• Orangutans may be extinct within five years, thanks to a soaring demand for palm oil leading to the destruction of their forest habitat. This situation needs to be addressed in product labeling somehow, so consumers can know that they’re buying sustainable, “orangutan and rainforest-safe” palm oil. Via this DKos diary. • Here’s a fascinating […]
Entries Tagged as 'News'
News: The Hidden Cost of Margarine
March 27th, 2007 · 4 Comments · Adobe, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Internet, Media, Music, News, Performance, Politics, Science, Software, Tech
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Doctor Who Fires Up the Tardis
March 26th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Culture, Doctor Who, News, Science Fiction, TV
It’s a good week to be a Whovian — Season 3 of Russell T. Davies’ new Doctor Who series premieres on the BBC next Sunday, March 31. And a fourth season has been greenlit for 2008! Hello Magazine has some tantalizing details about the premiere of Season 3, which will introduce the Doctor’s new sidekick […]
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Last Week’s Three Best Video Kerfuffles
March 26th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Climate Change, Culture, Film, Human Rights, Media, News, Politics, Torture, TV
I don’t know what was in the air last week, but it was a banner week for jaw-dropping altercations, smackdowns and ruckuses (should that be ruckae?) caught on video. Here are the three that made a biggest impression on me. 1. Boxer vs. Inhofe vs. Gore. Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe is one of those guys […]
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The Waterboys: Mike Scott in The Guardian, and new album Book of Lightning
March 26th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Books, Culture, History, Journal, Lit, Music, Mythology, Neo-Futurists, News, Performance, Poetry, Travel
Mike Scott, singer, songwriter, and bandleader of The Waterboys, has a thoughtful and entertaining piece in The Guardian recounting his experiences trying to correct errors in the band’s entry on Wikipedia. Meanwhile, the Waterboys have a new album coming out in April! It’s called Book of Lightning and you can hear samples of a couple […]
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Puck Soup: Wolfgang Puck Gets a Shiny New Conscience
March 26th, 2007 · Comments Off on Puck Soup: Wolfgang Puck Gets a Shiny New Conscience · Activism, Business, Factory Farming, Food, Health, News, Politics
I haven’t exactly been a fan of Wolfgang Puck, to put it mildly, because in the past he’s been a major promoter of animal cruelty — he bears a lot of responsibility for the popularization of foie gras over the last few years. I give his restaurant in Evanston a wide berth, and have been […]
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In Chicago: The Return of the Partly Dave Show, Plus Jellybeans, Oobleck, and Jane Goodall
March 23rd, 2007 · 4 Comments · Books, Chicago, Culture, Fringe, Journal, LGBT, Lit, Neo-Futurists, News, Performance, Poetry, Theater
I was at the Landmark shop in Andersonville yesterday, and the nice lady behind the counter asked me to guess how many jellybeans were inside the glass human head and write my answer on a slip of paper. I guessed 425. No wait, 450! 17,034! A zillion! Oh my heavens, the pressure. I seem to […]
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The Big Pet Food Recall, Continued
March 23rd, 2007 · 10 Comments · Advertising, Business, Cats, Factory Farming, Food, Health, Kiwi, Mr. Blue, News, Pet Food, Pets, Politics
In the comments to my post about the Big Pet Food Recall earlier this week, AmyC pointed out that the pet food industry isn’t regulated by the FDA; instead it’s self-regulated by an industry group called the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). And then Grendel posted this link: What’s Really in Pet Food, […]
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Music: The Best Kind of Madness
March 22nd, 2007 · 1 Comment · Culture, iTunes, Music, New Wave, News
Madness has a new single out! Released on their own label, Lucky Seven Records. The new song is called “Sorry,” and the even better news is that there’s a full album on the way this summer. Amazon has the CD single with four versions of the song available now. Or you can download it from […]
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News: The Pleasure of the Preznit
March 21st, 2007 · 1 Comment · Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Business, Chicago, Culture, Film, Food, Health, HIV/AIDS, LGBT, Music, News, Politics, Science
• Preznit Bush is stonewalling and hurling threats of a constitutional showdown over subpoenas. Ocelopotamus say: Call. His. Bluff. If he refuses to obey the rule of law, commence the impeachication. Meanwhile, over at Crooks and Liars, we read this: President Bush kept making the point over and over that allowing his staff members (i.e. […]
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Ian McKellen Tackles King Lear
March 21st, 2007 · 1 Comment · Culture, Doctor Who, LGBT, News, Performance, Theater
Ian McKellen, profiled in The Observer, is finally ready to take on the role of a lifetime: King Lear. McKellen and Trevor Nunn, who have known each other since they were at Cambridge together in the 1960s, have been planning this production for a long time. ‘McKellen has said that for him, Trevor Nunn is […]
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Cats: Kiwi, Mr. Blue, & Menu Foods
March 20th, 2007 · 7 Comments · Advertising, Cats, Food, Health, Journal, Kiwi, Mr. Blue, News, Pet Food, Pets
I hear the cool kids like to post pictures of their cats on their blogs sometimes. Except I think you’re supposed to do it on Fridays. In 2005. Well, never let it be said that Ocelopotamus colors inside the lines! Anyway, here’s Barabajagal (aka Mr. Blue) and Kiwi, even though they don’t really deserve the […]
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News: A Hive of Spam and Villainy
March 20th, 2007 · Comments Off on News: A Hive of Spam and Villainy · Activism, Food, Health, Heroes, Internet, LGBT, News, Peace, Politics, Science, Science Fiction, Tech, TV
• A pair of hackers are promising to expose a month’s worth of MySpace bugs to draw attention to security problems with the site. … two hackers going by the names of Mondo Armando and Müstaschio promise to begin disclosing security vulnerabilities in MySpace, News Corp.’s popular social networking site, every day next month. “The […]
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The Two Faces of the Tribune
March 20th, 2007 · Comments Off on The Two Faces of the Tribune · Chicago, Media, News, Politics
Media Matters calls out the Chicago Tribune on its Clinton/Bush double standard: We’ve previously detailed the bizarre Bush-era tendency of major newspaper editorial boards to disregard principles they held dear during the Clinton administration. The Chicago Tribune, for example, editorialized in 1998 that Clinton should resign because his statements about the Monica Lewinsky matter would […]
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News: Three Rings, No Waiting
March 19th, 2007 · Comments Off on News: Three Rings, No Waiting · Books, Culture, Food, LGBT, Lit, Media, News, Politics
• Karl Rove may be facing a subpoena this week if he doesn’t agree to appear before the Senate to testify in the fired prosecutors scandal. The chairman of the judiciary committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, wants White House officials on the record, under oath. The final decision on putting on the agenda subpoenas is mine,” […]
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