A University of Michigan study of 14,000 university students found empathy is in serious decline, especially over the past ten years, while narcissism has soared. The research, led by Sara H. Konrath of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and published online in August in Personality and Social Psychology
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The Disaffected Lib: James Hansen Leaving NASA to Campaign on Climate Change
The U.S. government’s most prominent science voice on climate change, James Hansen, is leaving NASA. In an e-mail Monday, Hansen wrote that he decided to step down “so that I can spend full time on science, drawing attention to the implications for young people, and making clear what science says
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Monbiot on the "Inveterate Bastards" Who Have Hijacked Our Democracy
He writes of the plight of Britons but he could as easily be speaking to you. Most of the world’s people are decent, honest and kind. Most of those who dominate us are inveterate bastards… “With a most inhuman cruelty, they who have put out the people’s eyes reproach them
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Chris Hedges Takes Down Intellectual America – Iggy’s On His List Too
To Chris Hedges, America’s intelligentsia are a pack of sell-outs who showed their true colours when they lined up to support George w. Bush’s war on Iraq. And Hedges is naming names: The war boosters, especially the “liberal hawks”—who included Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Al Franken and John Kerry, along
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Don’t Rush On Our Account
The federal information commissioner has finally, at long last, been pushed to investigate the Harper government’s policies and practices for muzzing Canadian government scientists. The office of Suzanne Legault is responding to a detailed complaint lodged by the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria and the ethics advocacy
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Pill Too Bitter to Swallow
Oddly enough, they tend to be Republicans or at least they were in years past. Most of them were prominent insiders in Republican administrations up to but rarely past the Reagan days. And in slightly different keys they’re all singing the same tune, “it’s over.” People like Paul Craig Roberts,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Why is Ralph Klein Greater Dead Than He Was Alive?
They’re all lining up to heap praise upon old Ralph now that he’s dead. They sure didn’t seem to be so reverential to him while he lived. Yes, Ralph Klein did balance the provincial government’s books. Yes, Ralph Klein did pay off the provincial government’s debts. Yes those were both
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Why Doesn’t Warawa Go Out and Start, Oh I Don’t Know, a Reform Party?
That’s the ticket. Disgruntled Conservative backbenchers should take a page out of the past and split. They should form their own party, one that speaks to their concerns and aspirations. They should create a new party, a populist party, an alliance of sorts, a party for genuine reform. They could
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Obama’s Too Modest Dream
Barack Obama has unveiled plans for a multi-billion dollar programme to repair and upgrade America’s decaying highways, bridges and other critical infrastructure. Among his proposals were renewed calls for a $10bn “infrastructure bank.” He also mentioned new plans for $4bn in loans and grants for infrastructure projects and tax breaks
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Why "Happy Easter"?
Why Happy Easter? Because, before the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ got tacked onto it, Easter – or Ishtar or Eostre – was a celebration, a lovely pagan festival. …What is interesting to note here is that in the ancient world, wherever you had popular resurrected god myths, Christianity found
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Dark Face of European Anti-Semitism
I am a regular critic of Israel, particularly its policies and acts toward the Palestinians and its destabilizing nuclear arsenal. One cannot speak of these things without inviting accusations of anti-semitism plainly intended to stifle critics. Anti-semitism does, however, remain a real and ongoing challenge to us all and to
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: "We Will Not Let Them Fail" – At Least Not Yet
British general Bob Bruce, commander of Task Force Helmand, says now’s the perfect time to let Afghan army troops take over the job of battling the Taliban. General Bob added, “We will not let them fail. When they really need us, we will intervene.” What went unsaid was the caveat,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Up From the Ground Came a Bubblin’ Crude, Bitumen That Is
The latest grand winner in the Athabasca bitumen sweepstakes is the State of Arkansas and what a state it’s in thanks to an Exxon Mobil pipeline failure that has released what the company is calling “over 10,000 barrels” of heavy crude. The pipeline has been shut down and Exxon crews
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Tom Flanagan’s Too Brief Exile
Consider Tom Flanagan rehabilitated. All it took was a dead premier to get him back in the public eye. That and the Globe & Mail. On the occasion of the passing of Ralph Klein, the G&M is running a testimonial from Tom Flanagan: All politicians say they went into public
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Putting America’s "Wars of Choice" in Perspective
America, land of the formerly free and home of the lamentably broke. A recent Harvard study estimated the costs of America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at at least $4-trillion and likely closer to $6-trillion. That’s six trillion taxpayer dollars, a mountain of money that has been essentially borrowed which
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Property Sales Heat Up Post-Hurricane Sandy
A new generation of home buyers, lured by low, post-hurricane prices, are moving in to coastal neighbourhoods devastated by Hurricane Sandy. They may be on the losing end of a false bargain. Another storm, even less devastating than Sandy, could send real estate prices in these areas straight to the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: What? And They Took His Stereo Too?
Clark Aposhian heads his state’s biggest gun lobby, the Utah Shooting Sports Council. Aposhian is a true believer in the right to bear arms, including the AR-15 assault rifle. He even believes in the right of a gunowner to leave an AR-15 unattended in his car overnight. And that’s how
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Natural Gas Is the Answer, Until the Truth Leaks Out
BTU for BTU, natural gas is a lower-emission fossil fuel than oil and, especially, coal. The snag comes when you realize that those figures cover natural gas that’s actually burned and leaves out the quantity of natural gas leaked in the course of extraction, production and transmission. Last week, investigators
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Well, When You See the World From That Perspective…
A poll by the Pew Research Center finds 48% of American Christians believe Jesus is almost here and will show up within the next 40-years. Only 38 % rule it out or find that improbable. The remaining 14% were caught up in rapture over the resurrection of the Hostess Twinkie
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: I Know It’s Easter, But
Even if you’re a Christian, you’re also kind of an atheist.
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