September 18, 2008
Political Views - Physical Makeup
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7623256.stm
Scientists studying voters in the US say our political views may be an integral part of our physical makeup.
Their research, published in the journal Science, indicates that people who are sensitive to fear or threat are likely to support a right wing agenda.
Those who perceived less danger in a series of images and sounds were more inclined to support liberal policies.
The authors believe their findings may help to explain why voters' minds are so hard to change.
In the study, conducted in Nebraska, 46 volunteers were first asked about their political views on issues ranging from foreign aid and the Iraq war to capital punishment and patriotism.
Those with strong opinions were invited to take part in the second part of the experiment, which involved recording their physiological responses to a series of images and sounds.
The images included pictures of a frightened man with a large spider on his face and an open wound with maggots in it. The subjects were also startled with loud noises on occasion.
Conducting experiments
By measuring the electrical conductance of the volunteers' skin and their blink responses, the scientists were able to work out the degree of fear they were experiencing - how sensitive they were to the images and sounds.
They found that subjects who were more easily startled tended to have political views that would be classified as more right wing, being more in favour of capital punishment and higher defence spending, but opposed to abortion rights.
The scientists explained that these political positions were protective of the volunteers' social groups.
"We focussed primarily on things that we call 'protecting the social unit'," said John Hibbing from the University of Nebraska.
"So the idea is we have this unit - maybe it's the US - and we want to protect this from outsiders; so we might be opposed to immigration, we might advocate patriotism, and we like leaders who are strong and clear who are able to protect us from those outsiders.
"We might even be opposed to pornography or any kind of corrosive element that we see threatening the social unit.
"On the other hand, you have people who are more supportive of pacifism and who advocate gun control - and there are lots of areas where people who are less sensitive to threat would project those kinds of feelings into the political arena."
Different strokes
The researchers say there is no political relevance to their research - but Dr Hibbing feels it may help explain why it is so hard to change someone's mind in a political debate.
Different people, he said, started from a different psychological point.
"You have people who are experiencing the world, who are experiencing threat, differently.
"It's just that we have these very different physiological orientations. We're not sure where they came from, they may be genetic, they may be something from childhood; we do know, though, that they run deep because it's a reflex, it's not something you can change tomorrow, the depth of that may be something of an asset in figuring out why people are so stubborn in their political beliefs," he said.
"I even have the hope that this might facilitate understanding a little bit. Instead of political opponents thinking the opposite party are being wilfully bull-headed, you can say 'well ok, they see the world differently than I do'.
"People haven't just thought about things differently, they feel things differently."
Posted by chek at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)
January 17, 2007
Help Save Nima
http://helpsavenima.com/default.aspx
Nima is a 19-year old Iranian student who has been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (also known as ALL). He is currently in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. In order to find a suitable match as soon as possible, please consider contacting us (phone numbers below) as soon as possible. Please remember that a simple mouth-swab can determine whether or not you are a match for Nima.
Posted by chek at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2006
Phone Campaign Against Bill O'Reilly
http://capwiz.com/niacouncil/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8666926&type=CU
Posted by KP at 09:07 PM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2006
Google Norouz Logo
http://www.esfahanhost.com/nowrouz/
Some nice Norouz logos, and a request to Google to use a special logo on Norouz.
Might be just a trick to collect your emails.
Posted by chek at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)
January 31, 2006
Science & Arts Foundation
http://www.science-arts.org/
At the dawn of the new millennium, the Science and Arts Foundation (SAF) aims to provide the youth of the developing world with educational opportunities particularly in information technology and Internet, enjoyed in the industrial world.
SAF was founded by Professor Abbas Edalat on March 1st, 1999 at Imperial College, London.
The foundation's executive director in Iran is Yahya Tabesh, Director of the Computer Center at Sharif University of Technology.
Posted by chek at 02:11 PM | Comments (0)
January 06, 2006
Mike Bakhshi's Leukemia Run
http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=tntsvmbMBakhsh
I am training to participate in an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I'm completing this marathon in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!
Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance the Society's mission.
Posted by Chekonim at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2005
Stop Global Warming
http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/
Join the Virtual March !
Let the world know you want to stop global warming by signing up.
I am marcher no. 380922.
Do you believe in letting nature perfect it's miracle of life?
Actions you can take.
Posted by chek at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2005
Ghaffary, Darab
http://www.ghaffary.com/darab4sunnyvale/
Darab Ghaffary - Sunnyvale City Council - Seat 2
Dear Neighbors,
Sunnyvale is a safe community with great schools, good jobs and nice neighborhoods. I want to help ensure young families will have the same opportunities for education, good jobs and affordable housing. I want this so that our children and grandchildren will want to settle down and raise their families here. I have faith that Sunnyvale will continue to be a great city to work and raise families for generations into the future.
-Darab
Posted by chek at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2005
We're Not Afraid
http://www.werenotafraid.com/
We're not Afraid!
Show the world that we're not afraid of what happened in London, and that the world is a better place without fear.
Posted by chek at 01:19 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2005
Cyrus Crosses Canada
http://www.robbinsride.ca/
Robbin's Ride
Coast to Coast for Breast Cancer
8,000 Kilometer across Canada
On May 5th, Persian Cyrus, and his friends Ryan, Shael, and Travis started a bike journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, 5,000 miles across Canada, in support of Ryan's mother fighting breast cancer. Read their story at Robbin's Ride.
May 5, 2005
Fort Langley, British Columbia
On May 5th, we walked our bikes down several flights of stairs after traveling for 40 km, in order to dip our wheels into the Pacific Ocean and officially begin our journey at 0 km. We then embarked to the ferry, and arrived from Victoria to Vancouver at approximately 5pm. From the ferry we traveled the 50 km to Fort Langley and set up camp for the night. Supporters and friends have already appeared in the form of a camp owner allowing us to stay for free and providing breakfast, and fellow campers offering to cook us dinner. We appreciate every bit of help, and are especially looking forward to a shower tomorrow! The weather has been beautiful, although chilly in the mornings, and the Canadian scenery has been wonderful so far. We are hoping to get to Hope B.C. tomorrow.
Pictures:
Ryan and his mom
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Posted by chek at 12:35 PM | Comments (0)
June 11, 2005
Baivoter
http://www.baivoter.org/
Bay Area Iranian-American Voter Association
Baivoter is a diverse group of concerned citizens working to encourage and facilitate the informed and active participation of Iranian-Americans in the democratic process.
It facilitates voter registration and civic participation through a combination of online and offline civic education, issue advocacy, and grassroots community initiatives.
In the last election the voices of Iranian-Americans were not heard.
Because they did not vote.
Your vote is our voice.
Posted by chek at 07:25 PM | Comments (0)
May 31, 2005
Relay For Life, June 25-26
http://www.acsevents.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=94682&u=94682-81432965&e=305702915
Hello, my name is Sunoz Soroosh, but a lot of people call me Sunny. I am 18 years old and I will be attending UC Berkeley next year. I am a Persian and Arabic dancer with Niosha Dance Academy.
Once again this year, I am participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life of Tri-Cities on June 25-26, 2005 with Team Niosha Dance Academy. This is an overnight walkathon event, where each team tries to keep at least one member walking around the track for 24 hours. We also perform at this event, along with many other musicians and dancers. At the Relay for Life, there is a Luminaria ceremony, to honor loved ones lost to cancer, and a Survivor's lap to honor those who have won the battle against it. Each year, my fellow dancers and I participate in this event and raise money for cancer awareness and research, and since our dance teacher, Niosha Nafei, is a cancer survivor, this event is extremely important to us. But personally, I participate in this event in honor of my grandparents, Jamshid and Behbood Soroosh, because I lost them both to cancer. I am committed to raising money for the fight against cancer, and last year I raised 300 dollars, which was the most money out of anybody in my dance class.
This year, I have raised my goal to 400 dollars, and I hope that you can help me out by donating to this cause. You can donate online by going to my American Cancer Society webpage.
Any amount of money is appreciated, and will go to help win the fight against cancer. All donations are tax deductible and please do not hesitate to email me with any questions.
Thank you for your time,
Sunoz "Sunny" Soroosh
Dancer, Niosha Dance Academy
Donate:
Follow this link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Relay for Life of Tri-City.
State fundraising notices and the American Cancer Society's Privacy Policy.
Posted by Chekonim at 01:02 PM | Comments (0)
March 31, 2005
Online Petition Hosting
http://www.petitiononline.com/
Free Online Petition Hosting. Facilitates creation of an online petition. Give it a try.
Posted by Chekonim at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)