Dr. Sallie Baliunas’s Tech Central Station writes on the latest report from the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises. The report asks for a study of cost-effective steps to, among other things, advance climate forecasting, improve the environmental quality of land, air and water, and minimize impacts of extreme climate events. The report urges low-cost steps that advance adaptation or reduce

From his New York Times column on Monday: n the dreams of Big Brother and his cousin, Big Marketing, nothing can compare to forcing every person in the United States

From his New York Times column on Monday: n the dreams of Big Brother and his cousin, Big Marketing, nothing can compare to forcing every person in the United States

The Economist is running an interesting article on the history of the seven day cycle. Predictably, we owe our structural base to Ur: The year, the day and (not quite so obviously) the month are natural divisions of time. The week is an oddity. The moon’s four phases are a near miss, but still a misfit, for weeks. You will be in trouble (like H.G. Wells’s ‘The Man Who Could

The Economist is running an interesting article on the history of the seven day cycle. Predictably, we owe our structural base to Ur: The year, the day and (not quite so obviously) the month are natural divisions of time. The week is an oddity. The moon’s four phases are a near miss, but still a misfit, for weeks. You will be in trouble (like H.G. Wells’s ‘The Man Who Could

A physician writing in the holiday issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal concludes that the Grinch suffers from a chronic hormonal deficiency called Addison’s disease. The symptoms: an abnormally small heart, irritability, and salt cravings… Related: At a Manhattan “holiday party” thrown by Gore Vidal, Katha Pollitt and Susan Sontag duke it out over “the last of the pretzels.”

A physician writing in the holiday issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal concludes that the Grinch suffers from a chronic hormonal deficiency called Addison’s disease. The symptoms: an abnormally small heart, irritability, and salt cravings… Related: At a Manhattan “holiday party” thrown by Gore Vidal, Katha Pollitt and Susan Sontag duke it out over “the last of the pretzels.”

The Weekly Standard has an interesting note on The Detroit News’ formerly conservative editorial page, noting that since being acquired by the Gannett Corp. the paper’s done an about-face on its position regarding affirmative action-based admissions policies: The Detroit News…threw out principle for P.C. pragmatism on the subject of racial preferences at public universities. For years, under editorial page editor Tom Bray, the News had published legally informed, coherent arguments

Former Clinton Treasury Secretary and New Harvard Prez Larry Summers may have succeeded in ridding Harvard of the Rappin’ Prof, Afro-American Studies Dept Prince, Cornel West. The Boston Globe is reporting that West is pissed off at Summers and is considering flying the Crimson coop to peddle his peculiar brand of divisive jargoneering and silly sociology at Princeton, instead. The paper points to a summer meeting between Summers, West, and

Former Clinton Treasury Secretary and New Harvard Prez Larry Summers may have succeeded in ridding Harvard of the Rappin’ Prof, Afro-American Studies Dept Prince, Cornel West. The Boston Globe is reporting that West is pissed off at Summers and is considering flying the Crimson coop to peddle his peculiar brand of divisive jargoneering and silly sociology at Princeton, instead. The paper points to a summer meeting between Summers, West, and