Massive, hexagonal feature found on Saturn

JPL.NASA.GOV: News Releases

This is extremely weird! Is this a result of magnetic field lines, torn by the charged atmosphere of the planet into this odd shape? Is it the odd creation of another lifeform - art on a grand scale?

Operation Bite: April 6 sneak attack by US forces against Iran planned, Russian military sources warn

Operation Bite: April 6 sneak attack by US forces against Iran planned, Russian military sources warn:

"Ivashov noted that it was not to be excluded that the Pentagon would use smaller tactical nuclear weapons against targets of the Iranian nuclear industry. These attacks could paralyze everyday life, create panic in the population, and generally produce an atmosphere of chaos and uncertainty all over Iran, Ivashov told RIA-Novosti. “This will unleash a struggle for power inside Iran, and then there will be a peace delegation sent in to install a pro-American government in Teheran,” Ivashov continued. One of the US goals was, in his estimation, to burnish the image of the current Republican administration, which would now be able to boast that they had wiped out the Iranian nuclear program. "

This is insane. If this is even slightly true, and the US is planning on much more than aggressive posturing, then we are looking at the full-out beginning of World War III. That someone even thinks that an attack on Iran would further burnish American credibility - that tactical nuclear warhead use in Iran could ever be seen as justifiable, that the Iranian people would really rise up and celebrate America for nuking their country and inflicting massive loss of life is insane.

That this is even slightly credible points to how astonishing the Bush administration has been. That we can even think "Maybe..." about a report like this says volumes about the level of fear and distrust this administration had engendered around the world. After all, the idea that the people of Iran would rise up and install a pro-American regime is right up there with the idea that US Soldiers would be welcomed as liberators in Iraq. It was crazy then, it's absolutely terrifying now.

Podcasting growth slower than expected: study

Podcasting growth slower than expected: study

I wonder if this might have something to do with wmp11's rather shocking continued refusal to play nice with podcasts. I consider myself an advanced user, yet I'm sick to death of the silly hoops I need to jump through just to get podcasts properly and automatically linking from wmp11 to my samsung z5. I download using juice, run a shell script command to properly change the genre to a wmp11 readable format, then set up autoplaylists, because juice and wmp11 don't always play nice with updating the regular playlists. All in all, it's an irritating process to what, in itunes, is practically a 1-click solution. It's enough to make me regret buying a wmp-based media player. I'll be picking up an ipod for sure for my girlfriend, unless someone over there gets their heads out of their collective asses.