Whatever Became of Thorium?

And why should we care about this material rarely mentioned outside of science-fiction? Well, it involves recycling, our energy future, and a chance to de-proliferate nuclear weaponry and reduce the threat of "dirty" bombs. First, a brief bit of history: Back in the 1930's, it was discovered that isotopes of…

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RIP Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins has passed away. We’ve lost one of the sharpest voices in political journalism, an erudite and empassioned observer. The CNN report is here. I’ve followed Molly’s words on and off for the better part of two decades and I have found her cool judgment and sound reasoning cause…

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There are no accidental wars

Here's today's headline from MSNBC today: U.S.-Iran tensions could trigger accidental war Here's what is going on, according to this article:  Citing Iranian involvement with Iraqi militias and Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, the Bush administration has shifted to offense in its confrontation with Iran — building up the U.S. military in…

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Politicians are psychologically wired up for war

Here’s a compelling article by Daniel Kahneman and Jonathan Renshon.  Kahneman is famous for identifying numerous human heuristics and biases in the lab. He received a Nobel prize in economics based on his decades of inspiring work. Renshon is a Harvard doctoral student. In this article, the authors note that many built-in…

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Recent articles on Media Reform, all in one convenient place!

If you’ve been following this blog for the past few weeks, you know that I attended the National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis Tennessee (Jan 12-14).  The conference, sponsored by Free Press, drew more than 3,500 participants. Free Press offered a reduced admission fee to those who agreed to…

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