Revoltingly bad idea from the Discovery Channel.
Executors of Michael Jackson's estate have asked the Discovery Channel to cancel plans for a programme claiming to re-enact the late singer's autopsy.
John Branca and John McClain said the show was "in shockingly bad taste".
In a letter, the pair accused the company of being motivated by "blind desire" to exploit the singer's death.
The show - entitled Michael Jackson's Autopsy: What Really Killed Michael Jackson - is scheduled to be broadcast in Europe in January.
Read more here.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Apple rejects The Manhattan Declaration app, for a 2nd time
Well not actually for a 2nd time, as they accepted the app at first, then rejected it following complants...
Apple has upheld its decision to reject an anti-LGBT, anti-choice iPhone App despite protests from Christian organizations and a revision of the original application by its creators...
...Apple rejected the second submission on the same grounds as the first, noting that the app is likely “to expose a group to harm” and “to be objectionable and potentially harmful to others.” The Manhattan Declaration website posted a statement on December 23 announcing Apple’s rejection of the app, and the makers of the content plan to take the issue to the Apple’s App Review Board after the holidays. Media coverage of this second rejection does not seem to have been picked up by many conservative outlets as of yet.
Read more here.
Apple has upheld its decision to reject an anti-LGBT, anti-choice iPhone App despite protests from Christian organizations and a revision of the original application by its creators...
...Apple rejected the second submission on the same grounds as the first, noting that the app is likely “to expose a group to harm” and “to be objectionable and potentially harmful to others.” The Manhattan Declaration website posted a statement on December 23 announcing Apple’s rejection of the app, and the makers of the content plan to take the issue to the Apple’s App Review Board after the holidays. Media coverage of this second rejection does not seem to have been picked up by many conservative outlets as of yet.
Read more here.
Mayor Ford set to lead the Moron Renaissance. It's in the bag.
Our Glorious Mayor Ford is set to repeal the 5 cent plastic bag "tax", cause you know it was just a pinko idea anyway. All you have to do is slap the hippies and Ford's supporters will stop dragging their knuckles just long enough to applaud.
Bask in the idiot mindset in this story....
On this one he’s going to be tough to beat because this tax is not about making the city green as much as punishment of capitalism.
Yep, conservative blinkered worldview for all to see. Screw the environment, there's money to be made!
Read more here.
Bask in the idiot mindset in this story....
On this one he’s going to be tough to beat because this tax is not about making the city green as much as punishment of capitalism.
Yep, conservative blinkered worldview for all to see. Screw the environment, there's money to be made!
Read more here.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
One Toronto police officer takes a civilized view of graffiti
Besides producing some fine work, graffiti provides a needed safety valve in a corporate ad ladened city.
On Broadcast Lane, tucked behind Cabbagetown’s shops and studios, a cop walks his beat.
Among the trash bins in the alleyway, Constable Scott Mills points to graffiti-covered brick, drips of neon paint on the concrete curbs below. But he’s not lamenting the delinquency of the larger-than-life letters and motifs as you might expect. He knows each one’s maker by name: This one is a Bubz original. That one is Phade’s. He points to them like a proud father.
Read more here.
On Broadcast Lane, tucked behind Cabbagetown’s shops and studios, a cop walks his beat.
Among the trash bins in the alleyway, Constable Scott Mills points to graffiti-covered brick, drips of neon paint on the concrete curbs below. But he’s not lamenting the delinquency of the larger-than-life letters and motifs as you might expect. He knows each one’s maker by name: This one is a Bubz original. That one is Phade’s. He points to them like a proud father.
Read more here.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Pushy Christians: Harry Potter was a good Christian?
Via the CNN Belief blog, where Christians go to whine.
In a new book out this month, author Danielle Tumminio asserts Harry Potter is good Christian. Tumminio argues Potter lives a life that lines up with Christian values.
“I see him best as a seeker in a world where Christianity is not the vocabulary. I see him best as a seeker trying to live a life of faith in the same way a Christian seeker tries to live a life grace,” Tumminio told CNN.
Tumminio said she wrote God and Harry Potter at Yale: Teaching Faith and Fantasy Fiction in an Ivy League Classroom, to explore the contention by conservative Christians that Harry Potter is akin to heresy.
“I felt like the conversation about the Harry Potter series among Christians was really narrow,” Tumminio said.
Read more here.
In a new book out this month, author Danielle Tumminio asserts Harry Potter is good Christian. Tumminio argues Potter lives a life that lines up with Christian values.
“I see him best as a seeker in a world where Christianity is not the vocabulary. I see him best as a seeker trying to live a life of faith in the same way a Christian seeker tries to live a life grace,” Tumminio told CNN.
Tumminio said she wrote God and Harry Potter at Yale: Teaching Faith and Fantasy Fiction in an Ivy League Classroom, to explore the contention by conservative Christians that Harry Potter is akin to heresy.
“I felt like the conversation about the Harry Potter series among Christians was really narrow,” Tumminio said.
Read more here.
FOX game show steals 800K from couple because of its own mistake
What follows is some cold hearted bullshit.
The host of the Fox game show that admitted that a couple had lost $800,000 despite having answered correctly has come out saying that the outrage against the show is misplaced.
Kevin Pollak, who hosts "Million Dollar Money Drop" on Fox, told The Hollywood Reporter Monday that outrage over Gabe Okoye and Brittany Matyi's mistaken wrong answer is a "moot point."
Okoye and Mayti lost $800,000 when they said that the Post-It Note had been sold before the Sony Walkman. The show said they were wrong, but later said in a statement that the couple was in fact correct, blaming the mistake on a 3M research error and inviting the couple back for a second try.
Regardless, Pollak said, the firestorm over the mistake was irrelevant as the couple got subsequent questions wrong, losing the rest of their money.
Read more here.
The host of the Fox game show that admitted that a couple had lost $800,000 despite having answered correctly has come out saying that the outrage against the show is misplaced.
Kevin Pollak, who hosts "Million Dollar Money Drop" on Fox, told The Hollywood Reporter Monday that outrage over Gabe Okoye and Brittany Matyi's mistaken wrong answer is a "moot point."
Okoye and Mayti lost $800,000 when they said that the Post-It Note had been sold before the Sony Walkman. The show said they were wrong, but later said in a statement that the couple was in fact correct, blaming the mistake on a 3M research error and inviting the couple back for a second try.
Regardless, Pollak said, the firestorm over the mistake was irrelevant as the couple got subsequent questions wrong, losing the rest of their money.
Read more here.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Gas prices rise again, with the knowledge the public are sheep and will do nothing about it
Most Canadian commuters woke up Friday morning to find the Grinch had pumped up gasoline prices.
At $1.26 per litre, Labrador City had the highest prices. The average Canadian price is now about $1.12. Alberta boasts the lowest prices, with Red Deer residents paying 93 cents per litre.
The price of crude oil, which topped $91 a barrel on Thursday, is blamed for the increase. But analysts say speculation, not strong demand or dwindling supplies, is behind the hike.
In Quebec, the Canadian Automobile Association said retailers are also responsible for higher prices at the pump, giving themselves some extra markup — just in time for Christmas.
Read more here.
At $1.26 per litre, Labrador City had the highest prices. The average Canadian price is now about $1.12. Alberta boasts the lowest prices, with Red Deer residents paying 93 cents per litre.
The price of crude oil, which topped $91 a barrel on Thursday, is blamed for the increase. But analysts say speculation, not strong demand or dwindling supplies, is behind the hike.
In Quebec, the Canadian Automobile Association said retailers are also responsible for higher prices at the pump, giving themselves some extra markup — just in time for Christmas.
Read more here.
Tasteless racists behind Quebec's Bye Bye 2010 prove they are also children
Hi, how are you doing? You look a bit stressed. Here, have some tea and sit down.
OK... so, you probably know why I asked you here. That whole Bye-Bye thing. You know, you boycotting Quebecor and all. I don't know if it was your intention to create such a firestorm, but you should have expected it.
Read more here.
OK... so, you probably know why I asked you here. That whole Bye-Bye thing. You know, you boycotting Quebecor and all. I don't know if it was your intention to create such a firestorm, but you should have expected it.
Read more here.
Prince William and his bride-to-be commemorated on truly ugly coin
Britain's Royal Mint released a commemorative coin Thursday featuring portraits of Prince William and his bride-to-be, but critics said the results were far from lifelike.
Some critics say Kate Middleton, 28, appears plump in the face and lips and has bags under her eyes, while others suggest William looks more like former U.S. vice-president Al Gore.
Read more here.
Some critics say Kate Middleton, 28, appears plump in the face and lips and has bags under her eyes, while others suggest William looks more like former U.S. vice-president Al Gore.
Read more here.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
London Police: Our really bad ideas give tyrants of the world hope
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, said that outlawing the demonstations was an option for the authorities but conceded it could anger protestors further...
...Asked at the press conference if the Met would consider banning future marches, Sir Paul replied: “That’s one of the options we have got. Banning is a very difficult step to take, these are very balanced judgments.
“We can’t ban a demonstration but we can ban a march, subject to approval by the Home Secretary.”
But he went on: “When you have got people willing to break the law in this way, what is the likelihood of them obeying an order not to march or complying with conditions on a demonstration?
“Sometimes putting that power in could just be inflaming the situation further.”
Read more here.
...Asked at the press conference if the Met would consider banning future marches, Sir Paul replied: “That’s one of the options we have got. Banning is a very difficult step to take, these are very balanced judgments.
“We can’t ban a demonstration but we can ban a march, subject to approval by the Home Secretary.”
But he went on: “When you have got people willing to break the law in this way, what is the likelihood of them obeying an order not to march or complying with conditions on a demonstration?
“Sometimes putting that power in could just be inflaming the situation further.”
Read more here.
The origin of the suit
...The suit still bears the marks of this turbulent past as well as the influence of Enlightenment thinking, sporting pursuits and a Regency dandy. In the year that may well mark the 150th anniversary of the suit it seems a shame that no celebrations were held in its honour.
The pattern was cut in the middle of the 17th century. To maintain an image of what is now called “austerity Britain” after a plague outbreak in 1665 and the Great Fire of London a year later, Charles II ordered his courtiers to dress in simple tunics, shirts and breeches. This was a profound reversal. Monarchs had long imposed sumptuary laws preventing hoi polloi from dressing too grandly. Forcing the elite to dress modestly suggested that power and place were no longer to be marked by yards of lace and frills.
Read more here.
The pattern was cut in the middle of the 17th century. To maintain an image of what is now called “austerity Britain” after a plague outbreak in 1665 and the Great Fire of London a year later, Charles II ordered his courtiers to dress in simple tunics, shirts and breeches. This was a profound reversal. Monarchs had long imposed sumptuary laws preventing hoi polloi from dressing too grandly. Forcing the elite to dress modestly suggested that power and place were no longer to be marked by yards of lace and frills.
Read more here.
Conservative Senator Larry Smith: Bullshit of the Day
Newly named Conservative Senator Larry Smith denied he was employing a cynical political strategy by accepting a Senate position while planning to run as an MP in the future, saying he has taken a "dramatic, catastrophic" pay cut to serve the public.
Appearing on CBC-TV's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon, Smith was asked if it was cynical to start off as a senator and use the profile to then run as an MP.
"No, I don't. You have to understand that I've worked very hard over my career to do what I'm doing now," Smith said.
It's true. It takes years to reach this level of blindness about your own sleaziness.
"In simple terms, the money I was earning in my last profession to where I would be in this profession is what I would call a dramatic, catastrophic pay cut," he said...
...As a senator, Smith will make a salary of around $132,000 a year.
Oh you poor baby!
Read more here.
Appearing on CBC-TV's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon, Smith was asked if it was cynical to start off as a senator and use the profile to then run as an MP.
"No, I don't. You have to understand that I've worked very hard over my career to do what I'm doing now," Smith said.
It's true. It takes years to reach this level of blindness about your own sleaziness.
"In simple terms, the money I was earning in my last profession to where I would be in this profession is what I would call a dramatic, catastrophic pay cut," he said...
...As a senator, Smith will make a salary of around $132,000 a year.
Oh you poor baby!
Read more here.
CRTC says it's OK that Bell is f*cking with its customers, just read the fine print
A complaint to the CRTC over how Bell Canada is handling a rebate it must give to customers has been set aside by the government agency.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre, an Ottawa-based consumer protection group, had complained that Bell was using the rebate as a marketing tool to entice consumers to lock into new two-year contracts with the telecommunications company.
Bell was ordered to refund $250 million to consumers in August. The amount works out to $67.41 per qualifying customer. The rebate cheques will be mailed out in March 2011.
In a letter to consumers, however, Bell offered $100 toward some of its other services, in place of the rebate.
PIAC had asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to order Bell to end the offer. The agency ruled Wednesday that it could go ahead.
'I think they've left it to the individual consumer to make up their mind about the offer.'—Michael Janigan, Public Interest Advocacy Centre
"I think they've left it to the individual consumer to make up their mind about the offer," PIAC general counsel Michael Janigan told CBC News. "Of course, we've attempted to point out a number of things about it that might make it less attractive to individual customers to take up."
Read more here.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre, an Ottawa-based consumer protection group, had complained that Bell was using the rebate as a marketing tool to entice consumers to lock into new two-year contracts with the telecommunications company.
Bell was ordered to refund $250 million to consumers in August. The amount works out to $67.41 per qualifying customer. The rebate cheques will be mailed out in March 2011.
In a letter to consumers, however, Bell offered $100 toward some of its other services, in place of the rebate.
PIAC had asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to order Bell to end the offer. The agency ruled Wednesday that it could go ahead.
'I think they've left it to the individual consumer to make up their mind about the offer.'—Michael Janigan, Public Interest Advocacy Centre
"I think they've left it to the individual consumer to make up their mind about the offer," PIAC general counsel Michael Janigan told CBC News. "Of course, we've attempted to point out a number of things about it that might make it less attractive to individual customers to take up."
Read more here.
The Globe and Mail plays apologist for the Toronto Police
Instead of decrying the obvious ploy by the Toronto Police of offering up just one officer to assage public anger, we get this piece meant to make us feel guilty in attacking any officer at all.
Bad public, how dare you.
This past fall, as Ontario’s police watchdog unsuccessfully tried to identify officers accused of roughing up a G20 protester, Constable Babak Andalib-Goortani was on a humanitarian mission delivering de-commissioned ambulances to El Salvador.
The 30-year-old policeman was charged Tuesday, after a second probe by the Special Investigations Unit, with assaulting Adam Nobody during the summit last June...
...Rev. Hernan Astudillo, who organizes the effort, said the officer navigated for the group. He described him as quiet, respectful and generous, with a penchant for buying food to share. He also went by “Bob” or “Bobby,” he said.
“I could see he was a good man with a good heart,” Father Astudillo said.
Read more here.
If he is just a good man, why did someone at the police finger him as a G20 criminal?
Something is rotten in Denmark. Like the fact at least 2 other officers are letting Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani take this one alone...
On Tuesday, the SIU announced they had a witness — and enough evidence — to proceed with a charge against Andalib-Goortani.
But SIU investigators said they also have evidence against two more officers. The trouble is they can't identify them and despite interviewing 12 other officers — described as witness officers — their identities remain unknown.
Read more here.
Bad public, how dare you.
This past fall, as Ontario’s police watchdog unsuccessfully tried to identify officers accused of roughing up a G20 protester, Constable Babak Andalib-Goortani was on a humanitarian mission delivering de-commissioned ambulances to El Salvador.
The 30-year-old policeman was charged Tuesday, after a second probe by the Special Investigations Unit, with assaulting Adam Nobody during the summit last June...
...Rev. Hernan Astudillo, who organizes the effort, said the officer navigated for the group. He described him as quiet, respectful and generous, with a penchant for buying food to share. He also went by “Bob” or “Bobby,” he said.
“I could see he was a good man with a good heart,” Father Astudillo said.
Read more here.
If he is just a good man, why did someone at the police finger him as a G20 criminal?
Something is rotten in Denmark. Like the fact at least 2 other officers are letting Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani take this one alone...
On Tuesday, the SIU announced they had a witness — and enough evidence — to proceed with a charge against Andalib-Goortani.
But SIU investigators said they also have evidence against two more officers. The trouble is they can't identify them and despite interviewing 12 other officers — described as witness officers — their identities remain unknown.
Read more here.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Denisovans
Scientists say an entirely separate type of human identified from bones in Siberia co-existed and interbred with our own species.
The ancient humans have been dubbed "Denisovans" after the caves in Siberia where their remains were found.
There is also evidence that this population was widespread in Eurasia.
A study in Nature journal shows that Denisovans co-existed with Neanderthals and interbred with our species - perhaps around 50,000 years ago.
Read more here and here.
The ancient humans have been dubbed "Denisovans" after the caves in Siberia where their remains were found.
There is also evidence that this population was widespread in Eurasia.
A study in Nature journal shows that Denisovans co-existed with Neanderthals and interbred with our species - perhaps around 50,000 years ago.
Read more here and here.
Neanderthals, and guess who's coming to dinner
In a cave in Northern Spain, researchers have discovered clues to the identity of the victims of a mass murder committed 49,000 years ago. The butchered bones of 12 men, women, and children protruding from the floor may be the remains of an extended Neandertal family that were killed and eaten by their fellow Neandertals. Now, DNA analysis of the bones is providing rare clues into the family structure of these close cousins of modern humans.
Researchers have long wondered why Neandertals went extinct. Some think they lacked the genetic diversity to survive deadly viruses or other challenges. Others have proposed that their social groups were smaller and less sophisticated than those of modern humans; if so, their networks for trading food, tools, or information critical for survival would not have been as reliable. It's been hard to test such hypotheses with fossils, but new methods to study ancient DNA are starting to produce clues.
The latest insight comes from a "tunnel of bones" in a cave in El Sidrón, Spain. Here, a team of Spanish researchers has extracted and analyzed mitochondrial DNA and fragments of Y chromosomes from the remarkably well-preserved bones of 12 Neandertals.
Read more here.
Researchers have long wondered why Neandertals went extinct. Some think they lacked the genetic diversity to survive deadly viruses or other challenges. Others have proposed that their social groups were smaller and less sophisticated than those of modern humans; if so, their networks for trading food, tools, or information critical for survival would not have been as reliable. It's been hard to test such hypotheses with fossils, but new methods to study ancient DNA are starting to produce clues.
The latest insight comes from a "tunnel of bones" in a cave in El Sidrón, Spain. Here, a team of Spanish researchers has extracted and analyzed mitochondrial DNA and fragments of Y chromosomes from the remarkably well-preserved bones of 12 Neandertals.
Read more here.
Nobody is fooled by Toronto Police's token victim
Adam Nobody, whose arrest and injuries during a G20 summit protest this summer led to charges against a Toronto police officer, says he's "grateful to know that finally somebody has been held accountable."
Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani was charged Tuesday with assault with a weapon.
Nobody, among about 1,000 people arrested during the protest-ridden two-day summit, suffered a broken nose and a fracture below his right eye on June 26 outside the Ontario legislature...
..."It's a reassuring fact knowing that accountability has been laid on somebody," Nobody said Wednesday on CBC's Metro Morning.
Please dear God, don't be fooled by this bone you've been thrown by the police. Nobody, but nobody should fall for such an obvious ploy.
Unfortunately, some are falling for it...
The police are accomplishing their mission, defuse public and political anger with this...um, gesture. Sad thing is, it will probably work...
...SIU spokesman Frank Phillips confirmed the Nobody case is now closed — unless, as happened the last time around, “there is other material evidence to come forward.”
Read more here.
Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani was charged Tuesday with assault with a weapon.
Nobody, among about 1,000 people arrested during the protest-ridden two-day summit, suffered a broken nose and a fracture below his right eye on June 26 outside the Ontario legislature...
..."It's a reassuring fact knowing that accountability has been laid on somebody," Nobody said Wednesday on CBC's Metro Morning.
Please dear God, don't be fooled by this bone you've been thrown by the police. Nobody, but nobody should fall for such an obvious ploy.
Unfortunately, some are falling for it...
The police are accomplishing their mission, defuse public and political anger with this...um, gesture. Sad thing is, it will probably work...
...SIU spokesman Frank Phillips confirmed the Nobody case is now closed — unless, as happened the last time around, “there is other material evidence to come forward.”
Read more here.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
U.N. votes to become somewhat less psychopathically dangerous
U.N. member states have restored a reference to sexual orientation that was dropped amid much controversy last month from a resolution opposing the unjustified killing of minority groups.
The removal of the reference, done at the committee level last month, alarmed human rights advocates who said gay people are among minority groups that need special protection from extrajudicial and other unjustified killings.
The assembly on Tuesday voted 93 in favor of the United States' proposal to restore the previous language, with 55 countries against and 27 abstaining. The assembly then approved the amended resolution 122 in favor, with 0 votes against, and 59 abstentions.
Those 59 countries that abstained should be on a list, the "Xtreme Vacation" locations..break a law and die!
Read more here.
The removal of the reference, done at the committee level last month, alarmed human rights advocates who said gay people are among minority groups that need special protection from extrajudicial and other unjustified killings.
The assembly on Tuesday voted 93 in favor of the United States' proposal to restore the previous language, with 55 countries against and 27 abstaining. The assembly then approved the amended resolution 122 in favor, with 0 votes against, and 59 abstentions.
Those 59 countries that abstained should be on a list, the "Xtreme Vacation" locations..break a law and die!
Read more here.
Toronto police draw straws, select a one Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani as scape goat
Guess Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani didn't pay his union dues.
A Toronto police officer has been arrested and charged with assaulting a protester during the G20 summit in June.
It is the first arrest of a police officer in connection with allegations of the use of excessive force during the summit.
Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani was charged Tuesday with assault with a weapon. The charges relate to the treatment of Adam Nobody by police on the evening of June 26, said a statement released Tuesday by the province's Special Investigations Unit.
...The SIU reopened its investigation and soon announced it had received two more videos of Nobody's arrest and Toronto police had provided investigators with the names of 15 officers who might have been in the vicinity or involved in the arrest.
The SIU singled out three of those officers, but they refused to give statements. The other 12 officers said they could not identify the officers in the video.
Toronto police then provided the name of one more witness police officer, who identified one of the three officers as Andalib-Goortani, according to the SIU.
Read more here.
A Toronto police officer has been arrested and charged with assaulting a protester during the G20 summit in June.
It is the first arrest of a police officer in connection with allegations of the use of excessive force during the summit.
Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani was charged Tuesday with assault with a weapon. The charges relate to the treatment of Adam Nobody by police on the evening of June 26, said a statement released Tuesday by the province's Special Investigations Unit.
...The SIU reopened its investigation and soon announced it had received two more videos of Nobody's arrest and Toronto police had provided investigators with the names of 15 officers who might have been in the vicinity or involved in the arrest.
The SIU singled out three of those officers, but they refused to give statements. The other 12 officers said they could not identify the officers in the video.
Toronto police then provided the name of one more witness police officer, who identified one of the three officers as Andalib-Goortani, according to the SIU.
Read more here.
Earliest evidence for the use of Neanderthal bone as a tool
The bone was first unearthed in 1926 at the La Quina site, a former rock shelter at the foot of a limestone cliff flanking the left bank of the Voultron River in southwest France. It was discovered with artefacts from the Mousterian industry, a method of making flint tools linked with Neanderthals. These fragments did not yield much information about the anatomy of these individuals, so they were mostly ignored at the museum at Lyon, France, for years.
Along with the two other skull fragments, which probably come from the same individual and also bear anthropogenic surface modifications in the form of percussion, cut, and scraping marks the researchers present a case for deliberate versus unintentional use.
Read more here.
Along with the two other skull fragments, which probably come from the same individual and also bear anthropogenic surface modifications in the form of percussion, cut, and scraping marks the researchers present a case for deliberate versus unintentional use.
Read more here.
Venezuela does to the Net what all governments would love to do
Ah the good old days, when the population was silent and knew its place.
The Venezuelan parliament passed a law banning for the first time Internet content that promotes social unrest, challenges authority or condones crime, fueling outrage by the opposition...
...The new law expands 2004 restrictions on content in radio, television and print media. In an unprecedented move, it now also includes content from the Internet and electronic subscription services, making webpage managers "responsible for the information and content" published on their websites."
It is meant to crack down on media content that "makes an apology of crime," "promotes unrest in the population" or "challenges legally established authorities."
Read more here.
The Venezuelan parliament passed a law banning for the first time Internet content that promotes social unrest, challenges authority or condones crime, fueling outrage by the opposition...
...The new law expands 2004 restrictions on content in radio, television and print media. In an unprecedented move, it now also includes content from the Internet and electronic subscription services, making webpage managers "responsible for the information and content" published on their websites."
It is meant to crack down on media content that "makes an apology of crime," "promotes unrest in the population" or "challenges legally established authorities."
Read more here.
G20 charges dropped against activist
My opinion: they will never ever let any of these G20 arrests go to trial. In no way do they (the government and police) want any embarrassing facts to come out. All will be released after what they deem a suitable punishment period.
The arrests may have been illegal, but they still have to make sure we know who's the boss.
Not one police officer will spend a second behind bars...
While out on bail on G20 conspiracy charges, accused ringleader Jaroslava Avila was allowed to attend university classes, but had to have her class schedule with her just in case police asked.
House arrest limited almost everything the 23-year-old did.
She couldn’t use a cellphone and, except for attending school, could only go out when accompanied by someone over 18 — and if she had a note from her mother. And she couldn’t participate in any public demonstrations.
“It was a logistical nightmare,” she said...
...On Monday, her “living nightmare” ended amid cheers from a crowded courtroom of accused G20 conspirators and their parents as three conspiracy charges against her were dropped.
Read more here.
The arrests may have been illegal, but they still have to make sure we know who's the boss.
Not one police officer will spend a second behind bars...
While out on bail on G20 conspiracy charges, accused ringleader Jaroslava Avila was allowed to attend university classes, but had to have her class schedule with her just in case police asked.
House arrest limited almost everything the 23-year-old did.
She couldn’t use a cellphone and, except for attending school, could only go out when accompanied by someone over 18 — and if she had a note from her mother. And she couldn’t participate in any public demonstrations.
“It was a logistical nightmare,” she said...
...On Monday, her “living nightmare” ended amid cheers from a crowded courtroom of accused G20 conspirators and their parents as three conspiracy charges against her were dropped.
Read more here.
Premier Dalton McGuinty: Yeah, we f*cked with your rights...friends again?
No one in power will actually pay for this, but they wants us to think they have.
It was a secret law, drawn up in secret, that led to the not-so-secret imposition of police-state conditions in free and democratic Toronto.
But what is now out in public, for the first time since the G20 mess in June, is that Premier Dalton McGuinty says he has punished people under his command — including former community safety minister Rick Bartolucci.
“I’ll tell you what we have done,” McGuinty said on Saturday’s showing of Global’s Focus Ontario with Sean Mallen. “I have made some changes ... I think they are pretty significant. I changed ministers. I changed a deputy minister. I made sure we understand the significance of what took place.”
Yeah, we do. You played musical chairs to save your ass. Very significant.
Read more here.
It was a secret law, drawn up in secret, that led to the not-so-secret imposition of police-state conditions in free and democratic Toronto.
But what is now out in public, for the first time since the G20 mess in June, is that Premier Dalton McGuinty says he has punished people under his command — including former community safety minister Rick Bartolucci.
“I’ll tell you what we have done,” McGuinty said on Saturday’s showing of Global’s Focus Ontario with Sean Mallen. “I have made some changes ... I think they are pretty significant. I changed ministers. I changed a deputy minister. I made sure we understand the significance of what took place.”
Yeah, we do. You played musical chairs to save your ass. Very significant.
Read more here.
Monday, December 20, 2010
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association comes to its senses, joins the 21st century
An Ontario minor hockey coach who was suspended after a racial slur prompted him to pull his team from the ice said Monday that the Ontario Minor Hockey Association has rescinded the suspension.
Greg Walsh, a coach from Peterborough, Ont., called CBC News to confirm that the suspension had been lifted.
The OMHA also confirmed the move.
Read more here.
Greg Walsh, a coach from Peterborough, Ont., called CBC News to confirm that the suspension had been lifted.
The OMHA also confirmed the move.
Read more here.
More WikiLeaks overreaction: Joe Biden labels Julian Assange a High Tech Terrorist
More overreaction from our glorious leaders, meant to warn us as much as anything: "Know your place and keep your nose out of our business"
When asked about Sen. Mitch McConnell’s claim that Assange is a high tech terrorist, Biden said, “I would argue that it’s closer to being a high tech terrorist than, than the Pentagon Papers. But look, this guy has, has done things that have damaged and, and put into jeopardy the lives and, and occupations of people in other parts of the world. He’s made it more difficult for us to conduct our, our business with our allies and our friends. For example, in my meetings, you know I meet with most of these world leaders, there is a desire now to meet with me alone rather than have staff in the room. It makes things more cumbersome. And so it is, it has done damage.”
Government intrusion into the public's lives, well that's ok. The public intrudes into government...OMG they're terrorists!
Read more here.
When asked about Sen. Mitch McConnell’s claim that Assange is a high tech terrorist, Biden said, “I would argue that it’s closer to being a high tech terrorist than, than the Pentagon Papers. But look, this guy has, has done things that have damaged and, and put into jeopardy the lives and, and occupations of people in other parts of the world. He’s made it more difficult for us to conduct our, our business with our allies and our friends. For example, in my meetings, you know I meet with most of these world leaders, there is a desire now to meet with me alone rather than have staff in the room. It makes things more cumbersome. And so it is, it has done damage.”
Government intrusion into the public's lives, well that's ok. The public intrudes into government...OMG they're terrorists!
Read more here.
Toronto’s city council votes to censure Maclean's, His Lord Mayor Ford disagrees
Our conservative mayor thinks it's AOK for a national magazine to print a racist tirade.
Okeydoke then.
Toronto’s city council voted at the end of Thursday’s lengthy meeting to request an apology from Maclean’s magazine for publishing an article that raised the question of whether the University of Toronto and other Canadian universities are “too Asian.”
The motion to request an apology, tabled by Councillor Mike Layton, passed easily, 27 votes to 11, without any debate. Though Mayor Rob Ford voted against it, three of his conservative allies — council speaker Frances Nunziata, economic development committee chair Michael Thompson and David Shiner — took the side of the left-wing Layton.
Read more here.
Okeydoke then.
Toronto’s city council voted at the end of Thursday’s lengthy meeting to request an apology from Maclean’s magazine for publishing an article that raised the question of whether the University of Toronto and other Canadian universities are “too Asian.”
The motion to request an apology, tabled by Councillor Mike Layton, passed easily, 27 votes to 11, without any debate. Though Mayor Rob Ford voted against it, three of his conservative allies — council speaker Frances Nunziata, economic development committee chair Michael Thompson and David Shiner — took the side of the left-wing Layton.
Read more here.
UK Culture Minister Ed Vaizey: Idiot of the Day
Yet another attempt by governments to control the Net, using the tired but still effective "... it's very important...to protect children."
This Ed Vaizey is also behind other Net destroying ideas Culture minister Ed Vaizey has backed a "two-speed" internet, letting service providers charge content makers and customers for "fast lane" access.
The man's a menace.
Government plans to block pornography "at source" are unlikely to prove effective, say ISPs.
The proposal to cut off access to pornographic material was floated by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey in an interview with the Sunday Times.
The government is talking to ISPs to set up a meeting at which the proposal will be discussed.
But, say experts, technical challenges mean any large scale filtering system is doomed to failure.
A spokesman for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, confirmed Mr Vaizey's plan to talk to ISPs about setting up an age verification scheme to govern access to pornographic sites.
"This is a very serious matter," said Mr Vaizey. "I think it's very important that it's the ISPs that come up with solutions to protect children."
Beware if your government starts saying things like that. It's not children, but you they are trying to control.
Read more here.
This Ed Vaizey is also behind other Net destroying ideas Culture minister Ed Vaizey has backed a "two-speed" internet, letting service providers charge content makers and customers for "fast lane" access.
The man's a menace.
Government plans to block pornography "at source" are unlikely to prove effective, say ISPs.
The proposal to cut off access to pornographic material was floated by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey in an interview with the Sunday Times.
The government is talking to ISPs to set up a meeting at which the proposal will be discussed.
But, say experts, technical challenges mean any large scale filtering system is doomed to failure.
A spokesman for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, confirmed Mr Vaizey's plan to talk to ISPs about setting up an age verification scheme to govern access to pornographic sites.
"This is a very serious matter," said Mr Vaizey. "I think it's very important that it's the ISPs that come up with solutions to protect children."
Beware if your government starts saying things like that. It's not children, but you they are trying to control.
Read more here.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Andy Carvin: Tron was great because I liked it when I was 4
Seems Tron: Legacy is bombing critically, and some 80's babies are leaping to its defence.
There’s that word: flop. It seems it gets tossed around a lot when critics discuss the original 1982 film, Tron, leading to the conclusion that Tron: Legacy should never have been produced in the first place.
I beg to differ.
As a kid growing up in the late 70s and early 80s, there were three movies that were seminal for me. Two of them, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, probably aren’t a huge surprise, given their massive popularity and critical praise. But the third seminal film for me was Tron.
Best bullshit:
We knew it wasn’t a perfect film, but we loved its technological wizardry nonetheless. In that respect, Tron was the Avatar of its time.
Oh dear God, no it wasn't. Well at least the 80's period in nostalgia will be over soon (or is this the second? The 80's period itself was a study in nostalgia as it was, a fact now conveniently forgotten). Get ready for the 90's revival in 3..2..
Read more here.
There’s that word: flop. It seems it gets tossed around a lot when critics discuss the original 1982 film, Tron, leading to the conclusion that Tron: Legacy should never have been produced in the first place.
I beg to differ.
As a kid growing up in the late 70s and early 80s, there were three movies that were seminal for me. Two of them, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, probably aren’t a huge surprise, given their massive popularity and critical praise. But the third seminal film for me was Tron.
Best bullshit:
We knew it wasn’t a perfect film, but we loved its technological wizardry nonetheless. In that respect, Tron was the Avatar of its time.
Oh dear God, no it wasn't. Well at least the 80's period in nostalgia will be over soon (or is this the second? The 80's period itself was a study in nostalgia as it was, a fact now conveniently forgotten). Get ready for the 90's revival in 3..2..
Read more here.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Montreal's CHOM FM: Even our promo videos suck
Embarrassingly bad promo video from CHOM FM Montreal, Home of the Worst Logo in the World.
Not content with the worst Logo prize, the geniuses behind CHOM's latest publicity push want the world to know they are totally devoid of taste, and not just in graphic design.
They suck at video production too. Even the high school where they learned their techniques would be embarrassed.
How bad is it?
Poor sound (did she have to wear brick shoes?), bad camera work (the concept of keeping the subject in frame seems lost on the camera ape here), stunned onscreen "personality". This video has it all, even that hideous logo...twice..oh wait, it's on the wall too...oh Christ and on her t-shirt...
And they're looking for people just like them...
Read more here.
Not content with the worst Logo prize, the geniuses behind CHOM's latest publicity push want the world to know they are totally devoid of taste, and not just in graphic design.
They suck at video production too. Even the high school where they learned their techniques would be embarrassed.
How bad is it?
Poor sound (did she have to wear brick shoes?), bad camera work (the concept of keeping the subject in frame seems lost on the camera ape here), stunned onscreen "personality". This video has it all, even that hideous logo...twice..oh wait, it's on the wall too...oh Christ and on her t-shirt...
And they're looking for people just like them...
Read more here.
The PatriotApp: All your paranoias at the touch of a button
The perfect app for the Bed Wetting Class.
It claims to be a handy way to make you a ‘better citizen’.
But a new app for the iPhone has been condemned by critics who claim it is turning mobile users into a network of government spies.
The PatriotApp links your phone to American security and law enforcement agencies via the Internet and allows you to report anything you want at the touch of a button.
By simply pressing the relevant icon, users can sound the alarm for terrorism, ‘suspicious activity’, a health pandemic or an environmental safety issue.
Read more here.
It claims to be a handy way to make you a ‘better citizen’.
But a new app for the iPhone has been condemned by critics who claim it is turning mobile users into a network of government spies.
The PatriotApp links your phone to American security and law enforcement agencies via the Internet and allows you to report anything you want at the touch of a button.
By simply pressing the relevant icon, users can sound the alarm for terrorism, ‘suspicious activity’, a health pandemic or an environmental safety issue.
Read more here.
Is Woodhenge actually Paddockhenge?
The discovery of a wooden version of Stonehenge – a few hundred yards from the famous monument – was hailed as one of the most important archaeological finds for decades.
But now experts are at loggerheads after claims that what was thought to be a Neolithic temple was a rather more humble affair – in fact the remains of a wooden fence.
One leading expert on Stonehenge criticised the announcement of the ‘remarkable’ find in July as ‘hasty’ and warned it could become a ‘PR embarrassment’.
Read more here.
But now experts are at loggerheads after claims that what was thought to be a Neolithic temple was a rather more humble affair – in fact the remains of a wooden fence.
One leading expert on Stonehenge criticised the announcement of the ‘remarkable’ find in July as ‘hasty’ and warned it could become a ‘PR embarrassment’.
Read more here.
Woman in Ottawa police brutality video sues
Good for her. Seems these days only video can keep the police honest.
Keep those cameras rolling folks. Until that is the police succeed in convincing the courts that doing so is an act of terrorism....
A 27-year-old Ottawa woman shown being kneed and having her top cut off in an Ottawa police cellblock video is suing police.
Stacy Bonds names the Ottawa Police Service, Chief Vern White and several officers as defendants in her suit, launched Friday in Toronto.
In her statement of claim, Bonds alleges some or all of the defendants infringed her charter rights and led to her being negligently and maliciously prosecuted.
Bonds is seeking $1.2 million in damages and the destruction of all records concerning the 2008 incident that is the subject of her claim.
After seeing the cellblock video, Justice Richard Lajoie stayed charges of public intoxication and assault against Bonds and criticized police conduct.
Read more here.
Keep those cameras rolling folks. Until that is the police succeed in convincing the courts that doing so is an act of terrorism....
A 27-year-old Ottawa woman shown being kneed and having her top cut off in an Ottawa police cellblock video is suing police.
Stacy Bonds names the Ottawa Police Service, Chief Vern White and several officers as defendants in her suit, launched Friday in Toronto.
In her statement of claim, Bonds alleges some or all of the defendants infringed her charter rights and led to her being negligently and maliciously prosecuted.
Bonds is seeking $1.2 million in damages and the destruction of all records concerning the 2008 incident that is the subject of her claim.
After seeing the cellblock video, Justice Richard Lajoie stayed charges of public intoxication and assault against Bonds and criticized police conduct.
Read more here.
WikiLeaks: Torture nation USA annoyed Canada didn't criticize Cuba
Uh oh, Canada didn't tow the line..
U.S. diplomats criticized a Harper cabinet minister who visited Cuba last year for not publicly chastising the government for its human rights record, according to documents published by WikiLeaks.
"A series of recent visits has shown the different approaches that foreign governments have taken to highlight, or not, Cuba's sorry human rights record," the cable, written by a U.S. diplomat and dated Nov. 24, 2009, states.
And of course, Canada (or anyone in power for that matter) will attack the messenger...
Melissa Lantsman, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, said in an email that he wouldn't comment on the leaked documents.
"Irresponsible leaks like these are deplorable and do not serve anybody's national interests," she wrote. "The perpetrators of these leaks may threaten our national security."
Hahaha, STFU, the only thing threatened here is your dignity.
Read more here.
U.S. diplomats criticized a Harper cabinet minister who visited Cuba last year for not publicly chastising the government for its human rights record, according to documents published by WikiLeaks.
"A series of recent visits has shown the different approaches that foreign governments have taken to highlight, or not, Cuba's sorry human rights record," the cable, written by a U.S. diplomat and dated Nov. 24, 2009, states.
And of course, Canada (or anyone in power for that matter) will attack the messenger...
Melissa Lantsman, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, said in an email that he wouldn't comment on the leaked documents.
"Irresponsible leaks like these are deplorable and do not serve anybody's national interests," she wrote. "The perpetrators of these leaks may threaten our national security."
Hahaha, STFU, the only thing threatened here is your dignity.
Read more here.
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association: Idiots of the Day
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association delivers a very fucked up ruling.
You're wrong on this one guys, now the world knows.
A minor hockey coach from Peterborough, Ont., who pulled his team from the ice after one of his players had a racial slur directed at him has been suspended for the rest of the season.
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association on Thursday decided to suspend coach Gary Walsh from the Peterborough Minor Hockey Association Midget House League until April 10.
The ruling comes after a Dec. 11 hearing into the incident.
Read more here.
You're wrong on this one guys, now the world knows.
A minor hockey coach from Peterborough, Ont., who pulled his team from the ice after one of his players had a racial slur directed at him has been suspended for the rest of the season.
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association on Thursday decided to suspend coach Gary Walsh from the Peterborough Minor Hockey Association Midget House League until April 10.
The ruling comes after a Dec. 11 hearing into the incident.
Read more here.
Bigots want the rainbow back
You can't have rights, you can't get married...now gives us the rainbow back!
"Proposition 8 was passed by a great grassroots coalition that included people from all across the religious traditions, and also people of every race and color," Morse recognizes. "We are the real rainbow coalition. The gay lobby does not own the rainbow."
She tells OneNewsNow that she wore a rainbow-colored scarf to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on Proposition 8 as a statement to signify that supporters of traditional marriage still own the symbol.
"We can't simply let that go by. Families put rainbows in their children's nurseries. Little Christian preschools will have rainbows...Noah's Ark and all the animals.... Those are great Christian symbols, great Jewish symbols," the Ruth Institute president points out.
LOL, they can have it. The Rainbow flag is a hideous piece of 70's graphic design we could all do without.
Read more here.
"Proposition 8 was passed by a great grassroots coalition that included people from all across the religious traditions, and also people of every race and color," Morse recognizes. "We are the real rainbow coalition. The gay lobby does not own the rainbow."
She tells OneNewsNow that she wore a rainbow-colored scarf to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on Proposition 8 as a statement to signify that supporters of traditional marriage still own the symbol.
"We can't simply let that go by. Families put rainbows in their children's nurseries. Little Christian preschools will have rainbows...Noah's Ark and all the animals.... Those are great Christian symbols, great Jewish symbols," the Ruth Institute president points out.
LOL, they can have it. The Rainbow flag is a hideous piece of 70's graphic design we could all do without.
Read more here.
US continues to intimidate WikiLeaks...and us
We are being sent a message...Never, ever look into our dirty little secrets again.
US authorities have stepped up their efforts to prosecute Julian Assange by offering Bradley Manning, the American soldier allegedly responsible for leaking hundreds of thousands of government documents, the possibility of a plea bargain if he names the Wiki-Leaks founder as a fellow conspirator.
The development follows claims by Mr Assange's supporters that a grand jury has been secretly empanelled in northern Virginia to consider indicting the WikiLeaks chief. But the US Justice Department has refused to comment on any grand jury activity.
Read more here.
US authorities have stepped up their efforts to prosecute Julian Assange by offering Bradley Manning, the American soldier allegedly responsible for leaking hundreds of thousands of government documents, the possibility of a plea bargain if he names the Wiki-Leaks founder as a fellow conspirator.
The development follows claims by Mr Assange's supporters that a grand jury has been secretly empanelled in northern Virginia to consider indicting the WikiLeaks chief. But the US Justice Department has refused to comment on any grand jury activity.
Read more here.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Time magazine names Zuckerberg Person of the Year, thus being the only ones that think so
Time, clueless as usual.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year, beating the popular favourite, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Read more here.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year, beating the popular favourite, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Read more here.
Maclean's attacked (again) for its racist "Too Asian?" article
Opps, sorry we were racist scum. Oh look, we've changed the headline, all better now?
The story, published last month as part of Maclean’s big-selling edition that ranks Canadian universities, suggests some non-Asian students are avoiding schools they consider “Asian” — “so academically focused that some students feel they can no longer compete or have fun.”
Amid criticism that focused heavily on the headline, Maclean’s changed it online to “The enrollment controversy,” ran an editorial saying it is sorry for any offence taken and has agreed, the CCNC says, to run a rebuttal article.
Read more here.
The story, published last month as part of Maclean’s big-selling edition that ranks Canadian universities, suggests some non-Asian students are avoiding schools they consider “Asian” — “so academically focused that some students feel they can no longer compete or have fun.”
Amid criticism that focused heavily on the headline, Maclean’s changed it online to “The enrollment controversy,” ran an editorial saying it is sorry for any offence taken and has agreed, the CCNC says, to run a rebuttal article.
Read more here.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Montreal's CHOM FM run by people totally devoid of taste
First they struck with perhaps the worst logo of the century so far.
Not to be outdone....
I hope Doug Pringle doesn't see this. If he's still alive, this will kill him.
Chom Chom, Chom Chom...
The Spirit of Montreal, now available in Fascist.
Not to be outdone....
I hope Doug Pringle doesn't see this. If he's still alive, this will kill him.
Chom Chom, Chom Chom...
The Spirit of Montreal, now available in Fascist.
Toronto condo developers alarmed there are still poor people
Toronto is headed toward a scenario where nearly two thirds of residents will be in the low income bracket by 2025, according to a study set to be released Wednesday.
The latest update of the Three Cities within Toronto study from 2007 continues to paint a “devastating picture” of income “segregation” by neighbourhoods, according to one source who has seen the report.
Prior to this latest update, one released last year that was based on the latest census data showed that 15 of the city’s middle income neighbourhoods have disappeared since 2001. The majority of these areas reverted to low income, where individual earnings were 20 to 40 per cent below the city average.
It shows that if current trends continue, a total of 10 per cent of the city will be middle income earners by 2025; 30 per cent will be upper middle income; and a whopping 60 per cent of Toronto’s residents will be in the low to very low income bracket, sources say.
Read more here.
The latest update of the Three Cities within Toronto study from 2007 continues to paint a “devastating picture” of income “segregation” by neighbourhoods, according to one source who has seen the report.
Prior to this latest update, one released last year that was based on the latest census data showed that 15 of the city’s middle income neighbourhoods have disappeared since 2001. The majority of these areas reverted to low income, where individual earnings were 20 to 40 per cent below the city average.
It shows that if current trends continue, a total of 10 per cent of the city will be middle income earners by 2025; 30 per cent will be upper middle income; and a whopping 60 per cent of Toronto’s residents will be in the low to very low income bracket, sources say.
Read more here.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Latest US tandrum: Air Force cutting off access to WikiLeaks news
The U.S. Air Force is denying its personnel access to websites carrying documents released by WikiLeaks, including those of some news organizations, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has already forbidden federal employees and contractors from accessing classified documents publicly available on WikiLeaks and other websites via computers or mobile devices. But Maj. Toni Tones said the Air Force has cut off access to over 25 sites, including WikiLeaks and three newspapers that have worked with the site to release a cache of U.S. diplomatic cables -- The New York Times, The Guardian in Britain and Germany's Der Speigel.
Read more here.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has already forbidden federal employees and contractors from accessing classified documents publicly available on WikiLeaks and other websites via computers or mobile devices. But Maj. Toni Tones said the Air Force has cut off access to over 25 sites, including WikiLeaks and three newspapers that have worked with the site to release a cache of U.S. diplomatic cables -- The New York Times, The Guardian in Britain and Germany's Der Speigel.
Read more here.
Pushy Christians: The Bigots at NOM go after Apple
The bigots behind the Manhattan Declaration are annoyed at Apple for having their spiteful little app removed.
Until these people and others like them follow *all* of the Bible's rules, not just the ones they find convenient (and politically profitable), they should STFU.
There's more chance of a snowball in Hell first.
Read more here.
Voyager near Solar System's edge, sends message: "Are we there yet?"
Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, has reached a new milestone in its quest to leave the Solar System.
Now 17.4bn km (10.8bn miles) from home, the veteran probe has detected a distinct change in the flow of particles that surround it.
These particles, which emanate from the Sun, are no longer travelling outwards but are moving sideways.
It means Voyager must be very close to making the jump to interstellar space - the space between the stars.
Read more here.
Now 17.4bn km (10.8bn miles) from home, the veteran probe has detected a distinct change in the flow of particles that surround it.
These particles, which emanate from the Sun, are no longer travelling outwards but are moving sideways.
It means Voyager must be very close to making the jump to interstellar space - the space between the stars.
Read more here.
London Police: There's a video of us dragging a man from his wheelchair? Damn! Damn! Damn!
Police launched an internal investigation last night after footage emerged of a man allegedly being pulled out of his wheelchair and dragged across the road by an officer during Thursday's demonstration...
...A spokesman for the Metropolitan police service said that although no complaint had been received it had launched an investigation: "As a result of media coverage, the MPS [Metropolitan police service] directorate of professional standards is investigating the circumstances surrounding this matter."
Translation: There's a video? Fucking hell.
If that isn't vile enough for you, try this interview by Ben Brown of the BBC:
Read more here.
Chris Selley: Idiot of the Day
Mr. Selley is fast becoming a multi winner of Idiot of the Day.
Short story, McLean's Magazine had an article called "Too Asian?", about universities possibility having too many asian students (too many to whom is the question).
A Toronto city councillor tabled a motion saying "“Toronto city council [to] disassociate itself from the views expressed by Maclean’s … and request that MacLean’s (sic) apologize unreservedly for the negative stereotyping of the Asian-Canadian community.”
Well, Mr. Selley doesn't agree. Fine. But as a good conservative, he has to push a little, to see how offensive he can be (to amuse other conservatives, they find this kind of humour so knee slapping).
Ready for it?
Frankly, I never understood the stink over the “too Asian?” piece. Negative stereotyping? Where? The whole idea is that Caucasians can’t keep up with the Asians because they tend to be smarter and more driven and work like d … whoah, that was close, because they work really hard!
Oh so droll! I can not contain my merriment.
Read more here.
Short story, McLean's Magazine had an article called "Too Asian?", about universities possibility having too many asian students (too many to whom is the question).
A Toronto city councillor tabled a motion saying "“Toronto city council [to] disassociate itself from the views expressed by Maclean’s … and request that MacLean’s (sic) apologize unreservedly for the negative stereotyping of the Asian-Canadian community.”
Well, Mr. Selley doesn't agree. Fine. But as a good conservative, he has to push a little, to see how offensive he can be (to amuse other conservatives, they find this kind of humour so knee slapping).
Ready for it?
Frankly, I never understood the stink over the “too Asian?” piece. Negative stereotyping? Where? The whole idea is that Caucasians can’t keep up with the Asians because they tend to be smarter and more driven and work like d … whoah, that was close, because they work really hard!
Oh so droll! I can not contain my merriment.
Read more here.
His Lord Mayor Alleged Fat F*ck Ford defends Old Bigot dressed in Pink
Complain about Don "Pinko" Cherry to the Mayor and get this reply:
“I appreciate you taking the time to voice your concerns, and I value the privilege to directly connect with the citizens of this great City. I invited Don Cherry to be my special guest at the Inauguration because I have always admired his Canadian patriotism and community involvement. Mr. Cherry is a colourful character with strong opinions. As your Mayor, I promise to be open and attentive to alternative points of view and I encourage all frank and honest discussion. I hope that we can work together to provide positive growth and change for the City of Toronto.”
Bullshit and not terribly convincing.
Let me translate, shall I?
"I don't really appreciate you bothering me with such a trivial issue, so "I" am responding with a form email. I invited Don Cherry to be my special quest at the Inauguration because as a Conservative I find divisive, insulting humour the best way to get my message across. As your Mayor, I promise that anyone who doesn't share my limited world view with be subjected to abuse, scorn and public humiliation, to be frank and honest. I suppose we have to work together, but don't bet on it."
“I appreciate you taking the time to voice your concerns, and I value the privilege to directly connect with the citizens of this great City. I invited Don Cherry to be my special guest at the Inauguration because I have always admired his Canadian patriotism and community involvement. Mr. Cherry is a colourful character with strong opinions. As your Mayor, I promise to be open and attentive to alternative points of view and I encourage all frank and honest discussion. I hope that we can work together to provide positive growth and change for the City of Toronto.”
Bullshit and not terribly convincing.
Let me translate, shall I?
"I don't really appreciate you bothering me with such a trivial issue, so "I" am responding with a form email. I invited Don Cherry to be my special quest at the Inauguration because as a Conservative I find divisive, insulting humour the best way to get my message across. As your Mayor, I promise that anyone who doesn't share my limited world view with be subjected to abuse, scorn and public humiliation, to be frank and honest. I suppose we have to work together, but don't bet on it."
Monday, December 13, 2010
I'm shocked, shocked that Harper and Co. may not have been entirely honest
Elections Canada has opened a second front in its battle with the Conservative Party over what it considers systematic attempts to hide national campaign expenses during the 2006 election.
The Canadian Press has learned that chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand has taken the governing party to task for what he describes as failing to properly report the cost of running two regional campaign offices in Quebec.
The $107,000 tab was divvied up and claimed as a shared expense by 15 candidates in Montreal and Quebec City.
Elections Canada found many candidates never used the regional offices, which were staffed by central party workers involved in what appear to have been national campaign activities.
Mayrand said the regional offices should have been reported as a national campaign expense. Indeed, he says the party itself anticipated — in successive, early drafts of its campaign budget — that the offices would be paid for by the party and would constitute a national expense.
Read more here.
The Canadian Press has learned that chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand has taken the governing party to task for what he describes as failing to properly report the cost of running two regional campaign offices in Quebec.
The $107,000 tab was divvied up and claimed as a shared expense by 15 candidates in Montreal and Quebec City.
Elections Canada found many candidates never used the regional offices, which were staffed by central party workers involved in what appear to have been national campaign activities.
Mayrand said the regional offices should have been reported as a national campaign expense. Indeed, he says the party itself anticipated — in successive, early drafts of its campaign budget — that the offices would be paid for by the party and would constitute a national expense.
Read more here.
250 year old canoe found in England
A rare Native American canoe thought to be more than 250 years old has been found on a family estate in Cornwall.
The birch bark canoe was discovered in a barn on the Enys estate near Penryn.
It is believed the Canadian boat was brought to Cornwall by Lt John Enys who fought in Quebec during the American War of Independence.
The canoe will be preserved and put on display to the public at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth before being repatriated to Canada.
Historians believe the boat could possibly be one of the oldest birch bark canoes in existence.
Read more here.
The birch bark canoe was discovered in a barn on the Enys estate near Penryn.
It is believed the Canadian boat was brought to Cornwall by Lt John Enys who fought in Quebec during the American War of Independence.
The canoe will be preserved and put on display to the public at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth before being repatriated to Canada.
Historians believe the boat could possibly be one of the oldest birch bark canoes in existence.
Read more here.
Netflix offers what the public wants. That has to stop says Time Warner
Someone is selling our overpriced crap for less than us! Hurrumph this has to stop!
For the past year, executives at big media companies have watched Netflix with growing resentment — for its success in delivering movies and television shows via the Internet, for its stock price nearly quadrupling, for its chief executive being named businessperson of the year by Fortune magazine.
Now many of the companies that make the shows and movies that Netflix delivers to mailboxes, computer screens and televisions — companies whose stocks have not enjoyed the same frothy rise, and whose chief executives have not won the same accolades — are pushing back, arguing that the company is overhyped, and vowing to charge much more to license their content.
“It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world?” said Jeffrey L. Bewkes, the chief executive of Time Warner, in an interview last week. “I don’t think so.”
Read more here.
For the past year, executives at big media companies have watched Netflix with growing resentment — for its success in delivering movies and television shows via the Internet, for its stock price nearly quadrupling, for its chief executive being named businessperson of the year by Fortune magazine.
Now many of the companies that make the shows and movies that Netflix delivers to mailboxes, computer screens and televisions — companies whose stocks have not enjoyed the same frothy rise, and whose chief executives have not won the same accolades — are pushing back, arguing that the company is overhyped, and vowing to charge much more to license their content.
“It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world?” said Jeffrey L. Bewkes, the chief executive of Time Warner, in an interview last week. “I don’t think so.”
Read more here.
Frost over the World - WikiLeaks and Julian Assange
Shame Al Jazeera disables comments on (seemingly) all their Youtube videos...
"As if the poor people from Haiti have not already suffered enough" - Palin visits Haiti
Clad in a simple grey T-shirt and cargo pants - but with her trademark hairstyle firmly in place - this is Sarah Palin touring a Haitian refugee camp.
The Tea Party darling's trip to the impoverished country, still reeling from a devastating earthquake in January and now facing a brutal cholera epidemic, is being tightly stage-managed.
Mrs Palin has provided access on her tour solely to Fox News and the religious organisation she is travelling with has asked all other Haitian and American journalists to leave the area because of a 'security lockdown'.
Read more here.
The Tea Party darling's trip to the impoverished country, still reeling from a devastating earthquake in January and now facing a brutal cholera epidemic, is being tightly stage-managed.
Mrs Palin has provided access on her tour solely to Fox News and the religious organisation she is travelling with has asked all other Haitian and American journalists to leave the area because of a 'security lockdown'.
Read more here.
Conservatives betting that you're dumber than they even think you are
There are easy things to say about Don Cherry’s appearance at Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s inauguration a few days ago. It was time for some “blue collar” people to run city hall – says a millionaire putting the seals of office around the neck of another millionaire. Time to get the “artsy” people out of city hall – says a public-broadcasting television comedian. Time for a fresh new start – and the “lefty pinkos” can put that in their pipe, setting the scene for four years of gracelessness, thuggishness and pointless conflict, so it would seem. Was that really a fresh new start?
Read more here.
Read more here.
WikiLeaks lifting some rocks, this time Ireland
No wonder some are so threatened by Wikileaks..
MI5 has said that it is prepared to hand over sensitive files on one of the most high-profile murders during the Northern Ireland Troubles carried out by loyalist gunmen working with members of the British security forces.
The offer in the case of the Pat Finucane, the well-known civil rights and defence lawyer murdered in front of his wife and three young children in 1989, is contained in confidential US embassy cables passed to WikiLeaks.
Supporters of Finucane welcomed the revelation of the offer as "highly significant" and believe it could pave the way for a fresh inquiry into the killing that would be acceptable to the family.
Read more here.
MI5 has said that it is prepared to hand over sensitive files on one of the most high-profile murders during the Northern Ireland Troubles carried out by loyalist gunmen working with members of the British security forces.
The offer in the case of the Pat Finucane, the well-known civil rights and defence lawyer murdered in front of his wife and three young children in 1989, is contained in confidential US embassy cables passed to WikiLeaks.
Supporters of Finucane welcomed the revelation of the offer as "highly significant" and believe it could pave the way for a fresh inquiry into the killing that would be acceptable to the family.
Read more here.
Emil Cohen ups the ante
A noble gesture Emil, but you might find that getting an adult to admit *any* wrong doing is one of the most difficult tasks in life.
Just look at politics..or the Catholic Church...or most anyone you will meet.
The Toronto student who was punished for criticizing his school's physical education department says he wants a public apology and to have his suspension wiped from his school record.
Read more here.
Just look at politics..or the Catholic Church...or most anyone you will meet.
The Toronto student who was punished for criticizing his school's physical education department says he wants a public apology and to have his suspension wiped from his school record.
Read more here.
Toronto the Violent: Woman stabbed on street
A woman is in hospital Monday after a rush-hour stabbing on a busy mid-Toronto street outside a Tim Hortons outlet.
Police responded to the stabbing on Yonge Street near Eglinton Avenue East at around 7:43 a.m. ET., and the woman, who is in her 50s, was rushed to hospital.
Read more here.
Police responded to the stabbing on Yonge Street near Eglinton Avenue East at around 7:43 a.m. ET., and the woman, who is in her 50s, was rushed to hospital.
Read more here.
Sal Alosi: Idiot of the Day
Thank goodness these overpaid men who play childhood games don't actually act like children...oh wait...
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Emil Cohen 1, Tin Pot Dictators 0
Standing up to little people with too much power can sometimes turn out alright.
A Toronto student who was suspended and banned from intramural sports for criticizing the school's physical education department has recovered his athletic privileges.
Emil Cohen says he's glad Northern Secondary School is letting him back in the gym.
Read more here.
A Toronto student who was suspended and banned from intramural sports for criticizing the school's physical education department has recovered his athletic privileges.
Emil Cohen says he's glad Northern Secondary School is letting him back in the gym.
Read more here.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Ancient Red Rock art vandalized by someone displaying mindless arrogance
Stunning in its self centeredness.
[Las Vegas] Metro Police said ancient art vandalized at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area was probably targeted because of the high-profile nature of the damage.
Police have identified more than 500 different tagging crews in Las Vegas — gangs of graffiti vandals — but they frequently change their names so it's difficult to say how many are active at any given time, said Detective Scott Black, of Metro's graffiti section in the gang crimes bureau.
"The motivation that the graffiti vandals have is to cause extremely destructive damage," he said. "They like a lot of shock value. While they go around and tag light posts and powers boxes, if they tag more high-profile locations, it does increase their status."
Given that mindset, police believe the Red Rock Canyon area was a planned target of the tagging crew.
Read more here.
[Las Vegas] Metro Police said ancient art vandalized at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area was probably targeted because of the high-profile nature of the damage.
Police have identified more than 500 different tagging crews in Las Vegas — gangs of graffiti vandals — but they frequently change their names so it's difficult to say how many are active at any given time, said Detective Scott Black, of Metro's graffiti section in the gang crimes bureau.
"The motivation that the graffiti vandals have is to cause extremely destructive damage," he said. "They like a lot of shock value. While they go around and tag light posts and powers boxes, if they tag more high-profile locations, it does increase their status."
Given that mindset, police believe the Red Rock Canyon area was a planned target of the tagging crew.
Read more here.
Harper and Co.: We would honour climate agreement we have no intention of helping achieve
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada would support a binding international agreement to reduce greenhouse gases.
Harper spoke in Nova Scotia on Friday as delegates at a climate-change conference in Cancun, Mexico, scrambled to hammer out a number of deals in the meeting's final hours.
Harper, whose government is often criticized for its stance on greenhouse-gas emissions, said Canada would honour the pact if such an agreement is reached.
"Canada's objectives at this conference are clear and that is that we want to see the world achieve a legally binding agreement to regulate and control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for all major emitters of the planet, including Canada," he said. "Canada is willing to participate in that."
Read more here.
Harper spoke in Nova Scotia on Friday as delegates at a climate-change conference in Cancun, Mexico, scrambled to hammer out a number of deals in the meeting's final hours.
Harper, whose government is often criticized for its stance on greenhouse-gas emissions, said Canada would honour the pact if such an agreement is reached.
"Canada's objectives at this conference are clear and that is that we want to see the world achieve a legally binding agreement to regulate and control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for all major emitters of the planet, including Canada," he said. "Canada is willing to participate in that."
Read more here.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Insipidly awful 'Hey, Soul Sister" by Train is iTunes top download of 2010
Rock has devolved to this, emotionless "musicians" clanging away on jangly instruments, overlaid with lyrics provided by the Helium School of Vocalization...for which Apple must take a large part of the blame.
We're all fucked.
14 police officers identified in G20 violence case, but you're not allow to know who
The Special Investigations Unit has the name of the officer who used a baton to hit a G20 protester, as well as those of 13 other officers who were present or nearby at the time.
The police watchdog is still gathering information and tracking down civilian witnesses, said spokesman Frank Phillips.
By Thursday, investigators also identified one civilian witness, armed with a video camera, for whom they had made a public plea earlier this week.
Police spokesman Mark Pugash confirmed that photos and videos published in the Star over the course of the week led police to identify the 14 officers...
Names will not be revealed by either the SIU or police. “We do not identify people who have not been charged criminally,”
The most fucked up part?
Witness officers must submit to an interview. Subject officers can exercise their rights, and decline.
Unbelievable.
Of course the police would much rather all this attention was not focused on them...
Toronto’s deputy mayor, Doug Holyday, dismissed the calls for Blair’s resignation.
“If there are cases where officers have acted improperly, I think (Blair) will deal with them accordingly,” he said. “We should be paying more attention to the vandals and thugs who tried to wreck our city.”
Ignore the man behind the curtain.
Read more here.
The police watchdog is still gathering information and tracking down civilian witnesses, said spokesman Frank Phillips.
By Thursday, investigators also identified one civilian witness, armed with a video camera, for whom they had made a public plea earlier this week.
Police spokesman Mark Pugash confirmed that photos and videos published in the Star over the course of the week led police to identify the 14 officers...
Names will not be revealed by either the SIU or police. “We do not identify people who have not been charged criminally,”
The most fucked up part?
Witness officers must submit to an interview. Subject officers can exercise their rights, and decline.
Unbelievable.
Of course the police would much rather all this attention was not focused on them...
Toronto’s deputy mayor, Doug Holyday, dismissed the calls for Blair’s resignation.
“If there are cases where officers have acted improperly, I think (Blair) will deal with them accordingly,” he said. “We should be paying more attention to the vandals and thugs who tried to wreck our city.”
Ignore the man behind the curtain.
Read more here.
Ontario Liberials f*cked with your rights weeks before G20
Never give little men big powers.
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s officials plotted to keep the G20 law secret weeks before the Star revealed that Toronto police believed they had the power to arrest anyone near the summit site.
That extraordinary disclosure, which dominated Thursday’s debate at Queen’s Park, is buried in Ombudsman André Marin’s 125-page report, Caught in the Act, on what he called “the most massive compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history.”
“Your government conspired to keep the facts of the war measures in secret,” Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak lectured McGuinty in the Legislature.
“And then, when the ministry itself wanted to do a press release to explain this to the public, somebody — either you or your minister — gave the order to kill the press release.”
Read more here.
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s officials plotted to keep the G20 law secret weeks before the Star revealed that Toronto police believed they had the power to arrest anyone near the summit site.
That extraordinary disclosure, which dominated Thursday’s debate at Queen’s Park, is buried in Ombudsman André Marin’s 125-page report, Caught in the Act, on what he called “the most massive compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history.”
“Your government conspired to keep the facts of the war measures in secret,” Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak lectured McGuinty in the Legislature.
“And then, when the ministry itself wanted to do a press release to explain this to the public, somebody — either you or your minister — gave the order to kill the press release.”
Read more here.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Toronto police chief Bill Blair continues to blather incoherently in public
Embattled Toronto police chief Bill Blair says he's working to regain the trust of the public in the wake of an ongoing controversy over policing during June's G20 summit.
Speaking to CBC's Metro Morning Thursday, Blair said he understands people are frustrated by police actions.
"I'm not asking for a blank cheque here. But I am asking for an opportunity to do our jobs and to complete these processes and gather the evidence," he said. "I know people are anxious ...somebody even suggested to me 'Why don't you just fire somebody?' You have to understand, there's a process involved here."
Blair's interview came 10 days after he suggested that a video showing officers rushing at and arresting Adam Nobody, 27, during a summit protest at Queen's Park in Toronto on June 26 had been deliberately tampered with.
He later retracted those comments, saying the video consisted of two separate segments with five seconds of footage missing in between. He admitted there was attempt to mislead.
When asked Thursday if he was given incorrect information about the incident, Blair said the blame lay with him.
"I was given information the video had a significant gap in it," said Blair.
Read more here.
Speaking to CBC's Metro Morning Thursday, Blair said he understands people are frustrated by police actions.
"I'm not asking for a blank cheque here. But I am asking for an opportunity to do our jobs and to complete these processes and gather the evidence," he said. "I know people are anxious ...somebody even suggested to me 'Why don't you just fire somebody?' You have to understand, there's a process involved here."
Blair's interview came 10 days after he suggested that a video showing officers rushing at and arresting Adam Nobody, 27, during a summit protest at Queen's Park in Toronto on June 26 had been deliberately tampered with.
He later retracted those comments, saying the video consisted of two separate segments with five seconds of footage missing in between. He admitted there was attempt to mislead.
When asked Thursday if he was given incorrect information about the incident, Blair said the blame lay with him.
"I was given information the video had a significant gap in it," said Blair.
Read more here.
Rachel Maddow interviews the completely vile David Bahati
These Bible shielded psychopaths would be the source of endless hours of amusement, if for the fact they are so fucking dangerous.
Remember folks, the gays are the bad guys!
Rachel Maddow devoted almost half of her Wednesday show to a lengthy interview with David Bahati, author of the infamous bill in the Ugandan Parliament that calls for gay people to face life imprisonment or, in some cases, execution if they are convicted of having practiced homosexuality.
Read more here.
Remember folks, the gays are the bad guys!
Rachel Maddow devoted almost half of her Wednesday show to a lengthy interview with David Bahati, author of the infamous bill in the Ugandan Parliament that calls for gay people to face life imprisonment or, in some cases, execution if they are convicted of having practiced homosexuality.
Read more here.
Paul Carr: Second Idiot of the Day
More attacks on WikiLeaks and Anonymous from the Fingers in Ears and Go LALALALALA Class..
Any article that comes from this viewpoint:
"The fact that many of the “hacktivists” are the same people who share child porn and harass the parents of dead children" is not going to be unbiased, but be brave and read babbling from the unhinged..
Read more here.
Any article that comes from this viewpoint:
"The fact that many of the “hacktivists” are the same people who share child porn and harass the parents of dead children" is not going to be unbiased, but be brave and read babbling from the unhinged..
Read more here.
Demonizing Anonymous
Some are unnerved by Anonymous, the group possibly behind the DOS attacks on Mastercard and Visa.
To this writer, a one R.M., the net is only there for commerce:
As it fights for freedom on the internet, it constricts the net itself, by taking down websites and halting e-commerce.
Thus proving he really doesn't get it.
Of course, one must insult Anonymous as well:
"Angry, porn-obsessed adolescents they might be, but they’re angry, obsessed adolescents with significant technological firepower—and a grudge."
Underestimate your enemies at your own peril.
Read more here.
To this writer, a one R.M., the net is only there for commerce:
As it fights for freedom on the internet, it constricts the net itself, by taking down websites and halting e-commerce.
Thus proving he really doesn't get it.
Of course, one must insult Anonymous as well:
"Angry, porn-obsessed adolescents they might be, but they’re angry, obsessed adolescents with significant technological firepower—and a grudge."
Underestimate your enemies at your own peril.
Read more here.
Shawn Micallef: Idiot of the Day
Shawn Micallef, whoever that is, pens an article, so mind bogglingly ridiculous in its breath....well listen to this:
In fact, one could argue that London and Toronto are on very similar paths—only a hundred years or so apart.
Umm ok, whatever.
And of course, we must be reminded:
First, Toronto is "a truly global alpha city".
Saying so don't make it so, but such pronouncements are par for the course here (We're special! We are, we are!)
He ignores that London is 2,000 years old, and actually tries to preserve its history, instead of bulldozing it away for yet another condo...oh anyway, do read this parade of nonsense...but try not to bang your head too much on the desk.
Believe me it won't be easy.
Read more here.
In fact, one could argue that London and Toronto are on very similar paths—only a hundred years or so apart.
Umm ok, whatever.
And of course, we must be reminded:
First, Toronto is "a truly global alpha city".
Saying so don't make it so, but such pronouncements are par for the course here (We're special! We are, we are!)
He ignores that London is 2,000 years old, and actually tries to preserve its history, instead of bulldozing it away for yet another condo...oh anyway, do read this parade of nonsense...but try not to bang your head too much on the desk.
Believe me it won't be easy.
Read more here.
India's ambassador frisked at US airport
Oh dear God, don't they know frisks are only for the little people?
India's ambassador to US has been pulled from an airport security line and frisked by a security agent in Mississippi, it has emerged.
The hands-on search took place last week even after Meera Shankar's diplomatic status was revealed.
Some reports said Ms Shankar, who was on her way from a conference, was singled out because she was wearing a sari.
The Indian embassy in Washington has strongly protested about the incident.
Silly Ambassador, Rights are for Whites.
Read more here.
India's ambassador to US has been pulled from an airport security line and frisked by a security agent in Mississippi, it has emerged.
The hands-on search took place last week even after Meera Shankar's diplomatic status was revealed.
Some reports said Ms Shankar, who was on her way from a conference, was singled out because she was wearing a sari.
The Indian embassy in Washington has strongly protested about the incident.
Silly Ambassador, Rights are for Whites.
Read more here.
Marcus Gee defends Police Chief Bill Blair: Well Duh
Marcus Gee, the man who loves condos to an unhealthy degree, who singlehandedly wants Toronto covered with steel, glass and CTTV cameras, now defends the police chief.
Shocking I know...
The piling-on that Chief Bill Blair is facing over police behaviour at the G20 is getting out of hand. Pundits are calling for his head. Reporters are asking him if he is going to quit. Let’s take a deep breath here.
The rest is pure dribble, but be brave..
Read more here.
Shocking I know...
The piling-on that Chief Bill Blair is facing over police behaviour at the G20 is getting out of hand. Pundits are calling for his head. Reporters are asking him if he is going to quit. Let’s take a deep breath here.
The rest is pure dribble, but be brave..
Read more here.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
CNN steps in to threaten: Don't read WikiLeaks kids, or else
More threats from above, thoughtfully conveyed to you via CNN.
U.S. agencies have warned some employees that reading the classified State Department documents released by WikiLeaks puts them at risk of losing their jobs. But what about students considering jobs with the federal government? Do they jeopardize their chances by reading WikiLeaks?
It's a gray area, said law professors and national security experts who spoke with CNN. The topic has been debated intensely in the past week in legal and academic circles, ever since several U.S. universities sent e-mails to students with warnings about reading leaked documents.
Read more here.
U.S. agencies have warned some employees that reading the classified State Department documents released by WikiLeaks puts them at risk of losing their jobs. But what about students considering jobs with the federal government? Do they jeopardize their chances by reading WikiLeaks?
It's a gray area, said law professors and national security experts who spoke with CNN. The topic has been debated intensely in the past week in legal and academic circles, ever since several U.S. universities sent e-mails to students with warnings about reading leaked documents.
Read more here.
Police to G20 Ombudsman: Can't touch this, nananana
The Toronto Police Service says it was justified in refusing to co-operate with an Ontario Ombudsman investigation that was sharply critical of the force's actions during and after the G20 summit.
Ombudsman André Marin's report, released Tuesday, said police exceeded their authority by demanding identification and searching people far from the security zone around the June 26-27 G20 summit in downtown Toronto.
Marin also said he got "zero" co-operation from Toronto police. Chief Bill Blair did not co-operate with Marin's investigation, even though Blair had asked the McGuinty government to invoke a law that police used to exercise heightened search and arrest powers.
However, Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash told CBC's Metro Morning Wednesday the department didn't participate in his review because the ombudsman has no jurisdiction over the force.
Who the fuck does?
Read more here.
Ombudsman André Marin's report, released Tuesday, said police exceeded their authority by demanding identification and searching people far from the security zone around the June 26-27 G20 summit in downtown Toronto.
Marin also said he got "zero" co-operation from Toronto police. Chief Bill Blair did not co-operate with Marin's investigation, even though Blair had asked the McGuinty government to invoke a law that police used to exercise heightened search and arrest powers.
However, Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash told CBC's Metro Morning Wednesday the department didn't participate in his review because the ombudsman has no jurisdiction over the force.
Who the fuck does?
Read more here.
PayPal states the obvious: US pressure froze WikiLeaks account
PayPal today admitted it suspended payments to WikiLeaks after an intervention from the US State Department.
The site's vice-president of platform, Osama Bedier, told an internet conference the site had decided to freeze WikiLeaks's account on 4 December after government representatives said it was engaged in illegal activity.
"State Dept told us these were illegal activities. It was straightforward," he told the LeWeb conference in Paris, adding: "We ... comply with regulations around the world, making sure that we protect our brand."
PayPal is the first major corporation to admit that its decision to suspend dealings with WikiLeaks was a result of US government pressure.
It will intensify criticism from supporters of WikiLeaks that the site is being targeted for political reasons. Visa, Amazon, the Swiss bank PostFinance and others have also announced in recent days that they will cease trading with the whistleblowing site.
The moves have led to concerted attempts by hackers to target companies they deem guilty of "censoring" WikiLeaks.
Read more here.
The site's vice-president of platform, Osama Bedier, told an internet conference the site had decided to freeze WikiLeaks's account on 4 December after government representatives said it was engaged in illegal activity.
"State Dept told us these were illegal activities. It was straightforward," he told the LeWeb conference in Paris, adding: "We ... comply with regulations around the world, making sure that we protect our brand."
PayPal is the first major corporation to admit that its decision to suspend dealings with WikiLeaks was a result of US government pressure.
It will intensify criticism from supporters of WikiLeaks that the site is being targeted for political reasons. Visa, Amazon, the Swiss bank PostFinance and others have also announced in recent days that they will cease trading with the whistleblowing site.
The moves have led to concerted attempts by hackers to target companies they deem guilty of "censoring" WikiLeaks.
Read more here.
Dumb and Dumber
His Lord Mayor Alleged Fat Fuck "Robbie" Ford and the Gimp do their exercise for the day, braving raising one thumb.
This is what happens when you let your witless drunk conservative uncle mingle with the grown ups, they embarrass themselves and everyone involved.
To their supporters, we know you'll try to paint these two as geniuses. You're gonna need a bigger brush.
Signed Proud Pinko*
* To our younger readers, yes Don Cherry did use the now archaic term "Pinko", a word who's heyday was the 1950's, but has since fallen out of use in polite society, or anyone with even the minimum of historical knowledge. We do realize that Mayor Ford and his ilk pine for this simpler time, when fat white men were actually taken seriously.
China has yet another tantrum: Confucius Peace Prize
China continues to embarrass itself on the world stage, with tantrum after tantrum...
Only three weeks after the idea was first publicly floated, China has cobbled together its own peace prize and plans to award it Thursday – the day before the Nobel Committee honors an imprisoned Chinese dissident in a move that has enraged Beijing.
Since Liu Xiaobo's selection, China has vilified the 54-year-old democracy advocate, called the choice an effort by the West to contain its rise, disparaged his supporters as "clowns," and launched a campaign to persuade countries not to attend Friday's ceremony in Oslo. The government is also preventing Liu – who is serving an 11-year sentence for co-authoring a bold appeal for political reforms in the Communist country – and his family members from attending.
Amid the flurry of action came a commentary published on Nov. 17 in a Communist Party-approved tabloid that suggested China create its own award – the "Confucius Peace Prize" – to counter the choice of Liu.
Three weeks later, The Associated Press has learned, China is doing just that.
They should award themselves first: The World's Most Childish Nation.
Read more here.
Only three weeks after the idea was first publicly floated, China has cobbled together its own peace prize and plans to award it Thursday – the day before the Nobel Committee honors an imprisoned Chinese dissident in a move that has enraged Beijing.
Since Liu Xiaobo's selection, China has vilified the 54-year-old democracy advocate, called the choice an effort by the West to contain its rise, disparaged his supporters as "clowns," and launched a campaign to persuade countries not to attend Friday's ceremony in Oslo. The government is also preventing Liu – who is serving an 11-year sentence for co-authoring a bold appeal for political reforms in the Communist country – and his family members from attending.
Amid the flurry of action came a commentary published on Nov. 17 in a Communist Party-approved tabloid that suggested China create its own award – the "Confucius Peace Prize" – to counter the choice of Liu.
Three weeks later, The Associated Press has learned, China is doing just that.
They should award themselves first: The World's Most Childish Nation.
Read more here.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Don Cherry: Tasteless Throwback of the Day
Keep it classy there, Mayor Ford and That Idiot you invited to speak. No matter what your 905 crowd thinks, you're coming across as an asshole.
Comments made by sports celebrity Don Cherry against "pinkos" during the swearing-in of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford have caused a stir.
Cherry, invited by Ford to the ceremony, said he specifically chose to wear a flamboyant pink jacket.
"Well, actually I'm wearing pinko for all the pinkos out there that ride bicycles and everything," he said.
It wasn't clear whether Cherry was targeting any specific group or a particular political issue.
In a rambling speech meant to introduce the new mayor, Cherry touched on media articles that have criticized him in the past "because I go to church" and "because I honour the troops."
The former NHL coach, now a commentator, told Ford that was the type of criticism he will face as mayor.
"This is what you'll be facing, Rob, with these left-wing pinkos. They scrape the bottom of the barrel."
Read more here.
Comments made by sports celebrity Don Cherry against "pinkos" during the swearing-in of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford have caused a stir.
Cherry, invited by Ford to the ceremony, said he specifically chose to wear a flamboyant pink jacket.
"Well, actually I'm wearing pinko for all the pinkos out there that ride bicycles and everything," he said.
It wasn't clear whether Cherry was targeting any specific group or a particular political issue.
In a rambling speech meant to introduce the new mayor, Cherry touched on media articles that have criticized him in the past "because I go to church" and "because I honour the troops."
The former NHL coach, now a commentator, told Ford that was the type of criticism he will face as mayor.
"This is what you'll be facing, Rob, with these left-wing pinkos. They scrape the bottom of the barrel."
Read more here.
G20 ombudsman states the bloody obvious
Ontario's ombudsman had scathing criticism for the provincial government Tuesday for quietly passing a G20 security regulation that enabled police to exercise "phenomenal powers" that "should never have been enacted."
"For the citizens of Toronto, the days up to and including the weekend of the G8/G20 will live in infamy as a time period where martial law set in the city of Toronto, leading to the most massive compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history, and we can never let that happen again," André Marin told reporters.
Marin was speaking at a news conference where he announced the release of a report titled Caught in the Act, which determined the Liberal government's decision to enact Regulation 233/10 was unreasonable.
The regulation was passed by the Ontario cabinet on June 2 without debate.
Read more here.
"For the citizens of Toronto, the days up to and including the weekend of the G8/G20 will live in infamy as a time period where martial law set in the city of Toronto, leading to the most massive compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history, and we can never let that happen again," André Marin told reporters.
Marin was speaking at a news conference where he announced the release of a report titled Caught in the Act, which determined the Liberal government's decision to enact Regulation 233/10 was unreasonable.
The regulation was passed by the Ontario cabinet on June 2 without debate.
Read more here.
The Hypocrisy of Power: US to host World Press Freedom Day in 2011
This wins Bullshit of the Day Award.
The United States is pleased to announce that it will host UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day event in 2011, from May 1 - May 3 in Washington, D.C. UNESCO is the only UN agency with the mandate to promote freedom of expression and its corollary, freedom of the press.
Read more here.
The United States is pleased to announce that it will host UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day event in 2011, from May 1 - May 3 in Washington, D.C. UNESCO is the only UN agency with the mandate to promote freedom of expression and its corollary, freedom of the press.
Read more here.
More WikiLeaks overreaction: New York Times may be investigated for espionage
Never embarrass a torture regime.
Ramping up his rhetoric on Fox News just now, Senator Joe Lieberman, the head of the Senate's homeland security committee, suggests that the New York Times and other news organisations using the WikiLeaks cables may also be investigated for breaking the US's espionage laws.
Lieberman told Fox News: "To me the New York Times has committed at least an act of bad citizenship, but whether they have committed a crime is a matter of discussion for the justice department."
Read more here.
Glenn Greenwald covers this embarrassing overreaction here.
Meanwhile, on FOX News today, Joe Lieberman suggested that not only Assange, but also The New York Times, may have committed crimes by publishing these cables (see the 5:15 entry). Journalists cheering for the prosecution of Assange are laying the foundation for the criminalization of their own profession, or at least of the few who actually do investigative journalism. There is simply no coherent way to argue that what WikiLeaks did with these cables is criminal, but what the NYT, the Guardian and other papers did is not.
Ramping up his rhetoric on Fox News just now, Senator Joe Lieberman, the head of the Senate's homeland security committee, suggests that the New York Times and other news organisations using the WikiLeaks cables may also be investigated for breaking the US's espionage laws.
Lieberman told Fox News: "To me the New York Times has committed at least an act of bad citizenship, but whether they have committed a crime is a matter of discussion for the justice department."
Read more here.
Glenn Greenwald covers this embarrassing overreaction here.
Meanwhile, on FOX News today, Joe Lieberman suggested that not only Assange, but also The New York Times, may have committed crimes by publishing these cables (see the 5:15 entry). Journalists cheering for the prosecution of Assange are laying the foundation for the criminalization of their own profession, or at least of the few who actually do investigative journalism. There is simply no coherent way to argue that what WikiLeaks did with these cables is criminal, but what the NYT, the Guardian and other papers did is not.
New video could identify some G20 police...but will it?
I see you, Mr. Policeman.
I see your mustachioed face, the visor so helpfully lifted up.
I see your arm — in short-sleeve uniform shirt — pumping back and forth, brutally beating.
I see the baton in that hand.
And do you, Police Chief Bill Blair, recognize this cop? Was he one of yours, pounding on Adam Nobody that awful day, June 26, 2010, when peaceful G20 protesters were assaulted by some law enforcement thugs at Queen’s Park?
If so, what do you intend to do about it now, sir?
The Toronto Star has come into possession of a new piece of videotape shot by a bystander that afternoon. It is 12 minutes and 20 seconds long — 23 seconds of which capture a vicious cop pile-on, officers pounding on Nobody, a stage designer who changed his name two years ago from Adam Trombetta for the pun value.
Read more here.
Monday, December 06, 2010
US readies the quartering horses for WikiLeaks
As I've written earlier, we all have to be taught a lesson...
Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that he has authorized "significant" actions related to the criminal investigation of WikiLeaks as the website faces increasing pressure worldwide for publishing sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables.
"National security of the United States has been put at risk," Holder said. "The lives of people who work for the American people have been put at risk. The American people themselves have been put at risk by these actions that I believe are arrogant, misguided and ultimately not helpful in any way. We are doing everything that we can."
Read more here.
Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that he has authorized "significant" actions related to the criminal investigation of WikiLeaks as the website faces increasing pressure worldwide for publishing sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables.
"National security of the United States has been put at risk," Holder said. "The lives of people who work for the American people have been put at risk. The American people themselves have been put at risk by these actions that I believe are arrogant, misguided and ultimately not helpful in any way. We are doing everything that we can."
Read more here.
Columbia University now thinks free speech not a bad idea after all
Three days after Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) sparked national ire by advising students not to discuss WikiLeaks on Facebook or Twitter, the school is walking back its remarks and embracing free speech.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Call Charles Manson now at 1-800-Helter-Skelter
Charles Manson didn't post to Facebook using a smart phone, but he did make calls using a cell phone from prison.
The infamous convicted murderer had an LG flip phone hidden under his mattress which was found by prison officials. Manson used the phone to make calls and send text messages to people in California, New Jersey, Florida and British Columbia, Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections, told the Los Angeles Times.
Read more here.
The infamous convicted murderer had an LG flip phone hidden under his mattress which was found by prison officials. Manson used the phone to make calls and send text messages to people in California, New Jersey, Florida and British Columbia, Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections, told the Los Angeles Times.
Read more here.
Mayor "Robbie" Ford to stand next to Don Cherry so he won't look quite as dumb in comparison
It's similar to having ugly friends, you look better standing next to them.
As Rob Ford prepared for the polls to open on election day, he phoned the coach in his corner for a pep talk.
“He called just because he said I was a good luck charm on the campaign,” Don Cherry said. “I said: 'You're gonna kill em.'“
Mr. Ford went on to a resounding win later that night. Now, Mr. Cherry is aiming to bring the same good fortune to Toronto's new mayor at his inauguration next week.
The Hockey Night In Canada legend will introduce Mr. Ford at his ceremonial first council meeting Dec. 7.
In an interview Friday, Mr. Cherry said he and Mr. Ford are a lot alike. They're both ordinary guys who say what's on their minds no matter the criticism, according to Mr. Cherry.
Translation: we don't mind being seen as stupid and occasionally bigoted in public, in fact we're proud of it.
“He just seems to talk the language of the people,” Mr. Cherry said.
What kind of "people" he is referring to here, one shudders to imagine.
A glimpse into the mind of said "people" can be seen in these comments:
noahbody2010
10:57 PM on December 3, 2010
It could be worse. Smitherman could have won, and invited Richard Simmons.
Prospector_1
3:44 PM on December 5, 2010
Good one!
Sparkling urbane wit to be sure...
Read more here.
As Rob Ford prepared for the polls to open on election day, he phoned the coach in his corner for a pep talk.
“He called just because he said I was a good luck charm on the campaign,” Don Cherry said. “I said: 'You're gonna kill em.'“
Mr. Ford went on to a resounding win later that night. Now, Mr. Cherry is aiming to bring the same good fortune to Toronto's new mayor at his inauguration next week.
The Hockey Night In Canada legend will introduce Mr. Ford at his ceremonial first council meeting Dec. 7.
In an interview Friday, Mr. Cherry said he and Mr. Ford are a lot alike. They're both ordinary guys who say what's on their minds no matter the criticism, according to Mr. Cherry.
Translation: we don't mind being seen as stupid and occasionally bigoted in public, in fact we're proud of it.
“He just seems to talk the language of the people,” Mr. Cherry said.
What kind of "people" he is referring to here, one shudders to imagine.
A glimpse into the mind of said "people" can be seen in these comments:
noahbody2010
10:57 PM on December 3, 2010
It could be worse. Smitherman could have won, and invited Richard Simmons.
Prospector_1
3:44 PM on December 5, 2010
Good one!
Sparkling urbane wit to be sure...
Read more here.
Salvation Army 1, Scrooge 0
The Eaton Centre has bowed to public pressure and is allowing Salvation Army volunteers to ring bells during fundraising efforts inside the downtown mall.
The move, announced Sunday, comes after CBC News revealed last week that volunteers couldn't ring their bells at the kettle drums inside the mall.
The ban on bell ringing was established eight years ago with the co-operation of the Salvation Army because of noise complaints from some of the 230 tenants of the mall.
Read more here.
The move, announced Sunday, comes after CBC News revealed last week that volunteers couldn't ring their bells at the kettle drums inside the mall.
The ban on bell ringing was established eight years ago with the co-operation of the Salvation Army because of noise complaints from some of the 230 tenants of the mall.
Read more here.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Military Chaplains battling with their homophobia. Well knock me over with a feather
More loving Christians cherry picking which bigotry to keep from the Bible and which not. Choices, choices.
As Congress debates the repeal of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, military chaplains are doing their own soul-searching.
About 3,000 chaplains currently serve in the military, endorsed by a multitude of faiths, including Christian, evangelical Protestant, Jewish and Muslim denominations. It's a unique culture where chaplains of various beliefs serve alongside one another counseling and caring for an equally diverse congregation of armed service members.
"Some of the most intense and sharpest divergence of views about Don't Ask, Don't Tell exists among the chaplains," states the Pentagon report, released last week, on the potential impact of repealing the policy. The report concludes that allowing openly gay or lesbian troops to serve in the military would have little lasting impact on the U.S. armed forces.
Among the issues raised by chaplains, according to the report, is whether a change in policy would hinder ministers' religious expression, particularly for those faiths that consider homosexuality immoral.
With "Thou shall not kill" conveniently forgotten.
I know I know. The Bible provides amply ways to get around that one.
Read more here.
As Congress debates the repeal of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, military chaplains are doing their own soul-searching.
About 3,000 chaplains currently serve in the military, endorsed by a multitude of faiths, including Christian, evangelical Protestant, Jewish and Muslim denominations. It's a unique culture where chaplains of various beliefs serve alongside one another counseling and caring for an equally diverse congregation of armed service members.
"Some of the most intense and sharpest divergence of views about Don't Ask, Don't Tell exists among the chaplains," states the Pentagon report, released last week, on the potential impact of repealing the policy. The report concludes that allowing openly gay or lesbian troops to serve in the military would have little lasting impact on the U.S. armed forces.
Among the issues raised by chaplains, according to the report, is whether a change in policy would hinder ministers' religious expression, particularly for those faiths that consider homosexuality immoral.
With "Thou shall not kill" conveniently forgotten.
I know I know. The Bible provides amply ways to get around that one.
Read more here.
The Fabulous Flippers - The Harlem Shuffle
Truly awful 60's music from a "band" I've never heard of. One gets the impression they never set foot in the real Harlem...ever.
"Ya got no soul". A truer thing was never said of The Fabulous Flippers.
Based out of Lawrence, Kansas – The Flippers took the Midwest by storm throughout the 60’s – drawing sold out crowds from Texas to North Dakota and from Colorado to Illinois. Advertising their shows on KOMA Radio from Oklahoma City, OK they drew teens driving hundreds of miles to a “Flipper Dance”.
Evictions continue on Easter Island
A military plane carrying riot police reinforcements have landed on Easter Island, and Chile's Interior Minister said they will continue evicting Rapa Nui islanders who have been squatting in government buildings built on their ancestral properties.
Dozens of people were wounded by police buckshot and batons after violently resisting the first such eviction on Friday on the usually tranquil South Pacific island, where as many as 50,000 tourists come each year to see the Moai - huge stone heads carved by the Rapa Nui's ancestors.
Documentary filmmaker Santi Hitorangi, who dug 14 pellets from his backside after police shot him while he videotaped the clash, said the atmosphere remained tense on Saturday, with families squatting in a dozen other properties refusing to back down despite the police pressure.
"What happened yesterday is their way of trying to stop any attempt of the Rapa Nui people to reassert their right to the land," Mr Hitorangi said. "All we're asking for is title to the land. It's a rightful claim. We are not asking the government for anything else."
Read more here and here.
Dozens of people were wounded by police buckshot and batons after violently resisting the first such eviction on Friday on the usually tranquil South Pacific island, where as many as 50,000 tourists come each year to see the Moai - huge stone heads carved by the Rapa Nui's ancestors.
Documentary filmmaker Santi Hitorangi, who dug 14 pellets from his backside after police shot him while he videotaped the clash, said the atmosphere remained tense on Saturday, with families squatting in a dozen other properties refusing to back down despite the police pressure.
"What happened yesterday is their way of trying to stop any attempt of the Rapa Nui people to reassert their right to the land," Mr Hitorangi said. "All we're asking for is title to the land. It's a rightful claim. We are not asking the government for anything else."
Read more here and here.
Mass-mirroring Wikileaks
Wikileaks is currently under heavy attack.
In order to make it impossible to ever fully remove Wikileaks from the Internet, we need your help.
if you have a unix-based server which is hosting a website on the Internet and you want to give wikileaks some of your hosting resources, you can help!
Please follow the following instructions:
Read more here.
In order to make it impossible to ever fully remove Wikileaks from the Internet, we need your help.
if you have a unix-based server which is hosting a website on the Internet and you want to give wikileaks some of your hosting resources, you can help!
Please follow the following instructions:
Read more here.
WikiLeaks and why "cloud" technology is a really bad idea
I've been against the cloud for some time now, as I just don't trust my data to anyone.
The WikiLeaks affair is highlighting the Internet's soft underbelly: the intermediaries on which we all rely to store our information and make it available. We are learning, to our dismay, that we cannot trust them. Combine that with increasing government intervention, we're also learning that the Internet is somewhat easier to censor than we'd assumed.
This should worry anyone who believes that we're going to move our data and online lives into the fabled "cloud" -- the diffused online array of hardware and services where, proponents say, we can do our online work, play and commerce without the need for storing data on our own personal computers. Trusting the cloud is becoming an act of faith, and it's time to question that faith.
And the situation should absolutely chill everyone who believes in free speech -- and especially the people who call themselves journalists. Sadly, however, too many of them have been cheering on people who want to make WikiLeaks disappear. Do they realize that it could be their own turn someday?
Read more here.
The WikiLeaks affair is highlighting the Internet's soft underbelly: the intermediaries on which we all rely to store our information and make it available. We are learning, to our dismay, that we cannot trust them. Combine that with increasing government intervention, we're also learning that the Internet is somewhat easier to censor than we'd assumed.
This should worry anyone who believes that we're going to move our data and online lives into the fabled "cloud" -- the diffused online array of hardware and services where, proponents say, we can do our online work, play and commerce without the need for storing data on our own personal computers. Trusting the cloud is becoming an act of faith, and it's time to question that faith.
And the situation should absolutely chill everyone who believes in free speech -- and especially the people who call themselves journalists. Sadly, however, too many of them have been cheering on people who want to make WikiLeaks disappear. Do they realize that it could be their own turn someday?
Read more here.
It's pronounced "fooking" you fucking idiot
It's safe to say that Lord Focko had no idea the village named after him would one day become a sanctuary for English-speaking sex tourists.
Since Focko's death some 600 years ago, the village's name has gone through various incarnations, from Fukching to Fugkhing, until settling in its current, widely popular spelling, Fucking.
"It is pronounced fooking," insists the woman at the area information center in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn. Other than that, she doesn't have any information on the village, aside from a piece of firm, if mildly annoyed advice: "There is nothing to do in Fucking. There isn't even a hotel."
Turns out she is wrong on both counts. But not terribly wrong.
Read more here.
Since Focko's death some 600 years ago, the village's name has gone through various incarnations, from Fukching to Fugkhing, until settling in its current, widely popular spelling, Fucking.
"It is pronounced fooking," insists the woman at the area information center in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn. Other than that, she doesn't have any information on the village, aside from a piece of firm, if mildly annoyed advice: "There is nothing to do in Fucking. There isn't even a hotel."
Turns out she is wrong on both counts. But not terribly wrong.
Read more here.
How dumb are 80's babies: Oakley To Release $150 ‘Tron Legacy’ 3D Glasses
Sunglass company Oakley has announced that they will be producing a tie-in for Disney’s Tron: Legacy, a pair of Limited Edition 3D Gascan eyewear featuring Tron-styled graphics on the side frames. How much do they want you to pay for these glasses? $150! Why are the glasses worth so much money?
Read more here.
Read more here.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers: Greenpeace is mean to us. WAAAAAAAAA!
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says Greenpeace has gone too far in its latest attack on the oilsands industry.
In an online contest posted on Facebook, Greenpeace is encouraging people to take aim at a CAPP ad campaign launched earlier this year that shows oilsands workers talking about land reclamation and environmental cleanup in the industry.
Greenpeace is encouraging people to create mash-ups or remixes, using videos from CAPP's campaign. One spoof video posted to the group's Facebook page depicts a biologist saying she will probably die of cancer and her family will be paid money to keep quiet.
CAPP spokesperson Janet Annesley said the ads go too far.
"We're certainly open to have our ideas or the point of the ads challenged," she said.
"If the activists don't believe our claims around environmental performance, let's talk about that … in our view, that just makes it personal, and it distracts from what, in fact, we should be talking about, which is solutions."
CAPP's website originally linked to the spoofs, but stopped when it decide the attacks had become objectionable.
Read more here.
In an online contest posted on Facebook, Greenpeace is encouraging people to take aim at a CAPP ad campaign launched earlier this year that shows oilsands workers talking about land reclamation and environmental cleanup in the industry.
Greenpeace is encouraging people to create mash-ups or remixes, using videos from CAPP's campaign. One spoof video posted to the group's Facebook page depicts a biologist saying she will probably die of cancer and her family will be paid money to keep quiet.
CAPP spokesperson Janet Annesley said the ads go too far.
"We're certainly open to have our ideas or the point of the ads challenged," she said.
"If the activists don't believe our claims around environmental performance, let's talk about that … in our view, that just makes it personal, and it distracts from what, in fact, we should be talking about, which is solutions."
CAPP's website originally linked to the spoofs, but stopped when it decide the attacks had become objectionable.
Read more here.
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Why was Crosbie's memo leaked, really?
I thought of this too, but also thought, naw too cynical...
In Harper's Canada, it pays to be too cynical.
The Department of Foreign Affairs raised eyebrows in government circles Thursday when it called in the RCMP to investigate the leak of a highly classified diplomatic memo in which William Crosbie offered his resignation as Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan.
Was the leak really a breach of security in a department that rarely gives up its diplomatic secrets?
Or was the document slipped to the National Post this week as part of an elaborate government damage-control strategy to pre-empt an even more damaging leak on the WikiLeaks website?
A lot of government insiders seem to think the latter and, if so, the Mounties certainly won’t have much to investigate.
Read more here.
In Harper's Canada, it pays to be too cynical.
The Department of Foreign Affairs raised eyebrows in government circles Thursday when it called in the RCMP to investigate the leak of a highly classified diplomatic memo in which William Crosbie offered his resignation as Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan.
Was the leak really a breach of security in a department that rarely gives up its diplomatic secrets?
Or was the document slipped to the National Post this week as part of an elaborate government damage-control strategy to pre-empt an even more damaging leak on the WikiLeaks website?
A lot of government insiders seem to think the latter and, if so, the Mounties certainly won’t have much to investigate.
Read more here.
Ottawa police to "retrain" some very f*cked up "special constables"
Again, only video proof was enough to make the police take action.
Keep those cameras rolling folks.
The Ottawa police force is planning to re-train its 64 special constables on the use of force following the release of two cellblock videos that show officers kicking or kneeing people in custody.
Special Const. Melanie Morris, who has worked with the Ottawa police for six years and is currently on administrative leave, is shown in both videos.
In the first video from 2008, Morris is seen kneeing 27-year-old Stacy Bonds before she is forced to the ground and strip-searched. In the second video, from 2009, Morris appears to kick a homeless man, Terry Delay, as he's put into a jail cell.
Special constables are civilians sworn in as peace officers by the chief of police. While there is a competitive five-step process to becoming a special constable, CBC News has learned the constables only receive one week of training. Just one day of that training is devoted to use of force, with a "refresher" once a year.
The force has decided to add about 20 hours of additional training for the special constables, mainly in the area of the use of force, said Deputy Chief Gilles Larochelle.
Oh yeah, that should train the psychotic right out of them...
Read more here.
Keep those cameras rolling folks.
The Ottawa police force is planning to re-train its 64 special constables on the use of force following the release of two cellblock videos that show officers kicking or kneeing people in custody.
Special Const. Melanie Morris, who has worked with the Ottawa police for six years and is currently on administrative leave, is shown in both videos.
In the first video from 2008, Morris is seen kneeing 27-year-old Stacy Bonds before she is forced to the ground and strip-searched. In the second video, from 2009, Morris appears to kick a homeless man, Terry Delay, as he's put into a jail cell.
Special constables are civilians sworn in as peace officers by the chief of police. While there is a competitive five-step process to becoming a special constable, CBC News has learned the constables only receive one week of training. Just one day of that training is devoted to use of force, with a "refresher" once a year.
The force has decided to add about 20 hours of additional training for the special constables, mainly in the area of the use of force, said Deputy Chief Gilles Larochelle.
Oh yeah, that should train the psychotic right out of them...
Read more here.
WikiLeaks: Chinese politburo member has tantrum, had Google hacked
Senior Chinese figures were behind the hacking of Google earlier this year which forced the search engine to quit the country, leaked US cables suggest.
One cable, released by whistle-blowing site Wikileaks, cites a "well-placed" contact as saying the action against Google was "100% political".
A politburo member is said to have been angered after Googling his name and finding critical comments online.
The cable says it is unclear whether China's top leaders were involved.
Read more here.
One cable, released by whistle-blowing site Wikileaks, cites a "well-placed" contact as saying the action against Google was "100% political".
A politburo member is said to have been angered after Googling his name and finding critical comments online.
The cable says it is unclear whether China's top leaders were involved.
Read more here.
State Department To Columbia University Students: DO NOT Discuss WikiLeaks On Facebook, Twitter
If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.
Talking about WikiLeaks on Facebook or Twitter could endanger your job prospects, a State Department official warned students at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs this week.
An email from SIPA's Office of Career Services went out Tuesday afternoon with a caution from the official, an alumnus of the school. Students who will be applying for jobs in the federal government could jeopardize their prospects by posting links to WikiLeaks online, or even by discussing the leaked documents on social networking sites, the official was quoted as saying.
"[The alumnus] recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter," the Office of Career Services advised students. "Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government."
Read more here.
Talking about WikiLeaks on Facebook or Twitter could endanger your job prospects, a State Department official warned students at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs this week.
An email from SIPA's Office of Career Services went out Tuesday afternoon with a caution from the official, an alumnus of the school. Students who will be applying for jobs in the federal government could jeopardize their prospects by posting links to WikiLeaks online, or even by discussing the leaked documents on social networking sites, the official was quoted as saying.
"[The alumnus] recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter," the Office of Career Services advised students. "Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government."
Read more here.
Dumb Christians: Resisting the Green Dragon
Oh look, they even have a representative from a known hate group.
Mind numbing it its stupidity.
WikiLeaks and the Hypocrisy of Power
Since September 11, 2001, there has been an increasing drumbeat coming from those in power.
More security, tighter security, increased security. The so called "Patriot Act", AT&T working with the US government to eavesdrop on telephone, email and other electronic communications of its own citizens, and more recently virtual strip searches at airports.
The list goes on. If anyone complains, they are viewed with suspicion, perhaps they're even aiding the terrorists!
The official line? "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
Now it's 2010, and long comes WikiLeaks.
Well! Governments (and the corporate medias) are falling over themselves to condemn the latest revelations coming from the diplomatic letters slowly making their way into our hands.
"Criminal! Rapist! Traitor!"
Why is that? What does this reaction tell us?
"If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
It tells us that governments don't view the people as partners, but as part of the problem, to be treated as such. To them, it's not hypocritical at all, as they know best and the rest of us are just the uneducated masses to be protected at best, viewed with suspicion at worse, but controlled at all costs.
So we get the obscene show that is the G20, turning cities into armed camps. If the lowly citizens dare to question this obvious display of force, they are beaten, arrested and called, yawn, terrorists…
Now this evil citizenry has turned the tables on officialdom, ever so briefly, and boy oh boy do they hate it.
How much? So much so that some politicians, "journalists" and so called experts are calling for the murder of Julian Assange with an unbridled lust it is disgusting to behold.
"I'm feeling very manly today, Evan."
Government pressure closes off WikiLeaks access to the population: Amazon folds, PayPal folds (both sighting reasons as limp as their backbone)…
Make no mistake, they will do all they can to stop WikiLeaks. Mr. Assange and the rest of us have to be taught a lesson, and soon. This hideous outbreak of truth will not be tolerated.
In the good old days, Mr. Assage would have been taken to the town square and pulled apart by four horses. Message delivered.
Expect the modern equivalent of this soon. Power must be maintained at all costs, too many long term plans depend on it, in which your input is neither wanted nor called for.
The rest of us? Expect even more invasion into our lives in the name of "security", even WikiLeaks have given them more excuses to do so. The "people" are a greater problem to them now as never before. An educated population what can talk directly with each other (via the Internet) is a new problem for them, it bypasses official channels and filters (China recognized this immediately and controls the Net. The West would dearly like to do this as well, but its veneer of democracy prevents it. Give it five years).
Governments become just another voice among many (granted they do have the loudest voices, with modern journalism more often than not a mouthpiece for government pronouncements). Hence the increased intrusions into our lives, let's us know who's the boss. Of course, it's all for our own protection...
"The Emperor has no clothes" is a phrase used often this past two weeks. Officialdom is busy right now, weaving new and more opaque robes as we speak. The rest of you, stand in line to be scanned.
More security, tighter security, increased security. The so called "Patriot Act", AT&T working with the US government to eavesdrop on telephone, email and other electronic communications of its own citizens, and more recently virtual strip searches at airports.
The list goes on. If anyone complains, they are viewed with suspicion, perhaps they're even aiding the terrorists!
The official line? "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
Now it's 2010, and long comes WikiLeaks.
Well! Governments (and the corporate medias) are falling over themselves to condemn the latest revelations coming from the diplomatic letters slowly making their way into our hands.
"Criminal! Rapist! Traitor!"
Why is that? What does this reaction tell us?
"If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
It tells us that governments don't view the people as partners, but as part of the problem, to be treated as such. To them, it's not hypocritical at all, as they know best and the rest of us are just the uneducated masses to be protected at best, viewed with suspicion at worse, but controlled at all costs.
So we get the obscene show that is the G20, turning cities into armed camps. If the lowly citizens dare to question this obvious display of force, they are beaten, arrested and called, yawn, terrorists…
Now this evil citizenry has turned the tables on officialdom, ever so briefly, and boy oh boy do they hate it.
How much? So much so that some politicians, "journalists" and so called experts are calling for the murder of Julian Assange with an unbridled lust it is disgusting to behold.
"I'm feeling very manly today, Evan."
Government pressure closes off WikiLeaks access to the population: Amazon folds, PayPal folds (both sighting reasons as limp as their backbone)…
Make no mistake, they will do all they can to stop WikiLeaks. Mr. Assange and the rest of us have to be taught a lesson, and soon. This hideous outbreak of truth will not be tolerated.
In the good old days, Mr. Assage would have been taken to the town square and pulled apart by four horses. Message delivered.
Expect the modern equivalent of this soon. Power must be maintained at all costs, too many long term plans depend on it, in which your input is neither wanted nor called for.
The rest of us? Expect even more invasion into our lives in the name of "security", even WikiLeaks have given them more excuses to do so. The "people" are a greater problem to them now as never before. An educated population what can talk directly with each other (via the Internet) is a new problem for them, it bypasses official channels and filters (China recognized this immediately and controls the Net. The West would dearly like to do this as well, but its veneer of democracy prevents it. Give it five years).
Governments become just another voice among many (granted they do have the loudest voices, with modern journalism more often than not a mouthpiece for government pronouncements). Hence the increased intrusions into our lives, let's us know who's the boss. Of course, it's all for our own protection...
"The Emperor has no clothes" is a phrase used often this past two weeks. Officialdom is busy right now, weaving new and more opaque robes as we speak. The rest of you, stand in line to be scanned.
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