July 17th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
Stephen Colbert would have a field day with this one. According to Oregon Live, The Lake Billy Chinook Campground in Southern Oregon has been temporarily closed due to several bear spottings. The bears, two adults and one cub, have been seen around the campsite in recent days. Officials are replacing old trashcans with newer, more bear resistant cans, among other small steps being taken to ward off future bear interference.
Although most camper’s are more than happy not to be a part of Yogi Bear’s lunch, one camper, posting under the moniker npdxretro, had a different reaction, questioning the US Forest Service’s motives behind the closings. ”Oh, so now they are closing a campground because there are “black” bears there, when will the overt racism in this country cease?”
Reverend Bear Sharpton was not able to be reached for comment.
July 06th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
The Obama administration continued it’s tradition of slowly toughening environmental standards on Monday, June 29th, this time turning the, ahem, spotlight, on the lighting and energy industry. Of the types of lighting affected, the most common are what are known as “general service lamps” which essentially means non-fluorescent office lamps.
“Now I know light bulbs may not seem sexy,” Mr. Obama said, “but this simple action holds enormous promise because 7 percent of all the energy consumed in America is used to light our homes and our businesses.”
According to the New York Times, the new regulations will increase energy efficiency in affected lamps by between 15-25%. saving American’s between $1-4 billion annually. Although the new regulations are unquestionably another solid small step forward, many reporters present at the press conference felt the announcements were significantly overshadowed by Obama’s use of the word “sexy.”
June 29th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
Outside the Presidential Palace
In a stunning move Sunday, soldiers from the Honduran Military entered the Presidential Palace, rousing President Manuel Zelaya from his sleep and deporting him to Costa Rica. The events mark the first military coup in South America since the cold war.
Although the move is technically unconstituional, the military in much of South America has a long history of functioning as a sort of extra-political force. The Honduran Supreme Court issued a statement saying the military had functioned to defend against “those who had publicly spoken out and acted against the Constitution’s provisions.” and the Honduran Congress moved late Sunday to officially remove Zelaya from office, replacing him with President of Congress Roberto Micheletti
Thanks to the New York Times for this one.
May 20th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
Darwinius massillae
In a stunning revelation Tuesday, scentists unveiled the 47-million year old fossil remains of a creature being hailed as the “best preserved ever found for a primate,” according to John Hurum of the Oslo Natral History Museum. The creature is the earliest known finding for a primate, providing exciting new information and possibilities for scientists researching human’s eariest evolutionary ancestors. While the news is exciting, few scientists believe that the creature, nicknamed Ida, is the long sought after “missing link” in the human evolutionary chain. Jens Franzen of the Senckenberg Research Institute compared the creature, known officially as Darwinius massillae, to “an aunt from several generations ago” while others said it was “more like a third cousin twice removed.”
The fossil, which has been generating significant media attention, was revealed Tuesday at The American Museum of Natural History in New York. A cast of the fossil will be on display at the museum.
May 19th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
President Obama is being hailed Tuesday for unveiling a plan that Daniel Becker of the Safe Climate Campaign is calling ”the single biggest step the American government has ever taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”
The Obama plan will raise automaker’s fuel efficiency to a car and light truck fleet standard of 35.5 mpg by 2016. The rise, from a standard today of about 25 mpg, will account for an American fleet that will be 40% cleaner and more fuel efficient.
California, who for years has been a leader in trying to adopt similar standards at the state level, shelved their plan in favor of the national standards. “We like this plan a lot better than the Bush plan,” said Schwarzenegger Tuesday, “Every time we brought it up with Bush he just threatened to have Cheney shoot us in the face.”
Thanks to the New York Times for this one.
April 20th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
Marihuana, the Slayer of Youth!
On this day, a sacred holiday to some, and an abhorrent display of drug culture to others, I thought I’d bring a little attention to one of the best books I have read recently. The book, Reefer Madness, was published in 2003. Reefer Madness, subtitled “Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market” is an intense and well written book examining three black market industries in America.
The first, and most relevant to today, is the production, sale, and distribution of Marijuana in the United States. However, the book also examines immigrant and illegal labor practices, as well as the pornographic industry.
Reefer Madness is an extremely well-written book, with excellent research and an academic tone. It is, by far, one of the best books I have read examing the tension between the drug war, marijuana, and it’s views and effect on society. Reefer Madness is an intelligent, interesting read for anyone, and I highly reccommend it to any person who is interested in learning more about the effect of Marijuana sale and distribution in America.
April 17th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
China Radio International
Piracy has been a major international issue lately, culminating in the recent kidnapping of the captain of an American merchant chip off the coast of Somalia. The lack of a centralized government in Somalia has given rise to an unprecedenteded increase in modern piracy off the Somalian coast, and the international community has so far been inneffective at adressing the attack
Modern pirates aren’t your average swashbuckler. They are armed with high powered rifles and GPS systems, and use their small, swift boats to quickly overtake vessels. While the international community may been slow to respond, Dolphin’s have taken it into their own hands to patrol the waterways.
According to a report published in the New York Times by the Chinese news agency Xinhua, it was a massive school of Dolphins that prevented a recent pirate attack: (Xinhua English translation, grammatical errors left as-is)
”The Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China’s fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the China’s.
The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness befor the vast number of dolphins. The spectacular scene continued for a while.”
This is basically 100% awesome. The only thing more awesome would be if we could train the Dolphins to do this in the future. Oh wait, I guess we already tried.
Thanks to Amanda Hunt on this one.
April 13th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
MySloth.com Babe of the Week!
Check out this hottie from the depths. The Psychrolutes marcidus, or Blobfish, is the winner of this weeks MySloth.com Babe of the week contest. Blobfish live at depths of about 800 metres deep, residing off the Australian mainland. Due to the innacessability of their habitat, they are rarely seen by humans. Or maybe they’re just vain.
Blobfish have a feeding strategy that “consists of sitting and waiting for something edible to go by,” meaning not only are they incredibly sexy, they also fit in perfectly with the rest of the trophy wives.
Thanks to teara.govt.nz and supiri.com for this one.
April 10th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
Mama Obama gets her hands dirty
Credit to Mama Obama this week for breaking ground on a vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House. The plot, which measures about 1, 100 square feet, was planted with 25 different types of seeds for various fruits and vegetables, as well as 10 herbs.
And the best part? The whole thing only cost about $200. Now there’s some fiscal responsibility for you.
April 09th, 2009 | Author:
Rory
Not just for hippies anymore!
Check out this cool side project by Silicon Valley based designer Pete Kazanjy. I’ve seen a few of these stickers around before on paper towel dispensers, and thought they were a really cool, easy way to save a little tree for people who don’t like to rub themselves down with patchouli oil. The stickers come in packs of 20, 50, 100, and 200, and sell for real cheap. The money is used to cover the cost of printing and distribution, and all proceeds on top of that are donated.
And admit it, everyone likes stickers.
