b a d p o p c o r n

Capital Punishment

Written by Moe on December 2, 2005 | 3 Comments

I just finished reading a BBC article, US Carries out 1000th execution. I know what you are thinking, only 1000? Well it is 1000 since capital punishment was reintroduced in 1976.

Number 1000

Kenneth Boyd, a convicted killer, was put to death by lethal injection in North Carolina for the murder of his estranged wife and her father in 1988.
He was given three drugs - one to put him to sleep, another to paralyze him, and a third to stop his heart.

Kenneth Boyd Mr. Boyd

You always remember you first

Gary Gilmore became the first to die - by firing squad in the state of Utah.

I am a bit torn on the issue of capital punishment.

Precedent
I have always felt that if you set an example and stay the course, people fall in line. For example, Iran’s strict policy on stealing and when I say strict I mean strict like a boot camp drill Sergeant. Basically, it is “an eye for an eye”. If you are caught stealing, then you get your arm cut off. Sounds harsh, but has two huge benefits.

First, it is effective like a mother fucker. The theft rate in Iran is practically zero. Why? Stealing something is not worth the risk of getting your fucking hand cut off. In the states, we simply slap a person on their wrist. The slight slap is the main reason for the huge percentage of repeat-offenders.

Secondly, cutting off hands for stealing would eradicate racial profiling. How you ask? Instead of following the black guy in the store, you would follow the guy with his hand cut off. If he was a repeat offender, you just smile and wish him good luck. Unless you own an apple bobbing store of course.

Being tough on crime shows results. You will stop future crimes from being committed. Maybe you don’t have to be as extreme as Iran but tough none the less.

Repentance

Every time I think of a guy being put to death I get a weird feeling in my stomach. What if he got more time? Maybe one day he would be truly sorry for what he did. Isn’t repentance found in every religion and culture? Also, what is worse just killing a guy or making him think about what he did for the rest of his life in solitude. Taking away rights that people take for granted. When he can go outside. When he has to go to sleep. Where he can go. What he can wear. Other things of that nature. I know this is a sad idealistic view but it is still something I think about.

I am going to stop here so I can get a bit of a discussion going, so comment on your thoughts about capital punishment.

US EXECUTIONS SINCE 1976
Texas - 355
Virginia - 94
Oklahoma - 79
Missouri - 66
Florida - 60
Georgia - 39
North Carolina - 38
South Carolina, Alabama - 34 each
Louisiana, Arkansas - 27 each
Arizona - 22
Ohio - 19
Indiana - 16
Delaware - 14
Illinois - 12
Nevada, California - 11 each
Mississippi, Utah - 6 each
Maryland, Washington - 4 each
Nebraska, Pennsylvania - 3 each
Kentucky, Montana, Oregon - 2 each
Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, New Mexico, Tennessee, Wyoming - 1 each
US government - 3


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Posted in Politics

3 Comments

Jarhead

Written by Aaron on November 7, 2005 | 2 Comments

Okay, so I had seen the previews for Jarhead and been very interested in seeing the movie. I finally saw the movie recently.

It was everything I had hoped and more.

The cast was was excellent and every single member of the cast performed at their best. The direction was just plain beautiful and truly delivered a remarkable vision.

If you have any memories of the early 90’s what-so-ever this movie will most likely hit home for you. I assure you this is not your typical “War Movie”.

It made me think of Shakespeare’s Henry the Fifth act4 scene3. I’ll give you the shortened version:

”
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
“

This movie made me hold my manhood cheap.


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Posted in Movies, Politics

2 Comments

2 Words… Jack Thompson

Written by Aaron on November 3, 2005 | 1 Comment

So,
As many of you know, I work in the video game industry. Many who do not closely follow the industry have missed out on some rather interesting drama and just plain good entertainment brought about by one Jack Thompson.
Now, this man is on a crusade against violence and sexuality in video games. This is his right. I have nothing against the cause of protecting children, and I too believe that children should not be playing Grand Theft Auto or similar games. My problem with Mr. Thompson is that I believe the actual parenting of children should be done by…well…their parents.
This is not actually what this post is about. You see Mr. Thompson has been seeming less and less rational each time I hear of him and…well he said this:

”
Certain regional governments in Japan have banned the sale of the Grand Theft Auto games to minors, but Japan’s Sony has no problem whatsoever dumping this garbage into American kids’ brains. Looks like Pearl Harbor 2 by Sony/Take-Two…
“

Now statements can often be taken out of context for sheer shock value so the responsible people at Game Politics did their best to make sure this was really his intent, mentioning that his comment could appear insensitive, and he said this:

”
Insensitive? What the Japanese are doing to our kids is insensitive and racist. The Japanese have for a very long time dumped pornography into this country in a fashion they would not tolerate in their own country. It is another version of Pearl Harbor.
”
I could not make stuff like this up.

He reportedly went so far as to email the Japanese Ambassador, with a strongly worded letter that starts as a request for assistance, and however ends up nearly accusing the entire country of abusing America’s youth. I am not Japanese, nor am I an Ambassador, let alone the Japanese Ambassador…yet I am baffled and mildly offended. Can one expect help from someone while making this sort of attack on them at the same time? Does Mr. Thompson believe that the nation of Japan is responsible for Sony’s actions in America? And more importantly, does Mr. Thompson think Sony is as much to blame for this as Rockstar games…the company that actually created the questionable content?

I believe this man to be a true and undeniable Zealot, and usually there is nothing more frightening to me than a zealot… But, Damn. He sure puts on a good show…


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Posted in Gaming, Politics

1 Comment

Louis Mountbatten

Written by Moe on October 10, 2005 | No Comments

Hate him or love him, but he was on top
And he has people fighting until their heart stops
So go and envy Loui, the Viceory
Cause he drew a line, and suddenly, there’s Indians and Pakis

Louis

So who is Louis Mountbatten? He was the last British Viceory (Governor General of India) and oversaw the partition of India. I think the actual plan is known as the “Mountbatten Plan” (also known as the 3rd June plan i guess).

India celebrates its independence on August 15th while Pakistan celebrates theirs on August 14th. Although growing up I thought this was because both countries just hate each other that much, it was actually because of old Louis. He had to be there for each ceremony so Pakistan held their’s a day earlier. Technically both countries got their independence on August 15th, 1947. Personally when I found that out I laughed my ass off.

That wasn’t the only reason I found Louis so interesting. I read a couple articles about how he put together the partition plan horribly quick, and due to this haste caused many lives to be lost. Basically the British found a way to screw over the brown folk one last time before they left. Since the countries were technically independent prior to the actual partition, it was up to the two governments to make sure everything went down cool. They should be able to handle the largest recorded population movement in history…they have been a independent for what…days. Basically this is what the British said..

“Muslim people can have those sides, and Hindus can have the middle…alright get a move on brown bitches”

So what happened? Violent attacks from both sides killed MIllions of people as they moved from one country to the next. From what I read 7 million people went from India to Pakistan and 6 million the other way. Thats a whole lot of people.

What happens next? There is a line between them, so they decide to fight. Basically there was Kashmir and both India and Pakistan wanted it. However the leaders of Kashmir wanted to stay independent, and for the most part got their way until the British left. Then people started throwing rocks and stuff. They fought many a times later, but I don’t really feel like getting into that. But at some point Pakistan lost it’s East Side (Bangladesh). What is really cool about it is that, George H.W. Bush was the ambassador the the United Nations at that time. He didn’t like India’s “aggression” and took up the matter with the United Nations Security Council. See, thats why Bush Jr. likes Pakistan…cause his dad did. He attacked Iraq cause his dad had beef with Saadam right? Maybe Im wrong, who knows.

Anyway…Louis drew a line, Indians and Paksitanis have disliked each other since. I kind of laugh when I think about it. To the rest of the world, Indians and Pakistanis look like penguins. They couldn’t tell us apart. In fact if you look at the culture it is so damn similar. We wear the same clothing, practically speak the same languages, eat a lot of the same food, and have horrible body ordor (you know you got family that stinks so don’t pretend). We even try to rip off the same crap from America, ie. “Bollywood” and “Lollywood”. Honestly, it surprises me that two countries that are so alike would hate each other so much. But I guess religion is that big of a factor. You are already condemming them to hell, or recarnation into a snail or something….isn’t that enough?

No ofcourse it is not. That is why both Pakistan and India need to buy more F-16s right? That is exactly what a third world country should be doing, buying 25 million dollar Jets. Pakistan and India both plan to get 20 something planes each for 25 million dollars per plane. Funny thing is they had an equal amount of planes before. So I guess the new Viceroy of India is Bowing (the company that got the contracts to make the planes..i think its Bowing atleast…its some white man American company).

Soucres:

* Wikipedia
* BBC

If you really care to know where I read all this shit, then ask me…and I’ll find some links and throw them up.