Posted December 8, 2009 Sorry thats a word used in the forces, bassically it means story. I didnt mean to type it, i just did i guess as its a word i use everyday. A dit may be true, it might be based on fact or it could be utter drivel. Normally the last. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 9, 2009 Imo, The difference is that it's harder to hit a moving target. The Lithuanian man stayed within the same City, and the net quickly closed in on him. In Maddie's case, the kidnappers were already on the move before the news even broke. By the time the appeal had started, they could have literally been anywhere. I think Stuwii was just pointing out that "millions of people can spot this guy, but they can't spot what a little girl looks like." To me, many kids her age look very similar to her. What if the kidnapper had dyed her hair to disguise her appearance? Many things could have happened. Plus, it's not just limited to one location (Lithuania in that other guy's case). So, you're looking for a young girl who could be anywhere in the world. Not easy at all. Dude, you're arguing the same point as me. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 9, 2009 Not important per sé, but I feel that not enough people know this. Darth Maul. Acted by Ray Park, as we all know. But his voice. Not Ray Park. I give you. Peter Serafinowicz. Someone many of us [british at least] should recognize. One of the weirdest things I'd encountered. Ray Park, the David Prowse of the prequel trilogy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 9, 2009 Anybody who's seen Spaced already knows of that fantastic fact. Also, a reason to post this little gem: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 9, 2009 pr0 vid. Anybody who's seen Spaced already knows of that fantastic fact. I must confess to not watching Spaced. Well... I watched the first couple when it first started but got bored [can't remember much about it] But I'm all for giving it another go. Unlike Extras [shit] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 9, 2009 Not important per sé, but I feel that not enough people know this. Darth Maul. Acted by Ray Park, as we all know. But his voice. Not Ray Park. I give you. Peter Serafinowicz. Someone many of us [british at least] should recognize. One of the weirdest things I'd encountered. Ray Park, the David Prowse of the prequel trilogy. 1999 just called. They want their news back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 9, 2009 1999 just called. They want their news back. I never said it was new news. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 9, 2009 Strange Spiral Light Above Norway At the moment the top theory is a Russian rocket exploding (although to me it looks nothing like a rocket exploding). And it's definitely not related to the Northern Lights (or the Golden Compass as they call them over in the US). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 9, 2009 It's so weird and cool at the same time! But what the heck is it? I wouldn't even imagine a UFO to cause that! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 10, 2009 Whatever it is, that just looks really really awesome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 10, 2009 Whatever it is, that just looks really really awesome! Audio Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 10, 2009 Audio Truly one of those moments. I don't buy the Russian rocket explanation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 10, 2009 Truly one of those moments. I don't buy the Russian rocket explanation. What fascinates me the most is the truly peculiar appearance of it. I mean, what the heck looks like that?! I'm not one to go for the paranormal explanation first, but I'm really befuddled by this. UPDATE: http://www.bt.dk/udland/lysspiral-var-russisk-raket All right, so it seems it most likely was a Russian rocket after all. Astronomer Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard (yeah, try to pronounce THAT! ) has studied it and says that it follows the pattern of something fired from Earth. He says he's 99.9 % sure of it being a Russian rocket. Truls Lynne Hansen from the Northern Lights Observatory in Tromsø believes that the peculiar spiral shape is a result of the Sun shining on the leaking fuel. It was also announced on Navtex that a test launch was scheduled between 06:00 and 23:00 the night between Tuesday and Wednesday from Arkhangelsk, Russia. According to Russian sources that TV2 (a Danish television station) has spoken to, it was a failed launch of a Bulava missile from a submarine. No official Russian sources has confirmed anything yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 10, 2009 It could be the attempt of everyone from Kenya attempting to piss all over Norway... http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/kenya/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 15, 2009 (edited) Australian ISP filtering gets greenlit THE federal government has green-lighted its highly controversial censorship plan to introduce a mandatory internet filter that will block refused classification content from being accessed on Australian soil. New legislative amendments to be introduced to the Broadcasting Services Act when parliament resumes next year could see all internet service providers block refused classification-rated material hosted on overseas servers. A black list of refused classification content is compiled by the Australian Communications and Media Authority through a public complaints mechanism and typically includes illegal material such as child sex abuse content, bestiality, sexual violence and the detailed instruction of crime or drug use. This material is currently subject to take-down notices by ACMA if it is hosted online in Australia. However, ACMA is unable to directly regulate content hosted overseas. Anti-censorship groups had been opposed to previous suggestions by the government that all ACMA black-listed content - including X-Rated material - be caught by the ISP filtering plan. “ISP filtering reduces the risk of Australians being inadvertently exposed to RC-rated material when they are online,” Communications Minister Senator Conroy said. The filter plan was given the go-ahead by the government after a successful live-trial involving nine ISPs including Unwired, Optus, Primus and Webshield. A report of the trial, which was conducted by Enex Test Laboratory, has now been publicly released. Telstra - which did not take part in the trials - welcomed the introduction of the plan and said that it provided greater clarity on the government's approach to cyber-safety. “It is important to recognise, as the government has, that there is no silver bullet which will make the internet 100 per cent safe. The blocking of a blacklist of RC sites is one element of the multi-faceted approach that is required to create a safer online environment,” Telstra public policy and communications chief David Quilty said. “We support the fact that the government intends to legislate its approach, thereby ensuring that it applies across the industry, is clearly spelt out and is enforceable by law. The government also announced additional initiatives to complement the mandatory filter. A grants program will be available to ISPs to encourage the introduction of optional filtering to block X-rated and gambling content as requested by households. The government also announced an expansion of the cyber-safety outreach program run by ACMA and the Cyber-Safety Online Helpline to improve education and awareness of online safety. “The government has always maintained there is no silver bullet solution to cyber-safety. That is why we have established a comprehensive range of cyber-safety measures, including funding for 91 additional online Australian Federal Police officers and education,” Senator Conroy said. “Through a combination of additional resources for education and awareness, mandatory internet filtering of RC-rated content, and optional ISP-level filtering, we have a package that balances safety for families and the benefits of the digital revolution.” The ISP filter plan has been a controversial one for the government which has faced a chorus of criticism from industry and angry internet users who claim that its introduction would strangle internet speeds, curb free speech, and be abused by the government to ban content that it deems “undesirable”. But Senator Conroy hosed down the past speculation. “The live trial has shown that filtering of a defined list of URLs can be done with 100 per cent accuracy and negligible impact on network performance – despite the many claims that have been touted,” Senator Conroy said. “ISP level filtering is a useful measure as part of an overall cyber-safety plan. The government should do all that it can to protect Australians from exposure to RC-rated content.” The leak list: The leaking of the ACMA blacklist caused significant embarrassment, containing as it did a broad range of harmless and controversial material. As a result, the Government has since that time been presenting the blacklist as an “almost exclusively RC-only” list; that is, that it will contain only material that would be Refused Classification by Australia’s Classification Board. The implication is that such material would only contain shocking content that would be highly illegal, such as child abuse or violent pornography. In fact, material could be refused classification for a variety of reasons such as “providing instruction in criminal activity”, such as euthanasia. It’s legal to view most RC content, except as specifically outlawed by statues combating child abuse material. Our concerns about the scheme were heightened by a recent clarification by a Government spokesperson on the list concerning video games. In Australia, there is currently no R-18+ category for video and computer games, with MA-15+ instead being the highest category. This means that any video game containing material deemed too confronting for a minor is refused classification. The Government has now confirmed that web sites dealing with games that are mature or unrated will be subject to blacklisting: The Government is considering mandatory ISP level filtering of Refused Classification content as identified by the ACMA complaints mechanism. This could potentially include URLs of websites which make available Refused Classification computer games such as web-based flash games and downloadable games, if a complaint is received and the content is determined by ACMA to be Refused Classification. Computer games that exceed an MA15+ rating are deemed to be Refused Classification as there is no R18+ or X18+ rating for computer games in Australia. This is alarming for many reasons. Computer games that are downloaded or are predominantly online are not usually rated in Australia. This would include simple Flash-based web games, but also online games like World of Warcraft, EVE Online or Second Life whose content is substantially or primarily user-generated. Because an environment like Second Life is so vast, it can and will contain material created by adults and for adults, causing it fall afoul of the MA-15+ rating. Thus, secondlife.com could end up on the blacklist, with no method of review or appeal. It would simply be banned for all Australians, even though the program and its contents would still be entirely legal to own and use in Australia. Edited December 15, 2009 by Dante Automerged Doublepost Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 16, 2009 Roy Disney, nephew of Walt Disney, dies at 79 Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney whose powerful behind-the-scenes influence on The Walt Disney Co. led to the departure of former chief Michael Eisner, has died. He was 79. The company announced that Disney died Wednesday in Newport Beach, Calif., after a yearlong bout with stomach cancer. Company president and chief executive Bob Iger said Disney was "much more than a valued 56-year company veteran." "Roy's true passion and focus were preserving and building upon the amazing legacy of Disney animation that was started by his father and uncle," Iger said in a statement. "Roy's commitment to the art of animation was unparalleled and will always remain his personal legacy and one of his greatest contributions to Disney's past, present and future." Although he generally stayed out of the spotlight, Roy Disney didn't hesitate to lead a successful campaign in 1984 to oust Walt Disney's son-in-law after concluding he was leading the company in the wrong direction. Nearly 20 years later, he launched another successful shareholders revolt, this time against Eisner, the man he'd helped bring in after the previous ouster. Eisner and his wife issued a statement expressing their sympathies immediately after the company confirmed Disney's death. Born in 1930, Roy Disney had practically grown up with the company. His uncle Walt Disney and his father, Roy O. Disney, had co-founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio seven years before, later renaming it The Walt Disney Co. Two years before Roy E. Disney was born, the company gave birth to its iconic cartoon character, Mickey Mouse. While Walt was the company's creative genius, his brother was the one in charge of the company's finances. Starting in the 1950s, the younger Roy Disney worked for years in the family business as an editor, screenwriter and producer. Two short films he worked on were nominated for Academy Awards: the 1959 "Mysteries of the Deep," which he wrote, was nominated as best live action short, and the 2003 film "Destino," which he co-produced, was nominated as best animated short. Despite his heritage, Roy Disney never got the chance to lead the company as his father and uncle had. But as an investor who grew his Disney stock into a billion-dollar fortune, he ultimately had a huge impact on the company's destiny. In 1984, dissatisfied with the leadership Walt's son-in-law Ron Miller was providing, Disney resigned from the company's board of directors and sought investors to back a bid to install new management. (Miller was the husband of Diane Disney Miller, Roy's cousin.) His efforts resulted in the hiring of Eisner and Frank Wells, who led the company as a team until Wells died in 1994. During that time, Disney rejoined the board and rose to become the company's vice chairman and chairman of its animation division, where he helped oversee the making of such hit films as 1994's "The Lion King." He also became a savvy investor over the years, forming Shamrock Holdings with his friend and fellow Disney board member Stanley Gold in 1978. The fund grew to become a major investor in California real estate, the state of Israel and other entertainment and media companies. In his spare time he bought a castle in Ireland and indulged his passion for yacht racing, setting several speed records. For years he was a fixture at the Transpacific Yacht Race between California and Hawaii. After years of dissatisfaction with Eisner's leadership and the company's lagging stock price, Disney and Gold resigned their board seats in 2003 and launched a shareholder revolt. In his resignation letter, Disney called for Eisner's ouster, complaining that on his watch the company's standards had declined, particularly at theme parks like California's Disneyland and Florida's Walt Disney World. Initially rebuffed, Disney rallied small investors and enthusiasts who responded to his folksy complaints about peeling paint at the theme parks and his anger at being told he would have to leave the board because he was too old. "One of the reasons for my leaving, other than the fact that they fired me, was that I saw that quality slipping away from us," Disney told a 2004 meeting of memorabilia collectors. Slowly, Disney built support for his cause, and at the company's annual shareholders meeting in 2004 he received a standing ovation. Shareholders eventually delivered an unprecedented rebuke to Eisner, withholding 45 percent of votes cast for his re-election to the board. The chief executive was later stripped of his role as board chairman and announced his retirement in 2005, a year before his contract was up. Disney initially opposed Iger, Eisner's successor, but they reconciled and in 2005 Iger named Disney a board member emeritus and welcomed him back to company events. Born in Los Angeles on Jan. 10, 1930, Roy Edward Disney was Roy and Edna Disney's only child. As an adult, he often wore a mustache, which gave him a striking resemblance to his legendary uncle. After graduating from Pomona College in 1951, he briefly worked at NBC as an assistant editor on the "Dragnet" TV series. Disney was also an active philanthropist, supporting the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, a school founded by his father and uncle. In 1999, he matched a gift from The Walt Disney Co. to establish an experimental theater space as part of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The theater was named the Roy and Edna Disney-CalArts Theater or Redcat. Mark Murphy, executive director of the Redcat Theater, said Disney always had a "kind smile and a twinkle in his eye regardless of the topic on the agenda." In 2005, Disney pledged $10 million to establish the Roy and Patricia Disney Cancer Center at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. RIP Roy Disney. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 29, 2009 (edited) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8433285.stm Now, this might seem a case of "he did wrong and got what he deserved" but for me as someone living in China, it's not so cut and dried. Let me give you some insights: 1. A few months ago, some people opened up a new fruit shop outside my apartment, it was doing absolutely roaring business and the people there once told me how happy they were it was successful, so much so that they wanted to open another shop. The next DAY they were gone. The shop was gutted, the stock was gone and the family was nowhere to be found. My wife called them to see where they had gone (we had their phone number for deliveries when we were feeling lazy). The number had been disconnected. They just disappeared into thin air overnight. 2. One time, a member of my staff got into a taxi with her boyfriend, wanting to go to a popular and well-reputed shopping mall for dinner. The taxi driver took a disliking to them and told them he wasn't working anymore. Which is illegal as his light was on and he stopped for them to ask where they wanted to go, drove a few hundred yards and told them to get out. Boyfriend got angry and refused to pay as the guy had not taken them to their stated destination. Taxi driver then locks the doors, driving them out to god knows where, gets out of the car with the two people in it and disappears. My staff member got into the front of the car, unlocked the doors and they both got out... to be confronted by a mob of about 50 locals shouting "Get out of China! Get out of China!" and slapping and punching the pair of them. The driver grabbed hold of the girl and wouldn't let go of her arm, knowing that the boyfriend wouldn't leave without her, they both end up bruised and covered in blood. The police arrive, the patrol car having to drive its way through the ever-growing mob inch by inch. As soon as the taxi driver sees this, he scratches his own face and clutches his neck. The police drag the two foreigners into the police car, which is subsequently attacked by the mob. They are successfully driven to the police station, where a local judge gives a summary decision: pay the "injured" taxi driver -who produced a witness out of the crowd who swore he saw the boyfriend beating the taxi driver inside the taxi, or be deported immediately and all their property seized. They paid the fine and left. 3. One or two weeks previously another staff member, who is very dark-skinned was accosted in an undergound station by a large group of people accusing her of being a muslim terrorist - on the basis that she looked a bit "Islamic". The Metro security guards joined in by hemming her into a small corner of the station and chanting racist abuse at her until she told them she was from South Africa. At which point the police turned up and arrested her for "disturbing the peace". 4. Several months ago, there was an article in the Shanghai Daily about a foreigner who had sex with a pair of prostitutes who then tied him up and robbed him. He was deported for having sex with prostitutes as it is "illegal". A week later to the day, there appeared an article about a chinese man who was murdered by the boyfriend of a prostitute when he refused to pay her. The dead man's wife was trying to claim on his life insurance and the company had refused to pay as it said it was in the commission of an illegal act he died. The judge checked the law, and he concluded that while prostitution was naughty, there was nothing saying it was illegal. The wife was awarded her compensation. Still believe this guy got a fair trial? Edited December 29, 2009 by Iun Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 29, 2009 China's a pretty nice place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 29, 2009 How will we ever know if he had a fair trial if China's Judicial system has absolutely no transparency?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 29, 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8433285.stm Now, this might seem a case of "he did wrong and got what he deserved" but for me as someone living in China, it's not so cut and dried. Let me give you some insights: (Some insights) Still believe this guy got a fair trial? Great. My cousin is currently (or soon will be, world travel thing. Don't know his route.) travelling through China. Why do people insist on going there? From the sounds of your post, I'll be giving it an extra wide berth from now on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 2, 2010 Twitter bans popular passwords Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 2, 2010 I think that most systems should employ these kind of systems. As for the China thing... Yeah... China is a very scary country at times and it's such a shame. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 3, 2010 (edited) Wired's 2009 Sexist Geeks Vote. Why is Kristen Bell listed twice? Edited January 3, 2010 by Dante Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 3, 2010 Meh at least Jade Raymond is on there, alot of people on that list that don't really strike me as 'geek'..hmm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 3, 2010 How come they've all been downrated so much? *shrugs* Anyway, there are some pretty hot geeks out there! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
