Politics

The human species cannot go on reproducing forever. Eventually it will place a strain on the available land and resources, and will likely lead to deforestation and pollution. Sustainable ways of living are possible, but I fear by the time human societies finally recognise that they have to become sustainable, there will exist far many more people than can be supported by a sustainable way of living, since sustainable sources of resources and energy cannot support as high population densities. In fact, I suspect that overpopulation will become a problem even before this happens, because human society operates within an economic system (which is not perfectly efficient) an…

Last year, Romney said FEMA was "immoral". You should let that sink in when you watch the news and remember it next week. He wants FEMA to be completely disbanded and all functions given to private companies. Question: If everything someone owns and their only source of income are under water, how exactly are they going to pay the privatized responders?

Vote to see who is the favorite of the people on SFN, I know it will have little meaning statistically but it would be interesting. If you want you can add why you are going to vote the way you are but if you do keep it short and factual.

This one made me chuckle a little. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/15/charity-president-unhappy-about-paul-ryan-soup-kitchen-photo-op/?print=1 The soup kitchen to launch a new slogan, "You didn't wash that!"

Evolution Is A Lie From Hell! (Republican Rep. Paul Broun) Everytime I start thinking about it might be possible for fundy theists and reasonable people to live together this stuff pops up. This guy is truly deluded or at the very least he knows which lies to tell which audience and he serves on the science and technology committee. I see less and less reason to be tolerant of theist fundies and every reason to begin the atheist revolution! Yes with the forces of hell behind us how can we lose... Stupidity strikes every .0005 seconds...

Don't you think that newspapers nowadays focus much less on Science articles and more on politics. Shouldn't the public be more educated about recent breakthroughs.

What is Romney's stance on pay equality? In the debate, his "answer" was to tell a story which launched a thousand "binder" memes. Internet jokes aside, not only does it not indicate he is in favor of pay equality for women, that his story was a lie may indicate the opposite. It turns out that his "binders full of women" were created by a bipartisan commission before he even took office and was then pushed on him. While he did use the binders forced on him to hire women, none of the major positions were filled by women. I don't see how anyone can vote for Romney; there's literally no way to know what his position is from day to day.

The American Family Association has come out condemning a day set aside to fight bullying as Gay indoctrination. They claim the idea of suggesting that students spend a day hanging out with someone they normally do not spend time with is an effort to indoctrinate our children into homosexuality.

Why is it all or nothing when it comes to closing tax loopholes? Keep the home mortgage interest deduction, but put a limit on it. Duuuhhhhhh! So the average American takes a loan of $100,000 to $300,000, for example, to buy a home. For bigger loans for rich people, only allow the interest deduction for a $300,000 loan.

The Supreme Court of the United States of America is once to look at a case that deals with Affirmative Action in the allotment of college places. Within the last ten years the court looked at this issue in the case of Grutter v Bollinger on whether the use of race as a factor in the University's admission procedure was unlawful. It is by no means a foregone conclusion that SCOTUS will come to the same decision as the author of the majority decision, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has been succeeded by Justice Samuel Alito who has previously seemed unpersuaded by the need for affirmative action New York Times Article Huff Post Article Grutter v Bollinger Wiki…

The EU received the Nobel Peace Prize while 21 EU members are members of NATO. Did anybody ever hear of a bigger piece of bullshit?

Due to the nature of Florida law, it appears that the judicial system has to prove that the vigelante who shot the Afro-American youth did not kill in self-defense and/or that killing was a hate crime. If it does not succeed in either, he would have to be acquitted. That could lead to race riots. I lived in Los Angeles through two such riots. In the Rodney King riot, it started when a group of police beating down Rodney to the ground. A tape of it was shown and it did look brutal. However, it was never made clear that Rodney was a huge and powerful individual and on some sort of a powerful and illegal stimulant.

I am really not sure if this is an accurate depiction of math education in the US but I've heard from college students that "this really happens" and screws them on their math skills. Essentially, it appears to be an attempt to teach conceptual fundamentals but even then it seems to really fail in this regard - spectacularly. http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/10/its-not-just-writing-math-needs-a-revolution-too/263545/ The video in the article shows a third grader trying to do a simple addition problem and you can tell right from the start that she's jumping past the initial "conceptual" steps and goes straight into procedure, which is horribly b…

I just heard Ann Romney (on The View) equate Mormon mission work to military service. As a US veteran, that makes me a bit perturbed.

This one speaks for itself. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Any ideas to improve the situation?

Mitt Romney told Obama Now is it just me or is that comedy gold coming from a man with his tendency of holding on to his own reality. Not to mention his Vice President.

Who do you think won the debate and why?

I am a Master's Student at Leiden University, the Netherlands and I need your opinion. I am conducting a survey on the perception of large nations' status and power by people around the world, to use the findings in my thesis. The survey consists of 10 multiple choice questions and will take about 5 minutes to complete. I will give you 5 good reasons to complete this survey: - Such a survey does not appear to have been done already; - The first hand opinions of people from all around the world will add value to my thesis; - If you are interested in the results of this survey I will gladly send them to participants; - If you have a survey you want me to comple…

With the increasing industrialisation of both China and India, do Western powers have good reason to be sceptical about reducing their ecological footprint? What are today's major barriers for sustainable development in a non-destructive manner?

Rep Paul Broun has been videotaped giving his ideas on the validity of some of our major scientific theories - personally I find it extraordinary that a Congressman could hold such regressive views, and I am flabbergasted to find that he has a science degree, a medical degree, and is a member of the influential Science, Space and Technology Committee http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-paul-broun-evolution-hell-20121007,0,4628858.story

After a number of unfortunate remarks from Romney (e.g. insulting 47% of the voters), this latest remark surprised me a lot. Why would Romney risk so much by making remarks about airplane design? Does he really think he knows better than numerous safety engineers in the aircraft industry? Or is he just not particularly concerned with making any sense? I know that the Republicans take on the scientific ideas, and prefer their own, less scientific explanations. But really, take on the aviation industry? I hope he makes it a law to have windows that open on jetliners. It would certainly make flying an "experience" again. I would expect any person above 18…

I think we need a practical, legal definition of life, something that can put to rest all the moral wheel-spinning over issues like abortion. We've been side-tracked for too long politically on this issue and the resources we've spent on it are desperately needed elsewhere. Btw, if you're looking for a more biological discussion about the definition of life, there is a current one here. I have big problems with life legally beginning at conception. It opens a Pandora's Box of ramifications for both women and men with respect to negligence. Is it homicide if a woman gets the news of being 3 weeks pregnant but then miscarries because she worked out strenuously at t…

It is predicted that by 2050, 1/3 of all species will become extinct. What is being done about this and are there anyways to preserve the endangered species we have now? What policies would you implement if you were part of the political elite in your respective countries?

I hate that we get labeled conservative OR liberal as people. It just allows other people to assume they know everything about you, and I think most people are a blend of perspectives, depending on the issue and the context. First, I'd like to hear how you define liberal, and how you define conservative. It seems like these definitions are usually skewed, and that's why people don't seem to mind being labeled ("Conservatives are stable and consistent, not like those loony, reckless liberals", or "Liberals are forward-thinking intellectuals, not like those fearful, stuck-in-the-past conservatives"). Then, I'd like to hear about some issues where you're firmly left…

This will not effect me since I haven't made enough money in the past twenty years to be taxed that high. But will it effect you? Should we listen to this guy, or brush him aside as bigoted right wing nut case? I believe his name is Dick Morris.