From the category archives:

Crime & Punishment

That apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

Joe Stack’s adult daughter, Samantha Bell, spoke to ABC's “Good Morning America” from her home in Norway. Asked during a phone interview broadcast Monday if she considered her father a hero, she said: “Yes. Because now maybe people will listen.”

via Daughter Calls Pilot in Texas Plane Crash a Hero – Local News | News Articles | National News | US News – FOXNews.com.

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What do you think of remix culture? Is the concept of plagiarism outdated? Should it be outdated?

Ms. Hegemann finds herself in the middle of a collision — if not road kill exactly — between the staid, literary establishment in a country that venerates writers from Goethe to Mann to Grass, and the Berlin youth culture of D.J.’s and artists that sample freely and thereby breathe creativity into old forms. Or as one character, Edmond, puts it in the book, “Berlin is here to mix everything with everything.”

via Author, 17, Says It’s ‘Mixing,’ Not Plagiarism – NYTimes.com.

I’m all for remixing, mashups, and creative plagiarism – provided its done with proper credit and attribution, and respectfully of other artist’s rights where applicable. Hegemann erred in presenting the work as exclusively her own, not the literary remix that it apparently is.

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Racist parents lose custody of children – thank goodness

February 12, 2010

The bizarre case dwelled on Norse mythology, decoded Hitler references and heard a seven-year-old girl’s graphic description of how to kill black people.
via Alleged racist parents lose custody of children – The Globe and Mail.
It doesn’t sound like Mom was particulary interested in custody anyway, as she skipped town and province as soon as CFS [...]

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Dramatic Images of World Trade Centre Collapse on 9/11 Released – AOL News Canada

February 10, 2010

The images from that day never cease to be striking. I’m not sure why the NYPD would need to keep these particular photos under lock and key for 9 years.
Images taken by police helicopters capturing the collapse of the World Trade Centre buildings have been released. The dramatic images capturing a cloud of smoke and [...]

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Dead man found in landing gear | News.com.au

February 10, 2010

Finding dead bodies in landing gear is tragic, but not as worrying as the fact that apparently airport perimeters are porous enough for people to get into restricted areas and up into a plane’s landing gear. Note the flight’s origin was NYC.
JAPANESE authorities have found the body of a man in the landing gear of [...]

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The War on Terroin

October 28, 2009

I listened to a fascinating BBC World Service podcast the other day on Taliban & Al Qaeda’s finances. The thrust of the show was that an unintended consequence of an effective global crack-down on terror financing (freezing of accounts, prosecution of dubious “charities,” etc.) has been to drive terrorist organizations to criminal activity to finance [...]

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Cocaine Vaccine: Would you vaccinate all convicts?

October 7, 2009

It worked on 40% of a study group. Given the costs of addiction in society – everything from healthcare, to the criminal industry that grows around it, to the damage to people and families – the concept of vaccinating against addictions seems profoundly beneficial.
“In clinical practice, you’d probably give people a booster shot every two [...]

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Legalizing organ sales: one way to reduce waiting lists

July 21, 2009

UPDATE: Also see this follow-up post on a 22 year old alcoholic denied a transplant and now dead.
Doctors proposing that selling your organs need not be illegal: This article will make you think. It tells the story of a somewhat schizophrenic homeless American man, recruited to sell a kidney in Houston, and along the way [...]

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Deep Throat: The FBI vs. the Sexual Revolution

June 20, 2009

An interesting article on the battle fought by the FBI against “Deep Throat” – apparently the first “mainstream” pornographic film (I haven’t seen it). Fascinating from the standpoint of roles – i.e.: the degree to which policy shapes culture and empowers organizations like the FBI to become culture police. What’s your take: moral values through [...]

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Smart Move or Nanny State? Britain’s Anti-Stab Knife

June 16, 2009

Kitchen knives are apparently the most commonly used murder weapon in Britain, absent firearms. Fortunately, there’s now an alternative.
Up next: blunting the “pocket terror” of stabby pens and pencils, and forest patrols to elimate pointy sticks. I’m on the “nanny state” side here: if someone wants to do grievous harm, they’ll find a way, regardless [...]

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