Category Archives: Current Events

Now That’s My Type of Humor!

By David Xia | Published: July 6, 2010

I like my humor just as I like my martinis - the dryer the better. Here's a list...


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Also posted in Comedy | Leave a comment

Ninjavideo Died! Back to Real Life!

By David Xia | Published: July 5, 2010

When I found out that Ninjavideo.net had died several days ago, I cried. For those who don't know/behind-the-times/actually paying for televisual entertainment, Ninjavideo is website where you can stream the latest TV shows and films in great quality absolutely free.

After I wiped away my tears, I discovered books and the joy of reading. A couple of mind-numbing minutes later, I started crying again from my brain hurting after I once again tried using it after hundreds of hours of televisual-aided-gray-matter-atrophy. That and books were filled with boring ink marks instead of moving images and sounds of limbs flying off in explosions, gratuitous sex, and Big Mac ads.


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Also posted in Internet, TV & movies, Technology | 1 Comment

Chinese Propaganda vs US Propaganda

By David Xia | Published: July 3, 2010
China's Xinhua News Agency started a 24-hour English-language news channel and is about to open a new office in New York City, according to the Times. The Times is once again critical of China. And they should be. China ranks 168th out of 175 countries in the 2009 Press Freedom Index, a survey compiled by Reporters Without Borders. What I don't like about the Times article is its prejudicial sense of nationalism and simplistic view of East vs West. The Times inflated the article by making it sound as if Xinhua Red Guards wielding hammers and sickles are about to kick down the sacred doors of Western media companies.

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Also posted in Books, China, New York City, journalism | 1 Comment

Economy Still Jittery, Lack of Job Growth

By David Xia | Published: July 2, 2010
Krugman's at it again in his latest Times op-ed - criticizing policy makers pushing for fiscal contraction these days. The economy does seem pretty weak at this point. The US just lost jobs for the first time in half a year according to MSNBC and the Times. The markets are down and home sales plummeted due to the expiration of federal tax credits for homebuyers.

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Posted in Current Events | 1 Comment

Shake, Shake It Like a Disco Stick

By David Xia | Published: July 1, 2010
Polaroid has just announced that it's entering into a "multi-year strategic partnership with Lady Gaga, who will serve as creative director for a specialty line of Polaroid Imaging products." Not a lot of details are known, according to the Journal, but we can expect sequin-covered cameras with space-age shoulder pads in late 2010.

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Also posted in Comedy | Leave a comment

Now’s Not the Time to Stop Spending!

By David Xia | Published: July 1, 2010
Several days ago, I suggested that the current flurry of national and US state governments concerned about budget deficits and reining back spending was a good idea. Two big-shot economists, Princeton professor Paul Krugman and former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson, disagree.

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Also posted in China | Leave a comment

A Spy? No! Look at Her Hydrangeas!

By David Xia | Published: June 29, 2010
Recent news about FBI busting into suburban homes and handcuffing couples they accuse of being Russian spies are quite intriguing and ridiculous. The Times has an article with a money quote: Jessie Gugig, 15, said she could not believe the charges, especially against Mrs. Murphy. “They couldn’t have been spies,” she said jokingly. “Look what she did with the hydrangeas.”

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Also posted in Intelligence Community | Leave a comment

We’re All Broke Now

By David Xia | Published: June 29, 2010
Many European countries and American states are just plain out of money these days. Last week's This American Life podcast will tell you just how broke and dysfunctional the New York state government really is. Countless headlines about austerity measures and their consequent social discontent in Greece have now spread to other European countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland.

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Posted in Current Events | 1 Comment

Gravity Doesn’t Exist On Planet Academia

By David Xia | Published: June 24, 2010
Yesterday I read a Times article about law schools artificially boosting students' grades to help them find employment in this tough economy. I knew grade inflation was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad. The article also links to a website that tracks national trends in grade inflation. Across the board, the average GPA in public and private schools has been creeping up since the 1960s.

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Also posted in Columbia University | Leave a comment

4 Bleak New Year’s Predictions

By David Xia | Published: January 3, 2010
It's a new year, and already the world's off to a rough start. Last night I found myself telling a friend about my predictions for 2010. They're bleak. Maybe I have a fascination with the macabre and apocalyptic. But remember, if any of them turn out to be true, you saw it here first.

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Posted in Current Events | 1 Comment

Fort Hood Shooter Tied to Radical Cleric

By David Xia | Published: November 10, 2009
The front page of the Times broke the story of how Major Hasan, the army officer who killed 13 people at Fort Hood last week, was communicating with a radical Yemini cleric since last year. Not only that, but US intelligence agencies knew about it long ago.

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Also posted in Intelligence Community | Leave a comment

More On Why Health Care Reform Matters

By David Xia | Published: November 9, 2009
For an exhaustive analysis of the situation that may tell you more than you ever want to know, read my article here.

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Posted in Current Events | 1 Comment

If You Do Drugs, the Terrorists Win!

By David Xia | Published: October 20, 2009
10,000 is the number of tons of illegal opium that opium-trafficking guerrillas have secretly stockpiled - enough to satisfy every dope fiend in the world for 2 years. We're no longer in Kansas...

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Should Young Adults Give a S**T About Health Care?

By David Xia | Published: October 19, 2009
"Health care? Pass. I'm going to buy me a stereo system."

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Posted in Current Events | 1 Comment