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Huge tech companies are unimaginative and clueless when it comes to being good community citizens. One would expect, at the least, their marketing departments to recognize the importance of maintaining a positive image for the neighborhoods wherein their employees reside. But then again, Apple has proven short-sighted in their brand development, on the one hand assuming a creative, individualistic brand while on the other aggressively sheltering profits from taxes and putting punishing demands on factory workers. It seems these companies will continue to ignore the dignity of outside individuals. It's up to them to be unignorable. But it would be great if these companies seized this critical moment, acknowledged that their operations displace people, and earnestly forged respectful problem-solving relationship with them.

The Keystone XL impact report is a farce! Anything that keeps us hooked on fossil fuels will have a significant, negative impact on the environment in the long term. The government is the only entity capable of impeding this project for the public good, since corporations can be relied on to fight tirelessly and solely for their own profit. Further, the main corporate beneficiary (TransCanada) is not even an American entity! >Americans are selling out their kids for Canada's sake?! (No offense, >Canadians.)

Glad the the stop-and-frisk chapter is closing. It was a shameful stain on this city's multicultural past spilled by this city's xenophobic elite. De Blasio's settlement, along with his pre-K education proposal, advances minority youth two steps forward to Bloomberg's one step back. But, hmm... Now that the police won't be busy stopping random kids of color, we wonder which esteemed NYPD effort they'll be bolstering with their free time: • weekend mounted unit petting zoo (amid rampant crime) in the Lower Eastpacking District, • highly-praised and constructive amateur counter-terrorism research in Afghanistan, or • "undercover" participation in citywide terrorization by motorcycle gangs. Curious indeed. Only time, and the next lawsuit, will tell.

Any >san-francisco-49ers hurt that they lost to the >seattle-seahawks better get over it real soon, because the >denver-broncos are definitely going to get steam-rolled at the Super Bowl. Top defense wins. Statistics don't lie. Also, Seattle has better doctors, apparently. Which just further proves... something about doctors.

We don't have to be in Chicago to listen to this, but if you're into the HipHop and or the Breakin'/Dance scene in general - we suggest you check out this online radio station hosted at http://www.que4.org/radio/ here in Chicago. Every Tuesday from 8:30pm - 11:30pm !!

We're disturbed by the weekend's violence in Egypt, as documented by many reports of military and mob violence targeted at >egyptians protesting the government, as well as at foreign reporters. It seems to us like the pro-military camp prefers absolute social order to a democratic republic, and we can't help but feel that's a short-term solution with severe long-term costs. We hope trust can be rebuilt so a new democratic attempt can be undertaken.

So only now that we're in an election year and Mayor de Blasio wants to increase taxes on $500k+ earners to fund early education, does Governor Cuomo suddenly find an extra $1.5b? We'll take it but that disingenuity doesn't impress us. Keep up the pressure, Mayor!

We welcome Obama's remarks but more must be done. His speech struck us, mainly throughout the first half, as cluttered with rhetoric, deflection, and rationalization. Eventually, he rattled off a slew of Presidential directives and orders (more internal oversight and restrictions, annual internal reviews to declassify information and address private and foreign interests, and time limits on NSL gag orders and storage of foreign citizen data). We give him some credit for these executive orders, but they're flimsy. They can be rescinded at any time, by Obama or successive Presidents. So we demand Congress resolve this permanently, and affirm a commitment to prevent similar crises in the future. Our trust in government rests largely on our ability to hold Congress accountable, so we take any action that inhibits accountability as a manipulative, abusive affront to democracy. We want oversight, because oversight motivates restraint. And as technology continues to amplify the effects of these transgressions, in questionable cases we prefer our government errs on the side of transparency rather than secrecy, as we accept that a free and open society fundamentally entails risks to our physical safety. So Obama's most important statements were in this very spirit. We look forward to the replacement metadata collection program he intends to take to Congress, and on his call for them to create an independent civilian panel to argue significant cases in FISC. We expect Congress to go further, not only to strengthen oversight and other checks on existing programs, but also to institute a general oversight framework for *any* secret powers granted now or in the future (we cannot know that all such secrecy has already been made public). An American once wisely said, "A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency." Today, five years later, he outlined a few steps his administration is taking to uphold that.

We're absolutely disgusted by Ohio's execution experiment that led to what can only be described as cruel and unusual punishment. "According to a pool report from journalists who witnessed the execution at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, McGuire took more than 15 minutes to die and made 'several loud snorting or snoring sounds.”

We >americans all must be tired of hearing revelations about the N.S.A. spying tactics. But, what will it take for us as americans to deny these shadow powers unfettered access with virtual impunity from the public, and the world at large? "The technology, which the agency has used since at least 2008, relies on a covert channel of radio waves that can be transmitted from tiny circuit boards and USB cards inserted surreptitiously into the computers. In some cases, they are sent to a briefcase-size relay station that intelligence agencies can set up miles away from the target."

Senators, you need-a calm down. We all remain skeptical of Iran, particularly because it's not clear why, after 30 years of provocation and sanctions, they suddenly want to negotiate. (We'd love from the >iranians about this.) How could things have changed so significantly in the last six months? Their election of a new president would not seem to account for this, since he's still subject to the same Supreme Leader who's been in power for the last 25 years. That said, the diplomatic path is far better than the military path. The threat by most Senators right now to increase sanctions portends violent repercussions. It amounts to spanking a child right after he cleaned up his room. We do not want to see what a nuclear-armed temper tantrum looks like. So, Senators, we appreciate the skepticism but cool your jets. And, President, you must convince us (during your State of the Union?) that you and Kerry understand our deep skepticism and are negotiating with vigilance.

Gov Christie's seflishness shocks and angers us! It's unbelievable that he would resort to retaliatory behavior that is so childish, unprofessional, and disrespectful (to say the least!) to the public. And we think anyone who thinks this hyper-controlling figure was not privy to the actions of his staff is fooling themselves. Along with the NSA and the recent federal shutdown, this is yet another sign of a political class that believes it's above public service, and that is consumed with promoting and protecting itself above all else. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/nyregion/chri...

Something that has always been said about us New Yorkers is that we take care of each other in times of need. It's therefore disappointing to see that as of January 2nd, New York Cares has received only 20% of the 104,000 coats requested. It's too cold out there , let's pull together and spread some warmth.