Dowbrigade

from Alexander Cockburn at Counterpunch

The inmates who went on the rampages were among 162
of the state’s most incorrigible offenders, who were transferred to six
other facilities Monday after three doors at Walpole’s Department Disciplinary
Unit opened spontaneously in what officials have called a malfunction
of the prison’s electronic door-control system.

”The bottom line is that we have moved a lot of inmates who are destructive
anyway," Department of Correction spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said.
”They are in prison because they couldn’t follow the rules of society,
and they are in segregation because they couldn’t follow the rules of
prison. They don’t adapt well to change."

In the incident at Walpole, cell doors and secure
exits were spontaneously and mysteriously opening. Word on the
whisperstream suggests hacking may be involved….

from the Boston Globe

Is this an idea worth considering? Although paying
for students to go to school may seem ridiculous and wrong-headed at
first
glance, on closer examination it can be seen to have numerous social
and economic benefits.

First of all, giving kids a cash bonus for perfect
attendance is hardly rewarding them for something they should do anyway.  All
kids are allowed to miss a certain number of sick days, families take
vacations, etc.  On the other hand, it is hard to justify denying
the bonus to a kid who just get sick through no fault of his or her own.
 So we would argue that it may make sense to straight out pay kids
an hourly wage to go to school.

It is in the interest of our economy to
have educated workers, and keeping more
students
in
school
through
graduation
will
produce more and better educated workers. Furthermore, Chelsea is one
of the poorest and most minority-heavy (Hispanic, mostly) districts
in the state, and Hispanics have the highest drop-out rate among ethnic
groups – over 50%. The schools lose these kids to the gangs, and in
many
cases to the necessity of supporting their families and sending money
back to extended family abroad. If paying them would keep them
in school, would that not lead to minority advancement, get more people
off of welfare, keep kids out of gangs, lower the crime rate and improve
the quality of community life?

It would certainly be cost-effective if it keeps
more kids off of the streets, lowers unemployment and the kind of drug
and
crime related activities kids get involved in when they aren’t in school.
It would give them a sense of self-respect, teach them to manage money,
get them used to the basic economic paradigm which is going to dominate
the rest of their lives, and allow them to be more active participants
in our wonderful consumer paradise. In a way, it is the same argument
as that if favor of allowing colleges to
pay
varsity
athletes
in big-time
sports
like
football
and
basketball,
to keep them from turning pro at 18 or 19.

A good example of thinking outside the box…

from the Boston Globe

Park spokesman Raymond Travers
said guards and rangers searched for the unidentified man in the dark
after he ran into the park on Thursday, but failed to find him.

He was
found after dawn yesterday as the lions ate his corpse.

”We have no
idea why he ran in," Travers said. ”We suspect the man was mentally
deranged. No one in their right mind would run into the bush at Kruger
at night. It’s far too dangerous."

Kruger National Park is home
to between 4,500 and 5,000 lions spread across an area roughly the
size of Belgium. Rangers shot one lion as he devoured the body and were
looking
for a female lion, he said.

The only thing that bothers us about this whole story
is that they shot one lion and are looking to kill another.  For
what? These are wild animals who have no choice but to act acording to
their natural instincts, which are to hunt and eat other animals stupid enough to come into their territory. The classic rationalization is "Well,
once a lion gets a taste for human flesh, they can’t eat just one." But
has this been scientifically established as being true in every case?  Has
anyone tried therapy, de-conditioning or dietary substitutes? These beautiful
and endangered animals should not have to die because some moron bounded
on to their dinner table…..

from Reuters

from the Associated Press

Now, this is getting ridiculous.  By our count
this is the 9th 10th planet to be discovered. Doesn’t anybody remember Sedna!!
We are starting to think this is some kind of long-running gag on the
part of those jokesters in the astronomy departments of universities
around the world. Either that, or there are now 18 planets in our solar
system….

Today’s comics page features two quite different ways
of dealing with the old cat-on-our-favorite-chair conundrum….

As opposed to….

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Lazy Man’s Lament

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glasscastle - July 29, 2005 @ 10:45 am · Blogging

one extremely local and the other international, have brought up important and thorny questions concerning the fine line between a Blogger and a reporter, and between Blogging and Journalism. As the Blogosphere matures and the methods of information diffusion evolve, it becomes essential to know who is who and what rules they are playing by. This is especially true in light of recent legal efforts to force reporters to reveal their sources, and proposed legislation to protect their right to refuse to do so.  Because of the absolutely central and irreplaceable role of the press in the functioning of the American brand of Democracy, being a journalist means more than just writing about what one sees and feels. It requires adherence to a strict if unwritten set of rules regarding attribution, checking sources, factual accuracy, accountability and protection of privacy. Certain sectors of the Blogosphere, by no means a majority, desire to be considered the cyber-sector of the Fifth Estate, and they make a strong case.  In the end, each individual blogger must make the decision as to what degree they want to be bound by the journalistic ethic, and then live up to their decision. Our own personal decision – NO WAY are we a journalist.  Fuggedabouddit. No way, Jos « Previous Entries Next Page » Categories Blogging Boston business Celtics Comics dowbrigadeStories Ecuador Education ESL Links Events Friends and Family Humor Language Latin America Media News Newton Photos Politics Prose Screeds Quote of the day Serious News South America Sports Technology The Future Uncategorized video Wacky News Watertown Weird Science   July 2005 M T W T F S S « Jun   Aug »   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Meta Register Log in Entries RSS Comments RSS WordPress.org Recent Posts Global Neural Network Online Now CHIQUITO Y SUS ANECDOTAS Chiqui Gone But Not Forgotten Once Upon a Time in China London Burning Riot Redux Authentic Ecuadorian Viche Manta Diary 3: Why are we here? The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of the Queen of the Highway Manta Diary post 2 subscribe to this blog Hosted by: Log in Protected by Akismet • Blog with WordPress