Written by Dr P Fenderson on February 6th, 2010
The findings, published in Nature, are probably best described as “mind blowing.” Devices with this level of complexity were not seen again for almost 1,500 years, and the Antikythera mechanism’s compactness actually bests the later designs. Probably built around 150 B.C., the Antikythera mechanism can perform a number of functions just by turning a crank on the side.
Been following the Antikythera phenomenon for most of my life…since I gained interest around age 11. It is so amazing that people overlook simple – yet mind-blowing – discoveries such as this.
Don’t you understand? We had advanced computers and calculating mechanisms 1500 years before ANYTHING ELSE of its kind was seen. And this device was seemingly mass-produced. The encroaching hordes of religious warriors and dogmatic belief systems have set us back thousands of years.
Posted via web from in.sight
Written by Dr P Fenderson on January 31st, 2010
Written by Dr P Fenderson on January 30th, 2010
Written by Dr P Fenderson on January 12th, 2010
California lawmakers finally passed Assembly Bill 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act by a 4-3 vote. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano from San Francisco introduced the bill, and will be pushing for it to be on this year's upcoming public ballot. This is the first time in US history that a bill that seeks to legalize cannabis has passed any legislative body.
"This is a significant vote because it legitimizes the quest for debate, legitimizes the quest for discussion," Ammiano said. "This is far from over. Not only did we get it out of (the) public safety (committee), but members are now willing to say, yes, this is worthy of discussion."
Advocates hailed the narrow passage of the bill — it was approved by the Assembly Public Safety Committee on a 4-3 vote — as a major breakthrough that will lead to a national legalization movement
The bill would place a $50 fee on each ounce of marijuana sold to pay for drug education and treatment. Board of Equalization Chairwoman Betty Yee, who has endorsed the bill, said legalization would raise $1.4 billion in state revenues.
This is not a total victory, as the bill immediately faces an opposing vote in the California State Assembly Committee on Health. But it is a real step towards ending the prohibition and war on cannabis. (via
OSI Gazette)
Posted via email from in.sight
Written by Dr P Fenderson on January 12th, 2010
It seems that the Chinese government has been attacking the digital accounts of numerous human-rights leaders, and other political dissidents, through Google and many other online services. After the internet search giant found out about the attacks, they posted a public response outlining the attacks and the possibility of shutting down services in China.
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.
Hopefully this will have an enormous impact on the Western view of Chinese politics and human-rights in the upcoming year. Google has the visibility, and the weight, to push people’s eyes in a certain direction.
via BoingBoing
Posted via web from in.sight
