Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Ken Langone: Idiot of the Day
Projection can make you blind.
The co-founder of Home Depot [HD 34.93 -0.22 (-0.63%) ]sharply criticized the president for promoting class warfare through his repeated attacks against "fat cat" business executives and his targeting of tax loopholes.
In sum, the behavior is symptomatic of Obama's disrespect for the office he holds, Langone said.
"Ronald Reagan would never go into the Oval Office without his jacket on—that's how much he revered the presidency," he said. "This guy worked like hell to be president...Behave like a president. Let me look at you as a model to how we should behave. What does he say? Fat cats, jet airplanes. What is the purpose? Us versus them.
"The thing I fear the most about the future of America is...divide us, we all lose. This has got to stop."
Read more here.
The co-founder of Home Depot [HD 34.93 -0.22 (-0.63%) ]sharply criticized the president for promoting class warfare through his repeated attacks against "fat cat" business executives and his targeting of tax loopholes.
In sum, the behavior is symptomatic of Obama's disrespect for the office he holds, Langone said.
"Ronald Reagan would never go into the Oval Office without his jacket on—that's how much he revered the presidency," he said. "This guy worked like hell to be president...Behave like a president. Let me look at you as a model to how we should behave. What does he say? Fat cats, jet airplanes. What is the purpose? Us versus them.
"The thing I fear the most about the future of America is...divide us, we all lose. This has got to stop."
Read more here.
Federal government can enjoy the tax revenue from tobacco, but if you die from it that's your tough luck
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday that the federal government cannot be drawn into lawsuits against tobacco companies and held liable for damages.
The unanimous decision marks a victory for Ottawa in two cases where it could have been on the hook for potentially billions of dollars if the tobacco industry loses once the cases proceed.
Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., and a number of other major tobacco companies were trying to have the Supreme Court declare the federal government a third party in the cases. That would have forced Ottawa to act as a co-defendant.
Friday's decision covers two appeals from British Columbia's Court of Appeal and it rejects all of the arguments put forward in both cases by the tobacco companies.
Imperial Tobacco says it is "disappointed" with the decision.
Read more here.
The unanimous decision marks a victory for Ottawa in two cases where it could have been on the hook for potentially billions of dollars if the tobacco industry loses once the cases proceed.
Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., and a number of other major tobacco companies were trying to have the Supreme Court declare the federal government a third party in the cases. That would have forced Ottawa to act as a co-defendant.
Friday's decision covers two appeals from British Columbia's Court of Appeal and it rejects all of the arguments put forward in both cases by the tobacco companies.
Imperial Tobacco says it is "disappointed" with the decision.
Read more here.
Harper and Co. silencing scientists
Mustn't upset God fearing corporate loving conservatives, now can we?
The union representing tens of thousands of federal scientists says the Conservative government is unfairly silencing its members.
The comments come after Kristi Miller, a researcher for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, was banned from discussing her work with the media.
Miller's research focuses on the decline of salmon stocks. In January, she was the lead author on an article in the journal Science that suggested the drop in numbers of sockeye salmon in B.C.'s Fraser River might be due to a viral infection.
Reporters lined up to interview her, but the federal government barred her from speaking to the media.
Read more here.
The union representing tens of thousands of federal scientists says the Conservative government is unfairly silencing its members.
The comments come after Kristi Miller, a researcher for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, was banned from discussing her work with the media.
Miller's research focuses on the decline of salmon stocks. In January, she was the lead author on an article in the journal Science that suggested the drop in numbers of sockeye salmon in B.C.'s Fraser River might be due to a viral infection.
Reporters lined up to interview her, but the federal government barred her from speaking to the media.
Read more here.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Study states the obvious, Internet Explorer users are idiots
They needed a study for that?
Are users of other Web browsers smarter than the people who use Microsoft's Internet Explorer?
A new survey doesn't quite say so. But it sure as heck suggests it.
The survey by AptiQuant, a Vancouver-based Web consulting company, gave more than 100,000 participants an IQ test, while monitoring which browser they used to take the test.
The result? Internet Explorer users scored lower than average, while Chrome, Firefox and Safari users were slightly above average.
Read more here.
Are users of other Web browsers smarter than the people who use Microsoft's Internet Explorer?
A new survey doesn't quite say so. But it sure as heck suggests it.
The survey by AptiQuant, a Vancouver-based Web consulting company, gave more than 100,000 participants an IQ test, while monitoring which browser they used to take the test.
The result? Internet Explorer users scored lower than average, while Chrome, Firefox and Safari users were slightly above average.
Read more here.
Mayor Ford tries something novel, listening
A typical meeting of Mayor Rob Ford’s executive committee draws its share of civic-minded Torontonians. A dozen or two names may be listed on the speakers list; residents will fan out throughout the room, awaiting a turn at the podium.
But there was nothing typical about Thursday, as officials hunkered down for a meeting that drew hundreds of people to weigh in on budget cuts at City Hall and promised to go into the wee hours of the morning.
The speakers list, eight pages long, had 302 names and counting. By dinner time, the committee had heard from about 40.
Amid the passionate defence of libraries and public transit was a revelation from the Mayor that he had received a threat in recent weeks.
Read more here.
But there was nothing typical about Thursday, as officials hunkered down for a meeting that drew hundreds of people to weigh in on budget cuts at City Hall and promised to go into the wee hours of the morning.
The speakers list, eight pages long, had 302 names and counting. By dinner time, the committee had heard from about 40.
Amid the passionate defence of libraries and public transit was a revelation from the Mayor that he had received a threat in recent weeks.
Read more here.
Apple holding more cash than USA
Apple now has more cash to spend than the United States government.
Latest figures from the US Treasury Department show that the country has an operating cash balance of $73.7bn (£45.3bn).
Apple's most recent financial results put its reserves at $76.4bn (£46.9bn).
Read more here.
Latest figures from the US Treasury Department show that the country has an operating cash balance of $73.7bn (£45.3bn).
Apple's most recent financial results put its reserves at $76.4bn (£46.9bn).
Read more here.
You pay taxes so Microsoft doesn't have to
Corporations are people, just greedy devious ones.
If you want to know why tax from surging corporate profits isn't making much of a dent in the United States' crippling budget deficit, a glance at Microsoft Corp's recent results provides some clues.
Things were rosy in the giant software company's just-ended fiscal fourth quarter, which produced record sales of nearly $17.4 billion, a 30 percent increase in after-tax profit, and a 35 percent gain in earnings per share.
Read more here.
If you want to know why tax from surging corporate profits isn't making much of a dent in the United States' crippling budget deficit, a glance at Microsoft Corp's recent results provides some clues.
Things were rosy in the giant software company's just-ended fiscal fourth quarter, which produced record sales of nearly $17.4 billion, a 30 percent increase in after-tax profit, and a 35 percent gain in earnings per share.
Read more here.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
It doesn't get better with people like Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown in the world
In fact, it can be down right crappy.
As Massachusetts Democrats and LGBT leaders continued to criticize Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) for refusing to appear with the rest of the state's congressional delegation in an "It Gets Better" video on Thursday, Republicans attacked the project's founder, Dan Savage, as someone too controversial and hostile to Republicans to associate with.
On Wednesday, Massachusetts lawmakers released a video for the project, assuring young people who are getting bullied that life will eventually get better. Brown, the only Republican member of the state's delegation, was also the only member of the 12-person group who declined to participate.
Once a bully, always a bully.
Read more here.
As Massachusetts Democrats and LGBT leaders continued to criticize Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) for refusing to appear with the rest of the state's congressional delegation in an "It Gets Better" video on Thursday, Republicans attacked the project's founder, Dan Savage, as someone too controversial and hostile to Republicans to associate with.
On Wednesday, Massachusetts lawmakers released a video for the project, assuring young people who are getting bullied that life will eventually get better. Brown, the only Republican member of the state's delegation, was also the only member of the 12-person group who declined to participate.
Once a bully, always a bully.
Read more here.
Terrible teacher Natalie Munroe gets her job back
Another adult who thinks it's just find to treat students with open contempt.
Munroe’s blog comments about her students include the following:
• “I hear the trash company is hiring.”
• “I called out sick a couple of days just to avoid your son.”
• “Rude, beligerent [sic], argumentative f**k.”
• “Just as bad as his sibling. Don’t you know how to raise kids?”
• “Asked too many questions and took too long to ask them. The bell means it’s time to leave!”
This woman has no respect for her fellow human beings regardless of age. How she was reinstated is beyond me.
Read more here.
Munroe’s blog comments about her students include the following:
• “I hear the trash company is hiring.”
• “I called out sick a couple of days just to avoid your son.”
• “Rude, beligerent [sic], argumentative f**k.”
• “Just as bad as his sibling. Don’t you know how to raise kids?”
• “Asked too many questions and took too long to ask them. The bell means it’s time to leave!”
This woman has no respect for her fellow human beings regardless of age. How she was reinstated is beyond me.
Read more here.
The Left might actually be right
A British conservative sees the Light.
It has taken me more than 30 years as a journalist to ask myself this question, but this week I find that I must: is the Left right after all? You see, one of the great arguments of the Left is that what the Right calls “the free market” is actually a set-up.
Hallelujah, pick up thy bed and walk.
He does end the piece with a bit of conservative nonsense though:
"The Left’s blind faith in the state makes its remedies worse than useless."
That is foolishly simplistic, but he had to slip up somewhere....
Read more here.
It has taken me more than 30 years as a journalist to ask myself this question, but this week I find that I must: is the Left right after all? You see, one of the great arguments of the Left is that what the Right calls “the free market” is actually a set-up.
Hallelujah, pick up thy bed and walk.
He does end the piece with a bit of conservative nonsense though:
"The Left’s blind faith in the state makes its remedies worse than useless."
That is foolishly simplistic, but he had to slip up somewhere....
Read more here.
Coun. Doug Ford attempts to remove his foot from his mouth
My my, even the Ford Brothers realize how idiotic they come across.
Nick must have had them on the phone...
A Toronto city councillor moved Wednesday to quell a firestorm of outrage over remarks he made about one of Canada's most celebrated literary figures.
Coun. Doug Ford said Tuesday he wouldn't recognize Margaret Atwood if he saw her and said she needed to get elected to city council before he'd "sit down and talk to her."
On Wednesday Ford, who is the elder brother of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, said he would in fact recognize her if he saw her — but most people wouldn't.
"Everyone knows who Margaret Atwood is but if she were to come up to 98 per cent of the people, they wouldn't know who she was," said Ford.
Read more here.
Nick must have had them on the phone...
A Toronto city councillor moved Wednesday to quell a firestorm of outrage over remarks he made about one of Canada's most celebrated literary figures.
Coun. Doug Ford said Tuesday he wouldn't recognize Margaret Atwood if he saw her and said she needed to get elected to city council before he'd "sit down and talk to her."
On Wednesday Ford, who is the elder brother of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, said he would in fact recognize her if he saw her — but most people wouldn't.
"Everyone knows who Margaret Atwood is but if she were to come up to 98 per cent of the people, they wouldn't know who she was," said Ford.
Read more here.
Joe Walsh: Today's Hypocritical Republican
Freshman U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, a tax-bashing Tea Party champion who sharply lectures President Barack Obama and other Democrats on fiscal responsibility, owes more than $100,000 in child support to his ex-wife and three children, according to documents his ex-wife filed in their divorce case in December.
“I won’t place one more dollar of debt upon the backs of my kids and grandkids unless we structurally reform the way this town spends money!” Walsh says directly into the camera in his viral video lecturing Obama on the need to get the nation’s finances in order.
Walsh starts the video by saying, “President Obama, quit lying. Have you no shame, sir? In three short years, you’ve bankrupted this country.”
Read more here.
Photographers of Toronto, get a picture of Mayor Ford talking on his cell while driving
Then maybe the MF will pay the fine.
In a case like Ford's, where there is a citizen witness, it would be difficult to get a conviction, Baxter said -- even if the accused has admitted to doing it.
When the incident is witnessed by a police officer, he said, the case is much stronger.
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) defended Ford in an interview as a “hard-working mayor who doesn't have anyone chauffeuring him around and returns calls.”
He also questioned the credibility of Ottilie Mason, the eyewitness to the incident. “My question is the individual flagging him down, was that safe as well? Last I checked she wasn't a police officer or enforcer. It could have caused road rage.”
Get the f*cking picture.
Read more here.
In a case like Ford's, where there is a citizen witness, it would be difficult to get a conviction, Baxter said -- even if the accused has admitted to doing it.
When the incident is witnessed by a police officer, he said, the case is much stronger.
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) defended Ford in an interview as a “hard-working mayor who doesn't have anyone chauffeuring him around and returns calls.”
He also questioned the credibility of Ottilie Mason, the eyewitness to the incident. “My question is the individual flagging him down, was that safe as well? Last I checked she wasn't a police officer or enforcer. It could have caused road rage.”
Get the f*cking picture.
Read more here.
Mayor Ford's incompetence and meanspiritedness delighting the Ford Nation...the rest of us, not so much
Did I mention homophobia, literary ignorance, bullying....I could go on...
Oh and Ford Nation, although you won't understand, we Pinkos are not upset at the electoral loss, we are upset that *Rob Ford* won, as he is unsuited for public office in a great city.
And we are more that a little concerned that you thought he was.
Unlike many public officials, Mr. Mammoliti explained, the mayor drives himself around in his van and can’t make calls while others chauffeur him. Mr. Ford, he offered, is a “different” kind of mayor.
He can say that again.
Read more here.
Oh and Ford Nation, although you won't understand, we Pinkos are not upset at the electoral loss, we are upset that *Rob Ford* won, as he is unsuited for public office in a great city.
And we are more that a little concerned that you thought he was.
Unlike many public officials, Mr. Mammoliti explained, the mayor drives himself around in his van and can’t make calls while others chauffeur him. Mr. Ford, he offered, is a “different” kind of mayor.
He can say that again.
Read more here.
Bollywood not as important as Hollywood in the eyes of the Ontario government
The Ontario government is quietly proposing bending the rules for Hollywood celebrities by allowing them to bring in their own bodyguards -- rules that weren't stretched for Bollywood stars in Toronto last month.
The change is expected to take effect Sept. 2, just a few days before the star-studded Toronto International Film Festival begins.
Read more here.
The change is expected to take effect Sept. 2, just a few days before the star-studded Toronto International Film Festival begins.
Read more here.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Microsoft: Twidiot of the Day
Microsoft has apologised after being accused by Amy Winehouse fans of trying to make money from her death.
It's after Xbox360's official Twitter account, tweetbox360, posted a message urging people to pay tribute to the star by using Microsoft's online store to buy her album.
It read "remember Amy Winehouse by downloading the ground-breaking 'Back to Black' over at Zune".
One response came from Simacco: "Talk about cashing in on someone's death!"
Read more here.
It's after Xbox360's official Twitter account, tweetbox360, posted a message urging people to pay tribute to the star by using Microsoft's online store to buy her album.
It read "remember Amy Winehouse by downloading the ground-breaking 'Back to Black' over at Zune".
One response came from Simacco: "Talk about cashing in on someone's death!"
Read more here.
Republican Rep. Paul Broun is one dangerously uneducated person
Our economic fate is in the hands of morons such as this.
'Dan D' explains why the Ford Nation are such ninnies
Comment on blogTO regarding Marget Atwood and Doug Ford's ignorance.
Margaret Atwood is attached to libraries because she is used to them and they were integral to her growth. They are increasingly becoming irrelevant. It's the age of the internet people! How is Margaret Atwood an authority on this? Because she's a legendary author? That has nothing to do with the importance of libraries for people today. She's out of touch and is superimposing her values on our society. She can't possibly understand the difference between libraries 30-40 years ago and today.
I would close down most libraries in TO for free citywide wifi anyday.
That's just me. I'm 26.
And thank God it's just you.
Read more here.
Margaret Atwood is attached to libraries because she is used to them and they were integral to her growth. They are increasingly becoming irrelevant. It's the age of the internet people! How is Margaret Atwood an authority on this? Because she's a legendary author? That has nothing to do with the importance of libraries for people today. She's out of touch and is superimposing her values on our society. She can't possibly understand the difference between libraries 30-40 years ago and today.
I would close down most libraries in TO for free citywide wifi anyday.
That's just me. I'm 26.
And thank God it's just you.
Read more here.
A proposal from Dan Savage to Rick Santorum
Hoping a raging homophobe can keep their mouth shut for more than 2 seconds is a tall order.
World Trade Center Health Program Administrator John Howard is a cold hearted bastard
Anything to save a dime
Workers who were involved in the response to the World Trade Center attack will not have their cancer treatments compensated under a program set up after September 11, according to a controversial decision released Tuesday by the World Trade Center Health Program.
There is inadequate "published scientific and medical findings" that a causal link exists between September 11 exposures and the occurrence of cancer in responders and survivors, program Administrator John Howard said in a statement.
The decision forms part of the first periodic review of what the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act will provide.
After a lengthy battle, President Obama signed the $4.2 billion legislation in January to provide health care for those who helped clear the rubble and search for human remains at the World Trade Center site in New York.
"As new research and findings are released, we will continue to do periodic reviews of cancer" for the program, Howard said, with the next review expected in early to mid-2012.
Some of the New York lawmakers who originally hailed the legislation are now speaking out against the exclusion of cancer.
Read more here.
Workers who were involved in the response to the World Trade Center attack will not have their cancer treatments compensated under a program set up after September 11, according to a controversial decision released Tuesday by the World Trade Center Health Program.
There is inadequate "published scientific and medical findings" that a causal link exists between September 11 exposures and the occurrence of cancer in responders and survivors, program Administrator John Howard said in a statement.
The decision forms part of the first periodic review of what the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act will provide.
After a lengthy battle, President Obama signed the $4.2 billion legislation in January to provide health care for those who helped clear the rubble and search for human remains at the World Trade Center site in New York.
"As new research and findings are released, we will continue to do periodic reviews of cancer" for the program, Howard said, with the next review expected in early to mid-2012.
Some of the New York lawmakers who originally hailed the legislation are now speaking out against the exclusion of cancer.
Read more here.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Coun. Doug Ford is a clueless Canadian
Ford said, "Well good luck to Margaret Atwood. I don't even know her. If she walked by me, I wouldn't have a clue who she is."
These clowns don't get out much do they?
This is the caliber the Ford Nation deems fit for public office. I disagree.
Read more here.
These clowns don't get out much do they?
This is the caliber the Ford Nation deems fit for public office. I disagree.
Read more here.
American people try to get through to the dangerous amateurs claiming to govern them
High-level debt ceiling talks dragged on between administration and congressional officials Tuesday as lawmakers struggled to devise a way to overcome deep partisan divisions and avoid an unprecedented national default that could now be little more than one week away.
Capitol Hill phone lines were jammed and websites of key lawmakers -- including House Speaker John Boehner -- crashed as citizens from coast to coast tried to weigh in on the debate.
Read more here.
Capitol Hill phone lines were jammed and websites of key lawmakers -- including House Speaker John Boehner -- crashed as citizens from coast to coast tried to weigh in on the debate.
Read more here.
In a stunning display of nerve, Conrad Black defends Rupert Murdoch
Whatever happens, the News Corp. telephone and email-hacking imbroglio will not obscure Rupert Murdoch’s astounding achievements in conquering the British tabloid market, smashing the antediluvian British printing unions, cracking the U.S. television network triopoly, and being a pioneer in media integration and satellite telecasting all over the world.
The tiny fact he may be a criminal doesn't seem to enter into the equation.
The spectacle of Conrad Black writhing in righteous indignation is a delight to behold.
Read more here.
The tiny fact he may be a criminal doesn't seem to enter into the equation.
The spectacle of Conrad Black writhing in righteous indignation is a delight to behold.
Read more here.
Ottilie Mason receives symbolic gesture to all Toronto from Mayor Ford
Ottilie Mason is probably a Pinko and deserved it. Her six year old daughter certainly has leftist leanings.
Rob Ford is getting a thumbs-down on social media after a Facebook post described an unexpected encounter with the mayor Friday night at the intersection of Dundas St. W. and Spadina Ave.
According to the post, Ottilie Mason and her 6-year-old daughter pulled up next to Ford and spotted him talking on his cellphone while driving. So they did what they always do when they dislike something.
They gave him a thumbs-down, and Mason rolled down her window and said: “Get off your cellphone.”
Mason said Ford responded by giving her the finger.
Read more here.
NOM's Maggie Gallagher is a hateful person
The woman will stop at nothing to make other's lives as unpleasant as she can.
And she's one of the good guys, she must be, she says so.
Voting on other's civil rights is a very bad idea, but bigots love it ("we reversed it in California"). The reason some governments have to act "against" the will of the "people" is to protect us all from those such as Maggie Gallagher.
She of course, will never see this.
14,000 year old rock art found in Wales
An archaeologist believes a wall carving in a south Wales cave could be Britain's oldest example of rock art.
The faint scratchings of a speared reindeer are believed to have been carved by a hunter-gatherer in the Ice Age more than 14,000 years ago.
Read more here.
The faint scratchings of a speared reindeer are believed to have been carved by a hunter-gatherer in the Ice Age more than 14,000 years ago.
Read more here.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Comcast bans man from Internet for using too much data
Comcast needs their arrogant corporate ass kicked.
It is part of the effort by IPs to cut us off from the Net so we will have to keep buying their overpriced cable services.
They've already succeeded in neutering Netflix in Canada*.
The end of the internet comes not with a bang or a procession of four lolcats of the apocalypse, but just with two blinking lights on a modem.
At least that's how it came for Andre Vrignaud, a 39-year-old gaming consultant in Seattle, when Comcast shut him off from the internet for using too much data.
Vrignaud, it seems, committed the foul of using more than 250 GB of data on Comcast two months in a row, triggering the company's overage policy that results in a year-long ban from using its services.
Read more here.
* it was so bad in fact I canceled my subscription to it yesterday. Well done cable companies, you succeeded in your goal of making us hate you just that much more.
It is part of the effort by IPs to cut us off from the Net so we will have to keep buying their overpriced cable services.
They've already succeeded in neutering Netflix in Canada*.
The end of the internet comes not with a bang or a procession of four lolcats of the apocalypse, but just with two blinking lights on a modem.
At least that's how it came for Andre Vrignaud, a 39-year-old gaming consultant in Seattle, when Comcast shut him off from the internet for using too much data.
Vrignaud, it seems, committed the foul of using more than 250 GB of data on Comcast two months in a row, triggering the company's overage policy that results in a year-long ban from using its services.
Read more here.
* it was so bad in fact I canceled my subscription to it yesterday. Well done cable companies, you succeeded in your goal of making us hate you just that much more.
Price to kiss Mayor Ford's ass? $13,362.25
City of Toronto officials earlier this spring quietly waived a $13,362.25 fine levied against Mayor Rob Ford for 483 infractions of the bylaw governing the placement of election signs, according to documents obtained by The Globe and Mail through an access-to-information request.
Bylaw enforcement officers recorded most of the infractions during the final week of the campaign, as well as the three-day grace period after the vote that is meant to allow candidates to collect their signs.
News of the waived fine emerges at a time when the Ford administration is considering a range of new user fees to help cover the cost of delivering city services.
Adrienne Batra, a spokesperson for the mayor, declined to respond to questions about the disposition of the fine.
Read more here.
Bylaw enforcement officers recorded most of the infractions during the final week of the campaign, as well as the three-day grace period after the vote that is meant to allow candidates to collect their signs.
News of the waived fine emerges at a time when the Ford administration is considering a range of new user fees to help cover the cost of delivering city services.
Adrienne Batra, a spokesperson for the mayor, declined to respond to questions about the disposition of the fine.
Read more here.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Totally blind bigots march in New York City
The irony of these people wanting to vote on other's civil rights is completely lost to them. Hate is a powerful blinder.
Read more here.
Rabbi Alana Suskin thinks religion is best for human rights...except for women..and gays...and..
I'm sure for a religious person, this would seem to be true.
But..."If religion does such a good job in the human rights area one must wonder why most people enjoyed these rights only after the secularization of societies."
Sorry Rabi, nice try.
Read more here.
But..."If religion does such a good job in the human rights area one must wonder why most people enjoyed these rights only after the secularization of societies."
Sorry Rabi, nice try.
Read more here.
Derry police: Idiots of the Day
A Castlederg man has rejected an apology from the police after they interrupted his wedding on suspicion it was "a sham marriage".
The police wrongly arrested Neil McElwee and his pregnant fiancee, Yanan Sun, moments before the ceremony at the Guildhall in Londonderry on Tuesday.
Chief Inspector John Burrows said the police had acted in good faith, but sometimes they got things wrong.
Mr McElwee said "sorry" would not make up for the distress caused.
The couple were taken to a police station, forced to dress in forensic clothing and separated.
They were held for five hours and only released when their solicitor got involved. They were married the next day in nearby Castlederg.
The police told the couple they were acting on an anonymous tip-off.
They have accepted that they made a mistake and have apologised.
Have they accepted they are flaming idiots and a world wide laughing stock?
Read more here.
The police wrongly arrested Neil McElwee and his pregnant fiancee, Yanan Sun, moments before the ceremony at the Guildhall in Londonderry on Tuesday.
Chief Inspector John Burrows said the police had acted in good faith, but sometimes they got things wrong.
Mr McElwee said "sorry" would not make up for the distress caused.
The couple were taken to a police station, forced to dress in forensic clothing and separated.
They were held for five hours and only released when their solicitor got involved. They were married the next day in nearby Castlederg.
The police told the couple they were acting on an anonymous tip-off.
They have accepted that they made a mistake and have apologised.
Have they accepted they are flaming idiots and a world wide laughing stock?
Read more here.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Ghana's Paul Evans Aidoo: Vile Homophobe of the Day
Another hate filled psychopath
A Ghanaian minister is "promoting hatred" by urging people to report those they suspect to be homosexual, a human rights group has told the BBC.
Ghana's Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights said Paul Evans Aidoo's comments could endanger the nation's underground gay community.
Mr Aidoo said he wanted to rid society of gay people and take them to court.
Homosexual acts are illegal in Ghana but someone would have to be caught having sex to be prosecuted.
Mr Aidoo was reacting to reports that 8,000 gay people in the Western Region had registered with Aids charities.
"I don't believe it; nobody believes it," the Western Region minister told Ghana's Joy FM radio station earlier this week.
He urged people - "landlords and tenants" - to come forward if they suspected someone was gay.
The suspects would be taken to court to see if they could be charged, Mr Aidoo said.
Read more here.
A Ghanaian minister is "promoting hatred" by urging people to report those they suspect to be homosexual, a human rights group has told the BBC.
Ghana's Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights said Paul Evans Aidoo's comments could endanger the nation's underground gay community.
Mr Aidoo said he wanted to rid society of gay people and take them to court.
Homosexual acts are illegal in Ghana but someone would have to be caught having sex to be prosecuted.
Mr Aidoo was reacting to reports that 8,000 gay people in the Western Region had registered with Aids charities.
"I don't believe it; nobody believes it," the Western Region minister told Ghana's Joy FM radio station earlier this week.
He urged people - "landlords and tenants" - to come forward if they suspected someone was gay.
The suspects would be taken to court to see if they could be charged, Mr Aidoo said.
Read more here.
Extremists of all kinds continue to make life for everyone else a living hell
No news here, just an observation.
The Royal Family continues its rehabilitation efforts and fires Prince Andrew
The Royal Family's efforts to convince us they are no longer crazy continue...
As a national embarrassment, Prince Andrew approaches world-class. There have been tales of dodgy friendships, princely extravagance, a colorful love life, and a not-so-royal manner to delight the tabloids. Only his ex-wife, the Duchess of York (aka Fergie), can exceed his capacity for the headline-grabbing faux pas.
But the press minders at Buckingham Palace can rest easier. For 10 years, the Queen’s second son served his country in idiosyncratic style as an overseas trade envoy, schmoozing for Britain around the world from Afghanistan to Vietnam. No longer. A statement on his personal website on Friday said that in the future he would be pursuing “a more diverse portfolio of activities.”
Read more here.
As a national embarrassment, Prince Andrew approaches world-class. There have been tales of dodgy friendships, princely extravagance, a colorful love life, and a not-so-royal manner to delight the tabloids. Only his ex-wife, the Duchess of York (aka Fergie), can exceed his capacity for the headline-grabbing faux pas.
But the press minders at Buckingham Palace can rest easier. For 10 years, the Queen’s second son served his country in idiosyncratic style as an overseas trade envoy, schmoozing for Britain around the world from Afghanistan to Vietnam. No longer. A statement on his personal website on Friday said that in the future he would be pursuing “a more diverse portfolio of activities.”
Read more here.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Mayor Ford wants to hear from Torontonians on cuts, will ignore opposition anyway
Do you really think he will listen to discenting voices?
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he wants to hear from everyone about how to deal with the city's projected $774 million budget deficit.
On Friday, the mayor said he wants Torontonians to come to City Hall next week and voice their concerns when the city's executive council meets.
"Next Thursday at the executive meeting I encourage people — even if I have to sit there for three or four days — I want to hear what people have to say."
Speaking to reporters on Friday afternoon Ford said people have made it clear to him what their priorities are: clean roads, safe streets and having their garbage picked up.
But if Torontonians aren't willing to make cuts, Ford said, then the only other option will be raising property taxes.
Oh clever boots, see what he did there?
Make the cuts, or I raise taxes. As nothing makes the Ford Nation see red more than taxes (ok, maybe gays, the poor and anyone who isn't like them, but they really really hate taxes), so of course its de-florinated water, closed libraries and cars on the sidewalk.
He must have consulted Nick, he'd never come up with a plan as devious as this by himself.
Read more here.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he wants to hear from everyone about how to deal with the city's projected $774 million budget deficit.
On Friday, the mayor said he wants Torontonians to come to City Hall next week and voice their concerns when the city's executive council meets.
"Next Thursday at the executive meeting I encourage people — even if I have to sit there for three or four days — I want to hear what people have to say."
Speaking to reporters on Friday afternoon Ford said people have made it clear to him what their priorities are: clean roads, safe streets and having their garbage picked up.
But if Torontonians aren't willing to make cuts, Ford said, then the only other option will be raising property taxes.
Oh clever boots, see what he did there?
Make the cuts, or I raise taxes. As nothing makes the Ford Nation see red more than taxes (ok, maybe gays, the poor and anyone who isn't like them, but they really really hate taxes), so of course its de-florinated water, closed libraries and cars on the sidewalk.
He must have consulted Nick, he'd never come up with a plan as devious as this by himself.
Read more here.
The Comedy Network does its best to annoy online viewers
"See what we did here? We are soooo edgy!"
Justin demonstrates the Network's opinion of its viewers.
Try watching John Stewart online at The Comedy Network and you will be treated to an ad for some movie starring Justin Timberlake and a nobody...over..and over...and over again.
Oh and incase you missed it, there's a banner ad for it too.
Raging homophobe Rick Santorum annoyed someone got revenge
Never piss off the queers, they'll rip your eyes out.
It was bound to happen sometime– Rick Santorum has been sex columnist Dan Savage’s favorite punching bag for some time now, launching a Google campaign to turn his name into a gay sex euphemism and fantasizing aloud about having sex with him. Santorum took most of it in stride, or at least silence, but it appears Savage’s appearance on Real Time last Friday was the last straw. This week, Santorum sent out a fundraising email condemning “hate activist” Savage and went on a long tirade against him on The Steve Malzberg Show.
Read more here.
It was bound to happen sometime– Rick Santorum has been sex columnist Dan Savage’s favorite punching bag for some time now, launching a Google campaign to turn his name into a gay sex euphemism and fantasizing aloud about having sex with him. Santorum took most of it in stride, or at least silence, but it appears Savage’s appearance on Real Time last Friday was the last straw. This week, Santorum sent out a fundraising email condemning “hate activist” Savage and went on a long tirade against him on The Steve Malzberg Show.
Read more here.
Fox News should be very very worried
The U.S. Justice Department is preparing subpoenas as part of preliminary investigations into News Corp. relating to alleged foreign bribery and alleged hacking of voicemail of Sept. 11 victims, according to a government official.
If it turns up just a hint they hacked 911 victims phones, Fox News is toast.
It will be a delight to watch conservatives defend it. It will probably turn out the 911 victims were actually secret Muslim homosexuals and deserved it.
"Liberal conspiracy uncovered, tonight on FOX"
Read more here.
If it turns up just a hint they hacked 911 victims phones, Fox News is toast.
It will be a delight to watch conservatives defend it. It will probably turn out the 911 victims were actually secret Muslim homosexuals and deserved it.
"Liberal conspiracy uncovered, tonight on FOX"
Read more here.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Mayor Ford, even though your house is burning down, is delighted he found a dime down the back of the couch
Conservatives, as long as money is saved, then anything goes....
The city has denied Toronto’s fire service money for recruiting classes, a surreptitious cost-cutting measure that has reduced the department’s already-depleted ranks to the point where public safety is at risk, according to the head of the city’s firefighters’ union.
“When cost-savings put citizens at risk, I think it’s a big mistake,” said Ed Kennedy, president of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, who added that the cut, which essentially denies the department 50 new recruits, marks the first time since amalgamation that such classes have been cancelled.
Read more here.
The city has denied Toronto’s fire service money for recruiting classes, a surreptitious cost-cutting measure that has reduced the department’s already-depleted ranks to the point where public safety is at risk, according to the head of the city’s firefighters’ union.
“When cost-savings put citizens at risk, I think it’s a big mistake,” said Ed Kennedy, president of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, who added that the cut, which essentially denies the department 50 new recruits, marks the first time since amalgamation that such classes have been cancelled.
Read more here.
Oh what a surprise. Council won't investigate Mayor Ford's expenses
Did they really think these thugs would investigate one of their own?
In a sharp rebuke to a left-leaning election fairness coalition, a council committee has rejected all the requests for compliance audits targeting four of Mayor Rob Ford’s closest supporters, including his brother Doug.
The other councillors are Giorgio Mammoliti, chair of the community development and recreation committee, Michael Thompson, chair of the economic development committee, and James Pasternak, a council rookie and former school board trustee.
Read more here.
In a sharp rebuke to a left-leaning election fairness coalition, a council committee has rejected all the requests for compliance audits targeting four of Mayor Rob Ford’s closest supporters, including his brother Doug.
The other councillors are Giorgio Mammoliti, chair of the community development and recreation committee, Michael Thompson, chair of the economic development committee, and James Pasternak, a council rookie and former school board trustee.
Read more here.
Gus Cusimano: Rules? We don't need no stinkin' rules
While all eyes are focused on the Core Service Sideshow now being played out daily at Toronto City Hall, a quiet drama unfolding in the same building reveals the meanness and hypocrisy of the Ford regime.
The action began shortly after the municipal election last October. That was when veteran Ward 9 Councillor Maria Augimeri beat challenger Gus Cusimano by a narrow 89-vote majority. Cusimano, a Ford camp follower, then launched an electoral appeal based on technicalities. Though his motivation was clear, a lower court judge ruled that there were grounds for a re-election.
Read more here.
The action began shortly after the municipal election last October. That was when veteran Ward 9 Councillor Maria Augimeri beat challenger Gus Cusimano by a narrow 89-vote majority. Cusimano, a Ford camp follower, then launched an electoral appeal based on technicalities. Though his motivation was clear, a lower court judge ruled that there were grounds for a re-election.
Read more here.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Not content with unleashing the homophobes, City Hall now courts the racists
Mayor Ford and Co., amateur hour in action.
Officials at City Hall are trying to get out of the immigration resettlement business.
Stopping payment on the city’s share of payments to help newcomers settle in Toronto will help to alleviate some of next year’s projected $774 million budget shortfall.
Proposed cuts to the funding of immigrants and refugees will mean chopping their welfare, public housing, medical and language training costs.
And who is spearheading this thuggish idea?
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti estimates “tens of millions of dollars” are spent by the city to help resettle newcomers, who include refugees and immigrants.
That cash could be going towards the city’s deficit, he said.
Mammoliti said he is being stonewalled by city bureaucrats as he tries to obtain documents to determine the full costs of immigration services to taxpayers.
“This is definitely something that has to be looked at,” Mammoliti said. “I am flabbergasted by a lack of information and the city should not be in the welfare business.”
Read the comments to the story to see the level this country is proudly sinking to.
Read more here.
Officials at City Hall are trying to get out of the immigration resettlement business.
Stopping payment on the city’s share of payments to help newcomers settle in Toronto will help to alleviate some of next year’s projected $774 million budget shortfall.
Proposed cuts to the funding of immigrants and refugees will mean chopping their welfare, public housing, medical and language training costs.
And who is spearheading this thuggish idea?
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti estimates “tens of millions of dollars” are spent by the city to help resettle newcomers, who include refugees and immigrants.
That cash could be going towards the city’s deficit, he said.
Mammoliti said he is being stonewalled by city bureaucrats as he tries to obtain documents to determine the full costs of immigration services to taxpayers.
“This is definitely something that has to be looked at,” Mammoliti said. “I am flabbergasted by a lack of information and the city should not be in the welfare business.”
Read the comments to the story to see the level this country is proudly sinking to.
Read more here.
Mayor Ford makes Toronto Christmas that much colder
Winterlicious, the annual event that offers fixed-cost menus to budget-conscious diners as a way to tempt them out on a cold night, is the latest initiative to be lined up in the cost-cutting crosshairs at city hall.
Michael Thompson, head of the city’s economic development committee, said Tuesday it’s time the city consider “graduating” mature programs that can stand on their own, including Winterlicious, along with some established business improvement areas.
And of course we have to be reminded of conservative heartlessness..
A proposal to find “alternate sources of funding” to cover the city’s costs for a Christmas gift program for needy children was defeated, leaving the option of scrapping it entirely on the table. The program, started in the 1950s, uses city resources to match gifts collected by outside groups such as media organizations and firefighters with families in need and costs the city about $100,000 to support, Mr. Thompson said.
Anything to save a dime.
Read more here.
Michael Thompson, head of the city’s economic development committee, said Tuesday it’s time the city consider “graduating” mature programs that can stand on their own, including Winterlicious, along with some established business improvement areas.
And of course we have to be reminded of conservative heartlessness..
A proposal to find “alternate sources of funding” to cover the city’s costs for a Christmas gift program for needy children was defeated, leaving the option of scrapping it entirely on the table. The program, started in the 1950s, uses city resources to match gifts collected by outside groups such as media organizations and firefighters with families in need and costs the city about $100,000 to support, Mr. Thompson said.
Anything to save a dime.
Read more here.
Sue-Ann Levy is a very mean spirited individual
Mayor Ford is purposing cuts to services. Some disagree.
Que Ms Levy and the nastiest keyboard this city has to offer...
She’s baaaaack!
You’ll be pleased to know that after spending five years nurturing the spoils of her $400,000 Atkinson Foundation grant, writing a book on her homeless friends and running for the NDP in a Toronto-Rosedale byelection last year, street nurse Saint Cathy Crowe is fighting back against the (Rob) Ford cuts.
In a widely distributed e-mail from her bully pulpit at the union-funded Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, Crowe warns her followers that “privatization, government deregulation and deep cuts to social spending” are the themes in the KPMG core service reviews.
It gets worse after that.
The reason the city's pinkos distrust the noble motives of the Ford Nation, is that it has spokespeople such as this.
Read more here.
Que Ms Levy and the nastiest keyboard this city has to offer...
She’s baaaaack!
You’ll be pleased to know that after spending five years nurturing the spoils of her $400,000 Atkinson Foundation grant, writing a book on her homeless friends and running for the NDP in a Toronto-Rosedale byelection last year, street nurse Saint Cathy Crowe is fighting back against the (Rob) Ford cuts.
In a widely distributed e-mail from her bully pulpit at the union-funded Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, Crowe warns her followers that “privatization, government deregulation and deep cuts to social spending” are the themes in the KPMG core service reviews.
It gets worse after that.
The reason the city's pinkos distrust the noble motives of the Ford Nation, is that it has spokespeople such as this.
Read more here.
All non Africans are part Neanderthal
If your heritage is non-African, you are part Neanderthal, according to a new study in the July issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution. Discovery News has been reporting on human/Neanderthal interbreeding for some time now, so this latest research confirms earlier findings.
Damian Labuda of the University of Montreal's Department of Pediatrics and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center conducted the study with his colleagues. They determined some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals, but only in people of non-African heritage.
"This confirms recent findings suggesting that the two populations interbred," Labuda was quoted as saying in a press release. His team believes most, if not all, of the interbreeding took place in the Middle East, while modern humans were migrating out of Africa and spreading to other regions.
The ancestors of Neanderthals left Africa about 400,000 to 800,000 years ago. They evolved over the millennia mostly in what are now France, Spain, Germany and Russia. They went extinct, or were simply absorbed into the modern human population, about 30,000 years ago.
Read more here.
Damian Labuda of the University of Montreal's Department of Pediatrics and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center conducted the study with his colleagues. They determined some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals, but only in people of non-African heritage.
"This confirms recent findings suggesting that the two populations interbred," Labuda was quoted as saying in a press release. His team believes most, if not all, of the interbreeding took place in the Middle East, while modern humans were migrating out of Africa and spreading to other regions.
The ancestors of Neanderthals left Africa about 400,000 to 800,000 years ago. They evolved over the millennia mostly in what are now France, Spain, Germany and Russia. They went extinct, or were simply absorbed into the modern human population, about 30,000 years ago.
Read more here.
Republican establishment steps in to sabotage Michele Bachmann
Can't have that level of hypocritical crazy get too far, now can we?
Trying to knock her out, Michele Bachmann insiders say she is “incapacitated” often.
The image of a pill-popping, incapacitated Michele Bachmann is being painted today by “former aides”, “three people who have worked closely with Bachmann”, unnamed witnesses, an unnamed adviser, and “some around her”. I doubt it’s any coincidence that the Daily Caller is reporting this on the heels of the news that Michele Bachmann is the “Grand Old Party’s” new front runner, as they are all quite aware of her limitations against President Obama.
According to these sources..
Which "sources" is really the question
Read more here.
Trying to knock her out, Michele Bachmann insiders say she is “incapacitated” often.
The image of a pill-popping, incapacitated Michele Bachmann is being painted today by “former aides”, “three people who have worked closely with Bachmann”, unnamed witnesses, an unnamed adviser, and “some around her”. I doubt it’s any coincidence that the Daily Caller is reporting this on the heels of the news that Michele Bachmann is the “Grand Old Party’s” new front runner, as they are all quite aware of her limitations against President Obama.
According to these sources..
Which "sources" is really the question
Read more here.
Harper and Co. sell Canadian oil to Chinese state oil firm
Chinese state oil company CNOOC has agreed to buy Canadian oil sands producer OPTI for $2.1bn (£1.3bn).
The deal - which must be approved by regulators - is the latest move by state-run Chinese firms to buy stakes in North American oil producers.
Canada's Alberta province is believed to have the third-largest reserves of oil in the world.
However it is far more expensive to extract oil from Canada's oil sands than from conventional fields.
CNOOC says it will pay OPTI shareholders $34m, but will also take on the firm's $2bn worth of debt.
Aren't we leaving any for ourselves...
Most oil from Alberta is currently exported to the US.
oh...
Read more here.
And:
Energy ministers to seek new oil markets
Read more here.
Welcome to Harpermart™, where Canada is up for sale.
The deal - which must be approved by regulators - is the latest move by state-run Chinese firms to buy stakes in North American oil producers.
Canada's Alberta province is believed to have the third-largest reserves of oil in the world.
However it is far more expensive to extract oil from Canada's oil sands than from conventional fields.
CNOOC says it will pay OPTI shareholders $34m, but will also take on the firm's $2bn worth of debt.
Aren't we leaving any for ourselves...
Most oil from Alberta is currently exported to the US.
oh...
Read more here.
And:
Energy ministers to seek new oil markets
Read more here.
Welcome to Harpermart™, where Canada is up for sale.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Public works committee plans to make Toronto worse than it is
The Ford Nation continues to make this city a joke.
Toronto's public works committee gave the go-ahead to a controversial series of cuts suggested by an independent accounting firm last week that included a reduction in street cleaning and snow removal, and an end to fluoride in the city's drinking water.
A 44-page report prepared for the city by KPMG identified about $15 million in savings out of the roughly $1-billion budget of the Public Works and Infrastructure division.
Other proposals included reducing the city's waste-diversion rate, trimming its cycling infrastructure and further privatization of garbage collection.
The committee endorsed all of the suggestions but exactly which services will be cut will be determined later.
Read more here.
Toronto's public works committee gave the go-ahead to a controversial series of cuts suggested by an independent accounting firm last week that included a reduction in street cleaning and snow removal, and an end to fluoride in the city's drinking water.
A 44-page report prepared for the city by KPMG identified about $15 million in savings out of the roughly $1-billion budget of the Public Works and Infrastructure division.
Other proposals included reducing the city's waste-diversion rate, trimming its cycling infrastructure and further privatization of garbage collection.
The committee endorsed all of the suggestions but exactly which services will be cut will be determined later.
Read more here.
Obama plans to f*ck you over to please Republican and get re-elected
If that's what he's doing, he deserves to get his ass booted to the sidewalk.
No Hope. No Change.
But what is becoming equally obvious, to both sides, is that the Obama White House is using this same artificial calamity to pitch its own increasingly rightward tilt to voters in advance of the 2012 elections.
It has been extremely interesting in the last weeks to see observers on both sides of the aisle make this point. Just yesterday, the inimitable New York Times conservative Ross Douthat listed Obama's not-so-secret rightward push as a the first in a list of reasons why the Republicans should dig in even more, instead of making a sensible deal: Barack Obama wants a right-leaning deficit deal.
Read more here.
No Hope. No Change.
But what is becoming equally obvious, to both sides, is that the Obama White House is using this same artificial calamity to pitch its own increasingly rightward tilt to voters in advance of the 2012 elections.
It has been extremely interesting in the last weeks to see observers on both sides of the aisle make this point. Just yesterday, the inimitable New York Times conservative Ross Douthat listed Obama's not-so-secret rightward push as a the first in a list of reasons why the Republicans should dig in even more, instead of making a sensible deal: Barack Obama wants a right-leaning deficit deal.
Read more here.
Monday, July 18, 2011
British police want us to believe death of whistleblower Sean Hoare "not suspicious"
Ummm...
Police say Sean Hoare, the whistleblower reporter who alleged widespread hacking at the News of the World, has been found dead.
Police said Hoare's death at his home in England was not considered to be suspicious, according to Britain's Press Association news agency.
Hoare was quoted by the New York Times as saying that phone hacking was widely used and even encouraged at the News of the World tabloid under then editor Andy Coulson.
Coulson — who most recently served as Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief — was arrested as part of the widening investigation into phone hacking and police corruption.
The news of Hoare's death comes just after the spreading scandal forced two of London's top police officers to resign in less than 24 hours and prompted Cameron to call Monday for an emergency session of Parliament.
Read more here.
Police say Sean Hoare, the whistleblower reporter who alleged widespread hacking at the News of the World, has been found dead.
Police said Hoare's death at his home in England was not considered to be suspicious, according to Britain's Press Association news agency.
Hoare was quoted by the New York Times as saying that phone hacking was widely used and even encouraged at the News of the World tabloid under then editor Andy Coulson.
Coulson — who most recently served as Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief — was arrested as part of the widening investigation into phone hacking and police corruption.
The news of Hoare's death comes just after the spreading scandal forced two of London's top police officers to resign in less than 24 hours and prompted Cameron to call Monday for an emergency session of Parliament.
Read more here.
Marcus Gee on our fun loving hypocritical Mayor Ford
On Tuesday, a day when the efficiency consultants fingered a program that helps elderly people buy medical supplies, Mr. Ford found time to kick off the annual Caribbean festival. The mayor, who pointedly declined to raise the Pride Week flag last month, even did a little dance with a woman in a feathered headdress. Apparently he has no trouble cavorting with scantily clad revellers just as long as they aren’t gay.
Read more here.
The Wall Street Journal sticks up for Rupert...to the amusement of us all
The damage control begins, although they don't realize is it way too late.
They know if this scandal takes hold in the US, then they are well and truly fucked.
The Wall Street Journal has attempted to redirect the criticism that has been levelled against its owner, Rupert Murdoch, against the journalists who uncovered allegations of illegal phone-hacking at the News of the World.
In an angry, unsigned editorial, the paper accuses the Guardian and the BBC of driving the phone-hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives". It implies the Guardian did not have the right to make "lectures about journalistic standards" because of the newspaper's involvement in publishing the WikiLeaks embassy cables...
...The editorial provoked an instant outpouring of comment on Twitter, much of it unfavourable. As one tweet, by Jesse Elsinger, put it: "Best adj to use for this WSJ editorial: delusional, oedipal, sycophantic or craven?"
Read more here.
They know if this scandal takes hold in the US, then they are well and truly fucked.
The Wall Street Journal has attempted to redirect the criticism that has been levelled against its owner, Rupert Murdoch, against the journalists who uncovered allegations of illegal phone-hacking at the News of the World.
In an angry, unsigned editorial, the paper accuses the Guardian and the BBC of driving the phone-hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives". It implies the Guardian did not have the right to make "lectures about journalistic standards" because of the newspaper's involvement in publishing the WikiLeaks embassy cables...
...The editorial provoked an instant outpouring of comment on Twitter, much of it unfavourable. As one tweet, by Jesse Elsinger, put it: "Best adj to use for this WSJ editorial: delusional, oedipal, sycophantic or craven?"
Read more here.
Violet Large, one of the nicest people ever
Violet Large, a Nova Scotia woman who along with her husband gave away nearly $11 million in lottery winnings, has died.
Violet and Allen Large, from Lower Truro, won a big Lotto 6/49 draw last summer. But it was their generosity that made headlines around the world.
The Larges estimated they gave away about 98 per cent of their $11.2-million prize.
Most of the money went to local charities and organizations — from hospitals to fire departments to cemeteries. Some went to family members, while the couple kept the rest for emergencies.
Read more here.
Violet and Allen Large, from Lower Truro, won a big Lotto 6/49 draw last summer. But it was their generosity that made headlines around the world.
The Larges estimated they gave away about 98 per cent of their $11.2-million prize.
Most of the money went to local charities and organizations — from hospitals to fire departments to cemeteries. Some went to family members, while the couple kept the rest for emergencies.
Read more here.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Entire establishment of Britain resigns, country up for grabs
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has resigned following the phone hacking scandal.
Britain's most senior police officer has faced criticism for hiring former News of the World executive Neil Wallis - who was questioned by police investigating hacking - as an adviser.
He said there were lessons to be learned from the affair, but he was leaving with his integrity intact.
It came after discussions with his employer, London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Read more here.
Britain's most senior police officer has faced criticism for hiring former News of the World executive Neil Wallis - who was questioned by police investigating hacking - as an adviser.
He said there were lessons to be learned from the affair, but he was leaving with his integrity intact.
It came after discussions with his employer, London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Read more here.
Time to get nervous Rupert: Rebekah Brooks Arrested
Rebekah Brooks has been arrested, the Metropolitan Police confirmed on Sunday.
The former News International chief executive went to a London police station by appointment and was arrested on suspicion of corruption and phone hacking.
Brooks is the 10th person to be arrested in connection to the new investigation into allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World.
In a statement, police said: "The MPS has this afternoon, Sunday 17 July, arrested a female in connection with allegations of corruption and phone hacking.
It is troubling however that she was arrested today, as it affects her appearance for questioning on Tuesday.
Of course, everyone is acting with the utmost honesty...
Read more here.
The former News International chief executive went to a London police station by appointment and was arrested on suspicion of corruption and phone hacking.
Brooks is the 10th person to be arrested in connection to the new investigation into allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World.
In a statement, police said: "The MPS has this afternoon, Sunday 17 July, arrested a female in connection with allegations of corruption and phone hacking.
It is troubling however that she was arrested today, as it affects her appearance for questioning on Tuesday.
Of course, everyone is acting with the utmost honesty...
Read more here.
Brendan O'Neill: Idiot of the Day
Apologists for Rupert Murdoch emerge...
So many commentators have allowed themselves to be swallowed by schadenfreude that they have lost the ability to step back and ask: what is motoring this crusade and what will its impact be?
The first nonsense notion that needs to be put to bed is that the extent to which the phone-hacking scandal has dominated media and political debate is a reflection of rocketing public disgust. There has been "a fit of public outrage", claims one reporter. Labour leader Ed Miliband even described Murdoch's decision to close the News of the World as a victory for "people power".
In truth, the public is nowhere near as exercised over these matters as the liberal media and its lapdogs in parliament are. Public polling guru Deborah Mattinson says at her most recent focus group on politics, the phone-hacking scandal "didn't even come up". In this era of recession, people have more pressing things to worry about.
Wish as they might, this isn't going away.
Read more here.
So many commentators have allowed themselves to be swallowed by schadenfreude that they have lost the ability to step back and ask: what is motoring this crusade and what will its impact be?
The first nonsense notion that needs to be put to bed is that the extent to which the phone-hacking scandal has dominated media and political debate is a reflection of rocketing public disgust. There has been "a fit of public outrage", claims one reporter. Labour leader Ed Miliband even described Murdoch's decision to close the News of the World as a victory for "people power".
In truth, the public is nowhere near as exercised over these matters as the liberal media and its lapdogs in parliament are. Public polling guru Deborah Mattinson says at her most recent focus group on politics, the phone-hacking scandal "didn't even come up". In this era of recession, people have more pressing things to worry about.
Wish as they might, this isn't going away.
Read more here.
Scotland Yard implicated in Rupert Murdoch scandal
For nearly four years they lay piled in a Scotland Yard evidence room, six overstuffed plastic bags gathering dust and little else.
Inside was a treasure-trove of evidence: 11,000 pages of handwritten notes listing nearly 4,000 celebrities, politicians, sports stars, police officials and crime victims whose phones may have been hacked by The News of the World, a now defunct British tabloid newspaper.
Yet from August 2006, when the items were seized, until the autumn of 2010, no one at the Metropolitan Police Service, commonly referred to as Scotland Yard, bothered to sort through all the material and catalog every page, said former and current senior police officials.
During that same time, senior Scotland Yard officials assured Parliament, judges, lawyers, potential hacking victims, the news media and the public that there was no evidence of widespread hacking by the tabloid. They steadfastly maintained that their original inquiry, which led to the conviction of one reporter and one private investigator, had put an end to what they called an isolated incident.
Read more here.
Inside was a treasure-trove of evidence: 11,000 pages of handwritten notes listing nearly 4,000 celebrities, politicians, sports stars, police officials and crime victims whose phones may have been hacked by The News of the World, a now defunct British tabloid newspaper.
Yet from August 2006, when the items were seized, until the autumn of 2010, no one at the Metropolitan Police Service, commonly referred to as Scotland Yard, bothered to sort through all the material and catalog every page, said former and current senior police officials.
During that same time, senior Scotland Yard officials assured Parliament, judges, lawyers, potential hacking victims, the news media and the public that there was no evidence of widespread hacking by the tabloid. They steadfastly maintained that their original inquiry, which led to the conviction of one reporter and one private investigator, had put an end to what they called an isolated incident.
Read more here.
China whines like a spoiled brat yet again re Tibet
The story should read that Obama met with the Dalai Lama. Way way down in the last paragraph it should say China has a problem with it.
Instead, BBC gives China a place of honour...
Obama holds talks with Dalai Lama despite China protest
US President Barack Obama has held private talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, despite strong criticism from China.
Mr Obama told the Dalai Lama of his "strong support" for human rights in Tibet, a White House statement said.
Beijing released an angry statement saying the meeting had damaged relations between the two countries.
They always say that, until money is involved.
China, your tantrums are getting old.
Read more here.
Instead, BBC gives China a place of honour...
Obama holds talks with Dalai Lama despite China protest
US President Barack Obama has held private talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, despite strong criticism from China.
Mr Obama told the Dalai Lama of his "strong support" for human rights in Tibet, a White House statement said.
Beijing released an angry statement saying the meeting had damaged relations between the two countries.
They always say that, until money is involved.
China, your tantrums are getting old.
Read more here.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Real Canadians delight in the War of 1812
You all know a month doesn't go by when someone somewhere [in Canada]* says: "you know, we burned the White House down once"
A true Canadian says this with pride.
It’s a sticky question. Exactly how should Canada commemorate the 200th anniversary of a war in which our predecessors repelled an invasion by the United States – now this country’s closest ally and most valued trading partner?
The bicentennial of the War of 1812 is fast approaching. It’s a major formative event in Canada’s history – but like all wars, was wrenching and destructive. Both the White House and early Parliament buildings in Upper Canada were torched during the conflict.
Sorry our American friends, but one of the reasons we tolerate you at all is that we kicked your ass once.
And kicking a bully's ass is an experience that can last a lifetime...
Read more here.
* Americans tend to be strangely quiet on the subject.
A true Canadian says this with pride.
It’s a sticky question. Exactly how should Canada commemorate the 200th anniversary of a war in which our predecessors repelled an invasion by the United States – now this country’s closest ally and most valued trading partner?
The bicentennial of the War of 1812 is fast approaching. It’s a major formative event in Canada’s history – but like all wars, was wrenching and destructive. Both the White House and early Parliament buildings in Upper Canada were torched during the conflict.
Sorry our American friends, but one of the reasons we tolerate you at all is that we kicked your ass once.
And kicking a bully's ass is an experience that can last a lifetime...
Read more here.
* Americans tend to be strangely quiet on the subject.
Most incompetent group of politicians in the past 50 years debate the fate of world's economy
Both Moody's and Standard & Poor's are threatening to downgrade the country's debt amid fears of a national insolvency. But for once it is not a debt-stricken euro-zone member that has come into the crosshairs of the powerful rating agencies. This time it is the United States, the world's largest economy, that is at risk of going bust .
The US needs to raise its debt ceiling, currently set at $14.3 trillion (€10.1 trillion), by Aug. 2, otherwise the country will run out of money. But negotiations between President Barack Obama and top Republicans and Democrats have so far failed to make progress.
Read more here.
The US needs to raise its debt ceiling, currently set at $14.3 trillion (€10.1 trillion), by Aug. 2, otherwise the country will run out of money. But negotiations between President Barack Obama and top Republicans and Democrats have so far failed to make progress.
Read more here.
China continues to act like a child nation, re Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei, a dissident artist who was released last month after spending 81 days in a Beijing jail on tax evasion charges, spent his days of confinement in a tiny room with only a bed for furniture and two police officers who monitored his every movement, even standing next to him in the shower, his sister said Thursday.
For exercise, Ai paced in the small room, only six floor tiles long, but he estimates he walked the equivalent of 600 miles and lost about 30 pounds. As he paced, the two officers walked behind him, said his older sister, Gao Ge. The room had one covered window.
Ai, one of China’s leading contemporary artists, was among dozens of activists — human rights lawyers, bloggers and others — detained this year after anonymous Internet calls for a Middle East-style “jasmine revolution” against China’s ruling Communist Party. His arrest touched off an international firestorm of criticism, although Chinese officials denied that foreign pressure played a role in his release.
Read more here.
For exercise, Ai paced in the small room, only six floor tiles long, but he estimates he walked the equivalent of 600 miles and lost about 30 pounds. As he paced, the two officers walked behind him, said his older sister, Gao Ge. The room had one covered window.
Ai, one of China’s leading contemporary artists, was among dozens of activists — human rights lawyers, bloggers and others — detained this year after anonymous Internet calls for a Middle East-style “jasmine revolution” against China’s ruling Communist Party. His arrest touched off an international firestorm of criticism, although Chinese officials denied that foreign pressure played a role in his release.
Read more here.
Rupert Murdoch 'sorry' in newspaper adverts, just not in the real world
The bullshit continues
The printed apology expresses regret for not acting faster "to sort things out".
"I realise that simply apologising is not enough. Our business was founded on the idea that a free and open press should be a positive force in society. We need to live up to this.
"In the coming days, as we take further concrete steps to resolve these issues and make amends for the damage they have caused, you will hear more from us", says the statement, signed "sincerely, Rupert Murdoch".
The joy of it is, nobody, but nobody believes him.
Read more here.
The printed apology expresses regret for not acting faster "to sort things out".
"I realise that simply apologising is not enough. Our business was founded on the idea that a free and open press should be a positive force in society. We need to live up to this.
"In the coming days, as we take further concrete steps to resolve these issues and make amends for the damage they have caused, you will hear more from us", says the statement, signed "sincerely, Rupert Murdoch".
The joy of it is, nobody, but nobody believes him.
Read more here.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Murdoch 'shaken' in Oscar worthy performance
Media titan Rupert Murdoch met with the family of a murdered girl at the centre of the phone hacking scandal, apologizing many times for the actions of journalists at his paper, a family lawyer said.
Mark Lewis, the lawyer for the Milly Dowler's family, said Murdoch issued a full and sincere apology during his private meeting. Murdoch said that what happened at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid was not in keeping with the standards set out when his own father entered the media industry, Lewis said.
Lewis said Murdoch was "very humbled, he was very shaken and he was very sincere." He held his head in his hands many times while apologizing.
I really hope CBC is joking, as this is comedy gold.
Read more here.
Mark Lewis, the lawyer for the Milly Dowler's family, said Murdoch issued a full and sincere apology during his private meeting. Murdoch said that what happened at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid was not in keeping with the standards set out when his own father entered the media industry, Lewis said.
Lewis said Murdoch was "very humbled, he was very shaken and he was very sincere." He held his head in his hands many times while apologizing.
I really hope CBC is joking, as this is comedy gold.
Read more here.
Mayor Ford continues to delight the Ford Nation and babble incoherently
“In business, the first thing you look at is the labour and your labour should be making up, you know, maximum 20 per cent. Not, well – we’re at 80 per cent. It’s just unheard of. So I think that [we’re] taking a serious look at non-union and union employees and exactly what they’re doing and taking it from there.”
Conservatives tend to see everything in terms of business and money, and will fuck you over if they think a dime is to be saved.
Read more here.
Conservatives tend to see everything in terms of business and money, and will fuck you over if they think a dime is to be saved.
Read more here.
Eric Bolling: Idiot of the Day
Part of Republican psychotic behavior is the deep yet repressed embarrassment that 911 happened while they were in power.
Some of them will do anything to help us forget that.
[Fox News colleague] Beckel asked, again, why the WMD were never found, to which Bolling replied, “Whether they did or didn’t, America was certainly safe between 2000 and 2008. I don’t remember any terrorist attacks on American soil during that period of time.”
Read more here.
Some of them will do anything to help us forget that.
[Fox News colleague] Beckel asked, again, why the WMD were never found, to which Bolling replied, “Whether they did or didn’t, America was certainly safe between 2000 and 2008. I don’t remember any terrorist attacks on American soil during that period of time.”
Read more here.
Rebekah Brooks catches up with the rest of us and resigns
Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, has resigned, the company has confirmed.
Her departure follows days of increasing pressure to step down as the phone hacking crisis grew.
In a statement, she said she felt a "deep responsibility for the people we have hurt".
News Corporation is to take out national press adverts this weekend to apologise for what it described as "the wrongdoings at the News of the World".
Read more here.
Her departure follows days of increasing pressure to step down as the phone hacking crisis grew.
In a statement, she said she felt a "deep responsibility for the people we have hurt".
News Corporation is to take out national press adverts this weekend to apologise for what it described as "the wrongdoings at the News of the World".
Read more here.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Sun papers take a stand and remain trash
Sun Media has pulled its newspapers out of the Ontario Press Council, complaining about the "politically correct mentality" of the province's print-media watchdog.
Glenn Garnett, Sun Media's vice-president of editorial, sent a letter to the council earlier this week saying that the company's newspapers were withdrawing their membership, effective immediately.
"The editorial direction of our newspapers, especially our urban tabloids, is incompatible with a politically correct mentality that informs OPC thinking, in the selection of cases it hears, and the rulings it renders," Garnett wrote.
And what direction do they wish to protect?
The Toronto Sun recently came under fire for its decision to publish a photograph of Prince William's wife Kate at the precise moment a gust of wind lifted her dress.
Editor-in-Chief James Wallace defended the decision, saying the Sun delivers "news with edge and attitude" and that the picture was deemed to be "compelling and newsworthy."
...ah
Read more here.
Glenn Garnett, Sun Media's vice-president of editorial, sent a letter to the council earlier this week saying that the company's newspapers were withdrawing their membership, effective immediately.
"The editorial direction of our newspapers, especially our urban tabloids, is incompatible with a politically correct mentality that informs OPC thinking, in the selection of cases it hears, and the rulings it renders," Garnett wrote.
And what direction do they wish to protect?
The Toronto Sun recently came under fire for its decision to publish a photograph of Prince William's wife Kate at the precise moment a gust of wind lifted her dress.
Editor-in-Chief James Wallace defended the decision, saying the Sun delivers "news with edge and attitude" and that the picture was deemed to be "compelling and newsworthy."
...ah
Read more here.
Sue-Anne Levy continues her juvenile rants in praise of the Ford Nation
Conservatives seem to love division, and Ms. Levy is loving every minute.
A sampling:
So, whether the heckling helmet-heads who packed the council chamber (I call them the Xtra and Torontoist crowd) and their leftist pals on council realize it or not, Wednesday’s decision to can the bike lanes on Jarvis St. and on the two streets in Scarborough is about much more than trying to balance the interests of all road users.
It’s about listening to what residents want and actually doing what’s in the best interests of the majority — not a select few who make their pushy presence known on Twitter and seem to have a heckuva lot of time to hang out at City Hall.
What a refreshing change.
This is the level the Ford Nation operates at, and we must stoop down to it as they run the show at the moment.
The mostly silent majority does have a say at City Hall — at long last.
The woman is probably unaware how Nixonian this comes across..but then again, maybe she does...
I, on the other hand, am not of the opinion that the Majority is always right, and their every whim should be acted upon.
This is something only spoiled children get away with.
Read more here.
A sampling:
So, whether the heckling helmet-heads who packed the council chamber (I call them the Xtra and Torontoist crowd) and their leftist pals on council realize it or not, Wednesday’s decision to can the bike lanes on Jarvis St. and on the two streets in Scarborough is about much more than trying to balance the interests of all road users.
It’s about listening to what residents want and actually doing what’s in the best interests of the majority — not a select few who make their pushy presence known on Twitter and seem to have a heckuva lot of time to hang out at City Hall.
What a refreshing change.
This is the level the Ford Nation operates at, and we must stoop down to it as they run the show at the moment.
The mostly silent majority does have a say at City Hall — at long last.
The woman is probably unaware how Nixonian this comes across..but then again, maybe she does...
I, on the other hand, am not of the opinion that the Majority is always right, and their every whim should be acted upon.
This is something only spoiled children get away with.
Read more here.
Gold hoard found in French cellar
A French couple have found a hoard of gold coins worth at least 100,000 euros (£89,000; $140,000) in the cellar of their home in the town of Millau.
They were working on their drains when they dug up the 34 coins in a little clay pot, French media said.
The coins date from 1595 to the French Revolution, which began in 1789, said a local coin expert who evaluated them.
The most valuable is a double louis from 1640, during the reign of Louis XIII, worth 6,500 euros.
Read more here.
They were working on their drains when they dug up the 34 coins in a little clay pot, French media said.
The coins date from 1595 to the French Revolution, which began in 1789, said a local coin expert who evaluated them.
The most valuable is a double louis from 1640, during the reign of Louis XIII, worth 6,500 euros.
Read more here.
Who is keeping Spotify out of Canada?
So why not in Canada as well? WTF?
I suggest we track down whoever is responsible for this roadblock. The only ones benefiting from it are them, we should tell them to get the fuck out of the way. Their greed should not be an impediment to us all.
As a commentor said:
I'm in Canada which means I can't get Amazon onDemand, Hulu, ComedyCentral, BBC, spotify, decent Netflix streaming, decent iTunes shows, HBO, Amazon Mp3, and much much more.
'Cause, aren't you tired of Canada being behind in technology, only because of the greed of the gatekeepers?
Streaming music service Spotify is set to launch in the US, after thrashing out deals with the major record companies.
Its American service had previously been put on hold, apparently because the labels were not convinced about its ability to make them money.
About 10 million people use Spotify across parts of Europe, with one million paying for its premium service.
Read more here.
I suggest we track down whoever is responsible for this roadblock. The only ones benefiting from it are them, we should tell them to get the fuck out of the way. Their greed should not be an impediment to us all.
As a commentor said:
I'm in Canada which means I can't get Amazon onDemand, Hulu, ComedyCentral, BBC, spotify, decent Netflix streaming, decent iTunes shows, HBO, Amazon Mp3, and much much more.
'Cause, aren't you tired of Canada being behind in technology, only because of the greed of the gatekeepers?
Streaming music service Spotify is set to launch in the US, after thrashing out deals with the major record companies.
Its American service had previously been put on hold, apparently because the labels were not convinced about its ability to make them money.
About 10 million people use Spotify across parts of Europe, with one million paying for its premium service.
Read more here.
Mayor Ford and his Neanderthals get their way over bikelanes
Another victory for the tiny minds that currently occupy City Hall.
Toronto city council voted on Wednesday to remove some downtown bicycle lanes.
They passed a motion to remove bike lanes on Jarvis Street and install a separated bike lane on the adjacent Sherbourne Street.
They also voted to scrub two bike lanes in the city's east end, on Birchmount Road and Pharmacy Avenue, while adding a bike lane to Dawes Road.
In place of the Jarvis Street bike lanes, the city will move on a plan to create a network of downtown bike lanes physically separated from vehicle traffic on streets that currently have only painted lanes.
Removing the Jarvis bike lanes and returning to a reversible fifth lane for vehicle traffic will cost about $200,000. The Jarvis Street bike lane, installed last year, cost about $59,000
Read more here.
Toronto city council voted on Wednesday to remove some downtown bicycle lanes.
They passed a motion to remove bike lanes on Jarvis Street and install a separated bike lane on the adjacent Sherbourne Street.
They also voted to scrub two bike lanes in the city's east end, on Birchmount Road and Pharmacy Avenue, while adding a bike lane to Dawes Road.
In place of the Jarvis Street bike lanes, the city will move on a plan to create a network of downtown bike lanes physically separated from vehicle traffic on streets that currently have only painted lanes.
Removing the Jarvis bike lanes and returning to a reversible fifth lane for vehicle traffic will cost about $200,000. The Jarvis Street bike lane, installed last year, cost about $59,000
Read more here.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Actual people in charge send warning to psychotic Republicans
Ratings agency Moody's has warned it may cut the US AAA debt rating because it is increasingly likely its debt ceiling will not be raised in time to avoid a default.
It has placed the US on a downgrade watch, saying the likelihood of a default was "low" but not "de minimis".
Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke said earlier a default would send shockwaves through the entire financial system.
Read more here.
It has placed the US on a downgrade watch, saying the likelihood of a default was "low" but not "de minimis".
Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke said earlier a default would send shockwaves through the entire financial system.
Read more here.
Bell billing idea will stifle internet competition...well duh
Bell's motivation for wanting to bill competing small internet service providers based on the volume of customers' internet usage was questioned Wednesday by a CRTC commissioner examining the issue.
Small internet providers have made a "compelling" case for a proposal that they be billed by peak network traffic and not the total volume of internet usage by their customers, said Tom Pentefountas, the CRTC's vice-chair of broadcasting, responding to a presentation by Matthew Stein, vice-president of network services for Primus Canada.
"If I was Bell, I'd go with peak traffic billing, if we assume what you say is correct," he added.
Read more here.
Small internet providers have made a "compelling" case for a proposal that they be billed by peak network traffic and not the total volume of internet usage by their customers, said Tom Pentefountas, the CRTC's vice-chair of broadcasting, responding to a presentation by Matthew Stein, vice-president of network services for Primus Canada.
"If I was Bell, I'd go with peak traffic billing, if we assume what you say is correct," he added.
Read more here.
Mayor Ford should accept his own buyout package
Please Mayor, take your buffoonery on the road, a circus perhaps?
On Tuesday, Toronto announced the most sweeping staff-reduction plan in the city since amalgamation.
An astonishing 50,000 employees will be offered a buyout package to leave the municipality’s civil service. The early information doesn’t contain a firm target by which to reduce the work force.
It is also unclear if there will be any attempt to retain the most valuable staff in the organization, particularly those with unique or high-demand skills, senior staff with management expertise, and the most dynamic and self-starting middle-managers who will form the spine of the future leadership.
Read more here.
On Tuesday, Toronto announced the most sweeping staff-reduction plan in the city since amalgamation.
An astonishing 50,000 employees will be offered a buyout package to leave the municipality’s civil service. The early information doesn’t contain a firm target by which to reduce the work force.
It is also unclear if there will be any attempt to retain the most valuable staff in the organization, particularly those with unique or high-demand skills, senior staff with management expertise, and the most dynamic and self-starting middle-managers who will form the spine of the future leadership.
Read more here.
George R.R. Martin defends the crap that is A Song of Ice and Fire
How do you make decisions about the depictions of sexual violence that you include in your writing?
Well, I'm not writing about contemporary sex—it's medieval.
There's a more general question here that doesn't just affect sex or rape, and that's this whole issue of what is gratuitous? What should be depicted? I have gotten letters over the years from readers who don't like the sex, they say it's "gratuitous." I think that word gets thrown around and what it seems to mean is "I didn't like it." This person didn't want to read it, so it's gratuitous to that person. And if I'm guilty of having gratuitous sex, then I'm also guilty of having gratuitous violence, and gratuitous feasting, and gratuitous description of clothes, and gratuitous heraldry, because very little of this is necessary to advance the plot.
Crap by any other name...
Read more here.
Well, I'm not writing about contemporary sex—it's medieval.
There's a more general question here that doesn't just affect sex or rape, and that's this whole issue of what is gratuitous? What should be depicted? I have gotten letters over the years from readers who don't like the sex, they say it's "gratuitous." I think that word gets thrown around and what it seems to mean is "I didn't like it." This person didn't want to read it, so it's gratuitous to that person. And if I'm guilty of having gratuitous sex, then I'm also guilty of having gratuitous violence, and gratuitous feasting, and gratuitous description of clothes, and gratuitous heraldry, because very little of this is necessary to advance the plot.
Crap by any other name...
Read more here.
Roger Ebert on The Dirty Digger Rupert Murdoch
Mike Royko called Rupert Murdoch The Alien. He landed on the Chicago Sun-Times like a bug-eyed monster from outer space and extruded poisonous slime. I was an eyewitness.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Man who coined term "counterculture", Theodore Roszak, dies
Theodore Roszak, who three weeks after the Woodstock Festival in 1969 not only published a pivotal book about a young generation’s drug-fueled revolt against authority but also gave it a name — “counterculture” — died on July 5 at his home in Berkeley, Calif. He was 77.
Read more here.
Read more here.
China's heavy hand on the Net delights governments everywhere
Governments everywhere are watching, jealous they can't control the Net to this extent.
More than one million websites closed down in China last year, a state-run think tank has said.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said there were were 41% fewer websites at the end of 2010 than a year earlier.
Chinese officials have tightened regulations on the internet in recent years, and they launched a crackdown on pornography websites in 2009.
The academy's researcher said there was no link, insisting China had a "high level of freedom of online speech".
Compared to none, I guess anything would seem "high"
Read more here.
More than one million websites closed down in China last year, a state-run think tank has said.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said there were were 41% fewer websites at the end of 2010 than a year earlier.
Chinese officials have tightened regulations on the internet in recent years, and they launched a crackdown on pornography websites in 2009.
The academy's researcher said there was no link, insisting China had a "high level of freedom of online speech".
Compared to none, I guess anything would seem "high"
Read more here.
Mayor Ford continues to vote like a heartless bastard
Well done Toronto, you seemed to have gotten the heartless Mayor you think this city deserves.
Returning briefly to his old role as council’s isolated contrarian, Mayor Rob Ford reprised an annual tradition on Tuesday and voted against six widely popular community development grants programs.
The grants programs give taxpayer money to a wide variety of community organizations. Some work to prevent violence. Others focus on improving the lives of seniors, immigrants, the disabled and the poor. Some provide recreation services the city doesn’t.
The community development and recreation committee, chaired by Ford ally Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, had recommended that the city give 259 groups a total of $7.2 million. The allocations were about to sail through council without even a vote when Ford stood to say he wanted to be recorded as opposing all of them — as he regularly did as a proudly frugal councillor.
When council then voted on the programs, Ford found himself nearly as lonely as he was under former mayor David Miller. He lost 43-1 in votes on the first four programs, 42-2 on the fifth, and 41-3 on the sixth.
Ford did not respond to a question on his votes as he exited a brief news conference. Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said Ford probably believes the grants are too costly.
So he's a cold hearted bastard, because of money?
Ford was the only vote against grants to violence-prevention programsand to groups running small community events and festivals. He was also alone in opposing grants for groups working on “race relations, gender equity, literacy, disability, sexual orientation, and Aboriginal affairs” and grants for recreation activities “that address gaps in available services.”
Councillor Doug Ford joined his brother in voting against the most expensive program, the $4.7 million Community Service Partnerships. The program gives money to 78 groups that “advance council’s strategic goals” by working with “vulnerable, marginalized and high-risk communities.”
Councillor Frank Di Giorgio and both Fords voted against Services Development Investment Program grants, which help “non-traditional” grassroots groups in priority neighbourhoods.
The community development grants are separate from other city grants programs, such as those for arts groups.
Read more here.
Returning briefly to his old role as council’s isolated contrarian, Mayor Rob Ford reprised an annual tradition on Tuesday and voted against six widely popular community development grants programs.
The grants programs give taxpayer money to a wide variety of community organizations. Some work to prevent violence. Others focus on improving the lives of seniors, immigrants, the disabled and the poor. Some provide recreation services the city doesn’t.
The community development and recreation committee, chaired by Ford ally Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, had recommended that the city give 259 groups a total of $7.2 million. The allocations were about to sail through council without even a vote when Ford stood to say he wanted to be recorded as opposing all of them — as he regularly did as a proudly frugal councillor.
When council then voted on the programs, Ford found himself nearly as lonely as he was under former mayor David Miller. He lost 43-1 in votes on the first four programs, 42-2 on the fifth, and 41-3 on the sixth.
Ford did not respond to a question on his votes as he exited a brief news conference. Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said Ford probably believes the grants are too costly.
So he's a cold hearted bastard, because of money?
Ford was the only vote against grants to violence-prevention programsand to groups running small community events and festivals. He was also alone in opposing grants for groups working on “race relations, gender equity, literacy, disability, sexual orientation, and Aboriginal affairs” and grants for recreation activities “that address gaps in available services.”
Councillor Doug Ford joined his brother in voting against the most expensive program, the $4.7 million Community Service Partnerships. The program gives money to 78 groups that “advance council’s strategic goals” by working with “vulnerable, marginalized and high-risk communities.”
Councillor Frank Di Giorgio and both Fords voted against Services Development Investment Program grants, which help “non-traditional” grassroots groups in priority neighbourhoods.
The community development grants are separate from other city grants programs, such as those for arts groups.
Read more here.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Hollywood again opts for zombies in new Tintin trailer
This image is of models at the Belgian comic strip center, and are 100% preferable to the zombies Hollywood is offering up...yet again.
My prediction is that this movie will tank because no one on this side of the Atlantic (except Quebec) knows who Tintin is, and we are all tired of dead eyes CGI creations.
If it makes a billion dollars, this will tell you why I'm not a top producer in Hollywood.
Republican Sen. Lori Klein is a f*cking menace
A state lawmaker known for championing the rights of gun-owners pointed a loaded firearm at the chest of a reporter during a recent interview at the Capitol.
Republican Sen. Lori Klein was showing off her raspberry-pink handgun when she aimed it at a journalist who was interviewing her in the lounge just outside the Senate chambers.
According to the story that was published Sunday in the Arizona Republic, Klein's .380 Ruger was loaded and did not have a safety to keep the gun from going off.
But Klein told the reporter, Richard Ruelas, that he didn't need to worry because, "I just didn't have my hand on the trigger."
Read more here.
Republican Sen. Lori Klein was showing off her raspberry-pink handgun when she aimed it at a journalist who was interviewing her in the lounge just outside the Senate chambers.
According to the story that was published Sunday in the Arizona Republic, Klein's .380 Ruger was loaded and did not have a safety to keep the gun from going off.
But Klein told the reporter, Richard Ruelas, that he didn't need to worry because, "I just didn't have my hand on the trigger."
Read more here.
Hypothesis states tsunamis may have buried Olympia
Olympia, site of the famous Temple of Zeus and original venue of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, was presumably destroyed by repeated tsunamis that travelled considerable distances inland, and not by earthquake and river floods as has been assumed to date. Evidence in support of this new theory on the virtual disappearance of the ancient cult site on the Peloponnesian peninsula comes from Professor Dr Andreas Vött of the Institute of Geography of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. Vött investigated the site as part of a project in which he and his team are studying the paleotsunamis that occurred along the coastlines of the eastern Mediterranean over the last 11,000 years. According to his account, the geomorphological and sedimentological findings in the area document that Olympia and its environs were destroyed by tsunami impact. The site of Olympia, rediscovered only some 250 years ago, was buried under a massive layer of sand and other deposits that is up to 8 meters deep.
Read more here.
Read more here.
David Cameron promises nightmarish vision of the future
An awful vision of a future only a conservative with money would find attractive.
Under the changes, every public service except for national security, frontline policing and the judiciary will be opened up to providers from the private and voluntary sector.
A "general right to choose" in areas such as education, health, social care and housing would be enshrined in law, with new powers for the ombudsman to act as an "enforcer of choice in public services".
Read more here.
Under the changes, every public service except for national security, frontline policing and the judiciary will be opened up to providers from the private and voluntary sector.
A "general right to choose" in areas such as education, health, social care and housing would be enshrined in law, with new powers for the ombudsman to act as an "enforcer of choice in public services".
Read more here.
Erica Ho: F*ck you a hundred times over
This journalistic crap comes from Time:
India Witnesses Its First Monkey Marriage, Because Why Not?
Gay marriage has gotten its due. Now it's time to pave the way for monkey marriage.
The village of Talwas, deep in the forests of India, seems to be mixed up in some serious monkey business. The tiny Indian village recently became home to two monkeys who tied the knot, a first in the country.
Fuck you Ms Ho.
Read more here.
India Witnesses Its First Monkey Marriage, Because Why Not?
Gay marriage has gotten its due. Now it's time to pave the way for monkey marriage.
The village of Talwas, deep in the forests of India, seems to be mixed up in some serious monkey business. The tiny Indian village recently became home to two monkeys who tied the knot, a first in the country.
Fuck you Ms Ho.
Read more here.
Sue-Anne Levy continues to cheapen the political discourse in this city
Even the journalistic world has its trolls.
Lefties will melt
Oooo, how provocative!
Yet maybe because it was a particularly hot day, the Leftists and their media friends seemed to fixate on snow.
The thought of reducing the removal of snow windrows from residential driveways — that nasty pile of snow left behind by city snow ploughs — was greeted with such horror, they set about declaring the end of snow clearing as we know it in Toronto.
Bring in the army. We’re facing a veritable Snow Armageddon.
Yikes! If these minute proposals have caused council’s Lefties and their media friends to froth at the mouth, what the heck are they going to do when the real fat, er frivolous services the city should not be in, are revealed this week?
Yes, I do believe the gravy is yet to come by the bucketful.
It makes no sense other than to poke at the so called "other side" aka Pinkos. These people forget we all live in the city, and it is conservatives like Ms Levy than enjoy drawing lines in the sand.
Like children do.
Read more here.
Lefties will melt
Oooo, how provocative!
Yet maybe because it was a particularly hot day, the Leftists and their media friends seemed to fixate on snow.
The thought of reducing the removal of snow windrows from residential driveways — that nasty pile of snow left behind by city snow ploughs — was greeted with such horror, they set about declaring the end of snow clearing as we know it in Toronto.
Bring in the army. We’re facing a veritable Snow Armageddon.
Yikes! If these minute proposals have caused council’s Lefties and their media friends to froth at the mouth, what the heck are they going to do when the real fat, er frivolous services the city should not be in, are revealed this week?
Yes, I do believe the gravy is yet to come by the bucketful.
It makes no sense other than to poke at the so called "other side" aka Pinkos. These people forget we all live in the city, and it is conservatives like Ms Levy than enjoy drawing lines in the sand.
Like children do.
Read more here.
Japan's Kyushu Electric Company: Idiots of the Day
Dozens of workers at Japan's Kyushu Electric Company posed as citizens and lobbied for a power plant to be reopened, an internal inquiry says.
A whistleblower last week revealed that some 50 workers had sent e-mails to a televised debate backing a plan to restart Kyushu's Genkai plant.
But the firm's internal inquiry has found more than 100 employees may have been involved.
Read more here.
A whistleblower last week revealed that some 50 workers had sent e-mails to a televised debate backing a plan to restart Kyushu's Genkai plant.
But the firm's internal inquiry has found more than 100 employees may have been involved.
Read more here.
Harper and Co. do something right
What next? Rwanda heading the Genocide body, Iran the Gay Rights?
Canada is boycotting a UN body dedicated to disarmament to protest against North Korea being named its chair, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced Monday.
The Conference on Disarmament, where UN members negotiate disarmament and other arms control agreements, is heavily focused on the prevention of a nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament.
"North Korea is simply not a credible chair at this United Nations body. The regime is a major proliferator of nuclear weapons and its non-compliance with its disarmament obligations goes against the fundamental principle of this committee," Baird said during a call with media to make the announcement.
Um, duh.
Read more here.
Canada is boycotting a UN body dedicated to disarmament to protest against North Korea being named its chair, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced Monday.
The Conference on Disarmament, where UN members negotiate disarmament and other arms control agreements, is heavily focused on the prevention of a nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament.
"North Korea is simply not a credible chair at this United Nations body. The regime is a major proliferator of nuclear weapons and its non-compliance with its disarmament obligations goes against the fundamental principle of this committee," Baird said during a call with media to make the announcement.
Um, duh.
Read more here.
Toronto Councillor and elected thug Giorgio Mammoliti backs off effort to defund Pride
He's just aiming his sights on next year. A homophobe's work is never done.
Toronto Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti is conceding that hundreds of thousands of dollars of Pride funding already promised to organizers for 2011 will likely be delivered.
Mammoliti sent a release to media outlets Monday detailing his stance on publicly funded parades and marches. He had been expected to put forward a motion Tuesday to withhold the nearly $130,000 in grant money already committed to Pride organizers.
Best bullshit:
Mammoliti’s watchful eyes are not resting solely on Pride.
“I have to congratulate the Pride Parade and the organizers because what they’ve done is they’ve opened up the eyes of City Hall to the larger picture. City taxpayers’ dollars should not be going towards any venue, including marches and parades, that have a political message slant to them.”
Mammoliti confirmed that if it were up to him, this would include funding for any artistic endeavour with a political message.
Yet they can hire Don Cherry to spew out his nonsense at the start of Mayor Ford's time in office.
You are full of shit Giorgio.
Thank goodness blogs are not covered in this ban. Mr. Mammoliti, you're a right wing bully and thug.
Got that political message?
Read more here.
Toronto Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti is conceding that hundreds of thousands of dollars of Pride funding already promised to organizers for 2011 will likely be delivered.
Mammoliti sent a release to media outlets Monday detailing his stance on publicly funded parades and marches. He had been expected to put forward a motion Tuesday to withhold the nearly $130,000 in grant money already committed to Pride organizers.
Best bullshit:
Mammoliti’s watchful eyes are not resting solely on Pride.
“I have to congratulate the Pride Parade and the organizers because what they’ve done is they’ve opened up the eyes of City Hall to the larger picture. City taxpayers’ dollars should not be going towards any venue, including marches and parades, that have a political message slant to them.”
Mammoliti confirmed that if it were up to him, this would include funding for any artistic endeavour with a political message.
Yet they can hire Don Cherry to spew out his nonsense at the start of Mayor Ford's time in office.
You are full of shit Giorgio.
Thank goodness blogs are not covered in this ban. Mr. Mammoliti, you're a right wing bully and thug.
Got that political message?
Read more here.
Facebook group calls Mayor Ford's bluff on bikelanes
Ford said in June he supports the plan to remove some bike lanes, and said residents have been calling him to demand the Jarvis Street bike lanes be removed.
"I want to get rid of the bike lanes on Jarvis," said Ford. "A lot of people [have been] calling me and they want to get rid of them. I do what the taxpayers want me to do. They want them gone, so we're gonna try to get rid of them."
So, the logical thing to do, is call him...
A Facebook group is calling on concerned cyclists to bombard the phone lines of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford on Monday in advance of proposed changes to the city's bike lanes.
"Rob Ford claims that he prides himself on being available by phone to all his constituents," the page says. "Even the ones that did not vote for him. Let's take him at his word."
He'll find a way to bullshit his way out of this, natch.
But at least we'll know which voters he really listens to.
Read more here.
"I want to get rid of the bike lanes on Jarvis," said Ford. "A lot of people [have been] calling me and they want to get rid of them. I do what the taxpayers want me to do. They want them gone, so we're gonna try to get rid of them."
So, the logical thing to do, is call him...
A Facebook group is calling on concerned cyclists to bombard the phone lines of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford on Monday in advance of proposed changes to the city's bike lanes.
"Rob Ford claims that he prides himself on being available by phone to all his constituents," the page says. "Even the ones that did not vote for him. Let's take him at his word."
He'll find a way to bullshit his way out of this, natch.
But at least we'll know which voters he really listens to.
Read more here.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Mayor Ford channels Air Force Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper
Mayor Ford takes steps to preserve his precious bodily fluids.
However, one of the more bizarre suggestions from the comprehensive report called for the elimination of fluoride of Toronto water beginning in 2013 which it warns could have some consequences. "The fluoridation of drinking water could be eliminated, with impacts on dental health," it said in the report.
Conservative buffoons have been after that one forever.
Read more here.
However, one of the more bizarre suggestions from the comprehensive report called for the elimination of fluoride of Toronto water beginning in 2013 which it warns could have some consequences. "The fluoridation of drinking water could be eliminated, with impacts on dental health," it said in the report.
Conservative buffoons have been after that one forever.
Read more here.
Vladislav Surkov was sent by God to babble nonsense
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was sent to Russia by God to help his country during one of its most turbulent times, the Kremlin’s chief political strategist said on Friday in rare public remarks. “I honestly believe that Putin is a person who was sent to Russia by fate and by the Lord at a difficult time for Russia,” Vladislav Surkov, a staunch Putin supporter and one of Russia’s most powerful men, was quoted by Interfax news agency as telling state-run Chechen TV.
“(Putin was) preordained by fate to preserve our peoples,” said Surkov, who is also the Kremlin’s first deputy chief of staff.
Read more here.
“(Putin was) preordained by fate to preserve our peoples,” said Surkov, who is also the Kremlin’s first deputy chief of staff.
Read more here.
Obama continues to pave the way for a Republican president
In his press conference on Monday morning, President Barack Obama repeatedly insisted that he was willing to tackle some sacred cows as part of a larger package to raise the debt ceiling. Just how sacred, however, may surprise political observers.
According to five separate sources with knowledge of negotiations — including both Republicans and Democrats — the president offered an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare, from 65 to 67, in exchange for Republican movement on increasing tax revenues.
The proposal, as discussed, would not go into effect immediately, but rather would be implemented down the road (likely in 2013). The age at which people would be eligible for Medicare benefits would be raised incrementally, not in one fell swoop.
Hoping people are too dumb to notice.
Read more here.
According to five separate sources with knowledge of negotiations — including both Republicans and Democrats — the president offered an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare, from 65 to 67, in exchange for Republican movement on increasing tax revenues.
The proposal, as discussed, would not go into effect immediately, but rather would be implemented down the road (likely in 2013). The age at which people would be eligible for Medicare benefits would be raised incrementally, not in one fell swoop.
Hoping people are too dumb to notice.
Read more here.
Bell Canada pitches new ways to f*ck over consumers
The CRTC will do nothing to aid consumers. Nothing.
Canada’s telecommunications regulator is hearing competing ideas about how independent internet service providers are billed by large internet service providers such as Bell — rules that could affect prices and options available to regular internet users.
The CRTC hearings could affect how much smaller ISPs charge customers who go to them because of their higher limits on downloading and uploading.
Bell spent much of Monday morning before the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission arguing in favour of its new proposal to charge independent internet service providers based on their customers’ total internet usage.
The proposal, known as “aggregate volume pricing” allows independent ISPs to buy pre-paid network access based on a cap on the total amount of internet usage by their customers. Bell proposed charging $200 per terabyte, plus a surcharge of 29.5 cents for each gigabyte over the allotted block.
Read more here.
Canada’s telecommunications regulator is hearing competing ideas about how independent internet service providers are billed by large internet service providers such as Bell — rules that could affect prices and options available to regular internet users.
The CRTC hearings could affect how much smaller ISPs charge customers who go to them because of their higher limits on downloading and uploading.
Bell spent much of Monday morning before the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission arguing in favour of its new proposal to charge independent internet service providers based on their customers’ total internet usage.
The proposal, known as “aggregate volume pricing” allows independent ISPs to buy pre-paid network access based on a cap on the total amount of internet usage by their customers. Bell proposed charging $200 per terabyte, plus a surcharge of 29.5 cents for each gigabyte over the allotted block.
Read more here.
Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum are truly awful people
Also bigoted, homophobic and xenophobic.
Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum sought to clarify their support of a pledge that contained a controversial preamble suggesting black children born into slavery had better family structures than black children now.
The excerpt has been removed from "The Marriage Vow - A Declaration of Dependence upon Marriage and Family," a pledge issued by the conservative Christian organization The Family Leader.
The Family Leader is an important socially conservative group in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, holding sway over the state's traditionally more conservative caucus goers who influence the fate of presidential campaigns.
A spokesman for former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania told CNN Monday he was "pleased" to sign the pledge, but agreed with the Leader's decision to remove the language about slavery.
How fucking noble of him.
Read more here.
Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum sought to clarify their support of a pledge that contained a controversial preamble suggesting black children born into slavery had better family structures than black children now.
The excerpt has been removed from "The Marriage Vow - A Declaration of Dependence upon Marriage and Family," a pledge issued by the conservative Christian organization The Family Leader.
The Family Leader is an important socially conservative group in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, holding sway over the state's traditionally more conservative caucus goers who influence the fate of presidential campaigns.
A spokesman for former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania told CNN Monday he was "pleased" to sign the pledge, but agreed with the Leader's decision to remove the language about slavery.
How fucking noble of him.
Read more here.
Kai Nagata, ethics and the awfulness of Harper's Canada
Why I quit my job:
By kainagata
Until Thursday, I was CTV’s Quebec City Bureau Chief, based at the National Assembly, mostly covering politics. It’s a fascinating beat - the most interesting provincial legislature in Canada, and the stories coming out of there lately have been huge. The near-implosion of the Parti Quebecois has kept the press gallery hopping well into summer. If you’re not from Quebec, it’s hard to explain the place the National Assembly holds in the popular imagination – but suffice to say that within francophone journalistic circles it carries more prestige than Parliament Hill. I had the privilege to be working next to several of the sharpest reporters in the country.
Read more here.
By kainagata
Until Thursday, I was CTV’s Quebec City Bureau Chief, based at the National Assembly, mostly covering politics. It’s a fascinating beat - the most interesting provincial legislature in Canada, and the stories coming out of there lately have been huge. The near-implosion of the Parti Quebecois has kept the press gallery hopping well into summer. If you’re not from Quebec, it’s hard to explain the place the National Assembly holds in the popular imagination – but suffice to say that within francophone journalistic circles it carries more prestige than Parliament Hill. I had the privilege to be working next to several of the sharpest reporters in the country.
Read more here.
Harper and Co. reject Palestinian statehood bid at UN
Canada is rejecting a Palestinian effort to win recognition at the United Nations as an independent state.
The move is not surprising given that the Harper government has forcefully highlighted its loyalty to Israel and the United States. Both oppose the Palestinian initiative.
Read more here.
The move is not surprising given that the Harper government has forcefully highlighted its loyalty to Israel and the United States. Both oppose the Palestinian initiative.
Read more here.
Victoria and David Beckham: Idiots of the Day
What is it with "celebrities" and awful, embarrassing baby names?
Victoria Beckham has given birth to a girl, whom she and husband David have named Harper Seven.
On his Facebook page, footballer Beckham said: "I am so proud and excited to announce the birth of our daughter Harper Seven Beckham."
Read more here.
Victoria Beckham has given birth to a girl, whom she and husband David have named Harper Seven.
On his Facebook page, footballer Beckham said: "I am so proud and excited to announce the birth of our daughter Harper Seven Beckham."
Read more here.
Britain debates whither sleaziest man in the world should run BSkyB
The culture secretary is seeking fresh advice from regulators on News Corp's takeover bid for BSkyB, amid the News of the World phone hacking scandal.
Jeremy Hunt has written to media regulator Ofcom after the 168-year-old paper was shut down.
Mr Hunt requested a new assessment of the bid by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which also owned the paper.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called on Mr Murdoch to "do the decent thing" and reconsider the bid.
"do the decent thing" and reject the bid.
Yes I know, pigs will fly first.
Read more here.
Jeremy Hunt has written to media regulator Ofcom after the 168-year-old paper was shut down.
Mr Hunt requested a new assessment of the bid by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which also owned the paper.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called on Mr Murdoch to "do the decent thing" and reconsider the bid.
"do the decent thing" and reject the bid.
Yes I know, pigs will fly first.
Read more here.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Rebekah Brooks refuses to do the right thing
Your resignation Ms Brooks would go a long way to repair the damage this affair has caused.
News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch has said Rebekah Brooks is his first priority, after arriving in the UK to handle the News of the World phone-hacking crisis.
He flew into London on Sunday and went to News International (NI), which News Corp owns, for talks with executives.
He appeared later with Mrs Brooks, NI chief executive. Asked what his priority was, he said "this one" gesturing at her and smiling.
She has been under pressure about her former editorship of News of the World.
It was announced just last week that the paper would close, with its final edition printed on Sunday and about 200 people losing their jobs.
Mrs Brooks was the NoW editor in 2002 when voicemails on murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's mobile phone were allegedly intercepted.
Read more here.
News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch has said Rebekah Brooks is his first priority, after arriving in the UK to handle the News of the World phone-hacking crisis.
He flew into London on Sunday and went to News International (NI), which News Corp owns, for talks with executives.
He appeared later with Mrs Brooks, NI chief executive. Asked what his priority was, he said "this one" gesturing at her and smiling.
She has been under pressure about her former editorship of News of the World.
It was announced just last week that the paper would close, with its final edition printed on Sunday and about 200 people losing their jobs.
Mrs Brooks was the NoW editor in 2002 when voicemails on murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler's mobile phone were allegedly intercepted.
Read more here.
Tim Pawlenty: I have to say this now so I can discriminate against you later
Global Warming: scientific agreement, I think not, the jury is out
Evolution: overwhelming evidence, no, teach the controversy
Homosexuality: let's defer to the scientists
I can not contain my contempt for these people.
The Family Leader's "Marriage Vow" pledge
Besides being a document designed to discriminate against a group of people on an official level, it also contained this gem:
Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.
This is the fucked up mindset these people hold.
Ugly.
This psychopathic document would be a curiosity if not for the fact it has been signed by the two leading Republican candidates: Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum.
Read more here.
Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.
This is the fucked up mindset these people hold.
Ugly.
This psychopathic document would be a curiosity if not for the fact it has been signed by the two leading Republican candidates: Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum.
Read more here.
US Federal Government Rules Their Thinking on Marijuana dates to the 1930's
Keeping this plant illegal is big business, mustn't mess with that.
Marijuana has been approved by California, many other states and the nation's capital to treat a range of illnesses, but in a decision announced Friday the federal government ruled that it has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin.
The decision comes almost nine years after medical marijuana supporters asked the government to reclassify cannabis to take into account a growing body of worldwide research that shows its effectiveness in treating certain diseases, such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.
Best bullshit, and the one always trotted out on these occasions:
the DEA concluded that marijuana has no accepted medical use, Leonhart wrote in her letter, because its chemistry is not known and adequate studies have not been done on its usefulness or safety. "At this time," she said, "the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy."
They have been saying that forever, and always will.
This might have worked on the public in the 1960's. This is 2011 however, and the public have been doing "adequate studies" of their own for decades.
Government pronouncements on the topic are open to derision.
Read more here.
Marijuana has been approved by California, many other states and the nation's capital to treat a range of illnesses, but in a decision announced Friday the federal government ruled that it has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin.
The decision comes almost nine years after medical marijuana supporters asked the government to reclassify cannabis to take into account a growing body of worldwide research that shows its effectiveness in treating certain diseases, such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.
Best bullshit, and the one always trotted out on these occasions:
the DEA concluded that marijuana has no accepted medical use, Leonhart wrote in her letter, because its chemistry is not known and adequate studies have not been done on its usefulness or safety. "At this time," she said, "the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy."
They have been saying that forever, and always will.
This might have worked on the public in the 1960's. This is 2011 however, and the public have been doing "adequate studies" of their own for decades.
Government pronouncements on the topic are open to derision.
Read more here.
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Paul McMullen, jounalist..hahahahahah..gets his ass handed to him
"Walking PR disaster"
To me, it seems Mr McMullen is desperately jealous of fame and celebrity, and will do all he can to hurt them.
Friday, July 08, 2011
Case Ootes finds Reality has a well-known liberal bias
It's hard to stab your victim in the back when you look them in the eye.
The retired conservative who overhauled Canada’s biggest social housing provider over the past four months was himself changed by the experience. He shifted ever-so-slightly left.
When Mayor Rob Ford first tapped Case Ootes last March to take over for the ousted CEO and board at Toronto Community Housing Corporation, Mr. Ootes thought a rightward shift toward giving tenants vouchers for private housing might benefit the ailing housing provider. Not any more.
“I thought vouchers could play a larger role,” he said in his first public comments since his tumultuous term running TCHC ended last month. “I’m not so convinced any more. Maybe a limited role, but that’s it.”
Read more here.
The retired conservative who overhauled Canada’s biggest social housing provider over the past four months was himself changed by the experience. He shifted ever-so-slightly left.
When Mayor Rob Ford first tapped Case Ootes last March to take over for the ousted CEO and board at Toronto Community Housing Corporation, Mr. Ootes thought a rightward shift toward giving tenants vouchers for private housing might benefit the ailing housing provider. Not any more.
“I thought vouchers could play a larger role,” he said in his first public comments since his tumultuous term running TCHC ended last month. “I’m not so convinced any more. Maybe a limited role, but that’s it.”
Read more here.
A handful of Toronto city councillors try and bypass Mayor Ford's shrivelled little heart
The city may get its free nurses after all.
A handful of city councillors are trying to resuscitate a moribund proposal to accept full funding for two nurses from the province, defying Mayor Rob Ford’s directive to deny the grant indefinitely.
Councillor John Filion will introduce a motion to reopen the issue at next week’s city council meeting, just three weeks after Mr. Ford’s Executive Committee voted to reject $170,000 in provincial money for two public health nurses.
“It was an absurd case of misdirected ideology,” said Mr. Filion of the committee’s decision. “There’s a certain number of councillors who, if told by Mayor Ford to go in the corner and stand on their heads, they just might do it.”
Why you may ask is Mayor Ford being such an unfeeling bastard:
Mr. Ford and other members of the executive warned that if the annual grant from Queen’s Park ever dried up, the city would be on the hook for the nurses, who would be designated permanent employees.
Yup, money, conservative motivator #1.
And no report on Mayor Ford and Co. would be complete without an official excuse for why they are acting so scummy:
“Maybe we’re just smarter than the rest and we understand the long-term implications better than the rest,” [Councillor] Mr. Shiner said.
Oh shut up, you arrogant fuck.
Read more here.
A handful of city councillors are trying to resuscitate a moribund proposal to accept full funding for two nurses from the province, defying Mayor Rob Ford’s directive to deny the grant indefinitely.
Councillor John Filion will introduce a motion to reopen the issue at next week’s city council meeting, just three weeks after Mr. Ford’s Executive Committee voted to reject $170,000 in provincial money for two public health nurses.
“It was an absurd case of misdirected ideology,” said Mr. Filion of the committee’s decision. “There’s a certain number of councillors who, if told by Mayor Ford to go in the corner and stand on their heads, they just might do it.”
Why you may ask is Mayor Ford being such an unfeeling bastard:
Mr. Ford and other members of the executive warned that if the annual grant from Queen’s Park ever dried up, the city would be on the hook for the nurses, who would be designated permanent employees.
Yup, money, conservative motivator #1.
And no report on Mayor Ford and Co. would be complete without an official excuse for why they are acting so scummy:
“Maybe we’re just smarter than the rest and we understand the long-term implications better than the rest,” [Councillor] Mr. Shiner said.
Oh shut up, you arrogant fuck.
Read more here.
1888 Talking Doll
On May 11, 2011, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California recovered sound from an artifact that historians believe is the earliest surviving talking doll record. The artifact is a ring-shaped cylinder phonograph record made of solid metal, preserved by the National Park Service at Thomas Edison National Historical Park. Phonograph inventor Thomas Edison made the record during the fall or winter of 1888 in West Orange, New Jersey. On the recording, an unidentified woman recites one verse of the nursery rhyme "Twinkle, twinkle, little star". The voice captured on the 123-year-old record had been unheard since Edison's lifetime. The recording represents a significant milestone in the early history of recorded sound technology.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Rupert Murdoch finds something can still shock the modern world: world rejoices that the News of the World is shutting down
Even the modern age has its limits.
Fox News had better watch itself.
The scandal-hit British tabloid News of the World will shut down after Sunday's issue, its owner, News International, told CNN Thursday.
All revenue for Sunday's final edition of the scandal-hit tabloid the News of the World will go to good causes, News Corp. executive James Murdoch said Thursday in announcing the closure of the 168-year-old newspaper.
Journalists at News of the World, a tabloid that is the world's top-selling English-language newspaper, have been accused of hacking into the mobile phone account of missing British teenager Milly Dowler, intercepting messages in search of news.
They then allegedly deleted messages to keep her mailbox from filling up, giving her family and friends false hope that the schoolgirl - later found murdered - was still alive.
Read more here.
Fox News had better watch itself.
The scandal-hit British tabloid News of the World will shut down after Sunday's issue, its owner, News International, told CNN Thursday.
All revenue for Sunday's final edition of the scandal-hit tabloid the News of the World will go to good causes, News Corp. executive James Murdoch said Thursday in announcing the closure of the 168-year-old newspaper.
Journalists at News of the World, a tabloid that is the world's top-selling English-language newspaper, have been accused of hacking into the mobile phone account of missing British teenager Milly Dowler, intercepting messages in search of news.
They then allegedly deleted messages to keep her mailbox from filling up, giving her family and friends false hope that the schoolgirl - later found murdered - was still alive.
Read more here.
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