Matt Mullenweg on WordPress.com being banned in Turkey
So if you don’t disallow certain words being used on your blogs, you’ll be punitively punished through our state-controlled ISP. Today those words are “Adnan Oktar.” Who knows what they’ll be tomorrow.
Times-Picayune: New Orleans a beacon for young people
Now, instead of the brain drain, the city is nurturing a brain gain. New Orleans has become the testing ground for a new career and lifestyle ideal among today’s 20-somethings—called “millennials” by some—one that places less importance on the value of money, title and a swift climb up the corporate ladder.
I’ll admit that my reasons for coming to New Orleans were in my own interest, but it’s great to see the Times-Pic highlighting the kind of people I meet daily here—young, professional, non-native New Orleanians who have a passionate love for the city.
Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in United States history, was also a warning shot. Right after the tragedy, many people expressed a defiant resolve to rebuild the city. But among engineers and experts, that resolve is giving way to a growing awareness that another such disaster is inevitable, and nothing short of a massive and endless national commitment can prevent it.
Bleak, but compelling. Is New Orleans an American Venice or Amsterdam?
Protecting New Orleans The New York Times looks at the efforts to protect New Orleans from the next big storm.
New Orleans was swamped by Hurricane Katrina; now it is awash in data, studied obsessively in homes all over town. And the simple message conveyed by that data is that while parts of the city are substantially safer, others have changed little. New Orleans remains a very risky place to live.
I disagree with this particular sentiment—I believe the included Corps maps show that the majority of the city is substantially safer, while others have changed little. However, it’s interesting to read about what’s been done, what’s stll left to do, and how it’s impacting people who live in the outlying cities and neighborhoods that are still the most vulnerable.
Katrina Aid Goes Toward Football Condos
About 10 condominium projects are going up in and around Tuscaloosa, and builders are asking up to $1 million for units with granite countertops, king-size bathtubs and ‘Bama decor, including crimson couches and Bear Bryant wall art…
Locals say Tuscaloosa was included in the GO Zone through the efforts of Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, who is from Tuscaloosa, graduated from Alabama and sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee.
Nice to see ol’ Dick exhibiting that legendary Republican fiscal conservatism.
Sixty-six percent of New Orleans’ population has returned to the city, according to USA Today, however the repopulation has brought with it a few predictable demographic changes. The couple who lived in our house before us moved to Charleston, so I suppose John and I are just helping to break even.
