Russian Sledges

Esther Schindler writes "We all know that the arts reflect the technology of their times. So let's look at The Doctor ('the definite article,' as Tom Baker said in December 1974) and his use of computers. Actually, for a show so closely associated with the Slashdot-techie lifestyle, Doctor Who didn't have much to do with computers early on. This article by Peter Salus traces the formative years: 'In January 1970, Jon Pertwee (Doctor #3) acquired a Cambridge scientist (Caroline John as Liz Shaw) as his companion, which might lead the unsuspecting viewer to think that a firmer computer science basis might ensue. But only in April did Liz exhibit her technical knowledge (by recognizing a Geiger counter reading).' And then we get to K-9....."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

When it comes to the debate over unpaid internships, law professor and intern labor rights advocate David Yamada has been ahead of the curve. In 2002, Yamada analyzed intern employment and found issues of pay and protection from harassment to be "chief among the legal issues implicated by the intern economy." More than a decade later, Yamada sees an intern rights movement growing in response to many of those unresolved issues.

Project Intern recently sat down with Yamada at his Suffolk Law School office to talk about the issue, how it's evolved over the years and how his perspective on internships has changed. We followed up again this week to get his thoughts on Condé Nast's decision to end its internship program amid an ongoing lawsuit from former interns. Here's what he had to say.

This interview has been edited and for clarity and brevity.

How has the internship issue evolved in recent decades?

During the last three decades, I've seen how internships have become a more or less expected middle ground between traditional classroom education and entry-level employment for individuals who are seeking entry into certain professions and vocations, and with that has come the real explosion of unpaid internships as being sort of the primary standard-bearer for that intern economy.

How would you characterize the emerging issues, legal or otherwise, that might have some bearing on how this issue is playing out?

Well, legally speaking, I think the main focus right now is on whether or not unpaid internships violate the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage standards. So we have some lawsuits now that are heading to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the decision that the court renders on that is going to have a major impact on whether or not those internships are deemed to be illegal in terms of that unpaid status.

Issues under that are the status of unpaid internships in the nonprofit and public sectors, and thirdly, the question of unpaid internships and their relationship to educational institutions, especially colleges and universities that are playing a matchmaking or sponsorship role.

Another issue, apart from the question of whether or not unpaid internships are illegal is the question of whether or not interns, paid or unpaid, have standing to sue under discrimination and sexual harassment laws. That question, too, is largely unresolved under the law, and I think during the upcoming years we'll see a sharper focus on that, hopefully in a way that will ensure that interns regardless of their pay status are covered by those protective laws.

What is your initial reaction to the news that Condé Nast will halt its internship program?

I was disappointed but not surprised. Disappointed because a company like Condé Nast, which publishes high-end, big-budget magazines, certainly can afford to pay its interns the minimum wage. It also strikes me as being very shortsighted. They have an opportunity to evaluate promising candidates for future employment and to help train the next generation of writers and creative people, while gaining the benefit of their work. It could've been a win-win, but they opted for the lose-lose.

This move is often cited as one potential drawback to calling for an end to unpaid internships—do you think it will trigger other companies who are facing pressure for internship compensation practices to do the same?

I think it's a toss-up in terms of what will happen next. Some companies may end their internship programs; others will realize that paying at least the minimum wage is a mutually beneficial move.

Do you think this might affect the pending lawsuit against this company, or those against other companies?

While I can't get into the heads of judges and speculate on how current events affect their legal analysis, the questions of compensation as set out by the Department of Labor and the courts seem pretty clear cut as to the key factors to be considered. The Condé Nast decision shouldn't affect judicial and administrative rulings if the standards are properly applied. However, it's possible that federal and state labor departments will be under increasing pressure from corporate interests to ease off on any enforcement efforts concerning unpaid internships. This may become a more political issue as the intern rights movement gains steam.

Overall, do you anticipate any reduction in internships as a result of increased scrutiny of intern wages and treatment?

I think we're in a period of potential restructuring of what we've been calling the intern economy. Similar to what we're seeing with health care, there will be some disruption and uncertainty as all this shakes out. It may mean a reduction in the net number of internships offered, but that reduction affects everyone equally in terms of supply. In addition, given the NACE studies showing that unpaid internships may carry less clout in the entry-level job market, it's far from clear that an overall reduction in unpaid opportunities will have a negative effect on individual employment prospects. 

Could you elaborate on the role that colleges play in the intern economy?

Typically, colleges and universities serve as matchmakers of sorts between internship providers who are looking for interns and their own students. In some cases, those internships are arranged for academic credit with the school playing a little bit of an oversight role between the intern and the employer.

In other cases, the universities plays what I'd call a "pure" matchmaking role: They list an internship in their career development office, the students can apply as their interest dictates, and it's really more of a job or internship broker arrangement.

Is there potential for problems in that kind of relationship between colleges and internship providers?

I think the question of university and college sponsorship of internships is problematic on both ethical and legal issues.

The ethical issue is whether or not internships for academic credit should be charged full tuition. We're at a point in our history where college tuition has just gone through the roof, and the idea of charging full tuition for granting academic credit for internships that involve work that is primarily farmed out or done at a third party site strikes me as being problematic.

On the legal end we have the question of whether or not unpaid internships are legal generally, and then if the university serves as that matchmaking or sponsoring role, whether they are playing a role in possibly enabling internships that violate the law. I think, again, it's very complicated. The question depends in part on how the appellate courts will resolve the issue generally, on whether unpaid internships are illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act, especially for private sector employers. And then we'll get to the questions of whether or not these internships in the nonprofit and public sectors implicate the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well.

If there is a student who might have questions about the legality or compliance of a situation he or she is in, what options are available to them?

They can … think about approaching employment lawyers on this question. But there's sort of a reality check here: I think anyone contemplating challenging an unpaid internship in terms of whether or not they should be paid under the law, there are some risks involved, frankly, and that includes the publicity of being known as someone who took the employer to court and any ripple effect on their employability on future references and job opportunities.

I think it's for that reason that these lawsuits that are being filed that are challenging unpaid internships have been very courageous, frankly, by people who are taking some risks, and I have a lot of admiration for them because they're maybe creating some change that will benefit a lot of people—thousands of people, perhaps—in years to come.

What word or phrase would you use to describe your perspective on internships?

I've come to see my attitude toward internships as transitional. When I was a young collegian, back in the 70s and 80s, very few people did internships, and I saw it as kind of a sexy exotic thing to do that I never got to do, and I kind of envied folks who got to do internships. (Yamada said he didn't intern as an undergraduate, but he did hold several internships—both paid and unpaid—as a law student.)

Fast forward to today, we've got an intern economy that basically expects people in college to start piling up internships on their resume, often times without compensation, and so I've now come to view this practice as being exploitative at times and not nearly as attractive as I saw it some 30 years ago.

Yamada blogs about internships and other workplace issues at Minding the Workplace. To get involved with ProPublica's investigation into internships, share your story here (if you're a student) or here (if you're an employer/career counselor).  

Top photo by Memsphere via Flickr.

DNA tests confirm Bulgarian woman is Maria's mother

WASHINGTON — The Oneida Indian Nation’s campaign against the Washington pro football club’s team name picked up new supporters this week when more than two dozen clergy in the Washington region committed to taking the fight to their pulpits.

“Black clergy have been the conscience of America,” Oneida Nation representative Ray Halbritter said to a gathering of roughly 40 people on folding chairs in the basement of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ. “This is not a fight we could do by ourselves, or should do by ourselves.”

The Rev. Graylan Hagler, senior minister at Plymouth, asked for a show of hands Wednesday (Oct. 23) to indicate which clergy members in attendance would be willing to preach against what he termed the “R word.” More than a dozen raised their hands. Hagler said that a different dozen committed to the cause at a clergy breakfast meeting Wednesday and that, all told, he has commitments from roughly 100 clergy members to talk to their congregations in coming weeks.

Clergy at the afternoon meeting came from a range of churches, including African Methodist Episcopal, Baptist and United Church of Christ, and from as far north as Baltimore and as far south as Fredericksburg, Va.

“Collectively, we’re speaking to thousands of people every week,” Hagler told them. He has been speaking out against the team name for more than 20 years.

Joan Middleton, one of Hagler’s congregants, concedes that his sermons equating the “R word” to the “N word” have changed her mind, slowly, over time. And yet, she says, she just can’t let go of her team’s totems. They mean too much to her.

“In all honesty, I never thought it was any kind of problem,” she says. “Now I understand why it should change, I really do. But I have a lot of the paraphernalia, and I don’t want to give it up.”

Hagler’s largely African-American church in northeast Washington serves as a sort of microcosm of the wider Washington region and the team’s national fan base. Some members agree with their pastor that the name should go. Some love the name unconditionally and hope it never changes.

And then there’s Middleton’s middle ground, her ambivalence a pained prism through which to view competing emotions. Does love of team transcend respect for others? Can a trademark trump a trail of tears?

The long-simmering debate over a two-syllable noun that dictionaries define as offensive appears near full boil. What’s different now is the emergence of the Oneida Indian Nation as a full-throated opponent of the name with a public relations staff to rival the NFL’s.

Earlier this month, the Oneidas held a symposium in Washington to brand the name as a hateful, racist epithet that should be consigned to history’s dustbin. Team owner Daniel Snyder wrote a letter, released later that week, defending the name on the basis of polling, tradition and childhood memories. It carried a gentler tone than Snyder’s barbed statement to USA Today in May that he’d never change the name: “NEVER — you can use caps.”

The Oneidas, who expect to meet with representatives from the NFL to talk about the matter next month, operate a Change the Mascot campaign that includes a website and a series of radio ads. Between Wednesday’s morning and afternoon meetings, Halbritter met with U.S. Reps. Betty McCollum and Eleanor Holmes Norton on Capitol Hill.

Suzan Shown Harjo, who has led the fight against the team name for decades, received a standing ovation at the afternoon meeting. She said team mascots tend to be “wild animals, the occasional lug nut and slug, and then us. And that hurts our children.”

Hagler urged clergy members to gather petitions at their churches to send to Snyder and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“The derogatory term ‘redskin’ offends many Native Americans and others in this country,” the petition says in part. “This word, defined in the dictionary as a slur, should not be publicly marketed and celebrated in America, which is built on the ideals of respect and inclusion. As representatives of our faith communities, we believe that this is a moral issue and we therefore have an obligation to step forward to join the Change the Mascot movement.”

(Erik Brady writes for USA Today.)

The post D.C. clergy join push to change Redskins name appeared first on Religion News Service.

Photo: Stuart MullenbergForget the neon green appletinis; when apple season rolls around, there are plenty of ways to mix up autumn’s favorite fruit into an array of cocktails. With a pour of...

A painstakingly compiled blog detailing just how impossible it is to make a living wage as a writer today.

Everyone loves this ridiculous spread on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, the 1983 Return of the Jedi ready issue that interviewed Carrie Fisher in all her bikini-ed glory. But more interesting than her space-faring beach party were the answers about Leia, and about the Star Wars films at large, that she gave to her interviewer, Carol Caldwell. Our Lady Organa had absolutely no illusions about why she was in a metal bikini, or why that galaxy far, far away rang true for the general population.

Basically, Carrie Fisher rocks, and was smarter about mythology and feminism thirty years ago than most people are now.

[Did you know that lots of fans didn’t like Leia very much?]

Read the full article

SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — A friend of the Nevada middle school student who killed a teacher and wounded two classmates before killing himself says Jose Reyes was a typical 12-year-old who liked soccer, was good at video games and didn't have a lot of friends but didn't seem to be a loner.

While endless debates about the practice of tipping food-service employees rage all over the Internet, most people agree on one thing: if you’re happy with the service you received, you should leave some kind of tip. Some diners at a Kansas Carrabba’s restaurant allegedly made their own exception to that: “unless you disapprove of the server’s personal life.”

There are a lot of questions still unanswered about this incident, like how the customer was 100% certain of his server’s sexual orientation. Here’s what was reportedly written on the credit card slip:

Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to GOD. Fags do not share in the wealth of GOD, and you will not share in ours. We hope you will see the tip your fag choices made you lose out on, and plan accordingly. It is never too late for GOD’s love, but none shall be spared for fags. May GOD have mercy on you.

This sounds over-the-top until you remember that hey, Kansas is the home of the Westboro Baptist Church, a group that uses similar rhetoric.

The waiter himself hasn’t come forward and talked to the media, but the customers’ message spread through social media sites. Supporters have been visiting the restaurant, asking to be seated in the waiter’s area, and giving him extra tips.

Carrabba’s, for their part, has only said that they don’t support discrimination against or by employees or customers. “We embrace diversity and believe in treating everyone with respect,” company management in a statement. And tipping. They definitely believe in tipping.

Anti-gay customers refuse tip to server, other patrons rally around him [WTVM]

It's not "why" the chicken crossed the road, but how safely she did it.

One would think that the admittedly specialized field of urban chicken safety would have grown proportionally with urban farming and homesteading movements, but it hasn't. That's why it's great that someone's introduced the "High-Vis Chicken Jacket," made with made with "NASA-approved" Flectalon. This is the perfect holiday gift for all the Brooklyn egg layers in your life. It has an inner lining for colder weather and comes in crossing-guard yellow and hot-pink versions, both indications that people are beginning to take urban chicken safety very, very seriously. Expect the Etsy version any day now. [Atlantic Cities via Consumerist]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: playing chicken, chicken safety, urban chickens

In most countries in the world it's unremarkable when women plan to get behind the wheel and drive, but in Saudi Arabia when thousands of women do so on Saturday, it will be a massive act of rebellion in the face of the country's religious authorities. 

Thanks to Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of social media, organizers say around 16,000 people have signed the petition calling for the elimination of the ban on women drivers and organizers hope that momentum carries over to Saturday's protest. "Now the mainstream press is getting involved too — itself a telling indication that the official climate is becoming more tolerant on this issue, The Guardian explains. 

Tomorrow's drive comes after months of planning — the petition and organization for the "day of defiance" began gaining traction in September when it garnered over 12,000 signatures — and after two decades of  law. CNN reports: 

An informal Saudi ban on driving became official policy in November 1990 during the Gulf War. As female American soldiers based in Saudi Arabia drove freely through military bases, 47 Saudi women organized a convoy to drive the streets of Riyadh in protest against the law that restricted them. Officials arrested them and suspended many from their jobs.

Neither sharia law nor national traffic regulations explicitly ban women from driving, but women are not issued licenses, The Guardian adds, so they cannot drive legally.

Late last month, a high-ranking cleric named Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Lohaidan said that driving hurts women's ovaries. "If a woman drives a car, not out of pure necessity, that could have negative physiological impacts as functional and physiological medical studies show that it automatically affects the ovaries and pushes the pelvis upwards," he said, in an interview translated by Reuters. Using al-Lohaidan's logic, it would seem that a woman's body or an automobile know when a woman is driving out of pure necessity versus a whim. 

The campaign to get women driving, Women2Drive, started in 2011. "Scores drove, and many were stopped by traffic police," CNN reports, explaining that one woman was even sentenced to 10 lashes. Because of the spread of social media (one example: Saudi women have been posting videos of themselves driving) and some changes in laws  — women will be able to be candidates and vote in municipal elections come 2015 — in Saudi Arabia, this year's drive is expected to be bigger. 

Meet Danielle N. Lee, author of the blog "Urban Scientist," hosted by Scientific American.

If you haven't heard of Lee already, here's the backstory: She was recently asked by an editor named "Ofek" of the scientific site Biology-Online if she would be interested in blogging for them. When she asked for further details, including how much they paid their guest bloggers, the editor responded that the opportunity could provide traffic and exposure, but no payment. Lee politely declined the offer from Ofek, who penned a horrifying response: "Because we don't pay for blog entries? Are you an urban scientist or an urban whore?"

Even absent the continual debate about writing for free in online spaces, Lee's experience points to something deeper: It's hard to argue that Ofek would have responded to a white male writer in the same way he responded to her.

Read More →

Barry Raynor is out 2-3 weeks with a concussion sustained in a Wednesday morning meeting.

Victor Paulson tested positive for Adderall, steroids, cocaine, and HGH during a random drug test. Suspended two weeks.

Julia Freeman got into an altercation with a coworker during orientation. They were told to break it up and then patted on their butts by their boss.

Management terminated accounting supervisor Bryan Taylor after determining his pending murder charges proved too much of a distraction at Shaw Capital.

Congratulations to our CEO for a brilliant acquisition, after which several board members dumped a water cooler over his head. The contracts were completely destroyed and we are looking for a new conference table due to water damage.

George O’Brien was fined $30,000 for excessively celebrating a great parking spot in the office lot.

Federal authorities issued a statement saying that although Shaw Capital’s insider trading scheme was illegal, it is not reviewable by replay and therefore the profits will stand.

Without singling out anyone in particular, this is just a reminder that getting down on one knee to pray to God in the middle of a performance review is at best a distraction, and frankly it raises a lot of questions about your progress here at Shaw Capital.

As the result of an ongoing strike, we’ve hired new replacement supervisors to prevent a company wide lockout. We’re confident high school math league students can effectively oversee our multi-billion dollar corporation while we determine a way to screw the supervisors out of a few thousand bucks.

Troy Benton, a legendary collegiate-level insurance salesman, surprisingly wasn’t hired by any marketing firms despite posting a very impressive LinkedIn profile this year. He will continue to sell insurance door-to-door as a senior.

Congratulations to Stu Foreman for a long, storied career with our company, as he retires at age 28.

Esquire Kazakhstan features photos of the country's decaying Soviet space murals, which do not have protected status, and are coming to bits. They're still towering, heroic Soviet Realist paeans to space travel, sorrowful as they may be.

Стены плачут (via Bruce Sterling)

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Pyongyang pizzeria worker, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 

Johnny Howard says health-care reform will force him to close "at least one location."

The owner of a barbecue restaurant in Rogers, Arkansas, says he's sorry for posting a large sign reading "Obamacare, America's Punishment for Slavery Years," atop a giant pole outside of Smokin' Joe's Ribhouse. The racist sign was reportedly up for a mere 45 minutes Friday night before numerous complaints compelled Johnny Howard to take it down and apologize publicly, telling a reporter at local ABC affiliate 40/29 Fort Smith Fayetteville that he didn't intend to post a "racist-oriented" message outside his business and the whole thing was a "mistake."

"It's the policy and I made the mistake of wording it in the wrong fashion," he said, adding, "The policy. It's not the person it's the policy."

After receiving several complaints, the restaurant changed the sign to read: "Why cook? Get some carry out." Howard says he'll refrain from turning his marquee into a soapbox in the future, but claims the Affordable Care Act will cause him to permanently close "at least one" of his three Smokin' Joe's locations. While maintaining that his message wasn't intended to be "racist-oriented at all," Howard did not explain how, exactly, he connected the history of slavery in the United States with health-care reform. His lackluster, unconvincing explanation of his motives has inspired a trickle of unambiguous feedback directed toward the restaurant online.

One review points out that on a recent visit, the ribs were "slimey" and service was slow at Smokin' Joe's. "Also," it continues, "they are racist right-wing nut jobs."

Restaurant owner posts racially-charged sign [40/29 TV via Reddit]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: racist ribs, affordable care act, arkansas, bad signs, obamacare, smokin' joe's ribhouse

Solid interpretation of the Heart Sūtra

Well, this is heartening and necessary: the Colorado High School Activities Association has partnered with the You Can Play project to help raise awareness about bullying and homophobia in sports — which has long been, and continues to be, a big problem. The partnership aims to create a video series that showcases student athletes, coaches and administrators making statements of inclusion towards LGBT and bullied students.

Read more...

The oppressive era during which BART riders with bicycles were forced to limit their train rides to non-commute hours is finally over. That said, there are a few things to keep in mind when bringing your bike aboard BART, especially during those already tense rush hours: [ more › ]

thatssoscience:

What Happened to the Computer Girls? 

Believe it or not, in the 1960’s, programming was seen as women’s work. It was even touted as being “just like planning a dinner”.

So what happened?

Eventually male programmers wanted to raise their status above “women’s work”. So they actively discouraged women from these positions, designed hiring tests rigged for men, and even created the stereotype that programmers are disinterested in people. No wonder in the years since, it’s still a male dominated field. Women earned only 18% of the computer science degrees awarded in 2008-2011. 

Alright ladies, we need to bust this myth. It’s been too long. Find organizations like Scientista or Sally Ride Science that help encourage women and girls in STEM interests. Find mentors and connect with other women interested in STEM. 

During WWII, restrictions were placed on leather usage in England, and shoemakers began to offer their brogues without punching. They called the result the austerity brogue, and it remains with us today.

Two austerity brogues from Saint Crispin’s, the 523 and the 104, arrived to the store recently. The 523 is made in bordeaux calfskin on the chiseled last, and we’ve done the 104 on the classic last in a highly unique dark brown color. Both can be worn with different levels of formality, from a dark suit to all the way to jeans. They’re elegantly unique in a way only Saint Crispin’s can achieve.

523 Oxford, Chiseled Last, Bordeaux Calfskin, Wood Pegged Waist
104 Oxford, Classic Last, Black/Brown Calfskin, Wood Pegged Waist

American DB Style.

Buster Keaton.

HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are calling for a public hearing on policies and procedures regarding sexual assaults at the University of Connecticut.

Last night's episode of The Daily Show featured an instant-classic segment on voter suppression and I.D. laws starring a painfully honest avatar for the darkest (whitest) corner of the Republican Party. The thing about Buncombe County Republican precinct chair Don Yelton, a conservative activist described as "the Rush Limbaugh of Western North Carolina," is that he's not hiding.

On the subject of the state's new law meant to limit minority voters, Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi offers, "The law is not racist and you're not racist," at which point Yelton stops him, perhaps mid-overdose on truth serum. "Well," he says, with a heavy pause, "I've been called a bigot before."

Yelton then demonstrates why. Here are his Top 5 Racist Remarks Delivered in Front of a Camera, each expressed with generous amounts of sincerity:

5. "Matter of fact, one of my best friends is black."

4. "When I was a young man, you didn't call a black a black, you called him a negro."

3. "I had a picture one time of Obama sittin' on a stump as a witch doctor and I posted that on Facebook. I was making fun of the white half of Obama, not the black half."

2. "If [the law] hurts the whites so be it. If it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks that want the government to give them everything, so be it."

1. "Now you have a black person using the term n***** this and n***** that and it's okay for them to do it."

Mandvi, rendered nearly speechless, responds, "You know that we can hear you, right?"

Yelton knows. ("The law is going to kick the Democrats in the butt," he concludes.) But he's never been shy about making his views public, as his gold mine of a Facebook page demonstrates:

He also knew what he was getting himself into. "The questions were such that the answers can be played with," he told the local news before the episode aired. "I expect them to play with my answers for racism." It did not take much.

Update: In case there was any doubt, Yelton meant what he said. "The comments that were made, that I said, I stand behind them. I believe them," he told Mountain XPress.

And, believe it or not, they went easy on him. "To tell you the truth, there were a lot of things I said that they could've made sound worse than what they put up," he added.

Update II: Yelton has been fired.

"Let me make it very clear, Mr. Yelton's comments do not reflect the belief or feelings of Buncombe Republicans, nor do they mirror any core principle that our party is founded upon," said Buncombe GOP Chairman Henry Mitchell in a statement. "This mentality will not be supported or propagated within our party."

Read more posts by Joe Coscarelli

Filed Under: early and awkward ,don yelton ,north carolina ,racism ,voter suppression ,the daily show ,video

thepickledliver:

Asta and Myrna Loy

Awesome.

Original Source

Did you know there was a new 'truth' movement about that lady who fainted at the President's Obamacare event a few days ago? And Sarah Palin is on board!

It really doesn't need much more clever of a headline than that, does it?

Ultra-rare footage of David Lynch cooking quinoa has been unearthed, so if you have thirteen spare minutes today, and you absolutely must watch every grainy frame of footage this man is involved with, it's de rigeur viewing. I am absolutely not going to spoil this, but he does actually get around to making a quinoa recipe. That's all I feel like I can say. Yes, watch both videos, and yes, the second one is important to watch all the way. If you want to make quinoa the David Lynch way.

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