Experiencing a dust storm
A photographer from National Geographic shows what it's like to be in a world-class dust storm in Mali.
Who cares what the experts have to say?
What do you do when you cannot any longer find a scientist to support your government's self-destructive policies? You declare that you don't want any further scientific input. That's what the UK has done regarding the idiotic "war on drugs." No scientists are stepping up to lend support that the "war on drugs" is a good idea. Therefore, who needs scientists?
Reading quietly en masse
In one of the episodes of the original Twilight Zone television series, an introverted fellow is desperate to be left alone so that he can read books. He loved reading, but he was driven to desperation because other people constantly interrupted his reading. In that TV episode, the introverted fellow got his wish, more or less. Today I was reminded that hundreds of people can read quietly together. I witnessed this every day event at the main branch of the New York City Public Library. More specifically, I witnessed this phenomenon at the Deborah, Jonathan F. P., Samuel Priest, and Adam R. Rose Main Reading Room.
Here's how the room is described at the library's website:
[The reading room] is a majestic public space, measuring 78 feet by 297 feet—roughly the length of two city blocks—and weaving together Old World architectural elegance with modern technology. The award-wining restoration of this room was completed in 1998, thanks to a fifteen million-dollar gift from Library trustee Sandra Priest Rose and Frederick Phineas Rose, who renamed the room in honor of their children.
Here, patrons can read or study at long oak tables lit by elegant bronze lamps, beneath fifty-two foot tall ceilings decorated by dramatic murals of vibrant skies and billowing clouds. Since the General Research Division’s opening day on May 23, 1911, vast numbers of people have entered the main reading room. . . . In one of his memoirs, New York Jew, Kazin described his youthful impression of the reading room: “There was something about the. . .light falling through the great tall windows, the sun burning smooth the tops of the golden tables as if they had been freshly painted—that made me restless with the need to grab up every book, press into every single mind right there on the open shelves.”
A few years ago, a friend urged me to visit this reading room, but it always seemed that when I happened to be in New York and when I happened to be walking by the main branch, it was after closing time. This week I found myself in New York for an extended stay thanks to a massive snow storm. Thus, there were no excuses. I was stunned by this spectacularly beautiful room filled with traditional table lamps and a most unusual collection of people. They were unusual because they were so absolutely quiet. [More . . . ]Another notable whistleblower
In the December 27, 2010 edition of The Nation (available online only to subscribers), we learn of Martin Woods, who was an expert at spotting dirty money flowing through banking systems. In 2005 he took a job with Wachovia Bank. He was in for a rude awakening when, in 2006, during the Lebanon war, his superiors reprimanded him for trying to freeze in account used by Hezbollah. That same year, he identified suspicious transactions relating to Mexican currency exchanges--deposits of travelers checks “with sequential numbers for large amounts of money--more than any innocent person would need--with inadequate or no identity information on them, and what seemed to a trained eye to be dubious signatures.” Instead of being commended, his superiors at Wachovia Bank told him to “stop asking questions and to cease blocking suspicious transactions.” As the article points out, it turns out that his suspicions were entirely correct based upon the seizure of 5.7 tons of cocaine by the Mexican military. This year, the Justice Department charged Wachovia with the largest violation of the Bank Secrecy Act in US history, fining the bank $160 million. Shortly thereafter, Wells Fargo purchased Wachovia during the 2008 crash for $12.7 billion, thanks to a $25 billion handout of US taxpayer money. What happened to Martin Woods? The bank charged him with professional misconduct in 2008. He received “a stinging reprimand [claiming] that his actions could expose the bank to potential regulatory jeopardy and even large fines.” In December, 2008, Woods sued Wachovia for harassment and detrimental treatment, and the bank settled in 2009 for an amount which was undisclosed. For these reasons, I'm adding Martin Woods to my private Whistle-Blower Hall of Fame, along with Bradley Manning and Bradley Birkenfeld.
Good without God, believers and otherwise
At Daylight Atheism, Ebonmuse has posted on the struggles of non-believers to put their simple messages in public places that invite traditional religious messages. Examples are these inflammatory messages: "Millions of Americans are Good without God," and "Don't Believe in God? You Are Not Alone." In another recent post, Ebonmuse points out that many Americans lie about going to church. The actual numbers of people who attend church regularly are much lower than self-reports. His analysis includes strategies for severing the alleged link between religiosity and morality. These are two of the highly relevant posts that you'll find at Daylight Atheism, an excellent site that explores religion and atheism.