64
POPSFrench Atomic Bomb Test Photos from 1968 Never-before-seen 40-year-old pictures of French atomic bomb tests have surfaced on the internet and they are simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. The epitome of historical human achievement and wanton destruction combined in one split-second. These are four scanned pictures of hardcopies I possess of the French nuclear test codenamed Canopus, which was fired on 24th August 1968 in the Fangataufa Atoll. The French army had those pictures taken on site. Full-size links: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 .
33
POPSFT.com: Europeans see US as Threat to PEACE.!!! The level of European concern about the US has remained broadly consistent over the past year. In 11 previous polls dating back to July 2006 the proportion of respondents considering the US a threat to stability has ranged between 28 per cent and 38 per cent. The latest poll comes in the wake of the “surge” that has increased US forces in Iraq to about 160,000 troops, but which has not been accompanied by political breakthroughs or a dramatic reduction of violence.
28
POPSAnti-Terrorism Cartoons in the Arab Press "The Arab press recently published more cartoons condemning terrorism. These cartoons presented terrorism as an indiscriminately destructive force striking everything in its path, and mocked the terrorists for blindly pursuing the promise of the virgins of Paradise. "The cartoons also expressed criticism of extremists who entice the youth, indoctrinating them to embrace extremist ideas."
27
POPSWorld War III Cancelled So it turns out that Iran stopped developing nuclear weapons in 2003, according to the new National Intelligence Estimate. It's easy to distrust the U.S. intelligence community, which not only made mistakes on Al-Qaeda and Iraq, but also told us in 2005 that Tehran was determined to build nukes. But there's at least one thing we can all be relieved about today: Imminent open warfare between the U.S. and Iran is almost certainly off the table.
24
POPSPhysics of the Impossible 'If this all sounds like pie in the sky, think again. After all, how would physicists 200 years ago have reacted if you'd told them about the internet, the atomic bomb or the moon landings? What would they have made of Einstein's theory of relativity?"
23
POPSDangerously Fun If you got board from clipping or reading other's clips, here is some fun alternatives. :-)
22
POPSA Fallen American Soldier continued; his father, Feroze Khan, told the Gannett News Service in a story printed shortly after his death. "He looked at it that he's American and he has a job to do." Powell framed the entire "Obama is a Muslim" debate in striking terms with his reference to this fallen American soldier. "Is there something wrong with being Muslim in America? No, that's not America," he said. "He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could go serve his country, and he gave his life," Mr. Powell said. "Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourselves in this way." The highly charged rhetoric used by McCain and Palin to tie Obama to terrorism and Islam is once again an affront to all Muslim Americans. We saw this type of fear and backlash just after 9/11. We see it also in the McCarthy-like invocations of Michele Bachmann. I challenge Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin to tell this grieving mother that her son is anti-American because of his faith.
22
POPSBIG Surprise? More Bush LIES for WAR with Iran Damp squib really. Who is surprised by the Bush lies any more? The Swiftboaters? Even those dumbshixs must be copping on that the emperor has no clothes and that they bought the most GIGANTIC pup of all time!
22
POPSMilitary Hush-up: Incoming Space Rocks Now Classified "It's baffling to us why this would suddenly change," said one scientist familiar with the work. "It's unfortunate because there was this great synergy...a very good cooperative arrangement. Systems were put into dual-use mode where a lot of science was getting done that couldn't be done any other way. It's a regrettable change in policy."
21
POPSEinstein's Relativity Theory Proven
So far so good, but here's where things get odd. Gluons have absolutely no mass, while the total mass of the quarks only represents 5% of the mass of the protons and neutrons. So, an explanation for the missing 95% of the mass had to be found. The experts discovered that the missing percentage of the mass derives from the energy resulting from the interactions and movements of the quarks and gluons. This basically states that mass and energy are equivalent, just like Einstein's theory indicated, and, even more: mass can be transmuted into energy and vice versa. Extrapolating on the basis of this equation, it can be calculated how much energy is obtained while converting specific amounts of mass. Sadly, this was also used as a ground for building the atomic bomb. "Until now, this has been a hypothesis," shared the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France in a press release, cited by Discovery. "It has now been corroborated for the first time."
20
POPSScience of Search: How to Make Out, or Levitate How-to searches also reveal our aspirations. Comprising 12% of the instructional searches were those questions geared towards self improvement: how to "lose weight," "gain weight," "make money," and, for those truly in search of instant gratification, "make money fast." On the darker side, over 9.5% of the searches were for illicit or illegal activities, with marijuana use figuring high on the list ("how to grow marijuana," "grow pot," "grow weed") but also some very concerning questions: "how to commit suicide," "how to make meth," even "how to make a bomb." We apparently feel comfortable enough with our computers and the Internet to query just about anything. Search continues to grow in importance as we sift through the mountain of information available to us. As the growth of "how to" searches increases, its clear that we are turning to search engines as sources of knowledge and insight into getting things done.
20
POPSSweden's Ultra-Modern Underground Data Center
When asked the motivation behind Pionen, Jon Karlung, CEO of Bahnhof said “Rather than just concentrating on technical hardware we decided to put humans in focus. Of course, the security, power, cooling, network, etc, are all top notch, but the people designing data centers often (always!) forget about the humans that are supposed to work with the stuff.” “Since we got hold of this unique nuclear bunker in central Stockholm deep below the rock, we just couldn't’t build it like a traditional – more boring – hosting center,” he said. “We wanted to make something different. The place itself needed something far out in design and science fiction was the natural source of inspiration in this case – plus of course some solid experience from having been a hosting provider for more than a decade.” Regarding the design of the facility, he said “I’m personally a big fan of old science fiction movies. Especially ones from the 70s like Logan’s Run, Silent Running, Star Wars...
20
POPSIsrael Using Cluster Bombs on Gaza Cluster bombs do not "target" militants tightly, urban areas especially. "Collateral damage" is absolutely guaranteed. More evidence that Israel is not making war on just Hamas, but Palestinians in their "collective punishment" tactics. The first pic was posted on Drudge. The last link in this clipmark has posted the CNN video showing general news of the Israeli attacks on Gaza which inadvertantly captured these bombs in action. 93 nations have banned them, except for US, Russia, and Israel.
19
POPSTop 5 Greatest Movie Monologues According to the author, the top 2 greatest movie monologues ever are: 1. Peter Sellers as President Merkin Muffley in Dr. Strangelove . 2. Ned Beatty as Arthur Jensen in Network . Can you guess the other 3 without looking? Do you have some better suggestions? What makes a great movie monologue? Even more to the point, what qualifies as a monologue? Hamlet's soliloquy would certainly make the cut, but its origins didn't spring from film, so it's probably ineligible. Does a speech have to be a certain length to qualify as a monologue? Can it be addressed to someone who reacts or occasionally interjects something in the middle of the display? (Via kottke.org.)
19
POPSA 'Time Bomb' for World Wheat Crop The Ug99 fungus, called stem rust, could wipe out more than 80% of the world's wheat as it spreads from Africa, scientists fear. The race is on to breed resistant plants before it reaches the U.S.
18
POPSCartoons from the Middle East (16 pics) In conjunction with the British Council, the Guardian Foundation presents a showcase of cartoonists from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Here are just a few of the selected cartoons ... Guardian
Most Pops
see Most Pops
9
Clips
Latest Pops
Latest Comments
Tags
Print
Save
Turn on live update