Politics

According to this article, unborn babys can feel pain. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4875196.stm Does this change anyone's attitude about abortion?

A recent study suggests that the UK's testing system for bird flu may actually be missing most cases, leading officials to believe the flu isn't as widespread as it really is. New Scientist has talked with several bird flu experts, and they say that the numbers produced by the UK's tests are vastly different than expected. "There's something wrong with those numbers" says one Swedish expert, and others suggest that the techniques for obtaining fecal samples from birds are flawed. If they're right, it means that the UK may have a much larger problem than it thinks. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg19025473.600

The US Senate this week is debating an immigration reform bill. There's some background in this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/03/AR2006040301554.html One of the interesting things about the bill is that it enjoys bipartisan support. There are a number of senators who are opposed, but they come from both sides of the isle. Some of them are due to constituency opposition (an interesting confluence of the black leadership and the "bubba" vote), and some are opposed due to pressure from special interest groups (such as organized labor). This is, I believe, the first time that Freshman Senators Barrack Obama and Mel Mart…

Basic guidelines for this list: 1) The entry must be a broad-based comparison (i.e. a sweeping generalization). 2) It needs to be ideologically-based, founded on preconceptions or base understandings about a specific social/cultural/political group. 3) Racial stereotypes are excluded from this list. (Per forum rules.) 4) The poster must include his or her opinion on the characterization. Do you agree or disagree with it? 5) The characterization may be viewed by the poster as right OR wrong. (You can post something you agree with, or something you don't agree with.) ----------------- Here's a couple to start us off. I'll post one from each…

Yea im a communist at heart. Not because It's the cool thing to do, but because it's the right thing to do. But I want to take it a step further. Note that the idea presented below is merely a utopic vision of what I would like to see, and I realize the massive hurdles that would have to be overcome even if the plan was feasable. I present to you my plan: My government would be run by scientists and doctors. You have a set number of political slots open in a given community based on population. Each slot will be filled in order by success obtained in the education process and based on specialty. For instance, a slot may be open for a Biologist, and the person w…

Scientists have found a possible solution for making genome sequencing cheaper and more effective than was currently thought possible. This new method involves passing the DNA molecules through mathematical calibrated pours allowing the molecule to be sequenced accurately and effectively. This could be a big step forward in genome sequencing. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060409153612.htm - Ryan Jones

The dangers with just one were servere but it has been found that there is another supervolcano. This new volcano is located in the Vilama Caldera in Argentina and seems to have to have matched Yellowstone's last continent-blanketing blast. http://www.physorg.com/news62779531.html - Ryan Jones

During research of lunar soil collected by Neil Armstrong in 1969, scientists have found startling new evidence that indicates that the Sun's composition is far different than we think. Originally, there were two theories about the Sun's composition, one suggesting it has a similar oxygen composition to the planets, while the other indicating that it has enriched levels of oxygen-16. But in fact, it appears that the Sun has lower levels of oxygen-16, exactly the opposite of what scientists expected. It just shows how much more we have to learn about our most important source of energy. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200604/s1610398.htm

An interesting article from the Washington Post. At least it states the obvious fact that a president has the "unquestionable authority to approve the disclosure of secret CIA information to reporters." On the other hand, the headline seems to accept the fact of the "leak" as true, notwithstanding its hearsay nature and Libby's obvious incentive to color as much of his actions as possible with presidential authority. These same unnamed experts conclude that the "leak was highly ununusual and amounted to using sensitive intelligence data for political gain." Again, (i) we do not know that a leak was authorized at all, (ii) we do not yet know the nature of this…

I just noticed that my article os 'Government as a Business' has been locked. Ha Ha. There was some truth in it, though. I guess I should have posted that on the 'Humor' thread? Mike T

A new devlopment in the war against bacteria could be comming very soon thanks to researchers at the University of California. All cells use proteins, our body does, bacteria and viruses are the same. The process of protein replication is quite complex and it involves the unfolding of DNA or in bacteria RNA. So we can conclude that finding a drug to target the unfolded RNA while it is in this stage would block protein replication and so stop the cell functioning correctly, eventually killing the cell. Currently bacteria are becoming resistant to all our antibiotics, MRSA is an example and this new discovery could give a much needed edge back to researchers. ht…

A rare blue ring has been found arround Uranus, it is now only the second known planet with a blur ring! The apparently blueness of the ring is believed to occur because the material in the ring is much larger than the rings that are red. Further research is expected. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060406231332.htm - Ryan Jones

GOVERNMENT AS A BUSINESS If the US was run as a business Being as the US is the most powerful corporation in the world, the president would have a salary of $500,000,000 a year. The US would be selling its security worldwide. Since there would be no competition, its prices would be sky high but the workers (soldiers) would be paid a minimum wage. Its technology would be available worldwide where there would be some competition, so its prices would be somewhat subdued. Say $1000 for a digital CD? There would be no corruption since there is no one to corrupt and no one could afford it. Congress would give themselves pensions of $1,000,000 a month. …

http://www.aip.org/pnu/2006/split/772-3.html?source=rsspnu "Sunlight on a Chip Light emitting diodes (LEDs) convert electricity into light very efficiently, and are increasingly the preferred design for niche applications... To really make an impression in the lighting world, however, a device must be able to produce ... a softer, whiter, more color balanced illumination. Scientists ... in Japan, have now achieved a highly efficient, tunable white light with an improved yellow-producing phosphor .... Their light yield is 55 lumens per watt, about twice as bright as commercially available products operating in the same degree of whiteness."

In 2001, a mysterious red rain fell over parts of India. Scientists still do not have a full explanation of the colour -- there have been suggestions ranging from alien life to parts of a comet, but a recent analysis shows that they are actually a strange type of cell. Researchers in England found that the particles contain DNA, although the DNA is different than any other they have analysed. The cells also have unusually thick walls and some contain "daughter" cells that are even more puzzling. Now it is up to scientists to work out if the cells are terrestrial, or possibly from space. http://www.newscientistspace.com/art...25453.100.html

Yet another piece in the great puzzle, the puzzle of evolution. We have found many of the intermediates predicted from evolution but were missing an important one; the link between fish and land animals. Paleontologists have now found a fossil that fills in that gap, the missing link is about 375 million years old and has been named Tiktaalik roseae. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060406100543.htm - Ryan Jones

Are black holes the most destructive things in the universe? Yes they probably are but there may be a catch, the information that falls into the black hole its self may not be destroyed. Although anything that enters the black hole is condemned to remain in the hole (with the exception of Hawking radiation and escape via quantum tunnelling) the information may not actually be lost. Due to the effect known as quantum entanglement it could someday be possible to "program" a black hole says scientists. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/quantum-world/dn8836-black-holes-the-ultimate-quantum-computers.html - Ryan Jones

Nearly four million Americans - and perhaps one million more, illegally - take medications for ADHD, and the number is rising. But now doctors are worrying that ADHD is widely misdiagnosed, and several serious side effects of the medications are concerning them further. According to reports, several major ADHD drugs are causing hallucinations in up to 5% of children taking them, a substantial number. This worries the doctors, as the drugs are also being prescribed without major consultation - many family doctors prescribe them based on just a few minutes of discussion with the parents. It appears that ADHD diagnoses need a major reconsideration. http://www.new…

Fossils of a new species of bird-like dinosaur were found in Utah recently. This meat-eating dinosaur was seven feet tall, and could probably run up to 25 miles per hour. It had powerful arms, a strong toothless beak and threatening claws that fits the large dinosaur for being a predator. For an unknown reason, large feathers grew on its head. "It's quite different from modern birds," Lindsay Zanno, a doctoral student at the University of Utah, said. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060405/ap_on_sc/feathered_dinosaur

hi! I am new here. I am 13 year old from vietnam and wondering what are teh differences of democrat and republican?

Could the next level of computer technology be just over the horizon? An international research team think they have identified something that acts as a one way electrical valve, a diode... the only difference is that its a single molecule! Diodes are the logical "gates" that make a [acr=Central Processing Unit]CPU[/acr] work, if we can make these smaller then we can make the [acr=Central Processing Unit]CPU[/acr] its self much smaller. Could this lead to the next generation of ultra-fast and microscopic computers? Only time will tell. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060403230648.htm - Ryan Jones

Watch as the laws of physics are seemingly broken infront of your eyes! Scientists have found a molecule that can spin without inducing friction, something that is defined as imposible by physics and could thus revolutionise our understanding of the behaviour of molecules in liquid states. http://www.livescience.com/technology/060330_frictionless_spinning.html - Ryan Jones

Fascinating editorial today by Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby. Mallaby is not a conservative -- he spent 13 years writing for The Economist, a British paper that follows economic news and which has been a frequent critic of the Bush and Blair administrations (as Mallaby has been). This is a guy who writes books about apartheid and the World Bank, folks, not Rush Limbaugh and Christian evangelism. He knows his stuff. His editorials make frequent appearances on liberal as well as conservative blogs. And he has written editorials that are extremely critical of the Bush administration, such as this one, criticizing his economic policies. He's seen by most a…

The Georgia Institute of technology may have found a new way to get rid of uranium contamination. Certain bacteria that live in the subsurface soils can convert uranium contamination into an insoluble form by releasing a phosphate compound. This bacteria has potential for cleaning up uranium contamination at nuclear power plants as well as threats from nuclear weapons, giving us a new way to keep nuclear power safer. http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20060330-18021100-bc-us-bacteria.xml

The skull of what may be the "missing link" between us humans and Homo Erectus may have been discovered in Ethiopia. The skull was a rare find, as it had almost all of its pieces. It is from a time that little is known about, the time where Homo Erectus made its transition into Homo Sapiens, some time around 250,000 years ago. Hopefully, the skull will tell us more about this time and how humans have evolved. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060327/ap_on_re_af/ethiopia_ancient_skull;_ylt=AnnG.29CXodh.7NcIlFvP_0PLBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--