As the #OWS police confrontations have graphically show, American police forces now appear to be outfitted in near-military grade armor. This diagram vividly illustrates the evolution our police state has taken, over the years, towards an increasingly gnarly, intimidating and confrontational stance. It’s sad. It’s also related, you can be sure, to the post-9/11 move [...]
Category Archives: politics
Chart of the Week: Job losses before and after Obama’s stimulus plan
via voices.washingtonpost.com The big picture is a lot more complicated, of course, and we should be doing a lot more to stimulate job growth. However, narrative is important, and this extremely simple chart does a great job of telling a story.
Also posted in infographic Comments closed
The Flower
The Flower contrasts a utopian society that freely farms and consumes a pleasure giving flower with a society where the same flower is illegal and its consumption is prohibited.
Also posted in culture Comments closed
Infographic of the Week: Federal Subsidies – Fossil Fuels vs. Renewable Energy
The vast majority of federal subsidies for fossil fuels and renewable energy supported energy sources that emit high levels of greenhouse gases when used as fuel. Fossil fuels (left) garner far greater subsidies than renewables, to the tune of $72 billion over the study period ('02-08). Renewable fuels, meanwhile, saw just $29 billion over the [...]
Infographic of the Week: The Evolving Estimates Of BP’s Oil Leak
via tpm Simple but effective visualization of the original lie told by BP and the feds about how much oil was leaking vs. the reality as it has proven itself. In a sane world, the 60X error between the shit BP was shoveling on 5/24 and the current estimate of 60,000 barrels/day would be enough [...]
China is investing $100 billion in high-speed rail this year. How much is the US spending?
via photoblog.msnbc.msn.com In 2010, the US will spend over $660 billion on military operations. Meanwhile, it took a once-in-a-lifetime depression and stimulus bill to get the US to pony up a mere $8 billion for high speed rail. Mind you, that money is not even going to be spent in one year. In fact [...]