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Tomato Fight in Spain (photos)
Photographs from the 2008 Tomatina celebration in Bunol, Spain on Wednesday, August 27, 2008.
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Dogs smell cancer in patients' breath, study shows
Excerpt:
Ordinary household dogs with only a few weeks of basic "puppy training" learned to accurately distinguish between breath samples of lung- and breast-cancer patients and healthy subjects.
"Our study provides compelling evidence that cancers hidden beneath the skin can be detected simply by [dogs] examining the odors of a person's breath," said Michael McCulloch, who led the research.
Early detection of cancers greatly improves a patient's survival chances, and researchers hope that man's best friend, the dog, can become an important tool in early screening.
The new study, slated to appear in the March issue of the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies, was conducted by the Pine Street Foundation, a cancer research organization in San Anselmo, California.
Why doesn't the medical community try to verify and implement appropriate testing for patients with elusive diagnosis? Excerpt: ... more -
An Invitation To "We The People"...
Farewell 43 is the first Presidential Farewell Gift Book, where anyone who chooses to can write a personal farewell message to the departing President of the United States.
What you choose to say is completely up to you. It's your message, to your President.
Everyone is encouraged to participate.
Here’s how it works... Farewell 43 is the first Presidential Farewell Gift Book, where anyone who chooses to can write a personal farewell message to the dep... more -
Biden and the anti-war constituency
Stephen Zunes: Obama's anti-Iraq war stance wiped out by choosing hawk Biden.
Stephen Zunes is a professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus ( http://www.fpif.org ). From 1996 to 1999, he served as chair of the Board of Peaceworkers, a US-based group supporting the non-violent struggle of the Kosovar Albanians and other non-violent movements and peacemakers in areas of conflict. Stephen Zunes: Obama's anti-Iraq war stance wiped out by choosing hawk Biden. ... more -
Polls, the media and profit
Barry Kay: Polling is a business; the interest of pollsters is not to educate the public. Part 3
Dr Barry Kay teaches a seminar on voting behaviour, as well as courses on U.S. Government and Public Policy in the Political Science Dept., at Wilfrid Laurier University. His research tends to be in the area of elections and public opinion. He is a past member of the Canadian National Election Study team, and recent publications pertain to electoral systems, public opinion polling, and the impact of single-issue interest groups. He has developed a model for projecting parliamentary seat distributions from popular vote or opinion polls, that is posted on the LISPOP page of the Laurier website. He is also a political analyst with Global Television, for their national election coverage.
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89243737_polls_the_media_and_w...
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89243770_polls_and_racism_in_a... Barry Kay: Polling is a business; the interest of pollsters is not to educate the public. Part 3 ... more -
4 -Day Party For Olympians
FOUR days of celebrations for the Trinidad and Tobago’s 50-member Olympic team are being planned by Government.
The Government announced this yesterday as officials of the Olympic team returned to Trinidad from Beijing, China, early yesterday morning.
It was also announced that the events to honour the Olympians will get into motion when officials are able to get all members of the team in Trinidad at the same time.
It is understood that 100-metres silver medallist Richard Thompson and finalist Marc Burns will not be returning home with the team as both went straight to Zurich, Switzerland to compete in the Golden League Grand Prix over the next two weeks. However, swimmers George Bovell III and his brother Nicholas were among those who returned yesterday.
The celebrations will begin with a motorcade throughout the streets of Trinidad and Tobago where the athletes will be greeted by fans and supporters. The athletes will be escorted to a central venue where they will address members of the public.
The four-day celebration will also include a meeting with President George Maxwell Richards and other top government officials.
Government is also encouraging the nation’s communities to be part of the welcome home for the athletes. Community members are being asked to put up banners and flags to cheer on the athlete who lives in their area.
The athletes are also expected to be rewarded handsomely as Government has already implemented a reward system. The Government said the right system has to be put in place to ensure that there is improvement in all sports. Government also revealed that it will take a page from the Jamaica athletic system to help improve local athletics. The system will include implementing the right methodology to sustain good performances in the future.
Meanwhile, Bovell yesterday said he was satisfied with his performances and times at the Olympics.
But the six-foot five-inch swimmer who earned a bronze medal at the Athens, Greece Olympics four years ago was quick to point out however that his real source of happiness at the games was seeing Thompson and other members of the athletic team perform successfully.
The performances are an indication that Trinidad and Tobago can do much better, in four years time at London 2012. The lanky swimmer was generally happy for Caribbean athletes- noting that the region always had the talent to achieve such a feat. FOUR days of celebrations for the Trinidad and Tobago’s 50-member Olympic team are being planned by Government. ... more -
Polls and racism in America
Barry Kay on polling, racism and the presidential election. Part 2
Dr Barry Kay teaches a seminar on voting behaviour, as well as courses on U.S. Government and Public Policy in the Political Science Dept., at Wilfrid Laurier University. His research tends to be in the area of elections and public opinion. He is a past member of the Canadian National Election Study team, and recent publications pertain to electoral systems, public opinion polling, and the impact of single-issue interest groups. He has developed a model for projecting parliamentary seat distributions from popular vote or opinion polls, that is posted on the LISPOP page of the Laurier website. He is also a political analyst with Global Television, for their national election coverage.
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89243737_polls_the_media_and_w...
See Part 3 at: http://current.com/items/89243785_polls_the_media_and_p... Barry Kay on polling, racism and the presidential election. Part 2 ... more -
Test your erotic knowledge
With nicknames such as 'The Glastonbury of Sex' and 'The Adult Oscars' it's no wonder the Night of The Senses is considered one of the sauciest events in the UK calendar.
Now in its 15th year, this unique erotic ball on September 12 rewards academics, artists, authors, performers and photographers for their contribution to all aspects of sex culture. The proceeds go to Outsiders, a charity led by Dr Tuppy Owen, which helps disabled people find love. And after the awards, you can delve into the many 'playrooms' and party the night away.
You won't find the event screened on national television but you may know more about the awards than you thought, so we've put together an alternative pub quiz. We've included the answers so you can impress (or scare) your friends with your saucy knowledge.
To try questions click the link. With nicknames such as 'The Glastonbury of Sex' and 'The Adult Oscars' it's no wonder the Night of The Senses... more -
Polls, the media and who will win in 2008
Barry Kay on the accuracy of polling and the presidential elections. Part 1
Dr Barry Kay teaches a seminar on voting behaviour, as well as courses on U.S. Government and Public Policy in the Political Science Dept., at Wilfrid Laurier University. His research tends to be in the area of elections and public opinion. He is a past member of the Canadian National Election Study team, and recent publications pertain to electoral systems, public opinion polling, and the impact of single-issue interest groups. He has developed a model for projecting parliamentary seat distributions from popular vote or opinion polls, that is posted on the LISPOP page of the Laurier website. He is also a political analyst with Global Television, for their national election coverage.
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89243770_polls_and_racism_in_a...
See Part 3 at: http://current.com/items/89243785_polls_the_media_and_p... Barry Kay on the accuracy of polling and the presidential elections. Part 1 ... more -
Giant Spider terrorising family from Britain
A terrified family has been forced out of their house by a huge spider after it hitched a ride to Britain from Afghanistan with a soldier.
Mother-of-three Lorraine Griffiths says the camel spider killed her pet dog and she refuses to go back to her home until it is caught.
The creature, which can grow up to 15cm (6in) and run at 10mph, is believed to have come back with her husband, paratrooper Rodney, from Helmand province.
Click link for more of this. A terrified family has been forced out of their house by a huge spider after it hitched a ride to Britain from Afghanistan with a sold... more -
Laura Flanders on Main St
Laura Flanders: We are in a much bigger fix than any one administration can handle.
Laura Flanders is an Air America radio host and journalist. She is the author of Bushwomen: Tales of a Cynical Species and Real Majority, Media Minority: The Cost of Sidelining Women in Reporting. Flanders was the Founding Director of the Women's Desk at the media-watch group FAIR. Laura Flanders: We are in a much bigger fix than any one administration can handle. ... more -
Poor struggle as rat meat prices soar
The price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia this year as inflation puts other meat beyond the reach of poor people, officials say.Can you help. The price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia this year as inflation puts other meat beyond the reach of poor people, officials say... more
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Bill Clinton Will Not Stay In Denver For Obama's Acceptance Speech : They Bot...
Bill Clinton still feels that he and his wife, Hillary, got a raw deal this spring during the democratic primaries. According to sources, Clinton is still angry with the media for how they treated his wife, Senatur Kennedy, and at Barack Obama for what happen in the South Carolina primaries. He blames Barack for being accused of being called a bigot by some African Americans, regarding the statement that he made about, Obama being a kid in fairyland stating,that " he was not big enough for the job. Clinton told his sources that he will not stay for the presidential acceptance speech.
So much for unity. Bill Clinton still feels that he and his wife, Hillary, got a raw deal this spring during the democratic primaries. According to sourc... more -
Women and property are the cause of male agression
The reason why aggressive men tend to get the girl has been found by scientists. The hunger for women, along with property, are blamed for the evolution of belligerence and bravery by a study of the mathematics of warfare.
Today's research chimes with the findings of earlier genetic studies that revealed an estimated 16 million men today, plus an uncounted number of women, are the direct descendants of Genghis Khan, the 13th century Mongolian warlord who carved out a vast empire.
Other work has shown Viking genetic signature from the frontiers of their empire, such as the Scottish Western Isles, the Isle of Skye and Iceland, which fits the popular image of male invaders who took local wives. And studies of chimpanzees suggest that the urge to go to war is lies in our genes.
Now a Californian team has studied the evolutionary forces that shaped the need for males to be belligerent, which raises their probability of trying to conquer neighbours, and of bravery, which increases the probability of succeeding in conquest.
The mathematical analysis of the evolution war by Laurent Lehmann and Prof Marc Feldman of Stanford University focused on small-scale, pre-state societies, for instance hunter-gatherers societies.
In the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, the study shows that the "selective pressure" on genes linked with belligerence and bravery can be substantial even in groups of large size, so that evolution has smiled on the most aggressive and audacious group.
When scientists refer to selective pressure they mean to the extent to which a population of individuals (or ancestor for instance) may acquire either a beneficial genetic or cultural trait that gave them an advantage and therefore made that group more likely to survive and multiply; or lost a trait that makes that group do something that makes them more likely to become extinct.
This pressure is substantially driven by the benefits of conquest that also accrue on the relatives of the belligerent and/or brave males within their group, showing how the spoils of war are shared by those who are related.
They add that bravery and belligerence may be driven by two independent type of "resources" that may boost the ability of a gene to be passed to future generations: additional mates for males to have more children by and additional territory (or material resources) for females, so they are more successful at bringing up the next generation of warriors.
The team points out that "hunter-gatherer societies are well-known to have frequently raided neighbouring groups from whom they appropriated territory, goods and women." The reason why aggressive men tend to get the girl has been found by scientists. The hunger for women, along with property, are blamed... more -
Cleavage doesn't pay dividends for CNBC
Recently, visitors to CNBC.com might have seen Web ads showing women unbuttoning their tops and giving come-hither looks.
Although beautiful women may be more exciting than bond rates, CNBC apologized to viewers for the spots.
"These ads aren't exactly porn, but they cross the business journalism decorum code, I believe," Allen Wastler, CNBC.com's managing editor, posted on the site.
CNBC didn't sell or approve of the ads. In December, CNBC.com signed a deal with Microsoft to place banners and other display ads on its site. Microsoft's sales force handles premium space on the site, but it also sells some CNBC.com inventory through a network of sites that it represents.
So-called ad networks have proliferated as publishers look for a quick and efficient way to unload inventory that might otherwise go unsold. Advertisers also benefit by being able to buy ads on a variety of sites across the Web.
The results aren't always pretty, however. A common complaint is low-rent ads and even lower rates that can reflect poorly on sites and their brands. Some publishers, such as ESPN.com, have gone so far as to sever their relationships with ad networks.
Advertisers have also been burned when their spots pop up on a site that is out of sync with their message. Yesterday, ads for Barack Obama appeared on sites for several Clear Channel stations next to links for Red Light Girls, Chicks on Toilets and Thong of the Day.
Microsoft said the ad fell into a "gray area" in terms of meeting its guidelines and policies and stressed that it was just one of millions it served to CNBC and its ad network.
"As soon as our team was notified, we removed it from our entire network," said a Microsoft spokeswoman. Recently, visitors to CNBC.com might have seen Web ads showing women unbuttoning their tops and giving come-hither looks. ... more -
Woman's bra sets off security alarm at Oakland airport
When Nancy Kates arrived at Oakland International Airport to board JetBlue flight 472, she thought she was heading off on a routine journey to visit her mother in Boston. Instead she ended up in a standoff with Transportation Safety Administration officials over her bra.
In the post-Sept. 11 world of heightened airport scrutiny, Kates, like most travelers, is familiar with the drill: Take off shoes and belts, open the laptop, carry shampoo in 3-ounce bottles.
For Kates, on Sunday, though, the security check got too invasive. A big-busted woman wearing a large underwire bra, she set off the metal detector. She was pulled aside and checked by a female TSA agent with a metal-sensitive wand.
Kates gave this account:
"The woman touched my breast. I said, 'You can't do that.'
"She said, 'We have to pat you down.'
"I said, 'You can't treat me as a criminal for wearing a bra.'"
Kates asked to see a supervisor and then the supervisor's supervisor.
He told her that underwire bras were the leading item that set off the metal detectors, Kates said.
If that's the case, Kates said, the equipment must be overly sensitive. And if the TSA is engaging in extra brassiere scrutiny, then other women are suffering similar humiliation, Kates thought.
The Constitution bars unreasonable searches and seizures, Kates reminded the TSA supervisor, and scrutinizing a woman's brassiere is surely unreasonable, she said.
The supervisor told her she had the choice of submitting to a pat-down in a private room or not flying. Kates offered a third alternative, to take off her bra and try again, which the TSA accepted.
"They tried to humiliate me and I was not going to be humiliated over this," said Kates, of Berkeley, Calif. "If I was carrying nail clippers and forgot about them, I wouldn't have gotten so upset. But here I was just wearing my underwear."
So she went to the rest room, then through the security line a second time. Walking through the airport braless can be embarrassing for a large-chested woman, not to mention uncomfortable. The metal detector didn't beep on the second time through, but then officials decided to go through Kates' carry-on luggage, she said.
The whole undertaking took 40 minutes, Kates said, and caused her to miss her flight. JetBlue put her on another one, but she was four hours late getting to Boston. When Nancy Kates arrived at Oakland International Airport to board JetBlue flight 472, she thought she was heading off on a routine jo... more -
Couple finds home TRASHED, with 16 yr old boy in their bed.
Goldsboro, N.C. — When Ron and Barbara Watson returned home last Wednesday from a business trip, they found a 16-year-old boy sleeping in her bed and the house trashed with piles of broken bottles, matches, guns, ammunition and human feces.
"These kids made it a crack house; they made it a party house," Ron Watson said.
"There were hundreds of chicken bones all over the house. Both the toilets were stopped up with chicken bones," Ron Watson said. "They must have had a smoke fire in here or a grease fire, because there was soot all over the place."
Ron Watson said it appeared the people who broke into his house engaged in dangerous activities, as well.
"What appeared to be crack bottles were laying all over the house, so they were doing some kind of drugs here," he said.
Wayne County deputies arrested the teen caught in Barbara Watson's bed. Aaron Scott Everett, 16, is charged with felony breaking and entering, larceny and possession of stolen property. Deputies said that they are continuing to investigate and that more arrests are likely.
Ron Watson said the he estimates the total of damages and stolen goods to exceed $30,000. He said intruders stole jewelry, computers, a TV – and his family's sense of safety.
"Stealing is one thing, and I can live with that," he said. "But for them to come in here and trash a person's home and do things like urinate and defecate on a person's house, that's a little bit over the limit. You can't forgive that." Goldsboro, N.C. — When Ron and Barbara Watson returned home last Wednesday from a business trip, they found a 16-year-old boy sleeping... more -
Why is 7-year-old boy on the national Terrorist Watch List?
The list contains more than 1 million records on 400,000 individuals and is often used at airports and borders.
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American soldiers shot and killed handcuffed Iraqi prisoners, then dumped the bodi...
U.S. soldiers have come forward to admit that they shot and killed Iraqi soldiers that were handcuffed. The soldiers say that they then dumped the bodies into a canal, to hide them. They also said that, " at that time. we thought that we were doing our country a favor". U.S. soldiers have come forward to admit that they shot and killed Iraqi soldiers that were handcuffed. The soldiers say that they the... more
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