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Politics & Activism

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A Facial Theory of Politics. Why are action stars more likely to be Republican? Why Republicans and Democrats Can’t Feel Each Other’s Pain. Internet use promotes democracy best in countries that are already partially free. Economists assert that above all else, political institutions determine the wealth of nations. 2 genes do not make a voter. People Aren't Smart Enough for Democracy to Flourish, Scientists Say. How lefties, righties see the world differently. Science Behind The News: Opinion Polls And Random Sampling. Paul Graham: Why Y Combinator Replaces The Traditional Corporation. If Y Combinator is the next PayPal Mafia, then Paul Graham is Silicon Valley's godfather.

Paul Graham: Why Y Combinator Replaces The Traditional Corporation

Graham is the cofounder of Y Combinator, the investment firm that plugs seed money ($18,000 on average) into early stage startups in exchange for mentorship and access to its ever-growing network of alumni. Rx for happiness: Tax the rich? Voters overrate favorite candidates. Fear of job loss causes dissatisfaction and a lack of commitment at work.

Study twitter-maps new world order. How We Stopped Evolving and Learned to Love War. SEE THROUGH THE EYES OF A ROBOT. Everything is a Remix Part 4. Myths and shame keep many from seeking bankruptcy protection. (PhysOrg.com) -- Two interesting facts that may counter modern ideas about bankruptcy: The overwhelming majority of U.S. filings belong to individuals rather than corporations or entities, and most of these people wait far too long to seek bankruptcy protection.

Myths and shame keep many from seeking bankruptcy protection

These are two of many cultural misconceptions associated with bankruptcy in the United States, says Tim Tarvin, associate professor and supervising attorney in the student-staffed Federal Practice Clinic at the University of Arkansas School of Law. “It’s very sad,” Tarvin says. “It's not unusual for people to break down in the interview setting with the student attorneys who are representing them. These families have been working so hard trying to figure out how to pay off their debt, and it’s just not working. The cash just doesn’t flow. As evidence that people wait too long, Tarvin refers to statistics in The Two Income Trap, a book written by Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren and published in 2003. NeuroScience: Another View Of Politics. Fall of Communism changed mathematics in US: New study. Study: Income inequality may boost your ego. Report on neuroscience and the military offers confidence and caveats (Wired UK) Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism.

We're Sorry: Not All Apologies Are Apologies. Neuroscientists explore how longstanding conflict influences empathy for others. Vangelis: A message of hope - Talk to Al Jazeera. In December 2011, leaders from around the world gathered at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations meeting in Doha, a forum meant to encourage dialogue between cultures and people.

Vangelis: A message of hope - Talk to Al Jazeera

Australia set to recognise Aborigines as first people of continent. Australia is poised to make historic changes to its constitution, recognising Aborigines as the country's original inhabitants and removing the last clauses of state-sanctioned racial discrimination.

Australia set to recognise Aborigines as first people of continent

The amendments could be put to the Australian people in a referendum before the next general election in 2013, after the prime minister, Julia Gillard, endorsed the unanimous findings of a panel of 19 experts. Section 25 of the constitution recognises that states can disqualify people, such as Aborigines, from voting. Section 51 says federal parliament can make laws based upon a person's race. Both were put in the constitution in 1901 to prevent certain races from living in areas reserved for white people or from taking up certain occupations. The prime minister, Julia Gillard, welcomed the report. You Can't Fool Mother Nature For Long: The Substitution of Debt for Productivity. The "big story" of the U.S. economy is that we have substituted expansion of debt for meaningful increases in productivity.

You Can't Fool Mother Nature For Long: The Substitution of Debt for Productivity

For the past 30 years, the U.S. economy has become increasingly dependent on explosive debt expansion for its "growth" rather than on meaningful rises in meaningful productivity. Growth is in quotes because growth based on secular increases in productivity--that is, the same investment of labor and capital produces goods and services of greater value--is qualitatively different from "growth" based on a pyramiding of debt. Real growth based on rising productivity is sustainable, "growth" based on ever-greater expansions of debt is not. What has kept the Status Quo from falling off the debt cliff over the past four years is the substitution of exploding Federal/public debt for no-longer-rising private debt. NYPD Developing Van-Mounted Body Scanners To Detect Concealed Weapons On The Street: Gothamist. Is Digital Technology Burying the Middle Class?

The US didn't shoot Phobos-Grunt down (but could have) One Cartoon Sums Up the Insanity of Syria's Crackdown - Max Fisher - International. The unstoppable Ali Ferzat reminds us why the Assad regime hates him On August 25, the 60-year-old Syrian political cartoonist Ali Ferzat was driving home from his office in Damascus when a car with tinted windows blocked the road.

One Cartoon Sums Up the Insanity of Syria's Crackdown - Max Fisher - International

Men dragged Ferzat from his car, stuffed him in a van, beat him severely and broke both his hands in what they called "a warning" and dumped him on the side of the road. "Once my fingers have healed, I'll go back," Ferzat told an interviewer in December, after finally leaving the hospital. The current crisis follows the same patterns as in 1991. 10 Technologies That Congress Tried to Kill. Growth of Global Inequality Sowing 'Seeds of Dystopia': Report. The World Economic Forum released its global assessment on Wednesday, and it paints a stark future if world institutions - including governments, private industry, academic institutions, and civil society organizations - don't make some radically practical changes.

Growth of Global Inequality Sowing 'Seeds of Dystopia': Report

Risks will be top of the agenda at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos. From the report: As the world grows increasingly complex and interdependent, the capacity to manage the systems that underpin our prosperity and safety is diminishing. The constellation of risks arising from emerging technologies, financial interdependence, resource depletion and climate change exposes the weak and brittle nature of existing safeguards – the policies, norms, regulations or institutions which serve as a protective system. Our safeguards may no longer be fit to manage vital resources and ensure orderly markets and public safety. The Left and the Right: Physiology, Brain Structure and Function, and Attentional Differences. Synchronized physical activities: Is there a dark side to moving in sync?

Moving in harmony can make people feel more connected to one another and, as a result, lead to positive collective action.

Synchronized physical activities: Is there a dark side to moving in sync?

Think of those feel-good vibes created in a yoga class as students move in unison through their downward-facing dogs. Yet given that synchronized physical activities are also a cornerstone of military training and are the highlights of military propaganda reels, could the interconnectedness created by coordinated action be mined to make people behave destructively instead? According to two studies conducted by Scott Wiltermuth, assistant professor of management and organization at the USC Marshall School of Business, the cohesiveness synchronized action fosters can, indeed, be manipulated for less than ideal ends. In the experiment, 155 participants were divided into teams of three and trained to move plastic cups in a specified sequence to music in either a synchronized or unsynchronized way, while some in a control group merely held their cups above the table.

As Centralized Systems Devolve, The Solution Is Localism. Depending on Central State/central bank borrowing and spending to prop up the Status Quo is a doomed strategy.

As Centralized Systems Devolve, The Solution Is Localism

I think the thread between these three seemingly disparate stories is clearly visible. I am indebted to longtime correspondent Joel M. for sending me these articles: A Dimly Flickering Light in a Darkened Downtown.