Occupy Building Their Own Social Network

The Occupy folks are talking about building their own social network. It would be called Federated General Assembly (FGA). Some interesting quotes:

“We don’t want to trust Facebook with private messages among activists,” he said.

“You have to know someone in real life who sponsors you,” said Knutson.

"And he sees no reason against spinning off the tech to businesses."

Stratfor Hacked

I occasionally see some of the Stratfor articles - thanks to a friend. They provide a good analysis of what is going on in the world and draw conclusions for what this might mean. Apparently, anonymous decided that meant they were the "bad guys" and therefore hacked the Stratfor site - including e-mails, a list of clients, and credit card information.

What I found very interesting was the response to the hacking on Slashdot. Generally, Slashdot has a liberal lean with a good measure of conspiracy theory tossed in along with an air of superiority stemming for the users' mad computer skillz. I was surprised how they (for the most part) vilified anonymous while defending Stratfor. There may be hope for humanity yet.

Word Problems

From a NYTimes e-mail alert:

"Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 -- 1:19 PM EST
-----
Republicans in House Reject Deal Extending Payroll Tax Cut
House Republicans on Tuesday soundly rejected a bill approved by the Senate that would have extended the payroll tax cut for most Americans beyond the end of the year and allowed millions of unemployed people to continue receiving jobless benefits.

The House vote, which passed 229 to 193, also calls for establishing a negotiating committee so the two chambers can resolve their differences.  Seven Republicans joined Democrats in opposition.

But the Senate has left town for the year, and Democrats say they do not intend to call it back, putting continuation of the tax cut in jeopardy and leaving a shadow over many unemployed Americans as the holidays near.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/us/politics/house-republicans-move-closer-to-rejecting-payroll-tax-cut-deal.html?emc=na"

Emphasis is mine. Talk about your basic FUD job. I know doing word problems confuses people when they do math, but how much of a tax cut do unemployed people need? I say raise taxes on the unemployed. That will fix the deficit problem. Tax them at 10,000%! So the average unemployed person making $0.00 would owe... hmm, carry the 3, multiple then add, hmm... zero dollars!

If I give the NYT the benefit of the doubt, then that sentence is still poorly phrased.

The Democracy Will Cease to Exist

It may be new t-shirt time again. The http://www.brickolore.com/2011/04/t-shirts.html was for the Galt/Taggart 2012 and Taggart Transcontinental. I like wearing those shirts as it isn't too in your face, but if you are in the club, then my views can easily be guessed. This one is a wee bit more direct:

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Race Matters on eBay

Harsh - Race Matters on eBay:

"The takeaway here is twofold: It's very hard to escape the world's entrenched racism, online or no. And if you're a person of color looking to get the most out of an auction on eBay, you should probably have your white friend hold your merchandise."

I do wonder if the race of the buyer made a difference.

Via:

WIREDInsider Race matters on eBay: http://t.co/eJlyMDpvThu, Oct 27 18:03:05 from SocialOomph

No Guarantee

The Dwindling Power of a College Degree - it was never a guarantee. The last line strikes me as something we should always do: prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

"The increasingly vicious battle between left and right is, at the most basic level, a dispute over how to respond to these new rules. Republicans largely claim that the new rules will make the country richer and, in the long run, will be beneficial to everyone willing to put in the hard work. Few Democrats call for a return to record high taxes and trade barriers — after all, the free flow of cheap goods has helped many, particularly the poor. But many do want a return to the spirit of the old rules, when the government sought to make life more equal, more stable and, for some, less rewarding. The rest of us, meanwhile, should go to school, learn some skills and prepare for a rocky road."

And I'm not sure that I think it is a problem that the best nurse, plumber, or truck driver make a lot more money than the worst nurse, plumber, or truck driver.

Via:

andrewchen The Dwindling Power of a College Degree - NYTimes.com nyti.ms/vNsgnFWed, Nov 30 15:49:07 from Timely by Demandforce

Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street

Video: The competing worldviews of the Tea Party and OWS:

"When it comes to The Tea Party and OWS, though, the more the surface differences become obvious, the more the transparent truth of what underlies those differences becomes obscured. It becomes easy to focus on the way the groups look and act differently — and harder to remember the way the groups think differently."

I don't have a problem making the distinction.

Via ExUrbanLeague

How the World Works: Occupy Wallstreet

Soldier, Farmer, Poet

kasthomas "I was a soldier so that my son could be a farmer, so that his son could be a poet" -- Thomas Jefferson.Wed, Nov 23 18:17:40 from web retweeted by msuster

But be careful that the soldier, farmer, poet doesn't become:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by dictatorship.

The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence

From bondage to spiritual faith

From spiritual faith to great courage

From courage to liberty

From liberty to abundance

From abundance to selfishness

From selfishness to complacency

From complacency to apathy

From apathy to dependency

From dependency back again into bondage"

Via The Smallest Minority

Priorities

greggdoyelcbs Joe Paterno got fired by phone, and that's supposed to matter? On what planet do these people live on?Thu, Nov 10 12:31:05 from TweetDeck

Not Just a Pretty Face

Tam has a way with words. Here is Tam quoting Tam in response to the video below:

"Central governments have managed to turn murder from a hobby pursued at home by individual craftsmen into a wholesale industry churning out slipshod and substandard corpses in numbers that can’t be read without sounding like Carl Sagan."

Video via Uncle

Search

Why Johnny Can't Search - I've wondered if Google has made us dumber. Clive Thompson discusses the our potential dependence on search and our inability to evaluate the results. Scary.

"Google makes broad-based knowledge more important, not less. A good education is the true key to effective search. But until our kids have that, let’s make sure they don’t always take PageRank at its word."

It won't help you evaluate the quality of the results, but here is an infograph to help improve your search.

Infograph via LifeHacker

Business Smarter than Government

Surprise! Why make a healthier meal when you can make more money?

Via Uncle

Word of the Minute: Venality

Venality: a vice associated with being bribeable or of selling one's services or power, especially when one should act justly instead. In its most recognizable form, dishonesty, venality causes people to lie and steal for their personal advantage, and is related to bribery and nepotism, among other vices.

And some would give more power to the Government

"So, when you connect the dots, properly understood, what happened this week is the first battle in a civil war; a civil war in which, for now, only one side is choosing violence. It is a battle in which members of Congress, with the collusion of the American president, sent violent, organised suppression against the people they are supposed to represent. Occupy has touched the third rail: personal congressional profits streams. Even though they are, as yet, unaware of what the implications of their movement are, those threatened by the stirrings of their dreams of reform are not."

If you are worried about big business, limit government and you reduce the power that corporations could buy.

Repercussions for Winning

So you beat a younger, smaller, less talented basketball team by 98 points...

What are some potential lessons for the winners?

• Don't try too hard.
• Using your talents is unfair.
• Aim for the lowest common denominator.
• Don't be too good or people won't like you.
• Life isn't fair.

For the losers?

• Work harder! (Or not!)
• Practice and try again next year!
• How to assign blame - it is the fault of the coach or the administrators.
• If you can't beat them, then get a really good job and buy an NBA team.
• Life isn't fair.

Via No Silence Here

4.74 Degrees of Separation

It doesn't roll off the tongue like six degrees, but apparently it is only 4.74 degrees of separation today.

DIY Gas Mask

For preppers or the "Occupy" crowd, a DIY Gas Mask. I guess it is really just for the "Occupy crowd/regular people."

"With Occupy protests around the country, things are heating up. With disbursement of tear gas an pepper spray by police, how are regular people able to keep safe?"

We are winning - Angry Birds Edition

Groupon: $25 for Skeet-Shooting Outing for Two at Birds and Clays, Inc. – Washburn

Occupy Herbstreit

Funny, funny stuff at Occupy Herbstreit

Meineke Car Care Bowl is not a living wage!!!!!!!!

Via:

ClayTravisBGID These are outstanding. RT @andrewbrink Occupy Wall Street? Don't forget to Occupy Herbstreit. http://t.co/KUKwTvHuThu, Oct 13 11:20:36 from web

Flea Party (Demands) vs. Tea Party

Flea Party vs. Tea Party « Monster Hunter Nation: For a summary of what is wrong with the world today, hit Larry's link. I cannot believe the demands. Surely these are a joke. For example:

"Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the “Books.” World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the “Books.” And I don’t mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period."

It makes my brain hurt that anyone can even suggest that. If it weren't for Larry's commentary, I'd be dumber for having read the list of demands.