The Black Hole

While browsing the BBC News website, I saw that the top two websites were the most emailed. I think this shows us Americans just how important this election is, and that the world really is watching.

Obama win preferred in world poll. The numbers here speak for themselves:

• of 22 countries polled, all believe Obama should be president


• citizens prefer Obama at a ratio of 4 to 1 over McCain


• in 17 of the countries, people think Obama would improve international relationships, while people 19 of the countries believe McCain would simply maintain the status quo

Why rednecks may rule the world. Honestly, this scares the crap out of me. I often wonder at the intelligence of the average American, and knowing that 1/3 of Americans probably fit my definition of a redneck, I'm utterly terrified of what may come November 4.

That everyday people are focusing on Palin's looks, her daughter's pregnancy, the fact that she's "one of us," scares the ever-living shit out of me. I want someone who is superior to me to run the country, someone who went to some of the best colleges in the country, someone who's worked with the best and the brightest this country has to offer. Call me uppity if you want, but I want the very best for my country and for the world, and a team composed of a man whose greatest acts occurred half a century ago and a woman who shoots moose and lies for fun just isn't my ticket.

I clicked this article on CNN regarding free speech, or the lack thereof, on the internet.

Among stories of censorship from MySpace, Flickr, AT&T, and more, Livejournal and the fallout from Strikethrough made an appearance.

I can't figure out if LJ came out looking like an asshat or like a social platform that really listens to their users (after a shitstorm of user-backlash, but the story glosses over that).

I found this test/quiz on the BBC News site, with questions by Janice Owen, a retired British teacher. The quiz tests basic English comprehension in grammar and such.

The introduction to the quiz:

Hardly a week passes without headlines about academic standards. Are exams getting easier? Are people getting smarter?

Well, here's a chance for Magazine readers to test themselves - first on English - next week on maths.

In two weeks, the average results of those who have taken both quizzes will be posted.

( My own conclusions… )

I was just reading this article about Huckabee supporting a proposed amendment in Colorado defining a fertilized egg as a human, with rights to life, liberty, and blah blah blah.

The first comment (and only, so far) was in support of keeping religion out of politics and letting abortion/conception be a solely medical issue.

My first thought was to respond with the following:

You win! May I gift you with internet babies? I assure you that there will be no fertilized eggs.

I'm so used to LJ/IJ as a forum for discussion that I often forget the rest of the world doesn't see things quite the same way and would react badly.

In women's news

As a larger breasted woman, I've always been shocked at the price of my bras compared to those worn by friends with a B or C cup. The price difference is shocking, but things appear to be changing. A British company has said that they'll charge the same amount for bras in one of their lines.

For those of you looking to strengthen your sex life, wear heels. An Italian urologist has found that pelvic muslces are at an optimum position when a woman wears heels, causing the muscles to strengthen.

In kid news

It's never to young to start in politics, as twelve year old Neal Kornreich has shown. Neal's a precinct captain for one of Colorado's caucaus' tomorrow.

Some parents have to let their kids grow up sooner than they'd like, but some kids are up to the challenge. At age nine, Nick Nelson made the decision to have one of his legs amputated. The outlook this kid has on life is inspirational.

In technology news

Welcome to 1984 if the FBI get its way. They're looking into a database for palm prints and iris scans, claiming it's all for the sake of national security.

As a student of electical engineering, I'm sadly excited about this one: Intel has developed a chip with over 2 billion transistors. That's a whole lot of processing going on.

I'm a self-confessed news junkie, especially of the random variety. I'm posting these mainly for my own benefit, so that I can find them again, but some are quite entertaining or fascinating.

My mother told me never to play with my food, but Photographer Carl Warner creates masterpieces with his.

You'd never think it's true, but It's Official, mail is slow as snails.

It's stories like this that make my day, 'cause whodathunk it. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! (Or maybe just bears)

An interesting explanation about why women make better managers and how emotion is perceived differently between men and women.

Some people have far too much time on their hands. Some people count sheep, others count sheets.

One woman's position in the Middle East, and how the War on Terror has changed it.

For all those Tolkien fans, a director for The Hobbit has been (tentatively) found, now they just need a script. Coming to a theater in 2010.

On the religious front, things aren't going so well for top leaders. Leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon Hinckley, has died at age 97 and the head of the Greek Orthodox church, Archbishop Christodoulos, has died of chancer at 69.

An interesting legal point is brought up by marijuana vending machines in California. While legal by California law, medical marijuana is prohibited by federal law.

In all of the suck that was today, there was one great thing to happen.

In 1999, Timothy Masters was convicted of the brutal murder of Peggy Hettrick in Fort Collins, Colorado. This past Friday, he learned that after 9 1/2 years in jail, his quest for a new trial was going to become a reality at the very least, and his freedom was a suddenly quite attainable.

( The Story )

So today, I toast Timothy Masters, and his continued freedom and well-being, and pray for the family of Peggy Hettrick.

News story: Masters Released From Jail