News Stories

[MrTerrorist]

Arnold Schwarzenegger admits fathering employee's child

And i thought his separation from his wife was bad.

[ganbaru]

Over 70 militants attack Pakistani security post, 17 dead
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...74H14020110518

[flying ^]

nice to know america-bashing is alive and well (and fashionable too)... especially from those who fully backed Roman Polanski a few years ago

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,1675294.story

[Xellos-_^]

In an era of helicopter parents eager to exploit every competitive edge for their kids, at least two companies have begun selling tests that claim to help match youngsters with the sports they are genetically programmed to play best. The DNA scans, the first of an expected wave of attempts to use genes to enhance athletic performance, can steer children toward games they are most likely to win — and perhaps get scholarships to play, the companies say. The tests also let children — and adults — tailor workouts to their innate skills, the firms say, as well as spot those prone to life-threatening heart problems, concussions and other injuries.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...y.html?hpid=z3

Gattaca anyone?

[bladeofdarkness]

Palestinian Facebook group urges rushing of Israel's borders
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...070748,00.html
and no, were not talking about what happened last Sunday (that resulted in several deaths)
this is whats PLANNED for this Friday.

it wasn't funny the first time, and its not getting funnier with repetition (although, if the minefields have been replaced, it could get very funny).

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by flying ^

nice to know america-bashing is alive and well (and fashionable too)... especially from those who fully backed Roman Polanski a few years ago

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,1675294.story

Please don't take it personally. We don't respect anyone justice system. Not even our own, really, except when we compare it to foreigners'. (As we prove pretty much every time some French people's arrest makes it to our media.)

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by flying ^

nice to know america-bashing is alive and well (and fashionable too)... especially from those who fully backed Roman Polanski a few years ago

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,1675294.story

There's nothing in the article about Roman Polanski or stating that the same people were making the critique. Sweeping generalization... from someone that apparently doesn't remember "Freedom Fries" french-bashing.

Fact is... the US and France are blood brothers in democracy (and capitalism) if one knows history. We're just the kind of brothers that fight all the time until someone else pisses us off.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Vexx

There's nothing in the article about Roman Polanski or stating that the same people were making the critique. Sweeping generalization... from someone that apparently doesn't remember "Freedom Fries" french-bashing.

Fact is... the US and France are blood brothers in democracy (and capitalism) if one knows history. We're just the kind of brothers that fight all the time until someone else pisses us off.

Maybe not in the article, but Bernard Henry Levy was a prominent defender of Polanski then, and is one of DSK now...

Don't see what the problem is, though. At least he's consistent.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Maybe not in the article, but Bernard Henry Levy was a prominent defender of Polanski then, and is one of DSK now...

Don't see what the problem is, though. At least he's consistent.

Is there someone than still take him seriously ?

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Is there someone than still take him seriously ?

... "still"?

[synaesthetic]

I don't buy the article's claim of a cultural divide. I'm pretty sure rape is still rape (and still illegal) in France.

[DonQuigleone]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Fact is... the US and France are blood brothers in democracy (and capitalism) if one knows history. We're just the kind of brothers that fight all the time until someone else pisses us off.

Heh, ever noticed that Britain, France and the United States all claim Red White and Blue as their national colours?

Though France tends towards blue while Britain towards Red. The US is in the middle.

[JMvS]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Gattaca anyone?

More like Destiny Plan.

[Zakoo]

Originally Posted by flying ^

nice to know america-bashing is alive and well (and fashionable too)... especially from those who fully backed Roman Polanski a few years ago

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,1675294.story

Heh, true enough, a lot of people didn't appreciate. I don't particularly care but our judicial system aren't the same, meaning the clash ...

Hmm though, one thing was really true :

It helps that much of the French news media, using privacy laws as a fig leaf, buys into this, creating an omerta around politicians and celebrities.

There is a sense in France of one rule for the elite and another for the rest of the population.

If such a thing would have happened in France, there wouldn't even have been a complaint - let alone a trial -. Still, the picture of him being handcuffed was quite hard to see, we must not be used to that I guess.

Hmm, people really have weird taste if they can't admit Starbucks is good, nya it's not the subject so whatever.

[DonQuigleone]

Obviously, if he raped the maid it's completely out of line. But if he merely has an affair I don't really see the issue from a professional perspective. Lots of the rest of us have affairs and we don't get it trotted out all over the headlines, I don't see why it should be any different for politicians, unless they choose to portray themselves as a bastion of morality.

In other news, a new toxic drug is gripping Brazil.

On the surface, Oxi is not a particularly unique drug. It is a derivative of cocaine paste, the clay-like foundation product used to make crack and refined powder cocaine. To make Oxi, chunks of freebase cocaine are soaked in gasoline. When gasoline is not available, kerosene is sometimes used. It is then mixed with limestone powder, a product used in construction. Easily attainable household solvents, like cleaning chemicals, are also sometimes added to the toxic mixture. In the final process, the rocks are dried, often simply under the sun, and then sold on the streets for consumption.

According to police, with cocaine paste as the main ingredient, Oxi can be made very easily and cheaply without the need for a background in chemistry - unlike refined powder cocaine, which needs the infrastructure of a laboratory to produce, and is much more time-consuming and complicated.

"The process [to make Oxi] can be done anywhere, by anyone," Marcelo Moscardi, head of the Federal Police office in Rio Branco, Brazil, told Al Jazeera. "It's a very simple process."

The end result is that Oxi is considered almost twice as powerful as crack or cocaine.

"The difference between [Oxi] and crack is that crack usually has about 40 or 50 per cent purity, but based on our studies of what we have confiscated, [Oxi] is being made from freebase cocaine that has 80 to 90 per cent purity," Moscardi said. "That is why everyone says it's stronger and the effects of addiction faster, and consequently it is considered a better drug by the users."

Because Oxi is so easy to make, it is cheap - the average price for one rock being five Brazilian reals, which is the equivalent of about three American dollars. Sometimes, a rock of Oxi can sell for as cheap as one American dollar.

Later on it says that the drug is so lethal, that many users die within a year of beginning to use it.

So it's cheap, easy to make, addictive, powerful and lethal. I hope this drug doesn't spread outside Brazil.

[Ithekro]

....

Wouldn't that remove the demand if it kills the user base? Also wouldn't that give it a bad rap if people die from it more often than other drugs based on cocaine?

[DonQuigleone]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

....

Wouldn't that remove the demand if it kills the user base? Also wouldn't that give it a bad rap if people die from it more often than other drugs based on cocaine?

Well it's incredibly cheap. I guess once you start taking it you stop caring. Generally there are a lot of drug users who don't give a damn about the long term consequences anyway. Anyway, apparently one use is enough to get you addicted. How many people do you know who would be willing to use a drug once that is not wildly known? Quite a few I'd imagine (using it once couldn't kill me...).

I'd say the big drug lords would be against it (because it does kill your user base), but the fact that it's so easy to make, means the barrier to entry is low enough to supply any user who wants it.

Anyway, the fact stands that it's spreading from it's core base of poor amazonian communities to the rest of Brazil.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by DonQuigleone

Well it's incredibly cheap. I guess once you start taking it you stop caring. Generally there are a lot of drug users who don't give a damn about the long term consequences anyway. Anyway, apparently one use is enough to get you addicted. How many people do you know who would be willing to use a drug once that is not wildly known? Quite a few I'd imagine (using it once couldn't kill me...).

I'd say the big drug lords would be against it (because it does kill your user base), but the fact that it's so easy to make, means the barrier to entry is low enough to supply any user who wants it.

Anyway, the fact stands that it's spreading from it's core base of poor amazonian communities to the rest of Brazil.

Natural Selection at work

Those who learn NOT to put everything in their mouth.

vs

those who haven't learn NOT to put everything in their mouth.

[ganbaru]

Groomed for suicide: how Taliban recruits children for mass murder
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...hildren-murder

[Xellos-_^]

...The choice is partly a matter of prestige and standing — a recognition that developing nations are beginning to drive world economic growth, account for a larger portion of its economic output and have developed a strong pool of financial talent.
...

The 24 member executive board is designed to represent the fund’s 187 members, but voting power on the body is weighted based on each country’s financial contribution to the IMF.
In practice, that means the U.S. and eight European directors hold among them a voting majority; including other developed nations like Japan, Canada and Australia, the total approaches 65 percent.
Developing countries have about 35 percent of the voting power on the board. Larger nations like India and China have their owns seats, while other countries are grouped into constituencies.

if the developing country want the IMF job, why don't they just put more money on the table?