Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.
— Albert Einstein
Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.
— Albert Einstein
If you watch the morning or evening sky these days and have a clear view of the horizon, you will be able to spot a bright object with a prominent tail. That object is comet C/2006 P1 (Comet McNaught). [Since this is a science posting we’ll leave to your own research (or anyone who cares to comment) the political implications astrologers traditionally have associated with the appearance of a comet, and this one in particular…]
Urban sprawl might not be as harmful to wildlife as previously thought, according to a new study that compared the diversity of bird populations in natural forests, tree plantations and “exurban” (urban sprawl) areas along the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee.
The Magellanic Clouds, two smaller nearby galaxies visible in the Southern Hemisphere, thought to be true companions of the Milky Way, may just be drifters passing by, say astronomers, and not orbiting the Milky Way.
The world economy is under growing threat from risks such as climate change, terrorism, pandemics and oil prices because of inadequate action by governments and business, a network of experts said on Wednesday. A report by the World Economic Forum, the reinsurer Swiss Re, Citigroup bank and US broker Marsh and McLennan warned of “a fundamental disconnect between risk and mitigation”. It said levels of risk were rising in almost all of the 23 categories on which the network had focused over the last year. [And if they think it’s bad, you know it’s bad for us “little folk”…]
[This story makes my day!] In one of the strongest signs yet that US industry anticipates curbs on global-warming emissions, ExxonMobil is starting to talk about how it would like them to be structured. [Bwahahahaha.]
The H5N1 bird flu virus shows no signs of going away in 2007, with outbreaks in poultry and people flaring up across its heartland in east Asia and, most worryingly, in Africa. Other countries the virus reached in winter 2006, including Europe, are watching nervously for its return. And hitherto unaffected areas are anxiously testing mysterious bird deaths to see if they will be next.
Thousands of people have reported seeing ball lightning, a luminous sphere that sometimes appears during thunderstorms. It is typically the size of a grapefruit and lasts for a few seconds or minutes, sometimes hovering, even bouncing along the ground. The cause of ball lightning has been a total mystery, but Brazilian researchers may have recreated ball lightning in the lab, shedding light on the phenomenon (link has video of the lab-created ball lightning).
The Atlantic Ocean doesn’t receive the mother lode of fixed nitrogen, a key building block of life, after all. Instead, comparing fathom for fathom, the Pacific and Indian oceans experience twice the amount of nitrogen fixing as the Atlantic, say researchers. The research is important for understanding how Earth’s nitrogen cycle (which we’re affecting) and carbon cycle (which we’re affecting through emissions causing global warming) interact with each other.
Congress should enact legislation to ensure that strong environmental standards are in place to regulate the siting and conduct of offshore marine aquaculture, according to an independent panel of leaders from scientific, policymaking, business, and conservation institutions. At the same time, the Marine Aquaculture Task Force suggests that the federal government should provide funding and incentives for research, development, and deployment of technologies, and techniques for sustainable marine aquaculture.
A U-boat sunk off Norway in 1945 carried 65 tons of mercury. The casks are now corroding, threatening to release more mercury than what caused the disaster in Minamata, Japan, as Norway tried to decide how to address the threat.
Chalk another one up for California: State coastal regulators voted Wednesday to impose restrictions on the U.S. Navy’s use of sonar, which has been linked to harmful effects on whales and other marine mammals. The commission voted 8-1 to place restrictions on how the Navy conducts training, including moving the exercises away from areas with high concentrations of marine mammals and lowering sonar levels when they are present. [Why does the CA Coastal Commission hate our freedoms?]
Link
The thousands of troops that President Bush is expected to order to Iraq will join the fight largely without the protection of the latest armored vehicles that withstand bomb blasts far better than the Humvees in wide use, military officers said.
Vehicles such as the Cougar and the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle have proven ability to save lives, but production started late and relatively small numbers are in use in Iraq, mostly because of money shortages, industry officials said.
This turns my stomach. No money? NO MONEY? What in hell are they using those billions upon billions of dollars for?
Good to see that some nations may hold those that profit from war and torture accountable.
Aker Kværner can face torture charges
In Somalia: first we killed the suspected al-Qaeda leaders with our precision airstrikes but they escaped
CIA given go-ahead to target Hizbollah
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From your link –
“The administration is reaping its own whirlwind after Iraq,” said the intelligence source. “For 50 years the US preferred stability over legitimacy in the Middle East and now it’s got neither. It’s a situation replete with ironies.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Denver to Host 08 Dem Convention
Does this mean we can all come camp out at casa dada? 🙂
w/ Bu for the best spots to sleep…:{)
this could be fun!
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DEN HELDER, The Netherlands – For the first time in Dutch Naval history a woman will take command of a frigate: HRMS De Ruyter. She is Kapitein-luitenant-ter-zee (Commander) Jeanette Morang (41).
Hr. Ms. De RuyterPress release: 12-1-2006:
HNLMS De Ruyter leaves for the Mediterranean
The air defence and command frigate HNLMS De Ruyter departed for a six-month stay in the Mediterranean Sea today. The ship is to become part of the Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2), the permanent NATO force in the area. HNLMS De Ruyter is to participate in Operation Active Endeavour, which is part of the international fight against terrorism, Operation Enduring Freedom.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."