Skip to content

Archive

Tag: American
C Robert O'Dell the American physics and astronomy professor has been featured by Rick Docksai in an article published in the Science Recorder titled ‘Ring Nebula is expanding at 43,000 miles an hour, according to Hubble’. Docksai states “The Ring Nebula apparently has been misnamed: It’s not a ring at all, but a football-shaped jelly doughnut.  …Scientists [had] concluded that this nebula has a hollow middle and ring-shaped—hence came its present-day moniker. But the latest analysis, led by Robert O’Dell, …arrived at a wholly other conclusion. The nebula’s center is quite full, O’Dell and his team state. However, varying patterns of motion may cause the middle to look unlike the rest of the nebula from our vantage point, and hence some of the visual illusion. The entire cloud is expanding by more than 43,000 miles an hour, but the growth is even faster at the center than it is in the outer ring. Consequently, the middle is much lower-density than the rest of the nebula. The Hubble images that O’Dell and his team used are the highest-precision views of the nebula taken yet. While earlier observations had identified the presence of gaseous material in the center, none had gathered all of the detail of this latest Hubble presentation, such as the star that is indeed at the center—though it is now dying. The nebula measures just one light-year across, so it’s compact enough that this one star’s end-of-life expansions and contractions could stand out prominently to observers here on Earth, even if those observers were using eighteenth-century telescopes. In fact, this dying star is probably what brought the nebula into being in the first place. Scientists designate the Ring Nebula a “planetary nebula,” which means that it forms out of the gas and dust that emanates from a star that’s fading out. While this nebula’s star will continue to shine for a fairly long while by human time, scientists say that it is definitively on its way to white-dwarf status.”  Inspired by Rick Docksai, Science Recorder ow.ly/lMDlV Image source Vanderbilt ow.ly/lMBEF A football-shaped jelly doughnut (June 28 2013)

C Robert O’Dell the American physics and astronomy professor has been featured by Rick Docksai in an article published in the Science Recorder titled ‘Ring Nebula is expanding at 43,000 miles an hour, according to Hubble’. Docksai states “The Ring Nebula apparently has been misnamed: It’s not a ring at all, but a football-shaped jelly doughnut.  …Scientists [had] concluded that this nebula has a hollow middle and ring-shaped—hence came its present-day moniker. But the latest analysis, led by Robert O’Dell, …arrived at a wholly other conclusion. The nebula’s center is quite full, O’Dell and his team state. However, varying patterns of motion may cause the middle to look unlike the rest of the nebula from our vantage point, and hence some of the visual illusion. The entire cloud is expanding by more than 43,000 miles an hour, but the growth is even faster at the center than it is in the outer ring. Consequently, the middle is much lower-density than the rest of the nebula. The Hubble images that O’Dell and his team used are the highest-precision views of the nebula taken yet. While earlier observations had identified the presence of gaseous material in the center, none had gathered all of the detail of this latest Hubble presentation, such as the star that is indeed at the center—though it is now dying. The nebula measures just one light-year across, so it’s compact enough that this one star’s end-of-life expansions and contractions could stand out prominently to observers here on Earth, even if those observers were using eighteenth-century telescopes. In fact, this dying star is probably what brought the nebula into being in the first place. Scientists designate the Ring Nebula a “planetary nebula,” which means that it forms out of the gas and dust that emanates from a star that’s fading out. While this nebula’s star will continue to shine for a fairly long while by human time, scientists say that it is definitively on its way to white-dwarf status.”

 

Inspired by Rick Docksai, Science Recorder ow.ly/lMDlV Image source Vanderbilt ow.ly/lMBEF

Daniel Clement Dennett the 71 year old American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, evolutionary biology and cognitive science has published an extract from his new book in The Guardian titled ‘Daniel Dennett's seven tools for thinking’, revealing some of the lessons life has taught him. “1 USE YOUR MISTAKES - We have all heard the forlorn refrain: "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!" This phrase has come to stand for the rueful reflection of an idiot, a sign of stupidity, but in fact we should appreciate it as a pillar of wisdom… 2 RESPECT YOUR OPPONENT - Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticising the views of an opponent? If there are obvious contradictions in the opponent's case, then you should point them out, forcefully. If there are somewhat hidden contradictions, you should carefully expose them to view – and then dump on them… 3 THE "SURELY" KLAXON - When you're reading or skimming argumentative essays, especially by philosophers, here is a quick trick that may save you much time and effort, especially in this age of simple searching by computer: look for "surely" in the document and check each occurrence. Not always, not even most of the time, but often the word "surely" is as good as a blinking light locating a weak point in the argument… 4 ANSWER RHETORICAL QUESTIONS - Just as you should keep a sharp eye out for "surely", you should develop a sensitivity for rhetorical questions in any argument or polemic. Why? Because, like the use of "surely", they represent an author's eagerness to take a short cut… 5 EMPLOY OCCAM'S RAZOR -  The idea is straightforward: don't concoct a complicated, extravagant theory if you've got a simpler one (containing fewer ingredients, fewer entities) that handles the phenomenon just as well... 6 DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON RUBBISH - Sturgeon's law is usually expressed thus: 90% of everything is crap. So 90% of experiments in molecular biology, 90% of poetry, 90% of philosophy books, 90% of peer-reviewed articles in mathematics – and so forth – is crap... 7 BEWARE OF DEEPITIES - A deepity …is a proposition that seems both important and true – and profound – but that achieves this effect by being ambiguous. On one reading, it is manifestly false, but it would be earth-shaking if it were true; on the other reading, it is true but trivial…”  Inspired by Daniel Dennett, The Guardian ow.ly/lMAiz Image source David Orban ow.ly/lMAe3 Revealing lessons life has taught him (June 27 2013)

 

Daniel Clement Dennett the 71 year old American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, evolutionary biology and cognitive science has published an extract from his new book in The Guardian titled ‘Daniel Dennett’s seven tools for thinking’, revealing some of the lessons life has taught him. “1 USE YOUR MISTAKES – We have all heard the forlorn refrain: “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!” This phrase has come to stand for the rueful reflection of an idiot, a sign of stupidity, but in fact we should appreciate it as a pillar of wisdom… 2 RESPECT YOUR OPPONENT – Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticising the views of an opponent? If there are obvious contradictions in the opponent’s case, then you should point them out, forcefully. If there are somewhat hidden contradictions, you should carefully expose them to view – and then dump on them… 3 THE “SURELY” KLAXON – When you’re reading or skimming argumentative essays, especially by philosophers, here is a quick trick that may save you much time and effort, especially in this age of simple searching by computer: look for “surely” in the document and check each occurrence. Not always, not even most of the time, but often the word “surely” is as good as a blinking light locating a weak point in the argument… 4 ANSWER RHETORICAL QUESTIONS – Just as you should keep a sharp eye out for “surely”, you should develop a sensitivity for rhetorical questions in any argument or polemic. Why? Because, like the use of “surely”, they represent an author’s eagerness to take a short cut… 5 EMPLOY OCCAM’S RAZOR –  The idea is straightforward: don’t concoct a complicated, extravagant theory if you’ve got a simpler one (containing fewer ingredients, fewer entities) that handles the phenomenon just as well… 6 DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME ON RUBBISH – Sturgeon’s law is usually expressed thus: 90% of everything is crap. So 90% of experiments in molecular biology, 90% of poetry, 90% of philosophy books, 90% of peer-reviewed articles in mathematics – and so forth – is crap… 7 BEWARE OF DEEPITIES – A deepity …is a proposition that seems both important and true – and profound – but that achieves this effect by being ambiguous. On one reading, it is manifestly false, but it would be earth-shaking if it were true; on the other reading, it is true but trivial…”

 

Inspired by Daniel Dennett, The Guardian ow.ly/lMAiz Image source David Orban ow.ly/lMAe3

Penn Fraser Jillette the 58 year old American illusionist, comedian, musician, actor known for his advocacy of atheism, scientific skepticism, libertarianism and free-market capitalism has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘Don’t Replace Religion; End It’ in which he states “Religion cannot and should not be replaced by atheism. Religion needs to go away and not be replaced by anything. Atheism is not a religion. It’s the absence of religion, and that’s a wonderful thing. Religion is not morality. Theists ask me, “If there’s no god, what would stop me from raping and killing everyone I want to.” My answer is always: “I, myself, have raped and killed everyone I want to ... and the number for both is zero.” Behaving morally because of a hope of reward or a fear of punishment is not morality. Morality is not bribery or threats. Religion is bribery and threats. Humans have morality. We don’t need religion. Atheism is the absence of religion. We don’t really need atheism. We just need to get rid of religion. Religion is faith. Faith is belief without evidence. Belief without evidence cannot be shared. Faith is a feeling. Love is also a feeling, but love makes no universal claims. Love is pure. The lover reports on his or her feelings and needs nothing more. Faith claims knowledge of a world we share but without evidence we can share. Feeling love is beautiful. Feeling the earth is 6,000 years old is stupid. Religion is often just tribalism: pride in a group one was born into, a group that is often believed to have “God” on its side. We don’t need to replace tribalism with anything other than love for all humanity. Let’s do that, okay? Religion also includes fellowship, joy, compassion, service and great music, and those can be replaced by ... fellowship, joy, compassion, service and great music. Atheism is the absence of religion. We don’t really need atheism. We just need to get rid of religion.”  Inspired by Penn Jillette, New York times ow.ly/lLxST Image source Facebook ow.ly/lLxQN Don’t replace religion, end it (June 26 2013)

 

Penn Fraser Jillette the 58 year old American illusionist, comedian, musician, actor known for his advocacy of atheism, scientific skepticism, libertarianism and free-market capitalism has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘Don’t Replace Religion; End It’ in which he states “Religion cannot and should not be replaced by atheism. Religion needs to go away and not be replaced by anything. Atheism is not a religion. It’s the absence of religion, and that’s a wonderful thing. Religion is not morality. Theists ask me, “If there’s no god, what would stop me from raping and killing everyone I want to.” My answer is always: “I, myself, have raped and killed everyone I want to … and the number for both is zero.” Behaving morally because of a hope of reward or a fear of punishment is not morality. Morality is not bribery or threats. Religion is bribery and threats. Humans have morality. We don’t need religion. Atheism is the absence of religion. We don’t really need atheism. We just need to get rid of religion. Religion is faith. Faith is belief without evidence. Belief without evidence cannot be shared. Faith is a feeling. Love is also a feeling, but love makes no universal claims. Love is pure. The lover reports on his or her feelings and needs nothing more. Faith claims knowledge of a world we share but without evidence we can share. Feeling love is beautiful. Feeling the earth is 6,000 years old is stupid. Religion is often just tribalism: pride in a group one was born into, a group that is often believed to have “God” on its side. We don’t need to replace tribalism with anything other than love for all humanity. Let’s do that, okay? Religion also includes fellowship, joy, compassion, service and great music, and those can be replaced by … fellowship, joy, compassion, service and great music. Atheism is the absence of religion. We don’t really need atheism. We just need to get rid of religion.”

 

Inspired by Penn Jillette, New York times ow.ly/lLxST Image source Facebook ow.ly/lLxQN

Katherine Stewart the American journalist and author who writes about controversies over religious freedom, separation of church and state and climate science has published an article in The Guardian titled ‘The dark side of home schooling: creating soldiers for the culture war’ in which she states “Several decades ago, political activists on the religious right began to put together an "ideology machine". Home schooling was a big part of the plan. The idea was to breed and "train up" an army of culture warriors. We now are faced with the consequences of their actions, some of which are quite disturbing. According to the Department of Education, the home schooling student population doubled in between 1999 and 2007, to 1.5 million students, and there is reason to think the growth has continued. Though families opt to home school for many different reasons, a large part of the growth has come from Christian fundamentalist sects. Children in that first wave are now old enough to talk about their experiences. In many cases, what they have to say is quite alarming. …The fundamentalist home schooling world also advocates an extraordinarily authoritarian view of the parental role. Corporal punishment is frequently encouraged. …In America, we often take for granted that parents have an absolute right to decide how their children will be educated, but this leads us to overlook the fact that children have rights, too, and that we as a modern society are obligated to make sure that they get an education. Families should be allowed to pursue sensible homeschooling options, but current arrangements have allowed some families to replace education with fundamentalist indoctrination. As the appearance of HA reminds us, the damage done by this kind of false education falls not just on our society as a whole, but on the children who are pumped through the ideology machine. They are the traumatized veterans of our culture wars. We should listen to their stories, and support them as they find their way forward.”  Inspired by  Katherine Stewart, The Guardian ow.ly/lEdxF Image source Twitter ow.ly/lEdpq Traumatized veterans of our culture wars (June 25 2013)

 

Katherine Stewart the American journalist and author who writes about controversies over religious freedom, separation of church and state and climate science has published an article in The Guardian titled ‘The dark side of home schooling: creating soldiers for the culture war’ in which she states “Several decades ago, political activists on the religious right began to put together an “ideology machine”. Home schooling was a big part of the plan. The idea was to breed and “train up” an army of culture warriors. We now are faced with the consequences of their actions, some of which are quite disturbing. According to the Department of Education, the home schooling student population doubled in between 1999 and 2007, to 1.5 million students, and there is reason to think the growth has continued. Though families opt to home school for many different reasons, a large part of the growth has come from Christian fundamentalist sects. Children in that first wave are now old enough to talk about their experiences. In many cases, what they have to say is quite alarming. …The fundamentalist home schooling world also advocates an extraordinarily authoritarian view of the parental role. Corporal punishment is frequently encouraged. …In America, we often take for granted that parents have an absolute right to decide how their children will be educated, but this leads us to overlook the fact that children have rights, too, and that we as a modern society are obligated to make sure that they get an education. Families should be allowed to pursue sensible homeschooling options, but current arrangements have allowed some families to replace education with fundamentalist indoctrination. As the appearance of HA reminds us, the damage done by this kind of false education falls not just on our society as a whole, but on the children who are pumped through the ideology machine. They are the traumatized veterans of our culture wars. We should listen to their stories, and support them as they find their way forward.”

 

Inspired by  Katherine Stewart, The Guardian ow.ly/lEdxF Image source Twitter ow.ly/lEdpq

Arjun Sethi the American lawyer based in Washington, DC, and a frequent commentator on civil rights and social justice-related issues has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘The US and enemy prisoners post 9/11’. Sethi states “Fear is a powerful human agent. It can cloud our judgment and dim our conscience. Left unchecked, it can skew the moral compass of a nation, leaving destruction in its wake. A recent bipartisan report by the Constitution project confirms what many have long suspected: US personnel tortured enemy detainees in the months and years following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The report lays bare a nation so paralysed by fear that it jettisoned longstanding human rights protections in the name of national security. …Human rights bodies and humanitarian groups, like the International Committee on the Red Cross, have uniformly condemned these practices, calling many of them torture. So have numerous US judges, who have thrown out an array of detainee statements arguing that evidence obtained through torture is not admissible. The coup de grace comes courtesy of the US government, who previously condemned other countries for engaging in the very same practices. …President Obama has insisted that he wants to look forward, and that culpable US personnel will not be prosecuted. …A commitment to look forward is just another way of saying forget the past. The fact remains that an array of actors - the President, his advisers, lawyers, psychologists and those on the ground - committed a grave human rights violation. Call it a movie script. President Bush produced it; his top advisers directed it; lawyers and psychologists provided the special effects; and personnel played the part. Only through government support, and the power to review classified information and subpoena witnesses, can this tragic story be told.”  Inspired by Arjun Sethi, Aljazeera ow.ly/lCDnx Image source Twitter ow.ly/lCDmR A nation so paralysed by fear (June 18 2013)

 

Arjun Sethi the American lawyer based in Washington, DC, and a frequent commentator on civil rights and social justice-related issues has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘The US and enemy prisoners post 9/11’. Sethi states “Fear is a powerful human agent. It can cloud our judgment and dim our conscience. Left unchecked, it can skew the moral compass of a nation, leaving destruction in its wake. A recent bipartisan report by the Constitution project confirms what many have long suspected: US personnel tortured enemy detainees in the months and years following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The report lays bare a nation so paralysed by fear that it jettisoned longstanding human rights protections in the name of national security. …Human rights bodies and humanitarian groups, like the International Committee on the Red Cross, have uniformly condemned these practices, calling many of them torture. So have numerous US judges, who have thrown out an array of detainee statements arguing that evidence obtained through torture is not admissible. The coup de grace comes courtesy of the US government, who previously condemned other countries for engaging in the very same practices. …President Obama has insisted that he wants to look forward, and that culpable US personnel will not be prosecuted. …A commitment to look forward is just another way of saying forget the past. The fact remains that an array of actors – the President, his advisers, lawyers, psychologists and those on the ground – committed a grave human rights violation. Call it a movie script. President Bush produced it; his top advisers directed it; lawyers and psychologists provided the special effects; and personnel played the part. Only through government support, and the power to review classified information and subpoena witnesses, can this tragic story be told.”

 

Inspired by Arjun Sethi, Aljazeera ow.ly/lCDnx Image source Twitter ow.ly/lCDmR

Eugenie Carol Scott the 67 year old American physical anthropologist who has been the executive director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) since 1987, and the leading critic of young earth creationism and intelligent design has announced her retirement. Scott has been featured in an article by Jeffrey Mervis in the Science Insider, in which he states “Eugenie Scott has spent 26 years helping teachers do what's right for their students in the name of science. And while the need to defend the teaching of evolution and climate change certainly hasn't disappeared, Scott announced that she is stepping down later this year… "I think all nonprofits hope someday to put themselves out of business," says Scott, now 67. "But I guess I found a sinecure," she adds with a laugh. …Trained as a physical anthropologist, Scott was on the faculty of the University of Kentucky in 1980 when she and other educators opposed attempts to teach creationism in the local schools. NCSE was the product of a national grassroots network that had sprung up to battle similar attempts across the country during that era, and Scott joined the fledgling organization in 1987. Based in Oakland, California, NCSE has grown into a 15-person, $1.2 million a year operation that monitors legislation at all levels and provides advice and resources to educators. A prolific writer, organizer, and strategist, Scott says that her successor will inherit "a more mature organization moving in exciting new directions." In recent years, NCSE has expanded efforts to defend teachers and school districts from attacks by climate change deniers that employ tactics very similar to those used by opponents of evolution. "We've learned from Day 1 that you don't blunt those attacks by simply shoveling science onto the debate," she says. "You need to recognize the political and economic and cultural issues in play. In the end, it comes down to your powers of persuasion."  Inspired by Jeffrey Mervis, Science Insider ow.ly/laUIx Image source Facebook ow.ly/laUD7 Leading critic of young earth creationism (June 16 2013)

Eugenie Carol Scott the 67 year old American physical anthropologist who has been the executive director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) since 1987, and the leading critic of young earth creationism and intelligent design has announced her retirement. Scott has been featured in an article by Jeffrey Mervis in the Science Insider, in which he states “Eugenie Scott has spent 26 years helping teachers do what’s right for their students in the name of science. And while the need to defend the teaching of evolution and climate change certainly hasn’t disappeared, Scott announced that she is stepping down later this year… “I think all nonprofits hope someday to put themselves out of business,” says Scott, now 67. “But I guess I found a sinecure,” she adds with a laugh. …Trained as a physical anthropologist, Scott was on the faculty of the University of Kentucky in 1980 when she and other educators opposed attempts to teach creationism in the local schools. NCSE was the product of a national grassroots network that had sprung up to battle similar attempts across the country during that era, and Scott joined the fledgling organization in 1987. Based in Oakland, California, NCSE has grown into a 15-person, $1.2 million a year operation that monitors legislation at all levels and provides advice and resources to educators. A prolific writer, organizer, and strategist, Scott says that her successor will inherit “a more mature organization moving in exciting new directions.” In recent years, NCSE has expanded efforts to defend teachers and school districts from attacks by climate change deniers that employ tactics very similar to those used by opponents of evolution. “We’ve learned from Day 1 that you don’t blunt those attacks by simply shoveling science onto the debate,” she says. “You need to recognize the political and economic and cultural issues in play. In the end, it comes down to your powers of persuasion.”

 

Inspired by Jeffrey Mervis, Science Insider ow.ly/laUIx Image source Facebook ow.ly/laUD7

 

 

David Rolfe Graeber the 52 year old American anthropologist, anarchist, and involved in social and political activism. Graeber has been featured in an article by John Kampfner in the Japan Times titled ‘The story of the Occupy movements by one of the leaders’. Kampfner states “I’m torn. I can’t work out whether the Occupy movements were responsible for their own demise; and I can’t work out whether I’ve had enough of reading tomes about the brave new world of revolutionary consensus-building. The case for the defense of the spirit of 2011 should be overwhelming. Groups of activists around the world came together, determinedly but also nonviolently, not just to protest at the criminality of the banks and their backers, but also to put into practice another way. So why did it dissipate? David Graeber was a leading light in the Occupy Wall Street movement. An activist, anarchist and anthropologist (note his useful alliteration), he writes vividly about his experiences. He captures the joys and fears of a movement that believed it was on the cusp of achieving something special. Beyond the default complaints of police brutality and media narrow-mindedness, he struggles, however, to explain why in the end so little was achieved. His observations engender rage and smiles in equal measure. The tie that bound the activists in Zuccotti Park, night after night, was pizza. Local delivery firms thrived, as people from far and wide phoned in orders for pizza to go directly to the camp. …Graeber’s unwillingness to set out credible economic and political alternatives is curious. He confines his analysis to process, arguing that many problems would be solved if the manner of political engagement changed. He goes to great length to explain how democracy by consensus or collective problem-solving works, describing this as “something vaguely like jury duty, except noncompulsory, with some way of screening obsessives, cranks and hollow-earthers, but nonetheless allowing an equal chance of participation in great decisions to all who actually do wish to participate.”  Inspired by John Kampfner, The Japan Times ow.ly/laSvB Image source David Graeber ow.ly/laSlg The tie that bound the activists was pizza (June 14 2013)

 

David Rolfe Graeber the 52 year old American anthropologist, anarchist, and involved in social and political activism. Graeber has been featured in an article by John Kampfner in the Japan Times titled ‘The story of the Occupy movements by one of the leaders’. Kampfner states “I’m torn. I can’t work out whether the Occupy movements were responsible for their own demise; and I can’t work out whether I’ve had enough of reading tomes about the brave new world of revolutionary consensus-building. The case for the defense of the spirit of 2011 should be overwhelming. Groups of activists around the world came together, determinedly but also nonviolently, not just to protest at the criminality of the banks and their backers, but also to put into practice another way. So why did it dissipate? David Graeber was a leading light in the Occupy Wall Street movement. An activist, anarchist and anthropologist (note his useful alliteration), he writes vividly about his experiences. He captures the joys and fears of a movement that believed it was on the cusp of achieving something special. Beyond the default complaints of police brutality and media narrow-mindedness, he struggles, however, to explain why in the end so little was achieved. His observations engender rage and smiles in equal measure. The tie that bound the activists in Zuccotti Park, night after night, was pizza. Local delivery firms thrived, as people from far and wide phoned in orders for pizza to go directly to the camp. …Graeber’s unwillingness to set out credible economic and political alternatives is curious. He confines his analysis to process, arguing that many problems would be solved if the manner of political engagement changed. He goes to great length to explain how democracy by consensus or collective problem-solving works, describing this as “something vaguely like jury duty, except noncompulsory, with some way of screening obsessives, cranks and hollow-earthers, but nonetheless allowing an equal chance of participation in great decisions to all who actually do wish to participate.”

 

Inspired by John Kampfner, The Japan Times ow.ly/laSvB Image source David Graeber ow.ly/laSlg

Annalee Newitz the 43 year old American Journalist who reports on the cultural impact of science and technology has published an article in io9 titled ‘Ancient Maya discovery sheds new light on the origins of civilization’, in which she states “Over 3,000 years ago, in the warm, fertile lands that are now Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, the great Maya civilization arose — its vast pyramid temples appearing to come out of nowhere. But new evidence suggests a fascinating origin for this ancient, advanced culture. Just as the Inca once dominated South America, the Maya dominated large parts of Central America and Mexico. …after seven years of careful excavation at the famous Maya cultural center of Ceibal in Guatemala, University of Arizona anthropologists … have settled one of the greatest debates in their field: where the Maya came from. …For almost half a century, anthropologists studying the origins of the Maya have been divided into two camps. Some believe that the Maya civilization developed in Guatemala and Belize, without any contact from other groups in the region. But others believed the Maya were an outgrowth of the advanced Olmec civilization on the Gulf Coast. …something a lot more complicated happened than either of the previous two scenarios would allow. The Olmec did not "create" the Maya culture, nor did it evolve by itself in Guatemala. Most likely, it was the product of a very rapid social transformation that was taking place all over the region — caused, in part, by cultural exchanges between different groups, including the Olmec and the peoples who eventually became the Maya. …They are the result of hybridization. The Maya came to dominate Mexico, Guatemala and Belize because they were able to incorporate the innovations of the Olmec along with the discoveries and beliefs of many peoples in the area whose lives we are just now beginning to learn about. The ancient Maya were, in other words, a multiculture.”  Inspired by Annalee Newitz, io9 ow.ly/l5zrB Image source Twitter ow.ly/l5zp7 New light on the origins of civilization (June 10 2013)

 

Annalee Newitz the 43 year old American Journalist who reports on the cultural impact of science and technology has published an article in io9 titled ‘Ancient Maya discovery sheds new light on the origins of civilization’, in which she states “Over 3,000 years ago, in the warm, fertile lands that are now Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, the great Maya civilization arose — its vast pyramid temples appearing to come out of nowhere. But new evidence suggests a fascinating origin for this ancient, advanced culture. Just as the Inca once dominated South America, the Maya dominated large parts of Central America and Mexico. …after seven years of careful excavation at the famous Maya cultural center of Ceibal in Guatemala, University of Arizona anthropologists … have settled one of the greatest debates in their field: where the Maya came from. …For almost half a century, anthropologists studying the origins of the Maya have been divided into two camps. Some believe that the Maya civilization developed in Guatemala and Belize, without any contact from other groups in the region. But others believed the Maya were an outgrowth of the advanced Olmec civilization on the Gulf Coast. …something a lot more complicated happened than either of the previous two scenarios would allow. The Olmec did not “create” the Maya culture, nor did it evolve by itself in Guatemala. Most likely, it was the product of a very rapid social transformation that was taking place all over the region — caused, in part, by cultural exchanges between different groups, including the Olmec and the peoples who eventually became the Maya. …They are the result of hybridization. The Maya came to dominate Mexico, Guatemala and Belize because they were able to incorporate the innovations of the Olmec along with the discoveries and beliefs of many peoples in the area whose lives we are just now beginning to learn about. The ancient Maya were, in other words, a multiculture.”

 

Inspired by Annalee Newitz, io9 ow.ly/l5zrB Image source Twitter ow.ly/l5zp7

 

Greg Miller the American news correspondent on Science with a focus on neuroscience and other areas of biological, behavioral, and social science has published an article on Wired titled ‘Open Your Mind to the New Psychedelic Science’ in which he states “Timothy Leary really screwed things up for science. By abandoning the scientific method for a mystical embrace of hallucinogenic drugs, the Harvard-professor-turned-LSD-evangelist became a symbol of ’60s-era drug-fueled degeneracy. Worse, the ensuing backlash pushed these drugs underground and caused an enormously promising field of research to go dormant for nearly half a century. …But the times they are a-changin’. In recent years, a small cadre of scientists has cautiously rekindled the scientific study of psychedelics. …they reported new findings on how these drugs scramble brain activity in ways that might help explain their mind-bending effects. They’re also slowly building a case that these drugs might help people with depression, anxiety and other disorders. Roughly a dozen small clinical trials are now underway worldwide. But the idea isn’t “take two tabs of acid and call me in the morning.” Instead, these trials are testing the idea that psychedelics taken in a therapist’s office as part of a series of psychotherapy sessions can make talk therapy more effective. …The classic psychedelics, including psilocybin and LSD, stimulate receptors for serotonin, a neurotransmitter that’s also targeted, albeit in different ways, by approved antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs like Prozac and Zoloft. …People in the grips of depression, the thinking goes, are trapped in an endless cycle of critical self-examination, and a little neural desynchronization might help them reboot. …Psychedelic scientists still face obstacles at every step of the process, from getting research funding, to getting the compounds themselves, to publishing the findings…”  Inspired by Greg Miller, Wired ow.ly/l5yba Image source Facebook ow.ly/l5xiZ Open your mind to Psychedelic Science (June 9 2013)

Greg Miller the American news correspondent on Science with a focus on neuroscience and other areas of biological, behavioral, and social science has published an article on Wired titled ‘Open Your Mind to the New Psychedelic Science’ in which he states “Timothy Leary really screwed things up for science. By abandoning the scientific method for a mystical embrace of hallucinogenic drugs, the Harvard-professor-turned-LSD-evangelist became a symbol of ’60s-era drug-fueled degeneracy. Worse, the ensuing backlash pushed these drugs underground and caused an enormously promising field of research to go dormant for nearly half a century. …But the times they are a-changin’. In recent years, a small cadre of scientists has cautiously rekindled the scientific study of psychedelics. …they reported new findings on how these drugs scramble brain activity in ways that might help explain their mind-bending effects. They’re also slowly building a case that these drugs might help people with depression, anxiety and other disorders. Roughly a dozen small clinical trials are now underway worldwide. But the idea isn’t “take two tabs of acid and call me in the morning.” Instead, these trials are testing the idea that psychedelics taken in a therapist’s office as part of a series of psychotherapy sessions can make talk therapy more effective. …The classic psychedelics, including psilocybin and LSD, stimulate receptors for serotonin, a neurotransmitter that’s also targeted, albeit in different ways, by approved antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs like Prozac and Zoloft. …People in the grips of depression, the thinking goes, are trapped in an endless cycle of critical self-examination, and a little neural desynchronization might help them reboot. …Psychedelic scientists still face obstacles at every step of the process, from getting research funding, to getting the compounds themselves, to publishing the findings…”

 

Inspired by Greg Miller, Wired ow.ly/l5yba Image source Facebook ow.ly/l5xiZ

Philip Cary Plait the 48 year old American Astronomer known as ‘The Bad Astronomer’ skeptic, writer and popular science blogger has published an article on Slate titled ‘Why is Our Government Attacking Science?’. In the article Plait states “What the hell is going on with my government? I’m used to attacks on science; they’ve been endemic for years now. Antivaxxers, global warming deniers, creationists, what have you. And I’ve even gotten used to, at some level, egregiously antiscience rhetoric and machinations from government officials. But over the past few days and weeks things seem to have gone to 11. I’m reeling from the absolute unfettered nonsense and sheer manipulation going on by our elected officials, and I’ll be honest: It’s scary. To start, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who is a global warming denier, by the way, is the head of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. He has recently decided that the National Science Foundation—a globally respected agency of scientific research and investigation—should no longer use peer review to fund grants. Instead it should essentially get political permission for which research to fund. This is not a joke. Smith wants politics to trump science at the National Science Foundation. This prompted a brilliantly indignant letter from Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), who calls this idea “destructive” to science. She’s right. What Smith is doing strongly reminds me of Lysenkoism, when the Soviet government suppressed science on genetics and evolution that didn’t toe the party line. In these attacks on the NSF, a few lines of research have been highlighted that sound silly out of context. We’ve seen this before from those on the far right who attack science… Those government officials may be the ones doing all these awful things, but we’re the ones who, in the end, decide if they can even be in the position to make these attacks. And we need to do something about it.”  Inspired by Phil Plait, Slate ow.ly/l5tWE Image source Facebook ow.ly/l5u49 Why is our government attacking science? (June 7 2013)

 

Philip Cary Plait the 48 year old American Astronomer known as ‘The Bad Astronomer’ skeptic, writer and popular science blogger has published an article on Slate titled ‘Why is Our Government Attacking Science?’. In the article Plait states “What the hell is going on with my government? I’m used to attacks on science; they’ve been endemic for years now. Antivaxxers, global warming deniers, creationists, what have you. And I’ve even gotten used to, at some level, egregiously antiscience rhetoric and machinations from government officials. But over the past few days and weeks things seem to have gone to 11. I’m reeling from the absolute unfettered nonsense and sheer manipulation going on by our elected officials, and I’ll be honest: It’s scary. To start, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who is a global warming denier, by the way, is the head of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. He has recently decided that the National Science Foundation—a globally respected agency of scientific research and investigation—should no longer use peer review to fund grants. Instead it should essentially get political permission for which research to fund. This is not a joke. Smith wants politics to trump science at the National Science Foundation. This prompted a brilliantly indignant letter from Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), who calls this idea “destructive” to science. She’s right. What Smith is doing strongly reminds me of Lysenkoism, when the Soviet government suppressed science on genetics and evolution that didn’t toe the party line. In these attacks on the NSF, a few lines of research have been highlighted that sound silly out of context. We’ve seen this before from those on the far right who attack science… Those government officials may be the ones doing all these awful things, but we’re the ones who, in the end, decide if they can even be in the position to make these attacks. And we need to do something about it.”

 

Inspired by Phil Plait, Slate ow.ly/l5tWE Image source Facebook ow.ly/l5u49

Jose Parla the 39 year old American contemporary artist painter who assumes several roles in order to create his work; acting as a historical transcriber, and a visual raconteur. Parla has been interviewed by Sara Roffino for Blouin Artinfo in an article titled ‘28 Questions for Narrative Painter Jose Parla’ in which he states in reference to The Wrinkles of the City project in Havana Cuba “is a unique collaboration project [with JR] that involves many components such as location scouting, photography, and painting. Together we created 20 murals throughout the city of Havana. Each mural is dedicated to an elderly woman or man. The project as a whole pays homage to the years or experience and physical appearance of the wrinkles of people’s faces in comparison with the deteriorated walls of Havana that show their own wrinkles representative of the struggle in life, the joy and smiling, all of the layers of the memories in their lives. JR and I both randomly met people in Havana by walking the neighborhoods and asking them to participate in our art project... We collaborated on the composition of the pictures on the murals and later pasted them the size of buildings through Havana while I later painted them by layering transparencies of color on the pictures as well as incorporated my calligraphic style, the stories of each person into the composition of each painting. This project began interacting with the public as soon as we started to work in front of everyone. Many people wanted to talk and ask questions and to be involved in the project. In Cuba there is no advertisement and in the 54 years since the revolution, most of the images you see in the city are of political icons…. For us to make 20 murals of random people was a big deal for people there…”  Inspired by Sara Roffino, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/l5rQb Image source Nuart ow.ly/l5rFQ Wrinkles of the City project in Cuba (June 6 2013)

Jose Parla the 39 year old American contemporary artist painter who assumes several roles in order to create his work; acting as a historical transcriber, and a visual raconteur. Parla has been interviewed by Sara Roffino for Blouin Artinfo in an article titled ‘28 Questions for Narrative Painter Jose Parla’ in which he states in reference to The Wrinkles of the City project in Havana Cuba “is a unique collaboration project [with JR] that involves many components such as location scouting, photography, and painting. Together we created 20 murals throughout the city of Havana. Each mural is dedicated to an elderly woman or man. The project as a whole pays homage to the years or experience and physical appearance of the wrinkles of people’s faces in comparison with the deteriorated walls of Havana that show their own wrinkles representative of the struggle in life, the joy and smiling, all of the layers of the memories in their lives. JR and I both randomly met people in Havana by walking the neighborhoods and asking them to participate in our art project… We collaborated on the composition of the pictures on the murals and later pasted them the size of buildings through Havana while I later painted them by layering transparencies of color on the pictures as well as incorporated my calligraphic style, the stories of each person into the composition of each painting. This project began interacting with the public as soon as we started to work in front of everyone. Many people wanted to talk and ask questions and to be involved in the project. In Cuba there is no advertisement and in the 54 years since the revolution, most of the images you see in the city are of political icons…. For us to make 20 murals of random people was a big deal for people there…”

 

Inspired by Sara Roffino, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/l5rQb Image source Nuart ow.ly/l5rFQ

Sarah Maslin Nir the American Journalist and staff reporter for The New York Times has published an article titled ‘Storm Effort Causes a Rift in a Shifting Occupy Movement’ in which she states “Not long ago, the Occupy Wall Street movement seemed poised to largely fade from the national conversation with few concrete accomplishments beyond introducing its hallmark phrase, “We are the 99 percent.” Then Hurricane Sandy struck. In its aftermath, Occupy Wall Street protesters rushed to apply their rabble-rousing hustle to cleaning out houses, clearing debris and raising more than $1.5 million for relief efforts. In some minds, Occupy members had become less a collection of disaffected class warriors than a group of efficient community volunteers. Occupy Sandy, as the effort came to be known, became one of the most widely praised groups working on the storm recovery. As Occupy members around the country plan the movement’s annual May Day protests, a central question has emerged: whether Occupy Sandy represents a betrayal of the Occupy movement, or its future. …So far Occupy Sandy has spent $670,000, according to information the group makes public online, disbursed for essentials like medical supplies ($5,000) and tools for mold remediation ($93,454). But as immediate needs for relief have died down, the group has begun programs reflective of a shift in tactics and a broad interpretation of “rebuilding,” like “Wildfire,” a series of political action classes in the Rockaways, which so far has received $10,600. That shift, toward what one storm volunteer called “indoctrination,” has caused some discomfort among donors and recipients alike. Some Occupiers say that they are simply seeking to stay true to the movement’s goals, which drove them to the storm-ravaged region in the first place. “No one was being tricked into donating to Occupy Sandy,” said Daniele Kohn, who is part of the team managing Occupy Sandy’s finances. “ ‘Occupy’ is part of the name.”  Inspired by Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times ow.ly/l32bf Image source Facebook ow.ly/l32Ie Rift in a Shifting Occupy Movement (June 3 2013)

 

Sarah Maslin Nir the American Journalist and staff reporter for The New York Times has published an article titled ‘Storm Effort Causes a Rift in a Shifting Occupy Movement’ in which she states “Not long ago, the Occupy Wall Street movement seemed poised to largely fade from the national conversation with few concrete accomplishments beyond introducing its hallmark phrase, “We are the 99 percent.” Then Hurricane Sandy struck. In its aftermath, Occupy Wall Street protesters rushed to apply their rabble-rousing hustle to cleaning out houses, clearing debris and raising more than $1.5 million for relief efforts. In some minds, Occupy members had become less a collection of disaffected class warriors than a group of efficient community volunteers. Occupy Sandy, as the effort came to be known, became one of the most widely praised groups working on the storm recovery. As Occupy members around the country plan the movement’s annual May Day protests, a central question has emerged: whether Occupy Sandy represents a betrayal of the Occupy movement, or its future. …So far Occupy Sandy has spent $670,000, according to information the group makes public online, disbursed for essentials like medical supplies ($5,000) and tools for mold remediation ($93,454). But as immediate needs for relief have died down, the group has begun programs reflective of a shift in tactics and a broad interpretation of “rebuilding,” like “Wildfire,” a series of political action classes in the Rockaways, which so far has received $10,600. That shift, toward what one storm volunteer called “indoctrination,” has caused some discomfort among donors and recipients alike. Some Occupiers say that they are simply seeking to stay true to the movement’s goals, which drove them to the storm-ravaged region in the first place. “No one was being tricked into donating to Occupy Sandy,” said Daniele Kohn, who is part of the team managing Occupy Sandy’s finances. “ ‘Occupy’ is part of the name.”

 

Inspired by Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times ow.ly/l32bf Image source Facebook ow.ly/l32Ie

Yianice Hernandez the American Deputy Director of Green Communities overseeing comprehensive research and evaluation of the economic, environmental and health benefits of green affordable housing has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Making green housing affordable’. Hernandez states “What comes to mind when you think about green communities? I find many people think about technology - solar panels, wind turbines, or rapid public transit. Another important pillar of green communities is action: the actions people take related to the buildings in which they live. Green communities must incorporate technology and action. As an uncertain housing market continues to plague the economy, obesity rates escalate, and the number of children and adults living in poverty reaches an all-time high, green housing and sustainable community development have never been more critical. Implementing a holistic vision of sustainable development in the residential sector would help the US address three of its biggest challenges: an economy in the doldrums, climate change, and rising long-term health care costs. The benefits of sustainable development are vast: healthier air to breathe, reduced carbon emissions, water and energy cost savings, improved health from fewer triggers for asthma, and opportunities for people to live active lifestyles. The list goes on. Less well known are the benefits from the actions we take every day in our homes. …In an era when more than one-third of all Americans spend more than 50 percent of their income on rent, green affordable housing technology helps keep rents affordable by reducing energy and water usage. We have seen that educating tenants on the green features where they live and about the health, economic and environmental benefits of green living results in further savings through action.”  Inspired by Yianice Hernandez, Aljazeera ow.ly/l30gL Image source Twitter ow.ly/l30eg Making green housing affordable (June 2 2013)

 

Yianice Hernandez the American Deputy Director of Green Communities overseeing comprehensive research and evaluation of the economic, environmental and health benefits of green affordable housing has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Making green housing affordable’. Hernandez states “What comes to mind when you think about green communities? I find many people think about technology – solar panels, wind turbines, or rapid public transit. Another important pillar of green communities is action: the actions people take related to the buildings in which they live. Green communities must incorporate technology and action. As an uncertain housing market continues to plague the economy, obesity rates escalate, and the number of children and adults living in poverty reaches an all-time high, green housing and sustainable community development have never been more critical. Implementing a holistic vision of sustainable development in the residential sector would help the US address three of its biggest challenges: an economy in the doldrums, climate change, and rising long-term health care costs. The benefits of sustainable development are vast: healthier air to breathe, reduced carbon emissions, water and energy cost savings, improved health from fewer triggers for asthma, and opportunities for people to live active lifestyles. The list goes on. Less well known are the benefits from the actions we take every day in our homes. …In an era when more than one-third of all Americans spend more than 50 percent of their income on rent, green affordable housing technology helps keep rents affordable by reducing energy and water usage. We have seen that educating tenants on the green features where they live and about the health, economic and environmental benefits of green living results in further savings through action.”

 

Inspired by Yianice Hernandez, Aljazeera ow.ly/l30gL Image source Twitter ow.ly/l30eg

Stefanie Ostfeld the American Policy Advisor with Global Witness, an international advocacy organization that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict and corruption, exposing the ways in which the global financial system enables corrupt public officials to loot and launder state funds. Ostfeld has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Why UN arms negotiations must include talk of ending corporate secrecy’, in which she states “There is a need to fix the system that enables illegal arms dealers and other felons to evade law enforcement. As United Nations representatives meet to hammer out a Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) …they must take into account the role of corporate secrecy in facilitating illegal arms trafficking and other crimes around the world. Addressing anonymous shell companies and hidden company ownership will be essential to successfully stemming the flow of illegal weapons around the world and protecting the innocent civilians who suffer from their proliferation. …Each year, approximately 2 million corporations are formed in the US under state laws that often allow anonymous incorporation of companies. While some states require listing of shareholders, these can be other companies or "nominees" who serve as front people for the actual shareholder. In many states, less information is collected from individuals seeking to incorporate than is required from people applying for a driver's licence or registering to vote (which explains how a recent World Bank report found that the US was the favourite destination of corrupt politicians trying to set up such shell companies). …There is a growing momentum in the US and abroad to improve company ownership transparency and end anonymous shell companies. Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that he intends to use the UK presidency of the G8 to address this issue. Now is the perfect time for Congress to end anonymous incorporation in the US and for the Obama administration to act in concert with our international partners to end anonymous incorporation in all G8 countries, and around the world.”  Inspired by Stefanie Ostfeld, Aljazeera ow.ly/kBcvF Image source offshorealert ow.ly/kBdcF UN negotiations must end corporate secrecy (May 29 2013)

 

Stefanie Ostfeld the American Policy Advisor with Global Witness, an international advocacy organization that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict and corruption, exposing the ways in which the global financial system enables corrupt public officials to loot and launder state funds. Ostfeld has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Why UN arms negotiations must include talk of ending corporate secrecy’, in which she states “There is a need to fix the system that enables illegal arms dealers and other felons to evade law enforcement. As United Nations representatives meet to hammer out a Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) …they must take into account the role of corporate secrecy in facilitating illegal arms trafficking and other crimes around the world. Addressing anonymous shell companies and hidden company ownership will be essential to successfully stemming the flow of illegal weapons around the world and protecting the innocent civilians who suffer from their proliferation. …Each year, approximately 2 million corporations are formed in the US under state laws that often allow anonymous incorporation of companies. While some states require listing of shareholders, these can be other companies or “nominees” who serve as front people for the actual shareholder. In many states, less information is collected from individuals seeking to incorporate than is required from people applying for a driver’s licence or registering to vote (which explains how a recent World Bank report found that the US was the favourite destination of corrupt politicians trying to set up such shell companies). …There is a growing momentum in the US and abroad to improve company ownership transparency and end anonymous shell companies. Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that he intends to use the UK presidency of the G8 to address this issue. Now is the perfect time for Congress to end anonymous incorporation in the US and for the Obama administration to act in concert with our international partners to end anonymous incorporation in all G8 countries, and around the world.”

 

Inspired by Stefanie Ostfeld, Aljazeera ow.ly/kBcvF Image source offshorealert ow.ly/kBdcF

Peter Hoffmann the American former Washington and foreign correspondent for a major business/technology news service has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘The Hydrogen Solution’ in which he states “Around the world, governments and businesses are constantly being called upon to make big investments in solar, wind, and geothermal energy, as well as biofuels. But, in the United States, unlike in Europe and Asia, discussion of hydrogen energy and fuel cells as systemic, game-changing technologies is largely absent. That needs to change: these clean, renewable energy sources promise not only zero-emission baseload power, but also a zero-emission fuel for cars and trucks, the biggest polluters of them all. By now, many have heard about plans by big carmakers – including Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai – to launch hydrogen fuel-cell cars commercially around 2015. Daimler, Ford, and Nissan plan to launch such cars around 2017. Germany plans to build at least 50 hydrogen fueling stations by 2015 as the start of a countrywide network. Japan and Korea have announced similar plans. But a bigger, largely unreported, message is that some European countries, especially Germany, have launched projects that combine renewables like solar and wind with hydrogen for energy storage, implying clean, zero-emission, stable power grids that require no coal, oil, or nuclear power. Indeed, the bottom line of a new study by two American researchers, Willett Kempton and Cory Budischak, is that the combination of renewables and hydrogen storage could fully power a large electricity grid by 2030 at costs comparable to those today. Kempton and Budischak designed a computer model for wind, solar, and storage to meet demand for one-fifth of the US grid. The results buck “the conventional wisdom that renewable energy is too unreliable and expensive,” says Kempton.”  Inspired by Peter Hoffmann, Project Syndicate ow.ly/kBbQa Image source hydrogenambassadors ow.ly/kBbHO Hydrogen energy game-changing technologies (May 28 2013)

 

Peter Hoffmann the American former Washington and foreign correspondent for a major business/technology news service has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘The Hydrogen Solution’ in which he states “Around the world, governments and businesses are constantly being called upon to make big investments in solar, wind, and geothermal energy, as well as biofuels. But, in the United States, unlike in Europe and Asia, discussion of hydrogen energy and fuel cells as systemic, game-changing technologies is largely absent. That needs to change: these clean, renewable energy sources promise not only zero-emission baseload power, but also a zero-emission fuel for cars and trucks, the biggest polluters of them all. By now, many have heard about plans by big carmakers – including Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai – to launch hydrogen fuel-cell cars commercially around 2015. Daimler, Ford, and Nissan plan to launch such cars around 2017. Germany plans to build at least 50 hydrogen fueling stations by 2015 as the start of a countrywide network. Japan and Korea have announced similar plans. But a bigger, largely unreported, message is that some European countries, especially Germany, have launched projects that combine renewables like solar and wind with hydrogen for energy storage, implying clean, zero-emission, stable power grids that require no coal, oil, or nuclear power. Indeed, the bottom line of a new study by two American researchers, Willett Kempton and Cory Budischak, is that the combination of renewables and hydrogen storage could fully power a large electricity grid by 2030 at costs comparable to those today. Kempton and Budischak designed a computer model for wind, solar, and storage to meet demand for one-fifth of the US grid. The results buck “the conventional wisdom that renewable energy is too unreliable and expensive,” says Kempton.”

 

Inspired by Peter Hoffmann, Project Syndicate ow.ly/kBbQa Image source hydrogenambassadors ow.ly/kBbHO

Jere Downs the American journalist and business writer has published an article in the Courier Journal titled ‘New York nonprofit buys and forgives more than $1 million in Louisville medical debt’. Downs states “A New York-based nonprofit says it has bought up more than $1 million in medical debts owed by more than 1,000 people in the Louisville area, as part of a protest of the credit industry. The Rolling Jubilee Fund, founded by Occupy Wall Street protesters, said it has forgiven the debts, which ranged from $25.50 to $8,790 — so they no longer have to be paid. “We believe that no one should have to go into debt for the basic things in our lives, like healthcare, housing and education,” said Thomas Gokey, the organization's vice president. The goal of the project, which began last fall, is to “to buy and abolish personal debt,” said Gokey, who argues there is a double standard with debt — Wall Street banks that owe billions of dollars are bailed out, while “the same options are not available for the 99 percent.” The Rolling Jubilee said it used donations from people sympathetic to their cause to purchase the debt, which was owed to local doctors and then sold on the credit market after the doctors were unable to collect. The group said it bought the debt from a debt broker and a collection agency in the Louisville area. …Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, according to a study by Harvard University Law School. An estimated 17 percent of Kentucky residents have no medical insurance, including Medicaid, according to the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Kentucky. ……Health care costs are “such a disaster, a personal and individual disaster for so many Kentuckians and people in Indiana,” Adams said, adding the Rolling Jubilee Fund “is truly a wonderful thing.”  Inspired by Jere Downs, Courier Journal ow.ly/kuIxy Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuIx8 Protest of the credit industry (May 26 2013)

 

Jere Downs the American journalist and business writer has published an article in the Courier Journal titled ‘New York nonprofit buys and forgives more than $1 million in Louisville medical debt’. Downs states “A New York-based nonprofit says it has bought up more than $1 million in medical debts owed by more than 1,000 people in the Louisville area, as part of a protest of the credit industry. The Rolling Jubilee Fund, founded by Occupy Wall Street protesters, said it has forgiven the debts, which ranged from $25.50 to $8,790 — so they no longer have to be paid. “We believe that no one should have to go into debt for the basic things in our lives, like healthcare, housing and education,” said Thomas Gokey, the organization’s vice president. The goal of the project, which began last fall, is to “to buy and abolish personal debt,” said Gokey, who argues there is a double standard with debt — Wall Street banks that owe billions of dollars are bailed out, while “the same options are not available for the 99 percent.” The Rolling Jubilee said it used donations from people sympathetic to their cause to purchase the debt, which was owed to local doctors and then sold on the credit market after the doctors were unable to collect. The group said it bought the debt from a debt broker and a collection agency in the Louisville area. …Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, according to a study by Harvard University Law School. An estimated 17 percent of Kentucky residents have no medical insurance, including Medicaid, according to the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Kentucky. ……Health care costs are “such a disaster, a personal and individual disaster for so many Kentuckians and people in Indiana,” Adams said, adding the Rolling Jubilee Fund “is truly a wonderful thing.”

 

Inspired by Jere Downs, Courier Journal ow.ly/kuIxy Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuIx8

Michael Brant Shermer the 58 year old American science writer, historian of science, and founder of The Skeptics Society has been interviewed by Joseph Cotto for the Washington Times in an article titled ‘Asking Michael Shermer: Why is mythology more popular than science?’. Shermer states “…it is better to live in a reality-based worldview than a faith-based (or superstition-based) worldview. Plus, for a liberal democracy to work we need informed voters, but not just informed—they need to know how to think critically. That is, not just what to think, but HOW to think. That is what scientific skepticism is all about—knowing how to think about claims, how to test hypotheses, how to challenge ideas fairly and objectively …Mythology (and its cousin religion) are only more popular in certain areas. When it comes to, say, medical treatment, almost everyone in the industrial West still favors going to a medical doctor instead of a witch doctor. You show me someone who prefers mythology at 35,000 feet and I’ll show you a hypocrite. …Derision only comes from a few corners: religious fundamentalists on one extreme and academic postmodernists on the other extreme. I have debunked them both thoroughly and they are not worth bothering about unless they try to influence education and politics, which they occasionally do, so we monitor their activities and respond when necessary; otherwise they are best ignored for the ignorance they portray. They reject science because it is open-ended and they already know the truth. …Extremist ideologies can attract droves of followers, but in the long run they do not survive. Moderate politics is in it for the long haul, which is why no terrorist organization in half a century of attempts has ever overrun a state. In fact, studies show that 95% of the time terrorists fail to achieve even one of their objectives.”  Inspired by Joseph Cotto, The Washington Times ow.ly/kuDXs Image source David Patton ow.ly/kuDWe Extremist ideologies attract droves of followers (May 20 2013)

 

Michael Brant Shermer the 58 year old American science writer, historian of science, and founder of The Skeptics Society has been interviewed by Joseph Cotto for the Washington Times in an article titled ‘Asking Michael Shermer: Why is mythology more popular than science?’. Shermer states “…it is better to live in a reality-based worldview than a faith-based (or superstition-based) worldview. Plus, for a liberal democracy to work we need informed voters, but not just informed—they need to know how to think critically. That is, not just what to think, but HOW to think. That is what scientific skepticism is all about—knowing how to think about claims, how to test hypotheses, how to challenge ideas fairly and objectively …Mythology (and its cousin religion) are only more popular in certain areas. When it comes to, say, medical treatment, almost everyone in the industrial West still favors going to a medical doctor instead of a witch doctor. You show me someone who prefers mythology at 35,000 feet and I’ll show you a hypocrite. …Derision only comes from a few corners: religious fundamentalists on one extreme and academic postmodernists on the other extreme. I have debunked them both thoroughly and they are not worth bothering about unless they try to influence education and politics, which they occasionally do, so we monitor their activities and respond when necessary; otherwise they are best ignored for the ignorance they portray. They reject science because it is open-ended and they already know the truth. …Extremist ideologies can attract droves of followers, but in the long run they do not survive. Moderate politics is in it for the long haul, which is why no terrorist organization in half a century of attempts has ever overrun a state. In fact, studies show that 95% of the time terrorists fail to achieve even one of their objectives.”

 

Inspired by Joseph Cotto, The Washington Times ow.ly/kuDXs Image source David Patton ow.ly/kuDWe

Liz Alderman the American Paris based writer on European economics, finance and business has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘More Children in Greece Are Going Hungry’ in which she states “The Greek economy is in free fall, having shrunk by 20 percent in the past five years. The unemployment rate is more than 27 percent, the highest in Europe, and 6 of 10 job seekers say they have not worked in more than a year. Those dry statistics are reshaping the lives of Greek families with children, more of whom are arriving at schools hungry or underfed, even malnourished, according to private groups and the government itself. Last year, an estimated 10 percent of Greek elementary and middle school students suffered from what public health professionals call “food insecurity,” meaning they faced hunger or the risk of it, said Dr. Athena Linos, a professor at the University of Athens Medical School who also heads a food assistance program at Prolepsis, a nongovernmental public health group that has studied the situation. “When it comes to food insecurity, Greece has now fallen to the level of some African countries,” she said. Unlike those in the United States, Greek schools do not offer subsidized cafeteria lunches. Students bring their own food or buy items from a canteen. The cost has become insurmountable for some families with little or no income. Their troubles have been compounded by new austerity measures demanded by Greece’s creditors, including higher electricity taxes and cuts in subsidies for large families. As a result, parents without work are seeing their savings and benefits rapidly disappear. …A 2012 Unicef report showed that among the poorest Greek households with children, more than 26 percent had an “economically weak diet.” The phenomenon has hit immigrants hardest but is spreading quickly among Greeks in urban areas where one or both parents are effectively permanently unemployed…”  Inspired by Liz Alderman, New York Times ow.ly/kuDf7 Image source Facebook ow.ly/kuDeq Children in Greece Are Going Hungry (May 18 2013)

 

Liz Alderman the American Paris based writer on European economics, finance and business has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘More Children in Greece Are Going Hungry’ in which she states “The Greek economy is in free fall, having shrunk by 20 percent in the past five years. The unemployment rate is more than 27 percent, the highest in Europe, and 6 of 10 job seekers say they have not worked in more than a year. Those dry statistics are reshaping the lives of Greek families with children, more of whom are arriving at schools hungry or underfed, even malnourished, according to private groups and the government itself. Last year, an estimated 10 percent of Greek elementary and middle school students suffered from what public health professionals call “food insecurity,” meaning they faced hunger or the risk of it, said Dr. Athena Linos, a professor at the University of Athens Medical School who also heads a food assistance program at Prolepsis, a nongovernmental public health group that has studied the situation. “When it comes to food insecurity, Greece has now fallen to the level of some African countries,” she said. Unlike those in the United States, Greek schools do not offer subsidized cafeteria lunches. Students bring their own food or buy items from a canteen. The cost has become insurmountable for some families with little or no income. Their troubles have been compounded by new austerity measures demanded by Greece’s creditors, including higher electricity taxes and cuts in subsidies for large families. As a result, parents without work are seeing their savings and benefits rapidly disappear. …A 2012 Unicef report showed that among the poorest Greek households with children, more than 26 percent had an “economically weak diet.” The phenomenon has hit immigrants hardest but is spreading quickly among Greeks in urban areas where one or both parents are effectively permanently unemployed…”

 

Inspired by Liz Alderman, New York Times ow.ly/kuDf7 Image source Facebook ow.ly/kuDeq

Jennifer Viegas the American Discovery News reporter has published an article on io9 titled ‘This Fish Fossil Shows Why Humans Have Two Arms and Two Legs’. In the article Viegas states “An unusual prehistoric fish with fins near its butt has helped to solve the mystery over why most animals, including humans, have paired limbs. The fish, Euphanerops, is possibly the first creature on the planet to have evolved paired appendages, which in this case were fins. The 370-million-year-old species is described in the latest issue of Biology Letters. …This was a jawless fish that lived long before dinosaurs first emerged. Many living fish have a single anal fin, located at the center back of the fish’s underside near its rear end. The fin is thought to help maintain control of body position. Euphanerops, however, evolved two such fins. Some subsequent fish did not evolve the paired appendages, so fish with all sorts of fin combinations existed for a while. …later helped some species make the transition from water to land.  Heather King of the University of Chicago and colleagues studied living lungfish to see how that transition might have happened. "Lungfish are very closely related to the animals that were able to evolve and come out of the water and onto land, but that was so long ago that almost everything except the lungfish has gone extinct," she explained. King and her team found that lungfish could, as their name suggests, blow up with air like a balloon, giving their body buoyancy. Their scrawny back paired appendages can then either sort of hop or actually walk by alternating the movement of these limbs. …Since those first steps from water to land were taken, some animals evolved four limbs for walking. Even for these animals, like dogs and cats, the limbs come in pairs. For that innovation, we can probably thank the unusual, long-extinct jaw-less fish Euphanerops.”  Inspired by Jennifer Viegas, io9 ow.ly/k8YXQ Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8Zwf Why humans have two arms and two legs (May 15 2013)

 

Jennifer Viegas the American Discovery News reporter has published an article on io9 titled ‘This Fish Fossil Shows Why Humans Have Two Arms and Two Legs’. In the article Viegas states “An unusual prehistoric fish with fins near its butt has helped to solve the mystery over why most animals, including humans, have paired limbs. The fish, Euphanerops, is possibly the first creature on the planet to have evolved paired appendages, which in this case were fins. The 370-million-year-old species is described in the latest issue of Biology Letters. …This was a jawless fish that lived long before dinosaurs first emerged. Many living fish have a single anal fin, located at the center back of the fish’s underside near its rear end. The fin is thought to help maintain control of body position. Euphanerops, however, evolved two such fins. Some subsequent fish did not evolve the paired appendages, so fish with all sorts of fin combinations existed for a while. …later helped some species make the transition from water to land.  Heather King of the University of Chicago and colleagues studied living lungfish to see how that transition might have happened. “Lungfish are very closely related to the animals that were able to evolve and come out of the water and onto land, but that was so long ago that almost everything except the lungfish has gone extinct,” she explained. King and her team found that lungfish could, as their name suggests, blow up with air like a balloon, giving their body buoyancy. Their scrawny back paired appendages can then either sort of hop or actually walk by alternating the movement of these limbs. …Since those first steps from water to land were taken, some animals evolved four limbs for walking. Even for these animals, like dogs and cats, the limbs come in pairs. For that innovation, we can probably thank the unusual, long-extinct jaw-less fish Euphanerops.”

 

Inspired by Jennifer Viegas, io9 ow.ly/k8YXQ Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8Zwf

Scott K Johnson the American Hydrogeologist and Earth science instructor at Madison College has published an article on Ars Technica titled ‘Oceans continue to warm, especially the deeps’ referring to altered patterns seen over past two decades. In the article Johnson states “When discussing global warming, the public eye is mostly directed to global average surface air temperatures, but that’s just one slice of the climate pie. If you haven’t noticed, the ocean is awfully big, and it holds a great deal more heat energy than the atmosphere. In fact, about 90 percent of the energy that’s been added to the climate system by human activities has gone into the ocean. …The resulting ocean heat content data shows some interesting features. Drops in ocean heat content coincide with large volcanic eruptions, which pump sunlight-reflecting aerosol particles into the atmosphere for a time. But there’s also a small drop after 1998—a year known for the incredibly strong El Nino that pushed global surface temperature to a (then) high point. …After this period, ocean heat content continued to rise sharply—especially in the deep ocean. The paper states that “recent warming rates of the waters below 700 [meters] appear to be unprecedented” in the record. Supporting some earlier estimates, the data shows about 30 percent of ocean warming after 1998 taking place more than 700 meters down. While it’s certainly useful to note the extent to which heat energy is accumulating in the climate system, it’s more interesting to ask why the deep ocean has taken such a large share of it recently. It seems to relate to changes in ocean circulation. A 2011 study indicated that La Ninas and a circulation pattern called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation could cause lulls in surface warming while energy is stuffed into the deep ocean. That may be exactly what we’ve experienced over the past decade. When those conditions change, we’ll see the effects in higher surface temperatures.”  Inspired by Scott K Johnson, ars technica ow.ly/k8XFo Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8Y70 Oceans continue to warm especially the deeps (May 14 2013)

Scott K Johnson the American Hydrogeologist and Earth science instructor at Madison College has published an article on Ars Technica titled ‘Oceans continue to warm, especially the deeps’ referring to altered patterns seen over past two decades. In the article Johnson states “When discussing global warming, the public eye is mostly directed to global average surface air temperatures, but that’s just one slice of the climate pie. If you haven’t noticed, the ocean is awfully big, and it holds a great deal more heat energy than the atmosphere. In fact, about 90 percent of the energy that’s been added to the climate system by human activities has gone into the ocean. …The resulting ocean heat content data shows some interesting features. Drops in ocean heat content coincide with large volcanic eruptions, which pump sunlight-reflecting aerosol particles into the atmosphere for a time. But there’s also a small drop after 1998—a year known for the incredibly strong El Nino that pushed global surface temperature to a (then) high point. …After this period, ocean heat content continued to rise sharply—especially in the deep ocean. The paper states that “recent warming rates of the waters below 700 [meters] appear to be unprecedented” in the record. Supporting some earlier estimates, the data shows about 30 percent of ocean warming after 1998 taking place more than 700 meters down. While it’s certainly useful to note the extent to which heat energy is accumulating in the climate system, it’s more interesting to ask why the deep ocean has taken such a large share of it recently. It seems to relate to changes in ocean circulation. A 2011 study indicated that La Ninas and a circulation pattern called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation could cause lulls in surface warming while energy is stuffed into the deep ocean. That may be exactly what we’ve experienced over the past decade. When those conditions change, we’ll see the effects in higher surface temperatures.”

 

Inspired by Scott K Johnson, ars technica ow.ly/k8XFo Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8Y70

Lauren Carasik the American Professor and nationally recognized expert in the field of disability law has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘When fear eclipses justice, we all lose: Shutter Guantanamo now’ stating the US intransigence on Guantanamo issue is counterproductive, as it only serves to stoke animosity and contempt. In the article Carasik states “Eleven years into their incarceration at Guantanamo Bay, many desperate detainees are exerting what little control they still exert over their lives: they are refusing to eat. As word of the hunger strikes began trickling out of the prison in February, lawyers for the detainees became increasingly alarmed at the harrowing conditions their clients were reporting. Even now a vast discrepancy separates the official story and what numerous counsels have witnessed and heard firsthand from their clients. According to various detainees, the roots of the resistance originated when the prison authorities seemed to revert to their pre-Obama levels of brutality.  Cells were searched, family photos and other cherished, tangible reminders of life before Guantanamo were confiscated and harsh treatment ensued. Perhaps more upsetting to detainees was that Qurans were rifled through in a manner detainees had repeatedly denounced as desecration of their holy book. The justification centred on arguments that such searches were necessary security measures, though detainees were reportedly willing to surrender their Qurans instead of having them subjected to search, while observing that hiding items in the Quran would violate their religious practices. …According to lawyers for the detainees, after almost two months of striking, the health of the men is deteriorating rapidly, and others are already in critical condition. Medical experts warn that long-term hunger strikes can cause severe and irreversible physiological and neurological damage, which is compounded by the psychological distress of indefinite detention and isolation. An unconfirmed number of detainees are prepared to die, and may in fact prefer death to living their remaining years within the confines of Guantanamo. The US can and must act: if it has any hope of regaining its moral authority, these men should not be reduced to a despair so profound that they feel their only way out of Guantanamo is in a coffin.”  Inspired by Lauren Carasik, Aljazeera ow.ly/k6H4b Image source WNE ow.ly/k6HA7 When fear eclipses justice we all lose (May 10 2013)

 

Lauren Carasik the American Professor and nationally recognized expert in the field of disability law has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘When fear eclipses justice, we all lose: Shutter Guantanamo now’ stating the US intransigence on Guantanamo issue is counterproductive, as it only serves to stoke animosity and contempt. In the article Carasik states “Eleven years into their incarceration at Guantanamo Bay, many desperate detainees are exerting what little control they still exert over their lives: they are refusing to eat. As word of the hunger strikes began trickling out of the prison in February, lawyers for the detainees became increasingly alarmed at the harrowing conditions their clients were reporting. Even now a vast discrepancy separates the official story and what numerous counsels have witnessed and heard firsthand from their clients. According to various detainees, the roots of the resistance originated when the prison authorities seemed to revert to their pre-Obama levels of brutality.  Cells were searched, family photos and other cherished, tangible reminders of life before Guantanamo were confiscated and harsh treatment ensued. Perhaps more upsetting to detainees was that Qurans were rifled through in a manner detainees had repeatedly denounced as desecration of their holy book. The justification centred on arguments that such searches were necessary security measures, though detainees were reportedly willing to surrender their Qurans instead of having them subjected to search, while observing that hiding items in the Quran would violate their religious practices. …According to lawyers for the detainees, after almost two months of striking, the health of the men is deteriorating rapidly, and others are already in critical condition. Medical experts warn that long-term hunger strikes can cause severe and irreversible physiological and neurological damage, which is compounded by the psychological distress of indefinite detention and isolation. An unconfirmed number of detainees are prepared to die, and may in fact prefer death to living their remaining years within the confines of Guantanamo. The US can and must act: if it has any hope of regaining its moral authority, these men should not be reduced to a despair so profound that they feel their only way out of Guantanamo is in a coffin.”

 

Inspired by Lauren Carasik, Aljazeera ow.ly/k6H4b Image source WNE ow.ly/k6HA7

Barry Eichengreen the 61 year old American Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘The Use and Abuse of Monetary History’. In the article Eichengreen states “Imagine two central banks. One is hyperactive, responding aggressively to events. While it certainly cannot be accused of ignoring current developments, its policies are widely criticized as storing up problems for the future. The other central bank is unflappable. It remains calm in the face of events, seeking at all cost to avoid doing anything that might be construed as encouraging excessive risk-taking or creating even a whiff of inflation. What I have just described is no mere hypothetical, of course. It is, in fact, a capsule depiction of the United States Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. One popular explanation for the two banks’ different approaches is that they stem from their societies’ respective historical experiences. The banks’ institutional personalities reflect the role of collective memory in shaping how officials conceptualize the problems that they face. The Great Depression of the 1930’s, when the Fed stood idly by as the economy collapsed, is the molding event seared into the consciousness of every American central banker. As a result, the Fed responds aggressively when it perceives even a limited risk of another depression. By contrast, the defining event shaping European monetary policy is the hyperinflation of the 1920’s, filtered through the experience of the 1970’s and 1980’s, when central banks were enlisted once again to finance budget deficits – and again with inflationary consequences. Indeed, delegating national monetary policies to a Europe-wide central bank was intended to solve precisely this problem. … For the Fed, it is important to ask whether the 1930’s, when its premature policy tightening precipitated a double-dip recession, really is the best historical analogy to consider when contemplating how to time the exit from its current accommodating stance. Certainly, the Great Depression is not the only alternative on offer.”  Inspired by Barry Eichengreen, Project Syndicate ow.ly/k6FvO Image source Twitter ow.ly/k6FsF Use and abuse of monetary history (May 9 2013)

 

Barry Eichengreen the 61 year old American Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘The Use and Abuse of Monetary History’. In the article Eichengreen states “Imagine two central banks. One is hyperactive, responding aggressively to events. While it certainly cannot be accused of ignoring current developments, its policies are widely criticized as storing up problems for the future. The other central bank is unflappable. It remains calm in the face of events, seeking at all cost to avoid doing anything that might be construed as encouraging excessive risk-taking or creating even a whiff of inflation. What I have just described is no mere hypothetical, of course. It is, in fact, a capsule depiction of the United States Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. One popular explanation for the two banks’ different approaches is that they stem from their societies’ respective historical experiences. The banks’ institutional personalities reflect the role of collective memory in shaping how officials conceptualize the problems that they face. The Great Depression of the 1930’s, when the Fed stood idly by as the economy collapsed, is the molding event seared into the consciousness of every American central banker. As a result, the Fed responds aggressively when it perceives even a limited risk of another depression. By contrast, the defining event shaping European monetary policy is the hyperinflation of the 1920’s, filtered through the experience of the 1970’s and 1980’s, when central banks were enlisted once again to finance budget deficits – and again with inflationary consequences. Indeed, delegating national monetary policies to a Europe-wide central bank was intended to solve precisely this problem. … For the Fed, it is important to ask whether the 1930’s, when its premature policy tightening precipitated a double-dip recession, really is the best historical analogy to consider when contemplating how to time the exit from its current accommodating stance. Certainly, the Great Depression is not the only alternative on offer.”

 

Inspired by Barry Eichengreen, Project Syndicate ow.ly/k6FvO Image source Twitter ow.ly/k6FsF

William Eggleston the 73 year old American photographer who is credited with increasing recognition for color photography as a legitimate artistic medium to display in art galleries has been featured by Julia Halperin in a Blouin Artinfo article titled ‘Judge Rules William Eggleston Can Clone His Own Work, Rebuffing Angry Collector’. Halperin states “Photographers across the country can breathe a sigh of relief. The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York dismissed collector Jonathan Sobel’s lawsuit against photographer William Eggleston. The case, art law experts say, has broader implications for all artists who incorporate old photographic negatives into new work — and the collectors who support them. Filed last April, the complaint alleged that Eggleston diluted the value of Sobel’s collection by printing larger, digital versions of some of his best-known works and then selling them for record prices at Christie’s. …The lawsuit was spurred by Christie’s sale last March of 36 poster-size, digital prints of images that Eggleston had shot in the Mississippi Delta more than 30 years ago. Some were created from negatives he had never printed before, while others were based on iconic works… For Sobel, who owns 190 Eggleston works, the success of the sale was part of the problem. “The commercial value of art is scarcity, and if you make more of something, it becomes less valuable,” he told ARTINFO last April. The judge disagreed. Egggleston may have profited from the Christie’s sale, she concluded, but not at Sobel’s expense. Eggleston could be held liable only if he created new editions of the limited-edition works in Sobel’s collection using the same dye-transfer process he used for the originals — a move that would directly deflate their value. In this case, however, Eggleston was using a new digital process to produce what she deemed a new body of work.”   Inspired by Julia Halperin, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/k6Eb7 Image source Facebook ow.ly/k6E3T Deemed a new body of work (May 8 2013)

 

William Eggleston the 73 year old American photographer who is credited with increasing recognition for color photography as a legitimate artistic medium to display in art galleries has been featured by Julia Halperin in a Blouin Artinfo article titled ‘Judge Rules William Eggleston Can Clone His Own Work, Rebuffing Angry Collector’. Halperin states “Photographers across the country can breathe a sigh of relief. The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York dismissed collector Jonathan Sobel’s lawsuit against photographer William Eggleston. The case, art law experts say, has broader implications for all artists who incorporate old photographic negatives into new work — and the collectors who support them. Filed last April, the complaint alleged that Eggleston diluted the value of Sobel’s collection by printing larger, digital versions of some of his best-known works and then selling them for record prices at Christie’s. …The lawsuit was spurred by Christie’s sale last March of 36 poster-size, digital prints of images that Eggleston had shot in the Mississippi Delta more than 30 years ago. Some were created from negatives he had never printed before, while others were based on iconic works… For Sobel, who owns 190 Eggleston works, the success of the sale was part of the problem. “The commercial value of art is scarcity, and if you make more of something, it becomes less valuable,” he told ARTINFO last April. The judge disagreed. Egggleston may have profited from the Christie’s sale, she concluded, but not at Sobel’s expense. Eggleston could be held liable only if he created new editions of the limited-edition works in Sobel’s collection using the same dye-transfer process he used for the originals — a move that would directly deflate their value. In this case, however, Eggleston was using a new digital process to produce what she deemed a new body of work.”

 

Inspired by Julia Halperin, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/k6Eb7 Image source Facebook ow.ly/k6E3T

Sam Harris the 46 year old American author, philosopher, neuroscientist, and the co-founder and CEO of Project Reason has published an article on his web site titled ‘Response to Controversy’ in which he states “A few of the subjects I explore in my work have inspired an unusual amount of controversy. Some of this results from real differences of opinion or honest confusion, but much of it is due to the fact that certain of my detractors deliberately misrepresent my views. The purpose of this article is to address the most consequential of these distortions. A general point about the mechanics of defamation: It is impossible to effectively defend oneself against unethical critics. If nothing else, the law of entropy is on their side, because it will always be easier to make a mess than to clean it up. It is, for instance, easier to call a person a “racist,” a “bigot,” a “misogynist,” etc. than it is for one’s target to prove that he isn’t any of these things. In fact, the very act of defending himself against such accusations quickly becomes debasing. Whether or not the original charges can be made to stick, the victim immediately seems thin-skinned and overly concerned about his reputation. And, rebutted or not, the original charges will be repeated in blogs and comment threads, and many readers will assume that where there’s smoke, there must be fire.  Such defamation is made all the easier if one writes and speaks on extremely controversial topics and with a philosopher’s penchant for describing the corner cases—the ticking time bomb, the perfect weapon, the magic wand, the mind-reading machine, etc.—in search of conceptual clarity. It literally becomes child’s play to find quotations that make the author look morally suspect, even depraved.”  Inspired by Sam Harris ow.ly/k4j2H Image source Twitter ow.ly/k4iUP Easier to make a mess than to clean it up (May 4 2013)

 

Sam Harris the 46 year old American author, philosopher, neuroscientist, and the co-founder and CEO of Project Reason has published an article on his web site titled ‘Response to Controversy’ in which he states “A few of the subjects I explore in my work have inspired an unusual amount of controversy. Some of this results from real differences of opinion or honest confusion, but much of it is due to the fact that certain of my detractors deliberately misrepresent my views. The purpose of this article is to address the most consequential of these distortions. A general point about the mechanics of defamation: It is impossible to effectively defend oneself against unethical critics. If nothing else, the law of entropy is on their side, because it will always be easier to make a mess than to clean it up. It is, for instance, easier to call a person a “racist,” a “bigot,” a “misogynist,” etc. than it is for one’s target to prove that he isn’t any of these things. In fact, the very act of defending himself against such accusations quickly becomes debasing. Whether or not the original charges can be made to stick, the victim immediately seems thin-skinned and overly concerned about his reputation. And, rebutted or not, the original charges will be repeated in blogs and comment threads, and many readers will assume that where there’s smoke, there must be fire.  Such defamation is made all the easier if one writes and speaks on extremely controversial topics and with a philosopher’s penchant for describing the corner cases—the ticking time bomb, the perfect weapon, the magic wand, the mind-reading machine, etc.—in search of conceptual clarity. It literally becomes child’s play to find quotations that make the author look morally suspect, even depraved.”

 

Inspired by Sam Harris ow.ly/k4j2H Image source Twitter ow.ly/k4iUP

Rachel M McCleary the American Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, conducts research on the political economy of religion, focusing on how religion interacts with economic performance and the political and social behavior of individuals and institutions across societies. McCleary along with her husband Robert Barro have published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘Popes, Saints, and Religious Competition’ in which they state “The election of the first non-European pope is long overdue. After all, Pope Francis’s native region, Latin America, is currently home to nearly half (44%) of the world’s Catholics. But the Catholic Church is increasingly losing out to Protestant competition there and elsewhere. …The Catholic Church understands this competition, but it confronts a chronic shortage of priests. As a result, the creation of saints is becoming an important way of retaining the faithful. Indeed, the choice of a Latin American pope echoes a prior shift in the geographical distribution of new saints. …The rationale for this shift is to use national saints to inspire Catholics – and thereby counter the competition from Protestants, especially Evangelicals. This phenomenon is most clear in Latin America, but it applies to North America, Asia, and Africa as well. …The idea of using saints to compete with evangelicals in Latin America goes back a long way – the friars accompanying conquering Spanish troops introduced patron saints in every nucleated community. Coupled with persistent shortages of priests, the worship of saints in Latin America became more embedded in the region’s culture than in that of Europe. …The combination of the highest share of Catholics in the world with a decline in the share of religious adherents leaves Francis facing a strategic dilemma. Either he can focus on regaining Latin America for the Catholic Church, or he can place longer-term bets on Sub-Saharan Africa, where both the population and Catholicism are now growing faster than anywhere else in the world. Where will the next saints come from?”  Inspired by Rachel McCleary & Robert Barro, Project Syndicate ow.ly/k2RKa Image source LinkedIn ow.ly/k2RF9 Where will the next saints come from? (May 1 2013)

 

Rachel M McCleary the American Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, conducts research on the political economy of religion, focusing on how religion interacts with economic performance and the political and social behavior of individuals and institutions across societies. McCleary along with her husband Robert Barro have published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘Popes, Saints, and Religious Competition’ in which they state “The election of the first non-European pope is long overdue. After all, Pope Francis’s native region, Latin America, is currently home to nearly half (44%) of the world’s Catholics. But the Catholic Church is increasingly losing out to Protestant competition there and elsewhere. …The Catholic Church understands this competition, but it confronts a chronic shortage of priests. As a result, the creation of saints is becoming an important way of retaining the faithful. Indeed, the choice of a Latin American pope echoes a prior shift in the geographical distribution of new saints. …The rationale for this shift is to use national saints to inspire Catholics – and thereby counter the competition from Protestants, especially Evangelicals. This phenomenon is most clear in Latin America, but it applies to North America, Asia, and Africa as well. …The idea of using saints to compete with evangelicals in Latin America goes back a long way – the friars accompanying conquering Spanish troops introduced patron saints in every nucleated community. Coupled with persistent shortages of priests, the worship of saints in Latin America became more embedded in the region’s culture than in that of Europe. …The combination of the highest share of Catholics in the world with a decline in the share of religious adherents leaves Francis facing a strategic dilemma. Either he can focus on regaining Latin America for the Catholic Church, or he can place longer-term bets on Sub-Saharan Africa, where both the population and Catholicism are now growing faster than anywhere else in the world. Where will the next saints come from?”

 

Inspired by Rachel McCleary & Robert Barro, Project Syndicate ow.ly/k2RKa Image source LinkedIn ow.ly/k2RF9

Justin Gillis the American 2011 Oakes Award winner for Distinguished Environmental Journalism for his ongoing multimedia series, Temperature Rising, which examines the fundamental tenets of manmade climate change, has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘Global Temperatures Highest in 4,000 Years’. Gillis states “Global temperatures are warmer than at any time in at least 4,000 years, scientists reported, and over the coming decades are likely to surpass levels not seen on the planet since before the last ice age. …Previous research had extended back roughly 1,500 years, and suggested that the rapid temperature spike of the past century, believed to be a consequence of human activity, exceeded any warming episode during those years. The new work confirms that result while suggesting the modern warming is unique over a longer period. Even if the temperature increase from human activity that is projected for later this century comes out on the low end of estimates, scientists said, the planet will be at least as warm as it was during the warmest periods of the modern geological era, known as the Holocene, and probably warmer than that. That epoch began about 12,000 years ago, after changes in incoming sunshine caused vast ice sheets to melt across the Northern Hemisphere. Scientists believe the moderate climate of the Holocene set the stage for the rise of human civilization roughly 8,000 years ago and continues to sustain it by, for example, permitting a high level of food production. In the new research… Shaun Marcott, an earth scientist at Oregon State University, and his colleagues compiled the most meticulous reconstruction yet of global temperatures over the past 11,300 years, virtually the entire Holocene. They used indicators like the distribution of microscopic, temperature-sensitive ocean creatures to determine past climate. …The modern rise that has recreated the temperatures of 5,000 years ago is occurring at an exceedingly rapid clip on a geological time scale, appearing in graphs in the new paper as a sharp vertical spike. If the rise continues apace, early Holocene temperatures are likely to be surpassed within this century, Dr. Marcott said.”  Inspired by Justin Gillis, New York Times ow.ly/jBgYJ Image source UGA ow.ly/jBgWU Global temperatures highest in 4,000 years (April 30 2013)

 

Justin Gillis the American 2011 Oakes Award winner for Distinguished Environmental Journalism for his ongoing multimedia series, Temperature Rising, which examines the fundamental tenets of manmade climate change, has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘Global Temperatures Highest in 4,000 Years’. Gillis states “Global temperatures are warmer than at any time in at least 4,000 years, scientists reported, and over the coming decades are likely to surpass levels not seen on the planet since before the last ice age. …Previous research had extended back roughly 1,500 years, and suggested that the rapid temperature spike of the past century, believed to be a consequence of human activity, exceeded any warming episode during those years. The new work confirms that result while suggesting the modern warming is unique over a longer period. Even if the temperature increase from human activity that is projected for later this century comes out on the low end of estimates, scientists said, the planet will be at least as warm as it was during the warmest periods of the modern geological era, known as the Holocene, and probably warmer than that. That epoch began about 12,000 years ago, after changes in incoming sunshine caused vast ice sheets to melt across the Northern Hemisphere. Scientists believe the moderate climate of the Holocene set the stage for the rise of human civilization roughly 8,000 years ago and continues to sustain it by, for example, permitting a high level of food production. In the new research… Shaun Marcott, an earth scientist at Oregon State University, and his colleagues compiled the most meticulous reconstruction yet of global temperatures over the past 11,300 years, virtually the entire Holocene. They used indicators like the distribution of microscopic, temperature-sensitive ocean creatures to determine past climate. …The modern rise that has recreated the temperatures of 5,000 years ago is occurring at an exceedingly rapid clip on a geological time scale, appearing in graphs in the new paper as a sharp vertical spike. If the rise continues apace, early Holocene temperatures are likely to be surpassed within this century, Dr. Marcott said.”

 

Inspired by Justin Gillis, New York Times ow.ly/jBgYJ Image source UGA ow.ly/jBgWU

David H Remes the 58 year old American lawyer recognized for his human rights work notable for volunteering to serve as a pro bono attorney for some of the captives held in extrajudicial detention in the US Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba has published an article titled ‘The Tragic Death of Adnan Latif: What is the Military Trying to Hide?’ on Firedoglake by Jeff Kaye. Remes states “…Truthout first reported, the US military began saying that my client Adnan Latif, a Yemeni at Guantanamo, who died in his cell on September 8, committed suicide by overdosing on medication he smuggled into his cell. On Saturday, December 15, the military further stated that acute pneumonia was a contributing factor in Adnan’s death. The government’s theory doesn’t stand up. It leaves urgent questions unanswered. …is it plausible that Adnan smuggled medication into his cell, much less kept and used it? Or did the military, perhaps, plant medication in his cell to facilitate his suicide? (Other detainees have reported such apparent suicide prompts.) Did Adnan actually commit suicide, or was he forced to take the medication? Was he tricked? Did he even die of overmedication? What medications was Adnan administered? In what doses and on what schedule? How were the medications administered—By injection? Orally? If orally, how were they administered—As pills? Capsules? Liquids? Solutions? Where were the medications administered—in Adnan’s cell? The hallway? A dispensary? Somewhere else? …the military disclosed, out of the blue, that acute pneumonia was a contributing factor in Adnan’s death. Why did the military wait to disclose that information? The military continues to withhold the other information in the autopsy report. Why the selective disclosure? And how could the military have discharged from the hospital a man with acute pneumonia? …The autopsy report undoubtedly answers many of these questions. Yet the military will not release the report. Why is the military stonewalling? What is the military trying to hide?”  Inspired by Jeff Kaye, Firedoglake ow.ly/jBeGb Image source Twitter ow.ly/jBeCh What is the military trying to hide? (April 26 2013)

David H Remes the 58 year old American lawyer recognized for his human rights work notable for volunteering to serve as a pro bono attorney for some of the captives held in extrajudicial detention in the US Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba has published an article titled ‘The Tragic Death of Adnan Latif: What is the Military Trying to Hide?’ on Firedoglake by Jeff Kaye. Remes states “…Truthout first reported, the US military began saying that my client Adnan Latif, a Yemeni at Guantanamo, who died in his cell on September 8, committed suicide by overdosing on medication he smuggled into his cell. On Saturday, December 15, the military further stated that acute pneumonia was a contributing factor in Adnan’s death. The government’s theory doesn’t stand up. It leaves urgent questions unanswered. …is it plausible that Adnan smuggled medication into his cell, much less kept and used it? Or did the military, perhaps, plant medication in his cell to facilitate his suicide? (Other detainees have reported such apparent suicide prompts.) Did Adnan actually commit suicide, or was he forced to take the medication? Was he tricked? Did he even die of overmedication? What medications was Adnan administered? In what doses and on what schedule? How were the medications administered—By injection? Orally? If orally, how were they administered—As pills? Capsules? Liquids? Solutions? Where were the medications administered—in Adnan’s cell? The hallway? A dispensary? Somewhere else? …the military disclosed, out of the blue, that acute pneumonia was a contributing factor in Adnan’s death. Why did the military wait to disclose that information? The military continues to withhold the other information in the autopsy report. Why the selective disclosure? And how could the military have discharged from the hospital a man with acute pneumonia? …The autopsy report undoubtedly answers many of these questions. Yet the military will not release the report. Why is the military stonewalling? What is the military trying to hide?”

 

Inspired by Jeff Kaye, Firedoglake ow.ly/jBeGb Image source Twitter ow.ly/jBeCh

 

 

There is no such thing as empty space (April 23 2013) There is no such thing as empty space (April 23 2013)

 

Esther Inglis-Arkell the American physics writer blogging about what makes things explode has published an article on io9 titled ‘There is no such thing as emptiness. There is only quantum foam’. Inglis-Arkell states “According to some scientists, there is no such thing as empty space. What we have instead is called “quantum foam.” We can’t see it, but we just might be able to sense it. The guy who came up with the term “quantum foam” is John Wheeler. In the “shut up and calculate” era of post-World War II era, he pushed both students and the world at large to keep thinking about Einstein’s theory of relativity and its consequences – so you know he was cool. He also had the middle name of Archibald – so you know he knew a thing or two about cool names. And so it’s natural that he used term “quantum foam” to describe one of the more perplexing ideas of physics. The idea comes from the attempts to merge relativistic gravity with quantum mechanics. Gravity, Einstein proved, was a bending of the fabric of spacetime. It also behaves like a field. Place a point far away from the Earth, and it still will be part of the Earth’s gravitational field, but it will be out where the tug of gravity is weak. Place it close to the Earth, and the tug is stronger, and it will fall. Other planets warp spacetime and create their own gravitational tugs. So space isn’t gravity-free, but a vast array of different gravitational tugs through which particles move. Pretty much everywhere that anything is placed, there is a gravitational field that it moves through. …There are ideas on how to “see” this quantum foam. They vary in technique. Some ideas, such as the randomly appearing and disappearing particles, have already been established.  Either way, we have a creamy new way of seeing the universe.”

 

Inspired by Esther Inglis-Arkell, io9 ow.ly/jBdnL Image source Revision3 ow.ly/jBdmi

Pardiss Kebriaei the American Senior Staff Attorney at the Center Constitutional Rights focusing on challenging government abuses post-9/11, including in the areas of “targeted killing“ and unjust detentions at Guantanamo has been interviewed by Amy Goodman for Democracy Now in reference to the Guantanamo prisoner hunger strike. In the interview Kebriaei states “…there is a large-scale hunger strike in Camp 6, which is the largest of the facilities at Guantánamo. That prison holds about 130 men. He said that almost everyone, except for a few who are sick and elderly, are on strike. He himself [her client Ghaleb Al-Bihani] had lost over 20 pounds. He is a diabetic. His blood glucose levels are fluctuating wildly. He told me that medical staff at Guantánamo have told him his life is in danger. And he and others want us to get the word out about this. We [at] CCR and group of other habeas counsel, wrote a letter to the authorities at Guantánamo and to the Department of Justice reporting what we have heard and asking for a response. And to date, almost two weeks later, we have not heard anything, other than denials of the strike.  …They have downplayed the scale of the strikes and have said that there are only a handful on strike and only a handful being tube-fed. It may be a matter of semantics: The way that Guantánamo authorities define people on  hunger strike is largely discretionary. But what we have heard from every habeas counsel who has been down to the base or communicated with their clients since February is the same, which is that there is a large-scale strike, men are refusing food. …you start seeing things like loss of vision, loss of hearing, and eventually death. So this is—it’s an emergency situation. We view it as an emergency situation. And denials by the authorities, at this point, of the strike are dangerous and irresponsible.”  Inspired by Amy Goodman & Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now ow.ly/jBcHz Image source CFR ow.ly/jBcGy They downplayed scale of the hunger strikes (April 21 2013)

Pardiss Kebriaei the American Senior Staff Attorney at the Center Constitutional Rights focusing on challenging government abuses post-9/11, including in the areas of “targeted killing“ and unjust detentions at Guantanamo has been interviewed by Amy Goodman for Democracy Now in reference to the Guantanamo prisoner hunger strike. In the interview Kebriaei states “…there is a large-scale hunger strike in Camp 6, which is the largest of the facilities at Guantánamo. That prison holds about 130 men. He said that almost everyone, except for a few who are sick and elderly, are on strike. He himself [her client Ghaleb Al-Bihani] had lost over 20 pounds. He is a diabetic. His blood glucose levels are fluctuating wildly. He told me that medical staff at Guantánamo have told him his life is in danger. And he and others want us to get the word out about this. We [at] CCR and group of other habeas counsel, wrote a letter to the authorities at Guantánamo and to the Department of Justice reporting what we have heard and asking for a response. And to date, almost two weeks later, we have not heard anything, other than denials of the strike.  …They have downplayed the scale of the strikes and have said that there are only a handful on strike and only a handful being tube-fed. It may be a matter of semantics: The way that Guantánamo authorities define people on  hunger strike is largely discretionary. But what we have heard from every habeas counsel who has been down to the base or communicated with their clients since February is the same, which is that there is a large-scale strike, men are refusing food. …you start seeing things like loss of vision, loss of hearing, and eventually death. So this is—it’s an emergency situation. We view it as an emergency situation. And denials by the authorities, at this point, of the strike are dangerous and irresponsible.”

 

Inspired by Amy Goodman & Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now ow.ly/jBcHz Image source CFR ow.ly/jBcGy

Barbara Bloom the 61 year old American Sculptural artist who studied with John Baldessari at the California Institute of the Arts and is often associated with the postmodern “Pictures Generation” that includes Cindy Sherman, Louise Lawler, Richard Prince and Barbara Kruger, has been profiled by Karen Roseberg in a New York Times article titled ‘She Makes Objects Speak, and They Won’t Stop Arguing’. Roseberg states “…“As it were ... So to speak: A Museum Collection in Dialogue With Barbara Bloom,” at the Jewish Museum. Ms. Bloom, invited to organize a show from elements of the museum’s collection, has turned to the Talmud for inspiration. Her exhibition is modeled on its heavily annotated pages, which surround ancient texts with rabbinical commentaries added over centuries. Weaving together real and fictional narratives, historical and literary sources, Ms. Bloom creates new and often ambiguous contexts for ceremonial and decorative objects like Torah pointers, Kiddush cups and spice containers. Somehow she manages to quote Nietzsche, Freud, Leonard Cohen, Joan Didion, the Bible and various Wikipedia entries, all without losing her own probing, skeptical voice. “The objects are placeholders for thoughts, and when they are situated in proximity to one another, meanings can reverberate and ricochet off of each other,” Ms. Bloom writes in a preamble to the show. …she is especially attuned to these vibrations between objects, drawing them out and spinning them into debates that are as least as fascinating as the objects themselves. … she is an accomplished rescuer of forgotten objects, known for reviving old paintings, vintage photographs and the odd flea-market find with clever and critical installations. But even if her methods are old hat to the art world, they’re sure to have an impact on a wider audience. And they are certainly a departure for the Jewish Museum, which is just starting to rethink its permanent-collection strategy under its director, Claudia Gould.”  Inspired by Karen Roseberg, New York Times ow.ly/jAsaX Image source Linda Yablonsky ow.ly/jAsao Objects are placeholders for thoughts (April 20 2013)

 

Barbara Bloom the 61 year old American Sculptural artist who studied with John Baldessari at the California Institute of the Arts and is often associated with the postmodern “Pictures Generation” that includes Cindy Sherman, Louise Lawler, Richard Prince and Barbara Kruger, has been profiled by Karen Roseberg in a New York Times article titled ‘She Makes Objects Speak, and They Won’t Stop Arguing’. Roseberg states “…“As it were … So to speak: A Museum Collection in Dialogue With Barbara Bloom,” at the Jewish Museum. Ms. Bloom, invited to organize a show from elements of the museum’s collection, has turned to the Talmud for inspiration. Her exhibition is modeled on its heavily annotated pages, which surround ancient texts with rabbinical commentaries added over centuries. Weaving together real and fictional narratives, historical and literary sources, Ms. Bloom creates new and often ambiguous contexts for ceremonial and decorative objects like Torah pointers, Kiddush cups and spice containers. Somehow she manages to quote Nietzsche, Freud, Leonard Cohen, Joan Didion, the Bible and various Wikipedia entries, all without losing her own probing, skeptical voice. “The objects are placeholders for thoughts, and when they are situated in proximity to one another, meanings can reverberate and ricochet off of each other,” Ms. Bloom writes in a preamble to the show. …she is especially attuned to these vibrations between objects, drawing them out and spinning them into debates that are as least as fascinating as the objects themselves. … she is an accomplished rescuer of forgotten objects, known for reviving old paintings, vintage photographs and the odd flea-market find with clever and critical installations. But even if her methods are old hat to the art world, they’re sure to have an impact on a wider audience. And they are certainly a departure for the Jewish Museum, which is just starting to rethink its permanent-collection strategy under its director, Claudia Gould.”

 

Inspired by Karen Roseberg, New York Times ow.ly/jAsaX Image source Linda Yablonsky ow.ly/jAsao

Christine Haight Farley the American Professor of Law at University Washington College of Law, teaching Intellectual Property and Trademark Law has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Whether to challenge or protect offensive trademarks’ referring to offensive trademarks that may deeply offend a minority while the majority may be insensitive or unaware of the offence. Farley states “How would you feel about a wine called "Khoran?" Apparently, the word "Khoran" is Armenian for altar, which is why a company sought to trademark "Khoran" for wine in the United States. But should such a trademark be registered by the US government when, being phonetically equivalent to the sacred text of Islam, it may offend Muslims when used to denote an alcoholic beverage? In this case, the trademark was refused registration by the US trademark office. Should a trademark application for jeans called "Jesus Jeans" be treated any differently? In the US and European Union, this registration was allowed, however, China, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Cuba, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have all refused the trademark, and Britain's trademark office rejected its as "morally offensive to the public". What should we do about offensive trademarks? Granted, this is not the biggest problem that plagues us today and there are very few offensive trademarks that are still in use. Perhaps the most obvious thing to do is to vote with our dollars. That is, generally the market will correct the problem since merchants usually do not want to offend their customers. …Racist trademarks tear down the fabric of society by promoting negative stereotypes of minority groups. There is a strong public interest in eliminating damaging stereotypes and stigmatisation. The social costs to the public at large are huge and include reinforcing hateful and erroneous stereotypes and misinformation about our fellow citizens. The psychological harms of such racialised representations impact not only the referenced group, but also society as a whole.”  Inspired by Christine Haight Farley, Aljazeera ow.ly/jAqgz Image source Facebook ow.ly/jAqg6 Racist trademarks tear down fabric of society (April 17 2013)

 

Christine Haight Farley the American Professor of Law at University Washington College of Law, teaching Intellectual Property and Trademark Law has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Whether to challenge or protect offensive trademarks’ referring to offensive trademarks that may deeply offend a minority while the majority may be insensitive or unaware of the offence. Farley states “How would you feel about a wine called “Khoran?” Apparently, the word “Khoran” is Armenian for altar, which is why a company sought to trademark “Khoran” for wine in the United States. But should such a trademark be registered by the US government when, being phonetically equivalent to the sacred text of Islam, it may offend Muslims when used to denote an alcoholic beverage? In this case, the trademark was refused registration by the US trademark office. Should a trademark application for jeans called “Jesus Jeans” be treated any differently? In the US and European Union, this registration was allowed, however, China, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Cuba, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have all refused the trademark, and Britain’s trademark office rejected its as “morally offensive to the public”. What should we do about offensive trademarks? Granted, this is not the biggest problem that plagues us today and there are very few offensive trademarks that are still in use. Perhaps the most obvious thing to do is to vote with our dollars. That is, generally the market will correct the problem since merchants usually do not want to offend their customers. …Racist trademarks tear down the fabric of society by promoting negative stereotypes of minority groups. There is a strong public interest in eliminating damaging stereotypes and stigmatisation. The social costs to the public at large are huge and include reinforcing hateful and erroneous stereotypes and misinformation about our fellow citizens. The psychological harms of such racialised representations impact not only the referenced group, but also society as a whole.”

 

Inspired by Christine Haight Farley, Aljazeera ow.ly/jAqgz Image source Facebook ow.ly/jAqg6

Rss Feed Tweeter button Facebook button Technorati button Reddit button Myspace button Linkedin button Delicious button Digg button Flickr button Stumbleupon button Newsvine button Youtube button