…but I’m just not sure who needs the retraining in this case.

In January, Toronto Police Const. Michael Sanguinetti told a personal security class at York University that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”

Sanguinetti apologized for his comments, but his apology failed to satisfy walk organizer Sonya Barnett.

“It was evident that if you’re going to have a representative of the police force come out [and say that] then that kind of idea must be still running rampant within the force itself and that retraining really needs to happen to change that mentality,” she said.

Granted it’s not the most PC thing to say, but the message underlying the poor choice of vocabulary is nonetheless valid. Should women have to avoid dressing provocatively? Well no… but then again I, the quintessential white boy, shouldn’t have to be afraid of walking through a ghetto late at night either.

But that’s okay, if we retrain the people on our side that are talking without thinking, then the streets will be safe again for everyone… or maybe not… sheesh…

The whole CBC web story

Not long ago, according to the new-media guru Clay Shirky, the Sudanese government set up a Facebook page call ing for a protest against the Sudanese government, naming a specific time and place – then simply arrested those who showed up. It was proof, Shirky argues, that social media can’t be revolutionary on its own. “The reason that worked is that nobody knew anybody else,” he says. “They thought Facebook itself was trustworthy.”

the Guardian article

Read it.
Learn it.
Understand it.

If you ask journalists why they chose their profession, they give a range of answers: to see the world, something new every day, I like to write. The most common answer is some variation on: to make the world a better place, to right wrongs and stick up for the little guy. Social justice, in other words. No one ever says, “I went into journalism because I have a passion for being… objective.” Or: “Detachment, that’s my thing. I’m kind of a detached guy, so I figured this would be a good field for me.” #

And yet… When they get there, people who always wanted to be journalists and make the world a better place find that the professional codes in place often prevent this. It’s hard to fight for justice when you have to master “he said, she said” stories. Voice is something you learn to take out of your work if you want to succeed in the modern newsroom. You are supposed to sacrifice and learn to report the story without attitude or bias creeping in. And then, if you succeed in disciplining yourself, you might one day get a column and earn the right to crusade for justice, to move and convince

There is a lot of crap inherent in the way we think about journalism, the only antidote is to think. For your self.
http://pressthink.org/2011/03/the-psychology-of-bloggers-vs-journalists-my-talk-at-south-by-southwest/

Chicago 16 states:
I love Eats, Shoots & Leaves, but I would have preferred to see “and” in the title rather than the ampersand &#8212 which would allow for a serial comma after “Shoots.”

Section 6.2, p. 307
Chicago Manual of Style, Sixteenth Edition

Sheesh!

Those of you who know me already know I have a slight issue with the whole SNAG (Sensitive New-Age Guy) thing. But this is taking it a bit too far:

I mean really, who writes this with a straight face? For even more on The Integral Warrior/Priest Process visit goddessontheloose.com…

“He perfectly complements my own enthusiasm.”

You got to know when someone introduces a new partner and then describes someone else’s value this way, it’s not going to last long …

The original article

More awesome bags here

Some may say its a waste of time, but I rather like them…

From here

Unfortunate ad; all I can see is someone dressing up a baby as a chicken and then trying to make soup. Still, she seems to be a fairly talented photographer

But honestly Monica, the web is considered “public domain” and you should be happy we just didn’t “lift” your whole article and put someone else’s name on it! It happens a lot, clearly more than you are aware of, especially on college campuses, and the workplace.
…
We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me!

OMFG you gotta wonder in this day and age…