John's blog

EducationGuardian.co.uk | higher news | Oxford journalism institute aims to bridge trust gap

2006-01-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

EducationGuardian.co.uk | higher news | Oxford journalism institute aims to bridge trust gap: "The creation of a new journalism institute, designed to bridge the gap between the gritty newspaper newsroom and the ivory towers of academia by providing research into topical media issues, was announced yesterday by Oxford University.

The new Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, made possible by £1.75m funding over five years from the news agency's charitable trust, will aim to break down the mutual distrust between journalists and academics who analyse the media."

Heather Wolfe and Quindi Franco - New York Times

2006-01-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

Heather Wolfe and Quindi Franco - New York Times: "Nick Millhouse

The ceremony in San Pablo Del Lago, Ecuador."

I can honestly say that OUR wedding was nicer than this, but it was here.

The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog: Presidential Wiretapping: Disaggregating the Issues

2005-12-23T10:15:00.000-08:00

The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog: Presidential Wiretapping: Disaggregating the Issues: "Presidential Wiretapping: Disaggregating the Issues

The legal questions raised by President Bush's wiretapping seem to me complex, not simple. Here is a rough guide: (1) Did the AUMF authorize his action? (2) If not, does the Constitution give the President inherent authority to do what he did? (3) If the answer to (1) or (2) is yes, does his action violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)? (4) If the answer to (3) is yes, is FISA constitutional, or is it inconsistent with the President's inherent authority? (5) If the answer to (1) or (2) is yes, does the wiretapping nonetheless violate the Fourth Amendment?

I have already suggested that it is plausible to give a 'yes' answer to (1), certainly if we do not consider the effect of FISA. "

Wired 13.12: Reinventing 911

2005-12-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

Wired 13.12: Reinventing 911: "If national safety - the ability to respond to hurricanes, terrorist attacks, earthquakes - depends on the execution of explicit plans, on soldierly obedience, and on showy security drills, then a decentralized security scheme is useless. But if it depends on improvised reactions to unknown threats, that's a different story. A deeply textured, unmapped system is hard to bring down. A system that encourages improvisation is quick to recover. Ubiquitous networks of warning may constitute our own asymmetrical advantage, and, like the terrorist networks that occasionally carry out spectacular attacks, their power remains obscure until they're called into action."

Screenshots...: Human Rights... the current currency

2005-12-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

Jeff Ooi from Malayasia blogged the HR-Berkman meeting--even if he doesn't update his flickr site, its interetsting.

Screenshots...: Human Rights... the current currency: "I am blogging live from the Frontline Club in Central London now (four wifi acess points, wow!).

The event is themed Human Rights, (Internet) Filtering, and Blogging. It's organised by several reputable entities:

* OpenNet Initiative (a collaboration between University of Toronto, Cambridge University and Harvard University)

* Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School

* Human Rights Watch

* MacArthur Foundation"

Value Driven - Don?t Blame Wal-Mart - FORTUNE

2005-11-22T11:34:00.000-08:00

Value Driven - Don?t Blame Wal-Mart - FORTUNE: "So my first piece of advice to CEO Lee Scott and his team is: Stop worrying about the movie. It?s a jeremiad?a ham-handed snore with none of the humor, craft, or story sense that made Moore?s film so engaging. The people who already hate you will love it, but nobody else will be able to sit through it. My second piece of advice is to worry deeply about what the film represents. It?s a response to the great social disrupter of our time?the emergence of a friction-free global economy. This new film, awful though it may be, is a cry from the hearts of people being wrenched from the old world into the new and not liking it. There are millions of them, and they will demand to be heard in the media, the markets, and government. And the world?s largest corporation is, inevitably, the most inviting target they can find."

Joe Klein on looking forward

2005-11-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

TIME.com -- Joe Klein: Think Twice About a Pullout: "The most passionate discussions in Washington last week were about the past?whether the President intentionally misled the country into war?not the future. They are a waste of time. Two questions need to be addressed: Will an American withdrawal from Iraq create more or less stability in the Middle East? Will a withdrawal increase or decrease the threat of another terrorist attack at home? It does not matter whether you believe the war was right or wrong. If the answers to those questions are less stability and an empowered al-Qaeda, we'd better think twice about slipping down this dangerous path."

Welcome to EYG

2005-11-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to EYG

fascinating uses of flickr and my space

The best deals on electronics are online -- survey - Nov. 14, 2005

2005-11-18T14:09:00.000-08:00

for everyone shopping for me (I need a new camera with a zoom, please), pls follow consumer reports guide to the best stores:

The best deals on electronics are online -- survey - Nov. 14, 2005: "Overall, Internet retailers received the best ratings, the survey said. Two online retailers -- Amazon.com (Research) and J&R.com -- received the top scores for best price and product selection.

Crutchfield.com scored high marks for overall satisfaction and had the best product information online.

But, if low price matters most, BJ's Wholesale (Research), Amazon.com, J&R.com, Costco.com (Research) and Costco are all good choices, according to Consumer Reports.

Costco also has the best return policy according to Consumer Reports' survey, while local independent stores, Tweeter Home Entertainment and Ritz Camera were noted for top service."

In a Battle of Wits, Iraq's Insurgency Mastermind Stays a Step Ahead of U.S. - Los Angeles Times

2005-11-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

umm, couldnt these resources be used to track another terrorist, one who actually attacked us?

In a Battle of Wits, Iraq's Insurgency Mastermind Stays a Step Ahead of U.S. - Los Angeles Times: "U.S. officials from four agencies involved in the hunt for Zarqawi said their failure was not for lack of effort.

At least two top-secret, multi-agency commando teams have been assigned solely to track Zarqawi and mobilize quickly to pursue him into the most unstable areas of Iraq where he is believed to be hiding, several U.S. officials familiar with the units said. One of them is called Task Force 626, which was established last year by the Pentagon.

There are also dozens of special forces commandos and military intelligence gatherers looking for him. The CIA has deployed dozens of case officers and analysts, the FBI has flown in special agents and bomb experts, and forensic money-trackers from the Treasury Department are trying to monitor the flow of illicit funds into and out of Iraq as a way of cornering Zarqawi and his top aides, those officials said in interviews.

Eavesdropping satellites, unmanned drones and even U-2 spy planes are gathering intelligence on the insurgency, some of them specifically watching for Zarqawi, the officials confirmed.
"

Clinton: Friday morning Quarterback

2005-11-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

If it was such a bad idea, where was he in 2002?
Bill Clinton Calls Iraq 'Big Mistake' - Yahoo! News: "ormer
President Clinton told Arab students Wednesday the United States made a 'big mistake' when it invaded
Iraq, stoking the partisan debate back home over the war.
ADVERTISEMENT

Clinton cited the lack of planning for what would happen after
Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

'Saddam is gone. It's a good thing, but I don't agree with what was done,' Clinton told students at a forum at the American University of Dubai.

'It was a big mistake. The American government made several errors ... one of which is how easy it would be to get rid of Saddam and how hard it would be to unite the country.'"

Departure memo - Wiki Gonzalez

2005-11-15T22:29:00.000-08:00

FOR SCOTT
Departure memo - Wiki Gonzalez: "When I was a medical student, a very wise resident at a VA hospital once told me that, in whatever you do, you must always remember that life is a river. When you find yourself in the middle, stuck in a small boat with nothing but a couple of oars and a cooler full of beer, you have but two choices: (1) sit back, get drunk, and let the current carry you where you are going; or (2) paddle like hell toward something else. The choice depends entirely upon where you think the river is taking you."

Wal Mart the Movie two cent review

2005-11-15T19:22:00.000-08:00

I've made it through about 15 mins of Robert Greenwald's movie. I get it. Other than Springsteen's cover of 'This Land is Your Land,' its a yawner. Time to return to Goodfellas on HBO or the Sopranos.
OK, now they're talking to former WalMart employees. That's a bit more interesting than the focus on the ma & pa hardware store in Western PA.

Voter Profiles for Bloomberg Went Beyond Ethnic Labels - New York Times

2005-11-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

Interesting comments about the politics of the Bloomberg campaign. This pragmatic, non-ideological politics is something the national Democrats better get hip to quick. Maybe they could start by talking to this guy.

Voter Profiles for Bloomberg Went Beyond Ethnic Labels - New York Times: "'After 9/11, New Yorkers unified under a paradigm that was not race-based,' Mr. Sheekey said.

And with that understanding, Mr. Schoen said, the Bloomberg campaign was able to address voters in a way that Mr. Ferrer's campaign could not. Its frequent critiques of Mr. Bloomberg as a Republican, and its descriptions of the city as 'two New Yorks' separated by class, he said, were not addressing the true concerns of New Yorkers.

'If you are a poor person worried about your job, you're not talking in party terms,' Mr. Schoen said. 'We were talking responsively to their needs and people weren't going to respond to the old language of class and race and party.'"

Zadie Smith, Putting Herself Into Her Work

2005-11-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

The Post calls On Beauty a "comic novel." I suppose, but its also a hip hop novel and a haitian american novel and a mixed race novel. Its just a freakin good read-- reading Howard's End beforehand helped me to enjoy it , I think.
Zadie Smith, Putting Herself Into Her Work: "She is a literary rock star, Zadie Smith, all of 30 years old and spoken about in the same breath as fellow Brits Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan and Martin Amos ('a postmodern Charles Dickens,' this newspaper declared her)."

Bush y Gabo

2005-11-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

Seria una sorpresa a aprender que bush si conoce a las obras de Gabo.
For comparison's sake; Hugo Chavez can site Leaves of Grass from memory. In English.
Odds that Bush knows who Whitman is?

Between Elections: "The country's economic miracle, done without IMF help, Kirchner said, was such that famed Colombian novelist ' Garcia Marquez ' might want to use his 'magical realism' style to write a few paragraphs about it.

President Bush , who somehow managed to stay awake through Kirchner's dreadful economics tour, leaned over to ask Bolivian President Eduardo Rodriguez a question.

Rodriguez wasn't sure he understood and Bush repeated the question.

'One Hundred Years of Solitude,' Rodriguez said, apparently figuring that would explain the reference to Nobel literature laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez . "

The Right Way in Iraq

2005-11-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

what if John Edwards and his running mate had made this admission 16 months ago? sigh...
The Right Way in Iraq: "It was a mistake to vote for this war in 2002. I take responsibility for that mistake. It has been hard to say these words because those who didn't make a mistake -- the men and women of our armed forces and their families -- have performed heroically and paid a dear price."

A 'Law & Order' Spinoff Acquires Some Reinforcements - New York Times

2005-11-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

A 'Law & Order' Spinoff Acquires Some Reinforcements - New York Times: "In the vast, jumbled television landscape, the 'Law & Order' formula is reliably distinctive and smart, often topical yet most of all familiar and comforting. That could partly be because, like all the best mysteries, 'Law & Order' provides cathartic social vengeance: middle-class detectives and prosecutors expose the greed and perversions of the rich, exacting a retribution that the tax code fails to deliver. (It is remarkable how many homicidal psychopaths live in apartments with views of Central Park.)"

Soothe Your Senses

2005-11-11T19:10:00.000-08:00

look whats new in our neighborhood;
Soothe Your Senses: "
Soothe Your Senses - Chicago

6260 North Broadway,
Chicago, IL 60660
773-262-4246

An Edgewater destination that takes you away from the noise of the city. Just minutes away from downtown Chicago, Soothe Your Senses Day Spa for men and women invites you to experience the comfort of our French Quarter inspired location. "

Arnold Terminates Himself

2005-11-10T08:15:00.000-08:00

More Election Day wrap ups, from Harld Myerson:
Arnold Terminates Himself: "Schwarzenegger's fierce opposition to raising taxes to pay for state services is profoundly at odds with the wishes of state voters. Over the past couple of years, while he has raised tuition and restricted admissions to the state's universities rather than hike taxes on the rich, voters in more than 100 municipalities around the state have levied higher property taxes on themselves to pay for new schools.

Indeed, the repudiation of Schwarzenegger's propositions, coupled with the defeat in Virginia of the Republicans' taxophobic gubernatorial nominee, Jerry Kilgore, and last week's decision by Colorado voters to partially overturn a spending limit that was blocking road and school construction, strongly suggests that the Republicans' anti-tax revolt is running out of steam."

Is There a Hit Film in the Battle for Ohio? - New York Times

2005-11-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

Is There a Hit Film in the Battle for Ohio? - New York Times: "The resulting film, which the co-directors are still polishing in hopes of getting it accepted by the Sundance Film Festival, shows Republican campaigners functioning like a well-oiled machine and Democrats looking incapable of ordering lunch, let alone organizing a major get-out-the-vote operation. These scenes, interspersed with interviews with top strategists for both the Bush and the Kerry campaigns - with the glaring exceptions of Karl Rove and Bob Shrum - by and large leave the impression that the Bush campaign was run by major-league professionals and the Kerry campaign by bush-league amateurs.

One sequence is particularly memorable: After Tad Devine, a top Kerry consultant, is quoted earnestly explaining the Democrats' strategic decision to appeal to swing voters, or 'persuadables,' an unshaven young Democratic operative is shown knocking on doors of these supposed persuadables in Ohio. When a young man eating his breakfast says he is leaning to the Republican side, the hapless organizer meekly asks, 'Can I persuade you otherwise?' but has nothing more to add as the door shuts in his face."

ABC News: The Note: Credit Where Credit Is Due

2005-11-10T08:01:00.000-08:00

ABC News: The Note: Credit Where Credit Is Due: "In a sense Bloomberg's win was a victory for smart-government liberalism,' writes Greg Sargent in the online edition of the American Prospect"

Delays, Low Fines Weaken FCC Attack on Indecency

2005-11-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

this is inaccurate, Steve Dahl was on in afternoons in 1987.
Delays, Low Fines Weaken FCC Attack on Indecency: "The FCC has collected most of the fines it has imposed. But the long turnaround time has allowed some broadcasters to outwait the agency.

An example: During an August 1987 morning show on Chicago rock powerhouse WLUP, deejays Steve Dahl and Garry Meier talked to a caller who offered a gay-themed song called 'Kiddie Porn.'

More than two years passed before the FCC, under Republican Chairman Alfred E. Sikes, proposed a $6,000 indecency fine."

Mayor Crossed Ethnic Barriers For Big Victory - New York Times

2005-11-09T21:05:00.000-08:00

Mayor Crossed Ethnic Barriers For Big Victory - New York Times: "The mayor's wide support among minority voters is a sign that the strategy of the Democrat, Fernando Ferrer, to build on a dependable base of black and Hispanic votes fell victim to emerging political realities: that blacks and Hispanics no longer vote reflexively as a bloc, and that a middle-class coalition can trump traditional ethnic-based appeals. "

OpinionJournal - Featured Article

2005-11-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

OpinionJournal - Featured Article: "But for the most part immigrants, white and nonwhite, have been making considerable progress. Particularly telling, immigrant business ownership has been surging far faster than among native-born Americans. Ironically, some of the highest rates for ethnic entrepreneurship in the U.S. belong to Muslim immigrants, along with Russians, Indians, Israelis and Koreans.

Perhaps nothing confirms immigrant upward mobility more than the fact that the majority have joined the white middle class in the suburbs--a geography properly associated here mostly with upward mobility. These newcomers and their businesses have carved out a powerful presence in suburban areas that now count among the nation's most diverse regions. Prime examples include what demographer Bill Frey calls 'melting pot suburbs': the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles; Arlington County, Va.; Essex County, N.J.; and Fort Bend County in suburban Houston. The connection between this spreading geography and immigrant opportunity is not coincidental. Like other Americans, immigrants often dramatically improve their quality of life and economic prospects by moving out to less dense, faster growing areas. They can also take advantage of more business-friendly government. Perhaps the most extreme case is Houston, a low-cost, low-tax haven where immigrant entrepreneurship has exploded in recent decades. Much of this has taken place in the city itself. Looser regulations and a lack of zoning lower land and rental costs, providing opportunities to build businesses and acquire property."

Gay Games VIII - Chicago July 15-22, 2006

2005-11-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

I won't play in them, but I hope we get lots of visitors!!

From 15-22 July 2006, Chicago will play host to the world and welcome thousands of athletes, spectators and cultural participants into our homes, our hearts and our city for the seventh quadrennial Gay Games Sports and Cultural Festival. The Games will feature 12,000 participants, competition in 30 sports, world-class athletes and artists, band and choral performances, nightly medal ceremonies, a week-long arts festival, parties, and spectacular opening and closing ceremonies featuring entertainment, pageantry, and the parade of participants from more than 70 countries. For more info, visit gaygameschicago.org.

AP Wire | 11/02/2005 | Feingold faults both sides for early response to AlitoFeingold said the odds of a McCain-Feingold race in 2008 are remote.

2005-11-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

AP Wire | 11/02/2005 | Feingold faults both sides for early response to Alito: "Feingold said the odds of a McCain-Feingold race in 2008 are remote.

'So I don't worry about it,' he said. 'I do like John McCain a great deal. The thought of running against him would not be my idea of an easy task. I'm a big fan.

'If he wins the Republican primaries, I think the chances of the Democrats winning the White House that year are going to be pretty thin. I think we all know that.'"

The Globe and Mail: The Washington gadfly

2005-11-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

Be wary of unnamed sources in the Iranian Air Force:
The Globe and Mail: The Washington gadfly: "Hersh recently got hold of a copy of the United Nations interim report by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis on the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. The document cited 'converging evidence' that senior levels of the Syrian government were involved in the murder.

But according to Hersh, the Mehlis report is built on the same anemic foundations as Powell's UN presentation in February, 2003. 'He is relying on intercepts of an unnamed source inside the Iranian air force, someone without inside stuff. It's not empirical.' On the basis of this thin evidence, he says, the Bush administration is campaigning at the UN for sanctions on Syria."

Chicago Tribune | State senator targets A&F shirts

2005-11-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

Good thing there's nothing else for our state senate to worry about.
Chicago Tribune | State senator targets A&F shirts: "State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger (R-Elgin) said today he will introduce a resolution on the senate floor later this week asking Abercrombie & Fitch to stop selling a line of controversial T-shirts in Illinois.

'We've got young people taking action in Pennsylvania and we have to resonate that in the state of Illinois and show we have community standards as well,' said Rauschenberger, who was spurred on by a group of Pennsylvania girls he saw on NBC's 'Today' show. The group began its boycott-what they call a girlcott-earlier this week.
"

BoardFirst.com - Tired of Waiting in Lines?

2005-11-02T06:37:00.000-08:00

The market solves all:
BoardFirst.com - Tired of Waiting in Lines?: "Let's face it, most of us don't have a personal assistant. Many of us have jobs where a computer is not at hand. While traveling we often don't have access to a computer. If your plane departs tomorrow during rush hour, all the 'A' passes may be taken while you drive in your car trying to get home to your computer. But with the assistance of BoardFirst, you can get your boarding pass as soon as it is available no matter where you are. BoardFirst will be ready twenty-four hours before your departure time to secure your 'A' pass."

On The Media-- ”TABULA ROSA”

2005-11-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

the true Rosa Parks, an activist.
As Tim Tyson says, we don't have a lot of pacficist white heroes in America.

On The Media-- ”TABULA ROSA”: " ”TABULA ROSA”

BOB GARFIELD: Rosa Parks died Monday, a humble woman whose act of defiance helped galvanize the civil rights movement. Her story is the stuff of legend, a mixture of reality and myth. Here to help us unpack that legend and bring us closer to the whole truth of Rosa Parks is Tim Tyson, professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin"

TIM TYSON: There's a sense in which Mrs. Parks is very important to our post-civil rights racial narrative, because we really want a kind of sugar-coated civil rights movement that's about purity and interracial non-violence. And so we don't really want to meet the real Rosa Parks. We don't, for example, want to know that in the late 1960s, Rosa Parks became a black nationalist and a great admirer of Malcolm X. I met Rosa Parks at the funeral of Robert F. Williams, who had fought the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina with a machine gun in the late 1950s and then fled to Cuba, and had been a kind of international revolutionary icon of black power. Ms. Parks delivered the eulogy at his funeral. She talks in her autobiography and says that she never believed in non-violence and that she was incapable of that herself, and that she kept guns in her home to protect her family. But we want a little old lady with tired feet. You may have noticed we don't have a lot of pacifist white heroes. We prefer our black people meek and mild, I think.

Post from the plane

2005-11-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

I tried and failed to post this from my blackberry on Friday night:

These are my favorite kinds of trips-- when andreas on the recvng end, nor the departure end.

I'm going to try to finish passae to india before arriving. I'm kicking mself for deciding not to bring the zadie amith novel which arrived last night, but I trust amng the nerds ill be with this weekend-- drs. Gilmore and erzen and mr. Bill-- that ill find something intersting to read on sundays flight and train ride-- which promises to as long or longer than the flight.

I snuck up to lasalle st. this aft to feel the sox celebration vibes. It was pretty lovely-- sort of a 21st century stew of multi culti south siders and suburban white folks. Lots of kids on mens shoulders. I snapped a couple of photos that ill post later.
I had to leave to hear Howard Gardener talk about Trustees and the loss of trust.
Take off time!
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons

2005-11-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

is this ethical of the post?
CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons: "The Washington Post is not publishing the names of the Eastern European countries involved in the covert program, at the request of senior U.S. officials. They argued that the disclosure might disrupt counterterrorism efforts in those countries and elsewhere and could make them targets of possible terrorist retaliation."

CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons

2005-11-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

no one can be surprised by this, thats the sad thing.
CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons: "The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement.

The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, according to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents."

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Prodigal son, departs

2005-11-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

my first thought on hearing of Theo Epstein's divorce from the Red Sox was to check the blogs. Sure enough, baseball primer pointed to this excellent Bill Simmons column from ESPN.
ESPN.com: Page 2 : Prodigal son, departs: "Call me crazy, but I believe this is a bigger story than Theo Epstein leaving the Red Sox -- an unprecedented situation where a sports franchise controls the local coverage of itself, to some degree, in every possible medium."

Married & Bored or Single & Lonely

2005-11-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

I'm listening to Chris Rock's rant on marriage. So far, i haven't reached his desperation, though I have been on some husband playdates: "you like baseball, he likes baseball."

WSJ.com - Many Internet Start-Ups Are Telling Venture Capitalists: 'We Don't Need You'

2005-11-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

These two sentences are a nice summary of web 2.0.

WSJ.com - Many Internet Start-Ups Are Telling Venture Capitalists: 'We Don't Need You': "A new generation of Internet companies -- many offering online photo and blogging services or downloadable software for businesses -- have been built for a fraction of the cost just a few years ago. That's mainly due to the increasing popularity of cheap 'open source' software and programming tools, as well as dramatic cost reductions in computer memory, storage and Internet bandwidth."

WSJ.com - Many Internet Start-Ups Are Telling Venture Capitalists: 'We Don't Need You'

2005-11-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

these 2 sentences sum up a lot:
WSJ.com - Many Internet Start-Ups Are Telling Venture Capitalists: 'We Don't Need You': "A new generation of Internet companies -- many offering online photo and blogging services or downloadable software for businesses -- have been built for a fraction of the cost just a few years ago. That's mainly due to the increasing popularity of cheap 'open source' software and programming tools, as well as dramatic cost reductions in computer memory, storage and Internet bandwidth."

Edwards 08

2005-11-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

The Fix - Chris Cillizza - (washingtonpost.com): "An independent poll conducted last month by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press shows Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (D) as the 2008 presidential candidates with the most potential crossover appeal among registered voters."

Bush's vodka stash

2005-10-30T06:54:00.000-08:00

Why arent folks focussing on this revelation from Bush's chef? (thanks Tanya)

What about his drinks?

When he asks for a vodka on the rocks, it's our guys who mix it from our own supply that we have to bring all the way around the world with us. Nobody knows that.

"I Just Wish I Could Stop Shitting Blood" | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2005-10-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

"I Just Wish I Could Stop Shitting Blood" | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

KRT Wire | 10/26/2005 | Swoopes, `tired of having to pretend,' says she's a lesbian

2005-10-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

the day i wait for is the one when this is not a story.
KRT Wire | 10/26/2005 | Swoopes, `tired of having to pretend,' says she's a lesbian: "Wednesday, the Houston Comets' player became the most prominent athlete in American team sports to declare her homosexuality.

'I hadn't thought about being a high-profile person,' Swoopes told The Dallas Morning News. 'My reason for coming out has nothing to do with throwing this in people's faces. I just wanted to breathe . . . I think this will be very comforting.'"

If Guillen wins, Hugo and Venezuela will celebrate

2005-10-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

If Guillen wins, Hugo and Venezuela will celebrate: "
White Sox
If Guillen wins, Hugo and Venezuela will celebrate

October 6, 2005

BY GREG COUCH Staff Reporter
Advertisement

If Ozzie Guillen's mouth is the daily story in Chicago, his success apparently is the talk of his native Venezuela.

During his weekly state-run TV and radio show, 'Hello President,'' Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez had Guillen on for a phone interview Sunday. Guillen, the first Venezuelan manager in major-league history, talked about the call Wednesday.

'I would say I was honored,'' he said. 'Not too many people like the president. I do. My mom will kill me, but it's an honor to talk to the president."

Skipping Bush's Va. Speech Isn't a Snub, Kilgore Says

2005-10-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

reverse coattails for W:
Skipping Bush's Va. Speech Isn't a Snub, Kilgore Says: "Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry W. Kilgore has decided not to attend President Bush's appearance in Norfolk on Friday, saying it is not a campaign-related event and that he has other plans 11 days before the election."

Picaboo - Learn More

2005-10-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

Picaboo - Learn More: "Easy. Creative. Fast.
You'll be amazed at how easy it is to create stunning albums with Picaboo. It's as easy as 1-2-3. With dozens of pre-loaded page layouts, backgrounds, corners, and covers, creating a lasting treasure is only clicks away. And yes, Picaboo albums are fully customizable - you can use your own backgrounds and covers, which means albums can be as unique as you are. And it's fast: compared to photo web sites, Picaboo is almost 100x faster."

what tian has learned: Asian Backstreet Boys

2005-10-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

what tian has learned: Asian Backstreet Boys: "Asian Backstreet Boys"

Ishle Yi Park

2005-10-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

my favorite queens poet
Ishle Yi Park

Facing South: Rosa Parks: Symbols, myths and movements

2005-10-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

Facing South: Rosa Parks: Symbols, myths and movements: "Parks didn't come out of nowhere. She didn't single-handedly give birth to the civil rights efforts. Instead, she was part of an existing movement for change at a time when success was far from certain. This in no way diminishes the power and historical importance of her refusal to give up her seat. But it does remind us that this tremendously consequential act might never have taken place without the humble and frustrating work that she and others did earlier on. It reminds us that her initial step of getting involved was just as courageous and critical as the fabled moment when she refused to move to the back of the bus."

Senators in G.O.P. Voice New Doubt on Court Choice - New York Times

2005-10-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

tick tock, tick tock
Senators in G.O.P. Voice New Doubt on Court Choice - New York Times: "WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 - The drumbeat of doubt from Republican senators over the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet E. Miers grew louder Tuesday as several lawmakers, including a pivotal conservative on the Judiciary Committee, joined those expressing concerns about her selection.

Emerging from a weekly luncheon of Republican senators in which they discussed the nomination, several lawmakers suggested that as Ms. Miers continued her visits on Capitol Hill, she was not winning over Republican lawmakers.

'I am uneasy about where we are,' said Senator Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican on the Judiciary Committee who had so far expressed only support for the president's choice. 'Some conservative people are concerned. That is pretty obvious.'"

my favorite white sox

2005-10-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

CNNSI.com - SI Online - This Week's Issue of Sports Illustrated - SI Flashback: Carl Everett is a man of many opinions - Wednesday July 19, 2000 12:11 PM: "'God created the sun, the stars, the heavens and the earth, and then made Adam and Eve,' Everett said last Friday, before the Red Sox lost two of three in Atlanta. 'The Bible never says anything about dinosaurs. You can't say there were dinosaurs when you never saw them. Someone actually saw Adam and Eve. No one ever saw a Tyrannosaurus rex.'

What about dinosaur bones?

'Made by man,' he says.

Everett has trouble, too, with the idea of man actually walking on the moon. After first rejecting the notion, he concedes, 'Yeah, that could have happened. It's possible. That is something you could prove. You can't prove dinosaurs ever existed. I feel it's far-fetched.'"

Shadowboxcabaret.com - Home of Shadowbox Cabaret, 2Co's Cabaret and Shadowbox Wired - live music and sketch comedy

2005-10-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

Shadowboxcabaret.com - Home of Shadowbox Cabaret, 2Co's Cabaret and Shadowbox Wired - live music and sketch comedy: "Our Current Show Lineup:
BAND Cabaret Theme Song (BillWho?)
Opening Monologue
BAND Save Yourself (Stabbing Westward)
SBOC: Office Party
BAND Cross-eyed Mary (Jethro Tull)
SBOC: Shannon's Movie Reviews - The Exorcist
SBOC: Campfire Boys - Circus Spectacular
BAND Until The End of The World (U2)
SBOC: Snow What?
BAND Red Barchetta (Rush)

INTERMISSION
BAND Silent Lucidity (Queensryche)
SBOC: Jason's Scary Stories
SBOC: Shannon's Movie Reviews - Psycho
BAND Only Happy When It Rains (Garbage)
SBOC: Zoltar Returns
BAND Strange Face of Love (Tito & the Tarantula)
SBOC: News From Hell
BAND Karn Evil #9 (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
BAND Cabaret Theme Song (BillWho?)"

Insomniac Columbus

2005-10-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

Insomniac Columbus: "nsomniac: Columbus
Your Guide, John Kazalia From John Kazalia,
Your Guide to Columbus, OH.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

Jan 31 2005
Columbus Nightlife a Big Yawn?
I was excited to see the previews--Dave Attell was bringing his Comedy Central show here to see what great nightlife he could find.

And he didn't find much.

First of all, the winner of Comedy Central's guest host Insomniac contest was from Columbus, and they ate up several minutes on that. I knew we were in trouble when they counted out the winner's $1,000 prize 100 dollars at a time. Can you say 'filler' boys and girls?

Then we got to see what's happening around Columbus after hours. Apparently, it boils down to:

* lap dance at Private Dancer on Morse Rd.
* Arena District bars
* Short North window shop
* visits to the Pointe Tavern and Bob's Bar
* putting on a green somewhere
* renting a pile of XXX videos
* visits to St. James Tavern and Buckeye Donurs
* visit to the Outland Club
* time at the Dawson Hog Farm (should have been a cow farm)
* the end...with Dave riding off on a lawn mower (how appropriate)

Is that really all there is?

What about the downtown bars? The Columbus Dispatch recently listed these downtown hot spots, many in the new Long Street Entertainment District:"

La Coctelera: Realidades Colombianas - Inicio

2005-10-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

La Coctelera: Realidades Colombianas - Inicio: "Realidades Colombianas

Una visi�n period�stica en torno a los hechos y personajes colombianos con �nfasis en la zona de Santander. Lugar para ejercer la libertad de expresi�"

ShoZu

2005-10-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

ShoZu: "ShoZu makes saving images from your camera-phone to your Flickr album simple. Download the free ShoZu application to try it out."

Reflectgions on a trip to NYC

2005-10-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Penn Station at 5 pm on Friday. I was not happy, it was crowded, announcements to be on the look-out for suspicious activities were blaring. Luckily there was money on my MetroCard and I didn't have to take time out to add to it. Around 8 my conference ended and I headed west on W. 4th to find my friend Kim, her new friend Shawn, her old friend Kelly from Kansas city and old friends from Pitzer, Carrie, Sarah, and Sarah's fiance. The restaurant was crowded, loud and not very good. On the streets after 11 there was not enough room to stand. I was NOT feeling New York.

As we got on the subway, I was not happy being in New York. Walking onto the subway, I was joined be Melvin, an old friend from my time in New York. We chatted Knicks and Bulls, Yanks and White Sox. He's a Brooklynite through and through and my love for New York was restored before he transferred trains.

The next morning I stopped with Kim for bagels at her bodega at 7:30. We waited in line behind a man rattling off numbers for his lottery selections. He and I chatted about money management as we walked through the rain and into the R train tunnel. "I don't know why people use banks," he said, "I don't trust anyone with my money." He vowed to keep only $1 million of his lottery winnings and to give the rest to Katrina victims.

iLounge | iPod FAQs | Can I replace the iPod's battery myself?

2005-10-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

iLounge | iPod FAQs | Can I replace the iPod's battery myself?: "Can I replace the iPod’s battery myself?
08.16.03 | iPod General | tell-a-friend

Apple
Apple offers it’s own Battery Service for $99 plus $6.95 shipping. Apple will replace the battery for you and offers a 90-day guarantee on materials and workmanship.

iPod mini Battery (UK)
A Do-It-Yourself replacement battery kit for 1G, 2G and 3G iPods is available from iPod mini Battery with complete installation instructions for $49 - a 3G iPod battery for $46.50. We do not recommend opening the iPod using the included screw driver. Use a thin, sturdy piece of plastic or something similar.

iPodResQ
A Do-It-Yourself replacement battery kit for 3rd generation iPods (with dock) is available from iPodResQ with complete installation instructions and tool for $44.00. If you’re not comfortable with opening your iPod, they offer a 24 hour mail-in service in which they will do the installation for you for $79.

Laptops for Less
A Do-It-Yourself replacement battery kit for 1G, 2G and 3G iPods is available from Laptops for Less with complete installation instructions for $49. We do not recommend opening the iPod using the included screw driver. Use a thin, sturdy piece of plastic or something similar.

PDA Smart
A Do-It-Yourself replacement battery kit for 1G and 2G older iPods is available from PDA Smart with complete installation instructions for $59.00. If you’re not comfortable with opening your iPod, they offer a mail-in service in which they will do the installation for you for $68.

For more battery info check out ’The truth about the iPod battery and charging‘ in the forums."

Balkan reggaeton

2005-10-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

RELATED PROJECTS

WSJ.com - on DRM

2005-10-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

WSJ.com - Personal Technology: "I believe that consumers should have broad leeway to use legally purchased music and video for personal, noncommercial purposes in any way they want -- as long as they don't engage in mass distribution. They should be able to copy it to as many personal digital devices as they own, convert it to any format those devices require, and play it in whatever locations, at whatever times, they choose.

The beauty of digital media is the flexibility, and that flexibility shouldn't be destroyed for honest consumers just because the companies that sell them have a theft problem caused by a minority of people.

Instead of using DRM to stop some individual from copying a song to give to her brother, the industry should be focusing on ways to use DRM to stop the serious pirates -- people who upload massive quantities of music and videos to so-called file-sharing sites, or factories in China that churn out millions of pirate CDs and DVDs.

I believe Congress should rewrite the copyright laws to carve out a broad exemption for personal, noncommercial use by consumers, including sharing small numbers of copies among families.

Until then, I suggest that consumers avoid stealing music and videos, but also boycott products like copy-protected CDs that overly limit usage and treat everyone like a criminal. That would send the industry a message to use DRM more judiciously."

lordfunkenstein: Buttery Force

2005-10-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

lordfunkenstein: Buttery Force

Media is a Plural - Rory O'Connor's Blog � We Against Them: Fear and Trust in the Media

2005-10-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

Media is a Plural - Rory O'Connor's Blog � We Against Them: Fear and Trust in the Media: "Sambrook, on the other hand, began by declaring “We don’t own the news anymore,” and went on to detail what he pointedly described as “bigger than a movement – not a toe in the water, not product development – but a fundamental realignment.” To Sambrook, the news has become “democratized,” and as a result, “It’s become a whole new ball game” for Big Media concerns such as the Beeb. His conclusion: “We must do something completely different.”

Sambrook rightly described the measure of any news organization as “the quality and depth of its relationship with the public.” Digital technology is now fundamentally changing that relationship. Sambrook and other BBC executives believe they “must embrace that change.” Social (or citizen) media, says Sambrook, “used to exist on the margins, but is very quickly becoming central. We’re at the tipping point right now.”

As a result, the entire BBC is now preparing for that embrace, moving from seeing its role as being “a one-way broadcaster to a moderator to a facilitator,” says Sambrook. The ways in which the BBC will seek to add value in the future will also change. Sambrook outlined three keys to the BBC’s emergent value proposition:

1) Connecting audiences
2) Verification of news
3) Analysis, explanation and context addition.

The BBC, according to Sambrook, is now “in the middle of reorganizing and reprioritizing itself for a fully-digital, on-demand environment. On-demand is our future.”

Such a total transformation, says Sambrook, requires “a huge cultural shift” on the part of Big Media, a shift to “thinking about content in a 360 degree manner.” Executives like him must now start thinking about “how to take content forward and allow the public to engage with it, alter it, and so on.”"

BiddingForTravel.com @ www.ezboard.com

2005-10-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

BiddingForTravel.com @ www.ezboard.com: "BiddingForTravel.com's primary goal is to promote informed bidding when using priceline.com's (US) travel products. "

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Chewbacca star becomes US citizen

2005-10-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Chewbacca star becomes US citizen: "The British-born actor who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies is to become a US citizen.

Peter Mayhew, 60, who played the hairy wookie in the original trilogy and this year's Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, will attend a ceremony on Monday."

Google, Comcast Consider Investing in AOL

2005-10-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

Google, Comcast Consider Investing in AOL: "Yahoo, Google, MSN, AOL, and Skype Technologies SA all offer a form of computer-to-computer calling over their IM service. They could eventually become major networks for sharing music, video and other digital files."

Boing Boing: Proto-ramen discovered in China

2005-10-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Boing Boing: Proto-ramen discovered in China: "Early evidence of FSM's presence on earth? In China, a team of archaeologists have unearthed a takeout container full of 4,000 year-old Neolithic noodles."

USNews.com: The National Interest: The latest from Galston and Kamarck (10/12/05)

2005-10-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

USNews.com: The National Interest: The latest from Galston and Kamarck (10/12/05): "Samuel Huntington notes in his book Who Are We: The Challenges to America's National Identity the emergence of 'denationalized elites' in this and other countries—highly educated people who feel a loyalty more to secular liberal principles than to their own country."

USNews.com: The National Interest: The latest from Galston and Kamarck (10/12/05)

2005-10-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

USNews.com: The National Interest: The latest from Galston and Kamarck (10/12/05): "'Along a number of dimensions, liberals differ not only from other Democrats but from the country as a whole. Not only are they younger, better educated, and more prosperous; they are less likely ever to have been married or to have children in their home. They are more likely to be secular in their orientation, only half as likely as other Americans to have attended religious services weekly, and only one third as likely to have participated in Bible study or prayer groups; 61 percent of liberals oppose displaying the Ten Commandments, versus only 22 percent of all Americans. A remarkable 80 percent of liberals favor gay marriage; less than one third of their fellow Americans agree.

'In the area of defense and foreign policy, 67 percent of liberals believe that the pre-emptive use of military force is rarely or ever justified, 65 percent favor reducing the federal budget to cut the deficit; again, only 35 percent of the electorate would go along with them. Liberals are only half as likely to be military veterans as are Americans as a whole. [Note: Galston, as well as being a political science Ph.D. who uses his own translations of ancient Greek, served in the Marine Corps.] Only two fifths report that they regularly display the U.S. flag, versus two thirds of their fellow citizens."

USNews.com: The National Interest: The latest from Galston and Kamarck (10/12/05)

2005-10-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

USNews.com: The National Interest: The latest from Galston and Kamarck (10/12/05): "'Democrats are in trouble today, not only because their candidates have lacked compelling 'narratives' that resonate with voters but because they lack a coherent approach to foreign policy, espouse positions on key social issues that strong majorities of the electorate reject, and lack compelling economic proposals that speak to the new economic challenges of the 21st century.'"

USATODAY.com - CIA review faults prewar plans

2005-10-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

USATODAY.com - CIA review faults prewar plans: "WASHINGTON — A newly released report published by the CIA rebukes the Bush administration for not paying enough attention to prewar intelligence that predicted the factional rivalries now threatening to split Iraq.

Policymakers worried more about making the case for the war, particularly the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, than planning for the aftermath, the report says. The report was written by a team of four former CIA analysts led by former deputy CIA director Richard Kerr.

'In an ironic twist, the policy community was receptive to technical intelligence (the weapons program), where the analysis was wrong, but apparently paid little attention to intelligence on cultural and political issues (post-Saddam Iraq), where the analysis was right,' they write."

Garciaparra rescues two women from the water - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

2005-10-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

Garciaparra rescues two women from the water - MLB - Yahoo! Sports: "Nomar Garciaparra rescued two women who had fallen into Boston Harbor, his uncle and a witness told the Boston Herald."

What's The Matter With What's The Matter With Kansas - Yahoo! News

2005-10-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

What's The Matter With What's The Matter With Kansas - Yahoo! News: "In a fascinating paper called 'What's the Matter With What's the Matter with Kansas?', Princeton professor Larry Bartels uses data from National Election Study (NES) surveys to test Frank's thesis. He examines class-related patterns of issue preferences, partisanship, and voting over the past half-century. Bartels concludes that the white working class hasn't moved right and that 'moral values' are not pushing them to vote Republican.

Moreover, for the most part, voters' economic and cultural attitudes are either both liberal or both conservative rather than the bifurcated split Frank sees. Bartels also disproves the argument that there's been a long-term decline in turnout."

Google Secure Access Installer

2005-10-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

Variety.com - Fire destroys Gromit's U.K. lair

2005-10-11T07:52:00.000-07:00

Nick Park puts the fire in context:
Variety.com - Fire destroys Gromit's U.K. lair: "W&G creator Nick ParkNick Park said, 'Even though it is precious and nostalgic stuff -- and valuable to the company -- in light of other current tragedies in the news, it's not a big deal.'"

Variety.com - No violent vids for state's kids

2005-10-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

this is ridiculous. the nanny-culture is too much.
Variety.com - No violent vids for state's kids: "Calif. Gov. Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger has signed a law aiming to terminate sales of 'Grand Theft Auto' and certain other types of videogames to minors.

Law imposes a fine of up to $1,000 on retailers who sell or rent games deemed violent to people under 18.

The Entertainment Software Assn. and Video Software Dealers Assn., trade orgs for vidgame publishers and retailers, immediately filed suit, claiming the bill violates the First Amendment."

Chicago Tribune | Fling with Sox? True Cub fans ought to abstain

2005-10-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

Chicago Tribune | Fling with Sox? True Cub fans ought to abstain: "in the end, true commitment is the most rewarding approach.

If the White Sox lose (I want to write 'when'), my fellow Cub fans who stayed loyal will have the satisfaction of knowing that those who've taunted and mocked you for so long, particularly this excruciating season, are suffering just as you suffered two years ago."

Harriet Miers's Blog!!!

2005-10-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

Harriet Miers's Blog!!!: "WHY I TRUST PRESIDENT BUSH
George Will says 'The president's 'argument' for her [ME] amounts to: Trust me [HIM [I mean BUSH not GEORGE WILL]].' LINK

I agree!!! I trust Bush, the best president of the United States not only now but ever. But George Will doesn't. Okay. Fine. But heres the thing... lots of turncoats agree. LINK LINKY LINK LINK LINK

Why is everyone suddenly Judas-faced!?

Alot of people didn't trust Bush about Iraq they were WRONG.
Alot of people didn't trust Bush about Faith-Based and they were WRONG.
Alot of people didn't trust Bush about Budget Cuts and they were WRONG."

Guardian Unlimited Film | News | Fire destroys Wallace and Gromit home

2005-10-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

Guardian Unlimited Film | News | Fire destroys Wallace and Gromit home: "
Fire destroys Wallace and Gromit home

Staff and agencies
Monday October 10, 2005

Wallace & Gromit: The Case of the Were-Rabbit
Triumph and disaster: Aardman Animations has been destroyed by fire as news comes of international triumph for Wallace & Gromit's first feature

A fierce blaze at the home of the animation company behind the Wallace and Gromit films has destroyed 'the entire history' of the much-loved film-makers."

Daily Kos: Tone, Truth, and the Democratic Party

2005-10-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

Daily Kos: Tone, Truth, and the Democratic Party: " * Barack Obama's diary :: ::
*

There is one way, over the long haul, to guarantee the appointment of judges that are sensitive to issues of social justice, and that is to win the right to appoint them by recapturing the presidency and the Senate. And I don't believe we get there by vilifying good allies, with a lifetime record of battling for progressive causes, over one vote or position. I am convinced that, our mutual frustrations and strongly-held beliefs notwithstanding, the strategy driving much of Democratic advocacy, and the tone of much of our rhetoric, is an impediment to creating a workable progressive majority in this country. "

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Bird flu pandemic 'could kill 150m'

2005-10-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Bird flu pandemic 'could kill 150m': "
2.45pm
Bird flu pandemic 'could kill 150m'

James Sturcke
Friday September 30, 2005

An Indonesian agriculture ministry official injects a parrot with bird flu vaccine in Jakarta. Photograph: Tatan Syuflana/AP
An Indonesian agriculture ministry official injects a parrot with bird flu vaccine in Jakarta. Photograph: Tatan Syuflana/AP

A global influenza pandemic is imminent and will kill up to 150 million people, the UN official in charge of coordinating the worldwide response to an outbreak has warned."

FAMILY DEMANDS THE TRUTH / New inquiry may expose events that led to Pat Tillman’s death

2005-09-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

FAMILY DEMANDS THE TRUTH / New inquiry may expose events that led to Pat Tillman’s death: "Interviews also show a side of Pat Tillman not widely known — a fiercely independent thinker who enlisted, fought and died in service to his country yet was critical of President Bush and opposed the war in Iraq, where he served a tour of duty. He was an avid reader whose interests ranged from history books on World War II and Winston Churchill to works of leftist Noam Chomsky, a favorite author."

The Blog | Arianna Huffington: Miller Walks: The Plot Thickens | The Huffington Post

2005-09-30T04:40:00.000-07:00

The Blog | Arianna Huffington: Miller Walks: The Plot Thickens | The Huffington Post: "And so we don’t forget what this story is really about, and given that the aluminum tubes crap that Miller put on the front page of the New York Times was being heavily promoted by Cheney, how much of that bogus information came to Miller via Libby?"

Ecuablogs - Comunidad Ecuatoriana de Weblogs

2005-09-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ecuablogs - Comunidad Ecuatoriana de Weblogs

Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates The Pilot - Google Video

2005-09-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates The Pilot - Google Video

Things I can't find on the web

2005-09-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

1- Last night on AM news radio, I heard Da Mayor speak about what a waste of money spending $16 billion on a new moon shot would be. He suggested that investing $4 billion for science and math education and another $4 billion for othe social projects would be a better payoff. Daley is so great sometimes.

2- NY Yankee reserve Bubba Crosby rode the subway home after hitting a game-winning home run on Monday. I love tales of baseball players taking public transit. (I was impressed that John Rocker knew enough about the 7 line to include it in his racist tirade a couple of years ago.)

More Love: A Quaker wedding in Ecuador

2005-09-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Katie blogged our wedding.
More Love: A Quaker wedding in Ecuador

Local10.com - News - Shaq Attack Leads To Man's Arrest In Miami Beach

2005-09-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Shaq, the anti-gay bashing machine.

Local10.com - News - Shaq Attack Leads To Man's Arrest In Miami Beach: "Shaq Attack Leads To Man's Arrest In Miami Beach
Miami Heat Center Wants To Be Crimefighter

POSTED: 8:14 am EDT September 13, 2005

Shaquille O'Neal is being called a hero, not for his skills on the basketball court, but for his skills fighting crime.

Miami Beach police said the Miami Heat center heard one man verbally attack another for being gay around 3 a.m. Sunday while in the 300 block of Washington Avenue.

The suspect, later identified as Michael Gonzalez, then threw a beer bottle at the victim, hitting him in the back. Gonzalez fled in a silver Honda and drove toward Palm Island.

'The Diesel' contacted an off-duty police officer at Palm Island and provided a description of the vehicle and the suspect.

The officer questioned Gonzalez and arrested him on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery."

Find-A-Human -- IVR Phone S... - Approved*

2005-09-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

Find-A-Human -- IVR Phone S... - Approved*: " Find-A-Human -- IVR Phone System Shortcuts (USA)"

Frist Urges 2 Teachings on Life Origin - New York Times

2005-08-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

what about the giant spaghetti monster
Frist Urges 2 Teachings on Life Origin - New York Times: "WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 - Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Republican leader, aligned himself with President Bush on Friday when he said that the theory of intelligent design as well as evolution should be taught in public schools.
Skip to next paragraph
Readers
Forum: Human Origins

Such an approach 'doesn't force any particular theory on anyone,' Mr. Frist said in Nashville, according to The Associated Press. 'I think in a pluralistic society that is the fairest way to go about education and training people for the future.' A Washington spokesman for the senator, Nick Smith, said later that the report was accurate.

The theory of intelligent design holds that life is too complicated to have developed through evolution and that a higher power must be involved. Critics say intelligent design theorists are trying to supplant science with religious beliefs."

Boing Boing: Pastafarianism: Flying Spaghetti Monster cult grows

2005-08-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

Boing Boing: Pastafarianism: Flying Spaghetti Monster cult grows: "Pastafarianism: Flying Spaghetti Monster cult grows "

Neave Lab › Flash Earth

2005-08-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

Neave Lab › Flash Earth

Lincoln Park (LPHS) - A Xanga Blogring

2005-08-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Lincoln Park (LPHS) - A Xanga Blogring

heres a spot of present day kids at my alma mater, Lincoln Park HS

Convert movies for iPod playback - Play video on your iPod - Weekend Project - CNET reviews

2005-08-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Convert movies for iPod playback - Play video on your iPod - Weekend Project - CNET reviews: "Play video on your iPod
Step 6: Convert movies for iPod playback"

Walken 2008 - Official Website

2005-08-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Walken 2008 - Official Website: "Christopher Walken 2008"

The Pirate Bay - The worlds largest BitTorrent tracker

2005-08-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

The Pirate Bay - The worlds largest BitTorrent tracker

Racial and Ethnic Minorities Gain in the Nation as a Whole - New York Times

2005-08-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

Racial and Ethnic Minorities Gain in the Nation as a Whole - New York Times: "Cecilia Mu�oz, a vice president of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights group, said: 'This great diversity and constant demographic change make us a dynamic country. They do not cause unrest or commotion. They are part of a process that's intrinsically American.'"

what a silly comment-- as if unrest and commotion are not intrinsically American. Of course, the rapid change in demographics causes a commotion-- espeically in rural areas that receive large numbers of immigrants seemingly overnight. Its not a bad thing, but pretending that its not disruptive and traumatic to many people-- natives and new arrivals, and the loved ones left behind-- is conter-productive. An oped discussion of the social, cultural and economic impacts is healthy-- avoiding it leaves too much space that racists and xenophobes will be happy to occupy.

For Democrats, a Troubling Culture Gap

2005-08-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

For Democrats, a Troubling Culture Gap: "Then came the bad news: 'As powerful as the concern over these issues is, the introduction of cultural themes -- specifically gay marriage, abortion, the importance of the traditional family unit and the role of religion in public life -- quickly renders them almost irrelevant in terms of electoral politics at the national level,' the study said.

Many of these voters still favor Democrats on economic issues. But they see the Democrats as weak on national security, and on cultural and moral issues, they view Democrats as both inconsistent and hostile to traditional values. 'Most referred to Democrats as 'liberal' on issues of morality, but some even go so far as to label them 'immoral,' 'morally bankrupt,' or even 'anti-religious,' ' according to the Democracy Corps analysis."

Hot Topics in Altitude Medicine

2005-08-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

Hot Topics in Altitude Medicine: "Ginko biloba"

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer dies

2005-08-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer dies: "Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer dies
Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer
Ibrahim Ferrer had just got back from a European tour
The veteran Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer has died in a Havana hospital, aged 78.

He had recently completed a month-long tour of Europe, and was admitted to hospital with gastroenteritis, his wife Caridad Diaz told the AFP news agency.

He was a master of the son and bolero styles, but was in obscurity when US guitarist Ry Cooder recruited him for the Buena Vista Social Club."

Pirates Bring Out the Best in Saenz

2005-08-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

Pirates Bring Out the Best in Saenz

Darren Spielman in the news

2005-08-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/05/2005 | Middle schoolers given extra boost: "Summerbridge, which wraps up today after six weeks, is not a typical summer-school program. Instead of helping youngsters who have fallen behind, Summerbridge's small classes give a boost to academically talented students. Blending academics with fun, the program tries to ensure they are prepared to take college-prep courses in high school.

'It's an intensive, academic-enrichment program for low-income kids in Philadelphia public middle schools,' said Darren A. Spielman, executive director of Summerbridge of Greater Philadelphia.

'The mission is to get these kids focused on learning and college and academic skills so they can get placed into the better high schools in the city.'

Summerbridge is free for students. Costs are covered by contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations.

Now in its 10th year in Philadelphia, Summerbridge is affiliated with the Breakthrough Collaborative, a national, nonprofit organization founded in San Francisco in 1978 to help motivated middle school students."

Measuring the Blogosphere - New York Times

2005-08-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

Measuring the Blogosphere - New York Times: "But blogs are often just a way of making oneself appear on the Internet. It's like a closed-circuit video camera that catches a glimpse of you walking by an electronics store window filled with televisions. There you are in all your glory, suddenly, if not forever, mediated. Starting your own blog used to require a certain amount of technical expertise. Now you can do it from within popular Web portals like MSN and AOL, using tools that make it almost as easy as sending e-mail. These days, a surprising number of people write home by posting to their blogs - that is, by writing to everyone on earth.

It's natural enough to think of the growth of the blogosphere as a merely technical phenomenon. But it's also a profoundly human phenomenon, a way of expanding and, in some sense, reifying the ephemeral daily conversation that humans engage in. Every day the blogosphere captures a little more of the strange immediacy of the life that is passing before us. Think of it as the global thought bubble of a single voluble species."