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THE UPPER TEN THOUSANDTH. The Great Leveler. Violence and the History of Inequality. From the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century - Walter Scheidel.

THE UPPER TEN THOUSANDTH. The Great Leveler. Violence and the History of Inequality. From the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century – Walter Scheidel.

The largest American private fortune currently equals about 1 million times the average annual household income.

The “Four Horsemen” of leveling, mass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and catastrophic plagues, have repeatedly destroyed the fortunes of the rich.

Across the full sweep of history, every single one of the major compressions of material inequality we…

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AWAKENING. THE SCIENCE OF MEDITATION. How to Change Your Brain, Mind and Body - Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson.

AWAKENING. THE SCIENCE OF MEDITATION. How to Change Your Brain, Mind and Body – Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson.

“To alleviate suffering and promote flourishing by integrating science with contemplative practice.”

An altered trait, a new characteristic that arises from a meditation practice endures, apart from meditation itself. Altered traits shape how we behave in our daily lives, not just during or immediately after we meditate. As meditation trains the mind, it reshapes the brain.

The most compelling…

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ADVERTISING AND ACADEMIA ARE CONTROLLING OUR THOUGHTS. Didn’t you know? - George Monbiot * A typology of consumer strategies for resisting advertising, and a review of mechanisms for countering them - Marieke L. Fransen, Peeter W.J. Verlegh, Amna Kirmani, Edith G. Smit.

ADVERTISING AND ACADEMIA ARE CONTROLLING OUR THOUGHTS. Didn’t you know? – George Monbiot * A typology of consumer strategies for resisting advertising, and a review of mechanisms for countering them – Marieke L. Fransen, Peeter W.J. Verlegh, Amna Kirmani, Edith G. Smit.

“We have the ability to twiddle some knobs in a machine learning dashboard we build, and around the world hundreds of thousands of people are going to quietly change their behaviour in ways that, unbeknownst to them, feel second-nature but are really by design.”

By abetting the ad industry, universities are leading us into temptation, when they should be enlightening us.

“Our ACE typology…

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HAPPINESS. Lessons from a New Science - Richard LAYARD.

HAPPINESS. Lessons from a New Science – Richard LAYARD.

Human beings have largely conquered nature, but they have still to conquer themselves. We have grown no happier in the last fifty years. What’s going on?

We have more food, more clothes, more cars, bigger houses, more central heating, more foreign holidays, a shorter working week, nicer work and, above all, better health. Yet we are not happier.

The best society is one where the citizens are…

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SANCTIONS are increasingly popular, but do they actually work? - Madeline Grant * BLOCKING PROGRESS. The damaging side effects of economic sanctions - Dr. Nima Sanandaji.

SANCTIONS are increasingly popular, but do they actually work? – Madeline Grant * BLOCKING PROGRESS. The damaging side effects of economic sanctions – Dr. Nima Sanandaji.

“If goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will.”

Have we really given sufficient thought to whether such measures actually work?

Reliance on sanctions is a mistake. Sanctions generally do not achieve their underlying objectives, Not only do sanctions undermine the well-being of those living in targeted countries, they also create substantial costs for the world economy. In addition, sanctions…

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DESTINY DISRUPTED. A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes - Tamim Ansary.

DESTINY DISRUPTED. A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes – Tamim Ansary.

How, on the eve of 9/11, could anyone have failed to consider Islam a major player at the table of world history!

Has the “Islamic world” not been a considerable geographical fact throughout its many centuries? Does it not remain one to this day, straddling the Asian-African landmass and forming an enormous buffer between Europe and East Asia?

In the United States the presumption holds that…

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SOME WEIRD SHIT. THE CARTOON VERSION OF FASCISM. How democracy ends - David Runciman.

SOME WEIRD SHIT. THE CARTOON VERSION OF FASCISM. How democracy ends – David Runciman.

If Trump is the answer, we are no longer asking the right question.

Here we are, barely two decades into the twenty-first century, and almost from nowhere the question is upon us: is this how democracy ends?

Trump’s arrival in the White House poses a direct challenge: What would democratic failure in a country like the United States actually involve? What are the things that an established…

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BASIC INCOME AND DEPRESSION. Restoring the Future - Johann Hari.

BASIC INCOME AND DEPRESSION. Restoring the Future – Johann Hari.

Giving people back time, and a sense of confidence in the future.

The point of a welfare state is to establish a safety net below which nobody should ever be allowed to fall. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to become depressed or anxious, and the more likely you are to become sick in almost every way.

There is a direct relationship between poverty and the number of mood-altering…

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CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND MENTAL ILLNESS. Overcoming Childhood Trauma, Beyond the smoke - Johann Hari.

CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND MENTAL ILLNESS. Overcoming Childhood Trauma, Beyond the smoke – Johann Hari.

Depression isn’t a disease; depression is a normal response to abnormal life experiences.

For every category of traumatic experience you go through as a kid, you are radically more likely to become depressed as an adult. The greater the trauma, the greater your risk of depression, anxiety, or suicide.

Chronic adversities change the architecture of a child’s brain, altering the expression of…

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ADVERTISING SHITS IN YOUR HEAD. Reconnecting to Meaningful Values * JUNK VALUES. Consumerism literally is depressing – Johann Hari.

Advertising is the PR team for an economic system, Neoliberal Globalisation, that operates by making us feel inadequate and telling us the solution is to constantly spend.

We are constantly bombarded with messages that we will feel better only if we buy some specific product; and then buy something more; and buy again, and on and on, until finally your family buys your coffin.

Can we turn off…

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The Spirit Level. Why equality is better for everyone - Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

The Spirit Level. Why equality is better for everyone – Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

“For the first time in history, the poor are on average fatter than the rich.” How is it that we have created so much mental and emotional suffering despite levels of wealth and comfort unprecedented in human history? The luxury and extravagance of our lives is so great that it threatens the planet.

At the pinnacle of human material and technical achievement, we find ourselves anxiety-ridden,…

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SINS OF OMISSION, EMOTIONAL NEGLECT. What did Your Family Cook Up For Christmas? * Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect - Jonice Webb PhD.

SINS OF OMISSION, EMOTIONAL NEGLECT. What did Your Family Cook Up For Christmas? * Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect – Jonice Webb PhD.

Good enough parents, or chronic empathic failure?

When a parent effectively recognizes and meets her child’s emotional needs in infancy, a “secure attachment” is formed and maintained. This first attachment forms the basis of a positive self-image and a sense of general well-being throughout childhood and into adulthood.

Your parents’ failure to validate or respond enough to your emotional…

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A FAILING PRESIDENCY - Michael R. Bloomberg.

A FAILING PRESIDENCY – Michael R. Bloomberg.

There are many reasons to be optimistic about 2019. The increasingly isolated man in the Oval Office is not one of them.

One week sums up a failing presidency. This past week, we got a glimpse of what the beginning of the collapse may look like and what it may ultimately cost us.

With the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency drawing to a close, the past week all too perfectly…

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DEPRESSION. It's what's Inside Your Head? - Johann Hari.

DEPRESSION. It’s what’s Inside Your Head? – Johann Hari.

“Ask not what’s inside your head, ask what your head’s inside of” W. M. Mace.

“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a sick society.” Jiddu Krishnamurti.

How does your brain change when you are deeply distressed? Do those changes make it harder to recover? The real role of genes and brain changes.

The distress caused by the outside world, and the changes inside your brain come…

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DARK NIGHTS OF THE SOUL. Kidnapped by Depression - Dale M. Kushner * The Emotional Life of Your Brain - Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D. and Sharon Begley.

DARK NIGHTS OF THE SOUL. Kidnapped by Depression – Dale M. Kushner * The Emotional Life of Your Brain – Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D. and Sharon Begley.

“We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are. Emotions, far from being the neurological fluff that mainstream science once believed them to be, are central to the functions of the brain and to the life of the mind.”

Why and how do people differ so widely in their emotional responses to the ups and the downs of life? How myths and neuroscience can illuminate the darkness of depression.

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"BRINGING IN THE BODIES", OUR HARSH LOGIC. Israeli soldiers' testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010 - Breaking the Silence.

“BRINGING IN THE BODIES”, OUR HARSH LOGIC. Israeli soldiers’ testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010 – Breaking the Silence.

“The deputy brigade commander then decided that instead of just being aggressive, he’d also remind him who’s the boss, who’s the Jew and who’s the Arab . . . Of course I reported it as well, it didn’t lead to anything.”

The widespread notion in Israeli society that control of the Palistinian Territories is exclusively aimed at protecting citizens is incompatible with the information conveyed by…

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YOU’RE WELCOME, LOVE, INTROVERTS. Things You Need to Know If Your Child is an Introvert * The Secret Lives of Introverts - Jenn Granneman.

YOU’RE WELCOME, LOVE, INTROVERTS. Things You Need to Know If Your Child is an Introvert * The Secret Lives of Introverts – Jenn Granneman.

Why was my idea of a good time so different from what other people wanted to do? I was broken. I had to be.

“Don’t just accept your child for who she is; treasure her for who she is. The more you embrace your child’s introverted nature, the happier they will be.”

Introversion is your temperament. It takes years to build a personality, but your temperament is something you’re born with.

Introve…