Stand-up paddle surfing may sound like a scene from a screwball comedy, but no one’s laughing in a sports and fitness industry that has hit the recession skids as hard as any other business. SUP, as it’s called for short, looks exactly as it sounds: you stand on a large surfboard and propel yourself forward with a paddle. But, unlike traditional surfing, you don’t have to wait for the waves.
Tag Archives: politics
China’s youth post-Tiananmen: Apathy a fact or front?
They’re known as the "post 1980s" kids or the "Tiananmen-plus-20" generation: 200 million-strong, Web-savvy, pop-culture-conscious and decidedly apolitical. As the world observes the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, pro-democracy advocates abroad lament how little Chinese youth today know or care about the student-led movement that ended with the deaths of hundreds when tanks rumbled through the capital’s streets and troops opened fire. But what is lost in the generalization is whether today’s political apathy is a fact or a front
India’s parliament elects first woman speaker
India’s lower house of parliament elected a woman as its speaker Wednesday, a first in the male-dominated chamber’s history. Meira Kumar is also a member of the “untouchable” Dalit class, the lowest rung in the centuries-old caste system in the country.
Sotomayor would be part of court’s Catholic shift
As Supreme Court hopeful Sonia Sotomayor breaks ground for Hispanics, she is poised to add an exclamation point to another historic demographic shift: the move to a Catholic court. Sotomayor was raised Catholic and if she is confirmed, six out of nine, or two-thirds of the justices on the court will be from the faith. Catholics make up about one-quarter of the U.S
Why Sotomayor Should Sail to Confirmation
President Barack Obama knows how to avoid a fight — and still do what he thinks is right. The media and conservative activists might be spoiling for a Supreme Court nomination battle, but the choice of Circuit Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill a high court vacancy is a classic Obama decision that makes the chances of political smooth sailing a near lock.
International groups worry over Venezuela’s stance on free press
The United Nations and the Organization of American States said Saturday they are worried over Venezuelan government statements about an independent TV station that has criticized President Hugo Chavez. In a joint release, freedom of expression investigators Frank LaRue of the U.N
Pope visits Jerusalem’s holiest sites
Pope Benedict XVI visited Jerusalem’s holiest sites Tuesday, touring areas sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians and stressing the common threads of the three faiths. After visiting the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine, the pontiff prayed at the Old City’s Western Wall. Also known as the Wailing Wall, it was once part of Judaism’s Second Temple, which was destroyed.
Lego Violence
Warning: “This is not a blog for children.” That’s according to the mission statement of the blogger Legofesto, who’s amazingly found a way to use LEGO — the stackable, clickable, infinitely malleable children’s toys — to tell the story of Guantanamo Bay detainees, prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, British bank instability, and civilian deaths in the Iraq War. Legofesto, a blogger located in the United Kingdom, won’t reveal her identity, but her politics are clear.
Can Congress Make Health-Care Reform Pay for Itself?
The budget that just passed both houses of Congress has given the prospects for health-care reform this year a big boost. With the inclusion of procedural language that would make it impossible for opponents to filibuster, it will now take a simple majority to pass the Senate, rather than 60 votes, simplifying the political arithmetic considerably. But that is only the beginning
Forgotten Franklin letters offer glimpse into U.S. history
An American professor doing research in London stumbled across a series of previously unknown letters written by, to, and about Benjamin Franklin, a stunning find that sheds new light on early U.S. history.