Still more random links

Why ADHD Overdiagnosis Makes Me Nervous: The Meds Change My Boyfriend’s Personality
Given that this i the XX-Factor blog it seems worth mentioning that birth control pills also cause personality changes.
PAC launches to support bearded political candidates
"The Bearded Entrepreneurs for the Advancement of a Responsible Democracy (BEARD) was founded by 30-year-old Jonathan Sessions, who sits on the Columbia, Mo., Board of Education ... The BEARD PAC will support candidates from across the political spectrum as long as they have sufficient facial hair." It's a few days late for April Fools Day. I'm assuming the founder probably watches the Colbert Report.
Woman crashes stolen train into a building after taking it for a joyride
Over in Stockholm.
Actually, Prohibition Was a Success
Something to think about: "Cirrhosis death rates for men were 29.5 per 100,000 in 1911 and 10.7 in 1929. Admissions to state mental hospitals for alcoholic psychosis declined from 10.1 per 100,000 in 1919 to 4.7 in 1928. Arrests for public drunkennness and disorderly conduct declined 50 percent between 1916 and 1922. For the population as a whole, the best estimates are that consumption of alcohol declined by 30 percent to 50 percent. Third, violent crime did not increase dramatically during Prohibition. Homicide rates rose dramatically from 1900 to 1910 but remained roughly constant during Prohibition's 14 year rule. Organized crime may have become more visible and lurid during Prohibition, but it existed before and after. Fourth, following the repeal of Prohibition, alcohol consumption increased. Today, alcohol is estimated to be the cause of more than 23,000 motor vehicle deaths and is implicated in more than half of the nation's 20,000 homicides. In contrast, drugs have not yet been persuasively linked to highway fatalities and are believed to account for 10 percent to 20 percent of homicides."

More random links

Extra weight an unexpected benefit in traffic accidents
"for those who do get hit, an unexpected factor may protect against serious injury: being overweight. These are among the findings of a medical study of injured pedestrians and cyclists in New York"
Brian Banks signs with the Atlanta Falcons
"Banks, 27, spent five years in prison and five years on parole after being wrongly accused and convicted of raping a female classmate at Poly Tech High School in Long Beach, California." This was the rather bizarre case that 60 Minutes covered recently where after he'd been released from jail the woman who'd accused him back then tried to friend him on Facebook and then got caught on hidden camera admitting that the charge was false - but that she didn't want to give back the more than a million dollars in damages she'd been awarded from the school district over the incident. Incidentally the school district doesn't seem to be chasing after her to get its money back which is a bit odd since they now have video evidence that her claim was fraudulent and neither the cops nor Banks seem to be interested in getting her charged with making a false accusation.
Unmanned Drones May Have Their Greatest Impact on Agriculture
"Unmanned drones have emerged as a controversial tool for the military and national security apparatus. But in a few years, they may become ubiquitous over America’s farms."
Empowering Women: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Afghanistan
"Using a randomized field experiment encompassing 500 Afghan villages, this study finds that a development program which incorporates mandated female participation increases female mobility and involvement in income generation, but does not change female roles in family decision-making or attitudes toward the general role of women in society."

Random links

Bangladesh arrests three atheist bloggers
Arrests for criticizing Islam are more or less par for the course in Pakistan but although Bangladesh was part of Pakistan not too long ago, generally I don't expect these sorts of arrests there. That said I could wrong as the article asserts that "The three could face 10 years in jail if convicted under the country's cyber laws which outlaw 'defaming' a religion"
Reasons Not to Stretch
"the studies augment a growing scientific consensus that pre-exercise stretching is generally unnecessary and likely counterproductive. ... A better choice ... is to warm-up dynamically, by moving the muscles that will be called upon in your workout. Jumping jacks and toy-soldier-like high leg kicks, for instance, prepare muscles for additional exercise better than stretching."
You're Distracted. This Professor Can Help.
A look at meditation and thinking about time use as a way of learning to focus your attention and become more productive. Influences seem to include a Jewish weekly sabbath involving a technology fast and Buddhist-inspired retreats for meditation.
Cree and Philips take divergent approaches to sub-$15 LED lamps
These are apparently 60W incandescent equivalents - Philips is claiming it'll get costs under $10 this year yet.

Freedom of Speech - Canadian University Style

Via a press release (and retaining the links to sources):

The two previous events hosted by the [University of Toronto Men’s Issues Awareness Society] featured opposition groups forming an illegal barricade of the exit doors at a talk by award-winning educator Dr. Warren Farrell (November 16, 2012), then pulling the fire alarm at a presentation by University of Ottawa English Professor Janice Fiamengo (March 7, 2013). Both actions were in obvious violation of safety protocols, but both actions were justified by the events’ critics as required in order to stop the creation of an “unsafe space” supposedly fostered by the events targeted.

... The UTMIA’s next public event is this Thursday, April 4, a conversation entitled “From Misogyny and Misandry to Intersexual Dialogue,” directed at confronting the effects on society of sexism that robs both women and men of value and life choices, and how to create a dialogue that takes a deeper look at the interconnection of these problems. A protest of this event is planned by the UTSU and its allies, including the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students and the University of Toronto-based “Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG).” OPIRG, funded by levies on all students, has joined with more extreme groups Common Cause and the Radical Student Movement, to organize a “militant” response on Thursday. Common Cause has pledged to respond to “men’s issues” events with a “move towards reactivating a radical, militant feminist movement.” Meanwhile, the “Radical Student Movement,” promises that individuals associated with disagreeable groups will be “verbally condemned as well as physically challenged.”

... Ironically ... Scarborough Campus Student Union had recently sent a letter to the Vice Provost condemning the UTMIA’s last event, stating: “Anyone who had opposing opinions was treated aggressively. There was no commitment to engaging in dialogue and the environment was hostile, hateful, and created an unsafe space for many attendees.”

It looks like this time, as before, the police are showing up so there's some possibility of the event going forward. Despite the Scarborough Campus Student Union claim of a hostile environment it seems to have been the protesters against the speech that resulted in the police showing up ... and even a significant police presence in the past hasn't been enough to actually enable people wanting to to get in the doors to do so. The National Post described the previous event as having:

... a hostile crowd, and it revealed itself during the raucous question period, which pitted ranting questioners against a rudely dismissive emcee who kept cutting power to the microphone.

Given the protests outside requiring a police presence just to enable some to get in the doors I don't think that blame for a hostile environment can be assigned to just one group though.

Funnily enough a men's issues group blocked by Ryerson Students Union had been proposed by a majority-female group. On a tangent, I don't think I've said anything about the guy in a vagina costume recently shutting down a Canadian MP speaking in opposition to abortion (again) at a Canadian University. In the MP's words it is

... a mark of extremism to take disrespect of others as a virtue. I couldn’t outshout the shouters. I’m not there to engage in a shouting match.

Given the standards of free speech on Canadian campuses I'm a little pleasantly surprised that organization running the events at the U of T is being allowed by the university to function. It can't hurt that those they've brought in as speakers either are or have been university professors - Farrell is the only one not presently a professor but has taught at a number of universities in the past.

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