Clipmarks | liotropi's clips

Greece declares nationwide emergency after fires kill 46

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:36:38 GMT

clipped by: liotropi
clipper's remarks: tragic - 170 forest fires in one day! all over Greece
coincidence? no way

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Officials say 46 people have died in the past two days and many others are thought to be trapped, as scores of blazes swept the Peloponnese region.

The BBC's Malcolm Brabant, in Pyrgos, says radio stations are being inundated with calls from people in remote mountain villages saying they are surrounded by fire.

Some 170 fires have raged across the country. Some of the worst were concentrated along an 80km (50 mile) stretch on the west coast of the Peloponnese to Mani in the very south of the peninsula.

Friday and Saturday have been the deadliest days of a terrible summer spent battling forest fires, transforming what had previously been seen as predominantly an ecological disaster into a human one, our correspondent says.

There has been widespread public anger at the government's response, which many have criticised as inadequate and slow.

Tags: greece, fire

Hurricane George How the White House Drowned New Orleans

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 20:54:14 GMT

clipped by: liotropi

Clip Source: www.gregpalast.com

This is what an inside source told me. And it makes me sick:

“By midnight on Monday, the White House knew. Monday night I was at the state Emergency Operations Center and nobody was aware that the levees had breeched. Nobody.”

the White House withheld from the state police the information that New Orleans was about to flood. From almost any other source, I would not have believed it. But this was not just any source. The whistle-blower is Dr. Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, the chief technician advising the state on saving lives during Katrina.

He charged that the White House, FEMA and the Army Corp hid, for critical hours, their discovery that the levees surrounding New Orleans were cracking, about to burst and drown the city.

That leaves the big, big question: WHY? Why on earth would the White House not tell the city to get the remaining folks out of there?

The answer: cost.

they got no mercy from Hurricane George

Tags: katrina

quotes from famous people on their opinion of sex and love

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 09:50:33 GMT

clipped by: liotropi

Clip Source: moronland.net

"You know "that look" women get when they want sex? Me neither."
--Steve Martin

"Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."
--Woody Allen

"Sex at age 90 is like trying to shoot pool with a rope."
--George Burns

"Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole relationships."
--Sharon Stone

"My girlfriend always laughs during sex ---no matter what she's reading."
--Steve Jobs (Founder, Apple Computers)

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch."
--Jack Nicholson

"Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is."
--Barbara Bush (Former US First Lady -- and you didn't think Barbara had a sense of humor)

"Ah, yes, divorce, from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet."
--Robin Williams

"See, the problem is that God gives men a brain and a penis, and only enough blood to run one at a time."
--Robin Williams

Tags: funny

advertisements that stand out from the rest

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 09:41:27 GMT

clipped by: liotropi

Clip Source: moronland.net

48, 47 The Washington Zoo

46, 45 Honda Auto Parts

43, 42 Eukanuba Pet Food

33, 32 Ariel Bleach

31, 30, 29 An Art Studio

25, 24 Animal Rights

23, 22, 21 HUMO Magazine

15 BMW Mini

13 Car Wax

10 Perrier

4, 3, 2, 1 A set of ads for Puma Store:

Tags: advertising

Trippy Questions - How many of these can you get?

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 09:21:17 GMT

clipped by: liotropi

Clip Source: moronland.net

A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms: The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?

If you overtake the last person, then you are...?

(in your head!) Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. What is the total?

Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?

The third. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead.

If you answer that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!

Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST person?!

correct answer is actually 4100. Don't believe it? Check with your calculator!

Mary

Tags: fun

Top 13 Worst Slogan Translations Ever

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 09:09:47 GMT

clipped by: liotropi

Clip Source: moronland.net

1) The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the Wax Tadpole" or "Female Horse Stuffed with Wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokoukole", translating into "Happiness in the Mouth."

6) Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken," was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate."

7) Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.

8) When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what's inside, since many people can't read.

9) Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.

"Nothing Sucks like an Electrolux."

Tags: advertising

Infuriated at the idea of pointlessly registeringnet

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 08:44:21 GMT

clipped by: liotropi

Clip Source: www.bugmenot.com

bugmenot.com

Background

You're browsing the web and you click a link to an article on a site (let's say nytimes.com) but instead of getting the article you get a screen asking you to login or register. Infuriated at the idea of pointlessly registering for yet another site you turn to your good buddy bugmenot.com

Instructions

STEP 1: Make a note of the website address your are trying to access. For example:
http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1024_3-5567274.html
Or even just:
www.nytimes.com

STEP 2: Visit http://bugmenot.com

STEP 3: Enter the address from step 1 into the box and press the "Get Logins" button

STEP 4: You should now be presented with at least one username and password. Make a note of them.

STEP 5: Go back to the site you were originally trying to access in step 1 and proceed to login with the username and password you noted in the previous step.

With any luck you should be able to access your article now!

Tags: inter

US public sees news media as biased, inaccurate, uncaring: pollm

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:43:02 GMT

clipped by: liotropi

Clip Source: www.breitbart.com

More than half of Americans say US news organizations are politically biased, inaccurate, and don't care about the people they report on, a poll published Thursday showed.

And poll respondents who use the Internet as their main source of news -- roughly one quarter of all Americans -- were even harsher with their criticism, the poll conducted by the Pew Research Center said.

More than two-thirds of the Internet users said they felt that news organizations don't care about the people they report on; 59 percent said their reporting was inaccurate; and 64 percent they were politically biased.

More than half -- 53 percent -- of Internet users also faulted the news organizations for "failing to stand up for America".

Among those who get their news from newspapers and television, criticism of the news organizations was up to 20 percentage points lower than among Internet news audiences, who tend to be younger and better educated than the public as a whole, according to Pew.

Tags: media, polls

Greek doctors sent his body home without a kidney

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 13:40:59 GMT

clipped by: liotropi

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Christopher Rochester, 24, died after falling from a hotel balcony in 2000.

His family are pursuing a private prosecution against the doctors, who were convicted of manslaughter by neglect, but cleared on appeal.

Mr Rochester, of Chester-le-Street, died of internal bleeding at Rhodes' Andreas Papandreou Hospital after falling from the balcony in Faliraki.

He had been left on a hospital trolley for three hours following the fall, and his kidney was also missing when his body was returned to Britain.

Doctors Stergios Pavlidis, Georgos Karavolias and Mihalis Sokorelos were sentenced to three years in jail but were cleared in 2005.

He said: "Christopher's family have fought for seven years and we won't rest until we get justice for his death.

"We're about £8,000 short of our target, and just awaiting a trial date when we can return to Greece."

Tags: greek hospitals

NO2ID:stop ID cards and the database state

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 20:24:57 GMT

clipped by: liotropi

Clip Source: www.no2id.net

NO, PRIME MINISTER

A large majority simply don't trust the government to keep the information on the ID database confidential. In fact, 82% of the public believe there's a danger that their personal information will be divulged improperly.

What is the database state?

The 'database state' is what we call the tendency to try to use computers to manage society by watching people. There are many interlocking government plans that do this. Together they mean officials poking into YOUR private life more than ever before.

The list is growing all the time, but NO2ID works with a wide range of other organisations. We are constantly looking for more people who want fight one or other of the the tentacles of the database state, as well as to cut off its head, the NIR.

What you need to know about 'ID cards'

Our summary of the scheme is here.

Answers to selected frequently asked questions (FAQs) are here

Tags: id cards, surveillance

Either George W. Bush is a psychopath or he does an excellent imitation of one

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:41:49 GMT

clipped by: liotropi
clipper's remarks: at least three of the following criteria
• failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors
• deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, or conning others for profit or pleasure
• impulsivity or failure to plan ahead (believing that Iraqis would welcome a foreign invasion, destroying the environment for short-term gain).
• aggressiveness as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
• reckless disregard for the safety of others
• consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to honor financial obligations
• lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another (too many examples to list!).

Clip Source: powerandpowerlessness.typepad.com

The President claims that opponents of the war against Iraq, whose children are at risk, are too emotional to see things clearly. In fact, human morality is rooted in emotions or "gut feelings" that move us toward what is right and away from what is wrong. Without emotions, there would be no anger in response to injustice and no shame in behaving badly.

The American Psychiatric Association defines a psychopath as someone who meets at least three of the following criteria. The President meets all of them, as do the leaders of both political parties who push the same heartless, self-serving policies.

When authorities flaunt their disregard for human life, it seems as though humanity as a whole has no compassion. In reality, the people in power are sick freaks who do not represent the majority.

Human beings are born compassionate.

And the number one character trait that both men and women seek in a potential mate is kindness.

Tags: bush, psychology, power

The Vulnerability of Men

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:21:24 GMT

clipped by: liotropi
clipper's remarks: ...Crushing expectations combine with a lack of emotional support to create an inner despair that many men cannot communicate in words. Instead, they withdraw from intimate relationships, drink to excess, strike out in rage and kill themselves.
Huge profits flow from shaming male workers to compete to produce more, to accept oppressive conditions ("only wimps complain"), and to serve as cannon fodder for imperial wars.

Clip Source: powerandpowerlessness.typepad.com

Relationship conflicts are a universal source of pain and confusion.

The vulnerability of men is one of society’s best-kept secrets. Men are expected to provide and protect and solve all problems. They aren’t supposed to feel needy, vulnerable or inadequate like women. Yet, in some ways, men are more vulnerable than women.

As early as five years of age, males are more likely than females to kill themselves. This difference increases through life. By age 22, men are six times more likely and by age 85 fifteen times more likely to kill themselves. When a relationship breaks up, the man is 11 times more likely than the woman to commit suicide.

To "toughen" males, society directs an astonishing level of violence against them.

Laughing at someone’s pain is a sign of dissociation, and both girls and boys learn to deny male vulnerability from an early age.

Consequently, boys learn to respond with anger, even rage, when they feel vulnerable or detect vulnerability in other males.

Tags: psychology, relationships, violence

Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:14:37 GMT

clipped by: liotropi
clipper's remarks: ... While the powers-that-be promote war as necessary for peace, prosperity and security, peace never comes, only the wealthy prosper and life becomes increasingly insecure. The ordinary American, the American soldier and the people they are supposed to hate, all are victimized by the rich and powerful who feed off their suffering.

Americans don't need to care more about the war. They need an uncompromising anti-war movement that can organize them into a force powerful enough to end it.

Clip Source: www.counterpunch.org

When Tina Turner sang, "Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken," we all knew what she meant. In a world filled with pain, nature provides a defence against suffering called dissociation.

Experiences that are too horrible to be integrated into our understanding of the world are split off from conscious awareness. Dissociation provides a mental escape when there is no physical escape.

Dissociation separates contradictory experiences to avoid internal conflict, making it possible to love our own children and support wars that kill other people's children; to want freedom and support wars that deny others their freedom. To feel outrage at being robbed and support wars that rob the people of other lands.

Severe dissociation numbs compassion and empathy, making it possible for people to do cruel and monstrous things that they would never do in a non-dissociated state.

An unthinkable war

Dissociation in the face of terrible injustice

is: a psychological defense against feeling powerless.

Tags: peace, war, psychology

Feeling Powerless for Peacebuilding?

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 10:41:51 GMT

clipped by: liotropi
clipper's remarks: ...Real powerlessness in society as well as the surplus powerlessness we impose on ourselves, Lerner says, comes from repressing our fundamental social essence. Our desires for fullness and joy and community get repressed, but they can never be fully extinguished. The alienation in this society is overwhelming —and it cannot be ignored, he says. But precisely because denial of our fundamental human needs hurts so much, there is continual hope that we will break through our isolations and connect with each other in a deeper way and find ways to change the larger situation.

worth reading

Clip Source: www.lowcountrypeace.net

Lerner says we live in a repressive society which diminishes our humanity. He says there are very real reasons for feeling oppressed—conditions in society such as parental neglect, poverty, crummy television, the power and willingness of corporations to destroy our environment, etc.

feelings of powerlessness and isolation lead to cynicism, which further subjects us to the very forces that control our lives. We begin to accept our enslavement as just the way things are and there’s nothing a person can do about it. By adopting an attitude that “this is just the way things are and can’t be changed,” we further enslave ourselves. And we fail to take action to change the system.

Instead of sharing our unhappiness, we stuff it, blame ourselves for our lack of fulfillment, and succumb to stress related diseases—cancer, heart disease, headaches, and a variety of other health problems that have been proven to be linked to the way we live and the way we think.

Tags: lifestyle, peace, alienation

Big Brother Couldn't Forsee the Big C - Consumerism

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 10:27:39 GMT

clipped by: liotropi
clipper's remarks: one of my favorite authors

Clip Source: www.empathicparenting.org

In a way, everything George Orwell predicted in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four has come true. In a way, nothing he predicted has come true

. ("Doublethink", he wrote, means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them." The power to doublethink has come triumphantly true.)

Maybe. But what about Pac-Man? Orwell reckoned without capitalism's confounding capacity to avoid confrontation by merchandising it. Capitalism, like Pac-Man, can munch up anything. Control and conformism, the two Orwellian bugaboos, reckoned without behavioural psychology, which teaches that the most effective form of control is achieved by rewarding the organism, not by punishing it. Capitalism understands behavioursim as totalitarianism does not. In totalitarian countries, there are coups and revolutions and liberation movements. In capitalist countries, there are sales.

"whoever has the most things when he dies, wins."

Tags: consumerism, lifestyle