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News Briefs 2-09-04

By Cernigon

Here is today’s news, all of it that is fit to print….

  • UFOs and “angel hair” spotted in Australia. Hey Greg, any chance you could get an interview with the INUFOR spokewoman for TDG?
  • Thousands of Brits may have caught Mad Cow Disease from blood transfusions.
  • The amount of virtual bullying is rising, it seems. A virtual bully really is a coward, I would say.
  • Ahead of a crucial U.N. vote, scientists support therapeutic cloning.
  • The Big Brother who is watching you is not only common but welcomed in Britain.
  • A poisonous type of justice: the case of Texas’ Dr. Plague.
  • Russian scientists say the Sixth Wave of extinctions is now underway.
  • Following on from Bill’s news item 20th August, a flying car could be available in only 2 years. Check out the links on the news item too!
  • A directed-energy weapon has been used for the first time to knock mortar bombs out of the air.
  • That spam on your computer may be coming from the Pentagon, says the FBI.
  • For those of you who like your archeology straight from the source, try the updates at Antiquity, including an excellent article on the roots of onomatopoeism.
  • More news on the “pregnant by Jesus” scandal. A nurse at Kenya’s largest maternity hospital arrested along with others.
  • Spidersilk clothes, snake venom laundry detergent and mussel glue. Is this the right place to point out the cold-cash benefits of biodiversity?
  • Did Western intelligence agencies have a hand in the Equatorial Guinea coup attempt? If so, why involve Mark Thatcher, who famously became lost in Africa once?
  • The Vikings are coming!
  • E.T. write home! Mail, not phone, might be best for interstellar messages.
  • A High School student videotapes a UFO over Missouri. (With a Quicktime video.)
  • Norway hosts a conference where witches remember the burning times.
  • Et in Arcadia ego? Is the tomb of Jesus in a corner of Kashmir?
  • SETI listeners may have finally detected that elusive message from another world.
  • How big a comet impact would it have to be to set the world on fire?
  • A mysterious cloud appears over the Eastern US and Canada.
  • Scientists explain the yin-yang of ginseng.
  • Yet more theories on the Once and Future King, Arthur.
  • Richard Dawkins takes us on a pilgrimage to the dawn of life.

Quote of the Day:


The world is everything that is the case. The world is the totality of facts, not of things.



Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Cernig

7 Comments

    1. Instant Updates
      Hi Greg,

      Thanks for the instant update on that one! While we are on the subject of aliens, what do you make of the SETI story? Another case of then finding what they really want to or the real deal?

      In a related story to the Pentagon computers used for spamming, I see that 2 Space and Missile Command computers were penetrated by viruses because they had no virus protection. The man-in-charge said his first reaction was “Who are we going to shoot?” Now thats scary news….

      Regards, C

  2. Virtual Bullying
    All bullies are cowards, usually with poor self-images that they need to bolster by leaning on other people that they perceive as being weaker than themselves. You see it on the highways, especially here in NJ where I travel the interstates each day. “Getting Over” seems to be the local sport, because their lives suck (they think) so badly they need to stick it to the other guy just to feel better.

    Social animals have a form of bullying in the establishment of a “pecking order”. Based on strength, skill, and aggressiveness, each member of the “tribe” seeks his or her own level. Since there aren’t any liberal arbitrators in a pack of Hyenas, they make do with “Strongest first, weakest takes what’s left.” Not very democratic, but it seems to work for them. I’ve even seen wildlife films where the stronger pups occasionally thump the weaker ones, just to keep them in their place, I suppose.

    In school, there was a guy who bullied the smaller kids until some of us stood up to him and kicked his ass (you can’t negotiate with bullies, they just see it as weakness), and then he didn’t bother us any more. Virtual bullying is insidious because it allows cowards to hide in relative safety while tormenting others. If you have to walk up to someone and give them a shove, you need to be prepared to get punched in return.

    Technology is a wonderful thing, but it’s a two-edged sword. It’s relatively easy to press the fire button and blow up a tank full of men at a distance, but when you have to watch the life go out of a man in hand-to-hand combat, or feel his last breath on your face, it’s not so easy. Neither is finding the answer to the bully question. Whatever it is, it has to begin at home, with a sense of values, principles, and fair play.

    Regards,
    khefre

    “You think that’s air you’re breathing now?”
    Morpheus

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