News Stories

[Xellos-_^]

i take that back, didn't read bricks falling on people.

the real question is how did the building get damage form a 5.2 EQ?

[Haak]

Because apparently the earthquake was closer to the surface and the buildings aren't built to withstand earthquakes.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

At least 10 dead after earthquakes in southern Spain
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2018488/

Originally Posted by Haak

Because apparently the earthquake was closer to the surface and the buildings aren't built to withstand earthquakes.

why weren't they? i read the area has a lot of seismic activity.

[Ithekro]

Old brick building arn't all that safe. Loose bricks and all that.

[Xellos-_^]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...g.html?hpid=z3

Facebook admitted Thursday that it is behind the public relations campaign to highlight what it said were privacy concerns in Google’s “Social Circle” feature. PR giant Burson-Marsteller pitched a story to media outlets saying the feature violates Federal Trade Commission rules and does not grant users enough control over their personal data.

Google vs Facebook

the New Coke vs Pepsi
Microsoft vs Apple
Vhs vs Betamax

[Anh_Minh]

Pot vs Kettle.

[sneaker]

Ukrainian-born alleged death camp worker convicted to 5 years of prison in Germany for aiding in 27.900 murders - but is freed (at least for the time being)

[iLney]

Release the Kraken!!!
Microsoft’s U.S. antitrust case expires today

The U.S. Department of Justice’s case against Microsoft expires today.

The 10-year-old antitrust judgment expires today and marks the end of a long and expensive battle. Microsoft’s case against the United States started back in 1998. The notorious court case with the American Department of Justice ended in 2001, saw Microsoft forced to share its systems, APIs source code and records with a specially allocated panel of experts. In the years after 2001 it also saw Microsoft un-bundling Internet Explorer from the Windows shell. Microsoft also got into trouble with the European Commission on several occasions too. In 2003 the EU ordered Microsoft to provide a version of Windows without Windows Media Player, labeled Windows N. In January 2009 the EU also forced Microsoft to create a version of Windows without Internet Explorer. The company created the version, known as Windows 7 E, but later scrapped it in favor of a “browser ballot” screen that would allow consumers to pick their preferred browser.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice claimed their ruling changed the competitive landscape:

“Nearly every desktop middleware market, from web browsers to media players to instant messaging software, is more competitive today than it was when the final judgment was entered. In addition, the final judgment helped create competitive conditions that enabled new kinds of products, such as cloud computing services and mobile devices, to develop as potential platform threats to the Windows desktop operating system.”

The U.S. Department of Justice claims “Microsoft no longer dominates the computer industry as it did when the complaint was filed in 1998.” The antitrust judgment has created a competitive industry inside Microsoft’s Windows operating system for third-party browser and media player software. However, Microsoft’s Windows operating still dominates the desktop space despite tough competition from rivals Apple and Linux.

Hurray

[ganbaru]

China "unhappy" with support for detained artist
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...74B6PE20110512

(Reuters) - The Chinese government said on Tuesday it was "unhappy" with foreign support for detained artist and activist Ai Weiwei, after Ai's detention last week sparked an outcry from Washington and other Western governments.

They wheren't expecting international aproval for what they did or what ?

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

China "unhappy" with support for detained artist
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...74B6PE20110512

They wheren't expecting international aproval for what they did or what ?

Sometimes I get the feeling Chinese leaders don't appreciate their country's position on a global scale. They want to be treated as if their internal actions don't effect anyone else, but when you're the world's second largest economy, and other nations are heavily invested in you, they also have a vested interest in your politics. Arresting people who are critical of the government is something that is of concern to nations invested in China.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by iLney

Release the Kraken!!!
Microsoft’s U.S. antitrust case expires today

Hurray

At first I wondered what the Kraken has to do with it, but then I remember a certain Johnny Depp movie and realized that it made sense, so I LOL'd.

Right now, Microsoft had more fierce competition than it used to be a decade before, and I'm pretty sure EU still wants to keep a check on its activities in Europe.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

Sometimes I get the feeling Chinese leaders don't appreciate their country's position on a global scale. They want to be treated as if their internal actions don't effect anyone else, but when you're the world's second largest economy, and other nations are heavily invested in you, they also have a vested interest in your politics. Arresting people who are critical of the government is something that is of concern to nations invested in China.

This is the global version of someone "beating their child" in their backyard and then objecting that its an "internal affair" when the neighbors present objections to the treatment.

China lives on the same planet as the rest of us. And yes, it goes both ways (or all ways). Wouldn't it be nice to race to the top instead of race to the bottom in terms of human rights and quality of society?

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

Sometimes I get the feeling Chinese leaders don't appreciate their country's position on a global scale. They want to be treated as if their internal actions don't effect anyone else, but when you're the world's second largest economy, and other nations are heavily invested in you, they also have a vested interest in your politics. Arresting people who are critical of the government is something that is of concern to nations invested in China.

That is the reason why it is emulating Singapore's government system of strong political control - by controlling their investors, they effectively rule the world through its economy and they can do and exploit whoever they want.

A century down the road after it rules the whole world, it will become the central target of all superweapons as the middle kingdom. I don't support the "my backyard not yours" widely because humans are extremely good at imitating others, even acts of abuse. How would you like it if you see your father-in-law beat your wife in their backyard and says that it is "their own family business and none of yours"?

[Ithekro]

Ah the Middle Kingdom. Haven't heard of that one in a year or so.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Ah the Middle Kingdom. Haven't heard of that one in a year or so.

It is the direct and literal translation of China in mandarin.

[DonQuigleone]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

It is the direct and literal translation of China in mandarin.

Indeed China is "Zhong Guo", or Central State, or more poetically, Middle Kingdom.

As you can see, the Chinese have an extremely modest approximation of their place in the world.

[iLney]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

How would you like it if you see your father-in-law beat your wife in their backyard and says that it is "their own family business and none of yours"?

Err... she's MY wife, so I'll bloody murder him. On the other hand, if it were HIS wife, I would bring some popcorn and enjoy the spectacle

[Vexx]

The problem with your flippant answer is that -
1) if its your wife, you've just gone to war with China
2) if it were his wife... its YOUR WIFE's mother. Good luck with ignoring that...

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Vexx

The problem with your flippant answer is that -
1) if its your wife, you've just gone to war with China
2) if it were his wife... its YOUR wife's mother. Good luck with ignoring that...

Hence why I used "wife" instead of "husband", "child", "sibling" or "friend". She's an object of your care and concern AND she knows about it, and wants you to extend it to her interests as well since her welfare can directly affect your life. But ultimately, it weighs down on social and physical limitations of what you can do : you can't shoot her father without a gun (unless you married a fujoshi), neither can you stand by the side and watch until something big happens.

But to completely bar a party with interests (neighbour - whose interest in peace in the area where she lives, the husband - whose interest is his wife, her girl friends - whose interest is the conduct of everyone on their next girls' night out) is ridiculous, it is like setting up a commission where everyone has to give and take, but the bigger party gives out what he/she wants and forces everyone else to take whether they like it or not.

China is a place of large trade balance and net capital inflows, and interests are diverse and affect the lives of their citizens. It is time it takes a look at what brought US to its superpower status in the 1960s/1970s and learn from the mistakes that turned it into an almost corporation-run plutocracy it is today.

[Vexx]

Basically, its delusional in present times to think that what goes on inside "my borders" doesn't impact/affect what goes on inside "your borders (or vice versa) and that either/both isn't allowed to have something to say about it. One can thank or blame globalization for that.