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Spain's 'Google tax'

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Re: Spain's 'Google tax'

#51

Post by x1798DE »

timdierks wrote: post #49
x0x0 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hypothesis is that google is, on the whole, parasitic to news organizations. I think, unlike the hysteria on HN, that it is far from obvious this is wrong. We'll hopefully get to see the results of the experiment.

If this were true, presumably some smart news organizations would be blocking Google from extracting this value by excluding themselves from the index via robots.txt, yet I'm not aware of any.

It seems Rupert Murdoch did this with NewsCorp about 5 years ago, and the decision seems to have been reversed since then: http://www.ibtimes.com/rupert-murdoch-vs-google-google-wins-...

Re: Spain's 'Google tax'

#52

Post by x0x0 »

timdierks wrote: post #49
x0x0 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hypothesis is that google is, on the whole, parasitic to news organizations. I think, unlike the hysteria on HN, that it is far from obvious this is wrong. We'll hopefully get to see the results of the experiment.

If this were true, presumably some smart news organizations would be blocking Google from extracting this value by excluding themselves from the index via robots.txt, yet I'm not aware of any.

there's an obvious collective action problem that this law fixes

Re: Spain's 'Google tax'

#53

Post by Oletros »

x0x0 wrote: post #52
timdierks wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this were true, presumably some smart news organizations would be blocking Google from extracting this value by excluding themselves from the index via robots.txt, yet I'm not aware of any.

there's an obvious collective action problem that this law fixes

What obvious collective action problem is fixed with this law?

Re: Spain's 'Google tax'

#54

Post by Daishiman »

eng_monkey wrote: post #44
Daishiman wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because Spanish politics is an inbred kind of politics. People joke in Latin America about Spaniards because of their remarkably low knowledge of foreign languages and outside culture, or the fact that they watch American films overdubbed whereas others just watch them with subtitles. It's a subtle thing, but there's a perception, to me not unfounded, that some sectors of Spanish society just don't look outward much,…

> It's a subtle thing, but there's a perception, to me not unfounded, that some sectors of Spanish society just don't look outward much, which is the reason they get these crazy ideas that wouldn't even be considered for a second anywhere else. Does not that contradicts the fact that, for example, Spain has one of the largest high-speed train networks in the world, that the electricity they produce is >50% from renew…

I don't see the contradiction; competent engineering knowledge has little correlation with political thinking, and is only limited to a small subset of the population. It says nothing about the millions of unemployed and underemployed people, the housewives, and politicians.

The aspects in health care and same-sex marriage are not and have not been particularly controversial in Western Europe as a matter of social policy in that time span. They are interesting points of policy but by themselves nothing special when compared to the number of forward-thinking policies most countries in Western Europe have.

What I have seen, from both personal experience and an amount of anectdote that goes beyond mere personal recollections, is a remarkable lack of interest and knowledge in foreign cultures, and an incredibly regressive management culture in the workplace.

All countries have technological outliers. The point is that they're exactly that, outliers.

Re: Spain's 'Google tax'

#55

Post by Oletros »

tormeh wrote: post #8
w1ntermute wrote: post #4

When they are already in such bad economic shape, why are the Spaniards so eager to push themselves into further irrelevance?

Well, you have to remember that Spanish politics is completely fucked up. American politics are only recently beginning to come close, to add a sense of scale. Doesn't help that they have legal cruft dating back to the medieval ages, but that's separate.

> Doesn't help that they have legal cruft dating back to the medieval ages

Can you give examples of that?

Re: Spain's 'Google tax'

#56

Post by Oletros »

Daishiman wrote: post #19
w1ntermute wrote: post #4

When they are already in such bad economic shape, why are the Spaniards so eager to push themselves into further irrelevance?

Because Spanish politics is an inbred kind of politics. People joke in Latin America about Spaniards because of their remarkably low knowledge of foreign languages and outside culture, or the fact that they watch American films overdubbed whereas others just watch them with subtitles. It's a subtle thing, but there's a perception, to me not unfounded, that some sectors of Spanish society just don't look outward much,…

> which is the reason they get these crazy ideas that wouldn't even be considered for a second anywhere else.

Yes, that crazy idea would never have been considered in Germany, for example

Re: Spain's 'Google tax'

#57

Post by tormeh »

Oletros wrote: post #55
tormeh wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you have to remember that Spanish politics is completely fucked up. American politics are only recently beginning to come close, to add a sense of scale. Doesn't help that they have legal cruft dating back to the medieval ages, but that's separate.

> Doesn't help that they have legal cruft dating back to the medieval ages Can you give examples of that?

It's only what I've heard. Can't remember where from.

Re: Spain's 'Google tax'

#58

Post by eng_monkey »

toqueteos wrote: post #21

First taxing the sun, now this. EEUU, please invade us. It's ridiculous how fucking idiotic our politicians can be and people still keep voting them. EDIT: Typo.

> EEUU, please invade us.

Sure, but be prepared to say goodbye to your high-end medical system, social rights (e.g. same-sex marriage, unemployment benefits), food culture, etc.

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