Latest Sift Talk Posts at VideoSift.com

what if paul krugman were a woman

marinara (http://www.videosift.com/member/marinara) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:55:33 -0700

(0 comments - 24 views)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/204874

rare day that newsweek has an article worth reading but I think we all know that the problems that japan has faced in it's "lost decade" are very similar to what the USA faces with the decline in trade. Oh, and happy 4th of july.

- marinara

Statistics: Rape Fantasies and Personal Hygene by State

xxovercastxx (http://www.videosift.com/member/xxovercastxx) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:22:47 -0700

(1 comment - 84 views)
http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/2009/06/25/rape-fantasies-and-hygiene-by-state/

OKCupid has posted some statistics from their user questions. It was too entertaining not to share.

- xxovercastxx

Yahtzee's Prototype vs. InFamous challenge

thegrimsleeper (http://tgs.videosift.com) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:04:35 -0700

(1 comment - 38 views)
Anybody remember the challenge from Yahtzee's Prototype vs. InFamous video? Well we have the results: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/op-ed/6228-Yahtzees-Prototype-vs-InFamous-Challenge

- thegrimsleeper

KOOLAID DRINKER! LOL, PWNED!

Ornthoron (http://ornthoron.videosift.com) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:22:31 -0700

(5 comments - 75 views)
I am from this moment onwards officially downvoting any comment that includes the word "koolaid" with a political connotation. It only serves to demonstrate your complete disregard for your opponent's intellectual integrity. There is not one sifter I know of who takes in all propaganda that is thrown at them without at least a small amount of scrutiny, and the comments in question are therefore no better than trolling as far as I am concerned.

That is all.

- Ornthoron

Blocked videos- primarily Comedy Central.

therealblankman (http://www.videosift.com/member/therealblankman) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:32:41 -0700

(11 comments - 62 views)
Look here, my American friends to the immediate south. Every single Comedy Central video is blocked outside of your borders. We (the rest of the world) would greatly appreciate it if you'd simply click that little button that says "Blocked". This would save us from wasting precious seconds on the Sift, and would prevent us from cursing the non-existent gods, along with your name.

- therealblankman

forms of chicken with vastly different amounts of fat

jwray (http://jwray.videosift.com) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:45:43 -0700

(2 comments - 37 views)
Why do precooked forms of breaded chicken that you buy from a store typically have 3-5 times the fat:protein ratio of uncooked breaded chicken from the same store? The ratio is typically 1:1 or higher for the former, but I have seen as low as 1:5 for the latter.

Whatever they're doing that quadruples the fat:protein ratio, it's doing NOTHING for the taste vs. just plain baking the uncooked stuff.

- jwray

The Top 40 Real Men of Genius commercials

ant (http://www.videosift.com/member/ant) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:20:52 -0700

(0 comments - 49 views)
http://www.epiccarnival.com/2009/07/top-40-real-men-of-genius-commercials.html from http://digg.com/comedy/The_Top_40_Real_Men_of_Genius_commercials ...

- ant

Bureaucrat scuffs dream of homeless shoe shiner

blankfist (http://blankfist.videosift.com) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:04:11 -0700

(10 comments - 155 views)

San Francisco is probably the most "Democratic" city in all the nation. It is very much a shining example of the warm, caring love that embodies that party so much.

To prove to the rest of us how much they love us, they like to take our money and wisely create these wonderful social programs to take care of us.

Here's a story about how one of those programs took care of a homeless man who tried to turn his life around. This is progressive change we can all believe in!

"He sleeps under a bridge, washes in a public bathroom and was panhandling for booze money 11 months ago, but now Larry Moore is the best-dressed shoeshine man in the city. When he gets up from his cardboard mattress, he puts on a coat and tie. It's a reminder of how he has turned things around.

"In fact, until last week it looked like Moore was going to have saved enough money to rent a room and get off the street for the first time in six years. But then, in a breathtakingly clueless move, an official for the Department of Public Works told Moore that he has to fork over the money he saved for his first month's rent to purchase a $491 sidewalk vendor permit."

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/04/MNJQ1807UK.DTL

- blankfist

Why is America not Hiring? (+ more economic analysis)

deedub81 (http://www.videosift.com/member/deedub81) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:41:48 -0700

(21 comments - 204 views)
It's because our Federal Government doesn't know SQUAT about small business. I do. I run one. Did anyone ask me?
Bailing out GM is just treating a symptom. That's just idiotic. Why don't we solve the problem?

"...The stimuli plans were supposed to be job plans. The auto/bank bailouts cum nationalizations were supposed to be about saving jobs, not 'Wall Street'. So given two record breaking stimuli within two years, why isn't America hiring?

America isn't hiring precisely because of government policy. Small business owners, who are usually the first into and the first out of the job pool, are standing by the fence and watching. They are paralyzed by regulatory uncertainty. If they hire someone who ends up doing poorly, will they be able to fire that person? Will they have to pay their health care bills after they've been terminated? If so, for how long? Who will pay for all these stimulus checks? If it will turn out to be small business, why would they hire instead of keeping costs low to prepare for the big tax bill? Where will the market move? Are you in the right business or are your clients in a politically disfavored industry? Are your clients in health care (being nationalized), autos (already nationalized), banking (somewhat nationalized) or any energy production process which uses carbon (pulverized)? Until you know, you don't grow, and until you grow your market, you don't grow your payroll.

Jobs aren't languishing despite the government's best efforts. They're languishing because of them.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/31692578

"...Owning a small business has always been a challenge — half wind up failing within the first few years. But the financial crisis has dealt them a one-two punch, as big banks cut the credit card lines that many entrepreneurs were forced to lean on when a once-abundant supply of loans dried up.

As of April, 59 percent of America’s small firms relied on credit cards to help finance their day-to-day operations, up from 44 percent at the end of last year, according to the National Small Business Association."

"...“The way that the economy is going to come out of a recession is not by big business hiring but by small business hiring,” said Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, who is championing the measure. Denying small businesses access to credit is having “spiraling” effect on the economy, she added."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/31445083

Why aren't the stimuli working?

"...White House adviser David Axelrod urged patience for President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package in the face of sliding poll numbers. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a past and potentially future presidential candidate, said the spending was ill-designed and served only to expand the size of government.

Republicans have seized on the public's growing unease over government debt and spending to challenge the popular president. Sensing their own vulnerabilities, Obama's top advisers have ramped up their defense of spending that is incomplete and going slower than many had hoped.

"You know, we take the long view on this. Look, when the president signed the stimulus package - the economic recovery package - he said it's going to take a while for this to work," Axelrod said. "And we're going to go through some rough times, and unemployment is going to go up, and ... we have to work our way through this."

Some economists and business leaders have called for a second spending bill designed to help guide the economy through a downturn that has left millions without jobs. Axelrod said it's too early to know if more spending would be needed or if the administration would seek more money from Congress.

"Most of the stimulus money - the economic recovery money - is yet to be spent. Let's see what impact that has," Axelrod said. "I'm not going to make any judgment as to whether we need more. We have confidence that the things we're doing are going to help, but we've said repeatedly, it's going to take time, and it will take time. It took years to get into the mess we're in. It's not going to take months to get out of it."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/29/politics/main5120588.shtml

- deedub81

Neatorama: Pitching, flapping, meowing and more

dag (http://dag.videosift.com) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:32:32 -0700

(2 comments - 45 views)

It's time for our weekly update from Sift parter Neatorama.com. Check out the neat stories below and their site for lots of great stories (and material to submit to the Sift ).

All About Flappers

No, not slappers- flappers. I've always been fascinated the roaring 20s- automats, illicit taverns and zoot suits. This is a great little article with some pictures and video of that 20s female icon.

Cats In Costumes

Need I say more? This one's for IssyKitty.

Giant Indiana Jones Trivia Post

Holy Smokes - I did not know that they are creating another Indy movie. After seeing Indy 4 - I can only ask- why? (and this is coming from a SciFi buff) Anyway, this is fun article that's full of useful trivia about that movie series - confined to the original trilogy, the ones from before Lucas had his stroke. At least that's my explanation.

Words that Changed Their Meaning

This is a fascinating look at words and phrases that taken on different meanings that were not originally intended. It begs the question however- should Alanis Morissette really be allowed to change the meaning of ironic?

5 Strangest Products Pitched by Billy Mays

Alex has put together a good collection of videos from the late great pitchman. From the Awesome Auger to the Tool Bandit

- dag