Politics

Two days ago, I heard on the news that there is to be a new role for some of the many cctv cameras we have in England. Apparently if someone is seen dropping litter for example the camera will tell them not to do this. Does anyone have any views on this?

As scientists we are still trying to figure out the best way how to make Mars hospitable. Eventually we'll come up with a feasible idea, Mars will turn green and scientists will be happy (overly generalized , but then what? Who would own the territory and how would we split it? Would we share it in the first place? How does one buy land on Mars and from who? If someone wants a piece of land that is unoccupied can one just have it? What if we start a war on Mars and the strongest nation gets to own the planet? Those are just some of the things bothering me and I'd like to hear what you think, or shoot me a link if it's been discussed before.

I'd like to discuss camp Guantanamo with you folks, especially with the Americans among you. First I'd like to ask you: Are you being informed about the camp by the news or by way of other information channels? What kind of information are you receiving that way? Airmid.

And what to we have to show for it? An increase in stop-and-search and armed officers on the beat. Not that I have any magical solutions up my sleeves but I am very cynical that gun culture can be seriously tackled by introducing policemen with guns. As much of a cliché as it is, root causes need to be dealt with. I think that the media as a whole bears responsibility for growing gun culture, it's not just grime music but also news reports that trivialise deaths caused by warfare and childrens TV that simply wont approach the issue seriously (AFAIK Blue Peter has not yet acknowledged the existence of firearms in London, I might be wrong). What do you guys thin…

Ok, how much did this hurt

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/bal-te.bz.savings02feb02,0,7479458.story?coll=sfla-business-headlines To summarize, the US Department of Commerce released a report the other day that showed that Americans now have a negative 1% savings rate! Interestingly, as this article explains, economists are actually split over the bottom line impact of this. The general consensus seems to be that it's bad, but how bad it is is up for debate. One of the interesting things they mention is that the poor aren't the only ones doing badly when it comes to putting money aside. Apparently wealthy people are also saving poorly. Of course if you have a lot of money…

Normally I'm consevative ,but in this case one is to many I think its time to ..count our losses and get out of Iraq Ithink it was stupid to go in inthe first place if you don't have a plan to get out. sure don't see any of these congressmans and Senaters families volunteering to go and get shoot at or carbombed. How many is to many:

Interesting blog post by George Musser at Scientific American: "Please stop talking about the global warming consensus" In a nutshell, he suggests that talking about a consensus makes sense from a scientific perspective, but may be rubbing laypeople the wrong way. Given the current political climate of the country, as well as the deep-seatedness of christian conservatism, I think perhaps he has a point. We should always do our best to educate positively rather than negatively, and encourage people towards the truth.

I finally figured out, at least partly, why I get so frustrated and confused with the left concerning terrorism. The POV's taken by republicans and the administration, the Iraq war, prisoners of war, racial profiling, wire tapping - all are met with fierce opposition. But, it's not the opposition that bothers me. It's this shrugged shoulders approach to terrorism that bothers me about them. It seems obvious to me that if republicans and the administration weren't going after terrorism, that no one would. As if, declaring war on our country almost 30 years ago and following through with various bombings over the years just isn't really an issue to the left. …

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0307/3227.html Hmm, seems awfully similar to 18 minutes of erased tape... Tony Snow was confronted on the matter today

(Note to non-US people: this thread refers to the US housing market) As a followup to this thread... So, I'm examining the present situation the US housing market is in, and I can't help but feel a tinge of the Savings and Loan Scandal which occurred under Reagan. In that case deregulation of the banking industry gave savings and loan companies many of the same powers as banks. This lead to the subsequent bankruptcy of over 500 savings and loans. The same thing is happening now thanks to deregulation of mortgage brokers. It's largely owed to the combination of mortgage brokers offering subprime loans, people willing to accept them, and the cluster**** which…

That's the Iraq withdrawl date set by the US Senate in a recently passed bill: http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2044498,00.html The bill passed by a narrow 50-48 margin. It's pretty clear Bush will veto. After all, he doesn't want Congress to have any input, err, to "micromanage" the war

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=secret+self-help&btnG=Search Come on. Tell me again how it just makes SO much sense for scientists to be liberals. Do it. This nonsense -- all about how you can cure your own cancer and lose weight just by THINKING it -- was apparently featured on Oprah TWICE over the last week. Yeah. Liberals would NEVER do anything like Jesus Camp! Riiiiiiiiiiiight.

Pi day...YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was going home from a buddy's house last night after a long overdue jam session and as I was leaving he directed me the safest way out of his neighborhood - the "hood" as he calls it. And it is, without a doubt. Now, crime has always been a huge issue with me, so this really insults the hell out of me. Why do we accept this? Why do we accept a crime rate? I should be able to walk down the street of the "hood" at 2 am without a drop of fear. Period. The fact we have such a thing as a "rate", implies we accept crime. Obviously we have to realize the realities of human nature, but what kind of goal are we setting when we accept a certain rate of crime - and our…

Good News ! Now it should be possible to regenerate human limbs. http://www.2000taletsvetenskap.nu/pdf/regeneration_of_mamalian_body_parts.pdf

This is kind of an ill-formed question. It occured to me recently that most people seem to think it would be best if the entire world spread adopted their own political idealogies. This includes ideas as broad or narrow as democracy, communism, Christian theocracy, secular libertarianism, etc. I, personally, don't really understand this, and it would be very strange to me if one political solution could be applied to any people, time, or situation. I want to live in a secular, liberal, capitalistic democracy, but I don't think that everybody should have to. There can be good monarchies, and if a country can make socialism work for them, I say more power to them. I mention…

Check this out: link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20070322/sc_livescience/acidsinpopularsodaserodetoothenamel And this is the article itself "Root beer could be the safest soft drink for your teeth, new research suggests, but many other popular diet and sugared sodas are nearly as corrosive to dental enamel as battery acid. ADVERTISEMENT Prolonged exposure to soft drinks can lead to significant enamel loss, even though many people consider soft drinks to be harmless or just worry about their sugar content and the potential for putting on pounds, the study says. The erosive potential of colas is 10 times that of fruit juices in just the …

I've always wondered why scientists tend to be more liberal / socialist, rather than conservative / capitalist. If that's inaccurate, correct me, but I don't think it is at all. The reason why this seems odd to me is because while I realize there are dozens and dozens of science categories, it seems all understand the basics of survival of the fittest. Most scientists seem to understand this concept on a deeper level than the rest of us, irregardless of their specialty. So, the people who understand nature's capitalism better than most of us, reject that concept in governing humans. Why is that? Many have their theories on why capitalism has worked so well…

I was in another Sciene forum and I am across the following: recently i have read that a massive asteriod coming towards our earth and it will hit nearly around April13th 2036. US scientist are working, but they are also just spotting which one closer and Europena space agency is doing the same Has anyone heard about it? I have a thread posted under the science fiction forum. I see my view as an un-explored avenue in the reaches of outer space. While pondering the question of the universe, man's existence, technology, global warming, and development I took the Faith vs. Science road. Along my journey I understood that: They are one in the same. As we…

Genetics researchers are developing a genetically modified tomato plant that produces fragments of HIV and Hepatitis B proteins during its growth, which can then be easily extracted and used as an oral vaccine for those diseases. The researchers hope the vaccine could be "grown" in the countries that need it most, where it could be then distributed in tablet form cheaply and efficiently. It is easier to make and use than an injected vaccine, and trials on mice have already found that feeding them the proteins will cause antibodies to build up in their immune systems. If it works out - as none of the 90 or so other potential HIV viruses have - it could possibly save mi…

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2629683 Yep, a dolphin with hind limbs. Very cool, but not totally surprising; we've found hind limbs on whales a few times during the days of whaling, and have the bones preserved at several museums. Mokele

I have just watched some TV and saw some shocking brutal child abuse in the form of religious fanaticism. It is all caught on video and you can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCODIhAXbQM I am afraid for the children and I am thinking of going to police to get permission to get these children away from this crazy woman. What I would like to know is whether legally this woman's behavior is classified as child abuse.

I was surfing some computing forums earlier on and spotted this. Personally, i think its sick, forcing a living being into doing something, they do not wish to do. Whats to say they won't use this on human beings, or use animals in war. I think this is against animal rights, isn't it? Remote Control Pigeons

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/12/21/japanese_light_trap/ Quantum computers move one step closer