observata

June 26, 2014Mike BostockVisualizing Algorithms The power of the unaided mind is highly overrated… The real powers come from devising external aids that enhance cognitive abilities. —Donald Norman Algorithms are a fascinating use case for visualization.

UNITED NATIONS — The death penalty is steadily receding toward the dustbin of history worldwide, with fewer than two dozen countries relying on it at all as a form of punishment.

A recent Public Policy Polling survey found that 30% of Republicans and 19% of Democrats say they support “bombing Agrabah” – the fictional nation portrayed in the Disney movie Aladdin. This is not a surprising result.

There is a new and interesting paper by Robert D. Mare on this topic, here is the abstract: Patterns of intermarriage between persons who have varying levels of educational attainment are indicators of socioeconomic closure and affect the family backgrounds of children.

As the two presidents, one incoming and the other outgoing, shared a limo to the inauguration in January 2009, President George W. Bush had some advice for President-elect Barack Obama: “Announce a pardon policy early on and stick to it.

NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. — In these days of controversy about Muslims in America, a time when the national attitude is being torn between compassion and condemnation, there is a real-life parable to be shared.

The president of Liberty University, a leading evangelical Christian college in Virginia, urged students to apply for concealed-weapons permits and said that if more people did so, then “we could end those Muslims.”The remarks on Friday came when the university president, Jerry Falwell Jr.

Everyone knows gaming mice and keyboards can make you barrel through fast-paced games with peak efficiency. But with all those buttons and macros, they can actually help you work smarter, too. Here’s why I swear by them. We’ve recommended a number of ways to automate tasks over the years.

Donald J. Trump said Wednesday that in the battle against the Islamic State, the families of terrorists should be targets, saying they were using their relatives “as shields.” Mr.

Gov. John Kasich of Ohio has become one of the Republican Party’s fiercest critics of Donald J. Trump, even likening his policy proposals to those of the Nazis. On Monday, Mr. Kasich took Mr.

Muslim refugees become terrorists at a lower rate than Americans become murderers.  And here is Alex on jellybeans. This article suggests you are more likely to be killed by falling furniture than by a terrorist.

AZRAQ REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan — After touring Syrian refugee camps in Jordan, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Saturday suggested that camps should serve as a long-term solution for millions, while other refugees could be absorbed by Middle Eastern countries.

WASHINGTON — In April, Republicans newly in control of Congress celebrated their agreement on a plan to save $5 trillion — that’s trillion, with a “T” — and balance the budget in a decade.

AMHERST, Mass. — Hundreds of students crammed into Amherst College’s Robert Frost Library for a sit-in against racial injustice that turned into a confessional, as one black or Hispanic student after another rose to talk about feelings of alienation and invisibility on campus.

MISURATA, Libya — Iraqi commanders have been arriving from Syria, and the first public beheadings have started. The local radio stations no longer play music but instead extol the greatness of the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

COLORADO SPRINGS — As the heavily armed police officers entered the Planned Parenthood clinic here to hunt down the gunman and rescue those trapped inside, they had an advantage that seemed like something out of the movies.

After the devastating shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Friday, commenters (welcome and not) have come out of the woodwork to give their hottest takes.