Propeller.com Stories voted on by tomboy501

Children Punished for Not Praying in School

Neophile — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:13:07 EDT

An education authority is investigating claims that two school pupils were punished for refusing to kneel down and pray to Allah during a religious education lesson.

Channel: Religion Tags: children child abuse prayer punishment discipline education brainwashing

Decades Later, Still Asking: Would I Pull That Switch?

Neophile — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:01:24 EDT

Some of psychology's most famous experiments are those that expose the skull beneath the skin, the apparent cowardice or depravity pooling in almost every heart.

Channel: Science Tags: research stanley milgram psychology experiment cowardice depravity

Nuclear fallout used to spot fake art

GregD — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:22:51 EDT

Scientists and art historians have developed what they say is a foolproof way of identifying forged works of art. They can distinguish between art created before 1945 and that produced after that date by measuring levels of the isotopes caesium--137 and strontium--90. These isotopes do not occur naturally but are released into the environment by nuclear blasts.

Channel: Art & Design Tags: science nuclear fallout caesium 137 strontium 90 art history

Obama May Hold Convention Speech In Stadium Before 76,000 Supporters

TimALoftis — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:57:37 EDT

The first three days of this year's convention are still scheduled to be held at downtown Denver's Pepsi Center, a basketball and hockey arena. But the Pepsi Center holds no more than about 19,000 people, and the Obama campaign thinks it can assemble a much bigger crowd for the acceptance speech.

Channel: Politics Tags: 2008 election barack obama democratic convention

Man Accused Of Faking Heart Attacks To Avoid Bills

TimALoftis — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:31:58 EDT

A 52-year-old Milwaukee-area man has been accused of faking heart attacks to avoid paying restaurant bills and cab fares.

Channel: Do No Evil Tags: propeller weird news heart attacks Wisconsin

Man Rips Head From Hitler Wax Figure

TimALoftis — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:22:15 EDT

Just minutes after the museum opened, the 41-year-old German man pushed aside two security men guarding the figure before ripping off the head in protest at the exhibit, a police spokesman said. The police were alerted and arrested the man.

Channel: Do No Evil Tags: propeller weird news hitler waxed hitler

Faceless 'aliens' spotted in crowd at Wimbledon

Aidenag — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:31:12 EDT

With the blankest of blank expressions on their faces, these mysterious figures have been popping up in the most unlikely of places. Nobody knows who the faceless figures, who often appear as motionless couples are, or why they are turning up at high profile events.

Channel: News Tags: Faceless Odd Wimbledon Aliens Face propeller weird news

The Tragic Failure of the Prague Spring

berkeley — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:07:29 EDT

But Czechoslovakia's experiment became its tragedy on the night of August 21, 1968, when the armies of fellow Warsaw Pact countries invaded. Students in Prague graffitied on a building wall, "Lenin, wake up, they've gone mad."

Channel: News Tags: czechoslovakia alexander dubcek

Two Speeches, Two Truths About America

berkeley — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:53:51 EDT

His speech confronted dark truths: that there was an immeasurable difference between free whites and blacks in chains; that the blessings his audience enjoyed were not enjoyed by all Americans. "You may rejoice," Douglass lamented. "I must mourn."

Channel: Politics Tags: obama frederick douglass liberty patriotism

What John McCain didn't learn in Vietnam

Wil — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:52:12 EDT

In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the former POW insists we could have won. No wonder he talks of occupying Iraq for a century.

Channel: Politics Tags: Analysis John McCain Election 2008 Vietnam War Iraq

John Edwards to Debate Karl Rove

Neophile — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:35:41 EDT

GOP strategist Karl Rove and former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards will debate the issues of the presidential campaign Sept. 26 as part of the university's Distinguished Speakers Series, The Buffalo News has learned.

Channel: Politics Tags: john edwards karl rove debate buffalo new york

A Supreme Court on the Brink

ameliog — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:34:15 EDT

Some of the most important decisions came on 5-to-4 votes - a stark reminder that the court is just one justice away from solidifying a far-right majority that would do great damage to the Constitution and the rights of ordinary Americans.

Channel: Politics Tags: supreme court politicizing justice partisanship stacking the court

Worms do calculus to find meals or avoid unpleasantness

capn_caveman — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:52:50 EDT

Thanks to salt and hot chili peppers, researchers have found a calculus-computing center that tells a roundworm to go forward toward dinner or turn to broaden the search. It's a computational mechanism, they say, that is similar to what drives hungry college students to pizza.

Channel: Science Tags: science worms calculus mathematics

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency | The Onion

Fedquip — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:42:26 EDT

Brilliant Onion Video

Justice Dept. Admits Error in Supreme Court Case

Beau7890 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:24:57 EDT

In a highly unusual admission of error, the Justice Department acknowledged on Wednesday that government lawyers should have known that Congress had recently made the rape of a child a capital offense in the military and should have informed the Supreme Court of that fact while the justices were considering whether death was a constitutional punish

Channel: News Tags: Justice Supreme Court Kennedy v. Louisiana omission federal law omitted

Results of US Invasion of Iraq

berkeley — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:02:26 EDT

In an interview with the BBC, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan criticised the US-led war in Iraq was illegal, saying that "the level of violence in Iraq was 'much worse' than that of a civil war."

Channel: News Tags: iraq war bush cheney rumsfeld

Gay revelers celebrate pride, marriage rights

david_nwpa — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:54:22 EDT

A lesbian motorcycle group dressed in wedding gowns and wearing bridal veils lent a matrimonial touch to San Francisco's gay pride parade Sunday as revelers celebrated their newfound freedom to marry.

Channel: Gay & Lesbian Tags: Pride Festivals Marriage Equality Parades

If Terrorists Rock the Vote in 2008

berkeley — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:37:20 EDT

What would be the optimum timing, from the campaign's perspective, for this terrorist attack - before or after the convention? Would the attack be most useful if it took place in a red state, blue state or swing state?

Channel: Politics Tags: mccain lies media election

Thousands Throng Market Street For Big Pride Parade

TimALoftis — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:25:59 EDT

Marriage was in the air as drag queens, kids, politicians, police officers, shirtless men and dozens of happy, married couples marched along Market Street in San Francisco's 38th annual Pride Parade today.

Channel: Gay & Lesbian Tags: san francisco gay pride gay marriage

Save the Earth with Dirty Towels

Digidave — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:28:54 EDT

"Save our planet! Every day tons of detergent and millions of gallons of water are used to wash towels that have been used only once. PLEASE DECIDE FOR YOURSELF. A towel on the rack means, 'I'll use it again.' A towel on the floor or in the tub means, 'please exchange.'" Ã;Â¢Ã¢â;;Â

Channel: Do No Evil Tags:

Berlusconi is back and more brash than ever

berkeley — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:27:12 EDT

Having elected Berlusconi, the Italian public does not share his concern about the judiciary. Recent polls show the usual preoccupations with salaries and pensions, with only 3.4 per cent interested in the magistrature. His anti-immigration policies are popular, with large majorities favouring the demolition of gypsy camps around Rome.

Channel: News Tags: italy berlusconi elections corruption

Scientists: Nothing to fear from atom-smasher

ameliog — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:54:55 EDT

Some critics fear the Large Hadron Collider could exceed physicists' wildest conjectures: Will it spawn a black hole that could swallow Earth? Or spit out particles that could turn the planet into a hot dead clump?

Channel: Science Tags: collider atom smasher physics

Lives Under Chinese Communism, Caught on Film

berkeley — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:51:23 EDT

Liu Heung Shing, a photographer with a long career in the West, has collected hard-to-find work of 88 photographers in China in a new photo book, which aims to show the sweep of ordinary life in China since 1949.

Channel: Books Tags: china chairman mao photographs

Guns for Safety? Dream On, Scalia.

Aidenag — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:10:08 EDT

The Supreme Court has spoken: Thanks to the court's blockbuster 5 to 4 decision Thursday, Washingtonians now have the right to own a gun for self-defense. I leave the law to lawyers, but the public health lesson is crystal clear: The legal ruling that the District's citizens can keep loaded handguns in their homes doesn't mean that they should.

Channel: News Tags: Guns Handguns Washington D.C. Crime Self Defense

Cancer 'cure' in mice to be tested in humans

capn_caveman — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:47:30 EDT

Researchers have announced today that they'll soon start human trials of a cancer fighting method that uses blood from people who may be naturally cancer resistant. The infusions cured the cancers in the ordinary mice "100 percent of the time,".

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: health science cancer cancer cure mice humans

CCTV Cameras don't make us safer

Wil — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:13:44 EDT

Overall, CCTV cameras aren't very effective. This fact has been demonstrated again and again: by a comprehensive study for the Home Office in 2005, by several studies in the US, and again with new data announced last month by New Scotland Yard. They actually solve very few crimes, and their deterrent effect is minimal.

Channel: News Tags: Privacy Security CCTV Surveillance Schneier Analysis Britain

The Nuclear Expert Who Never Was

bruhaha — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:19:34 EDT

I am a former UN weapons inspector...I participated in over 30 inspections, 14 as chief inspector... I bring up this history because during the entire time of my intense, somewhat intimate cooperation with the IAEA Action Team, one name that never entered into the mix was David Albright."

Channel: Do No Evil Tags: Scott Ritter weapons inspector IAEA David Albright nuclear expert nuclear

Accountant Steals $200,000 From Her Own Church

Neophile — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:09:04 EDT

Over about three years, Traci Anderson embezzled around $200,000 from a Manhattan Beach church that was her place of worship and employer.

Channel: Religion Tags: accountant church theft embezzlement

Exodus of San Francisco's middle class

berkeley — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:42:46 EDT

Many worry it's increasingly turning San Francisco into an enclave of the rich, where nurses, firefighters, cops, teachers and other professionals aspiring toward homeownership or in need of cheaper rent can no longer afford to stay.

Channel: News Tags: san francisco housing housing costs wealth

How many genes do you share with your twentieth cousin?

GregD — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:24:03 EDT

It is our history that connects us to our distant relatives, not our genes. Even with a close relative like a twentieth cousin, there is a decent likelihood that you will share no genes at all because of your shared kinship from your most recent common ancestor. By the fiftieth generation, it is a virtual certainty. You are a genetic stranger to your ancestors.

Channel: Science Tags: genes relatives ancestory genetics cousin

The dark side of John McCain

idyll — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:07:57 EDT

To his fans he's a lovable patriot with a maverick streak. But to his critics he's an anti-abortion Creationist who surrounds himself with religious extremists. Paul Harris uncovers the dark side of John McCain

Channel: Politics Tags: mccain profile

Can a car run on nuclear power?

pagey — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 08:48:55 EDT

n the 1950s, perhaps the height of the so-called Atomic Age, Ford developed a concept car called the Ford Nucleon. This nuclear-powered automobile was designed, according to Ford, based on the assumption that future nuclear reactors would be smaller, safer, lighter and more portable

Channel: Autos Tags: auto cars nuclear power fuel

Nearly 250 Animals Removed From Home

TimALoftis — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 07:38:34 EDT

Brian Weltge, executive director of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, called it "one of the worst cases we've seen."

Channel: Do No Evil Tags: propeller weird news trotwood ohio animals in home

How Darwin Won The Evolution Race

Maing — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 05:46:56 EDT

It's 150 years since Darwin made one of the the most significant breakthroughs in scientific history - the theory of natural selection. But if it hadn't been for a young ornithologist on the other side of the world, his seminal work might never have appeared

Channel: Science Tags:

Obama: I'll Fight To Strip Telecom Immunity From FISA

Aidenag — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:38:03 EDT

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., issued a statement in support of the House's update of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but said he would try to strip a provision granting immunity to telecommunication companies when the bill comes to a vote in the Senate next week.

Channel: Politics Tags: Barack Obama FISA Telecom Immunity Politics 2008 election

3 in 10 Americans Admit to Race Bias

Aidenag — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:08:14 EDT

As Sen. Barack Obama opens his campaign as the first African American on a major party presidential ticket, nearly half of all Americans say race relations in the country are in bad shape and three in 10 acknowledge feelings of racial prejudice, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Channel: Politics Tags: Barack Obama Race Bigotry Racism 2008 election Politics

Flood Museum Underwater in Iowa : NPR

Fedquip — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 02:46:44 EDT

The flood of 1993 was thought to be a once-in-a-lifetime event for residents of Fort Madison, Iowa. They even filled a downtown museum with artifacts of that historical Mississippi River flood. But 15 years later, history has repeated itself.

Channel: News Tags: Propeller Weird News Propeller Eco News Flood Iowa Irony

Chickens 'unlock allergy secrets'

GregD — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:40:26 EDT

Scientists have turned to chickens to help them understand why some people are struck down by severe allergies. The birds have a "fossilised" version of the key molecule responsible for severe allergic reactions in humans.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: chickens allergies molecules

Mr. Bush, Lead or Leave

Beau7890 — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:16:28 EDT

Two years ago, President Bush declared that America was "addicted to oil," and, by gosh, he was going to do something about it. Well, now he has. Now we have the new Bush energy plan: "Get more addicted to oil."

Channel: Politics Tags: energy policy oil dependency Bush Congress renewable resources

Floodwaters to widen 'dead zone' in Gulf of Mexico

TechnologyExpert — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:01:15 EDT

Floodwaters loaded with farm runoff are heading down the Mississippi River, and scientists fear the deluge will dramatically increase this summer's dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, covering an area the size of Maryland.

Channel: Science Tags: Floods Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone