Fri 16 May 2008
Is the Bush administration really trying to help the people of Myanmar recover
from the natural disaster that struck there? Then why is it insisting that the
Pentagon be in charge of its aid? And why did it impose sanctions on the
country when it knew the cyclone was about to hit?
http://www.workers.org/2008/world/myanmar_0522
Fri 16 May 2008
I just saw Dessa Rose, the main stage production of the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. It’s not your run-of-the-mill high school play. These kids kick ass and take no prisoners. Public education at its finest. Students come from participating towns in central Connecticut. Great acting, singing, dancing, live music by students and a few ringers. Call 860-757-6388 for tickets. The theater is at 359 Washington St., Hartford. Parking garage adjacent to the theater or park on the mean streets of Hartford. We did. Show times Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Thu 15 May 2008
FreePress just announced the the Senate just voted to throw out a decision by the FCC to allow big media companies to swallow up even more local media. I pasted the announcement below. (more…)
Sun 11 May 2008
Many of us should be getting our rebate checks in the mail soon. President Bush claims that by putting more money into the public’s hands we will be more likely to spend it and, in so doing, prevent the economy from continuing down its slow and steady spiral towards a recession. (more…)
Sun 11 May 2008
I’m always curious to read discussions of hybrid cars in the mainstream press. The following story came from Yahoo! News, and it was one of the featured stories for Yahoo! email users today. Part of the fixation with the anti-fuel efficiency perspective is on cost, especially relatively short term cost like what you’ll pay in a year or over 5 years. This article is no exception. What’s more aggravating is that when the environmental reasons are mentioned, they are done so with such tokenism in a way that’s really insulting or patronizing to the reader. In this article, the writer dedicates all of two and a half sentences to the really important reasons to buy more fuel efficient vehicles, only to ultimately leave the reader with the importance of a “bottom-line” analysis.
What’s most demeaning about this article and others like it is that it states the obvious as if it’s some grand discovery worthy of our attention: new hybrid cars cost a lot of money. Of course, so do new conventional fuel cars. In an analysis of a new hybrid versus a new conventional car of the same type or class, the financial benefits of the hybrid would likely shine. But instead of focusing on this comparison, idiot writers, like Terry Jackson from Bankrate.com, focus on ridiculous menial mental exercises that perpetuate our snail’s pace in the world of automotive fuel efficiency.
Click here to read “Trading in Gas Guzzler May Cost You.”
Thu 8 May 2008
During the remainder of the debate over who should be president, you may hear one or more of the following words. Among a certain class of voters in states like Kentucky and West Virginia, where elections will soon be held, these words don’t have their usual meaning. Here’s a quick glossary of a few of these unusual terms, as defined in the local patois:
Use this glossary to help interpret campaign literature and assess election returns.
Thu 8 May 2008
The state of Minnesota will put up $38 million to divide among 158 victims as compensation for losses sustained in last year’s collapse of a bridge under Interstate 35 in Minneapolis. Thirteen were killed in the accident, which was the result of structural defects. Law buffs might reasonably wonder why victims of the levee collapse in New Orleans aren’t entitled to similar relief. (more…)
Wed 7 May 2008
Tonight at 6pm advocates for animal rights will be protesting the circus outside of the Civic Center near the Church Street entrance. The organizers of this protest write:
Ringling boasts that its trains crisscross the country 11 months of the
year, logging more than 25,000 miles. The elephants in their show are
forced to travel in extreme temperatures in cramped cars, eating and
sleeping in their own excrement, for most of their lives. The elephants
that arrived from Providence had been on the train for at least 25 hours
without relief. When not in transit, they are chained or in tiny
pens except when performing. They are trained through the violent use of
bullhooks and electric shock, and perform only out of fear that they will
be subjected to more pain. As a result, many of the Ringling elephants
develop disease and show signs of neurotic behavior, such as swaying and
head-bobbing, from boredom and severe stress.This year, Ringling’s Blue Unit will be performing in Hartford for
Mothers’ Day weekend.All of these elephants were torn from their
mothers as babies, either in Asia or from circus breeding facilities in
this country. Four of Ringling EURO(tm)s baby elephants have died since 1998,
and Ringling has been fined by the federal government for its methods in
separating babies from their mothers.
Video of last year’s circus demo can be viewed here.
Tue 6 May 2008
|
[From the journal Editor and Publisher]
By
Greg Mitchell
Published: May 06, 2008 9:30 PM ET updated Tuesday
NEW YORK As the scandal of suicide attempts
by Iraq veterans expands — in the face of Veterans Administration
denials — another horrific case has emerged, once again only gaining
attention because of a local newspaper. E&P has been tracking these
accounts for almost five years and only recently has the problem, with
an estimated 1,000 attempts a month now reported, gained wide media,
and official, attention.
The latest story came Saturday in a story by Patrick McCreless in The Cullman Times of Cullman, Ala.
The headline is similar to so many others lately: “Family pushing for changes after soldier’s suicide.”
It tells how one Dorothy Screws “witnessed her only
son, U.S. Army Pvt. Tommie Edward Jones, commit suicide right before
her eyes six weeks ago in Colorado. She says the Army, which promised
to be there for Screws and her family to deal with the loss, has yet to
provide assistance. (more…)
Fri 2 May 2008
Check the coffee houses! Check your mailbox! The Spring 2008 issue of the Hartford Undercurrent is out!
Here is a sampling of articles in this issue: cultural contrasts, celibacy, growing up gay, thoughts behind a documentary, semantics, internet and identity, and more! The cover art is by Sam McKinniss.
