NMSQT

The University of California is rejecting the National Merit Scholarship corporation as using a racially and economically biased test - the PSAT - as their basis for college scholarships.

(UC) Faculty challenged the merit scholarships earlier this year, saying the PSAT was not designed to be used as a cutoff tool, and calling the selection process unfair to low-income students and some minorities, who on average score lower than whites on standardized tests.
...
The chancellors' decision only applies to scholarships funded directly by the University of California.

Scholarships funded by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. or by businesses will not be affected. The University of California will honor merit scholarships already awarded, including those for students entering this fall.
...
Last year, about 600 of 158,000 undergraduates won University of California-funded National Merit Scholarships, for a total of about $735,000. Asians received 45 percent of the awards; whites, about 40 percent. Hispanics accounted for 2 percent of recipients and blacks 1 percent.


(CNN)

I find this particularly interesting as the NMS is responsible for my college giving me a free education.

Bush Reserves Judgement

Wilson has said the leak of his wife's name was an attempt by the administration to discredit him after he challenged its assertion that Saddam Hussein was seeking to obtain from Niger material to make nuclear weapons in Iraq.

Bush said Wednesday that he would not discuss the matter until the criminal investigation is finished.

"This is a serious investigation," the president told reporters Wednesday after a Cabinet meeting, where Rove sat near him. "And it is very important for people not to prejudge the investigation based on media reports."


(CNN)

How ... even-tempered of Bush! Maybe he's learned something from the Downing Street Memo and subsequent Iraq fiasco. I doubt it, but one can hope.

Study Shows One-Third of Studies Wrong

Does that mean this study's wrong?

The sobering conclusion came in a review of major studies published in three influential medical journals between 1990 and 2003, including 45 highly publicized studies that initially claimed a drug or other treatment worked.

Subsequent research contradicted results of seven studies -- 16 percent -- and reported weaker results for seven others, an additional 16 percent.

That means nearly one-third of the original results did not hold up, according to the report in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

(CNN)

Oh whew, it's only about MEDICAL studies, not anything important!

(Study author Dr. John) Ioannidis said scientists and editors should avoid "giving selective attention only to the most promising or exciting results" and should make the public more aware of the limitations of science.

"The general public should not panic" about refuted studies, he said. "We all need to start thinking more critically."

(CNN)

No shit, Sherlock.

Pediatricians Prescribe Prophylactics

Even kiddie docs say teens need rubbers. The American Academy of Pediatrics' updated teen pregnancy policy removes 1998 language stating that "abstinence counseling is an important role for all pediatricians." Their stance includes ready access to birth control for both those who are already sexually active and those who are not, including emergency contraception - without a prescription!

And to think I always considered doctors stodgy old fuddy-duddies. Well, I guess I used to. Here in the Health Capital of New England, Worcester, I've met many young medical professionals, and others still in training.

Meanwhile I'm taking bets that my first flame on this post says that the medical profession is overrun by extremist liberals with a secular agenda.

Russian Astrologer Sues NASA for Comet Crash

Writer Marina Bay claims that by slamming the probe into the comet, Nasa endangered the future of civilisation.

"Nobody has yet proven that this experiment was safe," says Ms Bay's lawyer Alexander Molokhov.

"This impact could have altered the orbit of the comet, so now there is a chance that the Tempel may well destroy the Earth some day!"

...

An amateur astrologist, she believes that any variation in the orbit or the composition of the Tempel comet will certainly affect her own fate.

So Ms Marina's claims to be experiencing "a moral trauma" - which only a payment of $300m (252m euros; £170m) can put right.

This is roughly what Nasa has spent on the experiment so far.

...

"The impact changed the magnetic properties of the comet, and this could have affected mobile telephony here on Earth. If your phone went down this morning, ask yourself Why? and then get in touch with us," says Mr Molokhov.

(BBC)

The comet was roughly half the size of Manhattan. The impactor was the size of a washing machine. Tell me, do YOU think it makes a fucking difference? Plus, "magnetic properties of the comet"?! If they'd found it had a magnetic field you can bet your sweet ass it would've been on the front page of the Times. Magnetic field requires either moving charges, which won't happen in a solid body such as a comet core, or magnetic materials all aligned together, which won't happen in a mostly icy body such as a comet core.

NASA's Moscow officials have wisely boycotted the courtroom, which unfortunately for the magistrate means that he's going to have to come to a decision without them.

Serial sex offender and murder's blog found

From his first entry, on January 4, 2004, to his last, on May 13, 2005, Duncan's writings reveal a conflicted man battling personal "demons" and the stigma of a teenage rape conviction.

...

Throughout the 17 months he kept his blog, Duncan displays intense concern for himself whenever a child is reported missing, fearing police will automatically come calling because he is on the offender registry.

In fact, his first entry finds him trying to reconstruct what he did on a particular day in the past because he just learned a 5-year-old girl had gone missing 200 miles away on that day.

...

The post also introduced a theme common in his writings: that offenders "are victims, too" and that they often don't understand that they've hurt someone.

In his own history, he wrote, "I was molested so often and by so many different people that, up until the time of my offense, I actually thought it was normal and that everybody did it."

Although he denied he is a pedophile, Duncan defended pedophilia.
(CNN)

This is a man I feel should be pitied, and then locked away forever. He seems to be struggling to understand that what he does is wrong, but not quite able to grasp it. I don't think he'll ever understand it.

Hot Dog Eating Day

What is known in one part of the world as Independence Day, and in many parts of the world as the 4^th of July, is known in ALL of the world as the International Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Day! The US title of 37 hot dogs is currently held by a woman, and last year's winner, Takeru Kobayashi, of reflux fame, retained his title and the "Coveted Mustard Yellow International Belt" with 49 in 12 minutes, though he did not beat his record from last year of 53.5. Someone tell me how they count halves.

Bush and Global Warming

This is looking promising...

Bush described climate change as "a significant, long-term issue that we've got to deal with" and acknowledged that human activity is "to some extent" to blame. (CNN)

But...

President Bush says he wants to shift debate on global warming away from limits on greenhouse gas emissions to new technology that would reduce environmental harm without restricting energy use. (CNN)

In other words, he's banking on the hope that "his administration's investment of $20 billion (16.55 billion euros) in developing hydrogen-powered vehicles, zero-emission power stations and other technology" will pay out before the current day fossil fuel burning kills us all.

Deep Impact's done it!

NASA's Deep Impact probe has collided with comet Tempel 1 right on time. Everyone was watching, even Hubble. What most civilians don't realize though, is that it's the spectral data (that is, the precise colors) that will give us the most information. They've confirmed the presence of the molecule CN, and are currently working in determining the isotopes present, which can tell us about the comet's age and more detailed origins.

(Reposted from Strange Musings)

No Link Required

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has announced her retirement. This makes me wonder whether the election of of President Bush, the selection of Pope Benedict XVI, or the confirmation of Justice XXX will be more influential in world politics of my generation. I'm currently leaning towards Bush b/c of the war in Iraq. The Justice will greatly influence things within this country, but his (pressumedly) influence outside our borders will be more limited. Either Bush or the Justice would affect me persnally more though, we have yet to see which.