April 2008
34 posts
“Jesus never says anything about homosexuality, but he says a lot about treating...”
– Gene Robinson, Anglican Bishop of New Hampshire (Telegraph via Towleroad)
Gay Couple's Kiss Sparks 911 Call in Alabama →
Interesting 20/20 video piece on differing attitudes towards public displays of affection. (ABC News via Towleroad)
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Russian Gays to Stage ‘Day of Silence’
Gay men and women in St. Petersburg will mark the first-ever Russian Day of Silence on Saturday May 3 with a rally.
Participants at the rally, which is sub-titled “Sometimes to be heard you have to be silent” will have their mouths taped as they hand-out flyers and other promotional material to passers-by without comment, a spokesperson for the organisers said. (U.K. Gay News)
Here Comes Everybody →
What happens when a society wakes up and recovers from the social trauma of the industrial revolution.
U.S. Leads the World in Producing Prisoners →
The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners. American prison stays are much longer, so the total incarceration rate is higher. (New York Times)
Reality TV show brings fatal flu to Amazon tribe →
Four are dead – three of them children. (Times Online via Mollygood)
“Good sense is the most equitably distributed of all things because no matter how...”
– René Descartes (via David Weiss and Daring Fireball)
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Americans Drive Too Much
The boys over at Freakonomics are at it again. Now, they want to make drivers pay for the hidden costs of driving. In a recent article, they find that the main hidden costs are:
congestion
carbon emissions
accidents
I love how they can take a moral/political issue and make it a singular economics one. Personally, as an infrequent driver, I’m looking forward to Pay-As-You-Drive...
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“The ’96 immigration laws cut off any discretion whatsoever, so judges can’t say,...”
– Josh Bardavid, an immigration lawyer as quoted by Maria Luisa Tucker in The Long Goodbye (Village Voice)
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Decline of the $20 Wage →
The decline of the $20 wage means the decline of the middle class. (New York Times)
It’s how my family broke into the middle class, and we’ll all pay if it goes into severe decline.
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Pentagon Propagandists and Media Collusion
David Barstow broke a huge story in the Sunday New York Times about the government organizing and funding retired military officers to disseminate propaganda to the media.
Greg Mitchell in the Huff Post provides a concise summary:
The article has at least three tracks: One, the Pentagon deploying the analysts (some 75 in number) and the TV outlets happy to run with them; two, the analysts’...
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Cat Lovers Appreciate Soul Mate in Vatican →
It’s good to know that Pope Benedict XVI has compassion for someone. (New York Times)
Of Wine, Haste and Religion →
Don’t take my plate away until everyone at the table has finished. And please let me pour the wine. (New York Times)
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Flowers have lost their scent →
Pollution is stifling the fragrance of plants and preventing bees from pollinating them – endangering one of the most essential cycles of nature. (The Independent)
Letter carrier catches falling baby →
(CNN)
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HD enthusiasts cry foul over cable TV's crunched... →
Some cable companies are compressing the signal of high-def channels so much that it’s degrading picture quality. (Wired News)
Ten typographic mistakes everyone makes →
(Christopher Phin)
Retailers Caught in a Wave of Bankruptcies →
There will be 5,770 store closings in 2008, up 25 percent from 2007, when there were 4,603. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 0.5 percent, the worst performance in 13 years, according to the shopping council. (New York Times)
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Gay couples face higher tax bills →
(CNN)
Home Buyers Needed →
Turn the economy around by giving up to $25,000 to first time home buyers, advocates Edward E. Leamer, a professor at UCLA. I’d buy that! (New York Times)
Perfectly Legal Immigrants, Until They Applied for... →
The horror stories of legal immigration make some prefer the illegal kind. (New York Times)
Olympic President Offers Rare Rebuke to China →
Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, in a rare rebuke, called on Chinese officials to respect its “moral engagement” to improve human rights. (New York Times)
Noisy Fish →
Fish loud enough to keep you up at night. (NY Times)
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WatchLarry Lessig on how creativity is being strangled by the law (TED Talks via Daring Fireball)
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Apple Now #1 Music Retailer in US →
Apple is even bigger than Wal-Mart, which weighs in at second place. Best-Buy is third, and Amazon is a distant fourth. (Ars Technica via Daring Fireball)
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Partner Denied Access as Heroic Gay Hospital... →
Leslie Harris dies while protecting a woman from a gunman. The hospital denies his partner access while Harris bleeds out, and he is not allowed to exchange last words. (Towleroad)
WatchGeorge W. Bush Booed at Washington Nationals Season Opener - (ESPN via Towleroad)
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Madonna Sleeps with her Blackberry →
I admire Madonna, but this is one thing I will not imitate. It’s crazy to sleep with a phone and email machine. How are you supposed to relax and recharge? (Daily Telegraph via DListed)
“The Bush administration’s new proposal for financial reform: it’s all about...”
– “The Dilbert Strategy” by Paul Krugman in the New York Times