Links of the Day, August 17

Happy Monday, folks!

News

• A law is passed in Afghanistan that allows a man to starve his wife if she refuses to have sex.
• Iranian President Ahmadinejad appoints at least two women to his cabinet.
• Japan’s economy leaves the recession.
• Usain Bolt breaks the 100m world record: 9.58 seconds; holy cow.
• Y.E. Yang edges out Tiger Woods to become the first Asian-born male winner of a major golf championship.

Health care

• Whole Foods vs. ObamaCare?
• Another article on the rather unfortunate decision to use the British health care system as a foil.
• FactCheck.org exposes seven falsehoods raised during the current debate (from both sides).
• Barack wins over a crowd in Montana.
• Krugman’s latest op-ed.

Miscellaneous

• Eugene Cho writes about how to start your own non-profit community cafe.
• A Newsweek reporter watches her first abortion.

Links of the Day, August 12

News

• Newlywed charity workers and human rights activists are killed in latest Chechen violence.

Human trafficking

• The World Evangelical Alliance commits to combating human trafficking.
• Visit "At the End of Slavery."
• Slavery in Bangladesh.

Health care

• Jonathan Alter likes the status quo. And I agree with him. (Note: in case you don’t get it, the tone of the article is sarcastic.)
• Brian McLaren pens a letter to conservative Christians.
• Free health checkups at the Forum in Inglewood.
• Barack will participate in a faith-based call-in on health care on August 19.
• Sojourners offers resources to address health care reform.

Miscellaneous

• The lost art of reading?

Links of the Day, August 10

News

• Typhoons Morakat and Etau hit east Asia hard. Here’s the BBC’s coverage.

Human trafficking

• A tour guide in Malaysia is charged with trafficking.
• Trafficking in Taiwan.
• Watch the International Justice Mission documentary "At the End of Slavery" online tomorrow 1pm (I think it’s PST).

Health care

• The New York Times offers a primer on the details of health care reform.
• The White House launches a fact-check/correction site, "Reality Check."

Green

• Climate change seen as a threat to US security. Did people really not make the connections before this?
• The first solar tower energy facility is opening up.

Miscellaneous

• Runners flocking to running shoes that look like feet.
• Ordinances targeting the poor and homeless are on the rise.
• Jazz appears to be dying out.
• Wait for sex and marriage?
• Lights releases the video for her new single, "Saviour" (she’s Canadian).
• Picking apart today’s country music.

Links of the Day, August 8

News

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88, sister of former President JFK and Senator Ted Kennedy, D-Mass, is in critical condition at a Massachusetts hospital.
• It’s Justice Sotomayor now.

Human trafficking

• Sex trafficking ring busted in New Jersey.
• Combating human trafficking in Austin, TX.

Green

• Electric car company Tesla is now profitable!

Politics

• Florida Senator Mel Martinez (R) steps down 16 months early.
• Mark Halperin’s take on the health care mobs …
• … at least one of whom doesn’t understand that Medicare is run by the Government.

Miscellaneous

• Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin describes the President’s health care plan as "evil."
• Bill Maher concludes that electing a smart president doesn’t mean we’re a smart country.
• U2′s The Edge tweets.

Links of the Day, August 7

Starting with an oldie but a goodie … Star Wars as retold by a person who’s never actually seen it:

News

• Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the next US Supreme Court Justice by the Senate by a count of 68-31. Here’s President Obama’s response.
• Bill O’Reilly sings Obama’s praises … seriously.
• Jobless claims are down; 247,000 in July from 443,000 in June (though still higher than anyone would like).
• Director John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink) died of a heart attack. Check out this tribute video montage.

Human trafficking

• INTERPOL’s report on their West African operation, which rescued 54 child slaves.
• Sex trafficking in Minnesota?
• The Irish Times covers trafficking.
• Trafficking victims in Malaysia seek justice.

Health care

• Steven Pearlstein dissects Republican attacks on health care reform.
• Which include comparing Obama to Hitler. Because, as one commenter on Digg put it, "killing 6 million innocent people and trying to provide health care for 50 million Americans are pretty much the same thing." Obviously.

Politics

• Shannyn Moore looks at how artificial protesters are killing democracy.

Miscellaneous

• In the aftermath of the journalists’ release by North Korea, Joe Conason investigates Clinton Derangement Syndrome.
• Ray Charles covers Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”.

Links of the Day, August 6

News

• Stimulus spending is patchy.
• Britain mourns its last surviving World War I veteran, Harry Patch, who died aged 111.
• Rupert Murdoch says the age of free news is ending.

Human trafficking

• New book "The Snakehead," by Patrick Raddan Keefe, delves into human trafficking in New York’s Chinatown. Excerpted on NPR here.
• The Rio Grande Valley called the "front line" against human trafficking.

Green

• Greenpeace win a victory for virgin forests re tissue production.
• The climate bill (aka HR 2454, or the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009) will cost Americans about … 23c per day.

Miscellaneous

• Psychologists reject gay ‘therapy’.
• Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s book, due to come out in 2010, is going to be called "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness." My friends living outside the US love him already.
• David Bromwich looks at the character of Barack Obama.
• How Netflix does it.
• Twitter went down this morning … *gasp* (Update: phew, it’s back up and running.)

Links of the Day, August 5

News

• LA Police Chief William Bratton is stepping down after seven years at the helm.

Human trafficking

• INTERPOL rescues 54 child slaves in West Africa.
• A new Underground Railroad: modern day Harriet Tubmans in Iraq.
• Life as a slave … in Britain.
• An article from 2001, going inside the sweatshops of Los Angeles.

Green

• Nissan unveils its electric car, the Leaf.
• Obama to announce $2.4b in electric car funding.

Miscellaneous

• Elaine Morgan gives a TED Talk on why we’re descended from aquatic apes.
• An article on David Bazan, his upcoming album and his journey of faith.