For any American readers, I would like to remind you that I am a Canadian.
Last night (July 19th, 2012) a terrible tragedy happened in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve (as of the time of this post) people have died, and fifty nine more injured after a lone gunman opened fire in a theater showing a midnight screening of Batman: Dark Knight Rises.
James Eagen Holmes entered the theater, clad in S.W.A.T.-style body armor, wearing a gas mask and released a canister of gas (I do not know what kind, but presume it is simply a smoke-screen type gas). He then opened fire.
He was captured by police with little incident.
So how does one become armed to the teeth, with body armor, smoke-screens and all that? Quite simply, bad laws.
The United States of America is a nation built on many principles, including their "Right to Bear Arms." Now, I do not deny people the right to own a firearm, but there needs to be better laws in place.
We need to prevent incidents like this, like the columbine massacre, like the Virginia Tech Massacre, or many others. Stricter gun laws are definitely a place to start. Now I am not saying that people can't own guns, but guns need to be less accessable to just anyone. Teacing responsible gun ownership is good, but the United States has too many incidents with firearms for things to keep going on as they are.
The US needs better laws surrounding the ownership of a gun, and more controls for people who own guns. These incidents need to be curbed, as each successive generation is becoming more and more desensitized to violence.
Friday 20 July 2012
Saturday 14 July 2012
But.... Olympics?
So, yeah, one of the craziest things I have read in a while (about a week). So evidently the London 2012 Olympics is running a censorship campaign relating to istelf. You see, it wants to stop all negative comments, derogatory terms, false claims, misleading comments, or otherwise objectable content from leading people to their website.
It's in their Terms of Use.
5. Linking policy
a. Links to the Site. You may create your own link to the Site, provided that your link is in a text-only format. You may not use any link to the Site as a method of creating an unauthorised association between an organisation, business, goods or services and London 2012, and agree that no such link shall portray us or any other official London 2012 organisations (or our or their activities, products or services) in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise objectionable manner. The use of our logo or any other Olympic or London 2012 Mark(s) as a link to the Site is not permitted. View our guidelines on Use of the Games' Marks.
Umm, yeah. Someone let them know that's NOT how free speech works. Under section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms we can say what we want about the Olympics, they can't really stop us.
So, can they stop us from linking to their site? No, they can't. You see, hyperlinking is like telling someone where to find a place. I am in person allowed to say "Hey Steve, don't go to The Company Over There at 1234 Main St. They are real douchetards!!!!!"
I can do the same on the internet. "Hey people of the internet, don't go to the London 2012 Olympic Site over here. They are real douchtards!!!!"
Wednesday 4 July 2012
Higgs Boson and God
Today, science did not take a step foreward, it leaped!
As the famous astronaut Neil Armstrong once said "One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind!" Of course, Neil was talking about the first man to set foot on the moon. The first man to walk on a terrestrial body that was not Earth. It truly was a giant leap for mankind.
But today, man just made an even larger leap. Today, we confirmed the existance of a new Boson particle. This particle acts and looks, and interacts just like the thoerized Higgs Boson Particle. While they stopped JUST short of confirming that it was the Higgs Boson, it is certain that it is.
So certain, that most have already accepted it as fact, and even those that haven't accepted it as fact, most realize that we just need to make sure, one last time.
So what's the big deal? Well, the Higgs Boson particle explains how the "Big Bang" actually formed the universe. It explains how planets, stars, nebulae, and other things are formed. It explains how the universe exists, and how it formed. It proves that it was the Higgs Boson that created the Earth and the heavens. It almost completely disproves the existance of a creator entity.
Yeah, that's right. Proof. Not that theists accept anything as crazy as 'proof', 'evidence' or 'facts', but still. This is why the particle was nicknamed the "God Particle", not that that name is appropriate.
Mankinds knowledge and understanding of the universe have taken a leap foreward so far, it outshines things like a Man on the Moon, or even the sequencing of DNA. A discovery almost as important as the discovery of Photons, or the Atom.
One of the greatest scientific discoveries of this generation.
As the famous astronaut Neil Armstrong once said "One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind!" Of course, Neil was talking about the first man to set foot on the moon. The first man to walk on a terrestrial body that was not Earth. It truly was a giant leap for mankind.
But today, man just made an even larger leap. Today, we confirmed the existance of a new Boson particle. This particle acts and looks, and interacts just like the thoerized Higgs Boson Particle. While they stopped JUST short of confirming that it was the Higgs Boson, it is certain that it is.
So certain, that most have already accepted it as fact, and even those that haven't accepted it as fact, most realize that we just need to make sure, one last time.
So what's the big deal? Well, the Higgs Boson particle explains how the "Big Bang" actually formed the universe. It explains how planets, stars, nebulae, and other things are formed. It explains how the universe exists, and how it formed. It proves that it was the Higgs Boson that created the Earth and the heavens. It almost completely disproves the existance of a creator entity.
Yeah, that's right. Proof. Not that theists accept anything as crazy as 'proof', 'evidence' or 'facts', but still. This is why the particle was nicknamed the "God Particle", not that that name is appropriate.
Mankinds knowledge and understanding of the universe have taken a leap foreward so far, it outshines things like a Man on the Moon, or even the sequencing of DNA. A discovery almost as important as the discovery of Photons, or the Atom.
One of the greatest scientific discoveries of this generation.
ACTA
Starting in 2007, ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, started to be negotiated in secret by the UK, US, Canada, European Union, and a handful of other countries.
After information on ACTA started to leak, and with the success of the SOPA/PIPA protests, the people of Europe took to the streets in protest. All five European Committees that were assigned to look at ACTA recommended not ratifying it.
As of July 4th, 2012, the Agreement was turned down by the European Union, effectively destroying any real credibility that the agreement had.
Micheal Geist has a great article on this.
Now, if only we can get the TPP stopped this way. Let our governments know that secretive backroom deals are not the way the public will accept things.
After information on ACTA started to leak, and with the success of the SOPA/PIPA protests, the people of Europe took to the streets in protest. All five European Committees that were assigned to look at ACTA recommended not ratifying it.
As of July 4th, 2012, the Agreement was turned down by the European Union, effectively destroying any real credibility that the agreement had.
Micheal Geist has a great article on this.
Now, if only we can get the TPP stopped this way. Let our governments know that secretive backroom deals are not the way the public will accept things.
Tuesday 3 July 2012
The Vanbuskirk's last stop
In May, I posted about Detective David VanBuskirk.
Since then, well, he was sentenced to jail, now has a criminal record, and has lost his job as a police officer. You would think that with all the media shakeup over this event, one that caused the Police Chief, Gary Smith, to resign, and caused the acting police chief Al Frederick and Police Board Chairman Mayor Eddie Francis to state that there needs to be a change in police culture.
What does that mean. Really? I mean, I work at a place that employs 350 others. If one of them does wrong, and tries to weasel their way out of it, I don't think my workplace needs a "Change of Culture." So does the police?
Well, if it were one or two isolated incidents, I would say no, there does not need to be a change. But there are more than just one or two incidents.
So why does the culture need to be changed. Its not that there are a few bad apples in the bunch, and this is a case of that. But the fact that the bad apples have set procedures that allow them to be bad apples without repercussions. This, by default, tells officers that if you have a bad day, or make a mistake, that it's ok, and you'll be protected no matter what.
THAT is the culture that needs to change. That is what we need to focus on. The police are there to serve the public, no the other way around. They need to be held accountable for their actions. But in all of this, we have to remember this. They cannot just be held accountable for their negative actions, but their positive ones too.
If an officer does the right thing, saves a life, stops a criminal, diffuses a situation. Especially when he or she does so without resorting to violence, they need to be recognized and commended. When they do fail and make mistakes or poor judgement, they need to be held accountable, but even then, we have to remember that these are the people who have to make hard decisions in the most stressfull circumstances we have. They should be givin the benefit of the doubt.
If it is found that they abused their authority, as in the VanBuskirk case, however, an example needs to be set. To let the police know that they are not above the law.
No one is.
Since then, well, he was sentenced to jail, now has a criminal record, and has lost his job as a police officer. You would think that with all the media shakeup over this event, one that caused the Police Chief, Gary Smith, to resign, and caused the acting police chief Al Frederick and Police Board Chairman Mayor Eddie Francis to state that there needs to be a change in police culture.
What does that mean. Really? I mean, I work at a place that employs 350 others. If one of them does wrong, and tries to weasel their way out of it, I don't think my workplace needs a "Change of Culture." So does the police?
Well, if it were one or two isolated incidents, I would say no, there does not need to be a change. But there are more than just one or two incidents.
So why does the culture need to be changed. Its not that there are a few bad apples in the bunch, and this is a case of that. But the fact that the bad apples have set procedures that allow them to be bad apples without repercussions. This, by default, tells officers that if you have a bad day, or make a mistake, that it's ok, and you'll be protected no matter what.
THAT is the culture that needs to change. That is what we need to focus on. The police are there to serve the public, no the other way around. They need to be held accountable for their actions. But in all of this, we have to remember this. They cannot just be held accountable for their negative actions, but their positive ones too.
If an officer does the right thing, saves a life, stops a criminal, diffuses a situation. Especially when he or she does so without resorting to violence, they need to be recognized and commended. When they do fail and make mistakes or poor judgement, they need to be held accountable, but even then, we have to remember that these are the people who have to make hard decisions in the most stressfull circumstances we have. They should be givin the benefit of the doubt.
If it is found that they abused their authority, as in the VanBuskirk case, however, an example needs to be set. To let the police know that they are not above the law.
No one is.
When is enough enough?
Evidently, enough is now finally enough.
For those who don't know what I am talking about, I am referring to the saga that is Charles Carreon and Matt Inman.
It all started about a year ago, when Matt Inman, owner of The Oatmeal discovered several of his comics were posted on the site Funnyjunk without his permission. He wrote a nasty blog post basically accusing them of being thieves.
Things went back and forth a bit, but then things settled down.
A year later, a lawyer, Charles Carreon, representing Funnyjunk sent The Oatmeal a, well, letter. Note that Inman has his own rebuttals in that letter.
Well, Inman did what he said he was going to do. He started his Bearlove campaign on Indiegogo.com, and quickly raised over 200,000 dollars to be donated to the World Wildlife Foundation and the American Cancer society.
But, no, Charles Carreon would not let that be. Instead, he went on a rampage, started litigation against Matt Inman and The Oatmeal. But it wasn't only that, also included in the lawsuit are Indiegogo.com, The World Wildlife Foundation, the American Cancer Society and Does (as yet unnamed defendants). Mr. Carreon, and his wife, continued to communicate with the public, which went to the defense on Inman.
Carreon and his wife basically accused the people defending Inman of being "Nazi Scumbags" and equated Inman to Hitler and the Antichrist.
Of course, they aren't completely in the wrong. Many of the things people did against Charles and his wife were wrong and terrible, and even Inman told his readers to stop harrassing them.
As tensions rose, and the popularity of the case grew, Carreon seemed to ignore common sense and continued, threatening to sue everyone who supported Inman. Charles Carreon's insistance on continuing, even after he had literally dug himself into a hole so deep his reputation may never climb out of it, has caused Techdirt's Mike Masnick to coin the term the "Carreon Effect". Which is when someone who has dug themselves into a hole (ie the "Streisand Effect"), to continuously keep digging themselves deeper and deeper.
Finally though, it appears that Charles Carreon saw the writing on the wall, and has dismissed the lawsuit, though he does have the option to re-file. Considering his past actions, it would not surprise me if he re-filed the suit. Still, for now it seems the hubbub has died down.
For those who don't know what I am talking about, I am referring to the saga that is Charles Carreon and Matt Inman.
It all started about a year ago, when Matt Inman, owner of The Oatmeal discovered several of his comics were posted on the site Funnyjunk without his permission. He wrote a nasty blog post basically accusing them of being thieves.
Things went back and forth a bit, but then things settled down.
A year later, a lawyer, Charles Carreon, representing Funnyjunk sent The Oatmeal a, well, letter. Note that Inman has his own rebuttals in that letter.
Well, Inman did what he said he was going to do. He started his Bearlove campaign on Indiegogo.com, and quickly raised over 200,000 dollars to be donated to the World Wildlife Foundation and the American Cancer society.
But, no, Charles Carreon would not let that be. Instead, he went on a rampage, started litigation against Matt Inman and The Oatmeal. But it wasn't only that, also included in the lawsuit are Indiegogo.com, The World Wildlife Foundation, the American Cancer Society and Does (as yet unnamed defendants). Mr. Carreon, and his wife, continued to communicate with the public, which went to the defense on Inman.
Carreon and his wife basically accused the people defending Inman of being "Nazi Scumbags" and equated Inman to Hitler and the Antichrist.
Of course, they aren't completely in the wrong. Many of the things people did against Charles and his wife were wrong and terrible, and even Inman told his readers to stop harrassing them.
"Stop harassing Carreon. Be lawful and civil in your interactions with him."Of course, the Carreons would have none of that, and included cyberbullying and cybervandalism to the charges against Inman.
As tensions rose, and the popularity of the case grew, Carreon seemed to ignore common sense and continued, threatening to sue everyone who supported Inman. Charles Carreon's insistance on continuing, even after he had literally dug himself into a hole so deep his reputation may never climb out of it, has caused Techdirt's Mike Masnick to coin the term the "Carreon Effect". Which is when someone who has dug themselves into a hole (ie the "Streisand Effect"), to continuously keep digging themselves deeper and deeper.
Finally though, it appears that Charles Carreon saw the writing on the wall, and has dismissed the lawsuit, though he does have the option to re-file. Considering his past actions, it would not surprise me if he re-filed the suit. Still, for now it seems the hubbub has died down.
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