The Fount of Useless Information
Your place for useless information that just might possibly be interesting.
Yesterday a good friend (hey Erik!) emailed me this link:
Welcome To The United Police States of America, Sponsored By Twitter
http://www.businessinsider.com/welcome-to-the-united-police-states-of-america-sponsored-by-twitter-2011-12
I responded thusly figuring the matter was just a glitch:
…Coincidence or government conspiracy? In this case I
Special thanks to Erik for bringing this to my attention!
Occupy Portland Outsmarts Police, Creating Blueprint for Other Occupations
http://www.portlandoccupier.org/2011/12/15/occupy-portland-outsmarts-police-creating-blueprint-for-other-occupations/
Really interesting idea, so what that it was discovered accidentally! I guess this would be protest judo, use the enemy’s …
What if they ended a war and nobody cared?
As the Iraq war concludes, Americans need to reflect on the horror it unleashed – and vow never to repeat it
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/16/what_if_they_ended_a_war_and_nobody_cared/singleton/
I am not sure I have anything to add. …
Direct elections: A threat to America!
Why are Mitch McConnell and the rest of the GOP so terrified of a national popular vote?
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/16/direct_elections_a_threat_to_america/singleton/
An interesting read for those of us who give a damn about democracy. In addition to …
Charter schools: Wave of the future?
http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/15/charter-schools-wave-of-the-future/?hpt=hp_bn2
I am not sure how I feel about charter schools. To the extent the cause public schools to improve, they are a good thing, but I am not wild about taking a large …
Comet Lovejoy survives close encounter with the sun
http://www.tgdaily.com/space-features/60251-comet-lovejoy-survives-close-encounter-with-the-sun
Clearly something passing through the sun’s corona isn’t just made of ices, it must also have plenty of rocky material. One day I really need to stay up late and do …
How the 99 percent was born
The Great Recession destroyed the right’s myth of a “liberal elite,” and forced the middle class to band together
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/15/how_the_99_percent_was_born/singleton/
An interesting article on the (surely deliberate) efforts to misdirect and dilute the focus …
A Chinese lifeline for American workers
As wage inflation in China pushes up the cost of offshoring, “Made in America” starts to look a lot better
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/16/a_chinese_lifeline_for_american_workers/singleton/
As happened in Japan, Korea and pretty much everywhere else, labor rates in …
The Bioterrorist Next Door
Man-made killer bird flu is here. Can — should — governments try to stop it?
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/12/14/the_bioterrorist_next_door
It is a long article by most people’s standards (7 pages, my goodness!) but I encourage anyone interested in bio-terrorism/bio-warfare …
There Is Only One Issue In America
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-van-zandt/democracy-in-america_b_1139463.html
A couple of great quotes in this article:
…The simple fact is we do not live in a democracy. Certainly not the kind our Founding Fathers intended. We live in a corporate