November, 2011 archive
Facebook Frolics 0
Facebook settles charges of abusing user data, without, of course, admitting any wrongdoing. As part of the settlement,
In other news, pigs, wings.
Stray Thought 0
It’s checks and balances when you get what you want, bureaucracy when you don’t.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Tennessee brings back the poll tax in sheep’s clothing.
Remember that the purpose of the poll tax was not to collect money; it was to keep poor folks from voting.
Support the Troops, Bankster Style 0
Selfishness has side-effects.
From the website:
Keith and Pat Garofalo, economic policy editor for ThinkProgress.org, discuss the latest report from the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, revealing that 10 of the top U.S. lenders may have illegally foreclosed on up to 5,000 active duty service members.
Make TWUUG Your LUG 0
Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source.
What: Monthly TWUUG Meeting.
Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.
Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room. See directions below. (Wireless and wired internet connection available.)
When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Thursday, December 1.
Directions:
Lake Taylor Hospital
1309 Kempsville Road
Norfolk, Va. 23502 (Map)
Pre-Meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM (separate checks)
Uno Chicago Grill
Virginia Beach Blvd. & Military Highway (Janaf Shopping Center). (Map)
A Picture is Worth, Fox News Dept. 0
Megan Kelly on Fox News:
The pepper the cops are using on the Occupiers is like a derivative of real pepper. It’s a food product essentially.
Via BartCop.
A Newt Is a Small Lizard 0
Mike Littwin considers the rise of the Gingrinch. A snippet:
That became headline news because to be a Republican moderate these days on immigration means you don’t want to turn the entire country into Alabama.
Gingrich said only what everyone knows — that we’re not going to round up 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants and deport them. Therefore, there needs to be a path toward legalizing those with real roots here.
Follow the link for the rest. It’s worth the three minutes.
Letting Lying Liars Lie 0
Dick Polman discusses the inability of the press to call out lies, trying to figure out why they won’t state the obvious.
A nugget (emphasis added):
In other words, Romney’s key clip was demonstrably false. But that’s not how it was generally reported.
A CNN tweet: “Democrats say new Romney ad distorts Obama’s words.” There it is, the doctrine of false equivalence/balance. Romney makes a charge, “Democrats say” something in rebuttal, and all charges are equal. This is what Wicker used to complain about. He said that, all too often, the press takes refuge in “statements delivered by official spokesmen,” without weighing the facts to determine whether one side is more credible than the other.
When I was a young ‘un, being “objective” meant trying to separate true from false.
Mad Cow 0
A cow makes a break for it in the UK:
(snip)
The cow rammed into vans and parked cars on the Victoria Embankment area, and police said it ran towards people.
Facebook Frolics, Crowning Glory Dept. 0
Feeling the heat:
(snip)
Insulting a monarch is a crime known as lese majeste, and Thailand’s laws against it are the most severe in the world. Even repeating the details of an alleged offense , such as on social media sites like Facebook , is illegal under the lese majeste law and the related Computer Crimes Act, “which says that spreading illegal content , either directly or indirectly , is a crime,” Anudith said.
Misdirection Plays 1
Brave New Films contrasts the defense war industry’s claims about their role in providing employment with economic facts.
Surprising result: It ain’t necessarily so.
Meeting Sgt. Pepper 0
Thom Hartmann discusses what being pepper-sprayed is like with 84-year old Dorli Rainey, who knows first hand.
Twits on Twitter, Freedom of Speech Applies to Teenagers Too Dept. 0
New rule for twits: Don’t get your Brownback up or you might end up in the doghouse.
Brownback’s office wasn’t too pleased with the tweet, and it eventually landed Sullivan in the principal’s office.
Sullivan was supposed to write a letter of apology — which she said would be insincere — but the school district has let her off the hook. Now Brownback is the one apologizing.
Follow the link for the statement, which Bob Cesca considers exceptional for its straightforwardness and lack of the mealy-mouthed “if anyone was offended” wording so common today.
