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Weird News Story Du Jour One thread to bring them all and in the darkness ... wtf?

#261 User is offline   Darkwatch 

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Posted 03 November 2010 - 04:50 PM

It's a good thing they put in that addendum, because that apology is littered with errors.
Though it is fun seeing a news outlet trolling fanboys.

Also my favourite comment is this:

Quote

normandy Posted at 12:06 PM November 03, 2010
the only difference between this and football? Football is fiction ;-)


Because frankly sportsfans are bigger nerds than any Trekkie.
The Pub is Always Open

Proud supporter of the Wolves of Winter. Glory be to her Majesty, The Lady Snow.
Cursed Summer returns. The Lady Now Sleeps.

The Sexy Thatch Burning Physicist

Τον Πρωτος Αληθη Δεσποτην της Οικιας Αυτος

RodeoRanch said:

You're a rock.
A non-touching itself rock.
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#262 User is offline   Tsundoku 

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Posted 04 November 2010 - 02:40 PM

Gothy-poos, finally a very good reason to live in Poland. :p

------------------------------------------

http://www.news.com....0-1225947656263

Spanish women revealed as world's biggest flirts

* From: mX
* November 04, 2010 9:56AM

Shenanigans at Razzmatazz nightclub in Spain. Picture: Flickr user icanteachyouhowtodoit

SPANISH women are the world's greatest flirts, a study has shown.

And hot-blooded Latins - those speaking Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese - occupied eight of the top 10 places in the list of 20 countries included in dating website Badoo.com's study of "flirtation behaviour" .

Spanish women were found to be the most likely to "make the first move" with a man, according to the analysis of 90 million romantic contacts made on the website in a month.

The analysis resulted in the "World Flirtation League", which ranked 20 countries according to the number of contacts with a man initiated by women.

Forget Spain's conservative Catholic traditions: Spanish women topped the table comfortably, making an average of 1.33 contacts per month.

Just behind came Poland, the Dominican Republic, Italy and Argentina.

Canada, in ninth place, was the highest English-speaking country and the only non-Catholic country in the top 10.
Germany ranked 12th, Britain 14th and France 17th.

The US was a lowly second from last, according to Badoo, which claims some 80 million registered users in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere.

Overall, Badoo found that men were still far more likely than women to make the first move, both in Spain and elsewhere.

The study authors also suggested that if Spanish women are the world's biggest flirts, then their other half also win an honorary title that of "the world's luckiest" men.

----------------------------------

It seems "Catholic Guilt" only goes so far eh? :)
"Fortune favors the bold, though statistics favor the cautious." - Indomitable Courteous (Icy) Fist, The Palace Job - Patrick Weekes

"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys

"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
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#263 User is offline   Tsundoku 

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Posted 05 November 2010 - 05:58 AM

Oh this is just waaaaay too easy ... :p

---------------------------------

http://www.news.com....0-1225948363707

US Air Force posts request for real-life 'stupid ray'

* By staff writers
* From: news.com.au
* November 05, 2010 2:33PM

AND now for something completely stupid.

Humanity is set to once again test the boundary between science fiction and fact by trying to build a classic imaginary weapon — the "stupid ray".

Different arms of the US military have recently been looking for ways to boost the mental abilities of troops.

Both DARPA and the Air Force Research Lab have projects underway aimed at finding external stimulants to temporarily enhance awareness and reduce stress.

Read up on DARPA's mind-enhancing helmets here

But the boffins at the Air Force appear to have had a brainwave. If someone can do what they're asking, perhaps they could do the opposite too.

Wired reported this week that in an update to its call for research proposals, the Air Force has included a new topic for consideration.

First, it describes a few potential mind-enhancing technologies that could be used in the field.

Then, it says: "Conversely, the chemical pathway area could include methods to degrade enemy performance and artificially overwhelm enemy cognitive capabilities."

In other words, how about an invention that will make the other side dumber?

And if you think they’re not serious, there’s a chunk of $US49 million up for grabs for anyone who reckons they can do it.

Reports that sales of tinfoil hats tripled following the announcement are yet to be confirmed.

-------------------------------------------

I love the comment about giving them all Facebook accounts. :)
"Fortune favors the bold, though statistics favor the cautious." - Indomitable Courteous (Icy) Fist, The Palace Job - Patrick Weekes

"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys

"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
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#264 User is offline   stone monkey 

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Posted 05 November 2010 - 07:46 PM

Robots think people taste like bacon, human race doomed!

From Wired:

Quote



Robot Identifies Human Flesh As Bacon

Let the robot holocaust commence: robots think we taste like bacon. Researchers at NEC System technologies and Mie University have designed the cute little guy to the right: a metal man gastronomist, "an electromechanical sommelier", capable of identifying wines, cheeses, meats and hors d'oeuvres. Upon being given a sample, he will speak up in a childlike voice and identify what he has just been fed. The idea is that wineries can tell if a wine is authentic without even opening the bottle, amongst other more obscure uses…like "tell me what this strange grayish lump at the back of my freezer is/was."

But when some smart aleck reporter placed his hand in the robot's omnivorous clanking jaw, he was identified as bacon. A cameraman then tried and was identified as prosciutto.

Absolutely horrifying. Like cows, once robots taste blood, their hunger for human flesh can never be satiated.



That this could be bad news might be the understatement of the millenium. I didn't think the robot rebellion would involve them finding us tasty. When the first robot cafe starts to serve the "Full Mechanical Breakfast" I'll know the end is nigh :p

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 05 November 2010 - 07:47 PM

If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do. If some one maintains that two and two are five, or that Iceland is on the equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction. … So whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants. Bertrand Russell

#265 User is offline   Tsundoku 

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Posted 06 November 2010 - 07:13 AM

I'm hoping it's just because the reporter and cameraman didn't wash their hands after eating, because the alternative is too horrible to contemplate.

For starters (or appetisers ...), certain members of this board would be found after a few days missing having semi-devoured themselves first out of curiosity, then out of a bacon-taste-induced zombielike endless hunger.

Hmmm ... maybe this is where the zombie apocalypse starts?

At least there won't be much left for the robots. :p
"Fortune favors the bold, though statistics favor the cautious." - Indomitable Courteous (Icy) Fist, The Palace Job - Patrick Weekes

"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys

"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
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#266 User is offline   Tsundoku 

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Posted 11 November 2010 - 04:24 PM

Sounds like a typical Rodeoranch weekend. Pantslessness - check; animals - check; under the influence - check; berserk violence - check ...

------------------------------

http://www.news.com....0-1225951875092

Naked attacker had mouse up his bum in South Carolina

* By staff writers at FOXcarolina.com
* From: news.com.au
* November 11, 2010 12:10PM

POLICE said they tried everything to control a nude man after he attacked them inside a home.

Oconee County deputies said they used pepper spray, a Taser and a baton to try and control Noah Smith, 31, after he slapped, kicked and tried to bite them at a home in Bernwood Circle in Seneca, South Carolina.

Investigators said Smith allegedly broke into the home and threw items around.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they said they found Smith naked and under the influence of drugs.

They say his head had to be covered with a blanket to prevent him from biting officers and had to be hog-tied, shackled and tied to a stretcher when paramedics arrived.

WCSC says paramedics took Smith to the hospital where medical professionals found a mouse tail hanging out of his anus. An X-ray showed an entire mouse in his rectum.

According to the incident report, Smith told doctors he did not know what happened, and he did not remember any confrontation with deputies.

Smith was charged with resisting arrest, assault, burglary and indecent exposure.

-------------------------

Richard Gere sought for comment. :D
"Fortune favors the bold, though statistics favor the cautious." - Indomitable Courteous (Icy) Fist, The Palace Job - Patrick Weekes

"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys

"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
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#267 User is offline   Darkwatch 

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Posted 12 November 2010 - 12:05 AM

I would like to see the musical "Cats" be done with this premise instead.

Quote

Quebec tenant lets house go to the cats

Canada

By QMI AGENCY

Posted 9 hours ago

MONTREAL -- A veteran bailiff says he's never seen or smelled the filth he experienced inside a home north of Montreal where 50 cats were discovered after a woman was evicted.

Feces and urine covered every inch of every room of the home in Huberdeau, Que., 120 km northwest of Montreal.

The reclusive woman had rented the unit for just 11 months, and was ordered to leave on Oct. 31 after refusing to let her landlord into the building for several months.

He called bailiffs to the home on Monday, but they had trouble opening the front door because it was blocked by a massive pile of cat dung. When they finally forced their way in, they were repelled by a foul stench.
"It was overwhelming," bailiff Benoit Pilon told QMI Agency.

They left and returned with masks, entering the apartment to find a harrowing scene: Dozens of cats running wild, with feces and hair several inches thick on many surfaces. Even the stairs and the sinks were covered in dung, and cat excrement blocked the drains.

The woman had locked herself inside the house and kept the windows closed for months. Animal control rescued most of the cats, which were in bad shape. Some had to be euthanized.

Huberdeau Mayor Evelyne Charbonneau, who also owns the local convenience store, told QMI Agency it was clear the woman had major problems. The recluse would occasionally visit the store, bringing the odour with her.

"It was stomach-turning," said Charbonneau. "When she left, we opened up all the doors and windows of the store and sprayed (aerosol)."

The woman actually held down a job amid the filth. She worked as a home-based call-centre agent for two financial companies.

The landlord's insurance company says it will not cover the damage.

The Pub is Always Open

Proud supporter of the Wolves of Winter. Glory be to her Majesty, The Lady Snow.
Cursed Summer returns. The Lady Now Sleeps.

The Sexy Thatch Burning Physicist

Τον Πρωτος Αληθη Δεσποτην της Οικιας Αυτος

RodeoRanch said:

You're a rock.
A non-touching itself rock.
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#268 User is offline   Tsundoku 

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Posted 12 November 2010 - 07:04 AM

... and another one for the Abyssmal Army:

---------------------

http://www.news.com....0-1225952525025

Company makes robotic arms you can control over web and lets people use them to play with kittens

* From correspondents in Seattle
* From: AP
* November 12, 2010 10:13AM

* The best thing on the internet... ever
* You can play with kitties through web
* More: Technology news and reviews

A COMPANY that has developed technology for controlling remote robotic arms over the internet has adapted the system so that people around the world can play remotely with kittens.

The company first tested its system by building a paintball shooting gallery.

But while Apriori Control — a tiny company in Boise, Idaho — waits for paying customers, it's putting its systems through their paces at animal shelters.

Scott Harris, head of Apriori, thought the systems would be used to meld real-world and online gaming, or as part of military training.

A "beta" test drew more than 2300 people to a website to shoot a paintball gun by pressing computer keys and watch their results splatter in real time.

Afterward, Apriori went to work on software improvements. It also decided to donate time and spare equipment to a good – and very cute – cause.

The Idaho Humane Society and the Oregon Humane Society now have kitten play rooms equipped with cat toys attached to robotic arms.

Web surfers can visit the animal adoption groups' websites, download the Microsoft Silverlight browser plug-in and get in line for a turn at moving the toys.

While they wait, they can watch over a live webcam as others try to catch the kitties' attention with a flick or bounce of the toy.

The system isn't flawless. One reporter visiting the Oregon site, which went online at the end of September, had trouble with her computer freezing during installation of the plug-in.

Once the technology was running smoothly, the kittens weren't — apparently, kittens can nap through just about anything.

Australian users may encounter some troubles with time zone differences as well. The Oregon site currently says its kittens are resting.

http://network.news..../i_external.gif Watch a YouTube video of the robot arms in action here

The company has been approached with pitches for "adult" applications, which Mr Harris said he might consider "if I go broke".

Mr Harris has plenty of other ideas for future uses of the technology, though, from interactive Halloween haunted houses to dispensing medications remotely.

"I don't want to be known as, 'Apriori, the company that plays with kittens,'" he said.

Links

Oregon Humane Society — http://www.oregonhumane.org
Idaho Humane Society — http://www.idahohumanesociety.org

This LOLcat captures up our attitude towards today's news perfectly.

Attached File(s)


This post has been edited by Sombra: 12 November 2010 - 07:04 AM

"Fortune favors the bold, though statistics favor the cautious." - Indomitable Courteous (Icy) Fist, The Palace Job - Patrick Weekes

"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys

"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
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#269 User is offline   no_survivors 

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Posted 12 November 2010 - 11:53 PM

Oh man...


Redneck Forced to Eat His Beard

This post has been edited by Maddog: 12 November 2010 - 11:55 PM

See ten thousand ministries, See the holy rightous dogs.
They claim to heal, but all they do is steal, Abuse your faith, cheat, and rob.
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#270 User is offline   MTS 

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Posted 15 November 2010 - 04:47 PM

Quote

Nintendo Trademarks: "It's on like Donkey Kong"

Nintendo hopes to own a popular phrase used to let people know that things are getting serious.

Nintendo is being really clever with its promotion of the upcoming Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Nintendo Wii. The company previously piled up 7000 bananas in a jungle lounge, and now it's filed a trademark for a widely used phrase related to the giant ape.

Nintendo has put in an official request with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office so that it can own the term: "It's on like Donkey Kong." The phrase's origin is impossible to determine, but it's been used in popular culture for years in everything from movies to rap songs.

Saying "It's on like Donkey Kong" means that something serious is about to go down. Someone using the phrase could be about to engage in a pie-eating competition, climb a mountain, or jump over rolling barrels while running up girders to save a woman from an ape. Its meaning is universal to whichever situation someone chooses to use it in.

But can Nintendo really trademark it? I'm no lawyer, but it seems dubious to me. The phrase has been used so many times in so many places that I don't see how Nintendo would be able to own it just because they own the name "Donkey Kong," but I suppose it's possible. In my opinion, Nintendo is filing the trademark as a publicity stunt so that people know Donkey Kong Country Returns comes out on November 21, a day that the company says it will be "on like Donkey Kong" in a recent press release. Just be careful using the phrase in the future, you don't want to be crushed by Nintendo's trademark enforcement apes.

Check out The Escapist's hands-on of Donkey Kong Country Returns from the New York Comic Con to see what the hubbub is about.

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Si hoc adfixum in obice legere potes, et liberaliter educatus et nimis propinquus ades.
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#271 User is offline   MTS 

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Posted 27 November 2010 - 01:15 PM

Quote

Spanish woman claims ownership of the Sun
06:58 AEST Sat Nov 27 2010

After billions of years the Sun finally has an owner — a woman from Spain's soggy region of Galicia says she's registered the star at a local notary public as being her property.

Angeles Duran, 49, told the online edition of daily El Mundo on Friday she took the step in September after reading about an American man who had registered himself as the owner of the moon and most planets in our Solar System.

There is an international agreement which states that no country may claim ownership of a planet or star, but it says nothing about individuals, she added.

"There was no snag, I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law. I did it but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first."

The document issued by the notary public declares Duran to be the "owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometres".

Duran, who lives in the town of Salvaterra do Mino, said she now wants to slap a fee on everyone who uses the Sun and give half of the proceeds to the Spanish government and 20 per cent to the nation's pension fund.

She would dedicate another 10 per cent to research, another 10 per cent to ending world hunger — and would keep the remaining 10 per cent herself.

"It is time to start doing things the right way. If there is an idea for how to generate income and improve the economy and people's well-being, why not do it?" she asked.

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Si hoc adfixum in obice legere potes, et liberaliter educatus et nimis propinquus ades.
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#272 User is offline   Aptorian 

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Posted 27 November 2010 - 02:15 PM

Ra is going to want to have a word with her.
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#273 User is offline   Tsundoku 

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Posted 01 December 2010 - 10:19 PM

Mental shields up guys, trust me on this one. :pirate: :p :) :p

---------------------------------------------

http://www.news.com....0-1225964180186

Oklahoma women arrested for hiding stolen goods in rolls of body fat

* From: NewsCore
* December 01, 2010 11:19PM

TWO women were facing charges after allegedly using their body fat to conceal $2600 worth of stolen store merchandise.

Ailene Brown, 28, and 37-year-old Shmeco Thomas, both from Oklahoma City, were arrested for shoplifting at the Edmond branch of TJ Maxx after loss prevention officers caught the women stuffing items under their stomach fat and breasts, KFOR.com reported.

Officer James Hamm said: "These two were actually concealing them in areas of their body where excess skin was, under their chest area and armpits."

Police said Brown also had a knife in her purse they said she used to cut security tags in the store.

One of the suspects had allegedly managed to conceal a pair of leather boots in her bra, The Edmond Sun reported.

----------------------------------------

No pictures, thank goodness. :p :) :p
"Fortune favors the bold, though statistics favor the cautious." - Indomitable Courteous (Icy) Fist, The Palace Job - Patrick Weekes

"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys

"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
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#274 User is offline   Tsundoku 

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Posted 03 December 2010 - 11:12 AM

WTF??? This is NOT something you apologise for. I believe the correct terms are "celebrate" or "gloat". :p

------------------------------------------

http://www.news.com....9-1225965135553

Mick Hucknall apologises for three-a-day groupie sex habit

* By staff writers
* From: news.com.au
* December 03, 2010 12:30PM

Mick Hucknall was a sex god to a lot of pop fans - to others he was just a ginger

* Hucknall admits to sleeping with 1000 women
* Pop star apologises to numerous conquests

IS IT the rangy ginger corkscrew hair? The pasty face? Just quite what was the appeal of Simply Red's Mick Hucknall for the 1000-odd groupies he bedded in the '80s.

The stunning revelation of his “three-a-day” sex habit, confessed by Hucknall this week, begs the question – really?

Somehow Hucknall managed to sleep with hundreds and hundreds of women in three years during the band’s heyday.

Even Hucknall himself is at a loss why the ladies went for him.

"A red-headed man is not generally considered to be a sexual icon," he said.

But, in a candid interview with The Guardian, the muso has admitted to years of “craziness” and took the opportunity to issue a startling apology to the legions of fans he slept with.

"I regret the philandering. In fact, can I issue a public apology? They know who they are, and I'm truly sorry," Hucknall said.

"Between 1985 and 1987, I would sleep with about three women a day, every day. I never said 'No'. This was what I wanted from being a pop star. I was living the dream and my only regret is that I hurt some really good girls."

Still, he’s managed to rack up an impressive list of famous girlfriends including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Martine McCutcheon and Helena Christensen.

These days 50-year-old Hucknall is a regular family man, complete with a wife and toddler daughter.

---------------------------------------

Just goes to show that if you're famous, chicks will even shag a ginger. :p
"Fortune favors the bold, though statistics favor the cautious." - Indomitable Courteous (Icy) Fist, The Palace Job - Patrick Weekes

"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys

"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
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#275 User is offline   Tsundoku 

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Posted 21 December 2010 - 10:24 AM

I'm hoping this is a beat up, because otherwise there goes most English lads sex lives.

---------------------------------------------

http://www.news.com....i-1225973481287

All internet porn will be blocked to protect children, under UK government plan

* By NewsCore
* From: NewsCore
* December 19, 2010 3:08PM

THE UK Government is to combat the early sexualization of children by blocking internet pornography unless parents request it, it was revealed today.

The move is intended to ensure that children are not exposed to sex as a routine by-product of the internet. It follows warnings about the hidden damage being done to children by sex sites.

The biggest broadband providers, including BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, are being called to a meeting next month by Ed Vaizey, the communications minister, and will be asked to change how pornography gets into homes.

Instead of using parental controls to stop access to pornography - so-called "opting out" - the tap will be turned off at source. Adults will then have to "opt in."

The new initiative is in advance of the imminent convergence of the internet and television on one large screen in the living room.

It follows the success of an operation by most British internet service providers (ISPs) to prevent people inadvertently viewing child porn websites. Ministers want companies to use similar technology to shut out adult pornography from children. Pornography sites will be blocked at source unless people specifically ask to view them.

TalkTalk, which includes Tiscali and the British version of Aol.com, is already introducing a new free service early next year called "bright feed," which allows people to control the internet so that all devices are automatically covered without the need to set up individual controls.

Homeowners can either specify which adult sites they want to receive or put a cinema-style classification on their feed to restrict what is received according to age ranges, such as U, 12 or 18. A survey by Psychologies magazine this summer found that one in three children aged 10 in Britain had viewed pornography on the net.

Mr Vaizey said: "This is a very serious matter. I think it is very important that it's the ISPs that come up with solutions to protect children.

"I'm hoping they will get their acts together so we don't have to legislate, but we are keeping an eye on the situation and we will have a new communications bill in the next couple of years."

Claire Perry, the Tory MP for Devizes and a keen lobbyist for more restrictions, said: "Unless we show leadership, the internet industry is not going to self-regulate. The minister has said he will get the ISPs together and say, 'Either you clean out your stables or we are going to do it for you'."

"There is this very uneasy sense for parents of children that we do not have to tolerate this Wild West approach. We are not coming at this from an anti-porn perspective. We just want to make sure our children aren't stumbling across things we don't want them to see."

Previously the Internet Services Providers' Association (ISPA) has told MPs that such a blanket ban would be expensive and technically difficult to operate.

But Miranda Suit, co-founder of the charity Safermedia, which held a conference on internet porn at the Commons last month, said: "Technically we know it can be done because the ISPs are already removing child porn after the government put pressure on them.

"In the past, internet porn was regarded as a moral issue or a matter of taste. Now it has become a mental health issue because we now know the damage it is causing. We are seeing perverse sexual behavior among children. Legislation is both justifiable and feasible."

She quoted the example of two underage brothers sentenced to at least five years' detention this year for a sadistic sex attack on two other boys in South Yorkshire. The brothers were said to have had a "toxic" home life where they were exposed to pornography.

This weekend some ISPs appeared ready to introduce an "opt in" clause voluntarily. Andrew Heaney, executive director of strategy and regulation for TalkTalk, said: "Our objective was not to do what the politicians want us to do but to do what was right by our customers.

"If other companies aren't going to do it of their own volition, then maybe they should be leant on. Legislation is a sledgehammer but it could work."

A spokeswoman for Virgin Media said: "We already have an opt-in approach on mobiles. We've taken this approach as mobiles are taken out of the home - and kept in a pocket - whereas parents can control what happens within the home and online "We're able to block sites, so it would be possible to do the same on the internet. It is just about finding the right approach."

A spokesman for BT, which has a "clean feed" system to block access to illegal sites, said: "We do what we can to protect children."

The ISPA did not return calls to London's Sunday Times.

----------------------------------------------

Attempts to do the same thing here seem to have diminished against the overwhelming lack of approval. Parents - do your jobs. :blink:
"Fortune favors the bold, though statistics favor the cautious." - Indomitable Courteous (Icy) Fist, The Palace Job - Patrick Weekes

"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys

"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
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#276 User is offline   Aptorian 

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Posted 21 December 2010 - 10:46 AM

The Nany State abides.
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#277 User is offline   MTS 

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Posted 21 December 2010 - 12:52 PM

View PostSombra, on 21 December 2010 - 10:24 AM, said:

Parents - do your jobs. :blink:

That's all it comes down to. The state shouldn't have to legislate for parental failure. I mean, sure, there needs to be some protection for the kids at a governmental level, but blanket bans on pornography based on the slight chance that a child will view it? Ridiculous. Besides, it's a fallacy that a child who views porn will somehow grow up with an unhealthy attitude towards sex because of it. It's no different than playing 'doctor' with the girl/boy next door, which is probably more prevalent.
Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Si hoc adfixum in obice legere potes, et liberaliter educatus et nimis propinquus ades.
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#278 User is offline   Dag 

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Posted 30 December 2010 - 09:40 PM

Not sure if this is hilariously stupid or simply scary:

Harry Potter fans, black magic decimating India's owls

"Die-hard fans of the best-selling Harry Potter stories are seriously threatening India's owl population, as demands for the ultimate wizarding accessory increase, a wildlife group says. Potter's snow-white owl Hedwig, his trusty messenger throughout the book and film series, is being blamed by animal groups and politicians for fuelling the trade in Indian owls, as fans look to ape every aspect of their young wizard hero."
The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues.
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#279 User is offline   Dag 

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Posted 04 January 2011 - 10:06 PM

OK, not the most recent one - but I stumbled upon it again today and thought I should share... :wub:

German Firm Wins Right to Make Beer Called 'Fucking Hell'

"The EU's trademarks authority has permitted a German firm to brew beer and produce clothing under the name "Fucking Hell". It may be an expletive in English, but in German it could refer to a light ale -- Hell -- from the Austrian town of Fucking. Whether it will be brewed there is another question..."

Can't wait to see this beer on the market... B)
The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues.
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#280 User is offline   Darkwatch 

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Posted 15 January 2011 - 11:03 PM

Passwords revealed by sweet deal

More than 70% of people would reveal their computer password in exchange for a bar of chocolate, a survey has found.
It also showed that 34% of respondents volunteered their password when asked without even needing to be bribed.

A second survey found that 79% of people unwittingly gave away information that could be used to steal their identity when questioned.

Security firms predict that the lax security practices will fuel a British boom in online identity theft.

Security shock

The survey on passwords was carried out for the Infosecurity Europe trade show due to take place at Olympia in London from 27-29 April.

The survey data was gathered by questioning commuters passing through Liverpool Street station in London and found that many were happy to share login and password information with those carrying out the research.

As well as people simply telling the questioners their passwords or saying they would hand them over in exchange for some confectionery, a further 34% revealed the word or phrase they used when asked if it had anything to do with a pet or child's name.

Family names, pets and football teams were all used by those questioned to provide inspiration for a password.

The survey found that, on average, people have to remember four passwords, though one unlucky respondent had to remember 40.

Many adopt very unsafe tactics to remember these login names. Some of those questioned simply use the same password for every system they must log on to.

Those that used several passwords often wrote them down and hid them in a desk or in a document on their computer.

Almost all of those questioned, 80%, said they were fed up with passwords and would like a better way to login to work computer systems.

Stolen goods

A separate survey carried out for RSA Security found further evidence of the lax password and security habits of Britons.

It found that many people volunteered important personal information, such as their mother's maiden name or their own date of birth, when questioned during a street survey.

Such information is coveted by identity thieves as these facts are often used by sites as security checks.

The RSA survey found that maintaining online identities is becoming a burden for many people who, on average, use 20 sites that require them to register and then log on afterwards.

To make these different online personas easy to manage, two-thirds use the same password for all the different sites.

Of those questioned 33% said they shared passwords or wrote them down to make it easy to remember which one to use on which website.

"We are amazed at the level of ignorance from consumers on the need to protect their online identity," said Tim Pickard, spokesman for RSA Security.

Tony Neate, from the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, said the British economy loses millions of pounds a year as a result of identity fraud.

"This can only increase if people do not become more aware of their responsibilities to protect their virtual identities," he said.

Chocolate, is password worthy
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