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Submission + - Hiroshima Memories: the many retrospectives of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists posts a retrospective of sorts for the anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bomb (August 6) and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki (August 9). The Bulletin links to various articles both current and from the past, including a piece in its own pages that condemned the Nagasaki bombing, but not the bombing of Hiroshima. First person accounts are included in this moving compilation of Hiroshima memories.

Submission + - DARPA awards $40 million for research into memory-controlling implants (naturalnews.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "The Pentagon's premier research and development division, DARPA, has awarded a $40 million grant to a pair of American universities to help develop "memory restoration technologies" that the agency says are aimed at helping military personnel cope with brain injuries, but which seem like they could also be used to implant phony memories."

Submission + - Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Facility: Weapons-grade uranium, mercury, and revenge-porn (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: This is simply astonishing. Bob Alvarez describes the fiscal, environmental, health, and safety problems that have for decades defined the Y-12 nuclear weapons facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. From insane levels of mercury pollution that has gotten into local waterways, to chronic fires and explosions, the arrest of a trespassing nun, and an airplane that came low enough over the facility to drop a large load of revenge-porn, Y-12 is a major disaster waiting to happen.

‘Years of leaking roofs have created chronic safety problems, including standing water in fissile material storage areas and water accumulation near electric control panels. In March 2014, a large portion of a concrete ceiling collapsed in a building that was once part of the weapons operation’

And recently, the Government Accountability Office ‘reported that one of the primary justifications for stockpiling excess canned sub-assemblies at Y-12 is “for potential use in planetary defense against earthbound asteroids.”’ In 2005, a task force at the Department of Energy recommended the closure of Y-12, citing a lack of ‘modern-day production technology,” and urged the DOE to begin an immediate site selection process elsewhere. That set the Tennessee congressional delegations into an uproar, so the DOE decided to modernize ‘in-place.” It can't happen too soon..

Submission + - Planes can be hacked via inflight wi-fi, says researcher (www.cbc.ca)

Submitted by wired_parrot
wired_parrot writes: In a presentation to be shown Thursday at the Black Hat conference, cybersecurity consultant Ruben Santamarta is expected to outline how planes can be hacked via inflight wi-fi. Representatives of in-flight communication systems confirmed his findings but downplayed the risks, noting that physical access to the hardware would still be needed and only the communication system would be affected.

Submission + - Snowden reveals scale of US aid to Israel which explains turmoil in Middle East

Submitted by ltorvalds11
ltorvalds11 writes: The turmoil gripping the Middle East is a direct result of the provision of cash, weapons and surveillance to Israel by the US, the latest Snowden leak illustrates. In a bold examination, the former Guardian journalist reveals the amazing contrast between what the United States says publicly, and what it does behind the curtain.
In fact, "the single largest exchange between NSA and ISNU (Israeli SIGINT National Unit) is on targets in the Middle East which constitute strategic threats to US and Israeli interests," the leaked paper reveals. One of the "key priorities" of this cooperation is "the Iranian nuclear development program, followed by Syrian nuclear efforts, Lebanese Hizbullah plans and intentions, Palestinian terrorism, and Global Jihad." The paper talks about "targeting and exploiting" these. Greenwald goes on to list the occasions on which the US has been exposed as supplying arms to Israel;
the last such occasion was just before the start of the operation in Gaza, wherein a $1 billion stockpile of ammunition the US stored in Israel specifically for situations like these was used.

Submission + - The linguistics and politics of climate change (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: "Climate scientist Peter Friederici with a wonderful piece on the linguistics of climate change.He traces the Republican embrace of the term "climate change" to GOP consultant Frank Luntz because, as Luntz put it, 'Climate change’ is less frightening,' and presumably, less likely to inspire action. Friederici cites a study that examines the use of both terms in the US, and then looks toward Germany's inspired coining of the phrase 'Energiewende.' This is a delightful read with implications for American environmentalists and policy makers."

Submission + - The linguistics of climate change, and why it matters 1

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: Climate scientist Peter Friederici with a wonderful piece on the linguistics of climate change.He traces the Republican embrace of the term "climate change" to GOP consultant Frank Luntz because, as Luntz put it, 'Climate change’ is less frightening,' and presumably, less likely to inspire action. Friederici cites a study that examines the use of both terms in the US, and then looks toward Germany's inspired coining of the phrase 'Energiewende.' This is a delightful read with implications for American environmentalists and policy makers.

Submission + - How to prevent the next Ebola outbreak (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: The most recent Ebola outbreak has occurred is in 3 countries that have not previously reported the disease. Laura Kahn believes humans are becoming more and more vulnerable to Ebola and other deadly diseases because of increased exposure, a result of massive deforestation: 'Environmental destruction and widespread deforestation seem to constitute a common thread in causing the emergence of many of the deadliest viruses known to humanity...Deadly viruses such as Ebola and Nipah emerge in human populations after widespread deforestation destroys the habitats of fruit bats to make way for agriculture.' In countries desperate to feed themselves, bushmeat consumption is a dangerous practice that exposes humans to Ebola. The answer, Kahn believes, is a sustainable approach to large-scale livestock production: 'The Ebola virus can be contained, but doing so requires that people be convinced to change behavior that earns them money and provides them food.'

Submission + - Lawrence Krauss: Congress is trying to defund scientists at Energy Department (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: Physicist Lawrence Krauss blasts Congress for their passage of the 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill that cut funding for renewable energy, sustainable transportation, and energy efficiency, and even worse, had amendments that targeted scientists at the Department of Energy: He writes that this action from the US Congress is worse even than the Australian government's move to cancel their carbon tax, because the action of Congress is far more insidious: 'Each (amendment) would, in its own way, specifically prohibit scientists at the Energy Department from doing precisely what Congress should mandate them to do—namely perform the best possible scientific research to illuminate, for policymakers, the likelihood and possible consequences of climate change' Although the bill isn't likely to become law, Krauss is fed up with Congress burying its head in the sand: The fact that those amendments '...could pass a house of Congress, should concern everyone interested in the appropriate support of scientific research as a basis for sound public policy.' Amen

Submission + - Why are the world's scientists continuing to take chances with smallpox? (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: MIT's Jeanne Guillemin looks at the recent blunders with smallpox and H5N1 at the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health to chronicle the fascinating history of smallpox eradication efforts and the attempts (thwarted by Western scientists) to destroy lab collections of the virus in order to make it truly extinct. 'In 1986, with no new smallpox cases reported, the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, resolved to destroy the strain collections and make the virus extinct. But there was resistance to this; American scientists in particular wanted to continue their research.' Within a few years, secret biological warfare programs were discovered in Moscow and in Iraq, and a new flurry of defensive research was funded. Nevertheless, Guillemin and others believe that changes in research methods, which no longer require the use of live viruses, mean that stocks of the live smallpox virus can and should finally be destroyed.

Submission + - MIT's Ted Postol presents more evidence on Iron Dome failures (thebulletin.org) 1

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: In a controversial article last week, MIT physicist Ted Postol again questioned whether Israel's vaunted Iron Dome rocket defense system actually works. This week, he comes back with evidence in the form of diagrams, photos of Iron Dome intercepts and contrails, and evidence on the ground to show that Iron Dome in fact is effective only about 5% of the time. Postol believes the real reason there are so few Israeli casualties is that Hamas rockets have very small warheads (only 10 to 20 pounds), and also Israel's outstanding civil defense system, which includes a vast system of shelters and an incredibly sophisticated rocket attack warning system (delivered through smart phones, among other ways).

Comment Re:huh? (Score 1) 3

by Lasrick (#47467995) Attached to: What would Reagan do in Iraq?

Its not clear to me why either one of them would actually want to be considered most like RR.

Well, yes, good point. Only if one is pandering to the Tea Party, I suppose.

Submission + - What would Reagan do in Iraq? (defenseone.com) 3

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: Senator Rand Paul and Governor Rick Perry have been arguing lately through various op/eds over which of them is more like Ronald Reagan when it comes to military intervention. Neither of them seem to have looked very carefully at Reagan's record on the matter. Peter Beinart explains how Reagan's approach would be a disaster in the Middle East, and he looks instead to Presidents Nixon and Roosevelt, two presidents the Republican Party isn't about to consider as role models.

Submission + - ChickTech Brings Hundreds of Young Women to Open Source (opensource.com)

Submitted by ectoman
ectoman writes: Opensource.com is running an interview with Jennifer Davidson of ChickTech, a non-profit organization whose mission is to create communities of support for women and girls pursuing (or interested in pursuing) careers in tech. "In the United States, many girls are brought up to believe that 'girls can't do math' and that science and other "geeky" topics are for boys," Davidson said. "We break down that idea." Portland, OR-based ChickTech is quickly expanding throughout the United States—to cities like Corvallis and San Francisco—thanks to the "ChickTech: High School" initiative, which gathers hundreds of young women for two-day workshops featuring open source technologies. "We fill a university engineering department with 100 high school girls—more girls than many engineering departments have ever seen," Davidson said. "The participants can look around the building and see that girls from all backgrounds are just as excited about tech as they are."

Submission + - How to prevent the next Ebola outbreak (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: The latest outbreak of Ebola in 3 countries where it had not been previously reported is the largest and deadliest since Ebola was first reported in 1976, and this outbreak appears to be a new strain of the virus. Strong evidence points to the fruit bat as the host species of the virus, and Laura Kahn examines how human activity is increasing exposure to the fruit bat, as well as how the virus then spreads from human-to-human contact. 'The Ebola virus can be contained, but doing so requires that people be convinced to change behavior that earns them money and provides them food.' More people have been diagnosed with Ebola this time around than the peak back in 1976, and the death toll has yet to be calculated. The recommendations in this article should be thoroughly examined.

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