Apparently, editors at MSNBC.com
Apparently, editors at MSNBC.com and CNN.com believe that Bush's routine colonoscopy is far more important than the demolition of the Palestinian headquarters. As of this writing, both sites feature large leads of the Bush story with only minor placements for the Palestine HQ story. Seeing as the HQ explosion was supposedly orchestrated by the Israeli military, in a city that has been placed off limits to journalists, and that there were possibly fifteen men still inside, Bush's butt hardly seems comparable.
It's no wonder that media critics often complain that American news editors are too easy on Israel. What more evidence do you need? Never mind the explosions, let's all gather 'round and read the canned stories about the succession of the U.S. presidency...
Update: It seems that the leads on the site homepages have finally been adjusted with more attention to actual news.
Shocking news headline of
Shocking news headline of the day: Dalai Lama puts tranquility, health, friends over money
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
As I was driving
As I was driving back up to San Francisco, I realized that I forgot to include an important item in my list of cities that kind of sound like something funny but don't really:
- Carpinteria: A wholesale distributor of fine rugs and floor coverings.
Weekend checklist, June 7-9:
Weekend checklist, June 7-9:
- Quit job.
- Have dinner with good friends.
- Pack the car.
- Put down the convertible top.
- Drive down the California coast.
- See the elephant seals in San Simeon.
- Celebrate girlfriend's birthday.
- Get engaged.
Check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check.
I don't yet have
I don't yet have enough evidence to believe in reincarnation, but I do know that karma exists in smaller forms. While the Buddhists are trying to escape the cycle of life, it's clear that we're all trying to break out of our own personal cycles. We hope that our relationships get better and better until we finally transcend dating and enter into marriage. We move from apartment to apartment until we can enter into a life with a house. These rebirths happen every day, every month. All around us, people are waking up to new lives, hoping that if they do enough good in this round, the next iteration will be nirvana.
For me, a new life began this afternoon at 5pm. I've quit. I've left. I've broken out of the cycle of offices and meetings and business plans. And so far, it's a great feeling.
Whether this is really some sort of nirvana is still to be seen. There's plenty of work ahead in different forms, so maybe it's just another life. But even so, I've lucked out.
Ah, the ups and
Ah, the ups and downs of environmentalism. Last week, the 15 members of the European Union ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Japan, too, signed the treaty recently. But under the Bush administration, the U.S. has opted out of the plan that would mandate a reduction in carbon monoxide emissions to pre-1990's levels.
Oddly enough, in what seems to be more than a coincidence, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency submitted a report on global warming to the United Nations last week. The report reverses the administration's previous stance on global warming and now states that the problem is caused by humans and is likely to disrupt the environment.
Now, one would think that that would be a clear sign of progress and renewed environmental responsibility within the government... but apparently Bush doesn't think so. According to the Washington Post: Asked about the EPA report, Bush replied dismissively, "I read the report put out by the bureaucracy." As for Ari Fleischer: White House spokesman Ari Fleischer later told reporters there still is "considerable uncertainty" on the scientific causes of global warming.
If Bush doesn't trust all the ratifying countries of the Kyoto Protocol and reports from his own EPA, what is he waiting for--John Muir to show up on his doorstep with a flowchart in hand? It's ridiculous, but what can you expect when "leaders" like Senator Trent Lott are holding up pictures of small, fuel-efficient cars and claiming that those sorts of vehicles just don't belong in America? One step forward, thirty years back.
