"[the] world is actually healthier, wealthier, better educated, more tolerant, less violent than it has ever been."

Not in places like Afghanistan, Libya, Jemen, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon, downtown Chicago, Detroit or Cleveland. Not in Greece. And I'm not entirely sure it's a better place for the hundreds of millions of Chinese who left their rural areas to become work nomads. Also not sure about the all the millions of people in Africa whose livelihood gets crushed by subsidised produce/corn from the West. Not sure about all the Indian farmers who are driven into suicide by the monopoly powers of seed suppliers. Not sure about India as a whole, now suffering from the third year in a row of a belated monsoon and horrific drought.

"Democracy means you don't everything you want, when you want it, all the time" ... "and occasionally comprise, and stay principled, but recognise that it's a long march towards progress"

He talks the talk, but even for a center-right guy, he doesn't walk the walk. Principles went out the window in Gitmo. Principles went out the window when the drivers behind the illegal war of aggression in Iraq were not prosecuted in accordance with the Nuremberg Principles. Principles went out the window when carpet surveillance pissed all over the Constitution. Principles went out the window when US military forces aid Al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria just because they oppose Assad. Even mentioning principles in the face of the gruesome, drone-driven terror campaigns in at least half a dozen countries makes me want to vomit.

And don't get me started on compromise. If you ban single-payer and drop the public option before negotiations begin, that's not compromise. That's theatre meant to mislead us plebs while you add an additional layer of "market" to an already dysfunctional market, which ends up profiting the insurance companies yet again.

@WeedandWeirdness

do you identify with a video so strongly as to become offended and/or irritated if someone downvotes?

@chicchorea actually showed respect by stating this video wasn't his deal.many here don't,they just downvote.

to say that chicchorea's original comment was intended to be insulting and rude may be true,but it is a presumption,with zero evidence to support your presumption.

i took it as him being a smart ass and berating himself for lacking the discipline to make it to the end of the video before down-voting.

my claim is also a presumption,based on very little.
which of our presumptions are more valid?

you seem a decent sort,and this is just a misunderstanding.
i am with @chicchorea and @newtboy on their opinions on this band.

i would say punk has changed,but i have been digging these guys for awhile:
http://videosift.com/video/downtown-boys-americas-most-exciting-punk-band

to each their own,all based on their talents and proclivities.i look forward to your video submissions @WeedandWeirdness

Oh god... this is what it will sound like when cars start doing ads to sell themselves.

"Downtown Chicago at rush hour was always bad, but nowadays it's worse than ever... however, with my enhanced 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V6, rated at 300 horsepower, I am extraordinarily equipped to handle whatever is thrown at me. Of course, if things go sideways, I'm more than ready to get right in there - I can activate my predictive forward collision warning and forward emergency braking for a stealth approach, or trust in my shadowy master to take action with my driver attention alert... or maybe I should make a statement, and test the limits of my extruded aluminum roof crossmember and additional frame crossmember. If some jumped up elitist pedestrians want to get in the way, I'm more than willing to go all in, as I roll through like a... well, like a car. The only certainty, is that my driver will get to Baby Parkour to pick up Karen at exactly 4.30."

Another issue... Uber is a taxi dispatching service for unregulated "gypsy" taxi drivers. It is NOT a "ride sharing" service.

Why?

A ride sharing service would be the Uber driver broadcasting out "I'm downtown, and I'm heading to the airport, anyone need a ride?" and if no one takes him up on it, and he GOES THERE ANYWAY BECAUSE HE HAD TO, he's ride sharing.

If he's just sitting around, waiting for a passenger to broadcast "I'm downtown and need to get to the airport, come get me." then he's a taxi.

Uber doesn't need to be regulated, but they SHOULD only deal with properly licensed, insured, and legal transportation providers. Even if that's just a one-man, one-car business.

Sweet... I don't want to be cold hearted but I will. This might be killing two birds with one stone. 1) being -private luxury crack smoking room. That's what's gonna happen... Maybe some showering... Doesn't matter to me though, the bums stink, the BART stinks, the whole downtown area of SF smells like a huge crack alcohol shit storm for being such an "affluent" city. I think this was well intended but I don't trust the "non-profits" around here especially in this "app" bubble. "Give me a huge grant because I have like the most astonishingly brilliant idea blah blah blah (pockets 25% of grant for outrageous rent costs)."

Synchronistically, six stories of scaffolding collapsed in downtown Houston yesterday and I thought to research bamboo scaffolding.

Every day in Houston. I got caught in a traffic jam there at midnight downtown.

Your video, MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS - DOWNTOWN (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO), has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

This achievement has earned you your "Pop Star" Level 1 Badge!

When I lived in Halifax we used to get a show on cable from Bangor, Maine called Frankenstein's Country Jamboree. The show's host, Charlie Tenan, would always say "If y'all wanna be on ouwa shoa come on down to numba foah fahm street downtown Bangoa, Maine". Damn, I wish some of that show was available on video.

That seems to be at my old house in downtown Phoenix.

They should change the name to Line-Con, the convention of long lines to get into huge panels that have nothing to do with comics! Seriously, if you want to get into any of those panels, you will be in line for entire days. I live in San Diego and gave up on it years ago, and will never go again unless they do something about those lines (like a lottery).

Still, walking around the main convention floor is cool (no lines, just shoulder-to-shoulder people in costume), and all around downtown are really neat ticketed events (like CONAN) at other locations such as Balboa Theater. I saw me some live @midnight with Chris Hardwick last year! And no line for that one! POINTS!!

This is a parody? Perhaps...

But... I grew up in Huntington Beach, in that narcissistic white drug culture. I am a product of this... parody? LMFAO. The white "elders" winking and nodding. So HILARIOUS. That video footage -- I know those locations, and I also know from experience and reputation that gun violence between not just whites and whites has occurred right around the location this footage was filmed. PCH, main, the pier -- fucking hell. Mostly a cool if not overcrowded touristy area -- but, it can erupt into random acts of violence. There's a freaking MMA gym on every other corner; TESTOSTERONE INSPIRED, X-GAME/MMA SPONSORED RICH ASSHOLE CENTRAL. There is a problem and it's overly meta with all of your weird perspectives outside my white ghetto.

All of the cool downtown areas of socal have this tendency though. Some of it racial between not just white people -- the Mexican girls who beat the Vietnamese girl to death in downtown Santa Ana not too many years ago, just because she photo bombed them. It's all a part of the same problem really, and not just white culture, but it still remains one side of the dice of random youth violence in the county.

The propaganda machine will say this is an all time low, but I can't ignore the fact that I grew up right there in that video and know it all first hand! And that's what news is about. Not an agenda. It's getting it right. It's funny because it's true. NOT parody -- unless treating white people like they treat the rest of people is considered "parody". That's the only parody I witnessed in this video, which is pretty incidental to me.

Certainly you understand that a mayor (or anyone, really) can request that the governor send them in. I didn't see or hear about any of that. It doesn't have to be done in front of a camera, but if it happened it would have been reported that the mayor had requested that the governor send them in...at least that's how it usually happens.

Have they been deployed now? They had not been last night, the last I saw. I can't understand how the city on fire, cops on the run and injured, and thousands of destructive looters on the streets doesn't meet the requirements, that happened early on. Instead of doing something, they announced a curfew for the next (5?) days and basically let the rioters do their thing on day one. Anyone injured is going to have a good case against the police/city/state for not taking action to stop it.
EDIT: I see now, they sent in 160 national guard members this morning (Tuesday) with more to come...zero on Monday or Monday night/Tuesday early morning.

When it's obvious that local law enforcement is outnumbered 10 to 1 or worse, and the "protestors" have become violent rioters attacking police, citizens, cars, and businesses, and lighting buildings and cars on fire, it's time. That was 3pm, and came with plenty of warnings online. There was pretty good indication that there would be exactly that problem, they should have had serious backup at the ready, they did not.

I can't fathom why there wasn't a curfew last night, there was plenty of time to see it was needed. I also can't fathom why the national guard wasn't requested (yes, I'm sticking with that being proper and normal, but not necessary) by the mayor, or why it wasn't sent in by the governor or the fed without being requested.

It really seemed the authorities could have foreseen there would be severe problems (they've been claiming they have serious credible death threats against the entire police force by numerous factions...that's enough right there to call/send in the National Guard yesterday, before the funeral). Waiting for the problems to happen, then allowing it to continue over night is shirking their duty because they're scared, IMO.

EDIT:from http://www.wsj.com/articles/national-guard-deployed-in-baltimore-amid-riots-after-freddie-grays-funeral-1430218096
Protests over Mr. Gray’s death had been largely peaceful until Saturday, when pockets of violence led to 35 arrests and caused minor injuries to six police officers.
Mr. Batts, the police commissioner, said late Monday that 250 to 300 officers assembled in West Baltimore after a social-media message called on high-school students Monday to stage a “purge”—an anarchic protest based on a film called “The Purge” that includes a period of lawlessness—at 3 p.m. starting at the Mondawmin Mall and ending downtown.
Baltimore police also said they received a threat that city gangs would join together to “take down” law-enforcement officers.

I worked in a department store once, A big one, nine floors.. (Eatons Centre - downtown Vancouver)
When we had to garbage stuff, security followed us to the Compactor, and made sure EVERYTHING that went into the garbage was first completely destroyed.
Things like Full sized ride-em Barbie cars, exercise equipment, and tons of stuff from my department. I know that literally Tons of clothing, went into the trash as well, and it ALL had to be slashed before it went in.
Security would stand there and make sure nothing survived - and if it wasn't destroyed enough, they made us break it some more.

True story.

That reminds me of the last time I was in downtown Houston, there was a street intersection with 3 starbucks, 2 on the corners, one one door down. I thought it was insane, but maybe in the morning and lunch they all fill up?