Salon.com > Denmark

Study: Muscle men more politically conservative

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:32:00 +0000

Researchers from Denmark's Aarhus University found that the more upper body strength a wealthy man has, the more likely he is to support conservative, self-interested economic and social policies. Conversely, similarly wealthy but not-similarly-stacked men were more likely to support policies in favor of wealth redistribution, such as higher taxes on the very rich. (Related: Does anyone know how much Warren Buffet is benching these days?)

The scientists say they based their hypothesis on evolutionary theory, as Science 2.0 reports:

10 best countries to be born in 2013

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 14:50:00 +0000

As 2012 comes to a close, marking the finish of a year of economic upheaval around the world (with no clear end in sight), the Economist Intelligence Unit posed the question: Which child born next year will be more likely to have a good quality-of-life? And, perhaps most importantly, what person entering adulthood in the 2030s will be gladdest to live where she or he lives? They call this the "born index” or "life satisfaction index," and it explains which countries lead the pack as the best place to be born in 2013.

America, which used to be number-one on this very same index back in 1988, has plummeted to number 16. It’s understandable in terms of our miserable healthcare system, growing social stratification and workplace policies; we hang out toward the bottom of the lists when it comes to maternal health, paid leave for parents or family sickness. And yes, we have zero mandatory vacation hours.

Who’s most susceptible to PTSD?

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:31:00 +0000

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the president who led the United States into the depths of total war and back out again, has a little-visited memorial on the far side of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. It’s private and reflective, like the man himself, and chiseled into the rough stone are these words, from a Chautauqua speech made three years before the German invasion of Poland: “I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded… I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed… I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war.”

MI6 allegedly refused to kill al-Qaida leader

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:47:00 +0000

A Danish informant said that the British spy agency MI6 allegedly refused to kill Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki because it was against the law.

Morten Storm, a former biker who was hired by MI6 to infiltrate Al Qaeda, converted to Islam and dabbled with radical Islamism before turning into a spy for Western governments.

Storm, 36, says that after telling MI6 of al-Awlaki's whereabouts they refused to kill him, stating that they were an intelligence agency that does not involve itself with killings abroad, said the Daily Mail.

UPI reported that Storm was told that al-Awlaki did not threaten British lives and therefore Britain could not kill him.