The short version is that they fired all the technicians and replaced them with the party faithful. And then went nuts driving the PDVSA around like a combination of a gift horse and a war horse.
Which is why they've been so proud to share the details with the people of the USA, right? Foreign companies will be able to sue the USA if any of TPP provisions are violated (allegedly... it's a secret agreement), so it would be nice to actually debate it first. Legislators have been excluded from TPP negotiations as well.
Additionally, fast tracking bypasses Constitutional procedures to ratify treaties.
The supporters of TPP are the legislators who serve big business, generally. Those opposed are the populists. If by good for the American people, you mean American corporations and American investors, then you're right that it's good for them.
You're almost right. Just s/people/entrenched companies/. The people don't get a say.
Democrat vs Republican is basically a contest between two business factions, the outcome of which is very important to their respective bottom lines, but ultimately meaningless with regards to individual liberty and sane governing. This issue increases corporate power as well as government power (further cementing the concept of Imaginary Property means there's more to rule), so there's no reason for disagreement.
Fracking is univerally a good idea. NIMBYs don't like it and people who think "chemical" is a swear word are un-convince-able but for the rest of us it's a positive thing.
If not wanting my backyard covered with toxic effluent from the badly maintained evaporation ponds and failed well outflow dams makes me a NIMBY, then so be it.
If not wanting my rivers suffused with methane and other gases released by the fracking process makes me a NIMBY, then so be it. I prefer my river water still, not sparkling.
> (of course I have no certainty that it was truly a random process)
You do, as it happens. In order to operate, all machines must pass fairness and randomness testing. They are also under a spot-check regime to ensure there are no post-manufacture changes or defects.
> It is sad that the average American citizen does not have a sufficient grasp of basic probabilities to even consider putting money in such a machine, because it means that the school system essentially fails at preparing kids for the real world.
You're not playing as an investment/to win, you're playing because it's fun. The probability of winning is a factor that affects the 'fun' element.
>And it is sad that governments are encouraging those temples for theft to prosper the way they do. Because it really is theft
No, it is entertainment. It's not at all theft in any way, shape or form. You may not enjoy it, and that's fine. But other people do enjoy it.
> You do, as it happens. In order to operate, all machines must pass fairness and randomness testing. They are also under a spot-check regime to ensure there are no post-manufacture changes or defects.
Many of the machines actually aren't random. Rather, large batches of results are (semi)randomly chosen such that there's a particular distribution of results in the next several thousand (or a million) results.
Wouldn't it be fairly easy to have a machine operate in "fair mode" during testing, and in "unfair mode" after that? Timers, secret commands and what have you.
> The reels are designed to show a lot of "near misses" where you almost win.
That used to be true but is not any longer after the regulator cracked down. It wasn't the reel design (the strips are fixed) but instead the reel position value.
The short version is that they fired all the technicians and replaced them with the party faithful. And then went nuts driving the PDVSA around like a combination of a gift horse and a war horse.