Crooked Thinking

BREAKING: At least 17 children were burned to death in Pakistan on Saturday when a faulty gas cylinder exploded on their bus

Sat, 25 May 2013 01:30:30 -0400

BREAKING: At least 17 children were burned to death in Pakistan on Saturday when a faulty gas cylinder exploded on their bus:

ISLAMABAD (AP) — At least 17 children were burned to death in eastern Pakistan on Saturday when a faulty gas cylinder exploded on the bus taking them to school, police said.Police officer Mohammed Rasheed said seven children were also injured in the explosion on the outskirts of the city of Gujrat.”This is a very sad incident. According to our information, at least 17 children were burned to death,” he said. “The school bus caught fire after the blast. We have transported all the victims to a nearby hospital.”Gujrat is about 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of the capital, Islamabad.The accident comes after a pair of suspected militant attacks killed nine people in two different areas of northwest Pakistan on Friday.In the deadlier of the two attacks, suspected militants armed with heavy weapons attacked a police convoy in Mattani, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the main northwest city of Peshawar, killing six policemen and wounding seven others, said senior police officer Shafiullah Khan.In the second attack on Friday, a suicide bomber walked up to a vehicle owned by an Afghan religious leader in Peshawar and set off his explosives, killing three people, said police officer Riaz Ali Shah.The leader, Haji Hayatullah, was not harmed in the attack because he was in a nearby mosque attending Friday prayers. Hayatullah’s driver and guard were killed, said Shah.A passerby was also killed and two others were wounded, said Peshawar police chief Liaquat Ali Khan.There are more than 1 million refugees in Pakistan from neighboring Afghanistan.No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.___Associated Press Writer Riaz Khan contributed to this report from Peshawar

angelfire93: Alright, if you’re a consumer and you’re...

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:14:45 -0400

angelfire93:

Alright, if you’re a consumer and you’re considering picking up the new Xbox One console, then please, take a moment to listen to me. Before we begin, no, I am not a fanboy or a hater. I have no console Bias. I have a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and a Gaming PC. Each has their pros and cons but now onto business.

DO NOT BUY AN XBOX ONE. Why? See the reasons below:

Xbox Requires an internet connection. Here’s how it works: Every 24 hours your Xbox will try to connect to Microsoft’s servers for verification. If it is unable to connect, sucks to be you. You’re blocked from playing even single player games until it can connect.

Source: http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-does-require-internet-connection-cant-play-o-509164109

Do you like renting games, lending them to a friend, or even borrowing them from a friend? No longer possible. Every Xbox One game you get must be registered to your Xbox live account to be played. After that point it will only work for you. No one else can use it unless they pay a fee. Essentially it works like this. You pick up a used Xbox One game from somewhere or someone, pop it into your console. The system verifies it’s been registered to your account. Uh-oh, it isn’t! In order to play it, you have to pay Microsoft a fee, which is currently slated to be full retail price. Doesn’t matter how scratched up it is or how cheap you got it at gamestop or from a friend. You aren’t just buying the physical copies anymore. You’re paying Microsoft for a LICENSE to be allowed to play that game.

It is worth mentioning Microsoft is exploring ways for you to trade in and resell your used games. This is rumored to mean that you can sell your digital license to play the game (registration) back to microsoft, likely for microsoft points. You can then trade in the game at gamespot for some cash if you like. Either way, as it currently stands, the new owner would still have to pay a fee on top of the price of actually buying the physical copy.

Source: http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/05/21/xbox-one-fee-for-buying-used-games-full-retail-price/

Is it worth mentioning that Microsoft if shafting Indie Developers as well? Where as on Playstation Network or (whatever the Wii has) Indie Developers can self publish their content easily. Playstation even encourages this. Microsoft however forces these Indie Devs to enter publishing deals with them to be allowed to market their content. You don’t go through them, you don’t get to sell what you developed.

Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/22/indie-devs-cant-self-publish-on-xbox-one

I’m not quite done yet! Now, I’m sure you heard a lot about “TV TV TV TV SPORTS TV TV SPORTS SPORTS TV.” Yes, the Xbox is slated to be able to stream live tv, live sports, etc. So let me ask you this. You obviously already have something like cable or DirecTV. Do you really want to shell out hundreds of dollars more and pay a monthly subscription fee to have another television provider? Yes, I said hundreds of dollars, and I don’t mean the cost of the console. To view live TV from the Xbox you are required to purchase ANOTHER separate device for it to work. Why would you even consider shelling out more money for something you already have anyway? Even if you didn’t, DirecTV is cheaper. Or you could even subscribe you Hulu.com and watch live tv on your computer. FOR MUCH CHEAPER. You essentially have to buy another cable box if you don’t have one. And if you do… what do you need the Xbox One for?

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/21/xbox-one-live-tv-available-in-us-only-at-launch-requires-separate-device/

So far we’ve discovered that the Xbox One is not really a gaming console, at least… not a consumer friendly gaming console. It’s being marketed as an all-in-one home entertainment system. Something to replace all of the other devices in your house. But there are drawbacks even to that. Put on your tin foil hats for this part folks. Take from it what you will, all I’ll say is… possibilities…

The Xbox One’s features will not function unless the Kinect is plugged in and active. This is not an optional piece anymore.

Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/21/xbox-one-will-not-function-without-kinect-attached

So imagine your Kinect piece breaks? Tough luck, no more Xbox for you. But you know what’s worse?

Pay attention, because this is important. The Kinect is always watching. Always listening. Even when the system is off.

Yes. One of the ways to turn the system on is to audibly say: “Xbox On” while the system is off. The Kinect, which is always on, hears you and turns it on. Now this might seem like a cool feature, but did you know Microsoft patented a feature that would allow the Kinect’s camera (It’s no longer just a sensor, but a camera) to spy on you for the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America?) While they may not actually do this, it is actually possible for them to do this now. It has a camera, and a microphone. The Kinect is always on. It is ALWAYS listening, ALWAYS watching.

An idea has been tossed around that by using this feature, it will allows game developers and movie produces to set a limited amount of how many people can be allowed to view the entertainment. So as a hypothetical example, you and three friends are watching a movie, which is the maximum allowed. A fourth friend enters the room and the Kinect’s sensor registers the fourth individual. The movie stops and you a prompted to pay a fee so that the extra individual may also view the film. Again, that is NOT currently the case, but these are the ideas currently being tossed around with the system’s current capabilities.

Source for listening: http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4352596/the-xbox-one-is-always-listening

Source of spying: http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/139706-microsofts-new-kinect-patent-goes-big-brother-will-spy-on-you-for-the-mpaa

Now, just two more things and I’ll be done here!

This isn’t really a good or bad thing, but it’s annoying. It also explains how they can prevent you from playing a used game if you didn’t pay their fee. Xbox one no longer plays games off the discs, you HAVE to install them to the hard-drive in order to play them. I believe PS3 also has you do this (on a number of games but not always it seems), except that PS3 isn’t trying to Nickle and Dime you at every corner. It also seems according to this article there is something related to the Online portion at the beginning of this post. The option is there for Developers to require the Xbox to always be online to play their particular game. Well, it seems PC gamers and console gamers have one thing in common now… DRM.

(At least pirates on PC can bypass DRM easily. Not an option for Consoles.)

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4352314/xbox-one-hard-drive-game-installs

And last but not least, another annoyance… Xbox One will not be compatible with any and all current headsets. Nope, companies will either have to make new headsets altogether specifically for the Xbox One, and they have to adhere to what Microsoft wants. Look forward to price gouging.

Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/22/xbox-one-incompatible-with-current-gaming-headsets

Oh, one more thing… If you have an Xbox 360, don’t get rid of it. Why? Well if you want to keep playing your old 360 games you’ll need it. The Xbox One isn’t backwards compatible. At all. Not only that, but President of Microsoft’s Xbox Division Don Mattrick insults the very notion of backwards compatibility! He calls it: “Backwards thinking.”

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4350662/new-xbox-has-no-backwards-compatibilty

Source of insult: http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/22/4355984/xbox-one-backward-compatibility-backwards-thinking-don-mattrick

That is all I have to say currently folks, and I hope you took the time to read this far. I’ll conclude with the following… please… PLEASE do not buy this console. Paying for this supports greedy and anti-consumer business practices. Speak with your wallet, and pass up the Xbox One. No matter what games it might have that you want, even if they are exclusive. Do the right thing and make a statement. Refuse to be nickle and dimed like this. Refuse to be seen as a mindless consumer who will buy anything tossed to them.

We won’t know much else until after E3, but as it stands now, the PS4 or a decent gaming PC is the best way to go.

If you are willing to do so, please spread this post around. Liking is not even remotely necessary, but do please share it if you agree with and acknowledge what you’ve read here. The more people know, the fewer of them waste their money.

Thank you, kindly.

~Dylan Jordan

(Originally posted on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201352632321514&set=pb.1344751593.-2207520000.1369431810.&type=3&theater) by one of my friends. He brings up many valid points. Mind you, I haven’t been a fan of Xbox in a long time and I will most likely get a PS4. But this confirms further for me that I won’t be getting an Xbox one any time in the foreseeable future.)

Photo

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:09:32 -0400

darkskiesfilm:

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:02:23 -0400

darkskiesfilm:

globalwarmist: aljazeera: Dubai’s striking workers in their...

Fri, 24 May 2013 22:39:45 -0400

globalwarmist:

aljazeera:

Dubai’s striking workers in their own words |

Labourers at construction giant Arabtec in the UAE complain of low pay, poor conditions and lack of annual leave.

This is the story of constructions workers across the country. Even though UAE law forbids employers from withholding employees’ passports, companies (including big ones) do so easily. This tactic does not even allow the migrant workers (mostly South Asian with a small percentage of non-Gulf Arabs) to leave work and go back home. A lot of such workers end up committing suicide.

By the way Arabtec is the construction firm that is responsible for various famous projects in the country including the Louvre Museum and New York University campus in Abu Dhabi.

Photo

Fri, 24 May 2013 22:22:33 -0400

thepeoplesrecord: Got this in my email today: Dear...

Fri, 24 May 2013 22:00:25 -0400

thepeoplesrecord:

Got this in my email today:

Dear friends,

We are elders of the Maasai from Tanzania, one of Africa’s oldest tribes. The government has just announced that it plans to kick thousands of our families off our lands so that wealthy tourists can use them to shoot lions and leopards.The evictions are to begin immediately.

Last year, when word first leaked about this plan, almost one million Avaaz members rallied to our aid. Your attention and the storm it created forced the government to deny the plan, and set them back months. But the President has waited for international attention to die down, and now he’s revived his plan to take our land. We need your help again, urgently.

President Kikwete may not care about us, but he has shown he’ll respond to global media and public pressure — to all of you! We may only have hours. Please stand with us to protect our land, our people and our world’s most majestic animals, and tell everyone before it is too late. This is our last hope:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/maasai_fb_dm_3/?bNDofcb&v=23793

Our people have lived off the land in Tanzania and Kenya for centuries. Our communities respect our fellow animals and protect and preserve the delicate ecosystem. But the government has for years sought to profit by giving rich princes and kings from the Middle East access to our land to kill. In 2009, when they tried to clear our land to make way for these hunting sprees, we resisted, and hundreds of us were arrested and beaten. Last year, rich princes shot at birds in trees from helicopters. This killing goes against everything in our culture.

Now the government has announced it will clear a huge swath of our land to make way for what it claims will be a wildlife corridor, but many suspect it’s just a ruse to give a foreign hunting corporation and the rich tourists it caters to easier access to shoot at majestic animals. The government claims this new arrangement is some sort of accommodation, but its effect on our people’s way of life will be disastrous. There are thousands of us who could have our lives uprooted, losing our homes, the land on which our animals graze, or both.

President Kikwete knows this deal would be controversial with Tanzania’s tourists - a critical source of national income - and does not want a big PR disaster. If we can urgently generate even more global outrage than we did before, and get the media writing about it, we know it can make him think twice. Stand with us now to call on Kikwete to stop the sell off:

This land grab could spell the end for the Maasai in this part of Tanzania and many of our community have said they would rather die than be forced from their homes. On behalf of our people and the animals who graze in these lands, please stand with us to change the mind of our President.

With hope and determination,

— The Maasai community of Ngorongoro District

Sources:

The Guardian: Maasai fury as plan to lure Arabian Gulf tourists threatens their ancestral land

allAfrica: Land Grab Could Spell ‘The End of the Maasai’

IPP Media: Maasai villagers frustrate efforts to vacate for Ortelo

The Guardian: Tanzania denies plan to evict Maasai for royal hunting ground

The Guardian: “Tourism is a curse to us”

New Internationalist Magazine: “Hunted down”

Society for Threatened People: Briefing on the eviction of the Loliondo Maasai

FEMACT: Report by 16 human rights investigators & media on violence in Loliondo

The Endorois people (also in Kenya) were removed from their sacred land in the 1970s under similar circumstances & for similar motives (the establishment of parks for colonial tourists.)

"Signature strikes: in or out? Some suggest that the new rules put an end to controversial signature..."

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:56:06 -0400

“Signature strikes: in or out? Some suggest that the new rules put an end to controversial signature strikes, carried out based on patterns of behavior assumed to indicate militancy. The new rules do rebut reports (sourced originally to anonymous government officials) that ‘all military-aged males in the vicinity of a target are deemed to be combatants.’ Yet there is no clarity at all about what actual ‘signatures’ were used, or might still be in use. Nothing in the new rules requires that the government kill only named targets, and nothing in the rules prohibits behavior-based targeting. On the contrary, senior administration officials, hours before the President’s speech, suggested that signature strikes will continue but perhaps decrease ‘over time.’”

- What Obama’s New Killing Rules Don’t Tell You (via theamericanbear)

Happy Birthday Cillian Murphy! (May 25, 1976)

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:54:27 -0400

Happy Birthday Cillian Murphy! (May 25, 1976)

cthulhu: celebrate-the-magic: poison-ninja: i-am-momo-senpai: ...

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:48:08 -0400

cthulhu:

celebrate-the-magic:

poison-ninja:

i-am-momo-senpai:

This is the most meta thing I’ve ever seen on Cartoon Network.

OH. MY. GOD.

OH MY FREAKING LORD

HOLY FUCK

tastefullyoffensive: 9 Cats Stuck in Things[jonnovstheinternet]

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:11:48 -0400

tastefullyoffensive:

9 Cats Stuck in Things

[jonnovstheinternet]

Superman drawn by Steve Rude

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:10:17 -0400

Superman drawn by Steve Rude

What Obama's New Killing Rules Don't Tell You | Esquire

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:06:25 -0400

What Obama's New Killing Rules Don't Tell You | Esquire:

Whether to capture or kill?: One of the rules, already known from the leaked Department of Justice white paper is that the government may kill only when “capture is not feasible.” This phrase begs the question: at what price is capture considered infeasible? The answer, according to the government, is clearly not limited to situations in which it is physically impossible to apprehend an individual. The rule apparently includes situations in which it is not possible to capture the individual without significant risks to U.S. forces or to nearby civilians. The President’s speech was at its most persuasive in explaining those types of concerns.

His remarks however failed to address a nagging concern, and may have needlessly aggravated it. The concern, raised in recent books by Daniel Klaidman and Mark Mazzetti, is that Obama turned to drone strikes as the tactic of choice once the apprehension and detention of international terrorists became a political “briar patch” for the administration. In his speech, the President suggested that wrapped up in the definition of feasibility are concerns about the political fallout from ground forces capturing an individual. The President appeared to suggest that he may consider capture “foreclosed” — that is, off the table — when that option would result in a public “backlash” among local populations or spark international tensions. We trust the President is not actually saying that when apprehending an individual is politically costly, that person might instead be killed.

"[H]istory may record Obama’s greatest crime against peace as changing the definition of war...."

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:05:38 -0400

“[H]istory may record Obama’s greatest crime against peace as changing the definition of war. According to his unique doctrine, the U.S. cannot be in a state of war, or even “hostilities” with another people or country, unless Americans are killed in the process. Thus, Obama refused to report to the U.S. Congress under the War Powers Act following eight months of bombardment of Libya, claiming no state of war had existed since no Americans had died. By this logic, the U.S. is empowered to bomb anyone, anywhere on the planet at will, without the constraints of national or international law, as long as care is taken to protect the lives of U.S. personnel.”

- Glen Ford (via theamericanbear)

onegeeksblog: redmenice: laughingsquid: Man Finds ‘Action...

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:00:27 -0400

onegeeksblog:

redmenice:

laughingsquid:

Man Finds ‘Action Comics’ #1 (1938) in Wall of House, Features First Appearance of Superman

I had heard that the original estimated price (approx 2 mil) went down by $75k, because this guy’s In-Laws snatched the comic out of his hands (and causing it to rip) in their eagerness to see it.

.

According to a report from Star Tribune, here is how David and his family feel about the tear:

“I am a humble working guy, so I didn’t get too excited when I found it with old newspapers stuffed in the walls,” said Gonzalez, a father of four. “Money won’t buy you happiness.”

His in-laws didn’t have the same reaction.

“They got all excited and tried to take it,” he said. “I understand it’s something cool, but told them: ‘You don’t have to act so rude. I brought you in to show you, don’t grab it.’?”

WHAT kind of fucking adult DOES that?

"America’s military is astonishingly top heavy, with 945 generals and admirals on active duty as of..."

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:57:12 -0400

“America’s military is astonishingly top heavy, with 945 generals and admirals on active duty as of March 2012. That’s one flag-rank officer for every 1,500 officers and enlisted personnel. With one general for every 1,000 airmen, the Air Force is the worst offender, but the Navy and Army aren’t far behind. For example, the Army has 10 active-duty divisions — and 109 major generals to command them. Between September 2001 and April 2011, the military actually added another 93 generals and admirals to its ranks (including 37 of the three- or four-star variety). The glut extends to the ranks of full colonel (or, in the Navy, captain). The Air Force has roughly 100 active-duty combat wings — and 3,712 colonels to command them. The Navy has 285 ships — and 3,335 captains to command them. Indeed, today’s Navy has nearly as many admirals (245 as of March 2012) as ships.”

- William Astore from “Generals Behaving Badly” at TomDispatch.com (via nickturse)

manifestocomics: Age of Ultron #10A.I unlettered previews.may...

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:56:22 -0400

manifestocomics:

Age of Ultron #10A.I unlettered previews.
may contain spoilers.

Publisher: Marvel Comics.
Release Date: Wed, May 29th, 2013

It’s the hit comic book event of the spring, and this June – get your first look at the monumental fallout from Age Of Ultron in Age Of Ultron #10A.I.! From Eisner Award winning writer Mark Waid & red-hot artist Andre Araujo, founding Avenger Hank Pym, stands at a crossroads! Faced with a dilemma only he can solve, Pym must gamble his past AND his future! By the end of this issue, one of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe will have an entirely new role, but will he have been redeemed? So what are you waiting for? A whole new world is about to be unveiled following the end of Age Of Ultron #10! Head on over to your local comic shop and reserve a copy of Age Of Ultron #10A.I - TODAY!

imthegdbatman: DC Graphic Novel Covers - ...

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:47:15 -0400

imthegdbatman:

           DC Graphic Novel Covers   -   s2lart

Oregon: West Albany High student in custody after making two bombs

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:25:30 -0400

Oregon: West Albany High student in custody after making two bombs:

thepoliticalfreakshow:

Police took a 17-year-old West Albany High School student into custody for making two bombs. Police said the explosive devices could have caused serious damage and loss of life. Officers got a tip that the student intended to detonate them at school.

ALBANY, Ore. – Police took a 17-year-old West Albany High School student into custody Thursday for making two bombs.

Police said the explosive devices could have caused serious damage and loss of life. Officers said they got a tip that the student intended to detonate them at school.

Just before 10:30 p.m. police took the student into custody at his father’s home on Northwest Violet Street in Albany, said Capt. Eric Carter with the Albany Police Department.

He was lodged at the Linn-Benton Juvenile Detention Facility on two counts each of possession and manufacture of a destructive device.

The bombs were found at the home of the student’s biological mother in the 2600 block of Northwest Raymond Court.

On Friday, The Oregon State Police Explosives Unit obtained a search warrant and safely removed all explosive items from the home, Carter said.

Police searched West Albany High School on Thursday evening and searched the school again Friday with an explosive detecting K-9 to ensure the campus is safe for students to return on Tuesday.

Police and the district attorney don’t know if they will prosecute the student as an adult because the investigation is still ongoing. The suspect is due in court Tuesday.

theprophetlilith: the1janitor: THEY’D BE SLAUGHTERED...

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:22:48 -0400

theprophetlilith:

the1janitor:

THEY’D BE SLAUGHTERED IMMEDIATELY

“Now go, unleash hell.” MY NEW WATCHWORD.