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Pondering Gravitational Wavesby Paul Gilster on February 11, 2016 "Einstein would be beaming," said National Science Foundation director France Córdova as she began this morning's news conference announcing the discovery of gravitational waves. I can hardly disagree, because we have in this discovery yet another confirmation of the reality of General Relativity. Caltech's Kip Thorne, who discussed black hole mergers way back in 1994 in his book Black Holes and Time Warps, said at the same news conference that Einstein must have been frustrated by the lack of available technologies to detect the gravitational waves his theory predicted, a lack...

As Americans are observing Black History Month, black students in South Africa are sending a message to their fellow countrymen: F--- white people. Times LIVE reports students at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa protested the existence of white people by wearing shirts decrying white people and by spraying painting f--- white people across campus (explicit language warning): According to Wits 2014 demographic information, the school where students are announcing their hatred of white people is only 22.49 percent white, compared to 77.48 percent black. (Black, by the standards of Wits, appears to also include individuals who...

More Gravitational Wave Rumors: Colliding Black Holes? By Ian O'Neill, Discovery News February 9, 2016 08:15am ET MORE This computer simulation shows the production of gravitational waves during a black hole collision.Credit: MPI for Gravitational Physics/W.Benger-Zib More gravitational wave discovery rumors are flying, but this time they've taken a specific -- and, possibly, really exciting -- new twist. And what's more, we should find out whether the astrophysical rumor mill is correct or not by the end of this week; a National Science Foundation press announcement is planned for 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday (Feb. 11), billed as an opportunity...

The NFL's Super Bowl 50 halftime show was embedded with an array of political messages hiding in plain view. From the rainbow theme to the Black Panther suits worn by Beyonce's dancers, the show was meant to celebrate a social platform that took its cues from the Democratic Party in a key presidential election year. "Everything at the Super Bowl halftime show was covered in rainbows, from Coldplay singer Chris Martin's shirt to the stage he was dancing on," noted Seth Millstein, a writer for Bustle.com, a left-of-center website targeting women readers. "At first, it seemed like an arbitrary artistic...

2016 candidate Rand Paul explains why he thinks the polls are wrong on FNC's 'The Kelly File' and MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.' JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC: Senator, if there is a surprise tonight as far as somebody doing much better, I think it's you. I think -- You've talked about it, your supporters don't seem to be as represented in the polls as others. SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of the interesting thing is when you look at the polls, sometimes there is nobody under 30 in the poll, often there are very few people under 40 in the poll,...

"If anyone wants to see a case study of the puerile politically correct campus culture that pervades modern colleges, they need only look at the incredible overreaction at the University of Missouri." I wrote that sentence a few weeks ago, without any idea the article it introduced would initiate a firestorm of censorship, death threats, and intimidation. As managing editor of my high school newspaper, The Centralizer of Central High School in Philadelphia, I’ve always been concerned with the issue of censorship and free speech on campus. As I’ve learned from the past few weeks, the culture of micro-aggressions, safe...

The Oscar Blackout protesters are peddling a neurotoxin to African Americans. "You are helpless", they insist. "Organized and all-powerful white supremacists control every detail of life. You can do nothing to create art. Your only hope is to note every moment when white people appear to have more than you. Rage against and envy that greater amount of something. The more angry and destructive the protest, the better. Think Ferguson, think Baltimore. Shame, mock, and vilify whites. Only then can the good things of life be yours." This message ruins lives.

A Secret About The 1st Legal Slave Owner in America, but the Media Does not Want To Report This Most liberals just cannot stand the sight or sound of truth. Facts go over their heads as they look for opportunities to call others “intolerant” of their worldviews, resort to logic that they don’t recognize as faulty, and stoop to ad hominem commentary because they have no foundation on which to stand. Now, just imagine if I told them that slavery in American was started by a black man — yikes. The black male I am referring to is Anthony Johnson,...

i am using a borrowed laptop, an hp pavilion g7-1310us Notebook PC, running Windows 7. Last night the screen went black. i have no idea why. powering off and rebooting did nothing. i am thinking there must be some button or command that will turn the screen on. thanks in advance for help. p.s., HELPFUL comments welcome.

Stephen Hawking's New Black-Hole Paper, Translated: An Interview with Co-Author Andrew Strominger The Harvard string theorist explains the collaboration's long-awaited research on the black-hole information paradox Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Email Print Share via Google+Stumble Upon Penrose diagram for a semiclassical evaporating black hole, as presented in "Soft Hair on Black Holes." CREDIT: Prahar Mitra In the mid 1970s, Stephen Hawking made a string of unnerving discoveries about black holes—that they could evaporate, even explode, and destroy all information about what had fallen in. Physicists spent the next 40 years sorting through the wreckage. Then last year, at a...

If you are one-quarter allegedly black and three-quarters presumably white, does that make you black or white? Let’s ask a racially integrated diner at Denny’s LANGUAGE ALERT):

**SNIP** If you are white, and you are reading this letter, I ask that you don't run to seek shelter from your own racism. Don't hide from your responsibility. Rather, begin, right now, to practice being vulnerable. Being neither a "good" white person nor a liberal white person will get you off the proverbial hook. I consider myself to be a decent human being. Yet, I'm sexist. Take another deep breath. I ask that you try to be "un-sutured." If that term brings to mind a state of pain, open flesh, it is meant to do so. After all, it...

DEAR JOAN: For the very first time in 24 years at our home, we have a black squirrel in the backyard. With about a dozen trees in back, we have had many gray squirrels over the years but never a black one. How rare are they? He looks smaller, maybe younger than the others. Is this a mutant squirrel or a different type? Dana Arbaugh, Milpitas DEAR DANA: Black squirrels are unusual but not rare. Palo Alto appears to have the most black squirrels in the Bay Area, but they are also seen elsewhere. Technically, you could call it a...

PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 News has learned that several people were arrested or issued citations after an incident in downtown Pittsburgh Wednesday afternoon. According to Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph, the incident started in the Wood Street T Station around 3:30 p.m. Brandolph said two Port Authority police officers "attempted to identify a Brashear High School student who was tampering with escalator equipment when the student kicked them." According to Brandolph, four other people attempted to intervene in the initial arrest. He now appears to be in bigger trouble than any of those who were apprehended. One adult was taken...

It is time to look more seriously at the Donald Trump presidential candidacy. He continues to lead the polls among Republicans; his closest rivals seem now to be Senators Mario Rubio and Ted Cruz, easing ahead of Dr. Ben Carson. There does not seem to have been much effort to see the Trump candidacy in any sort of historic context. For the first time in its history, the United States has had four, and arguably five, consecutive terms of unsuccessful federal government, from administrations and Congresses of both parties. The last Clinton term under-reacted to the original terrorist incidents at...

WASHINGTON - Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are split on whether Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel should resign for his actions in the case of the police shooting of Laquan McDonald. Emanuel has been under fire since the November release of video showing the 2014 police shooting of McDonald. The video - which the city refused to disclose until a court order forced it to do so - showed McDonald being shot 16 times by police in an encounter that played out much differently than the original police account of the incident. Some CBC members told BuzzFeed News that Emanuel...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens fans are menaced by the Chinese poster for the upcoming sci-fi epic. The poster has sparked controversy online over stylistic changes, one of which resulted in the diminished presence of John Boyega’s lightsaber-wielding character.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A second city on Tuesday withdrew its invitation for Rhode Island's "Dancing Cop" to direct holiday traffic because of his activism against the Black Lives Matter movement. The retired officer responded by blasting the head of the Providence NAACP and threatening to sue his detractors for defamation. East Providence Mayor Thomas Rose called Tony Lepore on Tuesday morning to tell him city leaders did not support his planned performance, Lepore said. A City Council vote that had been scheduled for Tuesday evening was canceled. Lepore, who retired from the Providence Police Department in 1989, has been directing...

I remember once hearing a question posed by some would be philosopher: "If you could do something that cured all of the ills of the world, but only if someone you despised would get the credit, would you do it?" It's an interesting question with a number of elements to it. Are you really a humanitarian or do you just want to be seen as such? What's more important, your legacy or the lives of others? Are you able to overcome petty jealousy for the "greater good"? Of course as it's a hypothetical question you can answer and gain all...

UPDATES: 6:30PM After the tree lighting ceremony, shoppers and revelers dispersed from the area while protesters sat down in a circle in front of the entrance to Westlake Center. Speakers continued to address the rally for the next hour while officers in riot gear stood guard blocking them from entering the shopping center.