Arizona bill aims to loosen gun laws

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/01/31/20110131arizona-gun-bill-aims-loosen-laws.html

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Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller Talks Magic, David Blaine, and the Arizona Shooting - Miami Art - Cultist

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/cultist/2011/01/qa_with_penn_jillette_of_penn.php

I always recommend reading the Bible from beginning to end. Not a guided system of reading it, but just read the whole thing, and I think if you do, you come out being an atheist. I don't think you have to do anything special. I think at the end of a book about hatred, slavery, horrible acts towards women, crazy contradictory laws, and the jealous nature of this God, I think it's apparent that it was written by crazy people for political reasons. 
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Article: New interview with Christopher Hitchens

New interview with Christopher Hitchens
http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/new-interview-with-christopher-hitchens/

And there's a cer tain ghoul ish ele ment, even about the nice peo ple who've been pray ing for me. Because they are not just pray ing for my recov ery, they're pray ing for my rec on cil i a tion with reli gion. And I—I pro posed a trade off the other day, I said, I tell you what, what if we sec­u lar ists stop going to hos pi tals and walk ing around the wards and ask ing if peo ple are reli gious when they are in extrem is and in their last days and say ing look, you've still got a lit tle time, why don't you live the last few days of it as a free per son. You'll feel much bet ter. All that non sense they taught you. You know you could still have every chance to give it up. Expe ri ence the life of a free think ing autonomous per son. Don't live in fear, don't believe in mythol o gy.

They – I don't think they'd wel come it. And of course, we don't do that. But it seems to be con sid ered the right of almost every­body to do it the other way around. I don't resent it at all, because I like every oppor tu ni ty for the argu ment, but it—a lot of it has been to do with that.

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Coconino National Forest - Carroll Canyon Area Trails

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/red_rock/carroll-cyn-area-trs.shtml

This interconnected series of trails lie within Sedona, but are mostly well out of sight of developed areas. They are accessed from three trailheads shown below. A loop hike can be made combining parts of two trails and one-way hikes can be made using arranged transportation at a second trailhead. These trails have easy to moderate grades with little overall elevation change and are well signed, but have little shade.

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Article: State of the Union: President Obama's salmon joke makes a splash

State of the Union: President Obama's salmon joke makes a splash
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-address-salmon-20110126,0,4929127.story
"The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they're in saltwater," he quipped. "And I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked."
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Article: will.i.am teams up with Intel

will.i.am teams up with Intel
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-william-teams-intel.html
"I just became the Director of Creative Innovation for Intel," will.i.am said in a message on his Twitter feed @iamwill on Tuesday.
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Gergen: Can the U.S. still compete?

Hey, check this out from CNN:
Gergen: Can the U.S. still compete?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/25/gergen.obama.competitiveness/index.html

For most of the 20th century, we were No. 1 in the world in education;
today, we are ninth in the proportion of young people with college
degrees, 18th in high school graduation rates among industrialized
nations and 27th in the proportion of science and engineering degrees.
China now graduates more English-trained engineers than the U.S. and
has become the world's No. 1 exporter in high technology

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National Assessment Governing Board News Release for the The Nation's Report Card Science 2009 Release

http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/media/pdf/PressReleaseNAGBScience2009.pdf

According to results from the 2009 National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP)—also known as The Nation's Report
Card—34 percent of the nation's fourth-graders, 30 percent of
eighth-graders, and 21 percent of twelfth-graders are performing
at or above the Proficient level in science, meaning that less
than one-half of students are demonstrating solid academic
performance and competency over challenging subject matter.

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Miriam Smith Killed Dog For Chewing On Bible: Nephew's Pit Bull Hanged From Tree, Burned To Death

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/25/miriam-smith-killed-dog-f_n_813583.html

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Article: A poll on the Pope's views on social networking

A poll on the Pope's views on social networking
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/01/a_poll_on_the_popes_views_on_s.php

n old-as-stupid benighted leader of a medieval institution that thinks the last word in social engineering is the mistranslated words of ancient goatherders scrawled on vellum has come out and said that using your computer for social networking is OK, as long as you don't do it too much and adopt a suitably Christian manner in your writing — which may explain all those gleeful letters I've been getting that inform me I'm going to burn in hell for all eternity.

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THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER 2011— Page 1

http://www.edge.org/q2011/q11_1.html

In a democratic and demotic society like ours, the biggest challenge to scientific thinking is the tendency to embrace views on the basis of faith or of ideology. A majority of Americans doubt evolution because it goes against their religious teachings; and at least a sizeable minority are skeptical about global warming — or more precisely, the human contributions to global change — because efforts to counter climate change would tamper with the 'free market'.

Popper popularized the notion that a claim is scientific only to the extent that it can be disproved — and that science works through perpetual efforts to disprove claims.

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Good Morning Silicon Valley | Technology news and analysis from SiliconValley.com

http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/

Quoted: It's Silicon Valley, not Silicone Valley(0)
By Levi Sumagaysay

"It's a complete work of fiction. I kind of wish my life were that cool. There are no Victoria's Secret models in Silicon Valley."

— Sean Parker, speaking to author Paulo Coelho at the Digital Life Design conference in Munich, when asked about "The Social Network," the movie about Facebook's founding in which the Napster co-founder — and former Facebook president — was portrayed by actor Justin Timberlake as a cocaine-sniffing celebrity geek. Parker also said he still considers Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin a friend.

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Article: Collection of Victorian infographics

Collection of Victorian infographics
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/21/collection-of-victor.html

I hap pen to real ly like this plant dis tri b u tion info graph ic, but it's hard ly the most strik ing one in the col lec tion. In par tic u lar, there are some great geog­ra phy images (with color!), and beau ti ful time tables that actu al ly start get­ting clos er to a more mod ern sort of graph ic design.

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Evergreen and Indigo: To My Religious Friends

http://evergreenandindigo.blogspot.com/2010/07/to-my-religious-friends.html

To My Religious Friends

Do not pity me, do not feel sorry for me. I have chosen my path by my own free will. I am not lost, so there is no need for me to be found. My life is not empty. I know who I am and I know my purpose. I love, I am loved, and I strive every day to make sure I leave this world in better condition than I found it. My world is not dark and it is not cold. I see beauty and divinity in the world around me, and it is in no way less meaningful than your world ruled by a deity. My divine is love and nature, physics and chemistry and respect. I can respect you without agreeing and love you without believing that my love was directed by a higher power. Disagreement is not mocking, but instead is a quest for mutual understanding. I have no reason to mock you and it is hurtful when you proclaim how sorry you are for me.

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Article: Was Steven Pinker right after all?

Was Steven Pinker right after all?
http://musiccognition.blogspot.com/2011/01/was-steven-pinker-right-after-all.html

Pinker was prob a bly right when he wrote: "I sus pect music is audi to ry cheese cake, an exquis ite con fec tion craft ed to tick le the sen si tive spots of...our men tal faculties."
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Article: Badass Quote of the Day : Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Badass Quote of the Day : Dispatches from the Culture Wars
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2011/01/badass_quote_of_the_day_86.php?utm_source=combinedfeed&utm_medium=rss

About those defense "cuts" the Obama administration wants to push through, Adam Serwerwrites:

Calling this a "defense cut" is a bit bizarre. Think about it this way: If you were 300 pounds, and in the next year your doctor told you that you were on the road to gaining another hundred, but you instead only went up to 350 pounds, you wouldn't be walking around telling everyone about how you "lost weight."

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Article: The best documentaries of 2010

Roger exert
The best documentaries of 2010
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/01/the_best_documentaries_of_2010.html

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Highway History - US Route 89 - Montana Wyoming Idaho Utah Arizona

http://us89society.org/89RoadTripGuides/USRoute89RoadTripIntroduction/HighwayHistory/tabid/168/Default.aspx

twenty National Parks and Monuments on US Route 89

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A Right to Bear Glocks? - NYTimes.com

A Right to Bear Glocks? - NYTimes.com: "Loughner’s gun, a 9-millimeter Glock, is extremely easy to fire over and over, and it can carry a 30-bullet clip. It is “not suited for hunting or personal protection,” said Paul Helmke, the president of the Brady Campaign. “What it’s good for is killing and injuring a lot of people quickly.”

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“Don't politicize this tragedy!” : Pharyngula

“Don't politicize this tragedy!” : Pharyngula: "I find it abhorrent that Sarah Palin would stoke the coals of extremism with dangerous messaging, then delete it when something bad happens. - Jason Pollock

Sure, Sarah Palin didn't pull the trigger. But then, neither did Charles Manson. - auntbeast

Christina Taylor Green was Born on September 11, 2001, and killed today by terrorist fuckheads in Arizona. Irony much? - geeksofdoom

Sarah Palin rummages online frantically erasing her rabble-rousing Tweets like a Stalinist trimming non-persons out of photos. - Roger Ebert


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Quote/Counterquote: “Our Father” and his daily bread – updated...

http://www.quotecounterquote.com/2010/03/our-father-and-his-daily-bread-updated.html

BEATNIK VERSION: "Our father whose art's in heaven  hollow be thy name, unless things change  Thy wigdom come and gone, thy will will be undone     on earth as it isn't heaven  Give us this day our daily bread      at least three times a day     and forgive us our trespasses     as we would forgive those lovelies     whom we wish would trespass against us  And lead us not into temptation too often on weekdays     but deliver us from evil     whose presence remains unexplained     in thy kingdom of power and glory  Oh man"         Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "Loud Poem"         The original long version, printed in The Beatitude Anthology (1960)         Famously recited (in part) at The Band's "Last Waltz" concert

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Scene Stealer - A Fight Brews Over Hollywood’s Video ‘Window’ - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/business/26steal.html?_r=3&src=me&ref=business

Exhibitors are also arguing that the copy-blocking technology approved by the F.C.C. won't work. "If past is prologue, technological locks will be overcome with technological crowbars," the ads from the National Association of Theater Owners stated.

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Article: Microsoft demos future Windows version running on Intel and ARM chips

Microsoft demos future Windows version running on Intel and ARM chips
http://venturebeat.com/2011/01/05/microsoft-demos-future-windows-version-running-on-intel-and-arm-chips-video/

Microsoft said ear li er today that its future ver sion of Win dows can run on chips based on ARM's chip archi tec ture. In front of a huge crowd at the Con sumer Elec tron ics Show, Microsoft chief exec u tive Steve Ballmer showed once again that the soft ware worked fine on test sys tems based on chips from Intel, Qual comm (Snap drag on), Texas Instru ments, and Nvidia (Tegra 2).

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Article: Doctor Behind Study Linking Vaccine to Autism Accused of 'Deliberate Fraud'

Doctor Behind Study Linking Vaccine to Autism Accused of 'Deliberate Fraud'
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/648562.html

An in-depth investigation just published in a prominent medical journal alleges that a decade-long effort to link childhood vaccinations with autism was really an elaborate hoax perpetuated by a British doctor who has since been banned from practicing medicine in that country.

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Media Streaming Boxes 2011 - Boxee vs Apple TV vs Slingbox vs Roku vs Google TV

http://www.etny.net/media_streaming_devices_explained?noloop=1

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Article: Sonic says its RoxioNow serves as secure foundation for Intel’s movie-streaming technology

Sonic says its RoxioNow serves as secure foundation for Intel's movie-streaming technology
http://venturebeat.com/2011/01/05/sonic-says-its-roxionow-serves-as-secure-foundation-for-intels-movie-streaming-technology/

In the past, stu dios didn't allow high-quality movies to be released online because of con cerns about pira cy and qual i ty. Now, Habiger said, there's no need to sit on the side lines while oth ers embrace new dig i tal dis tri b u tion and busi ness mod els.
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Article: Consumer Electronics Show: No-show Apple still has a dominating presence at CES

Consumer Electronics Show: No-show Apple still has a dominating presence at CES
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ces-apple-20110105,0,5240384.story

Apple is the phantom haunting CES,

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Swype's Kushler reinvents the keyboard, again

Hey, check this out from CNN:
Swype's Kushler reinvents the keyboard, again
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/01/05/swype.kushler/index.html
At Michigan State University, he met John Eulenberg, a professor and
director of the Artificial Language Laboratory.

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Article: Badass Quote of the Day : Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Badass Quote of the Day : Dispatches from the Culture Wars
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2011/01/badass_quote_of_the_day_81.php?utm_source=combinedfeed&utm_medium=rss
America's drawn-out wars abroad are stupendously expensive. The stupendous expense of course attracts profit-seeking firms rather like sharks to blood. And the wars are so drawn out in part because, as Mr Fallows and Robert Gates suggest, there's nothing concrete at stake for most Americans. Like the hum of an air conditioner, after a while, one simply stops noticing the wars are there, much less that many billions of taxpayer dollars are thereby making some private citizens immensely rich.
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Article: CBC Books - The year in books: The 10 publishing stories of 2010

CBC Books - The year in books: The 10 publishing stories of 2010
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2010/12/the-year-in-books-the-10-biggest-publishing-stories-of-2010.html

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Article: 2010 Year Lists - Fimoculous.com

2010 Year Lists - Fimoculous.com
http://www.fimoculous.com/year-review-2010.cfm

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Article: Wikimedia Commons Pictures of the Year : WebUrbanist Image Gallery

Wikimedia Commons Pictures of the Year : WebUrbanist Image Gallery
http://weburbanist.com/pics/creative-commons-pictures-of-the-year/

Creative Commons Picture of the Year: According to Wikimedia Commons, "The Commons Picture of the Year is a competition that was first run in 2006. It aims to identify the best freely-licensed images from those that during the year have been awarded Featured picture status." There area different categories and different Rounds to the competition. Here are 23 of the best winners from the Creative Commons Pictures of the Year competition.

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Cartoon

http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2011/01/01/

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