A few months back, I wrote about the unexpectedly welcome news that President Bush asked his cabinet for a plan to protect the waters around some of the most remote islands in the Pacific Ocean, including the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot on earth.  We read that, and we thought, “Huh.  That’s pretty awesome.  We’ll put this one in the win column for this administration.”

Aaaaaannnnnd…not so fast.  There are objections to the plan.  And, not from the most helpful of places.  Richard Dreyfuss The Penguin Vice President Dick Cheney is not onboard with this idea, at all.  The Washington Post reports (and, yes, sorry about the cheap dig at the Vice President…they’re not even original jokes, and all joking aside, I have heard he’s a nice man, in person):

Vice President Cheney and some officials in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have argued that the plan could hurt the region’s economy by barring fishing and energy exploration.

Ah, yes.  Money.  It always comes down to money.

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Cheney Sunglasses have been getting a lot of attention for reflecting an image of a naked woman. Of course we all know one man’s naked woman is another man’s “hand casting a rod” which is Cheney’s spokesperson claims is really in his lens. Hmm. “Hand casting a rod…” So that’s what the kids are calling it these days. I better brush up on my slang.

What do you think it is? Either way, it’s pretty cool that we live in a country where journalists and bloggers are free to ask whether or not their vice president “sees naked people.” Let’s keep it that way! Check out Phil Donohue talking about how “quaint” free speech has become, thanks to corporate media. Then check out the trailer for the film Body of War, which Giulia blogged about, the new documentary produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, and featuring two original songs by Eddie Vedder. Then you’ll be inspired to by seeing the film. Click on the “In theaters” link to find where it’s playing near you.

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The TED 2008 conference invited Psychologist Philip Zimbardo to speak about his new book, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. His book explains that a “perfect storm” of conditions can make ordinary people commit unspeakable acts. WIRED magazine published an interview with Zimbardo along with photographs from Abu Ghraib that he uses to illustrate his points (please be warned the photographs are extremely disturbing.)

Wired: You were an expert defense witness in the court-martial of Sgt. Chip Frederick, an Abu Ghraib guard. What were the situational influences in his case?

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