Coffeshop - the third place

Very interesting. Ray Oldenburg's "The Great Good Place" which has just been published as a paperback, is a must-read. A short description:

This book is a classic in the sociological literature on the social and cultural geography of American Culture. Oldenburg shows how and why we were on the way to creating a placeless culture even before the computer revolution exacerbated the tend. The wholesale and largely uncritical acceptance of the automobile, place-hostile zoning ordinances, and puritanical meddling have conspired to produce a culture which is rapidly extinguishing haunts and hangouts - the sort of real places of pure sociability which contribute so much to the quality of life and which Oldenburg sees missing in the narrow, money-grubbing, time-driven culture of late century Americans. In his book he offers wise and witty prescriptions for how we can turn this around and once again produce a "Great Good Place."

Green Europe - and bad, bad U.S.

From the Financial Times:

European countries have gained four of the top five places in the latest Environmental Sustainability Index which was unveiled this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Finland headed the ratings, followed by Norway, Norway, Uruguay, Sweden, Island, Canada and Switzerland.
The United States trails well behind other developed countries in environmental sustainability - it came 45th in the world. The report was prepared by environmental experts from Yale and Columbia universities, who scored countries on 21 factors affecting environmental sustainability.

Boxer on Daily Kos

Barbara Boxer, the new hero of the Democratic party, joined the growing group of guest authors on Daily Kos. She started her "diary" with a big "Thank you" to the liberal polit bloggers and their community:

I can't thank all of you enough - the Daily Kos community, and the blogosphere as a whole -- for all of your effective work during the recent debate over Condoleezza Rice's nomination. Your support and participation in this critical debate meant so much to me.
More than 94,000 Americans from across the country signed my petition and stood together to demand the truth from Condoleezza Rice. It was truly an overwhelming response -- much more than I could have anticipated. You helped to get our message out to millions of Americans -- I couldn't have done it without you.
And you made a difference. You gave me the voice I needed to ask the tough questions during Dr. Rice's confirmation hearings. And you gave the entire United States Senate the voice it needed to take its 'advice and consent' responsibility seriously. In fact, Condoleezza Rice received 13 votes against her confirmation - the most votes against any Secretary of State's nomination since 1825.

A great woman - and one of the very few sentators with guts.

The lost 1984 Mac video

The Apple Macintosh turns 21 years old today. And the the long-lost video of its introduction by Steve Jobs in 1984 circulates on the web. (Via Kottke.org)

In the news today

Marty's movie gets 11 Oscar noms (the list).
Hally is up for a razzie.
Rummy admits that he has a secret spy team.
Netflix makes more profits.
Bush makes more debts (and wants more dough for his wars).
The killing continues, but Condi says the "Iraqis will be just fine".
iTunes users bought 250 million songs.
San Fran ponders about an ecology tax for grocery bags.
Julia Robert’s has the first portraits of her babies taken by none other then David LaChapelle.
Roger (the Swiss) demolishes Andre (and rules).
More rain in Lalaland.
Water temperature of the pacific: 59° Fahrenheit (15° C).
Gloria Steinem asks: If the shoe doesn't fit, must we change the foot?

Johnny Carson died

Very sad. Johnny Carson, the epitome - and my earliest memory - of American TV entertainment, died today at his Malibu home. He was 79.

According to press accounts, Carson died peacefully at home with his family by his side. Carson reportedly suffered from emphysema and media reports have classified the illness as the most likely cause of death. Carson was the King of Late Night for three decades as the host of "The Tonight Show" on NBC. He became a legend due to his quick wit, intuitive and charming interview style and his distinctive brand of humor.

Plus: His biography, his final "Tonight Show" monologue in 1992, the memories of friends and Hollywood stars, books about him, DVDs with the best moments of his show.

Rumsfeld doesn't like to be in German jail

Shocking! This story hasn't been picked up by any major American news outlet so far:

The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights filed a complaint in December with the Federal German Prosecutor's Office against U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accusing him of war crimes and torture in connection with detainee abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. Rumsfeld had made it known immediately after the complaint was filed that he would not attend the Munich conference in February unless Germany quashed the legal action. The organisation alleges violations of German legislation which outlaws war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide independent of the place of crime or origin of the accused. The prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe reportedly is examining the roughly 170-page complaint to see if an investigation is warranted. (...) The organization said it had turned to German prosecutors "as a court of last resort" because the U.S. government "is unwilling to open an independent investigation" and had "refused to join the International Criminal Court".

According to Google News, six news outlets have reported about this complaint, among others Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle. Again: not a single U.S. news organisation. Surprised? No.
Update: United Press International reports that the legal action is the second slap for Rummy from the land of his ancestors; in February 2003, just before the outbreak of the Iraqi conflict Rumsfeld's anti-war relatives in north Germany, the Rumsfelds of Weyhe-Sudweyhe disowned him.