I’m writing this Aggregate post from a lakeside cabin in Massachusetts, and the entire thing was written on my iPhone. Therefore I ask you to disregard the spelling and grammar mistakes, which are hard to catch on this little device (proofreading will definitely happen when I get back!). That said, if you’re interested in reading about my weeklong roadtrip across New England, you can find my trip journal here.
1
One of the front running Democratic candidates for governor of California, Gavin Newsom seems to be running on the platform that his success in San Francisco can simply be ratcheted up to Sacramento. There's only two problems with that plan: first, the city of San Francisco isn't representative of the state of California, and second, his "success" in San Francisco is minimal at best. That's all we need in Sacramento - another politician telling us how to live our lives from the pulpit of a bankrupt state house.
2
While I have a thorough understading of Anti-Semitism in Europe and the Middle East, I must admit that I knew little about it in South America. This article sheds some (scary) light on the matter. Venezuela's friendship with Iran is only second to that of Russia's and President Obama's criticism of the well justified removal of the leftist Hunduran despot only serves to confirm his lack of historical understanding.
3
With the situation with Iran quickly brewing into a serious geopolitical moment, no one can explain the entire tangled web better than Stratfor's George Friedman. The analysis is thorough, insightful, and awefukly frightening for anyone with a president who keeps being rewarded for his consistent lack of productivity.
4
If you've ever wondered what good can come of the vast amount of information that Facebook knows about the world around all of us, here's one example. Facebook created an algorithm which examines people's (anonymous) status messages for indications of positivity and negativity. The result is an almost realtime plot of what they call our "Gross National Happiness." Although this kind of infographic is fascinating to look at, it should be noted that the people who consistently post status messages indicating their mood are likely (even collectively) not representative of anything except our gross national need to get a life.
5
Google Wave has been well touted as the next greatest thing, and as someone who has had an account since Google unveiled the product, I have to say that in it's current state, I fail to see it ever reaching the ubiquity of email. I'm not talking about the bugs, I mean the concept - it's just too difficult, unintuitive, and just plain overwhelming for the vast majority of the general public. Robert Scoble explains some of the reasons why.
6
The morning I found out that Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, I, like most everyone was shocked. One of the most astounding aspects of the whole fiasco is that it angered people across the political spectrum, particularly because he hasn't, um, done anything. While the "yet" part of this Reich post title is debatable, the first part definitely rings true.
