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Modern Slavery 101

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:17:59 GMT

clipped by: lifecyce1898

Contrary to popular belief, slavery didn’t end with Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Experts estimate that today there are 27 million people enslaved around the world. It’s happening in countries on all six inhabited continents. And yes, that includes the United States. The CIA estimates 14,500 to 17,000 victims are trafficked into the “Land of the Free” every year.

Why hasn’t more been done to end a dehumanizing, universally condemned practice? One challenge is that slavery today takes on myriad, subtler forms than it did during the Atlantic Slave Trade — including sex trafficking, debt bondage, forced domestic or agricultural labor, and chattel slavery — making it tougher to identify and eradicate.

Types of Slavery

CHATTEL SLAVERY

DEBT BONDAGE

SEX SLAVERY

FORCED LABOR

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

Very Sobering Images of the World Today

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:11:05 GMT

clipped by: xbeckyax
clipper's remarks: Do not look at these if you are upset real easily, because they are awful, but they are real of what's going on round the world today. Still absolutely shocking though, it should't be going on anymore! Their is enough money in the world to stop this!

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Afghanistan, 1996 - Mourning a brother killed by a Taliban rocket.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Afghanistan, 1996 - The game of Buzkashi was brought to the country by
Genghis Khan.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Afghanistan, 1996 - Land mine victims learned to walk on prosthetic legs
at ICRC clinic.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Afghanistan, 1996 - Ruins of Kabul from civil war.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Zimbabwe, 2000 - In a tuberculosis ward where the great majority of the patients suffer from AIDS.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

South Africa, 2000 - Grandmother cared for young girl affected by HIV.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

South Africa, 2000 - Care giver comforted an AIDS sufferer.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Northern Ireland, 1981 - Truck hijacked by Catholic demonstrators during the hunger strike of Bobby Sands.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

El Salvador, 1984 - Army evacuated wounded soldiers from village football field.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Nicaragua, 1984 - Relic of civil war became a monument in a park.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Romania, 1990 - An orphanage for " incurables".

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Bosnia, 1993 - Wounded soldier.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

South Africa, 1992 - Xhosa young men in rite of passage.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Sudan, 1993 - Famine victim in a feeding center.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Pakistan, 2001 - A rehab center for heroin addicts.

Clip Source: www.jamesnachtwey.com

Life's Little Mysteries

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 10:28:51 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Why do women wear high heels? Why are soft drinks in round containers while milk cartons are rectangular? And why did kamikaze pilots bother with helmets? Here, ROBERT H FRANK uses economics to explain the weird and wonderful situations we encounter in everyday life.

The short answer seems to be that women in heels are more likely to attract favourable notice.

"Men like an exaggerated female figure," writes fashion historian Caroline Cox. The problem is that if all women wear high heels, such advantages tend to cancel out.

Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

One reason is that in at least some instances, kamikaze pilots survived their missions. Another is that planes commonly experienced severe turbulence before reaching their targets, and in these cases Japanese military commanders had clear reasons for wanting their pilots to be adequately protected.

Yesterday's Tomorrow Today

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:55:10 GMT

clipped by: michellezm

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Junk Yard Yields Parts for Odd Organ (May, 1939)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

EXERCISE EARS TO RESTORE HEARING (May, 1933)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Translation by Machine (Jan, 1956)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

ELECTRICITY OPERATES “FIRELESS PIPE” (May, 1936)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Forecast: A SKY FULL OF SATELLITES (Jan, 1958)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Home Movies From Phonograph Records (Jun, 1932)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Rides Golf Course in Silent Car (May, 1934)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Machine Tells Your Brain Speed (Jun, 1932)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Tiny Coin-op Television (Mar, 1947)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Uncle Sam Fights a New Drug Menace…Marijuana (May, 1936)

Clip Source: blog.modernmechanix.com

Britain Reveals Diving Canoe (Mar, 1947)

How Were The Egyptian Pyramids Built?

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 14:29:19 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Plain english explanation.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (Mar. 29, 2008) — The Aztecs, Mayans and ancient Egyptians were three very different civilizations with one very large similarity: pyramids. However, of these three ancient cultures, the Egyptians set the standard for what most people recognize as classic pyramid design: massive monuments with a square base and four smooth-sided triangular sides, rising to a point. The Aztecs and Mayans built their pyramids with tiered steps and a flat top.

The ancient Egyptians probably chose that distinctive form for their pharaohs' tombs because of their solar religion, explained Donald Redford, professor of Classics and ancient Mediterranean studies at Penn State. The Egyptian sun god Ra, considered the father of all pharaohs, was said to have created himself from a pyramid-shaped mound of earth before creating all other gods. The pyramid's shape is thought to have symbolized the sun's rays.

Tags: ancients, were, clever, without, extra-terrestials

Pimp Your Whopper

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:16:01 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: I might be just too old to appreciate this, but I really don't need this type of relationship with my fast food.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The Whopper is getting old. So Burger King is trying something new.

Cue the Whopper Bar.

By the end of the year, Burger King will introduce a more playful variation on its ubiquitous chain of fast-food franchises. The restaurants feature Starbucks-style open kitchens, circular chrome countertops and plasma televisions that play looped videos of open flames.

They will be smaller than standard Burger King outlets, sized to squeeze into strip malls, food courts and casinos.

And customers will be treated to a smorgasbord of Whopper options. Varieties include the Angry Whopper, topped with spicy onions (and popular in England); the Texas Double Whopper, with bacon and jalapeños; and the Rodeo Whopper, featuring fried onion rings and barbecue sauce.

“The concept is like ‘Pimp My Ride,’ ” Mr. Klein said,

Tags: burger king, whopper, ooh shiny!