Carnival of the Cats #135 and Weekend Cat Blogging #72 are both available to help fulfill your daily feline requirement.

Grand Rounds 3.5 is quite extensive and full of great information.

I’m a strong supporter of SETI, but I’m not entirely sure I support the idea of “active SETI” — intentionally beaming signals into space designed primarily to grab the attention of alien life.  It seems many scientists share my concern and “warn that this would be the equivalent of ‘shouting in the jungle’, and that it is better to keep quiet for the time being.”  I would agree for now.  My concerns are more than twofold and equally shared among those scientists speaking out on the issue.  First, there’s no guarantee we’ll get the attention of cute and cudly E.T. as opposed to the attention of monstrous and vicious Independence Day aliens looking for new resources to consume or new slaves or…  Well, you get the point.  The second concern is more basic: if we were to send such a signal, what would it include?  More generally, who would send the message, where would it be sent from, what format would it be sent in, what kind of signal would we use, and on and on it goes.  While the debate continues, a new scale is being developed to help rate the chances of extraterrestrials receiving a signal based on its strength and type.

Go check out National Geographic‘s Best Wildlife Photos of 2006.

Yawn.  Pope Bein’-a-Dick is… uh… being a dick.  Again.  This time he’s telling scientists they should not be so secular in their research.  He basically says that “all science should safeguard mankind and promote his [WTF?] tendency to authentic goodness” and warned against being “seduced by discovery without paying attention to the criteria of a deeper vision.”  Huh?  What the fuck is he talking about?  This apparently is his explanation for not wanting stem cell research and wanting science gagged when it contradicts the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.  I’m so sick of this asshole.  In the same breath, I believe scientists are now justified in telling him about how laughable his beliefs are, why the facts strictly show his faith to be disingenuous and untrue, and why he should open his mind to reason and intelligence instead of being blinded by faith in a man-made book.

It would seem Mohammed al-Qahtani, the real “20th hijacker” from September 11, can never stand trial due to his treatment at Gitmo.  Check this out: “Mohammed al-Qahtani, detainee No. 063, was forced to wear a bra. He had a thong placed on his head. He was massaged by a female interrogator who straddled him like a lap dancer. He was told that his mother and sisters were whores. He was told that other detainees knew he was gay. He was forced to dance with a male interrogator. He was strip-searched in front of women. He was led on a leash and forced to perform dog tricks. He was doused with water. He was prevented from praying. He was forced to watch as an interrogator squatted over his Koran.”  And that’s just what we know.  Authorities already admit such treatment precludes getting any useful information from him and also negates any chance of a trial.

I found this interesting and disappointing.  Due to failures in the tests used, the Viking landers can no longer be reliable evidence against the possibility of life on Mars.  Why?  Because the same tests were used here on Earth and also showed no signs of life.  Had that been no signs of intelligent life, I’d say the tests were accurate, but they were testing for life in general.  I think we can safely assume the results are meaningless.  NASA has already agreed that the next probes sent will require far more advanced testing methods and mechanisms if they intend to look for signs of extinct or extant life.

And more on that Republican immigrant running for office in California who apparently sent a letter to Hispanic immigrants telling them it was a crime for them to vote.  First, he’s blaming his Democrat opponent for the mess.  Uh, okay.  Sure.  Whatever.  Next, despite saying he had nothing to do with it, he claims there’s nothing wrong with the letter even though it specifically said immigrants could not vote without committing a crime and risking jail.  Again, that’s untrue.  His campaign sent it to registered voters with Hispanic surnames in an obvious attempt to keep them from voting even though any immigrant who’s been naturalized is eligible to participate in our democracy.  For someone who’s an immigrant himself, he’s just repulsive and an evil little wannabe who’ll stoop to any level to win.

I wasn’t even sure I should mention this since I tend to stay away from all things Rush Limbaugh, but I decided it needs to be said.  The man’s a fucking lunatic and asshole (I’m not saying anything you didn’t already know).  What brings this up?  He announced on his radio show recently that Michael J. Fox, in his ads promoting Democrat candidates who support stem cell research, was acting worse than he is or had intentionally stopped taking his medication.  Apparently the lying druggie himself thinks he knows enough about Parkinson’s disease and Fox’s battle with the ailment to determine from a brief television spot that there’s no way he’s in such bad condition.  The money quote: “[H]e was either off the medication or he was acting. He is an actor, after all.”  You can see ABC’s report on it here.  Better yet, go read The Rude Pundit’s response.  It’s a much better analysis.