Neutrinos 0 – GPS 1
Remember the story late last year about neutrinos traveling faster than light at CERN? If proven, those neutrinos traveling 60 nanoseconds faster than expected would have redefined Einstein’s special relativity. Along with that, many new discoveries in physics would have followed.

Well, scratch that. It seems there was a problem with the GPS that would have caused the problem. Like Schrodinger’s Cat, this problem has two possible solutions. Unfortunately, neither involve gunpowder or poisonous gas. CERN had this to say:

The OPERA collaboration has informed its funding agencies and host laboratories that it has identified two possible effects that could have an influence on its neutrino timing measurement. These both require further tests with a short pulsed beam. If confirmed, one would increase the size of the measured effect, the other would diminish it. The first possible effect concerns an oscillator used to provide the time stamps for GPS synchronization. It could have led to an overestimate of the neutrino’s time of flight. The second concerns the optical fibre connector that brings the external GPS signal to the OPERA master clock, which may not have been functioning correctly when the measurements were taken. If this is the case, it could have led to an underestimate of the time of flight of the neutrinos.

Hugs and kisses to everyone on the OPERA team for demonstrating grace under so much pressure to replicate or disprove their original findings. Especially when the cause is something so mundane as an equipment glitch.

Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Jews Get a Dose of Reality
The Supreme Court in Israel just overturned the Tal Law in a 6-3 decision recently. In what I can only see as a good thing, the law which allowed all yeshiva (religious university) students to get out of compulsory military or civil service in Israel is ending. After 10 years on the books, the law is being allowed to expire this August.

The outgoing High Court President Dorit Beinisch said in the majority decision that the Tal Law was unconstitutional. Groups like The Movement for Quality Government have been petitioning the court for years to get the law repealed. Lending support to the court’s decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said,

As I have already declared, prior to the ruling, the Tal Law in its present form will not be extended. In the approaching months we will formulate a new bill that would guarantee a more equal sharing of the burden of all parts of Israeli society.

62,000 young haredi men could potentially be forced out of their highly insular surroundings and into a much wider world. Sure, a world where many of them would be carrying firearms – but also a place where they need to keep the peace with their enemies. Walk in another mans shoes and all that. Of course the ultra-orthodox Jewish men seem hell bent on getting out of duty to their country. They would rather stone women and throw poo on little girls. It’s time they get their hands dirty doing honest work.

I hope to see each and every one of you at the Northwest Free-thought Convention close to Seattle, Washington in a few weeks!

~Wesley

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