The first tourist in space, a woman from Britain
The first tourist in space was not Dennis Tito, but this woman from Britain.
Author: Robert Zimmerman
India designing reusable spacecraft
ISRO, India’s space agency, pushes to get funding for a reusable spacecraft.
The Crab Nebula erupts with flares six days
In mid-April the Crab Nebula erupted for six days, repeatedly emitting the most powerful flares ever recorded from the supernova remnant.
Scientists think the flares occur as the intense magnetic field near the pulsar undergoes sudden restructuring. Such changes can accelerate particles like electrons to velocities near the speed of light. As these high-speed electrons interact with the magnetic field, they emit gamma rays.
To account for the observed emission, scientists say the electrons must have energies 100 times greater than can be achieved in any particle accelerator on Earth. This makes them the highest-energy electrons known to be associated with any galactic source. Based on the rise and fall of gamma rays during the April outbursts, scientists estimate that the size of the emitting region must be comparable in size to the solar system.
An 8th grade project to build a Rube Goldberg device to turn on a light
An evening pause: An 8th grade project to build a Rube Goldberg device to turn on a light. I like how this video illustrates the difficulty of building such a device.
Vesuvius: Europe’s ticking volcano time bomb
Vesuvius: Europe’s ticking volcano time bomb.
Dawn Captures First Image of Asteroid Vesta
Dawn captures its first image of the asteroid Vesta as it closes in on a rendezvous set for July 16.
Nine Androids You Can Actually Own
Did a fungal infection kill forty percent of the world’s amphibians?
Did a fungal infection kill forty percent of the world’s amphibians?
The above article outlines an intriguing solution to this mysterious die-off. Sadly, the article also makes a silly effort to link everything to climate change, without justification. Pay attention to the former and ignore the latter.
We don’t know.
Earn $100K to $200K as a California lifeguard!
Want more evidence that government spending is out of control? In one California city lifeguards earn $100K to $200K per year. They also retire with 90 percent of their salary, after only 30 years of work at as early as the age of 50.
After 100 orbits, an overview of Messenger’s survey of Mercury
After 100 orbits, an overview of Messenger’s survey of Mercury.
State Department report on religious freedom in Afghanistan: Deteriorating
A State Department report on religious freedom in Afghanistan: deteriorating. Two quotes from the report:
Respect for religious freedom deteriorated during the reporting period, particularly for Christian groups and individuals. Residual effects of years of jihad against the USSR, civil strife, Taliban rule, popular suspicion regarding outside influence and the motivations of foreigners, and still weak democratic institutions remained serious obstacles. There were cases of harassment, occasional violence, and inflammatory public statements made by members of parliament and television programming against religious minorities, particularly Christians, and Muslims who were perceived as not respecting Islamic strictures. Negative societal opinion and suspicion of Christian activities led to targeting of Christian groups and individuals, including Afghan converts to Christianity. The lack of government responsiveness and protection for these groups and individuals contributed to the deterioration of religious freedom.
and
The right to change one’s religion was not respected either in law or in practice. Muslims who converted to Christianity risked losing their marriage, rejection from their family and village, and loss of jobs. Following the May 2010 suspension of two NGOs on suspicion of proselytizing, some parliamentarians advocated violent responses toward the alleged apostates, including public execution. [emphasis mine]
This report actually came out in November, 2010, but I hadn’t known of it until now. It is worth reading. Though there are clearly some positive signs, overall the state of religious freedom in Afghanistan appears abysmal.