Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Media roundup: Week of 18 May.

16% of US science teachers are creationists.
The headline is a bit exaggerated, but the problem isn't. From the article:
"...a quarter of the teachers also reported spending at least some time teaching about creationism or intelligent design. Of these, 48% – about 12.5% of the total survey – said they taught it as a 'valid, scientific alternative to Darwinian explanations for the origin of species' . . . 16% of the total, said they believed human beings had been created by God within the last 10,000 years."

Joe Lieberman v. YouTube.
Because our elected officials fail to see the strategic advantage of transparency in terrorist organizations and believe that they should be able to control the flow of information as they see fit.
"Protecting our citizens from terrorist attacks is a top priority for our government. The private sector can help us do that. By taking action to curtail the use of YouTube to disseminate the goals and methods of those who wish to kill innocent civilians, Google will make a singularly important contribution to this important national effort."

UBS bet $100B on the US housing market, lost $24B.
The loss they posted in their annual shareholders meeting is larger than any other financial institution involved in the crisis to date.
"It's hard to believe . . . they were using their very low borrowing costs because they were seen as a safe private bank -- and then buying AAA-rated assets without understanding the credit underlying those assets.'"

Catering the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Documenting the political party's attempt to go green, the finicky nature of their members, and the struggles that caterers face in meeting their demands.
"...caterers must provide foods in 'at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white,' garnishes not included . . .the shrimp-and-mango ensemble? All it's got is white, brown and orange, so it may not have the nutritional balance that generally comes from a multihued menu."

And finally: US political election logos, 2008 - 1960.
Barely relevant, plenty interesting. My designer side showing through.
"It’s amazing how designers have to treat one and the same theme in so many variations. Some of the schemes are repeating themselves, but as a general - there’s a big variety that might be useful for every logo and corporate designer. As we can see - there are certain trends last years - like the usage of curves, reminding of the USA flag..."