Politics
jtoney | November 29, 2011This article was co-authored with Dr. Morad Abou-Sabe', President of the Arab American League of Voters of New Jersey.
CNN's Ivan Watson talks to John King from Cairo about his exclusive interview with Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim. {February 9, 2011}
The Egyptian revolution of January 25th, 2011 created widespread euphoria of the kind only wide-eyed optimists enjoy. It was a moment in Egypt's history that should never be forgotten. It evolved naturally after six decades of oppressive military rule of Egyptians who had - almost - given up hope of any chance for change. Increasing…
illconsidered | November 28, 2011(not an original moniker in the title, someone remind me where it came from so I can give credit where credit is due!)
While I think the approriate response to ClimateGate 2.0 is to ignore it, I also think the mainstream media is doing mostly just that so it is safer to bring your attention to this good rebuttal to the whole affair from potholer54 on YouTube:
I think the most telling quote echoing around the denialosphere right now is this one from Jonathan Overpeck:
The trick may be to decide on the main message and use that to guid what's included and what is left out.
It's supposed to…
catdynamics | November 22, 2011Matthew Bailes has another excellent entry in the "State of Science" series of public conversations on science:
Selling Science: The Lure of the Dark Side
gregladen | November 22, 2011We know that the right wing revels in stupidity; Willful stupidity and well practiced stupidity are thought to be the way elitist anti-populous tax-the-middle-class Republicans capture support from the masses. Seems to work rather well. But increasingly this trope of (ig)noble ignorance is being supplemented by large doses of mean spirited in your face angry verbal assault. Imagine a member of congress saying to an expert witness at a committee hearing "As long as I'm sitting here and you're sitting there, I can call you whatever I want."
Seriously. The last time I heard that kind of…
pharyngula | November 22, 2011I've heard of the Scoville scale, which measures the potency of spicy peppers. Those boring green bell peppers get a 0; habaneros get a score of 350,000.
The stuff those UC Davis police officers so casually hosed into the faces of peacefully demonstrating students? between 2,000,000 and 5,300,000 Scoville units.
But we've taken to calling it pepper spray, I think, because that makes it sound so much more benign than it really is, like something just a grade or so above what we might mix up in a home kitchen. The description hints maybe at that eye-stinging effect that the cook occasionally…
drorzel | November 20, 2011Including pretty much anybody wearing a helmet in this video from UC-Davis:
That's just disgraceful, all the way around (with the possible exception of the chubby hatless cop in the first part of the video, who appears to be behaving in a more reasonable manner than his armored colleagues). I feel a tiny bit bad for the fact that the pepper-spray-wielding officer now has his name and contact information splashed all over the Internet, and the resulting world of shit that will crash down upon him. After all, as Alexis Madrgial notes, he's the product of a terrible system. But then again,…
gregladen | November 19, 2011This is a bit long but you will benefit from watching all of it. It gets extra hot at 31:30.
I love the look on that woman's face at 31:38 and again at 31:47. LOL.
This particular member of congress, Don Young from Alaska, needs to get unelected. Frank J. Vondersaar seems to be the guy running against him, and this seems to be his web site. You can donate money to help Frank's campaign here.
I was originally made aware of this testimony from a blog post at Get Energy Smart blog, HERE. Please go check that out.
sa smith | November 17, 2011Recently, several impossible events have happened here in Oklahoma City:
1-- 5.6 magnitude earthquake
2-- Abbie rides motorcycles
3-- OKC add sexual orientation to nondiscrimination policy
END TIMES! END TIMES!!!!!
Just last week, it was entirely legal for, say, an OKC fire department, not to hire someone because they thought the applicant was gay.
It would not have been be legal for them to not hire someone just because they are female.
It would not have been be legal for them to not hire someone just because they were Hispanic.
It would not have been be legal for them to not hire someone…
esiegel | November 15, 2011"If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance." -Abraham Lincoln
It was nearly four years ago that I started blogging back at my old site, branching out from the hardcore research of physical cosmology and the teaching of physics and astronomy, and into what I think of as science communication.
Image credit: The cover of Paul Halpern's book.
And there have been a number of very curious things I've learned, some of which I expected and some of which caught me by surprise.
The least surprising: the entirety of our experience in this world is something…
esiegel | November 11, 2011"After all, facts are facts, and although we may quote one to another with a chuckle the words of the Wise Statesman, 'Lies - damned lies - and statistics,' still there are some easy figures the simplest must understand, and the astutest cannot wriggle out of." -Leonard Courtney, 1895
"The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat oneself." -Philip James Bailey
In the study of any scientific field, there are two great perils that you have to be careful to avoid: fraud and incompetence. Incompetence could be as innocuous as making a simple mistake in your analysis, a contamination of your data…
catdynamics | November 9, 2011I live just around the corner from Joe Paterno.
This morning there was a little horde of reporters and cameras across the street, hoping to get that little 15 second glimpse of the man, for the early evening news shot.
Last night, several hundred students gathered outside to voice support for the Paternos, who were clearly moved and grateful for the demonstration, which also provided some scenic shots for the news.
I can't comment on the case.
I also have no first hand knowledge, just what I read in the news.
The last few days have been an interesting ongoing lesson, not just in the evil…
oracknows | November 8, 2011I've written about the concept of "misinformed" consent with respect to the anti-vaccine movement. To summarize, "misinformed consent" is a perversion of the concept of informed consent in which cranks claim to be championing true informed consent (and, by implication, that opponents have not) when in fact they are presenting a scientifically unsupportable assessment of the risks and benefits of an intervention. In the case of vaccines, anti-vaccine activists play up the risks of vaccines far beyond what science supports, attributing to them, for instance, risks of autism, autoimmune disease…
sastyk | November 8, 2011A superb article by Benjamin Dueholm in Washington Monthly about Foster Parenting and its connection to politics and a whole host of other things. Well worth a read:
In a way that we never really anticipated, welcoming Sophia into our home led us into the wilderness of red tape and frustration navigated every day by low-income parents who struggle to raise children with the critical help of government programs. That same week, the office of the bone specialist who had treated Sophia's broken leg at the hospital tried to get out of scheduling her for an urgent follow-up appointment. Like many…
illconsidered | November 8, 2011Peter Sinclair has a good run down of recent politically motivated FOIA fishing expeditions into climate and other scientist emails.
It includes mention of the recent good news in the ATI v UVa case where the court agreed with UVa that the ATI and their lawyers could not be trusted to see emails UVa has claimed should be exempt from the FOIA request for the purpose of challenging that excemption. Ouch. But good call, I am sure.
Peter also includes mention of an excellent non-climate science related example of the same tactic in the case of a Wisconsin history professor, William Cronon,…
jrosenhouse | November 5, 2011Your homework for today is to go read Michael Shermer's op-ed in the L. A. Times about the big “In God We Trust” vote. Shermer's take?
As risible a reason as this was for knocking out a few bricks in the wall separating state and church, it was at least understandable in the context of the times. But today, what is the point of having this motto? There are no communist threats, and belief in God or a universal spirit among Americans is still holding strong at about 90%, according to a 2011 Gallup Poll. The answer is in the wording of the resolution voted on: “Whereas if religion and…
stoat | November 4, 2011Or rather, drops euro referendum plan1 but the effect is much the same.
When the referendum was announced a few days ago, some thought he had played a blindingly good political hand. Which just goes to show that economists aren't so great at politics and the cobbler should stick to his last. Which is why I'm commenting, obviously. But the argument - that he had magically got out of a difficult position (the Greek public didn't like the deal that was struck, this was he evaded responsibility, and maybe the need to buy off the public might result in a better deal) sounded quite plausible to me…
catdynamics | October 28, 2011As you know, Bob, the NSF Portfolio Review is under way.
The NSF is urgently requesting community input for the process.
AST Portfolio Review
Community Input Invited
This is important.
It is highly desirable that a significant number of people provide concise and explicit input to the committee before christmas, in order to give the members a sense of the priorities of the community.
This is the only formal input process.
WHERE TO SEND INPUT
Send your comments to astportfolio@nsf.gov. Please do not contact committee members individually.
The input window will be open from October 26, 2011,…
pharyngula | October 27, 2011You must watch this episode of the Daily Show — it's all about science. Lisa Randall is on it plugging her new book, Knocking on Heaven's Door (she actually doesn't get to say much about it, but I've ordered it for my iPad anyway — I know what I'll be reading on the plane to New Orleans tomorrow), a good section on the recent confirmation of global warming, and my favorite bit of all, Aasif Mandvi blithely leading a chipper Republican operative to agree with the most egregiously ignorant, anti-science claims.
Mandvi: Why are surgeons the only ones allowed to perform surgeries?
Blithering…
sa smith | October 27, 2011I was recently chatting with a friend from South America about my excitement about getting to see Ayaan Hirsi Ali speak right here in Oklahoma. He had never heard of her before, which of course flipped me into super-fan-mode and I started gushing about her life and accomplishments and powerful voice and OMFG SHE IS SO PRETTY.
I also tried to carefully, tactfully mention the topic of female genital mutilation and the way women get treated in other societies (and how it is creeping into our society) and her AHA Foundation.
My friend couldnt understand my 'gentle' description of female genital…
catdynamics | October 19, 2011
The NSF Astronomy division is commencing a Portfolio Review process...
"Based on the FY2011 budget appropriation and the FY2012 budget request, the optimistic budget assumed in the Astro2010 recommendations is unlikely to materialize. Therefore, NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) is commencing a Portfolio Review process. Unlike the 2006 Senior Review, which considered the future only of AST-supported facilities, this review will encompass the entire portfolio of AST-supported facilities, programs, and other activities. The goal of the review is to recommend to AST how support for…