In Cases of Euthanasia, Men Most Often Kill Women — ‘Colorado State University psychologist Silvia Sara Canetto recently uncovered a curious statistic: two thirds of the people who die in so-called mercy killings are women. Moreover, most of these women are killed by men. “Many people may view women’s high rates of death by mercy killing as an indication of men’s beneficence or of women’s healthy pragmatism, rational thinking and self-determination,” Canetto says. “Yet one should be wary of those who present mercy killing as a gift to women. These are fatal gifts, embedded in a long tradition of legitimizing women’s sacrifice.” ‘ Scientific American

No brainer: ‘A new culture war is emerging. This one pits “minders” against “brainers,” and cuts across the usual political lines. Brainers build their cultural castles on the rock of cutting-edge science: genetics, brain biology, and evolutionary psychology. Minders craft a worldview the old-fashioned way, by drawing on religion, philosophy, and classic social science.’ The author, Stankey Kuntz, a fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute think tank, describes himself as a “confirmed minder” and is essentially cheerleading for the various salvos fired against the brainers’ “medicalization of unhappiness.” Perhaps worthwhile, but unfortunately he doesn’t know enough about neuroscience to criticize it, and some of his assertions — e.g., that there is no well-established understanding of the pathophysiologiy of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — are just plain untrue. It is also remarkable to hear him proclaim that the brain/mind battleground is a new one. Indeed, it’s one of the longest-running shows in the psychological sciences. I won’t go too far into his efforts to disparage and patronize the positions of his opponents as “religion”, since he also seems to know little of the philosophy of science and epistemology. His crowning blow is to imply that this is a battle about “the degree of humanity we shall be able to retain.” You can guess which side he thinks holds all the humanity. National Review

Married 203 Times, He Has Only Memories, Not Wives: “(Egyptian) law and custom make short, legal liaisons a form of protection. Musician, 70, now wants to settle down–with two mates.” LA Times

Los Angeles Times letter to the editor: “I am an 80-year-old veteran of 3 1/2 years in the Army during World War II and am really upset by one thing in our reaction to our recent tragedy. Ever since the terrorist attacks it has been appropriate to sing our national anthem on the radio or TV–yet “America, the Beautiful” or “God Bless America” have been substituted. I hope this is not a case of the religious right trying to use this recent tragedy to promote their agenda of getting God into the national anthem. Our national anthem is “The Star Spangled Banner”.

Some See ‘Ghost’ of Towers at Night: ‘For many New Yorkers, the Twin Towers are legendary. But for some, there is now talk about the buildings, the kind that sometimes spurs urban legends. Some residents of the Lower East Side, who for decades have had an unobstructed view of the majestic 110-story towers simply by glancing down East Broadway or Madison Street, say they see the outlines of the two destroyed buildings.

“It was amazing,” said Mike Atta, who works at a grocery store at Rutgers and Madison streets. “It was a light, a straight light going up into the sky. It actually looked like the Twin Towers.”

Atta said many people have stood outside his store on evenings to admire the “ghost” and have spoken to him about it. “Some people say it’s just a light,” Atta said. “Some people say it’s an amazing thing.” ‘ Newsday [via Spike]

Researchers Find Enzyme Crucial To Preservation Of Memories: “…elimination of the enzyme, calcium-calmodulin dependent kinase (CaMKIV), in the forebrains of mice had profound effects on signaling pathways in the brain and learning behavior.

The scientists began their studies to clarify the enzyme’s role in late long-term potentiation (L-LTP), the process by which enduring memories are established through a mechanism of activating genes that trigger protein synthesis. This protein synthesis, in turn, alters the synapses — connections between neurons — and ?etches? permanent memory pathways.” Science Daily News

FAIR Action Alert: Media Pundits Advocate Civilian Targets Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

The ‘art’ of naming military operations, a 1995 historical survey from the

World Wars to ”infinite justice’. US Army War College Quarterly

Everyone’s talking about how the weblog has served us well as a tool since 9-11. But of course it is also a potential vehicle for inanity. Take this, from WarLog by Jeff Jarvis, self-described “president & creative director of Advance.net and former TV critic for TV Guide, creator of Entertainment Weekly, Sunday Editor of the NY Daily News, and a columnist on the San Francisco Examiner“, who writes (taking the cake from Andrew Sullivan’s “fifth column” comments I noted below):

The Axis alliance of this war: Extreme fundamentalist Muslims who hate America, extreme fundamentalist Christians (read: Falwell) who hate what America has become, and extreme fundamentalist liberals (read Matt Welch and Christopher Hitchens’ attack on them) who want to blame America for what has befallen it. They’re all dangerous lunatics. Shouldn’t we in the media be exposing and ridiculing these kooks and cults? Isn’t that in our job description?

US considers faceprints for air security — “Officials given the task of tightening security at airports were impressed by a demonstration of the technique and believe that the expected opposition of civil liberties groups will resonate less widely with the public because of widespread fears about safety.

A government committee under the jurisdiction of Norman Mineta, the Transport Secretary, examined the FaceIt system last week and was told that it could be installed at key airports within weeks.” Times of London

And:

ID cards “don’t stop crime”: “Civil liberties groups are crying foul over the possible introduction of identity cards in Britain, claiming they would infringe liberty but have little impact on the West’s newly declared war on terrorism.” Reuters

How the British national identification card might look. Times of London

Rep. Barbara Lee: “Why I opposed the resolution to authorize force” San Francisco Chronicle

Remiss: “Dubya and the national media have continued to harp on their latest song: America, America, America! I dearly love my country — I had an American flag hanging in my front window long before the Big Awful came down on the 11th — but this is getting embarrassing. Have they not noticed how many of the missing (go ahead and say it: the dead) are from other countries?” Making Light