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Banning samurai swords | Oddly Enough | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...idUSN1319327520071214 stupid
shared by sirgabrial on 17 Dec 07 - Cached
  • Banning samurai swords
  • The government said Wednesday it would ban the sale of samurai swords because the weapons had been used in a number of serious, high-profile attacks.
  • The Home Office said the swords would be added to the Offensive Weapons Order from April next year, meaning they could not be imported, sold or hired.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • However collectors of genuine Japanese swords and those used by martial arts enthusiasts would be exempt from the ban.
  • "In the wrong hands, samurai swords are dangerous weapons,"
  • Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said.
  • "We recognize it is the cheap, easily available samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial arts enthusiasts."
8More

w00t crowned word of year by U.S. dictionary | Oddly Enough | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...idUSN1256278120071214 stupid
shared by sirgabrial on 24 Dec 07 - Cached
  • "w00t" crowned word of year by U.S. dictionary
  • "w00t," an expression of joy coined by online gamers, was crowned word of the year on Tuesday by the publisher of a leading U.S. dictionary.
  • Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster Inc. said "w00t" -- typically spelled with two zeros -- reflects a new direction in the American language led by a generation raised on video games and cell phone text-messaging.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • It's like saying "yay," the dictionary said.
  • "It could be after a triumph or for no reason at all,"
  • Visitors to Merriam-Webster's Web site were invited to vote for one of 20 words and phrases culled from the most frequently looked-up words on the site and submitted by readers.
  • Runner-up was "facebook" as a new verb meaning to add someone to a list of friends on the Web site Facebook.com or to search for people on the social networking site.
  • Merriam-Webster President John Morse said "w00t" reflected the growing use of numeric keyboards to type words.
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Attackers chop off man's 'magic' leg - 0 views

hosted.ap.org/...INDIA_SEVERED_LEG stupid
shared by sirgabrial on 17 Dec 07 - Cached
  • Attackers chop off man's 'magic' leg
  • Two men attacked an 80-year-old, self-proclaimed holy man in southern India and chopped off his right leg, apparently believing it had magical powers, police said Thursday.
  • Yanadi Kondaiah, who claimed that those who touched his leg would be cured of illness or have wishes granted, was hospitalized in serious condition after the attack Tuesday, said R. Ravindranath Reddy, a senior police officer.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • "We are looking for the miscreants as well as the leg,"
  • remote area 340 miles south of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state.
  • "This seems to be a case of superstition. The two people might have taken away the leg hoping to benefit from its magical powers,"
  • Kondaiah told police that two men offered him a drink as thanks for previously helping them with his magical touch.
  • After he passed out drunk, the men chopped off the leg below the knee with a sickle and left him to die
  • passing villagers found him and took him to a hospital.
14More

10 Rules for Fledgling Santas - BrooWaha Nation - 0 views

www.broowaha.com/article.php santa
shared by sirgabrial on 30 Dec 07 - Cached
  • 1. Play the part 100%
  • 2. Learn your ho’s
  • 3. Control your beard
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • 4. Don’t skimp on the costume
  • 5. Don’t get hammered
  • 6. No lap dances
  • If you believe you’re really Santa then everyone else will buy into it.
  • 7. Do your research
  • 9. Have a Mrs. Claus to help you
  • 10. Go tough love when necessary
  • A lot of teenagers will try to insult you to make themselves look cool in front of their friends.
  • 8. Bring a towel
  • Wearing the costume is a privilege, so don’t do anything that might spoil the big man’s image – like smoke, swear, spit, hit on women or break loud wind.
  • A weak “ho, ho, ho!” greeting is the quickest way to be labeled a panty-waist Santa Claus
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Climate change conference aims for pact by 2009 - USATODAY.com - 0 views

www.usatoday.com/...2007-12-15-climatetalks_N.htm
shared by barnaby on 25 Dec 07 - Cached
  • overcame bitter divisions on Saturday over how to fight global warming and agreed to reach a new deal by 2009
  • United States, facing angry criticism from other delegations, relenting in its opposition to a request from developing nations for more technological help fighting climate change.
  • does not commit countries to specific actions against global warming
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • sets an agenda and schedule for negotiators to find ways to reduce pollution and help poor countries adapt to environmental changes
  • speeding up the transfer of technology and financial assistance.
  • European Union to include specific emissions reduction targets for industrial nations
  • eliminated after the United States
  • targets should come at the end of the two-year negotiations, not the beginning
  • lead to widespread drought, floods, higher sea levels and worsening storms.
  • lacked specific emissions targets and did not include strong commitments for rich countries to provide poorer ones with green technology.
  • embark on at least two years of talks to fashion a more effective and widely accepted successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol
  • more inclusive, effective successor to Kyoto, which commits 37 industrialized nations to cut greenhouse gases by an average of 5% between 2008 and 2012.
  • Bush has argued that the cuts required by Kyoto would hurt the U.S. economy
  • encouraged monitoring of technological transfer to make sure rich countries were meeting that need.
  • United States objected, calling for further talks
  • "If you are not willing to lead, then get out of the way!"
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Farm bill includes provisions to boost sugar, dairy farmers - Examiner.com - 0 views

www.examiner.com/oost_sugar__dairy_farmers.html
shared by barnaby on 25 Dec 07 - Cached
  • farm bill which passed the Senate Friday includes provisions that would help sugar growers and dairy farmers
  • increase of 6 percent to 7 percent in the guaranteed government minimum price for sugar growers
  • federal government to buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • renews the Milk Income Loss Contract program at a higher rate
  • when prices fall below a baseline level, the federal government pays dairy farmers cash to cover
  • amendment that would have banned payments to full-time farmers who make more than $750,000 a year, and part-time farmers who make more than $250,000 a year. The vote was 48-47, but 60 votes were needed for passage.
  • would have limited overall farm payments to $250,000 a year - down from the current limit of $360,000.
  • would have required that farmers be "actively engaged" to receive subsidies, fell four votes short of the 60 needed.
  • urged his fellow Republicans to drop a filibuster of the legislation last week,
  • "followed his party's leadership, and supported subsidies given to wealthy millionaires who do not farm."
  • The focus here was to keep the money and the subsidies and the help in the hands of family farmers," she said, "and not to multimillionaire real estate developers in Florida or art collectors in San Francisco."
12More

Cats That Glow - 0 views

news.wired.com/...SKOREA_GLOWING_CATS
shared by sirgabrial on 17 Dec 07 - Cached
  • SKorean Scientists Clone Cats That Glow
  • South Korean scientists have cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays, an achievement that could help develop cures for human genetic diseases, the Science and Technology Ministry said.
  • Turkish Angora cats
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that makes them glow in dark.
  • One died at birth, but the two others survived
  • Scientists from Gyeongsang National University and Sunchon National University took skin cells from a cat and inserted the fluorescent gene into them before transplanting the genetically modified cells into eggs.
  • The development means other genes can also be inserted in the course of cloning, pa >
  • paving the way for producing lab cats with genetic diseases
  • including those of humans, to help develop new treatments,
  • "Cats have similar genes to those of humans," said veterinary professor Kong Il-keun of Gyeongsang National University.
  • "People with genetic disorders usually have to receive treatment throughout their lives that is very hard on them," Kato said.
  • "If these results can help to make their lives easier, then I think it's a wonderful thing."
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Fidel Castro to retire? - Gadling - 0 views

www.gadling.com/...fidel-castro-to-retire
shared by sirgabrial on 30 Dec 07 - Cached
  • Fidel Castro to retire?
  • Fidel Castro, Cuba's dictator since 1959, hinted yesterday that he may be willing to hand over power to younger Cuban leaders.
  • In a letter discussing the Bali summit on global warming, Castro wrote, "My elemental duty is not to cling to positions, or even less to obstruct the path of younger people, but to share experiences and ideas whose modest worth comes from the exceptional era in which I lived."
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Castro, now 81, handed over power to his younger brother, Raul, 16 months ago, and has not made a public appearance since that time in July, 2006, though he remains Cuba's official president.
  • Castro didn't offer any specifics on when, or to whom, his power would eventually be transferred, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that Cuba will soon see fresh leadership.
  • While Castro's Cuba has been occasionally praised for its health care system, Cuba has extensive economic problems (in part because of a US embargo) and Castro's government has been intolerant of political dissent.
18More

EPA blocks California bid to limit greenhouse gases from cars - 0 views

www.sfgate.com/...article.cgi
shared by barnaby on 25 Dec 07 - Cached
    • barnaby
      barnaby on 25 Dec 07
       
      this is exactly why i don't like big government. in my opinion the only reason bush signed this law is to be able to reject this lawsuit. each state has the right to regulate everything and everything within that state. on a national scale one vote does not matter. as the size of government goes down our voice is more important.
  • Bush administration blocked efforts by California and 17 other states today to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks
  • Stephen Johnson rejected California's request for a waiver from the federal government to impose tough tailpipe emissions standards.
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • require automakers to cut greenhouse gas emissions nationwide, despite President Bush's rejection of mandatory national standards.
  • states represent nearly half the U.S. population
  • Johnson said Congress' passage of an energy bill this week that raises fuel economy standards for all cars and trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 made the state laws unnecessary
  • "It's important to put this in perspective - (the new law) applies to all 50 states," Johnson said. "Not 12 states, not 17 states, all 50 states. That is great from an environmental perspective."
  • Auto industry executives have argued
  • lead to a patchwork of laws.
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger, have been preparing for weeks to sue EPA to get the decision overturned
  • state did not specify how the reductions were to be accomplished
    • barnaby
      barnaby on 25 Dec 07
       
      leaving all options open for manugacturers
  • auto trade groups, manufacturers and dealers argued that the California statute conflicts with federal law
  • only practical way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to increase gas mileage, a subject regulated exclusively by the federal government.
  • Environmentalists described today's ruling as part of a long-standing effort by the Bush administration to stall action on climate change regulations.
    • barnaby
      barnaby on 25 Dec 07
       
      dumb environmentalists. bush doesn't care about stalling environmental issues, he wants to make money.
  • EPA was trying to minimize the media impact of the decision
  • press call to announce the decision was held at 6:30 p.m. EDT, long after the major broadcast networks finished work on their evening broadcasts.
8More

Japan Scientists Develop Fearless Mice - 0 views

news.wired.com/...JAPAN_FEARLESS_MOUSE
shared by sirgabrial on 17 Dec 07 - Cached
  • Japan Scientists Develop Fearless Mice
  • Japanese scientists say they've used genetic engineering to create mice that show no fear of felines, a development that may shed new light on mammal behavior and the nature of fear itself.
  • Scientists at Tokyo University say they were able to successfully switch off a mouse's instinct to cower at the smell or presence of cats - showing that fear is genetically hardwired and not learned through experience, as commonly believed.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • "Mice are naturally terrified of cats, and usually panic or flee at the smell of one. But mice with certain nasal cells removed through genetic engineering didn't display any fear," said research team leader Ko Kobayakawa.
  • In his experiment, the genetically altered mice approached cats, even snuggled up to them and played with them.
  • help researchers shed further light on how the brain processes information about the outside world.
  • how to control it.
  • "If we follow the pathway of related signals in the brain, I think we could discover what kind of networks in the brain are important for controlling fear."
10More

EU joins WTO complaint against U.S. corn subsidies - International Herald Tribune - 0 views

www.iht.com/...wto.php
shared by barnaby on 25 Dec 07 - Cached
  • European Union, Australia, Argentina and Brazil have joined Canada in a complaint against the United States over what they claim are illegal government handouts to American corn growers
  • threatens a major commercial dispute at a time when global free trade talks remain stalled over agricultural tariffs and subsidies
  • United States is beginning debate on a new multibillion-dollar farm bill.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Canada lodged its complaint Jan. 8, claiming that some $9 billion paid out by the United States annually in export credit guarantees and other subsidies unfairly and illegally deflated international corn prices.
  • already has ruled that some cotton subsidies are illegal, and the administration of President George W. Bush has been coming under pressure to reform a number of its farm support programs.
  • challenged whether the billions of dollars in overall farm subsidies paid out by the U.S. government comply with international commerce rules.
  • U.S. subsidy levels for a number of years on farm products including wheat, sugar and soybeans were illegal
  • United States said it has offered cuts
  • largely artificial, addressing only permitted levels of government subsidies and failing to cut what Washington actually gives to its farmers.
  • 40 percent of global production and nearly 60 percent of all exports
19More

Taking Marriage Private - New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...26coontz.html
shared by sirgabrial on 03 Dec 07 - Cached
  • Taking Marriage Private
  • WHY do people — gay or straight — need the state’s permission to marry?
  • For most of Western history, they didn’t, because marriage was a private contract between two families.
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • The parents’ agreement to the match, not the approval of church or state, was what confirmed its validity.
  • In 1215, the church decreed that a “licit” marriage must take place in church.
  • But people who married illictly had the same rights and obligations as a couple married in church: their children were legitimate; the wife had the same inheritance rights; the couple was subject to the same prohibitions against divorce.
  • Not until the 16th century did European states begin to require that marriages be performed under legal auspices. In part, this was an attempt to prevent unions between young adults whose parents opposed their match.
  • until the mid-19th century, state supreme courts routinely ruled that public cohabitation was sufficient evidence of a valid marriage.
  • the United States began to nullify common-law marriages and exert more control over who was allowed to marry.
  • By the 1920s, 38 states prohibited whites from marrying blacks, “mulattos,” Japanese, Chinese, Indians, “Mongolians,” “Malays” or Filipinos.
  • Twelve states would not issue a marriage license if one partner was a drunk, an addict or a “mental defect.” Eighteen states set barriers to remarriage after divorce.
  • governments began relying on marriage licenses for a new purpose: as a way of distributing resources to dependents.
  • The Social Security Act provided survivors’ benefits with proof of marriage.
  • health insurance
  • Courts and hospitals
  • granting couples the privilege
  • Half of all Americans aged 25 to 29 are unmarried, and many of them already have incurred obligations as partners, parents or both.
  • 40 percent of America’s children are born to unmarried parents.
  • A woman married to a man for just nine months gets Social Security survivor’s benefits when he dies. But a woman living for 19 years with a man to whom she isn’t married is left without government support, even if her presence helped him hold down a full-time job and pay Social Security taxes.
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7 foods you may think are healthy, but aren't - Chew On This- msnbc.com - 0 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/22027686
shared by sirgabrial on 03 Dec 07 - Cached
  • Are you going to eat that?
  • 7 foods you may think are healthy, but aren't
  • GRANOLA BARS
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • Many granola bars are dipped in sugary syrups or loaded with chocolate chips, highly processed or artificial ingredients and aren’t much better than high-calorie candy bars.
  • TEA DRINKS
  • Many bottled varieties contain little brewed tea, but plenty of added sugars — enough to rival soda.
  • A recent Consumer Reports review found that all bottled tea beverages had fewer antioxidants than brewed teas.
  • PRETZELS
  • Pretzels are mostly nutritionally empty.
  • One serving provides nearly a quarter of the sodium a person needs each day.
  • MUFFINS
  • Years ago, one muffin was 150 to 170 calories, 5 grams of fat and about the size of a racquetball. Today, a muffin averages 500 calories, 20-plus grams of fat, and are closer to the size of a small planet.
  • RICE CAKES
  • You won’t find much on the nutrition facts label beyond calories and sodium. Even those that boast whole grains typically remove the germ, one of the more nutritious parts of a whole grain kernel.
5More

7 foods you may think are healthy, but aren't - Chew On This- msnbc.com - 0 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/...2
shared by sirgabrial on 03 Dec 07 - Cached
  • FRUIT-FLAVORED SNACKS (gummies)
  • The first ingredient listed is a fruit, but it’s often a concentrate made from boiled-down juices fairly rich in sugar and lacking the phytonutrients and vitamins found in whole fruits.
  • Added sugars overwhelm any of the fruit benefits.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • FROZEN YOGURTS
  • Some contain live, active cultures, others do not. Unless labeled fat-free, many frozen yogurts contain nearly the same amount of fat as a reduced-fat ice cream, as well as the same number of calories.
11More

Behind Chavez's Defeat in Venezuela - 0 views

www.businessweek.com/...gb2007123_114899.htm
shared by barnaby on 25 Dec 07 - Cached
  • Dec. 2, voters rejected Chavez's request to change the country's constitution to give him greater powers and allow him to serve as President for life.
  • pushing for more government control over the economy
  • growing discontent with Chavez's leadership
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • hand majority control of their local operations over to the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA
  • Chavez acknowledged the outcome
  • broke Chavez's string of more than a dozen electoral victories since 1998, rejecting 50.7% to 49.3% dozens of amendments to the 1999 constitution
  • would have expanded the presidential term of office to seven years, up from its current six years, while scrapping term limits.
  • ended the autonomy of the central bank and made it easier to seize private property.
  • overhauled the country's military, giving more power to a civilian reserve
  • cut the workweek by 25%.
  • the opposition may run into trouble if it interprets this victory as a mandate to push Chavez from office.
10More

NPR : Report: Iran Stopped Weapons Program in 2003 - 0 views

www.npr.org/...story.php
shared by barnaby on 25 Dec 07 - Cached
  • National Intelligence Estimate on Iran concludes that the country's efforts to build a nuclear weapon had ceased back in 2003
  • stark contrast to the dire warnings issued from the Bush administration
  • may be able to develop a nuclear weapon between 2010 and 2015 — but the country halted its nuclear weapons development program in 2003
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Iran is continuing to enrich uranium, and that it could acquire enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon after 2010, and possibly not until after 2015.
  • report's authors went on to say that Iran could likely be persuaded to abandon the program further.
  • conclusions were contained in a highly classified document, but its key judgments were declassified and released
  • "good news" that a dispute over Iran's nuclear program might be resolved without the use of force
  • said that the Bush administration had not sought to manipulate the information to help shape U.S. policy on Iran.
  • Hadley said that the intelligence community "assessed with high confidence that Iran currently was determined to develop nuclear weapons."
  • May 2005 report
12More

Turning Water into Fuel - Popular Science - 0 views

www.popsci.com/...0vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
shared by barnaby on 25 Dec 07 - Cached
  • Turning Water into Fuel
    • barnaby
      barnaby on 25 Dec 07
       
      radiowaves bombard salt water creating oxygen and hydrogen. could enough radiowaves set the great salt lake aflame? the ocean?
  • inventor John Kanzius was already attempting
  • cure cancer with radio waves—when his device inadvertently
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • made saltwater catch fire.
  • potential for desalinization or cheap energy
  • cancer breakthrough is what he's really after
  • seed a person's cancerous cells with nanoscopic metal particles and blast them with radio waves, perhaps he could kill off the cancer while sparing healthy tissue
  • bombarding a saline-filled test tube with radio waves and bumped the tube
  • Kanzius struck a match. "The water lit like a propane flame,"
  • sodium chloride in the water may weaken the bonds between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms, which are broken free by radio waves. It's these gas molecules that are igniting, he explains, not the liquid itself
  • reaction disappears once the radio waves stop
5More

Iran still dangerous, Bush says - Los Angeles Times - 0 views

www.latimes.com/...-fg-bush5dec05,0,7020701.story
shared by barnaby on 25 Dec 07 - Cached
  • despite a new intelligence assessment concluding Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program
  • posed a danger and must stop enriching uranium.
  • hamper the U.S. campaign to win support for new economic sanctions.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • difficult to get Russia and China and the reluctant Europeans to go for tough sanctions,
  • Bush called the National Intelligence Estimate released Monday a "warning signal" and said it lent support to his unyielding approach to Iran.
13More

Romney: There should be no religious test for presidency - USATODAY.com - 0 views

www.usatoday.com/...2007-12-06-romney-speech_N.htm
shared by sirgabrial on 17 Dec 07 - Cached
  • Romney: There should be no religious test for presidency
    • sirgabrial
      sirgabrial on 17 Dec 07
       
      -is he doing this cause people generally have a negative view of mormonism? you preach religious tolerence for your self.
  • Republican Mitt Romney's much-anticipated speech Thursday on the role of faith in the USA echoed the message made by another Massachusetts politician seeking the White House nearly 50 years ago: Religious tolerance, not church membership, is what should matter to voters.
  • Romney also defended his Mormon faith, which some Christians view as heretical.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • The former Massachusetts governor vowed to serve "no one religion, no one group, no one cause and no one interest"
  • In Iowa, which holds the opening presidential contest on Jan. 3, religious conservatives make up about 40% of the GOP electorate.
  • "I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the savior of mankind," Romney said. "My church's beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. … These are not bases for criticism, but rather a test of our tolerance."
  • Thursday's speech by Romney recalled John F. Kennedy's 1960 address to Baptist ministers in Houston that confronted concerns about his Roman Catholic faith.
  • Critics "would prefer it if I would simply distance myself from my religion … or disavow one or another of its precepts," Romney said
  • "I believe in my Mormon faith, and I endeavor to live by it."
  • The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found in an August poll that one in four people would be less likely to vote for a Mormon presidential candidate.
    • sirgabrial
      sirgabrial on 17 Dec 07
       
      -does religion play a role in who you would vote for?
  • Romney said faith by itself should not be the reason to elect or reject someone for public office.
13More

A High Price for Healthy Food - Well - Tara Parker-Pope - Health - New York Times Blog - 0 views

well.blogs.nytimes.com/...a-high-price-for-healthy-food
shared by sirgabrial on 17 Dec 07 - Cached
  • A High Price for Healthy Food
  • Healthy eating really does cost more.
  • University of Washington researchers
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • compared the prices of 370 foods sold at supermarkets in the Seattle area.
  • Calorie for calorie, junk foods not only cost less than fruits and vegetables, but junk food prices also are less likely to rise as a result of inflation.
  • The findings, reported in the current issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, may help explain why the highest rates of obesity are seen among people in lower-income groups.
  • Although fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients, they also contain relatively few calories.
  • Foods with high energy density, meaning they pack the most calories per gram, included candy, pastries, baked goods and snacks.
  • Energy-dense munchies cost on average $1.76 per 1,000 calories, compared with $18.16 per 1,000 calories for low-energy but nutritious foods.
  • low-calorie foods were more likely to increase in price, surging 19.5 percent over the two-year study period.
  • High-calorie foods remained a relative bargain, dropping in price by 1.8 percent.
  • a 2,000-calorie diet would cost just $3.52 a day if it consisted of junk food, compared with $36.32 a day for a diet of low-energy dense foods.
  • The average American spends about $7 a day on food, although low-income people spend about $4
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