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More, he cried - 23-25 October 2010
Oct. 26th, 2010 12:34 amGood day, everyone - the question of how much piracy hurts or helps people continues to move on - a bootlegged copy showing up on 4chan may have boosted some sales for an author, and Doctorow is well-known for providing his works for free, yet still managing a pretty good deal of physical (and likely electronic) sales.
Speaking of moving books, Mr. Gaiman suggests that 31 October be a day on which scary books are given.
For those still at a loss on what to do in their NaNos, or those struggling with deadlines everywhere, a suggestion on how to overcome Writer's Block - write the most shameful, adolescent fantasy that you can think of - not with the eye toward publication, but with the eye toward getting you writing again.
And finally, if you're looking for a clearinghouse on all the many ways our mainstream media manages to fail at their jobs, Media Fail will provide plenty of links worth of rage induction. They're probably the running list of media-related Worst People in the World.
In the world today, The United Nations compound in Afghanistan was attacekd by car-bombers and Taliban forces. Elsewhere, in something that will no doubt make the anti-Iran people speak louder, the Afghan government admits to receiving foreign aid from Iran.
Wikileaks released their second suite of documents today, detailing that the military was keeping detailed body counts, the war was basically waged by private contractors, Iran had a stake in it, Iraqis and Americans alike were brutal, and that the surge only worked because it came at a time when the local populace had had enough of bloodshed. Which might explain worries that some of the population is rejoining opposition because they don't trust their government can handle things when the U.S. leaves. In response, the United States military deplored the release of their secrets, claiming it would embolden and give information to the enemies of the United States. Even though they chose not to request redaction or nonpublishing of documents when asked. I'm surprised I haven't heard more of the supposed actual finding of trace amounts of WMD in Iraq being waved about by those people who wanted to prove that the weapons inspectors were wrong and we were totally justified in invading.
Meet the newest police chief of Juarez, Mexico - a crimonology student who won the job because nobody else applied.
Finally, Iran cut the hand off of a convicted thief as punishment, reminding us that older codes of law are still being practiced elsewhere in the world. Many of those places rpacticing those codes also rank rather low when it comes to talking about how much real power the women of those countries have.
Domestically, another strike against the idea that Tea Partiers are simple-government folk with no underlying animosity toward certain racial or religious groups - The Tea Party Nation certainly thinks that being a Muslim is an offense that should prevent someone from being a member of Congress. Of course, if you want to spot the Muslims, you're going to have a time of it if you go solely on what they wear.
Utterly useless Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics in regard to repealing the health care bill, as adding categories and changing numbers changes the swing of the voters. Blargh. If there's something to be garnered from it, it's that total repeal is not popular, but modification is.
MSNBC and Ms. Maddow unveil a documentary about the assassination of George Tiller in an attempt to expose how far the anti-abortion right is often willing to go to achieve their ends, and that dismissing much of what they say and do as mere rhetoric is to downplay something that should be taken seriously. (NBC Universal, by the way, will soon no longer be a GE company, which might explain why they appeared in the segment she had about corporate tax rates...)
Tech Giant Google pays an effective tax rate of 2.4 percent, following in the footsteps of other similar corporations that write favorable rules into the tax code for themselves. So the next time anyone tries to sell you on the idea that the corporate tax rate is too high, ask them if they know any corporations that actually pay that rate and how it affects them, and then ask them how much they've been paid or gotten in helpful ads for them to sell that line. More often than not, they're funnelling their money though the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who advocate outsourcing of jobs and are more than happy to play patsy thanks to the Citizens United decision.
Meanwhile, back down in the world where the real people are, a rather cruel Christmas present is slated for 1.2 million persons - the expiry of their unemployment insurance benefits.
An interview with the author of a book that has looked at research and still has no answer on whether sexual orientation has genetic components, but has lots of answers on how people can behave better toward each other and how we should be fine with gender-nonconforming children. Because there are a lot of issues - the foster care system is not very friendly to gay and lesbian teenagers, because there aren't many who will take them and be okay with them, and it doesn't stop the school bullying and public harassment. It goes back to the fundamental question - What else are you doing? Wearing the colors and waving the flags is excellent, but what else are you doing to make things better? Because "better" that comes with time is not better at all.
Santa Clara County's new smoking ban prohibits smoking both outside in public places and inside multiunit dwellings and their common areas, figuring correctly that secondhand smoke will find its way into places where it isn't wanted, regardless of the intent of the person smoking.
Maine and other states and areas are considering allowing legal resident aliens the ability to vote in local elections, with proponents arguing that because they pay taxes and hold jobs in the area, they should be allowed to determine how its government functions, and opponents saying that voting should be a carrot for those legal aliens to be naturalized and become citizens.
Finally, food safety problems again, this time with deadly bacteria in celery. There's got to be a way to stop this kind of thing from happening. I'll guess, though, that if we did it, we'd find that all the cheap food we've become accustomed to isn't as cheap any more. Of course, this assumes that we don't elect candidates who are actively hostile to the idea of safety regulation in food.
Into technology and sciences, where a very nice little application just developed will sniff open networks and capture cookies, allowing someone else to log in as you to your preferred sites. To defeat such tools, some Firefox extennsions force the use of the HTTPS protocol wherever they are exchanging information, and thus, an intercepted thing is encrypted gibberish.
For those looking to further their education or find material on YouTube that's not, say, videos of people reacting to certain gross-out material, 100 useful YouTube channels for teachers and autodidacts.
Newer studies suggest that previous studies used to justify wolf hunting in the Rockies states were being taken out of context and that the current practice is overhunting the wolves and disrupting their social networks.
Finally, Sony has ceased offering and producing the cassette tape Walkman.
On opinions, the upcoming election may be the tipping point as to whether America becomes fascist or not, according to Sara Robinson, as the groundwork, including the Tea Party's ability to galvanize the fringe right and then meld them with the Republican Party of NO that prevents real work from being done, has already been laid. Even if the corporatists don't trust them.
Mr. Blinder says that we need to pass some fiscal policies to stimulate demand and drive the economy, but our current Congressional quagmire is unlikely to get anything through, leaving us only with having the Fed do more of what it can and hope that a deadlock breaks. That quagmire is supported, of course, by plenty of people, some with columns, that say "Austerity now! See where generous spending got Europe! Turn back before it's too late!" or that blame the entirety of the housing collapse on the government-sponsored enterprises that took the toxic assets off the books of the private banks and are using taxpayer dollars to prevent the floor from falling out too swiftly. (Although, props to Heritage for taking an anti-corporatist stance for once. It being the corporations you don't like, well, we'll work on that, but glad to see that in at least one instance you see the dangers of letting certain corporations run the whole show without oversight.)
Mr. Riley condemns the NAACP for focusing on the Tea Party when they should be trying to improve the lot of those colored people they claim to be for the advancement of. Y'know, because inncer-city schools suck, unemployment among black people is skyrocketed, black people are disproportionately in prison, all because, according to Mr. Riley, those black people just don't get married and stay married for their children. Not because of white flight, unofficial Jim Crow, Driving While Black, gated communities, harsher sentences, or anything like that. Just make all the black people get married and all will be well.
Last out, Mr. Lipsky says we should defund NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting not because of any ideological view, but because government-funded broadcasting makes it harder for private enterprise to raise enough capital to do quality work on their own.
Last for tonight, The Oatmeal rather bluntly reminds the Internet populace as to what proper e-mail etiquette is, whether one is an individual or a faceless corporate conglomerate.
Speaking of moving books, Mr. Gaiman suggests that 31 October be a day on which scary books are given.
For those still at a loss on what to do in their NaNos, or those struggling with deadlines everywhere, a suggestion on how to overcome Writer's Block - write the most shameful, adolescent fantasy that you can think of - not with the eye toward publication, but with the eye toward getting you writing again.
And finally, if you're looking for a clearinghouse on all the many ways our mainstream media manages to fail at their jobs, Media Fail will provide plenty of links worth of rage induction. They're probably the running list of media-related Worst People in the World.
In the world today, The United Nations compound in Afghanistan was attacekd by car-bombers and Taliban forces. Elsewhere, in something that will no doubt make the anti-Iran people speak louder, the Afghan government admits to receiving foreign aid from Iran.
Wikileaks released their second suite of documents today, detailing that the military was keeping detailed body counts, the war was basically waged by private contractors, Iran had a stake in it, Iraqis and Americans alike were brutal, and that the surge only worked because it came at a time when the local populace had had enough of bloodshed. Which might explain worries that some of the population is rejoining opposition because they don't trust their government can handle things when the U.S. leaves. In response, the United States military deplored the release of their secrets, claiming it would embolden and give information to the enemies of the United States. Even though they chose not to request redaction or nonpublishing of documents when asked. I'm surprised I haven't heard more of the supposed actual finding of trace amounts of WMD in Iraq being waved about by those people who wanted to prove that the weapons inspectors were wrong and we were totally justified in invading.
Meet the newest police chief of Juarez, Mexico - a crimonology student who won the job because nobody else applied.
Finally, Iran cut the hand off of a convicted thief as punishment, reminding us that older codes of law are still being practiced elsewhere in the world. Many of those places rpacticing those codes also rank rather low when it comes to talking about how much real power the women of those countries have.
Domestically, another strike against the idea that Tea Partiers are simple-government folk with no underlying animosity toward certain racial or religious groups - The Tea Party Nation certainly thinks that being a Muslim is an offense that should prevent someone from being a member of Congress. Of course, if you want to spot the Muslims, you're going to have a time of it if you go solely on what they wear.
Utterly useless Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics in regard to repealing the health care bill, as adding categories and changing numbers changes the swing of the voters. Blargh. If there's something to be garnered from it, it's that total repeal is not popular, but modification is.
MSNBC and Ms. Maddow unveil a documentary about the assassination of George Tiller in an attempt to expose how far the anti-abortion right is often willing to go to achieve their ends, and that dismissing much of what they say and do as mere rhetoric is to downplay something that should be taken seriously. (NBC Universal, by the way, will soon no longer be a GE company, which might explain why they appeared in the segment she had about corporate tax rates...)
Tech Giant Google pays an effective tax rate of 2.4 percent, following in the footsteps of other similar corporations that write favorable rules into the tax code for themselves. So the next time anyone tries to sell you on the idea that the corporate tax rate is too high, ask them if they know any corporations that actually pay that rate and how it affects them, and then ask them how much they've been paid or gotten in helpful ads for them to sell that line. More often than not, they're funnelling their money though the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who advocate outsourcing of jobs and are more than happy to play patsy thanks to the Citizens United decision.
Meanwhile, back down in the world where the real people are, a rather cruel Christmas present is slated for 1.2 million persons - the expiry of their unemployment insurance benefits.
An interview with the author of a book that has looked at research and still has no answer on whether sexual orientation has genetic components, but has lots of answers on how people can behave better toward each other and how we should be fine with gender-nonconforming children. Because there are a lot of issues - the foster care system is not very friendly to gay and lesbian teenagers, because there aren't many who will take them and be okay with them, and it doesn't stop the school bullying and public harassment. It goes back to the fundamental question - What else are you doing? Wearing the colors and waving the flags is excellent, but what else are you doing to make things better? Because "better" that comes with time is not better at all.
Santa Clara County's new smoking ban prohibits smoking both outside in public places and inside multiunit dwellings and their common areas, figuring correctly that secondhand smoke will find its way into places where it isn't wanted, regardless of the intent of the person smoking.
Maine and other states and areas are considering allowing legal resident aliens the ability to vote in local elections, with proponents arguing that because they pay taxes and hold jobs in the area, they should be allowed to determine how its government functions, and opponents saying that voting should be a carrot for those legal aliens to be naturalized and become citizens.
Finally, food safety problems again, this time with deadly bacteria in celery. There's got to be a way to stop this kind of thing from happening. I'll guess, though, that if we did it, we'd find that all the cheap food we've become accustomed to isn't as cheap any more. Of course, this assumes that we don't elect candidates who are actively hostile to the idea of safety regulation in food.
Into technology and sciences, where a very nice little application just developed will sniff open networks and capture cookies, allowing someone else to log in as you to your preferred sites. To defeat such tools, some Firefox extennsions force the use of the HTTPS protocol wherever they are exchanging information, and thus, an intercepted thing is encrypted gibberish.
For those looking to further their education or find material on YouTube that's not, say, videos of people reacting to certain gross-out material, 100 useful YouTube channels for teachers and autodidacts.
Newer studies suggest that previous studies used to justify wolf hunting in the Rockies states were being taken out of context and that the current practice is overhunting the wolves and disrupting their social networks.
Finally, Sony has ceased offering and producing the cassette tape Walkman.
On opinions, the upcoming election may be the tipping point as to whether America becomes fascist or not, according to Sara Robinson, as the groundwork, including the Tea Party's ability to galvanize the fringe right and then meld them with the Republican Party of NO that prevents real work from being done, has already been laid. Even if the corporatists don't trust them.
Mr. Blinder says that we need to pass some fiscal policies to stimulate demand and drive the economy, but our current Congressional quagmire is unlikely to get anything through, leaving us only with having the Fed do more of what it can and hope that a deadlock breaks. That quagmire is supported, of course, by plenty of people, some with columns, that say "Austerity now! See where generous spending got Europe! Turn back before it's too late!" or that blame the entirety of the housing collapse on the government-sponsored enterprises that took the toxic assets off the books of the private banks and are using taxpayer dollars to prevent the floor from falling out too swiftly. (Although, props to Heritage for taking an anti-corporatist stance for once. It being the corporations you don't like, well, we'll work on that, but glad to see that in at least one instance you see the dangers of letting certain corporations run the whole show without oversight.)
Mr. Riley condemns the NAACP for focusing on the Tea Party when they should be trying to improve the lot of those colored people they claim to be for the advancement of. Y'know, because inncer-city schools suck, unemployment among black people is skyrocketed, black people are disproportionately in prison, all because, according to Mr. Riley, those black people just don't get married and stay married for their children. Not because of white flight, unofficial Jim Crow, Driving While Black, gated communities, harsher sentences, or anything like that. Just make all the black people get married and all will be well.
Last out, Mr. Lipsky says we should defund NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting not because of any ideological view, but because government-funded broadcasting makes it harder for private enterprise to raise enough capital to do quality work on their own.
Last for tonight, The Oatmeal rather bluntly reminds the Internet populace as to what proper e-mail etiquette is, whether one is an individual or a faceless corporate conglomerate.
