erkt

I hate to see Jack McDevitt’s work trashed.

The time these charges carry is excessive and cruel.

Let's try.

In the context of the ongoing debate on media piracy, recent actions by major streaming companies have brought to light a critical ethical dilemma. These corporations, wielding considerable monopolistic power, have increasingly adopted practices that can be seen as coercive and unethical, compelling consumers to reconsider the moral justification of piracy.

1. Price Hikes Amidst Monopolistic Control: Major streaming services like Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix have recently raised their subscription prices significantly. This increase, occurring within a relatively short span, demonstrates a trend of exploiting consumer dependency on these platforms. The illusion of fair pricing is often shattered by the fact that cheaper tiers lack standard features, pushing consumers towards more expensive options.

2. Dilution of Ownership Rights: The Sony PlayStation incident, where over 1,300 purchased TV shows were removed from user libraries without refunds, starkly highlights the erosion of digital ownership rights. This action represents a flagrant disregard for consumer investment and trust, characterizing a monopolistic overreach that undermines the very principles of fair trade and respect for consumer rights.

3. Ad-Inundated Streaming Experiences: The proliferation of ad-supported streaming models, even on platforms that previously promised ad-free experiences, adds another layer of coercion. This shift towards ad-laden content not only disrupts the viewing experience but also subtly coerces consumers into higher-priced, ad-free tiers.

4. Preservation of Cultural Artifacts: Piracy, in this context, emerges as a necessary counter to these unethical practices. It serves as a tool for preserving media in its original form, unaltered by corporate censorship or modern-day ethical reinterpretation. This aspect of piracy is crucial for maintaining the integrity of historical and cultural works.

5. Economic and Technical Exploitation: The technical details, such as limited bit depth and lack of HD in cheaper streaming options, are often obscured from the average consumer. This tactic of exploiting consumer ignorance for profit further emphasizes the unethical nature of these corporate strategies.

In the face of such corporate tyranny, piracy becomes a form of ethical defiance. It is a stand against the exploitation and manipulation of consumer rights and choices. While the legal implications of piracy cannot be ignored, the moral compulsion to resist monopolistic coercion and preserve the integrity of media content presents a compelling counter-argument.

The issue of piracy transcends mere legal boundaries and delves into the realm of ethical resistance. It's a call for fairer practices, transparency, and respect for consumer rights in the face of corporate monopolies that prioritize profit over ethical considerations.

I’m sure you can imagine that there are lots of people who live in different situations than you. Waiting for an ambulance might take several hours or may simply not show up. How about that it may cost several thousand dollars?

What happens when your fancy kill switch simply malfunctions and kills a car in a life and death location like a desert in the summer.

Please try to account for more than a suburban environment when passing national laws.

This is the kind of nanny law that pushes people to plug their nose and vote for the other guy.

Edit: then to than

It’s funny to read someone write “US goes full fascist” in a negative light while actively arguing to take away freedoms from law abiding Americans.

It’s already illegal to drink and drive. Now you want it to be illegal to modify vehicles?

Can I lobby to shut down vehicles who fail to use their turn signals?

I buy a car and remove the device immediately: how is the law enforced? Do cops check our equipment every time we get pulled over? Do we have to reinstall it for every smog check?

Who do I get to sue when I can’t bring my dad to the hospital because he had a heart attack after I had a glass of wine.

There’s a little risk in life, please learn to coexist with it and stop trying to force people to jump through hoops so you can feel a little safer.

Did you use ChatGPT 3.5 once a year ago or something? The models change often.

Edit: most people would struggle to reverse a 20+ digit number if it was listed off to them. This doesn’t make them unintelligent.

They stand to inherit it because their parents worked hard their entire lives and invested an obscene amount in a desirable market. They probably made significant sacrifices to do this. Many of our families were here long before real estate started getting out of hand and contributed to building the economic machine that makes California so desirable today.

Newcomers absolutely deserve to pay higher rent and mortgage rates to live in the same place. They always had the freedom to invest in their own state or country.

>disinterest in EVs correlates with political alignment and not with local population.

Political alignment correlates with local population. You can make an educated guess that a rural town leans red, and a city leans blue. A city will also have a more significant tax base and can afford long term infrastructure development. A small town is not in the same position.

>the ancient, commonplace art of tax incentives and disincentives. And they have often been called authoritarian when they are excised without adequate representation.

>The taxes, if implemented correctly, actually enable people to make informed decisions. My concern is that things aren't being implemented correctly. That the regulations and tax incentives and disincentives make lots of sense for people in one position and not a lot of sense for people in different positions. I think we are ignoring the plight of people in rural communities and failing to recognize that there are immense hurdles for even dense cities.

Poor people do not get to buy new cars. They certainly do not get the benefits of subsidized purchase prices. If anything you have poor people subsiding the luxury purchases of wealthy people. In other words its forcing society to collective clean up the messes of people who can already afford to clean up their own messes.

New cars become used cars, but if the battery needs to be replaced then you are talking about a cost resembling another car.

As someone who believes in climate change, who is under no illusion that we are having massive species loss, why are we all so convinced this means our own extinction? Most of the species that lived on this planet are not captured in the fossil record. The globe was covered in ice 10,000 years ago and life still exists today. If in a hundred years the world is a Jurassic tropical climate, why are we so convinced that this is existential? Species will adapt and survive and evolve. Some won't. C'est la vie.

Besides eventually we will figure out that pesticides have had a far greater impact on species loss than a little bit of rough weather.

Failing to put yourself in the shoes of a small town that cannot afford to triple each homes KW capacity is a serious gap in perspective and the desire to tax people until they bend to your will may be indicative of why our country is falling apart.