3 nuclear reactors melted down after quake, Japan confirms
And still no one has died from this particular failure: Japan confirms that all three nuclear reactors melted down after the quake and tsunami.
Density of forests increasing
The benefits of CO2 increase: The density of the world’s forests has been increasing as they act as a carbon sink.
The authors say most regions and almost all temperate nations have stopped losing forest and the study’s findings constitute a new signal of what co-author Jesse Ausubel of Rockefeller calls “The Great Reversal” under way in global forests after centuries of loss and decline. “Opportunities to absorb carbon and restore the world’s forests can come through increasing density or area or both.”
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
CBO hires Obamacare advocate to provide ‘objective’ health care budget numbers
Gotta keep that propaganda machine running: The Congressional Budget Office has hired an Obamacare advocate, Democrat Party operative, and Obama administration official to provide it “objective” health care budget numbers.
Spectacular images of Chilean volcano eruption
Check out the spectacular images of the eruption of this Chilean volcano, its first in 50 years.
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. All editions can also be purchased direct from the ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from the author (hardback $29.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $6.00). Just send an email to zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
Physicists have captured atoms of antimatter now for more than 15 minutes
In new research at CERN physicists now have captured atoms of antimatter for more than 15 minutes.
Sammy Davis and Anthony Newley perform a medley of Newley songs
An evening pause: Sammy Davis and Anthony Newley perform a medley of Newley songs, from a 1972 television performance.
Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel, can be purchased as an ebook everywhere for only $3.99 (before discount) at amazon, Barnes & Noble, all ebook vendors, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big oppressive tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Winner of the 2003 Eugene M. Emme Award of the American Astronautical Society.
"Leaving Earth is one of the best and certainly the most comprehensive summary of our drive into space that I have ever read. It will be invaluable to future scholars because it will tell them how the next chapter of human history opened." -- Arthur C. Clarke
Police yesterday shut the Jefferson Memorial to clear out a crowd challenging a ban on dancing inside the monument.
Police yesterday shut the Jefferson Memorial to clear out a crowd protesting the arrest of five people last week for dancing inside the monument.
One man took to the microphone to demand that all intrusive government policies be overturned, specifically mentioning the need to repeal “Obamacare.” Medea Benjamin [of Code Pink] clarified that some participants also wanted a single-payer system, but that all agreed on the right to dance at the memorial.
On some issues we all agree.
Webb telescope disaster destroys NASA astrophysics budget
The James Webb Space Telescope: The disaster that destroyed NASA’s astrophysics program.
What an astronaut’s camera sees
An evening pause: More here.
Homeowner forecloses on bank
Sweet justice: A homeowner forecloses on a bank.
The photography of the first clown in space
The photography of the first clown in space.
Melanoma Drug Combo Shows Promise in Early Trial
A melanoma cure in sight? Drug combination shows incredible promise in early trial.
Endeavour — Crime-fighter!
Monty Python: Defending yourself against a banana
An evening pause:
All new cars starting in June will have a mandatory black box
Big brother arrives: Starting in June all new cars will have a mandatory black box.
The installation and use of these black boxes can have infinite possibilities for local, state, and federal governments to monitor and record data for a number of other revenue programs that are currently under consideration. In March, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a proposal to institute a tax on mileage to help pay for the federal budget deficit. Additionally, local cities and counties can download information from these black boxes, and they can be used to issue driving citations after the fact in the case of speeding or not wearing a seat belt.
I think the value of my old used Subaru Forester has just gone up!
A federal appeals court has lifted a ban on public prayer at a Texas high school graduation
A federal appeals court has lifted the ban on public prayer at a Texas high school graduation.
Good thing too, as any attempt by the court or the police to tried to stop someone from praying would have backfired very badly.
House Trims Homeland Security Science Spending
It’s a start: The House has trimmed the budget for the Homeland Security Agency by $1.1 billion, including a cut of about 75% from the Obama administration’s request for the agency’s science budget, ($398 million versus $1.2 billion requested). And of course, we don’t have to wait long to hear the pigs squeal:
DHS officials say the decrease in the directorate’s budget will wipe out dozens of programs, stalling the development of technologies for border protection, detection of bio-hazards, and cargo screening.
My heart bleeds.
Social Sciences Face Uphill Battle Proving Their Worth to Congress
Some squealing from the journal Science: NSF faces uphill budget battle in Congress.
When he asked the witnesses for ideas on shrinking the government’s $1.6 trillion deficit, Mo Brooks (R-Alabama) [chairman of the research panel of the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee] made it clear he was talking about possible cuts to NSF’s entire $7 billion budget, not simply its SBE directorate.
Note that in 2008 the NSF budget was a $6.1 billion. Cutting it back to that number would hardly destroy social science research in this country.
Copenhagen Suborbitals’ first test launch
The first test flight of the Copenhagen Suborbitals rocket, designed to carry one passenger, launched successfully today, though there were problems with the parachutes.
Facebook tells Tea Party no more organizing
Facebook tells Tea Party advocates: no more organizing.