Erotic and Violent Images Cloud Vision, Study Finds
When people see violent or erotic images, they fail to process whatever they see next, according to new research.
Scientists are calling the effect "attentional rubbernecking."
âWe observed that people fail to detect visual images that appeared one-fifth of a second after emotional images, whereas they can detect those images with little problem after viewing neutral images,â said Vanderbilt University psychologist David Zald.
The effect is akin to rubbernecking on the highway, Zald and his colleagues say. Your brain might suggest you watch the road ahead, but your emotions force you to look at the accident on the side of the road.
Research subjects were handed a stack of pictures that included pleasant landscapes and architectural photos. They were told to search for a particular image. Negative images were placed anywhere from two to eight spots before the search target.
The closer the negative image was to the target picture, the more frequently people failed to spot the target.
In a follow-up study, negative images were replaced by erotic shots. The effect was the same.
"This suggests that emotionally arousing images impact attention in similar ways whether they are perceived as positive or negative," said colleague Steven Most of Yale University.
The researchers suspect we can't control the effect.
"We think that there is essentially a bottleneck for information processing and if a certain type of stimulus captures attention, it can basically jam up that bottleneck so subsequent information can't get through," Zald said.
As for rubbernecking on the road, Zald has a caution:
"If you are simply driving down the road and you see something that is sexually explicit on a billboard, the odds are that it is going to capture your attention and â for a fraction of a second afterwards â you will be less able to pay attention to other information in your environment," he said.
The initial study is detailed in the August issue of the journal Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. The follow-up research has not been published.
LONDON -- Some people bring flowers, others bring balloons. When Melvyn Reed's three wives showed up to visit him at the hospital, they brought an unexpected curtain call to his years as a double bigamist. British police confirmed that after Melvyn Reed woke from his triple bypass heart operation earlier this year, his complicated marital affairs took a turn for a worse. All three of his spouses had turned up at the same time, despite his efforts to stagger their visits.
I hate it when that happens
Media reports say that, upon realizing that something was amiss, the wives held a meeting in the parking lot, and learned that they were all married to the same man.
Whereupon much seething commenced. Lucky he was already in hospital.
The 59-year-old company director from Kettering in central England turned himself into police on May 12 saying he was married to three women at the same time, and confessed to bigamy, an illegal offense in Britain, London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement. A spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that Reed had turned himself in to police in Wimbledon, south London in the presence of his lawyer, and admitted he was a bigamist.
"I'm guilty, your honor! Please lock me up where they can't get at me!"
He pleaded guilty to two charges of bigamy on July 19 at the Wimbledon Magistrates' court, and was given a suspended sentence of four months in prison and ordered to pay 70 pounds (US$126; euro102) in costs, police said.
I'm thinking he's going to be out a lot more money before this is over.
It wasn't immediately possible to reach Reed or his three wives. A phone call to one of the women went unanswered. Reed's lawyer Laurence Grant was not immediately available at his office for comment.
The Metropolitan Police said Reed married his first wife, Jean Grafton, in 1966, then left her without divorcing her. He went on to marry Denise Harrington in 1998, then married Lyndsey Hutchinson in 2003.
British media have widely reported that Reed recently moved back in with his first wife, Grafton. They say she is the mother of his three grown children. The Metropolitan Police said Harrington and Hutchinson had sought advice on getting their marriages annulled. But media reports say lawyers have advised the women that their marriages were never valid.
My advice to Melvyn is to change his name and move to someplace safe. Baghdad, for example.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/11/2005 10:57 ||
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Lucky for him that this happened after 7/7. I think since 7/7, illegal bigamy is no longer on top of Scotland Yard's list of things to investigate.
#3
I'm thinking he's going to be out a lot more money before this is over.
I'm thinking he better not fall asleep near any one of these wives or he may be out more than just money. (Lorena Bobbitt, anyone?)
Or is it Rodan? Ghidorah's necks would better explain the photography, though.
A photo of two peculiar dragon-shaped objects taken from a plane flying over Tibetâs Himalayas piqued many usersâ interest when displayed on a Chinese website. The photographer is an amateur.
On June 22, 2004, the photographer went to Tibetâs Amdo region to attend the Qinghai-to-Xizang Railroad laying ceremony, and then took a plane from Lhasa to fly back inland. When flying over the Himalayaâs, he accidentally caught these two "dragons" in a picture that he took. He called these two objects "the Tibet dragons."
Looking at the photo, these two objects appear to have the characteristics of crawling creatures: The bodies seem to be covered by scales, the backs have spine-like protuberances, and also they have gradually thinning rear ends. Although the photo caught only a portion of the entire scene, it was sufficient create the appearance of two gigantic dragons flying in the clouds.
This photo, shown on some websites such as post.baidu.com and other forums, aroused the website visitorsâ curiosity. One person commented, âNo wonder that China is the homeland of the dragon! Nature is truly mysterious and powerful, it can always produce spectacular sights beyond people's expectations.â
âIs it really true? Is it possible there is an ancient civilization that we donât know about is preserved in places that are sparsely populated?â
âIt really looks like the dragons in fables, and I really hope it is.â
Certainly, most website visitors hoped that someone could confirm the authenticity of the dragons in the photo.
Photo of dragons taken from an airplane above the Himalayas. (www.dajiyuan.com)
In Chinese fairy tales, the dragon is a kind of rare heavenly creature. Fables say that it can conceal or reveal itself. It ascends to heaven in the spring breeze and dives and hides in deep water in the autumn wind. It can promote clouds and bring about rain. It also became the symbol of imperial authority later on; all emperors of previous dynasties self-designated as dragons, utensils were also decorated with dragons.
Culturally, the dragon is the Chinese ancestors' totem. Nearly all races in China had fables and stories with dragons as the main subject, such as dragon boat races, the dragon lantern dance to celebrate holidays, sacrificial offerings to the dragons to implore timely wind and rain for good crops.
Whether this kind of creature really exists is still an unsolved riddle. In the previous dynasties in China, there had been many documents recording eyewitness accounts of magical dragons. The most amazing events are the various "falling dragons," dragons that suddenly fell to the ground under peculiar circumstances, and were witnessed by many. A relatively recent tale occurred in the puppet Manchuria regime in August, 1944. A black dragon fell to the ground at the Chen Familyâs Weizi Village, about 9.4 miles northwest of Zhaoyuan County, on the south shore of the Mudan River (the old name of a section of Songhua River) in Heilongjiang province. The black dragon was on the verge of death. The eyewitness said that this creature had a horn on its head, scales covering its body, and had a strong fishy smell that attracted numerous flies.
The records from previous dynasties also mentioned the connection between the emergence of these kinds of mysterious creatures, âdragons,â and the transition of dynasties on earth. The appearance of Tibetâs magical dragon invites our curiosity and imagination.
Via Drudge The Rolling Stones' upcoming album contains a song seemingly critical of President Bush, but Nigel Tufnel Mick Jagger denies it's directed at him, according to the syndicated TV show "Extra."
"Yeah! It's directed at... ummm... somebody else... No, wait! I got it:"
"It is not really aimed at anyone," Jagger said on the entertainment-news show's Wednesday edition. "It's not aimed, personally aimed, at President Bush. It wouldn't be called 'Smell the Glove Sweet Neo Con' if it was." Somebody must have told the stupid, drunken limey that more than half of us American ticket-buyers voted for said "Sweet Neo-Con".
The song is from the new album, "A Bigger Bang," set for release Sept. 6.
I'm waiting for the Rolling Stones to start their "Invincible" tour...
There is no mention of Bush or Iraq. But it does refer to military contractor Halliburton, which was formerly run by Vice President Cheney and has been awarded key Iraq contracts, and the rising price of gasoline. "How come you're so wrong? My sweet neo-con, where's the money gone, in the Pentagon," goes one refrain. The song also includes the line: "It's liberty for all, democracy's our style, unless you are against us, then it's prison without trial."
"Like, profound, man! Gimme a hit off that bong, wouldja?"
"It is certainly very critical of certain policies of the administration, but so what! Lots of people are critical," Jagger told "Extra." Lots of drug addicts overdose and slip into a coma too. Too bad you can't be more like them.
A representative for the Stones said the group had no further comment about the song. The Rolling Stones intend to kick off a U.S. tour in Boston Aug. 21.
"This one goes to 11!"
Boston. Figures.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/11/2005 00:48 ||
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Of course it isn't aimed at Bush -- it's aimed at the Untermenschen who voted him into office... twice.
#2
In short, of course not; he'll be GLAD to take our money anyway, without regard to political leanings.
(Or in other words: he thinks those opposed to him are stupid.)
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/11/2005 8:32 Comments ||
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Also... I'm beginning to dislike the term "neocon;" it's beginning to look like a term invented by the liberals and isolationists to suggest that anyone who disagrees with them isn't normal or even a conservative.
Bah; he can't get no neuron action....
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/11/2005 8:38 Comments ||
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#4
I care little for the idiot Jagger, his ramblings, and his whacky spawn. There was a time when he had some talent but that was over 25 years ago.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/11/2005 9:00 Comments ||
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Who?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/11/2005 9:39 Comments ||
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PF: Also... I'm beginning to dislike the term "neocon;" it's beginning to look like a term invented by the liberals and isolationists to suggest that anyone who disagrees with them isn't normal or even a conservative.
It's a term invented by anti-American liberals and conservatives to describe pro-American liberals and conservatives. How can you tell that someone is an anti-American conservative? When he criticizes actions taken to further American interests. You can be anti-war and pro-American - the problem with a lot of anti-war conservatives is that they're anti-war and anti-American. The anti-war and pro-American conservatives don't have a problem with beating the crap out of America's enemies. The anti-war and anti-American conservatives seem to think that stomping America's enemies is some kind of exceptional practice, and line their arguments with leftist criticisms of American foreign policy.
#8
I look forward to Sir Jagger's leadership on the nuclearization of Iran.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
08/11/2005 10:02 Comments ||
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Mick's just pissed that some people thought Bono should be head of the World Bank, and no one nominated him (so much for his education at the London School of Economics, eh?).
#10
I'm so sick of the damn libs saying that Bush and the republicans throw them in jail for speaking out. They repute that statement everytime they walk off stage and go home to a quiet night. If we were throwing people in jail, the libs wouldn't make it off stage and would dissappear after a group of police dragged them off.
Asshats...
Please just die already Jagger, you fuckin' old mick.
#11
In terms the senile rocker can understand, FOAD. The Rolling Stones havn't done anything creative since 1974 and since the aging babyboomers who have tried to regain their youth by watching the geriatric posturings of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are starting to die out, Jagger decided to do a Dixie Chick for publicity, thinking that there are enough of the Michael Moore crowd to boost album sales. If he had thought that through, he would have realized that he had just alienated over half the US market and that the other half, while generous with other people's money, keep their own wallets in their pockets. So, Mick, get off of my cloud.
#13
Funny thing is when I see Mick Jagger I always think of that movie FREEJACK where Jagger went around hunting down the hero. Now the movie was probably intended as a sly attack against capitalism but it seemed much more like a Socialist-communist nation to me. Masses in poverty with elites living in wealth is something far more common in Soviet style communism than any of the western nations.
#14
The thing that bugs me is not that he's a left-wing jackass. So are plenty of other people, and they have a right to be. What bothers me is that he thinks I'm stupid. "It is not really aimed at anyone," he says. Okay, Mick! If you don't have the courage to admit you're a pinko, then you're not being honest, and I don't respect that.
#17
That half that doesn't support this kind of @#$% now has to put up with these guys, compliments of the NFL. Wonder if they will be singing this song in Irving, TX before a game?
#18
Sorry, just the early onset Alzheimers kicking in. I love everybody who can pay.
Besides, Keith wrote it, and who knows what'll come out of that drug addled mind of his. Damn commie. So get off my arse, okay?
#20
just pimping their new album/tour with contrived controversy. Of course, when I want to discuss American foreign policy, I usually turn to non-college educated foreign artists. They do know best....ask Bianca
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 14:36 Comments ||
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the worst part is that we will be forced to listen to this song on our radios - thanks to payola or however else they get it on there. Just like the Bitchy Chix. And yeah, I'll flip the channel - if I notice enough to care.
Outside of my now having negative feelings about songs I USED to like, - this controversy is just a big ol' yawn.
#22
Hey Mick,
Show us you care. Donate all profits from the new album to the starving kids.
Posted by: Stephen ||
08/11/2005 19:52 Comments ||
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#23
My brother, the AF Major, liked their song Highwire. What in Heck happened?
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
08/11/2005 22:09 Comments ||
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#24
I completely understand why the Rolling Stones don't like Bush. The Dems keep telling them that Bush is going to cut back on their Social Security checks.
The owner of an ostrich ranch is planning to shut down after losing a lawsuit against hot-air balloonists he says panicked his birds into a lethal stampede.
D.C. Cogburn, the owner of the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch, says he owes more than $100,000 in legal fees and is preparing to close the ranch along Interstate 10 near Picacho Peak. "Rooster Cogburn"? The Duke lives!
"When you're 25 or even 40, a financial disaster can be a challenge you can overcome," said Cogburn, 66. "It's different when you're my age and know you haven't got that many years left." Starving the elderly again. Those balloonists must be Republicans.
Cogburn's troubles started on Feb. 3, 2002, when two large hot-air balloons with their propane burners roaring, loomed over the ranch and panicked the ostriches, Cogburn said. The large birds stampeded, trampling 7,000 feet of fences. Hey, if the Palestinians had ostriches and a few hot-air balloons, they wouldn't have to worry about those darn Israeli fences.
Two dozen birds from his 1,600-bird flock died from injuries within days, and the incident destroyed the ostriches' breeding patterns. Cogburn said it cost him a $3 million contract to supply chicks to a Brazilian business. "An ostrich ranch is like a vineyard; it takes years of investment before you turn a profit," Cogburn said. "The contract was our breakthrough." "And now that money is all gone, Maw! It done and run away!"
Cogburn sued balloonists Jeffrey and Elaine Anderson and their crew, led by Roy Waltz, in 2003. But Pinal County jurors sided with the balloonists, who said they maintained their distance from the ranch and were within Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Douglas Fitch, the lawyer who defended the balloonists, said he felt for the rancher. Some jurors told him after the verdict that they believed the balloonists caused the stampede but didn't think they did anything wrong.
Cogburn had hoped to use the ranch to produce ostrich meat, recommended by the American Heart Association as a red meat lower in fat, cholesterol and sodium than turkey. He also planned to sell the giant birds' skin, plumes, infertile eggs and shells. Ostrich: the other, other, other white meat.
Ostriches form tight communities, according to veterinarian Carole Price, president of the American Ostrich Association. The stampede jumbled the communities, giving him no way to tell which birds belonged in which clan, Cogburn said. More than 800 birds were hurt and had to be killed over the year after the incident. Birds split from their communities are disoriented and have difficulty beginning breeding again. I knew they liked to bury their heads in places other than sand.
"They aren't breeding during that time," said Price, who toured Cogburn's ranch last fall. She found him "an excellent rancher who takes very good care of his animals." Thank you, ma'am. Now saddle up and ride into the sunset, pilgrim.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/11/2005 01:06 ||
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The stampede jumbled the communities, giving him no way to tell which birds belonged in which clan
I have that picture in my mind of cowboys ostrichboys pursuing ostrichs on horsebcak, lassoing them, holding them on the ground and marking them with a red-hot iron.
#2
Actually, it's the other red meat. Really. Not bad, either. I've been to the ranch. They have a petting zoo and lots of kiddie tourist-trap things. He'll do OK, though. It's commuting distance to Marana (though a tad far for Tucson), so I expect some developer will pick it up.
giving him no way to tell which birds belonged in which clan
A 75-year-old German was so shocked he had accidentally run down his wife he started forward and drove over her again, authorities said Wednesday. Police in the western town of Bad Nauheim said the man compounded his 73-year-old wife's misery after an onlooker told him he had just run her over while backing out of a parking space. The woman was rushed to hospital and survived. It was an accident! I swear!
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/11/2005 01:17 ||
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No Nookie for you!
Posted by: DanNY ||
08/11/2005 6:08 Comments ||
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Should've went with the U.S. import. Those German cars are heavy.
"western town of Bad Nauheim"
LOL! You can't make this stuff up.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/11/2005 7:44 Comments ||
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Reminds me of an old episode of Married w/ Children, where Al Bundy & fam are out west on vacation. Their Dodge Dart breaks down and Al's sitting on the front porch of this "service station" with 2 old geezers while his car's getting fixed. One of the old men asks about his car, and then says "Dodge is a d@mn fine car! Ran over my ex-wife with a Dodge!"
Posted by: BA ||
08/11/2005 8:30 Comments ||
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"Unt I vas not sure dat die virst time it vas an accident, so I had too fun over die fraulein again just to make sure. Unt it vas VANTASTIC!"
LONDON - Salman Rushdieâs novel âShalimar the Clownâ, about a Kashmiri boy who becomes an Islamic terrorist, has made the 2005 longlist for the prestigious Booker Prize.
I'm sure it's a real snoozer. I tried reading The Satanic Verses and thought it was one of the most boring, put-up books I've ever started. I don't think I got to page 60.
The yet-to-be-released book was named Wednesday alongside 16 others in the running for the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction. The prize is awarded every October for the best work of fiction by a British, Irish or Commonwealth author.
âShalimar the Clownâ details how a radical mullah transforms a teenage Muslim boy into an Islamic terrorist.
The book could cause fresh controversy for Rushdie.
He's already got one death sentence. What's another one?
Former Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict, on Rushdie in 1989, calling for his execution because of alleged apostasy and blasphemy in his novel âThe Satanic Versesâ.
Three debut novels are also in the running: âThis Thing of Darknessâ by Harry Thompson, âThe Harmony Silk Factoryâ by Tash Aw and âA Short History of Tractors in Ukrainianâ by Marina Lewycka.
Oh, how I love a good tractor story!
The prize winner receives 50,000 pounds (72,500 euros, 90,000 dollars) and five other shortlisted authors get 2,500 pounds plus an almost guaranteed worldwide readership and an upsurge in book sales. âThis has been an exceptional year, and in the judgesâ opinion may rank as one of the strongest ever since the prize was founded in 1969,â said judges chairman John Sutherland. âIt is also a nicely balanced longlist with four previous Booker winners, three first novels and a satisfying range of styles. The judges have enjoyed their judging experience enormously â so far.â
"And we have a tractor story this year, how exciting!" he bubbled.
The shortlist will be revealed on September 8 and the winner announced on October 10.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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I never found Salman all too talented. Couldn't read another of his offerings prior to Verses. All the same he should be allowed to do his thing as it were. Considering the recent quotes from him, it seems he wants to win the Eurojihadi Van Gogh award for 2006.
I was bored to death by page 20 and puzzled (since I was then quite ignorant of islamofacism) about Khomeni's fatwa. I could not see what the fuss was about. Who would read this?
Posted by: john ||
08/11/2005 16:25 Comments ||
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SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - The Inter-American Court of Human Rights Tuesday refused a request by American Lori Berenson to review its ruling that upheld her 20-year sentence in Peru for terrorism. In a decision issued in November, the Costa Rica-based court - the legal arm of the Organization of American States - rejected Berenson's arguments that Peru violated her rights in a 2001 civilian retrial. It was Berenson's last formal avenue of appeal.
The former New York City resident has denied any wrongdoing and maintains she is a political prisoner whose concern for social justice was distorted by authorities to look like a terrorist agenda.
It was a put up job, including the guns in the house in which she lived with her terrorist boyfriend. And his terrorist compatriots. And the terrorist manuals and leaflets. And the explosives.
Berenson was arrested in November 1995 and sentenced to life without parole by a secret military court, which said she was a leader of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and masterminded a thwarted takeover of Peru's Congress to exchange hostages for imprisoned rebels.
Under intense non-governmental U.S. pressure, Peru overturned the sentence in August 2000 and sent her case to a civilian anti-terrorism court, which found her guilty of the lesser crime of terrorist collaboration. She is scheduled for release in November 2015, a few weeks after her 46th birthday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/11/2005 01:27 ||
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"But it was only a hobby! I was kinda like Patty Hearst... yeah, like Patty Hearst! I just wanted to try a little strange, y'know? But they, uh, they brainwashed me 'n stuff. Brainwashed me extra clean. My real name is Barbie! I just wanna be popular!"
#4
Somebody forgot to bring the parents out for a loon parade. As I recall they can't seem to understand that their little precious went a mucking in somebody else's nation and did so with a very violent crowd. Sure the parents would see it quite different if Radar from Finland came to their backyard and joined up with white supremists who killed a few of their family members because of some murderous phsychological problems that apologists try to label as legitimate political expression. Wish we could have her citizenship revoked so she will never set foot here again. Who needs another idiot leftist terrorist in their state anyway. I for one don't.
New Year's Message From Lori
January 2005
Dear Friends,
I hope the holiday season and the start of this new year have been good for you, and I want to let you know how grateful I am to receive your interest and support, during all of the years.
A month has gone by since the Inter-American Court favored the Peruvian government in the sentence on my case, which marked a new tendency for this Court in the "post 9-11" international context. It's politics, really, the topic of "terrorism" and who is deemed a terrorist all depends on who is today's "good guy" or "bad guy." In a "hate letter" that I just received, I was "congratulated" because the international court confirmed that I was a terrorist. As ironical as it may sound, I'm not sure I mind being depicted as such by those who torture prisoners at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo, or by those who bomb cities to the ground (or approve of it happening), or by those who, in general, act upon racist and classist feeling of "superiority" as compared to others. Since they gave me the denomination, well, who cares even.
It seems this jail stay will stretch out quite a bit more; however, the world continues to be much wider than the cement and iron that enclose prisoners, and with or without the physical presence of all of those who have been forced into this strange exile from the world, I'm convinced that many others continue working to make this world a better place.
My best to you,
Lori Berenson
#6
To make the world a better place I'd start with her. My have-a-hart racoon trap cage would have to be supersized but I'm up to the task. Large violent rodents like Lori need to be caged or dispatched. No use letting them walk among us and it is unfair to inflict her upon anybody else's country.
#10
revoke her passport too. We don't want her when she gets out.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 16:49 Comments ||
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She and her parents thought it was cool that she was shacked up with a terrorista. That was until the policia broke down the door and arrested the whole cell. I thin 60 minutes did a sympathetic show on her once about how she is cold and her cell is barren (sniff). Well in 10 or so years she can tell the whole story on Opra of LKL.
DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - The three IRA-linked fugitives who fled convictions in Colombia might be required to serve their 17-year prison terms in Ireland, the country's deputy prime minister said Tuesday. Mary Harney, a stern critic of the outlawed Irish Republican Army who is also Ireland's acting justice minister, said her legal officials were already charting the best path for ensuring that the men don't escape punishment.
Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and Jim Monaghan were convicted of training the South American country's largest rebel group. They disappeared from Colombia eight months ago and resurfaced last week in Ireland, which has no extradition treaty with the war-torn South American nation.
Harney said a government bill, if passed, could allow the trio to serve their Colombian-imposed sentence in Ireland. Sinn Fein, the IRA-linked party, has welcomed the men's return and called on the government to leave them alone. "It is important that the three persons involved, and those who have expressed exultation at their return to this country, should not underestimate the government's determination to explore all the options open to it to ensure that Ireland continues to play its full part in the fight against international terrorism," Harney said.
Her announcement followed demands from Colombia for them to be extradited or to serve their full prison terms in Ireland.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/11/2005 01:13 ||
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Colombia could also just put a bounty out on them. Terrorist are terrorists, I don't give a damn where they are from. They should learn they can expect no quarter or favor from anyone.
#2
Oh, it would be so haaaaaard for the lads in Ireland. Haaaard. All the same though, send em back to whence they fled to face the judgment of the people they chose to screw. Ireland would expect the same.
Gamblers get more choices. Smokers inhale cheaper cigarettes. And tipplers can hoist a round to Oregon lawmakers who kept state alcohol taxes among the lowest in the nation.
Even gluttons came out OK in the just-ended legislative session, which rejected efforts to require more nutritious school lunches and more time in PE classes.
"Sin had a fabulous session," summed up Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland.
In the past, Oregon legislators have come under muttered criticism for their "nanny" approach to state government, frequently looking for ways to curb residents' baser appetites.
Not this time.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski took an expansionist approach to gambling, calling for and getting video slot machines as part of the state-run lottery program, and approving a new tribal casino at Cascade Locks.
Kulongoski justified the growth into slot machines as a way to raise money to pay for additional state police patrols. Instead, lawmakers spent the money on other state programs, while cutting the number of troopers.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from both parties made runs at notching up taxes on beer, wine and tobacco, but ran into a brick wall of tax opposition in the House.
"Nothing could get any traction," Burdick said. "It was very, very frustrating."
Early in the session, a number of lawmakers from both parties backed a proposal to reinstate a 10-cent-a-pack tax on cigarettes that had been eliminated in 2004 as part of a statewide vote against a temporary income tax increase.
Their logic: Voters earlier approved much higher increases in tobacco taxes, other states were raising their taxes, and Oregon didn't need the distinction as the only state in the country that reduced cigarette taxes. At the beginning of the year, Oregon ranked 13th in the amount it taxes cigarettes.
Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem, introduced a bill to restore the 10-cent tobacco tax. It died in committee without so much as a hearing. Rep. Billy Dalto, another Salem Republican, offered a plan to put a 60-cent tax on cigarettes to voters in the next general election to pay for health care. It met a similar fate.
Democrats who controlled the Senate decided it was a waste of time to try to force the issue.
"There was no way in hell the House Republican leadership was going to increase taxes of any kind this session," said Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown, D-Portland.
That would be accurate, said Chuck Deister, spokesman for House Speaker Karen Minnis, R-Wood Village.
"We said at the beginning, if you brought a tax idea forward, it was dead," Deister said. "The House followed through on that."
Taxes weren't the only issue. Tobacco and convenience store lobbyists also helped stop a drive by some retired firefighters to require sales of "fire safe" cigarettes in Oregon, meaning they go out if they're not being puffed on. The idea, approved in New York and Vermont, is to stop house and forest fires caused by discarded or neglected cigarettes.
Lobbyists argued for a national standard, a stance Minnis adopted as well.
Lawmakers also pilfered from a state fund that pays for anti-smoking programs. Under the terms of a 30-cent tax on cigarettes voters approved in 1996, $15 million was to be earmarked for such programs in the 2005-07 budget. Lawmakers siphoned off about half of that for other programs.
"From a tobacco perspective, we didn't fare well at all," said John Valley, Oregon government affairs director for the American Heart Association. His group also pushed for anti-obesity bills, such as ones requiring healthier school lunches and more PE classes.
But a full-court blitz by restaurant lobbyists kept the lid on any attempts to legislate against excessive or unhealthy eating
"Nothing happened," Valley said. "You can give the governor and the Legislature an F." ...or an A, for letting people live their lives, unmolested by those who just can't stand it when other people have fun.
Former Democratic Party chairman Terry McAuliffe is reportedly predicting that presumed 2008 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will drop out of her 2006 Senate re-election race if a challenger like Jeanine Pirro forces her to spend campaign cash earmarked for her presidential race.
"I had a conversation with Terry McAuliffe during the Republican convention," former top Clinton campaign adviser Dick Morris told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" Wednesday night.
"And I said, 'Do you think Hillary runs for re-election to the Senate if she has a tough race?'"
According to Morris, McAuliffe replied, "No, why should she squander $30 million getting re-elected to a job she doesn't want?"
Morris was reacting to the first statewide poll taken since Mrs. Pirro announced her candidacy, which shows support for Mrs. Clinton plummeting by 14 percent.
A Marist College survey released Wednesday showed 50 percent of New Yorkers backing Mrs. Clinton over Pirro - a 14-point drop since Marist polled the two candidates in April.
The poll also shows that most New Yorkers do not want Hillary to run for president. Morris says Pirro will make that a central issue of her campaign.
Already Pirro has asked Hillary to take a pledge to New York voters that she won't use her re-election to the Senate as a steppingstone for a presidential run.
Morris said the key to defeating Hillary is for the telegenic Republican to raise early money.
"If [Pirro] can raise $3 million or $4 million or $5 million this month and next month and have a strong media buy in upstate New York and close that gap," he told "Hannity & Colmes" - "and Bill and Hillary are looking at polls that show [they're only] 7 or 8 points ahead of Jeanine - and they really are looking at Hillary being under 50 [percent], I bet you that Hillary withdraws from this race." Hillary is already on a tight timetable. Almost as soon as she is re-elected, she will have to announce for president to get her organization together and start raising the big bucks.
#1
Sounds like a good investment to me. Wonder if Pirro has a donation web site yet?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/11/2005 17:12 Comments ||
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#2
Personally I think she'd be making a mistake to run for Senate again. She's got nothing to gain and everything to lose. She should start her Presidential run in 2006 instead of muddying the waters with the Senate run.
The only reason to go for Senate is if she doesn't have confidence she'll win the big show.
#3
she doesn't have the confidence, and her "hiding her real lib self" program won't stick if she can't keep faking it further towards 2008. She's a known (and disliked) quantity
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 18:52 Comments ||
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#4
One muckraker to another signifying nothing.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/11/2005 19:30 Comments ||
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Posted by: Dick Lynes ||
08/11/2005 20:09 Comments ||
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#6
IMO she has to run for Senate in 2006. It seems to me electing someone for President who won one previous election is too thin an experience package when running for the office of Big Kahuna. I believe one four year turn in the office of Governor's preferable, but not as a Senator.
/that's also why I think Romney's got 0 chance, but that's another thread...
#7
The Hildebeast has to run, I think (hell, I'm no political prognosticator), for the reason Raj noted -- getting re-elected is the essential way you show people that you did a good job in office. Do a good job, get re-elected, do a bad job, lose or fold.
And let's be clear, Hildebeast's job performance is modestly okay for a freshman Senator. She has no major sponsored legislation, no memorable speech on the Senate floor, nothing to point to to say, "I did that; if it wasn't for me that wouldn't have happened." Part of the problem was that for 4 of her 6 years in office she's in the minority party, but she really didn't jump out to the first rank of opposition senators.
She has to run and she has to beat Pirro like a drum, or it's over.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/11/2005 22:41 Comments ||
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#8
agreed - 70% or more, and she won't do that.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 22:48 Comments ||
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Detroit is the most liberal U.S. city while Provo, Utah, is the most conservative, a study of voting patterns indicates.
Remember the Metro/Retro ads and all the claims about how the blue states are the more creative, intelligent areas? Well, here's your deepest blue, almost indigo. Just go along Fort street or Grand River. There's your "Metro," all right.
The list was compiled by the Bay Area Center for Voting Research in California through an examination of voting in 237 U.S. cities with populations of more than 100,000.
"Detroit and Provo epitomize America's political, economic and racial polarization," BACVR Director Jason Alderman said in a release Thursday. "As the most conservative city in America, Provo is overwhelmingly white and solidly middle class. This is in stark contrast to Detroit, which is impoverished, black and the most liberal."
Gary, Ind., was found to be the second-most liberal followed by Berkeley, Calif. You're slipping, comrades; Washington Would have been higher if Kerry had won; and Oakland, Calif.
Texas, home to President George Bush, has three of the five most conservative cities, as determined by BACVR, including Lubbock and Abilene in the Nos. 2 and 3 spots and Plano in the fifth spot. Hialeah, Fla., was ranked fourth.
BACVR offered no detailed breakdown of its methodology. We just pulled the numbers out of a hole in the ground. Or maybe somewhere else. We don't know one from the other, anyway.
#4
Detroit is the #1 metro area in population loss.
I lived there for a few years, then moved home to Cincinnati to discover the *EXACT SAME* process being run here. Now Cincinnati is the #2 area in population loss.
The pattern is so clear, it's almost freaky.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/11/2005 22:48 Comments ||
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#5
gee...how can that be? They seem high in racial diversity?
/not so naiveity
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 22:50 Comments ||
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What's wrong with citing rulings by judges in other countries, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer asked attendees at the American Bar Association Convention in Chicago on Tuesday.
Conservatives led by justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas have criticized Breyer for backing up opinions with references to rulings from abroad, such as a 2002 Death Row case in which Breyer cited decisions by British and Canadian courts and the European Court of Human Rights.
The Supreme Court "...should not impose foreign moods, fads or fashions on Americans," Justice Thomas wrote in response.
But Breyer said Tuesday, "We're not bound by any foreign laws... but this is a world in which more and more countries have come to have democratic systems of government with documents like our constitution that protect things like free expression. And there are judges. They have a job that is somewhat similar to the jobs we have. Why not learn something if we can?"
"To tell you the truth, in some of these countries, they're just trying to create these independent judicial systems to protect human rights, contracts. If we cite them sometimes -- not as binding, I promise, not as binding -- well, that gives them a little boost sometimes... It sort of gives them a leg up for the rule of law."
Breyer admits his and other justices' citing of non-U.S. cases "has hit a political nerve."
It came to a head in March when the court voted 5-4 to outlaw the execution of juveniles, citing, amid other evidence, the fact that other countries had outlawed it.
Breyer's comments came on the last day of the ABA's convention, attended by about 10,000 lawyers. Not a political nerve, you metrosexual, a US Constitutional nerve. If our republican democracy and Common Law don't define our laws to your satisfaction, you should ask to be appointed to the World Court at The Hague.
#1
"To tell you the truth, in some of these countries, they're just trying to create these independent judicial systems to protect human rights, contracts. If we cite them sometimes -- not as binding, I promise, not as binding -- well, that gives them a little boost sometimes... It sort of gives them a leg up for the rule of law."
Ladies and gentlemen -- affirmative action in a nutshell.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/11/2005 11:38 Comments ||
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#2
It's nice that Justice Breyer wants to advance the rule of law in other countries. Is there any chance he could do some of that here? Only if he's got time in between legislating from the bench and running his mouth off at conferences, of course.
#3
Breyer sees all cultures as equal, except ours, which is lacking in the good sense God evolution gave all non-Americans
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 13:53 Comments ||
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#4
What's wrong with citing rulings by judges in other countries, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer asked
Maybe, just maybe, because you took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States not some transnational concept. If you no longer wish to represent the United States, please step down. Direct consent of the governed, faster, faster.
#5
Breyer's comments came on the last day of the ABA's convention, attended by about 10,000 lawyers.
Boy, talk about your target rich environment!
Posted by: BA ||
08/11/2005 14:13 Comments ||
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#6
Might as well start citing sharia, while you're at it.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/11/2005 16:04 Comments ||
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#7
Oh dear, this is not good at all.
'documents like our constitution' - hmmm, well it depends what you mean by 'documents'. If you're talking about that abomination that is the *kof* european constitution (deliberately de-capitalised) then that's not fit to wipe a water-buffalos arse. Of course as there is 10^8 pages of it, there's enough to wipe a whole herd of buffalo arses with it.
Is this guy up for retirement anytime soon?
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/11/2005 16:22 Comments ||
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#8
..well, that gives them a little boost sometimes...
What was that again about the road to hell?
Someone tell Breyer that it's not his job to give other nations a boost. His job is to uphold OUR Constitution.
The US Department of State announced today a timeframe for issuing electronic passports that supporters say will improve the government's ability to protect its borders and critics say are a dangerous step towards a Big Brother-like surveillance society.
Sigh. Can we have a simple description of the passport specifics *before* we get to the (unnamed) critics?
The (unnamed) critics are the point of the whole story, not the passports...
The state department has publicized its plans to issue 'biometric' passports for some time; today the department solidified the calendar for issuing such passports, which will combine facial recognition technology, a radio-frequency chip that contains all the information written on the inside cover of the passport, and a digital signature intended to prevent unauthorized alterations.
They must be taking the gas pipe in Quetta. They'll probably riot when they discover there's no religion column...
The department confirmed that it will issue the first such passports this December, as anticipated. The current plan calls for all domestic passport agencies to issue them by October 2006. In anticipation of this changeover, the National Passport Center tacked on a $12 surcharge in March 2005 for all passport renewals; renewal by mail now costs $67 or $97 if you have to show up in person.
And now the cavalcade of critics:
Critics are wary of the biometric passports for two reasons. First, they say the technology doesn't actually work very well and will cause even longer delays at security checkpoints, for example, when the facial reader doesn't recognize the carrier or when signals from multiple chips interfere with each other. To address the specific complaint that chips may be susceptible to unauthorized reading, referred to 'skimming', the Department today said it would incorporate anti-skimming technology in the front cover. It provided no technical details as to how that would work.
As if the Expatica reporter has any idea of the technical details of anti-skimming technology.
"Mahmoud! How're we going to fool the face scanner?"
"I got a generic picture of a Bugti. It'll crash the INS server and we just walk through!"
The Department also said it is "seriously considering" using a technology called Basic Access Control intended to prevent the chip from being accessed until the passport is opened.
*BUT*
But an even more pressing worry, say civil liberties activists, is the potential use of such passports as what will amount to "global identity cards''; opponents also fear they will help the government track citizen's movements too closely.
That's one of the purposes of a passport. That's why they put all those stamps in them...
"What we are witnessing amounts to an effort by the U.S. government and others (whether conscious or not) to leapfrog over the politically untenable idea of adopting a national identity card, and set a course directly toward the creation of a global identity document," said a white paper from the ACLU issued last November.
You don't need to get a passport if you don't want one. You just can't go to Kashmir without it.
The European Union likewise has comparable plans to create biometric passports, plans that have met with comparable opposition. "These proposals are yet another result of the 'war on terrorism' which show that the EU is just as keen as the USA to introduce systems of mass surveillance which have much more to do with political and social control than fighting terrorism," wrote editor Tony Bunyan on his civil liberties online newsletter Statewatch.
It sounds to me like Tony's found the Secret Plan⢠behind it all. He must be a highly trained observer, since it's invisible to the rest of us.
Just go ahead and implant the chip. It'll make us all so safe.
Don't you want to feel safe?
We need to montior everyone to stop the terrorists.
If you aren't a terrorist why should you mind right? You're not a terrorist are you?
It'll make everything so convenient too, and so safe. Safe from terrorists.
Don't you want your kiddies safe from terrorists?
Sometimes we need to give a little so we can all be safer.
Big Brother loves you.
Thanks Big Brother
Those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither.
Posted by: Big Brother Loves You ||
08/11/2005 13:25 Comments ||
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#4
To the fuckwit who posted #3: Heavy meds - or Drano.
The truth is, there is no perfect answer to security, so it's very easy to snipe, cry foul, play off paranoia, post incredibly infantile fear-mongering stupidity, etc. for any measure proposed. Too easy. There needs to be a minimum IQ req'd.
It's your fucking passport, asshole. If you don't need one, then that's that, isn't it? You're done here, fuck the fuck off. Take that room temperature IQ with you.
If you do, then you likely aren't as naive, paranoid, and simply stupid as this fuckwit, and have seen that the world is a dangerous place and this is a realistic measure. It is only applicable at the times of exiting and entering the country - though this moron implies your passport will be sending secret snaps of you in the shower. Wotta bogeyman.
Everybody's bitching about border control, immigration, yadda³. But it's equally important that the identification used at the border be verifiable - or all other border control measures are a joke. Sure, build walls, etc, but let anyone in if the passport "looks" okay. Shit, you can buy stolen / phoney passports in lots of 100 - because they're not secure. This has to be done.
Sheesh. This is the obvious next step and you knew it had to come. Deal with it, paranoia freaks. The rest of us, who aren't afraid of the law because we're not asshats or crooks or Kool Aid swilling toolfools or mental institution escapees, welcome it. Get a fucking grip. Big Brother - kiss my hairy ass you fucking zero.
#5
Being both a total gov't skeptic and very much wary of Big Brother I've got two things to add...
1) If the passport is only needed for international travel this is not a scary thing, BUT if someone starts touting this as a "generic" ID for all purposes, it's getting close to lock & load time.
2) How do YOU all feel about having a GPS chip in your cell phones that is on by default? Supposedly you can switch it to only transmit when you call 911, but.......
#6
Focus, AlanC. You're off-topic - and this an important one: fighting the memes of the LLL Moonbats. Are you one, too? Drink your favorite Kool Aid in private or post an opinion piece, if you can make coherent arguments, don't muddy the water here.
#7
when signals from multiple chips interfere with each other
As the (brainless) reporter referred to the chip earlier as a "radio-frequency chip", I'm going to assume they're talking about an RFID.
Walmart is requiring suppliers to put RFIDs on cases, so that the warehouses can better track what comes in and goes out. Would they be considering this if there were problems with RFIDs interfering with each other?
Last I heard, this wasn't a pilot project. It was implementation phase.
The Department also said it is "seriously considering" using a technology called Basic Access Control intended to prevent the chip from being accessed until the passport is opened.
I believe it's called a "wire mesh" and it's woven into the cover material. When closed, the mesh provides a nifty little Faraday cage to prevent the RFID chip from hearing the query signal, and -- if the signal DOES get in -- to prevent anything from coming back out.
Those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither.
What liberty is lost from having a machine-readable passport?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/11/2005 14:29 Comments ||
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#8
I have heard all this blathering I can take. Some one needs to read up on RFID. Put it in a foil pouch and don your tin foil hat if you are paranoid. The range at which RFID works is measured in inches. If you have ever been through passport control you know no one is going to be in range of your passport and your but the people supposed to be checking it. Take this luddite crap to Slashdot.
The only thing I am pissed about is I will have to replace my almost brand new Passport that contains none of this biometric info at some point sooner than I normally would have to.
#9
So, they want to start using something that would make it incredibly hard to lie about who you are on a passport. WHY THE HELL NOT. What special need is there for one to have a better ability to lie about who they are on a passport? In the first instance, why worry about the technology because it will progress regardless of what moonbats might want or fear. Most of us will probably live to see the day when the issue is moot. The focus should be on understanding it as well as the implications on society in order to put it to work for our common good.
#10
Serious subject here, but I've had several beers and some wine so I'll take a chance - Herb Al-Kaboomi! brilliant name ;) and an ugly MoFo to boot.
There was a post yesterday or the day before where some arrested paki had *hundreds* of blank UK passports. If this stops crap like that, then I'm ok with it. RFID is not some skin implant with unlimited range so the BB analogies are waaay off.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/11/2005 16:06 Comments ||
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#11
Umm, .com, I think you need to take a chill dude.
The topic is about "big brother" in the form of biometric passports.
My first comment is that there is no particular problem with them IF they are true passports, totally voluntary, only used for international travel etc. (Totally on topic)
But, from a big brother perspective, anything that enables the gov't to keep tabs on anyone at any time (see GPS chips mandated in cell phones by the FCC) my libertarian antenna twitch.
(Big Brotherism, also on topic)
Calling me a left-winger is about as appropos as calling Atilla the Hun a pacifist.
ALOR STAR, Aug 10 (Bernama) -- The Sessions Court here Wednesday fixed Sept 21 for mention of the case of 10 Indonesians charged with armed gang robbery on an oil tanker.
Judge Maznah Abdul Aziz fixed the date after allowing an application for postponement by V.M Ravindran, counsel for seven of the accused, because he is still awaiting a reply from the deputy public prosecutor's office on a review of the charges...
[The Indonesians] are charged with committing gang robbery on the Nepline Delima while armed with parang in the waters between Kota Kuala Muda and Langkawi in Kedah between 4am and 12.25pm on June 14 this year. If convicted under sections 395 and 397 of the Penal Code they can be jailed up to 20 years each and whipped.
From East-Asia-Intel, subscription req'd. An Indian military investigation has been opened following disclosure that a soldier at a base near China had obtained strategic documents on troop deployments and high-level strategy. A corporal at the base had obtained access to computer data and had 100 pages of computer printouts of strategic value, a military officer told AFP Aug. 4. "It seems [the corporal] last year passed on copious data on missile locations, deployment of infantry battalions at China's borders, weapons technology upgrades and classified minutes of commander conferences," the officer said.
Some of the documents were stolen and passed to Pakistan, which is a close ally of China. The thefts took place during two months last year. "We are in the process of ascertaining what we have lost but from the surface it appears there has been a serious breach [of national security]," the officer said. Understatement of the year.
The documents were taken from a "war room" at the Tezpur base in northeastern India and were likely passed to Pakistan and then China. The base is designed to counter three Chinese military airfields in Tibet. The spy case follows the break-in of an Indian naval facility two weeks ago in New Delhi in which unidentified attackers penetrated a fortified defense facility and obtained several computer hard disks containing years of defense research work. India and China went to war in 1962 over a border dispute that remains unresolved.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
This shouldn't come as a surprise. The Chinese are well practiced in spying, stealing, etc.
The Paki-ChiCom alliance boxes in India, the US's recently upgraded ally. As Rummy says, this isn't checkers, it's chess.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/11/2005 15:32 Comments ||
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Wonder what the "O" stands for?
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. â Ever wonder if that spouse, friend or co-worker on the other end of the phone is really paying attention? The "Jerk-O-Meter" may hold the answer.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing software for cell phones that would analyze speech patterns and voice tones to rate people â on a scale of 0 to 100% â on how engaged they are in a conversation. Well, I'm screwed.
Anmol Madan, who led the project while he pursued a master's degree at MIT, sees the Jerk-O-Meter as a tool for improving relationships, not ending them. Or it might assist telephone sales and marketing efforts. Great. Can't give them enough help.
"Think of a situation where you could actually prevent an argument," he said. "Just having this device can make people more attentive because they know they're being monitored." Thanks, MIT. Got anything you can shove up my ass so you can keep track of me 24 hours a day? Forget I said that...
The program, which Madan said is nearing completion, uses mathematical algorithms to measure levels of stress and empathy in a person's voice. It also keeps track of how often someone is speaking. "It's an academically proven thing," Madan said of the math behind those measurements. "There are a bunch of academic papers published about this." Oh, well...it's gotta be a good thing then, right?
For now, the Jerk-O-Meter is set up to monitor the user's end of the conversation. If his attention is straying, a message pops up on the phone that warns, "Don't be a jerk!" or "Be a little nicer now." A score closer to 100% would prompt, "Wow, you're a smooth talker." Yes. This definitely sounds like a candidate to add to the "Bullshit Stuff Nobody Really Needs" list.
However, the Jerk-O-Meter also could be set up to test the voice on the other end of the line. Then it could send the tester such reports as: "This person is acting like a jerk. Do you want to hang up?" Sorry, boys, but I usually don't need a "report" to know that.
To test the program, Madan and his MIT colleagues recruited 10 men and 10 women â all strangers to each other â and brought them into the lab. The researchers paired off the test subjects, with men only talking to men and women only talking to women, and monitored 200 three-minute conversations about randomly selected topics. After each conversation, the subjects were asked to rate their level of interest on a scale of one to 10. By measuring the speaking style each person had used in the conversation, Madan was able to predict what score they would give roughly 80% of the time. Wow! He's like... Nostradamus!
The study indicated that men and women are interested in conversations for different reasons. The subject of the chat was more important to men than women, Madan said. "For the women, it was more dependent on who they were talking to and what the mood was like," he added. "It wasn't just about the topic itself." The researchers also tested the technology at a bar in Cambridge where a group of singles were "speed-dating," rotating through a series of five-minute conversations. Dating at Cambridge bars. That brings back some ugly memories. Where was "speed dating" then, when I coulda used it?
"Mathematically modeling" each person's speaking style let the research team predict whether a speed-dater would agree to a real date. It was a good sign, Madan said, if the speed-daters engaged in "back and forth exchanges," punctuated by "ahas" and "yups." Frank Guenther, a professor of cognitive and neural systems at Boston University, said there are a host of "non-linguistic" cues, such as pregnant pauses, flat pitch levels and slow speech rates, that indicate boredom or disinterest. Ah, yes. The..............................pregnant pause.
"To me, it sounds like it's great for the entertainment factor," he said of the Jerk-O-Meter. "But I don't think you'll be able to get definitive measurements. There is just too much variability across individuals." The prototype version of the program runs in Linux on a phone plugged into Voice over Internet service. Once the Jerk-O-Meter is completed, in six months or so, Madan envisions selling it as software that could be downloaded off the Internet â a potentially useful tool for focus groups, telemarketers and salesmen. You know, the PROFESSIONAL assholes...
"It sounds pretty cool," said Jeff Kagan, a telecommunications analyst in Atlanta. "But if someone was using it against me, I'd say, 'How dare they!'" he added with a laugh. The Jerk-O-Meter is one of many projects at MIT that aim to make cell phones and other communication devices more "socially aware," said Alex Pentland, director of the Media Lab's human dynamics research group. Yeah, I insist my cellphone be "socially aware".
Madan and Pentland have formed a company, iMetrico, to commercialize some of these technologies for sales and marketing efforts. But it's too early to say whether the Jerk-O-Meter would be one of them."Almost everybody has a cell phone," Pentland said. "They're as powerful as regular computers. There are all sorts of things that can be done with them, but haven't yet. ... They just don't support humans the way they live." I see this as being a big seller to, like, 15 year old girls...
#1
..."there are a host of "non-linguistic" cues, such as pregnant pauses, flat pitch levels and slow speech rates, that indicate boredom or disinterest"
Some of us call this "thinking."
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
08/11/2005 16:22 Comments ||
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Okay. Nanny state got my smokes and now they want my french fries.
NEW YORK - New York City wants restaurants to narrow their list of ingredients â and maybe some waistlines â by cutting out trans fats. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said the voluntary change could also help fight the city's biggest killer, heart disease.
To comply, chefs would have to dump many margarines and frying oils, and possibly reworking long-held recipes for baked goods.
The New York State Restaurant Association supports the effort, Executive Vice President E. Charles Hunt said in a health department release Wednesday. Have they asked some of the restaurants they supposedly represent their opinions?
The fats, found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, raise diners' chance of developing heart disease in much the same way that saturated meat and dairy fats do, raising overall and bad cholesterol while lowering good cholesterol, American Heart Association President Robert Eckel said in the release. Saturated meat and dairy fats. I guess we know what they're gunning for next.
The Food and Drug Administration has already targeted trans fats. Nationwide, all foods containing the chemically modified oils must be labeled beginning next January.
Some workers and diners were skeptical of the city plan.
"Labeling is as far as you want to go. You don't want to be telling people what to eat," Brooklyn waitress Karen Quam told The New York Times. The city's request came two years after it outlawed smoking in bars, restaurants and offices, citing concerns about the ill effects of secondhand smoke. We'll call that Step One.
#1
Ah yes, the glorious nanny state looking out for the peons who don't know better.
Tell 'em they can have your trans fats after they pry the fries from your cold, dead hands.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 16:46 Comments ||
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#4
"Labeling is as far as you want to go. You don't want to be telling people what to eat."
Oh, yes they do: they want very, VERY much to not only tell people what to eat, but to direct every other aspect of their lives as well-- not just in public places, but within the walls of their own homes, too. They want to control EVERYTHING.
You didn't really think it would stop at prohibiting smoking in restaurants, did you???
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/11/2005 17:10 Comments ||
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#5
OK. Any progress being made getting Tranzis out our lives? We'd all be a lot healthier.
#6
Yep, the Tranzies and their blood kin the lefties are going to do something stupid, like fire on a federal fort. Bloody Kansas:Part Deux. It may take a while, but in the end large numbers WILL migrate to friendlier shores.
#9
In Europe they've just passed the Codex Alimentarius, a massive food regulation law. One of its effects will be that most vitamins, minerals & suppliments will be either completely banned or the placed in the 'by doctor's prescription only' category. There are fears that because of trade agreements between Europe & the US that such bans & regulations will be coming here soon.
Longish article about it: The Fate of Vitamins - "A low-profile organization created by the United Nations is about to ban global trade of many essential nutrientsâand there may be nothing you can do to stop it"
#10
Ya know... most of the oils and foods thoses Eurocrats love I am deathly allergic to. Can any of those terrorists be redirected to that meeting?
(I do like eating and given a chance those food idiots would kill me.)
Scientists have unscrambled the genetic code of rice, a development that could help end hunger around the world, Nature magazine reports this week.
The blueprint will speed up the hunt for genes that improve productivity and guard against disease and pests.
In order to avoid shortages, rice yields must increase by 30% over the next 20 years, researchers say.
Scientists from 10 countries cooperated to work out how the 400 million "letters" of rice DNA are arranged.
"Rice is a critically important crop, and this finished sequence represents a major milestone," said Robin Buell of The Institute of Genomic Research (TIGR). "We know the scientific community can use these data to develop new varieties of rice that deliver increased yields and grow in harsher conditions."
The research will also help scientists understand other vital food crops. Rice is genetically similar to maize, wheat, barley, rye, sorghum and sugarcane. So understanding the genomes of these plants is now a small step away.
"Rice is the Rosetta Stone for crop genomes," said Dr Buell. "We can use the rice genome as a base for genomic studies of cereals."
According to the United Nations, rice currently provides 20% of the world's dietary energy supply, while wheat supplies 19% and maize 5%.
Although rice represents 30% of global cereal production today, and production levels have doubled over the past 30 years, much more of the cereal will be needed in the future.
Current consumption trends suggest that about 4.6 billion people will be reliant on rice by the 2025. In addition, global warming may mean that rice is required to be more robust in the face of droughts.
Japan led the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project, which included teams from the US, the UK, China, India, Thailand, Brazil and France.
The rice variety sequenced was the temperate subspecies Oryza sativa subspecies japonica , which is cultivated mainly in Japan, Korea, and the US.
It took seven years to complete the work and the results are already accelerating discovery. Scientists have used the sequence to identify genes that control fundamental processes, such as flowering.
Rice's similarity to barley has also helped researchers identify genes responsible for resistance to barley powdery mildew and stem rust, two major crop diseases.
"Now that we know where all the genes are, we try to associate them with certain traits," said Rod Wing of the University of Arizona. "The accurate, map-based sequence has already led to the identification of genes that confer important traits such as yield and demand for light during growth."
The researchers compared rice to the only other fully sequenced plant genome, Arabidposis thaliana , or thale cress, a weed that is commonly used in laboratories.
They found that while 90% of thale cress proteins also occur in rice, only 71% of rice proteins also occur in thale cress. This suggests rice has many genes specific to itself, or cereals.
"By sequencing rice we sequenced all the other cereals to a certain extent," said Professor Wing.
"Many of the shared genes are in similar positions on the respective chromosomes, so when we assign a function to a given gene in rice, it is very likely that the corresponding gene in another cereal has the same or a similar function." Agribusiness is one of the few things that can affect humans a billion at a time. As far as agriculture goes, this is as unique, and as much of a milestone, as was the Moon landing.
#2
Actually, we already have "Golden Rice," which lets thousands of children in Asia be able to see. Of course, the usual evil greenies don't want that to expand to millions. Who cares if millions are blind because of the simple lack of a few vitamins? They're not white, anyway.
#4
To put this into perspective, in the 1970s, to prevent the US, Canada and Argentina from becoming so predominant in world food production as to create world-wide dependency, the USDA began a program to create grain cross-breeds that were far hardier, disease and insect resistant, and needing less water. Of the few hundred cross-breeds they created, they exported seed for free and re-established subsistence farming as viable production in much of the world. Planted crop food grains have thus expanded their range on the planet by many fold. And this was just with a few hundred simple cross-breeds. By knowing the grain genome, thousands of nutritionally and agriculturally tailored grains may create a second, decentralized "green revolution."
RICHMOND, Va. - The creation of gender-segregated classes at Virginia Tech for visiting faculty from Saudi Arabia is drawing complaints from professors, who say a state-supported school shouldn't promote discrimination. King Abdulaziz University paid Virginia Tech $246,000 to design and operate the faculty development program this summer.
The courses include topics such as Web site development and online instruction, but in keeping with the preferences of the Saudi university, the university created separate classes for the approximately 30 male and 30 female faculty members.
Eloise Coupey, an associate professor of marketing at the Virginia Tech, filed a complaint with the school Tuesday alleging the single-sex classes created a hostile environment for women."The presence of these segregated classes on campus indicates to me that the university doesn't place a strong enough value on women's rights," Coupey said Wednesday. "This makes me feel that the university holds me in less regard than my male counterparts." The univerisity might not, but the Saudi's do.
A message left for university spokesman Larry Hincker seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.Provost Mark McNamee has said that the gender segregation isn't compatible with Virginia Tech's practices and called the controversy "a learning moment" that will help guide the university's future contracts with foreign universities."We regret that our internal review process did not anticipate this situation and develop a reasonable alternative in partnership with our visitors," McNamee said in a statement Tuesday to deans and department heads.
The university, in Blacksburg, has allowed the classes to continue but has made the course segregation optional. "Segregation optional"? That's a new one.
South Africa could learn about speedy land reform from its neighbour Zimbabwe, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Wednesday. "We've got lessons to learn from Zimbabwe -- how to do it fast," she told an African distance-education conference in Pretoria.
There is a general complaint in South Africa that land reform is too slow, too structured and "that we need a bit of an oomph". "So, we might want some skills exchange between us and Zimbabwe, to get some of their colleagues to help us here with that," the deputy president told delegates with a smile -- to muted laughter.
"Ummm, Mbela, must we laugh?"
"Yes, Mcecum, else he'll have your whole family killed."
Earlier this month, a conference on South Africa's land-reform programme -- designed to correct apartheid-era wrongs -- concluded that the willing-buyer-willing-seller principle is no longer appropriate. It resolved that a new mechanism be found. At the time, Mlambo-Ngcuka said the principle is slowing down land reform.
The Democratic Alliance questioned the wisdom of Mlambo-Ngcuka's pronouncement at the education conference. "Surely Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is joking," it said in a statement.
Well they were laughing.
"The lesson for our country lies in not following the same route which Zimbabwe has taken. Zimbabwe offers a textbook example of ways in which land reform should not be carried out."
The blame for the slow pace of South Africa's land-reform programme rests with the government, the party said. "The legal framework is in place and there are enough landowners and farmers who want to be part of this process. The government is trying to turn landowners into villains instead of recognising that they are victims of government slackness and failure to vote the funds."
Mlambo-Ngcuka should act in a more "balanced and responsible manner" when making public statements, the DA said.
The South African government wants all land-restitution claims settled within the next three years, and 30% of agricultural land in the hands of the previously disadvantaged by 2014. By December last year, 3% of commercial farm land had been redistributed.
#5
Don't forget to throw in the whitey for that plantin shit. Bob make a big mistake not doin that. I got lots of time to come down to SA and advise if ya want. Not like much happenin on my farm.
Posted by: Farmin B. Hard ||
08/11/2005 11:38 Comments ||
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#6
"Surely Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is joking," it said in a statement.
#7
I completely agree that "We've got lessons to learn from Zimbabwe," although I suspect that the lessons I've learned are appreciably different than the ones Miss Mlambo-Ngucka has taken away.
A former Guinea-Bissau dictator was confirmed the official winner Wednesday of this African nation's presidential runoff, according to final election results. Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira had appeared sure of victory since last month, when the West African country's national electoral commission said provisional results had given him the edge over rival Malam Bacai Sanha. The commission said that Vieira won 52 percent of the vote, compared with 48 percent for Sanha.
I'm sure the voters will get exactly the kind of government they deserve, too...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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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.
The Rolling Stones' upcoming album contains a song seemingly critical of President Bush, but 
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - The Inter-American Court of Human Rights Tuesday refused a request by American Lori Berenson to review its ruling that upheld her 20-year sentence in Peru for terrorism. In a decision issued in November, the Costa Rica-based court - the legal arm of the Organization of American States - rejected Berenson's arguments that Peru violated her rights in a 2001 civilian retrial. It was Berenson's last formal avenue of appeal.
The US Department of State announced today a timeframe for issuing electronic passports that supporters say will improve the government's ability to protect its borders and critics say are a dangerous step towards a Big Brother-like surveillance society. 
An Indian military investigation has been opened following disclosure that a soldier at a base near China had obtained strategic documents on troop deployments and high-level strategy. A corporal at the base had obtained access to computer data and had 100 pages of computer printouts of strategic value, a military officer told AFP Aug. 4. "It seems [the corporal] last year passed on copious data on missile locations, deployment of infantry battalions at China's borders, weapons technology upgrades and classified minutes of commander conferences," the officer said. 
