9.7.07
Canadians among highest in world pot use, says UN
Canadians among highest in world pot use, says UN: "OTTAWA — Marijuana use in Canada is the highest in the industrialized world, far higher than in the Netherlands where it’s legal, and more than four times the global rate, a report by the United Nations has found."
LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug?
LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug?: "'LSD wanted to tell me something,' Hofmann told the gathering Friday. 'It gave me an inner joy, an open mindedness, a gratefulness, open eyes and an internal sensitivity for the miracles of creation.'
Bent with age but still eloquent, Hofmann said he hoped the symposium would encourage the renewed therapeutic and spiritual use of LSD in supervised settings."
Bent with age but still eloquent, Hofmann said he hoped the symposium would encourage the renewed therapeutic and spiritual use of LSD in supervised settings."
New Scientist Technology Blog: Are we ready for shockbots?
New Scientist Technology Blog: Are we ready for shockbots?: "Last week, iRobot - maker of the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner - announced that it was working with stungun maker Taser to mount the latter’s controversial 'neuromuscular incapacitation' weapons on iRobot’s military droid: the PackBot.
The Packbot is already used in Iraq and Afghanistan to defuse roadside bombs and recently these robots have been fitted with lethal weapons like machine guns and shotguns. But, until now, weaponised robots have been for military use only. The iRobot-Taser collaboration changes this as it is geared towards making robots capable of shocking people available to law enforcement as well as the military. "
The Packbot is already used in Iraq and Afghanistan to defuse roadside bombs and recently these robots have been fitted with lethal weapons like machine guns and shotguns. But, until now, weaponised robots have been for military use only. The iRobot-Taser collaboration changes this as it is geared towards making robots capable of shocking people available to law enforcement as well as the military. "
8.7.07
Nation & World | Revival of Latin Mass upsets liberals | Seattle Times Newspaper
Nation & World | Revival of Latin Mass upsets liberals | Seattle Times Newspaper: "VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday removed restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass, reviving a rite that was all but swept away by the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
The decision, a victory for traditional, conservative Roman Catholics, came over the objections of liberal-minded Catholics and angered Jews because the Tridentine Mass contains a prayer for their conversion."
The decision, a victory for traditional, conservative Roman Catholics, came over the objections of liberal-minded Catholics and angered Jews because the Tridentine Mass contains a prayer for their conversion."
7.7.07
Are organic tomatoes more nutritious?
Are organic tomatoes more nutritious?: "Organically grown tomatoes contain higher levels of beneficial flavonoids, says a new study from the US that fans the flames of the debate between conventional and organic foods."
Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech - Ancient DNA hints at natural warming
Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech - Ancient DNA hints at natural warming: "A SCIENTIST yesterday claimed climate change could be caused by natural conditions after finding ancient DNA in Greenland, which indicates the region was much warmer during the Ice Age than previously thought."
4.7.07
Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq - Los Angeles Times
Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq - Los Angeles Times: "'These numbers are big,' said Peter Singer, a Brookings Institution scholar who has written on military contracting. 'They illustrate better than anything that we went in without enough troops. This is not the coalition of the willing. It's the coalition of the billing.'
The numbers include at least 21,000 Americans, 43,000 foreign contractors and about 118,000 Iraqis — all employed in Iraq by U.S. tax dollars, according to the most recent government data."
The numbers include at least 21,000 Americans, 43,000 foreign contractors and about 118,000 Iraqis — all employed in Iraq by U.S. tax dollars, according to the most recent government data."
World's Richest Person - News - CNBC.com
World's Richest Person - News - CNBC.com: "Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the world's richest man, worth an estimated $67.8 billion, after overtaking Microsoft founder Bill Gates, according to a respected tracker of Mexican financial wealth on Monday."
2.7.07
New Drug Deletes Bad Memories | LiveScience
New Drug Deletes Bad Memories | LiveScience: "Do you have a really bad memory, or past heartache, that you would prefer to forget?
Researchers at Harvard and McGill University (in Montreal) are working on an amnesia drug that blocks or deletes bad memories. The technique seems to allow psychiatrists to disrupt the biochemical pathways that allow a memory to be recalled.
In a new study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the drug propranolol is used along with therapy to 'dampen' memories of trauma victims. They treated 19 accident or rape victims for ten days, during which the patients were asked to describe their memories of the traumatic event that had happened 10 years earlier. Some patients were given the drug, which is also used to treat amnesia, while others were given a placebo.
A week later, they found that patients given the drug showed fewer signs of stress when recalling their trauma."
Researchers at Harvard and McGill University (in Montreal) are working on an amnesia drug that blocks or deletes bad memories. The technique seems to allow psychiatrists to disrupt the biochemical pathways that allow a memory to be recalled.
In a new study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the drug propranolol is used along with therapy to 'dampen' memories of trauma victims. They treated 19 accident or rape victims for ten days, during which the patients were asked to describe their memories of the traumatic event that had happened 10 years earlier. Some patients were given the drug, which is also used to treat amnesia, while others were given a placebo.
A week later, they found that patients given the drug showed fewer signs of stress when recalling their trauma."
Mechanical Fingers Give Strength, Speed to Amputees
Mechanical Fingers Give Strength, Speed to Amputees: "If the X-Finger looks like a prop from The Terminator, relax. It isn't out to kill you, and it isn't robotic. In fact, it's a mechanical prosthetic finger so effective it provides articulation as fast and flexible as the real thing."
1.7.07
Prince's free album causes storm with retailers - USATODAY.com
Prince's free album causes storm with retailers - USATODAY.com: "LONDON — U.S. rock star Prince is to give away his new album for free with a U.K. tabloid newspaper, weeks before its official launch, in a move that has caused dismay among music retailers."
29.6.07
Putin's Arctic invasion: Russia lays claim to the North Pole - and all its gas, oil, and diamonds | the Daily Mail
Putin's Arctic invasion: Russia lays claim to the North Pole - and all its gas, oil, and diamonds | the Daily Mail: "Russian President Vladimir Putin is making an astonishing bid to grab a vast chunk of the Arctic - so he can tap its vast potential oil, gas and mineral wealth.
His scientists claim an underwater ridge near the North Pole is really part of Russia's continental shelf."
His scientists claim an underwater ridge near the North Pole is really part of Russia's continental shelf."
Rolling Stone : The Record Industry's Decline
Rolling Stone : The Record Industry's Decline: "Record sales are tanking, and there's no hope in sight: How it all went wrong"
28.6.07
Campaigns & Elections
Campaigns & Elections: "WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 20, 2007) - Today the House of Representatives passed H. Con.Res.21, a resolution that pressures the United Nations Security Council to charge Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with violating the 1948 Convention on Genocide and the United Nations Charter because of his alleged calls for the destruction of Israel.
'There is reasonable doubt with regard to the accuracy of the translations of President Ahmadinejad's words in this resolution. President Ahmadinejad's speeches can also be translated as a call for regime change, much in the same manner the Bush Administration has called for regime change in Iraq and Iran, making this resolution very ironic,' Kucinich said.
Kucinich attempted to insert into the Congressional Record two independent translations of the speech from The New York Times and Middle East Media Research Institute, which contain significant differences in the translations of the speech compared to the resolution before the House. However, Members objected formally and the attempt was blocked. "
'There is reasonable doubt with regard to the accuracy of the translations of President Ahmadinejad's words in this resolution. President Ahmadinejad's speeches can also be translated as a call for regime change, much in the same manner the Bush Administration has called for regime change in Iraq and Iran, making this resolution very ironic,' Kucinich said.
Kucinich attempted to insert into the Congressional Record two independent translations of the speech from The New York Times and Middle East Media Research Institute, which contain significant differences in the translations of the speech compared to the resolution before the House. However, Members objected formally and the attempt was blocked. "
The Raw Story | Revealed: Bush EPA chief says she quit after Cheney rewrote coal power plant rules
The Raw Story | Revealed: Bush EPA chief says she quit after Cheney rewrote coal power plant rules: "Christine Todd Whitman is the media darling of talk shows, the conservative former governor of New Jersey and head of President George W. Bush's Environmental Protection Agency who quit the Bush Administration to 'spend more time with her family.'
Evidently, that's not true.
In a groundbreaking article today by the Washington Post, the paper alleges that Whitman left the Administration because they pressured her to accept pro-industry coal power plant rules which threatened ghoulish levels of air pollution.
After industry officials complained to Vice President Cheney about Clinton-era rules requiring plants to update their technology when they conducted routine maintenance to comply with air quality standards, Cheney turned to Whitman, she said."
Evidently, that's not true.
In a groundbreaking article today by the Washington Post, the paper alleges that Whitman left the Administration because they pressured her to accept pro-industry coal power plant rules which threatened ghoulish levels of air pollution.
After industry officials complained to Vice President Cheney about Clinton-era rules requiring plants to update their technology when they conducted routine maintenance to comply with air quality standards, Cheney turned to Whitman, she said."
27.6.07
Professor claims to survive on just sunshine and fruit juice | the Daily Mail
Professor claims to survive on just sunshine and fruit juice | the Daily Mail: "Michael Werner looks normal enough. He's six foot tall, grey and bespectacled, weighs in at 12-and-a-half stone and enjoys playing tennis, socialising and jogging - three brisk miles before breakfast with his wife Angelica, a nice fry-up for her and a quick coffee for him.
All very ordinary. It's just that Michael doesn't eat. At all.
In fact, the last item of food that passed his lips was a huge helping of potato salad and a slice of cake on New Year's Eve 2001."
All very ordinary. It's just that Michael doesn't eat. At all.
In fact, the last item of food that passed his lips was a huge helping of potato salad and a slice of cake on New Year's Eve 2001."
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