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This is later than usual because my router decides, in all the infinite lack of wisdom it has, to go belly-up for four hours, and then again as I was typing up the entry for my normal time, and I’m not entirely sure it’s settled down yet. So rather than wait for it to return, I said “Bugger this” and went to bed. From the looks of things, this was smart. There may be threats and changes administered if this continues.
There’s an interesting thought about spirituality here - while it’s about New Age, I think it may have some extensibility to other places, other religions, because the condition of feeling somewhat alone in the universe is a part of humanity. Narcissism and Spiritual Materialism tells us that trying to find what’s missing in the book, or the CD, or the other system, isn’t necessarily going to work. Once we get past the trappings into the real object, that’s when we get to make progress. And I’d say, regardless of which trappings we believe in, the underlying root is where we should be getting to. Be we New Agers or Fundamentalist Christians who want people to follow them instead of G-d.
That kind of idea might actually be applicable to secular matters, too. How much of that explanation would fit with Hubris and Obscenity: Imperial Ambitions on Naked Display, where Chris Floyd explores the multiple meanings of what was said when the brass admit they can’t be delicate or prepared for things that happen worldwide and that the military is definitively overextended.
Iran has blocked access to nuclear facilities by visiting United Nations inspectors. This may be a temporary measure or a permanent one. But by doing so, Iran raises more suspicions that they are using the nuclear programme for something other than humanitarian or power-generation purposes. Even if they aren’t building weapons, telling the inspectors to go away makes people start thinking they are.
Following on yesterday’s article about a positive poll for Iraqi opinions, the Cybercast news service says there's also a USA Today poll that says Iraqi's think things are worse. Probably surveyed two different sets of people. Some might think it’s better, others worse. Saddam's former deputy, hanged before dawn today, is probably not a fan. Those quoted by Exploding Aardvark, on the other hand, might side with those who think it was better before we got there.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
crzmslmaven recounts her involvement in the war, and how she's not at peace with what she did. Furthermore, over the last weekend, there were demonstrations against the way and counter-demonstrations in support of it. Letting the members of the conservative counter-demonstration, the Gathering of Eagles, speak for themselves, if you can sift through it, here’s Michelle Malkin's coverage of the event, which she claims was basically ignored by the mainstream media. Some of the photos posted there, in my opinion, do not help her present the GoE as a rational and calm entity (see “Peace Thru Superior Firepower”), but I’m certainly not saying that the anti-war demonstrators are necessarily a rational, calm, and unified entity either. The incline on the slant drops sharply into the conservative realm, so salt, balance, or otherwise drop large amounts of counterweight as needed. Ms. Sheehan was at the anti-war rally, but Malkin links to someone who’s best argument against her is that she used the word "bullshit" in her speech, as if this somehow suddenly removes any credibility she may have had ans classes her as permanently mentally insane. I realize this has been going on since the beginning, no doubt on both ends of the debate, but isn’t ad hominem generally one of the refuges of the desperate and those who have no actual points to make?
TPMuckraker is drawing on the support of an eager readership to go rifling through the 3,000 plus pages of the Justice Department's releases. In manageable 50-page chunks, using the comments to fill in the squares on the Carbomb board. If that’s something you want to have a look at, go for it and pick a new spot to launch at.
The New York Times reports documents being released by the White House on climate changed had been edited by a former oil-industry lobbyist to include more grey area about the climate change problem. With some worrying that climate change will cause more water-related storms and damages,
In something less deadly, but just as likely to create divisiveness, Slate has an opinion from Christopher Bonanos that calls for the elimination of dollar bills. And if this is going to happen, could we get some funny money, too? Colors, sizes, shapes, plastic bills? Although not so much with the tracking chips and that, please.
People will ask the hive mind about anything. Including if they think they've broken their twig and berries. No shame in the asking, and luckily, the answers are good - “to the doc, d00d. Now.”
In less potentially squicky medical matters - nearly ten million flu vaccine doses are projected to be thrown away on June 30, when an arbitrary expiry date occurs. The science reports that the old vaccine may not be attuned to this years strains, but that it would still probably be effective. This material could probably safely be shipped to other places for lower or no cost to the recipients. Even if it is last year’s material.
Other drug news comes off the AlterNet, where the UK is being praised for taking a loot at their drug policy and suggesting revisions that acknowledge drugs exist, will continue to exist, and look to reduce harms rather than prohibit outright. The writer would like to see the United States adopt a similar view, but holds dim prospects for that happening any time soon.
We have problems with driving while distracted and talking on the phone, so one would think driving while texting would be similarly problematic. Yet some seem to have the need to ask the question as to whether driving while texting should be outlawed.
A situation of which we are of two minds - a Rhode island woman was sentenced to three years of probation because she and her boyfriend would have sex in front of their 9-year old daughter as a way of educating her about sexual activity. On the one hand, I can see the masses saying that she’s not old enough to understand about it. (Although, I’ve also heard that some girls are achieving menstrual periods at the like at that age.) On the other hand, there is the idea that “if she’s old enough to ask about it, then she’s old enough to know the truth about it, and probably can understand it.” According to the account, there was no forcing of the girl to watch, so if she was interested, she could see. If not, she didn’t have to.
In New Jersey, two hundred and nineteen couples have registered civil unions in the first month of New Jersey allowing them under law. The full suite of rights are being conferred there - now the push is to get it everywhere else, and to get clergy who are willing to perform religious ceremonies of marriage for the couples.
Next to last for tonight is a bit of openness from the government, on the National Security Agency’s website is the security configuration guidelines for various operating systems. I’m not sure how complete they are, but if you want to configure your own boxen with the same things the government uses (or possibly to point and laugh at how pitiful they are), here’s your thing.
The final bit is probably something very culture-specific, but Posthuman Blues links to this YouTube video where robots in Japan are passing out tissue packs. Simply approach and you get one and some robot voice thanking you (I believe). I’m not sure what the tissue packs are for - are they some sort of marketing form that people are expected to take or something? Still, this looks like another one of those potentially novel robot applications.
There’s an interesting thought about spirituality here - while it’s about New Age, I think it may have some extensibility to other places, other religions, because the condition of feeling somewhat alone in the universe is a part of humanity. Narcissism and Spiritual Materialism tells us that trying to find what’s missing in the book, or the CD, or the other system, isn’t necessarily going to work. Once we get past the trappings into the real object, that’s when we get to make progress. And I’d say, regardless of which trappings we believe in, the underlying root is where we should be getting to. Be we New Agers or Fundamentalist Christians who want people to follow them instead of G-d.
That kind of idea might actually be applicable to secular matters, too. How much of that explanation would fit with Hubris and Obscenity: Imperial Ambitions on Naked Display, where Chris Floyd explores the multiple meanings of what was said when the brass admit they can’t be delicate or prepared for things that happen worldwide and that the military is definitively overextended.
Iran has blocked access to nuclear facilities by visiting United Nations inspectors. This may be a temporary measure or a permanent one. But by doing so, Iran raises more suspicions that they are using the nuclear programme for something other than humanitarian or power-generation purposes. Even if they aren’t building weapons, telling the inspectors to go away makes people start thinking they are.
Following on yesterday’s article about a positive poll for Iraqi opinions, the Cybercast news service says there's also a USA Today poll that says Iraqi's think things are worse. Probably surveyed two different sets of people. Some might think it’s better, others worse. Saddam's former deputy, hanged before dawn today, is probably not a fan. Those quoted by Exploding Aardvark, on the other hand, might side with those who think it was better before we got there.
crzmslmaven recounts her involvement in the war, and how she's not at peace with what she did. Furthermore, over the last weekend, there were demonstrations against the way and counter-demonstrations in support of it. Letting the members of the conservative counter-demonstration, the Gathering of Eagles, speak for themselves, if you can sift through it, here’s Michelle Malkin's coverage of the event, which she claims was basically ignored by the mainstream media. Some of the photos posted there, in my opinion, do not help her present the GoE as a rational and calm entity (see “Peace Thru Superior Firepower”), but I’m certainly not saying that the anti-war demonstrators are necessarily a rational, calm, and unified entity either. The incline on the slant drops sharply into the conservative realm, so salt, balance, or otherwise drop large amounts of counterweight as needed. Ms. Sheehan was at the anti-war rally, but Malkin links to someone who’s best argument against her is that she used the word "bullshit" in her speech, as if this somehow suddenly removes any credibility she may have had ans classes her as permanently mentally insane. I realize this has been going on since the beginning, no doubt on both ends of the debate, but isn’t ad hominem generally one of the refuges of the desperate and those who have no actual points to make? TPMuckraker is drawing on the support of an eager readership to go rifling through the 3,000 plus pages of the Justice Department's releases. In manageable 50-page chunks, using the comments to fill in the squares on the Carbomb board. If that’s something you want to have a look at, go for it and pick a new spot to launch at.
The New York Times reports documents being released by the White House on climate changed had been edited by a former oil-industry lobbyist to include more grey area about the climate change problem. With some worrying that climate change will cause more water-related storms and damages,
In something less deadly, but just as likely to create divisiveness, Slate has an opinion from Christopher Bonanos that calls for the elimination of dollar bills. And if this is going to happen, could we get some funny money, too? Colors, sizes, shapes, plastic bills? Although not so much with the tracking chips and that, please.
People will ask the hive mind about anything. Including if they think they've broken their twig and berries. No shame in the asking, and luckily, the answers are good - “to the doc, d00d. Now.”
In less potentially squicky medical matters - nearly ten million flu vaccine doses are projected to be thrown away on June 30, when an arbitrary expiry date occurs. The science reports that the old vaccine may not be attuned to this years strains, but that it would still probably be effective. This material could probably safely be shipped to other places for lower or no cost to the recipients. Even if it is last year’s material.
Other drug news comes off the AlterNet, where the UK is being praised for taking a loot at their drug policy and suggesting revisions that acknowledge drugs exist, will continue to exist, and look to reduce harms rather than prohibit outright. The writer would like to see the United States adopt a similar view, but holds dim prospects for that happening any time soon.
We have problems with driving while distracted and talking on the phone, so one would think driving while texting would be similarly problematic. Yet some seem to have the need to ask the question as to whether driving while texting should be outlawed.
A situation of which we are of two minds - a Rhode island woman was sentenced to three years of probation because she and her boyfriend would have sex in front of their 9-year old daughter as a way of educating her about sexual activity. On the one hand, I can see the masses saying that she’s not old enough to understand about it. (Although, I’ve also heard that some girls are achieving menstrual periods at the like at that age.) On the other hand, there is the idea that “if she’s old enough to ask about it, then she’s old enough to know the truth about it, and probably can understand it.” According to the account, there was no forcing of the girl to watch, so if she was interested, she could see. If not, she didn’t have to.
In New Jersey, two hundred and nineteen couples have registered civil unions in the first month of New Jersey allowing them under law. The full suite of rights are being conferred there - now the push is to get it everywhere else, and to get clergy who are willing to perform religious ceremonies of marriage for the couples.
Next to last for tonight is a bit of openness from the government, on the National Security Agency’s website is the security configuration guidelines for various operating systems. I’m not sure how complete they are, but if you want to configure your own boxen with the same things the government uses (or possibly to point and laugh at how pitiful they are), here’s your thing.
The final bit is probably something very culture-specific, but Posthuman Blues links to this YouTube video where robots in Japan are passing out tissue packs. Simply approach and you get one and some robot voice thanking you (I believe). I’m not sure what the tissue packs are for - are they some sort of marketing form that people are expected to take or something? Still, this looks like another one of those potentially novel robot applications.
