May 19
Deadly protests in the southern Iranian city of Kazerun have followed the government’s killing of two protesters and the arrests of many others. “After anti-riot forces were dispatched to the city from Shiraz, the people charged at them and hand-to-hand clashes ensued,” Iranian protesters, angry at government corruption, have gathered outside an Iranian police station. …
May 19
Over half the witnesses testifying before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives [are] funded directly by the federal taxpayer. In 1995, 35 percent of witnesses were federal employees; of the remaining “public” witnesses, one of every three was a government grant recipient. Grant recipients testified during the 104th Congress roughly 6,000 times: …
May 18
James Cook University, a public university and the second oldest university in Queensland, Australia, has fired Professor Peter Ridd for climate skepticism and related “misconduct.” See here.
May 18
A new study by Northwestern Mutual finds that one-third of Americans have less than $5,000 set aside for retirement. 21% of Americans have no retirement savings at all. SOCIAL SECURITY TO BLAME Many workers don’t save for the future because they assume they can live on Social Security. But that’s a dangerous, misguided assumption. In …
May 18
There are reports that tens–and perhaps hundreds–of Chinese muslims are being held in secret Chinese “indoctrination camps” in the far-western reaches of China. Most appear to be arrested secretly, without warrant or court process, ans whisked away to the secret camps, where they are often tortured. Detainees are made to denounce their religious beliefs and …
May 16
Scott Peterson, the 55-year-old deputy who reportedly cowered outside while an alleged school shooter allegedly murdered dozens inside a Parkland, Florida school, will reportedly receive a six-figure pension for the rest of his life. See here. Peterson retired in disgrace but is due to collect more than $104,000 a year plus benefits. Peterson is typical …
May 08
Many have wondered why most college professors conform to stereotype: hopelessly closed-minded worshippers of elitist, ‘leftist’ ideology. David Graeber, a professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, suggests in a recent book that the structure and norms of university life breed conformity. Something about the experience of grad school, the …
May 05
Ten years ago, The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that Congress would run a $151 billion surplus in 2017. Instead, the U.S. ran a $665 billion deficit. Now the CBO projects $12.4 trillion in additional debt over the next decade. This represents a more than 50 percent increase to the current national debt, which has …
May 03
An astounding new report about American demographics has been summarized by Bloomberg News service. See here. Average wealth for retirees has risen more than 100 percent since 1989, to $752,000, and the share of those who are millionaires has doubled. Also, more retirees—62 percent—are enjoying life without physical or cognitive limitations, according to the data. …
May 03
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Paul Ehrlich’s “The Population Bomb.” The book catapulted Ehrlich to superstardom among the world’s scientists, and remains one of the all-time science bestsellers. Yet the past 50 years of knowledge and human development have proven the book to be fundamentally false. See here. “Ehrlich prophesied …
