Accidental hiatus due to a mess in mah .htaccess file. Golf claps to delicious.com for making their site vaguely amenable to copy & paste. -L
- How to Tell If You’re Compatible With Another Person
[OKCupid/OKTrends have] figured out the three questions best determine your compatibility with another person—and they’re not what you might expect.
- Ask How-To Geek: Dropbox in the Start Menu, Understanding Symbolic Links, and Ripping TV Series DVDs
[the How-To Geek - Jason Fitzpatrick]tags: windows
- Learn the Basics of Photoshop: The Complete Guide
[Lifehacker - Adam Dachis]
tags: photoshop, tutorial - Seven myths about class size
[The Education Blog] - Particles That Flock: Strange Synchronization Behavior at the Large Hadron Collider…the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva has yet to find the Higgs boson, solve the mystery of dark matter or discover hidden dimensions of spacetime. It has, however, uncovered a tantalizing puzzle… some of the particles created by their proton collisions appeared to be synchronizing their flight paths, like flocks of birds. The findings were so bizarre that “we’ve spent all the time since [then] convincing ourselves that what we were see ing was real,” says Guido Tonelli, a spokesperson for CMS, one of two general-purpose experiments at the LHC.
- Monarch butterfly count bounces back from bad year
- 21H.235 Metropolis: History of New York City
[MIT OpenCourseWare: New Courses - by Wilder, Craig]tags: education
- Pasta-Shaped Light From Spinning Black Holes Could Challenge Einstein
[Wired: Science - Lisa Grossman describes how spinning masses bend space-time.]Since Einstein’s 1915 paper describing the theory, only about five real-world tests have been completed.
If a real telescope detects fusilli-shaped light, as Thidé and colleagues predict, it’s another feather in Einstein’s relativistic cap. But if not, space-time may be even more warped than Einstein thought.
- Iconspedia – Free Quality PNG Icons
- What’s Your English? British v. Canadian Rap Battle
…featuring “Baba Brinkman” and hip hop emcee “Professor Elemental.” Get the lyrics/script here. - Color Technology in Ancient Egypt[About.com African History]
- Search for giant rats leads to ancient carved faces
A team of researchers looking for fossils of giant rats in East Timor stumbled across ancient carved faced in a limestone cave.tags: archaeology
- The Great Abdication – NYTimes.com
[Paul Krugman]…the Obama budget isn’t going to happen, so in a sense it’s irrelevant. But it still has symbolic meaning. What is Obama saying here?
The important thing, I think, is that he has effectively given up on the idea that the government can do anything to create jobs in a depressed economy. In effect, although without saying so explicitly, the Obama administration has accepted the Republican claim that stimulus failed, and should never be tried again.
What’s extraordinary about all this is that stimulus can’t have failed, because it never happened.
…Looking at this graph, if you didn’t know there had been a “massive” stimulus, would you even have suspected that there had been any stimulus at all?
tags: let_them_eat_cake
- About Sojourner Truthtags: women, history, biography
- Carbon Nation: The Climate Change Movie That Doesn’t Care if You Believe in Climate Change
Don’t believe in climate change? Can’t stand listening to Al Gore? Don’t give a shit about the polar bears? This new climate documentary is for you.Carbon Nation, which premiered last night in New York City, is “a climate change solutions movie that doesn’t even care if you believe in climate change.” It bills itself as an “optimistic, solutions-based, non-preachy, non-partisan” film. It focuses on solutions, features an entertaining cast of characters, and speaks deliberately to America’s right….
There are a couple handfuls of theater screenings around the country over the next couple of weeks, and a whole bunch of community organized screenings that are ongoing. It’s well worth checking out. [link and link]
- Protesters Are Awesome: Look at This Beautiful Video of Today’s “Day of Cleaning” in Egypt…after finally forcing hated dictator Hosni Mubarak from office, Egyptians are not resting on their laurels. Though they certainly deserve some relaxation, the people are out in droves once more, this time for the “Day of Cleaning.”
Centering around Tahrir Square in Cairo, men and women of all ages united to clean up the litter that’s gathered over the past month, when municipal workers found it impossible to clean around the crowds…
Cleaning crews wore signs reading simply, “Sorry for the disturbance, we’re building Egypt.”
- Nine Pictures Of The Extreme Income/Wealth Gap | OurFuture.org…the concentration [of wealth] is increasing. The top 1% took in 23.5% of all of the country’s income in 2007. In 1979 they only took in 8.9%.
…Between 1979 and 2008, the top 5% of American families saw their real incomes increase 73%… Over the same period, the lowest-income fifth (20% of us) saw a decrease in real income of 4.1%. The rest were just stagnant or saw very little increase…
There are a few people who make hundreds of millions of income in a single year. Some people make more than $1 billion in a year… If you make vast sums every year, after a while it starts to add up…
The combined net worth of the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans in 2007: $1.5 trillion. The combined net worth of the poorest 50% of American households: $1.6 trillion.
Corporate wealth is also personal wealth. When you hear about corporations doing well, think about this chart:…
tags:
- plutocracy, the_rich_get_richer
- Clarence Thomas “Forgot” 20 Years of Disclosure? Really?
[Crooks and Liars - karoli]
[Virginia Thomas's] associations with Hillsdale college and the Heritage Foundation were known before the Citizens United case came to trial, I believe. But what wasn’t known was her association with Dick Armey, who is the founding member of Americans for Prosperity, a close cousin of Citizens United. THAT’s the connection everyone should be looking at.
- Fox Nation Posts Video Asking if the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse Appears in Cairo
tags: propaganda, extremism - Somewhere, Someone Black Is Getting Away With Something
[The Atlantic - Ta-Nehisi Coates]
You would think that the government discriminating against a class of farmers over 15 years, under three different presidential administrations, from two different parties, not in the distant [past], but recently, would be a pet cause for people disturbed by the overreach of government.
tags: racism
- Assange needs the Supernanny
[Echidne - Suzie]
“Often I sat in larger groups and listened to Julian boast about how many children he had fathered in various parts of the world. He seemed to enjoy the idea of lots and lots of little Julians, one on every continent. Whether he took care of any of these alleged children, or whether they existed at all, was another question.”
This comes from Cryptome, which got pages from an advance copy of Daniel Domscheit-Berg’s “Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website,” due to be released Tuesday in the U.S…
tags: wikileaks, misogyny, rape_culture
- Pamela Geller: CPAC ‘Compromised By Muslim Brotherhood Activists’ (VIDEO) | TPMMuckraker
tags: islamophobia, fake_crises, extremism
- New CPAC Head: ‘It’s Going To Be Difficult To Continue The Relationship’ With GOProud | TPMDC
tags: politics, homophobia
- 250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives | OEDb
tags: resource
- Scholarpedia
- Each article is written by an expert.
- Each article is anonymously peer reviewed to ensure accurate and reliable information.
- Each article has a curator — typically its author — who is responsible for its content.
- Any modification of the article needs to be approved by the curator before it appears in the final, approved version.Herein also lies the greatest difference between Scholarpedia and traditional print media: although the initial authorship and review are similar to a print journal so that Scholarpedia articles could be cited, articles are not frozen and outdated, but dynamic, subject to an ongoing process of improvement moderated by their curators. This allows Scholarpedia to be up-to-date, yet maintain the highest quality of content.
tags: resource
- Take Any College Class for Free: 236 Open Courseware Collections, Podcasts, and Videos | OEDb
- rivkat | Long review: I’m here because of Kirk and Spock
Flippant capsule review: great book, too bad about its adoption of the Geek Hierarchy.
Less flippant review: Shirky’s typical wit and verve are on display here as he passionately advocates for the value of online engagement…
The relationship between lolcats and Tea Parties is more complex than lolcats being a mere epiphenomenon of the really significant uses of online tools. Shirky identifies a “spectrum” of forms of creation that range from creating personal value to creating civic value, but his conception seems static: each person’s activity emits light at a certain frequency only.
I would argue instead that “trivial” social spaces are an on-ramp for engagement of all kinds: seeing oneself as a producer is an important way of seeing oneself as a citizen.
- SF Police to Train Crisis Team for Mentally Ill – The Bay Citizen
- President Obama to Mubarak: Please Explain the Changes You Have Made | TPMDC
- Rove Backs Reconciliation For Health Care Repeal | TPMDC
Look who’s suddenly all for passing things in the Senate with 51 votes.
In a new column entitled “Democrats can’t filibuster ObamaCare repeal,” Karl Rove argues that Republicans can use the budget reconciliation process to repeal the health care law with 51 votes. That’s the filibuster-proof process that allowed Democrats to tweak revenue and spending measures in the greater health care law, which Republicans at the time compared to Chicago-mob style politics.
On March 1, 2010 Rove himself called that “changing rules midstream.” …
But there’s a catch.
The rules governing reconciliation hold that any legislation that avoids the filibuster must directly effect revenues and spending, and must lower the deficit. To use it honestly, Republicans would have to exempt some of the good stuff — the pre-existing conditions discrimination ban would still exist — but mostly they’d have to repeal spending measures: the politically popular stuff.
tags: healthcare, let_them_eat_bandaids
- CPAC Out To Prove It Doesn’t Need Social Groups To Be Important | TPMDC
The lead-up to this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference has mostly been a question of “will they or won’t they” — will the country’s top conservatives attend, or will they be swayed by a bubbling social conservative boycott over the inclusion of the gay conservative group GOProud.
As the hootenanny kicks off today with an agenda that includes almost every whispered-about potential 2012 candidate, the boycotting social conservatives increasingly seem like they’re on the outside looking in.
tags: homophobia, politics
- Tell Clarence Thomas: Recuse yourself
A case challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform bill passed by Congress is headed to the Supreme Court, and Justice Clarence Thomas has a supreme ethical conflict.
It’s been widely reported that the Thomas family has financial ties to the conservative organizations leading the campaign to bring down our new health care law — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Rep. Anthony Weiner and 73 other members of Congress have signed a letter detailing the appearance of ethical conflict and asking Justice Thomas to recuse himself from deliberations on the constitutionality of health care reform.
…more information…and an easy way to sign [the letter at this link]
tag: healthcare
- Gender Gap in Starting Doctor Pay Grows | Science Today News
The average starting salary for a female physician in 2008 was $16,819 less than a male physician, a huge increase from the $3,600 gap in 1999, finds a new U.S. study.
The reason for this large difference isn’t known because it isn’t explained by gender differences in choice of specialty, practice type or working hours, the researchers said.
- Pulling Out Feathers: Group Living Stresses Ravens | Birds & Social Living | LiveScience
tags: science
- Picturing economic inequality
[kottke.org]
Dutch economist Jan Pen devised a clever way of picturing economic inequality: as the height of people walking past you.
“Then come the jobless and the working poor, who are midgets. After half an hour the strollers are still only waist-high… in the final minutes, giants thunder by. With six minutes to go they are 12 feet tall. When the 400 highest earners walk by, right at the end, each is more than two miles tall.”
- Update: Evernote for Android
We’re excited to bring you the latest update to Evernote for Android (version 2.6), which includes a number of fantastic new features and behind-the-scenes enhancements…
The Snippet View is designed to be more dynamic, giving you the most useful information about your note in the smallest amount of space…
Recently, Evernote for Windows and Mac added Notebook Stacks, a feature which lets you visually group your notebooks. Now, you can see stacks that you created on the desktop from Evernote for Android.
…you’ll start seeing some of the features in this update appear in other versions of Evernote soon.
tags: smartphone, apps
- Koalas Almost Never Need to Drink Water
[Today I Found Out - Daven]
tags: science
- Bali Temple Explorer
[Asian Art Museum Blog - xensen]
Bali Temple Explorer is now live in beta. This remarkable interactive film by Martin Percy, produced by unit9, lets you explore a complex of three small temples located near the village of Bedulu in Bali. You can travel through the site by clicking on the video images, and a menu at the bottom of the screen offers a map and commentary.
- It’s Not About Who Pays. It’s About Respect | RHRealityCheck.org
[RHRealityCheck.org - Rev. Dr. Carlton W. Veazey]
Pro-choice clergy in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice network are outraged at the lack of respect for women’s lives implicit in HR 3…
RCRC’s new Insure Women, Ensure Our Future campaign is dedicated to exposing the true purpose of this and other bills…
…the message that pro-choice clergy and people of faith want Congress to hear is that “this deceptively named bill is not about who pays for an abortion. It is about a lack of respect for the sacredness of women’s lives and a lack of trust for women who are in the difficult situation of considering abortion.”
Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Unitarian Universalist clergy and others have endorsed the powerful statement that RCRC is delivering to Congress.
[More info: http://rcrc.org -L.]
- Wordless Wednesday – Sharecropper in the Great Depression
[About.com Women's History]
Dorothea Lange took this photograph of a Mississippi sharecropper, as part of her photographs depicting the effects of the Great Depression on women.
tags: photography
- I Was a “Prolife” Republican… Until I Fell in Love
Because I was pure, and so were babies, and together, me and the babies and my perfect hymen, we were all going to be fine if we could just fight the ignorant sluts. So that’s what I did…
…I learned more in a two-hour visit to that college women’s health center than I had in the 19 years leading up to it. And yet as a passionate anti-choicer, I had considered myself an expert on sex and reproductive health…
…I hear anti-choicers talk about the babies and the unborn and the American genocide, but what I really hear beneath all that is slut-shaming and fear of female sexuality. I hear that language clearly because I spoke it once, myself. It is a familiar language to me.
And I even have a little bemused sympathy for old men who try to pass anti-choice legislation. Because they really will not ever have to worry about abortion. And once, I thought I wouldn’t, either. So I see where they’re coming from.
tags: reproductive_justice, misogyny
- Wednesday Geek Woman: Sandy Payette, CEO of Duraspace
[Geek Feminism Blog]
…Duraspace formed from merging of Fedora Commons (of which Sandy was executive director) and the DSpace Foundation, and is dedicated to the two primary open source digital repository solutions in the education space. [Payette is] also a researcher at Cornell University’s Information Science program.
13 years ago, at Cornell, Sandy Payette and Carl Lagoze created the original Fedora architecture as part of a research project. …until it became what it is today: an important, globally used preservation environment used by such heavy hitters as the Public Library of Science and the National Library of Australia…
Software development around digital librarianship and digital preservation is overwhelmingly male-dominated, despite the larger numbers of women among librarians and archivists in general.
tags: women
- Anzalone: The Muslim Brotherhood Myth
[Informed Comment - guest poster Christopher Anzalone]
Fact vs. Fiction
…The claim that al-Qaeda emerged seamlessly from the Brotherhood is the most egregious… these individuals left the Brotherhood after it swore off the use of violence to achieve its ends. …the Brotherhood frequently condemns al-Qaeda in its public statements and positions.
…Longtime scholars of the Brotherhood have cast doubts on exaggerated claims that the movement will be swept into power in a post-Mubarak/post-authoritarian Egypt. In fact, many doubt that the movement has the power to take over the entire country even if it wanted to. The Brotherhood, though the oldest and arguably best organized opposition group in the country, currently suffers from a number of ills.
…Its internal problems are recognized by no one more clearly than by the Brotherhood itself, which has been careful not to further alienate the Egyptian people who have collectively led the popular uprising…
- Americans Have No Idea How Much Welfare They’re Getting
[GOOD - Cord Jefferson]
…many Americans actually have no idea that they’re on the dole, [which calls] into question the validity of their attacks on government handouts.
The graphic above [shows] the percentages of people who benefit from the specified government program while also saying in a government survey that they “have not used a government social program.” Besides these numbers, more than 25 percent of people on food stamps think they don’t take government assistance, and nearly 30 percent of people getting Social Security disability benefits.
- The Trial of Bidder 70: Show Your Support for Tim DeChristopher’s Powerful Act of Civil Disobedience
Back in 2008, a multi-million dollar Bureau of Land Management land auction–-one that was set to turn over hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in southern Utah to oil and gas companies–-was disrupted by a quiet, 27-year old economics student who simply walked in and started bidding. Today, Tim DeChristopher, aka Bidder70, is facing two felony charges for this act of civil disobedience.
…his trial will be taking place on February 28 in Salt Lake City.
DeChristopher, who urges the inspiring and simple guiding credo to “be the carbon tax,” is facing ten years in prison, and has repeatedly refused any plea bargains, as he wants a jury of his peers to determine if his act was justified. …
For some more background on DeChristopher’s motivations and what happened at the auction that day, [links]
tags: environmentalism
- Are Democrats Better Off Than They Were 25 Years Ago?
[FiveThirtyEight.com - Nate Silver]
The Democratic Leadership Council, which sought to steer Democrats to the right, is reportedly ceasing its operations, but it might not have been all that important in the first place.
[You should see this tiny, perfect tear that I am shedding for the DLC. -L]
tags:
- politics
- House Vote on Patriot Act Extensions Fails 277-148
Thanks to the Tea Party, today’s vote to extend the Patriot Act failed to pass. It had been introduced on the suspension calendar and needed 2/3rds to pass. When the Tea Party bloc broke with Republicans, there weren’t sufficient votes to pass it.
It is expected to be reintroduced on the regular calendar next week and brought up for a vote again, this time with only a majority needed for it to pass…
[ETA: It passed.]
- Journalist: Egypt’s police treated us like ‘prisoners of war’
Al Jazeera’s Cairo bureau chief Ayman Mohyeldin said Monday that he was blindfolded, handcuffed and taken into custody by Egyptian military police the previous day.
He was released after nine hours in detention.
Mohyeldin told the network Monday that he and other detainees were treated like “prisoners of war.”
- 51% of Californians Support Marriage Equality as Majority Wishes a Do-Over on 2003 Recall
[Calitics - Brian Leubitz]
- Scientology: an ongoing, scary cult
[Pandagon - Amanda Marcotte recommends the lengthy article, "Paul Haggis vs. Scientology".]
I’m usually skeptical of religious people attacking other religions, because I smell a whiff of, “My bullshit is less bullshit because I can compare it positively to some other bullshit!” …I’m definitely not convinced Scientology screws people up more than, say, Catholicism…
But this article made me realize that the problem with Scientology is that it’s getting more cult-like as it ages, and that’s incredibly worrisome. …I’m more sympathetic now towards those who treat Scientology like it’s a cult instead of a religion; the difference is really spelled out in the article.
That said, the best and most interesting aspect is that the journalist Lawrence Wright is actually sympathetic to why someone might be drawn to Scientology. …I felt that it has a lot in common with modern day evangelical Christianity. Both religions have moved towards [imitating] self-help and psychology…
tags: religion
- This is why abortion is still controversial
[Pandagon - Amanda Marcotte]
Because there are just a lot of men out there who really need to believe they made the baby by having an orgasm, and that no one should credit the person who gained weight, contributed a quarter of her daily nutrients for 9 months, threw up a lot, saw her feet change size, and then pushed an 8 pound human out of her genitals while suffering massive pain. …
I really just hope this cake was made before the woman who actually had the baby went through labor. But I’m not holding my breath.
Why there are so many female sycophants for this is a topic of another post.
tags: privilege, reproductive_justice
- Well that worked out well: Gray Davis looks good today
[Hullabaloo - digby]
It was always such a good idea to recall a duly elected governor and install a cartoon character in his place. How could anyone have ever known that it wouldn’t go well?
tags: california
- China fashion fact of the day
“Men represent 45% of the $1.2-billion market for all luxury handbags in China…”
- On Labor
[The Atlantic - Ta-Nehisi Coates]
Peripartum cardiomyopathy, the disease that led to congestive heart failure, is rare and lethal. It kills women. And no one knows why. Kenyatta was lucky. She didn’t need a new heart. She only needed her meds, and time. But luck has not obscured from us a set of essential and disturbing truths.
For reasons beyond me, childbirth–in the popular American mind–is swaddled in gossamer, gift-wrap, and icing. …the charge of shepherding life is labor. It’s work. …potentially lethal work.
…Every day women choose to do the hard labor of a difficult pregnancy. [It is] courageous work, which inspires in me a degree of admiration exceeded only by my horror at the notion of the state turning that courage, that hard labor, into a mandate. Women die performing that labor in smaller numbers as we advance, but they die all the same. Men do not. That is a privilege.
tags: privilege, reproductive_justice
- “Not everyone is a fan of Reagan”
I’m not sure that everyone’s aware of how Ronnie became one of our “greatest presidents.” It’s certainly not being discussed in this glorious celebration of all things Reagan…
I seem to be alone in appreciating the irony in Norquist’s sincere appreciation for Soviet tactics and his highly successful use [of those tactics] in service of the great anti-communist Ronald Reagan’s legacy. This is one of the conservative movement’s finest achievements…
tags: propaganda
- LDF Joins Mumia Abu-Jamal Defense Team | NAACP LDF
Mumia Abu-Jamal retained the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) to represent him in the ongoing appeal of his capital murder conviction and death sentence. LDF will serve as co-counsel in the case with Judy Ritter, Esq., of Widener Law School in Wilmington, Delaware, who has represented Mr. Abu-Jamal since 2003.
Mr. Abu-Jamal is the world’s best known death-row prisoner. His case has attracted attention from around the world and he is widely viewed as a symbol of the racial injustices of the death penalty.
“Mumia Abu-Jamal’s conviction and death sentence are relics of a time and place that was notorious for police abuse and racial discrimination,” said John Payton, Director-Counsel of LDF.
- Polls Show Republicans Most Likely To Think Egyptian Unrest Will Harm U.S. | TPMDC
In short, Americans don’t know what to think.
- Cops: We Haven’t Heard Any Of The ‘Threats’ That Nixed Palin Event | TPMDC
- GOP Backs Massive Tax Increase To Phase Out Abortion Coverage By Private Insurers | TPMDC
The GOP’s plan to ban tax-payer money from funding abortions includes giant tax hikes for businesses.
…it would eliminate tax incentives on employer-provided health care benefits if those benefits cover abortion as a medical procedure…
Republicans, says Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), are trying to limit “private choices by private individuals and businesses in the private insurance market.” By their logic, he said, “the tax exemption for the Catholic church is the establishment of religion and ought to be forbidden by law.”
[I added a comma in the first sentence of that paragraph. -L]
…[The tax hike] would run directly counter to the politically expedient conclusion by both parties that people should be able to keep the health care they already have…
GOP allies in the business community are silent on the idea. The Chamber of Commerce declined a request for comment, despite the fact that the legislation would impact nearly all of their members.
tags: reproductive_justice, misogyny, healthcare, let_them_eat_bandaids
- Abramoff Whistleblower Wants Stiffer Sentence for Scanlon Than Feds Requested | TPMMuckraker
tags: racism, corruption
- #InviteGate: Just How Did Orrin Hatch Make His Way To The Tea Party Tonight? | TPMDC
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) showed up at tonight’s Tea Party Express town hall in downtown DC to take a few questions about the budget and push his tea party cred…
Hatch rose to the occasion, offering up the kind of anti-tax, anti-big government, anti-Obamacare messaging that the tea party thrives on. It’s clear why Hatch was there — he wants to avoid the fate that befell Bennett, who ignored the tea party rumblings in his home state only to be run out of the Senate by Republicans back home.
What’s not clear is how Hatch, who presumably is just the type of incumbent Republican the tea party would like to take out in 2012, came to be introduced as a supporter of the movement before a nationwide tea party audience.
tags:
- politics, tea_party
The Of interest – Feb 9 to Feb 15 by Lee Salazar, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Terms and conditions beyond the scope of this license may be available at leesalazar.com.