These are my random musings. Hopefully they will be witty, insightful, and frequently updated.
singrdave's Articles In Current Events » Page 2
January 7, 2006 by singrdave
From today's Washington Post : The city says as many as 5,500 houses and businesses on the east bank of the Mississippi River may need to be razed because hurricane damage has made them unsafe. Mayor C. Ray Nagin has asserted that the city can demolish houses without the owners' consent if the structures pose an imminent danger to the public. But community activists filed a lawsuit last month disputing that authority. A federal judge is to hold a hearing Jan. 19 on the city's request to...
January 3, 2006 by singrdave
Marion Barry has served in the city of Washington DC for so long that it's a clear connection between his leadership and the state of affairs in the District... He's made his bed and he's now lying in it. From today's Washington Post : D.C. Council Member Marion Barry reported to police last night that he was robbed at gunpoint inside his home by youths who had earlier volunteered to help him carry in his groceries. "It's quite an experience to have a pistol pointed in your face," the...
January 3, 2006 by singrdave
Child labor is alive and despite United Nations efforts through their International Labor Organization and the African Network for the Prevention of and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect. This sad state of affairs is a necessity in Ethiopia, where the standard of living requires younger and younger kids to be employed in farm labor or factory work in order to stay alive. From today's Washington Post : Across sub-Saharan Africa, according to U.N. research, one-third of all ...
December 28, 2005 by singrdave
The TSA has been watching people in airports and profiling them based on body language, responses to questions, and other odd behavior. This practice is nothing new, but it's receiving media coverage due to the TSA's plans to roll out the behavior profiling program to several other airports in the next few months. From USA Today : Carl Maccario noticed it the instant he watched a tape of three Sept. 11 hijackers going through security at Dulles International Airport. Not one of th...
December 23, 2005 by singrdave
From Reuters: SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's most famous scientist quit under a cloud on Friday and could face prosecution after investigators said results in a landmark 2005 paper on producing tailored embryonic stem cells were intentionally fabricated. A panel from Seoul National University has been examining the work of Hwang Woo-suk, hitherto regarded in South Korea as a hero for bringing the country to the forefront of stem-cell and cloning studies -- and the world the first cloned d...
December 21, 2005 by singrdave
Pulling a page from the Gitmo playbook, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein claimed in an outburst at his Baghdad trial for torture and murder Wednesday that he had been beaten by U.S. soldiers. He claimed that his detainers were beating him on every inch of his body, so much so that the marks were still visible today in court. Not that he actually showed anyone those marks, but the allegations were there. Nobody believes him, but the freak show... I mean trial will be on hiatus for two w...
December 21, 2005 by singrdave
Well, the day has finally arrived. It's like a royal wedding... maybe bigger than a royal wedding, because people actually are paying attention to it and appear to care about it... From Reuters : British pop star Elton John tied the knot with long-term partner David Furnish on Wednesday, joining hundreds of gay couples across England taking advantage of a new law to formalize their relationships. The normally flamboyant pair surprised some pundits by wearing traditional black morning ...
December 17, 2005 by singrdave
Read, please... this information is readily available to the public. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution: Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. The Foreign...
December 15, 2005 by singrdave
From AP: President Bush reversed course on Thursday and accepted Sen. John McCain's call for a law banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign suspects in the war on terror. Bush said the agreement will "make it clear to the world that this government does not torture and that we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad." "It's a done deal," said McCain, talking to reporters in a driving rain outside the White House after he...
December 14, 2005 by singrdave
This is kind of a re-rant, but with new, updated information. Especially since the 'Save Tookie' movement brought out all the usual suspects in regards to the celebrity activists. Think of it as a revised edition! I cannot stand these celebrities who think that their opinions on social issues matter. Mike Farrell goes on NPR and a speaking tour to tell how Tookie needs to live. Sharon Stone tries to sell her earrings on "Ellen" to save cancer patients. Michael Moore... well, he's jus...
December 7, 2005 by singrdave
I was tempted to put 'Zero Tolerance' in the title rather than the subtitle so I could get more looks, but I held back. U.S. air marshals on Wednesday shot and killed an American Airlines passenger who claimed to be carrying a bomb in his backpack at Miami International Airport. He was disembarking from a flight that had just arrived at Miami from Medellin, Colombia. Let me get this straight: a man who had just landed in America starts breaking for the door, pushing through the crowd...
December 6, 2005 by singrdave
So the trial of Saddam Hussein has begun. The question isn't how will it end, but when will the trigger be pulled? Does anyone think he's getting a trial that isn't already decided? Does anyone think Saddam will walk? I'm on the edge of my seat! From the Washington Post : The trial of Saddam Hussein is just beginning, and already it has become an utterly compelling made-for-TV spectacle. The Iraqis, in this case, have proved to be precocious students; clearly they understand all t...
December 5, 2005 by singrdave
The tragedy of September 11th caused America to do some self-examination: How did it happen? Why didn't we prevent it? How can we prevent future attacks? The 9/11 Commission issued this report on how well Congress and the Bush administration have done in protecting American lives after 9/11... From the Washington Post : In its final act before formally disbanding as a private group, the former Sept. 11 commission gave the federal government failing or mediocre grades today for...
November 28, 2005 by singrdave
So I'm reading the Washington Post this morning, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but this: Didn't recognize the face in the picture, for obvious reasons, but I knew the name. Brian Doyne. Hmmm, Brian Doyne. I went to PLDC in 2004 with an EOD (Explosives Ordnance Disposal) guy named Brian Doyne. Same squad, same classroom. He'd just gotten off the plane from Afghanistan, sent straight to PLDC without time to decompress. Very funny, very sardonic, very depressed guy. ...
November 26, 2005 by singrdave
Michael Brown, disgraced former head of FEMA, is starting a new disaster-preparedness for-profit consulting firm. I guess he figures that he's already made every concievable mistake, therefore he is the most experienced man in the room. From the AP and Rocky Mountain News : Former FEMA director Michael D. Brown, criticized over his agency's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, is starting a disaster-preparedness consulting firm to help clients avoid the sort of errors that cost him...