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Iran test fired a new missile today that can deliver a 1-ton warhead on Israel or U.S. bases in the region, hitting a nerve in the tense Middle East as well as in nervous oil markets.

He made lists to fend off depression

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 04:25:14 GMT

clipped by: kenstipe
clipper's remarks: Guess who?

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - His mother suffered dark depressions and tried to dominate his life. His sister and daughter had severe mental problems, his father and wife died young and a beloved uncle committed suicide in his arms.

So what did Peter Mark Roget, the creator of Roget's Thesaurus, do to handle all the pain, grief, sorrow, affliction, woe, bitterness, unhappiness and misery in a life that lasted over 90 years?

He made lists.

Political Junkies: Why it Feels Good to Be an Extremist

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:28:12 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: In The Political Brain, psychologist Drew Western summarizes fMRI experiments exploring the neuro-psychology of systematic bias and rationalization in the brains of political extremists. Finding ways to dismiss contradictory evidence triggers pleasant emotional releases in partisans' brains, eventually becoming a pleasurable, learned behavior.

Once partisans had found a way to reason to false conclusions, not only did neural circuits involved in negative emotions turn off, but circuits involved in positive emotions turned on.

The partisan brain didn't seem satisfied in just feeling better. It worked overtime to feel good, activating reward circuits that give partisans a jolt of positive reinforcement for their biased "reasoning."

These reward circuits overlap substantially with those activated when drug addicts get their "fix," giving new meaning to the term political junkie.
Clip Source: daily.sightline.org
How is it that even smart people can ignore a pile of evidence that contradicts their deeply-held beliefs. Why is it I get a rush when I'm making fun of a politician I don't agree with -- even if it's his flubs or quirks I'm mocking, not necessarily his ideas?
According to the research of Drew Western, political partisans -- and especially the smart, well-informed ones -- not only feel better when their brains downplay contradictory political information, they actually get a little emotional "high" when the brain (unconsciously) rejects evidence that contradicts their deeply held political beliefs.
In a series of brain scans of political partisans asked to consider contradictory statements by the politicians they supported, Western found that the brain reverted to the comfort zone of its long-held biases -- and doing so actually made people feel good.

Tags: science, politics, neuroscience, psychology, brain, reason, extremism, bias, beliefs

Comcast interference with browsers

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:16:12 GMT

clipped by: kenstipe

Clip Source: tech.slashdot.org

"A team of researchers have found that Comcast has quietly rolled out a new traffic-shaping method, which is interfering with web browsers in addition to p2p traffic. The smoking gun that documents this behavior are network traces collected from Comcast subscribers Internet connections. This evidence shows Comcast is forging packets and blocking connection attempts from web browsers. One has to hope this isn't the congestion management system they are touting as no longer targeting BitTorrent, which they are deploying in reaction to the recent FCC investigations."

Lesbians take gay group to court over the term 'lesbian'

Fri, 02 May 2008 04:46:35 GMT

clipped by: kenstipe

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

A Greek court has been asked to draw the line between the natives of the Aegean Sea island of Lesbos and the world's gay women.

Three islanders from Lesbos — home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women — have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name.

One of the plaintiffs said Wednesday that the name of the association, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, "insults the identity" of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians.

"My sister can't say she is a Lesbian," said Dimitris Lambrou. "Our geographical designation has been usurped by certain ladies who have no connection whatsoever with Lesbos," he said.

The three plaintiffs are seeking to have the group barred from using "lesbian" in its name and filed a lawsuit on April 10. The other two plaintiffs are women.

19th century pampering technology

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:51:56 GMT

clipped by: kenstipe

Clip Source: www.we-make-money-not-art.com

7 Things you don't do in Shanghai

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:46:39 GMT

clipped by: kenstipe

Clip Source: www.vagabondish.com

The lost art of escalator spinning

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:06:53 GMT

clipped by: kenstipe
clipper's remarks: I must try this!

Clip Source: www.aboutcolonblank.com

[Video]

Cities with the largest and smallest carbon footprint

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:41:28 GMT

clipped by: kenstipe

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Cities with the largest carbon footprints:

Lexington-Fayette, Ky.

Indianapolis

Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.

Toledo, Ohio

Louisville, Ky.-Ind.

Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, Tenn.

St. Louis

Oklahoma City

Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.

Knoxville, Tenn.

Cities with the smallest carbon footprints:

Honolulu

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana,Calif.

Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash.

New York-northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.

Boise-Nampa, Idaho

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.

El Paso, Texas

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.

Eww. I'm not putting my thing on that

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:38:34 GMT

clipped by: kenstipe

Clip Source: www.thedailyweird.com

Marijuana associated with mental problems

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:25:15 GMT

clipped by: kenstipe

Clip Source: www.efluxmedia.com

Marijuana is one of the world’s most commonly used illegal drugs. There are approximately 300 million users worldwide and 28 million users in the United States alone.

Now, according to a new White House Office of National Drug Control Policy report, teens using marijuana put themselves at higher risk for serious mental problems including worsening depression, schizophrenia, anxiety and suicide.

Clipmarks | kenstipe's clips

Free Audio Stories for Kids

Prince Bertie the Frog

The Ordinary Witch

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Space elevators face a wobble problem

Space elevators face wobble problem

Creative photography

Iran threatens Israel with a missile test

He made lists to fend off depression

Political Junkies: Why it Feels Good to Be an Extremist

Comcast interference with browsers

Lesbians take gay group to court over the term 'lesbian'

19th century pampering technology

7 Things you don't do in Shanghai

The lost art of escalator spinning

Cities with the largest and smallest carbon footprint

Eww. I'm not putting my thing on that

Marijuana associated with mental problems