Report: Canada's former ambassador to Iran was CIA spy - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Report: Canada's former ambassador to Iran was CIA spy - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca: "TORONTO — A report says the Canadian diplomat praised for sheltering Americans during the Iranian Revolution was a CIA spy."

David Kelly post mortem to be kept secret for 70 years as doctors accuse Lord Hutton of concealing vital information | Mail Online

David Kelly post mortem to be kept secret for 70 years as doctors accuse Lord Hutton of concealing vital information | Mail Online: "Vital evidence which could solve the mystery of the death of Government weapons inspector Dr David Kelly will be kept under wraps for up to 70 years.

In a draconian – and highly unusual – order, Lord Hutton, the peer who chaired the controversial inquiry into the Dr Kelly scandal, has secretly barred the release of all medical records, including the results of the post mortem, and unpublished evidence.

The move, which will stoke fresh speculation about the true circumstances of Dr Kelly’s death, comes just days before Tony Blair appears before the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War.

It is also bound to revive claims of an establishment cover-up and fresh questions about the verdict that Dr Kelly killed himself."

Climate change chief says sorry for hot air claim over melting glaciers | Mail Online

Climate change chief says sorry for hot air claim over melting glaciers | Mail Online: "The head of the UN's climate change body has been forced to make a humiliating apology over claims the Himalayan glaciers could vanish within 25 years.
Last week it emerged there was no evidence for the warning from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
After a global outcry, Dr Rajendra Pachauri - chairman of the IPCC - has issued an unprecedented apology."

UN climate panel blunders again over Himalayan glaciers - Times Online

UN climate panel blunders again over Himalayan glaciers - Times Online: "Taxpayers are funding research into a scientific claim about glaciers that any ice researcher should immediately recognise as bogus. The revelation comes just a week after The Sunday Times highlighted serious scientific flaws in the IPCC's 2007 benchmark report on the likely impacts of global warming."

The Dynamic Duo: Imagination Knowledge | Psychology Today

The Dynamic Duo: Imagination Knowledge | Psychology Today: "Isn't it great when a study confirms what you already suspected? There's a significant correlation between robust daydreaming and superior intelligence."

Daily pint of blueberry juice 'could help stop memory loss', study suggests - Telegraph

Daily pint of blueberry juice 'could help stop memory loss', study suggests - Telegraph: "A daily pint of blueberry juice could help reduce memory loss, according to scientists"

Johann Hari: The age of the killer robot is no longer a sci-fi fantasy - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent

Johann Hari: The age of the killer robot is no longer a sci-fi fantasy - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent: "When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, they had no robots as part of their force. By the end of 2005, they had 2,400. Today, they have 12,000, carrying out 33,000 missions a year. A report by the US Joint Forces Command says autonomous robots will be the norm on the battlefield within 20 years."

BBC News - Green tea 'may block lung cancer'

BBC News - Green tea 'may block lung cancer': "Drinking green tea may offer some protection against lung cancer, say experts who studied the disease at a medical university in Taiwan."

Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke | Magazine

Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke | Magazine

BBC News - Turning wood into bones

BBC News - Turning wood into bones: "A novel - and natural - way of creating new bones for humans could be just a few years away."

Cambridge University offers place to 14-year-old | Education | The Guardian

Cambridge University offers place to 14-year-old | Education | The Guardian: "A 14-year-old maths prodigy is on the verge of breaking a 237-year-old record by becoming the youngest Cambridge University undergraduate since William Pitt the Younger."

NASA Shows Quiet Sun Means Cooling of Earth's Upper Atmosphere -- HAMPTON, Va., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

NASA Shows Quiet Sun Means Cooling of Earth's Upper Atmosphere -- HAMPTON, Va., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --: "New measurements from a NASA satellite show a dramatic cooling in the upper atmosphere that correlates with the declining phase of the current solar cycle."

Freeze Challenges Power Supply

Freeze Challenges Power Supply: "Most parts of China were seized by a sustained cold snap Wednesday, when the minimum temperature hit a 40-year low in Beijing and a rare snowstorm in the central Hubei Province kept all school children at home."

Heavy snow continues as temperatures set to plunge minus 20C - Herald Scotland | News | Politics

Heavy snow continues as temperatures set to plunge minus 20C - Herald Scotland | News | Politics: "The prolonged Arctic blast is now the worst cold spell seen in Scotland for almost 50 years, according to the First Minister."

The real Frankenstein experiment: One man's mission to create a living mind inside a machine | Mail Online

The real Frankenstein experiment: One man's mission to create a living mind inside a machine | Mail Online: "In fact, he believes that he will have a computer sufficiently powerful to deal with all the data and simulate a human brain before the end of this decade."

Study Claims Antidepressants, Placebos Near Equally Effective - ABC News

Study Claims Antidepressants, Placebos Near Equally Effective - ABC News: "A new analysis found that commonly prescribed antidepressants had little effect on people with cases of mild to severe depression compared to those treated with placebos."

Going smoke-free may raise diabetes risk - baltimoresun.com

Going smoke-free may raise diabetes risk - baltimoresun.com: "People who quit smoking tend to gain weight, and those extra pounds can put a person at increased diabetes risk. In fact, the diabetes risk was higher for people who gave up cigarettes than for those who continued to smoke - but only within the first couple of years of quitting, according to the research appearing in today's Annals of Internal Medicine.

After that, the diabetes risk decreased and almost disappeared after 10 years, researchers found."

NZ's cyber spies win new powers - national | Stuff.co.nz

NZ's cyber spies win new powers - national | Stuff.co.nz: "The measures are the largest expansion of police and SIS surveillance capabilities for decades, and mean that all mobile calls and texts, email, internet surfing and online shopping, chatting and social networking can be monitored anywhere in New Zealand."

Gulf petro-powers to launch currency in latest threat to dollar hegemony - Telegraph

Gulf petro-powers to launch currency in latest threat to dollar hegemony - Telegraph: "“The US dollar has failed. We need to delink,” said Nahed Taher, chief executive of Bahrain’s Gulf One Investment Bank."

Solution to killer superbug found in Norway - Yahoo! News

Solution to killer superbug found in Norway - Yahoo! News: "Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics."

Britain facing one of the coldest winters in 100 years, experts predict - Telegraph

Britain facing one of the coldest winters in 100 years, experts predict - Telegraph: "Britain facing one of the coldest winters in 100 years, experts predict"

Grow-your-own to replace false teeth | UK news | The Guardian

Grow-your-own to replace false teeth | UK news | The Guardian: "The British institution of dentures sitting in a glass of water beside the bed could be rendered obsolete by scientists who are confident that people will soon be able to replace lost teeth by growing new ones."

Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Climate change is natural: 100 reasons why

Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Climate change is natural: 100 reasons why: "HERE are the 100 reasons, released in a dossier issued by the European Foundation, why climate change is natural and not man-made:"

High Expectations? States Weigh Pot Reform - ABC News

High Expectations? States Weigh Pot Reform - ABC News: "Washington is one of four states where measures to legalize and regulate marijuana have been introduced, and about two dozen other states are considering bills ranging from medical marijuana to decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the herb."

Individuals can no longer register domain names in China.

Individuals can no longer register domain names in China.: "In a drastic move to tighten regulations of the Internet, individuals can no longer register domain names in China, and those who already have personal websites could lose them."

Russia | Crime

Russia | Crime: "MOSCOW, Russia — Bank robbers have threatened tellers with knives, shot their way into banks and tunnelled up into vaults. But one woman in southern Russia chose a more peaceful method: Police say Galina Korzhova hypnotised a bank teller into handing over tens of thousands of dollars in what is believed to be just one in a series of daring, if non-violent, bank robberies."

Fingernail-sized implant successfully eliminates tumors in mammals

Fingernail-sized implant successfully eliminates tumors in mammals: "“Inserted anywhere under the skin - much like the implantable contraceptives that can be placed in a woman’s arm - the implants activate an immune response that destroys tumor cells,” said David J. Mooney the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering in Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering who led the research."

No smoking hot spot | The Australian

No smoking hot spot | The Australian: "... but since 1999 new evidence has seriously weakened the case that carbon emissions are the main cause of global warming, and by 2007 the evidence was pretty conclusive that carbon played only a minor role and was not the main cause of the recent global warming. As Lord Keynes famously said, 'When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?'"

Disappearing sunspots may signal end to global warming

Disappearing sunspots may signal end to global warming: "The blank sun has not gone unnoticed by the experts. 'We're experiencing a very deep solar minimum,' says solar physicist Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center.

'This is the quietest sun we've seen in almost a century,' agrees sunspot expert David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

So why are sunspots under the spotlight? Because, according to solar scientists, their declining numbers, significant even by solar-minimum standards, could be the harbinger of colder temperatures ahead."

BBC News - Scientists crack 'entire genetic code' of cancer

BBC News - Scientists crack 'entire genetic code' of cancer: "'As more cancer genomes are revealed by this technique, we will gain a greater understanding of how cancer is caused and develops, improving our ability to prevent, treat and cure cancer.'"

CAT scan cancer fear: Radiation 'could trigger the disease in one in 80 patients' | Mail Online

CAT scan cancer fear: Radiation 'could trigger the disease in one in 80 patients' | Mail Online: "Having a CT - or CAT - scan puts patients at far greater risk of developing cancer than previously thought, scientists claim."

Daily Express | UK News :: Climate change is natural: 100 reasons why

Daily Express | UK News :: Climate change is natural: 100 reasons why: "HERE are the 100 reasons, released in a dossier issued by the European Foundation, why climate change is natural and not man-made:"

Child diabetes blamed on food sweetener - Times Online

Child diabetes blamed on food sweetener - Times Online: "Scientists have proved for the first time that a cheap form of sugar used in thousands of food products and soft drinks can damage human metabolism and is fuelling the obesity crisis.

Fructose, a sweetener derived from corn, can cause dangerous growths of fat cells around vital organs and is able to trigger the early stages of diabetes and heart disease."

BBC News - People who look young for their age 'live longer'

BBC News - People who look young for their age 'live longer': "People blessed with youthful faces are more likely to live to a ripe old age than those who look more than their years, work shows."

Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway | Mail Online

Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway | Mail Online: "A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled."

Copenhagen climate summit: global warming 'caused by sun's radiation' - Telegraph

Copenhagen climate summit: global warming 'caused by sun's radiation' - Telegraph: "Professor Henrik Svensmark, a physicist at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen, said the recent warming period was caused by solar activity."

Copenhagen climate summit: global warming 'caused by sun's radiation' - Telegraph

Copenhagen climate summit: global warming 'caused by sun's radiation' - Telegraph: "Professor Henrik Svensmark, a physicist at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen, said the recent warming period was caused by solar activity.

He said the last time the world experienced such high temperatures, during the medieval warming period, the Sun and the Earth were in a similar cycle."

Doctors take legal action to demand Kelly inquest reopened - Home News, UK - The Independent

Doctors take legal action to demand Kelly inquest reopened - Home News, UK - The Independent: "Six doctors are taking legal action to demand that the inquest into the death of weapons expert David Kelly is reopened because there is not enough evidence to prove he committed suicide, it was disclosed today."

Ron Paul: Every man for himself! - Americas, World - The Independent

Ron Paul: Every man for himself! - Americas, World - The Independent: "It's taken a while, but America is warming to Ron Paul and his radical brand of extreme libertarianism"

BBC News - Morphine 'might spread cancer'

BBC News - Morphine 'might spread cancer': "Laboratory tests suggest morphine could in fact encourage the spread of cancer, for which it is routinely prescribed to relieve pain from surgery and tumours."

Oceans to fall, not rise, over millions of years | Reuters

Oceans to fall, not rise, over millions of years | Reuters: "OSLO (Reuters) - Sea levels are set to fall over millions of years, making the current rise blamed on climate change a brief interruption of an ancient geological trend, scientists said on Thursday."

Antarctic temperatures between ice ages '6C warmer than today' - Telegraph

Antarctic temperatures between ice ages '6C warmer than today' - Telegraph: "Until now temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages - known as interglacials - were thought to be only slightly warmer than those of the present day, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists explained.

But the findings, published this week in journal Nature, show brief spikes in temperature, which recur roughly every 100,000 years and last a few thousand years, seem to have been a lot warmer."

Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun

Ex-soldier faces jail for handing in gun: "A former soldier who handed a discarded shotgun in to police faces at least five years imprisonment for 'doing his duty'."

Evidence still fuzzy on cell phones, cancer - CNN.com

Evidence still fuzzy on cell phones, cancer - CNN.com: "(CNN) -- In the year since a U.S. cancer researcher's warning drew wide attention, more evidence is emerging that long-term cell phone use is associated with cancer, but there's still not a definitive explanation or proof of cause and effect."

Three more drug advisers quit over David Nutt sacking - Telegraph

Three more drug advisers quit over David Nutt sacking - Telegraph: "Three more scientists have resigned from the Government's drugs advisory body in the wake of the sacking of Professor David Nutt, its chairman."

Italian court finds CIA agents guilty of kidnapping terrorism suspect | World news | guardian.co.uk

Italian court finds CIA agents guilty of kidnapping terrorism suspect | World news | guardian.co.uk: "Twenty-three Americans were tonight convicted of kidnapping by an Italian court at the end of the first trial anywhere in the world involving the CIA's 'extraordinary rendition' programme for abducting terrorist suspects."

U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords Tied to Taliban - NYTimes.com

U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords Tied to Taliban - NYTimes.com: "“We have a list of 367 ‘kill or capture’ targets, including 50 nexus targets who link drugs and the insurgency,” one of the generals told the committee staff. The generals were not identified in the Senate report, which was obtained by The New York Times."

Sacked – for telling the truth about drugs - Health News, Health & Families - The Independent

Sacked – for telling the truth about drugs - Health News, Health & Families - The Independent: "The Government's drugs tsar was forced to resign last night for stating his view that cannabis, ecstasy and LSD were less harmful than the legal drugs tobacco and alcohol."

Alcohol is worse for you than Ecstasy, says drugs tsar | Mail Online

Alcohol is worse for you than Ecstasy, says drugs tsar | Mail Online: "Ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes, the Government’s chief drug adviser claims today.

Professor David Nutt is calling for a new ‘index of harm’ to warn the public about the relative dangers of various substances.

He says alcohol should rank fifth, behind only cocaine, heroin, barbiturates and methadone, while tobacco should rank ninth, ahead of cannabis, LSD and Ecstasy.

His comments are likely to prove explosive, given the seniority of his position.

Curry kills gullet cancer cells - Telegraph

Curry kills gullet cancer cells - Telegraph: "Scientists based at the Cork Cancer Research Centre in Ireland treated oesophageal cancer cells with curcumin – a chemical found in the curry spice tumeric."

A federal about-face on medical marijuana -- latimes.com

A federal about-face on medical marijuana -- latimes.com: "New Justice Department guidelines order federal drug agents to cease arresting or charging patients, caregivers or suppliers who are conforming with state law."

The BBC’s amazing U-turn on climate change – Telegraph Blogs

The BBC’s amazing U-turn on climate change – Telegraph Blogs: "I think the BBC wanted to slip this one out quietly, but a Matt Drudge link put paid to that. The climate change correspondent of BBC News has admitted that global warming stopped in 1998 – and he reports that leading scientists believe that the earth’s cooling-off may last for decades."

EXCLUSIVE: Obama agrees to keep Israel's nukes secret - Washington Times

EXCLUSIVE: Obama agrees to keep Israel's nukes secret - Washington Times: "President Obama has reaffirmed a 4-decade-old secret understanding that has allowed Israel to keep a nuclear arsenal without opening it to international inspections, three officials familiar with the understanding said."

Homegrown Pot Threatens Mexican Cartels - CBS News

Homegrown Pot Threatens Mexican Cartels - CBS News: "Stiff competition from thousands of mom-and-pop marijuana farmers in the United States threatens the bottom line for powerful Mexican drug organizations in a way that decades of arrests and seizures have not."

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | What happened to global warming?

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | What happened to global warming?: "For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures."

Ahmadinejad has no Jewish roots | Meir Javedanfar | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Ahmadinejad has no Jewish roots | Meir Javedanfar | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "Rumours that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's family converted to Islam from Judaism are false. In fact, they are proud Shias"

JADA Study Proves Fluoridation is Money down the Drain

JADA Study Proves Fluoridation is Money down the Drain: "Children's cavity rates are similar whether water is fluoridated or not, according to data published in the July 2009 Journal of the American Dental Association by dentist J.V. Kumar of the NY State Health Department(1), reports NYSCOF."

New bio-power plant will power 3,000 homes from food scraps | Mail Online

New bio-power plant will power 3,000 homes from food scraps | Mail Online: "A new renewable energy plant that will power 3,000 homes using food scraps, has been announced today."

Tehran times : Blackwater involved in Bhutto and Hariri hits: former Pakistani army chief

Tehran times : Blackwater involved in Bhutto and Hariri hits: former Pakistani army chief: "TEHRAN - Pakistan’s former chief of army staff, General Mirza Aslam Beg (ret.), has said the U.S. private security company Blackwater was directly involved in the assassinations of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri."

Forecast: A cooling trend on climate change

Forecast: A cooling trend on climate change: "Average global temperature is rising at 1.40C per century, not the 3.90C indicated by the IPPC models. We are in the seventh year of global cooling. Sea levels, despite messages to the contrary, are rising at normal rates – eight inches per century – much less than the IPPC models suggested. There has been no significant rise in sea levels over the last four years. Arctic sea ice, currently in its summer state, is more extensive in 2009 than it was in 2007 and 2008. Antarctic sea ice is at record high. Global sea ice shows relative stability over the last thirty years. While CO2 levels are rising, the rate of growth has slowed considerably – the IPPC suggested that CO2 levels would grow at around 468 parts per million (ppm) per century, when in fact the observed growth in CO2 is 204 ppm per century – less than half of the IPPC model suggestion."

Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine

Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine

GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food in Humans [Voltaire]

GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food in Humans [Voltaire]: "An editorial in the respected American scientific monthly magazine, Scientific American, August 2009 reveals the shocking and alarming reality behind the proliferation of GMO products throughout the food chain of the planet since 1994. There are no independent scientific studies published in any reputed scientific journal in the world for one simple reason. It is impossible to independently verify that GMO crops such as Monsanto Roundup Ready Soybeans or MON8110 GMO maize perform as the company claims, or that, as the company also claims, that they have no harmful side effects because the GMO companies forbid such tests!"

EclippTV :: Video :: Cancer Cured in Canada, But Big Pharma Says NO WAY!

Video :: Cancer Cured in Canada, But Big Pharma Says NO WAY!

Scientists pull an about face on global warming

Scientists pull an about face on global warming: "Latif is one of the leading climate modellers in the world. He is the recipient of several international climate-study prizes and a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has contributed significantly to the IPCC's last two five-year reports that have stated unequivocally that man-made greenhouse emissions are causing the planet to warm dangerously.

Yet last week in Geneva, at the UN's World Climate Conference--an annual gathering of the so-called 'scientific consensus' on man-made climate change --Latif conceded the Earth has not warmed for nearly a decade and that we are likely entering 'one or even two decades during which temperatures cool.'"

UN body urges Israel to allow nuclear inspection - Haaretz - Israel News

UN body urges Israel to allow nuclear inspection - Haaretz - Israel News: "The non-binding resolution, which passed for the first time in 18 years of attempts thanks to more developing nation votes, voiced concern about 'Israeli nuclear capabilities' and urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to tackle the issue."

Charlie Sheen demands to speak to Barack Obama over 9/11 government 'cover-up' | Mail Online

Charlie Sheen demands to speak to Barack Obama over 9/11 government 'cover-up' | Mail Online: "Charlie Sheen has provoked outrage with claims that the U.S. government was behind the September 11 terror attacks.

Ahead of today's eighth anniversary of the atrocities that killed 3,000, the Hollywood star has insisted there was a cover-up.

And he has appealed to President Barack Obama to hold a new investigation into the attacks on the World Trade Centre towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC."

How did he do THAT? Derren Brown predicts winning lottery numbers... and he'll reveal his method on Friday | Mail Online

How did he do THAT? Derren Brown predicts winning lottery numbers... and he'll reveal his method on Friday | Mail Online: "On Wednesday at 10.35pm, having boasted for days that he would predict the six main ball numbers in the midweek National Lottery draw, Brown went on-air, live across all Channel 4's terrestrial and satellite channels."

Teenager invents �23 solar panel that could be solution to developing world's energy needs..made from human hair | Mail Online

Teenager invents solar panel that could be solution to developing world's energy needs..made from human hair | Mail Online: "A new type of solar panel using human hair could provide the world with cheap, green electricity, believes its teenage inventor.

Milan Karki, 18, who comes from a village in rural Nepal, believes he has found the solution to the developing world's energy needs.

The young inventor says hair is easy to use as a conductor in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy."

Extreme steel 'Velcro' takes a 35-tonne load - tech - 04 September 2009 - New Scientist

Extreme steel 'Velcro' takes a 35-tonne load - tech - 04 September 2009 - New Scientist: "A square metre of the new fastener, called Metaklett, is capable of supporting 35 tonnes at temperatures up to 800C, claim Josef Mair and colleagues at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. And just like everyday Velcro it can be opened up without specialised tools and used again."

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Herbs 'can be natural pesticides'

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Herbs 'can be natural pesticides': "Common herbs and spices show promise as an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional pesticides, scientists have told a major US conference."

World's climate could cool first, warm later - environment - 04 September 2009 - New Scientist

World's climate could cool first, warm later - environment - 04 September 2009 - New Scientist: "Forecasts of climate change are about to go seriously out of kilter. One of the world's top climate modellers said Thursday we could be about to enter 'one or even two decades during which temperatures cool."

BBC NEWS | Europe | Dutch police in cannabis mix-up

BBC NEWS | Europe | Dutch police in cannabis mix-up: "A triumph for Dutch police quickly turned out to be an embarrassing mistake after they destroyed what they thought was a field of cannabis plants."

Alberto Gonzales, the Concert Opera (No, We’re Not Kidding) - Law Blog - WSJ

Alberto Gonzales, the Concert Opera (No, We’re Not Kidding) - Law Blog - WSJ: "But if law and politics is your bag (and we know that you know that it is), you might be intrigued enough to take a flyer on The Gonzales Cantata, a concert opera about Alberto Gonzales’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings."

Global warming and the sun -- latimes.com

Global warming and the sun -- latimes.com: "Recent studies seem to show that there's more to climate change than we know."

Global News Blog � Blog Archive � Who is funding the Afghan Taliban? You don’t want to know | Blogs |

Who is funding the Afghan Taliban? You don’t want to know | Blogs |: "In Afghanistan, one of the richest sources of Taliban funding is the foreign assistance coming into the country.

Virtually every major project includes a healthy cut for the insurgents. Call it protection money, call it extortion, or, as the Taliban themselves prefer to term it, “spoils of war,” the fact remains that international donors, primarily the United States, are to a large extent financing their own enemy."

Mexico and Argentina move towards decriminalising drugs | World news | guardian.co.uk

Mexico and Argentina move towards decriminalising drugs | World news | guardian.co.uk: "Argentina and Mexico have taken significant steps towards decriminalising drugs amid a growing Latin American backlash against the US-sponsored 'war on drugs'.

Argentina's supreme court has ruled it unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption, an eagerly awaited judgment that gave the government the green light to push for further liberalisation.

It followed Mexico's decision to stop prosecuting people for possession of relatively small quantities of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. Instead, they will be referred to clinics and treated as patients, not criminals.

Brazil and Ecuador are also considering partial decriminalisation as part of a regional swing away from a decades-old policy of crackdowns still favoured by Washington."

Daily Express | UK News :: ‘I’ll reveal true identity of bomber’

Daily Express | UK News :: ‘I’ll reveal true identity of bomber’: "AN AMERICAN citizen is to be named by the Lockerbie bomber as the man who really carried out the terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103."

Cellphones Cause Brain Tumors, Says New Report By International EMF Collaborative

Cellphones Cause Brain Tumors, Says New Report By International EMF Collaborative: "A new report, 'Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern, Science, Spin and the Truth Behind Interphone,' was released today"

Cannabis: Potential treatment for skin disorders?

Cannabis: Potential treatment for skin disorders?: "The researchers expressed excitement that cannabinoids might provide future treatment for inflammatory skin disorders, pruritus, and certain types of skin pain, but warn that more research is necessary to gain further insight into the physiology of cannabinoid receptors in the skin. Kupczyk, Reich, and Szepietowski also acknowledge recent observations showing cannabinoids as a potential anti-tumor drug."

Pure food obsession is latest eating disorder | Society | The Observer

Pure food obsession is latest eating disorder | Society | The Observer: "The obsession about which foods are 'good' and which are 'bad' means orthorexics can end up malnourished. Their dietary restrictions commonly cause sufferers to feel proud of their 'virtuous' behaviour even if it means that eating becomes so stressful their personal relationships can come under pressure and they become socially isolated."

[Demonstration of fluoride systemic absorption sec...[Rev Esp Salud Publica. 2009 May-Jun] - PubMed Result

[Demonstration of fluoride systemic absorption sec...[Rev Esp Salud Publica. 2009 May-Jun] - PubMed Result: "The use of fluoride dentifrice is related to a significant increase of the fluoride concentration in urine in children."

Portugal's drug policy: Treating, not punishing | The Economist

Portugal's drug policy: Treating, not punishing | The Economist

BBC NEWS | Europe | Fake Dutch 'moon rock' revealed

BBC NEWS | Europe | Fake Dutch 'moon rock' revealed: "A treasured piece at the Dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, curators say."

Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why.

Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why.: "It's not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It's as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger."

CCTV helps solve just ONE crime per 1,000 as officers fail to use film as evidence | Mail Online

CCTV helps solve just ONE crime per 1,000 as officers fail to use film as evidence | Mail Online: "Only one crime is solved a year for every 1,000 CCTV cameras, police admitted yesterday.

The startling figure comes in a Scotland Yard report which warns that a network that can capture individuals as many as 300 times a day is failing to improve public safety.

Officers found that the million cameras covering London have helped clear up barely 1,000 crimes."

PETER MCKAY: Lockerbie, trade deals and a rats' nest of lies | Mail Online

PETER MCKAY: Lockerbie, trade deals and a rats' nest of lies | Mail Online: "The nationalist regime in Scotland says it took the decision after 'due process'. They're proud that compassion is a feature of their independent legal system.

But we're entitled to suspect they were also having doubts regarding the safety of al-Megrahi's conviction, revelations about previous evidence, facts that were withheld and the outcome of a new appeal."

Features : Explosives analysis concludes semtex theory "scientifically implausible" in Pan Am 103 explosion : THE FIRM : SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENT LAW JOURNAL

Features : Explosives analysis concludes semtex theory "scientifically implausible" in Pan Am 103 explosion : THE FIRM : SCOTLAND'S INDEPENDENT LAW JOURNAL: "A scientific analysis of the Crown's discredited theory that approximately 1lb of semtex contained in a Toshiba radio caused the destruction of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, has concluded that the notion is 'scientifically implausible.'"

Cecile Brossard awaits sentence for murder of Edouard Stern during sadomasochistic sex - Telegraph

Cecile Brossard awaits sentence for murder of Edouard Stern during sadomasochistic sex - Telegraph: "The more serious charge of premeditated murder was curiously dropped in February, in a move widely viewed as a compromise to prevent Miss Brossard from dragging top French public figures into the trial."

Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi to 'show his innocence' in autobiography - Times Online

Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi to 'show his innocence' in autobiography - Times Online: "Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, is writing his autobiography to “proclaim his innocence” by disclosing new information behind Britain’s deadliest terrorist attack, The Times has learnt."

Lutherans lift barrier for gay clergy -- latimes.com

Lutherans lift barrier for gay clergy -- latimes.com: "The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the second major Christian group in a month to liberalize policies on the ministry."

UK to share fingerprints with Canada, Australia - ZDNet.co.uk

UK to share fingerprints with Canada, Australia - ZDNet.co.uk: "The Home Office has started sharing fingerprint data with Canada and Australia for the purpose of checking deeper into the backgrounds of migrants under suspicion."

Father still seeking Lockerbie truth after 20 years - Telegraph

Father still seeking Lockerbie truth after 20 years - Telegraph: "Unlike many of the American families of victims on the flight from London to New York — and, indeed, President Barack Obama — Swire was vocal in applauding the release of the only man convicted of the outrage, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, who is terminally ill.

“I am a Christian, so I would hope that, even if I was convinced that Megrahi was guilty, my Christian compassion and forgiveness would extend to wanting to see him die with his family around him in Libya,” he says. “But I am convinced Megrahi is innocent.”"

DNA could be faked by criminals, new study claims - Telegraph

DNA could be faked by criminals, new study claims - Telegraph: "In experiments, a team of Israeli scientists were able to obliterate all traces of DNA from a blood sample and add someone else's genetic material in its place.

The process was so successful that it fooled forensic scientists who carry out DNA fingerprinting for American courts.

The findings threaten to undermine the key forensic technique, which has secured thousands of convictions in Britain and around the world."

Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma -- Song et al., 10.1183/09031936.00178308 -- European Respiratory Journal

Exposure to nanoparticles is related to pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis and granuloma - European Respiratory Journal: "Polyacrylate, consisting of nano particles, was confirmed in the workplace. Pathological examinations of patients' lung tissue displayed non-specific pulmonary inflammation, pulmonary fibrosis and foreign-body granulomas of pleura. By transmission electron microscopy, nano particles were observed to lodge in the cytoplasm and caryoplasm of pulmonary epithelial and mesothelial cells, but also locate in the chest fluid. These cases arouse concern that long-term exposure to some nano particles without protective measures may be related to serious damage to human lungs."

Mexico Legalizes Drug Possession - NYTimes.com

Mexico Legalizes Drug Possession - NYTimes.com: "MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico enacted a controversial law on Thursday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs while encouraging government-financed treatment for drug dependency free of charge."

Families' reaction: 'Too many questions are still unanswered' - Home News, UK - The Independent

Families' reaction: 'Too many questions are still unanswered' - Home News, UK - The Independent: "In contrast to their American counterparts, relatives on this side of the Atlantic have remained sceptical of the evidence brought against Megrahi and voiced support for the decision to release him, although they spoke of their frustration that his decision to abandon his appeal may mean the true culprits are never brought to justice."

Cannabis treats prostate cancer, study finds

Cannabis treats prostate cancer, study finds: "Following the growing interest in medical benefits of cannabis, a new study finds that the compound can help fight prostate cancer."

Paul Armentano: If Pot Prevented Cancer You Would Have Read About It, Right?

Paul Armentano: If Pot Prevented Cancer You Would Have Read About It, Right?: "Writing in the August issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research, investigators from Rhode Island's Brown University, along with researchers at Boston University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Minnesota reported that lifetime marijuana use is associated with a 'significantly reduced risk' of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma."

420butts - Marijuana’s Impact On Brain Function “Minimal,” New Study Says

420butts - Marijuana’s Impact On Brain Function “Minimal,” New Study Says: "Investigators concluded, “Minimal evidence of major effects of cannabis on brain structure has been reported,” noting that Marijuana users and controls perform similarly on cognitive tasks."

Pictured: Incredible watercolour paintings by boy aged just SIX | Mail Online

Pictured: Incredible watercolour paintings by boy aged just SIX | Mail Online