Baghdad Burning (Riverbendblog) is back.
If you hadn’t seen it elsewhere.
ArtDaily: Louvre closes after staff walkout fed up with dealing with aggressive pickpockets.
If you visit Mona, keep your money in your shoe.
The Morning Sentinel: Special camera helped nab ‘North Pond Hermit’.
Coining a new term: Klepto-survivalism.
The New Yorker: The Cultural Fight for Guns.
“Nobody really believes it’s about maintaining a militia. It’s about having possession of a tool that makes a person feel powerful nearly to the point of exaltation. …I am not saying that people who love guns inordinately are unstable; I am saying that a gun is the most powerful device there is to accessorize the ego.” Unless it’s a tool, and treated as one. What America has a problem with, IMHO, is the fetishization of guns. We have kitchens full of knives, and the knife murder rate is 1/5 of the gun murder rate. Surely that helps point up the problem … ? We think of knives differently.
The Atlantic: Medical Emergencies at 40,000 Feet.
Familiar. I wrote about my experience, back in 2005.
The People’s Record: US law says no ‘oil’ spilled in Arkansas.
Old laws, old exemptions. Similar to the problem we have here in the West, with the nearly-Jurassic [hyperbole, people] Mining Law of 1872. Extraction companies get carte blanche while residents get the wonderful opportunity of paying for the wear and tear on infrastructure, the extensive cleanup … and the medical bills.
The Daily Beast: This is Where the World’s Richest People Hide Their Money.
Good grief. An orgy of international banking.
KRQE: Santa Fe Reporter issues go missing after “filthy” cover hits stands.
Santa Fe, always entertaining. SF Reporter’s dialed up the cover images lately … so I’d say this means the tactic’s paying off.
Smashing Magazine: The Collective Legal Guide For Designers (Contract Samples).
Handy as starting-points. Always good to check to see if someone’s thought of something you haven’t, that’ll save your bacon someday.
Salon.com: Exxon controls skies over Arkansas oil spill.
“The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has had a ‘no fly zone’ in place in Mayflower, Arkansas since April 1 at 2:12 PM and will be in place ‘until further notice,’ according to the FAA website and it’s being overseen by ExxonMobil itself.” Very disturbing, if true.
SF Reporter: Alleged Toe Biter Strikes Again.
The Nation: How Little We Know About Heavy Tar Sands Oil.
“The exact composition of the dilbit is not publicly available because the particular type of bitumen and diluents blend produced is variable and is typically a trade secret.” Quote from the Environmental Impact Statement, referenced in the article. Like fracking chemicals … everything remotely dangerous gets branded as a ‘trade secret’ and legislatively armored.
Guardian.UK: About that Obama administration ammunition-buying conspiracy theory.
Guardian.UK: North Korea to restart Yongbyon nuclear reactor.
The real concern is not whether they’ll use it themselves, but who they’ll sell plutonium to.
Oh My! Handmade: Don’t Be A Fool-Protect Your IP April 1st!
Register some copyrights. Kinda like cleaning out your sinuses with a turkey baster. Painful but necessary.
Youtube: A day at the gun range in LA.
Seems busy and chaotic.
ArsTechnica: “Can I resell my MP3s?” redux—federal judge says no.
ThinkProgress: AZ Group Will Give Away Loaded Shotguns To ‘Take Back’ City From Criminals.
“A Tucson, Arizona affiliate of the Armed Citizen Project will spend $12,000 on a new charitable initiative: handing out free shotguns in neighborhoods with high crime rates. According to the head of the Tucson initiative, an armed citizenry is the sensible solution to an underfunded police department facing budget cuts.” Given the fact a percentage may not have ever wielded weaponry before, I would suggest unloading the damned things. Otherwise, some members will be competing for Darwin Awards …posthumously.
NY Times: Search Warrants Reveal Items Seized at Adam Lanza’s Home.
“Last week, The New York Daily News, quoting someone who had attended a convention in New Orleans, revealed that Mr. Lanza compiled a very large spreadsheet of mass killings and the weapons used in them.” Cold, calculating, premeditated. A real-life Terminator.
Salon: Social conservatives ready to turn on John Roberts.
One always hopes that those in power prefer to hear the siren-song of posterity, rather than the howls from the rank and file.
SF New Mexican: Police—Man held on 11th DWI charge.
It’s the stats. 12 beers. 4x legal limit. 7 aliases. 9 DOB’s. Think the man needs serious help?
Telegraph.UK: Recovery of ‘stolen £1.2m Stradivarius’ violin ends in disappointment.
“However, although the violin was marked with the master’s name, examination by an expert revealed it to be a copy which is less than 100 years old and of limited value.” Dang. Better luck next time.
Guardian.UK: Supreme court justices lay down strong challenge to gay marriage law.
The liberal side’s getting played. IMHO. Prepping for a redo of Roe vs. Wade.
Guardian.UK: Creationist stakes $10,000 on contest between Bible and evolution.
Guardian.UK: Richard III’s distant relatives threaten legal challenge over burial.
“There is no obligation to consult living relatives where remains are older than 100 years.” Popular opinion’s gonna have a difficult time with that contention.
