September 2007
1 post
Product Safety →
Recently, Chinese malfunctions in the toy-industry have been fairly well publicized. From high levels of lead to poisonous barbie dolls, the world’s single largest exporter of manufactured goods has taken quite a hit this past summer. As a way to try to siphon the bloodshed, the Chinese Government has agreed to meet with that of the United States this weekend to discuss product safety. Will...
August 2007
23 posts
Quit Your Bitching →
Does psychology and the power of positive thinking have what it takes to have less people like Bri Deljudice in our world? Read this article; Pavlina certainly thinks so.
France shifts its stance on the conflict in Iraq -... →
WTF France?
Places any tourist should skip? →
What do my two readers think of this? Has FP hit the nail on the head, or are they way off? I’ve aspired to go to Iceland since about third grade, and recently read an article about the utter madness you can only find in Ibiza, a coastal town in Spain. I plan on traveling to China someday, but have no strong inclination to see the Great Wall; so I guess I partially agree with FP’s...
Bloggers: Beware →
We’ve all heard talk of ‘crossing the line’. But exactly how far does that line extend? According to the Dutch government, that line of tolerability does not encompass unwarranted filming; two bloggers must appear in court due to their filming of through-traffic above a transparent ceiling (read: they were looking up women’s skirts). These bloggers claimed that they were...
Penguins! →
We’ve all admired their simplicity at the zoo. They’ve appeared as a subject for a reading passage on the SAT, and there was an animated cartoon movie made about them in 2006 (Happy Feet). Penguins are our favorite flightless birds, and we’d hate to see them go extinct, right? Well, the Argentinan government won’t let it happen; not on it’s watch. The government...
WatchLiveLeak.com - Lion Reunites with Humans
The Forgotten War →
The controversial war in Iraq has led to a bitter division between conservative supporters and their liberal anti-war counterparts. This debate—while tantilizing—has caused many to forget the initial culprits of 9/11: Al Qaeda. In October of 2001, the United States quietly began to wage war on Afghanistan, a country torn by the illegal opium trade. Unfortunately, we have recently...
Awesome PostSecret Video →
Frank Warren of PostSecret has pieced together some of the most frightening, quirky, funny, and despondent messages sent to PostSecret in recent memory. This video is well worth the five minutes.
WatchWatch
The Smoking Dilemma →
It’s a terribly hard habit to break. Cigarette smoking has been around since the founding days of America, and yet only recently was it labeled as a major cause of multiple lung ailments. But can anything really be done to curb smoking altogether? New York City tried to ban smoking throughout the state, but their initiative has been evaluated with mixed results. However, USA today’s...
“But the report, which was completed in February 2006, said the transit agency...”
– Yesterday’s flooding of the subway system led to harsh criticism of the MTA, who had also been under scrutiny in a strikingly similar event on September 8, 2004, when the city’s basic transportation infrastructure failed to respond to unpredictably bad weather. But has the city taken...
“For my friends on the right, I think it would be helpful to remember the...”
– via Crooks and Liars (link to Time’s poll)
How labeling can affact taste →
Why is it that people who eat food from a McDonald’s box like it better than eating the same thing in a generic package? Are people just stupid, or is marketing really that powerful?
Bullshit? You be the judge →
Ever since he lost his bid to become the next President in 2000, Al Gore has quietly become the celebrity poster-boy of the environmental movement. His controversial documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, has brought the issue of global warming to the political limelight. The ensuing craze for hybrid cars, such as Toyota’s Prius and Honda’s Civic, as well as the movement towards more...
What matters most to voters? →
We all know that various issues carry differing weight to voters in the Democratic as well as the Republican blocs. Since 9/11, neo-conservatives have been consumed with thoughts as how to make national security a top priority while liberals have sought to surmise innovative new ways to foster the development of the middle class. So where do both stand right now, in the midst of the most...
Injustice at the hands of the poster boys →
Meet Dan Lyons, editor at Forbes →
During the past few months, Lyons has assumed an anonymous alter ego: Fake Steve Jobs. This weekend, New York Times writer Brad Stone solved the mystery that had stumped bloggers and tech-geeks everywhere in outing Lyons as the man behind the mask. Though the unveiling of the man behind the humorous blog was disappointing to many, Daring Fireball doesn’t see the now known identity as much of...
Which of the following actually removes scratches →
via Wise Bread
Uh-oh...my roommate my not want to leave Oxford...
“All of us in Lebanon have a “sense of possibilities” right now—and they are all bad. The Lebanese army—still fighting its way into the Palestinian Nahr el-Bared refugee camp in the north of the country more than a month after the minister of defence announced total victory over the army’s “Fatah al-Islam” opponents—is about the only institution still working in this country. Yesterday...
New Orleans is still vulnerable →
Despite numerous administrative promises to fund the development of New Orleans, this WSJ article briefly delves into the current state of affairs in New Orleans and how the city is still vulnerable to another catastrophic hurricane.
How do the leading Democratic presidential... →
Clinton, Obama, Richardson, Edwards
Sad news for any animal lover →
90% of all animals in Zimbabwe have been exterminated since 2000
July 2007
25 posts
Five Myths of Modern Capitalism →
No system is perfect, but this piece from Foreign Policy Magazine illustrates a few—though very important—pitfalls in free market thought.
Media I like
The New York Times…The New Yorker…The Economist…The Washington Post…The Onion…HBO…The Discovery Channel…ESPN…Sports Illustrated…BBC…Harper’s…Outside Magazine…Golf Digest…Mental Floss…Good Magazine
The Many wrongdoings of Alberto Gonzalez
“At the core of the politicization process are two programs: prosecute prominent Democrats, fabricating the evidence to support cases where needed, and act to suppress Democratic voter registration programs. The Bush Administration criminal program focuses on the “voting fraud” fraud—authorizing the aggressive prosecution of minor cases involving individuals trapped in innocent mistakes in...
Some hope for a nation with little →
WalkScore, Urban Development, and Reducing our... →
via WorldChanging
WatchIs ‘The Simpsons’ an environmentally sound show?
More Trouble for the US Attorney General →
Gonzales’ testimony contradicts that of the Director of the FBI
More idiot fundamentalists →
Jeff Ventura offers commentary
Very Superstitious →
The negative effects, both mentally and physically, of Friday the 13th
“Too many times in recent years the blustering enforcers of family values and...”
– Why Conservatives are often phony in their religiosity
NASA Sign →
Not the kind of mistake you’d expect from NASA.
Eccentric Mav's owner Mark Cuban submits an... →
You’ve seen him stalk the front row in Dallas during the playoffs. You’ve seen him demand more control over personnel decisions than any other team owner in recent memory. Now, unfortunately, Chicago fans may have to reconcile with the dark side an accept this energetic headcase as the possible owner of their beloved Cubs.
WatchMichael Moore rips into CNN and their accusations that he allegedly fudged some of the facts in his new movie ‘Sicko’. The above video is well worth the five minutes.
Live Earth preached to a different crowd →
TUN3R →
Has global poverty decreased in recent years? →
This is the same article, tumbled, just for you, Alex.
Great new magazine →
I love the onion
“You know, when I see a woman walking around with a burqa, I see a Nazi....”
– http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/5401
How to improve your blog →
via lifehacker
Maybe this is why this movie will be awesome →
Ratatouille
Under Surveillance →
Since its inception 41 years ago today, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has forced the bureaucracy it was designed to open to brainstorm more creative ways to conceal potentially incriminating and/or embarrassing information from the public. However, the federal government all but eradicates this problem with a proverbial wall of red tape. They do whatever they can to stall the progress that...
Massachusetts' Universal Care Plan →
The 2008 election cycle will likely bring the issue of whether universal health care to the limelight. Just recently, as the above article details, Massachusetts took matters into its own hands and instated a universal plan of its own. Long a Democratic Party position, universal health care coverage will certainly face a series of setbacks and tests before it becomes naturalized. What do you...
Ah, the irony →
A man who devoted much of his life to religion and ultimately to becoming a Christian pastor examines some of the problems and glaring hypocrisies in Christian faith.
iPhone Lacks Viable Return Policy →
This article explains the potential trap an iPhone purchaser may face if his phone is found to be defective. Apple insists that problems in the first 14 days of the cell phone’s usage are to be taken up with AT&T. However, AT&T might then counter that physical problems need to be dealt with by Apple. And here is the kicker: Apple with deal with physical problems after 14 days,...
Supreme Court Contradictions →
Though the justices frequently praise a principle known as ‘stare decisis’, which in latin translates to “let the decision stand”, there are many recent examples when the justices’ so-called beliefs have contradicted with their rulings. Click to find out more.