Matt Bai writes about the original Skip Gates press conference question where Obama remarked But perhaps the more jarring if overlooked moment in Obama’s answer came just before that, when he endeavored to cast himself in the place of his friend Henry Louis Gates Jr., whose trouble began when he needed to break into his own home. … Then he flashed a mischievous grin and added, “Here I’d get shot.” [view YouTube clip] It’s hard to imagine an edgier joke than this — the nation’s president, its first black president at that, teasing about being gunned down in the White House foyer.
Search Results for: Olympics
Belching Out the Devil
Coca-Cola spent approximately $450,708,000 on advertising in the U.S. last year, that buys a lot of silence in the struggling corporate media The company, Thomas contends, looked the other way as some bottlers in Colombia and elsewhere intimidated and attacked union organizers, who “walk with a gravestone” on their backs.
…From Istanbul to Mexico City, Mark travels the globe investigating the stories and people Coca-Cola’s iconic advertising campaigns don’t mention such as: child labourers in the sugar cane fields of El Salvador; Indian workers exposed to toxic chemicals; Colombian union leaders falsely accused of terrorism and jailed alongside the paramilitaries who want to kill them; and, many more.
Chicago Officials Want to ride on Obama Coattails
Not sure exactly what specific benefit to the city we can expect, but we can hope nonetheless President-elect Barack Obama will be the first White House occupant in years to hail from a major city, which is stirring hopes that he’ll deliver a boost to urban areas. … Second City , Chicago’s popular sketch-comedy theater, expects to see an increase in ticket sales, particularly from overseas visitors who planned trips after seeing thrilling scenes from Grant Park.
Bookmarks for August 21st through August 22nd
A few interesting links for August 21st through August 22nd: Anne Trubek on Why We Should not Still Be Learning Catcher in the Rye – "If Salinger needed to acknowledge Dickens in 1951, today any new adolescent coming-of-age tale must go through all that Holden Caulfield crap. In the 19th… Read more“Bookmarks for August 21st through August 22nd”
Homes Not Games
Homes Not Games, originally uploaded by swanksalot. From last year, a bit of Canadian Olympic commentary… Actually in Victoria, BC. Olympics are scheduled for 2010 in Vancouver www.vancouver2010.com/en
Bookmarks for August 20th from 13:17 to 20:48
Some additional reading August 20th from 13:17 to 20:48: Debunking two anti-Obama e-mails | Salon News – Luckily, we haven't seen too many of these fake emails. In case you have been, bookmark this page for later. The Happy Hour of Aquarius – Awesome, vintage advertising. "Are you having trouble… Read more“Bookmarks for August 20th from 13:17 to 20:48”
Bush officials sneak-attack on Endangered Species Act
Essentially it would be up to officials at agencies like the Forest Service, the Minerals Management Service and the Department of Transportation to decide for themselves if a new timber allotment, mining project or road would harm endangered animals and plants, without consulting third-party biologists from Fish and Wildlife.
…To add insult to injury, the Bush administration said it will accept public comment on the proposed changes for a mere 30 days, and it will not accept such comments via e-mail, which is the common way that many environmental groups activate their memberships to fight egregious policies.
Putin and His Puppy Named Bush
Alterman speculates what the media frenzy might be like if a Democrat “lost China”, err, Georgia ((South Ossetia and Abkhazia, to be more precise)) Does anyone doubt that if the President of the United States were a Democrat who tied us down in a costly, counterproductive war based on lies and forged documents and destroyed the respect and sympathy enjoyed by this country in every civilized nation in the world — or even if he did none of those things, but was merely a Democrat — that this column by proud New York Times pundit William Kristol and this editorial by the editors of The Wall Street Journal would have included vicious attacks on that same Democratic president for weakness and incompetence bordering on the criminal — and thereby blame him for inviting Russia to invade its democratic neighbor without having to worry about the opinion of the no-longer-respected-nor-feared United States of America?
…And is it possible that the last major overseas action of the president who during his second inaugural address said that the mission of the United States was to stand with “democratic reformers” against their “oppressors” will be waving a mini-Stars and Stripes at the Chinese games?
Dog Meat is Hot
According to Chinese folk dietetics, which classify every food according to its heating and cooling properties, dog is one of the “hottest” meats around, best eaten in midwinter, when you need warmth and vital energy, not in sultry August. … Marco Polo noted with distaste that the Chinese liked eating snake and dog; modern Western journalists just love to get their teeth into a juicy story about some revolting delicacy like the assorted animal penises served at the Guolizhuang restaurant in Beijing.
links for 2008-07-01
NBC vs Fanboys vs Sports Talk Radio vs The Olympics The Olympics bores me pretty much anyway, but NBC is going to get a lot of bad press over this decision, I believe. (tags: copyright Youtube sports) Failures Of Cinema: 10 Books That Were Better Off on Paper All ten… Read more“links for 2008-07-01”
links for 2008-06-05
Chicago one of four finalists for 2016 Olympics — Government, International Olympic Committee, Richard M. Daley — chicagotribune.com mixed feelings. (tags: Chicago Olympics) NetSlaves: Class Is More Important Than Race (And Almost Everything Else) – Steve Gilliard “race is only part of the social equation. Class is the important one… Read more“links for 2008-06-05”
Drill Bit Building
Calatrava designed the interior so that posts and columns would be toward the structure’s center, to allow balconies on some floors and maximize the floor-to-ceiling views. and the Tribune : A far less well known developer, Chicago’s Christopher Carley, will unveil his proposal Wednesday for a slender, 115-story tower with a steel spire that could soar higher than 2,000 feet. … The Tribune revealed in May that Carley was working with Calatrava–the architect of the bird-like Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the Athens Olympics sports complex and the planned transportation center at Ground Zero–to design a tower on at least one of two sites along the west side of Lake Shore Drive and the north bank of the Chicago River.