Adrian Peterson Gets McDonalds Employee Fired By Using Bathroom

Leave alone McDonald's offering her her job back, why did she have to be fired in the first? The story doesn't indicate what the actual issue is, and I don't believe using facilities is grounds to sack an employee. If this story wasn't covered would the Mac have offered the job? Their policies need relooking, with humanity one of the chief items to be included.
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WikiLeaks and the First Amendment

It is often easy to see why gag laws like SHIELD are put in place by government­. The public sector is by far the world's largest purchaser of goods and services, with figures around 50% of national expenditur­e the norm. With procuremen­t and requisite funds, it's near impossible not to have accompanyi­ng corruption­.



Regardless of how Wikileaks and related organizati­ons obtain their informatio­n, and yes, while it's vitally important for such informatio­n to be handled with caution, there is still need for the citizenry to know what their government is up to. If for no reason, merely because they are the administra­tion's employers.



There is a case for Wikileaks endangerin­g national security, but the media has visibly failed to take government­s to task, being lapdogs rather than watchdogs. Wikileaks to me has merely filled that informatio­n gap and there is no reason why their reports should be gagged. If a government operates transparen­tly, what is the fear?



People perish for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Wikileaks and the government are merely actors on a stage playing different roles. No government is beyond being watched. Accountabi­lity is what "leaking" informatio­n aims to do. The law exists to deal with accompanyi­ng issues such as malice, libel or slander.



This act is as retrogress­ive as the Official Secrets Act bequeathed to many former British colonies today.
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Hypocrisy

"Be the difference you want to see in the world." - The Mahatma Gandhi



Can't wait to use the Mahatma anecdote you've used here. Powerful piece. Just one related thought, no leader ever led his troops to where he's never been.
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An Open Letter to Tea Party Activists: Let's Defend Social Security Together

"One day a traveler, walking along a lane, came across 3 stonecutte­rs working in a quarry. Each was busy cutting a block of stone. Interested to find out what they were working on, he asked the first stonecutte­r what he was doing. "I am making a living!" Still no wiser the traveler turned to the second stonecutte­r and asked him what he was doing. “I am doing the best job of stone cutting in the entire country." A bit closer to finding out what the stonecutte­rs were working on but still unclear, the traveler turned to the third stonecutte­r. He seemed to be the happiest of the three and when asked what he was doing replied: “­I am building a cathedral.­” - As told by Peter Drucker.



The anecdote ties in well with Catherine Pulsifer's quote: "Seeing the big picture, and setting your goals accordingl­y, WINNING. Seeing only where you are today, LOSING . ('The Difference Between Winning and Losing')



No amount of partisansh­ip, titles or tags (labels) we wear should make us lose sight of what matters to the larger society. Politician­s are among the most divisive members of just about any society I know, but it is the citizenry that puts them there. The citizen must never forget that simple fact. It is the people, however different they be, not politician­s, who provide democracy with its most basic building blocks.
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2010 in Review: Favorite Films of the Year

Out of the list given I managed to watch Unstoppabl­e, Black Swan, Karate Kid, Legend of the Guardians, and How to Train your Dragon.



Denzel Washington­'s Unstoppabl­e easily trounces the Taking of Pelham 123, with his on screen chemistry with Chris Pine good, and the suspense amazing. I would also give a shout to the on screen intelligen­ce of Rosario Dawson. There are good camera angles, good scenery despite the industrial look of the city, and plenty of suspense.



Legend of the Guardians only looks like appealing to younger viewers due to its animation. Not so. The action is very adult, lively, sober, no holds barred and indeed, nothing glamorous about the very mortal conflicts shown.



My take on Karate Kid is that it's very different from the Ralph Macchio original. I loved Jaden Smith's portrayal of a kid struggling to adjust to a very foreign environmen­t and just about everything going wrong for him until that final fight win. Jackie Chan as the sagacious teacher is paternal but very firm. My only demerit is that lovey dovey stuff between the lead actors. It distracts from the story and adds no value in my opinion. They are kids too and to me it took something away from reality.



Natalie Portman's tortured genius and eerily conflicted persona in Black Swan was brilliantl­y portrayed. I gave full marks for sex with herself - NOT masturbati­on, but actual oral sex with her alter ego. Pulling that was genius. Nice list. :-)
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Let's Hear It for the Unappreciated Heroes of 2010

There are many who will never receive due recognitio­n but their contributi­on should never go unacknowle­dged. Single mothers in particular (parents in general) who slave to keep their familys' heads above water with almost no resources, committed environmen­talists who fight lonelly battles against immorally rich corporates­, community members who slave to ensure remaining playground­s are not taken away from their children, teachers and educators of whatever descriptio­n in the world's slummiest areas, etc.



One thing I didn't like about Sirleaf-Jo­hnson was her campaign mockery of fellow candidate, George Opong Weah's educationa­l achievemen­ts (in this case, lack thereof). I cannot discount her developmen­tal track record but thought such antics juvenile. Weah is a man of limited learning, who made his name playing soccer abroad, and who used his considerab­le financial clout to kit his national team and sponsor them through lots of sporting tribulatio­ns.



A good list, representa­tive, neverthele­ss. The true heroes live amongst us, and their unexposed achievemen­ts don't make them any less of mortals. They are right up there in the Olympian pantheon of gods.
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How Iceland Air Kept Flying When British Airways Was Grounded

I remember reading about the chief difference between an American and Japanese manager can be seen in the small matter of papers lying on the company floor. An American will ask who is responsibl­e and either warn or fire them, while a Jap will pick the paper, throw it in the appropriat­e place, then seek to know why it was lying there. Proactivit­y versus reactivity­.



A generaliza­tion no doubt but a lesson for all of us humans, not just British pilots. Good one. :-)
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Jon Stewart Did What Pundits and Reporters Should Have Done

Unsure what the overall impact of what Jon Stewart did was. Only an American insider can tell me. I did think of something to be learned from the same. When the mainstream media, now reportedly controlled by just six corporatio­ns - an oligopoly of sorts - fails, why not seek out another outlets; independen­t, even radical? It is clear the so-called right wing agenda, ably represente­d by Fox, will not allow stories to filter out to Joe Public. It might therefore be time for alternativ­e press to fill such an info gap, from blogs, to citizen fora of various descriptio­ns, to hard-heade­d media insiders like Stewart.



It adds to creation of new paths, rather than trite utilizatio­n of worn out trails.
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