Fix YouTube 2010

Let’s face it: we can’t live without YouTube. … Well, okay, we can survive without it, perhaps. But the Net would be rather grim and crippled, at least for a while, should its single largest video broadcasting site be extinguished. With the amount of people who rely on YT, it’s simply inconceivable.

However, for all its greatness, YouTube’s system is flawed. And when it comes to user support, specifically for content appropriateness and legality, then it’s quite simply broken. There are countless cases where perfectly legit videos have been yanked from the air after certain people repeatedly flagged it for supposedly being inappropriate, or, better yet, sent in bogus DMCA claims (ie.: copyright violation) that whined about the video containing copyrighted content. Of course, a less poisonous yet equally damaging tactic they resort to is vote-botting, where programs are activated that repeatedly down-vote target videos, which has the effect of decreasing their search results value, making it harder and harder for people to find these vids through regular searching.

Of course, YouTube is a business, and therefore follows by two standard business directives: 1) they don’t give a shit about their clients and only do the bare minimum to maintain some decent PR; and 2) their method of dealing with complaints concerning intellectual property and violations of such consists of blindly taking the supposedly offending videos down, and worst of all, if a perfectly legit account gets enough bogus complaint, they can be banned for good, effectively silencing them.

These dishonest tactics are used against all sorts of people: anyone from atheist or skeptic bloggers commenting on how pseudoscience, medical quackery or religion are crap, to far more harmless things, such as Animated Music Videos (AMVs, fan-made videos containing scenes from animated films coupled with music) and their makers. (I’ve had reliable second-hand accounts of this.) Of course, any attempt at asking the YouTube administration for help, or to try and get them to put an end to such ridiculous tactics, have so far met nothing but dead ends.

And so, it’s time to act. AndromedasWake, a YouTube heavy-hitter in the science videos realm, has issued this following call to action:

One graph to rule them all (and hopefully shut them up)

Whenever anti-vaccination kooks tell you that vaccines don’t work, or that they even make things worse, just show them this graph (which is just one amongst the countless available) and watch their heads explode.

Phil Plait jokes:

Antivaxxers: bite me*. We win.

^* Of course, antivaxxers would never bite me. Since I’m fully vaccinated, they might get autism or mercury poisoning or accidentally catch my reality cooties.

I have to ask: I already have Autism^[1] … I wonder what the ramifications of being bitten by feral anti-vaxxers would be?

[1] Mild Asperger’s. (Along with mild Tourette’s, but hey, who’s counting?)

(via Bad Astronomy)

PSA: busy again, so have funny picture (again)

I’m quite keen on finishing my current chapter I’m writing, plus I have several other little things to tend to before freeing myself up to blog (which is what I do when nothing else is on the plate). So, I’m afraid it’s gonna be little to no blogging today. Maybe a post or two later on, but for now, I’m busy.

So, have a lolcat. =)

Yep, that’s totally me. (Guess which?)

On how the justice system happily convicts people they know are innocent

Pop quiz: below is a quote. Three guesses who said it, and to whom. Think obvious.

“There is nothing against you. But there is no innocent person here. So, you should confess to something so you can be charged and sentenced and serve your sentence and then go back to your family and country, because you will not leave this place innocent.”

This was a statement made by a U.S. interrogator to Fouad al-Rabiah, a captured “enemy combatant” who was detained despite a complete lack of evidence against him, and a man they declared to be completely innocent in the end. Not that they didn’t torture him anyway, though.

It doesn’t take long, or many re-readings, before the true meaning and impact of that quote hits you. It couldn’t be plainer in what it says: “We know there is no evidence against you and that you have done nothing wrong. So, why don’t you make it easier for yourself and everyone else and just falsely confess to a crime you did not commit, so that we can all go home. Because you will not leave this place without having confessed to a crime.”

It must make Cheney and other neoconservatives so full of pride to see how the justice system is more than happy to detain and persecute someone they know to be innocent, on charges they know to be false, based off of confessions they know were forced.

And yet, the Obama administration is still dillydallying around, kicking around the bush and walking in circles, doing nothing to help these innocent people and, in many cases, actively ruling that they should be kept detained, even when it’s shown there is no credible evidence against them.

(via The Agitator)

An affront to an affront: atheists rightfully violating the ridiculous blashphemy law in Ireland

As you have undoubtedly heard, Ireland has declared that it has chosen to sink back to Medieval times with its enactment and enforcement, starting last January 01, of its new blasphemy law, which would condemn anyone who “publishes or utters matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion”. Which is so bloody vague that anyone who so much as posts a caricature of a religious figure(head) could end up in court, not to mention find themselves fined up to €25,000 ($35,000).

Of course, the only thing I, within my mature, reasonable and Freedom-of-Speech-loving capacity as a foreigner, can say, is

FUCK RELIGION.

(Not to cause offense to any pearl-clutchers perusing this blog, of course. I can’t help it if you have the thin skin of a sickly baby.)

Admittedly, Atheist Ireland has chosen a route a bit more sophisticated than I in terms of choosing a riposte to this nonsense. They’ve taken it unto themselves to publish 25 horrible blasphemous quotes from a staggering range of people – including (but not limited to) Mark Twain, Monty Python, Frank Zappa, Richard Dawkins and PZ Myers (naturally), and even Jesus Christ and Mohammed themselves. This is all part of their effort to launch a widespread campaign aimed at repealing this ridiculous law, a law that serves no other purpose than to curtail free speech for the sakes of oversensitive pearl-clutchers.

This new law is a travesty and an affront to free speech and reason. It cannot be allowed to remain in place for long. Religion is nothing special or sacred, and does absolutely not deserve its special and privileged place in our modern society, where it is practically immune from challenge and criticism. If anything, being the load of silly hogwash that it is, it is perhaps the one thing that is the most deserving of the harshest criticism available to man.

Technorati tags: blasphemy · Irish Blasphemy Law · Ireland · religion · free speech · Freedom of Speech · Atheist Ireland

King of the Streets cop decides you can’t have your legally obtained gun on his beat

I am no fan of the Second Amendment and the right for civilians to carry firearms around with them, or to stash them at home. I believe that much saner and stricter laws, such as in Canada (to use my country in a good example for once), would have the effect of reducing the number of guns that land in the hands of nuts who shouldn’t have one, and homicides (and variants thereof) would plummet shortly. Just look at the vast discrepancy in crime rates, especially the violent types, between the U.S. and its northern neighbor.

However, Americans do have the right to carry concealed weapons when issued the proper permits and such; therefore, even though I disagree with this being a good idea, I do agree that once they’ve earned their right, then they, well, have the right to carry a concealed firearm, a right given unto them by the law. Anyone who would try to interfere with them carrying a concealed gun in a perfectly lawful manner would be the one at fault.

Unless, of course, they’re a pretentious cop. Such as in this story, below:

The case stems from a lawyer who sued a police officer after he was detained for lawfully carrying a concealed weapon while in possession of a license to carry concealed. According to the case opinion, the lawyer, Greg Schubert, had a pistol concealed under his suit coat, and Mr. Schubert was walking in what the court described as a "high crime area." At some point a police officer, J.B. Stern, who lived up to his last name, caught a glimpse of the attorney's pistol, and he leapt out of his patrol car "in a dynamic and explosive manner" with his gun drawn, pointing it at the attorney's face.

Officer Stern "executed a pat-frisk," and Mr. Schubert produced his license to carry a concealed weapon. He was disarmed and ordered to stand in front of the patrol car in the hot sun. At some point, the officer locked him in the back seat of the police car and delivered a lecture. Officer Stern "partially Mirandized Schubert, mentioned the possibility of a criminal charge, and told Schubert that he (Stern) was the only person allowed to carry a weapon on his beat." [Original emphasis]

For most people, this would be enough to conclude that they were being harassed for the exercise of a constitutional right, but the officer went further, seizing the attorney's pistol and leaving with it. Officer Stern reasoned that because he could not confirm the "facially valid" license to carry, he would not permit the attorney to carry. Officer Stern drove away with the license and the firearm, leaving the attorney unarmed, dressed in a suit, and alone in what the officer himself argued was a high crime area.

It’s just another one of those stories that make you wonder, “Who the fuck do these arrogant pricks think they are?”. Here, we have a man walking in the streets with a firearm that he is perfectly entitled and permitted to own and carry – and yet, just because the cop didn’t like the idea of other people having guns on the streets during his beat, he harassed the man and took away his his gun – his private property, which he was more than allowed to have on him at the time. You know, given that he had a “‘facially valid’ license”.

Genesis of neurosis: Beck and Kids in the Hall

I’ve been hearing of this video for a few days but never looked into it … My God, I should have.

Now we know where Glenn Beck was spawned from.

This is freakiness squared.

(via The Agitator)

Another comparison between U.S. healthcare and the rest’s

Or: why the American healthcare system fucking sucks. We keep hearing (rightfully so) about how pathetic the state of healthcare is in America with its exorbitant costs in exchange for quality that really isn’t all that superior. (Just look at America’s average life expectancy; hell, it’s lower than Canada and most of Europe’s.) A commenter pointed out a post at Applied Statistics where graphs are shown that illustrate, rather vividly, just how gaping the discrepancy between the amount Americans spend on healthcare, and the life expectancy they have, compared to the healthcare systems of various other countries – most of whom do have universal healthcare coverage in place.

The following two graphs showcase the same statistics and data, but in different formats. First, using a scatterplot graphic:

Quite frightening, no? But, for an even better idea, here is a parallel-coordinates plot showing the same data. This is just chilling:

Stupid Quote of the Day: Filthy rich Limbaugh thinks healthcare is “just fine and dandy”

Hell, I don’t even need a caricature to make him look like a moronic, fat-faced buffoon.

Rush Limbaugh was recently whisked to a hospital when struck with severe chest pains whilst vacationing in Hawaii. He now says he’s fine, and it does look like it, for he’s fine enough to resume spouting stupidity:

“The treatment I received here was the best that the world has to offer,” Limbaugh said. “Based on what happened here to me, I don’t think there’s one thing wrong with the American health care system. It is working just fine, just dandy.”

Yes, it would certainly seem so, particularly from the viewpoint of a wealthy celebrity who receives nothing but the best that money can buy, literally. It’s even more interesting to note how Hawaiian healthcare is especially “fine” and “dandy” following the passing of reform measures that are highly similar to the very healthcare reform measures being considered by Congress. Which Limbaugh wastes no time or spittle in attacking any chance he gets.

Is there anything that Limbaugh says or does that doesn’t reveal his colors as a fat hypocritical oaf?

(via @todayspolitics)

Recent history of Islamic peace regarding Danish cartoons and the noble quest to silence Kurt Westergaard

Yeah, I dare to post it.

Islam is a religion of peace. There, I said it. Just as Christianity is a religion of love, and Judaism is a religion of respect for others’ differing beliefs. And just as all religions are religions of tolerance, acceptance and love towards atheists and other non-believers. It’s terribly unfair to challenge these presupposi— um, inherent truths, for that delivers a crushing blow to the morale of religious followers and makes them shrivel up in a corner and cry.

So, you can imagine the horrors that unfurled when blasphemous cartoonist Kurt Westergaard released an evil sketch of the Islamic prophet Mohammed with a bomb-shaped turban (pictured above). He wasn’t the only one; look at all the nastiness that was released upon poor unsuspecting Islam and its faithful followers that momentous day of September 30, 2005, in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

Of course, this is blatantly unfair. As I said, Islam is a religion of peace! How could these cartoonists so callously depict their beloved prophet (when it is forbidden to create or distribute any graphical depictions of Mohammed in the first place) as a sleaze and a bomb-wielding, murderer? And, in doing so, claim that Islam breeds violence and terrorism? Of course the fact that the vast majority, likely upwards of 90%, of all terrorists are Islamic is irrelevant – after all, they aren’t true Muslims and they don’t count.

Now, of course, seeing as Islam makes one inherently peaceful, Muslims had to spread their protest and message of peace as far and wide as they could – by rioting in the streets, burning down cars and buildings, and forming large crowds in calling for the blood, heads and assorted desecrated body parts of anyone who has the heartlessness to question, dissent from, and even criticize, Islam. Hey, after all, they had to get their message of peace out somehow, right?

Of course, Kurt Westergaard, who made arguably the most contentious of the Mohammed depictions, needs to be silenced so that his blasphemous fingers can no longer distort the teachings and message of the great prophet. So, Islamists have been trying, for four years (and counting), to do just that – by calling for his execution, by launching attacks against him, threatening him and his family, and so on. Hey, you can’t blame them for acting so uncharacteristically evil – after all, the end justifies the means, and if the end is stopping any criticism aimed at Islam, then it’s fully justified, so there.

Of course, it wouldn’t be right if something wasn’t done to really make sure Westergaard didn’t blaspheme again, so it’s with great honor that a brave Somali champion of the cause, so unfairly referred to as a “lunatic” and a “terrorist”, chose to take it unto himself to break into Westergaard’s home, wielding an ax and a knife, in an attempt to finally put the mean old cartoonist down – perhaps along with his 5-year-old granddaughter (after all, who knows how much her poor little mind may have already been corrupted?). Sadly, tragedies are everywhere, and the young would-be hero was shot by police as he tried to fend them off from preventing him from achieving his noble cause. It turns out Westergaard’s home is wired with alarms, reinforcements, and even a “panic room” (a heavily fortified room in a home where one takes refuge during a perceived attack) where he and his granddaughter hid. He must’ve known judgment was coming for him. Why else would he hide? Or have all those elaborate security systems in place, even including police protection?

Sadly, our young would-be hero has been charged with two counts of attempted murder (for Westergaard and for a cop he attacked), possibly amongst other things, while Westergaard himself is still able to prowl his home safely, not even tormented by a guilty conscience for what he’s done. How dare he?

Welcome to 2010! Have a cute photo

I currently have a load of projects underway, anything from writing my novel (Inhuman) to drawing illustrations for the chapters, and I’ve even begun detailing the premise for a future novel (to which I already have a title: The Librarian’s Assistant. Ha!). And that’s apart from any other things that may pop up now and then, so the point is that … I just don’t feel like blogging much today. So, now you know. And, because I’m gracious, here’s a quick sappy photo to tie you over, of only for the next few hours.

[Click for full size]

Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone. =) I know this year’s already looking pretty good … plus I may be getting new presents soon … ;-)

Friday Canine: Take a photo, it’ll la— oh, you just did

(via Photo Village)