Posts

May 24, 2012

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Gareth Renowden tells the story of Monckton and the Mob.

January 16, 2009

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7:07 PM | Does the US need a Culture Czar?

I caught a bit on National Public Radio this morning but was distracted and pulling into my destination so all I really caught was "Do we need a Culture Czar?". The bit can be heard here. Now as it turns out this is really about creating a Cabinet level position for the Arts. The web blurb reads: The idea of a Cabinet-level official for the arts has gotten some buzz lately. After all, many other countries have ministers of culture. High-profile artists such as Quincy Jones think it's [...]

November 10, 2008

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12:37 PM | Obama to undo Bush anti-science policies

From the BBC: US President-elect Barack Obama will seek to reverse Bush administration policies when he enters office on 20 January, his transition chief has said. John Podesta said executive orders by President George W Bush on issues such as stem cell research and oil drilling were at odds with Mr Obama's views. Plans to pass a raft of last-minute regulations are also being watched. ... Read the rest here. Read the comments on this post...

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7:37 AM | Obama to undo Bush anti-science policies

From the BBC: US President-elect Barack Obama will seek to reverse Bush administration policies when he enters office on 20 January, his transition chief has said. John Podesta said executive orders by President George W Bush on issues such as stem cell research and oil drilling were at odds with Mr Obama’s views. Plans to…

November 06, 2008

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4:14 PM | Results for State Ballot Measures on Science

SEA has put together a list of state ballot measures that involved science including info on what the end result was. The list can be found here and below. It was particularly interesting that Colorado rejected an amendment to the state constitution that defined "the moment in which an egg becomes an established "person."" Also heartening was the passing of the Minnesota constitutional amendment to "allocate funding for protecting Minnesota's water sources, environment, cultural heritage [...]

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11:14 AM | Results for State Ballot Measures on Science

SEA has put together a list of state ballot measures that involved science including info on what the end result was. The list can be found here and below. It was particularly interesting that Colorado rejected an amendment to the state constitution that defined “the moment in which an egg becomes an established “person.”" Also…

November 04, 2008

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5:57 PM | Happy Election Day! GO VOTE!

The day is finally here. You've heard it from everyone, but I'll pile on...VOTE! Our final tally on the YouTube AVoteForScience challenge is 30 something videos from scientists endorsing Obama....and not one video from a scientist endorsing McCain. That seems to reflect a general consensus on the issue of who is better on science policy issues. It's too bad, really. It would have been nice to see a good justification for voting the other way if such an argument could be made on science issues. [...]

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12:57 PM | Happy Election Day! GO VOTE!

The day is finally here. You’ve heard it from everyone, but I’ll pile on…VOTE! Our final tally on the YouTube AVoteForScience challenge is 30 something videos from scientists endorsing Obama….and not one video from a scientist endorsing McCain. That seems to reflect a general consensus on the issue of who is better on science policy…

November 01, 2008

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8:01 PM | Our First AVoteForScience Couple!

We have our first submission from a couple! Bernice and Loyal Durand, two theoretical physicists from the University of Wisconsin have both endorsed Barack Obama. I think it's great that a couple would speak out about the importance of science together. Shouldn't be natural to vote together as well? Maybe this election day we should all take the tiny step of making sure all our loved ones vote. Bernice Durand Endorses Barack Obama Loyal Durand endorses Barack Obama Read the comments on [...]

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3:01 PM | Our First AVoteForScience Couple!

We have our first submission from a couple! Bernice and Loyal Durand, two theoretical physicists from the University of Wisconsin have both endorsed Barack Obama. I think it’s great that a couple would speak out about the importance of science together. Shouldn’t be natural to vote together as well? Maybe this election day we should…

October 31, 2008

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7:10 PM | Massive number of OpEds endorsing Obama because of policies on science

In the latest issue of Science, an article on grass-roots efforts by scientists in the last weeks before the election brought up a startling point, that there have been a lot of letters to the Editor and OpEds published in newspapers either endorsing Obama or pointing out the errors of the McCain campaign rhetoric on science. What is absolutely amazing, is that there has not been a single letter or OpEd by a scientist endorsing McCain. Not ONE? Here is a partial list of OpEds and letters that [...]

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4:54 PM | Nobel Laureate, Murray Gell-Mann endorses Obama

Our latest AVoteforScience videos are up and a new article in Science talks about the effort and other grass roots efforts this year. I will note that Science forgot to mention that the AVoteForScience effort was done in partnership with Seed Magazine/ScienceBlogs. In fact, it couldn't have been done without them. Of particular interest will be the video by Murray Gell-Mann who received the Nobel prize in physics in 1969. Murray reads the letter from he and 75 of his fellow Laureates in [...]

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2:10 PM | Massive number of OpEds endorsing Obama because of policies on science

In the latest issue of Science, an article on grass-roots efforts by scientists in the last weeks before the election brought up a startling point, that there have been a lot of letters to the Editor and OpEds published in newspapers either endorsing Obama or pointing out the errors of the McCain campaign rhetoric on…

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11:54 AM | Nobel Laureate, Murray Gell-Mann endorses Obama

Our latest AVoteforScience videos are up and a new article in Science talks about the effort and other grass roots efforts this year. I will note that Science forgot to mention that the AVoteForScience effort was done in partnership with Seed Magazine/ScienceBlogs. In fact, it couldn’t have been done without them. Of particular interest will…

October 29, 2008

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7:25 AM | 76 Nobel Laureates in Science Endorse Obama!

This is unbelievable. The Nobel Laureates for Obama effort just sent me an updated letter with an additional 11 names bringing the total to 76 Nobel laureates in science endorsing Obama. That completely eclipses the previous record of 47 endorsing Kerry and it is more than have ever endorsed anything in history. Now, this is no group of sycophants, these are some of the greatest minds of our nation, so it is really impossible to view this as some sort of partisan blindness. I can't help but [...]

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2:25 AM | 76 Nobel Laureates in Science Endorse Obama!

This is unbelievable. The Nobel Laureates for Obama effort just sent me an updated letter with an additional 11 names bringing the total to 76 Nobel laureates in science endorsing Obama. That completely eclipses the previous record of 47 endorsing Kerry and it is more than have ever endorsed anything in history. Now, this is…

October 28, 2008

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5:20 PM | More AVoteForScience videos!

Here are the latest videos in our AVoteForScience YouTube Challenge. They include videos from Dr. Jose Morales at Columbia University, Dr. Robert Dottin of the Center for Study of Gene Structure and Function (below) and beloved scienceblogger and marine scientist Sheril Kirshenbaum. You'll never guess who they are voting for this year? Now there is one little issue. Sheril has decided not to tell you who she is voting for. Hoy coy. Perhaps some polite nudging in the comments will get her to [...]

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2:36 PM | Enshrining homophobia in California, Arizona and Florida

At least three US states have constitutional amendments designed to bar same-sex marriage on their ballots this cycle (See summary graph for current policies in all 50 states). I was recently bemoaning the complete absence of rational argument in support of the effort in California and some astute commenters broadened my focus. One comment led back to some interesting data on the effect permitting gay marriage has on heterosexual marriage. Data = good. Wouldn't it be nice if we were able to [...]

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12:20 PM | More AVoteForScience videos!

Here are the latest videos in our AVoteForScience YouTube Challenge. They include videos from Dr. Jose Morales at Columbia University, Dr. Robert Dottin of the Center for Study of Gene Structure and Function (below) and beloved scienceblogger and marine scientist Sheril Kirshenbaum. You’ll never guess who they are voting for this year? Now there is…

October 27, 2008

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2:26 PM | Kiki Sanford endorses Barack Obama

Today's AVoteForScience video comes from Dr. Kirsten (Kiki) Sanford, the incredibly talented host of This Week in Science, my favorite science radio show. If you haven't heard it, you can download it as a podcast from iTunes or here. OK, cards on the table, I am a regular on the show so I am a little biased, but seriously it is an entertaining romp through the world of science. So, check the show out. Kiki speaks frankly about innovation, education and technology and the importance of electing [...]

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9:26 AM | Kiki Sanford endorses Barack Obama

Today’s AVoteForScience video comes from Dr. Kirsten (Kiki) Sanford, the incredibly talented host of This Week in Science, my favorite science radio show. If you haven’t heard it, you can download it as a podcast from iTunes or here. OK, cards on the table, I am a regular on the show so I am a…

October 24, 2008

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7:41 PM | Physicist Larry Jackel discusses loss of innovation in US and endorses Obama

In a striking video that includes footage of the old Bell Labs building and a frank discussion of the loss of competitiveness in the US, Physicist Larry Jackel explains why he is endorsing Obama for President. See all the AVoteForScience videos HERE Read the comments on this post...

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2:41 PM | Physicist Larry Jackel discusses loss of innovation in US and endorses Obama

In a striking video that includes footage of the old Bell Labs building and a frank discussion of the loss of competitiveness in the US, Physicist Larry Jackel explains why he is endorsing Obama for President. See all the AVoteForScience videos HERE

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2:26 PM | Latest AVoteForScience video

Here is the latest video from our YouTube AVoteForScience challenge. We will have a lot more videos coming in the week before the election. It is by John Dunbar, a microbiologist from New Mexico. He explains that leadership that is dedicated to fighting global warming is needed in the US and that he believes that Barack Obama is the right guy for the job. His disembodied head-style video is as ominous as his message. You can see all the videos HERE. Read the comments on this post...

October 22, 2008

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10:46 PM | Even more AVoteForScience YouTube videos

We have had a fantastic response to our AVoteForScience YouTube challenge and the press has started to notice. I have done two interviews in the past 24 hours on the effort. If you are a scientist, get your videos explaining who you are voting for and why uploaded to YouTube and don't forget to tag them AVoteForScience so we can find them. I am noticing a lot of physicists uploading videos. Have biologists dropped the ball? Here are some of the latest videos: David Palmer an astrophysicist [...]

October 21, 2008

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9:14 PM | Presidential Forum on Energy Tonight! (Live webcast from Stanford)

SEA is holding a Presidential forum with representatives from the Obama and McCain campaigns duking it out on energy issues. Kurt Yeager, cochair of the McCain California Energy Security Coalition will square off with Dan Kammen, Senior Advisor on Energy & Environmental Policy for Barack Obama. If you are in the Stanford area, you can see it live at 6:30PT, Kresge Auditorium at Stanford University. If not, you can still see it live via webcast HERE. Read the comments on this post...