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Saturday, March 25, 2006
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Here, businessmen and government officials can sample the organs of yaks, donkeys, oxen and even seals. In fact, they have to, since they form part of every dish - except for those containing testicles.
(Via growabrain.)
6:18:45 PM 
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An October 2005 Pew poll shows that American Christians (and Catholics in particular) have remarkably strong support for the use of torture, while secular Americans more strongly oppose it. This is another piece of evidence against the common claim that morality requires religion, or that religious people are more moral than nonreligious people.
More details at the Secular Outpost.
(Via The Lippard Blog.)
3:30:14 PM
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The Arkansas Times breaks an important story this week in the national war against science and reason, this time in the state's public schools:
Teachers at [a geology teacher's] facility are forbidden to use the "e-word" (evolution) with the kids. They are permitted to use the word Adaptation but only to refer to a current characteristic of an organism, not as a product of evolutionary change via natural selection. They cannot even use the term "natural selection."
"I am instructed NOT to use hard numbers when telling kids how old rocks are. I am supposed to say that these rocks are VERY VERY OLD ... but I am NOT to say that these rocks are thought to be about 300 million years old.”
Arkansas kids will be dumb as rocks if the state keeps this up. As my friend Tony says, "it's like the Enlightenment never happened."
(Via Facing South.)
3:11:53 PM
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George says:
"The Afghan people are building a vibrant young democracy that is an ally in the war on terror - and America is proud to have such a determined partner in the cause of freedom."
Meanwhile, back in Kabul:
An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under this country's Islamic laws, a judge said Sunday.
No comment necessary.
Read the entire post | Read the comments on this post
(Via John Lynch of Stranger Fruit.)
3:08:29 PM
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My heart goes out to Mike and Ann today, who had to put down Maya today. Its inevitability and the fact that she was suffering doesn't make it any easier on them. These two have had a pretty hard time of it, and March has a bad history for Mike. Drop by his site and send him a note.
11:21:03 AM
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 Historic SpaceX Launch Set for Today March 24: The World's Lowest Cost Rocket to Orbit
Falcon I Launch Fails, SpaceRef "The Falcon I rocket was launched today at 5:30 pm EST from Omelek Island and climbed upward for around a minute. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's Vice President for Business Development, has confirmed that the rocket has been lost."  The following Statement was posted on the SpaceX website by Elon Musk:
"Falcon 1 Maiden Flight Update: Posted March 24, 2006 3:00 pm We had a successful liftoff and Falcon made it well clear of the launch pad, but unfortunately the vehicle was lost later in thefirst stage burn. More information will be posted once we have had time to analyze the problem."
(Via NASA Watch.)
I wonder what Elon Musk's definition of an unsuccessful liftoff would be.
10:13:37 AM
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Just heard on the radio that Buck Owens has passed away in Bakersfield.
"I'd like to be remembered as a guy that came along and did his music, did his best and showed up on time, clean and ready to do the job, wrote a few songs and had a hell of a time," he said in 1992.
Some fun videos on YouTube.
10:07:40 AM
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© Copyright 2006 Steve Michel.
Last update: 4/1/2006; 5:27:06 PM.
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