Interview – Peter Kalmus: ‘As a species, we’re on autopilot, not making the right decisions’ Ian Tucker May 21, 2022 The Nasa data scientist explains why inaction on the climate crisis pushed him to chain himself to an LA bank – and why trusting in the ‘people in charge’ is so dangerous: ==================================== Do you … [Read more…]
In the Guardian, May 7, 2022, an article on hate speech Hate speech online has escalated to unprecedented levels. Matthew Williams, a professor of criminology, is shining a scientific light on who is behind it and why. “It is no coincidence that soaring hate-crime figures are found in countries where the extreme right is rising … [Read more…]
The Atlantic has an article about a pressing pandemic problem with orphaned children. Losing a parent may be one of the most destabilizing events of the human experience. Orphans are at increased risk of substance abuse, dropping out of school, and poverty. They are almost twice as likely as non-orphans to die by suicide, and … [Read more…]
In the New Yorker, Bill McKibben wrote an essay titled “In a World on Fire, Stop Burning Things” Here, he references many new reports which fortify the case for moving to renewable energy now and reinforcing the need to stop burning. On the last day of February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its … [Read more…]
In The Guardian: Use of ‘sexist’ and ‘racist’ in the New York Times increased over 400% since 2012. Why? We analyzed 27m news articles published between 1970 and 2019. Our study reveals a substantial shift has occurred, and it may have important implications. by David Rozado, Musa al-Gharbi and Jamin Halberstadt Contemporary US media workers … [Read more…]
Dana Milbank sums up what I’ve felt for years about Newt – he is the pivot point that turned the GOP in to the monster it is today. Opinion: Newt Gingrich started us on the road to ruin. Now, he’s back to finish the job. By Dana Milbank 02/04/2022
Lest we forget what we will get if the GOP ever gets in the White House again Census Memo Cites ‘Unprecedented’ Meddling by Trump Administration from the NY Times. Newly released documents show that top career officials at the Census Bureau had drafted a list of complaints about political interference in the 2020 count. By … [Read more…]
In the NYT, an interview with Ms. Menker: The Ethiopian entrepreneur Sara Menker founded Gro Intelligence, which uses artificial intelligence to forecast global agricultural trends and battle food insecurity. When toilet paper shortages happened during Covid and everybody was running to stock up, I was like, “I don’t know why you’re stocking up. I have … [Read more…]
In the Guardian: America is now in fascism’s legal phase Jason Stanley is Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale University. He is the author of How Fascism Works. Wed 22 Dec 2021 “The history of racism in the US is fertile ground for fascism. Attacks on the courts, education, the right to vote and … [Read more…]
Linda McAlister, Philosopher and Founder of Feminist Journal, Dies at 82 [NY Times Obituary – paywall] She was among a collective of philosophy professors who started Hypatia, the first major scholarly publication to view the discipline from a feminist lens. By Penelope Green Dec. 14, 2021