Category Archives: Current events

We already have “death panels” — they’re called health insurance companies

By probabilityZero | August 18, 2009

So, the new talking point from the far-right is that Obama’s health care plan is a secret plot to kill your grandma (as seen on Fox News and Sarah Palin’s Facebook page). They claim that the bill will create “death panels” to decide whether elderly people are worthy of care or not.
There’s no truth to [...]

Also posted in Opinion | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Doctored photo of Obama smoking

By probabilityZero | August 11, 2009

Politics Daily reports that the Arizona Republican Party is running a photo of Obama with a cigarette dangling from his mouth as part of their campaign against health care reform. The image appeared on AZGOP news, but appears to have since been removed.

Look how hopeless he looks — irresponsible even with his own health. Surely [...]

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Joel Fought Back — after going to court over 30 downloaded MP3s, verdict is $675,000 fine

By probabilityZero | July 31, 2009

What punishment do you think would fit the crime of pirating 30 MP3s? If you said “over $600,000,” you probably work for the RIAA.
After a valiant and creative defense from Charles Nesson and his law students, Joel Tenenbaum lost the legal battle that has captured the Internet’s attention for days under the nickname Joel Fights [...]

Also posted in F***ed up, Opinion | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

AT&T declares war on the Internet

By probabilityZero | July 26, 2009

AT&T has started blocking access to img.4chan.org, which means access to the 4chan imageboards /b/ and /r9k/ are unavailable to most (not all) AT&T customers. An article on the wiki Encyclopedia Dramatica has details:
-Most AT&T DSL (largest ISP in the US, 15.5% of US Internet users) customers ARE currently not able to access img.4chan.org (/b/ [...]

Also posted in F***ed up, Tech and games | Tagged , | 2 Comments

AP’s impossible text DRM dreams

By probabilityZero | July 24, 2009

So, it’s just text content, but it can call home, track where it has been, and secure digital rights. Good luck with that.

Also posted in Other, Tech and games | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Christian Civil Liberties Union calls for book burning in Milwaukee

By probabilityZero | July 23, 2009

Here we go again. I think I’m becoming desensitized to these stories. I just can’t muster up the moral outrage like I used to. CNN reports:
The strife began in February when West Bend couple Jim and Ginny Maziarka objected to some of the content in the city library’s young-adult section. They later petitioned the library [...]

Also posted in Atheism, F***ed up, Opinion | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Piracy and shoplifting

By probabilityZero | June 22, 2009

A common talking point you hear from the RIAA/MPAA and the media corporations is that piracy is stealing. You wouldn’t steal a DVD movie, so why would you download a DVD rip from a torrent site?
Well, the obvious problem with this is that piracy isn’t stealing. Under the law, piracy is “copyright infringement” — stealing [...]

Also posted in Noteworthy, Opinion | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Why do people believe celebrities instead of experts?

By probabilityZero | June 8, 2009

You’ve probably seen news coverage of the debate over the safety of vaccines and whether they cause autism in children. In fact, you might have seen new-age medicine spokeswoman and former Playboy model Jenny McCarthy speak out against vaccines on Oprah’s hugely popular television show.
Actually, being honest here: if you’re reading this blog, I doubt [...]

Also posted in Atheism, Noteworthy, Opinion | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Gay marriage remains banned in California

By probabilityZero | May 26, 2009

Today, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8’s ban on gay marriage, but also ruled that same-sex couples already married will remain married under state law.
Proposition 8 passed with a 52% majority, overturning a previous ruling by the California Supreme Court last May to allow same-sex marriage. around 18,000 couples married before the ban were [...]

Also posted in Opinion | 1 Comment

Churchgoers more likely to support torture

By probabilityZero | April 30, 2009

A survey has found that those who go to church are more likely to support the use of torture, whereas those who were not affiliated with any religious organization are the least likely of those polled to support torture.
Here are the numbers: 54% of regular church goers said the use of torture is “often” or [...]

Also posted in Atheism, Opinion, Other | Tagged , | 6 Comments

The Pirate Bay four found guilty

By probabilityZero | April 17, 2009

The Pirate Bay four were found guilty today of helping consumers illegally download copyrighted material. They each were sentenced to a year in jail, and collectively must pay $3,620,000.
“It’s so bizarre that we got convicted at all, we have to laugh about it,” Pirate Bay member Sunde said. “They could have fined us 1 billion [...]

Also posted in Noteworthy, Opinion | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Ben Stein’s Expelled is painful to watch

By probabilityZero | February 17, 2009

We were shown the movie in my Critical Thinking (English 1C) class at Sacramento State University, and my teacher took to heart the conspiracy theory presented in the movie. He’s stated several times so far in the class how proud he is of being tolerant of opposing views, and how he’s a “centrist,” so the [...]

Also posted in Atheism | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment