03.28.10
Bacteria weapon
Colonies of Bacteria Fight for Resources With Lethal Protein
ScienceDaily (Mar. 28, 2010) — Rival colonies of bacteria can produce a lethal chemical that keeps competitors at bay
Cyclone damages coral reefs
Cyclone Oli Deals Major Blow to French Polynesia’s Coral Reefs
ScienceDaily (Mar. 28, 2010) — On 3-4 February 2010, tropical cyclone Oli hit western French Polynesia.
Mother Birds Know Best
Mother Birds Know Best — Even Before Birth
ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2010) — Mother birds communicate with their developing chicks before they even hatch by leaving them messages in the egg
Gross National Health
Published on Sunday, March 28, 2010 by CommonDreams.org
Gross National Health
by David Rakel and Michael T. Hernke
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
-The World Health Organization-
A key challenge of health care reform is that there is significant financial investment in the treatment of disease. The rising disparity between medical cost and quality is demanding that the focus be changed. As America explores new models of delivery, it is important to ask, what is our primary intention? Is it a continued focus downstream on disease management or is it truly health?
Dwindling Food for Thought
Published on Sunday, March 28, 2010 by The Toronto Sun/Canada
Dwindling Food for Thought
As nations around the world continue to destroy entire species, woe betide the animals that become a delicacy
by Eric Margolis
Fish don’t vote. Neither do tigers, polar bears, sharks, elephants or any other endangered animals whose plight was addressed at the UN meeting on endangered species in Doha.
Unhealthy food
Chef Jamie Oliver: Why the U.S. Is One of the Unhealthiest Countries in the World
‘My wish is for you to help a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, to inspire families to cook again, and to empower people everywhere to fight obesity.’
Lobbies eye reform
Published on Sunday, March 28, 2010 by The New York Times
Pro-Business Lobbying Blitz Takes on Obama’s Plan for Wall Street Overhaul
by Eric Lichtblau and Edward Wyatt
WASHINGTON – With the Obama administration looking to score another major legislative victory, an array of pro-business groups and fiscal conservatives are mounting a well-financed campaign to scale back or block altogether the Democrats’ plan to overhaul regulation of the financial industry.
Re-moralise the market, Re-localise the economy, Re-capitalise the poor
RG mail
by Phillip Blond
The civic state
respublica.org.uk (October 03 2009)
It is now clear that we are at one of those epoch-changing moments in
British political history. Just as the ‘Winter of Discontent’ in 1978/1979
marked a paradigm shift, an utter and complete reversal of the
pre-existing order and the arrival of something new, something
revolutionary and something transformative – so the present unprecedented
debt crisis of 2008/2009 is doing the same.
http://www.respublica.org.uk/articles/civic-state
Have a nice world war, folks
RG mail
http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=570
*Have a nice world war, folks
By John Pilger*
Here is news of the Third World War. The United States has invaded Africa.
US troops have entered Somalia, extending their war front from Afghanistan
and Pakistan to Yemen and now the Horn of Africa. In preparation for an
attack on Iran, American missiles have been placed in four Persian Gulf
states, and “bunker-buster” bombs are said to be arriving at the US base on
the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Neuroscientists sell their souls
RG mail
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=neuroscientists-dont-believe-in-sou-2010-03-24
Mar 24, 2010 09:00 AM in Mind & Brain | 28 comments
Neuroscientists don’t believe in souls–But that doesn’t mean they can’t sell theirs
By John Horgan
Of all scientific fields, neuroscience has the greatest potential for revolutionary advances, philosophical and practical. Someday, brain researchers may figure out how precisely the brain encodes thoughts like the ones I’m thinking now. Cracking the neural code could help solve the mind-body problem, ending millennia of pointless metaphysical chitchat. We may finally understand how brains work and why sometimes they don’t. We might even discover truly effective treatments for depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and dementia and chuck our current quasi-therapies.
It is because I have such high hopes for neuroscience that I’m so upset by two trends in financing of the field. One involves neuroscience’s growing dependence on the Pentagon, which is seeking new ways to help our soldiers and harm our enemies. For a still-timely overview of neuroweapons research, check out the 2006 book Mind Wars by bioethicist Jonathan Moreno of the University of Pennsylvania. (PR disclosure: I brought Moreno to my school to give a talk on March 10.) Potential neuroweapons include drugs, transcranial magnetic stimulators and implanted brain chips that soup up the sensory capacities and memories of soldiers, as well as brain-scanners and electromagnetic beams that read, control or scramble the thoughts of bad guys.
When Moreno was writing his book, neuroscientists were reluctant to talk about their affair with the Pentagon and seemed embarrassed by it. No longer. Last year the National Academy of Sciences published a 136-page report, Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications, that makes an unabashed pitch for militarizing brain research. The authors include the neuroluminaries Floyd Bloom of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and editor-in-chief of Science; and Michael Gazzaniga of the University of California at Santa Barbara. Both are members of the U.S. Council on Bioethics.
Here are some ethical questions: Will the militarization of neuroscience really make the world safer, or just trigger a new arms race? Have researchers considered how non-Americans are likely to perceive our neuroweapons program? Some neuroscientists dismiss bionic warriors as a sci-fi fantasy unlikely to be realized soon, if ever. But then should researchers exploit the U.S. military’s gullibility?
What about taking advantage of baby boomers—like me–desperately trying to ward off the effects of aging? That brings me to another disturbing neuroeconomics trend. A firm called Posit Science recently started sending me unsolicited emails bragging about how its software programs, which cost about $400 each, have been “clinically proven to help you: Think Faster. Focus Better. Remember More.” The marketing reminded me of cheesy infomercials for exercise gadgets like the Ab Rocket or Bowflex. The Posit Science website revealed, to my surprise, that the company was co-founded by Michael Merzenich of the University of California at San Francisco, an authority on neuroplasticity.
Posit Science is one of many companies in the “neurobics” industry, which raked in $265 million in 2008, according to one market-research firm. There is no solid evidence that these brain-fitness devices exercise the brain more than, say, playing Texas Hold ‘Em with buddies or even taking a brisk walk, which you can do for free, a Scientific American review of “brain games” concluded last year. The Stanford Center on Longevity warns that improved performance on software programs may not “translate into improved performance in the complex realm of everyday life.”
Neuroscientists are attempting to solve the most profound secrets of human existence. They should adhere to higher ethical standards than defense contractors and infomercial pitchmen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Horgan, a former Scientific American staff writer, directs the Center for Science Writings at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Chomsky on globalization
<
countries have diverged. In contrast with the past, what is good for
America's global corporations is no longer necessarily good for the American
people.>>
RG mail
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/26-14
Common Dreams Marxch 26, 2010
New York Times Syndicate
Globalization Marches On
Growing popular outrage has not challenged corporate power.
By Noam Chomsky
Shifts in global power, ongoing or potential, are a lively topic among
policy makers and observers. One question is whether (or when) China will
displace the United States as the dominant global player, perhaps along with
India.
03.27.10
Billions more stars…
Universe Has Billions More Stars Than Thought
by Discovery News
http://richarddawkins.net/articles/5333
The Greatest Hoax on Earth?
by PRWeb
The Greatest Hoax on Earth? New Book Challenges Richard Dawkins on Evolution
The Greatest Hoax on Earth? New Book Challenges Richard Dawkins on Evolution
Powder Springs, GA (PRWEB) March 26, 2010 — Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, author of the world’s best-selling creation book, takes Dawkins on head to head in the book “The Greatest Hoax on Earth? Refuting Dawkins on Evolution”. Dr. Sarfati thoroughly exposes the bankruptcy of Dawkins’ arguments and scrutinizes Dawkins’ methods, highlighting tactics which he deems are unreasonable and illogical – such as frequently resorting to straw-man arguments.
Dr Jonathan Sarfati, scientist, chessmaster, logician and Christian apologist knows well the creation vs evolution controversy. Before publishing The Greatest Hoax on Earth?, Dr. Sarfati authored the best-selling book, Refuting Evolution, which now has over 500,000 copies in print. His confident and rigorous approach always makes for interesting and thrilling reading, as he tackles his opponents head-on. Dr. Sarfati also tackles the ethical and biblical issues that accompany the creation vs. evolution issue.
The Greatest Hoax on Earth? Refuting Dawkins on Evolution provides a penetrating examination of Dr Dawkins’ anti-creationist magnum opus. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of biology, geology, fossils, radiometric dating, and more, Dr. Sarfati thoroughly exposes the bankruptcy of Dawkins’ arguments. Thousands of years ago, King Solomon wrote, “The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him.” Sarfati maintains that arguments for evolution and against creation sound convincing only when they are unexamined.
…
Bad news of intelligent design…
The Bad News of Intelligent Design
Darwinian evolution is the creation story of atheism. It is the tale of nothing becoming everything through an incremental, unguided process of random change and adaptation.
Yet despite its many logical and technical difficulties—not the least of which is explaining how nothing became a “something” to get the whole process started—the narrative has captured the imaginations of a wide spectrum of individuals, religious and non-religious alike.
Booby prize
For Templeton Prize, intelligent design opponent Francisco Ayala
UC Irvine evolutionary biologist Francisco Ayala has won the 2010 Templeton Prize, which honors those who make ‘an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension.’
Dino extinctions and climate
Prolonged Climatic Stress Main Reason for Mass Extinction 65 Million Years Ago, Paleontologist Says
ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2010) — Long-term climate fluctuations were probably the main reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs and other creatures 65 million years ago.
Observing proteins
Behavior of Single Protein Observed in Unprecedented Detail
ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2010) — For the first time, researchers have been able to confine and study an individual protein, one that plays a key role in photosynthesis, without having to pin it down so tightly as to alter its fundamental behavior.
Playing pong
Playing ‘Pong’ With the Blink of an Eye
ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2010) — University students have developed a computer game that is operated by eye movements, which could allow people with severe physical disabilities to become ‘gamers’ for the first time.
Fat and healing
Your Fat May Help You Heal: Researcher Extracts Natural Scaffold for Tissue Growth
ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2010) — It frequently happens in science that what you throw away turns out to be most valuable. It happened to Deepak Nagrath, but not for long.
Intimidation
Bonfire of the Intellectuals
Paul Berman’s outraged attack on Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s attackers.
By Ron Rosenbaum
http://www.slate.com/id/2248809/
Teacher Sued For Bashing Christianity
Teacher Sued For Bashing Christianity — Will Others Be Censored?
A teacher in California was found to have violated a student’s First Amendment rights by disparaging religion in the classroom. The ruling could silence outspoken teachers.
What replaces industrial age?
Are We Selfish Individuals or an Empathic Society? The Answer Could Determine Whether We Have a Future
The industrial age built on and propelled by fossil fuels is coming to an end. What replaces it is at the center of our fight for survival.
Banks to pay no tax
Bank of America, Wells Fargo Probably Won’t Pay Income Tax for 2009
by Christina Rexrode
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/27-4
This tax season will be kind to Bank of America and Wells Fargo: It appears that neither bank will have to pay federal income taxes for 2009.
Hatred as a Political Strategy
Published on Saturday, March 27, 2010 by The Boston Globe
Hatred as a Political Strategy
by Derrick Z. Jackson
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/27-3
New age of geological time
RG mail
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/geology/7528264/Earth-entering-new-age-of-geological-time.html
Earth ‘entering new age of geological time’
The Earth has entered a new age of geological time – the epoch of new man, scientists claim.
In a coma, pulling the plug
In a Coma, With the Plug Pulled on Health Insurance
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/26-6
The broken society
RG mail
by David Brooks, Op-Ed Columnist
The New York Times (March 19 2010)
The United States is becoming a broken society. The public has contempt
for the political class. Public debt is piling up at an astonishing and
unrelenting pace. Middle-class wages have lagged. Unemployment will remain
high. It will take years to fully recover from the financial crisis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/opinion/19brooks.html
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