Another scientific study has been released that shows that a positive outlook on life significantly lengthens life expectancy. Even controlling for other factors, being positive has a 10% to 15% beneficial impact. A positive outlook on life has additional benefits because it tends to help a lifestyle of more exercise and better eating. BBC: Optimistic …
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Category:Philosophy
Terry Pratchett on death.
From the UK’s Mail on Sunday. Assisted suicide has been in the headlines because the law incriminating those who assist suicide is under review. Sir Terry has alzheimer’s and has written about death for over three decades. I’ll die before the endgame, says Terry Pratchett in call for law to allow assisted suicides in UK …
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The Kama Sutra finally wins over colonial law in India
The ancient Indian text the Kama Sutra makes an interesting read. It is not just a “sex manual” but also a guide or commentary on human behaviour and society. It allows for the differences in people and offers insight in to the intimate relationships that humans explore, including same gender sex. Homosexuality has always been …
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God, man and growth
Some research was carried out in 2003 to explore the connection between religion, religiousness and economic growth. The story is told in this article by The Economist: God, man and growth. The conclusion supports the thesis that values are key to social and economic success, not religion itself. It is the belief in being part …
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Would you all please stop bickering.
It was never going to be easy. Before it had begun important participants, like the US, had already turned up their noses. The UN conference on racism had a patchy history and was bound to raise hackles. It is unfortunate that “diplomats” walked out of a speech by a President, even if they have difficulty …
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Dog Biscuits
Just a cute story … Dog Biscuits by David Rippe (excerpted from Listen–The Sounds and Silences of Our Secret Lives) Listen up. Lean in. I have a story to tell. One you will want to hear. It’s a short trip between cool and fool–two letters actually, alphabetically speaking. You’ll have to decide which one am …
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A monumental failure of management.
Another piece by a respected analyst describing the cause of the economic crisis – moral hazard. Of course, it is not just America’s failure, but one that has been made globally. America’s monumental failure of management. by Henry Mintzberg in The Globe and Mail “If you always do as you always did, you will always …
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The Roman Catholic church is becoming enlightened, and catholic
The Vatican is hosting a 5 day conference to celebrate 150 years of Darwin. This shows that teh Pope is bringing that religion in to the 21st Century by seeking to include science in its doctrine, thereby widening its inclusion to be more all embracing. A step in the right direction.
Morals and the Meltdown
A good perspective from Robert Skidelsky. He writes well. His language is a bit religious for me, but the analysis is all too accurate. Here’s the link to his website and the article is copied below. In our view, we are now confronting the limit to the growth of humanity he concludes with. Morals and …
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The world says NO to the death penalty
The United Nations General Assembly has at last voted for a global moratorium on the death penalty. While the resolution is nonbinding and its symbolic weight was hardly mentioned in US media, for those who have been trying to move the world away from lethal revenge as government policy, this was a milestone. The resolution …
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