August 2008
“Older Americans are hit by a one-two punch of jobs and medical problems and the...”
– Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law School professor who was one of the authors of a study from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project
State will sue over polar bear listing, Palin says →
“She’s either grossly misinformed or intentionally misleading, and both are unbecoming,” said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity. “Alaska deserves better.” Siegel said it was unconscionable for Palin to ignore overwhelming evidence of global warming’s threat to sea ice, the polar bear’s habitat. “Even the Bush administration...
Arctic ice second-lowest ever; polar bears... →
“No matter where we stand at the end of the melt season it’s just reinforcing this notion that Arctic ice is in its death spiral,” said Mark Serreze, a scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. … As more Arctic ice melts, bears are forced to swim longer distances to find adequate platforms for hunting. Rescuing bears in distress in open water is problematic,...
“I think she’s far too inexperienced to be in this position. I’m all...”
– Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK
Accountability?
Sadam Husein has paid for his brutal sins. When will George Bush pay for his?
WatchAl Gore’s DNC speach. He nailed every issue.
Poverty Is the Real Scandal →
Former Sen. John Edwards was supposed to speak in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. His wife, Elizabeth Edwards, was to speak also. Poverty was their focus. But they are not here because John Edwards had an affair. Will the Democrats now forget about poverty?
Why is Greenland covered in ice? →
There are several competing theories, ranging from changes in ocean circulation, the increasing height of the Rocky Mountains, changes in the Earth’s orbit, and natural changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Using state-of-the-art computer climate and ice-sheet models, Lunt and colleagues decided to test which, if any, of these theories was the most credible. While the results...
Iraq Vets Bring Taste of War To Denver →
The goal of Iraq Veterans Against the War was to educate people about the reality of occupying a foreign land and the rigors faced by the U.S. military and the Iraqi people. To do so, the veterans broke into two squads, invisible weapons at the ready as they marched from street to street, facing off with loud, angry packs of pretend Iraqis.
“Worse, extreme income and wealth inequality alone may hinder growth. After all...”
– How Big of a Deal Is Income Inequality? (via azspot)
Watch Leaving Fear Behind (in Tibetan: ‘Jigdrel’), a truly incredible documentary film shot by Dhondup Wangchen
Making of "The Wire" →
An audio dialogue about The Wire with it’s creator David Simon and members of the cast. We’ve just finished viewing the last episode of The Wire on DVD and, looking back on the sweep and depth of its vision, are in awe of its excellence.
“The gap between the most fortunate and the least fortunate Americans in life...”
– Eliot University Professor Lawrence H. Summers
Economic challenges facing the next president →
There are half a dozen such issues today, each one of which is as important as the most important issue at the beginning of most presidential terms. … The critical issues facing the new president begin with the cyclical situation of the real economy. While there are reasonable arguments to be made about how far along we are with respect to the current financial crisis, there is every reason...
Killing bacteria with cannabis →
All five cannabinoids (THC, CBD, CBG, CBC, and CBN) were potent against bacteria. Notably, they performed well against bacteria that were known to be multidrug resistant, like the strains of MRSA that plagued U.K. hospitals.
Band of outlaws →
But it’s not the worst alternative. The worst alternative is what the Bush administration chose to do instead: Assert it’s right to go to war without a pretext. The former is the action of an outlaw government. The latter is the action of a lawless government. If forced to choose, I’ll take the outlaw over the the lawless every time. Neither choice is good, but we’d still...
3 tags
“His texts, hundreds of thousands of them, were acting as a kind of lens,...”
– Greg Bear - The City at the End of Time (2008) p. 79
“It’s New York drivers. It’s one thing I’ve observed from...”
– Tom Vanderbilt - Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do
Incense Burning Might Lead To Cancer →
The end of hippie culture as we knew it.
Pollutants cause birds to sing tainted love songs →
Yet not all chemicals make for shoddy songs. Earlier this year, a team of UK researchers discovered that oestrogen-mimicking compounds, such as bisphenol A, endow starlings with more complex songs that females prefer over chemical-free songs. “It was kind of scary because their immune system was shot to hell,” DeLeon says of the starlings. “The females were preferring males that...
Most Superficial University In America? USC →
Having snatched my MA at USC, I’m thrilled to see it billed as the “most superficial” by RADAR magazine. “Not a good place to be ugly.” Thank the gods I’m so beautiful.
Slow Food USA - RAFT →
Renewing America’s Food Traditions
To identify, restore, and celebrate the incredible diversity of North America’s biologically and culturally diverse food traditions, an alliance of the continent’s most pioneering food, farming, environmental and culinary advocates formed in 2004. Members of the RAFT Alliance initiate and support conservation, education, promotion and regional...
A green thumbs-up to urban farming →
Crashing the Party →
Uncredentialed activists are to be fenced off and kept away from the Pepsi Center in Denver by parking lots the size of football fields. The protesters descending on the RNC will be cordoned off into designated “free speech zones,” guarded by thousands of police officers to the tune of $50 million at this “National Special Security Event.”
Joe Biden's pro-RIAA, pro-FBI tech voting record →
As I was saying, there’s a huge difference between the two major parties, but not as much as I would like and not always exactly where I’d like that difference to be.
“Walking through the Olympic Village the other day, here’s what struck me most:...”
– THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN (8-24-2008)
Rights Group Suing AT&T for Spying Will Sue... →
The Electronic Frontier Foundation will rely on the same evidence its civil suit does — wiring documents and a signed declaration from former AT&T engineer Mark Klein. Klein alleges that AT&T siphoned off internet traffic into a secret room in San Francisco controlled by the NSA.
