tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post4016322174132516550..comments2024-03-28T18:18:37.133-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Some News is Pretty GoodDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-6525613475491272952011-03-05T15:05:43.169-08:002011-03-05T15:05:43.169-08:00http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/0...http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/03/05/bill_maher_newt_gingrich_exploratory_committee/index.html<br /><br />http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/<br />then<br />03/05/bill_maher_newt_gingrich_exploratory_<br />then<br />committee/index.htmlDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-83045438076482213672011-02-26T07:43:08.843-08:002011-02-26T07:43:08.843-08:00You know, the most striking thing to me about the ...You know, the most striking thing to me about the whole Wisconsin situation is that despite it being considered a state issue, the funding for the anti-union ads being run in the state has come primarily from Koch Industries, a company based in Kansas.<br /><br />Since when did a Kansas based company running ads and pulling strings with a government to undo union power in Wisconsin constitute a Wisconsin state issue?Coreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06487646409063141004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-24851600326012963522011-02-25T22:21:39.568-08:002011-02-25T22:21:39.568-08:00onwardonwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-34151559541726987532011-02-25T20:47:02.342-08:002011-02-25T20:47:02.342-08:00Meanwhile, both Ronald Reagan and Solidary (the un...Meanwhile, both Ronald Reagan and Solidary (the union that started the unravelling of the Soviet Empire) may be seen in support of Wisconsin public service workers:<br /><br />"To Public Service Workers in the State of Wisconsin<br /><br />Dear Sisters and Brothers,<br /><br />On behalf of the 700,000 members of the Polish Trade Union NSZZ<br />“Solidarnosc” (Solidarity) I wish to express our solidarity and support for your<br />struggle against the recent assault on trade unions and trade union rights<br />unleashed by Governor Scott Walker.<br /><br />We are witnessing yet another attempt of transferring the costs of the economic<br />crisis and of the failed financial policies to working people and their families. <br /><br />As<br />much as some adjustments are necessary, we can not and must not agree that the<br />austerity measures are synonymous with union-busting practices, the elimination<br />of bargaining rights and the reduction of social benefits and wages.<br /><br />Dear friends, please rest assured that our thoughts are with you during your<br />protest, as we truly do hope that your just fight for decent working and living<br />conditions, for the workers’ rights will be successful.<br /><br />Your victory is our victory as well.<br /><br />In Solidarity,<br />Piotr Duda<br />President"<br /><br />http://www.afscme.org/docs/110225-JS-Poland-ad.pdf<br />====<br />Reagan: "Unionization Is A Basic Right"<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orwN4WKhriwrewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-40461714469822828852011-02-25T20:14:03.052-08:002011-02-25T20:14:03.052-08:00It is a fact that the special tax treatment that t...It is a fact that the special tax treatment that the EIC got enabled it to undercut American small businessmen/smugglers. Indeed that was the whole point of the special tax treatment.<br /><br />Had the colonists had the chance to vote on the matter, undoubtedly they would have voted against it, although it is unlikely that they would have prevailed in Parliament even with fair representation. Do the population math.<br /><br />Sure, we can be confident that the colonists were unhappy about the injustice of this, since they said so. But the injustice had gone on for decades without rebellion, most likely because it was not previously accompanied by naked favoritism that threatened the economic survival of the American middle class. <br /><br />We can also be confident that the rebels didn't mind paying taxes per se, since post-Revolution they taxed themselves and even suppressed an anti-tax rebellion, which gave rise to the bit about the tree of liberty requiring the blood of patriots, in a context that is misunderstood by Tea Partiers generally.<br /><br />In an important sense, this is of only historical interest, since today's Tea Partiers actually do have the franchise. Much of their ire is just being sore losers about 2008, and the rest is due to propaganda of the anti-democracy (small 'd') movement funded by the Kochs and their ilk. Of all the disenfranchised populations in the history of the planet, angry white people carrying guns while collecting Social Security and Madicare are the least disenfranchised ever.rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-62835086953350616062011-02-25T20:00:34.765-08:002011-02-25T20:00:34.765-08:00Hey I just rented the old MAX HEADROOM show from 1...Hey I just rented the old MAX HEADROOM show from 1985! Such a hoot how those primitive pre-web, pre-flatscreen, pre-cellphone people still played with cyberpunk ideas of networked AI etc.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-56665371080962924962011-02-25T17:21:26.798-08:002011-02-25T17:21:26.798-08:00LarryHart: "The original Boston Tea Party was...LarryHart: "The original Boston Tea Party was a protest against the LOWERING of taxes on the British East-India Company's tea. It wasn't a protest against high taxes."<br /><br />That is an absurd misinterpretation. The Tea Act did lower taxes, but that was certainly not the element of the Tea Act against which the radical colonists protested. <br /><br />The radicals protested the continuation of the Townshend tax on tea, "without representation".TwinBeamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-89438045416561048442011-02-25T15:23:35.483-08:002011-02-25T15:23:35.483-08:00Can part of the problem with movies be that creati...Can part of the problem with movies be that creativity is <i>risky</i> - it's very hard to tell whether an idea is insanely good, or merely insane. Add this to the crazily high cost of producing and distributing a top-of-the-line movie and you get an unwillingness to take risks. <br /><br />Perhaps one of the advantages of movies from comic books is that they have characters that have been storyboarded for decades, plus a fan base who can be counted on attending at least one showing while buying a liter of soda and the extra-large popcorn.<br /><br />===<br /><br />Jon Stewart's comment on Ahmandinejad's condemnation of tyrants who attack their own population: <b>"Iran has finally managed to weaponize irony".</b> <br /><br />===<br /><br />@Robert - now would be a good time to ask the GOP to pass a bill requiring all Federal Government employees (in all 3 branches) to log all meetings on some sort of online database. 4Square dot gov? The technology would be straightforward, and if their motivation would be to embarass Obama for something that should embarass him, well, that's a price we should all be willing to pay.<br /><br />===<br /><br />Dr. Brin - the problem with that SciAm article is that <b>it has no explosions!</b> If you would repackage the content as a secret plot to blow up America's scientific pre-eminence through stealthily delivered weapons of mass campaign donations, as revealed to a young hero with a spunky and slightly-smarter girlfriend, maybe you could get some airtime. I'm not joking.rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1267361566681083682011-02-25T13:47:29.530-08:002011-02-25T13:47:29.530-08:00Looks like Obama is saying one thing and doing ano...Looks like Obama is saying one thing and doing another again. <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/50081.html" rel="nofollow">In an attempt to avoid transparency vows, Obama is meeting with lobbyists outside of the White House</a> so that the meetings are not recorded by the Secret Service or logged in the White House. And from the looks of things, he's doing this regularly.<br /><br />And to think I voted for him. What a pity that the alternative was so... poisonous.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-2809396194515525222011-02-25T11:02:27.087-08:002011-02-25T11:02:27.087-08:00Spending cuts approved by the House would end Amer...Spending cuts approved by the House would end America's reign as a scientific leader if they are enacted into law, a former Bush administration Energy Department official said yesterday.<br /><br />"Left intact, the massive cuts in research contained in the bill passed on 19 February would effectively end America's legendary status as the leader of the worldwide scientific community," Raymond Orbach wrote in an editorial published online by the journal Science.<br /><br />http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=house-budget-cuts-could-end-us-science-leadership<br /><br />http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?<br />then<br />id=house-budget-cuts-could-end-us-<br />then<br />science-leadership<br /><br />I guess the Saudis haven't changed their plans for us, after all. Their lackeys are still trying to end Pax Americana from within. This is war.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-29884444223584521862011-02-25T10:59:12.960-08:002011-02-25T10:59:12.960-08:00David wrote: "1) rich families get rid of the...David wrote: "1) rich families get rid of their idiot sons to divert them from the family business. A century ago they were sent into the church. Today, they are sent with 80 million dollars to buy a producer's slot in Hollywood, snort coke, mess with models and call themselves geniuses for coming up with 'what if cars could talk!'"<br /><br />Hate to break the news to you, David, but nowadays, cars DO talk. A voice comes out of the dashboard to tell you that your seatbelt is unbuckled, that your tire pressure is too low, etc.ellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-20370172585380882782011-02-25T10:28:04.134-08:002011-02-25T10:28:04.134-08:00Which is why the intelligent and creative films ar...Which is why the intelligent and creative films are created by independents rather than Hollywood. Of course, with the rise of YouTube and related video-streaming sites, more and more amateur filmmakers are starting to showcase their ideas and imagination.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5273278162047643962011-02-25T10:22:43.863-08:002011-02-25T10:22:43.863-08:00See citizen action where it matters most, in quake...See citizen action where it matters most, in quake ravaged new zealand.<br />http://eq.org.nz/<br /><br />re dumb sons in Hollywood... the requirements to achieve power there are money, ferocity, betrayal, more money, drugs, and truncated ethics. Ideal for the rapacious-dumb brothers/sons but actual detriments to smart/creative/cooperative types.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90179543434973890172011-02-25T09:02:50.807-08:002011-02-25T09:02:50.807-08:00Twin Beam:
Sorry if you can't take a little c...Twin Beam:<br /><i><br />Sorry if you can't take a little correction of your (and LarryHart's) eager historical revisionism.<br /></i><br /><br />Excuse me?<br /><br /><i><br />They see the BTP as an example of "the people" demanding a say in their government, which is what they see themselves as doing. Since tax reduction is part of what they are demanding, it must have seemed a natural analogy to them.<br /></i><br /><br />The original Boston Tea Party was a protest against the LOWERING of taxes on the British East-India Company's tea. It wasn't a protest against high taxes.<br /><br />The modern Tea-Pretenders are out there agitating for taxes on billionaires and trans-national corporations to be LOWERED. That's exactly the sort of thing the original BTP was a protest AGAINST. So the analogy doesn't seem natural at all.<br /><br />Continually saying I'm wrong about this doesn't make it so.<br /><br /><i><br />for a group that doesn't care about limiting the size of government, they do seem to spend a lot of time saying they care about it...<br /></i><br /><br />What does that prove? The Republicans don't care about reducing deficits, but they spend a lot of time saying they do. George Bush approved of torture, but he spent a lot of time saying he didn't. Surely, you're not suggesting that the level of lip-service given to an idea is a measure of actual commitment to that idea?LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-70561962387686547932011-02-25T08:20:07.836-08:002011-02-25T08:20:07.836-08:00New Methods of Rationality up, plus he added a cou...New Methods of Rationality up, plus he added a couple to the Omake in 64.<br /><a href="http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/70/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality" rel="nofollow">http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/70/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality</a>sociotardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697154298087412934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-30768483209631472552011-02-25T06:43:13.434-08:002011-02-25T06:43:13.434-08:00Dr. Brin,
I remember you saying earlier that the ...Dr. Brin,<br /><br />I remember you saying earlier that the idiot sons went into the financial industry because the smart ones, who would normally succeed their fathers, left and took up science or joined some creative field. In a sense, they are guilty of betrayel, even if their attraction to more intellectually rewarding fields is understandable.<br /><br />My question: Why didn't any of these smart ones end up in Hollywood?socnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-35672133762238389582011-02-24T21:18:59.943-08:002011-02-24T21:18:59.943-08:00fair enuff.fair enuff.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-15346506353179770892011-02-24T21:14:23.115-08:002011-02-24T21:14:23.115-08:00Funny you should be talking about movies. As I to...Funny you should be talking about movies. As I told Tacitus, I've been stuck home for several days with a fever, and spent much of it watching old VHS tapes of movies from the 1970s. From all-time greats like "The Godfather" to playful romps like "Silver Streak" to the Michael York version of "The Three Musketeers" (which owes more to the old Batman tv show than I ever realized).<br /><br />Besides the "Ohmigod, everyone looks so YOUNG!" aspect of watching old favorites, I'm also struck by a feeling that's sort of summed up by "Oh yeah. Movies used to have plots and characters and settings and good writing!"<br /><br />When I was a teenager in the 1970s, I used to be a fan of movies. I don't mean particular movies, but of the artform itself. Many was the time my family would decide on a Saturday night to "see a movie" without having a specific one in mind. SOMETHING good would be playing. Somewhere around 1980, that changed.<br /><br />The same thing happened to me with superhero comic books. It's not simply that I got too old for them, because if I re-read my favorites from the 60s and 70s, I can still re-live the reason I loved them back then. The new stuff--not so much. And it hardly helps things that comics are trying to BE movies these days, and movies are trying to be cynical self-parodies.<br /><br />Dr Brin, you know I love you, but I reject your accusation. I don't support sucky movies, but they're not going to change because of what I'd like to see. I didn't leave movies--they left me.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-41758307101635148182011-02-24T19:14:38.747-08:002011-02-24T19:14:38.747-08:00I agree with all of the reasons listed. But in th...I agree with all of the reasons listed. But in the end, two reasons matter more:<br /><br />1) rich families get rid of their idiot sons to divert them from the family business. A century ago they were sent into the church. Today, they are sent with 80 million dollars to buy a producer's slot in Hollywood, snort coke, mess with models and call themselves geniuses for coming up with "what if cars could talk!"<br /><br />2) It really is our fault. Yours and mine. Period. Either we are the customers or we've allow civilization to deteriorate to the point where our neighbors raise morons who watch it.<br />http://www.cracked.com/article_19012_5-hollywood-secrets-that-explain-why-so-many-movies-suck.htmlDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-31923338883717615112011-02-24T19:08:17.077-08:002011-02-24T19:08:17.077-08:00http://www.cracked.com/article_19012_5-hollywood-s...http://www.cracked.com/article_19012_5-hollywood-secrets-that-explain-why-so-many-movies-suck.html<br /><br />http://www.cracked.com/article_19012_5-<br />then<br />hollywood-secrets-that-explain-why-so-<br />then<br />many-movies-suck.htmlDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-20118366056538626182011-02-24T17:17:19.012-08:002011-02-24T17:17:19.012-08:00On a lighter note, "Ahmedinejad's" t...On a lighter note, <a href="http://twitter.com/m_ahmadinejad" rel="nofollow">"Ahmedinejad's" twitter acount</a><br /><br />ex. "Just did 15 pushups, followed by a brisk walk. So if you are thinking about regime change, come get some of this! <br />6:54 AM Feb 1st via Twitter for iPhone "<br /><br />:)socnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-53988046626565723322011-02-24T16:57:59.630-08:002011-02-24T16:57:59.630-08:00"Not all Tea Party organizations are the same...<i>"Not all Tea Party organizations are the same..."</i><br /><br />Oh, certainly. One of the most important things for any political operation to do is to co-opt a lot of people into turning their energies against their own self-interest ... it's the same whether you're Lenin or David Koch.rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-71403280163900815692011-02-24T16:06:13.379-08:002011-02-24T16:06:13.379-08:00Not all Tea Party organizations are the same. Don&...Not all Tea Party organizations are the same. Don't forget that. Some of them are honest hardworking Americans who believe Democrats went too far and organized to get their voice heard in politics. They do not get funded by Koch or by other groups. And they often dislike intrusion from outside political groups including the Republican Party. <br /><br />That said, those Tea Party groups often only have a local influence at best and formed primarily because of the media attention that Fox News initially generated.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-642865855614347752011-02-24T15:13:23.078-08:002011-02-24T15:13:23.078-08:00"...Nor is it a useful symbol for the the mod...<i>"...Nor is it a useful symbol for the the modern Tea Partiers being fools, as Rewinn seems to imply. The Tea Partiers were essentially correct in making an analogy to the Boston Tea Party - it has been a long time since either party took seriously the idea of smaller government, so their anti-big-government position was not being represented.</i><br /><br />@Twinbeam - Despite your protestations, the Boston Tea Party was not about small government.<br /><br />And today's "Tea Partiers" aren't objecting to big government ideas such as spying on citizens and launching wars of aggression or no-bid contracting. They are simply rallying to the cries of their leaders, paid for by the Koch brothers and their fellow Aristocrats. The proof of this is in the concrete proposals for reform the Tea Parties espouse.<br /><br />As for history, People often have multiple reasons for rebelling. However, the Colonists had paid taxes for ages without representation, so to claim that the Boston Tea Party was purely about the lack of representation is ill-founded.<br /> <br />And let there be no "imply"ing; I'll state it outright: today's Tea Partiers are historically ignorant fools to cite Boston Harbor as a symbol of a demand for smaller government.rewinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14008105385364113371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-119462820137943692011-02-24T14:50:52.542-08:002011-02-24T14:50:52.542-08:00@LarryHart
I'm glad you thought the idea awes...@LarryHart<br /><br />I'm glad you thought the idea awesome.<br /><br />Like a lot of awesome ideas, I belatedly realised it's already been done. Check out Bruce Sterling's 'Maneki Neko' (in 'A Good Old Fashioned Future'). Or, in the spirit of the notion, go ogle for it.<br /><br />(Doesn't mean it couldn't be done again, though)<br /><br />gadvoyan: a passing commentator who offers simple online advice before moving on.Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.com