Random News Stories

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/02/my-first-burning-man-grover-norquist

Grover Norquist went to Burning Man. And had a good time.

In other news, my decade long desire to go to Burning Man has suddenly vanished. 

Apparently it's been in the process of being gentrified for years now, so it makes sense for Libertarian Republicans to follow suit:

http://recode.net/2014/08/29/k-street-black-rock-burning-mans-billionaires-row/

But there is something about the way a new fleet of wealthy have descended on Burning Man that is inducing anxiety among Burners, a community that bans all money and branding (people tape over even small logos). The so-called "turnkey camps" — tight circles of trailers, or sometimes just large black-tarp walls that hide overstaffed luxury playpens — are distinctly different from the rest of Burning Man, a festival with a heavy emphasis on giving and work.

Tickets cost $380 though, so it's never exactly been friendly to poor folks.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/02/my-first-burning-man-grover-norquist

Grover Norquist went to Burning Man. And had a good time.

In other news, my decade long desire to go to Burning Man has suddenly vanished. 

Apparently it's been in the process of being gentrified for years now, so it makes sense for Libertarian Republicans to follow suit:

http://recode.net/2014/08/29/k-street-black-rock-burning-mans-billionaires-row/

But there is something about the way a new fleet of wealthy have descended on Burning Man that is inducing anxiety among Burners, a community that bans all money and branding (people tape over even small logos). The so-called "turnkey camps" — tight circles of trailers, or sometimes just large black-tarp walls that hide overstaffed luxury playpens — are distinctly different from the rest of Burning Man, a festival with a heavy emphasis on giving and work.

Tickets cost $380 though, so it's never exactly been friendly to poor folks.

It's for people who can afford to take a week off work, buy a ticket, obtain camping gear and supplies enough for a week in the desert, and have transportation. It is, fundamentally, and always has been, oriented toward overpaid tech geeks who want to express their inner Wild Thing.

By far the best thing about Burning Man is that for a week every summer all the Burners leave town and don't have access to the Internet.

The worst thing about it is that then they come back.

[Junkenstein]

Ah. Well then.

My desire to go to Burning man has now been beaten into a bloody pulp. I can't help but feel it's for the best.

[Junkenstein]

Oh, and just in case you happened to be having a good day:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/11076754/One-in-10-girls-subjected-to-sexual-abuse-worldwide-Unicef-finds.html

About one-in-10 girls around the world – an estimated 120 million – have been forced into sex acts, according to a new United Nations report.
Drawing on data from 190 countries, the report from the UN children's agency, Unicef, notes that children around the world are routinely exposed to physical, sexual and emotional violence ranging from murder and forced sexual acts to bullying and abusive discipline.

The violence "cuts across boundaries of age, geography, religion, ethnicity and income brackets," Unicef executive director Anthony Lake said in a statement. "It occurs in places where children should be safe, their homes, schools and communities. Increasingly, it happens over the internet, and it's perpetrated by family members and teachers, neighbours and strangers and other children."

On average, about six-in-10 children worldwide, or almost 1 billion, between the ages of two and 14 are regularly subjected to physical punishment.
"We're not talking about a little smack on the bottom," Bissell said in an interview in her office. "We're talking about a blunt instrument, and repeated."

Article also mentions the 200 girls kidnapped earlier in the year by Boko Haram. No word on what's become of them yet so I think it's safe to assume "nothing good". In other Boko Haram news, they kidnapped another 100 or so at the start of August. I'm still waiting to see this huge co-ordinated effort to deal with this shit in any way at all.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Ah. Well then.

My desire to go to Burning man has now been beaten into a bloody pulp. I can't help but feel it's for the best.

Trust me. I don't regret having gone (if only because now I can say that I have so that people will stop telling me that I just MUST GO because I would LOVE IT) but I don't really want to go back.

Have you ever been to a warehouse rave? OK, now picture it lasting seven days. In a desert. With 50,000 yuppies. Who haven't bathed in a week.

[LMNO]

I think you just described the worst week of my life I would ever have.

Seven days?  OK.

In a desert?  Well, maybe.  Depending.

50,000 yuppies?  Now I know why there's so much drug use.

No bathing?  Typically OK, but one would think the desert dirt would start to.... cake.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I think you just described the worst week of my life I would ever have.

Seven days?  OK.

In a desert?  Well, maybe.  Depending.

50,000 yuppies?  Now I know why there's so much drug use.

No bathing?  Typically OK, but one would think the desert dirt would start to.... cake.

Yeah. It's an... experience.

[LMNO]

And the all-encompassing (I presume) rave and house music would really make me start to twich.  Even after I've spent a lot of time in PTown.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

And the all-encompassing (I presume) rave and house music would really make me start to twich.  Even after I've spent a lot of time in PTown.

Yeah it's oonce oonce oonce 24 hours a day. All week. There is no respite.

[Junkenstein]

And the all-encompassing (I presume) rave and house music would really make me start to twich.  Even after I've spent a lot of time in PTown.

Yeah it's oonce oonce oonce 24 hours a day. All week. There is no respite.

I really must thank you from preventing me from ending up in an American jail. Because that would probably have caused unpleasantness.

On the plus side, I now feel somehow enriched from not attending.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

And the all-encompassing (I presume) rave and house music would really make me start to twich.  Even after I've spent a lot of time in PTown.

Yeah it's oonce oonce oonce 24 hours a day. All week. There is no respite.

I really must thank you from preventing me from ending up in an American jail. Because that would probably have caused unpleasantness.

On the plus side, I now feel somehow enriched from not attending.

[LMNO]

As a total aside, if it wasn't for this place, I'm pretty sure I would have had no idea Scotland was considering seceding from the UK.  As far as I can tell, there has been nothing in the US news about it.

[Cain]

That's probably because America doesn't approve.  Something to do with NATO basing rights and so on.

Also, the British government is getting pretty desperate.  It's talking about a whole bunch of new powers and autonomy for Scotland if it votes "no".

[LMNO]

So, could Scotland support itself on it's own? It seems like there would need to be substantial restructuring of government offices and services.

Also, I'm guessing it would be outside the Eurozone.  What's the economy there like?

[Cain]

It actually would still be part of the EU.  There was a big and dishonest campaign by the No Vote over here to say Scotland would have to reapply, until the EU said "uh, no they don't actually".  It would probably have to reapply to join NATO though...if it wanted to, which it isn't clear is the case.

And sure, Scotland would be viable on its own.  I mean, it's a first world economy, high level of education, tourism, a mixture of high-tech and heavy industry, decent exports.  It may not be quite as viable as it is as part of the UK...but it's really a matter of degrees.  It'd be like Belgium, or something.