Clipmarks | usmc6531's clips

Church Donates $145K to Underpaid Officers

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:23:31 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

ODESSA, TX — A local church has given $145,000 to the Odessa Police Department for the money to distributed among “underpaid” officers, a church leader said.

The Rev. Don Caywood of Odessa Christian Faith Center handed the money over to police Chief Chris Pipes at a Sunday service. The department will distribute $1,000 checks to 145 employees.

“It became obvious our men and women in blue are underpaid,” Caywood told the congregation during the service.

The donation also reflected the community’s respect for police in the aftermath of the September deaths of three officers who were gunned down in the line of duty.

“We want their morale to soar,” Caywood said in a story for Monday editions of the Odessa American.

Pipes said he was amazed by the gift.

“The magnitude of thank you equal to the magnitude of the gift … I don’t have those words,” Pipes said.

Colossal Four-Galaxy Collision Discovered

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:13:29 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Four galaxies are crashing into each other in one of the largest collisions ever seen, scientists say.

The galactic crash was spotted by astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which detected a fan-shaped plume coming from a cluster of galaxies nearly five billion light-years away.

When fully merged, the new galaxy will be up to ten times as large as the Milky Way, astronomers said.

Tags: galaxy, universe, space, science

Six New Species Found In The Congo

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:11:38 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Six new animal species have been found in remote forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), conservationists announced yesterday.

A two-month expedition, led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), discovered a tiny bat (see photo below), a rodent, two shrews, and two frogs previously unknown to science.

"If we can find six new species in such a short period, it makes you wonder what else is out there," Andrew Plumptre, director of WCS's Albertine Rift Program, said in a press release.

The Albertine Rift region includes the Misotshi-Kabogo Forest and nearby Marungu Massif along the western banks of Lake Tanganyika, the long skinny lake between the DRC and Tanzania (see a DRC map).

These forests have been off-limits to researchers for decades because of violence and instability in the region.

Tags: science, biology, species, research, discovery

Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition high res pics

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:07:24 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: www.engadget.com

We're not going to mince words -- this post goes out to everybody in the audience that wanted a little closer look at the Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition console due out next month. Enjoy the eye candy!

Tags: xbox, gaming, halo, entertainment

Overweight couples mating boosts obesity

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:58:41 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: www.stuff.co.nz

Overweight couples mating boosts obesity

People select partners of a similar size to them, according to scientists, who say the trend is contributing to Britain's obesity epidemic.

Scientists at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, and Aberdeen University found that people select mates with a similar amount of body fat to their own – passing on a "double dose" of genes that make someone susceptible to being obese.

Previous studies have shown that people "assortatively mate" – select partners with characteristics similar to our own – on the basis of age, height, social class, education and race.

Researchers have also shown a link between couples and their body mass indices – an indirect measure of body fatness.

But Dr Diane Jackson, of the Rowett Research Institute, said: "It has also been suspected that BMI may be linked to other things that people choose their partner by, such as social class or age.

Tags: obesity, mating, overweight, science

Man described as a top spammer arrested

Thu, 31 May 2007 15:04:05 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

SEATTLE - A 27-year-old man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers was arrested Wednesday, and federal authorities said computer users across the Web could notice a decrease in the amount of junk e-mail.

Robert Alan Soloway is accused of using networks of compromised "zombie" computers to send out millions upon millions of spam e-mails.

"He's one of the top 10 spammers in the world," said Tim Cranton, a Microsoft Corp. lawyer who is senior director of the company's Worldwide Internet Safety Programs. "He's a huge problem for our customers. This is a very good day."

A federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

Soloway pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to all charges after a judge determined that — even with four bank accounts seized by the government — he was sufficiently well off to pay for his own lawyer.

Tags: spamming, spammer, internet, email

Clues to Pirate Gold Unearthed in Florida, Treasure Hunters Claim

Fri, 25 May 2007 13:44:01 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Treasure hunters digging on a remote bluff overlooking Florida's Suwannee River claim they have found tantalizing evidence that pirate gold might be at the bottom of a muddy, 13-foot (4-meter) hole.

"We've found mahogany wood samples, flecks of gold, and gold all over the diver's dive suit [after diving in the hole]," said Tommy Todd, a St. Petersburg landscaper who owns the property being excavated.

Workers drilling at the site said they also found a sheet of gold wrapped around the drill bit when they withdrew it. Todd was not immediately able to show evidence of these finds.

"We know there's something down there," he said.

Todd and his partners, whom he declined to name, may be closing in on a treasure that—according to local lore—was buried in the area some 200 years ago by Jean LaFitte.

LaFitte roamed the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century as a smuggler and privateer, though he reportedly described himself an entrepreneur and defender of American freedom.

Tags: treasure, gold, history, treasure hunters, news

Comet Wiped Out Early North American Culture, Animals, Study Says.

Fri, 25 May 2007 13:41:49 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

A comet exploded over North America about 13,000 years ago, causing a long bout of climate cooling, according to a controversial new theory presented today.

The extraterrestrial impact may help explain massive mammal die-offs and the demise of one of the earliest American cultures.

It would also be the first known extraterrestrial impact to affect modern humans.

Evidence for the impact comes from a thin layer of sediment found throughout North America, said James Kennett, a geologist at the University of California in Santa Barbara.

"There are materials with particular chemistries in that layer that collectively provide very strong evidence that the layer was produced by this extraterrestrial impact," he said in a telephone interview.

Kennett said the layer contains tiny spheres of carbon and metals, bits of diamonds, and extraterrestrial concentrations of helium 3 and the element iridium.

The layer dates to 12,900 years ago, he added.

Tags: comet, science, space, news, north america

Report: 70 Percent of Insurgents in Iraq Come From Gulf States Via Syria

Fri, 25 May 2007 13:39:46 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

KUWAIT CITY — Seventy percent of insurgents fighting in Iraq come from Gulf countries via Syria where they are provided with forged passports, an Iraqi intelligence officer alleged in a published report Wednesday.

"They, according to their own confessions, gather in mosques in the said (Gulf) states to travel to Syria using their passports, taking with them phone numbers of individuals waiting for them there," Brig. Gen. Rashid Fleih, the assistant undersecretary for intelligence of Iraq's Interior Ministry, told Kuwait's Al-Qabas daily in an interview.

Fleih did not provide more specific details about the alleged insurgents or which countries they come from. But he said once in Syria, the alleged insurgents are transported to the al-Qaim border area. Individuals provide the men them with new passports after destroying the old ones, Fleih alleged in an interview from Baghdad.

Tags: insurgents, terrorism, syria, news

Iran: No Halt to Nuclear Program

Fri, 25 May 2007 13:37:01 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: townhall.com

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ruled out even a brief halt in Iran's nuclear program, saying Thursday it would hand a victory to the country's enemies and undercut the Islamic state's goal of becoming a world power.

Ahmadinejad's latest salvo _ apparently aimed at Washington and Western allies _ followed Wednesday's report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog that said Iran has expanded its uranium enrichment program in defiance of U.N. demands for a suspension. The finding could set the stage for a third round of Security Council sanctions.

"The enemy wants Iran to surrender so it won't have any say in the world," Ahmadinejad told a gathering of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. "If we stop for a while, they (Iran's enemies) will achieve their goals."

Iran insists its nuclear program seeks only to develop energy, and has touted it as a sign of technological prowess. The United States and allies contend Iran is secretly aiming to develop nuclear arms.

Tags: iran, nuclear program, terrorism

Dan Rather Goes Hollywood ... Sort Of

Thu, 17 May 2007 13:42:03 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: www.newsmax.com

Dan Rather going Hollywood? There were gasps of surprise at ABC's fall-schedule announcement this week when the veteran TV newsman popped up as an actor in clips for "Dirty Sexy Money," a new drama about a wealthy, misbehaving New York family.

The role wasn't exactly a stretch. Rather plays a reporter at a fancy dinner party pressing a politician, portrayed by William Baldwin, about his future political plans.

Rather initially said no when the show's executive producer and director, Peter Horton, called to ask if he'd be interested. News people occasionally pop up in fictional settings, like CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday's "Gilmore Girls" series finale, but it is frowned upon at CBS News - his former home for decades - and Rather had never done it.

Then he gave it a second thought. It might be an easy way to remind people that he's still working, with his own weekly news show on HD Net.

Tags: dan rather, hollywood

A joint before the joint? Prison-bound Paris pictured smoking cannabis

Wed, 16 May 2007 22:52:37 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

The 26-year-old heiress was photographed allegedly smoking a joint while backstage at last month's Coachella music festival.

Paris attended the event with a group of pals weeks before her court hearing, but clearly wasn't concerned about keeping out of trouble ahead of the case.

Hilton now faces a 45-day jail term for for driving while her licence was suspended.

As it stands, Hilton - who has appealed to the Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger for a pardon via an online petition - is scheduled to be admitted to jail on June 5.

Tags: paris hilton, jail, marijuana, cannabis

Obama Called Hypocrite for wife's Wal-Mart Link

Wed, 16 May 2007 22:35:33 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

As a fluent public speaker, independent-minded wife, devoted mother and professional woman, Michelle Obama has been hailed as an invaluable asset to her husband Barack's mission to capture the Democratic 2008 presidential nomination.

Yet, while her style and performance are winning plaudits on the campaign trail, a little-reported business interest of Mrs Obama's has opened her husband up to one of the criticisms that politicians fear most - the taint of hypocrisy.

The apparent contradiction between Sen Obama's political calculation to join the Wal-Mart-bashing lobby, and his wife's profitable role with a company that makes money from Wal-Mart, is being closely scrutinised by "opposition" research teams working for rival White House candidates, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

They are collecting information about Mrs Obama's Treehouse ties, anticipating that - in a country where "going dirty" is a political way of life - the link may provide valuable ammunition in the election campaign.

Tags: wal-mart, walmart, obama, politics, corruption, news

Human Ancestor Had Lime-Size Brain

Wed, 16 May 2007 21:58:52 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

An extraordinarily complete skull of a 30-million-year-old human ancestor once held a brain about the size of a lime, according to a new study.

The skull—of a species related to apes, humans, and monkeys—is evidence that the more advanced and bigger brains of African primates developed later than previously believed, researchers said.

Elwyn Simons, a primatologist at Duke University, and colleagues discovered only the second intact cranium of Aegyptopithecus zeuxis found to date.

The skull is "extraordinarily unusual," he said, mainly because it's complete and uncrushed.

The completeness of the fossil skull allowed Simons and colleagues to take computerized x-rays and create a virtual model of the specimen's tiny brain.

Based on analyses of previous fossil skulls collected at the dig site outside Cairo, Egypt, scientists had assumed the ancient monkey's brain was larger and more advanced.

Tags: ancestors, humans, brain, science

Toxic Frogs Get Their Poison From Mites

Wed, 16 May 2007 21:57:47 GMT

clipped by: usmc6531

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Tiny mites give some Central American poison frogs most of their toxic sting, researchers have discovered.

Many tropical frog species secrete compounds known as alkaloids to protect themselves from predators and prevent infections.

Scientists knew that frogs don't produce the toxic compounds themselves, but rather acquire them from their diet. For instance, poison frogs raised on a diet of fruit flies—which contain no alkaloids—quickly lose their dangerous slime. (Related: "Poison Frogs Losing Their Toxicity, Study Suggests" [November 7, 2006].)

But until recently, said Ralph Saporito of Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, "it's been a mystery what the dietary sources are."

Ants are known alkaloid producers, so previously they had been assumed to be the major source of the more than 800 known alkaloid compounds present in poison frogs.

Tags: frogs, toxic, nature, mites