A Swiss adventurer dubbed “JetMan,” will on Friday attempt an elaborate flying descent into the Grand Canyon. from The Local, Suisse. In September 2008 Yves Rossy, whose jet-pack can reach speeds of around 200 kilometers (124 miles) an hour, gained international attention when he becam[...]
Archive for May, 2011
May 10th, 2011 - 10:03 pm § in Misc.
BREAKING NEWS: Salman Rushdie: perhaps the time has come to declare Pakistan a terrorist state and expel it from the comity of nations.
Are we really supposed to believe that Pakistan didn’t know Osama bin Laden was living there for five years? Salman Rushdie from the Daily Beast, excerpted: Osama bin Laden died on Walpurgisnacht, the night of black sabbaths and bonfires. Not an inappropriate night for the Chief Witch to fall off [...]
May 10th, 2011 - 9:48 pm § in Uncategorized
FSU Allows Donor To Screen Faculty Candidates
My jaw dropped when I saw this item in the St. Petersburg, Florida, Times (via the vigilant folks at Buzzflash.com). http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/billionaires-role-in-hiring-decisions-at-florida-state-university-raises/1168680 Florida State University has accepted a $1.5 million gift from b[...]
May 10th, 2011 - 5:11 pm § in Misc.
Article on WGU Fails to Ask the Obvious Questions
Ed. I recommend an article on Western Governor’s University at the Inside Higher Education website. What worries me, however, is that the author, Steve Kolowich, focuses on the challenge to WGU from teachers and educators. These are people who his readers may see as having a personal interes[...]
May 10th, 2011 - 3:02 pm § in America
Tell KTTH, Dump Beck
Links on the Ave From The Hill From Blatherwatch From Firedoglake Glenn Beck’s Focus on CUNY Professor Brings Her Death Threats The other side. [...]
May 10th, 2011 - 7:00 am § in Religion
佛誕日 부처님 오신 날 The Mitzvot for Buddha’s Birthday
Ed. Central to Judaism is the idea of “mitzvah.” Mitzvah is one of those words that do not translate well. It can mean law, good deed, and religious obligation all at the same time. Moreover, in Judaism, the mitzvot (plural) are themselves eternal, not so much mandated by God, but li[...]
May 9th, 2011 - 7:34 pm § in Uncategorized
Scientist Forced to Resign for Mentioning Ejaculate
based on material Michael Smerconish at the Huff Post, including parts by Steven M. Platek, Rebecca L. Burch, and Gordon G. Gallup, Jr.. Lazar Greenfield, was the president-elect of the American College of Surgeons, the inventor of the Greenfield Filter, professor emeritus of surgery at the Univer[...]
“Shared Governance” Chinese Style.
By Caixin Online staff reporter Ye Doudou 05.06.2011 Administrative Enforcement’s Uncertain Future A proposal to limit the special administrative enforcement powers enjoyed by government agencies is going nowhere A judicial arena in China called administrative enforcement lets a basic governme[...]
May 9th, 2011 - 12:55 pm § in Hypocrisy
We Give Berkeley Professor a D.
Ed. This post from the Berkely Blog gets a D. Prof. Mendoza dismisses a genetics of intelligence by reductio ad absurdam. Asserting that there is no genetic factor or very little in intelligence would be as silly as claiming that there are no genetic effects on the speed of thoroughbred horses[...]
May 9th, 2011 - 9:13 am § in The Ave Scene
BREAKING NEWS: Tolly Dies
For those of you who have not had the pleasure of knowing the creator of something beautiful you own, this may mean little, but last Saturday “Tolly,” Robert Tollefson, the man who built our boat, died. I also came close to dying when I was 13 years old. This was back in Boston, wher[...]