Tag Archives: social

Turn On the Lights

By David P Shirk As I sat one night – dumbfounded at the state of humanity in today’s world, a friend of mine sent me quote. It read as follows: “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that History has to teach.” Though I know little about the one who wrote these words (just that he was an English author named Aldous Huxley), things suddenly seemed to make a lot more sense. The depressing thing about reading history is that you start seeing different trends and patterns followed over and over again in any given society. While they all have a certain amount of unique qualities, they all fall into the same cycle – they are born through rebellion or expansion, they grown and they prosper, they reach a point where they can no longer be sustained, and then collapse. I know this……….. added by: shanklinmike

Lessons from Greece

Below is the rough transcript of some remarks I made at the campaign’s successful fun-raiser at the American Sandwich Company in Coopersburg on June 6, the 66th anniversary of D-Day. More details on the fundraiser in tomorrow’s post. The event began with a moment of silence for veterans, especially the 5,490 soldiers who have died so far in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Today we face a D-Day of a different sort, and while there is still war, the causes are economic. At the last Towne Hall, I presented “The Economy in Pictures” where I demonstrated that unemployment is > > 17%, 1 in every 8 Americans is on food stamps, the FDIC that “insures” bank accounts is hopelessly insolvent, and the true national debt is really $120 Trillion – when the $13 trillion in US treasury debt is added to the unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare – a vast sum that is best put into personal terms as $400,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States. At this point, even if the government were to tax 100% of each citizen’s dollars and properties, there still would not be enough to theoretically pay off this deb…. http://www.peacefreedomprosperity.com/?p=3552 added by: shanklinmike

Super Designer Yves Behar

Yves Behar enjoys a kind of celebrity sex appeal that no other industrial designer can claim (who else has thrown condoms at the TED audience?). He’s bestowed his aesthetics on the One Laptop Per Child , Herman Miller lighting , a line of green underwear , the Jawbone Bluetooth headset, and the

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Super Designer Yves Behar

Puerto Rico’s Plan to Turn Endangered Turtle Habitat Into a Golf Course

A beach in Puerto Rico’s Northeast Corridor. Photo by Jose Menendez. Critically endangered Leatherback sea turtles must feel like humans have it out for them. As they cope with the massive BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the least we could do is keep one of their most important nesting areas safe. Yet if Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño has his way, that nesting area could soon be covered with luxury housing, hotels and golf courses…. Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Puerto Rico’s Plan to Turn Endangered Turtle Habitat Into a Golf Course

Humpback Whales Have BFFs Just Like You

Photo: MMS , Public domain. Will You Be My Friend? Humpback whales are the first baleen whales known to form lasting bonds, according to scientists who study the giant sea mammals. This tells us something new about the social and emotional intelligence of our massive cousins, and also gives us one more reason why whaling is wrong. “Individual female humpbacks reunite each summer to feed and swim alongside one another in the Gulf of St Lawrence, off Canada The finding raises the possibility that commercial whaling may have b… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Humpback Whales Have BFFs Just Like You

Rock The Bells Lineup Adds Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Premier

Lauryn Hill will perform her classic debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, on three tour stops. By Jayson Rodriguez Snoop Dogg Photo: Daniel Boczarski/ Redferns Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest and DJ Premier have been added to the 2010 Rock the Bells bill , joining a lineup that already includes such legendary acts as the Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, KRS-One, and Slick Rick. As part of a novel concept this year, all of the participants will perform one seminal album from their catalog in its entirety, with the exception of Premier, who will instead lead a tribute to his late Gangstarr music partner, Guru . (The MC died in April of cancer-related causes.) Also joining the festivities is Lauryn Hill. The former Fugees frontwoman was announced as a “special guest” last month, but Hill’s involvement in the show was clarified on Tuesday (June 8). Hill is slated to perform her now-classic debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The singer will be featured on the Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. legs of the four-city trek. The Rock the Bells Tour spans four U.S. cities, kicking off on August 21 at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California, then making stops at the Shoreline Amphitheater outside San Francisco on August 22, Governors Island in New York on August 28 and closing at Merriweather Post Pavilion, in the D.C. area, on August 29. Among the albums set to be performed from start to finish are Snoop’s Doggystyle, ATCQ’s Midnight Marauders, the Wu’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and KRS-One and Boogie Down Production’s Criminal Minded. Slick Rick’s The Great Adventures of Slick Rick and Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid in Full will also get a full performance. “That’s gonna be interesting to see these cats do some of the records that really bust hip-hop’s cherry open,” Raekwon told MTV News about the concept earlier this month. “I can’t wait to see this because I never seen it like that before. The concept is great. It gives fans the opportunity to go back and rewrite their history, go back and check it out, see what made dudes who they are. … This [tour] is gonna allow races to come together and have fun for one night. This is gonna be the event of events. This is gonna be the Royal Rumble of hip-hop. I’m sure that everybody is gonna come out and represent this. It’s gonna be right. I can’t wait.” Also filling out the bill are Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello’s side project with the Coup’s Boots Riley, Street Sweeper Social Club, as well as Murs & 9th Wonder, Wiz Khalifa, the Clipse, Immortal Technique, Brother Ali, Jedi Mind Tricks, Supernatural, DJ Muggs with Ill Bill, Big Sean, Yelawolf and DJ Rocky Rock. If you could choose any hip-hop act to perform their album in its entirety, who would you pick and which album? Tell us in the comments! Related Artists Snoop Dogg A Tribe Called Quest DJ Premier

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Rock The Bells Lineup Adds Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Premier

Apple unveils iPhone 4 – Thinnest smart phone in the world

All those rumours are true! Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPhone today afternoon at the company's annual Worldwide developers conference here in San Francisco. http://itgrunts.com/2010/06/07/apple-unveils-iphone-4-thinnest-smart-phone-in-th… added by: itgrunts

The Path,…..Cold Steel, Enchantment, and Cthulhu

A really fun and well done Arthurian/Lovecraftian/Swords and Sorcery web-comic, This would be one hell of an RPG setting! About the Author— bio James Riot was born to unstable parents. They were a happy couple, but were perturbed at the idea of having to raise a child…as it would cut into their favorite game of tricking the local kids into eating their own pets. At 20 months, Riot was learning to speak when a doctor told his family that he seemed to be developmentally delayed and possibly mildly retarded. His father took the opinion to extremes, believing that he was profoundly retarded. He took him to the ocean and threw him in. Rescued from death by the horrible denizens of the undersea city R'lyeh, Riot was raised under the sea: playing amidst the massive slumbering form of Cthulhu. This close proximity was not without incident, however, as when Riot emerged from the bosom of the sea 25 years later, he returned to the world of man with malice in his heart and destruction on his mind. A weapon of the Great Old Ones, tempered at the unfathomable depths of the unforgiving sea.Then he discovered whiskey, moved to southern California, and makes a living doing freelance artwork and drawing comics. He lives in Long Beach with his girlfriend, likes re-reading Lovecraft to the point of insanity, Orange Chicken from Panda Express, and B-grade horror movies. influences Mike Mignola, Matt Wagner, Mike Allred, H.P. Lovecraft, P. Craig Russell hobbies Drawing, writing, drinking. music Bad Religion, The Darkest of Hillside Thickets, Sham 69, The Jam, Queen, Billie Holiday, GWAR, Stephen Lynch, The Blues Brothers, The Ramones, The Pixies, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, Black 47, Misfits, Rudimentary Peni, The Dwarves, Sloppy Seconds, The Vandals, NOFX, The Clash, The Damned, The Slackers, Agent Orange, Biohazard, The Cramps, The Horrorpops, Oxymoron,The Pillows, The Seatbelts, Foo Fighters, garbage, Greg Graffin's solo stuff, Johnny Cash, Clapton, Hendrix, Kieven Rus, Social Distortion, Murphy's Law, Pennywise, Queen, Reel Big Fish, Strung Out, The Smiths, The Suicide Machines, System of a Down, Zebrahead, etc. books Anything by Lovecraft, Poe, and the like. Anything on mythology and/or folklore. THE FORBIDDEN LORE—– http://www.needcomics.com/The_Path/page/1/ added by: remanns

Woman Finds Her Kidnapped Kids 15 Years Later Using Facebook

15 years ago, a California woman's husband kidnapped their three-year-old daughter and two-year-old son. Six years ago Facebook launched. A few months ago, the woman tracked down her kids on the social networking site. From the sounds of it, the woman just happened to search for her daughter's name on Facebook and found her profile. After exchanging messages with the girl, the mother contacted the office of San Bernardino Deputy District Attorney Kurt Rowley. The folks there were able to establish that the children were in Florida and move them into the custody of the Department of Children and Families after arresting the father. The children have since then been put into the custody of their Facebook-savvy mother. [Wesh] added by: cclark_productions

Hidden epidemic of women beating up men

Many men are reluctant to report abuse by their partners Source: AP • Women hit men psychologically • Victims reluctant to report abuse • Men fear stigma of “being a wimp” WOMEN beating up their men – physically, emotionally or financially – has become a hidden epidemic because men are too scared of being labelled wimps if they cry for help. A new study has found for male victims of “intimate partner abuse”, the cumulative effect of repeat “knees in the nuts” or being heaped with scorn is a damaging erosion of self-worth. But a typical response to men who do complain is, “C'mon, you're a bloke – get over it”. Similar to the pattern of abuse of women by men, it often starts with verbal, financial and psychological abuse, but over time escalates to physical and sometimes even sexual abuse. The issue is even more under-reported for men than women, because men fear either being seen as wimps or not being believed, the study says. Support services for abuse victims are skewed towards females, it adds. Alfred Allan, Professor at Edith Cowan University and co-author of Intimate Partner Abuse of Men, said: “Physical abuse isn't as big a problem for males as females, and when a male assaults a female, it's generally more severe, but there are male victims out there who are falling through the cracks.” The study is based on interviews with male victims and service providers working in the field of domestic abuse. “She would actually hit him with the pan . . . throw reasonably large objects at him . . . punch him to the point of bruising,” one service provider recalled of a client's interview. “I've lost count of how many times she's kneed me in the nuts,” a male victim said. The report notes the growth in abuse of men by their partner. Psychologist and author in men's mental health Elizabeth Celi describes the abuse of men by their spouse as a “silent phenomenon”. She says women perpetrators tend to combine verbal and emotional abuse of their partner with any physical violence. “Given women's verbal and emotional literacy, a viper tongue can really maim a man's sense of self-worth,” Dr Celi said. “Men also face the social stigma of being a victim. Not only is he questioning his own masculinity and identity, unfortunately he is more often than not disbelieved or disregarded.” http://www.news.com.au/national/hidden-epidemic-of-women-beating-up-men/story-e6… added by: MotherForTruth