Things in the news

Taliesin · Nov 20, 2013

snowy said: ↑

I couldn't find an actual news source for that.
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Speed_Gibson said: ↑

C

Would not surprise me if that was a wee bit questionable. It caught my eye in any event from a Facebook feed (totally reliable source I know).
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Haha. I think I just started a new round of rumors. I shared the link this morning on fb after I read it, three of my friends so far have shared it since...
I don't think I'm going to tell them the truth now.

Baraka_Guru · Nov 20, 2013

Just in case you thought shitty politicians are limited to municipal governments in Canada, consider this: Wright, Duffy accused of bribery, fraud in new RCMP documents - Politics - CBC News

Taliesin · Nov 20, 2013

An update on the stories I posted yesterday about Australia spying on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonos phones.

Indonesia officially downgrades its relationship with Australia
Indonesia has officially downgraded its relationship with Australia, according to a number of media reports.Jakarta-based paper Media Indonesia reported that the foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, said on Tuesday that bilateral relations had been officially downgraded."We will continue to downgrade our relationship with Australia," Natalagewa said. “Downgrading includes reviewing all bilateral co-operation between the two countries – not only information and intelligence exchange. It's no longer business as usual.
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Indonesia officially downgrades its relationship with Australia | World news | theguardian.com

And some related stories...

Indonesia halts all military co-operation | smh.com.au

No Cookies | thetelegraph.com.au - The cookieless story is about Indonesia stopping their cooperation with our newest people smuggling policies

Live cattle exporters concerned about spying scandal - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

curiousbear · Nov 21, 2013

It is very scary considering how wide spread the military's deployment and role is

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/us/reports-of-military-sexual-assault-rise-sharply.html?bih=272&ei=dLWNUsYMiZyJAoiGgaAK&q=26000%20sexual%20assaults%20military&oq=26000%20sexual%20&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.1.1.0l2.13717.25918.0.29288.14.13.0.1.1.0.275.2218.1j9j3.13.0....0...1c.1.32.mobile-gws-serp..5.9.1622.Q0BWfk2-1lI

Taliesin · Nov 21, 2013

Queensland blokes terrified by snake on ute

NineNews said:

A Queensland man has filmed the frightening moment a highly venomous snake climbed onto the bonnet of his ute and tried to find its way inside.Ben Lehmann posted two videos on YouTube showing him and his friend pulling over on a road in Capalaba West in southeast Brisbane after noticing a red-bellied black snake sitting between the bonnet and the windscreen.The pair nervously ponder how to get the dangerous reptile off their ute.
"Do we hit the wipers? I don't want to hurt him," Mr Lehmann says.
"There's a f---ing snake on my windscreen."
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I can't work out how to share the video. It's pretty funny. They scream & swear a bit, but the news site has beeped it out. The originals on youtube aren't as good. Longer and unedited.

Spiritsoar · Nov 21, 2013

curiousbear said: ↑

It is very scary considering how wide spread the military's deployment and role is

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/us/reports-of-military-sexual-assault-rise-sharply.html?bih=272&ei=dLWNUsYMiZyJAoiGgaAK&q=26000 sexual assaults military&oq=26000 sexual &gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.1.1.0l2.13717.25918.0.29288.14.13.0.1.1.0.275.2218.1j9j3.13.0....0...1c.1.32.mobile-gws-serp..5.9.1622.Q0BWfk2-1lI
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As a part of this system, this is actually a good thing. It seems odd, but we expected reports to rise because we've been making a concentrated effort to address the problem. More reports mean that more people feel able to come forward, and that trust in the system is increasing. It'll be a long process, but once more cases are revealed, proper care can be rendered, and the offenders found and punished. It looks bad in the short term, but it's good for the long term health of the organization.

Borla · Nov 23, 2013

Football team rallies around 6-year-old suit-wearing water coach | The Sideshow - Yahoo News

It's awesome when kids do stuff like this of their own volition to support victims of bullying.

snowy · Nov 23, 2013

Borla said: ↑

Football team rallies around 6-year-old suit-wearing water coach | The Sideshow - Yahoo News

It's awesome when kids do stuff like this of their own volition to support victims of bullying.
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What a great story.

redux · Nov 23, 2013

Spiritsoar said: ↑

As a part of this system, this is actually a good thing. It seems odd, but we expected reports to rise because we've been making a concentrated effort to address the problem. More reports mean that more people feel able to come forward, and that trust in the system is increasing. It'll be a long process, but once more cases are revealed, proper care can be rendered, and the offenders found and punished. It looks bad in the short term, but it's good for the long term health of the organization.
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Two Senate Democrats have competing bill to address the issue of the growing number of military assaults and how they are reported and adjudicated and Republicans are blocking both.

Senate Republicans objected on Wednesday to holding votes on proposals designed to crack down on sexual assaults in the military.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) have drawn up competing amendments to a broad defense spending bill that change how the military handles assault cases. But the Republican senators’ objections have cast uncertainty over when they will be brought up.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) attempted to hold votes on Wednesday evening, but Oklahoma GOP Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn objected. The two senators want assurances from Reid that the Senate will hold votes on other amendments to the defense bill.

Reid declined to guarantee the votes desired by Coburn and Inhofe, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Reid noted there are over 350 amendments to the bill.

In an interview with Jorge Ramos on Wednesday, Gillibrand said that she believed the Senate could reach the 60 votes needed to overcome a potential Republican filibuster and bring the bill to a vote on the Senate floor.

“We are very close to 60 right now,” she said. “In fact, one of my colleagues just announced his support a few minutes ago….we have a growing body of support and I hope we get to 60 today.”

Gillibrand disputed the idea that the military’s existing policies for sexual assault are sufficient enough to deal with the problem.

“The military has said they have zero tolerance for sexual assault for 25 years -- since Dick Cheney was the secretary of defense, they have said zero tolerance,” she said. “But what we truly have is zero accountability, and it’s obvious in the numbers.”

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) expressed frustration over the GOP objections.

“I can’t tell everybody in this body how disappointing it would be if we did not finish this bill tomorrow night or Friday,” Levin said. “If we don’t finish his bill this week, there cannot be a conference report and then for the first time in 52 years there will not be a defense authorization bill.”

GOP Senators Block Vote on Military Sexual Assault Amendments -- Fusion.
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Borla · Nov 26, 2013

Dog Found Alive In Rubble More Than 1 Week After Washington Tornado « CBS Chicago

Charlatan · Nov 28, 2013

http://sportsmasher.com/2013/11/27/python-eats-passed-out-drunk-guy-in-india/

Moral of the story... don't get drunk in India.

Taliesin · Nov 28, 2013

Man distracted by phone almost steps on snake

9news said:

Pedestrians with their heads buried in mobile phones are increasingly being warned against walking carelessly through traffic – but an Australian man texting as he crossed the road has encountered one obstacle he could not have predicted.In a near-venomous experience near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, a man using a mobile phone was forced to dance frantically out of danger when he almost accidentally stood on a snake as he crossed the road.The frantic encounter from earlier this month was caught by a security camera and the video posted online this week shows the startled serpent lashing at the man, who tries to get away.
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The video is here;
Man distracted by phone almost steps on snake

redux · Nov 28, 2013

A Game Plan for Holiday Conversations about Government - Public Works

Turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce are, unfortunately, often served during Thanksgiving dinner with a heaping side dish of heated, unpleasant conversation about government and politics. This Thursday, families and friends across America will go to great expense of time and money to gather together geographically and gastronomically—only to then be swiftly driven apart by divisive dialogue.

So to help turn these conversations into opportunities to improve public understanding of the role of government (and to prevent our readers’ families from being unduly damaged by disagreements), here are some tips for making holiday conversations about government more civil and perhaps even productive.
We drew upon another cherished American Thanksgiving tradition – football – to organize this Public Works’ game plan for Thursday.

Tips for Holiday Conversation About Government

Offensive and Defensive Lines – Your big, strong values. A football team is only as good as its offensive and defensive lines, and the best ones are made up of values. Values are deeply held beliefs such as security, opportunity, freedom, etc. (They are not statistics, policy proposals or program names.) If your tablemates want to throw out loaded terms like “socialism” or “gun rights” or “waste, fraud, and abuse,” your best bet for getting the conversation back on track is to pivot to core American values by saying something like, “That term is pretty vague, but I think we can all agree that a family shouldn’t have to go bankrupt to provide care for a sick child. Let’s find the most effective ways to do that.”

The Quarterback – It’s all about delivery. As the deliverer of the message, be mindful of your tone. Sure it might be fun to throw out a few zingers to poke holes in their secondary arguments, but communications research shows this won’t improve their understanding, much less persuade them to support your ideas. In addition to maintaining a practical tone, you might also consider “working your short game.” There’s some interesting new research that suggests people often reject strong arguments because acquiescing to them would make them question themselves and their beliefs and choices at a level that they aren’t emotionally prepared to handle. So lead with arguments that have merit but where positions are less staked out in the public mind, with the hope of generating responses like, “I hadn’t thought of it that way” or “I hadn’t heard that argument before.”

more tips
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Baraka_Guru · Nov 28, 2013

This is the problem with righteous indignation. Sometimes you're just an asshole, but other times you're a stupid, ignorant, hurtful asshole.

Video: Maritime woman receives nasty note for parking in disabled parking spot - The Globe and Mail

Taliesin · Nov 28, 2013

Albany businessman Brian Vincent Attwell found guilty of attempting to hire hitman to murder estranged daughter-in-law

A prominent Albany businessman has been found guilty of attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged daughter-in-law.Brian Vincent Attwell was on trial in the Supreme Court in Albany, accused of paying $10,000 to an undercover police officer, posing as a hitman, to kill Michelle Patreena Attwell.During the trial, prosecutor James McTaggart told the court Attwell was motivated by "sheer hatred" for the woman and told the "hit man" he wanted her strangled and then buried in a hole.
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Albany businessman Brian Vincent Attwell found guilty of attempting to hire hitman to murder estranged daughter-in-law Michelle Patreena Attwell - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Tully Mars · Nov 29, 2013

Taliesin said: ↑

Haha. I think I just started a new round of rumors. I shared the link this morning on fb after I read it, three of my friends so far have shared it since...
I don't think I'm going to tell them the truth now.
Click to expand...

I think it would be rather funny if it were true. That said Lindy got a point too.

Too many lawsuits in the US in my opinion. I know Jack shit about the Samsung/Apple suit so perhaps it's not worth less. However so many are anymore it seems.

Of course the flip side of that is what living in Mexico is like where people and businesses do crazy shit because there's no recourse for any damage/harm they cause.

Spiritsoar · Nov 29, 2013

Apple Complains About Court's E-Book Antitrust Monitor, Fees - Peter Kafka - News - AllThingsD

As part of its punishment for the e-book antitrust trial it lost this summer, Apple is supposed to be footing the bill for a court-appointed “compliance monitor.”
Apple is not happy about this. At all.
While it appeals the court’s ruling in the trial, Apple is now contesting the way that its monitor, former federal prosecutor Michael Bromwich, is going about his business.
Among Apple’s complaints, filed in federal court this week:

Bromwich is doing too much, by doing things like demanding interviews with Apple CEO Tim Cook, board member Al Gore, and Jony Ive (“whose sole and exclusive responsibility at Apple is to perfect elegant product designs,” according to an Apple attorney).

Bromwich is charging too much — more than $1,100 an hour. Apple says this is “higher than Apple has ever encountered for any task.” Bromwich’s bill for his five-person team’s first two weeks of work: $138,432.40.

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Even for top lawyers, $1,100/hour is absurd. It's sort of amusing that they're trying to fix 'price fixing' with a lawyer who is obviously taking advantage of the fact that Apple has to pay him what he demands by order of the court.

curiousbear · Nov 30, 2013

...... Actually products with negative reviews sell more than the products with no reviews. (Heard in NPR FM today)

Borla · Nov 30, 2013

Paul Walker, star of all those Fast and Furious movies, is reportedly dead in a high speed car crash.

Paul Walker, ‘Fast & Furious’ Star, Dead in Car Crash at 40 | Yahoo Movies - Yahoo Movies

Taliesin · Dec 1, 2013

] Council bans deep sighs

NEGATIVE body language is to be banned at Melville city council under a new, more restrictive code of conduct for elected members.Examples of outlawed behaviour include shrugging of shoulders, rolling of eyes and letting out a “deep sigh”.Breaches of the code carry financial penalties.Elected members also won’t be allowed to “attack a suggestion” by saying “that won’t work” nor make comments that could be deemed “sarcastic” or “snide”.Asking too many questions is also to be banned. Examples of behaviour that would “contravene the principles of the code of conduct” include:• using a tone which is either sarcastic or aggressive;• using or making derogatory names or remarks or obscene language;• using veiled threats or innuendos or snide remarks;• raising your voice;• engaging in negative body language which others find offensive, which may include but is not limited to shrugging of shoulders, rolling of eyes, deep sigh, finger pointing, turning our back on someone, standing over, throwing of documents, slamming of fists or slamming of the door;• interruptive or asking excessive/inappropriate questions;• personal attacks;• attacking a suggestion by saying things such as “that’s a dumb idea” or “that won’t work”.• and, “taking things personally or finding offense to comments”.Approved behaviour includes, “making eye contact to the person you are talking to” and “raise your hand” before speaking...
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Council bans deep sighs | Fremantle Herald Interactive

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