Archive for the ‘crime’ Category

"The 10 most notorious presidential pardons"

time

a€oeThe Monkey’s Pawa€A

Y2K plugs into the fears that have haunted Science Fiction since its inception, confirming anxieties that, as technological integration increases, human control lessens, and the possibility of something crashing the entire system grows. Here, SF disintegrates into cyberpunk. Where Science Fiction can be defined as the implementation of the project of Progressive Technology a€" a vision of uninhibited technological growth spreading out into a far future that has been speculatively planned a€" cyberpunk lurks in the near future, building itself out of the unanticipated consequences of technical development. It is essentially improvisational, feeding on glitches, interference and coincidences: as the runaway AI Wintermute tells Case in Gibson’s Neuromancer, a€oeplanning’s not my thing.a€A

metamute

"convergence culture"

a€oeConvergence does not depend on any specific delivery mechanism. Rather, convergence represents a paradigm shift a€" a move from medium-specific content toward content that flows across multiple media channels, toward the increased interdependence of communications systems, toward multiple ways of accessing media content, and toward ever more complex relations between top-down corporate media and bottom-up participatory culture.a€A (243) thesis statement

a€oeWe are in a critical moment of transition during which old rules are open to change and companies may be forced to renegotiate their relationship to consumers.a€A (243)

a€oeRather than talking about personal media, perhaps we should be talking about communal mediaa€A (245)

a€oeJust as studying fan culture helped us to understand the innovations that occur on the fringes of the media industry, we may also want to look at the structures of fan communities as showing us new ways of thinking about citizenship and collaboration.a€A (246) BIG THESIS

a€oeThat is why it is so important to fight against the corporate copyright regime, to argue against censorship and moral panic that would pathologize these emerging forms of participation, to publicize the best practices of these online communities, to expand access and participation to groups that are otherwise being left behind, and to promote forms of media literacy education that help all children to develop the skills needed to become full participants in their culture.a€A (248) ADVOCACY THESIS

a€oeA politics of confrontation must give way to one focused on tactical collaboration.a€A (250)

a€oeConcentrated power is apt to remain concentrated. But we will see adhocracy principles applied to more and more different kinds of projectsa€A (256-7). Yes, but what about sabotage?

a€oeparticipation becomes an important political right.a€A (257). Yes. Why isna€™t there more of this in the book?

a€oeThe ideal of the informed citizen is breaking down because there is simply too much for any individual to know. The idea of monitorial citizenship depends on developing new skills in collaboration and a new ethic of knowledge sharing that will allow us to deliberate together.a€A (259). ok

a€oeOne of the ways we can shape the future of media culture is by resisting such disempowering approaches to media literacy education. We need to rethink the goals of media education so that young people can come to think of themselves as cultural producers and participants and not simply as consumers, critical or otherwise.a€A (259). Call to rethink media literacy

MESSAGE: rules redrawn. Negotiation. Resurgence of communal culture. Political implications. Key prescriptions = advocacy. Not sure how his corporate readers would react. Focus on negotiation, but doesna€™t jive with hardline advocacy. Convergence will save us all. We just need to help it happen.

too much information for one post at aramsinnreich.typepad

When all it does is slowww me doww… oh sorry

Get this, I’m sure you’ve all taken at least a brief gander at Koookiecrumbles’ AK-47 exposA© a bit further down the page (an mnp original btw). So, it’s only fitting that I bring you the real news. If you’ve already heard it… have you seen it?

I’m sure there may be, by now, better links (I guess the guy’s lawyer claims he’s a gun collector) but I’m going to go with the original source for shock value. Seriously… all I could hear in my head was that song.

actual pic

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Blues Traveler singer and harmonica player John Popper was arrested near Ritzville after the vehicle he was riding in was clocked going 111 mph, the Washington State Patrol said Wednesday.

Popper, 39, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 90 near the Spokane/Lincoln county line, the Washington State Patrol said.

Inside the black Mercedes SUV, officers found a cache of weapons and a small amount of marijuana, the Patrol said.

Popper, who lives in Snohomish, Wash., is the owner of the vehicle, which was being driven by Brian Gourgeois, 34, of Austin, Texas, said state patrol Trooper Jeff Sevigney.

Sevigney confirmed that Popper was a member of the popular band and that the pair was traveling from Texas to Washington

From KOMO-TV

Ok, he might be a gun collector… but why the secret desperado-esque drawer in the trunk?

And for you enthusiasts out there, a lil AK-47 history.

Dude’s Guilty.

Which basically means Cheney is guilty too.

For links and info on the Scooter Libby fiasco, visit our politricks page.

British Crack Down on Ninjas

The sale of imitation samurai swords could be banned by the end of the year, the Home Office announced today.

Importing or hiring the weapons could also be made illegal following a string of samurai sword attacks in recent years.

Original Article

"Party-goer admits samurai murder"

news.bbc

hip-hop cop

For a little while, there was speculation as to whether, Derrick Parker, the infamous hip-hop cop, actually existed. Of course, he did. All those rappers werena€™t being paranoid when they complained about profiling.

Parker was an NYPD officer for more than 20 years. The infamous dossier he created, that held all kinds of personal details on many of your favourite rappers, made him very unpopular with the hip-hop community for a time. However, his book Notorious C.O.P: The Inside Story Of The Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay investigations has set the record straight.

Parker, a lifelong hip-hop fan, is exactly the type of policeman needed at the moment. He is equally at home in the streets and in police stations. Even more than that, he reckons he can solve the Jam Master Jay and Biggie cases.

voice-online

Russian soldiers ‘used for sex’

As if being drafted into the Russian army wasn’t bad enough:
The Russian military is reported to be investigating claims that army conscripts were forced to work as male prostitutes in St Petersburg.

The command of the interior ministry unit denied the claims made by the Soldiers’ Mothers human rights group.

Recently, there has been increased attention on Russian military abuses. Last year, an 18-year-old soldier was so badly beaten that he had to have his legs and genitals amputated.

[BBC News]