News Stories

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

CNN presenter Anderson Cooper announces he is gay

So all those rumors have been confirmed. I admired and respect Mr Cooper since he's one of CNN's best reporters. The fact that he's gay won't change my opinion of him, what matters is that he continues reporting ground breaking issues that most mainstream reporters tend to ignore or forget.

There were rumors? Sorry, "rumors" just sounds like whispering gossip of the stupid kind.

To paraphrase what Syn said.... "Duh!!!"

But I'm not happy with him because he blurs the line between news and entertainment like a number of current reporters do. His talk show is largely the usual "daytime freak show". I should qualify that I consider most of the commercial prime time docu-newso-tainment (e.g. 48 Hours, etc) to be utter time-wasting bullshit.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

CNN presenter Anderson Cooper announces he is gay

So all those rumors have been confirmed. I admired and respect Mr Cooper since he's one of CNN's best reporters. The fact that he's gay won't change my opinion of him, what matters is that he continues reporting ground breaking issues that most mainstream reporters tend to ignore or forget.

TBT, why should I care? I do not care what they do on their off-hours, I do not care if they are wearing female underwaer under those suits, I do not care if they are vegetarians. To me this sounds more like an attempt by CNN to recapture all those lost viewers, like Marvel comics is doing with the revelation that Northstar is gay.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

TBT, why should I care? I do not care what they do on their off-hours, I do not care if they are wearing female underwaer under those suits, I do not care if they are vegetarians. To me this sounds more like an attempt by CNN to recapture all those lost viewers, like Marvel comics is doing with the revelation that Northstar is gay.

Its probably just more the case that Cooper felt like it was a good time to make it clear. He's relatively safe career-wise and it becomes yet another blow to the anti-gay rhetoric of what is "normal" (science says a spectrum of sexual behavior is normal with examples in other mammalian species as well).

The brouhaha over it is what is nonsense.. or "non-news". Once in a while my wife and I will channel surf to see what Joe/Jane Average watches for "news" and it is appalling. You literally can't tell the difference between "infotainment", "news", "gossip", and "stuff you shouldn't really give a fuck about but it distracts you from the stuff that really does affect you". When my LOCAL NEWS STATION's lead story is some nonsense about who Tom Cruise is divorcing today - we're in the "Fucked Up" zone for sure.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Vexx

... it becomes yet another blow to the anti-gay rhetoric of what is "normal" (science says a spectrum of sexual behavior is normal with examples in other mammalian species as well).

So one famous queer is worth a million of no-ones?

The brouhaha over it is what is nonsense.. or "non-news". Once in a while my wife and I will channel surf to see what Joe/Jane Average watches for "news" and it is appalling. You literally can't tell the difference between "infotainment", "news", "gossip", and "stuff you shouldn't really give a fuck about but it distracts you from the stuff that really does affect you". When my LOCAL NEWS STATION's lead story is some nonsense about who Tom Cruise is divorcing today - we're in the "Fucked Up" zone for sure.

I bet broadcast news are about the same all over the world. most people will take gossip over news every single time.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

So one famous queer is worth a million of no-ones?

One of those weird features of the prejudiced. Someone close or someone famous - they're more likely to have their axiomatic beliefs chipped at.

I bet broadcast news are about the same all over the world. most people will take gossip over news every single time.

No... actually not. And it didn't USED to be that way here in the US. The blurring of news and "celebrity nonsense gossip" started with the deregulation of broadcast requirements in the late 80s and Fox 'News' took it over the precipice. Since then almost every one of the other networks has corroded the difference between news that matters and news that doesn't. When a broadcast treats, for example, the downing of a Turkish jet with a brief paragraph followed by two minutes with video of the latest Kardashian faceplant - that's a clue you aren't watching "news".

Basically, my rule of thumb lately is if the PBS News Hour or BBC doesn't cover it (or clearly labels it as "entertainment") its probably crap that doesn't concern me.

[Lightning_Wing]

Its probably just more the case that Cooper felt like it was a good time to make it clear. He's relatively safe career-wise and it becomes yet another blow to the anti-gay rhetoric of what is "normal" (science says a spectrum of sexual behavior is normal with examples in other mammalian species as well).

So why didn't he do this when Obama was saying pro-gay statements?

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Lightning_Wing

So why didn't he do this when Obama was saying pro-gay statements?

When were these "pro-gay statements" you speak of and when has Obama *not* been equal rights oriented? If you mean the quite recent remarks made after Biden's statements on gay marriage... then I'd say Cooper IS saying them when Obama spoke on the matter. What kind of simultaneity are you expecting? And what does anything Obama had to say have to do with Cooper's announcement any way?

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Vexx

No... actually not. And it didn't USED to be that way here in the US. The blurring of news and "celebrity nonsense gossip" started with the deregulation of broadcast requirements in the late 80s and Fox 'News' took it over the precipice.

[sarcasm]but, but, but ... regulation is evil, and anticonstitutional and an attack on personal freedom and the true road to communism[/sarcasm]

[SeijiSensei]

I've watched the first couple of episodes of "The Newsroom" which premiered on HBO a couple weeks back. The issue of news vs. entertainment, and the profitability of news, is one of its main subjects. Aaron Sorkin of "The West Wing" and "The Social Network" fame is the writer and producer for this show. Unfortunately not too many people can watch it because it's on HBO, but if you subscribe, I recommend it giving it a watch. Some pretty talented people appear in the cast -- Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer play the leads with occasional appearances by Sam Waterston in a weird portrayal of a alcoholic news director and Jane Fonda as the network executive who isn't happy about her staff abandoning "human interest" and "infotainment" stories in favor of actual news.

Best thing I've seen on HBO since the "Game Change" movie about the McCain/Palin campaign. Certainly a lot better than "Girls."

[Vexx]

Until the mid-80s, "the news" wasn't *supposed* to be profitable - it was what you did to KEEP YOUR LICENSE TO BROADCAST. It was a public service requirement. The idea of "news as profit center" only happened after Reagan's administration deregulated the system. I can't even get an idea of what is happening in a city any more from the local news. I have to hunt down the local alternative rag newspaper to see what the city council is up to.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I have to hunt down the local alternative rag newspaper to see what the city council is up to.

Couldn't you just go to their website and read their weekly Minutes?

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by GDB

Couldn't you just go to their website and read their weekly Minutes?

I'm going to hope you realize that council minutes do not equal council doings most cities have a real need for investigative reporting on the administrative functions.

[GundamFan0083]

Finally! A gun "buy-back" program that makes sense.

Programme to ‘buy back’ guns in Chicago inadvertently hands over $6,000 for National Rifle Association children's camp

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1zatTAOst

[synaesthetic]

I'm more annoyed that someone turned over a Vietnam-era M60, that was actually used in Vietnam! That's a piece of friggin' history, and they're going to melt it down and turn it into rebar or some other stupid shit. x.x

[Ithekro]

I wonder how many of those are still around? We had one or two on petty much every PBR and Huey in that country.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by flying ^

who here still has this app installed on PC?

http://arstechnica.com/business/2012...-undid-itself/

Even in this day and time, I still prefer using Winamp more than any other audio player; I even use it to load up my Shuffle instead of iTunes.

[GundamFan0083]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

I'm more annoyed that someone turned over a Vietnam-era M60, that was actually used in Vietnam! That's a piece of friggin' history, and they're going to melt it down and turn it into rebar or some other stupid shit. x.x

I agree, but methinks that the "M60" in the turn-in was a non-firing replica.
http://www.vietnamwar-guns.com/shop/...ails.php?p=154

Considering that an actual M60 is currently worth $70,000 dollars US, I highly doubt anybody would turn one in.

http://www.gunsamerica.com/953892024...Fed_MG_308.htm

Unless it was stolen...then maybe.

[MrTerrorist]

The US penny: Should it be scrapped?

Yes. It's a waste of money, people's time and space as explained by CGPGrey.

[flying ^]

It looks like I'm now comfortable with legalizing marijuana..... for medical purposes


http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8620FU20120703


BUT under 2 conditions:

- prescribed ONLY by doctors!
- raw, non 'kosher' variant shall remain illegal unless it's highly processed to eradicate 'impurities'.

[synaesthetic]

Originally Posted by flying ^

It looks like I'm now comfortable with legalizing marijuana..... for medical purposes


http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8620FU20120703


BUT under 2 conditions:

- prescribed ONLY by doctors!
- non-kosher variant shall remain illegal!

I'm completely comfortable legalizing it for whatever people want to use it for, with a significant tax placed on it that funds education, financial aid and the like.