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Ground Zero Of Refugee Anxiety Pick of the day

Takis Würger | Der Spiegel | 28th September 2016

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Diary of a month in Clausnitz, a secluded farming village in eastern Germany where residents tried to turn back a bus bringing refugees to a hostel. “Clausnitz is not a typically German place. Clausnitz is typical for what Germany used to be, quite a long time ago. And the people who live here realize that. The refugees divided the town into two camps: half wants to help the refugees and half wants to be rid of them. In that regard, Clausnitz is extremely representative of the Germany of today” (6,100 words)

Unusually Murderous Mammals Society

Ed Yong | Atlantic | 28th September 2016

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Rabbits rarely kill each either. Neither do bats or whales. Lions, tigers, and bears kill each other more frequently, but not nearly as often as primates do. Modern humans kill at a rate which is fairly typical for primates, though high for mammals in general — roughly 2% of human deaths are intra-species murder, down from 12% in medieval times. The most murderous mammals are meerkats: “Almost one in five meerkats, mostly youngsters, lose their lives at the paws and jaws of their peers” (1,300 words)

Musk’s Mars Moment Science Pick of the day

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Hard-nosed look at Elon Musk’s plan to populate Mars within the coming decade. It is at the outer edge of possible, and it will probably cost two or three times Musk’s budget of $10 billion — but it is possible, and it leaves far more expensive and far less ambitious government programmes in the dust. Musk argues that we must conquer space not merely to advance science but to ensure human flourishing: “It is about releasing the masses into space, and letting them create a new life in space” (3,900 words)

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Ground Zero Of Refugee Anxiety Pick of the day

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Unusually Murderous Mammals Society

Musk’s Mars Moment Science Pick of the day

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