Why does the US feel the need to condemn bombings in other countries?

US condemns ‘reprehensible’ Pakistan bombings

Let’s forget for a minute the hypocrisy of them bombing other countries too. Is there a bombing by someone else that the US wouldn’t condemn?

Good article by David Suzuki: David Suzuki: Our obsession with private automobiles is unsustainable.

I completely agree, but unfortunately it seems most North American urban areas are designed on the assumption that you drive, so it’s difficult to live car-free unless you’re really committed and willing to make some sacrifices.  That’s not to say there aren’t benefits, though.

For example, when I lived in Austin, Texas, there are entire new areas of town up north being built without even sidewalks, let alone bike lanes.  It doesn’t take many large SUVs speeding by, inches from your shoulder as you try to walk beside the road, to make you think twice about walking there.

Biking is somewhat more feasible there, but as another example, there was only one way to get to where I worked, along a very busy highway.  Hardcore bikers would go on it, but I would have preferred streets to do it, myself.  There were zero buses going to that part of town, too.

Where I live now is not so bad, but to really reduce our dependence on a car we’d have to move somewhere closer to everything.

It’s been interesting watching the Conservatives seemingly trying exceptionally hard to run themselves into the ground. There have been too many negative news cycles for them lately, which although each is arguably relatively small by themselves, have added up to a constant barrage.

Interestingly, this hasn’t seemed to add up to a large groundswell of support for any of the opposition parties yet, meaning these are non-issues or people don’t like the alternatives.

Personally, I think Iggy would make a decent PM, but he hasn’t been inspiring at all. That shouldn’t be seen as a big knock against him though; when’s the last time you can think of a PM that’s been inspiring?

But, that still leaves people like me uncertain how to vote. Conservatives and NDP would be out for me, but … ?

I agree with his sentiment, from Friday rant — heat exhaustion edition:

“We are apparently going to let the debate on the science run until hell freezes over. If you can’t accept the conclusions of 98 percent of the scientists whose FIELD IT IS, then why even bother with science? If that high a percentage of field of study is to be discounted ENTIRELY, then we are in deep trouble, which, of course, we are.”

It’s frustrating that there’s absolutely no reasonable ground remaining for the deniers to stand on, yet everyone wants to appear “fair” so they still get their equal time and can basically block any progress on the issue.  Real journalism isn’t giving equal air time to two sides of a debate where one side was factually proven wrong many years ago, unless the story is “how bad do you feel now that you’ve been proven wrong and are seen by many as being insane for continuing to push your bad ideas?”

Forget illegal immigrants: Heavy weaponry seized at border. Let’s keep out the guns! But, we’ll keep a fast-access lane for any transport of Southern BBQ or TexMex.

Following on the smartphone theme of my last post, Poor BlackBerry…, here’s something that’s always confused me: people claiming every new device needs to be the “iPhone killer” or comparing sales numbers between iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.

For example: Android Overtakes iOS in Sales, but That’s not the Whole Story:

“The truth is, it’s not all gloom and doom for the iPhone, despite what some may say. As we pointed out in a previous report, iOS is only available on one phone and one carrier, AT&T. Meanwhile, Android-powered phones are available across many more carriers and devices, something along the lines of 20 different phones throughout four carriers. We likened it to a new battle between Mac and PC, in which the Microsoft has a higher market share, but that’s mainly because of their availability, while Mac OS is built for Apple computers.”

Doom and Gloom?  Why would anyone expect Android wouldn’t eventually overtake (and far exceed) the iPhone in sales given the number of devices and carriers?  I’m an iPhone user who keeps a hopeful eye on Android, yet I don’t want either one to gain a monopoly on the space.  Look at how much innovation we’re seeing thanks to the competition.

And lastly, I’d have to say RIMs announcement today of the Torch was underwhelming.  The hardware looks nice (albeit with a slow processor) but RIM will lag until their OS jumps out of the early 90′s.  But, were I in a company that forced me to use a BB, I’d be drooling over the Torch.

I feel the same way as this commenter: A Peek at Blackberry 6:

“In truth, it’s a bit painful to watch. As a former Blackberry user, it’s great to see RIM trying to improve the functionality of their operating system with new features. Sadly, it looks dated. Looks may not be everything, but they definitely help when one is making the decision to purchase.”

It goes further than just looks.  As someone who has written and maintains several BB apps, I know you just can’t do near as much on a BB as on iPhone or Android.  That’s a dealbreaker for lots of people when deciding which device to buy because smartphones have evolved into mini-laptops in a sense.  The quality of the platform is largely driven by the apps available for it.

I want to root for BB, I just can’t until they get onto a modern operating system.  I still think they should take Android, layer all their security on top of it, and start fresh.  Their current OS still has roots in pagers from 15 years ago and it shows.

Oh, Rogers, how we love to hate you: Rogers lowers download limits as Netflix looms.  I’m really curious about using Netflix.  I don’t have cable but would like to pay a reasonable amount for a legitimate service for content.  I’m curious if Netflix has up-to-date shows or just the entire seasons that get released on DVD.

I keep hoping Hulu might come up to Canada.

But, Rogers, I promise to love you forever if you let me upgrade to the iPhone 4 at the full subsidized price.

I find almost anything about Bill Murray interesting, so here’s something new: Bill Murray Is Ready To See You Now.  I think it’s the fact that he does and says whatever he wants, and acts pretty random sometimes.

Of course this won’t get as much news coverage as the initial scandal, but upon investigation the government found that people weren’t even applying the brakes: Early Tests Pin Toyota Accidents on Drivers.

“The U.S. Department of Transportation has analyzed dozens of data recorders from Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles involved in accidents blamed on sudden acceleration and found that the throttles were wide open and the brakes weren’t engaged at the time of the crash, people familiar with the findings said.”

This sounds a lot like people accidentally pressing the gas pedal rather than the brake.  At the time I remember reading an article about how previous reports of this kind of activity (for other manufacturers) have typically shown driver error as well, with a very high percentage of reporters being older (I forget the ages, and now can’t find the article).