Links - 19th June 2015

ANZAC: The Tradition of Heroic Remembrance - "In preferencing the tradition of heroic remembrance, alternative conceptions of World War 1 are nullified. While the Second World War has been understandably historised through a sense of moral clarity, the First World War typifies conflict at its most senseless, futile and arrogant. Lest we forget why New Zealanders participated in the invasion of the Ottoman Empire. As a ‘Britain of the South Seas’, New Zealand was enacting the will of its colonial masters, accepting Britain’s grievances – flimsy as they were – as her own. The war triggered by the assassination of an Austrian Prince, engenders little of the moral clarity through which nations prefer to remember their wars. Indeed, World War 1 is distinct as a conflict without coherent meaning, and its root-causes continue to be a matter of heated historical debate."

How 'Game of Thrones' Planet Seasons Work - ""The planet Uranus in our solar system has its North Pole spin axis pointed toward the sun during some 42 years, and then it points away from the Sun for another 42 years," wrote Marcy. "If you lived anywhere in the northern hemisphere, summer would last 42 years and then winter would last 42 years. So the spin axis orientation makes all the difference." Although Uranus' winter and summer might be extremely long, they are still predictable. On "Game of Thrones," no one knows when summer will end and winter will begin. It is possible that a "wobbly" axis could create variable seasonal length, said Greg Laughlin, an astrophysicist at the University of California Santa Cruz, but not necessarily on the timeline that show presents."

Effect of gender on fatigue and recovery following maximal intensity repeated sprint performance. - "men, while able to produce higher absolute power outputs (i.e., lower sprint time), demonstrate higher decrement scores within a trial compared to women, thus suggesting women may recover faster and fatigue less"

Infant Sleep Research: Bedsharing, Self-Soothing, and Sleep Training - "Bedsharing is common around the world. In an international survey of parents of over 29,000 infants and toddlers, bedsharing was the norm in Asian cultures, while most Caucasian parents put their babies to sleep in a separate room. Across cultures, babies that bedshared went to bed about 1 hour later, woke their parents more during the night, and slept about 1 hour less per night... Dr. James McKenna and colleagues looked closely at the sleep of 35 mama-baby pairs (11 to 15 weeks old) in a laboratory setting. They found that both mothers and babies woke more often when they bedshared, and these arousals usually overlapped...
In study after study, sleep training has been found to have the following outcomes, usually within 1-2 weeks:
Reduced bedtime struggles, fewer night wakings, and longer sleep for baby, and consequently, for parents.
Improved maternal mental health, with fewer moms being clinically depressed. In some studies, parents have also reported less parenting stress and greater confidence, as well as more marital satisfaction.
Improved baby temperament and mood...
of all the studies of sleep training, not a single one has identified a negative effect on babies’ behavior or relationship with caregivers"

Rational, educated and prosperous: just your average suicide bomber - "Research on the social and psychological background of terrorists show they tend to be more prosperous and better educated than most in their societies, and no more religious or irrational than the average person. A study of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide terrorists from the late 1980s to 2003 found only 13 per cent were from a poor background, compared with 32 per cent of the Palestinian population in general, according to a New Scientist report. Suicide bombers were also three times more likely to have gone on to higher education than the general population... Ariel Merare, a psychologist at Tel Aviv University in Israel, said he had changed his view that most suicide bombers were mentally ill after studying the background of every suicide bomber in the Middle East since 1983. "In the majority you find none of the risk factors normally associated with suicide, such as mood disorders or schizophrenia, substance abuse or a history of attempted suicide," he said."

Internet lights up as new People's Daily HQ erected | South China Morning Post - "The shape of the new headquarters of the People's Daily, the Communist Party's main propaganda machine, has sparked heated discussion online for looking a bit too phallic... Others have joked that the building will compliment the headquarters of China Central Television, completed a few blocks away in 2008, which earned the nickname "the Big Underpants" for their shape."

Gaza Kindergarten Play From Hell by Judge Dan - "Kindergarten graduation ceremonies are in general cute and adorable. Nothing beats dressing up little kids as insects, fluffy rodents, random pink things, or hearts. Unless that kindergarten is in Gaza and the kindergarten teachers are Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Then you get a peek into the genocidal psyche of Palestinians, cynically (ab)using their children in their lust to murder Jews."

STATISTICS OF VIETNAMESE GENOCIDE AND MASS MURDER - "Perhaps of all countries, democide in Vietnam and by Vietnamese is most difficult to unravel and assess. It is mixed in with six wars spanning 43 years (the Indochina War, Vietnam War, Cambodian War, subsequent guerrilla war in Cambodia, guerrilla war in Laos, and Sino-Vietnamese War), one of them involving the United States; a near twenty-one year formal division of the country into two sovereign North and South parts; the full communization of the North; occupation of neighboring countries by both North and South; defeat, absorption, and communization of the South; and the massive flight by sea of Vietnamese. As best as I can determine, through all this close to 3,800,000 Vietnamese lost their lives from political violence, or near one out of every ten men, women, and children. Of these, about 1,250,000, or near a third of those killed, were murdered"

When we knew what happened in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon - "This article illustrates that Chomsky was lying about when we knew what was happening in Vietnam, just as, far more seriously, he was lying about what we knew about Cambodia. He led the reader to believe that at the time no one even suggested a bloodbath was happening in Vietnam, when we all knew something terrible was happening in Vietnam, and some people most certainly did suggest a bloodbath was under way. In particular Le Thi Anh accused the North Vietnamese regime of committing a bloodbath in the course of their pacification of South Vietnam"

Gaza's Explosion Waiting to Happen - "Perhaps even more surprising is that Israel, of all the parties involved, has shown the greatest degree of flexibility towards a Gaza Strip still ruled by Hamas. In addition to acquiescing to the salary payments, Israel has begun easing restrictions on construction materials and other goods entering the territory, and on certain products (fish, cucumbers) and people exiting. Israel has given its consent to an elaborate UN-led inspection mechanism for reconstruction, which as mentioned has not yet begun in earnest due to the lack of a PA presence on the ground. "I can't say that it's because of Israel that there has been no movement [on reconstruction] at present," the senior UN official said, a sentiment shared by several other foreign diplomats I spoke to in Jerusalem"

Sex history calculator: Is your number of sexual partners low, average, or high?

"Fair, Porcelain Complexion": Cosmopolitan Singapore Writer's Narrow Definition Of Beauty - "Jireh Tan called for a boycott of the magazine:
"Let this be a magazine for the fair-skinned, by the fair-skinned. By the small-minded, for the small-minded"...
Sangeetha Thanapal addressed Jo directly:
“What (Elizabeth) said was racist, colourist, transphobic, ableist, and body shaming. Your comment was laughable. There can’t be a lot of diversity in your magazine when this got past everyone.”"
If everyone is beautiful, no one is beautiful

I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss. Here's How. - "I got a call in December last year from a German television reporter named Peter Onneken. He and his collaborator Diana Löbl were working on a documentary film about the junk-science diet industry. They wanted me to help demonstrate just how easy it is to turn bad science into the big headlines behind diet fads. And Onneken wanted to do it gonzo style: Reveal the corruption of the diet research-media complex by taking part."

The green lawn: American staple or water waster?

Pot stashed in rectum of suspect blinding drivers with laser light - "A Florida man wanted for shining a laser in the eyes of passing drivers was found with pot in his rectum"

Religious authorities turned my family against me, says Muslim charged with blasphemy - "Wan Sulaiman Wan Ismail said day he has lost everything, including his wife and family who have turned against him, after the Perak Islamic Affairs Department (JAIP) charged him with blasphemy simply for asking questions about Islam."

Staff strip naked to improve morale - Telegraph - "Mr Taylor told them that, by stripping off their clothes, staff could also strip away inhibitions and talk to each other more openly and honestly."

eBay users bid more than $65,000 for a bag of AIR from a Kanye West concert - "In 2004, Britney Spears' chewed gum was listed for $14,000. Six years later, a jar supposedly containing Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's breath was sold for $530. Scarlett Johansson's used tissue garnered bids reaching $5,300 in 2008, and in 2011, a lock of Justin Bieber's hair went for $40,668 and the proceeds were later donated to charity. Most recently it was reported that someone bottled up One Direction star Harry Styles' vomit after he got sick on the side of the Los Angeles freeway in order to make a profit"

Adorable Lesbian Couples
There's a tumblr for everything

Cute Trans Girls
There's a tumblr for everything

Girls With Braces - The biggest website and community for girls with braces. Braces are beautiful. - "The biggest website and community for girls with braces. Braces are beautiful."
There's a website for everything

Values to be main focus of Malay Language Month - "This year's Bulan Bahasa (Malay Language Month) will focus on bridging gaps by allowing simple, heart-warming communications in line with traditional values."
Now the Indians can complain that they're being forced to learn both Mandarin and Malay!

Iran is named the nose job capital of world with SEVEN times more rhinoplasty operations than the U.S. as Iranian women strive for the western 'doll face' - "Another anonymous Iranian woman who had a nose job not long ago told The Guardian: 'I do have a better social life and I don't have to be ashamed of my big, fat nose anymore. 'In our family, different types of cosmetic surgery are a totally normal thing, and most of the women and girls have had their noses done.' While there are benefits, she confesses 'when I get a cold, I get a runny nose - something fierce. I have to be careful then'."

White Skin: Why Racism In Asia Isn't Quite What You Think - "Another student later made it clear: “In the west, you always worry about color. You have a racism problem but here we just accept it. We don’t care.” There’s a creation story in Thailand. In the beginning god created man. At first, he cooked the people too much (dark skinned people). Then he cooked them too little (pasty westerners). Finally, he cooked them just right (light skinned Asians). When I first heard this story, it only reinforced my belief in a racist Asia. It wasn’t until later I learned about the cultural and class context and then I saw this “racism” in a different light."