Thursday, February 24, 2011
Swiss tourist trampled to death by elephant in Thailand...
A Swiss woman has died after being trampled by fighting elephants in Thailand, local police reported on Thursday.
The 63-year-old was thrown to the ground and her mount repeatedly stamped on her.
There are conflicting reports of exactly what happened in the incident on Tuesday in a national park near the southern resort of Phuket.
The police officer in charge of the case said it involved five tourists riding two elephants.
However, the Phuket Wan tourism news website said a total of six tourists had been riding three elephants, when two of the animals became aggressive towards each other, probably fighting over a female. More...
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Having the Bee Gees' "Staying Alive" as a ringtone during a funeral is not a very good idea!!!
A mourner must have felt his cheeks burning after his phone went off during a funeral.
But when the ringtone that echoed round the church was Staying Alive by the Bee Gees, it is fair to say he wished the earth could have swallowed him up.
Now Reverend Martin Morgan from St Margaret’s Church in Rottingdean has urged parishioners to make sure earthly communications are switched off while their thoughts turn to heavenly matters. More...
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'I won't pay' movement spreads across Greece...
They blockade highway toll booths to give drivers free passage. They cover subway ticket machines with plastic bags so commuters can't pay. Even doctors are joining in, preventing patients from paying fees at state hospitals.
Some call it civil disobedience. Others a freeloading spirit. Either way, Greece's "I Won't Pay" movement has sparked heated debate in a nation reeling from a debt crisis that's forced the government to take drastic austerity measures — including higher taxes, wage and pension cuts, and price spikes in public services.
What started as a small pressure group of residents outside Athens angered by higher highway tolls has grown into a movement affecting ever more sectors of society — one that many say is being hijacked by left-wing parties keen to ride popular discontent. More...
Don't miss:
- Ashtrays are back as Greek bars defy smoking ban...
- The Greeks are the victims of a carefully engineered extortion racket...
- Anger in Greece as a new age of austerity dawns.
- No tax please, we're Greeks! Nepotism and corruption in Greece...
- Unlike Ireland, Iceland did not bail out its banks and the country is doing fine...
Japan child porn cases surge...
Japan's number of known child pornography victims surged by half last year, data showed Thursday, a new record in a country where it is legal to possess sexually explicit images of children.
Despite its production and distribution being outlawed, Japan is seen as a major global source of child pornography in photo and video form, and authorities have stepped up efforts to contain the problem.
The National Police Agency on Thursday said law enforcers took action in 1,342 child porn cases last year, up 43.5 percent from the previous year, to reach a new record since such data was first compiled in 2000.
(...)
Japan and Russia are the only members of the G8 group of industrialised nations where the possession of child porn remains legal. It is banned and subject to penalties in more than 70 countries. Full story...
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Despite its production and distribution being outlawed, Japan is seen as a major global source of child pornography in photo and video form, and authorities have stepped up efforts to contain the problem.
The National Police Agency on Thursday said law enforcers took action in 1,342 child porn cases last year, up 43.5 percent from the previous year, to reach a new record since such data was first compiled in 2000.
(...)
Japan and Russia are the only members of the G8 group of industrialised nations where the possession of child porn remains legal. It is banned and subject to penalties in more than 70 countries. Full story...
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Libya rebels isolate Gaddafi, seizing cities and oilfields...
Opposition activists are increasing the pressure on Muammar Gaddafi's ailing regime, shutting down oil exports and mobilising rebel groups in the west of the country as the revolution rapidly spreads.
Gaddafi's hold on power appears confined to parts of Tripoli and perhaps several regions in the centre of the country. Towns to the west of the capital have fallen and all of eastern Libya is firmly in opposition hands.
In Benghazi, the country's second city, basic order is returning to the streets after days of fierce fighting that resulted in the military defecting en masse. Virtually all government buildings were looted and wrecked.
There are long lines outside closed banks as people try to resume normal life. Cars have returned to city streets but almost all shops remain closed and the internet is blocked. More...
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Cellphone radiation changes brain activity...
A groundbreaking study published today by one of the world’s leading neuroscientists challenges the longstanding conviction that radiation emitted from cellphones is too weak to have an effect on the brain.
You can think of cellphone saturation as one giant, uncontrolled human experiment. There are now 293 million wireless connections in use in the United States, according to the trade group CTIA-The Wireless Association. And Americans log a staggering 2.26 trillion minutes yakking on those mobile devices every year—all at a time when the biological effects of cellphones remain controversial and the research on those effects often of dubious quality.
A study published today by leading researchers in the premiere medical journal JAMA hasn't found a smoking gun, but it does challenge the longstanding conviction that radiation emitted from cellphones is too weak to have an effect on the brain. It is notable not only for that finding and for appearing in a top journal—it is also turning heads because the lead researcher is Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and one of the world's leading brain scientists. More...
Don't miss:
- Mobile phones are dangerous but manufacturers bury warnings in small print...
- Mobile phones are dangerous and we're deliberately being kept ignorant about it...
- Cell phone tower near California school causing cancer?
- San Francisco passes cellphone radiation law...
- Is your cell-phone spying on you? The danger lurking in your mobile gadget...
Burglar steals laptop and posts his photo on victim's Facebook page!!!
He didn't exactly stand much chance of getting away with it.
And yesterday the man described as 'the most stupid criminal ever', who stole a laptop then posted a leering photo of himself on its owner's Facebook page, pleaded guilty to burglary in Washington D.C.
Last December, Rodney Knight Jr, 19, broke into the home of Washington Post journalist Marc Fisher and stole his 15-year-old son's laptop computer, $400, a winter coat and another laptop. More + photos...
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- Burglar steals kid's stuff, says thank you via Facebook!!!
- Burglar killed goldfish because he didn’t want any witnesses!!!
- Burglars snort man's ashes, thought it was cocaine!!!
- Burglar leaves phone at crime scene, texts police to ask for it back!!!
- Burglar who logged into MySpace on store computer caught!!!
- Burglar leaves his Facebook page on victim’s computer!!!
English woman sells her breast milk to be made into new ice cream product!!!
A woman has sold 850ml of her breast milk to be made into a new ice cream product.
Called the Baby Gaga, the dessert will be available from the Icecreamists restaurant in Covent Garden, London, from tomorrow.
The Baby Gaga mixes breast milk - from women who have been properly screened - with Madagascan vanilla pods and lemon zest before churning it into ice cream. It is priced at £14 per portion.
Victoria Hiley, 35, said: "What could be more natural than fresh, free-range mother's milk in an ice cream? And for me it's a recession-beater too - what's the harm in using my assets for a bit of extra cash? More...
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Malaysia's dismal record on freedom of expression...
Malaysia's Barisan Nasional, or national ruling coalition, has gone to extreme ends to control freedom of expression and monopolize the dissemination of information, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Center for Independent Journalism.
The NGO's report, released Tuesday, says the Barisan "adopted a multi-pronged approach, using the myriad of laws at its disposal to curb expression. The Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA) was used to intimidate The Star, China Press and Special Weekly, among others."
A summary of the report, furnished by the center, follows. It is the fourth such report the organization has released. More...
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Rapists in India get sentences reduced after cash payment to victim...
In a verdict, the first of its kind, the Supreme Court today reduced the sentence of three persons, convicted for gang raping a woman in Ludhiana district in 1997, from 10 years to 3.5 years on the basis of a “compromise formula,” under which they would pay Rs 1.5 lakh to the victim.
A Bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra scaled down the sentence, following the pleadings by the convicts as well as the victim that they had arrived at a "compromise formula" and as such did not want to pursue the case.
Under the compromise, each of the convict would pay Rs 50,000 to the victim. It was further contended that all of them had got married and were leading their own lives peacefully. More...
More...
- Cops refuse to take action, so mother in India snares daughter's rapist...
- It's impossible for a man to rape his wife, says Muslim cleric...
- Man in India "punished" with 5 kicks ... for raping under-age girl!!!
- Rape victims in India still undergoing the "two-finger" test! WTF!
- A remarkable rape case in India: a poor girl gets out of jail while her alleged rapists, powerful men, are arrested...
Shanghai announces 'one-dog policy'
The Chinese city of Shanghai has announced a new rule modelled on the country's one-child policy.
From May a one-dog policy will be introduced, and more than 600,000 unlicensed dogs will be declared illegal.
The new regulation has been the subject of long and heated debate among the city's lawmakers.
Last year more than 140,000 people told police they had been bitten by an unlicensed dog. More...
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Libya: Middle East airports turn away Gaddafi planes...
An official at Beirut Airport in Lebanon said it had denied a request to allow a plane belonging to the Gaddafi family to land. On board was Aline Skaff, the wife of one of the dictator's sons, Hannibal Gaddafi.
A Libyan Arab Airlines aircraft carrying 14 people made an unscheduled appearance in Maltese airspace and was also refused permission to land after failing to supply full details. Al-Jazeera said it was carrying Gaddafi's daughter, Ayesha.
It was not clear whether Gaddafi's family were defecting or being sent to safety. Gaddafi's sons are said to be leading the effort to defend his regime. More...
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The best airports in the world? They're all in Asia...
So, is South Korea’s Incheon International or Singapore’s Changi the envy of the world? According to two major rankings for 2010, they’re both the world’s number one airport.
Airports Council International (ACI) came out with its annual Airport Service Quality awards last week, and named—for the sixth-straight year—Incheon Airport in Seoul as the best of the best.
(...)
Meanwhile global airline review company Skytrax also revealed its own World’s Top 10 Airports ranking for 2010, and not unlike ACI’s, the majority of them are based in the Asia-Pacific. According to Skytrax, its survey this year was an ‘extremely competitive’ one that assessed (an impressive) 9.8 million completed survey interviews. Their results showed that while it was a very close race, Singapore’s Changi comes out slightly ahead of Incheon International, earning the title of 2010 World's Best Airport. Included in Skytrax’s top ten also are Hong Kong International, Munich and Kuala Lumpur, Zurich, Amsterdam Schiphol, Beijing Capital International, Auckland Int'l and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport—placing seven of the ten in the Asia-Pacific region. Full story...
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Unlike Ireland, Iceland did not bail out its banks and the country is doing fine...
On his second day as head of Iceland's third-largest bank, Arni Tomasson faced a crisis: the firm that regulators had asked him to run was out of cash.
It was October 8, 2008, at the height of the global financial meltdown and Iceland's bank assets in Britain had been frozen. Customers flocked to branches of Tomasson's Glitnir Banki to withdraw money, even though the Government had guaranteed their deposits. By the end of the day, the vaults were empty, says Tomasson, recalling the drama.
(...)
But with the economy projected to grow 3 per cent this year, Iceland's decision to let the banks fail is looking smart.
"Iceland did the right thing by making sure its payment systems continued to function while creditors, not the taxpayers, shouldered the losses of banks," says Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, an economics professor at Columbia University in New York. "Ireland's done all the wrong things, on the other hand. That's probably the worst model." Full story...
Don't miss:
- Iceland's govt. collapses under credit crunch...
- How the bank bailouts screwed the American taxpayer...
- Angry Irishman lambasts "wanking, fucking bankers..."
- Eric Cantona: Start a revolution by dumping the banks...
- Irish leaders condemned as greatest traitors of all time...
- Bailed out Irish bankers get £34m bonus...
Teenager battered for refusing arranged marriage after father sold her as £10,000 bride...
A brave teenager has spoken for the first time of the harrowing ordeal of being beaten up in an arranged marriage after her father tried to sell her for £10,000.
The 15-year-old girl was tricked into flying to Pakistan then forced to marry a 31-year-old man so he could get a British passport.
She has described how she feared she would died after being hit, scarred with broken glass and locked up for reusing to get married.
Her harrowing story has been revealed as part of BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat investigation into forced marriages. More...
Don't miss:
- Muslim peer condemns cousin marriages in Britain...
- Pakistani woman: I was sold every few months...
- Teen girl electrocuted by relatives in Pakistan honour killing...
- Extradited Iraqi cousins jailed in Britain for honour killing...
- More and more South Asian males in UK forced into marriage...
- Britain: young Asian girls and forced marriages...
Heavy gunfire in Libyan capital...
Heavy gunfire broke out in Tripoli as forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi tightened their grip on the capital.
But anti-government protesters claimed control of many cities elsewhere and top government officials and diplomats turned against the long-time leader.
While cities in the eastern half of the country celebrated, raising the flags of the old monarchy, the mood in Tripoli was bleak. Residents were afraid to leave their houses, saying pro-Gaddafi forces were opening fire randomly in the streets.
International outrage mounted a day after Col Gaddafi vowed to defend his rule and called on supporters to crack down on anti-government protesters. Col Gaddafi's retaliation has already been the harshest in the Arab world to the wave of anti-government protests sweeping the Middle East. More...
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Gaddafi's sons and their lavish spending...
After New Year’s Day 2009, Western media reported that Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, one of Muammar Qaddafi’s sons, had paid Mariah Carey a million dollars to sing just four songs...
As the Gaddafi clan conducts a bloody struggle to hold onto power in Libya, cables obtained by the whistleblowing web site WikiLeaks offer a vivid account of the lavish spending, rampant nepotism and bitter rivalries that have defined what a 2006 cable called 'Qadhafi Incorporated'.
The clan’s antics have added to the public anger that is now boiling over. Simultaneously, tensions between siblings are contributing to the chaos in the oil-rich African country, the New York Times reports.
The Gaddafi children are described as jockeying for position as their father Colonel Muammar Qaddafi ages. More...
Don't miss:
- Row grows after Beyonce private show for Hannibal Gaddafi...
- Gaddafi travels with 'voluptuous' blonde nurse...
- The Swiss/Libyan crisis, and a look at the Gaddafi brothers...
- When power corrupts the sons of those in power...
- Italian women flown to Libya ... for culture and marriage!!!
- Switzerland accused of Gaddafi son abuse...
- Bulgarian "AIDS" nurses demand compensation from Libya...
Seattle restaurant refusing to serve TSA agents!!!
The TSA hasn’t been getting a lot of good press lately. First off, there was all that junk touching. Then there was that story about TSA agents stealing a bunch of stuff. Now, a restaurant in the Seattle area is fighting back by refusing to serve people who work for the TSA. Interesting idea but I think, if they really want to get them, they should just only serve them three ounces of their drink order.
The restaurant in question is a cafe outside of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that now has signs on their doors saying TSA agents aren’t welcome meaning, I suppose, that it’s only open to passengers and flight staff. More...
Don't miss:
- Jesse Ventura sues over body scans, pat-downs...
- Student strips at US airport to protest TSA pat-downs...
- Woman arrested for refusing to be groped by TSA...
- Young woman misses her flight as TSA harasses her about breast milk...
- "Airport cops fondled my pregnant wife's breast and threw me into a cell for protesting"
Beirut denies permission for private Libyan jet to land in Lebanon...
The Lebanese aviation authorities refused to give permission for a private Libyan jet carrying 10 passengers to land at Beirut's international airport.
According to airport officials the plane was due to take off from Tripoli's airport before midnight Monday, but Lebanese authorities asked Libya to reveal the identity of the 10 before allowing the jet to land in Rafik Hariri's International airport.
But the Libyans ignored the request, prompting the authorities at Beirut airport to ask the pilot to divert the plane to a nearby country, either Syria or Cyprus.
Anti-government protests have spread across Libya in recent days, shaking the foundation of leader Moamer Gaddafi, who has ruled the country for 41 years. Source...
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Prisoners in Jaipur jail go on hunger strike demanding TV to watch World Cup cricket!!!
The cricket world cup has begun and the excitement is there all over. In Rajasthan, however, the fever has spread even to jails. On Monday, the inmates of Gulabpura sub jail in Bhilwara district refused food and went on a hunger strike demanding installation of a colour television to watch the ongoing matches.
They broke their fast only in the evening after a TV was installed in the jail's common hall. The TV was donated by a local private company's officer.
According to sub divisional magistrate, Gulabpura, Virendra Varma, he received a call from the jail authorities at around 9 am on Monday. They informed him about a hunger strike which had never happened in this small jail which currently accommodates about 20 inmates. They are behind bars on charges of dacoity, murder and burglary among other crimes. More...
Don't miss:
- British and Indian cricket legends play in the Swiss mountains!!! Cool...
- India's Irom Sharmila has been on hunger strike for 10 years but ...
- Bangladesh closes top university after World Cup rampage...
- South African beaten to death by family for wanting to watch World Cup match...
- Doctors in Switzerland refuse to force-feed cannabis hunger striker ...
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Police in Maldives arrest 14 in massive Facebook nude photo blackmail ring...
Police have arrested 14 persons including a minor for alleged involvement in blackmailing people after acquiring nude pictures and videos of them through Facebook.
”We have been investigating this issue since it came to light two months ago,” said police in a statement. ”Police conducted a special operation from February 13-20, 2011 in an effort to stop this crime, present the criminals before the court.”
Police said 10 of the 14 alleged perpetrators were arrested in Addu while four of them, including a 17 year old minor, were caught in Male’. According to police all persons arrested in Addu were between the age of 21-26. More...
Don't miss:
- Maldives police to probe foul-mouthed wedding ceremony...
- 10 years jail for 1 gram of cannabis for Maldivian reggae artist...
- French internet users blackmailed with webcam porn scam...
- US teen used Facebook photos to blackmail for sex...
- Teacher kills herself after ex-boyfriend posts naked photos of her on Facebook...
Students in Zimbabwe arrested for watching Middle East uprisings on BBC and Al Jazeera! WTF!
Dozens of students, trade unionists and political activists who gathered to watch Al Jazeera and BBC news reports on the uprisings that brought down autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to oust President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
James Sabau, a spokesman for the police force, which is part of the security services controlled by Mr. Mugabe’s party, was quoted in Monday’s state-controlled newspaper as saying that the 46 people in custody were accused of participating in an illegal political meeting where they watched videos “as a way of motivating them to subvert a constitutionally elected government.”
The evidence seized by the police included a video projector, two DVD discs and a laptop. More...
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Christian tribal village in Bangladesh burned down by Muslim settlers to seize their land...
A village was burned down and dozens of indigenous have been injured and driven from Ragipara in the mountain district of Rangamati, Diocese of Chittagong. The indigenous people who have suffered violence, perpetrated by Muslim settlers, are Buddhist, Hindu and Christian ethnic minorities. This is the news sent to Fides from the Commission for Justice and Peace of the local Church. On 17 February more than 300 Muslim settlers, who intend to take possession of new lands for agriculture, organised a punitive expedition against the village inhabited by indigenous people. The settlers were backed by local police who legitimised the violence. Other cases like this (of attacks on tribal members and private land) have been recorded in recent days in the area of Gulishakhali. The Muslims settlers committed this under the pretext of the death of their comrade, Ali Saber, found dead in the Ragiparam, and staged a violent reaction, trampling on the rights of minorities. More...
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Don't miss:
- Bangladesh girl 'lashed to death'
- Woman dies in Bangladesh after public caning for "affair" with stepson...
- Mob in Indonesia attacks and kills 3 'heretic' Muslims...
- Ethiopia: Islamic radicals attack Christians and force them to convert...
- Cops in India's Orissa arrest two young Christians to protect Hindu thief...
- Cops in Pakistan rape and murder Christian man, threaten victim's father for filing charges...
Top Muslim cleric calls on Libyan soldiers to kill Gaddafi...
Prominent Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi called on Libyan soldiers to shoot leader Muammar Gaddafi dead, issuing a fatwa saying any soldier with the ability should step up "to rid Libya of" the 41-year leader.
"Whoever in the Libyan army is able to shoot a bullet at Mr Kadhafi should do so," Qaradawi said on Al-Jazeera television.
The Egyptian-born cleric urged Libyan soldiers "not to obey orders to strike at your own people," and called on Libyan diplomats across the world to denounce and distance themselves from Gaddafi's regime. More...
Don't miss:
- Libyan soldiers burned to death for not shooting at protestors... (Graphic)
- Libyan fighter pilots refuse to bomb protestors and defect to Malta...
- Gaddafi travels with 'voluptuous' blonde nurse...
- Row grows after Beyonce private show for Hannibal Gaddafi...
- Amnesty International condemns Libya's execution of 18 people...
US caught in Big Lie about CIA agent Raymond Davis in Pakistan...
Talk about getting caught in a Big Lie. So desperate has been the US effort to get the killer Raymond Davis sprung from police custody in Lahore, Pakistan following his execution-style slaughter of two Pakistani intelligence operatives in broad daylight in a crowded commercial area, that the government trotted out President Obama to declare that Pakistan was violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by holding "our diplomat," whom he insisted had only been defending himself, and should in any case be entitled to absolute immunity.
Now both the Guardian newspaper in the UK over the weekend, and the Associated Press today are reporting that sources in both the Pakistani and American governments are confirming that Davis works for the CIA. The AP is reporting that he is a "CIA security contractor," which is something less and a little more amorphous than a CIA employee, and still leaves open the question of who he actually is and who he actually works for, but more on that later. Full story...
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Now both the Guardian newspaper in the UK over the weekend, and the Associated Press today are reporting that sources in both the Pakistani and American governments are confirming that Davis works for the CIA. The AP is reporting that he is a "CIA security contractor," which is something less and a little more amorphous than a CIA employee, and still leaves open the question of who he actually is and who he actually works for, but more on that later. Full story...
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Tripoli streets 'lined with dead'
The streets of Libya's capital are littered with the bodies of scores of protesters shot dead by security forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, an opposition leader has said.
Mohammed Ali of the Libyan Salvation Front said Tripoli's inhabitants are hiding at home after the killings and warnings by forces loyal to Mr Gaddafi that anyone found outside would be shot.
Mr Ali said Mr Gaddafi's forces shot at ambulances and some protesters were left bleeding to death.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said at least 250 people have been killed and hundreds more injured. Human Rights Watch has put the toll at at least 233 killed. The difficulty in getting information made obtaining a precise figure impossible. More...
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The Chinese say "no" to genetically modified rice...
“We don’t want GE rice!” is the clear message that has rung loud and clear in China. Here at the Greenpeace office in Beijing, we have been getting more and more calls and emails from parents, housewives, college students, seed sellers, and even farmers, all with the same question: How can I avoid genetically engineered (GE)rice? We can feel the anxiety and anger about GE food in these calls, and now it is even clearer. A recent survey we commissioned showed that 69% of mainland consumers and 79% of Hong Kong consumers do not want GE rice.
Rice is the most important staple food for Chinese people. It plays an important role in Chinese culture,tradition, history and social life, with a history of 7,000 years of growing thousands of rice varieties. As babies we are fed rice porridge and rice is an intricate part of nearly all our meals. Unfortunately, rice, our daily food, is now at risk: despite the people’s rejection, GE rice is on the edge of commercialization. More...
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Mass hysteria in central Vietnam school...
Students from a school in the south-central province of Phu Yen have been struck by inexplicable bouts of fainting spells during the past two months.
Doctors suspect they suffer from a psychological disorder.
Chau Lot, principal of the Son Thanh Secondary and High School in Tay Hoa District, said the phenomenon first appeared in a handful of students and eventually spread.
All of the cases occurred among the seventh-grade, eighth-grade, and eleventh-grade classes, which ran in the afternoon, he said. More...
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Doctors suspect they suffer from a psychological disorder.
Chau Lot, principal of the Son Thanh Secondary and High School in Tay Hoa District, said the phenomenon first appeared in a handful of students and eventually spread.
All of the cases occurred among the seventh-grade, eighth-grade, and eleventh-grade classes, which ran in the afternoon, he said. More...
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"Mother of all scams" in India: food meant for the poor was sold to the public...
The poorest of the poor in India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, are at the heart of a major food scandal.
The Indian media has described it as "the mother of all scams".
It appears to show elements of the state bureaucracy diverting food from citizens who are right at the bottom of the economic ladder.
Officials say massive quantities of food grains and fuel, meant to be distributed through the public distribution system or to be given to the poor under welfare schemes like food-for-work and school meals for poor children, have been stolen over the years and sold on the open market.
This is being investigated by India's federal police and there are countless pages of court documents setting out the extent of the deception. More...
Don't miss:
- India 'diverts funds meant for poor to pay for Delhi games...'
- Thanks to corrupt officials, 65 children have died in three months in Indian region...
- Indian social worker returns top award as protest against corruption...
- How India was plundered by the rich and the powerful...
- £1.8million intended for world’s poor was diverted to fund Pope’s UK visit...
China's mistresses start website to "squeeze out more money from lovers..."
Mistresses in China have set up a website to share their experiences as well as ''methods to squeeze more money'' out of their lovers.
The website www.xeixe.com - apparently operated by "China's Association for Mistresses," is only accessible by its 700-plus paid-up female members, all of whom claim to be mistresses of married men.
The topics most discussed on the forum, which has been online for more than seven months, include shopping, making friends, sharing experiences and even breast enhancement, state-run Shanghai Daily reported.
The mistresses share their experiences of being financially supported by married men and even exchange their "lovers" on online. More...
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Libyan fighter pilots refuse to bomb protestors and defect to Malta...
Two Libyan Air Force fighter pilots defected on Monday and flew their jets to Malta where they told authorities they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said.
They said the two pilots, both colonels, took off from a base near Tripoli. One of them has requested political asylum.
The pilots are being questioned by the Maltese police.
The two said they decided to fly to Malta after being ordered to bomb anti-government protesters in Libya's second largest city of Benghazi, the sources said. More...
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Gene Sharp and how to start a non-violent revolution...
In an old townhouse in East Boston an elderly stooped man is tending rare orchids in his shabby office. His Labrador Sally lies on the floor between stacks of academic papers watching him as he shuffles past.
This is Dr Gene Sharp the man now credited with the strategy behind the toppling of the Egyptian government.
Gene Sharp is the world's foremost expert on non-violent revolution. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages, his books slipped across borders and hidden from secret policemen all over the world. More...
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Lew Rockwell on the USA's captive nations...
We are living in an Orwell novel, so it is not expected that anyone would remember President Ronald Reagan’s war on Libya in 1986. Both Reagan and his vice president Bush were on television daily to decry Libya as a terror state ruled by a wicked dictator, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. The US bombing campaign was supposedly in retaliation for the alleged Libyan involvement in an attack on a German disco the previous year.
Gaddafi was certainly the Hitler of the day. In the attack, Gaddafi’s 15-month-old adopted daughter, Hannah, was killed, and his two sons were wounded. Who cared? Hardly anyone because the demonization was intense and unrelenting. Tee shirts all over the country read: "F@#$ Gaddafi" and we heard all about his personal insanity and the wicked despotism he exercised over his own people.
Then, in time, and as always, the campaign died down, and eventually everyone forgot about the new Hitler and his country, just as Americans forget about any country with which they are not at war. More...
Don't miss:
- Gaddafi flees Tripoli ?
- Tony Blair and his "brother" Gaddafi in secret talks...
- Tony Blair worships Hosni Mubarak!!!
- Berlusconi: " Hosni Mubarak is the wisest of men..."
- Saudi prince tells royal family to flee the coming revolution...
- Authoritarian governments start stockpiling food to fight public anger...
When lawyers trawl Facebook and Google for the perfect juror...
When picking a jury, lawyers always try to stack the panel with people likely to take their side. Now, some are taking the vetting process to a new level: they're quietly trawling social networks and other sites to ferret out the most intimate details of potential jurors' lives, from their sexual orientation to their income level and politics.
(...)
"Jurors are like icebergs -- only 10 percent of them is what you see in court," said Dallas-based jury consultant Jason Bloom. "But you go online and sometimes you can see the rest of the juror iceberg that's below the water line."
In Columbia, Missouri, criminal-defense attorney Jennifer Bukowsky builds Excel spreadsheets about prospective jurors using Facebook, MySpace, Google Inc and a state database of civil and criminal actions called Case.net. During a trial in Circuit Court for Boone County, Missouri, late last year in which her client, a black male, was charged with sexual assault, Bukowsky hoped to keep a white female juror on the panel because the woman's Facebook page included several pictures of her with a black man -- which Bukowsky took as a sign the woman was not racist. Full story...
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"Jurors are like icebergs -- only 10 percent of them is what you see in court," said Dallas-based jury consultant Jason Bloom. "But you go online and sometimes you can see the rest of the juror iceberg that's below the water line."
In Columbia, Missouri, criminal-defense attorney Jennifer Bukowsky builds Excel spreadsheets about prospective jurors using Facebook, MySpace, Google Inc and a state database of civil and criminal actions called Case.net. During a trial in Circuit Court for Boone County, Missouri, late last year in which her client, a black male, was charged with sexual assault, Bukowsky hoped to keep a white female juror on the panel because the woman's Facebook page included several pictures of her with a black man -- which Bukowsky took as a sign the woman was not racist. Full story...
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Israeli Muslim sues Coca Cola for containing alcohol...
An Israeli Muslim filed a NIS 1.2 billion class action suit against The Central Bottling Company Group Ltd. (the Israel franchisee for Coca Cola) in the Jerusalem District Court today for compensation for mental anguish and infringing the independent choices of the individual.
The plaintiff, an Israeli Muslim, filed the suit following publication on the web last week of what is apparently the secret recipe of Coca Cola, and which allegedly contains alcohol. The class action suit was filed by Advs. Hani Tannus, Ofir Cohen, and Mahmud Machjana.
Alcohol is forbidden by Islam, and the plaintiff cites he has been unwittingly drinking alcohol for years. He therefore claims Coca Cola is guilty of misleading consumers, infringing the independent choices of the individual, and causing huge mental anguish. More...
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Bahrain grand prix cancelled due to protests...
The organisers of the Formula One grand prix in Bahrain have announced that the season-opening race has been called off due to the civil unrest sweeping the country. The event, which was due to be held on 13 March, had been in doubt for more than a week after violent anti-government demonstrations in the country's capital, Manama.
"The Bahrain International Circuit today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 grand prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialogue," said a statement.
The crown prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa informed Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One commercial rights holder, of his decision by telephone today. More...
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American gets 16 months jail in Singapore for telephone scam...
A former U.S. university football player was sentenced Monday to 16 months in prison in Singapore for his involvement in a telephone scam.
Kamari Charlton, 37, received about 330,000 Singapore dollars ($259,000) from elderly Croatian immigrants living in Australia and Germany who were tricked into sending money to him between 2008 and 2010, Judge See Kee Oon said.
Charlton, who was a reserve tight end for Florida State University from 1992 to 1996, pleaded guilty last week to five counts of dishonestly receiving stolen property. He was initially charged with 21 counts of money laundering and one count of overstaying his visa. More...
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University of London's student paper has guide on how to shoplift!!!
A guide produced by student activists on the 'art of shoplifting' has outraged retailers who say it could cause them financial costs.
The document funded by the tax-payer urges cash-strapped students to ignore any moral concerns and follow its step-by-step stealing techniques.
It coaches would-be thieves on how to swipe goods without being spotted by staff or CCTV.
Tips include how to exit stores without attracting suspicion and suggestions of what lies to tell if caught by police. More..
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Gaddafi flees Tripoli ?
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reportedly fled the capital Tripoli after anti-government demonstrators breached the state television building and set government property alight.
More than 300 people have been killed in the unrest after Gaddafi was reported to have contracted foreign mercenaries to quell the most violent protests in his 41-year reign.
Dozens more were reported killed in Tripoli overnight with army units reportedly defecting to the opposition and protesters claiming to have taken control of the second city Benghazi.
As Europe and the U.S. condemned the violence, BP said it planned to evacuate its expatriate staff from Libya while Gaddafi's son Saif said his family would 'fight until the last bullet'. More...
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HIV positive Indian woman slept with 100 men in revenge bid to spread AIDS...
A doctor treating HIV-positive patients has claimed that one of his patients has indulged in sexual relations with more than 100 partners "to take revenge" for her condition.
Dr I S Gilada, who heads an AIDS clinic at Grant Road, told TOI that a 29-year-old woman from the Western suburbs has been visiting him since the past two months.
While counselling her, the doctor learnt that she not only has multiple partners, but hunts for them with a vengeance to spread the virus she contracted through her husband.
"She was brought to us by her sister, who herself is HIV positive," said Gilada. "We found out that she had learnt of her husband's HIV-positive status in 2005, and that he had transmitted the disease to her as well. Although she divorced him, she couldn't come to terms with the fact that he had knowingly passed on the virus to her," he said. More...
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