- Here’s hoping this doesn’t spawn another Jurassic Park sequel. Paleontologists have just discovered "Dawn Runner," the world's second oldest known carnivorous dinosaur that eventually led to Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus and other famous meat-eating dinosaurs. Dawn Runner (Eodromaeus murphi to you science dorks) lived during the dawn of the Dinosaur Era, 230 million years ago, in an area that is now northeastern Argentina. A paper published in the latest issue of Science lays out the discovery of “Dawn Runner” and its home in an area now known as the Ischigualasto formation. The region has also been the site for finds of other very early dinosaurs -- including the world's oldest known carnivorous dino, Herrerasaurus -- so the discovery fits. “We don't know for sure yet if this site, also called The Valley of the Moon, was the birthing ground of dinosaurs, but it has yielded the earliest and best dated sequence for these animals," co-author Paul Sereno stated. Sereno, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago, and his colleagues were the ones who unearthed Dawn Runner at the dig site and they have constructed a working model of what the beast may have looked like. “Dawn Runner was a 10 to 15-pound, scrappy two-legged predator that carried the blueprint for all other predatory dinosaurs that were to come," Sereno said. Among the tools in Dawn Runner’s toolkit were a grasping hand, air pockets in the neck, a balancing tail that's stiff at the end, a pubic bone used for squatting and sitting, a strap-shaped shoulder girdle and other traits shared by T. rex and all other later carnivorous dinosaurs. Like another dinosaur from the site, Eoraptor, Dawn Runner was approximately 6-7 feet long and the multiple finds at the site topped off by its discovery suggest that the three principal groups of dinosaurs (the ornithischians, the sauropodomorphs and the theropods) all shared the same basic body plan in the late Triassic. "It was approximately 30 million years later that dinosaurs rose to prominence," Sereno said. "They did not claw their way to dominance. It was instead more of an opportunistic replacement." The whole 30 million years speculation is amusing, as it is every time a scientist or group of them tosses out some insanely high number of years that the Earth or its various inhabitants have been around, but that doesn’t make a new dino-discovery any less interesting…………
- Quiet down, everyone! The biggest hypocrite in the room is about to speak and you just know this will be good. The NCAA, capable of issuing a bogus, sham-tastic and asinine verdict in any case while leaping a tall building in a single bound, is calling for new rules so parents no longer "sell the athletic services" of their children in the wake of backlash following its investigation into Auburn quarterback Cam Newton. Those with a short-term memory spanning more than five seconds will recall that the NCAA dug into the case and found that while Cecil Newton set up a pay-for-play system designed to extort money from a school in order to have his son come play for them, there wasn’t enough evidence linking Cam Newton himself to the plan to punish the player. Those same people with decent memories will recall the NCAA’s über-hypocritical decision to allow five Ohio State players facing five-game suspensions for their roles in a tattoos-for-autographs-and-merch scandal involving a Columbus tattoo parlor to play in the Sugar Bowl and not begin serving their suspensions until the start of next season. Similar examples could fill books, but needless to say the NCAA is not swimming in credibility. That makes it all the richer when NCAA president Mark Emmert calls for a vote on new, stricter as soon as April. "It's wrong for parents to sell the athletic services of their student athletes to a university, and we need to make sure that we have rules to stop that problem," Emmert said. "And today we don't. We have to fix that. Student athletes trading on their standing as star student athletes for money or benefits is not acceptable, and we need to address it and make sure it doesn't happen." Of course, Emmert had no suggestions what the new rules should look like and would say only that they must be clear so that the public understands what's a violation and what isn't. How about rules clear enough that the NCAA knows as well? Or is that not a problem because you just conveniently shift the rules in your favor to fit whatever situation you’re currently facing? You could argue that Emmert deserves a break because he has only been on the job since October, but come on; no one working for the NCAA deserves that kind of leeway. "If you look at the Newton case, a lot of people came away from that, because it's a complicated case, saying, 'Gosh, it's OK for a father to solicit money for the services for his son or daughter?' " Emmert said. "The answer to that is no, it's isn't. But we don't have a rule that makes that clear." Hang on….no one is paying anyone daughter to play anything. The day anyone is handing out a dollar to an athlete who doesn’t play football or men’s basketball is the day the world as we all know it ceases to make any sense. But what would this story be without one final, ironic zinger from Emmert? "Student athletes are students. They're not professionals, and we're not going to pay them," Emmert said. "And we're not going to allow other people to pay them to play." No, but apparently people can pay their family members without anyone suffering any consequences……allegedly…………
- Behold the power of the riot! The people of Tunisia have spoken and their powerful roar has prompted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to dismiss his government following massive riots. The scope and ferocity of the riots was inspiring in and of themselves, what with Tunisian police resorting to firing rounds of tear gas at thousands of protesters in the capital on Friday. Better yet, a few brave souls scaled the building housing the Interior Ministry and literally grabbed the higher ground in their fight against The Man. But having Ali toss his government out in an attempt to placate them and save his own ass……now that’s cool. That action, coupled with the president’s plan to call early legislative elections in six months, hasn’t slowed the pace of the riots at all, but it’s nice to know they have an effect. Even after Ali’s announcement, rioters marched through Tunis to demand his resignation. "Ben Ali, out!" and "Ben Ali, assassin!” they shouted. One man held a poster proclaiming "We won't forget," a reference to the many rioters killed by police and security forces. If you don’t get a chill down your spine from seeing masses of people band together, rise up against their government and sing their national anthem with fists thrust proudly in the air……then you don’t have pulse. The clashes continue to build in intensity, with hundreds of police with shields and riot gear blocking the road Friday in front of the Interior Ministry. The building is a symbol of abuse of power to many Tunisians, as allegations of torture within its walls have been made throughout the past few years. Those allegations matched nicely with plainclothes policemen were seen kicking unarmed protesters and beating them with batons on Thursday. So unstable is the scene that thousands of tourists are being ushered out of the country for their safety. Anger is likely to remain high, what with problems like high unemployment and the belief that the current regime is corrupt and overbearing not being quick fixes. Or maybe it’s simply time for a change, as the 74-year-old Ben Ali has maintained an iron grip on Tunisia since grabbing power 23 years ago in a bloodless coup. Along the way, he has imprisoned many opposition figures, silenced opposition media and allowed little in the way of dissent from the public. The tipping point for the riots came when an educated but jobless 26-year-old committed suicide when police confiscated the fruits and vegetables he was selling without a permit. So far, the official death toll is 23, but opposition leaders have put the number as high as 70. With an (allegedly) corrupt regime in place, an accurate death toll can be hard to procure. In an attempt to quell the unrest, an oddly contrite Ben Ali went on television Thursday, making grandiose pledges for political and media freedom. He also vowed to leave the presidency when his term ends in 2014, and ordered prices on sugar, milk and bread slashed. In other words, common, hollow promises made by a faltering leader desperately seeking to maintain control and pacify the people. Look no further than a pro-Ben Ali rally on Thursday for evidence of how badly things are going for the president. The powerful ruling RCD party had to pay jobless youths to participate, which is generally a strong indication that you’re not very popular…………
- Good, yet another reason not to watch the Golden Globe Awards. Aside from ranking somewhere near the middle when it comes to the pompous, self-congratulatory, incestuous award-show circuit in which the same shows and famous faces win the same damn awards year after year, this year’s Golden Globe ceremony will be hosted by bombastic Brit Ricky Gervais, who has already announced his intentions to open fire (verbally) on troubled Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen in his opening monologue. Just hours before CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said the network has a "high level of concern" for the troubled actor, Gervais appeared on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show and basically declared open season on Sheen. "Charlie Sheen has obviously put his head above the parapet," the comic said. "Like last year, Mel Gibson was a gift from the comedy gods....Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, O.J. Simpson. These are people that really have something to go after." Right…..except that I don’t think you want to be lumping anyone in with O.J., not unless that person has (allegedly) turned two people into human Pez dispensers, been acquitted of their murders, spent years “searching for the real killers” on golf courses nationwide and then taken his free pass from jail and wasted it by assembling a makeshift posse at a Vegas wedding reception and arming your new crew with guns for a raid on a hotel room from which you planned to take back sports memorabilia (allegedly) belonging to you. Gervais did admit that he, like any so-so comic, goes for the easy target. “I only go for the weak or the feeble. I’m not going to go for Russell Crowe or Mickey Rourke. Mickey Rooney, maybe! Betty White — I’m not scared of her." Sounds like quite the party…….but I think I’ll pass once again………
- Color me virtually excited that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has canceled the troubled virtual fence project along the southwest border of the United States and replaced it with a new plan which she claims will better address each region's border security needs. Napolitano announced the change Friday, one year after she ordered a review of the project, which was plagued by scores of delays and technological glitches, and froze its funding. The original plan called for a system of cameras and sensors which would allow officers to monitor crossings and dispatch Border Patrol agents to catch anyone entering the United States illegally. Called SBInet, the plan never gained much traction because of so many logistical and technological issues. Napolitano confirmed that her department briefed members of Congress on Friday about the final decision to scrap the program and pursue a "new path forward" for security along the 2,000-mile southern U.S. border. The idea of a single, comprehensive plan is gone and in its place is a scheme to use different technologies in different areas to achieve the same effect. Surveillance towers, droned, thermal imaging and other tools will likely be a part of that plan as the DHS seeks to mix and match certain tactics with regions best suited for them - a sort of illegal immigration matchmaking, if you will. "There is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution to meet our border technology needs, and this new strategy is tailored to the unique needs of each border region, providing faster deployment of technology, better coverage, and a more effective balance between cost and capability," Napolitano said. The announcement was met warmly by opponents of the virtual fence, like Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. "The SBInet program has been a grave and expensive disappointment since its inception," proclaimed Thompson, ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee. "I am glad that DHS and (Customs and Border Protection) are finally listening to what we have been saying for years -- that the sheer size and variations of our borders show us a one-stop solution has never been best." Not stunningly, the virtual fence was first proposed during the W. administration. Like so many ideas from that dark time in American history, it will soon fade into oblivion. Best of all, the project has already run up a $672 million bill without any actual work being done on the project. The government isn’t done throwing money at the issue, not by a long shot. "Independent, quantitative, science-based assessments will continue along each sector of the southwest border in 2011 to determine the optimal combination of technology for each region," Napolitano said. Lots of success with that, J…………
No comments:
Post a Comment