Well, there goes my ability to watch any reruns of Seinfeld... starring a Microsoft shill & a racist.
...Third, RACIST? What the hell? Can you PLEASE explain that, because I REALLY don't get that one. Honestly, I haven't a clue where you got that and really want to know.
If the US resumes that path, and there's no evidence they will right now, it'll lead to a fundamental change is the perceived "special relationship" between Canada and the US. Americans would be surprised at the change in attitude that would result.
Judging by the results of polls asking Canadians their views on the US, there has already been a large change in attitude over the past eight years and I'm not sure Americans have even noticed.
The US has shown it's ability to abuse the power difference in our relationship before (softwood lumber is an excellent example). I don't have any reason to believe they would behave differently over this issue. In fact, I'm fairly sure it already is the US position that the NWP is in international waters. So US officials clearly don't agree with your arguments.
The actual arxiv paper contains no references to the term 'wino'. And they clearly states that their candidate is neutral. I've seen mentions of a 'wino-like neutralino' as a candidate for dark matter in different papers, but I'm unsure of what exactly makes it 'wino-like'. It is certainly not charge.
I very often see articles saying the Dark Matter is found. This has been going on for years already. Articles titled "Dark Matter Found". But later another article pops up again saying "Dark Matter Found"...
So basically, they just don't know?
No, it shows that bloggers and reporters (and slashdot editors) need to sensationalize preliminary results or possible explanations to get readers.
How is it fair for a group of idiots to block off the bridges and roads that their fellow taxpayers are paying to make available?
It's called civil disobedience. When the choice is to break a law and protest where you can be heard or to be placed in a 'Free Speech Zone' miles from the convention where no one will see you, it is fair to choose the former. Don't like it? Demand that they be allowed to protest at the convention. Hell, they already have that right. They just aren't being allowed to exercise it.
How is it fair to do what you can to physically interfere with other peoples rights to free assembly as they hold a political event?
This is a story about police terrorizing a group planning to protest and you're claiming the PROTESTERS are interfering with the right to free assembly? The RNC have their convention hall and the power of the entire government behind them. Nothing any protest can do will stop them from getting their message across.
...were planning on blocking streets in a way that would prevent emergency services from being able to respond
Show me where it says they were planning on blocking emergency service vehicles.
When unjust laws are passed that make visible protesting illegal, then you break a law to protest. Again, if you're upset that they protest in the streets, then demand that they be given a proper place to voice their dissent at the convention.
And then the W guy comes up and talks about spreading democracy in the middle east? How about spreading it in Minneapolis?
I want to quote something directly from one of Greenwald's updates to the piece here, which directly addresses this point:
During the Olympics just weeks ago, there was endless hand-wringing over the efforts by the Chinese Government to squelch dissent and incarcerate protesters. On August 21, The Washington Post fretted:
Six Americans detained by police this week could be held for 10 days, according to Chinese authorities, who appear to be intensifying their efforts to shut down any public demonstrations during the final days of the Olympic Games. . . .
Chinese Olympic officials announced last month that Beijing would set up zones where people could protest during the Games, as long as they had received permission. None of the 77 applications submitted was approved, however, and several other would-be protesters were stopped from even applying.
On August 2, The Post gravely warned:
Behind the gray walls and barbed wire of the prison here, eight Chinese farmers with a grievance against the government have been consigned to Olympic limbo.
Their indefinite detainment, relatives and neighbors said, is the price they are paying for stirring up trouble as China prepares to host the Beijing Games. Trouble, the Communist Party has made clear, will not be permitted.
Would The Washington Post ever use such dark and accusatory tones to describe what the U.S. Government does? Of course it wouldn't. Yet how is our own Government's behavior in Minnesota any different than what the Chinese did to its protesters during the Olympics (other than the fact that we actually have a Constitution that prohibits such behavior)? And where are all the self-righteous Freedom Crusaders in our nation's establishment organs who were so flamboyantly criticizing the actions of a Government on the other side of the globe as our own Government engages in the same tyrannical, protest-squelching conduct with exactly the same motives?
"How we get there (the strategy):
1. Start Strong - Throw all of our energy into the first day. We'll kick this off right and stretch the militarized police state out so far that it can no longer contain and suppress our voices and desires.
2. Transportation Troubles - This includes blockades downtown (at key intersections), on bridges (10 bridges over the Mississippi River in the metro area), and other sporadic and strategic targets (busses, hotel and airport shuttles etc)."
This is the group that the Star article describes as having been arrested.
And what part of this advocates violence? This is a perfectly fair, if not particularly effective, way to protest.
2008 may be the coldest year of the 21st century, but every other 21st century year sits at the top of the list of warmest years on record. Currently seven out of the top eight spots on the list of warmest years on record are occupied by one of the last seven years. Also from the BBC article:
Even so, 2008 is set to be about the 10th warmest year since 1850, and Met Office scientists say temperatures will rise again as La Nina conditions ease.
I hate to point out the obvious, but global warming models do not predict a year over year increase in temperature. Again, from the article:
"The principal thing is to look at the long-term trend," said Dr Kennedy.
"2008 will still be significantly above the long-term average. There's been a strong upward trend in the last few decades, and that's the thing to focus on."
If you enjoy those 'shadow' puzzles, there is a free flash based game called Chronoton which exclusively deals with making copies of yourself to complete objectives.
b) you end up with government agents raiding your house if you have a LEGAL home chemistry lab (ala Mass.),
I suggest you go back and reread the story and have a look at the comments. It was nothing more than ridiculous sensationalism. No one raided his house, and they cleared out the lab because it was unsafe. Not every exaggerated incident is evidence of a tyrannical government.
Firefighters found more than 1,500 vials, jars, cans, bottles and boxes in the basement Tuesday afternoon, after they responded to an unrelated fire in an air conditioner on the second floor of the home.
Vessels of chemicals were all over the furniture and the floor, authorities said. The ensuing investigation involved a state hazardous materials team, fire and police officials, health officials, environmental officials and code enforcement officials. The Deebs were told to stay in a hotel while the slew of officials investigated and emptied the basement.
The simple fact that new model was built around fitting the observed data means that it is biased to solving that problem.
None of the inputs in the numerical model came from the new observational data. Their simulation is for the early years of the a solar system and has nothing to do with the new planets found. It is a simple N-body simulation which includes effects from the proto-stellar disc. There is no new fundamental physics in this work. The addition of the effects of the disc is what led them to see the migration. Just because their work explains a discovery doesn't mean it was dependent on the data from the discovery.
The next step is to test that prediction, not write headlines about how our solar system is rare.
Astrophysics cannot be tested like other areas of physics. In order to verify beyond a doubt that migration is the cause we would have to be able to watch the evolution of a gas giant in an early star system over millions of years. Since we cannot do that, simulations are really the best option we have.
To me, this is sort of like the 'dark matter' problem, where the vast majority of the universe is 'missing', but inferred to exist based on gravitational effects. I find it difficult to swallow that 96% of the universe has evaded detection. To me it is equally rational to assert that our model of gravity is incomplete/incorrect as it is to assert that almost all energy in the universe has evaded detection.
Detection through a gravitational signal is just as valid as detection through an EM signal. Dark matter needs more evidence (specifically evidence from high energy physicists that a plausible dark matter candidate exists) in order to put an end to modified gravity theories, but there is no reason to completely dismiss DM based on personal bias. Personally, I don't like modified gravity theories. Not only are most of them ad hoc, the simplicity and beauty of GR makes it hard to stomach that we're missing any extra term in the field equations. But I'm glad there are people working on them, because it may, in fact, be the answer.
I am the first to agree with you, though, that scientific reporting sensationalizes results beyond all reason. But I don't think that's the case here. The only thing missing here is independent confirmation by a second group. And even considering that, I'm not against a write-up. Better that this information get out there so other people can double check it.
Look at it this way: If the models predicted that only 1% of systems had a closely orbiting gas giant, wouldn't the amount of close gas giants we have detected already disprove the models? That is what they seem to be saying here. And again, the probability that gas giants migrate inwards to close orbits comes from the simulations and not any observational data. That alone is enough to say that our solar system is rare.
I know the selection bias is the first thing that comes to mind when looking at this article, but I guarantee you that everyone who works in this field knows about it and takes it into account.
The parent is correct that there is a selection bias in our detection methods of planets that favours systems with gas giants close to the sun. However, this has nothing to do with the conclusions of the article. What they are saying is that, initially, the discovery of so many closely orbiting gas giants was confusing given that their models of planet formation show gas giants developing far away from the sun. What they have found through simulations is that gas giants naturally migrate inwards as the solar system evolves. So a 4 billion year old system like ours with gas giants far from the sun in unlikely. This conclusion comes from the simulations of solar system evolution, not from the observational data.
"Allow me to translate Ms. Wilderman's words into plain English: 'Mr. Deeb hasn't actually violated any law or regulation that I can find, but I don't like what he's doing because I'm ignorant and irrationally afraid of chemicals, so I'll abuse my power to steal his property and shut him down."
appears nowhere in the linked article, yet kdawson has chosen to sensationalize by adding his own words and making it look as if they were part of the article.
It wasn't kdawson, but the blogger from MAKE who wrote that. kdawson's error is in making it look like he was quoting the article, when in fact, he was quoting the blog....and for assuming any of this is newsworthy.
I want to note here that the quotes in the summary are from the blog post and not the actual article. It seems the blogger, Robert Bruce Thompson, cut important information from the article in order to make the story more sensationalist. He also made up new 'information' to make the police action seem worse than it was. Nowhere in the article does it say that the authorities didn't have permission or a warrant to enter the house. I strongly suggest you read the full article before rushing to judgement.
There are obvious safety reasons why you can't operate a chemistry lab in your basement in the middle of a residential area. But hey, Robert Thompson, don't let that stop you from writing "There's a word for what just happened in Massachusetts. Tyranny." I mean, this is one short step from Stalinist Russia, right?
But look at it this way, you've already got one slashdot poster confusing you with the guy who operated the lab and demanding people buy your book. So you stand to make a bit of profit off of this free advertising.
Back in 2005, they actually did make a great flash game for their website called Sinkoman 20X6. It was a platform game that paid homage to Mega Man, and contains tons of H*R in-jokes, as usual. Unfortunately, they stopped updating right before the final level, leaving us with a 3 year old cliffhanger.
Want a custom made sig that tells the world how filthy stinking rich you are without the hassle of writing it yourself? Well, now, for the low price of 500 dollars* you can! Here are some samples:
I make enough before breakfast to buy and sell you 500 times
Even my servants have their own private jets
I own 5 members of congress (number customizable!)
Segway was a huge commercial failure and was pretty much DOA. Does it even make sense to call something a "Segway killer"? How do you kill that which has no life?
Sorry, that argument doesn't fly. Yes, the House and Senate are somewhat complicit, and everyone loves a good 'Republocrat' joke, but there is a HUGE difference between the two parties. Don't forget, the Democrats do not have an overwhelming majority in either house, and Republicans can win if they just filibuster.
The Republicans' ability to filibuster and the Presidential Veto are fine excuses when you want to talk about why the Democratic Congress has failed to pass many important bills. But the least that we could hope for is that a Democratic Congress would stop bad legislation in its tracks. How can you possibly deny the Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same coin when they work together to undermine the rights of Americans?
Slashdot Mirror
Well, there goes my ability to watch any reruns of Seinfeld ... starring a Microsoft shill & a racist.
...Third, RACIST? What the hell? Can you PLEASE explain that, because I REALLY don't get that one. Honestly, I haven't a clue where you got that and really want to know.
Seinfeld is the shill, Richards is the racist.
If the US resumes that path, and there's no evidence they will right now, it'll lead to a fundamental change is the perceived "special relationship" between Canada and the US. Americans would be surprised at the change in attitude that would result.
Judging by the results of polls asking Canadians their views on the US, there has already been a large change in attitude over the past eight years and I'm not sure Americans have even noticed.
The US has shown it's ability to abuse the power difference in our relationship before (softwood lumber is an excellent example). I don't have any reason to believe they would behave differently over this issue. In fact, I'm fairly sure it already is the US position that the NWP is in international waters. So US officials clearly don't agree with your arguments.
The actual arxiv paper contains no references to the term 'wino'. And they clearly states that their candidate is neutral. I've seen mentions of a 'wino-like neutralino' as a candidate for dark matter in different papers, but I'm unsure of what exactly makes it 'wino-like'. It is certainly not charge.
I very often see articles saying the Dark Matter is found. This has been going on for years already. Articles titled "Dark Matter Found". But later another article pops up again saying "Dark Matter Found" ...
So basically, they just don't know?
No, it shows that bloggers and reporters (and slashdot editors) need to sensationalize preliminary results or possible explanations to get readers.
How is it fair for a group of idiots to block off the bridges and roads that their fellow taxpayers are paying to make available?
It's called civil disobedience. When the choice is to break a law and protest where you can be heard or to be placed in a 'Free Speech Zone' miles from the convention where no one will see you, it is fair to choose the former. Don't like it? Demand that they be allowed to protest at the convention. Hell, they already have that right. They just aren't being allowed to exercise it.
How is it fair to do what you can to physically interfere with other peoples rights to free assembly as they hold a political event?
This is a story about police terrorizing a group planning to protest and you're claiming the PROTESTERS are interfering with the right to free assembly? The RNC have their convention hall and the power of the entire government behind them. Nothing any protest can do will stop them from getting their message across.
Show me where it says they were planning on blocking emergency service vehicles.
When unjust laws are passed that make visible protesting illegal, then you break a law to protest. Again, if you're upset that they protest in the streets, then demand that they be given a proper place to voice their dissent at the convention.
And then the W guy comes up and talks about spreading democracy in the middle east? How about spreading it in Minneapolis?
I want to quote something directly from one of Greenwald's updates to the piece here, which directly addresses this point:
During the Olympics just weeks ago, there was endless hand-wringing over the efforts by the Chinese Government to squelch dissent and incarcerate protesters. On August 21, The Washington Post fretted:
Six Americans detained by police this week could be held for 10 days, according to Chinese authorities, who appear to be intensifying their efforts to shut down any public demonstrations during the final days of the Olympic Games. . . . Chinese Olympic officials announced last month that Beijing would set up zones where people could protest during the Games, as long as they had received permission. None of the 77 applications submitted was approved, however, and several other would-be protesters were stopped from even applying.
On August 2, The Post gravely warned:
Behind the gray walls and barbed wire of the prison here, eight Chinese farmers with a grievance against the government have been consigned to Olympic limbo. Their indefinite detainment, relatives and neighbors said, is the price they are paying for stirring up trouble as China prepares to host the Beijing Games. Trouble, the Communist Party has made clear, will not be permitted.
Would The Washington Post ever use such dark and accusatory tones to describe what the U.S. Government does? Of course it wouldn't. Yet how is our own Government's behavior in Minnesota any different than what the Chinese did to its protesters during the Olympics (other than the fact that we actually have a Constitution that prohibits such behavior)? And where are all the self-righteous Freedom Crusaders in our nation's establishment organs who were so flamboyantly criticizing the actions of a Government on the other side of the globe as our own Government engages in the same tyrannical, protest-squelching conduct with exactly the same motives?
From: http://www.nornc.org/
This isn't a peaceful assembly if you ask me:
"How we get there (the strategy): 1. Start Strong - Throw all of our energy into the first day. We'll kick this off right and stretch the militarized police state out so far that it can no longer contain and suppress our voices and desires.
2. Transportation Troubles - This includes blockades downtown (at key intersections), on bridges (10 bridges over the Mississippi River in the metro area), and other sporadic and strategic targets (busses, hotel and airport shuttles etc)."
This is the group that the Star article describes as having been arrested.
And what part of this advocates violence? This is a perfectly fair, if not particularly effective, way to protest.
Time once again for the Fascist National Conventions. Featuring:
Confinement of protesters to "Free Speech Zones"
Jailing of Journalists
Authoritarian Scare Tacticts
And remember, the best part about the FNCs are that no matter who is nominated, one of their candidates always wins.
So you want a ring that is one-of-a-kind, indestructible, and carries significance for geeks. How about this?
... any of you that get the chance ask Obama/McCain what they intend to do about this if elected.
Just make sure not to use your real name when you do.
Even so, 2008 is set to be about the 10th warmest year since 1850, and Met Office scientists say temperatures will rise again as La Nina conditions ease.
I hate to point out the obvious, but global warming models do not predict a year over year increase in temperature. Again, from the article:
"The principal thing is to look at the long-term trend," said Dr Kennedy. "2008 will still be significantly above the long-term average. There's been a strong upward trend in the last few decades, and that's the thing to focus on."
If you enjoy those 'shadow' puzzles, there is a free flash based game called Chronoton which exclusively deals with making copies of yourself to complete objectives.
b) you end up with government agents raiding your house if you have a LEGAL home chemistry lab (ala Mass.),
I suggest you go back and reread the story and have a look at the comments. It was nothing more than ridiculous sensationalism. No one raided his house, and they cleared out the lab because it was unsafe. Not every exaggerated incident is evidence of a tyrannical government.
Firefighters found more than 1,500 vials, jars, cans, bottles and boxes in the basement Tuesday afternoon, after they responded to an unrelated fire in an air conditioner on the second floor of the home.
Vessels of chemicals were all over the furniture and the floor, authorities said. The ensuing investigation involved a state hazardous materials team, fire and police officials, health officials, environmental officials and code enforcement officials. The Deebs were told to stay in a hotel while the slew of officials investigated and emptied the basement.
When you see the moderation system abused to moderate you down as 'overrated' over and over again without cause, maybe you'll thing differently.
As any Colbert watcher knows, after an appearance on the Report, the size of their contributions triples in the next six months.
The simple fact that new model was built around fitting the observed data means that it is biased to solving that problem.
None of the inputs in the numerical model came from the new observational data. Their simulation is for the early years of the a solar system and has nothing to do with the new planets found. It is a simple N-body simulation which includes effects from the proto-stellar disc. There is no new fundamental physics in this work. The addition of the effects of the disc is what led them to see the migration. Just because their work explains a discovery doesn't mean it was dependent on the data from the discovery.
The next step is to test that prediction, not write headlines about how our solar system is rare.
Astrophysics cannot be tested like other areas of physics. In order to verify beyond a doubt that migration is the cause we would have to be able to watch the evolution of a gas giant in an early star system over millions of years. Since we cannot do that, simulations are really the best option we have.
To me, this is sort of like the 'dark matter' problem, where the vast majority of the universe is 'missing', but inferred to exist based on gravitational effects. I find it difficult to swallow that 96% of the universe has evaded detection. To me it is equally rational to assert that our model of gravity is incomplete/incorrect as it is to assert that almost all energy in the universe has evaded detection.
Detection through a gravitational signal is just as valid as detection through an EM signal. Dark matter needs more evidence (specifically evidence from high energy physicists that a plausible dark matter candidate exists) in order to put an end to modified gravity theories, but there is no reason to completely dismiss DM based on personal bias. Personally, I don't like modified gravity theories. Not only are most of them ad hoc, the simplicity and beauty of GR makes it hard to stomach that we're missing any extra term in the field equations. But I'm glad there are people working on them, because it may, in fact, be the answer.
I am the first to agree with you, though, that scientific reporting sensationalizes results beyond all reason. But I don't think that's the case here. The only thing missing here is independent confirmation by a second group. And even considering that, I'm not against a write-up. Better that this information get out there so other people can double check it.
Look at it this way: If the models predicted that only 1% of systems had a closely orbiting gas giant, wouldn't the amount of close gas giants we have detected already disprove the models? That is what they seem to be saying here. And again, the probability that gas giants migrate inwards to close orbits comes from the simulations and not any observational data. That alone is enough to say that our solar system is rare.
I know the selection bias is the first thing that comes to mind when looking at this article, but I guarantee you that everyone who works in this field knows about it and takes it into account.
The parent is correct that there is a selection bias in our detection methods of planets that favours systems with gas giants close to the sun. However, this has nothing to do with the conclusions of the article. What they are saying is that, initially, the discovery of so many closely orbiting gas giants was confusing given that their models of planet formation show gas giants developing far away from the sun. What they have found through simulations is that gas giants naturally migrate inwards as the solar system evolves. So a 4 billion year old system like ours with gas giants far from the sun in unlikely. This conclusion comes from the simulations of solar system evolution, not from the observational data.
The summary text
"Allow me to translate Ms. Wilderman's words into plain English: 'Mr. Deeb hasn't actually violated any law or regulation that I can find, but I don't like what he's doing because I'm ignorant and irrationally afraid of chemicals, so I'll abuse my power to steal his property and shut him down."
appears nowhere in the linked article, yet kdawson has chosen to sensationalize by adding his own words and making it look as if they were part of the article.
It wasn't kdawson, but the blogger from MAKE who wrote that. kdawson's error is in making it look like he was quoting the article, when in fact, he was quoting the blog....and for assuming any of this is newsworthy.
I want to note here that the quotes in the summary are from the blog post and not the actual article. It seems the blogger, Robert Bruce Thompson, cut important information from the article in order to make the story more sensationalist. He also made up new 'information' to make the police action seem worse than it was. Nowhere in the article does it say that the authorities didn't have permission or a warrant to enter the house. I strongly suggest you read the full article before rushing to judgement.
There are obvious safety reasons why you can't operate a chemistry lab in your basement in the middle of a residential area. But hey, Robert Thompson, don't let that stop you from writing "There's a word for what just happened in Massachusetts. Tyranny." I mean, this is one short step from Stalinist Russia, right?
But look at it this way, you've already got one slashdot poster confusing you with the guy who operated the lab and demanding people buy your book. So you stand to make a bit of profit off of this free advertising.
Back in 2005, they actually did make a great flash game for their website called Sinkoman 20X6. It was a platform game that paid homage to Mega Man, and contains tons of H*R in-jokes, as usual. Unfortunately, they stopped updating right before the final level, leaving us with a 3 year old cliffhanger.
If all you've read is "1984", you don't realize what a great commentator he was.
But there's nothing stopping you from finding out.
I personally recommend his Notes on Nationalism
Want a custom made sig that tells the world how filthy stinking rich you are without the hassle of writing it yourself? Well, now, for the low price of 500 dollars* you can! Here are some samples:
I make enough before breakfast to buy and sell you 500 times
Even my servants have their own private jets
I own 5 members of congress (number customizable!)
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*price is per character
Segway was a huge commercial failure and was pretty much DOA. Does it even make sense to call something a "Segway killer"? How do you kill that which has no life?
Sorry, that argument doesn't fly. Yes, the House and Senate are somewhat complicit, and everyone loves a good 'Republocrat' joke, but there is a HUGE difference between the two parties. Don't forget, the Democrats do not have an overwhelming majority in either house, and Republicans can win if they just filibuster.
The Republicans' ability to filibuster and the Presidential Veto are fine excuses when you want to talk about why the Democratic Congress has failed to pass many important bills. But the least that we could hope for is that a Democratic Congress would stop bad legislation in its tracks. How can you possibly deny the Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same coin when they work together to undermine the rights of Americans?