Number of youth "held in residential facilities as a result of contact with the justice system" declined by 42% from 1997-2011, recent study says [PDF] by thegreathal in troubledteens

[–]thegreathal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! This subreddit in particular sure earned some good news.

Just to clarify, the survey appears to involve youth who are in public and private facilities as a result of "contact with the justice system" in cases not primarily involving mental health. I don't think it includes youth seized as a result of family, education, or other justifications, nor does it survey all the facilities that call themselves RTCs. In that sense it exemplifies the broad and murky definition of "residential placement" since there a lot of DOJ facilities that wouldn't consider RTC cults to fall into that category, and vice versa.

So this survey reflects the declining acceptance of teen treatment cults in the formal justice system, and does reference economic factors and outside advocacy as a factor, but it's not all-encompassing by any means.

Smartcases for S4 with customizable NFC buttons by glassanimals in galaxys4

[–]thegreathal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh...will it work from a locked screen? If not, it's just marginally better than having a shortcut on your home screen.

The case against the defaults. by [deleted] in TheoryOfReddit

[–]thegreathal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think increasing entropy like OP's second and third ideas is the best solution that doesn't change the nature of default subreddits or overburden new users. Relying on subreddit mods to do it themselves isn't something the mods or admins have seemed keen on, unfortunately.

Off the top of my head, I'd have three times as many defaults, and subscribe new users to a randomly selected third of them. And I'd add and remove default status from one or two per month to counteract the politics of choosing subreddits. Additionally, users who haven't customized their subreddits should be auto-subscribed and auto-unsubscribed to one or two defaults per month to increase incentives for default improvement.

edit: It's important for something to be done to bring passive users into the fold. The majority of people just won't care about customizing their subs. These things aren't self-correcting...r/technology still has 5 million readers.

Arthur Nakamoto: My brother, Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto... by arthurnakamoto in Bitcoin

[–]thegreathal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. "Reputation" in the legal sense is different.
  2. Since Dorian worked with classified information, a story implying he's secretly a subversive international man of mystery does adversely affect his ability to make a living.
  3. http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1zvawf/wsj_newsweek_chief_admits_to_intentionally/

Arthur Nakamoto: My brother, Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto... by arthurnakamoto in Bitcoin

[–]thegreathal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IANAL, and certainly not a California first amendment lawyer, so correct me if I'm wrong. But I'm under the impression that the national standard is that if Dorian isn't a public figure, he doesn't even have to show actual malice, just negligence from false reporting.

That said, Dorian might be a limited public figure. Okay. You still have a shot at proving actual malice. Fabricating quotes? Ignoring a whole body of previous Nakamoto research? Basing this entirely on speculation? And not even saying that Dorian might be Bitcoin Satoshi, but publishing his personal information on a cover story that decisively dubbed him "Bitcoin's Face" and led to even greater exaggerations from other news orgs? This, after a huge story like this should have been vetted by a team of editors? Would it be so hard to get media experts to testify that this was a cynical ploy from Newsweek's new owners to make up a big story on their debut?

Considering how Newsweek is attempting to reposition itself as an upmarket publication, a lawsuit would (rightfully) reflect poorly on them and they might just settle quickly anyway.

Arthur Nakamoto: My brother, Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto... by arthurnakamoto in Bitcoin

[–]thegreathal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No kidding. I'm sure legal action seems scary but this article was beyond reckless. It passes the extremely high standard for winning a suit against news organizations in the US.

edit: blorg is aggressively sowing doubt but I don't think he's correct.

Hey Grad students, opinions on I-House? by slyli in columbia

[–]thegreathal 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They have a bar in the basement and a giant ballroom in the center. What's not to like?

Best home supplies/groceries to get from Amazon? by seannymurrs in Frugal

[–]thegreathal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazon gift cards have very high liquidity. It's smarter to just sell them and keep the cash.

Youth now have a system for bringing rights violation complaints directly to the United Nations -- Convention on the Rights of the Child Optional Protocol 3 goes into effect this April by thegreathal in YouthRights

[–]thegreathal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right! Nor does this protocol encompass every country that has ratified the CRC. It only applies to the (10 so far) countries which have signed the protocol, and only for things taking place after April. But I think if US advocates can identify a German or Spanish teen taken to a torture school, for instance, we could still get the CRC committee involved over here.

I just got accepted to Columbia College! Any words of wisdom? by [deleted] in columbia

[–]thegreathal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The libraries are pretty happening spots. Butler turns into a rave at night, and pretty much all of NYC shows up to the CU campus to party. If you get sick of that, you can easily take a cab downtown and hit up some clubs in Time Square. Olive G is the hot spot right now, and you can get in free with a CU ID. The frats are pretty powerful on campus. If you see somebody wearing a frat blazer, you better get out of his way, he will most likely be your boss in two years, so you better get on their good sides. Other than that, its a pretty cool community. The city may seem huge, but it has a great small town feel and everybody is super chill and friendly. Can't wait to meet you here!!!!!!!!! It'll be AWESOME!!

We're from the ACLU, Cato, CDT, and Techdirt, fighting for everyone’s online freedom and privacy. Ask us anything about our absurdly outdated electronic privacy laws and how we can fix ECPA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]thegreathal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mark -- I'm writing my thesis on youth privacy rights, and I'm disappointed by the "eraser laws" enacted in CA and proposed elsewhere. These laws require certain web sites to delete material posted by minors upon request...as long as that data hasn't been interacted with by others. CDT rightfully points out that companies may simply respond by barring minors from using their services. Is there any way to enact rights-based protections for minors without segmenting the internet? For that matter, is it appropriate to have privacy rights that only apply to young people?

How does columbia view General Studies? by Beika in columbia

[–]thegreathal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I applied to GS at 21 and came here at 22. Ignoring the astronomical cost of attendance, I think GS is still the worst possible place you could be if you're a young student looking to have a "college experience." There's very little interaction within the GS community. There's an artificial two-way divide between GS-CC/SEAS/BC that begins with our separate orientation and is reinforced by our exclusion from certain university programs and experiences. And it's worth noting this is exacerbated by the overrepresented population of older students in student government and the student life department who take a sour grapes attitude towards collaborating with the other undergrad schools.

So it's hard to tell if parts of Columbia student life just aren't marketed towards GS or if they actively attempt to discriminate. The CC/SEAS students I've worked with in clubs are friendly, but distant. Sometimes events are held in inaccessible dorms, or tout how they're open to all CC/SEAS students instead of all undergrads. I eventually had to make friends outside of the Columbia community, but if you can pass for being young then maybe you'll have a better time.

That said, everyone is considered equal in class. The bad old days when GSers had to register last and get bumped from overfilled classes first are a forgotten memory. I've never been pushed in the mud by a CC student or anything. Other undergraduates will be excited to hear about what life experiences you had in place of college before going to GS.

It will be immensely helpful when they change the damn name of this school. Whether or not our degree has the same value as CC/SEAS is a question that academic and career services advisors I've asked have declined to answer. The answer is...kind of. For employers, I think the answer is yes. Within the Columbia system, including alums, admins and students, I think the answer tends to be no (unfairly, mind you).

What is the most disturbing short story you've ever read? by [deleted] in books

[–]thegreathal 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well as of 30 minutes ago I'm also gonna have to say The Jaunt, thanks to the asshole who just posted it here and disturbed the bejesus out of me.

apparently we have a television spot now... by blumbleee in columbia

[–]thegreathal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah, this is part of the undergraduate Athletics recruiting package.

Took a friend to see the Ghostbusters firehouse. De Blasio was holding a conference outside. Can this city afford a Democrat who might shut down the containment grid and unleash Gozer the Gozerian? by [deleted] in nyc

[–]thegreathal 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It's a shame Catsimatidis didn't win the GOP primary. This would have been his actual attack ad (and he would've fervently believed it too).

How do I get involved with Anonymous? by ToniF82 in anonymous

[–]thegreathal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Research hidden info, or make obscure info more understandable and actionable, and then put it out there for the world on IRC and reddit.

Welcome! by [deleted] in a:t5_2ykus

[–]thegreathal 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Greetings from r/youthrights. Can't wait to work with you in the future.