A few weeks ago I was listening to NPR's "All Things Considered", when they mentioned a test of a new military weapon, "coming up" as they say in the radio biz. I "stayed tuned" while parked in my driveway and heard this report:
Non-Lethal Weapon Emits Invisible Rays of Pain
by Guy Raz, All Things Considered, October 29, 2007 (listen at link)

The Pentagon's research arm has come up with a weapon that can neutralize an individual — or a crowd — from a distance of more than 500 yards.

International Relations: Chinese Valentine's Day, this Sat./Sun.
Submitted by Clearsky on August 16, 2007 - 10:28am.
Science, Astronomy, and
International People-to-people Relations:

Chinese Valentine's Day
2007: August 18th (19)

Celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month (in the Chinesecalendar, the Chinese Valentine's Day is a day of romance, love and passion.

There is a little love story attached to this day. It is a story of the 7th daughter of the Emperor of the Heaven and an orphaned cowherd:
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Chinese folk-lore story

Tonight I heard an extraordinary interview on The Peter B. Collins Show with Martin Garbus, one of the best trial lawyers in the country, called America’s “most prominent First Amendment lawyer” by Newsweek, the National Law Journal and other media. Garbus discussed his new book, The Next 25 Years: The New Supreme Court and What It Means for Americans (at BuzzFlash Premium). Just this week we have seen how this US Supreme Court has already placed ideology over medical science.

For the first time since Al Gore gaveled the Congressional Black Caucus in 2001*, Al Gore will make a formal appearance in front of the U.S. Congress on WEDNESDAY March 21, 2007.

Here's where you can discuss THESE TESTIMONIES!

(From The Tennessean & c-span)

1. C-SPAN3, 9:30AM ET
   Watch Streaming Video @ www.c-span.org,
   House Committee, Global Climate Change Science and Technology, Energy and Environment
   Frederick C. Boucher , D-VA Albert Gore Jr., United States

Benjy Margolis died on November 27. He was two years old. He had Tay-Sachs disease.

Some of you may know some of Benjy's relatives. His father, Josh Margolis, co-founded DraftWesleyClark.com. His uncle, John Hlinko, was the other founder of the Draft Clark effort and also StemPAC, www.stempac.com.

Out of necessity, Benjy's life was the catalyst for Internet activism. We fight for important people and important policies. Tay-Sachs is a very tough disease and it's also very, very expensive. Shortly after Benjy was born, the family insurance company decided to cancel his health insurance. Only after an online campaign, that spread into the New York Times, was his insurance assured.

I feel terrible. Horrified. Grief-stricken.

At 7:32 a.m. today, I destroyed human life.

It all started innocently enough. I was just about to leave for work when I stopped in the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. I got a yogurt out of the fridge and reached for the silverware drawer. Just before my hand made contact with the spoon, it grazed a steak knife. I still feel the serrated blade sliding over my knuckle, slicing through the skin. I still hear the echoes of all those tiny, agony-filled screams, the death throes of what must have been at least a hundred cells. Skin cells. Living cells. Human cells.

Cross posted from Daily Kos. Please go Recommend and commnet there if you have time. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/25/71133/4867 

Randy "Rubberstamp" Kuhl, true to form, voted against the majority of New York Congressmen to uphold Bush's veto of The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 [H.R. 810, S. 471] that would have allowed stem cell research. Clearly Kuhl is more interested in pleasing Bush than upholding the will of the people in New York.

A BIG recommend. :) I've been watching some fantastic specials on LinkTV.

Below, Mother Jones Radio (in partnership with LinkTV) interviewed Julia Whitty, who wrote its featured article, "The Last Days of Our Ocean." In the article and video interview (below). Whitty details how global warming adversely impacts our oceans, and how this will dramatically change our environment, ecosystems and way of life, regardless of where we live (assuming that it hasn't done so already). For example, she describes how the interoceanic conveyor belt influences climate all over the world and how 210 Million years ago it did resulting in extinctions of 90& of marine life and 70% of terrestrial life. She also mentioned how warmer oceans can alter its acidity, which can then inhibit shell formation and plankton development (a primary food source in marine ecosystems).  In addition, she shares other interesting insights on "drift net fishing" which only aggravates this problem; on pollution, which includes mercury contamination to both fish and artic animals, increases in oceanic dead zones, and rapid destruction of coral reefs; and on international/corporate interests, who look forward towards a more "welcoming" territory in the Artic region, as they seek oil/drilling, mineral and shipping rights along the "Northwest Passage."   She does, however, include proposals towards real solutions; but notes that's up to our scientists, general public and our leaders to take the political will to move foward towards resolving these concerns. The interview is 30 minutes and well worth the time! :)

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Earth Focus :: The Fate of the Ocean (Quicktime video streaming)

Our oceans are under attack, and approaching a point of no return. Can we survive if the seas go silent? In this special edition of Earth Focus in partnership with Mother Jones Magazine, author and filmmaker, Julia Whitty, reports on the catastrophic effect global warming is having on our oceans.
Produced by J. Silvio with Link TV