Author: Andrew Spittle

Israel and Gaza Slideshow

If you’re interested in seeing what Israel’s attacks on Gaza (and Hamas’ attacks on Israel) have done to the cities the New York Times has an incredible slide show of 14 pictures. See the link…

Link via New York Times

Time for some comic relief

With all the seriousness of the Israeli conflict, the financial crisis, and the country’s politics sometimes it’s important for some comic relief. Here’s showing that monkeys are the true axis of evil…

funny pictures of cats with captions
more animals

Containing Appetites

From Don DeLillo’s “Underworld”:

“So what do you do? Punch the guy in the mouth or resist the urge?”

“Point well taken. I don’t have the answer. You have the answer,” he said. “But how serious can a man be if he doesn’t experience a full measure of the appetites and passions of his race, even if only to contain them or direct them, somehow, usefully?”

It’s for passages like this that I read DeLillo. His dialogue can be difficult to adjust to and at times seem very self-referential and disconnected; however, there are many quotes like the above in every book that make you (or at least me) stop and think for a second.

Update: Perhaps a point of clarification is needed here in order for the quote to make any real sense. The first line is said by a young man studying under the Jesuits. The second portion of the quote are the words of a Jesuit priest at the school. I simply found it interesting because it’s not really a typical conversation that one would expect to read between a student and a priest. Anyway, hope that helps.

Israel’s repetitive aggression

It seems as though every year the Western press expends heavy coverage over the latest raid by Israeli troops into Gaza and promptly forgets about those attacks that came before. Here’s an excerpt from a BBC article:

Israel said it was responding to an escalation in rocket attacks from Gaza and would bomb “as long as necessary”.

They were the heaviest Israeli attacks on Gaza for decades. More air raids were launched as night fell.

Staff at the main hospital in Gaza say operating rooms are overflowing, it is running out of medicine, and there are not enough surgeons to cope.

This portion comes right after a quote from Prime Minister Olmert about how “he pledged to avoid a humanitarian crisis.” Seems to me that by bombing a region for multiple days in addition to effectively turning that region into a closed-off island pretty well creates a humanitarian crisis.

Why does the press simply cover these repeated attacks by Israel with sympathy for the Palestinians but not recognize the perpetual aggression of Israel? If the press and the public were to have memories longer than a few months they would realize that this is a familiar course of events. Israel cordons off the Gaza Strip which then causes the Palestinians to retaliate. Israel then uses this retaliation as justification for increasing violent attacks against Gaza. I would like to see countries (all, not just Israel) held responsible for the history of their actions and to not simply treat each outbreak of violence as a separate incident. With this it would be easier to see a trend of increasing violence and hold countries responsible for the use of military force.

Link via BBC NEWS | Middle East | Massive Israeli air raids on Gaza.

To those of both parties

Background:

With it being Christmas and all I’ve been hearing many family discussions of the current state of the United States and particularly its politics. A little background might first be helpful to the discussion that follows. My family is a little bit of a mix of backgrounds and politics; my parents are both pretty solid Democrats while my Grandfather is a solid Republican who made his living working on a flower seed farm. Needless to say their opinions about most political things have usually been quite different. With this in mind the conversations I have heard over the last few days around the dinner table and in the living room have made me wonder about the state of people in both parties.

What I’m hearing:

To illustrate what I’m thinking about I will start with an example. I have heard various opinions over the past few weeks concerning what ought to be done with (or in some cases to) Bush and Cheney after they leave office. I contrast this to what I have overheard concerning the current investigation into Illinois’ Governor and the President-elect.

Much of what I have heard from Democrats generally (and I do realize that much of this article is relying upon generalizations and essentialism) boils down to the opinion that Bush and Cheney are the scum of the Earth and ought to either:

  1. Replace the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay
  2. Be declared criminals and incarcerated
  3. Other creative solutions for punishing “evil people”

On the contrary the general opinion concerning the investigation of Governor Rod Blagojevich and any possible ties to the incoming Obama administration is that it should just go away and that the media should not proceed in its efforts to smear the opening days of the Obama administration.

For the most part the opinions that I have heard from my Conservative friends is that unless an investigation truly determines that Bush and Cheney broke the law they ought to be left to retirement. On the other hand they generally also believe that a full and thorough investigation ought to be conducted into any possible links between Obama and Blagojevich (and that the supposition behind this is that there is probably a link and that Obama probably really is like all other corrupt politicians).

What I’m thinking:

What this example, and many others over the last few months, has made me think about is the absurd double standard that both parties set. On the Democrats side they believe that certain investigations are ridiculous and simply a smear campaign while others aren’t really necessary for decrying the despicable actions of men whom it is very difficult to get an unbiased opinion of. For Republicans an investigation into possible Democratic corruption is a necessary event in the exercise of freedom and democracy while other investigations (e.g. one into Bush and Cheney’s activities of the last eight years) would just be conspiracy seeking by Democrats.

This has all reaffirmed one of my reasons for not voting for President in this last election: there is very little difference in the political values of Democrats and Republicans. They both believe that their side is right and that a strong eye is needed in order to keep the other side in line. For the most part neither side sees the hypocrisy of their opinions and values and neither side would admit that what they are advocating for is just as bad as the opposition.

The way that Democrats leap to convict Bush and Cheney of all sorts of despicable crimes is akin to the conservative hacks that call out Obama as a socialist and Muslim: their both horrendous assaults on that which makes us human. This has ultimately made me believe that this country will not be able to accomplish “change we can believe” in under an Obama administration (or any administration for that matter) until both sides can put down their prejudiced opinions of each other and recognize their greater identity as people who inhabit a common earth, a common country, and in some cases a common neighborhood.

Note: As with much of what I post on this blog the above was written in a single sitting and is certainly not as thought out as I would like it to be nor as coherent of an argument as I would desire. Feel free to tear me apart in the comments as that’s what they’re there for.

Change you can believe – press corps style

Funny and interesting article up right now on the Washington Post about how the White House press corps has undergone a dramatic change of scenery while adapting to Obama’s retreat in Hawaii. The best part of the article is a quote from Ed Henry that reads:

“No offense to the people of Crawford, Texas, but taking the presidential retreat from Crawford to Honolulu is change anyone can believe in,” Henry says, borrowing a phrase from Obama’s campaign.

Link via White House Press Corps Faces Unique Challenges in Hawaii – washingtonpost.com.

The Passive House

I do apologize for the glut of links to NY Times articles in the past few days, but I just keep finding interesting articles. Here’s one about energy efficient housing that is becoming popular in Germany and Scandinavia. The whole idea is that the house heats itself through what already gives off heat in the home. The discussion of the ventilation system is also great because it describes the genius ingenuity of the system. Here’s an excerpt below explaining the concept of a “passive house”:

The concept of the passive house, pioneered in this city of 140,000 outside Frankfurt, approaches the challenge from a different angle. Using ultrathick insulation and complex doors and windows, the architect engineers a home encased in an airtight shell, so that barely any heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in. That means a passive house can be warmed not only by the sun, but also by the heat from appliances and even from occupants’ bodies.

Link via The Energy Challenge – No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in Innovative ‘Passive Houses’ – Series – NYTimes.com.

Vintage Apple Customer Support Ad

Here’s a great vintage ad for Apple Support. Proof that its not the technology, but the skill that makes good design. If only more companies put as much thought into colours and layout of designs as Apple has throughout the years.

Apple Authorized Service

Via Boing Boing

Data Visualization Projects

Here’s an article that picks the 5 best data visualization projects of the year. Personally, their Honorable Mention was my favourite. I loved pasting the transcripts of speeches into Wordle and seeing the results. Number 5 on the list is also a good one if you want a visualization of how Obama and Clinton performed in counties based through questions like “Is a country more than 20 percent black?” Anyway, it’s an interesting read.

Link – 5 Best Data Visualization Projects of the Year | FlowingData.

How an old phone can make money

Here’s an interesting story on the BBC’s website about efforts to recycle old cell phones. Much of it centers on one such organization that works to recycle these old phones: Fonebank.

Not only does recycling an old cell phone do great things for the environment by keeping degrading batteries and other electronic parts out of the soil, but if done through Fonebank (and others I’m sure) it can help charities as well.

From the article:

This year Fonebank has teamed up with Oxfam to donate a minimum of 10% of the value of the phone to aid the charity’s work in the developing world.

Other charities, including Age Concern and the British Red Cross, are also offering people the chance to donate phones.

Sounds like a win-win: recycle your phone, get a check up to 102 pounds, and have the company donate to Oxfam.

via BBC NEWS | Technology | How an old phone can make money.