So I have a network, I have been unaware of.
Absent minded professor!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Paola Fuentes in Digg
So I have a network, I have been unaware of.
Absent minded professor!
Paola Comenta
She is friends with me in Digg.
Needs of Nature According to Shu
``For this we argue as follows: When converting the magnitude of increment in time, dt , into that in length, Nature needs a universal standard to refer to. Noting that the concept of time arises from the observation that the distribution of mass-energy contained in the universe is dynamic and the rate of change, $\dot \rho(t)$, of the cosmological density is the very quantity that manifests the dynamicity of a homogeneous universe, we postulate that $\dot \rho(t)$ is the standard taken by Nature. If the distribution was static, $\dot \rho(t)$
$0$ , the concept of time would have no meaning.''
Taken from arXiv
Shu, somehow thinks that Nature has needs. I know the game, I play it myself, I feel though; that we can step back a little bit, and see what we are saying.
The game is this: he gives a prediction that goes well with Filippenko et al.'s measurements. So, maybe Shu is right.
BTW, I notice in his references that Perlmutter et al. is first, even though his paper came later than Riess et al.; mh.
$0$ , the concept of time would have no meaning.''Taken from arXiv
Shu, somehow thinks that Nature has needs. I know the game, I play it myself, I feel though; that we can step back a little bit, and see what we are saying.
The game is this: he gives a prediction that goes well with Filippenko et al.'s measurements. So, maybe Shu is right.
BTW, I notice in his references that Perlmutter et al. is first, even though his paper came later than Riess et al.; mh.
I Give You Money, or I Give You Death
``The civilian also said that the Army had offered him “a considerable amount of money if I were to keep my ear to the ground and be an in with them with WikiLeaks.” He said that he had turned the Army down and that he had no connection to WikiLeaks. The other civilian also said in an interview on Friday that he had no connection to WikiLeaks.''
From NYT.
From NYT.
Lady Gaga: You Rock!
``Investigators believe that he exploited a loophole in Defense Department security to copy thousands of files onto compact discs over a six-month period. In at least one instance, according to people familiar with the inquiry, Private Manning smuggled highly classified data out of his intelligence unit on a disc made to look like a music CD by Lady Gaga.''
From NYT.
From NYT.
Marx Understood This a Long Time Ago
Karl Marx saw a fundamental flaw in the capitalist system. Workers get smart, they fight bosses.
They have to be smart to operate complex machines, like: COMPUTERS?
Hackers hide, Uncle Sam is looking for you.
Agent Smith:We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start. All that we're asking in return is your cooperation in bringing a known terrorist to justice.
Neo: Yeah. Well, that sounds like a pretty good deal. But I think I may have a better one. How about, I give you the finger
[He does]
Neo: and you give me my phone call.
Taken from: The Matrix (199)-Memorable quotes.
They have to be smart to operate complex machines, like: COMPUTERS?
Hackers hide, Uncle Sam is looking for you.
Agent Smith:We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start. All that we're asking in return is your cooperation in bringing a known terrorist to justice.
Neo: Yeah. Well, that sounds like a pretty good deal. But I think I may have a better one. How about, I give you the finger
[He does]
Neo: and you give me my phone call.
Taken from: The Matrix (199)-Memorable quotes.
The War Started and Ground Zero is Boston
Just like Daniel Ellsberg was hiding in Boston more than forty years ago. Now Julian Assange is hiding somewhere in the world, but the US is looking for him in Boston.
Bring it on!?
Rather find cover geeks; they are coming after you. Where is Neo?
Bring it on!?
Rather find cover geeks; they are coming after you. Where is Neo?
Shu and the Nature of SpaceTime
Prof. Shu just published his idea on arXiv.
This is good; but I believe we have to clarify what we mean by space and time, before, or during, strides are made to establish a new agreement.
Right now I am trying to understand how consciousness is a Natural Autopoietic Object (nao).
Before we can decide if we found outside of our heads a ``real'' SpaceTime. We have to all agree what do we think SpaceTime is?
These are all MyConcepts. You can find musings on them on this Blog. Shu presents his ideas in CommonSpeak, through the arXiv. My point here, is that those marks there are better, but not infinitely better than the marks in this Blog.
If the Universe is going to be a nao, it has to produce, and maintain itself. Shu claims that the Big Bang moment, is not a moment of creation, in the naive sense of Lemaître-Gamow-Guth, but rather a bottleneck.
We'll see.
He uses Filippenko's measurements. Thanks Alex.
This is good; but I believe we have to clarify what we mean by space and time, before, or during, strides are made to establish a new agreement.
Right now I am trying to understand how consciousness is a Natural Autopoietic Object (nao).
Before we can decide if we found outside of our heads a ``real'' SpaceTime. We have to all agree what do we think SpaceTime is?
These are all MyConcepts. You can find musings on them on this Blog. Shu presents his ideas in CommonSpeak, through the arXiv. My point here, is that those marks there are better, but not infinitely better than the marks in this Blog.
If the Universe is going to be a nao, it has to produce, and maintain itself. Shu claims that the Big Bang moment, is not a moment of creation, in the naive sense of Lemaître-Gamow-Guth, but rather a bottleneck.
We'll see.
He uses Filippenko's measurements. Thanks Alex.
New Digg
The new version of Digg is coming. No new subscribers to the old Digg. I already have my account: http://new.digg.com/cantoral
Tweeter offered today a new feature: Follow Suggestions.
/. Is dead.
Evolution; rapid evolution is the Internet way. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, predicted it, and called it the Noosphere.
I already claim my territory: Google Search for Relevant Science.
Even though I am 12075 in Wikio ranking; I exist, which is the important thing at this state of the Global Brain Evolution.
Eric S. Raymond wrote a nice piece a long time ago, called Homesteading the Noosphere.
Claim your lot! Go West Young Man!
Actually I do not know if it is West, Up or Down. It is somewhere.
I invent a new service here:
Twi
Like Twitter, but smaller. What about 70 character, instead of 140?
Tweeter offered today a new feature: Follow Suggestions.
/. Is dead.
Evolution; rapid evolution is the Internet way. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, predicted it, and called it the Noosphere.
I already claim my territory: Google Search for Relevant Science.
Even though I am 12075 in Wikio ranking; I exist, which is the important thing at this state of the Global Brain Evolution.
Eric S. Raymond wrote a nice piece a long time ago, called Homesteading the Noosphere.
Claim your lot! Go West Young Man!
Actually I do not know if it is West, Up or Down. It is somewhere.
I invent a new service here:
Twi
Like Twitter, but smaller. What about 70 character, instead of 140?
Friday, July 30, 2010
Dr. ir Rudd van Akkeren on 2012
2012: end of time? Calendar Cycles of the Maya and other peoples of Mesoamerica.
Dr.ir Ruud van Akkeren
Are we to believe the media fare in the world 2012, and are we all doomed? These apocalyptic predictions are mainly based on the ending of a calendar developed by the Maya of Central America. Which we call the Long Count calendar. It is a creation of Indian priests and historians from the classical period of the Maya (200-900 AD). The Long Count is not so much created to predict doomsday scenarios, but rather to the long royal dynasties capture. This cycle ends on December 21, 2012.
This is a short series of five lectures, cyclical calendars and time experience with the Maya and their neighbors, from what we call the Mesoamerican culture. After a historical introduction, we look at the Long Count and other calendars. Time comes in Mesoamerica in cycles revealed in ages. Before the era in which the Maya live today was a different era, ruled by the Lords of the Underworld. We read in the Popol Wuj (Community Book), also known as the Bible of the Maya, how the hero twins, said those records were. The Aztecs called their eras Suns. The current Solar era began in Teotihuacan, a vast pyramid city that today's Sun and Moon God jump in the divine furnace. No new time without blood sacrifice. The last lecture is about the role of human sacrifice rituals calendar changes.
Dr.ir R. van Akkeren is an anthropologist and a PhD in ancient Maya ritual calendar that the transition between two cycles marked. He lives half yearly in the Netherlands and Guatemala.''
Taken from Erasumus University, Rotterdam. and translated from Dutch to English with Google Translate.
Dr.ir Ruud van Akkeren
Are we to believe the media fare in the world 2012, and are we all doomed? These apocalyptic predictions are mainly based on the ending of a calendar developed by the Maya of Central America. Which we call the Long Count calendar. It is a creation of Indian priests and historians from the classical period of the Maya (200-900 AD). The Long Count is not so much created to predict doomsday scenarios, but rather to the long royal dynasties capture. This cycle ends on December 21, 2012.
This is a short series of five lectures, cyclical calendars and time experience with the Maya and their neighbors, from what we call the Mesoamerican culture. After a historical introduction, we look at the Long Count and other calendars. Time comes in Mesoamerica in cycles revealed in ages. Before the era in which the Maya live today was a different era, ruled by the Lords of the Underworld. We read in the Popol Wuj (Community Book), also known as the Bible of the Maya, how the hero twins, said those records were. The Aztecs called their eras Suns. The current Solar era began in Teotihuacan, a vast pyramid city that today's Sun and Moon God jump in the divine furnace. No new time without blood sacrifice. The last lecture is about the role of human sacrifice rituals calendar changes.
Dr.ir R. van Akkeren is an anthropologist and a PhD in ancient Maya ritual calendar that the transition between two cycles marked. He lives half yearly in the Netherlands and Guatemala.''
Taken from Erasumus University, Rotterdam. and translated from Dutch to English with Google Translate.
Did Tecum Umam Exist?
From Citizendium we get:
`` Did he ever actually exist?
Tecum Umam's status as either a man or a myth is a topic of lengthy and ongoing discussion. Historical research has demonstrated with some degree of surety that the man celebrated as a national hero of Guatemala probably did not exist quite as he is presented in the legend but there is also strong evidence to suggest that this character was not simply dreamed up. Ruud W. van Akkeren[4] defines two important questions that must be addressed on this issue:
* How does Tecum Umam fit within the K'iche' power structure?
* Was there really a historic duel between Tecum Umam and Pedro de Alvarado?
The evidence
One piece of evidence about Tecum Umam the historical person comes from Alvarado himself in a letter written to Hernán Cortés. The letter is quite sparing in details, however - the legend in its current form appears to have come down to us indirectly from indigenous documents that were produced some years after Alvarado's conquest through Francisco de Fuentes y Guzmán, who recorded the legend toward the end of the 17th century.''
Alvarado's letter to Cortés is the only contemporary documentation of his possible meeting with Tecum Umam that is available to us (the earliest indigenous documents that have been discovered date to 1550 or 1560). The letter doesn't reveal very much, however. In his description of his army's arrival in K'iche' territory and the first battle that ensued, Alvarado mentions that "in this affair one of the four chiefs of the city of Utatlan was killed, who was the captain general of all this country."[10] Alvarado does not provide a name for the K'iche' captain general; nor does he mention how or by whose hand the man was killed.
The K'iche' document cited by Fuentes y Guzmán, the Titulo del Ahpop Quecham, is now lost, but several other indigenous documents describe the arrival of Alvarado in what would become Guatemala. Prominent among them is the Título K'oyoi which describes the battle between the Tecum Umam and Pedro de Alvarado in terms very similar to the modern legend. This document also contains the earliest known reference to the K'iche' leader as "Tecum Umam."
I have a document by Ruud W. van Akkeren, from Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam, with claims to the historical exstence of Tecum Umam.
`` Did he ever actually exist?
Tecum Umam's status as either a man or a myth is a topic of lengthy and ongoing discussion. Historical research has demonstrated with some degree of surety that the man celebrated as a national hero of Guatemala probably did not exist quite as he is presented in the legend but there is also strong evidence to suggest that this character was not simply dreamed up. Ruud W. van Akkeren[4] defines two important questions that must be addressed on this issue:
* How does Tecum Umam fit within the K'iche' power structure?
* Was there really a historic duel between Tecum Umam and Pedro de Alvarado?
The evidence
One piece of evidence about Tecum Umam the historical person comes from Alvarado himself in a letter written to Hernán Cortés. The letter is quite sparing in details, however - the legend in its current form appears to have come down to us indirectly from indigenous documents that were produced some years after Alvarado's conquest through Francisco de Fuentes y Guzmán, who recorded the legend toward the end of the 17th century.''
Alvarado's letter to Cortés is the only contemporary documentation of his possible meeting with Tecum Umam that is available to us (the earliest indigenous documents that have been discovered date to 1550 or 1560). The letter doesn't reveal very much, however. In his description of his army's arrival in K'iche' territory and the first battle that ensued, Alvarado mentions that "in this affair one of the four chiefs of the city of Utatlan was killed, who was the captain general of all this country."[10] Alvarado does not provide a name for the K'iche' captain general; nor does he mention how or by whose hand the man was killed.
The K'iche' document cited by Fuentes y Guzmán, the Titulo del Ahpop Quecham, is now lost, but several other indigenous documents describe the arrival of Alvarado in what would become Guatemala. Prominent among them is the Título K'oyoi which describes the battle between the Tecum Umam and Pedro de Alvarado in terms very similar to the modern legend. This document also contains the earliest known reference to the K'iche' leader as "Tecum Umam."
I have a document by Ruud W. van Akkeren, from Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam, with claims to the historical exstence of Tecum Umam.
Chiri Xelaju Tecum Umam
Bonampak painting of Mayan preparations for war, in the VIII century.
Historical documents reveal that Tecum Umam existed, and was described in similar circumstances as these historical paintings demonstrate. Another source on Tecum Umam is in Citizendium.
From this other source we get:
``The dance reenacts the invasion led by Alvarado and the conquest of Guatemala.[9] It opens in Utatlán, the capital of the K'iche' kingdom, where Rey K'iche' (the king) receives news of the Spaniards' approach from Montezuma in the distant Aztec capital. Then the king sends his sons and daughters to Xelajuj Noj (Quetzaltenango) to recruit Tecum Umam to lead the army against the approaching foes. The following scenes depict first the K'iche' chieftains and then the Spanish officers swearing allegiance to their leaders and then reach their climax with the battle between Alvarado and Tecum Umam. Echoing the Baile de los Moros, the dance concludes as the "Quiché warriors now peaceably, even rejoicingly, embrace the religion of the hijos del sol."[9]''
My father used to wake us up in the morning, with the poem:
``Arriba Tecum valiente, no temáis al enemigo, recordad que estaís conmigo, que soy Huitzitzil Tz’unun''
My translation:
Get up brave Tecum, do not fear the enemy, remember you are with me, I am Huitzitzil Tz’unun.
This Mayan chief, faced Don Pedro de Alvarado, the warlord sent by Hernán Cortés, to conquer Guatemala.
This note's title is in Maya, it means ``There in Xelajú Tecum Umam.'' Xelajú is Maya for Quetzaltenago, where my father was born.
Slash Dot /.
``Earlier today we published an analysis of the top traffic drivers in social media, based on data from Web analytics company Woopra. The biggest traffic driver was StumbleUpon (51%), followed by Digg (30%), Hacker News (12%) and Reddit (5%). Surprisingly, tech news community Slashdot was in the list of top referrers. In fact, according to Woopra CEO John Pozadzides, Slashdot "drives close to 0% of traffic to the sites Woopra measures." (emphasis ours)''
From NYT.
I should use more StumbleUpon.
From NYT.
I should use more StumbleUpon.
Bob Herbert on Recession
``“They threw out far more workers and hours than they lost output,” said Professor Sum. “Here’s what happened: At the end of the fourth quarter in 2008, you see corporate profits begin to really take off, and they grow by the time you get to the first quarter of 2010 by $572 billion. And over that same time period, wage and salary payments go down by $122 billion.”
That kind of disconnect, said Mr. Sum, had never been seen before in all the decades since World War II.''
NYT
I feel like making something so important and new, that everybody will need me.
It is demeaning to contemplate the contempt bosses have for us.
NYT
I feel like making something so important and new, that everybody will need me.
It is demeaning to contemplate the contempt bosses have for us.
Cantor-Bernstein–Schroeder theorem
``If each of two sets A and B are equivalent to a subset of the other, then A is equivalent to B.
This is a vital result in the study of cardinal numbers, indeed a vital result in the development of set theory. When Cantor saw Bernstein's proof he was so impressed that he communicated it to Emile Borel and it was published in Borel's Lecons sur la theorie des fonctions in 1898. We mentioned above that the result is known as the Schröder-Bernstein Theorem. Ernst Schröder independently published a proof in 1898 but Schröder's proof was later shown to contain an error although the basic idea can be corrected to give a proof. In fact the theorem was stated by Cantor in Beiträge zur Begründung der transfiniten Mengenlehre but his justification of the result there is not a rigorous proof (as he himself was aware) and, as we explained above, it was while correcting the proofs of this work that Bernstein, still a high school student, constructed a correct proof. In 1905 Bernstein published another important article on transfinite ordinal numbers Über die Reihe der Transfiniten Ordnungszahlen which appeared in Mathematische Annalen. ''
Taken from The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
My son's name is Lev Cantoral Bronstein.
Neat.
Felix Bernstein also contributed to understand the genetic origin of blood types, from the same source:
This is a vital result in the study of cardinal numbers, indeed a vital result in the development of set theory. When Cantor saw Bernstein's proof he was so impressed that he communicated it to Emile Borel and it was published in Borel's Lecons sur la theorie des fonctions in 1898. We mentioned above that the result is known as the Schröder-Bernstein Theorem. Ernst Schröder independently published a proof in 1898 but Schröder's proof was later shown to contain an error although the basic idea can be corrected to give a proof. In fact the theorem was stated by Cantor in Beiträge zur Begründung der transfiniten Mengenlehre but his justification of the result there is not a rigorous proof (as he himself was aware) and, as we explained above, it was while correcting the proofs of this work that Bernstein, still a high school student, constructed a correct proof. In 1905 Bernstein published another important article on transfinite ordinal numbers Über die Reihe der Transfiniten Ordnungszahlen which appeared in Mathematische Annalen. ''
Taken from The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
My son's name is Lev Cantoral Bronstein.
Neat.
Felix Bernstein also contributed to understand the genetic origin of blood types, from the same source:
``However, it was not until Berstein's two papers Ergebnisse einer biostatistischen zusammenfassenden Betrachtung über die erblichen Blutstructuren des Manschen (1924) and Zusammenfassende Betrachtungen über die erblichen Blutstructuren des Manschen (1925) that the correct hereditary mechanism was proposed [2]:-
The correct hypothesis of multiple alleles at one locus was not demonstrated until Bernstein did so in 1924 and 1925.
Crow asks:-
Why was the earlier incorrect hypothesis so widely accepted from 1910 to 1924?
The reason seems to relate to errors in the data being used, partly due to misprints in the published data, but also, perhaps not surprisingly, due to the fact that a child's biological father may not be the husband of the child's mother (often unknown to the husband).''
Does it Make Sense to Switch to Linux?
The NYT today reports that companies bought software, but the general public saved.
``The crucial driver of growth in the second quarter was nonresidential fixed investment, which covers items like office buildings and purchases of equipment and software. This sector rocketed up at an annual rate of 17 percent in the second quarter, compared with a 7.8 percent increase in the first. The equipment and software category alone grew at an annual rate of 21.9 percent, the fastest pace in 12 years. ''
If you are in the category of general public, you don't have to skimp on software, there is free - as in no money - software.
I posted in this blog a Dell with Ubuntu for $459.99.
Not bad!
If you keep reading the NYT story, maybe there is another reason to switch:
``“There are limits on the degree to which you can substitute capital for labor,” Mr. Ryding said. “But you can understand that businesses don’t have to pay health care on equipment and software, and these get better tax treatment than you get for hiring people. If you can get away with upgrading capital spending and deferring hiring for a while, that makes economic sense, especially in this uncertain policy environment.”''
Businesses do not seem to want us back in their payrolls.
``The crucial driver of growth in the second quarter was nonresidential fixed investment, which covers items like office buildings and purchases of equipment and software. This sector rocketed up at an annual rate of 17 percent in the second quarter, compared with a 7.8 percent increase in the first. The equipment and software category alone grew at an annual rate of 21.9 percent, the fastest pace in 12 years. ''
If you are in the category of general public, you don't have to skimp on software, there is free - as in no money - software.
I posted in this blog a Dell with Ubuntu for $459.99.
Not bad!
If you keep reading the NYT story, maybe there is another reason to switch:
``“There are limits on the degree to which you can substitute capital for labor,” Mr. Ryding said. “But you can understand that businesses don’t have to pay health care on equipment and software, and these get better tax treatment than you get for hiring people. If you can get away with upgrading capital spending and deferring hiring for a while, that makes economic sense, especially in this uncertain policy environment.”''
Businesses do not seem to want us back in their payrolls.
Emma Uriza Castro
I am reading Roger Cohen's reminiscences of his late mother. She was born in 1929, and died in 1999.
``Where is home? For Robert Frost, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, / They have to take you in.” It’s “Something you somehow haven’t to deserve.”''
Now my mother grew up in Huitzuco, in 1926; she told us the happiest years of her life were spent there; where we are going to put her ashes. She died on April 11, 2010.
The city of Chilpancingo was where she spent her teen years, studying at the University I teach at right now, and working downtown as a secretary. My father used to visit her here. When I am in the park where they walked around, I try to imagine them.
Her brother Rubén was famous, she was liked by people that had the fortune of meeting her. I know all her children love her.
When I am alone, sometimes I see a family trait. She lived happily in the apartment I mentioned below, where a tree fell on a BMW. She was there alone for several years. She took care, mostly by herself, of everything she needed. I see myself doing that, and say thanks mom.
``Where is home? For Robert Frost, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, / They have to take you in.” It’s “Something you somehow haven’t to deserve.”''
Now my mother grew up in Huitzuco, in 1926; she told us the happiest years of her life were spent there; where we are going to put her ashes. She died on April 11, 2010.
The city of Chilpancingo was where she spent her teen years, studying at the University I teach at right now, and working downtown as a secretary. My father used to visit her here. When I am in the park where they walked around, I try to imagine them.
Her brother Rubén was famous, she was liked by people that had the fortune of meeting her. I know all her children love her.
When I am alone, sometimes I see a family trait. She lived happily in the apartment I mentioned below, where a tree fell on a BMW. She was there alone for several years. She took care, mostly by herself, of everything she needed. I see myself doing that, and say thanks mom.
BMW Lost to Global Warming?
``Por la mañana, debido a las constantes lluvias que han caído en la ciudad, se reportó el reblandecimiento de las raíces de un árbol en la colonia San Rafael, delegación Cuauhtémoc, lo que ocasionó que cayera sobre un auto BMW estacionado en la calle de Guillermo Prieto esquina con Manuel María Contreras. El árbol también afectó un semáforo.''
Near our apartment in Mexico City, it rained so much last night, that a tree fell on a BMW. In Spanish read here.''
Cause an effect are hard to pinpoint here. Why an BMW, precisely that one very near where I grew up, was totaled by climate?
It is not possible to answer that question, I do not know the owner, but I am sure that person is blaming somebody or something.
Who's to blame?
I don't know; I am sure, though, going forward people will migrate towards the Earth Poles.
Near our apartment in Mexico City, it rained so much last night, that a tree fell on a BMW. In Spanish read here.''
Cause an effect are hard to pinpoint here. Why an BMW, precisely that one very near where I grew up, was totaled by climate?
It is not possible to answer that question, I do not know the owner, but I am sure that person is blaming somebody or something.
Who's to blame?
I don't know; I am sure, though, going forward people will migrate towards the Earth Poles.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wikio Ranking
I am 12075 in Wikio ranking :(
I had even forgotten I had an account with them already.
I had even forgotten I had an account with them already.
Wikio Search of Relevant Science
If you search for Relevant Science with wikio.com right now, you get this.
End of PNAS-2010-Feng-1002632107.pdf
``Materials and Methods
Data.We use data on emigration, crop yields, and climate for each Mexican state, all averaged over two consecutive 5-y periods of 1995 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2005 (SI Appendix, Table S1). The emigration data are derived from Mexican censuses of 1995, 2000, and 2005. Specifically, we use a residual approach to compute out-migration flows:we start from 5-y population changes and adjust for mortality and internal migration, then calculate percentages of people who migrated within a period among all people aged 15 to 65 y who were in Mexico at the beginning of the period. This measure thus captures relatively long-term population movements rather than more transitory ones. Because of a large number of undocumented Mexican emigrants to the United States (40), all methods aimed at accurately determining emigration rates entail considerable uncertainty. Our method provides the best available estimates of state-level emigration rates, and matches other studies in terms of national totals (40).
To measure crop yields,we focus on corn, because it is the principal food stock of the Mexican diet and the most important crop. Corn accounts for 60% of land under cultivation and agricultural output by value, and provides the main source of livelihood to 40% of people working in agriculture (32). We also examine an alternative measure that combines corn and wheat, as wheat is a major substitute crop for corn and is also widely cultivated in Mexico (41). Yearly information for corn and wheat production and areas of land planted for each state were obtained from the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, from which we calculate 5-y average crop yields. Our state-level climate data on annual precipitation, annual mean temperature, and summer mean temperature were obtained from the Mexican National Weather Service (SI Appendix, part 2, provides further description).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank Douglas Massey, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Sam Schulhofer-Wohl, seminar participants at the Russell Sage Foundation, and two anonymous referees for invaluable comments. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent those of the US government.''
APpleseed Project Search on Google
Almost 50% Loss in Production by 2080 in Mexico due to Climate Change
``The first three panels of Table 3 are based on scenarios and crop yield predictions made by Rosenzweig and Iglesias (38), all assuming an eventual stabilization level of atmospheric CO2 concentration of 555 ppm, which, under the relatively conservative scenario B1 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emission Scenarios (1), approximately corresponds to the year 2080 and represents global mean temperature increase of 1 °C to 3 °C above recent temperatures.The three panels use climate forecasts from different General Circulation Models (GCMs), including those of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), and the United Kingdom Meteorological Office(UKMO). Although, in all cases, Mexico is expected to experience some reductions in crop yields as a result of climate change, the magnitude depends to a large extent on whether the fertilization effect of CO2 is included and whether active agricultural adaptation measures are taken. On the one extreme with no CO2 fertilization effect and no adaption, crop yields in Mexico are predicted to decline by at least 39% (GFDL), or as much as 48%(UKMO). In that case, the increase in Mexico’s emigration as a share of population (i.e., the fraction of all Mexican-born people living abroad) would be between 7.8% and 9.6%.Mexico’s population will differ in the future and the elasticity may change if the rural population fraction decreases further, and if the agricultural sector itself changes (i.e., results are sensitive to implicit assumptions about the path of development). Nevertheless, to indicate the broad scope of the phenomenon, we convert these percentages to absolute numbers of emigrants. Using today’s population of 70 million as the base for the age 15–65 y population in Mexico, this percentage increase corresponds to an additional 5.5 to 6.7 million emigrants.''
From Feng et al.
If it is Bad Now, Imagine when we are Twice as Many?
These days in Chilpancingo you can hear the sirens almost daily. Late at night, there are military personnel in the streets, and drug dealers are starting to harass small owners and kidnap people with not that much money. Our state is getting out of control.
The governor's party may lose the coming election in 2011, he has the power given to him by the opposition party, the PRI.
I feel nobody is in charge.
I may be paranoiac, and as an intellectual I tend to be. Nevertheless the state that invented corn is running production deficits. I guess we are too many already. I see a lot of little kids; I know for a fact they will grow: Then what?
I don't think I am staying, unless a messiah comes along; what about AMLO? That is a thought. Nevertheless I do not believe in saviors. The militias scare me in Indiana, Michigan, and .....
I guess this is serious.
The governor's party may lose the coming election in 2011, he has the power given to him by the opposition party, the PRI.
I feel nobody is in charge.
I may be paranoiac, and as an intellectual I tend to be. Nevertheless the state that invented corn is running production deficits. I guess we are too many already. I see a lot of little kids; I know for a fact they will grow: Then what?
I don't think I am staying, unless a messiah comes along; what about AMLO? That is a thought. Nevertheless I do not believe in saviors. The militias scare me in Indiana, Michigan, and .....
I guess this is serious.
Elizabeth Warren for the Consumer Financial Protection Agency
Paul Krugman writes today:
``..whether President Obama will do the obviously right thing and nominate Elizabeth Warren to lead the new consumer financial protection agency. But the Warren affair is only the latest chapter in an ongoing saga.''
I second that.
Now I just wait and see if my feedjit catches any troll coming from Washington D.C.
``..whether President Obama will do the obviously right thing and nominate Elizabeth Warren to lead the new consumer financial protection agency. But the Warren affair is only the latest chapter in an ongoing saga.''
I second that.
Now I just wait and see if my feedjit catches any troll coming from Washington D.C.
Assessment of adaptation practices, options, constraints and capacity
``17.5 Conclusions
Adaptation has the potential to alleviate adverse impacts, as well as to capitalise on new opportunities posed by climate change. Since the TAR, there has been significant documentation and analysis of emerging adaptation practices.
Adaptation is occurring in both the developed and developing worlds, both to climate variability and, in a limited number of cases, to observed or anticipated climate change.Adaptation to climate change is seldom undertaken in a stand-alone fashion, but as part of broader social and development initiatives. Adaptation also has limits, some posed by the magnitude and rate of climate change, and others that relate to financial, institutional, technological, cultural and cognitive barriers. The capacities for adaptation, and the processes by which it occurs, vary greatly within and across regions, countries, sectors and communities. Policy and planning processes need to take these aspects into account in the design and implementation of adaptation. The review in this chapter suggests that a high priority should be given to increasing the capacity of countries, regions, communities and social groups to adapt to climate change in ways that are synergistic with wider societal goals of sustainable development.
There are significant outstanding research challenges in understanding the processes by which adaptation is occurring and will occur in the future, and in identifying areas for leverage and action by government. Many initiatives on adaptation to climate change are too recent at the time of this assessment to evaluate their impact on reducing societal vulnerability. Further research is therefore needed to monitor progress on adaptation, and to assess the direct as well as ancillary effects of such measures. In this context there is also a need for research on the synergies and trade-offs between various adaptation measures, and between adaptation and other development priorities. Human intervention to manage the process of adaptation in biological systems is also not well understood, and the goals of conservation are contested. Hence, research is also required on the resilience of socioecological systems to climate change. Another key area where information is currently very limited is on the economic and social costs and benefits of adaptation measures. In particular, the non-market costs and benefits of adaptation measures involving ecosystem protection, health interventions, and alterations to land use are under-researched. Information is also lacking on the economy-wide implications of particular adaptations on economic growth and employment.''
Taken from IPCC.
SEDAC
Socio Economic Data and Applications Center of Columbia University in NYC, is a research institution:
``SEDAC’s mission is to develop and operate applications that support the integration of socioeconomic and earth science data and to serve as an “information gateway” between the earth sciences and social sciences.''
Taken from SEDAC.
``SEDAC’s mission is to develop and operate applications that support the integration of socioeconomic and earth science data and to serve as an “information gateway” between the earth sciences and social sciences.''
Taken from SEDAC.
Cynthia Rosenzweig and Ana Iglesias
``
''
Taken from CEDAC.
 |
| |
|
|
|
| by Cynthia Rosenzweig and Ana Iglesias |
|
| In the coming decades the agricultural sector faces many challenges stemming from growing global populations, land degradation, and loss of cropland to urbanization. Although food production has been able to keep pace with population growth on the global scale, there are serious regional deficits, and poverty related nutritional deficiencies affect close to a billion people globally. In this century climate change is one factor that could affect food production and availability in many parts of the world, particularly those most prone to drought and famine. |
Taken from CEDAC.
Am I a Zombie?
In the Mattathias Schwartz piece in the NYT I am reading now, the militias call the unprepared: zombies.
``Now, I can’t really think of a scenario where I’m going to use my AR-15 as an AR-15. I can’t quite articulate it. It sounds like I want to go out fighting zombies” — slang for the unprepared — “or feds. I don’t want to. But if it ever comes to that, God forbid, I want to be able to. But no, no. . . .” He shook his head. “That isn’t it either. It’s just something that I think I should have. Fred, why should I have an AR-15?”''
I am not much into the zombie flick crowd. I wonder though, how many of them think, like Mr. Wade, the math professor at Bowling Green State University, practicing his marksmanship, that those of us that are not getting ready for a coming war are zombies.
I've seen some zombie movies; zombies are dehumanized so we don't feel sorry if they are killed like cockroaches.
I think it is rather the opposite, those people getting ready for the coming apocalyptic war, don't see, what I see. Nobody will make it this time. We have powerful destruction tools.
Don't get there. Think.
``Now, I can’t really think of a scenario where I’m going to use my AR-15 as an AR-15. I can’t quite articulate it. It sounds like I want to go out fighting zombies” — slang for the unprepared — “or feds. I don’t want to. But if it ever comes to that, God forbid, I want to be able to. But no, no. . . .” He shook his head. “That isn’t it either. It’s just something that I think I should have. Fred, why should I have an AR-15?”''
I am not much into the zombie flick crowd. I wonder though, how many of them think, like Mr. Wade, the math professor at Bowling Green State University, practicing his marksmanship, that those of us that are not getting ready for a coming war are zombies.
I've seen some zombie movies; zombies are dehumanized so we don't feel sorry if they are killed like cockroaches.
I think it is rather the opposite, those people getting ready for the coming apocalyptic war, don't see, what I see. Nobody will make it this time. We have powerful destruction tools.
Don't get there. Think.
My Mistake
Pascua Lama is popular in my site, very likely because I wrote so many names on it. People looking for somebody with one of the names there, will land in that page and get out, wrong person.
Two lessons:
1. Correlation does not imply causation
2. Do not put your name in chain letters.
Two lessons:
1. Correlation does not imply causation
2. Do not put your name in chain letters.
Obama and the Right
The NYT has an article on militias called Appleseed Project.
Obama just defended Mexicans in Arizona, are they getting ready to go after him?
Obama just defended Mexicans in Arizona, are they getting ready to go after him?
Table 3. Forecast of future Mexican emigration at the national level under different climate scenarios
``
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Scenario | ||||
| CO2 effect | Adaptation* | Change in crop yields, % | Change in emigrants as percent of population, % | Change in no. of adult emigrants, millions† |
| Rosenzweig | and Iglesias (38): GISS‡ | |||
| No | No | −46 | 9.2 | 6.4 |
| Yes | No | −35 | 7.0 | 4.9 |
| Yes | Level 1 | −27 | 5.4 | 3.8 |
| Yes | Level 2 | −13 | 2.6 | 1.8 |
| Rosenzweig | and Iglesias (38): GFDL‡ | |||
| No | No | −39 | 7.8 | 5.5 |
| Yes | No | −28 | 5.6 | 3.9 |
| Yes | Level 1 | −20 | 4.0 | 2.8 |
| Yes | Level 2 | −10 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
| Rosenzweig | and Iglesias (38): UKMO‡ | |||
| No | No | −48 | 9.6 | 6.7 |
| Yes | No | −37 | 7.4 | 5.2 |
| Yes | Level 1 | −31 | 6.2 | 4.3 |
| Yes | Level 2 | −15 | 3.0 | 2.1 |
| Cline preferred | estimates§ | |||
| No | Not Clear | −35 | 7.1 | 5.0 |
| Yes | Not Clear | −26 | 5.1 | 3.6 |
*Level 1 adaptation includes changes that imply small additional cost to the farmers and not necessary policy
changes, such as shifts in planting dates, variety and crop, and increases in water application to irrigated crops.
Level 2 adaptation includes higher order adaptations that imply significant additional costs to the farmers, such
as large shifts in crop production timing, increased fertilizer application, installation of irrigation systems, development
of new varieties, and/or changes in policy.
†Assuming that the population aged 15–65 y is 70 million in Mexico.
‡The equilibrium scenarios for three major General Circulation Models were used by Rosenzweig and Iglesias
(38): the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the GFDL, and the UKMO.
§The Cline estimates (23) give equal weights to estimates from Mendelsohn-Schlesinger Ricardian model and
Rosenzweig and Iglesias (38) crop model. Both assume some levels of adaptation. ''
Taken from PNAS.
Taken from PNAS.
Corn Season Over
``as the main growing season for corn in Mexico includes May, June, and July''
Taken from PNAS-2010-Feng-1002632107.pdf
July is almost over and the government in Guerrero is talking corn shortage. Due to storage problems, Guerrero imports corn from other states.
The PNAS article warns us of a future exodus, due to global warming. I guess I am in the center of the storm; lucky me!
Last night walking home I saw several military vehicles passing by at dawn. I guess I should start going home earlier.
I sense unrest. So far so good, though.
Taken from PNAS-2010-Feng-1002632107.pdf
July is almost over and the government in Guerrero is talking corn shortage. Due to storage problems, Guerrero imports corn from other states.
The PNAS article warns us of a future exodus, due to global warming. I guess I am in the center of the storm; lucky me!
Last night walking home I saw several military vehicles passing by at dawn. I guess I should start going home earlier.
I sense unrest. So far so good, though.
Paul Krugman and James Bullard
Mr. Krugman, with a colleague
Taken from The New York Observer
The colleague is Tom Friedman; not identified in the whole article. How I hate to have Nobel Prize winners as friends; Mr. Friedman must be thinking.
I bring Paul because of something else though (you are welcome Tom); I was reading the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard talking just like Paul, in the NYT.
Sure enough, searching the Web, I found the piece where the picture is.
Maybe I should name this piece everybody wants to be friends of Paul. After the performance at the Colbert Report, I am more and more amazed at Paul.
The issue now is Deflation.
Krugman keeps warning us that the Japanese blew it. All through the 90s they did not develop. I remember the days that every major city of the world had Japanese tourists, Mexico was not spared. They bought everything, even Cantinflas movies. All of a sudden they disappeared. I guess that is Deflation and then it is a good thing.
No I am kidding. Deflation is an economic disease in which the economy stops, because low prices discourage producers, and then prices go even lower, in a vicious cycle.
No I am kidding. Deflation is an economic disease in which the economy stops, because low prices discourage producers, and then prices go even lower, in a vicious cycle.
I only took one Economics class, this seems to brake the only law I understood. Supply and Demand; I guess one has to go to Princeton to take classes with Dr. Krugman to understand why the world behaves in this weird way.
In any case the Obama Administration is listening to Krugman, like I have been urging them to do since they took office. I will try to catch some Washington D.C. visitor with my spiffy feedjit widget.
Low Intensity War
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, tells us we are in a course of financial disaster. Actually a Ponsi Scheme Collapse.
He thinks out of the box, I read his book ``The Black Swan.'' He sees what others don't; and then when it happens, we all look towards him amazed.
I see a war in Mexico, it started in August 13, 1521, with the Fall of Tenochtitlan.
We need a truce, and the EZLN, offers us an opportunity.
The natural course of events will lead Mexicans to recognize the First Mexicans, and the whole world to recognize what Taleb, sees clearly, we are Giants with Feet of Clay.
He thinks out of the box, I read his book ``The Black Swan.'' He sees what others don't; and then when it happens, we all look towards him amazed.
I see a war in Mexico, it started in August 13, 1521, with the Fall of Tenochtitlan.
We need a truce, and the EZLN, offers us an opportunity.
The natural course of events will lead Mexicans to recognize the First Mexicans, and the whole world to recognize what Taleb, sees clearly, we are Giants with Feet of Clay.
AMLO's Plan
``Acciones Inmediatas
Cada uno de los compromisos arriba enunciados requieren de respuestas, y programas específicos en los que se aplicarán los siguientes criterios:
Un eje articulador será el cumplimiento de los Acuerdos de San Andrés y la generación de condiciones para que se restablezca el diálogo con el EZLN en Chiapas. Se enviará una iniciativa al Congreso de la Unión a partir de la de Cocopa la cual derogará la contrarreforma indígena del 2001.
Se abordará la política hacia los pueblos indígenas de manera integral tanto en lo relativo a los hombres y mujeres indígenas como a la situación que guardan sus pueblos y comunidades; todo ello con la participación directa de los involucrados. Los programas de combate a la pobreza serán definidos y dirigidos directamente por los pueblos indígenas, respetando su autonomía en las modalidades que ellos definan.
Se promoverá en la reforma fiscal la modificación del ramo 33 dirigido a municipios para que en las regiones indígenas baje el recurso a comunidades de manera obligada.
- Los proyectos transnacionales en regiones indígenas, particularmente en materia de biodiversidad y ecoturismo requerirán el libre consentimiento de los pueblos involucrados.
5. Se suspenderá el programa PROCEDE y PROCECOM y se buscará una regulación alterna para los casos en que libremente soliciten la certificación de tierras.''
Taken from Página Oficial.
I just translate number 1.
A guiding axis is the fulfillment of the San Andrés Accords and the construction of conducive conditions to continue the dialogue with the Zapatista Movement (EZLN) in Chiapas. A Bill will be send to Congress based on the one by Cocopa which will invalidate the current Indian counter-reform of 2001.
End of translation.
Mexico is in the middle of a low intensity war, if we don't stop it, we won't have a country.
I agree with Andrés Manuel López Obrador government plan.
Popular Blog
I recently got a widget from Viva la Feminsita. This blog is written by Veronica I. Arreola, and the widget is feedjit.
Now I know that most people come to my site after searching in Internet engines, like Google. I felt like naming the notes with people's names, if possible, or concepts touched upon in the note. I guess the strategy worked, because I get one or two readers per hour, without gimmicks, or span.
The name of the blog, also works. Relevant Science.
There is my two cents worth of advice to future bloggers.
Now I know that most people come to my site after searching in Internet engines, like Google. I felt like naming the notes with people's names, if possible, or concepts touched upon in the note. I guess the strategy worked, because I get one or two readers per hour, without gimmicks, or span.
The name of the blog, also works. Relevant Science.
There is my two cents worth of advice to future bloggers.
Consciousness
This important aspect of our lives, may be the most important. Consciousness is a mental construct, just like the number zero in arithmetic, or the real line in mathematical analysis.
It seems that this movie ``Inception'', recommended to me by my son, and aptly described by Bill Robertson in the link above, touches on this concept, if not completely hinges on it.
According to Cultural Biology, as Sejnowski and Quartz describe it in their book, ``Liars, Lovers, and Heroes,'' , consciousness is also a collective, or social construct.
Children of migrant workers, as studied by Valentina Glockner here in Mexico, and in the US, construct hybrid consciousnesses. They are not Mixtec Indians, they are not Mexicans, and definitively, they are not Americans; nevertheless they do build their own egos under those hard situations, maybe in spite of that horrible attitude of most of us against them. They become persons despite our efforts to squelch their own consciousness.
We have a human right to water, as the UN just accepted. I say we have a right to consciousness.
You can read Glockner's work here, in Spanish.
It seems that this movie ``Inception'', recommended to me by my son, and aptly described by Bill Robertson in the link above, touches on this concept, if not completely hinges on it.
According to Cultural Biology, as Sejnowski and Quartz describe it in their book, ``Liars, Lovers, and Heroes,'' , consciousness is also a collective, or social construct.
Children of migrant workers, as studied by Valentina Glockner here in Mexico, and in the US, construct hybrid consciousnesses. They are not Mixtec Indians, they are not Mexicans, and definitively, they are not Americans; nevertheless they do build their own egos under those hard situations, maybe in spite of that horrible attitude of most of us against them. They become persons despite our efforts to squelch their own consciousness.
We have a human right to water, as the UN just accepted. I say we have a right to consciousness.
You can read Glockner's work here, in Spanish.
Jan Brewer and Susan Bolton
Two women on opposite sides in AZ.
I therefore conclude that this is not a white and black issue.
Joe Arpaio is a simpleton man. He shouldn't be making policy decisions.
Chief Arpaio, talk to Isabel García Defensora Legal del Condado de Pima, of the Coalición de Derechos Humanos, you may become more of a human being, and less of a territorial mammal.
Stop the Boycott?
Treat my people well; do not let them die in the Arizona desert.
I therefore conclude that this is not a white and black issue.
Joe Arpaio is a simpleton man. He shouldn't be making policy decisions.
Chief Arpaio, talk to Isabel García Defensora Legal del Condado de Pima, of the Coalición de Derechos Humanos, you may become more of a human being, and less of a territorial mammal.
Stop the Boycott?
Treat my people well; do not let them die in the Arizona desert.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
NYT Editorial
``¶A state cannot require its police officers to demand the papers of people they stop and suspect are illegal immigrants. As the judge wrote, the law places an “unacceptable burden on lawfully present aliens.”
¶Arizona cannot require that every arrested person have his or her immigration status checked, or that people be detained until they prove they are here lawfully.
¶Arizona cannot make it a state crime for immigrants not to carry papers at all times, or for an undocumented immigrant to look for work.
¶It cannot give officers the power to make warrantless arrests of anyone they believe has committed a crime that makes them deportable. Deportation is a matter to be decided by a judge in court, Judge Bolton wrote, not a state trooper or sheriff’s deputy in a traffic stop.''
Taken from NYT.
¶Arizona cannot require that every arrested person have his or her immigration status checked, or that people be detained until they prove they are here lawfully.
¶Arizona cannot make it a state crime for immigrants not to carry papers at all times, or for an undocumented immigrant to look for work.
¶It cannot give officers the power to make warrantless arrests of anyone they believe has committed a crime that makes them deportable. Deportation is a matter to be decided by a judge in court, Judge Bolton wrote, not a state trooper or sheriff’s deputy in a traffic stop.''
Taken from NYT.
AZ, Is It Over?
This is just starting.
According to Profs. Feng, Krueger, and Oppenheimer, who wrote on the PNAS a paper I already linked in this blog before. There are reasons why Mexicans are going to the US, and they foresee more pushes out of Mexico, and pulls from the US, for migration to reach in the millions of people in the next decades.
I read today that the State of Guerrero that gave corn to the world, is running out of it this year.
I do expect more shenanigans in the years to come.
It ain't over, till is over.
Yogi Berra.
According to Profs. Feng, Krueger, and Oppenheimer, who wrote on the PNAS a paper I already linked in this blog before. There are reasons why Mexicans are going to the US, and they foresee more pushes out of Mexico, and pulls from the US, for migration to reach in the millions of people in the next decades.
I read today that the State of Guerrero that gave corn to the world, is running out of it this year.
I do expect more shenanigans in the years to come.
It ain't over, till is over.
Yogi Berra.
I did it!
I want to believe that my heartfelt pieces in this blog convinced the AZ judge to change her mind.
From left, Rosamaria Soto, Maria Uribe and Georgina Sanchez reacted to the ruling on Wednesday in Phoenix.
Taken from the NYT.
I guess she didn't have time to read this blog, but in any case, thanks Judge Susan Bolton!
Taken from the NYT.
I guess she didn't have time to read this blog, but in any case, thanks Judge Susan Bolton!
Lineal or Coexistent Time?
I was looking at the work of a friend; Valentina Glockner Fagetti. She studied migrant Mexican children; using photographs, drawings, and other methods to communicate with them. I read an essay by Humberto Maturana in the Chilean Psychology magazine, Gaceta de Psiquiatría Universitaria, on Way of Life and Culture, in the same magazine, Rafael E. Núñez, explains his findings on the concept of time, with Aymara Indians of Chile.
These works educate my concept of time. I have taught classical mechanics for almost twenty years now. Most of the time I regurgitated what one finds in Physics books, first about the absolute concept of Isaac Newton, and then the relative concept of Einstein.
Some of us wonder if time is what we think it is; and more importantly, what do we think time is.
Today I found out that a group of physicists converted one photon into three.
The question that designates this note, I believe, has the answer: Coexistent.
In Computer Science, one can follow just one thread for a single program say, or set up a Virtual State Machine, doing several things at once.
Human labor, has always guided philosophical thinking, therefore the new Information Technology era, has produced its own set of new concepts. Most programmers reading this, won't have any trouble accepting parallel computing as a very useful contribution to human society. Physicists though, still keep regurgitating the same old thing.
Slowly, but surely, we are getting it!
About what is happening in AZ tomorrow; I want to translate this from Valentina's work:
These works educate my concept of time. I have taught classical mechanics for almost twenty years now. Most of the time I regurgitated what one finds in Physics books, first about the absolute concept of Isaac Newton, and then the relative concept of Einstein.
Some of us wonder if time is what we think it is; and more importantly, what do we think time is.
Today I found out that a group of physicists converted one photon into three.
The question that designates this note, I believe, has the answer: Coexistent.
In Computer Science, one can follow just one thread for a single program say, or set up a Virtual State Machine, doing several things at once.
Human labor, has always guided philosophical thinking, therefore the new Information Technology era, has produced its own set of new concepts. Most programmers reading this, won't have any trouble accepting parallel computing as a very useful contribution to human society. Physicists though, still keep regurgitating the same old thing.
Slowly, but surely, we are getting it!
About what is happening in AZ tomorrow; I want to translate this from Valentina's work:
``Al presidente de Estados Unidos yo le diría que no nos traten mal porque nosotros cuando
vienen acá no les hacemos así. Yo le diría que se siente mal que tu papá se tenga que ir
y que esté lejos, que lo extrañas y que también a él le cuesta trabajo trabajar y también
trabaja de noche y a veces tiene hambre. La migración por un lado es bueno porque él
trabaja y nos manda dinero y el malo es que lo extrañamos mucho.
(Jorge, 13 años) ''
I would say to the President of the US not to treat us bad because we do not do that when
they come here. I would say that it feels bad that your father has to go and he stays
far away, that we miss him and also he has trouble working and also he works
at night and is hungry sometimes. On one side immigration is good because
he works and sends us money and the bad side is that we miss him a lot.
(Jorge, 13 y)
vienen acá no les hacemos así. Yo le diría que se siente mal que tu papá se tenga que ir
y que esté lejos, que lo extrañas y que también a él le cuesta trabajo trabajar y también
trabaja de noche y a veces tiene hambre. La migración por un lado es bueno porque él
trabaja y nos manda dinero y el malo es que lo extrañamos mucho.
(Jorge, 13 años) ''
I would say to the President of the US not to treat us bad because we do not do that when
they come here. I would say that it feels bad that your father has to go and he stays
far away, that we miss him and also he has trouble working and also he works
at night and is hungry sometimes. On one side immigration is good because
he works and sends us money and the bad side is that we miss him a lot.
(Jorge, 13 y)
Are These Events Related?
Somebody from Chandler AZ, searched for Arpaio Operation 1070, from Google, and got to the Relevant Science blog. Around the same time, a comment in Chinese characters appeared. I had seen that comment many times before; first I tried to check the profile of the mysterious Chinese man commenting in such a way that I could not say something half way interesting. Nothing, there are no links to anything I can answer to; therefore I've been just erasing those incomprehensible messages.
Did I catch a troll?
Did I catch a troll?
Going North
``Depending on the warming scenarios used and adaptation levels assumed, with other factors held constant, by approximately the year 2080, climate change is estimated to induce 1.4 to 6.7 million adult Mexicans (or 2% to 10% of the current population aged 15–65 y) to emigrate as a result of declines in agricultural productivity alone. Although the results cannot be mechanically extrapolated to other areas and time periods, our findings are significant from a global perspective given that many regions, especially developing countries, are expected to experience significant declines in agricultural yields as a result of projected warming.''
From PNAS.
Nobody in Maricopa County, AZ, Police Department has read it; I am almost sure. There is an authority there, Joe Arpaio, that doesn't seem to be concerned with thinking men, he is an action man.
Relevant Information
Julian Assange mentions relevant in the DN! interview today, in a different context, I think, that I use to name this blog.
My intention is, as you can read in one of the first notes in this blog, to motivate high school students to get interested in science. Something like Paris Hilton, and Tila Tequila, are not relevant, and this is.
Assange uses relevant, more in the democratic, political sense. Relevant information for action.
Well done WikiLeaks Team.
My intention is, as you can read in one of the first notes in this blog, to motivate high school students to get interested in science. Something like Paris Hilton, and Tila Tequila, are not relevant, and this is.
Assange uses relevant, more in the democratic, political sense. Relevant information for action.
Well done WikiLeaks Team.
Chaos in Society?
Tomorrow open season on Mexicans starts in Arizona. The Obama Administration expects today to get money to send to Afghanistan at the same time WikiLeaks, the NYT, The Guardian, and Der Spiegel, revealed improprieties in the Afghan war last Sunday.
Do you see a pattern here?
I do; social distress points to a huge event in the next two to three years.
Gaia is calling to us. Listen to her. We may die if we don't.
Guerrero does not have enough corn to feed its people this year. Corn was domesticated here more than eight thousand years ago!
After Judge Susan Bolton's decision (July 28, 2010), the distress signals are easing. There is hope.
Do you see a pattern here?
I do; social distress points to a huge event in the next two to three years.
Gaia is calling to us. Listen to her. We may die if we don't.
Guerrero does not have enough corn to feed its people this year. Corn was domesticated here more than eight thousand years ago!
After Judge Susan Bolton's decision (July 28, 2010), the distress signals are easing. There is hope.
Where is the World Government?
Julian Assange is in the UK. He is not going to be anytime soon in the US. Sweden penalizes journalists that reveal their sources. Assange admits the leaks originated inside the US Government.
To tell you the truth. I do not know where the World Government is located.
To tell you the truth. I do not know where the World Government is located.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Difference between US and UK
``In his opening statement, General Mattis declared, “Despite any recent papers leaked to the media, we are remaining in the region; we are not leaving.”''
Taken from the NYT.
The same leaks in the UK, as reported by the Guardian, caused a much larger opposition to the War.
US Congress will pay; in the UK, I guess the MPs will not.
Republicans passed this appropriation bill with a Democratic administration they claim to despise. GOP, party of liars!
Taken from the NYT.
The same leaks in the UK, as reported by the Guardian, caused a much larger opposition to the War.
US Congress will pay; in the UK, I guess the MPs will not.
Republicans passed this appropriation bill with a Democratic administration they claim to despise. GOP, party of liars!
Taken From Lauri Roberts in AZ
``We are now less than 48 hours until Senate Bill 1070 becomes the law of the state – unless, of course, Judge Susan Bolton nixes the whole thing.
Already, the barricades are up at the Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Courthouse where Bolton works, awaiting thousands of expected protestors. Busloads of folks will be coming in from California to join with Arizona opponents of the new law.
Events kick off Thursday at 4 a.m. with a procession from the state Capitol to the Trinity Cathedral for an interfaith service that is being characterized as “one of hope, faith and defiance.”
At 8 a.m., the group will march to the federal courthouse where an act of civil disobedience is planned. “At this time, that appears to be to step upon the platform separating the public sidewalk from the Courthouse,” according to a document being circulated by organizers.
As acts of civil disobedience go, that doesn't sound exactly earth shattering. But things could get out of hand pretty easily unless some cool heads prevail on both sides.
Speaking of cool heads, Sheriff Joe has gotten a whiff of Thursday’s doings. Here is his statement on the subject, sent out this morning:
“Thousands of people will reportedly descend upon Maricopa County this week in support of or in protest to SB1070. Intelligence gathering leads us to believe that several acts of civil disobedience are planned - here at my office headquarters in the Wells Fargo Bank high rise in downtown Phoenix; at the jails including Tent City and at Thursday’s crime suppression operation which will be conducted by my deputies and posse members.
“Activists and their celebrity sympathizers who wish to target this community and this Sheriff by attempting to disrupt our jail and patrol operations will be unsuccessful as we will be fully prepared to meet those challenges head on with appropriately staffed personnel and resources.”
Angry protestors, an angry sheriff and plenty of TV cameras.
This has trouble written all over it.
I don't know what Thursday's protests seek to accomplish. What I do know is that they won't change a thing. If fact, if anything the foxholes on both sides will just be dug in all the deeper.''
Taken from Lauri Roberts' Columns and Blog
Already, the barricades are up at the Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Courthouse where Bolton works, awaiting thousands of expected protestors. Busloads of folks will be coming in from California to join with Arizona opponents of the new law.
Events kick off Thursday at 4 a.m. with a procession from the state Capitol to the Trinity Cathedral for an interfaith service that is being characterized as “one of hope, faith and defiance.”
At 8 a.m., the group will march to the federal courthouse where an act of civil disobedience is planned. “At this time, that appears to be to step upon the platform separating the public sidewalk from the Courthouse,” according to a document being circulated by organizers.
As acts of civil disobedience go, that doesn't sound exactly earth shattering. But things could get out of hand pretty easily unless some cool heads prevail on both sides.
Speaking of cool heads, Sheriff Joe has gotten a whiff of Thursday’s doings. Here is his statement on the subject, sent out this morning:
“Thousands of people will reportedly descend upon Maricopa County this week in support of or in protest to SB1070. Intelligence gathering leads us to believe that several acts of civil disobedience are planned - here at my office headquarters in the Wells Fargo Bank high rise in downtown Phoenix; at the jails including Tent City and at Thursday’s crime suppression operation which will be conducted by my deputies and posse members.
“Activists and their celebrity sympathizers who wish to target this community and this Sheriff by attempting to disrupt our jail and patrol operations will be unsuccessful as we will be fully prepared to meet those challenges head on with appropriately staffed personnel and resources.”
Angry protestors, an angry sheriff and plenty of TV cameras.
This has trouble written all over it.
I don't know what Thursday's protests seek to accomplish. What I do know is that they won't change a thing. If fact, if anything the foxholes on both sides will just be dug in all the deeper.''
Taken from Lauri Roberts' Columns and Blog
Glad I brought my Kids to the US
Today La Jornada de Oriente, the newspaper a few friends and I put online, reports that half the students applying to high school in Puebla, Mexico, will be rejected. Mind you, it is not an issue of them knowing their stuff or not, it is an issue of physical space!
K-12 free of charge, Americans; you don't know how lucky you are. Now, all you have to do is repair the last leg of that foundation of US prosperity, if you do not find the money to keep ALL your children at school 'till they're 18, forget it. Not the Russians; the Chinese are coming!
K-12 free of charge, Americans; you don't know how lucky you are. Now, all you have to do is repair the last leg of that foundation of US prosperity, if you do not find the money to keep ALL your children at school 'till they're 18, forget it. Not the Russians; the Chinese are coming!
Efren Leyva Acevedo
The Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in Guerrero was founded by some of my mother's relatives, like Abraham Castro Uriza and his wife Elvira Hampshire.
I hope this time around PRI has lessons learned. Very likely the next governor will come from this Party.
Added December 19, 2011
I was partly wrong!
The winner Angel Aguirre Rivero did come from this party, but he jumped ship to the opposition, PRD!
Eric Corley
I heard once that all programmers are called Eric.
I had the privilege of meeting Eric Raymond at a Lucent Technologies event.
Well, today I had the fortune to meet Eric Corley aka Emmanuel Goldstein, with Amy Goodman.
Keep up the good work.
When the sky is falling, one has to be, very, very, smart.
I had the privilege of meeting Eric Raymond at a Lucent Technologies event.
Well, today I had the fortune to meet Eric Corley aka Emmanuel Goldstein, with Amy Goodman.
Keep up the good work.
When the sky is falling, one has to be, very, very, smart.
Digital Natives Coming of Age
Julian Assange is Neo. He is a real Digital Native, and Neo was fictional.
Smart young people get very upset, I know I was very upset in 1968. Assange did the right thing, do not despair, think, think, and act.
I salute you Julian!
Assange was born a little earlier than the Natives; they are counted from late 1970 onwards Julian was born in 1971. Nevertheless he belongs; he is the predecessor of the Natives.
Smart young people get very upset, I know I was very upset in 1968. Assange did the right thing, do not despair, think, think, and act.
I salute you Julian!
Assange was born a little earlier than the Natives; they are counted from late 1970 onwards Julian was born in 1971. Nevertheless he belongs; he is the predecessor of the Natives.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Furkan Dogan
``It’s different, however, when an American Muslim male gets stuck in a hail of Israeli gunfire.''
Read Roger Cohen today in the NYT.
If America does not recognize Furkan as an American.
Shame on you.
I taught Muslim boys at Glenbard East High School, I am ashamed with my dear American Muslim students there. I loved them as much as ANY other American boy.
Read Roger Cohen today in the NYT.
If America does not recognize Furkan as an American.
Shame on you.
I taught Muslim boys at Glenbard East High School, I am ashamed with my dear American Muslim students there. I loved them as much as ANY other American boy.
Shuaizhang Feng, Alan B. Krueger, and Michael Oppenheimer
``Climate change is expected to cause mass human migration, including immigration across international borders. This study quantitatively examines the linkages among variations in climate, agricultural yields, and people’s migration responses by using an instrumental variables approach. Our method allows us to identify the relationship between crop yields and migration without explicitly controlling for all other confounding factors. Using state-level data from Mexico, we find a significant effect of climate-driven changes in crop yields on the rate of emigration to the United States. The estimated semielasticity of emigration with respect to crop yields is approximately −0.2, i.e., a 10% reduction in crop yields would lead an additional 2% of the population to emigrate.We then use the estimated semielasticity to explore the potential magnitude of future emigration. Depending on the warming scenarios used and adaptation levels assumed, with other factors held constant, by approximately the year 2080, climate change is estimated to induce 1.4 to 6.7 million adult Mexicans (or 2% to 10% of the current population aged 15–65 y) to emigrate as a result of declines in agricultural productivity alone. Although the results cannot be mechanically extrapolated to other areas and time periods, our findings are significant from a global perspective given that many regions, especially developing countries, are expected to experience significant declines in agricultural yields as a result of projected warming.''
``Discussion
To conclude, we have examined the link between climate-driven productivity changes in the agricultural sector and out-migration with Mexico used as an example. Our results are conservative in at least two respects. First, projected changes in crop yields are considerably larger than those observed in our data. If crop yield affects emigration in a nonlinear fashion, our linear specification would likely underestimate the full impact of climate on crop yields in the future. Second, as we focus on only crop yields, our estimate provides a lower bound for the overall impact of climate change on emigration through agriculture, which could also be affected by changes in the total acreage of land cultivated. Even so, the estimated elasticity of emigration with respect to crop yield changes is statistically significant and large in a practical sense. This suggests that crop yield–induced migration will be a significant issue in many areas of the world that are expected to experience a substantial reduction in yields as a result of climate change, including much of Africa, India, Bangladesh, Latin America, and Australia, among others. Because climate change may induce out-migration through channels not examined in this study, the overall effect may be larger, particularly if atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration levels continue to increase sharply and countries fail to implement aggressive adaptation measures.
Given these projections, certain migrant-receiving countries, including the United States, are expected to face increased migration streams as a result of existing transnational networks with migrant-sending countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. However, some aspects of the Mexico/United States emigration situation are also unique, so extrapolation of our quantitative findings to the global level would be inappropriate. Nevertheless, application of our methods to other regions and other climate-related drivers of immigration, and to internal migration, would provide insights into potential future immigration and migration “hot spots,” as well as into the overall magnitude of the looming changes. Additional insights concerning the response of migration sensitivities to trends in climate variables (i.e., whether the semielasticity would decrease or increase in a different climate) may also be gained from study of regions with data sets extending over a longer period. Future research could also use different methods (e.g., ethnography) to complement our statistical approach to deepen our understanding of people’s motives to migrate when faced with climate change.''
``Discussion
To conclude, we have examined the link between climate-driven productivity changes in the agricultural sector and out-migration with Mexico used as an example. Our results are conservative in at least two respects. First, projected changes in crop yields are considerably larger than those observed in our data. If crop yield affects emigration in a nonlinear fashion, our linear specification would likely underestimate the full impact of climate on crop yields in the future. Second, as we focus on only crop yields, our estimate provides a lower bound for the overall impact of climate change on emigration through agriculture, which could also be affected by changes in the total acreage of land cultivated. Even so, the estimated elasticity of emigration with respect to crop yield changes is statistically significant and large in a practical sense. This suggests that crop yield–induced migration will be a significant issue in many areas of the world that are expected to experience a substantial reduction in yields as a result of climate change, including much of Africa, India, Bangladesh, Latin America, and Australia, among others. Because climate change may induce out-migration through channels not examined in this study, the overall effect may be larger, particularly if atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration levels continue to increase sharply and countries fail to implement aggressive adaptation measures.
Given these projections, certain migrant-receiving countries, including the United States, are expected to face increased migration streams as a result of existing transnational networks with migrant-sending countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. However, some aspects of the Mexico/United States emigration situation are also unique, so extrapolation of our quantitative findings to the global level would be inappropriate. Nevertheless, application of our methods to other regions and other climate-related drivers of immigration, and to internal migration, would provide insights into potential future immigration and migration “hot spots,” as well as into the overall magnitude of the looming changes. Additional insights concerning the response of migration sensitivities to trends in climate variables (i.e., whether the semielasticity would decrease or increase in a different climate) may also be gained from study of regions with data sets extending over a longer period. Future research could also use different methods (e.g., ethnography) to complement our statistical approach to deepen our understanding of people’s motives to migrate when faced with climate change.''
Taken from PNAS
Two Princeton professors and one Chinese scientist foresee more Mexicans heading North. The document was released ten days ago. I just saw it today.
I believe them; therefore this week's Arizona Law has to be defeated by the Obama Administration, or by the year 2080, Arizonan children, some of them brown, will be asking their parents why were they so wrongheaded?
The boat is sinking people, let us face this rationally.
Will I? I Will
``This last finding is crucial. It indicates that those with questioning minds were more intrinsically motivated to change. They were looking for a positive inspiration from within, rather than attempting to hold themselves to a rigid standard. Those asserting will lacked this internal inspiration, which explains in part their weak commitment to future change. Put in terms of addiction recovery and self-improvement in general, those who were asserting their willpower were in effect closing their minds and narrowing their view of their future. Those who were questioning and wondering were open-minded—and therefore willing to see new possibilities for the days ahead.''
Taken from Scientific American
Taken from Scientific American
Andrés Manuel López Obrador aka AMLO
``comprometidas a no mentir, a no robar, a no traicionar''.
My people says amlo has ``sworn not to lie, not to steal, not to betray''
I buy that.
My people says amlo has ``sworn not to lie, not to steal, not to betray''
I buy that.
surfraw
I can get here with:
sr google -l Eduardo Cantoral
Neato!
Read about the Shell User's Revolutionary Front Against the WWW on Wikipedia.
sr google -l Eduardo Cantoral
Neato!
Read about the Shell User's Revolutionary Front Against the WWW on Wikipedia.
Julian Assange: Hacker!
He is a physicist and mathematician, and most importantly a Hacker.
You can read the Wikipedia article on him.
Here I am kvetching all the time, I never do anything.
Well done Julian!
I could be his father, he was born when I was 20.
You can read the Wikipedia article on him.
Here I am kvetching all the time, I never do anything.
Well done Julian!
I could be his father, he was born when I was 20.
We All Come from Pinnacle Point
This is a place in South Africa, that very likely had your great-great-...great mother and father.
Pinnacle Point
Pinnacle Point
Facebook Family
I neglect the social sites where I register once in a while. After registering I never showed up on Orkut. Anyways, I finally finished my profile at Facebook. Now I put all my family there. Daughter (Leza), Son (Lev), and Wife (Mary).
I'll try to keep this social site better.
I'll try to keep this social site better.
Julian Assange
Today I heard at the University of Guerrero Radio Station, XEUAG 840 kHz AM, on the firing of Dr. Tulio Estrada. The news item I linked is in Spanish, and by a newspaper I consider very biased towards authority.
On the contrary I trust my University Radio Station's integrity.
Dr. Estrada was fired for pursuing the letter and the spirit of the law, requesting Chilpancingo's Mayor to clean up, literally clean up his act. The Mayor was fined $10,000 for risking our lives here in the Capital City of Guerrero state, in Mexico. Mayor Astudillo does not want to dispose of all the city garbage responsibly. Instead the garbage is thrown into Huacapa's River, literally turning this one magnificent river into raw sewage.
The cancer rate along the river is anomalously high.
The only campaign promise I heard from, the now Mayor Astudillo, was to convert the river into a parking lot!, I kid you not, by putting tons of cement and send the water through sewage pipes, like what has happened in Mexico City for years.
Punish the messenger. That is the state of Environmental Policy in Guerrero.
Why do I name this note Julian Assange?
What he just did, is the only sensible thing to do if we want to survive.
He released, at the risk of being murdered by the US secret apparatus, the wrongdoing of the US Government, on the Iraqi, and Afghani people.
Keep on trucking Mr. Assange.
On the contrary I trust my University Radio Station's integrity.
Dr. Estrada was fired for pursuing the letter and the spirit of the law, requesting Chilpancingo's Mayor to clean up, literally clean up his act. The Mayor was fined $10,000 for risking our lives here in the Capital City of Guerrero state, in Mexico. Mayor Astudillo does not want to dispose of all the city garbage responsibly. Instead the garbage is thrown into Huacapa's River, literally turning this one magnificent river into raw sewage.
The cancer rate along the river is anomalously high.
The only campaign promise I heard from, the now Mayor Astudillo, was to convert the river into a parking lot!, I kid you not, by putting tons of cement and send the water through sewage pipes, like what has happened in Mexico City for years.
Punish the messenger. That is the state of Environmental Policy in Guerrero.
Why do I name this note Julian Assange?
What he just did, is the only sensible thing to do if we want to survive.
He released, at the risk of being murdered by the US secret apparatus, the wrongdoing of the US Government, on the Iraqi, and Afghani people.
Keep on trucking Mr. Assange.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The answer is, the usual suspects: greed and cowardice.
Paul Krugman on the Senate and House Climate Bills failure, in the NYT.
He goes on to identify the cowards:
``There are a number of such climate cowards, but let me single out one in particular: Senator John McCain.
There was a time when Mr. McCain was considered a friend of the environment. Back in 2003 he burnished his maverick image by co-sponsoring legislation that would have created a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions. He reaffirmed support for such a system during his presidential campaign, and things might look very different now if he had continued to back climate action once his opponent was in the White House. But he didn’t — and it’s hard to see his switch as anything other than the act of a man willing to sacrifice his principles, and humanity’s future, for the sake of a few years added to his political career.
Alas, Mr. McCain wasn’t alone; and there will be no climate bill. Greed, aided by cowardice, has triumphed. And the whole world will pay the price.''
Tehuacalco, Mexico: Where Yope Giants Once Walked
Today I went to Tehuacalco. If you ever go to Acapulco, Guerrero, make sure to go to Tierra Colorada, a picturesque town nearby. There are tours there. Tehuacalco is an old town, thousands of years old, from 1000, to 1519. Governor Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo inaugurated the archaeological site in 2008. There is a Juego de Pelota there, popular all over Mesoamerica before 1492. In fact that is how they found the place recently. During construction of a nearby highway to Acapulco they spotted the Juego de Pelota buildings. The land was bought from the owners and the Government started to work to make this paradisaical resort place. This time of year is beautiful. There are rivers where people were swimming! There are not many of those these days in Mexico, I'm sorry to say.
There is a little museum with maps of the region, and most importantly artifacts found at the site. You can see the actual stones that the Yope Indians carved in artistic ways. The orientation of the Juego de Pelota is crucial. Solstices are at the extremes of the structure, when looked at in specific places. Four big mountains surround the place in the four directions, North, South, West and East. The worry of these farmers was to lose the Sun every solstice, so they made sure to keep the needed Sun around, with ceremonies during solstices.
Human sacrifices with the players, and war prisoners were an important part of these games. There are over two thousand of these sites in the State of Guerrero, which have not been developed yet. The reason there are so many archaeological sites, is that corn (maize) was domesticated in the State of Guerrero, along the Balsas River. These people are self sustained, they grow corn, squash, beans, chili peppers, and so many other foods, that it is hard to keep count. If all modern civilized life were to end today. These people could still feed themselves another 9000 years as they have done so far. This is a sacred place on Earth. I am glad that more and more Mexicans and foreigners understand this and come to worship the Sun still.
Long live the people of Tehuacalco!
We had a beautiful 15 year old girl from a town nearby as a guide. What a treat!
Messiah?
``Si no se pone en el centro de discusión del debate, señaló, no iremos al fondo del problema. Lo material es importante pero no basta. Hace falta fortalecer los valores morales, sólo así podremos enfrentar la mancha negra de individualismo, codicia y odio que se vive cada vez más y que ha llevado a la degradación progresiva como sociedad y como nación.''
Taken from La Jornada.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced his intention to run for President of Mexico in 2012 in a big meeting today at the Mexico City Zocalo.
My translation:
If we do not put this issue in the center of discussion and debate, he said, we won't go to the root causes of the problem. Material well being is important, but is not enough. It is necessary to strengthen moral values, only so we'll be able to face the black stain of individualism, greed and hate we are living through more and more, and which have taken us to our progressive degradation as a Society and as a Nation.
End of translation.
2012 is going to be an interesting year.
Let the Chips Fall Where They May
I am a progressive, as Elizabeth Warren, Paul Krugman, and on, and on. If you follow this blog, you know already. I do get comments, not many, I am not popular, from people with different persuasion, I do invite that. I found out there is an anti-metric System lobby!
Nevertheless as Friedman reminds us today in We're Gonna Be Sorry, positive science, Positivism, as first defined by Auguste Comte, instructs us to follow three basic sciences:
I know one of the daughters of the late Prof. Zea.
By all means, I am progressive, and I am positivist. Relevant Science, not irrelevant ideology.
Preparatorianos (high school students) in Mexico, are taught to look at reality with the eyes of reason, not of dogmatic ideology.
I wish all young people of the world get the message before it is too late. It seems like the Young Turks around President Obama, do not know positive science. Rhetorical speeches, are not substitute for rational thinking.
Take this from a Progressive Positivist. That is the schpiel you'll get here.
Welcome!
Let the Chips Fall Where they May.
Nevertheless as Friedman reminds us today in We're Gonna Be Sorry, positive science, Positivism, as first defined by Auguste Comte, instructs us to follow three basic sciences:
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
I know one of the daughters of the late Prof. Zea.
By all means, I am progressive, and I am positivist. Relevant Science, not irrelevant ideology.
Preparatorianos (high school students) in Mexico, are taught to look at reality with the eyes of reason, not of dogmatic ideology.
I wish all young people of the world get the message before it is too late. It seems like the Young Turks around President Obama, do not know positive science. Rhetorical speeches, are not substitute for rational thinking.
Take this from a Progressive Positivist. That is the schpiel you'll get here.
Welcome!
Let the Chips Fall Where they May.
AMLO at the Zocalo: Mexico City
Today the next President of Mexico will address thousands of followers in Mexico City; the main plaza: Zócalo. Where the Aztecs had their center of power, then the Spanish, and now the Mestizos.
You can read in Spanish about it here.
You can read in Spanish about it here.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Tom Friedman for Interior
Instead of Ken Salazar (why do Latinos have to disgrace us so much?) Obama should ask Friedman to be Secretary of the Interior.
Today he writes in the NYT.
``We’ve basically decided to keep pumping greenhouse gases into Mother Nature’s operating system and take our chances that the results will be benign — even though a vast majority of scientists warn that this will not be so. Fasten your seat belts. As the environmentalist Rob Watson likes to say: “Mother Nature is just chemistry, biology and physics. That’s all she is.” You cannot sweet-talk her. You cannot spin her. You cannot tell her that the oil companies say climate change is a hoax. No, Mother Nature is going to do whatever chemistry, biology and physics dictate, and “Mother Nature always bats last, and she always bats 1.000,” says Watson. Do not mess with Mother Nature. But that is just what we’re doing.''
Physics, Chemistry and Biology. In that order. Just look into where the Sun don't shine, and pray!
Today he writes in the NYT.
``We’ve basically decided to keep pumping greenhouse gases into Mother Nature’s operating system and take our chances that the results will be benign — even though a vast majority of scientists warn that this will not be so. Fasten your seat belts. As the environmentalist Rob Watson likes to say: “Mother Nature is just chemistry, biology and physics. That’s all she is.” You cannot sweet-talk her. You cannot spin her. You cannot tell her that the oil companies say climate change is a hoax. No, Mother Nature is going to do whatever chemistry, biology and physics dictate, and “Mother Nature always bats last, and she always bats 1.000,” says Watson. Do not mess with Mother Nature. But that is just what we’re doing.''
Physics, Chemistry and Biology. In that order. Just look into where the Sun don't shine, and pray!
Send Son to Iowa :(
``Ms. Helmrichs said she saw a house topple off its foundation. “It just tumbled down, slow motion, into the river,” she said. “It was just so eerie.”''
From the NYT.
My son is going to school there!
From the NYT.
My son is going to school there!
Distress
``This country was rightly elated when it elected its first African-American president more than 20 months ago. That high was destined to abate, but we reached a new low last week. What does it say about America now, and where it is heading, that a racial provocateur, wielding a deceptively edited video, could not only smear an innocent woman but make every national institution that touched the story look bad? The White House, the N.A.A.C.P. and the news media were all soiled by this episode. Meanwhile, the majority of Americans, who believe in fundamental fairness for all, grapple with the poisonous residue left behind by the many powerful people of all stripes who served as accessories to a high-tech lynching.''
From Frank Rich in the NYT.
When the fight comes, a lot of people are going to be at edge.
From Frank Rich in the NYT.
When the fight comes, a lot of people are going to be at edge.
Heat Waves?
The NYT reports hot an humid conditions today.
``Saturday, one meteorologist said with scientific precision, was looking to be “one of those just downright awful summer days.”''
``The stifling heat blanketing the mid-Atlantic this summer seems to be part of a global trend. So far, 2010 is on track to overtake 2005 as the warmest year ever recorded for the planet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.''
Here in Chilpancingo it is pleasant. On the radio I heard that today and tomorrow is going to rain in most of the state. It is not hot is 84°F and 78% humidity.
Some places in the US it has been over a hundred Fahrenheit.
Hurricane Bonnie, has something to do with it. Mexico has a thin middle part, compared to the US, so we get humidity both ways, the Pacific, and the Atlantic.
I do not think we can know for sure, if more and more extreme weather will happen. My gut feeling is that from now until I die, we will see some big heat waves. I better find ways to keep cool. Here though, so far so good.
``Saturday, one meteorologist said with scientific precision, was looking to be “one of those just downright awful summer days.”''
``The stifling heat blanketing the mid-Atlantic this summer seems to be part of a global trend. So far, 2010 is on track to overtake 2005 as the warmest year ever recorded for the planet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.''
Here in Chilpancingo it is pleasant. On the radio I heard that today and tomorrow is going to rain in most of the state. It is not hot is 84°F and 78% humidity.
Some places in the US it has been over a hundred Fahrenheit.
Hurricane Bonnie, has something to do with it. Mexico has a thin middle part, compared to the US, so we get humidity both ways, the Pacific, and the Atlantic.
I do not think we can know for sure, if more and more extreme weather will happen. My gut feeling is that from now until I die, we will see some big heat waves. I better find ways to keep cool. Here though, so far so good.
Mexican Electric Workers Won!
Last night the Calderón administration in Mexico conceded defeat. A long and portrayed hunger strike forced a cabinet member out, and the incoming Interior Minister, conceded defeat!
Read in Spanish all about it, here.
The government didn't put it like that. But, what the hell, this is my blog!
Read in Spanish all about it, here.
The government didn't put it like that. But, what the hell, this is my blog!
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Haves and the Have Nots
``There were times when Ms. Jones fed her children food that neighbors had given her. Once, a neighbor recalled, Ms. Jones divided a gyro sandwich in fourths to make a meal for her and her three oldest children. “If you offered, she would take it, but she never asked anyone for anything,” Ms. Fleming said.
Ms. Jones had been looking for a way to get ahead, and in June, she enrolled at the Cosmetology Career School of New York on Staten Island, hoping to get a beautician’s license.
On Friday, some of Ms. Jones’s family from Washington arrived on Nicholas Avenue, driving up to get a glimpse of the scene. Jermaine’s paternal grandmother, Patty Hassock, 52, said, “Since the baby was born, we never heard anything from her.”
As the day went by, people stopped by the fire scene — neighbors, relatives and strangers. A man knelt on the sidewalk and sobbed as he prayed for a family he had never met. A woman left a candle and a Teddy bear on the street, then walked away.
Ms. Jones’s mother, Marcia Anderson, had also driven from Washington along with her sons and Ms. Scott. Despite the warm day, Ms. Anderson shivered as she walked away from the house. “There’s nothing left for me here,” she said, and then she walked back to the car, asking her children to take her away.''
Taken from the NYT.
The boy seems to have burned the apartment where they lived.
Sad :(
Ms. Jones had been looking for a way to get ahead, and in June, she enrolled at the Cosmetology Career School of New York on Staten Island, hoping to get a beautician’s license.
On Friday, some of Ms. Jones’s family from Washington arrived on Nicholas Avenue, driving up to get a glimpse of the scene. Jermaine’s paternal grandmother, Patty Hassock, 52, said, “Since the baby was born, we never heard anything from her.”
As the day went by, people stopped by the fire scene — neighbors, relatives and strangers. A man knelt on the sidewalk and sobbed as he prayed for a family he had never met. A woman left a candle and a Teddy bear on the street, then walked away.
Ms. Jones’s mother, Marcia Anderson, had also driven from Washington along with her sons and Ms. Scott. Despite the warm day, Ms. Anderson shivered as she walked away from the house. “There’s nothing left for me here,” she said, and then she walked back to the car, asking her children to take her away.''
Taken from the NYT.
The boy seems to have burned the apartment where they lived.
Sad :(
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