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[Nosauz]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

First and foremost to call a something a "biological defect" is completely subject in reference to climate, environment, relative effects on biological systems etc. There is no such thing as an absolute defect because what is defective today may be an advantage a hundred years from now.

To expound of Xellos' explanation on Sickle Cell Anemia, it is actually a very good representation of the concept of how a genetic defect may be an advantage. HbS has a glutamate substitution for valine at position 6 of the Beta-globulin chain due to single point mutations of the gene, which results in hemoglobin to form rigid polymer structures rather than its loose conformation that allows for better. At low oxygen saturation, the molecule aggregates and precipitates, causing the sickling of RBCs that both cause tearing of the cell and shearing of the vascular walls on close contact.

Malarial species are erythrocytic for reproduction inside the human host. They require a metabolically working RBC to be able to properly form gametocytes. HbS and other RBC diseases such as G6PD and the forms of Thalassemia prevents proper gametocyte formation, giving partialimmunity to Malarial diseases. It's even been posited that it's possible certain forms of RBC mutations may have even been induced as a response against Malarial infection.

Might as well add that there are currently no nanoviridae known to infect humans. The smallest appreciable human infecting virus is parvovirus B19. nanoviridae are exclusively plant-infecting.

Still sickle cell anemia is more common in Eastern European countries, noticibly in the nobility during the middle ages. Of all places to develop sickle cell anemia is not a evolutionary response to malaria. It really depends on how these "defects" occur, but sickle cell anemia is still detrimental due to the lack of clotting factors nad the need of platelets to clot.

[MeoTwister5]

Originally Posted by Nosauz

Still sickle cell anemia is more common in Eastern European countries, noticibly in the nobility during the middle ages. Of all places to develop sickle cell anemia is not a evolutionary response to malaria. It really depends on how these "defects" occur, but sickle cell anemia is still detrimental due to the lack of clotting factors nad the need of platelets to clot.

You're talking about Hemophilia and von Willenbrand's disease, not Malaria. Malaria is a hemoglobin protein chain defect not a platelet and coagulation cascade factors defect. The oxidative stress RBCs with mutations that affect oxygen binding and transport capacity have to endure reduces a Plasmodium sp.'s capacity to reproduce inside. It has very little to do with clotting time and capacity.

[Xellos-_^]

http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...002969,00.html

. In 2002, Betancourt took her fledgling presidential campaign to guerrilla territory where she was promptly kidnapped. She tried to escape three times before she was finally freed by Colombian Special Forces on July 2, 2008.
....
It turns out that Betancourt and her family are taking legal action against the Colombian government for negligence on the day she was kidnapped. "The state gravely failed in its duty in allowing a presidential candidate to travel in this part of the country without proper protection," say the court documents filed by the Betancourts. In a communique released Friday, the Defense Ministry expressed "surprise and sadness" after receiving a petition from the family to settle out-of-court for about $7.9 million.

no offense to Anh-minh and other frenchies on AS but what the hell are you guys feeding your political elites on the other side of the Atlantic? First there is that defense of a pedophile rapist because he is a Artist now this? Suing the people who resuce because you didn't take their advice at the beginning?

Prepare for more French Jokes as this case get more coverage.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

no offense to Anh-minh and other frenchies on AS but what the hell are you guys feeding your political elites on the other side of the Atlantic? First there is that defense of a pedophile rapist because he is a Artist now this? Suing the people who resuce because you didn't take their advice at the beginning?

Prepare for more French Jokes as this case get more coverage.

"Our" and "elite"? She's only French by marriage, and her only claim to fame is that she was taken hostage by the FARCs. I've always said it was a Columbian problem and that we should have let the Columbian government handle it however they wanted. Or, failing that, told the Farcs to just kill her. Heck, after how much of a pest her supporters made of themselves, I'd have been glad for our taxpayer money to pay for the bullet.

Alas, I can't say anything about Polanski.

On another, more joyous and yet slightly relevant note, I've heard we're considering making hostages who didn't have a legitimate reason to go into a danger zone pay for their own damn rescue. I wonder if her family would have asked for her rescue if it meant they were all going to be in debt for the rest of their lives?

[MrTerrorist]

Fifa 'pressures' Mandela to attend World Cup final
Just leave Mandela alone. I don't want to know the day he gave out the world cup was the last day of his life.

[SeijiSensei]

I did a quick search and found to my surprise that no one seems to have yet mentioned the sumo scandal. Public outrage reached such levels that the NHK has chosen not to cover a major tournament for the first time in over half a century. For a institution so deeply rooted in Japanese history and traditions, this has to be a loss of "face" of near epic proportions.

I suspect that the tie to yakuza makes this scandal even bigger in the public's eyes than if the wrestlers were betting among themselves, or using third parties to bet overseas. To me this just demonstrates the futility of attempts to ban human vices. Eliminating legal outlets for drinking, gambling, drugs, or sex, to name the obvious ones, just creates opportunities for criminals. As we can see from the recent horrible events in northern Mexico, the consequences of our efforts to prosecute a "war" on drugs has led to the loss of hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent lives and the assassination of public officials.

According to the AFP article below, gambling on certain sports in Japan is legal, but baseball is not one of them. Can any of our Japanese colleagues explain this distinction?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...AKkgnTtAH6YbHA

To an outsider, what makes this especially surprising is that the wrestlers weren't actually betting on sumo, but baseball. I can understand the outrage when people like Pete Rose bet on the sport they played or managed because the conflict-of-interest issues are obvious and paramount to the integrity of the sport itself. (Even worse, perhaps, is betting by umpires and referees, but they don't have the public exposure of someone like Rose. Remember that the officials make the least amount of money of anyone on the field/floor yet have the power to change the results in an instant.)

[ganbaru]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1634703/

I would say it's mostly paranoia; Internet ( or the U.S.) do not create the ''unrest'', it just help to spread it.

[Nosauz]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

You're talking about Hemophilia and von Willenbrand's disease, not Malaria. Malaria is a hemoglobin protein chain defect not a platelet and coagulation cascade factors defect. The oxidative stress RBCs with mutations that affect oxygen binding and transport capacity have to endure reduces a Plasmodium sp.'s capacity to reproduce inside. It has very little to do with clotting time and capacity.

Blarg your correct... wow that was stupid of me. Yea your right man this is a sad day, I confused hemophilia with sickle cell, must be the early onset alzeihmers. Although in those temperate climates I don't see how a decrease in oxygen carrying capacity could be beneficial to the human population.

[MrTerrorist]

Bahamas police 'catch fugitive Barefoot Bandit'

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I did a quick search and found to my surprise that no one seems to have yet mentioned the sumo scandal. Public outrage reached such levels that the NHK has chosen not to cover a major tournament for the first time in over half a century. For a institution so deeply rooted in Japanese history and traditions, this has to be a loss of "face" of near epic proportions.

I suspect that the tie to yakuza makes this scandal even bigger in the public's eyes than if the wrestlers were betting among themselves, or using third parties to bet overseas. To me this just demonstrates the futility of attempts to ban human vices. Eliminating legal outlets for drinking, gambling, drugs, or sex, to name the obvious ones, just creates opportunities for criminals. As we can see from the recent horrible events in northern Mexico, the consequences of our efforts to prosecute a "war" on drugs has led to the loss of hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent lives and the assassination of public officials.

According to the AFP article below, gambling on certain sports in Japan is legal, but baseball is not one of them. Can any of our Japanese colleagues explain this distinction?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...AKkgnTtAH6YbHA

To an outsider, what makes this especially surprising is that the wrestlers weren't actually betting on sumo, but baseball. I can understand the outrage when people like Pete Rose bet on the sport they played or managed because the conflict-of-interest issues are obvious and paramount to the integrity of the sport itself. (Even worse, perhaps, is betting by umpires and referees, but they don't have the public exposure of someone like Rose. Remember that the officials make the least amount of money of anyone on the field/floor yet have the power to change the results in an instant.)

Its the yakuza connections that make this so disturbing to people... sumo has intrinsic spiritual connections to the culture and illegally betting on baseball leads directly to blackmail and then to sumo ring game fixing.
(though I wonder how often the sumo games are 'advantaged' pre-game at times anyway).

In fact, I believe at least some of the reports mentioned that the scandal broke open the instant a mobster threatened to blackmail one of the wrestlers for money or he'd reveal the wrestler was betting.

I've been mostly catching up with the story on the NHK Worldlink news program which started airing in the evening on my PBS station recently. Its pretty interesting and gives me a companion news program with an asian perspective to watch along with BBC World and Euro Journal.

http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/newsline/

[MrTerrorist]

Naomi Campbell to testify at Charles Taylor trial

I wonder if Naomi is gonna tell the truth or lie to protect herself over at The Hague.

[SaintessHeart]

Swiss free Polanski, won't return him to the U.S.

(Reuters) - Switzerland said on Monday it would not send Roman Polanski back to the United States to face sentencing for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, freeing the Oscar-winning director from 10 months arrest.

Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said she had decided against extradition because of potential technical faults in the U.S. extradition requests but also because Polanski had for years come to Switzerland in good faith.

"He is a free man since 1130 today," she told a news conference in Switzerland's capital Berne.

"He can go to France or to Poland, anywhere where he will not be arrested," she said.

Polanski, 76, who won a best director Oscar for his moving portrait of life in the Warsaw Jewish ghetto of World War Two in "The Pianist," was still at his mountain chalet in the chic ski town of Gstaad, where he had been held under house arrest.

The electronic foot bracelet that the Swiss have used to control his movements had been switched off, the minister said.

"This is not about qualifying a crime. That is not our duty. This is not about deciding on guilt or innocence," she said.

The Swiss minister said while the United States could appeal this decision internationally, she did not expect that to happen.

FREE MAN

The announcement follows months of uncertainty over whether Polanski would have to return to the United States after having been arrested in September 2009 upon arrival in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.

"It's an enormous satisfaction and a great relief after the pain suffered by Roman Polanski and his family," said Polanski's lawyer Herve Temime. His arrest prompted an outcry in the global film industry and in some political circles in France, where he has been a long-time resident, with directors from Woody Allen to Martin Scorsese and Jean-Luc Godard expressing support for Polanski.

After a short jail stint, Polanski, who holds dual French and Polish citizenship, was put under house arrest in December 2009 at Gstaad while Swiss officials awaited the outcome of U.S. legal proceedings.

Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with the girl but fled the United States on the eve of his 1978 sentencing because he believed a judge might overrule his plea and put him in jail for 50 years.

Polanski has lived in Europe ever since, facing the prospect of arrest the moment he set foot back on U.S. soil while continuing his film career outside Hollywood.

Born to Polish-Jewish parents in 1933, his life was marked by a narrow escape from the Krakow ghetto and by the murder of his pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, by followers of cult leader Charles Manson in 1969.

Polanski is also known for classics such as "Chinatown," which earned 11 Oscar nominations, and "Rosemary's Baby."

He completed his latest film "The Ghost," based on a Robert Harris's best-seller, while under arrest in Switzerland.

[SeijiSensei]

I don't think that an endorsement by Woody Allen is especially persuasive when it comes to this case.

[Xion Valkyrie]

This really goes to show that if you're rich and or famous, you're pretty much free to do anything you want =/.

[TinyRedLeaf]

What the World Cup taught us

London (July 12): Some people might think the hours you spent over the last month sitting around, drinking beer and watching the soccer World Cup being played in South Africa was a waste of valuable time. Of course, they are wrong. There were plenty of lessons in business, management and investment being displayed right in front of us. You just had to look hard:

1. The English lesson: Globalisation can go too far
The English Premier League is the most international in the world. The theory is that even though there are few spaces left for English players, those who do make it through will benefit from playing alongside the best players.

Er, wrong. Two dismal performances at successive World Cups by the English team suggest that the national game is in sad decline. You can take all the global village stuff too far. In the end, people and companies do best when they stay true to what they are and who they are.

Tip: Buy Club Med. The vogue among big companies is to become ever more international, losing sight of their heritage as they create blander and blander products that are stripped of any distinctive national characteristics. A few, such as the French resort chain Club Med, remain rooted in the culture and traditions of their home country. They will do better in the long run.

---

2. The French lesson: Egos will get you nowhere
For the English, the one consolation of a terrible World Cup was that the French were even worse. France's star striker, Nicolas Anelka, was sent home for insulting coach Raymond Domenech at half-time, while the team got beaten by Mexico. Then, the players revolted, and the team was eliminated in the first round. It was humiliating. Big egos clearly lead to big trouble.

Tip: Sell Barclays. The British bank used to be mainly a retail financial-services company concentrating on the British market. Now its Barclays Capital unit is a big competitor on Wall Street. Can it keep all those investment-banking egos under control? Dream on.

---

3. The Korean lesson: Isolation doesn't work
There were two Koreas playing in this World Cup: the North and South. While South Korea played impressive, free-flowing football and were unlucky to be knocked out by Uruguay, the North was just embarrassing, as anyone who watched their 7-0 drubbing by Portugal will testify.

The lesson was simple: The country that was open to the rest of the world was developing fast, while the one that closed itself off was getting nowhere.

Tip: Sell Apple. Sure, everyone loves those iPhones, iPads and iKettles, or whatever the geniuses at Apple come up with next. But it believes in closed systems that it controls absolutely. Sooner or later that will be its downfall.

---

4. The Italian Lesson: History counts for nothing
Nobody came into the tournament with a better record than Italy. OK, they are a boring team, but everyone knows the Italians will do fine even when they are complete rubbish — that's what the record books show. Except not this time. This time, they were terrible, and they went home on the first plane.

Tip: Sell Toyota Motor. True, it has been the most successful car company on the planet. But a couple of serious product recalls suggest Toyota has lost it. A great track record won't help.

---

5. The German Lesson: Transform yourself with style
We all know what the German team is like: Italy with worse haircuts. Dour, efficient, methodical and hard-working, they would grind their way through the tournament, and probably win it on penalties.

But, hey, not this time. The Germans played attacking football that made the Brazilians look dull, and had the neutrals cheering them on. Only the ruthlessness of the Spanish defense snuffed out their creative flair. The moral? Give yourself a style makeover and the world will love you.

Tip: Buy Burberry. A couple of decades ago, we thought it was the company that made those raincoats your grandmother wore. Not any more. Now, Burberry is one of the coolest brands around — and is likely to stay that way.

---

6. The Spanish Lesson: Keep believing and you'll get there in the end
Let's be honest, we didn't think they could ever do it. They probably didn't think they could do it either. This time, though, they taught us all a lesson in perseverance: Hang in there; don't give up the faith, and you will make it in the end.

Tip: Buy BP. All right, the oil keeps gushing from that well. The chief executive is a joke. They have more lawsuits pending than the Chileans have yellow cards. But they can come back from that one day. They just need to believe, that's all.

BLOOMBERG

One last tip: Never doubt the octopus!

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Xion Valkyrie

This really goes to show that if you're rich and or famous, you're pretty much free to do anything you want =/.

Or that if you just wait it out, eventually not enough people care. Problem is, the US prosecutors *DROPPED THE BALL* in responding to Swiss inquiries. This was a case of Swiss basically labeling them as either incompetent or more interested in grandstanding than doing the work.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xion Valkyrie

This really goes to show that if you're rich and or famous, you're pretty much free to do anything you want =/.

I think it is more to do with the reputation of the US judicial system in this case.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

What the World Cup taught us

One last tip: Never doubt the octopus!

IMO, most of the stuff there are just plain jokes, other than the Club Med, Apple and Barclays. Nonetheless hilarious.

[Nosauz]

Well what we have learned about the World Cup is that soccer/football, yes I'm willing to call soccer football, but I'll just use futbol to not confuse American fans is that the World Cup's importance could barely compete with the spectacle that was Free Agency 2010. With a city in ruins after the mother of all betrayals took place at the Hartford, Conneticut Boys and Girls Club, the United States and NBA/Basketball lovers either felt their hearts yanked out with the sacking of Cleveland or the formation of the a super team, or the destruction of humility in sports. This cry has reverberated so vehemently that even with the All-star MLB Week starting today, the talk of LeBron and his antics, his lack of poise, Dan Gilbert, and the betrayal Cleveland has suffered, has shown that the NBA has skyrocketed to prominence and I dare say to the stature of the second most important sport in America. Even an episode featuring Jerry Jone and NFL could not assuage the press and sports fans from talking about this decision that will shake up the Eastern Conference.

As one commentator put it, Americans like rules, and the fact that stoppage time isn't properly defined is one thing that really drives American viewers nuts, although I find that somewhat untrue because although I love rules and the preciseness of football, I still enjoy things that aren't based on rules such as Around the Horn. 4 year breaks and a lackluster performance by the American team in the World Cup just isn't good enough to capitivate Americans. I mean other than the Olympics Americans really enjoy having the best play here, just look at the international team and whos playing on it for the FIBA gold, Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Williams, are all sitting, because unfortunately the global stage is not nearly as prestiguous as the National one in Basketball unless your talking Olympics. Maybe someday when we have a kobeesque player in soccer or a dream team for national soccer, will it really proliferate here.

O ps, lol at Bloombergs buy BP, what is this world coming to.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Nosauz

Well what we have learned about the World Cup is that soccer/football, yes I'm willing to call soccer football, but I'll just use futbol to not confuse American fans is that the World Cup's importance could barely compete with the spectacle that was Free Agency 2010. With a city in ruins after the mother of all betrayals took place at the Hartford, Conneticut Boys and Girls Club, the United States and NBA/Basketball lovers either felt their hearts yanked out with the sacking of Cleveland or the formation of the a super team, or the destruction of humility in sports. This cry has reverberated so vehemently that even with the All-star MLB Week starting today, the talk of LeBron and his antics, his lack of poise, Dan Gilbert, and the betrayal Cleveland has suffered, has shown that the NBA has skyrocketed to prominence and I dare say to the stature of the second most important sport in America. ...

Heh, don't confuse media attention ah whatever ... my thoughts on that incident are best expressed by this article:

Millions Watch Rich Guy Get New Job

[Nosauz]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Heh, don't confuse media attention ah whatever ... my thoughts on that incident are best expressed by this article:

Millions Watch Rich Guy Get New Job

Well I can understand your point, but sports fans, especially those who like basketball it isn't just another paycheck, it's implications will affect the shape of the league to come, and as a resident in the great city of Columbus, Ohio I can understand the pain Clevelanders and Norther Ohioans feel, because really the only thing this damn state had going for it before Lebron was Buckeye football, and even then Tressell lost us two titles to less qualified teams.

What we start to realize is that in this day and age race is still and ever so strong sentiment that swaths over the nation, in the comments section of the article talking about Jesse Jackson's detection of racism and slave owner mentality found in Dan Gilbert's letter, it seems that even after a black president, race still is a topic this nation is not yet ready to truly address. Every time I hear a pundit proclaim the race barrier, and the stigma of race is finally over like Chris Matthew who "forgot the president was black" or the many gaffs made by democrats during Obama's election, have been all re-surged based on these statements made by Gilbert and Jackson. Albeit these comments are made on the internet and hidden by the veil of anonymity, they do offer a peculiar look into how we think about subjects such as race and class, and only the most vocal vocalize those opinions the idea that these biases are somehow gone in this more progressive era is not the promise land that Martin Luther King Jr. promised in his speech in the capital. It's sad that a man such as Jesse Jackson still maintains power in the way he does, and that something that is really based on money and championships is being co-opted into a rallying call for racists in the nation to rejoice that racism is in fact live and well in this country.