FactCheck – Year End Whoppers

This year, there were many times to be amazed and alarmed at the full out lies that spread so easily.  We may disagree on the importance, envision different outcomes and suspect different causes for politics, problems, happenings and trends.  But, we should always be able to agree on the bald facts of a situation.

When in doubt, be sure to check out FactCheck.org or Snopes.com.  If it comes in a forwarded email, there is almost always some half-truths, exaggerations and spinning.  Check them out and you will know the truth that is there and be able to dig through the rest.

Here is a great article on NewsWeek from FactCheck about some of the big year end lies that are flying around. Hope you find it interesting too.

-Amanda

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Year-end Whoppers

Summary
We’ve often said that the spin never stops in Washington. And the weeks since Nov. 4 offer further evidence of that.

Consider some of the bogus claims we’ve debunked just since Election Day:

• It’s not true that unionized auto workers at Detroit’s Big Three make more than $70 an hour, as claimed by some opponents of federal aid.
• And no, 3 million workers won’t be tossed out of work if aid is not forthcoming, as claimed by those favoring a taxpayer bailout.
• President-elect Obama never promised to seek a ban on all semi-automatic weapons, as claimed by some fearful gun owners.
• And no, Obama did not propose a Gestapo-like civilian security force as claimed by a Republican member of Congress from Georgia and any number of overwrought bloggers.
• Democrats in Congress are not discussing any plan to confiscate the assets in 401(k) retirement accounts, another falsehood spread about by chain e-mails and Internet postings.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not demand a 757-size personal jet, a false claim resurrected when Democrats criticized Big Three executives for flying to D.C. on their own private jets to beg for aid.
• And Pelosi’s husband doesn’t own a $17 million stake in a food company that she may (or may not) have tried to help with an exemption from a new minimum wage law.

For details, plus bonus features including video of misleading TV spots by the United Auto Workers and by auto dealers, please read on to the Analysis section.

Watch our “Ask FactCheck” space for new items in the next few days. We’ll post the truth about a claim that the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to levy a tax on farmers’ cows and hogs. And we’ll give you the real story behind a widely circulating (and false) claim that the murder rate in counties that voted for Obama is six times higher than in counties that supported McCain.

Read Full Article on NewsWeek

Interesting – Real Causes of Cancer

Slate has an interesting article on causes of cancer and why we worry about the small ones and not the big ones and how this has put focus on consumerism.

Recently, our family was touched by cancer and I was surprised by how many people asked “what did he do?” or variations. So often, people don’t “do” anything expect live and breath. I was surprised to learn so many cancers are caused by viruses and bacteria. (Far more than are caused by Asbestos).

Natural Disasters – Why do we focus on the least important causes of cancer?
By Darshak Sanghavi
Posted Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 1:00 PM ET

3D movies

A blog post about the new 3D movies. Cool

http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2008/04/09/disney_3d/index.html

Phone Book Zombies

Fun article on the history and slow demise of the phone book. We never use phone books, the web is so much faster. Do you use a phone book? Let me know…

The Book of the Undead – Why won’t phone books die?
By Paul Collins, Slate.com – Posted Friday, March 21, 2008, at 12:53 PM ET

Red Mind, Blue Mind?

If you see someones office, car, wardrobe can you make a good guess about their politics?

I liked this article from Newsweek about how our political leanings are a part of our personalties, part of who we are.  I have often found that to be true.  What do you think?

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MIND MATTERS

Wray Herbert
Red Mind, Blue Mind?

What our political views may reveal about our personalities.
Mar 3, 2008 | Updated: 5:24 p.m. ET Mar 3, 2008

My office is a cluttered mess and always has been. You can’t see my desktop, and my books are not alphabetized. I rarely file anything, though I do make neat piles on the windowsills and floor. I have artwork and mementos, but I have never quite gotten around to actually nailing them to the walls. They sit leaning against the wall. I decorate with Post-It notes.

I have never given much thought to my disorderly life. I figured I was just a slob. But new research suggests that there be meaning in my mess, indeed that my office disarray may reflect my views about everything from women’s reproductive choice to the war in Iraq. According to this view, habits like tidiness and messiness are really habits of the mind; they are meaningfully linked to basic personality traits, and these traits in turn shape political ideology. Put another way, our deepest psychological needs and fears may play a big part in determining where we fall on the political spectrum: left or right, liberal or conservative, Blue or Red.

Read entire article

Teaching a computer to appreciate art

A new computer program can identify images based on mathematical functions. Really a great start towards AI.

Teaching a computer to appreciate art

Project could eventually help distinguish forgeries from masterpieces

AP

By Bryn Nelson
Columnist, MSNBC
updated 6:25 a.m. PT, Mon., Feb. 25, 2008

Is that a van Gogh?

A mathematical program that began as a lark for an Israeli scientist has become a serious effort to match some of the world’s greatest painters with their masterpieces. If the project pans out, it could help point out poor copies and eventually distinguish forgeries from the real deal.

Daniel Keren, a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Haifa, said he’s been contacted by an Italian collector hoping to validate some of his acquired paintings as well as by aficionados embroiled in a controversy over the legitimacy of artworks allegedly by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh.

“I did it for fun, but now people are interested in it, so I will definitely expand,” Keren said.

Research in the rapidly growing field of computer vision, he said, still has plenty of catching up to do if scientists want computers to approximate our own abilities. One stumbling block has been teaching machines how to spot objects that are simple for people to recognize — another human face, for example.

Read Entire article on MSNBC

How To Be a Better Browser

Can a new filtering program cure the Web’s information overload?

By Paul Boutin
Posted on Slate Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008, at 3:48 PM ET

In a scant four years, the Internet, my beloved wellspring of information, has blown its top and become a geyser. Back in 2004, I heaped praise on an exciting new system called RSS. The “Really Simple Syndication” format promised to be TiVo for Web surfers—by automatically pulling content from all your favorite blogs and news sites, an RSS reader would make your Web surfing more fruitful and more efficient. While that prospect sounded enticing at the time, RSS has turned out to be more of a problem than a solution. As of this moment, I have 897 unread RSS items. I don’t need a way to read more of the Net. I need a way to see less of it.

Click to read entire article

Tech News – Bionic Contacts

Scientists are designing a bionic contact lens that will allow the user to see the “display” while looking at the world. What an interesting concept as a new way of interacting with software.
The articles mention uses for airline pilots and doctors, and much more. Imagine soldiers seeing tactical plans as they survey a scene, a business person seeing prompts while giving a speech, or a magician using them to work with a spotter to pick out the “best” audience member. Maybe while browsing, you would automatically see an item’s price and be able to buy by blinking twice.

The technology is still better fodder for a mystery than for real life; But, it is only a matter of years before this or something inspired by this technology becomes reality. What would you do with it?

Vision of the future seen in bionic contact lens Continue reading »