Category: news dump
PathoMap – Mapping NYC’s Commuter Genome
‘…the project, called PathoMap, born. Over the past 17 months, a team mainly composed of medical students, graduate students and volunteers fanned out across the city, using nylon swabs to collect DNA, in triplicate, from surfaces that included wooden benches, stairway handrails, seats, doors, poles and turnstiles.
[….]
On the human front, Dr. Mason said that, in some cases, the DNA that was found in some subway stations tended to match the neighborhood’s demographic profile. An area with a high concentration of Hispanic residents near Chinatown in Manhattan, for example, yielded a large amount of Hispanic and Asian genes.
[….]
The study produced some less appetizing news. Live, antibiotic-resistant bacteria were discovered in 27 percent of the collected samples, though among all the bacteria, only 12 percent could be associated with disease. Researchers also found three samples associated with bubonic plague and two with DNA fragments of anthrax, though they noted that none of those samples showed evidence of being alive, and that neither disease had been diagnosed in New York for some time. The presence of anthrax, Dr. Mason said, “is consistent with the many documented cases of anthrax in livestock in New York State and the East Coast broadly.”….’
via Among New York Subway’s Millions of Riders, a Study Finds Many Mystery Microbes – NYTimes.com.
How to win an argument
‘…Those in the second group did something subtly different. Rather that provide reasons, they were asked to explain how the policy they were advocating would work. They were asked to trace, step by step, from start to finish, the causal path from the policy to the effects it was supposed to have.
The results were clear. People who provided reasons remained as convinced of their positions as they had been before the experiment. Those who were asked to provide explanations softened their views, and reported a correspondingly larger drop in how they rated their understanding of the issues. People who had previously been strongly for or against carbon emissions trading, for example, tended to became more moderate – ranking themselves as less certain in their support or opposition to the policy….’
via BBC – Future – The best way to win an argument.
Werner Koch needs your money – the Invisible Hand of the Free Market is stingy
Julia Angwin writes:
The fact that so much of the Internet’s security software is underfunded is becoming increasingly problematic. Last year, in the wake of the Heartbleed bug, I wrote that while the U.S. spends more than $50 billion per year on spying and intelligence, pennies go to Internet security. The bug revealed that an encryption program used by everybody from Amazon to Twitter was maintained by just four programmers, only one of whom called it his full-time job. A group of tech companies stepped in to fund it.
Koch’s code powers most of the popular email encryption programs GPGTools, Enigmail, and GPG4Win. "If there is one nightmare that we fear, then it’s the fact that Werner Koch is no longer available," said Enigmail developer Nicolai Josuttis. "It’s a shame that he is alone and that he has such a bad financial situation."
via The World’s Email Encryption Software Relies on One Guy, Who is Going Broke – ProPublica.
Please Werner Koch some money…
https://gnupg.org/donate/index.html
Slavoj Žižek answers the question of ‘why they hate us’
Slavoj Žižek writes:
‘…Why do Muslims who were undoubtedly exposed to exploitation, domination and other destructive and humiliating aspects of colonialism, target in their response the best part (for us, at least) of the Western legacy, our egalitarianism and personal freedoms, including the freedom to mock all authorities?
One answer is that their target is well chosen: the liberal West is so unbearable because it not only practises exploitation and violent domination, but presents this brutal reality in the guise of its opposite: freedom, equality and democracy….’
via Slavoj Žižek · In the Grey Zone · LRB 5 February 2015.
Are we an economy or a society?
[SYRIZA] were elected on scrapping that debt but in the hope of saving the temple they are according to Paul Mason offering instead to “swap 60 per cent of its debt owed to the EU, for bonds that are paid back very long-term, and which pay no interest unless the economy is growing”
This mess illustrates not only the hostility to democracy at the heart of the EU project but also the lack of meaningful democracy in the lives of everyone in Europe. We are not equals in a society whose shape we determine together, we are slaves to market forces, forces that are fully determined to punish any section that seeks to escape its command.
via Workers Solidarity Movement (Ireland).
Juan Cole: ISIL’s cheap and effective ‘Shock and Awe’
Juan Cole writes: ‘…In the 2003 invasion, The Guardian reported,
“The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force crossed the Tigris at the town of Kut, reporting only occasional fire from the Baghdad infantry division of the Republican Guard, which had suffered days of intense bombardment, including two massive 15,000lb “daisy-cutter” fuel-air bombs. Gen Brooks said the Baghdad division, which originally had up to 12,000 troops, had been “destroyed”.
[….]
The ex-Baath officers learned from seeing their colleagues and troops burned up by the Bush fireworks. According to that doctrine, you want to shock the enemy with your brutality and destructiveness, and awe him into submission by your crazed irrationality. But the Daesh commanders also took the lesson that dropping 15,000 pound bombs in the dead of the night away from cameras isn’t very effective, since the populace is insulated from the horror. Burning up even one captured enemy pilot alive on video, in contrast, would be broadcast by the internet and by Rupert Murdoch to the whole world, and a few thousand thugs could arrange for themselves to take on global importance and appear truly menacing to Jordan and even to the city of Rome (so they claim). All this publicity and fear accomplished not with billions in military spending but a smartphone camera, a single captive, and a few psychopaths with matches.
Now that is Shock and Awe….’
via Is ISIL’s ‘Shock and Awe’ more Awe-ful because One Victim? | Informed Comment.
Brian Williams embeded, or just blackmailed?
Remember folks, most certainly the Pentagon and US Intel agencies knew of Brian Williams’ lie for the past 12 years and could have easily blackmailed him for positive uncritical news coverage of American wars and policies. Just saying!
‘…NBC News anchor Brian Williams on Wednesday admitted that he was not on a helicopter that hit with enemy fire during the Iraq invasion in 2003, a story he has told numerous times, including last week…’
via Brian Williams Told A Far Different Story About Iraq RPG Attack In 2007.
No wars won, but Americans are demobilized — TomDispatch
Tom Engelhardt writes…
…In the last six decades, the American national security state has succeeded strikingly at only one thing (other than turning itself into a growth industry): it freed itself of us and of Congress. In the years following the Vietnam War, the American people were effectively demobilized, shorn of that sense of service to country, while war was privatized and the citizen soldier replaced by an “all-volunteer” force and a host of paid contractors working for warrior corporations. Post-9/11, the citizenry was urged to pay as much attention as possible to “our troops,” or “warriors,” and next to none to the wars they were fighting. Today, the official role of a national security state, bigger and more powerful than in the Vietnam era, is to make Americans “safe” from terror. In a world of war-making that has disappeared into the shadows and a Washington in which just about all information is now classified and shrouded in secrecy, the only way to be “safe” and “secure” as a citizen is, by definition, to be ignorant, to know as little as possible about what “our” government is doing in our name. This helps explain why, in the Obama years, the only crime in official Washington is leaking or whistleblowing; that is, letting the public in on something that we, the people, aren’t supposed to know about the workings of “our” government….
via Tomgram: Engelhardt, I.F. Stone and the Urge to Serve | TomDispatch.
Hillary and Vaccines
I am not a friend of Hillary Clinton, but apparently she is the only pro-science. pro-reason candidate for the US of A in 2016. #wtf
The former secretary of state said Tuesday on Twitter that she supported vaccinating children:
The science is clear: The earth is round, the sky is blue, and #vaccineswork. Let’s protect all our kids. #GrandmothersKnowBest
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 3, 2015
via The Definitive Guide To Potential 2016 Contenders And Vaccines.
I know nothing about China’s Pearl River Delta
China’s Pearl River Delta has overtaken Tokyo to become the world’s largest urban area in both size and population, according to a report from the World Bank. The megacity – which covers a significant part of China’s manufacturing heartland and includes the cities of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan and Dongguan – is now home to more people than the countries of Canada, Argentina or Australia.
via China’s Pearl River Delta overtakes Tokyo as world’s largest megacity | Cities | The Guardian.
#Leftistshark
Merkel in Budapest, Putin is coming soon
Merkel in Budapest, closely followed by Putin
February 2nd, 2015
‘Hungary’s weeklies put Chancellor Merkel’s talks in Budapest on Monday and President Putin’s visit two weeks later in the context of Hungary’s position as a NATO member country that has consistently voted against sanctions against Moscow, while working on new joint projects with Russia…’
via Budapost » Merkel in Budapest, closely followed by Putin.
Hungary is not the only country affected by the Swiss Franc Loan issue
Franc shock for East European borrowers
After the uncapping of the Swiss franc against the euro, the mortgage payments of hundreds of thousands of East Europeans have skyrocketed with the franc’s rise in value
via EuroTopics: Franc shock for East European borrowers
Not all American snipers are clueless thugs
Garett Reppenhagen writes…Unlike Chris Kyle, who claimed his PTSD came from the inability to save more service members, most of the damage to my mental health was what I call “moral injury,” which is becoming a popular term in many veteran circles.
As a sniper I was not usually the victim of a traumatic event, but the perpetrator of violence and death. My actions in combat would have been more acceptable to me if I could cloak myself in the belief that the whole mission was for a greater good. Instead, I watched as the purpose of the mission slowly unraveled.
I served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005. During that time, we started to realize there were no weapons of mass destruction, the 9/11 commission report determined that Iraq was not involved in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, false sovereignty was given to Iraq by Paul Bremer, the atrocities at Abu Ghraib were exposed, and the Battle of Fallujah was waged.
via I was an American sniper, and Chris Kyle’s war was not my war – Salon.com.
Information Wars are for real
just in case you had any doubts.
‘The British army is creating a special force of Facebook warriors, skilled in psychological operations and use of social media to engage in unconventional warfare in the information age. The 77th Brigade, to be based in Hermitage, near Newbury, in Berkshire, will be about 1,500-strong and formed of units drawn from across the army…’
via British army creates team of Facebook warriors | UK news | The Guardian.
Yanis Varoufakis interview on BBC’s Newsnight show
Greece’s new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis interviewed on 30 January 2015 on BBC’s Newsnight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDToHVJ9SRc
Why SYRIZA chose to join forces with Independent Greeks
If not the first two, then the third is the only option…
Q: Why SYRIZA chose to join forces with Independent Greeks
A: Following yesterday’s results, there are 6 political parties other than SYRIZA who entered the Greek parliament: outgoing coalition members New Democracy and PASOK, neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, the communist party of Greece KKE, a recently-formed, so-called centrist party, To Potami, and Independent Greeks. I will not discuss here the possibility that SYRIZA forms a coalition with New Democracy, PASOK or Golden Dawn, as all three are political science-fiction. This leaves us with KKE, To Potami and Independent Greeks.
via Theodora Oikonomides: SYRIZA -Independent Greeks: Strange bedfellows.
In the USA, Journalism is Treason
‘…Troublingly, Sterling was convicted not just of passing classified information, but causing Risen to write about the information. These charges were brought under the Espionage Act–a law designed to punish people for selling secrets to enemy nations
, but here used to bring multiple charges against Sterling for Risen reporting on the Iran fiasco both in the Times and in his book State of War. Yes, in the United States today, you can face prison time not just for revealing a secret, but for encouraging someone to write a book about that secret…’
via Sterling Conviction a Victory for Government’s Right to Hide.
Sen. McCain kicks out ‘Low Life Scum’ CodePink Protesters out of Kissinger Hearing (VIDEO)
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) got heated Thursday when protesters disrupted a hearing featuring the 91-year old Henry Kissinger.
The Code Pink protesters repeatedly yelled “Arrest Henry Kissinger for war crimes!” as he entered the room to speak.
McCain initially asked the Capitol Police for order but the protesters continued as Kissinger, the former secretary of State under President Richard Nixon, sat down at the hearing on global security challenges.
“I’d like to say to my colleagues, and to our distinguished witnesses this morning, that I have been a member of this committee for many years and I have never seen anything as disgraceful and outrageous and despicable as the last demonstration that took place,” McCain said, as the protesters resumed. “You know, you’re going to have to shut up or I’m going to have you arrested.
“If we can’t get the Capitol Hill police in here immediately —get out of here you low life scum,” McCain said as one man was escorted out. “So Henry, I hope you will —Dr. Kissinger, I hope on behalf of all of the members of this committee on both sides of the aisle, in fact on behalf of all my colleagues, I’d like to apologize for allowing such disgraceful behavior towards a man who served this country with the greatest distinction. I apologize profusely.”
via McCain Boots ‘Low Life Scum’ Protesters Out Of Hearing With Kissinger (VIDEO).
more photos from Code Pink
Don’t talk about the war.
“The United States has spent about $65 billion to build Afghanistan’s army and police forces, and until this month the American-led coalition regularly shared details on how the money was being put to use and on the Afghan forces’ progress.
“But as of this month, ask a question as seemingly straightforward as the number of Afghan soldiers and police officers in uniform, and the military coalition offers a singularly unrevealing answer: The information is now considered classified.
“The American outlay for weapons and gear for Afghan forces? Classified. The cost of teaching Afghan soldiers to read and write? Even that is now a secret.
“The military command’s explanation for making the change is that such information could endanger American and Afghan lives, even though the data had been released every quarter over the past six years, and Afghan officials do not consider the information secret.
“But as the Obama administration is seeking to declare the long war in Afghanistan officially over, at least from an American standpoint, the move to classify data about the Afghan forces removes one of the most crucial measures for assessing the accomplishments of the international coalition there. And it raises stark questions about the state of the fight against the Taliban, coming after a year in which the Afghan forces took record-high casualties as they battled heavy militant offensives.”
via U.S. Suddenly Goes Quiet on Effort to Bolster Afghan Forces – NYTimes.com.
US Corporations Won’t Have to Pay for Nuclear Disasters in India
Why global capitalism needs an empire to support it.
‘…These corporations–who have the political backing of the US government–have succeeded in getting international conventions to agree that "no one other than operators [not the owners, US corporations] can be held responsible" in the event of a nuclear catastrophe. The suppliers want assurances that these international conventions, and not Indian law, will be applied in the wake of such an event…’
via Good News! US Corporations Won't Have to Pay for Nuclear Disasters in India.
Spike Lee says “Fuck’Em” to Hollywood after ‘Selma’ snub
‘…Spike Lee has released his new joint, ‘Da Sweet Blood of Jesus’ ahead of its theatrical release next month. An adaptation of the 1973 blaxploitation film ‘Ganja and Hess’…’
via FEATURE: Spike Lee releases new movie online & says "Fuck'Em" to Hollywood after 'Selma' snub – AFROPUNK.
Islamic Socialism?
Much to read, research and consider in this article…
‘…Islam and Marxism sharing five elements in common: (1) prohibition of the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the privileged classes (2) organisation of the economic structure of the state to ensure social welfare (3) equality of opportunity for all human beings (4) priority of collective social interest over individual privilege and (5) prevention of the permanentising of class structure through social revolution…’
via Islamic Socialism: A history from left to right – Blogs – DAWN.COM.
Syriza on Palestine…
Official documents of SYRIZA as well as calls by the party platform have proposed the end of Greek cooperation with Israel regarding matters of defense of Israeli aggression. During the bombing last summer, party leader Alex Tsipras, wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, attended a rally that marched on the European Commission Representation offices in Greece and then to the United States Embassy to protest the Israeli army military campaign in the Gaza Strip and unilaterally demanding an end to the brutality in Palestine by Israel, saying that “we cannot remain passive, because if this happens on the other side of the Mediterranean today, it can happen on our own side tomorrow.”
via First we take Athens, then we take… Gaza? | Daily Struggles.