I've run into so much whack shit today, it's hard to tell where to start. Cain, if you're out there, I would seriously appreciate any comments you may have.
Hm, ok, I'll start here.... My roommate passed this along:
We all may have caught the 'Russia arrests Greenpeace activists' story. I haven't dug into that plot point too much, but it seems some Dutch citizens sailed into Russian waters and boarded an oil platform (state owned, I believe).They escaped into international waters, but were arrested by Russian "border guards" while still in Russias "area of economic interest". OK, just the Aftermath rolling along, right? The interesting stuff happens next.
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131008/184000274/Russias-Putin-Demands-Dutch-Apology-Over-Treatment-of-Diplomat.html
"MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) – The stand-off between Russian and the Netherlands escalated Tuesday as Moscow angrily demanded a full account of how one its diplomats came to be arrested by the Dutch police over the weekend."
So, apparently, a group of armed men in camo fatigues grabs the Russian diplomat to the Netherlands, and takes him to a "jail" for quite a few hours. A DIPLOMAT, mind you, on apparently trumped up charges regarding his wife crashing a car or something, and child endagerment of his 2 and 4 year olds.
"The Foreign Ministry of the Netherlands on Tuesday confirmed that Dmitry Borodin, deputy to the ambassador at the Russian embassy in the Netherlands, was detained over the weekend and said it would investigate whether the incident had violated any diplomatic rules. Lavrov said the incident was in violation of the Vienna Convention, under which diplomats are granted immunity."
Putin, of course, was PISSED: "Putin, who was attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bali on Tuesday, said earlier in the day that the incident with Borodin was "a crude violation of the Vienna Convention," and demanded "clarifications, apologies and the punishment of those guilty."
Specific details about what led to the detention of Borodin, a senior diplomat previously posted in Belgium, Luxembourg and several African countries, remain murky.
Russian state television Rossiya-24 reported that local police forced their way into Borodin's apartment, assaulted him, and then held him at a police station for several hours without explanation."
This started some "black-ops bs" thoughts in my head, but then THIS happens:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/1016/Beaten-diplomats-and-bad-tulips-Russian-Dutch-ties-get-worse
"Onno Elderenbosch, deputy chief of the Dutch mission in Moscow, was attacked by two men posing as electricians after he admitted them to his apartment Tuesday evening, according to Russian media reports. The intruders roughed him up, tied him to a chair, stole nothing but scrawled the term "LGBT" [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] on his mirror in lipstick together with a Cupid's heart."
My roommate had dug into this side of it a bit (he used to work for Rand a while ago, habit). The Dutch diplomat to Russia was worked over from the neck down, nothing was stolen, and a "calling card" was left. That's a professional job, false flag lipstick non-withstanding.
So, were those really "environmental activists"? What the hell are these people up to. This is like the SAS strolling into the Argentina embassy and capping Assange in the face, then blaming it on Somali pirates.
Where do we turn next? I've been working killer overtime this week, breaking all the games. I really haven't even had time to _think_ about these stories yet. My time is often filled with four hour chunks of unplugging a wire, plugging it back in, and noting the results.
Oh, here's a one off: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/10/18/dick-cheney-altered-his-defibrilator-to-fight-terrorist-hackers/
*cackle* Ain't nobody hacking the cyborg VP.
But, the more pressing chaos bubbles over there: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-san-francisco-transit-strike-20131018,0,608333.story
And here, the NY Stock Exchange are now letting the 'big boys' practice before trading for really realness: http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20131018&id=17014169
IBM is starting to break the current computer hardware paradign, with their 'electronic blood system': http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24571219
Holyshit that's cool. The electrolyte solution carries power into and then carries heat out of the system. It's based on brain design.
There's an Eclipse tonight, for you non-down under folks (sorry spags): http://local.msn.com/lunar-eclipse-friday-where-to-see-it-2?ocid=ansloc11
Oshit, that's right now. BRB.
Which I didn't see :P
Ooooh, but there's more...
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304384104579141600675336982
Skull Suggests Single Human Species Emerged From Africa, Not Several
Well-Preserved Find 1.8 Million Years Old Drastically Simplifies Evolutionary Picture
The discovery of a 1.8 million-year-old skull has offered evidence that humanity's early ancestors emerged from Africa as a single adventurous species, not several species as believed, drastically simplifying the story of human evolution, an international research team said Thursday.
The skull—the most complete of its kind ever discovered—is "a really extraordinary find," said paleoanthropologist Marcia Ponce de Leon at the University of Zurich's Anthropological Institute and Museum, who helped analyze it. "It is in a perfectly preserved state."
Unearthed at Dmanisi in Georgia, an ancient route in the Caucasus for the first human migrations out of Africa, the skull was found at a spot where partial fossils of four other similar individuals and a scattering of crude stone tools had been found several years ago. They all date from a time when the area was a humid forest where saber-tooth tigers and giant cheetahs prowled. Preserved in siltstone beneath the hilltop ruins of a medieval fortress, the remains are the earliest known human fossils outside Africa, experts said.
Taken together, the finds at Dmanisi are especially important because experts in evolution could analyze the physical differences between individuals living in the same place at the same time almost 2 million years ago, when humankind first emerged from Africa to people the world, according to Yale University anthropologist Andrew Hill.
"It gives you a chance to look at variation for the first time," said Dr. Hill, who was not involved in the discovery.
By comparing these five extinct creatures at Dmanisi to each other, and to other specimens from the same era in Africa, the researchers concluded that all of the primordial peoples of the Homo genus—the root-stock of the modern human family tree—likely belonged to just one species spreading out across the continents, not three or more as many experts have argued.
Their conclusion breaks with recent practice in the scholarly search for human origins. Typically, researchers have highlighted the differences between various human fossils, often assigning each new discovery to a separate species, and not grouping them by physical traits they had in common.
In this analysis, researchers concluded that the fossil remains most likely belonged to a tool-using species called Homo erectus, which existed from about 2 million years ago to about 143,000 years ago. Its fossilized remains have been found in Africa, Spain, Indonesia, India, China and Java. The earliest Homo sapiens, modern humans, emerged about 195,000 years ago.
"They nailed it," said paleoanthropologist Tim D. White at the University of California at Berkeley, who was not involved in the project. "This will cut a lot of dead wood that has accumulated in the family tree that paleontologists love to draw."
Known simply as Skull #5, the fossilized head bones likely belonged to a male, whose brain was about one-third the size of a modern human brain. The skull has a "strange combination of features," Dr. Ponce de Leon said. The face was relatively flat and long, with massive brows, a projecting jaw and big teeth.
The creature had a healed cheek fracture, a touch of arthritis and, by the evidence of wear, used his teeth for gripping things. He stood upright, with relatively modern arms and legs, the researchers said.
The other four fossilized individuals unearthed earlier at Dmanisi included skull fragments belonging to an elderly toothless male, a young female, a second adult male and an adolescent whose gender wasn't known. Although they shared common ground, they died separately, perhaps decades apart.
Using Skull #5 as a benchmark, the researchers compared the five specimens. They examined the variations in skull bones, jaws and teeth traditionally used to sort such fossils into different species.
Through a computer analysis, the researchers determined that the variations among these five early humans were no greater than the differences normally found between members of any single primate species, including chimpanzees, bonobos or modern humankind.
If their analysis proves true, experts will have to reconsider the pattern of early human evolution.
"There are these jaw-dropping moments in the life of a scientist," said neurobiologist Christoph Zollikofer at the University of Zurich, who analyzed the skull and the other Dmanisi fossils. "You can feel in your brain how all these preconceived ideas you had start falling to pieces."
I love that last line.
Has some-one brought this up? http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57608201/scientist-calls-out-nuclear-waste-dump-issues-gets-fired/
I can't remember right now.
Oh, this is amazing, go look at this right now:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/10/mojave-mro-mars/
Stop What You're Doing and Fly Over This Amazing Crater Rim on Mars
This is interesting, because one of the things about human evolution that has been fascinating me lately is that Neanderthals inhabited northern Europe and were likely the origin of the pale skin/hair/eyes mutation that made subsequent waves of Homo Sapiens Sapiens successful in those cold climates. Neanderthals also had larger cranial cavities and therefore likely larger brain mass than Homo Sapiens Sapiens. At the same time, they had smaller cerebral cortices, the part of our brains in which we process long-term consequences.
That's a great link, thanks! I'll have to think on that a bit. It's all very Shadowrun, with the orks and elves and trolls all just "humans" with adaptations...
Oh, I've found something else I wanted to fly by Cain and the rest of you all.
On Thursday [of last year -thanks Cain], Prince Bandar was appointed Saudi Arabia's spy chief. For anyone who hasn't run into this fact yet, Bandar was the diplomat to Waashingron for 22 years, before being pulled home in 2005.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-saudi-princebandar-idUSBRE86J12J20120720
Today, this happened.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/18/us-saudi-securitycouncil-idUSBRE99H0FL20131018?feedType=RSS
Saudis reject Security Council seat, angry over Mideast inaction
I wonder if this is tied to the House of Saud running arms to the Syrian rebels.... legal conflicts somewhere if they accepted the seat?
Anyway. Anyone reading, feel free to comment on any topic. We'll all roll with it :wink:
=
Thanks Cain. I was tired enough to overlook that date, I guess.
The flux is still fucking with me. I mean, even dead Etruscan princes are changing sex on us.
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/oops-etruscan-warrior-prince-was-actually-princess-8C11422309
QuoteInstead of using objects found in a grave to interpret the sites, archaeologists should first rely on bone analysis or other sophisticated techniques, Weingarten said.
"Until very recently, and sadly still in some countries, sex determination is based on grave goods. And that, in turn, is based almost entirely on our preconceptions. A clear illustration is jewelry: We associate jewelry with women, but that is nonsense in much of the ancient world," Weingarten said. "Guys liked bling, too."
I like the trend of scientists blowing away preconceived ideas, tho.
Quote from: Cain on October 19, 2013, 06:20:46 AM
The Saudis are worried that American progress in Iranian negotiations will reopen the possibility of the 1970s status quo (Iran as American enforcer in the Middle East, alternative source of oil) being resurrected. Of course, that would be politically difficult for any American president to accomplish, but that's the fear driving this.
That, and Bandar is butthurt that he's not getting overt American support to crush Assad and put a more pliant regime in place in Damascus. Well, pliant to the House of Saud, anyway.
Damn, that makes a lot of sense. And we DON'T HEAR THIS in the media... Why?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO-TyETzNO8
Amber Lyon, a former CNN correspondent, says authoritarian regimes including Bahrain pay CNN to provide favorable coverage and censor parts of its content.
I knew that CNN sold out to Coca-cola, and that our government may have had editorial influence. The reality? Our government uses our taxes to hide information from us, and is totally OK with other governments paying major media organizations to do the same.
Here's a good examination of the events and probabilities:
http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/15809/did-journalist-amber-lyon-claim-that-the-us-government-paid-cnn-to-control-conte
One of the more interesting commentators included this bit, which I found very interesting:
QuoteShe does have some issues with the Obama Administration, however, but they have nothing to do with them paying for content or CNN. In her interview with (ahem) Alex Jones, she talks about how she feels the present Administration has made all news outlets afraid of publishing stories that include sources they've deemed as "terrorists".
This, she says, has put the government in control of what gets reported, because journalists don't want to be indicted to reveal their sources. She says the government should not be in control of who is deemed a terrorist, and who is not, and that journalists shouldn't be threatened with indictment to reveal their sources, even if the government considers those sources to be threats to national security. (Source)
I think this is a interesting claim, and it's a shame that this isn't what's being spread around in infographics and overwrought websites.
Wow, here's another. The mathematics behind mammal urination have been discovered:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24425-universal-law-of-urination-found-in-mammals.html#.UmMQjVAqjTq
What the hell is going on, I mean seriously.
Quote from: Telarus on October 20, 2013, 12:11:43 AM
Wow, here's another. The mathematics behind mammal urination have been discovered:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24425-universal-law-of-urination-found-in-mammals.html#.UmMQjVAqjTq
What the hell is going on, I mean seriously.
New Scientist.
Quote from: Not Your Nigel on October 20, 2013, 02:03:03 AM
Quote from: Telarus on October 20, 2013, 12:11:43 AM
Wow, here's another. The mathematics behind mammal urination have been discovered:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24425-universal-law-of-urination-found-in-mammals.html#.UmMQjVAqjTq
What the hell is going on, I mean seriously.
New Scientist.
Also, http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.3737 Something not quite right about that paper. It has only an introduction.
Hello!
I have been to this forum all of twice, and haven't visited this website in ten years, but I signed up today just to say that this post was awesome, and the links were greatly appreciated.
I remain hopeful that Dick Cheney's modified robot heart will become sentient, and to fulfill the mandate of behaving as a human heart will leak state secrets to the public.
-Pope Slag
Quote from: Kai on October 20, 2013, 04:20:35 PM
Quote from: Not Your Nigel on October 20, 2013, 02:03:03 AM
Quote from: Telarus on October 20, 2013, 12:11:43 AM
Wow, here's another. The mathematics behind mammal urination have been discovered:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24425-universal-law-of-urination-found-in-mammals.html#.UmMQjVAqjTq
What the hell is going on, I mean seriously.
New Scientist.
Also, http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.3737 Something not quite right about that paper. It has only an introduction.
Whoa, yeah. Is it a joke paper? Or was there some kind of publishing error? If it was a publishing error, did New Scientist actually see the rest of the paper or did they write their whole article based on the introduction alone?
It seems to be a real paper but its quite hard to review it before it has been presented. http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DFD13/Event/202555
New Scientist are going to be really pissed off if it really is a pisstake paper.
Oh, so it's garbage. Par for the course for New Scientist.
More craziness, this time from the Vatican.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24638430
"The Vatican has suspended a senior German Church leader dubbed the "bishop of bling" by the media over his alleged lavish spending. Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst is accused of spending more than 31m euros (£26m; $42m) on renovating his official residence."
....and some biology craziness:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2013/10/23/money-cant-grow-on-trees-but-gold-can/
Know i'm just imagining what those trees will do to koalas.*pictures koalas with blinged out teeth*
Quote from: Telarus on October 23, 2013, 06:44:02 PM
....and some biology craziness:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2013/10/23/money-cant-grow-on-trees-but-gold-can/
Plants as heavy metal accumulators are a fascinating option. I would think they are more useful for cleaning up toxic heavy metals because there their limited uptake has a real effect.
Im not sure this would be any more efficent that current bioremediation methods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioremediation (If you care)
What I can see this being used for more would be drill-less prospecting. Several trees over X area would reliably indicate a deposit of various things if I read this correctly. I say drill-less, you'd still have to bring in equipment to ensure the deposit is substantial enough to be worth mining.
There's also a touch of concern here that this is going to be used as quick justification for prospecting resulting in huge areas being cleared/mined for minimal gains. I'm just guessing there, but I doubt the forests in South America or Africa are going to get out of this finding untouched.
Quote from: Junkenstein on October 24, 2013, 10:33:36 AM
Im not sure this would be any more efficent that current bioremediation methods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioremediation (If you care)
What I can see this being used for more would be drill-less prospecting. Several trees over X area would reliably indicate a deposit of various things if I read this correctly. I say drill-less, you'd still have to bring in equipment to ensure the deposit is substantial enough to be worth mining.
There's also a touch of concern here that this is going to be used as quick justification for prospecting resulting in huge areas being cleared/mined for minimal gains. I'm just guessing there, but I doubt the forests in South America or Africa are going to get out of this finding untouched.
Oh trees are horrible for this sort of thing, they grow too slow. I was thinking more of Algae and Herbaceous plants.
I care, thanks.
Well there's a horrible idea, fukken humans, stripmining my planet. Time to call the exterminator.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21209499-us-coping-with-furious-allies-as-nsa-spying-revelations-grow?lite
QuoteThe United States is scrambling to soothe some of its closest allies, angered as one report after another details vast American spying — including gathering data on tens of millions of phone calls in Spain in a single month.
The latest report, published Monday in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, said that the National Security Agency had collected information on 60 million calls in that country last December.
It followed reports in the last week that the United States spied on leaders of at least 35 countries, and even bugged the personal cellphone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
German intelligence chiefs are preparing to visit Washington this week to demand answers, and the German Parliament on Monday called a special session for Nov. 18 to talk about NSA spying.
President Barack Obama has had to apologize to Merkel and to the presidents of France and Brazil. The Brazilian president was so angry she canceled a state visit.
The Obama administration and its defenders say that most of the spying is legitimate, for the protection of the United States and its allies.
In a statement Sunday night, U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said that a White House review is examining "the way that we gather intelligence to ensure that we properly account for the security concerns of our citizens and allies and the privacy concerns that all people share, and to ensure that our intelligence resources most effectively support our foreign policy and national security objectives."
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the administration should not apologize or be defensive. (more)
And then AND THEN
AND THEN AND THENhttp://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21212948-obama-americans-can-trust-fbi-director-to-balance-laws-and-liberty?lite
QuoteObama: Americans can trust FBI director to balance laws and liberty
By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News
Americans can trust the FBI's new director to balance law enforcement against civil liberties, President Barack Obama said Monday.
The president's comments about James Comey, the new director of the nation's top law enforcement agency, came at the formal installation ceremony for Comey at FBI headquarters.
Obama lauded Comey, a former Justice Department official during the Bush administration, amid mounting scrutiny of the federal government's far-reaching law enforcement practices, specifically to counter terror threats.
"Jim has dedicated his life to defending our laws, making sure that all Americans can trust our justice system to protect their rights and their well-being," Obama said.
Spineless goddamn corporate media.
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on October 28, 2013, 05:33:54 PM
Spineless goddamn corporate media.
I dunno. They stacked one headline directly over the other. :lulz:
I've been doing a lot of thinking about Tiberius Gracchus. His murder was the "one additional rat" that began the rather fast transition of the Roman republic into the imperial system.
Republics are delicate things. Maybe a single assassination can do it, as in the case of Gracchus, or maybe the revelation that the government no longer has any concerns for ANYONE'S rights anymore.
I keep saying that things are getting interesting, and people keep telling me that no, it's actually just business as usual and everything's going to die down without undue attention, as usual.
But I don't think so. I think things are getting interesting.
I would agree with that...
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on October 28, 2013, 05:34:37 PM
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on October 28, 2013, 05:33:54 PM
Spineless goddamn corporate media.
I dunno. They stacked one headline directly over the other. :lulz:
:horrormirth: :horrormirth: :horrormirth:
(I saw Kai post this on FB):
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/hunting-group-auctioning-off-the-right-to-kill-an-endangered-black
Hunting group auctioning off the right to kill an endangered black rhinoHunting the endangered animal is about 'saving' it, says the Dallas Safari Club.
Quote from: Telarus on October 29, 2013, 02:57:33 AM
I would agree with that...
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on October 28, 2013, 05:34:37 PM
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on October 28, 2013, 05:33:54 PM
Spineless goddamn corporate media.
I dunno. They stacked one headline directly over the other. :lulz:
:horrormirth: :horrormirth: :horrormirth:
(I saw Kai post this on FB):
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/hunting-group-auctioning-off-the-right-to-kill-an-endangered-black
Hunting group auctioning off the right to kill an endangered black rhino
Hunting the endangered animal is about 'saving' it, says the Dallas Safari Club.
Texas. :lol:
Really, it's very difficult to explain Texas to someone who has never been there. It's the place where logic and reason go to DIE.
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on October 29, 2013, 12:46:49 AM
I keep saying that things are getting interesting, and people keep telling me that no, it's actually just business as usual and everything's going to die down without undue attention, as usual.
But I don't think so. I think things are getting interesting.
I think we just had two very close calls.
The default, for example, which we missed by only a few hours. Don't think "Great Depression", think "The Fall of Rome, writ larger". There's a reason the GOP chickened out, and it had nothing to do with approval ratings. It had more to do with the fact that wealth and power mean NOTHING if the world's currencies go tits up.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on October 29, 2013, 03:33:09 AM
Quote from: Telarus on October 29, 2013, 02:57:33 AM
I would agree with that...
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on October 28, 2013, 05:34:37 PM
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on October 28, 2013, 05:33:54 PM
Spineless goddamn corporate media.
I dunno. They stacked one headline directly over the other. :lulz:
:horrormirth: :horrormirth: :horrormirth:
(I saw Kai post this on FB):
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/hunting-group-auctioning-off-the-right-to-kill-an-endangered-black
Hunting group auctioning off the right to kill an endangered black rhino
Hunting the endangered animal is about 'saving' it, says the Dallas Safari Club.
Texas. :lol:
Really, it's very difficult to explain Texas to someone who has never been there. It's the place where logic and reason go to DIE.
HUNTIN IS BIDNESS.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on October 29, 2013, 03:34:57 AM
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on October 29, 2013, 12:46:49 AM
I keep saying that things are getting interesting, and people keep telling me that no, it's actually just business as usual and everything's going to die down without undue attention, as usual.
But I don't think so. I think things are getting interesting.
I think we just had two very close calls.
The default, for example, which we missed by only a few hours. Don't think "Great Depression", think "The Fall of Rome, writ larger". There's a reason the GOP chickened out, and it had nothing to do with approval ratings. It had more to do with the fact that wealth and power mean NOTHING if the world's currencies go tits up.
The part that makes me think things are getting interesting have nothing to do with financial crises or budget standoffs. The part that makes me think things are getting interesting have everything to do with the little countries that the US has always shat on, like Mexico, Spain, and France, publicly calling out the US for invasive spying. It's not the spying, it's the calling out. Because I think it's just the beginning of countries saying no, and the US isn't used to all these countries saying no. Usually when countries say no to the US, it responds by straight-up fucking them over, but right now it can't, and that is a bit of a paradigm shift that probably isn't going away because the US, despite its massive military spending, simply isn't the economy-setting world power it used to be.
I think you're probably right.
Its a part of the narrative the news is incapable of capturing. People say 'why are they acting surprised, this is business as usual?' OR 'Oh my gosh how terrible, this is completely unacceptable!'
But its even fairly large and powerful allies (despite what we'd have you believe, Germany is far more influential on the world stage right now than the United Kingdom) turning around and sending a message to the United States. Whilst the US was keeping everyone who mattered happy, they were willing to overlook such petty indiscretions - because I do not seriously believe that Germany, with a long history in surveillance technology, needed Snowden to tell them about Merkel's phone being tapped.
But what has the US done for us lately, right? The rest of the world is looking at the American two-party system pretty much devouring itself and the military floundering around, requiring mercenaries to prop it up... and I think they're starting to ask why they should let the US throw its weight around abroad when it can't even keep things together at home. There's also a lot of resentment that the current recession was largely brewed in the US, and a feeling they need to get their house in order so the rest of us can get back to business as usual. Which, nobody seems capable of managing.