Nuclear weapons. Who’s got them, and how many do they have? Are those numbers increasing or decreasing? Oh, and what would happen if one were dropped on the Empire State Building? Sensational? Maybe a little, but Good Magazine certainly puts nuclear proliferation into perspective with this flashy video featuring RATATAT’s “Gettysburg.”
Join TakePart's community today!
Filed under:
Environment • Lead • Music • Peace • Responsibility • Technology • Video
Read the rest of this entry »
A new California law, set to go into effect tomorrow July 1, mandates that all drivers use a handsfree device while talking on their cellphones (’cellphone’ or ‘cell phone’? you decide). The state of Washington has a similar handsfree cellphone law also going into effect tomorrow. In addition to benefiting public safety, the new laws are providing a sales boost to cellphone accessories retailers, like Santa Cruz California based Plantronics (feel free to leave any conspiracy theories in the comments). In addition to keeping you focused on the road, recent research suggests using your cellphone may give you brain cancer, so it’s probably best to keep the phone away from your head anyway. Check out our socially responsible ways to transition to a handsfree cellphone existence after the jump…
Join TakePart's community today!
Filed under:
Lead
I spent some time online this afternoon watching the 2008 NBA draft live. Memphis University’s Derrick Rose went first to the Chicago Bulls followed by KSU’s Michael Beasley to the Miami Heat. Scandal-plagued guard OJ Mayo went fourth to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hopes and dreams were made. NBA trades went down between the Milwaukee Bucks, the (soon to be) Brooklyn Nets, and many other teams around the league. For the first time in months, Kevin Durant smiled.
Some of us at TakePart are certainly sports fans (exhibit A and exhibit B), and we’re especially fans of the league’s corporate social responsibilty (CSR) program NBA Cares. Sure, it’s partially a marketing ploy, but like a good role player, you can’t argue with the stats:
Read the rest of this entry »
Join TakePart's community today!
Filed under:
Lead
The Supreme Court opened fire on gun control laws declaring that a sweeping ban on handguns in the nation’s capital violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms. In a 5-4 ruling, this landmark decision states that the Constitution protects an individual’s right to have a gun.
Wow. Is it just me or does this seem like an awful idea? Here are 10 films that make a strong case for gun control:
Michael Moore’s controversial documentary about the roots of America’s predilection for gun violence
2) Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story
Terrence Fisher, a teen living in a housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, had seven of his friends shot and killed by a gun. Terrence is not a gang member or a drug dealer he is just a normal teenager who likes making hip-hop with his friends. What could Terrence do to stop gun violence in Bed-Stuy before losing another friend, or his own life? Terrence and a fellow teen filmmaker, Daniel Howard, picked up a camera to tell the story about gun violence in Bed-Stuy.
A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core
4) Unforgiven
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.
When two poor greasers, Johnny, and Ponyboy are assaulted by a vicious gang, the socs, and Johnny kills one of the attackers, tension begins to mount between the two rival gangs, setting off a turbulent chain of events.
Earlier this morning, the AP announced that Jose Ramos- Horta, East Timor’s President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has accepted the job as the top UN Human Rights Commissioner.
Participant Media’s Bonnie Abaunza has long been a friend to Ramos-Horta. Following his assassination attempt, she and her daughter shared a personal note with us. Bonnie is waiting to hear from Jose Ramos-Horta and we will let you know any updates as they come in.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was expected to explain his plans at a news conference on Thursday. But he told reporters he needs some more time to make a decision, “On the one hand yes, it’s time to move on and to accept the challenge of being U.N. high commissioner of human rights. At the same time, I love my country, I love the people who elected me.”
Apes. They’re amazing. You may have seen them in movie or two, or maybe at the zoo. And today, Spain has recognized the awesomeness of our closest genetic relatives by granting great apes the right to life and freedom. This is the first time national legislature has called for such rights to non-humans.
“This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity,” said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project.
Republicans are shocked and appalled that a racist pin which reads “If Obama is President…Will we still call it the White House?” was sold at the Texas Republican Party convention. To show their commitment to combating racism, the GOP is donating the money raised by the vendor to help flood victims in the Midwest. They also stipulated that under no circumstances could any of the money go to Katrina victims who are still without homes, neighbors, trailers or security. The difference, of course, as Rush Limbaugh explains, is that the people of Iowa and Illinois are “the heartland…and the backbone of America,” while people of the gulf coast, are the infected appendix of the U.S., and “a bunch of people running around waving guns at helicopters…shooting cops….raping people on the street…whining and moaning–where’s FEMA, where’s BUSH.”
Join TakePart's community today!
Filed under:
Lead
As I posted earlier this morning, George Carlin passed away yesterday at the age of 71. Carlin was known for his social commentary and unique way of looking at everyday life. He had a quite a career and made folks think about the world they were living in, as is evidenced by all of the stories popping up on him today:
I particularly like this Carlin quote - “Scratch any cynic,” he said, “and you’ll find a disappointed idealist.” He may have been cynical, but with his work Carlin always encouraged folks to question the world around them, and that’s a pretty positive thing.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pressure Cooker is premiering tomorrow at the LA Film Festival.
This inspiring and thrilling documentary profiles the lives of three Northeast Philadelphia high school seniors, each from different backgrounds with unique hardships, but with the shared goal of winning a citywide cooking competition for a scholarship to one of the country’s best culinary schools. Their unlikely hero is the unorthodox teacher, Mrs. Stephenson, who tests their limits and inspires their personal growth in the classroom and at home.
Are you in Los Angeles? Join us for a screening!
Saturday, June 21st 7:30pm
Mann Festival Theatre
Tuesday, June 24th 7:15pm
The Landmark
Wednesday, June 25th 1:45pm
The Regent
Get more information on the film and the screenings at the LA Film Festival website.
takepart with the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP).
Juneteenth is an annual holiday that commemorates the abolition of slavery in Texas. On June 19, 1865,- two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect- Union soldiers sailed into Galveston, Texas, announced the end of the Civil War. They read aloud a general order freeing the quarter-million slaves residing in the state and that day has become known as Juneteenth.
Top 10 Films to Watch on Juneteenth:
Based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning book of 1960, this film tells the story of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in a racially divided Alabama town in the 1930s. He agrees to defend a young black man who is accused of raping a white woman.
You are currently browsing the archives for the Lead category.
