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deanb
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The end of this month is a critical time here in Ireland. We're holding a referendum on the European Fiscal Compact. If passed, we're guaranteed to see even greater levels austerity for the next decade. If we don't pass it, anything could happen and it could be worse than passing it, but if we do pass it, we're essentially giving away our sovereignty as the powers that be (Germany) centralise European power in the quest for a federal Europe.

 

Here's Irish economist David McWilliams giving a good run-down on the topic:

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http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120602/couple-to-wed-balk-at-extra-music-fees-120602/#ixzz1wkLDLgEi

 

The United States will welcome the business. For example... considering an international convention in NA? Well, screw Canada!

Smaller gatherings like weddings seems to be somewhat okay since they're usually under 100 people but an additional $9.25 is sort of eh. I bet this also applies to funerals too so don't play any sort of copyrighted music! Makes me wonder what, if any, exemptions there are to this fee.

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Sounds like Performing Rights Society. They can go suck a dick, fucking parasites. There have been occasions where we have had someone write music for us and then PRS have come knocking demanding money so that we can use the music that we paid someone to make on our behalf. Still at least in the UK weddings are an exception.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRS_for_Music

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Yep, same reason we celebrate Cinco De Mayo.

 

Which is funny because most people, even those of Mexican heritage that I know, don't even know what Cinco De Mayo is about or why you'd celebrate a minor victory that caused the French to regroup and send massive reinforcements to crush the Mexicans a year later and to install a puppet government. :-/

 

It'd be like the British celebrating the fall of Charleston in 1780.

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NNiHB.jpg

 

I have a question which is only semi-topical but this image reminded me of it. It's about the democratic race between Obama and Clinton. I know it was a big thing that a black president was elected in the US, but when he was a nominee I have a feeling in the back of my mind that the fact that Obama was black was secondary to the fact he was a man and Clinton a woman so it was not so much America was ready to embrace a black president as it wasn't ready to have a female one.

 

I think that also plays in to the fact that Sarah Palin was very much overrepresented in the media to the point you'd think it was her running for the presidency rather than McCcain (at least that was the impression in the UK). Of course it didn't help that she came across as stupid and mental, but I can't help but feel if someone similar but male had taken her place the results could have been very different.

 

I know this seems like American Politics but my question is in general terms and can also be applied to business. I know some countries have women in charge and so do some businesses, but they seem to need to sacrifice their feminine side (willingly or not) to get ahead and won't gain as much financially in any given position as men, and people feel safer with a male aeroplane pilot. People just seem to be more comfortable with a man in charge. So what I'm wondering is if people are more inherently sexist than racist, even if racism is more visible and does that make the sexism worse as it is more insidious.

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Wait, how does that work? If you paid someone to make it for you don't you own it and can do whatever the hell you want with it?

 

It works because they are fucking parasites. You have to get the artist to sign a waiver officially telling the PRS to fuck off.

 

(It's an area I feel passionately about).

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Any opinions on the whole Assange affair? Can't help but agree with the guy that if he gets whisked away to the US he will never be seen again.

 

He obviously needs to resolve the sexual assault / rape allegations, but I'm not sure why the "questioning in connection with" needs to happen in Sweden when he could just as easily be questioned by Swedish police in a British police station either in person or over a video link.

 

This whole thing (and the similar case of the Asperger's UFO hacker bloke) make me very uncomfortable. In fact, it does kind of make me understand why Americans are so militant about freedom. Perhaps they're right and their government can't be trusted?

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Is Sweden any more likely to extradite him to the US than the UK is?

 

Also, I agree, it seems strange that they would be able to extradite him when he hasn't even been officially charged with anything.

 

Finally, I'm not sure what this has to do with not being able to trust the US government...

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Sweden got slapped for allowing the CIA to drag a couple of terror suspects to Egypt. The suspects had nothing to do with terrorism whatsoever.

 

The US are or have been publicly involved in a number of questionable acts. Detaining people at camp x-ray without charge. Water boarding. The aforementioned "extraordinary rendition". I'm not aware of any stories about the UK government kidnapping, torturing or imprisoning people indefinitely without charge. Which I conclude either means that the UK can be trusted not to spirit people away, or they are much better at not getting caught doing it. As I'm an optimist, I believe this is due to the UK government being more trustworthy.

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I feel that the UK got less reason to do all the bad acts themselves since anything terrorism could be potentially linked to the US. Once you do that, the CIA will come knocking and do all the dirty work for you. Not saying that the UK and other countries don't have special groups that go sniffing and digging for any threat to themselves. Sometimes they do dig up stuff unrelated to themselves and they'll pass on the info.

 

That is how I feel how they would work like.

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Any opinions on the whole Assange affair? Can't help but agree with the guy that if he gets whisked away to the US he will never be seen again.

 

He obviously needs to resolve the sexual assault / rape allegations, but I'm not sure why the "questioning in connection with" needs to happen in Sweden when he could just as easily be questioned by Swedish police in a British police station either in person or over a video link.

 

This whole thing (and the similar case of the Asperger's UFO hacker bloke) make me very uncomfortable. In fact, it does kind of make me understand why Americans are so militant about freedom. Perhaps they're right and their government can't be trusted?

 

I don't know whether he did what he's alleged to have done but something about the whole thing stinks, especially the timing of it all. Not only that but that Sweden's rape conviction rate is so high, and since it's easier to get a rape conviction means it could be used as an ideal way to smear and detain an unwanted voice.I don't think the US extradition is solely a US desire however. Assange pissed off a lot of governments with Wikileaks.

 

But who knows, he could have actually raped those two women by any standard, he certainly comes across as a bit of a douchebag.

 

I believe WIkileaks, or the idea it represents, will continue regardless. Ideas don't die easily on the net.

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Oh yeah Falklands are voting on their sovereignty too.

 

 

They're voting to remain part of British Empire Friendly Neighbourhood of Countries. They're only voting to tell Argentina to fuck off once n for all(not that our Navy..well a single boat, can't do that well enough).

 

 

Well Argentina has a MILF for a president (who has a hot daughter too) so they have that going for them. ;)

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Related to that, on November 6 (same day as the US presidential election) Puerto Rico is having a referendum on whether to petition to become the 51st state or not (other options include seeking independence).

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_rico#Within_the_United_States

 

Votes about whether to petition to become a state have been held a few times before, and while they've always failed the margin has been progressively lower each time. Maybe this time it will succeed.

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