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NetNomad 43

By James Porteous, AlterNet. Posted November 7, 2000.


Five offbeat, timely reviews of Web sites on the arts, politics and news -- with a dash of the absurd thrown in for good measure. This week: . . . Steven Wright Quotes . . . CD-Recordable FAQ . . . Technorealism . . . Russian Prison Tattoos . . . AC Acoustics.

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In Special Coverage

Belief:
Are the "New Atheists" As Bad as Christian Fundamentalists?
Frank Schaeffer

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace:
How a Public Jobs Program Could Put America Back on Track
Julianne Malveaux

DrugReporter:
Pot Is More Mainstream Than Ever, So Why Is Legalization Still Taboo?
Steven Wishnia

Environment:
How an Entire Town Leveled By a Tornado Is Rebuilding Green
Melissa Knopper

Food:
Jonathan Safran Foer's 'Eating Animals' Book Will Fundamentally Change the Way You Think About Food
Kathy Freston

Health and Wellness:
7 Diseases That Big, Juicy Steaks Could Give You
Sara Novak

Immigration:
NYC Marathon Raises Question of Who Is American Enough?
James E. Johnson, Jr.

Media and Technology:
Focusing on Ft. Hood Killer's Beliefs Are an Easy Out to Avoid the Deeper Reasons for the Massacre
Mark Ames

Movie Mix:
The Yes Men: Pranksters Out to Fix the World
Mark Engler

Politics:
Thousands of Right-Wingers Rally at Capitol to Hear Lies About Health-Care Reform, Courtesy of Bachmann and GOP Leaders
Adele Stan

Reproductive Justice and Gender:
Fetus-Shaped Potatoes? Going Undercover Inside the Weird World of Right-Wing Abortion Foes
Ann Neumann

Rights and Liberties:
"My Kids Want to Hide Their Identity; They're Scared Someone Will Attack Us": U.S. Muslims Being Targeted
Jaisal Noor

Sex and Relationships:
"Restless Vagina Syndrome": Big Pharma's Newest Fake Disease
Terry J. Allen

Take Action:
G-20 Meetings: Nothing Much Happened in the Suites, and There Was Too Much Punch in the Streets
Laura Flanders

Water:
Why Natural Gas Is Not a Clean Energy Panacea
Stan Cox

World:
Stop U.S. Meddling; Support Afghan Women at the Table
Jodie Evans

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Steven Wright Quotes www.jerseyguy.com/commons/steven_wright.htm

"My girlfriend does her nails with white-out. When she's asleep, I go over there and write misspelled words on them." " I filled out an application that said, "In Case Of Emergency Notify (blank)". I wrote the word "Doctor"...What's my MOTHER going to do?" "Why is it, 'A penny for your thoughts,' but, 'you have to put your two cents in?' Somebody's making a penny." "He asked me if I knew what time it was. I said, 'Yes, but not right now.'" "I saw a bank that said '24 Hour Banking', but I don't have that much time." And many, many more!

CD-Recordable FAQ www.fadden.com/cdrfaq

It seems there are almost as many questions about CDRs as there are players and disks. It is certainly no coincidence that the entire affair is rife with complications --if they designed a flawless player everyone would be free to copy damn near everything with ease-- but there are ways to lessen your level of frustration. The detailed list of Frequently Asked Questions tells you which software is best, which CDR to buy for Mac or PC, details on buffer over-runs and much more.

Technorealism www.technorealism.org

Technorealism is an attempt to assess the social and political implications of technologies so that we might all have more control over the shape of our future. There is probably nothing new in this study of technology and its effect on our lives, but then again we have never lived in a society so obsessed with not only the power of the almighty buck, but a way of life in which large segments of society seem to have embraced the notion that the workday never ends. This site features a wonderful overview on the subject of technorealism, a list of related readings and a pair of newsletters.

Russian Prison Tattoos www.word.com/place/russian_tattoos

We learn here that it is "not known when tattooing first became a common practice in Russian prisons and Stalinist Gulags" but that "1920s photographs of prisoners from that period suggest an already elaborate and highly developed subculture." The tattoos are not merely decoration, but serve to proclaim the prisoner's place in the world, both inside and outside of prison. Photos of some of the more than 20 million tattoos are sampled here. "In life, only count on yourself," says one. A picture of a single cat indicates that the criminal acted alone, while a spider or spider's web symbolizes drug addiction.

AC Acoustics www.acacoustics.co.uk

After hearing AC Acoustics for the first time it is impossible to imagine how it is that this group has escaped our attention for 10 years. Indeed the group formed in Glasgow in 1990 and while they have achieved a strong and loyal following, their popularity does not even begin to measure up to this band's potential. "Understanding Music," their third and latest CD, is 60 minutes of exceptional sonic rock and folk-inspired music produced with the conviction of musicians who know they have hit the mark dead on. This is one of those CDs that strikes the listener as being quite remarkable on the very first listen and then simply continues to grow more and more inviting. Learn about the history of the band at their Website, plus reviews, sound clips and a message board.

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Focusing on Ft. Hood Killer's Beliefs Are an Easy Out to Avoid the Deeper Reasons for the Massacre
Media and Technology: That alleged killer Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is a Muslim is not enough to explain the motive for the attacks.
By Mark Ames, AlterNet. November 6, 2009.
Claim: CIA Sent Prisoners Abroad to Be Boiled Alive and 'Raped with Broken Bottles'
World: Former British ambassador alleges CIA relied on intelligence based on torture in prisons in Uzbekistan.
By Daniel Tencer, Raw Story. November 6, 2009.
Thousands of Right-Wingers Rally at Capitol to Hear Lies About Health-Care Reform, Courtesy of Bachmann and GOP Leaders
Politics: Days before a health bill is expected to pass the House, Republicans rallied their flock with the help of FOX News, Michele Bachmann and leading conservative groups.
By Adele Stan, AlterNet. November 6, 2009.
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