JackCentral

Among the most talked about issues this campaign season, one rests at the forefront of most Americans’ minds: the failing economy. People want to know what each candidate is going to do to help them get or secure a job, pay off their debt, keep their homes and reduce their skyrocketing energy bills.
The officials currently in power have heard the cries and attempted to upright the economy by way of sending qualified individuals—read: sufficiently in…

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Last week, Hillary Clinton stated that she would retaliate against Iran with nuclear strikes if the Iranians launched a nuclear attack against Israel.
This ought to sound pretty familiar if anyone remembers the good ol’ MAD doctrine that was a staple of the Cold War. Yes, Mutually Assured Destruction is back, though I thought it went away when the Russian flag gained white and blue stripes.
I guess not. “The more things change, the more they stay…

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You would think the construction of a two thousand mile long, two foot diameter crude oil vein running through the heart of Midwestern America should be a newsworthy story.
Maybe news teams simply did not hear about the mid-March approval of the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, which would carry heavy crude oil from Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma.
I find it easier to believe, though, that our leaders pulled another fast one on us and our…

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There’s something very wrong with the American media, and I have a sneaking suspicion it is partly our fault.
That’s right – you and me, buddy. And anyone, actually, who belongs to the demographic of young, American consumers who are willing to tolerate the superficial, mental-Vicodin the media continues to spew in our direction.
The fact that an interview with Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton passes, according to CNN, as an issue deserving of our attention is…

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Wikileaks, a Web site where classified, confidential and secret information can be uploaded anonymously, has made its presence felt on the situation in Tibet. Dozens of photos and videos of the protests and the Chinese government’s brutal response have been posted on the site.
The most telling pictures are those of protestors and monks who have been killed. They aren’t for the faint-hearted. They aren’t pretty. They are real. Take note of how many bullet wounds…

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If any Venezuelans have learned their lesson from recent history, they may want to go ahead and duck and cover. Two Florida representatives, both Republican, introduced House Resolution 1049 last month, which aims to place Venezuela on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Never mind that for the past three winters, Venezuela has given up to 100 million gallons of free heating oil to low-income citizens in the United States. Not one single domestic energy…

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A mass e-mail was sent out to NAU students Monday regarding a national press conference calling for free textbooks. To be more specific: open textbooks. “Open textbooks” are free content, licensed to allow anyone to use, download, customize or print without expressed permission from the author. Apparently, all we had to do is show up, and we’d make a statement. Today is Thursday. Are textbooks free yet?
Anyone who has purchased any textbook ever has probably…

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The murk of the Iraq War is thick. The murk turns into mire, and then a swamp as more and more journalists leave or avoid the country. The most recent statistic that I found for the number of foreign journalists in Iraq was estimated at 50, according to a USA Today article published in 2006. As the war has dragged on, those numbers have likely fallen further.
Most of the news about Iraq around today is…

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A few weeks ago, NAU released another series of yellow bikes, intended to improve student mobility around campus. Much like the first attempt last October, though, the bright yellow bicycles have become exceedingly rare. On the few occasions I’m lucky enough to spot one, it’s often lying mangled and discarded in an area out of the way.
The failure of this program highlights both a lack of practical sense on the university’s part and a void…

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I’m not surprised that some of my favorite news of the past month didn’t appear in any mainstream news sites. The media hates to run a positive pot story. Late in February, Jamaica formed a government panel to investigate the legalization of cannabis. Thousands of miles from the Caribbean, the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic ruled that cultivation and possession of cannabis for medical purposes is not a crime.
At the same time, the National…

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