Oh Mr. Sessions?
Jul. 21st, 2017 08:29 am![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maladaHey, Jeff Sessions ... civil forfeiture? Let's be honest, we all know it's just a grab at people's cash and belongings. It's a violation of due process and we both know it. It's a government overreach that any conservative should be ashamed of.
That said... I've got a mark for you.
He's a noted swindler. He's got extensive property holdings worth millions... even billions! Think of all the SWAT teams you could afford to equip that that! He has mafia connections galore and recently had a shell out 25 million dollars in cold hard cash to settle a massive fraud suit. Like any drug cartel he has extensive connections with foreign dictators and several of the buildings he owns have been sites of large scale money laundering operations!
Mr. Sessions, it's time for you to stop squandering your efforts on penny ante drug users and step up to the big time - we're not talking a few thousand dollars here, with one fell swoop you could net billions for law enforcement and take out and international crook!
I am referring to .... Donald Trump.
Yeah, I think you're too chicken shit to go after your boss the way you go after poor brown people, Jeffy-poo. You're a coward and a hypocrite.
-m
That said... I've got a mark for you.
He's a noted swindler. He's got extensive property holdings worth millions... even billions! Think of all the SWAT teams you could afford to equip that that! He has mafia connections galore and recently had a shell out 25 million dollars in cold hard cash to settle a massive fraud suit. Like any drug cartel he has extensive connections with foreign dictators and several of the buildings he owns have been sites of large scale money laundering operations!
Mr. Sessions, it's time for you to stop squandering your efforts on penny ante drug users and step up to the big time - we're not talking a few thousand dollars here, with one fell swoop you could net billions for law enforcement and take out and international crook!
I am referring to .... Donald Trump.
Yeah, I think you're too chicken shit to go after your boss the way you go after poor brown people, Jeffy-poo. You're a coward and a hypocrite.
-m
Courtesy of Facebook's On This Day
Jul. 21st, 2017 12:30 amjames_davis_nicollI just got to a series of posts from 2014 Wiscon harassment meltdown. Ah, memory lane.
Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago
Jul. 20th, 2017 04:28 pmjames_davis_nicollPrevious models set first occupation significantly later. Much earlier and the first humans on the path to Australia would have left footprints in the still-cooling ashes of the Toba eruption.
Saaaaaaaaavvvvvvveeee mmmmmeeeeeeee
Jul. 19th, 2017 10:00 amjames_davis_nicollIt turns out you can connect Calibre directly to Project Gutenberg.
Having downloaded a bunch of public domain books, I then went looking for the proper cover art. Interestingly, although I am convinced I owned mid-1970s editions of both Blackman's Burden and Border, Breed nor Birth, I can find no evidence those editions actually existed.
Another interesting thing. This is the list of science fiction books on PG and this is the list of science fiction works by women on PG.
Having downloaded a bunch of public domain books, I then went looking for the proper cover art. Interestingly, although I am convinced I owned mid-1970s editions of both Blackman's Burden and Border, Breed nor Birth, I can find no evidence those editions actually existed.
Another interesting thing. This is the list of science fiction books on PG and this is the list of science fiction works by women on PG.
Fig and the big window
Jul. 18th, 2017 06:07 pmjames_davis_nicollThings that do not inspire Fig to go into hunting mode:
A baby rabbit
Things that do inspire Fig to go into hunting mode:
A robin
A 50 kilogram dog
A baby rabbit
Things that do inspire Fig to go into hunting mode:
A robin
A 50 kilogram dog
Medical Matters
Jul. 18th, 2017 09:38 pmtcpipIt's been a curious past few days; I spent most of Saturday working on the course for the researchers at Orygen Youth Mental Health which I presented on Monday. It went extremely well; I provided an overview of high performance compute clusters, environment modules and job submission using their preferred applications (MRtrix, Matlab, Octave, R, and especially FSL and Freesurfer. They were a large and very switched on group, and it brought me great pleasure when I received some rather positive responses in person and in email.
On Sunday visited the Unitarians to hear a presentation by the president of Dying With Dignity to speak on the upcoming legistlation such matters. Last year to the state government committee I contributed two submissions from different organisations on the matter, and legislation is expected soon. In a less positive manner, an old friend of mine has just found his way into hospital and I suspect he's in the position that he might not be getting better. Three years ago he appointed me enduring power of medical attorney. To top it all off,![[livejournal.com profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
caseopaya's mother has found herself in hospital as a complication arising from her continuing illness.
It surprises me that there are those who begrudge public revenue raising and expenditure on health, as if the wealthy have more of a right to live than the poor. Even using the criteria of the 'dismal science', economics, it is obvious that having people alive and well is not just a private benefit to the person in question, it is also a public benefit. The is equivalent matter here with education as well, and likewise the private-public benefit is a continuum which includes current and future productivity of the person in question. All of this, of course, on top of matter of being in a society that cares for its less fortunate.
On Sunday visited the Unitarians to hear a presentation by the president of Dying With Dignity to speak on the upcoming legistlation such matters. Last year to the state government committee I contributed two submissions from different organisations on the matter, and legislation is expected soon. In a less positive manner, an old friend of mine has just found his way into hospital and I suspect he's in the position that he might not be getting better. Three years ago he appointed me enduring power of medical attorney. To top it all off,
caseopaya's mother has found herself in hospital as a complication arising from her continuing illness.It surprises me that there are those who begrudge public revenue raising and expenditure on health, as if the wealthy have more of a right to live than the poor. Even using the criteria of the 'dismal science', economics, it is obvious that having people alive and well is not just a private benefit to the person in question, it is also a public benefit. The is equivalent matter here with education as well, and likewise the private-public benefit is a continuum which includes current and future productivity of the person in question. All of this, of course, on top of matter of being in a society that cares for its less fortunate.
Life... Love It Or Leave It
Jul. 17th, 2017 10:50 pmwaitingmanSo the trigger-happy cops in Minneapolis shot dead an Australian ex-pat today. Whatever comes out in the investigation/blame-fest won't bring her back. Tragic
On the radio this afternoon, I heard a newsreader say "Friends of the woman said she loved life"
Honestly? Really? I mean... who doesn't?!?! Even if you're not having a great time right now, it's still better than the alternative, surely...
Obversely, I'm also a great believer in euthanasia & the right to die. Maybe it's just that I'm not a fan of stock phrases, clichés & lazy journalism
On the radio this afternoon, I heard a newsreader say "Friends of the woman said she loved life"
Honestly? Really? I mean... who doesn't?!?! Even if you're not having a great time right now, it's still better than the alternative, surely...
Obversely, I'm also a great believer in euthanasia & the right to die. Maybe it's just that I'm not a fan of stock phrases, clichés & lazy journalism
Hoping the drought is over
Jul. 17th, 2017 07:55 ammaladaI'm writing again.
Except for role playing in Second Life, my writing dried up and died several years ago. I never finished my last Nanowrimo... it was around the time my mother died so that might have addled my brain. I had to start taking care of my dad then too... so it's no wonder things just stopped for a while.
I had some scattered notes and an outline for a prequel to an early nano... which was actually a resurrection of a much earlier story... but nothing came of it. I pulled it out and started fixing it. Usually I have an idea for a story and work fairly linearly but this was more like a big outline with blobs of dialog and scenes. So, I'm reworking it in bits, rearranging things and filling out the story. I'm jumping around a lot so it's a different work process than what I've done before.
It's a bit of a complex story with political intrigue, necromancy all in a mage college in a fantasy setting. The magic is fairly low key but important. The cast of characters keep expanding and I'm going to have to take extensive notes to keep everyone straight.
Should be fun and it will give me something to do at night while I'm not sleeping.
-m
Except for role playing in Second Life, my writing dried up and died several years ago. I never finished my last Nanowrimo... it was around the time my mother died so that might have addled my brain. I had to start taking care of my dad then too... so it's no wonder things just stopped for a while.
I had some scattered notes and an outline for a prequel to an early nano... which was actually a resurrection of a much earlier story... but nothing came of it. I pulled it out and started fixing it. Usually I have an idea for a story and work fairly linearly but this was more like a big outline with blobs of dialog and scenes. So, I'm reworking it in bits, rearranging things and filling out the story. I'm jumping around a lot so it's a different work process than what I've done before.
It's a bit of a complex story with political intrigue, necromancy all in a mage college in a fantasy setting. The magic is fairly low key but important. The cast of characters keep expanding and I'm going to have to take extensive notes to keep everyone straight.
Should be fun and it will give me something to do at night while I'm not sleeping.
-m