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Debunking the Myths

This piece is written by Yaman Salahi and was originally circulated privately. I am posting it with his permission. 1. Israel Wants Peace It takes quite a bit of chutzpah to claim that Israel “wants peace” as Israeli fighter jets drop hundreds of tons of bombs on the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds, destroying universities, hospitals, [...]

31.12.2008

20 Comments

On Gaza

I’m not going to blog about what’s going on in Gaza other than to say this: …and that my heart and my prayers are with the people of Gaza right now.  We are all Gaza. What I will do, however, is direct my readers to a number of sources offering information.  I cannot vouch for [...]

29.12.2008

1 Comment

160 to 210

Within the span of four hours, the death count has increased by 50.  What more is to come? I, like Israel, reacted swiftly and harshly, and I will not apologize for my words.  Israel’s actions are wrong, bullish.  I am not one to call Palestine innocent, but I am one to take sides, and I [...]

27.12.2008

5 Comments

Virginity in a Box

I laughed a little today when I came across this product from Japan…artificial virginity. According to the product’s manufacturer: With this product, you can have your first night back anytime. Insert this artificial hymen into your vagina carefully. It will expand a little and make you feel tight. When your lover penetrate, it will ooze [...]

20.12.2008

10 Comments

10 Reasons to Donate to Global Voices

10. Because Global Voices authors are really really unbelievably good looking. 9. Because you’ll get a lovely thank you note from Global Voices staff! 8. Because Global Voices authors can drink you under the table. 7. Because Global Voices often has the best coverage of global news stories; our coverage of the recent Mumbai attacks [...]

20.12.2008

4 Comments

On Lingua and distributed translation

Earlier today, a tweet popped up on my screen from someone I’d just begun to follow.  MeghnaK is a (self-described) 13-year-old blogger from India.  Her blog is what you might expect from a young woman…mostly personal, with some poetry and a few newsworthy stories.  Her grasp on blogging is clearly beyond her years (or is [...]

16.12.2008

8 Comments

Christmas Shopping 2.0

I’ve always enjoyed Christmas shopping.  Most years, I’ve done a combination of online and offline shopping, buying items from favorite sites such as amazon.com and etsy, and stores in my neighborhood.  Last year, I even did Black Friday shopping, trying the tradition of getting up at 4 am (it was fun for a couple hours, [...]

13.12.2008

1 Comment

To CC or not to CC…Not much of a question

Tonight I attended a Creative Commons forum featuring Larry Lessig, founder; Joi Ito, CEO; Jamie Boyle, Board Chair; and Molly S. Van Houweling, Board Member and former Exec. Director.  I was fortunate enough to hear the story of CC’s start – how it went from counter-copyright to copyright commons to creative commons, how the different [...]

13.12.2008

1 Comment

Enough is Enough

I don’t make a habit of defending crimes of either child pornography or copyright infringement, but in this particular instance, I’m speaking up… An Australian man has been convicted of possessing child pornography and of accessing child pornography on his computer and fined AUS$3,000.  “Why the small penalty?”, you might be asking.  “Why is this [...]

11.12.2008

7 Comments

To buy or not to buy (mp3s)…

Okay, I admit it.  I pay for my music.  And for a variety of reasons: I work at a university, and so if I want to download during work hours, I wouldn’t want to do so illegally (you must know that in the US, universities are targeted heavily by the RIAA!); I like having the [...]

10.12.2008

4 Comments

Offensive album covers, over the years

In the wake of the ridiculously absurd British blocking of the Wikipedia entry for Scorpions’ “Virgin Killer” [warning: full-frontal underage female nudity], it has come to my attention that there are plenty of other album covers out there just ripe for re-censorship. Take Blind Faith‘s one and only album.  While the prepubescent girl in question [...]

09.12.2008

1 Comment