- The 5 Craziest Policies In Texas Republicans' 2012 Platform | ThinkProgress
The oppose teaching critical thinking in schools, which is just mindblowing. Critical thinking is almost the only useful thing I learned in school! Still, as someone (I forget who) remarked on Twitter – they are, at least now being open about what they want, which is basically a load of stupid people who will do what they say.
Tag: politics
Bookmarks for March 6, 2012
- Microjs: Fantastic Micro-Frameworks and Micro-Libraries for Fun and Profit!
This would be very handy for mobile apps.
- Who Said It? Mitt Romney or Mr. Burns?
Just a little bit terrifying.
- Calvin and Hobbes desktop wallpapers.
I usually use my own photos as a desktop background (I wouldn't take them if they didn't make me happy) but I think I may have to use a few of these, instead.
- iPad Folio Cases by Fieldfolio
I have no idea why I might be contemplating a new iPad case. None.
Bookmarks for July 25, 2011
- Atos case study: Larry Newman | Society | The Guardian
A man who *was dying* of a degenerative condition was refused incapacity benefit. His last words: "It's a good thing I'm fit to work". I don't mind the idea that we assess people to determine if they're fit to work when working out who to give benefit to – it is not, in itself, an unconscionable idea, that a neutral 3rd party make some kind of informed judgement, before we start giving people free money, however well deserved and much need that money may be. I mind that that we do in in such a a shockingly inhumane and incompetent manner, without apparent reference to people's actual medical conditions.
Bookmarks for July 1, 2011
- BBC News – Ed Miliband: 'These strikes are wrong'
Look just go and watch this, if you haven't seen it by now. And please bear in mind that this is, allegedly, someone who would quite like to run the country. Because I don't know about you, but this reminds me of nothing so much as a lightly concussed goldfish.
- Justice: RIP? | Beneath The Wig
An absolutely sterling article of the recent trail of Levi Bellfield, in defiance of the recent round of Tabloid mentalism over the fact that Bellfield was, in essence, entitled to as full a defence as the next person. Was it sad, and painful for the parents? Yes, and of course they deserve compassion. Was it also in the best interests of justice? Yes. We should not let shoddy tabloid journalism encourage us to think otherwise.
Bookmarks for June 10, 2011
- Apple's iTunes in iCloud 'won't launch in the UK this year' – Telegraph
I am spittingly furious about this. Fucking PRS shitehawks, screwing the consumer once again. I have bought and paid for my music. There is absolutely no reasonable argument that says I should not have access to it wherever I damn well please, because shockingly, it is *mine*. I have already paid their members what they are entitled to when I bought the fucking stuff, and I find it infuriating that they somehow believe that they have the right to get in the way of my use of their product past that. (Why yes, I do really, really want iCloud.) It's not as if it's remotely meaningful – I *can* (and do) already do everything iCloud will let me do, just less conveniently. Yet PRS want someone else to give them money in exchange for making my life more convenient a third party making my life. They very embodiment of the standard music industry practise of getting between artist and consumer and making things worse for both while skimming the money off the top. How is that related to what their artists do? PRS are playing territory marking office-politics type games on matters that are unrelated to the actual rights in the music, and everything to do with ownership of products. What's next, are they going to GPS tag all my CDs, to make sure I don't carry them outside my house?
Bookmarks for May 4, 2011
- 25 Abandoned Yugoslavia Monuments that look like they're from the Future
Why are all of these not arranged within convenient walking distance of my house? They are utterly brilliant bits of work.
- Workers leaving the googleplex
A story about how someone got fired from Google for being curious about his fellow employees. One might almost think that Google didn't want it getting out that they appear to be making use of minimum wage labour, and treating them worse than they treat all their other employees. That might make them look like they don't care if they're evil or not.
Bookmarks for April 4, 2011
- Why #StartUpBritain is nothing more than a government backed link farm
I have some interesting in start-ups – I've worked at a couple, and I hope to work at more later in my career. I am dismayed to see that this government, with claims to value entrepreneurship so highly, is essentially devaluing the hard work and enterprise that goes into them by offering a package of "help" that amounts to nothing more that a series of money-off vouchers roughly akin to the usual supermarket "£5 off when you spend £20", and links to sites that frankly, encourage deeply unethical business practices.
- Rogue on the Sofa
One that'll appeal to the old school computer gaming nerds. And probably provide you with a few new games to play.
Links for Sunday February 27th 2011 through Monday February 28th 2011
- Pattern | CLiPS
Python module for datamining and data visualisation. Just in case/
- Tory council to make homelessness illegal « Labour Uncut
While Dangerous Dave Cameron talks about the Big Society, and tells us that we must all hel[ one another, because the government would just as soon see us die in the gutter, another group of his friends are attempting to make it illegal for us to help one another, presumably because the Tories have nothing but contempt for anyone who wasn't born into wealth, and wish to see us all die in a gutter.
Bookmarks for February 8, 2011
- Adactio: Journal—Erase and rewind
The BBC it seems, refuse to learn lessons from their own history. I'm usually one to defend the BBC against a lot of the flak it gets, but this is just plain stupid. Archiving these sites should be a matter of maybe an hour's work each, at most.
- Isotope
Tech bollocks. JS (specifically, jQuery, my new best friend) library for doing all sorts of very nice layout/sorting tricks. Bound to be handy.
- Woke Up, Got Out of Bed, Dragged a Comb Across My Head – morning routine food | Ask MetaFilter
I have been reflecting of late that I could do with adjusting my morning routine a bit. A lot of what's in here is moderately standard hippy crap, but the annoying thing is that I know quite a lot of it works, if one sticks to it. So I should probably get on that.
- To us, it's an obscure shift of tax law. To the City, it's the heist of the century
If you live in the UK, stop what you're doing and read this, assuming you haven't already. This is somewhere between absurd and terrifying, and I simply don't understand how anyone in Cameron's position can contemplate it. Well, I do, but the only way it makes sense to me is active malice and contempt for other people, which is a motivation I find hard to ascribe to any human being.
Bookmarks for January 27, 2011
- This is the Big Society, you see. It must be big, to contain so many volunteers. | openDemocracy
Philip Pullman, speaking in defence of libraries, neatly skewers the problem with Dangerous Dave's beloved Big Society, where we will all help each other and and volunteer to keep public services going: who do you know has the spare time, energy and ability to go without earning a living or looking after the kids in order to volunteer?
- YouTube – "Premakes" Up! (1965)
A trailer for Pixar's Up! reimagined as a 1965 live-action Disney movie. Nice work.