WHEN we fall under the spell of a charismatic figure, areas of the brain responsible for scepticism and vigilance become less active. That’s the finding of a study which looked at people’s response to prayers spoken by someone purportedly possessing divine healing powers. To identify the brain processes underlying the influence of charismatic individuals, Uffe [...]
April 19, 2010
He never told a lie, as the story goes. So maybe if he were alive today, President George Washington could tell a New York City library what he did with two books he checked out 221 years ago. The two books — weighty discourses on international relations and parliamentary debates — were checked out on [...]
April 2, 2010
A Florida doctor who opposes the new health care law posted a sign on his office door telling patients who voted for President Obama to get care “elsewhere,” the Orlando Sentinel reported. The sign on Dr. Jack Cassell’s door reads, “Changes to your health care begin right now. Not in four years,” the Sentinel said. [...]
March 24, 2010
The day after the bill passed, right-wingers took to the airwaves to make outrageous, wildly offensive comparisons to 9/11 and Nazis. Some called for violence. The Monday after Congress passed historic health care legislation was a dark day for the right wing. Wouldn’t you be upset if you were doomed to live in a communist [...]
March 9, 2010
Canada’s parliamentary restaurant will be serving seal meat on Wednesday in a gesture of defiance aimed at a European Union ban on imports of seal products. Canada’s Conservative government says it will fight the EU ban, which was imposed last July on the grounds that the annual seal hunt off the east coast was cruel [...]
February 10, 2010
Despite having served for years as a distinguished Pakistani diplomat, Akbar Zeb reportedly cannot receive accreditation as Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The reason, apparently, has nothing to do with his credentials, and everything to do with his name — which, in Arabic, translates to “biggest dick.” According to this Arabic-language article in the Arab [...]
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May 5, 2010
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