Slashdot Mirror

It sounds like some jr highschool kid's idea. What is the military going to do, call up Kim Jong-il and say "ke ke ke PW0n3gE! How you liek the intrnetz n0w? bizatch."? If someone is "attacking" us via the internet, there is a much easier solution: block their traffic, null route their netblock, or even just "drop anchor" on their cable.

tm

Whatever one thinks of the war in Iraq, it has forced us to prioritize scientific and engineering issues we previously had not emphasized. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. For example:

Techniques to defeat highly asymmetric warfare tactics such as the use of IEDs. There's been a lot of money pouring into trying to solve that problem, because solutions will save lives. Google "counter IED" and you get an idea of the communications and jamming technologies involved.

Trauma medicine has been getting a lot of innovation. For example, the Pentagon has a 250 million dollar effort to create the ability to regrow limbs, noses, etc of wounded soldiers. The HemCon bandage, a portable heart-lung machine, and improvements in treatment methodologies are discussed here.

Materials science has been getting the kind of attention it hasn't seen in a long time. One example with obvious civilian application is the push for novel flame-retardant woven and knitted fabrics.

Looking more to the future, the war's need for intelligence from foreign-language sources has driven DARPA to fund automatic translation research. That's a real tough problem, but if they can solve it has enormous civilian applications.

The list goes on an on. I'm not saying it justifies a war, but war certainly does drive scientific and engineering research to solve thorny real-world problems.

also reported by the ABC http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/08/2238461.htm on a personal note, a platypus is really interesting to watch in the wild. it's movement is quite lizardlike.

if permafrost "defrosts" it will reduce albedo and will rise CO2 levels by itself;

With the permafrost melting the CO2 released isn't as big a concern as the release of methane will be. Decomposing dead plants sinking into lakes creates a lot of methane which is 20 tymes more effective as a Greenhouse Gas than CO2.

Another fact that some don't know about is that high CO2 levels in the atmosphere turn the oceans acidic which threatens marine animals adversely, especially shellfish. The acid eats the shells.

>Cut, remove, splice, stitch.

I think you are exactly right - read Atul Gawande's book Complications, the bit about hernia operations. He talks about it in this interview - http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2008/2122487.htm

Hmm... also read about the checklist, also by Gawande - http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/12/10/071210fa_fact_gawande

Both show that the mystery about doctors and medicines is somewhat misplaced... in many cases (and a growing percentage) robots rule.

If shooting someone with a taser was regarded as equal to shooting them with a gun, I'd happily see them deployed all over.

Now that you mention it, this may explain why if you enter a certain function in Excel95, you can play DOOM in it.

You don't like my suggestion? That's it! I'll meet you there in B95!

Get a taste of my BFG man!

The thing I find most disturbing about this law is the incredibly lack of reasoning displayed by some people - mostly those in favour of it. It reminds me - obscurely - of the new tax here in Australia on "alcopops" (premixed alcoholic drinks). This will, of course, help prevent binge drinking. Makes perfect sense.

Banning is usually the best way to make a subject more intriguing to just the wrong sort of people. Banning child porn is good, since among other things it's the industry you're trying to destroy. But does it stop paedophiles? Seems we haven't got around to that bit yet. Seriously helping people not to become paedophiles is too hard, so let's stick with enforcing a ban so it always looks like we're working hard to protect the public. Excellent.

It's this sort of maimed ability to think about the hard stuff and implement socially responsible policies that is unfortunately the hallmark of everything bad in our society and politics.

Here in Aus, we have only recently started safe hot-lines for men (and women) who commit domestic violence. Great idea, well promoted, you almost feel sorry for them watching the ads. And why not feel sorry for them? Don't they need help? Why do we so rarely offer any help at all to those people who really need it, *before* they completely go off the rails? Why can't we invest money in effective preventative schemes instead of more and more laws and regulation?

Of course that's too hard to think about, so people blame anything and everything else for how someone turns out - if it's not porn, it's computer games, violent movies, Goth culture, Dungeons and Dragons... As long as we, as a society, don't have to take responsibility for it.

I'm surprised they didn't just introduce a Violent Porn Tax. That way most voters will be kept happy and pollies can as usual appear to be doing something, which is what everyone really seems to want.

Yes, there have been numerous examples of this happening: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/11/2214689.htm

Most incidents take place on landing or takeoff. Green lasers also being notoriously good at remaining focused enough for the several hundred meters needed to completely blind a pilot at night.

Whether you believe it or not, it does happen, and it does jeopardise life. Recent examples

Military pilots I have worked with have also reported use of lasers to discourage inspection of suspect vessels at sea. This legislation won't do much for this though.

There have been half a dozen or so such incidents in Australia in the last few months, including one which involved coordinated beams from multiple locations directed at the same plane.

E.g.:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/08/2211257.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/11/2214689.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/29/2202704.htm

As an Australian who flies quite a lot, I'm extremely happy for them to ban these things if it stops morons from blinding my pilot on final approach. The fact that there have been coordinated attacks is also evidence that it is more than an incidental problem.

There have been half a dozen or so such incidents in Australia in the last few months, including one which involved coordinated beams from multiple locations directed at the same plane.

E.g.:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/08/2211257.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/11/2214689.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/29/2202704.htm

As an Australian who flies quite a lot, I'm extremely happy for them to ban these things if it stops morons from blinding my pilot on final approach. The fact that there have been coordinated attacks is also evidence that it is more than an incidental problem.

There have been half a dozen or so such incidents in Australia in the last few months, including one which involved coordinated beams from multiple locations directed at the same plane.

E.g.:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/08/2211257.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/11/2214689.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/29/2202704.htm

As an Australian who flies quite a lot, I'm extremely happy for them to ban these things if it stops morons from blinding my pilot on final approach. The fact that there have been coordinated attacks is also evidence that it is more than an incidental problem.

It is extremely rare to find a Chinese person who is willing to even listen to the Tibetans' own arguments about their millenia of independent history, not to mention about the horrors perpetrated by the CCP regime after Mao Zedong's 1950 invasion. Google for Grace Wang at Duke Uni. and "burned in oil" to learn how the true Chinese patriots deal with those of their own who merely want to promote debate.

For the Han Chinese race, and not just those still within the Great Firewall of China, this perceived imperial right to rule over neighbouring peoples has become an obsession, which is all the more ironic since the #1 pet hate of the Hans, basically taught since kindergarten, is against the foreign imperialists who "humiliated China" in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Chinese are taught, and this ideology only arose in the late 18th century, that the now billion+ overpopulated Han nation will violently break up if they allow their neighbouring peoples to regain their freedom and independence. (Why is that, btw.?)

Here's a fairly compact Aussie radio programme, with a transcript, about the reasons why the Chinese rulers claim that Tibet and Tibetans are theirs to do what they wish. Basically, the Chinese regime claims that since both Tibet and China were (albeit in very different ways) ruled or under the protection (as Tibet was) by the same foreign power during roughly the same period, after that foreign rule had collapsed the Chinese emperor automatically assumed (perceived) ownership over Tibet as well, despite having no de facto control or rule over the Tibetan nation.

The ultra-nationalistic Chinese you may have seen screaming LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! to pro-Tibetan demonstrators during the CCP's recent global torch parade tend to shout slogans like "TIBET BELONGS TO CHINA!", but if you somehow manage to ask them on what basis, they'll either continue screaming or come up with wildly different historical explanations, ranging from a marriage between a powerful Tibetan king and a Chinese princess (they always forget the Tibetan and Nepalese princesses somehow) in the first millenium to the claims of the foreign Mongol rule (known as the Yuan dynasty in China) in the 13th and the foreign Manchu rule (the Qing dynasty for the Chinese) in the 17th centuries as giving the Mao Zedong's China the absolute right of ownership over Tibet. (waitasec, I thought the communists were totally against any such feudal claiming of lands and peoples??)

If only such mediaval imperial babble was the end of it, but unfortunately the brutal oppression and systematic destruction of Tibetan cultural heritage, identity and language which started with Mao's invasion in the 1950s is still going on strong today. Even sadder is that very few Chinese either know or choose to believe the horrors China has committed in Tibet over the last half century. Some, like the well-known Chinese dissidents Wei Jinsheng and Henry Wu Hongda, who spent years in a Tibetan prison unit alongside Tibetan prisoners of conscience, have told about their experiences, but why would the proud Chinese of today choose democracy and the admission of their own shame when the Communist Party is hauling in foreign money and promising unprecedented global power?

International law be damned.

How much longer do the Tibetan people have to suffer until the Chinese learn that there are higher and more positive values in life than genocidal jingoism?

"once people's basic economic needs are met additional income and wealth contributes little to an individual's happiness. What's more a society which encourages a focus on the self and its wants, and heightened individualism, tends to undermine the very things which psychological research now shows are crucial to feelings of happiness: close personal relationships, trust, and security. On top of this consumerism, advertising and the effects of the mass media heightens human beings' natural interest in 'status' and social comparisions. This means that in contemporary society people's lives are overly concerned with work, money, and how they are doing in 'the rat race'. Such a life focus is not intrinsically satisfying and so we have the prosperity paradox that for all the increased wealth in modern society people do not feel happier.

Why:
http://www.thedissidentfrogman.com/blog/link/like-a-suppository-only-stronger/

Article elsewhere
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/16/2218782.htm?section=world

If the Chinese government keeps up this bullshit, people are going to call for boycotts of companies that advertise during the olympics, and that will reduce their revenue (because it will diminish the value of advertsising during hte olympics).

Even the Dalai Lama himself has firmly said that the Olympics should not be boycotted.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/18/2193461.htm

He has the most to lose if China's government gets more powerful.

I agree with him, I personally don't believe a boycott of the current olympics or advertisers is warranted in this case. The olympics is the one time every four years when athletes of all nations can come together. That serves more for global peace and understanding than petty quarreling, protests, and boycotts. Note, if there was serious shit going on I'll be the at the front of the protest line.

We need China to open, isolating them further will not be helpful. It's better the Chinese (people not govt.) be exposed to how people of other cultures are and vice versa.

Nauru is actually demanding compensation because the new kids on the block told them that they wanted to shut down the lucrative (to Nauru, that is) off-shored concentration camp business.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/26/2172904.htm

"In the early 1900s there were signs in Amesbury (the nearest town to the site) offering the hire of a hammer so that people could come up here to chip off their own bit of bluestone," Darvill [archaeology professor at Bournemouth University] said.

I agree - whilst I have no general problem with restrictions on children (as long as it is just children, and not adults), I do note that it's only the unpopular things which get restricted or banned: films, computer games, sex (and it's sex viewed "deviant" that is more likely to be restricted), minority religions (like paganism, Wicca), rock music, swearing.

On the other hand - and I honestly don't mean this as flamebait - one could make the same case that mainstream religious books such as the Bible are just as much as a potentially harmful influence on young children as computer games or rock music [*]. Yet far from restricting access to children, it is a legal requirement that all children in the UK be coerced into daily Christian worship in state schools.

[*] Dawkins has reported on a interesting study by George Tamarin on the effects of reading the Bible on children's views of morality ( http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2006/1794986.htm ), which reminds me of the "After viewing some porn, people were more likely to believe rape myths" studies we hear about. Those studies are currently looking sufficient to criminalise some sexual images even for adults here in the UK, yet no one (not even Dawkins!) would suggest this same level of "evidence" is sufficient for restricting access of the Bible to children, let alone criminalising possession of it.

That's to match the arseholes-a-plenty we currently have in surplus.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2007/10/02/2048411.htm

I stopped listening regularly to JJJ when Adam & Will left. So you may be right.

I think the major reason Australia's interest in science is so different is due to basically one man. Robyn Williams. I'm old enough to remember the growing influence of the Science Show which had unheard of popularity for an ABC radio program. Williams has written books, but I don't really like them. His skill is constructing an interesting, surprising and challenging 50 minute weekly show, and asking questions in such a manner that scientists don't usually dumb down the answers. Though it is interesting that some guests, usually American, who are new to the Science Show do dumb down their answers and it just sounds strange. Without him I don't think the ABC would have created the Science Unit, which has done some amazing stuff on TV. Pity they didn't come up with Mythbusters, though Beyond Productions in Sydney who are ex-ABC did do it. While science was in decline in popularity in the US and Britain it was actually increasing in popularity in Australia.

If it could be done here it could be done elsewhere. Though probably people of his calibre are a bit thin on the ground.

I know that TV fosters a dumbing down of society and trashing of the image of those in the sciences. But here in Australia we actually had a period of time when science and science reporting was highly regarded. It has slipped a bit lately but the ABC still has a Science Week where almost every TV and radio program tries to inject Science into the format. And TripleJ still has Dr Karl answering science questions every week (unless he's too busy doing Sleek Geeks). Maybe it is the non-existence of a strong equivalent of the ABC or BBC. Because science reporting is popular, just not as popular as other things. What I guess I am trying to say is the current situation wherever you are is not inevitable. Just as the current slide here is not inevitable -- science has given way to the unbelievably boring discussions on 'renovations'. Crap.

I know that TV fosters a dumbing down of society and trashing of the image of those in the sciences. But here in Australia we actually had a period of time when science and science reporting was highly regarded. It has slipped a bit lately but the ABC still has a Science Week where almost every TV and radio program tries to inject Science into the format. And TripleJ still has Dr Karl answering science questions every week (unless he's too busy doing Sleek Geeks). Maybe it is the non-existence of a strong equivalent of the ABC or BBC. Because science reporting is popular, just not as popular as other things. What I guess I am trying to say is the current situation wherever you are is not inevitable. Just as the current slide here is not inevitable -- science has given way to the unbelievably boring discussions on 'renovations'. Crap.

I know that TV fosters a dumbing down of society and trashing of the image of those in the sciences. But here in Australia we actually had a period of time when science and science reporting was highly regarded. It has slipped a bit lately but the ABC still has a Science Week where almost every TV and radio program tries to inject Science into the format. And TripleJ still has Dr Karl answering science questions every week (unless he's too busy doing Sleek Geeks). Maybe it is the non-existence of a strong equivalent of the ABC or BBC. Because science reporting is popular, just not as popular as other things. What I guess I am trying to say is the current situation wherever you are is not inevitable. Just as the current slide here is not inevitable -- science has given way to the unbelievably boring discussions on 'renovations'. Crap.

Well duh.

It fades the curtains too.

Seriously thou, it's been shown for years now that energy savings from folks not using their lights (which is not necessarily a very well substantiated claim) are lost when those same folks spend their energy dollar elsewhere - for example, lighting /in the morning/, or increased heating/cooling bills.

It has also been demonstrated that daylight savings is a contributing factor to increased road accidents as well. So there you go. Ignobel prize winner Dr. Karl says so: http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s689016.htm

See ya.

Online civil libertarians have warned the freedom of the internet is at stake, but Senator Conroy says that is nonsense.

He says the scheme will better protect children from pornography and violent websites.

"Labor makes no apologies to those that argue that any regulation of the internet is like going down the Chinese road," he said.

"If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the Rudd-Labor Government is going to disagree."

Senator Conroy says anyone wanting uncensored access to the internet will have to opt out of the service.

Basically we take agricultural waste, cook it up into synfuel that can maybe run the agricultural sector (not much more... I doubt the fuel volumes will even run farming, but it's worth a try) and then use the charcoal granules to fertilize the soil. The charcoal encourages fungi to grow, and this in turn draws more Co2 out of the air than the charcoal!

It's win win win.

See the ABC's Catalyst or google Biochar for more.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s2012892.htm/ Rather than waste money on this crystals thing don't we need to fund our farmers with fuel and fertilizer as peak oil becomes fundamentally frantic? (Woah, need some sleep.)

Given that you have to take the pillbox to get refilled and reset every two weeks any how, I'm not sure, other than education, there is any good way to encourage people to finish their antibiotic prescription once they are feeling better. If it wasn't for the development of resistant viruses, I wouldn't even try to solve that problem beyond pointing out the story of someone who stopped taking their TB meds and died because of it. But with resistant strains developing because of this I would be tempted to use a Norplant type delivery system for all antibiotics that are in danger of becoming useless due to resistant strains. In some ways the taking of a strong anti-biotic is using a public commodity, the effectiveness of that drug. If it is abused then the public commodity can be damaged when resistant strains develop. However, industrial livestock are much more problematic in this area than negligent patients.

By my count, we are probably dealing with as many as eight, maybe even nine, unexplained cut or damaged undersea cables within the last week, and not the mere three or four that most mainstream news media outlets in the United States are presently reporting. Given all this cable-cutting mayhem in the last several days, who knows but what there may possibly be other cut and/or damaged cables that have not made it into the news cycle, because they are lost in the general cable-cutting noise by this point. Nevertheless, let me enumerate what I can, and keep in mind, I am not pulling these out of a hat; all of the sources are referenced at the conclusion of the article; you can click through and look at all the evidence that I have. It's there if you care to read through it all 1) one off of Marseille, France 2) two off of Alexandria, Egypt 3) one off of Dubai, in the Persian Gulf 4) one off of Bandar Abbas, Iran in the Persian Gulf 5) one between Qatar and the UAE, in the Persian Gulf 6) one in the Suez, Egypt 7) one near Penang, Malaysia 8) initially unreported cable cut on 23 January 2008 (Persian Gulf?)

The article includes the following links as references to document the above list of believed cuts:

1) http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1202064573279&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
2) http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/business/?id=24186
3) http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2008/February/theuae_February121.xml&section=theuae
4) http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080202132053.iohfg5ob&show_article=1
5) http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/04/2153455.htm
6) http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i03tUdyj8wf2Xa9P4trWEjqAJdyQ
7) http://www.arabianbusiness.com/510132-internet-problems-continue-with-fourth-cable-break?ln=en
8) http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=7980
9) https://confluence.slac.stanford.edu/display/IEPM/Effects+of+Fibre+Outage+through+Mediterranean
10) http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/01/internet.outage/?iref=hpmostpop
11) http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/04/technology/cables.php
12) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/business/worldbusiness/31cable.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
13) http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/01/31/Cut-cable-disrupts-Internet-in-Middle-East_1.html
14)

This is completely off-topic, but the event I mentioned is called an Anoxic Event ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anoxic_event ) and how this relates to oil production is talked about in this fascinating documentary
http://abc.net.au/science/crude/

There were no ships in the area when the cables were disrupted. Conspiracy theories are of course just theories, but you are a fool if you accept everything you hear and read at face value.

Rudd shuts down Keelty on media gags

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the Federal Government does not support Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty's call for a media blackout in terrorism cases.

Earlier this week Mr Keelty said he believed the media should be prevented from reporting on terrorism cases until all judicial avenues have been exhausted.

But Mr Rudd has told Fairfax radio that while he has full confidence in the Commissioner, the Government will not be acting on the call.

"He's speaking obviously in terms of his own capacity as head of the Federal Police," he said.

"The Government has its own view and the Government's view is that the media should simply abide by the laws of the land.

"On the side of the media giving full and frank coverage, I think the media's role in the [Mohamed] Haneef case was in the national interest."

The AFP was roundly criticised for its handling of the case against Dr Haneef, who was accused of links to botched car bombings in the UK but was subsequently released without charge.

Keelty's got form. One of the reasons why the Haneef case fell apart was because the guy's barrister released the transcript of Haneef's police interviews to the press, as a response to repeated damaging AFP leaks and also to show what a confused mess the AFP's case actually was. As a result, Keelty is seeking to have the lawyer struck off for unprofessional conduct.

Keelty always had an enthusiastic ear in the last government, who were desperately seeking another Tampa in an election year. The new government, thankfully, appears to be treating matters a bit more soberly.

anything but primitive. Often westerners (including me) upon seeing these people just see someone who lives a primitive and alien lifestyle. Over the years my whole view of the environment and our relationship with the land and each other has been completely been revised thanks to the knowledge gained gained from these true Australians. When western settlers first visited Australia all they saw were trees and bushes and no agriculture. The reality is far different in fact the Aborigines have for thousands of years been cultivating the land, food is everywhere but a westerner would starve unless shown the food they were standing on. Using fire management and spreading seeds (selection) Australian aborigines created a traveling smorgasboard that spanned thousands of miles. To have such a complex agricultural system (that puts western agricultural methods to shame in an environmental comparison) one must also have a very complex social system based on respect not just for the living but the dead. Many of you who eat your plastic food and live your broken sitcom social lives will sit back and laugh at such a people but the reality is they are laughing at us but are to honorable to tell us. If your after more info go watch a documentary series called "The Bush Tucker Man", well worth watching and a real eye opener.

So this is simply a website with user management. Not everybody is allowed to see everything.

I don't know who sold them on the idea of DRM, if the Koori's understood the philosophy from which it came from (i.e. that which tries to own the community - or land - instead of the land - or community - owning it) is being placed in control of their culture, I am certain they would be horrified as this belief is core to their being, male female, boy girl across the many Koori tribal lands. I think whoever has said "DRM' is the answer is not being true to the Koori's they are advising by not understanding this issue. GPG and the GPL is definitely more in line with the traditional cultural ideals that I know of.

Now the only question is how to make gpg easy for a visually oriented culture to use, especially the elders, which in this case will drive adoption.

One other thing, I think there is a bit of a thin edge of the wedge going on here, as in the advocates of DRM trying to find a cultural fit as a justification to use DRM somewhere, to force adoption by the wider community.

Yes its not only about using quantum physics to validate some way-off new age theory. Its also about Ramtha, 35000 years old warrior spirit , who is using JZ Knight as a channel to express himself all the while making her richer...

Also there's that Dr Emeto's "experiment" where thoughts make ice crystals happy or unhappy that has NO scientific basis.

Here's a complete debunking of that way-off movie.

if thats your reason for liking the MPAA, you must like windows for the blue screen of death.

These guys did and do. There is no competition involved, they just want their music to be out there. Hey, they don't even have to pay for hosting, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation does.

Stream away. Better still, visit Triple J or even the catch of the day, where they've even found the best stuff for you.

There's also an annual "Triple J Unearthed CD" which is a compiliation of the top ten listeners' choices for the year. Unearthed #4 contains (track 3) Relapse by Endorphin. I loved it the moment I heard it. On the the strength of that one home-made track, when he brought out an album (yes he fell into the hands of the recording industry and is now making that pittance in royalties The Industry likes to refer to as "Big Money"), I bought it. That Unearthed entry was created using two walkmans in his bedroom.

Keep spending, mate, there are others who are simply getting on with it.

These guys did and do. There is no competition involved, they just want their music to be out there. Hey, they don't even have to pay for hosting, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation does.

Stream away. Better still, visit Triple J or even the catch of the day, where they've even found the best stuff for you.

There's also an annual "Triple J Unearthed CD" which is a compiliation of the top ten listeners' choices for the year. Unearthed #4 contains (track 3) Relapse by Endorphin. I loved it the moment I heard it. On the the strength of that one home-made track, when he brought out an album (yes he fell into the hands of the recording industry and is now making that pittance in royalties The Industry likes to refer to as "Big Money"), I bought it. That Unearthed entry was created using two walkmans in his bedroom.

Keep spending, mate, there are others who are simply getting on with it.

... "then there are people out there who would take advantage of that."

But here's a map to where they are, that is posted on the same friggin' article... map

Certainly journalism at its finest... I would truly expect nothing less from a network called ABC news, I suppose.

The Pope was invited to the university by its rector.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1703692,00.html

According to "the letter", the scientists are still pissy about something Benedict said 17 years ago. That's a long time to hold a grudge.

Also, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/17/2140251.htm?section=world

Disagreeing with the Pope is fine. Not being interested in what he has to say is fine. Boycotting a popular leader because you disagree with his views? That's really lame, and yes, shameful. If you don't want to hear him speak then don't go to his speech. It's not fucking rocket science.

>Also, it's not actually $5,000. The figure I saw quoted on several reports today was more along the line of $20,000 per cloned animal.

A top-quality sire can fetch $100,000+ at auction so the investment has the potential of good return. Here in Queensland at least one farmer is trialling this. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/04/17/1898813.htm

Not so sure about America (since it's not as based on common law as Australia is) but it's certainly happened in Australia.

Low brow version
Medium brow
High brow legal paperwork

Remember, if you're going to work on OSS stuff, it's a really REALLY good idea to make sure that it's on an area that's not related to your line of employment, and only done in your spare time. If it is work related, discuss it with your employer first, and get it in writing if you're allowed to do it and release it.

Reminds me of this guy.

If I only had mod points you'd get 'em.

This is the central scientific question: there is no evidence that facecrime screeners do better than randomness.

Facecrime screeners are getting a 1% hit rate in a society that currently already has nearly 1% of its population behind bars.

"Give me six lines written by the most honorable of men, and I will find an excuse in them to hang him." --Cardinal Richelieu

The organs of the state look a lot deeper than six written lines when trying to pin something on people who have committed facecrime. And they still only find 1% of them sufficiently guilty of anything to charge them. Sounds like randomness to me, and any rational person will tend to believe that until it is proven otherwise.

Realise its not Saskatchewan but Australia isn't particularly geological active and they've found this:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s18546.htm

If fact with the correct rock structures its easier to produce energy in none active locations as the cracks which you pump the water are horizontal and not vertical. This means you don't lose the water you pump down.

Then there is this from wiki

"The key characteristic of an EGS (also called a Hot Dry Rock system), is that it reaches at least 10 km down into hard rock. At a typical site two holes would be bored and the deep rock between them fractured. Water would be pumped down one and steam would come up the other. The MIT report estimated that there was enough energy in hard rocks 10 km below the United States to supply all the world's current needs for 30,000 years. There seems no reason why the steam should not feed an existing coal, oil or nuclear fired generating plant."

I agree! As an Aussie, I cannot think of a single news/current affairs show currently on Australian commercial TV that does not make you feel dumber for having watched it. However I would rank our government stations up there with the best on the planet, go figure!

ABC news is here, and the GP forgot to mention SBS news, which is our other government station and IMHO has better global coverage.

Well, according to the AEC 3.95% of the votes were informal. Moreover, in recent years the donkey vote (voting 1-whatever down the list of candidates) seems to have been less than 1%. Of course, one must also take into account that some people actually want to vote in the order the candidates are listed on the paper.

So it would appear that the total number of voters turning up and voting properly might be around the 94% mark.