“chinese spying on the rise” with stories from 1987. the us is working hard to become a failed state.
Tag: us
Prison Town, USA
California’s corrections industry, in particular – which now receives more state funding than does California’s university system – is “hungry for space, new guards and low visibility,” and so distant, rarely visited towns like Susanville seem perfect
US Road Deaths
Today, the US is one of the most dangerous places to drive in the industrialized world.
SUVs, debunked.
Neocon Cruise
A red-faced man who looks like an egg with a moustache glued on grumbles, ” If the Germans think they can take responsibility for the world, I don’t care about German courts. Bomb them.” I begin to witter on about the Pinochet precedent, and Kate snaps, “Treating Don Rumsfeld like Pinochet is disgusting.” Egg Man pounds his fist on the table: ” Treating Pinochet like that is disgusting. Pinochet is a hero. He saved Chile.”
filed under delusional, religion
Mini-willy
US children’s book publisher Boyds Mills Press wanted to censor a book by a German author that depicts a painting of a naked woman and small statue of a naked man on a pedestal that are displayed in a museum.
and after all these righteous crackdowns, the us has still the highest teen pregnancy rate.
Congress Needs Git
Most people don’t get outraged when they hear that a clause has been inserted into a bill but that no one can say who inserted it. Those of us who use version control systems get outraged, because we think: why don’t they just check the commit logs?
Politicized Medicine
Bush administration officials tried to suppress important public health reports because of political considerations. The administration would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues. Officials delayed for years and tried to “water down” a landmark report on secondhand smoke. The report concluded that even brief exposure to cigarette smoke could cause immediate harm.
This is a good example why we need open data, as proposed by the OECD, and tools for citizens to meaningfully analyze the raw data, without interference by political hacks.
Amazing US
quirky america at its best. and sadly disappearing, to be replaced by bland uniformity. (via bhyde)
Shack Up Inn
a hipster b&b in mississippi
Sicko action
the theater was in chaos. The entire Sicko audience had somehow formed an impromptu town hall meeting in front of the ladies room. I’ve never seen anything like it. But here these people were, complete strangers from every walk of life talking excitedly about the movie. It was as if they simply couldn’t go home without doing something drastic about what they’d just seen. “If we just see this and do nothing about it, then what’s the point? Something has to change.” There was silence, then the redneck’s wife started calling for email addresses. Suddenly everyone was scribbling down everyone else’s email, promising to get together and do something… though no one seemed to know quite what.
wonder if anything comes of this
Gregor J. Rothfuss 