3
POPSZiauddin Sardar on the Quilliam Foundation for ex-jihadis Sardar, whose writing I am only a little bit familiar with, is highly critical of any "lionizing" of former members of Islamic extremist groups, since it implicitly devalues the commitment to peace and pluralism exhibited by most "ordinary" Muslims.
8
POPSUK educator decries domination of education by management-oriented language An Oxford professor examines the gradual takeover of all policy writing on education by the language of business management: "efficiency," "providers," "audits," "performance indicators," etc. This kind of thinking, he says, has gradually obscured any legitimate answer to the question of what education is really supposed to accomplish.
20
POPSAbraham Lincoln on religion Two lesser-known pieces of writing from Lincoln that give some hints about his religious beliefs. Lincoln was notoriously cagey about his religious commitments -- he never attended church regluarly, nor did he ever make a public proclamation of faith.
10
POPSAtheists, have a little respect, please Okay, this isn't exactly subtle, but I couldn't help finding it funny anyhow. Especially after Bill Maher, after once again laughing at the strangeness of Christian doctrine, is accused by Bill Donohue of not "respect the right of most Americans to believe in God" (http://snipr.com/1z044).
5
POPS"Fogcatchers": a new source for potable water In remote Chilean villages where fresh water is often scarce and contaminated, a simple new technology -- mesh sheets strung between posts -- captures condensation from coastal fog, providing an abundant and reliable source of cheap drinking water.
1
POPSTravelling by bus in Sweden? Beware of dwarves One of the weirdest news stories I've read in some time. Apparently some criminal gangs are smuggling dwarves in duffel bags into the luggage compartment of long-haul buses, where they loot the other passengers' bags.
3
POPSTariq Ali on Bhutto's killing and the PPP Ali, who was both a friend and critic of Bhutto, argues that the time has come for the People's Party to recreate itself as a genuinely democratic alternative. Sounds like wishful thinking to me -- but maybe he's right.
3
POPSA worldwide rescue effort for threatened frogs The Amphibian Ark is an emergency ex situ conservation project that removes threatened amphibians from their habitat and preserves them in a secure environment. Almost 200 species (est'd.) of amphibians have been wiped out by fungus recently.
2
POPSFlowerpot + ingenuity = stolen $221K Porsche What genius dreamed this up? A German thief jammed a flowerpot under the tire of a Porsche. When the driver got out to remove it, the thief jumped in the car and drove it away. You gotta admit, that's creative.
7
POPSNew Facebook ads: privacy concerns not just alarmism Security researchers at CA have found that Facebook is now collecting information about your activities on partner sites regardless -- this is important -- regardless of whether you have opted out or even whether you are logged in to Facebook . Also see the linked follow-up post (slightly more technical, http://snipr.com/1utzp). I am not usually really worried by advertising-related privacy issues, but the fact that Facebook now tracks you when you're logged out of the site -- and the additional fact that they are publicly misrepresenting this capability -- is a little unnerving.
8
POPSMalawi averts famine by dropping free-market policies Interesting story. After being pushed for years to adhere to strict free-market policies with regard to agriculture (i.e., abandon subsidies, encourage the cultivation of cash drops, and use foreign exchange to import food), Malawi finally decided to ignore the advice of the World Bank and others and begin aggressively subsidizing inorganic fertilizer and seed for farmers raising food for domestic consumption. As a result they now have a surplus of food and child malnourishment has fallen sharply.
0
POPSThe economics of the liberal-arts education I think this guy's statement of the problem faced by liberal arts institutions is pretty good, but his solution (make decisions based on values) isn't all that compelling (i.e., it doesn't say much).
0
POPSU.S. public schools' problem: too much hugging? A few days ago, a 13-year-old middle school girl was punished with detention for hugging several friends. A few Google searches later, I find that bans on hugging (along with other restrictive policies about physical contact between students or on public displays of affection) are not that uncommon. Official justifications inuclude: the need to keep order (because prolonged or multi-person hugs clog traffic in hallways between classes); teachers' and administrators' inability to determine when hugs are unwanted by their recipients; and the belief that allowing any physical contact encourages a permissive attitude that will lead to disruption and fighting. Way to raise a generation of mentally healthy kids, folks.
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