It’s becoming a yearly tradition — PETA submits a TV ad of scantly clad women reveling in their love of vegetables, the networks are reluctant to air it, and the whole debacle gets labeled ‘controversial’. But does anyone else just find the whole marginally sexually exploitative enterprise exhausting more than anything else? Can someone ask PETA to move on from these predictable promo campaigns already? … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …The country’s most important issue is not when the leader goes, but whether the regime will go with him President Mubarak’s announcement, under American pressure, that he will not seek re-election in September marks an end to one phase of the Egyptian crisis. But it does not resolve it. First, it is far from clear that Egyptians will accept him remaining in even nominal control. Secondly, the real struggle in Egypt is not between Mr Mubarak and the bulk of the Egyptian people. It is between the entrenched political, military and economic elites who have come to dominate Egyptian society in the years since independence and the classes they have increasingly excluded, coerced and manipulated. These elites have worked for Mr Mubarak, fought for his favour, and been controlled by him while at the same time using him to defend their collective interests. A dictator never stands alone. “Irhal!” (“Go!”) the protesters cry, but the most important issue is not when Mr Mubarak goes but what goes with him. The manner in which he leaves office is nevertheless important because it will be an indication of how much of the old system is likely to survive in the new era. Mohamed ElBaradei, representing the views of much of the opposition, has said there can be no discussions with what remain of the authorities until Mr Mubarak steps down. Another wing of the opposition has split over whether there can be contacts before that moment. Even as the crowds pour into Tahrir Square in search of the catharsis Mr Mubarak’s early departure will bring, those on both sides of what used to be the divide between government and opposition are examining what trade-offs might be, could be, or should be considered. They are doing this not only with a graph of rising popular anger in mind but to a short timetable set by the relentless degradation of the Egyptian economy . Empty shops, closed banks, deserted tourist hotels and dry petrol stations cannot be borne for long by a society with Egypt’s limited margins and reserves. Mr Mubarak’s main personal concern may well be to withdraw from the scene in what he deems to be an honourable way. But those who have constituted the pillars of his regime are interested in survival, not withdrawal. The officer corps wants to preserve its power and privileges. Yet the Egyptian army is oversized and over-armed, and ought, in any sensible reordering of Egypt’s political system, to be reduced and depoliticised. The older leaders of the ruling National Democratic party, where some remnants of the original Free Officers’ idealism may still just be discerned, also want a place in any new order, and may have a sort of constituency in Egypt’s enormous bureaucracy. Yet that, too, should be reduced. The Egyptian business class, particularly that section of it which gravitated toward Gamal Mubarak, the president’s son, will plead that its capital, competence and contacts are vital if Egypt’s economy is to be restored, and threaten dire consequences if the deals and depredations of the past are unearthed. Yet that class is properly seen as part of the problem and not part of the solution. The police, lowest of the low on the regime totem pole, will be calculating that sooner or later their brutal skills will once again be needed. Yet they must be curbed if Egypt is to make a genuine new start. The divisions on the opposite side, notably between the Muslim Brotherhood and more secular groups, and, potentially, between all of the established opposition and the new, younger protesters who so dramatically initiated change in Egypt, are obvious. They may also have spread the impulse for change further afield, as yesterday’s reshuffle of the Jordanian government shows. The demonstrators in the square say they have only one demand, that Mr Mubarak step down. In the euphoria of the moment some of them see his departure as the answer to everything that is wrong in the land of Egypt. But whether that departure comes sooner or later, it will not be that. Egypt Hosni Mubarak Protest guardian.co.uk
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Planet Beck nears critical mass with wingnutty theory about Egypt uprising
February 2, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Like Steve Benen, I’m beginning to wonder if our favorite Big-Time Wingnuts are about to implode under the critical mass of their own overpowering wingnuttery. It seem as though Sarah Palin’s bizarre “WTF” rant of the other night — while not particularly spectacular in the context of a political career rich with embarrassing moments — may have been the pebble that finally tipped even her reflexive defenders in the other direction. (You sure can’t find anyone outside of Planet Palin who will defend it.) Then there’s Glenn Beck in the past couple of days. Conor Friedersdorf’s reaction reflected the consensus: “the fact that Roger Ailes and his associates air this kind of nonsense –couched in these kinds of assurances! – is indefensible.” As Benen says : Over the last year or so, Fox News’ Glenn Beck has lost about a third of his audience, which is a pretty significant drop, and may very well lead the deranged media personality to think of ways to bring viewers back. One way, for example, may be for Beck to be even more creative when sharing crazy visions of global affairs. Yesterday, the strange man did his best to explain events in Egypt with a take that really has to be seen to be believed. Chris Hayes called it “a tour de force of paranoid ignorance,” which sums it up nicely. As you can see, all he’s really doing is reinforcing what even some of Beck’s Believers are now beginning to realize: that he’s an ignoramus peddling cockamamie conspiracy theories with no regard to facts or truthfulness. You see, Beck believes that events in Egypt are the culmination of conspiratorial forces he’s been railing about for some time now — essentially revolving around an obscure book by French anarchists that nobody is actually reading, The Coming Insurrection . Basically, Beck foresees a Middle Eastern “Caliphate” overtaking Europe and China controlling big chunks of new territory, all fueled by a “Marxist” and “Islamist” conspiracy: I believe that I can make a case in the end that there are three powers that you will see really emerge. One, a Muslim caliphate that controls the Mideast and parts of Europe. Two, China, that will control Asia, the southern half of Africa, part of the Middle East, Australia, maybe New Zealand, and God only knows what else. And Russia, which will control all of the old former Soviet Union bloc, plus maybe the Netherlands. I’m not really sure. But their strong arm is coming. That leaves us and South America. What happens to us? Then Beck went on Bill O’Reilly’s show and explained the nutshell version: BECK: No, I think we’re actually possibly the witnessing Archduke Ferdinand moment. Archduke Ferdinand was the guy who was killed — shot, a few months later started the First World War. I think we’re in real danger. … BECK: I understand that, but what you’re not taking into account is that that is what the average person thinks, just like the average person on the street of — of Cairo thinks they’re swept up in some freedom movement. It is not about freedom. It is being orchestrated by the Marxists, communists and primarily also the Muslim Brotherhood. Sean Easter and Todd Gregory at Media Matters have a thorough roundup of the madness, and conclude by observing: All of this was offered up in service of his theory that the protests in Egypt are the manifestation of The Coming Insurrection , an obscure book that French police believe was written by a member of a small group of anarchists. Beck has repeatedly described the anonymous author (or authors) of the book as “communists.” He’s tied George Soros and President Obama to The Coming Insurrection , as well. So, a diverse group of the Egyptian people are in the streets protesting an autocratic leader, and Glenn Beck has decided that this is directly connected to an anonymously written anarchist tract from France that he’s been obsessing about for the past two years? Normally, we are in the business of debunking the falsehoods and smears that Beck promotes. But how do you debunk pronouncements that quite obviously bear no relationship to reality? The real question is: Why would anyone ever take this man seriously on any subject?
Continue reading …Super Bowl XLV Media Day: Packers split on iOS / Android, Cowboys CIO talks mobility
February 1, 2011 No Comment
We woke up this morning in Dallas to 20 degree temperatures and a parking lot covered in ice. Not exactly the kind of weather the NFL was hoping for when it selected the new Cowboys Stadium to host Super Bowl XLV , but it didn’t stop both teams and media from making their way — however slowly — to Arlington for Super Bowl Media Day. Naturally, the likes of ESPN were there in full force, but rather than picking apart defensive schemes and seeing who could outgun Troy Polamalu for the longest mane in North Texas, we spent our time asking about mobile OS preferences and soaking up knowledge from Cowboys CIO Pete Walsh. With a price tag well north of $1 billion on the new Cowboys Stadium, the home to the world’s largest HD display is certainly one of the most technologically advanced in the world. It’s packing 884 wireless access points throughout (not to mention an internal network operations center that constantly monitors activity on each one), 260 miles of fiber optic cabling, capacity to handle over 100,000 simultaneous wireless connections, over 3,100 IPTVs and micro cell towers for each major carrier within — you know, so that kickoff video that just can’t wait actually sees its way onto YouTube prior to the start of the second half. Head on past the break to catch of a video of us talking smartphone platforms with Green Bay Packers center Scott Wells, as well as a lengthy (and insightful) interview with the Chief Information Officer of the Dallas Cowboys. Everything from the Cowboys’ rejection of FanVision to their hopes to blanket the stadium with gratis WiFi is covered, and we’re even given a hint that contactless payments and mobile food ordering systems could be just a season or so away. Gallery: Super Bowl XLV Media Day 2011: on the field with the Packers and Steelers Continue reading Super Bowl XLV Media Day: Packers split on iOS / Android, Cowboys CIO talks mobility Super Bowl XLV Media Day: Packers split on iOS / Android, Cowboys CIO talks mobility originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Kansas City, Missouri is one of the many places getting socked by a snowstorm moving across much of the country. By evening, the National Weather Service reported nearly a foot of snow and drifts of three-and-a-half feet. (Feb. 1)
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A crowd of thousands rushed to speakers and projection television screens to listen to their president address the unrest that has swept over the nation in the past eight days. They weren’t happy with what they heard and told an Al Jazeera web producer they would remain in the square until Mubarak leaves.
Continue reading …This is wonderful. All of your favorite McBain moments from The Simpsons, compiled into a fairly seamless film, which is way better than the A Little Bit of Heaven trailer and probably better than Black Swan (I still haven’t seen Black Swan. But I’ll say this is definitely better than Black Swan.) McBain: The Movie from McBain on Vimeo. I remember all of these clips so clearly, as if they were from… Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : VH1′s Today In Music Discovery Date : 02/02/2011 00:47 Number of articles : 4
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Patients treated with Avastin, a top-selling cancer medication, appear to have a 50% increased risk of dying from treatment-related adverse events compared to the use of chemotherapy alone, a new research review finds.
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Children who have their tonsils surgically removed may experience greater than expected weight gain, a new analysis suggests.
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