Gautier man shares story of 1973 alien abduction
“They appeared to me that they had something like elephant skin, it was very wrinkled. These things came to us and took a hold of me, and one took a hold of Calvin. We went into that beam of light and they carried me aboard that craft.
”He said the aliens held them for about 30 minutes.
“Something came out of that wall, like a big eye. It came up in front of me, it went under me, and it came back up my back side. The next time I saw it, it came over my head in front of me. They turned me around and carried me right back out where they pick me up.”
Friday, February 29, 2008
PRISON PLANET
More than 1pc of American adults now in jail: study
The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, a report says.
The report, by the Pew Centre on the States, says the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults at the start of the year.
The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, a report says.
The report, by the Pew Centre on the States, says the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults at the start of the year.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
BUNCH OF BANKERS
NAB chief suggests merging big banks
Chief executive of the National Australia Bank (NAB), John Stewart, has told a business luncheon in Sydney the four pillars policy, which prevents Australia's major banks from merging, needs to be relaxed.
He says at the moment none of the four would be strong enough to stave off a takeover bid from a much larger foreign bank.
Chief executive of the National Australia Bank (NAB), John Stewart, has told a business luncheon in Sydney the four pillars policy, which prevents Australia's major banks from merging, needs to be relaxed.
He says at the moment none of the four would be strong enough to stave off a takeover bid from a much larger foreign bank.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
TRUTH BE TOLD
Australian Oscar winner brands US Government 'war criminals'
AUSTRALIAN Oscar winner Eva Orner has described the US government as a "bunch of war criminals" that had to be "stopped".The Australian filmmaker won the Academy Award for best feature documentary as co-producer of Taxi to the Dark Side, a film about the US government's use of torture in its war against terror.
AUSTRALIAN Oscar winner Eva Orner has described the US government as a "bunch of war criminals" that had to be "stopped".The Australian filmmaker won the Academy Award for best feature documentary as co-producer of Taxi to the Dark Side, a film about the US government's use of torture in its war against terror.
FUNDA MENTAL
The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women
Women Living Under Muslim Laws is coordinating this Global Campaign to address the persistent misuse of religion and culture to justify killing women as punishment for violating the ‘norms’ of sexual behaviour as defined and imposed by vested interests.
Women Living Under Muslim Laws is coordinating this Global Campaign to address the persistent misuse of religion and culture to justify killing women as punishment for violating the ‘norms’ of sexual behaviour as defined and imposed by vested interests.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
THE QUICKENING
Antarctic glaciers surge to ocean
New evidence from a group of Antarctic glaciers covering an area the size of Texas, in a remote and seldom visited part of West Antarctica, shows "rivers of ice" surging sharply in speed towards the ocean.
Satellite measurements have shown that three huge glaciers here have been speeding up for more than a decade. The Pine Island Glacier is causing the most concern as it puts more ice into the sea than any other glacier in Antarctica.
If the glacier does continue to surge and discharge most of it ice into the sea, say the researchers, the Pine Island Glacier alone could raise global sea level by 25cm. But neighbouring glaciers are accelerating too and if the entire region were to lose its ice, the sea would rise by 1.5m worldwide.
New evidence from a group of Antarctic glaciers covering an area the size of Texas, in a remote and seldom visited part of West Antarctica, shows "rivers of ice" surging sharply in speed towards the ocean.
Satellite measurements have shown that three huge glaciers here have been speeding up for more than a decade. The Pine Island Glacier is causing the most concern as it puts more ice into the sea than any other glacier in Antarctica.
If the glacier does continue to surge and discharge most of it ice into the sea, say the researchers, the Pine Island Glacier alone could raise global sea level by 25cm. But neighbouring glaciers are accelerating too and if the entire region were to lose its ice, the sea would rise by 1.5m worldwide.
HOT IDEA
Chips turn more heat to power
The technology to cleanly and quietly turn heat into electricity without the use of a turbine or generator has existed for nearly a century. The trouble is, it has never been efficient enough for widespread practical use.
A pair of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Eneco Inc. have made a device that nearly doubles the amount of electricity that can be extracted from heat. The researchers' thermal diode converts about 18 percent of thermal energy to electricity, while current thermoelectric generators convert about 10 percent.
The technology could be used to generate additional electricity from power plants, which throw off enormous amounts of waste heat, and to generate electricity using the heat from automobile engines. The technology could also produce electricity in conjunction with devices that concentrate sunlight.
The technology to cleanly and quietly turn heat into electricity without the use of a turbine or generator has existed for nearly a century. The trouble is, it has never been efficient enough for widespread practical use.
A pair of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Eneco Inc. have made a device that nearly doubles the amount of electricity that can be extracted from heat. The researchers' thermal diode converts about 18 percent of thermal energy to electricity, while current thermoelectric generators convert about 10 percent.
The technology could be used to generate additional electricity from power plants, which throw off enormous amounts of waste heat, and to generate electricity using the heat from automobile engines. The technology could also produce electricity in conjunction with devices that concentrate sunlight.
Friday, February 22, 2008
IDENTITY HOLOCAUST
UK's families put on fraud alert
Two computer discs holding the personal details of all families in the UK with a child under 16 have gone missing.
The Child Benefit data on them includes name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25 million people.
Chancellor Alistair Darling urged people to monitor bank accounts "for unusual activity".
More personal data lost in the UK
THE records of hundreds of thousands of adults and children in the UK have gone missing - the third loss of data about the public by a government service this year.
US cases
Consumer Data Losses: Tapes, Disks and Sticks
In 2004 the Bank of America lost unencrypted tapes with account information on 1.2 million US federal employee credit cards, including US senators.
Also in the US, a Veterans Administration computer containing information on 26 million veterans was stolen. (more)
A University of California, Berkeley laptop that contained information on more than 98,000 graduate students and others also went missing.
Two computer discs holding the personal details of all families in the UK with a child under 16 have gone missing.
The Child Benefit data on them includes name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25 million people.
Chancellor Alistair Darling urged people to monitor bank accounts "for unusual activity".
More personal data lost in the UK
THE records of hundreds of thousands of adults and children in the UK have gone missing - the third loss of data about the public by a government service this year.
US cases
Consumer Data Losses: Tapes, Disks and Sticks
In 2004 the Bank of America lost unencrypted tapes with account information on 1.2 million US federal employee credit cards, including US senators.
Also in the US, a Veterans Administration computer containing information on 26 million veterans was stolen. (more)
A University of California, Berkeley laptop that contained information on more than 98,000 graduate students and others also went missing.
TORTURED STATEMENTS
Stunners on Waterboarding and Guantanamo
Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence:
“I know one thing. I’m a water-safety instructor, but I cannot swim without covering my nose. I don’t know if it’s some deviated septum or mucus membrane, but water just rushes in.” For him, he said, “waterboarding would be excruciating. If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can’t imagine how painful!”
Later, he admited his refusal to broaden his statement past a personal revelation was inspired by fear of legal consequences — the concern that was at the heart of the C.I.A. tape affair.
The debate over the interrogation technique recently intensified when the C.I.A. acknowledged destroying videotapes showing the waterboarding of two Al Qaeda detainees, centers on a very succinct question: is it torture?
Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence:
“I know one thing. I’m a water-safety instructor, but I cannot swim without covering my nose. I don’t know if it’s some deviated septum or mucus membrane, but water just rushes in.” For him, he said, “waterboarding would be excruciating. If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can’t imagine how painful!”
Later, he admited his refusal to broaden his statement past a personal revelation was inspired by fear of legal consequences — the concern that was at the heart of the C.I.A. tape affair.
The debate over the interrogation technique recently intensified when the C.I.A. acknowledged destroying videotapes showing the waterboarding of two Al Qaeda detainees, centers on a very succinct question: is it torture?
DEFINE: FRONESIS
Fronesis-the third dimension of knowledge, learning, and evaluation
Fronesis, is the "political knowledge", that is the ability to understand and interpret the situation at hand and decide about appropriate actions.
What is new in our time is that the general situation is very different from what the teacher has experienced, and from what previous generations have met.
Fronesis today is the most important dimension of knowledge
Traditional examination can check the Episteme capability and Techne can be checked by practical demonstration: playing the piano, building an electronic device, etc.
Examination of Fronesis needs special consideration.
Fronesis, is the "political knowledge", that is the ability to understand and interpret the situation at hand and decide about appropriate actions.
What is new in our time is that the general situation is very different from what the teacher has experienced, and from what previous generations have met.
Fronesis today is the most important dimension of knowledge
Traditional examination can check the Episteme capability and Techne can be checked by practical demonstration: playing the piano, building an electronic device, etc.
Examination of Fronesis needs special consideration.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
FIRST DROPS
Meteor shocks Pacific Northwest
A bright, flaming fireball streaked across the pre-dawn sky in the Pacific Northwest near Portland, Ore., and exploded with a large blast that lit up the horizon, witnesses say. Security cameras at a Portland hospital captured the fireball’s arrival on film, and dozens of reports of eyewitness sightings came in from across Washington and Oregon and even as far away as Idaho and British Columbia.
A bright, flaming fireball streaked across the pre-dawn sky in the Pacific Northwest near Portland, Ore., and exploded with a large blast that lit up the horizon, witnesses say. Security cameras at a Portland hospital captured the fireball’s arrival on film, and dozens of reports of eyewitness sightings came in from across Washington and Oregon and even as far away as Idaho and British Columbia.
TIT FOR TAT
US military prepares to shoot down errant satellite
In an operation that could last just minutes from launch to intercept, US Navy officials hope a missile fired from a ship and traveling at six times the speed of sound will hit a bus-sized satellite about 220km above Earth with a nonexplosive "kinetic kill vehicle."
The Navy plans to launch a missile from a cruiser near Hawaii to destroy the satellite carrying fuel that defence officials believe could be hazardous to humans.
The Aegis ballistic-missile defense system has successfully intercepted incoming missiles in 12 of 14 test flights, according to a Navy document.
US missile hits 'toxic satellite'
Russia suspects the operation was a cover to test anti-satellite technology under the US missile defence programme.
The US denies the operation was a response to an anti-satellite test carried out by China last year, which prompted fears of a space arms race.
In an operation that could last just minutes from launch to intercept, US Navy officials hope a missile fired from a ship and traveling at six times the speed of sound will hit a bus-sized satellite about 220km above Earth with a nonexplosive "kinetic kill vehicle."
The Navy plans to launch a missile from a cruiser near Hawaii to destroy the satellite carrying fuel that defence officials believe could be hazardous to humans.
The Aegis ballistic-missile defense system has successfully intercepted incoming missiles in 12 of 14 test flights, according to a Navy document.
US missile hits 'toxic satellite'
Russia suspects the operation was a cover to test anti-satellite technology under the US missile defence programme.
The US denies the operation was a response to an anti-satellite test carried out by China last year, which prompted fears of a space arms race.
OUR GALAXY
Milky Way: Bigger than we thought
The Milky Way - our home galaxy - is twice as thick as we thought it was, Australian astrophysicists say.
Professor Bryan Gaensler from the University of Sydney and his team have found that the enormous spiral-shaped collection of gas and stars is 12,000 light years thick when seen edge-on, not 6,000 as scientists previously thought.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
CYBORGS ATTACK
Tiny machines could roam the body curing diseases
Machines 'to match man by 2029'
Machines will achieve human-level artificial intelligence by 2029, a leading US inventor has predicted.
Humanity is on the brink of advances that will see tiny robots implanted in people's brains to make them more intelligent, said Ray Kurzweil.
The engineer believes machines and humans will eventually merge through devices implanted in the body to boost intelligence and health.
BUSH WHACKER
Bush defends US record on Darfur
US President George W Bush has defended his decision not to send troops to the Sudanese region of Darfur, despite what he calls a genocide taking place there.
He called it a "seminal decision" not to intervene with force, taken partly out of the desire not to send US troops into another Muslim country.
Bushwhacker - Wikipedia
Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare during the American Civil War that was particularly prevalent in rural areas where there were sharp divisions between those favoring the Union and Confederacy in the conflict. The perpetrators of the attacks were called bushwhackers.
Bushwhackers conducted a few well-organized raids in which they burned cities and ambushed families in rural areas.
Since the attacks were non-uniformed, the government response was complicated by trying to decide whether they were legitimate military attacks or criminal actions.
US President George W Bush has defended his decision not to send troops to the Sudanese region of Darfur, despite what he calls a genocide taking place there.
He called it a "seminal decision" not to intervene with force, taken partly out of the desire not to send US troops into another Muslim country.
Bushwhacker - Wikipedia
Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare during the American Civil War that was particularly prevalent in rural areas where there were sharp divisions between those favoring the Union and Confederacy in the conflict. The perpetrators of the attacks were called bushwhackers.
Bushwhackers conducted a few well-organized raids in which they burned cities and ambushed families in rural areas.
Since the attacks were non-uniformed, the government response was complicated by trying to decide whether they were legitimate military attacks or criminal actions.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
THOUGHT CRIME
Five students win terror appeal
The convictions of five young Muslim men jailed over extremist literature have been quashed by the Appeal Court.
Freeing the men, the Lord Chief Justice said there was no proof of terrorist intent. The lawyer for one said they had been jailed for a "thought crime".
A jury convicted them in 2007 after hearing the men, of Bradford University and Ilford, London, became obsessed with jihadi websites and literature.
The convictions of five young Muslim men jailed over extremist literature have been quashed by the Appeal Court.
Freeing the men, the Lord Chief Justice said there was no proof of terrorist intent. The lawyer for one said they had been jailed for a "thought crime".
A jury convicted them in 2007 after hearing the men, of Bradford University and Ilford, London, became obsessed with jihadi websites and literature.
The Home Office said it would study the judgement carefully.
It said it understood the Crown Prosecution Service was considering whether to appeal against the ruling, which it must do within seven days.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
GREATER LOVE
Dogs Give Up Their Lives to Save Family
Bella, a 3-year-old golden retriever/collie mix who was once rescued as an abused puppy, returned the favor to her owners by alerting them to a house fire. With help from Maddie, a 6-month-old golden retriever, Bella helped get Sue Feuling and her 9-year-old daughter, Mckenzie, out of the house last week. The dogs didn't make it.
Bella, a 3-year-old golden retriever/collie mix who was once rescued as an abused puppy, returned the favor to her owners by alerting them to a house fire. With help from Maddie, a 6-month-old golden retriever, Bella helped get Sue Feuling and her 9-year-old daughter, Mckenzie, out of the house last week. The dogs didn't make it.
AMERICAN PSYCHO
The Meaning of Mitt Romney's Exit Speech
In reality, the American elite -- or the Establishment, or the power structure, call it what you will (as long as you don't call it what it really is: the ruling class) -- is like an iceberg: most of its vast bulk exists unseen, it plows on beneath the surface, unperturbed by the media
storms that rage around the small bit of exposed material at the summit.
Mitt Romney is an immensely wealthy, well-connected man, a former governor of the state of Massachusetts, born and bred in an extensive web of privilege and power.
His words ... show the barbarism, hatemongering and bloodlust that are considered perfectly acceptable in the polite company of our rulers and their sycophants.
In the midst of a long diatribe about liberal "attacks" on "American culture," Romney pauses for a glance across the Atlantic, to evoke a hideous nightmare that could soon be America's future:
"Europe -- Europe is facing a demographic disaster. That's the inevitable product of weakened faith in the Creator, failed families, disrespect for the sanctity of human life, and eroded morality."
The climax of Romney's peroration: a frantic blithering about "evil and radical jihad" and "the inevitable military ambitions of China" and the burning need to "raise military spending to 4 percent of our GDP" and overriding imperative to keep the Terror War raging, particularly its central front in Iraq. None of this is remotely connected to the actual wellbeing, security and prosperity of the American people; quite the opposite. It is, however, absolutely vital to the preservation of the elite's power, privilege, self-image and status. And as they demonstrate day after day, they don't care how many people must die or suffer for this.
In reality, the American elite -- or the Establishment, or the power structure, call it what you will (as long as you don't call it what it really is: the ruling class) -- is like an iceberg: most of its vast bulk exists unseen, it plows on beneath the surface, unperturbed by the media
storms that rage around the small bit of exposed material at the summit.
Mitt Romney is an immensely wealthy, well-connected man, a former governor of the state of Massachusetts, born and bred in an extensive web of privilege and power.
His words ... show the barbarism, hatemongering and bloodlust that are considered perfectly acceptable in the polite company of our rulers and their sycophants.
In the midst of a long diatribe about liberal "attacks" on "American culture," Romney pauses for a glance across the Atlantic, to evoke a hideous nightmare that could soon be America's future:
"Europe -- Europe is facing a demographic disaster. That's the inevitable product of weakened faith in the Creator, failed families, disrespect for the sanctity of human life, and eroded morality."
The climax of Romney's peroration: a frantic blithering about "evil and radical jihad" and "the inevitable military ambitions of China" and the burning need to "raise military spending to 4 percent of our GDP" and overriding imperative to keep the Terror War raging, particularly its central front in Iraq. None of this is remotely connected to the actual wellbeing, security and prosperity of the American people; quite the opposite. It is, however, absolutely vital to the preservation of the elite's power, privilege, self-image and status. And as they demonstrate day after day, they don't care how many people must die or suffer for this.
This is moral psychosis on a monumental scale. It is the complete and utter repudiation of every civilized ideal, of every fragment of enlightenment wrenched from the blood-drenched slagheap of human history. Yet it passes for normality in our political discourse.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Danes arrest terror plotters
DANISH police have arrested several people in a terror plot to kill one of the 12 cartoonists behind the Prophet Mohammed drawings that sparked an uproar in the Muslim world two years ago.
The arrests were made in pre-dawn raids in Aarhus, western Denmark, "to prevent a terror-related murder," the police intelligence agency said. It did not say how many people were arrested nor did it mention which cartoonist was targeted.
[Since when has the definition of a terrorist act included the murder of one person. That used to be called a crime.]
DANISH police have arrested several people in a terror plot to kill one of the 12 cartoonists behind the Prophet Mohammed drawings that sparked an uproar in the Muslim world two years ago.
The arrests were made in pre-dawn raids in Aarhus, western Denmark, "to prevent a terror-related murder," the police intelligence agency said. It did not say how many people were arrested nor did it mention which cartoonist was targeted.
[Since when has the definition of a terrorist act included the murder of one person. That used to be called a crime.]
HUMAN RIGHT
Spielberg boycotts Olympic role
US film director Steven Spielberg has withdrawn as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
In a statement, he accused China of not doing enough to pressure its ally Sudan to end the "continuing human suffering" in the troubled western Darfur region.
Sudan, with its vast oil reserves, sells some two-thirds of its oil to Beijing. In turn, Beijing sells weapons to the Sudanese government and has defended Khartoum in the UN Security Council.
US film director Steven Spielberg has withdrawn as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
In a statement, he accused China of not doing enough to pressure its ally Sudan to end the "continuing human suffering" in the troubled western Darfur region.
Sudan, with its vast oil reserves, sells some two-thirds of its oil to Beijing. In turn, Beijing sells weapons to the Sudanese government and has defended Khartoum in the UN Security Council.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
