Posts by The Speaker

Kenan Evren, progenitor of neo-Turkish Islamo-fundamentalism, dead at 98

May 9, 2015 |

On the 9th of May, while the UK recoiled, Gollem-like, from the realization that it would endure a further five years of food banks, austerity, zero-hour contracts and morally illegal bonuses, Turkey woke up to the news that the designer and perpetrator of their nation’s own undoing — the 1980 coup — had died. Kenan Evren was 98. At the end of the Second World War , with around a million Armenians killed or sent eastwards to their deaths, Mustafa Kemal

The story behind the image: Homeless in Paris

The story behind the image: Homeless in Paris

May 5, 2015 |

Photo document by Paris photographer Andrea Peter Fly The French Charity “Les Morts Dans La Rue” (the Dead in the Streets) recently announced that during 2013, 454 homeless individuals died in France. Contrary to common belief, as many of those deaths occurred in the summer as in the winter. Between 2001 and 2012 the number of individuals living on France’s streets increased by 50 percent. The estimated total number of homeless in 2012 was 141,500; of whom

Coastal dune life depends on restoration of disturbance — WU Research

Coastal dune life depends on restoration of disturbance — WU Research

May 2, 2015 |

Disturbance is a condition depended on by the species indigenous to coastal dunes, according to Washington University researchers who just completed a study putting numbers to claims that the restoration of such conditions is necessary for the variety and vibrancy of the West Coast’s dune life. “Disturbance is actually a good thing in many ecosystems – in some places disturbance is supposed to be there and it’s actually required for the survival of important community members,” Dr.

Canadian hacker apprehended for watching people through their webcams

Canadian hacker apprehended for watching people through their webcams

April 29, 2015 |

RCMP have arrested a Canadian woman on charges of installing a virus on the computers of people in Canada and abroad and viewing the victims using their webcams. The hacker also allegedly communicated with some of her victims and caused alarm by opening extreme pornography on their computers. The suspect is a 27-year-old woman, Valerie Gignac, who was arrested by RCMP at her home in Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, Quebec Wednesday morning. The woman is believed to be at the

Offering too much weakens relationships in the microbe world

Offering too much weakens relationships in the microbe world

April 27, 2015 |

Some microbe species produce nutrients that are consumed by neighboring species, which in turn share nutrients that they produce, but a mystery of this relationship has puzzled scientists: Why do some of the shared molecules have chemical units that seemingly have the sole function of slowing the diffusion of nutrients to neighboring microbes? A team of researchers from Boston University thinks they may have found the answer in a consideration of cooperation in game theory. “The diffusion of small

More Americans favor gun rights over gun control for first time

More Americans favor gun rights over gun control for first time

April 18, 2015 |

Americans’ opinions on gun rights have flipped. For the first time, more Americans value gun owners’ rights than they do gun control. According to Pew research, the percentage of Americans who thought gun rights were more important was only 29-34 percent during the 90s. In the 00s, that number shot up and down between the 32 and 45 percent. Around the turn of the current decade, the numbers were roughly even for several years, but in December 2014 the number of

HIV outbreak in Indiana reaches 130

HIV outbreak in Indiana reaches 130

April 17, 2015 |

The outbreak of HIV in southern Indiana’s Scott County has affected 130 people, according to the region’s health officials, bringing the number up by 24 since last week. One hundred twenty cases are now confirmed in addition to 10 preliminary positives. “We have seen a significant increase in the number of HIV cases reported this week, but we believe that is because we have been able to offer more testing with the help of additional staff from