Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Al Franken pwns KBR
In one of Senator Franken's first pieces of legislation, he introduced an amendment that would have cut off federal contracts to any business that sought to enforce binding arbitration clauses against employees pressing Title VII civil rights claims. Put simply, he wanted Jamie Leigh Jones and others in her position to get their day in court. KBR's appeal asked the Supreme Court to rule that the Franken Amendment didn't apply to this case, but they got cold feet when the Amendment was enforced in two other actions by the Pentagon.
Jamie Leigh Jones is going to court thanks to Senator Franken.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
WikiLeaks on Al Jazeera
“ WikiLeaks has probably produced more scoops in its short life than the Washington Post has in the past 30 years ”
— The National, November 19, 2009
(Jump to 15:00, or click this link)
Presently, WikiLeaks is under aggressive US/Icelandic surveillance.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Animal Farm Friday - Clash of the Lesser Evolved Primates
Thursday, March 18, 2010
A Second Bill of Rights?
The Second Bill of Rights was a proposal made by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944 to suggest that the nation had come to recognize, and should now implement, a second bill of rights. Roosevelt did not argue for any change to the United States Constitution; he argued that the second bill of rights was to be implemented politically, not by federal judges. Roosevelt's stated justification was that the "political rights" guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights had "proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness." Roosevelt's remedy was to create an "economic bill of rights" which would guarantee:
Roosevelt stated that having these rights would guarantee American security, and that America's place in the world depended upon how far these and similar rights had been carried into practice. Later in the 1970s, Czech jurist Karel Vasak would categorize these as the ‘second generation’ rights in his theory of three generations of human rights.
- A job with a living wage
- Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies
- A home
- Medical care
- Education
- Recreation
Friday, March 12, 2010
Animal Farm Friday - You Ant Gonna Believe This!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Personalized Energy
Dan Nocera: Personalized Energy from PopTech on Vimeo.
Okay, it is better now
If a blank canvas is too daunting, just head over to the thrift store, buy a crappy painting, then make it better.
Friday, March 5, 2010
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Western producers like BP, Exxon Mobil, and Shell are enjoying their best access to Iraq's southern oil fields since 1972, but a weaker government could be on the way.
Animal Farm Friday - Vampire Squid is Creepy Cool
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Here, have some nightmares
Click here for more nightmares (you're welcome!):
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Avalanche from a skiers POV
Avalanche Skier POV Helmet Cam Burial & Rescue in Haines, Alaska from Chappy on Vimeo.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday Kickstarter - Dismantling Land Mines by Hand
Faux Animal Farm Friday - Faking it
Friday, February 19, 2010
Animal Farm Friday - I Love Hummingbirds!!!
Then maybe I could train at least one to do this:
Friday, February 12, 2010
Animal Farm Friday - Adorable Freak Fest!
Follow that with the most adorable owl ever, the Malay Eagle Owl!
And wrapping up with Sonya, a slow loris.
Animal Farm Friday - Carrots are better than cilantro
And so is this one:
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The Scale of the Universe
Friday, February 5, 2010
Jon Stewart on The O'Reilly Factor
This is the full interview, not the heavily edited piece of crap that Fox actually aired. One thing that is patently clear from this full version is that O'Reilly confirms unequivocally that he is a rank shit-eating, moronic fucktard amateur and is way out of his league.
Watch it here.
Animal Farm Friday II - A boy and his 24 year old cat
From this post.
One night my wife dreamt she was grooming it and found a zipper under its belly fur. She pulled it and saw a light inside. Staring at this light she became aware she was being drawn into the cat.
She wandered around the house as a cat, not as an old one but in the prime of life, leaping around the furniture, chasing dust motes and running out the cat flap making it bang open, then up along the fence, balancing on the narrow uprights then a leap up into the tree, walking out onto the branches to rest and look down on everyone. It was wonderful having a cats agility and balance, leaping up onto tables spinning after her tail, investigating movements in the air. She dreamt she lept up onto her favorite pillar and was being stoked by humans, she could tell what they were like by the energy their strokes gave her. A nice woman stroked her and it was a lovely warm feeling.
That morning we found the cat in its usual position on the bed at her feet. It was unable to move. It was the weekend so we both went down the vets. She went easy. After we had a short discussion with the vet she just allowed her paw to be shaved and injected. It was all over in a minute, she slipped out of or lives as quietly as she slipped in. I admired that. We wrapped her in a blanket and buried her in the Garden and planted lavender over her. I think of her still. We haven't owned a cat since.
Animal Farm Friday - Japanese Cats Rule!
Man, what a great day this is. A cat who’s a Japanese businessman! You just know all his colleagues are jealous that he can lick his own genitals.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Kickstarter Monday: Liquid Glass, a Spray-on Miracle
It sounds too good to be true: a non-toxic spray invisible to the human eye that protects almost any surface against dirt and bacteria, whether it is hospital equipment and medical bandages or ancient stone monuments and expensive fabrics. But true it is. The spray is a form of "liquid glass" and is harmless to living things and the wider environment. It is being touted as one of the most important, environmentally-friendly products to emerge from the field of nanotechnology, which deals in objects at the molecular end of the size scale.
These are some of the possible - and actual - uses for the stuff:
Nano invention: Macro possibilitiesAgriculture
Wood treated with liquid glass was found to be resistant to termite attacks in tropical climates. This led to tests on vines showing that treated plants are more resistant to a fungus that attacks the grapes. Seeds coated with liquid glass are less likely to be be attacked by fungal spores and germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds, probably because they do not waste energy fending off the microbes. Wine corks treated with liquid glass may also be protected against "corking", when contaminants in the cork taint the flavour of the wine.
Stone monuments
Stone surfaces coated with liquid glass are protected against the weather and easier to clean, especially if grafittied. For 18 months, scientists in Turkey have been running trials on the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara and a 15th-Century mosque. They report continued water protection and no discolouration. Talks are taking place about the possible use of liquid glass in Britain to protect memorials and war graves.
Domestic bathrooms
Millions of homes use cleaning agents and bleach. Tests by food processing companies in Germany have shown that sterile surfaces treated with the liquid glass can be cleaned with plain hot water and have levels of sterility seen on surfaces washed in bleach.
Its uses in the fashion industry
The liquid glass produces a highly flexible, invisible barrier to liquids and dirt. It cannot be seen by the naked eye and yet it allows fabrics to "breathe", according to its manufacturers. Expensive fabrics could be treated to make them stain resistant and at least one maker of upmarket handbags and coats is understood to be conducting negotiations about treating its products before they leave the factory.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Animal Farm Friday 2 - Dont worry, we dont bite
Animal Farm Friday - Poor bees
From Environmental Graffiti:
“All it takes is one. One enterprising scout to find the honey
bee colony. Mark it with a pheromone. Return with a band of natural born killers. And make all hell break lose.” Sounds like the latest Tarantino? Close. It’s the beginning of a National Geographic video that documents the annihilation of 30,000 European honey bees by 30 (yes, 30!) Asian giant hornets. We’ve found out more about these bullies of the insect world.
Red the full article, though. It's not political, and is actually fascinating.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Fading Lightbulbs
More Americans are buying energy efficient lighting and are aware of the energy-saving benefits -- but most are clueless about the phaseout of incandescent bulbs that starts in two years.
