Suppose you are a top athlete who has just won a major international track event. A 14-year old girl in a mascot costume comes up and tries to give you a little gift bag. How should you respond? Here’s how French steeplechase winner Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad reacted. [Read more…]
This Sudoku puzzle published in The Telegraph claims to be the world’s hardest puzzle, though I am not exactly sure how one measures that. [Read more…]
Jonathan Krohn was a conservative sensation when, in 2009 at the tender age of 13, he published a book Defining Conservatism and also spoke at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). It was all rather harmless, though it was a little odd to see old politicians scrambling to associate themselves with a child’s view of politics and pronounce him the face of the next generation of conservatism. [Read more…]
I do not follow too closely the extreme right commentariat, having neither the time nor the stomach to wade through all that ranting. But Roy Edroso of the Village Voice is made of sterner stuff and in an interesting article has carefully chronicled the right wing reaction to the Supreme Court verdict on the Affordable Care Act. [Read more…]
A recent post about accommodationists and new atheists revolved around the question of whether science and religion were incompatible and if so, what one should do about it. The question of what constitutes religion and incompatibility perhaps needs to be clarified a bit. [Read more…]
The scandal involving Barclays bank and its finagling of the LIBOR rate has been huge news in the UK but not much here. For those interested, Matt Taibbi has been posting frequent updates explaining what is going on. The latest revelation indicates collusion between Barclays and the British government to lie about interest rates. This should not be surprising. What is surprising is that it is coming out in public. [Read more…]
South African Oscar Pistorius has qualified to compete in the 4x400m relay at the London Olympics. Modern technology is amazing. There is no way in looking at him walking running that would tell you that he had prosthetics for both legs below the knee, unless you look closely. [Read more…]
The new French government has said that it would implement one of its campaign promises and make same sex marriage and gay adoption legal, starting in 2013. The prime minister told parliament that “Our society is evolving, lifestyles and mentalities are changing.” [Read more…]