Japan and Guns

Article on how Japan's ban on gun ownership has resulted in an average of 2 gun homicide's per year.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/

Also, Fareed Zakaria looks at the reasons the US gun homicide rate is astronomical. It's because of all the guns in our country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fareed-zakaria-the-solution-to-gun-violence-is-clear/2012/12/19/110a6f82-4a15-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html?hpid=z2 

Another common sense approach to guns in our society. Be sure to read the crazies comments therein.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-burns-assault-weapons-ban-20121220,0,6774314.story

2012 Movies

Ok, did not see as many movies this year as per last. Hopefully things will pick up in 2013.

1) "The Avengers" favorite comic as a youngster
2) "The Secret World of Arrietty" another fine Japanese anime from Miyazaki
3) "127 Hours" James Franco stars alone, good amount of philosophy
4) "Another Earth" saw on airline in China, Alternate Earths
5) "The School of Rock" 2003 comedy starring Jack Black
6) "The Grey" good deal of philosophical musing on death
7) "Rise of the Guardians" animated, excellent messages
8) "Skyfall" 007 coming to grips with an aging self
9) "Seven Psycopaths" great turns by Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken
10) "Brave" not the best of Pixar but very good messages

Others with something to offer.
Wreck-it-Ralph
The Help
Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Dark Knight Rises
The Master (Joaquin Phoenix)
Tree of Life (cinematography)
Django Unchained (Christoph Waltz)

Best TV for 2012
Homeland Season 2
Oliver Stone's Untold History of the US

Tom Toles does the Tea Party

Is the use of humor the best way to let someone know they are in the wrong?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tom-toles/post/friday-rant-oh-those-teapartiers-edition/2012/12/06/9866d5d8-3fca-11e2-a2d9-822f58ac9fd5_blog.html

Argentina's Dirty War

22,000 killed or "disappeared" between 1975 and mid-1978.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2012/1207/Key-evidence-for-Argentina-s-largest-human-rights-case-found-in-Florida

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War

Electronic Balloting

Great article on the manipulation of elections primarily done by the right. I used to think Chuck Hagel was a decent guy, no more. Ireland spent millions trying to move to electronic balloting and ended up throwing all the systems out in favor of paper ballots as all real democracies should.

http://harpers.org/archive/2012/11/how-to-rig-an-election/

Cancer/Food Links

Study states 80% of studies linking various foods and cancer are flawed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/30/pretty-much-everything-you-eat-is-associated-with-cancer-dont-worry-about-it/?hpid=z3

Stand Your Ground Redux

More craziness from the state of Florida. Sadly, is not limited to Florida. We have gun nuts galore in our country. There are too many people who believe things should always go their way and we permit them to carry guns. Walking talking disasters in waiting.

http://www.theroot.com/views/why-stand-your-ground-should-be-repealed

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2012/1129/Stand-your-ground-laws-Do-they-put-teens-in-greater-danger 

Also, an excellent article on why some may choose to stand their ground and why they probably should not be armed.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/the-seductive-dream-of-standing-your-ground/266052/

No-Face

Interesting insights on the No-Face character from "Spirited Away".

http://www.taopractice.org/dragonfly/2/pdf/05-NoFace.pdf

Secession

Latest thing in the news, post election, is regarding petitions being signed by citizens of red states to secede.
The media is having way too much fun with this.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-november-13-2012/post-democalyptic-world---whine-country

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-the-confederacy-of-takers/2012/11/13/d8adc7ee-2dd4-11e2-beb2-4b4cf5087636_story.html

LED Bulbs

The future in lighting are LED Bulbs.

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/11/switch_led_bulb_the_long_awaited_light_bulb_is_finally_here_is_it_worth.2.html

International Test Scores

May be time to look at what they are doing outside of our country.

http://4brevard.com/choice/international-test-scores.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/education/07education.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2012/1211/How-does-US-compare-in-math-science-reading-Younger-students-do-better?nav=87-frontpage-mostViewed

Election Aftermath

Atlantic article on how the conservative media has failed conservatives with insufficient information and worse, disinformation. To be continued...

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/11/how-conservative-media-lost-to-the-msm-and-failed-the-rank-and-file/264855/

http://harpers.org/blog/2012/11/angry-white-men/

2012 Presidential Election

From Harper's Kevin Baker:

"So yes, go out and vote. Go vote for Barack Obama, and whatever other democrats or progressives for office where you live. To vote for a Mitt Romney - to vote for the modern right anywhere in the West today - is an act of national suicide. The right is hollow to it's core; it has no dreams, no vision, no plans to deal with any of the problems that confront us, only infantile fantasies of violence and consumption. But it is, at the moment, well funded, well organized, and feeling especially threatened. It is capable of anything."

Tom Toles Out of Control (again)!

Another great post by Tom Toles on the state of politics in the US.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tom-toles/post/bias-ply/2012/10/19/615e5d7e-1a11-11e2-94aa-9240e72ee00b_blog.html#comments

Morality of Drone Strikes?

Is there such a thing as morality when concerned with drone strikes?
If we use them how would it be considered immoral for the opposing side to use them against us?
If we kill civilians then it may be acceptable for them to kill ours.
Tend to view drone strikes as immoral as nuclear strikes (i.e. a crime against humanity).
Was an interesting quote in Homeland's first episode stating there being roughly 8000 predator drones in service today.
Roosevelt was once quoted to "walk softly but carry a big stick". Are we walking softly?

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/1002/Drone-warfare-top-3-reasons-it-could-be-dangerous-for-US/Copy-cat-attacks

Some humor needed.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/11/president-hunt-you/

Happiness

Some interesting observations on the concept of happiness or lack thereof in our country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tom-toles/post/there-were-these-two-guys/2012/09/24/20135ae0-0661-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_blog.html#comments

Romney Imploding?

Romney has been making some inappropriate statements at recent fundraisers while pandering to the attendees. Perhaps he does not realize he can be recorded anywhere at anytime now. Statements such as the 47% who supposedly believe government should do everything for them, the end of the peace process in the middle east, and the taco jockeys from other countries do not serve him well. Too bad for him.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/09/romney-47-percent-fundraiser-florida

http://dailycurrant.com/2012/09/18/hidden-camera-tape-romney-blasts-loser-hispanics/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hidden-camera-tape-romney-blasts-loser-hispanics

College Rankings

All methods of ranking things emphasize different factors.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2012/0912/U.S.-News-college-rankings-not-the-only-way-to-judge-schools

Cultural impact on Obesity

Article on how different cultures take on obesity. Is the freedom to choose always a good thing?

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/09/big-government-small-bellies-what-japan-can-teach-us-about-fighting-fat/261940/

The Conventions

The Democratic and Republican conventions were the past couple of weeks.
The majority of which comprised of a restatement of talking points and boring speeches.
The one exception for me was Bill Clinton's speech.
Far too much to make fun of at the conventions.

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2012/09/hbc-90008856

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2012/09/hbc-90008848

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/03/1126573/-Crazy-never-sleeps

Reagan: FBI Informant

Is news to me but not surprising. Reagan's contributions to Hollywood's blacklist and defamation of so called student radicals (supporters of the Free Speech Movement) are presented.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/23/the-fbi-s-harassment-and-spying-on-1960s-students-revealed-in-subversives-by-seth-rosenfeld.html

August Harper's Magazine also included FBI memos describing Reagan's role as an informant.

GPUs vs CPUs

If your a gamer and looking for the best and least expensive frame rate solutions here is an excellent article.
The Intel IVB looks very attractive. Wonder how this will impact NVidia and AMD.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/08/inside-the-second-gaming-performance-with-todays-cpus/

Legitimate Rape?

Some women actually vote for people with positions like these.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/08/a-canard-that-will-not-die-legitimate-rape-doesnt-cause-pregnancy/261303/

Had to try and add a bit of humor to this thread.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tom-toles/post/the-whole-thing-is-shut-down/2012/08/20/f7105cac-eaee-11e1-b811-09036bcb182b_blog.html

Climate Change

Best recent articles on global climate change.

http://www.propublica.org/article/heat-wave-the-best-reporting-on-our-rising-temperatures

People's Platform

Six ideas for the betterment of our country. Not too much new here but provides good detail.

http://www.thenation.com/article/169300/peoples-platform-democratic-party

More on Voter Suppression

Nice comprehensive article on voter suppression techniques being employed by the GOP.

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2012/08/hbc-90008748

Harper's is one of magazines I subscribe to. One of if not the best imho.
Lewis Lapham still contribute on occasion. He also created Lapham's Quarterly which would like to subscribe to but barely have time to keep up with others I read (Harper's, Atlantic, Wired).
Ken Silverstein and Scott Horton are/have been excellent bloggers for Harper's.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/videos/2012/08/17/jon-stewart-slams-voter-ids.html

Fareed Zakaria

Fareed Zakaria is one of the better journalists out there. He tries to find the value in all views but still takes a position in the end. He has a weekly show on CNN which is also very good which manage to catch on occasion. Only watchable thing on CNN imho. Have to go to PBS or Public Radio to find other respectable journalism.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fareed-zakaria-romney-and-obamas-relevant-debate-over-americas-future/2012/07/18/gJQAjVhSuW_story.html?hpid=z2

Some controversy regarding plagiarism and Zakaria. Often see attacks like this when someone is doing good work (aka Bill Moyers). The Washington Post apologized for the inaccuracies in their story while posting the same article once again.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/14/plagiarism.html

Voter Suppression

It makes me sick when I read about the tactics used to reduce the numbers of people eligible to vote.
Seems as though nothing is beneath some people. Why do people elect such dishonorable people? How did these people with no conscience become this way?

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0711/In-Pennsylvania-the-Rosa-Parks-of-voter-ID-faces-down-GOP-voter-suppression

Microsoft's Stack Ranking System

Great article on Microsoft's supposed lost decade under Steve Ballmer.
Interesting analogies to IBM's stack ranking system which apparently can stifle creativity. Not much room for the introspective in such an environment. Think Google is taking the lead these days.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2012/07/microsoft-downfall-emails-steve-ballmer

Single-Payer Health Care

The Supreme Court is supposed to rule on Obama's half-hearted attempt at universal healthcare. It is just a bonanza for the heath care corporations who should not even exist. The single-payer system removes the middle man and we get what we pay for, not just a fraction thereof.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-payer_health_care

Corporate heath care companies, such as Kaiser Permanente, have offices all over the country, typically one in each congressional district much the same way as defense contracting companies like General Dynamics. They provide jobs in all congressional districts and therefore hold sway over the congressmen. Any cuts in their funding can be represented as the congressmen being against job creation. In this way they can justify their existence and siphon off our tax dollars from the government.

Tom Toles and What is it all about?

Tom Toles has a lot of quality postings on his blog. Not posted one for a while and this one was definitely worthy. He always has a very interesting comment section as well. Reading his blog and the comments gives me hope.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tom-toles/post/its-not-about-race/2012/06/01/gJQAxEVB7U_blog.html#comments

Metabolic Equivalent

Been looking for comparison of different physical activities. Not interested in which burns more calories. Am not trying to lose weight, just get an adequate amount of physical exertion. Interested in equivalent forms of exertion, notably running vs bicycling. Jump roping is something else I could undertake since do not have anywhere good to run nearby.

https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_equivalent_of_task

Osama Bin Laden Raid Redux

Mr. Fish of Harper's take on the anniversary of the Osama Bin Laden raid.

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2012/05/hbc-90008598

Income Inequality

More on Income Inequality. Lots of charts. Things getting better?

http://inequality.org/income-inequality/

Occupy Miami

Swat teams and FBI takes down a group of Occupy protestors in Miami.
Wish they had video from the beginning. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Does intimidation count?

occupiedstories.com/occupy-miami-labeled-terrorists-by-the-fbi.html

Free Online University Courses

Article on Harvard and MIT joining forces to create free online courses. For a modest fee one can acquire a certificate of mastery in a subject. Stanford already has such a program. I may pursue such coursework myself so as to freshen my skills. Free is not so bad although student/teacher interaction would be more limited.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2012/0502/Harvard-and-MIT-to-offer-online-courses.-A-step-in-lowering-college-costs

http://see.stanford.edu/

Stand Your Ground and More Guns

Nice article on guns today in the CSM. His claim is guns make society less secure and an ability to communicate is more valuable than a firearm.

"it is all too often bullies and cowards who carry and use handguns."

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Walter-Rodgers/2012/0430/Florida-style-Stand-Your-Ground-gun-laws-sub-impulse-for-intelligent-thinking

DerfCity

OK, this one was pretty funny and since Derf updates his comics using a single link had to post this one.

Guns In America

Guns in America. Lengthy article in the New Yorker.
"In an average year, roughly a hundred thousand Americans are killed or wounded with guns."

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/23/120423fa_fact_lepore

Also, reference to book I read past few years. Emphasizes the minimalistic role guns played in our society throughout our history. Things picked up just over the past few decades albeit hunting magazines may have set the process in motion years a decade ago. Under the "Talk" tab can see other views of how this particular Wikipedia entry is being eyeballed by gun enthusiasts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arming_America:_The_Origins_of_a_National_Gun_Culture

Health Care != Good Health

The United States spends more on health care than any country on Earth. Where is our return?

"The United States now ranks 39th in maternal mortality, 34th in life expectancy at birth, and 29th for remaining years of life at age 50."
"Americans have better personal health habits — lower levels of smoking, for instance — than people in many more longer-lived nations."
"The stress inequality triggers wears down human immune system functions and invites a wide range of diseases and disorders."

The article goes on to explain how income inequality contributes to the decline of the health of our citizens.

http://toomuchonline.org/is-our-health-care-debate-just-a-sideshow/

Jimmy Carter

Have always thought very highly of Jimmy Carter, when he was in office and especially afterward.
There was a documentary made about him recently which have not seen yet. Think this poster had him down pretty well.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913958/board/thread/88898876?p=2&d=101443587#101443587

2011 Movies

Bit late but here's list of favorite films which saw in 2011. Does not imply they were created in 2011, simply saw them in 2011. Did not see as many last year. Maybe I did if include Showtime which shows a lot of bad movies.

1) Drive - best have seen in long while.
2) 13 Assassins - Japanese, 13 Samurai?
3) Exit Through the Gift Shop - great documentary on art
4) The Parking Lot Movie - documentary on parking lot attendants and philosophy
5) The Last Train Home - Chinese documentary on the migration of workers during Chinese New Year
6) Black Swan - dark dark dark
7) A Single Man - Colin Firth is a good actor
8) Warrior - UFC fighting with a story
9) Tangled - fun Disney film
10) Legend of the Guardians - animated Owls
11) Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Planet of the Apes redone
12) How to Train Your Dragon - animated dragons and vikings
13) Push - action, bit of everything
14) X-Men First Class

Television Series:
The Pacific (HBO) - WWII
Homeland (Showtime) - POW returning home from Afghanistan

John Ioannidis: Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science

John Ioannidis, a doctor at Tufts University, has been at the forefront of challenging medical research studies findings and how so many doctors seem so reliant on such inaccurate information.

"His model predicted, in different fields of medical research, rates of wrongness roughly corresponding to the observed rates at which findings were later convincingly refuted: 80 percent of non-randomized studies (by far the most common type) turn out to be wrong, as do 25 percent of supposedly gold-standard randomized trials, and as much as 10 percent of the platinum-standard large randomized trials. The article spelled out his belief that researchers were frequently manipulating data analyses, chasing career-advancing findings rather than good science, and even using the peer-review process—in which journals ask researchers to help decide which studies to publish—to suppress opposing views."

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-and-medical-science/8269/

http://now.tufts.edu/articles/man-who-did-math

https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/58674/9-63-fall-2005/contents/readings/ioannidis.pdf

Covid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1EPcB1HsmY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuzLZdVDsW8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q62PUoOmwfw

Gated Communities

Never cared for gated communities. The exclusivity of it all as well as the higher maintenance fees and supposedly higher crime rates. Maybe security guards have too much knowledge of residents comings and goings. Perhaps higher security indicates more valuables on the premises while the security residents pay for is really more for image than security. Maybe there should be a study of paranoia rates of those living in gated communities and not. How does one measure paranoia/insecurity?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-gated-communities-such-as-where-trayvon-martin-died-a-dangerous-mind-set/2012/04/06/gIQAwWG8zS_story.html?hpid=z3

Comments of posters at Foxnews.com on Trayvon Martin

Comments by posters at foxnews.com on the killing of Trayvon Martin. Maybe they think they are being funny?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/republican-base-exposed-by-davidoatkins.html

Floating Homes?

Short term solution for the climate crisis? Think I like for my feet to be on dry land.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2012/0404/A-growing-answer-to-rising-seas-floating-homes

Healthcare System Comparisons

PBS's FRONTLINE has the best investigative journalism reporting in the United States. The information at this site contrasts the cost and effectiveness of the US healthcare system with 5 other countries. Surprise, we pay more and receive less care. Is what happens when you let the private sector run markets all citizens require.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

http://www.propublica.org/article/top-muckreads-the-best-most-revealing-reporting-on-our-healthcare-system

Surging Seas

Graphical illustration on Climate Central regarding land areas affected by rising sea levels. I live in South Florida so am gravely concerned about the impact of rising sea levels. Appears when the sea level rises 9 ft my home goes underwater. Will be much more to be concerned about far earlier than that.

http://sealevel.climatecentral.org/

Trayvon Martin Shooting

A very interesting story on NPR regarding the shooting of a black teenager in Florida by a home protection advocate. A woman who saw her brother killed for no apparent reason put together some guidelines for her sons to follow once they reached their teenage years. Basically, if your black, don't run in your neighborhood, show self restraint when police stop you for no apparent reason, wear appropriate clothing, etc... There are many paranoid people living in fear of their fellow man for no apparent reason who also own guns.
Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law also does not help matters. It states that if you feel threatened you may use violent force to stop the perpetrator. You may even kill them. What a society we live in, so much freedom to persecute others.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/03/22/149130431/after-trayvon-martins-death-were-all-having-the-talk

Free Wireless?

Article on companies offering some form of free wireless service.
FreedomPop looks the most promising since would be 4G and no apparent issues accessing thru walls but not available til this summer. Am sure the carriers will fight this as they appeared to have nuked LightSquared's efforts.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethwoyke/2012/02/09/freedompop-explains-how-it-will-offer-free-national-broadband-starting-this-summer/

Goldman Sachs Resignation Letter

Resignation letter of an employee at Goldman Sachs.
Money is not the only corrupting force out there but is the major one.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1

Nano Quadrotors

Wonder what the military will do with this? Did some work related to this using Arduino processors. Had different devices communicating with each other via Bluetooth. Others got some robots working so achieving this should not have been too far removed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQIMGV5vtd4

Evangelicals Effect on Youth

Appears the evangelicals may be driving a large percentage of young people away from religion.
I was surprised to see Catholic church officials make such a big stink about the government efforts requiring to make it mandatory for private religious entities to offer reproductive services as part of their health plans.
The Catholic church must know a majority of it's members use contraception. You see very few families these days with more than one or two children. It would also seem prudent for religious institutions to endorse the usage of contraception since the world population already far exceeds what the world can handle. More people will simply lead to more misery for everyone. I'm afraid endorsement of contraception is inevitable.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0306/Super-Tuesday-Churches-that-embrace-Santorum-Gingrich-drive-youth-away

Cell Phone Jammer

This is pretty funny. Carry around a cell phone jammer to disable annoying cell phone users.
Could have used this on a hike one day. Was doing a hike in a beautiful area and this guy comes along talking on his cell phone very loudly for the duration of my hike back down the trail. Could hear him the entire way. Funny how some people show virtually no consideration for others. These are supposedly illegal to use. Can just say you need one for home.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2012/0302/Cell-phone-jammer-admits-to-taking-the-law-into-his-own-hands

The Oscars

Another sub par Oscar awards nomination process and ceremony. Billy Crystal hosted (again). It is beyond me how anyone has ever found him funny at all. He must be in the club.
I actually watched maybe a few minutes total of the show. Each time I tuned in it was someone I could not stomach. Actors views of films they had seen that inspired them. Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez (double gag) presenting. No one challenging the system, maybe Crystal did minutely. He supposedly did wear black face for one performance, brilliant!
CSM had a list of overlooked films. Not seen Ides of March or 50/50 yet. Maybe Harry should have gotten some recognition. Drive definitely was slighted. Super 8 was fun but not sure I agree on that one.
If you're looking for awards with substance can look into the Spirit Awards and the Critics Choice Awards.

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Culture-Cafe/2012/0227/Oscars-5-films-that-should-have-been-nominated

Income Inequality

Couple articles on income inequality. First has a hint of humor to it. The second, the real statistics. 

http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/2/27/new-research-shows-just-how-much-more-likely-the-rich-are-to-fight-dirty--2

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3220

Google Web History

Effective March 1st, Google will start accumulating your web history.
If you don't like the idea of third parties knowing your web history here is a way to disable it (we hope).

http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/2/23/how-to-keep-google-s-googly-hands-off-your-web-history--2

Antibiotics and Sinus Infections

Apparently, placebos perform just as well as antibiotics.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20120215/9115/sinus-infections-antibiotics-amoxicillin-washington-university-school-of-medicine-in-st-louis.htm

Video Piracy Solution

Sounds reasonable. In our lifetime, not likely.
Imagine is too complicated for Hollywood to figure out how to make this work.

http://assets.motherboard.tv/post_images/assets/000/011/934/piracysolution_original.jpg?1329258874

Forced Labor

Story on Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn's infamous internship program. Lots taking advantage of the young. Lot of universities in our country also have arrangements with employers but the forced overtime and other policies which lead students to commit suicide do not seem to compare with Foxconn's policies.

http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/2/15/foxconn-s-other-dirty-secret-the-world-s-largest-internship-program

Story on PBS about the South's forced Labor policies after the Civil War through the use of convicts.

http://video.pbs.org/video/2179490800/

Drone Strikes

Makes one proud.

http://www.salon.com/2012/02/05/u_s_drones_targeting_rescuers_and_mourners/singleton/

How do you win a war with tactics such as these? You don't.
This is what happens when the wrong people are calling the shots.

Mobile Phone Companies

If you want to pay up to half as much as you are now and avoid contracts here is a list of the companies available out there. Like the look of Boost Mobile.

http://cell-phone-providers-review.toptenreviews.com/

Occupy Oakland

When you see the reports on the national or local news they seem to make it look like the protesters initiated the violence but apparently they were only returning the tear gas canisters to the police. Burning the flag may not have been the best idea but I understand their frustration. Seems the Mayor of Oakland has worn out her welcome, the police chief as well.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2012/0130/Weekend-violence-in-Oakland-Is-Occupy-movement-back-or-broken-video

Income Inequality

Interesting site that provides information on income inequality in our country.
How much does anyone really need and are they really more deserving than anyone else?

http://toomuchonline.org/

The Fairy Tale

Interesting take on those benefiting from industrialization.

http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/99/true-fairy-tail.html

Value of Self-Esteem

Good article in the Washington Post this morning.
I taught for couple years. I pushed my students hard, 3 grades per day, got thru the material.
Seems still was a lot of more concern from parents (and as a result, administrators) in their children's self esteem
as opposed to their learning. Often see teachers give say 15-20 grades per semester. Would you feel comfortable with your proficiency in a subject if you only received a grade every 4 days? That's what out children are being subjected too in a system that is run by the parents and teachers too willing to cow-tow to the bosses. I'm not overly optimistic is seeing any real changes soon. Is affecting my children now.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-schools-self-esteem-boosting-is-losing-favor-to-rigor-finer-tuned-praise/2012/01/11/gIQAXFnF1P_story.html?tid=pm_pop

This Modern World

A humorous year in review by Tom Tomorrow

http://thismodernworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/TMW2011-12-21colorlowres5.jpg

http://thismodernworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/TMW2011-12-28colorlowres1.jpg

Windows 8 Reset Functionality

Will be able to back up your image and perform a full reset of your desktop. It's about time! 

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/112029-windows-8-to-include-built-in-reset-refresh-and-hard-drive-imaging

A Simpler, Freer Life

Not read Thoreau previously. Will seek him out now.

“Those who know they have enough are rich.” Thoreau was telling his contemporaries that
they had “enough” but that they did not know it, and so were poor. 

http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/89/simpler-freer-life.html

Happy New Year!