By CJ Werleman9 April 2014 (AlterNet) – If America needed a reminder that it is fast becoming a second-rate nation, and that every economic policy of the Republican Party is wrongheaded, it got one this week with the release of the Social Progress Index (SPI). Harvard business professor Michael E. Porter, who earlier developed the […]
By Phil Plait24 March 2014 (Slate ) – As you may recall, last month Bill Nye “debated” creationist Ken Ham about evolution. There was a lot of pre-debate debate about it, mostly in the form of asking if it even makes sense for a science-based person to debate someone who clearly ignores any and all […]
By Michael Hiltzik20 January 2014 (Los Angeles Times) – Aaron Carroll today offers a graphic depiction of the toll of the anti-vaccination movement. (H/t: Kevin Drum.) It comes from a Council on Foreign Relations interactive map of “vaccine-preventable outbreaks” worldwide 2008-2014. A couple of manifestations stand out. One is the prevalence of measles in Europe […]
By Calum MacLeod16 November 2013 TACLOBAN, Philippines (USA TODAY) – Slicing up a steaming pig, the Lloren family quickly attracted buyers in central Tacloban on a street wrecked by Typhoon Haiyan. After a week of hell, with no cooked food nor any emergency relief, hungry residents gratefully seized the chance Thursday to buy their favorite […]
By David Edwards31 October 2013 (Raw Story) – A so-called “historian,” who radio host Glenn Beck hired to teach at his online university and is now considering a run for the U.S. Senate, recently asserted that climate change was an example of God’s judgment “on the spot” for sins like abortion. In an appearance on […]
13 October 2013 (AP) – People in India began sorting through the wreckage Sunday after Cyclone Phailin roared ashore, flooding towns and villages and destroying tens of thousands of thatch homes, but officials said the country had been spared the widespread loss of life that many had feared. About 18 hours after the storm — […]
HANOI, 24 September 2013 (AFP) – Heavy monsoon rains exacerbated by Typhoon Usagi have pounded parts of Vietnam and Cambodia killing at least 36 people, authorities said Tuesday, with many swept to their deaths in floods. Despite not being directly hit by Usagi — the world’s most powerful storm this year — parts of Southeast […]
12 September 2013 (BBC News) – A famous Hindu temple badly damaged by floods in India’s Uttarakhand state has reopened for prayers. The temple at Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district is famous for its temple of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. But it was damaged by the floods and landslides in June that affected more […]
By Tara Culp-Ressler 11 September 2013 (Think Progress) – At the end of last month, epidemiologists in Texas traced the source of a measles outbreak to a right-wing megachurch whose pastor has preached against vaccines. Even though about 98 percent of Texas residents are vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the congregants who attended that […]
[Somehow missed posting this back in July, but Des definitely wants to keep this story.] By Dr. Manpreet Bajwa and Dr. Harman Boparai 6 July 2013 LACHMOLI, India (Global Post) – Ninety-year-old Sarita’s sunken eyes stared into the damp earth that had flooded into the terrace of her one bedroom house. Her two grandchildren played […]
