sibelian
sibelian's JournalCommission for a friend...
Phew! That was a slog. 2 months of effort! I really need to speed up...
Margaret Thatcher's death greeted with street parties in Brixton and Glasgow
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-death-party-brixton-glasgow
Several hundred people gathered in south London on Monday evening to celebrate Margaret Thatcher's death with cans of beer, pints of milk and an impromptu street disco playing the soundtrack to her years in power.
Young and old descended on Brixton, a suburb which weathered two outbreaks of rioting during the Thatcher years. Many expressed jubilation that the leader they loved to hate was no more; others spoke of frustration that her legacy lived on.
To cheers of "Maggie Maggie Maggie, dead dead dead," posters of Thatcher were held aloft as reggae basslines pounded.
A post from one of my pals on facebook about Thatcher... had to share.
"Commentators struggling to present some semblance of neutrality in response to the departure of such an undoubtedly polarising individual express sentiments such as: "Whatever your views on her policies, you have to respect her determination."
Sorry, but to my mind that was her most despicable attribute. Self-belief to that degree is the province of the zealot and is the enemy of reason. It should have no place in politics, but sadly it is all too often otherwise, the pages of history being littered with megalomaniacs, the credulous fools who respect a "strong leader" and give them the support they so rarely deserve."
He's asked me not to attribute.
Dear Americans. I am British. And I'd just like to say...
...that I'll believe she's dead when they've published a picture of her corpse with Dorothy's house on top of it.
Ciao!
Guardian launches 'augmented reality' specs to offer immersive liberal insight
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/apr/01/guardian-goggles-augmented-reality-specs
You can already access the Guardian in ways that were unimaginable two decades ago: on your desktop or laptop computer, a tablet, e-reader or smartphone.
But today, ending months of speculation and rumour, this newspaper announces a groundbreaking development in the modern history of the media: a pair of web-connected "augmented reality" spectacles that will beam its journalism directly into the wearer's visual field, enabling users to see the world through the Guardian's eyes at all times.
The motion-sensitive spectacles, known as Guardian Goggles, incorporate translucent screens in the lenses, overlaying the wearer's view of their surroundings with a real-time stream of specially curated opinions from the paper's reporters, critics and commentators. For example, simply by looking at the outside of a restaurant or cinema and pointing, the user can call up relevant Guardian reviews of the food or current films.
....
The Appearance and Actuality of Prejudice.
.... But if there isn't a mechanism in place to differentiate between the appearance of prejudice and the intent of prejudice the ability to accurately guage prejudice and, consequently, efforts to thwart it, are compromised by wilful misinterpretation on behalf of agencies seeking not to bring about positive change but to sharpen their own cognitive bias.
I am not in a position, as a gay man, to legitimately take offense at someone telling me I'm being a drama queen, even though it can be seen as homophobic, until I have satisfied at least myself that I'm not being a drama queen but in fact have some legitimate greivance. I could choose to behave as if the use of the term is insulting no matter when or how it used, but that becomes a communication block.
Prejudice is a logical fallacy. It isn't wrong to make assumptions about, for example, gay people because doing so makes them feel bad, it's wrong to make assumptions about gay people because it doesn't make any sense. The emotional reaction consequent to such assumptions proceeds from the fact that it doesn't make sense, and it's the making sense that has to happen to fix the problem, not the management of the symptomatic reaction.
So if someone says something to me that makes me feel bad it might be homophobic ir it might not. But unless there is some specific indication that they wouldn't have said it to me if I were straight, I cannot legitimately claim that it was homophobic even if I really, really, really think it was.
Ladies and Gentleman... my very first cartoon!
Ummm. Well. It is my very first cartoon, after all...
Profile Information
Member since: Tue Sep 4, 2007, 07:36 AMNumber of posts: 7,804
