Malaysia is proposing a
Computing Professionals Bill, based on the
Registration of Engineers Act [.PDF] which makes it mandatory for all practicing "computing professionals" to be registered with a government body. Dealing in the IT industry, including
sending “proposals, plans, designs, drawings, schemes, reports, studies or others to be determined by the Board to any person or authority in Malaysia” without being registered will incur a fine not exceeding RM20,000 (~US$6380) or 6 months in jail.
Malaysian IT professionals and
geeks are up in arms, and similarities have been drawn to
Nigeria's law on computing professionals.
posted by divabat
on Dec 8, 2011 -
26 comments
"Internationally, the league has never been stronger: It's the only American sports league that attracts stars from every corner of the world. Digitally, the league has been light years ahead of everyone else, embracing the revolution and staying ahead of the curve with social media and video content. It's also spent the past two decades carefully (and successfully) selling mostly black players to a mostly white audience, an ongoing conundrum that nearly submarined the league in the late-'70s and early-'80s. Throw in a killer 2011 Finals and everything looks fantastic on paper … except for the part that the league is losing money." -
Bill Simmons analyzes the NBA labor dispute for his new website,
Grantland.
posted by beisny
on Jun 12, 2011 -
86 comments
The
backstory to
The Beulah Show. "After
Beulah was cancelled, the three networks and independent television producers, fearful of being accused of perpetuating racial stereotypes, stopped casting Blacks in their shows almost entirely for the next fifteen years."
posted by unliteral
on Jun 14, 2010 -
15 comments
Bill Maher's criticism of Obama?
Be more like Bush. ...And just like Lindsey [Lohan], we see your name in the paper a lot, but we're kind of wondering when you're actually going to do something. Follow up of his statements with Keith Olbermann.
...But where's the beef? And it's easy to make speeches; what's hard to do is stand up against corporations. Corporations and their incredible strength are what have ruined this country so far, and this president -- we thought -- might be the one to stand up to them. I'm losing hope. I still have audacity, but my hope is fading.
posted by Christ, what an asshole
on Jun 18, 2009 -
124 comments
Breakfast at Sulimay's with Bill, Moon, Joe and Ann:
1 featuring reviews of The Thermals, Joanna Newsom, The Decemberists, and Clipse. l
2 with The Knife, Deerhoof, and Paul Wall featuring 'lil Keke. l
5 with Asha, TI, Toby Mac.
6 with the Shins , !!!, and Common. l
7 with Bjork , Wilco , and Black Reble Motorcycle club. l
9 with Santogold, Portishead and Death Cab for Cutie!
more (v) yt
posted by vronsky
on Mar 12, 2009 -
19 comments
As jazz fans know, fifty years ago on March 2, 1959,
Miles Davis, Bill Evans,
John Coltrane,
Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb met at the Columbia 30th Street Studios in NYC for the first session of Miles new album,
Kind of Blue. (Link goes to the 50th anniversary collector's box set edition page at amazon.) It was the touchstone for many other future recordings bearing its mighty influence and it fostered several high profile careers, and a new modal sound for jazz.
Kind of Blue went on to be
certified platinum, selling 4 million records, the most ever for a jazz album. Bill Evans had left the band in late 1958, but was called back by Miles for the sessions, which included his new pianist Wynton Kelly on one track only,
Freddie Freeloader. The tunes they did that day,
"So What",
"Blue in Green" (written by Evans, though credited to Miles) and "Freeloader" all became standards as did "All Blues" from the April session. Documentaries and entire books have been written on this one album alone. The phenomenon lives on. (
previously on AskMeFi, but just on Trane and Miles.)
posted by Seekerofsplendor
on Mar 3, 2009 -
71 comments
Tiny Art Director Bill Zeman’s daughter is the Tiny Art Director. She tells him what to draw and then tells him just exactly how much she hates it. Bill has been recording her comments and posting them with his art since she was two and a half.
via
posted by various
on Feb 19, 2009 -
57 comments
"Bishop contends that as Americans have moved over the past three decades, they have clustered in communities of sameness, among people with similar ways of life, beliefs, and in the end, politics. There are endless variations of this clustering—what Bishop dubs the Big Sort—as like-minded Americans self-segregate in states, cities—even neighborhoods. Consequences of the Big Sort are dire: balkanized communities whose inhabitants find other Americans to be culturally incomprehensible; a growing intolerance for political differences that has made national consensus impossible; and politics so polarized that Congress is stymied and elections are no longer just contests over policies, but bitter choices between ways of life. "
Article about the book from
the Economist. Book's
Website. A
review.
posted by wittgenstein
on Jun 22, 2008 -
49 comments
Fans of Flight Simulators and Michinima might be familiar with the adventures of Bill and John. If you're not, download episode 1 along with the subtitles and and familiarize yourself with a very funny piece of machinima, even more impressive because it's not only in
Lock On: Modern Air Combat, but in French to boot. Well they're back, winning Best Picture at the
Machinima 2006 film festival,
The Adventures of Bill Et John II. Browse the rest of the nominees and winners on the Machinima.com
festival page.
posted by Lord_Pall
on Nov 12, 2006 -
7 comments
HBO's Deadwood is quite possibly the best television show ever produced. Not only is it amazingly gripping stuff, it's also meticulously researched. (Pretty easy to do when the
entire city is a registered
historic landmark.)
Sure, we all know that
Wild Bill and
Calamity Jane were real people. As it turns out, though, almost
every main character in the show (and many minor ones) had a real life counterpart, as did many of the
events.
Deadwood notables
EB Farnum,
Reverend H W Smith,
Seth Bullock and his partner
Sol Star,
Colorado Charlie Utter,
Al Swerengen with his Gem Saloon, and the crosseyed gambler
Jack McCall all lived and breathed in one of America's most storied cities.
posted by absalom
on Dec 10, 2004 -
82 comments
Do you like fast-forwarding through commercials on a television program you’ve recorded? How much do you like it? Enough to go to jail if you’re caught doing it? If a new copyright and intellectual property omnibus bill sitting on Congress’s desk passes, that may be the choice you'll face.
Let's hope this legislation goes lame duck like this session of Congress.
posted by hockeyman
on Nov 19, 2004 -
46 comments
This Cosby show is undeserved. "These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids - $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics,''' Cosby said. "They're standing on the corner, and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't, why you is. '... And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads.''
posted by quibx
on Jun 1, 2004 -
110 comments
Senate Approves Canada Drug Imports! "Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, said, "If this proposal becomes law, we are just placing our country in the hands of foreign terrorists who could easily get hold of various prescription drug products and spread desolation and disease."
Really, Senator, what hallucinogen are you on, and which drug company is buying it for you?
I'm sure this bill still faces hurdles, but sounds great to me.
posted by ParisParamus
on Jul 17, 2002 -
22 comments
HR-2357. "The U.S.A. prides itself as being one of the most pluralistic societies on earth, with a stunning variety of houses of worship in many communities. But the right to engage in civic activities, and especially to engage in political speech, is severely curtailed among many faith groups because of the perception that the house of worship will
lose its charitable status if 'politics' is discussed." That may be
about to change...
posted by aaronshaf
on May 21, 2002 -
20 comments
This White House will Have a Long Memory..... "To join the coalition, you must agree to support the Bush energy proposal in its entirety and not to
lobby for changes to the bill... Should the bill change, you must support the changes in the
legislation or drop out of the coalition. If you are caught attempting to lobby behind the back of the
White House, you will be expelled from the coalition. I have been advised that this White House
'will have a long memory.'" -- Fundraising memo for the Alliance for Energy and Economic
Growth, a month-old trade group consisting of representatives from the various energy
industries. The letter puts the admission to the group at "a very low price" of $5,000.
posted by brucec
on Jun 22, 2001 -
11 comments
Anti-bullying vote blocked by Christian Conservatives The Washington State bill would have required school districts to set up policies against harassment, bullying and intimidation. Christian conservatives that blocked the vote claim "it amounted to censorship of their right to condemn homosexuality." There is no mention of homosexuality in the bill at all. So this leads me to the conclusion that these Christians condone "harassment, bullying and intimidation." How far from the Golden Rule can you stray and keep a straight face?
posted by kokogiak
on May 1, 2001 -
26 comments
The obvious next step has been taken: An Oregon state senator
introduces a bill that will expand the definition of hate crimes to include ecoterrorism and illegal actions motivated by anticapitalism. Block a street, go to jail?
posted by aaron
on Feb 13, 2001 -
48 comments
No cookies for you! Representative Gene Green has introduced
H.R.5430 (hopefully, they'll have the text up soon), which would control collection of personal data over the net. I guess this is a backlash from
some companies' policies, but does it go too far?
posted by Aaaugh!
on Oct 13, 2000 -
4 comments
I applaud President Clinton for taking
this stance. Unfortunately,
drug companies continue to have influence in some decisions. It's a wonder that greed doesn't ruin this whole world.
posted by da5id
on May 18, 2000 -
0 comments
A bizarre side of the Clinton presidency. It seems that during the White House Correspondents dinner the Clinton camp displayed a short comedy movie called 'The Final Days'. I saw a few snippets on Britan's Channel 5 and was SHOCKED. I just didn't belive it... As I watched it I felt like I was watching a skit on Leno. Mind-boggling.
posted by jedrek
on Apr 30, 2000 -
12 comments
