tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68880602009-11-28T16:00:08.341-05:00Derisive diatribes about the state of the nation, nation states and swerving leftwardKarlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.comBlogger1459125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-88674395276571195842009-11-28T15:58:00.001-05:002009-11-28T16:00:08.347-05:00

I nearly chopped off my finger with the coffee grinder. Don't ask how this happened. Let's just say I was suffering from a caffeine low. The tip of my finger is looking very grue.

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-9830806443238356352009-11-27T20:59:00.003-05:002009-11-27T21:00:54.492-05:00

Who would like some battery acid for Christmas?

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-30241561136736371242009-11-26T13:02:00.000-05:002009-11-26T13:02:15.210-05:00

While many Americans feast on turkey and all the fixings today, a new study finds food waste per person has shot up 50 percent since 1974. Some 1,400 calories worth of food is discarded per person each day, which adds up to 150 trillion calories a year. In other words, the U.S. could feed another country with the population of the U.S.--just on what we toss in the trash.

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-84455388571693741412009-11-24T17:31:00.000-05:002009-11-24T17:31:43.355-05:00

I came across this over at Pygalgia. This is definitely the "elephant in the room" as they say. I heard on the radio that we're spending a million bucks per soldier in Afghanistan (not that any soldiers are making a million per year--the money's almost all in generic black suitcases full of neatly stacked bills being handed to war-profiteers.)

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-57670853815949049092009-11-21T10:33:00.000-05:002009-11-21T10:33:18.188-05:00

I don't know what to make of anime figures shouting "deculture." Something perhaps lost in translation? (Or are they Palin supporters?)

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-85941195725589263162009-11-21T03:58:00.004-05:002009-11-21T04:52:54.736-05:00

We've got healthcare on our mind these last few days. The Crone Speaks introduces a modicum of rationality into the recent mammogram debate. Tom Harper points out the paradox of botox in a country where many people can't afford necessary procedures: Last year there were 4.7 million Botox injections, at an average cost of $400 each. Now — going way waaay out on a limb here — I’m gonna take a wild

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-66575210600495486482009-11-19T15:52:00.000-05:002009-11-19T15:52:14.291-05:00

The new Chrome OS is taking an exciting direction. I'll be happy to see operating systems that no longer have to be installed, tinkered with, and secured on my home computer. If done right, internet-base applications could provide real flexibility and would even allow us to use the same set of programs at whichever computer we use away from our desk or home. If I had an extra million, I might

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-68045487188439447782009-11-16T19:22:00.002-05:002009-11-16T19:27:36.216-05:00

It's never a good sign when the only scheme that politicians can dream up for job creation is to import prisoners. I guess we could call this Reaganomics combined with globalization. The following chart shows the U.S. rate over the last seven decades. Note the great leap forward since the infamous War on Drugs: With just 5% of the world's population, we already have a quarter of the world's

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-53523463292836690472009-11-12T00:34:00.002-05:002009-11-14T10:44:40.712-05:00

Sometimes comedy contains much truth. This was lifted from Cyberkitten: And then from Tom Tomorrow, unother comic that, once again, is so true to all of our experience, it really isn't even funny: The "funny" thing is that after all the fuss is over, we won't have healthcare reform, and before long, more and  more of us won't have much healthcare. And the really funny things is that most

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-63397110259112668942009-10-27T10:39:00.000-05:002009-10-27T10:39:55.758-05:00

Matthew Hoh has resigned from the State Department in protest over the Afghan War. Hoh says that the war is simply fueling the insurgency and that he has "lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan," In his resignation letter, published early Tuesday, he stated: "I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-83776857554005633092009-10-22T20:15:00.023-04:002009-10-23T00:48:34.441-04:00

I recently read Halal's 2008 book on projections of future developments in the world: Technology's Promise: Expert Knowledge on the Transformation of Business and Society. The book was created through interviews with experts in a number of fields regarding their views on future developments within their areas of study. I found the book to be a bit optimistic, but hopefully, the author is correct

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-35036482497863744362009-10-08T11:13:00.001-04:002009-10-08T11:35:33.418-04:00

An evaluation of state healthcare coverage was recently released. Looking at the map, the states that vote Democrat are clearly much better off, while those states that consistently vote Republican are at the bottom. This should come as little surprise. States that have voted in laws favoring big business tend to be . . . (drum roll) . . .  great for big business (and abysmal places for the

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-42091316609469546472009-10-06T19:39:00.000-04:002009-10-06T19:39:30.308-04:00

Mad Kane has the following sardónica verse on Newt's bilingual webpage: Here’s a long-standing view from the right: Education bilingual’s a blight. That’s how Newt has opined. Dearest Newt, changed your mind? Quite the pander — your bilingual site. Guess you’re hoping Latinos forget Your stance that bilingual’s all wet, That they’ll vote GOP. But Latinos shall see Through your bilingual lies on

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-38783077935624863052009-10-05T19:35:00.000-04:002009-10-05T19:35:12.691-04:00

Looking at an upbeat article on "positive news," about how stocks are up and the service sector doing well again, I have to wonder whether we'll ever get a media that reports information that the average person cares about. Are we really supposed to care that companies, having completed massive lay-offs and now hiring people from the long lines of job-seekers at a fraction of the cost, are again

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-7256117162252869922009-10-04T21:14:00.001-04:002009-10-04T22:55:17.207-04:00

From a Citi Group memo, discussed in the latest Michael Moore film: Our thesis is that the rich are the dominant drivers of demand in many economies around the world (the US, UK, Canada and Australia). These economies have seen the rich take an increasing share of income and wealth over the last 20 years, to the extent that the rich now dominate income, wealth and spending in these countries.

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-8381006904288526372009-09-28T16:25:00.000-04:002009-09-28T16:25:01.108-04:00

In the latest objective evaluation, the U.S. gets a D while Canada gets a B. At this point, I'd be happy with just a C.

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-74841502168742919062009-09-27T15:45:00.001-04:002009-09-27T15:47:30.726-04:00

This picture says volumes about what is wrong with the U.S.

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-67015494341588850042009-09-22T10:58:00.002-04:002009-09-22T10:58:40.149-04:00

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-38725882301397566722009-09-21T14:33:00.000-04:002009-09-21T14:33:05.077-04:00

I just read that the socialist radicals of the Bush administration succeeded in spreading socialist medicine to America's far-flung colonies Article 31 of the Iraqi Constitution, drafted in 2005 and ratified by the Iraqi people, includes state-guaranteed (single payer) healthcare for life for every Iraqi citizen Article 31: "First: Every citizen has the right to health care. The State shall

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-41180281238108913642009-09-19T14:06:00.003-04:002009-09-19T14:10:54.051-04:00

Flipping through radio stations yesterday, I briefly heard some rightwing rant about the great new threat appearing because Iran had opened direct flights to Venezuela. (Thank goodness terrorists aren't smart enough to hop on an indirect flight!) Then, like an auctioneer on speed, the ranter went on to connect Iran with Hezbollah with terrorism and with an imminent attack on the U.S. But then I

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-85333499960720361292009-09-17T15:10:00.000-04:002009-09-17T15:10:31.120-04:00

I've been watching MIT World Videos--a large collection of lectures by some of the top thinkers in academia. It's a good site that I recommend. One great benefit of the internet has been in its potential in giving ordinary people cheap access to quality ideas and intellectual debate. I was thinking today how great it would be if book publishers would simply allow us to sign up to large

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-84176879300251842672009-09-16T10:27:00.001-04:002009-09-16T10:36:06.374-04:00

Astronomers have found a rocky planet orbiting another star. While the glowing lava planet in a tight orbit won't provide a good spot for vacationers or wannabe extraterrestial colonists, the find is important since it moves us closer to finding earthlike planets that are habitable. I predict we'll have clear evidence of habitable planets in the near future while many of us are still alive. This

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-68794391435239705382009-09-13T19:38:00.000-04:002009-09-13T19:38:36.058-04:00

I'm headed out to get my driver's license renewed and get a new donor sticker taped to my new card. For anyone who hasn't done so yet, I strongly suggest becoming an organ donor. It's depressing to think of how many people are dying because some of us can't be troubled to take 2 minutes and fill out a card.

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-86053938748734106982009-09-13T05:02:00.000-04:002009-09-13T05:03:09.426-04:00

On every major measurement, the Census Bureau report shows that the country lost ground during Bush's two terms. While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked. By contrast, the country's condition improved on each of those measures during Bill Clinton's two terms

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888060.post-2154987937435219582009-09-12T16:32:00.002-04:002009-09-12T16:42:58.084-04:00

Matt Taibbi has a good general article on the healthcare issue in Rolling Stones. One paragraph in particular pretty much sums up where we're at:Just as we have a medical system that is not really designed to care for the sick, we have a government that is not equipped to fix actual crises. What our government is good at is something else entirely: effecting the appearance of action, while

Karlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647211317186049289karloprovi@yahoo.com0