According to the New York Times‘ John Tierney, hallucinogenic drugs have caught the attention of doctors lately, for their effectiveness in treating certain cases of depression and other mental health problems. Most notably, Studies like this are interesting for a number of reasons. To a certain degree, I think it shows how arbitrary the lines we as a society set up, really are. It just seems strange that drugs that regularly cause addiction or even overdose (Xanax, Oxycontin, alcohol) are legal, accessible or even socially acceptable as a treatment, while others are feared and criminalized, despite having fewer health risks. We’ll save the whole pharmaceutical lobbying discussion for another day though. Obviously, I’m not going to advise you to drop acid on a daily basis. But if Bowties is doing anything, I hope it’s making you question things every once in a while. Because maybe, just maybe, things aren’t the way everybody tells you they are. Samra feels me. Read the full story after the MORE.
With our ongoing discussion on the nuclear threat and how it’s shaping our century, we should pause to reflect upon the causes for this mess. How did we get to this situation of having the power to destroy our civilization? What does it say about who we are as a species?
It may be a good idea to bring back what is apparently a disconnected topic: the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. In the early ’50s, while having lunch with some colleagues at the cafeteria of the Los Alamos lab — the same place where a few years earlier the first atomic bomb was invented — the great physicist Enrico Fermi stopped eating and asked: “Where is everybody?”
America in the late 1960s sounds like it was a hell of an interesting place. War, political uprising, great music, art movements, drugs, and a lot of things changing fast. Fortunately, the late ’60s made for a golden age not only in art, but also in journalism, leaving us with some of the most iconic magazine covers of the 20th century. In my humble, the work of George Lois is about as dope as it gets. The subjects were iconic, and the artistic statement dug into the heart of the issue at stake, provoking thought and discussion. We need to get back to doing it like this. You can cop the collection with George Lois: The Esquire Covers @ MoMA, or learn more about the history behind the covers here.
There’s not a lot of comedians better at shedding light on social issues than these two. Chris has a way of breaking down situations into the most basic terms, so you almost can’t help but feel what he’s saying. With the new healthcare bill having passed, the conversation has definitely changed, but it’s good to see the discussion is still going. Not that the bill isn’t a big step, but obviously, we have a lot of things to sort out before American society is equal, in any real sense of the word. The conversation starting at 5:10 is pretty telling. Nothing too revolutionary being discussed here, but it’s always good to see these two chop it up. As usual, we’re interested to hear your thoughts too.
Now this is just a compelling piece of journalism. In a three-part piece, LA Times columnist Sam Quinones documents a strange trend in the world of illicit drug trafficking. Apparently, immigrants from a small rural community in Mexico have created an ingenious, highly effective business model for moving black tar heroin in small towns across America, spreading addiction nationwide, but also revitalizing the economy back home in Xalisco. Targeting white communities almost exclusively, and operating with little to no violence, the delivery service seems to go against the headline-grabbing cartel model that has become synonymous with Mexico in recent years. All moral judgments aside, the whole situation is just crazy. Free market capitalism turned on itself. Read on for the full story.
Now this just made my day. I don’t even watch TV all that much anymore, but The Boondocks is one of those rare shows that actually leaves you with some insight after every episode. Since Aaron McGruder started with the comic strip in the ’90s the Boondocks has come with the realness on a regular basis, shedding light on major issues without being heavy-handed. Fortunately for us, Huey, Riley and the rest of the gang will make its return to Adult Swim soon, after taking a two-year hiatus. The trailer looks pretty serious, and throwing Jay Electronica in the background definitely doesn’t hurt. It all starts May 2nd.
Today is a good day for America. To put it simply, it’s nice to have someone in office putting on for the people who need it the most. There is no doubt in my mind that without Barack championing the effort behind this bill, that nothing like this could have been accomplished for years to come. For obvious reasons, the house passing the healthcare bill, despite no support from a single Republican, is a landmark victory, and a major step in the right direction. As always, it’s good to keep things in perspective though. The most recent editorial from The New York Times frames the bill as a a hugely important move towards reforming the worst aspects of our healthcare system, but one that needs to be looked at as a first step, and not a final solution. Hit the MORE for the details.
“We want the power for the people,
That’s all we ask in our country dear…”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The title of this article alone would be enough to effectively make most American politicians say forget about it. The facts, however speak louder than political buzzwords. Despite having the highest GDP of any nation in the world, America’s healthcare system is ranked 37th best. Despite all the debates about helping the poorest Americans with healthcare reform, the uninsured rate is still about 15.4%, accounting for just over 45 million Americans. In his article, “The Cure That Dares Not Speak Its Name”, Robert Kuttner breaks it down on how Canada, Great Britain and Germany have managed to succeed with universal care, and why our next push might need to be more ambitious than a “public option”.
A conversation on Twitter got me thinking (thanks to Luis). It started with me making the statement that musicians shouldn’t be making millions of dollars a year. Teachers and social workers struggle to pay bills, yet some of the richest people in our country make millions by recording music. It ended with me being called a communist.
The idea of capitalism rests upon the assumption that the market is dependent on the consumer. If customers have options and information, the value of products will be adjusted to fit the consumers’ demand. When an industry is dominated by a few very influential players in a market with high barriers to entry, this concept goes to shit. Right now, you’ve got four major labels (Sony BMG, Universal, EMI, & Warner) deciding your options for you. Instead of having thousands of artists to choose from, the majority of the population is force fed 50-100 options in each segment. This means most artists never make it. Very few make it big. Some artists seen as marketable get huge pushes and end up making millions. Most end up broke.
I’ll keep it 100 with you. Climate change is not my area of expertise. For those of you for whom it is, please let me know what’s really good, and what I can do to help. From everything I’ve been told, and what little research I’ve done, I can at least say that I understand how big of a challenge we’re really facing in the coming decades. Analysis from the top experts in the field suggests that the way we’ve been living and consuming just isn’t gonna fly from here on out. The real challenge then, is formulating concrete solutions. Enter TED, whose annual conference hosts talks from the best and the brightest in almost any field you can imagine. Being that Bill Gates has been responsible for some of the most crucial advances in both technology and philanthropy in the last half century, I’d say his thoughts on the subject are worth listening to. Take it away Bill.
The first time I watched this I felt a bit numb. And in a way helpless. Like something was happening that I couldn’t do anything about. Something so far away, but something so real. How’d it get to this? What can I do? I feel so helpless. But who am I to feel helpless? I can’t pick up and move to Liberia next week and try to help. Or can I? For the time being I think the best is to help educate others. I can tell you about it. And maybe you can tell someone else. And they can tell someone else. And soon we can all do something about this. Raising awareness is important, but once we become knowledgeable about something, we also become responsible for it. If absolutely nothing else, let this serve as a bit of perspective. In short, life is not the same for everyone. And people say FML…
Good to see Barack taking a stand against the banks. In his weekly address, the president slammed major banks and financial institutions for irresponsibility and selfishness in the wake of the economic collapse they helped to cause. However, the address was also a proposal for a fee imposed on banking practices, with the aim of recovering the money taxpayers paid during the bailout. Unsurprisingly, Republicans and lawmakers are lining up pretty unanimously against the idea. Given the economy hasn’t picked up much since the bailout, and Wall Street cats are still picking up 8-figure bonuses, I’d say it couldn’t hurt. Guess we’ll wait and see if they can get this through.
As I’m sure most are already aware, an absolutely devastating 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti and its capital city of Port-au-Prince yesterday. The quake was the largest to hit the region in the last 200 years, and the destruction it has caused has been substantial, with a potential death toll in the tens of thousands, as reported by Haitian president Rene Preval. Needless to say, our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragedy. At times like these, its important to be thankful for what we have, and to do what we can to help those in need. Granted these are tough times for almost everybody, but if you’re able to contribute, please do. Look below for a variety of organizations currently working to provide relief in Haiti. Your help is appreciated.
