Politics

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.

The US embassy made a very inept statement regarding the attack on the compound on the 11th anniversary of 9/11. They have removed the statement from their website. I took a screenshot hours before.

Any historians about who would care summarises Israeli-Iranian relations for me? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19424097 There is fear that war between the two countries could be close now (more so than previously). Let's hope not. I've looked into their history but it's complicated and I am still confused about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRF7d9ydQf8&feature=related Was Sadddam beaten and tortured by the US? What do most Americans make of this?

Why are lies generally accepted as OK in politics? No where else in our society, other than possibly religion, are lies the accepted means to an end. In politics sometimes it actually seems like the bigger the lie the better the result even when the people know it's a lie. Why does hearing what you want to believe seem to be more important than the truth?

Squatter’s rights dismissed... a triumph for landlords? Or a draconian Law, that marks the beginning of the end of a decent society?

What does freedom mean to you, as a member of your society? Are government controls necessary to preserve it or do they stifle it?

14 science and technology questions answered by the two men competing to be our next POTUS, I think it's reasonable to ask if these are the questions that need to be answered as well as considering the answers they give to the questions that were asked. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=obama-romney-science-debate&WT.mc_id=SA_DD_20120905 Personally I think the questions were too easy not controversial enough to really give us a clue as to what they are really endorsing. Romney has publicly said he doesn't believe in evolution, his party endorses the teaching of YEC in science class. At some point the hard questions need to be answered or at l…

Richer countries have higher suicide rates? What are some plausible psychological explanations for this?

As I understand it, one of the results of Western colonial power was the exploitation of many developing countries from spices and minerals to human slaves. Do you believe Western countries owe something to those they ruled? If so, when will Western countries pay this debt back that they have stolen from the less well-off? Or is it the colonized countries which owe something? What is your opinion?