Thursday, May 15, 2008
Reintegrating child soldiers in Sierra Leone
The English version of Le Monde diplomatique has a good piece (in English) exploring how former child soldiers from Sierra Leone's civil war are being re-integrated into society.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
"The Adirondacks" documentary to air tonight
Tonight, PBS will air a documentary entitled "The Adirondacks" which takes a two-hour look at the largest protected park in the continental US.
Preserved primarily due to the protection of a visionary clause New York's state constitution enacted in the late 19th century, the Adirondacks are the most amazing natural wonder in the eastern United States.
I may be biased, but watch the documentary and judge for yourself!
Note: Adirondack Almanack points out that this will premiere tonight on PBS stations across the country, not just locally.
Preserved primarily due to the protection of a visionary clause New York's state constitution enacted in the late 19th century, the Adirondacks are the most amazing natural wonder in the eastern United States.
I may be biased, but watch the documentary and judge for yourself!
Note: Adirondack Almanack points out that this will premiere tonight on PBS stations across the country, not just locally.
Tasers
Every time there is a story about Glens Falls police tasering someone, the Post-Star's website lights up with comments, some fair, some snide. I don't believe police should be given complete impunity. That said, I don't think the local police have a bad reputation and am generally willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until they demonstrate otherwise. A lot of poststar.com visitors are too eager to attribute malice to local cops, to assume the police are guilty of misconduct before they know a mere fraction of the evidence. This reflexive police bashing does a disservice both to the police and to serious debate.
Though they are certainly better than the billy clubs of the past, I believe tasers should be used sparingly and as a last resort. And I haven't seen any compelling evidence that Glens Falls police are doing otherwise. I don't believe that police should refuse to use one if it puts themselves at risk of injury at the hands of some belligerent idiot.
For example, one of the more controversial stories was the tasering of a drunk teenager at a high school basketball game at the Civic Center. The mere fact that a teenager showed up drunk to a high school basketball game isn't a good sign. But his tasering provoked the outrage of the anti-police crowd.
I happened to be at that game, fairly close to the incident. The drunk teenager walked by me at one point before his arrest and slurred some expletive at me. He was bumping into other people left and right. He was shouting obscenities until security and eventually police were called. He was struggling with police trying to escort him out while being dragged up the very steep stairs of the Civic Center. I did not realize he had gotten tasered but should the police have risked getting themselves knocked down ten flights of steep stairs in order to make sure the obnoxious 17 year old who showed up drunk at a high school basketball game didn't have his poor little feelings hurt?
That said, certainly more research needs to be done into the effects of being tasered. Officials need to make sure that no more shock is administered than is absolutely necessary to briefly subdue an arrestee. This article from Alternet explains why. I think it's fair to assume that most people don't expect that a taser should kill or seriously injure a suspect.
Though they are certainly better than the billy clubs of the past, I believe tasers should be used sparingly and as a last resort. And I haven't seen any compelling evidence that Glens Falls police are doing otherwise. I don't believe that police should refuse to use one if it puts themselves at risk of injury at the hands of some belligerent idiot.
For example, one of the more controversial stories was the tasering of a drunk teenager at a high school basketball game at the Civic Center. The mere fact that a teenager showed up drunk to a high school basketball game isn't a good sign. But his tasering provoked the outrage of the anti-police crowd.
I happened to be at that game, fairly close to the incident. The drunk teenager walked by me at one point before his arrest and slurred some expletive at me. He was bumping into other people left and right. He was shouting obscenities until security and eventually police were called. He was struggling with police trying to escort him out while being dragged up the very steep stairs of the Civic Center. I did not realize he had gotten tasered but should the police have risked getting themselves knocked down ten flights of steep stairs in order to make sure the obnoxious 17 year old who showed up drunk at a high school basketball game didn't have his poor little feelings hurt?
That said, certainly more research needs to be done into the effects of being tasered. Officials need to make sure that no more shock is administered than is absolutely necessary to briefly subdue an arrestee. This article from Alternet explains why. I think it's fair to assume that most people don't expect that a taser should kill or seriously injure a suspect.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
No more whining
I don't usually post press releases but this one sums things up quite nicely.
From: VoteNader.org
Call it the no more whining campaign.
Don't tell us about Bush/Cheney.
We know already.
The sewage has risen to the surface.
The question is - what are we going to do about it?
The answer is - Nader/Gonzalez.
McCain/Clinton/Obama talk and talk about change and a better world.
But they are all in the hip pocket of the corporations.
Do they advocate for single payer public national health insurance?
They do not.
Do they advocate for cutting the bloated, wasteful military budget?
They do not.
[...]
Do they stand for reversing U.S. policy in the Middle East?
They can not.
All they can do is whine and complain.
And talk about an amorphous "change."
Nader/Gonzalez on the other hand, is the can do campaign.
We put our people vs. the corporations platform on the table.
And - per your request - we've just updated our issues pages with more detail.
We're working hard to get Nader/Gonzalez on as many state ballots as possible.
And - per your request - we've just launched a clickable state by state map of the country for ballot access.
[...]
If you support a progressive agenda, please support a progressive campaign.
From: VoteNader.org
Call it the no more whining campaign.
Don't tell us about Bush/Cheney.
We know already.
The sewage has risen to the surface.
The question is - what are we going to do about it?
The answer is - Nader/Gonzalez.
McCain/Clinton/Obama talk and talk about change and a better world.
But they are all in the hip pocket of the corporations.
Do they advocate for single payer public national health insurance?
They do not.
Do they advocate for cutting the bloated, wasteful military budget?
They do not.
[...]
Do they stand for reversing U.S. policy in the Middle East?
They can not.
All they can do is whine and complain.
And talk about an amorphous "change."
Nader/Gonzalez on the other hand, is the can do campaign.
We put our people vs. the corporations platform on the table.
And - per your request - we've just updated our issues pages with more detail.
We're working hard to get Nader/Gonzalez on as many state ballots as possible.
And - per your request - we've just launched a clickable state by state map of the country for ballot access.
[...]
If you support a progressive agenda, please support a progressive campaign.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Asleep at the switch
If you support a progressive agenda, then support a progressive candidate.
It's no secret that corporations have a stranglehold on our democracy. This is thanks to a bizarre and perverse interpretation that somehow equates money with speech. The mental contortions required to defend this are quite astounding, especially since money and speech are not equated in any other context except politics. As a result, non-citizens (such as corporations and unions) can bribe political candidates in broad daylight and in (more or less) complete legality.
But even when feeble legislative attempts are made to impose token regulations on this madness, it's often not even enforced.
This piece from the Albany Times-Union's Capitol Confidential blog offers an illustration.
Last year, the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) sent evidence to the state Board of Elections (BOE) of 61 corporations that donated illegal amounts to political campaigns. Twelve months later, the BOE is still investigating the matter.
(Good government group like NYPIRG along with some media constitute the only real check on the chummy culture of corruption in Albany.)
Recently, NYPIRG relased evidence of another 118 violations to the bipartisan (not to be confused with non-partisan) BOE.
The BOE is supposed to enforced the law but “They still haven’t done anything about it,” said NYPIRG’s legislative director Blair Horner, one of the true white knights in Albany.
A BOE spokesman whined that their workload has increased in the last few years as the number of electronic reports has skyrocketed. But if they are not going to bother enforcing the law, even when a watchdog group does a lot of their legwork for them, then what purpose does the state Board of Elections serve?
It's no secret that corporations have a stranglehold on our democracy. This is thanks to a bizarre and perverse interpretation that somehow equates money with speech. The mental contortions required to defend this are quite astounding, especially since money and speech are not equated in any other context except politics. As a result, non-citizens (such as corporations and unions) can bribe political candidates in broad daylight and in (more or less) complete legality.
But even when feeble legislative attempts are made to impose token regulations on this madness, it's often not even enforced.
This piece from the Albany Times-Union's Capitol Confidential blog offers an illustration.
Last year, the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) sent evidence to the state Board of Elections (BOE) of 61 corporations that donated illegal amounts to political campaigns. Twelve months later, the BOE is still investigating the matter.
(Good government group like NYPIRG along with some media constitute the only real check on the chummy culture of corruption in Albany.)
Recently, NYPIRG relased evidence of another 118 violations to the bipartisan (not to be confused with non-partisan) BOE.
The BOE is supposed to enforced the law but “They still haven’t done anything about it,” said NYPIRG’s legislative director Blair Horner, one of the true white knights in Albany.
A BOE spokesman whined that their workload has increased in the last few years as the number of electronic reports has skyrocketed. But if they are not going to bother enforcing the law, even when a watchdog group does a lot of their legwork for them, then what purpose does the state Board of Elections serve?
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Hillary's appeal to middle America: blacks are lazy!
If you support a progressive agenda, then support a progressive candidate.
How desperate and despicable is that egomaniacal (expletive deleted) Hillary Clinton?
We've long known she's corporate owned. But she's now stooped to a new low, even for her.
The woman of privilege recently claimed that Obama's support was "weakening" among "hard-working Americans, white Americans."
It's a good thing she added that clarification. Because she wouldn't want to leave the impression with saintly "middle America" that she thought black Americans were hard working.
Democrats should ask, if they haven't already, if they really want someone so divisive and contemptible as their nominee.
As I've said before, I was never a huge fan of hers before the campaign but I didn't hate her.
I do now.
Is there any question now she's willing, more so that even the ordinary politician, to put her own gargantuan ego ahead of the good of not only her party but her nation? How in Heaven's name can anyone still see her as having a shred of honor?
Liberals like to think that such pathetic garbage is the unique provenance of the Republican Party. And it certainly is more popular in the GOP. But some Democrats obviously aren't above appealing to such naked bigotry in order to help their poll ratings.
How desperate and despicable is that egomaniacal (expletive deleted) Hillary Clinton?
We've long known she's corporate owned. But she's now stooped to a new low, even for her.
The woman of privilege recently claimed that Obama's support was "weakening" among "hard-working Americans, white Americans."
It's a good thing she added that clarification. Because she wouldn't want to leave the impression with saintly "middle America" that she thought black Americans were hard working.
Democrats should ask, if they haven't already, if they really want someone so divisive and contemptible as their nominee.
As I've said before, I was never a huge fan of hers before the campaign but I didn't hate her.
I do now.
Is there any question now she's willing, more so that even the ordinary politician, to put her own gargantuan ego ahead of the good of not only her party but her nation? How in Heaven's name can anyone still see her as having a shred of honor?
Liberals like to think that such pathetic garbage is the unique provenance of the Republican Party. And it certainly is more popular in the GOP. But some Democrats obviously aren't above appealing to such naked bigotry in order to help their poll ratings.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Skateboarding and imagination
I don't skateboard, but my 'little brother' does. So I take him to the skate park usually once a month or so. He's not very good but he enjoys it.
One of the things I like about the skating culture is that it's free-spirited. And, perhaps surprisingly given the reputation skating has in 'respectable' circles, the culture strikes me as fairly collegial. It also requires perseverance, something that's not a bad thing to learn in a country where instant gratification is a central value.
Kids today spend so much time in front of screens that many of them have no idea how use their imagination. And forget this generation gap canard. It's little different with adults. Witness how my colleagues treat me as quite the oddball because I often lie on the grass and engage in the eccentric activity of reading a book or... even more incomprehensibly, just relaxing and looking at the sky.
So the other reason I respect skating as an activity more than a lot of people is that really stimulates creativity and imagination. It's an fascinating fusion of being around others and expressing yourself.
I was thinking about this yesterday when my 'little brother' and I were walking home from the skate park and stopped inside the local children's bookstore.
In addition to books, they also have various toys for sale and for use. One of the ones they have for kids to play with is a simple racing car track. Not for battery-powered cars, but just for the small metal ones like Hot Wheels.
A little kid sat down at this track and picked up one of the Hot Wheels and with a befuddled look, asked his mom, "How do you start this thing?"
I chuckled a little bit, until I realized how sad it was.
One of the things I like about the skating culture is that it's free-spirited. And, perhaps surprisingly given the reputation skating has in 'respectable' circles, the culture strikes me as fairly collegial. It also requires perseverance, something that's not a bad thing to learn in a country where instant gratification is a central value.
Kids today spend so much time in front of screens that many of them have no idea how use their imagination. And forget this generation gap canard. It's little different with adults. Witness how my colleagues treat me as quite the oddball because I often lie on the grass and engage in the eccentric activity of reading a book or... even more incomprehensibly, just relaxing and looking at the sky.
So the other reason I respect skating as an activity more than a lot of people is that really stimulates creativity and imagination. It's an fascinating fusion of being around others and expressing yourself.
I was thinking about this yesterday when my 'little brother' and I were walking home from the skate park and stopped inside the local children's bookstore.
In addition to books, they also have various toys for sale and for use. One of the ones they have for kids to play with is a simple racing car track. Not for battery-powered cars, but just for the small metal ones like Hot Wheels.
A little kid sat down at this track and picked up one of the Hot Wheels and with a befuddled look, asked his mom, "How do you start this thing?"
I chuckled a little bit, until I realized how sad it was.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Thank God he didn't give away his jockstrap
(Credit for the title goes to my brother)
I know he's married to a woman who used to be a bubblegum pop band, but I can't say I've ever 'gotten' the hysterical schoolgirl crush that so much of the world seems to have on celebrity brand (and occasional soccer player) David Beckham.
He's always been a mediocre soccer player, except for his ability to cross the ball or take a free kick. He's not particularly good looking. In sharp contrast to other sporting brands like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, Beckham is not particularly charismatic. When you hear him talk, he sounds like he's reading a script (which he probably is) most of the time and like a doofus when he's not.
It's one thing to fight over a million dollar baseball, the premise of which is absurd enough. But even by the standards of lunatic sports fans with no perspective and parents who act like children, this is still pretty lame.
I know he's married to a woman who used to be a bubblegum pop band, but I can't say I've ever 'gotten' the hysterical schoolgirl crush that so much of the world seems to have on celebrity brand (and occasional soccer player) David Beckham.
He's always been a mediocre soccer player, except for his ability to cross the ball or take a free kick. He's not particularly good looking. In sharp contrast to other sporting brands like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, Beckham is not particularly charismatic. When you hear him talk, he sounds like he's reading a script (which he probably is) most of the time and like a doofus when he's not.
It's one thing to fight over a million dollar baseball, the premise of which is absurd enough. But even by the standards of lunatic sports fans with no perspective and parents who act like children, this is still pretty lame.
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