What are you gonna do, play with your prick for another 30 years? ... George Carlin
New Humanist (Rationalist Association) - discussing humanism, rationalism, atheism and free thought
Topic: Arts
7:09 pm EDT, Oct 8, 2010
Last week, I blogged about the bizarre decision taken by several US newspapers to reject an edition of Wiley Miller's cartoon strip Non Sequitur, which made a joke about the extent of the fear of publishing depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. The joke was that publishers are now so worried that they won't even publish something which hints at depicting Muhammad, even if it doesn't actually depict him. The editors of "upwards of 20" papers responded by refusing to publish the cartoon.
The reason I return to the story is that MediaWatchWatch now have a copy of the cartoon, which I've reproduced here (you might need to click on it for a larger version). Are you offended? There's a giraffe licking a woman's ice cream, so I apologise in advance to ice cream and hygiene lovers.
By all means leave your best suggestions for why this cartoon is offensive in the comments below.
Shoplifting is at its highest recorded levels, £4.88 billion a year according to the Centre for Retail Research. Internet Eyes has been designed to combat this rise by detecting these crimes as they happen.
Internet Eyes is an online instant event notification system allowing our registered Viewers to monitor live CCTV feed from our Business Customers, and notify them the instant a crime is observed.
A source working with the police in the field of CCTV monitoring stated.
"Internet Eyes has the potential to have a positive impact on reducing shoplifting and other crimes" join our mailing list * indicates required Email Address * Close
The sole purpose of Internet Eyes is to enable responsible members of the public to use the latest technology to help shopkeepers and the police combat the serious social harm that shoplifting causes. Images may not be copied or used for any other purpose. Misuse of personal data may be a crime under Data Protection Laws. Please read our Terms and Conditions before registering.nullnull
Google's CEO: 'The Laws Are Written by Lobbyists' - Derek Thompson - Technology - The Atlantic
Topic: Society
1:41 pm EDT, Oct 6, 2010
"The average American doesn't realize how much of the laws are written by lobbyists"
Yeah, thats true - people probably don't understand that. Congressional offices don't have enough staff to write the reams of legislation they put through. Those guys are merely a deliberative power brokering process. The actual law writing gets done across the street by lawyers who, incidentally, make a lot more money. People talk shit about lobbyists, but lobbyists are basically how laws get made. Should Congress employ more staff and pay them more? If they tried, everyone would be up in arms that they are becoming corrupt! For all the talk about "special interests" I'm not aware of anyone who has a serious proposal for an alternative.
But this article has more juicy nuggets:
"Google policy is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it," he said. Google implants, he added, probably crosses that line.
At the same time, Schmidt envisions a future where we embrace a larger role for machines and technology. "With your permission you give us more information about you, about your friends, and we can improve the quality of our searches," he said. "We don't need you to type at all. We know where you are. We know where you've been. We can more or less now what you're thinking about."
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Laws banning texting while driving actually may prompt a slight increase in road crashes, research out today shows.
The findings, to be unveiled at a meeting here of 550 traffic safety professionals from around the USA, come amid a heightened national debate over distracted driving.
"Texting bans haven't reduced crashes at all," says Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, whose research arm studied the effectiveness of the laws.nullnullnull
Researchers publish comprehensive study on sexual behavior and health of Americans ages 14-94
Topic: Recreation
2:01 am EDT, Oct 5, 2010
About 85 percent of men reported that their partner had an orgasm during their most recent sexual encounter, but only 64 percent of women report having had one. Researchers said the difference is too great to attribute to men having had their last encounter with another man.
Eight percent of men and 7 percent of women identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, but a much higher percentage report engaging in sexual activity with someone of the same sex at least once. The study found that 15 percent of men aged 50-59 have received oral sex from another man at some point.
For more odd findings and information about same-sex relationship, go to
YouTube - Proud Socialists Dominate Left-Wing "One Nation" Rally in DC
Topic: Miscellaneous
1:44 am EDT, Oct 5, 2010
Socialist protesters and paraphernalia dominated the left-wing protest rally in Washington, DC on 10-2-10. The so-called "One Nation" rally was led by labor unions as an attempt to counter Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally, which took place in DC on 8-28-2010.
Hunter S. Thompson's brutally honest Canadian job request
Topic: Literature
7:24 pm EDT, Oct 4, 2010
As far as I'm concerned, it's a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards, bums, and hacks, hag-ridden with myopia, apathy, and complacence, and generally stuck in a bog of stagnant mediocrity. If this is what you're trying to get The Sun away from, then I think I'd like to work for you.
Google is introducing a new format for images: WebP.
Images on the web in this format — which CNET reports will be officially announced later today — will have smaller file sizes, load faster and relieve a lot of overclocked networks. They won’t necessarily look better — WebP images are as “glossy” as JPEGs — but the files might be around 40% smaller than JPEG files.
