“We redistribute de facto the world's wealth by climate policy. ... One has to free oneself from the illusion that international climate policy is environmental policy.” --Ottmar Edenhofer, United Nations' former climate czar
The Washington Post was sold in 2013 to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. In 16 hours, between roughly 10:20 PM EST Sunday, March 6, to 3:54 PM EST Monday, March 7—a window that includes the crucial Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, and the next morning’s spin--the Washington Post ran 16 negative stories on Bernie Sanders. Amazon was awarded a $16.5 million contract with the State Department the last year Clinton ran it.
What percentage of American households have incomes in the top 10%? Answer: 51% of American households are in the top 10% in income at some point in the course of a lifetime — usually in their older years. Those who want us to envy and resent the top 10% are urging half of us to envy and resent ourselves.--Sowell This number has been criticized but is not so outrageous--or informative. Most people experience one sudden--and un-replicated--spike in income in their lives (house sale, insurance, IRA distribution.)
The Washington Post was sold in 2013 to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. In 16 hours, between roughly 10:20 PM EST Sunday, March 6, to 3:54 PM EST Monday, March 7—a window that includes the crucial Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, and the next morning’s spin--the Washington Post ran 16 negative stories on Bernie Sanders. Amazon was awarded a $16.5 million contract with the State Department the last year Clinton ran it.
For years, Darwin—a fancy pigeon breeder—obsessed over what he called artificial selection, what cattle-breeders, gardeners, and crop-growers did to create new varieties of plant and animal: allowing just the ones with desirable traits to reproduce. Darwin’s first-hand experience with breeding set the stage for his now-famous metaphoric leap. Much like the pigeon breeder, Darwin suggested, nature selects traits. If a certain pattern of plumage aids survival, the trait will spread as though nature were playing favorites. By choosing some traits and rejecting others over the course of many generations, nature coaxes new species into being. Of course, nature doesn’t really select anything. It doesn’t have agency of its own. But Darwin suspected the suggestion of agency would be valuable. Thus, “natural selection” was born.
Alfred Russell Wallace, was particularly critical. In a letter to Darwin, sent after publication of the Origin, Wallace argued—no doubt with a wink—that the metaphor was not well “adapted” to convey his theory of evolution to the public. He was concerned that the word “selection” encouraged readers to view nature as a forward-looking, intelligent designer that was shaping the evolutionary course of life.
Kensy Cooperrider argues in Nautilus that the term was genius, enabling the public to come to the implications of the idea gently.
Who is...."Hatrack"?
Who is...."Hatrack"?
Yikes! Attorney General Loretta Lynch testified that the Justice Department has “discussed” taking civil legal action against the fossil fuel industry for “denying” the “threat of carbon emissions” when it comes to climate change. Watch your opinions.
A little-remembered Department of Homeland Security intelligence report warned of the ongoing enterprise of jihadi infiltration at nuclear, utility and other infrastructure facilities. The memo, titled “Insider Threat to Utilities,” warned that “violent extremists have, in fact, obtained insider positions.”Moreover, “outsiders have attempted to solicit utility-sector employees” for damaging physical and cyber attacks.
“Based on the reliable reporting of previous incidents, we have high confidence in our judgment that insiders and their actions pose a significant threat to the infrastructure and information systems of U.S. facilities,” the bulletin detailed. “Insider information on sites, infrastructure, networks, and personnel is valuable to our adversaries and may increase the impact of any attack on the utilities infrastructure.”
“Based on the reliable reporting of previous incidents, we have high confidence in our judgment that insiders and their actions pose a significant threat to the infrastructure and information systems of U.S. facilities,” the bulletin detailed. “Insider information on sites, infrastructure, networks, and personnel is valuable to our adversaries and may increase the impact of any attack on the utilities infrastructure.”
South Jersey jihadist and al-Qaida-linked radical Sharif Mobley held positions at several nuclear power plants in Salem County, N.J., before moving to Yemen. He had passed several federal background checks as recently as 2008. In December, Mobley was sentenced to 10 years in prison after shooting a guard during an attempted escape from detention on terrorism charges.
In 2011, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio arrested Cruz Loya Alvares, who was working at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station despite being a Mexican illegal immigrant who had been deported in 2000.
In 2012, another Mexican illegal immigrant, Nestor Martinez-Ochoa, who worked in construction, was arrested after trying to enter the same Palo Verde nuclear power plant with a fake ID. --Malkin
What percentage of American households have incomes in the top 10%? Answer: 51% of American households are in the top 10% in income at some point in the course of a lifetime — usually in their older years. Those who want us to envy and resent the top 10% are urging half of us to envy and resent ourselves.--Sowell This number has been criticized but is not so outrageous--or informative. Most people experience one sudden--and un-replicated--spike in income in their lives (house sale, insurance, IRA distribution.)
Golden oldie:
Krugman in his blog stated, defending opposition to free trade (a Trump position), "the case for trade liberalization relies on the assertion that the government could redistribute income to ensure that everyone wins.” He continues to say the “case for ever-freer trade is largely a scam” because the government thus far has been unwilling to control incomes. But the conventional case for trade liberalization is identical to the conventional case for economic competition and innovation. Krugman sees too much freedom goin' on. So government control "trumps" all.
“If Hitler were not a lunatic he could easily have avoided the hostility of the Western powers. That he is a lunatic is the sole advantage in the present sinister picture of the world.” --Einstein
The journal PLOS One published the paper “Biomechanical Characteristics of Hand Coordination in Grasping Activities of Daily Living” by Ming-Jin Liu, Cai-Hua Xiong, Le Xiong, and Xiao-Lin Huang. In the Abstract of that work, after words marveling at the complexity and versatility of the human hand, appears this sentence (emphasis added): "The explicit functional link indicates that the biomechanical characteristic of tendinous connective architecture between muscles and articulations is the proper design by the Creator to perform a multitude of daily tasks in a comfortable way." The response was quite astonishing, as if the authors had published a paper justifying racism. The poor authors apologized and claimed a translating error, the journal withdrew the paper. It is a curious obsession that of the two points of view, the existence of God or the non-existence of God, one of the non-provable positions can evoke such strangely moral outrage.
There was opposition to the very creation of the Bill of Rights at its inception. This, from Alexander Hamilton: They would contain various exceptions to powers not granted; and on this very account, would afford a colorable pretext to claim more than were granted.
A story about the abortion case before the Supreme court was reported recently stating: "Yesterday, 17 religious organizations and almost 1300 religious leaders submitted a faith-based amicus brief in the Supreme Court case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole." The case is over a Texas law that requires abortion clinics to have medical facilities available and the suit opposes it, saying the law restricts access. The brief was filed by "The Religious Institute" and they describe themselves thusly in their website: "Founded in 2001, the Religious Institute is a multifaith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual health, education, and justice in faith communities and society.The Religious Institute has emerged as the national leadership organization working at the intersection of sexuality and religion."
These names are interesting. The Jesus Project was an archeological group of atheists trying to come up with some early Christian inconsistencies.
The significant problem in this election seems to me that despite the deep and broad disaffection the public has towards the political system, none of the candidates, if elected can improve it, practically or philosophically.
The union of politicians and money should always be feared. Ditto when politicians begin to flock around science.
Lysenkoism was a political campaign against genetics and science-based agriculture conducted by Trofim Lysenko, his followers and Soviet authorities. Lysenko was the director of the Soviet Union's Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Lysenkoism began in the late 1920s and formally ended in 1964.
The pseudo-scientific ideas of Lysenkoism were built on Lamarckan heritability of acquired characteristics. Lysenko's theory rejected Mendelian inheritance, the concept of the "gene" and departed from Darwinian evolutionary theory by rejecting natural selection. Proponents falsely claimed to have discovered, among many other things, that rye could transform into wheat and wheat into barley, that weeds are spontaneously transmuting into food grains, and that 'natural cooperation' was observed in nature as opposed to 'natural selection'. Lysenkoism promised extraordinary advances in breeding and agriculture that never came about.
The campaign was supported by Joseph Stalin. More than 3,000 mainstream biologists were sent to prison or fired or executed as a part of this campaign instigated by Lysenko to suppress his scientific opponents. The president of the Agriculture Academy was sent to prison and died there, while the scientific research in the field of genetics was effectively destroyed until the death of Stalin in 1953. Research and teaching in the fields of neurophysiology, cell biology, and many other biological disciplines was also negatively affected or banned.
The term Lysenkoism is also used metaphorically to describe the manipulation or distortion of the scientific process as a way to reach a predetermined conclusion as dictated by an ideological bias, often related to social or political objectives.--from Wiki
Lysenkoism was a political campaign against genetics and science-based agriculture conducted by Trofim Lysenko, his followers and Soviet authorities. Lysenko was the director of the Soviet Union's Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Lysenkoism began in the late 1920s and formally ended in 1964.
The pseudo-scientific ideas of Lysenkoism were built on Lamarckan heritability of acquired characteristics. Lysenko's theory rejected Mendelian inheritance, the concept of the "gene" and departed from Darwinian evolutionary theory by rejecting natural selection. Proponents falsely claimed to have discovered, among many other things, that rye could transform into wheat and wheat into barley, that weeds are spontaneously transmuting into food grains, and that 'natural cooperation' was observed in nature as opposed to 'natural selection'. Lysenkoism promised extraordinary advances in breeding and agriculture that never came about.
The campaign was supported by Joseph Stalin. More than 3,000 mainstream biologists were sent to prison or fired or executed as a part of this campaign instigated by Lysenko to suppress his scientific opponents. The president of the Agriculture Academy was sent to prison and died there, while the scientific research in the field of genetics was effectively destroyed until the death of Stalin in 1953. Research and teaching in the fields of neurophysiology, cell biology, and many other biological disciplines was also negatively affected or banned.
The term Lysenkoism is also used metaphorically to describe the manipulation or distortion of the scientific process as a way to reach a predetermined conclusion as dictated by an ideological bias, often related to social or political objectives.--from Wiki
A question on Quora as to the most people killed in a single day. The people of city of Nishapur won the vote (Iran again)--although it may not have occurred in a day--maybe a week. Sometime in April of 1221, with the city occupied by Genghis Khan, there was a revolt. His favorite son-in-law was killed.
The legend, which is almost certainly apocryphal, is that Khan's daughter was so incensed that she demanded the heads of every man woman and child in the city. The executions were carried out with terrifying efficiency in the span of an hour and the heads of the poor Nishapurians, numbering some 1.7 million were arranged in a series of pyramids over the next 10 days.
On the other hand, because our overall volume of prosperity dwarfs each instance of wealth production, each such instance seems as insignificant to our prosperity as does each drop of water to the water level in a swimming pool. Intellectuals and politicians then find it easy to treat business people with contempt. As a former university colleague of mine sneeringly said of a businessman some years ago: "He sells toilet parts!" This philosophy professor could not imagine a more contemptible occupation.--Bordeaux, appreciating the little things in life.
In The Atlantic, Obama conceded that eastern Ukraine, Moldova and Crimea are Russia’s for the taking: “Now, if there is somebody in this town that would claim that we would consider going to war with Russia over Crimea and eastern Ukraine, they should speak up and be very clear about it.” Most real leaders allow for some ambiguity, some uncertainty to caution their enemies. Real leaders do not speak like this.
In 1926, H. L. Mencken was arrested by the Boston vice squad, charged with the possession and sale of indecent literature. The literature in question was the April, 1926 issue of Mencken's American Mercury magazine, found offensive for a short story entitled "Hatrack," by Herbert Asbury. "Hatrack" is the nickname of a skinny but welcoming small-town prostitute, one whose attempts to reform have been rebuffed by the upright and churchgoing of her community. The next day the court ruled in Mencken's favor, thus giving him victory, as much publicity as he had the year before with his reports from the Scopes trial.
AAAaaaaaannnnnnddddd.........a graph:
photo
Despite a long history of uncertainty and geopolitical risk events, the market has rallied. (Image: JPMorgan Asset
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