Some countries are pushing a proposal to give the U.N.International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”) more control over the internet. The proposal will receive a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives next week. Currently the internt is “governed” (if you can call it that) by a a collection of non-profit entities. The result has been a [...]
Posts Tagged ‘World’
Keep The U.N. Away From The Internet
Posted in America, Technology, World, tagged America, Congress, Democrats, International Telecommunications Union, Internet, Republicans, Technology, United Nations, World on May 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Bidding On Reagan’s Blood
Posted in America, Reflections, World, tagged America, Depravity, modern culture, On-Line Auctions, Reflections, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan Blood, World on May 24, 2012 | 1 Comment »
P.T. Barnum, or H.L. Mencken, or somebody else said: “You’ll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” For a while, an anonymous seller and on-line auction house seemed to be trying to prove that you won’t go broke underestimating the decency of people, either. The seller and the auction house were peddling [...]
Why Must Angela Merkel Always Be Kissed?
Posted in Humor, World, tagged Angela Merkel, Gender, Gender Equality, Hugo Chavez, Humor, Men, Women, World on May 21, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Why is it that, whenever you see a photo of German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a meeting with other world leaders, she’s always being kissed on the cheek or even on the lips? It’s interesting that, even as they talk about gender equality, our world leaders still cling to old-fashioned, sex-specific forms of greetings. Angela [...]
My Thoughts On “The Age Of Innocence”
Posted in Politics, World, America, tagged Politics, America, News media, Europe, World, newspapers, John F. Kennedy, David Brooks, The Age of Innocence, Newspaper columnists, Kennedy Inaugural Address on May 20, 2012 | 3 Comments »
David Brooks’ column The Age of Innocence is interesting, both for what it says and for what it means. What it says is that the American political system is broken. What it means is that even a columnist at one of the most powerful newspapers in the world lacks the gumption to make his point [...]
A Quick Billion Dollars For The Avengers
Posted in America, Movies, World, tagged America, Escapist Movies, Europe, Iron Man, Movies, Scarlett Johansson, Summer Movies, The Avengers, The Hulk, World on May 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
It’s obvious that The Avengers has struck a chord with me, and with movie audiences generally. Only three weeks after its release, it has racked up an impressive $1 billion in box-office receipts. Imagine — $1 billion. Even by today’s standards, that is a huge amount of money. What is it about this movie that [...]
Horror South Of The Border
Posted in America, World, tagged America, Drug Cartels, Mexican Drug Wars, Mexico, Monterrey, World on May 14, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Yesterday Mexican officials found the headless bodies of 49 unknown people — all with hands and feet also cut off — on a highway near the city of Monterrey. The bodies, already beginning to decompose, were dumped in a pile on the road. Mexico has been dealing with drug violence for years, and its politicians [...]
Mein Kampf, And Combating Speech With Speech
Posted in Books, World, tagged Adolf Hitler, Books, Germany, Mein Kampf, Nazi Germany, Nazis, World on May 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler’s feverish biography and racist Nazi manifesto, has not been published in German since 1945. That will change soon, when an annotated edition will be published for students to read. The book has not been banned in Germany. However, the state of Bavaria controls the copyright, and it has not consented to [...]
Adverse To Austerity
Posted in America, World, tagged America, Austerity, Euro, Europe, France, Germany, Golden Dawn, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, World on May 8, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Elections have occurred in Greece, France, and Italy in the past few days, and voters have cast their ballots against the austerity measures that were imposed to try to put a brake on the European debt crisis and, in Greece and France, have thrown out the governments that agreed to those measures. In France, the [...]
Canada Loses Its Cents
Posted in America, Humor, Technology, The Economy, World, tagged America, Canada, Canadian Penny, Cash, Coins, Currency, Humor, Money, Pennies, Technology, The Economy, World on May 6, 2012 | 1 Comment »
On Friday, Canada minted its last penny. The rationale for this move is that it costs more to mint the penny ($.016 each) than the penny is worth. In addition, Canada’s Finance Minister concluded that people weren’t using the penny for business. Instead, they were just putting them in jars at home. So, no more [...]
Farmers On The Move
Posted in Science, World, tagged Civilization, Darwin, Farming, Hunter-Gatherers, Natural Selection, Science, Stone Age, World on April 29, 2012 | 1 Comment »
How did humans stop wandering and start farming? It’s a crucial question, because farming allowed our ancestors to move beyond itinerant lifestyles into more permanent cultures. When farming was adopted, and people saw the benefits of having food at the ready, early humans put down roots (pun intended), established long-term structures, and began to defend [...]
On The Value Of Free Public Toilets
Posted in World, tagged First World Countries, India, Men, Mumbai, Third World Countries, Toilets, Women, World on April 24, 2012 | 1 Comment »
What separates a “first world” country from a second or third world country? Free and sanitary public toilets would be high on the list of distinguishing features. In Mumbai, India, a campaign is underway to try to shame public authorities into establishing free public toilets for women. Currently, women have to pay for the privilege [...]
“Reports Of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated”
Posted in World, tagged Cancer, Death, Hugo Chavez, Mark Twain, Venezuela, World on April 23, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Somewhere, Mark Twain — who coined the classic phrase appearing above, upon learning that his death had been mistakenly reported — must be smiling. Today Hugo Chavez, the thuggish Venezuelan dictator who is undergoing ongoing treatment for cancer, had to call a state-run TV station to try to dispel rumors that he was already dead. [...]
The National World War II Museum
Posted in America, Movies, Travel, World, tagged America, Beyond All Boundaries, Higgins Boats, Movies, Museums, National World War II Museum, New Orleans, Travel, World on April 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
New Orleans is home to the National World War II Museum. It’s an effort to remember and recognize the significance of a war that increasingly is being forgotten, with the passage of time and the passing of those who fought in history’s greatest conflict. The annual meeting I’m attending had a dinner at the Museum. [...]
Madmen In Every Corner Of The Globe
Posted in America, crime, World, tagged America, Anders Breivik, crime, Mass Murder, Norway, World on April 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Anders Behring Breivik, the man who killed 77 people in Norway last summer, is on trial in Oslo. Although he has admitted to the killings, he has pleaded not guilty to charges of mass murder and terror. Today Breivik got a chance to explain his actions and his twisted motivation. He bragged that he had [...]
George Washington, Their Greatest Enemy
Posted in America, World, tagged America, American History, Erwin Rommel, France, George Washington, Great Britain, Michael Collins, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Napoleon Bonaparte, National Army Museum, Revolutionary War, World, Yorktown on April 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The British National Army Museum has held a contest to identify England’s greatest military opponent, and the winner was . . . George Washington. The Father of our Country beat out Napoleon Bonaparte, Irish leader Michael Collins, Erwin Rommel, the crafty Desert Fox of World War II, and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a World War I [...]
