FA+
Shop
Indiscriminate circumcision: foreigners’ flee Mbale town
General | Posted 13 years agohttps://youtu.be/zbHEyObdLr0
Source http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19406&Itemid=114
Article:
Indiscriminate circumcision: foreigners’ flee Mbale town
Business in Mbale town was paralysed this week when unruly youth stormed the streets and began indiscriminately circumcising anyone they came across.
Many businessmen of different ethnicities, that do not practise circumcision, locked their shops and fled. Those captured yelled in pain as they were circumcised in front of onlookers in the suburbs of Indian quarters, Mbale garage, Cathedral avenue, Pallisa road, Namakwekwe, Nkoma, Bugema and Nauyo where different ethnic groups reside or do businesses.
For four days, many businesses run by Basoga, Banyole, Baganda, Bagwere, Karimojong, Jopadhola and Banyankore remained closed. On Wednesday, Police engaged in a hide-and-seek game with errant youth and used tear gas to disperse crowds which were gathering around passers-by and those who were carrying out business activities. According to the Mbale district police commander, Michael Ongica, three traditional surgeons involved in this operation have been arrested and face charges of forcefully inflicting harm on their victims.
“Some members of the business community have come to us seeking security because these hooligans are attacking anyone they presume uncircumcised. We have also received a communication from the Bamasaba cultural council that the operation is illegal; therefore, we shall arrest and prosecute anyone found loitering in town looking to destabilize peace in the name of circumcision,” Ongica said.
As a result of this indiscriminate exercise, at least 46 men between the ages of 30 to 70 have rushed to Mbale referral hospital to be circumcised to avoid the embarrassment their colleagues were subjected to. The incident has elicited uproar amongst those who were targeted. However, the Bamasaba cultural leaders’ council has distanced itself from this crude act, saying it was barbaric and uncultured. The council has also called for the arrest and prosecution of those involved.
“Circumcision will officially be launched on the 3rd August at Mutoto cultural grounds. Whoever did it now, contravened the Bamasaba circumcision calendar,” said John Musila, the Bamasaba spokesperson yesterday.
He added: “We as Bamasaba condemn indiscriminate cutting of non-Bagisu. In our culture, non-Bamasaba cannot be forced into circumcision unless they accept on their own. Those forcing non-Bamasaba into circumcision should not be associated with our culture and those doing it, should be cautioned,” said Musila.
Source http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19406&Itemid=114
Article:
Indiscriminate circumcision: foreigners’ flee Mbale town
Business in Mbale town was paralysed this week when unruly youth stormed the streets and began indiscriminately circumcising anyone they came across.
Many businessmen of different ethnicities, that do not practise circumcision, locked their shops and fled. Those captured yelled in pain as they were circumcised in front of onlookers in the suburbs of Indian quarters, Mbale garage, Cathedral avenue, Pallisa road, Namakwekwe, Nkoma, Bugema and Nauyo where different ethnic groups reside or do businesses.
For four days, many businesses run by Basoga, Banyole, Baganda, Bagwere, Karimojong, Jopadhola and Banyankore remained closed. On Wednesday, Police engaged in a hide-and-seek game with errant youth and used tear gas to disperse crowds which were gathering around passers-by and those who were carrying out business activities. According to the Mbale district police commander, Michael Ongica, three traditional surgeons involved in this operation have been arrested and face charges of forcefully inflicting harm on their victims.
“Some members of the business community have come to us seeking security because these hooligans are attacking anyone they presume uncircumcised. We have also received a communication from the Bamasaba cultural council that the operation is illegal; therefore, we shall arrest and prosecute anyone found loitering in town looking to destabilize peace in the name of circumcision,” Ongica said.
As a result of this indiscriminate exercise, at least 46 men between the ages of 30 to 70 have rushed to Mbale referral hospital to be circumcised to avoid the embarrassment their colleagues were subjected to. The incident has elicited uproar amongst those who were targeted. However, the Bamasaba cultural leaders’ council has distanced itself from this crude act, saying it was barbaric and uncultured. The council has also called for the arrest and prosecution of those involved.
“Circumcision will officially be launched on the 3rd August at Mutoto cultural grounds. Whoever did it now, contravened the Bamasaba circumcision calendar,” said John Musila, the Bamasaba spokesperson yesterday.
He added: “We as Bamasaba condemn indiscriminate cutting of non-Bagisu. In our culture, non-Bamasaba cannot be forced into circumcision unless they accept on their own. Those forcing non-Bamasaba into circumcision should not be associated with our culture and those doing it, should be cautioned,” said Musila.
Crackdowns has led to medication shortages
General | Posted 13 years agoSOURCE: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/16/us-dea-prescription-drugs-idUKBRE85F09220120616?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FUKHealthNews+%28News+%2F+UK+%2F+Health+News%29
(Reuters) - Pamela Storozuk, a petite 59-year-old, spent most of her career as a sales representative, dragging heavy suitcases filled with
presentation materials. When her husband developed prostate cancer, she cared for him, often helping to lift him out of the bath or into bed.
Eventually, the strain on her back caught up with her. Today she has five herniated discs and relies on painkillers to function.
Over the past six months, however, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, resident has found it increasingly difficult to get her medications. Her regular
pharmacy is often out of stock, and others refuse to dispense painkillers to new patients.
"They look at you like you're an addict, a lowlife," she said.
Storozuk is one of thousands of Americans caught up in the government's latest front in the war on drugs: prescription painkillers. From 1999 to 2009,
the number of deaths from narcotic pain pills nearly quadrupled to 15,597, more than those from heroin and cocaine combined, according to the latest
figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In response, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has beefed up its efforts to block the diversion of prescription drugs to the black market, using
many of the techniques it employs to combat illegal drug use: wire taps, undercover operations and informants.
Such efforts have helped it dismantle hundreds of "pill mills" - sham pain clinics that write thousands of prescriptions with few questions asked - as
well as dozens of rogue Internet pharmacies.
Now the agency is using the same tactics to prosecute the legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain, which is required to maintain certain record-
keeping and security protocols to prevent drug diversion.
Over the past three years, the DEA has stepped up its inspections and levied millions of dollars in fines against drug wholesalers for what it said were
breaches of those rules.
In February, the DEA suspended the license of drug wholesaler Cardinal Health Inc to sell narcotic painkillers and other controlled substances from its
center in Lakeland, Florida, saying it had failed to detect suspicious order volume from several pharmacy customers. Under a settlement, Cardinal has
agreed not to ship controlled substances from the facility for two years.
Shortly afterward, the agency raided two CVS pharmacies and issued inspection warrants at a half-dozen Walgreen Co drugstores and a Walgreen
distribution center.
NOT THE MEDELLIN CARTEL
"The techniques that law enforcement uses to combat drug traffickers, whether they're Colombian organizations or Mexican cartels or Afghan drug
lords, those techniques are very, very essential in combating prescription drug abuse," DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart said in an interview.
But critics say applying the same strategy to the legitimate supply chain as to Colombian drug lords is ineffective and is also causing supply shortages
that hurt pain patients.
"Going after a pharmaceutical manufacturer is not like going after the Medellin cartel," said Adam Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting, which
advises pharmaceutical manufacturers. "I don't believe it is appropriate for the DEA to shrink the supply of prescription drugs, because it has
unanticipated effects that have nothing to do with the problem."
Florida has long been considered the epicenter of painkiller abuse, due to the spread of pill mills. But experts say those are only a small part of the
problem.
"The majority of drugs that end up in the illicit trade come from otherwise well-meaning physicians who do not understand the consequences of their
prescribing habits," said former DEA agent Robert Stutman, whose Stutman Group management consulting firm designs substance abuse prevention
programs.
Between 1991 and 2010, prescriptions for narcotic painkillers rose to 209.5 million from 75.5 million, according to National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Leonhart said that physicians, however, "now understand the problem."
PRESSURE FROM CONGRESS
As prescription drug abuse has risen, the DEA has come under increasing pressure from Congress to show it is containing the problem. A report last
year from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said the DEA had not shown its strategy was working and called for clearer performance
measures.
Leonhart said the best benchmarks were and should be "quite similar to what we use on the nondiversion side, which is the disruption and
dismantlement of the organizations and the networks, and we're going in that direction."
That has meant some changes at the agency. For one thing, Leonhart has begun breaking down barriers between the DEA's nearly 5,000 special
agents, who have focused on the illicit drug trade for most of their careers, and about 500 diversion investigators, who enforce rules covering
handlers of controlled substances.
The agency has expanded its use of tactical diversion squads, which combine special agents, diversion investigators and local law enforcement
officers to track down and prosecute prescription drug dealers.
Forcing the two sides to come together was not easy at first, Leonhart said, since special agents initially were reluctant to work on "pill cases."
But the effort has shown some results. Asset seizures on the diversion side rose to $118 million in 2011 from about $82 million in 2009, Leonhart said.
CULTURE OF FEAR
Still, sending in tactical diversion squads to break up pill mills does not address the leaks occurring from medicine cabinets at home or the drugs
passed along from friends and family. That is one reason the DEA is attempting to squeeze supplies at the wholesale level.
"Going after Cardinal has sent shivers up the distributor grapevine," said John Coleman, a former DEA chief of operations. "Close a CVS pharmacy in
Florida, and I guarantee every pharmacy within 500 miles will be checking their records.
"You don't have to hit a horse with a whip," he said. "You just have to show it to them once in a while."
Pharmacists confirm that they are indeed fearful. Some are reluctant to take new painkiller customers. Others will only accept patients within a certain
geographic area or refuse to accept cash.
"We turn away five or six people a day," said Steven Nelson, owner of the Okeechobee Discount Drugs store in Okeechobee, Florida, and chairman of
governmental affairs for the Florida Pharmacy Association.
Even large chains are leery. Walgreen spokesman Michael Polzin said that after looking into everything going on in Florida, "we've decided not to
comment on our operations there at this time."
CVS pharmacies across the state stopped filling prescriptions written by 22 of the top-prescribing physicians pending a review of their dispensing
practices, according to court documents filed as part of the company's dispute with the DEA.
The company declined elaborate on its actions, except to say that it will continue to monitor prescriptions for controlled substances and is "committed
to supporting efforts to prevent drug abuse and keep controlled substances out of the wrong hands."
Physicians are equally nervous. Many have stepped up patient monitoring, according to Storozuk's physician, Dr. Martin Hale. That means more urine
tests, more documentation, and more frequent "pill count" checks, where patients must go to the doctor's office with their pill bottle to prove they
have not sold or misused their medication.
"Every hour of the day I have concerns I'll be audited, that my ability to take care of my patients and my family can be taken away, and I'm as
legitimate as you can get," said Hale, who has a private orthopedic practice a few miles from Fort Lauderdale and is an assistant professor at Nova
Southeastern University. "You're constantly watching over your shoulder, and it takes a toll."
CUTTING SUPPLIES
Over the past five years, Cardinal has cut supplies of controlled substances to more than 375 customers nationwide, including 180 pharmacies in
Florida, it says.
Other wholesalers are similarly cautious. Rival AmerisourceBergen Corp says it now monitors orders for suspicious spikes of 20 percent to 30 percent in
volume.
"All of us want to make sure that abuse is curtailed," Chief Executive Officer Steven Collis said. But when it comes to the DEA's requirements, he
added, the rules have not always been clear.
Other wholesalers, pharmacists and physicians say they are also keen to help, but would welcome more communication from the DEA.
Leonhart rejects the notion that the DEA is uncommunicative. The agency repeatedly lays out its requirements in meetings and presentations, she
said.
But John Burke, president of the nonprofit National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, says the DEA behaves as though those it monitors are
the enemy.
"The mindset is, these are folks we have to keep at arm's length," said Burke, whose organization tries to foster communication between law
enforcement, regulators and industry.
The DEA's strategy is also prompting new questions from Congress. Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island recently
asked the GAO to study whether the agency's actions are contributing to shortages of medications for pain patients.
Others say the DEA should not be in the business of regulating industry at all.
Scott Gottlieb, former deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, publicly fulminated against the DEA recently for tackling prescription
drugs in the same way it pursues drug cartels.
"The problem is, the DEA may be the wrong enforcer here. It's very difficult to separate appropriate use from illicit use with law-enforcement tools
alone," Gottlieb, who now sits on the board of biotechnology company CombiMatrix Corp, wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal.
The DEA's confrontation with wholesalers and pharmacies follows a public dispute with manufacturers over who was responsible earlier this year for
shortages of certain stimulants used to treat attention deficit disorder.
The DEA strictly controls the amount of an ingredient in a potentially addictive drug that its manufacturer can obtain each year, based on projected
needs of legitimate patients. Makers of the stimulants said the agency did not always authorize enough material in time for them to supply customers.
For its part, the DEA said the shortages resulted from unspecified business decisions made by the companies.
With all sides in the prescription drug fight blaming each other, nothing will be achieved without more communication and cooperation, Stutman says.
"We need to take some really bright people on each side of the issue and say: 'Where do we start today to make this problem better?'" he said.
In the meantime, patients like Pamela Storozuk are struggling to function. She has not been able to find oxycodone for five months. Replacement
drugs have made her sick and even those are now hard to come by. She has lost 20 pounds and is frequently in pain.
"It's a horrendous problem down here for people like me who need the medication," she said. "You can't even imagine."
Pharmacies shouldn't be punished for false prescriptions by the DEA, it's the DEA's job to investigate such incidents not the Pharmacies. This is probably part of the reason why our healthcare is fucked.
(Reuters) - Pamela Storozuk, a petite 59-year-old, spent most of her career as a sales representative, dragging heavy suitcases filled with
presentation materials. When her husband developed prostate cancer, she cared for him, often helping to lift him out of the bath or into bed.
Eventually, the strain on her back caught up with her. Today she has five herniated discs and relies on painkillers to function.
Over the past six months, however, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, resident has found it increasingly difficult to get her medications. Her regular
pharmacy is often out of stock, and others refuse to dispense painkillers to new patients.
"They look at you like you're an addict, a lowlife," she said.
Storozuk is one of thousands of Americans caught up in the government's latest front in the war on drugs: prescription painkillers. From 1999 to 2009,
the number of deaths from narcotic pain pills nearly quadrupled to 15,597, more than those from heroin and cocaine combined, according to the latest
figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In response, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has beefed up its efforts to block the diversion of prescription drugs to the black market, using
many of the techniques it employs to combat illegal drug use: wire taps, undercover operations and informants.
Such efforts have helped it dismantle hundreds of "pill mills" - sham pain clinics that write thousands of prescriptions with few questions asked - as
well as dozens of rogue Internet pharmacies.
Now the agency is using the same tactics to prosecute the legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain, which is required to maintain certain record-
keeping and security protocols to prevent drug diversion.
Over the past three years, the DEA has stepped up its inspections and levied millions of dollars in fines against drug wholesalers for what it said were
breaches of those rules.
In February, the DEA suspended the license of drug wholesaler Cardinal Health Inc to sell narcotic painkillers and other controlled substances from its
center in Lakeland, Florida, saying it had failed to detect suspicious order volume from several pharmacy customers. Under a settlement, Cardinal has
agreed not to ship controlled substances from the facility for two years.
Shortly afterward, the agency raided two CVS pharmacies and issued inspection warrants at a half-dozen Walgreen Co drugstores and a Walgreen
distribution center.
NOT THE MEDELLIN CARTEL
"The techniques that law enforcement uses to combat drug traffickers, whether they're Colombian organizations or Mexican cartels or Afghan drug
lords, those techniques are very, very essential in combating prescription drug abuse," DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart said in an interview.
But critics say applying the same strategy to the legitimate supply chain as to Colombian drug lords is ineffective and is also causing supply shortages
that hurt pain patients.
"Going after a pharmaceutical manufacturer is not like going after the Medellin cartel," said Adam Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting, which
advises pharmaceutical manufacturers. "I don't believe it is appropriate for the DEA to shrink the supply of prescription drugs, because it has
unanticipated effects that have nothing to do with the problem."
Florida has long been considered the epicenter of painkiller abuse, due to the spread of pill mills. But experts say those are only a small part of the
problem.
"The majority of drugs that end up in the illicit trade come from otherwise well-meaning physicians who do not understand the consequences of their
prescribing habits," said former DEA agent Robert Stutman, whose Stutman Group management consulting firm designs substance abuse prevention
programs.
Between 1991 and 2010, prescriptions for narcotic painkillers rose to 209.5 million from 75.5 million, according to National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Leonhart said that physicians, however, "now understand the problem."
PRESSURE FROM CONGRESS
As prescription drug abuse has risen, the DEA has come under increasing pressure from Congress to show it is containing the problem. A report last
year from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said the DEA had not shown its strategy was working and called for clearer performance
measures.
Leonhart said the best benchmarks were and should be "quite similar to what we use on the nondiversion side, which is the disruption and
dismantlement of the organizations and the networks, and we're going in that direction."
That has meant some changes at the agency. For one thing, Leonhart has begun breaking down barriers between the DEA's nearly 5,000 special
agents, who have focused on the illicit drug trade for most of their careers, and about 500 diversion investigators, who enforce rules covering
handlers of controlled substances.
The agency has expanded its use of tactical diversion squads, which combine special agents, diversion investigators and local law enforcement
officers to track down and prosecute prescription drug dealers.
Forcing the two sides to come together was not easy at first, Leonhart said, since special agents initially were reluctant to work on "pill cases."
But the effort has shown some results. Asset seizures on the diversion side rose to $118 million in 2011 from about $82 million in 2009, Leonhart said.
CULTURE OF FEAR
Still, sending in tactical diversion squads to break up pill mills does not address the leaks occurring from medicine cabinets at home or the drugs
passed along from friends and family. That is one reason the DEA is attempting to squeeze supplies at the wholesale level.
"Going after Cardinal has sent shivers up the distributor grapevine," said John Coleman, a former DEA chief of operations. "Close a CVS pharmacy in
Florida, and I guarantee every pharmacy within 500 miles will be checking their records.
"You don't have to hit a horse with a whip," he said. "You just have to show it to them once in a while."
Pharmacists confirm that they are indeed fearful. Some are reluctant to take new painkiller customers. Others will only accept patients within a certain
geographic area or refuse to accept cash.
"We turn away five or six people a day," said Steven Nelson, owner of the Okeechobee Discount Drugs store in Okeechobee, Florida, and chairman of
governmental affairs for the Florida Pharmacy Association.
Even large chains are leery. Walgreen spokesman Michael Polzin said that after looking into everything going on in Florida, "we've decided not to
comment on our operations there at this time."
CVS pharmacies across the state stopped filling prescriptions written by 22 of the top-prescribing physicians pending a review of their dispensing
practices, according to court documents filed as part of the company's dispute with the DEA.
The company declined elaborate on its actions, except to say that it will continue to monitor prescriptions for controlled substances and is "committed
to supporting efforts to prevent drug abuse and keep controlled substances out of the wrong hands."
Physicians are equally nervous. Many have stepped up patient monitoring, according to Storozuk's physician, Dr. Martin Hale. That means more urine
tests, more documentation, and more frequent "pill count" checks, where patients must go to the doctor's office with their pill bottle to prove they
have not sold or misused their medication.
"Every hour of the day I have concerns I'll be audited, that my ability to take care of my patients and my family can be taken away, and I'm as
legitimate as you can get," said Hale, who has a private orthopedic practice a few miles from Fort Lauderdale and is an assistant professor at Nova
Southeastern University. "You're constantly watching over your shoulder, and it takes a toll."
CUTTING SUPPLIES
Over the past five years, Cardinal has cut supplies of controlled substances to more than 375 customers nationwide, including 180 pharmacies in
Florida, it says.
Other wholesalers are similarly cautious. Rival AmerisourceBergen Corp says it now monitors orders for suspicious spikes of 20 percent to 30 percent in
volume.
"All of us want to make sure that abuse is curtailed," Chief Executive Officer Steven Collis said. But when it comes to the DEA's requirements, he
added, the rules have not always been clear.
Other wholesalers, pharmacists and physicians say they are also keen to help, but would welcome more communication from the DEA.
Leonhart rejects the notion that the DEA is uncommunicative. The agency repeatedly lays out its requirements in meetings and presentations, she
said.
But John Burke, president of the nonprofit National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, says the DEA behaves as though those it monitors are
the enemy.
"The mindset is, these are folks we have to keep at arm's length," said Burke, whose organization tries to foster communication between law
enforcement, regulators and industry.
The DEA's strategy is also prompting new questions from Congress. Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island recently
asked the GAO to study whether the agency's actions are contributing to shortages of medications for pain patients.
Others say the DEA should not be in the business of regulating industry at all.
Scott Gottlieb, former deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, publicly fulminated against the DEA recently for tackling prescription
drugs in the same way it pursues drug cartels.
"The problem is, the DEA may be the wrong enforcer here. It's very difficult to separate appropriate use from illicit use with law-enforcement tools
alone," Gottlieb, who now sits on the board of biotechnology company CombiMatrix Corp, wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal.
The DEA's confrontation with wholesalers and pharmacies follows a public dispute with manufacturers over who was responsible earlier this year for
shortages of certain stimulants used to treat attention deficit disorder.
The DEA strictly controls the amount of an ingredient in a potentially addictive drug that its manufacturer can obtain each year, based on projected
needs of legitimate patients. Makers of the stimulants said the agency did not always authorize enough material in time for them to supply customers.
For its part, the DEA said the shortages resulted from unspecified business decisions made by the companies.
With all sides in the prescription drug fight blaming each other, nothing will be achieved without more communication and cooperation, Stutman says.
"We need to take some really bright people on each side of the issue and say: 'Where do we start today to make this problem better?'" he said.
In the meantime, patients like Pamela Storozuk are struggling to function. She has not been able to find oxycodone for five months. Replacement
drugs have made her sick and even those are now hard to come by. She has lost 20 pounds and is frequently in pain.
"It's a horrendous problem down here for people like me who need the medication," she said. "You can't even imagine."
Pharmacies shouldn't be punished for false prescriptions by the DEA, it's the DEA's job to investigate such incidents not the Pharmacies. This is probably part of the reason why our healthcare is fucked.
Vore in a nutshell
General | Posted 13 years agoSOPA's bigger brother: CISPA
General | Posted 13 years agohttp://rt.com/usa/news/cispa-bill-s.....-internet-175/
"An onrush of condemnation and criticism kept the SOPA and PIPA acts from passing earlier this year, but US lawmakers have already authored another authoritarian bill that could give them free reign to creep the Web in the name of cybersecurity.
As congressmen in Washington consider how to handle the ongoing issue of cyberattacks, some legislators have lent their support to a new act that, if passed, would let the government pry into the personal correspondence of anyone of their choosing. "
So here we have it, the next SOPA bill. This should be spread around if you guys can if you support a free internet.
"An onrush of condemnation and criticism kept the SOPA and PIPA acts from passing earlier this year, but US lawmakers have already authored another authoritarian bill that could give them free reign to creep the Web in the name of cybersecurity.
As congressmen in Washington consider how to handle the ongoing issue of cyberattacks, some legislators have lent their support to a new act that, if passed, would let the government pry into the personal correspondence of anyone of their choosing. "
So here we have it, the next SOPA bill. This should be spread around if you guys can if you support a free internet.
Is there even a point in studying before a discussion?
General | Posted 14 years agoSeriously.
I didn't even bother to study before the Socratic seminar for our final and didn't even read the source material yet I was considered to be the person who contributed the most. Even got congratulated by the teacher for doing so well. On one hand I want to tell the teacher I didn't study because apparently I did stellar without needing to even read the book, on the other hand I'm afraid of getting my final changed from an A to an F for admitting that I didn't really read what we were talking about.
http://kuwaitiful.com/wp-content/up.....-surprised.jpg
I didn't even bother to study before the Socratic seminar for our final and didn't even read the source material yet I was considered to be the person who contributed the most. Even got congratulated by the teacher for doing so well. On one hand I want to tell the teacher I didn't study because apparently I did stellar without needing to even read the book, on the other hand I'm afraid of getting my final changed from an A to an F for admitting that I didn't really read what we were talking about.
http://kuwaitiful.com/wp-content/up.....-surprised.jpg
Despite the protest against SOPA, Megaupload goes dark.
General | Posted 14 years agohttp://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wi.....bsite-15396093
"McLEAN, Virginia (AP) — Federal prosecutors have shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws.The indictment accuses the company of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment was unsealed Thursday, one day after websites shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs.Megaupload.com has claimed it is diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.The indictment says at one point, Megaupload was the 13th most popular website in the world."
So no, the battle with SOPA and PIPA isn't over. If anything all it does it slow them down as they're still allowed to take down sites at whim.
"McLEAN, Virginia (AP) — Federal prosecutors have shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws.The indictment accuses the company of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment was unsealed Thursday, one day after websites shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs.Megaupload.com has claimed it is diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.The indictment says at one point, Megaupload was the 13th most popular website in the world."
So no, the battle with SOPA and PIPA isn't over. If anything all it does it slow them down as they're still allowed to take down sites at whim.
Dreams.
General | Posted 14 years agoWhy is it whenever I have a dream (As opposed to be simply 'off' like I usually am) it makes me wonder if I took some psychoactive drugs before I slept? Oh well, at least I thought of some interesting Terraria content and a strange concept for an RPG.
Has anyone else had a dream that was so crazy that you felt it was on drugs?
Has anyone else had a dream that was so crazy that you felt it was on drugs?
It's my birthday today!
General | Posted 14 years agoOctober 22nd is my birthday, I'm 19 now!
Orcs Must Die!
General | Posted 14 years agoI'm quite enjoying the most recent Orc slaughtering simulator by the name of "Orcs must Die!" which is a Trap Defense (Not Tower Defense) game. It's quite amusing killing Orcs with all manners of sharp things from spikes to arrows to axes, to giant flails.
Here's the sound track for the first level:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqhpYpB83rI
It's a fun little indie game from Robot Entertainment, only two criticisms I can levy against it is it lacks multiplayer and a level editor. Still, regardless it's a great value for 15$.
Here's the sound track for the first level:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqhpYpB83rI
It's a fun little indie game from Robot Entertainment, only two criticisms I can levy against it is it lacks multiplayer and a level editor. Still, regardless it's a great value for 15$.
[Minecraft Related]
General | Posted 14 years agoSo what did we learn?
General | Posted 14 years agoYou should never put up something that people will perceive others to hate, even if others don't actually hate it fans of it will act like they do anyway.
How I think the banner drama started.
General | Posted 14 years agoDragoneer posts a 'Homage' image in the banner to bronies.
Bronies see it and think "Haters gonna hate this" and start making submissions and journals about how people should deal with it and that drama's going to happen because of it.
Non-fans see it and go "Haha very funny dragoneer *adblock*" then go on to check their journals/submissions and find it filled to the brim about people saying don't hate on the banner. Non-fans then comment/call out on these journals and submissions to varying degrees of politeness and remarking how it'll just cause drama and they shouldn't have gone there.
Then the bronies go and 'call out' the haters and say some variation of "Stfu and deal with it" "Haters gonna hate" and likewise and start blaming 'Haters' for drama.
Non-fans then respond to these posts defending their disapproval of the banner.
Then bronies go to argue that their defense isn't valid and that they're 'Acting entitled'.
Non-fans respond disputing that claim, possibly flaming the person who responded in the process.
Then the brony flames the non-fan for being an idiot/mindless hater.
And then we have drama.
Bronies see it and think "Haters gonna hate this" and start making submissions and journals about how people should deal with it and that drama's going to happen because of it.
Non-fans see it and go "Haha very funny dragoneer *adblock*" then go on to check their journals/submissions and find it filled to the brim about people saying don't hate on the banner. Non-fans then comment/call out on these journals and submissions to varying degrees of politeness and remarking how it'll just cause drama and they shouldn't have gone there.
Then the bronies go and 'call out' the haters and say some variation of "Stfu and deal with it" "Haters gonna hate" and likewise and start blaming 'Haters' for drama.
Non-fans then respond to these posts defending their disapproval of the banner.
Then bronies go to argue that their defense isn't valid and that they're 'Acting entitled'.
Non-fans respond disputing that claim, possibly flaming the person who responded in the process.
Then the brony flames the non-fan for being an idiot/mindless hater.
And then we have drama.
On the topic of the MLP banner.
General | Posted 14 years agoThis I think sets a terrible precedent, as now people will want their own banner or whatever fandom they belong to added. Saying no will get the becries of "Favoring the bronies" and trying to be 'Equal' about it will just make a mess of things.
It's going to be a lit powder keg folks, wish the admins had the present of mind to avoid creating drama where it need not exist.
It's going to be a lit powder keg folks, wish the admins had the present of mind to avoid creating drama where it need not exist.
So guess what I got today....
General | Posted 14 years agoTerraria!
Yay, I got that game finally. It seems pretty fun so far, currently building a wooden tower into the sky.
Anyone else have terraria and would like to play with me on it or know some good servers?
Also.... anyone notice that the whole game is only like 16 MB? How the hell did they get it that small... >.o That's incredibly compact for such a deep game.
Yay, I got that game finally. It seems pretty fun so far, currently building a wooden tower into the sky.
Anyone else have terraria and would like to play with me on it or know some good servers?
Also.... anyone notice that the whole game is only like 16 MB? How the hell did they get it that small... >.o That's incredibly compact for such a deep game.
Well Fuck.
General | Posted 14 years agoLooks like Microsoft is closing my hotmail account, this means I gotta make a new MSN account and readd everyone. Fucking hell microsoft.
Oh valve you're so clever.
General | Posted 14 years agohttp://steamcommunity.com/id/friend.....10/?tab=public
http://steamcommunity.com/id/friend.....364?tab=public
Teamfortress 2 hats that import into portal 2? I can see the rage now, it's beautiful.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/friend.....364?tab=public
Teamfortress 2 hats that import into portal 2? I can see the rage now, it's beautiful.
On the Shiny Reshiram/Zekrom in dragonspiral tower.
General | Posted 14 years agoI've verified that it's still affected by the anti-shiny check so there is no way to obtain it shiny without cheating. Sorry folks, but don't waste your time on this little rumor.
Anyone notice this rule of the internet?
General | Posted 15 years agoHas anyone else besides me noticed that if you are ever arguing with someone if you stop responding to them you are thought of to have 'lost' the arguement?
Offering Pokemon Black Exclusives.
General | Posted 15 years agoSince I have the less common pokemon black and plenty of time on my hands (sort of) I'll be willing to give away pokemon exclusive to this version (excluding Reshiram and Tornadus) and Zorua. So if you want any of them please leave a comment and tell me what you want :V
Oh yeah and I have beaten and reset the game once so far, trying oshawott.
Relevant Picture: http://www.halolz.com/wp-content/up.....llstarters.jpg
Oh yeah and I have beaten and reset the game once so far, trying oshawott.
Relevant Picture: http://www.halolz.com/wp-content/up.....llstarters.jpg
Good news everyone!
General | Posted 15 years agoI've invented a device which makes you read this in your head, in my voice!
Team Fortress 2
General | Posted 16 years agoWho here actually plays this? I wouldn't mind being in a game with them.
Don't Update your Wii.
General | Posted 16 years agoUpdating your wii to version 4.2 has had reports of it bricking it. Rendering your Wii unplayable. Please do not update if possible.
Is it just me or....
General | Posted 16 years agohttp://static.mmo-champion.com/mmoc.....wpanel_009.jpg
Yeah.....
(I you don't understand, it's Wow's Female Worgen concept art your looking at)
I predict lots more WoW porn.
Yeah.....
(I you don't understand, it's Wow's Female Worgen concept art your looking at)
I predict lots more WoW porn.
