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2022 - 3 - 21

The payoff of rhetorical platforms — and the cost of their denial (unknown)

Ultimately, a university does not serve to make judgements and reasonings about what values we ought to uphold and what speech and thought is acceptable, ...

The duty of a university is to present the world unfiltered, allowing students to determine for themselves what is wrong and right and to engage with the discomfort of difference. Universities are a crucial bulwark against the division and polarization of our country — the sands of opinion are subject to the sieve of reason here more than anywhere. The University is the place to have hard conversations, the place to engage with the other side — if not here, then where? Hosting Pence is a chance to engage with the sentiments of our nation that we often turn away from — it is a chance to confront our political reality at its face value. The University should host Pence as — irrespective of his presence or absence at the University — his views reflect a significant portion of our country. However, I am writing in support of him speaking at the University and to dispute the claim that allowing Mike Pence to speak is antithetical to the University’s mission.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Swine language: scientists decode pig emotions from their sounds (The Guardian)

Analysis of vocal expression of emotions is being increasingly used as a tool to assess pigs' welfare, study finds.

Grunts, more specifically, begin high and gradually go lower in frequency. Researchers also developed mock scenarios designed to evoke more nuanced emotions. Negative situations include separation, fights, castration and slaughter.

A whale's tale: The story hidden in their mouths (Science Daily)

Baleen plates -- the signature bristle-like apparatus toothless whales use to feed -- reveal how these large aquatic mammals adapt to environmental changes ...

While it's not clear waters for east coast humpbacks, the study found that humpbacks from the west coast of Australia who feed in the Indian Ocean showed increased feeding success during La Niña periods. Amid this migration to the tropics, they're away from reliable food sources and must depend on their body's reserves and opportunistic prey off Australia to survive. This makes them vulnerable to changes in the environment, but this is also compounded by their survival strategy," Prof. Rogers says. "As the baleen grows, biochemical signals from their food are trapped. Researchers have now shown how the changes in the dietary habits of whales going back almost 60 years correspond with changing climate cycles. Scientists from UNSW Sydney have uncovered the secrets locked in the jawlines of humpback and southern right whales.

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Image courtesy of "New Zealand Herald"

How Will and Jada Smith navigate their open marriage (New Zealand Herald)

Will Smith could win his first Oscar next week, but his sex life is still the big story.

Late last year a petition circulated asking journalists all over the world to stop interviewing the Hollywood power couple as they were sick of hearing about what goes on in their bedroom. The family source also told The Post: "Things have been talked out between the two and, at the end of the day, they do care for each other. Even before the love, there is a solid friendship, a strong foundation," said the family source. So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up," he said. "There were significant endless discussions about, what is relational perfection? An insider who knows the couple well confirms that they have not always been so open in their marriage.

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