Batman and Robin are apparently alive and well, fighting crime and doing good in the streets of… er… Whitley.
I won’t even try to come up with a clever title
Posted by Ben on April 21, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/i-wont-even-try-to-come-up-with-a-clever-title/
Eat Your Asbestos, It’s Good For You
No, really! Well, okay, not really. According to Government data, 43,000 people have been killed by asbestos since 1973. That’s people whose death certificates acknowledge mesothelioma or asbestosis as the cause of death, i.e., definite asbestos deaths, not vague and nonfactual speculation. (Mesothelioma is a cancer caused by asbestos; asbestosis is a disease brought on […]
Posted by Ben on April 21, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/eat-your-asbestos-its-good-for-you/
While visions of burgers danced in their heads
It’s maybe—potentially—a little ironic that the man who helped rejuvenate profits at McDonald’s by introducing a healthier menu has just died of a heart attack.
Posted by Ben on April 20, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/while-visions-of-burgers-danced-in-their-heads/
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Wouldn’t it be nice to earn $3.5 trillion (and pay $0 in taxes while doing so)? Or to have lunch at the Eagle, where there’s a £25,000 fee for joining and where the police can’t even get in? Just thought I’d ask. (via Christian Science Monitor: “How to earn $3.5 trillion and pay zero taxes” […]
Posted by Ben on April 20, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous/
Things to Mull
Comics and Politics: The New Yorker has (well, one of its writers has) an interesting and long article about Aaron McGruder, the guy who created Boondocks. It’s a long, long article, but it may be worth reading solely for the part where, as a special guest at the Nation’s (the lefty newsweekly) birthday party, McGruder […]
Posted by Ben on April 19, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/things-to-mull/
There be rattlesnakes in these shrubs
“An Oklahoma man went into a home improvement store looking for shrubs but left in an ambulance after being bitten by a rattlesnake, officials said on Wednesday.” (via Yahoo/Reuters: “Shopper Bitten by Rattlesnake” [April 15, 2004])
Posted by Ben on April 18, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/there-be-rattlesnakes-in-these-shrubs/
File-Sharing: The Saga Continues
Maybe you’ve heard and maybe you haven’t, but there’s a study out now by some business professor types that seems to say file-sharing doesn’t really hurt music sales. The study—which involves a lot more than simple surveys (e.g., “do you buy fewer albums now because of file-sharing?” etc.)—also points to the numerous weaknesses of “studies” […]
Posted by Ben on April 16, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/file-sharing-the-saga-continues/
Got Gas?
$2.00 for a gallon of gasoline may seem like a towering, ominous threshold, but the fact is, it’s a threshold we passed long ago—we just didn’t notice. By the time you’ve factored in tax subsidies (to those charming oil companies), program subsidies (e.g., fed/state costs to improve transportation infrastructure plus R&D, etc.), protection subsidies (that […]
Posted by Ben on April 15, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/got-gas/
In retrospect, the foresight was there
“Five months before Sept. 11, 2001, the officers responsible for defending American airspace wanted to test their ability to prevent a hijacked airliner from being crashed into the Pentagon, but the scenario was rejected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as impractical, a Joint Chiefs spokesman confirmed yesterday.” (via BoGlo: “Pentagon crash ‘too unrealistic’” by […]
Posted by Ben on April 14, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/in-retrospect-the-foresight-was-there/
New World Disorder
“George Bush has had a “devastating impact” on global sustainable development and set the world back more than ten years, says Jonathon Porritt, the prime minister’s [i.e. Tony Blair’s] senior adviser on the subject, today.” (via the Guardian: “World set back 10 years by Bush’s new world order, says Blair aide” by Paul Brown [April […]
Posted by Ben on April 14, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/new-world-disorder/