The Washington Post lost one of its best voices this weekend. Â More later, perhaps. Â But to get to the heart of the matter:
(h/t to many)
could help solve all sorts of things. Â There are vast empty swaths of this country, in case anyone hasn’t noticed. Â We’ve got plenty of room.
A lesson that should reach far beyond the Israel/Palestine context:
Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken warned Monday that self-censorship in the Israeli media poses the greatest threat to the freedom of the press.
[ . . . ]
“Let’s talk about a different kind of censorship,†he said. “Self-censorship that stems from the fact that the media does not want to upset its readership. I am referring to the responses that I get regarding Haaretz articles about the Palestinians’ situation.
“During periods of calm there are no responses, but in turbulent times people send emails to the newspaper, copying in all of their friends, that they are halting their subscription because they are unable to read Gideon Levy or Amira Hass anymore. And the newspaper must ask itself if it wants to absorb this.
Freedom of the press is somewhat beside the point if you don’t have a real press, no?
Just picked this up from Boing Boing. Â Love it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1g0yxLu2Zk[/youtube]
Some music just endures:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfWPDGWP568[/youtube]
Reason 3,024,654 I laugh every time I hear someone claim that the GOP is about getting government out of people’s lives:
Via Matt Welch at Reason, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has proposed an amendment to the jobs bill requiring that recipients of unemployment insurance or welfare benefits get drug tested before they get their checks. From the Salt Lake Tribune:
People seeking unemployment benefits or welfare would have to first pass a drug test under a proposal Sen. Orrin Hatch will try to add to legislation extending the social safety net during this time of economic turmoil.
Hatch … said his idea would help battle drug addiction and could reduce the nation’s debt. He will try to get the Senate to include his amendment to a $140 billion bill extending tax breaks and social programs this week.
“This amendment is a way to help people get off of drugs to become productive and healthy members of society, while ensuring that valuable taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted,†he said after announcing his amendment. “Too many Americans are locked into a life of a dangerous dependency not only on drugs, but the federal assistance that serves to enable their addiction.â€
I’d really like to find more constructive ways to engage, instead of mock, but transparent bullshit like this makes it hard.
Throwing elbows in the 5 and Under Category
As I’ve done in the previous few years, I’ve put up my shots from the Clarendon Cup kids race for parents to peruse and pick from. This is pretty much a low-to-no editing raw stream. Â They’re not for sale, but if you want a print, you’re welcome to grab the highest res file you can and have it printed yourself.
(If you’re not looking for a particular kid, wait a bit, as I’ll be doing an edited and captioned set later on, after I’ve finished the pro race sets.)
My photo coverage of the TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship can be found here.
Honda Motor said on Friday it settled a labor dispute at a Chinese car parts plant after almost three weeks of disruption, allowing it to build cars again in the world’s fastest-growing market.
[ . . . ]
The unusually long strike at Honda’s supplier came at a time when foreign companies in China have been hit with a string of worker disputes, raising questions about how long China can remain the world’s center of cheap manufacturing.
[ . . . ]
About a third of the plant’s 1,900 workers are interns, who as vocational students typically receive lower wages and fewer benefits than regular employees. The interns are among those pushing for better conditions.
[ . . . ]
Strikes are usually stamped out quickly in China, but more labor disputes have been erupting lately between workers resentful of large income disparities and harsh working conditions, and employers trying to rein in rising costs.
What I’d really love to read, some day, is an informed analysis and comparison between the strategies and rhetoric used in dealing with auto labour in both the Chinese and US markets.