A Harvard scholar has written a soon to be published book which asserts that Hollywood did not just collaborate with Nazi Germany, it aided Adolf Hitler directly. Ben Urwand, currently at Harvard's Society of Fellows has written the book "The Collaboration: Hollywood's Pact With Hitler," to be released in October. According to press reports (I have not read the book yet), he draws from German and American archives that studio bosses, many of them Jewish immigrants cut films scene by scene to suit Nazi officials so that the films could be re-purposed into Nazi propaganda films. In the book, he ...
By Jeff Newman Hempel watched the scrawny girl fish off the skiff in the late afternoon sun. The thought of leaving her cut into his heart. “Grampa, can we work on the table later on?” she asked. “Sure, if you want. Then homework. It’s important.” “I know. Mom said it’s important but I like workin’ in the shop better.” “School is more important,” he said. “Will I always be with you grampa?” “Not always. You’ll be grown up one day.” “But that’s not for a long time, right grampa?” “Right. Not for a long time.” They caught two big catfish and cooked them for dinner. The man stood by the girl ...
Posted on November 16, 2009 by Jeffrey Newman
There are some things about animals we just don’t understand yet. Take Oscar, a prescient four year old cat living in a Providence Rhode Island nursing home. Oscar has consistently and reliably been able to sense when residents are approaching their final hours. He curls up next to them and won’t leave until they have […]
Posted on November 16, 2009 by Jeffrey Newman
Scientists have found definitive evidence that the northern hemisphere of the earth was put into a speedy deep freeze 12,800 years ago, over a period of just months, resulting from a sudden slowdown of the gulf stream. This allowed ice to spread hundreds of miles southward from the arctic. Previous research suggested that the change […]
Posted on November 16, 2009 by Jeffrey Newman
/>9 out of 10 of the top grossing films were science fiction or fantasy. This may account for the coming spate of sci fi films and the interest in new literature written about the future of mankind. The top films included: 1) Lord of the Rings; 2)Star Wars III; 3)ET; 4)Shrek; 5) Dark Knight and […]
Posted on November 13, 2009 by Jeffrey Newman
A 2007 article in Good Magazine summarized the work of Bruce Bueno de Mesquita who claims to predict mathematically, “virtually any international conflict, provided the basic inputs are accurate.” Bueno de Mesquita can also be seen on You Tube giving lectures. His work, which some dismiss too readily, raises important issues concerning the use of […]
Posted on November 13, 2009 by Jeffrey Newman
Scientists, studying the behaviors of plants have now found significant evidence that they can recognize kin and demonstrate altruistic behavior, just as plants can demonstrate competitive behaviors by growing larger leaves, crowding out competition for light. It has long been shown that plants have the ability to sense and respond to other plants. In a […]
Posted on November 12, 2009 by Jeffrey Newman
Take a look at the video on the right hand side of this website entitled FLIGHT SIMULATOR CURVED MONITOR. I haven’t tried it yet but I would sure like to! Slowly but steadily, progress is being made in the creation of more realistic virtual reality environments and that is combining with the richness and realism […]
Posted on November 12, 2009 by Jeffrey Newman
Technical advances in brain scanning now allow individuals to post electronic messages just by thinking them. Last month, Adam Wilson posted a message “Go Badgers” on Twitter and became the first person to post an electronic message just by thinking it, when aided by a scanning device developed at the University of Wisconsin. With a […]
Posted on November 11, 2009 by Jeffrey Newman
9 out of 10 of the top grossing films were science fiction or fantasy. This may account for the coming spate of sci fi films and the interest in new literature written about the future of mankind. The top films included: 1) Lord of the Rings; 2)Star Wars III; 3)ET; 4)Shrek; 5) Dark Knight and […]