Category: Behind The Black
New survey shows employers will drop coverage under Obamacare
Repeal this turkey! A new survey now shows that thirty percent of employers will drop their health coverage under Obamacare.
Have doubts about the survey? Note that Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is quoted in the above article as finding it creditable.
Repeal this turkey! A new survey now shows that thirty percent of employers will drop their health coverage under Obamacare.
Have doubts about the survey? Note that Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is quoted in the above article as finding it creditable.
WikiLeaks chief memoir published, against his will
Talk about irony: The memoir of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been published against his will.
Talk about irony: The memoir of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been published against his will.
Starting in December all GM cars with OnStar will record all data unless owners opt out
Starting in December, all GM cars with OnStar will record all data for police and insurance, unless the owner opts out.
General Motors and the government: what a team!
Starting in December, all GM cars with OnStar will record all data for police and insurance, unless the owner opts out.
General Motors and the government: what a team!
Police give ticket to citizen for directing traffic
Police ticket citizen for directing traffic at intersection where traffic light failed.
Gerrish said Ehrlich cleared up the mess in 10 minutes. After 15 minutes, South Pasadena police say they finally received a call about their newest traffic officer, KCBS reported. Police responded to the scene and told Ehrlich to stop and issued him a ticket, but never stepped in to direct traffic themselves.
If this doesn’t illustrate the present madness of modern government, I don’t know what does. The proper answer by the police when they arrived should have been “Thank you, sir. We will take over now.” Instead, they do the exact opposite, punishing him while refusing to solve the problem.
Police ticket citizen for directing traffic at intersection where traffic light failed.
Gerrish said Ehrlich cleared up the mess in 10 minutes. After 15 minutes, South Pasadena police say they finally received a call about their newest traffic officer, KCBS reported. Police responded to the scene and told Ehrlich to stop and issued him a ticket, but never stepped in to direct traffic themselves.
If this doesn’t illustrate the present madness of modern government, I don’t know what does. The proper answer by the police when they arrived should have been “Thank you, sir. We will take over now.” Instead, they do the exact opposite, punishing him while refusing to solve the problem.
UARS crash prediction
Want to know where and when the six ton UARS satellite will hit the Earth this week? The Aerospace Corporation has it mapped!
Want to know where and when the six ton UARS satellite will hit the Earth this week? The Aerospace Corporation has it mapped!
Air Force official suggests they would be willing to sacrifice the X-37 in budget negotiations
An Air Force official suggested this week they would be willing to sacrifice the X-37 in budget negotiations.
An Air Force official suggested this week they would be willing to sacrifice the X-37 in budget negotiations.
China’s second moon orbiter Chang’e-2 sends data from a million miles away
China’s second moon orbiter Chang’e-2 sends data from a million miles away.
China’s second moon orbiter Chang’e-2 sends data from a million miles away.
Clark Jaman – a song from Shakespeare
An evening pause: Words by Shakespeare, one of Feste the clown’s songs from Twelfth Night, Act 2, scene 4. Music by Clark Jaman, done, as he says, “for a school project.” Very nice.
Senate panel trims NIH budget
Now for some good reporting: A Senate committee today approved an NIH budget that trimmed the health agency’s budget by $190 million.
This report actually gives us an accurate description of the proposed budget, which offers a 2012 budget of $30.5 billion compared to the $30.7 that NIH got in 2011. For further context, note that the 2012 budget is still more than the agency got in 2009 ($30.2 billion), and more than a billion above what it got in 2008 ($29.2 billion). Anyone who cries poverty at this budget cut immediately discredits themselves.
Now for some good reporting: A Senate committee today approved an NIH budget that trimmed the health agency’s budget by $190 million.
This report actually gives us an accurate description of the proposed budget, which offers a 2012 budget of $30.5 billion compared to the $30.7 that NIH got in 2011. For further context, note that the 2012 budget is still more than the agency got in 2009 ($30.2 billion), and more than a billion above what it got in 2008 ($29.2 billion). Anyone who cries poverty at this budget cut immediately discredits themselves.
Indiana Supreme Court has reaffirmed its earlier ruling saying that citizens have no right to resist a police officer making an illegal entry to their home
How freedom dies: The Indiana Supreme Court has reaffirmed its earlier ruling saying that citizens have no right to resist a police officer making an illegal entry to their home.
How freedom dies: The Indiana Supreme Court has reaffirmed its earlier ruling saying that citizens have no right to resist a police officer making an illegal entry to their home.
Farmers flee as Indonesia’s Mount Tambora volcano rumbles
Farmers begin fleeing as Indonesia’s Mount Tambora volcano comes back alive.
Villagers like Hasanuddin Sanusi have heard since they were young how the mountain they call home once blew apart in the largest eruption ever recorded — an 1815 event widely forgotten outside their region — killing 90,000 people and blackening skies on the other side of the globe. . . . The April 1815 eruption of Tambora left a crater 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide and half a mile (1 kilometer) deep, spewing an estimated 400 million tons of sulfuric gases into the atmosphere and leading to “the year without summer” in the U.S. and Europe.
Farmers begin fleeing as Indonesia’s Mount Tambora volcano comes back alive.
Villagers like Hasanuddin Sanusi have heard since they were young how the mountain they call home once blew apart in the largest eruption ever recorded — an 1815 event widely forgotten outside their region — killing 90,000 people and blackening skies on the other side of the globe. . . . The April 1815 eruption of Tambora left a crater 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide and half a mile (1 kilometer) deep, spewing an estimated 400 million tons of sulfuric gases into the atmosphere and leading to “the year without summer” in the U.S. and Europe.
A labor strike today has canceled an Ariane 5 rocket launch
A labor strike today has canceled an Ariane 5 rocket launch.
A labor strike today has canceled an Ariane 5 rocket launch.
Final preparations begin on the first Soyuz rocket launch from French Guiana
Final preparations begin on the first Soyuz rocket launch from French Guiana, set for October 20.
Final preparations begin on the first Soyuz rocket launch from French Guiana, set for October 20.
Bigotry and hate in a Massachusetts University
Europe’s first Mars lander mission threatened by budget woes
Europe’s first Mars lander appears threatened by budget woes in both Europe and the United States.
Europe’s first Mars lander appears threatened by budget woes in both Europe and the United States.
XCOR Aerospace and Space Expedition Curacao Sign Contract
Another suborbital tourism company enters the fray: XCOR Aerospace has signed a contract “to begin operations in Curacao in 2014.”
Another suborbital tourism company enters the fray: XCOR Aerospace has signed a contract “to begin operations in Curacao in 2014.”
NASA astronauts to spend three days underwater
Can’t go up? Go down! NASA astronauts to spend three days underwater in a research sub.
Can’t go up? Go down! NASA astronauts to spend three days underwater in a research sub.
China to launch unmanned space module Sept. 27-30
China has announced a launch window, September 27-30, for its first unmanned space station module Tiangong 1.
China has announced a launch window, September 27-30, for its first unmanned space station module Tiangong 1.
Blurred vision a risk for astronauts who spend months in space
Blurred vision is now considered a serious risk for astronauts who spend months in space.
According to one NASA survey of about 300 astronauts, nearly 30 percent of those who have flown on space shuttle missions – which usually lasted two weeks — and 60 percent who’ve completed six-month shifts aboard the station reported a gradual blurring of eyesight.
This story is a followup on information contained in an earlier National Academies report on astronaut staffing.
Blurred vision is now considered a serious risk for astronauts who spend months in space.
According to one NASA survey of about 300 astronauts, nearly 30 percent of those who have flown on space shuttle missions – which usually lasted two weeks — and 60 percent who’ve completed six-month shifts aboard the station reported a gradual blurring of eyesight.
This story is a followup on information contained in an earlier National Academies report on astronaut staffing.
Muslim students on trial for shouting during Israeli diplomat’s speech
Muslim students on trial for shouting during Israeli diplomat’s speech. You can watch what they did here.
As much as I found the actions of these Muslims despicable, it seems a mistake to put them on trial, as this only garners them undeserved sympathy. It also goes against American culture to put anyone on trail for what they say, no matter how impolitely they say it. Furthermore, the punishment meted out by the university seems more than sufficient.
Muslim students on trial for shouting during Israeli diplomat’s speech. You can watch what they did here.
As much as I found the actions of these Muslims despicable, it seems a mistake to put them on trial, as this only garners them undeserved sympathy. It also goes against American culture to put anyone on trail for what they say, no matter how impolitely they say it. Furthermore, the punishment meted out by the university seems more than sufficient.
Senate appropriations committee has capped Webb Telescope budget
The Senate appropriations this week recommended capping the budget for the James Webb Space Telescope at $8 billion, less than the $8.7 billion that NASA now thinks is required to finish the telescope.
The committee also recommended a budget of $17.9 billion for NASA, about $1 billion less than the House recommendation and about a half billion less than NASA’s 2011 budget. If the Senate numbers are adopted, it would bring NASA’s budget back to the budget it received in 2008.
The Senate appropriations this week recommended capping the budget for the James Webb Space Telescope at $8 billion, less than the $8.7 billion that NASA now thinks is required to finish the telescope.
The committee also recommended a budget of $17.9 billion for NASA, about $1 billion less than the House recommendation and about a half billion less than NASA’s 2011 budget. If the Senate numbers are adopted, it would bring NASA’s budget back to the budget it received in 2008.
John McDermott – Voyage
The Spaceship Company has opened its final assembly factor in Mohave
The Spaceship Company has opened its final assembly factory in Mohave for building a fleet of SpaceShipTwos and WhiteKnightTwos for Virgin Galactic.
The Spaceship Company has opened its final assembly factory in Mohave for building a fleet of SpaceShipTwos and WhiteKnightTwos for Virgin Galactic.
Times Atlas shows ice free areas of Greenland that are not ice free
When faith trumps data: The most recent edition of the Times Atlas incorrectly shows large areas of Greenland free of ice, claiming this was caused by global warming, even though those areas remain ice-covered. More here.
The Scott Polar group, which includes director Julian Dowdeswell, says the claim of a 15% loss in just 12 years is wrong. “Recent satellite images of Greenland make it clear that there are in fact still numerous glaciers and permanent ice cover where the new Times Atlas shows ice-free conditions and the emergence of new lands,” they say in a letter that has been sent to the Times. “We do not know why this error has occurred, but it is regrettable that the claimed drastic reduction in the extent of ice in Greenland has created headline news around the world. There is to our knowledge no support for this claim in the published scientific literature.“
When faith trumps data: The most recent edition of the Times Atlas incorrectly shows large areas of Greenland free of ice, claiming this was caused by global warming, even though those areas remain ice-covered. More here.
The Scott Polar group, which includes director Julian Dowdeswell, says the claim of a 15% loss in just 12 years is wrong. “Recent satellite images of Greenland make it clear that there are in fact still numerous glaciers and permanent ice cover where the new Times Atlas shows ice-free conditions and the emergence of new lands,” they say in a letter that has been sent to the Times. “We do not know why this error has occurred, but it is regrettable that the claimed drastic reduction in the extent of ice in Greenland has created headline news around the world. There is to our knowledge no support for this claim in the published scientific literature.“
WISE telescope raises questions about asteroid that is thought to have killed dinosaurs
The WISE space telescope has raised questions about source of the asteroid believed to have killed the dinosaurs.
The WISE space telescope has raised questions about source of the asteroid believed to have killed the dinosaurs.
New exoplanets make astronomers long for a telescope to see them
The plethora of new exoplanet discoveries has astronomers longing for a telescope that can see them up close.
Astronomers need either a giant space telescope equipped with a device for blocking starlight, or an interferometer, consisting of several telescopes flying in formation. NASA did develop a proposal for such a space telescope, called Terrestrial Planet Finder, and the European Space Agency hoped to fly a similar mission called Darwin. But budgetary constraints have left both missions in limbo, unlikely to advance to the front of either agency’s queue until well into the next decade. At the conference, Traub raised the issue. “People are not thinking deeply about the distant future. People are wrapped up with what they’re doing right now,” he says. “Clearly, I’m concerned.”
The plethora of new exoplanet discoveries has astronomers longing for a telescope that can see them up close.
Astronomers need either a giant space telescope equipped with a device for blocking starlight, or an interferometer, consisting of several telescopes flying in formation. NASA did develop a proposal for such a space telescope, called Terrestrial Planet Finder, and the European Space Agency hoped to fly a similar mission called Darwin. But budgetary constraints have left both missions in limbo, unlikely to advance to the front of either agency’s queue until well into the next decade. At the conference, Traub raised the issue. “People are not thinking deeply about the distant future. People are wrapped up with what they’re doing right now,” he says. “Clearly, I’m concerned.”
Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle
Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle.
Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle.
Another ObamaCare glitch could result in some businesses being exempt from fines for not providing their workers with health insurance.
Another ObamaCare glitch could result in some businesses being exempt from fines for not providing their workers with health insurance.
In reading the article I found its attempt to explain this situation to be quite incomprehensible. In fact, I wonder if anyone really understands this law, which helps explain why it has squelched the economy and should be repealed.
Another ObamaCare glitch could result in some businesses being exempt from fines for not providing their workers with health insurance.
In reading the article I found its attempt to explain this situation to be quite incomprehensible. In fact, I wonder if anyone really understands this law, which helps explain why it has squelched the economy and should be repealed.
One of the judges who ruled in the Kelo property case has apologized to the owner
One of the judges who ruled in the Kelo property case has apologized to the owner.
One of the judges who ruled in the Kelo property case has apologized to the owner.