A personal blog by a Jewish guy living in Seattle, working at the University of Washington as a scientist, working on blood vessels while taking pictures, and commenting on science, religion, politics and other taboos.
"'The eyes of an animal have the capacity of a great language. Independent, without any need of the assistance of the sounds and gestures, most eloquent when they rest entirely in their glance, they express the mystery in its natural captivity, that is, in the anxiety of becoming (Bangigkeit des Werdens). This state of the mystery is known only to the animal, which alone can open it up to us—for this state can only be opened up and not revealed. The language in which this is accomplished is what it says: anxiety—the stirring of the creature between the realms of plantlike security and spiritual risk. This language is the stammering of nature under the initial grasp of spirit, before language yields to the spirit's cosmic risk which we call man. But no speech will ever repeat what the stammer is able to communicate,' - Martin Buber, Ich and Du."
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan: "This conversation between Anderson Cooper and an unidentified member of a drug cartel in Mexico helps explain what's always behind the decision to torture suspects:
UNIDENTIFIED DRUG CARTEL MEMBER: Yes, they do. They have got their ways of showing people who's killing who, where's it coming from. They have got ways of torturing people and killing people them the way they do, so that all the cartels will know who it's -- who it's coming from.
COOPER: Torture is common?
UNIDENTIFIED DRUG CARTEL MEMBER: Yes, it is.
COOPER: Why? Just to get information?
UNIDENTIFIED DRUG CARTEL MEMBER: To -- not to get information. Just the pleasure of doing it. They make it pleasurable, pleasurable (INAUDIBLE) doing it.
COOPER: So, it doesn't -- it doesn't yield useful information; it's just doing it because they enjoy it?
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: "The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on an ongoing initiative to remove the influence of the Electoral College. The initiative, called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, seeks to encourage state legislatures to pass laws requiring that their electors be allocated based on the nationwide popular vote, provided that a sufficient number of other states do the same. If states totaling at least 270 electoral votes (an outright majority of the total available) sign the Compact, it would become active, and this would theoretically guarantee (provided there were no unfaithful electors) that the winner of the popular vote would also win the Electoral College.
The initiative has been passed by four states totaling 50 electoral votes. In five other states totaling 36 electoral votes, there is 'live' legislation that has been passed by one of the two state houses but not yet by the other. Finally, there is another tier of seven states, consisting of 112 electoral votes, that have had at least one chamber of their state houses pass the Compact at some point in the past, but not in the current legislative session:"
It is ironic that the Fauxies have defined the left as moderates like Obama. If Krugman is tom the left and Obam is an extreme leftie we will need a curved universe to figure this all out.
* 32.4 Megapixels. * AF-S 50mm 1.0 IR (Infrared Application Scientific Lens, with 3 (sp) integrated nano-filters). Serves as a Fast 1.0 Lens or a Scientific Lens. * New Nano Cards. F-SDn / F-CFn 500GB (1.15 GB/s speed), One 500GB Nikon F-CFn card included. * Single, or 3 to18 Frames Per Sec. Dial It In. * Full FX Frame Plus IR and UV. * (BAT) Bio-Acquire Technology, For The Colors And Luminance of Light in The Visible Spectrum, Infra-Red & UV for Insects, Plants, People, Atmosphere, Sky, Water and Virtually Everything. Too Advanced To Explain Now in Detail. (Space Hubble Telescope Features).
* Full Automatic & Full Manual Override. * Nano Color Technology. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature). * Full Infra-Red & UV Color Capabilities (400 nm – 300 nm) for Photography in Anything from Minerals to Astronomy, CSI and UFOs. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature).
* Nano Lenses Coupling as Per Wavelengths (Visible, UV or IR). (Space Hubble Telescope Feature). * In-Sensor Nano lenses. * Integrated Color Spectrometer & Filters For InfraRed and UV Applications. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature). * (AMA) Astronomy Magnetometer Activation, With Imaging to IR & UV Sensor. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature). * Spectrophotometry Color Correction for All Filtration in Any Application With IR and UV. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature). * Matched Contrast Correction, Enhancement & Balance for B&W and Color InfraRed. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature). * Compatible With All Current / Future Nikon Gear (Lenses, Flash CF & SD Cards, etc). * Built in (IR) Dedicated Flash.
But it and the 233 other Level 1 trauma centers nationwide are in need of some economic life support. Battered by rising costs while required to operate 24/7 year round and accept patients whether they can pay or not, nearly one in every 10 Level 1 centers has closed since 2000 while others have downgraded their level of trauma service. "
Harborview is wonderful but is trauma care a federal issue?
Emerging Technology News - CNET News: "Designed to enhance the emotional experience of watching a movie, the emo jacket comprises 64 independent actuators, arranged in 16 groups of 4, across the arms and torso. Eight of these, spaced 6 inches apart and located on each sleeve, can create the illusion of being tapped in several spots."
BBC NEWS | Americas | Art exhibition fuels US-Cuba thaw: "Hundreds of Cubans packed into Havana's Museo De Bellas Artes for the launch of the first major US contemporary art exhibition to be shown here for almost a quarter of a century."
London is bracing itself for the G-20 meeting next week, as thousands of demonstrators prepare to descend upon the British capital. While most protestors will be peaceful, those working in the financial industry are being advised not to wear suits to work or even to stay at home to avoid potential violence. By Carsten Volkery in London more..."
Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide: "exas Decides Evolution Needs More Study, I Decide I Need Less Texas In Austin, creationists have managed to include several amendments aimed at casting doubt on the theory of evolution. The amendments may affect the content in science textbooks across the country. More »"
Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide: "The Penis Train (When Children Playgrounds Go VERY Wrong) And you thought nothing could beat the Jesus Switch as the worst Wrongmodo ever, didn't you? I said: DIDN'T YOU? Well, Jason and I did, but the—absolutely hilarious—Polish Penis Train has proved us oh-so-wrong. [DRB]"
“We’re running this series of ads to try to clear up some of the misconceptions out there,” said Kilmer. “People think that if they decide to follow Jesus they’re going to be saddled with burdensome things like loving their neighbor and caring for the poor, but in reality, Jesus is all about fitting your life and lifestyle.”
The radio, print, and television advertisements are part of a $10 million ad campaign by Kilmer’s church, Fountain of Vitality Fellowship. Kilmer explained that the move is just a small aspect of Fountain of Vitality’s overall mission to spread the good news of the easy life across the greater Puget Sound.
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels’ extended his recent streak of secreting pure, unfiltered awesomeness on Wednesday by officially declaring Seattle as the “Number One Bestest City in the Entire Universe—For All Time.”
The bold call comes hot on the heels of his proclamation that the city’s response to the Colossal Blizzard Whiteout of Aught-Eight deserves a “B,” widely considered by critics to be his most delightfully bizarre move to date."
The 2nd annual Blogging While Brown Conference will be held at the University Center in Chicago,Illinois on June 19-20, 2009. Hosted at the high-tech University Center, the 2009 conference promises to bring the best of the 2008 conference with more opportunities to network and learn about the issues and concerns that face new media content creators."
You know, I really was not going to contribute to these silly rumors, but the wide world web is abuzz with this possibility. So, I thought that perhaps it would take MOW to confirm to everyone that Michelle Obama is not pregnant . . . she is busy. Mark Bieganskion of the Chicago Sun Times provided some excerpts of her interview with Oprah in the April 2009 issue of O the Oprah Magazine where Mrs.Obama confirms, yet again that she is not pregnan
An analysis of wild herring forming shoals finds that order can break out fast. Within half an hour, a group of herring that have reached a certain density can coalesce and move together in a coordinated mass more than 20 kilometers wide. Full StoryNicholas Makris
The secretary general of the ARIJI said that Kim Il Sung, who was born into a revolutionary family, embarked on the road of revolution in his early years to retake the country usurped by the Japanese imperialists and made great contributions to the Korean revolution and the world revolution, adding that the world progressive mankind is highly praising him as the outstanding leader in the 20th century.
He noted that General Secretary Kim Jong Il, the sun of the 21st century, is successfully carrying forward the revolutionary cause of Juche started by the President.
Kim Jong Il who realized the cause of perpetuating the memory of the President is leading to victory the struggle of the Korean people to open the gate to a great prosperous and powerful socialist nation in 2012 that marks the centenary of the birth of the President, he said, stressing:
It is thanks to the unique Songun politics pursued by Kim Jong Il that the DPRK has unswervingly advanced along the road chosen by itself in spite of the imperialist allied forces' anti-DPRK and anti-socialist moves."
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.
Seattle's First Online Daily Newspaper - SeattleCourant.com: "Olympia: Gas Tax Revenue Down, Tolls and $4.3 Billion in New Transportation Spending By Lydia Sprague : March 27, 2009 : Politics A bare-bones transportation budget was announced Wednesday by top-ranking Senators on the State Senate's Transportation Committee. The focus of the budget is to keep afloat high profile projects, such as the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the 520 projects and the ailing ferry system.
The state is facing a $514 million transportation shortfall for the 2009-11 biennial budget. The decline of funds is because the state gets the majority of its revenue for transportation projects from the state gas tax."
First we should privatize the cops, courts, and jails. Them what has enough money ought to pay their own cops. If caught they should be able to buy a courtroom and if someone is caught by their cops the same. Private jails for them what can pay make sense too! I suggest charging the Martha Stewarts and Bernie Madoffs at whatever the mean price is for a four star hotel in Manhattan.
Also, I believe, since we own the lakes and mountains, we should charge a use fee for anyone whose home or office has a view. In other words if you have an office high up in the Columbia Tower's south side, Seattle should be able to charge for you use of Mt. Rainier.
While we are at it, you DO KNOW that all waterways are public property? Why not charge a use fee for the shoreline/tidal waters?
BTW .. didja know that your tax dollars subsidize Lakeside and Bush? Howsit that rich folk, who do not even live in Seattle, get to have a tax free place they can educate their kids???? Howsit Lakeside gets to sell tax free bonds?
Let see ...
SAM has some pretty dreadful art. I would volunteer to be on a commission that reviews the tax benefits of whatever damn fool donated the hanging cars and hammered dude. It is OK by me that they donated the stuff to SAM instead of Goodwill, BUT Goodwill does not leave their junk in PUBLIC spaces. We should charge these tasteless donors a fee for polluting my eye space.
While we are at it, Swedish Hospital has some pretty snazzy rooms for its wealthier clients, Howsabout a luxury tax on everything other than a semi private hospital room?
Canada says will defend its Arctic: "The Canadian government on Friday reaffirmed its Arctic claims, saying it will defend its northern territories and waters after Russia earlier announced plans to militarize the North.
'Canada is an Arctic power,' Catherine Loubier, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, said in an email to AFP.
'The government is engaged in protecting the security of Canada and in exercising its sovereignty in the North, including Canadian waters,' she said.
Loubier pointed to the planned acquisition of Arctic patrol vessels, construction of a deep water port and eavesdropping network in the region, annual military exercises and boosting the number Inuit Arctic rangers keeping on eye on goings-on along its northern frontier.
Earlier, Russia announced plans to turn the Arctic into its 'leading strategic resource base' by 2020 and station troops there, documents showed, as nations race to stake a claim to the oil-rich region.
The country's strategy for the Arctic through 2020 -- adopted last year and now published on the national security council website -- says one of Russia's main goals for the region is to put troops in its Arctic zone 'capable of ensuring military security.'"
The Russians are being very stupid. The best way of securing whatever value there is in the arctic is by establishing a commercial presence and uisng international law. A miltiary ewffort will cost a lot of money and is probably a cause for other nations with greater military capacity (US-Canada, Europe, China) to stake claims as well.
When Chuck Todd asked President Obama about why he didn’t want Americans to “sacrifice” in the new War on the Economy, maybe he was just subtly hinting that the president himself ought to make some sacrifices, such as not going out and partying like a fool every night of his life. This new president insists on going to basketball events and restaurants and even the occasional fancy dance performance, with his children, no less, which means he should be fired. MORE »
Bintel Blog – Forward.com: "As the Forward is reporting, the Rabbinical Transportation Committee — an organization tasked with representing the mass transit interests of Israel’s Haredi community — is urging traditionally observant Jews to shun El Al — citing the national air carrier “immodest” in-flight entertainment options (a.k.a. feature films that show men and women in various states of undress).
But the pontiff, also known for his conservative sensibilities, will reportedly travel on El Al en route to the Vatican from Israel on May 15, on the heels of a week-long trip to the Middle East. The designated Boeing 777 will bear the logo of the Holy See — comprising a crown, a key, and nine crosses.
No word yet on the in-flight entertainment on offer for Pope Benedict and his entourage."
Bintel Blog – Forward.com: "Actress Emma Thompson’s black stomach-flattening Spanx came with the note that reads, “These are the knicker equivalent of Fort Knox”. Songwriter and poet John Hegley’s briefs feature a poem about ants and pants. The singer Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas sent in gold, metallic boy shorts. And writer Nick Hornby and his young son adorned a pair of boxers with stickers and a feather.
Undergarments apparently from actress Helen Mirren, actor Daniel Day-Lewis, and illustrator Aline Crumb are also on the block.
With the description of each lot comes a note about the New North London Synagogue’s Destitute Asylum Seeker Drop In: “Destitute asylum seekers live here in fear, terrified of being forcibly returned home. They are not allowed to work and don’t even have the money to buy underwear which is basic to human dignity. Our celebrities will both raise funds for them and draw attention to their plight.”"
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has introduced legislation that would 'bar the dollar from being replace by any foreign currency.' A statement from Bachmann's website:"
On Saturday, March 21, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly sent one of his producers to stalk, harass, and ambush ThinkProgress.org’s managing editor Amanda Terkel. Upset over a ThinkProgress report that noted O’Reilly’s insensitivity to rape, O’Reilly sent two men to track Amanda in a car for two hours, and then confronted her with hostile questions while she was on vacation."
I know Ted van Dyk but could someone tell me whether he and Lou Guzzo have been eating the same cookies? TvD's posts at Crosscut are nto yet as bizarre as the meanderings of the senile Guzzo but they are tending that way.
It seems to me that Ted is trying to hard to be a statesman journalist by coming with I-am-not-a-liberal-but coomentaries on what to worry about under the President. That would be fine if there were some subtlety here.
NigerianNews::Nigerian News Portal; Unbridled and UnAfraid: "The Wrong Way to Love Nigeria. by Atsar Terver It has nearly become an unwritten rule that to be taken seriously as a public commentator or social critic, one must find the dirtiest adjectives from the dictionary to describe Nigeria and the people that govern her. The more vulgar and uncouth the language, the more ‘patriotic’ these commentators hope to be seen. Thus it is not uncommon nowadays to read such words like, idiots, rascals, thieves, animals, crooks, and so on, hurled with reckless abandon at the President and his cabinet as well as the members of the National Assembly."
Tension is rising prior to this Friday's crucial vote on whether children in the US state should be taught creationism alongside evolution in science lessons"
New officers’ new creed: Ready, aim, democratize: "Debates over the Turkish military’s attitude toward democracy flared up following the arrest of Cumhuriyet columnist Mustafa Balbay, who had published an article titled 'Young Officers are Disturbed' in 2003. Özkök was the head of the Turkish military between 2002 and 2006."
Soggy space rocks that hit Earth billions of years ago may help explain a long-standing mystery – why life preferentially uses left-handed amino acids"
The good news: I'm starting a new job tomorrow at Premera Blue Cross as Senior Communications Manager for Media Relations." I recommend this letter by Eric Earling. He has been a moderate voice at the sometimes bizarre right wing blog Sound Politics. It is also interesting that Eric, at 33, is moving to a position at what used to be Blue Cross, Premera. There he will be "Senior Communications Director." I would guess, given his background, this tile really means "chief political officer." One wonders whether this m,akes sense in an era of impending national health care and an increasingly leftist state? Is Premera setting itself up for a battle with Obamacare? That would be terribly sad for a company that was once seen as more of a public spirited entity than yet another insurance company.
Feature Article of Wednesday, 25 March 2009: "I have stated time and time again that Akufo-Addo, the 2008 defeated presidential candidate habours the false notion that he is president-in-waiting or at best he was born to be the president of Ghana. Otherwise certain things Akufo-Addo do does not make sense to me and calls into question his ulterior motive and overall judgment.
This man who barricaded himself into his house following his bitter loss of the presidential elections travelled outside the country for which purpose I care less about. But on his return home, Akufo-Addo and his cronies organized supporters of the NPP to give him a rousing welcome at the Kotoka International Airport. A rousing welcome for losing the presidential elections that the NPP put so much stock on? Or a rousing welcome to inform Ghanaians that Akufo-Addo is on course to stand again come 2012?"
The Jewish Daily Forward: "A leading Israeli demographer, Sergio DellaPergola, writes that one of politician Avigdor Lieberman’s most controversial ideas — redrawing Israel’s borders to place Israeli Arab population centers under Palestinian sovereignty — should not be so quickly dismissed by his critics.Read More"
Science News: "Quantum entanglement can be too much of a good thing An overdose of the spooky connection can break down quantum computing systems, researchers find."
Abu Dhabi's stake in Daimler is a resounding vote of confidence in German industry and is even fueling desperate hopes of an economic recovery, write German media commentators. It is also being seen as a negative signal for ailing automaker Opel, which has yet to attract buyers. more..."
The EU charges that minorities in Turkey are still persecuted. But they are growing more politically active with numerous minority candidates on the ballot for this weekend's municipal elections. The country may even get its first Jewish mayor. By Daniel Steinvorth in Istanbul more..."
China Takes Aim at Dollar - WSJ.com: "BEIJING -- China called for the creation of a new currency to eventually replace the dollar as the world's standard, proposing a sweeping overhaul of global finance that reflects developing nations' growing unhappiness with the U.S. role in the world economy."
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: "Per-family household debt increased by about 130% in real dollars between 1989 and 2007, from roughly $42,000 per family in 1989 to $97,000 eighteen years later. Most of that increase has come during the past six or seven years -- household debt increased by 52% between 2001 and 2007 alone."
Discussing the first lady's visit to a Washington D.C. classroom last week, Bruce incredulously recalled Obama's story about wanting to get A's in school and called out her use of a 'weird, fake accent.'
'That's what he's married to,' Bruce said. '...You know what we've got? We've got trash in the White House. Trash is a thing that is colorblind, it can cross all eco-socionomic...categories. You can work on Wall Street, or you can work at the Wal-Mart. Trash, are people who use other people to get things, who patronize others, who consider you bitter and clingy...'"
The Daily Transcript: From Metabolism to Oncogenes and Back - Part I: "Here is a brief history lesson on how cancer was viewed by cell biologists over the last hundred years. Today I'll talk about how our views changed from metabolism to oncogenes, tomorrow (or the day after) I'll close the loop by explaining how metabolism came back into the picture."
Global Voices Online » Sweden: "Sweden: A Newspaper Blog for Ramadan Vilhelm Konnander · 02:36 · Media , Religion lingua → fr · bn · zht · zhs The second largest Swedish daily newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, has launched a Ramadan blog, where three practising Muslim bloggers - a policeman, a student, and a lawyer - reflect on everyday life throughout the Holy Month. Subjects span the high and low in an attempt to portray what it means to be Muslim in Swedish society today."
Global Voices Online » Denmark: "Denmark: “Deep Linking” Under Fire by Newspaper Publishers Solana Larsen · 17:50 · Law , Media lingua → pl · de · es · zht · zhs Blogging journalists in Denmark are up in arms over a renewed effort by Danish newspaper publishers to stop websites like Google News from linking to individual articles rather than a newspaper's homepage. They call this “deep linking”, and it is precisely what bloggers usually do. Regardless of what is considered normal practice around the world, the Danish Association of Newspaper Publishers insist they"
from http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/03/eroding_our_intellectual_infra.php
well known blog at U. Minn.
One of the challenges facing the country right now in this time of economic crisis is that we're also about to be confronted by the result of a decade of neglect of the nation's infrastructure, in particular, the chronic starvation of our universities. It's an insidious problem, because as administrations have discovered time and again, you can cut an education budget and nothing bad happens, from their perspective. The faculty get a pay freeze; we tighten our belts. The universities lose public funds; we raise tuition a little bit. A few faculty are lost to attrition, and the state decides to defer their replacement for a year or two or indefinitely; the remaining faculty scramble to cover the manpower loss. We can continue to do our jobs, but behind the scenes, the stresses simply grow and worsen.
I can testify to this from personal experience. My biology department struggles every year with the routine business of retirements and sabbatical leaves — we have absolutely no fat in this group, with every member playing an essential role in the curriculum, so every departure, even temporary ones, increases the strain. We have to frantically rearrange schedules to cover our deficits, we have to drop courses for a year (so the students have to juggle their schedules as well), and we hang by our fingernails waiting for the administration to do basic things, like approve temporary hires or allow us to do a search for replacement faculty. Since the state is contributing less and less every year, we will soon reach a point where we simply won't be allowed to replace essential personnel, and then the whole system is going to break down.
The University of Florida has reached that point. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has been told to cut 10% from its budget. Since the biggest chunk of any university's budget is salaries, that means a lot of people are going on the chopping block — and the administration has decided to simply get rid of entire departments wholesale, including geology. Think about it: a college of science that simply cuts off and throws away an entire discipline. Is that really a place that is supporting science and education? The partitions we set up with these labels are entirely arbitrary, and we are all interdependent. My own discipline of biology is dead without mathematics, chemistry, and physics, and yes, geology is part of the environment we want our students to know. Now it's true that if all we aimed to do was churn out pre-meds, we could dispense with geology; heck, we could toss out all those ecologists, too, and hone ourselves down to nothing but a service department for instruction in physiology and anatomy.
But we wouldn't be a university anymore. We'd be a trade school.
The United States is supposed to take some pride in its educational system — at least, we're accustomed to hearing politicians stand up and brag about how our universities are the envy of the world. It's a lie. We're being steadily eroded away, and all that's holding it up right now is the desperate struggles of the faculty within it. We're at the breaking point, though, where the losses can't be supported much more, and the whole edifice is going to fall apart.
Here's what you need to do. Write to the University of Florida administration and explain to them that what they're doing is debilitating, and is going to irreparably weaken the mission of the university. Unfortunately, their hands are probably tied; they've got a shrinking budget and have to cut somewhere, and they will do so, but at this point all we can do is ask them to hold off on completely destroying a scientific asset.
The next layer of the problem is the state government. They keep seeing the educational system as a great target for saving money with budget cuts, because the effects will not be manifest for several years — and so they steadily hack and slash and chop, and the universities suffer…and now they're at the point where they begin to break, and they keep cutting. Write to the Florida legislature! Tell them that we need to support higher education, that as a scientific and technological nation, we are dependent on a well-educated citizenry!
It's not just Florida, either — your state is blithely gutting its system of higher education, too. Minnesota, for instance, has cut investment in higher ed by 28% between 2000 and 2007, while raising tuition 68% over the same period. We haven't been given less to do, either — our workload increases while salaries fail to keep up with inflation. This is happening everywhere. We are all Florida.
Another part of the problem is…you. Why do you keep electing cretins to your legislatures who despise the 'intellectual elite', who think being smart is a sin, who are so short-sighted that they care nothing for investing in strengthening the country in ways that take ten or more years to pay off? Stop it! Your representatives should be people who value education enough to commit to at least maintaining the current meager level of funding, but instead we get chains of ignoramuses who want to demolish the universities…and simultaneously want to control them to support their favorite ideological nonsense, via 'academic freedom' bills. This is also a long-term goal: we have to work to restore our government to some level of sanity. It's been the domain of fools and thieves for far too long.
PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris."
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.
The budget plans soon to be released by state lawmakers could slash more than 8,000 jobs in state agencies, colleges and public schools as legislators search for additional cuts to cover the most recent drop in state revenue."
The Hindu : Front Page News : Sunday, March 22, 2009: "New website to recite your prayers ATLANTA: Too busy to pray? No problem. A new online service can do it for you — Jewish, Christian, Muslim or other, for a price. Or, it suggests, if your children have stopped praying, the service can get them back into good graces by praying for them for only $1.99 for a month. Prices go up from there.
Granma International, English Edition: "Reflections of Fidel We are the ones to blame IN the game between the Japanese and Cuban teams that concluded today at close to 3:00 a.m., we were unquestionably defeated. The organizers of the Classic decided that the three countries holding the first three places in world baseball should confront each other in San Diego, including Cuba arbitrarily in the Asian group despite the fact being the Caribbeans that we are. ....
What mattered to the organizers was to eliminate Cuba, a revolutionary country that has heroically resisted and has remained undefeated in the battle of ideas. Nevertheless, one day we shall again be a dominant power in that sport.
I should point out that the team leadership in San Diego was abysmal. The old criteria of well-trodden paths prevailed against a capable adversary who is constantly innovating.
We must learn the relevant lessons. ...
In Cuba, where we practice almost all sports and have numerous amateur players, baseball has become a national passion.
... Korea and Japan, two countries that are geographically at a good distance from the United States, have invested abundant economic resources into that imported, or imposed, sport.
Japan, a developed and wealthy country with more than 120 million inhabitants, has devoted itself to developing baseball. Like everything within the capitalist system, professional sports are big business, but national will has imposed rigorous standards on their professional players.
... Training sessions are incredibly rigorous and methodical. They have devised technical methods to develop the reflexes required by every player. Every day, batters practice with hundreds of balls pitched by left- or right-handers. As for the pitchers, they are obliged to throw 400 balls every day. It they commit any error during the game, they have to pitch another 100. They do it with pleasure, as if it were a form of self-punishment. In that way, they acquire a notable muscle control that obeys orders sent by their brains. That is why their pitchers’ ability to place balls exactly where they want them amazes everyone. Similar methods are applied to all of the activities each of the athletes must carry out in the positions that they defend and in their activities as batters. Athletes are developing with similar characteristics in the other Asian country: the Republic of Korea, which has already become a powerhouse in professional world baseball.
...In a nutshell, we have to revolutionize the methods for the preparation and development of our athletes, not just in baseball, but in all the sports disciplines.
I am tired of listening to folks say that Marxsim or Capitalism has failed.
What has failed are the religious ideas growing from and in reaction to Marxism. Stalin and Mao's .. the self identification with Marx branded their totalitarian systems as "Communist" while the denial of Marxist identity by those who worship untrammeled free markets has equated class privilege with capitalism.
No electable politician today supports classism or totalitarianism. NHo economist does not believe in the competition of classes. What we do nto have is a sense of how to balance an understanding of the free market with them imperatives of democracy.
BlatherWatch: "The LA Times wrote Sunday about how talk radio was not only landing with a thud in the clout department, the ratings are going south and right-wing\talkers are losing their jobs."
International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten: "Boxers from Cuba are considered the best in the world. They are technically perfect, quick and well trained. But in order to box on the world stage, they must first defect from their homeland. Boxing promoters are eager to help."
International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten: "Afghanistan is on the brink of chaos: That is the stark message from local leaders, the US military and development workers in the troubled country. The elected government, they warn, can no longer compete with the Taliban. By Ullrich Fichtner in Wardak province, Afghanistan more..."
NigerianNews::Nigerian News Portal; Unbridled and UnAfraid: "Jetting Out To the Glory of God by Atsar Terver A big storm has been generated across the nation with the recent acquisition of a private Jet by the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Many commentators have sought to find fault with the idea of such an expensive acquisition in the face of global economic downturn and the generally high poverty level among the followership of the church and the nation at large. The impression has also been created that the Jet is meant to boost the private comfort of the General Overseer of the Church. <><> NigerianNews Special"
Time offering 'customized' experimental magazine: "US news weekly Time, which like other publications has been looking for ways to reinvent itself in print and on the Web, is allowing readers to put together their own personalized magazine.
The experiment, called 'Mine,' allows readers to create a print or Web version of a magazine with content drawn from titles owned by Time and its partner in the venture, American Express Publishing.
The titles are Time, Sports Illustrated, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Money, InStyle, Golf, and Travel + Leisure."
I think they are missing the market. I like the idea, but they need a less leisure oriented selection.
Josias Kumpf, 83, who has admitted to participating in a 1943 massacre of 8,000 Jews in Poland's Trawniki labor camp, arrived in Austria on Thursday after the United States deported him following the revocation of his citizenship."
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: "The compensation paid to AIG's employees, however, is less a moral failure than a market failure. We don't like to admit to market failures because they indict our collective judgment; instead we scapegoat and move on. But there are some ways to address these market failures; the more time we spend focusing on those, and the less on AIG, the more money we the taxpayers will save ourselves in the end."
Seattle news, sports, entertainment | seattlepi.com - Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "The scene: The debut of the city's newest professional sports franchise sparkled from start to finish Thursday night, concluding with a perfect 3-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls as newest Seattle hero Fredy Montero scored a pair of goals."
Moscow News: "Kissinger back in Operation ‘Reset’ By Ayano Hodouchi, Anna Arutunyan and Tim Wall The grand old man of U.S. foreign policy, Henry Kissinger, is due to lead talks in Moscow on Friday with senior Russian officials as the Obama administration seeks to revive its relations with Russia"
With unemployment soaring, many European Union countries want the migrant workers they once attracted to go home as quickly as possible. They are sparing no expense or effort to encourage them to leave. By SPIEGEL Staff more..."
when is someone going to publish some actual numbers of the finances involved? How much of the problem IS the changing market vs. admin overhead and leverage? Is physical paper the problem?
Howsit that Google, Ebay and Amazon have viable businesses that live off what was the cash flow for the older media? Should/could Ebay, Amazon, Yahoo, MS, Google support a real newspaper? Would the draw add enough to their revenues to justify the expense?
Or we can just wring our hands and blame eash other.
While a lot of the focus recently has been on Shepard Fairey the man and not Shepard Fairey the artist, what with his ongoing legal battle with the Associated Press and his arrest in Boston with potentially more charges to come. But lest we forget, that very same arrest took place as he was heading to the opening of the first retrospective of his work at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Fortunately, art critic Ken Johnson has put together a great review of the collection, wonderfully entitled "Can a Rebel Stay a Rebel Without the Claws?" which speaks to the problem a lot of critics and viewers have had with Fairey's work, that it's all pomp and no circumstance, showy without much depth behind it. And that feeling has heightened while the artist became more popular and took on more commercial projects, thus blurring that line between "art" and attractive design. Well worth the read if you've ever had inner or outer turmoil with Fairey's work and trying to pin down exactly where it lands.
Danger Room - Wired Blogs: "MIT Professor Theodore Postol has proposed what he describes as a more politically palatable way of delivering missile defense: putting the interceptors on long-haul drones instead of parking them in the ground. Postol's idea is to develop a new kind of 'boost phase' defense that could target missiles as they slowly lift off from the ground. The missiles, he writes in a New York Times op-ed, could be delivered by long-range, stealthy drones:"
The NYT piece referred to here contains a statement by Postol that we already have B2 drone-robots IN THE AIR!
The B2 is that scary bat wing thing we only built so many off because it cost $$$$$$$$$$$$. Remember Bush's "siock n awe?" These were then bimbers that flew in, undetected by Iraqi radar. BUT, I suspect a drone version would be a lot cheaper and lots more scary! Imagine a supersonic, stealthy robot?
This creature could change everything ... imagine Israel protected by a "shield" of B2 robots with a counter shield flying over Iran? How would WE feel here in the safety of sea girded America if the Chinese were to patrol off our shores with their version of this thing. Who gets to patrol the North Pole?
It is thought the first test flight will take place in 2010
BAE Systems is working on two very different UAVs.
Mantis is a large pilotless aircraft, with a wingspan of 22m, can stay airborne for more than 24 hours and operate at more than 40,000 feet.
Speaking to the BBC, BAE's head of communications, Adam Morrison, said the Mantis could survey or patrol an area with great accuracy.
"Most UAVs are controlled on the ground, even if that control is a bunker somewhere in the US. Because of the human element, you're never going to get a precise and regular course over time.
"With Mantis, you can cover an area with almost regular monotony, which means not only constant coverage, but you can spot if anything in that area has changed.
"You could also use it for maritime patrol and with the autonomous nature of the plane, all you need to tell it is which airfield it takes off and lands at, the length of runway and off it goes."
The other UAV it is working on - Taranis - is very different. The £124m, four year project to develop it hopes to create an unmanned, stealth, deep-strike aircraft as part of the Government's strategic unmanned air vehicle experiment.
Initial ground trials are scheduled for late 2009, with a maiden flight scheduled for 2010.
More on Robobomber?
B-2
from Popular Science
The B-2, which can carry nuclear or conventional weapons, is today’s only stealth bomber. The 2018 bomber will be akin to a mini B-2: smaller, stealthier, and equipped with newer computers and communications systems that make it easier to change missions on the fly.
MOSCOW – Russian news agencies cited a top defense official Wednesday as confirming that a contract to sell powerful air-defense missiles to Iran was signed two years ago, but saying no such weapons have yet been delivered.
Russian officials have consistently denied claims the country already has provided some of the S-300 missiles to Iran. They have not said whether a contract existed.
The state-run ITAR-Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies and the independent Interfax quoted an unnamed top official in the Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service as saying the contract was signed two years ago. Service spokesman Andrei Tarabrin told The Associated Press he could not immediately comment.
Supplying S-300s to Iran would change the military balance in the Middle East and the issue has been the subject of intense speculation and diplomatic wrangling for months.
Andrew Biggs highlights an interesting new study on social security finding that 48 percent of American workers would opt out if they had the choice. I sure would."
OK by me as long as Andy pays HIS tax so others are covered! Or he could just return his benefits check whgn he gets to 6!7
If you look at the rotary rig count – rigs around the world actively drilling for oil and gas, there are about 1100 rigs drilling in North America (US and Canada) and another 1000 rigs drilling in the rest of the world. Doesn’t this seem surprising? That over half the rigs actively drilling wells are in the US and Canada and there are so few, relatively, drilling every were else. The reason is, I suspect, that drilling technology has advanced so far that it is cost effective to drill in aging and unconventional fields in North America, where in the rest of the world there still drilling the “easy to get” oil and gas. Eventually, the advanced technology learned here will be applied internationally to further extract massive amounts of oil and gas from all the fields around the world. We might be at or near peak oil, but I think the curve will remain a plateau before it plummets."
The Top Five Space Illusions | Popular Science: "The Martian Canals: Percival Lowell mapped the straight lines he observed on the Martian surface, which he believed to be intentionally engineered canals. NASA"
What a way to spend it - 500 miles from the North Pole, floating on a raft of sea ice that is breaking up to the north of us, a polar bear plodding around close by and running out of food.
The resupply plane is now several days late. I know they've tried three times and the weather has stopped them, so we are now down to half rations.
Gates readies big cuts in weapons - The Boston Globe: "Two defense officials who were not authorized to speak publicly said Gates will announce up to a half-dozen major weapons cancellations later this month. Candidates include a new Navy destroyer, the Air Force's F-22 fighter jet, and Army ground-combat vehicles, the offi cials said.
More cuts are planned for later this year after a review that could lead to reductions in programs such as aircraft carriers and nuclear arms, the officials said."
Washington, D.C., February 2, 2007 -- Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, who was appointed by President Bush to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Defense Secretary in November of last year and confirmed by the Senate today, said he will dedicate his new mandate in part "to the ongoing global struggle against unfair competition and open source radicalism".
Before 1967, when the Western Wall was under Jordanian rule, Jews were forbidden to pray there. In the Six Day War, Israel conquered east Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, from Jordan and prayer was opened to all religions.
Olympia's red ink flows toward schools: "That court decision (Seattle School Dist. v. State, 90 Wn. 476 (1978) forms the starting point for any discussion of education finance. In the 1970s, local school districts relied increasingly on local levies — the levy made up some 25.6 % of the average district’s operating budget — and local voters increasingly turned them down. The Seattle School District, where the levy had climbed to more than 37.7 %, sued the Legislature. It wanted a court to order the Legislature to pony up. Seattle cited the state Constitution: If education was really the state’s paramount duty, then the state had better not leave it in poverty."
Wonkette: "Sacha Baron Cohen, the guy who played “Borat” in that movie, and also had an HBO show… whatever, you smartasses all know him, and he’s got a new movie coming out soon. It’s about “Bruno,” the gay Austrian TV host character who was also on Ali G. It’ll basically be the same movie as Borat, but instead of making fun of American racists, he makes fun of American homophobes (REAL AMERICANS.) And in one episode, he tries to seduce Dr. Ron Paul, the secret President of the United States on the Internet. MORE »"
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has backed a large deficit budget for 2009 - and dropped previous plans for a three-year budget - in the clearest admission yet by the government that the world economic crisis has brought the Russian economy grinding to a halt.
Putin on Wednesday asked the State Duma to ratify a series of amendments to the budget law to allow for a bigger deficit and more spending from the reserves. His comments appeared to settle the debate within government about whether the state should try to spend its way out of the crisis, or implement swingeing budget cuts."
Spores exports fall 24%: "SINGAPORE'S non-oil exports in February fell 23.7 per cent from a year earlier, better-than-expected after a record plunge in January, data showed on Tuesday."
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan: "After some time being held in this position my stump began to hurt so I removed my artificial leg to relieve the pain. Of course my good leg then began to ache and soon started to give way so that I was left hanging with all my weight on my wrists. I shouted for help but at first nobody came. Finally, after about one hour a guard came and my artificial leg was given back to me and I was again placed in the standing position with my hands above my head. After that the interrogators sometimes deliberately removed my artificial leg in order to add extra stress to the position....
By his account, Bin Attash was kept in this position for two weeks—'apart [from] two or three times when I was allowed to lie down.' Though 'the methods used were specifically designed not to leave marks,' the cuffs eventually 'cut into my wrists and made wounds. When this happened the doctor would be called.' At a second location, where Bin Attash was again stripped naked and placed 'in a standing position with my arms above my head and fixed with handcuffs and a chain to a metal ring in the ceiling,' a doctor examined his lower leg every day—'using a tape measure for signs of swelling.'"
Israel Beiteinu gets NIS 82m. for aliya | Israel | Jerusalem Post: "The section on conversion, one of the heftiest in the document, stated that legislation would be enacted to make the matter of conversion considered as one area under Israeli law, noting that the government would work in conjunction with the Chief Rabbinate.
According to the new legislation, the conversion certification would qualify as 'proof of Jewishness' for all legal and religious purposes.
The deal also stipulated that conversion could only be annulled if evidence was found that it was granted due to concealed or mistaken information."
The meaning of this will escape most non jews but it may be revolutionary. Until now the most extreme religious authorities in Israel have copntroleld the definition of Yiddishkeit. This has meant big problems for many immigrants .. Ethiopean, Russian and American where standards for being Jewish have become more ethnic than simply observant.
I more open definition of being Jewish could become a lot more like the French defintion of being French .. that is a recognition of culture over religous belief or herdity.
Imagine what would happen if one opened Judaism world wide to thise whyio believe in our concepts of an ethical life based in a tradition that encompasses Alinsky, Spiniza, Gandhi (Jewish advisers), Marx, Medleson, Halevy, Maimonides, Hillel ???
Could there ven be Arabs who choose to be Jewish? Is it too hard to imagine that the Jews of Yathrib and Yemen, their ancestors might not see a common-ness between their own roots and the ethical principles that tie Judaims and Islam so closely together?
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: "It did not disappoint. In addition to an extensive confrontation that included footage of Cramer admitting to the ease of manipulating markets, Stewart indicted CNBC’s “sins of commission” in fueling hype that led to the economic crisis.
I understand you want to make finance entertaining, but it’s not a (bleeping) game. And when I watch that, I get, I can’t tell you how angry that makes me. Because what it says to me is: you all know. You all know what’s going on. You know, you can draw a straight line from those shenanigans to the stuff that was being pulled at Bear, and AIG, and all this derivative market stuff that is this weird Wall Street side bet." Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.
Hearst Chairman Eyes P-I HQ as Personal Residence | The Naked Loon: "“The truth is, I lost hundreds of millions of dollars investing in condos in Florida and Arizona, a few million more buying mortgage-backed securities, and now even my little 5-bedroom cabin in The Hamptons is going into foreclosure,” said Hearst. “Basically what it boils down to is that I need a place to live, and the P-I offices are an ideal location.”"
Roche seals deal for Genentech at $95 a share - FierceBiotech: "After eight months of bickering, Roche finally agreed to pay Genentech shareholders $46.8 billion--or $95 a share--for the 44 percent of the biotech giant it doesn't already own. And a special committee at Genentech has signed off on the deal and recommended it to shareholders."
American tax payers built Genentech. Now it is owned by a swiss company with little reason to support the US.
'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.' The brightly colored ads were part of a provocative campaign on British buses. Spain reacted with its own string of atheist slogans, and now a German group is following suit. more..."
When Chuck Todd asked President Obama about why he didn’t want Americans to “sacrifice” in the new War on the Economy, maybe he was just subtly hinting that the president himself ought to make some sacrifices, such as not going out and partying like a fool every night of his life. This new president insists on going to basketball events and restaurants and even the occasional fancy dance performance, with his children, no less, which means he should be fired. 
Secretary of Defense William H. Gates III
