] The damage to the bones of this diminutive being %u2014
] named Homo floresiensis and nicknamed hobbit by
] scientists %u2014 is so extensive that it will limit
] scholarly research on the species, say members of the
] Indonesian Center for Archaeology-based discovery team.
]
]
] Considered the most important discovery in human origins
] in five decades, the remains are marred by broken jaws
] and smashed bones.
]
]
] "The equivalent in the world of art would be somebody
] slashing the Mona Lisa and then trying to fix it with
] chewing gum," says paleontologist Tim White of the
] University of California-Berkeley, who was not on the
] discovery team.

[ "Dude! You borrowed my Xbox and then destroyed it!"

"No way, it was fine when i boxed it up, i swear..."

"But there's soda *inside* the case..."

You know, only worse than that. -k]

USATODAY.com - Fresh scandal over old bones

The discovery also raises interesting biological questions -- including whether it gets in the way of evolution, which depends on mutations changing an organism rather than being put right by a backup system.

[ Fascinating. -k]

Startling Scientists, Plant Fixes Its Flawed Gene

] Aside from users of naked DSL services, an FCC decision
] would also affect "cord-cutters," a group of about 20
] million U.S. residents who don't have local phone lines
] and go solo instead with their cell phones. As a result
] of the possible FCC ruling, cord-cutters would have to
] buy a local phone line in order to get DSL.

FUCK THE FCC! This is a death blow to any CLEC or competitive DSL provider and is obviously pandering to the Bell Lobby.

[ I wonder if it'll have the net effect of driving people away from DSL altogether... granted, not everyone has choices in the matter, but for those that do, cable's a completely valid alternative. -k]

Source: FCC to dress 'naked' DSL

] Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.,
] rejected the notion that elected lawmakers could
] accurately diagnose her condition.
]
]
] "The caption tonight ought to be: We're not doctors, we
] just play them on C-SPAN," he said.

If I have any family member who does to me what this persons family is doing to her (refusing to let her finally go) I hope someone shoots them so they can pull the damn plug.

[ Couldn't you just make a living will or health care proxy and remove the debate? ]

This is abhorrent. With any luck the person at district court who has to hear the pile of crap will send it back because it serves no state interest whatsoever.

[ I agree that the politics here is some of the most despicable, cynical chest-thumping I've seen. There are one or two other things going on in this country, not to mention the world at large, that should really be getting some attention. -k]

Congress Condemns Schiavo to Undeath!

flynn23 wrote:
] ] Both chambers in Congress now will delay their Easter
] ] recess to try to pass a law Monday that would allow
] ] federal courts to intervene in Schiavo's case.
]
] Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
] Why?

Because the bit of bipartisan hackery w/ baseball and steroids wasn't enough grandstanding for the republicans.

[ Yeah, i can't help but be cynical about this. It's the kind of issue republicans just love because it's difficult to oppose without seeming like an asshole, and the stupid sheep across the nation can rally behind "valuing life" all the while we continue killing Iraqis. We can spend all these resources discussing, essentially, the value of one woman who hasn't been concious for 15 years, but issues that affect thousands and millions of people don't get a word. I honestly don't understand how people can think this is a proper way for politicians to spend their time. -k]

RE: Congress jumps into Schiavo tug of war

] The Friday night lights in Texas could soon be without
] bumpin' and grindin' cheerleaders. Legislation filed by
] Rep. Al Edwards would put an end to "sexually suggestive"
] performances at athletic events and other extracurricular
] competitions.
]
] "It's just too sexually oriented, you know, the way
] they're shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it
] down," said Edwards, a 26-year veteran of the Texas
] House. "And then we say to them, 'don't get involved in
] sex unless it's marriage or love, it's dangerous out
] there' and yet the teachers and directors are helping
] them go through those kind of gyrations."

[ And that filthy DANCING, too... no more of that. And ROCK AND ROLL music... it's a dangerous influence! ]

Can we pass a federal law that prohibits lawmakers from wasting valuable legislative resources on crap like this?

[ Agreed. Welcome to the new "moral" america, where sexually suggestive dancing is evil, but cutting benefits for the poor is good fiscal policy. Jesus Christ would be proud. -k]

Do No Harm?

] Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), once nicknamed "Terminator"
] for his 2003 comment that the recording industry should
] be allowed to remotely destroy the computers of
] file-sharers, was named today to head a new Senate
] subcommittee on intellectual property.
]
] While Hatch backed down slightly from that comment the
] next day, saying, "I do not favor extreme remedies --
] unless no moderate remedies can be found," he has
] remained a staunch ally of the entertainment industry.

[ Super. -k]

Technology News: Politics: Hatch To Lead Senate Panel on Intellectual Property

] Greetings! You have found the home of the 133t version of
] the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith trailer. Only 15 hours
] after I put this file online, it has already sucked up over 23 GB
] of bandwidth. At this rate I'll be in the poorhouse before
] nightfall.

Heh. Watch it once just to see the trailer. Then watch it again and laugh at the 133t subtitles. ;)

[ "Stop TK'ing, you f4g!" Priceless. -k]

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - 133t trailer

] The "suicide bomber" clips a shrapnel-filled belt around
] his waist and buttons up his jacket to conceal it.
]
] As he turns back and forth in front of a semicircular
] white panel about the size of a shower cubicle, a
] computer monitor shows the metal-packed cylinders
] standing out clearly in white against his body.
]
] This is no real security alarm: It's a demonstration at
] the British technology group Qinetiq of a scanning device
] that sees under people's clothes to spot not just metal
] but other potential threats, like ceramic knives or
] hidden drugs.

Sounds like what was called Millimeter Wave in the novel Snowcrash, right? Well, guess what the technology is called.. Millimeter Wave. Yep, life continues to imitate fiction.

I just left a message on George Orwell's VMB telling him to screw himself.

Airport scanners keep it anonymous | CNET News.com

] The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a Republican plan
] to allow drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife
] Refuge (ANWR).
]
]
] The drilling measure, attached to the Senate's version of
] a federal government budget resolution, still faces
] opposition from Democrats and several legislative hurdles
] before it could become law.

[ Given that oil prices are at a record high right now, I figured this would get thru easily, but the vote was 51/49 as it happened. I'm still not convinced that drilling ANWR is all that useful. Yeah, there's about 2/3 of a years worth of easy oil up there, but we won't see that for a decade, and there are other ways to deal with our oil problems. We'll see. -k]

Reuters AlertNet - Key facts about ANWR's land, oil, wildlife