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Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link An Excess of Pity: Why We Fail to Deport Those Whom We Should Deport Tue Apr 29, 2025 15:00 | Dr David McGrogan
Why do we fail to deport those whom we should deport? It's due in the end, says Dr David McGrogan, to an excess of pity. We are pitying ourselves into disorder and social decay. We need to be willing not to be nice.
The post An Excess of Pity: Why We Fail to Deport Those Whom We Should Deport appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Reeves Set to Bring in Milkshake Tax Despite Failure of Sugar Tax and Pledge Not to Raise Taxes Tue Apr 29, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
Rachel Reeves is set to bring in a milkshake tax to cut obesity levels despite the failure of the 2018 sugar tax that has seen obesity levels accelerate rather than fall. What happened to no tax rises for working people?
The post Reeves Set to Bring in Milkshake Tax Despite Failure of Sugar Tax and Pledge Not to Raise Taxes appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Carney Wins Canadian Election as Poilievre Projected to Lose Seat Despite Highest Conservative Vote ... Tue Apr 29, 2025 11:13 | Will Jones
Mark Carney's Liberals have won the Canadian election and a fourth term in Government as Pierre Poilievre is projected to lose his seat despite scoring the highest Conservative vote since 1988 in a result blamed on Trump.
The post Carney Wins Canadian Election as Poilievre Projected to Lose Seat Despite Highest Conservative Vote Since 1988 in Result Blamed on Trump appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Net Zero Blamed for Blackouts Tue Apr 29, 2025 09:00 | Will Jones
A reliance on Net Zero energy ? solar and wind power ? left Spain and Portugal vulnerable to the mass blackouts engulfing the region, experts have said.
The post Net Zero Blamed for Blackouts appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Why Labour Might Be About to Lose the Runcorn By-Election: Because it Hates its Own Voters Tue Apr 29, 2025 07:00 | Steven Tucker
Reform is favourite to win the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, overturning Labour's 14,700 majority. Why? It might have something to do with having the nation's third-highest number of asylum seekers, says Steven Tucker.
The post Why Labour Might Be About to Lose the Runcorn By-Election: Because it Hates its Own Voters appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

US Military Troops replaced with 'Flat Daddies' at home

category international | anti-war / imperialism | other press author Thursday August 31, 2006 19:06author by redjade Report this post to the editors

no, this story does not come from 'The Onion'

Somethings these days are too weird for words....
a1156918134_2399.jpg

Maine National Guard members in Iraq and Afghanistan are never far from the thoughts of their loved ones.

But now, thanks to a popular family-support program, they're even closer.

Welcome to the ``Flat Daddy" and ``Flat Mommy" phenomenon, in which life-size cutouts of deployed service members are given by the Maine National Guard to spouses, children, and relatives back home.

The Flat Daddies ride in cars, sit at the dinner table, visit the dentist, and even are brought to confession, according to their significant others on the home front.


``I prop him up in a chair, or sometimes put him on the couch and cover him up with a blanket," said Kay Judkins of Caribou, whose husband, Jim, is a minesweeper mechanic in Afghanistan. ``The cat will curl up on the blanket, and it looks kind of weird. I've tricked several people by that. They think he's home again."

At the request of relatives, about 200 Flat Daddy and Flat Mommy photos have been enlarged and printed at the state National Guard headquarters in Augusta. The families cut out the photos, which show the Guard members from the waist up, and glue them to a $2 piece of foam board.

Sergeant First Class Barbara Claudel, the state family-support director who began the program, said the response from Guard families has been giddily enthusiastic.

``If there's something we can do to make it a little easier on the families, then that's our job and our responsibility. It brings them a little bit closer and might help them somewhere down the line," Claudel said yesterday.

go read the rest of the pathetically sad story....
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/08/30/gu...ions/

author by redjadepublication date Wed Jan 07, 2009 23:59author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Quote: ''The U.S. Department of Defense has [....] projects to fund. Idea

OSD09-H03? Develop an AI that fools young children into thinking they are talking to Daddy or Mommy when Daddy or Mommy are off on their 3rd deployment to Iraq and can't come to the webcam.

"The child should be able to have a simulated conversation with a parent about generic, everyday topics. For instance, a child may get a response from saying "I love you", or "I miss you", or "Good night mommy/daddy." ... The application should incorporate an AI that allows for flexibility in language comprehension to give the illusion of a natural (but simple) interaction." ''

• more and discussions at http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/07/dod-wants-parent-b....html

OSD09-H03?
http://www.dodtechmatch.com/DOD/Opportunities/SBIRView....9-H03

'Deployments put stress on the entire family, especially small children and communication is key. The ability to reach out and communicate with loved ones from areas of conflict is better than at any time in history. Nevertheless, the stresses of deployment might be softened if spouses and especially children could conduct simple conversations with their loved ones in immediate times of stress or prolonged absence. Historically, families have derived comfort and support from photographs or mementos, but current technology SHOULD allow for more personal interactive messages of support. Over 80% of American children between the ages of three and five regularly use computers, and 83% of families have a computer in their home. So, computer-based applications would resonate with children and capture their interest and imagination. The challenge is to design an application that would allow a child to receive comfort from being able to have simple, virtual conversations with a parent who is not available "in-person". We are looking for innovative applications that explore and harness the power of advanced interactive multimedia computer technologies to produce compelling interactive dialogue between a Service member and their families via a pc- or web-based application using video footage or high-resolution 3-D rendering....'

author by scarypublication date Thu Sep 07, 2006 18:25author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Can you imagine the therapy those kids will need?
"Yeah, we had a life size cut out of Dad on the chair..., uh, Mom made us bring him on the school run... Dad was in Afghanistan... It was weird"

Hopefully they'll get the real thing back in one piece, before this self delusion causes any permanent damage to the kids... weird...

author by another absurditypublication date Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:43author address author phone Report this post to the editors

and let him play sisyphus.

like a rat in a trap. he would never kill himself because his 'God'
which allows him to kill ,demean women; and rape the earth is a
materialist construct that condemns suicide.

cf:( The Myth of Sisyphus- Albert Camus)

author by un chien andaloupublication date Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:02author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Its absurd because these people don't need the flat-daddy
when the father of the nation is protecting them with his bombs
and guns -yeehaw.

Patriarchial constructs gone mad?

When living individual people give up their liberties to a concept
of equality and fairness grounded in beligerent war-fare and
destruction of culture. they are constructing a mythos-right/

Therefore, the cut-out is unnecessary as they have replaced
the concept of father with el presidente. its all part of the joy
of surrealism, and the U.S is possibly the most surreal
community on the globe. no-one has shot the fucker though
he is undermining the planet with toxic policy and global warfare.

 
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