The Day Today - 19th September 2008

Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling writes:

The image above is a representation of which body parts are sung about the most in each musical genre. Hip Hop quite likes the booty, so it seems.
Do it yourself Fair Go.

There's four things we say over and over to readers writing in with problems who have gotten their legitimate claims spurned by regular customer service. They just keep working! They're EECB, Executive Customer Service, Chargeback and Small Claims Court. Inside, what these tools mean and how to get started using one.

Evidence Based Medicine

An Indian criminal court accepted a brain scan as evidence of guilt in a murder trial in India earlier this year. The developer of the the Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature (BEOS) test claims that it uses electrodes to detect when regions of the brain "light up" with guilty knowledge.

After placing 32 electrodes on Ms. Sharma’s head, investigators said, they read aloud their version of events, speaking in the first person (“I bought arsenic”; “I met Udit at McDonald’s”), along with neutral statements like “The sky is blue,” which help the software distinguish memories from normal cognition.

For an hour, Ms. Sharma said nothing. But the relevant nooks of her brain where memories are thought to be stored buzzed when the crime was recounted, according to Mr. Joseph, the state investigator. The judge endorsed Mr. Joseph’s assertion that the scans were proof of “experiential knowledge” of having committed the murder, rather than just having heard about it...

Ms. Sharma insists that she is innocent.

Two from Tyler Cowen...

1) The Benefits of a winning sports team is $120 per year.

...a few scholars have started to suggest that there may indeed be another kind of benefit from big-time sports. There's a catch, though: the team has to be good. In a forthcoming paper, economist Michael Davis and the psychologist Christian End say that having a winning NFL football team increases the incomes of the people who live and work in its hometown by as much as $120 a year. And while the study doesn't identify exactly what causes the boost, the authors point to psychological literature suggesting that winning fans are at once harder workers and bigger spenders. In short, buoyed by the team's success, we work longer hours, take bigger risks, and shop more avidly, all of which helps the local economy.

2) Especially pertinent - "In Soviet Russia, gang joins you!"

In Brazil, they segregate their prisons according to gang membership. No exceptions. Not even for individuals who in fact are not members of any gang.

How does that work? Easy. Upon being admitted to the prison system, unaffiliated prisoners are required to join a gang.

We started with music, so we shall end with it. Music from the Death Factory.

The Day Today - 29th July 2008

Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling writes:

Rules Have To Be Obeyed.

Lenny Woodward is 96, and almost blind, so you'd think people might understand when he accidentally put two glass jars in the wrong recycling bin. But sanitation workers in West Earlham, England, told the World War II veteran they would not take the bin until he removed the jars. Woodward told them that he was physically unable to bend over and get them out. So they left the bin where it was. In fact, they refused to touch it for two weeks When Woodward's daughter found out about the problem, she called the local council, but she says the officials she talked to simply insisted that her father had to follow the rules. Only after she contacted the local newspaper did they empty the bin.

I'm not normally given to emotionalism but seriously, since the chap is a war veteran, the council are just a bunch of


"Rules have to be obeyed" - that's what the little shit from the council said. the man's almost blind and he can't reach into the bins. Has any council anywhere, in the history of humankind, ever done anything except be a pain in the arse? Probably not. [HT Reason]

On a lighter note...



Even better, more Chinese Olympic advice on how to address the handicapped.

Pay attention to avoiding taboo subjects, quit using bad platitudes, and do not use insulting or discriminatory contemptuous or derogatory terms to address the disabled. Say things such as, “You are amazing,” or “You are really great.” When chatting with the visually impaired, do not say things like “It’s up ahead,” or “It’s over there.” When chatting with athletes who are paraplectic in their upper body, do not say things like “It’s behind you.”

Best cancer cure ever - genetically engineered tobacco plants!

The Day Today - 28th July 2008

Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling writes:

Comics are for children, and retards.

Where you vote affects how you vote - H.T. Tyler Cowen:

Essentially, people whose voting booth is located in a church are more likely to put more weight into social issues, people voting in fire houses care more about safety, and people voting in a school tend to put more weight on things like education.

A week at Lord's, watching test match cricket, the greatest game in the world. The diary contains this reminiscence...

The worst result of excess boozing I have ever witnessed (and this was at London’s less salubrious international cricket venue, the Oval) was a naked man treating those around him to a spirited and tuneful rendition of “Suspicious Minds”. By the time stewards had come to eject him he had put his clothes back on. “Who was it?” demanded the leader of the baffled forces of authority. “Was it you?” they demanded of the guilty party, who had assumed an air of wounded innocence. The stewards, still unsure of their quarry, surveyed the mass of cricket fans suspiciously until a distant voice piped up: “I am Spartacus”. Another voice, familiar with the famous scene in the epic film about the slave revolt in ancient Rome, chimed in with the same line. Then another and another, until the scene of Spartacus’s fellow rebels attempting to shield him from capture by the Romans was pleasingly recreated in the Peter May Stand at the Oval, south London.

Unfortunately "our Correspondent" talks in approving tones of that god-awful 20/20 hit and giggle rubbish - ugh.

A shocker from America. A policeman invents a crime lab reoprt to extract information from a suspect - and the fake evidence makes it all the way to trial. Even worse was the prosecution twice declining requests from the defence for more information, and the officer who invented the report only belatedly "remembering" that he had done so.

Are you a financial illiterate?

The George Bush Presidential library...

The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.

The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you won't be able to remember anything.

The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don't even have to show up.

The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they don't let you in.

The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they don't let you out.

The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room, which no one has been able to find.

The National Debt room which is huge and has no ceiling.

The 'Tax Cut' Room with entry only to the wealthy.

The 'Economy Room' which is in the toilet.

The Iraq War Room. After you complete your first tour, they make you go back for a second, third, fourth, and sometimes fifth tour.

The Dick Cheney Room, in the famous undisclosed location, complete with shotgun gallery.

The Environmental Conservation Room, still empty.

The Supremes Gift Shop, where you can buy an election.

The Airport Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite Republican Senators.

The 'Decider Room' complete with dart board, magic 8-ball, Ouija board, dice, coins, and straws.

The museum will have an electron microscope to help you locate the President's accomplishments.

Admission: Republicans - free; Democrats - $1000 or 3 Euros

The Day Today - 12th July 2008

Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling writes:

Top 10 Strangest Anti-Terrorism Patents.

Good News. John Howard's much maligned intervention to stop child abuse in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory has been shown to be working.

But after visiting more than half the 73 communities eventually involved, Ms Gordon has found good progress in cutting violence and sexual abuse: alcohol and pornography have been banned, more children are going to school and police patrols have left more women feeling safer.

In the interests of fairness, following on from last week's missive on Rap, here's Punk.

Punk, says Suvy, is "the only view that makes sense to me." Work is for yuppies. Rent is for yuppies. Shelter is a basic human right. The government is bullshit. Corporations are bullshit. He "fucks capitalism" by pissing in the corner of the Dunkin' Donuts.

..or at least the poor employees responsible for cleaning up the mess. Hat Tip Reason.

Paul saw Paul Low's protest, and liketh it not - especially the triads not. But Cactus Kate sayeth that the Triads maketh the streets safe to walk at four in the morning,

Triads "the good gang" run the streets here and that's why I can confidently do something here I can't do anymore in Auckland - walk around at 4am on my own.

and points out that part of Mr Low's, and the rest of the 15,000 protester's concerns is the culture shock of coming from a place where you are allowed to defend yourself to one where you are prosecuted for doing so. Kate again:

Asians in New Zealand are as a group, peaceful law-abiding citizens. Problem is, back in Asia they are used to defending themselves from any intervention, and the interventions in middle-upper incomed areas are minimal. Very minimal. An Asian with enough money to migrate to New Zealand would NEVER be charged for killing a home intruder or defending themselves against a lower class of person. It's the Asian way....and by-in-large it works as criminal lower class scum know if they try to harm or steal from someone wealthier, they will not face the Police but a small army of protection and likely be shot on location if caught.

And that, as Stephen Franks says, is the rub.

Essentially the Police were there to stimulate, and to ensure, citizen self policing of civil behaviour. Constables were neighbours doing full-time what every decent citizen could and would do when necessary.

The 15,000 who marched with Mr Low are closer to this vision of policing than "we" are. They just want to be able to defend themselves and feel safe, and cannot understand that here in New Zealand you are not allowed to defend yourself, and instead must bleed to death for half an hour on your shop floor.

What will happen to Iran if it uses its missiles in anger?


We'll end with some levity, George Bush. As reported by the New York Times:

“Amigo! Amigo!” Mr. Bush called out cheerily in Spanish when he spotted the Italian prime minister. “How you doing, Silvio? Good to see you!"

The Day Today - 4th July 2008

Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling writes:

New Zealand's Economy
.
With a contracting economy, high interest rates and soaring prices, kitchen-table issues are likely to be a major factor with voters, with the economic environment likely to be distinctly unfavourable to the incumbent Labour Party's chances of re-election.

How is the internet changing how we write?

The internet is always saying, "Heyyy." It is always welcoming you to the party; it is always patting you on the back to congratulate you for showing up.

Can rap change the world? No, no it cannot.

Consider the hot album of the moment: “Tha Carter III” by Lil Wayne. Its central message is that if you are a rap star, you will get laid. The song “Lollipop”, for example, celebrates a young lady who treats Lil Wayne as she might a lollipop.

Earnest hip-hop fans often argue that “commercial” rappers such as Lil Wayne are beside the point. Hip-hop’s revolutionary potential is best expressed by “conscious” rappers who focus on important issues rather than babes, bling and booze. The Roots, a group from Philadelphia, are often cited as an example. Their message? “If I can’t work to make it, I’ll rob and take it. Either that or me and my children are starving and naked.”

But crime and starvation are hardly the only options. Even without a high-school diploma, a black man can probably find a job if he looks. And some manual jobs, such as plumber or cable technician, pay quite well. “It may well be that you can’t write much of a rap about training someone to fix heaters or air conditioners,” sighs Mr McWhorter.

But when it comes to more contentious political issues, hip-hop offers no plausible solutions; only impotent and sometimes self-destructive rage. In “Lost in tha System” by Da Lench Mob, for example, the vocalist says, of a judge: “He added on another year cos I dissed him. Now here I go gettin’ lost in the system.” The disrespect in question was a suggestion that the judge perform fellatio on him.

Juries - I don't like them. It just seems odd that such important matters as putting someone in jail depends on the judgement of twelve random people. As any psychologist, statistician, or philosopher (such as HORansome) will tell you, accurately interpreting arguments and information does not come entirely naturally and the mind has all sorts of short cuts that can lead even well-meaning jurors to err. Let alone the blatant prejudices shown by The Hand Mirror's fellow jurors. Part of me thinks we should train professional jurors (or "wasps") for the task, but whether that could ever be feasible I am not sure.

Cheesewatch! Be alert people, I was almost fooled but realised in time.

Life Imitating Art! for Fundy Post Paul.

And finally The Funny. A conservative news outlet goofs replacing "gay" with "homosexual.

The Day Today - 23rd June 2008

Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling writes:

Since he could well be the next President of the United States, this is important. John McCain's memoirs of his time in North Vietnamese captivity - hat tip Reason.

Ron Paul has wrapped up his campaign - an assessment.

Christian E-Cards.

Christopher Hitchens shows how it is done. And succeeds! According to most sources Dr Cooke would have lost to Dr Craig (I didn't go because Dr Craig would not have changed my atheism, so there was little point) had the debates been scored. I think some of the criticism of Dr Cooke misses just what points he was trying to make (according to the reviews) and why. Author of Confusion through M & M accurately points out that So overall it didn’t really seem like Cooke came to debate.

Speaking very generally, your average Evangelical Christian would have no contact with non-religious texts and minimal contact with non-religious people. We are, after all, bound for the lake of fire, and are dangerous to the extent that we could lead people away from Christianity (see the second link above)! So,from an atheist point of view, what better opportunity for a bit of P.R. - with a captive audience of several hundred Christians - to point out that atheists and humanists are not all baby-eating monsters, but often quite civil folk who share many "common moral decencies" (that's the first and last time I will use that phrase)against theft and murder who despite our differences on the God question are prepared to work with like-minded folk on issues that concern us.

Zombies! Just so you know, "The Happening is not "The Day After Tomorrow"...with plants." It is a B Movie.

CNN: So a lot of people are going to see this and say, "Is this an environment movie?" Are you sending an Al Gore-like message out here, or is it just a thriller?

Shyamalan: No. 1, it's a B movie. This is the best B movie you will ever see, that's it. That's what this is. If there's other things that stick to your ribs as you walk out, that's great, but it's supposed to be, you know, zombies eating flesh.

CNN: So when you say B, you don't mean honeybee?

Shyamalan: No, I meant like, you know, zombies and killer things running around.

This is teh funny. An English Professor is preparing to sue because her students were unreceptive of "French narrative theory." "They'd argue with your ideas." !

Stephen Fry on when he first saw Doctor Who.

The week before we moved, the BBC started a new drama, starring William Hartnell. An old man, whose name appeared to be Grandfather or the Doctor, had a police phone box of the kind we saw in the street all the time in those days. It turned out to be a magical and unimaginably wonderful time machine. My brother and I watched this drama in complete amazement. The first ever episode of Doctor Who. I had never been so excited in all my life. A whole week to wait to watch the next instalment. Never have seven days crawled so slowly by, for all that they involved a complicated house move from Buckinghamshire to Norfolk. A week later, in that new house, my brother and I turned on the good old television set in its new sitting room, ready to watch Episode 2. The TV had been damaged in transit and was never to work again. We missed that episode and nothing that has transpired in my life since has ever, or could ever, make up for that terrible, terrible disappointment. There is an empty space inside me that can never be filled. It is amazing neither of us were turned into psychopathic serial killers from that moment.

More women having premarital sex equals less HIV.

This innocent enough posting by Psycho Milt turned into a fascinating mini-tutorial on warfare and insurgency, with a guest appearance by Paul Buchanan. Fascinating must-read stuff.

The Day Today - 28th March 2008

Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling writes:

Pythagoras Trousers keeps crossing my path, but I am unsure of whether it is a worthwhile read - perhaps I should just bite the bullet but reading some of the reviews it gets maybe not. On a related note, Heisenberg and pals debate God.

Schiller. and aesthetics.

Oscar Wilde. eventually had to stop posing and confront himself.

Once upon a time in France is a very worthwhile run down of the history of restaurants, how Michelin stars became, and of words and places like "Savoy", "Ritz".

Also, belatedly, those who saw The Royal New Zealand Herald's "Viva" liftout on Wednesday would have also read about the very talented Annette Lauder - of Nut and Bee. I commend her work to your attention. As gifts her range of products are superb, and go down a treat especially on occasions such as Valentines Day if you don't want to go down the cliche'd flowers / chocolates route.