Get Cynical

From Wired.com:

Last month, two Belgian publications reported that the Brussels police have begun an investigation into a citizen’s allegations of rape — in Second Life.

I am half convinced that the tantalizingly brief story, printed in De Morgen and Het Laatste Nieuws, is a hoax or an April Fool’s joke.

Yet it has prompted several threads of discussion, from a legal analysis to four pages of commentary at the Second Citizen forums.

Unfortunately, rape in virtual spaces is not unheard of. And I’m not talking about the “consensual” rape built into some games (although if you’re interested in that debate, GameGrene has a good conversation about it).

There is no question that forced online sexual activity — whether through text, animation, malicious scripts or other means — is real; and is a traumatic experience that can have a profound and unpleasant aftermath, shaking your faith in yourself, in the community, in the platform, even in sex itself.

From Sanna’s Brazil Fashions.

A web documentary series about life in Baghdad:

An ongoing documentary web series following the lives of a few Iraqi 20-somethings trying to survive in Baghdad.

The everyday life of the Iraqi citizen has been the great untold story of the Iraq war.

The Distribution
The brave Iraqi subjects and crew risked their lives every time they turned on a camera to make this series. They want to show the world what life is like when your hometown is a war-zone. We believe that people who see their stories will want to share them with others. That’s why we’re distributing the series online. So please – watch the videos, rewatch them, tell friends about them, comment on them, and link to them.

The Language
The intention of the Iraqi filmmakers and subjects was to show the world what Baghdad is truly like. That’s why they usually speak English and not Arabic.

Here is another of the many videos on that site:

Chart 1: The Process of Producing a Human-Made Egg

This article is the first in a series of case reports addressing the problems of some selected artificially made food products in Mainland China (These food products are sold to consumers in Mainland China, Macau, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other countries). Drawing on reliable data extracted from Chinese newspapers, magazines and the Internet, this study takes a closer look at the problem of faked eggs in Mainland China. It seeks to inform the scientific and medical communities regarding the problems of consuming these products as well as the short- and long-term epidemic consequences.

(via The Consumerist)

Update:

Somebody smells a rotten egg.

Dominic writes:

From: Dominic

Re: Site

No, you lying white devil. Cynicism isnt ‘an
unpleasant way of telling the truth’. Thats antiChrist
white devil bullshit. Optimism is telling the truth.
Everything gets better, nothing ever gets worse. Ever.
You dont even know what the truth is. Jesus Christ IS
the truth. Jesus Christ isnt cynical. The devil sure
is. And so are his people.

Thanks Dominic! I’ll add this to the testimonials page.