@mdhatter,1546 - I made factually-based speculations, not insinuations.

What happens with BoingBoing is my business. It is a publication of far reach and its integrity is a matter of public interest. When its integrity is brought into question, the actions that bring that integrity into question is everyone's business, no matter how personally embarrassing the underlying reasons for those actions may be.

@1545 Archeaopteryx

A putative private lover's quarrel is not my business, but as I explained to mdhatter, an important public forum's integrity is my business. I merely cited facts to speculate on the likely cause of the resulting scandal. If BoingBoing is going to delete its archives on the basis of personal romantic involvement, that is a matter of public interest.

Miss Blue has claimed there was a sexual liaison and Miss Jardin has not denied it. If it were untrue there would be no reason for her not to deny it.

And to use some other slang, mdhatter, I just find it skeevy that Miss Jardin might be using a subject's sexual acquiescence and acquaintance as a criteria for their inclusion in BoingBoing.

Finally, Arch, if you are going to try to use my own words against me, use them properly My language is neither rude nor the motive capricious, as suggested by the word petulant. My speculations are rather unpleasant, but I have tried to express myself without vulgarity or personal rancor.

I really do hope this issue is addressed because, as the situation now appears to this outsider observer, it reflects horribly on Miss Jardin, and by extension to the other BoingBoingers. It would be a shame if BoingBoing’s integrity were to be seriously damaged by this scandal. BoingBoing is a strong voice for openness and transparency in our electronic society. It would be a shame if the greater cause of freedom in our modern world were damaged by these disreputable actions.

Let us consider the facts -

BoingBoing has been disingenuous in it’s own official pronouncements. When the official Boing Boing moderator, Miss Hayden, posted the official BoingBoing post on the matter, she dismissed the severity of the deletions by claiming media reports of over a hundred posting deleted were too high. It has been documented that at least seventy postings related to Violet Blue were deleted. Not quite a hundred, but a massive enough purging of the public record.

Insinuations by Miss Hayden and Miss Jardin that Miss Blue is somehow responsible for the deletions through bad behaviour are vile, especially as they fail to disclose or deny Miss Blue’s assertion that Miss Jardin and her were “casual” lovers for a brief time. Miss Blue claims ignorance of any misbehaiour, and Jardin and Hayden have darkly hinted that a failure to disclose is to protect the parties from embarassment.

What is most likely is that Miss Jardin deleted the posts in the aftermath of her intimate relationship with Miss Blue. One can well imagine that the break of intimacy might have been more jarring to Miss Jardin than to the libertine Miss Blue. Perhaps some embarrassment over the nature of their relationship troubled Miss Jardin. She suggests as much to the LA Times in comparing her own actions to those of her own father in destroying some of his own erotically-themed work.

It is hard to believe that some public action of Miss Blue prompted the deletions, since then Jardin would need no coyness in explaining herself. It is also unlikely that Miss Blue was banished for acting as a groupie, as has been suggested by many partisans of Miss Jardin - Miss Blue is a successful blogger and columnist in her own right, and not dependent on BoingBoing for attention, nor are there any other reports of Miss Blue behaving badly to get publicity. She writes for Forbes magazine, for goodness’ sake!

So the likelihood is that Miss Jardin’s actions are from personal animus towards Miss Blue, probably prompted by the breakup of their love affair. There is no evidence of any other behaviour by Miss Blue that would have bothered Miss Jardin enough to withdraw her own work from the public sphere.

Other reasons given by BoingBoing, such as the “expense” of keeping these posts public are also fatuous. That this reason is officially cited by BoingBoing brings into question, again, their own truthfulness about this episode.

There is also considerable contradiction in the account of how the deletions were decided upon. At first, the action is depicted as one decided upon by mutual consensus, while later it has been asserted that the BoingBoing bloggers work independently and usually without consultation, and that the deletions were unilaterally done by Miss Jardin.

So the appearance is of Miss Jardin destroying her own work in petulant repudiation of a spurning lover, a depiction even more pathetic in that the spurning lover is oblivious to the original offense. One can well see why Miss Jardin has not been more forthcoming. Her actions were reckless and immature, and perhaps priggish. In the absence of any credible evidence otherwise, one must come to the sad conclusion that the evasiveness of Miss Jardin and BoingBoing is not in deference to Miss Blue’s easily embarrassed sensibilities, but rather out of embarrassment for their own bad behaviour.

We hope that Miss Jardin will put this matter to rest by a full and honest accounting. The openness of the discussion that this comment is a part of gives one hope, but just in case, I’m posting them on my own blog. As this recent episode makes clear, BoingBoing doesn’t have the best track record recently as an open and transparent public forum.

I am even sympathetic to Miss Jardin in her dilemma. No-one likes their intimately private life made public, particularly in such a unflattering way. I hope that she will consider the example of Lady Godiva. Sometimes riding naked through the town’s square can be the best thing for one’s reputation, if the cause is noble.

Not only does this discourage me from seeing Crystal Skull, it also discourages me from seeing any other movie in the theatres. Sony' trick of putting root-kits on their audio CD's had the same effect. I just stopped buying CD's, because I couldn't always remember which company screwed things up.

We're preaching to the choir here in saying this is incredibly stupid. I'd love to hear a response from the studio or the movie theatres explaining these shenanigans.

What's stupid about this is that the experience of going to a big-screen theatre and watching the same movie at home is so different. People who download the movie probably wouldn't see it in the theatre anyway.

I suspect that most theatres showing Crystal Skull are probably using digital projection, and that they are less worried about audiences making poor camcorder copies than they are about employees doing the copying. The problem with this "watermarking" is that it is so obvious that it makes it easier to find and to hide.

It's just stupid and and a shame that now Indiana Jones is off my list of movies to see in the theatre.

Strand Bookstore has a similar service, but it's mostly aimed at video and movie production. I can also see this service as useful for store displays and suchlike, which is also how the "books by the yard" at Half-Price is marketed. Nobody needs a hollow faux plastic computer on their work desk, but it serves fine in Ikea's showroom.

Too bad he's not from California, or he'd be engaged by now.

*ducks*

Yikes. What was the emergency?

I can't help but notice the lack of sunlight is the most awful aspect of so much of this architecture.

And it really is a shame that the web interface is too fragile to handle a heavy traffic load consistently.

Saw this guy and his pets in NYC a couple of years back in Bryant Park.

Ummm....

I like the Little Brother updates, it's the filthy hippy drug and environmental posts that bother me.

I'm wondering if I should bring my 4 1/2 year-old son to the book reading. Any suggestions from the author or those who have been to past readings?

#35,

re:"people should have to prove they're fertile in order to get married?"

Fertility is traditionally affirmatively presumed, but in much of the world, infertility, or impotence, is often cause for divorce or annulment, and is often initiated by the woman. Similarly, even in the United States, if a partner were to hide fore-knowledge of their infertility, it could later be legal cause for divorce or annulment, although IANAL.

re:"Does that mean that when the "one woman" goes through menopause, divorce should be automatic?"

No, because the presumption is that she has sacrificed her child-bearing years to her husband, and should therefore receive some legal recognition and reward of said sacrifice.

***********

As an aside, I believe if the idea of generally replacing marriage with individualized civil contracts were to become widespread, stipulations like the two you alluded to would become common, and would be, especially in the second case, detestable.

***********

I realize I'm disagreeing with the general sentiment here, and I would appreciate polite disagreement. This is an issue that has a great emotional impact on many people, so please understand that any disagreement is not necessarily a personal attack.

#19, if you have a disagreement with #18, on his analysis or underlying facts, why not be explicit in your criticism. Generally impugning his credentials is boring and logically fallacious. What did he get wrong? I'm interested to know if there's some substance to your statement.

Wow. I guess there was once a time when people could disagree and remain civil, even cordial in their conversation. For all our hipness, we are more close-minded now as a society then we were when this video took place.

Thanks to #15 for actually RTFA.

MS is offering a really cheap option for a $10 discount on an already heavily discounted product. They are restricting the hardware support on this lowest-cost option so that higher-end product sales are not cannibalized.

At least their OS is not hardware-locked, like the miserable Linux-based XO I bought. Okay, that last remark is mostly FUD, but I'm making a point here - there's no really story here against MS either. All MS is doing is offering manufacturers the totally voluntary option of limited hardware support for a severely discounted price.

We do not lambaste Apple for only producing a truly hardware-locked OS on very expensive hardware, totally out of reach for most developing markets. We shouldn't vilify MS for making an effort to provide for the lowest-cost market segment without cannibalizing higher-end sales. It's a good point that Linux is still the lowest-cost OS alternative, but it's hard to price-compete with free.

Arguing "total cost of ownership" is well-worn, but apt for this example. I do not believe MS has the brand recognition advantage in the developed world as it does here in America, so it really must compete with Linux (or BSD) via quality in developing markets. MS does have an advantage in that manufacturers are more familiar with implementing Windows than Linux, but I suspect that technical expertise differential is shrinking. There's no distro that offers as long term support on a release as long as MS does on Windows. MS is pretty good on hardware support, as is Linux. Linux is open-source, but if a company has to hack its own code, that costs money and then Linux is no longer free to implement. Linux has lots of good free software, but it can all be ported to Windows anyway, if it hasn't been already. Windows has much greater support for non-free software, but that really isn't an issue with ULC PCs.

MS is losing the ULC PC market share fight and this price break is an attempt to correct that. Their real concern is not screwing up their premium pricing in their more lucrative markets.

A modern OS, with its GUI and expected auxiliary programs, is a complex beast and one that well may be worth the $26 that MS wants to charge for a full version of theirs. Then again, in the developed world, $26 is a cheap dinner for one. In the developing world, it can be a family's monthly income.

I guess I've gone on a bit on a thread that's already past its prime. I just don't see any sinister conspiracy here, only a simple, ultra-low margin business pricing plan.

I'm reminded of this rather poignant scene from the movie Repo Man. The parents were dope-smokin' hippies in that one too!

I couldn't find a consolidated historical table of what w-grl wanted (hours worked), but the Bureau of Labor Statistics does make available "Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of all civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers" (Series ID LNS13327709). Of course, there is no direct link to LNS13327709, you have to construct it via http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab12.htm (chalk the inability to directly cite to bad software design, rather than deliberate government obfuscation)

That's a pretty inclusive definition of people who in a lousy work situation and the data is for the last ten years.

Here's a picture of that inclusive definiton over the last ten years. And yes, it has worsened over the last year, in addition to being far above the 10-year low of October 2000. Then again the plain old unemployment figures look pretty much the same as the all-inclusive figure, though the vanilla figures start at a lower base. Both give a similar picture of national unemployment.

Going back to the CPI and its components, at least computers are cheaper : )

neat. so who are you considering as your new ISP?

It's also important to keep in mind that the CPI is only a statistic, and that there are wide variations in people's actual experience of price changes.

As an example, here in NYC, the price of take-out food has skyrocketed in the past year. Almost every restaurant has upped their prices at least 10-20%. So this doesn't matter to people who cook their own food in Peoria, but for a culinarily-challenged person like myself, this definitely makes a lifestyle impact.

Regarding the manipulation of statistics for political purposes, I would generally take that with a grain of salt. As previously noted, the numbers are still out there, and you are not required to concentrate on those the politicians choose to trumpet. The people who produce these numbers are generally apolitical professionals.

The more interesting question is not so much how much prices are going up, but why. We seem to be entering a low growth, high inflation period of the economic cycle, the dreaded "stagflation" of the 1970's. The fact that high petroleum prices happened then give no solace to our current prospects.

A great source for the statistically inclined:
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

So when are you coming to NYC? Is there a bigger book tour planned?

Kudos for Ms. Jardin for bringing this to our attention. I had a brief conversation with a friend, a Chinese national, and he was pretty dismissive of Tibetan grievances as well.

The Chinese are fiercely nationalistic, as befits a great nation. Their greatness also encompasses a great deal of mischief and brutality, which again comes with national greatness.

What should be noted is the high spirits of the competing demonstrations. People might have been haranguing each other, but they were also listening and behaving well. One might wonder if such a demonstration could take place in China. And before we knock the Chinese, we might also remember all the peaceful demonstrations that have been infiltrated and violently disrupted by police in the USA, such as the protests at the Republican Convention in New York City in 2004.

The online vigilantism is pretty disturbing, but there's no evidence that it is officially sanctioned. What this vigilantism does bring into question is our own liberal notions regarding free speech. Should such threatening speech be censored? Should Google protect this women by blocking searches for her name?

Solving the injustices of the world are not easy, primarily because one person's justice, be it freeing Tibet or censoring the Internet, is another's injustice.

And as a typical provincial yahoo of an American, I couldn't help but think of this as I watched the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYwDV-7uDyc

Yes, I'm very ashamed of myself, but also laughing.

So I went ahead and downloaded the album out of morbid curiousity. After forcing myself to listen to it for a few minutes, here's my short review--

An addled old man, long sequestered from society, with a pleasantly gravelly bass voice sings nonsense lyrics while strumming an out-of-tune guitar.

Regarding the CC license in this case, I think it's great. It allowed me to listen to this sad figure's musical ramblings without commercial involvement. This recording is more of interest to criminologists than musicologists.

But don't take my word for it, have a listen yourself. You'll find the effect pathetic more than anything else.

Shipping costs out of the UK are prohibitively expensive, $70 just to ship half a kilogram. Any suggestions for a similar store stateside?

maybe they should fly virgin atlantic. ha ha ha ! VA is BoingBoing approved. ha ha ha!

sorry, it's a slow night.

of course, that he has a really hot black wife makes him not so much of a racist.

http://www.american-pictures.com/gallery/friends/Rikke/Rikkes.American.trip.htm

great stuff, especially the klan pix. thansk for pointing them out jon5555.

mazing how even the monsters of our mind seem human in person.

looks like a moonie utopia

is this thing on?

20,000 diapers.

do wives ever get the hint? or should husbands just buy things for themselves. Only the Missus knows.

noen,

Too bad it's not up to you where and when I comment, ha ha. I'm sorry that you didn't mention my Michael Vick story. That one would have had you apoplectic.

and thanks, for the links. I'm told by people on this comment thread that some people pay for the service. My server logs tell me that it would be money poorly spent.

Though really, I think Mott's defenders are thin on material if you have to go this off-topic to defend him.

It'd be nice of Mott to comment on this whole matter. Not likely to happen if the incident is fictional.

Only commenting because I'm being personally attacked, otherwise I agree with everyone that this is getting boring.

Oh heck, let's not deconstruct Antinous' post #5, because it isn't a proper deconstruction, just a rather shoddy line-by-line reading.

But I will comment on the last part, since it comes painfully close to libel, insinuating that I am being paid to attack the original post. This is innuendo with no basis in fact. It is, in fact, wholly untrue. Like many things you read on the Internet, there is little one can do to easily verify it one way or another. Caveat lector.

What is particularly troubling in Antinous' analyses is that while he uses a singular posting history to question the bona fides of those he disagrees with, that the original story is made by such a lone poster does not arouse his scrutiny. Caveat lector, whether you are sympathetic to the writer or not.

I don't believe the story, it sounds like bullshit. I am biased, having several friends who are adoptive parents, some from outside the US. But my skepticism, to repeat myself, is based on Occam's Razor: why would child brokers go through the risky procedure of a daytime kidnapping in a good neighborhood when there were plenty of defenseless young mothers in poor neighborhoods, with healthy children, who would be much easier to prey upon. Criminals, like the rest of us, like to do things the easy way. It's easier to victimize the poor and helpless than the rich and powerful.

It is a hair-raising and well-written story. Perhaps there are elements of truth to it, or the whole thing is true, but just because it is posted on this website, with no profession of critical verification, does not render as factual. There is no way to judge its truthfulness, other than through supposition, based on the presentation.

Microbuses full of well-dressed abductors were randomly targeting infants in one of the city's better neighborhoods? It seems like a risky, and unlikely plan, far riskier than just paying some poor desperate mother some money for her infant. Any outside verification that this is a bona fide story?

But I shouldn't let my skeptical nature get in the way of a good yarn.

-Dandavis,

IANAL, but I think that the statute of limitations applies to when charges can be brought, not when they have to be prosecuted.

In other words, since he was charged within the six year statute of limitations, then the charge can apply indefinitely until he is brought to trial.

We were pretty disappointed with the XO. It is definitely still a beta product. The mouse pad is very wonky. There is no easy way to update or get new applications. The networking is awful. The hardware itself seems rather rickety.

The kids find it amusing, but not for so very long.

I got caught up in all the hype in ordering, but I found, once it was in my hands, that all the reviewers were just aping the press releases and not casting a critical eye on the product itself.

There have been a lot of complaints similar to mine on the XO user forums. Also, there is a pretty strong fanboy element that flames anyone critical of their pet.

What I don't understand about XO is why the developers got caught up in the hardware. Computer hardware is cheap. A decent computer can be had for less than the price of a new XO, but the software is not ported to anything but the XO platform. Sop the project is not so much as getting the XO experience out there, as it is to selling the hardware. Sort of an Apple Computer for the Third World. Then there is this weird sniping against Intel because the dare to compete with the OLPC project.

So yes, I'm disappointed. I'm not a computer genius, but I'm certainly more computer literate than much of the intended audience for this product, and I can't make heads or tails of getting the thing to be truly useful.

Bah, just a lot of hype. Reminds me of Miro (sorry, I just couldn't resist.).

Whl fnd th slf-prmtn n Bng Bng t b t n ccptbl lvl, ws prtty prtrbd t fnd n flsh pst t b flshd dwn th mmry hl. Thnk gdnss fr Ggl's cch:

http://64.233.169.104/srch?q=cch:1hq2nV4hkJ:www.bngbng.nt/2008/02/23/pntgn-t-bsh-cl.html+pntgn&hl=n&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=s

pblctn's dtrl ntgrty s dcrsd whn t trs t rs t's mstks, rthr thn wnng p t thm. Bng Bng rrly ddrsss ts rrrs. Lnks r ftn pstd ndscrmntly, s lng s th prty ln s spprtd. f th stry ltr trns t t b rrnsly ctd, th mttr jst gts swpt ndr th rg.

Gd lck nd ll, bt yr crdblty tks ht frm sch ctns.

A few years ago there was a traveling exhibition called "The Last Expression: Art and Auschwitz". It documented the art created by concentration camp inmates while they were interned. One particularly striking piece was a graphic novel :

Mickey au Camp de Gurs - Publiée sans l'authorisation de Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse in the Gurs Internment Camp - Published without Walt Disney's Permission) and Le Journée d'un hébergé: Camp de Gurs 1942 (A Day in the Life of a Resident: Gurs Internment Camp, 1942)

By Horst Rosenthal (Breslau 1915 - Auschwitz 1942?)

Here are a few links giving examples of the work:

http://www1.yadvashem.org/Odot/prog/image_into.asp?id=4646&lang=EN&type_id=7&addr=/IMAGE_TYPE/4646.JPG

http://www1.yadvashem.org/Odot/prog/image_into.asp?id=4647&lang=EN&type_id=7&addr=/IMAGE_TYPE/4647.JPG

http://www1.yadvashem.org/Odot/prog/image_into.asp?id=4648&lang=EN&type_id=7&addr=/IMAGE_TYPE/4648.JPG

Sorry I couldn't find more. If you read French, the captions are funny.

Apropos of Boing Boing, worries about copyright were even a worry to those about to be shipped off to Auschwitz, as evidenced by the title.