We can save atheism from the New Atheists like Richard Dawkins | Jeff Sparrow

There must be another way for nonbelievers than to transform, as Dawkins and Harris have done, into toxic know-it-alls
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Cyberwar: Marketing Data Collection Threatens All

Marketers are after every scrap of customer data they can get, in hopes of increasing their company's sales. Do you know they may be putting you at risk in the process? In the last of our three-part series on cyberwar, learn what IT needs to know about potential security threats rising from companies' marketing habits.
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No, ISS Astronaut Scott Kelly Did Not Take A Picture Of A UFO

The picture is real, but the UFO explanation? Surely we can do better.
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Why Cannibals Were on Every 16th-Century Map of the New World

Many of the first European maps of the Americas included warnings of cannibalism, despite no proof of such activity. By Allison Meier.
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How political correctness rules in America's student 'safe spaces'

A student backlash against hearing words and ideas that oppose their own, citing emotional "trauma", is changing the culture of the American campus writes Ruth Sherlock, US Editor from Harvard University
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Chasing The 'Aha' Moment: The Rise of the Meta Puzzle

Over the past few years, a new kind of puzzle has been gaining popularity among hardcore crossword people.
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‘Workshops of Empire,’ by Eric Bennett

A look at the graduate writing programs that enshrined a literature of American values.
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Rio De Janeiro's LGBT Pride Parade Turns 20 In Spectacular Fashion

Blame it on Rio. By Curtis M. Wong.
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The Internet Isn't Available in Most Languages

Despite all the hype about how it has connected the world, the web is more insular than you might think.
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Understanding Rosa Parks As "A Life-Long Freedom Fighter"

As the 60th anniversary of the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott approaches, author Jeanne Theoharis says it's time to let go of the image of Rosa Parks as a meek accidental activist.
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The Most Expensive Album Ever: Enter the Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’

Inside the Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin,’ a secretive double-album stored in a Marrakech vault that sold at auction (to Quentin Tarantino?) for “millions.” Once upon a time, one of hip-hop’s most outside-the-box creatives dreamt up an idea to elevate rap appreciation by creating a hip-hop Ark of the Covenant. When it was announced two years ago that the fabled Wu-Tang Clan would be releasing an ultra-limited album entitled Once Upon A Time In Shaolin…
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Is that a da Vinci before me? No, it's Sally from the Co-op

A Leonardo da Vinci drawing believed to be worth £100 million is actually a picture of “Sally from the Co-op” in Bolton, one of Britain’s most notorious art forgers has claimed. The “La Bella Principessa” purports to be portrait of a young woman possibly from the court of Ludovico Sforza, the duke of Milan, in the 1490s. But Shaun Greenhalgh claims he drew the picture in 1978 based on a “bossy” shop assistant he worked with his local Co-op store in the north west town.
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The [Ostensive] Birth And Death Of Privacy

3,000 Years of History Told Through 46 Images. By Greg Ferenstein.
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The 21 most dangerous foods in the world

Go ahead -- pick your poison.
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How do you prove you are gay? A culture of disbelief is traumatising asylum seekers

People who have been persecuted because of their sexuality are facing Home Office officials who refuse to believe them, use explicit questioning and make stereotyped assumptions. Article by Debora Singer.
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How to Join Yarn: 1 Simple Trick with Craftsy's Stefanie Japel

While working on my latest knitting project, I saw my ball of yarn getting closer and closer to ending. How can we fix this? Let me show you!
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Amazon Shows Off New Delivery Drones With 'Top Gear's' Clarkson

New hybrid drone has 15-mile range and will be first in a new family of drones
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"Concerned citizens" in Singapore start petition to stop Adam Lambert from headlining Singapore's New Year countdown concert

A petition to stop American Idol finalist Adam Lambert headlining Singapore's New Year concert has gathered more than 12,000 signatures. The reason? Adam Lambert is "hardly the kind of performer to send off our historic Jubilee year or to usher in the New Year," according to the petition. Article by Aza Wee Sile.
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Kinsey Was Wrong: Sexuality Isn’t Fluid

We like to think about sexual orientation as a spectrum—but a new study shows it’s far less flexible than sexologists like Alfred Kinsey once claimed. Article by Samantha Allen.
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Oscar Wilde’s Mom was a Feminist Irish Revolutionary Poet

Though overshadowed by her famous son, Lady Jane Wilde was a force to be reckoned with. Article by Caroline Wazer.
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LGBT Leaders Warn of Looming Gay Rights Backlash

'Cultural victories are often met with political backlash' Despite this year’s Supreme Court’s ruling striking down bans on same-sex marriage, LGBT leaders are warning that a backlash against gay rights is coming. Article by Philip Elliot.
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The colorful, dark, dynamic art of life: 2015 BioArt winners

From Ebola to cancer and human development, winners capture biological beauty.
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Addicted to chemsex: 'It's a horror story'

An increasing number of gay men are taking part in multi-day, drug-fuelled orgies – despite the health risks. Paul Flynn reports on a powerful new documentary, and what it says about love and loneliness. Article by Paul Flynn.
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Gardens: mushroom magic

Feed your autumn leaves to some baby oyster mushrooms and enjoy a fungal feast, says James Wong
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The week in wildlife – in pictures

A playful scuffle of polar bears, crows feasting on fruit trees and mountain gorillas in the wild are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
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Prisoner can't sue USA Today for not printing gambling odds, Pa. court says

Inmate Alton Brown claimed the paper's decision to stop printing gambling odds ruined his illegal jailhouse book-making operation.
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New Books Coming Out December 1st,2015

Look for a style book from Dita Von Teese, and a continuation of Tom Clancy's series.
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Throw some beans into the pot: Cannabis coffee makers hope to hook caffeine fans

It was during an endless drive home from a camping trip in eastern Washington that entrepreneur Adam Stites came up with his latest product. "What would happen if I infused heavy cream with cannabis, then mixed it with my coffee?" he mused. ("My VW van doesn't go very fast, so I have a lot of time to think," Stites explains.) He road-tested the idea as soon as he got home. So strong was the first dose, Stites woke up 13 hours after chugging a single cup.
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Street wise with Jesse Marlow

With well over a decade of professional experience, Marlow shares his top tips for capturing powerful street photography images.
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All I Want Is a Decent Cup of Tea

Kathleen Cooper sings the praises of her favorite beverage, and reflects on the near-impossibility of finding a proper cuppa in the United States.
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Chinese Cash Floods U.S. Real Estate Market (Video)

Canyon Lake Ranch was once a playground for Christian day campers, and then was a corporate retreat with water-skiing, barbecues and cowboy shoot-’em-up shows. Hawks now circle above 108 sunbaked acres occupied by copperhead snakes, a few coyotes and the occasional construction truck. Soon this ranch will be a gated subdivision of 99 mini-mansions designed for buyers from mainland China. The developer, Zhang Long, a Beijing businessman, is...
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My son, the mass murderer: ‘What did I miss?’

Terri Roberts was at the theatre where she worked when the call came. It was her husband, Chuck. Terri should come straight away, he said, to their son Charlie’s house. Terri knew instantly, from the tone of Chuck’s voice, that it was serious. She didn’t ask questions, just ran to her car. And it was on the short drive that she turned on the radio and heard for the first time about a shooting incident that morning at a school in a nearby town.
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Discussing the Impact of Disruptive Technology on Photography

How do the latest discoveries in software and hardware challenge the boundaries of image making? Three visual entrepreneurs offer their answers.
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What Happens As Decades Pass In A Whiskey Barrel?

The science of how a spirit gets better over time
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The Buy-One-Give-One Model Might Make You Feel Good, But It Doesn't Make The World Better

Your socially conscious purchasing decisions don't mitigate your place in a destructive global system.
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Tree

Stand alone trees are often beautiful. This tree is one of my favorites.
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These photos are why I’m trapped in Tokyo forever now

A gallery of all the cyberpunk deliciousness and futurism one can run into in Tokyo
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Andreas Gursky: The bigger the better?

Andreas Gurksy’s monumental photographs fill the viewer with awe – but are huge works like his still relevant in the age of the smartphone camera?
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Apple Watch is 'showing signs of life' among holiday shoppers

The Apple Watch is "showing signs of life" heading into the holiday shopping season, according to channel-checks by FBR Capital Market's analyst Daniel Ives. With Black Friday underway and a continued shopping fervor still ahead, Ives writes in a note to investors this morning that observations at various Apple store as well as Target and Best Buy show customer interest — and willingness to shell out at least $349 for the cheapest version of the watch — ramping up.
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Retail Therapy: What Mannequins Say About Us

Similar to the elaborate fashion dolls that preceded them, retail mannequins were first developed to model the latest clothing styles for wealthy shoppers.
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The world wants more 'porous' cities – so why don't we build them?

People of all classes, races and religions come and go in intense and complex Nehru Place. But while Delhi’s electronics market is every urbanist’s dream, it is not the sort of space most cities are building
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Is A British Program Spotting Radicals Or Alienating Muslims?

The British government is trying to stop terrorism with a program called Prevent. Teachers, doctors and others are obliged to report suspicious behavior but many worry it's creating a culture of fear.
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Drowning Megacities. On the frontline of the African climate battle

Sub-Saharan Africa is the part of the world most affected by the dual pressure of climate change and the rapid, uncontrolled transformation of its cities into megacities.
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The Most Beautiful Bookstore On Earth

A merry band of bohemians built an improbable cultural haven in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Now, they must try to save it. Again.
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A Slippery Number: How Many Books Can Fit in the New York Public Library?

Estimates for the capacity of the old shelves at the library have ranged widely, and critics are skeptical of a new 2.5 million figure.
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2015 Tea Books

Tea writers are raising the bar with each passing year, and there are a few new books that came out in 2015 that will prove a valuable asset to your bookshelf (or kindle).
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The DEA has failed to eradicate marijuana. Some members of Congress want it to stop trying.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is not having a great year. The chief of the agency stepped down in April under a cloud of scandal. The acting administrator since then has courted ridicule for saying pot is "probably not" as dangerous as heroin, and more recently he provoked 100,000 petition-signers and seven members of Congress to call for his head after he called medical marijuana "a joke."
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Critics Wonder Whether Pennies Make Sense Anymore

Is it finally time to get rid of the penny? The question was put to the top currency official in the country this week after comedian John Oliver took a swing at pennies on his TV show. "Two percent of Americans admitted to regularly throwing pennies in the garbage, which means the U.S. Mint is spending millions to make garbage," Oliver said.
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Young Greek women selling sex for the price of a sandwich, new study shows

Young Greek women are selling sex for the price of a sandwich as six years of painful austerity have pushed the European country to the financial brink, a new study showed Friday. The study, which compiled data on more than 17,000 sex workers operating in Greece, found that Greek women now dominate the country’s prostitution industry, replacing Eastern European women, and that the sex on sale in Greece is some of the cheapest on offer in Europe.
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Smoking high strength cannabis may damage nerve fibres in brain

High-strength cannabis may damage nerve fibres that handle the flow of messages across the two halves of the brain, scientists claim. Brain scans of people who regularly smoked strong skunk-like cannabis revealed subtle differences in the white matter that connects the left and right hemispheres and carries signals from one side of the brain to the other. The changes were not seen in those who never used cannabis or smoked only the less potent forms of the drug, the researchers found.
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