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Latest stumbles
Friday, January 28, 2005
I've recently been getting into a few rather heated debates about how asylum seekers are treated in this country. Unfortunately I keep running into people who think and talk like Daily Mail editorials, so there hasn't been much common ground for a reasoned discussion. They seem to be of the opinion that all asylum seekers are idle scroungers with no rights who came here illegally and should be sent home on the next boat. On the other hand, I keep hearing stories about people who aren't treated much better in this country than the one they've escaped from. The only reason they stay is because it's less likely they'll be killed here ( unless they live in Swansea).
It's usually regarded as a cheap shot to hark back to the Holocaust when arguing that humanity has a duty to help its weaker members. But the parallels we see today are just too strong. People who should know better (either through education or actual experience) are casually dismissing whole communities simply because they have a different culture, or religion. Maybe they're afraid of them, maybe it's just ignorance but frankly I'm past caring about the reasons. The bottom line is that history is perilously close to repeating itself (if it hasn't already) and most people don't give a damn.
This is from an editorial in yesterday's Telegraph by Dr Jonathan Sacks (Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth)
What has consistently struck me has been how they [the Holocaust survivors] have remembered without hate or desire for revenge. Their message has been simple: don't hate. Know where prejudice leads. Fight intolerance. Cherish each day as if it were your last. Love life and be willing to fight for it. Love the stranger, for how we treat strangers is the test of our humanity. Above all, remember, for without memory a civilisation travels blind.
(source: Telegraph | Opinion | Holocaust survivors can remember without hating)
It seems like the only people who learned from the Holocaust are the survivors themselves. I hope that the Rwandans, Kurds, Sundanese and Somalis of today will be as noble in the years to come.
posted at 10:25 AM
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Thursday, January 27, 2005
The Great Bra DebateThis started as a question raised down the pub last Friday night. Curiously, the advocates of the two main techniques got quite passionate about their chosen approach with comments such "You're kidding" or even "That's RETARDED!" being thrown at non-believers. So I thought, I'd open it up a bit and see what everyone else thinks. (the poll's a freebie - you might have to scroll down)
posted at 8:50 AM
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Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Funny air traffic controllers quotes: I know this probably isn't PC but still.... "Allegedly, a Pan Am 727 flight waiting for start clearance in Munich overheard the following: Lufthansa (in German): 'Ground, what is our start clearance time?' Ground (in English): 'If you want an answer you must speak in English.' Lufthansa (in English): 'I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?' Unknown voice from another plane (in a beautiful British accent): 'Because you lost the bloody war.'"
posted at 7:23 PM
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Watch this short video. Watch it only once and pay attention - don't cheat!
The video shows a group of basketball players throwing two balls between them. Some are wearing white shirts, others are in black. Your job is to count how many times the ball is passed by those wearing white shirts.
http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/grafs/demos/15.html
Once the movie is over, note down the number of time you saw the players in white passing the ball between them and proceed to step two at:
http://free.mailinfo.com/web/reality/step2.htm
posted at 10:11 AM
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Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Postscript to last week's inauguration from Interesting Drug: Anyone feel like captioning this?
Guess she was just tuckered out after giving all those Devil Worshipping salutes to her fellow Texans. It's good to know the Bush twins can always be relied upon to live down to our expectations. Labels: fuckwittery
posted at 1:26 PM
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Monday, January 24, 2005
Error Message Gallery - There's a small but militant part of me that would love to rig a co-worker's computer to display some of the more sphincter-loosening messages on this page....
Fortunately there's a bigger, saner part of me that wants to live. Labels: geek
posted at 10:26 AM
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Friday, January 21, 2005
Reading the news today, it's a wonder Dubya had time for the inauguration at all. I would have thought he would be too busy trying to learn all the new names of his Cabinet.
Hmm, maybe it's Time For Another Bush Purge!!:
Everyone knows that Dubya regularly flip flops about the current proposals to ammend the constitution but at least last time he had the grace to do in via two separate interviews. Here he manages to contradict himself in the space of two paragraphs. It rather reinforces the whole 'attention-span-of-a-gnat' image:
" 'I fully understand that the job of the president is and must always be protecting the great right of people to worship or not worship as they see fit,' Mr. Bush said. 'That's what distinguishes us from the Taliban. The greatest freedom we have or one of the greatest freedoms is the right to worship the way you see fit.
'On the other hand, I don't see how you can be president at least from my perspective, how you can be president, without a relationship with the Lord,' he said. "
(Source: President outlines role of his faith - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - January 12, 2005)
:: ak13 :: Ten reasons to love George W. Bush - well, I gather he's kind to animals....? (pardons a turkey every year apparently)
George W. Bush: The Officious Website: www.GeorgeWBush.org - like whitehouse.org, this is another site which exploits the present junta's oversight in not buying the '.org' version of their domain names. A good source for Blue State oneliners (also available on stickers, mugs etc)
And finally:
Boing Boing: The madness of King George - no need to ask if he is full of purple piss as well.
Labels: fuckwittery
posted at 10:22 AM
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Thursday, January 20, 2005
The Always Amusing Euphemism Generator " Like most guys his age, he wasn't above shaking hands with the screaming gusset."
posted at 9:28 AM
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Wednesday, January 19, 2005
I'm pretty sure this is a spoof:
At the bottom of page I was reassured to discover that HITMAN is a cruelty-free organization. - "None of our services have been tested on animals."
posted at 4:02 PM
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Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Mediation Jokes from Consensus Mediation - my chum Maggie is a lawyer, with a sense of humour.
You don't get many of them to the pound.
posted at 10:12 AM
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Tuesday, January 11, 2005
BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | IT support for your parents - this all sounds horribly, horrbly familiar. Thank goodness - I am not alone. Judging by the comments posted for the article (which are already closed) I may have to start a support group. Labels: geek
posted at 1:42 PM
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Monday, January 10, 2005
SpaceWeather.com - News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids (notice how they just slipped that last one in there?)
This week I am particularly interested in the 'weather' up there as NASA's latest craft "Deep Impact" is launching from Kennedy on Wednesday at 18:47 GMT. I'm going to be watching intently since this probe carries a CD containing the names of people who signed up on the Deep Impact Website. My name's not on the list...
...but my teddy bear's is.
posted at 1:31 AM
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Sunday, January 09, 2005
I'll see you that BadgerBadgerBager and raise you Harry Potter
posted at 1:13 PM
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Saturday, January 08, 2005
Godwin's law - this blog has probably violated this rule more times than I'd like to admit.
However, broadly speaking my use of the Nazi analogy has only been directed at one target and, let's face it - I'm hardly unique.
Meanwhile I may a well clear out a few other links:
ThankYouTony.com: A site to thank Prime Minister Tony Blair for his support of the American actions in Iraq. ('scuse me wile I just step outside to breathe some cleaner air and stick my finger down my throat).
Don't talk while I'm interrupting: "I disagree with what you say, and I will defend to the death my right to tell you so. "
It Can't Happen Here by Ron Paul Those who believe a police state can't happen here are poor students of history.
And finally a few points to bear in mind (seen on Metafilter)
- Air travel is no safer nor more dangerous than it was pre 9/11.
- The Big One is still supposed to devastate Southern California.
- The ice caps have been melting for some time.
- Dolphins are about to thank us for all the fish.
posted at 2:20 PM
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Friday, January 07, 2005
The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Cliches - a few years ago I took part in a convention workshop which aimed to construct a storyline comprised entirely of cliches like these. Having seen this list I now realise that hour-long session was way too short and that we were wasting our time - this list has been there, done that, got the t-shirt, kicked some butt and is taking down names.
Labels: geek
posted at 1:23 PM
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Thursday, January 06, 2005
Pandaf Golf - I have no idea where the f- in panda is involved other than in the title.
It's a good timewaster though.
posted at 1:28 PM
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Wednesday, January 05, 2005
DEC - Tsunami Earthquake Appeal: Text DONATE to 83321 and £1.50 will be donated to the Appeal.
All money donated to DEC with no charges or VAT applied.
posted at 2:12 PM
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UK TV Adverts " This site is intended to satisfy those who are curious about the identity of the actors and actresses who appear in or do voice-overs for British commercials. It also includes the title and recording artist for the music used in these commercials"
Sounds like a boring reference site for resolving those "what was that music" pub debates, doesn't it?
There's more to it than that. This site has extended beyond its original mission and now hosts clips from some classic UK ads (including BT's ' Ology' and the John West Salmon ad) as well as a summary of Channel 4's poll of the 100 Top Adverts of all time.
(for any Americans reading who don't already know this - UK adverts are the clever funny ones)
posted at 10:00 AM
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Tuesday, January 04, 2005
The Cubes? - Job Title Generator -for most people it's back to work today. For anyone thinking that maybe they want to be doing something else, here are a few suggestions...
posted at 11:26 AM
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Sunday, January 02, 2005
Thanks to all my friends and family who sent me such important emails in 2004!
It's so wonderful that you included me in your quest to inform! Because of all of you I stopped drinking Coca-Cola after I found out from you that it's good for removing toilet stains.
I stopped going to the movies for fear of sitting on a needle infected with a disease. I smell awful, but thank goodness I stopped using deodorant because you said it causes cancer.
I don't leave my car in any parking lot even though I sometimes have to walk about seven blocks, because you said that someone might drug me with a perfume sample and then try to rob me.
I also stopped answering the phone because you said that they will ask me to dial a stupid number and then I get a high phone bill with calls to Uganda, Singapore, Tokyo and maybe the Mars Rover.
I stopped eating chicken and hamburgers because you told me they are nothing more than horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers that are bred in a lab so that places like McDonalds can sell their Big Macs.
I also stopped drinking anything out of a can - you said that I will get sick from the rat faeces and urine.
When I go to parties, I now don't mix with anybody - you said that someone will take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.
However, the police are also after me at present because you said not to pull over as they could be fake policemen trying to kidnap me.
I went bankrupt from bounced cheques that I wrote, in anticipation of the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL were supposed to send me when I participated in their special e-mail program.
It's weird, though, that my new free cell phone never arrived, and neither did the passes for my paid vacation to Disneyland. But I am positive that all this is because of the chain I broke or forgot to follow and I got a curse.
OOPS I ALMOST FORGOT, IMPORTANT NOTE: If you don't send this e-mail to at least 1200 people in the next ten seconds, a bird will crap on you tonight at 7:00 PM.
Here's to an even better informed 2005!
(via My Boss)
posted at 10:25 PM
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