GlobalShift

Modern journalism is changing, and this has wide effects on democracy, human rights, and the constitution — and yes this is being reported in a blog.

I live towards the top of a hill that divides two neighborhoods. There are steep streets on either side of the peak. The hill is a short cut people use to walk from one neighborhood to other. During the summer it gets quite hot. A few weeks ago, I noticed my neighbor, who lives at the top of the peak, installed a drinking fountain on the outside wall of his property. It’s a small spigot that is clearly meant to be drunk from and on the ground underneath it, is a bowl to catch the water that also doubles as a water bowl for pets.

In keeping with the theme of making your immediate surroundings more beautiful, I would like to tell you about guerrilla gardening. Basically, guerrilla gardening consists of one or more individuals (the more the better) going to vacant lots, median strips, any forgotten piece of land and planting a garden. Technically, it is slightly illegal since the unused land is often owned by cities or private citizens. However, guerrilla gardening doesn’t exactly fall under vandalism laws either. The idea is to beautify, keep up the land, and haul trash, weeds and leftover debris from planting away.

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the pressure for Washington to take drastic action in protecting Americans was immense. With emotions flying high the Patriot Act, also called Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, was passed nearly unanimously, with only Russ Feingold voting against the [...]

A recent proposal by Utah Republican State Senator Chris Buttars has gotten a lot of press and upset many educators and has excited some students. Buttars first proposed that the State of Utah eliminate senior year of high school but later changed that to an optional senior year for students that had already finished their credits. He says this plan could save the state 60 million dollars a year.

A few weeks ago while running in the gym and watching Justin Bieber singing and dancing provocatively to women triple his age (it was the only thing on TV, I swear), a radio show that was playing simultaneously was discussing about Noah Cyrus and Emily Grace Reaves, both 9, modeling for a new line of [...]

The modifying of the women’s luge track for the Olympic competition and inclusion of two horses on Sports Illustrated Female Athlete of the Year list typifies the inherent misogyny of athletic competition. How can the Olympics challenge sexist assumptions and establish change in favor of their female athletes?

The city of West Hollywood has often times been at the forefront of cultural change. Founded in the 1970’s as a response to the Los Angeles police department’s often homophobic behavior, it soon became a refuge for gay men and women. In 1983 a grass roots movement developed and West Hollywood (or WeHo as it became known) became its own city within a city. In the years following extensive commercial sections were revitalized and zoned for condominiums. It’s now home to many exclusive boutiques, bars, and restaurants.

Ever since the release of the Kindle and now the Ipad there has been a lot of talk amongst nerds about the future of the book. Not only do I count myself amongst the nerd, book loving masses, I’m also a semi-neo-Luddite who is slightly suspicious of all this new fancy-pants gadgetry that’s about to potentially kill my beloved books.

The Obama administration announced that it is proposing to form a new agency to study and report on climate change. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Jane Lubchenco, said that NOAA will set up the new Climate Service to operate in tandem with NOAA’s National Weather [...]