Middle East
Syria
John McCain snuck over the Syrian border to meet with rebels. "Sen. John McCain Monday became the highest-ranking U.S. official to enter Syria since the bloody civil war there began ... McCain ... made the unannounced visit across the Turkey-Syria border with Gen. Salem Idris, the leader of the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army. ... Inside those meetings, rebel leaders called on the United States to step up its support to the Syrian armed opposition and provide them with heavy weapons, a no-fly zone, and airstrikes on the Syrian regime and the forces of Hezbollah, which is increasingly active in Syria." Josh Rogin at the Daily Beast.
Hezbollah is going all-in for Assad. "The leader of the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah decisively committed his followers ... to an all-out battle in Syria to defeat the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad. He said the organization, founded to defend Lebanon and fight Israel, was entering 'a completely new phase,' sending troops abroad to protect its interests. ... The speech signaled a significant escalation in Hezbollah’s military involvement in Syria, deeply enmeshing the group in the war across the border." Anne Barnard in the New York Times.
Unsurprisingly, that move didn't go unpunished. "Two rockets crashed into southern Beirut suburbs controlled by the militant Shiite group Hezbollah on Sunday, wounding four people. The attack, the first on the group’s Beirut stronghold since the hostilities in Syria broke out two years ago, raised anxieties here that the fighting next door was beginning to revive Lebanon’s own sectarian conflicts. But it was unclear who launched the rockets ... No one was killed and no group immediately claimed responsibility." Anne Barnard in the New York Times.
The EU is lifting its arms embargo against Syrian rebels. "European Union nations agreed Monday to end an arms embargo against Syrian rebels, Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said." Ashley Fantz and Salma Abdelaziz at CNN.
Iran
Why Iranian elections matter. "If ... Ahmadinejad’s antics have taught us nothing else, they have demonstrated over and over again that Iran’s presidency matters. ... The office of the presidency has emerged as one with real power to shape the context for domestic and foreign policy. The post exerts considerable authority over the Iranian budget, the framework for internal political activities, the social and cultural atmosphere, and even the most sensitive aspects of Iran’s security policies. ... The election ... will have enormous sway over the future course of the Islamic Republic." Suzanne Maloney at Brookings.
Yemen
Yemen: The landmine country. And not in a metaphorical sense. Actual landmines. "In the midst of the Arab Spring uprising that gripped the country in 2011, members of Yemen's 63rd and 81st Republican Guard units laid approximately 8,000 fresh landmines ... an act that clearly violates the international Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty to which Yemen is a signatory. At the time, Ahmed Ali Saleh, son of the country's yet-to-be ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was the head of all Republican Guard units. ... Yemen's government could garner the dubious accolade of being the first state signatory of the Mine Ban Treaty caught laying anti-personnel mines." Joe Sheffer at Foreign Policy.
Iraq
New wave of car bombings in Baghdad. "A wave of car bombings tore through mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhoods of the Baghdad area starting Monday afternoon, leaving at least 66 dead... The blasts are the latest indication that Iraq’s security is rapidly deteriorating as sectarian tensions exacerbated by months of Sunni-led anti-government protests and the war in neighboring Syria are on the rise. Iraq has been hit by a wave of bloodshed that has killed more than 350 people in the past two weeks alone. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday’s bloodshed, but the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida’s Iraqi arm." Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
Politics
Arizona
Sheriff Joe Arpaio violated rights of Latino suspects, federal judge finds. "Aripaio has been at the forefront of cracking down on illegal immigrants even before it became a national issue. For years now, his department has been sending patrols into Latino areas of his county in search of people here illegally ... These very immigration tactics ... brought Apraio to the attention of the Justice Department. ... Yesterday, after a trial, a Federal Judge ruled that Arpaio and his department had violated the rights of Latinos in the manner in which they ran their immigration enforcement raids." Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
The Economy
Income inequality is real - and really bad. "The top 1 percent of households by income captured 121 percent of all income gains between 2009 and 2011... according to new research by Emmanuel Saez, an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley. ... How was the top 1 percent able to capture more than all of the recovery's income gains? They became 11.2 percent richer while the bottom 99 percent got 0.4 percent poorer, when accounting for inflation, according to Saez." Bonnie Kavoussi at the Huffington Post.
The US is the only wealthy country without guaranteed paid vacation and holidays. "The United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation. European countries establish legal rights to at least 20 days of paid vacation per year ... Australia and New Zealand both require employers to grant at least 20 vacation days per year; Canada and Japan mandate at least 10 paid days off. The gap between paid time off in the United States and the rest of the world is even larger if we include legally mandated paid holidays, where the United States offers none, but most of the rest of the world’s rich countries offer at least six paid holidays per year." Ezra Klein at Wonkblog.
Japanese ownership of Sprint probably isn't a security risk. "There’s good reason for concern about foreign companies controlling U.S. telecommunications infrastructure. If malicious equipment were installed in U.S. networks, it could allow hostile powers to intercept or disrupt American communications—a serious threat to national security. ... But Softbank seems to be in a different category. Japan is a liberal democracy and a U.S. ally. Its government is not known for launching attacks on U.S. networks. And while critics claim that Softbank is tied to the Chinese government, they haven’t produced very much evidence for that claim." Timothy Lee at Wonkblog.
Education
Startling stat. "Here’s an indication of how burdensome student loans have become: About one-third of millennials say they would have been better off working, instead of going to college and paying tuition." Halah Touryalai at Forbes.
Elections
On the origins of the 17th amendment. "Support for direct elections was, at least in part, a result of the rise of ideologically coherent, national political parties. ... Federalism was not invoked against the Seventeenth Amendment because state legislative appointment was frustrating ... the ability of state majorities to choose state policies. Modern advocates of repealing the Seventeenth Amendment ... claim the mantle of federalism, but they have the case almost entirely backwards. Repealing the Seventeenth Amendment would reduce the benefits of federalism, as it would turn state legislatures into electoral colleges for U.S. Senators." John Sides at the Monkey Cage.
Despite the wave of scandals, the Republicans are the ones creating election year problems for themselves. "Legislative unease has become about what Republicans haven’t done, rather than what Democrats have done. ... The tables have turned. Two of the most glaring legislative failures this year have ostensibly been the work of obstinate Republicans: the failure to avoid the sequester and the failure to pass expanded gun background checks legislation. ... Most Americans still disapprove of the sequester’s automatic spending cuts, and according to a Pew Research Center poll released Thursday, 81 percent of Americans still favor the passage of a bill expanding background checks." Charles Blow at the New York Times.
The 'bloviating ignoramus' is back. "Donald Trump has spent more than $1 million on electoral research for a potential presidential run in 2016. ... Trump considered a run for the White House last year against Obama, but ultimately didn’t enter the race, instead making his attention-grabbing $5 million offer to the president to turn over his birth records. ... I’m sure we’ll see the same ridiculous game we saw in 2011 when he was allegedly flirting with the idea of running, and the same nervous reactions from Republicans afraid that he might actually do it." Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
The Environment
How used cars will partially undermine fuel economy laws. "Back in August, the Obama administration announced strict new fuel economy standards ... By 2025, automakers in the United States will need to sell passenger vehicles that get, on average, 54.5 miles per gallon.* But those rules only apply to new cars. There will still be millions of used cars out on the roads. And, as it turns out, the fuel regulations may have an unintended effect on that used-car market. A new study suggests that older, gas-guzzling vehicles will likely stay on the roads even longer — and reduce the effectiveness of the fuel rules by 13 percent to 23 percent." Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.
*And even that figure is an optimistic estimate. "All the new cars and light trucks sold in 2025 won’t actually average 54.5 miles per gallon. They’ll almost certainly get far less than that. That’s because the tests used to measure official fuel economy standards—which basically involve running cars on a giant treadmill—don’t always do a great job of replicating real-world conditions. The Union of Concerned Scientists ... noting that the actual fuel economy for new U.S. vehicles in 2025 will probably be around 35.4 miles per gallon." Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.
If we can't act on the science of climate change, how about the market signal? Still a 'no'? "Those who doubt the scientific consensus ... presumably ought to find the opinion of market actors, who are putting their money where their mouth is ... more probative? The answer ... tells us something ... Too many climate skeptics are unwilling to acknowledge evidence of any sort--even the truth-corroborating price signal of self-interested market behavior!--that lends credence to the scientific underpinnings of those who are making the case for effective collective action to avoid the myriad welfare-threatening upshots of a warming earth. So this evidence doesn't register on them either." Dan Kahan at the Cultural Cognition Project.
The farm bill is pretty bad. "Members of Congress have ... set an impressively consistent trend: they mix good ideas and bad ideas and combine them to create the absolutely worst possible policies. Elements of the farm bill, as it stands, will cut food stamps to the poor and the previously incarcerated, thus increasing poverty and possibly crime; add to the growing obesity crisis by encouraging chemical sugar substitutes; push genetically modified food at the expense of public health with the so-called 'Monsanto Protection Act'; and support factory farming at the expense of sustainable food production with abusive crop subsidies." Heidi Moore in the Guardian.
Found a problem with the ACA? Too bad... "Almost no law as sprawling and consequential as the Affordable Care Act has passed without ... significant structural changes or routine tweaks known as 'technical corrections' ... But ... in a polarized Congress, accomplishing them has become all but impossible. Republicans simply want to see the entire law go away and will not take part in adjusting it. Democrats are petrified of reopening a politically charged law that threatens to derail careers as the Republicans once again seize on it before an election year. As a result, a landmark law that almost everyone agrees has flaws is likely to take effect unchanged." Jonathan Weisman and Robert Pear in the New York Times.
Emergency room workers spend an awful lot of time on Facebook. "The emergency department would seem, at first glance, to be one of the more bustling spaces in medicine. With multiple patients in critical condition, it seems like it would be hard for doctors and other health providers to find a spare minute. Except it’s apparently not that hard at all: A new study ... finds that for every hour emergency department workers use a computer, they spend an average of 12 minutes on Facebook — and that time on the site actually goes up as the department becomes busier." Sarah Kliff at Wonkblog.
Immigration reform in the House. "It may be the case that a fair number of Republican members want a bill to pass — but without their votes. They may believe that the bill is good for Republicans in general but not in their districts; they may even believe that their own long-term prospects are better with an immigration bill in place but that their short-term prospects could be endangered if they support it." Jonathan Bernstein at the Plum Line.
Wrong procedures at the IRS, for sure, but they may have had the right idea. "Representatives of these organizations have cried foul in recent weeks about their treatment by the I.R.S., saying they were among dozens of conservative groups unfairly targeted by the agency, harassed with inappropriate questionnaires and put off for months or years as the agency delayed decisions on their applications. But a close examination of these groups and others reveals an array of election activities that tax experts and former I.R.S. officials said would provide a legitimate basis for flagging them for closer review." Nicholas Confessore and Michael Luo at the New York Times.
Not all Tea Party groups under investigation were innocent. "The more information that comes out ... the harder it is to say employees there erred completely in putting more scrutiny on particular groups seeking tax-exempt status. ... Several of the tea party groups targeted by the IRS were engaged in overt political activity. One group ... sponsored get-out-the-vote training 'dedicated to ‘the defeat of President Barack Obama.’' Another ... had given donations to a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives. ... This is exactly the kind of activity that the IRS is supposed to question when it’s deciding on tax-exempt status for “social welfare” organizations." Jamelle Bouie at the Plum Line.
Big news is coming. "What the Supreme Court decides by the end of June could fundamentally change ... a range of politically explosive issues. ... – Same-sex marriage: A pair of appeals testing whether gays and lesbian couples have a ... constitutional right to wed. – Affirmative action: May race continue to be used as a factor in college admissions, to achieve classroom diversity? – Voting rights: The future of the Voting Rights Act, and ... federal oversight of elections in states with a past history of discrimination. – Gene patents: Can 'products of nature' like isolated parts of the human genome be held as the exclusive intellectual property of ... companies, through government-issued patents?" Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
Ummmm, excuse me? "The African Union (AU) has accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) of 'hunting' Africans because of their race. It was opposed to the ICC trying Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta on charges of crimes against humanity, said Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. The AU would raise its concerns with the UN, he added. Mr Kenyatta, who was elected in March, is due to be tried in July. He denies the charges, which arise from accusations that he fuelled violence after disputed elections in 2007." BBC.
Explaining missing childhood memories. "Scientists ... have long wondered why we don’t remember anything that happened before age 3. ... Now a new study shows that 'infantile amnesia' may be due to the rapid growth of nerve cells in the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for filing new experiences into long-term memory. ... As the hippocampus matures, huge numbers of new neurons come on line and need to be hooked into existing circuits, he says. The most likely scenario is that in all that restructuring, the brain 'forgets' where it stored the memories." Linda Carroll at NBC.
13 unlucky inventors who were killed by their own inventions. Vincze Miklos at i09.
Why the Big Bang Theory is the best thing ever. "Here was a popular prime-time sitcom in which five of the seven main characters were Ph.D.’s and another had 'only' a master’s from M.I.T., a hit show that regularly referenced bosons and derivatives and string theory, a show in which there were running gags about Madame Curie and Schrödinger’s cat. The real behind-the-scenes heroes, though, are not the science advisers but the geek experts. The accuracy of the nerd oeuvre — the obsession with superheroes, 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' ... comic books and video games..." Rob Hoerburger in the New York Times.
What was behind the ban on Soviet citizens traveling to the Dakotas in the 1950s? "Soviet citizens ... were required to have a detailed itinerary approved before obtaining a visa ... Why prohibit travel to all of western North Dakota and most of South Dakota? ... The area is home to several Native American reservations ... At the time, the Soviets were countering criticism of their human rights records by proclaiming their support for African Americans and Native Americans. ... There were plenty of hyped up fears that the Soviets would exploit and facilitate Native American resistance to the termination policy and foment anti-government agitation." Jon Western at the Duck of Minerva.
What was in President Lincoln's pockets the night he was shot? "The night Abraham Lincoln was shot, he was carrying: a pocket knife, a watch fob, an Irish linen handkerchief, a brown leather wallet, a crisp new Confederate five-dollar bill, two pairs of gold-rimmed spectacles (one held together with string), and eight newspaper clippings, some of which echoed remarks from one of his campaign speeches – that a country divided against itself cannot stand." Elizabeth Flock at US News.
Farm Bill
The farm bill is pretty bad. "Members of Congress have ... set an impressively consistent trend: they mix good ideas and bad ideas and combine them to create the absolutely worst possible policies. Elements of the farm bill, as it stands, will cut food stamps to the poor and the previously incarcerated, thus increasing poverty and possibly crime; add to the growing obesity crisis by encouraging chemical sugar substitutes; push genetically modified food at the expense of public health with the so-called 'Monsanto Protection Act'; and support factory farming at the expense of sustainable food production with abusive crop subsidies." Heidi Moore in the Guardian.
The debate over food stamps ... is dumb. "The prevailing debate in the Senate and House versions of the farm bill, which contains funding for food stamps ... is over how much to cut. But when more than 15% of Americans remain impoverished, slashing food assistance for the poor makes no sense in humanitarian, economic or public health terms. ... Government and other studies clearly show that food stamps are among the most wisely spent public dollars, providing essential nourishment and public health benefits to low-income people as well as economic stimulus to rural and urban communities." Christopher Cook in the LA Times.
Filibuster Fights
The GOP doesn't oppose Richard Cordray. They oppose the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "Reid is looking to take dramatic action to get Richard Cordray confirmed as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). ... He’s likely to push for a major battle over the filibuster ... once immigration reform is finished ... Although the massive increase in the use of the filibuster in recent years is a general problem ... Senate Republicans are explicitly blocking Cordray ... The GOP has been quite frank ... their problem isn’t with Cordray ... They just don’t want anybody in the office with the CFPB structured the way it currently is under Dodd-Frank." Mike Konczal at Wonkblog.
GOP
Bob Dole on the modern GOP and the sharp turn to the right. "Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) told Fox News Sunday this week that the Senate Republicans are abusing the filibuster and that he doubts he, Richard Nixon, or Ronald Reagan could make it in today’s Republican Party. Asked his thoughts on the modern GOP, Dole — a former Republican national chairman, the 1976 GOP vice presidential pick, and the 1996 Republican presidential nominee — suggested ... that the party lacks any positive ideas and is no longer a place for even conservative Republicans like himself." Josh Israel at Think Progress.
Health
Found a problem with the ACA? Too bad... "Almost no law as sprawling and consequential as the Affordable Care Act has passed without ... significant structural changes or routine tweaks known as 'technical corrections' ... But ... in a polarized Congress, accomplishing them has become all but impossible. Republicans simply want to see the entire law go away and will not take part in adjusting it. Democrats are petrified of reopening a politically charged law that threatens to derail careers as the Republicans once again seize on it before an election year. As a result, a landmark law that almost everyone agrees has flaws is likely to take effect unchanged." Jonathan Weisman and Robert Pear in the New York Times.
Emergency room workers spend an awful lot of time on Facebook. "The emergency department would seem, at first glance, to be one of the more bustling spaces in medicine. With multiple patients in critical condition, it seems like it would be hard for doctors and other health providers to find a spare minute. Except it’s apparently not that hard at all: A new study ... finds that for every hour emergency department workers use a computer, they spend an average of 12 minutes on Facebook — and that time on the site actually goes up as the department becomes busier." Sarah Kliff at Wonkblog.
Immigration
Immigration reform in the House. "It may be the case that a fair number of Republican members want a bill to pass — but without their votes. They may believe that the bill is good for Republicans in general but not in their districts; they may even believe that their own long-term prospects are better with an immigration bill in place but that their short-term prospects could be endangered if they support it." Jonathan Bernstein at the Plum Line.
The Internet
In defense of online anonymity. "This is the reason to protect anonymity online: because the Internet is an incredible tool for accessing information, and sometimes that access is contingent on anonymity. Removing anonymity... might dissuade cyber bullies, but it would also certainly prevent the countless vibrant discussion around careers, relationships, personal health, and other legitimately sensitive topics. ... Anonymity is one of the Internet’s most important features. There will be more cyber bullying in the future—anonymous and not—and we should have ways of stopping it. But ripping away the veil used for legitimate purposes by so many people is not the answer." Chris Albon at the Daily Dot.
IRS
Wrong procedures at the IRS, for sure, but they may have had the right idea. "Representatives of these organizations have cried foul in recent weeks about their treatment by the I.R.S., saying they were among dozens of conservative groups unfairly targeted by the agency, harassed with inappropriate questionnaires and put off for months or years as the agency delayed decisions on their applications. But a close examination of these groups and others reveals an array of election activities that tax experts and former I.R.S. officials said would provide a legitimate basis for flagging them for closer review." Nicholas Confessore and Michael Luo at the New York Times.
Not all Tea Party groups under investigation were innocent. "The more information that comes out ... the harder it is to say employees there erred completely in putting more scrutiny on particular groups seeking tax-exempt status. ... Several of the tea party groups targeted by the IRS were engaged in overt political activity. One group ... sponsored get-out-the-vote training 'dedicated to ‘the defeat of President Barack Obama.’' Another ... had given donations to a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives. ... This is exactly the kind of activity that the IRS is supposed to question when it’s deciding on tax-exempt status for “social welfare” organizations." Jamelle Bouie at the Plum Line.
SCOTUSwatch
Big news is coming. "What the Supreme Court decides by the end of June could fundamentally change ... a range of politically explosive issues. ... – Same-sex marriage: A pair of appeals testing whether gays and lesbian couples have a ... constitutional right to wed. – Affirmative action: May race continue to be used as a factor in college admissions, to achieve classroom diversity? – Voting rights: The future of the Voting Rights Act, and ... federal oversight of elections in states with a past history of discrimination. – Gene patents: Can 'products of nature' like isolated parts of the human genome be held as the exclusive intellectual property of ... companies, through government-issued patents?" Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
War on Terror
Republicans in Congress aren't quite on board with President Obama's plan to end the war on terror. "Efforts to alter the global fight against Islamist militants will face the usual hurdle at home: staunch opposition from Republicans in Congress. ... Conservative opponents said they would try to block the closure of Guantanamo and rejected Obama's call to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force, passed in September 2001 and the legal basis for much of the 'war on terror.'" Patricia Zengerle and Matt Spetalnick at Reuters.
And they aren't the only barrier. "There are a multitude of hurdles to Mr. Obama’s goal of taking America off “perpetual war footing.” One of the most daunting is a sprawling wartime bureaucracy that ... has amassed great influence and has powerful supporters on Capitol Hill. Nor can Mr. Obama escape his own role in putting the United States on a war footing. ... Of all these threats, Mr. Rhodes said the White House was most worried about a surge of extremism in the wake of the Arab Spring." Mark Landler and Mark Mazzetti in the New York Times.
International
Africa
Ugandan politics just went into overdrive. "A wanted Ugandan general who questioned the president's succession plan has requested the protection of British police and won't return home anytime soon ... Sejusa, a spy chief who sits on Uganda's military high command, believes his life is in danger and is now 'very cautious.' Sejusa, who directs Uganda's domestic and foreign spy agencies, recently wrote a letter to the internal security service urging an investigation into reports that those opposed to the rise of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's son risk assassination." Rodney Muhumuza at AP.
Ummmm, excuse me? "The African Union (AU) has accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) of 'hunting' Africans because of their race. It was opposed to the ICC trying Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta on charges of crimes against humanity, said Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. The AU would raise its concerns with the UN, he added. Mr Kenyatta, who was elected in March, is due to be tried in July. He denies the charges, which arise from accusations that he fuelled violence after disputed elections in 2007." BBC.
Asia
This can't end well. "The local authorities in the western state of Rakhine in Myanmar have imposed a two-child limit for Muslim Rohingya families, a policy that does not apply to Buddhists in the area and comes amid accusations of ethnic cleansing during earlier sectarian violence. Officials said Saturday that the new measure would be applied to two Rakhine townships that border Bangladesh and that have the highest Muslim populations in the state. The unusual order makes Myanmar perhaps the only country in the world to impose such a restriction on a religious group, and it is likely to fuel further criticism that Muslims are being discriminated against in the Buddhist-majority country." AP.
Europe
FFS... "Iceland is to resume commercial whaling next month, killing up to 184 endangered fin whales over the coming summer partly to supply a burgeoning Japanese market in luxury dog snacks." Jonathan Leake in the Sunday Times.
I don't even... "The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, punched a constituent in the face after being called the Portuguese equivalent of 'excrement' in a dispute before stunned diners at a Japanese restaurant." Simon Romero at the New York Times.
South America
I don't even... "The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, punched a constituent in the face after being called the Portuguese equivalent of 'excrement' in a dispute before stunned diners at a Japanese restaurant." Simon Romero at the New York Times.
Economics
Reinhart and Rogoff are, surprise, still wrong. "There is, however, an enormous difference between the statement 'countries with debt over 90 percent of GDP tend to have slower growth than countries with debt below 90 percent of GDP' and the statement 'growth drops off sharply when debt exceeds 90 percent of GDP'. The former statement is true; the latter isn’t. Yet R&R have repeatedly blurred that distinction, and have continued to do so in recent writings." Paul Krugman at the New York Times.
Military
Base naming: The Confederate criticism. "In the complex ... process of reconciliation after the Civil War, honoring the dead ... has played a crucial role. Some of these gestures ... served to whitewash the actions of the rebels. The most egregious example ... the naming of United States Army bases after Confederate generals. Today there are at least 10 ... Changing the names of these bases would not mean that we can’t still respect the service of those Confederate leaders ... What it would mean is that we’re upholding our own convictions. Surely we can find ... 10 soldiers whose exemplary service not only upheld our most important values, but was actually performed in the defense of the United States." Jamie Malanowski in the New York Times.
Science
Explaining missing childhood memories. "Scientists ... have long wondered why we don’t remember anything that happened before age 3. ... Now a new study shows that 'infantile amnesia' may be due to the rapid growth of nerve cells in the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for filing new experiences into long-term memory. ... As the hippocampus matures, huge numbers of new neurons come on line and need to be hooked into existing circuits, he says. The most likely scenario is that in all that restructuring, the brain 'forgets' where it stored the memories." Linda Carroll at NBC.
13 unlucky inventors who were killed by their own inventions. Vincze Miklos at i09.
Miscellaneous
Why the Big Bang Theory is the best thing ever. "Here was a popular prime-time sitcom in which five of the seven main characters were Ph.D.’s and another had 'only' a master’s from M.I.T., a hit show that regularly referenced bosons and derivatives and string theory, a show in which there were running gags about Madame Curie and Schrödinger’s cat. The real behind-the-scenes heroes, though, are not the science advisers but the geek experts. The accuracy of the nerd oeuvre — the obsession with superheroes, 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' ... comic books and video games..." Rob Hoerburger in the New York Times.
What was behind the ban on Soviet citizens traveling to the Dakotas in the 1950s? "Soviet citizens ... were required to have a detailed itinerary approved before obtaining a visa ... Why prohibit travel to all of western North Dakota and most of South Dakota? ... The area is home to several Native American reservations ... At the time, the Soviets were countering criticism of their human rights records by proclaiming their support for African Americans and Native Americans. ... There were plenty of hyped up fears that the Soviets would exploit and facilitate Native American resistance to the termination policy and foment anti-government agitation." Jon Western at the Duck of Minerva.
What was in President Lincoln's pockets the night he was shot? "The night Abraham Lincoln was shot, he was carrying: a pocket knife, a watch fob, an Irish linen handkerchief, a brown leather wallet, a crisp new Confederate five-dollar bill, two pairs of gold-rimmed spectacles (one held together with string), and eight newspaper clippings, some of which echoed remarks from one of his campaign speeches – that a country divided against itself cannot stand." Elizabeth Flock at US News.
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