For those of you who enjoy online auction sites like Ebay, or community sites like Craigslist, then you might be interested in checking out Listia.com.  Listia is a site where you can put your used items (such as books) in exchange for credits.  You can use these credits towards other items up for auction. 

Doing a quick search on the Listia.com site, I have found an item that you might be interested in pursuing.  It is a book and CD on the language and culture of Iraq, something of value and interest with our current operations in the Middle East nation.  Doing a quick search, the book sells for $10.00 on Amazon.com, but there is currently only one bid on the item for 1 Credit. 

Some auctions might require you to pay for the cost of shipping, depending on where you live.  Arrangements for delivering of the product can be made between you and the seller/buyer.  This is a similar process as with Craigslist.

While you can earn credits for free, you can also purchase credits to help you on popular auctions.  But why pay for something that you can get for free?  To give yourself a headstart on obtaining free stuff, you will receive 300 free credits if you register today.

Thoughts.com

Multi-user site

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Thoughts.com is a multi-user community that provides the users (both members and visitors) multiple platforms for people to share their thoughts on topics that interest them with free blogs, uploaded photos, videos and podcasts, as well as forums.

Over the past few years, the U.S. Common Sense website has promoted an environment of dialogue and exchange of opinions on the political topics facing the nation today. In that process, we have introduced you to various bloggers and resources out there for you to visit and continue the discussion. Some of those websites have been reviewed to give you a better understanding of what you can expect when you explore their site. Continuing the tradition, I would like to introduce you to Thoughts.com.

Thoughts.com is a multi-user community that provides the users (both members and visitors) multiple platforms for people to share their thoughts on topics that interest them; be it US Politics, economy, religion, special interest groups, and more. Users have the ability to create a free blog, post and share photos, upload videos and podcasts, create polls, as well as participate in an in-depth community of forums. With this wide variety of communication channels, you are sure to find a medium that suits you as you explore items of interest.

Looking at the Thoughts.com forums, for example, users can create topics and post opinions on the issues of the day. Taking a moment to explore one of the boards (USA Politics), you will find discussions on Rush Limbaugh, Afghanistan, political spin, taxation, and more items that we’ve discussed here before. The difference, however, is that with a forum it is easier for members to engage one another.

Another board (2008 Presidential Election), community members discussed the role of online social networking and its impact on the voters, the domination that the Republican and Democrats have over the political spectrum, racism, and more. All of these issues were important to not only the election itself, but also to the voters. After all, it is the voters that have the biggest voice at the polls, and one of the places to make your voice heard is on the Thoughts.com forums.

So take a moment and continue the conversation. Visit Thoughts.com and read the views and opinions that others online have on the topics of today. You might discover a view that you have never thought of, a mission that is shared here at the U.S. Common Sense website.

– Sponsored post

Bad Gals Radio

Independent

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Mixing music and message together, Mama ASID brings you Bad Gals Radio. While tapping your toes to the streaming music, you will enjoy reading topics ranging from U.S. politics, the Caribbean, and Africa, as well as the latest news from around the internet.

Welcome to our latest website review. This week, I am proud to bring you our first blog radio. If you had the chance to read our review on the EGO blog, you will see how some of our fellow bloggers take advantage of audio files to expand the reach of their message. Our friend over at Bad Gals Radio takes this form of media to the next level.

Bad Gals Radio is a unique website mixing news articles, opinions, and radio broadcasts together to pull you into Mama ASID’s world. Much of the news articles deal with current events, focusing on the trials and tribulations of our brothers and sisters in Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. As she states, the focus is on those who cannot speak for themselves. With an independent perspective on the candidates and politicians, she listens to their messages regardless of their party in order to vote and voice her consciousness. To give you an understanding of her work, let us review the two main features of her website.

When Mama ASID writes about a topic, she usually provides you multiple news articles from different sources to gain an overall sense of the issue. To give you an example, take a moment and read the article “Bloody Sierra Leone punks GUILTY – Charles Taylors’ Balls Roll Next.” Her article includes stories from New Liberian, BBC News, Voice of America News, The Liberian Journal, as well as video clips from ABC News, the UN, and other content from YouTube. All of this material is summarized and pulled together into a cohesive message. Liberia is a country you probably haven’t thought about this month, even though the country and the United States share a close connection (take a moment to look up the American Colonization Society).

The radio broadcast and streaming music ads the unique factor to the website. Through the voice of Mama ASID, you hear the emotion that completes the message; something that text cannot do alone. Her podcasts cover related topics on her site, as well as website reviews, shout-outs to EntreCard members (through her EntrePod recordings), and discussions with others. On today’s EntrePod broadcast (which lasts 30 minutes), she covers over ten websites by highlighting what the sites are about, with examples of topics they could discover. All of this is mixed with humor and sound effects, including one of my favorite clips from the move “The Fifth Element” (I’ll let you listed to the broadcast to see if you can find it). The streaming music is a mix of Caribbean and African music, exposing you to a style that you might otherwise never come across in your daily lives. While doing my research on her website, I had the music playing in the background and found myself tapping my toes along with the beat at times.

Bad Gals Radio is not the only site that Mama ASID operates. Her empire includes a MySpace page, a mirror site at Mama ASID’s EntrePod, and Recycled Frockery. If you are interested in Bad Gals Radio, you might want to visit her other sites as well. I do want to point out that the Bad Gals Radio website views better through Firefox than it does with Internet Explorer. With IE 7, the background images are slightly skewed, making it difficult to read some of the text on the screen. Additionally, it should be noted that Mama ASID has been bringing you her opinions since 1999, but due to a database failure in October, the older material is no longer available.

So take a moment and drop by Bad Gals Radio.

EGO

Independent

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Martin Lindeskog brings us a unique perspective on U.S. foreign and economic policies. Located in Sweden, Martin is an “American in spirit” that holds true to the Objectivism ideology developed by Ayn Rand.

The latest addition to the Political Blog Listing comes not from the United States but from Sweden. Martin Lindeskog, the author of EGO, might not be in the United States, but he is an American at heart. When he is not discussing American politics and policies, he is exploring the American economy and markets. With that, let’s take a moment and explore Martin’s domain.

EGO derives its name from Egoist; a person who is devoted to their own interest and advancement. It is this ideal that many American’s possessed to become successful. It is also a good description of bloggers everywhere – including myself – since we strive to advance our understanding of politics while exploring our interests in a public format. In his quest for advancement, Martin provides the readers three formats to choose from in order to learn about his positions and views on economics and politics. When I first started writing this review, I wasn’t sure how to address this without including his other two sites in the review as well. This multi-site format is unique to our current list of reviewed websites, so let me take a moment to cover them in brief.

The first site is Martin’s primary blog. EGO is a multipurpose website (a “pundit style” as he calls it) covering politics, capitalism, blogging, religion, military, and more. Narrowing the scope of the review down to politics and capitalism, you get a good sense of where he would fit within the American society. With a keen interest in U.S. free-market system and philosophical references to Ayn Rand, Martin could easily find a home in the United States. If you look at his post “Christopher Cox at the Securities and Exchange Commission,” you get a feel of his pundit style. With 20 separate links in one post, Martin discusses the appointment of Mr. Cox to the SEC and the criticisms and praises Cox received for his acceptance of the philosophy of Ayn Rand towards corporations and free enterprise.

The second site in Martin’s corner of the internet is another first for the Political Blog Listing. He hosts a podcast hosted on Solid Vox. While the podcast is a new feature, with only two interviews currently uploaded, they are full-length interviews with a depth of information. If you have 27 minutes available, I would recommend you take the time to listen to his interview with political cartoonist Allen Forkum. They discuss not only the process for creating a political cartoon but also explains how you can get your hand on some original pieces of work.

The last tool is his presence on the Open Forum (powered by American Express). Most of his in-depth writing on businesses and working with the U.S. economy can be found here, and many posts from the EGO website links to these articles. While these articles might not necessarily be political in focus, U.S. policies towards the free market makes our economy a fertile field for new businesses to grow. Martin has an excellent article on “Five Reasons Why America is a Great Place to Run a Business.” Here he explores how our culture and policies are important aspects in our economic security and expansion for the future.

Be it his focus on an open economy or his Objectivism views, Martin reminds us of our can-do spirit and entrepreneurial drive. Take a few moments to visit his website and explore the wide array of topics and sources he links in his articles and get a better feel for his outside impression on the United States.

I must apologize to Martin, however. When he first contacted me about reviewing his website, my initial glance at his site gave me the impression that I could write the review within a few days and have it posted by the weekend. However, once I started reading the 6 years of material and discovering his additional work outside of the EGO blog, the more complex the task became. There are blogging tips that I discovered that I might experiment with and integrate into U.S.C.S website as a result of the additional time I spent reading his works.