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Comment Re:Bring back the bunco squads (Score 1) 357

Ah, yes, the old argumentum ad utopium. "Your (non-authoritarian) idea must produce utopia, if it falls short, then the default is my (authoritarian) solution, which needs to pass no tests."

Politicians love using this fallacy because people seem to fall for it easily and it funnels power and influence right into their laps. If a little old lady in Cincinatti gets scammed, why, raise the alarums, marshal the forces, create an agency, put bureaucrats to work, find some culprits, put them in jail for a while, pat ourselves on the back, make speeches, get elected again next time.

Never mind that the effort has cost the taxpayers a lot of money and has actually enhanced the playing field for the scammers (as I described earlier). It gave power to the politician, some people with mediocre abilities found new, good paying jobs in a bureaucracy, some cops got pulled off dangerous duty catching armed criminals and got reassigned to work on safe, non-violent cases. It's a win-win-win!

Oh, except for the taxpayer who quietly just took another small hit. And will keep taking more and more small hits as the process continues because the problem keeps getting worse as more and more people become gullible, act stupidly, and ask to be "protected" by their nannies, The Government.
Music

Submission + - WTO Rules on Internet Gambling Case

doggod writes: "The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7171143 reports today that the WTO has finally ruled on Antigua's complaint about the US unfair trade practices relating to its passage last year of a law that forbids banks from handling money to and from on-line casinos.

The amount they awarded is significantly less than Antigua asked for, but still, since they awarded anything all, one wonders how this is going to work. If you download a copyrighted song from a server in Antigua, will that be an ironclad defense that will make you invulnerable to future attacks from the RIAA?"
Music

Journal Journal: Bushite Congress Kills RIAA's Anti-piracy Efforts 2

The Law of Unexpected Consequences is expected to soon take an ironic twist. As reported in The Guardian, the WTO will issue its long-awaited ruling next week on Antigua's complaint against the US for its law that prohibited banks from allowing money to flow to and from offshore Internet gambling sites.

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