‘KC McLawson works for a cafe near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and since the body-scan and patdown controversy last November, she says her boss has taken extraordinary measures to ensure the TSA knows of his displeasure.
“We have posted signs on our doors basically saying that they aren’t allowed to come into our business,” she says. “We have the right to refuse service to anyone.”
…McLawson (an apparent pseudonym) explains:
My boss flies quite a bit and he has an amazing ability to remember faces. If he sees a TSA agent come in we turn our backs and completely ignore them, and tell them to leave.
Their kind aren’t welcomed in our establishment.
A large majority of our customers — over 90 percent — agree with our stance and stand by our decision.
We even have the police on our side and they have helped us escort TSA agents out of our cafe. Until TSA agents start treating us with the respect and dignity that we deserve, then things will change for them in the private sector.’ (via elliott.org.
“Five knee-high androids have crossed the starting line in the world’s first marathon for two-legged robots.The contest is being held in the Japanese city of Osaka.The contestants are expected to take four days to complete the course, which involves 423 laps of an indoor track.Operators are allowed to change the robots’ batteries and motors but if the machines fall over they must get up by themselves.” (via BBC News)
Same-Sex Marriage in the US
‘President Obama, in a striking legal and political shift, has determined that the Defense of Marriage Act — the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages — is unconstitutional, and has directed the Justice Department to stop defending the law in court, the administration said Wednesday.
Advocates of same-sex marriage hailed the president’s decision; critics called it a politicization of the Justice Department.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced the decision in a letter to members of Congress. In it, he said the administration was taking the extraordinary step of refusing to defend the law, despite having done so during Mr. Obama’s first two years in the White House.’ (via NYTimes)
“Liu Bolin‘s body art began when he lost his house in Beijing for the city’s preparations for the 2008 Olympics Games. He used his body to camouflage in his surroundings as a sign of protest.”
A future of socially networked neurons? ‘World Wide Mind by Michael Chorost argues that we will soon be able to wire our brains directly to one another. But would you want to?’
Apologizes for Reform Judaism remarks.‘On the radio this morning, Glenn Beck lead his show with an apology for comments he made Tuesday about rabbis of Reform Judaism. “It’s almost like Islam … radicalized Islam in a way,” said Beck. “Radicalized Islam is less about religion than it is about politics. When you look at the Reform Judaism, it is more about politics.”
Beck called it one of the “worst analogies of all time.”
“I was wrong on this … and I apologize for it,” said Beck. “In this case I did not do enough homework.”
“Somebody has called me ignorant for what I said on Tuesday, and I think that’s a pretty good description of what I said.”‘ (via TVNewser).
Image via Wikipedia
‘Quantum Mechanics or Relativity? It Depends on What “Understand” Means’ (via Uncertain Principles)
Image via Wikipedia
How will we build it? Well, the numbers at first look daunting…. But given how rapidly a modern industrial nation can build things like tanks and airplanes — as the American experience during the Second World War proves — the author’s argument that we DO have the technology is pretty convincing.” (via Class M}.
Miguel de Icaza
Image via Wikipedia
This is fascinating to me. I asked a Swedish friend of mine if he knew anyone fluent in Danish who could give me an accurate English rendering of the passage. He said that a Swedish-speaker can read Danish. (His translation of the passage is below.) He commented further:
Here is his translation of the Ekstra Bladet article:
Who or what is Gelwane? Do you know anything? Do you have a clue? Drop us a line!”
(Thank you, Sten)
![[Image 'er er Jellingestenen i computeranimeret original - FØR grafitti-hærværket. ' cannot be displayed]](http://multimedia.ekstrabladet.dk/archive/00544/weekend-6sp-jelling_544065d.jpg "er er Jellingestenen i computeranimeret original - FØR grafitti-hærværket.")
Do I have any readers who are fluent in Danish? This came to my attention today. The (very imperfect) Google translation seems to say something about the words ‘Gelwan E’ defacing a historic monument:
I have an obvious curiosity about this and would appreciate anyone who could shed any light on this for me. Can you give me a more reasonable translation from the Danish? Thanks.
Longtime FmH readers may know, from past postings here, of my intermittent interest in searching out other “Gelwans”, it being a very rare name. This incident and the post above raises an angle I had never considered; could “Gelwan” also have some relationship with “Gelwane“, a better-represented surname on the web?
Addendum: a slightly better translation from the Microsoft translation service:
” ‘ Gelwan ‘ E: Can you fix the code?
Over the weekend have unknown perpetrators painted graffiti on what are known as Denmark’s birthright, Jellingestenen. The word was: Gelwan E
Here is Jellingestenen in the computer-animated original-BEFORE graffiti-desecration.
25 cm high letters with the words: ‘ GELWAN E ‘ was written on the largest of the old stones, which around the year 965 was raised by Harald I of Denmark.
Also the smaller stones, Gorms stone, a jernkors, standing by the monuments, as well as the Church of Jelling Church, there were sprayet on.
Disrespectful
-It is clear that in the case of our historical monuments belongs to, so we make us extra due diligence to identify perpetrators. It is a culture of idiotic action, and I think not even that the kind of want to win respect in graffiti-circles. On The Contrary. It is disruptive, says politikommissær His Hoffensetz, there is a section head in should be strengthened in Vejle police, who Jelling is subject.
What? Whom?
But what does the Gelwan E-or maybe Gelwane? To search on the net you get immediately very peripheral response-there are several named Gelwane on Facebook, but they don’t work as any that might have something to do with the desecration?
Who or what is Gelwan E? Do you know something? Do you have a guess? Type including!”
Hypochondriacs have never had it so good: “In Overdiagnosed, H. Gilbert Welch, Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin argue that as definitions of diseases broaden, so do the risks to healthy people…” (via New Scientist) .
“The Offensive Internet, a collection of powerful academic essays, weighs the case that the internet offends as much as it empowers…
This is not a book for those already “living online”, many of whom may see feminism as a spent force and total exposure as harmless, even good. But it is for those who care how the internet has complicated privacy, speech and reputation, and for those who may have to rescue it from itself.” (via New Scientist).
“The Lunar New Year, or more accurately the lunisolar new year, began February 4 and in most countries that celebrate it ushered in the Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese zodiac. In China Lunar New Year is the most important date on the calendar and triggers over a month of holiday travel which is often described as the largest annual human migration in the world. Hundreds of millions tax the transport system. The new year also marks the beginning of the Spring Festival in China which continues until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day. Lunar New Year is celebrated in many countries, with many different traditions as well. Gathered here are pictures of China’s travel wave and celebrations, as well as pictures from other countries’ Lunar New Year observations.” (via The Big Picture – Boston.com.)
