When Haiti was struck by a catastrophic earthquake killing over 200,000 and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless a number of students took action. Many students planned fundraisers, some threw Haiti donation parties and many others donated individually.
Three students in particular wanted to take action and did not want to wait. Jon Kam, Corey Smith and David Zahn took to the corner of 13th and Kincaid with a bucket and hope.The three stood on the corner with their bucket in place and begun asking students for a donations to the American Red Cross. Many questioned their intents and thought they were trying to scam students. The Red Cross recognized their efforts as official and sincere, and applauded their work.
Over a two day period the three students were able to gather $1,500 merely asking students for donations. Now Kam is looking to bring the Red Cross to the UO students. Their first meeting took place last Wednesday and he group has already begun planning future events. Such events include a smoke detector distribution program for impoverished neighborhoods in Eugene and a Civil War fundraiser in May.
If you would like to learn more about participating in events or joining the upcoming student group follow their twitter at rceverydayhero.
Ruining family values, one supervillain at a time.
In sticking with the concept of global natural rights, it seems that the country of Uganda is considering passing a law that makes homosexual activity punishable by death. No mucking about with jail time – it’s straight to the gallows for Barry and Terry.
To give you an idea of just how against homosexuality Ugandans are, here’s a quote from a New York Times article:
“Uganda’s minister of ethics and integrity (who previously tried to ban miniskirts) recently said, “Homosexuals can forget about human rights.”
Uganda has a rich history of being mind-fucked by Evangelical Christians, so it should come as little surprise to learn that their fervor for Christian Orthodoxy has dribbled into their legislative system. Although many U.S. citizens fail to act on their homophobic feelings (with exception) apparently Uganda has missed the memo on that bit.
Of course, the Ugandan leaders are considering their options as several countries, including the United States, has threatened the removal of international aide if the law is passed. One can only hope that the law does not pass, but indeed it seems probable that it will in a country so staunchly against basic human rights (you know, the one that lets you live if you’re gay). The issue hits especially close to home for us here in the U.S. considering the current political climate. Let’s hope that if/when the law passes, the U.S. actually has the balls to back up its threat by yanking its aide.
The cartoonist who drew this image, held as one of the most controversial in 2006, was attacked in his home in Denmark recently.
One of the cartoonists of the famous Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons was attacked recently, alongside his granddaughter, inside his home in Denmark. The man, 73, was attacked with an axe by a Somali man (whose name has been withheld in accordance to Danish law) who apparently “has close relations to the Somali terror organization Al Shabab and leaders of Al Qaeda in East Africa”.
The Commentator has always been supportive of the publishers of the cartoons as far as their right to free speech was concerned. Indeed, the Commentator ran the cartoons in their entirety in 2006 and was one of the only western media outlets to do so. Thousands of editorials were printed all over the country, but no one had the balls to contextualize them by re-printing the comics. Indeed, the Commentator found this depressing, and in that issue’s editorial, publisher Bryan Roberts wrote:
Sometimes, living in the Pacific Northwest, it’s easy to forget just how loathsome and malignant hipsters are. They are, after all, nearly as ubiquitous as such similarly squishy and useless northwest fixtures as “fog” and “moss” [Fog is not squishy. -ed], not to mention their close namesakes, hippies. We observe with embarrassed disgust these irritating, unimaginative raiders-of-long-dead-pop-culture pedaling around town on their fixed-gear bicycles, frequently sporting absurd facial hair and 1980’s garb — though neon-colored early-1990’s clothing has in recent years begun to creep into “fashion”.
But lest we forget how miserable and, ultimately, brainless and malevolent hipsterism is, one need only take a glance at the sorts of antics International Hipsterdom routinely engages in, specifically the marketing of designer jeans produced in such transgressive, counter-culture places like North Korea. According to the Swedish hipster at the center of all of this:
The idea for the project was born out of curiosity for North Korea, which has grown increasingly isolated in recent years under Western criticism of its human rights record and nuclear ambitions. “The reason we did this was to come closer to a country that was very difficult to get into contact with.” [emphasis added… also, die a painful death of syphilis, or something, you putrid sore]
Frankly, I agree. Damn the West for “isolating” North Korea by “criticizing” its human rights record. I guess when you’ve had the collapse of Enron happen on your soil, you’ve got no place pointing fingers at all those gulags. After all, it isn’t as if North Korea hasn’t walled itself off from the rest of the world since the 1950’s. Then again, no one ever accused hipsters of having any sense of history — unless you’re talking about what sorts of clothes were trendy from about 1978 until sometime in the 1990’s, that is.
Thankfully, it seems like non-hipster factions in Swedish society have come to their senses, refusing to allow shelf-space to so-called “NOKO” branded designer clothes (if you didn’t hate hipsters before, just take a look at the wastes of sperm pictured in the BBC report). At least one of the founders of “NOKO Jeans” admits that North Korea “sometimes treats its citizens terribly.” Huh. You don’t say. Well, it’s a good thing, then, that a gaggle of well-intentioned young lads decided to give it the good old college try and did what they could to fix the situation by… err… peddling North Korean-made clothing at exorbitant prices in Swedish luxury boutiques (the jeans were reputedly slated to be sold for $215). I’m sure that they really would’ve made a difference if the forces of international capital hadn’t forced their wares off the shelves.
The game’s just so loaded, you know?
At any rate, the next time you see some hipster galavanting around campus, cocksure in his faux-Mercury mustache or her unconvincing “nerd-girl” attire, just remember to ask that person if they’d buy the latest, hippest “NOKO” jeans if given the chance. At the very least, it’ll make them feel uncomfortable, defensive, and most importantly, unfashionable. What’s certain is that the those of us who don’t necessarily mind being used as marionettes by the forces of international capital need to take every advantage over this vile sub-species that we can afford, even if it means making them feel that they’re not decked out in the most transgressive and “avant” of duds.
In many nations, the lazy fatcat bureaucrats in their towering spires of power are content to put their grotesquely corpulent feet up on the desk and leave the important business of creating building code to the teeming masses of hardworking municipal legislators.
Not so Switzerland, a small country in Central Europe. Oh no. In this bulwark of elbow grease, the hardworking, selfless lawmakers have made building code a national priority, starting with a referendum submitted to Swiss voters this November. They have finally put a stop to the threat of minarets, a move that doubtless massages the balm of hope into the bullwhip-scarred backs of hardworking municipal planners everywhere.
Of course, not being a municipal planner myself, I have no idea what that threat is, although this poster made by the Swiss People’s Party, which courageously spearheaded the ban, does provide some clue. I don’t read German, but I can only assume that those imposing black spires somehow endanger that attractive yet curiously overdressed Swiss woman in the front of the picture. Hmm?
I can’t quite figure out how, as the New York Times appears to be claiming, this elucidating clinic in direct democracy is in violation of international human rights conventions. Also, strangely, the large numbers of immigrants Turkey, Kosovo, and other Muslim countries that have become prevalent in Switzerland recently seem to be taking offense, despite, one assumes, having left their native lands to escape the tyranny of governments that did nothing about the skyline damage done by minarets. Answers in the comments please.
Well, “health care reform” is on its way to the Senate floor. When it passes (not if, but when), it will amount to little more than billions of dollars worth of wasted money and one big “WIN” check-mark in Team Blue’s column… and make no mistake, this isn’t about the so-called “right” to health care, looking out for the disadvantaged, making things more “affordable*”, or any of the other noble rhetoric people are deploying — it’s about politicians being able to point to some astoundingly expensive piece of legislation and being able to say, “LOOK!!! WE DID SOMETHING!!” Period. Full stop. Democrats get to crow about their “big win” for the common man and Republicans get to strut around and talk about all that “fiscal responsibility” they forgot about between 2000 and 2008.
“If you want, I can teach you how to make a bomb out of a toilet paper roll and a stick of dynamite.”
There was an interesting article published yesterday on boingboing.net about Britain’s new Internet laws that I think students (and owners of Utorrent) may be interested in.
The author of the article, Cory Doctrow, highlighted some of the law’s more ridiculous points
It consists almost entirely of penalties for people who do things that upset the entertainment industry (including the “three-strikes” rule that allows your entire family to be cut off from the net if anyone who lives in your house is accused of copyright infringement, without proof or evidence or trial).
Doctrow also describes the strain placed on Internet Service Providers by the law
A duty on ISPs to spy on all their customers in case they find something that would help the record or film industry sue them (ISPs who refuse to cooperate can be fined £250,000).
Of course Internet freedoms, including censorship and file-sharing, has been a popular topic for discussion since its inception into mainstream culture. The question for Americans is now whether or not the law proves to be popular enough for this country’s legislation to run with the idea and respond in kind.
In any case, you know someone out there is trying to figure out a way to “Hoard me up some Internet cause the government’s gonna take it away”
Kari Chisholm at Blue Oregon muses about the err… surprising news that President Obama has, only months into his Presidency and with no particular achievements to speak of, been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He comes to the conclusion that
… the Nobel committee sometimes awards the Peace Prize as a way of noting something they want to encourage.
Second, it’s crystal clear to me that it was the Nobel committee’s way of issuing a rebuke to the previous administration; a giant F#%! YOU to George W. Bush.
Err, alright then. I suppose that very well could be, though one also suspects that Mr. Chisholm could be engaging in a certain amount of projection. In any case, after tossing in some boilerplate stuff about Obama’s “collaborative” approach to international affairs being superior to Bush’s “cowboy diplomacy”, he concludes that the Nobel committee may be a bit “premature” in giving President Obama the prestigious award.
Quite.
On the other hand, at least now the President can claim to be in the same league as such world-historical figures as Henry Kissinger and Yasser Arafat, to whom awarding the Nobel Prize no doubt counted as a “giant F#%! YOU” to the world.
The track and field world championships are currently underway in Berlin, and a slew of 2008-2009 UO graduates (from what is arguably the greatest track team in school history) and Oregon-based runners have made strong showings. Here’s the breakdown on the UO grads, all of whom were NCAA champions in their respective events:
Galen Rupp placed 8th in the men’s 10,000 meter. His Nike training partner, Dathan Ritzenhein, took sixth.
Rachel Yurkovich, placed 12th in the javelin. She was the first U.S. woman to advance to the world championship final in the javelin throw since 1983.
Brian Theisen took 15th in the women’s heptathlon, setting a lifetime best in the 800 meter.
Ashton Eaton placed 18th in the decathlon. Eaton was in fifth place at the end of day one, taking second in the 100 meter dash and notching a lifetime best in the long jump.
And here’s the list for Oregon-based athletes:
Amy Yoder Begley and Shalane Flannigan, both from Portland, took sixth and 14th in the women’s 10,000 meter, respectively. Begley was the highest placing U.S. competitor in the event.
Nick Symmonds of the Oregon Track Club Elite has advanced to the semifinals in the men’s 800 meter.
Three other runners for the OTC will be competing in the 5,000 meter: Matt Tegenkamp, Chris Solinsky and Evan Jager
Portland runner Kara Goucher is looking to make a strong showing in the women’s marathon. Her main U.S. competition, world-record holder Paula Radcliffe, was forced to withdraw from the race.
This photo has caused a ridiculous media stir (I blame the New York Post but they just got the ball rolling, everyone else took it to unnecessary lengths):
The photo looks like President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are enjoying the backside of the young girl in the purple/red dress.
Not to be outdone by their own ridiculous claims the American media immediately turned around and defended Obama with videos like this one:
This is one of several videos that I’ve seen about this photo from various news sources.
Interestingly of the videos that I have seen “debunking” the image everyone has a good laugh that Sarkozy looks to be clearly checking out the girl. Beyond the fact that she looks 16 no one seems to be have a problem with Ol’ Kozy checking out the young thangs but if Obama does it’s a media hailstorm on both sides of the issue.
Though I’m not surprised.
Personal Opinion on the photo: Who cares? Guy can appreciate a good looking body, look but don’t touch kind of policy.
If I had to hazard a guess though, based on the image and the video clip I would say that Obama did take some time to discreetly check out that girl’s ass. Sure, he “hid” it behind helping that other girl down the one step but still…
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Well, there you go…another example that American media doesn’t need declining paper sales to die off, it’s doing a fine job by itself.
In a stunt that seems more fit for “investigative” television programs like “Dateline,” the British government’s “Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force” has wasted £168,700 (or $270,931) of taxpayer money sending out fake resumes to employers to root out racists.
While $270,000 is, of course, a paltry sum by government standards, the thought of governments trying to expose “racists” with these tactics is more than a little unsettling. One wonders if they targeted specific “suspects”, or if they just sent the phony resumes to random employers to see what turned up.
In any case, Joe McCarthy is probably dancing a little jig down in hell right now.
