A new study, led by Richard Easterlin, a professor of economics at the University of Southern California, shows that despite a rate of economic growth that is unmatched in human history, Chinese people are less happy overall than they were two decades ago.

In 1990, at the start of China’s economic [...]]]> http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/5/15/a-richer-china-isn-t-happier-and-that-spells-trouble–1

A new study, led by Richard Easterlin, a professor of economics at the University of Southern California, shows that despite a rate of economic growth that is unmatched in human history, Chinese people are less happy overall than they were two decades ago.

In 1990, at the start of China’s economic transformation and a year after the events on Tiananmen Square, a large majority of Chinese people across age, education, income levels, and provinces reported high levels of satisfaction with their lives. Sixty-eight percent of those in the wealthiest income bracket and 65 percent of those in the poorest income bracket reported high levels of satisfaction in 1990.

Fast forward 20 years, and the data seem to show that life satisfaction has remained constant for middle-class Chinese, and fallen dramatically among the poorest citizens.

“There are many who believe that well-being is increased by economic growth, and that the faster the growth, the happier people are. There could hardly be a better country than China to test these expectations,” Easterlin said. “But there is no evidence of a marked increase in life satisfaction in China of the magnitude that might have been expected due to the enormous multiplication in per capita consumption. Indeed people are slightly less happy overall, and China has gone from being one of the most egalitarian countries in the world in terms of life satisfaction to one of the least.”

Two points are interesting in this article:

http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/05/catching-my-reading-ahead-pesticide-industry-confab

http://www.pixiq.com/article/connecticut-cop-arrested-after-pulling-gun-on-cop

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/20/michael-gove-bible-school-david-mitchell

For decades the law has sought to regulate the latter categories. In 1986, section five of the Public Order Act made it illegal to engage in “insulting words or behaviour” in England and Wales.

But a backlash has been brewing amid concerns that efforts to protect the public’s sensibilities have gone [...]]]> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18102815

For decades the law has sought to regulate the latter categories. In 1986, section five of the Public Order Act made it illegal to engage in “insulting words or behaviour” in England and Wales.

But a backlash has been brewing amid concerns that efforts to protect the public’s sensibilities have gone too far.

A campaign called Feel Free To Insult Me has been launched to lobby for section five’s repeal, citing a series of cases when the legislation attracted criticism and ridicule.

In one well-publicised 2006 incident, an Oxford University student was arrested after asking a mounted police officer if he realised his horse was “gay”. Two years later a teenager was charged after demonstrating outside the London headquarters of the Church of Scientology with a placard declaring that Scientology was not a religion but “a dangerous cult”.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/gop-solutions-tab-on-boehners-new-website-leads

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/19/g8-camp-david-germany-euro

Taliban members have resorted to invoking fictitious links of academics with writer Salman Rushdie in a bid to boost their popularity.

…

“The Taliban who are active in Pakistan’s lawless tribal region near the Afghanistan border will make any move that brings them some respect in the public eye,” Prof Javid [...]]]> http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107846

Taliban members have resorted to invoking fictitious links of academics with writer Salman Rushdie in a bid to boost their popularity.

…

“The Taliban who are active in Pakistan’s lawless tribal region near the Afghanistan border will make any move that brings them some respect in the public eye,” Prof Javid Khan of the political science department at the University of Peshawar told IPS.

“They know that threatening or killing anyone for siding with Salman Rushdie would restore their dwindling popularity – which has been eroded by Taliban’s targeting of mosques, funeral ceremonies and marketplaces where innocent people have been killed.”

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/accidentally-released-and-incredibly-embarrassing-documents-show-how-goldman-et-al-engaged-in-naked-short-selling-20120515#ixzz1v0HLbfvH

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9720000/9720942.stm