Monday, December 18, 2006

Random Tidbits...

Well not quite random. I have been trying to get more information of the Indian athlete, Santhi Soundararajan, who failed her gender test. It isn't clear how she could pass one time but not another time, but at least the BBC was respectful:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6188775.stm

In contrast, Sports Illustrated's "coverage" reads as if it was written by a dude in a backwards baseball cap...hmmmm no wait... it probably was.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/more/12/18/failed.gender.test.ap/index.html?eref=yahoo

The SI article, titled "Dude looks like a Lady" at least had the little tidbit that the test failure had something to do with her chromosome count and that she has not had SRS. Exactly what is going on here isn't clear, but SI's coverage certainly belongs in the stone age.

Speaking of which, BBC also has an article about the new Answers in Genesis Creationist Museum opening up this Spring near Cincinnati.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6216788.stm

Observes the BBC reporter:

"Despite adopting the structure and technology of the most extravagant science museum, it remains that none of it is remotely plausible without first accepting Genesis. Without taking that leap and rejecting centuries of scientific reasoning, it all resembles just another Disney-style magic kingdom."

Sounds like a hoot- right up there with the flying saucer museum in Roswell NM.
http://www.iufomrc.com/incident.shtml

At least when people go to the Magic Kingdom they know it's fiction.

It is curious that employees of the museum have to sign an article of faith saying that they believe the Earth was created in 7 days. Maybe the Bush administration can take a page from this, in its efforts to slant the data on global warming and other politically sensitive science. Over 10,000 scientists have signed on to a petition protesting the Bush administration's politicalization of science. To be fair I suspect the Bush administration isn't the only administration to do this sort of thing, but certainly no other has gotten scientists so energized in opposition to its policies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6178213.stm?ls



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