http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/28/beck.immigrantworkers/index.html

After reading the article and thinking about the word play going on regarding this issue.  Here are a few  I've heard over the years: Illegal Immigrants; Undocumented Workers; Corporate Slaves.

I wonder which is really the most accurate and which most accurately describes the situation.  The one thing I am certain about is that the answer is more complex than "send them all back", "build a wall" or "amnesty for all."

Very interesting…very interesting indeed… 

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/528/2 

This guy can be found in Australia. For more interesting (and very scientific) information about the unique earthworms of Australia you can click here. I just thought this picture was too cool not to share. 

A Women’s Mariachi Band Sings Its Way Through Traditional Male Turf

The prestige of honorary degrees falls to record lows.

Note:  "Not a few universities have been caught by the twists of history, awarding an honorary degree to someone who later turns out to be a dictator or other species of political monster: the University of Edinburgh and the University of Massachusetts (Boston) conferred honorary degrees on Robert Mugabe that one may be sure they wished they hadn't."  Mugabe is the president of Zimbabwe, he 'won' the 2002 election after his opponent was arrested for treason.  He's one of the world's worst human rights offenders, "according to the World Health Organization, Zimbabwe has the world’s shortest life expectancy—37 years for men and 34 for women."  He's no Kermit the Frog…

Two visions of the ideal city rise in the Persian Gulf 

More on Masdar city from NYTimes, Dot Earth Blog 2/4/08

One would have intuitively thought that consumer countries would have been developing this kind of thing…perhaps it even costs less than war….

‘Bout time!

I was talking politics with a coworker a few days ago and said something that didn't really sink in until after I had said it.  I was born in June of 1979, which means that for nearly my entire life minus just 6 months there has been a Bush or a Clinton in the White House.  Kind of scares me to think our government is run by such a small group of people and essentially members and associates of two different families.  I’m excited about the prospect of this not being the case this fall!There are essentially three styles of government:

1. Autocracy - Single self-appointed ruler.
2. Oligarchy - Small elite segment of society rules.
3. Democracy – Majority rule largely directed by the citizens.

Our current system puts us right between an Oligarchy and a Democracy.

Anyone that can guess the third largest film industry in the world after hollywood and bollywood without cheating gets a cookie.  In spirit.

Of particular interest to me is this bit: "They pile up the dead, sometimes using them as a bridge to cross safely over surfaces treated with pesticide."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_us/texas_ants 

http://xkcd.com/418/