Remember the news about a week ago about State Department employees being forced to serve time in Iraq? Turns out they’re not very happy with the idea, likening the task to a “death sentence.”
Fort McMurray is a boom town built on a vast sea of oil, and the number one reason Alberta is the prime driver of the Canadian economy. It’s also a violent, anything goes place, full of rig pigs, pickup trucks and people out to make many fast bucks. The Guardian sent their environmental reporter to the Mac to see just how much stress the rapid growth and rampant industry is putting on people and the environment.
As I make the transition from cubicle monkey to freelance writer (attractive rates, enquire within!), I’ve decided it makes sense to showcase some of my published work when it shows up online. Here’s a story I wrote for the Journal of Commerce last week about the push and pull between developers, city planners and urban advocates regarding the height of skyscrapers in downtown Vancouver.
Wired has an interesting report on the resurgence of vinyl record sales among die-hard music fans. Apparently some indie labels are finding that selling music on vinyl with enclosed coupons for MP3 downloads is proving to be a very popular mix. Music-lovers can satisfy their tin ears at home listening to the richness of sound vinyl offers (while enjoying the large format album art), and then use the coupon to grab the same album for free off the label’s website for their iPods.
( If nothing else, it sounds like a great excuse to buy that DJ turntable setup you know you’ve always wanted…)
Another grab-bag episode of diversions, insults and tomfoolery for the Radio Free Skaro crew, as Chris reports in from London on the various Who goings-on from the past week (the biggest being the return of Peter Davison for the Children in Need special in a few short weeks) and all three contribute their opinions and insights to all things Who. And plenty more besides, including insulting straight white males, somehow working stories of the making of SCTV in the mix, and generally shooting their mouths off. Enjoy! (feed, web, direct download)
According to Newsweek, very few State department officials feel a strong urge to volunteer to work at the American Embassy in Iraq. But soon they won’t have any choice, as 200 to 300 diplomats will be identified as “prime candidates” and shipped over to Baghdad whether they like it or not. Fun!
Nope, it doesn’t involve duct tape or keeping an eye on your neighbours for possible un-American activities. Wired magazine profiles a suburban Montana woman who spends her days at an office, but her nights monitoring jihadi activity online.
If you’ve ever said “but what the Internet REALLY needs is a site dedicated to the greatest nut-punchings in comic book history,” well, enjoy.
With the violence marring the return of exiled Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto, it’s increasingly obvious that Pakistan is sinking into the thrall of militants. Newsweek has a very interesting piece on how we should be more scared of civil unrest in Pakistan, which already has nuclear weapons, than in Iraq, which doesn’t.
