CONCERTS:
Thursday/ Fall of Troy
Masquerade: Friday 10/23/2009- Doors at 7
I haven't really listened to Thursday in awhile and to be honest am going because these guys are AWESOME.
Gaslight Anthem/ Murder By Death
MAsquerade: Saturday 10/24/2009 20ish?
This should be a bangin show.
Movies:
"Where The Wild Things Are"
My FAVORITE book as a child. Movie Tavern is going down for this one folks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NOkQ4dYVaM
"Black Dynamite"
Holy shit. This is gonna be awesome. Don't hate! Ha ha
Word.
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Sunday, October 18, 2009
Interracial Couple Denied Marriage License... Say What Son?
Sup Super Friends:
So I'm checking the news cycle, online of course, screw the tele, and I come across this on Huffington Post(which by the way, if you wanna get some good news check out her site. It's mos definitely what's up) and I come across this story from the AP. Please read it and weep....
AP) NEW ORLEANS A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.
Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."
If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.
"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.
Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/interracial-couple-denied_n_322784.html
....... I mean really? I have a feeling this guy's 2 1/2 years of work is about to go down the drain. His reasoning is flawed. Does this idiot know that the President of the United States is born of an interracial couple?
I think it's really, really sad how people exert so much energy and cause mad frustration for folks like myself over things like race. Did you know that your race is determined by less than 1 % of what makes you you in your DNA? LESS THAN ONE PERCENT. How could something so minuscule cause such silly sad shenanigans. It's truly tragic.
Perhaps if we had some sort of choice in the race we were born, then maybe I'd understand. We all know that's not the case though. You're born whatever skin tone you get and that's that. So why take so much pride in something you had no control over? You didn't get a say in the matter, it's the cards you were dealt. Just like what nation you're born in. I'm not saying don't be proud of who you are, or where you were born, but don't be arrogant and ignorant of the things and those around you and the fact that these things are of little concern in the big picture.
Ill be happy when the day comes when what color your skin no longer matter. When whenever I fill out a job application, or take a standardized test I won't have to check what racial affiliation I belong to. When the color of my skin is the last thing I'm used to describe me of pigeon old me to some sophomoric stereotype.
We're all part of the HUMAN race.
If we don't start taking care of each other, treating those the way we want to be treated, we'll kill ourselves from the inside out.
Some day we'll get it right.
Or perhaps die trying...
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So I'm checking the news cycle, online of course, screw the tele, and I come across this on Huffington Post(which by the way, if you wanna get some good news check out her site. It's mos definitely what's up) and I come across this story from the AP. Please read it and weep....
AP) NEW ORLEANS A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.
Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."
If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.
"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.
Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/interracial-couple-denied_n_322784.html
....... I mean really? I have a feeling this guy's 2 1/2 years of work is about to go down the drain. His reasoning is flawed. Does this idiot know that the President of the United States is born of an interracial couple?
I think it's really, really sad how people exert so much energy and cause mad frustration for folks like myself over things like race. Did you know that your race is determined by less than 1 % of what makes you you in your DNA? LESS THAN ONE PERCENT. How could something so minuscule cause such silly sad shenanigans. It's truly tragic.
Perhaps if we had some sort of choice in the race we were born, then maybe I'd understand. We all know that's not the case though. You're born whatever skin tone you get and that's that. So why take so much pride in something you had no control over? You didn't get a say in the matter, it's the cards you were dealt. Just like what nation you're born in. I'm not saying don't be proud of who you are, or where you were born, but don't be arrogant and ignorant of the things and those around you and the fact that these things are of little concern in the big picture.
Ill be happy when the day comes when what color your skin no longer matter. When whenever I fill out a job application, or take a standardized test I won't have to check what racial affiliation I belong to. When the color of my skin is the last thing I'm used to describe me of pigeon old me to some sophomoric stereotype.
We're all part of the HUMAN race.
If we don't start taking care of each other, treating those the way we want to be treated, we'll kill ourselves from the inside out.
Some day we'll get it right.
Or perhaps die trying...
s
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Friday, October 16, 2009
How can somesone be against GANG-RAPE?
Morning:
I saw this story on he Daily Show a couple nights ago after work. I was chillin at home with the lady and John Stewart, the best news reporter in the land(how sad is that the best news is on Comedy Central?) and he starts talking about this story.
"In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. In an apparent attempt to cover up the incident, the company then put her in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.” Even more insultingly, the DOJ resisted bringing any criminal charges in the matter. KBR argued that Jones’ employment contract warranted her claims being heard in private arbitration — without jury, judge, public record, or transcript of the " ( for more on the story go here -----> http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/16/jones-sue-kbr/)
Now AL Fraken proposed a bill that would make it illegal for companies to make you sign any document that would prevent you for suing them if the contract "restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court."
The ammendent passed 68-30... 68-30... that means 30 people thought it was wrong for you to be able to sue a company if you were sexually assualted at work. Like Jaime's cased, as case where she wasn't just raped, but GANG RAPED, then put in a box without food or water for a day. How the fuck do you vote against this? Honestly? I mean it just comes down to having some sort of moral fiber and compassion. 30 Republicans(wait for the list at the end) though this bill was a bad idea?
WHY?
WHY?!
I don't understand. How conservative does someone have to be to be Pro-gang rape to save some company money? This is ridiculous. I was so mad when I read up on this story I broke my cigar mid smoke. If your senator voted against this, call or email him and ask why. I am.
Here's Jon Stewart with the comic relief:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-14-2009/rape-nuts
THE GUILTY PARTIES:
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
I saw this story on he Daily Show a couple nights ago after work. I was chillin at home with the lady and John Stewart, the best news reporter in the land(how sad is that the best news is on Comedy Central?) and he starts talking about this story.
"In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. In an apparent attempt to cover up the incident, the company then put her in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.” Even more insultingly, the DOJ resisted bringing any criminal charges in the matter. KBR argued that Jones’ employment contract warranted her claims being heard in private arbitration — without jury, judge, public record, or transcript of the " ( for more on the story go here -----> http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/16/jones-sue-kbr/)
Now AL Fraken proposed a bill that would make it illegal for companies to make you sign any document that would prevent you for suing them if the contract "restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court."
The ammendent passed 68-30... 68-30... that means 30 people thought it was wrong for you to be able to sue a company if you were sexually assualted at work. Like Jaime's cased, as case where she wasn't just raped, but GANG RAPED, then put in a box without food or water for a day. How the fuck do you vote against this? Honestly? I mean it just comes down to having some sort of moral fiber and compassion. 30 Republicans(wait for the list at the end) though this bill was a bad idea?
WHY?
WHY?!
I don't understand. How conservative does someone have to be to be Pro-gang rape to save some company money? This is ridiculous. I was so mad when I read up on this story I broke my cigar mid smoke. If your senator voted against this, call or email him and ask why. I am.
Here's Jon Stewart with the comic relief:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-14-2009/rape-nuts
THE GUILTY PARTIES:
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Why Obama Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize
Greetings.
I was just as shocked as everyone else when I heard the news. But after watching his speech and really re-thinking it all, he deserves it. I think Americans are quick to forget the monumental change that occurred within most of us during his campaign. For the firs time in my life I got active in politics outside of my home and circle of friends. I drove, along with millions, to DC just to see the inauguration. Why? Because the man is inspiring. Whether you like his politics or not he's doing what he can. You can't fault the President when you have to realize he relies on Congress to hold him down. So here's a short list I gathered from the Daily Kos of why Obama deserves to win the Nobel Prize, as well as an awesome video from one of my favs Rachael Maddow.
And for my conservative friends, enough with the Obama bashing? If you can find one legitimate thing to bitch about then be my guest, but until then, have some respect. Ok here goes the list and video...
(From the Daily Kos 10/9/2009)
I can’t believe I am hearing fellow Kossacks complain about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I have read comment after comment of hand-wringing and worry about how it’s too soon and he hasn’t accomplished enough.
Come on folks – where have you been? He's addressed everything from climate change and women's equality to nuclear proliferation and torture.
Does he have a lot left to do? Absolutely. The Republicans left the place in tatters. But don’t pretend for a moment that Obama hasn’t accomplished astonishing things.
In this “short time”, President Obama has completely overhauled foreign policy.
President Obama has restored America’s prominence in international diplomacy.
President Obama has reached out to the Muslim world ion a way that was previously unimagined.
Obama has stated "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges" to which the Nobel prize's nominating committee responded: "For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman,"
BoBo2020's diary :: ::
Here is a brief list of some of the reasons President Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize: (As a side note, it took me less than 45 minutes to compile this into a diary. It took me longer to fix my html errors than to find a short list of Nobel Prize winning accomplishments by our President. I am sure I have missed MANY things.)
3/18/8 – Obama caught world-wide attention for his moving speech on race relations
7/24/8 - Obama lays the foundation for a new era of international relations and began inspiring renewed hope in American leadership during his campaign speech in Berlin
11/6/8 – Obama’s victory was hailed as a promise of hope for the world.
12/1/8 – Obama began plans to restore U.N. ambassador to cabinet rank.
1/22/9 - Appointed a Special Envoy for Middle East peace
1/22/9 – Ordered the closing of Guantanamo Bay
1/22/9 – Ordered comprehensive review of detention policies
1/22/9 – Prohibited use of torture
1/22/9 - Signed an executive order to close CIA secret prisons
1/23/9 – Lifted “Global Gag Rule” on international health groups
1/26/9 – Began to address climate change by increasing fuel standards for automobiles
1/26/9 – Appointed Special Envoy for Climate Change
1/27/9 - Signs Lily Ledbetter “Fair Pay” Act
2/1/9 – Expanded healthcare for children by signing SCHIP
2/5/9 - Again addressed energy conservation by increasing standards for appliances.
2/24/9 – Directed almost $1 billion for prevention and wellness to improve America’s health
2/25/9 - Initiated international efforts to reduce mercury emissions worldwide
2/27/9 – Committed to responsibly ending the war in Iraq
4/1/9 – Agreed to negotiation of a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.
4/1/9 – Enhanced U.S. – China relations
4/2/9 - Led global response to the economic crisis through the G20, obtaining commitments of $1.1 trillion to safeguard the world’s most vulnerable economies
4/4/9 - Renewed dialog with NATO and other key allies
4/5/9 – Announced new strategy to responsible address international nuclear proliferation
4/13/9 – Began easing tension with Cuba through new policy stance
4/17/9 - Secured $5 billion in aid commitments "to bolster [Pakistan's] economy and help it fight terror and Islamic radicalism"
4/22/9 - Developed the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents.
5/8/9 – Proposed International Affairs budget that included funds to create a civilian response corps -- teams of civilian experts in rule of law, policing, transitional governance, economics, engineering, and other areas critical to helping rebuild war-torn societies; Provide $40 million for a "stabilization bridge fund," which would provide rapid response funds for the State Department to help with an international crisis situation.
6/4/9 - Gave historic address to the Muslim World in Cairo - "American is not at war with Islam" Foreign affairs experts insist that Obama's engagement with the Muslim world has been remarkable. "He has been able to dramatically change America's image in that region"
8/4/9 - Used DIPLOMACY to free 2 American journalists from a North Korea prison
9/18/9 - De-escalation of nuclear tension through repurposing of missile defense prompting Russia to withdraw its missile plan.
-----------------------------------------------
This is a short and hastily compiled list. Imagine how long this list would be if someone took the time to review all of the stories here at DailyKos since January. It would be staggering.
Obama DESERVES the Nobel Peace Prize for his words AND his deeds. He has accomplished unprecedented change in U.S. politics and world affairs.
Please feel free to add items I have missed.
Rachael Maddow
I was just as shocked as everyone else when I heard the news. But after watching his speech and really re-thinking it all, he deserves it. I think Americans are quick to forget the monumental change that occurred within most of us during his campaign. For the firs time in my life I got active in politics outside of my home and circle of friends. I drove, along with millions, to DC just to see the inauguration. Why? Because the man is inspiring. Whether you like his politics or not he's doing what he can. You can't fault the President when you have to realize he relies on Congress to hold him down. So here's a short list I gathered from the Daily Kos of why Obama deserves to win the Nobel Prize, as well as an awesome video from one of my favs Rachael Maddow.
And for my conservative friends, enough with the Obama bashing? If you can find one legitimate thing to bitch about then be my guest, but until then, have some respect. Ok here goes the list and video...
(From the Daily Kos 10/9/2009)
I can’t believe I am hearing fellow Kossacks complain about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I have read comment after comment of hand-wringing and worry about how it’s too soon and he hasn’t accomplished enough.
Come on folks – where have you been? He's addressed everything from climate change and women's equality to nuclear proliferation and torture.
Does he have a lot left to do? Absolutely. The Republicans left the place in tatters. But don’t pretend for a moment that Obama hasn’t accomplished astonishing things.
In this “short time”, President Obama has completely overhauled foreign policy.
President Obama has restored America’s prominence in international diplomacy.
President Obama has reached out to the Muslim world ion a way that was previously unimagined.
Obama has stated "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges" to which the Nobel prize's nominating committee responded: "For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman,"
BoBo2020's diary :: ::
Here is a brief list of some of the reasons President Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize: (As a side note, it took me less than 45 minutes to compile this into a diary. It took me longer to fix my html errors than to find a short list of Nobel Prize winning accomplishments by our President. I am sure I have missed MANY things.)
3/18/8 – Obama caught world-wide attention for his moving speech on race relations
7/24/8 - Obama lays the foundation for a new era of international relations and began inspiring renewed hope in American leadership during his campaign speech in Berlin
11/6/8 – Obama’s victory was hailed as a promise of hope for the world.
12/1/8 – Obama began plans to restore U.N. ambassador to cabinet rank.
1/22/9 - Appointed a Special Envoy for Middle East peace
1/22/9 – Ordered the closing of Guantanamo Bay
1/22/9 – Ordered comprehensive review of detention policies
1/22/9 – Prohibited use of torture
1/22/9 - Signed an executive order to close CIA secret prisons
1/23/9 – Lifted “Global Gag Rule” on international health groups
1/26/9 – Began to address climate change by increasing fuel standards for automobiles
1/26/9 – Appointed Special Envoy for Climate Change
1/27/9 - Signs Lily Ledbetter “Fair Pay” Act
2/1/9 – Expanded healthcare for children by signing SCHIP
2/5/9 - Again addressed energy conservation by increasing standards for appliances.
2/24/9 – Directed almost $1 billion for prevention and wellness to improve America’s health
2/25/9 - Initiated international efforts to reduce mercury emissions worldwide
2/27/9 – Committed to responsibly ending the war in Iraq
4/1/9 – Agreed to negotiation of a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.
4/1/9 – Enhanced U.S. – China relations
4/2/9 - Led global response to the economic crisis through the G20, obtaining commitments of $1.1 trillion to safeguard the world’s most vulnerable economies
4/4/9 - Renewed dialog with NATO and other key allies
4/5/9 – Announced new strategy to responsible address international nuclear proliferation
4/13/9 – Began easing tension with Cuba through new policy stance
4/17/9 - Secured $5 billion in aid commitments "to bolster [Pakistan's] economy and help it fight terror and Islamic radicalism"
4/22/9 - Developed the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents.
5/8/9 – Proposed International Affairs budget that included funds to create a civilian response corps -- teams of civilian experts in rule of law, policing, transitional governance, economics, engineering, and other areas critical to helping rebuild war-torn societies; Provide $40 million for a "stabilization bridge fund," which would provide rapid response funds for the State Department to help with an international crisis situation.
6/4/9 - Gave historic address to the Muslim World in Cairo - "American is not at war with Islam" Foreign affairs experts insist that Obama's engagement with the Muslim world has been remarkable. "He has been able to dramatically change America's image in that region"
8/4/9 - Used DIPLOMACY to free 2 American journalists from a North Korea prison
9/18/9 - De-escalation of nuclear tension through repurposing of missile defense prompting Russia to withdraw its missile plan.
-----------------------------------------------
This is a short and hastily compiled list. Imagine how long this list would be if someone took the time to review all of the stories here at DailyKos since January. It would be staggering.
Obama DESERVES the Nobel Peace Prize for his words AND his deeds. He has accomplished unprecedented change in U.S. politics and world affairs.
Please feel free to add items I have missed.
Rachael Maddow
Monday, October 5, 2009
Another Reason to Hate Hollywood: Hollywood Defends a Rapist...
Here's another reason Hollywood can blow me. Now don't get it twisted, there are some, very few but some, decent minds in Hollywood but this shit is Roman Polanski bullshit is purely preposterous. There's a petition floating around for the release of Roman Polanski(already petitioned/signed by Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Harvey Weinstein, Pedro Almodóvar and Ethan Coen), who if you didn't know raped a 13 yr old girl back in 1977.
"The girl graphically described being given champagne and a quaalude, a popular recreational drug in the 1970s, by Polanski before he had sex with her. She testified that she repeatedly said no but that he did not stop, committing numerous sexual acts as she protested."(Guardian magazine)
Have a look a this video if you need a bit more background info.
Now I know he's had some ups and downs with the losing his mother and wife in such heinous acts of depravity, but that doesn't justify getting a female fucked up and taking advantage of her. Sorry. I don't care if he is 76. I don't care what movies he directed. I don't care if the act happened 30 some odd years ago. He raped an underage girl. He's not above the law.
Here's Chris Rock with the business. I agree with him even though he is joking. Still speaking the truth as usual.
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"The girl graphically described being given champagne and a quaalude, a popular recreational drug in the 1970s, by Polanski before he had sex with her. She testified that she repeatedly said no but that he did not stop, committing numerous sexual acts as she protested."(Guardian magazine)
Have a look a this video if you need a bit more background info.
Now I know he's had some ups and downs with the losing his mother and wife in such heinous acts of depravity, but that doesn't justify getting a female fucked up and taking advantage of her. Sorry. I don't care if he is 76. I don't care what movies he directed. I don't care if the act happened 30 some odd years ago. He raped an underage girl. He's not above the law.
Here's Chris Rock with the business. I agree with him even though he is joking. Still speaking the truth as usual.
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A Conservative Bible... WTF
"I once got kicked out of Barnes and Noble for moving all the Bibles into the science fiction section..."
If the months following Obama's election haven't proven that the right wing has loss their mind, now they want to edit the Bible to get rid of liberal leanings. Jesus Christ...
"Forgive them Father, for the know not what they do."
From the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/conservative-bible-projec_n_310037.html
Lo and behold, the Bible has gotten too liberal, according to a group of conservatives. And it needs a little editing.
That's the inspiration behind the Conservative Bible Project, which seeks to take the text back to its supposed right-wing roots.
Yes, even scripture is not orthodox enough for the modern conservative. Not that it's the fault of the author(s), exactly. The group cites a few reasons why the Bible is too progressive: "Lack of precision in the original language ... lack of precision in modern language" and "translation bias in converting the original language to the modern one."
So how can the Bible be conservatized? The group has proposed a Wikipedia-like group editing project. Some of the ideas would only bring the translation closer to the original. But others would fundamentally change the text.
1. Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias
2. Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, "gender inclusive" language, and other modern emasculation of Christianity
3. Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level[3]
4. Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms as they develop;[4] defective translations use the word "comrade" three times as often as "volunteer"; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as "word", "peace", and "miracle".
5. Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction by using modern terms for it, such as "gamble" rather than "cast lots";[5] using modern political terms, such as "register" rather than "enroll" for the census
6. Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.
7. Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
8. Exclude Later-Inserted Liberal Passages: excluding the later-inserted liberal passages that are not authentic, such as the adulteress story
9. Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels
10. Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word "Lord" rather than "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or "Lord God."
Among the words to be eliminated: "government." A conservative columnist at Beliefnet described the effort as "just crazy ... like what you'd get if you crossed the Jesus Seminar with the College Republican chapter at a rural institution of Bible learnin'."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/conservative-bible-projec_n_310037.html
If the months following Obama's election haven't proven that the right wing has loss their mind, now they want to edit the Bible to get rid of liberal leanings. Jesus Christ...
"Forgive them Father, for the know not what they do."
From the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/conservative-bible-projec_n_310037.html
Lo and behold, the Bible has gotten too liberal, according to a group of conservatives. And it needs a little editing.
That's the inspiration behind the Conservative Bible Project, which seeks to take the text back to its supposed right-wing roots.
Yes, even scripture is not orthodox enough for the modern conservative. Not that it's the fault of the author(s), exactly. The group cites a few reasons why the Bible is too progressive: "Lack of precision in the original language ... lack of precision in modern language" and "translation bias in converting the original language to the modern one."
So how can the Bible be conservatized? The group has proposed a Wikipedia-like group editing project. Some of the ideas would only bring the translation closer to the original. But others would fundamentally change the text.
1. Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias
2. Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, "gender inclusive" language, and other modern emasculation of Christianity
3. Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level[3]
4. Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms as they develop;[4] defective translations use the word "comrade" three times as often as "volunteer"; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as "word", "peace", and "miracle".
5. Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction by using modern terms for it, such as "gamble" rather than "cast lots";[5] using modern political terms, such as "register" rather than "enroll" for the census
6. Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.
7. Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
8. Exclude Later-Inserted Liberal Passages: excluding the later-inserted liberal passages that are not authentic, such as the adulteress story
9. Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels
10. Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word "Lord" rather than "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or "Lord God."
Among the words to be eliminated: "government." A conservative columnist at Beliefnet described the effort as "just crazy ... like what you'd get if you crossed the Jesus Seminar with the College Republican chapter at a rural institution of Bible learnin'."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/conservative-bible-projec_n_310037.html
It's been about 3 months...
So yeah, I know I said I would be more, oh what's the word I'm looking for... diligent perhaps, with my blog but it's been 3 months since I wrote anything. I've been musing why and I guess the answer could be found in a few different spots. I've been dealing with school, and up until last week working a shitty job that had me driving all over the North Metro area. Then here's the relationships with my lady, friends, and family. It can be a bit hard to keep this updated but this month I'm going to do it goddammit! I don't know who reads this, and if anyone even cares but I need to write. In order to get some things off my chest it's the only real way I can give my insight on some of the ridiculousness that is life.
Current evens continue to be a sad silly affair. There are so many stories ridden with shenanigans it's hard to maintain sanity on a daily level. When all you see is unbridled stupidity and unbelievable ignorance on a level that continues to get more and more high... man, it's enough to make a man say fuck it. But I can no longer sit idle by.
I'm not saying that me witting in this blog is going to start some sort of cultural revolution and cause a real change in society, but if it brings me a bit of peace of mind, makes folks think, laugh and opens eyes, then why not? If no ones reporting on the things that matter then who will?
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Current evens continue to be a sad silly affair. There are so many stories ridden with shenanigans it's hard to maintain sanity on a daily level. When all you see is unbridled stupidity and unbelievable ignorance on a level that continues to get more and more high... man, it's enough to make a man say fuck it. But I can no longer sit idle by.
I'm not saying that me witting in this blog is going to start some sort of cultural revolution and cause a real change in society, but if it brings me a bit of peace of mind, makes folks think, laugh and opens eyes, then why not? If no ones reporting on the things that matter then who will?
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Monday, July 20, 2009
Bill Maher on Michael Jackson=America
G'Day mates!
Soooo... yeah... I'm no doing very well on the blog tip. But in my defense I've just been really apathetic about the news cycle due to the constant coverage of Michael Jackson. Sure, it's unfortunate that Michael Jackson died but let's be honest about it. Up until Jackson's untimely demise, he was used as fodder for he news media. They grossly portrayed him as a freak, child molester with a habitual plastic surgery routine. Perhaps it was justifiable but unquestionable rude and out of line. Now, Mike's dead, and EVERYONE has lost their minds. It's sill on the news, and chances are it'll never fully go away. Just goes to show how our country really is. Here's my favorite line from this Bill Maher skit:
"Michael Jackson is America. We love him so much because he reflects our nation so perfectly. Fragile, over indulgent, childish, in debt, on drugs, and over the hill."
Here's the video(the Michael stuff starts about 2 mins in):
This video sums up my sentiments exactly.
Bill Maher FTW. Again.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your day and the video of course.
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Soooo... yeah... I'm no doing very well on the blog tip. But in my defense I've just been really apathetic about the news cycle due to the constant coverage of Michael Jackson. Sure, it's unfortunate that Michael Jackson died but let's be honest about it. Up until Jackson's untimely demise, he was used as fodder for he news media. They grossly portrayed him as a freak, child molester with a habitual plastic surgery routine. Perhaps it was justifiable but unquestionable rude and out of line. Now, Mike's dead, and EVERYONE has lost their minds. It's sill on the news, and chances are it'll never fully go away. Just goes to show how our country really is. Here's my favorite line from this Bill Maher skit:
"Michael Jackson is America. We love him so much because he reflects our nation so perfectly. Fragile, over indulgent, childish, in debt, on drugs, and over the hill."
Here's the video(the Michael stuff starts about 2 mins in):
This video sums up my sentiments exactly.
Bill Maher FTW. Again.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your day and the video of course.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Movies You Should Watch # 1
Yo.
So I watch my fair share of movies, especially documentaries. I ran across this one on watch-movies-links.com and was pretty impressed with it. I highly recommend this movie. It's very nicely done with a thorough history on past, present, and perhaps what the future hold for this section of Los Angelas. The part most interesting was the constant thought in my mind of how this situation has escalated without help or assistance from anyone honestly. Happening here in America folks. What a sad, sadistic, travesty of justice in our beautiful nation. Watch the trailer and check out the link for the movie. It's well worth your time. L8rs
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Here's the link to the movie. IT'S FREE SO WATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.watch-movies-links.net/movies/crips_and_bloods_made_in_america/
So I watch my fair share of movies, especially documentaries. I ran across this one on watch-movies-links.com and was pretty impressed with it. I highly recommend this movie. It's very nicely done with a thorough history on past, present, and perhaps what the future hold for this section of Los Angelas. The part most interesting was the constant thought in my mind of how this situation has escalated without help or assistance from anyone honestly. Happening here in America folks. What a sad, sadistic, travesty of justice in our beautiful nation. Watch the trailer and check out the link for the movie. It's well worth your time. L8rs
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Here's the link to the movie. IT'S FREE SO WATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.watch-movies-links.net/movies/crips_and_bloods_made_in_america/
Monday, June 29, 2009
Comic Artist Detained by TSA
First off I apologize to those of you who actually read this. It's been a month and I honestly just grew a bit tired of all the depressing things I usually read online that constitute as news. I'll make it a point in July to post once a day if you guys will read. Here's a news nugget I found a few minutes ago.
Comics artist Mark Sable detained for Unthinkable acts
By Ian Randal Strock May 13, 2009
Boom! Studios sends word that comics writer Mark Sable was detained by TSA security guards at Los Angeles International Airport this past weekend because he was carrying a script for a new issue of his comic miniseries Unthinkable. Sable was detained while traveling to New York for a debut party at Jim Hanley's Universe today.
The comic series follows members of a government think tank that was tasked with coming up with 9/11-type "unthinkable" terrorist scenarios that now are coming true. (See this article for more on the series.)
Sable wrote of his experiences: "Flying from Los Angeles to New York for a signing at Jim Hanley's Universe Wednesday (May 13th), I was flagged at the gate for 'extra screening'. I was subjected to not one, but two invasive searches of my person and belongings. TSA agents then 'discovered' the script for Unthinkable #3. They sat and read the script while I stood there, without any personal items, identification or ticket, which had all been confiscated.
"The minute I saw the faces of the agents, I knew I was in trouble. The first page of the Unthinkable script mentioned 9/11, terror plots, and the fact that the (fictional) world had become a police state. The TSA agents then proceeded to interrogate me, having a hard time understanding that a comic book could be about anything other than superheroes, let alone that anyone actually wrote scripts for comics.
"I cooperated politely and tried to explain to them the irony of the situation. While Unthinkable blurs the line between fiction and reality, the story is based on a real-life government think tank where a writer was tasked to design worst-case terror scenarios. The fictional story of Unthinkable unfolds when the writer's scenarios come true, and he becomes a suspect in the terrorist attacks.
"In the end, I feel my privacy is a small price to pay for educating the government about the medium."
Utter shenanigans but very ironic... don't ya think?
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Comics artist Mark Sable detained for Unthinkable acts
By Ian Randal Strock May 13, 2009
Boom! Studios sends word that comics writer Mark Sable was detained by TSA security guards at Los Angeles International Airport this past weekend because he was carrying a script for a new issue of his comic miniseries Unthinkable. Sable was detained while traveling to New York for a debut party at Jim Hanley's Universe today.
The comic series follows members of a government think tank that was tasked with coming up with 9/11-type "unthinkable" terrorist scenarios that now are coming true. (See this article for more on the series.)
Sable wrote of his experiences: "Flying from Los Angeles to New York for a signing at Jim Hanley's Universe Wednesday (May 13th), I was flagged at the gate for 'extra screening'. I was subjected to not one, but two invasive searches of my person and belongings. TSA agents then 'discovered' the script for Unthinkable #3. They sat and read the script while I stood there, without any personal items, identification or ticket, which had all been confiscated.
"The minute I saw the faces of the agents, I knew I was in trouble. The first page of the Unthinkable script mentioned 9/11, terror plots, and the fact that the (fictional) world had become a police state. The TSA agents then proceeded to interrogate me, having a hard time understanding that a comic book could be about anything other than superheroes, let alone that anyone actually wrote scripts for comics.
"I cooperated politely and tried to explain to them the irony of the situation. While Unthinkable blurs the line between fiction and reality, the story is based on a real-life government think tank where a writer was tasked to design worst-case terror scenarios. The fictional story of Unthinkable unfolds when the writer's scenarios come true, and he becomes a suspect in the terrorist attacks.
"In the end, I feel my privacy is a small price to pay for educating the government about the medium."
Utter shenanigans but very ironic... don't ya think?
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
Supply up, demand down, but oil prices rise
Before I post the article, let me speak freely on this subject. I personally believe the law of supply and demand hasn't been in effect over the petroleum fat cats in sometime. The folks, CEOs if you will, have reached a level of greed that's undeniable. The fact that we're in a RECESSION and the supply is DOWN should solidify a cheaper price. And while Ill be the first to admit the prices are way down from last year, if the current trend continues, and it will, gas will be about $3.50 by the summer. I'm calling it now. Today is May 24, 2009. By July, 2009 gas will be at a National average of $3.50. We'll call this my Howard Beale Revelation, although it's mere memory that leads me to such a conclusion. Check out this link and scroll down to the summer months and watch how the price ALWAYS increases:
http://www.nyse.tv/crude-oil-price-history.htm
I'm not spouting conspiracy theories, those are the facts. Some say it's because they're blending the gas to make better mileage types for the summer travel, or that the old supply-demand formula was being implemented. The only evidence I can find for the price hikes is the "speculative" narrative from "insiders". Lot of sense that makes eh? Somebody's OPINION determines the rise and fall of crude oil? Say it aint so... ok I'm done ranting. Read the article.
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Found the following on the SF Gate. It's written by David R. Baker.
Recessions usually bring cheap oil and gasoline.
But not now. And that has analysts worried that another fuel-price spike could be on the way.
Crude oil, the lifeblood of the global economy, costs $61.67, even as the world struggles through the worst recession since World War II. And prices are rising, climbing 26 percent in the last month.
Gas prices have jumped as a result, rising 12 cents in California last week to reach an average of $2.62 for a gallon of regular.
Compared with last year's record oil price of $145.29 per barrel, for oil sold on the New York Mercantile Exchange, $61 may not sound like much. But it's twice the historic average for petroleum, which used to trade from $20 to $30. Prices briefly fell below $34 in December and February, but they've rebounded with a vengeance.
The economy hasn't. But oil traders are betting that the recession is at or near its worst, meaning a recovery could start later this year and drive up global demand for oil again. They're trading on the possibility of a recovery, rather than a recovery itself.
To many analysts, the current high price is a bad sign.
The worldwide oil market is awash in petroleum, because countries stuck in recession don't need as much to fuel their cars, factories and power plants. So if oil costs this much now, when demand is low and supplies are high, what happens when the economy improves?
Another record-setting price spike? Gasoline rising back above $4 a gallon?
"The fact it's going up now on nada is proof that speculators are still in control," said Judy Dugan, research director with the nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog. "Unless there are curbs in place, it obviously could shoot through the roof again."
Changing the rules
That fear is fueling efforts in Washington to change the rules of the oil market. A global warming bill wending its way through Congress includes provisions designed to limit the role of speculative oil investors, whom many politicians blame for last year's runaway bull market.
"We need to look no further than today's oil prices, which have doubled since December, to see the effect speculators have on energy prices," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who wrote those provisions. "We are in the middle of a recession, supply is at a 20-year-high, demand is at a 10-year low, yet oil prices are up 70 percent since the beginning of the year. This cannot be explained by simple supply and demand."
However, even if the legislation doesn't pass, another major price spike is hardly certain.
Due to the recession, the world has a glut of oil in storage, with supplies in the United States at their highest level in 19 years. An estimated 100 million barrels worldwide are sitting in tanker ships, which companies have been using as floating storage bins. As the price rises, more of that petroleum will pour onto the market.
"That's definitely going to be a headwind against the price of oil as it moves up," said Allen Good, an analyst with the Morningstar market research firm.
In addition, Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may try to keep oil supplies high enough to prevent a price spike, said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy research fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute. The worldwide recession cut demand for their oil, they want the recession to end and high prices could hinder a recovery.
'Speculative bubble'
"I liked $45 (per barrel), and I think the Saudis have the ability to bring it back down to there if they want to," Jaffe said. "To me, we're having a little speculative bubble right now, and it's going to fizzle out."
The last time oil rose above $60, in March 2007, America's economy was growing, China's was soaring, Chrysler was still solvent and few people outside the financial world had ever heard of mortgage-backed securities.
Back then, $60 was considered frighteningly high, a price capable of causing serious economic harm. The decade's rising oil prices were already having a clear effect on drivers, who were buying less gasoline. Gas sales in California have dropped for the last three years in a row.
Even after last summer's economic meltdown ended the bull market for oil and sent gas prices tumbling, drivers kept buying less. Americans used 2.7 percent less gasoline in the last four weeks than they did during the same period last year, according to the Energy Information Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Such weak sales should be keeping oil prices low. But traders have been gambling that the recession has finally bottomed out, with a recovery perhaps starting later this year. That would increase worldwide demand for petroleum.
In addition, China's thirst for oil may be picking up again. After falling through the winter and spring, China's oil consumption rose about 4 percent in April compared with the same month of 2008, according to the Platts energy information service. China's increasing need for oil was one of the main reasons - some would say, excuses - for last year's price spike.
Some politicians argue that the country remains far too vulnerable to a repeat performance.
Limiting trades
The climate change bill includes provisions that would ban some types of oil trades and regulate others that don't take place on a formal market. Limits on the number of oil contracts a speculator can hold would be extended to cover those trades as well as trading on electronic exchanges and overseas markets.
"I think there's no question that supply-demand fundamentals are not reflected in the current (oil) price," said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at the Public Citizen watchdog group, which supports cracking down on oil-market speculation. "Is this a preview to $145 oil? I don't think so. But I think this underscores the need to increase oversight of these markets."
For a brief history on the price of petroleum check out this link. Many charts to show how historic events have shaped prices and the hypocrisy of recent memory.
http://www.wtrg.com/prices.htm
http://www.nyse.tv/crude-oil-price-history.htm
I'm not spouting conspiracy theories, those are the facts. Some say it's because they're blending the gas to make better mileage types for the summer travel, or that the old supply-demand formula was being implemented. The only evidence I can find for the price hikes is the "speculative" narrative from "insiders". Lot of sense that makes eh? Somebody's OPINION determines the rise and fall of crude oil? Say it aint so... ok I'm done ranting. Read the article.
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Found the following on the SF Gate. It's written by David R. Baker.
Recessions usually bring cheap oil and gasoline.
But not now. And that has analysts worried that another fuel-price spike could be on the way.
Crude oil, the lifeblood of the global economy, costs $61.67, even as the world struggles through the worst recession since World War II. And prices are rising, climbing 26 percent in the last month.
Gas prices have jumped as a result, rising 12 cents in California last week to reach an average of $2.62 for a gallon of regular.
Compared with last year's record oil price of $145.29 per barrel, for oil sold on the New York Mercantile Exchange, $61 may not sound like much. But it's twice the historic average for petroleum, which used to trade from $20 to $30. Prices briefly fell below $34 in December and February, but they've rebounded with a vengeance.
The economy hasn't. But oil traders are betting that the recession is at or near its worst, meaning a recovery could start later this year and drive up global demand for oil again. They're trading on the possibility of a recovery, rather than a recovery itself.
To many analysts, the current high price is a bad sign.
The worldwide oil market is awash in petroleum, because countries stuck in recession don't need as much to fuel their cars, factories and power plants. So if oil costs this much now, when demand is low and supplies are high, what happens when the economy improves?
Another record-setting price spike? Gasoline rising back above $4 a gallon?
"The fact it's going up now on nada is proof that speculators are still in control," said Judy Dugan, research director with the nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog. "Unless there are curbs in place, it obviously could shoot through the roof again."
Changing the rules
That fear is fueling efforts in Washington to change the rules of the oil market. A global warming bill wending its way through Congress includes provisions designed to limit the role of speculative oil investors, whom many politicians blame for last year's runaway bull market.
"We need to look no further than today's oil prices, which have doubled since December, to see the effect speculators have on energy prices," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who wrote those provisions. "We are in the middle of a recession, supply is at a 20-year-high, demand is at a 10-year low, yet oil prices are up 70 percent since the beginning of the year. This cannot be explained by simple supply and demand."
However, even if the legislation doesn't pass, another major price spike is hardly certain.
Due to the recession, the world has a glut of oil in storage, with supplies in the United States at their highest level in 19 years. An estimated 100 million barrels worldwide are sitting in tanker ships, which companies have been using as floating storage bins. As the price rises, more of that petroleum will pour onto the market.
"That's definitely going to be a headwind against the price of oil as it moves up," said Allen Good, an analyst with the Morningstar market research firm.
In addition, Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may try to keep oil supplies high enough to prevent a price spike, said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy research fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute. The worldwide recession cut demand for their oil, they want the recession to end and high prices could hinder a recovery.
'Speculative bubble'
"I liked $45 (per barrel), and I think the Saudis have the ability to bring it back down to there if they want to," Jaffe said. "To me, we're having a little speculative bubble right now, and it's going to fizzle out."
The last time oil rose above $60, in March 2007, America's economy was growing, China's was soaring, Chrysler was still solvent and few people outside the financial world had ever heard of mortgage-backed securities.
Back then, $60 was considered frighteningly high, a price capable of causing serious economic harm. The decade's rising oil prices were already having a clear effect on drivers, who were buying less gasoline. Gas sales in California have dropped for the last three years in a row.
Even after last summer's economic meltdown ended the bull market for oil and sent gas prices tumbling, drivers kept buying less. Americans used 2.7 percent less gasoline in the last four weeks than they did during the same period last year, according to the Energy Information Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Such weak sales should be keeping oil prices low. But traders have been gambling that the recession has finally bottomed out, with a recovery perhaps starting later this year. That would increase worldwide demand for petroleum.
In addition, China's thirst for oil may be picking up again. After falling through the winter and spring, China's oil consumption rose about 4 percent in April compared with the same month of 2008, according to the Platts energy information service. China's increasing need for oil was one of the main reasons - some would say, excuses - for last year's price spike.
Some politicians argue that the country remains far too vulnerable to a repeat performance.
Limiting trades
The climate change bill includes provisions that would ban some types of oil trades and regulate others that don't take place on a formal market. Limits on the number of oil contracts a speculator can hold would be extended to cover those trades as well as trading on electronic exchanges and overseas markets.
"I think there's no question that supply-demand fundamentals are not reflected in the current (oil) price," said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at the Public Citizen watchdog group, which supports cracking down on oil-market speculation. "Is this a preview to $145 oil? I don't think so. But I think this underscores the need to increase oversight of these markets."
For a brief history on the price of petroleum check out this link. Many charts to show how historic events have shaped prices and the hypocrisy of recent memory.
http://www.wtrg.com/prices.htm
Two/Three Year Bachelor"s Degree eh?
After missing the last game of the season, well technicaly I didn't miss it, they're just re-playing here in a bit, I did my usual search of the news. I ran across this on UPI. I think its a thread from the AP but I dunno for sure. Anyway, give it a read and watch for the jump.
U.S. colleges offering three-year degrees
WASHINGTON, May 23 (UPI) -- More U.S. colleges say they're joining Bates in Maine and Ball State in Indiana in offering three-year undergraduate degrees.
Paring the traditional four-year college education by a year would aid focused students who know what they want to study, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
"Today's economic crisis and tight budgets are the best time to innovate and change," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a former U.S. education secretary and past president of the University of Tennessee.
The three-year degree is the common model at the University of Cambridge and Oxford University in England and is being offered in the United States at Bates, Ball and several other colleges.
Hartwick College in New York is cutting a year and more than $40,000 in costs off its undergraduate program, while Lipscomb University in Nashville plans to offer a three-year degree beginning this fall, the Post reported.
A three-year program will be offered at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, while Purdue University's College of Technology in Indiana plans a two-year bachelor's degree aimed at unemployed auto and manufacturing workers.
Well, isn't that something? I wonder if this trend will continue. I for one would hope not. At the moment, I attend a 2 year technical school. There, I can only get an Associate's Degree. There are no options for a Bachelor's. Now, if I personally had the option to go to a University and grab a Bachelor's in 2-3 years, I'd have probably taken it. Another thing, won't this flood the already dismal job market? I keep reading on some sites and in the papers that the unemployment rate is getting better. And technically it is, but at a staggering slow rate! I just don't understand the logic of giving someone a degree that use to take 4 years to get. Becase basically you're just stripping down the information, or perhaps it's viewed as trimming the fat, for the same product. I guess we'll see how this progresses. I have a feeling more schools will jump on board this in the years to come.
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U.S. colleges offering three-year degrees
WASHINGTON, May 23 (UPI) -- More U.S. colleges say they're joining Bates in Maine and Ball State in Indiana in offering three-year undergraduate degrees.
Paring the traditional four-year college education by a year would aid focused students who know what they want to study, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
"Today's economic crisis and tight budgets are the best time to innovate and change," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a former U.S. education secretary and past president of the University of Tennessee.
The three-year degree is the common model at the University of Cambridge and Oxford University in England and is being offered in the United States at Bates, Ball and several other colleges.
Hartwick College in New York is cutting a year and more than $40,000 in costs off its undergraduate program, while Lipscomb University in Nashville plans to offer a three-year degree beginning this fall, the Post reported.
A three-year program will be offered at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, while Purdue University's College of Technology in Indiana plans a two-year bachelor's degree aimed at unemployed auto and manufacturing workers.
Well, isn't that something? I wonder if this trend will continue. I for one would hope not. At the moment, I attend a 2 year technical school. There, I can only get an Associate's Degree. There are no options for a Bachelor's. Now, if I personally had the option to go to a University and grab a Bachelor's in 2-3 years, I'd have probably taken it. Another thing, won't this flood the already dismal job market? I keep reading on some sites and in the papers that the unemployment rate is getting better. And technically it is, but at a staggering slow rate! I just don't understand the logic of giving someone a degree that use to take 4 years to get. Becase basically you're just stripping down the information, or perhaps it's viewed as trimming the fat, for the same product. I guess we'll see how this progresses. I have a feeling more schools will jump on board this in the years to come.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Bush's "Smoking Gun" Witness Found Dead of "Suicide"
Ok I get a host of emils from all kinds of sources: left, right, and middle. The IndictBushNow.org folks email me about once a week with updates on the case. A little back story for those of you who don't know, a large group of people are working their ass off to bring about a federal investigation on the torture of detainees due to it being a violation of the Geneva Act along with war crimes. You can go to http://www.indictbushnow.org if you really want to know more. But anyway I got this news emailed to me today and found it fitting to share. Not to say I'm surprised by it but it's worth sharing.
Bush's 'Smoking Gun' Witness Found Dead
IndictBushNow files Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to get to bottom of story
The cover-up of Bush-era crimes is taking a shocking but not unexpected turn. A fateful move has been made and it is certain to backfire.
A prisoner who was horribly tortured in 2002 until he agreed - at the demand of Bush torturers - to say that al-Qaeda was linked to Saddam Hussein is suddenly dead. Several weeks ago, Human Rights Watch investigators discovered the missing inmate and talked to him. He had been secretly transferred by the administration to a prison in Libya after having been held by the CIA both in secret “black hole prisons” and in Egypt.
Under conditions of extreme torture, the prisoner, Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, agreed in 2002 to supply the Bush-ordered interrogators what they sought as a political cover for Bush’s marketing of the pending war of aggression against Iraq. Mr. Libi agreed to tell them whatever they wanted in exchange for an end to the torture. The now famous Torture Memos providing legal cover for the torture were written at the same time starting in the summer of 2002.
Libi’s tortured and knowingly fabricated testimony was the source of information used by Bush to sell the war to the U.S. Senate, and the source for Colin Powell’s bogus and lying presentation to the United Nations in 2003.
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice are now running around saying that the torture regime “protected the country from terrorist attack.” But the torture was used for the personal political goals of Bush and Cheney: namely, to sell their Iraq invasion to a very skeptical and disbelieving country.
Having been discovered by human rights investigators two weeks ago, Mr. Libi’s story coincided with the release of the Torture Memos and the growing clamor for criminal prosecutions of Bush officials.
His testimony is the smoking gun that would reveal that the torture regime was not for “national security” but for the personal political aims of Bush and Cheney.
He was Exhibit A in the indictment that alleges that tortured confessions and the contrived legal justifications of torture set up by Justice Department lawyers in July/August 2002 were central to the launch of the war against Iraq.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died and tens of thousands of U.S. service members have either been killed or badly wounded in a war that was based on lies fortified and promoted by the most sadistic torture.
Mr. Libi is suddenly dead. A Libyan “newspaper source” says that his death is an apparent suicide. His friends don’t believe that.
We are building a movement for the appointment of a Special Prosecutor. This is not a political choice. It is a legal imperative. Mr. Libi’s death must be the first business of the investigation. When other prisoners who had been kept at secret sites were sent to Guantanamo, the Bush administration and the CIA intentionally kept Mr. Libi from being part of that transfer. Mr. Libi was publicly stating that the Iraq-al-Qaeda links attributed to him from his torture sessions were not true.
“Who was the beneficiary” from his death? Why was he spirited away by the Bush administration to hidden foreign prisons after he recanted his tortured testimony and revealed that he was forced to make false statements about Iraq under torture?
Suicide.... right. Remember Putin and the isotope? How bout Barry Jennings? William Cooper? The Branch Davidians... etc etc. It's no secret what happens to someone that does anything that could possible get anyone of the elites in trouble.
They die.
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Bush's 'Smoking Gun' Witness Found Dead
IndictBushNow files Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to get to bottom of story
The cover-up of Bush-era crimes is taking a shocking but not unexpected turn. A fateful move has been made and it is certain to backfire.
A prisoner who was horribly tortured in 2002 until he agreed - at the demand of Bush torturers - to say that al-Qaeda was linked to Saddam Hussein is suddenly dead. Several weeks ago, Human Rights Watch investigators discovered the missing inmate and talked to him. He had been secretly transferred by the administration to a prison in Libya after having been held by the CIA both in secret “black hole prisons” and in Egypt.
Under conditions of extreme torture, the prisoner, Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, agreed in 2002 to supply the Bush-ordered interrogators what they sought as a political cover for Bush’s marketing of the pending war of aggression against Iraq. Mr. Libi agreed to tell them whatever they wanted in exchange for an end to the torture. The now famous Torture Memos providing legal cover for the torture were written at the same time starting in the summer of 2002.
Libi’s tortured and knowingly fabricated testimony was the source of information used by Bush to sell the war to the U.S. Senate, and the source for Colin Powell’s bogus and lying presentation to the United Nations in 2003.
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice are now running around saying that the torture regime “protected the country from terrorist attack.” But the torture was used for the personal political goals of Bush and Cheney: namely, to sell their Iraq invasion to a very skeptical and disbelieving country.
Having been discovered by human rights investigators two weeks ago, Mr. Libi’s story coincided with the release of the Torture Memos and the growing clamor for criminal prosecutions of Bush officials.
His testimony is the smoking gun that would reveal that the torture regime was not for “national security” but for the personal political aims of Bush and Cheney.
He was Exhibit A in the indictment that alleges that tortured confessions and the contrived legal justifications of torture set up by Justice Department lawyers in July/August 2002 were central to the launch of the war against Iraq.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died and tens of thousands of U.S. service members have either been killed or badly wounded in a war that was based on lies fortified and promoted by the most sadistic torture.
Mr. Libi is suddenly dead. A Libyan “newspaper source” says that his death is an apparent suicide. His friends don’t believe that.
We are building a movement for the appointment of a Special Prosecutor. This is not a political choice. It is a legal imperative. Mr. Libi’s death must be the first business of the investigation. When other prisoners who had been kept at secret sites were sent to Guantanamo, the Bush administration and the CIA intentionally kept Mr. Libi from being part of that transfer. Mr. Libi was publicly stating that the Iraq-al-Qaeda links attributed to him from his torture sessions were not true.
“Who was the beneficiary” from his death? Why was he spirited away by the Bush administration to hidden foreign prisons after he recanted his tortured testimony and revealed that he was forced to make false statements about Iraq under torture?
Suicide.... right. Remember Putin and the isotope? How bout Barry Jennings? William Cooper? The Branch Davidians... etc etc. It's no secret what happens to someone that does anything that could possible get anyone of the elites in trouble.
They die.
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Jesse Ventura FTW
I woke up this morning and do like I usually do, look up news, and I found this online. Even if you aren't a wrestling fan, Jesse Ventura is the man. I mean check out these videos man! He makes pertinent points on water boarding, the legalizing of Marijuana, Al Franken(why hasn't he been seated yet? I mean honestly... Coleman let it go man. You lost.) and Dick Cheney and the GOP. He's funny and enlightening. I always held the point that politics and wrestling wee the same in a matter of speaking. Think about it. I could get deeper into this but I'll wait for when I have more time.
PART 1:
PART 2:
PART 1:
PART 2:
Monday, May 11, 2009
What's the Big Deal?
So I've been reading all over the blog-o-sphere about how horrible this joke is from Wanda Sykes at the White House Correspondents dinner. If you don't know what I'm talking about here's the joke:
Sorry but that's funny! Is it in poor taste... well yeah it is. I suppose that's my humor style though. The more dry, cynical, and sarcastic the better! But all those against it should take a moment and consider the fact that she's not making up what Rush said. He did say he wanted Obama's administration to fail. See exhibit b(granted I could do exhibits b-z but I think this is where it started at CPAC)
So there you have it. See here's the problem with Republicans. When you lose you have to have humility. When you get on a grand stage like this and start ranting about how nothing would make you happier than seeing YOUR PRESIDENT, the leader of YOUR COUNTRY, fail... well I'm not gonna go as far as Wanda says and say you could be the 20th hijacker on 9-11, but I must admit it's rather silly and unfounded.
I couldn't stand George W Bush when he was President. I mean the list of shenanigans that he and his cohorts induced on our nation and the world was to much to bear. Did I want him to fail? NO! He's MY PRESIDENT. Unfortunately for the lot of us though, W excelled at failing! Just take a look at his speeches. Every time I hear(d) W talk I wanted to take the nearest sharp object and shove it in my ear. I wanted to dip my head in a vat of sulfuric acid. I was ashamed to be an American. He disappointed me on SOOOOO many levels by FAILING. Here's a few examples:
-The Patriot Act
-Iraq
-Afghanistan
-9/11 fear mongering
-The Patriot Act 2
-No Child Left Behind
-Katrina...
...do I really need to list them all?
It pained me to see the legislature he signed and the bills he opposed. The unjust war he created. The constant fear mongering and lies. So many misinterpretations of the truth. He failed over and over and over again. I mean there are books in Barnes and Nobles with "Bushisms"(quotes so horrible there was one for every day of the year.) He failed constantly. All I wanted him to do was make me proud. And he never did. But was I on the side lines going "WOO HOO! Go W! Go! Keep up the fuck ups man!" No... because that's ridiculous.
I'm not an Obama-ite.... at least not anymore. I do admire him though. It's hard not to. His resume is impeccable. And while I don't appreciate how liberal he leans I'd be hard pressed to say I'm not proud of the fact our country has a President who can speak proper English.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that wanting your President to fail is beyond counter-productive. It makes absolutely no sense. If you want the President to fail then why are you even living here? I remember debating my right leaning friends about W when he ran the country and how they would tell me to move if I didn't like it. Seems fitting that perhaps Rush and his right wing nut cases should do the same. By the way, I thought Rush was done with the pills? Someone needs to stage an intervention. Only a drug addict would long to see the person who leads them fail. Please Rush, go to Charter. If you can't get help there, please.. get help somewhere!
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Sorry but that's funny! Is it in poor taste... well yeah it is. I suppose that's my humor style though. The more dry, cynical, and sarcastic the better! But all those against it should take a moment and consider the fact that she's not making up what Rush said. He did say he wanted Obama's administration to fail. See exhibit b(granted I could do exhibits b-z but I think this is where it started at CPAC)
So there you have it. See here's the problem with Republicans. When you lose you have to have humility. When you get on a grand stage like this and start ranting about how nothing would make you happier than seeing YOUR PRESIDENT, the leader of YOUR COUNTRY, fail... well I'm not gonna go as far as Wanda says and say you could be the 20th hijacker on 9-11, but I must admit it's rather silly and unfounded.
I couldn't stand George W Bush when he was President. I mean the list of shenanigans that he and his cohorts induced on our nation and the world was to much to bear. Did I want him to fail? NO! He's MY PRESIDENT. Unfortunately for the lot of us though, W excelled at failing! Just take a look at his speeches. Every time I hear(d) W talk I wanted to take the nearest sharp object and shove it in my ear. I wanted to dip my head in a vat of sulfuric acid. I was ashamed to be an American. He disappointed me on SOOOOO many levels by FAILING. Here's a few examples:
-The Patriot Act
-Iraq
-Afghanistan
-9/11 fear mongering
-The Patriot Act 2
-No Child Left Behind
-Katrina...
...do I really need to list them all?
It pained me to see the legislature he signed and the bills he opposed. The unjust war he created. The constant fear mongering and lies. So many misinterpretations of the truth. He failed over and over and over again. I mean there are books in Barnes and Nobles with "Bushisms"(quotes so horrible there was one for every day of the year.) He failed constantly. All I wanted him to do was make me proud. And he never did. But was I on the side lines going "WOO HOO! Go W! Go! Keep up the fuck ups man!" No... because that's ridiculous.
I'm not an Obama-ite.... at least not anymore. I do admire him though. It's hard not to. His resume is impeccable. And while I don't appreciate how liberal he leans I'd be hard pressed to say I'm not proud of the fact our country has a President who can speak proper English.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that wanting your President to fail is beyond counter-productive. It makes absolutely no sense. If you want the President to fail then why are you even living here? I remember debating my right leaning friends about W when he ran the country and how they would tell me to move if I didn't like it. Seems fitting that perhaps Rush and his right wing nut cases should do the same. By the way, I thought Rush was done with the pills? Someone needs to stage an intervention. Only a drug addict would long to see the person who leads them fail. Please Rush, go to Charter. If you can't get help there, please.. get help somewhere!
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Saturday, May 9, 2009
Stamps Going up in Price... again.
On Monday it'll cost you an extra 2 cents for a stamp. Yes, the price has gone up again. I think this is the 3rd year in a row the price of a stamp has increased. Other changes as of this Monday include:
~The postcard stamp increases by a penny to 28 cents.
~The first ounce of a large envelope increases 5 cents to 88 cents.
~ The first ounce of a parcel increases 5 cents to $1.22.
~New international postcard and letter prices are, for one ounce, 75 cents to Canada; 79 cents to Mexico; and 98 cents elsewhere.
I can't really hate on them for doing this. With the internet I rarely ever actually mail anyone anything. A few times a year Ill mail some DVDrs out but it's rare. As far as mailing letters, or paying bills, all of it's mostly done online for me. It seems the internet, while it is made convenient for all of us, is hendering many business from making the money they were use to. http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1215712281985423634
Last year the postal service was 2.8 BILLION dollars in the whole. And we're almost half way thru this year and the count is at 2.3 billion dollars. I'm amazed that they haven't asked for a bailout! Because let's be honest about it. The measely increase in price over certain items is not going to pull them outta the hole. If anything it might actually make more people STOP using them and find alternative means of shipping their mail.
But maybe it'll work out for them. I think the untimely demise for the postal service is within the near future. Along with, and I hate to say it, newspapers.
Check the link
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1883785,00.html
But hopefully I'm wrong...
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~The postcard stamp increases by a penny to 28 cents.
~The first ounce of a large envelope increases 5 cents to 88 cents.
~ The first ounce of a parcel increases 5 cents to $1.22.
~New international postcard and letter prices are, for one ounce, 75 cents to Canada; 79 cents to Mexico; and 98 cents elsewhere.
I can't really hate on them for doing this. With the internet I rarely ever actually mail anyone anything. A few times a year Ill mail some DVDrs out but it's rare. As far as mailing letters, or paying bills, all of it's mostly done online for me. It seems the internet, while it is made convenient for all of us, is hendering many business from making the money they were use to. http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1215712281985423634
Last year the postal service was 2.8 BILLION dollars in the whole. And we're almost half way thru this year and the count is at 2.3 billion dollars. I'm amazed that they haven't asked for a bailout! Because let's be honest about it. The measely increase in price over certain items is not going to pull them outta the hole. If anything it might actually make more people STOP using them and find alternative means of shipping their mail.
But maybe it'll work out for them. I think the untimely demise for the postal service is within the near future. Along with, and I hate to say it, newspapers.
Check the link
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1883785,00.html
But hopefully I'm wrong...
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Friday, May 8, 2009
16 yr Old Boy Arrested Under Patriot Act
When is Obama going to repeal the Patriot Acts? My money is on never but maybe... just maybe he'll prove me wrong.
Check the link. The Patriot Act MUST be repealed!
http://www.aclu.org/PatriotActFlash/PatriotActFeature.htm
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Monday, May 4, 2009
The Brazilian Secret... WHY?!?!?!
*DISCLAIMER FOR THE LADIES: I'm just keeping it real man. Please don't flame me for being honest...
SO... I was watching futbol with Cory this weekend on GolTV(think it was Real Madrid getting raped by Barcaleona) and during the half they played this infomercial. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with "Brazilian Secret":
Alright... all I gotta say is, Damn man... this shit isnt right. My favorite aesthetically pleasing part of a woman is her ass.
Observe:
I mean tits are great but gimmie a girl with a nice ass and some pretty legs and I'm good to go son! Boobs are fun and all but I just never have been a titty man. So I really never hated much on the wonderbra. I mean, sure, it's a bit misleading. I've been there before and while I was disappointed it didn't matter much. This however... man... wtf! If I check out a girl and she has an ass that looks like these broads in the commercial, then I get home an ass drops I'm gonna be a bit more than disappointed.
Just one question...... What's so wrong with working out? I know people get self concsious about their appearance, especially you ladies, but damn, I'm drawing the line! If you don't have an ass like a Brazilian girl, tough shit. Take your flat booty ass to the gym and work out till you do(if it means that much to you). Don't LIE about it and wear these panties that make it look like you do. Ya feel me?
Now, in defense of the ladies, I will admit that society pressures women into fitting a certain ratio which for most, if not all of you, is damn near impossible. You grow up with Barbie who has proportions that are inconceivable. If a woman was really shaped like Barbie she'd probably toppled over her ridiuclous bust size! Then there's all those damn magazines, supermodels(who should really eat something in my humble opinion), celebrites and all this influx of bllshit on the TV trying to tell you how to look and then you forget how beautiful you actually are. Its rare... and I mean
REEEEEEAAAAALLLLLLLLYYYYYYYY RARE
that I meet a girl who actually knows she's hot. And I know a bunch of hot ass females. I don't think I have a single ugly girl friend(real talk). You give some of these chicks a compliment and they lament over how you're just being nice or exaggerating. It's ridiculus. Learn to take a compliment yo.
Listen up ladies... and dudes too... there's no such thing as the perfect woman. No such thing as the perfect man. People are inherently flawed physically and mentally. You can name anybody you want in the world, nobody is fine all the time. EVER. You think Angelina Jolie wakes up looking like she does on the cover of Vogue? With all those kids.... Jigga please...
So let's just keep it real. If you got a flat ass, flaunt your personality! Own that flat ass! Or go to the gym and shape it up. When did people get so damn lazy man?! It seems like America's solution to problems is to just lie about it and hope when the lights go out nobody notices....
Well I do America! I see through the facade! Down with the Brazilian Secret, Wonderbras, botox, gastro intestinal surgey(go on a diet.. damn!) Enzyte(Smiling Bob can EAT ME), Viagra, etc etc. When will we learn to accept oursevles as we are?
Ok, I'm donw ranting. It's been a blah day
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Excuse the type-os... it's late.. I'm tired... get over it : p
SO... I was watching futbol with Cory this weekend on GolTV(think it was Real Madrid getting raped by Barcaleona) and during the half they played this infomercial. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with "Brazilian Secret":
Alright... all I gotta say is, Damn man... this shit isnt right. My favorite aesthetically pleasing part of a woman is her ass.
Observe:
I mean tits are great but gimmie a girl with a nice ass and some pretty legs and I'm good to go son! Boobs are fun and all but I just never have been a titty man. So I really never hated much on the wonderbra. I mean, sure, it's a bit misleading. I've been there before and while I was disappointed it didn't matter much. This however... man... wtf! If I check out a girl and she has an ass that looks like these broads in the commercial, then I get home an ass drops I'm gonna be a bit more than disappointed.
Just one question...... What's so wrong with working out? I know people get self concsious about their appearance, especially you ladies, but damn, I'm drawing the line! If you don't have an ass like a Brazilian girl, tough shit. Take your flat booty ass to the gym and work out till you do(if it means that much to you). Don't LIE about it and wear these panties that make it look like you do. Ya feel me?
Now, in defense of the ladies, I will admit that society pressures women into fitting a certain ratio which for most, if not all of you, is damn near impossible. You grow up with Barbie who has proportions that are inconceivable. If a woman was really shaped like Barbie she'd probably toppled over her ridiuclous bust size! Then there's all those damn magazines, supermodels(who should really eat something in my humble opinion), celebrites and all this influx of bllshit on the TV trying to tell you how to look and then you forget how beautiful you actually are. Its rare... and I mean
REEEEEEAAAAALLLLLLLLYYYYYYYY RARE
that I meet a girl who actually knows she's hot. And I know a bunch of hot ass females. I don't think I have a single ugly girl friend(real talk). You give some of these chicks a compliment and they lament over how you're just being nice or exaggerating. It's ridiculus. Learn to take a compliment yo.
Listen up ladies... and dudes too... there's no such thing as the perfect woman. No such thing as the perfect man. People are inherently flawed physically and mentally. You can name anybody you want in the world, nobody is fine all the time. EVER. You think Angelina Jolie wakes up looking like she does on the cover of Vogue? With all those kids.... Jigga please...
So let's just keep it real. If you got a flat ass, flaunt your personality! Own that flat ass! Or go to the gym and shape it up. When did people get so damn lazy man?! It seems like America's solution to problems is to just lie about it and hope when the lights go out nobody notices....
Well I do America! I see through the facade! Down with the Brazilian Secret, Wonderbras, botox, gastro intestinal surgey(go on a diet.. damn!) Enzyte(Smiling Bob can EAT ME), Viagra, etc etc. When will we learn to accept oursevles as we are?
Ok, I'm donw ranting. It's been a blah day
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Excuse the type-os... it's late.. I'm tired... get over it : p
Friday, May 1, 2009
So long Souter... so who's next?
Well....
I honestly didn't think it would be this soon for a member of the Supreme court to decided to step down. And to go evem further, I didn't expect it to be Souter. I mena he's only 69. Not the oldest member, he falls in the middle somewhere. I had my money on Stevens. I mean he's 84. Then there's Ginsberg. So Obama is gonna have to probably pick another judge. That's either great or scray depending on how you loook at it. But whatever.
I believe Souter was place by George HW Bush in hopes he would swing to the right but when I look over his record he eneded up being a more moderate liberal judge. Just another Bush fuck up I suppose. Care to specualte who's on deck? I haven't a clue but I'll put money it's a liberal... and probably a woman... maybe even a minoirty liberal women. Too bad LAB isn't older. I mean how could you pass up seating a Jewish lesbian black woman with liberal tendencies?
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I honestly didn't think it would be this soon for a member of the Supreme court to decided to step down. And to go evem further, I didn't expect it to be Souter. I mena he's only 69. Not the oldest member, he falls in the middle somewhere. I had my money on Stevens. I mean he's 84. Then there's Ginsberg. So Obama is gonna have to probably pick another judge. That's either great or scray depending on how you loook at it. But whatever.
I believe Souter was place by George HW Bush in hopes he would swing to the right but when I look over his record he eneded up being a more moderate liberal judge. Just another Bush fuck up I suppose. Care to specualte who's on deck? I haven't a clue but I'll put money it's a liberal... and probably a woman... maybe even a minoirty liberal women. Too bad LAB isn't older. I mean how could you pass up seating a Jewish lesbian black woman with liberal tendencies?
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Kyle Maynard: MMA? Uhh.....
Ok. If you don't know who Kyle Maynard here's a brief introduction care of ABC news along with the video from 20/20 care of you tube:
Kyle Maynard of Suwanee, Georgia, U.S. was born on March 24, 1986 with a rare disorder called congenital amputation. He has no elbows and no knees, yet he competed in the 2004 Georgia High School Wrestling Championships. He graduated from Collins Hill High School with a wrestling record of 35 wins, 16 losses and a 3.7 GPA.
He is the recipient of a 2004 ESPN Espy Award for the Best Athlete With A Disability and has been featured on many radio interviews, talk shows, and television programs. He has modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch. Currently he works as a speaker for the Washington Speaker's Bureau, specializing in motivational speeches. He is also the author of the memoir, No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life (Regnery Publishing, 2005).
Kyle Maynard is attending the University of Georgia, continues to wrestle, and expects to graduate in 2008 with a B.A. in Broadcast News. Also, Kyle has recently began training in Mixed Martial Arts, and there is an upcoming documentary on his story entitled A Fighting Chance.
Now there's no question that this dude is an inspiration. Especially considering his plight. I couldn't imagine losing an arm or leg. Living with out all four would probably be unbearable for me. But here this cat is. Holding it done correct. But let's be honest. Kyle's trying to do MMA. He just had his first fight. I ran across this video on Collegehumor:
Now let's all be honest. He has NO business in an MMA fight. Mad props to the guy he's fighting, whomever he is, because what restraint! I think the rules state you can't kick a downed opponent, but Kyle's opponent cold have gave him more than a few choice wallops to the dome if he wanted. So I just gotta ask why Kyle? I mean yes you are an amazing inspiration and a helluva a story but dude... you're going to get seriously hurt if you keep this up. Just focus on your career and leave the MMA to people who can actually punch and kick. I now it sounds harsh but not everyone's gonna be as nice as the opposition in the fight. I know it sounds bad but if I was fighting him I wouldn't have held back. If you wanna get in a ring and fight you have to be prepared to get your ass kicked. Whether you have are sin legs, arms, intelligence, what have you. Take that degree and use it before you're brain dead too man.
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Kyle Maynard of Suwanee, Georgia, U.S. was born on March 24, 1986 with a rare disorder called congenital amputation. He has no elbows and no knees, yet he competed in the 2004 Georgia High School Wrestling Championships. He graduated from Collins Hill High School with a wrestling record of 35 wins, 16 losses and a 3.7 GPA.
He is the recipient of a 2004 ESPN Espy Award for the Best Athlete With A Disability and has been featured on many radio interviews, talk shows, and television programs. He has modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch. Currently he works as a speaker for the Washington Speaker's Bureau, specializing in motivational speeches. He is also the author of the memoir, No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life (Regnery Publishing, 2005).
Kyle Maynard is attending the University of Georgia, continues to wrestle, and expects to graduate in 2008 with a B.A. in Broadcast News. Also, Kyle has recently began training in Mixed Martial Arts, and there is an upcoming documentary on his story entitled A Fighting Chance.
Now there's no question that this dude is an inspiration. Especially considering his plight. I couldn't imagine losing an arm or leg. Living with out all four would probably be unbearable for me. But here this cat is. Holding it done correct. But let's be honest. Kyle's trying to do MMA. He just had his first fight. I ran across this video on Collegehumor:
Now let's all be honest. He has NO business in an MMA fight. Mad props to the guy he's fighting, whomever he is, because what restraint! I think the rules state you can't kick a downed opponent, but Kyle's opponent cold have gave him more than a few choice wallops to the dome if he wanted. So I just gotta ask why Kyle? I mean yes you are an amazing inspiration and a helluva a story but dude... you're going to get seriously hurt if you keep this up. Just focus on your career and leave the MMA to people who can actually punch and kick. I now it sounds harsh but not everyone's gonna be as nice as the opposition in the fight. I know it sounds bad but if I was fighting him I wouldn't have held back. If you wanna get in a ring and fight you have to be prepared to get your ass kicked. Whether you have are sin legs, arms, intelligence, what have you. Take that degree and use it before you're brain dead too man.
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Another win for Gay Marriage!
It's looking like New Hampshire is the newest state to change the marriage laws allowing same sex couples the same right as heterosexuals. WOOO!!! Horray for tolerance and common sense! GET SOME!
So we got Iowa(still tripping over that one), Massachusetts(goin strong since 04),Connecticut, and Vermont. And odd assortment of states. Minor props to NY and DC for at least acknowledging those married outside of state.
4 outta 50.
It's not great....
but it's better than 0 right?
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So we got Iowa(still tripping over that one), Massachusetts(goin strong since 04),Connecticut, and Vermont. And odd assortment of states. Minor props to NY and DC for at least acknowledging those married outside of state.
4 outta 50.
It's not great....
but it's better than 0 right?
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Ending Marijuana Prohibition
I watched a documentary not to long ago on MSNBC on the marijuana industry over in California. I can't remember the exact figure but the money accumulated was in the BILLIONS. With our country in dealing with its current economic woes... its' time to legalize marijuana.
Here's some good news tho:
News from NORML
Over the past 24 hours, several state legislatures have taken steps to enact medical marijuana legislation or improve upon existing law. Here is a summary of this latest progress.
New Hampshire: The Senate voted 14 to 10 today in favor of HB 648, which would allow qualified patients to possess up to two ounces of cannabis and/or six plants for medical purposes. Because the Senate made minor amendments to the proposal, it must be re-approved by the House before going to Gov. John Lynch – who has expressed reservations about the measure. Starting tomorrow, our allies NH Compassion will begin airing television ads asking for the Governor to support HB 648.
Minnesota: Also today, members of the State Senate gave preliminary approval to Senate File 97, an act to exempt qualified medical cannabis patients from state arrest and prosecution. The Senate is expected to give final passage to the bill imminently. A companion bill, House File 292, is also expected to be before the House floor shortly.
Rhode Island: Members of the Rhode Island Senate voted 35 to 2 today in favor of SB 185, an act to allow for the distribution of medical cannabis by state-licensed compassion centers.
Pennsylvania: Finally, NORML is thrilled to announce that Rep. Mark Cohen (D-Philadelphia), along with six co-sponsors, introduced legislation today to make Pennsylvania the fourteenth state to legalize the physician-supervised use of cannabis. As introduced — House Bill 1393, The Barry Busch Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act of 2009 — would allow state-authorized patients to possess and cultivate cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
So folks are trying. If you want in follow NORML's site here:
http://norml.org/index.cfm
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Something Cigar(ette)Smokers Should Consider....
So if you smoke you know cigarette prices are through the roof due to the recent imposed tax on them... again. Listen, I know it's hard to stop smoking but here's something you should check out. I mean sure we're all gonna die someday but if you're gonna smoke something, why not just get some green and chief out. It's much safer for you and you're not doing anywhere near the amount of damage as smoking cigs. Not that I'm recommending pot or anything. Not trying to be a cigarette Nazi or anything, I'm just saying if you have to smoke, it might as well be worth it.
From the CDC
Fact Sheet
Tobacco-Related Mortality
(updated September 2006)
Overall Mortality
* Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.1 Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 438,000 deaths, or about 1 of every 5 deaths, each year.2,3 This estimate includes approximately 38,000 deaths from secondhand smoke exposure.2
* Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 259,500 men and 178,000 women in the United States each year.2
* More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.2,4
* On average, adults who smoke cigarettes die 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.5
* Based on current cigarette smoking patterns, an estimated 25 million Americans who are alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses, including 5 million people younger than 18.6
Mortality from Specific Diseases
* Lung cancer (124,000), heart disease (108,000), and the chronic lung diseases of emphysema, bronchitis, and chronic airways obstruction (90,000) are responsible for the largest number of smoking-related deaths.2
* The risk of dying from lung cancer is more than 22 times higher among men who smoke cigarettes and about 12 times higher among women who smoke cigarettes compared with never smokers.7
* Since 1950, lung cancer deaths among women have increased by more than 600%.1 Since 1987, lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women.1
* Cigarette smoking results in a twofold to threefold increased risk of dying from coronary heart disease.7
* Cigarette smoking is associated with a tenfold increased risk of dying from chronic obstructive lung disease.6 About 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung diseases are attributable to cigarette smoking.1,7
* Pipe smoking and cigar smoking increase the risk of dying from cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, and oral cavity.8 Smokeless tobacco use increases the risk for developing oral cancer.8,9
Now compare that to the mortality rate of smoking marijuana which is
0!!!!!!
Stephen Sidney, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Research at Kaiser Permanente, wrote in a Sep. 20, 2003 editorial published in the British Medical Journal:
"No acute lethal overdoses of cannabis are known, in contrast to several of its illegal (for example, cocaine) and legal (for example, alcohol, aspirin, acetaminophen) counterparts."
Joycelyn Elders, MD, former US Surgeon General, wrote in a Mar. 26, 2004 editorial published in the Providence Journal:
"Unlike many of the drugs we prescribe every day, marijuana has never been proven to cause a fatal overdose."
Denis Petro, MD, Founding Director of Patients Out of Time, stated in his 1997 paper "Pharmacology and Toxicity of Cannabis", published in Cannabis in Medical Practice - A Legal, Historical and Pharmacological Overview of the Therapeutic Use of Marijuana:
"The estimated lethal human dose of intravenous Marinol is 30 mg/kg (2100 mg/70 kg). Using this estimation of lethal dose, the equivalent inhaled THC would represent the smoking of 240 cannabis cigarettes with total systemic absorption of the average 8.8 mg of THC in each cigarette.
Since absorption is much less than 100 percent, the amount of smoked marijuana required to reach lethality is on the order of one to two thousand cigarettes.
The physical impossibility of a fatal overdose using smoked cannabis is obvious."
The U.S. Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published a July 2001 report from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), Mortality Data From Dawn:
"Marijuana is rarely the only drug involved in a drug abuse death. Thus, in most cases, the proportion of marijuana-involved cases labeled as ‘One drug’ (i.e., marijuana only) will be zero or nearly zero."
Time Magazine stated in a Nov. 4, 2002 article "Is Pot Good For You?" by John Cloud:
"No one has ever died of THC [marijuana] poisoning, mostly because a 160-lb. person would have to smoke roughly 900 joints in a sitting to reach a lethal dose."
So I say PUT DOWN YOUR CIGARETTES! Stop paying to kill yourself. Find yourself a dealer and have a good ol time. Just watch out for 5-0 yo!
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From the CDC
Fact Sheet
Tobacco-Related Mortality
(updated September 2006)
Overall Mortality
* Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.1 Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 438,000 deaths, or about 1 of every 5 deaths, each year.2,3 This estimate includes approximately 38,000 deaths from secondhand smoke exposure.2
* Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 259,500 men and 178,000 women in the United States each year.2
* More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.2,4
* On average, adults who smoke cigarettes die 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.5
* Based on current cigarette smoking patterns, an estimated 25 million Americans who are alive today will die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses, including 5 million people younger than 18.6
Mortality from Specific Diseases
* Lung cancer (124,000), heart disease (108,000), and the chronic lung diseases of emphysema, bronchitis, and chronic airways obstruction (90,000) are responsible for the largest number of smoking-related deaths.2
* The risk of dying from lung cancer is more than 22 times higher among men who smoke cigarettes and about 12 times higher among women who smoke cigarettes compared with never smokers.7
* Since 1950, lung cancer deaths among women have increased by more than 600%.1 Since 1987, lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women.1
* Cigarette smoking results in a twofold to threefold increased risk of dying from coronary heart disease.7
* Cigarette smoking is associated with a tenfold increased risk of dying from chronic obstructive lung disease.6 About 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung diseases are attributable to cigarette smoking.1,7
* Pipe smoking and cigar smoking increase the risk of dying from cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, and oral cavity.8 Smokeless tobacco use increases the risk for developing oral cancer.8,9
Now compare that to the mortality rate of smoking marijuana which is
0!!!!!!
Stephen Sidney, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Research at Kaiser Permanente, wrote in a Sep. 20, 2003 editorial published in the British Medical Journal:
"No acute lethal overdoses of cannabis are known, in contrast to several of its illegal (for example, cocaine) and legal (for example, alcohol, aspirin, acetaminophen) counterparts."
Joycelyn Elders, MD, former US Surgeon General, wrote in a Mar. 26, 2004 editorial published in the Providence Journal:
"Unlike many of the drugs we prescribe every day, marijuana has never been proven to cause a fatal overdose."
Denis Petro, MD, Founding Director of Patients Out of Time, stated in his 1997 paper "Pharmacology and Toxicity of Cannabis", published in Cannabis in Medical Practice - A Legal, Historical and Pharmacological Overview of the Therapeutic Use of Marijuana:
"The estimated lethal human dose of intravenous Marinol is 30 mg/kg (2100 mg/70 kg). Using this estimation of lethal dose, the equivalent inhaled THC would represent the smoking of 240 cannabis cigarettes with total systemic absorption of the average 8.8 mg of THC in each cigarette.
Since absorption is much less than 100 percent, the amount of smoked marijuana required to reach lethality is on the order of one to two thousand cigarettes.
The physical impossibility of a fatal overdose using smoked cannabis is obvious."
The U.S. Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published a July 2001 report from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), Mortality Data From Dawn:
"Marijuana is rarely the only drug involved in a drug abuse death. Thus, in most cases, the proportion of marijuana-involved cases labeled as ‘One drug’ (i.e., marijuana only) will be zero or nearly zero."
Time Magazine stated in a Nov. 4, 2002 article "Is Pot Good For You?" by John Cloud:
"No one has ever died of THC [marijuana] poisoning, mostly because a 160-lb. person would have to smoke roughly 900 joints in a sitting to reach a lethal dose."
So I say PUT DOWN YOUR CIGARETTES! Stop paying to kill yourself. Find yourself a dealer and have a good ol time. Just watch out for 5-0 yo!
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Swine Flu.... blah blah blah
I'm sooooo tired of hearing about this probable "epidemic" disease. The numbers should speak volumes to everyone. Check this out:
U.S. Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection
(As of April 29, 2009, 11:00 AM ET)
States
# of laboratory confirmed cases
Arizona
1
California
14
Indiana
1
Kansas
2
Massachusetts
2
Michigan
2
Nevada
1
New York City
51
Ohio
1
Texas
16
1
TOTAL COUNTS
91 cases
1 death
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Of course it is worse in Mexico where the have actually shut down the schools for a week. Hell, on eof Arsenal's players, the Mexican Eduardo was told he coldn't even come back to North London til they were sure he was clear!
There are reports 150 people have died in Mexico after contracting swine flu, but the World Health Organization has dismissed the toll - saying they've officially recorded only seven deaths and 79 cases of infection. But I've also read that the toll was 99, 78.... it varies based on the source.
WHO has confirmed 40 cases in North and South America, six in Canada, two in Spain, two in the UK and three in New Zealand.
But for the sake of argument let's say... and I know this isn't correct.. but let's just say that 200 people have died worldwide from this "pandemic".
That's 200 out of 6 BILLION. Which is approximately .000000003333% of the Earth's population.
SO WHO THE FUCK CARES!
Cigarettes kill 50% of it's users. Nobody's stark raving mad about that on the news. Then you have gun violence, cardiac arrest. All these REAL threats to health and all I hear about on the news is the blasted swine flu. I swear the news is always the same. I think the formula goes like this...
Missing white girl(age doesnt matter but kids seem to be all the rage these days) + Celebrity bullshit + certain souls unfortunate demise("if it bleeds it leads") + economic woes= People too scared and confused to really worry about actual threats and problems to their lives.
I swear some days I could just drive up to CNN center and pull a Beale good and proper like this...
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U.S. Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection
(As of April 29, 2009, 11:00 AM ET)
States
# of laboratory confirmed cases
Arizona
1
California
14
Indiana
1
Kansas
2
Massachusetts
2
Michigan
2
Nevada
1
New York City
51
Ohio
1
Texas
16
1
TOTAL COUNTS
91 cases
1 death
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Of course it is worse in Mexico where the have actually shut down the schools for a week. Hell, on eof Arsenal's players, the Mexican Eduardo was told he coldn't even come back to North London til they were sure he was clear!
There are reports 150 people have died in Mexico after contracting swine flu, but the World Health Organization has dismissed the toll - saying they've officially recorded only seven deaths and 79 cases of infection. But I've also read that the toll was 99, 78.... it varies based on the source.
WHO has confirmed 40 cases in North and South America, six in Canada, two in Spain, two in the UK and three in New Zealand.
But for the sake of argument let's say... and I know this isn't correct.. but let's just say that 200 people have died worldwide from this "pandemic".
That's 200 out of 6 BILLION. Which is approximately .000000003333% of the Earth's population.
SO WHO THE FUCK CARES!
Cigarettes kill 50% of it's users. Nobody's stark raving mad about that on the news. Then you have gun violence, cardiac arrest. All these REAL threats to health and all I hear about on the news is the blasted swine flu. I swear the news is always the same. I think the formula goes like this...
Missing white girl(age doesnt matter but kids seem to be all the rage these days) + Celebrity bullshit + certain souls unfortunate demise("if it bleeds it leads") + economic woes= People too scared and confused to really worry about actual threats and problems to their lives.
I swear some days I could just drive up to CNN center and pull a Beale good and proper like this...
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Mind Control Technoogy for... entertainment?
A friend of mine posted this a link to this story on his facebook. It's worth a look. I've always wondered what video games would do next and it seems this may be the new trend. It's cool but a bit ominous to me. What do you think?
nnovation is our new column that highlights the latest emerging technological ideas and where they may lead.
This week, engineer Adam Wilson made global headlines by updating Twitter using his brainwaves. "USING EEG TO SEND TWEET" he explained.
Wilson's achievement was actually pretty trivial. He used a system called BCI2000, found in hundreds of laboratories across the globe, that can do the job of a keyboard for any software program. But it was significant precisely because it was trivial: mind-reading tech is going to have a massive impact this year.
In the coming months, cheap headsets that let you control technology with the electrical signals generated by your firing neurons will go on sale to the general public. Our relationship with technology – and our brains – will never be the same again.
Escaping the lab
Researchers have developed systems that read brainwaves – in the form of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals – in order to help people suffering from disabilities or paralysis control wheelchairs, play games Movie Camera, or type on a computer. Now, two companies are preparing to market similar devices to mainstream consumers.
Australian outfit Emotiv will release a headset whose 16 sensors make it possible to direct 12 different movements in a computer game. Emotiv says the helmet can also detect emotions.
Compatible with any PC running Windows, it will ship later this year for $299 (see image). They have shown off a game where the player moves stones to rebuild Stonehenge using mind power alone (see video).
Californian company NeuroSky has also built a device that can detect emotions: the firm says it can tell whether you are focused, relaxed, afraid or anxious, for example.
Rather than selling it directly to the public, NeuroSky is licensing its set-up to other companies, including Mattel, Nokia and Sega. Mattel, for example, will soon sell a game which involves players levitating a ball using thought alone (see video).
Mind hacks
These devices are remarkably cheap, especially when compared to the price tags on research-grade EEGs, which can run to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Emotiv's headset will retail for $299, while Mattel's game will cost just $80. At such low prices, these dirt-cheap brain interfaces will likely be popular – and not just with people who want to play with them.
Consider what happened when the most revolutionary interface of recent years appeared – the wireless controller of Nintendo's Wii games console. Legions of hackers started experimenting; and millions of people have now seen how the interface can be repurposed to make an industrial robot play tennis (with video), track a person's head movements and make a normal TV display 3D images (video).
You can expect some similarly mind-blowing hacks to result once Emotiv and NeuroSky release their devices. That'll certainly help make for some compelling viewing on YouTube and accelerate the development of brain controllers.
But the most interesting consequence of the coming flood of brainware isn't technological at all. Parents, and anyone else whose schooldays are fading into memory, will be acutely aware that today's youngsters have a facility with interactive technology that can be acutely disorienting.
There's already speculation about how the internet, gaming and other interactive technology is changing the brains of the next generation – albeit not necessarily well-founded. But for the generation after that, it will be normal to control machines using thought alone. Given the awesome adaptability and plasticity of the human brain, how will our biological hardware and software will adapt?
Check out this video. Crazy son...
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nnovation is our new column that highlights the latest emerging technological ideas and where they may lead.
This week, engineer Adam Wilson made global headlines by updating Twitter using his brainwaves. "USING EEG TO SEND TWEET" he explained.
Wilson's achievement was actually pretty trivial. He used a system called BCI2000, found in hundreds of laboratories across the globe, that can do the job of a keyboard for any software program. But it was significant precisely because it was trivial: mind-reading tech is going to have a massive impact this year.
In the coming months, cheap headsets that let you control technology with the electrical signals generated by your firing neurons will go on sale to the general public. Our relationship with technology – and our brains – will never be the same again.
Escaping the lab
Researchers have developed systems that read brainwaves – in the form of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals – in order to help people suffering from disabilities or paralysis control wheelchairs, play games Movie Camera, or type on a computer. Now, two companies are preparing to market similar devices to mainstream consumers.
Australian outfit Emotiv will release a headset whose 16 sensors make it possible to direct 12 different movements in a computer game. Emotiv says the helmet can also detect emotions.
Compatible with any PC running Windows, it will ship later this year for $299 (see image). They have shown off a game where the player moves stones to rebuild Stonehenge using mind power alone (see video).
Californian company NeuroSky has also built a device that can detect emotions: the firm says it can tell whether you are focused, relaxed, afraid or anxious, for example.
Rather than selling it directly to the public, NeuroSky is licensing its set-up to other companies, including Mattel, Nokia and Sega. Mattel, for example, will soon sell a game which involves players levitating a ball using thought alone (see video).
Mind hacks
These devices are remarkably cheap, especially when compared to the price tags on research-grade EEGs, which can run to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Emotiv's headset will retail for $299, while Mattel's game will cost just $80. At such low prices, these dirt-cheap brain interfaces will likely be popular – and not just with people who want to play with them.
Consider what happened when the most revolutionary interface of recent years appeared – the wireless controller of Nintendo's Wii games console. Legions of hackers started experimenting; and millions of people have now seen how the interface can be repurposed to make an industrial robot play tennis (with video), track a person's head movements and make a normal TV display 3D images (video).
You can expect some similarly mind-blowing hacks to result once Emotiv and NeuroSky release their devices. That'll certainly help make for some compelling viewing on YouTube and accelerate the development of brain controllers.
But the most interesting consequence of the coming flood of brainware isn't technological at all. Parents, and anyone else whose schooldays are fading into memory, will be acutely aware that today's youngsters have a facility with interactive technology that can be acutely disorienting.
There's already speculation about how the internet, gaming and other interactive technology is changing the brains of the next generation – albeit not necessarily well-founded. But for the generation after that, it will be normal to control machines using thought alone. Given the awesome adaptability and plasticity of the human brain, how will our biological hardware and software will adapt?
Check out this video. Crazy son...
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T
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Mr. Chi-City
The realest dude on the internet? I think this mofo is hilarious. He's got his own youtube channel. I mean yeah he's a bit ghetto but funny. These are my fav ones.
Mos Def
Mos is one of my favorite artists. He was on Real Time this past Friday and it was real funny as always. You can watch the shows on youtube of course. I thought this video was funny too.
Friday, March 27, 2009
7 States over 10% Unemployment rate.
I get a weekly address from Obama every week directyl to my email. And he's doing a lot of press conferences and just had the first ever internet town hall meeting. He's asked us to go out door to door in support of his new budget. But all I gotta say is I did my time for you Mr. President. I cant afford to work for free anymore. I've been out of work for almost a year now! I need MONEY!!!!
WASHINGTON — Double-digit unemployment rates hit more states in February, with North Carolina and Rhode Island seeing their rates hit record highs.
The U.S. Labor Department's report, released Friday, showed the terrible toll the recession, now in its second year, is having on workers and companies alike.
Seven states have unemployment rates that topped 10 percent last month. That's up from four states in January.
"It's spreading like wildfire," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.
The U.S. unemployment rate, released earlier this month, rose to 8.1 percent in February, the highest in more than 25 years. Economists predict the national jobless rate will have climbed to 8.5 percent in March when the government releases that report next week. It will probably hit 10 percent by year end even if the recession were to end later this year, they said.
Michigan's jobless rate climbed to 12 percent, the highest in the country. South Carolina registered the second-highest at 11 percent and Oregon came in third at 10.8 percent.
North Carolina came in fourth with an unemployment rate of 10.7 percent, the highest there on records dating back to 1976. California and Rhode Island tied for fifth place at 10.5 percent each. That was an all-time high for Rhode Island. The seventh state with a jobless rate above 10 percent was Nevada at 10.1 percent.
Georgia's unemployment rate rose sharply to 9.3 percent, also a record high. Earlier this week Shaw Industries Group Inc., the world's largest carpet maker, said it would close two plants in the state and lay off about 600 workers.
Story continues below
Layoffs in manufacturing, construction and retail _ sectors hard hit by the housing collapse _ are common threads running through the higher unemployment. Another thread: difficulties faced by states, such as South Carolina, Michigan and Rhode Island, to lure new types of companies to help cushion the loss of manufacturing jobs and retrain laid-off factory workers for other kinds of employment.
Joblessness continued to be the worst in the West _ home to California and other states badly battered by the housing bust _ and the Midwest, where the troubles of U.S. automakers has been sorely felt.
Currently 5.56 million people are drawing state unemployment insurance, the highest on records dating back to 1967 the federal government reported Thursday. The crush has exhausted unemployment funds in California, New York and elsewhere, forcing them to tap the federal government for money to keep paying benefits.
Rising unemployment means lost revenue for already squeezed states.
"It's a vicious cycle," said Michael Williams, dean of Touro College's Graduate School of Business. States are forced to cut back services at a time when people need them the most. "What about health care? What about education?" he wonders.
All told, Friday's report found that 49 states and the District of Columbia saw their unemployment rates move higher in February from the previous month. Only Nebraska recorded a slight drop. Its jobless rate dipped to 4.2 percent.
Wyoming once again had the lowest unemployment rate, 3.9 percent.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession could end this year, setting the stage for a recovery next year only if shaky financial markets are stabilized.
To brace the economy, the Fed has slashed a key bank lending rate to an all-time low and has embarked on a series of radical programs to inject billions of dollars into the financial system.
The Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package includes money that will flow to states for public works projects, help them defray budget cuts, extend unemployment benefits and boost food stamp benefits. The administration also is counting on programs to prop up financial companies and reduce home foreclosures to help turn the economy around.
Companies are cutting jobs and other costs to survive the recession. Sales and profits have been hurt as consumers have hunkered down. That's caused the economy to shrink. Analysts believe the economy will keep on shrinking through the first six months of this year.
WASHINGTON — Double-digit unemployment rates hit more states in February, with North Carolina and Rhode Island seeing their rates hit record highs.
The U.S. Labor Department's report, released Friday, showed the terrible toll the recession, now in its second year, is having on workers and companies alike.
Seven states have unemployment rates that topped 10 percent last month. That's up from four states in January.
"It's spreading like wildfire," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.
The U.S. unemployment rate, released earlier this month, rose to 8.1 percent in February, the highest in more than 25 years. Economists predict the national jobless rate will have climbed to 8.5 percent in March when the government releases that report next week. It will probably hit 10 percent by year end even if the recession were to end later this year, they said.
Michigan's jobless rate climbed to 12 percent, the highest in the country. South Carolina registered the second-highest at 11 percent and Oregon came in third at 10.8 percent.
North Carolina came in fourth with an unemployment rate of 10.7 percent, the highest there on records dating back to 1976. California and Rhode Island tied for fifth place at 10.5 percent each. That was an all-time high for Rhode Island. The seventh state with a jobless rate above 10 percent was Nevada at 10.1 percent.
Georgia's unemployment rate rose sharply to 9.3 percent, also a record high. Earlier this week Shaw Industries Group Inc., the world's largest carpet maker, said it would close two plants in the state and lay off about 600 workers.
Story continues below
Layoffs in manufacturing, construction and retail _ sectors hard hit by the housing collapse _ are common threads running through the higher unemployment. Another thread: difficulties faced by states, such as South Carolina, Michigan and Rhode Island, to lure new types of companies to help cushion the loss of manufacturing jobs and retrain laid-off factory workers for other kinds of employment.
Joblessness continued to be the worst in the West _ home to California and other states badly battered by the housing bust _ and the Midwest, where the troubles of U.S. automakers has been sorely felt.
Currently 5.56 million people are drawing state unemployment insurance, the highest on records dating back to 1967 the federal government reported Thursday. The crush has exhausted unemployment funds in California, New York and elsewhere, forcing them to tap the federal government for money to keep paying benefits.
Rising unemployment means lost revenue for already squeezed states.
"It's a vicious cycle," said Michael Williams, dean of Touro College's Graduate School of Business. States are forced to cut back services at a time when people need them the most. "What about health care? What about education?" he wonders.
All told, Friday's report found that 49 states and the District of Columbia saw their unemployment rates move higher in February from the previous month. Only Nebraska recorded a slight drop. Its jobless rate dipped to 4.2 percent.
Wyoming once again had the lowest unemployment rate, 3.9 percent.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession could end this year, setting the stage for a recovery next year only if shaky financial markets are stabilized.
To brace the economy, the Fed has slashed a key bank lending rate to an all-time low and has embarked on a series of radical programs to inject billions of dollars into the financial system.
The Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package includes money that will flow to states for public works projects, help them defray budget cuts, extend unemployment benefits and boost food stamp benefits. The administration also is counting on programs to prop up financial companies and reduce home foreclosures to help turn the economy around.
Companies are cutting jobs and other costs to survive the recession. Sales and profits have been hurt as consumers have hunkered down. That's caused the economy to shrink. Analysts believe the economy will keep on shrinking through the first six months of this year.
Monday, March 23, 2009
PoltiFact
This website is AWESOME. It's truly unbiased and gives you a good, honest look at what politicians say and then what they do. It's cool. Check it out yo!
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/
Sunday, March 22, 2009
2 American Journalists Held Hostage in N. Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — Two American journalists detained by North Korean soldiers are believed to have been sent to Pyongyang for questioning, a news report said Sunday.
North Korea said Saturday it was investigating two Americans it detained Tuesday for "illegally intruding" into its territory after crossing the border from China.
A brief dispatch from the North's official Korean Central News Agency gave no other details, but it was apparent confirmation of reported arrests of two female U.S. journalists reporting on North Korean refugees in the border area.
South Korean media and a South Korean missionary identified the two detained Americans as Laura Ling and Euna Lee, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's San Francisco-based media outlet Current TV.
A U.S. official said Saturday that the U.S. has been in touch with North Korean representatives about the journalists and is awaiting a reply. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing the sensitivity of the issue, said the U.S. doesn't know where the North is holding them.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Sunday, in a report from the Chinese city of Yanji, that it is highly likely that they were sent to Pyongyang to be investigated for their alleged border intrusion.
"Considering the significance of the case, there is a high possibility that the two U.S. journalists have been sent to Pyongyang and are undergoing a direct investigation" by the North's spy agency and military, Yonhap quoted a source in China it described as privy to North Korean affairs.
Yonhap quoted other sources in China as saying the North's confirmation of the arrest appeared to demonstrate that Pyongyang's intelligence and military headquarters are directly interrogating the journalists.
Story continues below
Yonhap also said the North is expected to "politically" use the U.S. journalists in its negotiations with the U.S. government.
Ties between Washington and Pyongyang already have been strained over the North's refusal to fully verify its past nuclear activities and its announced plan to launch a satellite into orbit in early April. U.S. and other regional powers argue the launch is a cover for a long-range missile test.
The two journalists, along with a male cameraman and a guide, were headed to Yanji, across the border from North Korea's far northeastern corner, where they planned to interview women forced by human traffickers to strip for online customers and meet with children of defectors, according to the Rev. Chun Ki-won of the Seoul-based Durihana Mission, a Christian group that helps defectors.
Then they planned to travel to Dandong, said Chun who helped the journalists organize the trip.
At the Yalu River near Dandong on Sunday, rifle-carrying North Korean soldiers across the river patrolled its bank. A group of men painted fishing boats on the North Korean side during low tide.
Many North Korean children who grow up on the run in China live in legal limbo, unable even to attend school, according to a 2008 Human Rights Watch report.
The North Korean-Chinese border is long, porous and not well demarcated and thus a common route for escape from the North.
A growing number of North Koreans have sneaked into China to escape political repression and chronic food shortages and to seek asylum, mostly in South Korea, according to North Korean defectors in South Korea and activists.
North Korea said Saturday it was investigating two Americans it detained Tuesday for "illegally intruding" into its territory after crossing the border from China.
A brief dispatch from the North's official Korean Central News Agency gave no other details, but it was apparent confirmation of reported arrests of two female U.S. journalists reporting on North Korean refugees in the border area.
South Korean media and a South Korean missionary identified the two detained Americans as Laura Ling and Euna Lee, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's San Francisco-based media outlet Current TV.
A U.S. official said Saturday that the U.S. has been in touch with North Korean representatives about the journalists and is awaiting a reply. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing the sensitivity of the issue, said the U.S. doesn't know where the North is holding them.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Sunday, in a report from the Chinese city of Yanji, that it is highly likely that they were sent to Pyongyang to be investigated for their alleged border intrusion.
"Considering the significance of the case, there is a high possibility that the two U.S. journalists have been sent to Pyongyang and are undergoing a direct investigation" by the North's spy agency and military, Yonhap quoted a source in China it described as privy to North Korean affairs.
Yonhap quoted other sources in China as saying the North's confirmation of the arrest appeared to demonstrate that Pyongyang's intelligence and military headquarters are directly interrogating the journalists.
Story continues below
Yonhap also said the North is expected to "politically" use the U.S. journalists in its negotiations with the U.S. government.
Ties between Washington and Pyongyang already have been strained over the North's refusal to fully verify its past nuclear activities and its announced plan to launch a satellite into orbit in early April. U.S. and other regional powers argue the launch is a cover for a long-range missile test.
The two journalists, along with a male cameraman and a guide, were headed to Yanji, across the border from North Korea's far northeastern corner, where they planned to interview women forced by human traffickers to strip for online customers and meet with children of defectors, according to the Rev. Chun Ki-won of the Seoul-based Durihana Mission, a Christian group that helps defectors.
Then they planned to travel to Dandong, said Chun who helped the journalists organize the trip.
At the Yalu River near Dandong on Sunday, rifle-carrying North Korean soldiers across the river patrolled its bank. A group of men painted fishing boats on the North Korean side during low tide.
Many North Korean children who grow up on the run in China live in legal limbo, unable even to attend school, according to a 2008 Human Rights Watch report.
The North Korean-Chinese border is long, porous and not well demarcated and thus a common route for escape from the North.
A growing number of North Koreans have sneaked into China to escape political repression and chronic food shortages and to seek asylum, mostly in South Korea, according to North Korean defectors in South Korea and activists.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The DC Whodunit!
So when the bailout was being pushed through the house and senate there was a provisional amendment to keep CEOs from getting unnecessary bonuses whilst there companies are floundering. But somehow we have this who 165,000,000 AIG shenanigans going on. Soooo how is that possible? Well apparently someone changed the amendment wording to allow AIG to get away with this. I wish I had the original and the changed words but Im tired and havent looked it up. But during today's debate in the House many were wondering who was responsible. Barney Frank wants to know the names of the peope who refuse to give back their bonus. While thats a grand idea, wouldn't it also make sense to go after the person(s) responsible for them being able to use OUR taxpayer money to give themselves bonuses.... here's the story from Huff...
UPDATE II, 3-19, 4:40pm (EST):
Tim Geithner has now confirmed Chris Dodd's contention that the Treasury Department had insisted he include a loophole in the stimulus bill that allowed AIG to pay out bonuses, despite receiving bailout money. Still no word, however, from Geithner -- or anyone else in the administration -- about the killing of Sen. Wyden's bonus amendment that is the subject of this post. But the circumstantial evidence pointing to Obama's economic team is mounting.
UPDATE, 3-18, 6:35pm (EST):
Appearing on CNN today, Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said that officials at the Treasury Department had insisted that he modify a clause he had inserted into the stimulus bill that prohibited bonuses from being issued by bailed-out companies. This mirrors the legislative slaying of the similarly intended amendment co-sponsored by Sen. Wyden I write about below. The culprit behind the killing of the Wyden provision remains unsolved -- but Dodd fingering Treasury adds weight to Wyden's sense that members of Obama's economic team were behind the elimination of his amendment. And, in both cases, major decisions involving taxpayer money were carried out in a way that flies not in the face of fairness, but in the face of the administration's promises of transparency and accountability.
Original Post:
The mystery over who killed a provision in the stimulus package that would have curtailed bonuses at bailed out companies is a disturbing D.C. whodunit. But even more disturbing is what it reveals about how our government is run.
"It is the ultimate indictment of what Washington has become," Sen. Ron Wyden, co-sponsor of the eliminated provision, told me. "It's a place where, again and again, the public interest is deep-sixed behind closed doors and without any fingerprints."
For those of you who might have missed Sam Stein's original story, here it is in a nutshell:
Building on public outrage and presidential denunciations of executives at bailed out companies getting bonuses, Wyden and his Republican colleague, Sen. Olympia Snowe, crafted a provision in the stimulus bill that would have forced bailout recipients to cap their bonuses at $100,000 (any amount above that would be taxed at 35 percent).
According to Wyden, he "spent hours on the Senate floor," working to get the bipartisan amendment passed. He succeeded -- not a single Senator voted against the provision. "But," says Wyden, "it died in conference."
So who killed it? Wyden doesn't know.
Think about that for a second. We live in a country where one of the 100 most powerful people in government, the cosponsor of the amendment in question, has no clue how it got removed in the Senate-House conference committee -- or if it was taken out of the legislation even before it made it into conference.
And, so far, no one in the administration of a president who promised that transparency would be a "touchstone" of his presidency has demanded that whoever killed the provision step forward and own up to it.
It took Andrew Cuomo, using his authority as New York Attorney General, to get us at least some of the details about the AIG bonuses.
It's time for the White House to do the same, using its authority to uncover who removed the Wyden-Snowe provision from the stimulus bill.
"I pulled out all the stops," Wyden told me, "to convince the president's economic team that this amendment was vital to the White House for two reasons: 1) the president had spoken out against bonuses; 2) fury about bonuses would kneecap confidence in the president's entire economic policy."
But no one inside the president's economic team was in favor of it. As Wyden put it: "If the White House economic team had made it clear that this was important, this provision would never have been removed. I don't believe the president has been well-served on the bonus issue by his economic team."
So who asked for the amendment to be removed? Jason Furman? Peter Orszag? Tim Geithner? Larry Summers?
Such a move would certainly be consistent with the positions put forth by Summers who, as late as yesterday -- even contradicting the president -- continued to argue that attempting to stop the AIG bonuses would have "put the whole economy at risk."
Have you noticed how, whenever there is a serious effort to put an end to business-as-usual, we are warned by insiders like Paulson and Summers that the result will be the end of civilization?
"This lack of transparency -- and the lack of accountability that results -- is one of the most significant threats to our democracy," Wyden told me. "This is not at all how the civics books tell us the system is suppose to work. What we have here is a prime example of Washington deny, defer, delay."
He's right. We deserve better. Let's make this D.C. mystery the cause célèbre it deserves to be. Let's demand that the White House live up to its vows of transparency.
Special Comment from Olbermann:
UPDATE II, 3-19, 4:40pm (EST):
Tim Geithner has now confirmed Chris Dodd's contention that the Treasury Department had insisted he include a loophole in the stimulus bill that allowed AIG to pay out bonuses, despite receiving bailout money. Still no word, however, from Geithner -- or anyone else in the administration -- about the killing of Sen. Wyden's bonus amendment that is the subject of this post. But the circumstantial evidence pointing to Obama's economic team is mounting.
UPDATE, 3-18, 6:35pm (EST):
Appearing on CNN today, Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said that officials at the Treasury Department had insisted that he modify a clause he had inserted into the stimulus bill that prohibited bonuses from being issued by bailed-out companies. This mirrors the legislative slaying of the similarly intended amendment co-sponsored by Sen. Wyden I write about below. The culprit behind the killing of the Wyden provision remains unsolved -- but Dodd fingering Treasury adds weight to Wyden's sense that members of Obama's economic team were behind the elimination of his amendment. And, in both cases, major decisions involving taxpayer money were carried out in a way that flies not in the face of fairness, but in the face of the administration's promises of transparency and accountability.
Original Post:
The mystery over who killed a provision in the stimulus package that would have curtailed bonuses at bailed out companies is a disturbing D.C. whodunit. But even more disturbing is what it reveals about how our government is run.
"It is the ultimate indictment of what Washington has become," Sen. Ron Wyden, co-sponsor of the eliminated provision, told me. "It's a place where, again and again, the public interest is deep-sixed behind closed doors and without any fingerprints."
For those of you who might have missed Sam Stein's original story, here it is in a nutshell:
Building on public outrage and presidential denunciations of executives at bailed out companies getting bonuses, Wyden and his Republican colleague, Sen. Olympia Snowe, crafted a provision in the stimulus bill that would have forced bailout recipients to cap their bonuses at $100,000 (any amount above that would be taxed at 35 percent).
According to Wyden, he "spent hours on the Senate floor," working to get the bipartisan amendment passed. He succeeded -- not a single Senator voted against the provision. "But," says Wyden, "it died in conference."
So who killed it? Wyden doesn't know.
Think about that for a second. We live in a country where one of the 100 most powerful people in government, the cosponsor of the amendment in question, has no clue how it got removed in the Senate-House conference committee -- or if it was taken out of the legislation even before it made it into conference.
And, so far, no one in the administration of a president who promised that transparency would be a "touchstone" of his presidency has demanded that whoever killed the provision step forward and own up to it.
It took Andrew Cuomo, using his authority as New York Attorney General, to get us at least some of the details about the AIG bonuses.
It's time for the White House to do the same, using its authority to uncover who removed the Wyden-Snowe provision from the stimulus bill.
"I pulled out all the stops," Wyden told me, "to convince the president's economic team that this amendment was vital to the White House for two reasons: 1) the president had spoken out against bonuses; 2) fury about bonuses would kneecap confidence in the president's entire economic policy."
But no one inside the president's economic team was in favor of it. As Wyden put it: "If the White House economic team had made it clear that this was important, this provision would never have been removed. I don't believe the president has been well-served on the bonus issue by his economic team."
So who asked for the amendment to be removed? Jason Furman? Peter Orszag? Tim Geithner? Larry Summers?
Such a move would certainly be consistent with the positions put forth by Summers who, as late as yesterday -- even contradicting the president -- continued to argue that attempting to stop the AIG bonuses would have "put the whole economy at risk."
Have you noticed how, whenever there is a serious effort to put an end to business-as-usual, we are warned by insiders like Paulson and Summers that the result will be the end of civilization?
"This lack of transparency -- and the lack of accountability that results -- is one of the most significant threats to our democracy," Wyden told me. "This is not at all how the civics books tell us the system is suppose to work. What we have here is a prime example of Washington deny, defer, delay."
He's right. We deserve better. Let's make this D.C. mystery the cause célèbre it deserves to be. Let's demand that the White House live up to its vows of transparency.
Special Comment from Olbermann:
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