Atlantis goes head over heels

post from Bad Astronomy on 11 July 2011 12:18:37 PM. © Bad Astronomy

On Friday, the Space Shuttle Atlantis flew into space for the last time. After a dramatic countdown — there was a hold at 31 seconds before launch while a glitch was run down — it leapt into the sky, and into orbit.It takes a while to catch[...]

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The International Day against Stoning

post from Pharyngula on 11 July 2011 10:18:16 AM. © Pharyngula

I hope this is something we can all agree on. Today is the The International Day against Stoning, a consciousness-raising event organized by Mina Ahadi, Patty Debonitas, and Maryam Namazie to call attention to the fact that some countries still practice public stonings as punishments for petty offenses against propriety. There are people in prison right now, awaiting that day when authorities drag them into the public square and people murder them by battering them with rocks.

As you know Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is still languishing in prison. The authorities recently mentioned her case saying that no final decision had yet been reached on her stoning sentence and that Sakineh must remain in prison. Falsely accused of murdering her husband, her only crime is that she is a woman in Iran. Her lawyer, Sajjad Houtan Kian, also remains in prison for having had the courage to defend her and other women with stoning sentences in Tabriz prison; he has been sentenced to four years imprisonment, been put under a lot of pressure and lost 20 kilos (44 pounds) as a result.
The campaign to Save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has been an important one. It has spoken out in defence of humanity, and against the barbaric punishment of stoning everywhere. It has mobilised immense pressure against and condemnation of the Islamic regime of Iran from millions across the globe. These are accomplishments we must all be proud of.
On 11 July 2011, the International Day against Stoning, let's once again step up the pressure to demand Sakineh's immediate release and an end to stoning. Join us by either standing in a city square with a photo or poster of Sakineh, tweeting, or by organising an act of solidarity or a flash mob to raise awareness and attention. On 11 July, in 100 cities worldwide, let us once again raise the banner of humanity against one of the barbarisms of our time.

Follow the link; there are recommendations and addresses for letters of protest. Make it known that the international community regards these barbarous, vile practices as heinous and contemptible.

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Gynofascists are invading The Manosphere!

post from Pharyngula on 11 July 2011 10:04:00 AM. © Pharyngula

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Building a Downdraft Table for Painting

post from CR4 - Recent Blog Entries on 11 July 2011 10:00:00 AM. © CR4 - Recent Blog Entries

Amongst other things, my sister is a painter. She doesn't paint with brushes, but instead uses spray paint. It's an art form that has been around for a while and is typically seen at tourist locations.The problem with spray paint is that it tends to pollute the air around where the artist is paint

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The logic of science-3: The demise of
infallibility

post from Top stories on 11 July 2011 09:58:45 AM. © Top stories

The idea of scientific infallibility, that the knowledge generated by science should be true and unchanging, suffered a series of blows in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that saw the repeated overthrow of seemingly well-established scientific theories with n

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Can Six Sigma Fix Government

post from CR4 - Recent Blog Entries on 11 July 2011 09:54:00 AM. © CR4 - Recent Blog Entries

Six Sigma has proven its worth in industry, but is it powerful enough to get someone elected — and boost a debt-ridden government? As Republican presidential hopefuls gear up for the 2012 presidential race, at least three have already taken the "Pledge" to employ Six Sigma methods systematical

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Is Green Construction Bad for Your Health

post from CR4 - Recent Blog Entries on 11 July 2011 09:52:00 AM. © CR4 - Recent Blog Entries

Going green just might be making you sick. Or so says a recent report from the Institute of Medicine. Cited as the prime culprits: untested materials that could pose a significant respiratory health risk, and airtight buildings that can create bad indoor air quality. What are your thoughts on how to

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Australia is first nation to put a price on
carbon

post from New Scientist - Environment on 11 July 2011 09:21:00 AM. © New Scientist - Environment

Australia has just announced plans for a carbon tax, beginning in July next year

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The Triangulum Galaxy, writ large

Need a little face-on spiral awesomeness for your Monday morning? Then try this magnificent image of the nearby face-on spiral galaxy M33, aka the Triangulum Galaxy:[Click to islanduniversalize, or go here to get the cosmic 7900 x 8000 pixel[...]

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Photo of Fish Using a Rock to Open a Clam

post from Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog on 11 July 2011 09:15:25 AM. © Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog

photo of a blackspot tuskfish using a rock to crack open a clam

Blackspot tuskfish using a rock to crack open a clam. Photo by Scott Gardner

Diver Snaps First Photo of Fish Using Tools

While exploring Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, professional diver Scott Gardner heard an odd cracking sound and swam over to investigate. What he found was a footlong blackspot tuskfish (Choerodon schoenleinii) holding a clam in its mouth and whacking it against a rock. Soon the shell gave way, and the fish gobbled up the bivalve, spat out the shell fragments, and swam off. Fortunately, Gardner had a camera handy and snapped what seem to be the first photographs of a wild fish using a tool.

Tool use, once thought to be the distinctive hallmark of human intelligence, has been identified in a wide variety of animals in recent decades…

There have also been a handful of reports of fish cracking open hard-shelled prey, such as bivalves and sea urchins, by banging them on rocks or coral, but there’s no photo or video evidence to back it up, according to Culum Brown, a behavioral ecologist at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and a co-author of the present paper, to be published in a forthcoming issue of Coral Reefs.

The more we learn about animals the more tool use we find. It is continually interesting to see the wide variety of behavior documented.

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