We all know how free market competition works. Say there’s a business that sells widgets for $5.00 each. Then another business comes along and sells widgets for $4.50 each. Presuming that all other factors are equal, then the customers will likely to go to the place with the cheaper widgets and the business with the more expensive widgets will either lower prices or go out of business. That competition… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Say Anything Discovery Date : 21/04/2011 20:31 Number of articles : 2
Growing up in the 80s, we were fully aware of the government’s “war on drugs.” Programs like D.A.R.E. and First Lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign were staples of our everyday life. But none of the anti-drug propaganda spread around in the 80s was as effective (or entertaining, depending on your perspective) than the anti-drug public service announcements that frequently popped up on television. Kid Cudi: “I Don’t Smoke Weed Anymore” We’ve collected here a few of our favorite PSAs that aimed to keep us all off of drugs. I Learned It From Watching You! This legendary PSA was probably one of two that immediately popped in your head when you clicked into this post. A teenaged kid is chillin’ in his room when his dad comes in after finding his son’s weed stash. After inquiring where he got the drugs from and who taught him how to use the stuff, the kid reveals that he learned it from watching his accuser. What they didn’t show you in this commercial is that father and son later enjoyed a nicely rolled spliff to calm their nerves down before discussing punishment. This Is Your Brain On Drugs… This short PSA was probably the other one you thought of when clicking this post. A man drops an egg into a sizzling frying pan and says that the egg represents your brain on drugs. So apparently drugs are high in cholesterol and rather tasty with a little bit of hot sauce. We’ll keep that in mind. This Is Your Brain On Drugs… The Sequel Actress Rachel Leigh Wood starred in this spot which continues where the last one left off. It was a rather impactful ad, and by impactful we mean the impact of a frying pan against various kitchen objects. Pee Wee Herman Speaks Out Against Crack There is no PSA more bizarre than this overly dramatic spot featuring Pee Wee Herman. We think nothing better exemplifies what the 80s were about than Pee Wee Herman holding a vial of crack cocaine. Is That A Blunt In OchoCinco’s Ashtray? [PICS] When I Grow Up… When we were young, we had dreams of our cushy jobs and big houses and nice cars that were waiting for us when we grew up. Instead we were greeted by a couple of wars, a crumbling economy with matching job market, and reality television. This PSA should’ve warned us in advance that things are gonna suck, not just for the drug addicts, but for everyone when we all grow up. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Think Drug Dealers Are Dorks Pee Wee Herman wasn’t the only celeb asked to do a PSA in the 80s and 90s. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got in on the action too. However, looking back, a bunch of talking turtles who love eating pizza and are guided by a talking rat make us wonder just who exactly needed the anti-drug message more. Cowabunga! Photo Of Whitney & Bobby’s Daughter Bobbi Kristina Snorting Coke Surfaces; She Responds I’m Melting!!!! This recent PSA can best be summed up by a comment left on the video’s YouTube page: “Shes boring? You’re boring for having nothing better to do than sit aroud and watch her melt.” Snake, The Drug Dealer The only thing this PSA taught us was to not buy drugs off of anyone that morphed into a snake before our very eyes. Whoopi Goldberg Reveals Past Battle With Drug Addiction A Father’s Regret In this PSA, a father stands at his 13-year-old son’s grave crying because he hadn’t thought to talk to him about the dangers of drugs. Is this an anti-PSA ad or a bad parenting PSA? Brain Activity In this PSA, a machine reads the brain activity of both a normal 14-year old and that of a 14-year-old pot smoker. The non-smoker’s brain functions at a rapid pace, while the smoker’s brain moves slowly. We just hope they didn’t actually give a 14-year-old a joint just for the sake of this commercial. Maia Campbell Before The Drugs [PHOTOS] HONORABLE MENTION: Marijuana Kills! This fake PSA comes from the stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle . It’s a hilarious spoof on the golden age of anti-drug PSAs. We dare you not to laugh at the intentionally bad acting!
Ruh Roh! The FAA better get their isht together for reals… An Air Force passenger jet carrying Michelle Obama to Andrews Air Force Base early Monday evening had to abort its landing and circle the field because it was following too closely on the tail of a giant military cargo plane arriving ahead of it, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday. The plane carrying the First Lady, a Boeing 737, was three miles behind the C-17 but was supposed to be five miles behind, because of the possibility of encountering turbulence from the cargo plane’s wake. The planes were too close because of an error by a civilian air traffic controller at a low-altitude control center in Virginia, according to a government official involved in following up the incident. But the official described the event as “routine.” The controller in Virginia, handing the approaching plane off to the control of controllers in the tower at Andrews, at first misstated the distance separating the two planes, saying that they were four miles apart when in fact the gap had closed to three miles, the official said. To try to spread the planes apart, controllers ordered the plane carrying Mrs. Obama to maneuver in broad turns like the letter S, as one skier would do to avoid coming up on another too quickly from behind. But that was not enough, and the controllers in the tower at Andrews ultimately ordered the Boeing to “go around” because they were concerned that the cargo jet would not have time to touch down, decelerate and exit the runway on a taxiway before the passenger plane crossed the runway threshold. That problem occurs dozens of times a day with airliners at civilian airports around the country, according to aviation experts. The incident occurred just after 5 P.M. on Monday, the F.A.A. said in a statement, adding that “the aircraft were never in any danger.” The agency did not say in its statement that the problem was controller error. The incident was first reported on the Web site of the Washington Post. Airliners sometimes execute “go-arounds” because a pilot in the cockpit judges that the plane in front will not clear the runway soon enough; in this case, it was controllers in the tower at Andrews who ordered the plane carrying Mrs. Obama to go around. Although Andrews is a military field, all the controllers involved in this incident were F.A.A. employees. “Go arounds” follow pre-established procedures that are detailed on the approach plates carried in cockpits for each runway that they may use. The procedures give the direction to turn and the altitude to which the plane should climb, and the frequency it should use to ask for instructions. Following a big aircraft like a C-17 too closely is considered particularly risky at low altitude, when an upset would be more likely to lead to a crash. In this case, the altitude of the 737 was not immediately clear, but it was more than three miles from the runway threshold, because it was more than three miles behind the cargo jet and the cargo plane had not yet reached the runway, according to the government official. While the aerial choreography in this case was not unusual, it comes after several weeks of high-profile problems in the air traffic system, which began in the Washington area. On March 23, the sole controller on duty in the tower at Reagan National Airport, in Virginia across the Potomac River from Andrews, fell asleep at his post, and two arriving planes were unable to contact him. Both landed anyway. The controller on duty at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport also failed to respond to calls from an incoming aircraft last week. And on Thursday, the official in charge of air traffic control, Henry P. Krakowski, the chief operating officer of the agency’s Air Traffic Organization, resigned. At the time, the administrator of the F.A.A., J. Randolph Babbitt, said in a statement, “Over the last few weeks we have seen examples of unprofessional conduct on the part of a few individuals that have rightly caused the traveling public to question our ability to ensure their safety. This conduct must stop immediately.” Alright now y’all get it together. We can’t have the First Lady in danger! Source
Oh yeah. Because sh*t is real in Yemen too, in case you didn’t know. Foreign ministers of Persian Gulf nations will meet in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday in the latest attempt to ease tensions between the government and the opposition in Yemen. In a statement, the Gulf Cooperation Council said the meeting will focus on completing discussions that took place Sunday in Saudi Arabia with the opposition Joint Meeting Parties. The meeting came as Yemeni security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the city of Taiz, injuring at least seven people, eyewitnesses and field medical teams said. The GCC, a six-nation bloc of oil-producing countries, met Sunday in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, in an effort bring an end to the current political impasse in the country. Violence and protest have raged in Yemen, where protesters have called for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He has ruled the country since 1978. In recent weeks, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets. Many have been arrested and injured in clashes with security forces. The council has urged Saleh to transfer powers to his vice president, which has frustrated opposition members who want Saleh to resign. “We will stay firm in our demands … for Saleh to step down,” said Yaseen Saeed Noman, president of the JMP. “Our brothers at the GCC promised us that they would continue in talks with Yemen’s ruling party and try to reach a solution that will ease the crises in the country.” Imagine that: a conflict getting resolved without the US and it’s big bad Allies. Source
Experience Human Flight with the Melbourne Skydive Centre . Shot on a GoPro , a wearable HD camera for sports. Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : bnox Discovery Date : 16/04/2011 15:23 Number of articles : 2
When Sarah Palin was telling an audience last month that Republicans have the fighting instinct of sheep she wasn’t talking about Andrew Breitbart. Today in Wisconsin Andrew addressed the thousands of tea party patriots who came out in the cold to hold a rally for freedom, personal responsibility, and fiscal conservatism. During his introduction of Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Big Government Discovery Date : 17/04/2011 00:50 Number of articles : 2
When Sarah Palin was telling an audience last month that Republicans have the fighting instinct of sheep she wasn’t talking about Andrew Breitbart. Today in Wisconsin Andrew addressed the thousands of tea party patriots who came out in the cold to hold a rally for freedom, personal responsibility, and fiscal conservatism. During his introduction of Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Big Government Discovery Date : 17/04/2011 00:50 Number of articles : 2
When Sarah Palin was telling an audience last month that Republicans have the fighting instinct of sheep she wasn’t talking about Andrew Breitbart. Today in Wisconsin Andrew addressed the thousands of tea party patriots who came out in the cold to hold a rally for freedom, personal responsibility, and fiscal conservatism. During his introduction of Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Big Government Discovery Date : 17/04/2011 00:50 Number of articles : 2
Really? A bill?? We don’t want to see men’s underwear either but the government is going to tell people how to dress now??? State Senator Gary Siplin has been working on a bill aimed at a school’s dress code policy for six years and he’s close to making it law. SB 228 and House version, HB 61, makes it against the law when teens wear their pants so low you can see their underwear. The proposed rule under the school code of conduct applies to boys and girls. The Senate version passed without any dissenting votes. The saggy pants fashion among teens is bad enough to inspire this song on American Idol a couple of seasons ago. The opening lyrics say, “Pants on the ground. Pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground.” Florida lawmakers agree with “General” Larry Platt’s song and are fast approving a bill banning clothing that shows underwear in public schools. Mike Davis, a senior at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, says he supports the bill. “You should dress appropriately for school. It’s a business. It’s the place training you to become the person you will be in life.” A local school principal agrees wholeheartedly: Principal Kevin Gordon says school administrators are sending a clear message on what’s appropriate for school and the workforce. “If you are not dressed appropriately, then you’re not ready for school. If you are not ready for school, you’re not ready to be successful,” says Gordon. He adds, “Those are patterns students get into. We try to create patterns that are going to be patterns of success.” Do you think the government has a right to dictate how people dress?? Source
Despite attempts by filmakers like Spike Lee ( School Daze ) and Sylvain White ( Stomp The Yard ) it has been almost impossible to capture the true spirit of Fraternity and Sorority life on film–until now. On April 10th photographer John Ledbetter , a member of the Beta Gamma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc at Virginia State University, posted a highlight reel from a recent probate show of Spring 2011 initiates. The moving clip is anchored by Dear Euphoria’s “That You Would” and features the final moments as twenty-two young men make the transition from being initiates to being members of the fraternity. In the days since it was published the three-minute clip has received over 50,000 views and universal praise from members of various fraternities and sororities across the country, not just in his own. “It’s funny because I just posted it on my Facebook page and went to get something to eat,” says Ledbetter, who was initiated at Beta Gamma in 2003. “When I came back it went a little viral. I have a friend from Canada who knows nothing about Frats but she said when she saw this video it just summed it up for her. She understands what it’s about now.” Spring 2011 – Beta Gamma Chapter from John Ledbetter on Vimeo . Ledbetter, who is employed by the government in D.C., is a self-taught photographer who shoots in his spare time on weekends. He admits that his true passion is music and that the song is what inspired him to shoot the probate or “coming out” festivities. “The aim was just to do highlights,” he says. “Virginia State University has a lot of Greek pride and Roger Stadium is packed for all the probates. My probate was the same. We start at Williams Dorm and we walk down the strip into the stadium. I knew the show like the back of my hand.” Inspired by the silent movie genius Charlie Chaplin, Ledbetter wanted to tell the story with music. Mother Nature proved to be a willing assistant director as the elements came into play adding dramatic effect. “I was praying that it would be outside because there were reports of rain,” he remembers. “Visually the natural light makes for a better shot so it was a bonus that we were outside. Then of course the rain started falling and it was crazy. I kept my camera out. I said I don’t care if this zaps out I’m getting this footage!” Ledbetter shot the clip with a Canon 5D and a series of lenses; 35mm L series, 24 to 70 L series, 70-200 L series. It took him an hour to chop it up in Final Cut and he used Magic Bullet Looks for the color correction. It was about 12GB worth of footage that he chopped down into four minutes. “A lot of people are fascinated because we don’t see shows like that nationwide anymore,” he says. “But my style is not scripted. What I did was just off of feeling.” To see more of John Ledbetter’s work you can visit his website Jaydexterphotoblog.com
