Photo: ndevil
I got my Dell Mini10V in the mail yesterday. It's small and red and pretty, but I had one minor issue with my order. When I was personalizing my order online, it asked me if I wanted a 24WHr 3-cell battery or a 56WhHr 6-cell battery; the 6-cell was just $35 more, but had double the lif... More.
Guardian: "The world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency who claims it has been deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of triggering panic buying."... More.
2012 angst got you down? Hankering for another harmonic convergence? Former BB guestblogger Mark Dery has got just the medicine for you. Over at h+ Magazine, he shreds the 2012 "carnival of bunkum" spread by folks who are banking (literally) on people believing that some sort of spiritual singular... More.
Artist Antony Gormley took his shoes off a year ago and hasn't put them on since. He recommends it to others as a world changing idea.
Artist Antony Gormley advocates we all give up shoes and go barefoot to get closer to our planet. With naked feet you can actually feel global warming. He has go... More.
Wow, it's apparently Debunking 2012 Day here on BoingBoing. I honestly had no idea that David had his Mark Dery post in the works. But it does segue nicely into what I had planned. The Information is Beautiful blog put together an infographic that explains--in a short and quick format---what the 2... More.
I just saw a pre-screening of "American Violet", which opens across the US starting tomorrow. "American Violet", is based on true stories of rampant rural-Texas racism fed and empowered by Federal drug war money -- the kind that Obama just gave two BILLION more dollars to as part of his stimulus. The more convictions your "anti-drug task force" gets, the more money you get. Busting random poor people and offering them lose-lose plea bargains (90+% of drug cases are resolved with a plea bargain) is the fast route to local power and federal riches. Before we try to fix it, come see up close how it works, and what the victims face if they ever step up to fight it. The movie opens April 17 across the US. It's a horror movie that's a little too close to home to leave you unaffected.
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Only in America eh? Pity!!
Too bad none of the theatres listed in my state seem to have any showtimes...
It's not actually a documentary, but instead a fictionalized account of an incident based on a news story.
I grew up believing that the USA were about its duty toward liberties and civil rights. Nowadays the ACLU is the single most vilified organization of the country, largely more than, say, the Mafia. Yet I still believe and I'll keep supporting it as long as I live.
Saw this at a film festival and found it shocking. I hope it's widely seen.
I only wish it had gone farther to show how racism and conservative policy have created a system that makes it nearly impossible for a poor black woman to have a speedy trial by an impartial jury of her peers, to confront the witnesses against her, or to have competent counsel for her defense. In bringing the story to film, it reduces the story to villains (the local DA, the father and his girlfriend) and heroes (the attorneys and the single mother who signs on to be their test case).
Wow: The Innocence Project on steroids!
I can't wait to see this movie, and hopefully this idea will go "viral".
IANAL but if I was one, I would want to work for the ACLU, CCLA or EFF
I'm sure this is a very compelling film, but it's a drama inspired by real events and not a documentary.
yup. What #5 said.
As #5 noted, the headline on this article is inaccurate. It's a dramatization of real-world events, not a documentary.
"Based on a true story!" as they say.
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/08/17/drugWarVictims.html
I think the word you are looking for is "docudrama".
Its sad.
Obama's Change is really just more of the same. War. War on Drugs. More Police. More Federal Power. Etc.
Our last THREE Presidents all used drugs at some point in their lives. How would the world be different if these hypocrites had been jailed under the very policies they also supported?
http://digg.com/d1p4Pt
A little over three years ago, I was stabbed twice in the course of intervening in a mugging. One of my lungs was punctured and I almost died.
The police found the guy who did it about 2 weeks after the incident. Turns out he had also held up some folks at gunpoint which, curiously, carries a stiffer penalty than almost killing me, even though he didn't use the gun on anyone. For all his crimes, he got two or three concurrent 5-year sentences in prison. I found out a few months ago that he had been released after 2 1/2 years inside.
While he was still on trial, I was in court one day to testify against him. Waiting for his case to come before the judge, I had the opportunity to sit in on the sentencing of a guy who had been found guilty of selling something like a dozen ecstasy pills. He got 95 years in prison. I don't know this for sure, but I would bet he has not been released on good behavior.
One man sells people something they asked for, and presumably had fun with, and gets sent to prison for life. Another guy terrorizes three people and almost kills another, and gets 2 1/2 years. Lovely.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulia,_Texas
we need a new generation of Untouchables to break the reign of the DEA Cartel.
@14: What a horrifying story. Really draws into the light the absurdity of the USA's "moral police".
Violence is a-OK for the kids. Sex & drugs? Never.
I'm more convinced that America will slide towards the third world well before any drug law reform is achieved, all at the hands of the morally righteous.
Until enough smart, powerful people step up and start defending drug reform nothing will happen. Moral crusaders have a gun to head of the nation, and no-one seems able to do anything about it. Willing, maybe, but utterly powerless it seems.
Even people who know that this war isn't right can't seem to make the leap past "drugs are bad".
Can anyone really say they can see change, or the chance for change in sight? The best chacne there is is with the states rebelling against federal law in regards to medical marijuana. That is where the tide will turn, I highly doubt progress will be made on any other fronts.
Am I wrong?
yep, you're wrong. No one listens to the moral crusaders. those idiots are just tools. The Waronsomedrugs Industry is about profit and power and those currently lining their pockets (like DEA Cartel scum) are not about to give up their gravy train for the sake of the truth and the public good.
Tak @ 16: Just read the link, and now have to go clean a few litres of bile from my keyboard and shoes. Truly disgusting.
save a bucket
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2005/01/14/800/15529
@18: Which is why those who have a vested interest in perpetuating the war refer to the moral crusaders - they lend a whole bunch of credibility to their cause, especially if you are one of those people who remain largely untouched by drug use and drug law.
Evidence is pouring in from around the globe about the efficacy of medically supervised injecting rooms, prescribed dexamphetamine and diamorphine (in lieu of "more traditional" maintenance therapies) and decriminalising cannabis - all of which points to a drop in costs, socially, medically and in regards to law & order.
But it is being ignored, it's really frustrating.
Even in my corner of the world - naltrexone implants that have no solid studies backing up their effectiveness (because they're not, and result in more people overdosing when they have them removed) are being promoted over things like medically supervised injection rooms and the legalisation of heroin. People are blinded by the notion that abstinece is the be all and end all.
The irony that it is cops dragging society down - not the drug users - kills me. People are convinced there will be rioting in the streets if drugs are legalised. What they don't realise is that people are suing them and always will. It won't increase if it's legally available. Studies show the opposite happens, especially in the longterm. They don't get that shoving people into the court circuit, then jail, is sending relatively benign members of society to criminal college. With a masters in harder drugs. I could rant forever.
@20: what can you say? Blergh. Yet to meet a cop with less than 10 years of service under their belt that wasn't a complete moron / bigot / power mad child. And i've met alot, professionally and personally.
testify
Fun fact: Iran has a more progressive harm reduction campaign than the USA!
http://www.vch.ca/sis/
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Dutch+show+legal+best+curb+teens/1165628/story.html
This little song that i'm singin' about,
People you know it's true
If you're black and gotta work for a living,
This is what they will say to you,
They says, "if you was white, should be all right,
If you was brown, stick around,
But as you's black, hmm brother, get back, get back, get back"
I was in a place one night
They was all having fun
They was all buyin' beer and wine,
But they would not sell me none
They said, "if you was white, should be all right,
If you was brown, stick around,
But if you black, hmm brother, get back, get back, get back"
Me and a man was workin' side by side
This is what it meant
They was paying him a dollar an hour,
And they was paying me fifty cent
They said, "if you was white, 't should be all right,
If you was brown, could stick around,
But as you black, hmm boy, get back, get back, get back"
I went to an employment office,
Got a number 'n' i got in line
They called everybody's number,
But they never did call mine
They said, "if you was white, should be all right,
If you was brown, could stick around,
But as you black, hmm brother, get back, get back, get back"
I hope when sweet victory,
With my plough and hoe
Now i want you to tell me brother,
What you gonna do about the old jim crow?
Now if you was white, should be all right,
If you was brown, could stick around,
But if you black, whoa brother, get back, get back, get back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECZIuDQ-j88
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norm-stamper/420-thoughts-on-pot-vs-al_b_188627.html
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/pot-legalization-favored-by-some-to-stem-violence-2009-04-19.html
I am reminded of something I read in an AP article, of all things, less than a year ago: mandatory sentences for trafficking in crack are 10 times, by weight, the same charge for powder cocaine.
The article came to some ambitious conclusions about class (and race, come sentencing) This is notable coming from the mainstream media.
Also, happy 4/20 everyone!
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h96V6DWIBTZwlkYloNBK_lusFnXgD97MTB7G0
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Sen._Webb_puts_marijuana_legalization_on_0423.html