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silveradeptBefore beginning tonight's entry, please go and see all of the great stuff that's been posted against torture today. (Yes, it seems redundant to have to specifically say one is against anti-torture, but that's another wonderful by-product of the current administration). The first batch starts here, with the second batch providing more perspectives on why torture is something no person in this country should sanction or tolerate, batch three shows just how many people think that this issue should have been resolved a long time ago, batch four shows that torture comes in all sorts of forms, all bad, and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ldragoon provides the finisher.
Now, for other news. Internationally, Mr. Bush is asking for yet more patience and time with regard to Iraq, saying that the politicians there aren't foot-dragging or delaying and that politicians here who want to see a reduction in troops are damaging the possibility of progress. Well, the fighting has intensified, that's for sure. Which means that even previously "secure" environments such as the Green Zone are now seeing a lot more violence.
CNS News wails that someone sympathetic to Castro and a person who isn't fond of Israel have been put on the U.N.'s Human Rights Commission. Considering that Israel does do things like build separate road systems for its citizens, it may be justified having a critical voice on the Council.
I'm not sure whether this is bad, in that it uses Hitler, or good, in that it uses Hitler, but either way, a utilities company in Ukraine got unpaid bills settled after sending out a notice with Hitler's portrait.
Trying to exchange dollars for local currency in Amsterdam? Good luck. Because of the beating that the currency is taking, some exchange shops aren't taking th dollar for fear that it will lose too much value before it can be sold again. Yet more damage done because of the housing crisis and the runaway Republican spending. Speaking of that, foreclosures and housing problems affect the pets, too. When the people lose the house or move, sometimes the pets go to the shelter, rather than with the people. That can only put more stress on the adoption and shelter care systems.
The builders of the world's largest particle collider are being sued, because of the very tiny chance that the experiment might generate something like a black hole.
In domestic news, the Defense Secretary has ordered an inventory of nuclear technologies and equipment after ballistic missile fuses were accidentally delivered to Taiwan. Between this and the flyover with nuclear missiles by the Air Force, the Secretary has decided that things are getting a little too careless with the WMDs.
Jesus' General reminds us that The Secret Service has important priorities, much more important than investigating threats against presidential candidates. Furthermore, Your Transportation Security Agency is not above requiring women to remove their nipple piercings while male staff look on and snicker.
The story's in Arizona, but I'll bet this happens all over the country - for professions that require a state license, a felony bust in the past, including one for say, pot, can mean that any licensing bid is crushed before it begins. But some people aren't being told of that as they pursue careers. Not to mention that felony charge probably screwed up a significant amount of their student loans - I know of at least one federal program that makes the aid vanish if there's a conviction. Perhaps if the government were a little bit more understanding about charges and convictions, there might be a few more people in skilled professions in the country.
Don't mess with a mother's protective instincts, as they can make it so that standing near and talking to children results in an arrest with $100,000 bail. Now, if the guy creeped out the mother, that's fine, but I'm with Reason magazine in saying that the police could probably do something other than arrest in this situation. Plus, where's Mom in this situation? Is she going over and staying near the kids and figuring out what's going on with the man? Doesn't sound like it. And the guy doesn't have a sex offender conviction anywhere.
TechnOccult puts up a convincing argument that letting children die because of religious beliefs should make the state consider whether the other children in a household really are safe. After all, if they get sick with the same thing, the parents have already shown what they're going to do, and it's not the option that will save the children. So there's a lot of latitude in action when religion is involved. As far as I know, though, there's no official religion, nor official blessing in law that people can break civil law because of their religious beliefs. I could be wrong, and I'd like to see where the counterexamples are, actually.
And last of the depressing parenting things, BoibnBoing talks about how "adoption" works in Guatemala - children are taken from their parents, documents are forged, and then monies are paid to fast-track the child to America. The system there has been corrupted horribly, and there's a good chance that many Americans who adopt don't know whether the child they want was actually given up for adoption or ripped from the mother's arms.
It's probably news, at least in as much sense that the changing of the leader of an organization that claims to be able to cure homosexuals through the usage of draconian rules is. Anyway, John Smid is stepping down as the head of Love in Action. Apparently Smid is famous for a speech where he said that his wife's vagina was enough. The General recounts his own ability to accept that his wife' vagina is enough, with a little help from Ben-Hur.
And four shots of Scientology, all from Radar. First, Scientology bought a castle in South Africa. That said, they still have to deal with Anonymous, defectors, and governments that are increasingly hostile to them. In characteristic fashion, the Church has gone after their detractors, deanonymizing members of Anonymous and serving them with threats of lawsuits. Unfortunately, as a tactic it seems to have the desired chilling effect on protesters. Accusing one's detractors of terrorism is a time-honored tactic. the worst part of it is that one of these named Anons needs a champion with coffers deep enough that they want to take on Scientology and aren't going to be worried about all the intimidation and other tactics the Church will throw at them.
With regard to candidates for the general election, Harper's magazine goes more in-depth with Hillary Clinton's religious group "The Family".
Out on Slate, Christopher Beam smears Senator Obama by association by mentioning an endorsement of the Senator by someone that Americans would find problematic. Tell me again why the endorsement of a candidate by someone is a worthwhile item of interest? And why that should change anyone's opinion about the Senator? If Obama said he was a fan of this particular person's music, that might be worthwhile. But endorsement of a candidate doesn't necessarily mean that candidate espouses the values of the endorser. After all, the Religious Right has been endorsing Republicans that have been wildly at variance with their professed beliefs for decades now.
Out in other realms, the FunSmith's guest blogger says the best way to really enjoy a game is to get good at it, which means practice and study and knowledge. Wouldn't hurt if you found a game that you'd be willing to put in the time and effort of study and play into, either. If the passion for playing equals the amount of time and effort it must have taken to discover limericks and ragtime both have Fibonacci patterns in them, then there's probably a good chance the game will be enjoyed.
In science and technology, flexible plastic circuitry, which could make for a whole host of interesting gadgets. There's also what may be the earliest recorded sound played back, thanks to some virtual grooves from analyzing a picture of a sound wave. Additionally, scientists are trying to train fish that will swim into a net when a tone is sounded. Certainly makes them easier to catch.
Finally, out of this segment, meditation on compassion increases one's capacity and empathy. Which, compared to trying to engineer suicidal fish above, might make for some interesting dilemmas.
An interesting thought from Fantastika! - Could Steampunk represent a certain DIY aesthetic about building things and solving problems from the ground up, rather than the top down? Encouraging the amateur to try and solve things, or at least contribute to understanding, and possibly with a few extra shiny bits or cogs in the device, sounds like a good idea. Making it look good comes after making it work, and it gets built by hand, or at least through the involvement of others. This contrasts it with something like The Church of Apathy, which claims a bigger membership than its adherents know, or The Church of Mammon, which wants everyone to always keep gaining.
My professional self had a look through The Guardian's preview of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials prequel, One Upon A Time In The North. I wonder if our library system is getting it... yep, we are. Hold placed.
And now, I'll just go off for a bit. Maybe I'll even catch some games this weekend.
ldragoon provides the finisher.Now, for other news. Internationally, Mr. Bush is asking for yet more patience and time with regard to Iraq, saying that the politicians there aren't foot-dragging or delaying and that politicians here who want to see a reduction in troops are damaging the possibility of progress. Well, the fighting has intensified, that's for sure. Which means that even previously "secure" environments such as the Green Zone are now seeing a lot more violence.
CNS News wails that someone sympathetic to Castro and a person who isn't fond of Israel have been put on the U.N.'s Human Rights Commission. Considering that Israel does do things like build separate road systems for its citizens, it may be justified having a critical voice on the Council.
I'm not sure whether this is bad, in that it uses Hitler, or good, in that it uses Hitler, but either way, a utilities company in Ukraine got unpaid bills settled after sending out a notice with Hitler's portrait.
Trying to exchange dollars for local currency in Amsterdam? Good luck. Because of the beating that the currency is taking, some exchange shops aren't taking th dollar for fear that it will lose too much value before it can be sold again. Yet more damage done because of the housing crisis and the runaway Republican spending. Speaking of that, foreclosures and housing problems affect the pets, too. When the people lose the house or move, sometimes the pets go to the shelter, rather than with the people. That can only put more stress on the adoption and shelter care systems.
The builders of the world's largest particle collider are being sued, because of the very tiny chance that the experiment might generate something like a black hole.
In domestic news, the Defense Secretary has ordered an inventory of nuclear technologies and equipment after ballistic missile fuses were accidentally delivered to Taiwan. Between this and the flyover with nuclear missiles by the Air Force, the Secretary has decided that things are getting a little too careless with the WMDs.
Jesus' General reminds us that The Secret Service has important priorities, much more important than investigating threats against presidential candidates. Furthermore, Your Transportation Security Agency is not above requiring women to remove their nipple piercings while male staff look on and snicker.
The story's in Arizona, but I'll bet this happens all over the country - for professions that require a state license, a felony bust in the past, including one for say, pot, can mean that any licensing bid is crushed before it begins. But some people aren't being told of that as they pursue careers. Not to mention that felony charge probably screwed up a significant amount of their student loans - I know of at least one federal program that makes the aid vanish if there's a conviction. Perhaps if the government were a little bit more understanding about charges and convictions, there might be a few more people in skilled professions in the country.
Don't mess with a mother's protective instincts, as they can make it so that standing near and talking to children results in an arrest with $100,000 bail. Now, if the guy creeped out the mother, that's fine, but I'm with Reason magazine in saying that the police could probably do something other than arrest in this situation. Plus, where's Mom in this situation? Is she going over and staying near the kids and figuring out what's going on with the man? Doesn't sound like it. And the guy doesn't have a sex offender conviction anywhere.
TechnOccult puts up a convincing argument that letting children die because of religious beliefs should make the state consider whether the other children in a household really are safe. After all, if they get sick with the same thing, the parents have already shown what they're going to do, and it's not the option that will save the children. So there's a lot of latitude in action when religion is involved. As far as I know, though, there's no official religion, nor official blessing in law that people can break civil law because of their religious beliefs. I could be wrong, and I'd like to see where the counterexamples are, actually.
And last of the depressing parenting things, BoibnBoing talks about how "adoption" works in Guatemala - children are taken from their parents, documents are forged, and then monies are paid to fast-track the child to America. The system there has been corrupted horribly, and there's a good chance that many Americans who adopt don't know whether the child they want was actually given up for adoption or ripped from the mother's arms.
It's probably news, at least in as much sense that the changing of the leader of an organization that claims to be able to cure homosexuals through the usage of draconian rules is. Anyway, John Smid is stepping down as the head of Love in Action. Apparently Smid is famous for a speech where he said that his wife's vagina was enough. The General recounts his own ability to accept that his wife' vagina is enough, with a little help from Ben-Hur.
And four shots of Scientology, all from Radar. First, Scientology bought a castle in South Africa. That said, they still have to deal with Anonymous, defectors, and governments that are increasingly hostile to them. In characteristic fashion, the Church has gone after their detractors, deanonymizing members of Anonymous and serving them with threats of lawsuits. Unfortunately, as a tactic it seems to have the desired chilling effect on protesters. Accusing one's detractors of terrorism is a time-honored tactic. the worst part of it is that one of these named Anons needs a champion with coffers deep enough that they want to take on Scientology and aren't going to be worried about all the intimidation and other tactics the Church will throw at them.
With regard to candidates for the general election, Harper's magazine goes more in-depth with Hillary Clinton's religious group "The Family".
Out on Slate, Christopher Beam smears Senator Obama by association by mentioning an endorsement of the Senator by someone that Americans would find problematic. Tell me again why the endorsement of a candidate by someone is a worthwhile item of interest? And why that should change anyone's opinion about the Senator? If Obama said he was a fan of this particular person's music, that might be worthwhile. But endorsement of a candidate doesn't necessarily mean that candidate espouses the values of the endorser. After all, the Religious Right has been endorsing Republicans that have been wildly at variance with their professed beliefs for decades now.
Out in other realms, the FunSmith's guest blogger says the best way to really enjoy a game is to get good at it, which means practice and study and knowledge. Wouldn't hurt if you found a game that you'd be willing to put in the time and effort of study and play into, either. If the passion for playing equals the amount of time and effort it must have taken to discover limericks and ragtime both have Fibonacci patterns in them, then there's probably a good chance the game will be enjoyed.
In science and technology, flexible plastic circuitry, which could make for a whole host of interesting gadgets. There's also what may be the earliest recorded sound played back, thanks to some virtual grooves from analyzing a picture of a sound wave. Additionally, scientists are trying to train fish that will swim into a net when a tone is sounded. Certainly makes them easier to catch.
Finally, out of this segment, meditation on compassion increases one's capacity and empathy. Which, compared to trying to engineer suicidal fish above, might make for some interesting dilemmas.
An interesting thought from Fantastika! - Could Steampunk represent a certain DIY aesthetic about building things and solving problems from the ground up, rather than the top down? Encouraging the amateur to try and solve things, or at least contribute to understanding, and possibly with a few extra shiny bits or cogs in the device, sounds like a good idea. Making it look good comes after making it work, and it gets built by hand, or at least through the involvement of others. This contrasts it with something like The Church of Apathy, which claims a bigger membership than its adherents know, or The Church of Mammon, which wants everyone to always keep gaining.
My professional self had a look through The Guardian's preview of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials prequel, One Upon A Time In The North. I wonder if our library system is getting it... yep, we are. Hold placed.
And now, I'll just go off for a bit. Maybe I'll even catch some games this weekend.
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-29 09:54 am (UTC)When I was 14, I waited at the bus stop to catch the crosstown to the college. I happened to sit facing the playground, watching the kids and thinking happy cheerful thoughts about some future day when I have children of my own. A woman, whom I now only remember as bright-pink-and-fanny-pack, came up to me. She asked, in a reasonable approximation of friendliness, what I was doing. I answered honestly, that I was watching the children play and marvelling at how beautiful it is.
She proceeded to get all up into my face and told me to get away from her children and never come back again.
Flash forward, where I'm hired in China to teach kindergarten. The Chinese have no worries whatsoever about Teh Pedos and Teh Molestors and so forth. I could smile at children, wave, make funny faces, make them laugh, even compliment mothers on their children and get nothing but smiles and pride back.
Flash forward, I'm doing an independent-contractor promo gig on the beach which involves photographing families. I walk up to the families, ask permission, and take pictures. Two young ladies seemed to watch me carefully, so I never approached them. One mother told her children, to my face, that I was lying and so I couldn't be trusted. After a few more snaps, the police showed up, took me aside, and told me that some bitch said that I was taking pornographic pictures of the children on the beach and bothering people. I talked the good officer down to "well, we got a complaint about you, so you have to leave, but we're not going to register you as a potential sex offender."
I don't smile at anyone who looks like a child or a parent any more.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-30 04:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-30 04:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-30 04:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 06:33 pm (UTC)Perhaps the tone that calls the fish into the net should be Ernie's voice saying "Heeeeeeeeere fishy fishy fishy" in homage to the Sesame Street bit? ;-)
Shit man, what else will they rip off from Sesame Street?!?!
no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 08:29 pm (UTC)As a continuing sidenote, Paula Poundstone employs the similar joke in Bluff the Listener while talking about this story on Wait Wait Don't Tell me:
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=35