As someone who has repeatedly warned against putting all your eggs in Google basket, I’m always interested in hearing about ways to diversify beyond the GWorld.    James Fallows gives it a whirl.
Bonus material, inspired by his article:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bfseWNmlds[/youtube]
That’s Passion Pit’s Sleepyhead. Most recently seen backing the Palm Pixi commercials.
Mexico City lawmakers on Monday made the city the first in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage, a change that will give homosexual couples more rights, including allowing them to adopt children.
I’ve not spent much time in Mexico City, but this strikes me as kinda big. Sort of – to use a maybe not so great analogy – Ireland banning smoking in pubs. That is to say, if *they* can do it, anyone can . . .
(I wonder if the Catholic Church there is throwing the same fits it has been in DC.)
Don’t ask questions, just hit play:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4DT3tQqgRM[/youtube]
This guy needs his own show, doesn’t he? But seriously, the reason it doesn’t track is grounded in a completely legit technical issue (concerning contrast), which HP says it’s addressing. You kinda wonder about a QA process that never brought this to light, though.
The video from Reason:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAgQKJuriIo[/youtube]
A cop who pulls a gun for no reason, tries to provoke someone into assaulting him, and then shoves that person when he doesn’t take the cop’s bait? Shocking, I tell you. A particularly nice touch was parking in the middle of the street, and then using the fact that you can’t block the street to move the public out of ear range of what they’re doing.
Detective Baylor seems to be the guy’s name, and Washington Post says he’s on desk duty. It’s also shocking that the police denied that he’d pulled a gun until they realized that this thing was caught on video.
(I do have a bit of sympathy for the cops called in after. If the looks on their faces say anything, it’s “I cannot believe I’m having to defend this jackass . . .”)
Another interesting tidbit, about the promotion of the snowball fight:
With [the organizers] nonstop efforts, the event was making the cyber rounds. Even the D.C. Department of Transportation seemed to embrace it, Tweeting on Saturday soon after the fight began: “SNOW UPDATE as advertised, there is a large snowball battle at 14th and U. Keep it safe.”
Frank Luntz has an obvious talent, but it’s so often been used to such appalling ends (“death tax”, “government run healthcare”, etc.) that I don’t often look twice when I see his name.  However, he’s a gun-for-hire at heart, and he has occasionally crossed into unfamiliar territory to produce something interesting. Looks like he’s recently done that, on the subject of guns:
Mr. Luntz queried 832 gun owners, including 401 card-carrying N.R.A. members, in a survey commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the alliance of hundreds of executives seeking stronger gun laws. In flat rebuttal of N.R.A. propaganda, the findings showed that 69 percent of N.R.A. members supported closing the notorious gun-show loophole that invites laissez-faire arms dealing outside registration requirements.
Even more members, 82 percent, favored banning gun purchases to suspects on terrorist watch lists who are now free to arm. And 69 percent disagreed with Congressionally imposed rules against sharing federal gun-trace information with state and local police agencies.
I don’t think that’s dispositive of anything, but it sure is interesting. I think the continuing public conversation over gun ownership and what it means would be well served by less insane NRA fearmongering and more intelligent engagement of the issue.
This piece over at dKos just highlighted a recent NATO request that I’d not heard about. And what was that? They asked Russia for helicopters to use in Afghanistan. Because, you know, that worked out so well last time:
Do you think the person who thought that up understood the irony of it? Maybe they could suggest ground delivery, with BMPs and T-62s providing security?
I’ve often said that Washington-area radio is an abysmal affair, and that Atlanta – Atlanta! – has a far more vibrant and interesting broadcasting scene.  While that’s quite true, American University’s WAMU is the one bright spot. I credit WAMU with bringing me into the bluegrass fold, keeping me informed on local matters with Kojo Nnamdi, and sustaining the rarity of intelligent national talk radio via the Diane Rehm Show. And there’s one more thing, that I really really love – the Big Broadcast on Sunday nights. Specifically, the Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar part of the show.
Yep, the man with the action-packed expense account still makes me stop and listen, even though the shows are now 50+ years old. I don’t usually plan to listen to these episodes (say, the way I intentionally flip on the Kojo Nnamdi show at noon on Fridays), but I often end up hearing the beginning while I’m doing the things you do on Sunday night. And almost every time, I’ll stop whatever I’m doing, take a seat, maybe turn off the lights, and listen to the rest of the show.
Thanks for that, WAMU.
(And all of you who don’t live in DC? Can still listen to everything I’ve mentioned via WAMU.org)
Massive snowball fight at 14th and U, much fun being had. So what’s the reasonable way to react to your Hummer taking a hit from a snowball? Well, if you’re a veteran DC detective, you get out and start waving your gun around:
According to an eyewitness, a D.C. Police detective (pictured above w/ gun) went nuts after kids pelted his Hummer with snowballs at 14th and U Streets NW this afternoon. The veteran detective got out of his car and eventually grabbed for his gun, displaying it to the crowd. He did not immediately identify himself as a police officer. He calmed down once his fellow uniformed cop arrived. Apparently, someone called 911 to report a man with gun.
With police judgment like this, it’s no wonder that DC ends up paying out millions and millions in settlements related to police overreaction. For more detail (including pictures of the detective – you’ll want to be sure you never say boo to him, I’m sure, for fear of getting shot), check out the link above.
Update: And here are some fantastic photos of NYC pulling off what we couldn’t, it seems. Do click.
Perhaps the treasure rooms are running a little low? 
Looks like the Vatican has decided, as Cory Doctorow summarized it:
The [Vatican’s] statement cited a “great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father” in recent years as contributing to a desire to use the Pontiff’s name for all manner of educational and cultural institutions, civic groups and foundations.
Due to this demand, the Vatican has felt it necessary to declare that “it alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter, and therefore, to protect the figure and personal identity of the Pope from the unauthorized use of his name and/or the papal coat of arms for ends and activities which have little or nothing to do with the Catholic Church…”
“Consequently, the use of anything referring directly to the person or office of the Supreme Pontiff… and/or the use of the title ‘Pontifical,’ must receive previous and express authorization from the Holy See,” concluded the message released to the press.
The Catholic Church – trying to rule the world since, well . . . it came into existence.
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