Category — General

What's $6.9 trillion between friends?.

Interesting article about the US national debt. Interesting because it explains some of the economics of, and differences between, private and public debt which I did not previously understand.

[Curiouser and curiouser!]

“I Ain't Gonna Study War No More.”. Check out the BushFlash animation in honor of Martin Luther King, who would have celebrated his 75th birthday on Thursday (warning: it may take about two minutes to download on a 56k modem). The animation is sponsored in part by… [the chutry experiment]

Making the Mind. Making the Mind. “The general outlines of how genes build the brain are finally becoming clear, and we are also starting to see how, in forming the brain, genes make room for the environment‰¥ús essential role. While vast amounts of work remain to be done, it is becoming equally clear that understanding the coordination of nature and nurture will require letting go of some long-held beliefs.” [MetaFilter]

Trafficked Cambodian Teen Slaves. NY Times | Kristof | Girls for Sale NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is doing a series on Cambodian teen girls who have been sold into prostitution. This is the first article; on Wed. he will tell us what happened… [Flailing in the Surf]

Republicans Angry With Bush. “The Republican Congress is spending at twice the rate as under Bill Clinton, and President Bush has yet to issue a single veto,” Paul M. Weyrich, national chairman of Coalitions for America, said at a news briefing with the other five leaders. “I complained about profligate spending during the Clinton years but never thought I'd have to do so with a Republican in the White House and Republicans controlling the Congress.”

“Conservative groups break with Republican leadership” [Daypop Top 40] [The Mediaburn Radio Weblog]

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i'd say 'just deserts' but everyone in the world is suffering the idiotic grandiosities of this administration.

Cloned embryo implanted in woman [Ananova News]

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hmm, this is a bit odd, no? does anyone believe it?

what's going on there eh?

i'll have to look on monday, probably some bot mischeif.

Doing the math on attrition. Critical Mass typically concentrates on the problems plaguing the academic humanities and some of the social sciences–that's mostly a matter… [Critical Mass]

i had expected news to break in the national newspapers by now that the french are considering indicting vice president dick cheney for bribery in a nigerian oil scam. however, there is nothing. not even in the post, and when you use google news, you find very few mentions at all…

http://www.masnet.org/articleinterest.asp?id=799
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/06/1550243

Replacing Science with Politics: Peer Review Endangered. More commentary on this Adminstration's plan to control peer review of federal agencies through the OMB. If this goes through, it could have a devastating effect on science in the US. When Bush speaks of 'sound science' you know he means exactly the opposite. It makes it a lot easier to understand him when you know that his actions are 180 degrees from his words. But what do you expect from a man who believes the jury is still out on evolution. A more anti-science president would be hard to find. [A Man with a Ph.D. - Richard Gayle's Weblog]