Subscribe“We’ve made ourselves a very poor experiment. We started to observe meteorology at the coldest spot in the last 10,000 years.”
Beware the Booby Bombers
Fox News and The Sun report that MI-5 has uncovered Al Qaeda plans to use female suicide bombers carrying explosive charges in breast implants.
From the Fox article:
Explosive experts allegedly told MI5 that a sachet containing as little as five ounces of PETN [an explosive compound] could blow “a considerable hole” in an airline’s skin, causing it to crash.
From the Sun article:
MI5 has also discovered that extremists are inserting the explosives into the buttocks of some male suicide bombers.
Both Fox News and The Sun are, as usual, regurgitating hyped up bullshit as pointed out here in Richard Bartholomew’s blog. Not that they were the only ones, as a quick Google search will reveal.
However surgical bombs are a theoretical possibility and challenge us again to define the line between privacy and security.
Should a surgical bomb attack ever be successful, in the ensuing hysteria would the FAA begin requiring a mandatory feel up after the pat down?
Would passengers be required to submit to a full body scan (a technology whose current effectiveness is dubious)?
Should passengers just climb on the conveyor belts with their luggage and submit to x-raying?
India: My island! Bangladesh: My island! Global Warming: What island?
For almost three decades, India and Bangladesh have squabbled over ownership of a tiny, uninhabited island in the Bay of Bengal.
But where threats and negotiations have failed, global warming has now apparently succeeded: the island has disappeared beneath the waves.
Global Warming Denial…Denial
Ever been confronted by a global warming denialist? They’re pretty tenacious but often standing on precarious scientific footing, if any at all. If you’re like me, you have little patience for someone who denies the validity of something simply because doing so helps them fit more snugly into their tidy conservative worldview. Lucky for you, the mountain of evidence to help you pummel your friend’s weak argument is now right at your fingertips!
“Ice age predicted in the 70s”
1970s ice age predictions were predominantly media based. The majority of peer reviewed research at the time predicted warming due to increasing CO2.
And there’s even an iPhone App! Use your new powers wisely.
Palin Pew Pew Pew
The article isn’t super interesting, but the picture is somewhat terrifying… Not only does she look deranged, she’s got poor trigger discipline. Granted, there’s no magazine in the weapon, but who’s to say that there isn’t a round in the chamber?
Formerly known as “The Learning Channel”
Remember when KFC was “Kentucky Fried Chicken?” When “fried” became taboo, the company deftly shifted the moniker to simply KFC. Well, these days learning is taboo and not only that, it’s boring! In a prophetic move, “The Learning Channel” re-branded itself as TLC in 1998 and never looked back. Free from the clumsy shackles of educational programming, the network has released such appalling drivel as “49 Kids and Counting.”
Last Saturday, TLC (Think Like Crazies?) premiered a new program featuring yet another magical dude pretending to talk to dead people. Only this time, he finds out which sucker…err..grieving family member is really supposed to get all the cool shit the deceased left behind. Who needs a will?
Script Kiddie Fail
Well, Larry Hyrd, aka Major Nelson of Xbox Live had his account hacked recently. The code monkeys at M$ have fixed it all, supposedly.
The script kiddies that did it thoughtfully gave a YouTube presentation of their doings, complete with a their website address, Skype Names, and AIM name. Furthermore, they showed (in HD glory) their entire buddy list.
It’s awesome. The internets already has their home address and facebook via WHOIS.
Full story and YouTube Video on Kotaku here. WARNING: You’ll want headphones for the video if you’re at work. Lots of wannabe thug swearing.
Kotaku comment thread has his address and facebook page, if you are so inclined. Oh! And surprise, surprise, he’s from Florida.