The news thread

[Garfield]

The riots have actually spread beyond London, although you wouldn't know it from the news coverage. Thankfully I live too far North to be directly affected, but it's a tad worrying all the same.

To answer the question about perceived calls for censorship, I think social media is too entrenched at this point to be realistically shut down. Sure there'll be the odd loony blaming the platform for the rioting, but most are either pointing the finger at mob mentality or the Establishment.

Of course these things shouldn't be shut down over this. I'm a firm advocate of freedom, and censorship is the comlete antithesis of it. And, as you said, it's too late to close the barn doors after the horses have scattered. I have to say, though, that I find rioting in any city to be complete barbarism.

[SuaveStar]

A teenager from Glasgow has been arrested after a message was posted on Facebook allegedly inciting others to commit acts of disorder.

The 16-year-old was detained during an operation in the city's south side at 12:40 on Monday.

It comes after rioting and looting in London at the weekend spread to other English cities.

He has been charged with breach of the peace and is due to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Police said they were monitoring social networking sites closely and would take "decisive action" to prevent violence.

The Strathclyde force said there was no intelligence "at this time" to suggest that there was any trouble planned.

Earlier, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland confirmed that forces here were on standby to help colleagues in England if requested.

There have been three nights of violence in London since a 29-year-old man was shot dead in Tottenham by police on Saturday.

A peaceful protest over the death of Mark Duggan was followed by violence which spread to other parts of the city on Sunday.

A third night of unrest saw violence spread outside London to Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol.

Source

Edited August 9, 2011 by SuaveStar

[Stavros]

There were riots in Stokes Croft in Bristol as well but that's nothing new, they were rioting a couple of months back too. Difference is that was politically motivated and this is just bullshit looting and vandalism.

Whilst I don't agree with the idiocy of the rioting, the ignorance of the police chief dealing with this astonished me on the first day. "Don't know what caused this, we've always had good relations with the community". Really, you don't know? Because you shot and killed a kid. That's what the original protest was about.

Friend of mine went to see Tottenham play that day, she walked through the protest as she left. It turned violent an hour later, good timing on her part getting out of there.

[MaxPower]

Firstly shout out to everyone in London and surrounds hope your mailboxes are still functional.

Second. Where are the extreme right calling for Facebook and twitter to be banned for causing violence? Talk about selective parenting/campaigning! 

Define "far right".

By extreme right I meant mainly the Christian right and other fundamentalist groups, the same ones that wanted to ban video games after a shooting.

[Dread]

Insensitive comment of the day:

Seems like a lot of destruction and violence committed over one dead drug dealer.

[JackFetch]

As far as riots go, they are pretty slow moving and a lot less destructive than you would think from all the fires. Also, who rides around rioting on bicycles?

[Dread]

It would have been so nice to fill a grocery bag full of bleach and drop it on those fuckers.

[Garfield]

Firstly shout out to everyone in London and surrounds hope your mailboxes are still functional.

Second. Where are the extreme right calling for Facebook and twitter to be banned for causing violence? Talk about selective parenting/campaigning! 

Define "far right".

By extreme right I meant mainly the Christian right and other fundamentalist groups, the same ones that wanted to ban video games after a shooting.

As much as people like to bash the "Christian right", they aren't the same as fundamentalist groups. They just aren't. As to the fundamentalists, they are far fewer, both in numbers and influence, than many would have us believe.

[MaxPower]

WTF, I was joking about this....

Rioting leads to Cameron call for social media clampdown

And why did he mention Blackberry? What do they do that other smart phones don't?

[Agent P]

This is highly satisfying:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14497763

[Molly]

London needs Batman.

[slothian]

WTF, I was joking about this....

Rioting leads to Cameron call for social media clampdown

And why did he mention Blackberry? What do they do that other smart phones don't?

The messages on that network are encrypted, making it easier for flashmob fuckwits to vandalise.

[JackFetch]

Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion

I don't like this. Why would anyone else sell Android phones now that Google is one of the competition? This is either going to kill Android or make everyone else scramble to buy phone makers to keep up. I've said for months that I think Microsoft will buy RIM.

[MaxPower]

The industry needs to consolidate to ideally only 2 platforms, for the sake of developers. Now that 'apps' are the way forward, it still makes sense to use Google or MS as your OS. So LG, Samsung, etc, need an app based platform and marketplace to compete.

[Agent P]

I might be wrong here, but I'm not sure that it's going to work out that Google is the "competition". Google seems to favor a strategy of getting their software on as many devices as possible, and siding with one mobile company and in some way freezing out or disadvantaging the others seems counter to the entire approach they've taken.

My understanding of it, at least from reading the BBC and Bloomberg, is that the main motivator behind the purchase wasn't to get a mobile company. The real motivation is that by buying Motorola Mobility, they don't get only the company - they get its patents, as well. As you are no doubt aware, there is a huge patent war in mobile technology, with companies suing each other over what is proprietary. Google and Apple sued each other recently, and now HTC and Apple are suing each other. By acquiring Motorola mobility, Google bought about 17,000 patents on various aspects of mobile technology.

I don't think this is about changing the way Google operates - I think it's taking strategic territory in the patent war.

[JackFetch]

No matter what they say, Google is now in the business of making handsets. That makes them a direct competitor to every other handset maker, including those that use their operating system. Can you imagine if iOS was on phones made by other companies, but Apple still sold the iPhone? Why would anyone buy a phone from anyone except the company that makes the OS?

[MaxPower]

I hear your argument, I'm just saying fewer operating systems is better for developers. And everyone knows apps is what made iPhone more than anything else. If you can't get critical mass with your app distribution, then your handset will fail. It will be easier for Samsung to use Android or Windows Phone 7 than to have their own that developers have to build yet another version of Angry Birds for.

That said, I can see a world in the future where there are no apps and websites are build as mobile devices first and foremost, totally skipping apps. Doesn't solve the money thing, but for my business, I'm building a mobile site instead of choosing which OS to build an app for.

[KnightWing]

I kinda doubt that we'll ever see a day when all content, even software like apps, are streamed. It would be cheaper to develop two apps for the two competing phone OSs than it would be to stream an online app to every phone every time it wants to access it.

[JackFetch]

Dropping your pants may be a cheap and fast way to get yourself on TV -- but it's also a quick ticket to raising the hackles of the Parents Television Council. And according to TMZ, the PTC are up in arms about Geo Godley's pants-dropping stunt on the premiere of "X Factor" Wednesday night.

The PTC says it will file a formal indecency complaint with the FCC over the incident. Organization president Tim Winter noted, "If Godley performed his act in public, he would have been arrested. But if he performs it in front of a Fox camera, his act is beamed via the public airwaves into every home in the nation."

He added that the pre-taped nature of the show meant that producers couldn't claim to have been taken by surprise by the act (though judge Paula Abdul clearly was):"The prolonged, previously videotaped footage of a contestant dancing nude on the ‘X Factor’ stage represents a conscious decision by the producers -- with the approval of the network’s broadcast standards department -- to intentionally air this content in front of millions of families during hours when they knew full well that children would be watching."

He insisted that "X Factor" was touted as "family-friendly" programming and instead audiences got "graphic nudity."

Well, the audience in the theater certainly did, but Fox's choice to use the "X Factor" logo to block Godley's lower section meant audiences at home probably saw less skin than they would on the "Miss America Pageant."

And speaking of skimpy clothing, Godley has now told TMZ that there wasn't even anything to be upset about -- that he was wearing a G-string!

The outfit, said Godley, was inspired by his Greek roots: "We always dance in G-strings," he said. "G-strings are legal. The PTC have no complaint to make."

Nudity on prime-time broadcast television is virtually unheard of; shows like "NYPD Blue" have pushed the envelope with brief flashes of skin, and in 1997 the unedited version of "Schindler's List" was broadcast uncut, with full-frontal nudity -- though in non-sexual situations. But in 2004 sudden, unplanned nudity on live or reality shows came into the public discussion when Janet Jackson's breast was exposed during the halftime show of "Super Bowl XXXVIII." The FCC tightened up its indecency rules, and today any form of nudity (barring the occasional animated posterior on "The Simpsons") is all but gone from the broadcast airwaves. Still, the FCC rules are more vague about what's allowed to be suggested in terms of nudity on broadcast television.

Still, Godley admitted that maybe things got out of hand, and offered condolences to anyone who was offended: "I apologize to anyone that was exposed to my behind ... I had no intention of showing it and it was an accident when I fell. I was caught up in the moment."

At the moment, however, the PTC may still forge foward. Winter notes that television ratings themselves need to be more stringent.

"The fact that Fox assigned a content rating of TV-PG DL for a naked man frolicking around on a stage is not just inaccurate, it is fraudulent," he said. "We call on the amorphous Content Ratings Review Board to immediately investigate this incident and hold Fox accountable for violating the spirit and the letter of the content ratings system, which can only be described at this point as rigged and blatantly inaccurate." ("DL" means the show has suggestive dialogue and language.)

http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2011/09/23/7922364-group-up-in-arms-over-x-factor-contestant-stunt

Besides exposing the PTC as morons, this also exposes The X Factor as frauds since he was never naked to begin with, and they tricked everyone into thinking he was.

[Garfield]

It actually angers me whenever I read any complaints from the PTC. They apparently think every show should be Leave It To Beaver.

[dc20willsave]

It actually angers me whenever I read any complaints from the PTC. They apparently think every show should be Leave It To Beaver.

No, no, they find that name too suggestive.

[Garfield]

It actually angers me whenever I read any complaints from the PTC. They apparently think every show should be Leave It To Beaver.

No, no, they find that name too suggestive.

Sadly, they would today.

[slothian]

Besides exposing the PTC as morons, this also exposes The X Factor as frauds since he was never naked to begin with, and they tricked everyone into thinking he was.

The British X-Factor doesn't go a week without some kind of deceptive stunt - Simon Cowell has made his millions off the back of defrauding people whilst claiming innocence.

And created Cheryl Cole in a Geordie laboratory. I live right near it.

[dc20willsave]

Girls given equal rights to British throne under law changes

London (CNN) -- Sons and daughters of British monarchs will have an equal right to the throne under changes to the United Kingdom's succession laws agreed to Friday, British Prime Minister David Cameron said.

The leaders of the 16 Commonwealth countries which have the queen as head of state approved the changes unanimously at a Commonwealth of Nations summit in Australia, he said. The individual governments of those 16 countries must still agree the law changes for them to take effect.

The constitutional changes would mean a first-born girl has precedence over a younger brother. They also mean that a future British monarch would be allowed to marry a Catholic.

The laws would apply to any future children of Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, who married this year.

Speaking alongside his Australian counterpart Julia Gillard in Perth, Cameron described Friday's agreement by the heads of government of the 16 nations as "something of a historic moment."

Attitudes have changed fundamentally over the centuries, he said in a televised address, and outdated rules should evolve with them.

"The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man, or that a future monarch can marry someone of any faith except a Catholic -- this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we have become," he said.

"Put simply, if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were to have a little girl, that girl would one day be our queen."

Cameron also referred to plans to scrap the Act of Settlement, a law passed in 1701 which bans the UK monarch from marrying a Catholic. It was intended to ensure that Protestants held the throne and remained head of the Church of England.

"Let me be clear: the monarch must be in communion with the Church of England, because he or she is the head of that church, but it is simply wrong that they should be denied the chance to marry a Catholic if they wish to do so," Cameron said. "After all, they're already quite free to marry someone of any other faith."

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, said he welcomed the planned reform.

"I am pleased to note that the process of change, which I hope will lead to repeal of the Act has started and I look forward to studying the detail of the proposed reforms and their implications in due course," he said in a statement.

Richard Fitzwilliam, royal commentator and a former editor of International Who's Who, told CNN that the changes were vital if the monarchy was to adapt with changing times.

"What is significant is they've finally grasped the nettle, because for decades, since the 1950s, there's been talk of doing this and nothing's actually happened," he said -- probably in part because it did not affect Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry.

"Now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have said they want to start a family, this makes it urgent."

While the constitutional change has to be made by parliament in the United Kingdom and the other 15 countries that have the queen as head of state, it is supported by Buckingham Palace, he said.

The situation where a younger brother would take precedence over a first-born sister is discriminatory under European law, he points out, and other monarchies including in Norway have already made a similar change.

The legal changes relating to the marriage of the monarch to a Catholic will have to be handled sensitively, he added, because of the monarch's role as head of the Church of England, and involve several acts going back to the 17th and 18th Centuries.

Buckingham Palace said it had no comment on the changes to the law as it was a matter for the U.K. and Commonwealth governments.

Queen Elizabeth is in Australia for the three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The Commonwealth is an association of 54 nations with ties to the United Kingdom. Only 16 share the queen as head of state

Source.

[JackFetch]

I can't believe this still happens in 2011.

Two men have been arrested for a shocking attack on a Reno, Texas gay man.

26-year-old Burke Bennett received 30 stitches to close stab wounds on his back and forearms inflicted by a broken beer bottle, reports the Dallas Voice, as well as second-degree burns and severe bruises after being assaulted at a private party on Sunday.

The attackers reportedly screamed slurs like "pussy-ass faggot," "gay bitch," and "cock-sucking punk," as they punched, stabbed, and eventually threw Burke onto a fire.

Now Daniel Martin, 33, and James "Tray" Mitchell Laster III, 31, have been charged with the assault reports to the Dallas Voice.

But, though Burnett said the officer who investigated the assault told him the attack would be deemed a hate crime, it looks as though it may not be classified as such after all.

Both perpetrators are being charged with one count of aggravated assault with a a deadly weapon, and one count of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury -- first-degree felonies punishable by five to 99 years in prison the Dallas Voice notes.

Because there is no further penalty for a crime already labeled a first-degree felony if it's also designated a hate crime, it looks doubtful that prosecutors will pursue that route.

The paper reports that Reno police spokeswoman Alicia Myrick said it will be up the Lamar County District Attorney's Office to determine whether the case is prosecuted as a hate crime.

"That’s not our decision," Myrick said.

Burke is, sadly, one of several gay men who have been attacked and set on fire in recent weeks.

In September a Pennsylvania man awoke to find that his "friends" had doused him in rum and set his leg on fire. On October 22 a Scottish man was found dead after being beaten and burned.

Update and correction at 4:06PM EST: The Dallas Voice is now reporting that a third man, Mickey Joe Smith, 25, is expected to face the same charges as the other two suspects -- aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault causing bodily injury. The charges are second-degree felonies, punishable by up 20 years in prison, and not first-degree felonies as previously reported.

Since these are not first-degree felonies, having the crime be classified as a hate crime would upgrade the charges to first-degree felonies, which as noted below, are punishable by five to 99 years in prison.

The Dallas Voice spoke to Lamar County District Attorney Gary Young, whose office is handling the cases, who said:“We’re in the process of receiving all the information as a result of the investigation... We will present all that information to the grand jury, including all the information as to whether it’s a hate crime or not. The grand jury will make a determination whether it [a hate crime] is or isn’t as part of the charge. If their actions of committing the aggravated assault are based on race or sexual orientation or whatever it may be, the grand jury can choose to enhance the offense up a level.”http://www.huffingto..._n_1071820.html