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As someone else so succinctly points out in a thread further down the page, that isn't true at all. If you can't use birth control for religious reasons, don't have sex. It's not hard.

Pope Benedict XVI has told Catholics to have more babies "for the good of society," saying that some countries were being sapped of energy because of low birth rates.

"Having children is a gift that brings life and well-being to society," he told about 15,000 people at his weekly audience in the Vatican, to which he arrived by helicopter from his summer residence south-east of Rome.

He said the decline in the number of births "deprives some nations of freshness and energy and of hopes for the future incarnate in children."

The Pope also spoke of "the security, the stability and the force of a numerous family."

Now, you could argue that if you're having sex with your spouse, STDs shouldn't be an issue. Fine. You're still using a Bronze Age text to dictate behavior for people with today's realities and an urge to reproduce as old as time. Good luck. I'm sure it works out as well as telling priests "Don't bugger the kids." You don't have to tell the ones who would listen.

"16% of the total population" without any kind of medical insurance is already way too much. I still can't believe why the US, who is able to pour billions in their military, and even in other country's military for god sake, can't put a basic free and universal medical insurance for its people.

Aha! I've been vaguely wondering why TripleJ is so much quieter than every other FM station around here, and it seems you may have just answered my question. Any idea how to measure compression from the consumers end? In any case, it seems they also cover point (b) by constantly playing new music of many genres... considered streaming internet radio before? I'm assuming you're not in Australia to pick up the terrestrial broadcast of course.

Aha! I've been vaguely wondering why TripleJ is so much quieter than every other FM station around here, and it seems you may have just answered my question. Any idea how to measure compression from the consumers end? In any case, it seems they also cover point (b) by constantly playing new music of many genres... considered streaming internet radio before? I'm assuming you're not in Australia to pick up the terrestrial broadcast of course.

"It disappeared back in June, when the foundation was moving out of its old building," a police spokesman told the agency.
"Our colleagues are establishing what got lost, where the rock is and why they only came to us about it now."

"I don't brag, I have no reason to brag, this is my life, my body, and I like it this way."

You don't? What's this?

"I will not allow myself to become like most of my age group, flabby, unhealthy whiners. I'd rather be dead!

Well now you can go back to the fridge and the couch."

Oh, I see. You're just insulting me, kind of like these...

"Just stop whining when you're overweight, and do something about it."

"And lastly, don't sit on top of me in the bus, when you're attempting to sit NEXT to me."

You're not bragging, just being a skinny person who feels entitled to belittle others who aren't as skinny. That isn't bragging at all!

Too bad you're talking to someone who isn't as fat as you assume. You aren't the only one who works at it. The difference is that you've never had to deal with being overweight at all, so you don't know the difference.

Now as for the appetite thing, perhaps you should read this: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007 /1969924.htm

It explains why fat people have greater appetites. Your marvelous, superior willpower isn't a function of anything other than your natural leanness. A properly functioning body doesn't crave more food than it needs.

I've never sat on a person while getting on the bus but I might make and exception in your case. Of course, I don't really have need to ride the bus these days. That's more for the /.'ers who feel superior in spite of not having earned their first dollar yet.

There is absolutely no doubt that we live in a society that refuses to take basic responsibility. That I would never dispute. Furthermore, there are many overweight and obese people who refuse to help themselves.

However, just because that is so is not proof that obesity is caused by simple laziness. There is overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

The fact of the matter is that, regardless of cause, some people are predisposed to not gain weight. The claim is that it's genetic and it may be so, but it could also be fundamentally behavioral. I have a friend that in his mid-60's and isn't a pound overweight nor has ever been. He's the rudest, most insulting person towards the overweight that you will ever know yet he's never worked out, never had an active lifestyle, and eats total crap. He believes that his weight is a function of superior willpower, yet he's never been able to kick that two pack a day smoking habit. He's an asshole.

That's how it is with those who don't have weight problems. They believe their experience is the experience of all people. Some people fall victim to the pervasive bad diets in our society and struggle with their weight. They are not inferior to those who don't have such problems.

Anyone who claims that weight gain is a simple function of eating too much has never experienced the problems of the obese. They are wrong and have no basis to appreciate the real facts of the condition. It turns out that obese people aren't so because they gorge themselves; they gorge themselves because they are obese and it is a runaway train. I've posted this link several times already but I'll post it again. It explains things far better than I can:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007 /1969924.htm

In summary, research shows that an overabundance of fructose in the diet overloads the liver and, over time, causes the area of the brain responsible for controlling appetite to fail to detect that the body is sufficiently fat by interfering with leptin. As a result, the body thinks it is starving and triggers runaway hunger and lethargy. Anyone who thinks they can simply will themselves to overcome that doesn't appreciate the scope of the problem. People in that condition suffer.

Remember, obesity is a growing health concern and casting blame on the weak character of the obese will do nothing to solve it. Eventually we will all pay for the consequences of an aging, fat population.

If you're in the mood to read then, try this: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007 /1969924.htm

Just because some people don't have weight problems doesn't mean those that do are sloths. Furthermore, people without weight problems don't automatically know why they are lean. Moderation alone isn't the key, at least not for all people.

The only reason that corn syrup is the biggest culprit is that it is corn syrup that is the dominant sweetner. If HFCS were entirely replaced with cane sugar, nothing regarding obesity would change at all. People here fail to realize that, but then, if they can blame HFCS for everything then they have a convenient enemy and don't have to face the facts.

Yes it is true that HFCS is the devil. That doesn't mean that sugar isn't.

Weight management isn't simply a matter of running off the calories you take in. Your body expects a natural diet that is much different than what we eat today, and equating all calories makes any evaluation of diet virtually useless. It's not how many calories contained in a cookie that matters, it's the chemical results that ultimately take place as a result of eating it that do. Of course, it's not one cookie either but the overall diet and its effect on the body over time.

Read here: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007 /1969924.htm

"Ahh. So you know a way to eat less energy than the body takes to maintain itself, and NOT have the body use up energy from its own reserves?"

Are you trolling?

Yes, I do. The body has builtin regulation mechanisms to control weight. Neither the body nor the mind desires to be obese, no one sets out to be fat, and the fact is that the body wastes energy that it doesn't need and doesn't desire to store. When the body thinks that it needs to gain weight and is faced with an energy deficit, it goes into conservation mode. In that respect, yes, there is a way to do exactly as you describe. The body lowers its needs in response to starvation.

"Some kind of magical energy comes out of nowhere?"

Of course not, but it's clear I'm having a discussion with an idiot.

"It didn't work for Steorn, and it's not going to work for fatties who can't face up to the fact that their weight problem is caused by overeating and overlazing."

But the overeating and overlazing are caused by an underlying hormonal failure, not that fatties are hopelessly inferior to you. No one desires to be obese and the body doesn't naturally either. The body, however, gets tricked into thinking that it is starving when it is, in fact, too fat. When that happens, hormones cause the person to feel lethargic and to constantly eat. That's why obese people cannot control their appetites and cannot find the energy to exercise. You've clearly not experienced this. I have.

Perhaps you'd like to stop being an arrogant, juvenile asshole and read some science on the matter:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007 /1969924.htm

That article pretty much sums it up, including explaining how wrong you are. Good luck.

So DARPA has developed the AQUEON, http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s1106609 .htm , which was actually developed by an Australian in the 70's? Got to make you wonder why no one in our government every checks to see if they are giving out grants for developing stuff that's already been patented. I wonder how much we paid to "develop" something that was probably taken from the original inventor's patent drawings. Sounds like there wasn't much actual development work done, to me. I wonder how big the grant was.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/11/australia_ gov_internet_protection/
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897, 22218715-15306,00.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/10/2001 244.htm

Or, alternatively - $162 Million to Stop Aussies Looking at Porn.

Considered part of the campaigning for this year's Federal election in Australia, the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, announced a $162 million USD plan to protect Australian Internet users against various Internet nasties, including porn, during a web video address to a number of Australian churches. The address was also joined by the leader of the Opposition, which suggests that the proposed plan will be left in place if they succeed in taking power later this year.

With plans to provide free internet filtering software for families, more funds for online predator detection, opportunities to lean on ISPs to stop allowing access to objectionable content, and a working group to work out ways around the privacy protection enjoyed by predators (but apparently not by the people they are supposed to protect), it is likely to become a $162 million dollar black hole, for a number of reasons.

It is important to consider who the presentation was pitched to, and who supported it. Unfortunately most of the dissenting voices from within parliament seem to be based on lines of religion (i.e. die-hard atheists complaining that Christian representatives spoke to Christian gatherings), and not on the technological shortfalls of the plan.

Yes, because electronic devices are never http://www.policespeedcameras.info/news_vic.html wrong http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2003/11/13/9880 03.htm, and when they are the authorities are quite happy to http://www.policespeedcameras.info/news_vic.html admit it.

on slashdot?

Oh wait, I forgot about this...

But seriously. Cue a bunch of geeks arguing that teaching people how to build dangerously powerful lasers from cheap and widely available components is a Great Thing.

How hard would it be to align a couple of dozen of these in a rack, park your truck next to an airport, and aim it at the cockpit of a plane as it lands or takes off? Very easy, I'd say. Here in Australia we had this just this week.

I'm normally the first person to argue against hysteria about terrorism, but I can't help but think that whether it's terrorists or standard variety morons, giving people dangerous tools and no training is a poor idea.

Up next: the US government bans DVD burners...

While minor parties do not get many lower house seats, 'preferences' significantly influence who wins those seats (History of Preferential Voting in Australia)

The consequences (apart from not always getting who I want elected), are generally benign. Governments that get elected have either direct support or grudging acceptance from the population.

While minor parties do not get many lower house seats, 'preferences' significantly influence who wins those seats (History of Preferential Voting in Australia)

The consequences (apart from not always getting who I want elected), are generally benign. Governments that get elected have either direct support or grudging acceptance from the population.

So easy, a rat's brain could do it.

Don't know about chimps though.

I respectfully disagree. With the motion picture industry the way it is these days with bad movies being hyped into existance this household regularly downloads cam movies to evaluate the product. If its a good movie we then purchase it on a pressed DVD.

Music OTOH we don't go and purchase the disc for mainstream music anyway. Probably because the downloadable version is of reasonable quality already. I listen to http://www.triplej.abc.net.au/ in Australia. It has a lot of noise but occasionally there is a gem that probably won't make it to the mainstream radio stations - these artists we buy.

I'm suspicious of this fat-friends-make-you-fat story. Heard 'experts' on radio this morning repeating this story, using words like 'infectious', 'contagious'. Smacks of Sensationalist Journalism, and Susy Public will go away thinking she'll get fat if she sits next to a fat person.

This on the other hand is a much better story:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007 /1969924.htm

It's an interview with Dr Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. He says, yes, we're getting fat, but the question is why our bodies don't enact a defense against this. One of the culprits: Fructose (Corn Syrup) which food and drink manufacturers have been putting in everything. Your body has real problems regulating this. Fructose with Fibre is ok (an Orange), but without Fibre it's very bad (Orange Juice). Apart from the vitamins, you might as well be drinking pop. Very interesting link: transcript and MP3.

The pub analogy has a flaw too, because there is a difference between criminal activity and wanting civil redress.

Demanding information about students so that civil redress can be sought just in case there may be an infringement is just going too far.

It is not necessary to believe that music should be freely available to be upset about this. I am so upset at the bully-tactics that I refuse to buy music from RIAA-affiliated artists, and only purchase from independent sources. There is some really great free stuff available to promote new bands - check out: http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/listen/mp3s.htm

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that the populace can demand all the change it wants, but there are many other parties who have a keen interest in maintaining the status quo."

The treatment Hamas has recieved from the EU & US clearly demonstrates what western leaders think about the spread of democracy. They don't mearly fail to recognise "the right of Hamas to exist" they actively seek to destroy it, the US has recently gone so far as to arm and train Fatah militants in order to maintain the status quo via the good ol' divide and conquer routine.

The odd thing is that Hamas has kept it's word and has not used suicide bombers for over 3 years (yes, they stopped BEFORE they were elected by ~70% of the popular vote), this self-imposed "restraint" is despite the fact many of it's elected officials have been assasinated or kidnapped by Isreal during the last 3yrs. Even more curioius is the fact that the suicide bombers during that time have come from the Fatah group, the same group that the US have recently armed and trained to fight Hamas.

Just to remain on topic you can see the same strategy in Africa, during the 70's-80's the SLA were considered an "evil" in the heart of Africa, apparently now that China has control over Sudan's oil, ...err...I mean....influence over Sudan's rulers...., the SLA are the "good guys" who require our assistance to protect their ancestral homeland.

Of course the prime example of hypocricy in our time is the fact that - 25yrs ago OBL & Saddam were both "good guys" fighting the commies with our "generous" financial and political support. I could rant forever with similar examples, $2B worth of attack choppers donated to Burma's nut-job rulers in '97 anyone? /rant

Disclaimer: None of this makes "the other side's" actions any better, but if anyone thinks I have my facts about Hamas all fucked up, read this, and double check the information for yourself.

There's still no going backwards into the past for either Bea or Abe, forward motion is the only one possible under Einstein's laws. Hear (links to mp3)Sir Roger Penrose and Dr. Kip Thorne discussing this on talkback radio, starting around the 4 minute mark.

The geeks will love Dr. Karl and the other science shows, like his recent call-in show with Sir Roger Penrose and Dr Kip Thorne (links to mp3).

The geeks will love Dr. Karl and the other science shows, like his recent call-in show with Sir Roger Penrose and Dr Kip Thorne (links to mp3).

The geeks will love Dr. Karl and the other science shows, like his recent call-in show with Sir Roger Penrose and Dr Kip Thorne (links to mp3).

The geeks will love Dr. Karl and the other science shows, like his recent call-in show with Sir Roger Penrose and Dr Kip Thorne (links to mp3).

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/ 1839140.htm

Podcast gone
Transcript still there

From the bottom of the interview transcript http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/stories/2007 /1969924.htm#transcript References: Robert H Lustig Childhood obesity: behavioral aberration or biochemical drive? Reinerpreting the First Law of Thermodynamics. Nature Clinical Practice, Endocrinology & Metabolism Review,August 2006;2;8:447-457 Robert H Lustig, MD The 'Skinny' on Childhood Obesity: How Our Western Environment Starves Kids' Brains. Pediatric Annals, December 2006;35;12:899-907 Elvira Isganaitis,Robert H. Lustig Fast Food, Central Nervous System Insulin Resistance, and Obesity. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2005;25:2451-2462

Although AQI's top leaders are usually foreigners, it is estimated that Iraqis make up 90 percent of AQI's 1,000 to several thousand fighters.

Hardly a few al queda fighters. That's one Hell of a boogieman! Then again, seeing as you can't spell any of Al-Qaeda's known spellings correctly, it's no surprise that you are completely ignorant of the subject matter.

So you can only find a few fringe "media" outlets giving honest assessments and then use that fact to conclude that the *major media players* weren't selling the war?
PBS? Slate? Fringe? Hell, PBS is even government funded and they opposed the war. How about ABC or CNN? Are they fringe t

look at the difference between a fully assembled skyscraper and the dust cloud it generates when it collapses.

It doesn't really matter how many dogs you've trained semi-professionally. Until you get your hands on one genetically identical animal, after another, after another... I don't think you'll fully appreciate how much alike these creatures will be. Additionally, they'll be raised in very similar drug-sniffing environments.

It will be very much similar to driving one 2007 V6 Honda Accord just off the assembly line after another. You'll rarely notice a significant difference from one to the next.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1870434,00.as p

The white iPod has been a success, so of course it's time to replace it," said Jobs. "Yes, it does video."

Perhaps trying to throw the industry off of Apple's trail, Jobs had previously denied that the company would introduce a video-capable iPod, questioning demand for such a device.

---

In Australia the Flight Centre CEO mislead an interviewer about the timing of private equity bid: http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/business/items/2006 10/s1773714.htm

ALI MOORE: Three weeks ago when we last spoke you didn't rule out taking the company private, but you did say it would depend on how it was valued over the next "year or so". 21 days later, what's changed?

The Australian government was recently considering making it a *criminal* offence http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s1787809. htm, http://www.iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content &task=view&id=517&Itemid=32:

"Picture the scene: you're holding a birthday party for your child in a public place - say, a park. You sing 'Happy Birthday' - and you're promptly given a $1320 fine."

we've turned a credible military mission to bring democracy to the middle east

"There's something like a 150 to 200 billion tonnes of plant material made per annum in agriculture and forestry processes and that would be more than we need to make total replacement of petrol."

So why do so many Australians go to Bali, Singapore, India and Thailand for their medical and dental care?

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s1308 505.htm

I suggest videos from Professor Julius Sumner Miller.

No Kidding

Not going to happen: Opinion polls suggest 43 per cent of Americans believe God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years. Only 14 per cent believe humans evolved without divine involvement.

I always liked these pictures/drawings comparing the magnetic fields of Earth and Mars.

http://abc.net.au/science/news/space/SpaceRepublis h_1484710.htm

The Martian picture makes me think of something like the wreckage of a ship floating in space.

Roxanne Gould, Spokesweasel for the American Electronics Association says 'Our bottom line is we're opposed to anything that demonizes RFIDs'

Sounds crazy? In Australia kids doing advertising letter box drops (for below minimum wage*) have been fitted with GPS tracking devices, and the privatized Telstra teleco tracks employees time spent in the toilet or making coffee. RFID is the sort of thing these employers would love. Nice to see Government (well, at least one person in Government) being pro-active, as opposed to retro-active or more usually not doing anything at all.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/s19520 54.htm
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/junk-mails-s pyinthesky/2006/05/22/1148150175310.html

* = below minimum, since they have to bag and rubber-band the advertising materials on their own spare time. News limited advertises "We even provide the bags and rubber bands for you!" like they're doing you a favor. They at least now advertise "No GPS tracking device required" because no one wanted to do it. Imagine that.

It crossed the pacific ocean to Maitland, NSW. You can have it back now...

That was Smartline. This is Lateline.

So, she was still referring to "a gigabyte of power" like she was on the 7:30 Report a few hours earlier, was she?

(Silly Americans are still dicking around with tubes - whereas we in Australia have Gigabytes of Power!)

yes, a very shady approach to say the least. It's a response to the opposition government who want to build theyre own infrastructure with telcos outside of current government favourite, Telstra. The transcript of the interview with the current minister for communications - http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s1954846.h tm or video - http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r152558_545863 .asx. Helen Coonan is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

yes, a very shady approach to say the least. It's a response to the opposition government who want to build theyre own infrastructure with telcos outside of current government favourite, Telstra. The transcript of the interview with the current minister for communications - http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s1954846.h tm or video - http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r152558_545863 .asx. Helen Coonan is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

What you need is a War on Everything, especially a "vodcast" of such war.

Scramjets look good on paper. The thin air coming in is compressed by a series of standing shock waves. Unfortunately, the geometry of these shock waves can easily be upset by small distortions in the engine, which in turn can lead to changes in the stresses with in the engine, which - to cut a long story short - can mean the engine spectacularly demolishes itself when faced with real bits of atmosphere with unpredictable air currents. I found the flight time in...

http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/hyshot/default. htm

It may not sound like much, but six seconds is very respectable for a scramjet. Yay!

There is a lot of touting about how this would get you from London to Sydney in 40 minutes and stuff. I am not sure how true or economical this is, even if scramjets can be made safe. When you are flying fast, you can either take your oxidant with you (as rockets do) or you can scoop it up as you go along. Scooping it up as you go along means taking in air that was initially at rest and getting to move at the speed the engine is currently going. As only 20% of the air is actually the oxygen you want, this is not necessarily an effective thing to do. It becomes most effective when the oxidant (oxygen) is a lot heavier than the reductant (fuel - and hydrogen is particularly light), so scooping it up as you go takes a lot off the take-off weight.

The other London to Sydney option is to get just beyond the atmosphere using a conventional rocket, then going ballistic and weightless for the main distance, and re-entering and gliding, a lot like the space shuttle. While being weightless is fun, being weightless for 20 minutes makes most people puke, so a large passenger jet might skip the atmosphere and retain a little gravity. A scramjet might be used for this.

Nevertheless, yay!