Voting is kind of like gambling on sports, but slightly more sacred …. You’ve got to play to win, and playing with only a vote is hardly playing at all. The people who place big bets, in large denominations, are the ones who get the big pay-outs. The rest of us are just paying the house. … Myself, I’m sick of arguing with the government. I don’t have any more argument with the government — I know what kind of beast it is, and I know what kind of woman I am. … If you love liberty, if you hate war, you should at once withdraw your support from the government. Withdrawing your moral support isn’t enough — it’s your practical support that the government feeds on — it doesn’t give a damn what your opinions are…. 

Support C4SS with Gina Lunori’s “If You Work for Peace, Stop Paying For War!”

A 39-year-old Muslim cab driver who served in the Iraq war says that an executive from an aviation company accused him of being a jihadist and broke his jaw in what activists are calling a hate crime.

Mohamed A. Salim told The Washington Post that Emerald Aviation President Ed Dahlberg attacked him after he picked him up at Country Club of Fairfax in Northern Virginia at around 2 a.m. on Friday. Dahlberg had been drinking and was told that he would have to finish his open beer before getting into the cab.

Salim recorded audio of the encounter on his cell phone. …

If People Could Immigrate Anywhere, Would Poverty Be Eliminated?

School Principal Refused To Report Rape So Star Athlete Wouldn’t Suffer

In a story that sounds like every awful tale of rape, bullying and perpetrator-forgiveness as of late, a teenage girl was sexually assaulted by a star athlete at Forest Hills Central High School in Michigan in a soundproof band room. When she reported the incident to a teacher, who then told the principal, she was instructed not to tell police about the rape, as it could jeopardize her rapist’s chances of getting recruited for a college team. Her rapist, you see, was star of the school’s basketball team.

The principal, Terry Uruquhart*, refused to take any action. The girl and her parents feared the rapist would sexually assault somebody else, so they ignored the principal’s incredulous request and filed a report with the Kent County Sheriff’s Department regardless. As they began an investigation, the school remained totally hands-off and the athlete rapist was free to roam around. And guess what happened two weeks later?

He raped somebody else. …

Brazilian Indians Occupy Congress in Land Protest

As Brazil marks its annual ‘Day of the Indian’ today, hundreds of Brazilian Indians of various tribes invaded and occupied part of the country’s Congress this week, to protest at attempts to change the law regarding their land rights.

The Indians are outraged about a proposed constitutional amendment that would weaken their hold on their territories. They fear that ‘PEC 215’, by giving Congress power in the demarcation process, will cause further delays and obstacles to the recognition and protection of their ancestral land.

The Indians say they will not stop protesting until the planned amendment is scrapped. …

A Beautiful Response to Homophobia: The Pansy Project

Arrests Made In The Rape Of Another Teenaged Girl Who Committed Suicide

Earlier this week the country was introduced to Retaeh Parsons, the 17 year old Canadian teenager who hanged herself in her bathroom late last week, 17 months after photos of her alleged gang rape by four of her classmates surfaced and spread throughout her school.

For the Pott family in Santa Clara County, California, Retaeh’s story must have sounded painfully familiar. Their 15-year-old daughter Audrie ended her life last fall after she was allegedly gang raped by three 16-year-olds, who then shared photos of their crime with friends.

On Thursday, officials from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office announced that they had arrested three area high school boys in connection with Audrie’s rape …

Rape Culture Claims Another Victim: Teen Ends Life After Photo Of Her Alleged Gang Rape Goes Viral

(Trigger warning: The following op-ed contains discussion of rape, including some graphic details.)

Seventeen months ago a Canadian teen was allegedly gang-raped by four of her peers and the photo evidence of the rape spread across her community. But unlike the situation that unfolded in Steubenville, where the victim was at least given the comfort of knowing her assailants received some measure of punishment (even if the media took their side), this case ended in tragedy: The victim was taken off life support by her family on Sunday, three days after attempting to end her own life.

Seventeen-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons’ suicide was the harrowing end to a story involving not only sexual assault, but also the issues of harassment and victim-blaming that are problematic symptoms of rape culture. …

… Kopimism made simple:

• All knowledge to all;
• The search for knowledge is sacred;
• The circulation of knowledge is sacred;
• The act of copying is sacred.

According to the Kopimist constitution:

• Copying of information is ethically right;
• Dissemination of information is ethically right;
• Copymixing is a sacred kind of copying, moreso than the perfect, digital copying, because it expands and enhances the existing wealth of information;
• Copying or remixing information communicated by another person is seen as an act of respect and a strong expression of acceptance and Kopimistic faith;
• The Internet is holy;
• Code is law.