Even if they're at 10%, the actual volume of your earphones is more dependant on the drivers themselves and the amperage rather than the arbitrary 'volume percentage' on the device you're driving them with.
I agree, there are a lot of things that the hypothetical NWO does that I fully agree with.
I stand in full favour of GMOS, Nuclear Energy, Carbon Taxation/Trading, and also a global government (on the condition of it being a good one).
However, the extra political power being given to corporations and the reduction of citizen's capacity for political influence is something to stand firmly against. Of course I don't believe in a NWO in the traditional sense but the world is certainly largely run by a group of individuals in power.
The TPP makes me think of the Shadowrun timeline and the progression to extraterritoriality for corporations around the 2020s and 2030s.
Yeah, I didn't mean to suggest that I like the TPP. You're right about the power given to corporate entities being something to fight against.
> the world is certainly largely run by a group of individuals in power
This reminds me of an observation I once read - that there's no surprise those on top can look like they form a club even if they represent opposite spectrum on political scene; after all they studied at the same universities and probably know each other from the campus.
However, I'm not sure if the world is really shaped that much by conscious will of small group of individuals. As one blog puts it, "Almost No One is Evil. Almost Everything is Broken". It feels to me that a system of misaligned incentives is enough to explain most of the ways in which the world seems to evolve.
> The TPP makes me think of the Shadowrun timeline and the progression to extraterritoriality for corporations around the 2020s and 2030s.
Gotta check out Shadowrun, I haven't had a chance before :).
Speaking of works of fiction, the whole situation reminds me of Continuum series and the future of Corporate Congress.
Shadowrun's future describes a collapsing of the middle class, combination of corporation & state (zero distinction), lots of poor folks and "shadowrunners" who do the dirty work for the megacorps (stealing data, assassinate, etc).
All Megacorps use Shadowrunners but none publically acknowledge their existence or the details of what they do. Sort of like spy agencies.
Yeah, that Continuum, with a pretty girl wearing a touchscreen :). Thanks for the description of Shadowrunner. I wonder how far off we're from it today. Don't corporations already outsource some of their dirty work?
Same for us in Australia. Both Australia and New Zealand are getting the spiky end of the stick in regards to pharmaceuticals, we have a similar system of socialised medicine.
It's probably very similar for most industrialized countries to some extent. In Netherland (which probably has the most expensive health care in Europe), insurance companies negotiate about the prices, which means those companies decide which medicine is and isn't covered, and while they still have a reasonable amount of negotiating power, it's not as much as that of a more centralized approach. Still better than the US approach, but certainly the weakest of the EU.
