Science
- Written by: Bent Lorentzen
- Category: Science
During the primaries leading up to the dysfunctional 2016 election, Bernie Sanders often lauded the Danish welfare system. Compared to anything found in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada for example, he was, and is, on the money. But according to Humanity in Action Denmark, the socioeconomic trend from the Danish government in recent years has engendered an increase in stress factors that lead to tangible human suffering due to the growing chasm between the wealthy and the very poor: "Until prevailing social mores and public discourse openly acknowledge the new state of the 'welfare state', there is the threat that an increasing number of poor and marginalized people in Denmark will be neglected." This can be seen in the long queueing for surgeries and cancer treatment, waiting too long for an operation, and patients have died or lost limbs through unnecessary amputations, and nurses are frustrated by wages not keeping up with inflation and the private sector. Despite those issues, which are also prevalent throughout the world unless you're wealthy, The Social Progress Index in 2017, ranked Denmark as number one in the world. Denmark also ranks number five in the world in its social welfare spending per person "as...percentage of GDP [gross domestic product]". Sanders' argument is even corroborated from a capitalistic point of view, as is briefly discussed at the end of this article.
- Written by: Bent Lorentzen
- Category: Science
Well, I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had the one long probe, compound eyee
I commenced to shakin' and I said "ooh-eee"
Looks like a Belostomatidaeeee
It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
(One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater)
A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (one eye?)
--(Kindly forgive my manipulation of the lyric sample by Sheb Wooley)
- Written by: Bent Lorentzen
- Category: Science
(This is thought to be the final photo of Kim Wall -- an image capture from a smartphone video -- as she sailed out of Copenhagen Harbor onboard the Nautilus. Seen also is Peter Madsen)
October 21, 2020, UPDATE-- Please see the major updates below, including Peter Madsen’s briefly horrific escape, having threatened guards with a false gun and explosive device wrapped around him,Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, from a Copenhagen prison, where he has been serving a life sentence since 2018.
Read more: The Strange Case of a Danish Submarine -- the UC3 Nautilus
- Written by: Bent Lorentzen
- Category: Science
Imagecredit: Sergey Krasovskiy
For those who are doing home teaching during this period, some kids might love to learn about a new feathered dinosaur that has just been discovered in the US southwest. They are about the shape and size of the Velociraptors, made famous by popular culture through movies like Jurassic Park.
Read more: Really Cool New Dinosaur with Feathers Discovered
- Written by: Curtis W. Long
- Category: Science
The day the virus came –
Damn its double name –
Is the day the world closed down
With a terra firmer frown.
- Written by: Bent Lorentzen
- Category: Science
Italian ICU
My deepest hope is that when the dust has settled from this pandemic, the planet of humans will have moved closer to working together on all things that threaten our momentary existence in the cosmos. When you get down to it, the only real threat humanity faces is our own behaviors, even in terms of how this coronavirus theoretically came about, to then devastate the entire planet with Covid-19 in a few short months.
- Written by: Bent Lorentzen
- Category: Science
This is an artist's rendition of the proposed Scytalopus krabbei, just now confirmed through genetic analysis as a new species -- pending the IOU's final approval-- within the tapaculo group of the perching birds (passerine). They are rarely ever seen, their presence generally only ever made known through their calls, live in the Andes, and have never been photographed alive. The artist is professor Jon Fjeldså of the University of Copenhagen Zoological Museum.
My youngest is doing currently doing his Junior Year at Berklee College of Music The following is his paper on Joel Lord's article VRM: Vaccine Toxicity – Middle Ear Infections and Autism. It may be the best (yea ok, I might be a tiny bit biased) paper to refute that idiot and all those who follow him.
- Written by: Curtis W. Long
- Category: Science
Whaddaya mean, “Us,” Human...? Thias takeoff on that old Lone Ranger/Tonto joke may soon seem applicable to the ever-evolving interface between robots and humans.
As far back as 1994, I recall being startled by a self-directed, rolling carrier in an office building. It silently and nonchalantly (See: the tendency to anthropomorphize) went about its task of delivering mail.
- Written by: Mike Bowler
- Category: Science
In three weeks’ time, I visited three of San Diego’s biggest tourist attractions – the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and SeaWorld of San Diego. After battling crowds on weekends and battling smaller crowds on weekdays for each park, I reached an overall conclusion: Humans are the winners and animals are the losers. Of course, since we are also animals – primates to be exact – everyone loses. Jared Diamond in The Third Chimpanzee, suggests we are a third kind of chimp.
