Links of the Day, September 25

Ho. ly. Smokes. Enjoy this Michael Jackson tribute:

News

• The UN Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution calling for nuclear disarmament, proposed by President Obama.
• Here’s Barack’s speech to the General Assembly:
• On the trilateral meeting: Obama, Netanyahu and Abbas:

Green

• Don’t turn your nose up at the little things: waste reduction and recycling can cut CO2 output by 354 million tons a year.
• This kid, William Kamkwamba, is pretty amazing: from DIY windmills to DIY water well drills.

“Love, the Climate”

Check out Live Earth’s "Love, the Climate" campaign, a slightly different, and certainly more creative, approach to combating climate change.

Links of the Day, September 24

In Maastricht, Netherlands, a church is converted into a bookstore.

News

• An experimental HIV vaccine may reduce infection.
• Paul Kirk will be named to fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat on an interim basis.

Health care

• Protect Insurance Companies PSA

• Pastor Joel C. Hunter, David Gushee and Ron Sider separate fact from fiction on the Ryan-DeLauro bill (aka the abortion reduction bill).

Green

• In case you had no idea what cap-and-trade was (which apparently applies to 76% of Americans), here’s a four-minute summary:

Miscellaneous

• U2 hit up New Jersey last night. Here’s the NY Times review.

Ubuntu

Desmond Tutu on ubuntu:

It is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up in and inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness; it speaks about compassion. A person with ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are.

(God Has A Dream, 25-26)

Links of the Day, September 23

For those who love The Office, enjoy the timeless wisdom of Dwight Shrute.

News

• The President will address the UN General Assembly for the first time. Among the issues he’ll be addressing, nuclear non-proliferation.
• A shoot-out at the US-Mexican border between US agents and suspected human traffickers shuts down the crossing.
• More fires in California.
• Geithner will press Congress on finance reform.
• A staggering 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

Links of the Day, September 22

Sorry for the lateness (and the sparsity); been out of the office most of the day!

News

• Europe is cool on committing to Afghanistan. So is popular opinion in the US.

Health care

• Religious leaders seek health care for undocumented immigrants.

Links of the Day, September 21

Today is International Day of Peace. And the first official day of fall.

News

• Unemployment in California hits 12%, the highest rate in 70 years.
• General McChrystal requests more troops in Afghanistan.
• The President’s media blitz yesterday. Here’s a snippet:

Obama on health care:

Health care

• A new Harvard study links 45,000 U.S. deaths with lack of insurance.

Miscellaneous

• The ‘God Gap’ closed: a survey looks at religion on the right and the left.
• The number of female senior pastors doubles in the 10 years! (But men still make more money …)
• An insightful essay in the NY Times on comparing your single or married life to the other side. H/T to Liz.
• Cursive writing is fading fast …
• 78% of NFL players go bankrupt within two years of retirement.
• Can Freshers’ Week friendships last?