Clipmarks | David Hughes's clips

Russian Road Roulette

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:37:21 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: Crazy!

Russian road roulette?

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgarian prosecutors are investigating a new gambling game in which drivers defy death by speeding through red lights for bets of up to 5,000 euros ($7,400), the chief prosecutor's office said Thursday.

Known as 'Russian road roulette', the driver must jump red lights at busy intersections at high speed and not crash into any other cars or pedestrians, according to local media reports. Onlookers also gamble on the result.

Prosecutors launched their investigation after media reported the new game had been held at night at busy crossroads in Sofia since the summer.

In June, two people died after a motorcyclist crashed into an onlooker at a similar rally on Sofia's ring road.

NASA to Start Irradiating Monkeys

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:02:19 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: Can't agree on this one, no sir!

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

NASA to Start Irradiating Monkeys

Oct. 29, 2009 -- NASA is stepping up its space radiation studies with a round of experiments that for the first time in decades will use monkeys as subjects.

The point of the experiments is to understand how the harsh radioactive environment of space affects human bodies and behavior and what countermeasures can be developed to make long-duration spaceflight safe for travelers beyond Earth's protective magnetic shield.

For the new study, 18 to 28 squirrel monkeys will be exposed to a low dose of the type of radiation that astronauts traveling to Mars can expect to encounter.

Scientists are particularly interested in studying how the radiation impacts the monkeys' central nervous systems and behaviors over time.

Exploding Star Sets Distance Record

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:58:43 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: For you space buffs!

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Exploding Star Sets Distance Record

Oct. 29, 2009 -- It took 13 billion years to reach Earth, but astronomers have seen the light of an exploding mega-star that is the most distant object ever detected, two studies published Thursday reported.

The stunning gamma-ray burst (GRB) was observed by two teams of researchers in April, and opens a window onto a poorly known period when the universe was in its infancy.

GRBs are the most violent explosions known to exist, and can be 10 million times more luminous than the brightest of galaxies.

They accompany the catastrophic death of a massive star, and are probably triggered by the collapse of the star's center into a black hole.

Pet Crowned World's 'Oldest Dog'

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:40:47 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: Please go to source and check the wonderful video (including the beautiful advertisement)

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Pet crowned world's 'oldest dog'

A dog from Shropshire has been crowned the world's oldest canine, which his owners have put down to a "wholesome diet of Sunday dinners and vegetables".

Otto Jones, a Dachshund terrier cross from Reabrook, Shrewsbury, is 20 years and eight months old.

He has been recognised as the oldest living dog by Guinness World Records and despite his age still enjoys playing ball with neighbours' children.

His owners Lynn and Peter Jones said he was a "loveable, affectionate rogue".

The couple have had him since he was a puppy.

He is a bit deaf, but apart from a few grey whiskers and a touch of arthritis they said he was fit and healthy.

"The only thing I can put it down to is plenty of good wholesome food. He loves his Sunday dinners and his vegetables," Mrs Jones said.

His owners said the children in his street regularly call for him to play.

"Nothing seems to faze him," Mrs Jones added.

The Man Who Pulled the Iron Curtain

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:31:31 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The man who pulled the Iron Curtain

The 1989 revolution has its unforgettable images, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, and its famous figures - Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel and Mikhail Gorbachev.

But the man who made a crucial first breach in the Iron Curtain which divided Cold War Europe has received far less attention in the West.

He is Miklos Nemeth, an economist who became Hungarian prime minister in November 1988 and proceeded to tear up the rule book for leaders of communist bloc countries.

His assault on the Iron Curtain began, strangely enough, as he considered his country's budget for 1989.

I did not do the impossible, I just did all that was possible at the time

Miklos Nemeth

Hungary's role in the 1989 drama

MP Mortgage Claims 'To Be Banned'

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:28:17 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: None too soon! A disgraceful situation!

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

MP mortgage claims 'to be banned'

MPs will be banned from claiming the cost of mortgage interest payments on second homes under proposals being put forward, sources have told the BBC.

It is understood the Kelly committee, which has been reviewing MPs' expenses, will recommend MPs will only be able to rent second homes in future.

The committee is also expected to recommend MPs will not be able to employ family members in the future.

It is understood the changes will be phased in over five years.

'Allowances cut'

Sir Christopher Kelly, who was asked by Gordon Brown to suggest proposed reforms to the discredited system of MPs' expenses, is due to publish his report on 4 November.

The BBC understands the committee will also recommend that MPs living within commuting distance of London and whose journeys take no more than an hour will not be able to claim money towards a second home.

MPs representing inner London constituencies are likely to see their allowances considerably reduced as well.

Where They Grow our Junk Food in Ontario, Canada

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:24:46 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes

Clip Source: www.thestar.com

Where they grow our junk food

Our reporter went looking for the farms that produce the raw materials for junk food and found that they take up almost half of the cropland in Ontario

Follow the flow of food. That's what any farmer will tell you. Because apples don't grow in supermarkets.

So to get to the root of the exploding obesity epidemic, I went in search of a junk food farm.

Such farms are not so easy to spot. No fields of Dorito bags waving in the breeze, no orchards blooming with soda pop, no soil bursting with 99-cent burgers.

What you do see are vast operations growing the raw materials for junk food: soybeans and corn.

The two crops go into the production of many things: pharmaceuticals, industrial products, animal feed – and inexpensive calories.

Tonnes of soybeans and corn are turned into "edible food-like substances," as food system critic Michael Pollan calls them, used in virtually all processed foods, beverages and junk food.

Hot Shot Thermal Imager for Law Enforcement

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:20:38 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Tool: Hot Shot Thermal Imager for Law Enforcement

Who uses it
Police officers and crime scene investigators

Those old night-vision goggles? Kid stuff. All they do is amplify low light. If you really want to see things, grab this handheld thermal-imaging camera, which can spot a person in absolute darkness at 1,000 feet or reveal hidden objects in the light of day. Its sensor’s amorphous silicon pixels respond to infrared radiation, showing differences in surface temperature down to half a degree centigrade. The 3.5-pound TacSight is also rugged, waterproof, and portable (early military versions had a cumbersome cooling system). Police generally use it for spotting perps and evidence:

World Not Ending in 2012, Says NASA

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:06:30 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: Thank goodness!

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

World Not Ending in 2012, Says NASA

Oct. 22, 2009 -- Contrary to what you may read on the Internet, the world is not going to end in 2012. A rogue planet named Nibiru is not on a collision course with Earth. And a solar flare won't toast the planet.

It's all fiction, though the makers of the film "2012" may lead you to think otherwise.

"I don't have anything against the movie. It's the way it's been marketed and the way it exploits people's fears," NASA scientist David Morrison at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., told Discovery News.

Scientific misinformation about 2012 has been ramping up for a few years, with more than 200 books and 1,000 Web sites purporting to explain various doomsday scenarios. Sony Pictures is behind a particularly viral campaign to build publicity for its upcoming apocalyptic movie "2012," which debuts on Nov. 13.

I'll Blink After You Blend My Steak

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:27:15 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes

Clip Source: cuteoverload.com

I’ll Blink After You Blend My Steak

Wait a minute. I thought we agreed that you would create an emulsion of a 16-oz prime New York strip. You know, on the bone, seared, broiled in a 1600 degree oven, and blended into a delightful goo. With fries. Also goo-ed. Yet now I hear I’m getting a mixture of salty water and B12??? Can I speak to the president of something please?

“Tough Cookie” was found in a box after being hit by a car. She recovered and is presumably doing well with her new owner.

Creamed spinach IVs and all thanks go to Lyndley P.

Global Warming Fast Facts

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:14:56 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: See previous clip. Who's right?

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Global Warming Fast Facts

Global warming, or climate change, is a subject that shows no sign of cooling down.

Here's the lowdown on why it's happening, what's causing it, and how it might change the planet.

Is It Happening?

Yes. Earth is already showing many signs of worldwide climate change.

• Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius) around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

• The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, according to a number of climate studies. And the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850.

Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier.

US belief in Global Warming is Cooling

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:10:51 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: Against all the evidence!

Clip Source: www.google.com

Poll: US belief in global warming is cooling

WASHINGTON — Americans seem to be cooling toward global warming.

Just 57 percent think there is solid evidence the world is getting warmer, down 20 points in just three years, a new poll says. And the share of people who believe pollution caused by humans is causing temperatures to rise has also taken a dip, even as the U.S. and world forums gear up for possible action against climate change.

In a poll of 1,500 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, released Thursday, the number of people saying there is strong scientific evidence that the Earth has gotten warmer over the past few decades is down from 71 percent in April of last year and from 77 percent when Pew started asking the question in 2006. The number of people who see the situation as a serious problem also has declined.

Sicilian Prefers Prison to House Arrest with Wife!

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:07:47 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Sicilian prefers prison to house arrest with wife

PALERMO, Sicily (Reuters) - A Sicilian builder transferred from prison to house arrest tried to get himself locked up again to escape arguments with his wife at home, Italian media reported Thursday.

Santo Gambino, 30, did time for dumping hazardous waste before being moved to house arrest in Villabate, outside the Sicilian capital, Palermo, Italian news agencies reported.

Gambino went to the police station and asked to be put away again to avoid arguing with his wife, who accused him of failing to pay for the upkeep of their two children.

Police charged him with violating the conditions of his sentence and made him go home and patch things up with his wife.

Leech Blood Convicts Robber Yars After Raid

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:14:13 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: A strange DNA case!

Clip Source: news.sky.com

Leech Blood Convicts Robber Years After Raid

A blood-swollen leech found at a crime scene eight years ago has led Australian police to an armed robber.

To catch a criminal - a blood-sucking leech

Forensic science researcher Sally Kelty said the case could be the first in which DNA extracted from a bloodsucker, like a leech or a mosquito, was used to solve a crime.

"It's certainly unique and shows how the boundaries of DNA technology have been pushed since it was first introduced to Australia 22 years ago," the researcher said.

The leech dropped off Peter Cannon as he and an accomplice tied a 71-year-old woman to a chair at her remote home in the Tasmanian woods in 2001.

(The victim) has waited a long time for closure to this matter and it's nice to be able to deliver that.

Detectives found the leech and extracted blood they believed was probably from one of the two suspects.

BAA to Announce Gatwick Airport Sell-Off

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:06:09 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: What's this? Too many airports or too much foreign competition?

Clip Source: news.sky.com

Breaking News

BAA To Announce Gatwick Airport Sell-Off

BAA is expected to announce the £1.5bn sale of Gatwick Airport tomorrow, according to Sky City editor Mark Kleinman.

£1.5bn sell-off price is lower than expected

In March, the Competition Commission ruled that the company would have to sell the airport within two years.

The Commission also ordered BAA to sell Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh after it found competition problems at each of its seven UK airports.

Kleinman said: "The price Global Infrastucture Partners will be paying for Gatwick is quite significant because it is lower than most people in the market expected and so, therefore, will look like a good deal.