News Stories

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by KiraYamatoFan

Meanwhile, I would prefer a place like Auckland to host Olympics soon. New Zealanders are doing very well in their corner and the last Rugby World Cup left a very good taste in my mouth.

1. not enough room to host
2. too smart to host.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Even as rainbows appear over the United States amid the demise of Doma, another rainbow appears to be setting on the other side of the world.

Mandela 'on life support', Zuma cancels trip

Pretoria, South Africa (June 27, Thu): A relative of Nelson Mandela last night confirmed for the first time that he is on life support, and using machines to help him breathe.

The news came as President Jacob Zuma called off a scheduled trip to Mozambique.

"Yes, he is using machines to breathe," clan member Napilisi Mandela said after visiting Mr Mandela. "It is bad, but what can we do?"

With no further update from Mr Zuma's office about the adored 94-year-old's state of health, three days after he slipped into a critical condition after almost three weeks in hospital, speculation is rife that his life is close to its end.

Elders from Mr Mandela's Madiba clan centred around the South African former president's rural home in the Eastern Cape are understood to have travelled to Pretoria yesterday to see the ailing leader for themselves and, according to one quoted by South Africa's Times newspaper, "discuss what should be done."

The previous day, Mr Mandela's daughter Makaziwe flew to Qunu along with several grandchildren to brief them on his condition and discuss plans for his burial.

THE TELEGRAPH

[TinyRedLeaf]

More an op-ed than a news story, but its message remains valid.

Beware online 'filter bubbles'

(Mar 2011)

Synopsis
As web companies strive to tailor their services (including news and search results) to our personal tastes, there's a dangerous unintended consequence: We get trapped in a "filter bubble" and don't get exposed to information that could challenge or broaden our worldview. Eli Pariser argues powerfully that this will ultimately prove to be bad for us and bad for democracy.

"So what this suggests is that actually we may have the story about the Internet wrong. In a broadcast society, you know this is how the founding mythology goes. In a broadcast society, there were these gatekeepers, the editors. And they control the flows of information. And along came the Internet and it swept them out the way and it allowed all of us to connect together and it was awesome. But that’s not actually what's happening right now. What we're seeing is more of a passing of the torch. From human gatekeepers to algorithmic ones."

About Eli Pariser
Pioneering online organiser Eli Pariser is the author of The Filter Bubble, about how personalised search might be narrowing our worldview.

TED

[synaesthetic]

I have personalized searches disabled, mostly because I realized that a lot of times they actually hinder my ability to find what I'm looking for as opposed to helping me.

However, I do like personalized ads. If a company's going to show me ads, I'd at least like them to be relevant. Amazon does a good job of this.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Snowden starts fifth day in Moscow airport

[ganbaru]

Special Report: Myanmar gives official blessing to anti-Muslim monks
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95Q04720130627

Texas governor mounts new bid for abortion restrictions
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95P06H20130626

[KiraYamatoFan]

I dunno if some of you are following the Zimmerman trial right now, but (my oh my) the prosecution's key witness from yesterday (Rachel Jeantel) was horrendous in her testimony. Because of her, the bastard may end up free at the end of this.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bes...rial-day-3.cnn

I thought I have seen it all after the bizarre selection of the jury.

[demonix]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Mandela 'on life support', Zuma cancels trip

I think one newspaper jumped the gun.

Nelson Mandela 'much better today'

There is no mention there that he was on life support before (and in the other report on the BBC as well).

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by KiraYamatoFan

I dunno if some of you are following the Zimmerman trial right now, but (my oh my) the prosecution's key witness from yesterday (Rachel Jeantel) was horrendous in her testimony. Because of her, the bastard may end up free at the end of this.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bes...rial-day-3.cnn

I thought I have seen it all after the bizarre selection of the jury.

I think that testimonial will get thrown out, seeing that she seems to have lied in it.
I'll wait for more evidence before I call this one, although it seems that the prosecutor seems to have a made quite a bit of mistakes in this.
I don't think Trayvon Martin's an angel anyway so...

[ganbaru]

It might not be that much pertinent but some could want to know about this :
In 2009, Ed Snowden said leakers “should be shot.” Then he became one
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...he-became-one/
Under Snowden Screen Name, 2009 Post Berated Leaks
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/27/wo...d-be-shot.html

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by JokerD

I don't think Trayvon Martin's an angel anyway so...

He doesn't need to be an angel; he just needs to be a victim.

If Zimmerman had sat in his car and waited for the police to arrive like the 911 operator told him to do, Martin would very likely be enjoying a pack of Skittles today.

What we don't need is a bunch of armed vigilantes wandering around with visions of Batman in their heads.

[ArchmageXin]

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/artic...ensive-hacking

Such an lie. Only Chinese and Russians hack.


http://www.scmp.com/news/china/artic...-chinese-court

'Happy ending' massages not considered prostitution by Chinese court

[AnimeFan188]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Snowden starts fifth day in Moscow airport

Here’s what happens to asylum-seekers who stay in airport limbo indefinitely:

"We don’t know where in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport “transit zone”
Edward Snowden is hiding out or what exactly his plans are. But if he intends to stay in
the airport for a while – a former official with Russia’s immigration service suggested
that he could stick around “indefinitely” – he’ll join a short but prominent list of
politicized activists and refugees who have found themselves stranded in legal limbo
between the arrival gate and customs.

Airport transit zones are weird places, as my colleague Max Fisher laid out in a post
this morning. That space technically falls under no specific jurisdiction, a legal
convention evolved to make travel and passport control more convenient. But it also
doubles, conveniently, as an excuse for non-intervention in highly politicized or
troublesome cases, when acting would provoke some kind of diplomatic snafu."

See:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...-indefinitely/

[ganbaru]

Stung by scandals, China expands system to track food shipments
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95Q1DD20130627
I worry a bit more about what is in my food than where it's from.

With multiple missions, U.S. military steps up Africa focus
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95Q1EZ20130627

[ArchmageXin]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/27/bu...anted=all&_r=0

Widespread counterfeit food in places other than China.

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

He doesn't need to be an angel; he just needs to be a victim.

If Zimmerman had sat in his car and waited for the police to arrive like the 911 operator told him to do, Martin would very likely be enjoying a pack of Skittles today.

What we don't need is a bunch of armed vigilantes wandering around with visions of Batman in their heads.

Very much this. A country where vigilantes wander around has never been a good thing; that's why laws exist and everyone should know that if they're believe in being civilized.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by KiraYamatoFan

Very much this. A country where vigilantes wander around has never been a good thing; that's why laws exist and everyone should know that if they're believe in being civilized.

Florida's 'shoot first' law under scrutiny

...The incident sheds light on Florida's seven-year-old self-defence law, which critics say is too lenient.

The law, nicknamed a "stand your ground" or "shoot first" statute, gives protection from criminal prosecution or civil liability to people who claim self-defence after a shooting or violent incident.

One of the most expansive of such laws in the US, it states that people have no duty to retreat from a place they are legally allowed to be, and have the right to use deadly force if they "reasonably" believe they or another person are threatened with death or serious harm.

Before 2005, deadly force was only allowed if the perpetrator had shown that he or she had tried to avoid confrontation.

BBC

[KiraYamatoFan]

Whoever wrote that bit of law was either on crack or watched too much Batman.

[Dextro]

I wasn't sure where to post this so it's going in here:

Atlus Games' Index Corporation Files for Civil Rehabilitation Bankruptcy

Bad news for Persona fans it seems. That reminds me that I should pick up Persona 4: The Golden soon.

[Solace]

Originally Posted by KiraYamatoFan

Whoever wrote that bit of law was either on crack or watched too much Batman.

It's a product of our gun culture. The law is far too broad to be trusted with a population that is poorly trained to deal with situations like that. It's specifically because of cases like Zimmerman that actual authorities tell civilians to stay out of the way. He did his job by reporting it. He should have listened to the operator and stopped following Martin.

Originally Posted by Dextro

I wasn't sure where to post this so it's going in here:

Atlus Games' Index Corporation Files for Civil Rehabilitation Bankruptcy

Bad news for Persona fans it seems. That reminds me that I should pick up Persona 4: The Golden soon.

The company is a big mess, from what I understand. It can't survive without intervention, but the finances are so tangled that I doubt most companies are willing to deal with it. And let's be honest, Atlus IP's are niche, and only a few are valuable. The most likely outcome, if Atlus can't find a way to remain afloat independently, is that they'll simply be bought out for the IPs and dumped. Hopefully a company like Nintendo or Sony will intervene so that won't happen. The gaming division of Atlus is quality and profitable. It's the company that bought them years ago and merged them into one entity that has created this mess.