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.”
Category: Points of Information
Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
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.
More cracks found on Discovery’s external tank
Bad news for that November 30 shuttle launch date: Two cracks have been found on the aluminum body of Discovery’s external tank.
James Webb Space Telescope in trouble, again
The James Webb Space Telescope is in trouble again, requiring an addition $1.5 billion and an additional year to get finished.
Deficit panel is recommending eliminating NASA funds to private space
Am I clairvoyant? Clark Lindsey notes how Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform is recommending a $1.2 billion cut from NASA’s private commercial space budget.
EPA sued over ethanol increases in gasoline
The EPA is being sued by oil and grocery organizations over its decision to allow more corn-based ethanol in gasoline. Too bad the EPA didn’t listen to environmental organizations like Greenpeace, who say ethanol in gasoline is bad for the environment.
New airport security checks causing protests
And people wonder why I now drive from Maryland to Chicago: It appears that no one is happy with new TSA airport security checks, requiring either a full body scan or a full body pat down. Protests are coming from pilots, flight attendants, passengers, and the airlines. Key quote from the “passenger” link above:
The aggressively enhanced TSA pat down involves over-the-clothes searches of passengers’ breast and genital areas. You can opt not to go through the backscatter body scanners, and thereby keep your genitalia private from pictures, but then a TSA screener will use a front-of-the-hand, slide-down body screening that Ars Technica called “nut-busting pat-downs.”
And there’s National Opt-Out Day, November 24, 2010. (I wish I could participate, but as I said, I will be driving to Chicago for Thanksgiving, mostly to avoid the police-state of the TSA.)