Suddenly everyone wants to be low-caste, said Badri Narayan. It used to be considered an extreme disadvantage to be in one of India’s oppressed castes or indigenous tribes. But decades of affirmative action and quota systems have changed all that. Now, many lower-middle castes are agitating to be reclassified as “more backward,” in effect “struggling to move down the ladder […]
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New York City Several former federal investigators now say that a missile likely caused the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800, in which all 230 people aboard were killed, and that the official explanation for the disaster was intentionally falsified. The National Transportation Safety Board determined after a four-year investigation that a fuel tank explosion had caused the crash, which […]
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A research group tested a group of about 125 cyclists aged between 50 and around 80 – ¾ of the group were male and ¼ were female. They did not study any people with high blood pressure, alcoholics, smokers, or any other health problems. Another group of non-exercising adults aged between 50 to 80 and 20 to 36 underwent tests […]
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Stress and depression can take a combined toll on the heart, creating a “psychosocial perfect storm” that dramatically increases the risk of death from heart disease, new research has found. A study involving nearly 4,500 adults with coronary artery disease found those who also suffered from significant stress and depression were nearly 50 percent more likely to die or have […]
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It was in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age that the modern concept of celebrity was born, said George Packer. But if the worship of gaudy wealth and fame began in The Great Gatsby era, we’ve taken it to new, “perverse” heights in 21st-century America. Today, celebrity demigods dominate every field: There are celebrity chefs, bankers, computer engineers, chief executives, hip-hop […]
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■ Louisiana lawmakers are considering legislation that makes the Holy Bible the “official state book.”The legislation was opposed by some Democrats—not because it suggests the state’s endorsement of one religion, but because it originally specified the King James version, which some Christians do not use. “Why not put all versions of the Bible?” suggested state Rep. Robert Billiot.
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When you decide to get a tattoo there are a few things you should consider before getting one. Don’t do it if you are not of sound mind, like if you have been drinking with your buddies. Have you checked out the artist and made sure that they are certified and clean? After you have done the research and have […]
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The number of juveniles in the nation’s criminal justice system has been in decline for years. California and New York have closed some of their largest and most troubled juvenile detention facilities. Missouri has recently been credited with doing a better job of caring for its most troubled children, further limiting the state’s population of teens in punitive settings. But […]
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Are obesity and autism linked? A new study shows that obese pregnant women are 60 percent more likely to give birth to a child with autism than women of a healthy weight—and twice as likely to have a child with some developmental disorder. About a third of American women of reproductive age are now considered obese. Last month, the Centers […]
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Think climate change is one of the world’s biggest problems? said Alex B. Berezow. Think again. Global warming doesn’t even crack the top 10 of the planet’s immediate concerns. Number 1 on that list: poverty. Nowhere near as “sexy” or “trendy” as climate change, it’s still the single biggest threat facing humanity. Hundreds of millions of people go hungry every […]
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