Random News Stories

[Cain]

In Frozen Zones, the first amendment doesn't apply, because, er, fuck you hippies.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I like yoga and cooking, and certain shades of pink.

If we're going full circle back to the fifties, though ("HONEY I FUCKED UP THE COFFEE! WAHHHHHH!") I want fifties privileges. Like not having to make a living.

Gonna be honest with you.

I could have been a housewife. My ex makes six figures. He's not abusive or anything, just distant, mildly autistic, and kinda gay. I could have slept with anyone I wanted, he didn't care, and I would have had as much spending money as I cared for... I just would have had to justify my spending and how I spent my time.






Not worth it.

[Cain]

distant, mildly autistic, and kinda gay

You say that like those are negatives for a man in a hetrosexual relationship.

[LMNO]

In Frozen Zones, the first amendment doesn't apply, because, er, fuck you hippies.

Leave it to Brooklyn... They were openly stamping on the Constitution before it was cool.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

More on the Kimani Gray case:

Autopsy report - he was shot three times in the back, four in the front.

Protesting in Brooklyn for the third night in a row last night.
(handled, as usual, with brutality - Anarcho Queer on Tumblr has some pretty good coverage, I think. He usually does. Yes, it's Tumblr, but the guy's on the front line in the flesh, so to speak, and the NYPD has declared the Flatbush part of the area a "frozen zone", meaning the media is not allowed in and anyone can be arrested for not following police orders)

Wait, what?  Martial Law?

Well, what do you know?

Nope, not a police state at all.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

distant, mildly autistic, and kinda gay

You say that like those are negatives for a man in a hetrosexual relationship.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

More on the Kimani Gray case:

Autopsy report - he was shot three times in the back, four in the front.

Protesting in Brooklyn for the third night in a row last night.
(handled, as usual, with brutality - Anarcho Queer on Tumblr has some pretty good coverage, I think. He usually does. Yes, it's Tumblr, but the guy's on the front line in the flesh, so to speak, and the NYPD has declared the Flatbush part of the area a "frozen zone", meaning the media is not allowed in and anyone can be arrested for not following police orders)

Wait, what?  Martial Law?

WHERE IS WARREN ELLIS?  THAT BASTARD KEEPS WRITING THE FUTURE ALL WRONG, AND IT ALL COMES TRUE!

[Cain]

It looks like frozen zone laws date back to WWII, but their scope has been steadily increased, from war-time security powers, to the protection of foreign dignitaries, to shutting down the sites of actual terrorist attacks, to shutting down the site of possible terrorist attacks, to protecting the political leadership of the main two parties, to clamping down on civil dissent.

[Junkenstein]

All of the above sounds really useful for a certain style of Government. I'd expect to see more of these in the future. Shame I'm unlikely to hear about them.

[Juana]

Well, you won't from the mainstream media, which seems to have lost its spine since Watergate. Until they shut it down, you'll still hear it on Twitter and other social media.

[Cain]

Well, you won't from the mainstream media, which seems to have lost its spine since Watergate. Until they shut it down, you'll still hear it on Twitter and other social media.

Or before.  Let's not forget, Nixon had enemies too, and Watergate was as much an internal coup as it was a case of the media aiding in bringing down a President.

Just saying, Woodward's politics edge towards the extreme conservative spectrum, and people like that consider Nixon a "squish".

[Junkenstein]

Well, you won't from the mainstream media, which seems to have lost its spine since Watergate. Until they shut it down, you'll still hear it on Twitter and other social media.

I've made a point of trying to actively avoid any kind of social media, but a twitter account appears to be inevitable at some point. Mainly because I keep missing gig tickets and it's pissing me off.

[Cain]

Comparative news reporting:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13146&LangID=E

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Terrorism has just published a statement yesterday, describing how the civilian Pakistani government is opposed to drone strikes in its territory (the ISI and Pakistani military - America's actual partners in this program - were not included in the investigation).

Today, in the CFR's propaganda rag

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138845/husain-haqqani/breaking-up-is-not-hard-to-do

Given this history of failure, it is time to reconsider whether the U.S.-Pakistani alliance is worth preserving. At least for the foreseeable future, the United States will not accept the Pakistani military's vision of Pakistani preeminence in South Asia or equality with India. And aid alone will not alter Islamabad's priorities. Of course, as Pakistan's democracy grows stronger, the Pakistanis might someday be able to have a realistic debate about what the national interest is and how it should be pursued. But even that debate might not end on terms the United States likes.

[Cain]

PR lolz

Voters are less likely to back the Government's core economic policies when they are told George Osborne is the author, an extraordinary poll reveals today.

The Ipsos MORI survey, a week ahead of the Budget, may suggest that the Chancellor is so toxic to voters that he has become a liability to his own flagship policies.

Researchers gave half the poll sample a summary of the Coalition's argument that deficit-reduction should be the priority, without any mention of Mr Osborne's name. They were also given a summary of Labour's arguments for higher spending on growth measures and asked to choose between them.

The other half of the sample were shown identical summaries, but this time preceded by the words "George Osborne argues that ... or "Ed Balls argues that..."

Adding the names of the politicians made a dramatic difference to the way people responded. When Osborne and Balls were not mentioned, voters backed the austerity policies by 52 per cent to 41 — an 11-point lead for the Coalition.

But when Mr Osborne and Mr Balls were identified as the authors, support for the Coalition policy fell to 37 per cent, and support for Labour's policy jumped to 53 per cent — some 16 points ahead.

Of course, this does also suggest that a good 16% of the voting population may be easily led sheep who cannot identify good policies from bad ones unless the author of those policies is included as a guide, but....well, just look at the Crazification Factor thread to see the number is probably closer to 27%.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

"Osborne and Balls"

is really all I have to say.