Compromise

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Recently, President Obama has been on a bit of a compromise-high. Regardless of his reasoning (2012 comes fast, doesn't it?), you can't deny that his new approach to reform is working, no matter how minutely. We did just get DADT repeal passed, as well as the START treaty and a plethora of other legislative endeavors.

With all this compromise talk, it's time we take a look at something: Assholes. Yes. As much as I dislike profanity in my posts, the "A" word is the only word to accurately describe some people.

One way to tell that you're in the presence of an asshole is by running through the quick "Starbucks Test". It goes like this: If you hear someone at Starbucks order a “decaf grande half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino; extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n’-Low and one NutraSweet,” you’re in the presence of an a-hole. It’s unlikely that this petty combination is necessary—the person ordering is trying to flex his/her power because (s)he's an a-hole.

You might be wondering, "Well Shawn, how do I avoid becoming an a-hole?". Yes, it's very easy in today's day and age to just give up and become one. Here's some advice:

How To Not Become An A-Hole

Face your past. The past is a very good predictor of future behavior. For example, were you a bully in school? If your parents and siblings were assholes, you may have caught the disease. Knowing that you’re an asshole is first step towards change.

Do not make people feel oppressed, humiliated, de-energized, or belittled. If you find yourself having these effects, it’s time to change your behavior no matter what you think of yourself.

Do not mistreat people who are less powerful than you. One of the sure signs of an asshole is treating people like clerks, flight attendants, and waiters in a degrading manner.

Resist assholeholics from the start. The easiest time to avoid becoming an asshole is at the very beginning. Don’t think that you can do “what you have to” to fit in and can change later. It won’t happen.

Walk away and stay away. Don’t be afraid to leave a bad situation. It’s unlikely you’ll change the assholes into good people; it’s much more likely that you’ll descend to their level.

View acting like an asshole as a communicable disease. If you have any sense of decency, when you’re sick, you avoid contact to prevent spreading the disease. So if you act like an asshole, you’re not just impacting yourself; you’re also teaching other people that it’s okay to be an asshole.

Focus on win-win. Children (young and old) think that the world is a zero-sum game. If another kid is playing with the fire truck, you can’t. As people get older they should realize that life doesn’t have to be a win-lose proposition--unless, that is, you’re an asshole.

Focus on ways you are no better or even worse than others. Thinking that you’re smarter, faster, better looking, funnier, whatever than others turns people into assholes. Thinking that you’re no better or even worse keeps you humble.

Focus on ways you are similar to people, not different. If you concentrate on how you and others have similar goals, desires, and passions, you’re bound to be less of an asshole. How can you treat people that are similar to you with disdain?

Tell yourself, “I have enough stuff (money, toys, friends, cars, whatever).” Discontentment and envy is a major factor in becoming an asshole. If you’re happy, there’s no reason to stomp on others.

Just because you aren't an a-hole doesn't mean that other people won't be. Here's a quick list to help you deal with other a-holes:

How To Deal With A-Holes

Hope for the best, but expect the worst. One of the most frustrating aspects of dealing with assholes is that they disappoint you--making you wonder the very value of humans. Lowering your expectations can help reduce disappointment. Don’t solely lower your expectations, though, or you will slip into cynicism (and possibly turn into an asshole too.) Continue to hope for the best.

Develop indifference and emotional detachment. Being indifferent and detached may be a good thing in work environments. If it permits you to survive, then it is. In other words, don’t let the jerks get to you.

Look for small wins. Small victories can keep you going. Most assholes pride themselves in total control and absolute domination. Any victory, no matter how small, can keep you going. Rest assured that small victories can lead to winning the war.

Limit your exposure. You can do what you can to avoid meetings and interactions with assholes. This involves finding or building pockets of safety, support, and sanity. An example would be a nurse’s lounge as a refuge from an asshole doctor.

Expose them. Use Marge's Asshole Management Metric. This refers to a four-point system from 0 to 3. Marge, the boss, would point to people who were behaving like assholes and hold up one, two, or three fingers according to this code:

1 = You are a normal person who can occasionally assert yourself on an issue you are passionate about, but you handle yourself in a non-confrontational way in nearly all occasions.

2 = You can consistently assert yourself in a non-confrontational way and are occasionally an asshole, but you feel horrible about it afterward, and you may or may not apologize (but you probably will have to confess your remorse to someone).

3 = You can consistently be an asshole and you either do not recognize this or you simply enjoy it.

By the way, 0 in her system means this:

0 = You are a very nice person, and very passive. No one can say a word against you and would never think to call you an asshole.

If you are safe in your position, then calling assholes out is a good way to deal with them.

De-escalate and re-educate. This strategy requires that the asshole you’re dealing with isn’t a “chronic,” “certified,” and “flagrant” asshole. It means meeting asshole behavior with calmness (instead of either similar behavior or fear) and trying to re-educate the person about how he’s behaving.

Stand up to them. Funny thing about assholes: Standing up to them shouldn’t necessarily scare you.

Follow these few rules and I'm sure you'll do great. It'll be interesting to see how long this compromise business keeps up, and whether the Republicans will reciprocate the compromise love.

Namaste,

Fox News Calls For Assasisination of Assange

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Well, I probably shouldn't be so surprised at Faux News' blatant stupidity here. Apparently, you can't just imprison foreign nationals, but you CAN assassinate them!



I still don't see how it's treason, when did Assange become an American citizen?

Why The Salvation Army Doesn't Deserve Your Support

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Every holiday season, people open their hearts and wallets for family, friends, and charities alike. Unfortunately, some large organizations who regularly solicit for money are often using funds for political motives or ‘overhead’ costs.

Everyone knows the Salvation Army. Whether it’s the secondhand goods at their thrift stores or their collection kettles outside department stores, the Salvation Army is ubiquitous to the holiday season.
However, the Salvation Army’s virulent opposition to gay rights both in public and through persistent legislative lobbying raises the question how donations intended for the needy are being spent. Many people forget that the Salvation Army is in fact an Evangelical church, and as such, it tends to have a hard-right social agenda.

In fact, the Salvation Army goes so far as to say gay people shouldn’t be having sex. You can find this nugget on their website: “Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life.”

Starting at the beginning of George W. Bush’s presidency in 2001, the Salvation Army began lobbying for an exemption to equal labor practices for government-funded faith-based organizations. Why? Because the Salvation Army wanted to continue to discriminate against gays and prevent them from being hired.

In 2004, the Salvation Army threatened to close all its soup kitchens in the New York City area—which would have ended $250 million worth of contracts with the city—if they were forced to offer benefits to same-sex couples. This move would have lost the Salvation Army around $70 million in direct funding from the city and endangered the lives of several thousand people reliant on the Salvation Army.

Was this supposed to be a principled stand? All the homeless people receiving care from the Salvation Army would be turned out on the street. What would have motivated The Salvation Army to make such a callous move? They said that, by offering benefits to same sex couples, they’d be supporting HIV/AIDS because HIV/AIDS is only the product of homosexual intercourse.

AIDS? How does AIDS factor in? Oh yeah, I forgot! Gay people don’t suffer from non-gay sex related maladies. If a same sex couple needs health benefits, it must be from all that AIDS they’re spreading around. Is there any way to construe this as anything but bigotry?

There’s still more, too. The Salvation Army has repeatedly rallied against anti-discrimination laws involving hiring of homosexual employees. They’ve even tried to block a repeal of sodomy laws in New Zealand. And in Canada a few days ago, the Salvation Army turned down donations of Harry Potter and Twilight toys. The occult connotations of these toys, supposedly, is out of line with their Christian teachings. Harry Potter is Satanic? That’s a rather old-hat Evangelical argument, isn’t it?

Is this the kind of charity you want to be donating to? More importantly, is this a charity that should be receiving government funding? Sure, the Salvation Army does some noble things. Using charity money and government funding to further an anti-gay, Evangelical agenda is not one of them.

The Salvation Army’s tremendous size and omnipresence may provide the illusion of moral rectitude. Sadly, that just isn’t the case. There are plenty of wonderful charities out there without hidden political agendas worth donating to instead of the Salvation Army. Check out websites such as Charity Navigator to look for charitable organizations that will spend your money on the causes they support, not political muckery.

Book Thrown At President Obama

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During his "Moving America Forward" rally, President Obama narrowly dodged what could have been a very serious presidential security incident.

While President Obama was closing his speech, an attending author threw his paperback book at the back of the president, who just missed the projectile.

There is no doubt that this was a publicity move. When the secret service spoke to the man, he told them that he was a "staunch Obama supporter", and only "wanted the president to have a copy of his book".

The man was released without any of the publicity he had tried to attain. Neither his name nor the name of his book has been released by the secret service.

This story wasn't picked up by any of the major US media outlets, although the UK was quick to pick up on the flying book.

You can see the book sail past President Obama's head in the video below:



Between President Obama's ability to catch a fly out of thin air, dodge bullets, and the recent spotting of him using a light saber, I think it's safe to say that he's a jedi...

Now if only he could use the Jedi mind trick on the Republicans in Congress...

White House To Install Solar Panels

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From 350.org

Dear Friends,

Just in time to give this weekend's 350.org Global Work Party a White House-sized boost, the Obama administration announced this morning that they are going to put solar panels on the First Family's living quarters, returning to a tradition begun by president Jimmy Carter and abandoned by Ronald Reagan.

It's a great win for our efforts over the last months--everyone who wrote letters, signed petitions for 350's "Put Solar On It" campaign, and turned out for the Solar Road Trip as 350.org rolled down the east coast from Unity College towing one of the original Carter panels. They were disappointed that day that the White House wasn't prepared to go solar, but are now very happy and honored that the White House took their suggestion to look into the matter seriously.

Solar panels on one house, even this house, won't save the climate, of course. But they're a powerful symbol to the whole nation about where the future lies. And President Obama will wake up every morning and make his toast by the power of the sun (do presidents make toast?), which will be a constant reminder to be pushing the U.S. Congress for the kind of comprehensive reform we need.

And remember, President Obama's not alone: tomorrow, Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed and a crew from Sungevity will be putting solar panels on the Muliaa'ge, the "White House of the Maldives". It's a trend!

Of course, both of these initiatives are perfectly timed to lead into this weekend's Global Work Party, when 6127 carbon-cutting events (and rising) will take place in 187 countries. If you haven't already gotten involved, now is most definitely the time to join an event near you--or register your own. See this post for more info on the Global Work Party and how to join an event.

The first account of the news from the White House, from Associated Press reporter Dina Cappiello, noted the efforts of 350.org to make this happen

This victory reminds us of why, when the day is done, we'll be putting down our hammers and our shovels and picking up our cellphones to call our leaders.

You never know what will happen when you ask for change.

Onwards!

10/10/10 Global Work Party

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As you may recall, 350.org hosted the "International Day Of Climate Action" last year on the 24th of October. It boasted a total of 5,248 events in over 180 countries, and was garnered as a huge success. CNN called it the "most widespread day of political action in the planet's history." View the montage of countries in this video released by 350.

350 is hosting another international event this year, the Global Work Party. It'll be on 10/10/10, and is open to anyone who wants to participate.

Experts are saying that after the failed talks in Copenhagen, people are losing hope for this years event.

It would, however, seem as if the "experts" were wrong. The movement is even more energized than it was last year, with more than 5,500 events taking place in all but 12 countries on Earth. Yeah, that's almost EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY ON EARTH, and there's still time left for missing countries to register.

When we see our leaders failing, we want to show them how it's done. We want to get to work.

From the 350 website:

"It’s been a tough year: in North America, oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico; in Asia some of the highest temperatures ever recorded; in the Arctic, the fastest melting of sea ice ever seen; in Latin America, record rainfalls washing away whole mountainsides.

So we’re having a party.

We’re calling it a Global Work Party, with emphasis on both 'work' and 'party'. In Auckland, New Zealand, they’re having a giant bike fix-up day, to get every bicycle in the city back on the road. In the Maldives, they’re putting up solar panels on the President’s office. In Kampala, Uganda, they're going to plant thousands of trees, and in Bolivia they’re installing solar stoves for a massive carbon neutral picnic.

Since we've already worked hard to call, email, petition, and protest to get politicians to move, and they haven't moved fast enough,  now it's time to show that we really do have the tools we need to get serious about the climate crisis.

On 10/10/10 we'll show that we the people can do this--but we need bold energy policies from our political leaders to do it on a scale that truly matters. The goal of the day is not to solve the climate crisis one project at a time, but to send a pointed political message: if we can get to work, you can get to work too--on the legislation and the treaties that will make all our work easier in the long run."

With nine days left, there is still time to register an event.

Click Here to register a new event.

Click Here to view events near you. The left hand side of this page will show a map centered on Middletown, NY. The orange dots on the map indicate events. To the right of the screen is a list of these events. Above the list is a search box for you to type your own location, if it differs from Middletown or the surrounding area.

 

Assistant Michigan AG's Blatant Homophobia

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For nearly six months now, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell has been slandering a young man because of his sexual orientation.

Chris Armstrong, recently elected president of the University of Michigan's Student Government, has been the sole recipient of Shirvell's hate. Shirvell created the blog "Chris Armstrong Watch" in April and has created close to 30 articles so far.

"Welcome to ‘Chris Armstrong Watch,’” Shirvell wrote in his inaugural blog post. “This is a site for concerned University of Michigan alumni, students, and others who oppose the recent election of Chris Armstrong – a RADICAL HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVIST, RACIST, ELITIST, & LIAR – as the new head of student government.”

Attached to that post was this picture:

To actually be so blinded by your own hatred that you can call someone a Nazi just because of their sexuality proves how immature this insane man is. This is an opinion not only shared by me, but by the Attorney General of Michigan as well:

"Mr. Shirvell's personal opinions are his and his alone and do not reflect the views of the Michigan Department of Attorney General,” Cox said in the written statement provided by his office. “But his immaturity and lack of judgment outside the office are clear."

When attempting to view the blog, I received a message stating that "This blog is open to invited readers only. Permission Denied." Apparently, Shirvell has decided to lock out anyone that isn't specifically invited by himself.

I was able, however, to get cached pages. (A "Cached" page is a link that appears in the Google search results. By clicking on this link, you will get a version of the web page that Google saw when they visited. Google typically saves a version of the website when indexing.):


Welcome to Chris Armstrong Watch - Shirvell's first blog post.

Home Page - Includes a short sampling of recent articles.

Permission Denied Page - This is the actual address of the blog. Notice that you don't have permission to view.


Shirvell also told the local news station that his online postings were justified not because Armstrong is openly gay but because Armstrong is “somebody that’s there to promote special rights for homosexuals at the cost of, you know, heterosexual students.”

First of all, they aren't fighting for special rights; they are fighting for equal rights. And apparently they are right in thinking that they don't yet have equal rights, just look at this blabbering idiot.

Watch Shirvell being interviewed by Anderson Cooper on CNN below:






 

The Bush Survival Bible

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"We are worried about you. Yes, you--you with the ashen face, pale lips, and expression of dazed horror. Although many of you may try, you can't really do anything about [Bush's victory in 2004]. But you can do something about your post-election stress disorder. [Included in this book is] more than 250 ways to help you get through the next four years."
                                      -Gene Stone

 The book "The Bush Survival Bible" was originally created to help people cope with the excruciating pain that most (sane) citizens experienced when they heard that Bush won the 2004 elections. Although we are past that blemish in America's history, we can still look back and have a nice laugh. Well not really, but what else are we gonna do about it? The book is packed with jokes poking fun at Bush and the Bush Administration, and I felt that you would really enjoy some of these jokes. Hopefully I don't get sued for copyright infringement. (To try to sway that from happening, here is the link to view the book on Amazon. All credit goes to the author.)

"Bushisms"

"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dreams." -George Bush

"Al Gore is a very tough opponent. He is the incumbent. He represents the incumbency. And a challenger is somebody who generally comes from the pack and wins, if you're going to win. And that's where I'm coming from." -George Bush

 "Our priorities is our faith" -George Bush

"In my judgment, when the United States says there will be serious consequences, and if there isn't serious consequences, it creates adverse consequences." -George Bush

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." -George Bush

"I think anybody who doesn't think I'm smart enough to handle the job is underestimating." -George Bush

Click Here to show more Bushisms.

"I think we agree, the past is over: -George Bush

"The woman who knew that I had dyslexia-I never interviewed her." -George Bush

"There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids, upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like." -George Bush

"Let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to not be right doesn't mean you're willing to kill." -George Bush

 "Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace." -George Bush

"I'm honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein." -George Bush

 "Too many docs are getting out of the business. Too many ob-gyns aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country." -George Bush

"I hope you leave here and walk out and say, 'What did he say?'." -George Bush

Hide these Bushisms.

Bush Jokes

At a party a man came up to Texas governor George W. Bush and said, "Have you heard the latest George W. Bush joke?".
Governor Bush said, "I'm George W. Bush".
The man said, "Oh, I'll tell it slowly.".

---

George W. Bush is out jogging one morning and notices a little boy on the corner with a box. Curious, he runs over to the child and says, "What's in the box, kid?"
The little boy says, "Kittens! They're brand-new kittens."
George W. laughs and says, "What kind of kittens are they?"
"Republicans," the child says.
"Oh, that's cute," George W. says, and he runs off.
A few days later George is running with his buddy Dick and he spies the same boy with his box just ahead. They both jog over to him.
George W. says, "Look in the box, Dick, isn't that cute? Look at those little kittens. Hey, kid, tell my friend Dick what kind of kittens they are."
The boy replies, "They're Democrats."
"Whoa!" George W. says, "I came by the other day and you said they were Republicans. What's up?"
"Well," the kid says, "their eyes are open now."

---

As Governor, Bush got to ceremonially act as a state trooper for a day. While operating a speed trap, Bush pulled over a Texas farmer. He lectured the farmer about his speed and the necessity of obeying laws made by his superiors, and in general threw his weight around. Finally, he got around to writing the ticket, and as he was doing so he kept swatting at some flies that were buzzing around his head.
The farmer said, "Having some problems with circle flies there, are ya, sir?"
Bush stopped writing the ticket and said,"Well, yeah, if that's what they are--I never heard of circle flies."
So the farmer said, "Well, circle flies are common on farms. See, they're called circle flies because they're almost always found circling around the back end of horses."
Bush said,"Oh", and went back to writing the ticket. After a minute he stopped and slowly said, "Hey . . . Wait a minute, are you trying to call me a horse's ass?"
The farmer says,"Oh no, Governor, I have too much respect for you to even think of calling you a horse's ass."
Grinning broadly, Bush says, "Well, that's a good thing," and goes back to writing the ticket. After a long pause, the farmer says, "Hard to fool them flies, though."

---

PolitiFact's "Obameter"

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Well, I'm back (for now) from hiatus. I've just been too busy with school and all to really keep up with the blog, and I felt that if I wasn't going to be putting 100% into my posts that I should just give it a rest.

I've got a real find for you today. It's a website called PolitiFact, a project of the St. Petersburg Times to "help you find the truth in American politics". Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups and rate them on their self proclaimed "Truth-O-Meter".

The thing that caught my attention, however, was their "Obameter". They've recorder each and every promise that President Obama made on the campaign trail in 2008 and are actively labeling each promise as either Kept, Compromised, Broken, Stalled, or In The Works. The list below shows current standings as of September 28th, 2010.

• Promises Kept 122

• Compromised 39

• Promises Broken 22

• Stalled 82

• In the Works 238

Notice that you can click each label and view exactly what promises fall into that category. For an up-to-date overview of the promises, view the Obameter directly.

The most notable promises kept? Most likely that would have to be requiring children to have health insurance coverage; or perhaps the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Most notable promises broken? Well there weren't many, but ending income tax for seniors making less than $50,000 a year would have been a sight to see. Perhaps allowing imported prescription drugs?

I really think that if these figures were to be made more public, Democrats would have a much better chance of winning this November. It seems like people somehow forgot, or didn't notice, all the promises President Obama kept. 

Get this information public!

Happy Fathers Day!

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FATHER'S DAY, 2010, BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, A PROCLAMATION

From the first moments of life, the bond forged between a father and a child is sacred. Whether patching scraped knees or helping with homework, dads bring joy, instill values, and introduce wonders into the lives of their children. Father's Day is a special time to honor the men who raised us, and to thank them for their selfless dedication and love.

Fathers are our first teachers and coaches, mentors and role models. They push us to succeed, encourage us when we are struggling, and offer unconditional care and support. Children and adults alike look....

...up to them and learn from their example and perspective. The journey of fatherhood is both exhilarating and humbling -- it is an opportunity to model who we want our sons and daughters to become, and to build the foundation upon which they can achieve their dreams.

Fatherhood also carries enormous responsibilities. An active, committed father makes a lasting difference in the life of a child. When fathers are not present, their children and families cope with an absence government cannot fill. Across America, foster and adoptive fathers respond to this need, providing safe and loving homes for children facing hardships. Men are also making compassionate commitments outside the home by serving as mentors, tutors, or big brothers to young people in their community. Together, we can support the guiding presence of male role models in the lives of countless young people who stand to gain from it.

Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by a father and mother, a single father, two fathers, a step-father, a grandfather, or caring guardian. We owe a special debt of gratitude for those parents serving in the United States Armed Forces and their families, whose sacrifices protect the lives and liberties of all American children. For the character they build, the doors they open, and the love they provide over our lifetimes, all our fathers deserve our unending appreciation and admiration.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, in accordance with a joint resolution of the Congress approved April 24, 1972, as amended (36 U.S.C. 109), do hereby proclaim June 20, 2010, as Father's Day.

I direct the appropriate officials of the Government to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on this day, and I call upon all citizens to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. Let us honor our fathers, living and deceased, with all the love and gratitude they deserve.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

/s/ BARACK OBAMA

Shawn

Security Breach In AT&T Email Database

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AT&T has just apologized for a security breach the company found on it's website that leaked 114,000 email addresses of personal and corporate users. On June 9th, the email addresses of US Military members, as well as executives at media, financial, and technology companies and top political leaders such as New York Times Chief Executive Officer Janet Robinson and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg were all stolen by a group of hackers.

“No other information was exposed,” Dorothy Attwood, AT&T’s chief privacy officer said in an e-mail sent yesterday to accounts that may have been affected. “We apologize for the incident and any inconvenience it may have caused.”

“The hackers deliberately went to great efforts with a random program to extract” the information, Attwood said in the e-mail. “They then put together a list of these emails and distributed it for their own publicity.”

Goatse Security, a company hired by AT&T to find and close security gaps, said that the flaw was found in about an hour. In that time, all the damage had already been done. Perhaps more disturbing than just the fact that something like this could happen is that it could be done so fast!

AT&T fell 12 cents to $25.17 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have dropped 10 percent this year.

Shawn

Weekly Roundup 6/13/10

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I gotta catch up on some of the articles I've missed since the last roundup, as well as the new articles! Enjoy!

Censorship Paper (5/14/10)-I wrote a 5 page essay on the topic of censorship in government, citing events such as the Comstock Act, the Pentagon Papers, and other such notable topics. Click here to view this post

Pakistan Banning Social Networking Sites & BlackBerry (5/25/10)- I detail the reasons behind Pakistan's recent banning of Flickr, Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, and 500-1000 other websites, as well as BlackBerry service. Click here to view this post

Jon Stewart Reports: BP Oil Spill Update (6/10/10)- I included a video of Jon Stewart giving his view of the oil spill, it is quite funny and worth the 10 minutes the video costs you. Click here to view this post

Israel's Deadly Assault On Humanitarian Flotilla (6/10/10)- Democracy Now! released exclusive footage from on-board the ship that Israel attacked, and I include it in my post for you to watch. I also included a poll asking you whether you support Israel's actions. Click here to view this post

Congress To Vote On "Big Oil Bailout" Today (6/10/10)- Thank god Sen. Murkowski's bill didn't pass... I give some background info on the so called "big oil bailout" that congress was voting on. Click here to view this post

"Corrective Rape" To Cure Homosexuality (6/11/10)- I include the story of Millicent Gaika, a 30-year-old lesbian South African woman who was raped for 5 hours by a man trying to "make her straight". This is just one of over 520 stories that come out of South Africa every year. Click here to view this post

Big Google Is Watching You (Inadvertently) (6/11/10)- Google has accidentally harvested hundreds of gigabytes of user information from wireless networks over the past three years. Read on for the full story. Click here to view this post

Pres. Obama Demands BP Pays Up (6/13/10)- President Obama plans on meeting with BP executives this week to negotiate a escrow account that will be used to pay damages caused by the oil spill. Click here to view this post

Soccer FAIL! (6/13/10)- Just a funny (or not so funny( little thing someone happened to notice during the FIFA world cup... Click here to view this post

Revisiting The Fun Theory (6/13/10)- A while back we watched some videos from The Fun Theory. It seems they have released one final video before hitting the road. Click here to view this post

Shawn

Revisiting The Fun Theory

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Remember a while back we looked at a cool new website called The Fun Theory? Well, it seems that they have a new video out! It's called the Bottle Bank Arcade, and it's purpose is to make people recycle their bottles by making it fun!

Watch the video below and see this cool new game! Press the center of the screen to play the video.



Sadly, it seems as if their website (http://thefuntheory.com/) is no longer accessible, so it must have been shut down. It was very fun while it lasted, though!

Shawn

Soccer FAIL!

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Are you kidding me, how stupid can you be? You'd think someone would have noticed this...



Shawn

Pres. Obama Demands BP Pays Up

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President Obama is scheduled to meet with top BP executives this week to demand they set up an escrow account to help pay for damages to the Gulf caused by the oil spill. The account will be managed independently and will help to quickly pay compensation to businesses and workers such as fisherman, oil workers, hotels, restaurants, tour boats and other members of the dwindling tourist market down south. 

Governors from the states of Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama have claimed that their tourist season has already been badly damaged. Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi blamed sensational press coverage that has scared away potential tourists who believed, wrongly, that his states beaches had been fouled.

BP had originally stated that it would pay all "legitimate" claims arising from the oil spill. Some fear the company will declare bankruptcy or be taken over by another company in an effort to limit its liability.

On Saturday, Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke by phone and sought to ease any diplomatic tensions between the two over the handling of the oil spill. While Obama has been under pressure in the United States to take a strong stand against BP, Cameron has been under pressure in Britain to stand behind the oil giant, whose stock is crucial to British pension funds.

Shawn

Big Google Is Watching You (Inadvertently)

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Corny "Big Brother" reference, I know...

It seems that Google, the internet search giant, has gotten itself in a bit of a pickle. They have accidentally collected hundreds of gigabytes of citizens data across dozens of countries over the past three years, and are now being harassed for the information from multiple organizations.

Apparently, they accidentally harvested the information from WiFi networks that their Google Maps vehicles picked up. Google uses these vehicles to take panoramic pictures of streets and their surroundings, then provides them online for users to access on Google Maps' "Street View".

Google claims that it had been working on some early project, but ultimately gave it up. They accidentally left some of the code behind though, as it began picking up information such as personal emails, website history, locations of users, and other information. Google didn't realize this until Germany questioned what type of information the Google vehicles gathered.

The information is currently secured on an encrypted hard drive in the Portland, Oregon, federal courthouse. It is being demanded by France, Spain, and Germany; as well as multiple states in America.

I don't know what to believe at the moment. Google is a very legitimate company. Remember when they refused to hand out search records to the US government back in 2006, even after Microsoft and Yahoo readily handed their info over? Google's motto is "Don't Be Evil", for god's sake!

What do you think?




Shawn

"Corrective Rape" To Cure Homosexuality

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That headline caught your attention, huh?

I feel it extremely necessary for me to tell you the following story:

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Millicent Gaika is a 30-year-old South African woman. On a Friday night, she was walking home with some friends after a night out. As they approached their house, a man outside asked if anybody in the group had a smoke. Millicent did. She stayed outside with the man, someone she knew, and allowed her friends to walk on.

A few minutes later, the man locked Millicent in his apartment, beat her, and raped her, screaming at her during the ordeal.

"I know you are a lesbian. You are not a man, you think you are, but I am going to show you, you are a woman. I am going to make you pregnant. I am going to kill you," the man yelled, as he raped Millicent for five hours, trying to make Millicent straight.

If you think this story sounds horrific, multiply it by 520, as that's the average number of stories of "corrective rape" reported in South Africa each year, according to ActionAid. And that number doesn't account for the dozens, if not hundreds of other cases of "corrective rape" not reported.

In South Africa, there is an epidemic of rape geared toward LGBT people, particularly lesbians, in an effort to turn them straight. Yet, while countless organizations and reports have labeled "corrective rape" a nationwide problem, South African authorities have not yet done enough to hold perpetrators accountable, and curb corrective rape's rising tide. It's time to demand justice now.

How much longer can the government stay silent in the face of this epidemic? Demand that South African President Jacob Zuma, and his Minister of Justice, make this a priority. With a quarter of all women being raped by the time they can drive a car, and upwards of 10 women per week coming forward to say that they've been raped in an effort to "turn them straight," South Africa cannot delay any longer.

Millicent Gaika's story is heart-breaking. As is Eudy Simelane's, Anelisa Mfo's and the countless others who have been swept up in South Africa's culture of rape. The crimes committed against them are horrible. Let's make sure that their pain and suffering didn't happen in vain.

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Please, sign the Change.org petition to force this issue upon the government of South Africa. They currently have 1,369 signatures out of a necessary 1,500. Click Here to sign, I did.

Shawn

Congress To Vote On "Big Oil Bailout' Today

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Update: Sen. Murkowski's bill failed in the senate, 47 to 53. Six democrats crossed over: Mark Pryor, Evan Bayh, Ben Nelson, Jay Rockefeller, Blanche Lincoln, and Mary Landrieu. No Republicans voted against Murkowski.



So, there is some pretty interesting stuff going on in Washington today. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has brought a bill to the floor that would ban the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Say wha?!? If not the EPA, then whom?!? Well, according to Sen. Murkowski, that power should be reserved for congress.

"Such regulation will ultimately endanger job creation, economic growth and America's competitiveness," Murkowski said.

Apparently, if something has even the slightest chance of costing America any money whatsoever,  its a no go with congressional republicans. It doesn't matter if over 250 species will be extinct by the year 2050 (national geographic).

You might recall that Kerry and Lieberman had been working on a climate bill a bit back, they proposed it in May. Of course, it wasn't supported by people like Sen. Murkowski. Kerry actually brought up quite a good point:

"If you don't want the EPA to do it, then the Senate needs to provide some adult leadership to pass a comprehensive climate and energy bill instead of keeping our heads in the sand and then tying the hands of the EPA"

Shawn

Israel's Deadly Assault On Humanitarian Flotilla

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Democracy Now! has released exclusive footage from on-board the Mavi Marmara. It shows the true mood on the flotilla as it was brutally attacked by Israel. Most of the footage had been confiscated by Israel but some was smuggled out.

Watch the video below.
(You can view the video full screen by clicking the button on the bottom of the video, it looks like )



Although I have a pretty good idea about what the readers of this blog might think, I feel I should attach a poll asking whether you support Israel's actions. Israel has tried to claim that many of the individuals on the boats were terrorists, and that they had an obligation to protect themselves. What do you think?



Shawn

Jon Stewart Reports: BP Oil Spill Update

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The recent news out of the gulf has been anything but funny. Leave it to Jon Stewart to fix that! Now it's time for a satirical look at the horrid scenes down south...




How stupid are news anchors? I mean, picking up oil, wtf??? You simply must be kidding me...

Thanks again Jon!

Shawn

Pakistan Banning Social Networking Sites & BlackBerry

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If you don't yet know, I love my BlackBerry. And as such, I am subscribed to a BlackBerry fan website which gives daily updates and news regarding the entire smartphone world. Recently I read on this website that Pakistan has banned all BlackBerry devices until further notice, so being that I also love politics I looked further into it.

A quick Google News search told the story of Pakistan's apparent ban craze. They have recently banned somewhere from 500-1,000 websites including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr, and hundred of other social networking sites. The reason they used for these bans was centered around a so called "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day", something the users of Facebook thought up. According to infocera.com, citizens and students of Pakistan held protests against Facebook in response to this and the government, in turn, looked further into it.

Citizens continued to access the blocked sites using BlackBerry devices, so the PTA (Pakistan Telecom Authority) asked all telecommunication companies in the country to block BlackBerry services until further notice.

This idea has already seeped into other countries as well. According to Arab Times Online, the Ministry of Interior of Kuwait is planning on blocking BlackBerry Messenger Service (BBM) in the coming days. In short, BBM is an instant messaging service that allows people using BlackBerry Smartphones to instantly communicate and share media in real time.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. What do you think? Leave a comment below.

Shawn

Censorship Paper

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Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that English research paper I had to do? Well, I've finally finished it! If ya wanna take a look, just click here.

Make sure to comment and tell me if ya liked it!

Shawn

Weekly Roundup 05/03/10

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Some great stories this week! Here are the new ones:

Censorship...(05/03/10)- I highlight a very interesting site that posts the top 25 most censored/ignored articles of each year, going back to 1975. Click Here To View This Post

Change.org Weekly Update(04/27/10)-This weeks issue of the change.org newsletter.Click Here To View This Post

Fox News, Go Fu@k Yourselves (04/26/10)- Jon Stewart sticks it to Fox News. Thank God, someone had to do it.Click Here To View This Post

Amazing Baseball (04/26/10)- A very amazing video clip that shows some crazy baseball maneuvers... Click Here To View This Post

President Obama Announces Vote 2010(04/26/10)-I posted a video of President Obama speaking on the upcoming elections and their importance to keeping our super majority.Click Here To View This Post

Enjoy!

Shawn

Change.org 4/26-5/2

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In this weeks issue of change.org's newsletter, they discuss Race in America, Hawaiian Civil Unions, Craigslist's Sex Ads, Death By Texting, Ignoring Homeless Deaths, and Arizona's Police State.

It's a very good read, you can find out for yourself by clicking here. It'll open the newsletter up in a small popup window.

Rate this newsletter? Click the amount of stars you think it deserves!

Shawn

Censorship

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For a research paper in my 10th grade English class, I chose the topic "censorship". I've been doing some research and finding some interesting sites online, and I've stumbled across a nifty little site called Project Censored. According to the site...

we examine the coverage of news and information important to the maintenance of a healthy and functioning democracy. We define Modern Censorship as the subtle yet constant and sophisticated manipulation of reality in our mass media outlets. On a daily basis, censorship refers to the intentional non-inclusion of a news story – or piece of a news story – based on anything other than a desire to tell the truth. Such manipulation can take the form of political pressure (from government officials and powerful individuals), economic pressure (from advertisers and funders), and legal pressure (the threat of lawsuits from deep-pocket individuals, corporations, and institutions).

So they put a list together of the top 25 censored stories of each year, going back to 1975. They also provide updated news and real time stuff like that.

I encourage you to go check them out at http://www.projectcensored.org/!

Shawn

Change.org Weekly Update

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Here is the April 19-25 issue from change.org! In this issue they discuss tasering helpless animals, child prostitution, unemployed Iraq veterans and corrective rape for gays and lesbians.

Click Here to view this issue in a new window.

Shawn

Fox News, Go Fu@k Yourselves

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Ahh, Jon Stewart, what would we do without you?

Recently, Fox News slammed attempted to slam Jon Stewart by airing an interview with Bernie Goldberg, in which he tries to make Stewart look bad. Hmm... didn't quite work...

Jon ends up participating in a church choir signing to the blessed hymn of "Fox News, Go Fuck Yourselves"

Watch below:



Shawn

Amazing Baseball

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I really don't like baseball, but this is just amazing! Watch until about 0:25...



Shawn

President Obama Announces Vote 2010

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President Obama released a video last Friday speaking on the upcoming congressional elections. He discussed the need to bring back first time voters from 2008 and to emphasize the importance of this elections. Special interests are just as desperate to bring back their support as we are. As President Obama says in this video, this election is as important, if not more important, than the 2008 elections.

The video is only 2 1/2 minutes long, click the video below to begin playing.



Make sure to get your friends and family out to the polls this November!

Shawn

Hysterical...

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This joke is hysterical but not the most proper...

Jesse Helms and Newt Gingrich were shaking hands congratulating themselves on the introduction of an anti-gay bill in Congress. If it passes, they won't be able to shake hands, because it will then be illegal for a prick to touch an asshole. ~Judy Carter

Shawn

Food INC

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Just wanted to repost here what I read on the email list. Food INC, a well known and respected movie about the food industry, will be broadcast on Wednesday, April 21st at 9:00PM for Time Warner Cable viewers.

Shawn

Change.org

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A week or so ago, I signed up for Change.org's email list, and I have just received my first installment. It's pretty cool actually, they just give a few stories that are making headlines by topic. For instance, this week included articles about human trafficking, women's rights, gay rights, criminal justice, and animals. The main article was about health clinics giving false information out to women in order to lead them away from abortions.

Click Here to pop up the change.org newsletter in a new window.

Shawn

It Just Keeps Getting Worse

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----Via email from the ACLU----

It just keeps getting more shocking and hurtful.
We've told you about the ACLU lawsuit on behalf of Constance McMillen, the Mississippi student whose school canceled the prom rather than let her attend with her girlfriend. Last month, a federal judge in Mississippi ruled that the school violated Constance's First Amendment rights. However, the judge was satisfied by the school's promise that Constance would be welcome at a private prom, so he did not force the school to put its own prom back on.

What happened next is shocking.

Last Friday, Constance went to a private dance that was billed as the school prom. The event—attended by Constance, her date and five other students—was essentially a decoy event. According to news reports, virtually all of the other students went to a parent-sponsored prom to which Constance was not invited

So many people have contacted us because they are outraged by this situation and want to do something. I can tell you from my conversations with Constance that there's nothing she wants more than for these kinds of hurtful actions to end for students all across the country.

There's a way we can all help Constance with that goal— by demanding that Congress pass the Student Non-Discrimination Act.

The Student Non-Discrimination Act would be the first comprehensive federal prohibition against discrimination in public schools based on a student's sexual orientation or gender identity.

Discrimination and harassment are an unacceptable daily reality for too many LGBT students all across the country. If outrageous experiences like the one Constance McMillen has been through are going to end, we have to respond.

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,
James Esseks
Director, LGBT Project

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If you want to sign your support on the Student Non Discrimination Act, you can do so on the ACLU here

You can read more about the bill on opencongress.org by clicking here


Shawn

Did You Know?

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In my high school Money 101 class today, a representative from Berkley College came in and showed us an incredible video. It's called "Did You Know?", and it presents extremely startling facts that open your mind to what the world is really like nowadays.

Watch the video below by clicking the center of the screen, then leave your comments about what you think of these startling facts!



Scary, isn't it?

Shawn

This Is What Change Looks Like

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To thank YOU for helping pass healthcare reform, President Obama has uploaded a video to Youtube thanking everyone that rallied, protested, and passed around the information that helped pass healthcare reform. To all the people who called their senators, friends and family, and stood up to the republican chants of "No You Can't", here is a video for you:



Namaste!

Shawn

Weekly Roundup - 03/28/10

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As you may already know, I have been sending a weekly update to the OCPJ email list informing everyone of new articles that came out the previous week. I figure since I'm doing it on the email list I should do it on the blog just in case someone doesn't actually belong to the email list. So following that logic, here is the first installment of our weekly roundups:

I Will Never Live For The Sake Of Another Hippo Nor Ask Another Hippo To Live For Mine (03/28/10)- I really cannot understand how these people can say they don't want to help people with healthcare, yet turn around and do something similar themselves? Read on for more info.... Click Here To View This Post

Save Money, Switch Your Font (03/26/10)- Imagine saving $10,000 dollars just by switching the type of font you print with! Well that is exactly what this University did. Click Here To View This Post

GOP, The Party Of No You Can't (03/25/10)- A very touching video that really does sum up the entire partisan atmosphere surrounding the health reform bill and really everything in our political system at the moment. Please, watch this video! Click Here To View This Post

Pres. Obama Signs Historic Healthcare Reform Bill (03/23/10)- Well, health reform has finally passed! View this post and read President Obama's letter to everyone that helped make this happen. Click Here To View This Post

Well, that's it for this week. I hope you enjoyed reading some of these articles, see you next week!

Shawn