Amy Wallace writing for Wired: An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All: The rejection of hard-won knowledge is by no means a new phenomenon. In 1905, French mathematician and scientist Henri Poincaré said that the willingness to embrace pseudo-science flourished because people “know how cruel the truth often is, and we wonder…
Channel 4’s Dispatches last night: Do You Know What’s in Your Breakfast? A reminder that, in capitalism, it’s not the job of the food industry to provide good healthy food. Their job is to make as much money by whatever means necessary, even if that means sneaking copious amounts of saturated fat, sugar and salt into…
They invade and lay waste another country, destroy the lives of millions of Iraqis for generations to come, all on some trumped up drivel about “weapons of mass destruction.” Now they’re arguing over the real reason. Oil. It’s not enough that control of Iraq’s crude is being divvied up amongst the capitalists of the world.…
This is a clip from Fragile Paradise, the first in a series of documentaries by the BBC called South Pacific. This is the first video I’ve posted using the new <video> tag of HTML5, which does away with the need for browser plugins (e.g. Quicktime, Flash and Realplayer). You do, however, need a modern browser such as Firefox, Safari…
Guardian gagged from reporting UK parliament: The Guardian has been prevented from reporting parliamentary proceedings on legal grounds which appear to call into question privileges guaranteeing free speech established under the 1688 Bill of Rights. Update: Trafigura drops bid to gag Guardian over MP’s question.
Sirocco the Kakapo, a native parrot of New Zealand, gets frisky. An extract from Stephen Fry’s and Mark Carwardine’s new BBC documentary, Last Chance to See: (via Frogblog)
When a government as deeply corrupt as the U.S. retains the label of democracy you really have to wonder if the word still has any meaning. No Right Turn on how bribery — otherwise known in the U.S. as “campaign contributions” — has turned health care reforms into a fascist money-making venture for private insurance companies. Bringing this into…
With current events this is a must read for any Westerner.
Infographic comparing relative spending of various multi-billion-dollar budgets. Keep it in mind next time you consider voting for any of the major political entities that have helped create such a world. (via Daring Fireball)