contacts in there say it's a red herring mainly around access to the toys. Idealogical extremism? Does the word 'extreme' fit in a sentence that might also include "weatherman"... :)
4. Yes Augie is barking - but he's carved a niche, and he's getting paid, and he won't be around when large tracts of Earth are no longer inhabitable, so who can blame him? Philosophically it would be a terrible day if nobody would stand up to the masses - Tipping Point can be a dangerous theory... especially in the scientific industry, where $$$ are scarce and politically directed...
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Stephen, I struggle with the concept that everyone should be a trained philosopher / logician!
However I do support your view that the standards of argument on PA are frightening (I'll explain why at the end).
Anyway, my problem with the law as it stands (and this is a view I haven't seen stated much) is more along the Dworkinian Integrity line, which as you would know is strongly linked to the Hobbesian view of integrity being a result of our societal arrangement to survive alongside each other.
I would be happy for either of the following;
1. s59 repealed, so that we do not classify human beings by age when it comes to discipline or;
2. s59 extended so that it applies to any human being.For example, I've just been managing some change in my organisation and a couple of the staff have been toey and unreasonable. My standards for their ability to produce a rational argument are considerably lower than yours, but they are incapable of stringing a logical and rational argument together. They just stamp their metaphorical feet, (literally in one case) stick their bottom lip out, and then say no. Meanwhile 40 other people are being inconvenienced.
Surely you would agree (I mean technically, not how you personally feel) that the law as it stands says if they were 15 and I were the parent I would be justified in a clout round the ear? A parent is someone with authority and responsibility for their safety and well being, just as I am in a work situation (OSH, common law etc.).
So in these circumstances I should be able to give them a clout on the basis that they are incapable of understanding my rational argument. Sometimes it takes a short sharp shock.
Personally I think NZ would be a much better place if we were to show our love for our fellow citizens through the occasional slap. We just don't see enough physical evidence of how much we care for our fellow citizens any more, especially in the workplace, and it's high time we started. We could even have a morning caning session as a little motivator to start off the day, a bit like those Japanese exercise sessions.
And speaking of argument: I find those put forward on PA of a frighteningly higher standard than most of the nonsense I encounter. But I must say your diatribe above has managed to bring a level of normality to the environment, for which I thank you.
Cheers
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... of course the other approach is to bring the charges simultaneously.
And perhaps throw in a bit of conspiracy for good measure.
I served last year on the jury for a drug trial where these approaches were used: the defendants pleaded guilty once the multiple instances were lined up.
If I were these women I would be looking at a joint civil action for damages (where the burden of proof is lower). It would do the trick. I can't imagine they'd have any trouble funding the case...
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When I was 19 I was a field engineer in England, driving around fixing computers. I got a call one day from my boss. "We've just won a big contract in Scotland. We need someone to do the start up audit (counting the copmputers)"
"F*** off. It's a 16 hour drive to Scotland, away from home etc."
"It's Distillers Group"
"I'll be there in the morning."
And so proceeded one of the most debauched three weeks of my life. It would appear that all the staff of small distilleries thought it great sport to get the wee young sasanach (S?) pished. And who was I to argue?
Lasting legacies:
- I like it neat. You don't get pished as quickly.
- I like it warm. You can taste it (n.b. if anything tastes bad, serve it cold. Like SplioDB. Or Chardonnay.)
- I like it single and not too peaty. In other words, I now have expensive taste.
- I haven't touched it for years. Becuase a bottle can so easily evaporate. -
Do you think we're reaching the point where the masses kinda know deep down that prohibition is not working? That Reagan invented the War on Drugs because the War on Communism was petering out?
I've been watching The Professionals again recently - what a load of crap we were fed about the impact of heroin in the 70's. Didn't gel at all with the functional addicts I met later on in my life. No surprises then that I don't believe the political propaganda about drugs. Surely it's not just me?
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The whole IP lobby is getting out of hand - personally I think it's a sign of the death throes... but I might be dreaming.
When the phonograph started becoming popular, the sheet music industry got all hysterical. What we're seeing now is very similar.
I think there's something deeply Conservative about out-of-control IP, to the extent it threatens the evolution of our society (more rambling here http://serendipitousphilosophy.blogspot.com )
And it does link to what Vista has done. The hardware layer isn't in place yet, so I think it's too early to think that the DRM has been cracked...
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I have to agree that the real issue is, "What is the alternative?".
If the US pulls out now, the situation is ripe for a brief war where Iran takes large chunks of Iraq. Personally, were this to be combined with a unification of Kurdish territory, I suspect it might turn out to be a good thing. But I can't imagine the US wanting it.
Nonetheless, I think it's inevitable, just a question of time. We are going to see a re-emergence of Persia, a super-state in the middle east arranged on a tribal basis. And that will really put the wind up the small / moderate Arab states, and of course Israel.
Well done Mr. President. Your legacy will be unification of the middle east by force under a religious "government".
[And John Roughan thinks atheists are arrogant!]