Australia, daily adding to the perception that censors are the ones with the issues...
Any pretense from the Australian Government that its proposed internet filter will not extend to millions of sites has died with news that the Government has banned small breasts and female ejaculation in adult material.
The ban (RC) on small breasted women in adult publications has been made by the Australian Classification Board allegedly on the grounds that such images could be construed as child pornography, even where those publications comply with American law and keep certification that performers are over 18.
Female ejaculation has been banned on the incredible grounds that “the depictions are a form of urination which is banned under the label of ‘golden showers’ in the Classification Guidelines” and/or “Female ejaculation is an ‘abhorrent’ depiction.” Notably here male ejaculation is completely legal under the same guidelines, attracting an X rating in Australia.
Woohoo Australia, FYI, you look like idiots on a global scale. Just saying.
Read more here.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Fire in Houston blamed on inflatable gorilla
Fire department officials said an out-of-control inflatable gorilla was blamed for a rooftop blaze at a Houston shopping center. No injuries were reported in the fire early Thursday. The remnants of the inflatable gorilla were seen at the site.
District Chief Fred Hooker said some type of a "blowup doll" was on the roof, the item deflated and landed on some lights, leading to the fire.
District Chief Fred Hooker said some type of a "blowup doll" was on the roof, the item deflated and landed on some lights, leading to the fire.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Paul Shirley: Today's Scum of the Earth
"I haven’t donated to the Haitian relief effort for the same reason that I don't give money to homeless men on the street," he wrote. "Based on past experiences, I don't think the guy with the sign that reads 'Need You're Help' is going to do anything constructive with the dollar I might give him. If I use history as my guide, I don't think the people of Haiti will do much with my money either."
Read more here.
Read more here.
I am a journalist. The truth shall set me free.
Maybe, but conservative defence fund money will help more.
Twitter, the place where the idiotic can distil the idiocy down to 140 characters, has produced the above pearl of wisdom from arrested, ahum, journalist James O'Keefe.
Someone sit this genius down and make him watch "All The President's Men", will ya?
A conservative filmmaker who posed as a pimp to target the liberal activist group ACORN was arrested with the son of a federal prosecutor and two other men and accused of plotting to tamper with the New Orleans offices of Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
Activist James O'Keefe, 25, recorded two of the other suspects with his cell phone as they walked into the office dressed like telephone repairmen and said they needed to fix problems with the phone system, according to an FBI affidavit.
Twitter, the place where the idiotic can distil the idiocy down to 140 characters, has produced the above pearl of wisdom from arrested, ahum, journalist James O'Keefe.
Someone sit this genius down and make him watch "All The President's Men", will ya?
A conservative filmmaker who posed as a pimp to target the liberal activist group ACORN was arrested with the son of a federal prosecutor and two other men and accused of plotting to tamper with the New Orleans offices of Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
Activist James O'Keefe, 25, recorded two of the other suspects with his cell phone as they walked into the office dressed like telephone repairmen and said they needed to fix problems with the phone system, according to an FBI affidavit.
Apple introduces the iPad, and the worst name ever
and Rogers is scrambling on how to gouge customers on this one...
McDonald's fires employee over cheese slice
A McDonald's outlet in the Netherlands was wrong to sack an employee for giving a colleague a piece of cheese on a hamburger, a court has ruled.
The waitress was fired last March after she sold a hamburger to a co-worker who then asked for cheese, which she added.
The fast-food chain argued this turned the hamburger into a cheeseburger, and so she should have charged more.
But Leeuwarden district court ruled a written warning would have been more appropriate...
...the court said in its written judgement: "The dismissal was too severe a measure. It is just a slice of cheese,"
Read more here.
The waitress was fired last March after she sold a hamburger to a co-worker who then asked for cheese, which she added.
The fast-food chain argued this turned the hamburger into a cheeseburger, and so she should have charged more.
But Leeuwarden district court ruled a written warning would have been more appropriate...
...the court said in its written judgement: "The dismissal was too severe a measure. It is just a slice of cheese,"
Read more here.
Olathe Northwest: Idiots of the Day
He shoots, he scores. Sort of. Olathe Northwest girls basketball coach and science teacher, Joel Branstrom, was slated to be the center of a school joke, until he did the impossible and stunned the entire student body.
In an attempt to spoof College Humor's Prank Wars Half Court Million Dollar Shot, the school told Branstrom if he made a half-court shot while blindfolded, he would win NCAA tickets. However, the school never had NCAA tickets to give him, as they never expected him to make the shot. Not only did he make it, he sunk it. Nothing but net, baby.
Cough up those tickets, morons.
Read more here.
In an attempt to spoof College Humor's Prank Wars Half Court Million Dollar Shot, the school told Branstrom if he made a half-court shot while blindfolded, he would win NCAA tickets. However, the school never had NCAA tickets to give him, as they never expected him to make the shot. Not only did he make it, he sunk it. Nothing but net, baby.
Cough up those tickets, morons.
Read more here.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
UK Police to citizenry: F*ck you
Actions speak louder than words, and this action gives a valuable insight into what police think of the public...
Police in the UK are planning to use unmanned spy drones, controversially deployed in Afghanistan, for the "routine" monitoring of antisocial motorists, protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers, in a significant expansion of covert state surveillance.
The arms manufacturer BAE Systems, which produces a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for war zones, is adapting the military-style planes for a consortium of government agencies led by Kent police
Read more here.
Best comment: Pigs can fly after all.
Police in the UK are planning to use unmanned spy drones, controversially deployed in Afghanistan, for the "routine" monitoring of antisocial motorists, protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers, in a significant expansion of covert state surveillance.
The arms manufacturer BAE Systems, which produces a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for war zones, is adapting the military-style planes for a consortium of government agencies led by Kent police
Read more here.
Best comment: Pigs can fly after all.
TTC union re sleeping collector: It's the public's fault, duh
The president of the TTC workers' union says it is “disturbing” that a transit rider snapped a photo of what appears to be a sleeping ticket collector instead of checking to see whether the worker was okay.
“The guy could have had a heart attack. He could've had an aneurysm. He could have been a diabetic,” said Bob Kinnear, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents more than 9,000 TTC employees. “Seventy-five per cent of them are down there [in the collection booth] for medical reasons. It wouldn't be the first time we've had collectors collapse.”
A picture of the collector, reclining in a booth with his eyes closed, head back and mouth open, has become an Internet sensation since it was posted Thursday.
Public to TTC: Fuck you.
Read more here.
“The guy could have had a heart attack. He could've had an aneurysm. He could have been a diabetic,” said Bob Kinnear, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents more than 9,000 TTC employees. “Seventy-five per cent of them are down there [in the collection booth] for medical reasons. It wouldn't be the first time we've had collectors collapse.”
A picture of the collector, reclining in a booth with his eyes closed, head back and mouth open, has become an Internet sensation since it was posted Thursday.
Public to TTC: Fuck you.
Read more here.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Spartacus Blood and Sand
Oh don't worry, he'll be fine. That's our hero, Spartacus. You should see the other guy.
"Spartacus Blood and Sand" is so over the top, so pornographically violent, so juvenilely written, it manages to make HBO's Rome seem intelligent.
It so wants to be "300" and "Gladiator", it dresses up in their clothes, but can't pull it off.
Caveat emptor.
Pastor Martin Ssempa: Sick F*ck of the Day
Pastor Martin Ssempa on Tuesday plumbed the depths of notoriety when he offered graphic images of gay sex as proof of the need for tough penalties against homosexuals.
But midway through his presentation, saved on a computer, most of his audience walked out, some visibly disturbed, leaving him to wonder if he had done anything wrong. The cleric seemed genuinely rattled when he asked: “Why should I be traumatised?”
Read more here.
But midway through his presentation, saved on a computer, most of his audience walked out, some visibly disturbed, leaving him to wonder if he had done anything wrong. The cleric seemed genuinely rattled when he asked: “Why should I be traumatised?”
Read more here.
Thousands protest Harper
The Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament (CAPP) protest in Toronto featured an impressive turnout, with police estimating anywhere between 10,000 and 12,000 people in attendance (note: some estimates have the turnout at only 3000). Beginning with a rally at Yonge-Dundas square, the protesters eventually took to the streets shortly after 2 p.m., drawing a loop that took them over to City Hall and then across College St. before returning to their original location.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Obama gets it...?
Obama responds to the epically bad U.S. Supreme Court decision of this week regarding corporations.
The problem with Obama one year in; he says a lot of things, but does little..like any politician.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
U.S. corporations can now f*ck over the voters much more freely
How naive of me. Here I thought: corporations make stuff, I buy it if I want, end of story, stay out of our lives after that, thanks awfully.
The geniuses in the U.S. Supreme Court see the Universe* through different eyes...
*a Universe that actually thinks corporations are people. What kind of messed up lunatic would come up with an idea like that...oh right...
The Supreme Court threw out a 63-year-old law designed to restrain the influence of big business and unions on elections Thursday, ruling that corporations may spend as freely as they like to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress. The decision could drastically alter who gives and gets hundreds of millions of dollars in this year's crucial midterm elections.
Read more here.
The geniuses in the U.S. Supreme Court see the Universe* through different eyes...
*a Universe that actually thinks corporations are people. What kind of messed up lunatic would come up with an idea like that...oh right...
The Supreme Court threw out a 63-year-old law designed to restrain the influence of big business and unions on elections Thursday, ruling that corporations may spend as freely as they like to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress. The decision could drastically alter who gives and gets hundreds of millions of dollars in this year's crucial midterm elections.
Read more here.
Dumb White People: All White Basketball League
A new professional basketball league boasting rosters made up exclusively of white Americans has its eyes set on Augusta, but the team isn't receiving a warm welcome.
The All-American Basketball Alliance announced in a news release Sunday evening that it intends to start its inaugural season in June and hopes Augusta will be one of 12 cities with a team.
"Only players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league," the statement said.
Read more here, but be warned, it is filled with all kinds of stupid.
The All-American Basketball Alliance announced in a news release Sunday evening that it intends to start its inaugural season in June and hopes Augusta will be one of 12 cities with a team.
"Only players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league," the statement said.
Read more here, but be warned, it is filled with all kinds of stupid.
Obama backs RIAA's obscene fine
The little people have to be taught who's in charge, don't ya know.
The Obama administration is backing $675,000 in damages a Massachusetts student must pay the Recording Industry Association of America for file sharing 30 songs.
The Justice Department, where President Barack Obama has tapped five former RIAA lawyers to serve, said copyright infringement “creates a public harm that Congress determined must be deterred.”
They really have no shame left, now do they.
Read more here.
The Obama administration is backing $675,000 in damages a Massachusetts student must pay the Recording Industry Association of America for file sharing 30 songs.
The Justice Department, where President Barack Obama has tapped five former RIAA lawyers to serve, said copyright infringement “creates a public harm that Congress determined must be deterred.”
They really have no shame left, now do they.
Read more here.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Biker Barbie
Get your motor runnin'. Head out on the highway...Harley-Davidson Barbie and Ken.
Ken still looks like he'd get his ass kicked.
Read more here.
Apple, Microsoft Discuss Giving Bing Top iPhone Billing
Do this Apple, and earn my eternal undying hatred.
Amid an accelerating rivalry with Google, Apple is discussing ways to make Bing the default search engine on the iPhone
Read more here.
Amid an accelerating rivalry with Google, Apple is discussing ways to make Bing the default search engine on the iPhone
Read more here.
Patrick Muirhead: Fear and Self-Loathing
Enjoy this uninformed parade of self hatred, unenlightened stereotypes and good old fashion fucked upness...
A minor incident in a barber’s shop last week has helped me to realise that I may no longer be gay. Not a fully fledged homo, anyway; perhaps not even a part-timer who helps the team out when it’s busy. It appears I may be going straight.
Read more here.
A minor incident in a barber’s shop last week has helped me to realise that I may no longer be gay. Not a fully fledged homo, anyway; perhaps not even a part-timer who helps the team out when it’s busy. It appears I may be going straight.
Read more here.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Coca Cola tries to silence their critics
No matter the right or wrong of the documentary, what right does Coca Cola have to stop the screening of any film?
Earlier this month, Coke threatened legal action to prevent the screening of a new documentary film The Coca-Cola Case. The $141 billion company (with annual revenues of $28 billion) threatened a small non-profit media-arts group called Cinema Politica which shows documentary films for free at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec and through a network of independent locals across Canada, in the United States, and in Europe and Latin America.
Read more here.
Every should go see it, now that Coke has made it famous...
Earlier this month, Coke threatened legal action to prevent the screening of a new documentary film The Coca-Cola Case. The $141 billion company (with annual revenues of $28 billion) threatened a small non-profit media-arts group called Cinema Politica which shows documentary films for free at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec and through a network of independent locals across Canada, in the United States, and in Europe and Latin America.
Read more here.
Every should go see it, now that Coke has made it famous...
Pushy Christians: Rifle Scope Bible Verses
Responding to the revelation that rifle sights used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan are inscribed with Bible citations, a Marine Corps spokesman told TPMmuckraker today that the branch simply didn't know about the inscriptions until inquiries were made last week.
But posts on gun enthusiast forums from as early as 2006 and Youtube videos watched thousands of times extensively discuss the Bible verses on the Trijicon rifle sights, casting doubt on the military's claim that it was unaware of what was apparently a poorly kept secret.
Read more here.
But posts on gun enthusiast forums from as early as 2006 and Youtube videos watched thousands of times extensively discuss the Bible verses on the Trijicon rifle sights, casting doubt on the military's claim that it was unaware of what was apparently a poorly kept secret.
Read more here.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Royal Caribbean International: Keeping the rich vile, no matter what
Sixty miles from Haiti's devastated earthquake zone, luxury liners dock at private beaches where passengers enjoy jetski rides, parasailing and rum cocktails delivered to their hammocks.
The 4,370-berth Independence of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean International, disembarked at the heavily guarded resort of Labadee on the north coast on Friday; a second cruise ship, the 3,100-passenger Navigator of the Seas is due to dock.
The Florida cruise company leases a picturesque wooded peninsula and its five pristine beaches from the government for passengers to "cut loose" with watersports, barbecues, and shopping for trinkets at a craft market before returning on board before dusk. Safety is guaranteed by armed guards at the gate.
Read more here.
The 4,370-berth Independence of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean International, disembarked at the heavily guarded resort of Labadee on the north coast on Friday; a second cruise ship, the 3,100-passenger Navigator of the Seas is due to dock.
The Florida cruise company leases a picturesque wooded peninsula and its five pristine beaches from the government for passengers to "cut loose" with watersports, barbecues, and shopping for trinkets at a craft market before returning on board before dusk. Safety is guaranteed by armed guards at the gate.
Read more here.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
FBI: Idiots of the Day
A Spanish lawmaker was horrified to learn that the FBI used an online photograph of him to create an image showing what Osama bin Laden might look like today.
The image using Gaspar Llamazares' photo appeared on a wanted poster updating the U.S. government's 1998 photo of the al-Qaida leader.
FBI spokesman Ken Hoffman acknowledged to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the agency used a picture of Llamazares taken from Google Images.
In a statement Saturday, the agency would say only that it was aware of similarities between their age-progressed image "and that of an existing photograph of a Spanish public official."
Read more here.
The image using Gaspar Llamazares' photo appeared on a wanted poster updating the U.S. government's 1998 photo of the al-Qaida leader.
FBI spokesman Ken Hoffman acknowledged to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the agency used a picture of Llamazares taken from Google Images.
In a statement Saturday, the agency would say only that it was aware of similarities between their age-progressed image "and that of an existing photograph of a Spanish public official."
Read more here.
If Apple forces me to use Bing, may they rot in Hell
This week’s BusinessWeek cover story is about the increasingly competitive relationship between once-cozy Apple and Google. It contains a bold forecast by Jonathan Yarmis, a research fellow at consulting firm Ovum:
Yarmis thinks Apple may soon decide to dump Google as the default search engine on its devices, primarily to cut Google off from mobile data that could be used to improve its advertising and Android technology. [Apple CEO] Jobs might cut a deal with—gasp!—Microsoft to make Bing Apple’s engine of choice, or even launch its own search engine...
Read more here.
Yarmis thinks Apple may soon decide to dump Google as the default search engine on its devices, primarily to cut Google off from mobile data that could be used to improve its advertising and Android technology. [Apple CEO] Jobs might cut a deal with—gasp!—Microsoft to make Bing Apple’s engine of choice, or even launch its own search engine...
Read more here.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Supt Andrew Murray: Idiot of the Day
Sheesh Supt, lighten up.
Police officers filmed using riot shields to sledge down a snowy hill while on duty have been reprimanded.
The footage of a group of officers on Boars Hill, Oxford, was taken by Rick Latham on Tuesday. He posted it on the file-sharing website YouTube.
Mr Latham said they were only there for a few minutes and praised the officers for having a "sense of humour".
Supt Andrew Murray said those involved have been spoken to and advised that their actions were a "bad idea".
Read more here.
Police officers filmed using riot shields to sledge down a snowy hill while on duty have been reprimanded.
The footage of a group of officers on Boars Hill, Oxford, was taken by Rick Latham on Tuesday. He posted it on the file-sharing website YouTube.
Mr Latham said they were only there for a few minutes and praised the officers for having a "sense of humour".
Supt Andrew Murray said those involved have been spoken to and advised that their actions were a "bad idea".
Read more here.
Pat Robertson, or why Christianity should not be trusted in the hands of monsters.
The man is disgusting. Perhaps this loving man of God will go himself to Haiti to help in relief work? Yeah, I don't think so either.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
He shoots he scores!
Gay Whistler, which will sponsor PRIDE house at the ski resort during the Games, secured government grant money for “Slapshotolus,” a piece by Edmund Haakonson (full sculpture below). Dean Nelson of Gay Whistler described the meaning of the sculpture:It is a symbolic expression of the concept that one who lives a life of noble ideals does not require protection, does not need to cover because there is nothing to hide. Haakonson has taken a Classical Greek image that is an expression of this ideal and given it a 21st century make over, a modern face. It is a connecting of the ideals of the ancient sacred games and the ideals of the modern Winter Games. In the process of the production of this work Haakonson discovered a strong resemblance between the pose of a hockey player drawn back to take a slap shot and the pose of the ancient Greek sculpture the Discus Thrower which increases the connection between ancient and modern.
I wish I could have seen Harper's face when they showed him.
Seahenge rises again
An iconic ancient monument uncovered by the tides on a Norfolk beach will soon be complete for the first time in a decade.
Scientists have been studying and preserving the Seahenge timber circle since it was excavated at Holme, near Hunstanton, in early 1999.
There were protests after archaeologists decided to remove the upturned oak stump and ring of 55 posts from the sands.
But the 4000-year-old structure shed new light on how our ancestors lived, showing Bronze Age society was more advanced than had previously been believed.
Read more here.
Scientists have been studying and preserving the Seahenge timber circle since it was excavated at Holme, near Hunstanton, in early 1999.
There were protests after archaeologists decided to remove the upturned oak stump and ring of 55 posts from the sands.
But the 4000-year-old structure shed new light on how our ancestors lived, showing Bronze Age society was more advanced than had previously been believed.
Read more here.
Turkey and Israel: Childish behaviour on an international scale
Turkey has said it will recall its ambassador unless a row over his treatment by Israel's deputy foreign minister is rapidly resolved.
The dispute comes after the deputy minister, Danny Ayalon, summoned the ambassador, Oguz Celikkolits, to rebuke him over a TV series.
He then ensured the ambassador was seated on a lower chair and removed the Turkish flag from the table.
In an attempt to defuse the row, Mr Ayalon said disrespect "is not my way".
He said in future he would behave "in a diplomatically acceptable manner".
But Turkey has demanded a formal apology from Israel.
Read more here.
The dispute comes after the deputy minister, Danny Ayalon, summoned the ambassador, Oguz Celikkolits, to rebuke him over a TV series.
He then ensured the ambassador was seated on a lower chair and removed the Turkish flag from the table.
In an attempt to defuse the row, Mr Ayalon said disrespect "is not my way".
He said in future he would behave "in a diplomatically acceptable manner".
But Turkey has demanded a formal apology from Israel.
Read more here.
Toronto blocks condo
Huh? What? A condo is blocked in Tocondo? Is that possible? What madmen run things here?
Beach residents have won a three-year battle to prevent a lake-front condo they said would have have been completely out of place in their neighbourhood. The Ontario Municipal Board agreed and dismissed a rezoning application for a four-storey condo building with 10 units at 2-4 Neville Park Blvd. and 438-440 Lakefront Lane. The developers had proposed amalgamating three lots where houses currently sit for the new development that would have been surrounded by houses. A lawyer for the developers behind numbered company 2107639 Ontario Inc. did not return a call for comment yesterday.
How could they? They are in deep shock that Toronto would actually do such a thing!
Beach residents have won a three-year battle to prevent a lake-front condo they said would have have been completely out of place in their neighbourhood. The Ontario Municipal Board agreed and dismissed a rezoning application for a four-storey condo building with 10 units at 2-4 Neville Park Blvd. and 438-440 Lakefront Lane. The developers had proposed amalgamating three lots where houses currently sit for the new development that would have been surrounded by houses. A lawyer for the developers behind numbered company 2107639 Ontario Inc. did not return a call for comment yesterday.
How could they? They are in deep shock that Toronto would actually do such a thing!
Google to China: F*ck You
Google responds to cyber attacks "on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google".
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
Read more here.
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
Read more here.
Hadopi: Idiots of the Day
Hadopi, the French agency charged with handling file-sharers’ copyright digressions, has just made a huge infringement faux pas of its own. Last week the group unveiled the logo which is set to represent this bastion of copyright righteousness, but embarrassingly it was designed with unlicensed fonts...
...Numerama contacted Plan Créatif, the agency which created the Hadopi logo, and they confirmed that ‘their’ font indeed violated the rights for the Bienvenue font, but that it was a mere “error of manipulation.”
Read more here.
...Numerama contacted Plan Créatif, the agency which created the Hadopi logo, and they confirmed that ‘their’ font indeed violated the rights for the Bienvenue font, but that it was a mere “error of manipulation.”
Read more here.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Palin promotes freedom by banning the press
Thank you for your inquiry about media coverage of the First National Tea Party Convention in Nashville.
This is a working convention and the sessions will not be open to the press. We are planning two events that the media could have access to. Neither has been finalized. One would be on Friday and the other would be on Saturday.
We have a very limited number of press passes and they have been accounted for. Press without a pass will not be allowed into the convention area.
If you want to interview any of our speakers, please let me know and we will try to work that out. Governor Palin will not be available for interviews.
Read more here.
This is a working convention and the sessions will not be open to the press. We are planning two events that the media could have access to. Neither has been finalized. One would be on Friday and the other would be on Saturday.
We have a very limited number of press passes and they have been accounted for. Press without a pass will not be allowed into the convention area.
If you want to interview any of our speakers, please let me know and we will try to work that out. Governor Palin will not be available for interviews.
Read more here.
Vatican upset one fairy tale more popular than another
The Vatican newspaper and radio station have called the film "Avatar" simplistic, and criticized it for flirting with modern doctrines that promote the worship of nature as a substitute for religion.
L'Osservatore Romano and Vatican Radio dedicated ample coverage to James Cameron's big-grossing, 3-D spectacle. But the reviews were lukewarm, calling the movie superficial in its eco-message, despite groundbreaking visual effects.
L'Osservatore said the film "gets bogged down by a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature." Similarly, Vatican Radio said it "cleverly winks at all those pseudo-doctrines that turn ecology into the religion of the millennium."
"Nature is no longer a creation to defend, but a divinity to worship," the radio said.
Read more here.
L'Osservatore Romano and Vatican Radio dedicated ample coverage to James Cameron's big-grossing, 3-D spectacle. But the reviews were lukewarm, calling the movie superficial in its eco-message, despite groundbreaking visual effects.
L'Osservatore said the film "gets bogged down by a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature." Similarly, Vatican Radio said it "cleverly winks at all those pseudo-doctrines that turn ecology into the religion of the millennium."
"Nature is no longer a creation to defend, but a divinity to worship," the radio said.
Read more here.
Monday, January 11, 2010
"Freedom cannot be absolute"
But repression is forever. It must be gay bashing Mondays at the Vatican...
Pope Benedict XVI on Monday called laws ignoring the difference between the sexes an "attack" on creation just days after Portugal moved to legalise gay marriage.
Creatures, including humans, "can be protected or endangered", [said] the pope
Are ermines endangered?
Read more here.
Pope Benedict XVI on Monday called laws ignoring the difference between the sexes an "attack" on creation just days after Portugal moved to legalise gay marriage.
Creatures, including humans, "can be protected or endangered", [said] the pope
Are ermines endangered?
Read more here.
Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook users: Idiots of the Day
The source of this opinion, the founder of Facebook, is hardly the most reliable when it comes to privacy. Facebook thrives on dumb people posting dumb things.
The rise of social networking online means that people no longer have an expectation of privacy, according to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Talking at the Crunchie awards in San Francisco this weekend, the 25-year-old chief executive of the world's most popular social network said that privacy was no longer a "social norm".
For those morons who delight in posting all aspects of the lives (as if we care), then they get what they deserve.
"People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people," he said. "That social norm is just something that has evolved over time."...
...Meanwhile, others have rejected the idea that younger people, in particular, are less concerned about privacy. Last month Microsoft researcher and social networking expert Danah Boyd told the Guardian that such assumptions often misunderstood the reasons that people put private information online.
"Kids have always cared about privacy, it's just that their notions of privacy look very different than adult notions," she said.
"As adults, by and large, we think of the home as a very private space … for young people it's not a private space. They have no control over who comes in and out of their room, or who comes in and out of their house. As a result, the online world feels more private because it feels like it has more control."
When all those pics of drunk people with beer cans up their nose from Facebook begin resurfacing in 20 years, privacy may again become an issue.
Read more here.
The rise of social networking online means that people no longer have an expectation of privacy, according to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Talking at the Crunchie awards in San Francisco this weekend, the 25-year-old chief executive of the world's most popular social network said that privacy was no longer a "social norm".
For those morons who delight in posting all aspects of the lives (as if we care), then they get what they deserve.
"People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people," he said. "That social norm is just something that has evolved over time."...
...Meanwhile, others have rejected the idea that younger people, in particular, are less concerned about privacy. Last month Microsoft researcher and social networking expert Danah Boyd told the Guardian that such assumptions often misunderstood the reasons that people put private information online.
"Kids have always cared about privacy, it's just that their notions of privacy look very different than adult notions," she said.
"As adults, by and large, we think of the home as a very private space … for young people it's not a private space. They have no control over who comes in and out of their room, or who comes in and out of their house. As a result, the online world feels more private because it feels like it has more control."
When all those pics of drunk people with beer cans up their nose from Facebook begin resurfacing in 20 years, privacy may again become an issue.
Read more here.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Joel Stein of Time Magazine: Idiot of the Day
The man writes a tech article about Skype, without having a clue how it works.
Wonder how much his kickback from a cell phone provider was...
Read more here.
Wonder how much his kickback from a cell phone provider was...
Read more here.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Tonight on BigotTV
Oh I love that show!
So Prop H8 finally goes to federal trial this month. And there was the discussion of whether or not to allow the trial to be televised...
...Of course, there was no question about it not being televised, until the pro-H8 bigots spoke up and asked for cameras to be barred. Their excuse? They fear a backlash against their bigotry from same-sex marriage supporters. Apparently we were so mean to them after the election they're scared to testify if they have to do it publicly. What they really mean is, they don't want their bigotry exposed for what it really is.
But what got me was, they're afraid of us. Let me say that again. Anti-gay bigots, people who actively strive to take away the rights of hundreds of thousands of people (millions if you're counting nationally, not just here) and have us legally designated as second-class citizens in a variety of ways, people who compare gays to pedophiles and donkey-fuckers, whose rhetoric incites hate and violence against our communities here and the world over...THEY'RE afraid of US? Are you fucking kidding me?
Read more here.
So Prop H8 finally goes to federal trial this month. And there was the discussion of whether or not to allow the trial to be televised...
...Of course, there was no question about it not being televised, until the pro-H8 bigots spoke up and asked for cameras to be barred. Their excuse? They fear a backlash against their bigotry from same-sex marriage supporters. Apparently we were so mean to them after the election they're scared to testify if they have to do it publicly. What they really mean is, they don't want their bigotry exposed for what it really is.
But what got me was, they're afraid of us. Let me say that again. Anti-gay bigots, people who actively strive to take away the rights of hundreds of thousands of people (millions if you're counting nationally, not just here) and have us legally designated as second-class citizens in a variety of ways, people who compare gays to pedophiles and donkey-fuckers, whose rhetoric incites hate and violence against our communities here and the world over...THEY'RE afraid of US? Are you fucking kidding me?
Read more here.
Fuck you Stephen Harper
That's about it, he doesn't listen anyway.
Read more here.
What's he afraid of anyway? He's a shoe in for "Possible War Criminal: Best Hair" category.
Read more here.
What's he afraid of anyway? He's a shoe in for "Possible War Criminal: Best Hair" category.
Neanderthal 'make-up' discovered
I feel pretty, oh so pretty...
Scientists claim to have the first persuasive evidence that Neanderthals wore "body paint" 50,000 years ago.
The team report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that shells containing pigment residues were Neanderthal make-up containers.
Scientists unearthed the shells at two archaeological sites in the Murcia province of southern Spain.
The team says its find buries "the view of Neanderthals as half-wits" and shows they were capable of symbolic thinking.
Read more here.
Scientists claim to have the first persuasive evidence that Neanderthals wore "body paint" 50,000 years ago.
The team report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that shells containing pigment residues were Neanderthal make-up containers.
Scientists unearthed the shells at two archaeological sites in the Murcia province of southern Spain.
The team says its find buries "the view of Neanderthals as half-wits" and shows they were capable of symbolic thinking.
Read more here.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Iran State TV: When your murder is caught on video, lie
"Their first reaction was that she was alive. Then they said the footage was fake. One day they said a BBC reporter killed her. Then they said it was the CIA. Then they said the [Mujahedin] Khalq Organization [MKO] was behind it. The latest is this documentary,"
Iranian state television has made a documentary about the death of Neda Agha Soltan, a young Iranian woman who was shot dead during the June postelection protests in Tehran, suggesting she was an agent of the United States and Britain who staged her own death.
Read more here.
Iranian state television has made a documentary about the death of Neda Agha Soltan, a young Iranian woman who was shot dead during the June postelection protests in Tehran, suggesting she was an agent of the United States and Britain who staged her own death.
Read more here.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Dark matter 'beach ball' unveiled
The giant halo of dark matter that surrounds our galaxy is shaped like a flattened beach ball, researchers say.
It is the first definitive measure of the scope of the dark matter that makes up the majority of galaxies' masses.
The shape of this "dark matter halo" was inferred from the path of debris left behind as the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy slowly orbits the Milky Way.
Read more here.
It is the first definitive measure of the scope of the dark matter that makes up the majority of galaxies' masses.
The shape of this "dark matter halo" was inferred from the path of debris left behind as the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy slowly orbits the Milky Way.
Read more here.
Prudish American "marine" in Australia: Idiot of the Day
A US Marine has blasted Aussie womens' dress standards after a night out in Darwin, telling them to 'dress in a manner that leaves something to the imagination'.
In an extraordinary letter to the editor of the Northern Territory News, Capt John Campbell said Darwin's women wore too little to attract "nice men" after he spent a night out on Mitchell St.
It's about having standards, ladies," he wrote.
"What are standards? Well, it can begin by dressing in a manner that leaves something to the imagination, to say the least."
Australia, to its lasting credit, has told him to STFU.
Read more here.
In an extraordinary letter to the editor of the Northern Territory News, Capt John Campbell said Darwin's women wore too little to attract "nice men" after he spent a night out on Mitchell St.
It's about having standards, ladies," he wrote.
"What are standards? Well, it can begin by dressing in a manner that leaves something to the imagination, to say the least."
Australia, to its lasting credit, has told him to STFU.
Read more here.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Evil Christians: Molotov Mitchell
I'd never heard of this walking bag of hate until today, and my life had been better for it.
As is becoming the norm among certain Christian types, they are delighted when their barbaric beliefs are reflected in the pages of the Bible. If the Bible says it's so, then there can be nothing wrong, now can there? As I've stated before, it must be nice to be able to cherry pick your hates from a "holy" book, while disregarding others that might make your own life more, um, challenging.
Funny how he wants to maintain the Bible's prohibition against homosexuality, but nary a word about returning to other Bible pronouncements such as slavery (He mentions that the original 13 American colonies had the death penalty for homosexuality, but ignores that some also had slavery. I seem to recall Jesus saying "no slave is better than his master").
This so called man of God is now defending Uganda's anti gay law, with a joyous delight that is shocking to behold.
My opinion is that people like this are the sick, dangerous ones, and no amount of hiding behind the Bible can make it otherwise.
Read more here, which also includes a link to his video.
I am ready to concede his videos are one big ironic joke...I pray this is so, but I fear not.
As is becoming the norm among certain Christian types, they are delighted when their barbaric beliefs are reflected in the pages of the Bible. If the Bible says it's so, then there can be nothing wrong, now can there? As I've stated before, it must be nice to be able to cherry pick your hates from a "holy" book, while disregarding others that might make your own life more, um, challenging.
Funny how he wants to maintain the Bible's prohibition against homosexuality, but nary a word about returning to other Bible pronouncements such as slavery (He mentions that the original 13 American colonies had the death penalty for homosexuality, but ignores that some also had slavery. I seem to recall Jesus saying "no slave is better than his master").
This so called man of God is now defending Uganda's anti gay law, with a joyous delight that is shocking to behold.
My opinion is that people like this are the sick, dangerous ones, and no amount of hiding behind the Bible can make it otherwise.
Read more here, which also includes a link to his video.
I am ready to concede his videos are one big ironic joke...I pray this is so, but I fear not.
We're gonna need a bigger boat
A conservation group's boat had its bow sheared off and was taking on water Wednesday after it was struck by a Japanese whaling ship in the frigid waters of Antarctica, the group said.
The boat's six crew members were safely transferred to another of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessels, the newly commissioned Bob Barker. The boat is named for the American game show host who donated $5 million to buy it.
Come on down.
BeautifulPeople are UglyInside
ArrogentStuckUpFucks.com would be more apt.
A dating site that markets itself as an elite community for beautiful people with a "strict ban on ugly people" has axed about 5,000 members for packing on the pounds during the holiday season.
The international site BeautifulPeople.com threw out members after they posted photos "revealing that they have let themselves go," according to a company statement.
"As a business, we mourn the loss of any member, but the fact remains that our members demand the high standard of beauty be upheld," said Robert Hintze, founder of BeautifulPeople.com. "Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded."
Read more here.
"Is it elitist? Yes, it is, because our members want it to be"
Your members deserve each other.
A dating site that markets itself as an elite community for beautiful people with a "strict ban on ugly people" has axed about 5,000 members for packing on the pounds during the holiday season.
The international site BeautifulPeople.com threw out members after they posted photos "revealing that they have let themselves go," according to a company statement.
"As a business, we mourn the loss of any member, but the fact remains that our members demand the high standard of beauty be upheld," said Robert Hintze, founder of BeautifulPeople.com. "Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded."
Read more here.
"Is it elitist? Yes, it is, because our members want it to be"
Your members deserve each other.
Unknown German Tourist: Idiot of the Day
Another thing Germans should never attempt, humour...
A German man was temporarily detained at Stuttgart airport on Tuesday after he repeatedly told security personnel that he had explosives in his underwear, police said.
The 42-year-old man apparently was joking about the failed attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a jetliner bound for Detroit on Christmas Day by igniting explosives concealed in his underwear.
Police said a full body search of the German man did not turn up any explosives. However, Tuifly airline refused to let the man, his wife and daughter board the plane to Egypt, where they planned a vacation.
Read more here.
A German man was temporarily detained at Stuttgart airport on Tuesday after he repeatedly told security personnel that he had explosives in his underwear, police said.
The 42-year-old man apparently was joking about the failed attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a jetliner bound for Detroit on Christmas Day by igniting explosives concealed in his underwear.
Police said a full body search of the German man did not turn up any explosives. However, Tuifly airline refused to let the man, his wife and daughter board the plane to Egypt, where they planned a vacation.
Read more here.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Iran soccer chief: Idiot of the Day
The new year is off to a predicable start, with some acting as childish as possible.
As a commenter on CNN said: "LOL...I'm sorry I was decent to you!!!"
The head of Iran's soccer federation issued a public apology and a member of his staff resigned after the federation mistakenly sent a New Year's greeting to its counterpart in Israel, Iranian officials announced Sunday.
"It was a big mistake sending an e-mail to Israel's football federation," Ali Kaffashian, president of the Iran Football Federation, said in a statement carried by the semi-official Mehrs News Agency. "However, I am sure the director of the foreign relations office didn't do it on purpose."
As a commenter on CNN said: "LOL...I'm sorry I was decent to you!!!"
The head of Iran's soccer federation issued a public apology and a member of his staff resigned after the federation mistakenly sent a New Year's greeting to its counterpart in Israel, Iranian officials announced Sunday.
"It was a big mistake sending an e-mail to Israel's football federation," Ali Kaffashian, president of the Iran Football Federation, said in a statement carried by the semi-official Mehrs News Agency. "However, I am sure the director of the foreign relations office didn't do it on purpose."
Rich fuck Bono suggests ISPs "track content"
Don't you wish he'd STFU, go back to U2 and keep recording the same song, over and over again?
We’re the post office, they tell us; who knows what’s in the brown-paper packages? But we know from America’s noble effort to stop child pornography, not to mention China’s ignoble effort to suppress online dissent, that it’s perfectly possible to track content.
Read more here.
"Bono has missed that even a totalitarian government...can't effectively control net-content," tweeted Cory Doctorow, a blogger and journalist noted for his study of file-sharing policy.
"If only greed and ignorance could sequester carbon, Bono could FINALLY save the planet," he added.
We’re the post office, they tell us; who knows what’s in the brown-paper packages? But we know from America’s noble effort to stop child pornography, not to mention China’s ignoble effort to suppress online dissent, that it’s perfectly possible to track content.
Read more here.
"Bono has missed that even a totalitarian government...can't effectively control net-content," tweeted Cory Doctorow, a blogger and journalist noted for his study of file-sharing policy.
"If only greed and ignorance could sequester carbon, Bono could FINALLY save the planet," he added.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Irish atheists challenge new blasphemy laws
Thank God for that. The law is the stupidest thing to come out of Ireland since U2.
Secular campaigners in the Irish Republic defied a strict new blasphemy law which came into force today by publishing a series of anti-religious quotations online and promising to fight the legislation in court.
The new law, which was passed in July, means that blasphemy in Ireland is now a crime punishable with a fine of up to €25,000 (£22,000).
It defines blasphemy as "publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted".
When you can't beat them (and burn them, like the good old days), just make blasphemy laws.
Read more here.
Secular campaigners in the Irish Republic defied a strict new blasphemy law which came into force today by publishing a series of anti-religious quotations online and promising to fight the legislation in court.
The new law, which was passed in July, means that blasphemy in Ireland is now a crime punishable with a fine of up to €25,000 (£22,000).
It defines blasphemy as "publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted".
When you can't beat them (and burn them, like the good old days), just make blasphemy laws.
Read more here.
Friday, January 01, 2010
DNA analysed from early European
Scientists have analysed DNA extracted from the remains of a 30,000-year-old European hunter-gatherer.
Studying the DNA of long-dead humans can open up a window into the evolution of our species (Homo sapiens).
But previous studies of this kind have been hampered by scientists' inability to distinguish between the ancient human DNA and modern contamination.
In Current Biology journal, a German-Russian team details how it was possible to overcome this hurdle.
Read more here.
Studying the DNA of long-dead humans can open up a window into the evolution of our species (Homo sapiens).
But previous studies of this kind have been hampered by scientists' inability to distinguish between the ancient human DNA and modern contamination.
In Current Biology journal, a German-Russian team details how it was possible to overcome this hurdle.
Read more here.
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