conuly

“These Programs Were Never About Terrorism: They’re About Economic Spying, Social Control, and Diplomatic Manipulation. They’re About Power”

http://bit.ly/JEchpJ

It’s Conservatives Who Really Want Christ Out of Christmas

They’re terrified America’s tiny number of atheists will change the meaning of the holiday. But conservatives are the ones who are really at war with its message.

http://thebea.st/1bOLyk1

Outagamie County judge rejects equal protection motion in prostitution case

His argument is that it's plenty fair that prostitutes get charged 40x more frequently than johns, especially in this case because she did it more than once but they were probably first timers. Load of bull if you ask me.

http://post.cr/1gIvJQr

Scientists 'print' new eye cells

http://bbc.in/19wGh0O

The Government Is Quietly Giving Way More Housing Aid To Rich People Than Poor People

So? What else is new?

http://read.bi/JLoN7r

Toddlers and preschoolers appear to understand abstract concepts better if you have them show you their understanding rather than asking them to explain it.

http://on.wsj.com/19Arl1M

5 CIA operations that went south -- spectacularly.

http://atfp.co/JsQ1Px

Poor People Deserve Digital Privacy, Too

http://slate.me/1cqjUqZ

The Trees That Miss The Mammoths

http://bit.ly/1cLmCef

7 New Yorkers About to Lose Their Unemployment Benefits Tell Their Stories

http://nym.ag/1dRJgAf

(Quite a lot of them have to do with the TSA situation, I'll try to group them together.)

Placards, kilts part of plans for scanner protests
Oversecured America
AP Exclusive: Color-coded terror alerts may end
Schneir on Security's recent update about it all
And an LJ link
An update from the ACLU saying the TSA isn't training its scanners
Why Cavity Bombs Would Make the TSA Irrelevant
TSA chief: Resisting scanners just means delays
For the First Time, the TSA Meets Resistance
TSA Chief: US Will Never Ease Screening Policy
You, apparently, can't just say "Screw it, I don't need to fly today"
Shirtless 8-Year-Old Boy Gets TSA Pat Down
A Pat's Papers article on flying dead bodies
And he happens to think the TSA blog is "actually sort of fun"

Whew! That's a lot!

Bizarre squidworm discovered

Behavior change causes changes in beliefs, not vice versa

On turkeys. Hey, could I raise my own heritage turkey for the holiday next year? You *can* keep poultry in the city if they aren't noisy. And we already have wild or feral turkeys in Staten Island, among other places.

On stuffing your turkey with White Castle burgers.

Coyotes have been released in Chicago to help keep down the rodent population. I suppose that's not very much different than encouraging peregrine* falcons in NYC.

*Peregrine means wandering, of course, and is related to the word pilgrim in the obvious way.

A fluffy little article on Yiddish.
And for that matter, you can check out a nifty language map to see where Yiddish is spoken in the US!

It's time to sign up for SantaThing. This also makes a good gift. However, I will get you nothing in return, so bear that in mind.

University Kicks Student With Down Syndrome Out Of Classroom; Other Students Protest And Are Ignored

On tattoos to improve/monitor your health

Our Disappearing Apples

On taxes

Some graphs on race and the death penalty

Obama, S. Korea leader agree to hold joint military exercise. If somebody manages to start the Korean war up again, I'll be very irked. I'm already irked, frankly, because I see the likelihood of this.

Allergic Teen Seeks High School Perfume Ban

Conservatives at odds with Vatican over condoms

Children Born 'Late Pre-Term' More Prone to Low IQ
Minnesota is using paperwork to deter induced labor

The use of braces for younger kids is increasing

And one from Motortrend.com that's... just well-worth reading for the fun of it.

And FINALLY (I think) one on a school which banned... wait for it... wait for it...





PENCILS!

This is because most people don't wash them frequently... if at all.

As the commenters noted, this study was paid for by the same people who make plastic bags, and who have a vested interest in keeping people from banning them in, say, California.

However, as a political ploy, this one fails miserably. First, because it's easy enough to remove the germs just by washing your bag, as the study showed. Second, because it's equally easy to prevent cross-contamination by, say, designating some bags to hold meat and others to hold fruit and vegetables - a step so basic, I don't know why some people don't do it! Third, because you should always wash your food before you eat it, or cook it at high enough temperatures to kill anything, or both. And fourth, because people clearly aren't dropping like flies from their unwashed bags, even if by rights they really ought to be.

So, um... I'm going to do some laundry soon :)

( Hanes commercial )

First off, that commercial is damn creepy. Really.

But secondly and more importantly, if James went and bought a whole new wardrobe from Hanes while Pete is walking around in the same clothes he's had for the past six years or so, one of the two of them has generated clothing-related waste recently, and it's not Pete.

Now, you might want to consider this clothing line for the future, but really, it's more awesome (and green!) to buy vintage. Might even be cheaper.

“It used to be they could see a garbage pile from space. Now they’ll see a park from space.” (Mr. Wollney* said later that the space-viewing was completely not true: “The Great Wall of China is not visible from space, either.”)

*Park associate taking birders into the dump. Which is no longer a dump. He's a man after my own heart, clearly. I bet if we made some sort of joke involving words for snow he'd point out that that urban legend is untrue for more reasons than... well, than I have words for, frankly!

( Read more... )

This'll take up multiple entries, I'm sure.

Cricket helps the police forge ties in immigrant communities

( Read more... )

Rain collection is now legal in Colorado

( Read more... )

Children: Self-Control Presages Math Gains in Young

( Read more... )

Fragile Tanzanian Orphans Get Help After Mothers Die

( This one is fascinating )

Political Shifts on Gay Rights Lag Behind Culture

( Read more... )

Monster snake is no fucking joke. FORTY-TWO FEET? (42? Seriously?) Oh, no, nevermind. It's not 42. It's 42.7. A repeat, for those who missed it: This snake measured in at FORTY-TWO POINT SEVEN FLIPPIN' FEET!

That's insane.

Apparently, it was really damn hot back then.

Forty-two feet. UNbelievable.

I'm not even *scared* of snakes (knowing that there are no poisonous snakes this far north helps with that), and I don't ever want to look out my window and see that! I'd be scared to see them THAT big!

Roadsides planted with native plants (in the US) have more bees.

Now, the article states that native plants "have deeper roots". Does this mean that plants native to the US generally have deeper roots than plants native to other areas, or does it mean that plants generally have deeper roots in their native area, or does it mean that imported plants to the US tend to not have deep roots? And, whatever the reason, why is that?

One on amazing options for new uses of asphalt to make energy. MUST READ.

People keep saying it, and it's true. The future will belong to the people (that is, the nations and regions) that jump on these new energy sources now instead of later. You can count on it. If there is a future, that is. If there isn't, the future will belong to the cockroaches, as always.

A post on two people finding the middle and falling in love when they had had totally incompatible religious views.

A NYTimes blog post on the stupidity of air travel regulations

( Read more... )

One on cooking and heat - more interesting than I just summed up

( Read more... )

An article on (too?) early education

( Read more... )

About one of the most successful pirates ever, who happened to be a woman. Of course, history sometimes seems to be quite full of female pirates, but still.

While we're on the cool links, here's that one about how gay civil unions used to exist in medieval Europe. I don't know how compelling this evidence actually is, but it certainly is something to think about.

There's one here about urban farms, and all the stuff involved there.

And an older one about the soon-to-be creation of synthetic life. We are living in a sci-fi age, yea verily.

Here is a personal story by a man diagnosed aspie as an adult. Nothing much new here, but interesting enough.

And here's a nifty bit on pink, blue, and gender.

And, finally, finally - the Pachebel Bedtime. I'm too lazy to embed this. GO VIEW IT, you won't regret it, even if you hate Pachebel.