DN Speak: 10/12/14

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Criminologist Believes Violent Behavior Is Biological (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

Adrian Raine was the first person to conduct a brain imaging study on murderers and has since continued to study the brains of violent criminals and psychopaths. His research has convinced him that while there is a social and environmental element to violent behavior, there's another side of the coin, and that side is biology...

Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/21/292375166/criminologist-believes-violent-behavior-is-biological

'12 Years A Slave' Was A Film That 'No One Was Making' (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

The new movie 12 Years a Slave has been receiving high praise — critic David Denby recently described it in The New Yorker as "easily the greatest feature film ever made about American slavery."...

Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2013/10/24/240288057/12-years-a-slave-was-a-film-that-no-one-was-making

Sonia Sotomayor And The Supreme Court's New Term (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

The US Supreme Court, without lifting a finger, changed the American landscape on gay marriage this week. The nine justices of the high court can change your life with the twitch of an eyebrow. Right in the middle of those nine, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Sharp. Spirited. Up from a Bronx tenement. The first Latina Supreme court justice. Sotomayor has shared her own life in print. Now Supreme Court correspondent Joan Biskupic picks up where the Justice left off. The rest of the story – personal and professional. This hour On Point: reading Sonia Sotomayor.

Interview:
https://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/10/09/sonia-sotomayor-scotus-new-term-same-sex-marriage

Universe or Multiverse? (Nova)

Exciting new findings (see below) by the BICEP2 telescope appear to increase the possibility of multiverses. Host Brian Greene

http://youtu.be/rfhVTMgAVsY

Debate Topic: Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

William Lane Craig versus Marcus Borg http://youtu.be/2PbGN066LWE

Week In The News: Market Mess, Ebola Alarm, Election Hits The Home Stretch (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Dismay this week over the treatment of Ebola in the United States. Another nurse, sick in Dallas. An airline trying to track down potentially exposed passengers. The CDC chief, grilled on the Hill. Americans wondering where this goes. On Wall Street, wild markets. On the campaign trail, the midterms heat up. ISIS, within twelve miles of Baghdad. The Pentagon warns again of the security threat in climate change. HBO tempts more cable “cord cutting”. Facebook and Apple will pay to freeze employees’ eggs. This hour On Point: Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines. / Tom Ashbrook

Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/10/17/stock-market-isis-ebola-midterm-elections

Friday News Roundup - Domestic (Diane Rehm Show)

A second Dallas nurse is diagnosed with Ebola this week, soon after taking a domestic flight. CDC director Tom Frieden faces tough questions on Capitol Hill about the handling of the nurses’ cases, and President Obama considers appointing an Ebola “czar” to head US containment efforts. With weeks left before the midterms and nearly one million early votes cast, courts rule on voter ID laws in Texas and Arkansas. The stock market swung wildly again this week, as investors respond to mounting uncertainty in the global economy. And the budget deficit has dropped to its lowest level since before the great recession. The domestic hour of the Friday news roundup.

Interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-10-17/friday-news-roundup-domestic

Friday News Roundup - International (Diane Rehm Show)

The U.N. says the world is failing to contain Ebola in West Africa, stepped-up coalition airstrikes in the battle against ISIS on a Syrian border town and new concerns about sagging global economic growth: Please join us to discuss the week's top international news stories.

Interview:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-10-17/friday-news-roundup-international

How John Oliver and Stephen Colbert Foiled the GOP's Lame Quest for Cool

Republicans tried to reach women and young voters with fancy ads. Trouble is, Oliver, Stewart and Colbert saw them too.

rep

Paul Krugman Reveals How Conservative Economists Are Like Superstitious Medieval Crusaders

"We have been told repeatedly that governments must cease and desist from their efforts to mitigate economic pain, lest their excessive compassion be punished by the financial gods," Krugman writes. ... Read more

TIL Iran has more cabinet members with PhDs from US Universities, than the US cabinet itself does

We'd be foolish to not let the battle between their own technocrats and theocrats play out.
Read more

No one is safe

Extent to which people in various countries believe religion is important to them

Hanging Lake, Co [OC][2048x1563]

It's the only logical explanation

Wind blows away fossil power in the Nordics, the Baltics next.

The arrival of wind power on a large scale has pushed electricity prices down, eroding profitability of fossil power stations.
Read more

Evidence Connects Quakes to Oil, Natural Gas Boom.

A swarm of 400 small earthquakes in 2013 in Ohio is linked to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Read more

tip: sick of web ads that play sound and video?

If you're using google chrome, open settings, show advanced settings, and then from content settings set plug-ins to 'Click to play.'
Read more

Mistaya Canyon, Jasper National Park [OC] [2592 x 1728]

Stupid Science

OS X Yosemite: What’s new in Mail, Messages, and Calendars

A major update to OS X generally means that many of the apps included with the operating system also get major updates—or ... Read more

Koch Group Sends Fake Voter Information To Discourage Illinois Voters

"They're not satisfied to be breaking the law in North Carolina. Now they're aiming at Illinois."

Oops! Georgia's Secretary Of State Seems To Have 'Lost' 40,000 Voter Registrations

In September, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp expressed concern that too many minority voters were registering to vote for the November midterms... Read more

http://youtu.be/CIR51g3y1Xc

LGBT Christians Challenge Evangelicals: We Are Not An Issue, We Are The Body Of Christ

"I am queer, I am part of the church, and I am not an issue," Amy said.The post LGBT Christians Challenge Evangelicals: We Are ... Read more

Company Accused Of Committing Fraud Will Pay Just $1 Million To Settle — Without Admitting Anything

The Securities and Exchange Commission says that a New York high-frequency trading firm committed fraud. But it's letting the ... Read more

The 5 Most Irresponsible Things Politicians Have Said About Ebola

Some candidates are campaigning on fear.The post The 5 Most Irresponsible Things Politicians Have Said About Ebola appeared ... Read more

Friday, October 17, 2014

Satanic Temple Wants Display of Satan Descending Into Hell to Be Featured Inside Florida's Capitol

"...The display in the rotunda was meant to go up next to a Nativity scene and an atheist "spaghetti monster" depiction, but was rejected by the Department of Management Services..."

http://www.christianpost.com/news/satanic-temple-wants-display-of-satan-descending-into-hell-to-be-featured-inside-floridas-capitol-128176/

Florida politicians battle rhetoric as rising seas drive worries over climate change

MIAMI BEACH — At least twice in a normal year, the Biscayne Bay rises to swamp the streets of this fashionable resort town in an event known as the “king tide.” Water spills over seawalls and gurgles up through storm drains in what scientists say is a preview of life in Florida in a warming climate...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/florida-politicians-battle-rhetoric-as-rising-seas-drive-worries-over-climate-change/2014/10/17/e16fa3ce-548e-11e4-809b-8cc0a295c773_story.html

Religious Right Group Opposes Ebola Vaccine Projects Over Stem Cell Research

A “pro-life” group wants the government to stop fast-tracking two potential vaccines to fight the Ebola virus, citing concerns that the vaccine development includes stem cell research.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-group-opposes-ebola-vaccine-projects-over-stem-cell-research

IT HAPPENED TO ME: I Escaped The "Quiverfull" Fundamentalist Christian Cult

The end of my life as a "Bride of Christ" came when I visited a domestic violence shelter...

http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/vyckie-garrison-leaving-quiverfull-movement

Bishop objects to Notre Dame same-sex benefits

"... the church continues to view homosexual sex as wrong and opposes same-sex marriage because the “nature” of marriage requires opposite sexes..."

http://www.jg.net/article/20141017/LOCAL/310179970

Vatican Keeps Pro-Gay Language In Italian Report, Removes It From English Translation

Thomas Reese of the National Catholic Reporter said one of the new edits was "clearly … not an accurate translation."The post ... Read more

Colbert Mocks Hannity's 'Question Of The Day' Segment Bragging About His New Workout

Stephen Colbert was so "inspired" by Sean Hannity's new "Question of the Day" segment he came up with one of his own: Everything I Wanted You to Know ... Read more

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archive

Jon Stewart Schools Bill O’Reilly On White Privilege

Stewart got O'Reilly to admit that white privilege is a factor in the challenges that racial minorities face.The post Jon ... Read more

The Alliance Of US Christian Extremists And Vladimir Putin

According to an investigation by the Center Against Religious Extremism, a group of evangelical leaders in the United States who hold fringe views abo... Read more

Senate Candidate Says Those With Pre-Existing Conditions Better Off Before ACA

Even for a Republican, this is on the more evil edge of evil. In the Arkansas Senate debate Tuesday, Republican candidate Tom Cotton said the high-ris... Read more

DoD Report Warns Of Massive Effects Of Climate Change

Weather extremes will lead to food and water shortages, an explosion of pandemic diseases, waves of destitute refugees, and violent conflagrations over dwindling natural resources.
... Read more

Newly-Released Study Vastly Underestimates The ‘Worst-Case Scenario’ For Sea Level Rise

The worst-case scenario for warming-driven sea level rise is 6 feet by 2100, a new study asserts. But this study is already out ... Read more

Federal Watchdog: U.S. Government Not Doing Enough To Stop Oceans From Turning Acidic

Ocean acidification is one of the biggest and least talked about effects of global warming. The post Federal Watchdog: U.S. ... Read more

It’s Too Hard To Schedule An Appointment With A Psychiatrist

The gap in mental health services affects Americans regardless of the type of insurance they hold. The post It's Too Hard ... Read more

Senator Cites Ebola, ISIS, And Drug Cartels As Reasons To Oppose ‘Amnesty’

"We have 167,000 convicted felons... We Have ISIS. We have Ebola. We have to secure the border. And we cannot have amnesty," ... Read more

Over 48 million Americans live in poverty

"These are bad numbers," said Robert Doar, a fellow of poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank in Washington D.C. "We can do better, we're not doing better and that's discouraging."

Read more

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Stem Cell Blast Returns Sight to the Legally Blind

"...Embryonic stem cells can be turned into any type of human cell, and in this case, researchers made them into the type of cells that had been lost...." "http://www.newser.com/story/197267/stem-cell-blast-returns-sight-to-the-legally-blind.html

James Risen Challenges the Greed, Power, and Endless War of the National Security State

"...Published this week, Pay Any Price throws down an urgent gauntlet. We should pick it up. After 13 years of militarized zealotry and fear-mongering in the name of fighting terrorism, the book, subtitled “Greed, Power, and Endless War," zeros in on immense horrors being perpetrated in the name of national security..."
... Read more

This Koch-Backed Charter School Founder Is Making Millions Off of Public Education

Businesses can now run chains of public schools, conflicts of interest be damned.

The Device That Can Help End Unplanned Pregnancies

If teens take to this device the way they’ve taken to cell phones, unplanned pregnancy could go the way of landlines.

Knesset members join protest at Al-Aqsa

Members of Israel's parliament join about 500 Palestinians protesting against restrictions on worshippers at mosque. Read more

The Walking Dead?: Despite What Some Claim, The Religious Right Is Alive And Kicking

Religious fundamentalists may have taken some lumps in recent years (mainly over the marriage issue), but they are on a roll elsewhere. This movement is far from dead.
... Read more

British Parliament Votes Overwhelmingly In Favor Of Recognizing Palestine State, 274-12

The British public has been horrified by Gaza and its opinion of Israel has shifted. Even Conservative members of Parliament cited pressure from the public.
... Read more

British MPs have voted by 274 to 12 in favour of recognizing Palestine as a state alongside Israel.
The House of Commons backed the move "as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution". The vote is symbolic but could have international implications, as Roshan Muhammed Salih reports.

http://youtu.be/JtC2S8J6SqM