Jakarta, Indonesia Swamped by Flooding after Torrential Rains

VOA News

Feb 25, 2020

Dozens of Jakarta neighborhoods are flooded after torrential rains pounded Indonesia’s capital, Tuesday, February 25.

Glyphosate’s Destruction of the Microbiome

The Institute for Responsible Technology

Feb 25, 2020

What is going on with your pet’s biome? Is glyphosate to blame? Dr. Royal exposes the truth in this short video. SHARE with a pet lover!

Food-matters,

2020 OSM Closing Plenary: Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

AGU

Feb 25, 2020
Margaret Leinen, Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Part I: The History Of How We Think About Truth | On Point

 

Circa 410 BC, The Greek philosopher Socrates (469 – 399 BC) teaches his doctrines to the young Athenians whilst awaiting his execution. Original Artwork: An engraving after a painting by Pinelli. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

This series is produced in collaboration with The Conversation.

February 25, 2020
Meghna Chakrabarti
Hilary McQuilkin

We kickoff our series on truth – how we use it, how we abuse it, what it means and what it’s worth to us.

Beth Daley, editor and general manager of The Conversation U.S. (@BethBDaley)

Joel Christensen, a professor of classical studies at Brandeis University. Author of “The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology and the Therapy of Epic.” (@sentantiq)

Mustafa Akyol, senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. Contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. (@AkyolinEnglish)

Interview Highlights

On the ancient Greek view of truth, and the poetry of Homer and Hesiod

Joel Christensen: “From the beginning, there’s this connection between divinity and truth that has poetry as its mediator, which I think is critical. One of the things we often fail to understand about the ancient world is that poetry was the language of law and science, as well as what we might now called literature and religion. So if you went to the Oracle to get a prophecy, she would other the same meter as Homeric or hesiodic poetry, and they would record laws in the same way. And so there is not this sort of divide between poetry, creative arts and science — or logic and philosophy — that you would think of in the modern day.

…(read more).

 

 

On Point Special Series: ‘In Search Of Truth’ | On Point

On Point Special Series: ‘In Search Of Truth’

What do you picture when you think of truth? Here’s a popular example … (Three Lions/Getty Images)

This series is produced in collaboration with The Conversation.

February 20, 2020

What is truth?

The basic definition of “truth,” according to Merriam-Webster’s handy dictionary, is “the body of real things, events and facts.”

But what does that actually mean?

Next week, On Point will air a four-part series that explores just that: what we mean when we talk about “truth.”

It’s a big topic. And it starts with the big picture philosophy of truth.

To kickoff our special series, Part I (airing Monday, Feb. 24), will look at the history of truth: how we use it, what it is, how it works. Has humankind always searched for truth and valued it?

Read more below to learn about the arc of our four-part series.

Part I: The History Of How We Think About Truth

47:14 Feb 24, 2020

Part II: The Science Behind How We Perceive Truth

46:57 Feb 25, 2020

 

Part II: The Science Behind How We Perceive Truth | On Point

 

Policeman Charles M. Fremgeen is submitted to a lie detector test at Fordham University. (Keystone/Getty Images)

In the second installment of our series on truth, we dive into the science behind truth. How do we define it, how do our brains process it and why do we fight over it?

Jay Van Bavel, associate professor of psychology and neural science at NYU. Director of the Social Identity and Morality Lab. (@jayvanbavel)

Adrian Bardon, professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University. Author of “The Truth About Denial: Bias and Self-Deception in Science, Politics and Religion.” (@bardon_adrian)

Interview Highlights

What are the different parts of the brain that are important to understand when it comes to our processing of truth?

Jay Van Bavel: “The first thing that’s important is thinking about sensation. So humans have five senses: vision, touch, taste, smell and hearing. And depending on what we’re presented with, it affects the sensory cortices associated with that type of scent. So right now, people are listening to us. They’re hearing the information come in through their ears. It’s being sent as electrical signals in their auditory cortex. And then they’re trying to make a sense — often through visualization, and memory and other parts of the brain — to understand the concepts that we’re discussing on the radio right now.

“… So that’s the first phase. So most of sensation is how we experience the world, as long as our senses are intact. The next stage — and this is where truth can be debated far more — is at perception. That we might hear something. But you and I might have different interpretations of what we heard. So this came out with a lot of great illusions. One of the most recent ones that went viral was ‘Laurel vs. Yanny.’ I’m not sure if you heard that one, but the same sound is interpreted differently by different people. And so somehow the sensation is working, but the perceptions are far off.”

When the brain is processing something that’s true — for example, I have a cup of tea next to me — what does it look like in my brain when I process that truth?

…(read more).

 

 

‘We Have to Look at the Underpinnings of Environmental Degradation’

Special archival CounterSpin episode on environmental justice and cross-national solidarity
Janine Jackson

Janine Jackson: This week on CounterSpin: The protests of the Wet’suwet’en in British Columbia, resisting the construction of a natural gas pipeline on their land, have been met with violent raids by Canadian police, which in turn have sparked solidarity actions around the country.

New York Times (2/10/20)

A New York Times account detailed how many rail and road passengers were inconvenienced by blockades, noted the “strong support” for the gas line from the Canadian government, and the pipeline company’s “promise” of millions of dollars of contracts with indigenous businesses—before granting one line of explanation that “a number of chiefs…fear the project will irrevocably alter their land.” The facts that the Wet’suwet’en never signed a treaty, and the country’s Supreme Court confirmed (just three years) ago that they hold aboriginal title to the land involved, can be found in paragraph 16 of this 17-paragraph piece.

There will only be an increasing number of frontline struggles between extractive, climate-disrupting industry and those willing to stand up to it. Corporate media’s inadequate attention, and unwillingness to truly call out the moneyed interests causing present and future harms, means that they are more often part of the problem than the solution.

CounterSpin has had these issues brought to life by a number of guests in recent years. We’ll hear a few of those conversations again on this special archived show. We’ll hear from Paul Paz y Miño about Chevron in Ecuador, from Saqib Bhatti about Wells Fargo activism, and from Beverly Bell about Honduran activist Berta Cáceres. Environmental justice, and cross-national organizing and solidarity, today on CounterSpin.

CounterSpin is brought to you each week by the media watch group FAIR.

 

History of Ancient Rome Italy 1910 Ferrero fine 5 vol. leather set books Roma Italia

Brian DiMambro Antiquarian

Feb 25, 2020

[Antiquarian Books, Decorative Leather Bindings, Roman Empire,
European History].

Short video captures condition much better than words. Please watch prior to purchase to ensure a clear understanding of the book.

The Greatness and Decline of Rome, by Guglielmo Ferrero. Trans. by Alfred Zimmerman.
Published c. 1910, New York by G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
5 volumes, each c. 375 pages. Text in English. Frontis engraving protected by original tissue guard in first vol.

Period 1/2 leather binding, raised and gilt bands, gilt ruled compartments, title and volume in gilt, marbled covers and end papers. Top edge gilt.

Any age flaws are easy to overlook or forgive.

Front joints slightly weakened, small scuffing and flaking to leather, some spine heads very slightly chipped, but bindings remain clean, tight, and sound.

Interior contents clean and with a very pleasing age patina, a couple pages in 2 or 3 books rather roughly opened and with jagged edges.

Lovely monumental early 20th century history of Rome that retains a stately and handsome shelf appearance.

Books measure: 8 7/8″ H X 6″ W.
Set along the shelf measures: 8″.

The Emperor’s Club – excerpt

Excerpt “The Emperor’s Club” (2002)  with Kevin Klein

 

Why explore a metallic asteroid? NASA Psyche Mission co-investigator explains

VideoFromSpace

Feb 25, 2020

NASA Psyche Mission Co-Investigator Dr. Tim McCoy explains the importance of exploring a metallic asteroid. — Why NASA Is Sending a Spacecraft to a Metal Asteroid Called ‘Psyche: https://www.space.com/40272-metal-ast… Credit: NASA