Haha, OK. It's funny, but I'm unclear as to whether or not you guys are making fun of me or not.
At this point I'm still recovering from the effects of dealing with the storm of memories that flooded my brain after maniacally confirming that the sift indeed did "break up" with me.
I love this website because everyone posts such amazing stuff and in truth I have felt guilty for not contributing to the community more, but I'm not that good at that, so I'll try and do better. Wasn't there a dude on here called chaosengine from NZ who used to comment a lot what happened to that guy?
Anyway, thanks for not banning me because I really love this place.
I never created an account before because I'm a bit wary of speaking up because people here be cray cray [sarcasm] and public vilification is terrifying, despite the anonymity (so, yes I'm a real person).

My doctorate is in psychology -- a social science, which includes coursework in epistemology. I am also the executive director of a peer reviewed psychology Journal which incorporates quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method methodologies.

If science was driven purely by consensus, than the upending of long-held scientific understanding (as achieved by the likes of Galileo, or Darwin, or Einstein -- who, incidentally, upended some theories about how something as "self-evident" as gravity works -- in more notable ways and by lesser known scientists in still significant ways) would never come about. Science is not practiced by "votes," whereby the majority determines what theories are most accurate. Rather, evidence (whether it be rationally deduced, rationally induced, empirically demonstrated, or hermeneutically interpreted) serves as the basis for scientific progress, whether the majority of scientists agree with it or not.

(Climate change, itself, is rationally deduced, since empirical models of the earth are so difficult if not impossible to design, let alone run controlled trials.)

You are actually going a long way to make my point that those who are "believers" in climate change are missing the value and indeed necessity for ongoing skepticism in the scientific literature (rather than the name-calling and vilification that constitutes much of the "OMG! Climate Change!" discourse of late). That point, along with illuminating some of the citations I linked to above, is the purpose of my comment -- and not to argue (or name-call or "debate" as many on the sift waste their time doing).

I do concur that the manner in which I posted the links may not have been "fair," and so I apologize for that, but the content of the links themselves raise significant questions as to the unilateral "belief" in "OMG! [andropogenic] Climate Change!" I encourage anyone who is seriously interested in the scientific basis for skepticism around such a belief, to consider reviewing the literature cited in those links before arriving at an incontrovertible conclusion.

But in light of your request for a single link, I recommend you visit the NPCC's website and perhaps attend, specifically, to their literature about temperature changes (PDF), which I believe serve as valid refutations of the literature upon which the climate change "believers" tend to base their adrenal-freakouts.

@Trancecoach
@vadeosaft

I agree with you on a lot of these points about men, but you are using the vilification/ignorance surrounding the portrayals of men in the media to justify the portrayal of women in the media. Neither set of stereotypes is preferable, but justifying one bad portrayal by saying "men have it just as bad or worse" doesn't make for a good argument.

@Stu
I don't know what you're referring to. Here is what I found:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/emily-ratajkowski-interview-blurred-lines
This?
That's not really an explanation of what the song is about. And if it's supposed to be poking fun at those types of stereotypes, I feel they did a poor job. Come on, this is a far cry from A Modest Proposal in terms of sarcastic social criticism.

@renatojj I agree that the vilification of "profit" is also bad. I roll my eyes all the time at silly stuff I read that uses the word "profit" like the very word is sin incarnate. After all, wages are the "profit" of your labor, right?

Everyone wants theirs. I'm so tired of the finger pointing. It's always the other guy, for some people.

And. The pursuit of profit by shipping jobs overseas, @snoozedoctor, is short sighted pursuit of profit at the expensive of the health of our society. And our environment -- cheap goods means more crap in the landfill, more wasted resources.

It is a complex topic that cannot be solved in soundbites and protest banners. And the sooner we can step back from an "adversarial" relationship, the better, yeah?

I listened to my conservative brother grouse about the terrible unions for decades. He is a highly educated, highly skilled ex-military pilot with a masters degree in aerospace engineering.

And then he got his dream job, doing exactly what he wanted on a military contract, teaching Air Force pilots to fly a new plane in a simulator.

He was in hog heaven, making great money doing the thing he loved.

Then he found out that the wages he was getting paid were "low for the area." The "prevailing wage" was much higher.

He was thiiiis close to being the union shop steward.

When I mocked him (I had to, mean come on!!!) about joining a union, he said -- you don't understand. We have some government agency negotiating our contract and they did a crappy job.

Yeah, so, what you are saying is you want to band together and get a better wage? As a group? You want to have some power?

It still cracks me up. The side benefit is -- he can never ever grouse about unions again. Because when it was HIS paycheck, suddenly he got all socialist.

Because it isn't socialism -- it is the height of capitalism, really. Except the "capital" isn't money, it is information and time and skill of the worker.

I do not understand why labor is held as such low regard, while we all bow down to the God of Capital. It is such a one-sided way to look at a complicated, entwined economic system. And as I said above, it will be death of corporations. They need healthy prosperous workers as part of the engine of the economy.

Nothing is perfect in this world. But the vilification of labor is a bad bad thing.

>> ^Fletch:

>> ^pumkinandstorm:
I use reddit as well as probably 50 other sources to look for videos. I go through all these sites every day and spend hours looking for suitable videos.

Sorry, but that's just fucking sad.


At the risk of vilification, I have to say that I had a similar reaction to that statement. If someone says the "spend hours looking for suitable videos", it's hard not to imagine them as some sort of needy shut-in. Having read her comments, I'm reasonably sure that @pumpkinandstorm is not like that, but the stereotype certainly formed in my head.

In short, even if I wouldn't have put it in those words, I can see where Fletch is coming from.

Mang, that's profilin.
>> ^dag:

We all know where that leads:
http://videosift.com/talk/The-Return-of-Choggie
and then:
http://videosift.com/member/choggie?loadcomm=1#comment-989645
>> ^kymbos:
How about we have a vote on whether we invite back blanky, choggie, and some of those guys who just spewed bigoted vilification at everyone?
<ducks>

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

We all know where that leads:
http://videosift.com/talk/The-Return-of-Choggie

and then:
http://videosift.com/member/choggie?loadcomm=1#comment-989645

>> ^kymbos:

How about we have a vote on whether we invite back blanky, choggie, and some of those guys who just spewed bigoted vilification at everyone?
<ducks>

How about we have a vote on whether we invite back blanky, choggie, and some of those guys who just spewed bigoted vilification at everyone?

<ducks>

I just had a lengthy conversation with alien_concept on messenger - she wrote me - and with her blessing I'm going to put it verbatim here, so you can get an idea of where we stand:
(apologies for not having a [[snip]] here)

15-09-2009 12:32:36 Rachel Nicki i'm about to get a nap in nicki
15-09-2009 12:32:50 Nicki Rachel don't hate me
15-09-2009 12:32:52 Rachel Nicki but i just wanted to say, everything you have explained is fair
15-09-2009 12:33:06 Nicki Rachel ok
15-09-2009 12:33:11 Rachel Nicki and i think that a lot of all of us have just not understood the others sideof things
15-09-2009 12:33:26 Rachel Nicki and a lot hasn't been said so as not to hurt the others feelings
15-09-2009 12:33:42 Nicki Rachel heh, that didn't work out too well
15-09-2009 12:33:46 Rachel Nicki my reaction was what you said in the sift talk thread
15-09-2009 12:33:52 Rachel Nicki about telling secrets
15-09-2009 12:34:07 Rachel Nicki at that point whether you had said anythign about me or not, it felt like it was aimed at me
15-09-2009 12:34:20 Nicki Rachel aah, I never said anything like that
15-09-2009 12:34:31 Nicki Rachel I don't think we had any real secrets either, did we?
15-09-2009 12:34:36 Rachel Nicki "if you had any secrets with me, they're not secrest anymore"
15-09-2009 12:34:41 Nicki Rachel I'm so sorry if you felt that hit you
15-09-2009 12:34:46 Rachel Nicki no, other than the jake thing, no
15-09-2009 12:34:59 Nicki Rachel I did not tell the other sanything about that
15-09-2009 12:35:00 Rachel Nicki not that ic are if anyone knows anymore, but i just felt it was another way of abiting me
15-09-2009 12:35:05 Rachel Nicki youc an see why, can you not?
15-09-2009 12:35:06 Nicki Rachel I was just being facetitious
15-09-2009 12:35:23 Nicki Rachel yes yes, of course.. I didn't mean that
15-09-2009 12:35:30 Nicki Rachel god, I've been so stupid during this whole thing
15-09-2009 12:35:38 Rachel Nicki no nicki, we all have
15-09-2009 12:35:43 Rachel Nicki we ALL have
15-09-2009 12:35:46 Rachel Nicki it's a lesson learnt
15-09-2009 12:35:50 Nicki Rachel I really didn't want to make you feel bad
15-09-2009 12:35:58 Rachel Nicki i get that now
15-09-2009 12:36:01 Rachel Nicki ok?
15-09-2009 12:36:11 Nicki Rachel oh this is bad
15-09-2009 12:36:11 Rachel Nicki like is aid, lessons learnt
15-09-2009 12:36:18 Nicki Rachel I can't fucking stop crying
15-09-2009 12:36:22 Rachel Nicki i should have ben honest with you but i was stuck between a rock and a hard place
15-09-2009 12:36:43 Nicki Rachel I'm sorry, I'm sorry
15-09-2009 12:36:53 Rachel Nicki it's ok, look nicki, it's ok
15-09-2009 12:36:58 Nicki Rachel I only ever wanted to be your friend
15-09-2009 12:37:06 Rachel Nicki you are vilifed in this, everyone has said their piece
15-09-2009 12:37:11 Nicki Rachel we talked so much shit, that it just felt natural at the end
15-09-2009 12:37:12 Rachel Nicki you have back up
15-09-2009 12:37:36 Rachel Nicki yes i understand that, which is why i never wanted to push it and tell you
15-09-2009 12:37:47 Rachel Nicki i blame myself for letting it get that far, i shouldn't expect you tojust know
15-09-2009 12:37:52 Rachel Nicki i have to go right now
15-09-2009 12:38:00 Rachel Nicki i will bbs ok
15-09-2009 12:38:10 Rachel Nicki i'm leaving vs but it's not cos of you, it's cos i want to
15-09-2009 12:38:19 Nicki Rachel Ok, I hope you will talk to me again at some point
15-09-2009 12:51:29 Rachel Nicki so yeah like i said i am leaving
15-09-2009 12:51:37 Rachel Nicki but it's because thats' what needs to hapen at this point
15-09-2009 12:51:43 Rachel Nicki i was goin to anyway, but quietly
15-09-2009 12:51:53 Nicki Rachel ok
15-09-2009 12:51:56 Rachel Nicki then i was drunk on sunday mornign, saw your post and thought ohhh fuck you man
15-09-2009 12:52:17 Nicki Rachel can I explain that one?
15-09-2009 12:52:17 Rachel Nicki certainly didn't expect anyone elses reactions, not rasch's or beas
15-09-2009 12:52:38 Rachel Nicki so it wasn't like i posted to bring it all to light, i just wanted you to know
15-09-2009 12:52:39 Nicki Rachel I made that limerick, because I remembered all the good times and I wanted you to too
15-09-2009 12:52:41 Rachel Nicki yeah go on
15-09-2009 12:52:56 Rachel Nicki no not that post, the one in the sift up thread
15-09-2009 12:53:01 Nicki Rachel oh
15-09-2009 12:53:04 Rachel Nicki that one i was just ignoring, but i got it at the time
15-09-2009 12:53:23 Rachel Nicki i know that it had come out of nowhere, but i felt the best course of action was to ignore thinking you'd give up
15-09-2009 12:53:36 Nicki Rachel well, that one was not directed at you at all
15-09-2009 12:53:59 Nicki Rachel I promise you, the only things I mentioned about you and me, was that you didn't want to talk to me anymore
15-09-2009 12:54:02 Rachel Nicki it felt like it,t hat's all i'm saying
15-09-2009 12:54:10 Nicki Rachel and I didn't really understand why
15-09-2009 12:54:14 Nicki Rachel I do understand now
15-09-2009 12:54:28 Nicki Rachel But I really, really didn't get it after your final message
15-09-2009 12:54:49 Rachel Nicki no i gett hat
15-09-2009 12:54:54 Nicki Rachel because I had done nothing different or especially grivous between us talking fine and that
15-09-2009 12:54:54 Rachel Nicki but like i said it wan't just bea
15-09-2009 12:55:13 Nicki Rachel ok?
15-09-2009 12:55:14 Rachel Nicki it was just the level of it, and i felt you didn't understand what i was saying about me and jake, how serious we were
15-09-2009 12:55:29 Rachel Nicki but i get that our convios could have left you confused
15-09-2009 12:55:44 Nicki Rachel Well, you have said to me that it was very serious
15-09-2009 12:55:52 Rachel Nicki i am very outright and i dont have too many mimits myself, so i understand why you didnt' take it into consideration now
15-09-2009 12:56:09 Rachel Nicki limits*
15-09-2009 12:56:27 Nicki Rachel and I didn't try to become your boyfriend except way at the beginning before you told me about jake, when I was just interested
15-09-2009 12:56:36 Nicki Rachel after that it was all shits and giggles
15-09-2009 12:56:39 Nicki Rachel or so I thought
15-09-2009 12:56:49 Nicki Rachel I mean, I never tried to come over and surprise you in london
15-09-2009 12:56:56 Rachel Nicki i guess when i kept telling you that i wanted to meet up with jake first, and i got PM's from you saying that you'd fund tickets and whatnot, i just felt like you weren't ever going to understand
15-09-2009 12:57:11 Nicki Rachel I wanted to meet you sure, because I feared something like this would happen
15-09-2009 12:57:41 Nicki Rachel oh, well that was just me being a dick, that whole "be afraid" thing was meant to be with a glint in the eye
15-09-2009 12:57:49 Nicki Rachel I'm so sorry if you felt threatened by that
15-09-2009 12:58:02 Rachel Nicki i didnt' feel threatened, it's not like you know my address
15-09-2009 12:58:05 Nicki Rachel I just noticed the ticket prices when I booked the trip to texas
15-09-2009 12:58:18 Rachel Nicki i just felt like you weren't understanding my position
15-09-2009 12:58:33 Nicki Rachel I think you told me your address way back, but I don't have a record of it anyway
15-09-2009 12:58:43 Rachel Nicki and i'm either too coward or too cautious of peoples feelings to say it to you outright
15-09-2009 12:58:46 Rachel Nicki and i shold have dine
15-09-2009 12:58:51 Rachel Nicki so i take that responsibility
15-09-2009 12:59:00 Nicki Rachel I totally understand you wanted to meet jake first before any other sifter
15-09-2009 12:59:05 Nicki Rachel I do respect it
15-09-2009 12:59:10 Rachel Nicki cool
15-09-2009 12:59:15 Rachel Nicki like i said
15-09-2009 12:59:26 Rachel Nicki this is a big lesson learnt in miscommunication and prsumptions
15-09-2009 12:59:40 Nicki Rachel I hope that you won't hate me for ever.. I really liked you and was glad about our friendship
15-09-2009 12:59:44 Nicki Rachel hah, yeah
15-09-2009 12:59:47 Rachel Nicki i didn't think my post would blow so wide
15-09-2009 13:00:00 Rachel Nicki but it has, and it's all laid out and you have laid yourself out
15-09-2009 13:00:05 Rachel Nicki and that is very clear
15-09-2009 13:00:10 Nicki Rachel It was the only way I could deal with it
15-09-2009 13:00:18 Nicki Rachel but I don't think I can bear the brunt of it much longer
15-09-2009 13:00:26 Nicki Rachel it's just starting to hurt and that sucks
15-09-2009 13:00:33 Rachel Nicki copy this convo, say you have spoken to me
15-09-2009 13:00:49 Nicki Rachel ok
15-09-2009 13:00:56 Rachel Nicki explain that you realise now that you took the way we spoke to you the wrong way, and you let it bleed over into real life
15-09-2009 13:01:01 Rachel Nicki that all makesperfect sense
15-09-2009 13:01:19 Nicki Rachel I already did that just now in the thread
15-09-2009 13:01:22 Rachel Nicki and make sure you say that we have ALL learnt things frmo this
15-09-2009 13:01:35 Nicki Rachel but I will add this conversation to it, just to finish it up
15-09-2009 13:01:36 Rachel Nicki ok
15-09-2009 13:01:49 Rachel Nicki you do that
15-09-2009 13:01:55 Rachel Nicki could you edit my typos
15-09-2009 13:02:00 Nicki Rachel hah
15-09-2009 13:02:17 Nicki Rachel have fun where ever you are off to now
15-09-2009 13:02:35 Nicki Rachel and if you ever think of me with a good thought, please stop by and say hello
15-09-2009 13:02:37 Rachel Nicki and make sure you add this bit of the convo too
15-09-2009 13:02:47 Rachel Nicki bea does NOT deserve to be annihilated for this
15-09-2009 13:03:17 Rachel Nicki this is clearly an amalgamation of a hundred things
15-09-2009 13:03:22 Nicki Rachel I know that, but the accusations I've heard makes me very angry
15-09-2009 13:03:24 Nicki Rachel yeah, it is
15-09-2009 13:03:53 Rachel Nicki well then, with my blessing post this convo
15-09-2009 13:03:59 Rachel Nicki and good luck to you all
15-09-2009 13:04:08 Nicki Rachel Like I said, I can be very oblivious, but I'm not malicious
15-09-2009 13:04:20 Nicki Rachel Ok, thank you and good luck to you as well

It's not corruption, just expenses fiddling. Listen to Stephen Fry's opinion linked above. Politicians do many more reprehensible things than this, things that are much more worthy of investigation and vilification. This whole thing is just a distraction.

MYTH NUMBER THE FIRST.

I don't know if porn really cultivates good relationships, but in my experience it doesn't particularly damage them either. It depends entirely on the person...I know peeps that watch porn for the terrible plots, for comedy more than for arousal.

MYTH NUMBER THE SECOND.

True enough, some Men appreciate the male body

MYTH NUMBER THE THIRD.

This one I agree with as well. I've known people who have been addicted to porn, it happens on rare occasions. I've also known people who have ruined their lives through alcohol. As ever, its all about moderation.

FOUR

Its a Myth.

FIFTH

Yeah, I don't really think that masturbating to a red head or blonde is going to make a guy less likely to cheat on his brunette. However, some people make polygamous relationships work. Fantasising about a girl in a porno is ok even in a monogamous relationship as long as your partner is ok with it. (rare I know, but still...)

SIX

Some people can make valuable careers out of it. I'm not sure I'd want my daughter doing it, but you know, lets dismiss the myth that the porn industry is a wasted career.

SEVEN

Ha! When you meet a man that uses this one stay the fuck away

EIGHT

Hard to say, I guess you'll never know until you're a porn star.

NINE

Its a fantasy for me!


I certainly don't think porn is destroying society, and I don't think it has to be especially sexist or demeaning of women either. I don't think I'd want porn, or even sex, to become a conversation topic over dinner, I still want it to remain a little scandalous, but I do tire of the constant vilification of pornography. A massive percentage of males regularly watch pornography, and we aren't all a bad bunch. The fact that a relatively small amount of women watch porn is perhaps because so much of it is targeted at men, and this is perhaps because the entire concept of porn doesn't appeal to most women.

Out of around 1000 Hollywood films that have Arab and Muslim characters (from the year 1896 to 2000) 12 were positive depictions, 52 were even handed and the other 900 plus were negative.


This groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged form the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Featuring the acclaimed author of "Reel Bad Arabs", Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs and Muslims - from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding "terrorists" - along the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypical images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today.

Dr Shaheen shows how the persistence of these images over time has served to naturalize prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab and Islamic culture, in the process reinforcing a narrow view of individual Arabs and the effects of specific US domestic and international policies on their lives. By inspiring critical thinking about the social, political, and basic human consequences of leaving these Hollywood caricatures unexamined, the film challenges viewers to recognize the urgent need for counter-narratives that do justice to the diversity and humanity of Arab people and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture.

The following is also interesting. Taken from the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, the following montage entitled ‘Planet of the Arabs’, which was inspired by Dr Shaheen’s book, collects together some of the worst spectacles of Hollywood's relentless vilification and dehumanization of Arabs and Muslims:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm1ziIxCE8M