If you have even the slightest interest in some of the physiological effects that the war overseas has caused soldiers, you should, at the very least, check out Vice’s interview with Jim Frederick, author of the novel Black Hearts.
The interview covers a portion of the hardships endured by a platoon of the 101st Airborne Division while they were fighting in an area called the “Triangle of Death”. It’s crazy stuff and really makes you wonder how often things of this nature occur. Spoiler alert, they would have gotten away with it if everyone had kept their mouths shut.
On a lighter note, have you seen this 3-D printer? You scan any object, make any modifications that you’d like (such as the coloring of a certain area) and this printer will actually make a tangible replica of whatever you’ve scanned. You can check it out at LiveLeaks. I can’t imagine this being at all affordable but it’s still interesting, nonetheless.
Also, this video is awesome. Hooray for risking your life!
It’s a landmark week in the news. Yes, there are the Wisconsin layoffs going on, the protests in Africa and the Middle East, Apple’s iPad 2 “supposedly” being released on Wednesday and the death count still rising following the earthquake in New Zealand. But I want to bring attention to an issue that we, Americans, need to pay attention to in the world of news, sports and media.
With all the high-profile news going on this week, it’s hard to go through it all and really figure out what really affects us students at South Carolina. Aside from the protests in Bahrain and across the region forcing gas prices to rise even higher, the national government’s looming budget deadline for the coming year has most strongly grabbed my interest.
Yes, I’m about to get into economics. But wait! Before you click that "back” button, hear me out.
South Carolina’s legislature could soon enact a new rule that would force USC and other colleges to accept fewer out-of-state students.
It’s a dumb regulation from a legislature that refuses to fund higher education but seems extremely excited to regulate it. Leave higher education alone. Seriously. Or fund it. But that’s a rant for another day.
What’s equally idiotic to the legislature’s actions is the response from USC administrators.
It's easy to be critical of USC's Student Government for its inefficiency. But a new proposal that would provide free taxicab rides to students is brilliant.
If the taxicab proposal is enacted, any student can hail a cab, free of charge. It will go within 5 miles of campus and is paid for by student activity fees. It will effectively replace Cocky's Caravan, the failed bus service.
It's time for pain in South Carolina.
South Carolina legislators are facing a historic budget shortfall of more than $800 million. There is no federal stimulus money in sight. Legislators refuse to raise taxes. It means there will be significant cuts to state agencies and programs that residents critically need.
The politicization of any tragedy is irresponsible at best and stupid at worst. But in the charged atmosphere that is America, even eating lunch can be a political decision. So when a crazed gunman annihilated innocent bystanders at a political rally, there was sure to be an abundance of theories.
But there are a couple of simple lessons we can take from this tragedy.
Let’s quickly examine two key players and the speeches they gave on the same day last week.
