Links for you. Science:
New virus linked to bee colony collapse disorder
The Demise of Easter Island’s Eco-Collapse Parable (I wrote about this a while ago)
On anonymity in science and on Twitter
There’s a Gene for That
Syria’s Polio Epidemic: The Suppressed Truth
Quilt plots. Like heat maps, only…heat maps
Other:
The Golden Age of Journalism? Your Newspaper, Your Choice (excellent)
Toxic Democratic Fundraising (whenever I get spam emails from Democrats and progressive organizations, I’m going to send them this link)
A Newly Deciphered Babylonian Tablet Details Blueprints for “Noah’s Ark”
California’s New Feudalism Benefits a Few at the Expense of the Multitude
Dear UCLA IMED Seminar SPAM – I will NOT maintain your emails in a safe, secure and confidential manner
Championing Fact-Challenged Facts
How the Department of Transportation Screws Up Traffic Forecasts
What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?
The face of evil
Someone Just Said Something About The Japan-China Conflict That Scared The Crap Out Of Everyone
The New York Times takes a cheap shot at specialists
Why Do Some Americans Speak So Confidently When They Have No Clue What They’re Talking About? Harvard calls “leadership” speaking with conviction when you don’t even believe it.
Blizzards & snowfalls in New York City history
I was surprised that the article about the “new feudalism” of California said nothing about Proposition 13 and the constitutional barrier to raising taxes.
When you consider the writer is a Chapman College fellow and a member of the Orange County Register editorial board (The Register, for those who think Der Sturmer is too liberal) and cites VDH as having something intelligent to say, well ignoring the obvious is not surprising. The insidious by product of Prop 13 is they could just modify the portion that exempts commercial property from re-assessment and recoup much of what was lost. HP has a great deal of advantage over Google when it comes to real estate taxes; and you don’t hear them whining about it.
There is a great deal of sturm and drang about how the “wealthy” in Silly Con Valley behave. The reality is they are not particularly guilty of anything other than being lucky and a smart. IMHO, the fights of gentrification of neighborhoods are overblown; if there is a beef take it up wit the landlords or the city councils and zoning commissions. The bus thing is especially much ado over nothing as they hardly constitute that much of an impediment to other public transport. (SF Muni is infamously inefficient and now is being shown up by private firms. Uber and the SF taxi pirates is another example)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was under fire Sunday from religious lawmakers following a report that his son was dating a non-Jewish woman, media said.
Dear Mr. Mike, I suggest you take a look at the health policy researchers’ group blog The Incidental Economist for data on physician and specialist salaries.