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Post by rogesgallery on Mar 18, 2013 9:46:16 GMT -5
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Post by booklady on Mar 18, 2013 19:25:29 GMT -5
Another case affected by video and social media linked below. This blogger was a big part of breaking the story of the Steubenville rape. Warning: this blog entry is a little graphic but to me it shows that even without an actual printing press, the "press" can still wield great and valuable power. www.xojane.com/issues/steubenville-rape-verdict-alexandria-goddard
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Post by joew on Mar 18, 2013 22:06:59 GMT -5
I had a little back and forth with a classmate of mine who served in the USAF in Viet Nam. His point was that in combat situations, people get worked up, and such incidents are understandable. Mine was that, however understandable they are, they are wrong and if they come to light, there have to be consequences. So I'm glad that there were consequences. Perhaps I'd have preferred a slightly heavier penalty, but I wouldn't have wanted to see anything too severe.
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Post by joew on Mar 18, 2013 22:22:47 GMT -5
Another case affected by video and social media linked below. This blogger was a big part of breaking the story of the Steubenville rape. Warning: this blog entry is a little graphic but to me it shows that even without an actual printing press, the "press" can still wield great and valuable power. www.xojane.com/issues/steubenville-rape-verdict-alexandria-goddardShe's a real hero.
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Post by rogesgallery on Mar 29, 2013 21:05:03 GMT -5
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Post by rogesgallery on Mar 29, 2013 21:30:26 GMT -5
The related reader comments on the above news story really seemed to miss the point. The woman has gold ceilings! Why would she do something like this to save a mere $25,000 a year. Beyond that—why are the three daughters sharing a room in a 30,000 sq.ft. mansion?
This kind of miserly behavior (if that is what it is) just baffles me. I guess some people's egos are their favorite charity.
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Post by BoatBabe on Mar 29, 2013 23:47:05 GMT -5
Totally Bafflling, indeed.
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Post by doctork on Apr 22, 2013 10:55:01 GMT -5
The NY Times Sunday Magazine this week featured a cover story about the Today Show and the warring personalities, the clash between Matt Lauer and Ann Curry, to the extent she was "banished." I really liked Ann Curry and I have missed her presence and her coverage of international stories. And I agree with my husband that Matt Lauer has turned into a grumpy old Jew. We both like to watch a light news show from 7 - 7:30 while we get ready for work.
Oh well - I'm checking out GMA and CBS This Morning, as they are fine alternatives.
But I feel a sense of disappointment and nostalgia - I had watched the Today Show since I was young, and I remember Willard Scott from my early childhood in the 1950's!
WSJ had a feature last week "Don't Be the Technology Dinosaur in Your Office." We all have to change and keep up with the times. But wait - CBS is running a feature about The Rascals reuniting. We Baby Boomers can drag our feet a bit.
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Post by jspnrvr on Apr 23, 2013 6:33:14 GMT -5
...... But I feel a sense of disappointment and nostalgia - I had watched the Today Show since I was young, and I remember Willard Scott from my early childhood in the 1950's! ......... Back a bit further, doc. Hugh Downs, and Frank Blair! And through the dim mist I can see Dave Garroway.... OK, got my combover, had my prunes, had my Metamucil,got my two different plaid patterns for shirt and pants, got my while belt, support socks with sandals ................where'd I leave my keys?
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Post by Jane on Apr 23, 2013 7:51:46 GMT -5
I really liked Ann Curry, and I think they done her wrong. And how old is Savannah Guthrie? 12?
I don't usually watch any morning news because it is not news. I'm that person who has NPR on all day.
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Post by joew on Apr 23, 2013 10:08:30 GMT -5
...... But I feel a sense of disappointment and nostalgia - I had watched the Today Show since I was young, and I remember Willard Scott from my early childhood in the 1950's! ......... Back a bit further, doc. Hugh Downs, and Frank Blair! And through the dim mist I can see Dave Garroway.... OK, got my combover, had my prunes, had my Metamucil,got my two different plaid patterns for shirt and pants, got my while belt, support socks with sandals ................where'd I leave my keys? Don't forget Jack Lescoulie!
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Post by brutus on Apr 23, 2013 22:21:19 GMT -5
I really liked Ann Curry, and I think they done her wrong. And how old is Savannah Guthrie? 12? News networks are about the most sexist organizations I know of. Now a male newsperson can keep working until he drops over. Gray hair? He's distinguished and looks trustworthy, think Walter Cronkite. But the women! They have to look 24, never a wrinkle or hair out of place or they're gone! Had a news anchor in the area, who'd been on the air for a lot of years. She was good. Even at 49, she still looked really good, but was a pro. She's gone. Replaced with a 26-yr old with a thickening waist line, but long blonde hair. IMHO, the young lass ain't near as cute as the old gal, and kinda inexperienced. 'Tain't fair, I tell ya. ~B~
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Post by gailkate on Jun 27, 2013 9:08:44 GMT -5
CNN reports this today from the Prez about getting Snowden back:
President Barack Obama said the United States is going to use "well-established" channels to resolve the situation of Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker who is evading U.S. authorities. But the president, speaking at a press conference in Senegal, said, "I'm not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker." Snowden, the former National Security Agency computer contractor who spilled details of U.S. surveillance programs to reporters, flew to Russia from Hong Kong after American authorities sought his extradition on espionage charges. He is believed to be holed up at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. He has requested asylum in Ecuador.
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Post by joew on Jun 27, 2013 10:49:09 GMT -5
CNN reports this today from the Prez about getting Snowden back: President Barack Obama said the United States is going to use "well-established" channels to resolve the situation of Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker who is evading U.S. authorities. But the president, speaking at a press conference in Senegal, said, "I'm not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker." Snowden, the former National Security Agency computer contractor who spilled details of U.S. surveillance programs to reporters, flew to Russia from Hong Kong after American authorities sought his extradition on espionage charges. He is believed to be holed up at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. He has requested asylum in Ecuador. Edward Snowden is not a hacker. Why is the President misrepresenting the facts? I mean, I know he's a politician, and we've seen the administration misrepresent Benghazi and the IRS business, but why on this?
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Post by doctork on Jun 27, 2013 19:11:02 GMT -5
I interpret this as an attempt to minimize the extent of the damage done, by labeling him as a "hacker." Which in turn implies that the damage is much worse than has been admitted.
This begs the question of why was some 29 year old contractor with a private vendor entrusted with such confidential info to begin with? Why do we need 1.5 million people with "Top Secret" security clearance (or whatever the exact number is)? And why are there no controls to detect such leakage or inappropriate dispersal of information? We just had the episode with Bradley Manning a very few years back - he downloaded hundreds of thousands of documents with "no one noticing."
I infer that the NSA et al are so busy monitoring my calls to my family from Afghanistan, and checking on my every movement since then, that they are missing the real threats (and it is not me or my "explosive shampoo" or my private parts at the airport).
I think that "We the People" should know about these events and what is being done in our name; sunlight is a great disinfectant. The sad thing is how these recurring episodes lessen our trust in our own government, which is supposed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people.
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Post by joew on Jun 27, 2013 21:00:09 GMT -5
And of course you can't win.
If they monitor communications and prevent attacks, it's totalitarianism. If they don't monitor and attacks happen, why weren't they keeping tabs?
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Post by gailkate on Jun 27, 2013 23:38:58 GMT -5
And of course you can't win. If they monitor communications and prevent attacks, it's totalitarianism. If they don't monitor and attacks happen, why weren't they keeping tabs? Exactly. Still I think it's wise of Obama to downplay the importance of this man's revelations. I'm relieved that he isn't going to let this escalate into a confrontation with Russia, and I quite understand the demeaning word "hacker" as a way of saying he's small potatoes. (In truth hackers can do enormous damage, so I hope there aren't any out there taking this as a challenge. More "damned if you do and damned if you don't.") I'm surprised you're still seeing administration skullduggery in the Benghazi and IRS "scandals," Joe. Just as I believe Colin Powell sincerely believed in the WMD lie, I believe Rice believed the talking points she was given. What's scary to me is the power of agencies to make their own CYA decisions at levels that should not have such power. You and I have worked in government and all of us have worked in structures where the people at the top really are at the mercy of the hierarchy. In the IRS case we now know what I suspected from the beginning - people got together and said "how can we identify the suspicious organizations in this deluge of applicants?" So they worked it out (no doubt with a flip chart and runaway brainstorming). Of course "Tea Party" looked political - how could it not? And then there's "Progressive," the new word for liberal. Tasked with determining who should be examined closely, they came up with a list to separate the most obviously suspect from the mass of largely non-political groups. Personally, I'd put a stop to any such special category - unless you're feeding the poor or researching terrible diseases, no entity should be tax-exempt. But, as for Snowden, I'm with K on the side of whistle-blowers. It's absurd to accuse him of espionage - to whom did he give state secrets? not an enemy government but a couple of newspapers, and the only secret revealed was that a process existed, not what the process had gleaned in its snooping. Maybe I grew up watching too many 50s Cold War movies, but the notion of Big Brother looking at anything it pleases without 4th Amendment constraints has KGB written all over it.
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Post by doctork on Jun 28, 2013 23:45:36 GMT -5
And of course you can't win. If they monitor communications and prevent attacks, it's totalitarianism. If they don't monitor and attacks happen, why weren't they keeping tabs? There likely will be more attacks, although no more 9-11 style attempts, as those perps will now be brought down by fellow pax, or astute civilian observers, as has been demonstrated on numerous occasions. What ever happened to "home of the brave" anyway? A free society will inherently have some danger, but there will be finger pointing by the out-of-power party nonetheless. I remain suspicious of the IRS scandal myself, as most sources I've read suggest there have been more investigations of "conservative" than "liberal" entities. Benghazi involved at least carelessness - in cost-cutting and by the Ambassador himself in taking some risks perhaps he shouldn't have. But then, a good ambassador does need to get out a bit among the people of the nation to which he is posted, so to be effective that entails some risk-taking. Both events have been the subject of unnecessarily partisan grandstanding IMHO, just like everything else these days.
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Post by joew on Jun 29, 2013 13:55:31 GMT -5
In both cases, what I was talking about was the spin the administration put on it, and analogizing that to misrepresenting a leaker as a hacker in order to downplay the events.
Of course the actual events of Benghazi: State's failure to provide proper security and the refusal to send a rescue mission are far worse than the post facto lies about it.
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Post by joew on Aug 19, 2013 10:41:36 GMT -5
I've been thinking for a while that it's a mistake for the U.S. to do anything that will tend to help Morsi regain power in Egypt. These items reinforce my feeling. www.asianews.it/news-en/The-list-of-Christian-churches,-schools,-institutions,-shops-torched-by-the-Muslim-Brotherhood-in-the-last-three-days-28764.html sjsa.wordpress.com/If Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood regain the upper hand in Egypt, we'll have to deal with it as best we can, but it would be foolish to clear the way for them. THe Egyptian military has been a force for stability and have been generally favorably disposed toward the West. It makes sense to hope that they'll be able to hold on. And it's not as if they have no support among the people. I see it as a de facto civil war. It's not our place to send in the troops, but we have our friends.
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Post by rogesgallery on Aug 28, 2013 16:56:15 GMT -5
Bales gets life and Hasan gets death. I guess it wouldn't suggest a dual standard if the sentencing hadn't happened so close together.
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Post by joew on Aug 28, 2013 17:29:12 GMT -5
Bales gets life and Hasan gets death. I guess it wouldn't suggest a dual standard if the sentencing hadn't happened so close together. Considering that the law doesn't allow the death penalty when the accused pleads guilty, which Bales did and Hasan didn't, IMO it doesn't suggest a double standard, regardless of the timing of the sentences. Each got the max available to the sentencing jury.
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Post by rogesgallery on Aug 28, 2013 18:46:22 GMT -5
I thought that Hasan tried to plead guilty but there wads legal conflict which doesn't allow such a plea in Capitol murder cases. That is what I understood. ??
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Post by Jane on Aug 28, 2013 19:27:28 GMT -5
Hasan wanted the death penalty and "defended" himself, mounting no defense. I would rather he stay in a small cell for the rest of his miserable life. I believe he thinks dying will make him a martyr and get him an in with those 72 virgins.
I don't believe in the death penalty on principle. And I think life in prison without possibility of parole (like Bales) is actually a worse sentence though well-deserved (in these two cases).
On the other hand, I think Manning was handed a way worse sentence than he deserved.
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Post by rogesgallery on Aug 28, 2013 21:08:20 GMT -5
I agree with you on the life sentence issue being the more punitive sentence Jane. As I understand it Hasan will spend a long time in jail waiting on mandatory appeals. I don't, though, believe that the cartoonish myth of the 72 virgins is much on the minds of intelligent men that choose to avenge (in their minds) the wrongs done to their native land and culture. It seems to me that there was considerable reservation in this forum against these wars when they started so there should be some sympathy for those whom have been driven insane by them. I guess I pity these men for their poor decisions rather than hate them.
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Post by doctork on Sept 17, 2013 18:34:46 GMT -5
Here's some good news, for a change. The shipwrecked, capsized Concordia has been raised ("parbuckled") into a vertical position and is resting flat on a platform built to support her weight while they strengthen her to withstand the coming winter and the subsequent towing to a scrap location. There appears to have been no environmental damage from fuel or waste on board, very important as Giglio Port is a sensitive location. The parbuckling may be standard procedure, but has never been successfully used on such a large ship before. The internet has many photo sequences and they are remarkable. Here's one from HuffPost: www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/costa-concordia-salvage-operation_n_3933227.html?ncid=webmail14
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Post by BoatBabe on Sept 20, 2013 9:09:08 GMT -5
That really was an astonishing feat! I think it was on 60 Minutes, when I first learned of the plans to right the ship. It seemed so unworkable, complicated (or maybe over-simplified?) and far-fetched. Yet, the plan worked out beautifully.
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Post by BoatBabe on Sept 20, 2013 9:23:58 GMT -5
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Post by doctork on Sept 20, 2013 21:00:56 GMT -5
This BBC story has explanatory diagrams about one-third of the way down. Makes sense but it is still amazing: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24121480There are also pictures of the heavily damaged starboard side of the ship. Wow!! I know it's been underwater since January 2012, but still... It is also amazing there were not more who perished.
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Post by doctork on Oct 1, 2013 13:33:17 GMT -5
The government shut down is here. Congressional approval rating is 10%. I wonder who is that crazy 10% who approve?
The Washington Post has a list of which members of Congress are foregoing their pay during the shutdown. There are 26 names (none from any of "my" districts, though Ron Barber who represents Gaby Giffords' former district is one). As a refresher, there are 535 members of Congress, so less than 5% are willing to undergo themselves what they put others through.
Maybe 90% of the US population would say they haven't done anything to earn their money the rest of the time either. However, they are required the Constitution to be paid, as is the President. The 26 will mostly be donating their salaries to charity since they have to be paid.
BTW, members of Congress and their staffs are also excluded from Obamacare and are allowed to keep their "Cadillac plans."
I find the whole business infuriating.
President Obama has announced in the middle of the night that active duty military members will be paid.
Last week, USAA announced that it will provide no-interest payroll advance loans to its members who might suffer payroll interruption due to the shutdown. For active duty military of course, but also for National Guard and Reserve, and for those receiving VA or SS checks deposited into their USAA accounts.
If you are unfamiliar, USAA is an insurance/financial services company serving the military and their families. I am trying to remember the last time I was proud of an insurance company... My kids are fourth generation USAA members.
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