Animal lovers threatened to pull donations to an animal rescue group and the public flooded the agency with scathing comments and calls after a man's cat was euthanized when he couldn't afford its medical care, prompting the Arizona Humane Society to go into damage-control mode Wednesday.
The group has hired a publicist, removed dozens of comments on its Facebook page and directed a team of five volunteers to respond to the overwhelming calls and emails it has received since The Arizona Republic published a weekend story about Daniel Dockery and his 9-month-old cat, Scruffy.
Dockery, a 49-year-old recovering heroin addict, told the Phoenix newspaper that he took Scruffy to a Humane Society center on Dec. 8 because she had a cut from a barbed-wire fence, an injury that he described as non-life-threatening. The agency said it would cost $400 to treat Scruffy, money he didn't have.
The Humane Society cited policy when it declined to accept a credit card over the phone from Dockery's mother in Michigan or to wait for her to wire the money. The staff said if he signed papers surrendering the cat, Scruffy would be treated and put in foster care, he said.
Instead, Scruffy was euthanized several hours later.
Read more here.
Their Facebook page of PR Bullshit here.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Harper and Co. are afraid, very afraid
Parliament Hill is stepping up security in 2012, with $9 million in security upgrades planned for its entrance gates.
The changes will include retractable bollards as well as vehicle barriers and security cameras at four existing vehicle entrances. Two other openings will be made smaller by restoring portions of the heritage wall, a spokesman for Public Works and Government Services Canada said in an email.
Currently, the RCMP rely on "a combination of concrete blocks, removable fences, chains and RCMP vehicles at the gates to Parliament Hill," Sebastien Bois said.
The government wants to install the barriers at all vehicle and pedestrian entry points to the Hill, according to a request for proposals posted online.
Read more here.
The changes will include retractable bollards as well as vehicle barriers and security cameras at four existing vehicle entrances. Two other openings will be made smaller by restoring portions of the heritage wall, a spokesman for Public Works and Government Services Canada said in an email.
Currently, the RCMP rely on "a combination of concrete blocks, removable fences, chains and RCMP vehicles at the gates to Parliament Hill," Sebastien Bois said.
The government wants to install the barriers at all vehicle and pedestrian entry points to the Hill, according to a request for proposals posted online.
Read more here.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Rob Ford and Astral Media cover Toronto in more f*cking ads
Toronto’s newest piece of street furniture was going to be the centrepiece of a state-of-the-art tourist information system and then it was redesigned. Now that it’s being placed on downtown sidewalks, public-space activists are making their opinion clear: They hate it.
Why? Because they say it looks like nothing more than a garish billboard.
The city calls them “information pillars,” but opponents say that name is disingenuous. “They’re 95-per-cent advertising and the information they offer is of negligible value,” said Tim Grant chair of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association. “It is clearly a billboard.”
Read more here.
Why? Because they say it looks like nothing more than a garish billboard.
The city calls them “information pillars,” but opponents say that name is disingenuous. “They’re 95-per-cent advertising and the information they offer is of negligible value,” said Tim Grant chair of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association. “It is clearly a billboard.”
Read more here.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Cheetah dies aged 80
The passing of Old Hollywood.
A chimpanzee who apparently starred in Tarzan films in the 1930s has died at the age of 80, according to the sanctuary where he lived.
The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor said he died on Saturday of kidney failure.
He had acted alongside Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan in Tarzan films from 1932-34, it claimed.
Read more here.
A chimpanzee who apparently starred in Tarzan films in the 1930s has died at the age of 80, according to the sanctuary where he lived.
The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor said he died on Saturday of kidney failure.
He had acted alongside Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan in Tarzan films from 1932-34, it claimed.
Read more here.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Sony is sued for being arrogent pricks
Sony is being sued for changes to its terms and conditions designed to prevent users from suing it en masse.
The class action lawsuit, filed in California, claims the changes force users to give up their legal rights and are unfair.
Sony said that it was legally entitled to make such changes to its terms.
The legal case will be watched keenly by other firms, including Microsoft, which has also introduced so-called no-sue clauses in recent months.
A Sony spokesman told the BBC: "We chose to make the changes after the Supreme Court clarified the law."
Read more here.
The class action lawsuit, filed in California, claims the changes force users to give up their legal rights and are unfair.
Sony said that it was legally entitled to make such changes to its terms.
The legal case will be watched keenly by other firms, including Microsoft, which has also introduced so-called no-sue clauses in recent months.
A Sony spokesman told the BBC: "We chose to make the changes after the Supreme Court clarified the law."
Read more here.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
CIA clear themselves of any hint of wrongdoing in their cosy relationship with the NYPD
Well that was totally unbiased..
The Central Intelligence Agency announced Friday that an internal report found no issue or evidence of wrong-doing in the spy agency's partnership with the New York City Police Department.
"The CIA inspector general has completed a review of the CIA's relationship with the NYPD and has found no violation of law or executive order on the part of CIA," said agency spokesman Preston Golson. "The IG also found no evidence that any part of the agency's support to the NYPD constituted 'domestic spying.'"
Read more here.
The Central Intelligence Agency announced Friday that an internal report found no issue or evidence of wrong-doing in the spy agency's partnership with the New York City Police Department.
"The CIA inspector general has completed a review of the CIA's relationship with the NYPD and has found no violation of law or executive order on the part of CIA," said agency spokesman Preston Golson. "The IG also found no evidence that any part of the agency's support to the NYPD constituted 'domestic spying.'"
Read more here.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Germans react to South Park, proving they really don't have a sense of humour
It needs saying because the country is just about recovering from the broadcast of an episode of the American cartoon series South Park which makes fun of Germans for their alleged absence of any scintilla of a sense of humour.
The episode, Funnybot, features a pistol-toting Chancellor Angela Merkel.
She, plus the German president and men in Tyrolean hats, invade a school and hold the children hostage at gunpoint.
Their righteous anger is because Germans have been called an unfunny people.
To put matters right, they unveil a robot (very well engineered, of course) that tells jokes, some of which are good and some of which are not good.
A robot? Queue the Kraftwerk...
Read more here.
The episode, Funnybot, features a pistol-toting Chancellor Angela Merkel.
She, plus the German president and men in Tyrolean hats, invade a school and hold the children hostage at gunpoint.
Their righteous anger is because Germans have been called an unfunny people.
To put matters right, they unveil a robot (very well engineered, of course) that tells jokes, some of which are good and some of which are not good.
A robot? Queue the Kraftwerk...
Read more here.
Pushy Atheists: Don't they know it's Christmas?
We can't blame God for making these people idiots..
Every Christmas for the past 60 years, Nativity scenes have dominated two blocks of a park on bluffs overlooking the ocean in Santa Monica, California.
The 14 scenes depicting Jesus Christ's birth have long been a popular attraction among area residents and tourists to the southern California city.
This year, however, atheists have taken over most of the two-block stretch, nearly shutting out and angering a group of churches who contend the atheists have organized against the Christians and gamed a city lottery process allocating the holiday exhibit space.
In response, a leader of the atheist group says he's just looking for evenhanded treatment to present his beliefs in a public space -- and goes so far as to say that the city shouldn't even be allowing any religious or even atheist expression in the park.
Read more here.
Every Christmas for the past 60 years, Nativity scenes have dominated two blocks of a park on bluffs overlooking the ocean in Santa Monica, California.
The 14 scenes depicting Jesus Christ's birth have long been a popular attraction among area residents and tourists to the southern California city.
This year, however, atheists have taken over most of the two-block stretch, nearly shutting out and angering a group of churches who contend the atheists have organized against the Christians and gamed a city lottery process allocating the holiday exhibit space.
In response, a leader of the atheist group says he's just looking for evenhanded treatment to present his beliefs in a public space -- and goes so far as to say that the city shouldn't even be allowing any religious or even atheist expression in the park.
Read more here.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
US Republicans hate Obama so much they're willing to f*ck over the middle class
Merry Christmas everybody.
Brian Cox - A Night with the Stars
His ego may be galatic in scale, but in this science starved age, it's the best we got.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Jackie Magazine: Idiots of the Day
Dutch fashion magazine Jackie is facing outcry after publishing an article in which it refers to pop star Rihanna as the ultimate "n****b****."
As posted on Parlourmagazine.com, the magazine's piece focuses on Rihanna's style, but uses the aforementioned language to describe the singer.
Best bullshit:
The responses poured in swiftly enough that according to Parlour magazine, the editor of Jackie, Eva Hoeke, issued a statement of apology on the publication's Facebook page, saying that "the author meant no harm" and that the headline using the words was meant to be "a joke."
Read more here.
As posted on Parlourmagazine.com, the magazine's piece focuses on Rihanna's style, but uses the aforementioned language to describe the singer.
Best bullshit:
The responses poured in swiftly enough that according to Parlour magazine, the editor of Jackie, Eva Hoeke, issued a statement of apology on the publication's Facebook page, saying that "the author meant no harm" and that the headline using the words was meant to be "a joke."
Read more here.
Bloomberg wants us to feel sorry for the poor downtrodden millionaires and billionaires
If successful businesspeople don’t go public to share their stories and talk about their troubles, “they deserve what they’re going to get,” said Marcus, 82, a founding member of Job Creators Alliance, a Dallas-based nonprofit that develops talking points and op-ed pieces aimed at “shaping the national agenda,” according to the group’s website. He said he isn’t worried that speaking out might make him a target of protesters.
“Who gives a crap about some imbecile?” Marcus said. “Are you kidding me?”
Read more here.
“Who gives a crap about some imbecile?” Marcus said. “Are you kidding me?”
Read more here.
New findings about the Earth's core
Under extreme pressures and temperatures, one of the main metals of the Earth's interior has exhibited a never-before-seen transition.
Iron oxide was subjected to conditions similar to those at the depth where the Earth's innermost two layers meet.
At 1,650C and 690,000 times sea-level pressure, the metal changed the degree to which it conducted electricity.
But, as the team outlined in Physical Review Letters, the metal's structure was surprisingly unchanged.
Read more here.
Iron oxide was subjected to conditions similar to those at the depth where the Earth's innermost two layers meet.
At 1,650C and 690,000 times sea-level pressure, the metal changed the degree to which it conducted electricity.
But, as the team outlined in Physical Review Letters, the metal's structure was surprisingly unchanged.
Read more here.
Tocondo condo investors flee as there are too many pens for the sheep
Investors rushed to buy Toronto condos in the good times, now there is a worry that they will rush for the exits as the economy weakens and they realize that profits are hard to come by in an overbuilt market.
A record number of condos were built in the past year in the Greater Toronto Area, with some 43,000 units under construction. Anecdotal evidence suggests many of the units were sold to investors who plan to rent them out, but a flood of supply hitting the market at once could drive rents below what’s needed to generate a profit.
Read more here.
A record number of condos were built in the past year in the Greater Toronto Area, with some 43,000 units under construction. Anecdotal evidence suggests many of the units were sold to investors who plan to rent them out, but a flood of supply hitting the market at once could drive rents below what’s needed to generate a profit.
Read more here.
Monday, December 19, 2011
North Koreans cry for the cameras
Totally convincing outpouring of um, grief, over the death of Kim Jong-il.
Yup, I'm sold...
Rob Ford is delusional
“We’ve had a fantastic year,” he told John Oakley of AM640 radio. “We have changed the culture down at City Hall. I’m convinced of that. It’s like turning around the Queen Mary, but we’re turning, slowly but surely.”
Facts? We don't need no stinking facts.
Read more here.
Facts? We don't need no stinking facts.
Read more here.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
British Conservative MP Aidan Burley: Idiot of the Day
A Conservative MP has been sacked as a parliamentary private secretary over "offensive and foolish" behaviour.
Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley was pictured in the Mail on Sunday last week with a man dressed as a Nazi SS officer at a stag party in France.
Mr Burley said subsequently he "deeply regretted" what had happened.
Translation: I'm sorry Mein Führer, I got caught...
Read more here.
Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley was pictured in the Mail on Sunday last week with a man dressed as a Nazi SS officer at a stag party in France.
Mr Burley said subsequently he "deeply regretted" what had happened.
Translation: I'm sorry Mein Führer, I got caught...
Read more here.
Gingrich continues plunge to the bottom of the barrel
On Sunday, he followed that up by saying he would be willing to arrest a judge who he thought was out of line.
"If you had to," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation" when asked if he would send a Capitol Hill police officer to round up a judge, "or you would instruct the Justice Department to send the U.S. Marshal." His preference, he added, would be to impeach the judge in question.
Modern conservatives are more thuggish with every passing day.
Read more here.
"If you had to," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation" when asked if he would send a Capitol Hill police officer to round up a judge, "or you would instruct the Justice Department to send the U.S. Marshal." His preference, he added, would be to impeach the judge in question.
Modern conservatives are more thuggish with every passing day.
Read more here.
Some at Rosemount High School in Minnesota are very f*cked up
Whoever thought this was a good idea are very fucked up individuals...but the Rosemount Town Pages thinks it's AOK...
Rosemount High School principal John Wollersheim issued an apology this week to anyone who might have been offended by a joke played on some winter sports captains at an RHS pep fest last week. The move makes sense considering the reactions expressed in some places to video of the event. But we hardly think RHS has anything to apologize for.
If you haven’t yet seen the video several Irish captains were blindfolded at the traditional winter sports pep fest and told they were about to get a kiss from another student. What they got instead was a smooch from one of their parents.
Read more here.
Harper and Co. signal their plans to f*ck with health care..or as they put it "deeper spending cuts"
Coming up with a billion for a military style occupation of Toronto was easy, but this makes their little heads hurt...
A day before federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is set to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts in Victoria, Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney says while a new deal on health transfers has yet to be reached, the current level of funding is unsustainable and his party's election promise to fund health transfers to the provinces at six per cent does not extend beyond 2016.
In an interview with CBC Radio's The House, Kenney tells Evan Solomon, "We did commit in the platform, during the election, to six per cent growth for the balance of the Health Accord, plus two years."
With the current Health Accord set to expire in 2014, the federal government "will be having discussions with the provinces on where to go beyond that," said Kenney.
Read more here.
A day before federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is set to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts in Victoria, Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney says while a new deal on health transfers has yet to be reached, the current level of funding is unsustainable and his party's election promise to fund health transfers to the provinces at six per cent does not extend beyond 2016.
In an interview with CBC Radio's The House, Kenney tells Evan Solomon, "We did commit in the platform, during the election, to six per cent growth for the balance of the Health Accord, plus two years."
With the current Health Accord set to expire in 2014, the federal government "will be having discussions with the provinces on where to go beyond that," said Kenney.
Read more here.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Arri Eisen, PhD. seems to be massively unqualified
He wants religion taught in science classes. Silly man.
Let him babble in his own words:
Read more here.
Let him babble in his own words:
Read more here.
Obama joins, or comes out as one of, the cowards
With friends like this....
Barack Obama has abandoned a commitment to veto a new security law that allows the military to indefinitely detain without trial American terrorism suspects arrested on US soil who could then be shipped to Guantánamo Bay.
Human rights groups accused the president of deserting his principles and disregarding the long-established principle that the military is not used in domestic policing. The legislation has also been strongly criticised by libertarians on the right angered at the stripping of individual rights for the duration of "a war that appears to have no end".
The law, contained in the defence authorisation bill that funds the US military, effectively extends the battlefield in the "war on terror" to the US and applies the established principle that combatants in any war are subject to military detention.
Obama really has been a disappointment for anyone with any Hope left, no?
Read more here.
Barack Obama has abandoned a commitment to veto a new security law that allows the military to indefinitely detain without trial American terrorism suspects arrested on US soil who could then be shipped to Guantánamo Bay.
Human rights groups accused the president of deserting his principles and disregarding the long-established principle that the military is not used in domestic policing. The legislation has also been strongly criticised by libertarians on the right angered at the stripping of individual rights for the duration of "a war that appears to have no end".
The law, contained in the defence authorisation bill that funds the US military, effectively extends the battlefield in the "war on terror" to the US and applies the established principle that combatants in any war are subject to military detention.
Obama really has been a disappointment for anyone with any Hope left, no?
Read more here.
Galactic event that happened 27,000 years ago reported as happening now
Researchers have spotted a giant gas cloud spiralling into the supermassive black hole at our galaxy's centre.
Though it is known that black holes draw in nearby material, it will be the first chance to see one consume such a cloud.
As it is torn apart, the turbulent area around the black hole will become unusually bright, giving astronomers a chance to learn more about it
So far so good, but...
They have plotted the cloud's squashed, oval-shaped path and estimate it has doubled its speed in the last seven years - to 2,350km per second.
It should spiral in to within about 40 billion kilometres of the black hole in the middle of 2013.
The real event is long since over.
Read more here.
Though it is known that black holes draw in nearby material, it will be the first chance to see one consume such a cloud.
As it is torn apart, the turbulent area around the black hole will become unusually bright, giving astronomers a chance to learn more about it
So far so good, but...
They have plotted the cloud's squashed, oval-shaped path and estimate it has doubled its speed in the last seven years - to 2,350km per second.
It should spiral in to within about 40 billion kilometres of the black hole in the middle of 2013.
The real event is long since over.
Read more here.
The University of Vermont's Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity: Scumbags of the Day
The University of Vermont's Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity is under investigation after a survey surfaced online asking fraternity brothers who they would rape.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Peter *WTF is Ozone* Kent: F*ck the environment, we'll save money!
Classic Harperisms: Kick the Pinkos and evoke money:
He said meeting Canada's obligations under Kyoto would cost $13.6bn (10.3bn euros; £8.7bn): "That's $1,600 from every Canadian family - that's the Kyoto cost to Canadians, that was the legacy of an incompetent Liberal government."
Read more here.
He said meeting Canada's obligations under Kyoto would cost $13.6bn (10.3bn euros; £8.7bn): "That's $1,600 from every Canadian family - that's the Kyoto cost to Canadians, that was the legacy of an incompetent Liberal government."
Read more here.
Lowe's Home Improvement runs to Facebook to explain why they're totally spineless
Monday, December 12, 2011
Harper and Co. surprise no one by leaving Kyoto Protocol
One wonders what took them so long.
Canada is formally withdrawing from the Kyoto accord, Environment Minister Peter Kent said Monday.
Best bullshit:
The decision to do so will save the government an estimated $14 billion in penalties, Kent said. The Conservative government says it has no choice given the economic situation.
Translation: we finally have a reason that will please our knuckle dragging supporters. Money.
Read more here.
Canada is formally withdrawing from the Kyoto accord, Environment Minister Peter Kent said Monday.
Best bullshit:
The decision to do so will save the government an estimated $14 billion in penalties, Kent said. The Conservative government says it has no choice given the economic situation.
Translation: we finally have a reason that will please our knuckle dragging supporters. Money.
Read more here.
Some scumbag has suspended nickfromfulham from Youtube
Whoever you are, you have earned the hatred of the interwebs forever.
A completely asinine move by those involved, as it vastly increased fans of the shows he posted.
BBC, Youtube or whoever is behind this, you are idiots of the highest order who have generated nothing but ill will by this arrogant action.
A completely asinine move by those involved, as it vastly increased fans of the shows he posted.
BBC, Youtube or whoever is behind this, you are idiots of the highest order who have generated nothing but ill will by this arrogant action.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
For a party that lives in the past, Harper and Co. love to push things into the future
Environment Minister Peter Kent said he is cautiously optimistic a new global climate agreement can be reached by 2015, following the conclusion of a UN summit in Durban, South Africa.
The 194-party conference agreed Sunday to start negotiations on a new accord that would put all participating countries under the same binding commitments to control greenhouse gases. It would take effect by 2020 at the latest.
Read more here.
The 194-party conference agreed Sunday to start negotiations on a new accord that would put all participating countries under the same binding commitments to control greenhouse gases. It would take effect by 2020 at the latest.
Read more here.
Christie Blatchford outdoes herself in sheer thuggish awfulness
Toronto, City of Sissies
It was in Toronto recently, while temporarily resuming my semi-charmed kind of life there and briefly ditching the other semi-charmed half in Kingston, that I realized how much in need the modern male of the species is of some toughening up.
The bull terrier and I were on a long forced march on the toney part of Yonge Street, in Rosedale.
There were a couple of boys, maybe 10 years old, maybe 12, walking ahead of me. Coming towards them was another small knot of boys about the same age.
The two groups met, and immediately began hugging each another, one at a time. The trustees and ding-dongs at the Toronto District School Board would have been ecstatic; I was mortified and appalled.
It only gets worse...
Read more here.
It was in Toronto recently, while temporarily resuming my semi-charmed kind of life there and briefly ditching the other semi-charmed half in Kingston, that I realized how much in need the modern male of the species is of some toughening up.
The bull terrier and I were on a long forced march on the toney part of Yonge Street, in Rosedale.
There were a couple of boys, maybe 10 years old, maybe 12, walking ahead of me. Coming towards them was another small knot of boys about the same age.
The two groups met, and immediately began hugging each another, one at a time. The trustees and ding-dongs at the Toronto District School Board would have been ecstatic; I was mortified and appalled.
It only gets worse...
Read more here.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
In The Game trading card company: Idiots of the Day
A Canadian sports card company is releasing a series of blood-spattered hockey cards celebrating the game's enforcers.
The cards, from In The Game trading cards, feature many of the NHL's best-known bruisers over the years, such as Marty McSorley, Dave Manson, Jimmy Mann, Tie Domi and Dave Schultz.
But there is also a card for Wade Belak, one of three former tough guys who died within four months of one another in 2011.
The deaths thrust the role of the enforcer into the spotlight because of the addictions and depression many apparently suffer and the theory that brain trauma from concussions is responsible.
Best bullshit:
Brian Price, owner of In The Game trading cards in Ontario, said he's trying to capture the history of hockey and feels the enforcer series "is bringing attention to the players who do the work in the trenches."
"I'm not glorifying violence. I'm paying tribute to the players," he added.
Read more here.
The cards, from In The Game trading cards, feature many of the NHL's best-known bruisers over the years, such as Marty McSorley, Dave Manson, Jimmy Mann, Tie Domi and Dave Schultz.
But there is also a card for Wade Belak, one of three former tough guys who died within four months of one another in 2011.
The deaths thrust the role of the enforcer into the spotlight because of the addictions and depression many apparently suffer and the theory that brain trauma from concussions is responsible.
Best bullshit:
Brian Price, owner of In The Game trading cards in Ontario, said he's trying to capture the history of hockey and feels the enforcer series "is bringing attention to the players who do the work in the trenches."
"I'm not glorifying violence. I'm paying tribute to the players," he added.
Read more here.
RIM execs 'chewed through restraints' on flight
Mental midgets of the highest order.
The pair seemed heavily intoxicated from the start of the flight, according to one passenger. They drank, passed out, and woke up to continue consuming alcohol and yelling at one another.
Campbell was described as a "rowdy and abusive" passenger who at one point warned that he would "off people when they left the plane," according to the Crown prosecutor.
A flight attendant said that Campbell also lay belly-down in the aisle during the ordeal, and began kicking the floor.
One of the men "assaulted a flight attendant and threatened to punch another," the prosecution told the court.
Crew members eventually handcuffed the two unruly passengers with plastic restraints and then with tape. But they eventually "chewed their way through their restraints."
Read more here.
The pair seemed heavily intoxicated from the start of the flight, according to one passenger. They drank, passed out, and woke up to continue consuming alcohol and yelling at one another.
Campbell was described as a "rowdy and abusive" passenger who at one point warned that he would "off people when they left the plane," according to the Crown prosecutor.
A flight attendant said that Campbell also lay belly-down in the aisle during the ordeal, and began kicking the floor.
One of the men "assaulted a flight attendant and threatened to punch another," the prosecution told the court.
Crew members eventually handcuffed the two unruly passengers with plastic restraints and then with tape. But they eventually "chewed their way through their restraints."
Read more here.
Universal Censors Megaupload Song
Megaupload released a pop video featuring mainstream artists who endorse the cyberlocker service. News of the controversial Mega Song even trended on Twitter, but has now been removed from YouTube on copyright grounds by Universal Music. Kim Dotcom says that Megaupload owns everything in the video, and that the label has engaged in dirty tricks in an attempt to sabotage their successful viral campaign.
Read more here.
Friday, December 09, 2011
Another school, this time Fort St. James Secondary School, forgets students are people
The principle seems to be suffering from tin pot syndrom.
A principal at a northern B.C. school is being criticized for administering a breathalyzer test to two students and suspending them despite an inconclusive result.
Fort St. James Secondary School student Janene Erickson said that after she and a friend arrived back late from lunch on Wednesday the principal pulled them aside and demanded they take a breathalyzer.
"He grabbed us because our eyes were glossy and we were chewing gum, so he thought we were trying to hide the smell of alcohol I guess," she said.
Erickson said she had not been drinking and her eyes were glossy from being outside in the cold.
But after she blew an inconclusive result on the breathalyzer and her friend blew two error results and the lowest possible measure of 0.01, Young still suspended the pair from school.
Read more here.
A principal at a northern B.C. school is being criticized for administering a breathalyzer test to two students and suspending them despite an inconclusive result.
Fort St. James Secondary School student Janene Erickson said that after she and a friend arrived back late from lunch on Wednesday the principal pulled them aside and demanded they take a breathalyzer.
"He grabbed us because our eyes were glossy and we were chewing gum, so he thought we were trying to hide the smell of alcohol I guess," she said.
Erickson said she had not been drinking and her eyes were glossy from being outside in the cold.
But after she blew an inconclusive result on the breathalyzer and her friend blew two error results and the lowest possible measure of 0.01, Young still suspended the pair from school.
Read more here.
Rob Ford doesn't want us to know who he meets with
Mayor Rob Ford’s office is continuing to thwart efforts to get a peek at his daily itinerary, raising questions from Ontario’s information and privacy watchdog about his commitment to transparency and accountability.
The mayor has denied a request from The Globe and Mail to obtain his schedule within 30 days. The reason given was that meeting the time limit would bog down the Office of the Mayor.
RRRiiiight.
Read more here.
The mayor has denied a request from The Globe and Mail to obtain his schedule within 30 days. The reason given was that meeting the time limit would bog down the Office of the Mayor.
RRRiiiight.
Read more here.
Rogers and Bell to climb in bed together with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Gee, wonder where they got all that money....
Rogers and Bell Canada are teaming up to buy a majority stake in Canada's biggest sports franchise owner, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, for about $1.3 billion.
They tell us Rogers and Bell are competitors. Does anyone really believe that bullshit?
More buildings remained after Rogers, here we come.
Read more here.
Rogers and Bell Canada are teaming up to buy a majority stake in Canada's biggest sports franchise owner, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, for about $1.3 billion.
They tell us Rogers and Bell are competitors. Does anyone really believe that bullshit?
More buildings remained after Rogers, here we come.
Read more here.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Judge Frances McIntyre: Master of Newspeak
“Little in the way of expression is outlawed in the United States Constitution, but an act which incites forceful response is unlikely to pass as express speech.”
Read more here.
Read more here.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
We on the Net should tell Rupert Murdoch to STFU
News Corp. honcho Rupert Murdoch threw his weight behind Congress' attempt to restrict the Internet, personally lobbying leaders on Capitol Hill Wednesday for two measures that purport to combat piracy.
Murdoch's media empire is among some 350 large corporations that have come out in favor of the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House, as well as the Protect IP Act in the Senate.
Read more here.
Murdoch's media empire is among some 350 large corporations that have come out in favor of the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House, as well as the Protect IP Act in the Senate.
Read more here.
South Fulton Mayor David Crocker and his firefighters: Scumbags of the Day
A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.
The totally chilling, heartless part:
South Fulton Mayor David Crocker defended the fire department, saying that if firefighters responded to non-subscribers, no one would have an incentive to pay the fee. Residents in the city of South Fulton receive the service automatically, but it is not extended to those living in the greater county-wide area.
"There's no way to go to every fire and keep up the manpower, the equipment, and just the funding for the fire department," Crocker said.
Unbelievable.
Read more here.
The totally chilling, heartless part:
South Fulton Mayor David Crocker defended the fire department, saying that if firefighters responded to non-subscribers, no one would have an incentive to pay the fee. Residents in the city of South Fulton receive the service automatically, but it is not extended to those living in the greater county-wide area.
"There's no way to go to every fire and keep up the manpower, the equipment, and just the funding for the fire department," Crocker said.
Unbelievable.
Read more here.
Some religious leaders in Ontario want to retain right to beat up on the fags, in a loving caring way of course
Ontario's Liberal government says it is not prepared to abandon the sex-ed component of a pending anti-bullying law, despite criticism by some religious leaders Tuesday that it is an affront to traditional family values.
Christian, Jewish and Muslim representatives say they agree school bullies must be stopped, but they can't condone a requirement under the legislation proposed to deal with it that schools promote sexual tolerance through gay clubs.
"To force, especially Christian classrooms or schools, to have homosexual clubs would of course be an affront to their family values," Charles McVety, of the Institute for Canadian Values, told a joint news conference.
Read more here.
Christian, Jewish and Muslim representatives say they agree school bullies must be stopped, but they can't condone a requirement under the legislation proposed to deal with it that schools promote sexual tolerance through gay clubs.
"To force, especially Christian classrooms or schools, to have homosexual clubs would of course be an affront to their family values," Charles McVety, of the Institute for Canadian Values, told a joint news conference.
Read more here.
Conservative MP Jim Hillyer: Idiot of the Day
Conservative MP Jim Hillyer (Lethbridge) celebrates vote against the gun registry with gunshot gestures.
Environment Minister Peter "WTF is Ozone" Kent still won't give a straight answer about Kyoto
Canada won't pull out of the Kyoto Protocol before the end of the UN climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, but Environment Minister Peter Kent isn't answering questions about what will happen after that.
Kent said Tuesday he told UN officials there would be "no unfortunate surprises" during the conference, referred to as COP 17. He said he told officials "we were here, as I told you, to continue in good faith our work towards a new international climate regime which will include all of the major emitters."
But asked whether Canada would withdraw following the conference, which runs until Dec. 9, Kent wouldn't answer.
Read more here.
Kent said Tuesday he told UN officials there would be "no unfortunate surprises" during the conference, referred to as COP 17. He said he told officials "we were here, as I told you, to continue in good faith our work towards a new international climate regime which will include all of the major emitters."
But asked whether Canada would withdraw following the conference, which runs until Dec. 9, Kent wouldn't answer.
Read more here.
Harper and Co.'s Religious Freedom secret meeting was Judeo/Christian only
Behold a display of frightened Christians circling the wagons...
Panellists invited to closed-door consultations on a new Office of Religious Freedom were drawn almost exclusively from western religions, primarily Christianity, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
The six official panellists were invited to help lay out parameters for the proposed office during a half-day meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird in October.
Read more here.
Panellists invited to closed-door consultations on a new Office of Religious Freedom were drawn almost exclusively from western religions, primarily Christianity, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
The six official panellists were invited to help lay out parameters for the proposed office during a half-day meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird in October.
Read more here.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Canada's privacy commissioner dreams in Techicolor
Consumers should always be able to opt out of online tracking used by companies to provide them with targeted advertising, Canada's privacy commissioner said Tuesday.
Companies such as Google and Facebook are increasingly using information about web users in order to make their ads more relevant to their interests.
"Some people like receiving ads targeted to their specific interests. Others are extremely uncomfortable with the notion of their online activities being tracked. People’s choices must be respected," Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart in a statement while releasing new guidelines on online behavioural advertising.
Stoddart said the use of technologies that track and target ads to certain consumers has risen dramatically.
"And we're concerned that Canadians' privacy rights aren't always being respected."
Humm, money...privacy. So hard to guess which will win...
Read more here.
Companies such as Google and Facebook are increasingly using information about web users in order to make their ads more relevant to their interests.
"Some people like receiving ads targeted to their specific interests. Others are extremely uncomfortable with the notion of their online activities being tracked. People’s choices must be respected," Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart in a statement while releasing new guidelines on online behavioural advertising.
Stoddart said the use of technologies that track and target ads to certain consumers has risen dramatically.
"And we're concerned that Canadians' privacy rights aren't always being respected."
Humm, money...privacy. So hard to guess which will win...
Read more here.
Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump team up to be completely vile
In a win for those in favor of child labor, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has announced that business mogul Donald Trump will employ at least 10 poor children as "apprentices."
On Monday, Gingrich became fifth GOP candidate to meet with Trump ahead of a Newsmax debate hosted by the notorious birther.
"As a number of you know, I've been making the case that we need work very hard to help poor children in poor neighborhoods acquire the opportunity to work," Gingrich said at a press conference with Trump.
"I've asked [Trump] to take one of the poorer schools in New York and basically offer at least 10 apprenticeships to kids from that school to get them into the world of work, and to get them into an opportunity to earn money, and get them into the habit of showing up and realizing that effort gets rewarded, and that American is all about the work ethic."
Read more here.
On Monday, Gingrich became fifth GOP candidate to meet with Trump ahead of a Newsmax debate hosted by the notorious birther.
"As a number of you know, I've been making the case that we need work very hard to help poor children in poor neighborhoods acquire the opportunity to work," Gingrich said at a press conference with Trump.
"I've asked [Trump] to take one of the poorer schools in New York and basically offer at least 10 apprenticeships to kids from that school to get them into the world of work, and to get them into an opportunity to earn money, and get them into the habit of showing up and realizing that effort gets rewarded, and that American is all about the work ethic."
Read more here.
Halliburton accused of destroying evidence. Shocking I know.
Oil giant BP has accused oilfields services firm Halliburton of destroying damaging evidence relating to last year's oil well blast in the Gulf of Mexico in which 11 people were killed.
At a hearing in a New Orleans' court, BP said Halliburton had "intentionally" destroyed test results on its cement product used at the Macondo well.
Halliburton denied this, saying the claims were "without merit".
Cement was a key factor in causing America's worst offshore oil spill.
Read more here.
At a hearing in a New Orleans' court, BP said Halliburton had "intentionally" destroyed test results on its cement product used at the Macondo well.
Halliburton denied this, saying the claims were "without merit".
Cement was a key factor in causing America's worst offshore oil spill.
Read more here.
Rob Ford's dumber brother Doug doesn't know when to stop talking
Stratospheric in its stupidity:
A Toronto city councillor says the mixed martial-arts fighters of the popular UFC are the perfect ambassadors to deliver an anti-bullying message to the city’s schoolchildren.
Doug Ford, whose brother is the city’s mayor, has endorsed a joint event between the violent Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promoter, and Toronto police.
Read more here.
A Toronto city councillor says the mixed martial-arts fighters of the popular UFC are the perfect ambassadors to deliver an anti-bullying message to the city’s schoolchildren.
Doug Ford, whose brother is the city’s mayor, has endorsed a joint event between the violent Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promoter, and Toronto police.
Read more here.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay: I did not have sexual relations with that helicopter
Whatever Peter.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay says it's not true that a search and rescue helicopter was retasked to pick him up at a fishing resort and drop him off at a Gander, N.L., airport in 2010.
Facing renewed questions in the House of Commons Monday, MacKay repeated his assertion that he left a vacation to go to work. Emails released last week show MacKay's staff requested the helicopter flight to get him to the airport in Gander faster than the two hours it would have taken to travel by boat and car.
"Any suggestion that there was a retasking or a diversion of search and rescue aircraft from their actual tasking is simply untrue," MacKay said.
But he avoided answering questions about whether he misled the House when he said in September that he was on a Cormorant helicopter on July 9, 2010, to see a search and rescue demonstration.
Read more here.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay says it's not true that a search and rescue helicopter was retasked to pick him up at a fishing resort and drop him off at a Gander, N.L., airport in 2010.
Facing renewed questions in the House of Commons Monday, MacKay repeated his assertion that he left a vacation to go to work. Emails released last week show MacKay's staff requested the helicopter flight to get him to the airport in Gander faster than the two hours it would have taken to travel by boat and car.
"Any suggestion that there was a retasking or a diversion of search and rescue aircraft from their actual tasking is simply untrue," MacKay said.
But he avoided answering questions about whether he misled the House when he said in September that he was on a Cormorant helicopter on July 9, 2010, to see a search and rescue demonstration.
Read more here.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Troy Michigan Mayor Janice Daniels: Vile Homophobe of the Day
In June, Troy’s new mayor Janice Daniels—shortly before entering the race—posted a message about New York’s decision to legalize gay marriage: “I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there.”
The blog “Keep Troy Strong” uncovered the post last night, and it’s spread across social media.
Daniels confirmed today that she did post the message, though she said she decided against ditching the bag.
“I may have said something like that,” she said. “I probably shouldn’t have used that kind of language, but I do believe marriage should be between one man and one woman.”
Best bullshit:
Daniels added that while she’s opposed to gay marriage, and has moral issues with homosexuality, she doesn’t hate gay people.
“I love all people. I am human. That was probably a poor choice of words.”
Read more here.
The blog “Keep Troy Strong” uncovered the post last night, and it’s spread across social media.
Daniels confirmed today that she did post the message, though she said she decided against ditching the bag.
“I may have said something like that,” she said. “I probably shouldn’t have used that kind of language, but I do believe marriage should be between one man and one woman.”
Best bullshit:
Daniels added that while she’s opposed to gay marriage, and has moral issues with homosexuality, she doesn’t hate gay people.
“I love all people. I am human. That was probably a poor choice of words.”
Read more here.
Newt Gingrich: Rebuilding America the White Way
They slipped up, there's one black guy.
And as per usual, comments disabled on Youtube.
Pushy Christians: A school in Giles County Virginia
A judge declined to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a display of the Ten Commandments in a Giles County school Monday, setting the stage for a long legal battle.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski said there are too many unknown facts about the case to immediately throw it out for legal reasons.
"Facts matter, so how can I grant a motion to dismiss?" the judge said. "You can't just apply a one-size-fits-all because the facts are very different" in prior court cases involving the Ten Commandments in public buildings.
The ruling is a setback for the Giles County School Board, which had sought a quick end to a lawsuit filed in September over a display of the Ten Commandments in Narrows High School.
An unnamed student at the school contends the school board's vote to allow the framed document on a hallway wall amounts to a governmental endorsement of religion that is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.
Urbanski delayed ruling on a second issue -- whether the student and a parent who joined in the lawsuit can remain anonymous -- while lawyers try to work out an agreement.
Why anonymous? Well, because of some of the loving Christians on the board and in the community:
The judge was referring to a comment made by supervisors Chairman Eric Gentry during a school board public hearing, that Giles County "won't let an anonymous coward tell us how to run our business."
In seeking the protective order, ACLU lawyer Rebecca Glenberg cited a number of other comments made either during public hearings or in heated emails to her organization and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which also represents the plaintiffs.
"Keep up the good work, you'll have a special place in Hell," one person wrote. Said another: "Sure sounds like non-Christians ought to move out of Giles County before things get ugly over there."
Jesus wept.
Read more here.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Urbanski said there are too many unknown facts about the case to immediately throw it out for legal reasons.
"Facts matter, so how can I grant a motion to dismiss?" the judge said. "You can't just apply a one-size-fits-all because the facts are very different" in prior court cases involving the Ten Commandments in public buildings.
The ruling is a setback for the Giles County School Board, which had sought a quick end to a lawsuit filed in September over a display of the Ten Commandments in Narrows High School.
An unnamed student at the school contends the school board's vote to allow the framed document on a hallway wall amounts to a governmental endorsement of religion that is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.
Urbanski delayed ruling on a second issue -- whether the student and a parent who joined in the lawsuit can remain anonymous -- while lawyers try to work out an agreement.
Why anonymous? Well, because of some of the loving Christians on the board and in the community:
The judge was referring to a comment made by supervisors Chairman Eric Gentry during a school board public hearing, that Giles County "won't let an anonymous coward tell us how to run our business."
In seeking the protective order, ACLU lawyer Rebecca Glenberg cited a number of other comments made either during public hearings or in heated emails to her organization and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which also represents the plaintiffs.
"Keep up the good work, you'll have a special place in Hell," one person wrote. Said another: "Sure sounds like non-Christians ought to move out of Giles County before things get ugly over there."
Jesus wept.
Read more here.
Rob Ford and his tantrum against The Star
The man's social skills have not seem to have matured beyond high school.
On the day his former press aide took up a job at the Toronto Sun, Mayor Rob Ford insisted he won’t play favourites with the city’s news outlets. “If people want to read a paper, pick up the Globe, Post, or Sun,” he said in a Friday morning radio interview.
Still, those outlets might not want to trumpet the endorsement too loudly because the mayor made it by way of criticizing the Toronto Star. It’s the latest move in an unusual campaign his administration has waged against the paper for a July, 2010, article that put his nose out of joint, about his aggressive style as a high school football coach. Mayor Ford initiated legal action, which has lapsed.
Read more here.
On the day his former press aide took up a job at the Toronto Sun, Mayor Rob Ford insisted he won’t play favourites with the city’s news outlets. “If people want to read a paper, pick up the Globe, Post, or Sun,” he said in a Friday morning radio interview.
Still, those outlets might not want to trumpet the endorsement too loudly because the mayor made it by way of criticizing the Toronto Star. It’s the latest move in an unusual campaign his administration has waged against the paper for a July, 2010, article that put his nose out of joint, about his aggressive style as a high school football coach. Mayor Ford initiated legal action, which has lapsed.
Read more here.
Rob Ford's dumber brother Doug wants schools to teach Ultimate Fighting
Conservatives love to butch it up. Oooo you're such a brute.
Councillor Doug Ford’s office has suggested Toronto schools look into a community service program backed by the violent mixed martial arts league, Ultimate Fighting Championship.
In an email obtained by the Star, Ford’s constituency assistant, Anna Vescio, asked a Toronto District School Board trustee to circulate a brochure touting an initiative called UFC Community Works.
According to the brochure, the program promotes “the development of discipline, respect, teamwork, honesty, time management and physical fitness” through mixed martial arts training and meetings with UFC fighters.
UFC has become notorious for its brutal, bloody, no-holds barred fighting. Mixed martial arts events were banned in Ontario until this year.
Read more here.
Councillor Doug Ford’s office has suggested Toronto schools look into a community service program backed by the violent mixed martial arts league, Ultimate Fighting Championship.
In an email obtained by the Star, Ford’s constituency assistant, Anna Vescio, asked a Toronto District School Board trustee to circulate a brochure touting an initiative called UFC Community Works.
According to the brochure, the program promotes “the development of discipline, respect, teamwork, honesty, time management and physical fitness” through mixed martial arts training and meetings with UFC fighters.
UFC has become notorious for its brutal, bloody, no-holds barred fighting. Mixed martial arts events were banned in Ontario until this year.
Read more here.
The Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church reverses its odious decision
An eastern Kentucky church under a firestorm of criticism since members voted to bar mixed-race couples from joining the congregation overturned that decision Sunday, saying it welcomes all believers.
Stacy Stepp, pastor of the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Pike County, told The Associated Press that the vote by nine people last week was declared null and void after it was determined that new bylaws can't run contrary to local, state or national laws. He said the proposal was discriminatory, therefore it couldn't be adopted.
Read more here.
Stacy Stepp, pastor of the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Pike County, told The Associated Press that the vote by nine people last week was declared null and void after it was determined that new bylaws can't run contrary to local, state or national laws. He said the proposal was discriminatory, therefore it couldn't be adopted.
Read more here.
Saturday, December 03, 2011
The former director of CSIS Jim Judd, is one sick f*ck
Mr. Judd, you are one dangerous and twisted individual.
Canada’s spy agency was so reliant on information obtained through torture that it suggested the whole security certificate regime, used to control suspected terrorists in the country, would fall apart if they couldn’t use it.
That’s the essence of a letter written in 2008 by the former director of CSIS, Jim Judd, obtained by The Gazette.
It suggests a disturbing acceptance by the national security agency of torture as a legitimate strategy to counter terrorism.
These kind of people are as great a danger to civilization as any terrorist.
Read more here.
Canada’s spy agency was so reliant on information obtained through torture that it suggested the whole security certificate regime, used to control suspected terrorists in the country, would fall apart if they couldn’t use it.
That’s the essence of a letter written in 2008 by the former director of CSIS, Jim Judd, obtained by The Gazette.
It suggests a disturbing acceptance by the national security agency of torture as a legitimate strategy to counter terrorism.
These kind of people are as great a danger to civilization as any terrorist.
Read more here.
Harper and Co. to establish an "Office of Religious Freedom"
"Freedom" to do what?
Communications lines drafted by the bureaucracy about the government's plan to establish an Office of Religious Freedom reveal a deep-seated nervousness about how the venture will be perceived by the public.
During the election campaign last spring the Conservatives promised the office would become a key pillar of Canadian foreign policy.
But documents obtained through access to information laws suggest the government is worried about the perception that the office would be used to curry favour with religious and ethnic groups in Canada. And it shows nervousness about the office being seen as an attempt to blur the line between church and state.
The lines were drafted for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird for a day-long consultation with religious groups, human rights advocates and academics, which took place in Ottawa on October 3. The meeting was closed to the public and the media.
This is a really bad idea.
Read more here.
Communications lines drafted by the bureaucracy about the government's plan to establish an Office of Religious Freedom reveal a deep-seated nervousness about how the venture will be perceived by the public.
During the election campaign last spring the Conservatives promised the office would become a key pillar of Canadian foreign policy.
But documents obtained through access to information laws suggest the government is worried about the perception that the office would be used to curry favour with religious and ethnic groups in Canada. And it shows nervousness about the office being seen as an attempt to blur the line between church and state.
The lines were drafted for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird for a day-long consultation with religious groups, human rights advocates and academics, which took place in Ottawa on October 3. The meeting was closed to the public and the media.
This is a really bad idea.
Read more here.
Syrian government doesn't want the world to see what monsters they are
Syria has banned the iPhone, reports say, as the government tries to control information getting out of the country.
In a statement apparently issued by the customs department of the Syrian finance ministry and seen by Lebanese and German media, the authorities "warn anyone against using the iPhone in Syria".
The order also apparently prohibits the import of iPhones.
The UN believes 4,000 people have been killed in Syria since March.
What doesn't make sense is this:
Other types of smartphones are apparently not affected by the ban.
Read more here.
In a statement apparently issued by the customs department of the Syrian finance ministry and seen by Lebanese and German media, the authorities "warn anyone against using the iPhone in Syria".
The order also apparently prohibits the import of iPhones.
The UN believes 4,000 people have been killed in Syria since March.
What doesn't make sense is this:
Other types of smartphones are apparently not affected by the ban.
Read more here.
CNN runs yet another piece of American masterbation
Another "we are so fucking wonderful" piece of, um, journalism our friends to the south love to pat themselves on the back with...
The United States is an exceptional country. On this, almost all U.S. politicians agree. And millions of Americans, do too, according to recent polls.
More than three centuries after John Winthrop first preached that the new Massachusetts Bay colony would be a "city upon a hill," Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan both reiterated his admonition that "the eyes of all people are upon us." For President Barack Obama, the United States is "not just a place on a map, but the light to the world."
Laugh inducing, if for the fact they're serious about it.
Read more here.
The United States is an exceptional country. On this, almost all U.S. politicians agree. And millions of Americans, do too, according to recent polls.
More than three centuries after John Winthrop first preached that the new Massachusetts Bay colony would be a "city upon a hill," Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan both reiterated his admonition that "the eyes of all people are upon us." For President Barack Obama, the United States is "not just a place on a map, but the light to the world."
Laugh inducing, if for the fact they're serious about it.
Read more here.
Friday, December 02, 2011
"Last dictator standing" ad angers Mugabe
A South African fast food chain has withdrawn a TV advert which pokes fun at Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe as "the last dictator standing".
Nando's South Africa said it decided to act after receiving threats to its staff in Zimbabwe from a youth group loyal to Mr Mugabe.
Read more here.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay: Idiot of the Day
An airlift done to get Defence Minister Peter MacKay to an airport from a remote Newfoundland fishing spot was done "under the guise" of search and rescue training, documents reveal.
MacKay's office requested the airlift, which officials quickly determined would need to be done by a Cormorant based in Gander, to get him to an event, according to the documents obtained under federal access to information laws.
"This mission will be under the guise … of [search and rescue training]," one email says. "SAR takes priority and the mission will be conducted on a non-interference basis."
One email describes how MacKay "has a requirement for helicopter airlift" because he "unexpectedly must be in London, Ont., for an announcement at noon" on July 9, 2010.
Alternate transportation would require two hours of travel to the airport, the email says.
The Toronto Star first reported that the emails, which were sent just hours after a request to pick up the vacationing minister so he could catch a private flight from the Gander airport, raised concerns about resources and about a public and media backlash.
Opps, too late for that.
Read more here.
MacKay's office requested the airlift, which officials quickly determined would need to be done by a Cormorant based in Gander, to get him to an event, according to the documents obtained under federal access to information laws.
"This mission will be under the guise … of [search and rescue training]," one email says. "SAR takes priority and the mission will be conducted on a non-interference basis."
One email describes how MacKay "has a requirement for helicopter airlift" because he "unexpectedly must be in London, Ont., for an announcement at noon" on July 9, 2010.
Alternate transportation would require two hours of travel to the airport, the email says.
The Toronto Star first reported that the emails, which were sent just hours after a request to pick up the vacationing minister so he could catch a private flight from the Gander airport, raised concerns about resources and about a public and media backlash.
Opps, too late for that.
Read more here.
Republicans "frightened to death" of Occupy Wall Street
The Republican Governors Association met this week in Florida to give GOP state executives a chance to rejuvenate, strategize and team-build. But during a plenary session on Wednesday, one question kept coming up: How can Republicans do a better job of talking about Occupy Wall Street?
"I'm so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I'm frightened to death," said Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist and one of the nation's foremost experts on crafting the perfect political message. "They're having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism."
Not just of capitalism Frank, also people like you.
What follows are helpful tips on how to muddy the language, in the "colateral damage/pepper spray is a food product, essentially" kind of way.
Read more here.
"I'm so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I'm frightened to death," said Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist and one of the nation's foremost experts on crafting the perfect political message. "They're having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism."
Not just of capitalism Frank, also people like you.
What follows are helpful tips on how to muddy the language, in the "colateral damage/pepper spray is a food product, essentially" kind of way.
Read more here.
US Senators sort of delay cowardly provision in the National Defense Authorization Act
Our current leaders are dangerous, yet cowardly people, afraid of their own our shadows.
Senators compromised Thursday on a bill that attempts to spell out the military's right to detain Americans indefinitely, killing a bid to bar the practice but passing an amendment that says current laws on the matter stand.
The provision in the National Defense Authorization Act aimed to codify a string of court cases and current anti-terrorism practices involved in the capture and treatment of terrorism suspects. It initially opened what opponents saw as the prospect of letting the military haul away any citizen about whom it had suspicions.
The new amendment specifies that the current practices may not change, although it also says explicitly that the military can pursue Americans at home.
Read more here.
Senators compromised Thursday on a bill that attempts to spell out the military's right to detain Americans indefinitely, killing a bid to bar the practice but passing an amendment that says current laws on the matter stand.
The provision in the National Defense Authorization Act aimed to codify a string of court cases and current anti-terrorism practices involved in the capture and treatment of terrorism suspects. It initially opened what opponents saw as the prospect of letting the military haul away any citizen about whom it had suspicions.
The new amendment specifies that the current practices may not change, although it also says explicitly that the military can pursue Americans at home.
Read more here.
Jeremy Clarkson: Cold Heartless Bastard of the Day
"It's also like being back in the 70s. It makes me feel at home somehow," said the Top Gear presenter, before adding: "But we have to balance this though, because this is the BBC" and went on: "Frankly, I'd have them all shot. I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families. I mean, how dare they go on strike when they have these gilt-edged pensions that are going to be guaranteed while the rest of us have to work for a living?"
Drumroll please for the now standard non apology apology:
Clarkson, who has flown to China, has said he had not intended for his comments to be taken seriously and was "happy to apologise" if offence had been caused.
Like clockwork.
Read more here.
Drumroll please for the now standard non apology apology:
Clarkson, who has flown to China, has said he had not intended for his comments to be taken seriously and was "happy to apologise" if offence had been caused.
Like clockwork.
Read more here.
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Oh look, another white man saves the world, um I mean Mars
These kind of movies are getting really old. Oh and look, it's from Disney, what a shock.
Occupy Montreal protesters branded by police
Some members of the Occupy Montreal movement are considering legal action against the Montreal police after they were branded without their consent.
Police expelled the group of protesters from Victoria Square last Friday, as part of the group handcuffed themselves to the outdoor kitchen.
"The police asked us to move and we did not comply," said activist Bed Godin. "They removed us by using force."
Protesters were taken to a bus, where officers processed them, and marked some with an ink that could only be seen under a UV light.
"They took pictures and then they wrote one number. I got the number 5 in black marker," he said.
Police say it was to identify the demonstrators, and described it as the best technique to prevent the group from returning to Victoria Square.
They also said it's a technique long used by clubs and bars.
Constitutional lawyer Julius Grey, however, said protesters weren't in a bar and that the police violated the activists' civil rights.
Read more here.
Police expelled the group of protesters from Victoria Square last Friday, as part of the group handcuffed themselves to the outdoor kitchen.
"The police asked us to move and we did not comply," said activist Bed Godin. "They removed us by using force."
Protesters were taken to a bus, where officers processed them, and marked some with an ink that could only be seen under a UV light.
"They took pictures and then they wrote one number. I got the number 5 in black marker," he said.
Police say it was to identify the demonstrators, and described it as the best technique to prevent the group from returning to Victoria Square.
They also said it's a technique long used by clubs and bars.
Constitutional lawyer Julius Grey, however, said protesters weren't in a bar and that the police violated the activists' civil rights.
Read more here.
Stanislaw Burzynski has never heard of Barbra Streisand
A one Rhys Morgan posts on his blog doubts about Stanislaw Burzynski's cancer treatment.
Well! Hell hath no fury.
Eventually, I decided to write a rather scathing blog about Burzynski and the treatment...The thought of someone being promised an effective treatment when in fact, it’s at best unproven disgusts me. The blog went up on August 11th, 2011. A few comments were posted but it soon disappeared into obscurity again. Other friends of mine have written blogs about the same subject – in particular, Keir Liddle of The 21st Floor and Jennifer Keane, a.k.a ZenBuffy. These particular blogs are excellent and go into a lot more detail about the false hope dilemma.
Orac, of Respectful Insolence, has gone into a lot of detail about Burzynski’s background and the antineoplaston therapy – it’s a blog that I strongly recommend you read.
Then, out of the blue, on the 3rd of November, I received an email from a man called Marc Stephens, claiming to represent the Burzynski Clinic. He was threatening to sue me for libel for my previous blog about the Burzynski Clinic.
Read more here and here.
Well! Hell hath no fury.
Eventually, I decided to write a rather scathing blog about Burzynski and the treatment...The thought of someone being promised an effective treatment when in fact, it’s at best unproven disgusts me. The blog went up on August 11th, 2011. A few comments were posted but it soon disappeared into obscurity again. Other friends of mine have written blogs about the same subject – in particular, Keir Liddle of The 21st Floor and Jennifer Keane, a.k.a ZenBuffy. These particular blogs are excellent and go into a lot more detail about the false hope dilemma.
Orac, of Respectful Insolence, has gone into a lot of detail about Burzynski’s background and the antineoplaston therapy – it’s a blog that I strongly recommend you read.
Then, out of the blue, on the 3rd of November, I received an email from a man called Marc Stephens, claiming to represent the Burzynski Clinic. He was threatening to sue me for libel for my previous blog about the Burzynski Clinic.
Read more here and here.
NYC's Mayor Bloomberg: ‘I Have My Own Army’
“I have my own army in the NYPD, which is the seventh biggest army in the world. I have my own State Department, much to Foggy Bottom’s annoyance. We have the United Nations in New York, and so we have an entree into the diplomatic world that Washington does not have,” Mayor Bloomberg said.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Rob Ford: Don't look in there. NO DON'T LOOK!!!
Lawyers for Rob Ford will usher in the new year by asking an Ontario court to set aside a decision by Toronto council’s compliance audit committee and instead hold a trial, complete with new evidence, to probe allegations that the mayor violated Ontario’s municipal elections act during last year’s campaign.
But a Toronto election law expert predicted that the gambit may not succeed because courts in the past have been reluctant to veto decisions of appointed expert bodies, such as compliance audit committees. “I think it’s a real uphill struggle” for Tom Barlow, Mr. Ford’s counsel, said lawyer Jack Siegel.
Read more here.
And in related Rob Fordness:
Why we plan to fight Ford’s Star boycott
Read more here.
But a Toronto election law expert predicted that the gambit may not succeed because courts in the past have been reluctant to veto decisions of appointed expert bodies, such as compliance audit committees. “I think it’s a real uphill struggle” for Tom Barlow, Mr. Ford’s counsel, said lawyer Jack Siegel.
Read more here.
And in related Rob Fordness:
Why we plan to fight Ford’s Star boycott
Read more here.
Quebec's pettiness continues to embarrass the province globally
This shit is nothing new, they once went after a business because it had the nerve to have the world "Welcome" in other languages besides French.
It is a modest sign hanging outside an equally modest fair-trade furniture store in Montreal, yet it has become a matter of great import to Quebec’s language guardians.
Kif-Kif Import, a family-run business that sells furniture and decor knick-knacks from around the world, has run afoul of Quebec’s French-language protection agency over its sign. The problem is not so much with Kif-Kif. It’s the word “import,” which officials from the Office québécois de la langue française insist is not French.
As with most bullies, it doesn't go after international corporations with quite as much zeal...
Read more here.
It is a modest sign hanging outside an equally modest fair-trade furniture store in Montreal, yet it has become a matter of great import to Quebec’s language guardians.
Kif-Kif Import, a family-run business that sells furniture and decor knick-knacks from around the world, has run afoul of Quebec’s French-language protection agency over its sign. The problem is not so much with Kif-Kif. It’s the word “import,” which officials from the Office québécois de la langue française insist is not French.
As with most bullies, it doesn't go after international corporations with quite as much zeal...
Read more here.
"It Has Become Fashionable to Use Chemicals on People with Opinions"
In what appears to be his first television interview on the subject, Kamran Loghman, the developer of weapons-grade pepper spray and the policy for its use by US police departments, appeared on Democracy Now! to condemn how police forces have been using pepper spray on peaceful protesters in the country. He said he was “shocked” and bewildered to see UC Davis police pepper spraying students and the first thing that came to his mind was how the students could be his children “sitting down having an opinion” and being shut down forcibly by chemical agents.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Gulnare Freewill Baptist church of Kentucky: Racists of the Day
A small Pike County church has voted not to accept interracial couples as members or let them take part in some worship activities.
The decision has caused sharp reaction and disapproval in the Eastern Kentucky county.
Best, yet completely vile bullshit:
The recommendation "is not intended to judge the salvation of anyone, but is intended to promote greater unity among the church body and the community we serve," the copy supplied to the Herald-Leader read.
Read more here.
The decision has caused sharp reaction and disapproval in the Eastern Kentucky county.
Best, yet completely vile bullshit:
The recommendation "is not intended to judge the salvation of anyone, but is intended to promote greater unity among the church body and the community we serve," the copy supplied to the Herald-Leader read.
Read more here.
More reasons to become a vegetarian
One of Humanity's greatest crimes is what we do to animals.
The slaughter of conscious animals was widely abandoned in the 20th Century and is now practised mainly in the Jewish and Muslim communities. Consumers increasingly expect animals to be stunned before death - but would banning other slaughter methods be an unacceptable violation of religious rights?
The sound of pistons and mechanics fills the air as the last calf of the day steps into a holding box.
A device the size of a hand-held drill is brought to the animal's head, a trigger pulled and a four-inch bolt shot into its brain, causing it instantly to collapse. The unconscious calf is hoisted upside down and slaughtered seconds later with a massive cut to its throat, showering the floor with a torrent of crimson blood.
"Killing animals is never friendly," says Paul Meeuwissen, director of the Vitelco abattoir in the central town of s'-Hertogenbosch, "but what we do is done in the most animal-friendly way possible."
"the most animal-friendly way possible"..the mind boggles.
Read more here.
The slaughter of conscious animals was widely abandoned in the 20th Century and is now practised mainly in the Jewish and Muslim communities. Consumers increasingly expect animals to be stunned before death - but would banning other slaughter methods be an unacceptable violation of religious rights?
The sound of pistons and mechanics fills the air as the last calf of the day steps into a holding box.
A device the size of a hand-held drill is brought to the animal's head, a trigger pulled and a four-inch bolt shot into its brain, causing it instantly to collapse. The unconscious calf is hoisted upside down and slaughtered seconds later with a massive cut to its throat, showering the floor with a torrent of crimson blood.
"Killing animals is never friendly," says Paul Meeuwissen, director of the Vitelco abattoir in the central town of s'-Hertogenbosch, "but what we do is done in the most animal-friendly way possible."
"the most animal-friendly way possible"..the mind boggles.
Read more here.
FTC gives Facebook a slap on the wrist over its mountain of bullsh*t
Facebook has agreed to tighten privacy controls as part of a settlement with US regulators over abuse of user data.
The Federal Trade Commission said Facebook would tighten consent rules on privacy, and close access to deleted accounts in 30 days or less.
The case began in 2009, when Facebook changed settings to make public details users may have deemed private.
Best bullshit:
In a blog post, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the company had made a "bunch of mistakes".
In his mind, mistake #1: getting caught.
Facebook did not admit guilt and was not fined, but it was barred from "making any further deceptive privacy claims" and will undergo regular checks on privacy practices, the FTC said.
"The proposed settlement requires Facebook to take several steps to make sure it lives up to its promises," the FTC said in a statement.
Yeah, ok, sure.
Read more here.
The Federal Trade Commission said Facebook would tighten consent rules on privacy, and close access to deleted accounts in 30 days or less.
The case began in 2009, when Facebook changed settings to make public details users may have deemed private.
Best bullshit:
In a blog post, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the company had made a "bunch of mistakes".
In his mind, mistake #1: getting caught.
Facebook did not admit guilt and was not fined, but it was barred from "making any further deceptive privacy claims" and will undergo regular checks on privacy practices, the FTC said.
"The proposed settlement requires Facebook to take several steps to make sure it lives up to its promises," the FTC said in a statement.
Yeah, ok, sure.
Read more here.
Oscar Wild's really quite ugly new tomb unveiled
"Kiss-proof" as it is nasty to look at:
Oscar Wilde's restored tomb has been unveiled in Paris, complete with a glass barrier to make it "kiss-proof".
Work was carried out on the gravestone because it was covered in lipstick marks left by tourists, which was gradually destroying it.
Actor Rupert Everett, who has penned a screenplay about Wilde, said the tomb was "being eaten away by lipstick".
Read more here, but beware of some monumental post modern awfulness.
Oscar Wilde's restored tomb has been unveiled in Paris, complete with a glass barrier to make it "kiss-proof".
Work was carried out on the gravestone because it was covered in lipstick marks left by tourists, which was gradually destroying it.
Actor Rupert Everett, who has penned a screenplay about Wilde, said the tomb was "being eaten away by lipstick".
Read more here, but beware of some monumental post modern awfulness.
Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International states the f*cking obvious
An anti-bribery watchdog has said corruption played a key role in the political upheaval in the Middle East and across the world in 2011.
Transparency International said the protests indicated that citizens wanted leaders and institutions to be more transparent and accountable.
In its annual report, the agency ranked New Zealand, Denmark and Finland as the least corrupt among 183 countries.
Meanwhile, Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan were ranked most corrupt.
"This year we have seen corruption on protesters'' banners be they rich or poor," said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International.
"Whether in a Europe hit by debt crisis or an Arab world starting a new political era, leaders must heed the demands for better government."
Read more here.
Transparency International said the protests indicated that citizens wanted leaders and institutions to be more transparent and accountable.
In its annual report, the agency ranked New Zealand, Denmark and Finland as the least corrupt among 183 countries.
Meanwhile, Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan were ranked most corrupt.
"This year we have seen corruption on protesters'' banners be they rich or poor," said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International.
"Whether in a Europe hit by debt crisis or an Arab world starting a new political era, leaders must heed the demands for better government."
Read more here.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Boycott Russian vodka
Hit these fuckers where it hurts.
“Propaganda of homosexuality”: the wording sounds almost quaint in English, like a panicky phrase out of the 1970s backlash to the early gay liberation movement in the United States. But in Russia, the phrase is current: This week lawmakers have been talking of banning “propaganda of homosexuality” — whatever the phrase may mean.
The campaign began a couple of months ago, when two provincial Russian cities, Ryazan, in central Russia, and Arkhangelsk, in the north of the country, passed such laws. On Wednesday, St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, approved its own ban. The next day, lawmakers in Moscow promised to pass a similar measure in the capital, and the speaker of the upper house of Parliament declared it was time to take the ban national.
Read more here.
“Propaganda of homosexuality”: the wording sounds almost quaint in English, like a panicky phrase out of the 1970s backlash to the early gay liberation movement in the United States. But in Russia, the phrase is current: This week lawmakers have been talking of banning “propaganda of homosexuality” — whatever the phrase may mean.
The campaign began a couple of months ago, when two provincial Russian cities, Ryazan, in central Russia, and Arkhangelsk, in the north of the country, passed such laws. On Wednesday, St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, approved its own ban. The next day, lawmakers in Moscow promised to pass a similar measure in the capital, and the speaker of the upper house of Parliament declared it was time to take the ban national.
Read more here.
German Intelligence Service (BND): We know nothing, nothing!
Investigators have found that in 2007 the German Intelligence Service (BND) destroyed files of 250 BND employees who had been in the Nazi SS or Gestapo.
The BND confirmed the loss, calling it "regrettable and annoying".
Four independent historians are investigating the BND's old links with the Nazis. They say some of the missing papers concern suspected war criminals.
Best bullshit:
The historians did not allege a deliberate cover-up, but they urged the BND not to destroy any more files.
Maybe the dog ate them.
Read more here.
The BND confirmed the loss, calling it "regrettable and annoying".
Four independent historians are investigating the BND's old links with the Nazis. They say some of the missing papers concern suspected war criminals.
Best bullshit:
The historians did not allege a deliberate cover-up, but they urged the BND not to destroy any more files.
Maybe the dog ate them.
Read more here.
Ruth Marcus: Idiot of the Day
Again she wins the coveted Idiot of the Day award.
I do pity her daughter, having to experience this much dumb on a daily basis.
Emma Sullivan, you’re lucky you’re not my daughter. (Dangerous sentence, I know: My daughters might agree.)
If you were my daughter, you’d be writing that letter apologizing to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback for the smartalecky, potty-mouthed tweet you wrote after meeting with him on a school field trip.
Also, that smartphone? The one you posed with, proudly displaying the tweet in which you announced that Brownback “sucked” and added the lovely hashtag #heblowsalot? Turned off until you learn to use it responsibly.
I may sound alarmingly crotchety here, but something is upside down in the modern world, which has transformed Sullivan into an unlikely Internet celebrity and heroine of the liberal blogosphere.
Read more here.
I do pity her daughter, having to experience this much dumb on a daily basis.
Emma Sullivan, you’re lucky you’re not my daughter. (Dangerous sentence, I know: My daughters might agree.)
If you were my daughter, you’d be writing that letter apologizing to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback for the smartalecky, potty-mouthed tweet you wrote after meeting with him on a school field trip.
Also, that smartphone? The one you posed with, proudly displaying the tweet in which you announced that Brownback “sucked” and added the lovely hashtag #heblowsalot? Turned off until you learn to use it responsibly.
I may sound alarmingly crotchety here, but something is upside down in the modern world, which has transformed Sullivan into an unlikely Internet celebrity and heroine of the liberal blogosphere.
Read more here.
Ford’s press secretary goes from Dumb to Dumber
She is constantly at Mayor Rob Ford’s side, stepping in when media interviews veer in the wrong direction, ending news conferences after a few questions from reporters.
Adrienne Batra, Mr. Ford’s press secretary and the woman who helps shape his message, is leaving city hall to take a post as comment editor and writer with the Toronto Sun. She also will weigh in on municipal politics for a local talk radio station.
Read more here.
Adrienne Batra, Mr. Ford’s press secretary and the woman who helps shape his message, is leaving city hall to take a post as comment editor and writer with the Toronto Sun. She also will weigh in on municipal politics for a local talk radio station.
Read more here.
Attorney General Eric Holder wants you to snitch on your neighbour
The War on Terror seems so yesterday.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder urged Americans to fink on their neighbors and report intellectual-property offenses like popping or hawking unapproved pharmaceuticals and downloading music and movies illegally.
The announcement at the White House came as the Justice Department kicked off a public campaign against intellectual-property theft, which like all successful wars against societal scourges, will have public-service announcements on MTV.
Read more here.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder urged Americans to fink on their neighbors and report intellectual-property offenses like popping or hawking unapproved pharmaceuticals and downloading music and movies illegally.
The announcement at the White House came as the Justice Department kicked off a public campaign against intellectual-property theft, which like all successful wars against societal scourges, will have public-service announcements on MTV.
Read more here.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
F*cked up Science: Genetically modified Bird Flu
What's wrong with these people?
Inside a Dutch medical facility is a potentially devastating weapon that could kill millions: A genetically modified version of the H5N1 bird flu, engineered to be easily transmitted among ferrets. And the researchers who figured out how to do it would like to share their work with the world.
Science, Rebecca Boyle, Avian flu, bird flu, controversy, h5n1 avian flu, health, pandemic flu, pandemics, scientific studiesIt’s a complicated conundrum, more so than it may seem at first blush. Biosecurity experts are now debating whether published research on the engineered flu (there are a couple papers in question) could be used as a blueprint for a bioweapon. But influenza researchers argue that virologists need every weapon they can find to fight the flu, which includes studying the ways it might spread to mammals. The National Institutes of Health funded the work.
Read more here.
Inside a Dutch medical facility is a potentially devastating weapon that could kill millions: A genetically modified version of the H5N1 bird flu, engineered to be easily transmitted among ferrets. And the researchers who figured out how to do it would like to share their work with the world.
Science, Rebecca Boyle, Avian flu, bird flu, controversy, h5n1 avian flu, health, pandemic flu, pandemics, scientific studiesIt’s a complicated conundrum, more so than it may seem at first blush. Biosecurity experts are now debating whether published research on the engineered flu (there are a couple papers in question) could be used as a blueprint for a bioweapon. But influenza researchers argue that virologists need every weapon they can find to fight the flu, which includes studying the ways it might spread to mammals. The National Institutes of Health funded the work.
Read more here.
Andrew Sullivan on his cowardly lack of user comments
I think stopping the torrential flood of criticism from all the bullshit he writes is closer to the truth.
He won't even appear except behind a tacky PS filter.
Harper and Co. have a serious gun fetish
The bill to end the long-gun registry is heading back to the House without changes after Conservatives shot down an NDP amendment that would have kept sniper rifles registered.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Environment Minister Peter "WTF is Ozone" Kent coy about Kyoto pullout
Environment Minister Peter Kent wouldn't confirm or deny Monday that Canada plans to formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, as talks on the accord's future got underway in Durban, South Africa.
"I won't comment on a speculative report," Kent said in response to questions about a report that Canada will announce it is pulling out shortly before Christmas.
They'll wait until then, so no one will notice...
Read more here.
"I won't comment on a speculative report," Kent said in response to questions about a report that Canada will announce it is pulling out shortly before Christmas.
They'll wait until then, so no one will notice...
Read more here.
Monday, November 28, 2011
The Commission scolaire de Montréal: Idiots of the Day
This kind of crap is nothing new in Quebec, but this takes it to a new low.
The playgrounds, hallways and cafeterias of Quebec’s largest school board will soon be French-only zones as authorities move to silence other languages, even during recess.
In a bid to ensure its 110,000 students master French, the Commission scolaire de Montréal has announced a new code of conduct declaring French de rigueur at all times during the school day.
Best bullshit:
Diane De Courcy, the board’s chairwoman, said the approach will be persuasive not punitive.
“There will be no language police,” she said. Instead, monitors who overhear children using their mother tongue during recess will simply remind them of the rules.
“If they are automatically switching to another language, [the monitor] will gently tap them on the shoulder — not on the head — to tell them, ‘Remember, we speak French. It’s good for you.’
Read more here.
The playgrounds, hallways and cafeterias of Quebec’s largest school board will soon be French-only zones as authorities move to silence other languages, even during recess.
In a bid to ensure its 110,000 students master French, the Commission scolaire de Montréal has announced a new code of conduct declaring French de rigueur at all times during the school day.
Best bullshit:
Diane De Courcy, the board’s chairwoman, said the approach will be persuasive not punitive.
“There will be no language police,” she said. Instead, monitors who overhear children using their mother tongue during recess will simply remind them of the rules.
“If they are automatically switching to another language, [the monitor] will gently tap them on the shoulder — not on the head — to tell them, ‘Remember, we speak French. It’s good for you.’
Read more here.
Manitoba hockey hazing sounds gayer than 50 drag queens
WTF, boys will be boys? No wonder they project such homophobia, they could have their own float in Pride.
The mother of a junior hockey player who was allegedly hazed by his Manitoba teammates says she is not pleased to hear that no charges will be laid in connection with the incident.
RCMP announced Monday that no criminal charges will be laid in connection with the Neepawa Natives hockey hazing incident, following a police investigation.
The incident attracted national attention last month, when the parents of a 15-year-old player for the Natives who came forward with hazing accusations told CBC News that their son was forced to dance in the team's dressing room and drag around water bottles that were tied to his genitals.
Seven rookies in all were subjected to similar treatment and older players rated the younger ones on their ability to endure the pain, according to parents.
Guys at the Black Eagle are saying: "wow, now that's twisted..."
Read more here.
The mother of a junior hockey player who was allegedly hazed by his Manitoba teammates says she is not pleased to hear that no charges will be laid in connection with the incident.
RCMP announced Monday that no criminal charges will be laid in connection with the Neepawa Natives hockey hazing incident, following a police investigation.
The incident attracted national attention last month, when the parents of a 15-year-old player for the Natives who came forward with hazing accusations told CBC News that their son was forced to dance in the team's dressing room and drag around water bottles that were tied to his genitals.
Seven rookies in all were subjected to similar treatment and older players rated the younger ones on their ability to endure the pain, according to parents.
Guys at the Black Eagle are saying: "wow, now that's twisted..."
Read more here.
Without the Net's spotlight, would Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback have apologized
I think not...
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback apologized Monday for his office's response to a disparaging Twitter post by a high school senior who was attending a school function at the state Capitol.
"My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize," Brownback said in a Monday statement emailed to The Associated Press. "Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms."
Read more here.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback apologized Monday for his office's response to a disparaging Twitter post by a high school senior who was attending a school function at the state Capitol.
"My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize," Brownback said in a Monday statement emailed to The Associated Press. "Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms."
Read more here.
Syria commits "crimes against humanity"
Syria's security forces have committed "crimes against humanity" in their continuing crackdown on anti-government protesters, a UN report says.
The study by an independent panel also contains allegations of murder, torture and sexual assaults on civilians.
Syria bears responsibility for these crimes, the document says, urging Damascus to punish the perpetrators.
Syria says it is fighting armed gangs. More than 3,500 people have reportedly died in the violence since March.
The death toll estimated by the UN cannot be independently verified as most foreign media are banned from entering Syria.
Read more here.
The study by an independent panel also contains allegations of murder, torture and sexual assaults on civilians.
Syria bears responsibility for these crimes, the document says, urging Damascus to punish the perpetrators.
Syria says it is fighting armed gangs. More than 3,500 people have reportedly died in the violence since March.
The death toll estimated by the UN cannot be independently verified as most foreign media are banned from entering Syria.
Read more here.
UK secretly helping Canada push tar sands project
Guess Harper was right when he said we wouldn't recognize Canada after he's through, he'll have polluted the shit out of it.
The UK government has been giving secret support at the very highest levels to Canada's campaign against European penalties on its highly polluting tar sands fuel, the Guardian can reveal.
At the same time, the UK government was being lobbied by Shell and BP, which both have major tar sands projects in Alberta, and opened a new consulate in the province to "support British commercial interests".
At least 15 high-level meetings and frequent communications have taken place since September, with David Cameron discussing the issue with his counterpart Stephen Harper during his visit to Canada, and stating privately that the UK wanted "to work with Canada on finding a way forward", according to documents released under freedom of information laws.
Read more here.
The UK government has been giving secret support at the very highest levels to Canada's campaign against European penalties on its highly polluting tar sands fuel, the Guardian can reveal.
At the same time, the UK government was being lobbied by Shell and BP, which both have major tar sands projects in Alberta, and opened a new consulate in the province to "support British commercial interests".
At least 15 high-level meetings and frequent communications have taken place since September, with David Cameron discussing the issue with his counterpart Stephen Harper during his visit to Canada, and stating privately that the UK wanted "to work with Canada on finding a way forward", according to documents released under freedom of information laws.
Read more here.
AT & T and T-Mobile plot new way to f*ck over consumers
US telecoms giant AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have cast doubt over the $39bn (£25bn) sale of T-Mobile USA by withdrawing their merger application to the industry regulator.
AT&T also said it would include a $4bn charge in its fourth-quarter accounts to cover any potential compensation due if the deal does not go ahead.
The US Justice Department moved to block the sale at the end of August.
The two firms said they would focus on clearing the deal with the government.
Read more here.
AT&T also said it would include a $4bn charge in its fourth-quarter accounts to cover any potential compensation due if the deal does not go ahead.
The US Justice Department moved to block the sale at the end of August.
The two firms said they would focus on clearing the deal with the government.
Read more here.
Sock puppets poison the Web
Trust in information on the web is being damaged by the huge numbers of people paid by companies to post comments online, say researchers.
Fake posters can "poison" debate and make people unsure about who they can trust, the study suggests.
Some firms have created tens of thousands of fake accounts to flood chat forums and skew debate.
Read more here.
Fake posters can "poison" debate and make people unsure about who they can trust, the study suggests.
Some firms have created tens of thousands of fake accounts to flood chat forums and skew debate.
Read more here.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Emma Sullivan stands up to the um, 'adults' around her
A Kansas teenager who wrote a disparaging tweet about Gov. Sam Brownback is rejecting her high school principal's demand that she apologize.
Emma Sullivan told The Associated Press on Sunday that she's not sorry and an apology letter wouldn't be sincere.
The governor and his idiot staff have done more damage to themselves than any tweet could have. Well done geniuses.
Read more here.
Emma Sullivan told The Associated Press on Sunday that she's not sorry and an apology letter wouldn't be sincere.
The governor and his idiot staff have done more damage to themselves than any tweet could have. Well done geniuses.
Read more here.
Thailand's Anudith Nakornthap, the King and his court: Idiots of the Day
A government minister in Thailand has warned Facebook users that anyone pressing the "like" button on posts that might be offensive to the monarchy could be prosecuted under the country's strict lèse-majesté laws.
The warning was given two days after a Thai criminal court sentenced Amphon Tangnoppaku, 61, to 20 years in prison for sending text messages deemed insulting to the country's queen.
Amphon was found guilty on four counts and sentenced to five years' consecutive jail on each charge.
Thailand's laws against lèse-majesté (insulting a monarch) are the most severe in the world. Even repeating the details of an alleged offence is illegal.
A report in the Bangkok Post quoted the information technology minister, Anudith Nakornthap, saying that anyone who had pressed "like" on items related to lèse-majesté on Facebook should go back and delete all their reactions and comments. Such material could end up being copied by people who set up fake pages to insult the monarchy, he said.
"If they don't delete them, they can end up violating the computer crime act for indirectly distributing inappropriate content," Anudith said.
Any leader that has to resort to these kind of actions deserves all the ridicule they get.
Read more here.
The warning was given two days after a Thai criminal court sentenced Amphon Tangnoppaku, 61, to 20 years in prison for sending text messages deemed insulting to the country's queen.
Amphon was found guilty on four counts and sentenced to five years' consecutive jail on each charge.
Thailand's laws against lèse-majesté (insulting a monarch) are the most severe in the world. Even repeating the details of an alleged offence is illegal.
A report in the Bangkok Post quoted the information technology minister, Anudith Nakornthap, saying that anyone who had pressed "like" on items related to lèse-majesté on Facebook should go back and delete all their reactions and comments. Such material could end up being copied by people who set up fake pages to insult the monarchy, he said.
"If they don't delete them, they can end up violating the computer crime act for indirectly distributing inappropriate content," Anudith said.
Any leader that has to resort to these kind of actions deserves all the ridicule they get.
Read more here.
Worst polluters try and delay climate talks
Some of the developing world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters are bidding to delay talks on a new climate agreement.
To the anger of small islands and other vulnerable countries, India and Brazil are joining rich nations such as the US and Japan in wanting to start talks on a legal deal no earlier than 2015.
The EU and climate-vulnerable blocs want to start as soon as possible, and have the deal finalised by 2015.
Read more here.
To the anger of small islands and other vulnerable countries, India and Brazil are joining rich nations such as the US and Japan in wanting to start talks on a legal deal no earlier than 2015.
The EU and climate-vulnerable blocs want to start as soon as possible, and have the deal finalised by 2015.
Read more here.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas, or not all bullies are children
Ya know Gov, you do suck.
Yet another case of schools forgetting students are people too.
A Kansas teenager is in trouble after mocking Gov. Sam Brownback during a mock legislative assembly for high school students.
Emma Sullivan, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, was in Topeka on Monday as part of Kansas Youth in Government, a program for students interested in politics and government.
During the session, in which Brownback addressed the group, Sullivan posted on her personal Twitter page:
“Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot”
On Tuesday, Sullivan was called to her principal’s office and told that the tweet had been flagged by someone* on Brownback’s staff and reported to organizers of the Youth in Government program.
Read more here.
* a one Niomi Burget, who doesn't seem to have anything better to do that throw her weight around. You suck too.
Yet another case of schools forgetting students are people too.
A Kansas teenager is in trouble after mocking Gov. Sam Brownback during a mock legislative assembly for high school students.
Emma Sullivan, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, was in Topeka on Monday as part of Kansas Youth in Government, a program for students interested in politics and government.
During the session, in which Brownback addressed the group, Sullivan posted on her personal Twitter page:
“Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot”
On Tuesday, Sullivan was called to her principal’s office and told that the tweet had been flagged by someone* on Brownback’s staff and reported to organizers of the Youth in Government program.
Read more here.
* a one Niomi Burget, who doesn't seem to have anything better to do that throw her weight around. You suck too.
Harper and Co. shock no one with their archaic view of marijauna
That, and the Americans would never allow it, too much money invested in keeping it illegal.
CBCPrime Minister Stephen Harper says his government will never agree to the decriminalization of marijuana.
Harper's comments came Friday in Vancouver in response to a question at a brief news conference following an event at a downtown science centre.
"No, it will not happen under our government," Harper said. “We're very concerned about the spread of drugs in the country and the damage it's doing and as you know we have legislation before the House [of Commons] to crack down."
Stephen, just my word of advice. People have had *decades* of experience dealing with reactionary moves by government on this issue. All you will accomplish is generating more ill will towards you.
Of course you will fill jails, so you will feel just peachy about yourselves.
Read more here.
CBCPrime Minister Stephen Harper says his government will never agree to the decriminalization of marijuana.
Harper's comments came Friday in Vancouver in response to a question at a brief news conference following an event at a downtown science centre.
"No, it will not happen under our government," Harper said. “We're very concerned about the spread of drugs in the country and the damage it's doing and as you know we have legislation before the House [of Commons] to crack down."
Stephen, just my word of advice. People have had *decades* of experience dealing with reactionary moves by government on this issue. All you will accomplish is generating more ill will towards you.
Of course you will fill jails, so you will feel just peachy about yourselves.
Read more here.
Friday, November 25, 2011
RCMP in B.C.: Idiots of the Day
RCMP now admit they were keeping tabs on a Grand Forks, B.C. graffiti artist.
Dion Nordick found two surveillance cameras hidden in trees near his trailer home in June. He took them down and found pictures of himself and friends coming and going from his home.
Nordick also found hundreds of pictures of drug busts, suicides and assaults that hadn't been erased from the internal memory card.
The RCMP now admit the cameras were initially installed to monitor a suspected grow-op. Staff Sgt. Dan Seibel says when police searched the home, they found no plants, but did find graffiti stencils and paint.
Officers then installed two new cameras to watch Dion Nordick, a suspected graffiti artist.
Seibel says the graffiti artist allegedly had been tagging Grand Forks with a logo bearing guns and the word "dissent."
Comments on story are filled with people who truly find graffiti disturbing. Bizarre.
Read more here.
Dion Nordick found two surveillance cameras hidden in trees near his trailer home in June. He took them down and found pictures of himself and friends coming and going from his home.
Nordick also found hundreds of pictures of drug busts, suicides and assaults that hadn't been erased from the internal memory card.
The RCMP now admit the cameras were initially installed to monitor a suspected grow-op. Staff Sgt. Dan Seibel says when police searched the home, they found no plants, but did find graffiti stencils and paint.
Officers then installed two new cameras to watch Dion Nordick, a suspected graffiti artist.
Seibel says the graffiti artist allegedly had been tagging Grand Forks with a logo bearing guns and the word "dissent."
Comments on story are filled with people who truly find graffiti disturbing. Bizarre.
Read more here.
Megyn Kelly is an idiot, essentially
Megyn Kelly gave an interview to TVNewser who asked her about her comments which have caused such a stir on Bill O'Reilly's show that the pepper spray used on the UC Davis protesters is "a food product, essentially." Kelly's explanation for the comment boils down to claiming she was taken out of context and that if anyone watches the full clip, they won't believe she was trying to diminish what happened to the students.
Essentially, to me at least, she said the spray was shocking, but legal, so what's the problem?
Read more here.
Essentially, to me at least, she said the spray was shocking, but legal, so what's the problem?
Read more here.
Moronic woman uses pepper spray to get the best bargins
A woman shot pepper spray to keep shoppers from merchandise she wanted during a Black Friday sale, and 20 people suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
The incident occurred shortly after 10:20 p.m. Thursday in a crowded Los Angeles-area Walmart as shoppers hungry for deals were let inside the store.
Police said the suspect shot the pepper spray when the coverings over the items she wanted were removed.
"Somehow she was trying to use it to gain an upper hand," police Lt. Abel Parga told The Associated Press early Friday.
Read more here.
The incident occurred shortly after 10:20 p.m. Thursday in a crowded Los Angeles-area Walmart as shoppers hungry for deals were let inside the store.
Police said the suspect shot the pepper spray when the coverings over the items she wanted were removed.
"Somehow she was trying to use it to gain an upper hand," police Lt. Abel Parga told The Associated Press early Friday.
Read more here.
Harper and Co. butches up military
For me, this American style chest thumping is embarrassing.
The federal government paid tribute to its role in the Libya campaign Thursday with a flashy display of military might on Parliament Hill, a ceremony that some observers viewed as a way of declaring Canada's more muscular role on the global stage.
The celebratory event, which was attended by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Defence Minister Peter MacKay as well as a host of military officials, included a flypast by CF-18 fighter jets, a 21-gun salute and the awarding of a Meritorious Service Cross (Military Division) to Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard, the Canadian air force general who commanded the NATO mission in Libya.
Some saw it as a conventional victory parade. "It is a celebration of sorts, there's no question, but it's within military tradition," said Michel Drapeau, a professor of military law at the University of Ottawa, who pointed to similar victory parades held in Canada for V-Day and the Korean War.
But others remarked on how out-of-character the ceremony seemed for a country that for decades has tended to play down its military. Stephen Clarkson, a University of Toronto professor with an expertise in Canadian foreign policy, views the ceremony as an exercise in "self-glorification."
Either way, the spectacle left little doubt that Harper is putting increased emphasis on the role of Canada's military in international affairs.
Read more here.
The federal government paid tribute to its role in the Libya campaign Thursday with a flashy display of military might on Parliament Hill, a ceremony that some observers viewed as a way of declaring Canada's more muscular role on the global stage.
The celebratory event, which was attended by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Defence Minister Peter MacKay as well as a host of military officials, included a flypast by CF-18 fighter jets, a 21-gun salute and the awarding of a Meritorious Service Cross (Military Division) to Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard, the Canadian air force general who commanded the NATO mission in Libya.
Some saw it as a conventional victory parade. "It is a celebration of sorts, there's no question, but it's within military tradition," said Michel Drapeau, a professor of military law at the University of Ottawa, who pointed to similar victory parades held in Canada for V-Day and the Korean War.
But others remarked on how out-of-character the ceremony seemed for a country that for decades has tended to play down its military. Stephen Clarkson, a University of Toronto professor with an expertise in Canadian foreign policy, views the ceremony as an exercise in "self-glorification."
Either way, the spectacle left little doubt that Harper is putting increased emphasis on the role of Canada's military in international affairs.
Read more here.
Indonesia's ridiculous pot laws
That said, the kid's not very bright to bring drugs on any trip.
An Australian teen was sentenced to two months in prison in Indonesia for marijuana use in a case that has drawn international attention...
...Indonesia's drug laws are among the strictest in the world. But they have a provision, article 128, under which those arrested with small amounts of drugs can be released to rehabilitation if they can prove they are an addict. In the case of underage offenders, that requires a declaration from the youth's parents, officials have said.
Read more here.
An Australian teen was sentenced to two months in prison in Indonesia for marijuana use in a case that has drawn international attention...
...Indonesia's drug laws are among the strictest in the world. But they have a provision, article 128, under which those arrested with small amounts of drugs can be released to rehabilitation if they can prove they are an addict. In the case of underage offenders, that requires a declaration from the youth's parents, officials have said.
Read more here.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
No, really? Canadian wages plummet under Harper
Canadian workers are failing to keep up with the rising cost of living as real wages continue to fall dramatically, new data from Statistics Canada shows.
The agency reported Thursday that average weekly earnings for non-farm payrolls fell 0.3 per cent in nominal terms in September to $872.75.
When the 3.2 per cent inflation rate for the month is taken into consideration, the drop in real wages was more dramatic.
On a year-over-year basis, the increase in earnings was a mere 1.1 per cent, the lowest level of growth since November 2009.
Average weekly earning gains have been dropping steadily since the spring, when they were as high as 4.1 per cent in April, well above the inflation rate.
With income from investments also soft because of the volatility in equity markets, analysts said it is fair to assume Canadians' average standard of living is also dropping.
Read more here.
The agency reported Thursday that average weekly earnings for non-farm payrolls fell 0.3 per cent in nominal terms in September to $872.75.
When the 3.2 per cent inflation rate for the month is taken into consideration, the drop in real wages was more dramatic.
On a year-over-year basis, the increase in earnings was a mere 1.1 per cent, the lowest level of growth since November 2009.
Average weekly earning gains have been dropping steadily since the spring, when they were as high as 4.1 per cent in April, well above the inflation rate.
With income from investments also soft because of the volatility in equity markets, analysts said it is fair to assume Canadians' average standard of living is also dropping.
Read more here.
Entertainment industry suffers setback in efforts to control the Net in Europe
The European Court of Justice has ruled that content owners cannot ask ISPs to filter out illegal content.
The ruling could have implications for the creative industries as they attempt to crack down on piracy.
The court said that while content providers can ask ISPs to block specific sites, wider filtering was in breach of the E-Commerce Directive.
A Belgian court had previously ruled that a local rights holder could force an ISP to filter content.
Read more here.
The ruling could have implications for the creative industries as they attempt to crack down on piracy.
The court said that while content providers can ask ISPs to block specific sites, wider filtering was in breach of the E-Commerce Directive.
A Belgian court had previously ruled that a local rights holder could force an ISP to filter content.
Read more here.
Police arrest journalists "for their own safety"
Perhaps the safety referred to is the police's?
The bad press has had some results:
The New York Police Department's commissioner on Wednesday sent an internal message to officers ordering them not to unreasonably interfere with media access during news coverage and warning those who do will be subject to disciplinary action, after several journalists were arrested covering Occupy Wall Street demonstrations last week.
A tad depressing the police had to be reminded of this...
Read more here.
The bad press has had some results:
The New York Police Department's commissioner on Wednesday sent an internal message to officers ordering them not to unreasonably interfere with media access during news coverage and warning those who do will be subject to disciplinary action, after several journalists were arrested covering Occupy Wall Street demonstrations last week.
A tad depressing the police had to be reminded of this...
Read more here.
Police chiefs back hypocritical anti-mask bill
Until it is required that police wear badges and name tags *at all times*, this bill exposes police and government hypocrisy.
So it will pass without that provision with flying colours, obviously...
Some Canadian police chiefs are voicing support for a private member's bill that would criminalize wearing a mask or covering the face during a riot or unlawful assembly.
The bill, which was introduced in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Blake Richards of Alberta, proposes making the wearing of a mask during a riot punishable by up to five years in jail.
Read more here.
So it will pass without that provision with flying colours, obviously...
Some Canadian police chiefs are voicing support for a private member's bill that would criminalize wearing a mask or covering the face during a riot or unlawful assembly.
The bill, which was introduced in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Blake Richards of Alberta, proposes making the wearing of a mask during a riot punishable by up to five years in jail.
Read more here.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
War is Hell Cheating
The developers behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 say they have banned more than 1,000 players from the online version.
Infinity Ward's Creative Strategist, Robert Bowling, used Twitter to explain what was happening.
"Any attempt to cheat, hack, or glitch in #MW3 will not be tolerated. 1600+ bans issued. Updates in works."
Best quote:
"Every ban unique to the level of douchiness of the offense.
"The greater the douche the greater the length."
Read more here.
Infinity Ward's Creative Strategist, Robert Bowling, used Twitter to explain what was happening.
"Any attempt to cheat, hack, or glitch in #MW3 will not be tolerated. 1600+ bans issued. Updates in works."
Best quote:
"Every ban unique to the level of douchiness of the offense.
"The greater the douche the greater the length."
Read more here.
Mitt Romney's pathetic lying campaign ad
Truth? We don't need no stinkin' truth.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's first ad of the 2012 presidential campaign quotes President Obama out of context in what the Romney campaign is calling a deliberate attempt to show that Mr. Obama "doesn't want to talk about the economy."
In the ad, which goes up Tuesday in New Hampshire, Mr. Obama is heard saying "if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose."
But when Mr. Obama made that statement, he was actually quoting an aide to John McCain, his 2008 rival for the presidency. "Senator McCain's campaign actually said, and I quote, if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose," Mr. Obama said.
In an email to Politico, the Romney camp said it used the out-of-context quote "intentionally."
And par for the course, all comments disabled on the Youtube channel.
"Believe in America"...isn't that the opening lines of the Godfather?
Read more here.
Tocondo's rich to have yet another erection
It's so...big.
City-owned development agency Build Toronto announced Tuesday its first partnership will be with widely known developer Tridel, which will collaborate on a 75-storey, $295-million residential building in the downtown area.
The partnership, the first since the city established Build Toronto as an independent and self-funding real estate and development corporation, will develop the project at 10 York St. in the emerging Harbourfront neighbourhood.
"This is, pardon me for saying so, one hell of a deal," said Lorne Braithwaite the CEO of Build Toronto, at a news conference announcing the project.
Condo builders, modest as always...
"I [Mayor Ford]* can assure you we have some of the brightest real estate minds in the entire country ... sitting on Build Toronto's board," he said.
Tridel president Leo DelZotto said the site "offers the opportunity to create a condominium development that will be spectacular."
Read more here.
* No one in Tocondo is better suited to judge what constitutes a bright mind than Rob Ford...
We're fucked.
City-owned development agency Build Toronto announced Tuesday its first partnership will be with widely known developer Tridel, which will collaborate on a 75-storey, $295-million residential building in the downtown area.
The partnership, the first since the city established Build Toronto as an independent and self-funding real estate and development corporation, will develop the project at 10 York St. in the emerging Harbourfront neighbourhood.
"This is, pardon me for saying so, one hell of a deal," said Lorne Braithwaite the CEO of Build Toronto, at a news conference announcing the project.
Condo builders, modest as always...
"I [Mayor Ford]* can assure you we have some of the brightest real estate minds in the entire country ... sitting on Build Toronto's board," he said.
Tridel president Leo DelZotto said the site "offers the opportunity to create a condominium development that will be spectacular."
Read more here.
* No one in Tocondo is better suited to judge what constitutes a bright mind than Rob Ford...
We're fucked.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Environment Minister Peter Kent: Clueless about ozone
Justin Trudeau asks: “explain to the House what ozone is and what is the difference between its impact at low altitude and high altitude?”
Um, uh, sputter...
Mr. Kent, like every other minister during Question Period, did not waver from his talking points. Instead, of trying to answer the question he simply threw back an insult at Mr. Trudeau, criticizing the “quality” of the questions from the Liberal opposition.
The minister added: “This government would gladly compare our record on the environment, in all its dimensions to...”
At that point, a frustrated Mr. Trudeau interrupted: “You don’t know what ozone is.”
I'd be surprised if he knows what the environment is, other that something to exploit.
Read more here.
Um, uh, sputter...
Mr. Kent, like every other minister during Question Period, did not waver from his talking points. Instead, of trying to answer the question he simply threw back an insult at Mr. Trudeau, criticizing the “quality” of the questions from the Liberal opposition.
The minister added: “This government would gladly compare our record on the environment, in all its dimensions to...”
At that point, a frustrated Mr. Trudeau interrupted: “You don’t know what ozone is.”
I'd be surprised if he knows what the environment is, other that something to exploit.
Read more here.
"Academics" in the journal Antiquity think phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust
These academics need to lay off the crack.
Graffiti by Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten may be of greater significance than the discovery of early Beatles recordings, academics have said.
Rotten, born John Lydon, drew on the walls of the band's London flat in 1975 after disliking a recent redecoration.
Now, a paper in the journal Antiquity is suggesting the flat is an important historical and archaeological site.
The authors say it is "a direct and powerful representation of a radical and dramatic movement of rebellion."
The graffiti mainly consists of eight cartoons drawn in black marker pen in the upper room of the flat on Denmark Street, which is now used as shop offices.
Read more here.
Graffiti by Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten may be of greater significance than the discovery of early Beatles recordings, academics have said.
Rotten, born John Lydon, drew on the walls of the band's London flat in 1975 after disliking a recent redecoration.
Now, a paper in the journal Antiquity is suggesting the flat is an important historical and archaeological site.
The authors say it is "a direct and powerful representation of a radical and dramatic movement of rebellion."
The graffiti mainly consists of eight cartoons drawn in black marker pen in the upper room of the flat on Denmark Street, which is now used as shop offices.
Read more here.
The Steven J. Baum P.C. law firm: Karma's a bitch, eh f*ckers?
A law firm that had become a lightning rod in the controversy over mortgage-foreclosure practices has shut down, costing 89 employees their jobs.
The Steven J. Baum P.C. law firm, which has offices in Amherst, N.Y., and Westbury, N.Y., has filed papers with government agencies notifying them that it plans to close. It made the filings under a federal law requiring employers to provide notice before mass layoffs...
...the firm’s fortunes worsened this month after The New York Times published photos of a Halloween party at the Baum firm showing employees wearing costumes mocking people who had lost their homes.
After those photos surfaced, the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae cut off the Baum firm, forbidding servicers of their mortgages from using Mr. Baum and his colleagues. That effectively served as the firm’s death knell.
Read more here.
The Steven J. Baum P.C. law firm, which has offices in Amherst, N.Y., and Westbury, N.Y., has filed papers with government agencies notifying them that it plans to close. It made the filings under a federal law requiring employers to provide notice before mass layoffs...
...the firm’s fortunes worsened this month after The New York Times published photos of a Halloween party at the Baum firm showing employees wearing costumes mocking people who had lost their homes.
After those photos surfaced, the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae cut off the Baum firm, forbidding servicers of their mortgages from using Mr. Baum and his colleagues. That effectively served as the firm’s death knell.
Read more here.
Newt Gingrich: Child Labor laws are stupid
Republicans continue to race themselves to the bottom of the barrel with blinding speed. Truly despicable people.
Michele Bachmann's Iowa campaign Co-Chair, Tamara Scott: Idiot of the Day
I know I know, this comes from the Bachmann camp, where looney tunes is par for the course, but:
One of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to scaring people into not supporting gay marriage is using the "slippery slope" method.
You tell people that if gay marriage is made legal, it's only a matter of time before the state or country will be full of polygamists or men marrying turtles, as Bill O'Reilly has suggested, or, as Michele Bachmann's new Iowa campaign Co-Chair, Tamara Scott, is warning, women marrying the Eiffel Tower.
Scare tactics are one thing, but out and out over the top comedy? How's that working out for you?
Given your target audience, probably depressingly well.
Read more here.
One of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to scaring people into not supporting gay marriage is using the "slippery slope" method.
You tell people that if gay marriage is made legal, it's only a matter of time before the state or country will be full of polygamists or men marrying turtles, as Bill O'Reilly has suggested, or, as Michele Bachmann's new Iowa campaign Co-Chair, Tamara Scott, is warning, women marrying the Eiffel Tower.
Scare tactics are one thing, but out and out over the top comedy? How's that working out for you?
Given your target audience, probably depressingly well.
Read more here.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Some at Central Mountain High School are truly swine
Victim One, the first known alleged victim of abuse by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, had to leave his school in the middle of his senior year because of bullying, his counselor said Sunday.
Officials at Central Mountain High School in Clinton County weren’t providing guidance for fellow students, who were reacting badly about Joe Paterno’s firing and blaming the 17-year-old, said Mike Gillum, the psychologist helping his family. Those officials were unavailable for comment this weekend.
The name-calling and verbal threats were just too much, he said.
Read more here.
Officials at Central Mountain High School in Clinton County weren’t providing guidance for fellow students, who were reacting badly about Joe Paterno’s firing and blaming the 17-year-old, said Mike Gillum, the psychologist helping his family. Those officials were unavailable for comment this weekend.
The name-calling and verbal threats were just too much, he said.
Read more here.
Huge storm on Saturn
"This new storm is a completely different kind of beast compared to anything we saw on Saturn previously with Cassini. The fact that such outbursts are episodic and keep happening on Saturn every 20 to 30 years or so is telling us something about deep inside the planet, but we have yet to figure out what it is."
Read more here.
Read more here.
Racists at The Toronto District School Board disgrace Toronto
Hate to say it, but I agree with Marcus Gee about some things.
The Toronto District School Board made a terrible mistake when it approved an Africentric high school this week. Public schools based on racial background are an affront to everything Toronto stands for.
Read more here.
The Toronto District School Board made a terrible mistake when it approved an Africentric high school this week. Public schools based on racial background are an affront to everything Toronto stands for.
Read more here.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Pinellas County Commissioner Norm Roche: Cowardly Internet Troll
Fellow politicians blasted Pinellas County Commissioner Norm Roche on Thursday for using a secret alter ego to zing them, straining city-county relations and the commission's own dynamics at a crucial time.
Roche's derogatory comments about St. Petersburg baffled Mayor Bill Foster.
"He comes from a darker place than I can even imagine,'' Foster said. "And that's kind of a window into the psyche of a county commissioner."
The St. Petersburg Times reported Wednesday that Roche acknowledged writing comments on the Times' website, tampabay.com, as "Reality.''
Among other things, Reality wrote that St. Petersburg was defined by "thug shootings" and "prostitutes beatings" and "social service recipients.'' Other comments questioned the ethics of fellow commissioners.
Read more here.
Roche's derogatory comments about St. Petersburg baffled Mayor Bill Foster.
"He comes from a darker place than I can even imagine,'' Foster said. "And that's kind of a window into the psyche of a county commissioner."
The St. Petersburg Times reported Wednesday that Roche acknowledged writing comments on the Times' website, tampabay.com, as "Reality.''
Among other things, Reality wrote that St. Petersburg was defined by "thug shootings" and "prostitutes beatings" and "social service recipients.'' Other comments questioned the ethics of fellow commissioners.
Read more here.
Who wrote Shakespeare?
Eric Idle knows:
While it is perfectly obvious to everyone that Ben Jonson wrote all of Shakespeare’s plays, it is less known that Ben Jonson’s plays were written by a teen-age girl in Sunderland, who mysteriously disappeared, leaving no trace of her existence, which is clear proof that she wrote them. The plays of Marlowe were actually written by a chambermaid named Marlene, who faked her own orgasm, and then her own death in a Deptford tavern brawl. Queen Elizabeth, who was obviously a man, conspired to have Shakespeare named as the author of his plays, because how could a man who had only a grammar-school education and spoke Latin and a little Greek possibly have written something as bad as “All’s Well That Ends Well”? It makes no sense. It was obviously an upper-class twit who wished to disguise his identity so that Vanessa Redgrave could get a job in her old age.
Read more here.
While it is perfectly obvious to everyone that Ben Jonson wrote all of Shakespeare’s plays, it is less known that Ben Jonson’s plays were written by a teen-age girl in Sunderland, who mysteriously disappeared, leaving no trace of her existence, which is clear proof that she wrote them. The plays of Marlowe were actually written by a chambermaid named Marlene, who faked her own orgasm, and then her own death in a Deptford tavern brawl. Queen Elizabeth, who was obviously a man, conspired to have Shakespeare named as the author of his plays, because how could a man who had only a grammar-school education and spoke Latin and a little Greek possibly have written something as bad as “All’s Well That Ends Well”? It makes no sense. It was obviously an upper-class twit who wished to disguise his identity so that Vanessa Redgrave could get a job in her old age.
Read more here.
Thuggish police wielding pepper spray at the University of California
Under pressure to resign, the chancellor of the University of California, Davis, established a task force Saturday to look into an incident where a police officer sprayed seated protesters with pepper spray at point blank range.
Linda Katehi told CNN's Don Lemon that she considered the police action on Friday "unacceptable," but stressed she has no plans to step down.
"We really want to look into this very carefully and take action ... make sure that it will never happen again on our campus," she said.
Katehi said the task force made of faculty, students and staff will review the events and provide a report within 90 days.
90 days? Don't make me laugh.
The *brave* office in question is one Lt. John Pike, who appears to have made $110,243.12 in 2010 to be so noble.
Longer version:
The retreat at the end is a delight to behold.
Read more here.
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