links for 2009-04-13
2009 April 13
- Good remainder of some of the very real problems relying upon an abstracted system for accuracy.
- "The plan is the main money-saving component of Mr. Obama’s education agenda, which includes a sweeping overhaul of financial aid programs. The Congressional Budget Office says replacing subsidized loans made by private banks with direct government lending would save $94 billion over the next decade, money that Mr. Obama would use to expand Pell grants for the poorest students." I'm divided this would save a fair amount of money, but it would expand the government.
- "Summary: Several conservative media figures who have repeatedly spread falsehoods and smears of President Obama are now highlighting a poll analysis to suggest that Obama has polarized approval ratings, and have made the disputed suggestion that Obama himself has caused that polarization."
- "So what’s the implication of the fact that Republicans are refusing to grow up, the fact that they are still behaving the same way they did when history seemed to be on their side? I’d say that it’s good for Democrats, at least in the short run — but it’s bad for the country. For now, the Obama administration gains a substantial advantage from the fact that it has no credible opposition, especially on economic policy, where the Republicans seem particularly clueless." I've been saying this for awhile.
- "As readers continue to try to figure out what happened in Amazon's database so that the sales rankings of certain books and not others disappeared — which caused some to be omitted from search results on the site — it seems that Amazon is doing much the same thing." Amazon calls it a glitch.
- While heterosexual graphic works are still in search including Playboy's etc.
- "A spate of attacks on ships off Somalia and the rescue Sunday of an American captain held hostage by pirates have reinvigorated a long-simmering debate over whether the crews of commercial vessels should be armed. While the arming of merchant vessels was commonplace for centuries, it faded in recent decades because of ship owners’ concerns about liability and the safety of their sailors."
- "The Central Intelligence Agency announced on Thursday that it will no longer use contractors to conduct interrogations, and that it is decommissioning the secret overseas sites where for years it held high-level Al Qaeda prisoners." Wow.
- "The Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by a June 1 deadline, despite G.M.’s public contention that it could still reorganize outside court, people with knowledge of the plans said during the weekend." Wow.
- "Battered by the recession and the deepest and most widespread budget deficits in several decades, a large majority of states are slicing into their social safety nets — often crippling preventive efforts that officials say would save money over time." Unfortunately when the economy gets tight those hurt are the worst off.
- Typography tips.
- Rather than create another Roe v. Wade, let the battle stay in the states.
- "To recap: Warren just said what all atheists have in common is a bad relationship with their father. The whole argument about Mao and Stalin has been debunked repeatedly. While they may have been atheists, they didn’t kill in the “name of atheism.” Hitler was a Christian. Why millions of Christians look up to Rick Warren, I don’t know. He peddles ignorance and spreads lies. This is just another example of it." Rick Warren on atheists.
- "Mexico's ambassador to the US has urged America to stop the flow of guns and cash that pass into his country, fuelling the country's drug wars. In an interview with CBS's Face The Nation programme, Mr Sarukhan said the lifting of a US ban on military-style assault weapons in 2004 had been a crucial factor." We just got called out.
- "But what to build? The survey that follows sizes up some of the most promising options, as well as a couple that are popular yet implausible. None of them is a sure thing. But from one of these ideas might emerge a new engine of human civilization." That's cool.
- "But what to build? The survey that follows sizes up some of the most promising options, as well as a couple that are popular yet implausible. None of them is a sure thing. But from one of these ideas might emerge a new engine of human civilization." Scientific American takes on green energy.
- "China's economy is showing some signs of recovery from the global financial crisis, the country's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said." China is already spending a better than half a trillion dollar stimulus package.
- "Despite a recent spate of attacks, the United States will leave Iraq on schedule, the top American commander in Iraq said on Sunday." The team discovered that mice actually do produce more eggs, and their physiology is very similar.
- "Despite a recent spate of attacks, the United States will leave Iraq on schedule, the top American commander in Iraq said on Sunday." Not bad news.
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