Unshelved	by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum

Good, I can still get on

Eilir raved on 23:24 Links to this post

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A victory for privacy advocates

Lawyers in YouTube lawsuit reach privacy deal

It seems to me that the plaintiffs in this case would get more out of records of people who posted videos, rather than those who watched them, but the deal makes sure that the latter information is presented without usernames or other identifiable information attached.

Labels: Google, Lawsuits, Privacy, Viacom, Videos, YouTube

Eilir raved on 02:57 Links to this post

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[...]resource[...]

# posted by  laptop battery : 10:32 PM

 

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It's sad when an institution of learning censors someone for reading a book

IUPUI says sorry to janitor scolded over KKK book

A book, mind you, that was a historical account of a clash between another university's students and the Ku Klux Klan (in which the students came out ahead)--a book in the college's own library. A janitor/student who was reading the book on break was threatened with disciplinary action for bringing materials that would be offensive to Blacks, and it was likened to bringing pornography to work.

Fortunately civil liberties groups and the blogosphere got saner heads at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to issue an apology and make sure that none of this affects his personnel file.

My favourite quote, by the attorney for the ACLU:

'I am sure you see the absurdity of a university threatening an employee with discipline for reading a scholarly work that deals with the efforts of Notre Dame students in the 1920s to fight the KKK.'

Indeed. Universities of all places should be places of learning and enlightenment. I could almost see people being upset about someone reading KKK tracts at work--but even so, he or she should have a right to. But this was a different matter altogether. Anyway, I'm glad it worked out despite the fact that his immediate supervisor really mishandled the situation, in my opinion.

Thanks to YKWIA for telling me about this, as well as the magazine cover flap.

Labels: Censorship, Civil Liberties, History, Indiana, Indiana University, KKK, Universities

Eilir raved on 02:40 Links to this post

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Well said

Obama says New Yorker insulted Muslim Americans

'You know, there are wonderful Muslim Americans all across the country who are doing wonderful things,' the presidential candidate told CNN's Larry King. 'And for this to be used as sort of an insult, or to raise suspicions about me, I think is unfortunate. And it's not what America's all about.'

If you've managed not to see the cover of the current New Yorker magazine, it was a supposed attempt at satire that as far as I'm concerned fell like a dud. In it, Barack Obama is seen in traditional Muslim attire in the Oval Office with his wife Michelle, who is in combat fatigues, an Afro, and an automatic rifle. On the wall hangs a picture of Osama bin Laden. They are doing a fist bump whilst a flag burns in the fireplace.

The magazine says that it was making fun of the misconceptions about Obama, and that it has to be taken in context (which seems a little odd, because if you look at the issue, the main article about Obama wasn't about those misconceptions, but rather an 'inside' look at how Obama became a 'pol'. I suppose the context could be the general use of satirical cartoons on the magazine's cover, but just because something often uses satire, doesn't make every attempt good satire.)

Now granted, the majority of Americans are probably satirically illiterate, and certainly there are those who say that those offended simply can't take a joke. But an artist friend of mine, who brought it to my attention, said he could easily think of a couple of ways the cover might have work, if drawn differently, and I agree.

I suspect had the media not taken off with it, little would have been made of it, because the ignorant people who believe such misconceptions most likely don't read the New Yorker. But many will look at the cover now and think, 'well, yes, that's where Obama's heading', which is unfortunate.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, this will blow over and become a minor footnote in history. But I have to admit, I'm one of the ones who just didn't see the humour in that cartoon. And I think Obama has treated the whole affair well.

Labels: New Yorker Magazine, Obama, Satire

Eilir raved on 02:13 Links to this post

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I must get up in 2 hours

so I can't really blog. I hope to tomorrow afternoon before I go to work. In the meantime, just wanted to let you know I've not fallen off the face of the Earth.

'Night.

Labels: Blogging, Sleep (or lack thereof)

Eilir raved on 04:27 Links to this post

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I was temporarily offline for a day

thanks to a security patch from Microsoft for Windows XP that wasn't compatible with my firewall. Said patch has been removed, and I'm back.

Things I want to share with you quickly as I must get up in three hours...

1) I found a really nice, free food diary/weight tracker/exercise tracker at FitDay. You can view my report at: http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=eilir.

2) A video that YKWIA found...

Bush & Cheney - Plenty Of Time!


It's hilarious. Actually, they're very talented at the Monkey Box. You should check them out.

Okay, gotta get up soon. I've ironed out Internet issues and soaked my foot. Time to go.

Labels: Bush, Cheney, Food Diaries, McCain, WebFit

Eilir raved on 03:03 Links to this post

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You know, it's harder than you might think to wrap a toe in a Band-Aid

Listening to: 'I'm Not that Girl' from Wicked

Especially if you have stubby, unagile toes like I do. They don't like to separate.

In other personal medical news, assuming you care, I'm out of the wrist brace except for lifting. Dr Favetto saw me this time, and he said that a lot of the trouble with the elbow tendon actually stems from my shoulders and posture. He wants me to go to physical therapy and get back into yoga. I was virtually prescribed to go to the gym, since most people don't exercise well at home. He thinks that will help with the various joint pain and the fibromyalgia that I rarely think about but which is always in the background (I don't do acute pain well, but as far as chronic pain goes, I'm a trooper).

I checked and if I go to the downtown gym (not as close to me as Palumbo, but close to work) on Mondays or Wednesdays, I could take an 'urban yoga' class. (The downtown gym also provides towels and all sorts of amenities). :) And of course I do have my Rodney Yee morning yoga tape, which I'm pretty decent at doing once I get into the groove of getting up earlier. I'll have to move some book boxes out of the living room, but I need to do that anyway.

The only trouble with yoga class or physical therapy is that I'm working 34 hours at the store this coming week, for a total of 54 hours. Mostly it's at 3 pm, a half hour after I get off at the hospital, going to 10 pm or so. I may take off a couple of days at the hospital for some other appointments and work the physical therapy in then; I'm not sure yet. We'll see how I do. I've been abysmal at going to the gym and I really don't have one to go with for motivation.

PS I think my keyboard is not sensitive enough or something; it keeps skipping over letters when I push the keys. It's not very old. Oh, well. I just have to remember to go back and read over what I write.

Labels: Elbow, Exercise, Gym, Ingrown Toenail, Keyboard, Pain, Physical Therapy, Rodney Yee, Toe, Toenail, Typing, Work, Yoga

Eilir raved on 00:28 Links to this post

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YKWIA is always trying to get me to use a food diary

and he's right to do so. Researchers have found that those using food diaries lose twice as much as those who do not.

4 Ways a Food Diary Can Help You Lose Weight

Labels: Dieting, Food, Food Diaries

Eilir raved on 00:03 Links to this post

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Shame

US wavered over S. Korean executions

In the early days of the Korean War, other American officers observed, photographed and confidentially reported on such wholesale executions by their South Korean ally, a secretive slaughter believed to have killed 100,000 or more leftists and supposed sympathizers, usually without charge or trial, in a few weeks in mid-1950.

Funny how when war (regular or Cold) comes up, basic freedoms go right out the window. In this case an ally apparently conducted thousands of killings and the American government stood by, documenting and reporting on it but putting little pressure on the Koreans to stop it.

Also, I hate to admit, things like this, and Japanese internment camps, and releasing nuclear weapons on a civilian populace--these were all done under the Democrats' watch. We like to think of ourselves as the party that protects freedom. It's Republicans like Bush who curtail our rights, correct? But the wholesale slaughter and confinement of those who either disagree or simply inconveniently exist goes far beyond things like the PATRIOT Act (and for that matter, plenty of Democrats voted for that, too.)

We need to dig up and bring to light these unpleasant truths from the past so that we my learn from it. But I'm embarrassed by my government's choices in the 1950s. I have a bumper sticker, much loved by others, that says something like:

I love my country
It's the government I fear

This certainly reiterates why. I had considered getting a new sticker if the Democrats take the White House in the fall. This just shows that history bears witness that it political affiliation doesn't matter--you still can't trust, especially when given a political machine that operates in secret in the name of protecting freedom.

Labels: Killings, Korean War, South Korea, United States

Eilir raved on 09:30 Links to this post

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See what happens when you lift a passage from an encyclopaedia without any critical thinking?

This is also an example of the lack of proactive diplomacy in the Bush Administration.

U.S. Apologizes for `Insulting' Berlusconi at G-8

Copy a not-so-neutral encyclopaedia article on the biography of one of your staunchest supporters, then distribute it to White House staff in preparation for one of the year's biggest conferences, and sit back and watch the media flak. Someone's head's going to roll over this one.

Labels: Apologies, Biography, Diplomacy, Encyclopedia of World Biography, Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, White House

Eilir raved on 09:25 Links to this post

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-----------------------------------------
The comments of the Rabid Librarian are © by Elisabeth Eilir Rowan and are the author's own opinions, sometimes curmudgeonly, although rarely malicious. They should not be taken as representative of any other individuals, group, or organisation. Whilst I try to keep my facts straight, this is a journal and not meant to be definitive. Feel free to quote if you like, but please give me credit for anything I wrote and a link back here would be appreciated. Video content is the property of the various copyright holders and I do not in any way mean to imply that I am taking credit for them--rather I enjoy them and want to share what I am watching and comment upon them. I have tried to provide links to creators and artists when I can. Thanks.

I support gay marriage.