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Never Talk to the Police | Quick Hitts By Dave Hitt on Mar 31, 2010 in Featured, Police State What’s the best response when a cop asks you something? Silence, or a short, polite non-answer. Shut up. Just. Shut. You should be polite and calm whenever dealing with any armed person. These videos made the rounds about a year ago. In the first part of the first video a fast talking law professor gives you detailed reasons why you should never talk to the police. This is part two, where a former police officer fills in the details. Here are some practical examples of how to legally preserve your rights in an encounter with police: Ok, after all that heavy duty stuff, we need a breather. Neil deGrasse Tyson: Atheist or Agnostic? | Neil deGrasse Tyson More ideas from Tyson Transcript I'm often asked – and occasionally in an accusatory way – “Are you atheist?” And it’s like, you know, the only “ist” I am is a scientist, all right? So what people are really after is, what is my stance on religion or spirituality or God? There are many atheists who say, “Well, all agnostics are atheists.” And some will say, well, that’s – "You’re not being fair to the fact that they’re actually the same thing." And it’s odd that the word even exists. {*style:<b>Directed / Produced by </b>*}

History of China, China History, ancient China, Chinese history The Top 10 Relationship Words That Aren't Translatable Into English | Marriage 3.0 Here are my top ten words, compiled from online collections, to describe love, desire and relationships that have no real English translation, but that capture subtle realities that even we English speakers have felt once or twice. As I came across these words I’d have the occasional epiphany: “Oh yeah! That’s what I was feeling...” Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan, an indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego): The wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to start. Oh yes, this is an exquisite word, compressing a thrilling and scary relationship moment. It’s that delicious, cusp-y moment of imminent seduction. Yuanfen (Chinese): A relationship by fate or destiny. From what I glean, in common usage yuanfen means the "binding force" that links two people together in any relationship. But interestingly, “fate” isn’t the same thing as “destiny.” Retrouvailles (French): The happiness of meeting again after a long time.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Lists 8 (Free) Books Every Intelligent Person Should Read A Reddit.com user posed the question to Neil deGrasse Tyson: "Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on the planet?" Below, you will find the book list offered up by the astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and popularizer of science. Where possible, we have included links to free versions of the books, all taken from our Free Audio Books and Free eBooks collections. Or you can always download a professionally-narrated book for free from Audible.com. Details here. If you're looking for a more extensive list of essential works, don't miss The Harvard Classics, a 51 volume series that you can now download online. 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) Tyson concludes by saying: "If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world." He has also added some more thoughts in the comments section below, saying: Thanks for this ongoing interest in my book suggestions. Related Content:

Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet . Muhammad and Women t the time of Muhammad's birth, women in 7th century Arabia had few if any rights. Even the right of life could be in question, since it was not uncommon for small girls to be buried alive during times of scarcity. In the Qur'an, it is said that on Judgment Day "buried girls" will rise out of their graves and ask for what crime they were killed. Part of Muhammad's legacy was to end infanticide and establish explicit rights for women. Islam teaches that men and women are equal before God. Muhammad was orphaned at an early age. Beginning from the time of Muhammad's marriage to his first wife Khadijah, women played an important role in his religious career. By then, Muhammad was working to establish a new community. Only one of his wives had not been previously married. Aisha's assertion that Muhammad lived the Qur'an became the basis for Muslims ever since to emulate his example. It would be anachronistic to claim that Muhammad was a feminist in our modern sense.

Murder in Parliament, 200 Years Ago On May 11, 1812, British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was shot dead in the House of Commons lobby. Not all of Britain grieved, however. Two hundred years later, his murder remains the only assassination of a British prime minister in history. Spencer Perceval, whose murder remains the only assassination of a British prime minister in history. John Bellingham quietly entered the House of Commons lobby around 5 p.m. on May 11, 1812. The Liverpool businessman had been arrested in Russia on charges of insurance fraud in 1804, and he spent more than five years festering in rat-infested jails, surviving at times on just bread and water. Now, as Bellingham sat in the House of Commons, venom coursed through his veins. Illustration of the assassination of Spencer Perceval by John Bellingham. Bellingham, meanwhile, did not attempt to flee after firing the fatal shot. While many with deep animosity toward Perceval celebrated his demise, justice for Bellingham was swift.

Excerpts from "How to be Perfect" by Ron Padgett Wednesday May 30, 2012 Listen Download E-mail Share Excerpts from "How to be Perfect" by Ron Padgett Get some sleep. Excerpts from "How to be Perfect" by Ron Padgett, from How to be Perfect. © Coffee House Press, 2007. It was on this day in 1849 that Henry David Thoreau (books by this author) self-published A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, his first book. Thoreau had always been the introverted and studious one, while John was gregarious and fun-loving. Thoreau said: "To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. And, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." It's the birthday of Harlem poet Countee Cullen (books by this author) , mostly likely born in New York City or Lexington, Kentucky, in 1903. Cullen was popular in the late '20s, and married the daughter of W.E.B.

Art Books We've been noticing a bit of a recent obsession with books. And no, not with reading the little nuggets of knowledge but using them as the canvas for art. This is like a massive step-up from idle marginalia doodling, or those picture books from school you used to scribble in. This is proper, detailed and at times painstaking book art. Jacqueline Rush Lee, Pod 2010 First up we have the artists with a knack for curling and manipulating the book pages. Next up we have Robert The and his book guns. There's the compromise of letting their child enjoy the sensation of holding a gun that can't hurt even the slowest of targets. Abelardo Morell injects beauty into the sad school memory that is your water bottle leaking all over a textbook you actually need. Finally, Brian Dettmer's book sculpture is perhaps the most intricate forms of book art we're revelling in today. Now isn't it time to get your tools and neglected books out? We've been noticing a bit of a recent obsession with books.

Images | Top Most Loved All Categories Last 7 Days Stanley Kubrick Answers a Question: Zen Pencils Growth isn’t linear Today’s society ‘The power of small, good deeds’ by meerkatdebs (imgur) Top 5 Regrets Of The Dying Comic About Happiness — This genuinely brought tears to my eye… Sometimes family gatherings are the truest test of one’s equanimity… I hate small talk My brain is melting… This is the new Urban “We Must Do Away With the Specious Notion…” — Buckminster Fuller Einstein on the “cosmic religion” Hierarchy of Possession Questions Nietzsche Remembrance Day 123102030Next A Bite of Buddhism The four sublime mental states are qualities of mind that we cultivate in order to alleviate the suffering we experience in everyday life and to feel more connected to others—and the worries and fears we all share. In the language of the Buddha (Pali), they are called the brahma viharas , which means "the dwelling place of awakened beings." The good news for us unawakened beings is that it's easy to begin cultivating the brahma viharas . Metta . I like to think of metta as the simple act of well-wishing. Sylvia once said that she practices metta by just looking at a person and silently saying, "I love you." Karuna . The Vietnamese Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, helped me learn to cultivate compassion for myself. Inspired by his teaching, I consciously cultivate compassion for myself by picking a phrase that speaks directly to whatever the source of my suffering is at the moment: "It's hard to be too sick to go out today," "My sweet body, working so hard to support me." Mudita .

The Lesson of the Monkeys | Jason Wells I was first told of this experiment* by a former work colleague, and later discovered this illustration of it. It’s both illuminating and disturbing. There is a clunky word that describes this phenomenon: filiopietism, or the reverence of forebears or tradition carried to excess. But I prefer another term for it: the tragic circle. I believe many of these tragic circles exist, mostly unseen, in across all cultures and societites, causing untold harm. The lesson is as obvious as it is important: question everything. * Stephenson, G.

Home - Freedom From Religion Foundation 20 life-changing realizations from the world’s youngest VC Alex Banayan is a 19-year-old associate at San Francisco-based venture capital firm Alsop Louie Partners. His upcoming book will feature 25 of the world’s most successful people and reveal the little things they did to propel their careers. He previously wrote about the five traits of radically successful people. With only a few days left being a teenager, just thinking about what happened this past year gives me chills. Before I continue, I have to warn you: this post is not for everyone. The Transformation This past year has been a whirlwind of life-changing events, but I don’t take credit for any of it. To give you some insight on what happened to me, I’ll share with you a few things that show how my life was a year ago and what it’s like now. A year ago I was 40lbs heavier and I couldn’t run for more than 10 minutes. I never would have guessed any of this would happen. The following are the lessons I’ve learned along the way that have made this all possible. The Lessons Learned

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