ushering05401 - Slashdot User

Submission + - New Defiance of Congress

Submitted by ushering05401 on Friday July 27, 2007 @07:23PM

ushering05401 writes: The White House has launched a new defense of embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, and if allowed to stand it may set a precedent in the ability of the President to defy Congress. Today the White House used multiple spokespersons to air the defense which consists of this: Gonzalez did not lie, but we can't offer any supporting evidence to Congress because of potential threats to National Security.

This latest defense tactic comes in the face of a perjury charge expected to be brought against the Attorney General after Robert S. Mueller III, head of the FBI, offered Congress testimony that directly contradicted testimony from the A.G. A subpoena has been issued to Karl Rove as Congress is searching for further clarification of related issues.

A brief New York Times overview is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/washington/26cnd -gonzales.html?hp.

Submission + - Lack of input validation kills

Submitted by ushering05401 on Wednesday May 09, 2007 @01:53PM

ushering05401 writes: Multiple news sources are reporting at least eight deaths across North America due to failures in the calibration and use of pumps designed to deliver cancer medications. The medications being administered are so powerful that once an overdose has occured there is not a way to save the victims life. The case reviewed in this article http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.h tml?id=d296990e-fc05-4b5d-86b4-32d3c2e4be9b&k=6732 3
describes a woman who recieved an overdose living for twenty two days after the overdose knowing she was going to die.

In addition to the human element, regulators reviewing the cases cite the lack of sanity checks embedded into the pump as an issue that needs to be addressed. Yet another example of technology designed without proper validation testing to account for human error.

The nurses involved in most of these cases are not being disciplined. Regulators cite systematic failures that should have been addressed when the procedures and technology were implemented.

Submission + - coronal loops and pipe organs (bbc)

Submitted by ushering05401 on Friday April 20, 2007 @09:31PM

ushering05401 writes: The BBC writes about info delivered at the current Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting (Concluded today, April, 20).

Apparently solar flares follow 'coronal loops.' These loops funnel acoustic signals much like a pipe organ does — leading the reporter to liken the sun's corona to a musical instrument.

From TFA: "These loops can be up to 100 million kilometres long and guide waves and oscillations in a similar way to a pipe organ," said Dr Youra Taroyan, from the Solar Physics and Space Plasma Research Centre (SP2RC) at the University of Sheffield.

Other info here : the sun's corona is up to 300 times hotter than the surface of the sun. There is some basic explanation of this phenomenon. Also some suggestions that these discoveries may help work out earth based fusion kinks...

regards.

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