==pla|\|ing lakes==

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Death of Freedom of speech file

CNN news exec resigns after "boldly" claiming journos killed in Iraq were targeted by US military

The sickening toadying of the US media continues, even when defending their own being assassinated by the shrub junta.

9:34 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

ADD drug Adderall XR taken off market in Canada and the FDA tries to kill study critical of arthritis drugs knowing its poodle status with BigPharma is at stake

9:24 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

New strain of untreatable HIV in meth users

9:21 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

End of (another) era in Beijing's shopping district

They can hardly be mourned on aesthetic, historical or ethical grounds, but the demise of Beijing's two most notorious tourist traps is likely to induce at least a twinge of nostalgia in any foreigner who has visited the city in the past 10 years.

In less than two months the Silk Market, one of the world's hotbeds of brand piracy, has been shut down and South Bar Street in Sanlitun, the city's most popular collection of watering holes, has been demolished.

Until the last stallholders were evicted last month, the Silk Market was a vibrant, cramped and gloriously messy reminder of China's conversion to capitalism. Its traders were among the first to exploit the economic revolution launched in 1979.

9:13 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Dim the lights

R.I.P. Arthur Miller

Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre, who also directed the film of The Crucible, called him "the last of the great titans of the American stage".

He added: "With Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams he brought to the English speaking theatre a poetic urgency and tragic sweep that had been absent since the Elizabethan era. His models were the great classical tragedians and, more recently, Ibsen; and I have no doubt that plays like Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and A View from the Bridge will always stand with the masterpieces of Ibsen, Shakespeare and Sophocles."

The American playwright Edward Albee said Miller had once flattered him by describing his plays as "necessary"': "I will go one step further and say that Arthur's plays are essential."

9:10 AM - [Link] - Comments ()

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Headlines for history file

Doctors Say Loss Can Cause a Broken Heart

9:51 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Nicholas Negroponte is close to developing laptop cheap enough to distribute to 200 million kids at $100 a pop

9:26 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Xmas tsunami quake upgraded to a 9.3, the second largest ever recorded

9:20 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Demonizing the young file

Showing underwear gets you $50 fine in Virginia

9:16 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Are we not men?

Scientists and creationists duke it out in the Red States over schools teaching evolution

Personally, I believe evolution explains some of earth's history, but not all of it. But discounting it completely in favor of daft religious dogma is willful ignorance. The reality may well be more complex, and threatening both to people who are religiously scientific and people who believe scientific reasoning annihilates spirituality.

9:07 PM - [Link] - Comments ()

Is there a word in Japanese for fear of cultural evolution?

Rigid and complex Japanese language etiquette appears to be eroding due to word-processing software and the pernicious influence of foreign words

8:51 PM - [Link] - Comments ()