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Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Eppur si muove …
According to legend, these were the words quietly spoken by Galileo in 1633 immediately after being forced by Church inquisitors to recant his heliocentric view that the Earth revolves around the sun. But how do we know that Galileo’s view was correct … Continue reading
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Tagged Foucault's Pendulum, Galileo, Google Doodle, Leon Foucault
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Why isn’t today a holiday?
Today is “Constitution Day” in the United States. On this day in 1787, most (but not all) of the delegates attending the secret Philadelphia Convention signed the first draft of the US Constitution, which was later submitted to local State … Continue reading
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Tagged "Maxim Constitutionalism", Alexander Tsesis, Constitution Day, Maxims
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Should internet sales be taxed?
Should access to the internet also be taxed (see map below)? With respect to the sale of goods online, the general rule under current law is that the States can only collect sales taxes from retailers that have a physical presence … Continue reading
Who will win the Alvarez-Mayweather prize fight?
Both boxers are undefeated, but Floyd “Money” Mayweather is 36 years old, while Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is only 23. bleacherreport.com
Is NASA’s asteroid-capture mission legal?
NASA recently announced its plan to find and capture a small asteroid and place it in a stable orbit near the moon. (If you have a few minutes to spare, check out this cool animation of the proposed mission here.) But would an asteroid-capture mission … Continue reading
Is “American exceptionalism” dangerous?
In an op-ed piece in yesterday’s New York Times, Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, writes thus about the dangers of American exceptionalism (the notion that somehow the US is unique or special): My working and personal relationship with President … Continue reading
This is what hypocrisy looks like
Who is President Obama to judge Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad? After all, is the Syrian Army’s alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria’s civil war any worse than the indiscriminate use of such weapons as Agent Orange or napalm by US Armed … Continue reading
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Tagged Agent Orange, Bashar al-Assad, Hypocrisy, napalm, President Obama
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Questions rarely asked about the Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court, like the Congress, operates under the principle of majority rule, but since the Supreme Court consists only of nine judges (or “justices”, as they are presumptuously called), a simple majority of five justices is sufficient … Continue reading
Forget 9/11?
This week marks the 12th anniversary of the terrible events that took place on the morning of 11 Sept. 2001 in the United States … and the 40th anniversary of the terrible events of 11 Sept. 1973 in Chile (see … Continue reading
Is there life on GJ 1214b?
Probably. According to this report, a team of Japanese astronomers has tested whether a planet 40 light years from Earth–a “super-Earth” known as GJ 1214b and located in the constellation Ophiuchus, northwest of the center of our Milky Way galaxy–has an atmosphere rich … Continue reading
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Tagged Rayleigh Scattering, Scientific Test, Super-Earth GJ 1214b
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