Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats
- Thread starter GasBandit
- Start date
Yeah, I pretty much knew going in to cast my vote this morning how the election was going to go. Elections with poll projections as close as they were so close to the election usually go to the incumbent.
But, I voted, so now I have every right to bitch about what a douche he is. If only I could afford a place across the bridge and live in Minnesota. I mean, I did for the first 8-9 years I lived in this area.
But, I voted, so now I have every right to bitch about what a douche he is. If only I could afford a place across the bridge and live in Minnesota. I mean, I did for the first 8-9 years I lived in this area.
My wife and I are looking as well since I'll be graduating soon. If this state wants to go back to the stone age and stop using critical thinking, time to go somewhere less stupid. I don't want to be here to watch Walker flush the place down the Detroit Michigan toilet.
Coleman Young left such a mark, and Kwame didn't exactly work towards turning it around.
--Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...e-mexican-palace-anger-missing-students-grows
A group of protesters set fire to the wooden door of Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto’s ceremonial palace in Mexico City’s historic city centre late on Saturday, denouncing the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers.
The group, carrying torches, broke away from what had been a mostly peaceful protest demanding justice for the students, who were abducted six weeks ago and apparently murdered and incinerated by corrupt police in league with drug gang members.
More info from someone posting on imgur:
Yesterday in Mexico, protestors burned the doors of Palacio Nacional (headquarter of the mexican federal government)
by pepemigala · 14 hours ago
A little context: José Luis Abarca, governor of Iguala (a small county in Guerrero) ordered the kidnapping of 43 students on september 26. Since, the people has been asking for answers from the government.
On november 5, Abarca and his wife were captured. Later, the rumors of both having links with the mexican organized crime were confirmed. The students were still missing, but their families didn't lose hope.
On november 8, three cartel operators were detained, later they confessed having killed and burned alive the 43 students. That same day, the 43 calcined bodies were found on some pits in the county of Cocula.
During a press conference, the National Attorney General, Murillo Karam, literally said "I'm tired" in front of the national media and the grieving fathers.
Yesterday a march went from the headquarters of the Defense Department, to Palacio Nacional, headquarter of the Federal Government. During the march the protestors were chanting "Fue el estado" (It was the State)
Protestors tore down the fences guarding the doors of Palacio Nacional and started spray painting on it the caption "Vivos los queremos" (we want them alive). Their main demand is the resignation of the mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto.
Finally, the doors of Palacio Nacional were set on fire. Here at home I can still hear the sirens in the street. Edit: Even though real protestors, people I know, took part of this action, there's the rumor that the ones who started the fire were hooded criminals payed by local small politicians to make the protestors look bad.
A group of protesters set fire to the wooden door of Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto’s ceremonial palace in Mexico City’s historic city centre late on Saturday, denouncing the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers.
The group, carrying torches, broke away from what had been a mostly peaceful protest demanding justice for the students, who were abducted six weeks ago and apparently murdered and incinerated by corrupt police in league with drug gang members.
More info from someone posting on imgur:
Yesterday in Mexico, protestors burned the doors of Palacio Nacional (headquarter of the mexican federal government)
by pepemigala · 14 hours ago
A little context: José Luis Abarca, governor of Iguala (a small county in Guerrero) ordered the kidnapping of 43 students on september 26. Since, the people has been asking for answers from the government.
On november 5, Abarca and his wife were captured. Later, the rumors of both having links with the mexican organized crime were confirmed. The students were still missing, but their families didn't lose hope.
On november 8, three cartel operators were detained, later they confessed having killed and burned alive the 43 students. That same day, the 43 calcined bodies were found on some pits in the county of Cocula.
During a press conference, the National Attorney General, Murillo Karam, literally said "I'm tired" in front of the national media and the grieving fathers.
Yesterday a march went from the headquarters of the Defense Department, to Palacio Nacional, headquarter of the Federal Government. During the march the protestors were chanting "Fue el estado" (It was the State)
Protestors tore down the fences guarding the doors of Palacio Nacional and started spray painting on it the caption "Vivos los queremos" (we want them alive). Their main demand is the resignation of the mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto.
Finally, the doors of Palacio Nacional were set on fire. Here at home I can still hear the sirens in the street. Edit: Even though real protestors, people I know, took part of this action, there's the rumor that the ones who started the fire were hooded criminals payed by local small politicians to make the protestors look bad.
*sigh* And I used to consider myself a proud Canadian.
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/northern-plains-drifter/2013/10/taking-canadian-flag-our-backpacks
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/northern-plains-drifter/2013/10/taking-canadian-flag-our-backpacks
GasBandit
Staff member
Brace yourselves, I'm about to praise Obama.
http://techraptor.net/content/obama-endorses-net-neutrality
President Obama has released a clear statement in favor of net neutrality, and classifying ISPs as Title 2 common carriers. I'm a libertarian and all that, but the fact of the matter is that internet access is de facto infrastructure, and too many large companies are engaging in too many anticompetitive practices - indeed, the very nature of building infrastructure (for example, laying the physical network architecture) is already anathema to competition. So if competition isn't possible, then strict, transparent regulation is needed. It's time to make Comcast close up the nipple flaps for the last time.
http://techraptor.net/content/obama-endorses-net-neutrality
President Obama has released a clear statement in favor of net neutrality, and classifying ISPs as Title 2 common carriers. I'm a libertarian and all that, but the fact of the matter is that internet access is de facto infrastructure, and too many large companies are engaging in too many anticompetitive practices - indeed, the very nature of building infrastructure (for example, laying the physical network architecture) is already anathema to competition. So if competition isn't possible, then strict, transparent regulation is needed. It's time to make Comcast close up the nipple flaps for the last time.
I would still like to see some anti-trust actions taken before we settle in on strict regulations. There's demonstrable evidence that having more than a single cable level broadband provider option benefits consumers both in price and speed. I worry that title 2 is just going to stagnate the industry and be used to keep out competitors like (for lack of another national player making in roads) Google Fiber.
I'm pretty sure that's par for the course for Ted Cruz.
GasBandit
Staff member
I usually am a fan of Ted Cruz' shenanigans. Not so on this subject.
I hate rabble.ca so much. Just because there's an administration he doesn't agree with, now he's ashamed? All of the good things about Canada are now gone? Oh brother.
At all events, I've never been a fan of putting a flag on my backpack, but not because I'm not proud to be Canadian. It seems distinctly un-Canadian to do so. If our reputation is for modesty, running around going "LOOK AT ME, I AM CANADIAN" sure doesn't seem to be modest. I don't travel to be seen as a Canadian, I travel to go see.
Necronic
Staff member
Ted Cruz is an embarrassment to
GasBandit
Staff member
... to?
And this better not end with something boring like "all Texans." Get creative.
GasBandit
Staff member
http://wraltechwire.com/report-at-t...rk-expansion-due-to-internet-debate/14173437/
ugh. I can't say I'm surprised. I suspect that title 2 regulation will benefit the existing ISPs more than it will hurt them. After all it will increase the already high barrier to entry of the market, and ease any pressure that existing players have to improve their service or customer relations.
ugh. I can't say I'm surprised. I suspect that title 2 regulation will benefit the existing ISPs more than it will hurt them. After all it will increase the already high barrier to entry of the market, and ease any pressure that existing players have to improve their service or customer relations.
GasBandit
Staff member
I'm not sure that worrying about "increasing the already high barrier to entry of the market" is really a concern when you're basically putting a 10 foot barbed wire fence on top of a 200-foot solid granite wall. And really, the FCC was trying to apply Common Carrier rules to broadband providers even though it didn't classify them as such, until the DC Circuit court torpedoed their net neutrality enforcement last january:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/15/5311948/net-neutrality-and-the-death-of-the-internet
No, what I see in the article you posted is AT&T trying to make threats and bully, throwing its weight around. Classifying broadband providers as common carriers is long overdue, and will impose upon them certain obligations - they won't be able to decide not to expand in certain areas for profit reasons, for example, any more than the power or phone company could. And let's not pretend that the status quo has them leaping ahead to expand and improve tech - the US lags behind the rest of the developed world in both broadband access and speed. They have developed a protected geographical monopoly structure which is anathema to both market competition and user experience, and it needs to be busted. It's impractical to do so by building redundant hardware networks, so treating it like infrastructure is unfortunately the best option.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/15/5311948/net-neutrality-and-the-death-of-the-internet
No, what I see in the article you posted is AT&T trying to make threats and bully, throwing its weight around. Classifying broadband providers as common carriers is long overdue, and will impose upon them certain obligations - they won't be able to decide not to expand in certain areas for profit reasons, for example, any more than the power or phone company could. And let's not pretend that the status quo has them leaping ahead to expand and improve tech - the US lags behind the rest of the developed world in both broadband access and speed. They have developed a protected geographical monopoly structure which is anathema to both market competition and user experience, and it needs to be busted. It's impractical to do so by building redundant hardware networks, so treating it like infrastructure is unfortunately the best option.
Ten years ago, they could make more of a claim that what they offer was purely an information service.
Nowadays, however, that argument falls flat. Heck, the carriers are even actively pushing people to give up their old POTS/ISDN stuff for VOIP just so they won't have to maintain/rebuild the copper infrastructure they have installed. Soo...they can't have it both ways, and sooner or later they'll have to accept that they are a utility because they provide a service which replaced/supplanted/subsumed another service which was already classified as a utility.
--Patrick
Nowadays, however, that argument falls flat. Heck, the carriers are even actively pushing people to give up their old POTS/ISDN stuff for VOIP just so they won't have to maintain/rebuild the copper infrastructure they have installed. Soo...they can't have it both ways, and sooner or later they'll have to accept that they are a utility because they provide a service which replaced/supplanted/subsumed another service which was already classified as a utility.
--Patrick
I'm just tossing this out there, but if you can't handle reading the views of someone you disagree with, maybe you should avoid politics threads.
Especially if that politic thread is labeled "Guy who you don't ever want to read the opinions of's politics thread"
There is one catch-all thread. It's not like I was super excited it was started by GB. There is ONE poster on my ignore list now and it's pretty much pointless. I disagree with a whole lot more than him, in case you hadn't noticed
I'm just tossing this out there, but if you can't handle reading the views of someone you disagree with, maybe you should avoid politics threads.
Especially if that politic thread is labeled "Guy who you don't ever want to read the opinions of's politics thread"
GasBandit
Staff member
He has me on ignore for a reason (that had nothing to do with my politics) that was perfectly valid when he did so, something like 4 years ago. I won't bother trying to convince him to "give me another chance" because frankly I don't care enough to do so - I got all I can toe already. If Dave can figure out how to make it possible to ignore posts by admins, then alrighty. It's no skin off my nose either way.
I'm just tossing this out there, but if you can't handle reading the views of someone you disagree with, maybe you should avoid politics threads.
Especially if that politic thread is labeled "Guy who you don't ever want to read the opinions of's politics thread"
I admit, sir, you've piqued my interest.