Wednesday Links

Random stuff on the Nets:



A thought excercise, if nothing else-What's the Matter with San Francisco?
Are "rich liberals" who vote for Democrats and higher taxes for themselves displaying the same irrational behavior as working-class men and women who vote for Republicans and lower taxes... for the rich?

Iran on the brink?
In 15 years of writing about the Middle East, I have never encountered a situation that changed so fast that one could write an article that becomes outdated in the time it takes to write it.

Salty microbe may be world's oldest
Deep in the mine, within a pocket of salt water trapped in a 250 million-year-old salt crystal, two biologists and a geologist discovered the 2-9-3 virgibacillus bacteria. This would be unremarkable save for the fact that this bacteria was 100 million years older than the dinosaurs... and it was still alive.

Tweeting the Revolution
By yesterday, half of the Twitterverse had green icons, in solidarity with the Iranian people. Efforts to block twitter and silence the Iranian twitterers were being countered by internet saavy geeks and hackers all over the world. Demonstrations were increasing. Tension was mounting. CNN was scrambling and the beat went on.

and...

Why There's No Twitter Revolution in Iran
"Social media is not at all a prime mover of what is happening on the ground," says Ethan Zuckerman, a senior researcher at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society...

Not just any A-Hole, but a Fox A-Hole
Even before he was accused of dragging a cyclist through Central Park, former colleagues tell us they were afraid to be around him.

Quarter of men in South Africa admit rape, survey finds
One in four men in South Africa have admitted to rape and many confess to attacking more than one victim, according to a study that exposes the country's endemic culture of sexual violence.

Obama, Obama, Obama...
Everyone loves a parade, but we don't like being betrayed. And while gay and lesbian Americans were initially willing to cut our new president some slack, the president's now-clear reticence to follow through on even one of his many campaign promises to the gay community has put the Democratic Party on the precipice of an ugly and very public divorce with this once-solid constituency.

Woman cancels wedding after finding fiance was porn star
"The sex side is purely for the camera, but Haylie did not understand I was only acting...I am sorry and did not want to hurt her. I still love Haylie and would have stopped doing porn if she had asked me to."