In 2008, Vote Reagan

Is it me, or is Giuliani now running on Reagan’s platform?

Crises:

Spending:

(fast forward to 2:42 to watch Giuliani’s response)

del.icio.us digg it technorati

Neighbors “punish” MySpace bully

The neighbors of a 13-year old girl who hanged herself last year over a MySpace prank are using age-old tactics to make those whom they deem responsible pay.

The Saint Louis Today reports that neighbors of Lori and Curt Drew have made threatening phone calls, thrown a brick through a window and damaged their lawn, among others things. In the latest incident someone called 911 to report that there was a dead body at the Drews’. As many as 15 deputies showed up, but no body was found.

The spat began when it was made public that Lori Drew posed as a teenage boy in MySpace to find out what her neighbor, Megan Meier, was saying about her daughter. In order to gain her confidence, Lori flirted with Megan and after a month broke off their online relationship. Megan, who had been emotionally unstable, killed herself shortly after.

del.icio.us digg it technorati

Less-Values-Oriented Hotel Rooms?

Gone are the days when one could lie down in the comfort of a hotel room bed, open the drawer of the night table, and pick up and read a few verses of the Bible.

That is, if you are staying in some of the new wave of boutique hotels opening all over the country.

Newsweek reports that since 2001 the number of hotels offering religious material in their rooms has dropped by 18 percent.

Not that fancy hotel rooms are lacking amenities. The Soho Grand Hotel in Manhattan offers iPod docking stations, flat-screen TVs and a gold fish. Yes, a living gold fish.

But what is now replacing the holy book? Intimacy kits, of course. Think condoms and lovers’ dice games.

When asked if the new Marriott boutique chain in development would include Bibles in its rooms, a spokesman described the new ventures as “cutting-edge,” “more urban” and “less values-oriented.”

del.icio.us digg it technorati

Facebook takes on Online Porn

If you don’t want your child to access porn online, forget about firewalls. Give them Facebook!

Time contributor and Hitwise global search general manager Bill Tanser writes that porn has been losing 18- 25 year old fans in the last two years.

Most popular sites for 18-25:

• Social Networking Sites
• Search Engines
• E-mail
• Porn

After college though, they’re on their own: porn ranks second (after search engines) for those over 25.

del.icio.us digg it technorati

Greenest States of America

Last month Forbes released a list of the most environmentally friendly states.

Vermont came in on top and West Virginia at the bottom.

New York came in at a respectable, but definiteley improvable, No. 9.

Forbes determined the ranking by comparing carbon dioxide emissions per capita, policies to promote energy efficiency and high air quality, buildings (on a per capita basis) that have received the U.S. Green Building Council’s benchmark certification and others.

del.icio.us digg it technorati

The Cost of War

The National Priorities Project has gathered tax-payer’s information and used it to determine how much towns and counties are paying for the Iraq War.

According to their numbers, the war has cost New York City residents $15,237,500,000 thus far, with Queens paying the most out of the five boroughs with $4,701,200,000.

They also list other ways of looking at the cost of the war:

• $4,100 for every American household;
• $1,500 for every American;
• $3,400 for every taxpayer;
• $11 million per hour and;
• $275 million per day.

del.icio.us digg it technorati

The Politics of Parsing

The John Edward’s campaign came out with a new add that uses Hilary’s “double-speak” during the latest Democratic debate.

del.icio.us digg it technorati

Interactive: 2008 Presidential Candidates

NBC has a new interactive feature where you can compare candidates opinions on key issues such as Energy, Health Care and the Iraq War.

You can watch videos of each candidate speaking on the different subjects, and also read a brief explanation. There’s also links to news articles related to the specific topics and candidates.

But most importantly, the feature lets you weigh in on their opinion. You can rate each candidates proposal and compare your views to others like you.

del.icio.us digg it technorati

Of political polls

If it were left for world voters (including Americans) to decide our fate on the 2008 election, our next president would be a Republican.

According to Who Would the World Elect, Ron Paul would win with almost double the votes of his closest Democratic contender, Barack Obama.

It should be noted, however, that even though Ron Paul is a favorite of the American cybernetic world (American votes account for over 30 percent of the votes in the site), most international pollsters would actually elect Barack Obama.

del.icio.us digg it technorati

Animals thrown off a bridge in Puerto Rico

An independent contractor hired by the town of Barceloneta to clear three housing projects of animals, allegedly disposed of them by throwing them off a bridge in a nearby town, the Associated Press reports.

“This is an irresponsible, inhumane and shameful act,” the mayor of Barceloneta, Sol Luis Fontañez, told the AP.

Because of a no-pet policy, residents of the housing projects were force give up their pets in order to avoid eviction, residents of the Antonio Dávila Freytes Houses told El Nuevo Dia.

Animal Control Solutions were paid $60 for every animal recovered and $100 for each trip to the shelter. Instead, the recovered pets and strays were thrown off a 50-feet-high bridge in the town of Vega Baja, witnesses said.

Eighty dogs and cats were killed.

“I saw my cats in the cage they put them. And then I saw them on TV, after they threw them off the bridge. They killed my cats and I saw them, those were my cats,” 10-year old Thalía Pérez told El Nuevo Día.

A representative for Animal Control Solutions denied the allegations, but as early as tomorrow the Administration for Public Housing is expected to press charges against the contractor.

 

del.icio.us digg it technorati