To Unlock Or Not To Unlock?
Posted by Michelle Moquin on March 12th, 2013
Good morning!
Another write brought to you by the Huff Po:
Unlocking A Cell Phone Should Be Legal, White House Says
The White House responded to public pressure Monday and expressed support for allowing consumers to use their cell phones on other wireless networks.
In a blog post, David Edelman, Obama’s senior adviser for Internet Innovation and Privacy, said the White House agreed with more than 114,000 people who signed a petition asking that it be legal to “unlock” software on cell phones. Unlocking a phone allows it to be used on other networks, and the practice has been officially illegal since January.
Edelman said the principle should also apply to tablets.
“If you have paid for your mobile device, and aren’t bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network,” Edelman wrote.
Wireless companies sell smartphones at deep discounts to consumers who sign contracts. The phones come installed with software that prevents them from switching to other carriers’ network. Some cell phone owners bypass the restriction by hacking the software so they can use their phones on any wireless network. Since 2006, the Library of Congress has considered the technique — known as “unlocking” — exempt under a federal copyright law known as the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
But last fall, the Library of Congress reversed course, and decided the exemption on cell phone unlocking should expire Jan. 26, 2013. Consumer advocates worried the decision would give wireless providers the ability to sue consumers who unlock their phones, though phone companies are unlikely to take individual customers to court.
Wireless companies have instead focused on suing organized phone traffickers who unlock thousands of phones and ship them overseas, where they can be used on foreign wireless networks and sold for substantial profits.
Still, a White House petition began circulating online to reverse the Library of Congress decision and legalize the unlocking of cell phones. Last month, the petition reached 100,000 signatures — the threshold for a White House response.
“We’re very glad that the administration recognizes the significant problems created when copyright laws tread upon the rights of consumers to use the products they have bought and owned,” Sherwin Siy, vice president of legal affairs at Public Knowledge, a consumer group, said in a statement.
But Michael Altschul, legal counsel for the CTIA, the wireless industry association, said the nation’s wireless carriers already allow consumers to unlock their phones.
“When the contract terms are satisfied, or for a reason that is included in the carrier’s unlocking policy – such as a trip outside the U.S. – carriers will unlock a phone at their customer’s request,” he said.
The White House statement Monday does not change the Library of Congress decision that cell phone unlocking may violate copyright law.
The next step may be legislation or regulation. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said Monday that the agency is considering taking regulatory action to “preserve consumers’ ability to unlock their mobile phones.”
“I also encourage Congress to take a close look and consider a legislative solution,” Genachowski said.
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Readers: Please click on the title if you would like to view the video because I just can’t seem to post it here. And then Blog me.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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March 12th, 2013 at 9:34 am
Hmm, interesting timing, Misch, my droid died abruptly last night, 2 week wait for new one, can’t do that so I’m now the proud (though reluctantly so) owner of a new iPhone5…for another 2 years, I hate that kind of railroading of my life/work life.
I cannot be without a phone for that long and there was nothing else to do but get a new droid or iPhone and I love the way apple makes everything ‘synch’ if you buy their shit, leaves you between a rock and hard place…can you say ‘annoyed’ by this ridiculous system that basically rules your modern life?
(& yet, I’m learning to love this new toy…what choice do I have? I’m not into living life annoyed and frustrated, though there’s a change in the air…and I would say ‘put your seatbelt on’ but I think it’s more ‘hold onto your penises, dudes’ lol…seriously, I’m sensing big change a comin’ in the form of every shape o female, and likely many of them will be OTW women as well, deal wit it : )
Luv, Zen Lill
March 12th, 2013 at 10:28 pm
http://girliegirlarmy.com/style/20130309/marc-jacobs-faux-furs-revealed-to-be-dog/#.UUAZuJhL9JM.facebook
March 13th, 2013 at 5:42 am
our corrupt politicians from both parties insist on legislating AGAINST the good citizens of this country, who in fact elected them ….they are arrogant liars and corrupted against the good of our people. they should be arrested and jailed.
March 13th, 2013 at 5:53 am
Look 15 Years Younger Just by Going to the Dentist
Teeth show your age just as much as drooping muscles or sagging skin. Even if you get regular dental care and keep your teeth white, you might want to consider other dental enhancements.
Age-related changes can dim your smile and even change your facial structure, making you look far older than your age.
Common problems—and the best solutions…
WORN TEETH
Decades of chewing (or tooth-grinding or clenching) can wear down the upper and lower teeth. As the teeth get shorter, the distance between the chin and nose also shortens. Result: A shorter face that makes you look older.
Solution: Veneers or crowns that restore natural tooth shapes and dimensions. Veneers are ultrathin pieces of porcelain that, when attached to the surface of existing teeth, become extremely strong (see above photos). A crown goes over the entire tooth.
Crowns are a better choice if your teeth are structurally weak because of fillings, root canals, etc. Sometimes increasing the length of only the upper teeth can create a dramatic improvement.
Crowns and veneers can last at least 10 to 15 years and sometimes longer.
Cost:
Between $800 and $2,500 per tooth, depending on the part of the country where you live. Veneers and crowns are roughly the same price.
Insurance rarely, if ever, covers any service performed strictly for esthetic reasons. However, if a tooth is structurally compromised, a crown may be covered as a necessary service.
MISSING TEETH
People often don’t realize that the shape of the face partly is determined by the teeth. This is particularly true in the cheek areas because the muscles are supported by the side teeth.
If you have one or more missing teeth, your cheeks can cave inward and create an older, drawn appearance.
Even one missing tooth can cause a “sunken” appearance if you have a small, narrow face. It will be less apparent if you have a large, broad face.
Solution:
A dental implant is ideal as long as the underlying bone is healthy. A dentist will surgically implant a titanium cylinder in the jawbone.
After the bone heals, a connector, called an abutment, is attached to the implant. Then a new tooth (a crown) is attached to the abutment.
Dental implants typically last just as long as your regular teeth, and in many cases, even longer. Warning: Smokers are about two-and-a-half times more likely to have failed implants than nonsmokers.
Cost:
Approximately $3,000 to $5,000 per tooth.
Another option: A stationary bridge—often called a permanent, or fixed, bridge (as opposed to a removable one)—that replaces one or more teeth and is connected to the adjacent teeth with supporting crowns. It can cost almost as much as an implant but is more likely to be covered by insurance.
ABNORMAL JAW POSITION
Patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) will sometimes experience changes in the jaw joint that cause the chin and lower jaw to move to an abnormal position. This can distort the normal appearance of the face.
Solution:
Some patients can correct a TMD problem by wearing a splint—sometimes known as a night guard or a bite guard—when they sleep. This is called occlusal splint therapy.
Splints, made from a type of durable plastic, usually slip over all or some of the teeth. They cause changes in the joint that can reposition the lower jaw and both relieve pain and restore a more normal appearance.
Splints are relatively inexpensive, but they can take years to work—and they don’t work for every patient. If occlusal splint therapy fails, you might need surgery of the temporomandibular joint to correct the problem.
Important:
Don’t bother with over-the-counter boil-and-bite splints. They are not effective for a receding jaw. You need a splint that is customized by a dentist to fit your specific teeth and jaw shape.
Cost:
Between $400 and $1,000 for occlusal splint therapy, plus the expense of imaging tests, such as an MRI or a CT scan.
DETERIORATED FILLINGS
If you’re middle-aged or older, you probably have one or more silver amalgam fillings. These don’t last forever. The edges can open up and allow bacteria to get under the fillings.
Also, the metal fillings in teeth can darken and appear as gray shadows that are visible through the tooth enamel, imparting an old and unattractive appearance.
Solution:
Remove old fillings and replace them with nonmetal, tooth-colored fillings.
Cost:
Approximately $150 to $350 per tooth, depending on the size of the original filling and how much work is required for the new one.
DETERIORATED CROWNS
Even if you don’t break or “pop” a porcelain crown, it won’t maintain its original appearance forever. Example: The gums often recede with age. This can produce a thin gray or black line between the crown and the gum.
Solution:
Replace the crown. A lower-cost option is to use tooth-colored filling material to fill the gap. It isn’t as durable or as attractive as a new crown, but it’s a good choice for patients with limited funds.
Cost:
Filling the gap is about $100.
GUMMY SMILE
You’ve probably heard the expression, “He/she is long in the tooth.” Changes in the shape and health of the gums can make the teeth appear longer.
Or they can make the gums disproportionately prominent. Either of these changes can compromise your appearance and make you look older.
Solution:
A “gum lift,” known technically as a gingivectomy or gingivoplasty. The dentist will use a laser and/or scalpel to give your gums a more even appearance that’s in harmony with your face.
Cost:
$1,000 to $2,000.
POOR DENTURE FIT
Even if your partial or complete dentures fit perfectly when they were new, they tend to become loose or misaligned as your mouth changes. It’s normal for the gums and underlying bone to change over time.
Poorly fitting dentures can sometimes give you jowls and wrinkled skin as your muscles work overtime to keep the dentures in place.
Solution:
Ask your dentist to check the fit of your dentures. Most people find that it is worth replacing them every five to 10 years.
Cost:
Insurance plans typically cap the expense at about $800 to $900 per upper and lower denture. If you don’t have insurance, the cost per denture could range from $1,800 to $5,000 depending on where you live and the design and quality of the denture.
Source: Marvin A. Fier, DDS, FASDA, a Diplomate of the American Board of Aesthetic Dentistry.
He serves as executive vice president of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics. He is an adjunct professor and a guest lecturer at dental schools and major conferences in the US and internationally.
He has a private dental practice in Pomona, New York. http://www.SmileRockland.com
March 13th, 2013 at 5:58 am
Yes, they should let people unlock cellphones that they’ve paid for, especially those mobile that are pay as you go. It’s ridiculous that you go somewhere and suddenly your phone doesn’t work anymore just because it’s locked.
March 13th, 2013 at 5:59 am
If you are out of contract, meaning the cellular provider has recovered their subsidy of the phone and made money, you OWN that phone and all the features you purchased.
Your right in a “free” market must be that you can chose another competing service.
If you anti government freaks think it’s a bad thing dealing with a representative government trying dealing with an all powerful corporation who thinks and knows it is above our laws.
We as a nation are at that point. I await a good contrary point of view supporting AT.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:01 am
Once again Obama is frozen by our predominately white Congress. I doubt anything will happen because telecomms spend about 10x more lobbying washington than the entire fossil fuel industry.
Both Repubs and Dems are in the pockets of the likes of AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and Time Warner.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:02 am
You buy something, you own it. When you finish your contract with a company, that’s it.
If I want to unlock it or hit it with a sledge hammer or do any other thing, it’s my property.
What I want to know is why is the Library of Congress making laws? When did they start creating rules? They’re a library, and they shouldn’t be doing things like this.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:03 am
This statement only applies to unsubsidized devices. If you sign a contract, then you are actually leasing that device from the carrier, and the White House is not challenging the carriers’ right to enforce bootloader DRM on the subsidized devices they lease to their subscribers.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:04 am
You own it, you should be able to unlock it. No more arbitrary restrictions.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:05 am
LOCKING cell phones should be illegal.
They don’t lock cell phones in Europe.
Buy a SIM card from anyone you want and plug it in.
Many European phones have slots for several SIM cards so you can use the same phone on different accounts or different carriers.
Just sayin’.
Look here, for example. I just Googled it. No affiliation.
http://www.focalprice.com/MH0427L/S03_47_Android_40_10_GHz_DualCore_Dual_SIM_Card_Dual_Standby_3G.html
$153.69 Unlocked, DUAL SIM card slots, maximum bells and whistles, Quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850, dual camera, GPS, FM radio, etc, etc …
We are all suckers on this bus.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:16 am
JS that only applies until the contract ends, unless the contract requires you to return the phone.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:19 am
I checked your link Larry. First the price seems a bit too low for an unlocked phone, must be used.
In any case, China also has dual sim phones (They have the only Galaxy Note 2 with dual sims on the market).
Also, it make sense for Europe to have dual sim phones since the countries are so packed together people travel a lot to each country so it benefits them more than in the US where you can go to any state and more often than not, you will have service and they do not charge extra since they now have free roaming.
This will also not work with the largest carrier in the US (Verizon) and will not work with Sprint either.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:23 am
Don’t Get On That Plane!
Warning from a Former Inspector General
It may take up to two years before it makes sense for you to fly on one of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliners. That’s what Mary F. Schiavo, former inspector general of the US Transportation Department, tells Bottom Line/Personal.
In January, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told United to ground its six new 787s after a lithium-ion battery on a parked Japan Airlines 787 caught fire and a battery problem set off a smoke alarm on an All Nippon Airways 787, which then made an emergency landing.
Battery fires can very quickly become deadly for airline passengers. The FAA noted that the conditions causing the problems in January, if not corrected, “could result in damage to critical systems and structures.”
The technologically innovative 787 is the first commercial passenger jet to be powered in part by lithium-ion batteries—a type of battery prone to overheating when overcharged or rapidly discharged.
These batteries can burn at very high temperatures, emit flammable gases or explode. Notably, Cessna once attempted to use lithium-ion batteries on a private jet, and it, too, experienced a fire in late 2011.
There are two reasons why it’s best to avoid Dreamliners for a while, even after they resume flights…
Safety.
Getting to the root of the problem might be tricky. There’s no guarantee that it will be 100% solved when the 787s are back in service.
The lithium-ion batteries will not be the last technological issue this jet will experience. Already there have been unrelated issues involving fuel leaks and a cracked windshield, and the list of problems will only grow once the 787 is flying again.
New jets go through a shakeout period, and the 787 is so cutting-edge new in many ways (including a body largely composed of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, which does not show cracks or fatigue as readily as traditional metal) that the odds of additional problems are particularly high.
Scheduling.
These inevitable glitches and issues will cause delays, cancellations and perhaps even emergency landings—all of which will create major headaches for travelers.
Still, based on Boeing’s history with new aircraft introductions, it’s probable that 18 to 24 months from now travelers will be able to fly on the 787 without major safety or scheduling concerns.
The 787 likely isn’t a bad plane, just a new and highly complex one going through unavoidable growing pains. Boeing experienced similar problems when it introduced its 777 in the mid-1990s but worked out the bugs in about 18 to 24 months.
It’s worth noting that the FAA did not withdraw the 787’s Airworthiness Certificate when it grounded the jet…it merely issued a directive stating that the plane should not be used for commercial flights until this battery issue was fixed to the FAA’s satisfaction.
In the meantime, airline passengers should be aware that they have no legal right to decline to fly on a particular type of jet. If you buy a ticket on a 777 but the airline later substitutes a 787, you can’t insist on switching planes.
Right now, United is the only US airline with 787s. Foreign airlines include Air India, Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Chile’s LAN Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines in addition to the Japanese airlines.
Source: Mary F. Schiavo, who was inspector general of the US Department of Transportation from 1990 to 1996.
She is a licensed pilot, former McConnell Aviation Chair of the department of aviation at The Ohio State University and currently heads the aviation litigation team for Motley Rice, a law firm based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
March 13th, 2013 at 6:53 am
I don’t know if many of you have been watching the brouhaha concerning Rodman’s trip to North Korea, but it is just another hypocritical white boy response, for lots of reasons.
Here’s one from Huff Post:
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Watching George Stephanopoulos’ revenge of the nerd-style interview with Dennis Rodman on This Week, I was struck by the devastating common sense wisdom the five-time NBA Champion brought to his role as an accidental international diplomat when he spent time with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jung Un.
Rodman spoke and Stephanopoulos didn’t listen — George instead chose to talk down to Rodman and shove a Human Rights Watch report at him — but what Dennis said could have come from Ronald Reagan — that the exportation of American culture and ideals could be an effective tool in shaping the views of a young dictator.
“The kid is only 28 years old. Twenty-eight,” Rodman said. “He’s not his dad. Not his grandpa. He’s 28 years old.” While Stephanopoulos quizzed Rodman on what the Hall of Fame defender knew about Kim’s “threats to destroy the U.S.” (which Kim has never explicitly made), Rodman answered, “[Kim said] ‘I don’t want to do war.’ He said that to me.”
—————————
While Paul Williams makes a good point, Here is another much better one: White america has no business questioning Rodman’s trip to North Korea because no one in or out of the media questioned any the white people who regularly visited South Africa, including the many sports events held there for the 50 plus years those white bastards ran Apartheid in that country.
I get near puking when I hear some white boy ask Rodman about the Human Rights implication of his visit to North Korea.
Damn it, at least in North Korea it is a north korean inflicting hardships upon north koreans. In South Africa it was a bunch of white racists enslaving an entire nation of black people. But hey, it was okay for the top athletes in America to go and compete there, and for any white american to go and enjoy being back in the days when he could openly discriminate against OTWs.
This kind of hypocrisy makes me irate. Especially when OTWs when asked about the Rodman issue don’t bring up the hypocrisy for fear of being labeled “playing the race card.” Somewhat like Al asking me not to use the word “white boy” because it makes him cringe.
Don’t you just love the sensitivity of the white boy when there is a possibility of his feelings being hurt. Too bad they can’t summon some of that sensitivity when they insult OTWs with their shameless comments about us and when they perpetrate unconscionable violent acts upon us.
I applaud Rodman for not allowing white boy hypocrisy to deter him.
Alycedale
March 13th, 2013 at 7:01 am
Until we realize we are ALL at the bottom, things will never change. Lives have been destroyed, retirement accounts have disappeared, and interest on savings is nil, but Wall Street is going great guns and lobbyists control the Congress. Seems those in control know how to game us and, like cattle, we mill outside the slaughterhouse until it’s our turn.
March 13th, 2013 at 7:02 am
The pathetic caricatures are one thing but the main concern should be why the government that is supporting these banks isn’t taking legal action, more often, using the proven facts and numbers that show people with the same credit worthiness are being unequally treated based on race.
There needs to be more lawsuits, like the Wells Fargo one ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-cuevas/wells-fargo-enters-into-1_b_1669579.html ), as this article suggests the numbers are there to support more cases.
My guess is that judges like Scalia would condemn the cases as a “Perpetuation of Racial Entitlement”.
March 13th, 2013 at 7:03 am
Minorities………..
We Boomers surely have not educated them. At least not the way The Greatest Generation educated us.
The most noble of Boomers followed those Greatest Generation folks (then in their 30s and 40s) in the 1960s in the Civil Rights Movement, when we were in our teens and 20s.
But a funny thing happened: Boomers neglected to pass along enough of a sense of urgency to the next generation. In addition, the more shallow, racist and selfish of us became the present-day TeaBaggers, compounding the Damage.
Yes, it is true that minorities are presently in peril, as the Right Wing makes a Final Push for dominance (a recent, gone-viral video illustrates that social inequality has never been higher than NOW). But, sometimes I wonder at just what it is going to take for minorities to turn to justice-seeking whites, unite and say, “Enough!”
This certainly happened in the 1960s…..and minorities had much more severe disadvantages, with no social media, no vote, no high-ranking office-holders, much more racist attitudes of rank-and-file whites. The odd thing about the political situation these days is a conundrum:
* On the one hand, Old People are very important (because they nearly all support TeaBaggers)
* On the other, Young People are the only ones that can stop the Baggers–by voting and activism
March 13th, 2013 at 7:07 am
If you people are talking about Alycedale’s latest rant, I say she has not real argument. White people went to South Africa and civilized that place. They had to segregate them to educate them.
If you are referring to the high-interest loans banks gave to the OTWs during our recent crisis, OTW borrowers were not “shunted off into high-interest loans”.
They grabbed up the high-interest loans because of the no-down-payment, no-interest-for-first-year features. They planned on selling the house at a big profit before ever making the first payment.
And what difference does it make, what the interest rate on your mortgages is, if you default on it?
March 13th, 2013 at 7:10 am
When the big-time players (financial institutions in this case) in the system stack the deck against minorities –
since time immemorial – all they need to complete the propaganda section of the ring is the ‘ground soldiers’ that know EVERTHING about how minorities think, how minorities feel, how minorities act, what minorities will do in the future, and – of course – have all the answers as to what is the best path for minorities to take in order to be accepted as rightful citizens.
They have ALL the answers – while gleefully perpetuating the most damaging stereotypes (pass them along to their kids too).
March 13th, 2013 at 7:13 am
Wake up Allen, smell the friggin’ coffee, bud; get out from under your rock! What universe are you from? Minorities sure as hell were guided into subprime & higher interest loans.
We are often more targeted for predatory lending practices because crap flows downhill & we stand at the very bottom of the economy with higher unemployment, lower income, higher poverty, lower education levels, etc. all the elements that determine one’s qualifying for a home loan.
We grab at any straw available, hoping against hope to hold on to the symbolic anchor of the American dream – home ownership.
Most minorities & others were not buying to flip properties for a profit. They hoped to acquire a permanent residence, negotiate a better mortgage deal later & build equity to obtain a home equity loan & pay off the high interest credit cards they had been living on.
They sure as hell weren’t looking to default or end up owing more than property was worth on paper – underwater! Your personal fantasy of minorities grabbing no downpayment loans for any reason other than not having the funds is misguided.
The rich and powerful always need someone to blame for their misdeeds. In this case it’s people of color. The saddest part is that people like you who make up the base of the Republican party are ripe to believe such racist crap.
March 13th, 2013 at 7:22 am
Alycedale, I found this in wikipedia, the use of the term “racial variance” to describe forced segregation should make you shit bricks if you wanted to puke over the Rodman incidence.
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The UN set up a task team to keep watch on the progress of apartheid and the racial state of affairs in South Africa. Although racial variance in South Africa was a cause for concern, most countries in the UN concurred that this was one of South Africa’s in-house issues, which fell outside the UN’s jurisdiction. The UN only became resolute in challenging South Africa later.
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One of the reasons I couldn’t see any merit to Al’s argument is that even today we whites don’t acknowledge the cruelty we visited upon OTW when we could practice racism with impunity.
March 13th, 2013 at 7:29 am
I agree with you Alycedale. It is hypocritical for us to criticize Rodman for doing much less than we as a nation did.
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Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger had adopted a policy known as the Tar Baby Option, according to which the US ought to maintain close relations with the white rulers in South Africa.[2] Ronald Reagan continued to support links with South Africa, describing the ANC as “a terrorist organisation”, but congressional pressure forced increased distance between the two governments.
As fiscal ties between South Africa, America and Britain were reinforced, however, sporting and cultural boycotts became important gadgets in South Africa’s isolation from international society.
————————–
No problem when it is whites doing the dirty to OTWs. I agree Alycedale, fuck their opinions, do as you please Rodman.
March 13th, 2013 at 7:32 am
Sure you are right Alycedale, in the 60′s they could get only about 60 white artists to boycott south africa. The rest were happy to go there.
March 13th, 2013 at 7:35 am
Forget about the 60′s up until the late 80′s my relatives were enjoying going to South Africa were the “N” knew their place.
Alycedale, I hope you continue to be a voice for the hypocrisy in the world and especially America. I love my country but it is a snake pit for OTWs.
March 13th, 2013 at 7:43 am
I await the day when South Africa will wake up and slaughter every white while they sleep in my country. I don’t care if they are citizens or not, if they are white and here, I say cut their hearts out and feed it to the jackals.
My family didn’t get out of jail until 1994. Most were maimed for life, their heads had been bashed so often by white guards that they were senseless when returned to us.
I cannot even count the number of mixed race children in my family from rape by those white devils. If I had the means, I would kill every white I could lay my hands on.
They have NO right to be calling themselves Africans. They are our oppressors, freed from having to answer to any law for their cruelty.
Please come to my nation Al, you will have more to worry about than being called “white boy” if I have any say in it.
March 13th, 2013 at 7:57 am
Akua, I hope nothing I have said implied that I would harm or advocate harming anyone simply because of the color of their skin. While I can understand your anger because of Apartheid, I cannot accept your blanket condemnation of a race.
Perhaps you should study the history of Apartheid in your country more. I am sure that you will find there were many good white people who were not only against Apartheid but who risked much to end it.
Regardless, you are not better than the worst racist if you act as they do. What would make you not a racist if you were will to harm another human being simply because of his or her race?
I don’t think your family or any sensible person would condone your thoughts on this matter. And as for Al, he is entitled to his opinions too.
I may disagree with some of them, I will always defend his right to express them. That is the beauty of this blog. We get to rant so that we don’t need to act out.
If you are just ranting, I suggest you tone it down because, some who read this may not have the common sense to know the difference.
Alycedale
March 13th, 2013 at 8:04 am
Alycedale, you surprised me today with your comment #27, pleasantly so.
March 13th, 2013 at 8:05 am
Fanned and Faved Alycedale
March 13th, 2013 at 8:12 am
We have so many rich in other countries who are afraid that their countries currency will collapse and the will lose everything that they are investing in American dollars for less interest to have a place to keep their money.
What we need to do is to invest some of that money in job creation by doing bridge, road, infrastructure repair in this country.
March 13th, 2013 at 8:22 am
Did anyone hear McCain claim he was sensitive to the plight of the latino immigrants.
March 13th, 2013 at 8:46 am
A very good friend sent me this. Thanks.
Woke up this morning with light in my eyes
And then realized it was still dark outside
It was a light coming down from the sky
I don’t know who or why
Must be those strangers that come every night
Those saucer shaped lights put people uptight
Leave blue green footprints that glow in the dark
I hope they get home all right
Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Won’t you please take me along, I won’t do anything wrong?
Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Won’t you please take me along for a ride?
March 13th, 2013 at 9:42 am
Bill, that song is by the Byrds.