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The Courts

Submission + - Supreme Court upholds White House faith program (cnn.com)

Submitted by
The Spoonman
The Spoonman writes: "In a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court struck a blow against freedom of religion (which implies freedom FROM religion) in the U.S. The conservatively stacked court stated "taxpayers did not have "standing" to challenge in court the discretionary spending authority of the executive branch for its Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives." So much for "of the people, by the people, for the people"."
Education

Submission + - Pavlov's cockroaches, they drool from memory (msn.com)

Submitted by
Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: "Japanese researchers discovered that a cockroach's olfactory senses are sharp and they have memories like that of a dog. When the scientists exposed the filthy, disgusting roaches to an odor while feeding them sugar, and then later gave them a whiff of the odor without the food, the bugs drooled. Another set of cockroaches that weren't exposed to the odor when they ate, did nothing when they were exposed to the same smell later. '"Understanding the brain mechanism of learning in insects can help us to understand the functionings in the human brain. There are many, many common characteristics,"' one scientist said in a telephone interview with Reuters."
Enlightenment

Submission + - Professor is denied tenure for criticizing Israel.

Submitted by pasha2891
pasha2891 writes: Finkelstein, son of holocaust survivors and outspoken critic of oppressive Israeli policy in Palestine, has come under attack from detractors like Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who seeks to silence critics of Israel and has successfully interfered in internal DePaul tenure processes. Despite being in the midst of their hectic finals-week and upcoming graduation, student leaders are currently sacrificing their time by occupying the Executive Offices of DePaul University indefinitely until their demands for the tenure of Professors Finkelstein and Larudee are met. Link to protest site.
Censorship

Submission + - Church of England Chastises Sony (physorg.com)

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "The game "Resistance: Fall of Man" has been called sick & sacreligious by the Church of England due to a point in the game in which rival gunmen kill hundreds inside Manchester cathedral. The Church of England said that Sony did not ask for permission to use the cathedral in their game and demanded an apology. The bishop of Manchester is quoted as saying, "It is well known that Manchester has a gun crime problem. For a global manufacturer to recreate one of our great cathedrals with photorealistic quality and then encourage people to have gunbattles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible." A representative for Sony said a formal letter of apology will be sent Monday."
Privacy

Submission + - 14-yr-old girl's self portrait stolen for porn DVD

Submitted by
titaniumdoughnut
titaniumdoughnut writes: "14 year old girl's self portrait stolen from Flickr and used as cover for porn DVD "Body Magic." TVX Films refuses to acknowledge infringement, claiming to have purchased the image from an unknown stock company and business partner of 25 years, and later blames girl (now 17) for putting her photo on Flickr in the first place. U.S. lawyers requesting £50,000 to take up case.

From TVX Films agent: "I'M SURE BY THE END OF THE MONTH YOUR FACE WILL BE HISTORY ... WE HAVE FURTHER CHECKED OUT YOUR NAME AND ITS NOT LIKE IT'S A HOUSE WHOLE NAME. ACTUALLY, REMOVING YOUR IMAGE WILL HELP IMPROVE THE SELL OF THE DVD..... SO FAR IT BOMBED ... AS FOR COMPSENSATION;YOUR SILLY!"

The DVD continues to be sold and marketed with the photo in question attached. DVD info claims that all models featured are over 18."
Slashdot.org

Submission + - Hard drive failure greater thant vendor estimates.

Submitted by
Agent2592
Agent2592 writes: "Here is a very interesting article on a study about hard drive failure. Notable from the article: -Hard drive failure rate is much higher that what the vendors suggest -SCSI/FC discs ("server class"), contrary to common perception DO NOT have a significant advantage over PATA/SATA ("desktop class") when it comes to failure rate. -Operating temperature and failure rate DO NOT have a significant correlation. In other words discs kept at a lower operating temperature fail just as much. (RAPID & frequent temperature change do have an impact) -There is NO reliable predictor of failure. (SMART included)"
Space

Submission + - NASA Focuses Launch Efforts on Virtual Island

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "Speaking as avatar 'Simon Pete Raymaker' until repeated crashes forced him back into the real world, NASA Director Simon Pete Worden announced that the Ames Research Center has launched an island in Second Life, which will allow the public to take part in future missions to Mars. 'This is not your father's space program,' Worden said. NASA joins other government agencies that have jumped on the Second Life bandwagon, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institutes of Health and its National Library of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation. No word if the efforts are funded by real or virtual tax dollars."
Wii

Submission + - Rejected WiiPlay Games - Comedy Video

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Short comedy video about the games Nintendo decided not to include in WiiPlay, complete with 3D Miis doing a variety of silly things.
Robotics

Submission + - Robotic Ecologies

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "The University of Virginia (UVA) School of Architecture has started a new program about 'robotic ecologies' which wants to answer the question: Will robots take over architecture? As said the program leader, 'This research is not just about architectural machines that move. It is about groups of architectural machines that move with intelligence.' Apparently, buildings tracking our movements and adapting their shape or texture according human presence are not far fetched. Maybe one day, we'll talk to our homes and they'll answer... Read more for additional details and a picture of Super Galaxy, 'a high-rise apartment complex that's constantly in motion and responds to the needs of its inhabitants.'"
Sci-Fi

Submission + - Star Wars cast: where are they now?

Submitted by solitas
solitas writes: A Breitbart news story interviews certain StarWars alumni about what the trilogy has done for them.

They were part of one of the biggest movies in history but almost without exception the cast of "Star Wars" faded from view after lighting up cinemas during the 1970-80s.

While George Lucas' intergalactic fairytale proved to be a launch pad for the career of Harrison Ford, other prominent members of the blockbuster franchise have not come close to enjoying Ford's iconic status.

..."Without naming names, you meet some stars and afterwards you go 'Gee, I wish I hadn't met him,'"... Oh yeah? Do: tell.
Announcements

Submission + - Cell Phones aren't killing bees after all

Submitted by
radioweather
radioweather writes: "A couple of weeks ago, there was a nutty idea discussed in The Independent that claimed the electromagnetic radiation from cell phones was causing bees to become disoriented, which prevented them from returning to the hive, and they died. The flimsy cell phone argument was used to explain Colony Collapse Disorder.

Today the LA Times reports that researchers at UC San Francisco have uncovered what they believe to be the real culprit: a parasitic fungus. Other researchers said Wednesday that they too had found the fungus, a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, in affected hives from around the country."
Music

Submission + - Harmonix, MTV, and EA Announce Rock Band

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "The rock gods are upon us! A mega collaboration between Harmonix, MTV, EA, and a bevy of huge music groups has produced Rock Band, a four player full-rock experience that'll hit the Xbox 360 and PS3 this holiday. The game will include nothing but master recordings (no more cover bands!), and will ship with a microphone, guitar, bass, and drum kit. What more could you ask for?"
Democrats

Submission + - Al Gore use 20x more electricity per year

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Last night, Al Gore's global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh — more than 20 times the national average.
  http://www.tennesseepolicy.org/main/article.php?ar ticle_id=367

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