Posts Tagged ‘Lazy blogging’
Busy World And Blogs.
I am a bit preoccupied at the moment, so blogging has been slow, but events around the world and in the blogosphere keep moving, so here’s a small compilation:
China’s PM received the red carpet treatment in Britain whilst craftily releasing some dissidents in time for the visit. Business as usual.
Syria in the news, more killed this week and the last.
The Guardian has good coverage of human rights in the Middle East at the moment, Egypt, Syria and Middle East unrest – 30 June.
The BBC succumb to its own internal prejudices when its outlet, BBC News published a false story on 17 June 2011:
“Jerusalem rabbis ‘condemn dog to death by stoning
A Jewish rabbinical court condemned to death by stoning a stray dog it feared was the reincarnation of a lawyer who insulted its judges, reports say.
The dog entered the Jerusalem financial court several weeks ago and would not leave, reports Israeli website Ynet.
It reminded a judge of a curse passed on a now deceased secular lawyer about 20 years ago, when judges bid his spirit to enter the body of a dog.
The animal is said to have escaped before the sentence was carried out.
One of the judges at the court in the city’s ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood had reportedly asked local children to carry out the sentence.”
It is still on the web, even Stephen Dawkins picked it up. The BBC released a pitiful apology, which is rather hard to find.
The Beeb’s basic standards in journalism gave way to prejudice. BBC News wanted to believe the very worst of Israelis in general and Rabbis in particular, so published the story. Had they any integrity on this issue they would admit it.
The Holocaust denying, Bishop Richard Williamson is still at it, Jhate has more.
Jameson Timba was freed in Zimbabwe.
Conrad Black. I can’t understand why he was released in the first place. Anyone else would have had to wait in their cell for a very long time whilst such matters were decided.
Footballers defect.
Another victory for “anti-imperialism”, as the Taliban attack a hospital, killing civilians.
Inside of a Mayan tomb.
Funny goings on at Crooked Timber.
Bryon Wider’s story.
Baroness Tonge’s at it again.
In the “you don’t say” category, Gaddafi regime ‘not attending London Olympics. Maybe he’ll have a date in the Hague instead?
Site Of The Month: I’m Not Racist, But.
How often do you hear the expression “I’m not racist, but….” and you know what comes next, either a choice piece of bigotry or plain old fashion ignorance, that’s what happens.
The site, Not racist, but, bring all of those imbecilic, mindless and intended lumps of stupidity together.
Enjoy, or at least think about the issues.
Assorted Middle East.
Saudi troops in Bahrain were probably trained by the British or so the Torygraph says.
IAEA worried about Iran’s enrichment programme and the past goings-on in Syria.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s activities have focused the limelight on politicians and with reason.
Are their strains within the Hamas leadership? Reuters seems to think so.
Ahmadinejad going shortly? Not before time.
Insider trading? Members of Congress, strangely do very well in their dealings.
Netanyahu, a diplomatic failure? He’s very popular, all of 37% !
Saudi’s rulers try to stop revolutions in the Middle East.
May and Technological Bits.
I have neglected technological innovations for far too long, Linux Journal explains how to put that operating system on a fingernail or SD card.
Tiny Core has reached V3.6, give it a go. It’s not obvious and you do have to read the manual, but it will rejuvenate even the oldest machine, remember RTFM.
All of this wonderful hardware comes at a price:
“When the allegations were put to Foxconn by the Observer, manager Louis Woo confirmed that workers sometimes worked more than the statutory overtime limit to meet demand from western consumers, but claimed that all the extra hours were voluntary. Workers claim that, if they turn down excessive demands for overtime, they will be forced to rely on their basic wage: workers in Chengdu are paid only 1,350 yuan (£125) a month for a basic 48-hour week, equivalent to about 65p an hour.“
The Wine development version has reached 1.3.19, go for it, install Linux, then Wine and forget M$ crap.
Oh, there is a new version of Ubuntu, 11.04 and here’s what you might do after installing it.
Don’t try this at home, How to install Burg boot loader in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal. Might be worth a try instead of the awful Grub2.
Big companies and their power, Tethering apps ‘blocked’ in Android Market.
Some reviewers really like it, Xubuntu 11.04: Solid, Sleek, and Speedy.
This tutorial explains how to get out of Microsoft’s grasp, How to install Photoshop in Ubuntu and LinuxMint.
Not a bad idea, Firefox Sync.
Malware to watch out for, protect your phone too!
The idea of a USB sized computer is superb, it could seriously undercut expensive, useless hardware, but will meet resistance I am sure:
“David Braben, an UK game developer has created a tiny computer which is about the same size as an USB stick, should cost about $25 and it will ship with Ubuntu by default.
The USB computer is going to be used in teaching computer programming to children and will be distributed by a new charitable foundation called “Raspberry Pi Foundation” within the next 12 months. “
I am fond of Mint and so are others, Linux Mint 11 (Katya) Preview and Testing Version Released!
For those with a slightly less than technogical view of the world, the social implications of all of this, How Social Media Creates a Rough Draft of History.
Feeling musical? Use Linux.
Finally, always have Parted Magic 6.1 ready.
A Changing World Round Up.
What really has been going on in the world? I am not too sure, so am going to inflict on my readers yet another round up.
The Middle East dominates most of the news as far as I can see, but Western compliance, or should that be collusion, with the dictatorship in Bahrain deserves more coverage.
In Yemen, Saleh and his security forces continue to murder left, right and centre.
The Syrian regime follows suit, many murdered for opposing the Assad dictatorship.
Nukes get more subsidies, according to Left Foot Forward.
Thatcher would have dreams of these cuts, again LFF.
The CST, Spectator Alert: Ill-Mannered Jews Spotted in Savoy Grill.
Jon Stewart on Glenn Beck.
The Washington Post on the rise and fall of Egypt’s most despised billionaire, Ahmed Ezz.
Obliged to Offend considers the British Monarchy.
The well known racist, Helen Thomas, was interviewed at Playboy, Yourish has more.
Adam Holland on how some “anti-Zionists” are ‘delighted to announce that Helen Thomas …will be joining us’ at their conference, then thought better of it, fancy that, an old antisemite in the company of “anti-Zionists”!
The PCS think that Royal cleaners should get a living wage, couldn’t agree more.
A lot of real weirdos in the US hold a Adolf Hitler Birthday Party, then a smoke bomb goes off.
Norm on Jewish children and rockets.
EDL thugs in Halifax.
Prominent Israelis back Palestinian statehood drive, good thing too, I hope there is a Palestinian state shortly.
Bahrain’s Crackdown on University staff.
British journalists are not the only dead in Misrata.
The Beeb on Oman and Qatar.
There is another super injunction out, something about who screwed who, etc, Jon Slattery looks into it.
LabourStart’s campaign to help trade unionists in Bahrain.
Paul Rogers at OpenDemocracy, Libya: the view from the bunker.
Got an Ipad or Iphone? Then it is probably tracking your movements. Wow, not even I thought that Apple would commit that type of PR disaster.
A new book by a former Sarah Palin aide is coming out shortly, should be a laugh. At times, Palin make GW Bush seem like an intellectual.
Fancy eating with Nick Clegg? It will cost you £25,000.
Do a lot of flying? Old before their time at the Economist won’t thrill you.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi still in denial as he talks with the Washington Post.
Even the barefaced lobbyists in DC are sick of supporting Middle Eastern dictators. Bad karma or just bad PR?
Unrest amongst Ahwazi Arabs in Iran goes unreported in the West, but they are subject to discrimination and terrible human rights abuses at the hands of the Ahmadinejad regime.
Tom Gross on Goldstone, cartoons and racism.
Finally, Hezbollah planning to kill Israelis abroad. Not good.
Internet In The Age Of Revolt.
The Economist has a rather topical piece on the Internet and freedom.
The graph below is a better rendering of one found in a Freedom house report, Freedom on the Net 2011, which makes interesting reading in light of the revolts across the Middle East.
Net access Vs. freedom
Huffington Post, Blogging And That Lawsuit.
Huffington Post was recently sold to AOL for a considerable sum, about $300 million.
Such an amount of money was bound to cause problems, as bloggers, who made the HuffPost what it is today consider the issues.
The Raw News has the story:
“WASHINGTON — Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, has dismissed as “utterly without merit” a lawsuit filed against the website claiming compensation for unpaid bloggers.
Huffington, who sold The Huffington Post to AOL two months ago for $315 million, said the vast majority of contributors to her news and opinion site are happy to do so for free because of the exposure it gives them.
Jonathan Tasini, a freelance journalist, sued The Huffington Post on Tuesday and is demanding at least $105 million for unpaid bloggers on the grounds that they should be compensated for the value they have created for the website.
Tasini is seeking to have the suit accepted as a class action representing more than 9,000 writers and others who contributed material to The Huffington Post for free since it was launched six years ago.
Huffington, in a blog post late Wednesday, said the lawsuit is so “utterly without merit” that she is “hesitant to take any time away from aggregating adorable kitten videos to respond.”
The kitten reference is a jibe at Bill Keller, the executive editor of The New York Times, who called Huffington recently the “queen of aggregation” and said part of the appeal of her site is its “adorable kitten videos.” “
March And A Rough Around Up.
A backlog of drafts and emails mean it is round up time again:
The JC on Clare Solomon losing.
Saudi rulers try to buy whole population at Reason.
Weggis on the No Fly Zone.
Protests going in Gaza, Hamas not happy, beating people up:
“More than a dozen protesters were seen being taken away in ambulances after a protest this weekend, though medical authorities would not confirm that there were injuries. Websites dedicated to the protests linked to videos and photographs showing plainclothes police officers wielding clubs and sticks against protesters.
Foreign news organizations, including the Reuters news agency, CNN, and the Associated Press complained that Hamas supporters had broken into their offices and seized video of the protests. Hamas denied the charge and said there’d been a “mistake.” “
In Japan, the elderly left to fend for themselves, appalling.
Smiley Culture Update.
Liverpool libel and Gaddafi at the Index on Censorship.
Rebecca Lesses on the UN resolution and Libya.
Tales of Gilad Atzmon still roll on at Bob’s, with a dose of revisionism. If you ever want to read the SWP fawning over Atzmon try here.
Not forgetting the SWP’s defensive statement on Gilad Atzmon.
Flesh on Doing Something.
Jim on all things Green, including EDM 1565: Libya, North Africa and the middle East.
Harry Barnes on Libya in 2011 is not Iraq in 2003
Ten minutes hate in Japan.
Stroppy takes a rest from blogging.
Max Dunbar on ‘Thank a union guy’.
Martin doing The week in links.
Jhate’s Anti-Semitism News.
Paul Stott reminds us of Ray’s Ten Commandments. I liked 5 and 8.
Green’s Engage covering A Palestinian Tahrir.
Israel blamed for Japan nuke disaster, Adam Holland spills the beans on Gilad Atzmon’s racism. Oh yeah, guess who Atzmon blames? Hmm, not too hard to work out eh?
University and College Union And The Middle East.
I am away for a few days, but meant to post this letter from the Indy a while back:
“I wonder whether it is just possible that those members of the University and College Union (UCU) who, for many years, have campaigned for the academic boycott of Israel – the only democratic country in the Middle East – are prepared to think seriously about the implications of the Gaddafi-LSE affair and the acceptance by several UK Universities of huge amounts of money in order to set up Oriental Institutes and Islamic and Middle Eastern studies centres whose academic appointments and courses of study are strongly influenced by their patrons.
Will those members of UCU who call for the boycott of Israeli universities remain silent about the acceptance of funding with strings attached from the despotic rulers of countries such as Lybia, Saudi Arabia or Qatar?
Henry Ettinghausen
Emeritus Professor of Spanish
University of Southampton “
If readers are bored in my absent, please read Jhate it is a very good blog and relevent today, Kevin MacDonald is hilarious.
The Daily Or Weekly Summary.
There is a fun way of making an on-line newspaper over at Paper.li.
I have produced a slice of my twitter feeds as a paper, here.
Enjoy.
Update 1: Bob has a good collection of things.
In Other News, It’s Time to Play ‘Sheen, Beck, or Qaddafi?’
New York Magazine has a great quiz, It’s Time to Play ‘Sheen, Beck, or Qaddafi?’
I got most of them wrong.
I suppose the next one will be, John Galliano, David Duke or David Irving?
(H/T: Adam Holland)
Not At The Oscars, But On Twitter.
Those who really know me would be surprised to hear that I am not at the Oscars in Hollywood.
But I am on Twitter, instead !
And whilst I am not a film critic or much given to commenting on cultural issues, I would say that the King’s Speech is historically rather problematic.
Some about Edward VIII.
ModernityBlog 