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Tevatron shuttered after 27 years due to lack of funding

Formerly the world’s most powerful particle accelerator (before CERN, of course), the Tevatron at Fermilab in Chicago was responsible for discovering the top quark, among other contributions to particle physics. According to scientists at Tevatron, the group was closing in on the elusive Higgs boson, an undiscovered particle tying the Standard Model of particle physics together. Friday marked the last time the particle beams would be turned on at the facility, due to a decision by the federal government to cease funding the lab. The annual budget of the Tevatron? $35 million.

Just for reference, $35 million would fund the Afghanistan war for 144 minutes.

I really feel restricted because I can’t express just how angry this makes me (I try to avoid profanity on the blog). But this pisses me off.

No, let’s just cede another global leadership position because screw science, right? Who needs it? It’s ASTOUNDING how anti-science this country has become. It’s cool. We’ll let Switzerland pick up another victory. Maybe we can all just get a little fatter and dumber, then let bought-and-paid-for-by-lobbyists politicians tell us our tax dollars are being “wasted” on things like “space shuttles” and “arguably the most important scientific discovery of our generation.”

Tell me: What do we have now? They killed the space shuttle program. They’ve killed our particle accelerator. What’s left? What grand scientific American project remains? What embodies the spirit of America ingenuity, determination, or pioneering scientific attitude?

This is an embodiment of what is fundamentally wrong with America. This project could be funded for an entire year if we used what we currently spend in Afghanistan every 144 minutes.

Dear Congress: They’re called “priorities.” And yours are royally screwed up.

Taliban and Nato-led forces engage in flamewar on Twitter →

The argument began when @ISAFmedia, which generally provides dry updates in military speak of the security situation in Afghanistan, took exception to comments from a Taliban spokesman, tweeting: “Re: Taliban spox on #Kabul attack: the outcome is inevitable. Question is how much longer will terrorist put innocent Afghans in harm’s way?”

The Taliban – who, when in power, eschewed most modern technology, including television and music players – decided to point the finger of blame back at the international forces for endangering Afghan civilians. Showing an affinity with textspeak, Taliban tweeter Abdulqahar Balk (@ABalkhi) wrote: “@ISAFmedia i dnt knw.u hve bn pttng thm n ‘harm’s way’ fr da pst 10 yrs.Razd whole vllgs n mrkts.n stil hv da nrve to tlk bout ‘harm’s way’”

End all wars to pay for education?

Yes? No? Defend your response (feel free to reply via reblog, Disqus comments on my Tumblr page, or the Submit page).

How I will remember this weekend.

via Reddit

Bush rejects Taliban offer to surrender bin Laden →

Just a reminder that this could have been resolved a decade ago. But I suppose some people need a villain to push forward an agenda.

After a week of debilitating strikes at targets across Afghanistan, the Taliban repeated an offer to hand over Osama bin Laden, only to be rejected by President Bush.

The offer yesterday from Haji Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, to surrender Mr bin Laden if America would halt its bombing and provide evidence against the Saudi-born dissident was not new but it suggested the Taliban are increasingly weary of the air strikes, which have crippled much of their military and communications assets.

"Instead of cutting programs for the poor, the children, pregnant women, or shutting down the Government, let’s shut the wars down. Build bridges at home. Don’t blow them up abroad. Bring democracy to America. Jobs for all. Education for all. Health care for all. Retirement Security for all. End the Wars."

— Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative (D-OH)