From the wisdom of Twitter

There was just a 5.8 earthquake in Washington. Obama wanted it to be 3.4, but Republicans wanted 5.8. So he compromised. -@TheTweetofGod

From the wisdom(s) of Twitter

Debt increase by presidents: Reagan 186%, Bush 54% Clinton 41% Bush II 72% Obama 23%. Source CBO. -@paulfreid

Unemployment is 8.2% in TX, 5.5% in Socialist Republic of VT. -@dankennedy_nu

From the wisdom of Twitter

"When its a Muslim [who commits a heinous crime], every Muslim in the world somehow shares responsibility. When it's a white Christian, he's always a lone wolf." -@Gazamom

The wisdom of Twitter

It's amusing that it's okay to say "war on drugs" and "war on poverty" but once the military is involved it sure can't be a war. -@Diraccone

From the wisdom of Twitter

"38 percent of Americans would fail the citizenship test. I think I speak for the other 62 percent when I say, por que?" -@DennisLeary

From the wisdom of Twitter

"The GOP says $250,000 annual income isn’t wealthy but $48,000 with good benefits is." -@AngryLiberal

Periodic Twitter update

Note: This is a series highlighting selected stories from the Twitter feeds for my blogs Musings of a (Fairly) Young Contrarian and Black Star Journal. The Twitter feed contains not only links to original pieces from my blogs but also links ("re-tweets") to diverse stories from other media outlets. 129 people presently get their updates this way. Those interested are encouraged to subscribe the Twitter feed to get all stories by going to Twitter.com/mofycbsj and clicking 'follow'.



-Poll: [NYS] Voters Say No To Raises, Yes To Taxing Rich (The Journal News)

-EU to sanction Cote d'Ivoire (al-Jazeera)

-How Glenn Beck's Twisted Worldview Goads Disturbed People into Acts of Violence (AlterNet)

-Australian Media's Finest Defend Wikileaks [unlike craven American journalists] (The Wakely Foundation)

-TX GOP Official Opposes Jewish House Speaker: Christians ‘Are The People That Do The Best Jobs’ (Think Progress)

-Indoleaks launched [Indonesian answer to WikiLeaks] (Jakarta Globe)

-Rwandan genocide finds release in photos (NPR)

-Julian Assange, like Daniel Ellsberg and Joe Wilson, Feels the Heat (The Progressive)

-Howie Hawkins says the Green campaign continues (GPNYS)

-Phone Companies' $100 Billion Rip-off -- Where Is That Hidden $6 a Month Going in Our Phone Bills? (Alternet)

-Guinea's [President-elect Alpha] Conde plans truth commission on violence (Reuters)

Sm ppl hv gd sugstns

CNN ran a graphic encouraged people to Tweet their ideas for how to improve education.

My suggestion: develop enough civic literacy for people to recognize that complex issues can’t always be solved in 140 characters.

Periodic Twitter update

Note: This is a series highlighting selected stories from the Twitter feeds for my blogs Musings of a (Fairly) Young Contrarian and Black Star Journal. The Twitter feed contains not only links to original pieces from my blogs but also links ("re-tweets") to diverse stories from other media outlets. 103 people presently get their updates this way. Those interested are encouraged to subscribe the Twitter feed to get all stories by going to Twitter.com/mofycbsj and clicking 'follow'.

-Boaters, don't pollute lakes and rivers (NYS DEC)

-Amnesty: Powerful Governments 'Stand Above the Law' on Human Rights (VOA Africa)

-The opposition is the restraining force on government. Obama in power means we must look to the GOP to restrain militarism... (Wikileaks)

-Green Party Nominates Clark and Lawrence for US Senate and 2010 Candidates of Green Party NY (GPNY)

-Guinea headed for free election, analysts say (AP)

-Sexual violence against men (Forced Migration Online)

-What a 'Peace Corps' of Africans Is Doing for Cajuns and Creoles (Wall Street Journal)

-Six myths about immigration that just won't die (Alternet)

-Children working on farms at younger ages, report says (PBS Need to Know)

-Despite Legislation, Misleading RNC ‘Census’ Mailers Continue (Pro Publica)

Periodic Twitter update

Note: This is a series highlighting selected stories from the Twitter feeds for my blogs Musings of a (Fairly) Young Contrarian and Black Star Journal. The Twitter feed contains not only links to original pieces from my blogs but also links ("re-tweets") to diverse stories from other media outlets. Those interested are encouraged to subscribe the Twitter feed to get all stories by going to Twitter.com/mofycbsj and clicking 'follow'.

-Pretty amazing Rachel Maddow segment on Republicans who take credit for stimulus projects (Washington Monthly via Slate.com)

- Family Research Council Calls for Criminalization of Gay Sex (Alternet)

-NYS Gov. David Paterson vetoes Legislature’s ethics bill, goo-goos unhappy (Capitol Confidential)

-The U.S. Hunger Epidemic is a Fact, And We Must Act Now (Alternet)

- U.S. Missionaries See Judge In Haiti Child Case (New York Times via Black Looks)

- National Grid wants 20 percent increase in electric rates (Syracuse Post-Standard)

Periodic Twitter update (Dec. 1-14, 2009)

Note: This is a new series of blog entries highlighting selected stories from the Twitter feeds for my blogs Musings of a (Fairly) Young Contrarian and Black Star Journal. This is for the benefit of blog readers who do not subscribe to Twitter. However those that are interested are encouraged to subscribe the Twitter feed to get all stories by going to Twitter.com/mofycbsj and clicking 'follow'.

GENERAL
*Global Voices -- France: The Day Without Immigrants

*AlterNet -- A Look at the Shady Morals of NY State Senator Hiram Monserrate Who Opposed Marriage Equality

*Doctors Without Borders -- Interested in humanitarian work? See what it’s really like. LivingInEmergency next Mon, 12/14

*AlterNet -- Social Action in Copenhagen Rivals Seattle Protest

*Adirondack Almanack -- What's Wrong With Leg-Hold Traps?



AFRICA
*HumanityNews -- Nigeria: YarAdua Illness Raises Succession Fears

*Africannewsfeed: Cell phones cut maternal deaths in Ghana

*BBC World Service Africa: Reports of arrests, torture and killings of civilians suspected of opposing Guinea's injured junta leader

*BBC World Service Africa: A French mining firm is accused of dumping radioactive waste in Gabon

Subscribe to blog updates on Twitter

You can get updates to my general blog Musings of a (Fairly) Young Contrarian and my Africa blog Black Star Journal on the microblogging service Twitter.

Just follow the username: mofycbsj

Or go to the link: twitter.com/mofycbsj

Any time I post to either blog, I post a title on Twitter and link to the piece.

One advantage of Twitter is that I can easily repost ("Re-Tweet" or RT) articles and essays from a wide variety of other sources. I do so for pieces that I find interesting but do not necessarily have the time to compose an essay of my own commenting on it; in other cases, they are so well-written or compelling that they speak for themselves.

Some recent RTs I've shared:

"How British invented 'development' during WWII as propaganda to defend colonialism & cover up racism," from Bill Easterly, a professor and development expert with whom I've sparred on the pages of Foreign Policy;

"African famines examined," from Public Radio International's The World;

"Could we improve care by changing the way we pay doctors?" from The Christian Science Monitor online;

"Internet access and telecommuting in the Adirondacks," from North Country Public Radio and featuring an interview with Adirondack Almanack founder and contributor John Warren.

Check it out.

Get updates via Twitter

Just a reminder that you can get a notification via Twitter whenever I update either my main blog Musings of a (Fairly) Young Contrarian [MOFYC] or my Africa blog Black Star Journal [BSJ]. On the Twitter feed, I also provide links (Re-tweets or RT) to stories around the web that may be of interest to readers of either blog. The Twitter feed can be found at:

twitter.com/mofycbsj.