Random links

Submitted by David on Mon, 2013-07-01 15:50
Trying to Learn a Foreign Language? Avoid Reminders of Home
"Zhang, Morris, and their colleagues recruited male and female Chinese students who had lived in the United States for a less than a year and had them sit opposite a computer monitor that displayed the face of either a Chinese or Caucasian male called "Michael Lee." As microphones recorded their speech, the volunteers conversed with Lee, who spoke to them in English with an American accent about campus life. ... Although participants reported a more positive experience chatting with the Chinese version of "Michael Lee," they were significantly less fluent ... 'It's ironic' that the more comfortable volunteers were with their conversational partner, the less fluent they became, Zhang says. 'That's something we did not expect.'"
Key points from “How North Korea Could Cripple the U.S.”
The original Wall Street Journal article is now locked up but kind of an interesting look at a scary possibility. I've mentioned the electromagnetic pulse vulnerability before, but think that North Korea could potentially knock out all electronics in basically all of North America with a single nuclear explosive detonated high-enough up in the atmosphere.
64 percent of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan support the death penalty for leaving Islam
"According to Pew’s data, 78 percent of Afghan Muslims say they support laws condemning to death anyone who gives up Islam. ... This is also the majority view among Muslims in Malaysia, Jordan and the Palestinian territories."
Separating the Influence of Capitalism and Democracy on Women’s Well-Being
"This empirical analysis seeks to determine which institutional arrangement - capitalism or democracy - tends to be more effective at improving women’s well-being and promoting gender equality in society. ... The results indicate that capitalism often has a stronger beneficial impact on many aspects of women’s well-being and gender equality in society."

Comments

Sarennah

Tue, 2013-07-02 20:42

That one article reminds me once again that just because a majority agrees on something does not make it right. The flaw in democracy.