#11
Sow nice to see honorable swine grab the spotlight for a change.
Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.
KAMPALA - More than 400 Ugandan inmates broke out of a regional prison at the weekend as guards celebrated President Yoweri Musevenis election victory in raucous fashion, officials said on Monday.
The 408 prisoners broke out of the Arua regional prison, about 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the capital, on Saturday during revelry prompted by the official announcement of Musevenis win, they said. They escaped right after the announcement was made that President Museveni had won and the celebration was noisy, Ugandan prisons chief Johnson Byabasaija told AFP.
"Hokay, now's our chance boyos, the screws are partying!"
He said laxity among guards and prison administrators allowed more than half of the 716 inmates in the prison at the time to pull down a fence and run en masse to freedom. Security forces were still trying to recapture the escapees, who included five people convicted on treason charges, Byabasaija said.
The incident was the second-election related jailbreak in Uganda within three days. On election day, Thursday, some 80 prisoners took advantage of distractions over the vote and the transfer of prison guards to protect polling stations to escape from a work detail in northern Ugandas Apac district. With one shift of warders at their minimum-security jail assigned to voting centers and attention squarely focused on the election, the inmates slipped away from guards while fetching water for the facility, officials said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
as guards celebrated President Yoweri Musevenis victory in elections to be held in six months
NAIROBI - Somali gunmen hijacked an Indian-owned dhow off Somalias coastlines with 25 crewmembers aboard, a maritime official said on Monday. The dhow was attacked by two small boats while on route from the southern port of Kismayo to El-Maan, 35 km (22 miles) from the lawless capital Mogadishu on Sunday, Andrew Mwangura, programme coordinator for the Seafarers Assistance Programme, said.
Normally when they take captives, they want to get in contact with the chief owner, Mwangura told Reuters, adding he did not know whether the hijackers had contacted the owners.
"Paging Lord Jim, Paging Lord Jim ..."
He said the dhow was called the Bhakti Sagar, but did not name the owners. El-Maan used to be the most peaceful port, he said. Those ships who are still in Mombasa are afraid to go to El-Maan now.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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Three housewives were killed allegedly by their husbands for dowry in Sadar and Abhoynagar upazilas on Friday and Saturday. Police said Gahar Ali of Echhamati village in Abhoynagar upazila beat and strangulated his 2nd wife Noorjahan Begum, 35, to death Friday night as she refused to bring dowry money from her father. Victim's son found the body and informed police. The killer husband went into hiding.
In another incident, Roni Begum, 20, was strangled by her husband Nazrul Islam at Sankarpur in the town on Saturday as she failed to bring dowry money from her parents.
In yet another incident Delwar Hossain of Noorpur village in Sadar upaizla beat his wife Fatema Khatoon, 27, to death for dowry on Friday. The bodies were sent to the Jessore General Hospital morgue for autopsy. Separate cases were filed with the police.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#3
This type of murder happens in India, with a different modus operandi. If there's some kind of dowry dispute, the lady gets burned to death, supposedly because her sari caught fire while she was cooking. Sorry I don't have link; will look for it.
Frequent hartal [combination strike and riot] and terrorist activities are hindering Japanese investment in Bangladesh, said business leaders of the world's second largest economy yesterday.
Why should the Japanese be different from anybody else?
The Japanese businesspeople also identified transportation problems and unforeseen costs of doing business here as the obstacles to attracting increased investment.
That'd be the grease required to get anything done...
They said inadequate power and gas supply to the industrial plants, bureaucratic tangles, lack of political will, coordination among government agencies, and delay in payment against LC (letter of credit) also bar Japanese investment in Bangladesh. "Presently, infrastructure facilities in Bangladesh are not sufficient for doing business as a lot of business impediments still exist," said Hideo Ueno, vice president of Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI).
The fact that they're on the list of most corrupt nations in the world doesn't help.
He was speaking at a seminar on 'Promotion of Trade & Investment: Japan-Bangladesh Initiatives' at Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) auditorium in the capital. Mahbubur Rahman, president of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICC-B) conducted the seminar, while Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury, Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Matsushiro Horiguchi, DCCI President MA Momen and JBCCI President Matiur Rahman were present.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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JAILED cleric Abu Hamzas terrorist son is spreading words of hate as a rapper. Mohammed Kamel Mostafas song lyrics rant about waging Jihad (holy war) and carrying weapons, and praise banned Middle East terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas.
In one he raps: I was born to be a soldier, Kalashnikov in my shoulder, peace to Hamas and Hezbollah, thats the way of the lord Allah . . . were Jihad through, defend my religion with the holy sword. He also sings of his Islamic brothers who vowed to die for Allah.
Mostafa, 24 dubbed MC Hamza by his henchmen has played venues ranging from Wembley Arena to Oxford University. He launched Islamic group Lionz Of Da Dezert last year and is now aiming for solo success. The sponger has raked in hundreds of pounds in merchandising spin-offs while claiming taxpayer-funded benefits worth around £200 a month.
The Sun set up a recording studio in North London where he met our undercover reporters in a bid to clinch a music deal. Speaking in broken English, greedy Mostafa boasted: I think I can easily make more than a million. A million is nothing.
Ive been concentrating on gigs but theres a big market out there, trust me. 5,000 people came to see me play at Wembley.
Mostafa revealed he made more than £300 at a recent gig by flogging branded T-shirts and key rings. He said he had already rejected one deal because he was only going to get £1.50 per album.
Posted by: Captain America ||
02/28/2006 17:26 ||
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#1
The sun has officially set on the British empire.
#2
As is typical with these things, enlightenment does not strike twice in the same place. I doubt he has the old-world elan that daddy did. Hopefully he will soon learn the joys of nose candy and crap like that.
#2
In one of his songs, The Sun said, Mostafa raps: "I was born to be a soldier/Kalashnikov in my shoulder/peace to Hamasa and Hezbollah/that's the way of the lord Allah ... we're jihad through/defend my religion with the holy sword".
Well what're ya waiting for, kid? I hear there's lot's of openings. Or are you just full of shit?
My bet is option 2...
THE modern gentleman may prefer blondes. But new research has found that it was cavemen who were the first to be lured by flaxen locks.
According to the study, north European women evolved blonde hair and blue eyes at the end of the Ice Age to make them stand out from their rivals at a time of fierce competition for scarce males.
The study argues that blond hair originated in the region because of food shortages 10,000-11,000 years ago. Until then, humans had the dark brown hair and dark eyes that still dominate in the rest of the world. Almost the only sustenance in northern Europe came from roaming herds of mammoths, reindeer, bison and horses. Finding them required long, arduous hunting trips in which numerous males died, leading to a high ratio of surviving women to men.
Lighter hair colours, which started as rare mutations, became popular for breeding and numbers increased dramatically, according to the research, published under the aegis of the University of St Andrews.
Human hair and eye colour are unusually diverse in northern and eastern Europe (and their) origin over a short span of evolutionary time indicates some kind of selection, says the study by Peter Frost, a Canadian anthropologist. Frost adds that the high death rate among male hunters increased the pressures of sexual selection on early European women, one possible outcome being an unusual complex of colour traits.
Frosts theory, to be published this week in Evolution and Human Behavior, the academic journal, was supported by Professor John Manning, a specialist in evolutionary psychology at the University of Central Lancashire. Hair and eye colour tend to be uniform in many parts of the world, but in Europe there is a welter of variants, he said. The mate choice explanation now being put forward is, in my mind, close to being correct.
Frosts theory is also backed up by a separate scientific analysis of north European genes carried out at three Japanese universities, which has isolated the date of the genetic mutation that resulted in blond hair to about 11,000 years ago.
The hair colour gene MC1R has at least seven variants in Europe and the continent has an unusually wide range of hair and eye shades. In the rest of the world, dark hair and eyes are overwhelmingly dominant.
Just how such variety emerged over such a short period of time in one part of the world has long been a mystery. According to the new research, if the changes had occurred by the usual processes of evolution, they would have taken about 850,000 years. But modern humans, emigrating from Africa, reached Europe only 35,000-40,000 years ago.
Instead, Frost attributes the rapid evolution to how they gathered food. In Africa there was less dependence on animals and women were able to collect fruit for themselves. In Europe, by contrast, food gathering was almost exclusively a male hunters preserve. The retreating ice sheets left behind a landscape of fertile soil with plenty of grass and moss for herbivorous animals to eat, but few plants edible for humans. Women therefore took on jobs such as building shelters and making clothes while the men went on hunting trips, where the death rate was high.
The increase in competition for males led to rapid change as women struggled to evolve the most alluring qualities. Frost believes his theory is supported by studies which show blonde hair is an indicator for high oestrogen levels in women.
Jilly Cooper, 69, the author, described how in her blonde youth she had certainly got more glances. I remember when I went to Majorca when I was 20, my bum was sore from getting pinched.
However, Jodie Kidd, 27, the blonde model, disagrees with the theory: I dont think being blonde makes you more ripe for sexual activity. Its much more to do with personality than what you look like. Beauty is much deeper than the colour of your hair.
Film star blondes such as Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Sharon Stone and Scarlett Johansson are held up as ideals of feminine allure. However, the future of the blonde is uncertain.
A study by the World Health Organisation found that natural blonds are likely to be extinct within 200 years because there are too few people carrying the blond gene. According to the WHO study, the last natural blond is likely to be born in Finland during 2202.
#1
**cough**bullshit**cough**
Men with screw any women they have access to. Try this: high melanin is not necessary for survival in cold climates, therefore blondes and reds have as much chance for survival in cold climates (actually slighly more since light colors radiate less heat). Now give me my PhD and a large NIH grant for a hands on study of breast size vs mating success.
Posted by: ed ||
02/28/2006 19:29 Comments ||
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#3
So what about redheads? They were almost exclusively restricted to the British Islands. Numerous Romans commented on the many people in Britain with red hair, and that they had never encountered red haired people elsewhere.
#4
Lightly pigmented corneas (blue, gray, green eyes), allow in more light and give better vision under low light conditions and less pigmentation (melanine) allows more vitamin D production under low sunlight.
#14
high melanin is not necessary for survival in cold climates, therefore blondes and reds have as much chance for survival in cold climates (actually slighly more since light colors radiate less heat).
#16
#4 "Lightly pigmented corneas (blue, gray, green eyes), allow in more light and give better vision under low light conditions"
Corneas are not pigmented -- irises are. And irises are designed to control the amount of light by adjusting pupil size, not by having color.
#17
Finding them required long, arduous hunting trips in which numerous males died, leading to a high ratio of surviving women to men.
And this differs from today how?
I never saw a race by the feminist to the dangerous jobs [miners, alaska fishing, etc]. Even some of the rare dangerous jobs which have some numbers show up [police, fire, military] they are greatly out numbered by males. We have seen a explosion of soft academic programs [not the engineering, math, hard sciences, the old agricultural/mechanical] largely filled by the females since the 50s. The tendency is that males even today carry the responsibility of group's survival in the dirty side of the house. How many social units survive first contact where the males practice risk avoidance?
#18
The mutations (X # genes) have to happen before they can be passed on. Some mutations, such as light skin, are so beneficial at extreme latitudes that they are almost universal and across races. Others such as blonde or redhead are about neutral to survival and propagate based piggybacking on other factors like conquest or high social status of the initial mutants (therefore higher survial rate, hemophilia and the royals sound familiar?) of the ancestors.
Blondes are a northwest European mutation, while redheads (another gene) showed up in another population. There is no requirement (or even much probability in such a small population) that either mutation must show up in eskimos.
Posted by: ed ||
02/28/2006 20:35 Comments ||
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#19
it still doesn't make sense. if there were more men than women, the men don't get to choose who they mate with. In this scenario, ALL women are desirable. Thus, there is no differential selection favoring blonde women.
If the MEN were blonde, and that was somehow more desired, then these blonde men would be more likely to be chosen to reproduce.
The color of the Iris does affect the amount of light entering the eye, by a significant amount. Seen at its most extreme in albinos who have no Iris pigmentation and are often highly sensitive to bright lights.
Iris (eye) color doesn't seem to affect visual acuity in high light levels, but there is evidence lightly pigmented (blue) eyes are more sensitive in low light conditions and detecting movement in the peripheral vision, which would be a useful adaptation for a hunter in northern areas with their extended periods of twilight.
"Hello, Morton's? What will it run to buy one entire month's output?"
Vice President Dick Cheney might retire within a year, shortly after the mid-term elections, according to senior Republican sources who spoke to Insight magazine. The sources said they envision Cheney being persuaded to step down as he becomes an increasing liability to President Bush.
There is a growing rift between the president and the vice president and their staffs, the sources said, citing Cheney's delay in informing the president of the accidental shooting of the vice president's hunting colleague. The accidental shooting highlighted the lack of communication between Bush and Cheney staffers, the sources said. Nobody on the president's staff could get to Cheney, the sources said, to advise him to contact reporters. "At that point, the president picked up the phone and suggested that Cheney get his story out fast," a source said.
Cheney could face a new crisis by the end of the year with possible accusations from his former chief of staff Lewis Libby, who faces charges in connection with the CIA leak probe. Libby told a grand jury unnamed "superiors" directed him to relay the content of a National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq in July 2003. The White House, according to Insight, anticipates Libby putting Cheney on the defensive with claims the vice president ordered Libby to relay classified information a charge that could lead to a congressional probe and even impeachment proceedings. "Nothing will happen until after the congressional elections," a GOP source told Insight. "After that, there will be significant changes in the administration and Cheney will probably be part of that."
The vice president has struggled with the departure of his closest aides, the sources said. Along with Libby, he lost his media adviser, Steve Schmidt, to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign. The president, the sources told Insight, has been urged by people close to his father to dismiss Cheney but has rejected the advice. Bush values Cheney for his national security experience and trust by Rantburg conservative Republicans.
#1
Well, no big deal, remember, the fascist Bushitleretardedictator administration will be put out of business by the Masses(tm) led by the Enlightened Elites(tm) when they storm the WH the 06/03/15 at 12.00 PM.
In the fall, the USA will be wisely and humanly managed by the Dictatorship-Of-The-Proletariat(tm), no need for elections, resignation, or anything... anyway, Lizardcheney will be in a labor camp at that time.
#2
Since Chaney is not going to run for president it makes sense to step aside and replace him with the chosen to replace Bush. Maybe Ms Rice will be the next VP?
#3
I suspect Bush believes it is the Republican Party's responsibility to pick its prfesidential candidate, not his. That's why Cheney was tapped to be VP and why he will fill his full term if in good heaqlth.
"Today, after President Bush nominated Secy of State Rice to replace the resigned VP Cheney, a palpable stench arose from the Democrat side of the asile in the US Senate. There was a mass rush to the exit as many Senators rushed to thier offices to change thier panties and briefs which had suddenly become soiled."
(2006-02-27) Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove today publicly apologized for telling the author of the new book, Strategery, that Sen. Hillary Clinton cannot be elected president because she has a brittleness about her that voters dont like.
I shouldnt have called Sen. Clinton brittle, said a contrite Mr. Rove. That might leave the impression that shes emotionally or psychologically fragile and could snap at any moment.
By saying that the junior senator from New York has a brittleness about her, Mr. Rove admitted, I may have inadvertently caused some people who dont realize how much I respect her to think that Sen. Clinton might be unfit to serve as president, because shes cold, curt, brusque, negative, tense, aloof, testy, on-edge you know, brittle. Im really quite sorry.
Mr. Rove, President George Bushs old friend and top adviser, acknowledged that the remark was over the top and asked the former First Lady to forgive him within the next decade or so, if she ever gets over the bitterness of harboring a grudge against me due to my brittleness comment.
Sen. Clinton, asked to respond to Mr. Roves apology, said, No comment, and hung up the phone.
#2
In reality, Rove has Billary's tit in a vise and he just tightened it up a few notches.
She is and will continue to be a walking basket case, wanting to express her "inner Billary" be being uncertain to do so. And then Rove mentions she is to cautious -- what's a gal to do?
Posted by: Captain America ||
02/28/2006 0:36 Comments ||
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#3
Just knowing Rove is "obsessed" with her makes Hillary spend a small fortune on kinky underwear, knowing that somewhere, somehow out in the dark he must be watching her. He just has to be. Lewdly. He just has to.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/28/2006 17:07 Comments ||
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#9
And I thought Billary would be tickled pink.
Posted by: Captain America ||
02/28/2006 17:22 Comments ||
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#10
So much more fun than news!
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/28/2006 17:55 Comments ||
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#11
California's going after Coffee and Chocolate, so why should pre-OWG, Fascist = Limited Communist/Socialist Amerikans get to enjoy [peanut?] brittle???
#12
BILL CLINTON > the American diet will eventually kill Americans as easy as disease or war, SSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, unless of course the Fed, and only the Fed, takes over and regulates everything ad infinitum.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday said that contempt of court proceedings against violators of the ban on meals at weddings would continue. The chief justice said this at the initiation of contempt proceedings against people accused of violating the ban. Sindhs Health Director General Hadi Bakhsh Jatoi, a close relative of Water and Power Federal Minister Liaquat Jatoi, and Fakhar-e-Azam, the brother of the NWFP law minister, tendered unconditional apologies to the Supreme Court for violating the ban.
At the last hearing, the apex court had issued a bailable arrest warrant for Hadi Bakhsh Jatoi. The court had directed the lower court concerned to expedite legal proceedings against Jatoi. The contempt proceedings against him will remain pending in the Supreme Court. The apex court also issued contempt notices against 129 people in NWFP. Their cases would be taken up on April 17. Contempt notices were also issued against caretakers of marriage halls, clubs and other public places.
Meanwhile the court discharged a notice against Amjad Chaudhry after he apologised for serving refreshments in his house. Sindh Advocate General Mansoor Anwar informed the court that Section 7 of the Marriage Function was difficult to implement.
Posted by: john ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Can they still let loose with the AK's and RPG's? I mean, what's a wedding without 'em...
A dead cat in Germany has found to be infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus. Tests are still ongoing to see whether the virus was the deadly variant which has led to sickness and fatalities among humans in Turkey and Asia. It said the cat was found at the weekend on an island off Germany's northern coast.
Meanwhile, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser has predicted bird flu will definitely arrive in the UK and, when it does, it will remain for at least five years, Professor Sir David King said that avian flu poses no risks to consumers and added that he expects the disease to reach British shores in months, rather than days or weeks, due to migratory patterns.
And in a turnaround, he conceded vaccines may have to be used if the outbreak is widespread.
Meanwhile, Sweden said it has detected its first cases of an "aggressive form of bird flu" - though it was not yet confirmed as the deadly H5N1 strain - in two wild ducks.
Sir David said: "I would anticipate that avian flu will arrive at some point in the UK.
"We also have to anticipate that it will be here for five years plus. We are talking about the possibility of this disease being endemic here in the UK as it did in China. It is a long-term factor."
"The Chinese have adopted the position of mass vaccination, and if it became so widespread here we might have to go down that route even with the vaccination not being very good," he said.
Yesterday, he said the existing H5N1 inoculation would mask signs of the virus in birds but not prevent its spread.
Rare breeds of birds kept in zoos would be the only cases where vaccines would be feasible. The inoculation of organic or free range birds would not be recommended.
Sir David said the UK was currently monitoring the development in China of a new vaccine against the H5N1 strain of avian flu.
Commercial poultry owners who keep 50 birds or more have until today to register their flocks on Defra's new national poultry register.
Keepers with fewer than 50 birds are not required to register at present but may do so voluntarily after today if they wish. The US has an estimated 60 million domesticated and 60 million feral cats. This makes them an extraordinarily dangerous animal vector, far worse than birds.
#1
Okay, you're on an island off the coast and looking for signs of bird flu. You find a dead feral cat. Do you test it for the H5N1 bird flu virus? There's something strange about this report.
Excerpt:
"Several studies have shown that a small number of mammalian species, including pigs, seals, whales, mink, and ferrets, are susceptible to natural infection with influenza viruses that are purely avian in their genetic make-up. Of these species, only the pig has significance for human health. Pigs can be co-infected with both avian and human influenza viruses and can thus serve as the mixing vessel for the mingling of genetic material, possibly resulting in the emergence of a new influenza virus subtype."
I conclude that this cats news is NOT "Really Bad Bird Flu News" as headlined.
#6
Darrell: Domestic and feral cats are seen as a primary predator for small wild birds, and as such are high on the watch list. (Ironically, #1 on the list is ferrets, because their immune system is very close to humans. Finding a bunch of diseased and dead ferrets is "blue panic" time.)
Cats, however, are not that close to people as far as immune system goes, which is almost as bad. That means that the spectrum of animals affected by the avian flu could be very large.
Two other biggies are dogs, again because of their numbers and proximity to people; and horses, because of their closeness to humans with their immune system.
Finally you have pigs, ducks and geese, which are the worst of both worlds: close to humans in proximity, and in immune system, *and* numerous.
I can see why the medicos are lighting fires under politicians around the world. Can't say that we weren't warned.
#7
And yes, it is bad. The primary fear from animals is not that they would contribute to mutations. It is that they are "vectors" of the disease, catching it from and giving it to humans.
This being said, the US has 120 million feral and domestic cats eating infected dead birds, giving the disease to each other, and sharing it with their human owners. Even if dogs can't catch the disease, this provides an "end-around" for any quarantine that we might set up for people, *and* creates a lasting repository for the illness outside of human controls.
#8
A 'bird flu' pandemic requires the virus achieves sustained transmission in humans precisely once. That is the pandemic will result from a single animal/bird to human transmission. That transmission will almost certainly result from domestic chickens somewhere chickens and humans are in frequent close proximity.
The spread of 'bird flu' into the West and into domestic pets is irrelevant to the genesis of the pandemic.
#10
moose - it's always a DISASTER LOOMING! for you. I agree we need to watch it, but keep perspective dude
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/28/2006 18:57 Comments ||
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#11
"That transmission will almost certainly result from domestic chickens somewhere chickens and humans are in frequent close proximity."
phil_b, you clearly either didn't read or didn't understand the article I linked. The mutation required is extremely unlikely to occur in chickens.
#13
"So Foxy Loxy led Chicken Little, Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey across a field and through the woods. He led them straight to his den, and they never saw the king to tell him that the sky is falling."
#14
My point is not the disease genesis. It is its spread. Once it happens there are three big factors: what animals carry the disease; what are the inter-species transmissions; and the virulences.
Say for example, only bird-to-cat happens. This means that a lot of birds die, and some cats die from eating birds. But if cat-to-cat happens in addition to bird-to-cat, then a LOT more cats die. But this alone doesn't effect people much at all.
However, we know that bird-to-human happens, which means that birds and some people die. If human-to-human happens in addition to bird-to-human it is a LOT worse for humans.
Now consider other animal vectors. If you also have cat-to-human, dog-to-human, etc., along with bird-to-human and human-to-human, the number of human fatalities jump.
The disease may not be equally dangerous in different species. It could be deadly in humans but cats, dogs or some kinds of birds might be able to carry the disease for months without dying or even getting seriously ill.
Normally, a flu progresses in two waves (why exactly is unknown), because it is usually limited to human-to-human only. But when you introduce an animal vector, the progression gets a lot less predictable. A two-year long epidemic? More?
Typically, the two main animal vectors are ducks and pigs, which is why most new flus happen in the Orient. They initially jump from ducks and pigs to people, but from there, they spread h2h only because there are far fewer animals to act as vectors in the rest of the world.
But cats and dogs are everywhere, not just on the farm. The immune system of cats is not like humans at all, and for them to catch the same flu that people can catch means that it is very capable, as diseases go, not just among birds, but among mammals as well.
Vector spread is most likely fowl to human. That the cat might be infected will be well behind you. The jump will be from fowl and then the human to human infection will carry from there.
No cats really needed. Please don't start slaughtering them now.
#17
I knew there'd be something interesting from dot com.
Remember, the more deadly the faster it dies out. Don't ask me to explain it; think Ebola versus the common cold. Bird flu spreads quickly among avians because it does NOT kill them!
I read it in Scientific American.
I think.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/28/2006 21:50 Comments ||
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#20
The problem with "new" diseases is that they start extra deadly, then have a typical curve to less deadly forms. However, that curve can be vicious. It can be drastic or very gradual.
For example, in the first introduced rabbit epidemic in Australia, well over 90% of the rabbits in the country died in the first season. An additional 4% or so in the second season. It was only after that, that the curve "kicked in", the rabbits becoming universally immune to the disease.
AIDS also has a curve, but while its curve is taking decades for the disease to decline in virulence, it is still rapid for its class, and also variable by geography and other factors.
Now, influenza is far from being as deadly as the rabbit plague, and people have all sorts of ways to limit its spread and human casualties. But it is terribly flexible in finding ways around natural and artificial limitations.
I am personally very aware of this, having had an interest in the subject of epidemics in general and killer flus in particular since the 1980s. I have interviewed survivors of the Spanish flu epidemic, and was really taken aback by the murderous nature of the thing.
When I mention this, the first response is usually that we know so much more today. However, while that is true as to the mechanisms of the flu, our biggest advance is in public health awareness. That is, personal hygiene and sanitation are our biggest advances.
The medical community was very aware of what we would call sanitary procedures back then, disinfectants and the like, but it still seemed that the disease was everywhere, and just wouldn't go away. The people of the time were far more familiar with epidemics of all sorts than we are today, and so actually were better prepared in that way.
Many of the better homes had isolation rooms for sick family members, and every doctor had available quarantine signs, and would post them quickly when there was an outbreak. People knew that if you couldn't resist pawing over your bereaved dead family member, you would probably be next.
So what am I talking about in practical terms?
In the US on average, a "normal" flu will kill from 30-50,000 people each year. That is typical. So what will a killer flu do? anywhere from 250k to perhaps half a million. That is pretty horrific, but represents only 1/600th of the US population.
If everything is worst case scenario for the killer flu, we could lose as many as 2-5 million people. Maximum 1/60th of the population, at a very liberal estimate.
US-based computer software giant Microsoft has touted a new line-up of computer operating systems to become available later this year. According to the company, Microsoft's Windows Vista operating systems will come in six versions, two for businesses, three for residential users and one for emerging markets.
One more expensive than the other...
Vice president of Windows product management and marketing, Mike Sievert, says that a new systems is needed to accommodate the information-crammed digital world. "The PC needs to give people the clarity and confidence to handle this 'world of more' so they can focus on what's most important to them," Mr Sievert said. Microsoft contended the Vista line-up would enable users to easily accomplish tasks, find what they want, enjoy entertainment, stay connected at home or on the go and help ensure PCs run smoothly and securely. The number of versions is the same as Microsoft offered with its Windows XP operating systems. Vista operating software was scheduled to be available in the second half of 2006.
I'm in the middle of rediscovering the joy of *nix after a 15 or 20 year hiatus. I had to bump the server a minimum of once a week under Windows, and we've been ticking along for two weeks under the latest start. Windows retains a slight edge on the desktop. I can't see Excel ever being replaced. But I'll never run a Win web server again. It's not even all Microsoft's fault; the script kiddies just like them too much.
You will convert to a Mac someday ...
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Which is the almost useless version which OEMs will install on their products so the users has to go out and buy a usefull version? It is still called 'Home'?
Oh, and checkout OpenOffice 2.x. Its free, runs on multiple OSes (Linux / Solaris / Windows / Mac / etc...) and (mostly) Excel compatable...
#3
I use Open Office every day. Highly recommended. MS compatibility is pretty good.
Replacement of Excel is an issue, becuase of the abominations people use it for. I have seen some truly unbelievable stuff in Excel that could have been done better and with 1/20th of the effort using a more appropriate tool
#6
Get readyto your replace your hardware too. It's MS way. Heheheh. For 99% of you desktop users Microsoft is good enough. My wife is using OS X at work and Linux at home. No more Microsoft personal PC's allowed in the house unless they dual boot and you fix them your own self. I decided in 2000 I was not going to spend my life working on machines for fools who think running a computer is like running a toaster Microsoft can keep catering to them.
All that said I go with what works for me. If MS does it cheaper and easier I'll use it. Usually that ain't the case for the things I want to do though.
Posted by: SPoD ||
02/28/2006 1:34 Comments ||
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#7
Microsoft talks up new operating systems
LongHorn 10% Havarti + 90% Velveeta = best PC softfuel ever!
#9
I have seen some truly unbelievable stuff in Excel that could have been done better and with 1/20th of the effort using a more appropriate tool
If anybody knew how to use the appropriate tool. But it would take 5x the effort to learn the approrpiate tool and create the solution. So, creating clunky solutions with Excel do make sense, though barely.
I have also seen better spreadsheets than Excel. But the training invested in the installed base is so great that a suboptimal technology will dominate for a long time to come. Sort of like the non-Dvorak keyboard you're using. Or the obtuse spelling of English. or...
#10
If it's badder, not better.
Don't bother to blather.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/28/2006 8:30 Comments ||
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#11
Vista has huge hardware requirements and is not for upgraders. It is designed for multi core CPUs and 256MB 3D graphics cards. Here is list of Vista hardware requrements. The computer manufacturers are drooling over this.
Posted by: ed ||
02/28/2006 8:51 Comments ||
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#12
And doesn't the new OS intend to become the policeman for the entertainment industry? First an alliance of MS and the Chinese Communists and now an alliance with multi-billion dollars RICO babies*.
*Talk about corruption, see what the 'Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act' did to your public domain, or make that former public domain. Brought to you by the most politicians that entertainment money could buy.
#13
Yes it is. Look at post 11's link and read item Display:Prepare to feel the red mist of rage - no current TFT monitor out there is going to support high definition playback in Vista. You may already have heard rumblings about this, but here it is. To play HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content you need a HDCP compatible monitor. Why? Because these formats use HDCP to encrypt a video signal as it travels along a digital connection to an output device, to prevent people copying it. If you have just standard DVI or even an analogue output, you're going to see HD scaled down to a far-less-than-HD resolution for viewing - which sucks. This isn't really Microsoft's fault - HDCP is something that content makers, in their eternal wisdom, have decided is necessary to stop us all watching pirated movies. Yay.
But I see no reason why some smart programmers can't write an HD DVD ripper, decryptor and player software to bypass this.
Posted by: ed ||
02/28/2006 9:28 Comments ||
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#14
Microsoft's Windows Vista operating systems will come in six versions, two for businesses, three for residential users and one for emerging markets.
And Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone.
#15
As a database guy, Excel users occasionally drive me bats. At least once a year one of my clients reinvents the relational database, proving Codd wasn't all that smart.
I haven't messed with the spreadsheets in Open Office much, but when I did, I didn't find anything approaching Excel's macro capability.
Open Office seems to have everything else covered, to include compatibility (though I couldn't get a Powerpoint presentation to play in it) except for a baby-simple desktop database like Access. An early version I used a few years ago had Adabas, which wasn't quite the ticket.
I consider Access to be one of the most under-rated tools ever, capable of much more than most organizations use it for, and much to be preferred over abortions like Powerbuilder. When I need a desktop application, that's usually what I use. Its advantage is that an inexperienced user can generate something using the wizards and the built-in stuff, while an expert can create a professional-level application that doesn't even resemble the wizard-generated stuff. If I ever have to build a desktop database application on Linux, I'll probably end up putting a web interface on it and running it from localhost.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2006 11:53 Comments ||
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#16
Fred, do you have an opinion yet about gnumeric?
Posted by: Phil ||
02/28/2006 12:19 Comments ||
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#17
Win2K was one of the finest Microsoft platforms ever produced. Redmond's abandonment of support for it is a slap in the face for all MS consumers. These constant moves designed to force user migration are milking the public like the last cow on the farm.
Somewhere, there is a special corner in hell awaiting Bill Gates where he will be obliged to perform fluid dynamic calculations* on an abacus.
* Fluid dynamic calculations model reactions such as a drop of dye dispersing in water. Some are so complex that a human being with a pencil and pad of paper could not complete a single one during an entire lifetime.
#24
I'm going to be buying a new computer in the next couple of weeks, probably an HP. One of the first things I'm going to be doing is partitioning the hard drive into two segments, and creating a dual-boot capability with Windows XP Professional and Windows 98. I have a ton of software from my testing days that won't run on XP, but that I enjoy (a few games, lots of weird stuff that used to drive SCSI devices NUTS). I'm getting rather tired of Bill "I'm Great" Gates and his arrogance. At the same time, Linux still has bugs in it that affect much of the software I run. One of these days some nerdy kid in high school will write an operating system that will put Gates in the poor house. When that kid does that, I personally will laud his/her talents to the heavens!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/28/2006 22:11 Comments ||
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Four senior police officers have been detained and 16 leading opposition figures charged with rebellion, in a crackdown against those allegedly plotting to topple the Philippines President. Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco, who was sacked on Friday from his post as commander of the police Special Action Force, and three of his men "were placed under restrictive custody", amid reports they were recruiting people to destabilise Gloria Arroyo's government, national police chief Arturo Lomibao says. Chief Superintendent Franco was sacked when Mrs Arroyo declared a state of emergency to counter an alleged coup plot.
At the same time, police filed charges of rebellion and coup d'etat against four leftist legislators and 12 other opposition figures who have called on Mrs Arroyo to step down. The head of police criminal investigations, Chief Superintendent Jesus Versoza, said his office submitted the names of the 16 to the Justice Department. Among those charged were leftist members of the House of Representatives Crispin Beltran, who was arrested Friday, Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza and Teodoro Casino, Chief Superintendent Versoza said. Also in the charge sheet was former senator Gregorio Honasan, who as an army colonel in the 1980s led several bloody coup attempts against the government. He remains at large.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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The Philippines Government says the military has assured the country's President Gloria Arroyo that she has its full support. Ms Arroyo declared a state of emergency on Friday after discovering a plot to overthrow her. Officials extended the emergency after a protest at the Marines' headquarters on Sunday, saying the threat of a coup remained.
But Cabinet secretary Ricardo Saludo says there is no immediate danger of any military action being taken against the Government. "The Armed Forces Chief of Staff gave a briefing to selected members of the Cabinet and he assured us that first of all, all units of the Armed forces are in place and accounted for," he said. "Secondly, [he assured us] that the commanders of all these units are following the chain of command and giving allegiance to the Constitution and the duly constituted government."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
She probably had too many shoes. Excessive shoes in the PI can quickly lead to an overthrow.
#2
God I wish she'd wake up to the threat to the PI, quit softpedalling the muslim and communist insurgencies, take the gloves off and kick ass - only one kind of MILF's should be saved, and they aren't armed
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/28/2006 19:20 Comments ||
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Thailand's three opposition parties say they will boycott snap elections on April 2. The move deepens a political crisis and raising the pressure on embattled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr Thaksin is the focus of an increasingly strident campaign by groups accusing him of abuses of power and tailoring government policies to benefit his family's business. He has shrugged off the boycott. "It is each party's decision. We've done our best. I've done my best. However, I don't foresee any problem," he said.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, the leader of the Democrats says the three parties refuse to run in the vote because it did not guarantee political reform, reflecting their charges Mr Thaksin had undermined institutions. "The Chart Thai, Democrat and Mahachon parties agreed unanimously that we will not field candidates in this election," he said after a meeting of the three parties.
Ms Thaksin says he is taking the constitutional path to resolve the crisis by calling an election. His party accused the opposition of betraying democracy by calling for a boycott. His Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party was expected to win the election comfortably without a boycott, albeit with a smaller majority than the 377 of the 500 parliamentary seats it had a year ago. But some analysts say the boycott, which is likely to bolster the anti-Thaksin campaign and its attendant risks of street violence, does raise thoughts of a coup in a country with a long and relatively recent history of military interventions. "Every time when there was a coup in the past, military juntas felt the country was in crisis and there was no democratic way out," Somkit Lertpaithoon, a public law professor at Bangkok's Thammasat University, said. "Such a move has increased the possibility of a coup."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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Retired Brig. Gen. Robert L. Scott, the World War II flying ace who told of his exploits in the China-Burma-India theater in his book "God is My Co-Pilot," died Monday. He was 97.
His death was announced by Paul Hibbitts, director of the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, where Scott worked in recent years.
The Georgia-born Scott rose to nationwide prominence during World War II as a fighter ace in the skies over Asia, then with his best-selling 1943 book, made into a 1945 movie starring Dennis Morgan as Scott.
Among his other books were "The Day I Owned the Sky" and "Flying Tiger: Chennault of China."
Scott, who retired from the Air Force as a brigadier general, won three Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Silver Stars and five Air Medals before he was called home to travel the country giving speeches for the war effort.
He shot down 22 enemy planes with his P-40 Warhawk, though he recalled some were listed as "probable" kills.
"You had to have two witnesses in the formation, or you needed a gun camera to take a picture," he once said. "Only we didn't have gun cameras in China. I actually had 22 aerial victims, but I only had proof of 13."
He worked with the Flying Tigers, Gen. Claire Chennault's famed volunteer force of pilots who fought in China, but he was not one of its original members in mid-1941. With the Flying Tigers, he earned five of his aerial kills in May 1942 when he flew more than 200 hours in combat.
Making of a legend
Scott's story is the stuff of aviation legend: He flew a homemade glider off the roof of a three-story house at age 12 and crash landed on a spiky rose bush.
At 33, Scott was considered too old for combat and was still at a training job in California when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States entered the war in December of that year.
But then came a phone call.
"One night about 3 a.m., the phone rang. A man asked `did you ever fly a B-17,' Scott said in a 1996 interview. "So I said yes, I have flown a B-17. But I never had. I got my airplane and went to work."
After he got the call to serve in combat, he was assigned to a mission to bomb Tokyo from China. When that plan was scrubbed, he flew gasoline and ammunition over Japanese-held territory to the Flying Tigers. When the Tigers were formally incorporated into the Army as the 23rd Fighter Group of the China Air Task Force, Scott was asked to be its commander.
In the years just after the war, Scott was one of the proponents of making the Air Force into a separate service.
"They just plain couldn't see why we wanted a special service," Scott said in 1997, at the time the Air Force was marking its 50th anniversary as an independent service. "They all wanted their own Air Force. We were fighting against public opinion."
New life at museum
From the mid-1980s onward, Scott was an active staffer at the Robins air base's aviation museum.
Scott, who had more than 33,000 flying hours during his 60 years of flying, credited the museum with giving him a new lease on life, Hibbitts said.
Despite his age, he remained active until a few years ago, carrying the Olympic torch in 1996, piloting an F-15 fighter jet on his 88th birthday and flying a B-1 bomber on his 89th birthday, Hibbitts said.
"He's been our resident hero, cheerleader and biggest fan," said Pat Bartness, museum foundation president and chief operating officer. "He's been the biggest drawing card we've had."
#1
Despite his age, he remained active until a few years ago, carrying the Olympic torch in 1996, piloting an F-15 fighter jet on his 88th birthday and flying a B-1 bomber on his 89th birthday, Hibbitts said.
#4
I wonder how old was he when he gave up or lost his medical certification to fly. Regardless, he was made of the right stuff, and we owe him a debt of thanks for his service to our country and for being such a great inspiration to so many of us.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/28/2006 17:30 Comments ||
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Posted by: Steve White ||
02/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Slightly OT : quite a while back, in a rebuke of Michael Moore "Bowling for Columbine", I read that the NRA actually helped arm black people back in that era (Charlton Heston was a civil rights actvist too, IIRC), contrary to the MM's allegations of it being a quasi-fascist racist org (and his overall thesis of "Amerikkka loves guns because whitey is insecure and afraid of colored people", which is an almost funny way of taking on gun violence in a country where the vast majority of gun-related deaths occur in drug riddled areas between minorities members).
#2
Good article. I lived about 3 miles from the Selma to Montgomery Highway when the March took place. I will never forget the TV footage of angry, hate-filled white men screaming at the marchers who did their utmost to remain calm and try to ignore the slurs and curses. My Dad was a Baptist Preacher at the time and I recognized a couple of people from the church. I think that's when my separation from organized religion started. A5089, I have been a member of the NTA for almost 20 years. we look at this disarming of ANY American Citizen as a violation of 2nd Ammendment rights. "The right of the populace to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." The NRA is open to any and all, but just like any large organization we do have our share of wingnuts. Thankfully they are a very small minority.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/28/2006 8:05 Comments ||
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#3
Condi Rice mentions a tense period during her childhood in Alabama, when her father and other black men patrolled their streets carrying shotguns. It's one reason she favors gun rights.
#4
I'll have the stuffed potato with sweet tea. I won't be able to eat it all, but I can roll the leftovers up in that B'ham Times and give it to my Rotties. They love BBQ and neither of them read. A perfect use for that leftest rag paper.
#5
I believe the name of the newspaper is The Birmingham News. Never heard of the Times. Lived there for 10 years, too. I don't understand your comment, JimandNicks.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/28/2006 8:56 Comments ||
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#6
I don't understand his/her comment either, DB, but Jim & Nick's is one of the best places to pick up some good BBQ.
Posted by: BA ||
02/28/2006 14:18 Comments ||
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#7
Slightly OT : quite a while back, in a rebuke of Michael Moore "Bowling for Columbine", I read that the NRA actually helped arm black people back in that era (Charlton Heston was a civil rights actvist too, IIRC), contrary to the MM's allegations of it being a quasi-fascist racist org (and his overall thesis of "Amerikkka loves guns because whitey is insecure and afraid of colored people", which is an almost funny way of taking on gun violence in a country where the vast majority of gun-related deaths occur in drug riddled areas between minorities members).
Anyone can confirm/expand on that?
If true, that's just one more FACT that the LLL will refuse to acknowledge, even though it should be easily verifiable. That said, even if not true, I, for one, say we put it into effect in Sudan right away!
Posted by: BA ||
02/28/2006 14:19 Comments ||
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#8
Keeping guns from blacks was one of the first motivations for the gun control movement. Check out the Jim Crow laws.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
KAMPALA - More than 400 Ugandan inmates broke out of a regional prison at the weekend as guards celebrated President Yoweri Musevenis election victory in raucous fashion, officials said on Monday.
NAIROBI - Somali gunmen hijacked an Indian-owned dhow off Somalias coastlines with 25 crewmembers aboard, a maritime official said on Monday. The dhow was attacked by two small boats while on route from the southern port of Kismayo to El-Maan, 35 km (22 miles) from the lawless capital Mogadishu on Sunday, Andrew Mwangura, programme coordinator for the Seafarers Assistance Programme, said.
Frequent hartal [combination strike and riot] and terrorist activities are hindering Japanese investment in Bangladesh, said business leaders of the world's second largest economy yesterday. 
Supreme Court Chief Justice Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday said that contempt of court proceedings against violators of the ban on meals at weddings would continue. The chief justice said this at the initiation of contempt proceedings against people accused of violating the ban. Sindhs Health Director General Hadi Bakhsh Jatoi, a close relative of Water and Power Federal Minister Liaquat Jatoi, and Fakhar-e-Azam, the brother of the NWFP law minister, tendered unconditional apologies to the Supreme Court for violating the ban.
US-based computer software giant Microsoft has touted a new line-up of computer operating systems to become available later this year. According to the company, Microsoft's Windows Vista operating systems will come in six versions, two for businesses, three for residential users and one for emerging markets. 
Four senior police officers have been detained and 16 leading opposition figures charged with rebellion, in a crackdown against those allegedly plotting to topple the Philippines President. Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco, who was sacked on Friday from his post as commander of the police Special Action Force, and three of his men "were placed under restrictive custody", amid reports they were recruiting people to destabilise Gloria Arroyo's government, national police chief Arturo Lomibao says. Chief Superintendent Franco was sacked when Mrs Arroyo declared a state of emergency to counter an alleged coup plot. 
The Philippines Government says the military has assured the country's President Gloria Arroyo that she has its full support. Ms Arroyo declared a state of emergency on Friday after discovering a plot to overthrow her. Officials extended the emergency after a protest at the Marines' headquarters on Sunday, saying the threat of a coup remained.
Thailand's three opposition parties say they will boycott snap elections on April 2. The move deepens a political crisis and raising the pressure on embattled Prime Minister 
