gregladen | June 4, 2010UN chief Ban Ki-Moon has called for an independent investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo into the death of a human rights activist.
Floribert Chebeya's body was found in his car after he was called to a meeting with the national police chief, which did not take place, on Tuesday.
A senior UN investigator said the circumstances of the death "strongly suggested official responsibility".
source
gregladen | June 4, 2010Lately I've been reading the 19th and early 20th century traveler's accounts of what is now known as the Western Rift Valley and the Ituri Forest, Congo. Some are written by the famous 'explorers' such as H.M. Stanley, others written by scientists on expeditions in the area, and still others by missionaries. Reading these accounts puts me in mind of my own experiences, as a scientist working in that same area, with the missionaries that live and work, or sometimes just visit, there.
So, a few missionary stories are in order.
This is a Repost in celebration of Missionary Weekend
There were…
gregladen | June 4, 2010Or, at least, it may not be "protected" speech.
Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have submitted a brief to the Supreme Court in support of a father who sued anti-gay protesters over their demonstration at the 2006 funeral of his son, a Marine killed in Iraq.
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Obviously we're talkin' Wesboro Baptist Church here. The Supremes will consider the case.
This is mixed news, because while it ma be good to limit insane over the top highly offensive crap and tell people like the Wesboro slobs to take their protest elsewhere, the basis of he brief is the sanctity of the funeral…
gregladen | June 4, 2010Rocks examined by NASA's Spirit Mars Rover hold evidence of a wet, non-acidic ancient environment that may have been favorable for life. Confirming this mineral clue took four years of analysis by several scientists.
An outcrop that Spirit examined in late 2005 revealed high concentrations of carbonate, which originates in wet, near-neutral conditions, but dissolves in acid. The ancient water indicated by this find was not acidic.
NASA's rovers have found other evidence of formerly wet Martian environments. However the data for those environments indicate conditions that may have been acidic…
gregladen | June 3, 2010A leading rights activist in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been found dead in the capital, Kinshasa.
Floribert Chebeya's body was discovered, partially clothed, on the back seat of his own car.
source
He was last known to have gone to a meeting with the national chief of police, Genral John Numbi. His driver has disappeared.
Amnesty International's deputy Africa director, Veronique Aubert, issued a statement upon hearing of his death: "We are stunned and appalled by the suspicious death of such a prominent and respected human rights defender".
source
gregladen | June 3, 2010
Doesn't fit very well in our fixed 500px format. But, it's a funny cartoon and suggests that Dilbert is a skeptic.
Hat Tip: Hemant Mehta
gregladen | June 1, 2010Possibly. Quite possibly:
Diaspora: Personally Controlled, Do-It-All, Distributed Open-Source Social Network from daniel grippi on Vimeo.
Hat tip: Ronja Addams-Moring
gregladen | June 1, 2010Have you ever bought a cell phone at one of those kiosks, or in a storefront for the carrier? Actually, if you are in the US I should ask "Have you ever NOT bought a cell phone in such a place?" (In at least some other countries they don't make the process so religious and obnoxious. You just go into Woolworth's or something and get your phone.)
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the prospect of getting my next cell phone at Amazon.com.
According to the site, the main objective is to make buying/upgrading/etc "easier."
The service appears to handle at least three carriers including Verizon (…
gregladen | June 1, 2010I'm very please that my discussion of the "we can't ever know what a word is" Internet meme has elicited a response from Mark Liberman at Language Log. (here) Mark was very systematic in his comments, so I will be very systematic in my responses.
1. Without a careful definition of what you mean by "word" and by "language X", questions like "how many words are there in language X" are pretty much meaningless, because different definitions will yield very different numbers.
This is very much off the mark. I can measure the distance from the earth to the moon using a variety of techniques,…
gregladen | June 1, 2010discussion is happening at The Reef Tank:
Ocean Woes by Doreen
and
More on The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a reprint from moi.
gregladen | May 31, 2010One very important difference was brought to our attention by Digital Rabbit: