Interesting Links for 28-06-2013

[andrewducker]

• Pandora Pays Over $1,300 for 1 Million Plays
  (tags: streaming music business )
• One tweet sums up Labour’s new, confused stance on cuts
  (tags: politics uk labour )
• What does Windows 8.1 offer to desktop die-hards?
  (tags: windows microsoft )
• Spending Review explanation 'was woeful', IFS says
  (tags: politics uk money )
• What happens if you run a 4

Comments

One tweet sums up Labour’s new, confused stance on cuts

[cartesiandaemon]

It doesn't seem confused per se. More that, (a) they want to cut and (b) saying that "cuts are bad" gets them elected. So that's what they do and that's what they say.

It's only confused if you expect what people do and what people say to stem from some single underlying coherent plan :(

[bart_calendar]

My understanding is that while undercover police officers often have to do drugs, have sex, etc... in order to maintain their cover. It's shitty, but I'm fairly sure it's part of the job.

Also this sort of comes under the heading of "if I knew the person was an asshole I wouldn't have slept with them."

[bart_calendar]

And part of me thinks that calling "lying to get sex" rape sort of trivializes the word "rape."

I once slept with a woman who claimed to be 35 and single only to find out afterward that she was 45 and married. Did she rape me or was it simply a case of someone being an asshole in order to get laid?

When Rome Girl first met me online she pretended to be way into Metallica in order to pique my interest even though she's since admitted she hates Metallica. Was that rape? Or just her chatting me up online?

[andrewducker]

It depends on (a) what you mean by "rape", and (b) whether you believe there's a continuum there.

If "rape" means "sexual assault, including penetration", then what they did is not rape.

If it means "Sex without consent", then it comes down to whether you believe that consent based on fraud is really consent. It certainly doesn't in any kind of financial transaction.

I suspect that we're moving towards the latter, as a societal change, and that what was once seen as douchebaggery will be seen as something more serious in the future (as with many other things, like "hazing" (now assault), and "banter" (now bullying, and frequently racism/misogyny).

[bart_calendar]

The thing is though with sex there is always/often a bit of misrepresentation going on. "Yes, I love the way that skirt looks on you." "Oh, no, McDonald's is a fine place for a date."

If a woman says at the end of a date "Do you want to come up to my flat, just for a drink?" and then undresses as soon as you are in the door is that misrepresentation that could be construed as an assault?

I a woman sees me in my Misfits T-shirt and claims to love the Misfits to get me talking and I go back to her place to shag and then find out the next day that she's really a Hall & Oates fan do I have the right to say 'That was rape because there is no way in hell I would have willingly slept with a Hall & Oates fan."

If a bisexual woman lists herself as "lesbian" on a dating site because she knows that many lesbians won't even consider a date with a bisexual girl is she committing a type of fraud that could lead to charges?

It seems like a very slippery slope to me.

[gonzo21]

So Labours policy seems to be to go into the next general election shouting that they're exactly the same as the Tories only slightly less evil purely and simply because they're not called 'tories'?

[andrewducker]

That's all they have to do in a two-party system, position themselves as slightly better than the only alternative.

[gonzo21]

Have the lib dems made any sort of statement regarding the whole PRISM thing, or are they towing the line that it's all for our own good?

[andrewducker]

There's movement from the ones in the European Parliament.
http://libdemmeps.com/?p=1042

Oh, and this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/10/julian-huppert-prism-gchq_n_3414821.html

Nick Clegg will no doubt have to go along with Cabinet Responsibility:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22887093

[momentsmusicaux]

Great news about the plastic bags.

Unfortunately, both Sainsies and Waitrose currently deliver groceries with a ton of bags, whether you want them or not (Waitrose because they don't seem to know that crates exist, Sainsies because they have crates but feel the need to bag every damn thing). So I'll be interested to see how they cope with that.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, I mostly take my rucksack with me, but I don't carry them in my jacket pocket for when I pop in on my way home from work. The 5p will serve as a handy reminder :->

[atreic]

Err, I don't know how you collect links, but I really liked this one:

http://blog.wolfram.com/2013/06/26/is-there-any-point-to-the-12-times-table/

[andrewducker]

This works :->