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Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

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Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#171

Post by rogerbinns »

andrewflnr wrote: post #158
rogerbinns wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The health system is not free nor is it government subsidised. It is paid for from taxes, which people pay according to their income. There is no additional charge to then use the system other than paying taxes. (IMHO this is a good thing and it is fair.) In the US it is a complete mess. Half of all healthcare spending is done by the government anyway (Medicare, Medicaid, government employees, army/veterans etc) and…

What is the difference between "subsidized by the government" and "paid for from taxes"? Maybe you could draw a distinction if a specific segment of taxes went to healthcare and nothing else, but that seems a thin semantic distinction at best.

The OP wording implied that the healthcare was free and the costs were mostly borne by "them" (the government). Although it is technically correct that the government is the people/tax payers, voter turnout has (mostly) been steadily decreasing. For non-voters the government is "them", not "us".

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#174

Post by mibbitier »

lumberjack wrote: post #152
kprobst wrote: post #72

One of these days it's going to be for real and I wonder how many of his fans will be enraged when someone says something like "I'm not glad he's dead, but I'm glad he's gone".

Why would people even hate Richard Stallman, anyway? It's perfectly OK to attack his ideologies but I don't see why you'd hate him personally as if he's some villain that is hurting people in some way or another. The guy is merely advocating his ideals. He's not enforcing them. He's not dominating any markets and enforcing his ideologies on people. He's not profiting of his ideologies. He doesn't even enjoy any power…

He influences others with his (IMHO poisonous ideology). For some bizarre reason, some people listen to his mad rhetoric. That's why others dislike him.

IMHO, he hurts several things. He hurts free software, and he hurts the software industry as a whole.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#175

Post by rickmb »

craigvn wrote: post #145
bostonpete wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how it would realistically be a concern for him. That's like saying he wouldn't be willing to get on a plane or drive a car b/c they use closed source software...

I am pretty sure he has thought about this.

Which is what makes RMS so valuable. He does think about things others take for granted, and he raises the alarm if he feels there's something there to be concerned about.

Sure, he raises that alarm early and often (and in an annoying voice), but he's been right more than once about issues nobody else had considered before.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#176

Post by yread »

zdouglas wrote: post #151
redthrowaway wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not rms, and I don't speak for him, but his opposition to non-free software is predicated upon the claim that it harms the user. As death is arguably a greater harm than any non-free software could inflict, I suspect he would say that it is not wrong to use non-free software to save a life if no free alternative is readily available. You can ask him yourself, if you want: rms@fsf.org He replies to almost all emai…

> The only way I could justify this is if I began developing a free replacement for that very program. If the Oracle suit taught me anything, it's to be careful when using APIs.

You could do it in EU though

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#177

Post by aerique »

ars wrote: post #167
aerique wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why doesn't the rest of the US use Boston's approach?

Massachusetts, not Boston. The way the US is setup each state is different - if you want that kind of health care, you move to Massachusetts. If you want fierce independence there are states that do that, there are states that heavily promote gun ownership, and those that discourage it. Some places have high income taxes, some property taxes, some no taxes, etc. You can pick where you want to live based on what you l…

Thanks for the clarification. From the outside (I'm from the Netherlands) it is easy to forget the US is made up of many states which still have at least some sort of independence.

Same goes for Europe and its member states I guess.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#179

Post by Tichy »

rogerbinns wrote: post #123
Tichy wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the same in all European countries. I think in the UK it is like you describe. I was quite shocked, however, when I heard about the typical wait times for things like broken teeth or bones (weeks - that was 18 years ago, though, don't know the current state). In Germany there are specific health insurances you have to pick. However it has become mandatory to have health insurance a couple of years ago, and t…

Are the health insurance plans means tested? ie does a millionaire pay the same as someone who is unemployed? Does the government also contribute some money behind the scenes? In the UK dentistry is not covered by the National Health Service. (More accurately it can be but the vast majority of dentists opt out.) As for waiting lists the UK did significantly increase spending in order to reduce them. (The UK also had…

The public insurance companies basically all offer the same coverage (defined by laws) for the same price. They used to differ slightly in price but the government made that illegal. Now they try to differentiate on little things, like paying for Yoga classes. Dentistry can get expensive, as only amalgam fillings are covered by insurance. If you want other fillings (without quicksilver) you have to pay extra.

Re: Richard Stallman Collapses At Barcelona Conference

#180

Post by rimantas »

lumberjack wrote: post #147
redthrowaway wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not rms, and I don't speak for him, but his opposition to non-free software is predicated upon the claim that it harms the user. As death is arguably a greater harm than any non-free software could inflict, I suspect he would say that it is not wrong to use non-free software to save a life if no free alternative is readily available. You can ask him yourself, if you want: rms@fsf.org He replies to almost all emai…

To continue with the above comment, I'd like to point out that RMS has valid concerns regarding non-free software running inside your body. You don't want to have a buggy pacemaker with unencrypted unprotected wireless access. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/27/buggy_pacemaker_code... https://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2010/transparent-m... Moreover I don't feel comfortable using a technology that is owne…

As if free software cannot be buggy and with lousy security. I am so tired of this "open and free makes everything perfect by magic" thinking.
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