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stcynic | August 23, 2006A new report in Nature says that a California company has found a way to extract stem cells from embryos without destroying them. It's not perfected yet, but apparently has some promise. I'll make a bet: even if the technique is perfected and stem cell lines can be created through that technique without destroying any embryos, even ones that will be thrown out anyway, the religious right still won't accept embryonic stem cell research. Everyone sing along with me:
Every cell is sacred, every cell is great. If a cell is wasted, God gets quite irate."
tqa | August 23, 2006Two quick things every registered Connecticut Democrat should know:
1: Lieberman has shown his true colors by naming his party "Connecticut for Lieberman." Remember that. You're for him, not the other way around.
2: Republicans have essentially pulled their support from their own candidate, now polling in the low single digits. Lieberman isn't a Republican, but he's the next best thing as far as they are concerned.
stcynic | August 23, 2006A coalition of conservative groups took out full page ads around the country urging the justice department to ban porn movies in hotel rooms. Radley Balko has the perfect response:
Here's an idea, fundies: Don't order the boobies. If you don't order them, they won't show up in your room.
Although, ironically, there was a report from a hotel manager a few years back whose hotel hosted a big religious right conference. He said that the hotel actually set a record for most money made on hotel room porn that weekend. I'm sure it was just for research purposes.
tqa | August 23, 2006Over at Retrospectacle, Shelly has a question for all of us:
"Are you for or against the death penalty, or (if its conditional), in what cases? Furthermore, do you believe that societies that sanction war are hypocritical for opposing the death penalty?"
Personally, I am more or less opposed to the death penalty. I say "more or less" because every now and then, someone does something so absolutely evil that I have a hard time remembering that I really am opposed to the death penalty. In general, though, I don't think we need it - "supermax" prisons can keep even the worst offenders from being…
pharyngula | August 23, 2006I have just received word that the Friends of Charles Darwin website is getting a facelift and will be relaunched tonight, at 21:30 BST, and everyone is supposed to simultaneously sip from a glass of malt whiskey. That's in about 4 hours…hey, that's tea time! We can't be guzzling alcoholic beverages that early in the day!
purepedantry | August 22, 2006OmniBrain has a funny post on the secret of antigravity.
The Neurophilosopher has a interesting post on how neuropathic pain could be treated with menthol, which activates cold receptors.
The American Scientist Online publishes an interview with Marc Hauser on his model of an inborn moral system. Sounds suspiciously like repackaged Kant to me, but worth the read. (Hat-tip: Thinking Meat.)
thusspakezuska | August 22, 2006If you are a long-time reader, thanks for following me here.
New folks can look up all the prior good stuff here. Information available under the "About" tab may help orient you in the Zuskasphere.
Important
You should note straight off that this is not a blog about hearts and flowers and kittens and happy thoughts (the beautiful picture of my Globemaster Allium to the left notwithstanding). I often write about things that are so unbelievably atrocious and disgusting, you'll feel like horking up your breakfast. Thus, I do not recommend reading Thus Spake Zuska while eating, except…
catdynamics | August 22, 2006lot of blog buzz about Iran, its rejection of the UN nuclear enrichment curtailment, attack on Romanian oil platform (?) and arabist doom'n'gloom about August 22nd being some symbolic date...
it is new moon, which is the most opportunistic time for US air strikes, should they be so inclined
only two more new moons before the Nov elections, and the Oct new moon is embarrasingly close to the election dates; and, of course, no one puts out new policies in August, everyone is on vacation
should the US decide to something silly and pre-emptive, it'd need at least three carriers in the gulf or…
stcynic | August 22, 2006A few weeks ago I stopped replying to Larry Fafarman and his constant screeds against me at his blog, mostly because with that whole impersonating his brother things it became clear that the man really is mentally ill and needs serious help. But I have to respond to this comment:
Here is what Ed -- who has added a smirking mugshot of himself to his blog -- said...
Smirk? That's not a smirk. That's as close as I generally get to a smile when someone aims a camera at me. For some reason, my mouth is crooked when I smile. But I wasn't smirking there, I was just getting my picture taken. I won't…
stcynic | August 22, 2006I can't be the only one who finds this story funny. According to a woman who says she was kept against her will as Bin Laden's mistress in 1996, Osama was obsessed with Whitney Houston. She says he talked often about having Bobby Brown killed and taking Whitney as one of his wives. Two things come to mind. First, ridding the world of Bobby Brown might almost make up for that whole World Trade Center thing. Second, given the fact that Whitney married that asshole in the first place, she clearly has bad enough taste and judgement to seriously consider Bin Laden's offer. Okay, here's a third…
stcynic | August 22, 2006While reading Sandefur's book I came across a wonderful quote from a businessman explaining why he left a big company to start his own business:
I was going to move to a place I didn't like to work for a boss I didn't respect, devoting my energies to office politics for which I had little talent. I was going to make this sacrifice so that I could afford the surf and turf at an elaborately mediocre restaurant on the outskirts of nowhere..."
I was struck by that delightful phrase, elaborately mediocre. So many things in American popular culture fall into that category. It reminds me of a book…
stcynic | August 22, 2006Men go crazy in congregations, they only get better one by one
Sting, All This Time. And that isn't just about churches, it's about humans in groups and our tendency to engage in madness when we assemble a mob.
stcynic | August 21, 2006ScienceBlogs continues to be the New York Yankees of the blogging world, scooping up every great science blogger in the world (though we're still waiting for one of those $20 million contracts to come around). The latest acquisition is Thoughts from Kansas, Josh Rosenau's excellent blog that focuses on evolution and, in particular, on Kansas. Josh will make an excellent addition to the lineup. So welcome, Josh.
A couple tips to help you get along here: don't leave a mess around your locker or Katherine will yell at you. And don't bother Tim with technical problems until he's had his coffee…
stcynic | August 21, 2006Last night I hosted a BBQ and poker party at my house, but at 10 o'clock I had to turn on the William Shatner roast on Comedy Central. I love roasts to begin with, but what better target could you have than William Shatner? It was brilliant, as expected. The young comics - Jeffrey Ross, Patton Oswalt, Greg Geraldo - were all funny as usual, but the night belonged to Betty White (no, I'm not kidding), who was hysterical, and George Takei from Star Trek. Roasts are not for the faint of heart, the jokes are raunchy and definitely not politically correct, but those two went above and beyond.…
tqa | August 21, 2006Dear Senator Kerry:
Last week, I received your letter requesting donations to support the campaigns of Ned Lamont, Bob Menendez, and Dan Akaka. I am gratified to note that you are taking a stand in support of Lamont, and I think that supporting Menendez is also a good idea. I do, however, have a question for you regarding your decision to raise funds for Senator Akaka: have you lost what little remained of your mind?
Although it is true that Senator Akaka currently faces a strong challenger, it is a primary challenge, not a general election challenge. He is, despite having about six times as…
purepedantry | August 20, 2006I run down the Hudson a lot, and I am utterly amazed by people who fish there. It just seems like a unpleasant place to fish. But I had no idea that people were actually eating what they caught:
For years, state health officials have warned that because of mercury and PCB contamination, women of childbearing age and children under 15 should not eat any fish from the Hudson River, and other people should do so only sparingly. Studies and surveys have nonetheless found that many people are either unaware of those warnings or, like Mr. Tejada, simply ignore them.
But scientists are finding…
stcynic | August 20, 2006Religious right fraud D. James Kennedy has a special coming up called Darwin's Deadly Legacy (which, naturally, the Worldnutdaily is pimping). In it, he will make the standard "evolution leads to naziism" argument that creationists have tried to peddle for decades (they also claim it leads to communism and to the capitalist robber barons, so clearly they've got a wee problem with consistency). I've commented on this ridiculous claim in the past. The fact is that Hitler used all sorts of conflicting ideas to sell his agenda, depending on who he was talking to. And the evidence for Christianity…
stcynic | August 19, 2006Burt Humburg just gave me a link to this Daily Show story on gay marriage in Massachusetts. It's hilarious.
drorzel | August 19, 2006Since everyone else is doing it, I'll go along with the game, and post five random quotes that "reflect who you are or what you believe," chosen from the randomizer at quotationspage.com.
This actually took a while, because I'm not wild about most of what they throw out. I'll throw in a bonus sixth quote, though, because this one:
"Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm." --John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963)
is pretty lightweight, but accurate.
More serious quotes after the cut.
"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what
to do with it." --Ralph…
stcynic | August 19, 2006I had to laugh reading this essay by John Lofton where he scolds Susie Essman, a very funny stand up comic, for being unladylike. Essman was apparently featured on an episode of Nightline and Lofton was appalled that a woman would - gasp - swear. He strikes the prissy schoolmarm pose to perfection:
For-the-record: Not one thing Essman says is even remotely, by any definition, "insightful." And God bless "most people!" Because most of what Essman says should not be said out loud. And what she has is not an "ability" but a disability! I purposely avoid saying she is "sick" because what causes…