`American scientists have identified yet another improbable accident waiting to happen. Don’t, they warn today, ever let your baby swallow two magnets at the same time.
One magnet, no problem, says Alan Oestreich of Cincinnati children’s hospital, writing in the latest issue of the journal Radiology. [..]
Two magnets, however, could set up a potentially fatal attraction. “Any time more than one magnet passes beyond the stomach of a child, urgent surgical consideration is required,” he warned.’
`The Boston Police Department “accepts full responsibility” for the death of a 21-year-old college student killed by a police projectile fired to disperse crowds celebrating the Boston Red Sox victory over the New York Yankees. [..]
Preliminary findings indicate that Victoria Snelgrove, a journalism student at Emerson College, was hit in the eye by a projectile that disperses pepper spray on impact, Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O’Toole said Thursday.’
`The Paradise Valley Unified School District is considering testing students as young as those in seventh grade for drugs. [..]
Gina Jeanette, who has a daughter at Sunrise Middle School and a son at Horizon High School, supports random drug testing for all students starting in seventh grade.
“It’s crucial to hit them at that age,” she said. She said she was shocked to hear that when her daughter was in sixth grade, some of the students in her class were experimenting with drugs.’
`International access to the official re-election website of Us President George W. Bush (www.georgewbush.com) has been blocked. Surfers from outside the US trying to reach the site receive an “access denied” message. [..]
Since Monday morning (25 October) GeorgeWBush.com began rejecting web requests from outside the United States, Netcraft reports. Those outside America can only reach the site through US based proxies (such as proxify.com) but not through European proxies, Reg readers report.’
`The feline, of the dark tiger variety, wandered into the Cinergy substation north of town, darkening many city homes and most city TV sets. And then — after an unhealthy jolt of electricity had coursed through its body — the cat wandered away. [..]
“He seemed to be OK, but it seemed to have a bald butt,” [an animal control officer] said. “We could smell cooking fur.”‘
`Relax! There is no *God* and your are not going to Hell.’
`The micro-claymore is a small device designed to deliver a short-ranged, dispersed payload from a concealed location. The mine is created from commonly available office materials. It may be either manually fired or fired by a tripline, depending on the orientation of the firing pin.’
`Two people have been charged with holding six mentally ill patients at group homes and making them work against their will, authorities said.
A man and a woman were arrested Tuesday under a federal law banning involuntary servitude after 20 FBI agents searched two group homes in Newton, Kansas.’
`The disappearance of nearly 380 tons of sophisticated explosives in Iraq remained in question Tuesday and continued to be an issue in the presidential campaign. [..]
The Iraqi government notified U.N. nuclear monitors in early October that an explosives stockpile was missing from the Al Qaqaa arms depot, blaming the disappearance on looting that followed the collapse of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s government in April 2003.’
`On October 21, Iraq will pay $200m in war reparations to some of the richest countries and corporations in the world. [..]
Here is a small sample of who has been getting “reparation” awards from Iraq: Halliburton ($18m), Bechtel ($7m), Mobil ($2.3m), Shell ($1.6m), Nestlé ($2.6m), Pepsi ($3.8m), Philip Morris ($1.3m), Sheraton ($11m), Kentucky Fried Chicken ($321,000) and Toys R Us ($189,449). In the vast majority of cases, these corporations did not claim that Saddam’s forces damaged their property in Kuwait – only that they “lost profits” or, in the case of American Express, experienced a “decline in business” because of the invasion and occupation of Kuwait.’
`An unemployed ex-gangster in Japan in love with a 15-year-old girl has chopped off his little finger and mailed it to her father twice in an unsuccessful bid to prove his commitment, police have said.
Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, 36, was arrested on Monday after the teenager’s father told police the finger had been sent to him again, after marking it return to sender the first time, a police spokesman said.’
`An embarrassing spelling mistake has caused Nova Scotia’s Health Department to recall thousands of pins meant to support the annual flu-shot campaign.
The letter “L” was omitted from the word “public” on pins given out to health-care workers.
The pins are attributed to the “Office of Health Promotion and Pubic Health Services.”‘
`A Texas judge welcomed fugitive back to her court, throwing him a party that included balloons and a cake. Then, she sent him to prison for life.
“You just made my day when I heard you had finally come home,” Dallas Judge Faith Johnson told Billy Wayne Williams, who was captured last week after nearly a year on the run. [..]
“It seems like everyone wants to have a party, and it’s fun for you people, but not for me,” Williams said as he was led away in handcuffs.’
`The Bush Administration is trying to stifle scientific evidence of the dangers of global warming in an effort to keep the public uninformed, a NASA scientist said.
“In my more than three decades in government, I have never seen anything approaching the degree to which information flow from scientists to the public has been screened and controlled as it is now,” James Hansen told a University of Iowa audience on Tuesday.’
`They’ve fought with fists. They’ve thrown paper at each other. And on Tuesday, Taiwan’s rowdy lawmakers had an old-fashioned food fight.
Legislators began chucking white cardboard takeout lunch boxes full of rice, meat, hard-boiled eggs and vegetables at each other during a heated debate over whether Taiwan should spend billions on weapons sold by the United States.’
Jump from electron to electron.
`The Kyoto Protocol deal on the management of global climate change has overcome its final hurdle in Russia, setting the stage for the sweeping environmental treaty to come into force next year. [..]
Russia’s adoption is the final step needed among major industrial countries after the treaty was rejected by the US, which alone accounted for 36 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions in 1990.’
`Authorities said the suspects broke into the facility on Tuesday and stole a jar of the highly toxic substance. They allegedly spilled 10 pounds on the company’s site and another roughly 10 pounds in the driveway and parking lot of the apartments.
Police said the suspects admitted to playing with the mercury, which forms small beads when released in liquid form. One of the suspects told a TV news crew that one of the four had dipped a cigarette into the mercury.’
`A University of Florida scientist has created a living “brain” of cultured rat cells that now controls an F-22 fighter jet flight simulator. [..]
[the scientist] said “Over time, these stimulations modify the network’s response such that the neurons slowly (over the course of 15 minutes) learn to control the aircraft. The end result is a neural network that can fly the plane to produce relatively stable straight and level flight.”
At present, the brain can control the pitch and roll of the F-22 in various virtual weather conditions, ranging from hurricane-force winds to clear blue skies.’
`The battle of the bats is on again in Charters Towers but this time, the council has decided to put aside scare tactics and instead try to bribe the bats out of town. [..]
Mayor Brian Beveridge said helicopters would be used to “herd” the bats towards the habitat after they had been scared into the air by noisy bird frighteners.’
`Another product connected to Mr. T, the king of over-exposure. One day I’ll have to write an article about this guy and his paralyzingly insane line of merchandise, but for now we’ll settle with just a couple of items. First up is the Chia Mr. T: a rubber head in which you put seeds. After a while, you will see a green mohawk grow from the scalp of your favourite bad-ass!’
A friend of mine made something like this years ago. Gave me a scar or two. 🙂
(5meg wmv)
`1. Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she’s yours.
— (Deuteronomy 21:11-13)
2. Find a prostitute and marry her.
— Hosea (Hosea 1:1-3)’
`An Australian court ruled Wednesday that a convicted heroin dealer can claim a 220,000 Australian dollar (US$165 million; euro 129 million) tax deduction for money that was stolen during a drug deal.’
Whoever wrote the article isn’t that good with converting currency. [shrug] 🙂
`Because so much is wasted in our society, a freegan lifestyle can be one of great abundance — food, books, magazines, comic books, newspapers, videos, music (CDs, cassettes, records, etc), carpets, musical instruments, clothing, cash (for those few things that can’t be found in the trash), rollerblades, razor scooters, furniture, vitamins, electronics, pet care products, games, toys, bicycles, artwork, and just about any other type of consumer good can be found in the discards of retailers, institutions, and individuals, simply by rummaging through trash bins, dumpsters, and trash bags for entirely useable, clean, safe items in perfect or near-perfect condition.’
`Considered the worst filmmaker of all time, Ed Wood won a cult following after his death and now fans can see his long-lost last film “Necromania,” a work some say shows he was so bad that he was brilliant.
But it’s not for the faint-hearted. The 1971 movie is a porn film documenting the sexual enlightenment of a young couple at the hands of a coven of witches.’
‘The result means the government will have the power to push through changes such as the full sale of Telstra and watering down unfair dismissal laws.
Both initiatives have been rejected several times by the Senate in the past.’
followup to this graffiti, kinda. 🙂
`A sex-mad woman attacked her neighbours after they rejected a sleazy wife-swap romp.
Julie Rose, 37, and hubby William, 40, slipped a note under their new Portuguese neighbours’ door, inviting them for a foursome. [..]
[the neighbour] told magistrates: “He explained to me that he wanted to fuck my wife and I would fuck his wife. I pushed him away because ours is a house in which there was respect.”‘
