Friday, 5 August 2011

If it's good enough for 18 year old risk takers, it's probably good enough for you too!

lulzb0at lulz boat
wikisend.com/download/56030… - Free Radicals - Anarchy of Science - ePub. #FREETOPIARY

Hopefully not a rhetorical question...

Is there actually ANY good news out there?

If you know of some please do send it to me...as I am starting to get even more depressed about the state of this fugn planet!
(Thanx Conscious!)

The American People Lost the Debt Ceiling Debate

The debt ceiling fracas was an insanity-inducing syllabus of everything that's wrong with the American political system. Everything.
The very serious cable news media (and a considerable chunk of the blogosphere for that matter) were preoccupied with safe, superficial sports and/or poker metaphors: who won, who lost, who "doubled-down" and so forth. After all, covering the wonky aspects of the policy itself is no fun and involves math.
The Republican Party, meanwhile, having been responsible for the bulk of the debt in the first place, was allowed to get away with sabotaging the stability of the global economy as the centerpiece of its plan to subsequently sabotage the president. At the same time, one of its congressional leaders, Eric Cantor, was short selling government bonds -- a blindingly outrageous conflict of interest that ought to vindicate Pete Rose for any comparatively trivial wagering sanctions he continues to endure.
The Democratic Party and the White House, paralyzed by fear (fear of taking an aggressive posture for fear of losing the fickle, insufferable middle), helped to push the Overton Window farther to the right.
Far-right conservatives and tea party activists continued to illustrate their willful inability to grasp an even grade-school level understanding of the economy and governing.
The progressive left was out-hustled by far-right activism yet again...

Continue reading

Bob Cesca @'HuffPo'

evgenymorozov Evgeny Morozov

Microsoft exec to be named new federal CIO http://flpbd.it/BV20 (I guess no one from Google was available)

♪♫ Medium Medium - So Hungry So Angry

Hangry???

Facebook Lures Lonely Russians as Internet Use Rises, Poll Finds

US seeks to counter extremism on Facebook & Twitter

A White House counter-terrorism strategy released on Wednesday says that Facebook, Twitter and other social networks aid in "advancing violent extremist narratives" and should be monitored by the government.
The 12-page strategy (PDF), which outlines ways to respond to violent extremism, promises that: "We will continue to closely monitor the important role the internet and social-networking sites play in advancing violent extremist narratives." President Obama said in a statement accompanying the report that the federal government will start "helping communities to better understand and protect themselves against violent extremist propaganda, especially online."
While much of the White House document is focused on Al Qaeda — which The Washington Post recently reported is on the "brink of collapse" — it also talks about domestic terrorists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semitic groups, and a broad "range of ideologies" that promote radicalisation.
Declan McCullagh @'ZDNet'

Al Gore: We need an "American Spring"

Former Vice President and Current TV chairman, Al Gore, made an appearance on his own channel Tuesday to decry the state of American politics.
He told "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann that we need an "American Spring" like the Arab Spring, with our own version of Tahrir Square, to reinvigorate political activism in America. However, Gore made clear with a number of qualifications that he was not calling for revolution. Rather than advocating taking to the streets, he seemed to be calling for more Americans to get online to make their political views heard -- a far cry from the revolutionary activity in the Arab world.
Gore also emphasized that he does not see the Tea Party as an example of grassroots political activism, largely because the movement has the support of billionaires like the Koch brothers pushing agendas in Washington.
Via

How many secret wars are the US fighting?

LOL!

UK government's e-petition website crashes on first day

'Friends With Benefits': The New Casual Sex?

The romantic comedy's rigid formula celebrates the burgeoning relationship between two straight, white, financially comfortable, bumbling, star-crossed lovers, who after numerous unavoidable disasters, finally achieve their love-like nirvana. Wikipedia generously defines the genre as “films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount obstacles.”
So what is it about the romcom that draws in so many of us who do not identify with being white, skinny, straight or upper class? It rises from the dichotomy between acknowledging that idealistic love is in reality unattainable, and the masochistic longing for that “one true love” despite it all. Yet in 2011, the millennial's vision of the romantic comedy has shifted to a structured kind of free love, reflecting our generation's changing feelings about sex and flip attitude toward romanticism.
Generally, the overall framework remains unchanged—the romcom continues to reincarnate, with slight revisions that allow us to relate to its promise. New iterations reflect the progressiveness of time, but ultimately reinforce antiquated ideals of monogamous, heterosexual love. In the 1980s, there were a rash of films about (not so) liberated women “married” to their jobs—who, even with success, would be nowhere without the love of a man. (See Baby Boom and Working Girl.) The 1980s was the first full decade after a mostly white and middle-class feminist movement that focused on achieving equity for other mostly white, middle-class women in the workforce. The romantic comedies of the period reflected the realities of becoming working women, but reinforced the age-old necessity for a man’s love to provide true happiness. Progress—but only to a certain point...