News – Damn Capitalism

General

If businesses get into Podcasting and contaminate the free medium with profits, there goes another grand means of distributing information. Capitalism taints many forms of media. I continually get pissed when one of those annoying ads pops up to mask a site I’m looking at, forcing me to look for the close button or simply wait for the damn thing to get out of my face. And I see TV commercials before watching a movie that I just paid to go see. If I want to see commercials, I’ll watch broadcast TV. It’s one of the reasons I’ve started to get into DVDs and go to the movies less(including the steadily rising price of tickets). But even that is being tainted with some discs forcing a series of trailers before you get to the menu for playing the movie itself, without the option of skipping them. I’ll tell you, folks, I’m starting to get sick and tired of being surrounded by advertising and it’s one of the reasons I have a serious bias against raw capitalism. If people could, they’d charge you for the air you breath and the light you see by, trust me.

Don’t mistake me, I know capitalism has its advantages, but it would be nice to do without so many of the negatives. At least give me a solid means to opt out of these advertisements online. Don’t bombard me with ads when I’m already forking out cash to see something.

Painting the red planet green, the Red Queen would be proud. Though not all are hot on the idea of getting Earth plants to grow on Mars.

Apple might launch a branded iPhone(I had to skip through a welcome screen and a freaking advertisement to get to this page). I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

How Apple, Microsoft and Sony cash in on piracy prevention. It is a serious issue. I’ve only rarely bought from Apple’s Music Store, in part because I retain few rights to what I do buy from them. Of course, I have means to get around their digital protection schemes. I can copy music into unprotected files if I felt like it, since I have a cheap means to route audio from a player, into my computer, to be recorded with a freeware sound recorder(and all it cost was $5 for a simple cable). Of course, if I wanted, I’d prefer to not have to take such measures to do as I will with the music I pay for.

Today’s Papers has government investigators suggesting that top FDA officials went against agency scientists to reject the application for over-the-counter sales of the “morning-after” pill, two former Iraqi detainees who say they faced beatings, mock executions, and were put in a cage with lions(lions?), more tidbits on Alito and other such things in the one page news.

Middle East

Sharon’s son pleads guilty to some of the counts against him in a campaign funding scandal.

Rice gets personally into negotiations between Palestine and Israel and gets an agreement to open up the Gaza-Egypt border. Good. About damn time someone started to get things moving personally. Now she better keep her nose to the grindstone there and keep things moving. There’s a lot more to deal with, that won’t get done without someone to mediate between the two. The border will be open November 25th according to the agreement with third party security observers and Palestinians will be allowed to travel in bus convoys on December 15th. It’s a start, though hopefully it will be refined in the future to allow more freedom.

The US has detained upwards of 35,000 Iraqis and only a slim fraction of those have ever been charged. Sort of lends to the opinion that the US simply grabs up people in wide sweeps rather than actually arresting those who are guilty. Makes those who say all detainees are ‘the bad guys’ look foolish since.. obviously they aren’t all that.

Evidence comes out that The US used chemical weapons in Iraq, White phosphorus and napalm. Of course, it was only admitted before that WP had been used sparingly for illumination purposes only and that napalm had not been used at all.

Asia

Vietnam steps up the slaughter of poultry as it seeks to stop the spread of bird flu. The writing is and has ever been on the wall. When it comes to disease, it is a matter of when, not if. I surely hope Bird Flu turns out to be like SARS and Y2K, but it won’t hurt today or tomorrow to do what we can to prepare from a resource and policy standpoint.

It amuses me when people dismiss such concerns with noting no one here has gotten it yet. Reminds me when they would sneer at people who dismiss the ‘fight them over there before they come over here’ argument. Preparation is a good thing, regardless of if it involves terrorism, disease or natural disaster.

North America

Bush’s new message: I was wrong, but so were you.

The status of detainees held by the US continues to fluctuate, effectively keeping them from having any rights other than to be held indefinitely at the whim of the president.

The Senate approves of more cash for the US Army Corps of Engineers to work on levies and expand nuclear weapons programs.

The US gets faulted for not doing enough to keep nuclear stuff out of terrorist hands. There’s still a lot they can get their hands on, nto including the poorly secured nuclear reactors on some campuses.

A New Orleans releases two people arrested before Hurricane Katrina but never charged and threatens to release 21 others unless the state’s criminal justice system gets it’s ass in gear again.

Amusements

Australia looking for new phrase to describe kangaroo meat in way that will make people want to eat it. ‘Jumping steak’ and ‘Roo ribs’ not in running

NBC tells Martha Stewart she doesn’t fit in, cancels her version of the Apprentice

Irish nursing home finds that by installing a pub inside, relatives come to visit more often

Does your college president make over $1 million a year? Check the list and sputter in disgust

Best show in town is this Texas courtroom, where spring break party animals explain to judge why they’re there. “My primary rule is if I have to sit up there all day, by God, they have an obligation to entertain me,” judge says

Witness who filmed cops beat down suspect gets handwritten offer from cops of $1000 to give up camera and video

Rugby fan waxes nostalgic as he recounts time he snipped his testicles off with blunt wire cutters because his team won. Suddenly, painting your face seems tame by comparison(Mega wince)

Your tax dollars at work: Rep. Cynthia McKinney introduces the “Tupac Amaru Shakur Records Collection Act of 2005”

Kelly Osbourne’s birthday bash ends when a pillow fight started by Paris Hilton’s boyfriend causes $100,000 damage to the hotel

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this bird of prey

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this excavation

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Theme: Photoshop human characters that exist only in TV commercials and treat them to the world outside