Octopus Overlords

LordMortis wrote:http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ven ... spartandhp

I'm not sure of my opinion on this but it's news worthy.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro called on his nation's military leaders Tuesday to prepare for war against the U.S. days after the Trump administration banned Venezuelan officials from entering the nation.

"We have been shamelessly threatened by the most criminal empire that ever existed and we have the obligation to prepare ourselves to guarantee peace," said Maduro, who wore a green uniform and a military hat as he spoke with his army top brass during a military exercise involving tanks and missiles. "We need to have rifles, missiles and well-oiled tanks at the ready....to defend every inch of the territory if needs be," he added.

The Trump administration has taken a hard stance against Maduro's regime by banning money lending to Venezuela's government or its state oil company PDVSA, and passing sanctions against Maduro and his top officials.

In that email interview today, Petersen writes that "I was signed out of Facebook on all my devices [last week], and when I signed back in, I received a message saying that my livestream had been the cause of me being banned for 30 days. This was a livestream done on my professional public facing account (Austin Petersen), but it was my personal account (Austin Wade) that got the ban."

The livestream in question was promoting a raffle giveaway of an AR-15 rifle. Fox News in reporting on Petersen's ban today thinks it found in Facebook's posted "community standards" a reason: "The purchase, sale or trade of firearms, ammunition and explosives between private individuals isn't allowed on Facebook." (Fox was not able to get Facebook to speak directly about the matter.)

Petersen says that in communication with Hines Digital, a company that helps his campaign with digital strategies, a Facebook official verbally insisted that there was not an inherent problem with giving away that gun, but hinted that an automatic AI may have interpreted a video about a gun as something potentially dangerous and worth immediate takedown. The "automatic" story might not hold water, Petersen says, since "the AI they state takes down videos almost instantaneously, while my video wasn't taken down until 24 hours after it was created."
...
Petersen wonders aloud in his open letter to Zuckerberg about the propriety of seemingly arbitrary clampdowns on a political candidate, especially considering that the company's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has donated "the maximum allowable amount to my opponent" (incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill).

Moliere wrote:Republican Senate Candidate Austin Petersen Has His Personal Facebook Page Suspended

In that email interview today, Petersen writes that "I was signed out of Facebook on all my devices [last week], and when I signed back in, I received a message saying that my livestream had been the cause of me being banned for 30 days. This was a livestream done on my professional public facing account (Austin Petersen), but it was my personal account (Austin Wade) that got the ban."

The livestream in question was promoting a raffle giveaway of an AR-15 rifle. Fox News in reporting on Petersen's ban today thinks it found in Facebook's posted "community standards" a reason: "The purchase, sale or trade of firearms, ammunition and explosives between private individuals isn't allowed on Facebook." (Fox was not able to get Facebook to speak directly about the matter.)

Petersen says that in communication with Hines Digital, a company that helps his campaign with digital strategies, a Facebook official verbally insisted that there was not an inherent problem with giving away that gun, but hinted that an automatic AI may have interpreted a video about a gun as something potentially dangerous and worth immediate takedown. The "automatic" story might not hold water, Petersen says, since "the AI they state takes down videos almost instantaneously, while my video wasn't taken down until 24 hours after it was created."
...
Petersen wonders aloud in his open letter to Zuckerberg about the propriety of seemingly arbitrary clampdowns on a political candidate, especially considering that the company's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has donated "the maximum allowable amount to my opponent" (incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill).

When I was a child, I could spend all day at Shining Time Station, the fictive train depot with its own eponymous TV show, where Thomas the Tank Engine and all his plate-faced locomotive friends worked and lived. To my undeveloped brain, each episode seemed like a beautiful daydream, in which an orderly, magical, trance-inducing universe ticked on under bluebird skies. For company, there was the Conductor, voiced first by Ringo Starr and later by George Carlin, and then the trains: gentle blue Edward, moody green Henry, big strong Gordon, little red James, and, of course, Thomas, with his pointed eyebrows and perpetual smile. The show, which included segments that had first aired on a British show called “Thomas & Friends,” began airing on PBS in 1989, and each episode opened with a Joe Cocker-ish theme song: “Reach for the steam, reach for the whistle, go where the railway runs/ Reach for the words, reach for the story, follow the rainbow sun.” I would hum along. How could I possibly have imagined that, decades later, I would get lost in obscure corners of the Internet where people interpret the show—at length—as a depiction of a premodern corporate-totalitarian dystopia?

Moliere wrote:

Librarian: we don't want your racist propaganda.

Now let's watch Michelle Obama read some of that racist literature.

Rip wrote:What I don't get is if she thinks Dr. Suess is racist how do you explain this?

Moliere wrote:

Rip wrote:What I don't get is if she thinks Dr. Suess is racist how do you explain this?

Well, let me explain the current modern political situation to you. Trump is now President so everything he or his wife does is based on their racist, misogynist, immigrant hating views. Therefore, it was ok for Michelle Obama to read and promote Dr. Seuss, but when Melania does the exact same thing it is now racist propaganda that cannot be tolerated. Think of the children!

El Guapo wrote:This here is the very definition of the phrase "small potatoes".

Remus West wrote:

El Guapo wrote:This here is the very definition of the phrase "small potatoes".

Sure, but it is also emblematic of the entire Trump administration. The well to do get more while those in need get none.

Moliere wrote:

Rip wrote:What I don't get is if she thinks Dr. Suess is racist how do you explain this?

Well, let me explain the current modern political situation to you. Trump is now President so everything he or his wife does is based on their racist, misogynist, immigrant hating views. Therefore, it was ok for Michelle Obama to read and promote Dr. Seuss, but when Melania does the exact same thing it is now racist propaganda that cannot be tolerated. Think of the children!

Moliere wrote:

Rip wrote:What I don't get is if she thinks Dr. Suess is racist how do you explain this?

Well, let me mansplain the current modern political situation to you. Trump is now President so everything he or his wife does is based on their racist, misogynist, immigrant hating views. Therefore, it was ok for Michelle Obama to read and promote Dr. Seuss, but when Melania does the exact same thing it is now racist propaganda that cannot be tolerated. Think of the children!

Paingod wrote:At this point, I'd wager that a lot of people - some librarians included - are so disgusted with the administration that they'll rail against anything he does. He could bring puppies to the White House to give away to parapalegic Mexican orphans, and people would spit on him for it. It's because of who he is, not what he does. They assume (know) that it's a sham, scam, gimmick, prank, or lie. His wife gets wrapped up with him, so when she copies the other First Ladies, she's a villain.

Moliere wrote:

Librarian: we don't want your racist propaganda.

Now let's watch Michelle Obama read some of that racist literature.

Another fact that many people are unaware of is that Dr. Seuss’s illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes. Open one of his books (If I Ran a Zoo or And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, for example), and you’ll see the racist mockery in his art. Grace Hwang Lynch’s School Library Journal article, “Is the Cat in the Hat Racist? Read Across America Shifts Away from Dr. Seuss and Toward Diverse Books,” reports on Katie Ishizuka’s work analyzing the minstrel characteristics and trope nature of Seuss’s characters. Scholar Philip Nel’s new book, Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books, further explores and shines a spotlight on the systemic racism and oppression in education and literature.

GreenGoo wrote:I think the lesson here is to make sure people you're giving things to actually want those things.

I think the librarian's response is a bit much, but I'm not a graduate degree librarian.

It's not like 10 dr. Seuss books are much of a gift, so, who cares. I mean, I've donated more than that the my kid's school library and no one rushed to give me a handjob. They are books, which are great, don't get me wrong. It's just that...it's hard to imagine any school library being significantly impacted by such a small donation.

Is it supposed to be symbolic of something?

GreenGoo wrote:I have a few family members that are ruder than the librarian when receiving a gift they don't want.

Melania will live.

Moliere wrote:Well, let me explain the current modern political situation to you. Trump is now President so everything he or his wife does is based on their racist, misogynist, immigrant hating views. Therefore, it was ok for Michelle Obama to read and promote Dr. Seuss, but when Melania does the exact same thing it is now racist propaganda that cannot be tolerated. Think of the children!

ImLawBoy wrote:

GreenGoo wrote:I have a few family members that are ruder than the librarian when receiving a gift they don't want.

Melania will live.

And the librarian will probably live even after receiving this deserved criticism.

GreenGoo wrote:

ImLawBoy wrote:

GreenGoo wrote:I have a few family members that are ruder than the librarian when receiving a gift they don't want.

Melania will live.

And the librarian will probably live even after receiving this deserved criticism.

Shrug. Who cares about a random librarian who thinks highly of herself.

GreenGoo wrote:There's no accounting for what's news worthy, I guess.

Max Peck wrote:

GreenGoo wrote:There's no accounting for what's news worthy, I guess.

Well, you got your news-worthy stuff and you got your news-covered stuff. They aren't always the same things. For a propagandist, that's a feature rather than a bug.

US Senators John McCain and Mike Lee have introduced legislation that would permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act to aid recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria and encourage long-term economic growth.

While the Trump administration granted a 10-day Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico on September 28, the senators’ legislation, introduced the same day, would provide Puerto Rico with “the permanent, sustainable relief it needs to rebuild.”

“While I welcome the Trump administration’s Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico, this short-term, 10-day exemption is insufficient to help the people of Puerto Rico recover and rebuild from Hurricane Maria,” Senator McCain said.

“Our legislation would permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act, an antiquated, protectionist law that has driven up costs and crippled Puerto Rico’s economy. For years, I have fought to fully repeal the Jones Act, which has long outlived its purpose to the benefit of special interests. It’s time for Congress to take action, end this injustice, and help our fellow citizens in this time of need.”

The Jones Act requires that all goods shipped between waterborne ports of the United States be carried by vessels built in the US and owned and operated by Americans. Shipping costs from the US mainland to Puerto Rico have been estimated to be twice as much as from neighboring foreign islands.

Alefroth wrote:

Moliere wrote:Well, let me explain the current modern political situation to you. Trump is now President so everything he or his wife does is based on their racist, misogynist, immigrant hating views. Therefore, it was ok for Michelle Obama to read and promote Dr. Seuss, but when Melania does the exact same thing it is now racist propaganda that cannot be tolerated. Think of the children!

Yeah, Michelle Obama was never unfairly criticized.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSk4leN9pOY
Michelle a tranny?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H03chvYw0V4

Your veneer of impartiality is getting thin.

Moliere wrote:

Alefroth wrote:

Moliere wrote:Well, let me explain the current modern political situation to you. Trump is now President so everything he or his wife does is based on their racist, misogynist, immigrant hating views. Therefore, it was ok for Michelle Obama to read and promote Dr. Seuss, but when Melania does the exact same thing it is now racist propaganda that cannot be tolerated. Think of the children!

Yeah, Michelle Obama was never unfairly criticized.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSk4leN9pOY
Michelle a tranny?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H03chvYw0V4

Your veneer of impartiality is getting thin.

Um, what are these? They have nothing to do with Michelle reading Dr. Seuss. I'm pretty sure I was talking about Melania being criticized for doing something Michelle did. Show me a clip of Michelle being criticized for reading Dr. Seuss and then you can talk about by veneer.

Max Peck wrote:

Moliere wrote:

Alefroth wrote:

Moliere wrote:Well, let me explain the current modern political situation to you. Trump is now President so everything he or his wife does is based on their racist, misogynist, immigrant hating views. Therefore, it was ok for Michelle Obama to read and promote Dr. Seuss, but when Melania does the exact same thing it is now racist propaganda that cannot be tolerated. Think of the children!

Yeah, Michelle Obama was never unfairly criticized.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSk4leN9pOY
Michelle a tranny?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H03chvYw0V4

Your veneer of impartiality is getting thin.

Um, what are these? They have nothing to do with Michelle reading Dr. Seuss. I'm pretty sure I was talking about Melania being criticized for doing something Michelle did. Show me a clip of Michelle being criticized for reading Dr. Seuss and then you can talk about by veneer.

Technically, reading a book to some children and shipping some books to a school library are not "the exact same thing." You hold yourself to the same standard as you set for your interlocutor.

Unless you're just trolling, of course.

Cambridge Public Schools says the librarian's editorial letter represented her opinions and was not an official statement on behalf of the school district.

The district says it has "counseled" Soeiro on its policies. It says her letter "was not a formal acceptance or rejection of donated books."

The U.S. National Security Agency would need to begin winding down what it considers its most valuable intelligence program before its expiration at year-end if the U.S. Congress leaves its reauthorization in limbo, the agency’s deputy director said on Friday.

The possibility the U.S. government may begin losing access to the surveillance authority even before it would officially lapse on Dec. 31 is likely to increase pressure on lawmakers to quickly renew the law.

“We would have to be looking to work with our mission partners in the government as well as the companies to start scaling down in advance,” George Barnes, the deputy director of the NSA, said at the George Washington University Center for Cyber & Homeland Security event.

“We would, definitely. The last thing we would want to do is conduct any operation ... if we did not have an active statute in place,” Barnes said in response to a question asked by Reuters. “We would have to work the dates backwards to make sure we didn’t cross the line.”

Asked about the remarks by Barnes, an NSA spokesman said the agency fully expects Congress to reauthorize the program.

The law, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, allows U.S. intelligence agencies to eavesdrop on, and store vast amounts of, digital communications from foreign suspects living outside of the United States.

It is considered a critical national security tool by U.S. officials, who say it supports priorities ranging from counterterrorism to cyber security.

But the program, classified details of which were exposed by 2013 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, also incidentally scoops up communications of Americans for a variety of technical reasons, including if they communicate with a foreign target living overseas. Those communications can then be subject to searches from analysts without a warrant.

The scenario articulated by Barnes resembles one that occurred two years ago, when portions of a separate law, the Patriot Act, that allowed the NSA to collect bulk domestic phone metadata were expiring.

Gridlocked over whether to enact reforms, U.S. lawmakers briefly let that Patriot Act lapse. The NSA said it had to begin winding down the program about a week before its expiration.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress is working on legislation to reform aspects of Section 702, but many Republicans, supported by the White House, want to renew the law without changes and make it permanent.