My thoughts on tipping...
I'll start off by saying that these come from a U.S. person.
It seems like older generations tip less or maybe it's as you get older you realize you need to hang onto your money more.
A piece of advice passed onto me that I believe in is that if you can't afford to tip then you shouldn't be going out.
I tend to tip 10% for fair / poor service, 15% for normal / expected, and 20% or more for good. Tip jar places, I'll give a buck most of the time and not a percentage and this is also true for pick up orders.
I'm not sure why, but even if I get shitty service, I still tip. I don't go back, but the message is that even without giving decent service you still get a tip and I don't agree with that so I need to stop tipping crap service.
The places I go to a lot, I tend to tip more because you get to know the people that work there and they are more apt to know what I want almost without asking.
I believe in tipping as an incentive system and don't think they should get rid of it.
Individual places set up how tips are distributed. I think it's old school places where the waitress (waiter) tips out the busboy and cook and whoever else helps them provide better service. This makes sense to me as incentive. Another method is the pooling of tips and splitting them out evenly. This doesn't make sense since someone may not carry their own weight and be rewarded for that. There are other methods to curb that behavior. Full Metal Jacket comes to mind. I think the business itself can take a cut of the tips which to me seems pretty lame unless the owners are actively providing service.
In Oregon, service people get minimum wage (no waiter wage) so with tips, you can actually make a really solid living.
I always thought the smartest people in this trade are the ones that work at high class joints. 20% of a 10$ tab is 2$, but 20% of a 100$ tab is 20$ and that's some payola for likely a comparable amount of service.
For the math challenged, an easy way to figure out ~20% is to take the first two digit of the tab, multiply by 2, and then move the decimal one to the left. So for a 56.78 bill... 56 * 2 = 112... 11.2 or 11.20 tip.

Intro (Sage Francis):
Right about now, the SFR court is in full effect!
Judge Sage presiding in the case of the People vs. The Police Department.
Prosecuting attorneys are: Toki Wright, Jasiri X and B motherfuckin’ Dolan.
Order! Order! Order! B. Dolan, take the motherfuckin’ stand.
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
(Dolan: You goddamn right.)
Then why don’t you tell everyone what the fuck they have the right to do?

Verse 1 
(B. Dolan):
Film the Police. Run a tape for the underclass!
Get the face, name and number on the badge.
They flash, we flash back when they act disorderly.
React accordingly and capture all that we see…
Nightstick, Zip-ties, and Tasers.
Think they’re licensed for type vicious behavior.
Make a tight fist with a video trained toward the Pigs,
Like this. They trip & you make ‘em famous.
Explain to a Judge the bounds you oversteppin’.
2011 time to the change our method.
We aim lenses at the State’s weapon,
‘Til they remember whose goddamn streets they’re protecting.
They’d rather see me in a cell
Than me and my cell with a different story to tell.
Camcorder by the dash. Next time you get stopped,
Reach for the celly if you wanna shoot a cop.
On a public sidewalk, you can tape what you see,
Or film from your window with a view of the street!
Neighborhood Crime Watch, we police the Police.
They can’t arrest the whole community.
Because the streets clock. These cops occupying blocks,
Harassing the homeless with batons, pulling glocks.
They stop lawful protests and let off shots…
Abuse prostitutes and misuse power they got.
In memory of the victims who are never forgot,
We’ve gotta’ exercise our right to shed light in the dark.
There is an army on the march that doesn’t want you to watch.
You’ve got a weapon in your pocket whether you know it or not.
We, the people, are the only real media we got.
Let’s protect one another from the fucking goon squad.
Fascism’s coming to the U.S.A.
Eyo, Sage, I got something to say!
Verse 2 (Toki Wright):
Film the police! It’s time to make it our priority.
You see these fools are in abuse of their authority.
Crack a fist or you crack a whip.
But that ain’t power you coward, you beat a man with two shackled wrists.
So put their names up on a list next to an asterisk.
Next time you see ‘em blast a clip, then you flash a flick.
Attach a video and pic to your master list.
Be on the news at 6. YouTube views legit.
The cops watch us, so we gotta have the Cop Watchers.
Been in fear of law so long, so now it’s not awkward.
But what is law when it’s wrong. When you slam us on the floor.
Naw, this ain’t World Wrestling Entertainment Raw.
This is Edutainment, y’all. Got a call from B. Dolan.
You try to squabble with Johnny Law and get your meat swollen.
Why you think Bobby and Huey P. were heat holding?
You better load the footage up and get to key stroking.
And while you at it, send one off to the administration,
It’s indicating, all the physical intimidation.
It’s been too long they said to “bear with us.”
That’s when I run up on your caravan and rip off all your D.A.R.E. stickers.
This here is near Hitler’s; weirder than some mere tickets…
You feel privileged ’til your wife get her brassiere lifted.
You disappear quick as Hoffa if you piss a copper,
Off ya’ til you get a Channel 7 News helicopter.
Violence hides in a code of silence, tyrants hide in an alliance,
Quiet or be left somewhere, or get swept inside it.
It’s Goliath vs. a bigger giant.
Got us pulling over so far we ran a curb and hit a hydrant.
It’s systematic how the system has its symptoms,
Of the democratic law that’s been flawed since the pilgrims landed.
So now tell me what you wanna do? Next time you see the boys in blue,
You cock your camera back and point and shoot.

Verse 3 (Jasiri X):
Film the police! I got the Cannon 7D.
Highest definition for when they try to arrest and lynch ‘em,
Then lie and protest the whippin’, not serve and protect the victims.
Their murders, threats and hitmen…observe ‘em and let the witness be
The iphone. Never let bygones be bygones.
Get your flip cam before they get in the whip and ride on.
It’s vital ’cause our survival could depend on a video going viral,
With more viewers than American Idol.
Instead of having to bury a child who…
The cops shot ’cause they thought they carried a rifle.
Then the same cops will go to court and swear on a bible,
And smile to show the teeth that they’re preparing to lie through.
Whether Crips or Piru ,Vice Lords or Gangsta Disciples,
Make sure your camera lens gets an eyeful.
And they liable to try and confiscate it.
Better hold on to that shit like you’re constipated.
‘Cause they’ll pretend them injuries are not related,
Like, “When we arrived we saw him dive head first off the pavement.”
So keep the mini cam stashed in the dash of your mini van.
They’ll crash and smash on any man.
Pull out your Blackberry ’cause cops will take a shot at your black berry,
‘Til we see another black buried.
Don’t act scary, ’cause they’ll empty the gat on ya’,
Stand over your body just to sprinkle the crack on ya’.
Police attacking ya’. Don’t want to see they reflections like Dracula.
But camera’s capture ya’.
Too busy using your flashlight to batter us,
To notice John Singleton was my passenger.
So point, click and shoot they asses,
It’s the only way to get the real truth to the masses.
Jasiri X, I’m making movies like Spike Lee.
I won’t be a law and order special victim like Ice T.

I had no idea they got that big nowadays. The last show I saw about displays, the largest ones they had were 10-12". And those were scary enough to curb my own pyro instincts. 48" seems like enough to shake an entire city.

there are a few inaccuracies in this video but over-all..makes a pretty strong point.
our fore-fathers did not exactly agree on the size,powers and authority the federal government should have,quite the opposite see:the federalist papers.

so the statement that the original intent was for a small centralized government is inaccurate.

but the argument over the bill of rights is fairly accurate.
hence the terms "inalienable and god-given".

i think the term indoctrination is used appropriately here.
2nd graders should not be introduced to such ideologies and most certainly not in this fashion.get em while they are young!..reprehensible.

this is ideology vs reality.
this is power vs powerlessness.
this is power abusing young minds to create a submissive and unquestioning attitude towards authority.

while the ideology may be comforting and even noble..it is a delusion when compared to the reality.

a citizen must KNOW their rights in order to fight for them.because power will ALWAYS attempt to curb or outright take those rights away and if they are able to do that (and they HAVE in many cases) then those rights are..in fact..privileges.

the "free speech zones" example is perfect.that was from st louis RNC in 2004 (i think..im recalling from memory).see? they didnt "take" away your right to free speech,they just made you do it -------> over there.

which affectively neutralized any dissent,but hey..you still had your right to free speech,just neutered and ineffectual.

to even call this educational is an insult to teachers.
its indoctrination..pure and simple.

Nailed it dude!

The only angle I feel hasn't really come up so far is the idea that private enterprise and public governance could easily be regarded as two manifestations of the same "real" social dynamic: Establishment/challenger (or master/slave if you want to get fully Hegelian about it)

Like, why do we even develop governmental systems in the 1st place?

I have yet to conceive a better answer than: "to curb the destructive excesses of private wealth/power."

Why would we champion personal freedom? I would say: "to curb the destructive excesses of public wealth/power".

Or something to that effect at the very least. The idea of a society with either absolute personal, or absolute collective sovereignty seems hellish to me. And probably unworkable to boot!

There seems to me a tendency in the history of societies for these two types of power to dance either side of equilibrium as the real power struggle unfolds i.e. between reigning establishment and challenger power groups/paradigms.

Right now the establishment is both economic and governmental. The corruption is mutually supporting. Corporations buy and control governments, governments facilitate corporations ruling the market and continuing to be able to buy them.

The circle jerk @blankfist IMHO is between government and private dynasty and moreover I strongly believe that in a vacuum, one will always create the other.

Pure collectivism will naturally breed an individualist challenger and visa versa.

People are at their best I think when balancing self interest and altruism. Too much of either tends to hurt others around you and diminish ones capacity to grow and adapt. (being nice is no good if you lack the will and capacity to get shit done)

It seems natural that the ideal way of organising society would always balance collective state power, with private personal power.

Libertarianism (even the superior non anarchist version) defangs the state too much IMHO. Some collectivist projects such as education, scientific research and exploration I think tend to be better served by public direction. But more importantly I expect the state to referee the market, just as I expect public transparency to referee the state.

Total crowbar separation between the three: public officials cannot legally own or control private wealth and cannot live above standard of their poorest citizens. Private citizens cannot inherit wealth legally, only earn and create it. The state cannot legally hold any secret or perform any function of government outside public view unless it is to prepare sensitive legal proceedings (which must then be disclosed in full when actioned).

In the age of global communications this kind of transparency may for the first time be a workable solution (it's already near impossible to keep a lid on most political scandals and this is very early days). There is also the possibility of a steadily de-monetised market as crowdfunding and crowdsourcing production models start to become more advanced and practical than traditional market dynamics. e.g. kickstarter style collective investment in place of classical entrepreneurial investment.

The benefits and dangers of both capitalism and socialism here would be trending towards diffusion amongst the populace.

And then there's the whole Meritocracy vs Democracy thing, but that's really getting into another topic and I've probably already gone on too long now.

Much love

@newtboy "The Teabaggers... infected BOTH the Republican party and the Libertarian party"

Nope. Never affiliated with the Libertarian Party.

"That seems now like you're saying 'we need stronger regulations that hold people criminally accountable for companies actions"

Of course it doesn't. Did I not say corporations are fictitious entities created by the state? Scroll up and reread, I'll wait...

...

...So apply them critical thinking and reading comprehension skills. Do you honestly still think I was saying, "We need moar government to curb corporate power given to them in the first place by government!!11!" Or maybe, if government is the apparatus that gives corporations their unfair advantages, welfare, powers and privileges, then maybe it's government's role in that that needs to be reduced. That has nothing to do with moar regulashuns!

Another fine example of why we could use an *instant-karma channel.
I only wish she had disarmed the second thief and made them both bite the curb until the cops got there.
This should be a commercial for her Dojo.

What Neil deGrasse Tyson and some of the other scientists/doctors (myself include) have are saying is that the IDEA of GMO's is a great one. The fact that we can engineer our foods to get the traits we want or add additional beneficial traits is an incredibly useful tool. We've already engineered rice that is able to produce vitamin A, which has been a huge help for places with vitamin A deficiencies and we can engineer potatoes to absorb less fats and oils when we fry them, there is also a professor at SUNY-ESF who is using GMO's to try and save the American Chestnut tree from extinction.

GMing is simply another tool in humanity's struggle to survive. First it was finding which foods were safe to eat, then it was breeding organisms within species to make inbred organisms that had the traits we wanted (think cattle, dogs, cats, corn, banana's; some of these things are more inbred than the Hapsburgs), then we starting creating our own hybrids across different species, and now we have GMO's.

However, what I object to is the current corporate use of GMO's to exploit farmers over patents, and breed for traits that people do necessarily need. NdT I'm sure is not advocating for that, but is advocating for the use of transgenic organisms/GMO's to solve some of the world's most pressing issues.

GMO's are probably the most powerful tool we have to curb world hunger, and mal-nutrition, and it could also be the thing that allows humans to venture beyond the solar system. What the Sift seems to be objecting to, and the rest of the "developed" world is the use of GMO's by greedy corporations who care more about turning a profit than solving world problems (there isn't very much money in feeding the needy and hungry). They are the one's making what appear to me more or less useless and potentially dangerous GMO's. Turn your anger away from GMO's specifically and narrow it to the ill use of GMO's by greedy corporations.

Lastly, the argument that "we don't know what they'll do" is for the most part unfounded, there are a decent amount of studies (find them yourself sorry) which show that GMO's in general won't cause harm (though it really depends on what you're trying to make). The same argument was made about the LHC "We don't know what will happen when we turn it on!" but everyone was fine.

It doesn't have to be cut and dry, black and white.

The argument has largely been morphed by the pro-gun advocates that "Gun control won't stop gun violence".

The flat truth of it is that gun control helps curb gun-related violence. It's not about eliminating it. It's about making reasonable efforts that yield measurable results. The counterargument should NOT be that it's not enough, that's just silly... and downright insulting to the victims.

It did seem the bike had plenty of room to not be hit. Perhaps the biker saw an easily won lawsuit here and took advantage.
Most bridges here in America have barriers of one kind or another that would make this impossible, but maybe not all of them. I would guess the car at least jumped a curb to get there, and maybe removed a traffic barrier too. You would have to be completely clueless and mentally impared to do this by accident, IMO.
I can't fathom why the police wouldn't go after the driver. They were obviously and completely in the wrong, even if there was a legitimate reason for the car to be there (which is highly questionable) they were going way too fast for such a small enclosed pedestrian walkway.

...Steps off curb during a red light..., A robot arm comes out of no where, and yanks me back onto the curb.

Lights a cigarette in a no smoking area, the robot arm comes out of no where and snatches it from your mouth.

Urinating in public, the robot arm comes out of no where and rips you D*** off...

I also don't like Ron White who most of my friends think is hysterical. Not sure exactly what it is. Ron and Ricky fall in the arse category, but so do Bill Burr and Larry David in Curb, but I like both of them alot. Congrats on the new token. Fits well with your screen name. Or maybe that's what you've been trying for all along. Clever lad (lass) that Alien Concept

@shveddy

Fair enough. I guess I see things from a different perspective, but ultimately neither of us can really know how the future will eventuate.

When I see China buying up land/investing in Africa, I see a system of inter-dependence being built such as the consumer / exporter relationship that underpins US/China that acts as a stabiliser in relationships with any potential conflict threatening both parties' interests and helping to ensure stability (although some could argue trade was heavily entrenched between Britain and Germany pre-WWI).

The baby boomer generation wasn't a blip, it was very much the defining moment of world population growth. Also, by definition, growth is no longer exponential. On average, it is regressive and at the most pessimistic estimates (which I think are completely unrealistic), it is linear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

As more people come up to middle/high income levels, I think what that implies will fundamentally adjust. Just as a single income is no longer sufficient to sustain a nuclear sized family, I suspect adjustments in price will dictate that our entertainment and recreational activity will increasingly be virtual and computerized with a much smaller resource cost.

I think it's a frequent economic fallacy to assume aspects of society will remain fixed. Just like how there are not a fixed number of jobs that immigrants threaten (Lump of labour fallacy), high income lifestyles are not fixed.

@gorillaman

First paragraph is pretty much addressed above by my last two above.

I'm not denying that corporations pollute because of the competitive incentives of consumers. The alternative however, of targeting consumers to inform them of the costs of their actions (assuming that this would change their purchasing decisions) is a roundabout solution that I think we both realise would not be nearly as cost effective.

If you think tax/financial incentives are not the best way to curb environmental damage, then please suggest a more effective alternative.

...retenttion managed....

...and barely worth the copy and paste....

You have couched your harrassment of members of this community in numerous self serving ways and that is well established and evidenced by your history here.

As for the assertions that you hypocritically dribbled your filth in my direction as well as that you are a admitted felon I have offered repeatedly to provide irrefutable evidence. You have only offered feeble and empty denials and deflection. Your "filth filled tracks" here and derivable from here provide the proof.

Admit your transgressions and offer some albeit most probably empty assurance to me and the community to curb your self loathing vitriol toward others with whom you disagree and this matter may be tabled barring further eruptions of your pathologies. Notice, no apology is mentioned as I have no faith in your capacity to,,,,

OR

Call me out on the proposition I can fully support my assertions.

(HERE 1ST FOR RETENTION)

...laughing with a head slap at your moronically ridiculous deflection....

I really prefer to believe you are not THAT STUPID in favor of more transparent antics...but I will withhold judgment in the face of the evidence.

You have couched your harrassment of members of this community in numerous self serving ways and that is well established and evidenced by your history here.

As for the assertions that you hypocritically dribbled your filth in my direction as well as that you are a admitted felon I have offered repeatedly to provide irrefutable evidence. You have only offered feeble and empty denials and deflection. Your "filth filled tracks" here and derivable from here provide the proof.

Admit your transgressions and offer some albeit most probably empty assurance to me and the community to curb your self loathing vitriol toward others with whom you disagree and this matter may be tabled barring further eruptions of your pathologies. Notice, no apology is mentioned as I have no faith in your capacity to,,,,

OR

Call me out on the proposition I can fully support my assertions.