Here Is the News...

Some news that I've been reading this morning that might be interesting.  Might make this semi-regular (or at least when it interests me...)

Here Is The News, by ELO

Are you anonymous on the internet?  The answer is always "No, not to people who care..."


An article in the LA Times demonstrates the latest glimpse behind the illusion of anonymity on the internet.  An "anonymous" commentator, Almostinnocentbystander, made a crack about a politician.  He wondered "aloud" (a-written? A-internet?) if $10,000 missing from the Kootenai County Republican Party might be stuffed in local GOP chairwoman Tina Jacobson’s blouse.

Jacobson filed an anti-defamation lawsuit against the "anonymous" Almostinnocentbystander and demanded the newspaper release his identity.  The newspaper, of course, always had the identity of the "anonymous" poster.  So... you anonymous posters... remember, whatever you say or do on the internet is essentially public knowledge and can be tracked back to you


Spain tooootally promises that this time they will really, really make austerity cuts... but the Spanish populace begs to differ...


So I don't know if you heard, but last month the European Union agreed to use its funding arms (e.g. European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and/or the European Stability Mechanism) to bail out Spain to the tune of 100-180 bn Euros.  Which is about 120-220 bn dollars.  Let me write that out:

$220,000,000,000

And when I say "bail out Spain," what I really mean is "bail out the banks of Spain on the backs of the French and German citizen."  This deal had been agreed to previously, but now they are actually handing out the money.  And the Eurozone is going into debt to pay for debt... (<- does that sound retarded to you?  Sounds pretty retarded to me.)

To make the sheets balance, Spain is implementing austerity measures.  If you follow this BBC link, you can see how enthusiastic the Spanish people are about this idea:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18792427


Actual BBC article title: "'Depraved' sex acts by penguins shocked polar explorer"

Which is what the article was about.  Apparently, what you can watch people do on the internet in 2012 freaked the snarks out of a biologist in Antarctica when he watched penguins do it in 1910.  He was so worried that the scandal would get into the wrong hands he wrote his notes in Greek.

No joke.

And just think of it: your 6-year-old can find the same things being done by people on any computer with filterless internet.  The times they are a-changing indeed, Mr. Dylan.

Is it good?  Is it bad?  I dunno, but apparently contrasting the penguin sex article with the LA Times article about a psycho politician suing for a crack about money in her brassière, we apparently now have free speech w.r.t. explicit sex acts but not political free speech.  Neato.

And that's your daily news!!!



So, in personal news... NYADP Journal is out!

You can see all issues here:

http://nyadpjournal.org/quarterly-nyadp-journal/

And here's the direct link to the PDF:

http://nyadpjournaldotorg.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/nyadp-journal-summer-2012.pdf

And if you're a writer, blogger, poet or artist who's interested in either social justice or has some pieces on topics related to the death penalty, compassion and the human experience, we'd love to hear from you!  We have five editors on staff and countless writers.  We'd love your participation as well!



So that's the news for today.  Like I said, might become a "when I feel like it" thing.  Which is what this blog is... total at-will randomness.  :-)