INVICTUS: new film about Nelson Mandela

Starring: Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in a film about Nelson Mandela and the South African rugby team

Director: Clint Eastwood

Newsweek issues a problem for Sara Palin

Sarah Palin called her photo on the cover of this week's issue of Newsweek Magazine as "sexist" and "out of context" on her facebook page.

Why would Palin say this, when she posed in running shorts for the cover of Newsweek magazine?

Well, she didn't.

The photo your seeing was actually featured in the August 2009 Issue of Runners World.
However, Newsweek used it on their Nov. 23 issue.
According to Runner's World, the photo had been provided by the photographer's stock agency, so I guess that means it was fair game.

This did not seem like fair game to Palin, though, and she called the magazine's choice of photo an "unfortunate" one with type magazine being news. "The media will do anything to draw attention," she said on facebook.

So is this a despaerate ploy to sell issues or is it really portraying what the article says it does?

The Newsweek editor Jon Meacham states that they chose the "most interesting image available to [them]" to illustrate a "gender-neutral standard."

However, the magazine's subscriber base is expected to decline by nearly half from its peak of 3.1 million in 2009, according the CS Monitor and the Washintong Post Company's third quarter financial report. Although struggling to maintain subscribers has been the case for several magazines lately.

Palin was featured on the "I'm a Runner" section in the August 2009 issue of Runner's world.
See an enlarged view along with the editor's note.

The 894 billion-dollar decision: healthy?

Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives unveiled the Democratic healthcare plan option on Thursday.

This plan is set to cover 36 million Americans currently without health insurance helping roughly 96 percent of Americans to be medically insured.


I'm not really a big numbers person, but share some things below to further complicate the US healthcare endeavor:

This is a hefty amount of money to divy out considering the USD budget deficit is at 1.3 trillion dollars....not to mention thge national debt of 12 trillion.

However, Pelosi's office says that this bill will actually lower the federal deficit by 30 million dollars over the next decade. http://www.toddalbert.com/files/images/health_care.jpg

My, how lightly I have just stated these things. So let's make this more real...each citizens share (that means you, if you are a US citizen, and I) is $38,679.48.
You may click on the link as this numbers increase themselves daily. You would think that all the wealth and resources that US citizens have bloated themselves with would allow them to make healthier decisions.

Now, I really want everyone to have healthcare coverage they need, but why does it have to be so darn expensive?

By the way, it's a 1,990-page bill...can anybody say complicated?


I don't particulartly believe in this cartoon, but it doesn't really seem too far from our reality.

So much is made in China already, the place were we owe much of our debt.


http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/6798714.html

Peril in Pakistan

Hours after U.S. secretary of state arrived in Pakistan this morning, a car bomb ignited in a crowded market area. So far 91 people are dead, and more that 200 injured.

Above photo credits: Left--Mohammad Sajjad/AP; Right--Arshad Arbab/EPA

How terrible!

They are not stopping and they do not care who is in their way...

Photo by Mohammad Sajjad/ AP

God help us.

According to the Taliban, the fiighting will not stop any time soon.

There were also suicide bombers dressed in police uniform, and other militants who raided guests houses in Kabul, Afganistan which hosted UN workers and other foreigners.

The Taliban admitted responsibility to these attacks.
They said that they targeted the UN because of the elections scheduled to take place on November 7, and warned that there are more attacks to come.

Information retrieved from MSNBC.com

Wednesday, October 28

children caught up in the crime of being born of a prostitute

I just watched this video about a group of children in India who befrended a foreign photographer, and in the process they learned how to document their lives on film (with photos) and she, the photographer, learned of the hardships these children endure living in the red light disctrict in the poor parts of the city. Many of their mothers were professional sex partners a.k.a prostitutes and sold themselves, even inside their own homes while their kids played on the roof tops. Those kids knew exactly what was going on. That sad part is that even after the photographer going through such great lengths and documenting their lives on film while trying to help them make it to better lives, was not able to help them all. It is so difficult for a child living in that area to be accepted into boarding schools with their parents doing "illegal" work. (It seems they're just doing all they've ever been taught that they can do to survive.) And to even to receive an education and to move on toward a better life, escaping the monotonous cycle of poverty in their families--- this would be almost impossible without outside help.
Even more sadly, after some of the children were accepted to schools, some of their familes held them back, forbiding them to go to the school.
These kids know what is in store for them at home.
This makes me wonder, what can be done to end this vicious and even unfair cycle of poverty for the children born in that red light district?

This film only documented the lives of about seven children (plus more). But there are countless others who we know not by name, nor by face. The children hidden in the deep seemingly lost for a lifetime of hurt and calluses and being left. Forgotten. However I beg to differ...

I will not forget them.

Senior hunger is real

This is a short litle video made for a class i'm taking now. Just thought the info was pertinent enough to pass on to others. Enjoy.

a flying car

I have to say, I sort of imagined this when I was younger. I think we all did...but it's really happening now. Talk about getting a drivers liscence...this just takes it to a whole new level! Definately up's the game (no pun intended).

Discovery channed article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29775195/

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/tech-flying-car-takes-off.html