Darwiniana: Notes on Evolutionary History [The Primate Diaries]
Alfred Russell Wallace, co-discoverer with Darwin of the theory of natural selection, was so great an admirer of the English philosopher Herbert Spencer that he named his first-born son Herbert Spencer Wallace on June 22, 1867. Ironically, Wallace later became a socialist, a view that was diametrically opposed to Spencer's right-wing libertarian views.
Source: David Stack, The First Darwinian Left: Socialism and Darwinism, 1859-1914 (Cheltenham: New Clarion Press, 2003), 47.
Climate Agreement "Will Come Down Mostly to Money" [The Primate Diaries]
Journalist Robert Eshelman is blogging from Copenhagen throughout the UN Climate Conference and offers this cogent observation:
If there's going to be an agreement, it will come down mostly to money. The E.U. might offer more money and the U.S. might provide a counteroffer. There might be some movement on emissions targets from the E.U. but with the Senate's recent reduction of its emissions target, the door seems to be closed on Obama offering greater cuts. Offers of financing, particularly around addressing deforestation, might woo a number of developing and poor countries and secure their commitment for a deal. The poor and low-lying countries demands for funding and 1.5 degree Celsius will remain unmet. After all, this summit is about politics and the G77 nations (which actually represents 130 nations), while putting forward the strongest proposals and the most compelling testimony about what is a stake, lack the political muscle, at the moment, to shift the frame. The international climate justice movement will have to do the heavy lifting on that problem.
Naomi Klein Speaks at KlimaForum Peoples Climate Summit [The Primate Diaries]
Canadian journalist Naomi Klein, author of the international bestsellers The Shock Doctrine, No Logo, and the recent Rolling Stone article "Climate Rage," gave the following talks at the KlimaForum09 alternative climate conference in Copenhagen. As the US is insisting on a mere 17% reduction in carbon pollution based on 2005 levels (when the IPCC Working Group III Report calls for a minimum safe reduction of 25 - 40% from 1990 levels) she highlights how this conference will not come to an agreement that adequately meets the challenge we face. In order to do that, she argues, it will require a large-scale popular movement that pressures governments into making the tough political decisions.
Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...
U.S. shoe-bomber case weighs on Guantanamo detainees (Reuters)
WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14, 2009 (Reuters) -- Prison life has been eased for convicted "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, boosting concerns about what will happen when President Barack Obama moves dozens of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainees to U.S. soil. ... > read full story
Abu Dhabi gives $10 billion to Dubai, repays Nakheel bond (Reuters)
DUBAI, Dec. 13, 2009 (Reuters) -- Dubai said on Monday it had received billion from fellow UAE member Abu Dhabi to help it repay .1 billion Islamic bond maturing on Monday. ... > read full story
Accenture ends relationship with Tiger Woods (Reuters)
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2009 (Reuters) -- Technology outsourcing and consulting firm Accenture Plc on Sunday said it was ending its six-year sponsorship arrangement with golfer Tiger Woods, who is embroiled in a scandal involving extra-marital affairs with numerous women. ... > read full story
Fed can do no more to cut unemployment: Greenspan (Reuters)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2009 (Reuters) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve has done all it can do to reduce unemployment and needs to worry more about the risk of inflation from the stimulus it poured into the economy, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Sunday. ... > read full story
White House economists see jobs growth by spring (Reuters)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2009 (Reuters) -- Senior White House economists on Sunday predicted the U.S. economy will start creating jobs by spring and said that boosting employment will be at the top of President Barack Obama's agenda next year. ... > read full story
Nobel economics laureate Samuelson dies at 94 (Reuters)
BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2009 (Reuters) -- Paul Samuelson, whose work helped form the basis of modern economics, died on Sunday in his home in Belmont, Massachusetts, after a brief illness. He was 94. ... > read full story
Iraqis skeptical about glittering promise of oil (Reuters)
BAGHDAD, Dec. 13, 2009 (Reuters) -- Iraq's leaders expect a flood of petrodollars from oil deals to lift the country out of poverty after years of conflict and corruption but few Iraqis are convinced. ... > read full story