| High stakes on gambling props battle
The battle over expanded American Indian gambling agreements has become one of the most expensive ballot initiatives in state history.Those supporting and opposing the agreements have raised nearly $94 million. Propositions 94 through 97 would allow four Southern California tribes, including the Pechanga band near Temecula, to add a total of 17,000 slot machines in exchange for giving a larger share of their revenue to the state. .
Stupidest Drug Story of the Week
The myth of the spat-upon Vietnam veteran refuses to die. Despite Jerry Lembcke's debunking book from 1998, Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam, and my best efforts to publicize his work, the press continues to repeat the fables as fact. Earlier this month, Newsweek resuscitated the vet-spit myth in a dual profile of John McCain and Chuck Hagel. Newsweek reports: "Returning GIs were sometimes jeered and even spat upon in airports; they learned to change quickly into civilian clothes." Nexis teems with such allegations of spat-upon vets and even includes testimonials by those who claim to have been gobbed upon. But Lembcke—a Vietnam vet himself—cites his own research and that of other academics to assert that he has never uncovered a single news story documenting such an incident.
Portishead's Nightmare Before Christmas: the DiS review
Following on from the Dirty Three-curated April edition and May's Versus The Fans hit-after-hit bill, Portishead's vision of the annual Nightmare Before Christmas has a lot to live up to. That said, it couldn't possibly prove as soul-sucking and one-dimensional as Thurston Moore's lamentable instalment of the December festival twelve months earlier, could it? Certainly the eclecticism of the bill suggested not: the headliners had attracted big names from the hip-hop world alongside some drone and metal heavyweights. Back to the Sonic Youth guitarist momentarily: he's here, present and correct on the (main) Pavilion Stage, on Friday evening. I've arrived a little later than usual, delayed further by having to drop my belongings for the weekend off at a not-so-near B&B (no on-site stay for Mike this time out; instead, blessed silence come 11pm, a sea view and the most comfortable bed I've had the pleasure of being intimate with for ages).
Paying for college: Many sources available
Chris Howard, director of financial aid at Siena Heights University, said even if the student does not qualify for a federal Pell Grant — aid that does not have to be repaid and is awarded to students based on the difference between their ability to pay for college and how much their college costs — the FAFSA will determine what other aid they could get."A very small portion of the general population qualifies for (a Pell Grant), but they can qualify for other loans," Tom Green, vice president for enrollment management at Eastern Michigan University, said.Another reason to file, Green said, is in case the family's financial situation should change during the school year, such as from a layoff. That way the FAFSA is on file and with updated employment information the college can adjust the aid package.The main filing deadline to keep in mind is March 1, which is the deadline for receiving the Michigan Competitive Scholarship, said Kevin Kucera, associate vice president of the division of enrollment services at the University of Toledo.
Archive for: January, 2008
Between the Lines Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives Facebook's social pyramid schemers Posted in: General Social networking Facebook Guest post: Chris Matyszczyk laments the way some Facebook applications behave, creating what he calls "pre-pubescent pyramid selling." I have friends who seem to have a strangely close relationship with Facebook. Even though their profile says they are "in a relationship," they seem to spend a vast amount of time and mental space in living the social networking dream. The other day, two friends of mine sent me quizzes. One asked me to name movies from screenshots. The other wanted me to identify car logos (Flixster). It brought me an overwhelming two hundred seconds of fascination.
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