He totally screwed up the part were River gained or had her "powers" naturally (she was only naturally/gifted mentally, that is, she was a genius or prodigy). That came from the experimenting FROM the Alliance... Same with her fighting abilities, that was also an Alliance "gift" (to use her as a "psychic weapon"). But I think Joss already made the point IN the show that Mal was indeed a very shady person, if you didn't get that you are an idiot!

You were supposed to know that the Alliance brought a lot of great things with them, but they also stole your freedom...essentially (in exchange for a world with lots of rules).

But, what the Alliance was up to "behind the scenes" is what was really everyone's main concern--which they covered in Serenity a bit... In Serenity we found out that they had been up to a LOT more terrible things than just taking individuals like River--they were in the business of thinking they knew how to make all people "better" people...and one day they would try to institute it in force, en masse...

It seemed like the show was more a story about the civil war had the wrong side won--to some degree; I think you could make an argument for both. But it was obvious from watching that "Mal's side" was the "Confederacy", but they didn't stand for the same things, it was just that the history of things were playing out the same in many ways...and that was the point.

If The Union had been lying about a huge amount of things and started to institute policies that you went into action then they'd seem so very much like the Alliance in the show (BUT, some actions are exactly like what The Union did to Confederate "states" after the war; which DID leave them in states of welfare were citizens were left to fend for the most basic of necessities on their own--the Wild Wild West didn't just appear from comic books... Even the citizens had to fight off Indian attacks here and there and most of these attacks were born from the legacy of military campaigns and other actions via The Union (or before the States went to war--but, it's easy to see what the "Reavers" were based on, at least I assume that is what he had in mind).

Ironically, right now in our government it's doing the things that Mal was so concerned over that many that HAD lived in the Alliance regions hadn't been as worried about: slowly eroding our civil liberties, our regular freedoms are being taken away or one-by-one being hamstrung, and regulation is being destroyed allowing the corrupt to make this circle all that much worse (of course one day this cycle will just feedback on itself and create a revolution--as it always has). That is what The Alliance was doing, especially to the planets that didn't join immediately...so it does have a lot in common with our history. As The Union did do some pretty annoying and considering all of the people that needed help and were not getting anything, they actually directly killed a large amount of completely innocent people...just to punish some wealthy land owners and other people that had something to do with the Civil War. They should have taken the matter directly into their hands, but there is a lot on that as well (just like the show...why the Alliance never intervenes in the outer planets...).

God how I miss that show. I can only imagine what Joss could have accomplished in 7 or 8 seasons (maybe more). He could have made a show that could easily be written about in a college setting, about the civil war and the topics related to it. How grand the adventure could have been, except for one dickhead producer at Fox...

(*I take no responsibility for the parts of my comment I messed up on...* )


*nerd rant*

Well, it's rather difficult to address so many false assumptions at one time, so I'll deal with your first one, that she knew they weren't dealing with a burglary suspect.

Is the woman psychic? Does she know what he's been doing? Has a burglary suspect ever worked in a domestic situation?

No, you can't answer that one question with an affirmative response.

The fail is in your court.

Do all of your family talk a lot of empty meaningless crap?

This very vague comment could be applied to literally every arbitrarily selected set of a group - both you and i would be seriously fucked if everyone "stopped caring" about us as we'd have to survive off foraged and grown food/drink and self-built shelter in non-private wild areas. Every day would be a constant struggle to shelter, heat and feed ourselves. That's why we have society where people work with other people for a greater level of overall comfort. Did i really have to explain any of that? (Now imagine you don't get the same share of the overall produce of the society you're in because you've got different coloured hair..... just nevermind)

I love how unspecific the promise of the threat is. There's going to be .... a wake-up call. There's going to be some serious alarm bells people, so just ... just watch out, that's all i'm saying. Cos when this wake-up call happens, everyone will then be awoken, and there's no going back to bed, no lie-ins. But it'll only happen when people in the country "stop caring" about black people - as opposed to every other day when black people are a primary care concern for everyone. Let me point out the obvious that they are only different in their skin colour, they don't radiate psychic concern-potential; you can care about them as much or as little as every other white person you know... unless you're racist.

That self defense class I took? Where I learned some skills that are available to me to this day?

They didn't teach them to men. The class I was in was women only (except for the martial arts instructors, a mixed bag gender-wise.) But they consciously did not offer those same skills to men.

Precisely because of your advice here.Which is why they don't teach those self defense skills to men.

A little guy pushing his erect penis into my ass on a sunny day is not a physical threat to me. Hell, I could have just pushed him and sat on him, and the fight is over.

Crushing someone's genitals is not something you do unless it is NECESSARY.

It is not "either/or." It is appropriate response to the threat. It was inappropriate in that situation to physically assault that man.

Turnabout IS fair play. He did not hurt me physically. He hurt me psychically.

The appropriate response is a psychic blow back.

And if every girl was taught to stand their ground (take that, Florida!!!) with their voice, this shit would end.

Reminds me of Avatar. I watch the first trailer and think "Oh, this looks like a good flick!" and the more I think about the story and consider it's predictability and obvious stupidity, the more it turns me off. Still haven't seen Cameron's oh so great masterpiece.
I don't care much for J.J. Abrams McGuffin fetish (red spheres anyone?) or Nolans plot holes (the Joker is apparently psychic) but at least their movies don't start to look stupid when the first trailers are out. They're becoming stupid once you saw them. And you had a good time doing it, too.
I'll always prefer the stupidity in hindsight over using 10% of my brain to roll my eyes really, really hard in advance.

Your video, James Randi - Secrets of the Psychics, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

James Randi - Secrets of the Psychics has been added as a related post - related requested by Zawash on that post.

1) it's clearly not for Ellen alone. It's the 21st century equivalent of the open letter. It's meant to have mass appeal so Ellen will see it. Somehow I doubt Ellen watches every video she's sent and even if she just sent it privately...

2) that's no excuse for the condescending tone and the poorly presented argument. Ellen is no doubt a busy woman and will only ever hear a summary of this anyway.

3) Ellen is not a complete idiot. I'm sure she's aware of the criticisms against psychics. So that means she either a) believes in psychics, b) doesn't put any stock in the criticisms or c) knows they're frauds, but figures they get good ratings.

And yes, it would be fantastic if this worked. If it does, I will publicly stand up and applaud skepchick. But I really wish she'd done a better job of this. For someone who makes a living doing this kinda thing, it's just really poorly done IMO.

edit: And just for the record, I didn't realise it was Watson when I first watched it.

It's such a cheap move, to bring on a psychic... it makes her look like Montel or Ricki or Springer or any number of other fluffy wastes-of-daytime. Ellen should be above it. Good move, invoking the memory of Carson.

Definitely would.. if only she hadn't turned down the offer to take the Randi test.

From Wiki:

"In 2012, the James Randi Educational Foundation awarded Caputo a Pigasus Award for being, in its view, the "psychic" performer who fooled the greatest number of people with the least effort in the preceding year. A Pigasus award was also given to TLC for continuing to air the show.[59] In an article published by Wired Magazine the organization's founder James Randi explained why he believed shows like Long Island Medium were deceptive and potentially harmful to its participants:

Why do these pseudo-psychic spectacles bother those of us at the James Randi Educational Foundation? First, and foremost: They are not true. [...] But much more importantly to us, such performances seem to prey on people at their most vulnerable moments — those who have suffered the loss of loved ones — and these mediums use such grief to make a buck. Psychologists tell us this keeps the grieving stuck in their grief, rather than going through the natural stages of acceptance that are healthy.
—James Randi[1]

In June of that year, Caputo appeared in a commercial for Priceline.com in which she portrayed herself "connecting" with the late Priceline Negotiator character previously played by William Shatner.[60] However, this commercial has sparked controversy, since the commercial appears to make light of the Native American belief of smudging.[61] JREF President DJ Grothe issued a statement decrying Priceline.com: "It is difficult to watch the show and not feel heartbroken for those who are desperate to hear from the departed... and even more so if they are being manipulated by a charlatan." Grothe urged the organization to have their new spokeswoman take the James Randi Million Dollar Challenge and prove her paranormal claims."

Jesus, that took 5 minutes to make a point that could have been made in 30 seconds.

"Psychics are con-artists, charlatans and evil scumbags who prey on the grieving using simple illusionist tricks that any 12 year old kid could be taught in a few minutes. Stop giving them air time"

There, done. Now Rebecca can get back to being freaked out when people invite her for a cup of coffee.

Oprah is another dim-bulb that promotes these types...
Seniors, in particular, are easy prey for these con artists, probably because they've lived long enough to see friends and family die.
My mother - suffering the early symptoms of dementia - put her and her 3rd husband deeply into debt because of these creeps. After she was institutionalized, I went through her paperwork and discovered the letters that she had written to various psychics asking for help. It broke my heart -- once they had her hooked they sent her endless letters each promising to reveal big secrets to her and she dutifully sent them money time and time again.
Ellen, show some backbone...

These psychics are the worst of the worst. The idea that people willingly give them tv time is so annoying.

"Credible psychic"?!?

Now there's an oxymoron!

Like "creationist science" or "homeopathic medicine"....

I have a degree in physics. I'm guessing that English is maybe a 2nd language for you? Your explanation of mass and weight is a little confusing. With regards to our astronaut on the moon, it's the difference in weight that matters. He should be able to (approximately) lift six times the weight he could on earth.
(Sidebar: It's often been said that Olympics on the moon would be fantastic because a man who could high-jump 7 feet high on earth would be able to high-jump 42 feet high (7x6) on the moon. In fact, he would only be able to jump about half that. Do you know why? I'll leave that with you as a challenge.)

Insofar as faked moon landings, I'm 90 % sure we went to the moon. However, bear in mind that Americans didn't know their own government was spying extensively on them til last year. It's the old joke... "Just because your paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't watching you..."

Alternative 3 is an interesting study of conspiracy dynamics. I first heard of it 30 years ago. It started as an April Fools joke in Britain on a science news TV show. It was brilliant in it's conception...

Short version:
1. Global warming will lead to total collapse of earth's eco-systems in two centuries or less.
2. Global governments are co-operating to move the cream of earth's leaders, scientists, etc to bases that have been established for decades on the far side of the moon and on Mars. (Alternative 3. Alternative 1 was huge underground bunkers, Alternative 2 was huge geo-synchronous cities... both were deemed too impractical to carry out.)
3. Mars is actually very liveable. We landed there in the 60s, established bases, using flying saucer technology developed here on earth by scientists.
4. The general population is being kept ignorant of the impending disaster, our advanced technology, the true state of Mars, etc. Governments worldwide are co-operating at the highest levels to perpetuate the myth that our progress in space is a slow, laborious process. (Which explains why the Soviet Union did not expose the Apollo programs as fake...) They don't want to cause a panic while they advance their agenda.
5. They have even developed psychic assassins capable of killing with their minds via spontaneous human combustion.

Due to TV schedule changes it was shown at a later date convincing the general public there that it was the real deal. (You can actually see the original show on YouTube... you'll even recognize some of the 'real scientists' etc as British character actors if you're old enough.)

It's a long convoluted story but thanks to a couple of follow up books and the Internet which gave it new life it has now 'morphed' into this vast conspiracy that involves alien / government co-operation at the highest levels à la X-Files. (The original conspiracy did not involve aliens...)

Adding to the fun and mystery is that some real world events -- too complicated to explain here -- later played right into details of the conspiracy.

I always thought it would make for a brilliant Hollywood movie -- the original version, not the 'updated' version.