feed on feeds - 2015/11/29 - items 0 to 15

Tension is escalating between Moscow and Ankara after the downing of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish forces.

Davutoglu criticises Tsipras after Greek PM tells Ankara that "fortunately our pilots are not as mercurial as yours".

We examine the use of patriotism in the world of sport and how it can be used to promote war.

We examine the ownership battle currently raging at Georgia's most watched television channel, Rustavi 2.

reifman writes: Amazon released new video of its futuristic drones (honestly the though of them buzzing around is the only thing that makes me want to join the NRA) but there's some hopefulness here. Prime Air vehicles will take advantage of sophisticated 'sense and avoid' technology, as well as a high degree of automation, to safely operate beyond the line of sight to distances of 10 miles or more. 'It looks like science fiction, but it's real: One day, seeing Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road. ' Amazon said its drones fly under 400 feet and weigh less than 55 pounds.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Previously, you would enter an emoji code in some text and when you posted, it would be converted to an image. If you edited the text the emoji code would be gone replaced by the image. If you then saved again you'd often get garbage.

Not. Good.

Now it works more rationally.

When the item is rendered, the emoji codes are evaluated. But when you edit them, you see the codes and can change them.

:kiss: :collision: :heart: :boom:

Happy!

PS: If you're reading this in an RSS app you may see the codes too. Depends on whether the reader groks emoji codes. Here's the original post on my blog so you can see what I'm talking about.

Jeb is full of it because there's basically no difference in the kind of government you'll get from Hillary Clinton and a garden variety Republican presidential candidate. Cruz, Christie, Bush or Clinton will fill the job description the only way anyone can. We learned that with Obama.

So Jeb is a crazy lunatic asshole idiot country-fucker, if he really would work for Trump's election of HRC, because he truly is a different breed, and if he were elected we'd be in for a bumpy ride, even compared to what we've been dealing with the last few years.

We have big problems to address, and they have nothing to do with race, or even guns. We need some leadership. HRC would probably give us some, and honestly probably so would the others. They will all rob the country blind, and further enrich the plutocracy, but if the only other choice is electing Hitler 2.0, I think I'd go for the plutocrat.

As US president heads to French capital for UN climate summit, his 2008 promise to heal the planet is sure to be broken.

HughPickens.com writes: Danielle Douglas-Gabriel writes in the Washington Post that Purdue University is partnering with Vemo Education, a Reston-based financial services firm, to create income-share agreements, or ISAs, that its students can tap to pay for tuition, room and board. In return, students would pay a percentage of their earnings after graduation for a set number of years, replenishing the fund for future investments. Purdue president Mitch Daniels calls the contracts a constructive addition to today's government loan programs and perhaps the only option for students and families who have low credit ratings and extra financial need. "From the student's standpoint, ISAs assure a manageable payback amount, never more than the agreed portion of their incomes. Best of all, they shift the risk of career shortcomings from student to investor: If the graduate earns less than expected, it is the investors who are disappointed; if the student decides to go off to find himself in Nepal instead of working, the loss is entirely on the funding providers, who will presumably price that risk accordingly when offering their terms. This is true "debt-free" college." However some observers worry that students pursuing profitable degrees in engineering or business would get better repayment terms than those studying to become nurses or teachers. "Income share agreements have the potential to create another option for students looking to pay for college while seeking assurances they will not be overwhelmed by future payments," says Robert Kelchen. "However, given the current generosity of federal income-based repayment programs and the likely hesitation of those who expect six-figure salaries to sign away a percentage of their income for years to come, the market for these programs may be somewhat limited."