Economy
Busting the myth that depression doesn’t affect people in poor countries (tmn)
Far from exposing depression as a uniquely western phenomenon, Patel’s research in Zimbabwe led him to conclude that depression is a fundamental human experience. “The basic nature of emotional pain is no different than physical pain,” he said. “The way they seek help may be different, but human beings feel it in the same way.”
How China is redrawing the map of world science (tmn)
Across much of the world, China’s government, companies and local business partners have been building motorways, designing high-speed rail, mining fossil-fuel reserves, switching on power plants, installing thousands of surveillance cameras and unveiling air and sea ports (see ‘Making connections’). This is all part of a vast venture conceived by President Xi Jinping to transform global trade networks that both supply China and provide a market for its products.
Capitalism vs. Socialism, Part II (Phil D.)
The irony is rich, as our youth now blame capitalism. How far we have fallen in the land of the free, this bastion of bootstrappers and sleeve-rollers where unprecedented prosperity sprung from free markets, property rights, and the profit-motive, that our youngest generation prefers socialism, 51-45.
Freedom vs. Liberty: How Subtle Differences Between These Two Big Ideas Changed Our World (Alex)
“Freedom” is predominantly an internal construct. Viktor Frankl, the legendary Holocaust survivor who wrote Man’s Search For Meaning, said it well: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way (in how he approaches his circumstances).”
“So, what do good American citizens do when the police can’t or won’t help them and hordes of armed looters are descending upon them? They become peak American citizens by exercising their God given and constitutionally protected rights,” the thread continued. “Unfortunately for the rioters, most of these fine Americans were legal immigrants from Korea. As such, many of them had fulfilled Korea’s mandatory service obligations prior to earning American citizenship and took to the 2nd amendment like beef to bulgogi.”
Florida teachers can arm themselves under new gun bill (TS)
Opponents questioned whether the solution to gun violence should be the presence of even more guns and warned of the danger of a teacher misfiring during a crisis or police mistaking an armed teacher for the assailant.
High-Cost Oil Faces Existential Risk (Michael S.)
For instance, many analysts and even oil companies themselves argue that enormous volumes of new reserves are needed to offset declining fields, and because of that, oil prices will need to remain high. But according to BP, total proved reserves are around 1,700 billion barrels, enough to last at least 50 years. “So decline rates need to be seen within this context. There is plenty of oil to extract. Some is cheap, some is expensive,” Carbon Tracker analysts Harry Benham and Kingsmill Bond wrote in their report.
Vandals burn several beehives in Texas, killing an estimated half a million bees (thc0655)
A Brazoria County sheriff’s deputy, who first spotted the crime, extinguished the flames but couldn’t save all the hives, which sustained thousands of dollars’ worth of damage.
“It’s bad enough to think in today’s world this would happen but dumping them over and then setting fire to them is beyond comprehension,” the BCBA wrote.
Trade War Crushes American Farmers, Income Collapses Most Since 2016 (Don R.)
Trump’s spending plan for 2020, which was submitted to Congress, would reduce federal subsidies for crop insurance to small farmers. It calls for crop insurance premiums to 48% from 62% and limits current subsidies for growers who make less than $500,000 per annum. A move that could paralyze small farmers.
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