Random News Article Thread/Discussion

[bazooka]

I don't the specifics, but it has statewide proved an effect, same with the other states.

The most remarkable thing is that there's really nothing remarkable. It's completely unoticeable. It cracks me up, these doomsday nailbiting goofuses thinking something drastic happens when you do this.

Yea I actually found some numbers by myself, it was estimated that the windfall the new legislation created in Connecticut (weren't you from CT? correct me if I've got that wrong) was $40 million. Don't know what exactly they counted in though.

And have to agree with the latter part. We don't have gay marriage option here though, at least not yet (probably not any time soon), only registered relationship for gay couples. But still. No big deal.

[Gliblord]

I have not read most of the posts here yet, but I will type my mind on my experiences on this. Coming from the Caribbean(Trinidad) myself; it's really all just religion, even though the the more outlandish festivities(the explicit nature of Carnival) and the more gang oriented lifestyle of the youth makes it all seem like a huge contradiction to whatever supposedly "good morals" the bible and even the church teaches. While not everyone in the country were the same, the majority of morals started from church or mosque. Because why? There wasn't much to choose from. My parents took us church. My parent's parents took them to church. One huge and nearly endless cycle dates back for centuries. It almost felt like a requirement to live a healthy life or to have a decent relationship with family. Social propaganda and scare tactics also takes a huge role as well. I remember one of my teachers in "Sunday School" saying that if one were to annex
themselves from the church, they would end up turning in to demons. Also on the news... some kid had an allergic reaction, but they reported it as a demon that possessed him due to his fixation of Pokemon Cards(they were trying to attack a popular trend). In fact, they report a ton of things and blame it on "demons".

There's a whole bunch of other things too and I'm sure this can tie in to the whole homosexuality hate as well. Good thing I was always a little bit indifferent about the church and the media, and was always questioning things. It's a rare breed of thinking until one is exposed to what the whole world truly is. I may have ran-on a bit, but that's my personal experience.

Congrats on breaking free of the clutches of dogmatic ignorance.

[Hiroy]

Haha, thanks. It's was not an easy thing to do back at home. I wonder what kind of person I would have been if I didn't come to America. Life sucks here too, but it gave me a leeway to be alot more open minded without being pressured by morals those never questioned. Heck, I originally got over my old arrogance with transgendered people thanks to discussions here on AP, and even talking directly to those that sees anything that breaks a social norm as a "mental illness".

My mom is slowly starting to become more accepting of things as well, though she is still very hard to convince. Debates with her can last for hours ._. But any fight is a good fight.

[Gliblord]

Free thought +16

[ChesCa]

Private Prisons lobbying for influence:

This is only made more scary by the fact that the governor introduced a bill to strip prisoners of voting rights even after they had been released, meaning that their goal is clearly to make a sort of political prison plan. I don't know if that law passed or not, though.
I mean fuck, it's like my own nightmarish story is coming true before my very eyes.
EDIT:
Fuck it, I'mma make some predictions:
Pretty soon, we're going to see the reintroductions of anti-sodomy laws (once donators are certain that they can get away with arresting people for being gay again), debtor's prisons, even more harshers laws from the patriot act and the war on drugs and illegal immigration will continue, if not get stronger. I'll bet my account we'll even see another draft in our lifetime if this keeps going: one part of the population will go to military contractors, the other to prison for dodging said draft.
Even if they don't succeed, we're heading to a point where those laws are at least going to be fought for.
And on top of that, our private data that is being sold to corporations is only going to look more like enticing ammunition against the populace as things get worse.
If someone tries to write this off as some NWO bullshit, I have two words: Piss off!

[THE SEA]

http://globalgrind.com/news-politics...and-dies-again

[Insider2000]

http://globalgrind.com/news-politics...and-dies-again

That....is so horrible. That poor woman.

[bazooka]

http://globalgrind.com/news-politics...and-dies-again

Should I feel bad because I've been laughing at this for some time now? I know it had to be tragic and all but... just can't get rid of the mental image. Wish I could die like that.
What I wonder though is whether they had to arrange another funeral for her or not.

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What I was about to post here however was this: Swedish preschool fights gender bias

Can't quite judge that school by just one article, but somehow I'm not convinced.

[Sakonosolo]

Just bring her back to the funeral that was in progress and put her back in the coffin .

[No Maam]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...ette-packaging

I realy think that this is bullshit. It makes it impossible for people to choose the type of the product they want, plus it's just ridiculous. Either ban cigarettes outright , and make thousands of people lose their jobs at once, or don't, but then don't persecute the people buying them.

It's only a little bit short of everyone buying cigaretes having to go through mandatory corporal punishment before leaving the store.

--- Update From New Post Merge ---

Should I feel bad because I've been laughing at this for some time now? I know it had to be tragic and all but... just can't get rid of the mental image. Wish I could die like that.
What I wonder though is whether they had to arrange another funeral for her or not.

---

Yes, you should.

Imagine if a person dear to you "died" , you find out she's alive only for her to die again immediately after.

[Sakonosolo]

Austrailia kind of sucks at making laws. I can support the taxing cigs to hell and back but that is just ridiculous.

[No Maam]

Prosecutors conceded he had never put money into a deal or profited from it.

And why the hell is he sentenced to 10 years in prison then ?

--- Update From New Post Merge ---

Austrailia kind of sucks at making laws. I can support the taxing cigs to hell and back but that is just ridiculous.

"Hey man, of course you can use your freedom to buy cigaretes, just be prepared to concede to mandatory anal rape before you leave the store with them, kay ?"

[bazooka]

That's terrible but funny at the same time.

I know!

Yes, you should.

Imagine if a person dear to you "died" , you find out she's alive only for her to die again immediately after.

I guess, but it's kinda hard to relate this time.

[Mugiwara_no_Ice]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...ette-packaging

I realy think that this is bullshit. It makes it impossible for people to choose the type of the product they want, plus it's just ridiculous. Either ban cigarettes outright , and make thousands of people lose their jobs at once, or don't, but then don't persecute the people buying them.

It's only a little bit short of everyone buying cigaretes having to go through mandatory corporal punishment before leaving the store.

WTF! How is changing a cigarette package, persecuting people??? Why would the consumer care for the package?

For me the cigarette companies are the devil anyway, so I hope this goes through, great job Aussies!!!

[No Maam]

WTF! How is changing a cigarette package, persecuting people??? Why would the consumer care for the package?

For me the cigarette companies are the devil anyway, so I hope this goes through, great job Aussies!!!

When you make the package something gross, and not allowing the company producing said product to in some way make their product noted amongst the others.

Plus I can see so many people being snooty and looking at people who buy a pack looking like that like they're some kind of perverts or somethin.

[Mugiwara_no_Ice]

When you make the package something gross, and not allowing the company producing said product to in some way make their product noted amongst the others.

So do I need to feel persecuted every time I enter the supermarket? Cause all packages look gross to me.

And companies aren't allowed to do what they want. there are strict regulations on what has to be written on a package (ingredients, and stuff...), and it gets stricter when it's about medicine, drugs and lethal substances. So fuck philip morris and co.

[Sakonosolo]

They should write "Victory Cigarettes" on the package just to be funny.

[Nami]

O_O I will so not move to Australia.

[Smudger]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13927208

Libya: Muammar Gaddafi subject to ICC arrest warrant

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, accusing him of crimes against humanity.

The court had grounds to believe he had ordered attacks on civilians during Libya's four-month uprising, it said.

The Hague-based court also issued warrants for two of Col Gaddafi's top aides - his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi.

Thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the conflict.

Anti-Gaddafi forces said on Monday they had launched a new push towards Tripoli, with heavy fighting near the strategic town of Bir al-Ghanam, to the south-west of capital.

The rebel defence minister told the BBC that forces opposed to Col Gaddafi may also make a move on the capital from the east.

'Unquestioned control'
The ICC arrest warrants refer to early weeks of the uprising, from 15 February until "at least 28 February".

I actually thought this old dog would keep some kind of power or remain untouched from the war. It'll be fascinating to see the evidence compiled so far.

[Monkey King]

The question is, is his ego so big he pulls a Hitler. Or is his ego even bigger and he marches to court expecting to get off scott free?