From Science Daily : ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2009) — Working memory (also known as short term memory) is our ability to keep a small amount of information active in our mind. This is useful for information we need to know on-the-fly, such as a phone number or the few items we need to pick up from the grocery store. We hang on to the information for a brief period of time, just long enough to make a phone call or get through the checkout line, and then we forget it forever. People voluntarily pick what information they store in short-term memory. Now, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers can see just what information people are holding in memory based only on patterns of activity in the brain. Psychologists from the University of Oregon and the University of California, San Diego, reported their findings in the February issue of Psychological Science. By analyzing blood-flow activity, they were able to identify the specific color or orientation of an object tha...

Whichever it is, you should read his extensive take on why Chrysler should not receive another penny of public support. Here's a key excerpt : In section one, they blame it all on the credit markets. Specifically, the lack of ability of the Chrysler finance arm to lend to customers. But I showed the other day that consumer lending is still strong by banks. What they are really saying here, but they are smart enough not to utter the actual words, is that their sales depended on a finance arm that was willing to lend at below-market rates to people with bad credit scores, and the lack of this hidden subsidy is what is making it hard to sell their cars. Credit exists — what no longer exists is zero-percent-interest-to-anyone-who-walks-in-the-door-no-questions-asked financing. Instead of figuring out how to make cars that don’t require hidden subsidies to get off the lot, they are trying to get the government to fund their hidden subsidies. Two problems here: 1) This is a thought...

It should be pointed out that with respect to Iraq prior to 2003 the International Atomic Energy Agency was right about Saddam's nuclear program, and US intelligence was wrong. So with the perspective, consider these two stories regarding Iran and nuclear enrichment (paying special attention to US rhetoric in the background): Begin here : Much hay was made late last week over the allegation that the Iranian government had underreported the amount of urnaium it had enriched through November. The White House accused Iran of reneging on its international obligations, and called the nation an “urgent problem that has to be addressed.” Not so, says the International Atomic Enegy Agency (IAEA), which said the discrepancy between the reported and actual figures were “inherent in the early commissioning phases of such a facility when it is not known in advance how it will perform in practice.” They added that nothing indicates that Iran made any deliberate attempts to conceal the amount of...

Freedom of Expression ends where violent intent begins is Nancy Willing's response to the controversial Sean Delonas' cartoon in which the dead chimp is perceived by many viewers as representing President Barack Obama. Here's Nancy's take: Was New York Post's Sean Delonas' message really conveying only that the stimulus was written by a chimp-brain of a congress as claimed? Most people have concluded that the cartoon is suggesting assassination of one Barack Obama and conveying that this big black ape has to be stopped. Notice the juxtaposition of themes between the title of the post and the sentence in bold above: Nancy says freedom of expression ends with violent intent, but the standard suggested in the post itself is not what the artist intended, but what most people have concluded . Hold that thought for a moment. Now let's go back to the guy stopped in Oklahoma for his Abort Obama not the unborn sign on his truck, had the it confiscated by the polic...

Speaking as someone who would be directly affected by any cuts to State worker benefits, I have absolutely no problem with Governor Jack Markell's plan , as long as it is tied to dumping the prevailing wage requirement for State construction jobs. The LEAD report estimates that eliminating the prevailing wage requirement just for school construction would save the State $21-34 million dollars annually. This is almost exactly equivalent to the $30 million saved by doubling State worker premiums for healthcare insurance (on workers who average $41 K annually, which is almost exactly the average per capita income for DE residents). But let's see if our liberal and progressive friends are willing to accept the idea that union construction workers should share just as much of the pain as State employees.

If you're busily constructing a narrative of change , you probably want to avoid stories in the Telegraph like this one: The selection of Mr Susman, a lawyer and banker from the president's hometown of Chicago, rather than an experienced diplomat, raises new questions about Mr Obama's commitment to the special relationship with Britain. American commentators denounced the selection of a rich friend to the plumb post, regarded as one of the most prestigious in the president's gift, as worthy of a "banana republic". They said it was proof that Mr Obama has turned his back on his campaign pledge to end politics as usual. A source with knowledge of the negotiations told The Washington Post that the appointment is "likely to happen" but is "not final".... And they [critics] pointed out that there is little difference between handing a major diplomatic post to a fundraiser and the "pay to play" scandal in which disgraced former Illinoi...

Joe Scarborough shared some thoughts about the tenor of the times, in a commentary published at Huffington Post. ( I think he was channeling my soul brother Joe Madjeski.). Scarborough writes : One of the more hopeful aspects of Barack Obama's historic campaign in 2008 was his call for a new style of politics. It was a message that was appealing even to those of us who did not agree with many of his political views. As I said repeatedly on "Morning Joe" this year, I believed Barack Obama to be a new kind of Democrat. While he was a traditional liberal on the campaign trail, he also appeared to be more accepting of those who did not share his worldview. Being the host of one of the few news shows that interviews people from all sides of the political spectrum, I am excited by those who have intellects that invite diversity of thought instead of being threatened by it. That is why Arianna Huffington and I have shared a friendship spanning two decades and three ...