December 2008
“The Bush administration has blamed the renewed violence on Hamas, which controls...”
– My Way News - Israeli foreign minister defends military strikes
Again, this is the problem. Hamas shelling of Israel kills one or two people. The retaliation kills or injures hundreds. In the West we’re likely to look sympathetically at the Israeli response. In the Muslim world, however,...
“Palestinian terrorists on Tuesday night fired at least two rockets at Beersheba,...”
– Widening range, rockets strike Beersheba kindergarten | Israel | Jerusalem Post
I’m extremely sympathetic to the Israeli position in this conflict, and should mention again that I just returned from Israel a month or so ago. Being there offers an entirely new perspective on the entire...
“When you enter a zone of conflict, then you have to realize that it’s very, very...”
– US State Department spokesman
McKinney relief boat hit by Israeli ship | ajc.com
“Israel, under international pressure, is considering a 48-hour halt to its...”
– My Way News - Israel mulls truce offer on Day 4 of Gaza assault
I can’t help but wonder whether this is wise. This operation doesn’t really have a goal. What are you going to do? Reoccupy Gaza? You’ve made it clear that you don’t want to do that. Can’t say I blame...
“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create...”
– Chuck Palahniuk
(found on letsbehonest)
(via dontbelievethehype) (via radarchive)
Read Bite of Pythias on giving →
“Democrats, who speak passionately about the hungry and homeless, personally fork...”
– Nicholas D. Kristof, in Bleeding Heart Tightwads. Kristoff notes charitable-giving research supports Arthur Brooks’ conclusion that liberals are less wiling to put their money where their mouths are. Unsurprisingly, each party’s religious out-give secular fellows; and disproportionately to...
“In a society which emphasises teaching, children and students- and adults-...”
– A Pattern Language: Network of Learning (via danw)
What do the deaf hear in their heads when they...
jamesnord:
This question first came to me when I realized it is impossible (at least for me) to read without hearing the words in my head. So, if are deaf, what happens in your head while you read? More importantly, can you think without language?
After some research I found what you might assume, no you cannot think without language. In this way, being deaf can be MORE debilitating...
“People giving Google $ that Twitter should get! If Twitterers want more More...”
– Scott Heiferman
Indeed. A model consistent with the grain of the service. Applies to Tumblr too.
(ps: we have the social payment mechanism for this in our network ;-) though I am sure there are others too).
(via betaworks)
“Mr. Bush, for instance, has sent personal letters to the families of every one...”
– Washington Times - EXCLUSIVE: Bush, Cheney comforted troops privately - in a time when every act is publicized & politicized ad nauseum, this is refreshing. (via hilker)
I’m shocked and impressed.
“Cities that ranked higher for having more bookstores also have a higher...”
– Seattle, Minneapolis most literate of big cities - USATODAY.com (via fred-wilson)
Oldest man in the US dies in Sacramento at 112 →
ledenes:
SAN FRANCISCO – George Francis, the nation’s oldest man, who lived through both world wars, man’s first walk on the moon and the election of the first black president, has died. He was 112.
(via kanamit)
“To be fair, you can go to cbs.com and watch many episodes of “Big Brother House...”
– The Web - Webisodes Bridge Gaps in NBC Series - NYTimes.com (via skidder)
“The repeal of Moore’s Law would create a renaissance for software development....”
– Steve Wozniak (via mattlehrer)
Off to see Frost/Nixon
Study: Teens Who Skip Breakfast Lose Virginity... →
radarchive:
bowlingalleylawyer:
Skip breakfast, lose your virginity?
Oddly enough, that’s what a new study finds.
Someone needs to learn about the difference between causation and correlation.
“Sometimes I think we’re alone in the Universe, and sometimes I think we’re not....”
– Arthur C. Clarke (via spytap)
I just gave my father a copy of Greetings, Carbon Based Bipeds to try to expand his reading horizons.
“Please don’t start measuring your popularity in Tumblr followers. ...”
– My girlfriend
“In a famous 1960 article called “Marketing Myopia,” Theodore Levitt held up the...”
– James Surowiecki, “News You Can Lose” (via seantice)
Yes.
“Technology is intimidating to people and often serve more as a barrier to...”
– You design the system, people provide the content (via danw)
“1. Dogs appear to experience jealousy and pride. Previously, only humans and...”
– 50 Things We Know Now (We Didn’t Know This Time Last Year): 2008 Edition (via didyouevernotice)
Yeesh.
(via peterwknox)
Digital TV Converter Coupons In Short Supply →
jayparkinsonmd:
So my tax dollars are paying for people to be able to watch Fox News!? When did having a television become damn near a right?
If I don’t watch television, can the government give me a handout so I can buy a couple movies off iTunes?
The television bridge to nowhere.
No, your tax dollars are not paying for people to watch FOX News. They’re paying to allow people to...
“But it always strikes me as weird when bloggers, whose primary task is to...”
– A commenter on Ezra Klein’s recent piece on the decline of newspapers. (via erin)
If anyone hasn’t read Ezra Klein’s takedown of Jeff Jarvis, they really should. Slate tried to recently, but they kind of missed the bullseye. Ezra Klein really nails it here. Yes, props to Jeff Jarvis and the...
MediaPost Publications - Video Expected To 'Buck... →
Web Advertisers Get More Say in Large, Intrusive... →
peterwknox:
Consider the invention of the microwave. Has anything else accelerated our culture more than that one single thing? Think about the implications of having to cook everything conventionally - it would immediately slow down our entire way of life and change everything at once, sitting down to breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Consider the invention of the mortgage and the mortgage-backed...
Quick IQ Test thingy, I got 23. Beat me suckas. →
ledenes:
(via exclamation)
I got a 23, too! We need a tiebreaker…
Shit. I got a 23, too.
“The Bush administration took a lot of pride that homeownership had reached...”
– The Reckoning - Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire - Series - NYTimes.com
Translation: I have no brain.
(via wiesen)
“Age 30 is not a magical turning point, however. Openness declines gradually over...”
– Well, it’s good to know I’m no different than everyone else. Scratch that, it’s depressing. From the Scientific American article, Set in our ways: Why change is so hard (via jimray) (via radarchive)
“We don’t want to become just a carriage provider. That would tend to commoditize...”
– Shane Kim - Xbox VP via “What Xbox Wants to Be When It Grows Up” - NYTimes.com
Revealing interview with Xbox head at MSFT. Because they heavily subsidize the Xbox to generating game revenue, they are struggling with the idea of opening up Xbox to a wide variety of 3rd party services.
That’s why...
Brilliant: Credit Suisse To Pay Top Execs With... →
(via mattlehrer)
“Drinks like Sparks encourage the polar opposite of responsible drinking habits,”...”
– MillerCoors strikes accord over alcoholic energy drink
Somewhere out there, Peter Knox is shedding a tear…
(via adamiss)
I call bullshit. This is the nanny state at its worst.