Police fired into a crowd protesting President Laurent Gbagbo's regime Tuesday and killed one person, witnesses said, as political opponents mounted rallies in several towns in the southern part of the divided West African country. Protesters said police fired shots to disperse a gathering of hundreds in Abidjan, hitting one man in the leg. Police officials denied shooting at demonstrators. "Wudn't us."
"We hid in a little courtyard, tied up the wound and then took him to hospital in a taxi," fellow protester Adama Kone said. "He lost too much blood and passed away."
Blood could be seen on the ground of the residence indicated by Kone and other witnesses who confirmed the account. Hospital officials did not return calls seeking confirmation. Police Commissioner Aubin Djanhoue denied any shots were fired. "How can we shoot at our fellow countrymen?" Djanhoue said. "We dispersed the crowds by usual means, using tear gas. We don't shoot at protesters, only at thieves and the like."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2006 00:00 ||
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A cholera epidemic has hit Kampala's suburbs with cases counting 147 now in the five divisions of Ugandan capital, Kampala. At least ten people have already been confirmed dead mainly in Kawempe, Makindye and Ugandan capital, Kampala Central divisions due to the deadly waterborne disease.
Kawempe division health inspector, David Katwere said cholera was spreading in Bwaise, Kalerwe, Nsooba and other slums due to the tendency to empty latrines in flooding water during the rainy season. "The problem is mainly caused by people who let human waste into water channels. These end up into wells and people's houses," Mr Katwere said. Last month, Cholera broke out in the Ugandan capital killing six people in Kawempe and Makindye divisions. This was after the rainy season started in October, which has seen city suburbs flooded.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2006 00:00 ||
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So much for concerns about overpopulation in Africa. The government would be well advised to hand out squares of sari silk for primary filtration, and purchase bulk supplies of Procter&Gamble's Pur technology for inexpensive secondary filtration (or is it the other way round? I'm afraid I don't remember the exact details, but the reported research was fascinating, and the two stage technique was inexpensive and could be used for individual bucketsful of water. Perhaps Alaska Paul could weigh in?) in order to prevent the epidemic reaching the expensive part of town.
International observers backed vote results showing a landslide win for Hugo Chavez, but a European Union delegation also said it received complaints that some government employees faced pressure to support the incumbent president.
The EU observers said in a preliminary report Tuesday that overall the vote was carried out smoothly and securely. The delegation noted a few areas of concern, including a high participation of public employees at Chavez's campaign events, unbalanced coverage in both state and private media, and a heavy use of government advertising by Chavez, and to a lesser degree opponent Manuel Rosales.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2006 00:00 ||
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Moscow will not extradite possible suspects in the poisoning of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko to Britain, Russia's top prosecutor announced yesterday. Yuri Chaika also warned that visiting British detectives would only be allowed to listen as their Russian counterparts collect testimony. He said that under Russian law, a Russian citizen who is accused of committing a crime abroad must face trial at home. Chaika said that his office would fully co-operate with a team of British investigators and added that those interrogated would be questioned by Russian prosecutors in the presence of the British officers. Chaika also confirmed that a potential central figure in the case, another former Russian agent who met with Litvinenko in London on 1 November - the day Litvinenko believed he was poisoned - is currently being treated in hospital.
Fiji's ousted prime minister left the capital Wednesday, the day after a bloodless coup, as international sanctions and censure began isolating the South Pacific country. Armed forces chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama's plan to install a caretaker government that would eventually restore democracy ran into an immediate snag when the country's powerful tribal chiefs' council canceled a meeting that was a key part of it.
Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase flew out of Suva to his home village on the remote northeastern Lau group of islands after spending the night in his city residence surrounded by troops, said Pene Nonu, his private secretary. Qarase, who insists he is still Fiji's legitimate leader, chartered the plane, but left at the request of the military, Nonu said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2006 00:00 ||
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Fijis military took over running the country in a bloodless overthrow on Tuesday after confining the elected prime minister to his home in the South Pacific island nations fourth coup in 20 years.
Military Commander Frank Bainimarama said he had temporarily stepped into President Ratu Josefa Iloilos role as head of state and dismissed the government of Laisenia Qarase after a power struggle that had simmered all year.
Promising that the takeover would not be permanent, Bainimarama said he had appointed little known Jona Senilagakali Baravilala, a former military doctor and political novice, as interim prime minister before fresh elections are called.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2006 00:00 ||
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The Sun is just past its low-point in an 11-year cycle of activity. Could be the reason that we'll have a high of 38 here in Atlanta on Friday, but I blame Bush!
But big eruptions can happen anytime.
One just did.
A major X-9 flare erupted this morning. It emanated from a large sunspot, numbered 929, which is just coming into view around the eastern limb of the Sun. You mean to tell me we can track individual sunspots, number them, and give a specific time of "liftoff" of flares, but we can't track every Tom, Dick and Harry Jose, Pepe and Renaldo that crosses our own border?
The flare lifted off the Sun at 5:35 a.m. ET. It was directed away from Earth. Thanks, Halliburton!
But this sunspot will rotate toward the center of the Sun over the next few days and could offer up more major blasts that could take direct aim at our planet, forecasters say. Darn it all to heck! If only President Bush would've signed Kyoto! Would someone get Halliburton: Solar Flare Division on the phone?
Flares of this magnitude (X-class flares are all major) can damage satellites and disrupt telecommunications on Earth. They can also threaten astronauts in space. Incoming!
NASA sometimes sometimes?
orders astronauts aboard the International Space Station to retreat to the most well-protected part of the orbiting outpost to avoid excess radiation exposure. Spacewalks are avoided during solar storms. Master of the obvious graphic, please.
NASA plans to launch the Space Shuttle Discovery toward the International Space Station on Thursday (the bright glare of the rocket will be visible from much of the eastern United States). NASA must be using AlBore's "timing" calendar.
Sunspots are dark regions of the Sun where intense magnetic activity caps the upwelling of material from below. Sometimes a cap blows, and a visible flare results. The flares are loaded with X-rays and other radiation, all of which reaches Earth moments after the eruption. Many are accompanied by clouds of electrified gas called coronal mass ejections, (wonder if .com has a pic in his stash for that term?)
which can slam Earth a day or so later. But, don't forget it's Bush's fault the earth is undergoing global warming climate change!
Earth is somewhat shielded from solar storms, (again, thanks Halliburton!)
but some of the radiation leaks through our protective magnetic field. Experts say space radiation is one of the biggest threats to current and future space missions, including the effort to establish a lunar based as detailed yesterday by NASA.
Posted by: BA ||
12/06/2006 08:57 ||
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#1
You mean to tell me we can track individual sunspots, number them, and give a specific time of "liftoff" of flares, but we can't track every Jose, Pepe and Renaldo that crosses our own border?
If Jose and Pepe were as big as a sunspot - the diameter of the Earth or so - it would be easier to notice them.
#2
Ah, yes, Steve, but if you take into account the length of site from here to the sun vs. a UAV overhead the TX/AZ/Mexico border and how high it is above the "target", I'd bet it'd be about the same. And, you're not starin' at the sun, to boot. Listen, anyone (and I mean anyone) who crosses our Southern (or Northern) border is breaking the law. You only have to have the resolution to see it's not a fluffy bunny before sending in the troops to round him/her up.
Posted by: BA ||
12/06/2006 13:24 Comments ||
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#3
FYI: Here is where you can moniter the Sun, and tell when God is having a conniption fit.
#6
"Is Al the new spokesman spokesdork for RayBans?"
There - fixed that for ya', #5 doc. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/06/2006 15:37 Comments ||
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#7
Solar flares do not try to hide. If they did, if they snuck up on the space stations and sattelites in Earth orbit (as the illegals do crossing the border) the problem would be worse.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
12/06/2006 17:46 Comments ||
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Sunspots are dark regions of the Sun...
Dark is a relative term in use here. Separated from the rest of the sun, it would still be incredibly bright. It would easily be brighter than any planet or star or the headlights of any on coming car just a mere second before impact.
#10
The flares are loaded with X-rays and other radiation, all of which reaches Earth moments after the eruption
Bullshit, the speed of light does not change, time from the sun to earth is around 8 minutes for light, X-Rays and any other form of electromagnetic media.
Ejecta, (Particles) travel much slower and may take days to arrive.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/06/2006 19:15 Comments ||
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According to Closedanger's NOAA link, the fastest ions travel at 40% of lightspeed, and take 22 minutes to arrive.
She can want whatever - I don't want her to be President Anything. This is purdy funny, actually, and I wouldn't bet against Morris on this one. BTW, I heard it first on FoxNews - so don't let the WorldNetDaily addy throw you, lol.
Should Sen. Hillary Clinton be elected to the presidency in 2008, she won't use her married name of Clinton, but rather, her maiden name of Rodham.
That according to Dick Morris, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, and who now writes a political column. "She would not be another President Clinton. She would be President Rodham. I'll bet you that if she wins, that's what she has people call her," Morris told Fox News host John Gibson today on "The Big Story."
"I'll bet anybody in the country that when she gets elected, that's what she's gonna want to be called. She won't say it before [the election], but she will."
The New York Democrat is this week continuing efforts to begin looking at a White House run, as she has said she has still not made any final decision on her candidacy. "What's the point of being so coy so long?" Gibson asked Morris.
"It's one of these Hillary lies," responded Morris. "When she learned that Bill had been with Monica [Lewinsky] 'cause of the stain on the dress, she had to pretend that she didn't know a year earlier when he told her, so she could defend having called it a vast right-wing conspiracy.
"Here, she spent two years telling New Yorkers she's undecided about running for president [to] get them to re-elect her to the Senate. And now, she has to go through this pantomime, this charade of decision-making so she doesn't look like a liar for the past two years, which she is." Heh. Purdy good summary, there.
#1
Still say that iff the WOT is un-resolved or mostly un-resolved, i.e. Rogue States are still rantin' and threatenin', IMO Hillary for 2008 will choose to either stay a NY Senator, or at best be VPOTUS candidate for GORE, KERRY, + DEAN, etal, most likely "CNN" AL GORE [as opposed to "MSNBC" Kerry + "FOX" Dean]. Nothin agz Hillary as a woman, but in Wartime most Amers, including most Amer women, do not want a female in the WH; and as an PC anti-US, pro-Socialist/OWG etc. Pol her character, policies, + actions, etal are all open to public scrutiny.
#5
"I'll bet anybody in the country that when she gets elected, that's what she's gonna want to be called. She won't say it before [the election], but she will."
Well, I, for one, will do my d@mndest to make sure she does NOT get to exercise her "right to choose." I'm beginning to wonder if Ann Coulter's (sometimes extreme) examples will ring true of the DNC by 2008. Could very well be that whomever will be in the primary won't get the full vote unless they slay a Christian, endorse a Muzzie, and perform an abortion right in front of the DNC in the primaries.
Posted by: BA ||
12/06/2006 11:14 Comments ||
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Re #3: You are right on target. Except the U.S. military has no one approaching a Belisaurius to save the day. :(
NEW DELHI: The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists were guarded about the successful mid-air missile interception over the Bay of Bengal on November 27, but defended the interception system's capability against competing products and technologies.
A ``good beginning'' had been made but only repeated tests would prove the system's potency. Many more tests were required to intercept missiles on different flight paths. They were yet to increase the interception capability to over 50 km by changing the range parametres or putting the missile on ships. The high closing speed of the interceptor missile left very little reaction time. This implied further improvements. ``A single successful experiment does not mean deliverance,'' said a scientist. Besides, the DRDO is yet to configure target information delivery from satellites and, therefore, has to depend on ground-based radars. ``We have conducted the test to prove the technology. We are yet to convert it into a delivery system because of these reasons,'' he added.
DRDO's missile and strategic systems chief V. K. Saraswat was confident that the indigenous system was comparable to the Israeli Arrow and the Russian S-300V anti-missile missiles. Both countries along with the U.S. (Patriot) have been trying to sell their missiles to India.
``We intercepted at 50 km while the Arrow does that at 40 km. According to my interpretation, any lower than that and it will go in our landmass,'' he said. As for the Russian S-300V, ``we have studied their capability in a big way and its radars and other network cannot engage missiles of this class.''
He said the liquid fuel technology was not a drawback as in the 1950s and 1960s. A liquid fuel missile can be filled at any depot in any part of the country. ``The liquid fuel technology of today does not impair reaction time or performance. There is no handicap at all. It has an equivalent life of seven years as compared to a solid fuel missile.
Posted by: john ||
12/06/2006 15:53 ||
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As for the Russian S-300V, ``we have studied their capability in a big way and its radars and other network cannot engage missiles of this class.''
Which suggests the rumors of India purchasing a few S300 batteries to defend Delhi and their nuke weapon complex at BARC, Mumbai were probably true.
Seems the Indians are none too impressed with the S300 system...
Posted by: john ||
12/06/2006 16:00 Comments ||
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The president of Pakistan pledged yesterday to ban the sale of brides along with other controversial customs that deny women basic human rights.
Gen Pervez Musharraf announced that his government would shortly push through legislation that would also ensure women's rights to their inheritance. "A Bill is being considered to remove unjust social practices against women and it should be passed by the parliament," Gen Musharraf told a women's convention in the capital, Islamabad.
He said that the legislation would ban the sale of women in marriage and end the age-old practice of marrying women to the Koran. The practice is used in some rural areas by families who symbolically condemn their daughters to a spartan life dedicated to the religious book, without a partner or material possessions. Woman married in this way automatically lose their right to inherit property.
The planned legislation was also aimed at ending the practice of giving women in marriage to settle disputes, and also at reforming divorce laws. "I am proud that the government is considering this law for your betterment and I shall always stand by you," said Gen Musharraf.
His pledge came a week after he defied protests by religious fundamentalists and signed into law a Protection of Women Bill amending the country's Islamic rape legislation.
He confounded his liberal critics who did not believe that he had the resolve to act on his vision of "enlightened moderation". "The women's protection Bill is just the beginning and it was a victory for the entire nation and a victory for moderates," he said.
I was gonna put this under "Lurid Crime Tales". Man, I'll bet Kofi's really pissed he's leaving now.
The United Nations plans to gut the super-luxe East Side townhouse that's home to the secretary general and give it a multimillion-dollar renovation - complete with a $200,000 kitchen. I'll bet the servants will be able to cook up some fine meals in a kitchen that costs more then my friggin house...
"That's a fantastic budget. It'd be a hell of a thing," said Stefan Boublil, owner of swanky SoHo design firm The Apartment. "It's an expensive kitchen." Really, Stefan? Ya think?
The pricey kitchen upgrade is only a small part of a $4.3 million overhaul of the four-story Sutton Place manse where Kofi Annan has lived rent-free for a decade. Now there's a shock. Well, not really...
And that's not the whole cost. Yeah. I didn't think so.
Ban Ki Moon, the South Korean diplomat due to succeed Annan on Jan. 1, will spend his first nine months in a Manhattan hotel at an additional cost of $202,500 so workers can tackle the job. Oh, good. Good to see some Tsunami aid money was left over so they can put Ban Man up.
The UN General Assembly adopted the renovation plan last week. How much? Well,..add a million and okay it.
Despite its handsome brick exterior and posh riverfront location, the home hasn't had any serious work done since 1950 and has deteriorated into a crumbling firetrap, according to documents obtained by the Daily News. Yes, I'm sure it's a veritable third world hellhole...
The plumbing is leaking, the plaster walls are falling apart and the electrical system keeps overloading - costing $60,000 a year in emergency fixes, Annan complained recently. Ha! Like he actually paid for it.
The massive upgrade includes a $2.1 million heating and cooling system, $650,000 security improvements and even $100,000 in landscaping. I'd love to be the contractor who grabbed that job. "Aw, Jeez. Them solid gold bidets musta fell off the truck. I know they're fifty grand a pop but we'll have to reorder them."
But good luck getting paid...
The cost of the heating and cooling system "sounds extraordinarily high to me," said Sean Dineen of Dineen Construction Co. in Brooklyn. Guess we'll have to send Jon Engeland over to tell him how stingy he is...
"I'm doing a renovation of an entire brownstone in Park Slope for $1.7 million," he added. Pikers...
But one contractor who does lots of work in the Sutton Place neighborhood said the renovation sounded like a relative bargain. Grand Renovation President John Buchbinder said certain work - like fixing the townhouse's elevator - can start at $400,000. Buchbinder also said the bill for the heating and cooling system sounded reasonable for an especially energy-efficient setup. Trolling for some of the business there, Johnnyboy?
The 14,000-square-foot townhouse was built for Anne Morgan, daughter of financier J.P. Morgan, in 1921. The UN received the home as a gift in 1972. Man, this story is just loaded with shocking news...
The repair bill comes on top of the UN's plan to overhaul its East Side headquarters over the next eight years at a projected cost of $1.9 billion. When it's other people's, money is no object...
What kind of kitchen does $200,000 buy? The best of the best - and then some. Stefan Boublil, owner of the SoHo design firm The Apartment, recommended decorating in honor of the United Nations' international flavor: high-class touches from around the world. Nothing but the best! You said it! Malloch, write all this down...
For starters, he suggested getting a $35,000 custom-made stove from the French company La Cornue, which can "cook anything in five minutes." For 35 grand it better feed me the food.
The UN could add a couple of $750 under-the-counter dishwashers from the New Zealand company Fisher & Paykel, or a $52,000 Texas-made Traulsen refrigerator. Texas? Where "that cowboy" is from? Ewwwwwww...
For countertops, Boublil's favorite is the elegant white Corian quartz counter because "it takes abuse wonderfully. After a while, you can sand it down - it's like new." How about Palestinian rolled sheetmetal..from the finest metal shops in Gaza?
Henry Gimenez of Hudson Finishes in Manhattan said $200,000 would buy custom cabinets, marble countertops and a stone floor.
On the other end, Gimenez added, "Using stock cabinetry, and depending on your choice of appliances, you could pull something off for $75,000." 75 grand? That wouldn't buy the UN a waterproof tent in Bandar Aceh.
#5
The dishwashers sound reasonably priced for that pricepoint property, and at least two for large parties makes sense. I think it's the Corian quartz that has some sort of built in bacteriacide, a wise choice given the type of guests who frequent UN parties... I would certainly want a normal refrigerator to store the beer and salsa and Hot Pockets for everyday, but a commercial walk-in would be necessary for large parties, as would several large ovens and stovetops -- the caterers don't bring that on the truck. However, lightly used commercial fittings can be bought relatively inexpensively, especially in NY City, where most new restaurants go under within a year of opening. As for repairing neglect and retrofitting modern HVAC, wiring, plumbing and of course cabling so that the laptop can be used anywhere, ouch! The numbers are ridiculous, but probably not by more than several hundred percent, given that it's a premiere historic property. They should turn Donald Trump loose on the problem -- he'd volunteered to do as much for the UN building, where I think he guaranteed he could make it happen in style for less than half the official budget. That "high class touches from all around the world" is where most of the excess cost comes in, I imagine -- tu3031 pegged it solidly.
A nice little slap in the face to Mr. Annan, that nobody bothered to suggest upgrading the facilities during his residence.
A U.N. study said the richest 2 percent of the world population owns more than half the world's assets while those in the bottom half owned about 1 percent. The wealthiest people were concentrated in North America, Western Europe and the richer Asian countries. The poorest were concentrated in Africa and India. I guess life's tough there on the bottom of the economic heap, but making no effort to change your situation doesn't tug at my heartstrings. I have the best of wishes for the Indians, who're working diligently to improve the lot of their nation. I've ceased thinking about Africa, home of Mugabe, Taylor, and dozens of similar subgeniuses. I think I was still in my teens when it occurred to me that socialism's weak spot is that you can't divide the wealth if there's no wealth. It's an economic system designed for milking cash cows, not for raising them.
The study was done by the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University in Helsinki. Researchers estimated total global wealth at $125 trillion or an average of $26,000 per person when adjusted for differences in purchasing power between countries. But per capita wealth was about $144,000 per person in the United States in 2000 and $181,000 in Japan, while it was $1,100 in India and $1,400 in Indonesia. I'm guessing that 20 years ago, in the heyday of the Congress Party, the figure for India was even lower.
Assets of $2,200 per adult placed a household in the top half of the world wealth distribution in 2000. To be among the richest 10 percent of adults required $61,000, while $500,000 was needed to belong to the richest 1 percent. About 37 million people worldwide are in the top 1 percent and collectively own 41 percent of the world's assets.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
IOW, DEMOCAPITALISM + FREE ENTERPRISE/MARKETS + FREEDOMS WORK, COMMUNISM-SOCIALISM even its most benevolent form(s) STILL FAILS = IS FAR FAR FAR BEHIND. Once again, a reason for 9-11 and Global Anti-Americanism.
#2
As various loggers remind us > WELFARISM = re-distribution, re-alignment, and substitution of wealth + revenue-generating sectors, where in simple terms Producers unilater or as [Govt-led]public policy take care of non-Producers. AID invols littel or none of above. WOT > WAR FOR THE WORLD > ANTI-US LEFTS = Producers $$$ taking care of Non-Producers WHILE NON-PRODUCERS CONTROL + MAKE THE RULES FOR EVERYONE. WEAK CONTROL THE STRONG WHILE THE WEAK DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE=REFORM ANYTHING, i.e GLOBAL SLAVE STATE = GLOBAL ANARCHY/MAFIA STATE. * FOX > NORTH KOREA = belabeled as a CRIMINAL STATE???
#8
Beat me to it, Blondie. I wonder how much money went from the UN budget to fund this "research" - did they even think to use it to help the "bottom half"? Didn't think so.
#9
When Bill Richardson [now governor and wannabe presidential candidate] was appointed ambassador to the UN, one of the things he did was to sit and talk with the maintenance personnel in the UN cafeteria just to get to know the people. The employees were shocked, shocked because no one of importance had ever done such a thing. Yep, for all their talk about the poor and working class, the UN bureaucrats were and are the classical model of limousine socialists. Socialism for them is simply the modern religious citation of holy chants to rationalize and justify their position of power and rule over the vast minions. For them the concept of consent of the govern is as alien as the landscape of the moon Titan. These apparatchiks are only concerned about the issue as a hitter is in selecting the club to beat the ball [the opposition to their power] into submission.
#10
Proc, the perfect description of the UN was coined by a blog, the Diplomad (no longer exists but sorely missed) during the Tsunami where the UN swept in (after a month - had to have 24Hr catering and a 5-star hotel) and took all the credit:
Vampire Vulture Elite
They sweep in and suck the blood out of their victims.
#11
One of the interesting statements comes from a US Contractor in Iraq. He says a 2 hr job in the States will take all week when performed by Iraqis.
When you take into account that Iraqis are more diligent than most Arabs, you realize the productivity gap between our societies.
Do you think that might have something to do with wealth distribution?
Al
Posted by: frozen al ||
12/06/2006 11:47 Comments ||
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#12
No, Al, just another example of The Man with his boot on the neck of oppressed peepuls everywhere.
#14
IF you tracked government interference in the economy you'd probably get a same picture as the wealth but reversed.
I would love to see an African nation establish a free-trade city identical to Hong Kong in laws and attitude and see what happened. My guess is you'd have a very wealthy city.
I would love to seen a free-trade city in India, or Latin America for that matter.
#15
frozen al, that comment reminds me of one I read in the book Baghdad without a Map. In the section on Sudan he mentioned how the Egyptians considered the Sudanese lazy, which was a mind-blowing thing when he considered the fact the average Egyptian worked like four hours a week.
I bet with a proper profit motive things would slowly change.
Predicting the onset of mental illness could soon be as simple as smelling a scratch-and-sniff card loaded with the aroma of roses or a whiff of petrol. Scientists have taken the same technology popular in children's books and designed a test to help diagnose brain disorders before the onset of any symptoms.
The test can be used for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia, as well as some illnesses affecting adolescents. It originated in a discovery by Melbourne University researchers of a link between these illnesses and a poor ability to identify smells. To test their theory, they developed a set of 40 scratch-and-sniff cards and asked people to identify the smell from a list of four possibilities, such as coffee, roses, oranges and petrol.
Professor Warwick Brewer, from the university's Orygen Research Centre, said the people who later went on to develop a brain disorder had demonstrated difficulty correctly answering more than half the questions. He said the simple test also could be used by relatives of people with these conditions. "Because of the genetic link in many illnesses, it is hoped the test could also be used by family members of people who have developed an illness of the brain."
Professor Christos Pantelis, from the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, said smell ability provided unique information about brain structure and function. "Mental illness can arrest the full maturation of the frontal lobe, while degenerative illness can damage it," Professor Pantelis said. "This area of the brain is used to analyse and identify smells so an abnormal sense of smell may indicate problems in this 'thinking' area of the brain."
Their research also revealed that the sense of smell is worse in those with more severe illnesses, giving important clues into the patient's long-term prospects.
The research has been compiled in a new book, Olfaction and the Brain.
#1
First off, this test should be used to qualify all aspiring chefs.
Their research also revealed that the sense of smell is worse in those with more severe illnesses, giving important clues into the patient's long-term prospects.
Which goes a long way in explaining the rather odiferous properties of many Islamic terrorists.
#2
Due to scar tissue from 3 sinus operations for all practical purposes I don't have a sense of smell. The same would go for others who have it damaged. This is a BS theory.
#5
Physical damage to the smelling apparatus would of course render the test moot in specific cases, but that doesn't make it invalid for the generality of undamaged subjects. I very much hope this test proves statistically valid -- there are many who would be aided by knowing the cause of their difficulties who can't afford MRIs and CAT scans and such. Especially adolescents, who often suffer for years with undiagnosed anxiety disorders or depression, f'r instance, due to simple brain chemical imbalances.
#6
Just before the onset of a seizure, some people experience olfactory hallucinations. My dad always knew it was coming when he smelled oranges. Exploring this connection could be really interesting.
#7
Another factor has to do with smells and memory. For whatever reason, people have an extraordinary memory when it comes to smells, easily recognizing smells not smelled since early childhood, many years later.
Smelling also has its problems. Chief among these is "sinus fatigue", in which a strong smell masks a weak smell until the receptors can recover. For example, if you smell oil of wintergreen, it will mask the smell of a rose for several minutes.
A serious deficiency of zinc in the sinuses sometimes results in "garbage nose", in which everything smells horrible. But a mild case would just make some things smell worse.
Some people also have genetic sensitivity to certain tastes which would influence their sense of smell. For some, this means that broccoli and brussels sprouts taste horribly bitter. They will undoubtedly think that they therefore smell bad.
Other factors that will influence this test would include smell memory associations. For example, when someone smells oranges and it makes them think of their favorite butcher knife, it might be a cause for concern.
Another one is synesthesia, or overlapping senses, such as people who "see" music as color or people who "hear" smells.
#11
Somehow, I'd bet I get room-mated with a guy that looks like Samuel L. Jackson in that Pulp Fiction blogad below, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
12/06/2006 13:20 Comments ||
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#12
For whatever reason, people have an extraordinary memory when it comes to smells, easily recognizing smells not smelled since early childhood, many years later.
Part of this is because the human nose can detect more different odors than the eye can sense shades of color. Aromas represent some of the most complex and delicate chemical compounds on the entire planet. As an example, while wine has several hundred flavor and odor components, coffee has several thousand.
Some people also have genetic sensitivity to certain tastes which would influence their sense of smell.
This predisposition is being investigated as a possible candidate for why some people become such excellent chefs.
#14
synesthesia is trendy in neurological circles right now, because they figured out not only that it is indicative of all sorts of interesting brain cross-wiring; but also because synesthesiacs have such an unusual viewpoint of the world.
For instance, one of the more common versions is people who see music as color. Their enjoyment of music compared to other people is the difference between watching a movie and listening to it on the radio. And a synesthesiac who writes music will write as much for the "appearance" of music as for the sound--maybe more.
I also heard of an autistic child who saw time as a physical quantity. A day would look to him like an elephant, and as the day passed, the elephant would get smaller and smaller. A one-minute elephant would be tiny and then just disappear. But having such a strong mental image of an abstract made time a very understandable thing to him.
Junk emails are still clogging up Inboxes, with spam accounting for 89.73 per cent of all email traffic, new figures claim. Sounds about right to me. I don't think my legitimate messages have outnumbered the spam messages for about the past ten years. My Google mail account currently has 3344 messages in the spam folder, and this was after I cleaned it out Saturday night. Most of my mail is forwarded through the Rantburg mail server, which filters out a lot of spam, so that's 3344 after being pruned.
According to security company SoftScan, spam containing pictures increased dramatically in 2006 and is becoming more sophisticated to confuse anti-spam software. That's the crap with nonsense sentences masking a graphic with an ad for Viagra or penny stocks or whatever else they're scamming.
SoftScan said that spammers are using more complex images and colours to trick anti-spam filters. According to the figures, more than 60 per cent of spam comes from Europe while only five per cent is from South East Asia. I'd set the proportion higher than that coming through China and Korea.
It seems hard to believe the amount of people that do respond to spam messages... I'm sure it won't be long until [the spammers] start using more sophisticated images, along with their current techniques, said Diego d'Ambra, chief technology officer at SoftScan. I have a hard time understanding why anyone would respond to the pestilence. Email is no longer a viable method of communication I'd hate to think of the number of legitimate messages I've missed as I've been clearing out the hundreds of junk mails.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
How much more spam would it take to simply clog up the internet's bandwidth and interfere with legitimate traffic?
#2
The saddest thing is that the spammers wouldn't be doing it if it didn't work. There have to be some seriously stupid people out there who really should not be allowed unsupervised access to a computer.
#3
A couple of years ago, I read a suggestion that instead of tracking down and killing spammers, it might be easier to track down the handful of idiots who actually responded to a spam-email by purchasing something... and kill them, instead.
Our website is plagued with automated comment-spam, for porn, drugs, insurance plans, payday loans, that kind of crap. We accumulate about 500-600 overnight, none of which gets actually posted to the site, so I wonder why they even bother any more. A lot of bloggers have had to go to a turing system, have registration, use typekey or put in spam-killing software, otherwise their sites would sink like the Titanic under the weight of comment-spam.
If they ever crack down on the auto-comment spammers, I wish they would bankrupt them with fines, and recompense us blog-admin types for the time we've spent cleaning up after them.
#4
Most spam is criminal in nature, trying to gain access to a website or credit card numbers or social secuirty numbers. SMTP makes contacting millions of people via email easy. The spammers only have to hit a very small percentage to make money.
That 89.73 number is just incredible. It looks like all the measures taking place the past ten years ( outbound smtp blocks, non-relay mail servers and RBL lists ) aren't working.
It appears SMTP is broken.
A lot of spam that gets through my mail server header checks appear to be from residential ADSL connections in eastern Europe, Belize and in the USA, like comcast.com, using compromised computers which are being used for Spam.
With companies like ATT and cable internet people hard selling broadband, the problem is bound to get worse.
I had a pretty elaborate filter setup running here, that I started back when Boris was erupting here daily. It eventually got so intricate I pulled the whole thing out and threw it away. I'm using a single array to do the spam check now, and it seems to work pretty well. I'm willing to share, so email me (if you can get through the spam).
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2006 12:10 Comments ||
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#6
I'm afraid the problem with SPAM is the SMTP protocol which allows pretty much anything (forged headers, etc...)
I don't think SPAM will be going away until we tighen up the protocol. Using some sort of assigned-key authenication (i.e. some authority - the postal service for example) gives your email address a public/private key pair which is used to sign the headers - kind of a 'I approve this message' sort of thing.
Receive a message which contains a authentication id, fetch the id's public key from a well-established server (and cache it) and use it to decrypt the headers. If the key is false or the headers don't decrypt properly its spam.
Personally I am sick and tired of spam and spammers. I think they should get some hard time for wasting peoples time. I am also tired of vurus writers and think they should be locked up for a long, long, time (including script kiddies). They are not 'folk heroes' but assholes. I am sick and tired of having to have a good chunk of my work computer's power used for virus checkers and scanners because these fuckers are out to have fun.
Why doesn't corprate america start offering bounties for these assholes?
#7
Why doesn't corprate america start offering bounties for these assholes?
lol, CF! I your comment and then scrolled to see the Pulp Fiction blogad with a gun pointed at me head right below it! Classic timing of comment to blogad, mods!
Posted by: BA ||
12/06/2006 13:18 Comments ||
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#8
A couple of years ago, I read a suggestion that instead of tracking down and killing spammers, it might be easier to track down the handful of idiots who actually responded to a spam-email by purchasing something... and kill them, instead.
Har! Trust a military mind to suggest a functional solution.
Personally I am sick and tired of spam and spammers. I think they should get some hard time for wasting peoples time. I am also tired of vurus writers and think they should be locked up for a long, long, time (including script kiddies). They are not 'folk heroes' but assholes.
The lack of strong law enforcement against virus and worm writers is damning proof that our legislators know jackshit about computers. The fact that virus writers often go on to secure high paying jobs in the computer industry represents a conflict of interest of gigantic proportions.
It is as if the computer industry wilfully allows a pack of ravening animals to rove the virtual world inflicting untold damage in order to coerce computer users to buy their firewall and other security products (no to mention replacing damaged equipment and purchasing backup devices).
The computer industry must be prohibited from ever hiring anyone convicted of virus writing. Furthermore, virus writers all too often end up getting a slap on the wrist. That little bastard in Germany who wrote the Sacher virus didn't even see the inside of a jail cell!
Lifetime bans from industry employment, hard time in federal prison, huge restitution awards and lifetime bans from internet access all need to be put in place as penalties for virus writing and spamming. These practices, especially spamming are strangling one of the most important business tools ever made and also decrease workplace productivity to the tune of BILLIONS each year.
The computer industry needs to have its feet held to the fire until they unanimously begin a crusade to increase penalties and implement employment bans for these digital cretins. This needs to be a top priority.
A senior Indonesian politician has resigned from the country's largest political party after he was featured with a popular singer on a sex tape that was widely circulated. Yahya Zaini - the head of the Golkar Party's religious affairs department, which has responsibility for moral issues - submitted his resignation from the party yesterday. It was immediately approved by its chairman, Jusuf Kalla, Indonesia's Vice-President.
The married Mr Zaini will lose his House of Representatives seat after Golkar's deputy chairman, Agung Laksono, said the process was under way to remove him from parliament.
The video that prompted the resignation is less than a minute long and has been circulated via mobile phones and email. Mr Zaini and singer Maria Eva can be clearly identified in it. Mr Zaini flew back from a parliamentary study tour in Australia at the weekend as news of the tape spread. He is reportedly in hiding in Jakarta. Eva, however, appeared at a tearful press conference yesterday and admitted to making the tape, but denied distributing it.
The singer said she had loved Mr Zaini but their affair had ended two years ago. She added she was pressured to have an abortion by him and his wife. "He asked me to marry him, but I declined the offer as I don't want to be his second wife," The Jakarta Post quoted Eva assaying.
The scandal broke as Islamic leaders and political parties campaign for tougher morality laws in Indonesia, including outlawing pornography and public displays of affection. Politicians and religious leaders in the nation with the world's largest Muslim population have called for harsh action to be taken against Mr Zaini. In Indonesia, many politicians have playboy reputations but take care to keep their private lives private. Mr Zaini is the first to be caught on tape.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
This pious fool is in charge of moral affairs ?/ Har har. Time to shorten one of his members.
#1
OMG, that's hilarious! And, Michelle in a blonde wig, to boot!
Posted by: BA ||
12/06/2006 13:30 Comments ||
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#2
Pretty funny.
And this one's for all the ladies:
You want to demolish a woman? Send a woman to do it.
As an aside MadTV last Saturday did a spoof on the Dixie Chicks with the fat one saying she'll never apologize and the decent looking ones signalling to the camera they disagree. Pretty funny also.
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.
Police fired into a crowd protesting President Laurent Gbagbo's regime Tuesday and killed one person, witnesses said, as political opponents mounted rallies in several towns in the southern part of the divided West African country. Protesters said police fired shots to disperse a gathering of hundreds in Abidjan, hitting one man in the leg. Police officials denied shooting at demonstrators.
A cholera epidemic has hit Kampala's suburbs with cases counting 147 now in the five divisions of Ugandan capital, Kampala. At least ten people have already been confirmed dead mainly in Kawempe, Makindye and Ugandan capital, Kampala Central divisions due to the deadly waterborne disease. 
International observers backed vote results showing a landslide win for Hugo Chavez, but a European Union delegation also said it received complaints that some government employees faced pressure to support the incumbent president. 
Moscow will not extradite possible suspects in the poisoning of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko to Britain, Russia's top prosecutor announced yesterday. Yuri Chaika also warned that visiting British detectives would only be allowed to listen as their Russian counterparts collect testimony. He said that under Russian law, a Russian citizen who is accused of committing a crime abroad must face trial at home. Chaika said that his office would fully co-operate with a team of British investigators and added that those interrogated would be questioned by Russian prosecutors in the presence of the British officers. Chaika also confirmed that a potential central figure in the case, another former Russian agent who met with Litvinenko in London on 1 November - the day Litvinenko believed he was poisoned - is currently being treated in hospital.
Fiji's ousted prime minister left the capital Wednesday, the day after a bloodless coup, as international sanctions and censure began isolating the South Pacific country. Armed forces chief Commodore 
Fijis military took over running the country in a bloodless overthrow on Tuesday after confining the elected prime minister to his home in the South Pacific island nations fourth coup in 20 years. 
The Sun is just past its low-point in an 11-year cycle of activity. 
The president of Pakistan pledged yesterday to ban the sale of brides along with other controversial customs that deny women basic human rights.
A U.N. study said the richest 2 percent of the world population owns more than half the world's assets while those in the bottom half owned about 1 percent. The wealthiest people were concentrated in North America, Western Europe and the richer Asian countries. The poorest were concentrated in Africa and India. 
unk emails are still clogging up Inboxes, with spam accounting for 89.73 per cent of all email traffic, new figures claim. 
A senior Indonesian politician has resigned from the country's largest political party after he was featured with a popular singer on a sex tape that was widely circulated. Yahya Zaini - the head of the Golkar Party's religious affairs department, which has responsibility for moral issues - submitted his resignation from the party yesterday. It was immediately approved by its chairman, Jusuf Kalla, Indonesia's Vice-President. 
