THOUGHTBOX

2012-03-03T18:00:00.000+02:00

Quick News Of Today

2012-02-29T15:54:00.000+02:00

US Navy closer to developing a functional railgun - so we're just that little bit closer to Star Wars.

NASA is trying to deal with Mars mission budget cuts - I'm a huge space exploration nerd and everytime I read about funds being cut for missions to new frontiers I lose a little bit of faith in humanity.

Indy's Fridge Nuking experience totally implausible - seriously, who didn't know that already?

And for our really really important piece of news - at least for me:

The first lab created human egg - this could potentially be a huge breakthrough in genetics. US Scientists in Massachusetts have shown that it's possible to generate egg cells from harvested ovary cells.

300 Million Year Forest Found

2012-02-23T18:52:00.002+02:00

A fossilized, 300 million-year old forest has been discovered underneath a coal mine in Wuda, northern China. The forest was preserved by volcanic ash, similar to the preservation of the roman village of Pompeii, giving scientists a unique snapshot at plant life from a very remote era.

The discoveries include six different groups of plants, from ferns to 25-meter tall trees, along with extinct groups of spore-bearing trees called Noeggerathiales, which were not commonly found until now in Asia.

The really interesting thing to note is that coniferous and flowering plants are not found among the fossils because they had not evolved yet during the Paleozoic era.

These images are artist's depictions of the forest as it may have looked 300 million years ago.

More News On ACTA - The Agreement Has Been Stalled By EU Commission

2012-02-23T17:58:00.001+02:00

The controversial ACTA trade agreement has been put on hold by the European Commission, as the body intends to pursue the aid of the European Court of Justice to decide whether the treaty violates any fundamental rights.

This represents a fundamental step forward for us EU citizens, as one of the most dangerous accords that could have severely compromised our privacy is now being delayed, with several countries now refusing to ratify ACTA on those grounds. Which I think is a big plus given that it takes all 27 member countries of the EU to agree on ACTA for it to ever become the standard.

Meanwhile, EU Commissioner Karel De Gucht considers that ACTA does not violate the EU’s rights of freedom of expression and freedom of information, as "ACTA will not censor websites or shut them down; ACTA will not hinder freedom of the Internet or freedom of speech."

So far so good - at least things are moving in a good direction with ACTA. We'll have to wait and see what the European Court of Justice decides. In the meantime, protests over ACTA in countries such as Germany, Poland and the Netherlands continue.

Humans Are Not Naturally Assholes

2012-02-22T20:42:00.002+02:00

New studies indicate that humans are not naturally nasty as ancient greek philosophers suggested, but in fact there is biological basis for cooperative behavior.

That's really great because up to this point, the common view was that we (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) developed morality in order to function as a society. In essence, we were the only creatures being high and moral because it gave us some sort of competitive edge, and thus morals were a strictly human feature.

Researcher Frans de Waal countered that, along with most mammalian juveniles, human children have a natural tendency towards cooperation, in order to reproduce and pass on their genes. She bases her conclusions on experiments done on rats and monkeys, where individuals were given the choice of treats or helping others (rats had to help others escape a trap versus eat some chocolate). His research is said to prove that "reciprocity, fairness, empathy and consolation," occur naturally, in the wild.

On a more interesting note, this research also suggests that individuals are biased towards members of their own species they already know. This means that animals are more likely to cooperate with individuals in "their group", which also means animals (and us) are more likely to be moral and compassionate towards family members and friends rather than a more general, global group: "It's experimental for the human species to apply a system [of empathy] intended for [small groups] to the whole world," he admitted.

To me this means that the old assumption that humans are born animals and have morality thrust unto them during their years of educations, is flawed. We have a gene for cooperation, and frankly all this is sort of obvious to anyone witnessing human interactions on a daily basis. You help your friends and family much more readily than complete strangers, especially when it involves some sort of personal sacrifice (giving up a prize etc). Being helpful, being moral, being selfless - they're essentially survival traits that were developed for a better harmonized cooperation between members of our groups, for the greater purpose of passing on our genes.

So humans are nice because our "nice" gene tells us being nice gets us laid. Yet there are plenty of asshole/douchebags out there getting a lot of action.

But hey. At least they have no genetic excuse for being assholes now.

Read about it here.

Oh, Indie World - The Lana Del Rey Controversy

2012-02-22T17:11:00.012+02:00

A lot of people have been talking about Lana del Ray and whether or not she is an authentic musician or a product designed to enthrall and a fake that has crossed indie fans. Normally I don’t pursue these kinds of things. You can enjoy music regardless of the people behind it. One of my favorite bands, Tool, once said in an interview that you don’t need to know where the artist sleeps, who he sleeps with, what he eats to enjoy his music. That’s something I heartily agree with.

Yet there’s a lot of buzz around about this Lana Del Rey. Who is she? Lana Del Rey made her debut under her real name of Lizzie Grant: a bleached blonde, post-americana Nancy Sinatra-esque indie singer with a raspy voice.

Yet things didn’t kick off for her until she used her made-up name that she’s much more famous for. Lizzie has admitted that “Lana del Rey” is the creation of the team behind her music identity, and is a combination of the movie star Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey. When these marketing powers got a hold of her they morphed Lizzie into Lana, a sexy fusion of a bombshell Jessica Rabbit and singer.

Lana has a seductive voice, raspy, naughty, husky - the kind of voice you’d expect her to have after smoking grade-b cigarettes and marijuana for years and years, while hanging out with her tattooed, pierced boyfriend (at least that’s what her type seems to be judging from her videos). There’s no doubt she’s beautiful, the kind of girl men lust for. She’s a mistress, a movie-star trophy – she looks the part of the bad girl. Her sad, romantic lyrics match her look and feel perfectly. Del Rey's hit "Video Games" is a cute sadcore indie-pop song with a moody vibe, and her voice is smooth and has a pleasant, sultry quality. She was something that was very easy to like. And why not?

Yet there was something fishy about it all.

The shocker is that many believed her to be a fake. Many have suggested that her career is the result of a clever marketing ploy by her businessman father, who planted the persona and image of a Lana Del Ray in the indie music scene (that prides itself on authenticity and lack of corporate control) with enrapturing videos and a seemingly seductive, authentic talent. But there was something suspicious with the distinct high quality of the recordings, the elaborate videos and the overall feeling. It felt too indie, “too authentic”. Too perfect.

These criticisms were anchored in reality. It’s hard to believe Lizzie – excuse me, Lana – is the kind of girl the lyrics and songs portrayed. She shrouds her life in this aroma of stale alcohol and cigarette smoke typical to has-been movie stars and trailer park teenagers (see the linked video at the bottom of this blog to hear her talk about her alcohol problem). Yet given that her father is a multimillionaire businessman (and likely the driving force behind “Lana Del Rey” the franchise) it seems very unlikely she ever lived in a trailer park.

Is the controversy overshadowing her talent? The world can be a harsh judge, and many indie websites, blogs and communities were quick to burn Lana Del Rey at a stake for being a phony. They felt cheated by something that had been constructed to feel indie, to feel retro and romantic. In short, the indie community was revolted to have been fooled so easily. Some, on the other hand, have defended her claiming she has genuine talent and that people should see beyond the controversy and enjoy her music for her talent alone.

I’d be inclined to agree with that last part. She does have pleasant, moody music, but it’s easy to tell the extent of her talent by watching live performances of her. She has a good voice – not great, not bad – and her stage presence is, once again, good. Not extraordinary, and not mediocre. She’s a bit awkward in events, with odd gestures and hip rubs she could easily avoid by employing a mic stand to give her hands something to do.

Is the music industry manipulating what the public should consider talent? In the end, it’s up to every listener to judge her worthy or not. To those defending her talent, I’d say her talent is not extraordinary. Maybe some people advocate her music simply because they like it and defending her makes them feel like they’re defending their own tastes. Or maybe instead of admitting to feeling cheated they’d rather defend their naïve indulgence. To those criticizing Lana, let me remind you that many artists, including those of golden days, used hype and fabrication to sell their image. Elvis and Bob Dylan were such "fabricated" artists, and even Dean Martin drank apple juice during concerts while leading his audiences to believe it was alcohol. The big question is: do you keep listening to music you like even if you find out it was designed to be liked? Do you give corporations and pretenders the finger for trying to shape our ideas of talent, or do you continue to listen to her because it's entertaining, or because you like it? What's more shallow: listening to fabricated music that lacks substance, or hating an artist and refusing to listen to their music simply because their fame was the result of corporate machinations?

And a little bit about my stance on Lana Del Rey : I knew her picture-perfect looks and retro videos were suspicious. I wasn't surprised to hear about her fooling the indie scene. I'm ashamed to admit one thing, though: I like the way her music sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyASvWlpzbg

http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/68129/Lana-Del-Rey-I-Had-A-Philosophical-Crisis

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/17/singer-lana-del-rey-worst_n_1211208.html
http://www.urban.ro/muzica/cum-a-pacalit-lana-del-rey-industria-muzicala/

Collapsing Cooling Towers

2012-02-09T11:13:00.002+02:00

It should probably be a general rule that if you're going to ad against something, don't make that something relatable so we feel bad about it being blown up.

ACTA - Facts, Issues and Opinions

2012-02-06T16:45:00.009+02:00

Sorry, got a little carried away there by the veil of the dark side cast by the Dark Lord itself, ACTA with my last post. The world has gotten a little copyright/piracy/freedom of speech crazy lately, what with all the SOPAs and PIPAs and ACTAs.

But let’s get serious for a moment, and talk a little about ACTA.

What is ACTA?

Some call it the European SOPA – only it’s not SOPA. It’s not a law, it’s a trade agreement between a number of countries. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA - although counterfeiting is completely different in definition than what the bill aims to avoid) is a multilateral agreement which proposes international standards for enforcement of intellectual property rights. The reason this agreement is so controversial was that it was robbed of democratic credibility and clarity since it was negotiated behind closed doors, without public (aka voter) knowledge. It hasn’t been ratified yet, and final negotiations will take place during the summer of this year, but should it make it past that final deliberation, it would have serious implications for freedom of expression, access to culture, privacy, and have negative effects on trate, innovation, creativity and so forth. Let’s see why it’s so dangerous...

Issues with ACTA:

ACTA has bypassed established forums (WIPO and the WTO), by negotiating behind closed doors, leaving out most developing countries, with little democratic accountability at UN, EU or national level. Those established forums serve an important function: they ensure that agreements and legistlations are are based on democratic principles and openness; with clear procedural guarantees. Now, since ACTA has bypassed these institutions, it already casts a cloud of doubt over the honesty and purpose of its proposals.

In order to enforce potential standards set by the agreement, ACTA seeks to create a new institution out of an opaque process, called the “ACTA Committee”. The problem is that via its provisions, this committee will not operate openly or transparently, and will not be liable for public scrutiny. I will also be able to isssue amendments to ACTA itself after it is adopted, without public accountability. Plainly put, ACTA will create and give power to this board to enforce its stipulations, while also giving it the power to retroactively change the legal provisions and standards of the agreement at will.

To date, no party to ACTA has provided public access to the negotiating documents.

One of the biggest issues with ACTA is that it places the regulation of free speech in the hands of private companies, essentially saying that rightolder interests are more important than privacy or free speech – constitutional rights in all democratic countries! These compaies would impose obligations to third parties to police online content. These third parties are websites, ISP’s, etc: namely, entities that are not equipped to regulate online speech. ACTA pushes internet providers to carry out surveillance of their networks and disclose the personal information of alleged infringers to rightsholders. Not to mention the fact that the ambiguous wording of the agreement would criminalise large numbers of citizens for trivial offences.

A lot of pressure would be put on these intermediaries. ACTA makes our Internet Providers responsible for what we do online, and turns them into a law enforcement and surveillance entity. This means increased liability for them, which in turn could result in ISP’s being wrongly incentivized to perform more rigurous and in-depth scrutiny into our online privacy, including monitoring our traffic via „deep packet inspections”. This is a gross violation of user privacy of course.

YES! You got it, your ISP will be obgliated to MONITOR your online activity like an intelligence agency tapping phones.

ACTA could also have a chilling effect on innovation and creativity. Think about it. So much innovation comes from legal „grey areas” (I’m thinking about software development, for instance), and this innovation could be discouraged because smaller businesses will fear extremely high financial penalties and criminal measures, especially in cases of unintentional copyright breaches. Small companies and especially start-ups will not have the ability to compete with larger corporations in cases of litigation. Fear and lack of financial resources would lead smaller businesses away from the creative scene. ACTA can also potentially encourage anti competitive-behavior, because smaller intermediaries (ISP’s, websites similar to YouTube etc) won’t have the ability to implement the policing standards, giving larger competitors a huge advantage.

The US would have better flexibility and the agreement would give it a competitive edge. Yes, ACTA could actually harm international trade rather than protect it. Even though the EU would consider ACTA a legally binding treaty, the United States has already made it clear that it sees ACTA as a non-binding “understanding” (you don’t have to be a legal expert to call bullshit). This could create problems of legal uncertainty regarding the status of ACTA and gives Americans a potentially significant edge in trade over Europeans.

All these issues with ACTA stem from its vague wording, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. It does not define key items of the agreement, such as „commercial scale”, „digital environment”, „expeditious remedies” or „digital networks”. This means that legislation enforcers have a lot of leg room when determining the scale of such an infringement, and they also have the same leg room in establishing fines and other punitive measures. There is no bias, there is no system within the agreement to determine what is a „commercial scale” infringement – judging by the wording alone, even downloading one illegal song can be punished with the same diligence as commercially mass-producing counterfeit Adidas sweatshirts.

As a final note, ACTA fails to meet European standards on the protection and promotion of universality, integrity and openness of the internet as outlined by the Council of Europe, which has asserted that “States have the responsibility to ensure, in compliance with the standards recognised in international human rights law and with the principles of international law, that their actions do not have an adverse transboundary impact on access to and use of the Internet.” It’s not even aligned with current international trading standards, but rathe creates a parallel system which is more restrictive, punitive and potentially harmful.

Bottom line, it sets a nasty precedent. By setting vague guidelines regarding copyright infringement, it leaves the door open for individual countries to implement abusive legislation and allows corporations to have an unpredecented control over the flow of information online. It does not obligate any member nation to enforce anything at the moment, as it's just an agreement, a set of standards, but it threatens to endanger the most fundamental rights the internet has taken for granted so far. It must be stopped so that this precedent is not set. I believe a clear message must be sent: the internet is free and will not be restricted by any private interests. I want my internet to remain a bastion where freedom of speech is not policed. My concerns have nothing to do with piracy or copyright infringement, yet the side-effects this agreement would have threaten my privacy, my creativity, and the collective energy, freedom and creativity of the world wide web. It’s an entity that has no master, that needs no master, it is international yet of no nationality. You want ACTA or any other agreement to pass? Make it clear and explicit, negotiate it publicly and leave our privacy out of it.

Important-type links and stuff:
European Trade Comission overview and FAQ on ACTA
BBC coverage
CNN coverage
Electronic Frontier Organization page on ACTA
Romanian coverage 1

ACTA Must-see Information in an easy-to-ingest format:
Say No to ACTA Video
What can you do against ACTA?

Petition signing type pages:
US petition
Acces Now's Petition
Save the Internet Petition

ACTA - The Phantom Menace

2012-02-01T16:30:00.002+02:00

Finalul (sper) povestii cu Jandarmeria

2012-02-01T13:32:00.000+02:00

Am depus si contestatia la Judecatorie si m-am prezentat si la Politie (conform citatiei), ambele cu ajutorul avocatei.

Nu e foarte mult de spus. Depunerea contestatiei a fost o chestie de rutina: a durat mai mult coada la xerox-ul din beciul Judecatoriei Sectorului I decat depunerea actelor in sine. Chestiunea se pare ca va fi rezolvata undeva in 6 luni, dat fiind ca Judecatoria Sectorului I este si cea mai aglomerata din Bucuresti.

O nota amuzanta: femeia de la xerox era un fel de Radio Sant. Stia la fel de bine ca orice politist abuzurile care se comit in genul asta de circumstante, si in mod amuzant a oferit sfaturi gratuite vis-a-vis de rezolvarea situatiei dar si compatimiri cu timbru matern.

Afacerea cu citatia a fost mult mai de rutina decat m-am temut. Cu avocata de fata, am dat o declaratie in legatura cu circumstantele in care am fost ridicat de catre Jandarmi si ceea ce s-a intamplat la Sectie. Ofiterul care mi-a luat declaratia era, in mod deloc suprinzator, foarte la curent cu genul asta de abuzuri si pe scurt nu cred ca a fost vreun moment in care sa aiba indoieli in legatura cu ceea ce am declarat. Am plecat de acolo mult mai optimist decat fusesem de vreo saptamana.
Optimismul se datora sentimentului ca, in sfarsit, situatia s-a rezolvat si pot pune toata afacerea in urma mea. Sper in continuare ca e adevarat.

More North Korea Stuff

2012-01-24T16:33:00.001+02:00

Describing anything coming out of that country is a difficult task.

This video is a TV broadcast of the Mass Games finale held by the "Ever-victorious Workers' Party of Korea" on September 4th, 2001.

It's surreal because of a few reasons. The first would be the sheer amount of people performing incredibly intricate choreography. When you think about it even more, you being to realize the impressive amount of work and practice that went into a parade essentially for one man.

A man who liked to have his people believe he is some sort of demi-god, but more than that, a man who ends up casually flipping thorough a magazine during this impressive - and depressing - display.

Incidentul cu Jandarmeria si Politia - reactii si opinii

2012-01-19T17:50:00.001+02:00

Aceasta poveste a pornit ca un simplu post pe blogul meu, ca o destainuire, nu ca un manifest. Nu m-am asteptat ca povestea mea sa fie distribuita, share-uita, re-publicata in fel si chip. Nu m-am asteptat la valul de e-mailuri, mesaje private, comentarii, de miile de vizualizari atat pe blog cat si pe site-urile care mi-au re-publicat povestea. In continuare sunt uimit de gradul de atentie pe care a primit-o patania mea.

Si asta ma pune intr-o situatie dificila. Nu stiu cum sa abordez aceasta atentie. In mare parte, feedback-ul primit a fost pozitiv. Oameni pe care nu i-am vazut in viata mea, si pe care probabil ca nu-i voi vedea vreodata, m-au sustintut, mi-au dat sfaturi, mi-au oferit servicii legale pro-bono, si-au aratat solidaritatea... Nu am cuvinte pentru a multumi acestor oameni pentru grija si atentia aratata unui strain. Am fost extrem de miscat de valul de simpatie generat de destainuirea mea.

Pe de alta parte, mereu vor fi indivizi care vor contesta genul asta de marturii. Si nici nu cred ca-i pot condamna, nu stiu cum as reactiona eu insumi la citirea unei asftel de povesti pe alocuri incredibile. Sunt oameni care sustin ca e o fabricatie, ca am mintit, ca am inventat sau exagerat totul. Din fericire (sau nefericire?..), nu trebuie sa-mi demonstrez nevinovatia in fata lor, ci in fata Judecatoriei si autoritatilor. Insa pe alocuri au considerat suspect anonimatul meu, faptul ca nu-mi declar numele sau ca nu public procesul verbal. Au presupus ca o fac pentur ca am ceva de ascuns, pentru ca evit expunerea neadavarului rostit de mine. Vreau sa fiu foarte clar.

Nu am nimic de ascuns.

Motivul pentru care nu imi fac public numele nu este frica de represiuni etc, ci pur si simplu dorinta de a controla in ce fel si cum imi este distribuit numele sau povestea. Nu doresc ca numele meu sa fie invocat de oameni cu care nu am nimic de-a face, de grupuri militante ale caror convingeri nu le impartasesc – in general orice forma de asociere cu o agenda politica sau filosofie cu care nu am nimic de-a face.

In primul si in primul rand, nu am nici in clin nici in maneca cu protestul. In cel mai bun caz am fost un spectator naiv, dar genul acesta de protest stradal nu este in concordanta cu convingerile mele. Daca simt nevoia de a-mi impartasi punctul de vedere vis-a-vis de situatia politica din Romania, o fac prin scris, intr-un mod public (pe blog, de exemplu), unde parerea mea individuala poate fi separata de a altora, unde poate fi atacata, criticata sau impartasita punctual. Atata timp cat am un punct de parere personal, mi-l voi sustine tot personal. Am tinut sa subliniez neapartenenta mea la miscarea protestatara din mai multe motive. Primul ar fi onestitatea: Vreau ca oamenii care ma sustin s-o faca in cunostinta de cauza: sa stie ca nu ma asociez cu protestele, si daca simpatizeaza cu situatia mea, sa simpatizeze din cauza abuzului fortelor de ordine. Nu sunt o voce a protestatarilor, si nu le sustin actiunile– am propriile pareri (negative, in mare parte) despre tara si politica. Doi la mana, pentru a sublinia idignarea mea vis-a-vis de faptul ca am fost acuzat si amendat pentru participarea la o miscare cu care nu am nimic de-a face, si pentru ca am fost acuzat si amendat pentru exact genul de comportament (violenta, vandalism, deranjarea linistii publice) pe care il condamn!

Stiu ca printre cei care au protestat se numara multi oameni cu intentii bune. Nu le condamn curajul, motivele sau obiectivele. Daca am ceva de condamnat, atunci condamn violentele si vandalismul, insa tind sa cred ca protestatarii aflati acolo sa-si sustina crezul in mod autentic nu ar recurge la astfel de gesturi. Vandalismul nu acorda credibilitate unui protest. Pe de alta parte, nu pun semn de egalitate intre protest si vandalism. Cred ca e vorba de doua nuclee de gandire distincte, si din nefericire cele 2 sunt asociate in mai multe feluri. Sunt constient ca orice miscare de protest (vezi Occupy Movement) va suferi, in cele din urma, de: lipsa de organizare, lipsa de coeziune, lipsa de coerenta etc. Cand aduni o multime asa mare de oameni, chestiunile individuale se pierd in melanjul greu de controlat al unui organism format din mii de indivizi ce trebuie cat de cat sa actioneze unitar.

Sunt intr-adevar vinovat de faptul ca nu-mi cunosc drepturile si nu cunosc legislatia pentru astfel de intamplari. Sunt probabil la fel de vinovat de faptul ca n-am fost mai „intepat”, mai combativ cu fortele de ordine. La momentul respectiv, eram convins de nevinovatia mea si de faptul ca acest lucru va iesi negresit la suprafata si ca incidentul se va rezolva rapid si cu rezultat pozitiv. Pe scurt, am avut incredere in fortele de ordine. S-a dovedit a fi o greseala din care am invatat multe.

Nu stiu daca au arestat oameni vinvoati. Stiu sigur ca au arestat nevinovati.

In legatura cu incidentul cu Jandarmeria si Politia

2012-01-19T17:47:00.002+02:00

Am hotarat sa tin blogul up-to-date cu evenimentele legate de ceea ce am patit eu.

Azi am fost la Judecatorie pentru a depune o contestatie, dar nu am apucat pentru ca imi trebuia un avocat sa o redacteze, si n-am reusit sa dam de avocat (avocatul s-a oferit pro-bono sa ne reprezinte) de dimineata, asa ca am amanat pe maine.

Say Something Nice

2012-01-19T11:42:00.001+02:00

Noaptea mea de abuz cu Jandarmeria si Politia Romana

2012-01-18T14:20:00.008+02:00

Duminica, 15 ianuarie, ma aflam cu un amic pe Bd. Magheru in jurul orei 23:00. Dupa un ceai in oras, am decis sa vedem cu ochii nostri ce se intampla in centru. La sfarsitul serii, am regretat aceasta decizie.

Dupa ce am vazut destul din proteste, am decis ca nu mai doream sa avem nimic de-a face cu manifestarile si ca era momentul sa ne ducem acasa. Pentru a evita multimea si actiunea de la Universitate, am luat-o pe Victoriei in intentia de a prinde un taxi la o intersectie. Intre timp ne-am si oprit la un supermarket non-stop, unde am luat mancare (pentru acasa, in general paine si altele pentru sandwichuri).

La coltul cu Capsa, un grup de jandarmi ne-au oprit din drum si ne-au rugat sa asteptam langa cofetarie, pe Academiei. I-am intrebat de ce fac asta: raspunsul a fost ca ne retin un pic dupa care ne vor da drumul. Pe moment nu ni s-a parut atat de iesit din comun, dar pentru a nu agrava faptele am decis sa fim totusi rabdatori si sa terminam cat mai repede cu aceasta treaba.

In total, ne-au retinut vreo 30-40minute. In tot acest timp, opreau pe oricine trecea pe Academiei sau Victoriei, indiferent de varsta. Daca se intampla sa fie un grup cu o fata, acesteia ii dadeau drumul. Pana spre ora 24:00 stransesera un grup destul de mare de oameni (eu apreciez in jur de 30). In tot acest rastimp, ne-a perchezitionat, ne-au intrebat ce cauta pe strada, ne-au cercetat mainile (presupun ca pentru urme ca facusem parte din violente). Grupul a ajuns sa fie compus din persoane destul de diverse: un tip a fost oprit in timp ce mergea pe strada, mancand o saorma. Altul tocmai coborase din taxi pentru ca locuia in blocul de vizavi; un altul era cu prietena de mana pe strada.Un domn mai in varsta iesise pe strada din acelasi motiv nefericit ca si noi: de a vedea cu ochii lui ce se intampla cu adevarat pe strada. Nu am fost singurii care au continuat sa intrebe care era motivul retinerii, insa primeam acelasi raspuns: „mai stam un pic, dupa care va dam drumul”. Nu s-a intamplat asa.

Odata strans acest grup considerabil, a aparut un camion blindat al Jandarmeriei si un jandarm cu portavoce, care ne-a anuntat ca toti de acolo vom urca in acel camion si ne vor duce la sectie sa „lamurim lucrurile”. Din acel moment comportamentul jandarmilor s-a schimbat, pentru tot restul serii: au devenit agresivi, abuzivi si violenti. Evident ca grupul a protestat verbal, si prima persoana care a declarat ca refuza sa se urce in camion, cerand explicatii suplimentare, a fost agresata imediat de 3 jandarmi care l-au fortat sa intre in camion. Protestele suplimentare ale grupului au fost primite cu amenintari, jigniri si ironie. Dupa ce a durat 20 minute sa ne bage in camion, si inca pe atata sa porneasca de pe loc (o persoana din grup se afla intr-o stare de rau si parea sa sufere de claustrofobie, avand un atac in camionul inghesuit si umplut la refuz, insa jandarmii l-au tratat cu dispret si amenintari ca daca nu se va calma, va fi batut, iar daca vomita in camion, il va curata singur pe tot).

Pe tot drumul lung cu camionul, jandarmii au refuzat sa ne spuna destinatia reala. Raspundeau ca ba sectia 4, ba sectia 3, ba sectia 22. I-am daca intr-adevar aceasta este destinatia de fiecare data cand a fost sugerata alta sectie, iar jandarmul care a vorbit cu mine raspundea ironic cu replici de genul: „daca ai auzit tu ca e sectia X, atunci acolo mergem”, sau „am auzit ca nu mai sunt locuri in sectiile din Bucuresti, asa ca mergem in Ploiesti”. Unii din grup au incercat sa filmeze si sa vorbeasca la telefon cu rude/avocati, insa la scurt timp ni s-a interzis categoric sa mai incercam asa ceva.

Intr-un final, in jurul orei 01:30 (cred eu), am ajuns la sectia 25 din sectorul 6. Aproximez ora pentru ca ni s-a ordonat sa inchidem toate telefoanele mobile, iar daca le deschideam vom ramane fara ele. Ne-au perchezitionat la iesirea din camion, cautand in ghiozdane, buzunare si evident, punga cu salam si paine.

Ne-au dus la etajul sectiei, unde au luat 10 dintre noi si i-au dus la alta sectie. Pe noi ne-au bagat intr-o camera pentru a ne face proces verbal. S-au decis sa ne imparta in grupuri de cate 10, asa ca toti cei care erau in plus fata de acest numar (inclusiv eu) am fost escortati afara. Iesind ultimul pe usa, un politist m-a indemnat mai agresiv sa fac stanga la usa, moment in care m-am intersectat cu alt politist care iesea pe usa, unul cu casca si cagula ridicata de pe fata (parea sa fie un comandant, pentru ca inainte de a ne baga in camera, discuta la radio cati dintre noi sa ia la alta sectie. Precizez ca vorbea despre noi folosind termeni ca: „am la sectie 20 de bucati, cate sa aduc la cealalalta”). Acesta, care tocmai iesea pe usa, fara sa zica nimic, mi-a aplicat cateva lovituri in fata fara motiv. Bulversat, m-am uitat la el si la ceilalti politisti de pe hol si-am intrebat „de ce ma lovesti omule”. Intr-un mod complice, politistii de pe hol s-au uitat urat la mine si-au zis „De ce injuri ma? L-ai injurat. Daca mai injuri, asta patesti”. Privirile aruncate intre ei m-au facut sa realizez ca tocmai devenisera complici la acest incident, fabircand povestea cu injuratul cu seninatate. Privirea politstului care mi-a zis ca m-au vazut toti injurand m-a marcat pentru tot restul serii: pentru ei eram un grup de gunoaie, si erau perfect multumiti sa creeze motive imaginare pentru a scuza orice act impotriva noastra.

Cred ca e de prisos sa mentionez ca nu am injurat, nu am fost violent sau nu m-am opus intr-un mod dificil politistilor: eram intr-o stare mai degraba epuizata decat combativa. Voiam ca totul sa se termine odata, si intr-adevar parea ca nu se sfarseste. Am incercat sa vorbesc cu ceilalti din grup, si cu politistii de pe hol. In principal, incercam sa aflu ce am dreptul sa fac, ce am dreptul sa refuz etc. Unul din politisti ne-a spus foarte clar ca avem doar doua optiuni: sa semnam procesul verbal pe care ni-l vor face tuturor, sau sa refuzam semnatura, caz in care ni-l vor trimite oricum prin posta. Aceste 2 optiuni erau, edivent, irelevante. Oricum, am aflat cu oarece soc si indignare ca vom fi cu totii amendati pentru „deranjarea linistii publice”.

In jurul orei 02-02:30, am intrat sa mi se faca proces verbal. Amicul, care fusese inaintea mea, a apucat sa imi zica ca pot mentiona la sfarsitul procesului verbal ca acuzatia este „neteminica si nelegala”, inainte sa fie dus la parter pentru amprentare si fotografiere (!).

Procesul verbal a fost o gluma. In afara de buletin, politistul nu mi-a cerut nimic altceva, si a copiat dintr-un alt proces verbal folosit ca exemplu restul textului. Procesul verbal declara ca am fost prins in flagrant in timp ce tulburam inistea publica a locuitorilor din zona prin strigate si forme (!), iar procesul verbal sustine ca am fost ridicat de la fantana de la Universitate (!). Aceasta era o minciuna pe care mi-a fost refuzat s-o contest: inainte sa pot cere mentionarea nelegalitatii amenzii, politistul a trecut la mentiuni nu am obiectii. Mentionez ca in tot timpul petrecut la sectie, politistii nu ne-au informat cu privire la drepturile noastre, nu ne-au zis ce putem refuza si ce nu, etc. Procesul verbal putea fi la fel de bine completat si in absenta mea, eu fiind chemat practic doar sa-l semnez. Nu cunosteam daca am dreptul sa refuz procesul verbal, daca pot cere sa schimbe ce au scris ei in el, etc. Dupa aceste lucruri, am fost escortat la parter pentru amprentare si fotografiere. Mentionez ca ulterior, dupa 2 zile, am aflat ca acest lucru a fost ilegal: fiind deja legitimati cu buletinele, nu aveau dreptul de a ne fotografia si a ne lua amprentele – nu ni s-a comunicat acest lucru. Odata amprentati si fotografiati, ne-au dat drumul. Era ora 03:30 AM cand mi-am deschis telefonul intr-un final.

Am incercat sa vorbesc cu politistii de la sectie, in incercarea naiva de a-mi apara nevinovatia. Am sustinut de fiecare data adevarul: ca am fost oprit pe strada fara motiv, acuzat de o minciuna, ca nu am participat la protest, ca ma duceam acasa nu catre centru sa particip la violente, ca nu am ce cauta acolo, ca ceea ce se intampla este bataie de joc. Am facut-o intr-o maniera calma, neviolenta, nu am ridicat vocea, nu am fost ironic sau sarcastic. Daca nu radeau de mine fara sa-mi raspunda, imi spuneau toti cam acelasi lucru: „da, da, sigur, cum sa nu, toata lumea e nevinovata” si „s-a ales praful de revolutia voastra, ba”.

Am convingerea ca ceea ce s-a intamplat a fost un abuz rusinos. Imi sustin cu ferminate nevinovatia si acuz Politia si Jandarmeria de abuz in serviciu. Am fost nedreptatit, am fost acuzat de minciuni, batut, retinut fara motiv, mi-au fost ascunse drepturile si optiunile legale: colac peste pupaza, m-am ales cu 200 lei amenda.

Voi merge sa contest la Judecatorie aceasta amenda, fiind singura cale legala de a contesta evenimentele din acea seara. Nu stiu ce se va intampla acolo, care sunt sansele mele, cat va dura sau cat ma va costa. Dat fiind sistemul juridic din Romania, nu pot decat sa sper la o rezolvare favorabila si in timp util. Insa probabil voi ajunge sa fac demersuri care vor dura ani de zile, vor costa mult mai mult decat valoarea amenzii si intr-un final nu vor remedia daunele morale.

[Edit]:
Potrivit art. 35 din Legea jandarmeriei (Legea nr. 550/2004), jandarmii nu au dreptul să conducă administrativ la secţia de poliţie sau la unitatea de jandarmi persoane despre care nu pot dovedi că au săvârşit fapte contrare legii prin care au provocat dezordine/tulburări şi necesită imobilizare. Cu alte cuvinte, jandarmii nu au dreptul să încarce manifestanţii în dube şi să-i transporte la diferite secţii de poliţie, urmând ca abia acolo să facă trierea persoanelor care au fost sau care nu au fost violente, care au comis sau nu fapte contrare legii. Nu pot fi conduşi decât cei despre care jandarmeria are dovezi, în momentul ridicării, că se încadrează în condiţiile menţionate mai sus, prevăzute de lege, pentru conducere. În caz contrar, conducerea persoanei la secţia de poliţie/unitatea de jandarmi constituie infracţiunea de lipsire de libertate a persoanei în mod ilegal. De asemenea, împiedicarea unei persoane de a se deplasa cu trenul sau alt mijloc de transport acolo unde doreşte, fără o justificare legală a acestei împiedicări, constituie tot infracţiunea de lipsire de libertate în mod ilegal.

via APADOR : Asociatia Pentru Apararea Drepturilor Omului in Romania

2012-01-18T12:17:00.002+02:00

Rioting In Romania (Updated)

2012-01-15T18:43:00.003+02:00

There's a little bit of a mess going on in Bucharest right now.
At the moment, everything's still a little crazy and reports are often conflicting.
I'll get back at the story as soon as things clear up.

UPDATE

Read more about this on BBC here.

Yvonne Strahovski And Naked Shoppers Are Proof Of Boobie Power

2012-01-13T10:32:00.005+02:00

Hey you know, not a big fan of PETA or it's cheesy get-a-woman-naked to sell....uhm..sell...PETA (?) style of marketing.
But really, I do appreciate a beautiful lady. By the name of Yvonne Strahovski. Selling something.

Read about the ad here!

SEXY SELLS....NO SHIT

If you need any other remind that SEXY SELLS!...check out Desigual's latest ad campaign entitled...well, "Arrive half naked - leave fully dressed".

Shoppers in Germany were offered huge discounts if they turned up in their underwear, and the campaign worked because half-naked people flocked not only to be the first 100 customers at the store (these people would receive free stuff), but also because it attracted fully-clothed people who showed up to watch the nekkid peeps. And I think this is genius: Desigual combined our inborn love for FREE SCHTUFF with the irresistible lure of solid price cuts and, of course, the voyeuristic "i-want-to-see-naked-sexy-people" kind of lure that sells porno and tabloids.
If you want a measure of how successful this was, you should know the police forced the store to open 30 minutes earlier from fear of some sort of naked mob rioting - that's because 500 people had queued up overnight, semi-naked, for the promotion.
Read more about it here.

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Star Wars Live Action TV Show, By Lucas The Hutt

2012-01-11T17:25:00.012+02:00

Let me start this bit off by mentioning just how huge of a Star Wars fan I am.

Like many other boys my age, I was fascinated by the fairy-tale like sci-fi space opera and the je ne sais quoi that made Star Wars beloved by millions of fans. To this day I can’t properly express what it is about Star Wars that makes it so appealing. It’s awesome, it’s organic, it’s realistic in an interesting way (for once, it’s not set in our future or even our corner of the universe…that helps open your mind up and make room for things that you would normally frown upon if the franchise was set in a more familiar setting), it’s got struggle, heroism, space battles, villains and heroes, super-powers, princesses and queens, lasers, sword-fighting …

It’s got EVERYTHNG guys love. It’s basically a pot-pourri of every single thing young (and old) boys fantasize about. Maybe that’s why it’s so dear to us Star Wars fanboys.

And yet, those unfamiliar with the behind the scenes dramas of the franchise deserve a quick walkthrough. Fans throbbed with anticipation for the prequels, but many were disappointed by the new Star Wars feel these brought. Personally, I knew the prequels couldn’t be anything like the old movies, and I actually enjoyed The Phantom Menace a great deal, so I wasn’t altogether put off by its new twist.

But there were some things about it that did spoil it for old fans. The cheesy humor entered ridiculous new areas, many characters were lackluster and shallow, plot lines didn’t add up, CGI overpowered good acting and strong story mechanisms etc. Long story short, it seemed that 20 years later, George Lucas had lost his shit and all the talent he had when directing the original trilogy.

Truth was a bit more complicated. For once, Lucas was changed by the enormous wealth Star Wars merchandise franchising had brought him, and the new trilogy was probably designed with that in mind –keeping everything shiny, marketable, and easy to convert into toys. He knew how many toys, games and other merch he could squeeze out of these new movies so he tried his best to mold the movie according to projected toy lines. Secondly, it wasn’t his talent that made the original trilogy the epic saga it was – it was the contribution of many other talented people that influenced the then-young director’s creative decisions. For the prequel series, Lucas held all the reins and all the power – and the true extent of his talent became evident in the family-friendly tone of the new movies, easy to consume and somewhat offensive to many fans.

Now, after this long introduction, on with the main story. Lucas isn’t done with Star Wars, and it Lucasfilms is producing a new, live-action TV show featuring the time inbetween episodes 3 and 4, bridging the gap between the old and new trilogies. The show is on hold for 3-4 years, according to Lucas, because the CGI budget is still too big for TV productions at the moment. They’re working on 5 million dollars per episode so far.

So far, Lucas claims to have 50 hours of scripts for the series. And what will this new series’ tone be? Well, to paraphrase producer Rick McCallum, it’s Godfather in space: the seedy underground of Coruscant and their world of drugs and prostitution, having to face crackdowns from the newly-formed Empire.

To that I say…OH NO. Why?

When I see George talking about the show, this is what I really hear: “HeeHeeHEeee, silly Jedi! De wanka cho bass woompa sleeemoo.” Translation: “The Mighty Lucas the Hutt loves cash. Might Lucas is a one-trick pony, and China isn’t that good at CGI to set up a vfx sweatshop just yet.” The VFX technology wasn’t there for the old trilogy, and yet the pioneered it especially for the movie. Are they too lazy to meet the challenge now? Or has the fount of creativity really run dry and are they now forced to turn to the soulless quick fix of shiny CGI too appease the consuming masses? Why do all these sci-fi shows have to go the “gritty/dark/edgy” reboot way? Star Wars is a particular kind of sci-fi: it’s all about escapism, it’s all about fairy-tale themes and epic adventures of good versus evil. It's NOT about gritty Sopranos-style mobster stories, it's NOT morally ambiguous, it's heroes are ALWAYS the good guys and it's NOT Star Wars if it doesn't have Jedi.

But then again, I have to give this show the benefit of the doubt, for the sake of the franchise. I am, after all, a Fanboy. What do you think?

Read about it here, here and here.

Star Wars vs Star Trek -- Skywalker vs Kirk -- Tomato vs Tomato

2012-01-11T16:03:00.008+02:00

So this happened in the world of sci-fi fandom..

Then this...

Then this honorable diplomatic response...

And than good old Shat goes on and has it --wait for it-- shat on.

Too Sexy For School UPDATE

2012-01-10T15:56:00.001+02:00

So i read some more about Sydney Spies' story about her school board rejecting a provocative yearbook photo, and I was wrong: it would appear state law actually protects her right to have that picture included in the yearbook. According to a Colorado statue "students of the public schools shall have the right to exercise freedom of the press". Furthermore, "no expression contained in a student publication, whether or not such publication is school sponsored, shall be subject to prior restraint."

In that case, maybe they should let Sydney have her way after all. If she really believes that picture defines her (if it were me, I wouldn't be so proud about it), and state law defends her right to publish future regrets, why shouldn't she be able to?

America is, after all, the land of the free.

OH GOD KILL IT WITH FIRE

2012-01-09T20:18:00.010+02:00

You see, this is the kind of thing that makes me doubt that the laws of Darwin are properly respected on Toddlers and Tiaras. When I think about the parents (and indeed, environment/society) that spawns these child abominations and sets them loose upon our TV boxes, my skin crawls as my body naturally retracts into a fetal position, awaiting the inevitable apocalypse via giant, sassy BEAUHH-TAY QUEEENS from the far reaches of hell.

I have a theory about where these children come from. It involves the special circles of hell dedicated to trailer park parents living on road kill that commit the souls of their newborn to the very tentacled horror that impregnated them with the spawn of evil. Then they unleash this festering brood of cabbage-patch demons to desensitize us to this kind of depravity and gradually acclimatize the world to the horrors the Brood of evil are planning to conquer us all with.

But that's just me. What do you think?

Too Sexy Durrrty For Her Highscool

2012-01-09T19:07:00.005+02:00

So, this happened at Durango High Scool, Colorado, USA...
Student Sydney Spies got her high hopes crushed when the school rejected the picture she chose for her yearbook, considering it too sexy for the album.

The school allowed its students to pick out their own pictures for the upcoming yearbook, and Spies chose one that was considered too provocative. The school board defended its position stating that they do not wish to "diminish the quality of the award-winning yearbook with something that can be seen as unprofessional".
Dear old Sydney maintains her freedom of expression was infringed upon by the school board for disallowing her chosen picture.

I have to agree with the yearbook editor. It would have been unprofessional to include those pictures among other more conventional yearbook stills. They're not selling anything with that yearbook, no need for sideboob. There's no reason for one particular student to stand out for this kind of stuff in an otherwise conventional album. Maybe it would have been different if the theme of the yearbook revolved around sexy leitmotifs - bur right now, all we have is a slightly misguided young girl. Look, not saying her attempt was provocative enough to call this mishap a "controversy", but you gotta know when the time is right for mini-skirts and when its not.

As for "infringement of personal freedom"? Let's not get ahead of ourselves dear, your plight is not exactly ready to be cited along the history of oppression of African-Americans. Not sure the American constitution defends your right to disobey school yearbook regulations and policies.

What do you think?

KILL JEWISH CALORIES

2012-01-09T18:37:00.004+02:00

A gym in Dubai stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy on Facebook after the company, The Circuit Factory, released an ad spoofing the Auschwitz concentration camp for their facility.

Yup.

Here's what the company's founder had to say: “The idea of the campaign isn’t to upset anybody. The way branding works is (listen closely to this expert) you want people talking about your business. We want them talking about us, but we don’t want people to take offence at it. He added that he used the Auschwitz image because the classes are "like a calorie concentration camp."

Now before we throw stones at these people for profiting from genocide, furthermore, before we ask how these people released this ad thinking they will not stir this level of controversy - it's wise to remember, they probably did realize it's going to be that controversial. And they profited from it.

Not saying I support their use of this historic event for advertising purposes here. I'm just saying, the media (and of course, the internet...oh, internet!) loves to dig up controversy, often where it's not, or blow it up out of proportion. But I'd hold out on jumping on the "controversy" bandwagon and getting your torch and pitchfork ready just yet. What they did was bold in my opinion, and I admire the kind of courage required to do this sort of thing.

Even though it was a really stupid thing to do.

What do you think?

Speeding Around The World in Under 5 minutes Time Lapse

2012-01-09T16:32:00.002+02:00

What do you think?

Depressing Picture of North Korea's Capital City

2011-12-20T19:55:00.003+02:00

This is one of the very few pictures we have of Pyongyang, made by a western photographer.

It's a glimpse into the isolated and secluded land that is North Korea.

The city bears a semblance to a prison. It's cold, uniform colors, straight lines mirror the heavy oppression of individuality and non-conformity that the totalitarian regime imposes on the North Korean people.

There are no trees in this picture. Life is quenched by the compost, graveyard gray of the concrete and by the rigid architectural lines. No freedom of expression is allowed, no outside contact is permitted.

The city is indeed a prison: it keeps its people inside, and life,nature, optimism and free ideas outside.

What do you think?

The Egypt Woman Beating Video

2011-12-19T18:15:00.002+02:00

Following up on the Egypt beating news, here is the video depicting the gruesome scenes I talked about. Be warned, it's a graphic and cruel recording of pure human hatred.

Enraged Over Egyptian Military Beating Women

2011-12-19T18:13:00.004+02:00

Recently emerged footage shows Egyptian soldiers ruthlessly beating defenseless women in Tahrir Square. Worst still, after the showdown, the military attempted to confiscate video cameras after raiding homes in the aftermath of the beating, in an attempt to censor the events.

This is the 3rd violent day in Tahrir Square, and it started out when citizens protested against the military regime's refusal to relinquish power. All shit broke loose when Egyptian military started firing live ammunition into the crowd on Saturday, in an attempt to disperse the protesters, and so far 10 people have been killed.

In at least one case, the Egyptian soldiers removed a woman's abaya (a symbol of modesty and piety) after beating her. In case you're not familiar with Arabic customs and taboos, let me tell you what the meaning of that gesture is. Violence against women is a strong "no-no" in the Arab world, and exposing your chest and mid-region is equally taboo and considered sexually humiliating to the utmost degree.

And yet, ironically, here we have Egypt's soldiers, once beloved and supported by the people during February's revolution, now turning against their own citizens cruelly driving their fists, hands, legs and boots into helpless women. And that is disgusting.

Read about it here.

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The World Is A Little Bit Safer Today

2011-12-19T15:45:00.005+02:00

Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s self entitled Supreme Leader, who ruled over the country with an iron fist and raised concerns for his pursuit of nuclear weapon programs, is dead.

According to Korean news, he died of “advanced acute myocardial infarction brought on by " mental and physical strain” during a train ride on Saturday. He was previously said to have suffered two strokes, the latest allegedly in November, while other rumors claimed he had pancreatic cancer. This happened while he was on a propaganda tour across the country, attempting to prove his critics wrong about his alleged health problems.

No definite word yet as to who will succeed him, though his son Jong Un is rumored to be next in line, conflicting with reports of Chang Sung-taek already being the de-facto leader.

Oh, by the way, this man was bat-shit insane. His propaganda machine claimed the most ridiculous things about him: he didn’t poop or pee like real people, he invented the hamburger, he planned to solve North Korea’s hunger issues by breeding giant rabbits, he had his workers inspect every grain of rice he ate for consistency in shape and color, he repeatedly injected himself with blood from virgins to stay young, he was the world’s best golfer (38 under par on his first game ever ;) ), his birth was marked by a bright star and double rainbow…and much more. I could go on and on about his bat-shit insane regime but I’ve said enough.

The craziest country in the world spent 25% of its GDP on military expenses (compare to 4% US and Russia), and has the 4^th largest standing army in the world at 1.1 million troops. Officially a democracy, the country is actually a dictatorship where citizens have the right to vote at 17 – but (you saw this one coming) there’s only one party to vote for. Public executions are held in stadiums in front of thousands of spectators, and you can be executed for distributing Bibles, making an international phone call or hoarding food. The media is 100% state run and constantly reports lies and propaganda.

The world is a much better place without him, and his oppressive regime. Will his death put an end to North Korea’s aggressive and isolationist policy? That remains to be seen, as no official successor has yet to emerge. But the world just got a little lighter and it looks like 2011 is a good year for getting rid of oppressive dictators and dangerous assholes and lunatics, and I hope this man’s web of delusions, lies and propaganda dies along with him.

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Quickies of Today

2011-12-15T21:05:00.008+02:00

Google 2011 Retrospective

Google offers us a video retrospective of 2011, by looking at what the world searched. After watching it, I can say it does have an optimistic, faith-in-humanity hum to it. Enjoy it here.

War In Iraq Officially Over

Today marks a very important day for the US war effort in Iraq. Namely, that it’s over! In a symbolic ceremony held in Baghdad, US Secretary Leon Panetta declared the war officially over.

This controversial conflict has had a significant number of casualties. The United States sent 1.5 million troops, suffering 4500 casualties of war, and 30 000 wounded. This is in stark contrast with the Iraqi Security forces, that suffered a staggering 16 000 casualties. The exact number of civilian deaths is still to be released, but it’s estimated to be very high.

Now, I can’t help but think of the first war in Iraq where there was also a striking disparity in casualties, and what Bill Hicks used to say about “sending over 80 guys to win the war” (the US lost 79 troops in that conflict). Today’s Iraqi War was nevertheless bloody, controversial, prolonged and much debated.

Personally, I’m thankful it’s over. I could go into great detail about American policy of “fighting for peace”, i.e. the irony of waging a war in the name of peace, but suffice to say I can’t help but frown whenever some US head holds a speech about this kind of war being fought for “the liberation of X people”, “justice”, “principle” and not oil, money or political power. All I know is, if you’re the top bully in your school, you have to keep up your reputation and keep bullying.

Ironically, although US troops will leave Iraq, around 15 000 people will remain behind to operate the embassy. 15 thousand embassy employees? Really? That's as thin a cover up as you can get. Read more and more.

Superhero Girls Against Breast Cancer

We all know cancer sucks. And we all know breast cancer sucks. Even as a guy I see breast-cancer awareness ads and campaigns all over the media, so it’s refreshing to see how much care ladies put into their fun bags. Recently an ad company from Mozambique released a campaign portraying famos super hero females checking their boobies – the message being that nobody, not even Wonderwoman or Catwoman, is immune to breast cancer. Looks like a good way to remind women to do a monthly self-examination to me… Check it out.

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Want to See Why I Think This Generation Is Doomed?

2011-12-15T12:56:00.004+02:00

I have never seen a kid so excited about all the wrong things in life before. Skip ahead to 0:38 to witness something that I can only describe as anti-Darwinian.

This level of excitement, at that age, should be reserved for things that are on the opposite spectrum of, well, Pokemon and the life-altering accomplishment that is...one..shiny..pixelated...gameboy pony?
I am in no way a Pokemon hater, nor am I a Pokemon fan. I am simply aware of its existence, and yet I can say without a doubt this kid needs to do something else other than collecting pony sprites. Like watching porn. Or maybe an actual, in-the-flesh, real girlfriend. Some hiking would work too, as well as reading a book. And this is coming from a geek.

What do you think?

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Witness the Devastation of the Japanese Tsunami by Yourself

2011-12-14T01:39:00.003+02:00

The offical Google blog (here) has announced that you can experience the tsunami-affected areas through Google Street View, in what is an ongoing attempt to digitally archive the disaster.

They're making good on their promise after driving for more than 44000 kilometers, and the 360 degree images they've captured are really otherworldly.

The damage is overwhelming. Once pristine landscapes and cities are transformed into mountains of rubble, dirt and broken pieces of a better past. The devastating disaster is revealed in all its gritty, brutal reality.

If there is one thing you need to draw from these pictures, it must be: do not f**k with mother Nature. Looking at these pictures just reminds me of how puny, weak and insignificant all our so-called civilization and progress are when faced with the primal forces of our pissed-off planet. We do not own this planet. We can't even control it. We manage to poison it, sure, but when that comes back to bite us in the ass, we really aren't prepared to face it. We're insects on a beach being swept away by millions of tons of salty H2O.

So I guess the real Big point of this is...

Damn Nature U Scary!

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Quickies of Today

2011-12-13T21:07:00.004+02:00

The hunt for the Higgs boson continues: even though scients are closer now to figuring out the exact mass of the elusive particle, its discovery is still far off. Go Science!

http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2011/PR25.11E.html

Explaining how Carrier IQ Plus works: an in-depth explanation of the scope and capabilities of the IQ Plus mobile system. Recently the FBI has admitted to using Carrier IQ files for "law enforcement purposes". In short, a little known company has a piece of software installed on many, many mobile phones and many mobile networks that can track user locations, keystrokes, encrypted internet traffic etc. This information can be sent back to the network operator or even Carrier IQ's own servers. What is disturbing about this system is the amount of data about the user that can be collected without his/her knowledge or consent. When purchasing a mobile phone, you are not told you may be tracked or your personal internet traffic may be monitored, your passwords and keystrokes recorded etc. This is an infringement of personal privacy rights, but did we really expect them not to be monitoring us through our cellphones?

http://mashable.com/2011/12/13/understanding-carrier-iq/
here's some more about Carrier IQ and he phone tapping scandal:
http://geeks.thedailywh.at/2011/12/02/carrier-iq-news-round-up-of-the-day/

A new Trillion FPS camera has been developed: read all about it in the link below. This level of technology is simply mind-numbing.

http://web.media.mit.edu/~raskar/trillionfps/

Master Takei, Protector of the Peace of the Day

2011-12-13T15:40:00.003+02:00

Mr Takei, I usually do not have many words to say about you. But you- you, are AWESOME. Thank you for reconciling these once-embittered fanboy factions and showing them the TRUE enemy.

Star Trek TNG Ambient Engine Noise (Idling for 24 hrs)

2011-12-12T04:00:00.002+02:00

Youtuber crysknife007 has spent a lot of time and effort recording, cleaning up and looping the USS Enterprise D warp engine idle sound. Why?

Because for us geeks, it's one of the most soothings sounds in the world.

Today's Google Anniversary: Robert Noyce

2011-12-12T02:19:00.000+02:00

Today's Google logo doodle celebrates inventor and businessman Robert Noyce, nicknamed the "Mayor of Silicon Valley", co-founder of Intel and co-inventor of the integrated circuit, or microchip, the piece of hardware responsible for the PC revolution and the main reason you can surf the internet and read this right now.

Russians Protest Over Flawed Elections

2011-12-12T01:04:00.008+02:00

As you all probably know by now, there be protests in Russia following severe irregularities with the recent Russian ballot.These protests started out as a response to flawed Russian legislative election process, and these aren't small scale events. Russia hasn't seen mobs this large since the fall of the Soviet Union 22 years ago.

Here's what you need to know about the demands of the Russian people:

freedom for political prisoners
annulment of the election results
the resignation of the electoral commission head, Vladimir Churov
the opening of an investigation into vote fraud
registration of opposition parties and overall new democratic legislature
new open, democratic elections

Russian protesters in Bolotnaya Square

The Russian International News Agency cites more than 1000 reports of electoral irregularities (these include vote fraud, illegal campaigning, obstruction of observers, media bias, ballot stuffing, lack of impartiality in the election commission etc). Moreover, the agency reports that voters were transported between voting stations to cast multiple votes. Other irregularities include observers being denied the right to observe ballot box sealing, denied the gathering evidence of the electoral process (such as video recordings), and being outright kicked out from voting locations without grounds. The ruling party also alleges that the opposition distributed illegal pamphlets at voting stations and even threatened voters with violence.

The OSCE also drew attention to numerous illegalities, concluding that although preparations for the elections were technically well administered, there was a convergence between the Russian state and the governing party.

The international community has responded to these internal issues, often criticizing the electoral process. Hillary Clinton called the elections “neither free, nor fair”, to which Russian officials responded with indignation calling her accusations “unacceptable”. Putin hinted Clinton is only a symptom of international interference in Russian political sovereignty. What puts a smile on my face is the fact that Russian officials and Putin have responded to these accusations by pointing the finger at the US electoral system, calling it less liberal than its Russian counterpart. Current President Medvedev has reacted to the crisis by playing down concerns and urging the people to give the new parliament "a chance to work”, while Mikhail Gorbachev agreed with protesters calling the electoral process flawed, with great evidence of falsification and rigging and stating that results do not match the will of the Russian people.

I come from a country that is no stranger to political fraud, so it's hard for me not to sympathize with the Russian public on this matter. What's happening is wrong. People are being screwed out of their votes and they are reminded that their opinions are irrelevant in the face of the behind-the-curtains power play between political parties. Their most basic democratic rights are being violated in a manner that is anything but subtle or questionable. If all these concerns are indeed true, Russia is dealing with a massively corrupt and dysfunctional political system. The sheer amount of falsifications mean that it's very likely these results do not reflect the opinion of the Russian people. To avoid that alltogether and ensure a transparent democratic process, elections must be held again.

Personally, I believe that whenever an election stirs up this amount of allegations, accusations and official condemnations, results must be forfeit. Whether or not the accusations are true, is another thing altogether; however the sheer number of issues this round of Russian elections has faced is very likely a symptom of some underlying issue.
After all, there's no smoke without fire.

Sources:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/monitors-find-russian-elections-flawed/2011/12/05/gIQAzrhqXO_story.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16037975
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_legislative_election,_2011
http://news.yahoo.com/u-suggests-russian-elections-neither-free-nor-fair-093406670.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russian-president-medvedev-in-prague-to-sign-business-deals/2011/12/08/gIQAo1nVeO_story.html

BlackBoxTV - "This Is For You Baby!"

2011-12-11T23:59:00.001+02:00

One of my favorite YouTube celebrities doing a short film for Black Box TV. It's hard to take Toby Turner seriously if you know him, though.

Goodbye Planking, Hello Falling

2011-12-10T19:34:00.004+02:00

If you thought things couldn't get any dumber than planking, think again.

You know, the internet never ceases to surprise me with people that come up with brand new ways to do something completely unconstructive, potentially painful, that somehow earns them bragging rights.

People, this is stupid. Funny, but stupid. If you're wondering how to settle that paradox, think Jersey Shore.

This all magically relates to a recent study suggesting watching stupid TV will actually make you dumber. We could apply the same logic here and get ready for a whole new section at the Special Olympics: Falling!

The study is remarkably interesting, even though it just provides justification for something we've already known in our hearts as true.

Isn't that right internets? Link below:

http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/13/6851542-watching-jersey-shore-might-make-you-dumber-study-suggests

What do you think about Falling?

17-Year Old Invents Particle That Fights Cancer, Wins 100k $

2011-12-10T17:48:00.009+02:00

I want to talk to you a little bit about Angela Zhang, possibly the world's coolest teenager at the moment. Angela is a 17 year old girl that won 100k $ for developing a revolutionary nanoparticle that fights cancer.

Here are the details: She won the prize money after winning a Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Her project is entitled „Design of Image-guided, Photo-thermal Controlled Drug Releasing Multifunctional Nanosystem for the Treatment of Cancer Stem Cells”, a very long for something that has been described as a „swiss army knife” in medical treatment. The particle can be delivered via drugs and the particle kills cancer cells and deposits materials that assist with MRI imaging. And I have to say, that is AWESOME. In the struggle to find new and better ways to fight off this difficult kind of disease, any victory is worthy of applaud; especially one that's the brainchild of a teenager.

She say's she started working on the cure in 2009, spending over 1000 hours in the process. You have our congratulations, girl!

Now let's take a moment and remember what I was doing at 17:

being awkard around girls I liked
failing math again
was into semi-obscure rock bands (like Tool) and was beginning to switch to the indie genre because back then, indie was still new and cool
getting dumped for being too drunk to recognize my own girlfriend
about the height of my public accomplishments was realising i was actually quite popular and overall well-liked on the school forum
playing WoW
sucked at fashion
couldn't grow remarkable facial hair as much as I tried

How about you? What are your remarkable accomplishments at age 17?