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The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett review | Non-fiction book reviews - Times Online
Their book charts the level of health and social problems — as many as they could find reliable figures for — against the level of income inequality in 20 of the world’s richest nations, and in each of the 50 United States. They allocate a brief chapter to each problem, supplying graphs that display the evidence starkly and unarguably. What they find is that, in states and countries where there is a big gap between the incomes of rich and poor, mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity and teenage pregnancy are more common, the homicide rate is higher, life expectancy is shorter, and children’s educational performance and literacy scores are worse. The Scandinavian countries and Japan consistently come at the positive end of this spectrum. They have the smallest differences between higher and lower incomes, and the best record of psycho-social health. The countries with the widest gulf between rich and poor, and the highest incidence of most health and social problems, are Britain, America and Portugal.
What Finland can teach America about true luxury
As I spent more time in Helsinki, my own notion of the luxuries available in Finland expanded to include more than just the quiet pleasures of a cabin getaway. Finnish cities are filled with universally well-maintained and high-quality schools, hospitals, buses, trains, and parks. While most Finns might never be able to own a well-appointed SUV or a big house, they value the less-tangible assets they do have, which add up to quality of life and peace of mind.
Finland doesn't pay lip service to providing a level playing field for all its citizens. It really does give the vast majority of its citizens a fair and equal chance in life, in a way that the US just doesn't, no matter how much Americans like to think it does.
4 Nations Happier than the U.S., With Half the Carbon Emissions : TreeHugger
Although it may come as a surprise, research shows a larger carbon footprint doesn't lead to happiness. While the United States ranks near the top of both per capita and aggregate carbon emissions, it's not in the top 10 when it comes to happiness. In fact, many nations ranked happier than the U.S. also tread much more lightly on the planet. Read on to find out where the U.S.'s carbon emissions come from and which countries are doing it right.
A Gay-Marriage Solution: End Marriage?
he may find that the folks who cling hardest to marriage are gay couples. After all, what was the most sweeping part of the May 2008 decision Ming and his colleagues issued that granted gays the right to marry? It was the idea that the word marriage is so strong that denying it to gay couples violates the most sacred right enshrined in the state constitution: the right for all people to be treated with dignity and fairness.
Johann Hari: We need to stop being such cowards about Islam - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent
In Europe, we are finally abolishing the lingering blasphemy laws that hinder criticism of Christianity. But they are being succeeded by a new blasphemy law preventing criticism of Islam – enforced not by the state, but by jihadis.
At The Office: Workflow Charts Finally Put to Good Use Show Fundamental Men vs Women Differences
Thank god your a man. Goldstar Beer.
YouTube - Irreligion & Scandinavian Society- Phil Zuckerman Part1 of 2
"Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment"
Freethought radio interview with Phil Zuckerman on his new book that looks into the secular scandinavian countries.
Remember 'go outside and play?' - Los Angeles Times
Reader, if you're much over 30, you probably remember what it used to be like for the typical American kid. Remember how there used to be this thing called "going out to play"?
For younger readers, I'll explain this archaic concept. It worked like this: The child or children in the house -- as long as they were over age 4 or so -- went to the door, opened it, and ... went outside.
'Recommended Reading: Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment' by Phil Zuckerman - RichardDawkins.net
Contrary to the views of many conservative pundits and the Christian Right, the least religious countries in the world today are not full of chaos and immorality, but are actually among the safest, healthiest, most well-educated, prosperous, ethical, and successful societies on earth. Based on a year's worth of research conducted while living in Scandinavia, SOCIETY WITHOUT GOD by Phil Zuckerman explores life in a largely secular culture, delving into the unique worldviews of secular men and women who live in a largely irreligious society, and explaining the reasons why some nations are less religious than others, and why religious faith doesn't seem to be the secret to national success that so many claim it to be.
Tenant internet connects broader band of people - Technology - smh.com.au
Collingwood is the second high-rise estate to be wired up by the non-profit company Infoxchange, with its motto "Technology for social justice". Tenants have been offered a free refurbished PC, a free three-day computer course, and access to email and broadband for $5 to $15 a month, depending on downloads.
The Believer - Interview with David Simon
The Wire is a Greek tragedy in which the postmodern institutions are the Olympian forces. It’s the police department, or the drug economy, or the political structures, or the school administration, or the macroeconomic forces that are throwing the lightni
Law prof and cop agree: never ever ever ever ever ever ever talk to the cops about a crime, even if you're innocent - Boing Boing
In a brilliant pair of videos, , Prof. James Duane of the Regent University School of Law and Officer George Bruch of the Virginia Beach Police Department present a forceful case for never, ever, ever speaking to the police without your lawyer present. Ev
'We need to stop being such cowards about Islam' by Johann Hari, The Independent - RichardDawkins.net
Some people will instantly ask: why bother criticising religion if it causes so much hassle? The answer is: look back at our history. How did Christianity lose its ability to terrorise people with phantasms of sin and Hell? How did it stop spreading shame
Why Gen Y Is Going to Change the Web - ReadWriteWeb
As the Boomers fade into retirement and Gen Y takes root in the workplace, we're going to see some big changes ahead, not just at work, but on the web as a whole.
Death of the sitcom frees up 2,000 Wikipedias worth of cognitive capacity - Boing Boing
if you take Wikipedia as a kind of unit... that represents something like the cumulation of 100 million hours of human thought. And television watching? Two hundred billion hours, in the U.S. alone, every year... that's 2,000 Wikipedia projects a year
WorldChanging: A New Chance to Fix GDP
A National Academy of Sciences panel, for example, has laid out an exhaustive, sober, and detailed plan for issuing regular reports on several “satellite accounts” in tandem with the monetary tally of GDP.
Unscientific - xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe
"'Ideas are tested by experiment.' That is the CORE of science. Everything else is bookkeeping."
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