Excellent video. Thanks and post more, please.

http://videosift.com/video/Parks-and-Demonstration

From a comment on BoingBoing:

"i was there that day. that's cipriani, an event space just off wall street. the cops had us blocked up in the intersection outside. the people on the balcony just happened to be there, so the crowd turned its focus on them. the angrier the the people in the street seemed to get, the more pleased the people on the balcony seemed to be. i really wish i'd brought a tomato."

I love these parodies! More please!

Why only two seconds? More please!

*meme *animation *wtf *actionpack

More please!

I'm confused. You say that your definition of "corruption" is literal "not working that way it's supposed to" but then link me to a definition that matches what I think corruption means -- actual, well, corruption.

We're not going to get far if we can't agree on the meaning of corruption. Heck, we can't even get started.

I just don't agree with any of your base assumptions, honey bunny.

I don't agree with this: "Both the institutions of US government & police don't function in the way that they claim to be designed. i.e. maximizing liberty while minimizing suffering"

And I REALLY don't agree with this: "the literal daily suffering of innocent people for no good reason i.e. dancing in protest." Those activists didn't suffer, they aren't innocent, there was a good reason. They are so thrilled they got thrown to the ground -- they set out to be thrown to the ground. They couldn't be more pleased. They won.

I'm sorry, I just don't even want to answer the two questions you posed. I can't get past the first one. "Who or what do you feel the police are protectors of? (proof?)" Google it. I don't think anything different than anyone who has had a problem and called the police for help.

I'm sorry, Genji, I just don't have the energy for this conversation if that is the question you have to ask me. I know you think that is a serious question, however for me it is proof of too big a divide between us.

I suspect we agree on many things. Citizens United, for example. I'll bet you hate that Supreme Court ruling as much as I do. The war of drugs. I'll bet you think that is a huge waste of money and human lives, just as I do. Legalization of Marijuana? I'm with you, babe.

I am more interested in concrete conversations, rather than your esoteric bent. The divide is too big for email exchanges -- perhaps if we lived in the same town, we could haggle for months over endless cups of coffee. These dueling monologues that email conversations digress into? I'd rather watch a cat fart video. And I don't much like cats.

Here's my philosophy of humans and life: "Everyone is doing the best they can in every given moment. Their best may stink, but it is the best they can do." Some people's best is so horrendous, you have to keep those people out of your life -- angry, abusive people, for example. That's their best -- I believe those folks are deeply damaged and are acting out of their pain. And I walk away from them.

But most people are just normally damaged. They have bad moments. I try not to define folks by their worst moments, but by their best. And that includes police officers.

I don't think that we can agree that police officers are human. If we can't start there, we got nowhere to go.

Sometimes I bore myself, as a good friend of mine says.... Blah blah blah

In reply to this comment by GenjiKilpatrick:
That's a really great video. It's proof of a hypothesis I had too. = D

Tho with that framing, I can understand how you may have interpreted my & that activist's cynical statements considering how.. philosophical? your definition of corruption seems to be.

For many, I think they think plain old literal "not working the way it's s'pposed to" a good definition for corruption.

More specifically - Political, Police, & Corporate were the types of corruption I was alluding to.

Now if we're discussing that video & incident from a literal view.
Literally, Both the institutions of US government & police don't function in the way that they claim to be designed.
i.e. maximizing liberty while minimizing suffering

So with that shallower, pragmatic framing of corruption; you should probably see how my intemperate idealism could make me so passionate about the literal daily suffering of innocent people for no good reason
i.e. dancing in protest

~~~
Okay, I'll stop the wall of text here in a second.

Tho I would like to inquire about a few more things.

Your & @Shepppard's admiration for the positive effects of police officers seem to be based off the concept of The Correlation of Allegiance and Protection

"Since the police do provide some protection they obviously deserve my allegience"

I'd like to ask:

Who or what do you feel the police are protectors of? (proof?)

Does the sheer willingness to protect that who or what, justify the means by which that protection is accomplished?

More, please...

Wow, that's really, really strange. There doesn't seem to be any way that should be possible... except... hmm...

The only way I think that could happen is if for some reason a video actually has a thumbnail image file stored on our CDN (even though on the Sift it is not being used), then when you update with your thumbnail, siftbot fetches the old one stored at the CDN because their servers aren't ready with your new thumbnail yet.

Assuming that actually is the issue, I've gone ahead and put in a fix so that shouldn't happen any more. Please inform if you see it happen again. Thanks!

>> ^MycroftHomlz:

To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.


Awww, come on! You can't let fact stand in the way of truth! That's evil!

To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen

The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.

Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.

Loved it, big up-vote! Want more, please. Go.

♫ You never cared for me
But did you ever say a prayer for me? ♫

When you pray for us sinners (non-Christofascists), is it an imprecatory prayer? If so, do you know any good witch doctors who can drive out the demonic curse?

(I'm saying all this with God-given certainty that the GOP is the party of Jesus.)
>> ^bobknight33:

Yep Republicans are upfront with their money while the left are so corrupt that they have to hide, launder and shield how they give and receive money.
Thanks Netrunner for showing us the transparency between the parties. Some more please.
Obama = the 1 term president - HA HA
Aren't you guys ashamed of your party yet?

>> ^bobknight33:
Yep Republicans are upfront with their money while the left are so corrupt that they have to hide, launder and shield how they give and receive money.
Thanks Netrunner for showing us the transparency between the parties. Some more please.
Obama = the 1 term president - HA HA
Aren't you guys ashamed of your party yet?


So... let us 'pretend' your argument is sound and that the billions republicans 'have' hidden dot truly exist... and while we are at pretending, let's put on our pretend pants too! You know the ones where the whole is near the anus? You got yours on yet? Good...

Now, republicans do not hide the fact that they take money from slutty Fox (Think Lingerie Football, yay!) And let us assume they take more than 1 million from other degrading and/or shady sources... And let's say that the democrats hide their assets...

Same crime, but more transparency (Which remember, transparency in no way equates to honesty, btw...) Kind of like anal raping a cow right? One republican comes out transparently, so conservatives are kool! (See, they are soo cool I spelled them with a k!) But democrats hide the fact that they have anal-raping sex with cows, which make them horrible. Btw, cows = Americans.

Yeah! Exactly! This guy bobknight33 definitely wins the argument no one's having! So eat that, you… uh… folks.
>> ^bobknight33:

Yep Republicans are upfront with their money while the left are so corrupt that they have to hide, launder and shield how they give and receive money.
Thanks Netrunner for showing us the transparency between the parties. Some more please.
Obama = the 1 term president - HA HA
Aren't you guys ashamed of your party yet?