All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Physicists discover ‘clearest evidence yet’ that Nick Clegg is a hologram

an un-hologram

Pride's Purge

(satire?)

A team of physicists has provided what has been described by the journal Nature as the “clearest evidence yet” that Nick Clegg is not real but is in fact a holographic 2D projection on the extreme boundaries of rational thought and common sense.

The new research could help reconcile one of modern physics’ most enduring paradoxes: the apparent inconsistencies between the different models of the universe as explained by Liberal Democrat manifestos and observations by scientists that Nick Clegg tends to consistently do the complete opposite of them.

The two new scientific papers are the culmination of years’ of work led by Yoshifumi Hyakutake at the Ibaraki University in Japan, and deal with hypothetical calculations of the huge inconsistencies in the behaviour of Lib Dem politicians once they come into close proximity to sources of power such as cabinet titles and ministerial expense accounts.

The idea of the Liberal…

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A to Z reasons why Egypt’s education system is lacking

Egyptian Streets

By Marwan Kamal, contributor, EgyptianStreets.com

The following “A-Z” reasons were found after interviewing several teachers and individuals.

A) Poor teachers, willing to accept bribes, cut corners.

Teachers in Egypt are more often than not underpaid. This forces teachers to take up second jobs or be open to accepting bribes, usually from parents, to pass their children.

B) Crowded classrooms

It’s hard to find a country that doesn’t have this problem these days. However, Egypt is unique in this as it’s schools are not proportionality placed, forcing some parents to send their kids across town to find a large school in a majorly adult community.

C) No accountability

Unlike western and European schools, Egypt has no major accountability infrastructure: schools rarely have to report to their districts about numbers or grades, and dialogue between schools and the Ministry of Education is rare.

D) Grades based on repetition not understanding

While a…

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Egyptian Aak. Week 50 (Dec 9-15)

Nervana

Main Headlines

 Monday

Tuesday

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In the Brit/Irish Wing of Heaven…now sits Peter O’Toole.

Longshot's Blog

Peter-O' Toole-Lawrence-of Arabia

I’m sure Richard Burton, fellow Irishman Richard Harris and classmate Alan Bates greeted their Shakespearean equal with wide grins, glasses in hand and a bottle to share. Fans around the world aware that we’ve lost another icon and are running out of the best.

Upon hearing the news of O’Toole’s death as with all the greats who leave us, a deep sadness set in. Flashes of all the movies, masterpieces, performances he blessed us with went flying through my mind. As a child I remember the raves of what seemed everybody on Lawrence of Arabia, adults and teens alike were flocking to the theaters to see not one but two handsome men with Omar Sharif. Though it would be O’Toole that would captivate the audience.

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Byline Portal – Did we mean to cut people off from medicine with sanctions?

A combination of international sanctions and mismanagement by the Iranian government are blamed for the current state of medical chaos in Iran.

“It’s been five months now that we are looking for an anti-allergy vaccine for my brother,” says one person interviewed by Global Voices about Iran\’s public health situation. “One of our relatives with cancer cannot find his medicine,” remarked another. “I am struggling to find insulin,” says a diabetic man.

via Byline Portal.

Bachelet pledges radical constitutional reforms after winning Chilean election | World news | The Guardian

After winning the biggest landslide since Chile\’s return to democracy, the president-elect, Michelle Bachelet, vowed on Monday to push ahead with an ambitious programme of tax, educational and constitutional reforms to address inequality.

The centre-left politician – who secured 62% of Sunday\’s vote – was also expected to propose legislation on reproductive rights and same-sex marriage in this predominantly Catholic nation.

In a switch of power, Bachelet trounced her conservative opponent, Evelyn Matthei from the Alianza coalition, which has run the country for the past four years.

Despite a low turnout of 42%, the win puts the Chilean Socialist party leader back in the La Moneda presidential palace, where she had been the incumbent from 2006 to 2010. Her first administration was popular, but made only modest inroads into reducing inequality. In her second term, the president-elect has promised more radical changes.

\”Chile has looked at itself, has looked at its path, its recent history, its wounds, its feats, its unfinished business and this Chile has decided it is the time to start deep transformations,\” Bachelet told supporters in a jubilant victory speech.

via Bachelet pledges radical constitutional reforms after winning Chilean election | World news | The Guardian.

Proliferation of Multidrug-Resistant New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase Genes in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Northern China – Environmental Science & Technology Letters (ACS Publications)

This is the first report of the occurrence, persistence, and fate of NDM-1 genes through different processes in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Conjugation experiments with an NDM-1-positive Achromobacter sp. isolated from a WWTP and indigenous bacteria in Haihe River sediment were also conducted to address the potential propagation of NDM-1 genes in environments receiving WWTP discharges. Knowledge of the distribution of NDM-1 genes in WWTPs and the associated discharge patterns helps inform strategies for mitigating the propagation of multidrug resistance determinants and the associated risks to public health.

via Proliferation of Multidrug-Resistant New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase Genes in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Northern China – Environmental Science & Technology Letters (ACS Publications).

Can angora production ever be ethical? | World news | The Guardian

now we\’ve seen the video of a Chinese angora farm, will we ever look at Nastassja Kinski\’s backless sweater in the same way again? A rabbit is screaming, as best it can, while chunks of its wonderful soft fur are ripped away to leave just a bald, raw and bleeding body. Rows and rows more rabbits are locked alone in filthy cages, waiting for their turn.

These, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), based on the 10 farms they visited, are standard conditions for angora rabbits in China, where around 90% of the world\’s angora wool is now produced. Certainly there are no laws there to prevent people plucking rabbits, which yields longer hairs, and thus more valuable yarn, and is quicker to do. Topshop, H&M, Boden, Primark and dozens of other retailers have halted orders immediately.

And yet there\’s no denying that, if you own an angora rabbit, it would be inhumane not to remove some its fur. Left alone, the animal becomes too hot, gets covered in thick clumps and tends to lick off any moulting hairs, which accumulate in its stomach. (Whether it was ethical to breed rabbits this way in the first place is another matter.)

Indeed, even Peta accepts that – when done on a very small scale – angora production can be ethical. \”If you had someone who has a companion angora rabbit who sat on their knee, and they put their fingers through their coat and, as happens, they find the fur gently comes away, then if somebody wanted to collect that and make a pair of gloves that would be entirely different,\” says Yvonne Taylor, Peta\’s campaigns manager.

via Can angora production ever be ethical? | World news | The Guardian.