Tag: politics

  • Rule, Britannia

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    The United Kingdom. England. Britain. All pretty much mean the same thing, right? No. But, if you do not believe me, might I recommend going to Glasgow or Edinburgh and calling a local an Englishman. It may very well be a quick education. Colin Grey attempts to untangle the constitutional and jurisdictional mess in both…

  • …to the Shores of Tripoli…

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    Two hundred years later, and the US Navy is again in action off the shore of Tripoli. Except instead of calling it the Barbary Coast, we now typically see the name the Maghreb. Things will surely be fluid and changing far faster than I can hope to detail in graphics, let alone follow casually. However,…

  • You Say You Want a Revolution…

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    If you have been living under a rock—or perhaps I should say isolated at an oasis deep in the Sahara—you may not have heard that these are some interesting times in northern Africa and the Middle East. Popular protests begat revolutions that have now toppled two governments, Tunisia and Egypt, and quite possibly a third…

  • Having Your (Presidential Birthday) Cake and Eating It Too

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    Presidents’ Day originally celebrated the birthday of George Washington, the first president of the United States. (Though, one could get crazy and say it was actually Samuel Huntington, but I fear I would digress.) Now technically the holiday still does celebrate Washington as the official name of the federal holiday is Washington’s Birthday, but by…

  • If Money Grew on Trees…

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    I would have become an arborist…alas, I am a mere designer in a world where trees shed leaves, not cash. The government, on the other hand, now that sheds a lot of cash. President Obama released his budget proposal for 2012, proposal because the responsibility actually falls to the House of Representatives to pass spending…

  • South Sudan

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    For those who may not be aware, part of Africa’s largest country is holding a referendum on whether it should remain a part of Sudan or secede and become an independent state, Southern Sudan—though one wonders if they would not come up with a different name. About 2005 a peace agreement all-but-ended a decades-long civil…

  • May I Have Pepperoni on That Pie (Chart)?

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    I love pizza. I think most people do too, though, we can all disagree on whether thin crust or thick crust is better. Yet as someone who has now eaten both…well…I shall not wade into the matter. But, I will toss up this piece from the New York Times. The paper has an article about…

  • The Candidate Says Tweet Tweet

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    Yesterday, the New York Times released this interactive piece to look at the popularity of particular candidates in that seemingly ubiquitous world of Twitter. Perhaps it was inevitable that the Times or somebody else would create something like this. Regardless, it is out there and I have to say, I am left confused. No, not by the…

  • Midwestern Shrinkage

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    The United States was founded on the East Coast as English (and the odd Scottish) colonies with the old cities of Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. These first colonies became the original 13 states. Ever since the 18th century, we have expanded westward into the Ohio Territory, the Northwest Territory, French colonies, Spanish colonies turned…

  • Immaculately Conceived

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    I normally do not comment on advertising and such, but I found this story, via the BBC, of interest. This British advertisement for Antonio Federici ice cream, with the tag line ‘immaculately conceived’, has been banned for mocking Catholics on the eve of the Pope’s visit to the United Kingdom. I found it funny and…