Image via Wikipediahttp://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/06/usa-and-canada-lost-more-forest-than-brazil-2000-2005.php
A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) concludes that over a million square kilometers of forest were lost around the world between 2000 and 2005, and that both the U.S. and Canada had higher percentages of forest losses than even Brazil (a country long notorious for deforestation).
U.S. hazardous waste being left in Iraq
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/06/14/US-hazardous-waste-being-left-in-Iraq/UPI-45851276536506
Private American recycling companies are allegedly mixing hazardous material with ordinary scrap and selling it to local Iraqi scrap dealers.
U.S. pollution legacy flagged in Labrador town
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/100615/canada/canada_newfoundland_hopedale_pollution_legacy_meeting615
There are concerns that contaminated soil may have been used as fill near homes in the Inuit community, and that residents are worried about the possible pollution of berries, which form a key source of nutrients in the local diet.
Oil spill course embraced by N.L. fishermen
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/06/14/nl-spill-responders-614.html
New Exxon Blog Targets BP Fallout
http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/06/new-exxon-blog-targets-bp-fallout
Perspectives,
"This devastating chain of events is far from the industry norm," proclaims Exxon blogger Ken Cohen, who's also the oil giant's vice president of public and government affairs. "We all need to understand what occurred on this occasion that did not occur on the 14,000 other deepwater wells that have been successfully drilled around the world."
"With the launch of Perspectives, Exxon is signaling that it sees the need to speak with the public more directly. It will be interesting to watch how the blog presses Exxon's case against tighter regulation of offshore drilling. And how an angry public responds (or is edited out) in its comments section."
( The sciblog comments about conflation and right questions seem to fit right in. Impartiality of source ? Ahem. )
A lawyer for some of the survivors says he has new evidence that casts doubt on BP's claims that a key safety check was successfully performed just hours before the explosion.
http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/06/bp-deepwater-negative-pressure-test
Live-Tweeting the Oil Executive Hearing
| Tue Jun. 15, 2010 6:45 AM PDT
The top executives of five of the country's biggest oil companies will testify to Congress today about the safety of drilling, in light of the Gulf disaster.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/06/live-tweeting-oil-executive-hearing
The Climate Desk
- Spinning the spill: BP’s PR ballet | Need to Know | PBS
- PBS Need to Know
- A ballet at sea? Oddly inspiring? Read what BP's own "reporters" have to say about the oil spill.
- Will the Cruise Ship Industry Do BP's Dirty Work?
- Mother Jones
- How the cruise ship lobby could help BP dodge liability for workers killed on the Deepwater rig.
- Should You Boycott BP?
- Mother Jones
- Will denying the oil giant your hard-earned cash actually make a difference?
- In 2008, BP Touted New Tech To Measure Oil Flow
- Mother Jones
- Now, the oil giant says it's too difficult to calculate the size of the Gulf spill. How convenient.
- "We Don't Need This on Camera": BP's Crappy Cleanup Job
- Mother Jones
- Mopping up oil with paper towels, and a dead dolphin. Photos from an unauthorized trip to a cleanup area.
Fishermen bought out in conservation effort
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/100615/canada/canada_pei_pei_lobster_buy_out584
The Scientist Shortage: It's a Demand-Side, Not Supply-Side Problem
http://scienceblogs.com/mikethemadbiologist/2010/06/the_scientist_shortage_its_a_d.php?utm_source=selectfeed&utm_medium=rss
For the great majority, becoming a scientist now entails a penurious decade or more of graduate school and postdoc positions before joining the multitude vainly vying for the few available faculty-level openings.
In Defense of Evolutionary Psychology: Why They're Asking The Wrong Questions
http://scienceblogs.com/thoughtfulanimal/2010/06/in_defense_of_evolutionary_psy.php?utm_source=readerspicks&utm_medium=link
criticism of evolutionary psychology: that evolutionary psychologists conflate "is" with "ought," and that they use principles of evolutionary psychology to perpetuate and maintain the status quo. They insist that evolutionary psychology is a tool used to maintain oppression against minorities or women, or to normalize things like rape, murder, or warfare.My scibling Christina, of the Oscillator blog, recently described this problem quite well:
Science news stories about duck rape become hugely popular because we apologize for rape as a "natural" event caused by the male evolutionary need to spread their seed widely. Biases and prejudices become natural, women's bodies are explained as in terms of men's desires, in our culture, in our media, and too often in our science.
I think this argument - the is/ought conflation - confuses evolutionary psychology with social darwinism. Responsible evolutionary psychologists go out of their way to avoid things like the naturalistic fallacy and the moralistic fallacy.
I think it's time we take evolutionary psychology back from the bad scientists and uninformed populace. And we're going to do so by using the tools of our trade: comparative, developmental, and cross-cultural research. We're going to demonstrate that you can make evolutionary arguments about mind and behavior, but only by asking the right kinds of questions.
NDP won't endorse Afghan document deal
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100615/national/afghan_cda_documents
Harris, one of two NDP negotiators involved in the discussions, said the process agreed to by the governing Tories, Opposition Liberals and Bloc Quebecois doesn't give MPs the access they need.He said documents the government claims to be matters of cabinet confidentiality or solicitor-client privilege will be kept from MPs. A panel of jurists will vet the material and decide if MPs can see it.That leaves MPs out of the loop and is unacceptable.
Afghan summer will be tough: commander
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/06/15/afghanistan-canadian-troops-lessard-commander.html?ref=rss
Insurgent activity has spiked
Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  insurgent - a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions)mutineer - someone who is openly rebellious and refuses to obey authorities (especially seamen or soldiers) revolutionary, revolutionist, subversive, subverter - a radical supporter of political or social revolution Young Turk - a member of one or more of the insurgent groups in Turkey in the late 19th century who rebelled against the absolutism of Ottoman rule |
| 2. |  insurgent - a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassmentguerilla force, guerrilla force - an irregular armed force that fights by sabotage and harassment; often rural and organized in large groups urban guerrilla - a guerrilla who fights only in cities and towns warrior - someone engaged in or experienced in warfare | |
| Adj. | 1. | insurgent - in opposition to a civil authority or government disloyal - deserting your allegiance or duty to leader or cause or principle; "disloyal aides revealed his indiscretions to the papers" |
insurgent
noun
rebel, revolutionary, revolter, rioter, resister, mutineer, revolutionist, insurrectionist The insurgents took control of the main military air base.
adjective
rebellious, revolutionary, mutinous, revolting, riotous, seditious, disobedient, insubordinate, insurrectionary The insurgent leaders were publicly executed.
Don't mind me. I get annoyed when pejoratives are used to put a smokescreen about the tendency of people to fight to overthrow foreign-imposed dictators and rulers. )
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment