April 30, 2008 Garbage
Island — The
North Pacific Gyre
The center of the North Pacific Gyre is a relatively stationary region of
the Pacific Ocean (the area it occupies is often referred to as the horse
latitudes). The circular rotation around it draws waste material in and
has led to the accumulation of flotsam and other debris. While historically
this debris has biodegraded, the gyre is now accumulating vast quantities
of plastic and marine debris. Rather than biodegrading, plastic photodegrades,
disintegrating in the ocean into smaller and smaller pieces. The floating
particles also resemble zooplankton, which can lead to them being consumed
by jellyfish, thus entering the ocean food chain. In samples
taken from the gyre in 2001, the mass of plastic exceeded that of zooplankton
(the dominant animal life in the area) by a factor of seven.
April 28, 2008 Syria: Nukes or Peace?
The latest update on the story regarding the US claim
that Syria is enriching uranium. The CIA confirmed to Congress that the
target of a mysterious
Israeli air raid in northern Syria on Sept.
6, 2007, was a reactor built with North Korean help.
April 25, 2008 John McCain: Let Them Eat Cake
On the Morning Katrina Struck New Orleans, and Hours After the Levee Breach,
John McCain Was Enjoying Birthday Cake With President Bush.
April 24, 2008 Morales Calls for an End to Capitalism
Bolivian President Evo Morales outlined a plan at the UN to rescue
the world from environmental degradation and injustice. Drawing connections
between free-market economics, excessive consumption, environmental problems
and social injustice, the Bolivian leader urged the world to “put
an end to the exploitation of human beings and the pillage of natural resources” by
rejecting free-market theory and reallocating the money spent on war to
fighting environmental and climate problems.
April
23, 2008 Charlie Rose by Samuel
Beckett
Something has happened to PBS favorite "Charlie Rose." The erudite
conversations and sober intellectualism have been replaced by an absurd
world where illogic, inane dialogues, and open hostility rule. The one-on-one
interview between Charlie and his guest begins as usual but quickly goes
awry, so much so that Charlie is warned that, somewhere, a man named "Steve" is "not
happy." Though this seemingly random statement might confuse us, Charlie
understands it for what it is -- a threat. But who is "Steve" and
why is he angry? And why does the mere mention of his name stop Charlie
cold? Using appropriated footage from a single episode of "Charlie
Rose," filmmaker Andrew Filippone Jr. creates something both disturbing
and farcical in "'Charlie Rose' by Samuel Beckett."
April 22, 2008 Rev. Michael Pfleger Sets Fox News Straight on Jeremiah
Wright
A German American from the south side of, Michael Pfleger
attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Loyola University
and the
University of Saint Mary of the Lake. He was ordained a priest for the
Archdiocese of Chicago on May 14, 1975. Since 1981, Pfleger has been
pastor of the mostly
African American Saint Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago's Auburn Gresham
neighborhood. When he was appointed to his present position at the age
of 31, he became the youngest pastor in the Chicago archdiocese. His
parishioners
have affectionately referred to him as a "blue-eyed black soul".
Under Pfleger's leadership, Saint Sabina has established an Employment
Resource Center, a Social Service Center, and also an Elders home.
April 21, 2008 Bill Maher Stands
Up for Elitism
“If you think the Democrats are going to take away your Bible, you’re
an idiot. If you think they’re going to take away your gun, you’re
an armed idiot. And if you think they’re going to take away your gun
and give it to a Mexican to kill your god, you’re Bill O’Reilly.”
April 17, 2008 Johnny Lee: Creating Tech
Marvels Out of a $40 Wii Remote
Johnny Lee
demos his amazing Wii Remote hacks, which transform the $40 game piece
into a digital whiteboard, a touchscreen and a head-mounted
3-D viewer. A multi-ovation demo from TED2008.
April
16, 2008 Counting the Cost
of the Iraq War
The Iraq war has cost US taxpayers $526 billion in direct costs and about
$1.3 trillion to the economy, and with fears of a recession looming the
war's economic impact is causing concern amongst US voters. Al Jazeera's
Sebastian Walker reports.
April
11, 2008 Was Cheney behind Iraqi army's failed Basra offensive?
Raymond McGovern is a retired CIA officer turned political activist. McGovern
was a Federal employee under seven US presidents for over 27 years, presenting
the morning intelligence briefings at the White House for many of them.
April 8, 2008 Lieberman: Progress is Going Backwards Face First
At General David Petraeus's testimony before the Senate Armed Services
Committee today, Joe Lieberman got all Orwellian and said that he
wished the Senators could come to
an agreement on the facts about all the "progress" we've made
in Iraq.
April 3, 2008 John Yoo Says President Bush Can Legally Torture Children
Cassel: If the president deems that he's got to torture somebody, including
by crushing the testicles of the person's child, there is no law that can
stop him?
Yoo: No treaty
Cassel: Also no law by Congress -- that is what you wrote in the August
2002 memo...
Yoo: I think it depends on why the President thinks he needs to do that.
