US Officials Flunk Test on American History, Economics, and Civics

"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

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Aries Spears' Rap Impressions

Spiders Adapt to Space, Weaving a Near-Perfect Web

he educational experiment currently being carried out on the space station has just returned a surprise result. It would appear the two web-weaving spiders being studied have turned their fortunes around - they have scrapped their aimless 3D mess of silk and started to create the symmetrical 2D webs more commonly seen on Earth. The experiment started off a little precarious as one of the spiders went AWOL, but it would appear the pair are back and better than ever, spinning picture perfect spider webs.

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A continuing story from here

Clinton's Senatorial Successor in Thought

Nine months ago, when he was the lieutenant governor, David A. Paterson dreamed that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would head to the White House and he would be tapped to fill her Senate seat.

Now Mr. Paterson, who became governor in March after Eliot Spitzer resigned, will be the one picking a replacement for Mrs. Clinton, who is said to be poised to become the next secretary of state.

On Friday night, just before delivering a speech to the N.A.A.C.P. in San Francisco, Mr. Paterson told reporters that 10 to 20 people had already contacted him about their interest in taking Mrs. Clinton’s place.

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Obama's Weekly Address #2

President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden Announce Key White House Staff

President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden today announced the following White House staff: Patrick Gaspard, Director of the Office of Political Affairs; Jackie Norris, Chief of Staff to the First Lady; Catherine (Cathy) M. Russell, Chief of Staff for Dr. Jill Biden; Cynthia Hogan, Counsel to the Vice President; and Moises (Moe) V. Vela, Jr., Director of Administration for the Office of the Vice President.

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India Building Rival to Google Earth

Bhuvan users will be able to zoom in on areas as small as 10 meters wide (Google's zoom limit is 200 meters). ISRO will replenish its high-resolution images each year, unlike Google, and its additional GPS component could lead to partnerships on navigation devices for cars.

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Internet Considered More Reliable than TV and Radio News

Don't trust what you read on the internet? That's no longer the dominant sentiment in the US, according to a new poll by Zogby International. A survey of more than 3000 people performed in the two days after the US Presidential Election found that 37.6% of respondents considered the Internet the most reliable source of news, 20.3% consider national TV news most reliable and 16% said that radio is the most reliable source.

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The Design Team Behind the ‘O’ in Obama

At the end of 2006, Mode, a motion design studio in Chicago, approached Sol Sender, a graphic designer, to create a logo for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. The resulting “O” became one of the most recognizable political logos in recent history. I spoke with Mr. Sender a few days after the election to discuss the evolution of his design.

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Buried Glaciers Found on Mars

Mars has vast glaciers hidden under aprons of rocky debris near mid-latitude mountains, a new study confirms, pointing to a new and large potential reservoir of life-supporting water on the planet.

These mounds of ice exist at much lower latitudes than any ice previously found on the red planet.

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Lynx Deodorant Kills 12 Year-Old Boy

There is a very reasonable assumption that the passive inhalation (of the solvent in the deodorant) almost certainly led to his death."

Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner Dr Robert Hunter gave the cause of death as a "cardiac arrhythmia, exacerbated by exposure to solvents".

Cardiac arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm leading the heart to beat too fast or too slowly, which can lead to cardiac arrest or sudden death.

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Guide to Smoking Pot Around the World

These are the nations in which cannabis is legal for consumption and where you should be able to smoke in peace:

* BELGIUM: Up to 5 grams.
* CZECH REPUBLIC: Personal use.
* GERMANY: Up to 5 grams.
* INDIA: All good.
* MACEDONIA: Up to 5 grams.
* NETHERLANDS: Coffee shops and parks, personal use.
* PAKISTAN: Ummm… All good, but as a tourist I would watch my back and smoke with Pakistani friends in their homes.
* PERU: Personal use, up to 5 grams.
* RUSSIA: Personal use, up to 5 grams If you are caught, you will have to pay low fines as possession of small amounts is still illegal
* VENEZUELA: Personal use, up to 5 grams.
* AUSTRALIA: Up to 50grams! (Certain states of Australia have decriminalized marijuana possession. In Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland one can be simply ticketed for up to 50 grams. If found in possession with intent to supply, convictions apply)

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Biofuel-Powered Flying Car Cleared for Takeoff

Parajet is preparing for the inaugural flight of SkyCar, a biofuel-powered land/air hybrid vehicle the company says will deliver rally car performance on the ground and aircraft performance in the sky. Since it runs on biofuel and features an aluminum frame, ParaJet says it's jut a matter of time before the clean, green SkyCar is the airborne equivalent of a Toyota Corolla.

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Ludlum Elementary School Renamed to Barack Obama Elementary School

A New York elementary school has been re-named in honor of President-elect Barack Obama. Ludlum Elementary School in Long Island's Hempstead Union Free School District was re-named at a board meeting Thursday, at the request of numerous school students.

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Mukasey Released From Hospital, Healthy

Attorney General Michael Mukasey was released from the hospital Friday and returned to work after collapsing Thursday night while giving a speech to the Federalist Society in Washington.

Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said Mukasey suffered a “fainting spell” and was released after routine test results came back “completely normal.”

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PC Magazine Will Cease Printing a Paper Version

Ziff Davis Media announced Wednesday that it was ending print publication of its 27-year-old flagship, PC Magazine, and would take the title online only.

While most magazines make their money mainly from print advertising, PC Magazine derives most of its profit from its Web site. More than 80 percent of the profit and about 70 percent of the revenue come from the digital business, Mr. Young said, and all of the writers and editors have been counted as part of the digital budget for two years.

Mr. Young said the company was considering taking its other print magazine, the video-game publication Electronic Gaming Monthly, into an online-only format, but would not make a decision before the end of the year.

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Meteor Blazes Across the Sky in Police Video

Wal-Mart Plans 360 Partially Wind Powered Stores by April 2009

Announced yesterday, Wal-Mart Stores will be supplying 15% of the electricity in approximately 360 Texas stores and other facilities though wind power, purchased from Duke Energy. Wal-Mart says that the purchase will be the equivalent power of some 18,000 ordinary homes.

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Mushrooms Growing in International Space Station

According to Aleksandr Sprin with the Russian mission control:

"If there’s not enough ventilation in the bathroom then, because it’s damp, the bacteria grows into a fungus. The cosmonauts were apparently hanging their wet towels in the bathroom and then they noticed that on the back wall there were fungi (or mushrooms) growing. The fungi are now being removed with some chemical cleaner."

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Vatican 'Forgives' Lennon for 'More Popular Than Jesus' Remark

Saturday's edition of the Vatican's official newspaper absolves John Lennon of his notorious remark, saying that "after so many years it sounds merely like the boasting of an English working-class lad struggling to cope with unexpected success".

In a lengthy editorial marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' famous White Album, L'Osservatore Romano heaps lavish praise on the British band.

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Twilight Sequel, New Moon, Given the Greenlight

After the exceptional opening day performance of Twilight, Summit Entertainment has officially greenlit that the sequel, New Moon. The film will be moving forward into production, but no production start or release dates have yet been announced. Read the full press release after the jump.

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HuffPo to Raise $15 Million in the Afterglow of the Election

The elections were good to the HuffingtonPost, the political uber-blog. It’s audience in the U.S. rose fivefold in the last year to 5 million monthly uniques in October, according to comScore (see chart below). In what may turn out to be perfect market timing, the Times UK is reporting that the company is close to raising $15 million. In the past, it has raised a total of $12 million from investors including Softbank Capital, Greycroft Partners, Bob Pittman, and Ken Lerer.

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Waxman Claims Gavel at House Energy and Commerce Committee

House Democrats on Thursday handed Henry A. Waxman of California the gavel of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, toppling veteran Chairman John D. Dingell of Michigan.

The 137-122 Democratic Caucus vote was viewed as a referendum on the party’s future approach to energy and climate policy, as well as a test of the seniority system the party has long used to select committee chairmen and ranking members.

Many in his party called Waxman’s bid to unseat Dingell audacious, unprecedented and divisive. Dingell, 82, is dean of the House and had been the chair or ranking Democrat of the committee since 1981. He is a legendary Old Bull, praised as a legislative giant by Democrats and Republicans alike.

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Researchers Stumble Upon New Penguin Species

Researchers have stumbled upon the remains of a previously unknown species of penguin that pre-dates the Polynesian settlement of New Zealand nearly half a century ago.

Australian and New Zealand researchers, from the University of Adelaide and the University of Otago, were studying fossils they believed to be of the more commonly known, and now endangered, yellow-eyed penguin when DNA tests revealed they actually belonged to a new species, the Waitaha penguin.

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Michael Jackson has converted to Islam

The 50-year-old star, pledged his allegiance to the Koran in a ceremony at a friend's mansion in Los Angeles, the Sun reported.

Jackson sat on the floor wearing a tiny hat after an Imam was summoned to officiate -- days before the singer is due to appear at London's High Court where he is being sued by an Arab Sheik, the paper said.

The star decided to adopt the new religion while he was recording a song at the home of his friend where a Jehovah's witness was brought up to help him through the ceremony.

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Chinese Democracy was Released in 2008, Free Dr. Pepper!

Beginning Sunday at 12:01 a.m., coupons for a free 20-ounce soda will be available for 24 hours on Dr Pepper's Web site. They'll be honored until Feb. 28.

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KEO, a Proposed Space Time Capsule to be Launched 2010/2011

KEO is the name of a proposed space time capsule which will be launched in 2010 or 2011 carrying messages from the citizens of present Earth to humanity 50,000 years from now, when it will reenter Earth's atmosphere.

The KEO project is supported by UNESCO (who voted it "Project of the 21st century"), Hutchison Whampoa and the European Space Agency, among other institutions. Its name is supposed to represent the three most frequently used sounds common to the most widely spoken languages today, [k] - voiceless velar plosive, [e] - Close-mid front unrounded vowel and [o] - Close-mid back rounded vowel.

Every person is invited to write a message addressed to the future inhabitants—the deadline is December 31, 2009.

Website

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E=MC^2 Prove 103 Years Later

It's taken more than a century, but Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 has finally been corroborated, thanks to a heroic computational effort by French, German and Hungarian physicists.

A brainpower consortium led by Laurent Lellouch of France's Centre for Theoretical Physics, using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, have set down the calculations for estimating the mass of protons and neutrons, the particles at the nucleus of atoms.

The e=mc2 formula shows that mass can be converted into energy, and energy can be converted into mass.

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Obama Plans to Name Clinton to Secretary of State After Thanksgiving

President-elect Barack Obama is "on track" to name Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as his secretary of state shortly after Thanksgiving, two senior Obama aides said.

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NASA and Google Successfully Test Deep Space Internet

Communication with spacecraft is vital for NASA, and since the World Wide Web has enabled easy, reliable and quick contact for people around the world, the space agency decided to model a new deep space communication system on the internet. A month-long test of this "Interplanetary Internet" was successfully conducted by transmitting dozens of images to and from the EPOXI spacecraft, now about 20 million miles from Earth.

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Attorney General Michael Mukasey Collapses While Giving Speech

Mukasey's was noticeably shaking during his speech before he collapsed shortly before 10:20 p.m. EST. His security detail called 911. Mukasey was on the stage for 10 minutes being attended to by his FBI detail before medics arrived, according to a Justice Department official who was there. Mukasey was still breathing at the time, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the media.

Nicolas Copernicus' Death Place Confirmed

Nicolaus Copernicus (February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) was the first European astronomer to formulate a scientifically based heliocentric cosmology, and displaced the Earth from its center. His epochal book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy, as well as a defining epiphany in the history of science.

The rightful place of the man who put the Earth in its rightful place has now been confirmed. New DNA analysis confirms that the remains of a 70-year old man found in Frombork Cathedral in Northern Poland are those of Nicolas Copernicus. Discovered three years ago, the remains allowed archaeologists produce a facial reconstruction from the skull, creating a likeness to portraits of Copernicus. But though the placement of the grave and the age of the body corresponded to the details of Copernicus' death, scientists couldn't be sure that the remains were actually those of Copernicus himself.

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Science Explains Firewalking

One-Legged Athlete, Amazing

Particles Don't Always Fall Off Edges, Quantum Mechanics Weirdness

A good working definition of quantum mechanics is that things are the exact opposite of what you thought they were. Empty space is full, particles are waves, and cats can be both alive and dead at the same time. Recently a group of physicists studied another quantum head spinner. You might innocently think that when a particle rolls across a tabletop and reaches the edge, it will fall off. Sorry. In fact, a quantum particle under the right conditions stays on the table and rolls back.

This effect is the converse of the well-known (if no less astounding) phenomenon of quantum tunneling. If you kick a soccer ball up a hill too slowly, it will come back down. But if you kick a quantum particle up a hill at the same speed, it can make it up and over. The particle will have “tunneled” across (although no actual tunnel is involved). This process explains how particles can escape atomic nuclei, causing radioactive alpha decay. And it is the basis of many electronic devices.

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Invisibility Cloak "Feasible Now"

Leonhardt's latest study, to be published tomorrow in the journal Science, is a theoretical calculation of the light-bending properties needed for a new kind of invisibility cloak.

The science behind his study isn't new. "If you look at a fish [in an aquarium] it's not where it appears to be," Leonhardt said.

That's because our brains insist on viewing light as having traveled in a straight line, when in fact the water has bent it.

Glass does the same thing, which is why telescope lenses make objects appear closer.

An invisibility cloak would simply replicate this process in a more sophisticated way.

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Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg? Scientists Dig Deeper

Well, it’s still unclear whether chicken eggs or chickens came first (the intended question in the original riddle), said Darla Zelenitsky, a paleontologist of the University of Calgary in Alberta who was the first scientist to closely analyze the dinosaur nest.

But interpreted literally, the answer to the riddle is clear. Dinosaurs were forming bird-like nests and laying bird-like eggs long before birds (including chickens) evolved from dinosaurs.

"The egg came before the chicken," Zelenitsky said. "Chickens evolved well after the meat-eating dinosaurs that laid these eggs."

So the original riddle might now be rephrased: Which came first, the dinosaur or the egg? Meanwhile, the new nest provides some of the strongest evidence in North America in favor of the bird-like egg over the chicken.

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'Wal-Mart Watch' Folding into Union

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is effectively shutting down its Wal-Mart watchdog group in order move its focus to larger more pressing legislative priorities, officials with the group say.

Wal-Mart Watch, launched in 2005, will give up its non-profit status and be incorporated under either the SEIU or its affiliate union, Change to Win. SEIU will target its resources and personnel toward issues like health care, tax policy and passage of the Employee Free Choice Act -- a policy cornerstone of the labor community -- while still focusing energy on the retail giant.

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Today's Discussion on the Bailtout

Cosmic Rays from Mysterious Source Bombarding Earth

Scientists have discovered an unidentified source of high-energy cosmic rays bombarding Earth from space. They say it must be close to the solar system and it could be made of dark matter. "This is a big discovery," says John Wefel of Louisiana State University and Principal Investigator for ATIC, Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter, a NASA funded balloon-borne instrument high over Antarctica. "It's the first time we've seen a discrete source of accelerated cosmic rays standing out from the general galactic background."

The new results show an unexpected surplus of cosmic ray electrons at very high energy — 300-800 billion electron volts — that must come from a previously unidentified source or from the annihilation of very exotic theoretical particles used to explain dark matter.

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Did an Asteroid Kill Mars' Magnetic Field?

One of the last giant meteors blew a hole 1,864 miles wide in the planet, creating Utopia basin in the planet's northern hemisphere. At about 4.1 billion years old, Utopia is the oldest crust on the planet that doesn't show signs of magnetism, meaning the rocks must have cooled at a time when there was no magnetic field.

Roberts and a team of researchers calculate that the Utopia impact could have done in the magnetic dynamo, which was already flagging as the planet cooled. It injected approximately one trillion megatons of energy into the Martian mantle, or close to 10 trillion times the explosive energy of the nuclear bomb used at Hiroshima.

The heat spread in an instant as a supersonic shockwave rippled through the planet. Then, over the next 30 million years, the overheated mantle acted as a blanket for the core, preventing it from circulating enough to maintain a magnetic field.

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Scientists Find First Known Human Ritual in Botswana

A startling discovery of 70,000-year-old artifacts and a python's head carved of stone appears to represent the first known human rituals.

Scientists had thought human intelligence had not evolved the capacity to perform group rituals until perhaps 40,000 years ago.

But inside a cave in remote hills in Kalahari Desert of Botswana, archaeologists found the stone snake that was carved long ago. It is as tall as a man and 20 feet (6 meters) long.

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Nobody Likes Bush

Does Your Boss Have to Pay You While You Wait for Vista to Boot Up?

Lawyers are noting a new type of lawsuit, in which employees are suing over time spent booting [up] their computers. ... During the past year, several companies, including AT&T Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Cigna Corp., have been hit with lawsuits in which employees claimed that they were not paid for the 15- to 30-minute task of booting their computers at the start of each day and logging out at the end. Add those minutes up over a week, and hourly employees are losing some serious pay, argues plaintiffs' lawyer Mark Thierman, a Las Vegas solo practitioner who has filed a handful of computer-booting lawsuits in recent years. ...

Management-side attorney Richard Rosenblatt, a partner in the Princeton, N.J., office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius who is defending a half-dozen employers in computer-booting lawsuits, ... believes that, in most cases, computer booting does not warrant being called work. Having spent time in call centers observing work behaviors, he said most employees boot the computer, then engage in nonwork activities. "They go have a smoke, talk to friends, get coffee — they're not working, and all they've done at that point is press a button to power up their computer, or enter in a key word," Rosenblatt said.

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Obama Formally Announces Four Cabinet Positions

Obama formally announced David Axelrod as a senior advisor, along with three other top aides, just now.

The general sense is that Obama's core campaign team, with the important exception of David Plouffe, will be shifting intact to the White House.

Also announced: Greg Craig as White House Counsel; Chris Lu, an Obama law school classmate who ran his Senate office, as Cabinet Secretary (which is not a cabinet post); and American Constitution Society executive director Lisa Brown, a former Gore vice presidential aide, as Staff Secretary, the powerful job held by figures ranging from John Podesta to Harriet Miers.

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Schwarzenegger Orders California to Prepare for Sea-Level Rise

Executive Order S-13-08 says that “California must begin now to adapt and build our resiliency to coming climate changes through a thoughtful and sensible approach with local, regional, state and federal government using the best available science.” The order also requires state agencies that build new transportation infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, to factor in rising sea levels in their planning.

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The Worlds Funniest Commercial

Knee Injuries Could be Healed by 'Living Bandage' Made from Stem Cells

Scientists at Bristol University have now managed to heal cartilage tissue in a laboratory with stem cells taken from a patient's own bone marrow. They placed the cells inside the tear, held in place by a spongy scaffold made from collagen, and found the stem cells brought the two pieces of torn cartilage together.

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Pelosi Announces New Majority Leadership Team

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced today the new Majority Leadership team for the 111th Congress, elected today by members of the Democratic Caucus:

· Speaker of the House: Nancy Pelosi of California
· Majority Leader: Steny Hoyer of Maryland
· Majority Whip: James E. Clyburn of South Carolina
· Democratic Caucus Chairman: John B. Larson of Connecticut
· Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman: Xavier Becerra of California
· Assistant to the Speaker and Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: Chris Van Hollen of Maryland

Leadership will take office on the first day of the new Congress, January 6, 2009.

Mayor Begich Defeats Convicted Sen. Ted Stevens in Alaska Senate Race

Democrat Mark Begich claimed victory Tuesday over Republican Sen. Ted Stevens , whose decades of dominance in Alaska politics were unraveled by a corruption conviction just a week before Election Day.

Begich’s success will give the surging Democrats effective control of at least 58 Senate seats in the upcoming 111th Congress.

Tuesday’s tally of thousands of remaining absentee ballots showed Begich extending his once-narrow lead to 3,724 votes, a margin of more than 1 percentage point. That prompted the Associated Press to declare Begich the victor late Tuesday afternoon Alaska time, a verdict echoed shortly thereafter by the Anchorage Daily News, the state’s biggest newspaper.

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Kennedy Taps Clinton for Big Health Reform Job

Fourteen years after failing to deliver health reform for her husband’s White House, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) will play a key role in advancing the issue in 2009 — if she remains in the Senate.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) designated Clinton to head a task force to develop a Senate Democratic proposal to expand health insurance coverage as part of his larger push to move a major overhaul of the U.S. health care system next year.

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Cheney and Gonzales Indicted in South Texas County

Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor.

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Obama Promises Climate Change Leadership at Summit

Lieberman Keeps Committee Chair in Senate Vote

Sen. Joe Lieberman will keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee despite hard feelings over his support for GOP nominee John McCain during the presidential campaign.

The Connecticut independent will lose a panel post on the Environment and Public Works panel as punishment for criticizing Obama this fall.

Lieberman's colleagues in the Democratic caucus voted 42-13 Tuesday to approve a resolution condemning statements made by Lieberman during the campaign but allowing him to keep the Homeland Security Committee gavel.

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LIFE Photo Archive Available on Google Image Search

The Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination; The Mansell Collection from London; Dahlstrom glass plates of New York and environs from the 1880s; and the entire works left to the collection from LIFE photographers Alfred Eisenstaedt, Gjon Mili, and Nina Leen. These are just some of the things you'll see in Google Image Search today.

We're excited to announce the availability of never-before-seen images from the LIFE photo archive. This effort to bring offline images online was inspired by our mission to organize all the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Today about 20 percent of the collection is online; during the next few months, we will be adding the entire LIFE archive — about 10 million photos.

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Browse archive

China Exceeds Japan as Top holder of U.S. Debt

China has now taken the top spot. China increased its holdings to $585 billion in September, compared with $541.4 billion in August. Meanwhile, Japan shaved its holdings from a high of $600.7 billion in March of this year down to $571.4 billion in September.

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Billions of Particles of Anti-Matter Created in Laboratory

Chen and her colleagues used a short, ultra-intense laser to irradiate a millimeter-thick gold target. “Previously, we concentrated on making positrons using paper-thin targets,” said Scott Wilks, who designed and modeled the experiment using computer codes. “But recent simulations showed that millimeter-thick gold would produce far more positrons. We were very excited to see so many of them.”

In the experiment, the laser ionizes and accelerates electrons, which are driven right through the gold target. On their way, the electrons interact with the gold nuclei, which serve as a catalyst to create positrons. The electrons give off packets of pure energy, which decays into matter and anti-matter, following the predictions by Einstein’s famous equation that relates matter and energy. By concentrating the energy in space and time, the laser produces positrons more rapidly and in greater density than ever before in the laboratory.

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Obama Resigns Senate Seat

"Today, I am ending one journey to begin another," Obama said in a statement, describing his job representing Illinois as one of the highest honors of his life.

"I am stepping down as senator to prepare for the responsibilities I will assume as our nation's next president," he said. "But I will never forget, and will forever be grateful to, the men and women of this great state who made my life in public service possible."

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Hillary Clinton Accepts Secretary of State Job (According to Guardian)

Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.

Obama's advisers have begun looking into Bill Clinton's foundation, which distributes millions of dollars to Africa to help with development, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. But Democrats do not believe that the vetting is likely to be a problem.

Clinton would be well placed to become the country's dominant voice in foreign affairs, replacing Condoleezza Rice. Since being elected senator for New York, she has specialised in foreign affairs and defence. Although she supported the war in Iraq, she and Obama basically agree on a withdrawal of American troops.

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Carnival of Light - 'Mythical' Beatles Song Confirmed

Sir Paul McCartney has confirmed a 14-minute long Beatles track many thought was a myth does exist - and says he wants the public to hear it.

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The Weirdest Dog Ever

Classroom Spiders and Butterflies Headed to Space

One experiment will chart the life cycle of butterflies — from larvae to pupa to butterfly to egg — in the low gravity of space, he said. The objective is to achieve one full life cycle for painted lady butterflies in the microgravity of space and compare it to a life cycle of the butterfly in the normal, Earth conditions in the classrooms, said BioServe payload mission manager Stefanie Countryman.

The other project will compare how spiders crawling about in space differ from Earth spiders when it comes to spinning webs and feeding. The goal is to compare the ability of an orb-weaving spider to spin webs and catch food in the nearly weightless environment of space and compare it to orb-weaving spiders performing those tasks on Earth, Countryman said. The spiders will get some space food to sustain them during the experiment — water and live fruit flies.

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World Domino Record Set on TV

A world record for the number of dominoes toppled was set when 4.3m fell during a two-hour TV show.

More than 85 people from 13 countries took part in the challenge, which took eight weeks to set up and was a year in the planning.

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Obama Must Part with BlackBerry

For years, like legions of other professionals, Mr. Obama has been all but addicted to his BlackBerry. The device has rarely been far from his side — on most days, it was fastened to his belt — to provide a singular conduit to the outside world as the bubble around him grew tighter and tighter throughout his campaign.

But before he arrives at the White House, he will probably be forced to sign off. In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas. A decision has not been made on whether he could become the first e-mailing president, but aides said that seemed doubtful.

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'Meh': Apathetic Expression Enters Dictionary

The dictionary defines "meh" as an expression of indifference or boredom, or an adjective meaning mediocre or boring. Examples given by the dictionary include "the Canadian election was so meh."

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Announced White House Staff: Valerie Jarrett, Phil Schiliro and Ron Klain

President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden today announced the following key White House staff, Valerie Jarrett, Phil Schiliro and Ron Klain. Valerie Jarrett will serve as Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison, Phil Schiliro as Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs and Ron Klain to be the Chief of Staff to the Vice President.

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Valerie Jarrett
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Your request is being processed... Rahm Emanuel Roasts Stephen Colbert

White House chief of staff-designate Rahm Emanuel took some time off from the transition Friday night to hurl barbs at his longtime pseudo-nemesis Stephen Colbert (as well as Joe Biden, Sarah Palin, Joe Lieberman, et al...)

Colbert was roasted as part of a charity event for the Spina Bifida Association, organized every year by Judy Woodruff and Al Hunt. (Click here to donate to the cause.)

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Blackwater Iraq Scandal

A federal grand jury in North Carolina is investigating allegations the controversial private security firm Blackwater illegally shipped assault weapons and silencers to Iraq, hidden in large sacks of dog food.

"The only reason you need a silencer is if you want to assassinate someone," said former CIA intelligence officer John Kiriakou, an ABC News consultant.

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Marine Dead Zones Set to Expand Rapidly

Rising levels of carbon dioxide could increase the volume of oxygen-depleted 'dead zones' in tropical oceans by as much as 50% before the end of the century — with dire consequences for the health of ecosystems in some of the world's most productive fishing grounds.

Oceanic oxygen levels have varied considerably throughout Earth's past. During the end of the Permian period, around 250 million years ago, catastrophic oxygen losses triggered mass extinction of terrestrial and marine life.

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Your Weekly Address from the President-elect

Aurora Borealis from Space

Rahm Emanuel Advices New Democratic Members of Congress to Avoid Colbert

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the Democratic Caucus chairman, has told new Democratic members of Congress to steer clear of Stephen Colbert, or at least his satirical Comedy Central program, “The Colbert Report.”

“He said don’t do it … it’s a risk and it’s probably safer not to do it,” said Rep. Steve Cohen. But the freshman lawmaker from Tennessee taped a segment that last week was featured in the 32nd installment of the “Better Know a District” series. Colbert asked Cohen whether he was a black woman. He isn’t.

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Robert Gibbs Will be White House Press Secretary

Robert Gibbs, a top aide to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on his campaign and in his Senate office, will be named the White House press secretary, a top Democratic official said.

Gibbs was usually the senior official on Air Obama, the campaign plane. As communications director of Obama's Senate office, Gibbs was a key strategist in Obama's rapid move to the national stage.

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Violent Video Games Have a Physical Effect in Boys

In the study, boys (12-15) were asked to play two different video games at home in the evening. The boys’ heart rate was registered, among other parameters. It turned out that the heart rate variability was affected to a higher degree when the boys were playing games focusing on violence compared with games without violent features. Differences in heart rate variability were registered both while the boys were playing the games and when they were sleeping that night. The boys themselves did not feel that they had slept poorly after having played violent games.

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Rachel Maddow on Lieberman

Obama Offered Clinton Secretary of State

President-elect Barack Obama offered Sen. Hillary Clinton the position of Secretary of State during their meeting Thursday in Chicago, according to two senior Democratic officials. She requested time to consider the offer, the officials said.

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Obama 365 - Mccain 162

President-elect Barack Obama has won one of Nebraska's electoral votes, making history in a state that has never split its electoral votes.

Missouri, with 11 electoral votes, is still too close to call. Election officials there have until Tuesday to finish counting.

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Joe the Plumber -- Fighting for the American Dream

The book, called "Joe the Plumber -- Fighting for the American Dream," is to be released by a group called PearlGate Publishing and other small publishing houses.

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BlackFriday.info

With Black Friday approaching, all the information on store ads can be found at www.blackfriday.info

Obama to Upload Weekly Democratic Address on Change.gov

Today, President-elect Obama will record the weekly Democratic address not just on radio but also on video -- a first. The address, typically four minutes long, will be turned into a YouTube video and posted on Obama's transition site, Change.gov, once the radio address is made public on Saturday morning.

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change.gov
whitehouse.gov

Lawmaker Plans Bill on Web Neutrality

Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, believes a law is essential to prevent telephone and cable companies from discriminating against Internet content, even though regulators have taken actions to enforce free Web principles, a top Dorgan aide said on Thursday.

"We feel that legislation is definitely necessary," said Frannie Wellings, telecom counsel to Dorgan, speaking at a University of Nebraska law school event on changes in telecom law after the election of Democrat Barack Obama.

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A Visual Guide to the Financial Crisis

blog.mint.com

The Cheneys give the Bidens Tour of White House

The Cheneys greeted the Bidens around 5 p.m. with smiles, despite the sharp criticism Joe Biden had for Dick Cheney during a campaign that ended just over ten days ago.

"Mr. Vice President, how are you doing?" Biden said to the man he had called “the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history.”

"Joe, how are you," Cheney replied, according to a press pool report, and congratulated Biden on his victory.

The Bidens and the Cheneys stood side-by-side and posed for the cameras on the front porch before retreating behind a closed front door for a tour of the residence.

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EPA Appeals Board Strikes Down Construction of New Coal-Fired Power Plant

In a landmark action, the Environmental Protection Agency’s final decision-making board has ruled that all new and proposed coal-fired power plants must have their carbon dioxide emissions regulated. The Environmental Appeals Board ruled today that the EPA has no valid reason for refusing to place limits on the global warming emissions from Desert Power’s proposed 110-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Vernal, Utah.

Change we can believe in.

Recycling by the Numbers

Americans haul 82 million tons of trash to recycling centers each year—but that’s still just 32.5 percent of what we throw out. Here’s how much energy recycling saves and how much that’s worth.

Hillary Clinton could be Secretary of State

President-elect Obama has narrowed the possibilities for secretary of State and Clinton is among those being strongly considered, the officials said. Some even call her the favorite.

It is not known what Obama himself thinks of the idea.

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Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is Alive!

Spirit was put on a strict low-energy consumption routine. This routine meant commanding Spirit not to attempt to communicate with Earth for four days, which was probably the most nerve-racking measure that could be taken; once communication is severed, who's to say we'd ever hear from the rover again?

Even though engineers had stopped Spirit from communicating, they continued to listen, just in case Spirit dropped into a low-energy shutdown mode. However, no signal was received until today (Thursday), right when Spirit was scheduled to phone home. At mission control at JPL in Pasadena, CA, NASA engineers shouted "she's talking," when they got word that Spirit had made contact.

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Optical Image of Exoplanet Orbiting a Star Like Our Own

This is incredible: For the first time, ever, astronomers have captured an optical image of a planet orbiting a star like our own.

And that’s not all: we also have a second picture showing TWO planets orbiting a second star!

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President-Elect Obama on 60 Minutes Sunday

President-elect Barack Obama has agreed to give his first post-election interview to 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft. The interview includes future first lady Michelle Obama and is to take place on Friday, Nov. 14, in Chicago.

The interview is scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/PT.


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Scientists Turn Tequila into Diamonds

A team of Mexican scientists found that the heated vapor from 80-proof (40% alcohol) tequila blanco, when deposited on a silicon or stainless steel substrate, can form diamond films.

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Senate Democrats Tell White House to Preserve its Records

Democrats from the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees last week sent a letter to the White House demanding that it preserve all records produced by the Bush administration. The letter expressed particular concern that the office of Vice President Cheney would not comply with the law.

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Do 40 Percent of Americans Pay No Taxes?

According to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, it is true that 38 percent of "tax units" -- which can be singles, couples, or families -- are projected to have zero or negative income tax liability in 2009. About 60 percent of these households make $20,000 per year or less.

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Obama's Inauguration May Draw 1 Million-Plus

The National Park Service, which is planning for an inaugural crowd of at least 1 million, will clear more viewing space along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route. Jumbo TV screens will line the National Mall so people can watch the inauguration and parade, park service spokesman David Barna said Thursday.

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Obama Will Resign Senate Seat on Sunday

In a statement, the junior Illinois senator called his four-year term "one of the highest honors and privileges" of his life and said the people of Illinois will stay with him as he leaves the Senate to begin "the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation's next president."

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Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Knoll Dies At 78

"Today we mourn the passing of one of the strongest, most dedicated public servants in Pennsylvania's history," Gov. Ed Rendell said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Catherine's family. She will be deeply missed."

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Students Chant 'Assassinate Obama' on School Bus

"They just hadn't heard anything like this before," said Whoolery. "They were chanting on the bus, 'Assassinate Obama. Assassinate Obama.' Then adding in a name sometimes of a classmate on the bus, 'Assassinate Obama and Kate.'"

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Source Claiming Sarah Palin Did Not Know That Africa Was a Continent Doesn't Exist

Who would say such a thing? On Monday the answer popped up on a blog and popped out of the mouth of David Shuster, an MSNBC anchor. “Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks,” Mr. Shuster said. Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist. His blog does, but it’s a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow — the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy — is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes.

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Russia's Role in Rescuing Iceland

"It is difficult [for Iceland] to be connected to Russia with this loan. All connections to Russia are political"

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Outkast to Deliver Two Solo Albums and Group Effort Album in 09'

Big Boi: "Me and 'Dre were on the conference call [recently]," Big explained. "He's working on his album; my album is done. We're gonna wait until the top of the year — January or February — to put it out. Then 'Dre is gonna come hit y'all, and [then] we're gonna do the Outkast album. So y'all gonna get three records from the 'Kast next year."

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Obama and The New Puppy

Fox Cancels 'Mad TV'

Fox is closing the book on "Mad TV" after 14 seasons.

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Music Practice Boosts IQ and Visual Skills

While it is no surprise that the young musicians scored significantly higher than those in the control group on two skills closely related to their music training (auditory discrimination and finger dexterity), the more surprising result was that they also scored higher in two skills that appear unrelated to music—verbal ability (as measured by a vocabulary IQ test) and visual pattern completion (as measured by the Raven's Progressive Matrices).

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A Hopeful Malaria Vaccine

Preliminary tests have shown that this particular vaccine -- one of several candidates funded partly through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation -- is 30 to 50 percent effective. Some worry those rates are too low to make a big impact.

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Looking for a Job?

Apply for a position in the Obama-Biden Administration.

Biden Picks Klain to Be Chief of Staff

Vice President-elect Biden has asked veteran Congressional and White House staffer Ron Klain to be his chief of staff in the White House, according to Democratic insiders.

Source
Wiki

USB 3.0 Transfers 25GB in 70 Seconds

Incredible!

Mark Begich (D) Holds Three-Vote Lead Over Sen. Ted Stevens (R) for Alaskan Senate Seat

This race, due to conclude in December 1st, is anybody's call at this point.

4,300-Year-Old Pyramid Discovered in Egypt

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a pyramid buried in the desert and thought to belong to the mother of a pharaoh who ruled more than 4,000 years ago. The pyramid, found about two months ago in the sand south of Cairo, probably housed the remains of Queen Sesheshet, the mother of King Teti, who ruled from 2323 to 2291 B.C. and founded Egypt's Sixth Dynasty.

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Sudan declares Darfur ceasefire

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has announced an immediate ceasefire in the Darfur region of western Sudan. He said his government would start disarming militias and restrict the use of weapons among armed groups.

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Papa Bear to Guest on The Daily Show

Exciting!

Rachel Maddow Show: Banking Industry Bailout Rip-Off

Unbelievable!

New Laser Technique From Tel Aviv University Seals and Heals Wounds

Using carbon dioxide lasers to seal wounds inside the body and out with a technique known as “laser welding,” a team of Tel Aviv University researchers have perfected a new device to heat body tissue in a precisely controlled manner. The work of the research team, headed by Prof. Abraham Katzir from TAU’s Applied Physics Group, could change the way surgeons bond cuts on the surface of our skin and inside our bodies during surgery.

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11.12.08 - The Day in 100 Seconds

Bush's Regrets

11.11.08 - The Day in 100 Seconds

NY Times Reports on the 'Racist Belt'

Fascinating

If the Election Were Decided by [Fill In the Blank]

Interesting Electoral Maps...

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

There's more than one.

Atlas of Hidden Water May Avert Future Conflict

Download here

Read more at New Scientist

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Released New Solo Album

Old Money

Rolling Stones Compiles the Top 100 Singers of All Time

Minus Thom York at 66 and Frank Sinatra nowhere in sight...
Superb List

Jimi Hendrix Experience Drummer, Mitch Mitchell, Dies at 61

Mitchell had a hand-- two very able hands, in fact-- in rock and roll history as part of the Experience in the late 1960s. He played in the Pretty Things and Georgie Fame's Blue Flames before joining Hendrix, and even served as part of the Dirty Mac supergroup that John Lennon assembled for the Rolling Stones' 1968 "Rock and Roll Circus" event, playing alongside Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Lennon himself. Two years after Hendrix's death in 1970, he formed the trio Ramatam, and went on to do session work for a number of musicians and partake in several Hendrix tributes.

More at Pitchfork

Wiki

28.8% of Alaskan Ballots Not Yet Counted

Really!?

Keith Olbermann on Gay Marriage

Nasa Mars Mission Declared Dead

Phoenix unresponsive

Notice

11.10.08 - The Day In 100 Seconds

Talking Points Memo

Internet Addict Spends at Least Six Hours a Day Online

According to China

Order Gave Permission to Attack Al-Qaeda Targets Anywhere in the World...

Huh.

The source for Sarah Palin Africa Leak?

Martin Eisenstadt

Update
Seems this is a hoax

DNC Chairman Howard Dean Will Not Seek Second Term

Check it

he Obamas Meet the Bushes at the White House

More here

Gov. Schwarzenegger Wants CA Supreme Court to Overturn Prop 8

Cool

Black Jesus

Obama Wants Lieberman to Remain in Democratic Caucus

alright

Paleontologists Doubt 'Dinosaur Dance Floor'

I see

Circuit City Files for Bankruptcy

I see...

Joe Scarborough Says “F—- You” On Air

China's $900 Billion Stimulus Package

Wow

Earth Can't Cope, New Planets Needed

"people are turning resources into waste faster than nature can turn waste back into resources."

Hmm...

The Life Catalyst Discovered

Scientists propose

Harvard Goes to China to Recruit Math Students

This is worrisome

Obama Planning US Trials for Guantanamo Detainees

That's a good first step.

Batman, Turkey Sues Christopher Nolan

Umm, ok...

The 50 Obama Facts You May Not Know

Very interesting

Clean Coal?

Check it

Chandrayaan 1: First Satellite to Orbit the Moon

Excellent

Rocks Could Be Used to Capture CO2

Amazing

Utah Faces Boycott After Mormon Work for Prop 8

Oh my...

Attacus Atlas - Large and Beautiful Moth

Picture

Wiki

The Man Behind Proposition 8

Howard Ahmanson, Jr.

Wiki

Mysterious Explosion 1,000 Times Greater than Hiroshima

Fascinating

Wiki

Misc.
FOAB
King Bomb

The Sun Shows Signs of Life

Solar minimum is behind us...

U.S. to Open Public Land Near Parks for Drilling

Huh.

The Great Hypnotist: Obama!

This.is.ridiculous.

Digg Dialogg: Al Gore

11.07.08 - The Day In 100 Seconds

Talking Points Memo

Obama Roasts Rahm Emanuel At 2005 Fundraiser

Sheets of Carbon Nanotubes Act as Loudspeakers

Incredible

Obama Grabs Headlines

Damn...

America's First Black President Wasn't Obama...

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.)is Stepping Down as Chairman of The Appropriations Committee

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) is expected to succeed Byrd as chairman

First Press Conference For President-Elect Obama

60.7% - 61.7% of Eligible Voters Voted This Year

WTF are all the other voters doing?

Rockman (This is Great)

How To Remove a McCain Bumper Sticker

With WD-40

Flying Car Could be Reality Within Two Years

Awesome

Your Odor: Unique as Fingerprints

Fascinating

Barack Obama's 'Changes'

HBO Picks up U.S. Rights to Norton Obama Documentary

cool

Past link

Bush Administration Committed War Crimes Against Prisoners

Reveals physicians for human rights

11.06.08 - The Day In 100 Seconds

Talking Points Memo

Who is Rahm Emanuel?

Obama and Emanuel's statements

A series of fairly recent news reports.

His Wiki

Fungus From Patagonia Rainforest Produces a New Type of Diesel Fue

Interesting

Schwarzenegger: $4.4 Billion in Tax Hikes to End Deficit

We need to get out of this hole

Edward Norton Has Had an Obama Documentary in The Works

Sounds great!

Girl Stoned to Death Under Sharia Law in Somalia

That's fucked up

Obama Wins North Carolina

364

Migraines Cut Breast Cancer Risk by 30 Percent

Study reveals

Former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer Won't Face Charges

Oh Eliot...

Can The Presidential Candidates Keep Their Campaign Money?

No

Brian Kilmeade vs. Robert Gibbs on Obama Bracelet

Products Fom The Future

Russia to Deploy Missiles Near Poland

Hmmm

Palin Secrets

Fascinating

11.05.08 - The Day In 100 Days

Talking Points Memo

71.5 Million Watch Obama Victory

The numbers

Lawsuit Filed Against Anti-Gay Proposition 8 in CA

Good

New LED Lightbulb Design

Neat-O

Ralph Nader Uses Derogatory Term to Describe Obama

Uncle Tom
noun derogatory, chiefly N. Amer. a black man considered to be excessively obedient or servile to white people.

Obama Wraps it Up

Obama's Grandmother's Absentee Ballot will be Counted by State of Hawaii

Awesome

Palin Blows Fox Off

Obama Salutes His Grandmother

TPMTV Interviews Bill Burton

11.03.08 - The Day In 100 Days

Talking Points Memo

Founding Member of The Descendents Passed Away

My Condolences

His Wiki

Stretching: The Truth

NY Times article.

Dynamic Stretching


List of dynamic stretches.

Obama's Middle Finger

News broke at Drudge, assured this was on purpose as well as noteworthy.

Mouse Baked Into Bun

How Big Will Obama Win...?

Egg Inside an Egg?

o.o

You Voted? Get Free Food/Drink or...

Ben and Jerry's
Krispy Kreme
Starbucks
Vibrator o.o

DIGG: Next Digg Dialogg With Al Gore

Sounds great!

Which Stocks Would Soar Under an Obama Presidency?

Interesting

Osama Bin Laden Video Maker Sentenced to Life

Check it

Thousands of Pages of Voter Information Found on Tampa Highway

Huh.

Obama's Grandmother Dies At Age 86

My condolences

Race Reversal Election Poster

Brain-only Computer Interfaces Becoming Reality

WATCH THIS SHIT!

New Anti Obama Ad

Oh the GOP...

11.02.08 - The Day In 100 Days

Talking Points Memo

How To Effectively Nap

Contrary to stereotypes, napping is good for you.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: Stevens (R-Alaska) Cannot Serve As Senator

Good

Obama Camp Warns Against GOP Voter Suppression [VIDEO]

Judge Orders White House To Produce Wiretap Memos

Excellent

McCain Robocall [VIDEO]

@ HuffPo

The 'Original' Mavericks

Brave New Pac

Obama Ad - Delighted

This Will Clear Any Confusion You May Have Had About The Election...

The Simpsons On The Election

Imagine That...

Running into the next President of The United States of America on Halloween

Daylight Time - Set Back One Hour at 2 AM

Alright

11.01.08 - The Day in 100 Seconds

Talking Points Memo

This is NOT What American is About...

Democratic Win Equates Dictatorship?

I think not...

Space Debris To Hit Earth Sometime Sunday

Seems a tad-bit irresponsible... no?

McCain On SNL

Free Starbucks Coffee For Voters

Obama Boosts The Daily Show's and The Colbert Show to New Records

Fantastic

Malaysia Recognizes Kosovo Independence

Serbia expels Malaysian ambassador from Serbia.

Himalayas and Mt. Everest From Space

Must-See

Via NASA

Azerbaijan Oil Prospects

Obama Wins!!!

Here's why...

Climate Change Updates From Scientific Research

Polar warming caused by humans.

Climate change may not be man made.

odd...

Obama's Aunt Information

The story

The possible leaker

Red State Socialism

Interesting

Can I Wear My Campaign Button To The Voting Booth?

It depends...

Arnold Campaigning For McCain

New McCain Ad: Obama Once Praised Me!

Somtimes Ignorance Is Bliss...

This ignorance is just sad...

Reagan Chief-Of-Staff: Palin Not Ready For VP

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV): Biden More Qualified Than Palin

10.31.08 - The Day in More Than 100 Seconds

Talking Points Memo

Dick Cheney Endorses McCain

Palin Prank Call: Masked Avengers Convince Palin She's Talking To French President Sarkozy (Audio)