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Barack Obama to arrive in Britain
Barack Obama arrives in London today after drawing hundreds of thousands of cheering fans on a visit to Berlin. Obama, who has received acclaim across the German media for the speech he delivered to an estimated 200,000 people in Berlin, is due to meet President Nicolas Sarkozy today during a briefer and lower-key visit, before flying on to Britain.
The US Democratic presidential candidate is expected to land at Le Bourget airport, before heading into Paris to meet President Sarkozy. He will then depart for London, where he will meet Gordon Brown for talks in Downing Street tomorrow.
Barack Obama arrives in London today after drawing hundreds of thousands of cheering fans on a visit to Berlin. Obama, who has receive... more -
Plane forced to emergency land, hole in floor
A Qantas passenger plane travelling from London to Melbourne had to make an emergency landing after a massive hole formed in the plane's undercarriage.
The Boeing 747-400, carrying 346 passengers and 19 staff had to divert to Manila where it landed safely with no reported injuries.
Unsurprisingly, an airport official said "passengers looked scared and some were sick."
Wouldn't you be if a hole formed in the plane that was carrying you 30,000ft above a big ocean? A Qantas passenger plane travelling from London to Melbourne had to make an emergency landing after a massive hole formed in the plane... more -
Joe Gets Cosmic
Upon meeting a guy like Joe Hanson, you might think he's from outer-space. We're still running test and analyzing the data but in the meantime, here's Joe getting cosmic at space camp. Upon meeting a guy like Joe Hanson, you might think he's from outer-space. We're still running test and analyzing the data but in the ... more
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Christian protests may prevent more Phillip Pullman films
It now looks increasingly unlikely that sequels to last year's The Golden Compass will be made, amid "fervent Christian protests".
The first film, while successful in the UK, fell victim to boycotts from Christian groups in the US, leading to dissapointing takings.
As a fan of the books, I think this might be a good thing, although I'd like them to reach a larger audience somehow. It now looks increasingly unlikely that sequels to last year's The Golden Compass will be made, amid "fervent Christian protests". ... more -
Catholic critics urge pope to change anti-contraception policy
More than 50 Catholic groups published an open letter to Pope Benedict calling for the Church's ban on contraception to be lifted as it "has had a catastrophic impact on the poor and powerless around the world, endangering women's lives and leaving millions at risk of HIV."
The letter was published in Italy's largest newspaper, Corriere della Serra, on the 40th anniversary of the late Pope Paul VI's controversial encyclical "Humanae Vitae," which established the ban. While criticism of the Vatican is fairly common in articles and editorials in Italian newspapers, it is unusual for a group to take out paid advertising against the pope.
The letter stated that the encyclical continued to be "a source of great conflict and division in the Church" and because most Catholics use contraception and feel they are not sinning, the policy has been "an utter failure."
More than 50 Catholic groups published an open letter to Pope Benedict calling for the Church's ban on contraception to be lifted as i... more -
'Bong hits 4 Jesus'
The "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case isn't quite over.
Juneau attorney Doug Mertz told the Juneau Empire that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case in September.
Mertz represents Joseph Frederick, the former Juneau-Douglas High School student who displayed the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner during an Olympic torch relay.
The school suspended Frederick for the banner display, sparking a free speech debate.
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision last year that favored the school district and upheld its decision to reprimand Frederick.
Mertz says the Supreme Court ruling had not addressed whether Alaska's free speech provisions protected Frederick's actions and whether the banner constituted a legitimate political or social protest rather than a pro-drug declaration.
Superintendent Peggy Cowan says the school district is planning its arguments. The "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case isn't quite over. ... more -
Reward for Condoleezza Rice's Arrest
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand students protesting the Iraq war offered a reward to anyone who carries out a citizen's arrest of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit to the country Friday.
The Auckland University Students' Association is seeking Rice's arrest for her role in "overseeing the illegal invasion and continued occupation" of Iraq, Association President David Do said. The group is offering a $3,700 reward.
Rice is making her first trip to New Zealand after attending a Southeast Asian security forum in Singapore. She is scheduled to arrive from Australia late Friday and fly out early Sunday.
U.S. officials traveling with her said that they were aware of the threat but that it won't affect Rice's plans.
But police in Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, warned that "anyone who attempts to penetrate the police lines of security around the secretary will not be allowed to follow through with their plan."
District Commander Superintendent Brett England said "the consequences of such a security threat could be very serious indeed."
On Saturday, Rice will hold talks with Prime Minister Helen Clark and Foreign Minister Winston Peters, meet with business leaders and attend an official dinner.
Rice is due to fly to Samoa early Sunday for meetings with South Pacific foreign ministers, seen by observers as an important event for the South Pacific region — an area where the U.S. has pledged to strengthen its level of engagement.
(photo from - http://morningchuhi.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/condole... )
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand students protesting the Iraq war offered a reward to anyone who carries out a citizen's arr... more -
HIV drugs 'add 13 years of life'
"Life expectancy for people with HIV has increased by an average of 13 years since the late 1990s thanks to better HIV treatment, a study says.
Researchers said it meant HIV was now effectively a chronic condition like diabetes, rather than a fatal disease, the Lancet reported.
But the researchers warned those diagnosed later in the course of the infection had a much shorter life expectancy.
Marc Thompson, deputy head of health promotion at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "HIV medication has become much more effective since the early days.
"There has been great progress, but research needs to continue, especially for those who have developed resistance to some drugs and are running out of options."
But he added the study also highlighted the need for early diagnosis, pointing out an estimated a third of people with HIV do not know they have it. " "Life expectancy for people with HIV has increased by an average of 13 years since the late 1990s thanks to better HIV treatment, a st... more -
Obama rocks Germany!
BERLIN (AP) - Before an enormous crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago.
"The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand," Obama said, speaking not far from where the Berlin Wall once divided the city.
"The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand," he said.
Obama said he was speaking as a citizen, not as a president, but the evening was awash in politics. His remarks inevitably invited comparison to historic speeches in the same city by Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, and he borrowed rhetoric from his own appeals to campaign audiences in the likes of Berlin, N.H., when he addressed a crowd in one of the great cities of Europe.
"People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time," he said.
Obama's speech was the centerpiece of a fast-paced tour through Europe designed to reassure skeptical voters back home about his ability to lead the country and take a frayed cross-Atlantic alliance in a new direction after eight years of the Bush administration.
Republicans, chafing at the media attention Obama's campaign-season trip has drawn, sought to stoke doubts abut his claims.
In Die Welt, the German publication, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., said: "No one knows which Obama will show. Will it be the ideological, left-wing Democratic primary candidate who vowed to 'end' the war rather than win it, or the Democratic nominee who dismisses the progressing coalition victory as a 'distraction'? Will it be the American populist who has told supporters in the United States that he will demand more from our allies in Europe and get it, or the liberal internationalist hell-bent on being liked in Europe's salons?"
Obama met earlier in the day with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a discussion that ranged across the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, climate change, energy issues and more.
Knots of bystanders waited along Obama's motorcade route for him to pass. One man yelled out in English, "Yes, we can," the senator's campaign refrain, when he emerged from his car to enter his hotel.
Obama drew loud applause as he strode confidently across a large podium erected at the base of the Victory Column in Tiergarten Park in the heart of Berlin.
This video is from CNN.com, broadcast July 24, 2008.
BERLIN (AP) - Before an enormous crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans to... more -
During a World Food Crisis, Monsanto Raises Corn Seed Prices to $100.00 A Bag
Do you know who Monsanto is? They are a chemical corporation which made Agent Orange and after that, PCBs, with which they drowned the town of Anniston, Alabama for decades, even after knowing for sure that PCBs were highly carcinogenic. They make organophosphates, including glyphosate (Round-up) - which are highly neuro-toxic.
With this background in illness and killing, Monsanto then began "doing" your food. It genetically engineers food.
But before you say "Oh, that's good because genetic engineering is making food better, adding vitamins, growing bigger crops, ..." I have bad news for you. Please go to http://www.responsibletechnology.org and listen to Jeffrey Smith's lecture on how genetic engineering works and what it does to organs.
And as the greater yield PR, I suggest you read: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/IBTCF.php about the Bt-cotton fraud in India while Monsanto claims to have increased yield by 160%. http://www.monsanto.com/biotech-gmo/asp/news.asp?newsId... What do Indian farmers say? Indian farmers call Monsanto's Bt-cotton seeds, the Seeds of Death. http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/indiacotton012406.cf...
Beyond India, there are also problems. http://www.slogefree.org/news07/a-disaster-in-search-of...
Who to believe? Isn't this the same Monsanto that for four decades denied that PCBs caused cancer, while sitting on thousands of documents to the contrary? http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/ features/2008/05/monsanto200805
snip
It works like this: Monsanto gets George HW Bush to put one of its employees on the Supreme Court. From there, Clarence Thomas is in time to rule that genetically modified organisms are no different from normal organisms. Science by legal decision. Pandora's box of endlessly mutant organisms being let loose onto the world by Monsanto's influence over Bush and via one single law.
Clarence Thomas also ruled for an extreme extension of the intellectual property laws that allow Monsanto (and other biotech companies) to call their scrambling of DNA, "inventions" and through that, patent them. So, when a farmer buys GE-seeds, he doesn't buy just buy seeds, he buys himself into a deep, deep trap. For after buying the seeds and planting them and tending the plants all season, when the harvest comes and the farmer goes to collect seeds from those plants, Monsanto steps in and says "those are mine." Monsanto, in effect, claims to own biology itself, not just the process by which it screwed with the seeds, but all seeds forever from those seeds. In this way, this Monsanto as god way, it turns farmers into tenant farmers on their own land.
The two main crops in America, corn and soy - the basis of most our food, and now grains that are used for biofuels - are controlled by Monsanto. 90% of soy is GMO and of that, 90% of those traits "belong" to Monsanto. And for corn, the largest crop, 60% is GMO, nearly 100% are Monsanto "owned" traits. http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_9716.c...
snip
Now, maybe the news that Monsanto is raising the price of its GE-corn by $100 a bag will have due significance, since farmers have lost other seed companies, are threatened in saving their own seeds, and thus are left not only with a massive monopoly but one that then through patents, "owns" the farmer.
Notice, too, that Monsanto is drastically raising prices while it is making phenomenal profits, while food prices are rising dramatically (related often to its grains), leading to food riots around the world, and while fuel is skyrocketing and Monsanto's corn is now the basis of biofuel, and while our economy is tanking. All the while Monsanto claims that genetically engineering is a wonder - the way to help farmers around the world and to feed the hungry.
It's time to pay serious attention.
Do you know who Monsanto is? They are a chemical corporation which made Agent Orange and after that, PCBs, with which they drowned the... more -
"Last Lecture" Professor Randy Pausch Dies
Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose ``last lecture'' about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation and a best-selling book, has died. He was 47. Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose ``last lecture'' about facing terminal cancer became an Internet s... more
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A Unique Solar Powered Community in Canada
The Drake Landing Solar Community is the first solar powered community of North America. Located in the town of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, the project sets a wonderful example of how every household can lead a sustainable lifestyle. There are 800 solar panels located throughout the community on garage roofs, and they produce 1.5 mega-watts of thermal power during a summer day and supply heat to the district heating system. The whole system meets 90% of the annual heating and hot water needs of the homes.
The 52-home solar community has installed an array of solar panels on the roofs of their houses and garages. Glycol solution runs through an insulated piping system, or collector loop, that connects the array of solar panels. The solar panels absorb the solar energy during the daytime and heat the glycol solution. The glycol solution travels through the collector loop and reaches an underground heat exchanger within the community’s centralized Energy Center. The heat is then transferred from heat exchanger to the water stored in a short-term storage tank. The glycol solution returns to the solar collector system. The Energy Center has short-term thermal storage tanks and long-thermal storage tanks (Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) system).
During the warmer months the heated water is transferred to the underground borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) system via a series of pipes. The water heats up the surrounding earth increasing the temperature to 80 degrees C (176 °F). The water returns to the short-term storage tanks to be heated again. The heat is stored underground insulated with sand, high-density R-40 insulation, a waterproof membrane, clay, and other landscaping materials. The stored heat is used to provide heat and hot water to the entire community throughout the winter.
The homes are moderately sized, ranging from 1,492 to 1,664 square feet, and have low energy demands, suitable to work with the system. The homes are located close to one another, which provides a walkable neighborhood, and reduces the lengths that the fluid for the solar heating system needs to travel. Water conservation has been made mandatory in the homes. The homes have been built using locally manufactured materials, and recycled material too has been used in construction. The homes will be certified to Natural Resources Canada’s R-2000 Standard for energy efficiency, and the Built Green™ Alberta program. The precedence set by the Drake Landing Solar Community can serve as an example for every community.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/07/24/a-unique-solar-powe...
link to The Drake Landing Solar Community website
http://www.dlsc.ca/index.htm The Drake Landing Solar Community is the first solar powered community of North America. Located in the town of Okotoks, Alberta, Cana... more -
Learning Carbon 101 w/ Rihanna's Latest . . .
Climate change education gets catchy. . .
From the original post at blog.brighterplanet.com:
"Recalling the days of VH1’s pop-up music videos, we’ve decided to borrow the concept to address some disturbing details of our society illustrated by the media and pop culture - only this time we’re focusing on carbon. We chose Rihanna mostly because of her popularity, but as Alex pointed out, the song is fitting for a discussion of carbon emissions and the US auto industry. After all, it’s become somewhat of a mantra for Americans over the last few decades…'Shut up and drive'." Climate change education gets catchy. . . From the original post at blog.brighterplanet.com: ... more -
Naked model covers up with national flag, faces 4 years in jail
It seems if you're a Peruvian model who wants to celebrate your country, using a national flag draped over a horse to cover your modesty, isn't the best option.
Leysi Suarez appeared on the front cover of the magazine claiming it was 'patriotic' to cover her bits with the Peruvian flag, but unsurprisingly the country's defence minister is a little displeased, saying the flag sitting has offended national symbols.
The magazine's editor has hit back at the criticism summing it up with:
"All we want to do is celebrate national holidays with a beautiful girl with our national flag, that's all that's going on here" It seems if you're a Peruvian model who wants to celebrate your country, using a national flag draped over a horse to cover your modes... more -
Michael Moore on the drugging of our children SSRI Drug Dangers Columbine Video/Pe...
Watch the whole video you will be astounded.
US Government sent the FBI after a woman who was in Canada trying to keep her young son off of SSRI's
They had a warrent out for half a million $$$ for her arrest.
2 felonies 10 years each.
This could be you next.
Watch and weep with disgust then let's do something. I signed a petition and posted it below. We need to get our population extracted from these Pharmaceutical creeps. They have a tight hold on our thoughts and our souls our FDA and from the media. They have no souls.
Michael Moore obtained a copy of Dr. Tracy's book, "Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare" at the premier of "Bowling for Columbine" in Denver, CO.
After learning more about these drugs, see his statement from the movie he recently appeared in with Dr. Tracy, Mark Taylor, Neal Bush, and others in the Gary Null production "The Drugging of our Children"
Watch the whole video you will be astounded. ... more -
Russia eyes new Cuba nuclear bases
Russia is said to be considering the use of bases in Cuba as a refuelling point for its nuclear bombers, in a move reminiscent of the 1962 missile crisis.
The move would be in retaliation for the Bush administration's plan to site a missile defence shield in Europe. Russia says America's proposal for the shield in Poland and the Czech Republic poses a direct threat to its security.
Citing a "highly placed military source", a report in Monday's Izvestiya said the Kremlin wanted to use Cuba as a base for its long-range Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic nuclear bombers. "While they are deploying the anti-missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, our long-range strategic aircraft already will be landing in Cuba," the source told the paper. No final decision on landing bombers in Cuba had been taken, it added.
Link to this audio
'Russia is hacked off with Bush'
In 1962 Nikita Khrushchev, Russia's then leader, attempted to site nuclear missiles on the Caribbean island. His aim was to lessen the then strategic nuclear gap with the US. He eventually backed down and withdrew the missiles. The US secretly removed its missiles from Turkey.
Izvestiya is owned by Russia's state gas giant Gazprom and reflects official thinking. It is frequently used by the Kremlin as a vehicle for leaking information. The possible use of Cuba as a nuclear base dominated yesterday's Russian newspapers. Komsomolskaya Pravda said "our bombers" could be stationed under America's "belly", threatening the US in the same way it threatens Russia.
But Russia's defence ministry poured cold water on the report yesterday. "Russia, guided by its peaceful policy, is not creating military bases at the borders of other states," Russian news agencies quoted Ilshat Baichurin, acting head of the defence ministry's information department, as saying.
US and European diplomats also played down the report, saying they did not regard the threat as realistic even though General Norton Schwartz, who has been nominated as the US air force commander, warned on Tuesday that such a move by Moscow would amount to crossing a dangerous threshold.
Russian defence analysts told the Guardian there was little strategic point in using Cuba as a base and the idea seemed to have been floated to irritate the US.
Russia's nuclear aircraft have a range of up to 1,900 miles, allowing them to fire a nuclear missile at the US from much further away than Cuba, defence expert Pavel Felgenhauer said.
It was unclear yesterday whether Cuba had agreed to Russia's proposal. In a brief note on a government website, Fidel Castro said his brother Raúl, Cuba's president, was wise not to respond to the report. Most observers believe that the president would be unlikely to agree to any request from Moscow.
Russia is said to be considering the use of bases in Cuba as a refuelling point for its nuclear bombers, in a move reminiscent of the ... more -
Computer models of staggering drunks, helps city planning
"A team of Welsh scientists have spent long nights camped out in a busy nightlife neighborhood of Cardiff from 11pm to 3am with one goal—studying the way Welshmen stagger when they're shitfaced in order to build an accurate computer model of the phenomenon. They aim to use their data to help city planners design streets that are safer for late night revelers."
You have to check out the moving charts. "A team of Welsh scientists have spent long nights camped out in a busy nightlife neighborhood of Cardiff from 11pm to 3am with one go... more -
Scientists discover Jupiter-sized planet.
cientists have discovered a new Jupiter-sized planet orbiting around a distant sun-like star.
This planet takes 9.2 days to orbit its star, the longest period for any transiting exoplanet ever found.
The planet, called CoRoT-Exo-4b, was discovered by the European Space Agency's CoRoT space telescope, which was designed to search for extrasolar planets by looking for transits, or tiny dips in the light output from a star when a planet passes in front of it. cientists have discovered a new Jupiter-sized planet orbiting around a distant sun-like star. ... more -
Obama warns Germans of potential 'new walls'
"Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, speaking to thousands of Germans crowded into the heart of the city, is warning Thursday of "new walls" that could divide trans-Atlantic allies and said Europe and America must reunite to tackle wars, nuclear threats and genocide.
"In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them," he said. "That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone."
The Illinois senator hinted at strains between Europe and the United States in recent years and said that "if we're honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny."
Police estimated the crowd, which began gathering hours before the speech, at over 200,000, according to Michael Bengsch, media relations for the Berlin police. Many waved American flags, some shouting Obama's campaign slogan: "Yes We Can"." "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, speaking to thousands of Germans crowded into the heart of the city, is warning Thurs... more -
Big Love in China
In this episode of Sexy Beijing, Su Fei gets sick of the city life and goes to the countryside in search of love.
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Obama Visits France
Democrat Barack Obama is holding talks in Paris with President Nicolas Sarkozy.
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New museum to display rich Palestinian history
Jawdat N. Khoudary will open the first museum of archeology this summer in Gaza. The aim is to show Palestinian patriotism and how the now "Gray Gaza" was once a thriving multicultural crossroad.
The exhibition will be in a hall made of saved stoned from old houses, discarded wood ties from former railroads, bronze lamps and marble columns. Jawdat N. Khoudary will open the first museum of archeology this summer in Gaza. The aim is to show Palestinian patriotism and how t... more
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