December 2010
137 posts
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How WikiLeaks Enlightened Us in 2010 >> →
In a year highlighted by some of the worst man-made and natural disasters ever, few news stories stood out as ‘good’ developments. There was of course the 3+ months ordeal of the Chilean miners followed by the dramatic rescue that captivated the world, yours truly included, starved as I am for any semblance of hope.
Yet, without a doubt that news story of the year and continuing into...
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Qatar’s latest sporting success [winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup Bid] is...
– Khaleej Times: Niche Diplomacy Gets Qatar To Its Goal
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$10,676,998,737
– Search | USAspending.gov
The numbers by dollar that the U.S. Government has in contracts with BP.
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Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in...
– Kalama Sutta, The Buddha (via saaraeliisavaris)
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TIKMJ →
storiesfrompakistan:
You may have watched Leonardo Di Caprio’s movie Blood Diamond. He uses a term in it that has been made famous by generation of Africans. TIA. This Is Africa.
Its an attempt at humor but its also an admission that things don’t really change for the better in Africa. That shit is always fucked up…
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Top Ten Would-be Words Submitted to...
1) porch (verb): to spend time on a porch
2) dogfood (verb): to use a product or technology within the company that produces it
3) ecotistical (adjective): feeling self-important due to conservationist ecological practices
4) Enggalog (noun): a combination of English and Tagalog or Spiddish (noun) : a combination of Spanish and Yiddish
5) BMW (abbreviation): beautiful mature woman
6)...
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A Smithsonian In the Sand →
With the opening of Mathaf, the first Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar is racing to turn itself into the cultural hub of the Middle East
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It is an architectural absurdity. Just south of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the...
– The New York Times: New Look For Mecca: Gargantuan & Gaudy
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Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo...
is a grammatically valid sentence in the English language
(filed under: shit I learnt on Twitter)
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Go here >> →
And do it! I can’t believe not a single one of my followers had the guts/good sense to do this!
For shame!!! :P
ps: DO IT!
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5 minutes of Syria
ahmedsalman:
5 minutes of Syria from Ruslan Fedotow on Vimeo.
Syria beckons.
… and I will have to heed its calls soon.
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Palestinian “state” gaining recognition →
Taking a cue from its European neighbours, Britain was on Wednesday reported to be considering upgrading the status of the Palestinian representative’s office in London to that of a diplomatic “mission” to put pressure on Israel to allow resumption of peace talks stalled because of its refusal to halt illegal construction of Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian lands.
France,...
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Ibrahim al-Amine, the hawk-eyed editorial chairman of Al Akhbar, describes his...
– The New York Times: Rarity In Region, Lebanese Paper Dares To Provoke
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What's Your Favorite Self-Made Tumblr Post Of...
Of all the Tumblr posts YOU made in 2010, which one are you most proud of?
It could be a rant, a photograph, a funny story, a gif, or even a one-line moment of clarity.
Please reblog with direct links to the posts!
uzairm:
Here’s mine… http://bit.ly/gv54uo
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Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in...
– Eisenhower on the Opportunity Cost of Defense Spending (via wilwheaton)
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thedailywhat:
Christmas Miracle of the Day: From The New York Times comes the heartwarming tale of a charming couple from Chelsea who mistakenly received hundreds of letters addressed to Santa and decided to try and fulfill them.
[h/t: inothernews.]
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The problem with the nonviolence bandwagon is that it is grossly...
– Who Decides How the Oppressed Should Fight Oppression?
(via afghanipoppy)
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Sapiosexual (n.) — a person who is sexually...
Word of my life. Period.
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Climate Change: Coral Reefs On The Edge
One of the world’s top marine biologists presents scientific evidence that C02 emissions will lead to the extinction of the world’s coral reefs- impacting hundreds of millions of people and 25% of all marine species- unless dramatic international action is taken soon by global political leaders.
Hat Tip: One Climate
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What the F**k is Social Media NOW?
An excellent presentation on social media today and its impact on our world.
Hat Tip: Espresso
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Roger Ebert: The Essential Man →
To me, this is one of the best articles published in 2010. A wonderfully moving profile of Roger Ebert.
trastorn-deactivated20110108-de asked: http://www.leftturn.org/Covering-Pakistan
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When you say “Islam,” the first mental image that pops into mind is… a woman...
– cracked.com huh. Learning things from cracked. (via ginnyteacher)
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As a novelist, I never think of Monica Lewinsky, that once-everyday young woman,...
– Bruce Sterling: The Blast Shack
Once done, you may also want to read Gabriella Coleman’s Hacker Culture: A Response to Bruce Sterling on WikiLeaks
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English will fade as a lingua-franca, but not because some other language will...
– The English language is doomed (to be usurped from its global ubiquity). (via utnereader)
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Cornered – Princess Hijab, Paris's elusive... →
sweepthesunshine:
“Princess Hijab is Paris’s most elusive street artist. Striking at night with dripping black paint she slaps black Muslim veils on the half-naked airbrushed women – and men – of the metro’s fashion adverts. She calls it “hijabisation”. Her guerrilla niqab art has been exhibited from New York to Vienna, sparking debates about feminism and fundamentalism – yet her...
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Effects of Radioactivity Over Time
fakescience:
Don’t get it twisted. Radioactivity is nothing to laugh about.
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One regret, dear world,
That I am determined not to have
When I am lying on my...
– Hafiz of Shiraz (via thenewfilo)
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Cambodia Capitalizes on Boom in Dark Tourism →
utnereader:
Imagine if the German government decided to use money garnered from Auschwitz tourism to construct an elaborate theme park on the site of the Treblinka extermination camp. Unspeakably offensive and inconceivable, right? Incredibly, this is essentially what the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia is doing right now: funneling money from tourist destinations like S-21—a Khmer Rouge...
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The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves...
– Mark Weiser, Situating Ubiquitous Computing in Everyday Life: Bridging the Social and Technical Divide (via spime, devilduck)
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Neat!: Squeezing Water From a Box →
utnereader:
Boxed Water is Better, an upstart company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is trying to think inside the box to address the ecological concerns presented by the bottled-water industry. The company seals carbon-filtered water in cartons not unlike those you might find your milk or orange juice in.
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Hello
There have been a flurry of new followers over the last few days, so I just wanted to take the time to say hi and welcome!
Muzings is a place for anything that catches my fancy. My fancy is usually caughtby issues of politics, social development, social movements, science, astronomy, space in general and everything interesting inside it.
I also blog/live at:
Stories From Pakistan
Morning...
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Love is the energizing elixir of the universe, the cause and effect of all...
– Rumi (via urmi7)
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Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
ahmedsalman:
It is going to be a while before Jean Nouvel’s celebrated National Museum of Qatar blossoms in the desert. But in the meanwhile, an architecturally modest museum with a far more ambitious mission is ready to open its doors for the New Year. The Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art aims to be a new pan-Arab center for culture and creativity, showcasing the work of modern artists from...
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One of the things our grandchildren will find quaintest about us is that we...
– William Gibson /via teradome quietbabylon (via spime)
itsjuthikatime-deactivated20110 asked: I'm not going to lie, I really dislike my religion class. It's a Catholic school, but I'm surprised by the way they taught Islam, they tried hard to show everyone that it's a good religion. However, I was pissed off at the question and she better have given me a perfect on my essay, I ripped apart every argument that people would have about Islam.
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The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability...
– Stanley Kubrick (via swisscheeseandbullets)
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