Archive for the 'Journalism' Category
“Incredible” Deep-Sea Discoveries Announced
• December, 2008“Incredible” Deep-Sea Discoveries Announced By LiveScience Staff posted: 09 November 2008 01:06 pm ET An astounding batch of new deep-sea discoveries, from strange shark behavior to gigantic bacteria, was announced today by an international group of 2,000 scientists from 82 nations. An astounding batch of new deep-sea discoveries, from strange shark behavior to gigantic bacteria, was announced today by an international group of 2,000 scientists from 82 nations.
Hubble Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet
• December, 2008Hubble Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This breakthrough is an important step toward finding chemical biotracers of extraterrestrial life. The Jupiter-sized planet, called HD 189733b, is too hot for life. But the Hubble observations are a proof-of-concept demonstration that the basic chemistry for life can be measured on planets orbiting other stars. Organic compounds also can be a…
New dark energy findings suggest Einstein’s theory is dead-on
• December, 2008New dark energy findings suggest Einstein’s theory is dead-on Trendwatch By Rick C. Hodgin Tuesday, December 16, 2008 18:11 Washington (DC) – NASA held a phone-in press conference today wherein three astrophysicists reported the latest findings on dark energy. They have now “clearly seen” the effects of dark energy on the most massive collapsed objects in the universe. This new evidence has aligned scientists behind the central belief that 1) dark energy exists, 2) that it explains why we are seeing the universe expanding and…
MS offers peek through Windows 7
• December, 2008MS offers peek through Windows 7 By Rory Cellan-Jones Technology Correspondent, BBC News, Los Angeles Microsoft has unveiled the latest version of its Windows operating system. It promised that it will deliver a better experience for users when it arrives sometime late next year. Windows 7 follows Vista, which Microsoft claims has been a success, but which has been subject to fierce criticism from a number of users. The system was demonstrated at the company’s Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. Senior vice-president Steven Sinofsky…
Hawking Predicts Discovery of Alien Life
• December, 2008Hawking Predicts Discovery of Alien Life: But Asks, Will It be Carbon Based? December 15, 2008 On the 50th anniversary of NASA, Stephen Hawking, Newton’s heir as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, answered the question, “Are we alone?” His answer was short and simple; probably not! Hawking presented three options. One, being that there is no life out there, and two – somewhat pessimistically, but subsequently, a little too realistic – being that when intelligent life gets smart enough to…
Evidence suggests CIA funded experiments at state hospital
• December, 2008Evidence suggests CIA funded experiments at state hospital By Louis Porter Vermont Press Bureau Published: November 30, 2008 Few people in Vermont remember Dr. Robert W. Hyde, but one of his former patients can’t forget him. The doctor was involved in one of the nation’s darkest chapters in medical science: In the 1950s, Hyde conducted drug and psychological experiments at a Boston hospital through funding that apparently originated with the CIA. Later, he became director of research at the Vermont State Hospital. The patient, Karen…
Top secret … so why did council post details of high security spy centre on the internet?
• December, 2008Top secret … so why did council post details of high security spy centre on the internet? By Jason Lewis Last updated at 10:06 PM on 29th November 2008 Details of one of Britain’s most sensitive spy centres have been revealed in official documents posted on the internet by a local council. Whitehall security officials have raised serious concerns after the authority published a planning file revealing the ‘national security’ role of the development. The major blunder means that the full details of what is…
Roll up, roll up for the national fire sale
• December, 2008Roll up, roll up for the national fire sale From The Times November 26, 2008 Francis Elliott and Emily Gosden Lock-keepers’ cottages, assorted forests, a conference centre, military radio frequencies and a uranium enrichment company – the sale to help to plug Britain’s £1 trillion deficit is now open. Buried in the Pre-Budget Report is a list of state-owned assets with “potential for alternative business models”. Treasury ministers rejected claims that the privatisation drive amounted to a firesale that would leave taxpayers short-changed. “This is…
Women too tipsy to totter home get free flip-flops
• December, 2008Women too tipsy to totter home get free flip-flops From The Times November 28, 2008 The resort of Torbay has spent £30,000 of taxpayers; money on flip-flops for women who are too drunk to stagger home in high heels. The initiative by Safer Communities Torbay, a partnership between Devon and Cornwall Police, Torbay Council, the fire and rescue service and the local education authority, is meant to reduce the number of injuries caused by ‘dangerous’ footwear, including stubbed toes and sprained ankles. The scheme, funded…
Social services ‘set up CCTV camera in couple’s bedroom’
• December, 2008Social services ‘set up CCTV camera in couple’s bedroom’ By Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Correspondent Social workers set up a CCTV camera in the bedroom of a couple with learning difficulties in order to monitor their behaviour, a new report claims. Council staff are said to have spied on the young parents at night as part of a plan to see if they were fit to look after their baby, who was sleeping in another room. The mother and father were forced to cite the…
Web spies monitor activists online for police, attorney-general
• December, 2008Web spies monitor activists online for police, attorney-general AAP November 26, 2008 A PRIVATE intelligence company has been engaged by police to secretly monitor internet and email use by activist and protest groups, a report says. The company was hired to monitor and report on the internet activities of anti-war campaigners, animal rights activists, environmental campaigners, and other protest groups, Fairfax Media reported. It was hired by Victorian Police, the Australian Federal Police and the federal Attorney-General’s department. The Melbourne-based firm has for the past…
Truman Show Syndrome delusion: Sufferers convinced they are on reality TV
• December, 2008Truman Show Syndrome delusion: Sufferers convinced they are on reality TV By Tom Leonard in New York 25 Nov 2008 Psychiatric experts say they have identified a new 21st century form of delusion whose sufferers are convinced their lives are being played out as a reality television show. The self-exposure, instant fame culture peddled by reality shows, social networking internet sites such as Facebook and – above all – the home video-sharing website YouTube has provided a “perfect storm” for vulnerable people, encouraging them to…
America’s Child Soldiers: US Military Recruiting Children to Serve in the Armed Forces
• December, 2008America’s Child Soldiers: US Military Recruiting Children to Serve in the Armed Forces by Sherwood Ross US Military Recruiting Children to Serve in the Armed Forces In violation of its pledge to the United Nations not to recruit children into the military, the Pentagon “regularly target(s) children under 17,” the American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU) says. The Pentagon “heavily recruits on high school campuses, targeting students for recruitment as early as possible and generally without limits on the age of students they contact,” the ACLU states…