After six years, it looks like we’re finally seeing an end (or the beginning of an end) to the occupation of Iraq. US forces aren’t exactly leaving the country, but they’re pulling out of the cities, lowering their profile considerably, and turning over most authority to the Iraqi government.
The response from Iraqis is jubilant; today [...]
Posted by Chris in Iraq, World on June 30th, 2009 | 1 Comment »
How did Twitter become crucial infrastructure? Seriously, wasn’t it just a month or two ago that Ashton Kutcher and Oprah threatened to drain all possible credibility out of the service? Wasn’t there much wailing and gnashing of teeth? So how did we get from there to the state department asking Twitter to delay a maintenance [...]
Posted by Chris in Government, Oddly Enough, Technology, World on June 19th, 2009 | No Comments »
Brent pointed out this article in the New York Times about a carfree German suburb:
Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg [...]
Posted by Chris in Carfree, News, World on May 12th, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the National Space Society has donated telescopes to students in over 20 countries as part of the Permission to Dream project. The project page posted photos of a recent star party in Nepal, featuring one of the donated telescopes:
Click through to the Permission to Dream project page for [...]
Posted by Chris in Space, To Help, World on October 27th, 2008 | No Comments »
Dear Sirs,
Pursuant to the recent findings of the International Atomic Energy Agency, I respectfully request that you continue to refrain from invading the sovereign nation of Iran. I quote from a recent analysis of the Iranian situation:
All materials and centrifuges are under Agency seal and surveillance and the Agency guarantees no diversion without their knowledge. [...]
Posted by Chris in Government, World on September 17th, 2008 | No Comments »
A while back I shared a few hobbit-style homes people had built, but my favorite so far has to be the Low-Impact Woodland Home that Simon Dale and his family built in Wales:
Being your own (have a go) architect is a lot of fun and allows you to [...]
Posted by Chris in Architecture, Art, Environment, Fun, World on August 25th, 2008 | 2 Comments »
This just in from some crazy left-wing blogger making up stories:
In a stunning reversal of Bush administration conventional wisdom, a new assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies concludes Iran shelved it’s nuclear weapons program over four years ago.
“We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program,” reads a declassified version [...]
Posted by Chris in Iraq, News, Oddly Enough, World on December 3rd, 2007 | No Comments »
When Michael Moore made his recent documentary “Sicko”, he left out a segment because he thought no one would believe it. Now, through the power of the Internets, you can watch for yourself and discover the amazing infrastructure and services in Norway.
Posted by Chris in Government, Travel, World on November 27th, 2007 | 1 Comment »
No, it’s not an Eddie Izzard routine. It’s the U.S. Army assigning social scientists to combat units in Afghanistan, and it’s awesome:
[Tracy] is a member of the first Human Terrain Team, an experimental Pentagon program that assigns anthropologists and other social scientists to American combat units in Afghanistan and Iraq. Her team’s ability to understand [...]
Posted by Chris in Anthropology, Oddly Enough, World on October 4th, 2007 | 7 Comments »
Oh, can we please order about a dozen of these?
A French high-speed train, with a souped-up engine and wheels, breaks the world speed record near Grigny, eastern France, Tuesday, April 3, 2007, reaching 574.8 kph (357.2 mph). The black and chrome train with three double-decker cars, named the V150, bettered the previous record of 515.3 [...]
Posted by Chris in Environment, News, Technology, World on April 3rd, 2007 | 1 Comment »
