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Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hogan, Photos: Danish Refugee Council

"GOOD JOB"

 

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WORLD

"Good Job" - Navy Seals Daring Rescue of Aid Workers in Somalia

President Obama talks to Jessica Buchanan's father

Surgical.Smart. Secret. If we have to do things like this, this is how it should be done. No swagger and bluster, just get it done and get out. Well done to the men and women who helped plan and execute this mission.

READ MORE  •••

Costa Concordia: A Great Ship Goes To Its Doom

Collision of "Costa Concordia" -- Photo: Roberto Vongher/Wikipedia

As a professional mariner, I would caution anyone from jumping to conclusions about who is to blame here until all the facts are known. When this is over, you may find that the captain saved many lives by intentionally putting this ship into the shallows to prevent sinking and the resultant MUCH GREATER loss of life. There are so many possible scenarios, it is foolish to start the blame game and any comparison to the Titanic is just ridiculous 

READ MORE  •••

Collision of "Costa Concordia"

Photo: Roberto Vongher/Wikipedia

 

An "Utterly Deplorable" Battlefield Video Goes Viral

As a former Marine, I have to say that I am appalled. This is NOT part of the core values instilled in Marines. It disrespects those who have served honorably and have tried to uphold those values. War is hell, no doubt, but we are supposed to be better than that. Just because it is war, doesn't mean we have carte blanche.

It is a sad day for our beloved Corps. This stunt only serves to invite retaliation against US troops and coalition forces and further damages an already fragile image of American troops.
READ MORE  •••

Iran's Saber Rattling Over the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's statements show the weakness of the regime in Iran. Starting a war with the United States may be seen in Iran as a way to shore up the regime. However the military reality would be devastation to Iranian forces within hundreds of miles of the Strait of Hormuz. The US Air Force would have no choice but to destroy all fixed positions, and any military target that moves, on the ground within range of the Strait.

There is no doubt the United States has the weapons to remove all threats to the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is not equipped to defend itself.

The US Navy considers freedom of navigation in international waters to be essential to its mission and essential to freedom of the seas. The threat Iran is making is a direct challenge to freedom of navigation, thus placing the regime in Tehran in jeopardy.

READ MORE  •••


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Uys has accomplished what no Brazilian author from José de Alencar to Jorge Amado was able to do. He is the first to write our national epic in all its decisive episodes, from the indigenous civilization and the El Dorado myth, everything converging like the segments of a rose window to that reborn and metamorphosed myth that is Brasilia.

He is the first outsider to see us with total honesty and sympathy and full empathy with the decisive moments in our history and their spiritual meaning. Descriptions like those of the war with Paraguay are unsurpassed in our literature and evoke the great passages of War and Peace. Wilson Martins, Jornal do Brasil

A masterpiece! Brazil has the feel of an enchanted virgin forest, a totally new and original world for the reader-explorer to discover. L' Express, Paris

Pulsing with vigor, this is a vast novel to tell the story of a vast country. Uys recreates history almost entirely "at ground level," through the eyes and actions of an awesome cast of characters. Publishers Weekly

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SCI|TECH

Wikipedia Blackout to Protest SOPA

Like most blogs that strive to pass on ANY amount of information while relaying the sources, mine would be crippled by SOPA, even if I moved it off the Google servers. And if it were blacklisted in the US, all those good friends I started writing it for wouldn't be able to read it.

I mean, just yesterday, I wrote about how I was born into a country with no free speech, and how incredibly grateful I was that it was restored while I was still a child. Thank you, I don't want another Iron Curtain.

READ MORE •••

Center Stage at CES 2012

The phone and the consumer pc will be converging as phone hardware gets powerful enough to support desktop operating systems as well as the slimmed down mobile operating systems. The majority of consumer desktops/laptops will be replaced with docking stations that will allow a user to purchase one piece of hardware for their phone/pc/laptop (the atrix phone was on to something, but lacks the desktop os). Although they haven't mentioned the potential, it really sounds like Microsoft's Windows 8 is aimed directly at such a device. If the market heads this way, Apple and Google could be playing catch up.

READ MORE •••

 

IBM 5 in 5 Predictions: Mind Reading, People Power, Passwords, Junk Mail, DIgital Divide

Please do tie all of your passwords, including financial ones, to one of those nifty password managers with fully automatic features for filling in forms. Tie that manager app to the fingerprint reader in your shiny new thinkpad. Or use a usb-based one if you must. Go use it. Then accidentally cut your finger. Tell us how you fare.

Now imagine the hassle of going through a bureaucracy of getting your fingerprints fixed after you had that little accident. An unbelieving bureaucracy because biometrics are naturally perfect. The telephone attendant may be sympathetic but without a suitable Process in place there's little she can do. Despite that biometrics by definition are easier to fake than to replace (and you leave your fingerprints bloody everywhere too, so no lack of source material to fake with); exactly the wrong properties for most all of the intended purposes other than criminal detection.

READ MORE •••


 

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NATIONAL

Yays and Nays on the State of the Union...

I thought it was a great speech. The President stayed positive but raised the difficult issues such as the growing economic inequality in this country and the need to restore taxes to their former level with the very wealthy. We have to choose between maintaining serious government services that we can't provide for ourselves such as a strong military, social security, mail service, etc. We need to repair our bridges, our roads and our other vital infrastructure. We can't do that by hitting the poor and middle class, it has to be done by restoring taxes to the very wealthy and corporations to what they were before (in both Republican and Democratic administrations).

And by the way, I am a 'job creator'. I have a small business and I am happy to pay my employees fairly and pay all of my taxes. I want big corporations and very wealthy individuals to resume paying their fair share. It's a matter of simple math and justice.

READ MORE •••

Pew: Rising Awareness of Conflict Between Rich and Poor in U.S.

Read Pew Report

READ MORE •••

Election 2012: Romney Rolls On to the South

Mitt Romney  Photo: Jessica Rinaldi via Wikipedia

Quickly losing respect for Newt with his attacks on Mitt's success in the private sector! He and Perry are appearing desperate, using words like "vulture capitalist." These sound like sound bites from the Obama camp, not someone who claims the mantle of President Reagan. What happened to free enterprise? and the notion that one should be free to raise capital (from U.S. investors or abroad), invest in companies (some will grow, some won't) -- and at the end of the day enjoy the rewards of the risks taken?

Main Street retailers risk capital starting their businesses, buying inventory, hiring and advertising hoping they get a good return on that investment. Free enterprise is supported by our great Constitution and one of the elements that draws so many people from around the world to our shores. Why are Newt and Perry bashing this and playing to class warfare?

READ MORE •••

Election 2012: Winnowing the Field of Republicans in Iowa

The selection process for potential presidential candidates is long and should be, as we need the maximum time allowable to weed out those persons who will not be able to gain the support of the American people. A president has to do more than just represent a certain sector of our population. He or she must be able to reach out to all persons and inspire them by excellent leadership qualities instead of inflammatory rhetoric. He or she must be able to work with a continually divided congress and use their skills to unite rather than divide our representatives. READ MORE •••

Should There Be a National Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving?

A sign that states "No Texting While Driving" in West University Place, Texas  via Wikipedia

For those of you whining about your freedom to choose to text and drive answer me this. Why should you have that freedom to take away my rights to be safe on the road? Why is your right to most likely cause an accident and kill my family greater than my right to safely get home?
Do you not get why drinking and driving is not allowed? Do you not comprehend that when your freedoms infringe on the safety of others that in the best public interest we should ban certain behaviors? It isn't about your "rights", it is about our lives and I for one think that trumps your need to text your friends.

READ MORE •••


HEALTH/EDUCATION

Apple Aims to Reinvent the Textbook

Teaching is kind of like any other form of show business. Some people suck at explaining things while remaining entertaining enough to hold your attention. Some people are pretty good. Some people are super stars.

There are so many talented instructors out there who have worked long hours to come up with innovative ways to explain their subject matter to their students.

Lowering the barrier of entry that prevents those rock-star talented instructors from sharing what they have developed with more than just the lucky few students who got into their class has the potential to be pretty game changing.

READ MORE •••

Mental Decline Can Start "as early as 45"

READ THE STUDY:   BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL

Can such research probe how more complex intellectual capacities such as wisdom and the accumulation of experience change with age? Maybe the reason why people can't add up math sums so fast is because their brains are filled with insights gained from having lived a life. When are we going to start seeing the benefits aging instead of just viewing the old as deteriorating.

READ MORE •••

Weight Loss: Calories, not Proteins, Matter Most

No one says that calories in/calories out isn't the equation, it is a misstatement to say that the type of food matters. What most who propound the low carb diets are saying is that the desire to eat and the metabolic activity level when calories are reduced is different depending on hormone levels, specifically insulin, which are affected differently depending on diet. This study condition was just the opposite, excess calories.

So the bodies aren't at all looking to eat more, but instead are looking for ways to store the calories. The high -carb weight difference *might* be the use of undigestible fiber (still counts calorically) so there's a lot that needs to be understood about this study befor drawing diet conclusions. READ MORE •••


ENVIRONMENT/NATURE

438: The Shocking Toll of Rhinos Slaughtered by Poachers in South Africa

It's very likely that the demand for rhino horn was fueled by hunting, rather than the other way round. Why the escalation in poaching only now, since the demand has been around for many many decades in the East, with the belief that rhino horn is a cure for ills being nothing new.

The increase in poaching is linked with the issuing of permits for legal hunting, and with the sale of our rhino by Sanparks to hunting lodges. It is SA's so-called 'conservation' management that has actually created the demand for rhino horn, and that continues to fuel it by allowing hunting to continue, and by doing little to stop illegal poaching 

READ MORE •••

"Lost World" Found in Seas off Antarctica

It's truly amazing how life even under the most difficult of circumstances seems to find a way to overcome adversity. If bacteria and creatures can flourish 8,000 feet deep in the icy waters of the Antarctica it defies logic to think many other life forms don't exist on millions of planets throughout our galaxy alone- especially when the catalyst is chemical, as opposed to solar based.  READ MORE •••

BUSINESS

iLabor: Spotlight on Working Conditions in Chinese Electronics Factories

I read a report a few days ago stating that if Apple products were made here in America that the price for an iPhone would go up an average of $60. Steve also had said he would not move the factories back here to the States, because in China they can do the things we can not do. Like wake up workers in their dorms, feed them a muffin and cup of tea and make them work a 12 hour shift, just to crank out whatever changes were made to the device.

How sad. These are conditions we fought against as American workers long ago and we allow this to happen in China so that we can have the next greatest gadget for a mear $60 less!? But I guess it is ok to do this in China after all there are 2 billion people there and they are thousands of miles away, so what does it matter to Americans!? As long as we get the next best gadget that speaks to us, maybe bends, glass that doesn't break... it's just at the expense of human life and billions in profit for a greedy company that has truly changed the way we lead our daily lives around the world. READ MORE •••

 

Newspapers: Clay Shirky on the Future of the Paywall

 

Newspapers, Paywalls, and Core Users

Is there no hope of an ad-based model for web papers? It strikes me that while something is lost the unraveling of content, much that was previously impossible is now relatively trivial. Specifically, I’m thinking of our ability to monitor exactly which parts of “the paper” appeals to specific readers, where the reader consumes information, and by what means.

This knowledge comes with vast opportunities. It not only gives us significant insight into a reader’s demonstrated preferences, but we can also make good guesses at other content that will be appealing. This same line of insight also applies, perhaps more compellingly (in terms of financial viability), to advertising. The new world is rife with microtargeting opportunities, one where more data (i.e., greater openness) is preferable. Interestingly, IBM and others seem to be betting heavily on these new opportunities. READ MORE •••



 


PEOPLE

 

A Girl Alone - The Round-the-World Triumph of Laura Dekker

I close my eyes and imagine being hundreds of miles from land in the middle of the ocean and all by myself and I think back to being in my young teens and remember how uncertain the world seemed and how unsure I was of having a good footing....The ocean wields awesome power and this young girl has awesome courage. READ MORE •••

Ronald Searle - A Witty Pen Sharpened Amid the Horrors of War

Roland Searle Blogspot

Searle's distinctive style was much admired here in the US, where it was probably most often seen in "The New Yorker". It combined visual elegance with (sometimes wicked, sometimes poignant) humor in a brilliant, highly original manner. A Searle cartoon was instantly recognizable and always admirable. We sometimes forget that cartoonists are artists. Searle never failed to remind us that they are.  READ MORE •••


ENTERTAINMENT/SPORTS

Soulful Etta James --  The Blues Was Her Business

Etta James at  2006 Common Ground Festival,

Lansing, Michigan

 Photo:John K. Addis/Wikipedia

The Blues is My Business

I saw Ms. Etta perform at the Oasis Nightclub in 1985. A couple of her musicians were former Rufus band members and together they all rocked the house! Talk about some serious pipes! Etta James was on a mission that night to sing the audience into a frenzy of soul satisfaction. The show started just after 10pm and she was still going strong well after 1pm. The only thing I hated was that it was mid-week and I had to be at work by 8am that morning. Otherwise, I would have stayed as long as Ms. Etta sang and her band played. READ MORE •••

 

Violins Old and New -- Double-Blind Test Provides Striking Note on Players' Choice

Antonio Stradivari violin of 1703.

Musikinstrumenten Museum, Berlin/Wikipedia

.There's really no mystery: an instrument is only a supplement to the player's skill. A great violinist can make a $500 instrument sound good, and with a so-called elite instrument that violinist will sound even better. A mediocre player will sound mediocre with or without a million dollar violin. The quality of the bow matters a lot as well.

What is often overlooked is that each particular instrument has its unique attributes, its pros and cons, and it's rare that a player finds an instrument that ideally fits their interpretive playstyle, physique, and strengths. A $5,000 instrument may be a better fit for someone than say one that's $50,000. It's sort of like light sabers in SW or wands in Harry Potter, your ideal tool is specific to you
  READ MORE •••


 

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Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move During the Great Depression is a riveting document of hope and hardship during one of this nation's bleakest eras.

Uys so thoroughly recreates the wretched conditions the boxcar boys and girls endured that the reader can all but hear the cadence of the trains on the tracks and the lonesome wail at every whistle stop. -- Boston Globe

An elegantly presented and quietly moving collection of firsthand reminiscences, capturing a unique moment in American history. Enthusiastically recommended.

-- Library Journal

One of the most poignant memories of the wandering youth of the Great Depression

-- Sacramento Bee

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