Nov 16, 2009 -
In the grand scheme of things, this is not a big deal at all and I know people have much bigger problems, so I hate to whine, but I'm going to for a second anyway.
My parents are in the process of selling their house right now. They've been kicking around the idea for a while, but they listed it and sold it quickly (I think they underpriced it) and they have their meeting to finalize everything on Thursday. They haven't found a new place to buy yet, so they decided to rent a house for a bit because they don't want to rush into buying something they don't want.
I know this is silly, but I am really sad about the fact that they will no longer own the house I grew up in. We have so many memories there and I love that house. We moved there when I was in second grade, so I spent more time there (by far) than in any other place we lived. They have a large wooded lot and the house is on a beautiful country road. Last Christmas, when my mom picked me up from the airport and drove down the street, the snow on the trees looked beautiful and I felt like I was home. (I love D.C., but for some reason, Ohio still feels like home to me.)
They are moving to a smaller house on a tiny lot on a typical suburban street. It just won't be the same.
- 38 Comments
Nov 11, 2009 -
On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases that could have major implications for the way juvenile offenders are treated in our criminal justice system. Sullivan v.
- 4 Comments
Nov 07, 2009 -
*
Does the thought have you reaching for your sandwich, while blushing with shame?
Lunchtime sex is something you should try at least once. Because if you've tried it once, I promise you, you'll want to try it again.
- 6 Comments
Sep 30, 2009 -
An energy- and money-saving solution that pretty much everyone can get behind: three-day weekends.
Workers of the world, unite in giving Utah a round of applause. The Beehive State has made Thursday the new Friday, and by proving the benefits of this condensed calendar, Utah has brought us all closer to the dream of a shortened workweek.
- 14 Comments
Sep 30, 2009 -
MANILA, Philippines – One of the most destructive storms in years extended its deadly path across Southeast Asia, blowing down wooden villages in Cambodia and crushing Vietnamese houses under mudslides after submerging much of the Philippine capital.
The death toll Wednesday climbed to 331 and was still rising.
"We're used to storms that sweep away one or two houses.
- 5 Comments
Sep 29, 2009 -
By ISHAAN THAROOR Ishaan Tharoor – 38 mins ago
In Manila, millions of residents now live in a world of mud. Torrential rain over the weekend triggered the worst flooding the Philippines' capital has seen in over four decades, submerging more than 80% of the city, killing at least 246 people and displacing hundreds of thousands more. By Tuesday, the water had receded in many places, but it left behind ruined homes and swept-away neighborhoods, and according to health officials, it disabled the majority of Manila's medical facilities.
- 8 Comments
Sep 17, 2009 -
I edited this post because the Yahoo story is screwy. It is missing a lot of information that it had earlier. :shrug:
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (CNN) -- A Yale University lab technician was arrested Thursday and charged with murder in the slaying of a graduate student whose body was found in the basement wall of an off-campus medical research building, police said.
- 35 Comments
Sep 15, 2009 -
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/09/15/media-malpractice-tom-brokaws/
Media Malpractice: Tom Brokow's World Implodes
By Jeffrey Lord on 9.15.09 @ 6:08AM
Tom Brokaw.
With the passing of Walter Cronkite, Mr. Brokaw is considered perhaps the new "dean" of journalism. As such the former NBC News anchor is periodically summoned forth to assess the current world, an occasion that presented itself recently on the venerable NBC Sunday newser Meet the Press.
- 15 Comments
Sep 10, 2009 -
The Sorry State of Journalism
Lessons reporters need to learn from recent fiascos like the Van Jones coverage.
September 9, 2009 - by Christian Toto
I’ve spent the last decade writing articles for daily newspapers, national magazines, and the web. But I never graduated from journalism school, a fact that haunted me for years.
- 0 Comments
Aug 31, 2009 -
Michael Yon
Online Magazine
Home Michael's Dispatches Precision Voting
Precision Voting
Next >
31 August 2009Helmand Province, Afghanistan
The historical Afghan elections scheduled for 20 August were days away. While the west mostly continued to vote for Afghanistan, the big question was, “Will Afghanistan vote for itself?”
The latest media wave splashed into the main voting centers in places like Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Herat and Lashkar Gah. The larger cities only account for perhaps 20% of the Afghan population. Whereas the easy and obvious stories are in the cities, a crucial and larger dimension—the other 80%—would unfold in the boonies. Most Afghans would have no chance to vote.
The election was to be run by Afghans. In theory and in practice this would be a recipe for disaster. The strategic thinkers cannot be faulted for this; after nearly eight years of war, if the west were still running the elections, the elections and government would be a failure to begin with. By comparison, the Iraqi elections on 30 January 2005 (less than two years after invasion) were run mostly by Iraqis. In the voting of October and December of that same year, Iraqis had two more runs at the ballots, which were increasingly successful. Afghanistan, however, is different. This would be only the second election in history.
There are no good choices here. Either we run the elections and the central government and in doing so undermine the same central government we are investing in, or we allow that central government to run the elections and probably watch it undermine itself. But who knows?
- 1 Comment