I found this color enhanced shot of dunes on Mars as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft last Fall. Does it remind anyone of a scarred palm and a few fingers? Click to beautifully embiginate.
Schematic of subglacial lake in Antarctica, image courtesy RT, click for more info
Russian researchers working feverishly at the height of Antarctica’s brief summer say they have successfully pierced the ancient vault of a sub-glacial lake sealed under ice for millions of years. But it’ll be awhile before we know the answer to the big question, can microbial life of some kind still exist in the alien environment of Lake Vostok? [Read more…]
Rick Santorum, famed detractor of evolutionary biology and gaff prone with bestial similes (Thus giving rise to his cryptic nickname, Man-on-dog Santorum) swept to victory last night in both the Republican MN and CO caucuses and the Missouri primary. The latter is non-binding, the actual number of delegates Santorum will receive from last night won’t be enough to put him in the lead for nominee. But because of last night’s victories Rick Santorum has now won more states than the purported front-runner, Mitt Romney. [Read more…]
Results: CNN (CO, MO, MN) | Google (CO, MO, MN) (Sign up here to have the Daily Kos Elections Digest emailed to you every weekday morning). As of 11:00 PM CDT Santorum is projected to win Minnesota (MN) and Missouri (MO) big, as in HUGE, only Colorado (CO) remains. This means Santorum has now won as many states as Romney, and we are looking at a possible Santorum sweep tonight potentially giving him a one state edge. It’s starting to look like it doesn’t matter who wins CO, significant PR damage to Romney has been done.
In MO it’s Romney 25% Santorum 54% Gingrich 0% Paul 12%
In MN it’s Romney 16% Santorum 46% Gingrich 11% Paul 26%
In CO its’s Romney 29% Santorum 42% Gingrich 16% Paul 13% .. 17% reporting [Read more…]
Every now and then an otherwise fantastic organization makes a bizarre, counter-productive, and/or puzzling decision that makes no fucking sense when examined in the light of day. Such was the case when the Susan Komen cancer group tried to ban Planned Parenthood, on a flimsy, transparent excuse, from their deep bench of life-saving players. [Read more…]
It’s been brewing for a long time, and it has come at a steep price in lives and limbs, but the Assad thugs, aka government of Syria, may be on the verge of losing the international PR game and what might be properly called a civil feakin war at this point: [Read more…]
Update 2/7/12: Clint Eastwood weighs in claiming it’s not pro Obama.
Or so says Chrysler, producer of the ad above featuring Clint Eastwood. Draw your own conclusions, but I can see why someone might think there’s a little pro Obama content going on there.
Two funny notes: 1) I overheard someone complaining that Eastwood had sold out. The quasi-logic being that he’s purportedly a conservative, and they hate Obama, or he’s conservative leaning libertarian, and they really hate Obama. Honestly, do people not understand what it is that actors do for a living? 2) Karl Rove claimed on Fox News the ad “offended him.” Translation — an optimistic message of hope in an improving economy could prove unbeatable, please don’t let the democrats realize that.
Ice cores drilled at Vostok. Vostok Station is seen in the background. Image courtesy of the Wiki, click for more info on Lake Vostok
I took a few days off from, well, everything. In hope that my shoulder would heal up a bit — it has been quite sore following a routine injury almost two weeks ago. I can report it has improved a tad, many thanks to those who humored my prior complaints, and I look forward to a more active blogging schedule and especially a semblance of life without constant pain. Couldn’t a merciful Creator have come up with a better system than intractable pain?
Meanwhile, science marches on, far to the south, [Read more…]
Here we are, more than 200 years after Darwin’s birth, and in four US states the religiously motivated battle against scientific reality continues unabated: [Read more…]
I understand what poor Mittens was referring to when he said in part — and quoted in isolation– “I’m not concerned about the very poor.” Nevertheless you’d think a serious candidate would never let those words cross their lips in that order no matter what. Even Limbaugh found the gaffe hard to comprehend:
(CBS) — Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh noticed, as well. “Everyone knows what he was trying to say,” Limbaugh observed, “but he didn’t say it. He makes himself a target with this stuff. He comes across at the prototypical rich Republican. … It’s gonna make it harder and harder and harder to go after Obama.” Romney’s comments also gave an opening for his Republican opponents to attack.