Recently I noted Twitter hype punctured by a study that found Twitter users to be self-obsessed. Today Nicholas Carr points to New Scientest and a report that finds Wikipedians are generally "grumpy," "disagreeable," and "closed to new ideas." Forget altruism: [T]he scholars paint a picture of Wikipedians as social maladapts who "feel more comfortable expressing themselves … [Read more...] about Wikipedia Full of Disagreeable Sourpusses Who Are Closed to New Ideas
Michael Jackson Autopsy Over But Family Wants Real Answers
The autopsy for "King of Pop" singer Michael Jackson is over and the results are inconclusive -- and it may take another six weeks to know the precise cause as medics await toxicology reports. But family friend the Rev. Jesse Jackson has told CNN that the family wants to know more about what the dead singer's private doctor knows -- and wants some answers: Michael … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson Autopsy Over But Family Wants Real Answers
Mr. Obama Has His Reasons for Snubbing Disunited Old Europe: Financial Times Deutschland
Why is German Chancellor Angela Merkel in town in part to dispel rumors that U.S.-German relations are strained - and that President Obama is less enamored by the Old Continent than his predecessors? Financial Times Deutschland columnist Thomas Klau surmises that at the root of President Obama's "casual willingness to snub" Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is that … [Read more...] about Mr. Obama Has His Reasons for Snubbing Disunited Old Europe: Financial Times Deutschland
Taking Obama’s Measure
With ten percent of his term in office gone, Barack Obama is being graded from the left and right and, not surprisingly, found to be doing (1) not enough and (2) too much. (1) Paul Krugman faults him for "Not Enough Audacity," praising "Barack the Policy Wonk, whose command of the issues--and ability to explain those issues in plain English--is a joy to behold" but faulting … [Read more...] about Taking Obama’s Measure
Hugo Chavez Scolds CNN for Coverage of Michael Jackson’s Death: El Universal, Mexico
Could it be that CNN is overdoing its coverage of Michael Jackson's death - pushing aside more pressing issues? If you said yes - then you are in agreement with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who charges that a challenge to the authority of his ally in Honduras, President Manuel Zelaya, is being ignored in favor of Jackson's passing by the American cable news network, due to … [Read more...] about Hugo Chavez Scolds CNN for Coverage of Michael Jackson’s Death: El Universal, Mexico
U.S. Shifts Afghan Drug Policy To Another Which Has Not Worked
Just follow the money. The opium fields in Afghanistan supply 93% of the world's production of heroin and is the single largest revenue producer for that impoverished country's gross national product, according to United Nations and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reports. After the Soviets gave up and left Afghanistan, the Taliban destroyed the crops under the guise of religious … [Read more...] about U.S. Shifts Afghan Drug Policy To Another Which Has Not Worked
I Can See Tehran from My House! (Guest Voice)
I Can See Tehran from My House! by Michael Winship Being a total history geek, I confess that there's almost nothing as entertaining to me as a good historic house tour. It's a great way to get a feel for how someone from the past lived his or her life. I realize that this nerdish interest would seem to indicate that conversely, I have no life of my own, but bear … [Read more...] about I Can See Tehran from My House! (Guest Voice)
Iran: Militia Raids On Homes And Destroying Satellite Dishes
The multi-faceted crackdown by the Iranian regime continues with reports that militia are now conducting night-time raids on homes, beating civilians and destroying satellite dishes so Iranians can't see what the outside world is reporting about the crackdown in their country. The BBC reports: Human Rights Watch has accused Iran's volunteer Basij militia of carrying out … [Read more...] about Iran: Militia Raids On Homes And Destroying Satellite Dishes
What Will LGBT Scholarship Look Like Over the Next Decade?
Tomorrow will be the 40th anniversary of the June 28, 1969 police raid of the Stonewall Inn bar in NYC's Greenwich Village. On that day the drag queens, teenagers and street kids fought back in what is now generally considered to be the birth of the modern gay rights movement. Writing in Inside Higher Education, Scott McLemee asked scholars what they think (or hope) will … [Read more...] about What Will LGBT Scholarship Look Like Over the Next Decade?
A King David for Our Times
Good rule of thumb: When you've violated the Ten Commandments every which way from Sunday, you're probably better off choosing a non-biblical analogy to explain why you're not giving up your powerful public office: … [Read more...] about A King David for Our Times
House Passes Landmark Climate Bill
Narrowly: In a triumph for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed sweeping legislation Friday that calls for the nation's first limits on pollution linked to global warming and aims to usher in a new era of cleaner, yet more costly energy. The vote was 219-212, capping months of negotiations and days of intense bargaining among Democrats. … [Read more...] about House Passes Landmark Climate Bill
Michael Jackson: August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
I am working on a roundup of media and blogger reaction to the death of Michael Jackson, but I just want to make an initial point about the revulsion many people (here and elsewhere) have expressed toward Jackson because of the child molestation charges filed against him in the mid-1990s. … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson: August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
Where Were You When Michael Jackson Died?
I remember the day Princess Diana died. I was on holiday with my family and my 12 year old brain could not comprehend why so many people were showing such emotion for a person they hadn’t met. I couldn’t understand how someone can cry for a person who wasn’t a direct family member, or a close personal friend. I remember a news correspondent saying that Diana’s death will go … [Read more...] about Where Were You When Michael Jackson Died?
Jackson Autopsy Report Says Little
The coroner has finished the preliminary autopsy on Michael Jackson but has little to say other than there was not any external trauma or signs of foul play. Extra toxicology tests have been ordered which will take 4-6 weeks to complete so we won't know anything until then. There is a 'security hold' on the report so not a whole lot of details will be released until the other … [Read more...] about Jackson Autopsy Report Says Little
Demerol+Anorexia+Dehydration=Death
Perhaps you saw how as the attendants moved Michael Jackson, his body lay nearly flat on the stretcher, as though there were an ironing board underneath the sheet, rather than the body of a full person. My guess from just a glance, is that he weighed around 100 pounds or less. Not slender, not thin, rather... entirely skeletal. Most people are familiar with anorexia … [Read more...] about Demerol+Anorexia+Dehydration=Death
Hey Iraq, How’s That Withdrawal Going?
HEY IRAQ, HOW'S THAT WITHDRAWAL GOING? Peter Feaver, formerly of the NSC, has some sharp analysis over at Shadow Government, including an improbable comparison of Hillary Clinton to Dick Cheney: These [recent] attacks may simply be what Secretary Clinton has called "a signal that the rejectionists fear Iraq is going in the right direction." This sounds eerily like the … [Read more...] about Hey Iraq, How’s That Withdrawal Going?
Global Warming For Amateurs
Amateurs like me. If you're not a scientist, how much can really you know? Even if you are a scientist, how much can you really know? This week, the New Yorker has a profile of James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, written by Elizabeth Kolbert. When I saw, something rang a bell. Two weeks ago, the Weekly Standard ran a piece on Hansen … [Read more...] about Global Warming For Amateurs
Obama the Moderate President
It has been very interesting watching American political discourse after Obama’s inauguration from the comforts of the United Kingdom. I think that its just beginning to sink in to most people in America that Obama is not the mythical superhero that he portrayed himself to be during the Decision 2008 election assault course, but he is in fact (shock horror) a politician. … [Read more...] about Obama the Moderate President
Justice Thomas, The Rest of the Story: What He Really Said re Safford Unified School District #1 v. April Redding
After reading on blog-sites and in some media hugely inaccurate portrayals of Justice Clarence Thomas's opinion about fourth ammendment rights re underage children being searched for drugs at school, including having the chid disrobe... for what some call a strip search... take a look for yourself. Firstly, what is left out of most reports I've read, is Justice Thomas's … [Read more...] about Justice Thomas, The Rest of the Story: What He Really Said re Safford Unified School District #1 v. April Redding
Home Schooled, Home Grown Football Team
Today's NYTimes has a piece on The Glory for Christ Football League, which came into being because Georgia is not one of the twenty-four states that allow homeshcoolers to join public- or private-school teams: By 2002, the sports-loving sons of Roger and Diana McDaniel had aged out of recreation league football. A school team was not an option. They had no school. The boys … [Read more...] about Home Schooled, Home Grown Football Team