Free Republic

Polling guru Nate Silver lashed out at other survey junkies in his field for “cheating” in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election — accusing them of recycling some results to keep the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris close. The FiveThirtyEight founder said irresponsible pollsters were “herding” their numbers, or using past results to affect current ones, to keep Vice President Harris and former President Trump to within a point or two of each other each time. “I kind of trust pollsters less,” Silver said on his podcast, name-checking Emerson College. “They all, every time a pollster...

Opinion The scientific community celebrated April 14 as World Quantum Day to raise awareness of quantum science’s impact across diverse fields The world of science is on the cusp of a transformative era driven by the burgeoning field of quantum technology. Quantum science is founded on several key principles that underpin the behaviour of particles and systems at the quantum scale. The term “quantum scale” refers to the realm of physics that deals with phenomena occurring at very small scales, typically at the level of atoms, subatomic particles and fundamental particles. It encompasses the principles of quantum mechanics, which govern...

The V8 engine is probably the most popular engine configuration around, mostly because it has been around for decades. However, if you've been wanting to build your own remote-controlled car powered by a V8, your choices for a model V8 engine are thin and most of them are pricey. Toyan, a company known for making scale model engines, has released a V8 engine that's relatively affordable. Currently selling for a promo price of $1,799.99 at Stirlingkit, the Toyan FS-V800 can be bought as either a DIY kit or a pre-assembled version on a 1/10 scale. The video atop this page...

TLANTA, GA. — While speaking at a public symposium on behalf of The Association of Donut Lovers, Georgia Governor Stacey Abrams claimed obesity was just numbers manufactured by her bathroom scale. "In the same way the patriarchy invented sonograms with fake heartbeat sounds to force women to fall in love with their unborn children against their will, bathroom scales were also created by the patriarchy to control women's bodies," said Abrams. "Obesity isn't real, but a system of oppression. It's time to dismantle it!" The incumbent governor's remarks are already being praised as "so brave" and "super scientific" by members...

PHILADELPHIA - Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is allowing larger crowds at indoor and outdoor events under guidance that's linked to the maximum capacity of venues. The Democratic governor's new rules, announced Tuesday, will take effect on Friday. They employ a sliding scale that will permit much larger crowds at many events, including school sporting events during the fall season.

A Canadian university is under fire after it removed the weight scale at its campus gym last week. Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, says the decision is “in keeping with current fitness and social trends,” according to a sign posted where the scale used to stand, according to the campus newspaper, The Charlatan. Bruce Marshall, manager of health and wellness at the gym, said focusing only on weight can have a negative impact. […] But some students disagree with removing the scale. Marko Miljusevic, a second-year computer science student, said in a Facebook message that students “can’t handle the number...

According to 20 Minuten (Swiss), there is a large scal attack underway against the Parlament buildings in Kabul. The Russian Embassy has reportedly taken rocket hits. Headline only .....

WASHINGTON – The top U.S. commander in the Middle East will warn Congress on Tuesday against efforts to scale back the Navy's presence in the embattled region, saying threats from Iran and elsewhere will require more ships and maritime missile defense capabilities. Marine Gen. James Mattis, head of U.S. Central Command, also said Syria has a "substantial" chemical and biological weapons capability and thousands of shoulder-launched missiles. Until now, the U.S. military has largely declined to describe the expanse of weapons that President Bashar Assad's regime has at its disposal. Mattis laid out his concerns in testimony prepared for Senate...

A group of Japanese neuroscientists is trying to peer into the mind — literally. They have devised a way to turn the brain’s opaque gray matter into a glassy, see-through substance. The group, based at the government-financed Riken Brain Science Institute in Wako, Japan, has created an inexpensive chemical cocktail that transforms dead biological tissue from a colored mass into what looks like translucent jelly. Soaking brain tissue in the solution makes it easier for neuroscientists to see what’s inside, a step they hope will uncover the physical basis of personality traits, memories and even consciousness. “I’m very excited about...

Israel's army chief told a US Congress delegation in late 2009 he was preparing for a large war in the Middle East, probably against Hamas or Hezbollah, leaked US diplomatic cables showed on Sunday. "I am preparing the Israeli army for a large scale war, since it is easier to scale down to a smaller operation than to do the opposite," Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi was quoted as saying in a cable from the US embassy in Tel Aviv. The document, dated November 15, 2009, was quoted Sunday in Norwegian by Oslo-based daily Aftenposten, which said it had obtained WikiLeaks'...

Washington - Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in an interview published Sunday, called on the United States to scale down its military activity in his country. 'The time has come to reduce military operations,' Karzai said in an interview with the Washington Post newspaper. The president said the Afghan population was unable to cope with the massive international military presence and wanted to see an end to the 'intrusiveness' of the soldiers in daily life.

Bobby McFerrin and the Pentatonic Scale

MIAMI - Herbert Saffir, an engineer who created the five-category system used to describe hurricane strength and warn millions of an approaching storm's danger, has died. He was 90. Saffir died Wednesday of complications from surgery, said his son, Richard Saffir. A structural engineer, Saffir created his scale in 1969 — laying out for the first time what kind of damage could be expected from an approaching hurricane. It has since become the definitive way to describe intensity for storms that form in the Atlantic and parts of the Pacific. Before the scale, hurricanes were simply described as major or...

15 held in Pakistan as scale and intricacy of threat is revealed New York police briefing sheds light on alleged conspiracy Duncan Campbell in Islamabad, Randeep Ramesh in Lahore and Vikram Dodd Tuesday August 15, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Up to 50 people across the world may have been part of the alleged conspiracy to explode bombs on planes heading from Britain to the United States, it emerged yesterday. New details about the alleged plot are contained in a briefing document from the counter-terrorism section of the New York police department. It says: "Bombs were to be placed on up...

Psychiatrists devise 'depravity rating' to help courts decide on death sentences By Charles Laurence in New York(Filed: 20/02/2005)A "depravity rating" that measures evil and will help courts decide whether convicted murderers should face execution or just imprisonment has been drawn up by American psychiatrists.For decades, doctors shunned the use of the word "evil" on the grounds that it crossed the line between clinical and moral judgment. Now, however, two studies of the criminal personality have concluded that "evil" should be used to describe the most vicious criminals – and that it can be measured. In the first study, Dr...

Cornell researchers move beyond 'nano' to 'atto' to build a scale sensitive enough to weigh a virus FOR RELEASE: April 2, 2004 Contact: Bill Steele Office: 607-255-7164 E-Mail: ws21@cornell.edu A gold dot, about 50 nanometers in diameter, fused to the end of a cantilevered oscillator about 4 micrometers long. A one-molecule-thick layer of a sulfur-containing chemical deposited on the gold adds a mass of about 6 attograms, which is more than enough to measure. Craighead Group/Cornell Univeristy Click on the image for a high-resolution version (2184 x 1245 pixels, 364K) ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University researchers already have been...

TEL AVIV — Palestinian infiltrators have succeeded in breaching Israel's new security fence and barrier system. Israeli security sources said Palestinian infiltrators have scaled the four-meter high concrete fence by using a simple ladder. The Israeli project calls for the establishing of a 730-kilometer fence at a cost of $1.9 billion. Most of the project consists of a concrete wall or chain-link fence with sensors, cameras and military patrols. In one case, the sources said, Arab infiltrators brought a ladder to the fence in the northeastern West Bank. They quickly scaled the fence and entered a waiting car that took...

Predicted quake could rate 9 on scale canada.com Tuesday, August 12, 2003 Researchers at Columbia University say the West Coast could soon be facing its worst earthquake in centuries. New research focusing on the coastal waters off Vancouver show that the area where the Juan de Fuca and North America plates overlap is almost twice the size that they thought. Columbia's Earthquake Institute says the original estimate for the zone where the tectonic plates interlock, called Northern Cascadia, was 56 kilometres. The area is now believed to be 90 kilometres. The known width of the zone now extends farther towards...

Britain may scale back its military assistance By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 11/12/2002) Britain may scale back its military contribution to a war in Iraq, particularly if America takes action in the coming weeks, according to senior British sources. Tony Blair has intensified the rhetoric of war in recent days, but Britain has not yet moved any heavy equipment to the Middle East to back up its threat of military action. This is in marked contrast with the United States, which has steadily built up its forces in the Gulf and says it will be ready to go...