The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a short news piece on the possibility of a hormone-based male birth control pill, hopefully to debut in five to seven years.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Jenna Bush Doesn't Read*...
...But she just wrote a book!
The Washington Post has an exclusive interview with Miss Bush about her life and her new book "Ana's Story" (a nonfiction account of an HIV+ Latina teenaged single mother). The interview has your standard press-piece fluff--full of descriptions of her hair, the timbre of her voice, how her first job as a third-grade teacher inspired her to work for UNICEF--but it also provides a different aspect of Jenna B's life...like why she chose to write a book in general and why specifically about a teenage single mother living with HIV.
While I reserve judgment on "Ana's Story" since I have not read it, in terms of literature written by people in and around the White House, it's gotta be better than Lynne Cheney's first effort.
*She doesn't read her bad press. She is literate, however, so there's no basis for libel here.
"Planet Rock," "Burnin' Up," "Hey Ladies," and Other Songs that Make You Feel Old
Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame nominees were announced this week, with the select nine including Madonna, John Mellencamp, Beastie Boys, Donna Summer, Chic, Afrika Bambaataa, Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five, and The Ventures.
Per CNN.com, the chosen 5 will be inducted on March 10, 2008.
The Suck of the Irish
Yet another sad day in South Bend.
Notre Dame lost again this afternoon, getting wrecked by Purdue with a score of 19-33.
Freep.com, a division of Detroit Free Press, has a humorous take on how this season compares to past rough patches in Fighting Irish history.
The Regular Afternoon Race Report
With all the talk about the Jena Six, Bill O'Reilly's questionable comments about his Harlem dining experience with Al Sharpton, and the perennial bête noire O.J. Simpson, it might be time to examine race in a broader context. Such as...
The IHT's coverage of ethnic Haitians born and reared in the Dominican Republic being denied citizenship by the D.R., a country where "the U.S. Embassy recently urged its staff not to patronize one of Santo Domingo's most popular nightclubs, Loft, because African-American diplomats, were denied admission at the door while whites got past the bouncer." The diplomats were allegedly mistaken for Haitians.
The WashPost's coverage of the European "white out" of runways and its possible link to notions of beauty.
The Economist's critique of contemporary Black American leadership, specifically contrasting Al Sharpton's and Jesse Jackson's roles as the protesting preachers (a bit of an anachronism) to that of political leaders like Charles Rangel, John Conyers, and Barack Obama.
Lifting the Driving Ban?
Last week, a group of over a thousand prominent Saudi women petitioned King Abdullah for the right to drive, supporting their plea with evidence of the changing economic landscape in Saudi Arabia and pointing out the lack of explicit religious reasoning barring it.
This isn't the first time the debate has come up. In one of the more infamous events in the history of Saudi civil disobedience, wealthy Saudi women took advantage of the increased media presence in Riyadh during Gulf War I, "borrowed" cars, and drove through the streets in 1990. The repercussions of this protest were drastic and long-lasting. In addition to causing a number of car accidents and backing up traffic, the women involved were jailed, deported, and socially ostracized. The protest also unintentionally set back the right to drive movement, reinforcing the stereotype that women were incapable of driving well or safely and could not be trusted behind the wheel.
Though no explicit religious reasoning exists that bars women the right to drive, some religious leaders have argued that Saudi society will irreparably suffer if women drive. Women will be involved in more car accidents (see the 1990 protest), have more contact with the police, have improper contact with men, will "go wayward," possibly be taken advantage of, and will just generally require more monitoring to ensure that social norms aren't completely lost with this new freedom.
Yet the right to drive movement now has additional support given the changing economic environment in Saudi Arabia. With more women working, the need for women to drive has significantly increased. More women working means more women have economic clout, given their contributions to the family income and standard of living. Additionally, the cost of hiring a driver is quite high for most families in Saudi Arabia, and the unneccesary expense could easily be cut by granting women the right to drive.
Check out Reuters' take and AP's coverage here.
Nuclear Power Station Goes "Boom"
The world's first nuclear power station, located in Cumbria, England, went up in smoke yesterday. The Calder Hall power station, having been decommissioned a few years ago, is being razed to comply with European law requiring the removal asbestos from buildings.
Plus, SkyNews has a video of the giant coolant towers imploding, which is awesome and anticlimactic, all at once.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Mortgages, Mortgages, and Going Belly-up
More on Greenspan and the market crisis. Apparently, he and some other econ nerds knew of the risk that many investors were taking, but since these people were a small portion of the market and were largely limited to the rich (as in $40M+ net worth), Greenie & co. opted not to do anything.
Also, he thinks that there's a less than 50% chance of a recession, which is almost a relief. But as a last warning note, he said that we, globally, have been experiencing "inflation tranquility" for the last twenty years that can't possibly last.
In other words, I'll see y'all in the bread line come next fall.
Men with Deeper Voices Get More Action
Reporting the obvious, BBC News has reported that men with deeper voices have more kids than men with higher voices.
While I generally try to avoid posting the obvious, this article is amazing...not because of the headline but because the study focused on the Hadza, a hunter-gatherer tribe in Tanzania where there is no birth control and there is an exceptionally high divorce rate for a culture where infidelity in marraige is common (and presumably accepted).
Evangelical Movements Abroad
Speaking of evangelicals, BBC News has a piece on the plight of evangelical and Pentecostal Christians in Eritrea, where the government only has four authorized religions. Persons found practicing evangelical Christianity have regularly been imprisoned, beaten, and tortured.
The United States has denounced Eritrea's alleged support of terrorists, and President Afwerki of Eritrea was naturally not pleased. Violence against evangelical Eritreans has only increased after the President accused the U.S. of financially supporting Eritrea's Pentecostal community.
Perhaps even more mystifying, the Eritrean government has also been known to persecute persons practicing even the "approved" religions, when it hasn't been desperately trying to avoid another war with Ethiopia.
Protecting the Unborn and Those Already Here
The Wall Street Journal has an excellent news piece today about the debate within the evangelical community over global warming and the seemingly contradictory Biblical justifications for those stances.
Yet the piece does not cast the debate in polarized terms, instead exploring gradations within the evangelical movement. There are those who focus on abortion, gay rights, the appoinment of certain judges. There are those who only focus on those three issues and refuse to waver for fear of "being distracted from God's mission." There are others who use their evangelical beliefs as a lens through which to review the broad spectrum of issues in the American political arena. And then there are those who take no stance, making them perhaps the most interesting group of all.
Foxy Brown Would Not Have Stood for This
As a short reprieve from my Friday posts, I'd like to take some time out from our regularly scheduled blogging and talk about a personal issue, near and dear to my heart.
For the record, I never meant for my guest-blog spot to become "Angry Black Chick Takes over the Quail," though I am planning to petition that the editorial board rename the Quail "Diary of Mad Black Woman" on Fridays.
But as an afro-ed individual, I rock my hairstyle with pride, though I largely don't think about it much more than picking it out in the morning and trying to keep drunk guys from touching it in bars.
So finding out that an editor from one of the biggest fashion magazines in the country held a corporate fashions seminar at Cleary Gottlieb (a global M&A and international law firm) and advised attorneys to avoid afros, dreads, and other "shocking" "political" hairstyles that were "not appropriate" for the workplace, ruffled my feathers--or my natural curls, if you will.
That is all. We will now return to your regularly scheduled snark and incisive political commentary.
Thanks to "American Lawyer" for the scoop.
Different View of Affirmative Action
The New York Times Magazine has a special section this weekend examining the effects of Proposition 209 on the effects of undergraduate public university admissions.
Since Proposition 209 was enacted, Af/Am undergraduate enrollment has plummeted in California. While I won't speculate as to why, I found this section of the article to be the most interesting.
So That's What You Do in Utah!
Also, courtesy of Maclean's...
Apparently, the Mormon Church is trying to count every man, woman, and child who has ever lived, in an effort to make one large family tree.
They have 2 billion individual names logged so far, which is astonishing.
Give One Piece a Chance?
Maclean's, the weekly current affairs newsmagazine of our neighbors to the north, is currently running a lifestyle feature on celebrity causes célèbres. Specifically, Maclean's targets celebrities' statements and stances on water conservation and hygiene, starkly contrasting the current state of celebrity outspokenness with that of actors in the studio system gone past.
"In the Golden Age of Hollywood, actresses had no known position on toilets."
It's an interesting read for a slow Friday.
Capital Gains with Mr. Harris
Personally, I love T.I.
I have hearted him from the days of "Trap Musik," up through "King" and "T.I. v. T.I.P," and even through his touching portrayal of Rashad, the hard-working orphan with a penchant for illustration, in "ATL."
But today, he is truly king.
TMZ caught up with T.I. in L.A. this week, at which point he took the time to break down good financial management tips. Returns are better than chains, indeed.
Democracy in Action
Maybe some of you are more familiar with parliamentary procedure than I am, but I found this video shocking and appalling:
Even the voting fraud is bigger in Texas.
Wes Anderson's Gift For You
Wes Anderson has released his new short, Hotel Chevalier. The short, starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman, was originally intended to accompany Wes Anderson's new film, The Darjeeling Limited (and in fact did so during the films festival run). In an interesting marketing move, Anderson has released the short for free download on iTunes, and is encouraging everyone to see it before they see the feature.
This marketing strategy is a unique take on film marketing, so far as I can tell. Apparently Portman only makes a brief cameo in the feature film, which stars Schwartzman's character. By providing it for free, Anderson is certain to stir up some buzz for his latest work.
Oh yeah, and Natalie Portman gets naked:
It's A Girl!
On September 17, a Siberian woman gave birth to a 17.5 lb. baby.
C-section or not, if I ever meet this woman, I'm buying her a round of drinks.
A New Alternative to WiFi
And it's got a sweet name, too.
Several municipalities are having problems getting city-wide WiFi networks off the ground; those that have been set up suffer from some serious reliability and connectivity problems. The network here in Athens, while convenient, can be difficult to log in to and unrealiable. And Athens is nowhere near the size of a major urban center like Chicago or San Francisco.
This WiMax, 802.16e or Mobile WiMax, purports to be more reliable and faster. Better than that, the pricing plans as described by Sprint are cheap! Intel's chief said the goal is $30 hardware and $30 service. It ain't free, but fast and reliable mobile broadband service is something I think we all could benefit from.
EDIT: This is our 500th post!
2nd EDIT: Slate's take.
Hate Crimes Legislation Meets Body Armor and Other Defense Spending
Yesterday, the Senate passed a "measure" granting an expansion of the federal "hate crimes" statute to include violence against gays. (This provision was approved by the House earlier this year.) The measure is attached to a bill granting additional spending for the war effort, in a bid to ensure that the President will not act on his threat to veto expanding the hate crime statute.
Best parts of the debate, courtesy of the L.A. Times:
"Opponents said the bill would needlessly create special classes of victims. 'All crimes of violence are crimes of hate,' Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said...Some religious groups have assailed the measure as 'thought crimes' legislation, warning it could lead to the prosecution of pastors delivering sermons against homosexuality."
The Pasty Quail on the French Riviera
Hello all! I will be taking a week off from school, work and the Quail in order to take a vacation to this ugly little place:
I'll be doing my best to keep a travelblog, posting about once a day with little bits of info on the places I'm going and the things I'm seeing. Upon my return, I'll put together a nice little photo essay for all to enjoy. Have a great week!
Best. Bart. Ever.
File this under "amazing."
Recently, 100 artists (including scupltors, designers, illustrators, and a VERY talented muralist) took to Showroom, a venue in NYC, to present their own interpretations of Bart Simpson. Each artist was given a 10-inch sculpture of Bart, upon which to go artistically buck wild. Hailed "The Bart Tour," the results have been photographed and put into a slideshow by the Village Voice. Check out the one done by Matt Groening.
Russia Warns Against Deploying Weapons In Space
RIA Novosti, the Russian News agency, related some comments from the higher-ups in the Great Frozen East yesterday. Apparently, they don't want you putting weapons in space.
This is an interesting move; the chief of Russia's space forces has promised "retaliatory weapons" and said "A sizeable war could break out." But he is not presuming to claim space, rather he is warning against escalating an arms race in space. Col. Gen. Vladimir Popovkin is concerned that countries warring in space could misinterpret technical satellite failures as acts of war and retaliate.
The US has asserted their right to palce weapons and weapons platforms as recently as last year. President Bush's statement in 2006 went so far as to oppose the development of treaties restricting weapons in space.
Given such a rare opportunity, I have to express my unqualified support for ole GW on this one. Like the rifle, the tank, and the airplane before it, the space-based weapons platform is the wave of the future. Plus, the sooner we get moving on this, the closer I am to getting one of these:
For $14.5K, I'd Better Get a Trip to Tahiti Too.
The Fortress Hotel in Galle, Sri Lanka is offering a new dessert.
Why is this, noteworthy, you ask? Because it costs £7,127, which is (at the current exchange rate) $14,500. The primary ingredients? Chocolate, champagne, carmelized sugar, and an 80 carat aquamarine gem. This, of course, is offered in a country where the mean income is roughly a tenth of the price of the dessert.
The level of excess in such an improverished nation continues to amaze me.
MythBusters is a Great Show
And so is Robot Chicken, a stop-motion animation show that is part of Adult Swim. Here's Robot Chicken's take on Mythbusters:
House Energy and Commerce Committee Gets Crunk
On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee held hearings regarding whether record labels, music companies, music television stations, and the music industry at large should be doing more to shield our young from violent or misogynistic language, such as "banning words considered derogatory." Those under questioning included a range of industry personalities from Edgar Bronfman, Jr. (head of Warner Music Group) and Doug Morris (CEO of Universal Music Group) to David Banner and Master P.
Best argument of the day:
"Under questioning, Mr. Bronfman and Doug Morris, chairman of the Universal Music Group, stood by the industry’s existing method of handling explicit content, including the voluntary labeling of graphic CDs with parental-advisory stickers. Though they defended the industry’s practices, Mr. Bronfman and Mr. Morris lamented that efforts to restrict young listeners’ access to explicit music had become futile amid the proliferation of copyrighted songs and videos online."
That's right. Piracy is the problem. It all comes back to piracy.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Athens Music: We Versus the Shark
Being thorough music enthusiasts, we at The Pasty Quail have a vested interest in the music scene here in Athens. As such, we're going to try and talk to various bands that have connections to our beautiful little community in hopes of providing a solid snapshot of life as an Athens musician.
Famous for at least one influential band, Athens is widely known as a vibrant music town, and there have been thousands of bands that have graced the stages at myriad venues over the last 30 years.
Overall, though, the Athens music community seems to remain relatively independent; while it is true that not many bands from here have received attention from corporate record labels, at the same time, it would be difficult to discern any semblance of a static or trendy "scene" in the community itself.
This could be the case for many reasons. The fact is that there is not a lot of money to be made here in town, and without significant financial backing it's difficult to get your music heard anywhere outside your local area. Even Atlanta bands have a much more difficult time projecting themselves onto the national stage than a band originating in New York City might.
We Versus The Shark (pictured below), like many local groups, seems content with the way things are. Though fame and money would be nice, that could compromise making music they enjoy. I sat down with Scott Smith, the drummer from We Versus the Shark, to get an idea of how he views life in the band, and to find out a little about their experience here in Athens. 
The band members — Smith, Sam Paulsen (guitar, keys, vocals), Luke Fields (guitar, vocals, keys), and Jeff Tobias (bass, keys, vocals) — have to work other jobs to pay the bills at this point, so they make time to write, practice, gig and tour when they can spare it. The question for independent bands persists: 'What are you going to do for money?' In response, a lot of aspiring musicians throw in the towel, not willing to work a day job and play their music, for which time is limited. Yet Smith can't rationalize away his desire to play music like others have. "I believe in music, and so far that's worked," says Smith. "I've committed to doing this, and I'm going to just keep plowing away."
We Versus The Shark is made up of individual musicians with some similar and some different influences, but unlike many groups who have a chief songwriter and several space-filling sidekicks, "we want to respect each other's talents, and everyone needs to be able to breathe," Smith explains. In effect, the music is a fully collaborative effort.
In addition to keeping up with their own music, We Versus The Shark finds themselves in a unique situation here in Athens, involved in a sort of collective effort with friends and other bands, effectively creating a local network to support each other. Reminiscent of the Athens-based Elephant 6 collaborative, and Canada's Broken Social Scene, We Versus The Shark and a few others are heavily involved in an underground DIY venue to support local and touring bands.
"The good thing about these shows is that we're really just a bunch of people attracted to having a good time; there's a populist element to them where the bands and the fans just feed off and support each other," says Smith. "There's no definable scene, and that reflects Athens music in general. There's no carrot on the end of a stick for Athens bands, so we're all just kind of following our own muses."
These shows have been beneficial for We Versus The Shark specifically. One night, only six weeks after arriving in the U.S. from Brazil, a band called Debate played with the Sharks while both were out on tour. Needless to say, the bands hit it off, and the Sharks tried to book a gig for both bands back here in Athens. Nothing was available, so Debate played for a ready-made crowd at the DIY show, which led to an offer to help We Versus The Shark book a tour through South America.
It's in this way that independent bands have to support each other, and maybe this kind of stuff goes on elsewhere. Personally, I'm happy to see it going on in my town, especially when there's a lot of good music to be heard. We Versus the Shark is on Hello Sir Records, which is an Athens-based label intent on finding new projects that they can get behind. They don't focus on a certain type of music; they're just looking for bands that are enthusiastic and good at what they do.
Referring to his own band, Smith says, "Really, we're all a bunch of music dorks, and what comes out reflects the amount of stuff we listen to; playing around with it is a great way to exercise our musical interest so it doesn't become something we lose touch with."
So, whether or not they take that big step into "rock 'n' roll stardom," whatever that may mean, We Versus The Shark plans to keep doing what they're doing without any expectations. But "no expectations" doesn't amount to apathy or slackerdom: in fact, it's quite the opposite. Right now, 16-hour days aren't uncommon with work and play.
Regardless, Smith's going to do whatever he has to do. "I like to see older rockers doing well," he says. "I have a lot of life ahead of me, and this is what I'm going to be doing for the rest of it."
We Versus the Shark (official site here) will be playing in Athens at the 40 Watt this Saturday night, September 29, at midnight. Adam Newman & Heather Fink, and Coulier will be opening beforehand. Here's a video from The Sharks' performance this summer at AthFest 2007:
Surfing Never Stops
As I cruised the internets today looking for articles that you people might enjoy, I happened to stumble across this. They have a sister site for those less concerned with commitment.
Let me make this clear: Good looking (or) rich women, you need look no further than this humble editor if you need someone to blow all of that hard-earned cash on. I have expensive tastes, enjoy expensive hobbies, and love expensive vacations as much as anyone. And if I'm not good looking enough, you can just buy me plastic surgery.
Good looking (or) rich dudes: Good luck with the website; I hope none of those women are lying about how hot they are.
New Hampshire Poll Numbers Show 3-Man Race For Republican Nomination
From the article:
"The latest WMUR/CNN New Hampshire Primary Poll shows that among likely Republican voters, Mitt Romney has dropped to 23 percent support, down from 33 percent in July. Rudy Giuliani is right behind at 22 percent, up from 18 percent. Sen. John McCain was third at 17 percent, surging up from 12 percent in July. That represents a rebound for the early leader in the race, and with a margin of error of 5.4 percent, McCain has pulled back to striking distance."
I am honestly surprised that McCain has managed to pull himself back into the race. Over the summer, his campaign seemed dead in the water; at one point there were major fund-shortages as supporters began to sense that the ship was sinking. Its even more surprising that his resurgence has come following Fred Thompson's announcement (he is now polling at 11 percent in NH). I suppose the fact that things in Iraq are at least a little better has helped his cause.
Lowe's Sues Over "Lowes-Sucks.com"
Lowe's does not appreciate detractors.
For you legal nerds out there, this in an interesting IP case: Lowe's is suing based on trademark infringement, claiming that the site dilutes their brand name. The EFF has taken the case, and have called this a gross distortion of IP law.
Subtelty is Not Their Strong Point
A young St Louisian is being harassed by the St. Louis police, following his publishing of this video.
Is it any wonder that people don't like cops?
EDIT: Here they go again.
If Only This Was Available For Children
Although I don't know what the childhood equivalent of the Jockey Club would be.
Gallup Confidence Poll
Citizen confidence in the Federal Government at all new low. Apparently, people just don't trust huge faceless bureaucracies like they used to.
Iron and Wine - House By The Sea
I just got a hold of the new Iron and Wine album, The Shepherd's Dog, and I highly recommend that you go find it as well.
Sam Beam, the one-man show behind Iron and Wine, has put together a hell of an album. It manages to maintain the lo-fi southern gothic style of his previous outings, but still feels as if he has done something new and experimental here. One of my favorite tracks on the album is 'House by the Sea'; here is the best youtube video I could find of the song, enjoy:
101 Resources For Your Next Job Interview
HRWorld.com has a list of 101 resources for preparing for that next job interview. Included in the list are industry specific interview questions and answers, interviewing techniques and advice, and resume help.
Are Law School Affirmative Action Programs Hurting Minorities?
The LA Times has an opinion article up about affirmative action programs at law schools hurting minority groups. The piece relies on the principle of the "mismatch effect," explaining that:
"Data from across the country suggest to some researchers that when law students attend schools where their credentials (including LSAT scores and college grades) are much lower than the median at the school, they actually learn less, are less likely to graduate and are nearly twice as likely to fail the bar exam than they would have been had they gone to less elite schools."
Even if this data is true, I have to disagree with the ultimate assumption that everything would be better off without affirmative action. In my mind, it is extremely important that minority groups have access to law schools at all levels. This lends legitimacy to a legal system that could be (and often is) unfairly applied to different racial groups.
Portion of Patriot Act Ruled Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Oregon has ruled that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as amended by the Patriot act, is unconstitutional because it grants the government the power to conduct surveillance on American citizens without first establishing probable cause. From MSNBC:
"Portland attorney Brandon Mayfield sought the ruling in a lawsuit against the federal government after he was mistakenly linked by the FBI to the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people in 2004."
Read the whole story here. (Thanks Matt)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Just because it needs to be mentioned
I'm a little exhausted from thinking extensively about racial issues, which have been hot topics as of late. In that mode, ESPN's symposium on Mike Vick last night raised a few eyebrows. I did happen to watch it, and it was everything I thought it would be — infuriating.
Atlanta Magazine sums it up well.
Demonoid Taken Off-Line
For those of you that use bittorrent to, ahem, obtain your music/movies/tv shows/software, you should be aware that the net's 2nd most popular tracker, Demonoid, has been taken off-line. There is no official word on the cause of the outage, but it is widely presumed that the Canadian Recording Industry Association is behind it. Even if the site does make it back online, I don't recommend using it until the uber-geeks out there give it the all clear. Keep your eyes on Torrentfreak for more info and Wired has a full report up now.
(If you have no idea what I am talking about, check here for a beginner's guide to using bittorrent)
God, I hate the laugh track
Slate recently published an article on the ubiquitous sitcom laugh track, which irritates me to no end.
Just figured I'd vent my frustrations and mention that I am a huge fan of the new comedy (see Arrested Development, The Office) that doesn't have to tell me when to laugh, letting me figure out for myself what I think is funny.
Jena: Permeating our every fiber
As we mentioned yesterday, many of the heated racial debates of our day are perpetuated by people who are constantly trying to publicize these issues as racial debates, further polarizing people on one side or the other and re-segregating the population, instead of continuing the arduous and important task of integrating American society, something started only 40 years ago.
In this light, Bishop T.D. Jakes of Dallas is calling for protest in a different way, advocating giving financial aid to those involved in the Jena situation. To quote:
"While I am a firm believer that marching and protesting raises awareness, our parents and the previous generation took that route because for most, that was their only option, their only way to voice their displeasure, their only way to fight. It is effective at raising awareness and showing support.
Today, many of us have the financial resources to support the fight against injustices by exploring other options. It is equally important that we help the families fight this very expensive battle. Helping can be done in many ways ....Those who have no resources can give time or volunteer to help. Most of us can do something."
Jakes' solution seems to be a way of addressing the problem instead of continuing to dance around it. The legal system is not perfect, but it's what we have. If these young men are convicted unfairly, there is an appeals process for which financial support is necessary. Unfortunately, it's true that many people can't afford to work their way through the legal system, which is why non-affluent people are punished quickly, easily and often unfairly (and why some wealthy people are not punished when they should be). 
Ideally, at some level, our laws will rule in favor of equal rights to all men and women. If this is not the case, there is a much larger issue at stake. The Jena 6 and all other criminal defendants need financial support to pay legal fees on their way to receiving proper justice . Any way you slice it, those are the facts, and Jakes has taken significant action toward these ends.
The protests and physical support for the young men in Jena are important, yet they represent only one piece of the puzzle. We have to be cognizant of how things work instead of expecting something unrealistic, like an immediate shift in racist perspective.
The ironic part is that people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would be out of a job if people were not racist. Effectively, their voice on these issues furthers racial separatism and keeps that old order in place. On the other hand, a man like Jakes sees and understands the system as it is, no matter how unfair it might be; he's working with what he has instead of operating upon an unrealistic ideal. Yes, the black community is still fighting for its civil rights, but acting like NOTHING has progressed in 40 years certainly does not help the situation.
Unrest in Burma
The UK's evening standard has an excellent rundown (with pictures!) of the situation in Burma where Buddhist monks are protesting against the brutal military junta that rules the Southeast Asian nation.
Ahmadinejad at the UN
Iranian President Ahmadinejad had his day before the UN General Assembly yesterday. While at the podium, he continued to deny that his nation is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and claimed that the West is, therefore, illegally seeking to impose sanctions on the Iranians. From his speech:
"'Previously, they illegally insisted on politicizing the Iranian nation's nuclear case, but today, because of the resistance of the Iranian nation, the issue is back to the agency, and I officially announce that in our opinion the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter,' Ahmadinejad said."
Get a full report on Ahmadinejad's speech here.
Also, Juan Cole at Salon has an article about the casting of Ahmadinejad as the US's 'public enemy #1' being a prelude to war between the West and Iran.
UAW Goes On Strike
The United Auto Workers have gone on strike against GM, and as you might expect, this isn't good news for the the US carmaker. From the AP:
"A strike of two weeks or less would not hurt GM's cash position and would actually improve its inventory situation, Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said Monday in a note to investors. But a longer strike would be harmful, causing GM to burn up $8.1 billion in the first month and $7.2 billion in the second month, assuming the company can't produce vehicles in Mexico or Canada, Johnson wrote."
The workers are demanding that GM guarantee that US plants (ie, unionized plants) will continue to receieve new car orders. Another quote:
""Job security is one of our primary concerns," Gettelfinger told reporters Monday after talks broke off and the strike began. "We're talking about investment and we're talking about job creation" and preserving benefits, he said."
If this strike continues and GM fails to meet demand, US consumers might find themselves squeezed out of the market. The decreasing value of the dollar will ultimately drive up the cost of imported cars, and labor disputes could prevent domestic makers from filling the gaps left in the market.
Apples in Stereo at the 40 Watt
Dan and I trekked down to the 40 Watt to catch the Apples in Stereo show last night. Like always, there were too many opening bands and the headlining band went on way too late (seriously guys, its ok for a weeknight show to start before 1 AM). Other than that, the show was great. Here is a video from last night, the song is called 'Go':
God and You
Though I'm not a huge fan of pigeon-holing people into few, distinct categories, Baylor University's study on Americans' viewpoints regarding God is intriguing and fun to ponder. Plus, this picture from the article is awesome: 
Basically, these categories only apply to theists, but I think most people fall into that category, whether or not they want to admit it. The "Distant God" effectively amounts to atheism anyway — if God doesn't intervene, does it really matter if he's there at all?
Anyhow, this is meant to be a point of discussion. It's interesting to think about how our perception of deity (or any sacred entity) affects our general personality. For example, growing up Catholic, I was raised to believe God was constantly dropping the hammer. The threat of God ready to put on the smack-down at every turn perpetuates the fear of being "imperfect," whatever that may mean to me now. In that light, I think this one sums up a lot of it for me: 
As I usually prefer: The Lighter Side
From the department of ridiculous lawsuits, a South Carolina prison inmate has filed a claim naming OJ as a hitman for Steve Jobs (the fearless leader of Apple is pictured here).
This is worth a laugh in itself, but the best part about this whole gig is that this guy is repeatedly filing such suits to keep himself busy during his 8-year sentence; he even has his own Wikipedia page.
The constant quagmire of Presidential voting
Yesterday, I made a partially tongue-in-cheek post about a Nihilist candidate for California governor, and how I would vote for him based simply for the fact that he is up front about not caring about politics. Clearly, this would not make him a terribly effective governor, nor will it win him any votes aside from actual nihilists (which is ironic in itself) and other political apathetics like myself that often throw their vote away in protest of the fact that there is a complete lack of any worthwhile mainstream candidates.
Back on Sunday, Pajamas Media addressed this very problem, breaking down the potential Democratic nominees. I don't necessarily endorse any of these specific viewpoints, except for the larger one at stake here: our political system as it is now is hardly conducive to producing a candidate that could serve its people appropriately.
What do I want, then? For me, it's not really a question of that. I'm more in support of creating an honest discourse about the political state of our nation, and educating the 200 million or so individuals that are voting in order that they can understand what the Presidency actually entails. I'm often sickened by the fact that candidates have to make empty promises in order to get elected, knowing that they won't be able to fulfill these promises. Many people don't realize that this is the case, and they have unrealistic expectations of sweeping change (or staunch fastidity), which never come to pass.
Generally, my viewpoint is probably going to be in the minority, but I'd rather see someone I didn't vote for in office because other people had good reasons for voting for them, instead of just picking a side like they were betting on the Super Bowl.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
All Jena, All The Time
The story of the Jena Six continues to grow. We brought you one angle yesterday, but the story certainly bears a little more discussion. Here's a timeline, which may help put some of these events in context. I will say, however, that the report from the AJC disputes many of the events described therein. Slate has taken on the issue as well.
There seems to be little room for debate on the fact that the Jena Six were grossly overcharged; this seems to have been largely corrected, however, as the DA has since reduced those charges. The decision to charge Mychal Bell as an adult, although it was reversed by the Court of Appeals, is squarely within the prosecutor's discretion. Given Mr. Bell's previous criminal record and probation status at the time of his involvement in the fracas that took place in August of 2006, it is not particularly surprising. And, as the Slate piece points out, the Jena Six seem to suffer most from bad timing rather than persecution at the hands of the local community. It reminds me of a hard-learned lesson from my grammar school days: rarely does the teacher catch the kid who throws the first blow; instead, the one who retaliates is more often caught.
There is one other thing I'd like to say about this whole situation, however, and Slate makes a small aside about it towards the end of their article. I resisted the temptation to include this in yesterday's piece, but I will say it here for what it's worth. A common, and often overlooked, side show in incidents like this is the latching-on by men like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. These men search out hardships and racial tension any place they rear their ugly heads, and then descend on the scene to wrangle whatever profit they can for their own private ends and political causes. Sharpton in particular, who has gone so far as to support racial self-segregation at Cornell University, seems to believe that the answer lies not in reasonable dialog but in furthering racial tension by advocating separatism. His efforts to heal the racial divide in this country have sparked riots, led to property damage, and cost him an adverse judgment in a defamation case. This type of profiteering is nearly as damaging to our country's tenuous racial situation as the events that inspire it.
The Art of De-Friending on Facebook. . .
. . .as well as other ethical concerns regarding the sensation that has swept the nation.
Plus, I get to post this phenomenal picture from the article: 
A unique political perspective
God knows I love me some Nihilism, so when Brad Greenberg over at The God Blog posted this story about Elisha Shapiro, the nihilist candidate for California governor, I was incredibly intrigued. The article is pretty long, but it's a great profile on an interesting man.
Having any political agenda, of course, is contradictory to his platform. But, at the same time, maybe he's just honest about the fact that he won't win; in that case, it doesn't matter what he says. I'd vote for him.
Mortgage Market Woes Explained
For those of you who have heard all the bad news about the mortgage market lately, but aren't totally sure what the problem is, I present: Ric Flair Finance. (Thanks EZ)
The Apples In Stereo
The Apples in Stereo will be playing tonight at the 40 Watt in Athens, GA. The band hails from Denver, but they have some local ties with the Elephant Six Collective, which has produced bands such as Neutral Milk Hotel and Of Montreal. Here is the video for their song 'Energy' off their latest album, New Magnetic Wonder:
Will religion matter in the 2008 election?
That's the question this article claims to answer in the negative.
Ok, so let's break this down. Here's the nifty table from the article for your reference here.
Basically, this writer argues that people are not voting based on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage as much as they are on the war and "domestic" issues, effectively eschewing the importance of the "values vote." My question, however, is whether or not religious affiliation is still a very important factor in the way people are voting on these other issues. Methinks it is.
. . . and now for something completely different
While we're on the subject of overused cliches (see post title), I found this how-to-succeed in college list quite entertaining. It was clearly written by a 24-year-old nostalgic overachiever or a crotchety adult hoping that his or her kid will spend less time partying than studying, forgetting why they loved college.
If anyone's interested, I'd love to see comments on your favorite piece of advice. Mine is "a credit card is not free money." That's true, but a student loan is. . . Right?
I wonder what Randy Graves would think of this (I just wanted to post this video):
China's Dilemma
On Sunday, Thomas Friedman had an interesting Op-Ed piece in the New York Times. He proposes that the only way China can avoid its impending ecological disaster is to empower its people well beyond the wishes of the current government. From the article:
"Going from dirty capitalism to clean capitalism is much harder. Because it involves restraining that geyser — and to do that effectively requires a system with some judicial independence, so that courts can discipline government-owned factories and power plants. It requires a freer press that can report on polluters without restraint, even if they are government-owned businesses. It requires transparent laws and regulations, so citizen-activists know their rights and can feel free to confront polluters, no matter how powerful. For all those reasons, it seems to me that it will be very hard to make China greener without making it more orange."
You can use facts to prove anything! Facts, schmacts.
So, in the interest of full disclosure, I am not terribly sharp this morning, and I'm not going to risk going off on a rambling diatribe about why marijuana should be legal (for the record, I don't necessarily think it should be, but SOME political discussion toward that end would be helpful, I think).
Here's a case in point. Of course, the stats here are cliched stats (like the one person arrested every 38 seconds thing; I'm not even sure what that means), but as usual, they bring up thought-provoking issues regarding our justice system and the time it spends on generally non-violent crimes.
The point, however, that I'd like to harp on here is the fact mentioned in the article of how young people are reporting repeatedly that it is easier to access marijuana than tobacco or alcohol before they reach the appropriate age for those respective substances (this is notwithstanding the argument that marijuana is less harmful than cigarettes, and that someone who cannot handle his or her high will likely be much less destructive than someone who cannot handle his or her drink). It is much easier for kids to get illegal drugs than legal ones, and that raises another important question: if the war on drugs is about keeping kids off drugs — at least one of its goals — why hasn't it made any efforts to actually keep kids off drugs? Clearly nothing has worked yet.
Ahmadinejad's Visit To NYC
The Iranian president made a visit to Columbia University yesterday; apparently, he was less then well received. From the AP article:
"Ahmadinejad smiled as Columbia President Lee Bollinger took him to task over Iran's human-rights record and foreign policy, and Ahmadinejad's statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the disappearance of Israel. 'Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator,' Bollinger said, to loud applause."
Today, Ahmadinejad will be speaking in front of the UN General Assembly, where he will likely try to convince the international community that he wasn't serious about all that 'wipe Israel off the map' stuff.
66 Classic Movie References From The Simpsons
Check out a compilation of some of the Simpson's greatest homages to film history here.
Mars, Bitches
NASA has announced plans to put a man on Mars by 2037. The agency plans to use the International Space Station, which is to be completed in 2010 (that things not finshed, yet?!), as a toehold to launch manned-missions to the Moon and then Mars.
I wonder if the burgeoning private spaceflight sector will get there before NASA.
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Old "Bait and Snipe"
US Army snipers have been leaving "bait" for terrorists, and then shooting them when they come by to pick it up. Of course, the bait is not cheese, or peanut butter, but instead ammunition and materials for making explosive devices. The NY Times and the Washington Post have picked up the story.
The story has come up in the news because three of the snipers involved in this "baiting" mission have been charged with murder. They do not deny that they killed the three Iraqi men whose death is at the center of that controversy. Their defense is based on the fact that these men were operating under orders from Pentagon officials. Other soldiers have come forward to say that the items, rather than used for "baiting" were planted on the men after they were shot as a way to justify those killings as appropriate under military law.
This has all the trappings of another huge PR blow for our troops in the Middle east, and besides that, seems a little risky. Such a program not only runs the risk of shooting some an man simply trying to keep the road free of plastic explosives, but also of furthering the notion that the US Army is simply there to wreak havoc and kill as many civilians as possible. It is critical to our success in Iraq that the people there begin to trust the US Government and its soldiers; initiatives and programs like this endanger that goal, and in so doing, keep our soldiers in the line of fire longer.
Some Athens News
Athens is one of 6 finalist cities vying for a huge bioresearch facility.
The facility, to be run by the Department of Homeland Security, would bring huge amounts of money into the community (to the tune of $20 million in payroll and 250+ jobs), as well as furthering UGA's reputation as a premier reasearch university in this field. The proposed location is on the Whitehall Farm, land owned by the University on S. Milledge.
The proposal locating the facility here in Athens is not without its detractors, however. Many citizens have expressed concern over the possible environmental impacts, the security risks, and the quarantine procedures for a site like this. DHS seems to have an answer for some of these questions, but certainly some pressing issues remain.
An environmental impact statement is forthcoming, at some point. Until then, speculation over what the possible environmental impacts of this facility could be are fairly speculative. Expect more from TPQ on this as the story continues to develop.
Other Information:
The info on the facility released by DHS
UGA's proposal page
Playoffs??!?!
Apparently, The Oklahoman ran this article that was none too pleasing to OK State coach Mike Gundy. Looks like we've got a new contender for the "Jim Mora Award for Excellence in Press Conference Melt-Downs" 2007 edition.
Why is the award named after Jim Mora, you may ask? He's the best.
So. Much. Angst.
While we're on the subject of racial tensions, here's an interesting window into the world of at least this particular set of people posting on the music website Stereogum. Thanks to Idolator, we have these responses to recent coverage of the Kanye v. 50 extravaganza.
This particular quote kind of sums up the general tone of the conversation: "Colin Meloy [of the Decemberists] has more intelligence in his turds than these two idiots have in their combined brains. So, their (sic) richer. They'll end up riddn' (sic) with bullets. God bless 'em."
I like the Decemberists. I also find some rap music to be trite. 
It seems a little rash, however, to try and indict a whole genre of music based on nothing substantial. In fact, there is really no discussion of the music here at all, but simply about how Kanye and 50 need to "shoot each other." I thought the feud was all in good fun and a welcome departure from the real threats that have permeated the hip-hop community in the past. But, without actually paying attention to what was going on, these people seem to have missed that.
More News from Jena
Mychal Bell has been denied bail in his new juvenile proceedings. His conviction for second-degree assault was set aside by a state appeals court who determined that Bell was only 16 at the time the violence occurred and so must be tried as a juvenile.
Bell's attorneys are also asking that the presiding judge recuse himself from the issue. They complain that the $90,000 bond set by Judge J.P. Mauffray, Jr. in the previous criminal action was unreasonable. Judge Mauffray based the bond on Bell's prior criminal history, which includes arrests for battery and damage to property.
Leading up to the violent incident in August 2006, school officials in Jena had responded to this series of escalating altercations by meting out scholastic justice; students on both sides of the conflict had been suspended. The continuing failure of this type of remedy speaks to the necessity of some other means to control the situation.
The fact remains that Mychal Bell and his co-defendants engaged in the beating of another student while at school. This violent act required more than scholastic action, and the local judiciary had no choice but to intervene. Certainly, attempted murder was too serious a charge for Bell and his co-defendants, but none of these young people (on either side) are innocent actors, or martyrs.
It is my sincere hope that, at some point, the reasonable people living in Jena will come forward and demand an end to this ridiculous situation. Reduce Mychal Bell's charges to the appropriate level, and charge any further instances of violence or disruption fairly and equitably, no matter who is on the receiving end.
EDIT: This morning, the AJC ran an article highlighting the concern of Jena's citizens over the growing media circus. The imagery of high school students of all races playing with the nooses in the trees really warms my heart.
I'll Always Have My Career as a Fry Cook to Fall Back On
Apparently, being a lawyer is no longer a Golden Ticket. Hopefully Rafferty's will take me back.
HIV Vaccine Fails
In a disappointing setback, Merck has halted trials of a new AIDS vaccine after several of the guinea pigs developed HIV. The AP has the story; for those of you who are a little more technically inclined, here is the technical run-down of the drug and its testing.
It truly is a shame to see a vaccine that showed such promise fail so abysmally in clinical trials. One of the greatest problems in dealing with HIV is the danger involved in clinical trials like this; when one goes wrong, the testers end up with HIV. I'm (somewhat) sure that Merck will take care of the drug bills necessary to keep these folks alive ("The Magic Johnson Cocktail"), but I still applaud their bravery. In a way no less real than the sacrifices made by our soldiers serving overseas, these people have put the good of society ahead of their own personal safety. They deserve our thanks, and one day, when a working vaccine is developed, they will be remembered for their heroic sacrifices.
There's no such thing...
as an atheist in the US Armed Forces. 
Specialist Jeremy Hall has filed a lawsuit against his Commanding Officer, the Pentagon, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates alleging violations of his First Amendment right to religious freedom. Specialist Hall claims that he has been threatened with violence and professional retaliation as a result of his refusal to join hands and pray with other soldiers at Thanksgiving and his creation of a group for atheist soldiers.
A Public Service Announcement
Following up on last week's PSA news, we've tweaked the Digg and Reddit buttons a bit, and added buttons for facebook and del.icio.us. Have fun with them, and and let us know if there are any others you'd like to see down there.
We've also added an RSS feed. If you click on the orange button in the top of the right column, your browser will let you know when we update the website. You can also use Google Reader, or My Yahoo!, and a few others.
Try one or two of these out, and let us know what you think about them: which ones you like, which ones you don't like, which ones (if any) you actually use.
Canadian Women Rule
Most of you have probably heard this song in the most recent iPod nano commercial, and I can't get it out of my head. If you didn't know, it's Feist, an excellent singer from Canada. Here's the video:
Formerly of the band Broken Social Scene, Feist has gained wide acclaim for her new album, The Reminder.
Here's another video from the album for the song "My Moon, My Man".
Other Canadian Women you need to hear: Neko Case.
Play a game caricaturing the Darfur Crisis!
MTV has created a game and website in order to educate kids (at least, I'm assuming this is marketed to teens) about the situation in Darfur. Play the game here!
My initial reaction: 
But, on the other hand, some might argue that if you can get the message out, then it doesn't matter how it gets out there. They might be right.
Update: For more online games focused on social issues check out Persuasive Games, a project started by Georgia Tech professor Ian Bogost. Professor Bogost has stated that he sees the games as interactive political cartoons, so that aren't really fun per se. However, I have to admit I was slightly entertained by "Bacteria Salad." - Greg
When you can't find a greeting card quite snarky enough
I love niche markets. So as kind of a running theme that I have in place, here's another classic marketing move.
I present to you: Hipster Cards.
Tribute to the Living Legend
In the wake of the wonderous beauty that was the UGA football game Saturday night, here's a nice story from ESPN on our fearless leader.
No, not Mark Richt, but good 'ol Larry Munson and his impending retirement. 
The guy has had quite a run, and it will be sad to see him finally go. The strange thing, though, will not be so much for those of us that have listened to him for so many years, but that kids coming into school in the future will never hear him and have no context for the psychotic ramblings played over the Sanford Stadium speakers before games. If every week is like last Saturday, though, Larry will enjoy winding down.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
And As Long As We're Talking Strip Clubs and Road Trips...
...I'd like to send a birthday shout-out to our valued writer, editor, and all-around everyman, Greg.
Best wishes, buddy.
Who Wants a Loonie?!? I Do! I Do!
Now, I could make a boring post about our currency has been devalued. But I'd rather cite Douglas Belkin and Joanna Slater, who wrote a slamming piece in the Journal. It opens below.
"With the Canadian dollar surging against the U.S. greenback, Robert Katzman is dealing with situations they don't teach in Economics 101. The owner of five strip clubs in Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, says American dancers are heading to Canada to earn the strengthened Canadian currency, and Canadian customers are heading to Detroit because their dollars go further there. He's fighting back by advertising more in the U.S. and offering free limo service to get Detroit men to visit his Windsor clubs.
But like most Canadians, Mr. Katzman is brimming with national pride. "We're feeling for the first time like we've caught up to our big brother," says Mr. Katzman.
After 31 years of playing second fiddle, the Canadian loonie, so-called because of the bird on the dollar coin, overtook the U.S. greenback this week. A nation that has long been the butt of jokes from its neighbor to the south puffed out its chest and grinned."
I love Canadians. Get the full text here.
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