11.26.10
Posted in science at 8:49 am by site admin
Check out this article about ESP hitting mainstream.
Psi is psychology’s equivalent of the perpetual motion machine in physics. Claims in favor of telepathy, clairvoyance, premonitions or other extra-sensory perceptions were always considered the realm of looney-tunes who write to professors with no margins and lots of fanciful diagrams. Or worse, the realm of con artists and a target forprofessional debunkers. What to make, then, of this paper (pdf), to be published in next month’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology? Here, a social psychologist with impeccable credentials reports evidence for several `psi’ phenomena. All I can say is: I did not see that coming.
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11.17.10
Posted in society at 11:59 am by site admin
Checkout <a href=”http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org/blogpost/20101110oldfashionedpoliceworkthebestwaytonabterroristsstudysays”>this article</a> discussing how old police techniques are the best way to catch terrorists.
Most terrorist plots are still foiled using traditional law-enforcement legwork, says a new study by researchers at the Institute for Homeland Security Solutions, made up of university scholars and the nonprofit firm RTI International.
Contributors to the report examined 86 plots over the last decade, nearly 70 percent of which failed. In more than 80 percent of thwarted schemes, law enforcement became aware at the first signs of trouble, or the government received tips from ordinary citizens, not from counterterrorism intelligence gathering.
Investigators caught nearly one in five of the planned attacks accidentally while responding to suspicious behavior or everyday crimes like parole violations and traffic stops, the report noted. The researchers acknowledge, however, that they may be underestimating the role of intelligence because some foiled plots are never publicized.
The report also stated:
The report’s findings show how personal information collected in massive databases without a specific threat in mind may not always contribute meaningfully to the war on terror. Homeland security officials hope such systems will enable them to detect crime and terrorism early by showing patterns that common police work might otherwise miss.
The Department of Homeland Security has spent over $426 million on dozens of fusion centers across the country for collecting, analyzing, and merging data across localities and agencies. But the centers have come under fire for among other things not developing policies that protect privacy and civil liberties and for targeting peace activists and lobbying groups.
There’s also a risk that intelligence analysts will be overwhelmed by data – several failures allowed the Christmas Day bomber to board a Detroit-bound plane wearing explosives in his underwear, a Senate panel concluded earlier this year. In that case, passengers with sharp eyes caught what professional terror-watchers missed.
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11.16.10
Posted in Sports at 12:14 pm by site admin
Check out <a href=”http://www.skinet.com/ski/content/barefoot-running-revolution”>this article</a> about the barefoot running revolution.
The benefits of barefoot and minimalist shoes are in allowing your foot to move as it was designed to move—without the hindrance of an over-cushioned shoe. Feeling the ground and adjusting to its changes allows athletes to heighten their form by moving more efficiency and with better body awareness.
“Once you learn to rely on your legs for shock absorption, you’re better able to maintain good form without a bulky shoe getting in the way,” McDougall says. “But it’s too much of a leap to say that minimalist shoes equals increased range of motion equals muscle development equals injury reduction. That’s giving too much credit to shoes and too little to technique.”
As bare-footing and minimalist advocates see it, technique is everything. When seeking to walk, run, hike or move using healthy form, light and quick foot strikes are paramount. Bare-footing and minimalist shoes encourage this kind of movement.
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Posted in Environment, society at 11:15 am by site admin
For the sake of a sesame seed, you drop the watermelon.
Check out <a href=”http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/11/15/china_trip/index.html”>this article</a> talking about the apparent cliche between China’s quest for sustainable development and the indulgence of luxury (that they also condemn the west for).
But even more revealing was a comment the ambassador made a little later. In China, he said, greenhouse gas emissions were a result of economic activity aimed at “development.” In the West, it was all about “luxury.”
Of course, just moments earlier, our group had driven past a Lamborghini dealership in downtown Beijing, just a few blocks from a Gucci store so imposing that it made the Forbidden City palace structures I can see from my hotel window look paltry. On the macro level, I can’t disagree with Ambassador Chen. China is still a developing nation where per capita incomes, while growing fast, are far below those enjoyed in advanced industrialized nations. But you can’t spend 10 minutes in Beijing without coming to the conclusion that China is hell-bent on pursuing exactly the same development arc as any other decadent, luxury seeking Western country. It is a cliché to note this, but the city is utterly transformed from 20 years ago. Millions and millions of bicycles have been traded in for sleek sedans.
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11.10.10
Posted in health, society at 7:57 pm by site admin
A 10-year-old Romanian girl has given birth in Spain, according to news accounts. The father is also a minor. Authorities don’t consider it a case of rape, and officials are deciding whether the girl and her family can keep the child.
The baby, born last week in the southern city of Jerez de la Frontera, weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces. Micaela Navarro, the Andalusia region’s social affairs minister, said mother and child, whose gender was not revealed, are doing fine.
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