Kenyans reject adult circumcision

Damn straight. Solving the AIDS crisis via circumcision is like removing your tonsils so you won’t get the flu. We hear a lot about the ignorance of Africans in regards to AIDS. Well the elders of this village are contradicting that. They know better.
Elders from Kenya’s Luo community in western Kenya have refused to [...]

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Politicians - They’re Not Like the Rest of Us

I’ve just been listening to a segment on NPR detailing the rent-controlled luxury apartments of the nation’s senators and representatives.
Charles Rangel, the New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Capitol Hill reporters Thursday how he feels about the rent-stabilized studio apartment he uses as a study and poker [...]

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Naomi Wolf: Sex Crimes in the Whitehouse

I like how Naomi Wolf always takes a subject that the average American may think is far removed from themselves and puts that subject in a context that is recognizable.
I had a sense of déjà vu when I saw the photos that emerged in 2004 from Abu Ghraib prison. Even as the Bush administration was [...]

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Goodbye from the world’s biggest ass

This story has been well reported, so I don’t expect anyone reading this will be surprised, but I thought it might bring about a good topic for discussion and that is “is this guy psychotic or what?”
Bush has said many times that history will vindicate him as a president. I just have to wonder how [...]

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The advantages of being a minority

The Seattle Post Intelligencer has an opinion piece on how Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had no advantage being black and female respectively during the Democratic nomination. The writer describes how she has heard many people express that Barack Obama wouldn’t be where he is if he wasn’t black and how upsetting that is for [...]

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Duck and Cover

In light of this morning’s Iran missile tests, I thought it might be interesting to look at this film from 1950 on how to survive an Atomic bomb.

Amazing to think that a whole generation of kids grew up thinking an atomic threat was imminent. This film is scary. I mean that house that blows up [...]

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It’s almost like they want us to leave or something

It’s encouraging to know that it is the Iraqis themselves who may end this war and thus control their own destiny. Think about every justification you have ever heard about the war from George Bush. Those justifications are tremendously hollow when the liberated people don’t want you there.
Iraq will not accept any security agreement with [...]

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Sacrifice

The price of gas is a topic that has consumed Americans for the last year. Now Republican senator John Warner has made a surprising suggestion: reduce the national speed limit to stretch gas mileage. It sounds perfectly reasonable. In fact, there is a precedent. In 1974 faced with an energy crisis Congress decided to create [...]

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Do we stay the course?

I’m the type of person who worries a lot. If I have nothing to worry about, I assure you I will think of something to worry about. My worries are primarily comprised of rare happenings like terrorist attacks, plane crashes, car seat problems, medical mishaps, child abductions, exploding cell phones, re-useable plastic bottles — you [...]

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Interesting Correlation

An independent market-research firm, AIMRCo (Adult Internet Market Research Company), has discovered that many websites focused on adult or erotic material have experienced an upswing in sales in the recent weeks since checks have appeared in millions of Americans’ mailboxes across the country.
According to Kirk Mishkin, Head Research Consultant for AIMRCo, “Many of the sites [...]

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WALL E and Waste

I remember being a kid and learning about “bad” things in school like the effects of smoking and drugs. Later we would learn about recycling and re-using. I remember Arbor Day when we would plant a new tree. I suppose the idea was to encourage children to practice good habits hoping that some of those [...]

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Never let them take you for granted

To say I was disappointed by Barack Obama’s reversal on FISA legislation, would be an understatement and it would appear I’m not alone. We will soon see if Barack Obama has the makings of a great leader or not. I’m hoping he’s a great leader.
A grassroots group of activists has been organizing on MyBo, Obama’s [...]

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McCains Have $100k + in Credit Card Debt

Hmmm, Obama is supposedly the elitist but John and Cindy McCain have hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt. One of their children has $10-50k in credit card debt. These people truly have nothing in common with everyday Americans and are clearly not financially responsible.
In an interesting peek into John McCain’s personal finances, [...]

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Anti-Obama Thugs Tag Cars

Police on Sunday were investigating vandals’ spray-painting of dozens of city vehicles here, some with disparaging messages about the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Authorities think the vandalism to about 60 vehicles, estimated at $10,000 in damage, was done Saturday afternoon, police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones said.
The vehicles were parked across from City Hall and [...]

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Defining Obama

From The Huffingtonpost:
As a rule, Republicans appreciate the value in defining the Democratic presidential nominee, and the GOP is usually pretty good at it. In 2000, Al Gore, they said, was an “exaggerator.” This was not only effective, thanks to a quick embrace by the media, it was also part of a narrative — when [...]

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Our Articulate President

Upon meeting me for the first time, it’s fairly regular for a person to tell me how much they like Thai food since I am part Thai. I understand it, after all that may be the only connection a person has to Thailand. Better that then mentioning a sex show you saw in Thailand (sadly [...]

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Purchasing Amtrak Rail Tickets

Oh the joys of Amtrak in America. Amtrak is the company which manages U.S. rail travel. It’s completely underfunded and never gets any of the lobby money that air travel companies get. Trips on Amtrak are often costlier and are exponentially longer than car trips. Take for instance a drive from Seattle to Portland which [...]

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Picture of the Day

One has to give credit to the BBC for the juxtaposition of this photo and headline. The article is here.

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BBC Finds Missing Iraq Billions

Remember how we lost (literally) billions of dollars in Iraq? This needs to be read in full so I have posted it in full. The link to the article is here.

A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.
For the first time, the [...]

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Minimizing Garbage

In this article about Naples shipping some of its waste to Germany, I was struck by Hamburg’s waste management. This matches the experience from a friend of mine who lived in Stuttgart for a time. She told me people were given containers for recycling and garbage, but the garbage container was the same size of [...]

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It’s Only a Billion Dollar Loss

Actually it’s a billion point four, but after a billion who’s counting.
The Air Force said the first crash of a B-2 stealth bomber was caused by moisture in sensors and estimated the loss of the aircraft at $1.4 billion.
The crash probably could have been avoided if knowledge of a technique to evaporate the moisture had [...]

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The Reason for You Tube’s Existence

The Young Turks.

Via Politico.

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Feminism, Hillary and Me

I’m one of those unappreciative women that grew up with equal rights and didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton. Perhaps because of my age, I found it hard to identify with Hillary. She’s nothing like me.
I am living the life that women of older generations fought for, and yet I am living it more fully than [...]

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Everybody Knows

An interesting history of the Bush Administration with Leonard Cohen’s brilliant Everybody Knows as the soundtrack.

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The Audacity of Hope

I’ve surprised myself and I am actually tearing up. God bless America.

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