Aside from being ignorant of Chamberlain’s Munich Agreement with Hitler, missing from the conversation is the fact that it actually won the war for the Allies. After World War I, with Germany disarmed, the would-be Allies spent money rebuilding their countries instead of their arms. The problem was that Hitler re-equipped Germany at an astounding [...]
Two white NYPD cops are on suspension after ordering a three star chief — in a department vehicle with identification — out of his car at gunpoint. The chief is black and said the officers had no probable cause to initiate contact.
NY Daily News also has a map that breaks down NYPD contacts by race [...]
To append to this morning’s post on LA’s transportation issues, I want to post this discussion Street Films had with an urban planner there. I know I’ve posted a lot about LA’s urban design lately, but since it’s been the protagonist of urban sprawl in America, I figure they are a good microcosm of the [...]
Alternative transportation is on the rise in LA — at least temporarily. Metro says that ridership has risen on both its rail and bus systems since January. There are also signs that more commuters are choosing to carpool or cycle. The changes are attributed to rising gas prices, but aren’t expected to last for long.
The [...]
This is eye opening. LA Times maintains a blog called “The Homicide Report” which tracks, you guessed it, homicides in LA. They also have a visual representation of the reports here. The amount of violence there is staggering.
As discussed earlier today, the NY Times ran a critique of chain restaurants yesterday. I differed from Ezra Klein in that I thought the criticism was generally fair, although they definitely went into the experience with preconceived judgments. The heat was aimed at the cultural aspect of these restaurants and one chain in particular deserves [...]
A new study warns that too many children are taking anti-psychotic medicines in the US and UK. The worry is that many of these medications haven’t been approved for children or tested for long-term side effects:
With scant long-term safety data, it’s likely the drugs are being over-prescribed for both U.S. and U.K. children, research suggests.
The [...]
Ezra Klein sounded off about the NY Times article in which food critics critiqued chain restaurants in suburban New York City. He was put off by their thinly veiled distaste towards mainstream restaurants. While I understand where Ezra is coming from, I think he fails to take into consideration the “surprisingly decent” consensus. They thought [...]
Update: I’ve added a few thoughts on the jump.
James Howard Kunstler bluntly makes the case against America’s urban design, specifically suburbia. His argument centers on the cultural consequences of how we live. This is interesting because it is so rarely discussed.
I’ve posted the video below and added comments on the jump. The talk is 20 [...]
People are creating their own trailers for BBC’s “Planet Earth” series on YouTube. Here’s my favorite:
If you like that, check out two more here and here.
I’m an opponent of the death penalty. It’s a primitive ritual based on the ‘eye for an eye’ principle, not a deterrent. Killers don’t factor it in to their decision making process: ‘I better not rape and kill this person, that’d put me up for the death penalty!’
Removing that peg from the death penalty’s buttress [...]
NewScientist has a good summary of the theory:
Humans alone practice religion because they’re the only creatures to have evolved imagination.
That’s the argument of anthropologist Maurice Bloch of the London School of Economics. Bloch challenges the popular notion that religion evolved and spread because it promoted social bonding, as has been argued by some anthropologists.
Instead, he [...]
Columbia University chemist Ronald Breslow has concluded — after lengthy experiments — that the seeds of life on Earth came from meteorites:
In a report delivered to the American Chemical Society’s annual meeting, Breslow simulated the behavior of “left-handed” amino acids in an Earth-like environment. The acids’ appendage appellation derives from their molecular orientation, also known [...]
Matthew Yqlesias and Tyler Cowen both reflect on this quote from the book Cop in the Hood:
Car patrol eliminated the neighborhood police officer. Police were pulled off neighborhood beats to fill cars. But motorized patrol — the cornerstone of urban policing — has no effect on crime rates, victimization, or public satisfaction. Lawrence Sherman was [...]
The Atlantic has an interesting read this month on the future of suburban living — that there will be much less of it. The author suggests a host of reasons for this. Essentially it’s a combination of rising oil prices/rejection of the car culture, lack of community in the suburbs, and the monotony of suburban [...]
Over the past seven years, photographer Brian Ulrich has taken photos of the American consumer culture. He dubbed his series the “Copia” project.
Ulrich’s series captures the ubiquitous excess and thick consumerism that are so common in stores throughout the US. He also keenly notes the correlation between the American citizen and the American consumer:
[After 9/11,] [...]
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