Archive for August, 2008
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[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 12, 2008 by admin in Politics
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Oil wells that end well..
I’m no political scientist, but it seemed kind of obvious to me that Russia’s sudden interest in Georgia might have just a little bit to do with oil and the BTC pipeline. The press seems to be finally getting this into the message, presumably after keeping the topic a little low-key so Putin and Bush could share the love at the Olympics. It’s amusing to read the story spun with a different tone, depending on the source. In this Independent UK piece they address the topic, but temper the idea that Russia’s after the BTC Pipeline with quotes like this from analyst Natalia Leshchenko of Global Insight: “The whole conflict is not being waged over the pipeline. The reasons are definitely geopolitical”. In this SMH piece, they jump right in with an almost alarmist tone, quoting Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili as saying ‘”If Georgia falls, this will also mean the fall of the West in the entire former Soviet Union and beyond”. The Mail jumps in with both feet and a chomp on the neck, screaming Russian bear goes for West’s jugular. Meanwhile, at 6:30am Eastern, the top Google news item was from Bloomberg, with the headline Russian Stocks Climb After Medvedev Ends Operation in Georgia. Wait. The war’s over already (BBC, 4:44am)? Oh wait. Never mind (CNN, 9:15am)…this is when the web really sucks for news. Somebody just give me a call when WWIII breaks out, ‘kay?
Hey, Cut That Out!
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 12, 2008 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008It may help save your life…
Second Thoughts?
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I bet you didn’t know that getting circumcised greatly reduces the risk of contracting HIV. Personally, I feel getting circumcised is something you’d rather have done when you’re too young to know what’s going on, but they seem to feel a bit differently in Uganda. Apparently the U.S. government is supporting the program. How? Partly, by paying them $3 to compensate them for losing a day or two of work (no, that’s not a typo). Fifteen years ago, 18% of Ugandans were HIV positive. Although awareness programs brought this number down for a while, HIV was on the upswing again, much like in the U.S. The new Ugandan program even has a song, written and performed by Isaak Simba and the Circ Squad:
The Circumcision Song
Toyota Winglet A Segway Killer?
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 12, 2008 by admin in Technology
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Building a better rubber crutch
Call me cynical, but I’d have to say that calling Toyota’s new Winglet a Segway Killer is sort of like calling a submarine screen door a “rubber crutch killer”. Okay, Segways are fun (yes, I’ve tried one), but other than the Chinese police forces (more amusing photos here), who’s really putting them to any practical use? The best use I’ve seen so far for the Winglet is the attractive Asian model riding in circles in this demo video. On that note, if you watch the video all the way through, you’ll see some other cool gizmos, including something that looks like a Maserati wheelchair. Now THAT would be cool. 200 MPH, stylish wheelchairs.
Hey Google: Get Off My Lawn!
[ 3 Comments ]Posted on August 11, 2008 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Monday, August 11th, 2008…or at least politely ask next time you want a picture.
It’s interesting that while Google spies on our cats, watches burning buildings burn without stopping to help, and generally invades our life with an utter disregard for privacy, it doesn’t want to be photographed itself. From the moment they chose the tagline “Don’t Be Evil”, I’ve been unable to think of them as anything but. And now, I have a personal reason. That’s me in the image at left, grabbed from Google Street View. No, I’m not going to provide a link; friends of mine who find it amusing will easily find the image, and the rest of you – if you care – are on your own. However, I am going to have a little fun with this. I have a camera, and there’s a Google office just blocks from my home. I think we all need a more intimate look at it. Look for some amusing images here soon…
DoublePlus Good: George Orwell’s Blog
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 10, 2008 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Sunday, August 10th, 2008Yesterday marked the first entry in George Orwell’s blog, an interesting project assembled by the Orwell Prize, the Orwell Trust, Political Quarterly and Media Standards Trust. They’re taking Orwell’s personal diaries and publishing them on line in WordPress blog format, posting entries in real-time, exactly 70 years after the entries were originally written. I personally [...]
Yesterday marked the first entry in George Orwell’s blog, an interesting project assembled by the Orwell Prize, the Orwell Trust, Political Quarterly and Media Standards Trust. They’re taking Orwell’s personal diaries and publishing them on line in WordPress blog format, posting entries in real-time, exactly 70 years after the entries were originally written. I personally look forward to reading what George had to say, even if it turns out to be a banal collection of daily personal observations. I also enjoy the ironic notion that if Orwell had in fact been a blogger with no paper trail, we’d probably never know exactly what he said at all because of today’s disturbing tendency toward Newspeak. Orwell’s book A Collection of Essays