Built by engineers in Texas, the robotic insect fuses a live cockroach with a miniature computer that is wired into the animal's nervous system. At the push of a button, a human operator can control the beast. Or at least which way it scuttles.
It could gather information from places where humans would rather not be: collapsed buildings, broken sewers, and the kitchens in student house shares. Huh? Waddabout Congress? Hildabeast's private e-mail accounts? Slick Willie's .... oh, never mind. Oh please, a roach that smart in Congress could do appropriations...
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/04/2015 16:18 ||
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#1
A cockroach that smart could be Speaker of the House.....Oh wait we already have one.
#2
What!!! They are doing experiments on living animals? Wait until PETA hears about this!!!
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/04/2015 18:06 Comments ||
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#3
These are Census workers, right?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/04/2015 20:34 Comments ||
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#4
D *** NG IT, here on Guam all I've been seeing lately is late-nite Triangular stealth experimental aircraft, and Metallic Flying Drone-Bugs during the day.
I demand my Amerikan right to see a Metallic Roach!
[BBC] American billionaire Paul Allen has announced the discovery of the famous World War Two Japanese battleship, the Musashi, more than 70 years after it was sunk by US forces.
Mr Allen said the vessel was found by his private exploration team. It was at a depth of more than 1km (3,280ft) on the floor of the Sibuyan Sea off the Philippines.
The Musashi and its sister vessel, the Yamato, were two of the largest battleships ever built. US warplanes sank the Musashi on 24 October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, believed to be the biggest naval encounter of World War Two in which American and Australian forces defeated the Japanese.
[New Exploratory Web Site] For over two hundred years all that has been asked of each generation of Americans is to leave this country better off than the one we inherited. This is our solemn duty. Together, we can do better and we must. One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
If I believe that I have your support and your commitment to help, I will run for President to lead this great country to a brighter future.
#2
Frankly Ben, I couldn't agree with your statement more. However, without a political track record, you are an unknown quantity, and this country needs solid conservative leadership with a track record. I suggest you set your sights lower, like a House or Senate seat and call us back when you have achieved something.
#4
Operation Foot-Bullet for GOP candidates commences:
Carson candidacy already finished. This same day, he was questioned about gay "marriage" and somehow ended up equating being gay with prison sex, stating it was a choice. Press in process of demolishing him.
[DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] The 19-year-old daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr reportedly freaked out at staff at an upstate New York club when they refused to allow her in with a fake ID, screaming: 'I am a Kennedy, Google me!'
Kyra Kennedy allegedly threw a tantrum after being turned away from club Lava at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York last Thursday.
The teen had tried to use 26-year-old Kick Kennedy's passport but couldn't remember her half-sister's birthday and was caught looking up the date of birth on Wikipedia by a security guard.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#3
The teen had tried to use 26-year-old Kick Kennedy's passport but couldn't remember her half-sister's birthday and was caught looking up the date of birth on Wikipedia by a security guard.
#5
This is part of the cultural rot that set in back then with the press kissing ass of the Kennedys and trying to create a dynastic "royalty" political class in the US. Result? Not only the braindead and morally bankrupt self-aggrandizing and self-entitled Kennedy clan, but also the Bushs and Clintons.
#7
g(r)om, he should be rewarded. Imagine if she he'd gotten drunk and then injured someone in a car accident. The victim would have sued the club for allowing an underage person to drink.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/04/2015 8:13 Comments ||
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#8
In the group lingerie portrait, Kyra and friends look like a pack of Vampires. Hell, I wouldn't let them in the night club either. The bouncer's sphincter muscle must have gone spasmodic looking at her. (· · · – – – · · ·)
#12
I would love to have had the bouncer call the number she was saying and mentioned the penalties for underage drinking and using a false id and what the press would do with a story about a drunk entitled Kennedy and asked the important person what they would really like done with the young lady.
#13
and then right after getting the instructions about what was to be done, call the paper anyway! The only way to keep these people from returning to power is the decade after decade of honest press reporting about what arrogant and self-important jerks they remain, generation after generation!
Both sides on the civil war in southeastern Ukraine report the other violates terms of the truce as separate battles resume in Lugansk and Donetsk, according to Russian language news accounts.
Rebel media reported Tuesday that work in the rubble of the Donetsk airport had to be suspended due to shelling from Ukrainian artillery. The Ukrainian spokesman for the ministry of defense charged that rebel forces have been sending recon teams against their positions in western Donetsk.
Ukrainian groups are also known to operate in western Donetsk with a small bore mortar kept in the truck of a car. The group stops the car, opens the trunk, fires three or four shots, and before rebel security forces in the area can respond, the group is gone. Such an attack took place in the Leninskiy district on Monday.
According to reports compiled from rebel media, most of the direct fire battles are taking place in Peski, which is one kilometer northwest from the grounds of the airport. Parts of Peski are controlled by both sides.
Small arms fire exchanges have also been noted in Avdievka, which is near Peski and west of the airport.
Rebel media said that Ukrainian artillery hit Spartak, which is a rebel force marshaling point for that sector of the city, while Ukrainians say that rebel forces have been exchanging small arms fire in the Pavlopol Volnovakha sector of Donetsk city.
Ukrainians also say that rebels move their artillery from the front line as required by the latest iteration of the Minsk Truce, only to bring artillery back after observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) leave the area. Rebel media say much the same thing: that Ukrainians do not abide by the terms of the truce.
According to rebel media, most of the artillery removed was non functioning, while the functional artillery is still in forward areas, masked in hollows and covered by camouflage netting.
Rebel media continually charge that the Ukrainian Army is preparing for another provocation, which is unlikely given the current low state of readiness of the Ukrainian Army.
Fighting in Northern Lugansk
Positional battles continue between Lugansk rebel forces all along highway T1303 as Ukrainian mobile forces attack several checkpoints now maintained by rebel forces, according to rebel media.
Here, as in Donetsk, rebel media say Ukrainian forces are preparing for another battle against rebel forces, despite the sorry state of Ukrainian forces.
[Dhaka Tribune] No normalisation of ties between Ukraine and Russia is likely unless the region of Crimea, now under Russian control, is returned to Kiev's illusory sovereignty, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said yesterday.
Klimkin, on the second day of his two-day trip to Japan, also said the border between Ukraine and Russia needed to be completely closed to achieve any settlement to the armed conflict between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
He reiterated his government's stance as a ceasefire deal, reached last month in Minsk, is broadly holding on the front line, but fighters in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk are training for another round of festivities against government troops.
"There could be no slightest way of normalising or getting back to business in the relations between Ukraine and Russia without returning to status quo and establishing full Ukrainian illusory sovereignty over Crimea," Klimkin told news hounds in Tokyo.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine a year ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#2
Actually Crimea was never Ukranian. Not under the Tsars when Russai defeated the Tatars who were occuppying it. Not under Lenein and Stalin. Not even in the times of Kievan Rus (even if it briefly occuppied the Northen Third) before it was destroyed by the Mongols. It was only a such Nikita Serguievitch Kroutchev who in order to get the support of the Ukranian big cheese in his struggle agaisnt his rivals gave it to Ukrania.
[Hurriyet Daily News] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's highest judicial board has opened the way for the trial of two prosecutors and one judge responsible for the massive corruption probe of December 2013.
The 2nd Chamber of the Supreme Judges and Prosecutors Board (HSYK) gave permission for the trial of prosecutors Celal Kara and Muammer Akkas and judge Suleyman Karacöl.
HSYK 2nd Board Head Mehmet Yilmaz told Anadolu Agency that they will take the last defenses of the three individuals, who were all involved in the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25, 2013 graft probes, before making its decision on whether to give any disciplinary punishment.
Yilmaz said the board allowed the prosecution of Kara on the grounds that he had seized a wealth of legal entities without conducting sufficient research and investigation, and also for recording phone calls between former Interior Minister Muammer Guler and his son Baris Guler, as well as between businessman Reza Zarrab and his wife Ebru Gundes, without deleting them.
The probe against prosecutor Akkas has been allowed on allegations that he "violated the privacy of the prosecution and made decisions without sufficient examination."
Judge Karacöl can be tried as he decided on the seizure of suspects' wealth in the Dec. 25, 2013 probe, based on Article 128 of the Turkish Penal code. Judge Karacöl is temporarily suspended from his post until the trial against him is finalized.
Businessmen, babus bureaucrats and four cabinet members were involved in the probe as suspects. The four ministers, Egemen Bagis, Erdogan Bayraktar, Zafer Caglayan, and Muammer Guler, resigned from their posts a few months after the incident and were acquitted in a historic vote in the Turkish parliament over corruption claims that emerged as part of the Dec. 17 probe.
The board had previously suspended four prosecutors who were involved in the now-dropped graft investigations in December 2013 pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation.
Ruling that Zekeriya Öz, Celal Kara, Muammer Akkas and Mehmet Yuzgec remaining in office would "harm the clout and reputation of the judiciary," the board decided on Dec. 30, 2014, to suspend the four prosecutors.
In May 2014, the 3rd Chamber of the HSYK gave the green light for the prosecution of Öz, Kara, Akkas and Yuzgec.
Subsequently, the decision to open an investigation obtained the final approval of Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag. At the time, the third chamber also asked for the suspension of the four from their duties pending the outcome of the investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] A City District Government of Lahore (CDGL) team, consisting of livestock department officials, seized on Monday 750 kilo diseased and dead animals' meat and discarded into the River Ravi.
According to a spokesperson for the CDGL, the officials stopped a vehicle at Sherakot Area (near Babu Sabu) carrying meat being transported to Lahore from Chishtian (Bahawalnagar).
After checking, the team declared the meat to be of dead animals and got incarcerated Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! Muhammad Afzal.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, that was rather humane and sanitary of them!
#5
An untreated person with cholera may produce 10 to 20 litres (3 to 5 US gal) of diarrhea a day.[2] Severe cholera, without treatment, kills about half of affected individuals
[DAWN] Nine people, including four FC personnel, were killed and seven suffered injuries as a security checkpost and houses collapsed in parts of the province and Mohmand Agency ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... as rains lashed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... and adjoining tribal areas on Sunday and Monday.
Officials said four FC personnel were killed and three suffered injuries when their checkpost collapsed in Jani Khwar area of Matani on the outskirts of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. on Monday night.
The dear departed included soldiers Amjad Ali, Tahzeb Ali, Abid Ali and Mawad Ali, while the injured were Hawaldar Shakir Ali and sepoys Rajman Ali and Gulfam Ali.
Two people buried alive under the debris and a child was injured when the roof of their house collapsed in Malanagad area of Kohat district on Monday night.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2015 00:00 ||
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[STARTRIBUNE] The Nobel Peace Prize awarding Norwegian Nobel Committee has elected a new chairman to replace Thorbjoern Jagland, whose six-year tenure has been lined with controversies.
The former labor politician was replaced Tuesday by the panel's deputy chairman, Kaci Kullmann Five, a former conservative party leader. The replacement follows changes in Norway's government after the 2013 elections. The composition of the committee reflects the power structure in Norway's Parliament which appoints the members.
Jagland was a contentious figure, attracting criticism for his dual role as committee leader and head of the European Council when the prize was awarded to the European Union in 2012. His tenure also was clouded by the decision to give the prize to Barack Obama in 2009 after he had just been elected president.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Based upon awarding the Peace Prize to someone who has never accomplished anything, and taking a look at what he has done for "world peace" since then, they should run the entire committee out of town on a rail and then sic the dogs on them.
#4
Nobel Peace Prize has become a tainted brand since it was bestowed upon noted Communists like Mandela and Zero. The tarnish will not lift for many people who recognize the Nobel Peace Prize as a tool of the World Communist Movement.
h/t Jerry Pournelle
There was this test. And it was daunting. It was like the SAT or ACT -- which many American millennials are no doubt familiar with, as they are on track to be the best educated generation in history -- except this test was not about getting into college. This exam, given in 23 countries, assessed the thinking abilities and workplace skills of adults. It focused on literacy, math and technological problem-solving. The goal was to figure out how prepared people are to work in a complex, modern society. Here I thought that my impression that Israeli students decline is subjective
#1
They get it. High achievement is part of their makeup
WRONG BOZO!!!!
What is part of their makeup is high levels of reward & self esteem. This is the result of "everyone gets a trophy" thinking; grading (and testing) on a curve; and all the other tricks that are used to pump up the achievement stats.
Anyone else remember the "gentleman's C"...which turned into the gentleman's A- ?
#2
Those in Finland, Sweden and Japan seemed to be on a different planet.
Don't know about the first two, but methinks that, were Mr. Frankel born Japanese, he'd likely have spent his life as a salaryman at a plumbing fixtures company, instead of as a journalist.
#4
I don't know Pappy. Selling plumbing fixtures properly would require some problem solving skills, otherwise the employee is a register jockey. I'm not sure I'd let this guy run the register without fearing the z-out - I expect my employees to be able to find price + tax after % discount by hand (can use calculator), guy sounds like he frustrates easily.
#5
Reason I said that is because the average Japanese pretty much has their educational options determined and limited starting at an early school-age, with options increasingly limited as time goes on.
So, if they're testing postgrads, it is because they're pretty much testing the best the Japanese have to offer; exclusive of external factors, like say, demographic-compensation admission awardees.
#7
The bar graphs in the article are visually misleading in that countries with the same score are shown as separate bars even though they belong to the same bin. However...
It's a valid point that the outputs from our educational system are generally nothing to brag about. Could it be that our public schools and teacher's unions are focused on something other than education?
This article has a nice graph showing test scores vs expenditures since 1970. Scores are basically flat. Expenditures and personnel head count have been rising linearly.
#8
I've always wondered about such a rigid education system; I remember my French teacher mentioning something about a white/blue collar test there. I was a bit of a late bloomer and wonder if I would have made the cut.
Then I read this article; some junior high level stuff, doesn't even mention the education variations. In fact, I think he took the test before writing it and didn't do so well. He writes at a major name. He thinks you should listen to him without any doubt.
I'm not saying there isn't a problem. I recently helped with one of those Life Fairs - HS Senior is determined an income, family situation, has to buy house, car, clothes, food, so forth. The order to purchase is subjective, I know how I would have done it and saw many have to go back and re-select because they bought fancy clothes before their house/car. What bothered me is that at my station the numbers were simple, multiples of fives. x sets of one group with three levels, y sets of second group, so forth. Too many were having a hard time with their phones figuring out the total. I was checking their work without having to get pencil paper. Good school, good kids. I think there is more to this - then I heard The Kongos song "Kids These Days". I know, shake my fist from the porch, but this line "Easily Unimpressed" really stuck.
I checked the problem solving, expecting Which Direction Does Gear 4 Turn? No. What was it, find something on a web site not listed on the main page.
I think it was a ST:TNG episode where this advanced civilization was collapsing because they quit caring about how the technology worked, so when things started breaking nobody knew or cared to fix it. If it wasn't an episode, there should have been one, but I'm that guy who is teaching my kids that water doesn't come from a faucet.
#3
So nobody has addressed this.. ULA is a jointly owned Lockheed Boeing company to launch both their rockets. When Boeing exits the launcher market does ULA become a subsidiary of Lockheed?
#4
Darth: it ain't about that. Lockheed is cutting the only rocket they make that's made in the US instead of being a bunch of US tankage on a set of Russian engines and daring anyone to say there's a problem with this. The whole lot of the management should be put in chains and welded to a flagpole somewhere in Dombass.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[BBC] American billionaire Paul Allen has announced the discovery of the famous World War Two Japanese battleship, the 
[DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] The 19-year-old daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr reportedly freaked out at staff at an upstate New York club when they refused to allow her in with a fake ID, screaming: 'I am a Kennedy, Google me!'
[Dhaka Tribune] No normalisation of ties between Ukraine and Russia is likely unless the region of Crimea, now under Russian control, is returned to Kiev's 
Mohmand Agency
