Tariq Aziz is a man who knows too much | Mark Seddon | guardian.co.uk

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GOP Candidate Ken Buck: 'I Disagree Strongly With The Concept Of Separation Of Church And State'

Welcome to Christian republic of America! Read the full article

Newsweek Poll: Obama Approval Jumps, Dems More Fired Up

"The poll finds that 48 percent of registered voters would be more likely to vote for Democrats, compared with 42 percent who lean Republican" Read the full article in Newsweek

Paul the World Cup octopus dies in his tank in Germany

Personally, I was not a big fan of the late Octopus, but rest in peace Paul.

Falling Into the Chasm (By Paul Kruman)

Another interesting article from Krugman. One of the few remaining outspoken economists who still use reason! Read the full Article

Toll rises as French strikes escalate

"France's massive strikes are costing the national economy up to €400-million ($557-million) each day, the French finance minister said Monday" Read the Full Article

Even for a pro-union, pro-welfare person such as myself, this spectacle was a disgrace! Increasing the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, did not deserve such a fuss, whatsoever! It was an inevitable reform, reflecting the fact the we live much longer (on average) than previous generations. This upheaval is no less than blackmailing the French society...

One Minute Fly

Carney: Get ready for the rebound

"For households, that means remembering that today’s interest rates are far from normal and continually assessing whether their debt loads will be manageable once borrowing costs rise. For businesses, it means investing aggressively in machinery and equipment that will help them become more productive and competitive, to mitigate the fact weaker demand around the world and a strong currency could impede Canadian exports for years." Read the full article

Hypocrites in the world, unite! unite!

It was written in the Globe and Mail on Wednesday : "Quebec’s Orthodox Jewish community appeared for the first time on Wednesday before a National Assembly committee, taking up an unexpected cause – fighting a bill that would ban the wearing of the Muslim niqab when receiving government services." Read the full article

Not surprisingly, the two top contenders in the category of "the most passionate collective misogyny", are now supporting each other's causes!

I do believe in freedom of choice and I do not support any law that attempts to force people to wear (or not to wear) certain type of clothings (I postpone the real argument against the niqab for another occasion). However, niqab, which covers not only the face of the woman behind it, but her identity as well, is an exception. If someone is benefiting from a government service (which has been paid for by all citizens), the provider of that service has to be able to identify the one who is receiving the service. It is that simple.

Moreover, do these groups - who are accusing the government of infringing their liberty - really believe in people's right to chose their own clothings?!!

I would simply give these hypocrites the right to wear the niqab, if they publicly announce that they, too, respect the right of every women, anywhere around the world, to wear what they want, where they want!

The unusual support of Muslim hardliners by their Jewish counterparts should serve as a reminder to moderate Muslims and Jews that they are much closer to each other, than they are to the extremist factions of their own religions.

The bucket of stupidity is bottomless!

In the past couple of days, the world witnessed the newly-elected prime minister of England, David Cameron and his chancellor of exchequer, George Osborne, proposing a package of drastic budget cuts that will affect almost every government-provided service in England from health and environment to BBC's international bureau.

While it is tough to argue against the necessity of balancing a budget deficit as large as 11% of the GDP, it is perfectly legitimate to question the timing of this austerity package. After all, you don’t need to be an expert in Microeconomics to realize that cutting about half a million jobs, just when the economy is barley moving out a devastating recession, is not a wise idea!

Read the following article from Paul Krugman in NYTimes. I quoted below, some of his facts and arguments:

"the sudden consensus among Very Serious People that everyone must balance budgets now now now wasn’t based on any kind of careful analysis. It was more like a fad, something everyone professed to believe because that was what the in-crowd was saying."..."No widespread fad ever passes, however, without leaving some fashion victims in its wake. In this case, the victims are the people of Britain, who have the misfortune to be ruled by a government that took office at the height of the austerity fad and won’t admit that it was wrong."..."Over-reliance on the financial industry largely explains why Britain, which came into the crisis with relatively low public debt, has seen its budget deficit soar to 11 percent of G.D.P. — slightly worse than the U.S. deficit. And there’s no question that Britain will eventually need to balance its books with spending cuts and tax increases. The operative word here should, however, be “eventually.” Fiscal austerity will depress the economy further unless it can be offset by a fall in interest rates. Right now, interest rates in Britain, as in America, are already very low, with little room to fall further. The sensible thing, then, is to devise a plan for putting the nation’s fiscal house in order, while waiting until a solid economic recovery is under way before wielding the ax."..."The British government’s plan is bold, say the pundits — and so it is. But it boldly goes in exactly the wrong direction. It would cut government employment by 490,000 workers — the equivalent of almost three million layoffs in the United States — at a time when the private sector is in no position to provide alternative employment. It would slash spending at a time when private demand isn’t at all ready to take up the slack."..."What happens now? Maybe Britain will get lucky, and something will come along to rescue the economy. But the best guess is that Britain in 2011 will look like Britain in 1931, or the United States in 1937, or Japan in 1997. That is, premature fiscal austerity will lead to a renewed economic slump. As always, those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it."

I personally believe that England’s conservative party is fully aware of the consequences of these foolish actions. They are simply, and deliberately, following the footsteps of their American counterparts, in order to kill the welfare-state by strangulation!

As Bill Maher stated while ago: “Democrats have moved to the right and Republicans have moved to the mental hospital”. Apparently, England’s conservatives are heading the same way. Shame on Nick Clegg and Liberal Democrats for selling all their values for such a cheap price: sharing the seat of power for a brief season!

Otter Pups Swim Lesson

Rare and Foolish (By Paul Krugman)

"China accounts for 97 percent of the world’s supply of rare earths, minerals that play an essential role in many high-technology products, including military equipment." Read the full article

A third way for Quebeckers? New party in the offing

"The legislature was full of rumours Thursday about a new right-of-centre party that would be pro-business and ambivalent on the national question." Read the full article

The Mortgage Morass (By Paul Krugman)

A fantastic article by Paul Krugman

"Now an awful truth is becoming apparent: In many cases, the documentation doesn’t exist. In the frenzy of the bubble, much home lending was undertaken by fly-by-night companies trying to generate as much volume as possible. These loans were sold off to mortgage “trusts,” which, in turn, sliced and diced them into mortgage-backed securities. The trusts were legally required to obtain and hold the mortgage notes that specified the borrowers’ obligations. But it’s now apparent that such niceties were frequently neglected. And this means that many of the foreclosures now taking place are, in fact, illegal." Read the full article

Benoît Mandelbrot, Novel Mathematician, Dies at 85

The father of Fractals, passed away. Read the full article

Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore (By ROBERT H. FRANK)

"Yet many economists are reluctant to confront rising income inequality directly, saying that whether this trend is good or bad requires a value judgment that is best left to philosophers. But that disclaimer rings hollow. Economics, after all, was founded by moral philosophers, and links between the disciplines remain strong. So economists are well positioned to address this question, and the answer is very clear." Read the full article

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Background noise affects taste of foods, research shows

"The level of background noise affects both the intensity of flavour and the perceived crunchiness of foods, researchers have found."..." Read the full article

Joan Sutherland, Flawless Soprano, Is Dead at 83

She was one of my favorite singers. I absolutely adore her rendition of Casta Diva in Bellini's Norma. Rest in Peace.

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Marijuana, Once Divisive, Brings Some Families Closer

Having a joint with grandpa! Read the full article

Google Invests In Major offshore Wind Power Project

"the project would be capable of delivering 2,000 megawatts of wind energy"...Read the full article

A livable planet right next door

"Astronomers say they have for the first time spotted a planet beyond our own in what is sometimes called the Goldilocks zone for life: Not too hot, not too cold. Juuuust right."...

"The planet circles a star called Gliese 581. It's about 120 trillion miles away, so it would take several generations for a spaceship to get there. It may seem like a long distance, but in the scheme of the vast universe, this planet is "like right in our face, right next door to us," Read the Full Article

Gargling With Salt Water Can Ease Cold Symptoms

From NY Times

"At the end of the study period, the group that regularly gargled had a nearly 40 percent decrease in upper respiratory tract infections compared with the control group, and when they did get sick, “gargling tended to attenuate bronchial symptoms,” the researchers wrote." Read the full article

Basic Religion Test Stumps Many Americans (NY Times)

"Those who scored the highest were atheists and agnostics" :)

It sounds ironic but it's not. You need to read and think considerably, before you can deny God, but following religion can be as easy as....

6 Things Everyone Knows About Women (That Aren't True) [From Huffington Post]