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Cancer-causing radioactive substances have been found in groundwater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, its Japanese operator said on Wednesday, as it pledged to prevent it getting into the sea.
Cancer-causing radioactive substances have been found in groundwater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, its Japanese operator said on Wednesday, as it pledged to prevent it getting into the sea.
19 minutes ago
Simon Critchley reviews John Gray's The Silence of Animals, in the LA Review of Books: HUMAN BEINGS DO NOT just make killer apps. We are killer apes. We are nasty, aggressive, violent, rapacious hominids, what John Gr...
Simon Critchley reviews John Gray's The Silence of Animals, in the LA Review of Books: HUMAN BEINGS DO NOT just make killer apps. We are killer apes. We are nasty, aggressive, violent, rapacious hominids, what John Gray calls in his widely read 2002 book, Straw Dogs, homo rapiens. But wait, it gets worse. We are a killer species with a metaphysical longing, ceaselessly trying to find some meaning to life, which invariably drives us into the arms of religion. Today’s metaphysics is called “liberal humanism,” with a quasi-religious faith in progress, the power of reason and the perfectibility of humankind. The quintessential contemporary liberal humanists are those Obamaists, with their grotesque endless conversations about engagement in the world and their conviction that history has two sides, right and wrong, and they are naturally on the right side of it. Gray’s most acute loathing is for the idea of progress, which has been his target in a number of books, and which is continued in the rather uneventful first 80 pages or so ofThe Silence of Animals. He allows that progress in the realm of science is a fact. (And also a good: as Thomas De Quincey remarked, a quarter of human misery results from toothache, so the discovery of anesthetic dentistry is a fine thing.) But faith in progress, Gray argues, is a superstition we should do without. He cites, among others, Conrad on colonialism in the Congo and Koestler on Soviet Communism (the Cold War continues to cast a long shadow over Gray’s writing) as evidence of the sheer perniciousness of a belief in progress. He contends, contra Descartes, that human irrationality is the thing most evenly shared in the world. To deny reality in order to sustain faith in a delusion is properly human. For Gray, the liberal humanist’s assurance in the reality of progress is a barely secularized version of the Christian belief in Providence. With the Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt in mind, Gray writes in Black Mass (2007): “Modern politics is a chapter in the history of religion.” Politics has become a hideous surrogate for religious salvation, and secularism is itself a religious myth. In The Silence of Animals,he writes, “Unbelief today should begin by questioning not religion but secular faith.” What most disturbs Gray are utopian political projects based on some faith that concerted human action in the world can allow for the realization of seemingly impossible political ends and bring about the perfection of humanity. 
about 1 hour ago
Act on Facts is an Australian Google Map designed to promote renewable energy and highlight renewable energy campaigns and projects. Check out the information windows on this map. If you mouse-over a marker on the map a small window o...
Act on Facts is an Australian Google Map designed to promote renewable energy and highlight renewable energy campaigns and projects. Check out the information windows on this map. If you mouse-over a marker on the map a small window opens, displaying the title of the marker project. If you click on the marker the small window animates into a larger information window, which contains the full details about the project.
about 1 hour ago
The Cassini probe in orbit around Saturn is going to picture the ringed planet in a special photo that also includes a distant Earth.
The Cassini probe in orbit around Saturn is going to picture the ringed planet in a special photo that also includes a distant Earth.
about 3 hours ago
Recent studies linking bullying and depression, coupled with extensive media coverage of bullying-related suicide among young people, led to a CDC-assembled expert panel to synthesize the latest research about the complex relationship be...
Recent studies linking bullying and depression, coupled with extensive media coverage of bullying-related suicide among young people, led to a CDC-assembled expert panel to synthesize the latest research about the complex relationship between youth involvement in bullying and suicide-related behaviors: 1) Bullying among youth is a significant public health problem, with widespread and often harmful results; 2) There is a strong association between bullying and suicide-related behaviors; and 3) Public health strategies can be applied to prevent bullying and suicide.
about 3 hours ago
Older male burying beetles work harder at parental care and mating than younger counterparts, a study suggests.
Older male burying beetles work harder at parental care and mating than younger counterparts, a study suggests.
about 4 hours ago
A hairy crab named after US actor David Hasselhoff hitched a ride on an ocean "highway" to colonise deep sea vents in the Atlantic tens of millions of years ago.
A hairy crab named after US actor David Hasselhoff hitched a ride on an ocean "highway" to colonise deep sea vents in the Atlantic tens of millions of years ago.
about 4 hours ago
Some companies claim to have no bosses. Is this sustainable, or is some semblance of order necessary, at least not to scare off investors and customers?
Some companies claim to have no bosses. Is this sustainable, or is some semblance of order necessary, at least not to scare off investors and customers?
about 5 hours ago
If you've ever been irked by a bad parking job or seen a vehicle parked where it shouldn't be - there's now an app for that - and you can receive a bounty to boot.
If you've ever been irked by a bad parking job or seen a vehicle parked where it shouldn't be - there's now an app for that - and you can receive a bounty to boot.
about 5 hours ago
Power has become a public commodity for smartphone users in Manhattan with newly installed solar charging stations that are emerging in New York City parks.
Power has become a public commodity for smartphone users in Manhattan with newly installed solar charging stations that are emerging in New York City parks.
about 5 hours ago