"Science transcends mere politics. As recent history demonstrates, scientists are as willing to work for a Tojo, a Hitler, or a Stalin as for the free nations of the West." - Ed Abbey

Quite a few web sources that I browse had decided to republish the results of a small, but interesting, psychological research project that was conducted recently. The basic premise of the whole project was that accompanying a verbal request with a light touch on the arm will produce a greater number of 'positive' responses to the request than if it were unaccompanied by the tactile element. Their results confirmed the hypothesis when statistically significant margins showed that a light touch on the arm was effective at producing a 'yes' in situations that would most likely have otherwise produced a 'no'. (continued...)

In the last couple of weeks it seemed like I was seeing one horrific murder-suicide story after another. (And I wasn't looking for them.) There were several instances of decapitation, and not in Iraq or Indonesia, but in the 'developed world'... the leading economies of the 'developed world'. In Japan a boy walked into a police station carrying his mother's severed head and a couple of similar intra-familial murders in the US ended in a less passive form of 'suicide' than that of surrendering to the state -- individuals in two different cases actually attempted to remove their own heads after killing their parent[s]. The one in California who made his attempt with a circular saw wasn't quite successful (he succeeded in killing himself, but his head didn't roll across the floor), but a determined German fellow proved that a chainsaw can do the job. And just before removing his head so clamorously, he stabbed his father to death. (continued...)

Architectural relics and modern structures show that we may not be much different than our ancestors.

ARCHEOLOGISTS recently discovered what appears to be the other half of Stonehenge, illuminating what they believe is a much larger Neolithic complex than has long been envisioned. What is coming to the surface seems strangely familiar. Looking closely at Stonehenge and other Neolithic sites, we find the formative patterns of our modern world. (continued...)

I had been doing a bit of reading about the 'hidden history' of Mother's Day (so much of the history we uncritically accept is a horribly skewed and blatantly propagandized version of what actually occurred), but I browsed my way to this very interesting article that summarizes some of the recent science regarding the physiological and psychological changes that accompany pregnancy and childbirth. And not just in women, but also men. (continued...)

I recently came across two mainstream press articles related to anthropomorphizing dead forest creatures for the sake of art. Perhaps it's just a strange coincidence that I find one such account yesterday and then another today, or perhaps this sort of thing is becoming more common. Either way, it caught my attention...

Some of the dead possums and raccoons have been dressed in pet or human baby clothes and have had their claws painted with nail polish. The carcass of a deer has been adorned with gold paint. (continued...)