Clipmarks | Johanna_G's Comments

Joe Biden, Friend of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:30:26 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: And the IRGC and its Quds Force were both designated “supporters of terrorism” in October 2007. Though the latter two designations would not have been so had Biden had his way.

And most importantly – for the sake of sanctions and the unequivocal denial of any form of support to terrorists and terrorist supporters – the amendment said, “the United States should designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization … and place the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.”

The text of the amendment included Congressional testimony from then-commander of Multi-National-Force Iraq Gen. David Petraeus, who said, “Iran, through the use of the Iranian Republican Guard Corps Quds Force, seeks to turn the Shiia militia extremists into a Hezbollah-like force to serve its interests and fight a proxy war against the Iraqi state and coalition forces in Iraq.”

Clip Source: www.familysecuritymatters.org

Sen. Joe Biden – Barack Obama’s eagerly anticipated running mate – should be named an honorary soldier in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). We’re all familiar with the IRGC: Iran’s unique corps of Islamist fighters who have been directly involved in deadly attacks against U.S. soldiers in Iraq – even Afghanistan – threatening our ships in the Persian Gulf; and organizing, training, equipping, funding, and providing direct operational support to Lebanon-based Hezbollah (perhaps the most dangerous terrorist army on earth). And that’s just for starters.

Also known as the Pasdaran, the IRGC is not Iran’s conventional territorial armed force, but the military force of the Khomeinist-inspired Islamic Revolution. The organization fields an army, a navy, and an air force, as well as an extranational special-operations force known as the Quds (Jerusalem) Force.

Iran, of course, is a “state sponsor of terrorism,” so-designated by the U.S. State Department back in 1984.

Tags: joe biden, iran's islamic revolutionary guard corpps, ouds force, state sponsor of terrorism, state department, gen. david petraeus, amb. ryan crocker

7 Myths of Crowd Psychology

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:07:08 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: www.spring.org.uk

"The mass, whether it be a crowd or an army, is vile"

~Benito Mussolini

Here are the seven myths about crowds that Schweingruber and Wohlstein identify, in order of how frequently they appear in introductory sociology textbooks.

1. Crowds are spontaneous

The most common myth about crowds is that they are spontaneous, or worse, that they are hotbeds of violence, with complete chaos only a few ill-judged jostles away.

Research into crowd violence does not support this.

2. Crowds are suggestible

The idea that people in crowds have heightened suggestibility is also a relatively common myth. People are said to copy each other, looking for a leader, being open to others' suggestion about how they should behave, perhaps resulting from a lack of social structure.

3. Crowds are irrational

4. Crowds increase anonymity

5. Crowds are emotional

6. Crowds are unanimous

7. Crowds are destructive

Tags: psychology, mass, crowd, behavior

Would you like to know your gender?

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:17:02 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: i like it, mainly because i believe that through observations of patterns one may discover many things...
BTW i am 84% male and 16% female (or was it the other way around ?-)-- try it.

Clip Source: www.mikeonads.com

Using your browser URL history to estimate gender

One of the things that I always wanted to do but never got around to was to analyze a user’s browsing history to estimate age and gender. Of course the idea is definitely not new, in fact Xerox (of all companies??) has a patent on the whole process and I’m certain plenty of networks already do something of the sort… but what the heck, let’s have some fun!

So what I did is I modified the SocialHistory JS so that it polled the browser to find out which of the Quantcast top 10k sites were visited. I then apply the ratio of male to female users for each site and with some basic math determine a guestimate of your gender. The math is really quite simple, I just take:

1 / (1 + r_1 * r_2 * … * r_n)
where p_i is the ratio of men-to-women for the specific site. For example, if you had been to two sites that had a 2-1 ratio of men to women, the probability of you being female would be:
1 / (1 + 2 * 2) = 1/5 = 20%

Important World Event! Please Consider Watching, Thanks.

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:10:49 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Argentina's Economic Collapse
Documentary on the events that led to the economic collapse of Argentina in 2001 which wiped out the middle class and raised the level of poverty to 57.5%. Central to the collapse was the implementation of neo-liberal policies which enabled the swindle of billions of dollars by foreign banks and corporations. Many of Argentina's assets and resources were shamefully plundered. Its financial system was even used for money laundering by Citibank, Credit Suisse, and JP Morgan. The net result was massive wealth transfers and the impoverishment of society which culminated in many deaths due to oppression and malnutrition.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 2 of 12

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 3 of 12

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 4 of 12

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 5 of 12

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 6 of 12

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 7 of 12

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 8 of 12

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 10 of 12

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 11 of 12

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Argentina's Economic Collapse - Part 12 of 12

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Tags: world, finance, economy

Pink Floyd---Animals

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:11:51 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns
clipper's remarks: Relevant lyrics for today....and good music ,too!!

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Animals

Animals is a concept album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 23 January 1977 in the UK and on 2 February 1977 in the U.S.

The album proved a success in the United Kingdom, where it reached #2 in the era of punk music. It was also a success in the U.S., reaching #3 on the Billboard album charts (#1 and #2 were Hotel California by The Eagles, and the soundtrack to the Barbara Streisand film A Star Is Born). However, it was on the American charts for only six months even though it has continued to sell solidly, to the extent of its having gone quadruple platinum, according to the RIAA.

In the UK, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album Gold (100,000 units) in 1977. It has yet to achieve Platinum.

Pink Floyd---Animals

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:11:51 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns
clipper's remarks: Relevant lyrics for today....and good music ,too!!

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Animals

Animals is a concept album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 23 January 1977 in the UK and on 2 February 1977 in the U.S.

In the UK, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album Gold (100,000 units) in 1977. It has yet to achieve Platinum.

7 Myths of Crowd Psychology

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:07:08 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: www.spring.org.uk

"The mass, whether it be a crowd or an army, is vile"

~Benito Mussolini

Here are the seven myths about crowds that Schweingruber and Wohlstein identify, in order of how frequently they appear in introductory sociology textbooks.

1. Crowds are spontaneous

The most common myth about crowds is that they are spontaneous, or worse, that they are hotbeds of violence, with complete chaos only a few ill-judged jostles away.

Research into crowd violence does not support this.

2. Crowds are suggestible

3. Crowds are irrational

4. Crowds increase anonymity

5. Crowds are emotional

6. Crowds are unanimous

7. Crowds are destructive

Tags: psychology, mass, crowd, behavior

The Role of Meaning in Human Thinking

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:50:56 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: jetpress.org

The creation of meaning to interpret and communicate perceived phenomena is a fundamental trait of human intelligence. This article explains some major ways in which this is achieved, focusing on language and the perception of embodiment. It examines the representational aspects of natural language, which account for the ambiguity of linguistic signs, and describes how these manifest in metaphor, connotation and emotive expression. The article argues that the human propensity to create meaning lies largely in this representational ambiguity, which underlies all forms of symbolism. However, the ambiguity of natural language has a paradoxical side, since it is also at fault in many shortcomings of human communication, such as misunderstanding and prejudicial stereotyping. This article argues that any attempt to emulate human ways of thinking, for example in Artificial Intelligence research, should take this paradoxical factor into account.

Tags: ai, ambiguity, language

Life in Yellow

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:29:34 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: photography.nationalgeographic.com

♫ Classical review: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:23:14 GMT

clipped by: Johanna_G
clipper's remarks: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (March 1, 1954 – July 3, 2006) was a renowned American soprano then mezzo-soprano, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Wikipedia

↗My Lieberson playlist (YouTube).

Clip Source: www.startribune.com

Contralto Lorraine Hunt Lieberson will soon have more posthumous records to her name than live ones, so vastly have her recordings sold since her death two summers ago at age 52.

A viola player who found her voice while freelancing in Boston orchestras, Lorraine enjoyed brief fame at the summits of opera before falling victim to breast cancer.

Her Sunday-morning Bach style is reminiscent of Kathleen Ferrier at her most touching and orotund, every consonant an immaculate offering.

In scenes from Handel's "Hercules," a concert rarity, she switches to brimstone and heartbreak, bringing a Purcell-like translucence to the lament, "When beauty sorrow's liv'ry wears." The only shortcoming on this church-owned record of her emergent gifts is the over-friendliness of the accompaniment. Spurred on by fiercer conductors than the resident Craig Smith and John Harbison, Lorraine could -- and did -- melt mountains.

Clip Source: www.geocities.com

Clip Source: astore.amazon.com

Tags: lieberson, singer

Man Arrested for Shooting Lawnmower

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:19:53 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A 56-year-old man from the Midwestern US state of Wisconsin has been arrested after shooting his lawn mower in his garden because it would not start.

He could face a fine of up to $11,000 and a maximum prison sentence of six-and-a-half years if convicted.

Police officers said Mr Walendowski had told them: "It's my lawn mower and my yard, so I can shoot it if I want."

A local retailer said that Mr Walendowski might now have difficulty getting his lawn mower repaired.

"Anything not factory recommended would void the warranty," said Dick Wagner, of Wagner's Garden Mart in Milwaukee.

Tags: lawnmower abuse

Ode to Joy! MEEP!

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:17:18 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: MEEP!

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

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Tags: muppets, meep, beeker, ode to joy, youtube

Atheist desecrates the Eucharist and the Qur'an

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:04:09 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Oh yes, and The God Delusion

Clip Source: friendlyatheist.com

PZ Myers has desecrated his cracker.

And pages from the Qur’an.

And pages from The God Delusion.

(It’s all just paper regardless of what it says, he says, and he’s right.)

The cracker is the object with a nail through it.

Somehow, I think Catholicism will survive… though I’m sure the hate mail he has coming his way will say otherwise.

On a serious note, PZ makes this very important point:

Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your lord, you are not disciples of any charismatic prophet. You are all human beings who must make your way through your life by thinking and learning, and you have the job of advancing humanities’ knowledge by winnowing out the errors of past generations and finding deeper understanding of reality. You will not find wisdom in rituals and sacraments and dogma, which build only self-satisfied ignorance, but you can find truth by looking at your world with fresh eyes and a questioning mind.

"Untouchable" boy caned to death by teacher for writing a love poem

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:56:46 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

UNA: A 16-year-old Dalit boy died after he was thrashed in front of other students by an upper caste teacher in a rural higher secondary school of this Himachal district for writing a verse in appreciation of an upper caste girl.

Surjit Singh was beaten up on Tuesday by a teacher in the Nangal Kalan Government High school in public, said the Dalit sarpanch of the village Gyan Kaur. His two classmates said, "When the teacher came to know about the Surjit's love poem, he caned him till he almost dropped dead."

That was not the end of his ordeal; he was again beaten up by the family members of the girl the next day, Wednesday. Surjit was later found semi-conscious and taken to the hospital but succumbed to injuries.

Local leaders have sought an inquiry into the incident as the police appear to be siding with the upper caste girl's family and the teacher.

Tags: india, discrimination

One million Germans do not exist

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:56:02 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.earthtimes.org

Wiesbaden, Germany - Government statisticians said Tuesday they think 1 million Germans simply don't exist, with long-time statistics on Germany's population out of sync with reality. Everyone living in Germany, citizen and alien, is meant to register their name and address at a local government office, and de- register themselves and their children when they move away.

The Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden uses the comings and goings to alter a 1987 West German census tally and numbers compiled in 1981 in communist East Germany.

The office said Tuesday it believed the current population tally of 82.2 million was too high by 1.3 million because many people had failed to de-register themselves when moving to new homes. They remained on the books as "card-index ghosts."

During the European Union census of 2011, Germany plans to calculate its population using estimates from the registers, welfare records, mail-carrier records and a detailed survey of a small sample of the population.