December 2008
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As there was no compulsion towards a conflict which, in despite of the apparent bitterness of parties, took so long to engage and needed so much assiduous blowing to fan the flame, so no right was vindicated by its ragged end. The war solved no problem. Its effects, both immediate and indirect, were either negative or disastrous. Morally subversive, economically destructive, socially...
“The picture I have in my mind is of a house: That’s America. As America...”
– Eugene Jarecki
Pension Funds Collapse: The End of Retirement? →
Unless things change fast, human history will show that the phenomenon of “retirement” was limited to one generation. After World War II, when European and Japanese economies stood in tatters, American capitalism could fulfill “the American dream,” since there was little foreign competition to speak of. For the first time ever, workers were promised that — after...
On Reading in an Age of Depression →
Worlds shudder and collapse all the time. There’s no news in that. Just ask the Assyrians, the last emperor of the Han Dynasty, the final Romanoff, Napoleon, or that Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff. But when it seems to be happening to your world, well, that’s a different kettle of fish. When you get the word, the call, the notice that you’re a goner, or when your little world...
Did Early Climate Impact Divert a New Glacial Age? →
The common wisdom is that the invention of the steam engine and the advent of the coal-fueled industrial age marked the beginning of human influence on global climate. But gathering physical evidence, backed by powerful simulations on the world’s most advanced computer climate models, is reshaping that view and lending strong support to the radical idea that human-induced climate change began not...
Chesterton on journalism
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thebronzemedal:
“It is the one great weakness of journalism as a picture of our modern existence, that it must be a picture made up entirely of exceptions. We announce on flaring posters that a man has fallen off a scaffolding. We do not announce on flaring posters that a man has not fallen off a scaffolding. Yet this latter fact is fundamentally more exciting, as indicating that that...
Iraqi group sues Rumsfeld for torture →
Ali Qeisi, head of the group the “Society of Victims of the US Occupation in Iraq,” said the cases, relating to torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners, have been recently filed in federal courts in Virginia, Michigan and Maryland. “Around 30 lawsuits have been accepted so far,” Qeisi told AFP. The others are still under consideration. “The torture was systemic, and those responsible for it should be...
WatchA talented group of modders are creating all of the classic game Half Life using the far better graphics of Half Life 2 and its Source engine. They expect to be finished by late 2009. Yes, my greasy little geeks, this is a big deal.
Alternative Currencies Grow in Popularity →
Alternative (or “complementary”) currencies range from quaint to robust, simple to high tech. There are Greens from the Lettuce Patch Bank at the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in rural northeastern Missouri. In western Massachusetts one finds fine-artist-designed BerkShares, which are convertible to U.S. dollars. More than $2 million in BerkShares have been issued through the 12 branches...
Scott Horton on prosecuting the Bush...
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“This administration did more than commit crimes. It waged war against the law itself. It transformed the Justice Department into a vehicle for voter suppression, and it also summarily dismissed the U.S. attorneys who attempted to investigate its wrongdoing. It issued wartime contracts to substandard vendors with inside connections, and it also defunded efforts to police their performance. It...
Send your old shoes to Dubya's Liberry →
Got an old pair of shoes lying around, waiting to be used in a ritual gesture of disrespect? Send ‘em to the GW Bush liberry so they can put them on the My Pet Goat shelf.
Craigslist for Service - Craig Newmark →
While “a craigslist for service” is just a metaphor, as customer service rep and founder of craigslist, well, seems right to stand up and say something about this. Here’s what I think “a craigslist for service” could be in the short term, from my personal perspective
“There are countless other episodes like this of human beings in American custody...”
– Glenn Greenwald (via azspot)
Dangerous Bias Against Detroit →
But it is ironic to think that the Bush administration and Congress would swiftly appropriate hundreds of billions of dollars to save the same firms whose stupidity and criminality drove the economy down—while begrudging a far smaller amount to a major industry brought to ruin by the financial crash.
Boing Boing Charitable Giving Guide -- the 2008... →
Digerati charity.
POISONOUS AND HALLUCINOGENIC MUSHROOMS →
Are We Courting a Populist Backlash? →
My guess is the worsening economy is making it harder for just about all homeowners to pay their mortgages, and those who were teetering on the edge months ago — although perhaps good credit risks before that time — are now way under water. Two of the biggest culprits: Layoffs and fewer working hours. With far less money coming in, more and more people have to choose between paying...
Senior officials authorized ‘aggressive’... →
The authorization was not only the cause of aggressive interrogation techniques, but also conveyed the message that it was OK to mistreat and degrade detainees in U.S. custody, according to the report released by panel Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.). The panel’s investigation focused mainly on the influence of Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE)...
$73 an Hour: Adding It Up →
The crucial point, though, is this $15 isn’t mainly a reflection of how generous the retiree benefits are. It’s a reflection of how many retirees there are. The Big Three built up a huge pool of retirees long before Honda and Toyota opened plants in this country. You’d never know this by looking at the graphic behind Wolf Blitzer on CNN last week, contrasting the “$73/hour” pay of Detroit’s...
Black hole found in Milky Way →
“Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our 16-year study, is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that super-massive black holes do really exist,” said Professor Reinhard Genzel, head of the research team. “The stellar orbits in the galactic centre show that the central mass concentration of four million solar masses must be a black...
The Science of Meditation →
You don’t need to quit your job, give up your possessions and spend 30 years chanting. Recent research indicates that meditating brings about dramatic effects in as little as a 10-minute session. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects who meditated for a short time showed increased alpha waves (the relaxed brain waves) and decreased anxiety and depression.
Not to mention ultimate...
LOST CALLING - Being a critic was important, and... →
See, I used to be a music critic. Which is different, in many ways (see: ethics), no matter how we pretend, from being a journalist. But it was, at least, writing to which money was attached. I never wanted to write about music. I wanted to write. I never wanted to be a critic, that was just something to do until I wrote something of my own worth criticism. But that’s what I ended up being: my...
Attacking Alzheimer's with Red Wine and Marijuana →
Stop taking ginko and drink more wine, smoke more boo.
Been All Around This World - Clifton Hicks