posted by roj at 11:08 pm
a backup plan for dna…
The European Space Agency’s chief scientist has said that there should be a Noah’s Ark on the Moon, in case the Earth was destroyed by an asteroid or nuclear holocaust.
Speaking exclusively to BBC News at the British Association Science Festival, Dr Bernard Foing said that the ark should be a repository for the DNA of every single species of plant and animal.
there are two hurdles i see with this: first, we don’t even know all the plants and animals on the planet (but we’re working on it, sorta), and second, they’re going to have to fight over a location. other than that, sure. why not backup the dna?
posted by roj at 4:12 am
the first officially-sanctioned western rock-and-roll album available in iran is a greatest hits collection from queen. not so much for the love songs, but the powers that be embraced even bohemian rhapsody, and the release contains lyrics and a leaflet to explain the songs. more from the bbc.
oh, and cat stevens is next.
posted by roj at 4:02 am
having wasted most of my time and space here at the meta-roj blog on silly subjects like politics and spam, i’d like to take a few minutes, while i’m still conscious, to devote some attention to things more important, and i’m going to start with a bunch of 17th century paintings on display in south africa.
the current exhibitiion of the michaelis collection, including works of frans hals, jan steen and anthony van dyck under the curatorial direction of andrew lamprecht displays the paintings with a flip: the works face the wall.
here are some stories, from circa art magazine, the sydney morning herald, the independent online and art daily.
do you feel challenged?
posted by roj at 3:53 am
several days ago, i wrote a bit about the sleeper cell that wasn’t, and i closed with this:
either there was a real detroit sleeper cell planning terrorist attacks, and my justice department screwed up the prosecution so badly that they’ll be out on the streets in a few years, or there wasn’t a real detroit sleeper cell, in which case my justice department spun its wheels trying to make terrorist charges stick where no terrorists exist.
today, i found a story from the associated press that describes an email [pdf] from special agent in charge daniel roberts on the subject. he asserts that the fbi “acted aggressively and worked very hard on this case in an effort to prevent a terrorist attack.”
taking daniel roberts at his word – and i have no reason to doubt the integrity or intent of the fbi or mr. roberts – i guess this means i have the answer: the justice department (and by this i mean attorney general ashcroft’s justice department) botched the prosecution of terrorists. i guess it’s a good thing these terrorists can be charged with something other than terrorism.
so there was a detroit terror cell? or shouldn’t i just accept the fbi view?
posted by roj at 3:14 am
and 12, 500 or so iraqi civilians.
posted by roj at 8:32 pm
artist and witness of the first gulf war
posted by roj at 4:25 am
posted by roj at 12:14 am