Circumcision does not affect HIV in U.S. men: study…

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Date: September 11, 2018

01) Circumcision does not affect HIV in U.S. men: study

“(Reuters) – Circumcision may reduce a man’s risk of infection with the AIDS virus by up to 60 percent if he is an African, but it does not appear to help American men of color, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Black and Latino men were just as likely to become infected with the AIDS virus whether they were circumcised or not, Greg Millett of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

“We also found no protective benefit for a subset of black MSM (men who have sex with men) who also had recent sex with female partners,” Millett told reporters in a telephone briefing.”

People with a conspiracy mentality show less of a bias in favor of historical experts, study finds…

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Date: September 11, 2018

01) People with a conspiracy mentality show less of a bias in favor of historical experts, study finds

“Is a book by a professional historian more trustworthy than a YouTube video created by an anonymous person? If you’re high in the personality trait known as conspiracy mentality, you might not see much of a difference.

New research suggests that people with a conspiratorial mindset tend to view experts and non-experts as equally credible sources of historical information. The study was published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

“The very idea for the study was born in a joint discussion with my co-author Olivier Klein at a conference of social psychological representations of history. We were listening to talks about all kinds of construals, biases and narratives about what happened in the ancient or not so ancient past,” said study author Roland Imhoff of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.”

Why Does Laurie Penny Hate Steve Bannon?…

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Date: September 11, 2018

01) Why Does Laurie Penny Hate Steve Bannon?

“Why, he’s a fascist, you see. Everyone is, nowadays.”

Ever since I first discovered Laurie Penny…I was of the opinion, that she embodies what is wrong within “feminism”…as well as what is wrong within “progressivism”…

…Though, I’d like to distinguish that a lot of feminists and progressives dislike her, with a passion…So, it’s not right to hold her up as being an icon of these movements.

Steve Bannon?…

…I don’t really even know much about him…and this is the first time I’ve watched the clips made available, in this video…I’m positive I’ve read an article interview of him, however…But I have no real familiarity with him, or his past.

He does come off reasonable, here…

…I do know, however, that he pushed Donald Trump to the white house…a clear disaster, long before he got elected…

I don’t automatically buy into the “racist” claims…because I understand how terms like “racist” have been bastardized and debased from their traditional meaning, for the purpose of dishonestly diminishing other people.

…And I see how they use these terms, to de-platform people, and manipulate would be interviewers…

If you have the integrity of demanding to “hear it from the horses mouth”…you get called “a sympathizer”…or treated as if you were “an equivalent” to the person you are talking with…based on their description of said person…not based on said person’s honest character assessment or history.

Getting back to the Trump presidency, and the Mike Pence political advancement that came with it…

…Even I had a window of glee, when I shockingly realized that Hillary Clinton had been defeated…But Donald Trump was never any kind of “win”, for the country…

…Donald Trump [and Mike Pence] is nothing more than an ever more extreme swing, in a fight trying to remove control of the country from the hands of the establishment…

…We are nowhere even close to “the promised land”…It is just the crazy train speeding up…rollicking and teetering ever closer, to slipping off the tracks.

This is really an ugly, harrowing time in U.S. politics…and Donald Trump has shown himself to be an incompetent fraud, who’s quickly backtracked on most of his meaningful campaign promises…And if anything happens to him…we get Pence dumped onto us…That theocratic nut, should be nowhere near any high political position.

I know this might burst some people’s bubble…but we are not better off with Trump as president…We’re still being dragged down what is, essentially, the same road…there’s just a lot of different posturing, and “dog n pony shows” going on, to make it seem like things have changed.

We will not be better off in the wake of Trump’s presidency, either…We’ll likely be worse off for it…in more ways than one…This country is more polarized than I have ever seen it…and most politicians seem to be exploiting this…They’re pitting us against each other, and ramping up the social disdain…and anger…

If anything at all good comes out of the Trump presidency…it will be a rise of the sane people…the rational people, who are sick and tired of watching the political system we are forced to live under, endlessly jerked around by the extremes.

For once in my lifetime…I would like to see the U.S. have a political system, which is honest and treats us all like human beings.

…How about that, for a political platform?

Candace Owens Creates Conspiracy Theory On Live TV…

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Date: September 11, 2018

01) Candace Owens Creates Conspiracy Theory On Live TV

“Candace Owens floated a conspiracy theory so wild and unfounded that it left Fox News host Dana Perino nearly speechless during a panel show on Sunday night.

In a segment of Fox News show The Next Revolution discussing the New York Times op-ed written by an anonymous Trump official, Owens suggested the piece was actually written by the New York Times, and that the paper is lying that the author is an administration staffer.”

Candace Owens has always come off as completely disingenuous…

…I don’t know how anybody can trust her, especially after her history.

Dapper Dan Doll…

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Social_Artifacts
….

Date: September 11, 2018

01) Do you remember Dressy Bessy?

“These “learn to dress” dolls are perfectly sized at about fourteen inches tall. They are made of soft, lovable plush and unlike other “learn to dress” dolls, their outfits are not removeable…this way your toddler can learn the skills without you having to hunt for lost shoes at the end of the day!”

Does anyone remember Dapper Dan?…

…I do!

This was one of the very first Christmas presents I ever remember getting…I thought it was curious, that I got a male doll…with pants I could unzip, and open wide…

Pretty sure he got given away…or sold in a yard sale…but, I recall really loving that doll…I’m kind of wondering if there are any pictures in the family album, with my Dapper Dan in them…Hmmmm…

I had one of the originals, like the one pictured here…Apparently, they still make these…but in a different model…Not sure if you can unzip their pants, and expose their crotch anymore.

Quite the interesting social artifact, I must say.

Philosophical Question:

…Did Dapper Dan teach us to dress ourselves?…

…Or did he teach us the deep pleasures, of unzipping a smaller males pants, and opening wide his fly?…

Hmmm…In my experience…I literally remember it both ways.

 ….
Social_Artifacts_SB_Archive

Hidden Brain – You 2.0: Originals…

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Date: September 09, 2018

01) You 2.0: Originals

02) Direct Download [MP3]

“What does it mean to be an original? As part of our summer series, You 2.0, we talk with psychology professor Adam Grant about innovators and the challenges they face. Adam gives his take on what makes an original, how parents can nurture originality in their children, and the potential downsides of non-conformity.

…

Consider this: Frank Lloyd Wright was a procrastinator. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are afraid of taking risks. Most of Beethoven’s compositions are pretty awful. Conventional wisdom suggests these originals were successful despite their hemming and hawing, their hedging, and their many flops.

But Wharton professor Adam Grant says these defects are actually fundamental to originality. In his new book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, Adam investigates who comes up with great ideas, how, and what we can do to have more of them. This week, we bring you our conversation with him as part of our summer series, You 2.0.”