The Ventures were an instrumental rock group from the days of my youth who were known for their up-tempo, driving, pulsating beats that gave special prominence to drummers. They were one of the few purely instrumental rock bands that had an extended successful career, the British group The Shadows being another one.
Here are two examples. One is the tune Wipe Out. [Read more…]
Laura Poitras has been a crucial figure in the Edward Snowden NSA revelations story but has preferred to stay in the background. But in a column in Der Spiegel she describes her end of the events that led to David Miranda being detained at Heathrow airport on his return to Brazil after visiting her in Berlin. She says that what happened to Miranda was a ‘blatant attack on press freedom’ and that she has experienced similar things. [Read more…]
The retail giant Walmart has decided to extend its benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of its LGBT employees. Granted, Walmart is a terrible employer that exploits its workers and pays them poor wages but this move is symbolically important because the socially conservative Arkansas-based company is so huge and because it has stated that its policy will take effect in all 50 states, irrespective of whether that state recognizes same-sex marriage or not. It is a major step forward. [Read more…]
The repetition of events that led up to previous US attacks on other countries gains pace. We are now at the stage of whipping up public support for yet another bombing campaign. It almost seems as if there is a standard script that is hauled out on such occasions in which just the name of the country is kept blank. [Read more…]
The province of Quebec proposing a ban on all public sector employees wearing headgear or jewelry that is overtly religious raised the issue of how far a government should go to accommodate the religious preferences of people. My personal view, and one that I think is consistent with the US constitution, is that people should be allowed to wear what they want provided: (a) it does not interfere with how well they can perform their jobs; and (b) the rule should be such that anyone, whether religious or not, should be allowed to wear similar items if they wish. [Read more…]
The Center Pompidou in Metz, France has constructed a building onto which the design group AntiVJ has projected an eye-catching display that is based on the hexagonal structures found on the ocean sea bed by an organism called the paleodictyon nodosum. [Read more…]
George Packer of The New Yorker covers both sides in dialogue form.
You may know Phil Mickelson as one of the top golfers on the professional circuit. But did you know that he is also a trenchant analyst of the hardships that the current tax system imposes on the real producers in this economyt? Gary Legum gives the appropriate response to the perennially oblivious Mickelson who really feels the pain of that persecuted underclass: corporate CEOs. [Read more…]
I move in circles (socially and at work) where people tend to be politically interested but surprisingly ignorant of many facts. I blame it on the fact that they spend far too much time following a few big name sources of TV and print news that they think are comprehensive and giving them the full picture, but in fact are very narrow. When I discuss politics with them and point out all manner of things that they do not know, they sometimes ask me how I get information that they were unaware of. I tell them that I read a lot of blogs that monitor a wide range of news sources and alert me to news that I would otherwise have missed, in addition to providing valuable insights and commentary. [Read more…]