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15 Aug 2011 10:58

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Politics: Paul Krugman. Fareed Zakaria. Space aliens. Bizarre arguments.

  • Dear Paul Krugman, your bizarre argument in favor of using a faked space alien invasion as a way to improve the economy does one thing: It gives kooks fodder for kookdom. *facepalm* This is not an argument befitting a Nobel Laureate. (h/t Jayel Aheram) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 20:28

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Tech: Note to aliens: We’re out of money, not really looking anymore

  • SETI’s broke, guys: The search for extra-terrestrial intelligence will take a breather for a little while. The SETI Institute, which owns these sweet-looking satellites, ran out of money for its Allen Telescope Array, and the program will take a breather. Paul Allen (who recently became a patent troll) provided a big chunk of the original funding, and the State of California and the National Science Foundation provided the rest. The government sources, however, had to cut their funding recently. There is good news, however: Apparently the Air Force may want to use the technology to study space debris. So they could be functioning again soon. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Sep 2010 15:55

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Tech, World: Fun facts about Gliese 581g, aka “The New Earth”

  • everyone, meet gliese 581g! Despite the ugly name, it’s actually a friendly, Earth-like planet in the Libra constellation. “Glee-G,” as we like to call it, is 20 light years away, so we won’t be visiting any time soon; however, the “conditions on the ground” (heh, military humor) are perfect for sustaining water. Here are a few more tidbits about our newest planetary sibling. source
  • No night and day One side of the planet is always facing it’s “sun,” while the other is permanently looking into the abyss of space. So, if it’s freezing and you can’t wait for summer, just cross on over to the other side!
  • 3X bigger than earth So you probably won’t be able to cross on over to the other side. However, despite its size, it has similar gravitational and atmospheric conditions to our beloved blue orb.
  • aliens exist!“The chances for life on this planet are 100 percent,” says Steven Vogt, an astronomer at the University of California. You’d think this sort of thing would have made the news rounds a bit more heavily, no? source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2010 23:52

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Politics: Max Headroom: Alvin Greene says stupid crap about aliens

  • Alvin Greene tops himself Oh boy. In this Fox News clip, radio host Keith Larson tackles the South Carolina senate candidate, who talked about illegal aliens on his show: “We wouldn’t want illegal aliens from Pluto or Mars taking advantage of our taxpayers too.”
  • Fox, obama see eye to eye?Strangely enough, on “Fox & Friends,” Obama did in fact get some support for his comments about the Ground Zero mosque. Maybe it wasn’t like the biggest thing in the world, but it definitely raised our eyebrows.
  • Social Security dems’ ace?Cenk Uygur (best known for his radio/YouTube work with The Young Turks), made a pretty sound point about the Democrats’ strongest arguing point in the midterms: Social Security. The ad at the beginning nails it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

17 May 2010 21:50

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U.S.: Arizona asks illegal immigrants for ID. Trenton, NJ gives them IDs

If illegal immigrants can make it all the way from Mexico to Trenton, N.J. and back to Arizona, there’s a good chance this ID won’t do anything for them. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2010 11:06

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Offbeat: Protip from Stephen Hawking: Don’t talk to aliens, ever

  • If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.
  • Prof. Stephen Hawking • Regarding the possibility of alien life hitting Earth. “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,” he further notes. “The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.” This is actually a very astute point, but one we could’ve figured out from watching “Independence Day.” *punch* Welcome to Earth! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Aug 2009 23:27

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Culture: Is “District 9” really an “Alien Nation” wannabe?

  • District 9 is indeed pretty good. In fact District 9 is a lot of things, most of them very positive. One thing it isn’t, though, is original.
  • CinemaBlend writer Josh Tyler • In an article called “Too Close To Call: 10 Ways ‘District 9’ Is An ‘Alien Nation’ Knockoff,” where he dissects the similarities (and differences) between the two films – and in the case of “Alien Nation,” the spinoff TV series. Our question: Are there worse things to be than an “Alien Nation” knockoff? We’re not talking about the worst movie of all time here. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

17 Feb 2009 10:20

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Culture: Period drama + bloodthirsty aliens? We’d pay to see that.

  • “Pride and Predator” could be amazing. The movie is exactly what it sounds like – in the midst of a period Jane Austenish costume drama, an alien ship crash lands, and the aliens start killing the formerly full-of-themselves arthouse actors. To be directed by Will Clark and produced by Elton John, there’s no way this could suck. All we gotta say is: “Please cast Keira Knightley. Please cast Keira Knightley.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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