Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey.
Read more.
Read more.
February 29, 2008
Vermont latest to eye lower drinking age
More than two decades after the country established a uniform drinking age of 21, a nascent movement is afoot to allow 18- to 20-year-olds to legally buy alcohol under some circumstances.
Proponents say the higher age hasn't kept young people from consuming alcohol and has instead driven underage consumption underground, particularly on college campuses.
Read more.
Proponents say the higher age hasn't kept young people from consuming alcohol and has instead driven underage consumption underground, particularly on college campuses.
Read more.
Internet Pushes Polyamory to Its 'Tipping Point'
Polyamory is just the kind of thing you'd expect in an era of love without borders, where time and distance no longer prevent us from finding true mates, and when no one has to live alone with their kink, desire, fantasy or love style -- because someone, somewhere shares it.
Read more. Love many.
Read more. Love many.
RIAA Keeps Settlement Money, Artists May Sue
When EMI, Universal Music and Warner music reached settlement agreements with the likes of Napster, KaZaA and Bolt, they collected hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation - money that was supposed to go to artists whose rights had been allegedly infringed upon when the networks were operating with unlicensed music.
Now, according to an article, the managers of some major artists are getting very impatient, as it appears the very people who were supposed to be compensated - the artists - haven’t received anything from the massive settlements. They say the cash - estimated to be as much as $400m - hasn’t filtered through to their clients and understandably they’re getting very impatient.
Bastards.
Proof that all of this DRM bullshit, and RIAA suing your grandmother bullshit, has nothing to do with helping the artists. The artists are slaves for the RIAA.
Read more.
Now, according to an article, the managers of some major artists are getting very impatient, as it appears the very people who were supposed to be compensated - the artists - haven’t received anything from the massive settlements. They say the cash - estimated to be as much as $400m - hasn’t filtered through to their clients and understandably they’re getting very impatient.
Bastards.
Proof that all of this DRM bullshit, and RIAA suing your grandmother bullshit, has nothing to do with helping the artists. The artists are slaves for the RIAA.
Read more.
February 28, 2008
Soon U.S. Citizens Must Ask for Government Permission to Fly or Travel
The Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) is moving forward to institute a rule that would
require all passengers to go through a government review process before
boarding any airplane that takes off or lands anywhere with in the
United States.
Read more, but don't fly anywhere.
Administration (TSA) is moving forward to institute a rule that would
require all passengers to go through a government review process before
boarding any airplane that takes off or lands anywhere with in the
United States.
Read more, but don't fly anywhere.
You think you are free?
Unless we tear ourselves away
from our pretty toys and distractions just long enough to remove our
rose-coloured specs, freedom will be obsolete except as a slogan above the gate
of the Ministry of Truth.
Read more.
from our pretty toys and distractions just long enough to remove our
rose-coloured specs, freedom will be obsolete except as a slogan above the gate
of the Ministry of Truth.
Read more.
Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Case in Federal Court - Now What?
After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with the
onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly
conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims.
Read more.
onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly
conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims.
Read more.
New High In U.S. Prison Numbers
More than one in 100 adults in the United States is in jail or prison,
an all-time high that is costing state governments nearly $50 billion a
year and the federal government $5 billion more, according to a report
released yesterday.
With more than 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States leads
the world in both the number and percentage of residents it
incarcerates, leaving far-more-populous China a distant second, according to a study by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States.
Read more.
an all-time high that is costing state governments nearly $50 billion a
year and the federal government $5 billion more, according to a report
released yesterday.
With more than 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States leads
the world in both the number and percentage of residents it
incarcerates, leaving far-more-populous China a distant second, according to a study by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States.
Read more.
The Obama Craze: Count Me Out
Recently, I started looking into Obama’s voting
record, and I’m afraid to say I’m not just uninspired: I’m downright
fearful. Here's why:
Read it all.
record, and I’m afraid to say I’m not just uninspired: I’m downright
fearful. Here's why:
Read it all.
Air Force Blocks Access to Many Blogs
The Air Force is tightening restrictions on which blogs its troops can read, cutting off access to just about any independent site with the word "blog" in its web address. It's the latest move in a larger struggle within the military over the value -- and hazards -- of the sites. At least one senior Air Force official calls the squeeze so "utterly stupid, it makes me want to scream."
Read more, unless of course you're in the Air Force.
Read more, unless of course you're in the Air Force.
How Good People Turn Evil, From Stanford to Abu Ghraib
Zimbardo claims, however, that many images in his video -- which he obtained while serving as an expert witness for an Abu Ghraib defendant -- have never before been published.
Read more.
Read more.
Disturbing New Photos From Abu Ghraib
As an expert witness in the defense of an Abu Ghraib guard who was court-martialed, psychologist Philip Zimbardo had access to many of the images of abuse that were taken by the guards themselves.
Check 'em out here.
Check 'em out here.
China may scrap one-child policy, official says
China, worried about an ageing population, is studying scrapping its controversial one-child policy but will not do away with family-planning policies altogether, a senior official said on Thursday.
Read more.
Read more.
February 27, 2008
Automated killer robots 'threat to humanity'
But up to now, a human hand has always been required to push the button or pull the trigger.
It we are not careful, he said, that could change.
Military leaders "are quite clear that they
want autonomous robots as soon as possible, because they are more
cost-effective and give a risk-free war," he said.
...
But even more worrisome, he continued, "I have It's just a matter of time.
is the subtle progression from the semi-autonomous military robots
deployed today to fully independent killing machines.
worked in artificial intelligence for decades, and the idea of a robot
making decisions about human termination terrifies me," Sharkey said.
For the Bible Tells Me So
And that’s the subject of The Bible Tells Me So, an enlightening, hard-to-watch documentary about how the religious right has used the Bible to screw over the gay community.
...
For the Bible Tells Me So (now in DVD) does not speak ill of religion; on the contrary, it uses the Bible — and an abundance of ministers and Biblical scholars — to attempt correct the record.
...
It’s the church, the movie argues, not the Bible and not God, who have created this discriminatory fervor against homosexuality; in fact, this aspect of Biblical literalism is fairly modern, originating in the 20th century.
But what does the church have to gain by it? This is a question that’s always bugged the hell out of me: What Christian agenda does anti-homosexual discrimination serve? Writer/director Daniel Karslake looks into the origins of homophobia for that answer: Homophobia, the documentary posits is, in essence, just another form of misogyny — it stems from a hatred of women. The church doesn’t want men sleeping with other men because it emasculates them, which flies in the face of our patriarchal society, which I suppose threatens church leaders’ right to have a meal on the table when they get home(?) So, instead, the church has created an environment of intolerance, which — in a decidedly non-Christian twist — has not only fostered violence against gays and lesbians, it legitimizes it — empowering cruelty and hostility (thanks Reverend Falwell! You fuck).
Read more.
Here's the trailer:
...
For the Bible Tells Me So (now in DVD) does not speak ill of religion; on the contrary, it uses the Bible — and an abundance of ministers and Biblical scholars — to attempt correct the record.
...
It’s the church, the movie argues, not the Bible and not God, who have created this discriminatory fervor against homosexuality; in fact, this aspect of Biblical literalism is fairly modern, originating in the 20th century.
But what does the church have to gain by it? This is a question that’s always bugged the hell out of me: What Christian agenda does anti-homosexual discrimination serve? Writer/director Daniel Karslake looks into the origins of homophobia for that answer: Homophobia, the documentary posits is, in essence, just another form of misogyny — it stems from a hatred of women. The church doesn’t want men sleeping with other men because it emasculates them, which flies in the face of our patriarchal society, which I suppose threatens church leaders’ right to have a meal on the table when they get home(?) So, instead, the church has created an environment of intolerance, which — in a decidedly non-Christian twist — has not only fostered violence against gays and lesbians, it legitimizes it — empowering cruelty and hostility (thanks Reverend Falwell! You fuck).
Read more.
Here's the trailer:
In Canada, Some Doctors Refuse to Do Paps
While attending a recent event honoring the twentieth anniversary of the all-important Morgentaler decision here in Canada, I came upon some disturbing news: doctors in Canada are denying pap smears to women citing religious objections. You read it right: doctors are using their personal morality to further restrict a women’s right to equal health care.
Read more.
Read more.
The Truth About Autism: Scientists Reconsider What They Think They Know
The YouTube clip opens with a woman facing away from the camera, rocking back and forth, flapping her hands awkwardly, and emitting an eerie hum.
...
But then the words "A Translation" appear on a black screen, and for the next five minutes, 27-year-old Amanda Baggs — who is autistic and doesn't speak — describes in vivid and articulate terms what's going on inside her head as she carries out these seemingly bizarre actions. In a synthesized voice generated by a software application, she explains that touching, tasting, and smelling allow her to have a "constant conversation" with her surroundings. These forms of nonverbal stimuli constitute her "native language," Baggs explains, and are no better or worse than spoken language. Yet her failure to speak is seen as a deficit, she says, while other people's failure to learn her language is seen as natural and acceptable.
And you find yourself thinking: She might have a point.
Read more.
...
But then the words "A Translation" appear on a black screen, and for the next five minutes, 27-year-old Amanda Baggs — who is autistic and doesn't speak — describes in vivid and articulate terms what's going on inside her head as she carries out these seemingly bizarre actions. In a synthesized voice generated by a software application, she explains that touching, tasting, and smelling allow her to have a "constant conversation" with her surroundings. These forms of nonverbal stimuli constitute her "native language," Baggs explains, and are no better or worse than spoken language. Yet her failure to speak is seen as a deficit, she says, while other people's failure to learn her language is seen as natural and acceptable.
And you find yourself thinking: She might have a point.
Read more.
Eskimo village sues over global warming
A tiny Alaska village eroding into the Arctic Ocean sued two dozen oil, power and coal companies Tuesday, claiming that the large amounts of greenhouse gases they emit contribute to global warming that threatens the community's existence.
Read more.
Read more.
Germany: Computer spying unconstitutional
Germany's highest court says that security services cannot use virus-like software or similar tactics to spy on the computer hard drives of suspected criminals and terrorists.
Read more.
Read more.
Ohio school suspends boy over Mohawk
A kindergarten student with a freshly spiked Mohawk has been suspended from school.
...
Mohawks violate the school's policy on being properly groomed, school Principal Linda Geyer said. Also, the school district's dress code allows school officials to forbid anything that interferes with the conduct of education.
Read more.
...
Mohawks violate the school's policy on being properly groomed, school Principal Linda Geyer said. Also, the school district's dress code allows school officials to forbid anything that interferes with the conduct of education.
Read more.
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