We tend to imagine suicide bombers as hardened, bloodthirsty killers. But most people aren’t nearly as ready to commit violence as you think. It’s actually the quiet, docile members of the middle class who make the best human explosive devices. And that’s what makes this weapon of mass murder so hard to stop. There’s a simple reason that since the 1980s the world has witnessed thousands of suicide bombings: It’s the most efficient form of violence at close range. The spread of this seemingly unstoppable technique has made political violence much more potent by enlisting an unlikely cadre of perpetrators-the middle class. The fact that suicide bombers are usually mild-mannered members of the middle class seems counterintuitive. After all, the middle class tend to be well-educated, well-behaved, good family members-nothing like the bloodthirsty tough guys or criminals we imagine when we think of terrorists. They bear little resemblance to English football hooligans or rabble-rousers. No other form of violence has a higher proportion of females than suicide bombers, even though females are usually more conformist than males. Why is this so? I suggest it is because suicide bombing is the easiest form of violence for conventional middle-class […]
Believe it or not, we’re eight years into the 21st century and more than half of the people in America have either no Internet access at home or are stuck on dial-up. In the meantime, countries in Asia and Europe have outpaced us with faster connections at far cheaper prices. This situation is unacceptable, but there’s still reason to hope that we can regain our spot as a world leader in Internet services. Much of this rests on the outcome of a complex airwaves auction that began less than a week ago. Up for sale is the ‘beachfront property’ of our radio spectrum �’ the most important chunk of the public airwaves to become available in years. If used right, these airwaves will form the building blocks of the next generation of Internet services in America �’ which could put our country back on the top of the broadband heap. So, what’s really at stake in the spectrum sell off? Our auction FAQ will help set the stage. 1. What is wireless spectrum? The wireless spectrum is part of the invisible frequencies that we use to transmit television, radio, satellite and other communications signals. Because […]
Intel is ‘going green’ in a big way. The semiconductor giant said Monday it will purchase more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year of renewable energy certificates, which will make Intel the largest corporate purchaser of green power in the U.S. Among the alternative energy technologies that will be supported by the program are wind, solar and biomass. ‘This is the single largest purchase of renewable certificates in the history of the program,’ said Intel spokesman Bill Calder. The certificates are a voluntary method used by corporations, universities, government agencies and others to promote renewable energy projects. Electrons produced at wind, biomass or solar power plants won’t go directly to Intel factories such as the company’s two Chandler complexes. But by purchasing certificates, Intel and other participants provide a market and a source of income for alternative energy producers, which supply their electricity to the general grid. As a result, the need to produce the equivalent amount of energy from polluting fossil fuel plants is eliminated. ‘When it goes to the grid, there is no way to tell where the energy came from,’ Calder said. ‘But there is a direct environmental benefit.’ Intel […]
Tests of 2,525 U.S. combat veterans after returning from Iraq have found that depression and post-traumatic stress disorder play key roles in determining who will suffer from health problems following a mild brain injury. ‘We thought the symptoms would be related to concussion, but they turned out to be most strongly related to PTSD,’ said Dr. Charles Hoge, a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. The research, published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, also suggests that the rate of such injuries is high. ‘In this study, nearly 15 percent of soldiers reported an injury during deployment that involved loss of consciousness or altered mental status,’ Hoge and his colleagues reported. More than 1.5 million Americans have gone to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001, and some estimates of the rate of head and neck injuries as high as one in four. Hoge and his colleagues surveyed veterans within four months of their return from a year-long deployment. In addition to being asked if they had been knocked out, left dazed by a head injury or had a head injury they did not remember, they were asked to rate their […]
Physically active people have cells that look younger on a molecular level than those of couch potatoes, according to new research that offers a fundamental new clue into how exercise may help stave off aging. The study, involving more than 2,400 British twins, found for the first time that exercise appears to slow the shriveling of the protective tips on bundles of genes inside cells, perhaps keeping frailty at bay. ‘These data suggest that the act of exercising may actually protect the body against the aging process,’ said Tim D. Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College in London who led the study, published yesterday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Previous research has shown that being physically active reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer and other diseases, potentially extending longevity. In the hopes of helping explain how, Spector and his colleagues examined structures known as telomeres inside cells. Telomeres cap the ends of chromosomes, the structures that carry genes. Every time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter. When the telomeres get too short, the cell can no longer divide. Scientists believe that aging occurs as more and more cells reach the […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
