Link Me Up, Scotty - Science FTW Edition

Saturday, December 31, 2016

It appears that that an experimental vaccine used at the end of the last Ebola outbreak is 100% effective. It hasn't yet received regulatory approval, but the initial results are so encouraging that an emergency stockpile of 300,000 doses is now in place. The ingenuity of humanity when we face dire straits (and the passion with which it's applied), never fails to humble and awe me.

(NYT: Mainstream Media source with minimal partisan bias)
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A pictorial essay of the "war on drugs" taking place in the Philippines. The title is They are Slaughtering Us Like Animals. This is what normalizing bad behavior in our politicians ultimately looks like. Parental guidance is suggested.

(NYT: Mainstream Media source with minimal partisan bias)
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Uncle George on our places in the upcoming resistance. "Be ready, be strong, and be vigilant." Good advice at any time.

(The Advocate: A left-leaning LGBT magazine with an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment.)
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Uncle George on our places in the upcoming resistance. "Be ready, be strong, and be vigilant." Good advice at any time.

(The Advocate: A left-leaning LGBT magazine with an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment.)
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As we move into 2017 with courage and conviction, it behooves us to examine what good a Trump presidency may do for our country.

(WaPo: Mainstream media source with minimal partisan bias)
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Ah, the Trump/Obama transition. What could possibly go wrong?

H/T Steve

(Politico: A center rated political journal that focuses on United States and international politics and policy.)
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Moyers & Co. on how progressives can manage a Trump presidency over the next four years.

(Moyers & Co.: A reputable left-leaning source of news)
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Secretary of State John Kerry is speaking his mind on the status of peace in the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, and the behavior of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in light of the the recent UN Security Council vote. I'm one of those people who think both sides of that dispute have valid points and that both sides have also behaved very badly, indeed, and I think more and more people are coming to that point of view. I wonder how long it will take the Israeli government to realize this?

(NYT: Mainstream Media source with minimal partisan bias)
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Vera Rubin, the astrophysicist who found evidence of Dark Matter, has passed away at the age of 88. Vera Rubin was a total bad-ass, a woman who was in the forefront of the continuing sea-change regarding women in science. She was also never awarded the Nobel Prize for her amazing discoveries, in spite of being a favorite in the field since the 1980s.

Fair winds and following seas, Vera.

(NPR:  Mainstream Media source with minimal partisan bias)
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And I thought I was a lover of books. In the 1800s, the European upper classes fell victim to  “bibliomania,” a dark pseudo-psychological illness. Symptoms included a frenzy for culling and hunting down first editions, rare copies, books of certain sizes or printed on specific paper.

H/T Brother Juan

(Atlas Obscura: A collaborative project exposing esoteric and interesting stories from around the world.)

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