Random News Stories

[LMNO]

Do "massive amounts of projection" and "batshit insane conspiracy theories derived from huffing bath salts" count as values?

[altered]

Don't lie to me, LMNO, your American Dream involves far more gay sex in seedy saloons while the sun goes down and honky-tonk music plays in the background.

Also less projection.

[Doktor Howl]

Don't lie to me, LMNO, your American Dream involves far more gay sex in seedy saloons while the sun goes down and honky-tonk music plays in the background.

Also less projection.

LMNO's American Dream also involves tentacles, blood sacrifice in the mail room, and having an intern read the invocation first to make sure the pronunciation is correct.

[altered]

Well, yeah, but I was leading with the important things.

[Doktor Howl]

Well, yeah, but I was leading with the important things.

Needs horses and sharks, tho.

[LMNO]

And the worst part -- JAZZ.



You heard me.

[Doktor Howl]

And the worst part -- JAZZ.



You heard me.

Quit your LIES.

[LMNO]

[minuspace]

From NYT "These mammals pack a toxic punch"

Besides, it's not all pain and suffering. Anointing is a supremely social affair, and one rubbing [] soon attracts others.

"They get into such a frenzy that the social order breaks down; everyone is anointing with everyone else," Dr. Lynch Alfaro said. "It's like a big, wild party." They may be black and blue, but the magic potion is spread all over.

[Cramulus]

Finland ended homelessness:
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness

"We had to get rid of the night shelters and short-term hostels we still had back then. They had a very long history in Finland, and everyone could see they were not getting people out of homelessness. We decided to reverse the assumptions."

As in many countries, homelessness in Finland had long been tackled using a staircase model: you were supposed to move through different stages of temporary accommodation as you got your life back on track, with an apartment as the ultimate reward.

"We decided to make the housing unconditional," says Kaakinen. "To say, look, you don't need to solve your problems before you get a home. Instead, a home should be the secure foundation that makes it easier to solve your problems."

[Cramulus]

Back in 2017, a judge threw out a class action suit (from 2011) that wanted Facebook widgets to be considered wiretaps. But a 9th circuit judge recently stated otherwise:

https://gizmodo.com/court-rules-facebook-widgets-can-be-considered-wiretaps-1844245159?fbclid=IwAR1bmiXwdIkBRbgTpJXdaGHHWKg74YkG-2nBebsoUyijMhbMVayebcJHei0

here's the judge's current opinion:

Facebook antiseptically frames the question as whether a defendant can "wiretap" a communication that it receives directly from a plaintiff. But Facebook's business practices (and the allegations in the complaint) present a very different question.


Plaintiffs were not communicating with Facebook but instead communicating with other websites. Plaintiffs then alleged (and Facebook does not dispute) that Facebook code embedded on those sites secretly directed Plaintiffs' browsers to copy the communications in real time (to "intercept" them) and send the copies to Facebook

Gizmodo summarizes:

Or put another way, if you're browsing around a site where there might be a little hidden widget quietly tracking who you are and the actions you take and then sending that data somewhere else, well, that sure does sound a lot like the wiretapping of yesteryear, just put under another name. It's almost like, at long last, the legal system understands just how much power these companies have—and it looks like they're just as tired of them as the rest of us.

[LMNO]

Finland ended homelessness:
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness

"We had to get rid of the night shelters and short-term hostels we still had back then. They had a very long history in Finland, and everyone could see they were not getting people out of homelessness. We decided to reverse the assumptions."

As in many countries, homelessness in Finland had long been tackled using a staircase model: you were supposed to move through different stages of temporary accommodation as you got your life back on track, with an apartment as the ultimate reward.

"We decided to make the housing unconditional," says Kaakinen. "To say, look, you don't need to solve your problems before you get a home. Instead, a home should be the secure foundation that makes it easier to solve your problems."

This is amazing.

[Cramulus]

I thought this was a good read:


How to read U.S. economic data, without the spin




As a random aside, I feel like I'm having an allergic reaction to evocative headlines. Readers of Illuminatus! will know what I mean when I say that 90% of economic, health, and political reporting is completely lousy with Fnords.

[Doktor Howl]

I thought this was a good read:


How to read U.S. economic data, without the spin




As a random aside, I feel like I'm having an allergic reaction to evocative headlines. Readers of Illuminatus! will know what I mean when I say that 90% of economic, health, and political reporting is completely lousy with Fnords.

Optimist.

[Cramulus]

Teens are dressing up as mask-wearing grandmas to try to score alcohol

https://nypost.com/2020/07/14/teens-are-dressing-up-as-mask-wearing-grandmas-to-score-alcohol/