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POPSGravity Mysteries: What is Gravity? There are still two problems with this, though. First, we have yet to find any proof of the existence of these hypothetical particles, which have been dubbed "gravitons". Secondly, when quantum field theory is applied to gravity, it is prone to give nonsensical answers to straightforward questions. "These are fundamental obstructions that need to be overcome," Seven things that don't make sense about gravity
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POPSJUNK SCIENCE revisited There are no common physical laws between the warming phenomenon in glass houses and the fictitious atmospheric greenhouse effects, (b) there are no calculations to determine an average surface temperature of a planet, (c) the frequently mentioned difference of 33 degrees Celsius is a meaningless number calculated wrongly, (d) the formulas of cavity radiation are used inappropriately, (e) the assumption of a radiative balance is unphysical, (f) thermal conductivity and friction must not be set to zero, the atmospheric greenhouse conjecture is falsified.
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POPSLike Convergence, Aggregation Is Better In Theory an interesting take, see what Louis Gray says at the end:" I have to believe that aggregation tools are interesting, and useful to a small minority of people. Lifestreaming tools are fun for individuals to highlight their activity. Sites are out there that do a good job, and more are coming, but I am thinking that "aggregation" is the new "convergence". It looks great on paper, and some people will carry a Swiss Army Knife with them everywhere, but most won't.
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POPSIt's Not Socialism, It's Communism ..... We know that he was greatly influenced by Marxists or people who viewed Communism sympathetically, not the least of which were his grandparents who introduced him to a mentor , Frank Marshall Davis, a member of the Communist Party USA. The recent United Nations' Climate Change Conference refused to take notice of the revelations that the data on which the "global warming" theory is based was falsified by a handful of meteorologists and climatologists in an effort to impose a global governing system. The interim first Secretary General of the UN was Alger Hiss, an American and secret Soviet agent. Virtually the entire agenda of American environmental organizations has been focused on an attack on private property rights and denying Americans access to their vast reserves of energy in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas, thus undermining U.S. growth and prosperity.
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POPSPersonality Types in Cyberspace With a strong predilection towards disagreeing with people, their messages in email and discussion board groups often begin and are peppered throughout with words like "but" and "however." A more subtle oppositional message may start off with "well" or the namesake "yes but." Psychodynamic theory proposes that these people struggle with underlying feelings of hostility that can only be expressed passively or indirectly, via the act of disagreeing. They also may need to oppose others as a way to firm up their somewhat fragile identity or to boost self-esteem by proving themselves right and others mistaken. People with oppositional tendencies may be drawn to the intellectually contentious atmosphere of online discussion groups. That atmosphere, combined with the difficulties in establishing one's presence in a somewhat chaotic environment that lacks the identity-grounding cues of face-to-face contact, may also amplify oppositional tendencies.
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POPSLaws of Sustainability (3) Following Bartlett's logic, it's a case of do or die (if not, do and die), if not on the level of the individual, then on the level of humankind. People need to start to care for themselves (and others!) on the level of the species. The selfish individualism fostered by the consumer economy and the whole trash heap of economic growth theory needs to thrown overboard first, otherwise the boat will most certainly sink.
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POPSAccept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up The lesson is that not all data is created equal in our mind’s eye: When it comes to interpreting our experiments, we see what we want to see and disregard the rest. The physics students, for instance, didn’t watch the video and wonder whether Galileo might be wrong. Instead, they put their trust in theory, tuning out whatever it couldn’t explain. Belief, in other words, is a kind of blindness.
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POPSSacramento-area farmers grow heirloom wheat
More: Sonora wheat was once one of the most popular wheat varieties grown in one of the biggest wheat states in America—California. In fact, Sonora wheat from California was considered of such high quality that most of it was exported to England. The change to hammermill processing, and the corresponding change to wheat types that grow well in Midwestern conditions, were a factor in the demise of California wheat farming. Midwestern wheat is generally higher in phytates, which are bitter to the taste, which was an issue for Fox. “I hated whole wheat. It was bitter and awful, and I really preferred spelt. But I went crazy for this wheat,” she says. Fox promptly began growing Sonora wheat for seed, and just eight years later, she estimates that there are at least 15 farmers in the greater Sacramento area growing this variety, including Full Belly Farm, which offers flour from Sonora wheat at farmers’ markets and through their community-supported agriculture boxes.
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POPSCryptic signatures that ‘prove Shakespeare was a secret Catholic’ A third entry in 1587, “Shfordus Cestriensis”, may stand for “Sh ford of Chester”, he said. The entries fall within the playwright’s “missing years” between 1585, when he left Stratford abruptly, and 1592, when he began his career as playwright in London. “There are several years which are unaccounted for in Shakespeare’s life,” Father Headon said, adding that it was very likely that the playwright had visited Rome and was a covert Catholic.
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POPSFrom Global Warming Believer To Skeptic Until all this is known, it’s not possible to say with any confidence how much of global warming theory will remain after all the fraud and deceit has been removed. And until climate science is cleaned up, it doesn’t deserve the worship so many in the media unthinkingly give its tainted practitioners.
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POPS From Global Warming Believer To Skeptic Climategate jolted me into confronting the massive fraud and deception by top global warming scientists, who were in a position to twist the peer-review process in their favor, and did so shamelessly. Yet still most media reports desperately minimize Climategate, saying that it doesn’t taint the massive research supporting global warming theory. To them I say, how do you know that? Have you investigated how much of that research was published due to the manipulation of these unethical and fraudulent scientists? Do you know how much research that goes against the global warming activist claims was unfairly suppressed? Until all this is known, it’s not possible to say with any confidence how much of global warming theory will remain after all the fraud and deceit has been removed. And until climate science is cleaned up, it doesn’t deserve the worship so many in the media unthinkingly give its tainted practitioners.
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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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POPSAbortion Legalized In Spain Abortion was nevertheless widely available because women can assert mental distress as the sole ground for accessing the procedure, regardless of the progress of the pregnancy. More than 100,000 abortions are conducted in Spain each year, and most of them are early-term procedures that fell under the mental distress category. This bill, however, is important, because it erases the threat of jail time and declares abortion to be a woman's right. This is important, because in the past there have been serious consequences for women, doctors and clinics.
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POPSCancer From The Kitchen "I asked these doctors what they do in their own homes to reduce risks. They said that they avoid microwaving food in plastic or putting plastics in the dishwasher, because heat may cause chemicals to leach out. And the symposium handed out a reminder card listing “safer plastics” as those marked (usually at the bottom of a container) 1, 2, 4 or 5. It suggests that the “plastics to avoid” are those numbered 3, 6 and 7 (unless they are also marked “BPA-free”). Yes, the evidence is uncertain, but my weekend project is to go through containers in our house and toss out 3’s, 6’s and 7’s. "
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POPS Crazy Hate Souvenir Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy is recovering in hospital after an assault left his face covered in blood following a rally in Milan. He suffered two broken teeth, a minor nose fracture and cuts to his lip after being struck by a man wielding a souvenir model of the city's cathedral. Mr Berlusconi, 73, tried to assure supporters afterwards he was OK. The alleged attacker, who has a history of mental illness, has been charged with throwing the souvenir. Massimo Tartaglia, 42, had no previous criminal record, police were quoted as saying.
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POPSThe U.K. is leading the way on AGW Hoax 100 is a little generous. Many of the reasons are just re-wordings of previous reasons. Still, there is far too much doubt cast on this bad idea to disrupt whole economies that are already on the brink of collapse. Enough already with the Polar Bears. The penguins in Antarctica are quite chilly and happy.
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POPSVan Gogh's Letters This website is a treasure! One of the great Masters of Art is revealed in his letters. A couple excerpts below: "Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Wilhelmina van Gogh (19 September 1889) ... together with that copy after Delacroix. It is splendid weather outside - but for a long time - two months to be exact - I have not left my room; I don't know why. What I need is courage, and this often fails me. And it is also a fact that since... Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh (c. 10 December 1889) ... - and be sure that I think of you often, here where I spend my days more withdrawn into myself than now and then seems to me desirable. Yet I have decidedly no reason at all to complain, feeling stronger and healthier...
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POPSStephen McIntyre: Portrait of a Climate Analyst 
--- it claimed the 1990s was the millennium's hottest decade " he's considered a denier by those who fear the planet is burning up. But the Toronto native won't stop asking the tough questions. "We shouldn't give any thanks whatsoever to people who obstruct efforts to show that their particular theory was wrong," said McIntyre, whose own work is derided as bunk by the tight-knit academics he monitors. Now, skeptics of climate change " and McIntyre is not alone " have new fodder to absorb from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit scandal. Hacked emails have been made public, suggesting scientists may have manipulated data to offer more dramatic interpretations of global warming. It's that kind of bad science, bolstered by peer-reviewed papers and protected by agenda-driven researchers, that McIntyre wants to expose. And no, he's not funded by the oil industry or big business " the Toronto native is unpaid, living off his savings
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