Archive for September, 2010
Westerners vs. the World: We Are the Weird Ones
Joseph Heinrich conducts behavioural economics experiments in the countryside of southern Chile.
Adam McDowell writes in the National Post
The Ultimatum Game works like this: You are given $100 and asked to share it with someone else. You can offer that person any amount and if he accepts the offer, you each get to keep your share. If he rejects your offer, you both walk away empty-handed.
How much would you offer? If it’s close to half the loot, you’re a typical North American. Studies show educated Americans will make an average offer of $48, whether in the interest of fairness or in the knowledge that too low an offer to their counterpart could be rejected as unfair. If you’re on the other side of the table, you’re likely to reject offers right up to $40.
It seems most of humanity would play the game differently. Joseph Henrich of the University of British Columbia…
Who Parked Our Moon?
Editor’s Note: This essay from Jim Marrs exploring a number of controversial ideas about the Moon was originally published in Above Top Secret: Uncover the Mysteries of the Digital Age (Disinformation, 2008).
Despite six announced visits by U.S. astronauts between 1969 and 1972, the Moon remains a riddle to scientists in many regards. The solutions to these riddles could indicate an alien aspect of our familiar Moon.
Called “the Rosetta Stone of the planets” by Dr. Robert Jastrow, the first chairman of NASA’s Lunar Exploration Committee, scientists had hoped by studying the composition of the Moon, to resolve some of the mysteries of how our planet and solar system came into existence.
However, six Moon landings later, science writer Earl Ubell declared, “… the lunar Rosetta Stone remains a mystery. The Moon is more complicated than anyone expected; it is not simply a kind of billiard ball frozen in space and time, as many scientists…
Poverty Rate In U.S. Saw Record Increase In 2009: 1 In 7 Americans Are Poor
These figures are estimates, but when the actual data is released this week, hopefully it’s not worse. Hope Yen and Liz Sidoti write on the Huffington Post:
WASHINGTON — The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Barack Obama’s watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty.
Census figures for 2009 – the recession-ravaged first year of the Democrat’s presidency – are to be released in the coming week, and demographers expect grim findings.
It’s unfortunate timing for Obama and his party just seven weeks before important elections when control of Congress is at stake. The anticipated poverty rate increase – from 13.2 percent to about 15 percent – would be another blow to Democrats struggling to persuade voters to keep them in power.
“The most important anti-poverty effort is growing the economy…
Enter Reality Sandwich’s Dimensional Shift Contest
The web-magazine Reality Sandwich is hosting a contest for inspired “evolutionaries” to win a free ticket to their “Dimensional Shift” Fall Retreat with Supernatural author Graham Hancock and visionary artists Alex and Allyson Grey.
To enter, simply create an Evolver video or blog entry saying why the retreat would be a life-changing, “galactivating” event for you. Entries can be funny, serious, cosmic, or tricksterlicious. Give these posts your own creative swagger, sharing your personal desires, wishes, and gifts for embarking on this transformational journey in one of the most beautiful spots in the American Southwest.
Videos should be under 2 minutes and posted in the blog section of Evolver.net (just look for the “Video” field). Blogs should be less than 500 words. Once your video or blog is up on Evolver.net, send the link to all your friends, family members, and community allies to “grok” (vote). The entry with the most groks wins free entry to the retreat (a…
This Image Is Not a Photoshop Trick
I can believe it’s real but can’t believe it’s stable. C’mon Russian town, where’s your Dept. of Public Works to take care of this stuff? From English Russia via Gizmodo, Jesus Diaz, writes:
This is not a Photoshop. It’s not an optical trick. And it’s not an illustration. It’s just a simply great photo taken near the Linevo village, in the Volgograd region of Russia. A wild firestorm went through the village and its surroundings, destroying 80 houses. Nobody knows what was the origin, but at least the phone lines are still working.
Attack of the Drones! Number of Amateur Drone Pilots Set To ‘Explode’
Usually I favor allowing hobbyists and amateurs more freedom for technological development but having more of these in the skies does creep me out. Like most things in life, these drones can be used for positive or more nefarous means. Sarah Ryley writes in the NY Post:
In New York City, someone’s always looking down on you. Low-tech, miniature versions of battlefield drones have come to the boroughs. Only here, they are controlled mostly by hobbyists and photographers, not soldiers shooting insurgents from the sky.
There are only 282 official permits to fly drones nationwide, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. They range from $4.5 million jets that can fly for two days without landing, to hand-launched helicopters that fit in a book bag. The FAA would not say if any of these permits have been issued in New York City.
But the number of drones patrolling the nation’s skies is expected to…
$800,000 of Economic Stimulus Money Spent On African Genital-Washing Program
From the “you can’t make this stuff up” department, via CNS News (yes, I know it comes with a deliberately right-wing spin, but still!):
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spent $823,200 of economic stimulus funds in 2009 on a study by a UCLA research team to teach uncircumcised African men how to wash their genitals after having sex.
The genitalia-washing program is part of a larger $12-million UCLA study examining how to better encourage Africans to undergo voluntary HIV testing and counseling – however, only the penis-washing study received money from the 2009 economic stimulus law. The washing portion of the study is set to end in 2011.
“NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications,” the grant abstract states. “We propose to evaluate the feasibility of a post-coital genital hygiene study among men unwilling to be circumcised in…
Oliver Stone On The Crimes Of Wall Street
Aaron Ross Sorkin dines with Oliver Stone at the favorite lunch-spot of Wall Street titans — and Stone doesn’t disappoint in his dissection of the crimes of the rich and famous! From the New York Times:
“You know, half the people in this place could be prosecuted.”
Oliver Stone, the film director, was sitting across from me over a late lunch in the Grill Room of the Four Seasons restaurant in Midtown Manhattan last week.
In one corner was Stephen Schwarzman, the chairman of the Blackstone Group; Felix Rohatyn, a special adviser to the chairman of Lazard, was leaving as I was coming in, as was Barry Diller, the chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp. And Sanford Weill, the former chairman of Citigroup — “the mother of all evil,” Mr. Stone said with a wry smile — had just dashed out.
If one man epitomizes the populist view of Wall Street and corporate America, it is Mr.…
London Calling As The Economy Hovers On The Edge And Scholars Debate War And Terrorism
LONDON: The British capital pretty much looked like it did the last time I was here except for all the closed stores and businesses I passed on the way to the War and Media Conference that brought me here.
I am not sure what it will look like the next time I come because the new Tory government is preparing to slash 40% of public funding in an austerity move which is certain to destroy thousands of jobs and inflict pain on the poor and middle class.
My friend Bill Bowles is afraid his pension might be trimmed along with his “freedom card” which gives folks over 65 free access to local transportation. (Seniors in New York only get half-fare cards). Given that the government is the country’s number one employer, a 40% cut will be devastating to the economy as well, mimicking that famous Vietnam War saying, “we destroyed the village…
Saddam Is Gone, But Tyranny Remains
Amnesty International recently reported that it believes 30,000 people are currently held in Iraqi jails, and the same kinds of abuses that went on under Saddam and American forces are still going on. From Al Jazeera:
Amnesty’s 59-page report, titled “New Order, Same Abuses: Unlawful detentions and torture in Iraq,” highlights the case of several men who were subjected to torture or who died in prison.
Among them was Riad Mohammed Saleh al-Oqaibi, arrested in September 2009 and held in a detention facility in Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone before being transferred to a secret detention facility elsewhere in the capital.
“During interrogation, he is said to have been beaten so hard on the chest that his ribs were broken and his liver damaged,” the report noted. “He died on 12 or 13 February as a result of internal bleeding.”
According to the rights group, methods of torture used against detainees include beatings with cables…
3rd Beam Lights Up NYC Skyline for WTC 7
From Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth via 911 Truth News:
At 9:11 pm on the 9th anniversary of the September attacks, the members of the 1280 strong Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth lit up the skies over Manhattan with a towering 2 billion-candlepower beam of light to raise public awareness that three, not just two, World Trade Center highrise buildings collapsed symmetrically at near freefall acceleration on 9/11, though only two were hit by planes.
‘Why is there a Third Beam in my skyline?’ New Yorkers are asking tonight. Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth founder Richard Gage, AIA, who held a press conference earlier in the day at the now-rebuilt WTC 7 with victims family members, states “The people of New York need to see the light – that a third WTC skyscraper not hit by any plane was destroyed on Sept. 11. They have been deceived about what…
How to Respect Sex Workers
Monica Shores on Alternet writes a great short piece with links for further research on how to respect sex workers:
Most women have strong feelings about the sex industry, be they for or against. (And many, of course, remain undecided.) When dealing with such an emotionally volatile topic, it’s easy to inadvertently silence or even insult sex workers themselves. (As a participant in sex worker activism for the past four years, I’ve seen that in action and on the page.) There’s a way to debate commercial sex while respecting the industry’s laborers. Here are some suggestions:
1) Don’t diminish or mock sex workers’ agency. When discussing a person coerced or forced into sex work, a sensitive recognition of the violation they’ve suffered is definitely in order. However, it’s important to let individuals themselves make this distinction, rather than automatically assigning them a label that indicates lack of agency. For instance, referring to all…
Today is a Good Day to Die: First Klingon Opera Debuts
Better brush up on your Klingon if you want to see this new opera by the Klingon Terran Research Ensemble. The Guardian reports:
Tired of the Ring Cycle? How about the Qeb bI’reS? A Dutch company has written, arranged and now premiered what it is calling the first ever Klingon opera, inspired by the fictional species from the Star Trek universe. Replacing Tristan and Isolde with Kahless the Unforgettable, the production features a Klingon story with Klingon lyrics and Klingon singers – or at least “Terrans” in forehead-ridged costumes.
The production is called u, which somehow translates to “universe” or “universal”. Conceived by the Klingon Terran Research Ensemble (KTRE), based in the Hague, the opera premiered at the city’s Zeebelt Theatre on Thursday and will be staged on 25 September in Farnsberg, Germany. These performances apparently coincide with the end of the Klingon summer solstice (in this year of Kahless 846).
According to NPR, “very few…
Record Set For World’s Largest Chocolate Bar
The Grand Candy factory found a delicious way to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. The largest chocolate bar is to be chopped up and eaten in Armenia on October 16. From Huffington Post:
Anyone looking for huge amounts of free chocolate should book a flight to Armenia’s capital next month. That’s when the world’s largest chocolate bar will be up for grabs in Yerevan’s main square. The Guinness Book of World Records certified the 9,702-pound (4,410-kilogram) chocolate bar at a ceremony Saturday.
It was made by Grand Candy factory and contains all natural ingredients, including 70 percent cocoa mass. The chocolate bar is 224 inches (560 centimeters) long, 110 inches (275 centimeters) wide and 10 inches (25 centimeters) thick.
The factory owner, Karen Vardanyan, said that the chocolate bar was produced to mark the 10th anniversary of the company. He said it will be divided up and handed out Oct. 16.
Breakthrough In Artificial Skin With The Ability To Feel
The robots of the future will have soft skin with as refined and sensitive a sense of touch as ours. Smell and taste are now the biggest hurtles in terms of replicating the human senses electronically — as of now, androids will be able to see, hear, and touch, and yet be unable to savor a juicy hamburger. Via Google, AFP reports:
Biotech wizards have engineered electronic skin that can sense touch, in a major step towards next-generation robotics and prosthetic limbs.
The lab-tested material responds to almost the same pressures as human skin and with the same speed, they reported in the British journal Nature Materials.
The “e-skin” made by Javey’s team comprises a matrix of nanowires made of germanium and silicon rolled onto a sticky polyimide film.
The team then laid nano-scale transistors on top, followed by a flexible, pressure-sensitive rubber. The prototype, measuring 49 square centimetres (7.6 square inches), can detect…
After Punk: The Story of What Came Next
Simon Reynold’s acclaimed first volume of post-punk memory sifting — Rip it Up and Start Again — went a long way toward exploring and explaining the various flowerings that bloomed from the bruised and bloodied blossom that was ’70s punk rock. If you thought one volume of exhaustive, evocative reconstructing of the period would suffice, you would be wrong, and Reynolds proves this point with Totally Wired: Postpunk Interviews and Overviews. The project is a bookend to the first volume and it completes an impressive cartography of that time and that music.
Totally Wired is largely an oral biography; the story of a place, a time and a music told by the people who listened to it, created it and lived through it. Serving up 32 interviews with everyone from David Byrne to Jah Wobble to James Chance, Totally’ (Along with Rip’) must certainly qualify Reynolds as the definitive chronicler of the period. The later chapters of the book practically constitute a project unto themselves, allowing Totally’ to deliver an even clearer, deeper explanation of just what came after punk.
The interviews begin with Ari Up, the lead singer of The Slits. The delightful miss Up is a fantastic storyteller and her remembrances of being the only dread-headed white girl step-dancing at Reggae parties are spellbinding — as are her recollections of a time when Punks, Rastas, Sticksmen, John-Travolta-disco-sadists and neo-Teddy Boys all collided on the street and on the stage as a new music attempted to rise from the ashes of punk.
Single Malt Whiskey Distilled From The Elderly’s Urine
Even if you put it in a fancy bottle, whiskey is more or less just old-people sugar-pee. The Independent reports:
Introducing Gilpin Family Whisky, a project of James Gilpin, a UK- based designer and researcher focusing on new biomedical technologies, who has created a “public engagement tool” distilling diabetic whiz into “single malt whisky.”
The public health concept of the whizky is based on the fact that “large amounts of sugar are excreted on a daily basis by type-two diabetic patients, especially amongst the upper end of our aging population.”
As for how it tastes, he added, “I don’t have the benefit of aging my whisky for 100 years in a barrel but I do have the benefit of my candidates having lived in some cases 90 years of a very full life which adds a great amount of depth to the flavor.
Secret LSD-Related CIA Ops, Mind-Reading Computers and Recent Asteroids That Nearly Missed the Earth…
If you’ve haven’t been here in a while, here’s the 23 most (dis)informing stories disinfo.com visitors were checking out over the last two weeks. If you’re interested in contributing to disinfo.com please contact us here. Enjoy and keep contributing!
The Big Lebowski Matrix Mashup Video
Ever wonder what it would be like to explain The Matrix to The Dude? Morpheus gives it his best….
Rare Hunter S. Thompson Documentary Surfaces on YouTube
It’s been nearly 5 years since the Good Doctor said adiós and pulled that silver trigger, bringing Gonzo to an end for good — or so one would think….
The future has yet to be determined, but what about the past? This recent Huffington Post piece discusses the possibility that what you do in the present shapes both future and past — “historical events such as who killed JFK, might depend on events that haven’t occurred yet.”…
My Trip to Al-Qaeda: Q & A with Journalist Lawrence Wright
I didn’t see the theatrical adaption of Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower (which is the most informative book I have ever read about 9/11) so I am looking forward to checking about this documentary. From the Economist’s Prospero column:
Lawrence Wright spent five years conducting hundreds of interviews in at least ten countries in order to write “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11”. The book, a best-selling history about Islamic fundamentalism, weaves the stories of terrorists, intelligence officers and government officials in a remarkable narrative that helps to explain both the cult of Osama bin Laden and the flaws in American intelligence that let him get away with murder.
“When I finished my book,” Mr Wright said in an interview with Prospero, “I had countless people asking me ‘What were they like?’ and ‘How did it affect you?’” He ultimately answered these questions in his one-man play, “My Trip to al-Qaeda”, a gripping personal account of the people he met and what it all felt like. On September 7th HBO will premiere Alex Gibney’s elegant screen adaptation, which mixes theatrical footage with more photographs and videos to help tell Mr Wright’s story about the lure of radicalism in the Islamic world.
