Monday, August 18, 2014

what happens at The Bohemian Grove?


Is this where the rich and powerful engage in conspiracy? This recent TestTube.com video examines The Bohemian Grove, a summer playground in northern California for members of America's power elite. The secretive nature of the Bohemian Club's annual 16-day July meeting is further addressed in this Washington Post article and in this Spy Magazine expose mentioned in the clip. For sociological treatment of the retreat's role as a nexus for fostering social relationships, aligning views, and setting political agendas, see this detailed study by G.William Domhoff.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

the science of inequality


Check out the special May 23 issue of Science devoted to examining the science of inequality. According to editors, Chin and Culotta:
This special issue uses...  fresh waves of data to explore the origins, impact, and future of inequality around the world. Archaeological and ethnographic data are revealing how inequality got its start in our ancestors (see pp. 822 and 824). New surveys of emerging economies offer more reliable estimates of people's incomes and how they change as countries develop (see p. 832). And in the past decade in developed capitalist nations, intensive effort and interdisciplinary collaborations have produced large data sets, including the compilation of a century of income data and two centuries of wealth data into the World Top Incomes Database (WTID) (see p. 826 and Piketty and Saez, p.838).
It all makes for great reading, so check to see if your library subscribes to the journal.