The Walt Disney Company pulls out of Bangladesh: Will that make workers safer? (via The Christian Science Monitor) Copyright ImageClick to View A Bangladeshi woman looks at a wall filled with portraits of missing persons near the site of a garment factory that collapsed last week in Savar near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday. Disney pulls out of Bangladesh and several other … [Read more...] about The Walt Disney Company pulls out of Bangladesh: Will that make workers safer?
Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island, and the fight for marriage equality
Yesterday, Rhode Island became the tenth state to legalize same-sex marriage. The state's governor, the man who signed the Marriage Equality Act into law, is Lincoln Chafee. Governor Chafee, now an independent, used to be a Republican, serving in the Senate from 1999 to 2007. He was defeated in 2006 by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse and left the Republican Party for good in … [Read more...] about Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island, and the fight for marriage equality
The “Fall” of Howard Kurtz?
it's not good news when they in effect start writing even part of your professional obituary. We did this post yesterday about The up-and-coming, getting-better-and-better The Daily Beast "parting" ways with Howard Kurtz ostensibly due to an error he made in a story and the way he handled the correction and, reports suggest, for him putting a lot of work into another … [Read more...] about The “Fall” of Howard Kurtz?
Jobs wanted: Somali ex-pirates seek employment
Jobs wanted: Somali ex-pirates seek employment (via AFP) For a fearsome pirate, even one in self-declared retirement, there is a notable lack of what literature has led one to expect: cutlass, eye-patch, hook or even a parrot. Instead, Mohamed Abdi Hassan, one of Somalia's -- if not the world's -- most notorious pirate chiefs, appears far more businessman… … [Read more...] about Jobs wanted: Somali ex-pirates seek employment
Does Obama Have a “Juice” Problem? (UPDATE)
It's always interesting to watch how a narrative begins in the media, cable and talk shows -- how it takes on a life of its own, sparking a big pile on, where a phrase becomes repeated over and over, and a concept that one person expressed becomes locked in as the conventional wisdom. And so we get the current belief that Obama has a "juice" problem, or just hasn't read enough … [Read more...] about Does Obama Have a “Juice” Problem? (UPDATE)
The Spiritual Dangers of Irregular Flossing
If flossing were truly important, half of us would be dying of gum disease. We’d be daily opening the obituaries, lamenting the loss of another fine upstanding citizen who’d succumbed to the inevitable consequences of irregular flossing. However, for the most part, we’re all surviving the effects of our flossing truancy. I’m well aware that people exist who truly follow the … [Read more...] about The Spiritual Dangers of Irregular Flossing
U.S. employers add 165,000 jobs; unemployment rate drops to 7.5%
U.S. employers add 165,000 jobs; unemployment rate drops to 7.5% (via Naples Daily News) WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in April, and hiring was much stronger in the previous two months than the government first estimated. The job increases helped reduce the unemployment rate from 7.6 percent to a four-year low of 7.5 percent. The report Friday from the Labor … [Read more...] about U.S. employers add 165,000 jobs; unemployment rate drops to 7.5%
Saving Nietzsche and Ourselves
Nietzsche is incorrectly often associated with fascism, especially Nazism. When he descended into insanity, his sister Elizabeth took control of his works and selectively edited them to support the Third Reich. This is a shame, because Nietzche wrote many prescient passages in his early aphoristic days. In The Wanderer and His Shadow, Nietzsche writes, “No government admits … [Read more...] about Saving Nietzsche and Ourselves
Mentors
by Dr. Kevin Purcell *** We are all mentors to someone -- and have been mentored. It may be in the course of parenting; or as a friend, a teacher, a coach, a co-worker or healthcare provider. At times you may not even know you are mentoring. It is some of the most important work we will ever do; more important that money and more important than winning. Why? Because it … [Read more...] about Mentors
Does the U.S. have the right to force-feed Guantanamo hunger strikers?
Force feeding is truly a hideous thing. So the question has become: Does the U.S. have the right to force-feed Guantanamo hunger strikers? Some thoughts and a roundup from Harold Mass HERE. … [Read more...] about Does the U.S. have the right to force-feed Guantanamo hunger strikers?
Video Animation: Plan B Pill: Obama gives access to teens 15 and up
Taiwan's Next Media Animation does great quick, topical animations. Here's their latest on the the Plan B pill: … [Read more...] about Video Animation: Plan B Pill: Obama gives access to teens 15 and up
Why Justice Department appeal on morning-after pill is ironic
Why Justice Department appeal on morning-after pill is ironic (via The Christian Science Monitor) Copyright ImageClick to View This undated image made available by Teva Women's Health shows the packaging for their Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) tablet, one of the brands known as the "morning-after pill." (Teva Women's Health/AP) The Justice Department’s decision to appeal a … [Read more...] about Why Justice Department appeal on morning-after pill is ironic
Report: July 4 Was Original Date for Boston Bombing and Bombs Made in Bomber’s Home
Developments in the case of the Boston Marathon bombing are still breaking quickly as the massive investigation continues. The newest, via CNN: the original target date for a bombing was July 4 and it is now believed the bombs were built in killed bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's apartment: The bombs used in the Boston Marathon attack were built in the apartment that … [Read more...] about Report: July 4 Was Original Date for Boston Bombing and Bombs Made in Bomber’s Home
Guns, Drugs and Money Laundering: What Does Obama Want from Mexico? (El Universal, Mexico)
President Obama is visiting Mexico today, and this editorial from Mexico's El Universal wonders what Obama wants from Mexico City, with a large number of U.S. states legalizing marijuana, gun legislation in the U.S. Congress looking 'dead', and immigration reform appearing to stall. The El Universal editorial says in part: With respect to the United States, for … [Read more...] about Guns, Drugs and Money Laundering: What Does Obama Want from Mexico? (El Universal, Mexico)
US immigration debate hits home in Mexican village
US immigration debate hits home in Mexican village (via AFP) Most of the local men have already trekked down the mountain and left the rural hamlet of Los Huesos in central Mexico in search of a better life in United States. So for the elderly, the women and the children who remain in this village of around 60 families, the debate over an immigration reform… … [Read more...] about US immigration debate hits home in Mexican village
US reconsidering whether to arm Syria rebels
US reconsidering whether to arm Syria rebels (via AFP) The United States said Thursday it was taking a fresh look at whether to arm Syria's rebels as the Damascus regime pressed an assault on opposition forces in the embattled city of Homs. After having rejected the idea previously, President Barack Obama's deputies were weighing the option of providing… … [Read more...] about US reconsidering whether to arm Syria rebels
The Daily Beast and Howard Kurtz Have “Parted”
Until this week the former Washington Post media reporter, CNN "Reliable Sources" host and The Daily Beast's Washington Bureau Chief Howard Kurtz had an almost pristine reputation, except for people on the left and right who'd blast them if he said something critical to their political sports team (and of course praise him if he criticized the other side) But this wasn't a good … [Read more...] about The Daily Beast and Howard Kurtz Have “Parted”
Meet GROVER: NASA’s New Ice-Loving, Roving Robot
Meet GROVER: NASA’s New Ice-Loving, Roving Robot (via Climate Central) By Andrew Freedman Follow @afreedma First, there was the Mars Rover, made famous by its spectacular landing on the Red Planet on August 6, 2012. Now, climate science has its own robot, only this one is designed to probe the surface of Greenland. Starting Friday, NASA plans to test the remote … [Read more...] about Meet GROVER: NASA’s New Ice-Loving, Roving Robot
The U-2 Dragon Lady: Two May First Anniversaries
The First of May, or May Day, has been an important day of celebration or other action for many countries, organizations and peoples throughout the world, for hundreds of years and for many reasons: Nationalistic, religious, pagan, political, cultural, romantic, whatever. It is also a day of numerous anniversaries. Two May First events -- at first glance totally unrelated … [Read more...] about The U-2 Dragon Lady: Two May First Anniversaries
The Gosnell Murder Trial and the Liberal ‘Conspiracy’ (Guest Voice)
The Gosnell Murder Trial and the Liberal 'Conspiracy' By Dick Polman Now that Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Philadelphia murder trial has finally gone to the jury, we should take a moment to debunk, once and for all, the delusional right-wing claim that "the liberal media" supposedly refused to cover the story because they supposedly didn't want to publicize the dark side of … [Read more...] about The Gosnell Murder Trial and the Liberal ‘Conspiracy’ (Guest Voice)