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Science (Both Physical and Life) is Back in the Conference Stimulus Bill

SEA (again) has the details of the result of the House and Senate conference bill for economic stimulus. Here are the parts related to science: Provides $3 billion for the National Science Foundation, for basic research in fundamental science and engineering - which spurs discovery and innovation. Provides $1.6 billion for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, which funds research in such areas as climate science, biofuels, high-energy physics, nuclear physics and fusion energy sciences - areas crucial to our energy future. Provides $400 million for the Advanced Research Project…

Now that is one big snake

Imagine the size of the mice it would eat: Named Titanoboa cerrejonensis by its discoverers, the size of the snake's vertebrae suggest it weighed 1140 kg (2,500 pounds) and measured 13 metres (42.7 feet) nose to tail tip. A report describing the find appears in this week's Nature. Drs Jason Head and David Polly carried out much of the quantitative work behind the discovery whilst working in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London; they identified the position of the fossil vertebrae which made a size estimate possible. Now based at the University…

Schadenfreude: 10 Worst Predictions of 2008

Not to indulge in too much schadenfreude, but some of these are pretty funny. Foreign Policy compiled the 10 most astonishing wrong predictions for 2008: "There is a real possibility of creating destructive theoretical anomalies such as miniature black holes, strangelets and deSitter space transitions. These events have the potential to fundamentally alter matter and destroy our planet." -- Walter Wagner, LHCDefense.org Scientist Walter Wagner, the driving force behind Citizens Against the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is making his bid to be the 21st century's version of Chicken Little for…

A Reassuring Schedule for Yucca Mountain

I don't want to get into the issue of whether the nuclear storage site at Yucca Mountain is a good idea. (The folks over at SEA know a whole lot more about the subject than I do.) My gut instinct is that the whole thing will cost a fortune -- and likely much more than the estimates -- but if we are committed to carbon-free power, then we must be prepared to make sacrifices. However, it is satisfying to see that a final decision about whether to build the thing is proceeding speedily along: After twenty years of study by more than 2,000 scientists and engineers about the feasibility of…

Must Read on Psychological Differences and Gender

I often rant about bad coverage of the psychology of sex differences, so it is always satisfying to see an article that really has their facts straight. Amanda Schaffer and Emily Bazelon, writing in Slate, have an excellent article reviewing Louann Brizendine's The Female Brain and Susan Pinker's The Sexual Paradox. They take both authors to task for selective use of the literature, using evidence that is dated, and for ignoring the complexity of the subject. The bottom line from the science should really be this: Some differences between the minds of men and women exist. But in most areas,…

Baby Beluga Needs a Name

Whale or little alien? How can we be sure... A couple of months ago we covered the birth of a baby beluga whale to mama Mauyak at the Shedd Aquarium. Well now Shedd is asking for your help in naming the rambunctious little tyke. A variety of names from the Pacific Northwest that are equally meaningless to an English speaker's ear can be selected: Ipiktok (Ip-eek-tock) Very keen or sharp Opipok (Oh-pee-pock) Admirable, to admire Tuwawi (Too-wah-wee) Quick Nilak (Nee-lock) Fresh water ice Kimalu (Kee-ma-loo) Traditional Inuit name given to special people Mituk (Mee-took) Small snow layer on…

Awesome movies of zebrafish embryogenesis

This reconstruction, produced by researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany using a technique called digital scanned laser light sheet fluorescence microscopy, shows the movements of all 16,000 cells in an 18-hour-old zebrafish embryo. To make the film, the researchers injected a fluorescent protein into an embryo at the one cell stage. They began imaging at the 64-cell stage and recorded 370 images, each less than 3 thousandths of a millimeter apart, in multiple directions at 1,226 time points separated by 90 second intervals. The recording was…

The worst diffuses well

It's really a shame: the United States does have some very good things, like an excellent higher education system (which is declining with drooping support, but that's a different subject), a fine Constitution, and good pizza, but what is making headway in the rest of the world? McDonalds and creationism. Turkey has the creationism bug even worse than we do, and guess who infected them? In the 1980s, Turkey was still reeling from a military coup d’etat. The socially conservative government that took control after the junta relinquished power changed the science curriculum in schools, Kence…

Huckabee: The Greatest Communicator Since Reagan

Mike Huckabee plays guitar and jokes about his weight on The Tonight Show. Last night on Jay Leno, Mike Huckabee put in the best late night performance in presidential history, potentially catapulting himself to a win in Iowa tonight and gaining enough momentum to march on to victory in South Carolina. As I explained when Fred Thompson launched his campaign on late night television, these types of appearances are a powerful new strategic tool in campaigns. On late night shows, candidates are usually able to offer their best personal narrative, and hopefully in the process, prime memories of…

In Missouri, More Political Trouble Over Stem Cell

Back in November, when Missouri passed a constitutional amendment protecting the ability of scientists to conduct embryonic stem cell research in the state, it was heralded as one more political victory for science, and a sign that even in the Midwest, proponents had turned the corner on conservative opposition. Yet the LA Times reports that the Amendment campaign has only served to catalyze opposition within the state legislature and among activists, threatening the state's ability to move forward with research: The amendment passed by fewer than 51,000 votes, or about two percentage…

REMEMBER ME CANCER? Genetech Turns to Patients to Promote the Social Progress Interpretation

Genetech is running ads in the NY Times, The New Yorker, and on their Web site that feature patients offering testimonials framed in social progress terms. The campaign is similar to the Bristol Myers Squib TV ads I described here. In a smart strategic move, the ad campaign "re-frames" the issue of biotech drugs away from the public accountability arguments centered on access and affordability, back towards an emphasis on a "hope for cures." Here is how the San Francisco Business Times details the ad campaign: Debbie Reynolds went public on her incontinence for Pharmacia. Bob Dole talked…

In Praise of Robert De Niro

I just wanted to say how amazingly brave and admirable I believe Robert De Niro's recent decisions have been regarding the screening of the anti-vaccination film "Vaxxed" at his Tribeca Film Festival. As this was apparently one of his first revelations of having an autistic child, his actions are all that more brave and admirable in my opinion (for whatever little my opinion is worth on this matter). To be searching for answers to how? and why? a member of your own family has autism has got to be unbelievably frustrating. To have a member of your family who has autism has got to be a lifelong…

More Fun With Our Post-Modern Politicians

Why is it that politicians who say they want to strengthen science teaching standards can sound so post-modern about science? Two examples: 1. John McCain grooving with the kids on MTV about evolution: "I see no reason why students should not be exposed to all theories, recognizing that Darwin's theory's certainly one that is generally accepted in most of the scientific community. I think it's not inappropriate to say there are also people who believe this. Let the student decide." [Emphasis mine] Okay students, we've spent our science class this year learning all theories about the universe…

A Question For The President

After a day-long road trip from Ohio, I finally had the chance to read the news that President Bush thinks that schools should discuss Intelligent Design alongside evolution, so that students can "understand what the debate is about." As Bush himself said, this is pretty much the same attitude he had towards creationism when he was a governor. His statements back in Texas didn't actually lead to any changes in Texas schools, and I doubt that these new remarks will have much direct effect, either. But, like Chris Mooney, I'm a journalist, and like him I would have loved to have been in the…

Metaphor, Me-ta-phor!

Readers of the Loom may recall an earlier post about how creationists (including proponents of Intelligent Design) misleadingly cite peer-reviewed scientific research in order to make their own claims sound more persuasive. I mentioned that when the scientists themselves find out their research has been misrepresented, they groan and protest. In case you thought I was exaggerating, check out National Academy of Science president's Bruce Albert's letter to the editor of the New York Times in response to Michael Behe's recent creationist Op-Ed. Behe quoted Alberts describing his early…

"Will someone please think of the (frozen) children?

H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, allows scientific use of embryos which were "created for the purposes of in vitro fertilization ... and in every single case are slated for medical waste." This doesn't prevent Sam Brownback (R-KS) from distorting this on the senate floor and playing the "will someone please think of the children" card. This is a chart she [Hannah, a seven year old child who was adopted as a frozen embryo] did last year when she was in Washington, talking, when the House was considering legislation, the same legislation, she did this chart, this letter that…

Help make a difference and perhaps win something

Educators will tell you that a good foundation at the K-2 level leads to success later on. My daughter has just finished first grade and over the past year alone has made significant strides in her reading, writing and math ability, all due to the dedication of her teachers. While we live in a relatively well-off school district, it is noticeable that, even here, teachers often need help in purchasing materials. In particular, teaching kids science requires supplies, and these cost money. And that's where you, my reader, comes in. A bunch of us at ScienceBlogs have set up Bloggers Challenges…

Fetishizing a flag (again)

Here in Arizoma there's a bill running through the senate (HB 2583) to make it mandatory for all classrooms (including tertiary level) to display a 2 ft by 3 ft Stars and Stripes - I guess we've solved all the other important problems. You can read about it here. While I have no real problem with this (as long as the universities don't have to pay for this - a fear shared by ASU's student government - and we're not forced to start every class with some sort of ritual), I do see the reasoning behind this as being, frankly, idiotic. Witness: "The flag represents everything that is good about…

On Mediocrity of Olympian Proportions

When I was growing up in Ireland, the Olympics were something worth watching; amateur athletes not getting monetary compensation, giving it their all, and happy to do so because it was the Olympics. Perhaps a major factor was the fact that Irish athletes were often outside shots to win, and when they did medal, it was priceless. Since coming to this country in 1994. I have to say that any love of the Olympics has been slowly but surely bled out of me. It's hard to choose why - the constant jingoism of the commentators, the human "interest" stories that go on longer than the actual events,…

Some advice for submitting a paper for scientific review

Peer-reviewing a submitted article can be an interesting process. On one hand, you get a chance to glimpse the latest findings in the field before they even become public (outside of the data appearing in an abstract or on a conference poster). There is also the challenge of putting your mind to the grindstone; a reviewer has to stay sharp and think around corners, pick out where fuzzy language might be masking a methodological problem, or find points of contention in the data that the authors missed. Yet he or she must also remain both tough and fair, so that when and if a paper is…

SchadenFriday Late Edition: The Passion of the Drunk

I refuse to see Mel Gibson's snuff film Passion because I'm pretty sure that Gibson has flipped his lid and I have no desire to see a guy in a rubber suit get flogged for 2 hours. The desire to even make such a movie suggests to me a diseased mind, and it seems like I might be getting confirmation. Evolution Denier Mel Gibson got a DUI, having a .12 BAC as compared to the California legal limit of .08. TMZ has learned that Deputy Mee audiotaped the entire exchange between himself and Gibson, from the time of the traffic stop to the time Gibson was put in the patrol car, and that the tape…

Following up on Leptin

Pure Pedantry found this paper on leptin's effects in the hippocampus, and then went on to wonder I have never heard of a link between leptin and memory. They also make this link between ABeta mice and leptin. ABeta is a protein whose accumulation has been linked to Alzheimer's. Mice that create to much ABeta show cognitive deficits. They show that an ABeta overproducing mouse also showed improvement when treated with leptin -- and link that result to the observation that leptin decreases ABeta. I am not sure what to make of that, but there is probably a metabolic story related to ABeta…

What Does Cognitive Training Do to Neural Activity?

How would an ideal behavioral method for cognitive enhancement actually affect the brain? Perhaps cognitive enhancement would be accompanied by more activity in the prefrontal cortex, indicating more successful engagement of control - or perhaps by less, indicating more efficient processing? Perhaps it would be accompanied by a transition from prefrontal activation to parietal activation, suggesting more automatic processing of task information. Perhaps it would make representations in prefrontal cortex more abstract and generalizable, or perhaps it would cause representations there to…

Distraction and Meditation: Less Default Network, But A Similar Ventral Network Among Expert Meditators

How does meditation experience functionally change the brain, and what effects does this have on distractibility? These are the questions addressed in a 2006 PNAS article from Brefczynski-Lewis et al, who compare expert meditators (between 10,000 and 54,000 hours of meditation experience) with two age-matched novice groups, one paid to help control for any motivation-related differences between groups. As compared to a resting condition, the neural correlates of meditation changed with experience according to a U-shaped function: those with the most and least meditation experience show…

Women Make Strides in Science, Barriers Still To Overcome

Five years ago Lawrence Summers, then president of Harvard, made headlines when he suggested that women are not as well represented in science because of "issues of intrinsic aptitude." By proposing that women are biologically less capable of succeeding in science he gained the anger of many of his colleagues and continued his reputation for divisive management (African-American Studies professor Cornel West reportedly left Harvard for Princeton based on disagreements he had with Summers). Now, a report released today on the representation of women in science reveals that, while there are…

Orangutans Confront Their Fear of Water For Sex

An adolescent female orangutan practices her ape stroke.Image: Anne Russon / New Scientist Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) are not the most dexterous of creatures (especially for primates) and this is particularly true when they're in water. Zoos across the country have removed the moats surrounding their exhibits precisely because of their tendency to sink. However, researchers Anne Russon, Purwo Kuncoro, Agnes Ferisa, and Dwi Putri Handayani have just published a paper in the Journal of Comparative Psychology showing how a group of orangutans on Kaja Island in Indonesia have developed an…

An Open Letter to the Animal Liberation Front

(updated below) My piece for The Huffington Post has just gone up concerning the latest incidents involving neuroscientist Dario Ringach and the targeting of his children by animal rights extremists. For more on this see Dr. Free-Ride, PZ, PalMD, Scicurious, MarkCC, Nick Anthis, Drugmonkey and Orac. Dear ALF, I address you not because your organization is directly behind these latest abuses, but because your organization is emblematic of the radical approach that some animal rights activists have been inspired to take. I want you to know that I support your goals at the same time that I…

What a werewolf!

I've been picking up some old movies on DVD lately to improve my education in the classics: specifically, an old favorite, the Hammer horror films. Yesterday, to take a break from class prep, I watched one I hadn't seen before, Curse of the Werewolf. It has an interesting plot, a bit more thoughtful and melancholy than your usual monster movie, but what really wakes up the show is the actor in the lead: Oliver Reed. Whoa. I swear, I really am a boringly straight guy and wholeheartedly monogamous to boot, but Reed was one scarily, dangerously, manly fellow. He's intense, tormented, and even…

Obama Likely Manchurian Candidate, One Guy Reports

As the term of President B. Hussein Obama begins its transformation of American democracy into a socialist state, one guy saw early indications of his minority-led red revolution. "He spent his childhood in a Mohammadean country," the guy said, "they could easily have started his indoctrination at that time." Citing no sources, but using flawless reasoning, the guy reported that the clues are everywhere. "Do you see how he can't go anywhere without a teleprompter? What better way to feed him the party line? This way, his handlers can feed him lines in real time, and they can be safely…

Alexis de Tocqueville Institute takes another beating

The Alexis de Tocqueville Institute's attack on Linux gets taken apart in Lee Gomes' Wall Street Journal article: An institute study issued last month ups the ante in Linux criticism. It tries to prove that Linux's Linus Torvalds has always been contemptuous of intellectual-property laws, starting with the very birth of Linux. The implication: Since Linux is tainted, potential users may one day find themselves in court. ... If Mr. Torvalds had the larcenous heart of a software pirate, it would be very simple to prove. Linux, you'll recall, is totally…

Science Communication 2.0

I can't say enough about ScienceOnline09, and about how useful meetings like this can be. When you toss a bunch of smart people from various disciplines together, add a little ethanol, and shake vigorously, you get some interesting results. I had the chance to chat a bit with Dave Munger (hi Dave, hi Greta---great to meet you guys!) who put together researchblogging.org, an aggregator of blog posts on peer-reviewed research. It's a great tool. Let's say you want to blog about a cool journal article. You can shoot over to researchblogging.org, generate a citation, and place a badge on…

Extreme Physiology: Radiation tolerance

Don't let their small size fool you. Tardigrades, or 'water bears', are really tough animals. According to a review published in the American Scientist, these microscopic invertebrates can survive extreme variations in temperature from near absolute zero (-459 deg F) up to +302 deg F. They can also tolerate pressures that are 6 times greater than the deepest ocean, exposure to ionizing radiation (UV and x-ray) and the vacuum of space, as well as exposure to carbon dioxide and monoxide, nitrogen and sulfur dioxide. What's more, they can survive nearly complete dehydration, an ability called…

"Lethal milk"

Zinc deficiency is sometimes diagnosed in infants who are exclusively breast-fed. It can occur because of a dysfunctional zinc transporter in the mother, which prevents zinc from being secreted into the breast milk through a special zinc transporter in the epithelial cells of the mammary gland (Chowanadisai et al., 2006). It could also be inherited. Zinc is important for the production of lactose (milk sugar). In addition, infants with zinc deficiency may develop dermatitis on their face (image below), diarrhea, as well as neurological changes which may alter their behavior (Medscape). A new…

Another reason to admire the naked mole rat

Image of a naked mole rat from www.animals.sandiegozoo.org The naked mole rat is the longest lived rodent species (>31 years). Unlike most mammals, they seem resistant to many age-associated ailments until much later in life, making them an exciting model of healthy aging. They are also resistant to the development of cancer as mentioned in this prior post. According to the CDC, cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of roughly 600,000 people annually (or 1 out of every 4 deaths). In a new study published in the American…

Scaredy snakes?

Image of a green tree python from www.kids.britannica.com J.H. Pete Carmichael—The Image Bank/Getty Images Dr. Greg Byrnes (Siena College, Loudonville, NY) and Dr. Bruce Jayne (University of Cincinnati, OH) discovered that snakes use more force than is necessary to support their weight when climbing.  To climb, snakes rely on friction and repeatedly contract and extend their bodies, a process called concertina locomotion. To study the forces generated by snakes during this type of locomotion, the researchers constructed a vertical cylinder that was covered with textured tennis racket tape…

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in pets

Dogs, like people, are susceptible to a form of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) known as canine compulsive disorder (CCD). In fact, the news story at the end of this blog describes CCD and also discusses a form of OCD in Siamese and Persian cats that is related to stress. A prior study suggested that dogs are good models for OCD in humans since their physiology is similar and they share the same environment as humans. Dr. Hannes Lohi (University of Helsinki) and colleagues found that dogs who received vitamin and mineral supplements were less likely to exhibit CCD (measured as excessive…

High-fibre breakfast enhances fat burning during exercise

Image by thebittenword.com Last year I posted results from a study which suggest that having a breakfast high in fibre may be more satiating for a smaller number of calories, and thus may be one important way to help manage hunger and thus caloric intake. Today I came across another new study which suggests that a breakfast high in fibre and with a low glycemic index (the degree to which an ingested food causes a spike in blood glucose levels) may enhance fat oxidation during a subsequent bout of exercise. In this small study published in the Journal of Nutrition, 8 young and sedentary…

Balancing open & collaboration with private & individual

A quick note on the tension between sharing everything as quickly as possible and keeping things for yourself. The thrill of collaboration when like minds come together to brainstorm and solve big problems and the egoboo of having something you created "liked" or reused should not exclude or overshadow the value of figuring things out for yourself and having something you can point to as your own. Recent posts from Sabine and Cameron got me thinking about this a little more. There are also some excellent comments on Sabine's post. I think it's important to go offline for a bit and to work…

A matter of Life and er... Matter

As I was stuffing my face today, I wondered if the Universe cared. The short answer is no. The slightly longer and more depressing answer is: my existence is more marginal than a speck of stray DNA on a grain of sand staring at vast oceans (that's literally true, oh the irony...). Clearly, there's no point to existence except amusement. So, here's some: On average, each of us human beings from birth till death consume about (2000 per day x 365 days x 70 years) calories. That is a pretty big number (51,100,000 calories).Big, of course, is a relative term. The big calories translates to about…

TheScian Scifi Contest 2008 - Results!

First prize Aski's Choice by Rinku Dutta Second prize 21 Minutes by Rahul Jaisheel Sponsored prize Noah's Ark by Narendra Desirazu Selected stories Live and Exclusive by Aditya Sudarshan (winner of our first scifi contest in 2006) Touchstone by J Ramanand (winner of the contest in 2007) Of Resolutions with Capital R's by Shuchikar The prize winning stories will be published next week. The selected stories will be published one at a time in the following weeks. While I and the authors prepare the stories for publication, I invite young writers to visit TheScian Writer's Kit, a compendium of…

A very personal review of 2007

Read the novels "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (see a note) and "Measuring the world". Read a few of Borges's stories, but I am yet to read him more thoroughly. 2008 would be that year, I hope. Is magic realism the voice of the so-called third world? Rediscovered Shakespeare through a rereading of a few plays (Tempest, Julius Caesar) and his sonnets. What a man! what a man! We know almost nothing about him, but his creations, oh, his creations are what dreams are made of! For the first time, listened to Andrea Bocelli and Joshua Bell. A pleasure like no other. Opera and classical music is…

TheScian - July Newsletter

The July issue of the newsletter that I write to keep you informed of The Scientific Indian website is out today. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can subscribe and also read the previous issues at TheScian.com. The number of visitors to TheScian.com has grown steadily the past one month. More heartening than the growth is the amount of time each visitor spends here which averages to about 6 minutes during each visit. This is almost like sitting all through a classical music concert when Kylie Minogue is playing in the neighborhood. I am very glad of this fact. We have more content to…

Correlation between gun use and lower injury rates

Method of % Completed % Attacked % Injured Num Times Self Protection Used(a) Used gun 30.9 25.2 17.4 89,009 Used Knife 35.2 55.6 40.3 59,813 Used other weapon 28.9 41.5 22.0 104,700 Used physical force 50.1 75.6 50.8 1,653,880 Tried to get help or frighten offender 63.9 73.5 48.9 1,516,141 Threatened or reasoned with offender 53.7…

Are with-knife assaults as dangerous as with-gun assaults?

(C. D. Tavares) writes: Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice, Second Edition, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ-105506, March 1988. For 1985, for robbery and assaults, the following is how many incidents involved a firearm and how many involved a knife. Robbery Assault ------- ------- Firearm 23% 12% Knife 21% 10% In both robbery and assault, a gun was actually fired and hit the victim only 4% of the time in all incidents in 1985. Victims were actually stabbed in 10% in the incidents involving knives. Gun and knife…

Perth's Water Crisis

A news story at BBC on the Australian city of Perth. The Australian of the year 2007, environmentalist Tim Flannery, once predicted that Perth in Western Australia could become the world's first ghost metropolis, its population forced to abandon the city due to lack of water. ... People consume a lot of energy. It is a car-dependent city with little public transport. Many of the luxury houses overlooking the ocean (known locally as "starter mansions") boast currently fashionable black roofs that soak up the heat in temperatures of up to 42 degrees in summer, and produce a greater need for air…

Child Abuse - Indian Government Report

National Study on Child Abuse here (200 pages report). I haven't read it fully. A few things I noted: My home state Tamilnadu was not part of the survey - of the southern states, Andhra and Kerala are. The summary shown below is a slap in the face of any society that lets such atrocities happen to its children. I read a related post via reddit that got me thinking. Take a predominantly patriarchal society - like all other societies of , well, almost all times; let this society wither time and space like no other over a few thousand years; let social cohesion be defined by fluid but loosely…

Bogus pro-gun factoids

Diederich Andrew Richard said: What you need to know before the fight begins is that the gun control lobby has no intention of fighting a good fight based on truth and accuracy. They intend to use disinformation, inaccuracy and lies to mislead you. And then follows an article full of disinformation, inaccuracy and lies. I'll just comment on the new stuff. Remember Morton Grove? That was the suburban community in Illinois where liberal anti-gunners wrested control of local government and passed a local ordinance that prohibited anyone but a peace officer from owning a handgun. What the…

Unstrung in the New Yorker

An excellent essay on the current state of physics at The New Yorker by Jim Holt. It is the best of times in physics. Physicists are on the verge of obtaining the long-sought Theory of Everything. In a few elegant equations, perhaps concise enough to be emblazoned on a T-shirt, this theory will reveal how the universe began and how it will end. The key insight is that the smallest constituents of the world are not particles, as had been supposed since ancient times, but "strings"--tiny strands of energy. By vibrating in different ways, these strings produce the essential phenomena of nature,…

Belief in Astrology is alright?

Thanks to gaddeswarup who linked to Current Science, an academic science publication in India, I went over to read the current issue. Featured in it under "Astrology and science" is a letter from R V Karanth (of the Geological Society of India), who was commenting about an earlier article on astrology. I quote, It is true that astrology is unscientific, at least for those who do not believe in it. I being a `non-believer' vehemently used to argue against the belief in astrology and wearing stones for astrological purÂposes. Nevertheless, of late, I have a feeling that believing in…

G B Shaw on War

To nature, the life of an empire is no more than the life of a swarm of bees, and a thousand years are of lesser count than half an hour to you and me. Now the moral of that is that we must not depend on any sort of divine providence to put a stop to war. Providence says, 'Kill one another my children, kill one another to your hearts content. There are plenty more where you came from.' Consequently, if we want the war to stop we must all become conscientious objectors. I'm not forgetting the gratification that war gives to the instinct of pugnacity and admiration of courage that are so strong…