Arecibo Observatory Loses Funding 185
An anonymous reader noted that "The Arecibo Observatory funding was slashed. Cut to $8 million from $10.5 million, which will decrease the amount of time that the telescope is operational. "A quarter of its staff was laid off last year," and Arecibo, which is located in Puerto Rico, could possibly be completely closed in four years, according to the "National Science Foundation (NSF), which pays for the operation of the telescope." This comes after "a review panel for the foundation's astronomy division two years ago" suggested cutting Arecibo's financing by 25 percent as a way to pay for new facilities. There has been "[a]n outcry" in response to the "decision, particularly from planetary scientists" who argued that the panel "overlooked Arecibo's role in cataloging potential dangers from asteroids." The Times notes that in Arecibo's favor is the fact that it "may be much cheaper to keep...open" than dismantle, which "could cost hundreds of millions of dollars."" I've been considering a vacation to PR for a few years, and seeing this thing is on my list of awesome things to try to see. Guess I should hurry ;)
No es bueno (Score:2, Funny)
007 (Score:4, Funny)
Message from the NWO conspiracy (Score:1, Funny)
There are no aliens, and if there were, they would hate your freedom. You are helping the terrorists by looking for aliens. The aliens like Hitler and Mussolini, and they drive slowly on toll roads. You do not want to look for the nonexistent aliens.
We will slash your funding until you stop looking for aliens. After that, we will tie you down with rules that drive you to suicide through boredom. So stop looking for aliens.
There is no NWO conspiracy, by the way. It's all an illusion created by the Aliens, who hate our freedom.
If this causes a decrease in alarmism ... (Score:3, Funny)
Skate park (Score:3, Funny)
Obligatory (Score:5, Funny)
You can hand in your geek card on the way out the door.
Source of funds (Score:1, Funny)
Re:FUDdy duddy? (Score:5, Funny)
Applekid, a long time Slashdot poster, plummeted to earth earlier today. He was last heard from criticizing the Slashdot editors(**). An anonymous poster who was apparently a witness to the scene describe is as "horrific. These guys in black suits came up and pushed him to the ground. I think I saw blood on his knee!"
The incident is being investigated by the Slashdot Lynch Mob in an effort to find those responsible.
(*) For certain values of "fatal"
(**) For certain values of "edit".
Re:Rob Peter to pay Paul (Score:2, Funny)
Well, duh. That's because vast portions of Iraq are extremely unpopulated. The population centers of Iraq are extremely concentrated, 98% of Iraqis live adjacent to a large river or greater tributaries, where they are large enough to support a significant population. No people, no conflict.
I'm sick and tired of people, even those that support operations in Iraq, calling it a "war".
Our soldiers are getting killed by bullets and bombs (and at an increasing rate), and we continue to drop bombs, shoot missiles and artillery at people. If you don't think it's a war, you're a raging fucktard. As such, yours is an opinion of little consequence. It's not a riot, it's not a "conflict", it's not a "police action", it's a god damned motherfucking war, you ignoramus!
silver lining to every nebula (Score:3, Funny)