Please Do Not Feed the Space

Obama Calls for End to NASA's Moon Program

Seeded on Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:53 PM EST (The New York Times)

President Obama is calling on NASA to cancel the program that was to return humans to the Moon by 2020, and focus instead on radically new space technologies.

nasa, science, aviation, space-flight

Junk Science

Seeded on Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:39 AM EST (Talking Points Memo)

I was raised by a scientist (life sciences) and then studied some history of science in graduate school. And because of both I approach all scientific knowledge with what I think is a healthy measure of skepticism.

global-warming, science, climate-change, climatology, skeptics

What Explains Past Climate Change?

Seeded on Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:13 PM EST (Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American)

Roughly 1,000 years ago, Europe enjoyed several centuries of balmier average temperatures. Dubbed the "Medieval Warm Period," it was the last time before the present that agriculture could flourish in Greenland.

global-warming, science, climate-change, mwp

ACORN Sues Congress

Seeded on Thu Nov 12, 2009 11:38 AM EST (NY Daily News)

The much-maligned and video-taped ACORN is suing over Congress' recent defunding of their group, charging it was unconstitutional on many fronts.

congress, constitution, politics, due-process, acorn

Outrage (and Irony) over wall blocking free U2 Berlin concert - Yahoo! News

Seeded on Thu Nov 5, 2009 3:05 PM EST (Yahoo! News)

Fans hoping to glimpse U2's free concert celebrating 20 years since the Berlin Wall fell were outraged Thursday to find that a nearly 6-1/2-foot (2-meter) high metal barrier was installed to block the view for those without tickets.

u2, mtv, berlin-wall, world-news, berlin, irony

The Next Detainee Photo Scandal: Get Ready for Abu Ghraib, Act II

Seeded on Tue May 12, 2009 2:17 PM EDT (TIME)

Five years ago, people around the world were sickened by photographs that surfaced showing U.S. troops abusing Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Act I resulted in an avalanche of congressional hearings, 15 Pentagon probes and courts-martial. More than 400 U.S.

human-rights, us-news, prisoner-abuse, war-on-terror, aclu, abu-ghraib

Gallery: Flickr users make accidental maps

Seeded on Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:24 AM EDT (newscientist.com)

Billions of photos have now been uploaded to the internet, and many are tagged with text descriptions. Some are even geotagged – stamped with the latitude and longitude coordinates at which the image was taken.

technology, gallery, flickr, geocode

Minnesotans won't know second Senator until at least June

Seeded on Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:52 AM EDT (The Minneapolis Star Tribune)

The state Supreme Court set the schedule today for the legal showdown between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman over the Senate seat that has been vacant since January.

senate, election, politics, minnesota, norm-coleman, al-franken

Calif. Considering Space Solar Power

Seeded on Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:46 AM EDT (Discovery.com)

The California Public Utilities Commission is considering a plan that would provide 200 megawatts of electricity -- enough for about 150,000 homes -- from solar power collected in space.

science, alternative-energy, solar-power

Thin, healthy people cost tax payers more in health care expenses.

Seeded on Wed Apr 8, 2009 9:33 PM EDT (The Huffington Post)

Smoking takes years off your life and adds dollars to the cost of health care. Yet nonsmokers cost society money, too — by living longer.

tobacco, health-care, smoking, us-news, sin-tax

Obama Embraces Bush Position on Warrantless Wiretapping

Seeded on Wed Apr 8, 2009 1:39 PM EDT (indybay.org)

DOJ Claims Illegal Surveillance Protected by "Sovereign Immunity", Keeps Straight Face

us-news, nsa, eff, warantless-wiretapping

The dark side of Dubai

Seeded on Tue Apr 7, 2009 1:53 PM EDT (Independent.co.uk)

Dubai was meant to be a Middle-Eastern Shangri-La, a glittering monument to Arab enterprise and western capitalism. But as hard times arrive in the city state that rose from the desert sands, an uglier story is emerging. Johann Hari reports

human-rights, slavery, world-news, uae, dabai

Fannie, Freddie pay $210 million to keep employees

Seeded on Fri Apr 3, 2009 2:19 PM EDT (MarketWatch.com)

More than 200 people are getting the money, and the highest-paid person will receive $1.5 million over the three-year period, according to a letter written by Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the companies.

economy, freddie-mac, fannie-mae, bonuses, us-news, tarp

IBM And Sun: There Will Be Blood

Seeded on Fri Apr 3, 2009 11:35 AM EDT (Forbes)

When titans collide, blood runs. And as rumors circulated Friday that IBM and Sun Microsystems are inching toward a deal to sell the Silicon Valley computing pioneer to Big Blue for close to $7 billion, IT industry watchers began speculating on how the integration would proceed.

business, merger, ibm, sun

Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman

Seeded on Fri Apr 3, 2009 10:32 AM EDT (The Des Moines Register)

The Iowa Supreme Court this morning unanimously upheld gays' right to marry. "The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution," the justices said in a summary of their decision.

iowa, gay-marriage, gay-rights, us-news, constitutional-law

Thin and Inexpensive Netbooks Affect PC Industry

Seeded on Thu Apr 2, 2009 10:49 AM EDT (The New York Times)

AT&T announced on Tuesday that customers in Atlanta could get a type of compact PC called a netbook for just $50 if they signed up for an Internet service plan — an offer the phone company may introduce elsewhere after a test period.

technology, microsoft, intel, dell, acer, asus, nvidea, qualcom, netbooks, attt

Pious 'fight death the hardest'

Seeded on Wed Mar 18, 2009 4:00 PM EDT (BBC News)

People with strong religious beliefs appear to want doctors to do everything they can to keep them alive as death approaches, a US study suggests.

death, science, atheism

Some Banks, Citing Strings, Want to Return Aid

Seeded on Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:49 AM EDT (The New York Times)

Some bankers say the conditions have become so onerous that they want to return the bailout money. The list includes small banks like the TCF Financial Corporation of Wayzata, Minn., and Iberia Bank of Lafayette, La., as well as giants like Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.

economy, banking, us-news, bailout, tarp

Dreaming of cutting the subscription TV cord

Seeded on Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:19 AM EDT (CNET.com)

The economy is in the toilet, and I know I'm not the only person in America who is looking for ways to cut costs. Top on my list in 2009 is finding a way to eliminate my $100 a month cable TV bill.

netflix, technology, tivo, xbox, playstation, online-video, youtube, apple-tv, cable-television, vudu

Barbie dolls illegal?

Seeded on Wed Mar 4, 2009 12:05 PM EST (nbcaugusta.com)

Democratic delegate Jeff Eldridge introduced a bill Tuesday that calls for a ban on sales of Barbie dolls, and others like it, in the state

barbie, west-virginia, us-news, nanny-state

Daschle's Demise Is Just the Beginning: Get Ready for a Torrent of Populist Outrage

Seeded on Mon Feb 9, 2009 1:54 PM EST (AlterNet.org)

Americans have had just about enough of watching insiders with the right connections living well off the rest of us.

politics, corruption, obama, daschle, lobbyists, washington-insiders

It's Not Going to Be OK

Seeded on Wed Feb 4, 2009 11:19 AM EST (AlterNet.org)

The economic crisis could plunge the U.S. into a long period of social instability. Our democracy is in peril; the threat of totalitarianism is real.

economy, politics, democracy, obama, empire, totalitarianism, financial-crisis, inverted-totalitarianism

Google Earth Goes Deep With Ocean Simulations

Seeded on Mon Feb 2, 2009 1:34 PM EST (The New York Times)

During a recent test drive of the new features at Google's San Francisco office, I swooped in over Hawaii and dived beneath the undulating wave-dappled surface of the Pacific to explore canyons, reefs and other features that are now charted precisely everywhere that government …

google, technology, ocean, google-earth, oceanography

Ocean Dead Zones Could Reach Mass Extinction Levels

Seeded on Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:47 AM EST (Discovery.com)

The future of Earth's oceans is beginning to look a lot like a mass extinction, according to new research.

global-warming, science, ocean, climate, climate-change, noaa, dead-zones, mass-extinction

Environment Blamed in Western Tree Deaths

Seeded on Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:57 PM EST (The New York Times)

Rising temperatures and the resulting drought are causing trees in the West to die at more than twice the pace they did a few decades ago, a new study has found.

global-warming, science, logging, climate, trees, forestry, cimate-change

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