Here Be Treasures

Would A Company Make A Better Politician?

Monday, April 12th, 2010 | politics | No Comments

The Economist reports that it’s now possible in America, land of opportunities, to elect a company to a political office.

Honour

Friday, October 30th, 2009 | politics | No Comments

The US Administration, led by the man recently given the Nobel Peace Prize, engages in extra-territorial assassinations using their remotely-operated drone planes. This much is common knowledge. But just how many have been killed in Obama’s first 9 months of administration? And what percentage of them are innocent bystanders? Does anyone care?

A report in the New Yorker reveals some uncomfortable truths. Some choice quotes:

John Radsan, a former lawyer in the C.I.A.’s office of general counsel, who is now a professor at William Mitchell College of Law, in St. Paul, Minnesota, says … “If it’s Osama bin Laden in a house with a four-year-old, most people will say go ahead,” …

I don’t know anyone who thinks like that.

… the recent campaign to kill Baitullah Mehsud offers a sobering case study of the hazards of robotic warfare. It appears to have taken sixteen missile strikes, and fourteen months, before the C.I.A. succeeded in killing him. During this hunt, between two hundred and seven and three hundred and twenty-one additional people were killed, depending on which news accounts you rely upon. It’s all but impossible to get a complete picture of whom the C.I.A. killed during this campaign, which took place largely in Waziristan.

Is it okay to target a funeral?

… and then killed dozens more people—possibly as many as eighty-six—during funeral prayers for the earlier casualties. An account in the Pakistani publication The News described ten of the dead as children.

Taking Liberties

Saturday, July 4th, 2009 | politics | No Comments

Charles Nevin, writing for more intelligent life takes a long long long look at the surveillance society that the UK has become. I recommend everyone take half-an-hour out of their life and read it.

Magic Pendants and Politicians

Thursday, June 11th, 2009 | politics | No Comments

Elections, elections, elections. There’s always an election going on somewhere.
With the media hype and political spin put on politicians, we’re encouraged to see them as saviors and trustees of our heritage. There’s a such a gravitas surrounding presidents and prime ministers that it’s important to remember that they’re still just humans, and subject to a lot of the same foibles as we are. But where do we draw the line? This old article by the BBC’s Nick Assinder exposes some disquieting beliefs and habits of former politicians and their spouses.

Neil Young on Hippies

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 | politics | No Comments

This is an interesting video with Stephen Stills and Neil Young, recounting police brutality against hippies. Neil tells the story of how his front tooth was punched out.

McCain Superstitions

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 | politics | No Comments

I know that the presidential election is long over, but I found this piece from February 2000, describing John McCain’s superstitions during his campaign of 2000. The article is light-hearted, but it still raises uncomfortable questions. The man who ran for election in 2008 has “a lucky compass, a lucky feather, a lucky penny and, at times, a lucky rock”. In a country that is as famous for tolerance as its intolerance, when does superstition turn from a personal foible into a worrying trait?

Three Vanity Fair Articles

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 | politics, psychology | No Comments

Vanity Fair have three well written recent articles on their site dealing with suicide, plastic surgery and George Bush that are worth reading:

Cluster Suicides in Wales

Melanie Gives Three Plastic Surgeons Free Rein to Suggest Bodily Enhancements

Informal Dinners at the White House

Internet Censorship Gone Too Far?

Sunday, December 7th, 2008 | politics | No Comments

The BBC reports that Britain’s Internet Watch Foundation has added a Wikipedia page to it’s list of websites and webpages that Britain’s internet providers should block. The page is about the band, The Scorpions, and contains an image of their album, Virgin Killer, and therein lies the problem. The album cover features a naked pubescent girl.

So the questions arises. Have they blocked the page on The Scorpion’s website? Have they blocked the Amazon page for this album? Now, I have no opinion either way, I just want to know why they haven’t banned The Scorpion’s music. Now that’s a travesty.

Obama Dingbats!

Monday, November 10th, 2008 | politics | No Comments

Jeff Domke has made an Obama dingbats font that you can download from his site. I’ll bet that this is a first.

Immune To The Financial Crisis

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 | politics | No Comments

As the financial crisis grows ever worse, Fintan O’ Toole, writing in The Irish Times, uncovers some discrepancies between the reported wealth of the ultra-rich and the tax returns of same. He asks why the Government is introducing a 1% levy on everyone’s earnings and removing health benefits, when it seems that the majority of the Celtic Tiger wealth seems to have accrued to a tiny percentage of the population…

Excluding the value of housing, 1 per cent of the population holds a third of the wealth and had assets of €100 billion in 2006;

Including household property, the top 1 per cent holds 20 per cent of the wealth, the top 2 per cent holds 30 per cent and the top 5 per cent holds 40 per cent; 

In effect we have, on the one hand, about 40,000 people sharing personal assets of €100 billion and on the other we have fewer than 8,000 households with a declared taxable income of more than €275,000.

The Evangelical Vote

Saturday, November 1st, 2008 | politics | No Comments

Evangelicals are amongst the most puzzling of people to me. In an article in The Irish Times, Mark Hennessy interviews Evangelicals about the upcoming election.

However, the future is already written, said James Krause, who disagrees that evangelicals have reasons to be afraid if a Democrat takes the White House. “God holds everything in his hand. There is no doubt in my mind that what happens on November 4th has been pre-ordained,” he said.

Racists In The Election

Friday, October 31st, 2008 | politics | No Comments

Esquire has a really interesting piece on how some White Supremacists plan to vote on Nov 4th, and it’s not how you would think.

Choice quote:

He’s a very intelligent man, an excellent speaker and has charisma. John McCain offers none of that. Perhaps the best thing for the white race is to have a black president. My only problem with Obama is perhaps he’s not black enough.

Political Advertisement—Muntadas & Reese

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | politics | No Comments

Every four years Americans are bombarded with dozens of TV adverts aimed at informing the public about the presidential candidates. Every four years artists Antoni Muntadas and Marshall Reese collect those political adverts and make a film out of them. John Seabrook profiles the two and their project, now in it’s seventh incarnation, for The New Yorker.

Senator Bernie Saunders Has Balls

Thursday, September 25th, 2008 | politics | No Comments

Kudos to Senator Bernie Sanders for this comment about the Bush Administration’s proposed bailout of Wall Street:

For years now, they’ve told us that we can’t afford—that the government providing healthcare to all people is just unimaginable; it can’t be done. We don’t have the money to rebuild our infrastructure. We don’t have the money to wipe out poverty. We can’t do it. But all of a sudden, yeah, we do have $700 billion for a bailout of Wall Street

The interview was on Democracy Now, a daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. You can listen/watch/read the whole interview.

(via Daring Fireball)