03.28
Can Islam be modernized for the twenty-first century?
Whither the religion of peace?
“In many of the scores of countries that are predominantly Muslim, the latest generation of activists is redefining society in novel ways … Today’s revolution is more vibrantly Islamic than ever. Yet it is also decidedly antijihadist and ambivalent about Islamist political parties. Culturally, it is deeply conservative, but its goal is to adapt to the 21st century…”How the bailout allowed the failed banks to take over America
“In essence, Paulson used the bailout to transform the government into a giant bureaucracy of entitled assholedom, one that would socialize “toxic” risks but keep both the profits and the management of the bailed-out firms in private hands. Moreover, this whole process would be done in secret, away from the prying eyes of NASCAR dads, broke-ass liberals who read translations of French novels, subprime mortgage holders and other such financial losers…”Why we can’t remember the best jokes we hear
“What makes a joke successful is also what makes it difficult to remember. The punch line involves an unexpected turn…”The saga of Saab
“GM Americanized Sweden’s car company to increase profits, and now we’ve Swedenized our economy to bail it out. A world without walls!”Still bitter about the Brown blowoff
The Times of London has given Britain its own version of a Fox-News-dissing-an-ally’s-troops
moment: “Of course, it is hard for a civvie to say whether the [British-American] special relationship exists in military circles. But certainly the troops I speak to tend to suggest not. When they’re asked what US forces are like in theatre, the answer is mostly unprintable, apart from a liberal use of the word ‘useless’…”The Floyd hits the wall
By the end, none of Pink Floyd’s band members liked each other anymore. It was ego that destroyed them, and not even $250 million could bring them onto the same stage at the same time. Now, it’s too late…The great creative bailout
To get out of the economic crisis, it’s not enough to build roads and bridges. We have to rebuild the creative industries as well, so that they once again create. It’s time for a New Deal of the Mind…In his mother’s footsteps (unfortunately)
Nicholas Hughes, son of Sylvia Plath, has committed suicide…Texas leads the way … backwards
School book publishers often follow Texas guidelines, simply because it’s a large state with many schools. So what will happen to science education if Texas implements an anti-evolution science curriculum?Steak and hot dogs have been linked to early death…
Real life mirrors sci-fi
Battlefield lasers are about to become reality… And so are flying cars…Australia destroys the Internet
Like all efforts to censor the Internet, Australia’s scheme to put a firewall around the entire country’s web began with the claim that it’s needed to prevent sexual predators from getting at our children. Now, Australia’s secret list of banned sites has been leaked, and it includes “religious sites, various Wikipedia pages, euthanasia sites and a travel agent, a dentist’s website…”Pakistan is the focal point
“Pakistan is 173 million people, 100 nuclear weapons, an army bigger than the U.S. Army, and al-Qaeda headquarters sitting right there in the two-thirds of the country that the government doesn’t control. The Pakistani military and police and intelligence service don’t follow the civilian government; they are essentially a rogue state within a state. We’re now reaching the point where within one to six months we could see the collapse of the Pakistani state…”A systemic risk of fascism?
“The devastating collapse of the economy after eight years of Republican rule has left the leadership, policies, and ideology of the right utterly discredited. But, as was the case with Germany in 1919, Republicans do not intend to allow the new government to succeed. They will do everything they can to undermine it. If they are successful, the US may yet go the way of Weimar Germany…”Just a theory
“Scientists use ‘theory’ in one specific way, the public another — and opponents of evolution have expertly exploited this disconnect. Turns out, the real culture war in science isn’t about science at all — it’s about language…”We’ve heard this before, but is cold fusion finally a reality?
And finally: Today’s teenage generation, in words and pictures…And finally finally: Stephen Hawking, children’s author…
