10-Eye-Opening Quotes From Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger Margaret Sanger has been lauded by some as a woman of valor, but a closer look reveals that Planned Parenthood’s audacious founder had some unsavory things to say about matters of race, birth control, and abortion. An outspoken eugenicist herself, Sanger consistently promoted racist ideals with a contemptuous attitude. Read on to learn why Planned Parenthood hides behind a false memory of Sanger, and why, despite her extraordinarily prolific writing career, one rarely sees her quoted by Planned Parenthood leaders and apologists. The most merciful thing that the large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it. Woman and the New Race, ch. 6: “The Wickedness of Creating Large Families.” [We should] apply a stern and rigid policy of sterilization and segregation to that grade of population whose progeny is tainted, or whose inheritance is such that objectionable traits may be transmitted to offspring. “Plan for Peace” from Birth Control Review (April 1932, pp. 107-108) Article 1.
Terry Pratchett speaks to Fiona Phillips about living with Alzheimer’s On my way to interview Sir Terry Pratchett I tweeted about our meeting. The responses ranged from: “How amazing! He’s a fabulous writer and totally awe-inspiring person”, to “I hope you find him as well as can be expected” and “You and he are both doing so much for dementia”. And that’s why we were meeting. The Discworld author first said he had it in December 2007, just over a year after I’d lost my mum Amy to early-onset Alzheimer’s. It was a particularly bleak period as we were told that my dad Neville also had it. Until then, I’d felt a bit of a voice in the wilderness, going on about the lack of understanding and good care. Terry’s honesty was a eureka moment for me. But it didn’t seem that way when I introduced myself and went to shake his hand. Dressed from head-to-toe in his trademark black, a top hat and frock coat, he looked like an authoritarian Dickensian character from his Oliver Twist-inspired novel Dodger. When he didn’t offer his hand back my heart sank a little. Daily Mirror
Makerbot Replicator 2X - 3D printers January 8, 2013 3:01 PM PST / Updated: July 19, 2013 4:36 PM PDT LAS VEGAS--We knew the Replicator 2X was coming, and MakerBot did not disappoint. Announced only in name this past September, MakerBot demonstrated a working Replicator 2X 3D printer at a press conference today at CES. The new printer is a higher-end version of the Replicator 2 MakerBot announced this past autumn. Like the Replicator 2, the new model features a finer printing resolution than the original MakerBot Replicator , as small as 100 microns per layer of extruded plastic, and it also has a redesigned chassis. Among the updated features of the more polished-looking design are an aluminum build platform and print area that's enclosed by plastic windows. Unique to the Replicator 2X are the ability to print in two-different colors, and also the ability to print with both PLA (Polylactic acid) and ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastics. The Replicator 2X is not MakerBot's only news from the show.
Rule 41: Bitcoiners, Torrenters, And TOR Users — FBI Can Catch You With A Single Warrant The internet world for Bitcoiners using TOR is soon to be in a situation of curfew. The reason behind is a new “update” to the Rule 41 of the Federal Crime Procedure which will take effect on December 1 unless the Congress stands as a barricade in between. The amendment approved by the Supreme Court will allow the FBI to gain access to any computer with a single warrant. All they need to do is prove that the device is hiding behind a cover i.e. concealing its location by using software like TOR. More precisely, it seems that they are buying a new set of weapons to destroy the world of TOR. Earlier, the situation was that if FBI had to gain access to any device, they would have to get a warrant from the district court of that place. The people who use Bitcoin will be affected as the FBI will be after them as soon as they try to anonymize themselves on the TOR network. Also Read: Everything About Tor: What is Tor? “Happily, there is Congressional push back.
The Skeptic's Dictionary Hugh Howey: Self-publishing is the future — and great for writers The story of self-publishing is Jan Strnad, a 62-year-old educator hoping to retire in four years. To do so is going to require supplemental income, which he is currently earning from his self-published novels. In 2012, Jan made $11,406.31 from his work. Rachel Schurig has sold 100,000 e-books and made six figures last year. Like Schurig, Robert J. Right now you are probably thinking that these anecdotes of self-publishing success are the result of my having cherry-picked the winners. My fascination with this story began back when major media outlets like Entertainment Weekly and Wired magazine called to interview me. My call for anecdotes was my first attempt to find data to support this theory. Of course, you’ll see articles lamenting the paucity of sales most self-published books enjoy, but there’s a problem with comparing average self-published sales with traditionally published books. I celebrate writing for any of these reasons — I wish more people wrote more often.
Prepper Privacy: What You Should Keep To Yourself And WhyMy Family Survival Plan As an active prepper, you need to be very cautious and need to think through every step you take, especially if you’re the type that’s active on social media. It’s all about the amount and quality of the information you provide throughout your activity. Even though you’re well intended, the information that you link and provide, in some situations might proof to be detrimental rather than beneficial to the cause you aim to serve in the first place. The first thing you really need to understand is that out there (in the social media environment), you’re visible to EVERYBODY, not just to those you consider allies. So the information you provide and means you provide it have to be very well thought through. The first thing you need to watch out for is general safety. What you look like Posting photos of yourself or your possessions over social media is a bad idea. However, reading the data is not hard at all. What you say What you text Where you live What you drive Yes, you read right.
The Science Creative Quarterly & A DIALOGUE WITH SARAH, AGED 3: IN WHICH IT IS SHOWN THAT IF YOUR DAD IS A CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR, ASKING "WHY" CAN BE DANGEROUS SARAH: Daddy, were you in the shower? DAD: Yes, I was in the shower. SARAH: Why? DAD: I was dirty. DAD: Why does the shower get me clean? SARAH: Yes. DAD: Because the water washes the dirt away when I use soap. DAD: Why do I use soap? DAD: Because the soap grabs the dirt and lets the water wash it off. DAD: Why does the soap grab the dirt? DAD: Because soap is a surfactant. DAD: Why is soap a surfactant? DAD: That is an EXCELLENT question. DAD: Why does soap form micelles? DAD: Soap molecules are long chains with a polar, hydrophilic head and a non-polar, hydrophobic tail. SARAH: Aidrofawwic DAD: And can you say ‘hydrophobic’? DAD: Excellent! DAD: Why does it mean that? DAD: It’s Greek! SARAH: Like a monster? DAD: You mean, like being afraid of a monster? DAD: A scary monster, sure. (pause) SARAH: (rolls her eyes) I thought we were talking about soap. DAD: We are talking about soap. (longish pause) DAD: Why do the molecules have a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail? DAD: That’s complicated.
Amazon is Now Beta Testing an Automated Cover Generator for Kindle eBooks The cover image for an ebook is important to its success, but it's also a rather difficult skill to master. Not everyone has the artistic skills to design a good cover, but in the not too distant future that will no longer be a problem. There's been no announcement from Amazon, but I have just learned that they are working on a new tool that will help self-pub authors make book covers cheaply, cleanly, and well. A reader sent me this screen shot earlier today: He took the screenshot while using KDP, and as you can see from the title bar Amazon is offering a "Kindle Cover Creator". I'm told they can be edited by the author and that the text can be moved and the background image can be edited. These are some pretty decent covers. They're also free, which is a plus. I've been wanting to see someone offer a simple tool like this for some time now. I have used similar tools to design my business cards, after a couple ugly designs I finally started making decent cards. Has anyone tried it?
untitled The Moskito Kakoon mosquito net Hammock combines a strong, lightweight camping hammock with fine mesh netting to create a unique insect free hammock. This new design is 8 inches longer than the previous model and weighs less then 22oz. It features triple stitch seams and reinforced hanging points increasing the weight limit from 250 lbs to 275 lbs. The No-See-Um bug netting has an integrated double zipper and reinforced netting support points. Product Type: Camping hammock Overall: 54" W x 107" D Hammock Material: Nylon Overall Product Weight: 2lbs Quick Dry Material: Yes Sleep comfortably camping outdoors or at home in a guest room with the Cam-O-Bunk Large Green Bunk Bed with Cabinets from Disc-O-Bed. Overall: 36.5" H x 32" W x 82" L Overall Product Weight: 72lbs Get the ultimate in outdoor rest and relaxation with the Tented Hammock. Product Type: Camping hammock Overall: 80.5" W x 56" D Hammock Material: metal Overall Product Weight: 66lbs Frame Required: Yes
In Defense of Science: An Interview with NCSE’s Eugenie Scott Eugenie Scott, president of the Bay Area Skeptics and executive director of the National Center for Science Education. A physical anthropologist by training, Scott has spent the past three decades defending sound science and the teaching of evolution in schools. (Photo: Liza Gross) A few weeks ago I wrote about what happens when people respond to well-established science with disbelief or mistrust. As I considered how to respond, I wondered how science educators might deal with the chasm between scientific facts and public opinion. One of America’s most revered science guardians, Scott has long taught rational thought and “science as a way of knowing” as president of the Bay Area Skeptics and as executive director of the Oakland-based National Center for Science Education. I spoke with Scott last week about the challenges of communicating science when evidence runs headlong into ideology, belief, and denial. You find the same thing with people who object to vaccines. Related
Truth Telling Is Offensive Truth Telling Is Offensive Posted on Apr 6, 2013 Paul Craig Roberts was an assistant secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan. Like many Americans, he has been wounded by the government he helped create, and he’s tired of being called offensive and depressing for talking about it. “In America truth is offensive,” he writes in his latest column at CounterPunch. Roberts lists the names of others who offend establishment notions of decency by telling the unadorned truth. “If you tell readers what is really going on,” he writes, just as these figures do, “they want to know why you can’t be positive. “In America and everywhere in the Western world or the entire world, telling the truth is unpopular,” he continues. Julian Assange is another example cited by Roberts. Assange was swiftly demonized by governments worldwide and by a jealous and resentful corporate media. “Where is the good to rise up against the evil?” —Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly. More Below the Ad New and Improved Comments