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Archive for August, 2011

August 30th, 2011 - 9:11 am § in Misc.

Breaking News: A Libyan Leader Dressed for a Press Conference

I would love to buy my next smartphone with the label “made in Libya.” Photo: Reuters Libya’s Rebels Give 4-Day Ultimatum to Gadhafi Forces TNC leader Jalil threatens, rebels will resort to military action in Sirte if they get no indication of peaceful resolution to conflicts. I wo[...]

August 30th, 2011 - 7:35 am § in Misc.

The AVE Challenge: What is it?

Clue: This is a real image, not something from Lucas Films or my copy of Photoshop.  The device is neither a Klingon Warship, a new Chinese high speed ferry, or P:aul Allen’s latest toy.[...]

August 29th, 2011 - 10:39 pm § in China, Politics

China: Ai Weiwei tells his tale of two cities, both are Beijing

I am frustrated by the lack of attention by academe to the plight of Ai Weiwei.  His courage is shown here by his decision to defy China’s corporate oligarchs by writing while under house arrest. While Ai’s courage is amazing, we should not just blame his fate on China.  To a lesser de[...]

August 29th, 2011 - 12:42 am § in Misc.

Frankenstein Come to The US

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, Va. — Talk to fishermen here, and you will hear the legend of Buggs Island Lake: A Navy diver sent to recover the wreckage of a small plane encounters a fish the size of a man on the lake’s bottom. He bolts to the surface and refuses to dip a toe in the […][...]

August 28th, 2011 - 11:45 pm § in Misc.

SUNDAY REVELATIONS: Eight Souls Saved With No God in Ohio

Ad campaign intends to dispel atheist stereotypes with a neighbor’s face Wednesday, June 22, 2011  03:05 AM By Meredith Heagney THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Kyle Robertson | Dispatch Olivia Chen’s billboard graces W. 5th Avenue, near the Ohio State campus. Kyle Robertson | Dispatch The fou[...]

August 28th, 2011 - 12:32 pm § in Misc.

BREAKING NEWS: Gaddafi Sightings in Zimbabwe and in Northwest

President Mugabe’s political opponents report seeing  Gaddafi arrive in the country on a Zimbabwe Air Force jet.  The depo9sed :Libyan dictator is said to have been  taken to a mansion in Harare’s Gunninghill suburb, where agents from his all-female bodyguard were apparently seen patr[...]

August 28th, 2011 - 9:07 am § in Misc.

SUNDAY REVELATIONS: Allah’s Grace Shines on Gaddafi

Sydney Herald:  With unexpected swiftness, the ill-trained and ill-equipped rebels from the western mountains last week overtook much of the strategic coastal town of Zawiyah, with its enormous oil refinery, just 50 kilometres west of Tripoli, the country’s capital. By early yesterday, they h[...]

August 27th, 2011 - 9:26 am § in Environment, Hypocrisy

Climate Change, As the World Churns

Climate Change: It’s bad and getting worse Severe weather events are wracking the planet, and experts warn of even greater consequences to come. Dahr Jamail al Jazeera Flooding in China is currently affecting approximately five million people [GALLO/GETTY] The rate of ice loss in two of Greenl[...]

August 26th, 2011 - 11:58 am § in America, Schools & Colleges

How the UW deals with “diversity”

Racial discrimination in our institution is covered by a thick layer of symbols, declarations, and committees that despite our discourse keep the skeletons in a tightly locked closet.  In 2000, with the change of chair in my dept –and dean of our engineering college—after more than 25 years of [...]

August 26th, 2011 - 11:04 am § in Science

BREAKING NEWS: A New Journal!

The HHMI/Wellcome/MPI super journal and the triumph of open access By Michael Eisen from Its Not Junk On Monday the world’s three most prominent private funders of scientific research – the US’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the UK’s Wellcome Trust and Germany’s Max Planck Society – a[...]