If you haven't heard Obama's election speech, it's on BBC video in its entirety. I was teary to begin with, but I began to cry when I saw Jesse Jackson in the audience. It's hard to believe; we can let go of our despair and cynicism. We can dare to hope again.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7710079.stm

This is the kind of thing that makes me embarrassed to be an American. You'll note it's being reported in the foreign press. My local paper puts pro sports scores on the front page; international news and real issues barely exist.

"An Indiana teacher who used a much lauded bestseller, The Freedom Writers Diary, to try to inspire under-performing high-school students has been suspended from her job without pay for 18 months."
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2288658,00.html

In the anime world, Toshokan Sensou is winding down its tale of censorship and resistance. Here's the Japan Library Association statement that was the inspiration for the original novels:
JLA Statement of Intellectual Freedom in Libraries

Thanks to tbll57 for the Brit news, and to haya5h1 for the link to the JLA's English translation!

Thanks to emungere for this hysterical link. I laughed so hard that my iBook fell out of my lap when I let go to applaud. (It's OK; I hang out on my futon.)

Apple iPhone: The Music Video
by David Pogue

Warning: the true story is harsh and violent and difficult to read.
What Happened to Aaron Hall?
Paxnirvana said:
A group of men in a small town in Indiana brutally beat and tortured one of their friends to death. Their defense seems to boil down to "he was gay and he hit on us," so they beat him for 24 hours straight, and then shot him with a shotgun. Funny thing is, Aaron Hall wasn't gay, and everyone in his small town knew it. But the disgusting vermin who beat him to death seem to think that claiming "he hit on us" will let them get away with murder.

Sometimes I hate my country, when the dominant culture is arrogant and hurtful and so very horribly wrong. This is one of those times.

I can't speak more; I'm angry and upset and nauseated and full of hate myself right now. But I'm taking action to support the Human Rights Campaign... it takes only seconds to send an online letter if you live in the U.s.. I hope you'll take some kind of action of your own, whatever that may be.

I've been reading some of moonsilver's fun fics, and wanted to comment about the unlimited youkai forms of characters in Minekura's Saiyuki books.
( Read more...Collapse )
For another view of the Monkey King and the original story, check out
http://www.wku.edu/%7Eyuanh/China/tales/monkey.html.

cross-posted to saiyuki

Kind of weird. I went from a LJ FAQ to the console to change my security level to Friends-Only for future entries, and now I can't get back to that link. The FAQ is still there, but the links to change security level and to add a banner saying "Friends Only" are dead now. I also can't find the console or the console commands again. WTF?

With apologies to anyone inconvenienced, I'm making many entries Friends Only because of concerns about the new corporate involvement in LJ. I know, they can still search our interests and groups, and I can't control them like I can my cookies. *sigh*

"There are some words which I have known since I was a schoolboy. With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably. These words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie -- as a wisdom, and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged."

My comment when signing LJ Privacy Petition:

I agree completely, but I fear LJ is committed to becoming just another corporate mining tool. Thanks for your time researching the issues and lobbying to protect our privacy. I hope LJ takes appropriate action, and if they do not, I hope people are able to move our forums and activity to another blog that still holds to the early spirit of the Internet and the old LiveJournal.

kinsugi
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Six Tips to Protect Your Online Search Privacy from EFF!