This story on the BBC about fat farms in Mauritania is hilarious. The point is to make little girls fat so they are desirable. Click “Watch & Listen” and you can hear the Jabba-the-Hut voiced “fat coach” talk about how she makes her charges stuff their faces day & night. Posted by razib at 12:41 […]

This should be good, check out this press release, HUMAN MIGRATION TRACKED IN STANFORD COMPUTER SIMULATION (via Randall Parker). A picture is worth a thousand words, an “Atlas of Genes,” would be real cool (perhaps 10 years on when we have many more studies out). Here is the abstract over at PNAS, though the press […]

A month ago David B posted More Medical Experts, which detailed the problems with one famous doctor who gave overblown testimony that has distorted the legal process. A friend tried to post a reply, but the “8 day period of posting” has expired, so I have cut & pasted his response below (must read if […]

Randall Parker of ParaPundit linked to an interesting (and troubling) article called “The Recipient Class.” Troubling is the fact that single mothers (in addition to unskilled immigrants and the elderly[1]) are a growing population and a substantial net drain on the tax system, and their being a net drain goes beyond that they are more […]

I missed Vietnam by a few years, so I am clueless on this, but it struck me as interesting. Peter Robinson recently posted to NRO’s Corner: VIETNAM REDUX? [Peter Robinson]From a reader: “Watching Kerry respond to the throwing of medals question turned my stomach. I know there are ten times the number of Vietnam War […]

Unlike what seems to be the rest of the world, I thought that the Return of the King movie was fairly boring. It is hard to find reviews by people who felt the same way. (The above has some links to David Elliott’s reviews in the middle of the text. Here is a review that […]

Over at Muslim Under Progress there has been a series of posts by a "traditionalist" (my words) Pakistani visiting the mother country. His post on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) is interesting. More below…. Observations, and family hearsay…. 1) the old people (my grandparents' generation) mourned the passing of Pakistan. They remembered when Hindu bhadroloks ("gentlemen") […]

Over at Muslim Under Progress there has been a series of posts by a "traditionalist" (my words) Pakistani visiting the mother country. His post on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) is interesting. More below…. Observations, and family hearsay…. 1) the old people (my grandparents’ generation) mourned the passing of Pakistan. They remembered when Hindu bhadroloks ("gentlemen") […]

Hey, check out this site that lists famous Jews. The weird thing, under “Science & Engineering,” there are 2 Jews listed under “Programmers” (a new field) and “Engineers & Inventors,” as opposed to several dozen under “Math & Philosophy” and “Researchers.” (for purists, half-Jews are included) Posted by razib at 02:48 PM

Opportunity lands, sends new Mars pictures. Posted by razib at 01:30 PM

Here is an interactive guide to help you determine which Democratic or Republican candidate best matches your preferences. Fun little tool. Posted by TangoMan at 07:04 AM

NEJM just published an article concerning research that should be familar to all those who read Bailey’s The Man Who Would be Queen. Here is the link: Discordant Sexual Identity in Some Genetic Males with Cloacal Exstrophy Assigned to Female Sex at Birth Here is a news report: In a new twist on the age-old […]

I know of a guy who got his undergrad degree at Portland State University, his medical degree at Imbler Health Sciences University (class rank #1) and now is doing his residency in anesthesiology at Harvard. Though he is an extreme case, I know plenty of people like this. What interests me, what about the people […]

Head over to Paddy O’ Tater-tot to cast your vote for your favorite bloggers in the Blogger Animal House casting call. Posted by TangoMan at 07:23 AM

For South Asian readers, I suggest this article on the nuances of caste, culture and history (yes, I know it is on a site that promotes Hindutva, but whatever the intent of presenting this article [Hindu unity], the facts, or at least the caution thrown over age-old preconceptions, seem correct from my readings of history […]

Reading this post by Godless on healthcare fired off some neurons in my brain about a proposal made in 1984 by Governor Richard Lamm of Colorado – the elderly have a duty to die. I remember watching Lamm on 60 Minutes as he made his case and I followed with interest the firestorm that ensued […]

David Franke writes about Dean for LewRockwell.com: To me, he’s the Barry Goldwater of our time – that rare politician who speaks his mind honestly and passionately, without regard for the polls and the political technicians, and often too bluntly or clumsily for his own good. That doesn’t make either of those two men the […]

OK, follow-up on the dialogue that Abiola & I have been having. On many points of fact, we don’t disagree. For instance, I suspect we would agree on the following: 1) The early period of Judaism was characterized by a tribalistic faith, henotheism, rather than monotheism.2) These West Semitic peoples were likely a coalition of […]

Abiola & I have been having a discussion about where Jews are on the people -> religion spectrum over at his blog. Kind of silly-an African African American (had to type that!) and a South Asian American debating about Jews. GNXP readers are encouraged to contribute their opinions-particular the Judaic ones. But-I would appreciate it […]

Tuskegee re-examined My own interest in learning more about the Tuskegee syphilis study began with a dinner conversation with a friend, who is a doctor. Earlier that day I had received a communication from the head of an IRB committee indicating that ‘Tuskegee’ was reason enough to have all research questions and procedures at the […]