Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Space

Magnetic Portals Connect Sun and Earth 235

Posted by Soulskill from the no-cake-jokes-allowed dept.
MaxwellEdison writes "Scientists have discovered evidence of magnetic portals connecting the Earth and the Sun every 8 minutes. 'Several speakers at the Workshop have outlined how FTEs form: On the dayside of Earth (the side closest to the sun), Earth's magnetic field presses against the sun's magnetic field. Approximately every eight minutes, the two fields briefly merge or "reconnect," forming a portal through which particles can flow. The portal takes the form of a magnetic cylinder about as wide as Earth. The European Space Agency's fleet of four Cluster spacecraft and NASA's five THEMIS probes have flown through and surrounded these cylinders, measuring their dimensions and sensing the particles that shoot through.'"
Censorship

Malaysia Uses Anti-Terrorism Laws To Stop Bloggers 381

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the like-a-glimpse-into-the-future dept.
Academiphiliac writes to mention the BBC reported in an article this morning that the Malaysian government may start using tough anti-terror laws to censor bloggers who insult either Islam or the country's king. "The move comes as one of Malaysia's leading online commentators has been questioned by police following a complaint by the main governing party. The new rules would allow a suspect to be detained indefinitely, without being charged or put on trial. But officials insist the law is not intended to strangle internet freedom."
United States

Submission + - Afghan leaders steal half of all aid

Submitted by
AlHunt
AlHunt writes: "The Telegraph is reporting that Afghan leaders are stealing up to half of aid sent to the country.
Despite accusations against tribal leaders, mosque elders and police, the US and EU are still planning to send another £7 billion in aid.

From TFA:

Charles Heyman, a defence analyst and former British Army major, said millions of pounds earmarked for reconstruction were being siphoned off. "It almost comes with the programme," he said. "You have to build in an element of that into any programme because you know it will leak into people's pockets."
On an up note, however: "Nato commanders in southern Afghanistan are deeply concerned at the level of corruption ...".
Super. As long as someone is "deeply concerned" we can keep bleeding the worlds taxpayers to feed the corrupt."
User Journal

Journal Journal: My First Firefox Extension: "Personal Toolbar Button"

Journal by Quantum Jim

I wrote my first Firefox 1.5 extension called "Personal Toolbar Button." Of course, it simply adds a toolbar button that toggles on/off the "Personal Toolbar" toolbar. This is where I keep all my bookmarks, but too many toolbars wastes useful screen real estate. Install it at extension's web site. (Thanks Mozilla.org!)

Spore Is EA's New Ace 406

Posted by Zonk from the less-soul-sucking dept.
BusinessWeek reports on EA's Next Big Thing. From the article: "EA is stumbling, and a big part of its time-tested strategy is about to change. The company hopes that its next mega-franchise will revolve not around a football star, a boy wizard, or a dashing British spy, but...a microbe. The game is called Spore. Developed by Will Wright, the creator of SimCity and The Sims, it lets players design an invertebrate in its primordial stages and then guide its evolution until the creature's offspring develop into a thriving civilization with cities, religion, and spaceships. EA's ambitious goal is to create more such innovative, internally developed games while lessening the company's dependence on professional sports and Hollywood movie franchises."
Censorship

ISP Fined $5000 For Hate Content 594

Posted by Zonk from the slippery-slope dept.
eRondeau writes "In a precedent-setting ruling, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has fined a hosting company for carrying 'objectionable content'. The material in question was White Supremacist postings. From the article: 'The ruling sends a very strong message that Internet servers, if they are aware there is hate content and don't take timely action to remove it, can be held liable,' said the Ottawa lawyer who filed the complaint in February 2002. The individual posters were fined thousands as well."

New Asteroid Becomes Earth's Biggest Threat 232

Posted by Zonk from the doooooommm dept.
inexion wrote to mention a story on PhysOrg stating that we're all doomed. "A space rock capable of sub-continent scale devastation has about a one in 1,000 risk of colliding with Earth early next century, the highest of any known asteroid, watchers said on Thursday. The rock, 2004 VD17, is about 500 metres (yards) long and has a mass of nearly a billion tonnes, which -- if it were to impact -- would deliver 10,000 megatonnes of energy, equivalent to all the world's nuclear weapons. Spotted on November 27 2004, VD 17 was swiftly identified as rock that potentially crossed Earth's orbit, with a 1 in 3,000 risk of collision on May 4 2102."
User Journal

Journal Journal: Q: Caffeine and Athletic Performance? 4

Journal by Quantum Jim

"One of the main reasons for caffeine giving you a wake-up call is that it forces the liver to hydrolise glycogen into glucose." (src) Glycogen "is the main form of carbohydrate storage in animals and occurs primarily in the liver and muscle tissue." (src) Granted those two sources are not good references. I need to do additional research. However, if true, woul
User Journal

Journal Journal: CMU Grappling Video

Journal by Quantum Jim

CMU Grappling kicking ass, taking names - Highlights from our tournament in December via Google Video. I'm Jimmy. :-) There is another tournament in March, but I haven't decided whether I will compete in it. Many of my friends are going to enter, but I am burnt out from tournaments. I'd really like to skip one - just for once - and catch my breath. Oh, and I've been diverting my whining to a different
User Journal

Journal Journal: Better But Still Stressed Out 2

Journal by Quantum Jim

On Exams. I feel better though still stressed out. In the real world, I refer to documentation all the time even for basic stuff just to confirm things. Why do profs expect you to know everything from memory?

On Championships. Wow. I was afraid this might happen. Many of the people that I roll with during practice really want to prove themselves.

Slashdot Top Deals

Work continues in this area. -- DEC's SPR-Answering-Automaton

Close