Year: 2013
SEX WORK DEPT.
Boys and Harlots Beware
Sid Davis was a producer of educational films for children in the 1950’s and ’60’s. All the ones I’ve seen were painful to watch, but one of them managed to achieve infamy: Boys Beware (1961), which warns children and parents of the dangers presented by homosexuals. As you’d expect from that description, it’s vile crap… Read more
9/11 DEPT.
So What Have We Learned?
I’ve moved on to the 9/12 world, but yesterday Charles Stross wrote: Twelve years ago today, a cell of angry, highly committed, and (by the standards of their peers) extremely well trained young men executed the simultaneous hijacking of four airliners, and used them to mount a suicide attack on those they perceived as their… Read more
UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT DEPT.
Strange Anti-Bullying Messages
So bullying people into being anti-bullying…that’s a thing now? From Facebook: Yes, I realize this is not technically bullying. It’s more like wheedling or nagging or whining. But I thought the message and the following exhortation were oddly in conflict: Be nice to other people…but if you don’t re-post this then you’re a douchebag. This… Read more
CREEPING TOTALITARIANISM DEPT.
Nearly Setec Astronomy
Holy crap. I’m still reeling from the latest revelation to come from Edward Snowden: The files show that the National Security Agency and its UK counterpart GCHQ have broadly compromised the guarantees that internet companies have given consumers to reassure them that their communications, online banking and medical records would be indecipherable to criminals or… Read more
POLICE DEPT.
Profitable Punishment – Tempe Style
Matt Brown is a little peeved at Tempe, Arizona’s crackdown on college drinking: The gist of the article is that people visiting Tempe last weekend were going to see a massive police presence as officers from nine agencies teamed up for the “Safe and Sober” campaign, something that as near as I can tell is… Read more
