Archive for the 'News and Headlines' Category

China, Russia gearing up for war?

Are China and Russia setting themselves up for a war against the US, and possibly NATO allies? Recent events within and between the two nations seem to point in that rather ominous direction. Continue reading ‘China, Russia gearing up for war?’

Tampa Newspapers are Pathetic

I was at my parent’s house in Tampa yesterday, visiting the folks for mother’s day. Sometime during the morning, Mom asked me to get the newspaper. “Isn’t that the dog’s job?” I asked, wondering whether I could continue my quest of doing nothing of significance for a day (other than taking her out for dinner and buying her some books).

She gave me a look only a mother could, telling me without words, but in no uncertain terms, “I gave birth to you so you could get me my newspaper.” Gotcha. Also, Dixie the dog was still sleeping. Continue reading ‘Tampa Newspapers are Pathetic’

Batman and Robin vs. The Drug Dealer?

Gotham’s defenders take down drug kingpin. In Britain.

Looks like I’m not the only one on a comic book kick.

Top 10 News Items You Didn’t Hear About

This quote says it all:

“They said the reason they hadn’t covered the stories was that they only had a limited amount of time and space, and that I was an academic, sitting there, criticizing.”

But Jensen had an answer: There was plenty of time and space. It was just being filled with fluff.

So, in reply, Jensen started the Project-Censored, which lists the stories which should have gotten more coverage, but were bumped off by things like Anna Nicole’s baby and son’s death investigation, and John Mark Karr’s claims about JonBenet Ramsey, who died at 6 years old and would have been almost 20 already.

Anyway, so here’s a list of the top headlines you probably didn’t read about for the past year:

  • The feds and the media muddy the debate over Internet freedom
  • Halliburton charged with selling nuclear technology to Iran
  • World oceans in extreme danger
  • Hunger and homelessness increasing in the United States
  • High-tech genocide in Congo
  • Federal whistleblower protection in jeopardy
  • U.S. Operatives torture detainees to death in Afghanistan and Iraq
  • Pentagon exempt from Freedom of Information Act
  • World Bank funds Israel-Palestine wall
  • Expanded air war in Iraq kills more civilians

With this being an election year (and with this being the month before an election, hence all the political stuff on the site lately), you may be interested in the Internet Freedom, Halliburton, Whistleblower, Torture, Freedom of Information, and Iraq stories. (Wow… that’s a lot of stories.) In fact, if you’ve gotten down this far I’m guessing you’re the type to be interested in this sort of article. For you, I submit the following link from the Tucson Weekly: Censored Stories.

Honestly, I’m not a big news guy. I’m not! I’m not interested in that guy that jumped off that bridge, or that bus that crashed into a pole, or who Paris Hilton slept with, fought with, or punched. I’ll pray for them, OK, but that’s about it. Heck, if you want a real taste of what people are talking about, here are the top searches in Technorati as of this article’s writing:

  • Cory Lidle
  • Youtube
  • Project Runway
  • Plane Crash
  • New York
  • Lost

Unlike this list, most of the news presented in the Censored Stories article revolve around the way our government and country (The US*) is being run, and by who. Sometimes — most of the time — news is junk. Once in a while, however, it’s time to start listening. Sometimes things, no matter how negative they might seem, are indeed important, because they affect all of us. Political bickering isn’t one of these things. Political policy is.

(* Note: I know I have, for some strange reason, a lot of Canadian and European readers (even some Asian, Australians, and Africans!), and some of this affects you guys, too. But I’m an American and as such I want to make sure my house is clean, if you know what I mean. I’ll cover International news too, I promise, especially Canadian, since I’ve thought about moving up there more than a few times.)