(Ir)religiosity

A United Nations report reveals that economic disparity in the United States is exploding, especially in major cities.

From Democracy Now!:

A new United Nations report has revealed major US cities, including New York, Washington, Atlanta and New Orleans, have levels of economic inequality that rival cities in Africa.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The United States has the highest inequality and poverty rates in the OECD after Mexico and Turkey, and the gap has increased rapidly since 2000.

In the United States, the richest 10 percent earn an average of $93,000 — the highest level in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development avergages. The poorest 10 percent earn an average of $5,800 — about 20 percent lower than the OECD average.

Oh, and last year we spent $628 billion in defense and $315 billion in private military contracts.  Good to know that my tax dollars are being put to good use.

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In response to some of the militant polemics over at Pyromaniacs, Andrew Jones has written an excellent post two excellent posts on the importance of context. Check it out here. Check them out here and here.

Mixtaping as officially gone electronic. There are quite a few streaming playlist communities out there, but this one is pretty cool. I really like the vintage tape look. Barack Obama even has one.

I wonder how far we’re willing to take the golden rule. This is a pretty provocative piece that definitely pushes the envelope.

This is hilarious! Given his recent book, I wouldn’t put it past Macarthur to pull something like that.

Here’s a good eco-footprint assessment. Don’t take it unless you want to be really depressed. For example, if everyone lived like I do we would need 2.1 planets. And apparently mine was lower than the average US resident. [Ht. Jonathan Brink]

I really, really hope Ted Turner is wrong about global warming. But, I’m not as hopeful as most when it comes to our ecological crises. Like most things, we seem to think we can buy ourselves out of the problem, and when you get down to it that in itself is the real problem.

Pete Rollins has a new book due out the end of this month. You can read the introduction and prologue online here. [Ht. Emergent Village]