March 10, 2010

NEW UK DIGITAL BILL TO FOLLOW US’S DMCA RIGHTS AND SPELL DISASTER FOR YOUTUBE?

NEW UK DIGITAL BILL TO FOLLOW US’S DMCA RIGHTS AND SPELL DISASTER FOR YOUTUBE?

by Jorge Paez

 

THere is a report out from Guardian news, that the very unpopular Digital Bill in the UK has just been updated to include several copyright additions, some of which may lead to the closure of user generated content sites like [...]

March 10, 2010

The Last Few Pages

Over ten years ago a famous New York Literary agent took me out to breakfast after reading a novel I had written. She asked me a lot of question and made some suggestions. She even asked me what I was working on next. The breakfast lasted until lunch and all of my acting and writing [...]

March 9, 2010

I’m still waiting for the “Prize Patrol”

I’m still waiting for the “Prize Patrol”

By Alan Caruba

If anyone bothered to read the “Sweepstakes Facts” that Publishers Clearing House provides with its endless mailings, they would discover that the odds of winning “up to $10,000,000″ in any of their constantly on-going “giveaway” programs is “1 in 1,750,000,000.” I am not making this up, nor [...]

March 9, 2010

People Watching-It Builds Characters

The first assignment the red-headed drama teacher gave us was to go out and watch people. We were to return with three characterizations we had drawn from an hour of observation. Most of us got an A for being able to imitate the people we had watched on the street. I learned from watching a [...]

March 9, 2010

The Culture of Step

Anyone who has ever set foot on a historically black college or university campus knows that there is something called stepping, the form of percussive dance where the entire body is used to produce intricate rhythms and sounds comprised of a mixture of rapid footsteps, spoken word, rhyme, hand claps, syncopation and synchronization. Stepping is [...]

March 9, 2010

Media biased for Beard

Media biased for Beard

by Tyree Harris

Oregon kicker Robert Beard was allegedly beaten unconscious by Kirby Hawkins and Maurice Peterson on Jan. 24, at about 12:30 a.m.

When people heard about this, many felt terrible for Beard; he was portrayed by the police reports and the media to be the innocent victim who was just trying to [...]

March 8, 2010

A Tease from Spring

The daffodils just phoned in a complaint. If they make an early appearance to the party they may die from the future cold. The birds sitting on my windowsill refuse to shut up. They are discussing their friends who flew south and are missing the fine weather. The trees have decided to wait to see [...]

March 7, 2010

American Al Qaeda is Captured

American Al Qaeda is Captured

By Alan Caruba

The news on Sunday, March 7th, is that Adam Gadahn, an American who became a Muslim and then joined al Qaeda, was arrested in Pakistan by intelligence officers and the only question I have is how long will it take to ship his sorry ass back to the land [...]

March 6, 2010

“Bleeding Hearts” Cause Many Hearts to Bleed

by Don Maker

In May of 2000, John Albert Gardner III pleaded guilty to molesting a 13-year-old female neighbor. Prosecutors said he lured the victim to his home with an offer to watch a movie. In addition to being molested, the girl was beaten before escaping and running to a neighbor.

First, this was not a case [...]

March 6, 2010

Celebrating a People One Month a Year

Celebrating a People One Month a Year

Now that February has come and, won’t come back for another year, I find myself reflecting on “Black History Month”.  We all know the reason for and the meaning of celebrating the accomplishment of African Americans during the month of February.  We all should know, by now, that Black [...]

March 5, 2010

Lies, Damned Lies, and Expert Testimony

Lies, Damned Lies, and Expert Testimony
 
by John Armor 
 
Before we get rolling, a pet peeve. Entirely too many reporters are too lazy to check their quotes. Time and again, they will say in their lede that “some wag referred to lies, damned lies, and statistics.” No, no, no. That was not “some wag;” that was the [...]

March 4, 2010

The Truth About Prejudice-You’ve got to be Taught

My youngest sister does not remember her first taste of prejudice but I do. It was an incident that shaped my understanding of race for many years to come. She was barely three years old so I must have been about 10, my other sister 7. My mother had taken her three girls to Rich’s [...]

March 2, 2010

Western perspective is not culture

Western perspective is not culture

by Tyree Harris

Sitting in my race, class and ethnic groups course, twiddling my thumbs and trying to follow my professor, I couldn’t help but feel disconnected. There he went, speaking of tolerance, what it means to be prejudiced and how it’s easy to stereotype other races — but this is probably [...]

March 2, 2010

Fathers and Parenting

There is a dynamic in the family that has changed a lot since I moved to Manhattan. More fathers are taking charge of their children, a very good thing in my eyes. They walk them to school and take them to the park. They spend time with them. For many of these fathers it is [...]

March 1, 2010

Afghanistan, Again

Afghanistan, Again

By Alan Caruba

Think about this. Any nation that cannot rebuild the Twin Towers nearly nine years after they were destroyed has lost its ability to function rationally and effectively.

We have been a military presence in Afghanistan since 2001 following 9/11. That’s two years longer than when we were in Vietnam.

Afghanistan has a long history [...]

February 28, 2010

Unhappiness and women - the equation doesn't add up

“No matter how objective you want, or try, to be, every issue you see will be subjective. You carry with you all that has made you the person you are, your gender included.”

So said the professor in my journalism class back at university. In other words, what and who you are will influence how you [...]

February 27, 2010

China Impression (Chapter Two: Chinese New Year)

China Impression

(2010-02-27 15:13:09)

Chapter Two: Chinese New Year

Now, more and more people, especially young people celebrate Christmas Day.Nevertheless,we still take the Chinese New Year as our major and overwhelming Holiday which we call the Spring Festival. Like the Christmas Season, we have a long Chinese New Year Season, typically the government approve a legal vacation of [...]

February 25, 2010

A Call For Help Goes Unanswered.

A Call For Help Goes Unanswered.

by Tyree Harris

When Portland State student Brenda Johnson, who asked that her real name be withheld, traded in her old BlackBerry for a new BlackBerry Storm from a man named Robert she met on Craigslist, she was thrilled.

After she made the trade, she called a friend to see if it [...]

February 25, 2010

To Kill a Killer Whale

I’m starting off by saying they should kill the whale that killed the trainer at Sea World yesterday. The killer whale has killed two times before. yet  those who train and love the animals say it is a good whale. To me either the whale is bad or the training didn’t work. I wonder if the [...]

February 25, 2010

‘I Was in the First Wave.’

‘I Was in the First Wave.’
 
by John Armor 
 
I was at breakfast on Sunday morning at the Sheraton National, in Arlington, Virginia.  I was attending a conference elsewhere, but could only find space in Virginia.  Also at my hotel were the members of the Iwo Jima Association.
 
That Association was for survivors of that battle, and for [...]

February 24, 2010

Universal Suffering

Stephen Sangirardi    Universal Suffering     Bard715@aol.com
 
   Last night for the tenth time I watched Schindler’s List, arguably the most important film ever made. There is that incredibly poignant scene at the end when ‘Herr Direktor,’ played by Liam Neeson, is presented the ring of life with the inscription from the Talmud etched inside. “He who saves [...]

February 24, 2010

Doritos Healthier than Brownies?

Quiet as it is kept I love to bake and am pretty good at it. When my kids were in New York City public schools I participated in some of the bake sales to raise money for different school needs. Now bake sales are no longer allowed because of concern in the city about childhood [...]

February 24, 2010

Glenn Beck, Performer and Provocateur

Glenn Beck, Performer and Provocateur

By Alan Caruba

I watched Glenn Beck mesmerize the audience at the CPAC meeting that had begun so well with serious conservative speakers such as former Vice President Dick Cheney. However, it ended as a libertarian fun fest and Beck strikes me as the clown prince of libertarianism.

I find it beneficial when [...]

February 22, 2010

Me and My Bully: A Kind of Essay (continued)

Me and My Bully: A Kind of Essay (continued)

 

            Before I continue on with this little narrative, I need to address something that was stated in one of the replies to this post, something I read and I did not digest too well.  Someone stated that [I] should somehow befriend my bully….  That person obviously [...]

February 22, 2010

Bus Story- Do You Want to Get On or Under the Bus?

This morning I had one of those weird things happen where a person speaks on a subject and then later it unfolds as if prophesized. I smiled at the man at the bus as he told the young lady to get out of the street before a bus or a car came and slid on [...]

February 22, 2010

Making Vitamins Too Costly for Your Health

Making Vitamins Too Costly for Your Health

By Alan Caruba

At age 72 I have been taking a full range of vitamin and mineral supplements for years. Even I find it amusing to open more than a dozen bottles every morning to extract vitamins A, B, C, D and E, along with zinc, potassium, selenium, and fish [...]

February 21, 2010

The Next Asia: banker’s book doesn’t add up

Wall Street thought leader Stephen Roach’s book The Next Asia shows how little thinking it takes to be recognized as a thought leader in [...]

February 21, 2010

China Impression (Chapter one: Differences Among Cities)

China Impression

Chapter One: Differences Among Cities

This Chinese New Year Season,something did surprise me.

As a rule, every year this time, I must make the trip to the hometown of my wife, where her father still lives in. What astonished me is that I could not find anybody smoke in the bus! Just last year and before, [...]

February 20, 2010

'President's Day, So?'

‘President’s Day, So?’
 
by John Armor 
 
Last week was “Presidents Day.”  We used to know it as George Washington’s Birthday.  But in the Nixon Administration it was changed to Presidents Day, to fold in Abraham Lincoln, save one federal holiday, and maybe to make a small number of Americans think better os Richard Nixon, because he was, [...]

February 20, 2010

All flash, no substance

All flash, no substance

by Tyree Harris

This past Tuesday, the University of Oregon had the honor of hosting a speech from Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the most historically controversial figures in American history. This being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, fitting right into a vast free space between my classes, and (most importantly) being free, it was [...]

February 19, 2010

Can Washington Meet the Demand to Cut Spending?

Can Washington Meet the Demand to Cut Spending?
Americans have reached a consensus. What’s lacking is trust.

 

President Obama’s decision to appoint Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson to his bipartisan commission on government spending is politically shrewd and, in terms of policy, potentially helpful.

It is shrewd in that he is doing what he has been urged to [...]

February 19, 2010

Me and My Bully: A Kind of Essay

Me and My Bully: A Kind of Essay

            Whew!  It is February 19th, 2010 and two days ago I think I brought my bully down.  I say I think I did this because with bullies, those that are not jailed or killed because of their behavior, they just keep up the behavior until one or [...]

February 19, 2010

Lent and the Weight Thing

When I was a kid Lent used to be a source of sorrow around the Catholic school playground. On the day before Ash Wednesday, we had to tell the nuns and teachers what we gave up for Lent. They kept a record of what we were supposed to abstain from so that there would be [...]

February 19, 2010

Transporting Goods - by Road - in China

Transporting Goods – by Road – in China

by Bob Grant

About any time, day or night, in major Chinese cities you can see any type of vehicle – transporting all imaginable products – on the roads.  There are trucks carrying ocean containers and Mercedes carrying people.  I have traveled to England, Ireland, Holland, Italy, Canada, Mexico, [...]

February 18, 2010

Do We Really Need to Hear from Tiger Woods?

The media is all ‘twittered up’ for whatever the great golfer is going to say today. I am not interested and perhaps neither are you. It’s all a public relations gimmick anyway. Tiger Woods is losing ground with his fans as well as losing endorsements. He is going to stand before the lights and confess [...]

February 18, 2010

Flowers, Greenery, and Gardens

Flowers, Greenery, and Gardens

by Bob Grant

One of the aspects of my trips to China, that I truly enjoyed, was seeing all of the flowers, greenery, and gardens along the way.  I wanted to specifically mention this fact, and state, the photos you might have seen of typical Chinese landscapes are true.  In fact, there were [...]

February 17, 2010

Things People do on the Bus

 Each morning I become privy to the things people do to keep themselves busy on the bus. While most of the elderly just look out the window as if glad to be alive, the rest of the passengers seem to believe that they must keep busy in order to pass the time before they get [...]

February 17, 2010

Tolerance to Infinity

Tolerance to Infinity

by Bob Grant

Wherever people normally congregate in groups – shopping areas, elevators, subways, airports, city streets, and the like – there are a lot more people in China congregating in those same places.  Again, I can only use my own experiences – in these types of crowds in China – but I was [...]

February 16, 2010

Drunken assaults in Eugene not isolated event

Drunken assaults in Eugene not isolated event

by Tyree Harris

The recent assaults and thefts at University of Oregon involving football players Rob Beard and Mike Bowlin have caused quite a stir: I’ve seen people in Eugene begin to worry about their safety, traveling with friends more often and discussing how violent it has become. However, despite [...]

February 16, 2010

Dad's love overcomes obstacles

Dad’s love overcomes obstacles

by Tyree Harris 

Four-year-old Amirya Skyler doesn’t know how lucky she is. Lying on her dad’s bed in a one-bedroom apartment murmuring “I love you” in her sleepy little voice, you’d never guess that she’s seen everything from drug addiction and abandonment to custody battles and adjusting to life with a man she [...]

February 16, 2010

The art of loving what you do

The art of loving what you do

by Tyree Harris

As broke college students, there isn’t a lot we won’t do for cash. From cleaning up after our peers at the EMU to standing for tedious hours at the mercy of a grocery scanning mecha-lord at Safeway (like me) — you name it, we’d probably do it.
It’s [...]

February 16, 2010

Are You Your Government?

Are You Your Government?

by Bob Grant

On October 1, 1949 the People’s Republic of China was formally established in a speech given by Mao Zedong from the Imperial Gate at Tiananmen Square. I stood at the very spot where Mao gave his speech and took the photo at the right.  From speaking with people – in [...]

February 15, 2010

Is Silent Bob too Fat to Fly?

Silent Bob was not allowed to fly on Southwest Airlines because he did not fit into the seat. They have a policy of making those who do not fit comfortably into the 17 inches assigned to each passenger either get off or pay for an extra seat. Silent Bob has taken to Twitter to voice [...]

February 15, 2010

Not All Factories in China are Sweat Shops

Not All Factories in China are Sweat Shops

by Bob Grant

As I write about my personal experiences in China I again want to note that they are strictly that – my “personal” experiences.  I am certain there are people – who have visited China – who could contradict everything that I have, or will, write.  The [...]

February 14, 2010

What is Nudity?

What is Nudity?

by Bob Grant

This seems to be the consensus definition of Nudity:

noun:   the state of being without clothing or covering of any kind.

Someone, very special to me, sent out a harmless Valentine’s Day JibJab video.  Someone else wrote something about there was an impression of nudity in this video – they try to keep their kids from seeing [...]

February 13, 2010

All Good Children Go to Heaven

My mother died last night. She’d been suffering from deep depression and extreme anxiety, and was being treated in a Phoenix hospital that specializes in helping elderly people with behavioral disorders of this sort. She had a stroke, the second in two months, and this one broke her connection with life as we know it.

My [...]

February 12, 2010

My Funny Valentine

My Funny Valentine
 
by John Armor 
 
Remember those features in Readers Digest, “Laughter is the Best Medicine”? Do they still have that? Does Readers Digest still exist? It was in its day perfect for leaving on the back of the toilet in the bathroom — it had short articles when you were in a hurry. long ones [...]

February 12, 2010

The Death of One

The Death of One   Stephen Sangirardi    Bard715@aol.com
 
    Every year at the Oscars, there is a segment commemorating the stars who have died in the past year. Their picture flashes on the giant Academy screen, cinematic music plays in the background, and people applaud in noticeably ascending degree of the deceased star’s importance. From least important [...]

February 12, 2010

Take the Children Outside

Believe it or not I was a skinny little girl. I climbed trees, dug deep mud holes and ran with the boys. The only girls to play with in my neighborhood were my sisters and they were a few years younger and a whole lot prissier. Now being overweight I see that my youth was [...]

February 12, 2010

Singapore lets the games begin

A break from the government makes it a happy year of the tiger for Singapore’s first casino [...]

February 12, 2010

The Off-Center President

The Off-Center President
Obama says he’d settle for a single term—and seems to mean it.

 

There is, I think, an amazing political fact right now that is hiding in plain sight and is rich with implications. It was there in President Obama’s Jan. 25, pre-State of the Union interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, who was pressing him [...]

February 12, 2010

We Have No.....

We Have No…..

by Bob Grant

We have no lodge on mountain up high,

We have no jet on which to fly.

We have no yacht on which to ride,

We have no mansion in which to hide.

We have no Harley on which to cruise,

We have no closet with mountains of shoes.

We have no tailor to make our clothes,

We have no autos lined up in [...]

February 12, 2010

A Contradiction of Times

A Contradiction of Times

by Bob Grant

During my trips to China I wish I had taken more photos of the places I passed, to and from, the factories I visited.  In lieu of those photos – I am going to mix some that I found on the Internet with those that I took.

The one phenomenon that [...]

February 11, 2010

Where Do the Words Go When a Writer Dies?

Yesterday as I took advantage of the weather and watched movies while the snow piled up outside I received a call that one of the more senior members of the Harlem Writers Guild had died. It was a shock because we assumed he didn’t make the last meeting because he usually went dancing the first [...]

February 10, 2010

What if an African American were elected President?

First of all it would be very difficult to elect an African American President in America today. There would have to be some sort of cataclysmic event like a massive meltdown of or economic system that would cause people to lurch violently left. But let’s just say that happened and an African American were elected. [...]

February 10, 2010

Somebody should tell President Obama He won the Election

President Obama can stop running now. Someone should really tell him that. He is still in campaign mode and wants to give those feel good speeches. The problem is the speeches don’t feel so good anymore and we really don’t need somebody running for an office he already won. Being President is not about approval [...]

February 10, 2010

So what was written on Sarah's Palm...George Bush?

Sarah reads from her palm. She mixes up names and trashes the English language and makes up little idioms like shout outs and six pack joes and hockey moms. She really isn’t into all that minutia of policy and stumbles around when pressed and mixes metaphors and trips over sound bytes and puts her pedagogy’s [...]

February 10, 2010

Flying the Friendlier Skies in China

Flying the Friendlier Skies in China

by Bob Grant

When I first started going to China I was warned not to fly on Chinese domestic airlines.  I was told they were old cast off planes – or old military planes – and that people were crammed into each plane with barn yard and other animals.  Before I [...]

February 10, 2010

The SWI Question of the Day (2-10-10)

Should Homelessness concern you/us?

We welcome your thoughts and comments.

February 9, 2010

Question Time Isn’t the Answer

Question Time Isn’t the Answer
In the age of terror, America needs sober, bipartisan leadership.

 

There’s renewed interest in Question Time, or rather in the idea of trying to import in some fashion the British parliamentary institution whereby the prime minister appears each Wednesday in the House of Commons in order to take questions and debate. The [...]

February 9, 2010

I Ate no Dog - I Ate no Cat

I Ate no Dog – I Ate no Cat

by Bob Grant

When I first traveled to China I was warned about the food from many well meaning people – some who had traveled to China and some who had not.  I was told that I would starve if I did not take food in my suitcase [...]

February 8, 2010

A Lawyer Gets Greedy in Haiti- What Would You Do?

The United States citizens who were arrested for kidnapping the 33 children in Haiti will go on trial today without their original Haitian lawyer. The story goes that he asked for $30,000 U.S. as a retainer and an additional $30,000 at a later date. The families of the people on trial called this robbery and [...]

February 8, 2010

They All Look Alike

They All Look Alike

by Bob Grant

One of our US government officials reportedly made a comment with the word “retarded” in it.  There was also an attempt to make a joke using “Special Olympics” on a TV show in the past.  Why do people say the things they do?  Why have I said some of things [...]

February 7, 2010

I Prefer Local to Global

I Prefer Local to Global

By Alan Caruba

Perhaps it is just the product of the times in which I grew up and my experience with the events of the world. Or perhaps it is the spin that has been added to the word “global”, endowing it with an almost spiritual quality.

Mostly, though, I think it is [...]

February 7, 2010

I am not the Manchurian Candidate

I am not the Manchurian Candidate

by Bob Grant

How can you embrace an enemy of the USA?  More important – why would you?  If these questions have not been outright asked of me – they have been implied.  Why I chose to speak highly of China, and its people, is something that I do willingly and [...]

February 6, 2010

I Never met a Communist in China

I Never met a Communist in China

by Bob Grant

I have been traveling to China since 1998.  I would not consider myself a seasoned traveler to that country – making around 25 visits total.  When I traveled there I usually stayed between one and two weeks – never during any of my visits did I ever [...]

February 5, 2010

I have a Love Affair with China and its People

I have decided to write on my own site.  I am not certain what I will be writing about – as with all amateur writers – I will write as I can fit it in or think of something that is of interest to me which I hope our viewers will enjoy reading.  I am going [...]

February 4, 2010

A Positive Attitude for a Gray Day

Don’t look down I tell myself as I step out into the snow. Down is where the muck is, where the dirt is. Down is where it was a blanket of white last night and now hours past dawn it is a sea of dark dog poop, rivers of urine and tossed debris. It is [...]

February 3, 2010

The National Madhouse

The National Madhouse

By Alan Caruba

If you think that you are going mad, based on the statements out of the White House and Congress, let me assure you that you are sane, but those in charge of governing the nation appear to have lost their wits.

The Democrat’s third-ranking House leader, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), during an [...]

February 2, 2010

Suffer the Little Children- Stealing the Young from Haiti

They said God sent them to Haiti to save the children. Even behind bars after being stopped at the border of neighboring Dominican Republic with 33 children and no permission to take them they claimed they were doing the right thing. At this time Haiti is flooded with people helping from all over the world. [...]

February 2, 2010

A Gathering of Artists- Here

Twenty five years ago artists got together in Hollywood under the masterful direction of Quincy Jones and recorded “We are the World” , a song written by Lionel Ritchie and the late Michael Jackson, to raise money for starving children in Africa. Jones told all those participating to leave their egos at the door. It [...]

February 1, 2010

Global Warming Makes the Case Against Global Government

Global Warming Makes the Case Against Global Government

By Alan Caruba

The utterly baseless case for “global warming” is melting a lot faster than the glaciers in India’s Himalayas which, by the way, are not melting.

It is time for the Nobel Committee to rescind the Peace Prize given to Al Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel [...]

February 1, 2010

“I am not an ideologue”

“I am not an ideologue.”
 
by John Armor
 
Last week, I wrote about 11 factually false statements in President Obama’s State of the Union address. Normally, one should not repeat the same subject next week. But, did you see the appearance of Obama before the Republicans meeting in Baltimore? I know that a few hundred of you [...]

February 1, 2010

Why We Need Black History Month

When I was in high school, a million years ago according to my children, we had Negro History Week. A speaker would come to our school to reflect on the progress of the black race. Often they would talk about people we knew from the limited black history allowed in schools. Most of the time [...]

February 1, 2010

Wyoming's 1963 Freshman Football Team

I was fortunate enough to play football for the University of Wyoming which ending with a win over Florida State in the 1966 Sun Bowl.  That entire team has just been elected into the Wyoming Hall of Fame.  Below are my thoughts – and tribute – to those who started it all:

Although the recognition of [...]

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