Excuse me, my supervisory monitor shows that you haven’t been thinking very hard for the last 30 seconds. University of Illinois scientists say they can now measure mental activity through the scalp. Psychologist Arthur F. Kramer: “We know more about the [brain] voltage fluctuations in terms of psychological processes. We now have computer hardware that allows quick recordings from a large number of electrodes and does the analysis–measuring how busy a person’s mind is–almost in the blink of the eye.”
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“No two peoples in the world misunderstand each other as profoundly as Americans and Koreans,” writes Northwestern historian Bruce Cumings in In These Times (July 25). “Except for the too-silent left publications, it is almost commonplace now for U.S. pundits to indulge in a dehumanized, racist discourse about North Korea that makes me think there would be almost no popular resistance to American involvement in another Korean war. I always try to remain conscious of what I like to call the fallacy of insufficient cynicism, but never would I have anticipated the debased racist imagery or the warped, tabloid-style ‘debate’ that is now routine in discussions of our problems with Pyongyang.”
Meet you at the doctor’s office after work for Happy Hour… “Ask yourself whether you would join a social club that provides drinks to its members free of direct charge–and then divides the total bar bill equally among members at the end of the month,” suggests the Palatine-based, non-Clintonite Heartland Institute in a recent press release. “The month-end bill no doubt would sober the membership. Such a club would quickly lose members or change its pricing practices. We find it astounding that health care reform advocates could claim that the total cost of providing care will fall if the government organizes a National Health Club along similar lines.” Sounds reasonable–but then why isn’t Canada bankrupt?
