Stuff we all should know by now - Prisoners in the US

What are approximately 1 out of every 100 Americans doing right now?  Why, sitting in jail, of course!  Young black men?  That jumps to 1 in 10.  Per capita, that's higher than most places in the world by an order of magnitude, and even higher that places with less-than-stellar human rights records such as Iran and, um, the country that I'm currently living in.

People in the US aren't terribly aware of this, but many other parts of the world are, as in, for example, this clip from a UK game show.  Probably no wonder that other governments often don't take the US very seriously when it comes to accusations of human rights abuses...

For more information, and links to some of the facts in the video, click here.

What are the best minds in America doing?

In the midst of unfolding natural disasters, foreign military interventions, and domestic political strife, an article from a couple of months ago that I'd like to bring to everyone's attention, about the XM25 Counter Defilade Targeting Engagement System. What is the XM25 Counter Defilade Targeting Engagement System? Why, to quote from the article, it's a "full solution fire control weapon." Or, more simply put, a gun that is now smart enough to send high explosive bullets zooming over a wall to kill people that are hiding behind it.

Don't get me wrong - I'm as leery of snipers as the next guy - but is this the best use of our collective intelligence here? One more instance of addressing the symptoms and not the disease...