Month: August 2008

Proposition 2 In California

It’s an initiative to prevent the worst abuse of farm animals in the food industry in the state. It seems to me that chaining veal calves by the neck and forcing pigs – as intelligent and as emotionally evolved as dogs – into crates that prevent them from even turning around are practices that truly need to end. I’m not a vegetarian and I don’t like some aspects of the animal rights movement. But I do believe that a civilized society is defined by how it treats its most vulnerable, and among the most vulnerable are those parts of God’s creation who are currently abused and tortured for our benefit. Here’s a link to the Humane Society in California behind the initiative and here’s a video detailing the campaign. I’d say it’s worth your time and money and vote.

Hey, Hey, Hey

The use of magic tricks as a way of studying the human brain has recently gained traction in the scientific community, with a couple of peer-reviewed articles coming out this month and next. Money quote:

"I think magicians and cognitive neuroscientists are getting at similar questions, but while neuroscientists have been looking at this for a few decades, magicians have been looking at this for centuries, millennia probably.  What magicians do is light-years ahead in terms of sophistication and the power of these techniques."

Substantive Paris

Steve Benen:

Watching the Hilton video, a few questions came to mind. First, why is that Paris Hilton’s fake ad includes more substantive talk about energy policy than John McCain’s real ad? Second, if writers helped Hilton with her script, and writers helped McCain with his script, why is it that Hilton seems to have a better grasp on policy details than McCain does? Shouldn’t that be, you know, the other way around? And third, why is it that a 27-year-old heiress/reality-show star can read a teleprompter better than the presumptive Republican presidential nominee?

The Depth Of Russian Corruption

It’s hard-wired into Putin’s legacy, whatever Medvedev says. The Moscow Times:

Is there anything new here that differs from the system Medvedev criticized for its inherent incompetence, nepotism and corruption? The fundamental problem is that there is no place for a truly transparent and merit-based selection personnel recruiting process in Putin’s political system — a system Medvedev actively helped construct. Thus, Medvedev’s presidential reserve will differ little, if at all, from the cadres he has criticized.

The bureaucratic elite rely on a caste system. Every bureaucrat’s job — and, more important, the extra "unofficial income" earned on the side that far exceeds official salaries — is dependent on the goodwill of his boss. These perquisites are bestowed on subordinates based on a strict code of loyalty to their bosses.