A poster to the extropy-chat mailing list pointed out that James Annan also created a global warming claim on the Foresight Exchange that people can bid on:
It's looking like there should be quite a bit of competition soon in human orbital spaceflight. Here are the various competitors I can think of off-hand:
* USA: Shuttle-derived system, probably with a CEV capsule on top. There's several downsides to a shuttle-derived system, but it keeps the constituencies happy and should have enough government momentum to keep on going.
* Russia and Europe: Kliper's been searching around for financial support for a while, and it looks like they finally got at least -some- funding from Europe.
* t/Space: The (Rutan-affiliated?) company just completed a parachute drop test and water landing of a full-scale model of their proposed CXV space capsule. It's uncertain if they'll get more funding from NASA, but their concept seems sound and may get private investment. Oh, and their web page has some really spiffy videos.
* SpaceX: They've already announced their intent to compete for Bigelow's orbital prize, and their upcoming man-rated Falcon V will be large enough to carry a Gemini-style capsule.
Now what about destinations? Besides the ISS, we've got Robert Bigelow's inflatable space station modules, which should be up and operational by 2010, with several prototype launches before then. He's planning on selling these modules to various groups and countries, so hopefully we'll have several different space stations up there.
Between Shenzhou 8 and 9 China is planning on launching a small orbital laboratory, which Shenzhou 9 will be docking with. Various members of the Chinese space program have also been visiting Bigelow's facility, so perhaps we'll see them doing something with his modules.
Smalley readily concedes, "for all of the wonders of carbon nanotube, it does have an Achilles Heel. It burns."
But that's only in comparison with their famed tension strength. Space vessels designers have avoided flammable materials ever since the Apollo 1 disaster that claimed the lives of three astronauts. But carbon nanotubes aren't particularly prone to flame - they burn at 900 degrees Celsius. And they conduct heat largely into one direction, a quality called anisotropism, so carbon nanotubes could conduct heat away from a wing's leading edge, rocket's nozzle, or from electronic components.
But for extremely high temperatures, Smalley notes that carbon nanotubes have an unsung cousin, boron-nitride nanotubes. These two elements can combine to mimic the carbon nanotube form, and can withstand much greater heat. It may prove our only fallback in this field. "After you've finished with carbon and boron-nitride, there's nothing else," Smalley said. Other shapes, patterns of atomic bonding, aren't as ideal. "A pentagon would provide curvature, but it would be an odd number," meaning that vulnerable edges would remain, he noted.
Yowell shares Smalley's assessment. "A molecular tube of pure carbon offers some really wonderful and unique advantages, but for certain applications - at very high temperature for example - we want to consider other materials (such as Boron-Nitride nanotubes). The benefits really come from the unique properties of structures at the nano-scale. Regardless of the constituent elements, it makes sense to design and manufacture materials from the atom up."
Why do they say they're going to enter the material into some space elevator competition at the end of the article then?
For this year's space elevator tether competition (a collaboration between the Spaceward Foundation and NASA's Centennial Challenges), I think the tether doesn't have to actually be space elevator strength, it just needs to be stronger than everyone else's. As for following years, it needs to be the previous year's winner by 50%.
I'm starting to develop this fear that it might be better if CXV stayed obscure and they keep their progress and success secret.
It's tricky, I think. If CXV is obscure, it also means it can be easily killed off without anybody noticing. However, if it's widely publicized, people start asking questions and want to hear more.
Thats the thing I like about Rutan most. He bends metal and tries stuff instead of producing endless studies, artists conceptions and expendive half hour animations like NASA and its behemoth contractors. If you watch NASA TV they seem to have a penchant for expensive CG videos about how cool it would be if they did all this stuff. They aren't going to actually get around to bending metal and actually doing it, but aren't our animations cool? I suspect NASA needs to fire everyone who produces these animations and hit them with a clue stick, bend metal and stop the mental masturbation producing animation.
Heh, very true.
Not that cool animations are somehow intrinsically bad. t/Space's video of their overall concept is pretty cool:
What gets me is that they did this all for $6 million: paper studies, shiny animations and videos, a couple of drop tests, full-scale mock-ups, a new crew seat prototype, and more. Meanwhile, LockMart and Boeing have gotten $28 million each, and have still only produced powerpoint slides and paper studies.
They're working on it. The shuttle already has a set date for retirement, and there are plans for a next-generation vehicle. What do you expect them to do?
Throw up their hands and say, "Yeah, we know that the last flight was succesful and we have tons of modules for the ISS completed and awaiting launch, but we feel like scrapping the only vehicle capable of installing them and just letting them rust. Gotta make sure that astronauts never die, and the only way to do that is to never fly."
I would expect them to scrap the shuttle and use its funds to develop the next-generation craft. Then, if people still want the ISS completed for whatever reason, they can launch its modules on the next-gen craft for far less money.
CRX is essentially Burt Rutan's LEO successor to SpaceShipOne in partnership with Transformational space and under a small contract from NASA.
Don't you mean the CXV?
By the way, there's a rather good article over at Wired which talks about the CXV a little. It includes photos and video of their recent full-scale capsule drop test and water landing:
The shuttle may be "flawed" as you put it. Or maybe spaceflight is just dangerous? Do we really have reason to believe the next generation craft is going to be safer? If so, how much safer?
A lot of people tend to assume that space travel is inherently dangerous, but that isn't necessarily true. Just look at the Russian Soyuz, which hasn't had a fatality since 1971.
The shuttle IS set to be scrapped, but we have to complete the space station before that can happen.
Why? There's no way that the benefit we'll get from the ISS will be worth the cost. Although it's been great for pork-barrel politics, the benefits of the ISS to science and exploration are rather dubious:
If the main concern is keeping the promises we've made to our international partners, I'm fairly certain that we can offer them other things which will cost us far less than completing the ISS with the shuttle.
It doesn't mention what sort of summer experience he had and he did have a Master's, but I'm sure it can't hurt to just send them your resume and see what happens.
I have noticed a long time ago that Slashdot is just a cool place for luddites to hang out.
It isn't necessarily that... in certain circles complaining endlessly about things is a sign of sophistication. Just look at Star Wars fanboys complaining about George Lucas or anime watchers complaining about obscure details in the latest series. The more you complain about things and the more nuanced the complaints are, the better.
Think of it, we have one company now that will soon be selling rides on a sub-orbital craft. How long will it be before a competitor steps up and offers LEO rides?
While currently focused on the launch of unmanned spacecraft, SpaceX has announced that it plans to pursue a manned commercial space program through the end of the decade. SpaceX seeks to win America's Space Prize, which will award $50 million to the first U.S. company that launches at least 5 astronauts on a privately-financed and developed reusable spacecraft to Low Earth Orbit twice within 60 days before January 10, 2010. SpaceX will use its Falcon V vehicle to pursue the prize.[2]
Also, SpaceX has announced plans for the development of the Merlin 2 engine, a scale version of a larger F-1-class engine to be developed in the future. The company is rumored to be working on a very large rocket to accompany the F-1-class engine, referred to in-house as the "Big Fucking Rocket" (BFR)[3], presumably in reference to the BFG9000 weapon in the Doom video game. In the past Musk has stated, "Long term plans call for development of a heavy lift product and even a super-heavy, if there is customer demand. We expect that each size increase would result in a meaningful decrease in cost per pound to orbit. For example, dollar cost per pound to orbit dropped from $4,000 to $1,300 between Falcon 1 and Falcon 5. Ultimately, I believe $500 per pound or less is very achievable."
At a lecture in the summer of 2005, Musk mentioned plans for a Falcon IX, an upgrade to the Falcon V which would have nine Merlin engines in its first stage[4]. Such a vehicle would likely be in the same payload range as the Delta IV and Atlas V.
The main private orbital contender is probably SpaceX, which is scheduled to launch its first rocket later this year. This article has a good overview:
SpaceX has also announced its intent to compete for Bigelow's orbital prize. Their Falcon V, which launches one of Bigelow's habitat module prototypes next year, should be big enough for an appropriately-sized manned capsule.
Personally I hope someone buys one of these tickets and raffles it (with permission from Virgin Galactic of course). Then for the price of $20 we can all have a chance of going into space.
7 Up is currently running a sweepstakes for a suborbital space flight. I think it runs until the end of August:
I think the real news here isn't the fact that they're taking deposits (they've been doing this for a while), but that Branson and Rutan have started up a new business, "The Spaceship Company."
But today's announcement reflects a finer appreciation of the financial and regulatory realities. Several months ago, Rutan complained to Congress that U.S. export restrictions [NOTE: These are ITAR restrictions, the same ones which turned this tattoo of encryption code into a munition a few years back] were making it difficult for the British Virgin Galactic project to move forward.
The new arrangement restructures the deal: The Rutan-Branson venture, called The Spaceship Company, will license SpaceShipOne's technology from Mojave Aerospace Ventures, the company set up with financial backing from software billionaire Paul Allen and intellectual property from Rutan's Scaled Composites.
The Spaceship Company will then do the actual building of SpaceShipTwos (or Threes... or Fours) for Virgin Galactic, and for any other spaceline company that wants a suborbital craft. You can assume that the company is structured so as to avoid running into export roadblocks, while keeping the British financial backer in the loop.
The first flights are planned to begin in 2008. We are now starting to take reservations and deposit commitments for the first year of operations. The ticket price has been set at US$200,000 and the minimum, fully refundable deposit to secure your spaceship seat is US$20,000.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) announced that he would support legislation allowing the federal government to finance research using a broader range of embryonic stem cells. His decision substantially raised the odds that the bill would win approval in Congress and face a presidential veto, which White House strategists had hoped to avoid.... The announcement by Frist, a transplant surgeon who is considered a likely contender for president in 2008, contradicted recent signals that he would oppose the legislation, and word of his decision Thursday night caught his Senate colleagues and the White House by surprise. It also was an unambiguous sign that politics had tilted in favor of research advocates and against Bush and the social conservatives who are the core of his political base.
Frist said he would back legislation allowing the government to fund research using embryonic stem cells no matter when they were created.... Catholic League President William Donahue called Frist "a hypocrite." In a written statement, Donahue said: "His change of heart has nothing to do with any scientific breakthrough.... What's changed is that Dr. Duplicity wants to be president."
Frist's stance appeared to put him closer to the mainstream of public opinion. In a May survey for CBS News, 58% of respondents said they favored embryonic stem cell research; 31% said they opposed it.... One Republican ally of both Frist and the White House said Friday that Bush's position had proved impossible to sustain. The ally, who requested anonymity because of increasingly "raw" feelings in the party, said the president's position was not held by rank-and-file Republican voters.... In Congress, Republican supporters of stem cell research said they were optimistic that Frist's support would persuade other Republicans to switch their position.
Commentary
I can't help but what what the political and scientific ramifications of Frist's recent actions. I wonder if Frist is really being confrontational with the White House and GOP, or could this be part of a plan to broaden Republican appeal...
Personally, I suspect the latter. The embryonic stem cell stance is one of the most-often criticized things used to criticize Republicans in general, and this could be a way of putting a damper on that criticism.
I think this will hurt Frist's chance of getting the GOP nomination, but if he gets that, it'll increase his chances for the actual 2008 election, assuming he can get people to forget about his silly remarks during the Schiavo case. I still doubt I'd vote for him myself, but I know many people would.
I have never -- not one time -- met a person who's demanding this.
I demand this. I've often used my Treo as a PC substitute while on the go, for checking email, reading slashdot, ssh-ing, storing files, chatting on IRC and IM, watching the occasional TV episode, and listening to OGG files. It's been quite a lifesaver on many an occassion.
Slashdot Mirror
A poster to the extropy-chat mailing list pointed out that James Annan also created a global warming claim on the Foresight Exchange that people can bid on:
3 0
http://www.ideosphere.com/fx-bin/Claim?claim=GW20
If I'm reading the current bid correctly, global average temperatures are predicted to rise 0.72 degrees celsius by 2032.
There's also a Nature news item covering this.
It's looking like there should be quite a bit of competition soon in human orbital spaceflight. Here are the various competitors I can think of off-hand:
* USA: Shuttle-derived system, probably with a CEV capsule on top. There's several downsides to a shuttle-derived system, but it keeps the constituencies happy and should have enough government momentum to keep on going.
* Russia and Europe: Kliper's been searching around for financial support for a while, and it looks like they finally got at least -some- funding from Europe.
* China: various iterations of Shenzhou spacecraft
In the private sector:
* t/Space: The (Rutan-affiliated?) company just completed a parachute drop test and water landing of a full-scale model of their proposed CXV space capsule. It's uncertain if they'll get more funding from NASA, but their concept seems sound and may get private investment. Oh, and their web page has some really spiffy videos.
* SpaceX: They've already announced their intent to compete for Bigelow's orbital prize, and their upcoming man-rated Falcon V will be large enough to carry a Gemini-style capsule.
Now what about destinations? Besides the ISS, we've got Robert Bigelow's inflatable space station modules, which should be up and operational by 2010, with several prototype launches before then. He's planning on selling these modules to various groups and countries, so hopefully we'll have several different space stations up there.
Between Shenzhou 8 and 9 China is planning on launching a small orbital laboratory, which Shenzhou 9 will be docking with. Various members of the Chinese space program have also been visiting Bigelow's facility, so perhaps we'll see them doing something with his modules.
The future should be interesting.
Hm... maybe we'll see SpaceShipTwo or SpaceShipThree made out of this stuff?
y /nanotube_concepts_020206-2.html
After reading a little more, maybe not:
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technolog
Smalley readily concedes, "for all of the wonders of carbon nanotube, it does have an Achilles Heel. It burns."
But that's only in comparison with their famed tension strength. Space vessels designers have avoided flammable materials ever since the Apollo 1 disaster that claimed the lives of three astronauts. But carbon nanotubes aren't particularly prone to flame - they burn at 900 degrees Celsius. And they conduct heat largely into one direction, a quality called anisotropism, so carbon nanotubes could conduct heat away from a wing's leading edge, rocket's nozzle, or from electronic components.
But for extremely high temperatures, Smalley notes that carbon nanotubes have an unsung cousin, boron-nitride nanotubes. These two elements can combine to mimic the carbon nanotube form, and can withstand much greater heat. It may prove our only fallback in this field. "After you've finished with carbon and boron-nitride, there's nothing else," Smalley said. Other shapes, patterns of atomic bonding, aren't as ideal. "A pentagon would provide curvature, but it would be an odd number," meaning that vulnerable edges would remain, he noted.
Yowell shares Smalley's assessment. "A molecular tube of pure carbon offers some really wonderful and unique advantages, but for certain applications - at very high temperature for example - we want to consider other materials (such as Boron-Nitride nanotubes). The benefits really come from the unique properties of structures at the nano-scale. Regardless of the constituent elements, it makes sense to design and manufacture materials from the atom up."
Okay it looks like this could be used anywhere that you currently use Carbon Fiber.
Hm... maybe we'll see SpaceShipTwo or SpaceShipThree made out of this stuff? I wonder how it performs under high temperatures...
Why do they say they're going to enter the material into some space elevator competition at the end of the article then?
For this year's space elevator tether competition (a collaboration between the Spaceward Foundation and NASA's Centennial Challenges), I think the tether doesn't have to actually be space elevator strength, it just needs to be stronger than everyone else's. As for following years, it needs to be the previous year's winner by 50%.
True, true. In any case, the statistics get somewhat tricky when you have to deal with sample sizes this small.
I'm starting to develop this fear that it might be better if CXV stayed obscure and they keep their progress and success secret.
It's tricky, I think. If CXV is obscure, it also means it can be easily killed off without anybody noticing. However, if it's widely publicized, people start asking questions and want to hear more.
Thats the thing I like about Rutan most. He bends metal and tries stuff instead of producing endless studies, artists conceptions and expendive half hour animations like NASA and its behemoth contractors. If you watch NASA TV they seem to have a penchant for expensive CG videos about how cool it would be if they did all this stuff. They aren't going to actually get around to bending metal and actually doing it, but aren't our animations cool? I suspect NASA needs to fire everyone who produces these animations and hit them with a clue stick, bend metal and stop the mental masturbation producing animation.
n =media_gallery.viewalbum&albumid=A1663F17-06A1-129 4-296BE5E624169B1B
Heh, very true.
Not that cool animations are somehow intrinsically bad. t/Space's video of their overall concept is pretty cool:
http://www.transformspace.com/index.cfm?fuseactio
What gets me is that they did this all for $6 million: paper studies, shiny animations and videos, a couple of drop tests, full-scale mock-ups, a new crew seat prototype, and more. Meanwhile, LockMart and Boeing have gotten $28 million each, and have still only produced powerpoint slides and paper studies.
They're working on it. The shuttle already has a set date for retirement, and there are plans for a next-generation vehicle. What do you expect them to do?
Throw up their hands and say, "Yeah, we know that the last flight was succesful and we have tons of modules for the ISS completed and awaiting launch, but we feel like scrapping the only vehicle capable of installing them and just letting them rust. Gotta make sure that astronauts never die, and the only way to do that is to never fly."
I would expect them to scrap the shuttle and use its funds to develop the next-generation craft. Then, if people still want the ISS completed for whatever reason, they can launch its modules on the next-gen craft for far less money.
CRX is essentially Burt Rutan's LEO successor to SpaceShipOne in partnership with Transformational space and under a small contract from NASA.
t w=wn_tophead_1
Don't you mean the CXV?
By the way, there's a rather good article over at Wired which talks about the CXV a little. It includes photos and video of their recent full-scale capsule drop test and water landing:
http://wired.com/news/space/0,2697,68528,00.html?
There are some additional photos and videos here.
The shuttle may be "flawed" as you put it. Or maybe spaceflight is just dangerous? Do we really have reason to believe the next generation craft is going to be safer? If so, how much safer?
A lot of people tend to assume that space travel is inherently dangerous, but that isn't necessarily true. Just look at the Russian Soyuz, which hasn't had a fatality since 1971.
The shuttle IS set to be scrapped, but we have to complete the space station before that can happen.
Why? There's no way that the benefit we'll get from the ISS will be worth the cost. Although it's been great for pork-barrel politics, the benefits of the ISS to science and exploration are rather dubious:
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/391/2
If the main concern is keeping the promises we've made to our international partners, I'm fairly certain that we can offer them other things which will cost us far less than completing the ISS with the shuttle.
Actually, there I was reading an article the other day about a guy who graduated from my undergrad university who went straight to a job at SpaceX:
i b/regional/s_358208.html
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/tr
It doesn't mention what sort of summer experience he had and he did have a Master's, but I'm sure it can't hurt to just send them your resume and see what happens.
I have noticed a long time ago that Slashdot is just a cool place for luddites to hang out.
It isn't necessarily that... in certain circles complaining endlessly about things is a sign of sophistication. Just look at Star Wars fanboys complaining about George Lucas or anime watchers complaining about obscure details in the latest series. The more you complain about things and the more nuanced the complaints are, the better.
I'd give very, very serious thoughts to trading both nuts to work in his shop.
c ontent=http%3A//www.spacex.com/careers.php
In case you were serious, both Scaled and Virgin Galactic are hiring, as are Blue Origin, Bigelow Aerospace, and SpaceX:
http://www.scaled.com/careers/
http://www.virgingalactic.com/jobs.asp
http://www.blueorigin.com/jobs.htm
http://www.spacex.com/index.html?section=careers&
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/employment.html
Think of it, we have one company now that will soon be selling rides on a sub-orbital craft. How long will it be before a competitor steps up and offers LEO rides?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX
While currently focused on the launch of unmanned spacecraft, SpaceX has announced that it plans to pursue a manned commercial space program through the end of the decade. SpaceX seeks to win America's Space Prize, which will award $50 million to the first U.S. company that launches at least 5 astronauts on a privately-financed and developed reusable spacecraft to Low Earth Orbit twice within 60 days before January 10, 2010. SpaceX will use its Falcon V vehicle to pursue the prize.[2]
Also, SpaceX has announced plans for the development of the Merlin 2 engine, a scale version of a larger F-1-class engine to be developed in the future. The company is rumored to be working on a very large rocket to accompany the F-1-class engine, referred to in-house as the "Big Fucking Rocket" (BFR)[3], presumably in reference to the BFG9000 weapon in the Doom video game. In the past Musk has stated, "Long term plans call for development of a heavy lift product and even a super-heavy, if there is customer demand. We expect that each size increase would result in a meaningful decrease in cost per pound to orbit. For example, dollar cost per pound to orbit dropped from $4,000 to $1,300 between Falcon 1 and Falcon 5. Ultimately, I believe $500 per pound or less is very achievable."
At a lecture in the summer of 2005, Musk mentioned plans for a Falcon IX, an upgrade to the Falcon V which would have nine Merlin engines in its first stage[4]. Such a vehicle would likely be in the same payload range as the Delta IV and Atlas V.
Am I the only one that's annoyed by this?
For the most part, yes. Of course, this is slashdot, where everybody bitches about everything which isn't Linux.
The main private orbital contender is probably SpaceX, which is scheduled to launch its first rocket later this year. This article has a good overview:
M .20050721.gtbcspace21/BNStory/Technology/
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGA
SpaceX has also announced its intent to compete for Bigelow's orbital prize. Their Falcon V, which launches one of Bigelow's habitat module prototypes next year, should be big enough for an appropriately-sized manned capsule.
Virgin's already got my deposit. I'm going.
:)
That's really cool, and I'm quite envious of you. You'll post pictures for us, right?
Personally I hope someone buys one of these tickets and raffles it (with permission from Virgin Galactic of course). Then for the price of $20 we can all have a chance of going into space.
a ction=getHome&sid=550t ml
7 Up is currently running a sweepstakes for a suborbital space flight. I think it runs until the end of August:
http://www.softcoin.com/p/handler?target=general&
http://collectspace.com/ubb/Forum35/HTML/000126.h
Look for unique promotional codes on specially marked ½-liter, 20oz., 2-liter bottles and inside specially-marked 12-pack wraps of 7 UP, Diet 7 UP, Cherry 7 UP, Sunkist Orange Soda, A&W Root Beer and Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
Register and enter your code for a chance to win $500 and the first free ticket to space or other space prizes from Diet 7 UP!
With each new code entered, you could win the following:
* $500 and the chance to win the First Free Ticket to Space
* A trip for 4 to Space Camp
* A star in your name
* Diet 7 UP 2 Liter Coupon
I think the real news here isn't the fact that they're taking deposits (they've been doing this for a while), but that Branson and Rutan have started up a new business, "The Spaceship Company."
... or Fours) for Virgin Galactic, and for any other spaceline company that wants a suborbital craft. You can assume that the company is structured so as to avoid running into export roadblocks, while keeping the British financial backer in the loop.
From here:
But today's announcement reflects a finer appreciation of the financial and regulatory realities. Several months ago, Rutan complained to Congress that U.S. export restrictions [NOTE: These are ITAR restrictions, the same ones which turned this tattoo of encryption code into a munition a few years back] were making it difficult for the British Virgin Galactic project to move forward.
The new arrangement restructures the deal: The Rutan-Branson venture, called The Spaceship Company, will license SpaceShipOne's technology from Mojave Aerospace Ventures, the company set up with financial backing from software billionaire Paul Allen and intellectual property from Rutan's Scaled Composites.
The Spaceship Company will then do the actual building of SpaceShipTwos (or Threes
From the web page:
The first flights are planned to begin in 2008. We are now starting to take reservations and deposit commitments for the first year of operations. The ticket price has been set at US$200,000 and the minimum, fully refundable deposit to secure your spaceship seat is US$20,000.
I can't help but what what the political and scientific ramifications of Frist's recent actions.
Oops. Replace the second "what" with "will be."
Tessera, sera.
Snippings from this article:
... The announcement by Frist, a transplant surgeon who is considered a likely contender for president in 2008, contradicted recent signals that he would oppose the legislation, and word of his decision Thursday night caught his Senate colleagues and the White House by surprise. It also was an unambiguous sign that politics had tilted in favor of research advocates and against Bush and the social conservatives who are the core of his political base.
... Catholic League President William Donahue called Frist "a hypocrite." In a written statement, Donahue said: "His change of heart has nothing to do with any scientific breakthrough.... What's changed is that Dr. Duplicity wants to be president."
... One Republican ally of both Frist and the White House said Friday that Bush's position had proved impossible to sustain. The ally, who requested anonymity because of increasingly "raw" feelings in the party, said the president's position was not held by rank-and-file Republican voters. ... In Congress, Republican supporters of stem cell research said they were optimistic that Frist's support would persuade other Republicans to switch their position.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) announced that he would support legislation allowing the federal government to finance research using a broader range of embryonic stem cells. His decision substantially raised the odds that the bill would win approval in Congress and face a presidential veto, which White House strategists had hoped to avoid.
Frist said he would back legislation allowing the government to fund research using embryonic stem cells no matter when they were created.
Frist's stance appeared to put him closer to the mainstream of public opinion. In a May survey for CBS News, 58% of respondents said they favored embryonic stem cell research; 31% said they opposed it.
Commentary
I can't help but what what the political and scientific ramifications of Frist's recent actions. I wonder if Frist is really being confrontational with the White House and GOP, or could this be part of a plan to broaden Republican appeal...
Personally, I suspect the latter. The embryonic stem cell stance is one of the most-often criticized things used to criticize Republicans in general, and this could be a way of putting a damper on that criticism.
I think this will hurt Frist's chance of getting the GOP nomination, but if he gets that, it'll increase his chances for the actual 2008 election, assuming he can get people to forget about his silly remarks during the Schiavo case. I still doubt I'd vote for him myself, but I know many people would.
I have never -- not one time -- met a person who's demanding this.
I demand this. I've often used my Treo as a PC substitute while on the go, for checking email, reading slashdot, ssh-ing, storing files, chatting on IRC and IM, watching the occasional TV episode, and listening to OGG files. It's been quite a lifesaver on many an occassion.
I've personally found Hunter Hogan's CS GRE Study Guide to be a fairly useful overview. You can download it for free here:
http://www.hunterthinks.com/studyguide/