Voxes approved by tom-jjbt's blocs

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as of just now 16 blocs
  • By mike for the
    Friday, December 20, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Beyoncé, sometimes we hate to love you, but damn! This last week, you got us, pure and simple.  We'll humbly bow down now.

    Beyoncé, sometimes we hate to love you, but damn! This last week, you got us, pure and simple. We'll humbly bow down now.

  • By mike for the
    Friday, December 20, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Ban e-cigarettes in public everywhere!

    Ban e-cigarettes in public everywhere! NYC has the right idea. And business owners should also ban their use in offices! More research is needed before permitting their general use. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/12/19/...

  • By mike for the
    Friday, December 20, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    What a ridiculous waste of tax dollars by the NSA! We can only imagine the pricetag associated with these whimsical hyper-paranoid pursuits. At a time when Americans are in need of job training, when city infrastructure is in disrepair, when the cost of education has skyrocketed, the NSA's conduct is shameful.

  • By mike for the
    Thursday, December 19, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Without wasting too much time on this idiot, we give kudos to A&E for removing Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty, even if only temporarily.

    Without wasting too much time on this idiot, we give kudos to A&E for removing Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty, even if only temporarily.

  • By mike for the
    Thursday, December 19, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    Now's the time to reform gun laws. This text message exchange between a father and his son during the Arapahoe High shooting is terrifying and heart-rending. There must be a better way forward, because the status quo is needlessly endangering our children. Regardless of what our politicians would have us believe, we believe it's possible both to respect the 2nd Ammendment and to bring sensible controls to gun ownership. (Even 69% of NRA members believe that gun show sales should be subject to criminal background checks.) We have to press our elected leaders about this, because our children should never have to text us about how well they're hiding from a school shooter.

  • By mike for the
    Thursday, December 19, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    So Target disclosed that criminals somehow accessed credit/debit card information for as many as 40 million of its Black Friday retail customers. Alright, it's settled. We gotta go back to a cash-only society. But seriously, if you shopped in a brick-and-mortar Target store in between November 27 and December 1, double-check your transaction history. This is the the kind of thing that justifies having a positive brand image. The press coverage of it has been relatively light, but we wonder how such a breach would be reported if it were to happen to more divisive brands like Walmart.

  • By mike for the
    Thursday, December 19, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Congratulations to everyone involved with P4A

    Congratulations to everyone involved with P4A (Project for Awesome) the annual YouTube tradition in which individuals upload fundraising videos to raise awareness of their favorite charities. It's supported by ProjectForAwesome.com, which hosts a voting contest to determine the 10 best videos. The winners get to split the proceeds from donations collected by the site, which has already surpassed its fundraising goal by 200% with $750,000 and counting! This kind of grassroots activism is what makes the Internet great!

  • By mike for the
    Tuesday, December 17, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    The sky is falling!! Congress is actually gonna pass a budget without delay or chest-beating brinkmanship! And all it took was Boehner having a spine, and a couple experiments by the to prove the obvious. So kudos to Boehner's nascent spine, and a hearty, forceful pat on the back of the 113th Congress for meeting our minimum expectations. For once.

  • By whattheken for the
    Tuesday, December 17, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    We believe that the NSA mass data collection program is unconstitutional.

    We believe that the NSA mass data collection program is unconstitutional.

  • By mike for the
    Tuesday, December 17, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    [Homeland spoiler alert.

    [Homeland spoiler alert.] So, after surviving two full seasons, Brody is suddenly killed off at the awkward midseason finale. Who cares that he was the most dynamic, controversial character in the story? Unlike Brody's neck, it seems the studio (or Senator Lockhart) wants to make a clean break: Saul is apparently gone (along with Carrie's unborn baby), as is the U.S. setting. And nary a cliff from which to hang in sight. That's a bit worrisome, but the show's always had some flaws, so this could be a good thing. It wouldn't be the first time a show changed course after a couple seasons and hit its stride.

  • By liladmin for the
    Saturday, December 14, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    We're excited to see more attention given to diversity in holiday representation.

    We're excited to see more attention given to diversity in holiday representation.

  • By mike for the
    Saturday, December 14, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Congrats to the >chinese for their lunar landing!

    Congrats to the >chinese for their lunar landing! They join only us and the former Soviet Union in accomplishing a soft-landing on the moon. May humans continue to explore space in peaceful cooperation.

  • By bboyatwork for the
    Wednesday, December 11, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    I and other people of color (aka non white identifying) struggle with this daily. There is still a perception of a level of measure being applied to normative culture as it being set by white Americans. Even if hiphop and other powerful native cultures to the Americas like the various Latino cultures are increasingly influential. The images we see, that are advertised or the social norms we adopt are heavily influenced by the anglo-american. This largely has to do with who controls most of the wealth in this country, but also there is a psychology of all american people to normalize to this level of whiteness in order to avoid persecution or oppression by being outside of the larger society because of political, sexual, religious or vocational choices. "White America is desperately searching for its soul because it has for so long benefited from a belief that it is apart from the rest of us, blank of experience..."

  • By tom-jjbt for the
    Monday, December 09, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Korean Friendship Bell Restored

    Korean Friendship Bell Restored We salute Ernest Lee and  the Korean Friendship Bell Preservation Committee for their their volunteer work resulting in the restoration of the Korean Friendship Bell in Angels Gate Park, San Pedro, California. The 17-ton bell was cast in South Korea in the early 1970’s, at a cost of more than $1 million, and was presented to the United States as a gift for our bicentennial. Since then the bell has fallen into disrepair and the city of Los Angeles had neither the money nor the skill to repair the bell. Several years ago the Korean Friendship Bell Preservation Committee was formed and took it upon themselves to find the funds and talent to restore the bell. When local metallurgy experts said restoration of the bell was outside their expertise they eventually identified and contacted Beom Jong Sa, the manufacturer of the bell. The Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism supported the project and paid more than $300,000 to hire the required experts including master metallurgist Chai Dong-Hey, whose mentor created the bell. We hope the city of Los Angeles will find the will and means to maintain the restored treasure that some Koreans consider the West Coast Statue of Liberty. And we hope that visitors to Southern California will include the bell in their itinerary.

  • By tom-jjbt for the
    Saturday, December 07, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Wind Energy Vs Eagle Kills

    Wind Energy Vs Eagle Kills We need a balanced approach between development of wind farms and protection of eagles. And by balanced we mean the number of “acceptable” kills must be independently monitored. Federal officials announced on Dec 6, 2013 that some wind power companies will be allowed to kill and injure bald and golden eagles for up to 30 years without penalty. The regulations include restrictions where the permits will be reevaluated every five years and could be suspended if companies are not meeting requirements. However the government is relying almost exclusively on self-reporting by for-profit companies. Are they serious? If this is the best Obama can do what can we expect when a conservative is in office?

  • By jtabije for the
    Monday, November 18, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Kobe fully practicing!

    Kobe fully practicing!

  • By lovejoy for the
    Friday, October 11, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    I think it may be time to surf the internet in privacy mode. "Today, an FBI agent can open an intrusive investigation with no reason to suspect criminal activity, and any resulting information can be kept for 20-30 years, even if it has no relationship to the investigation. Similarly, the FBI keeps so-called "suspicious activity reports" that are determined to have no relevance to terrorism – but may reflect Americans' constitutionally protected speech or other activities – for 30 years in a widely-accessible database."

  • By bboyatwork for the
    Saturday, October 05, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    Rationally it doesn't make sense to do something like this. I'm wondering what the reasoning was. Are these recent cases all going to be explained away by psychosis or someone being chemically unstable ? When it happens in other countries it's considered revolutionary...or self-sacrafice to explain the human struggle.

  • By tejadajr for the
    Wednesday, October 02, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Is this all I have to look forward to for the upcoming season?

    Is this all I have to look forward to for the upcoming season?

  • By mike for the
    Tuesday, October 01, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Shutdown plurality voting!

    Shutdown plurality voting! - Government shuts down, due to - Ideological fundamentalism in Congress, due to - Ideological fundamentalists voted into Congress by the American people, due to - Dysfunctional, big money, two-party political system generating few election options, due to - Widespread use of simplistic, poorly-representative, winner-takes-all, Plurality Voting system based on single-mark ballots, due to - It being used when the country was founded and now being ingrained in our culture, due to - Single-mark ballots being easy to tabulate by hand. Yes, in 2013, after landing rovers on Mars, sequencing the human genome, and creating a machine than can beat humans on Jeopardy!, Americans still use a simplistic system based on single-mark ballots and plurality voting because historically they were easier to count by hand! Fortunately the Constitution (and local and state law) can be changed. ;) That means it's actually on us. Do we want to move to more evolved, robust systems, such as Preferential Voting (ranked voting) or Proportional Representation (wherever possible), to create a more representative, satisfactory, efficient government? Or do we want to keep our 'merican gladiator system that produces ideological meatheads who'd rather fight on camera than solve problems? More info: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote NGO worth checking out: http://www.fairvote.org/

  • By bboyatwork for the
    Tuesday, October 01, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    How could you let this happen. Are you asking for a popular uprising? We are a bit late for an American Spring, let's hope the Empire Falls so we can quickly rebuild a true Democracy.

  • By mike for the
    Tuesday, October 01, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    Congress... You idiots.

  • By lovejoy for the
    Tuesday, October 01, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    Codenamed Marina. A year's worth of metadata is collected from internet users whether or not they are of interest to the NSA. Think that metadata is harmless information? Think again.

  • By lovejoy for the
    Tuesday, October 01, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    "To gain relief from sanctions aimed at Iran’s support of terrorism, its nuclear program, and its human rights violations, Iran would have to undertake enormous reforms across the board. The Iranian government would have to prove that it has not supported terrorism in the past six months; it would have to release unconditionally all political prisoners in the country, end its human rights violations, and establish an independent judiciary; and it would have to assure the world that its nuclear program is designed only to provide peaceful nuclear energy. These are not changes that anybody expects to see in the short term from the current Iranian government, if ever."

  • By mike for the
    Friday, September 27, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    We believe >iranians want to peacefully coexist

    We believe >iranians want to peacefully coexist with us, despite the rhetoric and actions of their government in recent history. We only want the same, so we are cautiously optimistic about the recent developments. However, until we understand what has brought about this change, we will remain guarded and skeptical.

  • By mike for the
    Tuesday, September 10, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Apple announcements = big let down.

    Apple announcements = big let down. Those of us who thought all the "leaks" of the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S were intentionally designed to throw us off the scent of a real announcement, were wrong. No new AppleTV. No fablet device. Instead, we're left with confusion in the cost-conscious market: iPhone 4S for free, or iPhone 5C for $99. Sigh.

  • By tom-jjbt for the
    Monday, August 26, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    We support those who use their time and talents for the public good. Code for America is an excellent example as they use technology to make governments more responsive. As an example, San Mateo County in California has one of the lowest rates of food-stamp participation in the country, due to a difficult application process. Changes in the process would require 18 agencies to overhaul their data-processing software. The participants want to create a program that would ask simple questions to applicants and use the answers to populate the complicated government form.

  • By mike for the
    Monday, August 26, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    The War on Terror encompasses a war of attrition on civil liberty. Two recent TSA stories show this. In the first, a person is held for 6+ hours by the TSA, guilty of having bed-bug spray on him, practicing an unfamiliar religion (Hindu) and being of color. <http://orenhazi.com/defeated.html> In the second, an individual legally opt-out of the (arguably invasive) submillimeter body scan, only to stand waiting for a pat-down indefinitely. After 30 minutes, America one; the man subjected to submillimeter scan. <http://orenhazi.com/defeated.html> These stories should never have occurred, but they're mundane enough for us to simply accept them, maybe as necessary evils. To do so is to be desensitized to an inversion of power wherein the government does not serve its people, but the people serve their government. It's up to every individual to hold steadfast to a vision of a better possible world, despite the plethora of pernicious actions and policies encouraging us to let go.

  • By liladmin for the
    Sunday, August 25, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    We cannot wait for the return of Homeland and are curious to see if the show will touch upon privacy issues that have recently come to light in America.

  • By bboyatwork for the
    Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    New or a rehash of the same old ? I'm hoping for something fresh and it just launched today. I will give it a week of steady watching, but some suspect it to be a more polished version of CNN... Al Jazeera English had an bias - but it's always nice to see an outside America or more critical perspective. This show will be funded by money from outside the US, but made by those who reside in the US. I hope a beneficial combination for those who are able to subscribe to this channel. They started off on a bad foot though, banning content basically from the other Al Jazeera networks around the world... america.aljazeera.com

  • By mike for the
    Monday, August 19, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    The British government (aka the US’s very own Mini-Me) has taken to intimidating the *friends and family* of disruptive journalists! This appalling, abusive violation of free speech resembles the very worst from repressive democracies like Russia! So, when's our first gulag opening?

  • By mike for the
    Wednesday, August 14, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    >egyptians, what's the history behind the distrust between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian military? And do you believe that a political military is compatible with a pluralistic democracy? The >americans hope you find a way to build toward a sustainable peace quickly.

  • By mike for the
    Tuesday, August 13, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    True, NYC hasn&#39;t been this safe in decades. But it&#39;s worth nothing if everyday privacy and dignity are the cost.

    True, NYC hasn't been this safe in decades. But it's worth nothing if everyday privacy and dignity are the cost.

  • By mike for the
    Tuesday, August 06, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    There is no question that child abductions are tragic, and that Amber Alert phone notifications (part of the national Emergency Alerts System) are a great idea. But the implementation of this notification program is terrible! iPhone users were jolted awake several times last night by their phone's "Alarm" ringtone, which is designed to sound like a 1950s military base under threat of imminent attack. On iPhones, the Amber Alert system uses this specific ringtone at full volume, even when in Silent Mode or Do Not Disturb is activated. Unless a tsunami is about to wash Los Angeles into the ocean, common sense tells us that particular sound is not necessary or appropriate, especially since it can be triggered in the middle of the night while people are sleeping. It's an all-or-nothing design, where the only option one has is to opt-out entirely. Given the ringtone choice, it wouldn't be surprising if many people did opt out. The poor decision to use this particular ringtone is a lesson in the importance of getting the details right.

  • By mike for the
    Tuesday, August 06, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    Another Netflix hit worth binge-watching! Orange is the New Black is worthy of the praise that has been heaped upon it. It deftly hits an array of notes and makes extreme circumstances readily identifiable. [SPOILER ALERT] She goes to prision!

  • By mike for the
    Monday, August 05, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    Even if indie electronic is your thing, it's hard to deny The Naked and Famous create with consistent focus and detail, as they have again exemplified.

  • By mike for the
    Monday, August 05, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    Apparently local law enforcement agencies use privileged data to trigger investigations. They then conspire to cover this up by fabricating a fake basis for the investigation. It's frustrating to think that the people that actually carry out these procedures daily believe they are doing it for the greater good. Their conception of liberty is so misguided and far from historical perspective, they don't realize they're destroying exactly what makes this country great. But capitalism has made convenience the dominant pillar of our culture. Corporations take care of our dreams, religions take care of our fears, and politicians take care of the dissent.

  • By mike for the
    Sunday, August 04, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    Regarding the Venice beach mow-down, we can't help but wonder why more effective vehicle barriers are not in place at the Boardwalk!

  • By mendeza for the
    Sunday, August 04, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    OK, feedback for Michael. - Don't force these little boxes to scroll just to achieve consistent rows - it isn't worth the annoyance to the user - Instead try something like isotope.js - http://isotope.metafizzy.co/ - Would be good to support Github-flavored Markdown (or at least Markdown) - Make it more obvious how to add posts - I guess this is pedantic, but the plural of _vox_ is _voces_ - Don't pretend to be real New Yorker, you California boy ;-) - I am so proud of you for hanging in there with this project; you are a true patriot and citizen I'll try this on phone and tablet and report on those experiences later.

  • By mike for the
    Sunday, August 04, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    So the NSA has all this surveillance data of American citizens and other law enforcement agencies want to get their hands on it. We're not willing to applaud the NSA just yet for (allegedly) withholding that data. And we can't help but wonder how long it will be before all this infighting leads those other agencies muscle their way into telecom and ISP equipment to get their own piece of the action. We must continue to apply political pressure to end the madness. Those legislators that want to gut the NSA deserve our support!

  • By mike for the
    Sunday, July 14, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    Stand Your Ground laws make no basic sense! It's illogical, unfair, unjust to hold that a person has a right to start a fight with another and, if the fight turns starkly in favor of the other, to then kill that person. Such laws need to be repealed!

  • By bboyatwork for the
    Thursday, July 11, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    Why wouldn't one comment on something that is open to the public for review? I'm not surprised that this codes implementation has happened, it's just the lack of transparency bothers me. 'Vines wouldn’t say whether the agency’s work on Android and other software is part of or helps with Prism. “The source code is publicly available for anyone to use, and that includes the ability to review the code line by line,” she said in her statement. '

  • By bboyatwork for the
    Sunday, June 23, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    If we are >americans-for-liberty do we trust companies that we send a lot of personal and real time information to - through paid or free services through contract - or is it because the government is storing this information in secret that our reaction is so averse? Has our relationships with private interest and government interest completely changed ? Which gives us more liberty ? https://medium.com/surveillance-state/a3f8a9988... "The state uses ever more advanced surveillance technology to watch us, and our own ever-greater use of personal technology makes it possible. On the other hand, technology has fundamentally destroyed the state’s ability to control our access to information, and exposed its bureaucracy to unprecedented scrutiny. This may be the death of privacy, but perhaps it’s also the death of secrecy and impunity. In that respect, fortunately, Orwell was wrong. Thanks to technology, Big Brother may be watching us, but we’re watching him too."

  • By whattheken for the
    Friday, June 21, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    We the >americans-for-liberty believe that the NSA wiretapping program should be much more limited in scope, and that Snowden should not be prosecuted. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfUi5C7WdrA

  • By bboyatwork for the
    Friday, June 21, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    Worried about your eyes melting while staring at the computer screen for hours on end? No fear f.lux is here --> justgetflux.com Your eyes will thank you later ;)

  • By mike for the
    Wednesday, June 19, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
    Hey &gt;brazilians! What are the issues leading to your riots right now? What do you hope to change? Inquiring Americans want to know!

    Hey >brazilians! What are the issues leading to your riots right now? What do you hope to change? Inquiring Americans want to know!

  • By mike for the
    Monday, June 17, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    In this new era of ubiquitous surveillance, we're considering simplifying the Blocvox sign-up/login page by removing that pesky password requirement.

  • By mike for the
    Friday, June 14, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.
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    When the branches of government collaborate to set a few well-placed wrenches in its innermost works to break the mechanisms of public accountability, civil disobedience becomes a moral necessity. So, indeed, Edward Snowden /is/ a hero.

  • By mike for the
    Wednesday, June 12, 2013 Login to agree. Login to disagree.

    Super major props from us in the blocvox-troopers to the good folks of the >soundcrowd for being the first new bloc of the re-launch!! *collective high-five!*