Hey, listen... stop complaining. They were there first!

Today: Ozone Layer Update. In brief, the hole is still getting bigger. At least we can use this to measure it.

Fine... I know what you're going to say. "Jason, they're just too easy a target."

Maybe. But this situation shows yet another sickening example of an out-of-control corporation bolstering profits at the expense of human well-being. Same old tired, sad story.

Environmental issues are critical to our future here on Earth, but Americans have, in past years, consistently placed relatively low priority on them when evaluating political candidates. If the environment, the Earth, is not sustained, all of the "political" issues that people are concerned with right now, from the economy to abortion rights, become quite trivial.

Poor Monarch Butterfly. We humans seem to constantly forget that we are not the only inhabitants of this planet. We subject the resources of Earth, and its inhabitants, to the effects of our needs, our whims, and our often ridiculous desires. Let's end this horrible model of destructive consumption. It's time to switch to a cosmology of nurturing.

Project Vote Smart offers "research that will defend the people's right to abundant, accurate, relevant information and enable them to check the credibility of the often misleading claims candidates make." It provides information on the issues in the context of special interests, background on candidates down to the state level and their voting records, as well as online voter registration.

Greetings from Ithaca, New York, the new HQ of Opensewer, where Verizon is the Big Boss of the telecommunications racquet. Let's just realize, netizens, that the Luddites are laughing at us on this one, to be sure...

And yet another example of reality entertainment, this one on the Web. In Reality Run man, the runner, is given the task of hiding in Berlin for 24 days while bounty hunters search for him. The Web participant can use audio clues to inform the bounty hunters where the man may be located. I miss the spy action of the Cold War as much as the next person, but what does it say about our society that we find hunting other humans entertainment?

"The traditional purveyors of meaning in our culture are failing and corporations are stepping in to fill that gap." - Naomi Klein on why corporate branding in these times of globalization has been so successful. She studies the development the brand as a philosophy and lifestyle in her book No Logo. You can read an interview with Naomi Klein here, listen to an interview here, or read the first chapter of the book here.

It seems, at least since the middle of the 20th Century, that most of the decisions our government makes have something to do with the control of oil. We, the citizens, have been trying to losen the grip that oil has on our lives since the 1970s, but to no avail. When the hell are we going to start voting for someone who actually might do something about this? (Not that we endorse anyone in particular, of course...)

Alert: Rupert Murdoch's empire of information distribution continues to grow. Are we really supposed to believe that we're getting fair, unbiased information when so much of it is controlled and disseminated from the same underlying organization?

More evidence that this is the stupidest century yet, according to Scott (check the entry for 8-12-2000). Really, people, where's our sense of perspective?

Our Wal-Mart Boycott Action has been updated.

(It's Friday, so here's something light.) State of the world, August 2000: Scientists work toward a unifying theory of the universe, and the TV show "Survivor" dominates the airwaves. Discuss.

New artist Heather Protz finds inspiration in the things we sometimes consider trite.

Have you seen the Milky Way lately? I only saw it once when I was a kid, from the side of a Wyoming highway. I've lived near cities most of my life and rarely see any stars. This is common in America, and the International Dark-Sky Association is trying to do something about it through education and the finding of solutions to the "adverse environmental impact of light pollution and space debris."

To hear (or read) a report about an existing dark sky preserve in Canada and the efforts of the Dark-Sky Association you can go to this story at the Living on Earth website. Listen for the segment about LA residents describing a "pollution cloud" in the night sky after an earthquake knocked out the power grid.

Some improvements to Opensewer.com: 1) A new division - Action, 2) Not Here has been improved, 3) Articles in the former Rant division have been combined with articles under The Cause. We're trimmin' the fat, and bringin' it to the people. Enjoy!

This just adds to Wal-Mart's "spotless" reputation. Wal-Mart loves us. They want the best for us. Wal-Mart is our friend.

Would this have become an issue if Napster wasn't so high profile?

Just how safe and pure does our food need to be? What kind of standards, as consumers and citizens, should we be able to reasonably expect from those who provide food?

Environmentally responsible personal mobility. One has been spotted in the Bay Area already. Smart Cars are in use in Europe, but is America ready? Let's hope so.