February 2012
For all would-be academics. Please reblog widely. →
charlietangofoxtrot:
astationaryjew:
thewhywhygirl:
phdork:
This may well be the best use of the internet ever: crowd-sourcing adjunct working conditions as way to introduce transparency to and positive pressure on institutions that exploit the holy hell out of their highly skilled and dedicated workers.
Get on it.
$6,800 per 3 crédit course would be heaven since I 1,700 meant forgoing...
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What's Happening in Russia Explained →
Putin’s grip on Russia: Over the two-plus decades since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Vladimir Putin has been in charge for more than half the time. Currently prime minister, he is running for president—again—in the March 4, 2012 elections. The ex-KGB officer served as the nation’s president from 2000 until 2008. After two four-year terms, Putin then stepped into the role of...
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Sorry posts have been so sporadic lately. Because of the neverending shitstorm of tendinitis in my arms, I’ve just been queueing up posts when I can and trying to not type too much.
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thecoreofthewatermelon asked: I know it's definitely possible, but is this definitely real? Is this definitely from Syria?
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thelittlemermaid replied to your post: I have a feeling someone won’t read the tags on that and think I’m actually serious.
you got that i was joking, right…? i just meant, i’m here, reading your posts and trying to understand the state of the world.
No, I’m thoroughly convinced you’re a Nickelback fan. Don’t deny it. ;-)
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I have a feeling someone won't read the tags on...
Really, I was just trying to gauge how much people are actually reading anything I post, since it’s been rather quiet around here.
I swear I have much better taste than that post would lead you to believe.
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My favorite band is Nickelback.
I also love the Insane Clown Posse.
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After UN veto, US floats coalition on Syria →
The United States proposed an international coalition to support Syria’s opposition Sunday after Russia and China blocked a U.N. attempt to end nearly 11 months of bloodshed, raising fears that violence will escalate. Rebel soldiers said force was now the only way to oust President Bashar Assad, while the regime vowed to press its military crackdown.
The threat of both sides turning to...
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What's Happening in Syria Now. →
popmuslim:
The situation has grown more dire since Assad’s regime began a violent crackdown last March—including reports of hundreds massacred this week.
On February 3, 2012, multiple reports from activists inside Syria described massive shelling and an army offensive in the central Syrian city of Homs. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights puts the casualty figure at over a hundred, and...
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Syria: Stop Torture of Children →
Syrian army and security officers have detained and tortured children with impunity during the past year, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch has documented at least 12 cases of children detained under inhumane conditions and tortured, as well as children shot while in their homes or on the street. Human Rights Watch has also documented government use of schools as detention...
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Newfound Alien Planet is Best Candidate Yet to... →
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Malaria deaths hugely underestimated - Lancet... →
Worldwide malaria deaths may be almost twice as high as previously estimated, a study reports.
The research, published in the British medical journal the Lancet, suggest 1.24 million people died from the mosquito-borne disease in 2010.
This compares to a World Health Organisation (WHO) estimate for 2010 of 655,000 deaths.
But both the new study and the WHO indicate global death rates are now...
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U.S. Government Can Do More to Support Human... →
By Sam Quatromoni of Human Rights First
The government of Kazakhstan announced yesterday that leading human rights defender Yevgeniy Zhovtis has been granted amnesty after serving over two years in prison. Human Rights First and other international observers have called his conviction politically motivated and unlawful. One of the most prominent activists in Central Asia, Zhovtis was convicted...
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Egypt's police fire tear gas at protesters →
Clashes erupted in the Egyptian capital on Thursday between protesters and police, as the government scrambled to contain mounting anger over post-football match violence that killed 74 people. Black-clad riot police fired tear gas at protesters trying to reach the interior ministry, furious at the lack of police intervention in Wednesday’s violence in the northern city of Port Said....
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Youth and poor bear brunt of austerity in Portugal →
With austerity set to tighten its grip this year as the government struggles to get a 9.8 per cent deficit in 2010 down to 3 per cent by 2013, people are increasingly apprehensive, warns Elísio Estanque, a professor at the Centre of Social Studies at Coimbra University.
“The crisis is hitting Portugal’s younger generation hardest, with youth unemployment at 26 per cent. In terms of potential...
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Spaced out: Clearing astronauts' mental fog →
Being in space messes with your brain – bad news if you’re steering a spacecraft. How can we save astronauts from the space stupids.
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WatchNeglecting the diseases of the poor
Is private funding of pharmaceutical drugs the only way to ensure access to treatment for the world’s poorest patients?
via Al Jazeera English
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Shipwreck in Baltic Sea? A UFO? Mystery to...
discoverynews:
“They know they’re onto something big. If only they knew what that something was. “
This piece was submitted by funkbiscuit! (I love that Tumblr name, btw.)
have anything you want to submit?
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Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Found in 37 U.S.... →
In at least 37 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, doctors have identified bacteria, including E. coli, that produce Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase, or KPC—an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to most known treatments. It’s much more prevalent in America than bacteria that produce NDM-1, the enzyme that has Indian doctors ”hell scared,” and, according...
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U.N. Security Council at standstill on Syria,... →
At least 56 people were killed across Syria Wednesday, opposition activists said, as diplomats at the United Nations prepare to debate once again how to respond to the mounting crisis in the country.
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When I was in Chicago a few months ago, the Shedd Aquarium had a big exhibit on jellyfish.
Creepiest. Room. Ever.
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Colombia experiments with Bogota gun ban →
What might be one of the largest experiments in gun control ever attempted is currently under way in the Colombian capital, Bogota.
No weapons are allowed on the streets of this city of 7.3 million people from Wednesday until 30 April.
If the ban results in a significant reduction of the homicide rate it might become permanent.
The ban is being introduced by a former guerrilla - the...
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“Regrettably, some observers thought that their visit to Syria was for...”
– Leaked Syria observers’ report details failings of mission
Addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in...
at American University’s Washington College of Law today.
Watch it live here, going on now until 2:30 pm EST.
Birth control pill recall amid pregnancy fear -... →
bluntlyblue:
Pfizer said on Tuesday it was recalling about a million packets of birth control pills in the United States because they may not contain enough contraceptive to prevent pregnancy.
“As a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy,”...
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What does the future hold for Iran? →
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Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation ends... →
“We’re kind of reeling,” said Patrick Hurd, who is CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Virginia — recipient of a 2010 grant from Komen — and whose wife, Betsi, is a veteran of several Komen fundraising races and is currently battling breast cancer.
“It sounds almost trite, going through this with Betsi, but cancer doesn’t care if you’re pro-choice, anti-choice, progressive, conservative,”...
whineandbeer replied to your link: Antibiotic-Free Meat Not Free of Drug-Resistant Bacteria
Ugh, my inevitable vegetarianism creeps ever nearer.
Yup. I’ve been slowly transitioning back to being a vegetarian the more I read about infectious disease and farming practices.
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Antibiotic-Free Meat Not Free of Drug-Resistant... →
January 2012
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“Polarisation is not as great as we think it is,” says Chambers. “And...”
– US voters are less partisan than they think
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Q&A: Where is Syria crisis heading? →
via CNN:
What’s the latest on the ground?
Syria’s humanitarian crisis is worsening as armed rebels and government forces battle for control of towns and cities across the country.
Much of Ghouta, in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, faces a “complete siege and closure” after days of sustained bombings that has killed dozens, according to the opposition Local Coordination...
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Why you think your team is the best →
Ah ref! Now you have an excuse for thinking your team always performs best. Your brain perceives the actions of people in your own team differently to those of a rival team.
Pascal Molenberghs at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, divided 24 volunteers into two teams and had them judge the speed of hand actions performed by two people, one from each team.
As expected, most of...
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Rwanda genocide: ICTR seeks refuge for acquitted →
The court trying Rwandan genocide suspects is appealing for countries to give refuge for those acquitted, the UN tribunal’s spokesman has told the BBC.
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“It’s a horrible indictment on what we’ve done but the truth and...”
– Dr. Frank Njenga, Kenya doctor fights mental health stigma in ‘traumatized continent’
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“Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in...”
– Max Ehrmann, Desiderata
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Syria authorities 'agree to talks' →
Syria has agreed to take part in Moscow-mediated talks on solving the country’s crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today, calling on the Syrian opposition to join the planned negotiations.
However, a senior member of the Syrian opposition council said that no invitation had been received from Moscow and that it would be refused anyway.
Moscow, a permanent United Nations Security...
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U.S. Arms Sales to Bahrain: 4 Questions for the... →
1. Why was the arms sale kept secret from the public?
Josh Rogin at Foreign Policy leaked the news of the arms sale on Friday. He also reported that U.S. arms sales under $1 million don’t have to be publicly disclosed. So the Obama administration didn’t publicly mention it. But why? At a time when the Bahraini government continues to crack down on protesters, why did the Obama administration...
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Respect gay rights, UN's Ban tells African leaders →
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in an unusually outspoken declaration on Sunday, told African leaders they must respect gay rights, an issue that is controversial in many African states. “One form of discrimination ignored or even sanctioned by many states for too long has been discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” Ban said at an African Union summit in...
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Senegal police 'shot anti-Wade protesters' in... →
Police shot and killed two people in Senegal during protests over a decision by the Constitutional Council that President Abdoulaye Wade could seek a third term, witnesses have said.
A 60-year-old woman and a teenage boy died as police broke up the protests in the northern town of Podor, they say.
Senegal’s constitution has a two-term limit but officials ruled this does not include Mr...
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Love of a Dog or Cat Helps Women Cope With... →
ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2012) — A spoonful of medicine goes down a lot easier if there is a dog or cat around. Having pets is helpful for women living with HIV/AIDS and managing their chronic illness, according to a new study from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University.
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Sex, Beer & Politics: Riddles Reveal Life of... →
Millennia before modern-day Americans made fun of their politicians or cracked crude jokes over a cold one, people in ancient Mesopotamia were doing much the same thing.
The evidence of sex, politics and beer-drinking comes from a newly translated tablet, dating back more than 3,500 years, which reveals a series of riddles.
The text is fragmentary in parts and appears to have been written by...
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DIY smear test works for cervical cancer →
A do-it-yourself smear test could enable millions of women in poorer countries to head off cervical cancer.
Eighty-five per cent of cervical cancer cases occur in developing countries, where screening for pre-cancerous changes is rare due to difficulties in obtaining samples and a shortage of cytologists to interpret them. Testing for DNA from the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes the...
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“In a coarse way, dirty living is good for you and clean living is bad for. You...”
– Eating off the floor: How clean living is bad for you