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POPSBy imagining many possible worlds fiction can chang our Minds "For more than two thousand years people have insisted that reading fiction is good for bookyou. Aristotle claimed that poetry—he meant the epics of Homer and the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, which we would now call fiction—is a more serious business than history. History, he argued, tells us only what has happened, whereas fiction tells us what can happen, which can stretch our moral imaginations and give us insights into ourselves and other people. This is a strong argument for schools to continue to focus on the literary arts, not just history, science, and social studies. But is the idea of fiction being good for you merely wishful thinking?'
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POPSResponding to modern Marxism Every single Democrat in the current majority, including Barack Obama, swore an oath to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution. Yet, they absolutely ignore the limitation of power set forth in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. None of the 17 powers enumerated there authorizes the current health-care bills or the cap-and-trade bill, or the bailout, or the stimulus package – all recently passed by the House of Representatives. When asked by a reporter to identify the constitutional authority for the current health-care bills, Sen. Patrick Leahy said: "We have plenty of authority, why would you say we don't have authority?" Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reply to the same question was: "Are you serious? Are you serious?" Obviously, neither one is "preserving, protecting or defending" the Constitution when they ignore its limitation of congressional power.
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POPSJapan Plans Solar Station in Space The next step, expected around 2020, would be to launch and test a large flexible photovoltaic structure with 10 megawatt power capacity, to be followed by a 250 megawatt prototype. JAXA says the transmission technology would be safe but concedes it would have to convince the public, which may harbour images of laser beams shooting down from the sky, roasting birds or slicing up aircraft in mid-air.
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POPSKing And Nonviolence Yes it's true that September 11th changed a lot of things and reminded us how vulnerable we are. It made us realize we face a dangerous and diabolically clever enemy. It strengthened our resolve and triggered important steps to prevent future attacks, actions that made us more secure as a nation. But 9/11 did not and could not change the basic ground rules: War or incitement to violence is justified only when it's in response to a deliberate attack and only when it's undertaken as a last resort. And even during wartime, nations must observe the highest moral standards. It's so easy to incite violence. And it's so wrong.
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POPSH1N1 (Swine 'Flu) overhyped After an otherwise healthy 13-year-old boy died of a H1N1 infection, demand for the vaccine jump drastically after the heavy media attention what was given to a horribly tragic, but still singular death from H1N1. Clinics were forced to shut down due to lack of supplies, and people who really should have gotten the vaccine first (like young children, pregnant mothers and seniors) lost out. H1N1 Influenza is a mere fraction of the virility of normal seasonal 'flu, and has fewer serious cases and deaths than seasonal 'flu. The normal, sensible steps you take to avoid getting the 'flu every year will work as well for H1N1. Yes, it looks serious when the media focuses on individual deaths from H1N1, but such coverage is deceptive. A few hundred deaths, Canada-side from H1N1 is tragic, but seasonal 'flu will claim several thousand, as it does every year. Just keep some perspective. Be aware; be mindful, but don't be scared. Think sensibly.
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POPSOnce Upon a Swine Still, people need to remember that H1N1 is still much less serious, and much less deadly than the seasonal 'flu that goes around every year. Get the shot, but don't believe the people that are trying to blow it all out of proportion.
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POPSGuitar hero played with soccer/foot balls... This is awesome. The technology behind it is pretty simple, and the ability to hit the spots is quite simple for the people doing it (they are serious pro's) but the idea of it all together is really quite genius IMO.
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POPSDangerous Beauty If you gave me a choice between facing a genuine and hostile ghost or being under one of these cloud formations, I'd have to take on the ghost, thank you very much. These photographers have some serious courage.