Monkey, Airplane, Rocketship

I believe that the BP oil spill could have even bigger ramifications on our country than we already realize.

If this disaster exits the public consciousess without there being a 1:1 ratio of fault to accountability, then we as a nation will have demonstrated to our government (and the corporations whose interests they protect) that there is nothing we won’t tolerate - that under any circumstances of wrongdoing, even one without moral or religious debate, we can be manipulated and made to forget. And if we allow that precedent to be set, there will be no turning back. They will know something no democratic government ever should: that no matter the circumstances, they can always fall back on the people losing interest if they can be distracted long enough.

(via Joshua Blankenship)

(Another) secret NSA surveillance program.

Why aren’t people losing their shit over this? Seriously creepy stuff going on here, especially when you consider that one of the groups involved has allegedly said, “Perfect Citizen is Big Brother.” Remember, as long as you say the magic word (terrorist) you have a free pass to trample civil liberties and basic US privacy concerns.

via Engadget

azspot:

The Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism recently surveyed 490 hours of local news reports in the Los Angeles area and found what most people who watch local news probably already knew: It’s dreadful. The survey found that the average amount of time devoted to actual local news was less than the time given to commercials. The most covered local news topic was crime, but as local news consumers are all too aware, coverage of crime at the local level (or for that matter, at the national level) tends to be sensationalist, honing in on single-incident, high-profile crimes rather than providing any serious coverage of broader criminal justice policy.

Local newscasts are essentially the equivalent of blog commenters who shout “First!!1”. They’re not so much interested in reporting well researched, accurate news as being the first broadcast van on the scene. My local news programs routinely find the most heinous crime stories and fill the time between sports and weather with “stories” that amount to nothing more than glorified commercials. Television news should be a public service, devoid of commercials, and the local newscasts should focus on relevant, smart and hyperlocal stories. Obviously this is too much to ask.