Short Takes: News From All Over: February 17, 2005

Staff Utne.com

Wrong Place, Wrong Time
By Jordan Smith, Austin Chronicle
Among the host of legal tricks Texas prosecutors will use to zealously pursue capital cases is something called the 'law of parties.' The loosely applied statute allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty against accomplices who should have 'anticipated' that their crimes could lead to murder. It landed Kenneth Foster, who labored under the false impression that he was just the wheel man in a few robberies, on death row. -- Hannah Lobel
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-02-11/pols_feature.html

The Real Agenda
By Staff, Battleboro Reformer
Privatizing Social Security would push Bush's 'Ownership Society' initiative. It would also allow Republicans to characterize any subsequent attempts on the part of Democrats to rein in corporate America -- via environmental regulations, labor laws, or taxes -- as an assault on people's retirement funds. -- Hannah Lobel
http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8854~2691835,00.html

A Genius Explains
By Staff, The Guardian
Sure, Daniel Tammet can calculate pi to 22,514 decimal places in record time. But for this mathematical savant, that's just run-of-the-mill stuff. More fascinating is what his mind is doing while he calculates complex arithmetic, a process he says is not conscious but more like a story unfolding behind his eyes. Each number Tammet sees comes to him in the form of an image, color, texture, or sound. A kind of mathematical poet, he describes math as mental imagery rather than a thinking task. This development sheds some much-needed light on the mysteries surrounding autism and, for some of us, the elusive discipline of math. -- Marca Bradt
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1409903,00.html

Uncle Sam Wants You!
By Am Johal, Worldpress.org
Given that US troops will no doubt be needed in Iraq for years to come, it's no wonder the Bush Administration, nervous about the political implications of a draft, is working overtime to come up with alternative forms of recruitment. The ubiquitous uses of patriotic propaganda include Hollywood films, TV shows, video games, Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, federally mandated acts requiring student contact info, and signing bonuses. With 1,000 new military recruiters coming on board this year, don't be surprised to see enlistment documents at the bottom of your Cracker Jack box. -- Marca Bradt
http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/2029.cfm

Never Say Die: Live Forever
By Staff, Associated Press
Ray Kurzweil, inventor, computer scientist, and MIT alumni sincerely believes he's going to live forever; assuming he can stay healthy for the 20 years he predicts it will take for medical technology to evolve. The 56-year-old consumes 250 supplements, eight to ten glasses of alkaline water, and 10 cups of green tea a day. He's also wired to over 40 fitness monitors that tell him when specific adjustments are necessary for top physical performance. If he didn't have such a distinguished track record, it's a good guess the AP wouldn't have given him the time of day. But he's decorated with scientific awards and makes a compelling, if not convincing, argument that immortality may well be available in this lifetime. -- Marca Bradt
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,66585,00.html

Policy Change Paves Way for Transsexuals to Play in British Golf Tournaments
By Staff, Associated Press
The Ladies Golf Union (LGU), which heads women's amateur golf in Britain, recently announced a new gender policy that is inclusive of transsexuals. The LGU's new policy follows the lead of the Ladies European Tour, the governing body of women's professional golf in Europe, that adopted a transsexual inclusive policy last year. The Associated Press reports that the LPGA, the North American professional women's golf league, does not allow transsexuals to play in their events, but is 'considering a change, partially because of rule changes made by other golf bodies and the International Olympic Committee.' -- Barb Jacobs
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=1987891

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