March 2011
1 post
“Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost.”
– Ronald Reagan (via liberal-lad)
August 2010
40 posts
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AP News : Valley Morning Star →
From the article:
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Floods have isolated about 800,000 people in Pakistan who are now only reachable by air and aid workers need at least 40 more helicopters to ferry lifesaving aid to the increasingly desperate people, the United Nations said.
How Much Is Left? The Limits of Earth's Resources,... →
This Web-only article is a special rich-media presentation of the feature, “How Much Is Left?,” which appears in the September 2010 issue ofScientific American. The presentation was created by Zemi media. Find all our other interactive offerings here.
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Why Evolution May Favor Irrationality - Newsweek →
From the article:
Why evolution may favor irrationality.
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Food Haves and Have Nots: The Countries Facing the... →
From the article:
New analysis shows Afghanistan as well as several sub-Saharan African nations as having the greatest food security risk in the world, classified as ‘extreme risk’ (red in the image above). Furthermore, 36 of the 50 most at-risk nations in the world are found in Africa.
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Gallup: "In U.S., Slim Majority Says Iraq War Will... →
From the article:
PRINCETON, NJ — More Americans believe history will judge the Iraq war as a failure (53%) rather than a success (42%). These views have varied little over the past few years even asAmericans have become more positive in their assessments of how the war is going.
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Higher Temperatures Lessen Plants' Ability to... →
From the article:
A new study based on NASA satellite data and meteorological data shows that the amount of carbon absorbed by Earth’s plants and trees fell in the past decade
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Pesticides May Be Contributing To ADHD And... →
From the article
A baby is more likely to suffer from ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) while it is still in the womb if the mother is exposed to organophosphate (OP) pesticides, according to a new study published inEnvironmental Health Perspectives. Over the last few years there has been increasing interest in determining whether OP pesticides might undermine brain development.
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Robert Reich: The Anatomy of Intolerance →
Connect the dots:
Many Americans (and politicians who the polls) don’t want a mosque at Manhattan’s Ground Zero.
An increasing percent believe the President is a Muslim.
Most Americans approve of Arizona’s new law allowing police to stop anyone who looks Hispanic and demand proof of…
Flooding in Pakistan →
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Scientific proof that the Deepwater oil plume is... →
From the article:
Today scientists revealed the results of an investigation into the severity of the Deepwater oil spill. The plume of petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals measures a staggering 22 miles long, and has settled in a deep underwater layer (see photo).
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AP News : Poll: Growing number incorrectly call... →
From the article:
Americans increasingly are convinced - incorrectly - that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, and a growing number are thoroughly confused about his religion.
Nearly one in five people, or 18 percent, said they think Obama is Muslim, up from the 11 percent who said so in March 2009, according to a poll released Thursday. The proportion who correctly say he is a Christian is...
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Iraq in the rear-view mirror - latimes.com →
From the article:
An army convoy passes through a landscape littered with memories.
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Equal pay for women not likely till 2067, says... →
From the article:
Chartered Management Institute data shows that gender wage differential still wide – 40 years after equal pay laws
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A Lesson in Liberal Interventionism « American... →
There are many flaws in the rationale employed by liberal hawks in supporting the use of military force for the putative benefit of the underlying populations of various military targets – from Iraq and Iran, to Burma.
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How Much Americans Spend on Shopping | →
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WatchLaurie Santos on monkeynomics | Publications
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Global Cities 2010: The Rankings | Foreign Policy →
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Why America Needs More Muslims | World | AlterNet →
From the article:
The absurd controversy over the proposed Islamic center in New York shows that many Americans need to meet some Muslims.
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On pointing, cognition, and stray dogs... →
crookedindifference:
The argument goes something like this. When young infants begin reaching for objects just out of their range, adults are most likely to respond to those reaching attempts and to retrieve the item for the baby when the latter’s index finger is more prominently extended. That is to say, initially, the adult mistakenly reads into the child’s reaching attempt as a communicative...
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Disease risk for Pakistani children - CENTRAL/S.... →
From the article:
Millions of children in Pakistan are at high risk from deadly water-borne diseases in the wake of the country’s worst flooding in living memory, the UN has warned.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been placed on standby to deal with a potential cholera outbreak following warnings from medical experts of “a second wave of death” in the disaster...
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ideas, instincts, and intuitions: For Better and... →
In the past few weeks, the internet has worked itself into a state over one question: does the web make people stupid?
It’s a discussion that in large part was started by Nick Carr, whose recent book The Shallows argues that the internet is changing the way our brains work for the worse….
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Medical News Today: "People Who Are Trusting Are... →
From the article:
Trusting others may not make you a fool or a Pollyanna, according to a study in the current Social Psychological and Personality Science(published by SAGE). Instead it can be a sign that you’re smart.
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Watchoxfamgb:
This video shows the extent of the worst floods to hit Pakistan in 35 years and how they are continuing to cause havoc, misery and suffering.
Commenting on the disaster
This flood is of an overwhelming size and its impact is only slowly emerging. The water has swept away everything. Families are desperate about the loss of their loved ones, their belongings and their livelihoods....
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Alan Abramowitz and Norman Ornstein (Washington... →
From the article:
With Tuesday’s elections in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia and Minnesota over and the feuds that mark primary season finally winding down, voters and pundits can turn their attention to this year’s real political fight: November’s general election, when all 435 House seats, along with 37 Senate seats, will be up for grabs. Midterm elections are a uniquely...
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Living near public transport can lead to longer,... →
wearetheearth:
thelittlemermaid:
bobulate:
A new study for the The American Public Transportation Association finds that people who live in communities with high-quality public transportation generally live longer, healthier lives:
People who live or work in communities with high quality public transportation tend to drive significantly less and rely more on alternative modes (walking,...
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Weekend Essay by Jonah Lehrer: How Power Affects... →
From the article:
Psychologists refer to this as the paradox of power. The very traits that helped leaders accumulate control in the first place all but disappear once they rise to power. Instead of being polite, honest and outgoing, they become impulsive, reckless and rude. In some cases, these new habits can help a leader be more decisive and single-minded, or more likely to make choices that...
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Scientific American: “Your Opinion of...
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Medical News Today: "Extremism: "Fused" People... →
From the article:
People with extremely strong ties to their countries or groups are not only willing, but eager, to sacrifice themselves to save their compatriots, according to new psychology research from The University of Texas at Austin. In a study to appear inPsychological Science, Bill Swann, professor of psychology, and a team of researchers found the majority of “fused”...
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South Korean president proposes plan to reunite... →
From the article:
“South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has proposed a plan to reunite his country with North Korea and suggested a tax to prepare for the costs expected if the two countries come together, South Korea’s state media said Sunday.”
Novel Ideas - By Charles Hill | Foreign Policy →
From the article:
“Statesmen once looked to great works of literature to help them understand the world. No longer”.
“Literature informs leaders whose actions may later become the stuff of literature. Imperfection — the conflicts, stratagems, and surprises of world affairs — can convey an ineffable, transcendent sense of things. Clausewitz called it the coup d’oeil: an integration of...
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Max Bergmann (The Wonk Room): "Helping Pakistan Is... →
From the article:
“While working with Pakistan is vital to broader US counter-terrorism aims, the Pakistani public has an immensely negative view of the United States. Providing disaster assistance won’t automatically make everyone love us, but it will have an impact. Being on the ground providing aid and assistance in desperate situations following natural disasters, is something that is...
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Jonah Lehrer (Wired): "The Personality Paradox" →
From the article:
“There’s an interesting new paper in Biological Psychiatry on the genetic variations underlying human personality. The study relied on a standard inventory of temperaments – novelty-seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence and persistence – as measured in 5,117 Australian adults. What did the scientists find? Mostly nothing. The vast genetic search came up empty:”...
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New York Times: "U.S. Military Seeks Slower Pace... →
From the article (bolded text mine):
Meanwhile, a rising generation of young officers, who have become experts over the past nine years in the art of counterinsurgency, have begun quietly telling administration officials that they need time to get their work done.
“Their argument,” said one senior administration official, who would not speak for attribution about the internal policy...
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New Scientist: "The next best thing to oil" →
From the article:
“A renewable carbon economy? Surely that’s a pipe dream? Perhaps not, now that solar power facilities are cropping up in deserts across California, Spain and North Africa. The idea is to use the sun to power chemical plants able to split carbon dioxide. Combine the resulting carbon monoxide with hydrogen and you have the beginnings of a solar fuel that could one day...
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Medical News Today: "Brain Response Influenced By... →
From the article:
“People generally like to see generous people rewarded and selfish people punished. Now, new research reveals a critical link between how we perceive another’s intentions and our evaluation of their behavior”.
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AFP: "Iraq 'needs US military support until 2020" →
From the article:
“The Iraqi army will require American support for another decade before it is ready to handle the country’s security on its own, Iraq’s army chief of staff told AFP on Wednesday.
Lieutenant General Babaker Zebari said Iraq’s politicians had to find a way to “fill the void” after American troops withdraw from the country at the end of next...
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BBC: "UN launches $459m Pakistan flood appeal" →
In Sindh province, tens of thousands of displaced people have been flocking to Sukkur city - itself under threat from rising water levels - while the city of Hyderabad is under threat from a wave expected to hit Kotri Barrage on the Indus river in the next 24 to 48 hours
Fresh floods in Punjab province - upstream of Guddu - caused hundreds of thousands of people to move to safer areas, in many...
April 2010
3 posts
Spanking Kids Leads to Aggressive Behavior, Says... →
The reason for that, says Singer, may be that spanking instills fear rather than understanding. Even if a child were to stop his screaming tantrum when spanked, that doesn’t mean he understands why he shouldn’t be acting up in the first place. What’s more, spanking models aggressive behavior as a solution to problems.
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Study shows experiences are better than... →
azspot:
The satisfaction we get from buying vacations, bikes for exercise and other experiences starts high and keeps growing. The initial high we feel from acquiring a flashy car or megascreen TV, on the other hand, trails off rather quickly, reports a new Cornell study.
Also from the article.
“What does it all mean? “Our results suggest that if people get more enduring...
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NPR: Study Narrows Gap Between Mind And Brain →
Researchers were able to alter people’s perceptions of right and wrong by applying magnetic stimulation to the brain. The new study is part of a larger effort by scientists to provide a mechanical explanation for how the brain makes moral judgments.
March 2010
26 posts
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US healthcare bill would provide immediate... →
azspot:
*Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted.
*Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
*Young adults will be able to stay on their parents’ health plans until the age of 26. Many health plans currently...
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AP: Congress clears historic health care bill →
“Summoned to success by President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled Congress approved historic legislation Sunday night extending health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and cracking down on insurance company abuses, a climactic chapter in the century-long quest for near universal coverage…”
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Scientific American: "The ethical dog" →
Research into canine societies show that they work to maintain some level of equal footing among group members which, in turn, facilitates in the building of personal bonds with other members:
Animals consider their play partners’ abilities and engage in self-handicapping and role reversing to create and maintain equal footing. For instance, a coyote might not bite her play partner as hard as she...
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“The right method of philosophy would be this. To say nothing except what can be...”
– Ludwig Wittgenstein: Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (via fuckyeahphilosophy)
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If you have food in the fridge, clothes on your...
caraobrien:
kivateam:
artislovely:theyellowdoorpaperie:gwenmadlyn
talk about perspective.