The BBC needs a new science editor

This is just stunning:

The "orbit maintenance operation" would take place early on Friday morning, said official news agency Xinhua.

Gravity has drawn Shenzhou VI too close to earth, the agency said.

Shenzhou VI, which has two astronauts on board, is in a low enough orbit to be affected by the Earth's gravitational pull. [emphasis added]

As opposed to a higher orbit that is, you know, totally unaffected by gravity. Note to Auntie Beeb: there is no such thing as an orbit unaffected by gravity. Gravity is sort of necessary for orbit. Has to do with those funny little laws that Newton and Einstein came up with.

What's wrong with D.C.?

Here's a question that has been bugging me as of late: why does the District of Columbia have an unemployment rate of 9% when the entire D.C. area -- D.C., Northern Virginia, Southern Maryland and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia -- has an unemployment rate of 2.9%? Are there aspects of the District that make its residents less desirable / able to find employment, or are there aspects of the District that make it more hospitable than its surrounding areas to those unable to find work?

As I said, I really don't have an answer to this question, but I do have a few ideas. So, over the next month or so I hope to take a look at various aspects of the District to see what exactly about the District causes such a dichotomy.