The collapse of the real estate bubble exacerbated a problem that some older mid-western cities like Cleveland faced in that decreasing population had left many homes empty. Since the real estate bubble resulted in the ownership of many homes being held by shell companies that were hard to trace, these building feel into disrepair and became eyesores since no one was being held responsible for their upkeep. This led to the problem of urban blight and some cities have tried to solve it by demolishing the buildings.
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Those of you who use any Apple products should take steps to fix a major security flaw that has been exposed. This flaw implicates a breakdown in its SSL protocols and so enables a third party to intercept communications between you and any site that you visit. Apple has issued patches to fix this for its iPad and iPhones and you should immediately install them by going to Settings->General->Software Updates.
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The death penalty is in trouble. It is not because of public opposition to this barbaric practice but due to technical reasons. It turns out that the drug company in the US that made one of the three drugs that go into the cocktail that makes up the lethal injections decided to stop producing it because of the negative image it gave of a drug company being in the death business.
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You may recall the case of Jonathan Martin, the football player for the Miami Dolphins who walked off of the team in the middle of the season because he could not tolerate any more the hazing that he was being subjected to by his teammates, principally Richie Incognito, and some coaches. I wrote about it here, here, and here.
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I am a very risk-averse person. It is not just about risks to myself but also risks to others. This is one reason why I never watch high-risk sporting events live because I just can’t bear the tension of wondering if something will go horribly wrong and result in the competitor suffering serious injuries or even dying. Fortunately this rarely happens in the Olympics where the athletes know what they are doing (I hope).
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Michael Sam is a highly-regarded college football player who was expected to be picked early in the NFL draft in April. Last week he announced that he was gay. He has received many supportive messages from teammates and fans but apparently there are fears that his prospects for the draft have dimmed because some teams are worried about the ‘controversy’ involved in having him on their team. [Read more…]

When I said that I had no interest in watching any of the Olympic events, I was wrong. There is one event that intrigues me and that is curling. That fascinates me. It looks like a sport of great skill and precision and teamwork. [Read more…]

I am not a huge fan of the Olympics. It seems to me to be an over-hyped extravaganza in which the emphasis has shifted from a focus on pure athleticism to anything that gets good ratings and brings in money to the IOC. It also results in governments spending huge amounts of money to construct buildings and facilities that often turn into white elephants later. [Read more…]

Two cheerleaders for the Oakland Raiders football team, identified as just Lacy T. and Sarah G. have initiated a class-action lawsuit against the team alleging ‘wage theft’, denying them compensation that they feel they are entitled to. They are not paid for practices or overtime or for other appearances like at charity events, which results in them getting paid at roughly $5 per hour, which is below the California minimum wage. Plus they only get paid at the end of the season so they have to pay their own expenses up front. As Lacy T. says, she was surprised by this since football teams make so much money. [Read more…]

The conventional view is that dogs chase cats, not the other way around. I have only had dogs as companions so have never experienced what the dynamic is between members of these two species if they live together.

But from reader Norm I received this video that indicates that in homes that have both dogs and cats, the cats seemed to be quite mean to the dogs and the latter, even big German Shepherds, were quite intimidated by them. [Read more…]