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The Courts

Submission + - Justice Clarence Thomas' Speech (blogspot.com)

Submitted by Advocate123
Advocate123 writes: I few hours ago I attended Justice Clarence Thomas' speech in front of the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society. It was a very enlightening discussion. His life's story is truly remarkable.
User Journal

Journal SPAM: "A lot worse than we thought..." 5

Journal by Jeremiah Cornelius

Former and possibly future presidential candidate, attorney and political activist Ralph Nader quotes Democratic Congressman Olver (Mass.) on why the Democrats are powerless to stop Bush, Cheney and Co.

According to Nader, Olver said that if the Democrats started impeachment proceedings, the Bush administration would immediately bomb Iran. When Iran retaliates at all, Bush will declare a national emergency, declare martial law, and cancel the 2008 elections.
Space

Submission + - Scientist close to being able to steer huricanes (telegraph.co.uk) 1

Submitted by
E++99
E++99 writes: "In the wake of Katrina, two rival teams of climate scientists are working on ways to steer hurricanes, so as to be able to avoid direct hits on major cities in the future. Both teams are using the technique of removing power and speed from strategic points in the hurricane, effectively refracting its path. The American team is approaching this by warming the areas of the tops of the hurricane clouds, either by dropping ash to absorb heat from the sun, or directly beaming microwaves on those areas from space. The Israeli team is taking the approach of cooling the bottom of the hurricane by releasing dust along its base. The concern is raised of lawsuits from the small towns that hurricanes are directed towards in the effort to avoid large cities. But if the space-based solution could be done efficiently, and applied to all large tropical storms, couldn't we one day send them all harmlessly into the North Atlantic?"
Security

Submission + - Technology breeds crime, says former criminal (computerworld.com)

Submitted by
jcatcw
jcatcw writes: "In an interview with Computerworld's editor in chief, Don Tennant, Frank Abagnale spoke about his life of crime and crime prevention. Abagnale claims: "It would be 4,000 times easier to do today, what I did 40 years ago, and I probably wouldn't go to prison for it. Technology breeds crime — it always has, it always will. ... I really think the more technology there is in the world, the more you have to instill character and ethics. You can build all the security systems in the world; you can build the most sophisticated technology, and all it takes is one weak link — someone who operates that technology — to bring it all down. People don't like to talk about that issue, because they think it's over-simplified. But the fact is, in all my experience, that's where the problem lies.""
Intel

Submission + - Intel Motherboard Boots Linux in Five Seconds (pcper.com)

Submitted by
Vigile
Vigile writes: "A new motherboard from Asus, the P5E3 Deluxe WiFi has more options and features than you could probably ever use. Based on Intel's recently released X38 chipset, the board has three PCI Express x16 slots, runs on DDR3 memory up to 1600 MHz in speed, supports future 1600 MHz FSB Intel Core 2 processors and has not one, but two wireless 802.11b/g/n connections. But the most interesting feature might be the use of flash memory on the motherboard for an embedded Linux OS called SplashTop that offers up 5 second boot times to a web browser and Skype client. Pretty intriguing option for new system builders!"
Space

Submission + - "I Love Mars, And I Vote" (wired.com)

Submitted by
schnarff
schnarff writes: "With constant Congressional opposition to funding the Vision for Space Exploration, including language prohibiting NASA from spending money on sending humans to Mars in this year's House version of the NASA budget, the support of the next President is crucial to the goal of returning humans to the Moon and moving on to Mars. Despite this, virtually no one knows how the 2008 candidates feel about space exploration, including many of the candidates themselves. Chris Carberry, Political Director of The Mars Society, is aiming to change that, and in the process ensure that the program survives the next presidential administration."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Vodka used as medicinal alcohol

Submitted by l2718
l2718 writes: A large dose of ethanol is commonoly used to treat poisoning by other alcohols. When Australian doctors ran out of pure alcohol while treating an Italian tourist who drank ethylene glycol, they tried an alternate medical protocol instead.

"The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," [a doctor] said. "The hospital's administrators were also very understanding when we explained our reasons for buying a case of vodka."
Microsoft

Submission + - EU free-marketeers call for unbundling of Windows (edocr.com)

Submitted by rob19683
rob19683 writes: The Globalisation Institute is a rare thing for an EU think-tank — they're pro-free-market and generally against regulation. But in a submission to the European Commission, they've recommended enforced unbundling of operating system and hardware, claiming that "Microsoft's dominant position is not in the public interest. It limits the market and has slowed technical development to the prejudice of consumers". Their belief is that "Unbundling would foster a competitive market, increase consumer choice and reduce prices". If even free-market think tanks see Microsoft as the enemy of innovation, can MS possibly hope to avoid action from the EU? Read the policy report here.
Worms

Submission + - Analysis of Storm Worm (cyber-ta.org)

Submitted by madAlric
madAlric writes: This is an interesting analysis of the Storm Worm trojan.
From the article:
"In this paper, we attempt to partially address voids in our collective understanding of Storm by providing a multi-perspective analysis of various Storm clients. Our analysis includes a static dissection of the malware binary and the characteristics of the Storm worm's network dialog as observed from multiple infection traces."

Feed Science Daily: Ticks Don't Come Out In The Wash (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed
Before venturing into tick-infested territory, you used a topical repellent on exposed skin and outer clothing. When you returned, you did a body check and threw your clothes in the wash. But clean clothes may not be tick-free clothes.
NASA

Submission + - NASA says dramatic sea ice loss due to wind shifts

Submitted by
radioweather
radioweather writes: "There's been a lot of news about the rapid sea ice loss in the artic this year, reaching a new record low extent. It's been attributed to global warming by many familiar with the problem. But NASA issued a press release this week that explains the mechanism as being shifts in polar wind patterns. "Unusual atmospheric conditions set up wind patterns that compressed the sea ice, loaded it into the Transpolar Drift Stream and then sped its flow out of the Arctic," said Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and leader of the study. When that sea ice reached lower latitudes, it rapidly melted in the warmer waters.

In simpler terms, polar wind patterns changed and blew sea ice further south to warmer waters than it normally would.

At the same time, a new Antarctic maximum ice record extent has been set. While the Arctic ice has shrunk to 3 million square kilometers, the Antarctic has peaked at a record 16 million square kilometers. With one pole shrinking and another gaining, the net change in ice area worldwide is only about 5%. According to researchers, over the last 100 years, there appears to have been no statistically significant change in seasonal variations of sea ice."
Biotech

Submission + - Purpose of appendix believed found (cnn.com)

Submitted by CambodiaSam
CambodiaSam writes: From the AP wire via CNN: WASHINGTON (AP) — Some scientists think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces and protects good germs for your gut. That's the theory from surgeons and immunologists at Duke University Medical School, published online in a scientific journal this week. For generations the appendix has been dismissed as superfluous. Doctors figured it had no function. Surgeons removed them routinely. People live fine without them. The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system, according to the study in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. There are more bacteria than human cells in the typical body. Most are good and help digest food. But sometimes the flora of bacteria in the intestines die or are purged. Diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery would clear the gut of useful bacteria. The appendix's job is to reboot the digestive system in that case.

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