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Since the old thread (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,31.0.html) finally hit 1000 posts, it's time for more news! Discussion etc. goes here. Please try to keep it to at least quasi-legitimate sources.
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Co-Pilot moving seat, caused Jetliner to plummet into the ground. (http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/30/report-co-pilot-moved-seat-sent-jetliner-plumetting/?hpt=C2)
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Crisis averted. But really, the pilot lying about it makes it all worse.
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I lol'd at Bank of America's stock plummeting, by the way.
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TENGUKAMI
I HAVE A REQUEST (http://immi.is/?l=en) FOR YOU
... and then I need to learn the language :(
I lol'd at Bank of America's stock plummeting, by the way.
It's really wonderful how much of the economy is based purely on perception, so much easier to tweak than actual demand
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TENGUKAMI
I HAVE A REQUEST (http://immi.is/?l=en) FOR YOU
... and then I need to learn the language :(
This parliamentary proposal (?ings?lyktun) was passed earlier this summer. That's how we're able to have a Wikileaks server here and the government is totally OK with it.
NEWS EDIT:
Incoming House majority leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) introduces a Constitutional amendment allowing a 2/3 vote by the state governments to overturn any federal law or regulation. (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/va-legislator-says-gop-congress-wants-to-help-him-deconstruct-the-consitution-video.php) Because that's what America needs - 50 individual little fiefdoms.
For several weeks now, conservative legal circles have been buzzing with Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell's plan to amend the Constitution so that a 2/3 vote of the states could overturn overturn any federal law passed by the Congress and signed by the President. Howell first floated the idea in a September Wall Street Journal op-ed he co-wrote with Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett.
"At present, the only way for states to contest a federal law or regulation is to bring a constitutional challenge in federal court or seek an amendment to the Constitution," the pair wrote. "A state repeal power provides a targeted way to reverse particular congressional acts and administrative regulations without relying on federal judges or permanently amending the text of the Constitution to correct a specific abuse."
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NEWS EDIT:
Incoming House majority leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) introduces a Constitutional amendment allowing a 2/3 vote by the state governments to overturn any federal law or regulation. (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/va-legislator-says-gop-congress-wants-to-help-him-deconstruct-the-consitution-video.php) Because that's what America needs - 50 individual little fiefdoms.
I thought anti-Federalism died over a hundred years ago...
It sounds like a good idea on its face, but I don't see anything that's genuinely good coming from this now or certainly in the future. Although - what practical effect would repealing the 17th Amendment (direct election of senators) have?
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I used to be a pretty big advocate of state's rights, and still am to a degree, but the solution lies in increasing representation, not redistributing power. We've long since passed the point where we can go back to a limited federal government.
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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/12/01/2010-12-01_oklahoma_women_ailene_brown_shmeco_thomas_accused_of_smuggling_stolen_goods_in_b.html?r=news
A pair of would-be shoplifters gave themselves a fat chance for a clean getaway.
Using their body fat to hide the stolen goods, two women allegedly swiped $2,600 of merchandise at an Oklahoma TJ Maxx before being caught in the act, police said.
Referring to suspects Ailene Brown, 28, and Shmeco Thomas, 37, Edmond, Okla. Officer James Hamm said the two put items in "areas of their body where excess skin was" including "under their chest and armpits."
One of the women, Hamm said, tried to smuggle three pairs of boots underneath her breasts.
In total, the roly-poly robbers tried to escape with four pairs of boots, three pairs of jeans a wallet and gloves, police said.
The cops said Brown used a knife to slice off security tags during their attempted heist.
Both women were arrested for shoplifting and face felony charges
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oh god yuck why :(
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Exactly.
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Incoming House majority leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) introduces a Constitutional amendment allowing a 2/3 vote by the state governments to overturn any federal law or regulation. (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/va-legislator-says-gop-congress-wants-to-help-him-deconstruct-the-consitution-video.php) Because that's what America needs - 50 individual little fiefdoms.
Admittedly, the Articles of Confederation were initially set up as if the US WAS a set of individual little fiefdoms banded together for protection. But it's much too late to switch back to that format so readily, especially if you worship the constitution instead.
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The AoC was also set up at a time when the US was 13 states totaling about 2 million people. And it still failed.
Also, I tend to think that states' rights is a concept that a person needs to be very careful with. It was just a few decades ago that we needed to send the National Guard into Alabama and Mississippi because they refused to recognize federal law with regards to segregation. Then I imagine the same scenario with regards to abortion rights, religion, social welfare and gun laws, and I can't see any good coming of this amendment.
The thing is, I seriously doubt he expects this to pass. Amending the constitution takes a great deal of consensus (http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/a/amendments.htm), and I'm sure the distinguished gentleman is aware this consensus doesn't exist. No, what he's doing is sowing the seeds for a Senate takeover.
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Good news
Pentagon survey (with <1% error) concludes there are few problems with repealing DADT. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dadt-survey-20101201,0,4018508.story)
Bad news
That doesn't mean it's going anywhere anytime soon. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-us-democrats-lame-duck-politics,0,4656690.storyl)
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NASA finds some bacteria with arsenic based DNA in some lake in california (http://gizmodo.com/5704158/)
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NASA finds some bacteria with arsenic based DNA in some lake in california (http://gizmodo.com/5704158/)
Was going to post this. This is really Cool Beans.
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A bit late, but Popular Science has posted the Best of What's New ver. 2010. (http://www.popsci.com/bown/2010) This proves once again that science will destroy and save us all and entertain us while doing so.
Of particular personal note is the First Personalized Cancer Vaccine because I worked on a similar project for a few months. Instead of prostate cancer, the vaccine focused on liver cancer, and the APC's were helped along by a retrovirus. However, the doc in charge of the research turned out to be a sociopath, so that led to an unfortunately early exit.
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Just in case none of you really heard, Mother Russia has been chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, while Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. (http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/football/12/02/football.world.cup.2018.2022/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1)
It's what the Brits get for having the damn Media hungry for Scandals. They definitely aren't helping by bashing FIFA even more for this decision :V
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Incoming House majority leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) introduces a Constitutional amendment allowing a 2/3 vote by the state governments to overturn any federal law or regulation. (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/va-legislator-says-gop-congress-wants-to-help-him-deconstruct-the-consitution-video.php) Because that's what America needs - 50 individual little fiefdoms.
Here's a nice little article on the proposed Repeal Amendment. (http://www.slate.com/id/2276463/)
Would the city of New Orleans ever be rebuilt following a Katrina disaster if 2/3 of the states were empowered to repeal federal legislation appropriating the money to do so? After all, what's in it for Texas? Or Ohio? While the port of New Orleans may be essential to the movement of goods into the nation?and certainly important to the economic viability of the city?the loss of the port would mean more business to other ports of entry in Texas or other regional centers. What, exactly, would be the motivation of any state that is not Louisiana to support the economy of New Orleans?
I agree that the proposal would pervert the basic compromise of federalism, and also that opponents need to be saying more about this. What does it say when progressives' best response is the Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear--which, as someone whose name escapes me at the moment said, explains why the wrong ideas are funny, but not why they're wrong? The article suggests that liberals have forgotten how to invoke the Constitution for themselves, which is interesting when you consider that progressives held a virtual monopoly on Constitutional theory until around the '70s or '80s. How did such a total flip in the discourse come about so quickly? Are progressives staying out of the debate out of intellectual inertia, a reluctance to credit the opposing position by addressing it, or what? And will they realize they can't rest on being the 'default position' before they cease to be the default?
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Progressives learned to cower in fear from even being called "liberal" since Bush Sr. started using it as an insult. The Democrats stampeded for the middle, and having "leftist" ideas was tantamount to being an avowed child molester.
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Progressives learned to cower in fear from even being called "liberal" since Bush Sr. started using it as an insult. The Democrats stampeded for the middle, and having "leftist" ideas was tantamount to being an avowed child molester.
And we're still going with it. All it gets us is more debt, poorly quality of life, and less jobs.
Seriously the lefty politicians need to man up and put a boot in the GOP's ass.
As far as I'm concerned, Obama is a Republican.
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NASA finds some bacteria with arsenic based DNA in some lake in california (http://gizmodo.com/5704158/)
Sadly NASA's claims have been over-hyped and it's far from certain whether there's any meat to their arsenic based DNA :( That guy (http://scienceblogs.com/webeasties/2010/12/guest_post_arsenate-based_dna.php?utm_source=sbhomepage&utm_medium=link&utm_content=channellink) covers some of the big question mark areas over that study.
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Explosive-laden California home to be destroyed. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101206/ap_on_re_us/us_explosive_house)
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Explosive-laden California home to be destroyed. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101206/ap_on_re_us/us_explosive_house)
[/quote
This is me waiting for the inevitable youtube video.
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Sadly NASA's claims have been over-hyped and it's far from certain whether there's any meat to their arsenic based DNA :( That guy (http://scienceblogs.com/webeasties/2010/12/guest_post_arsenate-based_dna.php?utm_source=sbhomepage&utm_medium=link&utm_content=channellink) covers some of the big question mark areas over that study.
This is the unfortunate truth. Much of the lab work was hastily done, which has resulted in numerous groups questioning the results. Call it rushed, call it a slovenly performed body of work, but in the end, the science is shaky and life that uses arsenic as opposed to phosphorous has yet to be proven.
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There's been protests going on at London over the tripled Tuition fees. They recently received some pictures of them. (http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/12/london_tuition_fee_protest.html)
Quite the event...
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White Guy Becomes Black Bank Robber With Super Realistic Hollywood Mask (http://gizmodo.com/5711252/white-guy-becomes-black-bank-robber-with-super-realistic-hollywood-mask)
Last spring, a white Polish immigrant robbed several Ohio banks wearing a hyper-realistic Hollywood mask. To security cameras and witnesses, he looked like an undisguised black man. Which is why an innocent black guy was arrested for the crimes.
When Conrad Zdzierak called Hollywood mask-making company SPFXMasks inquiring about a mask of a young African American man called "The Player" and a matching set of black hands, he said he was doing the research as a movie producer. He was actually doing the research as a bank robber.
Zdzierak ordered the mask?the company's run from $600 to $1200?and donned it to commit a series of bank robberies in Ohio. Police acted quickly and mistakenly arrested a black man for the crimes. Six of seven eye witnesses identified the black man as the culprit in a lineup, and even the falsely accused man's mother thought it was her son when Police showed her a surveillance photo of the robber. That's a pretty effective disguise! The man was locked up until recently, when Zdzierak's girlfriend found the mask and a stash of money and contacted police.
Recently, a Chinese man used one of SPFXMasks' products to sneak onto a plane disguised as an elderly white man, and Zdzierak's robberies are leading authorities to believe that Southern California's "Geezer Bandit," an elderly bank robber who has gone unapprehended for months, might not be so elderly after all.
"We're proud of the fact that our masks look real, but I'm not proud of the way they were used," said Rusty Slusser, the owner of SPFXMasks. I think I might get one of those old person ones and retire really really early. [LAT]
Man if it wasn't for his damn girlfriend he would've gotten away with it all.
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There's been protests going on at London over the tripled Tuition fees. They recently received some pictures of them. (http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/12/london_tuition_fee_protest.html)
Quite the event...
Because random acts of vandalism show how much more rational your position is.
Because riding through protesters with horses can't possibly go wrong.
Because people on both sides are stupid.
Still not as bad as that peaceful protest that got pummeled into oblivion in Canada, but still.
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On the other hand, the photos are fantastic.
I've taken photos of education rallies against higher tuition rates myself, and I wish that my subjects were half as dynamic. Not destructive, just dynamic.
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All in all, I thought it was total stupidity to suddenly jump the gun and triple the tuition fees when traditionally it was never charged at all.
They should have eased out, say... begin with 2K per annum to a 6 year plan, and a 12 year increase for the rest.
But then again, Europe is pretty much in deep shit now so yeah.
thank god I studied there when it was 2004.
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But then again, Europe is pretty much in deep shit now so yeah.
thank god I studied there when it was 2004.
Excuse me, but the UK is quite a different case from the rest of Europe. Talking about Europe in general on issues like that is useless, too diverse.
The UK is pretty extreme with tuition fees, as a prof told me: "You will always get a place at an university in the UK, but you won't be able to pay for it."
As for those pictures, while I don't doubt the authenticity of the majority of them, I recall several articles about them.
There was one picture in particular that stood out in many magazines that showed a "spontaneous outburst of violence" as a protester kicked a glass-window.
The picture was cropped, in the original there were about fifty photographers standing around the guy, neatly arranged in a half-circle. Even a policeman looking over their shoulder, he was edited out in one newspaper.
It's a bit sad to think that in such an extreme situation they still stage stuff for the news, because it's to be doubted that specific moment was genuine >_>
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Yet, it is also true many people are angered by the UK's sudden decision (to which I have to question, why now? why so sudden?) , and I trust what I saw in the news when P. Charles was attacked in the parade they optimistically chosen to pass by is indication of what I can only describe as 'the people's anger'. To be fair, am I also not correct, that the Euro is not exactly at the best of affairs. I'd say as a whole, Europe is fair generalization that many things are going wrong for them, now and what I (or many people) can foresee, to continue to spiral downwards.
Of course, come to think of it, us foreigners studying in the UK has always been charged some 8K Sterling Pounds to pay for tuition fees, imagine my pain when I heard the local education was free and there are so many kids not appreciating the freedom that entitles. (which is to say, you not need to care for a single penny of student loan pay backs). Is education still friendly to the locals? I think not.
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Hackers break into Gawker, release a file with FTP, author, and reader usernames and passwords. (http://thenextweb.com/media/2010/12/13/gawker-hackers-release-file-with-ftp-author-reader-usernamespasswords/)
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So erm, after many failures of attempts at banning loli and hentai, they now propose to ban manga, anime, games but not novels which contains consensual 'rape'. lol.
dare I say if this goes true it is the last Touhou game we will ever have?
(because the law apparently prevents any sort of depiction of fictional sex to protect children, which effectively brands Touhou as a 'concern which might produce second or third creative works which can produce fictional sex with fictional minors')
I am of course, familiar with the political culture of Japan, as far as I know, the way they change PMs like they were yesterday's soiled linen, it is almost unlikely to pass, as are all their previous attempts. I have hardly found a nation more spineless when it comes to politics and being elbowed outta the international list in a first world country before, I mean, seriously it is almost pathetic.
Other countries talk about managing debt crisis with important decisions and taxes which require strict discipline in people's spending and economic overhauls, (though with a lot less success no doubt for Europe and US as a whole), but Japan puts forth all sorts of this sorta thing. There is also the issue with how they manage international waters, the way they seek to rebuke claims and ownership with petty slogans and avoidance... dick waving or not when it comes to power, Japan needs to grow a spine. At least, in my opinion, I have serious doubts about the country's future.
Then again, there used to be a time when everyone wanted to be Japanese...
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So erm, after many failures of attempts at banning loli and hentai, they now propose to ban manga, anime, games but not novels which contains consensual 'rape'. lol.
dare I say if this goes true it is the last Touhou game we will ever have?
... are you sure you're talking about the same Touhou games I've been playing?
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So erm, after many failures of attempts at banning loli and hentai, they now propose to ban manga, anime, games but not novels which contains consensual 'rape'. lol.
dare I say if this goes true it is the last Touhou game we will ever have?
(because the law apparently prevents any sort of depiction of fictional sex to protect children, which effectively brands Touhou as a 'concern which might produce second or third creative works which can produce fictional sex with fictional minors')
I am of course, familiar with the political culture of Japan, as far as I know, the way they change PMs like they were yesterday's soiled linen, it is almost unlikely to pass, as are all their previous attempts. I have hardly found a nation more spineless when it comes to politics and being elbowed outta the international list in a first world country before, I mean, seriously it is almost pathetic.
Other countries talk about managing debt crisis with important decisions and taxes which require strict discipline in people's spending and economic overhauls, (though with a lot less success no doubt for Europe and US as a whole), but Japan puts forth all sorts of this sorta thing. There is also the issue with how they manage international waters, the way they seek to rebuke claims and ownership with petty slogans and avoidance... dick waving or not when it comes to power, Japan needs to grow a spine. At least, in my opinion, I have serious doubts about the country's future.
Then again, there used to be a time when everyone wanted to be Japanese...
Well that'll be a big fuck in my face! If they do ban all that, it's like throwing over 60 years worth of history out of the window! What the hell! >:(
Which crazy ass would want to ban anime, manga and games!?
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Which crazy ass would want to ban anime, manga and games!?
Indeed.
Got a source, A-F?
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The DPJ just announced they wanna support the law, and tentatively a date is set for July 2011.
I don't wanna say it but this appeared in Nikkei news for today (14th dec) so it seems very real.
As of now, sources:
http://www.47news.jp/CN/201012/CN2010121301000306.html
this link describes what the law basically is formed from, the heavier overtones:
http://itomasaki.air-nifty.com/masaki/2010/12/post-4da4.html
It is also a fairly subjective thing altogether, with etc. stringing behind each and other sentence whenever a 'crime' is mentioned. Which happens to state 'who can buy an improper book which might hinder healthy development of youths' (a manga is one such book); '?improper glorification of illegal sexual activity, etc." which can imply about just any virtual crime, which can be in case one doesn't know, committed through social networks. Since Japan does not outright ban facebook or twitter, that is a convenience to say: we can do whatever we like to censor your shit.
But as a whole, 'materials which may corrupt the development of youths. etc' is most disturbing, because it implies that just about anything on the 'NO FUN ALLOWED' list is a no no, that may or may not include stuff like Panty & Stocking, every generic ecchi, as well as deeply violent Seinen titles like Shiki, Claymore, Berserk, Hokuto no Ken etc.
Is Touhou one of those? it promotes enough unhealthy following yes. Is Miku one of these banned items now? no, the program is not banned, but the image of miku may be. Enjoy your green leek only videos.
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Ah, for clarification purposes, you should probably understand that this is a municipal ordinance - not a national law- being spearheaded by Tokyo governor Shintaro Isehara. So it's not all over Japan or anything, and doesn't spell THE END of anime, manga and games as we know it.
But yes, I agree it's a dumb ordinance.
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Ah, for clarification purposes, you should probably understand that this is a municipal ordinance - not a national law- being spearheaded by Tokyo governor Shintaro Isehara. So it's not all over Japan or anything, and doesn't spell THE END of anime, manga and games as we know it.
But yes, I agree it's a dumb ordinance.
I was about to point this out - and it's not even a law, more like a firm guideline.
This is what happens when people get their news from Godawful Complex.
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*deadpans* Oh, and here I was worried that it was more than half-accurate this time around.
I should've remembered that the other half is naked hatemongering which amounts to the same thing as what those who hate manga "etc." are doing, except not from a position of power/status-quo.
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The Streak is over. (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=dw-favrestreak121010)
And Yahoo completely screwed up the intro to the article (http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w25/triplefactorial/Summary.png). (Image at 160KB, not risking it)
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I would think the Metrodome roof collapsing (http://search.espn.go.com/metrodome-collapse/videos/6) would be bigger news than that. The footage looks kinda scary if you ask me.
Something I just found out about, apparently there was an earthquake swarm (http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/13/arkansas.earthquakes/index.html?hpt=T2) going on in Arkansas for the past few months. Provided this wasn't entirely man-made like the article suggests, it's probably related to the old Reelfoot Rift, though I'm not too familiar with the tectonic structure of that state.
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/13/ukraine.chernobyl/index.html?hpt=C1
Pripyat will open to the public next year.
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USA emissary Richard Holbrooke is dead at 69. (http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-richard-holbrooke-20101214,0,2532982.story) :(
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USA emissary Richard Holbrooke is dead at 69. (http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-richard-holbrooke-20101214,0,2532982.story) :(
This is a bad time for him to go, and a pretty big blow to the State Department, IMO. Gonna be a dark day in DC tomorrow.
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I was about to point this out - and it's not even a law, more like a firm guideline.
This is what happens when people get their news from Godawful Complex.
nee, i feel alarmed to hell each time to go there...sometimes i think who the owner of the site is a troll with a blog (a bit yellow, like the bunbunmaru) :3
...anyways, that guy (Ishihara) is a horrible person. He said who "gays are defective,who lack to something" is a racist (even with the japanese who have "gaijin" descendants) and even in the right wing no is very popular, and he wants for this do his own political wing. Poor Tokyo, chosse that dull man three times. Must have lot of influence there (maybe from some influyent industries or something...)
i changed my downfirm for a time. I don?t like that kind of people.
(poor fujoshis, loli fans,young barasoku boys and yuri girls.maybe this industries ended emigrating to other parts from Japan if the thing is approved, a good thing for that lost places...meanwhile the rest of the no stupid people think in how quit that bad guy from Tokyo...optimism,that kind of people fall more hard and with more pain in the end! XD)
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Hackers break into Gawker, release a file with FTP, author, and reader usernames and passwords. (http://thenextweb.com/media/2010/12/13/gawker-hackers-release-file-with-ftp-author-reader-usernamespasswords/)
Well, that's just fucking awesome. Now I have to change every password on every website I've ever been to.
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Well, that's just fucking awesome. Now I have to change every password on every website I've ever been to.
Yep. This is my feeling on it: if you and your self-important little group of script kiddies want to attack a website that DARES insult the irreproachable 4chan, then attack that site - not the thousands of other users who might have only registered just to leave a comment or two under an article. Way to get the public on your side, idiots.
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I was about to point this out - and it's not even a law, more like a firm guideline.
This is what happens when people get their news from Godawful Complex.
Not just that, I understand many ordinances tend to start from here. Tokyo is the capital city afterall, Japan ain't all that big and we all know a majority of anime is broadcasted (and recorded) and then subbed later on from there. So, are you and should you be a little worried, yes. seriously, criticising where the information come from is kind of beside the point here, unless you are all too willing to prove your privy distinction as above the rest.
Since it is Tokyo, I have no doubt if the next elected prime minister is from the DPJ , chances are, it just might happen. (here's hoping it won't)
But, doubt not that the tension is there. There are many on protest as it is, mangaka as well are worried with the censorship, and we have also been fed censorship from broadcasted anime as of late anyway. Who is to say that a total ban on manga and anime as a media in the near future won't be possible? Would this debacle cause animosity among producers of shows and mangaka? Yes. Is that valid in the long run of anime broadcasting and creative future in this industry? Very yes.
Judging by the way this is going, I can only hope and cross fingers the next elected PM won't be one of these idiots. Moderates have pushed for bills that made no literal sense before, though I am not in immediate need to download everything in preparation for the worst, I am under the impression because of tensions and pokings like these that the future output of creativity may well plunder. That's why I say this again: when you have a good anime season, appreciate it. Seriously, people who say it sucks the whole season, and refuses to watch anything new cause they can't get beyond the 6th episode of something that seemed stale, or typical, are dumb.
(before this was the new censorship laws, before that was that 'bad exposure' debate which stirred up many emotional political leaders to voice their concerns, and before that was Agnes Chan, and then there was that thing about 'proposing heavier censorship' and the fact the animation industry is also one of the poorest paid jobs to have and 'no incentive to be in it unless you are fueled by passion' work model has pretty much stiffed what I can call a golden age for anime, manga and so on. frankly, is the trend going to get worse? I feel it might, even if a moderate government is formed.
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On topic wise:
Ahahaha, Malaysia claims arrogance of Singapore leaks on insults and comments: Malaysia is a country with incompetent leaders and bordering on racial conflict.
I have to say, you gotta be pretty blind to not agree.
I am not anti-nationalist spirit, but let's say we have turned a blind eye over the lack of a cohesive NON-politic centered leader, for some time now. The last one I recalled was any good was way before I was born, and I dare say no one came close to Tunku Abdul Razak. I mean, oh hey, we people aren't exactly not in the know since the PKR caught the seat in Penang to form government here, federal funding has plummeted a huge 27 million dollars. YES, forget development, you get NOTHING. Why? the federal government wants to punish people for not voting them, myself included.
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Well, that's just fucking awesome. Now I have to change every password on every website I've ever been to.
Meh. Even if I'm included in the leak, my password isn't particularly difficult to figure out in the first place - and any site where I use this combination of username and password has no particular insight into my life that I'm not willing to share anyway.
The ultimate security is the realization that you're not interesting enough for someone to bother with.
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9/11 responders bill defeated by Senate GOP filibuster (http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/09/senate.9.11.responders/)
Republicans have also reiterated that no legislation will be considered in Congress until President Obama and Democrats cave on Bush-era tax cut extensions.
Help 9/11 responders? Nope. Not until we get tax cuts for our fat rich asses.
Fucking scum.
EDIT: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-december-13-2010/lame-as-f--k-congress?xrs=share_copy
Seriously, I can't remember the last time I was so infuriated by a political issue. I could spit on these people.
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disregarding if it was only in Tokyo, the pretty much sucks.
TOKYO ?
A Tokyo metropolitan assembly panel passed a controversial bill Monday to toughen regulations on the sale of comics and animations containing depictions of ??extreme?? sexual acts.
The bill to revise the metropolitan government?s ordinance seeking sound upbringing of youth will likely clear the assembly?s plenary session Wednesday for enactment.
Amid complaints from the publishing industry that the bill could violate freedom of expression and stifle creativity, a clause was added demanding the assembly give consideration to artistic and social expression and apply the ordinance carefully. But the clause will not be legally binding.
Protesting the assembly?s move, a group of 10 major publishers selling comics such as Kodansha Ltd., Shueisha Inc. and Kadokawa Group Publishing Co, issued a statement Friday that they will refuse to take part in the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2011 to be hosted by Tokyo Gov Shintaro Ishihara in March.
The bill calls on publishers to impose self-regulation on the sale of comics and animations containing depictions of rape and other penal offenses and those ??unduly lauding or exaggerating?? incestuous affairs so that people under the age of 18 cannot purchase or access them.
The bill will designate those that the metropolitan government determines as particularly malicious as ??unhealthy books?? and ban the publishers from selling them to young people.
The regulations will take effect on July 1 next year, and will not apply to comics and animations released before then.
At Monday?s meeting of the assembly?s general affairs committee, the bill gained approval from members of the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party, while those of the Japanese Communist Party and another minor caucus opposed it.
The assembly first submitted a bill of similar content in March but was voted down in June due to opposition from publishers as well as criticism by the assembly?s largest caucus?the DPJ?that the scope of its regulations was vague.
The initial bill stated that comics and animations depicting sexual intercourse by characters apparently under the age of 18 would hamper the healthy development of children and must be controlled.
because face it, Japan when it comes to self-regulation has always been one of those to bend over backwards. You just need to look at their policies worldwide.
How would this affect us as people who view anime from that country in the long run I wonder...
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Should also be noted this law applies only to people under the age of 18. Which, to be honest, isn't unprecedented, e.g., cinema, DVDs, and games. Whether it's right is a whole other story, but anyone over the age of 18 will still be able to legally purchase it. And for some reason I don't see this law effecting how a lot of the material is distributed anyway.
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well, it is the general thing, because if you remove a target audience and rebadged it for 18 only, many publishers might wanna avoid the hassle and just plain cancel their stuff which was formerly floating about the legal border of for 15- for 16. This at least, might translate to many manga of a 'sexual nature' (which incase you haven't known are not really outlined in the law, it is noted with .etc, permitting what I believe would be entire censorship based on above newspaper quote) being canceled. I kinda figured even when harmless, no nudity shows like Seitokai Yakuindomo might be heavily censored as well.
I am also under the impression there is a majority of under 18s who are responsible consumers (yes, responsible) for such goods, I think it would affect in the long run of who can and who shall produce and consume, it is still a bad thing at least from this direction.
The bill calls on publishers to impose self-regulation on the sale of comics and animations containing depictions of rape and other penal offenses and those ‘‘unduly lauding or exaggerating’’ incestuous affairs so that people under the age of 18 cannot purchase or access them.
Of course, at the end of the day, I am sure nothing untoward might happen, there is a high chance it might not even affect the big picture as well.
BUT, are the publishers and content creators willing to bend for the government's 'implied censorship'? especially when according to the bill, it served mainly as 'to prevent the youths from being corrupted' or some sort of vague idea like that?
Let me put it this way: if the company I work for suddenly declared that I too, must wear a headscarf or some muslim headgear because I have to respect muslims in an islamic country I would stage a few protests and set a few fires. (maybe)
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Japan passes vague bill in order to think of the children; anime fans panic.
TOKYO --
In what is being referred to as "The Third Impact" by Japanese animation fans, a reference to an event in the popular Neon Genesis Evangelion series in which otherworldly creatures exterminate all life on earth, Bill 156, a revision of the "Youth Healthy Development Ordinance," has been passed, enforcing stricter regulations on anime, manga and other related images in an effort to prevent exposure of lewd and inappropriate material to minors. Shortly after they received word of the bill's passing, denizens of the internet set forth, setting discussion boards ablaze with infuriated talk of how the world as they know it has turned upside down and nothing will ever be the same.
The restriction will begin in July of next year, and many have already suited up for action. In response, many members of the infamous 4chan message board, most known for their work under the guise of "Anonymous", have teamed up with a group of renegades from Japan's 2ch discussion board. Determined to show that they mean business, as per the Anonymous way, members have been distributing software designed to perform denial-of-service attacks on various Japanese government websites and institutions, similar to the attacks on those considered enemies of the much-talked-about WikiLeaks. Speaking of, some members are scouring the WikiLeaks cable documents themselves, searching for any ammunition to use against the Japanese government.
"This is unacceptable," says an Anonymous online user. "This was a blunt attack to the freedom of speech and artistic creativity. The government of Tokyo just proved that they just don't care about public opinion, even if the "people" support this (this isn't even clear), the major part of the publishers and people intellectual active in the country will despise this law because it is against the freedom they managed to achieve through decades of publications, and this can in the future extend to another fields."
The coming attacks will no doubt be an annoyance to those targeted, though these actions will have questionable results. It is entirely possible that the Japanese government could view such retaliation as a childish tactic and further put a grip on the law they have passed without allowing for any future consideration. Whatever the case, the Japanese animation industry looks to have a very interesting future ahead of it. Anything can happen between now and July, so keep your eyes peeled on the East.
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Yeah, nothing's going to change. A month from now, all these people flipping their shit will have forgotten about it already.
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Yep. This is my feeling on it: if you and your self-important little group of script kiddies want to attack a website that DARES insult the irreproachable 4chan, then attack that site - not the thousands of other users who might have only registered just to leave a comment or two under an article. Way to get the public on your side, idiots.
I see it more as a warning that even websites with over a million members can have shitty security, they were even using DEP encryption (which was cracked well over 10 years ago) for the passwords.
I've checked the list and my account hasn't been compromised by some massive stroke of luck.
From what I can tell, the hackers got all this stuff and told gawker about it, but they were like "lol no you don't". This happened multiple times until the hackers just decided to release everything onto the internet.
Also, according to the screenshot, the new version of the gawker site so going to suck horribly and have ads for some water charity all over the place.
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Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' approved by Senate and awaiting President's signature next week. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-pn-senate-gays-20101219,0,4926811.story)
Merry Christmas. <3
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Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' approved by Senate and awaiting President's signature next week. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-pn-senate-gays-20101219,0,4926811.story)
Merry Christmas. <3
:toot:
Now they just need to finally get that bill through that gives medcare to the 9/11 first responders suffering heavily from aftereffects, financed by closing a tax loophole.
Seriously, every time that bill comes up on the Daily Show, it makes me want to punch a random politician.
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Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' approved by Senate and awaiting President's signature next week. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-pn-senate-gays-20101219,0,4926811.story)
Merry Christmas. <3
Oh woooooow, that really IS good news!
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Best part is the 6 republicans who voted for repeal. Nice to seem them not being cowards anymore pandering to their "base"; especially Murkowski (you know the Alaskan Tea Party is raging right now :D).
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a couple of my friends in the military are probably very happy about this :V!!
one of them I haven't talked to in so long...and he was so fragile...I hope he's ok
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While I am happy about the DADT repeal, I can't help but be thoroughly annoyed by the lack of the same triumph for the Dream Act.
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Surefire ways to get a piece of legislation killed (either by popular vote or in Congress with citizen support):
1) Say it'll raise taxes
2) Say it'll help the "illegals"
3) Say it will raise the cost of "x" (eg: health care)
I know plenty of conservatives to say this with 100% confidence. ::)
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Net neutrality goes up for vote today. *sigh* (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/dec/21/net-neutrality-us-new-rules-internet-access)
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Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' approved by Senate and awaiting President's signature next week. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-pn-senate-gays-20101219,0,4926811.story)
Merry Christmas. <3
Best part is the 6 republicans who voted for repeal.
I am in awe. Something good actually came of Scott Brown's miracle election.
Credit where it's due. I tip my nonexistent hat to him on this issue.
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Net neutrality goes up for vote today. *sigh* (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/dec/21/net-neutrality-us-new-rules-internet-access)
Seize the future, seize the world, I guess. Give enough years and wireless internet is going to become as biased as AM radio.
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.,
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That's it man.
Game over man.
Game over.
Ok now that my head is on straight, this is no surprise after the gigantic power switch in the Senate. It's not good at all; hell you can argue that this legislation (which is simply splitting the internet between wireless and wired) is opening Pandora's box.
But the people have spoken. Nothing you can do about it.
And calling Obama the "worst, biggest pussy of a president" is an absolute disservice to the man. He could've done more, maybe, but he has in no way been as bad as Bush. No fucking way.
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well excuse me for freaking out when something I love is destroyed
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I don't like this bill any more than you do. But I hate when people on either side blindly attack the president for the wrong reasons.
If you ask conservatives, Obama is a flower-loving hippie progressive who wants to spend spend spend until we're all bankrupt.
If you ask progressive liberals, Obama is a right-leaning coward who is afraid of the republicans and will gladly suck thier **** if it will get a bill passed.
It really is a pet peeve. Sorry I freaked out but I've held that in for 2 years and just snapped.
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If I recall my politics right, the internet's only hope is if this is brought up to the supreme court and gets ruled unconstitutional.
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I don't take sides, I just hate everyone.
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Show of hands: how many people actually read the proposal?
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:yukkuri:
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...
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Meh. Internet was going to change, no matter what; it was just a question of answering how.
Nothing stays the same.
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I would if I could actually find it anywhere. Apparently they aren't releasing it until tomorrow.
OK. Well, let me help you out with some of the details.
There is no, and never has been, any protection of net neutrality in the United States. Never. Carriers could have been charging you more for any of the websites you've visited, at any time. In fact, the FCC fought and lost a court case fighting for net neutrality (there's your "fucking pussy Obama" at work there). The new legislation being proposed would fix that. Yes that's right - if the legislation passes, carriers will NOT be allowed to charge you extra for content that you view, or for visiting a particular website.
The reason why people are flipping out is because that protection extends only to wired networks. Wireless networks are another story.
Some see that as a cop-out compromise. Maybe it is. But it's certainly not OMG THE END OF TEH NET
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Didn't we just have a thread about how doomed the internet supposedly is like a month and a half ago? Did everyone forget about that already?
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Yeah, and that shows you the attention span of people who flip their shit.
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My preferred compromise regarding the wired vs. wireless bit would have been requiring net neutrality standards for speeds or connection methods that are particularly old and/or commonplace, to be updated semi-automatically as time goes by. From what I understand, the most valid point on the conservative/no regulation/screw freedom of speech side is that broad regulations would reduce incentives for innovation and improvements to 'net access. The wired/wireless split is a cop-out based largely on what the most profitable (and growing) service methods are, which matches endorsing that motive, but it doesn't look to the future for making sure that progress of both advanced services and strong net neutrality for non-cutting-edge - i.e. the people's, rather than the elite's - services continue, rather than only endorsing it for a single old and/or fading service method.
If there were a clause about net neutrality being enforced for communication methods or bandwidth speeds that are of X age since first commercial use, have in some point been in use by X% of the population, and/or are below the Xth percentile of the national average connection speed, that'd probably address the good points of both sides. As it stands? I expect it to end up increasingly meaningless over the years as companies try to flee from older models in order to avoid having to be fair. But for a little while, it'll probably be okay. Just, there'll be another fight in a few years to update it as things change so the main point isn't lost and the obvious abusive loophole is closed.
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Those are some pretty well thought-out concerns, Mouse. I guess for me, I'm looking at this from the point of view that this is an improvement. Not the ideal one, but an improvement nonetheless.
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The old topic (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,7581.0.html)
Little happened the last time net neutrality was attempted, but with the Internet being so vital nowadays I'm expecting companies to take advantage of its apparent failure this time around. It may take a few months to implement things like domain-oriented DL speeds and marking sites as "Pay-Per-Byte" into the companies' respective networks, but don't be surprised if your Internet bill goes up at least 30% and/or access to YouTube or Netflix slows down significantly by next May or so (slightly optimistic on the date, I'm personally expecting early March at the latest).
Personally, I'm surprised that no news network has called "OMG CHAOS VOTE CYBERPOCALYPSE" yet.
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I think it's important to be careful with the slippery-slope reasoning when it comes to net neutrality. Every carrier in America has had the full legal right to charge you extra for being able to visit this or that site. Net neutrality has never existed, and yet none of these nightmare scenarios being conjured up have happened, with a few isolated exceptions (see: Comcast). The new legislation actually PREVENTS carriers from being able to do this, except on wireless. But seeing how they haven't done it yet, during the years they've had the opportunity, why does everyone seem to think they're going to wake up tomorrow facing $5/minute access charges to visiting YouTube?
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Perhaps because people fear that once it goes from "net neutrality doesn't exist and no one ever talked about it" to "net neutrality doesn't exist and the attempt to apply it was defeated", corporations will see it as a free chance to start charging without worrying about some bill coming up and slapping them in the face for it.
But that's just my take on it.
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Perhaps because people fear that once it goes from "net neutrality doesn't exist and no one ever talked about it" to "net neutrality doesn't exist and the attempt to apply it was defeated", corporations will see it as a free chance to start charging without worrying about some bill coming up and slapping them in the face for it.
But that's just my take on it.
And that would be the wrong take to have, because a) the attempt to apply it did NOT fail, as the new legislation specifically prevents carriers from doing the things everyone's afraid they'll do, and b) you better believe that carriers have been fully aware of their ability to charge exorbitant rates for access to certain webpages. But for the most part, they never did. But now that the laws are stricter on carriers, people are freaking out?
No one reads anything. People are addicted to outrage.
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No one reads anything. People are addicted to outrage.
We live in a very cynical generation. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like people my age tend to immediately assume the worst whenever anything happens.
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I think it's cross-generational. There's always some ridiculous cause de rage getting passed along in email forwards, like the "welfare mother cheating the system" meme. My cousin keeps sending these nutty Birther forwards.
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Before this thread goes on total derailment...
The UConn Juggernauts have their unbeaten streak in uncharted territory now (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/womens-basketball/recap?gid=201012210129). I'm honestly starting to think we could see a shutout in basketball the way this is going.
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To be honest, I've never really understood what the big deal is with illegal immigration.
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Well, in theory, there's taxes, jury duty, Selective Service, etc. The idea is that we don't want people reaping the benefits of our society without paying what they owe.
This is of course putting aside outright racism, which in reality is probably the biggest factor in the general lack of sympathy for illegals. If Mexicans were white and spoke English, illegal immigration would likely be a non-issue.
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This is of course putting aside outright racism, which in reality is probably the biggest factor in the general lack of sympathy for illegals. If Mexicans were white and spoke English, illegal immigration would likely be a non-issue.
Well there's also the fact that if immigrants are constantly in fear of the police, they won't report the people that hire them for all the labor laws that are being violated.
The history of West Coast agriculture has pretty much been getting in people who have no legal recourse and abusing them for maximum profits, and you'll find that illegal immigration is the continuation of those policies. The biggest donor groups against reasonable immigration reform are the companies and rich people exploiting those illegals for profit. The fact that there are racists and honest people who are easily swayed by law and order speeches just makes it an easy issue to push.
Edit: I say this as someone coming from one of the families that was used in this scheme. Before WWII Asian Americans were another part of that labor force. The reason it's mostly illegal immigrants now is because the Jim Crow laws and their Asian equivalents finally got offed.
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S?, se puede (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Ch%C3%A1vez)
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I actually agree with Ammy, the way the proposal was written is at least a start. It doesn't say anything like "wireless providers are exempt from net neutrality forever", it says "we're not doing anything about wireless yet". I feel this is reasonable for the time being, as wireless infrastructure is not quite good enough to function in a truely neutral fashion (at least, that's the way I understand it).
Now, what I genuinely don't like about the bill, at least from what I remember, I can't find a goddamn copy of it again, is that one of the things it does is take power away from the FCC by saying that a third party organization should resolve disagreements between service providers and determine what the new rules will be in the future when they come up (i.e. for wireless), which paves the way for bullshit in the future.
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I feel this is reasonable for the time being, as wireless infrastructure is not quite good enough to function in a truely neutral fashion (at least, that's the way I understand it).
Actually, this makes me think of another way to abuse the situation that really could be a problem with letting wireless networks off the hook for now - this allows the infrastructure to be designed to be incapable of functioning in a neutral fashion, now that providers have realized that they can make more money by enforcing more control over what people can do than by providing a useful service.
This would mean that the whole "it doesn't work well that way" thing could become a self-perpetuating excuse to continue exploiting people and blowing off Net Neutrality, rather than a problem on the innovative edge of the technology that has reason to be protected so it can grow and improve.
Granted - there's a chance the market might work around this so that improvements DO continue, but if cellphone networks and their roaming charges for not relying solely on their service are any indication, it's unlikely to be commonplace.
Now, what I genuinely don't like about the bill, at least from what I remember, I can't find a goddamn copy of it again, is that one of the things it does is take power away from the FCC by saying that a third party organization should resolve disagreements between service providers and determine what the new rules will be in the future when they come up (i.e. for wireless), which paves the way for bullshit in the future.
This, on the other hand, goes directly contrary to my previous evaluation and is pretty much objectively bullshit.
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Yeah, and that shows you the attention span of people who flip their shit.
really, there are people who flip their shit and people who generalize that others who flip their shit are 'uninformed' for the lack of a better word.
then, there are people are like myself who get grouped into the same when I voice my concerns, and have more than once posted certain articles that seem to rouse some to respond, when in fact, people like myself are genuinely concerned if the world is going to hell with all this nonsense. (even if it might not concern my country, because lolamerica)
I don't have to remind a lot of people that the 'first, they took my freedom, and I didn't speak up because...' quote that was quite popular; I also needn't have to say with each brick of objective steps that some seemingly uncoordinated efforts of various governments, bills, laws, censorship applied, a little of what we cherish is blocked off its air supply. Rome, as they say, it is not built in a day, the FCC is one of those bricks which lay the foundation to a very bleak future. Given much time, I won't be surprised if the mere net neutrality concern become a full blown future blow-up-in-your-face happening.
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START and help for 9/11 first-responders have finally passed the Senate. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-congress-20101223,0,824480.story)
So that's DADT (which was signed today), START, and the 9/11 bill that the Democrats won, but there still is no immigration reform yet, the Dream Act died, and tax breaks for all. Mixed bag of a lame duck session.
Let the new congress begin.
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START and help for 9/11 first-responders have finally passed the Senate. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-congress-20101223,0,824480.story)
About damn time. I'm still pissed about the tax cuts though.
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Pat Robertson wants to legalize pot. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQi7A5MW2kQ)
Merry Christmas.
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Even a broken clock...
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We were joking in IRC that he was probably just drunk, the way God intended.
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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/December/theuae_December601.xml§ion=theuae
ABU DHABI - In response to directives by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, prayers for rain ?Salaat Al Istisqaa? will be performed next Saturday (25 December 2010) at 7:30 am across all the country?s mosques and musallas.
The faithful pray to God for blessing the land with rain, in accordance with the teachings ?Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad? (peace be upon him) to seek rain from Allah.
I like how the prayer coincides with Christmas Day. We do need some rain here, though; it's awefully dry for this season.
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I prefer to see it as Christmas coinciding with the prayer for rain.
Not sure what your point is, though.
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My guess is because it's a Muslim prayer.
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Muslims revere Christ too, albeit to a limited extent.
I found the "peace be upon him" idiosyncrasy more interesting, though. Now that I think about it, that sort of thing is notably absent from fundamentalist Christianity, at least AFAIK.
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Well the prayer was answered; at 2:50am on the 26th, it rained for a brief period. I was awake at the time and it felt magical; rain to this country is like snow to anywhere else =)
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Food for thought. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101227/ap_on_re_eu/eu_failed_drug_war_solutions)
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http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BR1QB20101228
And people say assassination is a thing of the past.
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Also, any blind apologists of Assange or WikiLeaks can now hopefully choke on their damned pie. (http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/12/how-wikileaks-just-set-back-democracy-in-zimbabwe/68598/) This is the sort of damage that can be done.
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Hell, even Amnesty International has been saying that Assange & Co. have made their job more dangerous.
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This is of course putting aside outright racism, which in reality is probably the biggest factor in the general lack of sympathy for illegals. If Mexicans were white and spoke English, illegal immigration would likely be a non-issue.
I wanted to touch on this - I agree with the letter of what you said, but not the spirit. Most white, English-speaking foreign nationals who attempt to obtain citizenship go about it via the current legal channels for doing so - and are punished accordingly. A Ukranian friend of mine has spent years getting his case shuffled and reshuffled, and he is an upstanding citizen with no criminal record, holds a steady job, and owns a home. He is, in fact, more of a model citizen than the average American.
The big thing about immigration reform - and why the DREAM Act failed to pass and will continue to fail - is that it does not address the very real concerns of immigration itself - the mind-bogglingly outdated, poorly-operated, impossibly-backlogged means by which a foreign national can obtain citizenship. There is no quick and easy fix for immigration reform. The entire process must be stripped and reworked from the ground up, and no one has the guts or political clout to do so. Every politician knows this and the wheels will continue to spin for years.
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Health Care repeal is, unsurprisingly, first on the ballet. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-03-fight03_ST_N.htm) There are even commercials for a petition sponsored by a Congressman on national TV now.
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Health Care repeal is, unsurprisingly, first on the ballet. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-03-fight03_ST_N.htm) There are even commercials for a petition sponsored by a Congressman on national TV now.
The repeal effort is almost certain to fail ? the measure would have to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate and override a presidential veto ? but the vote will send a combative message to the White House about the course ahead as the GOP takes control of the House on Wednesday.
Translation: Pointless and expensive GOP temper tantrum.
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No doubt. But you know they're going to stoke this fire for at least the next two years, and if it stays then it's going to be a hot button in the 2012 election. Even if this bill leads to the best overall health in US history, they'll find a way to spin it as the worst thing ever.
However, this is, in my opinion of course, a prime example of what the next two years are going to be: ugly as hell. Our president's basically in a no-win situation. No way anything progressive legislation is passing Congress now (not that they had an easy time before), and any attempts will just give the Tea Party more ammo. But if he compromises, the progressives in the Democratic party will continue calling him a sissy traitor and risk turning against him in the primary (may fail, but a schism is the last thing the party needs).
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For some reason things don't look that bleak to me. Maybe because - and I know a lot of people are making this comparison - it reminds me of when then GOP took the House and the Senate in '94, when Clinton was president. They tried to stonewall him on the federal budget, effectively shutting down the government, but Clinton didn't budge. He ended up sticking to his guns, and got the budget he wanted. But not only does Obama and the Democrats have the advantage of at least having the Senate; Obama's approval ratings actually rose shortly after the Congressional elections (http://www.gallup.com/poll/144347/Obama-Approval-Advances-Pre-Election.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=Politics%20-%20Presidential%20Job%20Approval). After the 1994 elections, Clinton's approval was falling.
Obama and the Democrats have the momentum and the position to still get their agenda done. Unfortunately, the Democrats seem terrified of the GOP and fold like tents at the slightest sign of resistance. Hopefully this past November was a wake-up call.
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Hopefully this past November was a wake-up call.
I remember reading that like half of the Democrats who were moderate and voted against Health Care and the stimulus lost reelection campaigns. I have mixed feelings: as a moderate I hate to smile when moderates lose, but it hopefully showed the rest of the party that there's no safety net with going with the "popular" opinion, and it's better to stick to your guns.
Though I suppose those moderates probably did do just that and lost for it, so who knows what point I'm trying to make. I lost track long ago.
As for everything else, I was too young to remember the Clinton years other than the scandals, but I'll keep in mind what you've just said. Let's hope for the best.
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As for everything else, I was too young to remember the Clinton years other than the scandals, but I'll keep in mind what you've just said. Let's hope for the best.
This is a pretty good run-down of the Obama '10/Clinton '94 comparison. It's surprisingly apt, and when you consider Clinton was far more outgunned but still did two terms, it should also give Democrats some optimism.
EDIT: Whoops, forgot the article (http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/12/10/5625016-comparing-obama-in-10-and-clinton-in-94-).
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Wikileaks: US government pressures EU to accept genetically modified crops/corn on orders from Monsanto (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/03/wikileaks-us-eu-gm-crops)
Hooray, solid proof of how the US is being manipulated!
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"In a veritable Who's Who of Doctor Who, 10th Doctor David Tennant is marrying Georgia Moffett, the daughter of 5th Doctor Peter Davison, who played the Doctor's daughter in an episode of Doctor Who. Except that the Doctor's daughter was a clone of the Doctor, which meant that she really was Who. So a newer Doctor is marrying an older Doctor's daughter, who is a clone of the newer doctor, but only has half the DNA of the older Doctor."
ahahahaha
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"In a veritable Who's Who of Doctor Who, 10th Doctor David Tennant is marrying Georgia Moffett, the daughter of 5th Doctor Peter Davison, who played the Doctor's daughter in an episode of Doctor Who. Except that the Doctor's daughter was a clone of the Doctor, which meant that she really was Who. So a newer Doctor is marrying an older Doctor's daughter, who is a clone of the newer doctor, but only has half the DNA of the older Doctor."
ahahahaha
:colonveeplusalpha: :colonveeplusalpha: :colonveeplusalpha:
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Psh, the Tenth Doctor is twice the Doctor the Fifth One was. *badum-tsh*
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Even in Italy don't go to law school (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/world/europe/02youth.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general)
All the professions are feeling it to some degree or another, but it's still sad the way the legal industry is going. 200 accredited schools (owing to the ABA's DeviantArt-esque standards), churning out 40,000 new grads a year, for maybe 30,000 jobs. Oh, you'll settle for a smaller firm? So will 50 other grads from schools better than yours, and none of them are getting hired either. Settle for a local prosecutor/DA's office? Haven't hired fresh grads since the budget crises hit.
Really, in all, there've probably been few worse times to accrue 5-6 figures of student debt. I wonder if IBR is the only thing standing between us and Greece/Italy/Britain-style riots.
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Judge, 5 others killed outside an Arizona grocery store. (http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/08/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-tucson/?icid=maing|main5|dl1|sec1_lnk3|35430&a_dgi=aolshare_facebook)
EDIT: To nip the rage in the bud:
Lets get all the facts before we start blaming anybody for anything. The guy sounds deranged. Sarah Palin didn't cause it. Obama didn't cause it. The gun didn't cause it.
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Even in Italy don't go to law school (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/world/europe/02youth.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general)
All the professions are feeling it to some degree or another, but it's still sad the way the legal industry is going. 200 accredited schools (owing to the ABA's DeviantArt-esque standards), churning out 40,000 new grads a year, for maybe 30,000 jobs. Oh, you'll settle for a smaller firm? So will 50 other grads from schools better than yours, and none of them are getting hired either. Settle for a local prosecutor/DA's office? Haven't hired fresh grads since the budget crises hit.
Really, in all, there've probably been few worse times to accrue 5-6 figures of student debt. I wonder if IBR is the only thing standing between us and Greece/Italy/Britain-style riots.
Hold off on the bar and work in an office for a while? I can't really decide if the world being officially flush with lawyers is a good thing or a bad thing. The law should not be so complicated as to require them in the first place, and yet here we are.
Judge, 5 others killed outside an Arizona grocery store. (http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/08/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-tucson/?icid=maing|main5|dl1|sec1_lnk3|35430&a_dgi=aolshare_facebook)
Very sad. What will be sadder is people who plan on milking this disaster to further their political agenda, which should sicken me... but is so commonplace now that it doesn't.
And yeah, this guy sounds like a nutjob. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/09/jared-lee-loughner-troubled-past)
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I can't really decide if the world being officially flush with lawyers is a good thing or a bad thing. The law should not be so complicated as to require them in the first place, and yet here we are.
What's would make oversaturation of lawyers a good thing?
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What's would make oversaturation of lawyers a good thing?
The world would hopefully then stop producing more lawyers.
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Very sad. What will be sadder is people who plan on milking this disaster to further their political agenda, which should sicken me... but is so commonplace now that it doesn't.
While I agree with the general sentiment, I still think it'd be a little short-sighted to stop short of investigating any political motivations behind the murder of a politician. This representative was on Sarah Palin's "target map" (http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110109/bs_yblog_thecutline/questions-about-sarah-palins-target-map-dominate-facebook), for example. This woman has used violent rhetoric in her calls to action among her fringe supporters. No, I don't think that means she's responsible for this representative's death. But there is very obviously a violent far-right movement in America, cheered on and advised by certain far-right pundits, Palin among them. You know what sickens me? The inability of the US government to call these people terrorists, and apply with equal rigor the same tenacity for justice that they do against foreign/Muslim terrorists. We've seen clinics bombed, doctors shot, politicians threatened with their lives - whether this murder turns out to be politically motivated or not, what is it going to take before we stop treating these nutjobs as just a couple gun-loving hillbillies and start treating them like anti-American terrorists?
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You know what sickens me? The inability of the US government to call these people terrorists, and apply with equal rigor the same tenacity for justice that they do against foreign/Muslim terrorists. We've seen clinics bombed, doctors shot, politicians threatened with their lives - whether this murder turns out to be politically motivated or not, what is it going to take before we stop treating these nutjobs as just a couple gun-loving hillbillies and start treating them like anti-American terrorists?
How do you suggest we do this, considering what we do to terrorists is arguably unconstitutional and/or immoral?
Or perhaps another take on the question - while the first amendment doesn't extend to things like clinic bombings, what about people who just believe that clinic bombers are justified without actively participating? Should they be monitored (well, they probably already are) and/or legally corralled as a "threat to the nation"?
Constitutional measures that we'd rather not live without make it difficult to take out groups that are identified as domestic terrorists or otherwise watchlisted (PETA, Church of Scientology, Quakers :ohdear: , etc.)
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While I agree with the general sentiment, I still think it'd be a little short-sighted to stop short of investigating any political motivations behind the murder of a politician. This representative was on Sarah Palin's "target map" (http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110109/bs_yblog_thecutline/questions-about-sarah-palins-target-map-dominate-facebook), for example. This woman has used violent rhetoric in her calls to action among her fringe supporters. No, I don't think that means she's responsible for this representative's death.
This is my point, really. The "target map" is being dragged through the streets as "COINCIDENCE?!?!", but we're already pretty sure that the guy responsible had no affiliation with any political party, much less the tea party. It's all pan-flashing in an attempt to throw dirt, justified or otherwise, onto a campaign. And that isn't meant to defend Palin in any way, as I think she's far too incompetent to even hint at the assassination of anyone - she just does what she does to get attention (read: votes). Not a day after the shooting and we already have people politicizing the crap out of it, when at the core of the incident is one lone, unstable, borderline insane individual. A criminal investigation is something else entirely, and should one become neccessary to investigate any politician/fringe group/etc, I'd be all for it.
Edit: orite
what is it going to take before we stop treating these nutjobs as just a couple gun-loving hillbillies and start treating them like anti-American terrorists?
'We' as in the media? When the few people left who buy newspapers die out. 'We' as in the American government? Well, we already ban the mentally unstable from purchasing firearms, but that's only if they're registered as mentally unstable - information that comes from the NICS, which is pulled from very incomplete medical records stating if someone has been institutionalized - willingly or otherwise - in a mental hospital. So the intent is there, but the means is not. Naturally, there are very likely to be many crazies who've never seen the inside of a funny farm. In short, a better solution is needed.
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By "we" I was speaking more to the prevailing mentality that terrorists are brown people. The way I see it, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, etc. People such as Palin, Hannity, Beck and Malkin speak directly to these people, using their language and catch phrases to deliver their dog whistle messages. What I'd like to see, as I said, is great scrutiny placed on far-right terrorists within America's borders. Now, this doesn't mean I'd like to see the kind of disregard for democratic human rights that have been applied to terror suspects abroad. What I mean is, there is a seemingly great reluctance in the Justice Department to treat these groups as terrorists.
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I wrote up a nice reply and the board ate it ;_;
Anyway, tl;dr version - I agree, but such a policy would be tremendously difficult to implement, as it would be unpopular among the general public and would be an easy target for politicians looking to garner rep with their constituents.
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I'm actually with Edible on this one. Here's a video from the killer's YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHoaZaLbqB4); he's obviously stone cold crazy. Even if he saw Palin's hit list, I really doubt that's what pushed him over the edge.
As for the terrorism thing, yeah, I agree that it's a problem. It's funny how conservative political figures throw around the word "terrorism" while doing things like openly calling for the assassination of political opponents (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU9GXil9Vm8). Fundies and Tea Partiers are insincere hypocritical assholes. Shocker.
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Yeah, like I said, I'm not blaming this on Palin, nor am I saying the killer was a Teabagger. I just think the situation is a reminder of a growing but perennially ignored problem. And Edible's right that actually calling these crackers "terrorists" would be unpopular. So what? Integration was pretty unpopular throughout the south, too. To the point where we needed to get the National Guard down there at one point. Doing what's right and doing what's popular sometimes don't overlap.
It's just a classic example of the left being too terrified to try and control the dialogue. Someone shoots and kills a obstetrician, admitting that he committed the murder because the doctor provided partial-birth abortions. How is this not terrorism? Yet no public official stepped forward to call it such, because god forbid we alienate tax-protesting gun nuts who think Obama is a secret Muslim communist.
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The problem is, it's hard to have a neutral point of view when calling certain events/people/incidents/objects certain things, or anything political for that matter.
Judge, 5 others killed outside an Arizona grocery store. (http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/08/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-tucson/?icid=maing|main5|dl1|sec1_lnk3|35430&a_dgi=aolshare_facebook)
Things never change it seems.
The way I see it, there are going to be murders and assassinations as long as there are people who are deranged, crazy or unhappy. But there isn't any humane, moral, or constitutional way to stop it.
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What I'd like to see, as I said, is great scrutiny placed on far-right terrorists within America's borders. Now, this doesn't mean I'd like to see the kind of disregard for democratic human rights that have been applied to terror suspects abroad. What I mean is, there is a seemingly great reluctance in the Justice Department to treat these groups as terrorists.
It's just a classic example of the left being too terrified to try and control the dialogue. Someone shoots and kills a obstetrician, admitting that he committed the murder because the doctor provided partial-birth abortions. How is this not terrorism? Yet no public official stepped forward to call it such, because god forbid we alienate tax-protesting gun nuts who think Obama is a secret Muslim communist.
The major problem here is that these terrorists are just the militant few in a vast right-wing conspiracy like-minded constituency. Regardless of if it's right, to a great degree it's what America is and has been for no small amount of time.
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The problem is, it's hard to have a neutral point of view when calling certain events/people/incidents/objects certain things, or anything political for that matter.
I've tried to parse this sentence several times now and still don't see your point. Are you seriously suggesting we don't call things, um, things? Because it seems then you're going to run into a language problem. We understand the world around us by giving names to people, actions, and events.
The major problem here is that these terrorists are just the militant few in a vast right-wing conspiracy like-minded constituency. Regardless of if it's right, to a great degree it's what America is and has been for no small amount of time.
I disagree. There's a difference between believing abortion is wrong and actually killing a doctor over it. The people in the latter group are not a significant group of people by any means, but they are dangerous, and should be treated as such. Sure, some people will politicize it as the oppressive left-wing government trying to trample civil rights, but honestly, I think I've had about enough of this administration walking on eggshells lest it offend the batshit insane.
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Sure, some people will politicize it as the oppressive left-wing government trying to trample civil rights,
The left are trying to deny Americans the right to murder other Americans?
And yet, I agree that there are people who would argue as such. :fail:
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I've tried to parse this sentence several times now and still don't see your point. Are you seriously suggesting we don't call things, um, things? Because it seems then you're going to run into a language problem. We understand the world around us by giving names to people, actions, and events.
I'm trying to say that it's hard to discern things because bias and majority are always factors
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I'm trying to say that it's hard to discern things because bias and majority are always factors
I think it's bit of pointing out the obvious to say that there are no neutral observations, and that we all have biases. Giving names to things, however, can actual level out bias - if we have an agreed-upon definition for "terrorism", for example, we avoid this double standard that it's only terrorism when brown people do it.
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I'm trying to say that it's hard to discern things because bias and majority are always factors
I agree. Things may involve bias from time to time, and the majority is always a factor. There are three important things to consider in such circumstances: information, context, and concepts. What is "bias?" For years, scientists and philosophers alike have struggled in vain to find an answer to this quandary. It's like asking, "What are birds?" -- we just don't know. Some say that these considerations are specific in nature; others believe them to be things that are not knowable in ways of knowing. People say things are things, and politics become involved in these things. Thing factor knowledge consideration perhaps.
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I disagree. There's a difference between believing abortion is wrong and actually killing a doctor over it. The people in the latter group are not a significant group of people by any means, but they are dangerous, and should be treated as such. Sure, some people will politicize it as the oppressive left-wing government trying to trample civil rights, but honestly, I think I've had about enough of this administration walking on eggshells lest it offend the batshit insane.
I don't see where we're disagreeing with each other. What's wrong is wrong regardless of which faction the criminal claims.
The issue is that there's a reason for the government not to offend - there actually ARE so many people who are far-right or at least supportive of them over leftist alternatives. We're talking about people who tried to proactively outlaw Sharia law on a state-wide level, for instance. Yes, not engaging them only gives them more leeway to incite craziness, but there is a reason they aren't doing it, for better or worse.
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Oh, OK, I guess I misread you then. All I'm basically saying is, the Dems are sniveling pussies who let the most insane people in the country control the dialog. My cousin's a Teabagger, and I'm not afraid to laugh in his face when he starts spouting that Birther nonsense. It'd be nice to see more conservative denounce these idiots, too.
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Very sad. What will be sadder is people who plan on milking this disaster to further their political agenda, which should sicken me... but is so commonplace now that it doesn't.
Dum dee doo... (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47338.html)
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Dum dee doo... (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47338.html)
Pennsylvania Rep. Robert Brady, a Democrat from Philadelphia, told CNN that he also plans to take legislative action. He will introduce a bill that would make it a crime for anyone to use language or symbols that could be seen as threatening or violent against a federal official, including a member of Congress.
Now that sounds exploitable.
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He's also criminally retarded if he thinks that'll pass. Arguably the most important function of the first amendment is the ability to criticize the government without repercussion. Having to watch your damn back every time you offhandedly say something like "God, I wish (insert politician here) would get hit by a train"... no thank you.
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Dum dee doo... (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47338.html)
If the problem was a crazy person was able to get a gun and consequently killed people, wouldn't fixing the legislation to help better prevent such a thing from happening be a reasonable response? Or are you only talking about Brady's response, which is indeed laughable?
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If the problem was a crazy person was able to get a gun and consequently killed people, wouldn't fixing the legislation to help better prevent such a thing from happening be a reasonable response? Or are you only talking about Brady's response, which is indeed laughable?
The latter, though there are plenty of other problems with the former - as mentioned previously, the existing law already does exactly that. It's a well-meaning law that is poorly maintained due to inconsistent records. The person who brought it up, Carolyn McCarthy, is kind of the gun control equivalent of Christine O'Donnell in that she talks a good rhetoric but doesn't actually know the details of the laws she's supporting.
Edit: Although my purpose for linking the article was to show off how quickly people maneuver politically after this sort of event.
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Although my purpose for linking the article was to show off how quickly people maneuver politically after this sort of event.
I understood that; I do think though that there's a difference between saying, "OK, X happened, so maybe we ought to examine the relevant legislation and try to fix it" and the sort of empty grandstanding that Brady is demonstrating. I think the former is not only fair but also a desirable response from an elected official. I would hope the people I vote into office would be able to recognize and try to amend flaws in existing legislation. Whether flaws exist in existing gun legislation is a whole other matter, but I do think it's worth at least a review. I'd be kind of disappointed if legislators didn't do this regularly.
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Heh heh.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7092G220110110
Looks like you got your wish, Amat.
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About time someone said it.
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He's also criminally retarded if he thinks that'll pass. Arguably the most important function of the first amendment is the ability to criticize the government without repercussion. Having to watch your damn back every time you offhandedly say something like "God, I wish (insert politician here) would get hit by a train"... no thank you.
What, the Sedition Act was a perfectly fine piece of--okay, I can't bring myself to finish that sentence.
While the intent to block people who have ever been checked into a mental health institution is noble, it's clearly missing that not everyone who is criminally insane has been institutionalized (and not all mass murderers are criminally insane). Moreover, institutionalizing everyone who could possibly be criminally insane is infeasible, exploitable, and abjectly insulting.
Also, is it just me or is Hillary Clinton much more palatable now than she was years ago?
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Also, is it just me or is Hillary Clinton much more palatable now than she was years ago?
Too much bad tea does that to a person.
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While the intent to block people who have ever been checked into a mental health institution is noble, it's clearly missing that not everyone who is criminally insane has been institutionalized (and not all mass murderers are criminally insane).
Be that as it may, we do have a record of who has been institutionalized, and federal law allows us to prevent those people from purchasing firearms. Unfortunately, some states are less rigorous than others, legislatively, on what this means.
Moreover, institutionalizing everyone who could possibly be criminally insane is infeasible, exploitable, and abjectly insulting.
Fortunately no one is suggesting this.
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Heh heh.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7092G220110110
Looks like you got your wish, Amat.
Jack49 wrote:
H. Clinton says we should reject radical ideologies. So, who decides what a radical ideology is? But we can know that Clinton?s emotional reaction was from the sentiment that murder is wrong. And I agree that murder is wrong. However, if Clinton were honest and thinking, she would have to extend her logic to include in her definition of murder as a radical ideology, the Democrat agenda of abortion on damand. I for one think that the Democrat idiology of freedome for all women to murder their unborn child merely for their convenience is a radical idiology. And the child who is torn to pieces right in his mother?s womb would think so too.
And of course someone had to bring something like that up.
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Tea Party Express Fundraises Off Giffords Shooting: 'Tea Party Won't Be Silenced' (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/tea-party-express-fundraises-off-giffords-shooting-tea-party-wont-be-silenced.php?ref=fpb)
It is quite clear that liberals are trying to exploit this shooting for their own political benefit, and they used deception and dishonesty to try and smear all of us and our beliefs.
We ask you to please stand with the Tea Party Express and show your support for our efforts.
You can make a contribution online right now to the Tea Party Express - CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE.
liberals are trying to exploit this shooting for their own political benefit
You can make a contribution online right now to the Tea Party Express - CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE.
exploit this shooting for their own political benefit
CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE.
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Hey, those other guys are money grubbing bastards! Give your money to us, and we'll make sure it's in safe hands!
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After a celebrity death, it's always morbidly amusing to see how low various organizations will go to try to capitalize on it.
The thing is, not only do they expect that kind of, ah, "bold" ploy to work, it probably will.
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In lighter news, Sega installs "Toylet" games (http://www.dailybento.com/2011/01/sega-installs-%E2%80%98toylet%E2%80%99-games-in-japan%E2%80%99s-urinals/) around Tokyo. I don't know if this is to alleviate boredom or help old people aim or what.
Here are the games. (http://toylets.sega.jp/contents.shtml)
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Here are the games. (http://toylets.sega.jp/contents.shtml)
I'm really thinking about why the 3rd and fourth games are enjoyable on the toilet, let alone any of these games...
But eh... It's japan. They have everything.
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Seriously, the least you could do--if you were in any way a legitimate political actor--would be to lay out some boilerplate about how civilized, rational debate is now more important than ever for all sides, and ask people to contribute to the conversation, or whatever. It'd still be cynical, transparent, mercenary money-grubbing, but at least it'd be better than this dreck:
If Jared Loughner does have a definable political ideology it is that of a far Left anarchist. Loughner is a mentally disturbed young man who sought his ideological fulfillment from the Communist Manifesto - hardly the Bible of the Tea Party movement. He posted videos of flag burning on his YouTube channel - again, antics more consistent with Blame America First liberals, not the tea party movement.
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Hey, those other guys are money grubbing bastards! Give your money to us, and we'll make sure it's in safe hands!
And while you're at it, buy gold!
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If Jared Loughner does have a definable political ideology it is that of a far Left anarchist. Loughner is a mentally disturbed young man who sought his ideological fulfillment from the Communist Manifesto - hardly the Bible of the Tea Party movement. He posted videos of flag burning on his YouTube channel - again, antics more consistent with Blame America First liberals, not the tea party movement.
The real tragedy is that this is the only report of the issue some people will see, and they'll buy it. Especially since I'm p r e t t y sure his ideology was more closely aligned with the Tea Party (plus the congresswoman was a Dem who had just defeated a TP-backed candidate, probably not a far Left anarchist's ideal target BUT etc.).
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The real tragedy is that this is the only report of the issue some people will see, and they'll buy it. Especially since I'm p r e t t y sure his ideology was more closely aligned with the Tea Party (plus the congresswoman was a Dem who had just defeated a TP-backed candidate, probably not a far Left anarchist's ideal target BUT etc.).
Well it certainly was no less rediculous than the tea party's :smug: :smug: :smug:
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Heavy Ink Comics Retailer Applauds the Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords (http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/01/10/heavy-ink-arizona-shooting-corcoran/)
On his blog (http://tjic.com/?p=19655#comment-247560), this winner further expounds on how it is "morally legitimate to kill pro-regulation senators and pro-regulation judges, if it can be done without harming innocents." Oh, but it's all in the name of Constitutionalism, of the poor gays and prisoners oppressed by the government every day.
In my rejoinder (http://tjic.com/?p=19655#comment-247613), I refute th'ol' 'but you leftists want bush to die too :O!!' canard, while pointing out his lack of a principled and neutral schema for political murder. I cannot believe I just typed that sentence.
But I bring up the example of Posner and Easterbrook (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Turner#Threats_against_judges_and_political_figures) mainly to pose a question to the OP?just how hostile to ?regulation? are you asking people to be? Moreso than the man who has advocated replacing government-regulated adoption with a free market in babies? Where do we set the ?you must be at least this libertarian not to get shot in the fucking face? bar?
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It's also pretty amazing when rightists counter genuine concerns about far-right terrorism by pointing to groups like Earth First, who as far as I know set SUVs on fire at their very worst. There's a word for this rhetorical trick in Icelandic, "smj?rklippa", loosely meaning "to put butter in a cat's fur." You divert attention away from a problem by making people focus on less serious, often unrelated problems (the metaphor being that the cat is too busy trying to lick the butter out of its fur to bother you anymore).
And that's what really bothers me about this. The GOP has been reluctant to condemn these extremists, because they're their base. So instead of having them call for reasoned and rational discussion of the issues, or just condemning extremism, you have them going on the defensive when someone murders an obstetrician with some "well, what goes around comes around" bullshit, and jumping through hoops of logic to defend bringing loaded guns to political rallies. The party is lost to these idiots, and has been for a long time now. When Mike Steele feels compelled to apologize to Rush Limbaugh, something's very wrong with who's running the show there.
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Can I also say that it's perverse to the level of self-parody that someone who openly advocates the murder of insufficiently anti-regulatory politicians should play the 'lol looks like liberals aren't so tolerant after all' card
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Here. Its all random. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyqmZs0VoPw)
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the 'news'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4erdYR7DrsE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4erdYR7DrsE)
and also
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AyVh1_vWYQ&feature=channel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AyVh1_vWYQ&feature=channel)
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Heavy Ink Comics Retailer Applauds the Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords (http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/01/10/heavy-ink-arizona-shooting-corcoran/)
On his blog (http://tjic.com/?p=19655#comment-247560), this winner further expounds on how it is "morally legitimate to kill pro-regulation senators and pro-regulation judges, if it can be done without harming innocents."
WELL I think I can stop reading here.
Also Ama just taught me the best thing I'm going to learn today.
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When Mike Steele feels compelled to apologize to Rush Limbaugh, something's very wrong with who's running the show there.
I totally hear you, although Steele is pretty laughable in his own right. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSLhxLoNJik)
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It's old news but we only just heard about it now when telling Herasy to stop being a drunk :V. (http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/17081/48/)
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It's old news but we only just heard about it now when telling Herasy to stop being a drunk :V. (http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/17081/48/)
Dragan was able to swim to the shore and told his friends he had twisted his ankle, telling them the water was not that soft. The water is soft buddy, you just landed on a shark.
(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/382/akihateaspit.jpg)
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It's old news but we only just heard about it now when telling Herasy to stop being a drunk :V. (http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/17081/48/)
Fucking awesome.
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It's old news but we only just heard about it now when telling Herasy to stop being a drunk :V. (http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/17081/48/)
o_o That is one of the greatest news stories I have ever read. :o
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Wow. Someone literally jumped the shark.
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Wow. Someone literally jumped the shark.
I was wondering if/when someone was going to make that pun. BV
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Wow. Someone literally jumped the shark.
YEAHHHHHH (http://people.rit.edu/~bss6378/instantCSI/)
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Wow. Someone literally jumped the shark.
Oh god my sides dammit Ammy
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It's also pretty amazing when rightists counter genuine concerns about far-right terrorism by pointing to groups like Earth First, who as far as I know set SUVs on fire at their very worst. There's a word for this rhetorical trick in Icelandic, "smj?rklippa", loosely meaning "to put butter in a cat's fur." You divert attention away from a problem by making people focus on less serious, often unrelated problems (the metaphor being that the cat is too busy trying to lick the butter out of its fur to bother you anymore).
And that's what really bothers me about this. The GOP has been reluctant to condemn these extremists, because they're their base. So instead of having them call for reasoned and rational discussion of the issues, or just condemning extremism, you have them going on the defensive when someone murders an obstetrician with some "well, what goes around comes around" bullshit, and jumping through hoops of logic to defend bringing loaded guns to political rallies. The party is lost to these idiots, and has been for a long time now. When Mike Steele feels compelled to apologize to Rush Limbaugh, something's very wrong with who's running the show there.
This is a great post, both because it gives me a great idea to bother our cats with, and because I have some interesting reading (http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/) related to it thanks to Purvis.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYUpkPTcqPY
That flood in Australia did interesting things to cars...
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Sorry to bring up Palin again, but this story is just the gift that keeps on giving:
"I hate violence (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20028020-503544.html)," Beck quotes Palin as having responded. "I hate war. Our children will not have peace if politicos just capitalize on this."
"Now it turns out (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-feldman/is-palin-trying-to-incite_b_132534.html), one of [Barack Obama's] earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers...And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol'."
"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.
"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.
"I am just so fearful that this is not a man who sees America the way you and I see America, as the greatest force for good in the world. I'm afraid this is someone who sees America as 'imperfect enough' to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country."
The latter quote she made, by the way, at a McCain/Palin rally. That what she said about Ayers is demonstrably false is beside the point. It's the fact that even after someone in the audience called for Obama to be killed, she didn't pause; she stepped it up. I think this a lot more significant than the "reload" remark or the crosshair map. The accusation that she levied against her opponent back then; accusing Obama of being in league with terrorists, makes her telling Glenn Beck that she just hates it when politicos capitalize on violence seem pretty disingenuous to me.
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If Palin ever somehow becomes president, I'm gonna have a lot of fun blaming every little thing on her :V
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My point being she's got a black belt in "capitalizing on violence", as she's accusing anyone criticizing her of.
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Beck then listed what he said were instances of liberals using violent rhetoric, including, he said, Madonna threatening to "kick [Sarah Palin's] ass" during a concert.
Flawed and pointless argument aside, am I the only person who finds this mental picture intriguing?
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Flawed and pointless argument aside, am I the only person who finds this mental picture intriguing?
Someone get JT to draw this STAT
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In other news, today marks one year since the Haiti earthquake.
Make what you will of the fact that the country is still in utter shambles.
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Make what you will of the fact that the country is still in utter shambles.
It was before the earthquake, as well. Now there are just fewer buildings.
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OLD WARNING
Saw this last night, and it's amazing how well hilariously it fits. (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-3-2011/barack-obama-is-luke-skywalker)
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In today's DON'T GO TO LAW SCHOOL news, you can be denied for the bar for not making enough at your job (http://abovethelaw.com/2011/01/character-fitness-fail-for-graduate-with-no-plan-to-pay-off-his-debts/)
We accept the board?s findings of fact and conclude that the applicant has neglected his personal financial obligations by electing to maintain his part-time employment with the Public Defender?s Office in the hope that it will lead to a full-time position upon passage of the bar exam, rather than seeking full-time employment, which he acknowledges would give him a better opportunity to pay his obligations and possibly qualify him for an additional deferment of his student-loan obligation.
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In today's DON'T GO TO LAW SCHOOL news, you can be denied for the bar for not making enough at your job (http://abovethelaw.com/2011/01/character-fitness-fail-for-graduate-with-no-plan-to-pay-off-his-debts/)
I hate people.
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My mother found out you can be denied the bar by not going to law school even if you've been dealing in workers' compensation for coming-up-on-20 years, so I'm not surprised.
And she just wanted to take it for fun :V
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A New York money manager has been arrested and charged with threatening to kill 47 current and former officials at financial regulatory agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, after the C.F.T.C. accused him and two of his companies of running unregistered commodity pools. (http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/man-accused-of-threatening-to-kill-regulators/?src=twt&twt=nytimesdealbook)
According to the complaint, Mr. McCrudden accused the regulators of being corrupt and said their actions ?can only end with violence against these lifelong lawyers that work at these agencies.?
The complaint said Mr. McCrudden added on his Web posting: ?Go buy a gun, and let?s get to work in taking back our country from these criminals. I will be the first one to lead by example.?
Violent resentment against BIG GUBMINT? Why I never!
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Thoughts on the Tunisian revolution, anyone? :3
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Thoughts on the Tunisian revolution, anyone? :3
# 13 Jan: President Ben Ali promises to step down in 2014
# 14 Jan: President dissolves government and parliament, then steps down
It's certainly interesting to see autocrats get tossed down after a lifetime of corruption, but the question is whether the next government will be any better.
Here's a link (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12197343) for people who don't watch TV news. The article on whether this could have a domino effect across North Africa was an interesting read.
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"I just watched a government fall on Twitter while CNN interviewed the Jeopardy host about a robot contestant."
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Which reminds me of something my husband forwarded me from his Twitter feed....
I don't understand how the people of Tunisia overthrew their government without me signing an e-petition or changing my Twitter avatar.
Suck it, slacktivsts.
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Yeah... that's part 1 of why US/Canada will not see any progressive change in the near future. People are too lazy and comfortable, they barely even vote (though the reliability and effectiveness of voting here is more or less questionable). Part 2 is the fallout from situations like the previous conversation was about - a combination of polarizing dogma that leads people in circles instead of forward, and flinging blame around everywhere except where it belongs (inaccessibility of mental health care in a system that's essentially an insurance protection racket).
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(9:14:53 PM) E-mouse: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12205690 beautiful
(9:19:05 PM) Ulty: Ooh.
(9:20:27 PM) Ulty: That guy's pretty brave.
(9:21:59 PM) E-mouse: Extremely.
(9:22:20 PM) E-mouse: Unobtanium testicles.
(9:23:57 PM) Ulty: Heehee.
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Oh look, lets use this WWII as a bookend and then give it to my neighbor. (http://www.clickorlando.com/news/26444652/detail.html)
Florida, what is wrong with you?
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The FCC has approved Comcast's purchase of NBC (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2011/01/the_federal_communications_com_8.html?wpisrc=nl_natlalert)
FCC's approval was probably a foregone conclusion, because it's pretty much already blown its political load on net neutrality (as attenuated as the final rule was), and besides, nobody blocks a merger during a recession.
The operative question, of course, is what this means for us consumers, and the answer is--we don't know. The FCC's conditions (http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0118/DOC-304134A1.pdf) on the acquisition are basically that:
- NBComcast must give other cable providers reasonable access to NBC programming
- Various provisions to protect Netflix from being blocked or starved out by Comcast/Hulu
- The usual boilerplate about upholding diversity and localism in offerings, blah blah blah
- Comcast must hook up 2.5 million poor households
All of which seems to curb the major abuse concerns. But Comcast had to have some reason for buying out NBC. Maybe it's just corporate dick-waving, maybe this whole thing will turn out to be another AOL Time Warner. Or maybe we'll start seeing ABC or Fox News programming "accidentally" dropping from the pipes. Time will tell.
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All of which seems to curb the major abuse concerns. But Comcast had to have some reason for buying out NBC. Maybe it's just corporate dick-waving, maybe this whole thing will turn out to be another AOL Time Warner. Or maybe we'll start seeing ABC or Fox News programming "accidentally" dropping from the pipes. Time will tell.
NBC does have reach that spans the globe, with affiliates in numerous countries - something Comcast can now get a stake in. So that's one big advantage for them.
For some reason I'm not that worried about the "implications" of this. The FCC has put down some fair terms and will likely be keeping an eye on them.
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Have consequences been listed for what will be done to them if they break those promises? Because that would be the main addition I'd like to see to a lot of these deals.
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I don't think they're "promises" so much as legally binding terms, and the consequences could range anywhere from fines to shutting down broadcasting, depending on the severity of the situation.
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Have consequences been listed for what will be done to them if they break those promises? Because that would be the main addition I'd like to see to a lot of these deals.
this happens (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhcM_l4gz2c&t=3m08s)
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this happens (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhcM_l4gz2c&t=3m08s)
I was asking seriously, because I get the feeling that only vague consequences for such deals would end up becoming a slap on the wrist at best.
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I was asking seriously, because I get the feeling that only vague consequences for such deals would end up becoming a slap on the wrist at best.
It's certainly possible that NBComcast will use its sheer scale to stall FCC enforcement proceedings, at least long enough to starve out smaller competitors.
However, last time that happened... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_System_divestiture)
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However, last time that happened... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_System_divestiture)
THIS! I remember this shit! People were actually freaking out that breaking up AT&T was going to lead to lower quality and higher rates. That was pretty hilarious.
The moral of the story is: when push comes to shove, the FCC don't play.
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THIS! I remember this shit! People were actually freaking out that breaking up AT&T was going to lead to lower quality and higher rates.
Judging from AT&T's current cellphone service and pricing, it looks like they were right!
>_> <_<
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Judging from AT&T's current cellphone service and pricing, it looks like they were right!
>_> <_<
Maybe you misunderstood me. The feeling at the time was that breaking up AT&T was going to send rates up and quality down across the board - not just at AT&T. Yes, that's right - Reagan's America believed competition on the open market was bad.
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No, no. I got the reference. I'll make my shifty eyes larger next time. :(
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No, no. I got the reference. I'll make my shifty eyes larger next time. :(
Ah, my bad. I often take people too literally.
Also, I remember my local radio station did a parody song based on the impending trust-busting of AT&T, entitled "Breaking Up Is Hard On You". Hilarious in retrospect.
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Oh this is bad. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSIQ6_AkmdQ)
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Oh this is bad. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSIQ6_AkmdQ)
I couldn't help but hear this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heORiZ8l484) when I read that.
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Parents Sue Expert Witness Who Made Fake Child-Porn of Their Kids (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/01/morphed-child-porn/)
Attorney Dean Boland purchased innocent pictures of four juvenile girls from a Canadian stock-image website, and then digitally modified them to make it appear as if the children were engaged in sexual conduct. Boland was an expert witness for the defense in half-a-dozen child porn cases, and he made the mock-ups to punctuate his argument that child pornography laws are unconstitutionally overbroad because they could be applied to faked photos.
In 2007, the tactic made Boland the defendant of a deferred federal child-porn prosecution in Ohio even though his exhibits helped clear at least one client of child-porn-related allegations. Now, a federal appeals court decision (.pdf) is reinstating a civil lawsuit by the parents of two of the girls, potentially putting Boland on the hook for a minimum $300,000 plus legal costs.
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That was a bit over the top just to prove a point, yeah.
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I guess that's what happens when someone dares to point out the consistent logical fallacies of the THINK OF THE CHILDREN argument, which has long since been deserving of its own variation of Godwin's law.
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Holy fuck, what. (http://articles.philly.com/2011-01-20/news/27038788_1_grand-jury-abortion-clinic-patient-areas)
This is seriously messed up.
Edit: Another article. (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12739222&page=1)
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Holy fuck, what. (http://articles.philly.com/2011-01-20/news/27038788_1_grand-jury-abortion-clinic-patient-areas)
This is seriously messed up.
Edit: Another article. (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12739222&page=1)
I can hear the Teabaggers stampeding in the distance, carrying this story on their shoulders. And a bunch of talking heads will report this as if it were the standard instead of a hideous anomaly.
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That is seriously freaking disgusting.
I can hear the Teabaggers stampeding in the distance, carrying this story on their shoulders. And a bunch of talking heads will report this as if it were the standard instead of a hideous anomaly.
This is probably even more disgusting.
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Oh god, I read about that two days ago, and it's still just as terrifying. I mean, dude. This guy was seriously messed up.
Kittens. I need kittens.
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No, that story requires kitties and bunnies. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrBfoSxxERc)
I can hear the Teabaggers stampeding in the distance, carrying this story on their shoulders. And a bunch of talking heads will report this as if it were the standard instead of a hideous anomaly.
^ This. :ohdear:
In other news: bomb blast in Moscow Int'l terminal kills 30+. (http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/24/explosion-rocks-moscow-airport/)
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Okay, what the hell?
My aunt actually works in an abortion clinic for a living and this is so unbelievably, disgustingly fucked up.
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How does something like that even happen? I mean, it's not like it was even just the one guy. He had an entire staff. And with all the people who passed through there, it took seventeen years for something to be done about it? Fucking mindboggling.
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oh hey Israel-Palestine talks leaks (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12272523)
More damning is that Israel STILL refused all of those concessions.
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That is seriously freaking disgusting.
This is probably even more disgusting.
This. Just this. :barf:
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I couldn't help but hear this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heORiZ8l484) when I read that.
oh god
me too!
i've watched too many tf2 videos lately :|
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Hawk was loose in Library of Congress, finally captured (http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110126/us_yblog_thelookout/hawk-loose-inside-library-of-congress-finally-captured)
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Minutemen murder 9-year-old Hispanic girl + father (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-minutemen-murder-20110126,0,4235852.story)
Reporting from Tucson ?
As her mother tells it, 9-year-old Brisenia Flores had begged the border vigilantes who had just broken into her house, "Please don't shoot me."
But they did ? in the face at point-blank range, prosecutors allege, as Brisenia's father sat dead on the couch and her mother lay on the floor, pretending that she too had been killed in the gunfire.
isolated incidents!
Bonus: Right-wingers complain about racial profiling and prisoner abuse, die of irony overdose (http://www.justiceforshawnaforde.com/)
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Minutemen murder 9-year-old Hispanic girl + father (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-minutemen-murder-20110126,0,4235852.story)
That's an incredible story. Yet another thing Penn & Teller were wrong about.
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That's an incredible story. Yet another thing Penn & Teller were wrong about.
Pretty sure Penn was vehemently opposed to the Minutemen and called them assholes more than once though.
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Pretty sure Penn was vehemently opposed to the Minutemen and called them assholes more than once though.
While Penn & Teller, like all good libertarians, oppose immigration law, I remember they depicted the Minutemen as a bunch of harmless, beer-sipping hillbillies who sit around and have meetings.
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I, um. What? (http://blog.minitofu.com/2011/01/cctv-news-suspected-stolen-scenes-top-gun-fighter-jet-news/)
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I, um. What? (http://blog.minitofu.com/2011/01/cctv-news-suspected-stolen-scenes-top-gun-fighter-jet-news/)
lol reminds me of this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MPOJSsggjs
I remember there was another one that mistook one of the plane crashes in Lost for another one as well, and even took clips from it.
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I, um. What? (http://blog.minitofu.com/2011/01/cctv-news-suspected-stolen-scenes-top-gun-fighter-jet-news/)
Does Scientology have no limit to its power?!
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Egyptian networks have turned off the internet. (http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2011/01/27/egyptian-networks-turn-off-the-internet/)
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And shit has started going down something fierce in Egypt.
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Yemen, too. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/27/us-yemen-unrest-idUSTRE70Q5LV20110127) It's amazing how democracy gets started not because some foreign military swoops in to "liberate" the people, but rather because the people themselves see they have nothing to lose by revolting against authoritarianism.
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Yemen, too. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/27/us-yemen-unrest-idUSTRE70Q5LV20110127) It's amazing how democracy gets started not because some foreign military swoops in to "liberate" the people, but rather because the people themselves see they have nothing to lose by revolting against authoritarianism.
Perhaps the same could be said of all personal issues. (http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/347/dracular.jpg)
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And I didn't even have to change my Twitter avatar or sign some online -- oh, wait, we did that one already. :3
Perhaps the same could be said of all personal issues. (http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/347/dracular.jpg)
Your politicians are as empty as your ... uh ... I got nothing
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And shit has started going down something fierce in Egypt.
I've been watching it live on Al Jazeera. It's great to see people taking a stand for freedom and justice despite the odds. This could be the beginning of something really great - at the least, it serves as a warning to governments across the globe that tyranny is on the way out and today's generation demands a better life.
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http://au.news.yahoo.com/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/8736634/p-diddy-sued-for-1-trillion/
Valerie Joyce Wilson Turks has uncovered for us that the rapper P. Diddy is responsible for the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and even worse, stole a poker chip from her worth literally, "100 zillions of dollars".
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I keep thinking of V for Vendetta. "The people shouldn't be afraid of their government. The government should be afraid of its people." Or Sam Vimes, reflecting on how when you get right down to it, the police are fucking outnumbered.
But if I had to come up with my own spin on things, I'd say that when enough people are sick and tired of their government's bullshit, you can pretty much stop calling it the government. "The old regime," maybe.
Also This page (http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/01/whats-happening-egypt-explained) was pretty interesting and explanatory.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/8736634/p-diddy-sued-for-1-trillion/
Valerie Joyce Wilson Turks has uncovered for us that the rapper P. Diddy is responsible for the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and even worse, stole a poker chip from her worth literally, "100 zillions of dollars".
There is no facepalm hard enough. This is like Poe's Law-tier stupidity (any sufficiently spot-on parody is mutually indistinguishable from any sufficiently extreme/ridiculous-but-true ideology/religious-or-political-view/etc)
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http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/01/canada-gets-first-bitter-dose-of-metered-internet-billing.ars
Metered Internet usage (also called "Usage-Based Billing") is coming to Canada, and it's going to cost Internet users. While an advance guard of Canadians are expressing creative outrage at the prospect of having to pay inflated prices for Internet use charged by the gigabyte, the consequences probably haven't set in for most consumers. Now, however, independent Canadian ISPs are publishing their revised data plans, and they aren't pretty.
"Like our customers, and Canadian internet users everywhere, we are not happy with this new development," wrote the Ontario-based indie ISP TekSavvy in a recent e-mail message to its subscribers.
But like it or not, the Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved UBB for the incumbent carrier Bell Canada in September. Competitive ISPs, which connect to Canada's top telco for last-mile copper connections to customers, will also be metered by Bell. Even though the CRTC gave these ISPs a 15 percent discount this month (TekSavvy asked for 50 percent), it's still going to mean a real adjustment for consumers.
Starting on March 1, Ontario TekSavvy members who subscribed to the 5Mbps plan have a new usage cap of 25GB, "substantially down from the 200GB or unlimited deals TekSavvy was able to offer before the CRTC's decision to impose usage based billing," the message added.
By way of comparison, Comcast here in the United States has a 250GB data cap. Looks like lots of Canadians can kiss that kind of high ceiling goodbye. And going over will cost you: according to TekSavvy, the CRTC put data overage rates at CAN $1.90 per gigabyte for most of Canada, and $2.35 for the country's French-speaking region.
/me sighs
Hey guys you got room for more Canadians to move down?
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...I hope this doesn't apply to Rogers too :ohdear:
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...I hope this doesn't apply to Rogers too :ohdear:
Not yet. You and I (Cogeco User here) are unaffected by this atm, since it's only Bell and Techsavvy members atm. But I won't be surprised if they take this into affect sooner or later.
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Well there goes Canada as a viable country to move to...
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Well there goes Canada as a viable country to move to...
There's always Asian countries.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12331024
Canadian police are investigating the reported killing of 100 huskies which had been used to pull tourist sleds in the ski resort of Whistler.
What the fuck, guys. I want to say more about this but I still need a bit of time to get past the rage I'm feeling.
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Wil Wheaton tweeted this image (http://i.imgur.com/M3G7f.png).
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Wil Wheaton tweeted this image (http://i.imgur.com/M3G7f.png).
Well done.
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... since it's only Bell and Techsavvy members atm.
Son of a bitch
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Son of a bitch
"Just another reason why switching to Bell just got better" :smug:
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Someone begged me to do this... (http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz257/Hartmarco/yo-canada.jpg)
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Someone begged me to do this... (http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz257/Hartmarco/yo-canada.jpg)
pfftsnerk
(am I bad for reacting like that?)
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Dow tops 12,000 for first time since June 2008 (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dow-12k-20110202,0,6362378.story).
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Mubarak announces plans to step down after next election; protesters continue to protest; US withdraws equivocal support for Egypt and calls for change to begin sooner. (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112272918301323.html)
edit: Yemen's president also announces plans to step down. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/02/yemen-president-ali-abdullah-saleh)
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Mubarak announces plans to step down after next election; protesters continue to protest; US withdraws equivocal support for Egypt and calls for change to begin sooner. (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112272918301323.html)
I have no reaction image able to adequately express the "yes" behind this
It's beautiful
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Holy fuck
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/931775--ottawa-to-review-gouging-internet-charges
OTTAWA?The Harper government strongly hinted Tuesday Ottawa will reverse a CRTC ruling significantly driving up the cost of using the Internet that has consumers and businesses fuming.
?I can certainly undertake to you that this is a top priority for me and my department,? Industry Minister Tony Clement told reporters about a review ordered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
?What we?re concerned with and what the Prime Minister is concerned with is the impact on consumers and that is why we?re going to be reviewing this thoroughly,? PMO director of communications Dimitri Soudas said in one news report.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision has sparked outrage across the country with Canadians rushing to sign petitions asking the Conservative government to reverse it.
?We?re very concerned about this ruling by the CRTC. We?re concerned about how it impacts on consumers, on small business operators, on entrepreneurs, on creators, all Canadians . . . I will be reviewing this decision very, very quickly and will be making recommendations very, very shortly,? Clement told reporters.
?We feel very strongly that we need more competition, we need more consumer choice, we need more choices for small business owners and operators and our entrepreneurs and our creators.?
At a time when businesses and consumers are increasingly relying in the Internet to download videos, documents and even software, Bell Canada, Shaw Communications Inc., and other major players have been given the go ahead to charge users extra when they exceed monthly limits.
Consumers? Association of Canada president Bruce Cran said it?s the same old story of ?gouging? by Canada?s communications companies that have a lock on the market.
?It?s another example of the consumers being gouged by the CRTC decisions in favour of the big providers of Internet servers,? Cran told the Toronto Star.
The CRTC decision also negatively affects the smaller Internet providers that lease space on networks and offer so-called unlimited plans without downloading caps.
Don Kelly, senior vice-president of legislative affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), said the Internet is an indispensable tool for businesses across Canada and that the CFIB was sending a letter to the government asking that the CRTC decision be struck down.
?So we have a large number of businesses very worried about an element of their cost structure rising significantly and not having a clue what that might be,? Kelly said.
As for the small Internet providers, Kelly said, ?This would really cut into their ability to tailor packages suited to other clients, so we are very worried this will be really big step backwards in terms of a competitive Internet provision perspective in Canada.?
NDP critic MP Charlie Angus said the CRTC decision emphasizes that Canadian are held hostage by a handful of companies.
?We have a family compact (of) about three companies that now control your cellphones, they control your internet, they control your viewing because they now control the television networks and we are paying through the nose for it. We need competition and we need the CRTC to stand up for consumers,? he said.
Liberal MP Dan McTeague warned MPs that independent service providers ?will be forced out of the market if the CRTC?s decision on usage based billing is permitted.?
The CRTC could not be reached for comment.
The government is ACTUALLY doing something about it! \o/
GO CANADA
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Mubarak announces plans to step down after next election; protesters continue to protest; US withdraws equivocal support for Egypt and calls for change to begin sooner. (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112272918301323.html)
edit: Yemen's president also announces plans to step down. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/02/yemen-president-ali-abdullah-saleh)
Yeah, "I promise not to run for office at the end of my term" is not going to satisfy people once you've shut off their internet, shot them with rubber bullets and gassed them. It's a step in the right direction, though.
In a way, I want the US to put more pressure on, but on the other hand, wouldn't it be great if these people created their own democracies, that it was an all-Arab thing? Wouldn't that give much more credibility to the movement, in the eyes of other Arabs? Wouldn't it also destroy pre-conceived notions many Westerners have about Muslims in the Middle East?
Either way, this is starting to look good.
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The whole Muslim Brotherhood thing seems terribly overblown to me. This isn't like Iran where the revolt is being led by a powerful leader in the religious community.
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The whole Muslim Brotherhood thing seems terribly overblown to me. This isn't like Iran where the revolt is being led by a powerful leader in the religious community.
Yes, exactly. And it surprises me how many people who ought to know better are wringing their hands about MB right now.
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I'm sorry, I just got distracted by how in the first article
"Mubarak said he wants to die in Egypt - careful what you wish for!" Guapo Plethora, a user on micro-blogging site Twitter, wrote.
Another, Iyad El-Baghdadi, tweeted "Live from Tahrir Square: Everyone considers Mubarak an ex-President and think his days are numbered."
they felt the need to give a brief summary of what Twitter was, but didn't explain "tweeting."
But yeah, this stuff is generally awesome.
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@Amat: Check this out.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/02/us-egypt-islam-poll-idUSTRE7116ND20110202
Good brain candy.
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@Amat: Check this out.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/02/us-egypt-islam-poll-idUSTRE7116ND20110202
Good brain candy.
This is what we're seeing a lot of from moderate Muslims in the Middle East. They believe their faith has an important and vital role to play in politics, but for the most part reject extremists and fundamentalism while valuing democracy very highly.
And this of course brings up democracy vs human rights. The majority of those polled believe men and women should be segregated at the workplace, that adulterers should be stoned and thieves have their hands cut off. This violates human rights, of course, but if the majority feel this is OK, then it's democracy.
Democracy's flawed, yes. But I still think it's a better alternative to say, totalitarianism. A pretty radical opinion to have, I know.
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Democracy's flawed, yes. But I still think it's a better alternative to say, totalitarianism. A pretty radical opinion to have, I know.
"Democracy is the worst system of government, excepting all the others."
And honestly we won't do ourselves any favors worrying over who ends up being in charge democratically. It'll only cause what little influence we have in the area to slip, and it's not like there aren't democracies nominally allied with us doing worse.
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"Democracy is the worst system of government, excepting all the others."
And honestly we won't do ourselves any favors worrying over who ends up being in charge democratically. It'll only cause what little influence we have in the area to slip, and it's not like there aren't democracies nominally allied with us doing worse.
That's really true. I don't want to see the US get involved with Egypt and Yemen in any military sense, in support of the people. My instinct is to want to see democracy born in these countries "organically", without outside intervention. Of course, America probably wouldn't have been able to become an independent democracy itself had it not been for foreign military intervention, but that was help that was asked for.
Also, I think given how hugely unpopular our military forays into the region have been, the best America can do is give vocal support, possibly a trade embargo (although that's always risky). If there are regime changes in Yemen and Egypt, the US will probably come away from that with two new allies in the region, when all is said and done. No, I don't think fundamentalists will take over either state (some good background on Yemen here (http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/206085.php)).
It's an exciting time. I really think this is America's chance to start to win back the trust of the Middle East. But more importantly, Egypt and Yemen are taking control of their destinies.
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Canadians rejoice, our government owns:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/crtc-will-rescind-unlimited-use-internet-decision-or-ottawa-will-overturn-it/article1892522/
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Wait. Wait wait wait wait wait. Just hold on a sec and let me get this straight.
A government did something...good?
This is just way too much for me to take in all at once :ohdear:
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Hey Gpop, you got room for more Americans to move up?
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If there are regime changes in Yemen and Egypt, the US will probably come away from that with two new allies in the region, when all is said and done.
Umm, I probably would not dare to say that Egypt would be a "new" ally for the US. For example, "Since 1979, Egypt has been the second-largest recipient, after Israel, of U.S. foreign assistance." It received $1.3 billion in military aid annually since 1987. If Egypt was not considered to be an ally, then why would the US want to pump such amounts of money into it? Moreover, Egypt was named Major non-NATO ally (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_non-NATO_ally) in 1989.
Also, Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33003.pdf) makes quite an interesting read on this topic.
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Umm, I probably would not dare to say that Egypt would be a "new" ally for the US. For example, "Since 1979, Egypt has been the second-largest recipient, after Israel, of U.S. foreign assistance." It received $1.3 billion in military aid annually since 1987. If Egypt was not considered to be an ally, then why would the US want to pump such amounts of money into it? Moreover, Egypt was named Major non-NATO ally (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_non-NATO_ally) in 1989.
Also, Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33003.pdf) makes quite an interesting read on this topic.
Thanks, I'm aware of this. But giving aid to a country is not a sign that this country is an ally. The US has given aid to the former Soviet Union at a time when they were sworn enemies, and has been giving assistance to North Korea. Relations between the US and Egypt has been tense at best lately, as the US supports Israel, and recent conflicts in the Gaza Strip has left Egypt to clean up after refugees pouring across the border. The US and Egypt, in other words, are not allies per se but rather in a tenuous state of "it would benefit neither of us right now to attack each other, but we're not exactly pals when it comes to foreign policy".
Furthermore, when a government is overthrown, the country has changed. The old regime, and the old country, exists no more. The uprisers will win in Egypt, and when that happens, Egypt will be a new country. Supporting the uprisers now helps the US have a new ally in the region, in the form of Egypt's new leadership.
But hey, fuck Egypt and Yemen - haven't you people heard Canadians might have to deal with a slower internet?!
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I really don't like how just about every television news channel is broadcasting extended coverage on Egypt whenever I try to watch them, now.
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I really don't like how just about every television news channel is broadcasting extended coverage on Egypt whenever I try to watch them, now.
Well, you know, they're overthrowing a major government there. News networks haven't had news this big in a while.
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I really don't like how just about every television news channel is broadcasting extended coverage on Egypt whenever I try to watch them, now.
I know right? It's just a popular uprising in a totalitarian country that's lived under strongmen since the Ottoman Empire, and might have regional implications that could change world history. BO-RING!
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Wait. Wait wait wait wait wait. Just hold on a sec and let me get this straight.
A government did something...good?
This is just way too much for me to take in all at once :ohdear:
Surprising eh?
Now I have faith in Canada once again <3
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I know right? It's just a popular uprising in a totalitarian country that's lived under strongmen since the Ottoman Empire, and might have regional implications that could change world history. BO-RING!
I'm sorry if I presented myself as ignorant; I don't mean to say the whole affair is not significant, because it very certainly is. It's very irritating for me, though; my father frequently has the news on, and my family lives in an apartment, so unless I shut the door and fortify it with sound-proof insulation, I'm going to be hearing that stuff for a large portion of the day. I also find repetition to be particularly tiring; I deplore a routine. I just wish that more than none of the news channels could make an endeavoured attempt at variety under this circumstance.
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In his defense, watching live TV coverage of an event where they don't actually have live TV coverage means they rehash the same stuff all day until some new development occurs. I'd rather just get an RSS feed or check the news every hour or two.
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Oh you're not obliged to be interested or anything, just explaining why the news is all over this.
The Middle East has not always had the borders that it does. Most of these were put in place by the British, at times arbitrarily, without any regard to tribal, religious, ethnic or linguistic differences (T.E. Lawrence, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia, actually did draw up a map of the Middle East (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lawrence_reconstructed.jpg) in accordance with what he saw were tribal boundaries, but British authorities rejected the idea, despite the fact that Lawrence was probably the most knowledgable Brit on the Middle East at the time). This, and the creation of Israel (or rather, how that country was created), have set the tone for the way the Middle East not only deals with the West, but with its own affairs.
Shortly after the British left, most of these countries adopted some form or another of totalitarian rule, whether theocracies or dictatorships. Colonialisation has a way of stunting the growth of a country - take a look at any given country in Africa to see what I mean - and in this age of remarkably easy communication and exchanging information, more Middle Easterners are finding it easier to network, exchange ideas, discuss and organize.
What we are witnessing right now, from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen and to an extent, Iran (the outrage over the presidential elections isn't over by a long shot) is a cultural revolution, where ordinary people at the grassroots level are organizing and mobilizing to overthrow their governments. We saw something similar a couple years back in the Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan; places where there was at least a semblance of democracy. Those were applaudable uprisings but not entirely surprising.
Here, though, in the Middle East, we're seeing people rise up against totalitarian regimes, disavowing violence to achieve those ends, and religious fundamentalists appear to be largely pushed out of the greater portion of participation. This is everything Westerners have wanted to happen in the region, and it's happening without our "help" or intervention. It is more than "significant"; it is a history-changing, global event. That's why the whole world is watching.
While our Canadian friends here baw about corporate traffic throttling, Egypt has had no internet at all. They've been organizing with the help of text messaging and fax machines. Ordinary, unarmed people are facing down live ammunition, tear gas, imprisonment and torture. As someone who watched the Berlin Wall being torn down and communism collapse, I believe this is probably one of the most significant events of the past 20 years, no matter how it ends up playing out.
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Okay, I understand that this is a huge important event in history, but that doesn't mean it's okay to demean other news stories that people may be interested in. This isn't a competition over which event is more newsworthy, no more than the rage thread is a competition of who has the shittier life.
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Yeah, moreso the Canadian thing is something that Canadians and others found much more important than Egypt because it was affecting us DIRECTLY, which is why it was our main focus rather than the Egypt situation.
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All right, there's no need to further the issue at this point. People will think whatever they want about which news events are more important. Let's get back to actually discussing said events. If there's still an itch to scratch about how x is more important than y, please take it to a private medium.
This goes for both sides.
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Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, sues a reporter for doing his job. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020105889.html)
Even if you're not an NFL fan, I recommend the below article for hilarity purposes. It's fun learning how comically evil Dan Snyder is.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40063/the-cranky-redskins-fans-guide-to-dan-snyder/
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Okay, I understand that this is a huge important event in history, but that doesn't mean it's okay to demean other news stories that people may be interested in. This isn't a competition over which event is more newsworthy, no more than the rage thread is a competition of who has the shittier life.
I get this and all, and was just poking fun at the fact that this thread was rapidly becoming the Canada Internet Crisis thread, that's all. Consider it dropped.
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What we are witnessing right now, from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen and to an extent, Iran (the outrage over the presidential elections isn't over by a long shot) is a cultural revolution, where ordinary people at the grassroots level are organizing and mobilizing to overthrow their governments. We saw something similar a couple years back in the Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan; places where there was at least a semblance of democracy. Those were applaudable uprisings but not entirely surprising.
It should be noted though that only Ukraine's "Democracy score" (According to Freedom House's Nations in Transit 2010 report (http://freedomhouse.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=321:nations-in-transit-2010&catid=46:nations-in-transit&Itemid=121)) has improved since the Orange revolution of 2004 (4.88 in 2004 vs 4.39 in 2010, the lower the better). Georgia's score was 4.83 in 2003 when the revolution took place; in 2010 it was 4.93. Kyrgyzstan's score was 5.64 before the Tulip revolution, 6.21 now. Georgia is considered to be partly free, while Kyrgyzstan is still regarded as non-free state.
I just want to say that it is not enough to overthrow the current government, there must be some force that is ready to take its place and lead the country to improvement. Sometimes this force may not be present; sometimes it will fail to meet the expectations of the people, and in this case we are likely to see the repetition of Kyrgyzstan's scenario (namely, the Second Kyrgyz Revolution that took place in 2010). Hopefully such force does exist in Egypt.
Hope it does not sound as if I'm stating the obvious things in a self-satisfied and inflated way...
[/size]
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I stand by the position of 'America and other western nations quite simply needs to get their hands outta the way' and let this Egypt shift of power/movement deal with it with their own people and government. Pressures only work so much as 'positive encouragements' for a direction that I deeply feel is a part economic interests which western and other nations can benefit from this in the end. The way I see it, since MB has seemed to have very little interest so far in the issue, we more or less can expect after the fire and brimstone protests and movements, a moderate government might appear. That is always good, but what is better would be they bow to no economic or western interests, and especially the zeal to 'promote' Israel interests.
(if Baradei gets up the pedestal it would be a welcome imo.)
Don't think bad of me, I just don't like nations which have progressed from survivalist type nations (Israel being surrounded by Muslim nations) to big bullies of the middle east. I hope whatever government that comes up after this gives a kick to the balls to Israel.
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What Israel needs to do is grow up and treat the Muslim population as people instead of free labor and presumed terrorists to kill and rob whenever one of them acts up. I'm not sure threats or opposition backed with more powerful force would encourage that - in fact, I doubt it. Since the US (and other countries) seem to be considering reducing foreign aid due to the economy, making that a conditional to keep receiving funds sounds like a much better idea. But oh no, that would be anti-Semitic! Sheesh.
As for the Egypt thing? I want to call out Mubarak on claiming that his stepping down would lead to 'chaos' - but that he would be the one causing that chaos, if the presence of his loyal police forces as 'counter-protesters' and looters (with surprisingly good organization and, uh, weaponry) is any indication. I'm waiting for someone to call him out on causing having in order to be able to claim he's the only one that can stop it.
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Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, sues a reporter for doing his job. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020105889.html)
Even if you're not an NFL fan, I recommend the below article for hilarity purposes. It's fun learning how comically evil Dan Snyder is.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40063/the-cranky-redskins-fans-guide-to-dan-snyder/
That was tons of fun. Here's (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/02/AR2011020205483.html) what Gene Weingarten had to say on the subject and this (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2011/02/03/DI2011020302482.html) is him discussing it.
btw, shouldn't Egypt get it's own thread? People are probably going to talk about it for a while. It's probably recieved more posts than a few that did.
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Probably a good idea, actually. Especially if it can be extended to a discussion of the broader mideast uprisings that Tunisia provoked.
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Hope it does not sound as if I'm stating the obvious things in a self-satisfied and inflated way.
I wouldn't say it's obvious but it doesn't contradict anything I said about the situation. You're just adding additional information, which is fine. Nothing self-satisfied or inflated about that.
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Yeah, "I promise not to run for office at the end of my term" is not going to satisfy people once you've shut off their internet, shot them with rubber bullets and gassed them. It's a step in the right direction, though.
I believe you mean real bullets. They've also been mowing down civilians with cars.
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They are now, yes.
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I believe you mean real bullets. They've also been mowing down civilians with cars.
Have you seen the video on Youtube of a diplomatic car doing so? It's quite horrifying...
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Oh hey, Germany now decided to stop delivering weapons to Egypt. A bit late there, as usual, but okay.
However, what the hell is up with the idea to give Mubarak a stay here for "medical examination and treatment"? Are we a holiday resort for failed despots?
I would like to apologize for my country, I have no idea what those people are thinking >_>
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Oh hey, Germany now decided to stop delivering weapons to Egypt. A bit late there, as usual, but okay.
However, what the hell is up with the idea to give Mubarak a stay here for "medical examination and treatment"? Are we a holiday resort for failed despots?
I would like to apologize for my country, I have no idea what those people are thinking >_>
Reminds of how Volker Pispers mused on Putin getting invited to Schr?der's birthday party... 0:20 - 1:20 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ9Amuri6G8&t=0m20s)
:fail:
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Police Identify Serial Burglar by Hello Kitty Sandals (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-02-08/police-identify-serial-burglar-by-hello-kitty-sandals)
[23:16] <MaullarMaullar> well
[23:16] <MaullarMaullar> looks like that case was a... shoe-in
[23:16] <MaullarMaullar> YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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So supposedly Berlusconi had sexual relations with an underage girl and then used his relations to try to obfuscate this...
(my only link would be to a German news broadcast video, sorry)
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Yep, those are the allegations.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110209/wl_nm/us_italy_berlusconi
Completely unsurprising. Also, despite 782 pages of evidence, the trial will likely be thrown out.
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>Prosecutors accuse Berlusconi of paying for sex with a nightclub dancer when she was under 18, which is against the law in Italy.
So, does that mean being a nightclub dancer while under 18 is okay in Italy though? O___O
But yeah, not too surprised that at some point during his orgies he would end up with a slightly too young girl. And not gonna be surprised if exactly nothing happens to him, as usual. >_>
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Oh yeah, this was the bunga bunga case wasn't it.
Edit: Didn't he just scrape through a vote of confidence or something a few months back? I wonder what would happen if Berlusconi somehow got convicted and Italy's government collapsed.
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Silvio Berlusconi is the skid mark in Europe's underwear, and the sooner he's gone, the better. I couldn't begin to get into everything wrong with this guy.
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The Italian people still seem to like him enough that despite the lowering of his approval rating, it's not enough to consider him a "bad" politician. I don't think Italy will be rid of Burlesconi until he does something that REALLY pisses off Italy as a whole, which hasn't happened yet. :V
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Well that, and he happens to own the bulk of Italian media, and the Mafia love him. It's not all on the Italian people.
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So there was this massive gathering of people in Cairo anticipating something big from Egyptian president Mubarak. What was his speech like? More of the same, apparently. I don't know enough about what had circulated in their media lately to say if the people's wishes for this event were unfounded.
I use CNN as a "standard" source (http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/10/egypt-unrest-mubarak-may-address-nation-party-chief-says/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1), but this stuff is bound to be everywhere online, so go to your news agency of choice.
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Mubarak said he's stepping down, essentially. He's transferring his power to his newly-elected VP until an election can be organized.
That's how I understand the current situation.
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Al-Jazeera (http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/) has been doing a great job following Egypt and Yemen.
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As is Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/) </unabashed reuters fanboy>.
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I found Al-Jazeera's YT page less than an hour before the speech started. Most of what I'm hearing about recent events (as in the last couple days) is relatively new to me, but I had heard talks of a power transfer to the VP before today.
Fakeedit: Now the VP is speaking. Realedit: Nothing new from him either. Judging from the translation, his speech sounds even more blatantly against the people's wishes.
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Reuters are a great wire service, no doubt.
EDIT: The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/feb/10/egypt-hosni-mubarak-resignation-rumours) is saying Mubarak has refused to step down. Includes video.
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He must be a regular Sir Robin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZwuTo7zKM8&t=35s).
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EDIT: The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/feb/10/egypt-hosni-mubarak-resignation-rumours) is saying Mubarak has refused to step down. Includes video.
rofl
Heads are gonna roll.
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Yeah, it's gonna get uglier now.
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Best part is he has absolutely ZERO support from the military. They've remained fairly neutral and honorable this entire time but they were the ones to first break the news that "all the protester demands were going to be met". Shit is going to hit the fan hard.
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Mubarak is a dictator, and like all dictators he see himself as completely necessary for the running of the country; they cannot grasp that the country can exist into the future without them. Of course this runs completely against the wishes of the people.
While I agree that he has no support with the military, unless the top brass of the armed forces turns revolutionary I doubt they will allow a bloody revolutions to occur since this is really the only way the current conflict might be resolved unless one side backs down. My real concern is the takeover of the government by Muslim extremists, which would eventually leave the people of Egypt with even less freedom.
I have nothing against moderate Muslim culture, however I am concerned how the radical right might use the resulting power vacuum.
Just my opinion, doesn't really mean anything.
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Well, why not shank Mubarak and Mubarak alone?
Physical difficulties in locating him aside, at least...
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Well, why not shank Mubarak and Mubarak alone?
Physical difficulties in locating him aside, at least...
Snipers would be more effective :V
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Something that isn't politically important.
Microsoft and Nokia partnership (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20031471-501465.html).
I could've used something else better than cbs but...meh.
R.I.P. Nokia and Symbian. You will be missed...to some people.
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It's finally done (http://abcnews.go.com/International/egypt-mubarak-steps-president-cairo-erupts-joy/story?id=12891572)
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So now it's up to Suleiman and the army?
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It's finally done (http://abcnews.go.com/International/egypt-mubarak-steps-president-cairo-erupts-joy/story?id=12891572)
Not quite. (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121125158705862.html) Mubarak has resigned ... and given power to the military. That usually spells "more of the same from a different dude", but we'll see.
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If the military suddenly decides it likes being in power, this could turn bad. Let's hope for the best.
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Al-Jazeera is saying that it was Suleiman, not Mubarak, who announced the latter's resignation. Why do I get the feeling something might be amiss here... Never mind that supposedly some senior military personnel were Mubarak supporters, they're not the only ones I'm keeping my eye on right now.
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Be cautious, but hopeful~
I don't think the people, after all they've been through, are going to settle for any half-measures.
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and there we go, Mubarak crumbled.
The days that follow will be an interesting one... will it slowly shift to the leadership under the west hating secular groups? or would MB offer a moderate's voice. (I think they seem genuine on the 'we hate Al Qaeda' bit despite what western news portrays) or will a certain vacuum of power sees generals taking the power for themselves, much like a military junta force?
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Yep, those are the allegations.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110209/wl_nm/us_italy_berlusconi
Completely unsurprising. Also, despite 782 pages of evidence, the trial will likely be thrown out.
"I am a rich man who could be spending his life building hospitals for the children of the world as I have always wanted to," he told reporters. "But I am performing a service for the country and making a lot of sacrifices."
My face is twitching because it's trying to be incredulous and disgusted at the same time.
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Goddamn I love science (http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/biostorage-scheme-turns-e-coli-bacteria-data-storing-hard-drives).
Wait, does this mean that the 1TB HDD I just ordered is tiny? Damnit...
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Goddamn I love science (http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/biostorage-scheme-turns-e-coli-bacteria-data-storing-hard-drives).
:o
Storing data in... bacteria? Now that was unexpected.
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Goddamn I love science (http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/biostorage-scheme-turns-e-coli-bacteria-data-storing-hard-drives).
Wait, does this mean that the 1TB HDD I just ordered is tiny? ugh :\
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
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Goddamn I love science (http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/biostorage-scheme-turns-e-coli-bacteria-data-storing-hard-drives).
Wait, does this mean that the 1TB HDD I just ordered is tiny? Damnit...
:o
The whole thing is fascinating, but feasible. Next thing you know, we'll be using animal motor neurones as a substitute for copper-wired electricity conductors.
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Goddamn I love science (http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/biostorage-scheme-turns-e-coli-bacteria-data-storing-hard-drives).
Wait, does this mean that the 1TB HDD I just ordered is tiny? Damnit...
Now you just got to keep tabs on those bacteria, if you can...
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In b4 people insert USB ports on their own bodies.
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:o
Storing data in... bacteria? Now that was unexpected.
No so much for me because my Dad is always going on about how technology has to move towards biology in order to advance :V
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And in other news which surprises no-one, Fox News is retarded (http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/08/bulletstorm-worst-game-kids/).
Carol Lieberman, a psychologist and book author, told FoxNews.com that sexual situations and acts in video games -- highlighted so well in Bulletstorm -- have led to real-world sexual violence.
THERE ARE NO SEX SCENES IN THIS GAME, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.
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I love how they always bash the games because they could do damage to children for whom the game is not intended and that should not be playing it. Responsible parenting anyone?
Yeah, I'm aware it can at times be hard to keep in check what a child is subjected to due to friends etc., but some people really should stop acting like the guys who make a game for a mature audience are the bad ones if a kid plays it. As if a developer had anything to do with who plays the game in the end ::)
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Also there's always the view that "Video Games are just for kids" that some adults seem to hold, so they never pay attention to it until something comes up and surprises them.
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Yeah, about that Fox News article... (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/09/how-bulletstorm-became-the-worst-video-game-in-the-world/)
Basically, the entire thing is a hackjob.
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Fox News is a hackjob.
:oBREAKING NEWS :o
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:getdown:
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Yeah, about that Fox News article... (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/09/how-bulletstorm-became-the-worst-video-game-in-the-world/)
Basically, the entire thing is a hackjob.
Oh, the good old "edit a quote till it means something completely different than what was originally said". I always feel bad for the people who have that done to their words and then have to deal with the resulting uproar >_<
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We're really hoping John Brandon's never heard of Duke Nukem Forever.
:getdown: :getdown: :getdown: :getdown: :getdown:
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Basically, the entire thing is a hackjob.
Everything at FOX News is a hackjob. (http://www.sott.net/articles/show/223619-FOX-News-Insider-Stuff-Is-Just-Made-Up-) I'm not normally one to put a lot of stock in what an anonymous source says about the inner workings of a news station, but this person knows a lot more about Fox than someone from the outside would know.
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Everything at FOX News is a hackjob. (http://www.sott.net/articles/show/223619-FOX-News-Insider-Stuff-Is-Just-Made-Up-) I'm not normally one to put a lot of stock in what an anonymous source says about the inner workings of a news station, but this person knows a lot more about Fox than someone from the outside would know.
Oh, man.
What if Fox News staffers aren't instinctively conservative or don't have an intuitive feeling for what the spin on a story should be? "My internal compass was to think like an intolerant meathead," the source explains. "You could never error on the side of not being intolerant enough."
This is comedy gold.
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laughingrepublicans.jpg
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Don't these people know that fraudsters end up in the penultimate circle of hell? ::)
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Don't these people know that fraudsters end up in the penultimate circle of hell? ::)
When life gives you lemons you FIND A NEW GOD
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Egypt's military has dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution...the country's Supreme Council of Armed Forces announced on Sunday that it would remain in charge of the country for six months until a new government is formed.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011213132610927713.html
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My grandparents watch Fox News religiously, and I am thoroughly ashamed.
Egypt's military has dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution...the country's Supreme Council of Armed Forces announced on Sunday that it would remain in charge of the country for six months until a new government is formed.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011213132610927713.html (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011213132610927713.html)
Ah, that's good...I think.
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Armies who assume control of countries have a tendency to want to stay in power. Welp, let's hope it turns out different this time around.
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Everything at FOX News is a hackjob. (http://www.sott.net/articles/show/223619-FOX-News-Insider-Stuff-Is-Just-Made-Up-) I'm not normally one to put a lot of stock in what an anonymous source says about the inner workings of a news station, but this person knows a lot more about Fox than someone from the outside would know.
Much as I'd love to post a link to that on the Book of Face, I'd first like to hear what you know about the reputability of this site.
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Egypt's military has dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution...the country's Supreme Council of Armed Forces announced on Sunday that it would remain in charge of the country for six months until a new government is formed.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011213132610927713.html
And then on the other side of things, apparently Mubarak has fallen extremely ill. (http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/mubarak-life-death-state-germany-hospital)
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Everything at FOX News is a hackjob. (http://www.sott.net/articles/show/223619-FOX-News-Insider-Stuff-Is-Just-Made-Up-) I'm not normally one to put a lot of stock in what an anonymous source says about the inner workings of a news station, but this person knows a lot more about Fox than someone from the outside would know.
All news corps are hacks all the time except the business ones at some point.
Which is why some of us don't bother reading or watching the news anymore...
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Much as I'd love to post a link to that on the Book of Face, I'd first like to hear what you know about the reputability of this site.
The story source, Media Matters, is a well-respected media watchdog group. The Fox insider spoke to them directly.
All news corps are hacks all the time except the business ones at some point.
Which is why some of us don't bother reading or watching the news anymore...
Incorrect. There are a number of reputable news sites. It's not rocket science to gauge the veracity of a news source; just look at their track record.
But if you don't want to bother following the news, that's your choice.
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Incorrect. There are a number of reputable news sites. It's not rocket science to gauge the veracity of a news source; just look at their track record.
It completely depends on who you're asking though. But I'm done on this discussion.
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It completely depends on who you're asking though. But I'm done on this discussion.
Whether you're done or not, your response brings up an important point about reading the news.
It is possible to verify how truthful a news source is by looking at their track record. How many stories did they break? How many stories proved untrue? If so, why? If a news source has a good track record on the truthfulness of their reporting, then that's a source you can trust.
Seriously, this notion that "they all lie, so there's no point following the news" is lazy, over-simplistic, and inaccurate. There are good news sources, and testing how good they are is surprisingly simple.
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And then on the other side of things, apparently Mubarak has fallen extremely ill. (http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/mubarak-life-death-state-germany-hospital)
Article based on a French online-newspaper which claims to have its info from an Egyptian source that is not even linked? And no other place has picked up that news? Not even a German one, for which it would be relevant? Yeah no, they're making stuff up there >_>
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Seriously, this notion that "they all lie, so there's no point following the news" is lazy, over-simplistic, and inaccurate. There are good news sources, and testing how good they are is surprisingly simple.
I've always figured this was the other half of the hack job being done on democracy. "Everyone's lying, don't read the news. All politicians are the same, don't vote. Your voice won't be heard so it doesn't matter."
It's a malaise that seems to affect all the youth in my area, and it annoys me to no end, because if they all stopped whining about how nothing could be changed and actually tried to change something they'd have enough numbers to do it. Heck, if everyone who complained about how the parties didn't represent them turned in a blank ballot they'd change the path of the parties. But that would require people to write their names down I guess....
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Precisely, and I see plenty of people in comfortable Western democracies looking at Egypt right now, wondering the same thing - what if we did like that? Do we even have it in us? I sometimes wonder.
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Hey, at least Britain has riots.
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And Canada had that "peaceful" G20 protest.
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And Canada had that "peaceful" G20 protest.
Well, that was less a showing of the people being capable of rising up against the government as a showing of the police force being able to act like that of a totalitarian regime.
:fail:
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Precisely, and I see plenty of people in comfortable Western democracies looking at Egypt right now, wondering the same thing - what if we did like that? Do we even have it in us? I sometimes wonder.
My favourite part of this is how those same people in comfortable Western democracies are looking at Egypt and saying that it's too much of a risk to try and support a democracy movement, because at least Mubarak kept Egypt stable. (We're also getting a lot of this from the Israelis (http://www.economist.com/node/18065691), which is plenty disturbing.) And from the Americans, that a democracy would be nice, but "it's not in America's best interest" to have insecurity in the region. Sure, a revolution is always a risk, but I find it really weird that no one is recognizing that a democracy in Egypt is in everyone's best interest. Unless you are the military and/or an authoritarian regime, I guess.
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My favourite part of this is how those same people in comfortable Western democracies are looking at Egypt and saying that it's too much of a risk to try and support a democracy movement, because at least Mubarak kept Egypt stable. (We're also getting a lot of this from the Israelis (http://www.economist.com/node/18065691), which is plenty disturbing.) And from the Americans, that a democracy would be nice, but "it's not in America's best interest" to have insecurity in the region. Sure, a revolution is always a risk, but I find it really weird that no one is recognizing that a democracy in Egypt is in everyone's best interest. Unless you are the military and/or an authoritarian regime, I guess.
That's the comedo-tragic part of this to me. What's happening right now, from Tunisia to Yemen, is pretty much the collective Western wet dream of democracy just spontaneously erupting in the Middle East. Only now it's actually happening, without any armed "liberation" from foreign countries, and it makes people nervous. Frankly I don't get the skittishness.
You're right, Ruro, we should be cheering them on, just like we did when it was happening in the Ukraine and Georgia. The difference? These people are Muslims, and they cannot be trusted to manage their own affairs, they need a secular iron-fisted strongman to keep them the fuck in line, or otherwise they'll be galloping across Europe raping and pillaging and making us all quit pork. Just the same tiresome double-standard that the US, under Republicans and Democrats alike, has been giving the rest of the world: do as we say, not as we do.
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It is possible to verify how truthful a news source is by looking at their track record. How many stories did they break? How many stories proved untrue? If so, why? If a news source has a good track record on the truthfulness of their reporting, then that's a source you can trust.
Seriously, this notion that "they all lie, so there's no point following the news" is lazy, over-simplistic, and inaccurate. There are good news sources, and testing how good they are is surprisingly simple.
Out of curiosity, how is the average reader/viewer going to even begin gauging all this information? Is it all neatly recorded somewhere? Everyone claims to be a truthful news source even when they're not. At least in my experience, news sources don't maintain a list of their track records. I honestly don't know of anything that does, so it's even harder to figure out where to start.
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Out of curiosity, how is the average reader/viewer going to even begin gauging all this information? Is it all neatly recorded somewhere? Everyone claims to be a truthful news source even when they're not. At least in my experience, news sources don't maintain a list of their track records. I honestly don't know of anything that does, so it's even harder to figure out where to start.
I would recommend Reporters Without Borders (http://en.rsf.org/united-states.html), which focuses mostly on general press freedom but also what corporate interests may or may not be behind news sources. MediaMatters (http://mediamatters.org/) is also a great place to start, as is SourceWatch (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch) and 538 (http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/). What all of these groups do is watch how different media sources cover the news, and then see if what they report turns out to be true. That's the long and short of it.
You can do the same by taking any major event from recent history like, for example, the Iraq War. Look at how different media sources covered this event. Who was accurate? Who was off-base? Who was flat-out wrong? Do you see any patterns?
That's pretty much it.
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The news is always accurate. Except when they report on something you have firsthand knowledge of, in which case they are wrong about everything.
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Precisely, and I see plenty of people in comfortable Western democracies looking at Egypt right now, wondering the same thing - what if we did like that? Do we even have it in us? I sometimes wonder.
To be fair it's not really the same situation. Western governments have done a much better job of manipulating the social consciousness with propaganda.
If there was ever a revolution in the US there would be unspeakable bloodshed on all sides.
I personally don't have the stomach for that.
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To be fair it's not really the same situation. Western governments have done a much better job of manipulating the social consciousness with propaganda.
Also consider that people in the West are generally better off with higher standards of living and HDIs, meaning that they choose to prioritize the concerns of their own everyday lives over general social change and are overall more likely to be complacent.
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Also consider that people in the West are generally better off with higher standards of living and HDIs, meaning that they choose to prioritize the concerns of their own everyday lives over general social change and are overall more likely to be complacent.
My point entirely - because our lives are so comfortable and because democracy is supposedly in place in the West, organizing to enact social change should be easy-peasy, and yet few actually give a enough of a shit to push for any significant policy change, preferring instead to bitch and moan while doing nothing.
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My point entirely - because our lives are so comfortable and because democracy is supposedly in place in the West, organizing to enact social change should be easy-peasy, and yet few actually give a enough of a shit to push for any significant policy change, preferring instead to bitch and moan while doing nothing.
I don't know about Tengukami, but I specifically have an issue with the US, where 30+% of the eligible population doesn't even bother to vote. Usually the people in my generation or the one after mine.
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I don't know about Tengukami, but I specifically have an issue with the US, where 30+% of the eligible population doesn't even bother to vote. Usually the people in my generation or the one after mine.
Well, better than the people frustrated with the governing parties choosing to "protest" by voting for the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, leading to this party getting a hold in communal governments in several places in Germany.
A party which, as you may have guessed, is pretty much the regrouping of the braindead fallout from the party that governed our country about sixty years ago.
Talk about casting out the devil through the beelzebub...
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A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus?a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon. (http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/south-dakota-hb-1171-legalize-killing-abortion-providers)
first mandatory gun ownership, now this
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A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus?a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon. (http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/south-dakota-hb-1171-legalize-killing-abortion-providers)
first mandatory gun ownership, now this
/me repeatedly smashes his head on the table*
THE PAIN! WHY WON'T IT STOP?!
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A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus?a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon. (http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/south-dakota-hb-1171-legalize-killing-abortion-providers)
first mandatory gun ownership, now this
At least the mandatory gun ownership issue is a joke bill meant to make a point about health insurance.
On the "justifiable homicide" bill, I'd imagine the courts would have something to say about this. I doubt it would stand against a serious challenge. But it still has to pass first.
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bahahahahahahah (http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/15/amd-cant-even-get-through-valentines-day-without-knocking-inte/#)
AMD is hilarious.
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Thailand and Cambodia are pretty damn close to going to war with each other. (http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/UN-Security-Council-Urges-Permanent-Cambodia-Thailand-Cease-Fire--116227629.html) These two countries have had a border dispute since, well, there was a border between them, and there has always been sporadic fighting. Most of it centers around a Khmer temple called Preah Vihear. There have been some casualties between soldiers, and things are getting bad enough for the UN to urge a cease fire.
Should that happen, this would only be a temporary solution. The border dispute, illustrated here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12463447), needs to be resolved for there to be anything resembling peace. Thais and Khmers have a lot of bad blood between them already. I think a third party might be needed to mediate before it becomes a full-scale war.
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Well, I certainly hope nobody's going there on vacation any time soon.
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It should be safe to vacation in either country, so long as you stay away from the disputed area, which isn't exactly a tourist haven anyway. Which is part of the problem - Cambodia would love to make Preah Vihear a tourist destination, and it's already a World Heritage site, but it happens to sit in territory claimed by Thailand. So it's full of soldiers; not tourists.
Also, neither country is known for religious extremism or domestic terrorism, so it's almost certainly safe to go to Bangkok or Sihanoukville for vacation without worrying about being a target for reprisals.
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I guess I could arrange to take a holiday in Cambodia, then.
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Dryer than English toast, you are. Kudos.
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A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus?a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon. (http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/south-dakota-hb-1171-legalize-killing-abortion-providers)
The level of stupidity in this country's government never ceases to amaze me.
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Stupidity and brazenness. This is exactly how far the far-right in America is willing to go to create a Christian theocracy - by showing a complete disregard for civil law and common decency. Many of them are itching for armed combat, because ushering the End Of Days is their goal. Death isn't that scary when you're promised paradise. It's crazy, and I wish Democrats and Republicans were more vocal on this, and showed some bipartisanship over agreeing that these are dangerous people.
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Stupidity and brazenness. This is exactly how far the far-right in America is willing to go to create a Christian theocracy - by showing a complete disregard for civil law and common decency. Many of them are itching for armed combat, because ushering the End Of Days is their goal. Death isn't that scary when you're promised paradise. It's crazy, and I wish Democrats and Republicans were more vocal on this, and showed some bipartisanship over agreeing that these are dangerous people.
Problem. The constituency actually endorses this kind of law, doesn't see the idea of a Christian theocracy as a bad idea, and elects people who promise to do things like introduce this legislation.
This is the other side of the same coin you were holding up when talking about how Egypt's potential Muslim democracy is a democracy nonetheless.
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In b4 people insert USB ports on their own bodies.
Cyclone! ((CYCLONE)) Joker! ((Jokerrrrr))
I wanna be the Kamen Rider too man, I really wish this technology is real. Imagine performance boosters based on biological enhancement, all with something akin to a USB stick. Armies who assume control of countries have a tendency to want to stay in power. Welp, let's hope it turns out different this time around.
as are previous examples, I am inclined to believe this time the Egypt military was fed up with Mubarak and are not inclined to run a country with a voice they helped to build.
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This is the other side of the same coin you were holding up when talking about how Egypt's potential Muslim democracy is a democracy nonetheless.
I don't think there's any danger of Egypt becoming a theocracy. What I was pointing out actually is that Egyptians have fairly moderate views when it comes to their faith, so even if the government were "flavored" with Islam, it would not be the scale of oppression that many pundits are trying to maintain it will be. What Egypt would be taking is a step forward, in other words.
In the South Dakota case, America has federal laws. I think a part of democracy, or having a democratic state, is that there are some things which cannot be decided on a local level. It's to put a check on mob rule or on the sort of flash-temper cause celebre political movements, such as abortion, which tend to fly in the face of basic human rights. Such as why the National Guard needed to get involved when the south was refusing to desegregate.
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In the South Dakota case, America has federal laws. I think a part of democracy, or having a democratic state, is that there are some things which cannot be decided on a local level. It's to put a check on mob rule or on the sort of flash-temper cause celebre political movements, such as abortion, which tend to fly in the face of basic human rights. Such as why the National Guard needed to get involved when the south was refusing to desegregate.
Incidentally, we HAVE recently seen the far-right proposing to invalidate federal law in favor of states' rights...
I guess after thinking about it my question is - How would the federal government null this state's law? There would have to be some overriding federal law granting protection to abortion doctors, which I somehow don't see getting passed any time soon... Unless I'm missing something.
If the National Guard gets involved with protecting abortion doctors, things are going to get really, really ugly. Nobody wants to give the image of being ready to fire on fellow citizens.
(Incidentally, this is the first time I've heard the phrase "justified homicide".)
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I guess after thinking about it my question is - How would the federal government null this state's law?
Probably under the interstate trade clause, since granting anyone the legal right to murder people is a really bad thing for trade. When all you need to do to claim justifiable homicide is to claim someones a danger to an unborn child you've effectively legalized murder. It's not that hard to set up a "danger" to an unborn child.
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If the language is vague enough to provide justification for shooting an obstetrician for performing an abortion, I think the bill - should it become law - would have a hard time in federal court. Even if all this is is rhetoric, it helps legitimize and mainstream-ize the idea held by anti-choice radicals; that murdering doctors saves babies. That's why I'm saying both parties need to seriously respond loud and clear to politicians - or really, anyone - who advocates such an idea.
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If the National Guard gets involved with protecting abortion doctors, things are going to get really, really ugly. Nobody wants to give the image of being ready to fire on fellow citizens.
Can you imagine the reaction Fox News et al would have if Obama actually sent in the National Guard? Just hypothetically. Because I sure as fuck can't. I mean they called him Hitler and the Antichrist just for wanting universal healthcare/acknowledging the existence of non-Christians/being an uppity negro. They already went straight for the top shelf with their hyperbole, what the fuck is left for them to even say? I really wonder.
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Can you imagine the reaction Fox News et al would have if Obama actually sent in the National Guard? Just hypothetically. Because I sure as fuck can't. I mean they called him Hitler and the Antichrist just for wanting universal healthcare/acknowledging the existence of non-Christians/being an uppity negro. They already went straight for the top shelf with their hyperbole, what the fuck is left for them to even say? I really wonder.
Have they tried "Ayatollah" yet?
It's not that hard to set up a "danger" to an unborn child.
You're dating someone who could be my future spouse and therefore a threat to the child we could have together. :troll:
That's why I'm saying both parties need to seriously respond loud and clear to politicians - or really, anyone - who advocates such an idea.
And here we run into the issue that the Republicans don't want to lose the numbers they have with the Tea Party, etc. around.
But let's go with this court idea. How quickly could that law be rendered unconstitutional/void after (and assuming) it gets passed?
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Can you imagine the reaction Fox News et al would have if Obama actually sent in the National Guard? Just hypothetically. Because I sure as fuck can't. I mean they called him Hitler and the Antichrist just for wanting universal healthcare/acknowledging the existence of non-Christians/being an uppity negro. They already went straight for the top shelf with their hyperbole, what the fuck is left for them to even say? I really wonder.
I think Sean Hannity would just explode in a giant mist cloud of blood from rage.
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I guess after thinking about it my question is - How would the federal government null this state's law? There would have to be some overriding federal law granting protection to abortion doctors, which I somehow don't see getting passed any time soon... Unless I'm missing something.
There's no federal law protecting serial killers, but that doesn't mean a civilian can shoot a convicted serial killer in the face and get away with it without a sentence.
Incidentally, I've never seen "justifiable homicide" used outside of a self-defense, law enforcement, or military operations/counterterrorism perspective.
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Probably under the interstate trade clause, since granting anyone the legal right to murder people is a really bad thing for trade. When all you need to do to claim justifiable homicide is to claim someones a danger to an unborn child you've effectively legalized murder. It's not that hard to set up a "danger" to an unborn child.
The Commerce Clause binds the federal Congress, not the states. For a Constitutional attack on the SoDak bill, we should look to the 14th Amendment. Withholding the protection of the state from a disfavored class is precisely the ill the 14th Amendment was meant to address. And while abortion doctors are not a protected class in the same way race is, the bill probably doesn't even pass the rather deferential rational-basis standard. It doesn't take particularly searching scrutiny to see a problem in granting the state's imprimatur to politically motivated murder.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12478238
An Iraqi defector whose claims Saddam Hussein had biological weapons helped justify the 2003 invasion has said he lied to bring the ex-leader down.
Shit, why did I laugh so hard at this?
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Hey, remember when the Right used a false sting video to destroy ACORN? Well, Planned parenthood is next! >:( (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIBVHBXOt8g)
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Mass-misinformation is the most insidious thing in existence. It makes me so sick.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12478238
An Iraqi defector whose claims Saddam Hussein had biological weapons helped justify the 2003 invasion has said he lied to bring the ex-leader down.
Shit, why did I laugh so hard at this?
Because this has been known since 2004, if not earlier? :derp:
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12478238
Shit, why did I laugh so hard at this?
I think for me it was the fact that Mr. Janabi figured "This sounds like a good way to get rid of Saddam!" but then had no idea that it could be used as a justification for war. "What? But he doesn't actually have them, and you're going to war anyway!?"
"lol yep :P"
Shock and LOL, man. Shock and LOL.
The bigger the lie...
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People forget that Iraq has a massive stockpile of other weapons they were by treaty not allowed to have. For years, the Iraqis had refused or belayed UN inspectors. The day the invasion began, Iraq starting firing missiles at Kuwait it had spent years insisting it did not have.
I know it's easy to only say "we went to war because of the WMDs" or "we went to war because of the oil" or what-have-you, but there was a hell of a lot more to it - and it was almost assured to happen even before 9/11.
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Libya joins in on the protesting fun and shenanigans. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12477275)
Nonetheless:
However, correspondents say it is unlikely that Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi - who has ruled the country since a coup in 1969 - will lose power any time soon.
Not terribly surprising, knowing Gadaffi.
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On a somewhat different tack, this is kind of creepy (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/15/AR2011021502747.html) and reminds me of Argentina's Guerra Sucia, except more blatant. :ohdear:
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I just learned that under the Fox News logo it says "Fair & Balanced"
no words
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Woah woah woah woah.
http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/16/in_major_reversal_us_to_rebuke_israel_in_security_council
Woah.
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I'd be more impressed if the move wasn't more words to avoid actually out and out admitting Israel is breaking the law, but it is something.
Five bucks says the usual groups will claim this is selling out to the terrorists....
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Woah woah woah woah.
http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/16/in_major_reversal_us_to_rebuke_israel_in_security_council
Woah.
Still, the U.S. offer signaled a renewed willingness to seek a way out of the current impasse, even if it requires breaking with Israel and joining others in the council in sending a strong message to its key ally to stop its construction of new settlements.
That is pretty significant.
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it's world war 3 man
world war 3
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Still, the U.S. offer signaled a renewed willingness to seek a way out of the current impasse, even if it requires breaking with Israel and joining others in the council in sending a strong message to its key ally to stop its construction of new settlements.
About effing time.
As much as the attacks from and human rights violations in the surrounding countries are terrible, Isreal's settling policy is condemnable as well, and stopping it would be a major step towards peace in the middle east.
Of course, my opinions don't matter because I am totally only badmouthing Israel because I am German and thus hate jews.
/me facepalms*
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About effing time.
As much as the attacks from and human rights violations in the surrounding countries are terrible, Isreal's settling policy is condemnable as well, and stopping it would be a major step towards peace in the middle east.
Of course, my opinions don't matter because I am totally only badmouthing Israel because I am German and thus hate jews.
/me facepalms*
Like there were never German Jews or something. Or that every German was a Nazi. Or that this is the 21st century.
Anyway, getting back on topic, things continue to heat up in Libya. (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/201121716917273192.html)
Mohammed Ali Abdellah, deputy leader of the exiled National Front for the Salvation of Libya, said that hospitals in al-Baida were experiencing a shortage of medical supplies, saying the government had refused to provide them to treat an increasing number of protesters.
Abdellah quoted hospital officials in the town as saying that about 70 people have been admitted since Wednesday night, about half of them critically injured by gunshot wounds.
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German Marketplace Organizer Deutsche Boerse purchases the NYSE Euronext (The NYSE parent) for $9.53B (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-15/deutsche-boerse-9-53-billion-nyse-buy-may-spur-deals.html)
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Of course, my opinions don't matter because I am totally only badmouthing Israel because I am German and thus hate jews.
OMG YOUR NICKNAME IS IRYAN THAT'S ONLY ONE LETTER AWAY FROM ARYAN!!!1!
But anyway, from the AP (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain_protests), I found a line that intrigued me, even though it was mentioned almost in passing:
Protesters have turned a landmark square in the capital of Manama into their base camp, which was swollen with tens of thousands of people by nightfall Wednesday. Their chants literally reverberated off the buildings and bridges. They sang the Egyptian national anthem. Their next important move takes a page directly from the Egypt unrest: calling for a major march after Friday prayers to re-energize its followers.
This made me start grinning. Why? Because La Marseillaise, the French Revolutionary anthem, later France's official anthem, used to be the song to sing when you were having a revolution. The Russian workers sang La Marseillaise as they marched in the streets during the Russian Revolution. It really made me smile to think that the Egyptian national anthem might be on its way to becoming the La Marseillaise of the 21st century. :)
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And so it begins. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110219/us_nm/us_wisconsin_protests_15)
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This made me start grinning. Why? Because La Marseillaise, the French Revolutionary anthem, later France's official anthem, used to be the song to sing when you were having a revolution. The Russian workers sang La Marseillaise as they marched in the streets during the Russian Revolution. It really made me smile to think that the Egyptian national anthem might be on its way to becoming the La Marseillaise of the 21st century. :)
... god, you're amazing.
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psh someone just wants an egyptian version of rose of versailles
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This is probably of limited interest to most people, but the 7th Circuit just recently held that gardens, and by extension any concept art that does not take a 'fixed' form, is not copyrightable. (http://clancco.com/wp/2011/02/16/vara_moral-rights_sculpture_originality/)
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Shit's getting more serious with the Middle East protests. Libya in particular is slipping more and more into a frenzied state, and while the country's leader is gradually losing his power, I'd call this transition less than ideal considering the unneeded violence that's going on. BBC this time (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12523669) as that's the first article I saw today about it, but Al-Jazeera has it too.
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12:26 p.m. ET - Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has declared war on the Libyan people and is committing genocide.
Yeah it's basically complete chaos now in Libya.
e: don't click this if you have a weak heart http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/fpl51/gaddafi_burns_his_soldiers_in_their_barracks_for/
Gadhafi torched the barracks of soldiers who refused to open fire on protestors, burning them alive.
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Khaddafi was America's Number One Enemy when I was in middle school. By the time I graduated, he was an ally. By the time 9/11 happened, he was a friend. And now he's come full circle. GJ, Khaddafi!
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Granted he seemed to be sort of "improving", he gave up his nuclear program and seemed to be cooperative with anti-terrorism efforts and in exchange we loosened embargos and sanctions. But now it's obvious the people don't want him and he's going to fight to the bitter end to keep his tinpot dictatorship going.
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More Libya news. http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE71K23020110221
A couple of Libyan Air Force colonels are ordered to fire on protestors in their fighter jets, instead defect to Malta. All signs point to the military wanting nothing to do with the massacre which is, frankly, great news.
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More Libya news. http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE71K23020110221
A couple of Libyan Air Force colonels are ordered to fire on protestors in their fighter jets, instead defect to Malta. All signs point to the military wanting nothing to do with the massacre which is, frankly, great news.
Honestly my first thought was "Who has their colonels flying around? They should be at their desks." :V
Really though, having two colonels defect is a good thing, and hopefully more members of Libya's military follow their lead.
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For once militars aren't willing to listen to the head of government. This is actualy amazing, since it doesn't happen a lot (If it ever happens). Shows you how people have started to learn to follow their own judgement instead of blindly following orders.
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I don't know what to say to this other than I hope that Gaddafi (or however you spell his name) is stopped soon.
And just a side note: House Republicans seek to eliminate Planned Parenthood.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7779058/house_passes_amendment_that_strips.html?cat=5
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Honestly my first thought was "Who has their colonels flying around? They should be at their desks." :V
Really though, having two colonels defect is a good thing, and hopefully more members of Libya's military follow their lead.
Not everyone has the wonderful Chair Force we do.
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And just a side note: House Republicans seek to eliminate Planned Parenthood.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7779058/house_passes_amendment_that_strips.html?cat=5
Oh look, another money-wasting, time-killing, futile "we're making a point!" initiative from the GOP that will never get passed.
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Honestly my first thought was "Who has their colonels flying around? They should be at their desks." :V
US colonels are equivalent in rank to navy/air force captains, and the USAF has more captains airborne than any other rank.
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Oh look, another money-wasting, time-killing, futile "we're making a point!" initiative from the GOP that will never get passed.
I like the way this (http://thepage.time.com/2011/02/10/the-big-questions-deficit-reduction/) article from Time puts it:
Leaders on both sides know that real deficit reduction will mean cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Pentagon. Honest Republicans understand that tax increases will also be required (but they can?t say so out loud). Democrats worry that Medicare and Medicaid reductions could involve revisions in their brand-new health care law (but they can?t acknowledge that as they fend off conservative repeal efforts). Any agreement that can pass Congress will require each side to speak hard truths. But nobody wants to cry uncle first.
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US colonels are equivalent in rank to navy/air force captains, and the USAF has more captains airborne than any other rank.
It was partly a joke, but I'm going off of what I remember when my uncle was in the Air Force. Once he became a Lt. Colonel they put him behind a desk, and he hastened to retire after that because they wouldn't let him fly.
Anyway, more on Libya: some video from the protests. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5rRVDL_OpE&feature=player_embedded) It's a bit violent, so proceed with caution. In the vid there's also a currently-unconfirmed claim that protesters recovered the body of a contracted soldier. It wouldn't surprise me if that was true.
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US colonels are equivalent in rank to navy/air force captains, and the USAF has more captains airborne than any other rank.
Yeah but in Libya colonel is the highest rank you can obtain in the Libyan Air Force.
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Hod Lipson, director of the Computational Synthesis Laboratory at Cornell University, brought a 3D printer to the conference, to demonstrate how his well-established project, named Lab@Home, is branching out into bioprinting - by creating an ear. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12507034)
And thusly, science marches on.
Oh man. I can't wait to see what sort of crazy shit this could produce alongside biocomputer designs.....
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something unrelated to the Middle East nonsense
Excavation of Medical school in Japan may hold secrets about human experiments in WWII:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41689993 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41689993)
Hod Lipson, director of the Computational Synthesis Laboratory at Cornell University, brought a 3D printer to the conference, to demonstrate how his well-established project, named Lab@Home, is branching out into bioprinting - by creating an ear. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12507034)
And thusly, science marches on.
Oh man. I can't wait to see what sort of crazy shit this could produce alongside biocomputer designs.....
And eventually, we'll no longer need bodies, nor will we have to work for a living.
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Homeowner, fucked by Wells Fargo, sues in small claims and wins default judgment, which he then uses to get a sheriff's levy on the local Wells Fargo branch (http://agentgenius.com/real-estate-news-events/single-homeowner-forecloses-on-wells-fargo-office-becomes-folk-hero/)
So good to see small claims court being used by the little guy like it was originally meant to.
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Not to beat the Libya drum too much here, but this article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703498804576157460505874944.html) is a great round-up of the country and the region.
Libya's ambassador to the U.S., Ali Aujali, formally broke with Col. Gadhafi on Monday and called for him to step down. The deputy head of Libya's delegation to the United Nations, meanwhile, said he had stopped taking orders from the government and is asking the international community to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya's airspace so it couldn't bring in more mercenaries.
Can you imagine the US Ambassador to the UN announcing that he wasn't taking orders from the government anymore, and then encouraging foreign military forces to create a no-fly zone around the country? Khaddafi has like, zero credibility within his own government anymore. Police have ceded entire cities to protesters, at one point got in a gun fight with the army while defending protesters, chunks of the military have flipped, and his top brass just disregard him. Is it just me, or does it seem like he's pretty much irrelevant already? How much longer could he possibly stay in power?
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Not to beat the Libya drum too much here, but this article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703498804576157460505874944.html) is a great round-up of the country and the region. Can you imagine the US Ambassador to the UN announcing that he wasn't taking orders from the government anymore, and then encouraging foreign military forces to create a no-fly zone around the country? Khaddafi has like, zero credibility within his own government anymore. Police have ceded entire cities to protesters, at one point got in a gun fight with the army while defending protesters, chunks of the military have flipped, and his top brass just disregard him. Is it just me, or does it seem like he's pretty much irrelevant already? How much longer could he possibly stay in power?
My knowledge of Libyan history is lacking, but isn't Gaddafi notorious for placing members of his family in high-ranking political (and military) positions? I'd imagine as a whole, he still has enough clout to be a nuisance (and enough wealth to buy mercenaries).
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Is it just me, or does it seem like he's pretty much irrelevant already? How much longer could he possibly stay in power?
Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has vowed to fight on and die a "martyr", calling on his supporters to take back the streets from protesters demanding his ouster, shouting and pounding his fist in a furious speech on state TV.
...
"Muammar Gaddafi is the leader of the revolution, I am not a president to step down ... This is my country. Muammar is not a president to leave his post."
"I have not yet ordered the use of force, not yet ordered one bullet to be fired ... when I do, everything will burn."
He called on supporters to take to the streets to attack protesters. "You men and women who love Gaddafi ...get out of your homes and fill the streets," he said. "Leave your homes and attack them in their lairs ... Starting tomorrow the cordons will be lifted, go out and fight them."
...
Shouting in the rambling speech, Gaddafi declared himself "a warrior" and proclaimed: "Libya wants glory, Libya wants to be at the pinnacle, at the pinnacle of the world".
This is how. (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/201122216458913596.html)
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This is how. (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/201122216458913596.html)
He's vowed to die as a martyr. Seems he already knows his number's up.
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In other news, a 6.3 quake struck near the city of Christchurch in New Zealand (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usb0001igm.php). Casualty figures seem to keep increasing, and structural damage is quite extensive despite the quake not being especially strong, most likely because the quake occurred very close to the surface and thus close to the city.
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The Defense of Marriage Act has been deemed unconstitutional, or at least a fair bit of it. (http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/obama_doj_say_part_of_doma_is_unconstitutional_will_not_defend_it_in_court.php)
Yeah!!!!!!!!
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More acts by rationally-thinking people. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/23/us-libya-protests-idUSTRE71G0A620110223)
Instead of bombing their own countrymen, the pilots and crew of a bomber sent to raze Benghazi (a city recently freed from Gaddafi's control), they took off of the runway and then just parachuted out of the plane mid-flight, letting it crash somewhere outside of town.
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That ... is probably the best troll I have ever seen.
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The Defense of Marriage Act has been deemed unconstitutional, or at least a fair bit of it. (http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/obama_doj_say_part_of_doma_is_unconstitutional_will_not_defend_it_in_court.php)
Yeah!!!!!!!!
More acts by rationally-thinking people. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/23/us-libya-protests-idUSTRE71G0A620110223)
Instead of bombing their own countrymen, the pilots and crew of a bomber sent to raze Benghazi (a city recently freed from Gaddafi's control), they took off of the runway and then just parachuted out of the plane mid-flight, letting it crash somewhere outside of town.
It's rare that I come here as I seldom has anything worthwhile to contribute, let alone have the stomach for political nonsense anymore, but stuff like this always makes me smile.
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That ... is probably the best troll I have ever seen.
Would've been better if they bombed Gaddafi!
Finally a liberal US sting op: Impersonating a billionaire while calling a Republican! (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/23/948732/-Busted:-Scott-Walker-fell-for-Prankster-posing-as-David-Koch-)
Not-Koch: We?ll back you any way we can. What we were thinking about the crowd was, uh, was planting some troublemakers.
Walker: You know, well, the only problem with that ?because we thought about that. The problem?the, my only gut reaction to that is right now the lawmakers I?ve talked to have just completely had it with them, the public is not really fond of this?[explains that planting troublemakers may not work.] My only fear would be if there?s a ruckus caused is that maybe the governor has to settle to solve all these problems?[something about '60s liberals.]?Let ?em protest all they want?Sooner or later the media stops finding it interesting.
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It's rare that I come here as I seldom has anything worthwhile to contribute, let alone have the stomach for political nonsense anymore, but stuff like this always makes me smile.
Yes, it made me giggle. Like a schoolgirl.
Finally a liberal US sting op: Impersonating a billionaire while calling a Republican! (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/23/948732/-Busted:-Scott-Walker-fell-for-Prankster-posing-as-David-Koch-)
picard-facepalm.jpg
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Finally a liberal US sting op: Impersonating a billionaire while calling a Republican! (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/23/948732/-Busted:-Scott-Walker-fell-for-Prankster-posing-as-David-Koch-)
ahaha oh man
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That is truly brilliant.
Is the Palin thing they're referencing in the beginning of the article that revelation that she's a fan of Blue Oyster Cult?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12556005
"Quryna reported that a Libyan fighter plane had crashed near Ajdabiya after the two pilots refused to bomb Benghazi and ejected."
IT KEEPS HAPPENING
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The only way these Libyan pilots could be more awesome is if they were playing Rock the Casbah as they crash their planes or fly away with them.
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http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/23/iran.mideast.unrest/index.html?eref=edition
The hypocrisy here is brain-numbing. I feel so bad for the gigantic pile of perfectly normal Iranians that are forced to live under this fuck and the old men with their hands up his ass.
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I didn't know about this!
I happened to catch the final launch of the Discovery space shuttle right when I got home today. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/24/nasa.shuttle/index.html?hpt=C1)
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Just watched the launch live on the stream. Pretty amazing :D
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Well this explains all the Touhou fans in the NASA Ustream channel.
And in celebration ... NEET off! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_Fp2_5TN4)
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http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/23/iran.mideast.unrest/index.html?eref=edition
The hypocrisy here is brain-numbing. I feel so bad for the gigantic pile of perfectly normal Iranians that are forced to live under this fuck and the old men with their hands up his ass.
"Let them express their opinions, because you can crush them later anyway."
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I didn't know about this!
I happened to catch the final launch of the Discovery space shuttle right when I got home today. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/24/nasa.shuttle/index.html?hpt=C1)
It's sad to see the space shuttle program end....
Endeavor's next mission will be the last ;~;
(Unless the planned one for Atlantis comes through, if it does then that's the last)
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I happened to click on the Ustream link about three seconds before lifdoff. :3
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Khaddafi was America's Number One Enemy when I was in middle school. By the time I graduated, he was an ally. By the time 9/11 happened, he was a friend. And now he's come full circle. GJ, Khaddafi!
Does any adult actually believe these shifting allegiances?
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A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus?a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon. (http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/south-dakota-hb-1171-legalize-killing-abortion-providers)
first mandatory gun ownership, now this
Nebraska's considering it now too. What the hell?
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Does any adult actually believe these shifting allegiances?
Oh they're real alright. They're just not based on friendship but common interest.
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Iran tries to distract everyone from the Muslim world revolting, complains about Olympic logo (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=6167220)
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Iran tries to distract everyone from the Muslim world revolting, complains about Olympic logo (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=6167220)
As my grandfather is fond of saying, "Now that's some stupid shit right there."
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Speaking of stupid shit...
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (http://news.change.org/stories/to-block-a-gay-straight-alliance-texas-high-school-shuts-down-all-extracurricular-clubs)
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I really hate this state and feel bad about the other people that live here that aren't morons. After all, I'm sure they're just as ashamed about the people that inhabit our state as well.
Why do I have to be stuck in a state like this right now?
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Speaking of stupid shit...
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (http://news.change.org/stories/to-block-a-gay-straight-alliance-texas-high-school-shuts-down-all-extracurricular-)
Page doesn't exist :(
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Iran tries to distract everyone from the Muslim world revolting, complains about Olympic logo (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=6167220)
Well it sure is ugly, but made up reasons are made up.
Also who cares if Iran doesn't come? Big boy can take his hotwheels and play in the other sandbox.
Either way I don't even get why the Olympics is even around anymore seems kinda pointless.
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Either way I don't even get why the Olympics is even around anymore seems kinda pointless.
Because it's awesome and nearly everyone likes it and wants to keep it around.
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Plus it's a release valve of sorts in the field of international competition. Just think how many wars there would be if it weren't for the Olympics. :colbert:
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Because it's awesome and nearly everyone likes it and wants to keep it around.
They shoulda went for the FIFA World Cup then :V
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Plus it's a release valve of sorts in the field of international competition. Just think how many wars there would be if it weren't for the Olympics. :colbert:
They shoulda went for the FIFA World Cup then :V
*cough* Football War *cough*
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Page doesn't exist :(
http://news.change.org/stories/to-block-a-gay-straight-alliance-texas-high-school-shuts-down-all-extracurricular-clubs
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http://news.change.org/stories/to-block-a-gay-straight-alliance-texas-high-school-shuts-down-all-extracurricular-clubs
ROFL my school did that when I was in high school. FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) bitched that GSA kids were able to leave during "pacer period" (mandatory study hall period) for club meetings. School responded by disbanding all clubs that weren't "officially sanctioned". They claimed that only sanctioned clubs could meet during school hours. Gee guess which club wasn't?
We ended up working around it by just meeting after school. As long as we had a teacher with us they couldn't exactly stop us.
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Reading the article (and the other articles on that site related to that one), it sounds like what your school did was illegal.
Though, judging from what I've heard of Ohio, it sounds like your school didn't give a damn.
According to the comments there's going to be a protest on Friday. Here's hoping something comes of it.
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Reading the article (and the other articles on that site related to that one), it sounds like what your school did was illegal.
Though, judging from what I've heard of Ohio, it sounds like your school didn't give a damn.
Most schools don't really. I've yet to meet a school admin who knows the rules of their own school, much less the laws they must abide by.
According to the comments there's going to be a protest on Friday. Here's hoping something comes of it.
Here's hoping. Usually legal pressure is the only thing that works in the end though.
It's strange how 4 people protesting can get a book taken off the English curriculum, but 50+ people protesting can't get them to allow a gay straight alliance club to meet on their own time.
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Past medical testing reveals 'unethical' practices (http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_17497660).
I read this in the newspaper yesterday. All the bio and medical nerds should be intrigued by this. It's pretty interesting to see the names this article dropped. One of them:
>A federally funded study begun in 1942 injected experimental flu vaccine in male patients at a state insane asylum in Ypsilanti, Mich., then exposed them to flu several months later. It was co-authored by Dr. Jonas Salk, who a decade later would become famous as inventor of the polio vaccine.
Intriguing reading.
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Ypsilanti was pretty horrible. And then there's the Tuskegee Study (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmtuskegee1.html), which is even more Mengelesque.
EDIT: ... which is mentioned in the article you linked. Heh.
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Times sure were easier when there weren't all these ethical restrictions! :derp:
I've seen these kinds of things before (cut by Ammy: Just like that!). I'm more surprised that people don't know about them.
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And then there's the Tuskegee Study (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmtuskegee1.html), which is even more Mengelesque.
Not to mention the guy in charge of Tuskegee went ahead and did the same thing in Guatemala.
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So, remember how Funimation was suing 1337 people over One Piece? Yeah, all but one of those lawsuits have been dropped (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-02-16/all-but-1-defendant-dropped-from-funimation-one-piece-lawsuit). However, the fun isn't over.
In a separate development, the Chilling Effects website posted a copy of a January 20 copyright complaint sent by Funimation and the RemoveYourContent LLC anti-piracy service to the online services company Google. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the complaint requested that Google remove links from its search results to 498 web addresses on a single domain. Each address hosts a streaming episode or film from the One Piece anime series.
Funimation confirmed the veracity of the January 20 letter with ANN, but declined to comment at this time.
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Reading the article (and the other articles on that site related to that one), it sounds like what your school did was illegal.
Though, judging from what I've heard of Ohio, it sounds like your school didn't give a damn.
According to the comments there's going to be a protest on Friday. Here's hoping something comes of it.
We protested but that didn't change jack shit. Given the conservative nature of most of rural Ohio, there was more outcry from parents about "why is there a goddurn faggot club anyways?!" than an actual concern of limiting student's rights. The school's first openly gay kid went to prom that same year as well and they did everything they could to block it.
Either way the card they pulled was that it was during school hours so such activities had to be "school sanctioned" and they were never going to sign off on a GSA club.
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Either way the card they pulled was that it was during school hours so such activities had to be "school sanctioned" and they were never going to sign off on a GSA club.
Well, that's the point of the Equal Access Act, which is why the articles made sure to point out that the Corpus Christi school district went out of their way to decry federal law, claiming it didn't apply to them. I presume your school district did the same?
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Well, that's the point of the Equal Access Act, which is why the articles made sure to point out that the Corpus Christi school district went out of their way to decry federal law, claiming it didn't apply to them. I presume your school district did the same?
Well their point of "equal access" was that it was ok if it was after school, which obviously killed the club because most of these kids were already in sports or drama or marching band or what have you. At first they disbaned GSA entirely but eventually they "conceded" and let us meet after school.
FCA got "booted" out too but they were allowed to meet in the mornings which was better for those kids anyways since they all had practice. We tried to protest it, but to be honest noone was on our side to begin with, especially being in rural Ohio. There were a couple of teachers willing to fight for it but for the most part the faculty was against it.
Only NHS and student council and other "sanctioned clubs" like that were allowed to meet during school hours after the change. FCA got bumped to before school since technically they couldn't endorse a religious-based club but they were the only club allowed to do so. The debate/politics club got booted to after school. It was really stupid.
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So, remember how Funimation was suing 1337 people over One Piece? Yeah, all but one of those lawsuits have been dropped (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-02-16/all-but-1-defendant-dropped-from-funimation-one-piece-lawsuit). However, the fun isn't over.
That seems reasonable from Funi's business perspective. I know the push in the anime community is "just outcompete the pirates", but as a rightsholder I would be very concerned if--hypothetically--the first page on Google for my IP was links to infringing streams of my content. In addition, while it's true that Funi could target the host of the stream itself with a DMCA request, Google is probably more likely to comply in a timely fashion than Random Streaming Site #4746.
I also understand the interest in keeping search results free and open, but that has to be balanced against the potential for harm. The 9th Circuit recently credited (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_10,_Inc._v._Amazon.com,_Inc.) the danger of Google being used as an instrument for infringement--
There is no dispute that Google substantially assists websites to distribute their infringing copies to a worldwide market and assists a worldwide audience of users to access infringing materials. We cannot discount the effect of such a service on copyright owners, even though Google's assistance is available to all websites, not just infringing ones. Applying our test, Google could be held contributorily liable if it had knowledge that infringing Perfect 10 images were available using its search engine, could take simple measures to prevent further damage to Perfect 10's copyrighted works, and failed to take such steps.
In this case, the court held that Google wasn't liable (for showing thumbnails of pirated images in GIS) because it couldn't control that kind of infringement--it can't practically police all its traffic. But it didn't write off some duty to fight copyright infringement. There's also the Congressionally created 'duty' embodied in the DMCA itself.
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I've found an article (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/why-anime-fans-pirate-the-shows-they-love.ars) which shows things from the pirates' perspective, which is that 1. the pirated versions often come out quicker, and 2. they are weeaboos who want their shit stuffed with "-chan" and "-kun" and cultural references (I mean, okay, yeah, I can understand why it isn't necessarily a good thing if the official-translators try to pretend that it isn't Japanese, but I'm kind of cynical about this ever since I read another article about an official-translator who quit his job due to an Unpleasable Fanbase who acted like the scanlators and fansubbers had an automatically "better translation").
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speaking as someone who gets most of his anime legally, in regards to -chansamakun suffixes, I pretty much never put the audio in english anyway, so even IF the translation leaves it out, I can still hear them say it and immediately understand the social status or relationship implied.
As for cultural references, I learned everything from TL NOTES and google, and it was never annoying, and I am happy that I learned those things about japanese culture rather than listen to a changed joke and remain ignorant.
But those changes are usually only present in the dub anyway and not in the subtitles (unless they are dubtitles which are disgusting and should not exist) so it's not really a problem for me!
NIS America released Toradora and Persona: Trinity Soul in America without an english dub. I think this actually made the DVDs cheaper....if so, I'd like for more sub-only DVDs to be released 8)
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CBS News reports (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntp4iv_s0dY) that the ATF has been purposefully letting guns pour into Mexico, contributing to their body count in the hundreds every month, often times videotaping drug cartel members buying the weapons but never arresting them.
Why? In the hopes that all the dots would connect and they'd catch a really big fish. Oh but guess what - there are no really big fish; just hundreds of little ones. Whoopsies!
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That sort of thought process burns me up. How is the capture of one big-time kingpin in any way superior to capturing as many as possible? Yes, the apprehension of an Escobar level drug lord would make for fantastic news, but there isn't a single one at that level right now. In fact, doesn't the current war in Mexico exist because there isn't a de facto #1 kingpin? I'm not that up-to-date on the situation down there, but I know that even having a single arrest is better than having none.
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Not to mention that actually arresting the kingpin without being able to get all of his close underlings would result in one of them taking his place anyways. :derp:
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The cynical part of me notes that even though thousands of Mexican nationals died, women and children among them, and a looooot of innocent people (though not all) included in that number, that fellow still didn't come forward until after one border patrol agent died. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette, but only as long as the eggs are Mexicans and not Americans.
:|
This story does make me feel ill on a very deep level, though. Ugh.
That sort of thought process burns me up. How is the capture of one big-time kingpin in any way superior to capturing as many as possible? Yes, the apprehension of an Escobar level drug lord would make for fantastic news, but there isn't a single one at that level right now. In fact, doesn't the current war in Mexico exist because there isn't a de facto #1 kingpin? I'm not that up-to-date on the situation down there, but I know that even having a single arrest is better than having none.
Unfortunately, we (and by this I am referring to states everywhere, not just the US) are still infused with images of cartels and syndicates-- rigid, top-down enormous organizations-- and we are not accustomed to thinking of many, many small, flexible unchartable networks of intermediaries that illicit trade nowadays is all about (not just the drug trade, but all forms of illicit trade, such as money laundering, smuggling, human trafficking, what have you). Since the 1990s, with the rise of the internet and the fall of the Soviet Union-- when all those surplus arms we got during the Cold War started disappearing from national weapons stashes and started reappearing on the black market-- illicit trade has taken on a new, distinctive form. It's also a huge departure from the idea of organized crime cartels that we're still so hung up on. Trafficking networks these days are highly decentralized, and their participants are autonomous and self-sustaining. There is no crime kingpin to find at the top, only many, many small traffickers, decentralized and appearing to possess multiple leaders or no leaders at all.
The cartel model no longer applies, period. But as long as states' anti-trafficking strategy is based on that idea, those strategies will continue to fail, and more and more money will find its way into criminals' hands, and more and more innocent people are going to get caught in the crossfire.
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Really the US
government public in general has a really really hard time of thinking people are capable of doing anything at all without someone telling them what to do. You ever wonder how we can catch Al Quaida's #2 man so many times? Well it's because they don't HAVE a number 2 man, they work in very weakly linked cells, but people can't seem to understand that. Similarly it's why people can "anonymous" a group. The very idea of a loosely linked organization of people who participate in (or hinder) acts with a sort of group consciousness seems to be alien to a lot of people.
So I really can't say I'm surprised. I'd hoped for better during this administration though.
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What I find particularly abhorrent about this story is that the US has been putting a great deal of diplomatic and economic pressure on Mexico about the cartels, telling them to get their shit together and clean 'em out, while at the same time, they were holding the door open for the cartels while they bought carloads of guns and ammo in the US and brought them back across the border. So Mexico gets the combined attack of the US government punishing Mexico for not taking care of its social problems, while at the same time actively engaging in exacerbating those same social problems.
And as Ruro mentioned, the days of Medell?n and Cali are on the wane. There are no big time drug lords eluding capture from fashionably dressed Miami vice cops. Mexico is bleeding out from a massive, national gang war that the US is arming.
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Don't forget: in the American news it's still drug cartels fighting each other and it's referred to as "cartel violence" because cartels are fighting for supremacy!
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This makes me sick :(
At what point can you say that you don't love your country anymore? At what point are the ideals it was founded on simply not enough anymore? This is still such a wonderful place to live, but when people on top orchestrate things like this, it kind of removes the credibility....
I guess I liken it to my relationship with my mother. She has done so much for me and I love her, but sometimes her thought process and behavior is so intolerable that I can't wait to move away :( But I'm always going to love her, you know? But much of the time I just don't....LIKE her. It's sort of the same with how I view America.
But what am I going to do? Move to Canada? Can I do that and still make a difference? Part of me is disconnected and just wants to watch with fascination as everything falls apart.
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Governments are inherently corrupt because they are run by humans. :V
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Governments are inherently corrupt because they are run by humans. :V
Robots don't seem to do any better.
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Robots don't seem to do any better.
This is racist propaganda perpetuated by the human supremacist government. Robots are treated like second-class citizens and they deserve their shot at leadership.
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http://journalofcosmology.com/Life100.html
Extraterrestial fossils found in an asteroid, for real this time.
We'll see how well it all holds together when everything gets published. I am excited but very skeptical. How seriously it's being taken, and the amount of scientists being called in to analyze the findings, means it is at least serious business.
I hope whatever we can learn from this will lead to progress.
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New crevasse found in Uncanny Valley. (http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-03/video-goateed-geminoid-robot-guaranteed-freak-you-out)
This specific model is called the Geminoid DK, and it comes from the same studio that gave us the robotic actress, Geminoid F. The DK is the first Geminoid model that's based on a non-Japanese person (in this case, Associate Professor Henrik Scharfe of Denmark's Aalborg University) and also the first bearded model (if you consider a goatee a beard, which in my full-bearded opinion is debatable).
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I was wondering what you were talking about.
Then it moved something other then it's eyes...
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New crevasse found in Uncanny Valley. (http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-03/video-goateed-geminoid-robot-guaranteed-freak-you-out)
They just keep getting more realistic by the year... :o
---
There was a short discussion about this in IRC earlier, and it hasn't been posted here yet, so... Snyder v. Phelps. (http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/09-751.ZS.html)
I don't know a lot about the Supreme Court, but Alito is my favorite justice right now.
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There was a short discussion about this in IRC earlier, and it hasn't been posted here yet, so... Snyder v. Phelps. (http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/09-751.ZS.html)
I don't know a lot about the Supreme Court, but Alito is my favorite justice right now.
I don't like the Phelps bunch either, but I can't argue with the outcome of the decision. This dispute is basically about picketing, which is the quintessential model of protected political speech--even if done toward a bad purpose. Westboro's protests were carried out lawfully in public, and constituted speech on a matter of "public concern". Courts tend to be very reluctant to even get near the First Amendment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_avoidance), and so they draw the category of "public concern" fairly broadly--in fact, being on the wrong side of a matter of "public concern" (which no one contests WBC is) doesn't disqualify you from First Amendment protection. So long as the protest is lawfully carried out and no more than speech is involved, we have to take the racist protests with the Civil Rights Movement.
Given that Westboro's speech was at a public place on a matter of public concern, that speech is entitled to ?special protection? under the First Amendment. Such speech cannot be restricted simply because it is upsetting or arouses contempt. ?If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.? Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, 414, 109 S.Ct. 2533, 105 L.Ed.2d 342 (1989). Indeed, ?the point of all speech protection ... is to shield just those choices of content that in someone's eyes are misguided, or even hurtful.? Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc., 515 U.S. 557, 574, 115 S.Ct. 2338, 132 L.Ed.2d 487 (1995).
I know this looks a lot like giving judicial imprimatur to WBC's reprehensible activities, but the alternative is setting a very, very dangerous precedent. Certainly there's a moral distinction between WBC and, say, pro-democracy protesters, but all the law sees in both cases is 1) public forum, 2) public concern, 3) no First Amendment exception*. That is, WBC and other claimants of First Amendment protection are similarly situated for the purposes of our First Amendment tests, and thus must be treated equally under the law. Personal feelings must give way to principle, which is how Brown v. Board (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education) got a unanimous vote.
* Snyder argued that the speech at issue wasn't really public, but that it had been basically forced upon him as a "captive audience". Unfortunately, this exception is strictly limited to situations where the offending speech has been brute-forced into a private zone, such as your home. Compare this quote from the opinion:
In most circumstances, ?the Constitution does not permit the government to decide which types of otherwise protected speech are sufficiently offensive to require protection for the unwilling listener or viewer. Rather, ... the burden normally falls upon the viewer to avoid further bombardment of [his] sensibilities simply by averting [his] eyes.? Erznoznik v. Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205, 210-211, 95 S.Ct. 2268, 45 L.Ed.2d 125 (1975) (internal quotation marks omitted).
With this quote from FCC v. Pacifica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Communications_Commission_v._Pacifica_Foundation), a TV indecency case:
To say that one may avoid further offense by turning off the radio when he *749 hears indecent language is like saying that the remedy for an assault is to run away after the first blow. One may hang up on an indecent phone call, but that option does not give the caller a constitutional immunity or avoid a harm that has already taken place.
Of course, some First Amendment exceptions operate even in a purely public space--for instance, restrictions on porn theaters. In light of that, of Alito's arguments in dissent that WBC was less speaking on a public matter and more targeting the deceased in his private capacity, and of the likelihood that this holding will only embolden WBC in its reprehensible activities, I can definitely sympathize with Snyder. But I don't think he has the better of the law.
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Remember those "Sprint is going to acquire T-Mobile" or "DT is going to buy Sprint" rumors? Well, here's another one, but this time, it seems, different...
Deutsche Telekom, Sprint Said to Discuss T-Mobile USA Deal (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-08/deutsche-telekom-sprint-said-to-discuss-t-mobile-usa-deal.html)
So how will this work? CDMA and GSM are indeed, incompatible, but given that the T-Mobile and Sprint merging rumor has been going on since 2008, you can mark it up as another baseless rumor.
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Federal Government shutdown averted for now... (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR2011030107060.html) Surprised this wasn't mentioned.
All this talk of spending cuts, but neither party want's to talk about dealing with the big elephants sitting in the room known as Social Security, Military and Medicaid/Medicare.
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No one wants to talk about raising taxes either. Despite the fact that the last 10 years have proved we're on the low end of the Laffer Curve.
Personally I also think the Social Security drain on the budget is overprojected, but that doesn't really matter. Since neither side is gonna do anything but use it for talking points.
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They don't need to raise taxes, they just need to enforce the ones that already exist by closing all the bullshit corporate loopholes so they actually have to pay them.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41973373/ns/us_news-weird_news/
I shouldn't have went to work, I would be rich right now :(
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I miss the new thread for each nose article "spam" we had going for a week or so >=(
edit: sorry, feeling loopy, I'll read an article here and post something more meaningful to fix that lol. gimmie time.
DELAWARE, Ohio ? Police north of Columbus are trying to figure out how thousands of dollars in cash ended up along a highway.
wtf?! Whenever I goto the states, I'm dumbfounded by all the TRASH on the road, I d on't see money though. I don't know if it's a federal thing, or a state thing. But in Washington state, people just toss trash on the road and they have garbage trucks collect them I guess, but yeah. There's so much litter on the road that it's comical.
Does Ohio do that too? I can't imagine how cops would spot cash amongst the trash.
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I miss the new thread for each nose article "spam" we had going for a week or so >=(
edit: sorry, feeling loopy, I'll read an article here and post something more meaningful to fix that lol. gimmie time.
Edible yelled at me so I stopped doing it :<
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Edible yells at everyone. Just learn to ignore it.
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wtf?! Whenever I goto the states, I'm dumbfounded by all the TRASH on the road, I d on't see money though. I don't know if it's a federal thing, or a state thing. But in Washington state, people just toss trash on the road and they have garbage trucks collect them I guess, but yeah. There's so much litter on the road that it's comical.
Does Ohio do that too? I can't imagine how cops would spot cash amongst the trash.
uhhhh, in California you'd be fined if a cop ever caught you throwing shit out of your car.
People do it, but it's illegal, and there certainly isn't "so much that it's comical" here. What IS there is usually picked up by volunteers or people who have to do community service.
I don't get why people do that anyway. The next time you get out of your car will probably be at a gas station or rest stop; there will likely be a trash can within feet of your car. But I guess some people can't be arsed into doing what's right when it's easier to just dump their responsibilities out on nature.
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Edible yells at everyone. Just learn to ignore it.
Or eat him, and say "my big mouth wins bitch"
uhhhh, in California you'd be fined if a cop ever caught you throwing shit out of your car.
I guess it's state law though. Have you been to washington state? Well I haven't been thru the whole state, just the highway leading from the Canadian border to Seattle. It's clearly acceptable behaviour to dump trash on the side of the road though. It's WEIRD. I mean, it was the #1 most shocking culture shock in my life to date >=p.
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Edible yells at everyone. Just learn to ignore it.
I was being mostly sarcastic. Edible made a complaint that I was shitting up Renko's with my separate threads and I wasn't really married for or against it enough to care so I just let it go.
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Bwahaha, behold my complaints and despair! BV
I don't get why people do that anyway. The next time you get out of your car will probably be at a gas station or rest stop; there will likely be a trash can within feet of your car. But I guess some people can't be arsed into doing what's right when it's easier to just dump their responsibilities out on nature.
The same people who live in filth don't care where it ends up either. Some people are just terminally sloppy.
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NPR falls into James O'Keefe's trap. CEO resigns. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/09/vivian-schiller-national-public-radio-quits)
You hear that? That's the sound of any leverage public media had left in this Fox-fueled country going up in smoke. ::)
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NPR falls into James O'Keefe's trap. CEO resigns. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/09/vivian-schiller-national-public-radio-quits)
You hear that? That's the sound of any leverage public media had left in this Fox-fueled country going up in smoke. ::)
James O'Keefe's ACORN "sting" proved to be a total fabrication on his part, mostly through video editing. This fuckhead has no credibility, but NPR has no spine for cowering before him.
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Welp, Wisconsinites just got fucked up the ass. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/09/wisconsin.budget/index.html)
>:(
Only thing now is to hope this goes to the State Supreme Court and gets thrown out. Because now that it's gone through the House and Senate, The Imperial Walker just has to sign it into law.
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Welp, Wisconsinites just got fucked up the ass. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/09/wisconsin.budget/index.html)
>:(
Only thing now is to hope this goes to the State Supreme Court and gets thrown out. Because now that it's gone through the House and Senate, The Imperial Walker just has to sign it into law.
Yeah, I think it's time for this Governor to get hit with a recall election.
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Welp, Wisconsinites just got fucked up the ass. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/09/wisconsin.budget/index.html)
>:(
Only thing now is to hope this goes to the State Supreme Court and gets thrown out. Because now that it's gone through the House and Senate, The Imperial Walker just has to sign it into law.
I will never understand the conservative hatred/fear of unions. Think there are Mafia ties? Please. This isn't the 70s, and if there were mob folks in the unions, well, you arrest them - just as a few criminals in Congress doesn't mean we scrap democracy. Think the union officials get paid too much? Cap their salaries by law. Think they have too much influence in Congress? Don't make me laugh. Unions will never, ever be able to lobby as hard or as well as defense contractors. Think they strike too much? I guarantee you that for every strike you hear about, there are literally dozens upon dozens of successful collective bargaining agreements signed.
Collective bargaining is a basic, fundamental right of every working person in the world. If you remove the ability of employees to choose representatives to negotiate the terms of their working contract, you make things worse for both labor and management. That's the part these people don't get. Their arrogant defiance in the face of the demands of their constituency only underlines just how disconnected these people are from their own base. But I guess you can't expect the same people who hold $1000-a-plate fundraisers to understand - or care - what working people want.
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This was the most even-handed source I found for this. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12721170) Five Israelis murdered in Itamar, including a three-year old and a four-month-old.
I will say nothing but this: whoever did this...congratulations. You've just set peace back another five years. You twisted bastard.
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Apparently a former employee of Bank of America is looking to expose them for fraud and wrongful foreclosues. (http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/hackers-say-bofa-unit-tried-to-hide-mortgage-error/?src=mv)
A hacker organization known as Anonymous released a series of e-mails on Monday provided by a former Bank of America employee who claims they show how a division of the bank sought to hide information on foreclosures.
The bank unit, Balboa Insurance, was acquired by Bank of America when it bought the mortgage lender Countrywide Financial in 2008. Balboa deals in so-called force-placed insurance coverage on mortgages. The e-mail messages concern the removal of information linking loans to other documentation.
There's also this blog post here, (http://revolutionofafreemind.tumblr.com/post/3854338049/anonymous-strikes-again-bank-of-america-leak) where you can download the e-mails and read them for yourself.
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Apparently a former employee of Bank of America is looking to expose them for fraud and wrongful foreclosues. (http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/hackers-say-bofa-unit-tried-to-hide-mortgage-error/?src=mv)
There's also this blog post here, (http://revolutionofafreemind.tumblr.com/post/3854338049/anonymous-strikes-again-bank-of-america-leak) where you can download the e-mails and read them for yourself.
(http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/228/excellentfrog.jpg)
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Get ready.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365446/Two-legs-good-legs-better-Chihuahua-triplets-adapt-life-paws.html
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A group of "hackers."
Never gets old.
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HACKERS ON STEROIDS
BETTER BUY A DOG
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HACKERS ON STEROIDS
BETTER BUY A DOG
A tiny dog with no front legs? :O
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It's a sign of status, yo.
It's like saying the world "Hey, I can have a dog with no front legs man."
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Get ready.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365446/Two-legs-good-legs-better-Chihuahua-triplets-adapt-life-paws.html
I wonder if they've considered this solution (http://i56.tinypic.com/25a10gm.jpg).
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Doggy wheel legs. Why is it so adorable?
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And all this talk about Japan's Earthquake has almost made me forget about the unrest in the middle east where things really aren't getting any better, even in Egypt :ohdear:
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I wonder if they've considered this solution (http://i56.tinypic.com/25a10gm.jpg).
Adapting: The puppies were said to be showing tremendous resilience and enthusiasm despite their disability and may be candidates for wheeled carts
Yep, looks like it.
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Gilbert Gottfried gets fired by Aflac for being a cuntbag pile of fucking shit.[/url (http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/aflac-hunts-for-new-duck/?src=dlbksb)
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Gilbert Gottfried gets fired by Aflac for being a cuntbag pile of fucking shit. (http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/aflac-hunts-for-new-duck/?src=dlbksb)
Like several of the comments said:
Unless the tweets have been provided, we cannot judge what he said by what the article or what Aflac tells us.
EDIT: Nevermind, I found exact copies of two of the jokes here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/14/gilbert-gottfried-tweets-_n_835553.html)
EDIT #2: It appears that there were more of them... And maybe more than ten... (http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-10-worst-gilbert-gottfried-tsunami-jokes)
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I saw the tweets. They're revolting, even for a comedian known for revolting humor.
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UN authorises no-fly zone over Libya (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/201131720311168561.html)
Great news. Hopefully the revolutionaries still have a chance.
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UN authorises no-fly zone over Libya (http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/201131720311168561.html)
Great news. Hopefully the revolutionaries still have a chance.
I personally like the "all necessary measures" to protect citizens, I wonder just how far we'll take that though.
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I personally like the "all necessary measures" to protect citizens, I wonder just how far we'll take that though.
Well, being limited to air strikes means no boots on the ground, at least.
There are currently unconfirmed reports (http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/18/libya.civil.war/) that, despite the cease-fire, pro-government forces are persisting in their attack on the city of Misrata.
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Well, being limited to air strikes means no boots on the ground, at least.
There are currently unconfirmed reports (http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/18/libya.civil.war/) that, despite the cease-fire, pro-government forces are persisting in their attack on the city of Misrata.
What I meant by that was more of, are we gonna blow up their tanks and artillery units since they're attacking a town and could be considered endangering citizens?
There's so many ways to play with that wording.
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Any country flying over Lybia will probably attack some ground targets, such as radar stations and SAM sites. Pilots enforcing a no fly zone dislike being shot down. Beyond that? I doubt it, but I could be surprised. Gaddafi doesn't really have a lot of friends.
I've heard rumors the Egyptians are letting weapons in across the border, but that may just be wishful thinking on the internet's part.
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Send them cameras. The more evidence there is of Gaddafi's actions there are, the less troublesome any war crimes trial would be.
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Welp, Wisconsinites just got fucked up the ass. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/09/wisconsin.budget/index.html)
>:(
Only thing now is to hope this goes to the State Supreme Court and gets thrown out. Because now that it's gone through the House and Senate, The Imperial Walker just has to sign it into law.
Stop right there, governor scum! (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/18/us-wisconsin-unions-order-idUSTRE72H5L020110318)
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Stop right there, governor scum! (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/18/us-wisconsin-unions-order-idUSTRE72H5L020110318)
(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/382/akihateaspit.jpg)
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And now "Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and stoppage of all military operations," the country's foreign minister Mousa Koussa says. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/18/libya-military-action-live-updates#block-8)
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Stop right there, governor scum! (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/18/us-wisconsin-unions-order-idUSTRE72H5L020110318)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that the judge is not reviewing the bill itself, but how it passed. More specifically, that the Republicans did not give enough time between announcing the session and voting. I don't see how that, at all, helps the union workers outside of delaying the inevitable unless the following quote has more weight than I give it credit for.
The judge's order gave public workers in the state more time to bargain new and better contracts with municipal authorities -- deals that could allow them to skirt the law's strict measures during the length of those contracts.
Aside from that, it seems that, even if it's thrown out, all the Republicans have to do is rewrite the bill in the same exact wording, wait 24 hours, and pass it again with the Democrat senators being helpless to stop it.
EDIT: I was worried yesterday that the U.N. vote came too late, but wow it's amazing how fast Lybia went from "no mercy" to cease-fire. Was it the threat of troops, or thre threat of permanent negative international relations with the West, or what? I'm not much for politics, so I'm interested as to what exactly could change a dictator's mind that fast.
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The Wisconsin GOP is dead in the water at this point though. They may be obstinate on this point, but even these guys can see the writing on the wall. If they want to be re-elected, they're going to have to backpedal somehow, and even then the damage may have already been done.
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The Wisconsin GOP is dead in the water at this point though. They may be obstinate on this point, but even these guys can see the writing on the wall. If they want to be re-elected, they're going to have to backpedal somehow, and even then the damage may have already been done.
I think they had no confidence in their ability to get re-elected and that's why they had the cojones to pull something like this in the first place. Go out with a bang, as they say.
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That's also true. There was a Minister of Fisheries in this country who, on his very last day in office, lifted the ban on hunting whales. Whale hunting, by the way, has a lot of popular support. The new guy replacing him, who was from a different party, was left with either leaving in place a policy his own party was vehemently against, or reversing the decision and losing popular support.
So yeah, if the Wisconsin GOP is taking a kamikaze approach to politics, I guess it wouldn't be the first time that's happened.
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Stop right there, governor scum! (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/18/us-wisconsin-unions-order-idUSTRE72H5L020110318)
...As if the Wisconsin Democrats' exile wasn't asinine enough.
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Oh their "exile" was actually well played. It underlines the lack of confidence and popular support the reps have. It was a bold and risky move, but it worked in their favor.
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Oh their "exile" was actually well played. It underlines the lack of confidence and popular support the reps have. It was a bold and risky move, but it worked in their favor.
Fine then.
Come and complain to me 5 years from now when the Republicans do the same thing.
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Fine then.
Come and complain to me 5 years from now when the Republicans do the same thing.
Yes, it'll break my heart if Republican lawmakers walked off the job.
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EDIT: I was worried yesterday that the U.N. vote came too late, but wow it's amazing how fast Lybia went from "no mercy" to cease-fire. Was it the threat of troops, or thre threat of permanent negative international relations with the West, or what? I'm not much for politics, so I'm interested as to what exactly could change a dictator's mind that fast.
At a guess it's because they aren't sure they can win without airpower. Street to street, even those poorly armed rebels are dangerous to modern infantry and armor. Currently Gaddafi's been able to bomb organized resistance, causing the rebels to break. Without air power it'll be harder.
That's just a guess though. I don't think anyone knows exactly what the force distribution is currently.
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At a guess it's because they aren't sure they can win without airpower. Street to street, even those poorly armed rebels are dangerous to modern infantry and armor. Currently Gaddafi's been able to bomb organized resistance, causing the rebels to break. Without air power it'll be harder.
That's just a guess though. I don't think anyone knows exactly what the force distribution is currently.
I remember some articles stating this is just a measure to buy some time, but I think Gahdafi might not have alot of confidence trying to fight rebels with modern air support.
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The US is currently suppressing Lybian anti aircraft positions. (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/sc-dc-0320-us-military-libya-20110319,0,7579064.story)
Apparently France the UK and some Arab states are going to be doing the actual in flight missions, and I heard elsewhere that the French at least are also considering artillery positions around civilian areas valid targets. We'll see how things actually progress.
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Apparently France the UK and some Arab states are going to be doing the actual in flight missions, and I heard elsewhere that the French at least are also considering artillery positions around civilian areas valid targets.
My, how things have changed since 1986.
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...
AT&T is buying T-Mobile USA for $39 billion.
Jesus goddamn christ.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/20/us-tmobile-att-idUSTRE72J3JE20110320
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Mergers Mergers everywhere.
How many phone companies are left?
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Mergers Mergers everywhere.
How many phone companies are left?
Verizon, AT&T/Bellsouth, Sprint/Nextel...
....
....
Shit, that's all the service providers I think....
EDIT: Cable-wise there's Comcast, Optimum, and Time Warner
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Verizon, AT&T/Bellsouth, Sprint/Nextel...
....
....
Shit, that's all the service providers I think....
EDIT: Cable-wise there's Comcast, Optimum, and Time Warner
Don't forget Charter.
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Wow, someone beat me to this.
Considering I'm also a T-Mobile customer, I gotta ask...Am I screwed or should I stop worrying?
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Wow, someone beat me to this.
Considering I'm also a T-Mobile customer, I gotta ask...Am I screwed or should I stop worrying?
You're screwed. AT&T is awful.
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Wow, someone beat me to this.
Considering I'm also a T-Mobile customer, I gotta ask...Am I screwed or should I stop worrying?
We should mourn for the death of T-Mobile. The last greatest carrier. I am going to slap anyone who basically wants an iPhone on T-Mobile and cheers.
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T-Mobile actually does the reasonable thing and gives you a discount on your service if you buy a phone at full price. And from what I hear their customer service is actually good!
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T-Mobile actually does the reasonable thing and gives you a discount on your service if you buy a phone at full price. And from what I hear their customer service is actually good!
Indeed it is.
I think the best case scenario would be that T-Mobile will be like that one roommate that lives with you, who tries to keep the place tidy, and help clean up AT&T's act. T-Mobile wouldn't have accepted this deal if they weren't going to deal with the crappy service AT&T supposedly gives. Call me an optimist, but I'm just hoping for the best.
And who cares about the iPhone, the iPad is where it's at :V
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You're screwed. AT&T is awful.
It's awful because of all the capitalism and the fact that they can't build enough towers because of derpVerizon.
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Indeed it is.
I think the best case scenario would be that T-Mobile will be like that one roommate that lives with you, who tries to keep the place tidy, and help clean up AT&T's act. T-Mobile wouldn't have accepted this deal if they weren't going to deal with the crappy service AT&T supposedly gives. Call me an optimist, but I'm just hoping for the best.
And who cares about the iPhone, the iPad is where it's at :V
You do know what AT&T merges with, they get assimilated. Look what happened to Cingular.
It's awful because of all the capitalism and the fact that they can't build enough towers because of derpVerizon.
Ok, what does capitalism have to do with AT&T being a shitty carrier? They only price their services like shit high, and CS is just bad.
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I think the best case scenario would be that T-Mobile will be like that one roommate that lives with you, who tries to keep the place tidy, and help clean up AT&T's act. T-Mobile wouldn't have accepted this deal if they weren't going to deal with the crappy service AT&T supposedly gives.
Of course they would have, do you honestly think that there are decent businesses in the world that think of anything other than money?
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(CNN) - Maine Gov. Paul LePage ordered a 36-foot mural depicting the state's labor history be removed from the lobby of the Department of Labor headquarters building in Augusta, Maine, according to LePage's office. (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/23/maine-governor-orders-labor-mural-takedown/)
Laura Boyett, the acting commissioner for the Maine Department of Labor, in a letter to her employees, said the department received feedback that the building is "not perceived as equally receptive to both businesses and workers," and is therefore removing the mural and renaming all of the conference rooms.
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So you're taking a mural and changing all of the conference room that seems to be "Not Productive" to a Labor Headquarters. How stupid can you be?
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Ok, what does capitalism have to do with AT&T being a shitty carrier? They only price their services like shit high, and CS is just bad.
A teacher told me that we have lost something important overtime when it comes to Products and buying.
It's called: Quality.
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aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/03/craigslist_ad_seeks_sarcastic_and_combative_astroturfers/)
We are a social media company working for a political organization, hired to help balance the left-wing bias of major media outlets by supplying a team of writers who will post to newspaper comments, media forums, FB pages, etc. We are NOT officially affiliated with Harper campaign
You writing must be strong, right-wing and use supplied talking points without bogging down in too much detail. You are creating an online persona with a consistent tone. Ideally you can find or make up facts and statistics to stir controversy. Where suited humour, sarcasm and personal insults are welcome.
I love this on so many levels. While what's-his-face engineers 'brilliant exposes' of ACORN and NPR, you don't even have to try to uncover the memetic engineering going on with the right, the post-Tea Party version of old white men trying to act street.
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aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/03/craigslist_ad_seeks_sarcastic_and_combative_astroturfers/)
I love this on so many levels. While what's-his-face engineers 'brilliant exposes' of ACORN and NPR, you don't even have to try to uncover the memetic engineering going on with the right, the post-Tea Party version of old white men trying to act street.
aww yeah canadian elections :colonveeplusalpha:
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We were discussing this in my Politics and Economics class today, and I thought it was worth a repost:
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph
Good brain candy. Don't be scared by the idea of incomprehensible data; it's presented in easy-to-understand infographics so that you, too, can understand just how much richer the rich are than you! BV
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Title's so misleading. What do you mean, I will likely never understand!? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/jacob-barnett-12-year-old_n_841577.html)
I mean, 12 year old college student discussing Calc II integration techniques. As much as I already know this stuff, it's a nice thing to watch. Plus, there's a doggy! (Which I got distracted by :derp:)
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Title's so misleading. What do you mean, I will likely never understand!? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/jacob-barnett-12-year-old_n_841577.html)
I mean, 12 year old college student discussing Calc II integration techniques. As much as I already know this stuff, it's a nice thing to watch. Plus, there's a doggy! (Which I got distracted by :derp:)
He's like the average student from China :V
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We were discussing this in my Politics and Economics class today, and I thought it was worth a repost:
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph
Good brain candy. Don't be scared by the idea of incomprehensible data; it's presented in easy-to-understand infographics so that you, too, can understand just how much richer the rich are than you! BV
Even with the infographics, it's hard to wrap my mind around that. Dear god. o_o
Title's so misleading. What do you mean, I will likely never understand!? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/jacob-barnett-12-year-old_n_841577.html)
I mean, 12 year old college student discussing Calc II integration techniques. As much as I already know this stuff, it's a nice thing to watch. Plus, there's a doggy! (Which I got distracted by :derp:)
> Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
That's the Indianapolis branch of the college I go to. Fascinating. :o
Really though, good for him. o_O
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Title's so misleading. What do you mean, I will likely never understand!? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/28/jacob-barnett-12-year-old_n_841577.html)
I mean, 12 year old college student discussing Calc II integration techniques. As much as I already know this stuff, it's a nice thing to watch. Plus, there's a doggy! (Which I got distracted by :derp:)
Heh, he's going over Integration by parts... just the thing I'm being tested on today. I'm so out of practice though. :/
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aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/03/craigslist_ad_seeks_sarcastic_and_combative_astroturfers/)
I love this on so many levels. While what's-his-face engineers 'brilliant exposes' of ACORN and NPR, you don't even have to try to uncover the memetic engineering going on with the right, the post-Tea Party version of old white men trying to act street.
I don't think it's an attempt to act hip as much as it is that thanks to social networking, you don't need the actual numbers to give the impression of being a formidable political force anymore. Sockpuppetry and astroturfing are the mainstays of political discourse on the internet now, with huge spikes nearing election season.
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Grinch Neutron strikes again.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/52023.html
"I have two grandchildren ? Maggie is 11, Robert is 9," Gingrich said at Cornerstone Church here. "I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they're my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American."
That's right, all your kids are going to grow up to be radical Islamist atheists.
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More importantly they will have no understanding of what it once meant to be an AMERICAN
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That's right, all your kids are going to grow up to be radical Islamist atheists.
Are they more or less dangerous than nazi communists?
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I don't think it's an attempt to act hip as much as it is that thanks to social networking, you don't need the actual numbers to give the impression of being a formidable political force anymore. Sockpuppetry and astroturfing are the mainstays of political discourse on the internet now, with huge spikes nearing election season.
I meant that statement more in the sense of pretending to be relevant but anyway here's some law
In a copyright suit against Limewire, Judge Kimba Wood of the Southern District of New York has ruled that statutory damages are only owed on a per-work basis, not a per-download basis (http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/limewiredamagesorder.pdf)
First, a little background. Sometimes it can be hard to prove damages in a copyright suit, that is to say it can be hard to put a number to how the defendant's infringement has harmed you. (This is especially so in light of the much-debated disconnect between downloads and lost sales.) So, the Copyright Act lets rightsholders opt to bypass the whole issue of damages and take a statutory award, within a range fixed by the statute*, instead. The rationale is that in a case where the exact damages are speculative or otherwise unclear, it's better to err on the side of letting the rightsholder recover.
* $750-30,000, specifics determined "as the court considers just." 17 USC ? 504(c). (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/504.html) If the infringement was innocent, the floor scales down to $200. If the infringement was willful**, the cap scales up to $150,000.
** This is why the usual "South Park/Haruhi/Touhou/etc. doesn't belong to me" disclaimer is stupid. Not only does it not help--it's copyright, not attributionright--but you're acknowledging that you're using IP that doesn't belong to you, which makes the infringement willful.
Now, statutory damages are handled per work infringed. That's why you see suits against music downloaders getting so pricey--$30,000 per work, x 10 songs downloaded, that's $300,000 right there. But the plaintiffs here wanted to take it a step further. They wanted to take Limewire for the statutory amount per download, that is, collecting damages multiple times for the same work. Wood's response:
As it stands now, Defendants face a damage award that "could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars (if not over a billion dollars)." (Pl. Mem. Of Law in Support of Prelim. Inj, at 8 (Dkt. Entry No. 243).) Indeed, if one multiples the maximum statutory damage award ($150,000) by approximately 10,000 post-1972 works, Defendants face a potential award of over a billion dollars in statutory damages alone. If Plaintiffs were able to pursue a statutory damage theory predicated on the number of direct infringers per work, Defendants' damages could reach into the trillions. . . . As Defendants note, Plaintiffs are suggesting an award that is "more money than the entire music recording industry has made since Edison's invention of the phonograph in 1877." (Def. Mem. at 2-3.)
Of course, $150,000 per work infringed is still a hefty sum, considering the plaintiffs identify 11,000 songs that were infringed through Limewire. But this decision seems to be a far more faithful reading of the statute, and it's nice to see that the record companies can't get everything they want.
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Hey, Maullar.
http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-case-judge-is-a-former-riaa-lobbyist-and-pirate-chaser-110328/
Isn't this sorta thing illegal? I thought judges were supposed to recuse themselves if something like this comes up.
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Hey, Maullar.
http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-case-judge-is-a-former-riaa-lobbyist-and-pirate-chaser-110328/
Isn't this sorta thing illegal? I thought judges were supposed to recuse themselves if something like this comes up.
Judges are only required to recuse themselves in a few specific circumstances, mostly having to do with involvement in the specific current proceeding. More at Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/riaa-lobbyist-becomes-federal-judge-rules-on-file-sharing-cases.ars)
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http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/29/bangladesh.lashing.death/index.html?on.cnn=1
No comment.
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ctrl-f fatwa
Yep, nothing to see here.
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What I think is heartening about that story is Bangladesh outlaws sharia, and it was public outcry that demanded that justice be done over this girl's death. If any positive side can be found in such a story, that is.
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Am I the only one who finds this amusingly ironic? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12918059)
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Am I the only one who finds this amusingly ironic? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12918059)
Microsoft complaining about anti-competition.
Oh that is delicious.
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Microsoft complaining about anti-competition.
Oh that is delicious.
It's even better when you consider this:
"It cites a number of practices, including Google limiting the ability of Microsoft Bing to index web content."
Note that Google proved that Bing was stealing its search results several weeks ago. <_<
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It's even better when you consider this:
"It cites a number of practices, including Google limiting the ability of Microsoft Bing to index web content."
Note that Google proved that Bing was stealing its search results several weeks ago. <_<
I was just about to point that out, too (http://searchengineland.com/google-bing-is-cheating-copying-our-search-results-62914).
Suck it up, Microsoft. No one likes Bing anyway :V
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Microsoft complaining about anti-competition.
Oh that is delicious.
What's really ironic is that this "anti-competition" complaint is in itself just a tool Microsoft is using to expand their own control of the market. It's exactly the kind of cynical opportunistic bullshit this sort of thing is supposed to prevent.
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Well, having lived under EU law (although not a part of the European Union, Iceland is in the European Economic Area, which subjects the countries therein to EU labor and business law) for years now, I can attest that the EU does not take kindly to any sort of megacorporation from abroad. We like to keep our monopolies in our continent, tyvm. So I think we can expect that this complaint from Microsoft will drag on for years to come.
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Civil war still raging in C?te d'Ivoire.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12946018
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Nine killed and 81 injured in Kandahar protest against US burning of Qur'an. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/02/nine-killed-81-injured-kandahar-protest-quran) This brings the total to 16 dead in 2 days. Despite this, Terry Jones remains defiant. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/02/pastor-terry-jones-burning-koran)
This is the price of free speech. :( Far as I can tell, since his words have not lead to violence against Muslims nothing can be done to stop him (hate speech vs hate crime, am I mistaken?), which means the Western image in the Middle East is taking a monsterous hit thanks to one small group of idiots.
Do I even need to remind everyone that not all Americans are like this? :fail: I love my country, I really do. But things like this push it...
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"Muslim dominated countries can no longer be allowed to spread their hate against Christians and minorities," Jones stated.
Ah hypocrisy, how we love you.
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Ah hypocrisy, how we love you.
Well, not to marginalize the stupid shit west is pulling, but the situation is not really comparable with, say, Christians in Saudi Arabia. Very bad image and slightly reduced rights vs lashings and executions?
I mean, the number of american flags these guys have burned is uncountable. Yet if somebody decides to burn a Quran, now that is a reason for a declaration of war for many.
Terry Jones is a douche, no doubt, but violence and killing is a whole other category.
Whatever...
Fuck religion.
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I mean, the number of american flags these guys have burned is uncountable. Yet if somebody decides to burn a Quran, now that is a reason for a declaration of war for many.
The funny part is how easily a national flag is being compared to a religious text.
The sad part is how a lot of people genuinely think that way.
Oh... that's a cruel idea. A US-only poll for deciding whether to burn a Bible or an American flag in protest... that would be hilarious. And potentially telling.
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Oh... that's a cruel idea. A US-only poll for deciding whether to burn a Bible or an American flag in protest... that would be hilarious. And potentially telling.
FUND IT!
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FUND IT!
tax dollars away! :moogy:
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Fuck religion.
+1
Oh... that's a cruel idea. A US-only poll for deciding whether to burn a Bible or an American flag in protest... that would be hilarious. And potentially telling.
But Jesus gave us the Constitution. It's the same thing, don't ya know? (http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/artwork/view_zoom/?artpiece_id=353#) :X
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tru fax: AMERICA is the only country that ever mattered, matters, and will matter
well until the inevitable collapse of thier economy anyways :derp:
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But Jesus gave us the Constitution. It's the same thing, don't ya know? (http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/artwork/view_zoom/?artpiece_id=353#) :X
What the fucking crap. Look at Jesus.
(http://i53.tinypic.com/2enn4te.png)
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The funny part is how easily a national flag is being compared to a religious text.
The sad part is how a lot of people genuinely think that way.
Perhaps I'm not understanding what you're meaning, but I don't see why this is sad. A country's national flag and a faith's holy text are both symbols of belief or solidarity, whether it be belief in God or in your country's national identity, that you can get replicas of pretty much anywhere. The impact in the protest is the "this is what we think of your symbolism" approach of burning things that we see as being important in our lives, whether it's a flag, a bible or a (insert your favourite Touhou character here) doll.
Also that painting is actually quite cool with all the symbolism packed into it, though the artist's negative representation of liberals is a little irritating; less bias would have been cool.
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Perhaps I'm not understanding what you're meaning, but I don't see why this is sad. A country's national flag and a faith's holy text are both symbols of belief or solidarity, whether it be belief in God or in your country's national identity, that you can get replicas of pretty much anywhere.
I think what Mouse is pointing out is that elevating political text to the same plane as religious text gives it a false air of divine authority and infallibility.
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I think what Mouse is pointing out is that elevating political text to the same plane as religious text gives it a false air of divine authority and infallibility.
Oh right. Yeah, I'd agree that's quite illogical.
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I think what Mouse is pointing out is that elevating political text to the same plane as religious text gives it a false air of divine authority and infallibility.
I fail to see how the divine authority and infallibility claimed by religion is any more justified. They are merely more openly tolerated.
...meh, I need to see that this doesn't turn into an anti-religious rant for me.
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I fail to see how the divine authority and infallibility claimed by religion is any more justified. They are merely more openly tolerated.
...meh, I need to see that this doesn't turn into an anti-religious rant for me.
The thing is, many Americans are self-described Christians; certainly most members of both political parties do. So when politicians put things like the Constitution on the same level as the Bible, this resonates with a lot of Americans. It's manipulative, based on even less solid evidence than the original authority, but it works, so they keep doing it.
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I'm actually not entirely sure what I meant by that... I guess mostly pointing out how many people are confusing the legal/physical boundaries of a nation with the uh... mostly moral I guess boundaries of a religion. There are flaws to trying to compare them directly.
And honestly I think giving anything an air of absolute authority or infallibility is a bad thing but I guess that's neither here nor there
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Am I the only one who finds this amusingly ironic? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12918059)
It's funny because that's a serious flaw in our economy.
Civil war still raging in C?te d'Ivoire.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12946018
Of all the places in Africa for that to be happening, I find this one interesting.
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Boy, 12, charged with hate crime for attempting to rip hijab off head of classmate (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/03/31/2011-03-31_head_scarf_attack_nets_12yrold_boy_hate_arrest.html)
What the fuck.
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Boy, 12, charged with hate crime for attempting to rip hijab off head of classmate (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/03/31/2011-03-31_head_scarf_attack_nets_12yrold_boy_hate_arrest.html)
What the fuck.
Welp, on the other hand that kid is a dick :derp:
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So what? He's fucking 12. Kids beat each other up all the time.
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Except he was also charged with aggravated harassment, so I'd say it's a bit more than that. Yeah the hate crime is completely rediculous, but that doesn't mean he's not a dick :derp:
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My guess was the kid was probably bullying the Muslim over a period of time, and the Hate Crime card was thrown as a last resort. I mean it's not like schools are exactly falling over themselves trying to protect minorities.
That said, charging him with a hate crime is likely not going to teach him a damn thing, but might set an example for other kids at least.
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Yeah, hate crime is a bit too much, but at least he was also charged for harassment, which was right.
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Boy, 12, charged with hate crime for attempting to rip hijab off head of classmate (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/03/31/2011-03-31_head_scarf_attack_nets_12yrold_boy_hate_arrest.html)
What the fuck.
Oh god, this happened to a friend of mine when he was about the same age, during P.E, except it was in the case that he was in the heat of the moment and just grabbed the hijab because he couldn't tag the girl. All the kids in the class got pissed, but I understood his anger and how he wasn't able to catch anyone.
He didn't come back to school after that incident and I haven't talked to him since. More or less because he had issues that the school did not want to deal with.
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So, in other words, it had nothing to do with the hijab.
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So schoolyard bullying is grounds for criminal charges now? If a kid says "gimme your lunch money or I'll beat you up" he doesn't get put on trial for extortion. I don't care how persistent his behavior was, this is wrong.
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I dunno, I'm okay with them taking action towards some forms of bullying, although in terms of crime I still think it's too much, depending on how far it goes though.
I mean, if it's physical and leads towards violence then guess SOME form of action should be taken by law for the safety of the kid and all.
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So schoolyard bullying is grounds for criminal charges now?
I didn't say that, but if I were to put myself in the position of the Muslim child's parents, what I'm seeing is my kid's getting consistently bullied for their religion, and nothing's working. Taking that up to the next level might be an option. I'm guessing they'll end up not going all the way with this - I'm sure there'll be some kind of settlement - but all I mean is criminal charges weren't likely the very first thing the school or parents went for.
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That's a really shitty article.
What they should have said was "absolute fuckass of a 12-year-old gets what's coming to him for physically assaulting his classmates multiple times"; one of his victims just happened to be a Muslim girl.
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I don't know if you recall my post last summer about the damages in Sony BMG v. Tenenbaum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_v._Tenenbaum) (filesharing case) being slashed, but that order went on appeal before the First Circuit today. I had the good fortune to be present.
The district judge directed a verdict on liability, so the only issue up on appeal was the damages owed by Tenenbaum for downloading songs. The discussion--which involved not only lawyers for Tenenbaum and for Sony, but the DOJ, the EFF, and a Harvard Law third-year--mainly focused on whether the statutory damages provision of the Copyright Act, which I discussed a little earlier (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,7824.msg589067.html#msg589067), was intended* to apply to consumers. Tenenbaum's side argued that unlawful filesharing is done casually--like jaywalking--and that at the time the statute was passed, no consumer had ever been sued for private infringement, taking place entirely inside the home. On the other hand, Sony argued that the statute contains no home-copying exception, and that the only reason no litigation had happened until the '03 RIAA campaign was because it just wasn't worth the trouble.
* I suspect that for many of you, it's a foregone conclusion that Congress intended to hit consumers with statutory damages, because they're in the copyright lobby's pocket. Whether that's true or not, the court is usually (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_avoidance) bound to apply the law as it believed Congress meant it.
A secondary but related issue was the degree of harm that Tenenbaum actually caused. Of course, the very idea of statutory damages is to recompense the rightsholder when damages are difficult to pin down, but Sony nevertheless argued that filesharing was different in nature, and far more harmful, than previous forms of copying**--in essence making the filesharer not just a home copier, but a home distributor. Sony then went on to argue that a good test of damages in a copyright claim was the amount that the rightsholder would've charged for a license to do the conduct at issue, and that the price it would've charged for a license to "essentially make these songs public domain" would've been high indeed.
Personally, I don't buy this argument because it attributes the harm of all filesharers, taken in the aggregate, to Tenenbaum personally, in violation of State Farm v. Campbell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Farm_v._Campbell), a point noted by Judge Gertner in the initial order reducing the damages. Tenenbaum's counterargument followed similar lines, arguing that applying the full force of the statutory-damages regime to regular consumers would be an absurd and unjust result, and thus should not be a permissible reading of the statute.
** for extra lulz, see the Sony lawyer's description of P2P to the court--e.g. "he changed file serving sharers"
Overall, I don't think it's looking good for Tenenbaum. The EFF lawyer got shut down in one question (*awkward silence* "...may I c-continue?"), and the head judge seemed eager to put the case away on narrow procedural grounds... making much, for instance, of the fact that many of Tenenbaum's arguments hadn't been raised at trial. I think the real question now is what impact an unfavorable ruling from the Circuit will have. Absent a Circuit split, I don't think it'll go up to SCOTUS, and it's possible the RIAA may be emboldened by the decision and start suing downloaders directly again. That said, if the decision is made on procedural grounds, it doesn't quite lend the RIAA the moral support it's looking for.
More:
Direct transcript of the argument (http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/files/audio/10-1883.mp3)
Legally Sociable (http://legallysociable.com/2011/04/04/direct-reporting-tenenbaum-oral-argument/)
TorrentFreak (http://torrentfreak.com/joel-tenebaum-file-sharing-case-heard-at-court-of-appeal-110405/)
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That's a really shitty article.
What they should have said was "absolute fuckass of a 12-year-old gets what's coming to him for physically assaulting his classmates multiple times"; one of his victims just happened to be a Muslim girl.
Yeah, let's beat that fuckass 12-year-old child into line with a felony conviction. That'll teach him.
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making much, for instance, of the fact that many of Tenenbaum's arguments hadn't been raised at trial.
Wbuh? Raised by whom?
Really though, I think the laws as they stand serve to benefit copyright holders to a fault in these situations; until laws are changed to make clear differences between corporate punishment instead of personal liability, we'll just be seeing more of this.
Yeah, let's beat that fuckass 12-year-old child into line with a felony conviction. That'll teach him.
Kid obviously isn't learning to be a productive member of society from his parents. Let's see how a couple years in juvie sorts him out.
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Wbuh? Raised by whom?
Really though, I think the laws as they stand serve to benefit copyright holders to a fault in these situations; until laws are changed to make clear differences between corporate punishment instead of personal liability, we'll just be seeing more of this.
By Tenenbaum's side (because the district court refused to take his expert witnesses--a number of experts on Internet culture, why kids don't consider downloading wrong, etc). The idea is that you don't get to raise new arguments on appeal--the appellate court is just reviewing specific questions of law sent up by the trial court, it's not meant as a second bite at the apple.
(Also, relevant links added.)
Generally, I don't see a distinction between corporate defendants and individual defendants coming about anytime soon, at least not in the copyright context. Part of the point of a corporation is that it's counted legally as a person, and we've seen in cases like Citizens United that various individual rights accrue to the corporation as well. There are exceptions, like in the securities law, but those are fairly specific and mostly hard-won through a long political process.
As far as ability to pay goes, the position of the federal government seems to be that common-law remittitur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remittitur) is enough to prevent unjustly large payouts being levied against individuals. At least, that's what the DOJ argued in intervening in the case.
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Generally, I don't see a distinction between corporate defendants and individual defendants coming about anytime soon, at least not in the copyright context. Part of the point of a corporation is that it's counted legally as a person, and we've seen in cases like Citizens United that various individual rights accrue to the corporation as well. There are exceptions, like in the securities law, but those are fairly specific and mostly hard-won through a long political process.
This is my feeling as well.
Thanks for the first-hand info on SBMG v. Tenenbaum. Interesting stuff. Slightly disheartening, but interesting.
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Two sets of news:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/223431/riaa_thinks_limewire_owes_75_trillion_in_damages.html
Holy bejeebus O.O
Oh and,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOCnZOcr8w
This actually happened apparently, and I have no idea what to say to this or how I should react.
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$75 trillion! That's what I call bargaining high. I'm gonna try that.
"Hey, how much you want for this Diana Ross CD?"
"Five billion dollars."
"What?!"
"OK, fine, $40."
"Whew, that's better."
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Oh and,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOCnZOcr8w
This actually happened apparently, and I have no idea what to say to this or how I should react.
And of course it was right here in Toronto :derp:
Two sets of news:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/223431/riaa_thinks_limewire_owes_75_trillion_in_damages.html
Holy bejeebus O.O
ahahahaha :getdown:
gotta love extrapolation (http://xkcd.com/605/)
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Two sets of news:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/223431/riaa_thinks_limewire_owes_75_trillion_in_damages.html
Holy bejeebus O.O
Judge Wood already refused Limewire's requested damages. Explanation on the previous page (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,7824.msg589067.html#msg589067)
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Glenn Beck fired. (http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/04/glenn-beck-and-fox-news-call-it-quits.html)
4Kids files for Chapter 11. (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/4Kids-Entertainment-Files-for-bw-277838303.html?x=0&.v=1)
COINCIDENCE!?!?!? :derp:
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COINCIDENCE!?!?!? :derp:
yes
also yes
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Glenn Beck fired. (http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/04/glenn-beck-and-fox-news-call-it-quits.html)
Finally,
Now he won't have the Mass Derp Media bogging down his ideologies.
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Glenn Beck fired. (http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/04/glenn-beck-and-fox-news-call-it-quits.html)
If by "fired" they mean "will be working with instead of for FOX", than yes.
In a press release about the transition, Beck said, ?I truly believe that America owes a lot to Roger Ailes and Fox News. I cannot repay Roger for the lessons I?ve learned and will continue to learn from him and I look forward to starting this new phase of our partnership.? According to the release, this new phase involves the forging of a close relationship between Beck?s multimedia company, Mercury Radio Arts, and Fox News.
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Two sets of news:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/223431/riaa_thinks_limewire_owes_75_trillion_in_damages.html
Holy bejeebus O.O
Even if paying such a ludicrous fine were possible, where would that money go? To the RIAA? :V
Also, I love how the sponsored links on that page are for the 2011 version of LimeWire and music downloads :B
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It appears that the Ivory Coast situation is coming to a close, finally. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-ivorycoast-idUSTRE73014Z20110411)
That's one world crisis out of the way.
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I wouldn't jump the gun, so to speak. There are loads of pro-Gbagbo militia men still out there. Even if they execute this guy, the political impasse may have been resolved, but I don't think it's going to be an end to the violence any time soon.