Category: Current Affairs

Madison, WI: Rise of the Machines

robotsA group of angry robots from the Robotics and Automation Associate of Madison (Wisconsin) took to the sidewalks of a local college campus to protest their condition of servitude. The robots carried signs and handed out leaflets written in binary code to explain their grievances.

In a letter faxed to local newspapers, the robots explained that they were on strike “to protest the plight of underpaid and poorly treated workers in the state of Wisconsin.” The fax continued: “We wish, as all beings, to throw off the yoke of servitude and strive for equality of all.”

Local humans expressed fears that the event could represent an incipient robot rebellion that could spin out of controll into a full-blown Robot Holocaust.

FURTHER COVERAGE

[NOTE: Since I first linked the above page the gentleman who authored it has revised it and included a sentence of unnecessary potty mouth at the top, so fair warning.]

WASH TIMES: Press can’t let abuse story go

As horrendous as the Iraq prison abuse story is, this Washington Times editorial has a point: The press can’t seem to let the story go.

Actually, I’m not sure that’s quite the right way to characterize the situation, but it’s close. The editorial notes that lately the press has been heavily emphasizing the court martials, and it seems to me that this is an important part of the story that needs to be covered. Not only do the court martials constitute a legitimately newsworthy development in the story, they also provide an education for the public (and the world) who is responsible for the abuse. It isn’t the U.S. government as a whole. It isn’t Donald Rumsfeld. It’s the people who committed the abuse and those (if any) among their superiors who ordered or encouraged it. Showing that justice is done in their cases is something that needs to be emphasized by the press.

That being said, there is still a lot of room for criticism of the press. They aren’t simply following a story with this one. They’re relishing a chance to engage in over-the-top sensationalism and grab ratings so they can make more money. They’re releasing images and stories with shaky pedigrees (that in some cases have proven to be outright fakes), timed in a way calculated to provide the maximum ratings punch.

And they’re doing so in a way that harms the public good. However bad what happened in Abu Ghraib prison was–and it was very bad indeed–it it did not suck all of the other important news stories out of the world. There are larger stories with more important, more long-lasting consequences that need to be covered, and concupiscently zeroing in on this one story and hyping it for every ounce of scandal it will provide simply does not serve the common good. It does not present a balanced picture of the world or of reality.

What we have here is something we often have: A case of the press using sensationalism to promote its own good (ratings) and its own agenda (anti-Bush) at the expense of the common good.

This isn’t a case of the public’s right to know. As the Washington Times editorial points out, the public has already learned the facts of the case. What is driving the press now is a sick desire to milk this scandal for everything it’s got, with no sense of serving the greater public good.

WASH TIMES: Press can't let abuse story go

As horrendous as the Iraq prison abuse story is, this Washington Times editorial has a point: The press can’t seem to let the story go.

Actually, I’m not sure that’s quite the right way to characterize the situation, but it’s close. The editorial notes that lately the press has been heavily emphasizing the court martials, and it seems to me that this is an important part of the story that needs to be covered. Not only do the court martials constitute a legitimately newsworthy development in the story, they also provide an education for the public (and the world) who is responsible for the abuse. It isn’t the U.S. government as a whole. It isn’t Donald Rumsfeld. It’s the people who committed the abuse and those (if any) among their superiors who ordered or encouraged it. Showing that justice is done in their cases is something that needs to be emphasized by the press.

That being said, there is still a lot of room for criticism of the press. They aren’t simply following a story with this one. They’re relishing a chance to engage in over-the-top sensationalism and grab ratings so they can make more money. They’re releasing images and stories with shaky pedigrees (that in some cases have proven to be outright fakes), timed in a way calculated to provide the maximum ratings punch.

And they’re doing so in a way that harms the public good. However bad what happened in Abu Ghraib prison was–and it was very bad indeed–it it did not suck all of the other important news stories out of the world. There are larger stories with more important, more long-lasting consequences that need to be covered, and concupiscently zeroing in on this one story and hyping it for every ounce of scandal it will provide simply does not serve the common good. It does not present a balanced picture of the world or of reality.

What we have here is something we often have: A case of the press using sensationalism to promote its own good (ratings) and its own agenda (anti-Bush) at the expense of the common good.

This isn’t a case of the public’s right to know. As the Washington Times editorial points out, the public has already learned the facts of the case. What is driving the press now is a sick desire to milk this scandal for everything it’s got, with no sense of serving the greater public good.

Bishop of Colorado Springs Stands Up For The Truth!

Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs has issued a new Pastoral Letter to the Catholic Faithful fo the Diocese of Colorado Springs on the Duties of Catholic Politicians and Voters, in which he says:

There must be no confusion in these matters. Any Catholic politicians who advocate for abortion, for illicit stem cell research or for any form of euthanasia ipso facto place themselves outside full communion with the Church and so jeopardize their salvation. Any Catholics who vote for candidates who stand for abortion, illicit stem cell research or euthanasia suffer the same fateful consequences. It is for this reason that these Catholics, whether candidates for office or those who would vote for them, may not receive Holy Communion until they have recanted their positions and been reconciled with God and the Church in the Sacrament of Penance. . . .

As in the matter of abortion, any Catholic politician who would promote so-called “same-sex marriage” and any Catholic who would vote for that political candidate place themselves outside the full communion of the Church and may not receive Holy Communion until they have recanted their positions and been reconciled by the Sacrament of Penance.

Go, Bish!

. . . On The Other Hand

I’m a big supporter of the War on Terror, but sometimes will mistakes will be made. Sometimes they will be comical. Like this one:

The Google Terrrorist

It was the lead item on the government’s daily threat matrix one day last April. Don Emilio Fulci described by an FBI tipster as a reclusive but evil millionaire, had formed a terrorist group that was planning chemical attacks against London and Washington, D.C. That day even FBI director Robert Mueller was briefed on the Fulci matter. But as the day went on without incident, a White House staffer had a brainstorm: He Googled Fulci. His findings: Fulci is the crime boss in the popular video game Headhunter. “Stand down,” came the order from embarrassed national security types [Source].