George Washington’s Boyhood Home Found

It always amazes me when a discovery such as this comes about.  It gives us a chance to glimpse back into the stories we were taught as children, about the men and women who shaped early America.  Take a look:

The foundations of George Washington’s childhood house have been found at Ferry Farm in Virginia, the setting of the legendary cherry tree story.

Wig curlers, a carnelian bead and a half million other artifacts were also part of the discovery, which will help scholars fill in large gaps in the story of the first U.S. president’s early life.

“When you look at the normal biographies of Washington, they start when he’s 23,” said David Muraca, who oversaw the excavation as director of archaeology at the George Washington Foundation, which owns Ferry Farm.

“This piece of the story is very difficult for historians to get their hands around,” he said. “This dig will let us start our stories much earlier.”

Read the complete article here:  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080702-gw-house.html

New safety concerns over Chinese-made fireworks.

Every year, millions of fireworks are set off in neighborhoods all over the United States in celebration of our Independence.  What I have always found to be interesting about this, is that many of these people celebrate their Freedom by supporting a communist economy:

Last summer, it was Chinese-made toys, pet food and meat that caused concern. This July 4th holiday, there are new worries about the overly explosive nature of its fireworks. This week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a report saying it found that nearly half of the shipments they inspected coming from China do not meet Federal safety guidelines. That’s especially worrying since, according the American Pyrotechnic Association, 98 percent of fireworks used in backyards and front lawns across America are manufactured in China. NEWSWEEK’s Caitlin McDevitt spoke with Scott Wolfson, a chief spokesman for the Commission about its findings and why this Independence Day could be more volatile than in previous years.

Read the complete article here:  http://www.newsweek.com/id/144477

That’s right folks, 98% of those fireworks you set off in your backyard were made by people living under communism.  Your purchase of these products… I won’t get into the fact that 80% of the products you buy also come from China right now… supports the communist economy which is growing so fast it is becoming the largest contributor to the growing climate crisis the world is facing.

Happy Independence Day.

Study Affirms Nature’s Ability to Relieve Stress

I suppose I should not be surprised that this study was performed, but I have always sort of knew that actually seeing real nature is far more relaxing and calming than watching an animated screen saver, or desktop background.  Of course, in today’s digital world many of us don’t get the opportunity to get out as much as we should, so our screen savers are vacation slide shows and our desktop wallpaper is often scenes of tropical islands we want to visit someday.

SEATTLE - In a study that reaffirms the restorative powers of nature, researchers at the University of Washington report that for stress relief, looking outside trumps toiling away in a windowless room or viewing a digital version of that outdoor scene.

Read the full article here:  http://www.psycport.com/showArticle.cfm?xmlFile=krt_2008_06_11_knihj_6291-0110-MED-NATURE.SE.xml&provider=The%20Seattle%20Times

Perhaps this is a reminder for those of us who get so caught up in our work to take a moment and look out our windows… or better yet… go outside and actually be part of the REAL world for a bit.

Bush Officials Condoned Regional Iraqi Oil Deal

And the plot thickens.  Check out this article by Steven Mufson from the Washington Post:

Contract Contradicted State Dept.’s Public Stance

Bush administration officials told Hunt Oil last summer that they did not object to its efforts to reach an oil deal with the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, even while the State Department was publicly expressing concern that such contracts could undermine a national Iraqi petroleum law, according to documents obtained by a House committee.

Last fall, after the deal was announced, the State Department said that it had tried to dissuade Hunt Oil from signing the contract with Kurdish regional authorities but that the company had proceeded “regardless of our advice.” Although Hunt Oil’s chief executive has been a major fundraiser for President Bush, the president said he knew nothing about the deal.

Read the full article:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070203322_pf.html

I guess oil is thicker than blood these days.

YouTube vs. Viacom: Google’s IP wins; Users lose

If you use YouTube, or have any interest in privacy rights, you may want to read this article:

The latest battle in Google’s ongoing court battle with Viacom over YouTube copyright infringement is a glass half full or half empty situation. In the half full department, Google scored a legal victory as a judge shot down Viacom requests for the search giant’s search code and other critical intellectual property. In the half empty department, Google is being forced to turn over YouTube user histories to Viacom.

Complete article:  http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=9242&tag=nl.e539

This is a dangerous path to walk, my friends.  When big business can access your personal viewing histories, you don’t know how much of that data will be distributed to who.  Click the wrong link by accident, and you could be affiliated with controversial, illegal, or embarrassing subject matter and potentially have such a “connection” distributed without your knowledge.

For more information related to this issue, check out the following YouTube videos: