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Medicine

Cure For Radiation Sickness Found? 385

Posted by kdawson from the since-my-fallout-with-you dept.
Summit writes "A scientist has claimed to have discovered a radioprotectant that all but eliminates acute radiation sickness even in cases of lethal doses of radiation in tests on rats and monkeys, when injected up to 72 hours after exposure. They also claim the drug, a protein, has no observed negative effects in humans. They have not irradiated any people just yet, but if this turns out to be true, it could mean everything from curing cancer to making manned interplanetary space expeditions feasible... not to mention treatment for radiation exposures in nuclear/radiological accidents/attacks. If this drug works, it would mean a true breakthrough as past experiments with radioprotectants were not particularly promising in any respect." The only source for the story at this time is an exclusive in YNet News, a site with the subtitle "Israel At Your Fingertips." Such a radioprotectant would be huge news for Israel. Make of it what you will.
Education

Bill Gates Puts Classic Feynman Lectures Online 338

Posted by Soulskill from the surely-you're-joking dept.
theodp writes "Okay Tux fans, let's see how badly you want to see Feynman's Messenger Lectures on Physics. Bill Gates has the goods over at Microsoft Research's Project Tuva site. Also, CNET's Ina Fried has an interesting interview with Gates. He goes into why he spent his own money to make a series of classic physics lectures available free on the Web, talks about the possibility of Project Natal bringing gesture recognition to Windows, gives his thoughts on Google's Chrome OS, and discusses plans to patent 'cows that don't fart.' The last is a joke. I think."
The Courts

Microsoft Sued Over Vista-To-XP Downgrade Fees 479

Posted by Soulskill from the can't-win-for-losing dept.
Krojack writes with this excerpt from Computerworld: "Los Angeles resident Emma Alvarado charged Microsoft with multiple violations of Washington state's unfair business practices and consumer protection laws over its policy of barring computer makers from continuing to offer XP on new PCs after Vista's early-2007 launch. Alvarado is seeking compensatory damages and wants the case declared a class-action suit. ... Irked at having to pay a fee for downgrading a new Lenovo notebook to XP, Alvarado said that Microsoft had used its position as the dominant operating system maker to 'require consumers to purchase computers pre-installed with the Vista operating system and to pay additional sums to "downgrade" to the Windows XP operating system.'"
Space

Spider Missing After Trip To Space Station 507

Posted by CmdrTaco from the lost-in-space dept.
Garabito writes "A spider that had been sent to the International Space Station for a school science program was lost. Two arachnids were sent in order to know if spiders can survive and make webs in space, but now only one spider can be seen in the container. NASA isn't sure where the other spider could have gone. I, for one, welcome our new arachnid overlords."

Comment Similar, but different kinds of nuts (Score 1) 631

by Bimo_Dude (#25750033) Attached to: Mind Control Delusions and the Web
I'm not so sure that all the major religions really contradict each other so much. They [mostly] believe in the same god, just a different implementation of that god (like who is his offspring, or the real prophets). The similarities are pretty striking when you think about it...

1. The whole deity thing
2. Theirs is the only religion; everybody else is an "infidel," "sinner," or "satanist"
3. Everybody who is not one of them should be either converted or killed (there are some exceptions to this one)
4. They all believe that nobody can be ethical without their religion, and
5. Usually, the poor people who go to services pay for the lavish lifestyles of their religious "leaders"

Needless to say, I don't believe in any of that religious claptrap either (except FSM, of course).

Comment Re:In Virginia. (Score 1) 709

by Bimo_Dude (#25668097) Attached to: In the U.S. election just ended, I voted ...
You must've been stuck with one of those crappy WinVote machines. I had to use those for the last three elections in Fairfax County. This year, we were given the option of using the optical scan ballots or the WinVote machines. I'm glad to hear that VA is switching back to paper by the next election!
Media

Submission + - IMDB Now Streaming Movies and TV Shows

Submitted by
Bimo_Dude
Bimo_Dude writes: "IMDB is now streaming free movies and TV shows. From the article:

More than 6,000 full-length feature films including classic movie Some Like It Hot and TV shows like Heroes and 24 are available to watch.

There are some older shows available like The A-Team, I Dream of Jeannie, and Star Trek (classic), and some movies, too (one of which is Weird Science)."

Nintendo

Miyamoto 'Banned' From Talking About Hobbies 256

Posted by CmdrTaco from the they-might-learn-our-secrets dept.
walshy007 writes "After Shigeru Miyamoto developed a love of puzzles, the "brain-training" software that has proved to be an international "killer application" on the Nintendo DS console was born. He became interested in taking more exercise, and Wii Fit was created. He took up music lessons, and Wii Music was the result. Now, according to sources at Nintendo, the games designer has been banned by the company from speaking publicly about his hobbies."
Privacy

FISA Bill Vote Today, With Telco Immunity 465

Posted by kdawson from the freedom-on-the-march dept.
Bimo_Dude writes "Today (June 20), Steny Hoyer is bringing to the House floor the latest FISA bill (PDF), which includes retroactive immunity for the telcos. The bill also is very weak on judicial review, allowing the telcos to use a letter from the president as a 'get out of liability free' card. Here are comments from the EFF. Glenn Greenwald, writing in Salon, describes the effect of the immunity clause this way: 'So all the Attorney General has to do is recite those magic words — the President requested this eavesdropping and did it in order to save us from the Terrorists — and the minute he utters those words, the courts are required to dismiss the lawsuits against the telecoms, no matter how illegal their behavior was.'"
Privacy

Submission + - FISA Bill Vote Today, With Telco Immunity

Submitted by
Bimo_Dude
Bimo_Dude writes: "Today (June 20), Steny Hoyer in bringing to the house floor the latest FISA bill (PDF), which includes retroactive immunity for the telcos. The bill also is very weak on judicial review, allowing the telcos to use a letter from the president as a "get out of liability free" card. Here are comments from the ACLU and the EFF.FTA:

"The agreement extends the government's ability to eavesdrop on espionage and terrorism suspects while effectively providing a legal escape hatch for AT&T, Verizon Communications and other telecom firms. They face more than 40 lawsuits that allege they violated customers' privacy rights by helping the government conduct a warrantless spying program after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.""
Censorship

Senate Committee Passes FCC Indecency Bill 507

Posted by Zonk from the they-thought-of-the-children dept.
An anonymous reader writes "US Senate Commerce Committee today passed a bill that would allow the FCC to fine broadcasters for slip of the tongue expletives, negating a ruling by federal appeals court in New York that commission's policy on 'fleeting expletives' is arbitrary and capricious. 'A mandate by Congress that a "fleeting expletive" can now be found indecent will create a vast chilling effect on broadcast speech, the advocacy group Center for Democracy and Technology claims. CDT points out that prior to this bill and the FCC's policy change, the FCC exercised discretion in determining which utterances were indecent, and consistently found that one-time uses of curse words were not indecent.'"
United States

Journal Journal: New Pledge of Allegiance

Journal by Bimo_Dude
Based on this thread, I thought it time to modernize the US pledge of allegiance:

I pledge allegiance
to the logo
of the United Corporation of America®
and to the Profits
for which it stands
One Company, under Bush
With Gitmo and surveillance for all.

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