Creationism lives on in US public schools - via NewScientist.com - Creationism, or "Intelligent Design" as it has more recently been rebranded, has no business being taught in our school systems alongside evolution.  The treatment of creationism as a legitimate scientific theory is an offence to scientific principle.  There is empirical data to back up evolutionary theory.  The collection and interpretation of that data is how the theory was developed in the first place.  There is no such support of "Intelligent Design" anywhere.  What people choose to teach their own children at home is their business, even if it's hocus-pocus nonsense.  In a school system where other people's children are being taught the same things only facts and theories that can be backed up with actual science should be taught.
 
First All-Digital Science Textbook Will Be Free - via Wired.com - This is a fantastic idea that will unfortunately be extremely difficult to get off the ground.  Producing a book of this kind and keeping it up to date will undoubtedly prove to be extremely expensive, so "free" is unlikely to work.  Not to mention the resistance it will encounter from people responsible for choosing textbooks who have been getting kickbacks from publishing companies for years.  I hope this takes off, as it would remove a substantial financial burden from college and university students.  I spent less on the new laptop I bought a couple months ago than I spent on books in one semester when I was in college, and textbook prices don't go anywhere but up.
 
Pilot refuses full-body scan, pat-down - via CNN.com - All of the privacy issues aside, folks...he's a pilot.  If he wants to take over the plane he's already in the cockpit BEHIND A LOCKED FUCKING DOOR!
 
How to opt out of the TSA's naked body scanners at the airport - via NaturalNews.com - This one is not so much a "how to" as it is a description of what happens when you decide not to subject yourself to the backscatter or millimetre wave x-ray machines and go for the "enhanced pat-down" the pilot in the previous article refused.
 
U.A.E. defends no-marks discipline ruling - via CBC.ca - In the United Arab Emirates, they can build the shit out of some skyscrapers, but their human rights policies are fucking stone age.  Considering it's possible to break ribs and cause internal bleeding without ever leaving a visible external mark, the concept of being able to beat your wife or children as long as you don't leave a mark is absurd.
 
Allow Students to Carry Guns on College Campuses? - via AmericanFreePress.net - "Freedom to be safe and secure is a fundamental human right.  If someone threatens to harm or kill you or your loved ones, you have the right to defend yourself.  Carrying a firearm aides in facilitating this self defence." said the guy who lives in Canada, where law abiding citizens can only own handguns for target shooting and it is essentially impossible to get a concealed weapon permit.

New technologeis confuse reality and fiction: Pope - via MontrealGazette.com - I'll admit at first I jumped to the conclusion that this was going to be the Pope railing against science.  I figured what it would boil down to was "reality is whatever the church tells you".  To my surprise this was not the case at all.  In his statement, he cautions that technology can lead to "the risk of indifference towards real life."  It's hard to disagree with that statement.  While we're still many years from virtual reality technology that's passable as actual reality, the concept is sound.  I see it as a form of escapism.  Even today there are people who spend more time playing videogames than doing any of their other daily activities.  Other people get lost for hours on end living vicariously through celebrities and their friends in social media circles.  However, I don't think any of these people are "confused" on the line between real and virtual.  These technologies offer an escape from the monochromatic boredom of everyday life.  Where things will get interesting is when technology is actually able to simulate reality in a convincing way.  Then you'll see people giving up on the real world to retreat into whatever virtual world they like.  What is the Matrix, indeed.

Robots Guarding US Nuclear Stockpile - via SingularityHub.com - Our robot overlords are almost upon us.  This is some pretty cool tech.  Between this and the cool shit Google has been driving around lately, pretty soon I shouldn't have to deal with all you assholes cutting me off.
 
Ars Technica: Banned in Iran! - via (shocker!) ArsTechnica.com - It looks like Iran's government maybe didn't like the reports Ars Technica was publishing on the Stuxnet infection wreaking havoc on Iranian computer networks.  It's scary how a government with the proper infrastructure in place can effectively cut off whatever website or content they want without any notice.

Superhero or supervillain: Which lurks inside you? - via MNN.com - Results from a study asking people if they would do good or evil if they were to one day find themselves with superpowers.  I like to think I would be a benevolent dictator.

Beyond God and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian' - via NewScientist.com - An interesting opinion piece on the nature of science, faith, atheism, religion and the spaces in between.  I'm not sure I like the term "possibilian".  It sounds like an invading species of alien reptiles...like on "V".
 
Malware running on graphics cards - via Slashdot.org - Contains a link to a .PDF outlining the feasibility of malware running on a GPU to bypass antivirus software.  I don't think it's as big a deal as the study makes it out to be, but it's an interesting concept anyway.  I don't see a reason why antivirus software couldn't be adapted to protect against this.
 
102 Year-Old Lens on Canon 5D mkII - via Wired.com - A century-old lens mated to a modern digital camera with interesting results.
 
Saskatoon schools go easy on plagiarism - via CBC.ca - A ridiculous new trend in education that I really hope doesn't catch on.  The article states that "As long as a student hands in an assignment at some point, no marks are docked.  The same applies to students caught plagiarizing."  Is anybody else concerned about how this will condition kids to behave once they move beyond high school?  Imagine their surprise when they go to university and learn that they can't submit someone else's work as their own.  Better yet, what will they do with work deadlines when they get a legitimate job in the real world? 
 
U.S. Wants Broader Internet Wiretap Authority - via FOXNews.com - No shit!  This actually came from FOX News.  I was surprised too.  Oh wait, nevermind.  It actually links back to an article in the New York Times.  Long story short, the U.S. government wants back doors built into any encrypted digital communication for wiretap purposes.  No big deal on its face, but it never takes very long for this kind of master key to either be leaked or hacked.  I can't see any encryption having this sort of back door built in being very trusted or secure in the long term.  Watch for this one to be sold as necessary to fight the terrorists who hate our freedom.