I do not particularly care for films that re-tell real political history based on the reports of journalists who cover the campaigns. They too often deal with the second level of politics and avoid the more important third hidden level that deals with the oligarchic influence on the system itself.
But I will make an exception and likely see Game Change, the new HBO film [Read more…]
Observational or experimental data, if plotted on a graph, consist of a set of discrete points. There are potentially an infinite number of lines that can be drawn through those points. In some cases, the data itself suggests an overall rising or lowering trend but whether the relationship is a simple linear one or more complicated is not often easily discernible with the naked eye. We have to impose a curve based on prior expectations of [Read more…]
A few days ago, I wrote about how private equity companies like Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital worked. Jon Stewart adds to that story.
To get hints on how to view clips on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post. This show was broadcast on January 31, 2012.
Glenn Greenwald links to an interview given by Vali Nasr who argues that we are seeing a failure of diplomacy by the US with respect to Iran, with president Obama’s sanctions policy likely to lead to war.
This is truly insane.
My daughter just sent me the link to this ad for a new line of LEGOs being marketed to girls. She saw it as a retrograde step in attitudes towards women. I have to agree, mainly because of what the new LEGO figurines are portrayed as interested in doing.
It seems like there are many parents who [Read more…]
One of the reasons why Mitt Romney has always been the favorite to win the Republican nomination is because he is the oligarchy’s choice, with close ties to all the major banks. He has obtained [Read more…]
Look at this image and ask yourself which vertical red line would be longer if measured with a ruler on the photograph.
Phil Plait uses this image to give an explanation of the ‘moon illusion’, that refers to the phenomenon that a full moon that lies low on the horizon appears to be much larger than [Read more…]
Joe Nocera, business correspondent for the New York Times, has been on a tear recently, blasting the National Collegiate Athletic Association for being petty and tyrannical in ways that harm individual students, even as major colleges have used sports and their athletes as money makers.
He says that the people who tend [Read more…]
I saw the latest Muppets film over the holidays and it was fun, though not great. But because the villain was an evil oil executive named Tex Richman (played with relish by Chris Cooper), Fox News seemed to think that the film was a brazen [Read more…]
There exists a marble frieze in the US Supreme Court building that overlooks the bench that contains carvings depicting 18 secular and religious lawgivers of the past. Guess who is included in the pantheon? Yes, it is the prophet Mohammed himself.
We know that Muslims are highly touchy about depictions of their prophet, some of them being willing to even kill those who do so. Hence it must have been quite awkward for all concerned to discover this. After the various controversies involving this issue, the Supreme Court included [Read more…]