If you need to B*tch about something... this is the place — Page 26

My power was out all day from 2:30 to a few minutes ago.

For three days in a row, twice a day I've been getting unsolicited calls from a call centre somewhere on the Indian subcontinent asking if I am "The man of the house" and then hanging up when I ask them who they are or what they want.

I find it rather insulting and frustrating to be taken away from vital classified research in the Chateau by these uninvited guests asking impertinent questions and not waiting around for the answer.

Miss Sakamoto answered the phone once and she was asked if she was "the lady of the house".

Next time I shall release the Shadmock.

Sorry, I don't seem to speak Bingowings very fluently. ;-)

A Shadmock's a werewolf/vampire hybrid.

We constantly get these charity bags pushed through our tradesman's entrance.

Some of them are clearly fake charities (like Helpmates LTD) and many of them ask for unwanted clothes (if I don't want clothes I don't buy them and when I do they tend to be second hand anyway).

The other day we got two genuine looking charity bags.

They were asking for unwanted books, DVDs and video games as well as the usual clothes and such and I noticed a few bits and bobs that I didn't think I'd need, bagged them up and left them outside the drawbridge to the Chateau.

The two bags were for different charities.

It had been snowing a little so I went outside to check if they had been collected as I wouldn't want the objects inside spoiled by the damp and gone to waste.

One of the bags had been taken but the other had been tossed into the hedge and I wouldn't have noticed if I'd given it a casual glance but seeing what I thought to be a bit of litter I pulled out the bag for The British Heart Foundation.

Thankfully the bag was in one piece.

Why it was put there and not collected or left in place is beyond me.

I shan't bother filling any more of the things and take anything I have direct to a shop the next to I venture into town (which I rarely do).

I swear half the stuff in my recycle bin is either junk mail or these sodding charity bags.

It must cost them.

And ironically (considering Ziggy's statement above) THIS!

I have a lot of work to get done today.  And my work computer went kaput!  I can't access several things I need, so I can only get so much done.

Well, some of it is indeed backed up, but the problem is this is a low budget company without spare computers, and I only have access to my personal computer right now, which does not have access to the server.  However, you are right that there are things I could have backed up there.  Good news is a coworker just barely offered to let me use her computer when she steps out for a couple of hours.

How is keeping an eye out for suspected terrorism anything like McCarthyism?  I suppose calling Unsolved Mysteries was equally like Big Brother.  I suppose calling the cops when you think you see a break in is a big WOW as well.  I simply don't see how this is offensive.  Sorry.

nIghtWatch more like.

Exactly, what are you supposed to report on this thing that you wouldn't report to the police anyway?

The truth of the matter is that even if you factor in things like 9/11 or 7/7 your chances of being exposed to terrorist activity are tiny compared to being hit by a car or falling down the stairs.

Is there a war on unnecessary car use?

Is there a war on jaywalking?

Is there a war on not using your mobile (cell phone) while driving?

Is there a citizen's league for upper floor vigilance?

Anxious Caller *whispers* :  Hello iStair? I saw my neighbour walk down the stairs and he wasn't holding onto the bannister...I mean...anything could have happened.

These campaigns exist only to promote the fear of terrorism which is sort of doing the terrorists job for them.

If you overhear talk of bombing a building or killing someone etc just take note of the details and contact the police.

If you notice someone looking a bit middle eastern in a midwest town get over it.

They are more likely the nicest people you will ever meet.

I see your point sirs, but I'm not yet prepared to let the Wookiee win.  The bystander effect is a genuine social psychological phenomenon and is probably more widespread, even in the post-9/11 world than you realize.  Moreover, I don't see this as anything like turning in your neighbor for politically disagreeing.  Even if someone calls in their neighbor for no reason other than being Middle Eastern, the police are not going to set up a stakeout.  The "informants" can be as paranoid as they want to be, but the police by law will keep a level head.  Overreaching on their part would send them on false trails anyway.  Again, I don't see this as any different than a neighborhood watch.

Look forward to more of this sort of thing then.

Miscarriages of justice are unfortunately not uncommon, but if I thought I saw a woman being raped, a man being mugged, or anything even remotely suspicious, I still think a call to the bobbies would not be unjustified.

EDIT: Allow me to add, as it is probably more pertinent in your neck of the world anyway BW, that if the terrorists in question were white IRA fighters (an IRA faction, I know, since the mainstream branches have stopped the violent tactics), we would have no problem with this sort of ad campaign against them.  But since the predominant terrorists in the US are Middle Eastern, liberals immediately think, "Oh no! The evil whites are going to stereotype the minority group!"  I'm sure some will be racially motivated, but I think the majority are intelligent enough to report a white man buying bomb parts instead of the friendly Lebanese man who invited you over for a barbecue.

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be disagreeable.  I do think the above video misses the point and is delving into our submission to authority, which often does not involve snitching: see Milgram's experiment and the McDonald's scam mentioned in the video.  Perceived authority can often get away with ordering us to do something against our conscience, and this isn't a recent phenomenon, nor do I believe it is limited to our society.  On the other hand, an ad campaign to me simply encourages something that clearly some people won't take part in, but offers no mandate or reward, nor does it guarantee that anyone will actually get in any trouble.  I am willing to drop the subject if you want, but I want to pose a last pair of questions to those who disagree with me: if you see something that you suspect as potentially related to terrorism, even if being perpetrated by an Arab or a Muslim, would you report it?  If so, how does this ad disagree with your conscience?

I fell down into a sharp part of a metal bench and I had to go to the ER at school.

The cut was pretty deep.

It makes out that there is a new special crime in town that is more dangerous than anything else.

Which is clearly bull.

All potential criminal activity should be reported to the police.

By setting up a special (and creepy) campaign it sets the low probability of being exposed to terrorism and being able to collect intelligence on it as being the highest priority.

Terrorists want the general population to be paralised by their campaigns into behaving differently in their day to day life.

This creepy stuff is exactly what they want.

----------------------------------------------------

Sorry to hear about your injuries Ziggy.

^That is a good point.  That is the goal of terrorism, so in a sense this is indeed giving into their goals.  I will concede there.  That said, it doesn't make me paranoid of the government.  But again, it is a good point.

This raises an interesting question to me: why is it that liberals are generally more willing to trust governmental authority and management, but when it comes to security issues, the normally government opposed conservatives actually support the state's authority?  Considering Bingowings and FanFiltration are both liberals, perhaps you may know the answer to this.

As for you, Zig, I too am sorry to hear that.  Where did it get you?  Hopefully your sense of humor will not be impaired? :)

It got me in the calf. It went about an inch and a half deep. My sense of humor was fine, in fact, it made me more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

This thread is for bitching, not rationally discussing political-sounding stuff! Get back to yer Politics thread darth_ender, you politics-discussing guy!