English: Aerial view of Kansas City, Kansas, looking southwest. The Kansas River (right-center) joins the Missouri River (left). A small piece of Kansas City, Missouri is visible on the left of the Missouri River. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Photographs of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. "Kansas apologizes for Fred Phelps" Baptist, "Sam Brownback" senator, "Creationists" Kansas board of education evolution teaching controversy. Sign includes Sunflower because Kansas is the "Sunflower state". (Photo credit: Wikipedia)2 unreMIDDLE CLASS POLITICAL ECONOMIST
2 unrad articles // actions
Breakthrough in Kansas-Missouri Border War
Via @goodjobsfirst, we learned Friday that Kansas Governor Sam Brownback had made a major response to Missouri's proposed jobs truce in the Kansas City region.As regular readers may recall, studies have shown that more than $200 million has been spent moving jobs back and forth across the state border in the Missouri and Kansas counties surrounding Kansas City. This is to create 0 new jobs. Despit
It's official - Icelandic bankers have been jailed
If you've been following this blog over the last few years, you know that Iceland took the dramatic step of prosecuting top officers at the country's big 3 banks, all of which were allowed to go bankrupt in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse. Unlike Ireland, it did not turn bank debt into government debt, which increased Ireland's debt by close to 100% of gross national product (GNP) overnigh
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MIDDLE EAST TODAY4 unread articles // actions
USA Support of Israel
Recently, the Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu, stated that the occupied Syrian Golan Height is part of Israel. This occupation is violating the UN resolution as well as international law.Since its creation, the US government has supported the Israeli aggression.Few days ago the NYT stated that President Obama’s administration has constantly supported Israel by, more than any other American pr
Political Influence of AIPAC
The American Israeli Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is the strongest and most influential political lobby in the USA. Some of its member, 18,000, met recently in Washington D.C.The Committee (AIPAC) extended its invitation to the five presidential candidates to attend their meeting and to express their political views towards Israel.The only candidate who did not attend the meeting was Sena
The Corrupt American Congress
The month of March will be always remembered as the month the US invaded Iraq 13 years ago.Unfortunately, only one American politician, senator Cruz, stated publicly that the invasion of Iraq destabilized the Middle East region. He furthermore said that the removal of Saddam Hussein was a mistake because under his rule Iraq was stable.Senator Cruz and do not support him made a correct statement.
The Corrupt American Congress
The month of March will be always remembered as the month the US invaded Iraq 13 years ago.Unfortunately, only one American politician, senator Cruz, stated publicly that the invasion of Iraq destabilized the Middle East region. He furthermore said that the removal of Saddam Hussein was a mistake because under his rule Iraq was stable.Senator Cruz and do not support him made a correct statement.
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@ THE CHALK FACE8 unread articles // actions
Transfer of activism
Those in educational circles, particularly on social media, are observing a season of meetings of various professional organizations. We were recently treated to the smiles and reunions of academics at the DC meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). And we are now inundated with the bright, optimistic activism of the Network for Public […]
A challenge to education researchers
For the most part, I read education research like I learned to read it: A bit of introduction, skim methods and results, cut right to the discussion and conclusions. When I was doing my dissertation, I was skimming hundreds of articles and simply didn’t have the time to read every word, unless it was some […]
Still some misinformation out there about #optout2016
I’m not necessarily talking about whether or not parents have the right to opt their children out of standardized testing. Opt out of testing groups, of which the NPE is now involved, are doing a pretty good job of getting that bit out there, although it’s still not reaching, from where I stand, the real […]
I do remember those days… #optout2016
My how things change. I do remember those days around 2010 when opting out of standardized tests was considered the most radical thing one can do. Foolish, silly, self-destructive. And now, not so much. How much farther would the movement have been if support for the strategy came on day one? At this point, my […]
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OBSIDIAN WINGS8 unread articles // actions
A short post-quake post
by liberal japonicus While I haven't mentioned where I live in Japan, perhaps you've now heard of it as we now have an earthquake named after us! I was in the UK when the quake struck, but the wonders of modern technology, I was able to contact my wife immediately after the first one and, when my facebook feed blew up after the magnitude 7 second quake, I messaged my wife while she was still under
It's April 15th, So Why Aren't My Taxes Due Yet? -- Open Thread
by wj As everybody here (at least those who live in the US) is aware, taxes are normally due on April 15. That is extended, naturally, when the 15th is not on a week day, i.e. it is on a Saturday or Sunday. But this year, April 15th is a Friday. And yet taxes are not due until next Monday. No doubt there is a well-known (to everybody but me) reason for this oddity. Other possible points for an op
Your WTF? Weekend Open Thread
by Ugh Maybe we could use one of these. McTx asks what marginal tax rates I would set. Eh, probably would require a little more thought than I'm up for right now. I will say that I don't think the theory that higher marginal tax rates cause more consumption of leisure to hold other than in highly unusual cases. It's not like most people can just stop working in November and then pick it up ag
Lifestyle changes
by Doctor Science Wednesday of the week before last, Mister Doctor Science started to have chest pains while he was at fencing. He was wondering if it was just acid reflux (again), but one of the other fencers insisted on driving him to the ER. That friend is currently my favorite person in the whole world, because Mr Dr was in fact having a heart attack. His right coronary artery was completely
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VIVA BOLIVIA1 unread article // actions
New York Times article: In the Mountains of Bolivia, by Michael Benanav
Below is a New York Times article on Bolivia, perhaps the best every published in that paper on Bolivia, we look forward to more like this. It is by Michael Benanav, published on 23 March 2016, titled "In the Mountains of Bolivia: Encounters with Magic." With a face as creased as a walnut shell and a smile as gleeful as it was toothless, 98-year-old Augustina Lamagril welcomed us into
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VAGABOND SCHOLAR1 unread article // actions
Fool's Day 2016
Happy Fool's Day! This year, I thought I'd link Vulture's feature, "The 100 Jokes That Shaped Modern Comedy." It's got many classics, but the list is more impressive for its breadth and less obvious choices. Some supplemental pieces delve further into some of the gags, including Airplane's "Don't call me Shirley."
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PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK7 unread articles // actions
Guess what?! Strawberry pesticides are in the air.
What’s being applied on the strawberry field next door? For many Californians, the answer is a big question mark. And the issue has taken on added significance as state officials consider how best to answer that question — and then inform parents about the health-harming pesticides being applied near homes and schools. According to a 2014 report from the California Department of Public Healt
Guest blog: Another broken trade agreement
On February 4, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was signed by 12 countries in North America, South America and Asia. Now each country’s congress is considering whether or not to ratify this global trade agreement. All eyes are on the United States, where free trade has become a key election issue. The deal was negotiated in secret with 600 corporate advisors; anyone who did read it faced
Test your knowledge
Farmworkers plant, cultivate and harvest much of the food we eat every day. How much do you know about the history of the farmworker justice movement in the U.S.? Find out now. Take the quiz Slideshow Category: Flex Slider
On Autism Awareness Day
World Autism Awareness Day is on April 2 this year. It's a day to shine a light on this condition and reaffirm our support for adults and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and for their families. It's also a day to learn more about what increases risks of autism — and to think about prevention. ASD and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain devel
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PHILOSOPHICAL COMMENT3 unread articles // actions
Awesome Research for Public Health Ethics Scholarship and Training Available Online for Free!
Yes indeed! Super kudos to the editorial team of Drue H. Barrett, Leonard H. Ortmann, Angus Dawson, Carla Saenz, Andreas Reis and Gail Bolan – and the sponsor CDC – for putting together this freely available, pioneering and one of a kind collection of case studies and background texts for global public health ethics study, research and training. With contribution by a pack of high octane scholars,
New paper online: Ethical Hazards in Monitoring and Addressing Patient Decision Capacity in Clinical Practice
Just a little heads-up about a new research paper now being online (free to read and download). This one is lead by my Ph.D. student, Thomas Hartvigsson (presently visiting at Queen's University, Canada) and addresses aspects of his thesis topic about the normative roles of decision competence, for instance, in areas such as law or health care.Together with Gun Forsander, chief senior clinical con
Come and Work with Us on Moral and Legal Responsibility and Agency!
The practical philosophy group at my department has for many years been working on building a research environment focusing broadly on responsibility as a topical theme. This theme encompasses all aspects of moral and legal responsibility and agency, and ranges from the applied and practice oriented (related to different areas and institutions), to the most general and fundamental issues in philos
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VACCINE AWAKENING1 unread article // actions
Pertussis Microbe Outsmarts the Vaccines As Experts Argue About Why
Posted: 3/29/2016 By Barbara Loe FisherTo activate and view hyperlinked references, please click here once and then click any superscripted number below to access a hyperlinked reference, or scroll down to the bottom of the article to view all hyperlinked references.For the past decade, Americans have been subjected to dire warnings that B. pertussis whooping cough cases are on the rise and it is
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THWAP'S SCHOOLYARD1 unread article // actions
Two More Books
I recently finished Mount Pleasant by Don Gilmor. Somebody was giving it away in a cardboard box outside their house. I live on Mount Pleasant Avenue, so I figured "what the hell." It's a decent look at a middle-aged man's midlife crisis. It's a nice portrayal of the vicissitudes of the Rosedale set. And "Occupy Toronto" makes a presence.I could identify with everything about t
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SCREW YOU GUYS, I'M GOING HOME1 unread article // actions
North Carolina Now Requires Men To Use Your Employer's Ladies' Room
If you work in North Carolina, be warned: your employer now has to require men to use the ladies' room. Not all men, but some men. These men have beards, mustaches, and yes, penises. But they have to use the ladies' room due to a new law just signed by your governor. And if you're a business, you are now legally required to humiliate some customers and allow others to be frightened. This law was m
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SYRIA COMMENT2 unread articles // actions
“President’s al-Assad’s First Speech – An Insider’s Account,” by Ehsani
President’s al-Assad’s First Speech – An Insider’s Account by Ehsani For Syria Comment – 19 April 2016 During a recent event at the Council on Foreign Relations, three prominent western Syria analysts met to discuss “the leadership style, psychology, personality, and policies” of President Bashar al-Assad. The moderator started by asking the participants to analyze the President through covering h
“Assad’s Fateful Choice” by David W. Lesch
Assad’s Fateful Choice by David W. Lesch This spring marks the fifth year anniversary of the events that launched a civil war in Syria. Typically, there were some huge miscalculations early on that set the conflict in motion, such as the Syrian opposition’s expectation that the West would militarily intervene to facilitate the overthrow of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. And then
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TAMPLINS ENTIRE1 unread article // actions
Recalibrating the BBC’s scales – Part II
Given its legal obligation to remain impartial, a key feature of the BBC brand of impartiality is its effort to appear impartial. Its starting point, wisely enough, is an appeal to common-sense. Whenever possible, the BBC plays upon the audience’s understanding of even-handedness. To see this let’s return for a moment to domestic politics. One well-established political conception is that of a lef
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THE STRAIGHT GOODS3 unread articles // actions
Sleazy Sell-Out. “Sunny Days”. The Bank of Canada
Sleazy Sell-Out. “Sunny Days”. Part II The Bank of Canada Written by Robin Mathews April 2016We have come upon a brilliant example, here in Canada, of what Anthony Hall calls “imperial globalization” and “the terror economy” (Earth Into Property, McGill-Queen’s, 2011.) Those are terms which describe the move to ‘world government’ by increasingly unregulated (and increasingly crim
"Sunny Days”. Sleazy Sell-Out.
"Sunny Days”. Sleazy Sell-Out. ...........part I Written by Robin Mathews April 2016 Anthony Hall writes about “ballot-box colonialism”, “imperial globalization” and its “licence for lawlessness” – as well as the present “terror economy” - in Earth Into Property (McGill-Queen’s, 2011). Hall focuses attention on the relentless an
Petronas in Prince Rupert, Boulevard of Broken Dreams
_______________Prices of spot LNG for April delivery to Asia averaged $4.46 per MMBtu, according to latest Platts Japan/Korea Marker data for month-ahead delivery.At $4.46/MMBtu, the April JKM was 38.7 percent below prices for the same delivery month in 2015.Platts adds in its report that the latest marker for April delivery is also at the lowest monthly average level seen since July 2009, when th
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THE EXISTENTIALIST COWBOY1 unread article // actions
The Origin of Economic Failures and Depressions
The Origin of Economic Failures and Depressionsby Len Hart, The Existentialist CowboyForbidden Planet is a class Sci-Fi tour de force staring Leslie Nielson, Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis. Released in 1956, it holds up surprisingly well against Star Wars, the Star Trek series and even the most recent digital entries into the genre. The story of Dr. Morbius, re-discovering the technological marve
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THE HIGH-FAT HEP C DIET4 unread articles // actions
The Tragedy of William Stark, who conclusively proved that eating crap will kill you, by a process of self-experimentation, in 1770, a fact which more people should pay attention to.
How did I not know about William Stark MD? Born in Birmingham of an Irish mother and a Scottish father, he studied philosophy in Glasgow and medicine in Edinburgh and at the University of Leiden before going to work as a doctor in London in 1765."The person on whom these experiments are tried is a healthy man, about twenty-nine years of age, six feet high, stoutly made, but not corpulent
On second thoughts, that vegetarian genomic study did show that not eating animals is not good for you.
Generally, a study that purported to show that vegan and vegetarian diets are harmful would be welcomed by meat eaters, who get a lot of pseudoscientific criticism from members of those groups, some of it disguised as sober science. But no-one was much impressed by the Pune vs. Kansas study. Even Tom Naughton wrote it off as meaning the same thing the head of the NZ vegetarian society said it
Silymarin for type 2 diabetes - significant effects on glucose and lipids from a safe OTC herbal.
This study has an interesting backstory. Hepatitis C (mainly genotype 4) infects nearly a quarter of the Egyptian population. This is the highest rate of HCV infection I've heard of in any country; however the Nile Valley is probably the ancestral home of HCV's transmission to humans.Egypt is not a rich country and drug treatments for Hep C are expensive, not to mention dangerous and unreliably e
The Smoking Gun - the Role of PUFA in Non-Alcoholic Liver Disease
The smoking gun Public health experts are gradually accepting the idea that sucrose and fructose are, like alcohol, causes of fatty liver disease (non-alcoholic liver disease - NAFLD - and its inflammatory development, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis - NASH). After all, sugar is unnecessary and, like alcohol, the rogue macronutrient, associated with pleasure rather than nutrition. There’s
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THE EARTH AND MAN: SETTING THE STAGE1 unread article // actions
Scientific Sainthood Today
The wuwt site has a post on "Three Little Known Scientists Who Changed Our World View of Climate". I was shocked to find the scientists being lauded included Alfred Wegener, the discoverer of past continental drift, and Milutin Milankovitch, who theorized that periodic variations in the Earth's orbit and axial tilt are responsible for ever-repeating, dramatic changes in the "global
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A CLOSER LOOK: JODY PATERSON1 unread article // actions
Hard lessons from the Ghomeshi trial
As news of the Jian Ghomeshi verdict started coming out this week, I felt like a human version of those three monkeys who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil - all stopped up so I wouldn't have to hear what was coming. I'd had a bad feeling about where things were going from the moment that the first witness was eviscerated by the defence lawyer about her behaviour after the alleg
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THE ERGOSPHERE1 unread article // actions
The Energy Collective collapses due to gross incompetence and inability to accept criticism
The Energy Collective was recently taken over by Energy Post. This didn't have any visible consequences until just a couple days ago, when Energy Post attempted a conversion of the site from Drupal 6 to Wordpress. I've been using Wordpress for years, and had no real complaints about it. But this conversion... it was like having the Library of Congress edited and reprinted by Mad Magazine.
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THE GALLOPING BEAVER5 unread articles // actions
That LAV deal
Frankly, the LAV deal is a shitty deal for anyone in Canada but the Tories, and I honestly don't believe the Trudeau, Dion, and the rest like it any more than of us. I think they probably know they've got no good defence for their decision. They've got advisors looking at the tea leaves and wondering what the next of war in the region will look like. We've got no idea where and how any weapons in
Transparency is hard
Lying about major arms deals to illiberal regimes. Dion, please resign. Trudeau, we expected this of your predecessor. If your hands were tied or your government were pressured by things we haven't seen, such as industry lobby pressure, petitions from other states, or something else entirely, explain it to us. That's called transparency. It's hard, I know.
OK, Liberals
Fix this. It doesn't matter how many mayurasana JT can do on his desk or how gender-balanced your cabinet is. Lying to us about the state of the nation's finances or how you spend our tax money, or anything really, is despicable.
Panama papers
Reading the rolling accounts of the Panama Papers (Iceland's PM just resigned, David Cameron's family has some 'splaining to do), I think we're a scandal away from a popular revolt. Each one of these fucking document dumps nakedly shows how much of the game is rigged against us.
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Amazon.com plans new shipping center in Edgerton, Kansas(cjonline.com)
Wildfire now has torched 620 square miles(bizjournals.com)
Seth Meyers Takes a Closer Look at How Kansas Governor Sam Brownback Ruined the State(patheos.com)
Kansas governor signs student religious freedom bill(jurist.org)
New Kansas Law Lets Student Groups Bar Members Based on Belief(insidehighered.com)
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