Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Chaos Looms (New York Times)
The trouble is that it's hard to give this issue anything like the amount of coverage it deserves on substantive grounds without repeating oneself. So I do try to mix it up. But neither you nor I should forget that the madness of the GOP is the central issue of our time.
David Cooper: Every Day, Low Wages (Economic Policy Institute)
The $12.50 per hour wage that Walmart is refusing to pay its workers would equal $26,000 per year before taxes for a full-time worker. Even that isn't a particularly forgiving income level in a high-cost area like Washington, DC.
Andrew Tobias: $15 an Hour
"Here in Oz [Australia], the minimum wage is indexed to the age of the worker. So a 16-yr-old earns about US minimum wage, but after the age of 20, the minimum wage is also a living wage, about $17/hour with paid annual leave and sick leave. For casual employees who don't get leave, the rate rises. Non-standard hours (outside of 8am-5pm) also raise the rate. My nephew working part-time at Ikea gets $23/hour, which covers his living costs while he completes advanced degrees in electrical engineering and physics. This strikes me as a remarkably humane way of managing the minimum wage - I'd like to see the US emulate this. Dream Big!" - Douglas Kretzmann
Jordan Ellenberg: The Case of the Missing Zeroes (Slate)
An astonishing act of statistical chutzpah in the Indiana schools' grade-changing scandal.
David Weigel: "There Will Always Be a War on Women'" (Slate)
This blog has spent far too much time on the GOP's strange quest to convince everyone that the only threat to women from politicians comes from individual sex scandals. Time to spend some more!
Robert T. Gonzalez: Placebo buttons do absolutely nothing, and they are everywhere (io9)
Ever stood at an intersection and prodded at, leaned on, elbowed and otherwise palm-slapped the ever-living hell out of a crosswalk button and wondered to yourself if the thing actually does anything at all, really? Well - chances are, it doesn't.
Peter Robinson: One Direction fans have turned their anger on GQ - but it is the magazine that's behaved really badly (Guardian)
GQ's website subsequently published several of these tweets, which threaten castration, murder via an array of eyebrow-raising methods (including chainsaw-abetted rectal intrusion) and acts of terrorism.
Elizabeth Hames: "A novel idea: Vancouver woman's thesaurus dress turns heads" (Metro News)
Actress Jori Phillips spent months stripping pages from a second-hand thesaurus and carefully forming their yellowing edges into the layers of a skirt and bodice. After posting photos of herself wearing the strapless, paper frock and a "Miss Spelled" sash [a week ago] Friday, she woke up Saturday morning to a firestorm of media requests.
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Comment
Pollution
Hi Marty,
I read with interest the article about the pollution in the Great Lakes today, and it brought to mind an article I recently read about the long-ago beaches on the Hudson River, specifically those in northern Jersey. When you look at the River today, it is hard to believe that anyone would swim in it, much less allow their children in it either. The "Mystery" of the Beaches | Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey
NY/NJ has some of the filthiest natural waters in the world - not that you ever read about it. Even the beaches on the Atlantic Ocean sport views of barges and rigs - no more great views there. The water there remains 'okay' because of the tides, but it is not pleasant in which to swim. I always feel 'greasy' coming out of the water, perhaps it's all the suntan creams used by the bathers - or filth from the rigs? It is common to find hypodermic needles and other medical waste at low tide both on the sand and in the water. Word of sewage leaking into the tributary rivers is common, and worse, no one seems to care! The towns clean up enough on the beaches to collect parking fees, but the entire swimming situation is disgusting all along the northern East Coast (I don't know about the south). I spent all my summers as a youth at the beach, and now returning in my sunset years, the conditions I find are quite disheartening to say the least.
Whatever happened to the over-population movement of the 1970's? Have the politicians discovered a way to make money on continuing to overpopulate the world?? I believe that our waters (or lack of it) have become the canary's in the tunnels worldwide.
Sally P
Thanks, Sally!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another day, another marine layer.
This notice was haning on the front door last week, so I called So. Cal. Edison to ask them on what day was the outage, and read back the date on the notice - Tuesday, August 5th.
The young woman who answered snarkly responded "Tuesday, August 5th".
I asked her to look at a calendar and notice that August 5th was Monday, not Tuesday.
She quickly snapped "Monday, August 5th".
Then I asked if she was sure it would be Monday, and the line went dead.
In most offices that I've worked in, a date means more than the day on important memos.
Sorta like numbers outweigh words on a check.
Oh well.
Movie Breaks Out In Middle Of Chicago Concert
Al Pacino
An Al Pacino movie broke out in the middle of a concert by the band Chicago, with thousands of fans serving as extras.
Cameras were wheeled onstage during intermission of the group's show at the Greek Theatre on Friday night to film a scene from Pacino's upcoming movie "Imagine," in which he plays aging rock star Danny Collins.
With coaching from the director, the crowd chanted the name of Pacino's character as the 73-year-old actor walked on stage to sing "Hey Baby Doll" in a black suit. The movie co-stars Michael Caine, Annette Bening and Jennifer Garner.
Chicago's band members remained on stage to watch and clap along during the 25-minute filming. After a few takes, the crowd grew restless and there was scattered booing for the real musicians to resume playing.
Pacino returned to the stage during Chicago's encore and sang and danced to their hit "25 or 6 to 4."
Al Pacino
Doesn't Favor The Mean Or Selfish
Evolution
Evolution does not favour selfish or mean people and groups, a new study suggests.
The study, published in Nature, contradicts a previous theory published in 2012 that said putting yourself first was preferred.
"We found evolution will punish you if you're selfish and mean," said lead author Christoph Adami, a Michigan State University professor of microbiology and molecular genetics.
Adami and Arend Hintze, the two MSU researchers in charge of study, used evolutionary game theory (EGT) to show how co-operative populations tend to fare better and be more successful than selfish ones.
Evolution
First Sunset In Months
Barrow, Alaska
For the first time since May, the sun has set in what is billed as the northernmost city in the United States.
According to the National Weather Service, the first sunset in Barrow, Alaska, since May 10 occurred at 1:57 a.m. Friday. The sun rose again at 3:12 a.m.
Barrow has continuous daylight for so long because of its location, hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle, and the tilt of the earth's axis of rotation.
The town of about 4,500 people will gradually lose sunlight each day until November. After that, the sun won't rise again until January - again, because of the rotational tilt.
Barrow, Alaska
Ancient Feathered Shield Discovered
Peru
Hidden in a sealed part of an ancient Peruvian temple, archaeologists have discovered a feathered shield dating back around 1,300 years.
Made by the Moche people, the rare artifact was found face down on a sloped surface that had been turned into a bench or altar at the site of Pañamarca. Located near two ancient murals, one of which depicts a supernatural monster, the shield measures about 10 inches (25 centimeters) in diameter and has a base made of carefully woven basketry with a handle.
Its surface is covered with red-and-brown textiles along with about a dozen yellow feathers that were sewn on and appear to be from the body of a macaw. The shield would have served a ritualistic rather than a practical use, and the placement of the shield on the bench or altar appears to have been the last act carried out before this space was sealed and a new, larger, temple built on top of it.
The discovery of this small shield, combined with the discovery of other small Moche shields and depictions of them in art, may also shed light on Moche combat. Their shields may have been used in ceremonial performances or ritualized battles similar to gladiatorial combat, Lisa Trever, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told LiveScience.
Peru
CBS Retaliates
Time Warner Cable
U.S. broadcast network CBS took its dispute with Time Warner Cable to the Internet, blocking access to shows on the CBS.com website for the cable operator's customers in New York and Los Angeles.
The move followed Time Warner Cable's decision on Friday to drop CBS from its systems in those markets and some others, an escalation of a weeks-long fight over the fees it pays to carry the network.
CBS's retaliation showed the increasingly powerful position content owners enjoy online. Time Warner Cable controls access to CBS programs seen on TV, but it is powerless to do the same for its online customers.
Consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge said CBS' decision to block online access was "consistent with what we've heard from some elements of the broadcasting industry recently - they simply place little value on their over-the-air viewers."
"They are in the cable programming business, not the broadcasting business, the group added. "It is no longer clear why broadcasters of this kind should continue to hold the billion-dollar licenses the public gave them for free, if they no longer want to use them for their intended purpose."
Time Warner Cable
US Band Booted From Russia Concert
Bloodhound Gang
The American rock group Bloodhound Gang was kicked out of a Russian music festival and pelted with eggs after videos emerged of its bass player shoving a Russian flag down his pants at a recent concert in Ukraine. Russian prosecutors are even considering whether to open a criminal case in the matter, which comes amid a rise in U.S.-Russian tensions.
Videos posted online of Wednesday's concert in the Ukrainian city of Odessa show bass player Jared Hasselhoff pushing the Russian white, blue and red flag down the front of his pants and pulling it out the back. He then shouted to the audience: "Don't tell Putin," a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The incident outraged the Russian government. Maria Minina, a spokeswoman for the weeklong Kubana festival in southern Russia, said Saturday that the band's headlining performance the previous evening had been canceled because of its treatment of the flag.
The American band is known for its sexually explicit songs, including "The Bad Touch," with its unforgettable lyrics: "You and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel."
The bass player apologized late Friday at a news conference held at the music festival in the city of Anapa, the local Yuga.ru news portal reported. He was quoted saying that he had meant no offense and explaining that it was a band tradition for everything thrown from the stage first to be passed through his pants. Hasselhoff said he decided to throw the flag because some fans had seemed disturbed to see it hanging on the stage.
Bloodhound Gang
GMO Corn Ban Lifted
France
So much for the vision of a GMO-free Europe: Following Monsanto's announcement that it would no longer seek approval to grow new crops in the EU, France's Council of State court overturned a ban the government placed on the company's MON 810 corn in 2012.
Unlike the Round-Up resistant corn that's so commonly planted in the United State, MON 810 is designed to excrete a toxin that's poisonous to insects. So if any European corn borers take a bite out of stalk or ear, they die. The variety was approved for commercial planting in Europe back in 1998, but France and five other countries-Austria, Hungary, Greece, Luxembourg and Germany-enacted their own bans.
France's Socialist president Francois Hollande tells Agence France-Presse that the ban was enacted "not because we refuse progress, but in the name of progress," and that it would remain in place despite the court's ruling. He plans to "secure this decision legally, at a national level and especially at a European level." In other words, Hollande's hope is for the dream of a GMO-free Europe to become a EU-wide reality.
Championing progress in light of the ruling is the approach Monsanto took too. In a statement that notes the company was not involved in the lawsuit, it says "we're pleased with the court's ruling supporting a science- and evidence-based approach to GM crop policy."
France
Little Known Piece Of New Brunswick's History
Internment Camp B70
Fred Kaufman could barely imagine as a 15-year-old facing the threat of Nazi Germany in Austria that he would soon find himself separated from his family, peering through the barbed wire fence of an internment camp deep in the woods of New Brunswick.
Internment Camp B70, located in the community of Ripples, N.B., housed more than 700 Jews in the early months of the Second World War.
More than 70 years later, it is a piece of New Brunswick history rarely spoken of and little known by many.
As the situation for Jewish families in Austria worsened in the months leading up to the war, Kaufman's father decided to send his son to England - one of 10,000 Jewish boys taken to the United Kingdom as part of a relief effort known as the Kindertransport.
But former British prime minister Winston Churchill was worried there could be spies among the Jews, and he asked Canada and Australia to house them as internees.
Internment Camp B70
Linked To Increase In Violence, War
Climate Change
The world is likely to become a more violent place as temperatures continue to rise as a result of climate change, a new study suggests.
Published in Science, the study links elevated temperatures and changes in rainfall to the rise of personal assaults and group conflicts such as civil war.
Three researchers from the University of California Berkeley - Solomon Hsiang, Marshall Burke and Edward Miguel - looked at 60 studies from around the world, spanning hundreds of years, detailing the collapse of major empires, wars and instances of interpersonal violence.
They found where there are warmer temperatures there is an increased likelihood for violent behaviour.
Climate Change
In Memory
John Palmer
Longtime NBC news correspondent John Palmer has died at a Washington hospital. He was 77.
Palmer's wife Nancy confirmed he died Saturday at George Washington University Hospital of pulmonary fibrosis.
Palmer's career with the network lasted four decades, from 1962 to 1990 and again from 1994 until his retirement in 2002.
Palmer had a number of high-profile assignments over the years. He was news anchor for "Today" from 1982 to 1989. He also covered the White House, served as a national correspondent in Washington until his retirement, covering the aborted rescue attempt of American hostages in Iran and anchored the first hours of NBC's coverage of the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster.
Palmer was a native of Kingsport, Tenn., and held degrees from Northwestern and Columbia universities.
John Palmer
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