Posts made by raphjd

Actually, a lot of the DVD-Rs are shrunk so badly, that they are nearly impossible to watch due to motion blur.

If you look at the first line of my last post, I agree that only those that download the file should be allowed to rate the file.

One of the admin would have to code this in and I'm not sure how easy it would be or when they can do it since they have a fairly long "to do" list already.

I agree that only those that download a file should be able to rate it.

However, due to the recent crap over a certain studio, we won't list user names that rate files.

Ok, lets go with Scott's reasoning here.

If they are not gay, then why did the producers use the code phrase "life long bachelors" when describing them?

I said nothing will change as it was the best answer, though not completely correct.

Eventually, gay relationships will be legal in the US but it will take many more years to come.

Black centric and muslim nations will continue to be extremely homophobic.  The worst part is, we as gay men have to pay for Africa while they actively campaign against us.  No one dares stand up to them on the issue for fear of being called a racist.

hXXp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F08%2F08%2FBA191KL05Q.DTL

Great America sued over gay slur in photograph

John King, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 9, 2011

California's Great America has been sued on charges that include sexual harassment by two men who say a photograph of them was doctored in humiliating ways and then put on public display.

The lawsuit against the Santa Clara amusement park was filed Monday in Santa Clara County Superior Court by Craig Person and Edmund Yang, both of San Jose. It is the delayed reaction to an incident on August 17, 2008, that began with a ride on the Psycho Mouse roller coaster.

The two men exited past a counter where park employees were selling photographs taken of patrons during the ride. Person and Yang declined to purchase a shot showing them from overhead, holding hands.

Later in the day, friends discovered the same photograph on display at a different ride's counter - but with a thought bubble added that contained the phase "Were (sic) Fags!"

The 10-count lawsuit asks for damages, saying the men were distressed at the time and have continued to suffer humiliation and discomfort.

"They were very upset," said Elisa Stewart, the pair's attorney. As for nearly three-year gap between the incident and legal action, "complaints were made early on, and at some point Great America became nonresponsive."

A spokesperson for Great America did not return a call seeking comment.

We have a while before we consider killing them or turning them into garden pets.

First they have to do the egg laying bit for a few years.

Agreed.

There's a whole world of difference between pirating for your own use and pirating for profit.

The odd thing is he is a Tea Party member and one of their platforms is special rights for businesses, including extremist anti piracy laws.

“Senator [John] Kerry and I will continue to push for a behavior-based screening process both in the name of fairness and a safer blood supply.”

Isn't that exactly the way the current rules work?

If you had gay sex even once (the behavior), then you are banned forever from giving blood.

Oddly, I can't give blood, but they can take my organs for transplant.

We just got 4 young (pullet) chickens and I was wondering if anyone else keeps chickens.

We have all hybreds; 2 Hy-Lines, 1 Rock Star and 1 Bluebelle.  They should be ready to lay eggs in about 2 weeks.

hXXp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-14416809

Killer plant 'eats' great tit at Somerset nursery

A plant has killed and "eaten" a great tit at a garden nursery in Somerset.

Nurseryman Nigel Hewitt-Cooper, from West Pennard, was inspecting his tropical garden when he discovered one of his pitcher plants had trapped the bird.

He said he was "absolutely staggered" to find it had caught the creature.

It is believed to be only the second time such a carnivorous plant has been documented eating a bird anywhere in the world.

"I've got a friend who's studied these particular plants extensively in the wild and he's never found evidence of any of them having caught birds," said Mr Hewitt-Cooper.

"The other documented time was in Germany a few years ago and that was in cultivation, not in the wild.

'Become wedged'

"The larger ones frequently take frogs, lizards and mice, and the biggest ones have been found with rats in them, but to find a bird in one is pretty unusual."

The pitcher plant is a genus of Nepenthes from South East Asia which attracts and traps insects in a pool of liquid which it then digests.

Mr Hewitt-Cooper said he thought the great tit had been attracted to the plant on Saturday by the insects and landed on its leaf.

"I think it must have leant in to pluck out an insect that was floating on the fluid inside, tipped in too far and become wedged and unable to get out."

Mr Hewitt-Cooper has been growing carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants, Venus fly traps and sundews for 30 years, and has won several gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show

hXXp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14372698

Government drops website blocking

Plans to block websites that host copyright infringing material are to be dumped by the government.

Business secretary Vince Cable announced the change following a review of the policy by telecoms regulator Ofcom.

Website blocking was one of the key provision contained in the Digital Economy Act.

Internet Service Providers had objected to the idea that copyright owners could compel them to cut off some sites.

In the past week, the Motion Picture Association - a group representing film studios - successfully applied for a court injunction requiring BT to block access to an infringing website called Newzbin2.

The action was taken without using the Digital Economy Act, prompting some observers to question the need for the legislation.

Speaking to the BBC, Vince Cable appeared to suggest that the Newzbin2 case had opened up other legal avenues.

"We've discovered that the drafting of the original laws, which took place a year or so ago, were not tight.

"There are test cases being fought in the courts, so we're looking at other ways of achieving the same objective, the blocking objective to protect intellectual property in those cases, but in a way that's legally sound."

The government's decision to drop the DEA's blocking provision was criticised by UK Music, the body which represents musicians and record labels in the UK.

Its chief executive, Fergal Sharkey said: "Who wants to tell the 80% of music businesses that employ fewer than five people, and the thousands of artists who self-finance the production of their own albums, that to enjoy the protection of the law, all they need now is to have millions of pounds and spend years in court to protect their work."

Legal ripping

Mr Cable also announced a raft of measures intended to update the UK's copyright laws.

The changes are based on the Hargreaves Review which was set up to examine current legislation's fitness for purpose in the digital age.

One of the most significant recommendations that the government plans to implement is the legalisation of "format shifting" - where users rip content from CDs or DVDs for their own personal use.

"We are talking about big changes," said Mr Cable.

"Bringing the laws more up-to-date to have a proper balance which allows consumers and businesses to operate more freely, but at the same time protect genuinely creative artists and penalise pirates."

The business secretary said the economy would benefit by £8bn over the next few years by updating the legislation.

'Not very good law'

Millions of people regularly convert movies on DVDs and music on CDs into a format that they can move around more easily, although most do not realise that it is technically illegal.

"The review pointed out that if you have a situation where 90% of your population is doing something, then it's not really a very good law," said Simon Levine, head of the intellectual property and technology group at DLA Piper

Legalising non-commercial copying for private use would bring the UK into line with many other nations and also meet the "reasonable expectations" of consumers, said the government.

The change would not make it legal to make copies and then share them online.

The legal anomaly preventing personal "ripping" was one of many identified by Professor Ian Hargreaves in the review as stifling innovation.

One technology caught out by the law was the Brennan JB7 music player that lets owners copy their CDs onto a hard drive that can be accessed from around their home.

The Advertising Standards Authority demanded that Brennan advise customers that using the JB7 breaks the law.

Copycat

Some legal experts believe that the acceptance of format shifting, combined with relaxations on manipulating works for the purpose of parody, paved the way for creative people to use content in different ways.

Susan Hall, a media specialist at law firm Cobbetts LLP, said the changes would give many artists "room to breathe" and remove the nervousness they might feel when using another work as inspiration.

One example that would be tolerated under the new regime is the Welsh rap song Newport State of Mind which was based on Jay Z and Alicia Keys' song Empire State of Mind.

Despite winning many fans on YouTube, the track was removed following a copyright claim by EMI. It is still available on other websites.

"There are all sorts of things that are genuine artistic works which are nevertheless based on parody, caricature and pastiche," said Ms Hall.

Updated laws on copyright could have a profound effect on the popular culture that can be created, albeit one that was hard to measure, she added.

One example is that of Doctor Who writers Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat who wrote fan fiction about the time lord earlier in their careers.

Such creative synergies could become more common in a more tolerant copyright climate, suggested Ms Hall.

"Rights holders are often very nervous about things like this but when you come down to it, it's the people that buy everything who also go to the trouble of writing and creating more," she said.

"It's about riffing off, not passing off."

hXXp://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=9121&MediaType=1&Category=24

Rudolf Brazda, Last Gay Nazi Death Camp Survivor, Dies At 98

BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF
PUBLISHED: AUGUST 04, 2011

Rudolf Brazda, the last known gay Nazi death camp survivor, died at 98 in France on Wednesday, the AFP reported.

Brazda died at a hospital in Bantzenheim, France in his sleep, Philippe Couillet, a friend and associate of Brazda, told the European news service.

At the age of 29, Brazda was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp in August 1942. He remained in the camp until 1945, when the camp was liberated by allied troops.

Being gay was a crime under Nazi Germany's laws, and tens of thousands of people were convicted and sent to concentration camps. Prisoners had to wear a downward-pointing pink triangle on their jackets that identified them as gay or lesbian.

The pink triangle – which was originally intended as a badge of shame – has since been turned upside down and reclaimed as a symbol of gay pride.

Brazda moved to Alsace after the war and lived there the remainder of his life. His partner of over 30 years, Edi, died in 2003. (A video interview with English subtitles is embedded in the right panel of this page.)

In April, the French government awarded Brazda the Legion of Honor. He is expected to be buried next Monday in Mulhouse, France.

in a British lady's voice "please insert media to continue."

Actually the lady is French.

Obama, though still not ready to endorse gay marriage, says he's "evolving" on the issue and is supporting a bill that would extend federal recognition to same-sex couples who marry in the six states that allow it.

Obama supported gay marriage until he ran for the US Senate, then he changed his mind and was against it.

As the article says, everything he's claiming is bullshit; ie reading the disclaimer.

He's just using the lawsuit for get more attention for himself.

hXXp://www.tgdaily.com/business-and-law-brief/57519-republican-tea-party-leader-arrested-for-computer-piracy?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20tgdaily_all_sections%20%28TG%20Daily%20-%20All%20News%29

Republican Tea Party leader arrested for computer piracy

Posted on Jul 27th 2011 by Mike Luttrell

A heavyweight for the political Tea Party movement in the south has most likely just crippled his potential political future.

61-year-old Anthony Trinca was arrested for allegedly selling pirated versions of high-end computer software. Microsoft Office, Windows, Adobe Photoshop, and Rosetta Stone language programs were all listed as software that he sold illegally.

Trinca is the president of the Grand Strand Tea Party, based in South Carolina, which strives to spread messages about how big government is evil and that America needs to return to its conservative roots.

His software piracy scheme came to an end after one of his customers purchased four copies of Rosetta Stone software, and then tried to resell the software himself. The person he sold it to found out it was an illegal copy.

So when he tried to go back to Trinca for a refund, Trinca refused. That's when the police got involved.

Local news station WMBF reports that Trinca kept all sorts of software packages around his home. His sony Michael, 23, was also arrested for the same charge.

Specifically, both face charges of "unauthorized use or trafficking in counterfeit trademarks" are were released on $5,000 bond.

It is another blow to the already crumbling Tea Party, which didn't have as strong a presence in the last midterm election as expected, and is losing favor as the noted leaders of the movement fail to deliver on their promises.

hXxp://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/27/italy-rejects-anti-homophobia-bill/

Italy rejects anti-homophobia bill

by Jessica Geen
27 July 2011, 9:49am

Italy’s parliament has rejected a bill to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people from discrimination.

The Chamber of Deputies voted yesterday 293 votes to 250 not to approve the legislation.

Gay rights campaigners have called on the European Union to step in.

Italy already bans discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, ethnicity and nationality but campaigners say rising numbers of homophobic and transphobic attacks means LGBT people need more protection.

Paolo Patane, head of gay rights association Arcigay, told AFP: “This parliament has betrayed justice and civility and has decided to support the violent.”

He added that the EU should “help us face this extremely dangerous rise in homophobia, xenophobia and racism that the Italian parliament has decided to legitimise.”

Nicola Duckworth of Amnesty International said: “In addition to passing the right laws, authorities and politicians should set the example.

“They should promote equality and non-discrimination and refrain from and condemn derogatory and discriminatory remarks that foster a climate of intolerance.”

Italy also bars gay couples from marrying or adopting children.

Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is on record for opposing gay rights, although gay campaigners claim his alleged affairs with minors make him a hypocrite.

Last year, the Italian leader brushed off criticism, saying: “It’s better to be passionate about beautiful women than to be gay.”

hXXp://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/28/anti-gay-christian-rocker-bradlee-dean-sues-rachel-maddow-for-defamation/

Anti-gay Christian rocker Bradlee Dean sues Rachel Maddow for ‘defamation’

by Jessica Geen
28 July 2011, 2:46pm

The homophobic Christian rocker Bradlee Dean is suing lesbian MSNBC talkshow host Rachel Maddow for “defaming” him.

According to a lawsuit, Dean, who runs a ministry called ‘You Can Run But You Can’t Hide’, is accusing Maddow of making misleading statements about his views on gays and Muslims. He is seeking $50 million in damages.

The complaint stems from a show in 2010, when Maddow read out a statement Dean made on his radio show.

According to Maddow, Dean said: “Muslims are calling for the execution of homosexuals in America. They themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible, the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than the American Christians do. Because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination. If America won’t enforce the laws, God will raise up a foreign enemy to do just that.”

Dean claims Maddow failed to read out a disclaimer he made with the original statement, that he was not advocating the killing of gay people. However, Maddow did read the disclaimer.

MSNBC is calling the suit “baseless”.

In the lawsuit, Dean claims that Maddow, MSNBC and several other defendants have set out to “wilfully and maliciously” harm the presidential campaign of Republican homophobe Michele Bachman, who has supported his ministry in the past, even announcing she was praying for it.

Dean’s ministry says it brings “hard rock gospel” into schools and has a hardhitting “message of truth”. The ministry claims to promote a Judeo-Christian lifestyle, which Dean says he discovered after a “sinful” youth.

He has also referred to gays and lesbians as “criminals”.

He's just using this lawsuit to whore his hate filled message to more people.

hXXp://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/29/parliament-inquiry-to-be-held-on-religious-rights/

Parliament inquiry to be held on religious rights

by Jessica Geen
29 July 2011, 11:16am

A parliamentary committee is to examine whether changes should be made to discrimination laws after a raft of legal cases over Christian rights.

Public hearings will be held in the autumn, with MPs and Lords invited to give their views on whether current laws are adequate.

The inquiry is organised by Christian MP Gary Streeter, who tabled an early day motion backing the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s push for ‘compromise’ for Christian workers who say their faith means they cannot serve gay people.

Mr Streeter, speaking to the Guardian earlier this month, said there was a “fear” among Christians about their rights to express their beliefs.

He said: “That fear is growing, that voice is growing. There is a particular problem. In the last 12 months, we have had legal cases that provoked concern. These now need to be tackled.”

The MP for South West Devon, who is the chair of Christians in Parliament, added: “The outcome of our inquiry might be that the law needs to be nudged back in certain areas and we won’t shy away from saying so.”

“The public at large don’t care what we do but, in the Christian community, there is a measure of concern about the issue. They will be pleased to see Christian parliamentarians doing something. They will be pleased to receive some reassurance that the fear whipped up is not necessary.”

He said the inquiry would welcome submissions from religious and non-religious groups.

Although some of the Christian rights cases in the law few years have concerned issues around wearing or displaying crosses, others have involved workers who said their beliefs mean they cannot serve gay people.

Islington registrar Lillian Ladele said she could not carry out civil partnerships, while Bristol sex counsellor Gary McFarlane refused to work with gay couples.

In another case, Eunice and Owen Johns were banned from fostering children by Derby city council after they admitted they would not tell a child that homosexuality is acceptable.

Speaking this week about his early day motion, which a number of MPs have withdrawn from, Mr Streeter denied that it was about discriminating against gay people, saying: “I don’t have a homophobic bone in my body. I believe in ‘live and let live’.”

The EHRC has been harshly criticised by gay rights campaigners, secular groups and trade unions for its proposals to make “reasonable accommodations” in religious rights cases.

The commission announced earlier this month it would seek to advise in four legal cases, including the cases of Ms Ladele and Mr McFarlane.

So, the believers want the laws to favor them in their hate, but they don't have a hateful bone in their bodies.

They are only asking that their rights trump gay rights, not the rights of any other group.  That's odd considering what the bible says about slavery, women and many other groups.