Ancient written texts from the Middle East may reveal that the use of biological weapons dates back more than 3300 years, according to a new review. The historical documents hint that the Hittites
Zool was very big among the Hittites...
whose empire stretched from modern-day Turkey to northern Syria sent diseased rams to their enemies to weaken them with tularemia, a devastating bacterial infection that remains a potential bioterror threat even today, says the review.
Experts caution that more evidence is needed to firmly establish that the Hittites intended to spread disease using the animals. But they add that if this proves true, it might represent the earliest known use of biological warfare.
What would we do without 'experts'?
Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, can pass from animals such as rabbits and sheep to humans through various routes, most commonly through insects such as ticks that hop between species. The bacterium responsible for tularemia, Francisella tularensis, causes symptoms ranging from skin ulcers to respiratory failure.
#2
Oh, the Hittites are still there, newc. They call themselves Turks, now, but I've got a tablecloth printed in the ancient style. An inexpensive thing, but striking in its own way. It's only the Hittite empire (both of them) that's gone, its people conquered and reconquered over the millenia. The fascinating thing about that part of the world is that the ancient peoples are still mostly exactly where they used to be; it's only that their kingdoms and empires -- and ambitions -- turned to dust ages ago.
#3
People of the ancient world should not be seen as naive. This applies both to engineering and to warfare.
One example comes to mind of a famous battle in which dead cats were tossed over the walls of a city where cats were sacred. It broke their defenses enough for the invaders to defeat them.
#5
The Hittite Old Kingdom (along with some contemporary minor kingdoms) represents the first appearance of Indo-European speakers in the area. The Hittite language is pretty far down on the Indo-European tree, retaining a lot of forms that were archaic when the pre-Homeric Greeks showed up.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2007 20:23 Comments ||
Top||
My guess is that she did know her boyfriend that she claims she only knew over the phone. I'll bet the photo was not one taken by herself at arm's length.
I wouldn't be overly surprised if this boyfriend was in on the whole thing and that he didn't really get raped.
By the way, whatever happened to the "half-nekkid in their car in a parking garage" story? Probably went the way of the boyfriend getting raped. As alluded to yesterday, I didn't see that guy complaining about anything, and I don't see any sentences handed down to the seven guys who raped her getting any punishments for raping the guy.
How do they come up with this crap? How do they get away with it? Who do they think is going to believe it? Whatever the case, they must usually get away with it on a local level because I see this kind of crap all the time. One of these days there is going to be he11 to pay.
I'd probably be as naive as this gal's story is full of half-truths if I believed that the authorities will actually be investigated and punished.
Pics at link. This reminds me of that very famous case.
Manish Rajpurohit has been hailed the luckiest teenager in India after he survived being skewered by a metal pole in a bus crash.
The 18-year-old student was riding a bus in Andhra Pradesh state when it was hit by a lorry. The force of the smash rammed the four foot safety rail into Rajpurohit's forehead and through his skull - only missing his spine by a few millimetres. Rajpurohit said: "It struck my head and embedded me into the seat. I was stuck there crying 'Help me' as loud as I could."
Brave Rajpurohit had to slide his head up the pole before he could be cut free from the wreckage, but still could not remove the object.
After an hour's painful journey on a rickshaw to the nearest hospital, Rajpurohit was told by doctors there was nothing they could do. Finally, after a further three hour ambulance ride to Bangalore, Rajpurohit underwent an emergency operation to remove the pole from his head.
Bangalore surgeon Dr Sharan Patil said: "The first thing he said to me was 'Get this bloody thing out of my head'. It's remarkable. It missed every vital part of his brain."
#2
Very interesting! Of course, he's from Flint, so I guess his inspiration for moving heavy loads was seeing mike moore get fatter and fatter as he grew.
I thought we weren't telling the humans about this?
Do what you wish with your new Stonehenge (as long as it's ready for 2012), but, this time, KEEP THE BLOODY HIPPIES OUT!
#1
Developing nations such as Indonesia risk exploitation unless they maintain control over their virus strains, Mrs Supari said.
Fine. You "continue" putting together your own cure for this oh-so-common ailment. And then you can reap the rewards you'll get for curing the 10 people on the planet who have the condition.
Pathetic. You and your kind may think that way, but I doubt the doctors were. Why don't you just set aside your practiced indignation and set up some rules for future situations like this.
BTW: I don't think these viruses or conditions know or respect national boundaries like you claim to.
#2
Third-worldist, holier-than-you, b*tch. Stick it to the Man, baby! Tell greedy whitey how it is!
I can't help to notice that the only good samaritan who volunteered to help that poor (in all sense of term, not only is he afflicted by that horrible skin-disease, but he's destitute as well) man was a FOREIGN, WESTERN, doctor, not one of those great, corporation-wary indonesian docs, and certainly not ms supari...
A Kuwaiti colonel, working at the Ministry of Defense, allegedly committed suicide Monday by shooting himself with his own gun in Sabahiya.
Securitymen rushed to the scene immediately after the Operations Room at the Ministry of Interior received information about the incident. There were conflicting reports at the start as some sources claim the victim committed suicide while others said he accidentally shot himself while he was cleaning his gun. However, preliminary investigations revealed the cause of death was suicide.
The victim's body was referred to forensics and investigations are on to determine the actual cause of death. Also
Expat woman rescued: An Arab expatriate woman who was about to throw herself from the fifth floor in Al-Mahboula area was saved in the nick of the time by firefighters. Reportedly, firefighters rushed to the scene, convinced her to change her mind and safely brought her down. However, a case of attempted suicide was registered against her. "Penalty is death".
Pyongyang, November 26 (KCNA) -- Kimchi pickling is at its height in the DPRK nowadays.
All the families are generally making the traditional whole cabbage Kimchi.
Depending on local characteristics, there are various kinds of Kimchi such as radish pickled in salt water in Pyongyang, Kimchi wrapped in large cabbage leaves in Kaesong and leaf-mustard Kimchi in the northern mountain areas.
In relatively cold regions, they sufficiently preserve the taste of vegetables by making Kimchi slightly salted, but in warm regions, they make it salty and hot lest it should be spoiled and decomposed.
How much pickled fish is added to seasonings is varied in regions.
Pickled croaker is mainly put into seasonings in the west coastal area and myongtae of cod fish family in the east coastal area. The pickled fish used in North and South Phyongan and North and South Hwanghae provinces is widely varied.
Korean Kimchi is a peculiar national food in nutritive composition and processing method which can not be found in any other countries. It is an important side dish inseparable from the dietary life of the Koreans.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
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#1
One of the "good" things about the DPRK is that due to total lack of outside influence, they've kept a "purer" Korean culture. Nobody in South Korea ferments their own kimchi anymore...
#3
Nobody in South Korea ferments their own kimchi anymore...
Huh? Never lived with a Korean have you? They have a holiday celebrating the stuff in which the women folk get together and make the stuff - sort of like our Thanksgiving family meal ritual with everyone chipping in a dish or two. Ask some of the troops who brought mamma home and discovered around October that the honeydo list includes digging a hole in the backyard. heh. heh.
#6
Kimchi so strong it can strip the paint off a battleship. Mmmmm...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/27/2007 13:16 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I love kimchi, either the bottled stuff you can get in the stores here in the states, or the home-made stuff I occasionally get as a gift from some Korean friends (that's really the best though the flavors can vary from dull to, uh, interesting...).
The spicier it is, the more heat, the more "fizz" from the fermentation, the better it is.
#8
Here on Guam, TMK my former sister-in-law [Korean] and her circle always made and fermented their own, although I don't think 1000% in the ancient Korean tradition or materials. ALL HOME-MADE ANDOR HAND-MADE - DELICIOUSLY SPICY PARIS HILTON-SAYS-ITS-SUPER DUPER-HOT-GOOD FOR THE GOUT AND YOUR FAV ULCER.
#6
If this is what we can expect with regard to Australia reorienting their military priorities then all hope is lost. Whale populations are sufficiently resurgent whereby we could allow the Japanese to harvest them unfetterd for a DECADE without worrying anywhere near as much as we should about using warships to, instead, pound the crap out of the MME (Muslim Middle East).
In a symbol of fragile hopes for this week's Middle East peace conference at Annapolis, one Palestinian shopkeeper is selling souvenir mugs for the event -- complete with instructions to smash them if talks break down. Under a dove and olive branch motif, the mugs carry the message in English: "Please keep this souvenir, but in case of the conference's failure; you are only asked to break the mug".
Tareq Abu Dayya, who runs a gift shop in the Gaza Strip, said he meant the mugs to symbolise hope the conference could lead to a Palestinian state but also his low expectations for success: "If the conference doesn't succeed, then the poor citizen can do nothing but break this mug. End of story," said Abu Dayya, who reported brisk sales of mugs at a hefty $2.50 apiece.
Abu Dayya said customers should, however, turn to the White House if they were not satisfied, with the talks -- or the mug. He said: "They can blame Bush and ask him for a refund."
Pilgrims have been warned against unauthorized individuals who are reportedly selling unofficial coupons for animal sacrifice to be performed by pilgrim before putting off 'Ihram' on Hajj. There had been reports of fake coupons being sold as well as money being collected by certain elements for sacrificing animals on behalf of pilgrims without actually doing so, during the previous years, official sources told APP here on Sunday. As a result, pilgrims faced problems because livestock was not sacrificed for them.
The only authorized provider of sacrifice coupons in Saudi Arabia is the Saudi Project for Utilization of Hajj Meat, which is managed by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Valid coupons are sold through Al-Rajhi Bank, the Al-Amoudi Exchange Co. and the Saudi Project for Utilization of Hajj Meat. On purchasing coupon for sacrifice from Al-Rajhi Bank, pilgrims are informed about the date and time when slaughtering would be done on their behalf so that they could put off 'Ihram'.
The Saudi Kingdom established the Saudi Project for Utilization of Haj Meat in 1403 AH to make maximum utilization of the sacrificial meat besides facilitating pilgrims. The meat is distributed among the poor there and exported to poor Muslims across the world. A shipment of meat would also be sent to Darfur this year.
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May cause random outbursts of extreme violence, epileptic seizures, or whatever. Actual jihad may differ from explanation in sermon.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's Supreme Court has ordered a new investigation into the 2003 death of an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist who died while in custody, the judiciary spokesman said Tuesday."Judges at the Supreme Court have objected to the court investigating the case, saying it was not competent to investigate the case," judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi told reporters.
Zahra Kazemi, 54, died on July 11, 2003, after being arrested days earlier while taking photographs outside Evin prison in northern Tehran. She was never formally charged with any crime. A presidential inquiry revealed that Kazemi died from a fractured skull caused by a "physical attack," but Iran's hard-line judiciary said in 2004 that she died in custody from a fall after her blood pressure dropped during a hunger strike.
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.
A Kuwaiti colonel, working at the Ministry of Defense, allegedly committed suicide Monday by shooting himself with his own gun in Sabahiya.
In a symbol of fragile hopes for this week's Middle East peace conference at Annapolis, one Palestinian shopkeeper is selling souvenir mugs for the event -- complete with instructions to smash them if talks break down. Under a dove and olive branch motif, the mugs carry the message in English: "Please keep this souvenir, but in case of the conference's failure; you are only asked to break the mug".
Pilgrims have been warned against unauthorized individuals who are reportedly selling unofficial coupons for animal sacrifice to be performed by pilgrim before putting off 'Ihram' on Hajj. There had been reports of fake coupons being sold as well as money being collected by certain elements for sacrificing animals on behalf of pilgrims without actually doing so, during the previous years, official sources told APP here on Sunday. As a result, pilgrims faced problems because livestock was not sacrificed for them. 
