An Eye On The News: A Quick Ref of Current ePluribus Media Pieces

(We’re all in this together! – promoted by buhdydharma )

I thought it might be useful for folks if I took a moment to briefly highlight a few of the recent articles on ePluribus Media that may prove interesting and relevant to ongoing discussions.

So, make the jump for a quick check-in, and leave comments here (or there, or both) if you’d like to share your own thoughts.

Thank you. 🙂

On the ePluribus Media Journal, Aaron Barlow brings his perspective to this review of Waking the Dead: A Review of The Grateful Dead and Philosophy: Getting High Minded About Love and Haight edited by Steven Gimbel (Chicago: Open Court, 2007)

Barlow states:

But trivial this book is not. As Gimbel goes on to say, some of those Deadheads who argued all topics into the wee hours while listening to traded tapes of Dead shows went on to study philosophy seriously. This volume is the result.

You can find Aaron’s Journal article here.

Another book review on the Journal is Carol White’s review Taking Back America takes a look at the book What Orwell Didn’t Know: Propaganda and the New Face of American Politics (edited by András Szántó, with an introduction by Orville Schell).

Learning the lessons from the failure to defeat Bush in the 2004 election – a campaign that he supported with large donations-he focuses this time on exposing how totalitarian propaganda methods are gaining a foothold in our ostensibly open society.

Soros’ Open Society Institute sponsored the book What Orwell Didn’t Know – a collection of 20 articles by experts in the fields of journalism, cognitive psychology and popular culture. The authors have diverse backgrounds and impressive credentials, typified by Farnaz Fassihi, senior Middle East correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.

The ePluribus Media Community Site has these latest offerings:

1. From the Ohio News Bureau, John Michael Spinelli posts Will Ohio Join Great Lakes’ Water Supply Compact? Can Sunshine Be Shipped?.  
   

   ONB COLUMBUS: News report Friday suggest that Indiana is ready to join a regional, eight-state compact designed to prevent water-challenged states like Georgia or Alabama or others from siphoning off fresh water from the Great Lakes, which waterphiles say hold about 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface fresh water.
   

   If Indiana’s legislature does approve the compact, The Hoosier state will become the third state behind Minnesota and Illinois, who have already ratified the measure.

   The plan is, of course, likely to face challenge by Republican State Sen. Tim Grendell…go ahead and check it out.
   
   

   Note to self: Is State Sen. Tim Grendell any relation to the infamous Grendal of the epic poem Beowulf…? That could certainly explain a few things…couldn’t it?

2. My piece Darkness Falls on American Justice: Abu Ghraib Officer Claims Probe Was Incomplete relates the news that the only officer charged with a crime for the Abu Ghraib scandal was cleared of the charge (apparently, he disobeyed the order not to speak of the events at the prison), leaving only lower-rank soldiers holding the bag. In the piece, I review some of the items that had initially come to light in order that we do not allow this perversion of our Nation’s integrity and sense of justice to be successfully swept under the rug: the evidence that indicate that the guilty are most likely to be found at the top of the heap — not just with the former Secretary of Defense, but currently sitting in the blood-stained and lie-tainted chairs occupied by the President and his Vice.
3. Did anyone happen to catch A Hitchhiker’s Guilde to the Persian Gulf by Quicklund?
   

   If you are familiar with the trilogy “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy“, you know the Guide often packs great wisdom into a couple words.
   

   We needn’t read very far in the trilogy to find sage advice regarding last week’s naval encounter in the Gulf.  The words  “Don’t Panic“ appear on its cover, after all, and in large friendly letters.  

   If you’re in the mood for a hitchhiker’s attempt to make sense of recent events in the Gulf, then slam down a Gargle-Blaster, pocket a scoop of peanuts, and grab your towel.

   Never forget your towel.

Ideally, folks will keep a finger on the pulse of ePluribus Media’s Community Site — we’ve got some interesting stuff happening over there. In addition to the new look and feel that Roxy and Lefty put together, there are always interesting and unique tidbits to read from rba’s perspective, and ongoing contributions from many others both new and old.

We’re looking forward to seeing more folks join in the discussions and adding us to their growing list of interesting and informative destinations on the vast Intertube network.