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New York Times Democracy |
Civil Rights |
Very Good |
Political Freedom |
Overview Policies People Government Economy Rank Trend Cards |
Libertarian Nation of Japan |
Population176 million |
The Democratic Republic of Libertarian Nation of Japan is a very large, safe nation, remarkable for its irreverence towards religion, absence of drug laws, and stringent health and safety legislation. The democratic population of 176 million Japanese enjoy a sensible mix of personal and economic freedoms, while the pol... |
The relatively small, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Education, Defense, and Welfare. The average income tax rate is 11.6%, but much higher for the wealthy. |
The thriving Japanese economy, worth 16.2 trillion Yen a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Arms Manufacturing, and Soda Sales. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 92,056 Yen, and evenly distributed... |
A niche industry catering to S&M enthusiasts has sprung up, vaccinations are mandatory, babies are a small but significant export, and they say that Japanese made a dessert and called it peace. Crime is totally unknown. Libertarian Nation of Japan's national animal is the Axolotl, which can occasionally be seen avoidin... |
Libertarian Nation of Japan is ranked 51,368th in the world and 2,617th in The North Pacific for Largest Mining Sector, scoring 3,347.4 on the Blue Sky Asbestos Index. |
Most World Assembly Endorsements: 1,413thTop |
Most Influential: 5,619thLargest Soda Pop Sector: 7,265thTop |
Most Cheerful Citizens: 10,533rdHighest Disposable Incomes: 10,566thHighest Drug Use: 11,735thLargest Agricultural Sector: 15,773rd |
Largest Soda Pop Sector: 284th in the regionHighest Disposable Incomes: 436th in the regionTop |
Highest Drug Use: 474th in the regionMost Cheerful Citizens: 516th in the regionMost Rebellious Youth: 709th in the regionRudest Citizens: 782nd in the regionLargest Agricultural Sector: 846th in the region |
National Happenings |
Most Recent Government Activity: |
World Assembly |
Endorsements Received: 120 » Territorio di Nessuno, Alunya, Corfad, Sundred, Ostrinios, Axstahl, El Fiji Grande, Sinelona, Pallaith, Notyoutopia, Papika, Shibutani, Shin-Hachioji, Joodey, The Rhein States, Omnistria, Shadowrik, Yaorozu, Great Bights Mum, Ethnon, Maovale, The Black Cathedral, Fayyayid, Kwaj, Death By As... |
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This guy made his own self-lacing sneakers out of Lego |
It was bound to happen. |
Who needs to pay $720 for a pair of Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 self-lacing sneakers when you can make your own? That's exactly what Vimal Patel did. |
Using a worn-out sneaker, some Lego pieces and a battery to power it all, Patel cobbled together his own Back to the Future kicks. While the sneaker with Lego pieces grafted on isn't exactly practical or stylish, Patel deserves big props for going the DIY route. |
Once again, there's nothing that you can't make with Lego. |
When the thinkers of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries were finally compelled to admit that the entire structure of thought in [western] culture had been built on a profoundly important error, absolutely nothing happened. |
— Daniel Quinn, The Story of B (1996) |
Many key tenets in the world view of most western societies derive from the writings of a handful of scientists and social philosophers: Charles Darwin, Thomas Hobbes, Adam Smith, John Locke, and Thomas Malthus are among the primary. Justification for the State, the tragedy of the commons, and economic "rational actor"... |
The Great Forgetting, an idea first suggested by Daniel Quinn in The Story of B, represents a collective loss of knowledge about the natural history of humanity. Knowledge of prehistory did not begin to emerge until centuries after Hobbes and Smith. |
Unbeknownst to Hobbes, however, was that the natural history of humanity spans longer than a few thousand years, many hundreds of thousands of years longer. Homo Sapiens and related hominins lived in complex social groups for at least 500,000 years, and all of the aspects of culture that Hobbes notes: cultivation, navi... |
However, in order for knowledge of this "prehistory" to have been preserved it would have to have been passed down, first orally and then in the written record, for thousands of years, throughout the unfolding of civilization and the agricultural revolution (the yellow box in the figure to the right). In other words, t... |
— Marshall Sahlins, The Western Illusion of Human Nature |
Of course, knowledge of this history, of the way humans lived prior to civilization and "since time immemorial" was lost only to the people of civilization. Countless tribal peoples continued to thrive all over the world, or at least until civilized cultures usurped their territory and forced them to change in the name... |
Indigeneity is not dead |
Recognition of this "Great Forgetting" mandates that we revisit the entire body of social and moral philosophy that was built on this error. Rational actor theory, game theory, the tragedy of the commons, and many of the world's religions are all premised to some extent on an incorrect beliefs about human origins and h... |
A great Remembering |
In the last two decades there has been a resurgence of interest in alternative and Native ways of knowing, in response perhaps to the increasing body of evidence that civilization as a social ideal is inherently unjust and unsustainable. The now widespread acceptance in science and conservation practice of Indigenous E... |
"The Great Remembering", then, is this idea that there is still hope for humanity to recapture and benefit from some basic understandings of our human nature and our largely sustainable tribal origins. We are not broken by design. |
Some argue that these sentiments are naive and fetishistic of Indigeneity. Yet, there is nothing in these arguments that suggests or is predicated upon Indigenous cultures being perfect; some practiced (at times) unsustainable hunting practices, others were marked with severe gender inequity. Other critics would dismis... |
This website is my attempt to distill some of this wisdom from our tribal origins into a practicable philosophy for the future. |
Lowlight: Base-running blunders doom O's vs. Twins |
Felix Pie is thrown out twice on the bases, and Luke Scott also commits a base-running mistake as the Orioles blow a three-run lead in a 7-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins. "I take full responsibility, but the player should be accountable," Trembley said before the following night's game in Minnesota. "What am I going to ... |
Associated Press photo by Andy King |
Determination and use of the local recovery factor for calculating the effectiveness gas temperature for turbine blades / Jack B. Esgar and Alfred L. Lea |
Esgar, Jack B., Lea, Alfred L. |
In an in experimental investigation of local recovery factors for a blade having a pressure distribution similar to that of a typical reaction-type turbine blade, it a was found that the recovery factors were essentially independent of Mach number, Reynolds number, pressure gradient, and position on the blade surface e... |
An Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file of the entire report: |
Advil Liqui-gels Solubilized Ibuprofen |
can you take advil cold and sinus after taking claritin, These conditions are often more or less associated., advil liquid gel acne overnight, ministration of alanine. Thus the evidence in support of either, advil pm max dosage, the most frequent if not the only cause of chorea sometimes, advil cold and sinus medicinal... |
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Jack is Ready for School |
Jack Is Ready for School |
Owen Brushing His Teeth |
Owen Brushing His Teeth |
Owen and Jack have become adept at essential communication, a stage that I eagerly anticipated and gratefully embraced during their recent five-day sojourn at Grandma’s house. They can declare thirst; demand a hug; ask for a story; announce hunger; and express the need for a comfort object. Just as importantly, they un... |
When the boys woke up Monday morning in a different house, they had but one word on their minds: mama. This one word became a litany that I translated as, “Where is our mother, and why are we here?” It accompanied us through the diaper change, dressing, brushing of teeth and the trip to daycare. When we returned at 2:3... |
Owen seems especially interested in improving his verbal skills and although his desire to speak still greatly outstrips his ability, once we returned home, he intensified his efforts to find out what had happened to his mother, father and sister. Pointing to the family photo on display in the living room, Owen pointed... |
“They went on a trip. You and Jack are staying with Grandma and Papa while they are away, but they’ll come back. Don’t worry, they’ll come back.” |
Owen confirmed his understanding, “Mama back?” |
“Yes, mama will come back. You just have to wait. Not today.” Before they went to sleep they were able to talk to their parents and sister on the phone. They both bestowed multiple hugs and wet sloppy kisses on my cellphone as they happily invoked the names of their unseen loved ones. Thereafter, they attended any ring... |
Overall, they handled the situation remarkably well, maintaining a cheerful, cooperative mood and quickly adjusting to the rules of the house. We had a couple of small glitches of course, including the day I put Owen’s patch on the wrong eye and when we had to wash their hair two days in a row because I turned my back ... |
By Thursday, however, Owen’s forbearance had reached its limit. When Papa offered to let me take a turn on the treadmill, I accepted and told the boys I’d be right back. Owen’s face crumpled and he burst into sobs. Jack brought him a blanket while I held him tightly and rubbed his back. “It’s okay, buddy! Grandma will ... |
During their call that night, their father said he’d see them tomorrow, causing Owen to utter the longest, clearest word he has spoken in my presence. “Tomorrow? Tomorrow? Tomorrow?” |
“Yes, buddy, Mommy and Daddy will be back tomorrow. Not today, but after you come home from school tomorrow.” |
To my amazement and delight, Owen remembered the next morning. “Tomorrow?” he said hopefully. |
“Yes! It’s tomorrow. You will see Mommy and Daddy today before you go to bed.” |
Twin Conversation |
Twin Conversation |
So far, the boys give every indication of growing up to be men of few words. They don’t waste time on extraneous parts of speech. Jack lets his brother do most of the talking for both of them. He seems to realize that Owen is more easily understood and can get the point across faster, but Jack is always listening and u... |
Watching the boys play together is fascinating. They don’t need the English language to understand each other, getting by quite well with a combination of body language, gestures and sounds that are intelligible only to one other. Somehow they have reached a level of truce that allows for sharing single objects betwe... |
Jack’s strength is observation. He is the first to recognize patterns and to figure out how things work. When the pen ran out of water, Jack showed me that it needed filling and tried to unscrew the cap. When the boys were finished coloring, he brought it back to me. |
Later, Owen stood at my knee and said, “golar.” |
“I don’t know that word. Can you show me what you want?” |
Owen patiently repeated the same word, but Jack, who had been listening to the exchange, joined him and demanded “up!” Once on the couch, he crawled across my body and pointed to the pen, “golar!” |
“You want to color?” |
The boys smiled at my interpretive abilities and chorused, “yes!” The moment Jack had the pen in his hand, he handed it off to Owen. If they keep this up, their combined talents will make them a force to be reckoned with one day. Let’s hope they use their powers for good! |
Brotherly Hugs |
Brotherly Hugs |
On Friday, Owen squealed with delight when we pulled into the driveway and his mother came out to greet us. “Mama, Mama, Mama!” He let me get him out of the car and took my hand to go meet her. Poor Jack was overcome by the intensity of his feelings and burst into tears the moment he saw her face. Owen looked at his mo... |
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• Research article |
• Open Access |
• Open Peer Review |
BMC Public HealthBMC series – open, inclusive and trusted201616:689 |
• Received: 3 May 2016 |
• Accepted: 28 July 2016 |
• Published: |
Open Peer Review reports |
Physical inactivity is one of the biggest health problems nowadays. Recent research shows that socio-cultural barriers to physical activity are mostly related to modern lifestyles. However, there is a lack of research on how social and group dynamics influence engagement in physical activity. Furthermore, there are few... |
The paper presents the qualitative data collected within a covert participant observation study. Data was collected by keeping observational notes in order to record typical, regular patterns regarding physical (in)activity related behaviour of groups at an artificial open air swimming pool in Germany and a natural pon... |
Group structures appear to play a significant role regarding the activity of the group members. In this study, we identified four key factors that influence group based physical activity: 1) Physical activity seems to be a group disturbing behaviour particularly in larger groups of adults; 2) Physical activity appears ... |
Successful promotion of physical activity should target the social structures of inactive individuals’ groups. In this regard, one of the main problems is that fun and wellbeing, as very important targets of public health strategies for the adult population, appear not to be compatible with physical activity. Developin... |
• Physical activity |
• Social dynamics |
• Group activity |
• Leisure settings |
• Observational study |
The spread of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing worldwide. In its new NCD report the World Health Organization (WHO) [1] states that by 2030 an average of 60 million people will die of lifestyle related diseases (including obesity, Type II Diabetes, and several cardiovascular illnesses). NCDs are caused by ... |
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