As is typical when perpetrators of massacres are identified, the media rush to piece together information about the private lives of the suspects — reaching out to family members, friends and even fleeting former lovers. A woman, speaking anonymously, told mother she had a “fleeting fling” with the 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was “idolized” by his group of Russian- speaking friends. When the woman lived in the same UMass–Dartmouth dorm as the bombing suspect she also met his three friends charged with obstructing the investigation into the marathon attacks by removing evidence for Tsarnaev’s room. Via Mother Jones:Continue Reading… … Read More
Republicans introduce census reform bill that would end unemployment estimates
Thinking they’re going to deflate an intrusive government overreach into the everyday lives of American citizens, a group of House Republicans introduced a census reform bill last week that would prevent the government from conducting the research necessary to produce monthly unemployment…
“The Listener”: The David Foster Wallace of bodily functions
Mary Roach writes bestsellers, and a reviewer might be tempted to attribute her success to her choice of subjects, which traffic mostly in taboos about the human body, and which are often succinctly described in a subtitle which follows a high-octane, memorably single-word title. To name three: “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.” “Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife.” “Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.”These titles make big promises. Implicit in them is the notion that the reader is not only going to get the science and the prurience, but also (Stiff, Spook, Bonk) a fair acquaintance with good humor, wordplay and the music language can make. When these promises pay off – and in Roach’s books, they always do – it’s more pleasure than learning, which is an extraordinary thing to say about books so packed with previously esoteric information hard won by research.Continue Reading… … Read More
Why do athletes tolerate abusive coaches?
When ESPN released videos of former Rutgers men’s basketball coach Mike Rice abusing players during practices — kicking members of his team, firing basketballs from point blank range at them, screaming in their faces, and hurling verbal abuse at them, including misogynistic and homophobic slurs – it did not take long for Sean Hannity and Michelle Malkin to come to his defense.Malkin dismissed Rice’s firing as “political correctness … run amok.” Hannity mused that he could understand asking Rice to “stop hitting” players, but praised the coach’s “intensity” and “drive.” “I like that he’s pushing those kids and he runs a tight ship. Maybe we need a little more discipline in society and maybe we don’t have to be a bunch of wimps for the rest of our lives.”Continue Reading… … Read More
Dems jump to support gay marriage before SCOTUS hearings
An avalanche of Democratic senators have expressed their support for gay marriage, just in time for the Supreme Court to hear arguments on Proposition 8 and DOMA.The latest is Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, who said in a statement released to Buzzfeed Monday night that the senator believes “that same sex couples should be able to marry and should have the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as any other married couple.”"Government should keep out of individuals’ personal lives—if someone wants to marry someone they love, they should be able to. Alaskans are fed up with government intrusion into our private lives, our daily business, and in the way we manage our resources and economy,” he said.On Monday, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., made a similar statement, following Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who came out in support of gay marriage over the weekend. Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., also announced that they no longer support DOMA. Both voted for the law when it first passed in 1996, and both are retiring in 2014.Continue Reading… … Read More
Chavez legacy lives on in Venezuela’s interim president Maduro
http://www.youtube.com/v/N6okH2liuP4?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Original source: Chavez legacy lives on in Venezuela’s interim president Maduro
Bedouins accuse Israel of planning new town
http://www.youtube.com/v/rBCXAoR4vls?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Link - Bedouins accuse Israel of planning new town
