Saturday, April 2, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
People with Tourettes syndrome have tremendous cognitive motor control
Excerpt:
The motor outputs of children with Tourettes syndrome are under
greater cognitive control. You might view this as their being less
likely to respond without thinking, or as being less reflexive.
This helps explain why some people may have many tics as children,
but as adults have very few. Over time, their brains have developed ways
to control these tics. Jackson points out that this may mean people
with Tourettes need mental exercises rather than brain surgery or drugs,
because their brains will naturally develop compensatory mechanisms.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Duke Nukem Forever - to ship a month later
It was actually schedule to come out in May of this year, now delayed one month later.
:)
Watch the video at the link for the full announcement.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Israeli Apartheid Week.
Apartheid is a totally appropriate term. But, as one commenter suggested, "slow genocide" actually captures what is happening more directly.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
As Arab world marches towards freedom, Israel would be wise to join them
Excerpt from article by Uri Avnery (Uri Avnery is a peace activist, journalist, and writer. He was a founding
member of Gush Shalom (peace bloc), an independent peace movement, a
former publisher and editor-in-chief of Haolam Hazeh news
magazine. Avnery is also a former member of the Knesset and a founding
member of the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.) :
"When our Zionist fathers decided to set up a safe haven in Palestine, they had the choice between two options:
They could appear in West Asia as European conquerors, who see
themselves as a bridgehead of the "white" man and as masters of the
"natives", like the Spanish conquistadores and the Anglo-Saxon
colonialists in America. That is what the crusaders did in their time.
The second way was to see themselves as an Asian people returning to
their homeland, the heirs to the political and cultural traditions of
the Semitic world, ready to take part, with the other peoples of the
region, in the war of liberation from European exploitation."
I wrote these words 64 years ago, in a brochure that appeared just two months before the outbreak of the 1948 war.
I stand by these words today.
These days I have a growing feeling that we are once again standing at a
historic crossroads. The direction we choose in the coming days will
determine the destiny of the State of Israel for years to come, perhaps
irreversibly. If we choose the wrong road, we will have "weeping for
generations", as the Hebrew saying goes.
And perhaps the greatest danger is that we make no choice at all, that
we are not even aware of the need to make a decision, that we just
continue on the road that has brought us to where we are today. That we
are occupied with trivialities — the battle between the Minister of
Defense and the departing Chief of Staff, the struggle between Netanyahu
and Lieberman about the appointment of an ambassador, the non-events of
"Big Brother" and similar TV inanities — that we do not even notice
that history is passing us by, leaving us behind.
Guide to common childhood illnesses
A guide to 10 common childhood illnesses, as well as a vaccination schedule for children from 2 months to 6 years.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The pros and cons of fluoridating the water supply
CBC's Q&A with 2 doctors - one pro and one con - about the issue of fluoridating the water supply.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Egypt: Updates and Analysis Feb. 1, 2011
Live: Egyptians gather in Tahrir Square - thestar.com
8 million people protesting today across Egypt.
Another Warning on Egypt - Chris Hedges
Veteran war correspondent Chris Hedges writes we have to brace ourselves for what a post-Mubarak Egypt will look like. The thing is, he's quite probably right:
...
The rise of powerful Islamic parties appears inevitable. It
appears inevitable not because of the Quran or a backward tradition,
but because we [USA] and Israel believed we could bend the aspirations of the
Arab world to our will through corruption and force.
Could Egypt's rich deal decisive blow to Mubarak?
During 30 years of authoritarian rule by Mubarak, the widespread
abuse of human rights has been documented and elections have been
manipulated. Forty per cent of Egypt’s 80 million people live on less
then $2 a day.
The potential for violence during
Tuesday’s march remains. The hated riot police, who disappeared from
Cairo’s streets after Friday’s violent clashes, returned in force
Monday.
Analysts in Egypt are divided on
Mubarak’s future. Most believe he is finished. They say the military —
from whose ranks all Egyptian Presidents have come since the monarchy’s
overthrow in 1952 — is trying to work out as dignified an exit for
Mubarak as possible.
Others describe Mubarak as playing a dangerous game of chess with protesters while trying to remain as President.
Huffington Post: Egypt: A Complete Guide To The 2011 Revolutionand
Why Egypt Matters: The Implications Of The Protests
CKLN License Revoked - What Happened?
http://torontoist.com/2011/01/timeline_why_ckln_radios_broadcast_was_revoked.php
History leading up to license revocation:
http://www.theeyeopener.com/really-old-archives/search.php?q=ckln&=Search
UPDATE
Feb. 11, 2011
CKLN granted stay of CRTC Decision, will remain on air pending the outcome of CKLN’s motion for leave to appeal
CKLN will remain on air, for now
Monday, January 31, 2011
John Cusack to star as Edgar Allen Poe in The Raven movie
Poe (Cusack) will be a serial-killer-hunter - hunting for someone inspired by Poe's literary works.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Egyptian protests - background and analisys
Wikipedia has a good summary and chronology of the events.
Analysis: Upheaval in Egypt
Experts speak to Al Jazeera about the protests and what they mean
video
Mapping Egypt's 'day of wrath'
Specifics about various demonstrations and that happened
Pulling the Plug on the Internet
A Nation In Waiting
A special programme looking at Egypt under Hosni Mubarak
video and text
Egypt: The Youth Perspective
video and text
Are We Witnessing the Start of a Global Revolution?
Video of police and protesters
The Toronto Star: Siddiqui: Time to cut Mideast dictators loose
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Bell gets a slap on the wrist from the CRTC for annoying its customers
OTTAWA—The CRTC received more than 10,000 complaints from consumers
about Bell Canada telemarketers, including at least one alleged death
threat, the Toronto Star has learned.
While both the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and Bell Canada
refused to say how many complaints were received from the public, the Star
confirmed it was 10,000-plus and that the telemarketers’ calls
continued for about a year before the agency finally moved against Bell.
Bell was recently fined $1.3 million for calling tens of thousands of consumers on the Do Not Call list.
The calls from the telemarketing
companies on contract — some of them in India — were at times aggressive
and abusive, documents show. In some cases telemarketers cursed at
people who showed no interest in their sales pitch and even threatened
them.
...
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Bad media news - CRTC enables SunTV (Fox News North) to lie to you
Excerpt:
Some have considered this comparison to Fox News unfair[1]:
Don Newman, CBC columnist and former host of Newsworld'sThis is a reasonable
"Politics" attacked the idea characterizing Fox news in the U.S. as
"hugely polarizing." Fox "mainly spews out propaganda that is
dangerously misleading and often factually wrong....It
specializes in drive-by attacks and misrepresentations, and is
positively Orwellian at times, claiming to be 'fair and balanced' while
implying that its competitors aren't."
description of Fox News, but notice the distinction claimed to separate
SunTV from Fox: it is precisely the "misleading and factually wrong"
part. This is the part the CRTC gives them full license to do.
Mr Lavoie, who replaced Mr. Teneycke and is a former Mulroney insider,
claims the news will retain Sun's "provocative" tone. We are thus left
with an unapologetically politically right leaning 24 hour news station
intending to engage in provocative language with the ability to
misdirect or lie with impunity. That is a scary thing indeed.
Toronto school start hour later and sees improvement to grades and well-being of students
Starting high school at 10am instead of 9am makes sense to me. I was always tired in high school.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
North American remake of UK TV series Skins
I can't believe they are doing a North American version of this. It will probably be so watered-down, especially since MTV is doing it.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Homeopathy = Quackery
CBC investigates homeopathy and finds that the solutions are just milk, sugar and water.
No surprise at all.
Here is another interesting item:
Homeopathic Products Used For Mass "Suicide"
“Permitting yourself to be deceived by a silly theory that was outdated and untenable even in the nineteenth century does not show an open or tolerant mind. It only shows you are gullible and an easy prey to smooth-talking quacks.”
Other posts about Homeopathy
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Another vampire movie - Priest - looks like fun, hopefully.
Future cities, motorcycles, brothers, CG monsters, CG vampires, cowboy
vampires, Emperor-esque priests, forehead burns, brothers on their
deathbeds, crucifix ninja weapons, lady warriors, train jumping — gasp!
Everything you've ever wanted from a monster vampire motorcycle movie is
in Priest.
As one commenter said:
This looks fantastically bad. Can't wait to see it
Yes, I do want to see this.
Lena Heady to take on Judge Dredd as Head she-villain?
The movie (which is being billed as a grittier version than the Sly
Stallone flick, and more faithful to the comics) is being directed by
Pete Travis.
Hooray!
LSD makes a comeback as a possible clinical treatment
Excerpt:
The preliminary study picks up where investigators left off. It
explores the possible therapeutic effects of the drug on the intense
anxiety experienced by patients with life-threatening disease, such as cancer.
A number of the hundreds of studies conducted on lysergic acid
diethylamide-25 from the 1940s into the 1970s (many of poor quality by
contemporary standards) delved into the personal insights the drug
supplied that enabled patients to reconcile themselves with their own
mortality. In recent years some researchers have studied psilocybin (the
active ingredient in “magic mushrooms”) and MDMA (Ecstasy), among
others, as possible treatments for this “existential anxiety,” but not
LSD.
Gasser, head of the Swiss Medical Society for Psycholytic Therapy,
which he joined after his own therapist-administered LSD experience, has
only recently begun to discuss his research, revealing the challenges
of studying psychedelics. The $190,000 study approved by Swiss medical
authorities, was almost entirely funded by the Multidisciplinary
Association for Psychedelic Studies, a U.S. nonprofit that sponsors
research toward the goal of making psychedelics and marijuana into
prescription drugs. Begun in 2008, the study intends to treat 12
patients (eight who will receive LSD and four a placebo). Finding
eligible candidates has been difficult—after 18 months only five
patients had been recruited, and just four had gone through the trial’s
regimen of a pair of all-day sessions. “Because LSD is not a usual
treatment, an oncologist will not recommend it to a patient,” Gasser
laments.
The patients who received the drug found the experience aided them
emotionally, and none experienced panic reactions or other untoward
events. One patient, Udo Schulz, told the German weekly Der Spiegel
that the therapy with LSD helped him overcome anxious feelings after
being diagnosed with stomach cancer, and the experience with the drug
aided his reentry into the workplace.
The trials follow a strict protocol—“all LSD treatment sessions will
begin at 11 a.m.”—and the researchers are scrupulous about avoiding
mistakes that, at times, occurred during older psychedelic trials, when
investigators would leave subjects alone during a drug session. Both
Gasser and a female co-therapist are present throughout the eight-hour
sessions that take place in quiet, darkened rooms, with emergency
medical equipment close at hand. Before receiving LSD, subjects have to
undergo psychological testing and preliminary psychotherapy sessions.
Another group is also pursuing LSD research. The British-based
Beckley Foundation is funding and collaborating on a 12-person pilot
study at the University of California, Berkeley, that is assessing how
the drug may foster creativity and what changes in neural activity go
along with altered conscious experience induced by the chemical. Whether
LSD will one day become the drug of choice for psychedelic
psychotherapy remains in question because there may be better solutions.
“We chose psilocybin over LSD because it is gentler and generally less
intense,” says Charles S. Grob, a professor of psychiatry at the
University of California, Los Angeles, who conducted a trial to test
psilocybin’s effects on anxiety in terminal cancer patients. Moreover,
“it is associated with fewer panic reactions and less chance of paranoia
and, most important, over the past half a century psilocybin has
attracted far less negative publicity and carries far less cultural
baggage than LSD.”
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Greyhound abandons passengers for 14 hours in Northern Ontario
Angry Greyhound passengers were contemplating legal action against
the bus company Tuesday for being left to fend for themselves for some
14 hours in a small town in northern Ontario.
Many of the more than 100 westbound passengers who were stuck in
White River, Ont., on two buses said Greyhound added insult to injury by
giving them the runaround when they sought answers.
“It was just a brutal experience,” Paul Hitchin said Tuesday after finally arriving in Calgary.
“I’ve never seen a company do something like that to people and not care anymore.”
I've had bad experiences on Greyhound, but nothing of this magnitude. I usually try to take Ontario Northland buses when possible. They seem much more concerned about their passengers than Greyhound.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Study shows conservatives have more capacity for anxiety and emotions but less for courage and positive outlook
Excerpt:
Scientists have found that people with conservative views have brains with
larger amygdalas, almond shaped areas in the centre of the brain often
associated with anxiety and emotions.
On the other hand, they have a smaller anterior cingulate, an area at the front
of the brain associated with courage and looking on the bright side of life.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Steampunk fashions at Steampunk Couture
Also check out their Facebook page, which seems to have more galleries:
http://www.facebook.com/steampunkcouture#!/steampunkcouture?v=photos
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