Politics
jrosenhouse | December 17, 2009I'm talking about the health care bill, of course.
The people I tend to trust on these sorts of questions, such as Robert Reich and Paul Krugman (here and here respectively) say the bill does more good than harm, and sets us down a path towards further improvements later. They also point out, rightly in my view, that if this moment passes we will not have another shot at serious health care reform for quite some time.
The trouble is that Howard Dean is also pretty convincing when he writes
If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill. Any measure that expands…
emjohnson | December 17, 2009 Wall Street's shadow in New York CityAs the education reformer and philosopher John Dewey once stated, "politics is the shadow cast on society by big business, the attenuation of the shadow will not change the substance." Unlike other critics of scientific communication, it is my contention that as long as we only address the shadow we will never create substantive change on such pressing scientific issues as health care and the climate crisis. Today James Hrynyshyn at Island of Doubt has linked to an excellent post highlighting this very concern. The post is from an anonymous employee…
jrosenhouse | December 15, 2009I have always scoffed at people who say there is only the Republicrat party in this country, but after reading this depressing piece by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone I'm not so sure.
What's taken place in the year since Obama won the presidency has turned out to be one of the most dramatic political about-faces in our history. Elected in the midst of a crushing economic crisis brought on by a decade of orgiastic deregulation and unchecked greed, Obama had a clear mandate to rein in Wall Street and remake the entire structure of the American economy. What he did instead was ship even his…
emjohnson | December 15, 2009Sex workers in Denmark have offered free sex in response to Copenhagen Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard's attempt to discourage prostitution during the COP15 Climate Change Conference. The City Council had postcards delivered to 160 hotels where conference delegates and associates of COP15 would be staying and paid for advertisements in local newspapers that read:
'Be sustainable: Don't buy sex!'
However, prostitution is legal throughout Scandinavia and sex workers have formed unions to protect themselves from exploitation and harassment. In response SIO (Sexarbejdernes Interesse Organisation; or…
pharyngula | December 15, 2009Peter Watts is a biologist and a science fiction author who combines the two beautifully — watch his fictional presentation on vampires to a pharmacology group to see what I mean. He's also a Canadian who was driving from the US to his home in Toronto when he was assaulted by American border guards, apparently provoked by his temerity in asking why they were rummaging through his luggage. You can read Watts' account of the episode, or the story on BoingBoing, and Making Light, but the bottom line is this: a writer was beaten, pepper-sprayed, arrested, and threatened with two years in jail for…
emjohnson | December 15, 2009The Guardian environment editor John Vidal, who first reported on the "Danish Text" that would seek to eliminate the Kyoto Protocol and allow wealthy nations to maintain double the carbon pollution as poor nations, has filed this report from Copenhagen. The outrage by developing nations was felt again last night as wealthy delegates met secretly and held "informal consultations with selected countries."
catdynamics | December 14, 2009"The controversy over "Climategate" continues to heighten as some Pennsylvania legislators question the continuation of Penn State's current research grants -- and possibly even the appropriations the university has been waiting on since July."
There were two interesting articles late last week in the Penn State student paper, the Collegian.
The first article discusses the University's funding situation. The State appropriation for fiscal year 2009-10, which started July 1st 2009, has still not been approved, the hold-up is legislation on legalising table games, primarily poker.
The…
oracknows | December 14, 2009When the USPSTF issued new guidelines for who should undergo screening mammography, at what ages, and how often, it set off a firestorm of negative reactions. Some of this is not surprising, given that the reevaluation of the evidence for screening mammography led the USPSTF to recommend against its routine use in women between the ages of 40 and 50 who lack strong risk factors for breast cancer; i.e., who are at "average" risk. Add to that the recommendation that screening for women age 50 and older should only be every two years instead of every year plus the recommendation that women…
grrlscientist | December 13, 2009tags: The Conjugal Rights Guide, entertainment, comedy, satire, funny, fucking hilarious, BBC Worldwide, Harry Enfield, streaming video
Now that the weekend is over, let's go back to my social education -- some of my social training includes *gasp* conjugal unpleasantness.
emjohnson | December 13, 2009Journalist Robert Eshelman is blogging from Copenhagen throughout the UN Climate Conference and offers this cogent observation:
If there's going to be an agreement, it will come down mostly to money. The E.U. might offer more money and the U.S. might provide a counteroffer. There might be some movement on emissions targets from the E.U. but with the Senate's recent reduction of its emissions target, the door seems to be closed on Obama offering greater cuts. Offers of financing, particularly around addressing deforestation, might woo a number of developing and poor countries and secure their…
emjohnson | December 13, 2009Canadian journalist Naomi Klein, author of the international bestsellers The Shock Doctrine, No Logo, and the recent Rolling Stone article "Climate Rage," gave the following talks at the KlimaForum09 alternative climate conference in Copenhagen. As the US is insisting on a mere 17% reduction in carbon pollution based on 2005 levels (when the IPCC Working Group III Report calls for a minimum safe reduction of 25 - 40% from 1990 levels) she highlights how this conference will not come to an agreement that adequately meets the challenge we face. In order to do that, she argues, it will require…
grrlscientist | December 13, 2009tags: religion, christianity, fundamentalism, wingnuttery, comedy, humor, satire, fucking hilarious, streaming video
The Bible states clearly in Genesis 3:16 that the man rules over the woman.
Did anyone follow this guy's "logic"? If so, please do explain to the rest of us who are still mortally confused. A flowchart might be helpful.
aardvarchaeology | December 11, 2009In mid-2008, UK science writer Simon Singh fell afoul of the weird and archaic English libel law. After he wrote in The Guardian that chiropractic lacks scientific support and that such treatments are bogus, the British Chiropractic Association sued him for libel. And in England, a libel case is always a major pain for the defendant regardless of whether he wins or not. He has to prove that he's innocent (!), the damages are 140 times as high as in other European countries, and even if you win it costs you huge sums of money, loads of time and loads of stress. (Also, the law promotes…
pharyngula | December 10, 2009By now you've all heard about the heinous Ugandan bill that would lead to the imprisonment of homosexuals and the execution of any with AIDS, and you've probably also heard that it was promoted by American right-wingers. There's a curious phenomenon going on right now: people are trying to stir up some principled opposition to the bill, and the religious right is dragging their heels. It's strange because once they've been cornered, wrestled to the ground, and forced to face a camera, they all quickly repudiate the bill — unless you're Fred Phelps, it's pretty much impossible to support it,…
pontiff | December 10, 2009Ha, well, not nearly the soap opera that is the "University of East Anglia" emails, but fun to watch, nonetheless. A letter from American Physical Society president Cherry Murray:
Dear APS Member:
Recently, you may have received an unsolicited email from Hal Lewis, Bob Austin, Will Happer, Larry Gould and Roger Cohen regarding the APS and climate change. Please be assured that this was not an official APS message, nor was it sent with APS knowledge or approval. A number of members have complained to APS regarding this unsolicited e-mail. If the e-mail addresses used to send this message…
emjohnson | December 10, 2009Yep, this is pretty much how it works. Marc Roberts has this brilliant comic that sums up the spectacle currently underway in Copenhagen. Here's a taste, but make sure to click the link to see the whole thing.
grrlscientist | December 9, 2009tags: Women: Keep Your Virtue!, entertainment, comedy, satire, funny, fucking hilarious, BBC Worldwide, Harry Enfield, streaming video
More homework into the social/cultural side of things. Hrm, how did the BBC comedy chaps learned the story of my spouse and why I married him?
emjohnson | December 9, 2009The so-called "Danish Text" agreement that was leaked to the Guardian newspaper has resulted in a firestorm of controversy. By far the most hostile reporting about the outrage that poor nations have expressed has been from the Financial Times.
FT Commentator Fiona Harvey wrote yesterday that:
The more the spotlight falls upon this Danish text, the more like a Danish pastry it looks.
Here's an assertion from Newsweek:
"Under the plan, by 2050 poor countries would have to limit per capita emissions at 1.44 tons, while rich countries would be given extra leeway at 2.67 tons per person."
Really…
emjohnson | December 9, 2009The following is an unconfirmed draft of the speech that President Obama plans to give before the Nobel Prize Committee in Oslo later today. Daniel Simpson has transcribed the draft:
EMBARGOED UNTIL DECEMBER 10, 2009(Check against delivery)
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Dear Friends around the world, My fellow Americans.
I stand here today humbled, more than ever, by the task before us, grateful for the honour you've bestowed, and mindful of the sacrifices we must make to do it justice.
Twenty Americans before…