I haven't seen anyone comment yet about an interesting angle to this story - what the author considers to be the main source of the problem:
"Half the male fish in British lowland rivers have been found to be developing eggs in their testes; in some stretches all male roaches have been found to be changing sex in this way. Female hormones - largely from the contraceptive pills which pass unaltered through sewage treatment - are partly responsible, while more than three-quarters of sewage works have been found also to be discharging demasculinising man-made chemicals. Feminising effects have now been discovered in a host of freshwater fish species as far away as Japan and Benin, in Africa, and in sea fish in the North Sea, the Mediterranean, Osaka Bay in Japan and Puget Sound on the US west coast."
Granted, MegaBloks don't hold together at all, but sometimes this is a plus. MegaBloks worked better for us in the toddler years, when the child's goal is simply building and destroying basic towers. Duplo was actually frustrating for our toddler - the building process could get your fingers pinched and the structures were far too well assembled to allow for satisfying destruction. As you move further into the preschool and design becomes a consideration, that's the time to move to the far superior Duplo/Lego sets.
Knowing he didn't have the votes to overcome a filibuster, Bill Frist, as the Majority Leader, may have voted agaist cloture so that he can call for a vote again. It's a Senate rule - a procedural thing.
From the NY Times today:
"[Frist] took the tactical step on Friday of switching his vote at the last minute to side with the backers of the filibuster, a maneuver that allows him to bring the measure up for consideration again. After the vote, he said he would do so."
NYTimes reg req
I read the same thing in Science a few weeks ago too. This report is newer than that issue though. Look for an update in issues of Science published after this week - not to mention it looks like they will be publishing a retraction of the paper. The American coauthor contacted Science last week hoping to get his name removed from the paper (which Science wouldn't allow - retractions are all or nothing)
The BBC article only discusses the egg donations made by his research assistants. Here are some excerpts from a longer piece in the New York Times (reg req)
which describe a different problem:
"His world reputation is now expected to suffer a major dent over his admissions that he lied to an international scientific journal over eggs obtained in what many see as an ethically murky manner. [...] Roh Sung Il, the administrator of MizMedi Hospital in Seoul, disclosed at a news conference on Monday that during 2002 and 2003, he made payments of $1,400 to each woman who donated eggs. Egg donation is an unpleasant procedure that involves a week of daily hormone shots, culminating with the extraction of eggs through a hollow needle. "For those who go through discomfort and sacrifice, it seemed natural to give some money as compensation," Dr. Roh told reporters. [...] Dr. Hwang said he had wondered why the hospital had become a regular source of eggs, while other hospitals were having difficulties. "I raised the matter, but Roh Sung Il, the administrator of MizMedi Hospital in Seoul, said that there were no problems in the procurement process and I did not raise the issue afterwards," he told reporters. After the ethical scandal flared this week, dozens of women in Dr. Hwang's Internet fan club have sent e-mail messages volunteering their eggs.
Confirming the other longstanding rumor, South Korea's Health Ministry said Thursday that an ethics investigation at Seoul National University had found that the two junior scientists had given their own eggs for research. But it said those donations had not violated ethics guidelines because they were voluntary.
As the scientists' egg donations were neither "coerced or coaxed" nor "aimed at making profit," there has been "no violation of ethics guidelines," Choi Hee Joo, a Health Ministry spokesman, told reporters before Dr. Hwang's announcement.
In May 2004, Nature raised ethical questions concerning the origin of Dr. Hwang's eggs. At the time, Dr. Hwang denied that researchers in his team had donated their own eggs to his research.
In an interview last May, he said all eggs had been harvested from volunteers without payment.
Why stay on the outside? Borrow or rent a few DVDs and watch a few episodes of any of his shows. On TV, you'll find reruns of Buffy on FX, Angel on TNT, and in July, Firefly on SciFi.
Overall, Whedon fans trend slightly more female than male. I managed to get tickets to the most recent "Serenity" screening, and the crowd looked to be about 50-50 men and women. And slightly older than I was expecting - I think the 30-somethings were most strongly represented.
The "deeper thread" that draws in fans is primarily the characters themselves, their individual arcs and their relationships. The creative supernatural or scifi worlds he's created are certainly a great part of the fun of being a Whedon fan, but the resonance of the shows comes from the dynamic of the created families for each series.
Sorry...I copied bad addresses into my post. Mea culpa. I'm just rushing to get out of work after a long, long week.
The correct ones are: Suspicions About New Electronic Voting Machines - Wednesday, October 15, 2003 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100152,0 0.html
Computer Scientists Fear Voter Fraud - Monday, October 06, 2003 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99241,00 .html
Touch-Screen Voting Gets State OK, With Security Fixes - Thursday, September 25, 2003 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98248,00 .html
Md. Voting Machine Indecision Leaves City Elections in Limbo - Monday, September 15, 2003 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,97287,00 .html
Touch-Screen Voting Machine Researcher Cuts Ties to Rival Company - Wednesday, August 20, 2003 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95250,00 .html
Hold on there...I just searched for "Diebold" on cnn.com and foxnews.com
While CNN had zero news items with Diebold on its website, Fox pointed to several: Suspicions About New Electronic Voting Machines - Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - This is a partial transcript of The Big Story With John Gibson, October 14, 2003, that has been edited for clarity.... http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid= 290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100152,00.html
Computer Scientists Fear Voter Fraud - Monday, October 06, 2003 - SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Punch-card ballots (search) from Tuesday's historic recall election are sure to get a going-over by political... http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid =290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99241, 00.html
Touch-Screen Voting Gets State OK, With Security Fixes - Thursday, September 25, 2003 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland officials plan to use the state's new touch-screen voting machines (search) in next year's... http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=29 0790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98248, 00.html
Md. Voting Machine Indecision Leaves City Elections in Limbo - Monday, September 15, 2003 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Local election officials in Maryland are in limbo, waiting for a study of state voting-machine security to be... http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790 &site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,97287, 00.html
Touch-Screen Voting Machine Researcher Cuts Ties to Rival Company - Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - BALTIMORE -- A computer scientist who co-wrote an influential report alleging flaws in touch-screen voting software used by a leading... http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=2 90790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95250, 00.html
Anyhow, the general lack of coverage is due to a lack of reporters who can grasp the material (let alone make it interesting), not a big Republican conspiracy. If there's a fraud allegation after the 2004 election, you'll see *plenty* of coverage from all our tech-impaired media outlets.
Hold on there...I just searched for "Diebold" on cnn.com and foxnews.com
While CNN had zero news items with Diebold on its website, Fox pointed to several:
Suspicions About New Electronic Voting Machines - Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - This is a partial transcript of The Big Story With John Gibson, October 14, 2003, that has been edited for clarity....
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100152,00.html
Computer Scientists Fear Voter Fraud - Monday, October 06, 2003 - SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Punch-card ballots (search) from Tuesday's historic recall election are sure to get a going-over by political...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99241, 00.html
Touch-Screen Voting Gets State OK, With Security Fixes - Thursday, September 25, 2003 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland officials plan to use the state's new touch-screen voting machines (search) in next year's...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98248, 00.html
Md. Voting Machine Indecision Leaves City Elections in Limbo - Monday, September 15, 2003 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Local election officials in Maryland are in limbo, waiting for a study of state voting-machine security to be...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,97287, 00.html
Touch-Screen Voting Machine Researcher Cuts Ties to Rival Company - Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - BALTIMORE -- A computer scientist who co-wrote an influential report alleging flaws in touch-screen voting software used by a leading...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95250, 00.html
Anyhow, the general lack of coverage is due to a lack of reporters who can grasp the material (let alone make it interesting), not a big Republican conspiracy. If there's a fraud allegation after the 2004 election, you'll see *plenty* of coverage from all our tech-impaired media outlets.
Slashdot Mirror
I haven't seen anyone comment yet about an interesting angle to this story - what the author considers to be the main source of the problem: "Half the male fish in British lowland rivers have been found to be developing eggs in their testes; in some stretches all male roaches have been found to be changing sex in this way. Female hormones - largely from the contraceptive pills which pass unaltered through sewage treatment - are partly responsible, while more than three-quarters of sewage works have been found also to be discharging demasculinising man-made chemicals. Feminising effects have now been discovered in a host of freshwater fish species as far away as Japan and Benin, in Africa, and in sea fish in the North Sea, the Mediterranean, Osaka Bay in Japan and Puget Sound on the US west coast."
Granted, MegaBloks don't hold together at all, but sometimes this is a plus. MegaBloks worked better for us in the toddler years, when the child's goal is simply building and destroying basic towers. Duplo was actually frustrating for our toddler - the building process could get your fingers pinched and the structures were far too well assembled to allow for satisfying destruction. As you move further into the preschool and design becomes a consideration, that's the time to move to the far superior Duplo/Lego sets.
From the NY Times today: "[Frist] took the tactical step on Friday of switching his vote at the last minute to side with the backers of the filibuster, a maneuver that allows him to bring the measure up for consideration again. After the vote, he said he would do so." NYTimes reg req
I read the same thing in Science a few weeks ago too. This report is newer than that issue though. Look for an update in issues of Science published after this week - not to mention it looks like they will be publishing a retraction of the paper. The American coauthor contacted Science last week hoping to get his name removed from the paper (which Science wouldn't allow - retractions are all or nothing)
The BBC article only discusses the egg donations made by his research assistants. Here are some excerpts from a longer piece in the New York Times (reg req) which describe a different problem:
"His world reputation is now expected to suffer a major dent over his admissions that he lied to an international scientific journal over eggs obtained in what many see as an ethically murky manner. [...] Roh Sung Il, the administrator of MizMedi Hospital in Seoul, disclosed at a news conference on Monday that during 2002 and 2003, he made payments of $1,400 to each woman who donated eggs. Egg donation is an unpleasant procedure that involves a week of daily hormone shots, culminating with the extraction of eggs through a hollow needle. "For those who go through discomfort and sacrifice, it seemed natural to give some money as compensation," Dr. Roh told reporters. [...] Dr. Hwang said he had wondered why the hospital had become a regular source of eggs, while other hospitals were having difficulties. "I raised the matter, but Roh Sung Il, the administrator of MizMedi Hospital in Seoul, said that there were no problems in the procurement process and I did not raise the issue afterwards," he told reporters. After the ethical scandal flared this week, dozens of women in Dr. Hwang's Internet fan club have sent e-mail messages volunteering their eggs.
Confirming the other longstanding rumor, South Korea's Health Ministry said Thursday that an ethics investigation at Seoul National University had found that the two junior scientists had given their own eggs for research. But it said those donations had not violated ethics guidelines because they were voluntary.
As the scientists' egg donations were neither "coerced or coaxed" nor "aimed at making profit," there has been "no violation of ethics guidelines," Choi Hee Joo, a Health Ministry spokesman, told reporters before Dr. Hwang's announcement.
In May 2004, Nature raised ethical questions concerning the origin of Dr. Hwang's eggs. At the time, Dr. Hwang denied that researchers in his team had donated their own eggs to his research.
In an interview last May, he said all eggs had been harvested from volunteers without payment.
Why stay on the outside? Borrow or rent a few DVDs and watch a few episodes of any of his shows. On TV, you'll find reruns of Buffy on FX, Angel on TNT, and in July, Firefly on SciFi. Overall, Whedon fans trend slightly more female than male. I managed to get tickets to the most recent "Serenity" screening, and the crowd looked to be about 50-50 men and women. And slightly older than I was expecting - I think the 30-somethings were most strongly represented. The "deeper thread" that draws in fans is primarily the characters themselves, their individual arcs and their relationships. The creative supernatural or scifi worlds he's created are certainly a great part of the fun of being a Whedon fan, but the resonance of the shows comes from the dynamic of the created families for each series.
Sorry...I copied bad addresses into my post. Mea culpa. I'm just rushing to get out of work after a long, long week.
0 0.html
0 .html
0 .html
0 .html
0 .html
The correct ones are:
Suspicions About New Electronic Voting Machines - Wednesday, October 15, 2003
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100152,
Computer Scientists Fear Voter Fraud - Monday, October 06, 2003
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99241,0
Touch-Screen Voting Gets State OK, With Security Fixes - Thursday, September 25, 2003
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98248,0
Md. Voting Machine Indecision Leaves City Elections in Limbo - Monday, September 15, 2003
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,97287,0
Touch-Screen Voting Machine Researcher Cuts Ties to Rival Company - Wednesday, August 20, 2003
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95250,0
Hold on there...I just searched for "Diebold" on cnn.com and foxnews.com
= 290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100152 ,00.html
d =290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99241, 00.html
9 0790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98248, 00.html
0 &site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,97287, 00.html
2 90790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95250, 00.html
While CNN had zero news items with Diebold on its website, Fox pointed to several:
Suspicions About New Electronic Voting Machines - Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - This is a partial transcript of The Big Story With John Gibson, October 14, 2003, that has been edited for clarity....
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid
Computer Scientists Fear Voter Fraud - Monday, October 06, 2003 - SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Punch-card ballots (search) from Tuesday's historic recall election are sure to get a going-over by political...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?ci
Touch-Screen Voting Gets State OK, With Security Fixes - Thursday, September 25, 2003 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland officials plan to use the state's new touch-screen voting machines (search) in next year's...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=2
Md. Voting Machine Indecision Leaves City Elections in Limbo - Monday, September 15, 2003 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Local election officials in Maryland are in limbo, waiting for a study of state voting-machine security to be...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=29079
Touch-Screen Voting Machine Researcher Cuts Ties to Rival Company - Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - BALTIMORE -- A computer scientist who co-wrote an influential report alleging flaws in touch-screen voting software used by a leading...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=
Anyhow, the general lack of coverage is due to a lack of reporters who can grasp the material (let alone make it interesting), not a big Republican conspiracy. If there's a fraud allegation after the 2004 election, you'll see *plenty* of coverage from all our tech-impaired media outlets.
Hold on there...I just searched for "Diebold" on cnn.com and foxnews.com While CNN had zero news items with Diebold on its website, Fox pointed to several: Suspicions About New Electronic Voting Machines - Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - This is a partial transcript of The Big Story With John Gibson, October 14, 2003, that has been edited for clarity.... http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100152 ,00.html
Computer Scientists Fear Voter Fraud - Monday, October 06, 2003 - SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Punch-card ballots (search) from Tuesday's historic recall election are sure to get a going-over by political...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99241, 00.html
Touch-Screen Voting Gets State OK, With Security Fixes - Thursday, September 25, 2003 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland officials plan to use the state's new touch-screen voting machines (search) in next year's...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98248, 00.html
Md. Voting Machine Indecision Leaves City Elections in Limbo - Monday, September 15, 2003 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Local election officials in Maryland are in limbo, waiting for a study of state voting-machine security to be...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,97287, 00.html
Touch-Screen Voting Machine Researcher Cuts Ties to Rival Company - Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - BALTIMORE -- A computer scientist who co-wrote an influential report alleging flaws in touch-screen voting software used by a leading...
http://clickit.go2net.com/search?cid=290790&site=s rch&area=is.clicktracking&shape=link&cp=info.foxnw s&rawto=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95250, 00.html
Anyhow, the general lack of coverage is due to a lack of reporters who can grasp the material (let alone make it interesting), not a big Republican conspiracy. If there's a fraud allegation after the 2004 election, you'll see *plenty* of coverage from all our tech-impaired media outlets.