[From New Scientist ] THE sinking fate of Venice could be shared by the half-billion people who live in delta regions – many of them in megacities such as Bangkok. A study of river deltas around the world shows that most are sinking due to human activity. James Syvitski of the University of Colorado at [...]
Archive For September, 2009
Say No to “Murder Music”
Buju Banton, the anti-gay Jamaican dance hall, ragga, and reggae singer, whose song “Boom Bye Bye” advocates killing gay men with submachine guns and by pouring acid on them, is coming to Detroit’s Majestic Theatre on Wednesday, September 30th. Banton is a singer whose music promotes violence against LGBT people through lyrics such as, “Anytime [...]
DiNapoli bans donors from pension business
[From Capitol Confidential] by Casey Seiler [NY] State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has signed an executive order banning any investment advisor who makes a campaign contribution to anyone holding or seeking the comptroller’s office from doing business with New York’s massive Common Retirement Fund. The ban, which DiNapoli is implementing in advance of expected action from [...]
Banks Change Overdraft Rules
[From The J-Walk Blog] Banking news: Bank of America, Chase to lighten overdraft rules. As Congress considers legislation to crack down on bank overdraft fees, the industry is starting to scale back some controversial practices. Next month, Bank of America (BAC) will stop charging consumers who overdraw by less than $10 a day and will [...]
Don’t, Don’t, Don’t vs. Do, Do, Do
[From Weblogg-ed News] By: Will Richardson Recently, I presented at a school on an opening day for teachers where the first thing that greeted everyone on the table in the lobby was an 8-page Acceptable Use Policy which staff members were picking up as they filed into the school. I picked one up too, and [...]
This solar kiosk could be your ‘gas’ station one day – ReflectionOf.Me
[From ReflectionOf.Me] Bozen, Denmark’s E-Move Charging Station is the work of that country’s entrepreneur, Valentin Runggaldier, and — while those renders make it look like a flight of fancy — it’s actually real and going through a test. The idea is to provide a place for electric vehicles to charge up (in this case, eight [...]
Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary dead at 72
(AP) –DANBURY, Conn. — Mary Travers, one-third of the hugely popular 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, has died. The band’s publicist, Heather Lylis, says Travers died at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut on Wednesday. She was 72 and had battled leukemia for several years. Travers joined forces with Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey in the [...]
Academy to use preferential voting to pick best picture
[From Los Angeles Times, August 31, 2009 ] Get out the calculator — Oscar voting just got more complicated. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today took the long expected step to ensure that this year’s best picture winner won’t be hated by 90% of its members by going with a preferential voting [...]
Cybersecurity Act Returns With a Fresh Coat of Paint
[From Electronic Frontier Foundation] Commentary by Richard Esguerra In April, we voiced serious concerns about the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, a bill by Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), that sought to give the federal government unprecedented power over the Internet. For months, the bill has been redrafted behind closed doors and has [...]
The Billion Dollar Gram | Information Is Beautiful
Full size at informationisbeautiful.net Posted via web from Roger’s Posterous