11.02.06
OMG Really?
Big Tobacco’s Anti-Smoking Ads Boost Teen Smoking
Seriously? You mean tobacco companies aren’t looking to self-immolate?
Man. Who would’ve thunk it?
10.28.06
The Surprise Is Where?
Umm… and? Is anyone really deeply shocked that business students have a higher rate of academic dishonesty than, say, political scientists?
10.21.06
Sentencing
Two articles (well, one column and one article) from a few weeks ago have put sentencing (federal sentencing in particular, but much of the analysis applies to states) in stark relief:
Conversions In India
In essence, growing numbers of India’s “untouchables” are figuring out that Hinduism isn’t really too hot for them. The most interesting part, though, comes in the last section, which talks about various states’ reactions to Dalit conversions:
The states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have all passed laws restricting conversions.
Gujarat has reclassified Buddhism and Jainism as branches of the Hindu religion, in an attempt to prevent conversions away from Hinduism eroding the BJP’s bedrock support.
This, of course, follows the time-honored political tradition of redefining defeat as victory.
10.05.06
“Daily Show” Beats Network News
The Daily Show is as substantive as the “real” news
Is anyone really surprised?
10.03.06
Veronica!
Tonight, 9 pm - season 3 premiere of Veronica Mars! Watch it on your local CW station!
09.28.06
Banned Books Week
It’s been a busy week, so I haven’t had time to blog as much as I’d like… however, right now I’d like to draw everyone’s attention to the fact that this week is my favorite of the “theme” weeks: namely, it’s Banned Books Week!
The American Library Association has a ton of great resources (linked above) - peruse them at your leisure. Fodder for comments: how many of the top 100 have you read?
PS - a note, the necessity of which both saddens and amuses me greatly: for the purposes of the above question, Where’s Waldo? counts as one book, no matter how many in the series you have read.
09.26.06
Scotch Plains Shout-out
Women hit glass ceiling in N.J. politics
Yeah, but the candidate featured in the article - Linda Stender - is one of the women that actually has a shot at a congressional seat. And as a bonus, she’s actually from my hometown of Scotch Plains, NJ!
Man, it would be great if I actually liked my Congressman - which, since the time I came to political consciousness (sometime in high school, I’d say), would be a first.
Note to self (and to all): remember to vote!
Of Course It’s The Germans
Agency makes breaking up easier
a) Haven’t we seen this before, albeit of another name?
b) I know this is playing to national stereotypes, but really… is anyone surprised that it’s the Germans that are the latest to take up an impersonal and brutally efficient way of institutionalizing interpersonal communication?
On a more serious note, I wonder if something like this isn’t the answer for some people I know who are in deeply dysfunctional relationships that they just can’t seem to get out of. Someone once told me that it takes an average of 8 attempts for a woman to leave an abusive relationship; I don’t know if that’s true, but it sure sounds at least close to the mark (based on my admittedly deeply limited sample of friends and acquaintances). At any rate, I wonder if involving a third party like this silly agency could help make the break-ups stick, if only by raising the proverbial stakes and adding a layer of momentum to the decision once it’s been reached.
Free Bilal Hussein
In Iraq, a Journalist in Limbo
The title of this post somewhat belies my view.
Perhaps there really is evidence that Associated Press photojournalist Bilal Hussein is an Iraqi insurgent; if so, the U.S. Army should charge him, or at least share some scrap of said evidence with some sort of judicial authority.
Every day that goes by with Bilal Hussein in an Army prison is yet another brick in the castle of suspicion that his detention is not about protecting the public, but about protecting the Army’s image.