Wednesday, August 25, 2010

WEB BOHEMIAN (Wednesday, August 25, 2010)
(1)- LOOK AT THE BRAIN -- From one perspective, the human brain is a masterpiece. From another, it's 3 pounds of inefficient jelly. Both views are accurate, because our remarkable brain has been assembled from some very primitive parts.

(2)- PLANCK UNITS -- In physics, Planck units are physical units of measurement defined exclusively in terms of five universal physical constants, in such a manner that these five physical constants may take on the numerical value of one.

(3)- DARKEST DAHL -- Even Roald Dahl could not have dreamt up the horrifying series of events that rocked his family in the 1960s, just as his career was taking off. In an exclusive extract from his intimate new biography.

(4)-SARA AND CLARE -- The Bronfman sisters are the products of Edgar Bronfman Sr.'s second marriage, to an English nightclub receptionist 21 years his junior. These poor little rich girls have funded a cult with more than $100 million.

(5)- LESS PRISON -- American prisons are failing.What if convicts are set free under constant electronic surveillance? Early experiments suggest this scenario might cut crime, reduce costs, and even prove more just.

(6)- MONKS PROTEST -- St. Tammany Parish Monks north of New Orleans, charge the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors maintains a casket cartel, and that board members are mostly engaged in industry they regulate.

(7)- SORTING IT OUT - Olivier Roy is one of Europe's leading experts on Islam. His new book "Holy Ignorance" is due to be published this autumn. Eren Güvercin talks to him about issues central to the debate about Islam in Europe.

(8)- SAY IT RIGHT -- with great humility that we present to you a list of words we reeeeeeeeally wish everybody would quit mispronouncing. You can click on each to hear audio of how it's actually supposed to sound in English.

(9)- NEW DATA -- An estimated 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the United States in 2008 were the offspring of unauthorized immigrants, according to a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center.

POLITICAL COMMENTARY

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