An Interview with Jeff Warren- June 16, 2008 "'...Consciousness exists in more wildly varied and abundant forms than simple waking, sleeping, and dreaming. By describing some of its different stations, I hope not only to give you some insight into the biological and psychological processes that underlie our changing experience of consciousness -- to reveal, as it were, some of the operating rules of the Self -- but also to show why this matters...: not only that we have far more agency over our changing mental states than most of us...http://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_15_blog_archive.html#692007635859475650 Mind like a comic strip- June 16, 2008 "To the editor:David Bainbridge's description of consciousness (26 January, p 40), including, for example, the fact that we do not know where in the brain consciousness happens, was evocative. Scott McCloud, in his book Understanding Comics, describes a comic's story as whatever is happening in the blank spaces between the panels.What if our minds function like a comic: they snap pictures, and our consciousness is simply the story the mind constructs around those pictures" (New Scientist)http://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_15_blog_archive.html#2942074926533331505 At Last GLAST- June 13, 2008 Astronomy Picture of the Day: "...The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope is now in orbit around planet Earth. GLAST's detector technology was developed for use in terrestrial particle accelerators. But from orbit, GLAST can study gamma-rays from extreme environments in our own Milky Way galaxy, as well as supermassive black holes at the centers of distant active galaxies, and the sources of powerful gamma-ray bursts. Those cosmic accelerators achieve energies not attainable in earthbound...http://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_08_blog_archive.html#1365751587765874456 Meme-Watch: Hypermiling- June 13, 2008 A Google Searchhttp://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_08_blog_archive.html#2033098533178374628 Iraqis Condemn American Demands- June 13, 2008 "High-level negotiations over the future role of the U.S. military in Iraq have turned into an increasingly acrimonious public debate, with Iraqi politicians denouncing what they say are U.S. demands to maintain nearly 60 bases in their country indefinitely.Top Iraqi officials are calling for a radical reduction of the U.S. military's role here after the U.N. mandate authorizing its presence expires at the end of this year. Encouraged by recent Iraqi military successes, government officials...http://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_08_blog_archive.html#2575392947640499676 Justices Rule Terror Suspects Can Appeal in Civilian Courts- June 13, 2008 SCOTUS sides with the Constitution, for once. (New York Times) In a 5-4 ruling, with the usual suspects in dissent, the Court ruled that denial of habeas corpus rights to the detainees is unconstitutional, and that they are to be heard in civilian courts. A monumental rebuff to the criminal dysadministration, but they got five years of illegal detention in under tthe belt before the rule of law reasserted itself.http://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_08_blog_archive.html#1581359123687471263 Apple's new iPhone augurs the inevitable return of the Bell telephone monopoly- June 13, 2008 Tim Wu writes in Slate Magazine: "The wireless industry was once and is still sometimes called a "poster child for competition." That kind of talk needs to end. Today, the industry is more like an old divorced couple; the bickering spouses are AT&T and Verizon, the two halves of the old Bell empire. (To its credit, the Bell company, in internal memos, proposed a wireless phone in 1915 and then spent 70 or so years deciding how to deploy it without hurting its wired-phone business.) While you...http://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_08_blog_archive.html#3561157319330166351 Camille Paglia on Obama, Hillary, etc.- June 11, 2008 "Hillary's authentic contribution to feminism is to have demonstrated for the first time that a woman can win state primaries -- even if she needed her husband's help as well as racially divisive tactics to do so. This welcome development will surely encourage big donors to support future presidential campaigns by women, who (like Elizabeth Dole) were previously forced to drop out early for lack of funding. Obama's meteoric success will also benefit female candidates, who can hope to break out..http://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_08_blog_archive.html#345475412222483731 Dennis Kucinich in the House of Representatives, June 9:- June 11, 2008 "Resolved, That President George W. Bush be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate..." (.pdf)http://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_08_blog_archive.html#946265833136937798 Satellite Tracking- June 11, 2008 "US and Canadian readers, enter your zip code below, hit Go!, and you will find out what is going to fly over your area in the nights ahead. There are hundreds of satellites in Earth orbit; we cut through the confusion by narrowing the list to a half-dozen or so of the most interesting. At the moment we're monitoring Jules Verne, the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Genesis prototype space hotel." (spaceweather.com)http://theworld.com/~emg/2008_06_08_blog_archive.html#4699624278905910527 |