Thread: In Today's News...

oops,
forgot about this

Well, in today's news....


The Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda has won the right to waive U.S. copyrights in films, television and music
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...e1758ae1d39cca


P2P is bigger than ever
1/3 of all PC's globally have Limewire installed
but after-hours, bit-torrent is the undisputed king of the interwebs
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...-limewire.html

Window Washer Falls 43 Storys...and Survives

Kinda makes you think twice about "suicide by jumping from great heights", doesn't it?

O, I heard a story of a new zealand man sky diving and his shute not deploying... he survived.

Err, nevermind, just read the end of your article. Duh at terminal velocity, that should have been obvious .

I heard it happened to a woman skydiving, too. That's just crazy. According to Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN) only 50% of people that fall (only) 3 storys or higher survive. This guy fell 43-47 storys (I keep hearing conflicting reports on exactly how high it was), but he still had enough time to reach terminal velocity. So falling 500 feet, as this guy did, would essentially be no different from falling 10,000 feet.

Still...that's nutz.

I wonder how the heck skydivers could survive that though? What sort of cushion could they have?

The one sky diver I heard of jumped and his chute didn't deploy, but he survived due to the extremely muddy ground in the area. From what I heard he didn't even have anymore than a couple fractures and was mostly just quite a bit bruised.

Originally Posted by ExoByte

The one sky diver I heard of jumped and his chute didn't deploy, but he survived due to the extremely muddy ground in the area. From what I heard he didn't even have anymore than a couple fractures and was mostly just quite a bit bruised.

Sweet. I suppose falling into a bunch of trees might be kinda useful too.

Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

Sweet. I suppose falling into a bunch of trees might be kinda useful too.

Provided that it's not during the winter months when the leaves have fallen and there's nothing but pointy, impaling branches sticking straight up smiling at you from below

Originally Posted by Jeff777

Provided that it's not during the winter months when the leaves have fallen and there's nothing but pointy, impaling branches sticking straight up smiling at you from below

It could be like a really huge willow tree. Or a forest of willow trees, even better! I'm going to plant a few before going skydiving, of course.

Cases against border landowners prepared

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has made clear there is a limit to how long federal officials will wait for access to the land. He told reporters last month that this process is "not open for endless talk".

This government is really starting to scare me. My dad has friends that live in that town, wonder where they fit in on all this.

Damn...

Actor Heath Ledger Found Dead in his New York Apartment

Rat-eating plant discovered in Cape York

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...22/2143809.htm

A rare new species of plant that eats small rats has been discovered at the tip of Cape York.

Pitcher plants, otherwise known as flesh-eating plants, grow throughout Cape York but now a new, larger species that grows like a vine has been discovered.

The new species has been called "Tenax".

James Cook University ecologist Charles Clarke and a colleague found the new species at a swamp near the Jardine River, but exactly where is a secret.

"They are quite vulnerable," he said.

"They are only found in a few small areas and if we broadcast the location then there are people out there who would take advantage of that.

"There's a lot of interest in pitcher plants from Australia, even from people outside of Australia.

"And while people often associate these things with New Guinea or Borneo or Sumatra, the fact that there's more species here is actually very exciting."

Sad news from Vegas.

LAS VEGAS - A massive fire eruptedat a Las Vegas hotel on Friday, sending flames and thick black smoke more than a mile into the air -- and completely shut down "the Strip" so firefighters could get inside.

Fire erupted on the upper floors of the Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino which engulfed at least the top five levels of the building. Thick smoke indicated that the flames were severe and flames at least 15 feet high could be seen rising from the hotel's roof.

It was not immediately clear what started the 3-alarm fire or whether there were any injuries. The Monte Carlo, which is owned by MGM-Mirage, has approximately 3,000 rooms and it is virtually assured that at least a few guests were staying on the upper floors.

At least one report said that four hotel workers were trapped on the roof of the building, part of which was overwhelmed by smoke and flames. Aerial video showed firefighers were also on the hotel's roof.

The hotel issued a mandatory evacuation following the fire and witnesses reported seeing the black smoke from several miles away.

Video taken of the incident, at least initially, suggested that no other structures were affected by the fire.

A high rise building has been under construction directly adjascent to the Monte Carlo for several weeks, although it was not immediately known whether that may have played a factor in the fire.

The Monte Carlo is located between the New York, New York Hotel & Casino and the Bellagio -- all three of which are owned by the same corporation, MGM-Mirage.

South Africa 2008. The ANC government and it's utility companies brings the country to ruin, with an energy shortage crisis that should have been addressed 10 years ago.
The mines have been shut down, restaurants and supermarkets are having to close down (loss of perishables and can't help customers) not to mention the frustration of the general populace.

Eskom power outages have brought Africa's biggest economy to its knees. On Thursday the utility said demand was higher than it has been in years but how did it get this bad, so fast? Has poor planning and lack of maintenance plunged our power utility into darkness? With Eskom and government unwilling to provide many of the answers South Africans are desperate for, Carte Blanche investigates how we got into this mess.

Full article: http://www.mnet.co.za/Mnet/Shows/car...ry.asp?Id=3444

When you dig deeper, it becomes apparent that it's because the government that everyone faught so hard to bring into power, also brought greed, corruption and excessive affirmative action. And just plain stupidity.

Escom (government run utility) and the ANC has been guilty of gross negligence, arrogance and greed, causing lack of planning for the future, huge loss of electricity due to bad maintenance and huge loss of skills (they have less than half the skilled staff they had in 1996)

Amongst othe things, the affirmative action policy ('employ only black people') has caused even worse problems now, because there aren't enough skilled black employees to run the company.

The executive managers get R13 million in 'performance bonusses', when the country has insufficient electricity ... I thought a performance bonus was give for good performance

Power stations take about 10 years to build. Ouch.

Got this in my email today:

Eish!

Cape Town - South Africans could save electricity by going to sleep earlier and boiling less water, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica told Parliament on Wednesday.

"Go to sleep earlier so that you can grow and be cleverer. Boil less water, use the microwave rather than stove, take a shower and not a shallow bath," she told a special sitting of Parliament to discuss the power crisis.

HA HA, I’m gonna become really ‘cleverer’ by going to bed at(what time does load –shedding start?) 16:30

Lucky them. Some people's load shedding is in the morning. And it varies depending on Eskom's whims.

Our prestigious 'Thambo' award was rejected by an ex-activist - saying:

'(South Africa) was the democratic country with so much hope and I think for so many people it's been the deepest of disappointments, and certainly it has been for me'

'When we protested and marched into police batons and barbed wire here in the struggle against apartheid, we were not fighting for a small black elite to become millionaires'

'We were fighting for a better South Africa for all its citizens. The faces at the top have changed from white to black but the substance of change is an illusion'

Wellington - A veteran New Zealand anti-apartheid campaigner has rejected a nomination for a prestigious South African award for foreigners, saying he is dismayed over conditions in the country, local media reported on Monday.

John Minto, nominated for a Companion of OR Tambo Award by a South African government official, asked for the nomination to be withdrawn, the Christchurch Press newspaper said.

"(South Africa) was the democratic country with so much hope and I think for so many people it's been the deepest of disappointments, and certainly it has been for me," Minto said.

"I'm just deeply dismayed at what's happened," he told the newspaper.

The Tambo award is the highest honour granted non-South Africans in recognition of friendship, co-operation and support.

Previous recipients include Mahatma Gandhi, Kofi Annan, Salvador Allende and Martin Luther King jnr.

A union organiser, Minto was national coordinator of the Halt All Racist Tours movement during the controversial 1981 Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand - when an all-white rugby team representing South Africa was strongly opposed by many New Zealanders.

Black South Africans worse off

In an open letter to South African President Thabo Mbeki, Minto blasted the African National Congress government which, he said, had left black South Africans "worse off than they were under (white) minority rule".

"When we protested and marched into police batons and barbed wire here in the struggle against apartheid, we were not fighting for a small black elite to become millionaires," Minto wrote.

"We were fighting for a better South Africa for all its citizens. The faces at the top have changed from white to black but the substance of change is an illusion," he noted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7234810.stm

Man lived with corpse for years

The body of a man believed to have been dead for more than five years has been found in a Bristol flat where a tenant continued to live.

The corpse was discovered by council workers on a sofa in the lounge after neighbours reported a foul smell.

The deceased man, believed to be in his 70s, was the tenant's former lodger at the flat in Bedminster.

It is thought the tenant failed to report the death because he suffers from mental health problems.

An inquest is due to open later.

'Shocked and concerned'

The tenant, also in his 70s, was initially arrested in connection with the discovery, but was later bailed. Police are no longer treating the death as suspicious.

Bristol City Council has launched an internal inquiry to establish how the corpse went unnoticed for so long.

A spokesman said: "We were alerted to the body after we received reports of a smell.

"We are shocked and concerned by this discovery and are carrying out an urgent internal review of the circumstances of the tenant.

"A police investigation is ongoing, and it would be inappropriate to comment further while this is taking place."

Yet Another School Mass-Murder/Suicide

Paraplegic (I don't know why everyone is calling him quadriplegic) man dumped from wheelchair by police

What is wrong with people? That cop should get punishment for that sort of behaviour!

US Beef Recall
Ok, I gotta have meat because, well... I get fucking hungry! But why the HELL do people find the need to abuse the damn creatures!? Seriously, I think those who work in a slaughter house either should be required to have bi-monthly psychiatric evaluations in which they must keep up a particular score of SANITY-- or fucking put them on all on an island away from the general population!

I'm sorry if you work or know someone who works in one of these places- but people who have become so desensitized to the cruelty of another creature are no doubt a danger to our society! Not only in how the food is handled, but in being around other people.

New Race for Space (wars?)

January 11, 2007-Chinese perform a missile 'test' and successfully shoot down an orbiting satellite in space.

February 21, 2008- US shoot down an orbiting satellite in space under guise of satelite fuel being a "threat to earth".

So, you're telling me that one of the top three countries responsible for emitting the highest concentrations of toxins into the earth due to industry (which also refuses to take part in global environmental preservation) suddenly fears the threat of 1 tank of fuel is reason enough to send an explosive warhead into the outer atmosphere?! C'mon US gov, you can't come up with a better cover up than that? Why don't you just SAY we're in a (military) space race the Chinese?

Gold

Where is the world's wealth stored? Fort Knox? nope. Philadelphia, Denver mints, West Point... nope.
Answer:
Federal Reserve Bank of New York holds the prize as the world's biggest known stockpile of gold, some 550,000 glistening bars of the stuff buried deep into the bedrock of lower Manhattan. That's $203.3 billion worth of gold in a single place. Just 2% to 5% of it is owned by the U.S. government, though. The rest is owned by foreign countries.

So, um... basically we are owned by foreign investors? I mean, as the dollar keeps losing value, gold will be the only thing of value, no? And who owns gold?

...... PIRATES!! ("Argh!")

Originally Posted by Tornado Joe

And who owns gold?

...... PIRATES!! ("Argh!")

...for now.

And the only thing I can say in our (U.S.) defense about the satellite shoot down is that the Administration went on record as saying we did a satellite shoot down for a military test back in the sixties that was many times more long range than the one we just did. They used that as logic to say "why would we do a test on something this close to Earth if that was the only reason?"

Whether or not that excuse actually holds up, I dunno, but at least that's what they are claiming.

They spent $10 billion to get that satellite off the ground, according to what I've read about the program. Whenever I hear about these kinds of fiascoes, I think to myself,"Why didn't they just give me the money instead?"

I doubt anybody is impressed, quite frankly, unless they're supposed to be impressed by how dysfunctional our spy satellite programs are. However, it makes headlines, encourages more space-race funding, and the $10 billion is nicely masked behind the smoke.