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French Atomic Bomb Test Photos from 1968

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:28:58 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Never-before-seen 40-year-old pictures of French atomic bomb tests have surfaced on the internet and they are simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. The epitome of historical human achievement and wanton destruction combined in one split-second.

These are four scanned pictures of hardcopies I possess of the French nuclear test codenamed Canopus, which was fired on 24th August 1968 in the Fangataufa Atoll. The French army had those pictures taken on site.

Full-size links: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Clip Source: flickr.com

This shot was taken in 1968 by the French army in the Fangataufa atoll. Codenamed Canopus, it yielded 2600 kt.

Although this picture, like many of the series, is a work of the French Army (as far as I know) this is an original scan from a hardcopy I posess, and processed to remove dust and scratches.

A strange view on such paradise-like landscapes.

Clip Source: flickr.com

Tags: bomb, atomic, nuclear, blast, mushroom, cloud, 1968, french, france, photos

Homo Ludens: Why We Get High

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:03:16 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Thought provoking - one may say, playful - article. Worth reading. Fun.

Clip Source: www.bruceeisner.com

A Dutch professor, JohanHuizinga, in the 'Thirties commented that humans might better have been called Homo Ludens than Homo Sapien. Homo Sapien means thinking man. while Homo Lundens names our species playful man.

Almost all of you have gotten "high." You might call it "getting stoned" or "tripping" or "having a session" or "going on vision quest" or "partying" but the urge to switch channels and move to another and less usual state of consciousness is as old as our species itself. Actually the quest for intoxication is even older!

Siegel proposes that after food, drink and sex, "Intoxication is the fourth drive." He demonstrates through zoological and sociological evidence, that the urge to get high is among the most basic of motivations.

Human beings it seems, are born with the need for periodic variations in consciousness.

The attractiveness of drugs is that they provide an easy quick route to these experiences.

Tags: intoxication, hulzinga, homo ludens, sport, play, drugs

Tallest Dog Meets Smallest Dog (Great Pics)

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 06:33:02 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: 42" vs. 4" = ZOWIE!

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Despite their radical difference in size, these two dogs have something in common - Gibson the Great Dane and Boo Boo the toy Chihuahua are both world record holders.

Measuring a whopping 107cm, gentle giant Gibson was named tallest dog back in 2004. Joining him in the hall of fame for 2007 is tiny Boo Boo who only measures 10.16cm tall and is smaller than Gibson's head.

The two celebrity hounds, who were both bred in America, met up to celebrate Guinness World Records Day 2007 outside the White House in Washington D.C.

The tiny mutt was only about the size of a thumb when she was born; so small, in fact, that she had to be fed with an eye dropper every two hours before she could eventually nurse a bottle. Now she is a diminuitive diva.

Owner Sandy Hall lives with her dog Gibson in Sacramento, California. The Great Dane is also the world's tallest therapy dog and regularly visits children's hospitals.

Tags: dog, dogs, record

Pat and Rudy (comic)

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:08:33 GMT

clipped by: ljsdesign

Clip Source: cagle.msnbc.com

Tags: comic, discrimination, equality, humor, just wrong, news

12 year-old Kills Herself Over Pair of Shoes

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:38:01 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: More sad human truth behind the world's 'booming economy'.

Clip Source: news.independent.co.uk

All she wanted was a bicycle, a pair of new shoes and to be able to finish her schooling. But her family was dirt poor, and eventually the 12-year-old Filipina girl grew so demoralised that she hanged herself.

Mariannet Amper left a letter under her pillow describing her failed hopes and aspirations. Her family also found a diary in which she described the privations of a life with no money in Davao City, on southern Mindanao island.

The night before she killed herself with a nylon rope in their modest hut, which has no electricity or running water, Mariannet had asked her father, Isabelo, for 100 pesos (about £1) for a school project. But he had no money.

In the Philippines, nearly 14 per cent of the 87 million population lives on less than a dollar a day, despite government claims that the economy is booming.

Tags: phillipines, poverty, economic lies

US smokers face threat of being fired

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:16:04 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: outrageous

Clip Source: physorg.com

Europeans who complain about having to step outside in mid-winter to have a cigarette or not being able to enjoy a quick puff with their espresso should spare a thought for their US counterparts.

In the United States, you can lose your job for lighting up -- even on your own time.

That's what happened to Scott Rodrigues of Massachusetts, and he is suing the Scotts lawncare company for violating his privacy and civil rights.

"It's a freedom thing: 90 percent of Americans support me and in Europe it's more like 100 percent," said Rodrigues, who claims that since he was fired last year he has featured in newspaper articles in Britain and appeared on radio shows in Poland and Lithuania.

A poll published last week showed that most Americans think Rodrigues's firing was unfair. Only seven percent of Americans think employers should be allowed to sack workers who smoke, the survey said.

Rodrigues says Scotts told him when he was hired that they were trying to become a non-smoking company.

Tags: smoking, us, law, civil liberties, freedom

Science versus Irrational Scientism

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:47:10 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Great article, difficult to clip.

Clip Source: www.tikkun.org

distinguish between “science” and “scientism. ”Science is value neutral.

Scientism ascribes value to some kinds of knowledge and activity, and withholds legitimacy from other kinds: it is the functional equivalent of a religion, telling us what is and is not sacred. Science can help us. Scientism has failed us.

“Scientism is the worldview held by a majority of people in the western world that claims that all that ‘is’ and all that‘can be known’ is verifiable or falsifiable through the scientific method, and that which cannot be so measured is simply opinion, belief, or fantasy. It cannot be known and sensibly talked about and hence should be relegated to the private sphere.” It is the contention of many spiritual progressives that this scientism has taken over and dominates the world.

If science saves us from religion gone bad, who or what will save us from science gone bad?

affirm science, reject scientism.

Talking in Different Universes of Thought

Tags: science, scientism, discourse universes, spirituality

OMG!! A Stupid Filter . . .

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:40:15 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: money.cnn.com

Finally, software developers are building a filter that blocks unintelligible comments, writes Fortune's Josh Quittner.

Internet veterans have long complained about the steady erosion of civility -- and worse, intelligence -- in online discourse

It's a serious problem. Fools and bandwidth hogs have a way of driving traffic away from the most successful online destinations, a phenomenon that could ruin the emerging social networks and user-generated aggregators like Digg.

But there's still hope for intelligent life on the Internet. A team of software developers is hard at work on a "stupid filter" that promises to do to idiotic online comments what a spam filter does to junk and unwanted e-mail: put it in a place where it can't hurt anyone anymore.

Tags: one, clipper, would, not, be, able, to, comment, anymore

Stripper Spanks Teen In Surprise Blunder

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 01:32:05 GMT

clipped by: Nerfzilla
clipper's remarks: Don't you hate that when that happens?

Clip Source: news.sky.com

Stripper Spanks Teen In Surprise Blunder

A teenage schoolboy was pulled around his classroom on a lead and spanked by a stripper after a birthday surprise blunder.

The pupil's mum had ordered an agency to give her son a "surprise" on his 16th birthday - and the teacher had even agreed to film the prank.

But it all went wrong when the unnamed company sent a stripper dressed as a policewoman instead of a "gorillagram" - in what it called a booking error.

One witness told reporters: "She asked the lad to stand up, which he did, and told him he had been a very naughty boy because he hadn't been doing his homework.

Tags: birthday present, strippers

Key to False Memories Uncovered

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:19:53 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: physorg.com

Duke University Medical Center neuroscientists say the places a memory is processed in the brain may determine how someone can be absolutely certain of a past event that never occurred.

These findings could help physicians better appreciate the memory changes that accompany normal aging or even lead to tools for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, according to Duke neuroscientist Roberto Cabeza, Ph.D.

Information retrieved from memory is simultaneously processed in two specific regions of the brain, each of which focuses on a different aspect of an past event. The medial temporal lobe (MTL), located at the base of the brain, focuses on specific facts about the event. The frontal parietal network (FPN), located at the top of the brain, is more likely to process the global gist of the event.

The specific brain area accessed when one tries to remember something can ultimately determine whether or not we think the memory is true or false, the researchers found.

Tags: neuroscience, brain, memory, false memories, health

Get Him The Hell Off This List

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:04:44 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

John Anderson of Minneapolis, who turned 6 on July 4, is among those who have been inconvenienced.

He was first stopped at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in 2004, when his family took him for his first airplane ride to Disney World. "We checked in at the ticket counter, and the woman said in a stern voice, 'Who is John Anderson?' " says his mother, Christine Anderson. "I pointed to my stroller."

Christine Anderson says she has tried repeatedly to get her child's name cleared, but she can't find the right forms on the TSA website and none have come in the mail after officials promised to send them. "No one can give any answers to why my son is on the list or really how to get him off," she says.

Tags: please, big, daddy

Beware Of The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:18:30 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.opednews.com

As a progressive Christian it is often difficult to watch those who take the bully pulpit in the name of Christ but apparently forgot to bring Jesus along for their ride.

The stunning events of today should give all Christians a reason to pause and remember that we need to be ever so vigilant in who it is that we choose to follow.

That aside, no one can discount the clout Robertson has in Christian circles.

Budget woes impoverishing generations of people? Nope, doesn’t matter. Endless wars killing hundreds of thousands of God’s creations? Nope, doesn’t matter. Raping of the environment, pillaging our educational system, kids without healthcare, genocide in the Sudan? Nope, doesn’t matter

Christians were led to believe that the only issues that would matter to Jesus Himself, would be gay marriage and abortion.

They have embraced a political agenda over the agenda of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ deserves better than the hypocrisy of man.

Tags: what, a, hyocrite

For This Name Cant Be Taken From Skwirlinator

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 05:52:04 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: s59.photobucket.com

Tags: award, helmet, thanks

Don't Throw Out Your Broken iPod

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:31:25 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

A FEW months ago, Stephen Ironside, a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, confronted a minor but modern tragedy: the iPod that filled his life with song stopped working.

The device was out of warranty, and Apple would not fix it free. So he left it in a drawer until he happened to read a blog posting on CrunchGear.com that described how he might fix it — with a small, folded piece of paper. Mr. Ironside celebrated by posting thanks on the blog: “I’ve been on CDs for months. You saved my life (and my iPod).”

Some sites like macfixit.com, fixmyxp.com and macosxhints.com are devoted to a single product, while others like avsforum.com sponsor debates on a big product area, in this case home theaters, televisions and stereos. People with laptops that have suddenly gone blank can turn to www.notebookforums.com or notebookreview.com, and there are even a few sites like www.highdefforum.com for fixing TVs.

Tags: fixing, things, for, free, turns, me, on

So Who is confused?

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 07:26:25 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: www.blogriot.com

Tags: funny