November 18, 2012

Chris Anderson: Why I left Wired - 3D Printing Will Be Bigger Than The Web

Chris Anderson has exited one of the top jobs in publishing - Editor-in-Chief of Wired magazine - to pursue the life of an entrepreneur, making a big bet that 3D printers represent a massive new phase of the industrial revolution.

He spoke at a Wired "Culturazzi" event, at the Marriott Union Square and to sign copies of his latest book: "Makers: The New Industrial Revolution."

http://www.zdnet.com/chris-anderson-why-i-left-wired-3d-printing-will-be-bigger-than-the-web-7000007535/

November 12, 2012

One day soon, 2 + 2 will mean something more than 4 ....

November 12, 2012

Invisibility cloaking in 'perfect' demonstration

Scientists have succeeded in "cloaking" an object perfectly for the first time, rendering a centimetre-scale cylinder invisible to microwaves.

Many "invisibility cloak" efforts have been demonstrated, but all have reflected some of the incident light, making the illusion incomplete.

A Nature Materials study has now shown how to pull off the trick flawlessly.

However, the illusion only works from one direction and would be difficult to achieve with visible light.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20265623#TWEET354202

November 6, 2012

512 ways to the house that is white ... Interactive

512 Paths to the White House

Select a winner in the most competitive states below to see all the paths to victory available for either candidate.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/11/02/us/politics/paths-to-the-white-house.html?ref=politics&smid=tw-nytimes

October 26, 2012

How to spell Desperation ...

Billboard in Georgia compares Obama to Hitler

A controversial new anti-Obama digital billboard has popped up in Forsyth County, Ga., just north of Atlanta, NBC affiliate WXIA reports.
The billboard displays five different anti-Obama messages, including “More Jobs, Less B.O.” and “I was anti-Obama before anti-Obama was cool.”

The most controversial image shows a picture of Adolf Hilter in the look of Shepard Fairey’s iconic Obama “Hope” poster with the words “Yes we can” written below, and “Comrade Obama” written next to it, along with a hammer and sickle.

It’s unclear who sponsored the billboard.

http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/10/26/billboard-in-georgia-compares-obama-to-hitler/

October 22, 2012

The New Pot Barons

Full dark in downtown Denver, and inside one of the twinkling high-rises that make the skyline, drug dealers are putting money into envelopes. They’re trying to be discreet. No one signed the security logbook in the lobby. All assume the room could be bugged. But if your image of the drug trade involves armed gangs or young men in parked cars, these dealers offer a surreal counterpoint. There’s a finance veteran, two children of the Ivy League, multiple lawyers, and the son of a police chief. At their side is a Pulitzer Prize–winning communications consultant, two state lobbyists, and a nationally known political operative. And the guest of honor: a state senator who likes the look of those envelopes being stuffed.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/10/21/will-pot-barons-cash-in-on-legalization.html

October 21, 2012

Top of the lineup for Democrats stepping up to the plate ...

Democratic donors energize "Super PACs" as U.S. election nears

Reuters) - Democratic donors gave unprecedented amounts of money in September to their party's three main "Super PACs," federal disclosures revealed on Friday, a reflection of how wealthy Democrats' reluctance to give to such groups has faded in the weeks before the November 6 election.

A fundraising laggard for much of the campaign, the political action committee (PAC) backing President Barack Obama raised more than a rival group backing Republican Mitt Romney, the second consecutive month the Democratic group has done so.

The pro-Obama group Priorities USA Action raised $15.2 million in September, compared with $14.8 million for the pro-Romney group Restore Our Future, according to new filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Restore Our Future, a formidable advertising force whose attack ads on Romney's Republican rivals helped him secure the party's presidential nomination, began the crucial month of October with $16.6 million in cash on hand.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/21/us-usa-campaign-money-idUSBRE89J03K20121021?

October 21, 2012

Call out the Vote ... this weekend

Can you sign up to make calls for Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), David Gill (D-IL), Alan Grayson (D-FL) and other progressives this weekend?

Sign up on the right to Call Out The Vote! Help win these seats for progressives!

We're making calls all through the day, so be sure to check out which shifts work the best for you. All times are Eastern.

http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/survey_cotv_2012_shifts/?source=cotv

October 21, 2012

'I am human' Jackson tells constituents in robocall

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., absent from public life and the campaign trail since June for treatment of bipolar depression, launched a series of automated telephone calls Saturday, asking constituents for patience but not their votes.

The 85-second recorded message came as a source close to Jackson who was not authorized to speak publicly said the congressman was expected to return to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for further treatment early next week.

In the message, the first residents of 2nd Congressional District have heard from their congressman since June, Jackson thanks them for their “many thoughts and prayers during this difficult time for me.”

The message was delivered to voters' telephones throughout the district. It comes after revelations that Jackson is under federal investigation for the alleged misuse of campaign funds, according to federal sources

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-i-am-human-jackson-tells-constituents-in-robocall-20121020,0,1283418.story

October 19, 2012

Studies of Substance Abuse with Interventions for the Youth of Native American Indian Community #13

Definitions #8


The subculture of violence theory focuses on the role of ideas in causing criminal behaviors. Wolfgang and Ferracuti (1967) state: What the subculture of violence formulation suggests is simply that there is a potent theme of violence current in the cluster of values that make up the lifestyle, the socialization process, and the interpersonal relationships of individuals living in similar conditions, (p. 140) This formulation was primarily based on an earlier study of homicide in Philadelphia by Wolfgang (1958).

From the results of this study, Wolfgang and Ferracuti (1967) concluded that a large number of homicides seemed to result from very trivial events that took on great importance because of mutually held expectations about how people would behave. The authors state: The significance of a jostle, a slightly derogatory remark, or the appearance of a weapon in the hands of an adversary are stimuli differentially perceived and interpreted. . . .Social expectations of response in particular types of social interaction result in differential definitions of the situation. A male is usually expected to defend the name or honor of his mother, the virtue of womanhood . . . and to accept no derogation about his race (even from a member of his own race), his age or his masculinity.

When such a culture norm response is elicited from an individual engaged in social interplay with others who harbor the same response mechanism, physical assaults, altercations, and violent domestic quarrels that result in homicide are likely to be common,(pp. 188-89). Again, it is not clear where the origins of these violent cultural norms lie. Numerous sources have contributed to instill them within certain segments of the Native American Indian population. The unique historical circumstances of the Native American Indian population almost certainly play a role—from the brutal extermination and relocation practices of the early Europeans against the Indian population to the near cultural genocide that resulted. Second, the early labeling and confinement processes of the juvenile justice system may also have contributed to these norms. A large proportion of these men were sent to work camps and juvenile detention centers at an early age. During this time, the rewards that were obtained for "masculine prowess" and bravery seem to have played an important role for some in their socialization process. This resulted in attitudes that were not only tolerant but also respectful of violence in response to certain situations. Violence in response to situations where one's honor or esteem is challenged was particularly revered by many of the offenders interviewed for this study.

Attitudes that support a culture of violence may have developed in response to the oppression and discrimination that many of these men experienced throughout their lives. French and Hornbuckle (1977) have noted the similarities between the marginal Indians and the ghetto Blacks observed by Wolfgang and Ferracuti. They state: Excluded from both the traditional subculture and the elite middle-class contingency present on the reservation, the marginal Indians are forced into a stress ridden environment, one which allows for little social or personal autonomy. Instead they are torn between these two cultures following the respective dictates of each whenever possible. But for the most part, they must live in the chaotic world of their weak subculture—one based on retributive violence. Here violence is a common factor resulting from spontaneous eruption of frustrations.

In a world that has offered little economic and political power to the American Indian, overcompensating for this powerlessness in other aspects of their lives that can be controlled (i.e., personal relationships and confrontations) is a logical consequence. Although Wolfgang and Ferracuti believe that subcultural ideas may have originated in general social conditions such as poverty, the cause of violent behavior was said to be the ideas themselves, rather than the conditions that had generated those ideas in the past. Past research seems to have created a false dichotomy between structural and cultural explanations of homicide. The model developed in this research posits that they are not causally separated, but act both alone and in combination to increase levels of violence.