October 2009
Did Sudan and the U.S. Come Close to War in 2006?... →
Our dealings with the Sudanese military may not be over. And the bit about the military officers threatening to rape the women and sell them into slavery — that’s a useful window into how the Sudanese forces sometimes operate.
so glad, nicholas kristof, that you can see that “bit” as a “useful window.” a tiny thing, really! rape? whatevs - it’s a window on the mind...
A Senate Naysayer, Spoiling for Health Care Fight... →
His at-times hyperbolic rhetoric, fervent social conservatism and seeming indifference to whether or not people like him have made him something of a lightning rod. “If we wiped out the entire Congress and sent common people who have no political experience, we would get far better results than we have today,” he said in a remark typical of how he views the institution.
how come the people who...
Jon Gosselin turns to Rabbi Shmuley - CNN.com →
Most recently, Gosselin’s girlfriend, Hailey Glassman, accused him of being “emotionally abusive” and throwing “mantrums” because of his frustrations.
the word “mantrum” is pretty much the only good thing to come out of this article.
Magazine Preview - The Obamas’ Marriage -... →
let’s talk about bad jeans.
that shit is tragic, barack. stick to suits:
and finally: kick those shoes off, girl!
i love the details of this photo.
(oh and bee tee dubbs, the article was pretty great too.)
Inhabitat » Bel & Bel Upcycles Vintage Vespas into... →
eh, ragazz’! this one is a two parter. gorgeous upcycled elderly vespas aaaand:
the lambrett twist!
What the Last Meal Taught Him - NYTimes.com →
well damn, how i cried at this. weeeeeeping.
Obama Visits Returning War Dead - NYTimes.com →
you know, i’m glad he’s taking this afghanistan decision seriously. i may or may not agree with his ultimate choice, but it feels good to have a commander in chief who understands the gravity of what’s at stake here.
Sarkozy Returns to His Political Roots -... →
National identity and immigration are hot-button issues in France, home to Western Europe’s largest Muslim community. Four years ago, disaffected youths in immigrant suburbs clashed with the police during three weeks of rioting. Now a debate about whether to ban the Muslim burka is making waves.
The issue has proven a headache for the left, which has traditionally dismissed all talk of national...
Group worries about violence against women on TV -... →
sigh. while i don’t think television violence encourages violence in real life, it does normalize it - and those just aren’t messages i’m happy about having beamed into homes nationwide.
Op-Ed Columnist - Oval Man Cave - NYTimes.com →
Obama likes to play sports, watch sports and talk sports. (Even his favorite TV shows, “Mad Men” and “Entourage,” are set in male-dominated worlds.) So the Obama aides who can do that, like Robert Gibbs, have a deeper personal connection with the president than someone like Rahm Emanuel, the former ballet dancer who prefers yoga to golf.
oooh, did you just call rahmbo a pansy? he will CUT. YOU.
...
BBC - Earth News - Epic humpback whale battle... →
this shit is bananas (b-a-n-a-n-a-s!)
i love how the female humpback whale does her little “come and get me, boys!” roll and then incites seven male whales to a deadly frenzy, then picks the victor. love. it. i am so impressed right now by what we can learn from the animal kingdom about seduction.
Date Night in New York - White Table Cloths Are... →
oh man: this is so hipster-adorable. and now all i can think of is the song s’wonderful :)
Brother of Afghan Leader Is Said to Be on C.I.A.... →
i am trying to remember the last time the CIA made things better and not just shadier. i’m coming up pretty empty.
Somalia president escapes surprise attack -... →
dag, yo. somalia needs to get it together!
Energy researchers find Obama an eager student →
In fact, after he heard part of the description of plans to develop the system so that batteries or solar cells could be made by spraying alternating layers of different organisms onto a glass surface, Hammond said, Obama turned to reporters who accompanied him on the tour and said “did you understand that?” - and then proceeded to explain the information in his own words.
...
French Branch of Scientology Convicted of Fraud -... →
this is kind of hilarious.
Big Macs off menu as Iceland's economic crisis... →
A McDonald’s Big Mac hamburger currently sells for the equivalent of $5.29, making Iceland one of the most expensive places in the world to buy the sandwich. Only Norway and Switzerland charge more, according to the countries listed on the Economist magazine’s Big Mac Index, published in February.
iceland: health via poverty.
“Just because I’m skinny doesn’t mean I’m not tough,” Mr. Obama said. “I don’t...”
– White House Memo - Obama’s Fund-Raising, in His Best Interest - NYTimes.com
Courtroom feces-thrower gets 31 years - Criminal... →
“During his home-invasion robbery trial, man smuggled in a bag of his feces”
you know what? that is exactly the sort of individual i don’t feel sad about having removed from the streets i have to live and work on - central square is nasty enough without releasing poo smearers back into the wild.
Op-Ed Columnist - Benedict’s Gambit - NYTimes.com →
This could be the real significance of last week’s invitation. What’s being interpreted, for now, as an intra-Christian skirmish may eventually be remembered as the first step toward a united Anglican-Catholic front — not against liberalism or atheism, but against Christianity’s most enduring and impressive foe.
SINCE WHEN do islam and christianity need to be foes? fucking ross fucking douthat.
Well - The Human Body Is Built for Distance -... →
Springlike ligaments and tendons in the feet and legs are crucial for running. (Our close relatives the chimpanzee and the ape don’t have them.) A narrow waist and a midsection that can turn allow us to swing our arms and prevent us from zigzagging on the trail. Humans also have a far more developed sense of balance, an advantage that keeps the head stable as we run. And most humans can store...
Op-Ed Columnist - The Nuns’ Story - NYTimes.com →
Nuns need to be even more sepia-toned for the über-conservative pope, who was christened “God’s Rottweiler” for his enforcement of orthodoxy. Once a conscripted member of the Hitler Youth, Benedict pardoned a schismatic bishop who claimed that there was no Nazi gas chamber. He also argued on a trip to Africa that distributing condoms could make the AIDS crisis worse.
i hate him. and i...
Recalling a Time When Children Ran in the New York... →
The three have not run the New York City Marathon since the 1980s; they sustained injuries before they were 20, then concentrated on their studies.
injured so young.
i was not a stunning youth athlete. but it was very much a part of who i understood myself to be, and it was only when i had to stop swimming that i realized what i’d lost.
RNC keeps racist pics on Facebook for nearly a... →
the sad thing is that this isn’t even really a surprise.
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XLV: Symbian's Lee... →
who even cares about the video when the title is this fabulous?
Op-Ed Columnist - After Reform Passes -... →
Still, if the Massachusetts experience is any guide, health care reform will have broad public support once it’s in place and the scare stories are proved false. The new health care system will be criticized; people will demand changes and improvements; but only a small minority will want reform reversed.
This thing is going to work.
shit, kruggles: doom and gloom is kind of your thang. i am...
Trial Over Killing in Court Begins - NYTimes.com →
Al-Sherbini was killed while giving court evidence in July against a Russian-born attacker who was convicted of defamation for having called her a ”terrorist” and ”Islamist” during an altercation.
Prosecutors say Alexander W. smuggled a 7-inch (18-centimeter) kitchen knife into the courtroom and stabbed al-Sherbini repeatedly in front of her husband, 3-year-old son and...
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » Fruit/Floral →
fourth anniversary is a TASTY ONE. fruit and flowers? i love it! (the third was leather. eh. hopefully by the time i get married, cool things are being done with fish leather or vintage pieces or other more sustainable scraps.)
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » before & after:... →
add me to the group of non-visionaries if you must: these chairs had ten times more soul before.
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » we like it wild:... →
are you ready to fall in love? because i’ve already tumbled, and i want you to come too.
(the dowg seals it, of course.)
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy project:... →
so i either love this or hate it - but i don’t fully understand which it is, which frustrates me. it is either a beautiful way to add texture and privacy to a space, or it looks cheap and kind of like a 70s throwback from the salvation army. but which which which? i need to know, because if i like it it would be great in the windows by my bed…
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » Cotton →
adorable column idea, and i didn’t even know that the second anniversary was cotton, but this is beyond sweet.
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » sneak peek: hetta →
what interests me most about this house is the fact that i don’t find the large views compelling for the most part, but the detail shots all feel really perfect. case in point (right v left):
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » sneak peek: neryl... →
this house is hysterical and sweet - and the bathroom would have been my clincher too, as it is P-E-R-F-E-C-T. also, even though i love my little apartment, the fates of people whose windows don’t all face north are covetable fates indeed:
now if you’ll excuse me, i have to go shut my blinds and turn the lights on, because at 5:50 in boston in october, the sun is completely gone...
Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » sneak peek: diva of... →
WHAT a lovely, bright and sunny home! and this is just ocd crafter heaven:
Are Marathons Safe? - Well Blog - NYTimes.com →
In one of the largest recent studies, published in January, Canadian researchers recruited 129 non-elite runners in Winnipeg and tested their blood just before they ran a half or full marathon. Their blood markers for heart injury were normal. By the time they’d reached the finish line, though, according to blood tests done there, most of the half-marathoners and even more of the marathoners...
Obama Declares Swine Flu a National Emergency -... →
one of my coworkers is in quarantine for swine flu even now. i still haven’t been vaccinated for either strain. i just don’t like shots/am hoping i am not so young that the flu is likely to kill me if i do get it.
Ignacio Ponseti, Hero to Many With Clubfoot, Dies... →
what a sweet obituary. if, at the end of my life, i’ve put a quarter as much good into the world, i’ll be satisfied.
Democrats Are Optimistic That Public Option Will... →
oh realleh?
Their Numbers Are Dropping - the Cellphone... →
And even the best-laid plans falter. Jenna Catsos, 22, does not have a cellphone because she thinks the idea of always being reachable is “scary” and prefers to keep in touch with handwritten letters. While at college in rural Vermont, Ms. Catsos decided to drive to Massachusetts to surprise her father for his birthday. Halfway there, her car’s transmission broke down. She walked half a mile to...
Op-Ed Columnist - Where the Wild Things Are -... →
this was the worst column ever. shame on you, david brooks, for besmirching a perfectly lovely children’s book.
