14.7.07

Israel 'Approved' to Strike Iran

Israel 'Approved' to Strike Iran: "Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs said he has received approval from the U.S. and Europe for an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

'If we start military operations against Iran alone, then Europe and the U.S. will support us,” Avigdor Lieberman said following a meeting with NATO and European Union officials."

12.7.07

Machinist: Tech Blog, Tech News, Technology Articles - Salon

Machinist: Tech Blog, Tech News, Technology Articles - Salon: "The computer virus conception story begins in 1981, when a tech-savvy 9th grader named Richard Skrenta got an Apple II for Christmas. Over the following few months he began cooking up ways to trick his friends using the machine. 'I had been playing jokes on schoolmates by altering copies of pirated games to self-destruct after a number of plays,' Skrenta once told the tech news site Security Focus. 'I'd give out a new game, they'd get hooked, but then the game would stop working with a snickering comment from me on the screen.'

When his friends realized his tricky ways, they banned Skrenta from their machines. And that's when he had an epiphany: He could put his code on the school's computer, and rig it to copy itself onto floppy disks that students used on the system. "

A Nuclear Ruse Uncovers Holes in U.S. Security - New York Times

A Nuclear Ruse Uncovers Holes in U.S. Security - New York Times: "WASHINGTON, July 11 — Undercover Congressional investigators set up a bogus company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a so-called dirty bomb"

Oregon man takes lawn chair up to 13,000 feet, travels 193 miles | KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington | Local & Regional

Oregon man takes lawn chair up to 13,000 feet, travels 193 miles | KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington | Local & Regional

11.7.07

Solar variations not behind global warming: study | Science | Reuters

Solar variations not behind global warming: study | Science | Reuters: "LONDON (Reuters) - The sun's changing energy levels are not to blame for recent global warming and, if anything, solar variations over the past 20 years should have had a cooling effect, scientists said on Wednesday."

10.7.07

The Raw Story | ABC host tells Paul, Gravel they have no chance to win

The Raw Story | ABC host tells Paul, Gravel they have no chance to win: "'It's a tragedy of what's happening, what we're going to leave behind,' replied Paul. 'But we don't know it's going to be as bad as those who are predicting bad things -- just remember, the people who are predicting these very, very dire things to happen are the same ones who predicted it would be a cakewalk. ... Think of Vietnam. It worked out much better than anybody predicted.'"

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Why is yawning contagious?

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Why is yawning contagious?: "Rather than being a precursor to sleep, yawning is designed to keep us awake, say US researchers. But why does seeing someone else yawn make you to do the same?"

9.7.07

Canadians among highest in world pot use, says UN

Canadians among highest in world pot use, says UN: "OTTAWA — Marijuana use in Canada is the highest in the industrialized world, far higher than in the Netherlands where it’s legal, and more than four times the global rate, a report by the United Nations has found."

LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug?

LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug?: "'LSD wanted to tell me something,' Hofmann told the gathering Friday. 'It gave me an inner joy, an open mindedness, a gratefulness, open eyes and an internal sensitivity for the miracles of creation.'

Bent with age but still eloquent, Hofmann said he hoped the symposium would encourage the renewed therapeutic and spiritual use of LSD in supervised settings."

New Scientist Technology Blog: Are we ready for shockbots?

New Scientist Technology Blog: Are we ready for shockbots?: "Last week, iRobot - maker of the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner - announced that it was working with stungun maker Taser to mount the latter’s controversial 'neuromuscular incapacitation' weapons on iRobot’s military droid: the PackBot.

The Packbot is already used in Iraq and Afghanistan to defuse roadside bombs and recently these robots have been fitted with lethal weapons like machine guns and shotguns. But, until now, weaponised robots have been for military use only. The iRobot-Taser collaboration changes this as it is geared towards making robots capable of shocking people available to law enforcement as well as the military. "

8.7.07

Nation & World | Revival of Latin Mass upsets liberals | Seattle Times Newspaper

Nation & World | Revival of Latin Mass upsets liberals | Seattle Times Newspaper: "VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday removed restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass, reviving a rite that was all but swept away by the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The decision, a victory for traditional, conservative Roman Catholics, came over the objections of liberal-minded Catholics and angered Jews because the Tridentine Mass contains a prayer for their conversion."

7.7.07

Are organic tomatoes more nutritious?

Are organic tomatoes more nutritious?: "Organically grown tomatoes contain higher levels of beneficial flavonoids, says a new study from the US that fans the flames of the debate between conventional and organic foods."

Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech - Ancient DNA hints at natural warming

Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech - Ancient DNA hints at natural warming: "A SCIENTIST yesterday claimed climate change could be caused by natural conditions after finding ancient DNA in Greenland, which indicates the region was much warmer during the Ice Age than previously thought."

AlterNet: Senator, You Used to Be a Pot Head -- Now You're Talking Like a Narc

AlterNet: Senator, You Used to Be a Pot Head -- Now You're Talking Like a Narc

AlterNet: Senator, You Used to Be a Pot Head -- Now You're Talking Like a Narc

AlterNet: Senator, You Used to Be a Pot Head -- Now You're Talking Like a Narc

4.7.07

Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq - Los Angeles Times

Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq - Los Angeles Times: "'These numbers are big,' said Peter Singer, a Brookings Institution scholar who has written on military contracting. 'They illustrate better than anything that we went in without enough troops. This is not the coalition of the willing. It's the coalition of the billing.'

The numbers include at least 21,000 Americans, 43,000 foreign contractors and about 118,000 Iraqis — all employed in Iraq by U.S. tax dollars, according to the most recent government data."

World's Richest Person - News - CNBC.com

World's Richest Person - News - CNBC.com: "Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the world's richest man, worth an estimated $67.8 billion, after overtaking Microsoft founder Bill Gates, according to a respected tracker of Mexican financial wealth on Monday."

2.7.07

New Drug Deletes Bad Memories | LiveScience

New Drug Deletes Bad Memories | LiveScience: "Do you have a really bad memory, or past heartache, that you would prefer to forget?

Researchers at Harvard and McGill University (in Montreal) are working on an amnesia drug that blocks or deletes bad memories. The technique seems to allow psychiatrists to disrupt the biochemical pathways that allow a memory to be recalled.

In a new study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the drug propranolol is used along with therapy to 'dampen' memories of trauma victims. They treated 19 accident or rape victims for ten days, during which the patients were asked to describe their memories of the traumatic event that had happened 10 years earlier. Some patients were given the drug, which is also used to treat amnesia, while others were given a placebo.

A week later, they found that patients given the drug showed fewer signs of stress when recalling their trauma."

Mechanical Fingers Give Strength, Speed to Amputees

Mechanical Fingers Give Strength, Speed to Amputees: "If the X-Finger looks like a prop from The Terminator, relax. It isn't out to kill you, and it isn't robotic. In fact, it's a mechanical prosthetic finger so effective it provides articulation as fast and flexible as the real thing."

Roswell aliens theory revived by deathbed confession | NEWS.com.au

Roswell aliens theory revived by deathbed confession | NEWS.com.au