News Thread

For the talkin' of jibba jabba.
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Shroom Man 777
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Re: News Thread

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Don't knock it, Heretic. In the height of the Cold War, the Americans also had inflatable B-52s they would deploy in middle of nowhere bases, in order to distract and divert Russian nuclear strikes towards the decoys instead of real assets. It's a pretty smart idea. Hell, in WW2, that's what people did - let enemy bombers and planes blow up entire bases full of wooden decoy tanks, while the real tanks are actually moving somewhere else and getting ready to attack!

This is actually a pretty smart thing. And, speaking about Serbians, those guys were the only ones who managed to shoot down a stealth bomber - and the commander of the SAM battalion retired, became a baker, and kept a piece of the F-117 he killed in his garage. So MURRICA YEAH! :D

Its understandable for the Russians to do this kind of thing. I mean, they love their Bragskirovkas Maskirovkas.
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Re: News Thread

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It's ingenious, yes, but nothing I expected from those Ruskies. When it said Inflatable Army during the headline, I was like "oh shit, real military equipment that actually works and can fit in the back of pick up trucks! Balloon Migs from hell!" I was almost kinda disappointed when it was just decoy stuff.
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Re: News Thread

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Yeah, you'd probably expect them to cook up some horrible nuclear-powered death machine that's also inflatable as they scheme their inevitable return to communism and bring the demise of the West or something while talking in cold, emotionless Russian. And drinking vodka! Going DA COMRADES!

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Re: News Thread

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More Russian hilarity!
Earthworm salad served at Kremlin dinner for President Wulff

Russian officials have been left red-faced after a salad containing a live earthworm was served at a dinner in honour of German President Christian Wulff, media reported Thursday.

The incident came to light after a Russian regional governor, evidently finding the matter hilarious, wrote a Twitter entry about the worm and linked to a photo. The governor, Dmitri Zelenin, has been branded an “imbecile” and could now lose his job, The Moscow Times reported.

Zelenin, 47, former head of the giant mining company Norilsk Nickel, has since removed the blog post and photo. In the original post, Zelenin quipped of the worm: “It was a very special way to show the salad was fresh.”

The invertebrate salad was served at a dinner at the Kremlin on Tuesday night in honour of Wulff, who is on a state visit to Russia. He has met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

In the photo posted by Zelenin, who is governor of the Tver region in western Russia, a worm is clearly crawling on the edge of the plate. It is not known how Wulff reacted.

Sergei Prikhodko, an aide to President Medvedev, called for Zelenin to be sacked. It should be possible by law to fire a governor because of “imbecility,” he said.

"Fortunately, I'm responsible for foreign policy questions, but I should probably suggest to my colleagues who are dealing with the law to introduce to the criteria for evaluating governors a line on 'termination for imbecility,'" said Prikhodko, according to The Moscow Times

"I won't even comment on irresponsibility and foolishness," he said.

Medvedev has the power to hire and fire the 83 regional governors in Russia.

Anatoly Galkin, the Kremlin's head chef, brushed off Zelenin's allegation as "nonsense" in an interview to Lifenews.ru.

All dishes served in the Kremlin “go through a very careful examination," Galkin said, adding that he was on vacation and could not personally look into the matter.
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Re: News Thread

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Kung Fu Sisters Launch Tournament to Find Love
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A pair of deadly kung fu sisters have given traditional dating the chop - to hold a challenge tournament where only the survivors will get the chance to date them.

Marital arts experts Xiao Lin, 22, and little sister Yin, 21, are to stage a three day fighting festival in Foushan, south east China, where only the toughest suitors stand a chance of getting through.

First contestants must show off their archery skills, then they must carry a heavy weight over sharpened bamboo spears, and finally they have to defeat one of the sisters in full contact combat.

Only then will contestants earn the right to remove the girls' masks and propose to them.

'They can chose open hand or any weapon they wish but we won't be holding back. If they can't beat us they aren't worthy," explained Lin.

'We tried dating agencies but the men we met were all to weak. We could beat them easily,' said Yin.

'So we went back to ancient ways called Bi Wu Zhao Qin - which was the way warrior princesses would find their men.'

But so far, only a trickle of brave contestants has come forward.

'I'm a very good martial artist - but I think I'd want to see them with the masks off before I decided whether I wanted to fight for them,' said one doubtful suitor.
Sometimes I wonder if this stuff is even real.
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Re: News Thread

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What a Complete Monster this 'mother' is.

News link
CALGARY - Suddenly needing a crib, diapers and baby clothes, a new Calgary father was in a rush Wednesday morning to get the essentials for his little boy.

He vows the infant will be well cared for and promises to fight for custody.

In his first interview since the ordeal, the man whose baby was found in a northwest garbage bin Tuesday -- by himself without knowing he was looking at his son -- said he will do whatever he can for the infant that he and the baby's mom didn't know was coming.

"I'm just going to try to be the best dad I can be. If he wants to get involved in sports, be a computer geek, try to be the next prime minister, I'll do whatever I can do to support him," said the father, who cannot be named to protect the baby's identity.

He said his 29-year-old girlfriend was complaining Tuesday morning she wasn't well.

Her sickness had been common lately.

So he went home. But as he parked at his Queen's Park Village townhome off 40th Avenue N.W. and walked out, a stranger spoke up.

"A girl said, 'I think I hear a baby in the Dumpster.' With no knowledge at the time that this is my kid whatsoever, I went running over there, stood beside the Dumpster, heard the baby cry," he said.

"I jumped in and removed the stuff. I personally opened the bag and uncovered all the stuff off," he said.

"My first sight of my baby was covered in garbage."

The father was taken to police for interviewing and the mom, who was still in the apartment as the rescue was going on, was taken to hospital about an hour after the discovery. A third man, James Patton, helped by removing his shirt to keep the baby warm.

It wasn't until the police interview was over at 9 p.m. that police confirmed he was the baby's father, he said. Police say he was shocked.

Both the father and police say the woman accused of abandoning her newborn boy didn't realize she was pregnant.

"Information suggests the woman was not aware of the pregnancy prior to the birth," said child abuse unit Staff Sgt. Leah Barber.

The mother is scheduled to undergo a psychiatric assessment and is facing charges of attempted murder, failing to provide the necessities of life and child abandonment.

The baby was initially hypothermic and in life-threatening condition, but he's now in stable condition.

"It was incredibly lucky the passersby responded to the cries of the baby," said Barber.

"I truly believe they saved his life."

Authorities estimated the boy was born between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Tuesday -- approximately two hours before the rescuers found him.

The father said as far as he was told, the woman had regular periods and her appearance did not change.

"That was the thing. (She) was always, ever since I've known her, she was a heavy eater, always was a bigger girl, was really self-conscious," he said.

"When I first met her, you would almost assume that she would have been pregnant and she wasn't."

When interviewed Wednesday morning, he hadn't spoken with his girlfriend and was baffled why she allegedly threw the infant away with the trash. He said he would hold off on judging his girlfriend until he learned more.

"I'm not mad. I have no explanation why I shouldn't be mad, everything that I've ever been taught in my life says I should be mad. I don't know if it's just my demeanour, knowing that getting mad isn't going to solve everything, not going to help the problem," he said.

Mount Royal University criminologist Janne Holmgren said the case doesn't sound premeditated.

"It's completely feasible she didn't know she was pregnant. If people don't have access to regular medical care and she has a bigger posture, it's biologically feasible," said Holm gren.

"If she is isolated and doesn't have any resources, I could see how she could panic once she finds out, 'I don't know how to deal with a baby,' or even if her partner wants a baby."

The man said he hopes to win custody of the baby and said he will do what it takes to prove he has the means and support to provide a good home. The couple had talked about having kids -- he was enthused and he said she was warming to the idea -- and now his focus is on the child.

The man, who is from Saskatchewan while she is from Toronto, said he never imagined this could happen.

"In my four years I've known her, I would have never, ever, ever in a million years think that she would do something like this or even be capable of something like this. If somebody knew (her)-- and I know I can say a million things and it's not going to change anything -- and knew how she felt about living things, I have a hard time believing she was in her right mind when this happened. I think there was something medically."
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Re: News Thread

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Why do I suddenly feel so angry?


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... gPage=true

Hotelier leaves home for a week so it can be decorated . . . then 15 jobless Italian squatters move in


By Tamara Cohen


Connan Gupta went to stay with his sister while his house was decorated and returned to find squatters had moved in
In the middle of completely refurbishing his five-bedroom house, Connan Gupta felt he deserved a week off.

It is a decision he is now regretting because 15 squatters took advantage of his short absence to occupy the £700,000 property.

The jobless Italians changed the locks and have taken up residence along with their three dogs and two cats.

They claim the fact they cannot afford to rent gives them the right to take over the Victorian property in Camberwell, South-East London.


Police are powerless to intervene because squatting is a civil rather than criminal offence.

Mr Gupta, a 40-year-old hotelier, has been forced to seek alternative accommodation and instruct a solicitor to have the intruders evicted.

He left the house on October 10 for his week off and returned on Monday to find he couldn’t open the door. A squatter’s rights notice was posted in a window.

‘This is just ridiculous,’ he said. ‘Everything’s in there. All my worldly possessions, clothes, valuables, and medication I need for a skin condition. It is hellish. I always triple-lock the house and when I went away I made sure everything was locked.

‘It is really scary that you can go on holiday and come back and your house has been taken. I’m profoundly shocked that this can happen.


‘I tried to open the door and found the locks had been changed. Then I saw the note, and banged on the door saying I was the owner and a voice inside said “Just go away”.

‘I just have to sit here and wait. It’s as if the squatters have more rights than I do.’


The squatters claim the front door was open when they arrived at the house two weeks ago.

One, Valentina, 26, said: ‘None of us have any money or jobs. I don’t feel guilty about being here because no one else had been here for at least two years, the neighbours told us.

‘There’s no sink, no running water, no electricity, no carpets and the place was filthy. All of the owner’s stuff was packed away and stored.

‘I’ve never squatted before but when three of us found it we called our friends who are having difficulties of their own and told them about it.

‘When the owner came on Monday in the morning we told him we were squatting, and he was really aggressive.

‘We’ll go if the court tells us to but until then we’re staying. If he wants his things he’ll have to wait. If I find a job then I’ll start paying rent like a normal person.’

They have turned the front room into a sixth bedroom and are using Mr Gupta’s wardrobes to store their clothes. They are also making use of his three leather sofas, sauna, hundreds of DVDs and television.

An eviction hearing is expected to be held in the next two weeks.
It's by the Daily Mail so I don't entirely trust it...but still...
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Re: News Thread

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A respite from the doom and gloom:

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/10/21/hob ... announced/
Peter Jackson has, at long last, made an official announcement about who will appear in The Hobbit. He has confirmed Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, taking over the role originated by Ian Holm in The Lord of the Rings. A great many other names were released as well, almost all of whom make up the large company of Dwarves that hires Bilbo to be their ‘burgler’ before setting out to kill the dragon Smaug and recover the dwarven treasure the dragon uses as a bed. All the names are after the break.

Complementing Mr. Freeman are:

Richard Armitage (MI-5, Captain America) as Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Dwarves, whose grandfather ruled the Lonely Mountain settlement destroyed by Smaug. Aidan Turner (Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) as Kili and Fili, nephews of Thorin. Graham McTavish (Secretariat) as Dwalin, blue-bearded, first to arrive at the home of Bilbo Baggins. John Callen as Oin, skillful fire-maker. Brother of Gloin.Stephen Hunter (All Saints) as Bombur, the fat, sleepy and slow member of Thorin’s company. Mark Hadlow (King Kong) as Dori, strongest of the Dwarves, who carries Bilbo on his back at one point.
* Peter Hambleton (The Strip) as Gloin, brother of Oin, initially suspicious of Bilbo’s worth, but eventually convinced. Father of Gimli from The Lord of the Rings.

More info to come in the coming hours. That’s only eight Dwarves, so we need five more names to make up the film’s company of thirteen.
Mr. Jackson is also expected to confirm the return of Ian McKellan as Gandalf and Andy Serkis as Gollum. He may announce roles for Jimmy Nesbitt and David Tennant (would he be Bard?) as well.
Other actors mentioned by Deadline as possibles are Stephen Fry, Saoirse Ronan, and Bill Nighy as a potential voice for Smaug the Dragon.
So, is this announcement a way to combat the rather glum news that has plagued the production of The Hobbit in the past few weeks. While the two films were finally greenlit a week ago (huzzah!) labor disputes in New Zealand and Australia cast a pall over the production. While those disputes have been resolved (read: dropped) they were enough to worry Warner Bros. that New Zealand might not be the place to shoot these movies after all. We’re still waiting to hear if the production will move, with the Leavesden Studios (home of Harry Potter) as one likely destination.
And, if you’re wondering about the justification for some of these decisions, Peter Jackson has spoken about many of the actors. Here are his comments:

Despite the various rumours and speculation surround this role, there has only ever been one Bilbo Baggins for us… There are a few times in your career when you come across an actor who you know was born to play a role, but that was the case as soon as I met Martin. He is intelligent, funny, surprising and brave — exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit.
Richard [Armitage] is one of the most exciting and dynamic actors working on screen today and we know he is going to make an amazing Thorin Oakenshield. We cannot wait to start this adventure with him and feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle Earth is in such good hands.
Rob [Kazinsky] is an extremely talented young actor with a huge career in front of him. I’m thrilled that he has agreed to take on the role of Fili. Besides his talent as an actor, Rob is also a champion sword fighter and I’m looking forward to seeing the damage he can do to a horde of marauding Goblins … Aidan [Turner] is a wonderfully gifted young actor who hails from Ireland. I’m sure he will bring enormous heart and humor to the role of Kili.

Graham [McTavish] is a terrific actor, with a great depth of experience, which I know he will bring to the role of Dwalin. I have worked with Mark Hadlow on many projects, he is a fantastic actor…I am also proud to annouce the casting of New Zealand actors as Peter Hambleton, John Callen and Stephen Hunter. Fran and I know that they will bring great depth and talent to our Company of Dwarves.
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Re: News Thread

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That reminds me of a Simpsons episode, the squatters thing. The one where Homer's house gets taken over by carnies.

Its still a shame that Guillermo del Toro dropped out of The Hobbit. But you'll love this, Kamin:
wikipedia wrote:On 28 July 2010 it was announced that he would direct At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft for Universal Pictures, with James Cameron as producer. The movie was originally set up as a project at DreamWorks in 2004.[31] Just a month earlier, del Toro said that the Lovecraft adaptation probably wouldn't happen at all; "It doesn't look like I can do it. It's very difficult for the studios to take the step of doing a period-set, R-rated, tentpole movie with a tough ending and no love story. Lovecraft has a readership as big as any best-seller, but it's tough to quantify because his works are in the public domain." Not long after, he was approached by Cameron who asked him if he still wanted to do the movie. When del Toro confirmed he was, Cameron said “Let’s do it.” Both of them put forward the idea for Universal, which then greenlighted it.[32] Earlier the same year, del Toro also asked S. T. Joshi if he wanted to be a consultant if and when the movie got into motion.
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Re: News Thread

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Richard Armitage?

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This Richard Armitage?
To play a dwarf?
I don't care how much camera trickery you use, everything about him is infused with the essence of lankiness.

Martin Freeman sounds like he could be a good Bilbo though.

That one about the Italian squatters beggars belief, any word on what the guy's neighbours have actually said about it? Because someone is clearly lying through their teeth. I'd be more inclined to think it was the squatters, but you never know.

The first story, Jesus that's just depressing, what kind of state do you have to be in to do that rather than leaving the child with someone who might be able to look after it? Extremely depressing.

Now for a less depressing but slightly weird story. Britannia rule the waves, indeed.
It's the stealthiest, most heavily armed, most up to date, biggest, best submarine in the Royal Navy. And it has just crashed into a Scottish Island wrote:22 October 2010 Last updated at 14:50 Share this pageFacebookTwitter ShareEmail Print Nuclear submarine HMS Astute runs aground off Skye
The HMS Astute submarine is believed to have been undergoing sea trials off Skye on Scotland's west coast
The Royal Navy's newest and largest attack submarine HMS Astute has run aground off Skye, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed.

An eye-witness said the sub - described as the stealthiest ever built in the UK - appeared to have grounded.
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: "This is not a nuclear incident.

"We are responding to the incident and can confirm that there are no injuries to personnel and the submarine remains watertight."

The spokeswoman added: "There is no indication of any environmental impact."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) was alerted to the incident at about 0819 BST.

The Royal Navy said it was hoped to re-float HMS Astute at high tide at about 1900 BST.

If this operation was successful, the boat will be towed to deeper waters and divers sent down to check for damage.

The submarine would then be towed back to its base at Faslane on the Clyde over the course of several days.


Eye-witness Ross McKerlich said the submarine was about a mile from his home and appeared slightly tilted.

He said: "When I woke up this morning and looked out my bedroom window I could see the submarine.

"I am very surprised how far in it has come as there are good navigational buoys there."

Mr McKerlich added: "There was a helicopter hovering over the top - it's now gone back and there are two Naval vessels from the local base, Kyle of Lochalsh, standing off to the north of her.



"Eye-witness Ross McKerlich describes the attempts to rescue the listing submarine
"Earlier in the day they did have ropes and they were trying to tow but now the tide has gone back and they're just standing off."

Mr McKerlich said HMS Astute was in an area of shallow water where he would not risk taking his yacht.

The submarine has run aground outwith the safe sea lane marked on Admiralty charts.

The channel that runs underneath the Skye Bridge has red and green buoys known as lateral markers to ensure vessels do not run aground.

HMS Astute appeared to be lying in shallow water several hundred metres beyond that safe route. The Admiralty charts show submerged rocks in the area where the submarine has got into difficulty.

Martin Douglas, a former nuclear submarine engineer, said a concern for the crew was the provision of sea water to the boat's reactor.

He said: "The sea provides the primary cooling for the reactor system.

"There are many, many levels of back up systems, but they may have to find some interesting ways of getting sea water supply to the reactor."

Mr Douglas said the skipper and crew were highly trained to deal with extreme situations.


A look around the Astute's control room
But he added that as the tide dropped more HMS Astute would be on display and secrets of its propulsion revealed.

HMS Astute, built by BAE Systems in Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, is believed to have been undergoing sea trials as it is not expected to enter service until next year.

Aside from attack capabilities, it is able to sit in waters off the coast undetected, delivering the UK's special forces where needed or even listening to mobile phone conversations.

The 39,000 acoustic panels which cover its surface mask its sonar signature, meaning it can sneak up on enemy warships and submarines alike, or lurk unseen and unheard at depth.

The submarine can carry a mix of up to 38 Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes and Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise missiles, able to target enemy submarines, surface ships and land targets, while its sonar system has a range of 3,000 nautical miles.

Speaking to the BBC last month, HMS Astute's commanding officer, Commander Andy Coles, said: "We have a brand new method of controlling the submarine, which is by platform management system, rather than the old conventional way of doing everything of using your hands.

"This is all fly-by-wire technology including only an auto pilot rather than a steering column."


Submarine HMS Trafalgar sustained millions of pounds worth of damage when it ran aground off Skye in 2002.

Two senior commanders were reprimanded after admitting that their negligence caused the incident.

The sea around Skye and the island of Raasay is used as a training ground for the Royal Navy.
EDIT: Hey Shroom, I've heard of that, interesting to see it from an official source. My friends are massive Lovecraft nerds as well, they're horrified at the idea this movie will make Lovecraft popular with the unwashed masses :D
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Re: News Thread

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Royal Navy: The Greatest Navy in the world.
Ah Brother! It's been too long!
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Re: News Thread

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There is nothing I can say.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Arti ... ?id=191260
Poll says 10 percent of Germans want a new 'Führer'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
10/13/2010 16:12

Germans reportedly want leader to "send foreigners home"; over 58% say "religious practice for Muslims in Germany should be seriously limited."

Ten percent of Germans want a “Führer,” and one quarter are strongly xenophobic, according to a poll released on Wednesday, reported German news source The Local.

The poll, entitled “The mainstream in the crisis – Right-wing extremist attitudes in Germany,” was conducted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation for Political Education.

Those who wanted a “Führer,” said that he should "govern with a strong hand for the good of Germany," and believed that dictatorship is a the preferred form of government.

More than 30% agreed with the statement "foreigners come to abuse the welfare state," and even more (31.7%) said that when unemployment is high, the government should "send foreigners back home."

Over 58% said "religious practice for Muslims in Germany should be seriously limited."

Older and less-educated Germans were more likely to be intolerant, according to the poll.

Study authors Oliver Decker and Elmar Brähler called their findings "an alarm signal for politics and society," The Local reported. Decker and Brähler also said that right-wing extremism increased during the current financial crisis.
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Re: News Thread

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For once I think a web comment on an article might actually have a point WRT this story
Amira wrote: ...using an archived photo showing a threatening, young male with no context behind it, when the poll clearly demonstrates that the less educated, older population in Germany are who are the most threatened is a bit misleading, no?
This is mainly something among the older generations, unsettling yes but possibly not as worrying or indeed as recent as it might appear.
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Re: News Thread

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Okay, this is old, but weird:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/scien ... .html?_r=1

More than a year after an explosion of sparks, soot and frigid helium shut it down, the world’s biggest and most expensive physics experiment, known as the Large Hadron Collider, is poised to start up again. In December, if all goes well, protons will start smashing together in an underground racetrack outside Geneva in a search for forces and particles that reigned during the first trillionth of a second of the Big Bang.


Then it will be time to test one of the most bizarre and revolutionary theories in science. I’m not talking about extra dimensions of space-time, dark matter or even black holes that eat the Earth. No, I’m talking about the notion that the troubled collider is being sabotaged by its own future. A pair of otherwise distinguished physicists have suggested that the hypothesized Higgs boson, which physicists hope to produce with the collider, might be so abhorrent to nature that its creation would ripple backward through time and stop the collider before it could make one, like a time traveler who goes back in time to kill his grandfather.

Holger Bech Nielsen, of the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, and Masao Ninomiya of the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics in Kyoto, Japan, put this idea forward in a series of papers with titles like “Test of Effect From Future in Large Hadron Collider: a Proposal” and “Search for Future Influence From LHC,” posted on the physics Web site arXiv.org in the last year and a half.

According to the so-called Standard Model that rules almost all physics, the Higgs is responsible for imbuing other elementary particles with mass.

“It must be our prediction that all Higgs producing machines shall have bad luck,” Dr. Nielsen said in an e-mail message. In an unpublished essay, Dr. Nielson said of the theory, “Well, one could even almost say that we have a model for God.” It is their guess, he went on, “that He rather hates Higgs particles, and attempts to avoid them.”

This malign influence from the future, they argue, could explain why the United States Superconducting Supercollider, also designed to find the Higgs, was canceled in 1993 after billions of dollars had already been spent, an event so unlikely that Dr. Nielsen calls it an “anti-miracle.”

You might think that the appearance of this theory is further proof that people have had ample time — perhaps too much time — to think about what will come out of the collider, which has been 15 years and $9 billion in the making.

The collider was built by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, to accelerate protons to energies of seven trillion electron volts around an 18-mile underground racetrack and then crash them together into primordial fireballs.

For the record, as of the middle of September, CERN engineers hope to begin to collide protons at the so-called injection energy of 450 billion electron volts in December and then ramp up the energy until the protons have 3.5 trillion electron volts of energy apiece and then, after a short Christmas break, real physics can begin.

Maybe.

Dr. Nielsen and Dr. Ninomiya started laying out their case for doom in the spring of 2008. It was later that fall, of course, after the CERN collider was turned on, that a connection between two magnets vaporized, shutting down the collider for more than a year.

Dr. Nielsen called that “a funny thing that could make us to believe in the theory of ours.”

He agreed that skepticism would be in order. After all, most big science projects, including the Hubble Space Telescope, have gone through a period of seeming jinxed. At CERN, the beat goes on: Last weekend the French police arrested a particle physicist who works on one of the collider experiments, on suspicion of conspiracy with a North African wing of Al Qaeda.

Dr. Nielsen and Dr. Ninomiya have proposed a kind of test: that CERN engage in a game of chance, a “card-drawing” exercise using perhaps a random-number generator, in order to discern bad luck from the future. If the outcome was sufficiently unlikely, say drawing the one spade in a deck with 100 million hearts, the machine would either not run at all, or only at low energies unlikely to find the Higgs.

Sure, it’s crazy, and CERN should not and is not about to mortgage its investment to a coin toss. The theory was greeted on some blogs with comparisons to Harry Potter. But craziness has a fine history in a physics that talks routinely about cats being dead and alive at the same time and about anti-gravity puffing out the universe.

As Niels Bohr, Dr. Nielsen’s late countryman and one of the founders of quantum theory, once told a colleague: “We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question that divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct.”

Dr. Nielsen is well-qualified in this tradition. He is known in physics as one of the founders of string theory and a deep and original thinker, “one of those extremely smart people that is willing to chase crazy ideas pretty far,” in the words of Sean Carroll, a Caltech physicist and author of a coming book about time, “From Eternity to Here.”

Another of Dr. Nielsen’s projects is an effort to show how the universe as we know it, with all its apparent regularity, could arise from pure randomness, a subject he calls “random dynamics.”

Dr. Nielsen admits that he and Dr. Ninomiya’s new theory smacks of time travel, a longtime interest, which has become a respectable research subject in recent years. While it is a paradox to go back in time and kill your grandfather, physicists agree there is no paradox if you go back in time and save him from being hit by a bus. In the case of the Higgs and the collider, it is as if something is going back in time to keep the universe from being hit by a bus. Although just why the Higgs would be a catastrophe is not clear. If we knew, presumably, we wouldn’t be trying to make one.

We always assume that the past influences the future. But that is not necessarily true in the physics of Newton or Einstein. According to physicists, all you really need to know, mathematically, to describe what happens to an apple or the 100 billion galaxies of the universe over all time are the laws that describe how things change and a statement of where things start. The latter are the so-called boundary conditions — the apple five feet over your head, or the Big Bang.

The equations work just as well, Dr. Nielsen and others point out, if the boundary conditions specify a condition in the future (the apple on your head) instead of in the past, as long as the fundamental laws of physics are reversible, which most physicists believe they are.

“For those of us who believe in physics,” Einstein once wrote to a friend, “this separation between past, present and future is only an illusion.”

In Kurt Vonnegut’s novel “Sirens of Titan,” all of human history turns out to be reduced to delivering a piece of metal roughly the size and shape of a beer-can opener to an alien marooned on Saturn’s moon so he can repair his spaceship and go home.

Whether the collider has such a noble or humble fate — or any fate at all — remains to be seen. As a Red Sox fan my entire adult life, I feel I know something about jinxes.
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Re: News Thread

Post by Invictus »

American Airport Security is Now Required to Touch Your Balls
Yesterday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rolled out new nationwide rules for traveler pat-downs. Want to keep your genitalia private by avoiding the new backscatter security scanners? You can request a pat-down instead, but the TSA is intent on making sure you won't enjoy it. The new rules require agents to pay renewed attention to your crotch, and their hands won't stop until they meet testicular resistance. (No word on quite how far they'll go should you lack said testicles.)

Here's how the TSA describes the new policy. Get ready to yawn: "TSA is in the process of implementing new pat-down procedures at checkpoints nationwide as one of our many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe. Pat-downs are one important tool to help TSA detect hidden and dangerous items such as explosives. Passengers should continue to expect an unpredictable mix of security layers that include explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams, among others."

Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic flew several times this week and had a revealing discussion about the new pat-down rules with a couple of TSA agents. Here's an excerpt from his far more lively description:

I asked him if the new guidelines included a cavity search. "No way. You think Congress would allow that?"

I answered, "If you're a terrorist, you're going to hide your weapons in your anus or your vagina." He blushed when I said "vagina."

"Yes, but starting tomorrow, we're going to start searching your crotchal area"—this is the word he used, "crotchal"—"and you're not going to like it."

"What am I not going to like?" I asked.

"We have to search up your thighs and between your legs until we meet resistance," he explained.

"Resistance?" I asked.

"Your testicles," he explained.

'That's funny," I said, "because 'The Resistance' is the actual name I've given to my testicles."

He answered, "Like 'The Situation,' that guy from Jersey Shore?"

The new pat-down did turn out to be more thorough—and "resistance" was apparently encountered. Was it effective? As someone who has written about "security theater" and served as an Israeli military police officer, Goldberg has been on the receiving end of far more thorough searches. But the new rules may not really be about "thoroughness" anyway, because "the obvious goal of the TSA is to make the pat-down embarrassing enough for the average passenger that the vast majority of people will choose high-tech humiliation over the low-tech ball check."
"This explanation posits that external observation leads to the collapse of the quantum wave function. This is another expression of reactionary idealism, and it's indeed the most brazen expression."
-
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Czernobog
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Re: News Thread

Post by Czernobog »

Wow, this is awesome
Nigel Leck, a software developer by day, was tired of arguing with anti-science crackpots on Twitter. So, like any good programmer, he wrote a script to do it for him.

The result is the Twitter chatbot @AI_AGW. Its operation is fairly simple: Every five minutes, it searches twitter for several hundred set phrases that tend to correspond to any of the usual tired arguments about how global warming isn't happening or humans aren't responsible for it.

It then spits back at the twitterer who made that argument a canned response culled from a database of hundreds. The responses are matched to the argument in question -- tweets about how Neptune is warming just like the earth, for example, are met with the appropriate links to scientific sources explaining why that hardly constitutes evidence that the source of global warming on earth is a warming sun.

The database began as a simple collection of responses written by Leck himself, but these days quite a few of the rejoinders are culled from a university source whom Leck says he isn't at liberty to divulge.

Like other chatbots, lots of people on the receiving end of its tweets have no idea they're not conversing with a real human being. Some of them have arguments with the chatbot spanning dozens of tweets and many days, says Leck. That's in part because AI_AGW is smart enough to run through a list of different canned responses when an interlocutor continues to throw the same arguments at it. Leck has even programmed it to debate such esoteric topics as religion - which is where the debates humans have with the bot often wind up.

"If [the chatbot] actually argues them into a corner, it tends to be two crowds out there," says Leck. "There's the guns and God crowd, and their parting shot will be 'God created it that way' or something like that. I don't know how you answer that."

The second crowd, Leck says, are skeptics so unyielding they won't be swayed by any amount of argumentation.

Occasionally, the chatbot turns up a false positive - for example, it has a complete inability to detect sarcasm.

This proved to be a problem when a record heat wave hit L.A. last summer, causing innumerable tweets of the form "It's 113 degrees outside - good thing global warming's a myth!"

Leck always apologizes when AI_AGW answers someone who isn't actually arguing about the science of climate change and then subsequently whitelists his or her account. The bot also has a kind of learning algorithm in it in that can be trained not to respond to phrases that cause false positives.

In the future, Leck would like to expand AI_AGW by giving it the ability to learn new arguments from the twitter feeds of others who debate climate skeptics - allowing it to argue into the ground an ever expanding array of anti-science tweeters who are unwilling or unable to look up the proper scientific literature themselves.

In a way, what Leck has created is a pro-active search engine: it answers twitter users who aren't even aware of their own ignorance.

Update: some guy on Hacker News sums it up better than I ever could.
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And we shall do so again.
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Re: News Thread

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

Consumers' right to file class actions is in danger
If AT&T has its way before the Supreme Court, any business that issues a contract to customers would be able to prevent them from joining class-action lawsuits, taking away arguably the most powerful legal tool available to the little guy.

David Lazarus

November 5, 2010


It hasn't gotten a lot of press, but a case involving AT&T that goes before the U.S. Supreme Court next week has sweeping ramifications for potentially millions of consumers.

If a majority of the nine justices vote the telecom giant's way, any business that issues a contract to customers — such as for credit cards, cellphones or cable TV — would be able to prevent them from joining class-action lawsuits.

This would take away in such cases arguably the most powerful legal tool available to the little guy, particularly in cases involving relatively small amounts of money. Class-action suits allow plaintiffs to band together in seeking compensation or redress, thus giving substantially more heft to their claims.

The ability to ban class actions would potentially also apply to employment agreements such as union contracts.

Consumer advocates say that without the threat of class-action lawsuits, many businesses would be free to engage in unfair or deceptive practices. Few people would litigate on their own to resolve a case involving, say, a hundred bucks.

"The marketplace is fairer for consumers and workers because there's a deterrent out there," said Deepak Gupta, an attorney for the advocacy group Public Citizen who will argue on consumers' behalf before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

"Companies are afraid of class actions," he said. "This helps keep them honest."

The case is AT&T Mobility vs. Concepcion. The basic question before the court is whether companies can bar class actions in the fine print of their take-it-or-leave-it contracts with customers and employees.

High courts in California and elsewhere have ruled that class-action bans are unconscionable and contrary to public policy.

At issue at next week's court hearing is whether the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925 preempts state courts from striking down class-action bans. The federal law requires both sides in a dispute to take their grievance to an arbitrator, rather than a court, if both sides have agreed in advance to do so.

Vincent and Liza Concepcion sued AT&T in 2006 after signing up for wireless service that they'd been told included free cellphones. The Concepcions alleged that they and other Californians had been defrauded by the company because the phones actually came with various charges.

AT&T asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California to dismiss the case because its contract forbade class actions. The court declined, ruling that a class-action ban violates state law and is not preempted by the federal law.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower-court ruling last year. AT&T subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case.

William B. Gould IV, a professor emeritus at Stanford Law School and former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board under President Clinton, said the high court was clearly interested in extending the reach of the Federal Arbitration Act.

"This is a very important issue," he said. "And this Supreme Court has indicated a measure of hostility toward class actions."

Matthew Kaufman, a Los Angeles attorney who focuses on arbitration law, agreed with that perspective.

"This is a very conservative court that's pro-business, and class actions are not good for business," he said.

Marty Richter, an AT&T spokesman, said the company's arbitration agreement "includes fair, easy-to-use provisions" that reflect "an innovative and highly consumer-friendly dispute resolution process."

He noted that AT&T's arbitration clause allows for at least $5,000 in compensation and double attorneys' fees if the arbitrator awards the consumer more than AT&T offered to settle a dispute. "And we pay the entire cost of the arbitration, except the filing fee if a customer is claiming $75,000 or more," Richter said.

Be that as it may, why is the company so intent on denying customers the choice of joining a class action? Shouldn't consumers be allowed to decide what avenue to pursue in resolving a grievance?

"AT&T can offer the benefits of its consumer-friendly arbitration system only if the company is able to avoid the burdensome costs of lawyer-driven class actions, in which most of the money goes to lawyers — both plaintiff and defense lawyers — and class members get little," Richter replied.

In other words, the company says the only way it can be generous in arbitration is if customers give up the right to join others in suing. Otherwise, those "burdensome" legal costs will force AT&T to be a more hard-nosed negotiator.

AT&T earned $12.5 billion in profit last year.

Public Citizen's Gupta said consumers can expect similar treatment from other companies if the Supreme Court rules in AT&T's favor.

"If the court decides that the federal law trumps state law in this case, there's no limit to what companies could do," Gupta said. "All companies and employers would be able to put arbitration clauses in contracts that prevent people from joining class actions."

Briefs supporting the right to class actions have been filed by a number of consumer groups and civil rights organizations, including the Consumer Federation of America and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

On the opposing side — that is, backing AT&T's case — are other telecom companies, as well as such well-heeled corporate interests as the American Bankers Assn., the Financial Services Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

This is a case you'll want to follow. You have a lot on the line.

David Lazarus' column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.

Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times
Hopefully with DEREGULATION the FREE MARKET will have its way and these ENTREPRENEURS and VENTURE CAPITALISTS will be able to live the AMERICAN DREAM free of SOCIALIST BIG GOVERNMENT interference. Thankfully the Supreme Court is pro-business, so there are no ACTIVIST JUDGES.

;)
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Czernobog
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Re: News Thread

Post by Czernobog »

This disgusts me:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11704306
Somali pirates receive record ransom for ships' release

Somali pirates are reported to have received a total of $12.3m (£7.6m) in ransom money to release two ships.

They are believed to have been paid a record $9.5m (£5.8m) for Samho Dream, a South Korean oil tanker, and nearly $2.8m (£1.7m) for the Golden Blessing, a Singaporean flagged ship.

"We are now counting our cash," a pirate who gave his name as Hussein told Reuters news agency. "Soon we shall get down from the ship."

All crew are believed to be unharmed.

The Samho Dream supertanker was hijacked in the Indian Ocean in April and its crew of five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos were taken hostage. It was carrying crude oil worth $170m (£105m) from Iraq to the US.

Although released it is still within Somali waters and the ship's 24 crew members are said to be in good condition.

Andrew Mwangura, co-ordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme in Mombasa, told Reuters that the ransom would be the highest paid out to pirates since they started hijacking ships in recent years.
Continue reading the main story


"They initially demanded $20m. What I can confirm is that negotiators tell me they agreed to make the drop with an amount in excess of $9m.

"This would be the highest sum paid out to pirates so far," he said.

The BBC's Kevin Mwachiro in Nairobi says the size of the payment is likely to change the rules of engagement when it comes to securing the release of ships held by Somali pirates. They are currently holding at least 25 vessels.

Earlier reports said the pirates had received $9m for Samho Dream and $7m for the Golden Blessing, but this was later revised.

The Golden Blessing has 23 Chinese crew.

According to a recent report by the International Maritime Bureau, a maritime watchdog, ship hijackings hit a five-year high in the first nine months of 2010, with Somali pirates responsible for the majority.
EDIT: I think this sums it up best -

"It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray;
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say: --

We never pay ''any''-one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!"
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Re: News Thread

Post by Mobius 1 »

Yes, after all, what are the lives of twenty four men compared to your national pride? Did the article even say who was paying the ransoms? It could very well be the company that operates the tanker.
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Re: News Thread

Post by Siege »

Of course it is the company, or rather the insurance company the shipping company contracts with.
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Off naked Chatham show,
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Re: News Thread

Post by speaker-to-trolls »

A commendable display of his democratic principles or a carefully plotted publicity stunt to make him look good to Britons without actually changing anything anywhere, [u]you decide![/u] wrote:David Cameron urges China to embrace democracy

David Cameron: "There's no secret we disagree on some issues especially human rights... we don't raise these to make us look good"
David Cameron has called for closer trading ties between Europe and China - but said the UK still had "deeply-held concerns" over human rights.
Growing economic freedom should go "in step" with political reform to ensure prosperity, he told Beijing students.
Acknowledging British society was "not perfect", the prime minister insisted he was claiming no "moral superiority".
Ending the UK's two-day trade mission, he urged China to further open its markets and correct trade imbalances.
Mr Cameron said it should be recognised that growing prosperity had helped give Chinese people more freedom to choose where to live and work, to blog and send text messages.
But he added: "There is no secret we disagree on some issues, especially around human rights. We don't raise these issues to make us look good, or to flaunt publicly that we've done so. We raise them because the British people expect us to - and because we have sincere and deeply-held concerns."
Mr Cameron pointed out that, were he not in Beijing, he would have been preparing for Prime Minister's Questions and suggested such scrutiny forced leaders to listen to criticism and adapt their policies in response.
'Rule of law'
"All the time the government is subject to the rule of law. These are constraints on the government and at times they can be frustrating," he told the students at Beida University.
"But ultimately we believe they make our government better and our country stronger," he said, adding that a free media ensured people were better informed and that those with different views from the government were able to take part in public debate.
What he does not say is that if he were Chinese and campaigned for these views he could well end up in prison”
Mr Cameron said China's growing influence in world affairs gave it a vital role in international security, preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and helping develop Africa's economy.
He also emphasised that other nations should see China's rise as an opportunity, not a threat. However, he said that for the UK to make the case for Europe to open itself to more trade, China must also further open its markets.
China is under pressure over its low valuation of the yuan, which has helped its exports and allowed it to build up massive reserves of foreign currency.
And ahead of a G20 summit where Beijing is likely to be pressured on the issue, Mr Cameron warned this situation had created "a dangerous tidal wave of money" sweeping around the world.
Mr Cameron acknowledged that leading a country of 1.3 billion people raised difficulties of a different order from those of a nation of 60 million.
But he said: "The rise in economic freedom in China in recent years had been hugely beneficial to China and to the world. I hope in time this will lead to a greater political opening, because I'm convinced that the best guarantor of prosperity and stability is for economic and political progress to go in step together."
On Tuesday, Mr Cameron had brought up the issue of human rights during talks with the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao.
Mr Cameron has been joined by four cabinet ministers and 43 business leaders on the trip
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said he understood Mr Cameron had also raised the case of Liu Xiaobo, the jailed dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner, at a banquet that evening, although it was unclear how strongly.
The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who says he was recently put under house arrest by the Chinese authorities, had called on Mr Cameron to make a public statement about China's human rights record.
Our correspondent said the prime minister had gone "about as far as he thought he could" in his speech.
"It's not just a balancing act here when he's in China but also a balancing act between what the British public expects of him and what he feels he can deliver."
He added that the trip's success would be judged on two measures; whether it resulted in more contracts for UK firms and jobs at home, and whether the Chinese government engaged more with the West on the economy and world affairs.
Mr Cameron, who is being accompanied by four cabinet ministers and 43 business leaders, called the trip a "vitally important trade mission".
Engine maker Rolls-Royce has won a £750m ($1.2bn) contract - the biggest of the visit so far - which is to supply China Eastern Airlines with Trent 700 engines for 16 Airbus A330 aircraft, along with long-term servicing.
On Wednesday, Mr Cameron met President Hu Jintao and took time out to visit the Great Wall of China, before flying to the G20 summit in South Korea.
Are you in the UK or China? Is David Cameron right to raise the issue of human rights? You can send us your views using the form below.
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Re: News Thread

Post by Czernobog »

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/11/24/ca ... google_cnn
Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- The FBI and University of California at Los Angeles police are investigating a new round of threats from anti-animal research activists who claimed to have sent AIDS-tainted razor blades and a threatening message to a research professor, a university spokesman said Tuesday.
The university said law enforcement officials confirmed that UCLA neuroscientist David Jentsch received a package at his home containing razor blades and a threatening note.
The Animal Liberation Front posted an unsigned communique on its website from a group calling itself "The Justice Department at UCLA," claiming its members sent the razor blades to Jentsch because he uses primates for government-funded testing of drug addiction.
"He has no business addicting primates to phencyclidine known on the streets as PCP and other street drugs using grant money from the federal government," said the statement issued Tuesday by the activist group.
Since 2006, other anonymous activists claimed responsibility for at least 11 acts of sabotage, vandalism, criminal damage and firebombing against UCLA faculty or property, either on and off campus, university officials said.
In March 2009, activists seeking to stop the use of animals in research claimed to set fire to Jentsch's vehicle parked overnight outside his home.
Jentsch, a professor of psychology, psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, uses vervet monkeys in his research into the biochemical processes that contribute to methamphetamine addiction and tobacco dependence in teenagers, and the cognitive disabilities affecting schizophrenia patients, according to the university.
Much of Jentsch's work is funded by the National Institutes of Health, university officials said.
"Responsible use of animals in research aimed at improving the health and welfare of the mentally ill is the right thing to do, and we will continue because we have a moral responsibility to society to use our skills for the betterment of the world," Jentsch said in a statement.
In a phone interview with CNN, Jentsch said the activists have been "using various tactics to get at me."
"They started with incinerating my car," he said. "They have participated in monthly demonstrations outside of my house. Usually the threats are general, this one was very specific. "They said they were going to cut my throat, and they named one of my students.
"I'm not afraid. I'm angry. It's so ridiculous in our society that people do this just because they don't like what you do," he added.
Jentsch provided an account of the threat.
"About a week ago I was going through my mail in my kitchen and I opened a letter and razor blades spilled out on the floor. It was the first sign something was nefarious," he said. "The letter inside contained quite specific and heinous acts of violence to kill me."
He said the letter was signed by the Justice Department, which he described as a group "loosely aligned with the Animal Liberation Front."
"The major reason [no one has been arrested] is because the Animal Liberation Front has no official membership. Their spokesman calls from underground and claims to not know any of its members," Jentsch said.
Jerry Vlasak, an animal rights activist, said he does not know who targeted Jentsch but he says he understands why the researcher was targeted.
"He does not have the right to go home to feel at ease. Try to look at it from the perspective of the innocent beings that he is doing this to," Vlasak said.
Vlasak says he is a medical doctor who also used to do animal research but stopped because he felt it was incredibly torturous to animals.
"He has refused to debate with me and other doctors. He has spoken out against animal activists. So he has basically made himself an even bigger target, by saying not only am I going to continue torturing animals but I am flipping the bird to all these animal rights activist that want to stop me," Vlasak said.
University spokesman Phil Hampton condemned the threats.
"What's happened here recently is only the recent manifestation of a pattern of reprehensible, repugnant criminal activity directed at UCLA researchers," Hampton said. "UCLA is committed to conducting research that helps us to understand better the human body and is making important steps and strides to new diagnoses, treatments and cures to a wide variety of ailments such as Parkinson's (disease) and cancer."
I see no reason not to severely punish these anti-human bigots.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Shroom Man 777
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Re: News Thread

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

Wikileaks: Hillary Clinton ordered U.S. diplomats to spy on UN leaders

By Gerri Peev
Last updated at 10:09 PM on 28th November 2010


Hillary Clinton ordered American officials to spy on high ranking UN diplomats, including British representatives.

Top secret cables revealed that Mrs Clinton, the Secretary of State, even ordered diplomats to obtain DNA data – including iris scans and fingerprints - as well as credit card and frequent flier numbers.

All permanent members of the security council – including Russia, China, France and the UK – were targeted by the secret spying mission, as well as the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon.


Secret spy mission: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered diplomats to spy on UN leaders, including Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon

Work schedules, email addresses, fax numbers, website identifiers and mobile numbers were also demanded by Washington.

The U.S. also wanted ‘biographic and biometric information on UN Security Council permanent representatives’.

The request could break international law and threatens to derail any trust between the U.S. and other powerful nations.

Requests for IT related information – such as details of passwords, personal encryption keys and network upgrades - could also raise suspicions that the U.S. was preparing to mount a hacking operation.

It is set to lead to international calls for Mrs Clinton to resign.

The fishing expedition was ordered by Mrs Clinton in July 2009, but followed similar demands made by her predecessor, Condoleeza Rice.

Mrs Clinton called for biometric details ‘on key UN officials, to include undersecretaries, heads of specialised agencies and their chief advisers, top SYG [secretary general] aides, heads of peace operations and political field missions, including force commanders’.
Mrs Clinton's orders followed on from those given by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, shown here with former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Rome in 2006

Mrs Clinton's orders followed on from those given by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, shown here with former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Rome in 2006

She also wanted intelligence on Ban Ki-Moon’s ‘management and decision-making style and his influence on the secretariat’.

Cables were sent to U.S. embassies in the UN, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

America has always handed over information about top foreign officials to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

But the request by Mrs Clinton paves the way for officials to be more closely spied upon, with even their travel plans tracked by U.S. diplomats.

In what could discredit the U.S.’s role in the Middle East peace process, missions in Israel, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were asked to gather biometric information ‘on key Palestinian Authority and Hamas leaders and representatives, to include the young guard inside Gaza, the West Bank’.

Details of the US spying mission were sent to the CIA, the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI under the heading ‘collection requirements and tasking’.

International treaties ban spying at the UN.

The 1946 UN convention on privileges and immunities states: ‘The premises of the United Nations shall be inviolable. The property and assets of the United Nations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference, whether by executive, administrative, judicial or legislative action.’

The American ambassador to Britain, Louis Susman said he ‘condemned’ the disclosures and that the U.S. government was ‘taking steps to prevent future security breaches’.

He also claimed the disclosures had 'the very real potential to harm innocent people" but insisted the cables ‘should not be seen as representing U.S. policy on their own’.

He said the leaks were ‘harmful to the U.S. and our interests’ adding, ‘However, I am confident that our uniquely productive relationship with the UK will remain close and strong, focused on promoting our shared objectives and values.

U.S. State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said Mrs Clinton had warned leaders in Britain, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and China about the cables, revealed by investigators at the Wikileaks website.

Canada, Denmark, Norway and Poland hade also been warned.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z16hMrB2u1
This stuff is awesome. I support Wikileaks' war on terror, and their effort to bring freedom of information, and data democracy, to the axis of evil. You're either with Wikileaks, or against Wikileaks in the struggle against terror. Wikileaks has just shown great support towards its European allies and has aided in defending them, and in providing them with reliable and accurate intelligence on weapons of mass deception. May the Europeans join Wikileaks in its war, and may freedom and democracy and truth be victorious, while those who oppose and hate freedom, democracy and truth be cast aside by the shock and awe of Wilikeaks' decisive campaign, the Operation American Freedom. God bless Wikileaks. God bless us all. 8)
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"Sometimes Shroomy I wonder if your imagination actually counts as some sort of war crime." - FROD
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Czernobog
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Re: News Thread

Post by Czernobog »

WTF?
Disney movies are aimed at kids. They use children's sense of powerlessness as a key plot device.

Liberals have cultivated that same feeling of powerlessness to the point that it has become an entire narcissistic, victim-centric worldview.

In short, like children attracted to Disney movies, liberals have yet to grow up and accept responsibility for their own existences.

So, here are the ten top ways the liberal view of reality resembles a Disney movie:

10) Liberals' entire universe is divided into Good Guys and Bad Guys, Nice People and Mean People, Us. vs. Them.

9) Liberals are powerless; their puny little lives are controlled by big ugly mean monsters or corporations that don't care and want to hurt them.

8) Birds and animals and fish and trees can think and feel and talk.

7) Transportation can be effected with little or no fuel consumption, via vehicles such as broomsticks, magic carpets and pixie dust. Much like the cute little hybrids and electric cars liberals love.

6) There is no God, just an unreasoning faith in some inchoate force you might as well call "The Circle of Life."

5) Reality revolves entirely around what they are thinking, feeling and experiencing, as if the universe were a movie in which they had the starring role.

4) Nobody understands or appreciates them. And this fact is somehow of the utmost importance.

3) Collapsing in a puddle of tears is an effective coping strategy; they expect someone to turn up who actually cares.

2) There's no hope at all for a happy ending unless someone more powerful than they magically comes and saves them. In their case, though, it's not a fat genie or a fairy godmother. Instead, it's some heroic and compassionate government initiative.

And the Number One way that liberals view the world as a Disney movie...

1) To get something, they don't think they should have to plan for it or work for it or sacrifice. Instead, they should only have to want the thing a whole, whole, whole, whole lot. (Wishing on a star optional.)
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Czernobog
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Location: Holy Terra

Re: News Thread

Post by Czernobog »

More movie news...

More Hobbit awesomeness, a sequel to Clash of the Titans, and some other stuff...
Writer Marc Guggenheim gushed about the movie, going so far as to compare Peter Sarsgaard's performance as Hector Hammond to Heath Ledger's work as the Joker, which is pretty much the single boldest comparison you can make when talking about superhero movie villains. He also weighed in on the talk of a Superman - or, more accurately, Clark Kent - cameo that was in earlier drafts of the film:

"Without trying very hard, you could probably find the leaked script on the internet. [The Superman cameo] is in the leaked script. It survived several drafts. Ultimately, it was cut for budgetary reasons. We took it out in one of our later drafts...The Clark Kent cameo is still near and dear to my heart. I really wanted it to be in the movie," he added, only to joke, "You never know - it can still happen. If Tom Welling has a free hour or two, you never know."

As for the more obscure Lanterns, it pays to be the favorite of director Martin Campbell. Ch'p, unfortunately, wasn't one of those:

"I can pretty much promise that Ch'p will not be in the movie. Martin's favorite Lantern, who is in the movie, is Bzzd. The funny thing is, from our very first meeting with Martin, he came onto the project and really knew his stuff. He was able to quote Lanterns and said 'I love Bzzd' from the start. I was like, 'Okay, I guess Bzzd is in the movie.'"

Spider-Man Reboot

Director of photography John Schwartzmann revealed that the movie began shooting on Monday using the Red Epic camera, a state-of-the-art 3D camera. This is the first movie to go into production with the camera, although The Hobbit previously announced they would be using it as well. You can read more on how the camera affects Schwartzmann's approach at the link.

The Hobbit

Doctor Who's own Sylvester McCoy is officially playing the wizard Radagast the Brown! Also, Cate Blanchett is back as Galadriel. But, really people, Sylvester McCoy!!! Also, Thorin Oakenshield's dwarf company is now more or less complete, with Ken Stott, Jed Brophy, and William Kircher aboard as Balin, Nori, and Bifur. Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt is playing the shape-shifter Beorn, and Ryan Gage is playing Drogo Baggins, the cousin of Bilbo and father of Frodo.


The Magic Kingdom

Jon Favreau talked about this movie about a family getting trapped in a real-life version of Disneyland, suggesting he's putting a lot of work and research into it and that it won't just be a crossover-laden mess:

"I don't think it's going to be mixing all the other movies. I think it's going to be its own thing; I don't think it will be like Night at the Museum. I want to make it a little bit spookier like the old Disney movies were and try to really capture that tone.

This is something that I've always been drawn to and now to say ‘What characters do you want to use and how do you not make it Space Jam or like the Christmas parade with every character?' How do you show restraint and how do you make it tie into the emotional development of the characters?"

I'm shocked that he doesn't think Space Jam is the model for any great film, but fair enough. He suggests the movie really is focused on telling a story about the park itself, instead of just randomly trotting out every Disney property (which, admittedly, is sort of the whole point of the Magic Kingdom in the first place):

"[The story for Magic Kingdom] is essentially a family caught in Disneyland, bringing all of the attractions to life. I really want to plumb the depths of the history of the park because it's a place I love to go a few times a year.

There's a lot more at the link.



I Am Number Four

Star Alex Pettyfer says his favorite part of the movie was getting to blow up a football stadium:

I would go blow up the football stadium again! I had so much fun running around. It's so crazy, it's like being twenty years old but still dreaming about going into the back garden and playing action hero. You go on this massive American football field and have to use your imagination.

The first shot we had, we run out of the tunnel onto the field and there are [creatures] jumping down at you and people are shooting at you and the ground is exploding. It's so crazy, all the things you have to imagine happening and then you see the trailer and part of the film and it all comes to life.


Wrath of the Titans

Liam Neeson confirms that he will be back as Zeus in the Clash of the Titans sequel, and that the movie will have "some kick-ass stuff and a very human story to it." I find it deeply amusing to imagine Liam Neeson actually saying those words. He also confirmed the film is indeed just called Wrath of the Titans.



Doctor Who

Steven Moffat gave another cryptic variation on what lies ahead for series six:

Silence will fall! River Song will, at long last, introduce herself. The true nature of the relationship of Amy Pond and her Doctor will be revealed.

I'd say the major takeaway here is that Moffat's wording strongly implies we're going to see River Song's first meeting with the Doctor from her perspective. I think that's been mooted previously, but consider this an extra bit of evidence for that.

The Walking Dead

Robert Kirkman revealed a couple cryptic hints about just what Dr. Jenner whispered in Rick's ear:

I don't want to give anything away! Look, it could have been just like, "Hey, watch out for those zombies out there, dude!" But it wasn't. It'll probably be revealed in season two, what he said. And it's pretty monumental.

The original report for this comes from a site that gets very basic details about the show wrong (show creator Andrew Lincoln?), so I'm a little dubious about this. But Charlie Sheen is supposedly going to have a cameo in the next season as a zombie. One would assume he'll be buried under enough makeup to make him more or less unrecognizable, although I do find the idea of the entire show briefly stopping in its tracks for the characters to recognize a zombified Charlie Sheen so delightfully terrible that I'd kind of like to see it. This is all happening because Sheen is supposedly a huge fan of the show, and the report indicates this could start a mini-trend of other name actors appearing as zombie extras.

True Blood

We don't know who they're playing, but Christina Moore, Neil Hopkins, and Chris Butler have all reportedly signed on for multiple episodes next season.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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