Linketies

[moominmuppet]

Senate Passes DADT Repeal, Sending Bill to Obama For His Signature
Obama to sign law ending military gay ban
SLDN on what this does and doesn't mean for GLBT servicemen and women right now
Admiral Mike Mullen: We Will Be a Better Military Without "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

And ONTD_P is celebrating, for those who want company
RM on the DADT repeal

And the bad news: U.S. Senate Blocks Vote On DREAM Act
As DREAM Act Fails, Graham Tells Undocumented Youth They Wasted Their Time *rage*
9/11 Responder & Clean Up Heroes Snubbed By GOP
Sen. Thune Admits Bush Tax Cut Extensions Are More Of A Priority Than 9/11 Workers’ Health

Fox's 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' confirmed for New Orleans shoot

The Good Guys Cancelled: No Season Two -- *boo* *hiss* I really liked this one.

"Rare Exports" is the most disturbingly awesome Christmas movie ever -- Holy crap, I need to see this! *goes to troll Netflix*

And for those looking for something a bit more family-friendly, may I heartily recommend Hogfather? It's quickly become my all-time favorite holiday movie.

Mad and Bad: 60 Years of Science of TV Doctor Who
Related: Three youtube videos embedded under cut - two from the Christmas Special Confidential, and one that's just pure adorableness.

Totally Radical: A Microhistory of 1980s Science Fiction -- *chuckle* I'm so totally a child of the 80s. My love of SFF isn't just from the movies and shows of the time (also from my uncle and my folks, at least the high fantasy side), but my childhood was absolutely colored by Robotech, Thundercats, Voltron, Galaxy Rangers, E.T., Nausicaa, Wargames, Mad Max, Aliens, Transformers, Alien Nation, Max Headroom, Space Camp, Star Trek, etc. It really quite baffled me when the rest of the world seemed to mostly lose interest in SFF (especially the kids' cartoons).

Rebuilding the Labor Movement

Why the "Lazy Jobless" Myth Persists

Central Banking 101: What the Fed Can Do as "Lender of Last Resort" -- James, I'd be interested in your thoughts on this one. It's relatively over-my-head.

Magnetic Yellow Card - cyclist-intervention

Vatican Shielded Dublin Priest Until He Raped Boy in Pub, Inquiry Says

The World's Cutest Religious Cops

Ani DiFranco, Then and Now

What Killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones?

The tourists wandering through their home don’t bother them so much. And they’re used to the shrill buzz of the saws scrappers bring. Even the snarling bobcat they just ran into in the basement wasn’t so scary.
But the people firing guns into the walls have become a bit of a nuisance.

Nigeria drops Cheney graft charges -- As appalling as it is, I don't think we get to say much given that we've never prosecuted him for shit here, despite everything he's done.

ACLU Warns Catholic Hospitals They Must Provide Life-Saving Abortions

U of Nebraska is Dangerously Wrong about Feral Cats

Southeast US in as Much Water Trouble as Desert Southwest

New York Times' Census Maps Reveal the Truth About US Wealth Disparity

FDA Says 29 Million Pounds of Antibiotics Used in Food Animals Last Year

Electric Eel Powers Aquarium Christmas Tree (Video)

Benefits Helped me Turn my Life Around

Roadmaps to New Power: WMMT Radio Unites Coal Miners and Greens on the Airways

Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans

Urban Forager | Earthy, Crunchy Burdock

Officials: CIA gave waterboarders $5M legal shield

This Day in History 1912: PILTDOWN MAN DISCOVERED

Amazing Automatons: Ancient Robots & Victorian Androids

Why Shouldn’t Freedom of the Press Apply to WikiLeaks?

Cheers and Jeers: UN to Shame Rapists; US Military Sex Assaults Rise

Wikipedia's first 10,000 edits

Why you shouldn't deep-fry a gnocchi

Car immobilizers cracked due to crappy proprietary crypto

‘Unprecedented’ Drone Assault: 58 Strikes in 102 Days

George Monbiot: Astroturfers who are paid for trolling disrupt intelligent conversation

The Republican who will head the House committee that oversees domestic security is planning to open a Congressional inquiry into what he calls “the radicalization” of the Muslim community when his party takes over the House next year.

World's biggest marijuana convention in Colorado

Poland swears in Nigerian Godson as first black MP

All the black actors with speaking roles on 'Friends'

Keith Olbermann quit Twitter because of me
I'm apparently responsible for the biggest celebrity Twitter meltdown since Matt Lauer ticked off Kanye West

Panel charged with suggesting Ohio budget solutions concludes in disagreement

Cleveland State University expects to lose $17 million in state support, could trigger layoffs and other cuts

Congress approves tax cuts, extension of unemployment benefits -- As pissed as I am about the tax cut "compromise", the unemployment extension directly helps our household and plenty of other folks I know, so yay for that!

Senate Democrats give up bid to pass $1.1 trillion spending bill

In France, Civil Unions Gain Favor over Marriage -- I would strongly prefer that 'marriage' be exclusively religious/personal for everyone, and that only civil unions count for government purposes.

Toy donations and money are desperately needed by the McClain County Operation Christmas after a skunk sprayed all the toys set to be delivered Friday.

Google's Zeitgeist 2010

Investigation Starting into Mormon Church and Mormon Congressmen Over Personal Use of US Diplomats

A Kitchen-for-Rent Is a Lifeline for the Laid-Off -- I might've posted this a few days ago, but I can't recall.

Cuba plans to legalize same sex marriage next year.

FEEL GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Secret Santa hands out $100 bills in Kansas City

TX GOPer urges colleagues to recruit Latinos to party to ally against Muslims

Unemployment Orientation

Fox News on climate: skip the science, report the "controversy"

The government has confirmed it is to push ahead with big structural changes to the NHS in England.

Raped Cheerleader's Suit Misses Title IX Complaint

Ruling Has Some Mulling the Necessity of Mandating Insurance

U.S. Called Vulnerable to Rare Earth Shortages

Tokyo Anime & Manga Ban Passes
Related: Japan to crack down on violence, fanservice, fun in anime/manga

Italy: Silvio Berlusconi vote win sparks Rome clashes

Slavish devotion to the US a foreign policy folly for Australia

My sweeties live in B'more, and my housemate Grafton is from MD, so I've been following the "Hon" battle more than might otherwise be expected:
A trademark too far
Our view: Denise Whiting's effort to legally control commercial use of a word all Baltimoreans own betrays the civic trust
A Statement from our GM about the Trademarking of the word Hon

I Hate Math! (Not After This, You Won't)

Butches with cute animals

Star Wars/Doctor Who Mashup

Nobody Here

Comments

[jajy1979.livejournal.com]

I get very annoyed that the just world bullshit that comes with the idea that the unemployed are at fault for their status, and the the state of being unemployed has anything to do with their skills, personality, or drive. I realize how lucky I am to have found a job in this economy, while many of my close friends who frankly are more driven, more proactive, are doing without. It's a matter of luck, skill sets, and availability of the job. The "boot-straps" of this nation have been cut by the very people who claim they work, either from "personal experience" or by philosophical argument. The problem is how many really don't understand how much sheer randomness plays in their ability to have created their success, or how much they benefited from various things in their life ranging from education to fiscal stability with the family. The biggest thing sometimes? Merely been in the right place at the right time, and that has nothing to do with being lazy or driven, nothing to do with skills had, or personality types, just a function of where the needs of the market materialize and who grabs the opportunity when they do. As Timur said: "It is better to be on hand with ten men, than absent with ten thousand." While this is a military application, it applies to our daily lives in that we can only achieve those opportunities which were are present to grasp. An unemployed person in Michigan benefits very little from an opportunity in California. Even with the internet the traversing of our society from location to location is still limited and mostly restricted to a very specific set of mobile people, many of whom have significant advantages to begin with.

Detroit, the city that was... I really wish there was some way to return that city to a level above the disaster that it is now. It was once a great, educated, thriving city.

I am exceedingly disappointed to seen an institution like University of Nebraska involved with such bogus "research".

Trust me, I know we're in long term trouble here in the south-east. Part of why I favor moving, in the long run, to Michigan is the water.

(sigh) I am more worried about the extremism among the "Christian" and "White" communities than I am the Muslim ones here in the US. Are there risks from certain Muslim factions? Certainly, but most of those are external to the US, not internal. Witch hunting the ones internal will only serve to drive them farther from the collective members of society, the glue that makes us strong to begin with, and by alienating them you drive a such a wedge as to prevent them from being allies and friends. It results in more problems, not less.

As I said to Mike, the problem with the extension of the unemployment benefits as a the carrot has to do with the very high number of people who are unemployed who will not receive any benefit from this legislation. A huge percentage of the people who were initially laid off in the "great recession" have used up, completely, their benefits and won't see a damned dime. Thus the value of this trade off was far worse than is implied. Add this to the gutting of the Payroll Tax and you're sending our future further down the great swirling drain. The taxes needed to go up, ON ALL OF US, and the companies are full of shit when they claim they can't hire for lack of "foresight" or "lack of money". They do just fine, and they have 1.8 trillion dollars sitting on the sidelines that they have REFUSED to put back into the economy, even at a cursory level. We got SCREWED, backwards, forwards, and from every angle. This was a horrible bill and should have NEVER been passed, and we're going to pay for it later. Incidentally those of us with jobs generally could afford those taxes, and those without won't see them.

Gah, the Mormon cult strikes again. I hope they're prosecuted or lose their tax exempt status for this. Abuse of power is just the start of things. The Swiss letter in response is amusing. I love the fact that the lack of formal training and gainful employment is pointed out.

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

I get very annoyed that the just world bullshit that comes with the idea that the unemployed are at fault for their status, and the the state of being unemployed has anything to do with their skills, personality, or drive.

Well, if we keep everyone focused on an individual level, rather than a societal level, it's really easy to blame people, and never have to change the system that's screwing everyone. *sigh*

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

I saw Rare Exports at our local arthouse theatre on Sunday night.

WORTH IT.

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

Ooh, good to hear! I've found it for saving on Netflix, so hopefully I'll get to see it once it's out on DVD.