Quebec’s War on English: Language Politics Intensify in Canadian Province
time.comTo live in Quebec is to become accustomed to daily reminders that French in the Canadian province is the most regulated language in the world. Try, as I did recently, to shop at Anthropologie online and you’ll come up empty-handed. The…
Olga Khazan, theatlantic.com
“I have no doubt that he [Chavez] will return alongside Jesus Christ and the Mahdi [the Hidden Imam] to establish peace and justice in the world,” Ahmadinejad wrote in an emotional condolence message posted on his personal website. The Mahdi is a revered figure among Shi’ite Muslims, many of whom believe he will return to save humanity.
(Source: billaba, via violentincest)
Gun Control, Yemen-Style
Tik Root, theatlantic.comThe war-torn Arab country is second only to the U.S. in gun ownership — and second to none in weapons culture.
SANA’A, YEMEN — With shops lining the main road and hard bargaining merchants abounding, Jihana appears to be your average Yem…
Matt Peckham, time.com
You say puh-tay-tow, I say puh-tah-tow, but how did our ancestors use language millennia ago? Typically you’d ask a linguist, but manually reconstructing protolanguages — hypothetical early languages from which extant ones evolved — can be a lengt…
This is awful… Mona Eltahawy did not even get a reason for why she was arrested. The actions here - not to mention the posters themselves - show that bigotry is alive an well in America.
Foreign investment, international aid agreements and other economic stimuli to plump up central banks and ailing economies in the region had become a popular trend since the countries - namely Egypt, Libya and Tunisia – began their transitional phases.
But excitement over new economic prospects that the countries had been touting has come to an abrupt standstill…
You just can’t make this stuff up:
Dr Sarhan Al Meheini, deputy director of the Police Sciences Academy in Sharjah, believes audio files called “binaural beats” should be dealt with like cannabis and ecstasy.
Binaural beats are generally used to reach altered states of consciousness, for meditation or alertness or to aid sleep, but many producers claim the technology can mimic the effect of drugs on the brain.
There is no scientific evidence for their claims and reviews are mixed at best, but Dr Al Meheini believes “digital drugs” pose a risk to society.
“It’s important that we warn the public and start a campaign to make people aware of it,” he said.
One small step…
