English-language films
Peter Gleick has been cleared of faking a key memo. Who is Peter Gleick, and what is this memo of which we speak? Here is a refresher of events over the last 3 1/2 months:
You will recall that last February 14th, we were all given an interesting Valentine's Day present: A cache of documents had been acquired from the Heartland Institute, and these documents revealed important details about Heartland's effort to interfere with science education and otherwise agitate and lobby to promote climate science denialism. The documents were released to the public by an as then unknown activist, and then redistributed by numerous bloggers including this one. Read more
We chide corporate execs for their excesses,
then confront a GSA that rocked too hard & learned
what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas.
We blast Big Business for not playing by the rules,
then our esteemed Secret Service is caught
casually cavorting & corrupting their cause in Colombia.
We demand more respect from vulture capitalists,
but contend with the disrespect our military has shown
in incendiary, outrageous acts in Afghanistan.
People say government should behave like Big Business:
selfish behavior, greedy excesses & poor judgment --
maybe we've got too much corporate culture already.
Let's be a little LESS like Big Business for awhile. Read more
Science Debate Dot Org asks the question: In a nationally televised presidential science debate, who would be the best moderator?
I find the suggestions that have been made so far to be interesting. A lot of people seem to be suggesting people who are obviously good scientists, or good communicators, but who are not especially known for being moderators. They are not the same thing.
Go have a look, make a suggestion, or vote for the existing suggestions. Read more
You may have heard about Planned Parenthood turning down Tucker Max's 500k charitable donation on the grounds his misogynistic past marred the gift.
Now PETA is asking for the donation. Read more
I don't know what it is about the beginning of a year. I don't know if it's confirmation bias or real, but it sure seems that something big happens early every year in the antivaccine world. Consider. As I pointed out back in February 2009, in rapid succession Brian Deer reported that Andrew Wakefield had not only had undisclosed conflicts of interest regarding the research that he did for his now infamous 1998 Lancet paper but that he had falsified data. Read more
Tracie McMillan's The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table takes us on a vivid and poignant tour of a place we don't really want to go: the mostly hidden, sometimes horrible world of the workers who form the backbone of our cheap, industrialized food chain. Sound grim? It is, at times, but McMillan's lively narrative and evident empathy for the people she encounters make her sojourn into the bowels of Big Food and Big Ag a pleasure to read. Read more
How's this for a tinfoil hat conspiracy, brought to you by the American Life League--
Planned Parenthood's strategy in this great world is to:
Phase one: Get kids addicted to sex.
Phase two: profit! Through selling birth control, STD testing, and abortion.
Read more
On We Beasties, Kevin Bonham reports that scientists have genetically enabled E. coli to digest a sugar found in algae. Bonham writes, "Scientists have been picking this bug's locks for decades, and it's already been engineered to make not just ethanol, but many other useful products as well." With the ability to metabolize sugar from a source as prolific, low-maintenance, and renewable as algae, E. coli could become a much bigger player in biofuel production. Meanwhile, Greg Laden considers the State of the Union address from an environmental perspective. Read more
The theory of change behind Living Liberally is that you can sometimes connect to people through culture in ways you can't simply through argument.
Look to Idaho Falls -- a chapter in one of the nation's reddest states -- for proof of that.
Idaho Falls sponsored a Screening Liberally event in December with the local Occupy group: “Inside Job” was shown with a panel discussion afterwards. Two GOP State Representatives attended, and one of them -- Rep. Janice McGeachin -- voted this week against an anti-Occupy bill in committee. In her statement, she mentioned the movie as her reason for doing so. Read more
