Politics

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051207113255.htm Around 2.5 million people received this vaccine last year rather than the conventional jab, and it appears to have no serious risks as some believed. This may lead to the flu vaccine simply being squirted up your nose rather then a shot, which would probably help a lot of people get around their fear of needles and get the shot. Good news.

Full BBC article here....let's just hope it works ! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4415722.stm#graphic A few key excerpts... Prof Karsten Danzmann, Hanover University "It will be a big event for two reasons: it will be yet another confirmation that Einstein's Theory of General Relativity is correct, but it will also open up a new kind of astronomy that will allow us to look inside the most violent events in the Universe." A new kind of astronomy requires a new type of "telescope", and that's just what Hough and UK-German colleagues have been developing on farmland a short drive from Hanover. It is called GEO 600. This is precision engineering …

Amazing there were no fatalities. Is there anyone on SFN who can see the 'huge plume of smoke' from where they are ? Please see latest BBC article below.... http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4520430.stm "This is the largest fire of this kind that we in the UK and Europe have dealt with. We are not even sure how the thermal currents will affect the foam; it may just vaporise it."

Using brand-new procedures, researchers cooperating from Universities in the US and the UK, have used a new, simple procedure to build pyramidal structures out of DNA. The new technique is said to built trillions of these components in only several minutes. This pyramidal structures are very sturdy, and are only 10 nanometers wide, making them ideal for using as the building blocks of nanostructures, such as 3-d electrical circuits. First, trillions of 4 distinct single stranded DNA molecule are placed in salt water, and the mixture is heated, and then rapidly cooled - that is the entire procedure. Researchers have also succeeded in linking several …

Researchers have created a mix of chemicals and medications that will activate the immune system against a wide range of bacteria and viruses. While the drug does not directly target the pathogens themselves, it boosts the immune response against them in the hopes that the immune system will be better than a direct attack by medication. The drug is administered via a nasal spray, and activates the immune system in the respiratory and digestive tracts. So it appears that we may have a new defense against viruses, rather then simply rest and plenty of fluids. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051211221045.htm

According to a survey by Norwegian scientists, killer whales contain the most hazardous man-made chemicals of any other species of animal inhabiting the Arctic. The researchers tested blubber samples and discovered chemicals such as pesticides, flame retardants, and PCBs, attributing the high level to the fact that orcas are on the top of the food chain in the Artic. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4520104.stm

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/uab-ama120705.php

According to a news realise from Carnegie Institute of Washington. Embyonic studies of Fuit Flies reveals that the stem cells controling the regulation of the gut are similiar to the one found in humans. The similiar stucture in gastrointenstinal tract hints that perhaps Fruit Flies and humans came from the same ancestor. This link between humans and fruit flies also bodes well for the further research of intentinal tract diseases and cancers. Related Links http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051209175959.htm http://www.carnegieinstitution.org/news_releases/news_0512_07.html

I'm in final exams this week so this is going to be very brief, but I want you guys to start thinking about something over the next few days and hopefully start talking about it before we go and start laying down the new rules. Many places on the Internet feature debate. Some of it is pretty good. Most of it is amateur hour. Some of it is downright lame. NONE of those communities, however, is exactly like "Science Forums and Debate". We're unique. And what makes us unique are you guys -- the members. I believe that the underlying premise of political discussion on SFN should be congenial debate of the issues that face our world today. Many of our members …

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051210120200.htm Scientists have discovered that rather than targeting the amyloid plaques caused by Alzheimer's disease (which are believed to be the most destructive part of the disease) after they are established, an immunization strategy against the plaques themselves helped prevent them from building up in the first place, at least in mice. Hopefully, this means we will be able to vaccinate against Alzheimers.

http://ridingsun.blogspot.com/2005/05/newsweek-america-is-dead.html http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/larryelder/2005/06/02/15609.html Does anybody know if these claims are true?

Yahoo! News Great Lakes near ecological breakdown: scientists By Andrew Stern CHICAGO (Reuters) - Stresses from polluted rivers to invasive species threaten to trigger an ecological breakdown in the Great Lakes, a group of scientists hoping to sway U.S. environmental policy said on Thursday. Seventy-five scientists who study the world's largest collective body of fresh water released their report on the myriad problems that need cleanup or restoration ahead of two key policy announcements next week. "This is just a critical period for the Great Lakes," Andy Buchsbaum, director of the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office, said about nex…

Instead of just talking about elevating the level of discussion, how about we actually go ahead and do it? We can start by actually taking up a topic that lends itself to more reasoned, substantive analysis than what you'll find in the usual "capitalism v. socialism," "IDiots in Kansas," or "Bush did/said/wants/screwed yada yada" threads. Anyway. It's taken three years, but the opposition is finally coalescing around withdrawal--in one form or another--as their strategic answer to this Administration's adventure in Iraq. Specifics are still hard to come by, but the most serious proposal to date came from Representative John Murtha (D-PA), echoing the outlines of…

I was mildly against Alito until I saw this. Now I'm adamantly opposed. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/scotus/la-na-alito3dec03,1,1324912.story?page=2&coll=la-news-politics-supreme_court

This guy is a right-wing extremist, but damn if I don't love what he's trying to do: http://junkscience.com/ When it comes down to it, in terms of the overall shift in the Earth's radiative imbalance CO2 just doesn't do all that much. And even with an immense international effort (which is trying for what are quickly proving to be unobtainable goals) the predicted outcome is almost negligable. Although Bush's motives for rejecting Kyoto are probably more related to cronyism than science, I consider it a good move. When he claims more research is needed he is telling the honest truth: the problem is not well understood, and won't be until we have reliabl…

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-127boundsanta,0,6076874.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines Neighbors leery after Miami Beach resident hangs a bound and blindfolded Santa News partner NBC 6 Posted December 7 2005, 10:30 AM EST MIAMI BEACH -- In one South Florida community, a man's holiday decorations are causing holiday fear for local children instead of creating holiday cheer, news partner NBC 6 reported Wednesday. Residents called police and complained to the city that a house near West 50th Street and Fifth Avenue had a life-sized, blindfolded Santa Claus doll hanging on a tree with its hands tied and its mouth gagged. Some …

Palestinians hit by sonic boom air raids · UN condemns night noise attacks as indiscriminate · Agencies say they cause trauma and miscarriages Chris McGreal in Gaza Thursday November 3, 2005 The Guardian Israel is deploying a terrifying new tactic against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip by letting loose deafening "sound bombs" that cause widespread fear, induce miscarriages and traumatise children. The removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip opened the way for the military to use air force jets to create dozens of sonic booms by breaking the sound barrier at low altitude, sending shockwaves across the territory, often at night. Palesti…

I swear if I hear one more story about a family being kicked out of their expensive hotel rooms or otherwise "re-victimized" I'm gonna barf up a lung. What have these people been DOING for the last few months, aside from sitting around waiting for handout after handout? One idiot on ABC News last night actually had the hutzpa to stand there in her Residence Inn suite (which I paid for) with her children eating dinner behind her (which I paid for), sporting a closet full of new clothing (which I paid for), and scream into the cameras, "They keep saying that we're going to get some help, but it NEVER COMES!" (sigh) That having been said, I know there are some…

On the occasions this month when I go down to the Village during working hours, I've seen the giant inflatable rat that signals a strike. The grad students at NYU are striking for unionization, and an (undergraduate) friend of mine at NYU has told me that the undergrads are being told "not to cross the picket line." I don't have any strong feelings about the unionization (on one hand, workers have the right to collectively bargain, on the other hand, the students are getting a free education). However, I don't think that undergrads trying to go to class really count as scabs. Crossing a picket line before you've patronized the employer is one thing; but the undergr…

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1368518 http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Business/story?id=1364097 - Stock market at a 4-year high, approaching 11,000 mark - Energy prices down 30% (Gas down from avg $3.07 to $2.15) - Inflation under control - Fed may not raise interest rates again - Consumers spending like crazy - New home starts are somehow STILL up and running (and likely to grow more as we begin to rebuild the gulf coast) - 215,000 new jobs in November, back up from only 5-digit gains in Sept/Oct due to Katrina losses - Average hourly earnings up 3.2% (biggest rise since March 2003) - Overall growth at 4.3% (excellent) - Christmas start considered "…

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200511/NAT20051104b.html

Are there any Marxists here? I'm not a Marxist myself, but my parents were born and lived in Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine. After my father passed away from heart problems in 1996, my family moved to Canada. Unlike a lot of the people I talk to about politics, I have had the chance to reflect on modern attitudes and learn from my mom's first-hand experience. I've learned (both from research and my mom) that there's a lot of stupid and completely false myths about "commie Russia": that everyone gets paid the same income, that government picks your job, that everyone is athiest, that all the people are brainwashed, that technology is primitive. My mom's not a M…

This is one of those stories that just makes you shake your head in wonder over the idiocy of people. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/orl-busgps3005nov30,0,267024.story?coll=sfla-news-florida So, in a nutshell, to their credit, the Education Logistics people aren't complaining about GPS (which is a completely passive system) per se. They're complaining about the system used to report the location of the GPS-equipped bus to the central office. Which is based on radio. So what is it that Education Logistics' system uses to report the location of the bus to the central office? Oh no, it's not that horrible radio -- sounds s…

I thought I'd toss this out and see if I can generate a bit of discussion on the sbject. Every so often, you see proposals to put security cameras up in this or that crime-ridden area or an area which has recently had an increase in crime. And the reaction is almost invariably "OMG WTF 1984!!1!!11!". This puzzles me immensely. If I were a politician, and I said "I'll put a policeman on every corner", I'd be hailed as a heroic crusader against crime (Ok, and also asked how I'd pay for it, but let's leave that out for the moment). But I said "I'll put a camera on every corner", I'd be thrown out of office and called a fascist. But what's the difference, really, …

emergence of economic, technological, military Superpower China is important to understand and think about this is a longterm problem (but with immediate present aspects too) http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2005/11/china-book-reviews.html books are coming out about this and so the New York Review of Books has articles like this http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18437 " Focus on China is overdue. For the last quarter of a century its economy has been growing by over 9 percent a year, increasing eightfold. However, it is not just this long-sustained hyper-growth rate that amazes and alarms the observer. It is the size of the economy which is growing. China's populat…