More TSA abuse
Another example of the TSA’s abuse of airline passengers. And here’s another, this time abusing a three-year-old.
Category: Points of Information
Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
Third crack found on Discovery’s external tank shell
A third crack has been found on Discovery’s external tank shell.
The comet is carbonated
The comet is carbonated!
School Reverses Course After Ordering Student to Remove American Flag From Bike
In a victory for free speech (from a battle that shouldn’t have been fought in the first place), a school has reversed course after ordering a 13-year-old student to remove the American flag from his bicycle because some students said they’d be offended. Key quote:
[School superintendent Edward] Paraz says the school . . . now will be shifting its focus to the students who complained. “In no way did we want to take that right away from Cody,” Paraz told Fox40 on Friday. “…We think we know who the instigators are that were trying to do that and we need to meet with their parents and those students to just kind of explain that this isn’t what we want to have.”
Is the Mars rover Spirit dead?
Is Spirit, the Mars rover, finally dead?
Big Sis Forced To Respond To Nationwide Revolt Against TSA
The private race to build space stations
The cold war is back! Companies in the U.S. and Russia are in a race to build the first private space stations.
British bureaucrats offended by “gingerbread man”, rename him “gingerbread person”
Political correctness gone mad: British bureaucrats, offended by the term “gingerbread man” on school menus, had the menus changed to read “gingerbread person.”
Facts and ideology, science and politics
Facts vs ideology in the politics of science.
Vase earns record auction price
Why a yard sale to get rid of your junk is not always a good idea: An old vase, ignored by a surburban family for years, fetched them a record $83 million in an auction today.
NOW Calls On President Obama To Reject NOW Calls On President Obama To Reject Fiscal Commission’s Assault On Social Security
NPR says it’s ‘imperative’ that its federal funding not be cut
Will the squealing never stop? NPR says it’s ‘imperative’ that its federal funding not be cut.
Leaking vent line attachment disassembled, apparent seal problem found
Engineers have apparently found the cause of the leak in the hydrogen fuel line to Discovery’s external tank.
Commercial space advocates fight proposed spending cut
Less Than Half of American Muslims Support the Ground Zero Mosque
Is this good or bad? Less than half of American Muslims support the Ground Zero mosque.
The Bashing of American Exceptionalism
Outrage over TSA “naked scans” grows
It appears the outrage over the TSA’s new security measures is growing.
China releases Chang’e 2 images of its proposed lunar landing sites
Take a look at these spectacular images China released from its Chang’e 2 lunar probe that they say show potential landing sites for later Chinese probes.
Senate to hold hearings on NASA’s budget
Orbital Sciences tests the first stage engine of its Taurus II rocket
Orbital Sciences today successfully completed the first test of the first stage engine for its Taurus II rocket, the rocket the company plans to use in sending cargo to ISS.