As Barack Obama, the US president, prepares to release a review of military strategy in Afghanistan, two classified US intelligence reports on the region have offered a pessimistic view of the chances of success. The intelligence assessments, the
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Photo via CardCow That plump and jolly man has had it good for centuries, relying on his trusty team of reindeer to carry him across the world to deliver presents for all the good boy and girls — but soon Santa Claus may find getting around a bit more difficult. According to one conservation scientist, reindeer (or caribou, as they’re known in North America) are in a precarious state of decline due to the habitat loss driven by global warming and development. Sorry Rudolph, you might not be able t… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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2 women with severe injuries have been flown to Perth in mainland Australia for treatment on Thursday after a wooden boat smuggling as many as 100 asylum seekers smashed against the cliffs off Christmas Island, a day earlier. (Dec. 15)
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Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. “You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.” Lord John Morley, On Compromise Even now as Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, is in prison for helping to inform the world about governments and their military actions and their political leaders who have either called for his execution or assassination; it brings to mind Galileo Galilei. When Galileo used a lens grinder to assemble an astronomical telescope and turned it towards the night sky, he was about to make some shocking and revolutionary discoveries. He observed that the surface of the Moon was marked by craters, mountains and shadowy spots. Such observations rigorously…
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Bob Feller, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, died Wednesday night. He helped the Cleveland Indians win a World Series and served his country during World War II. (Dec. 15)
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The Justice Department sued BP and several other companies involved in the Gulf oil spill Wednesday, an opening salvo in the government’s effort to get billions of dollars for untold economic and environmental damage. (Dec. 15)
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What’s a parent to do when the Christmas photo op goes terrifyingly off the rails? Santa and his set manager at one Columbus, Ohio mall say they’ve got it covered…most of the time. (Dec. 15)
Continue reading …Gesture-controlled robot arm enables civilization’s most meta high five
December 16, 2010 No Comment
This video, criminally, doesn’t actually show any high fives, but we’re sure the students at the University of Tsukuba have sustained endless LOLs over the past few months, pushing their gesture-driven robot arm system to the limits of human-robot high five interaction. The system itself is relatively simple: it uses two cameras to track a hand’s movements, including specific finger gestures, which are then processed and translated into robotic movement in real time. The end result is basically the world’s most elaborate claw machine game, as demonstrated above. Gesture-controlled robot arm enables civilization’s most meta high five originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 23:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you’re in the market for a new Rock Band axe, it looks like you’ll be heading to Best Buy very, very soon. That’s right, the Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster is seemingly a BB exclusive . The $280 peripheral, which requires the MIDI PRO-Adapter to function, will hit shelves on March 1st . Until then, we’ll just have to be happy with the Mustang Pro . Best Buy nabs exclusive Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of leaking sensitive material to WikiLeaks, has been held for 7 months in what Glenn Greenwald reports are “inhumane, personality-erasing, soul-destroying, insanity-inducing conditions.” Greenwald argues that Manning is being punished without first being convicted, and he speculates that the treatment is meant to intimidate and discourage other would-be whistleblowers. Greenwald explains that Manning is held in solitary confinement, unable to leave his cell for 23 hours a day. He is not permitted to exercise in his cell. He is not allowed a pillow or blanket. Greenwald says Manning spends most of his day sleeping, and is now given antidepressants “to prevent his brain from snapping from the effects of this isolation.” Glenn Greenwald on Salon: From the beginning of his detention, Manning has been held in intensive solitary confinement.
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