News & Not News Megathread

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Proj2501 said:
I can agree with the former part of your statement. It does show how far we have come in a myriad of ways. However, I would like to know who the other nominees were and what their accomplishments were. I mean, the people elected Obama. Whether or not he truly deserves this Prize is debatable. While I don't HATE him (I'll say I'm a little disenchanted with him these days) I honestly don't feel he's truly earned it yet. Hopefully in the future he shows he was worthy of winning it.

I've been disenfranchised with him as well, though maybe not for the same reasons, or maybe for the exact same one; he's not going to live up to our ideal of him. But, you make it sound like Obama had nothing to do with getting elected President, like that wasn't an accomplishment and he's just some bum we picked out of a hat or that won the lottery. As for other nominees, you could always look up that information, but that's where I question where all this scrutiny and qualifying of the award comes from when people obviously don't even know or otherwise care about that. It's not like people are aware of the past winners or why they won, let alone question or criticize it. How about last year's winner, Martti Ahtisaari? I know you instantly were comparing Obama's resume to his in your head after the announcement, right? And what about Martti, anyway, did he really deserve it!? What about Muhammad Yunus, Wangari Maathai, or Shirin Ebadi? Who was nominated with them!? It's just absurd, as absurd as the idea Obama won this for anything other than his getting elected President, what that stood for, and the awareness it brought to issues he championed or the overall cultural/political awakening that occurred during the process of his election, which I find all the more remarkable considering where we stand today; which, feels like two steps forward, and one back. It's as absurd as the idea that that's somehow not worthy of a prize.
 
グリフィス said:
As for other nominees, you could always look up that information, but that's where I question where all this scrutiny and qualifying of the award comes from when people obviously don't even know or otherwise care about that.
So, did one have to have always been intrigued by this event to take part in this conversation? Isn't it good enough that this may spark interest in next years' Nobel Peace Prize Awards? In fact I remember Gore winning and thinking how I thought he deserved the award. I'm not going out of my way to bash Obama, maybe I should make that clear. I just made need to read or listen to more to drive home a point I may be missing.

グリフィス said:
But, you make it sound like Obama had nothing to do with getting elected President, like that wasn't an accomplishment and he's just some bum we picked out of a hat or that won the lottery.
Of course he had something to do with it. I think it's safe to say the Republicans had quite a bit with getting Obama elected. They made themselves look SO bad in the Bush years that Obama represented in a plethora of ways the polar opposite of what we had come to loathe (at least to me he did).

グリフィス said:
what that stands for, and the awareness it brought to issues he championed as his own or the overall cultural/political awakening that occurred during the process of his election
It was good to see so many pay attention and take part in this election. I just hope he makes good on his promises and doesn't create a sea of young cynics who will feel let down when he turns out to be 'just another politician'.

I did vote for Obama. Hindsight is 20/20. Perhaps if I could vote again, I would vote differently.
Like I said in my previous post, I've become disenchanted. But don't read that as, "Oh I fuckin' hate him." More time has to pass before we can really see the impact he makes.
What happened to bringing the troops home? It looks like we are clearly gearing up for Afghanistan.
Health care needs reform. Absolutely. But not the type he seems to be pushing. (My family owns and operates a small business. We aren't allowed to collect Unemployment. We pay extremely high premiums for health insurance. We make sacrifices to do so. Myself, only recently. I choose to pay much more money for a PPO. I wish I didn't have to shell out money for times in case I get sick. I wish I could blow it on things I want. But there have been times I've gone out of Network for surgeries with fantastic results. I feel I get what I pay for regarding my health. IF socialized medicine is passed, I can take the lesser Public Option OR pay even HIGHER PREMIUMS for my current Health Insurance. )

When he has another BEER SUMMIT with Israel and Palestine THEN I'd say he's worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Who am I kidding, it's only a matter of time before our troops are sucked into another sandy hell hole.

What bothers me lately is how people are treated for even questioning Obama's actions. I can only speak for myself. I hated Bush. Really. Now that I am kind of seeing some bullshit being spewed by Obama and speaking my mind on it (as I did with Bush the Clown), I feel like people are looking at me like, "How could you?"
It's simple. Republican or Democrat, they are all looking out for their own. I don't see a glory boy here. Sorry. Again, hopefully he does things that are as monumental as us Americans voting for him.

We should always scrutinize the government.
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
I think whether or not Obama deserves it isn't really that important at this point. The fact that he now has the Nobel Peace Prize will put pressure on him to earn it. He's a wartime president and this is a way of the world saying that he now must do the right thing and deserve the "peace" prize that they gave to him. Your totally right Griffith, looking at the people that have won the award in the past or those that were nominated really can take away some of the glamour that goes with winning it. However as Americans I think we should be proud that another American has won the prize, you have to imagine what Obama represents to the rest of the world. Going back to what Aaz said earlier, the Bush reign of terror is over and things are changing, its started already.

So like everyone else I had a little wtf? moment when I read the news, but it's a good thing overall and now the ball is in his court. The last 8 years have been of fear, terror and war and now we are showing the world that we as a people can elect someone like Obama who is now taking a different approach. This isn't just Obama's award, being the President its really a point for the whole country. He even said that he was surprised he won but that he will accept it and try to deserve it best he can.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Proj2501 said:
So, did one have to have always been intrigued by this event to take part in this conversation? Isn't it good enough that this may spark interest in next years' Nobel Peace Prize Awards? In fact I remember Gore winning and thinking how I thought he deserved the award. I'm not going out of my way to bash Obama, maybe I should make that clear. I just made need to read or listen to more to drive home a point I may be missing.

I was just pointing out how relative and seemingly arbitrary it can be, whether you think it's arbitrary he got it, or arbitrary that people would complain. As far as generating interest in the award, etc, it's obviously a brilliant choice, also it's a smart kind of pressure to put on him, to define him this way and have him trying to live up to it. Interesting what you said about Gore, I didn't mention him in my example because he's so famous, but he was the last major example of people grumbling about deserving or not.

Proj2501 said:
Of course he had something to do with it. I think it's safe to say the Republicans had quite a bit with getting Obama elected. They made themselves look SO bad in the Bush years that Obama represented in a plethora of ways the polar opposite of what we had come to loathe (at least to me he did).

Agreed, his rise seemed as perfectly timed and coordinated as Griffith's, let's just hope...

Proj2501 said:
It was good to see so many pay attention and take part in this election. I just hope he makes good on his promises and doesn't create a sea of young cynics who will feel let down when he turns out to be 'just another politician'.

I did vote for Obama. Hindsight is 20/20. Perhaps if I could vote again, I would vote differently.
Like I said in my previous post, I've become disenchanted. But don't read that as, "Oh I fuckin' hate him." More time has to pass before we can really see the impact he makes.
What happened to bringing the troops home? It looks like we are clearly gearing up for Afghanistan.
Health care needs reform. Absolutely. But not the type he seems to be pushing.

When he has another BEER SUMMIT with Israel and Palestine THEN I'd say he's worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.

... he doesn't bring about an age of darkness, tarnish the legacy of what he's already accomplished, and make this award a great irony. Still, even given that unfortunate potential, this is where I disagree with you. I see the prize and his Presidency thus far as separate issues, and I think he's overqualified for the award frankly, clearly so by their own loose definitions of it. Certainly if Al Gore was deserving for the awareness he brought to climate change, Obama is too for the cultural awakening he was figurehead of, as well as a number of issues, such as his efforts for a nuclear free world. Again, it's all very relative, and in Obama's case there's so much expectation and unfulfilled promise it's hard for people to swallow that he's accomplished great things when there's still even more on his plate. The standard by which he is to be judged historically is nigh incomparable, and I'd be impressed if he gets a C. I think what sums it up best is a sarcastic comment I heard paradoying the Nobel backlash, "Obama doesn't deserve the peace prize until he achieves REAL World Peace like he promised!"

Proj2501 said:
What bothers me lately is how people are treated for evening questioning Obama's actions. I can only speak for myself. I hated Bush. Really. Now that I am kind of seeing some bullshit being spewed by Obama I feel like people are looking at me like, "How could you?"
It's simple. Republican or Democrat, they are all looking out for their own. I don't see a glory boy here. Sorry. Again, hopefully he does things that are as monumental as us Americans voting for him.

Haha, you should talk to my friends in Santa Cruz, they already hate Obama more than Bush! :ganishka:
 
Well if anything it's good that we all take the time to talk about the world around us. I respect those WITH opinions. Even if they may differ from my own. It's those who don't have any or choose not to care that really disgust me.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Yeah, a good exchange between you and I, Proj, and great post, Oburi. Plus, I haven't made a pro-Obama post since before the election! Whew, refreshing. =)



http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/10/watercar-python-is-a-hot-rod-for-land-and-water/?npu=1&mbid=yhp

HOLY SHIT! :isidro:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.balloon/index.html

This is just ... bizarre.

A runaway balloon has touched down in Colorado after a 6-year-old boy untied it from his family home in Fort Collins. The dome-shaped balloon is 20 feet long and 5 feet high, Larimer County Sheriff's Office says.

The boy was not inside the helium aircraft when it landed, CNN affiliate KMGH reported.
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
So the kid was in the balloon when he untied it? Well then yea that's pretty tragic considering he could have fallen out anywhere. Its like a bad dream.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
They just started talking about this on the radio. Either he fell out of the balloon while it was airborn or he let the balloon go and is hiding out somewhere. They were looking for a few kids about a month ago who disappeared and it turned out they were hiding in the woods because they were afraid they'd get in trouble. They even avoided search parties looking for them. I wonder if the same thing is going on this time around. I hope so, it would be awful if the kid fell out of the balloon and is lying dead somewhere. :sad:
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
I actually just saw this on the news, I doubt the kid fell off, not out of that type of balloon. Its likely he was never in it when it left the ground, h'es prolly hiding out somewhere.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Yeah, they found him, happy ending, but surprise, this isn't the first time the kids have been in potential danger. =)

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AheadoftheCurve/richard-heenes-business-partner-kids-put-danger/story?id=8839052

The parents were also on ABC's "Wife Swap."
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
Well it was a good distraction. Kid watched Die Hard too many times. "How can they look for you if they think your already dead"?- Hans Gruber
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
So anybody else think this whole thing was a hoax? I heard some audio this morning on the radio and the way the kid answers the reporter's questions makes me a bit suspicious. The guy interviewing the family asks the boy why he didn't come out when he heard people shouting his name and looking for him and the kid says something like, "Because...they said...it was...for the show..." The dad's reaction is pretty priceless, he sounds like he's backpeddling like crazy.
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
Walter said:
People need to stop reporting on this mess, because it is a nonstory. :azan:

yea really. It'd be interesting if the kid was still missing or if at least actually went for a balloon ride.
 

Scorpio

Courtesy of Grail's doodling.
zrexe said:
Speaking of balloons, here's another story about a balloon haha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKg9zUgu0Lc&feature

A good friend of mine and a 'pool supporter says he will never play with a beach ball again.
 

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
Not that this is actually news or anything, but I found this story really interesting.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-dui-arrest,0,7127412.story
Woman Arrested for DUI Twice in One Night
KTLA News
1:06 PM PDT, October 13, 2009
A 33-year-old woman has been charged with driving while intoxicated twice in less than five hours.

Police stopped Talitha Gorea just after 7 p.m. Monday for vehicle and traffic violations and found her with an open container of alcohol and an ecstasy pill.

Gorea was charged with drug possession and DWI for having a blood alcohol content level above the legal limit.

She was released to a family member and given an appearance ticket.

Four hours later, police reported seeing Gorea speeding in the wrong direction on a one-way street and she was arrested.

Police say her blood alcohol level again registered above the legal limit.

Gorea was being held in jail pending her arraignment Tuesday.
 

Grail

Feel the funk blast
She must be a real favorite at family get-togethers. :iva:

All jokes aside, it's pretty scary that something like that can happen. I wonder exactly what that particular family member was doing while she was out on her second joy ride. :schierke:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
http://www.katu.com/news/local/65957522.html

Wow, just read it, so many eccentric little details.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
グリフィス said:
http://www.katu.com/news/local/65957522.html

Wow, just read it, so many eccentric little details.

The ending is killer. The poor dude just loves ice cream. All he wanted was ice cream... IIIIIICE CREEEAAAAM. :mozgus:
 
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