Posts by Ben Austin

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  • Hard News: Awful in more than one way,

    duh repetition, teach me to scroll up and read

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: Awful in more than one way,

    This would get covereage regardless of the actual means, just because Virginia happens to be in a hugely competitive media market with ready access to airports, hotels, and a high degree of safety (lol?). So it is easy to cover, to send reporters to. Then it spreads rapidly because other media sources are hungry for ready made, self publicising news stories that have plenty of human interest + horrible glossy photos.

    Call me cyncical but people prefer to hear news stories about people they can empathise with easily, and english speaking kids at a university in a western country is familar, at least compared to say a mine explosion in China.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: Awful in more than one way,

    Is it just me or are the parallels drawn with Iraq, or indeed other violent deaths that happen daily both obvious and needless? We all know here that lots of people die in Iraq through violence, we know that is bad, we know that it was in large part caused by American action, but do we need to talk about it here in this thread about a college massacre?

    I don't think so.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Stories: Life in Books,

    I just got rid of a huge amount of books, in anticipation of a move, and wow, it is hard to do. Although some how I'd managed to accumulate a rather large collection of pulp/junk fiction.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: Biting back at Bill,

    A while back I decided to believe that ad writers were all being tongue in cheek/ironic/playing a joke at the world/frustrated doctoral students. The alternative, that being that their copy is meant to be serious, was too hard to swallow.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: Art and the Big Guy,

    If this is just an expansion of the regime currently benefiting other copyright creators (therefore a fairness issue) then I guess I support it.

    If it has proved workable in other jurisdictions then I'd probably support it.

    If it puts power in the hands of the artist, rather than making them dependant on say the government then I'd support this.

    But for 50 or 70 years? Either are far too long, and I'm reluctant to support anything that further entrenches or extends the period of copyright.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: Biting back at Bill,

    I've not watched the TV news for a few years now, watched it a few weeks back and wow, it seemed really surreal, for a second I thought I was high.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Stories: Life in Books,

    Phew. Because once the new Copyright Act is passed all created works dissolve on the cessation of the author.





    Was that poor taste?

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Stories: Life in Books,

    I feel kind of bad now that I've only read a couple of his books.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: No Friends of Science,

    We have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world? Wait, you mean 'xplode it up to bits and pieces, or more like one of those boorish post apocalipyse films that get made every couple of months.

    If we can fully make it dust and not just perform ritual ablation then we should be rightly proud of ourselves.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

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