by Carl Howard | Sep 18, 2012 | Blog Topics, Interesting Stuff, Travel
Iran is obviously a pretty closed society. In terms of the state control of the media, one only needs to look at Press TV. Just poking around their US page, this was the top story as at 12 Aug: A military analyst [Gordon Duff] says police departments in the United...
by Carl Howard | Sep 14, 2012 | Blog Topics, Links
Russell Glasser on how not to build inclusive communities. Summary: by not excluding certain people (in this case, those who want to flash their dicks around), you are effectively excluding a very large population — anything is is just Ayn Randian nonsense about level...
by Carl Howard | Sep 11, 2012 | Blog Topics, Resources, Food and Environment, Travel
Iran’s GDP per capita is $6200 according to the 2011 CIA World Factbook (although it’s likely reduced now since the embargo was intensified). This puts it as the 85th richest per capita out of 191. It’s less rich than Colombia, Botswana and Romania but richer than...
by Carl Howard | Sep 7, 2012 | Blog Topics, Links
Amusing: if Shakespeare wrote Javascript A sobering look at the recent Pussy Riot verdict: in addition to the 3 members who got several years, another man is facing a much longer prison term but is not being covered by international media. The ultimate Streisand...
by Carl Howard | Sep 4, 2012 | Blog Topics, Interesting Stuff, Travel
The stereotype of Iran is that it’s a desert. While this was a close match for the centre of the country, the north is surprisingly lush, with plenty of green valleys. The desert itself was mostly rocky in my experience — not the sandy dunes that feature in the...
by Carl Howard | Aug 31, 2012 | Blog Topics, Links
The attack of the straw feminists Massimo Pigliucci on The Ethics of Belief: a classic of skepticism from the 19th century that argues that “it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence”. Natalie Reed’s...
