Finally Friday 10-23-2009

Why the world will NOT end in 2012: Nasa scientist debunks conspiracy theories 22nd October 2009 Skyscrapers crumble to the ground, fiery meteorites smash into Earth and a Tibetan monk cowers as a massive tidal wave swamps his mountain retreat. It is a vision of the coming apocalypse thrillingly captured in the latest Hollywood blockbuster. But fears that the world is due to end in December 2012 is just a myth fuelled by internet rumour, according to a leading Nasa scientist. Dr David Morrison, who runs the space agency's 'Ask an Astrobiologist' service, says he has received more than a thousand emails from those worried that the world is due to end in 2012. According to the theories on the internet, the calendar used by the ancient civilisation of the Mayans is due to come to an end in December 2012. Luckily for conspiracy theorists, this coincides neatly with predictions by an obscure sci-fi author, who wrote about the ancient Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer, that a planet named Nibiru will collide with the Earth on that date. Fears have been further inflamed by an apocalyptic film called '2012' starring John Cusack, which is out this November. A quick search on Amazon reveals there are 175 books listed that deal with 2012 doomsday. First off Dr Morrison dismisses the possibility that the planet Nibiru even exists. He writes: 'The bottom line is that Nibiru is a myth, with no basis in fact.

'To an astronomer, persistent claims about a planet that is "nearby" but “invisible” are just plain silly.' And Dr Morrison laughs off suggestions that the government has been complicit in hiding its existence from the public. 'Even if they wanted to, the government could not keep Nibiru a secret,' he says. 'If it were real, it would be tracked by thousands of astronomers, amateurs as well a professional. These astronomers are spread all over the world. 'I know the astronomy community, and these scientists would not keep a secret even if ordered to. You just can’t hide a planet on its way to the inner solar system!' He also addresses the concerns of those who worry that the Mayan calendar is due to end in 2012. 'Ancient calendars are interesting to historians, but they cannot match the ability we have today to keep track of time, or the precision of the calendars currently in use. 'The main point, however, is that calendars, whether contemporary or ancient, cannot predict the future of our planet or warn of things to happen on a specific date such as 2012. 'I note that my desk calendar ends much sooner, on December 31 2009, but I do not interpret this as a prediction of Armageddon. It is just the beginning of a new year.' He added although many believe prophecies by the sixteenth century seer Nostradamus predict the end of the world in 2012, there is no evidence he has correctly predicted anything. He also tackles the belief circulating on some internet forums that an alignment of planets in our galaxy the Milky Way could in some way disrupt the Earth's gravitational field or reverse the Earth's rotation. 'A reversal in the rotation of Earth is impossible. It has never happened and never will,' he said. He added that although the magnetic polarity of Earth does take place around every 400,000 years scientists don't believe it will take place for another few millennia and there is no evidence it would do any harm. 'The whole 2012 disaster scenario is a hoax, fueled by ads for the Hollywood science-fiction disaster film “2012”,' he says. 'This cosmophobia could be one of the worst long-term consequences of the 2012 doomsday hoax - to make people fearful of astronomy and the universe.'

Triumph Rocket III Roadster The Triumph Roaster already claimed the title of meanest cruiser on the market so it’s no understatement to call the Triumph Rocket III Roadster the ultimate muscle streetfighter. Everything’s improved upon from the ergonomics and suspension to the 2.3 liter three-cylinder 146 horse power engine and i165 lb-ft of torque. That means this ride is continue reading… Check It Out

Steve Jobs is $282 million richer October 21, 2009 6:33 AM Apple CEO's net worth shot to nearly $5.4 billion this week. Bet you can't guess why. In September, Steve Jobs' $5.1 billion earned him the No. 43 spot on Forbes ' list of the 400 richest Americans. Since then, Apple's shares have rocketed to within orbiting distance their all time high. So Jobs was a lot richer when he woke up Wednesday morning than he was then — more than $282 million richer, at least on paper — but only about half that increase is thanks to Apple ( AAPL ). The rest is all Disney ( DIS ). According to the two companies' proxy statements, the bulk of Jobs' net worth is in the form of preferentially owned stock: 5.426 million shares of Apple (most of it from a 2003 grant of 10 million shares, later reduced to pay taxes) 138 million shares of Disney (from when Disney acquired Pixar).

Whipped for wearing a 'deceptive' bra: Hardline Islamists in Somalia publicly flog women in Sharia crackdown Mail Foreign Service 16th October 2009 A hardline Islamist group in Somalia has begun publicly whipping women for wearing bras that they claim violate Islam as they are 'deceptive'. The insurgent group Al Shabaab has sent gunmen into the streets of Mogadishu to round up any women who appear to have a firm bust, residents claimed yesterday. The women are then inspected to see if the firmness is natural, or if it is the result of wearing a bra. If they are found wearing a bra, they are ordered to remove it and shake their breasts, residents said. Desperation: A woman feeds her child at a newly formed camp for refugees affected by drought in Somalia yesterday. Somalis are also contending with hardline Islamists seeking to impose a strict form of Sharia law on the country. Al Shabaab, which seeks to impose a strict interpretation of Sharia law over all Somalia, also amputated a foot and a hand each from two young men accused of robbery earlier this month. They have also banned movies, musical ringtones, dancing at wedding ceremonies and playing or watching soccer. 'Al Shabaab forced us to wear their type of full veil and now they order us to shake our breasts,' a resident, Halima, told Reuters, adding that her daughters had been whipped on Thursday. 'They are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat.' Officials of Al Shabaab, which Washington says is Al Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, declined to comment.

Cutting-Edge Sex Toys to Help You F$%# Better Friday, October 16, 2009 Whether you’re curious, need them or just want one as a collector’s piece, there’s no doubt that we dig sex toys. With so many choices, products and stores it’s hard to find that right adult toy just for you. Here’s cutting out the middle man by showing you some of the most cutting edge (both technically and politically) sex toy makers out there today. You’ve probably heard of Real Doll. They’re probably the most well known makers of “realistic” love dolls. I guess they make their living off of either really horny dudes with money, or guys with money that lack social skills. But what really makes them stick out is their new line called Boy Toy , which are comic inspired dolls. Geeks are letting a collective moan at something other than Princess Leia in that gold bikini.

Lucifer Cap October 17, 2009 “ Devilishly good, the Lucifer Cap is named after the original meaning of the word ‘Lucifer’ as ‘Bringer of Light’ – as that’s something that this headgear certainly does ! The Lucifer Cap features two extra strong LED-lights mounted in its peak. This makes it perfect for DJs, so that they can see what records they’re selecting, whilst also looking great in a dark club. Anyone that has to work in a dark environment or to be seen whilst out riding a bike or jogging, but needs to be able to see in front of them will also appreciate the extra illumination it offers.” w/ photos

The Top Ten Most Fuel Efficient Cars of 2010 Here's the list, via the EPA : Toyota Prius (hybrid) 51/48 Ford Fusion Hybrid FWD, Mercury Milan Hybrid FWD 41/36 Honda Civic Hybrid 40/45 Honda Insight (hybrid) 40/43 Lexus HS250h (hybrid) 35/34 Nissan Altima Hybrid 35/33 Ford Escape Hybrid FWD Mazda Tribute Hybrid 2WD Mercury Mariner Hybrid FWD 34/31 Smart fortwo Cabriolet (automatic), Smart fortwo Coupe (automatic) 33/41 Toyota Camry Hybrid 33/34 Lexus RX450h (hybrid, 2WD) 32/28

Colorado Newspaper Hiring Marijuana Critic Where's the good stuff? Medical marijuana explosion creates booming review business Associated Press DENVER October 20, 2009 (AP) The Associated Press The store has a television lounge and a pool table, and snacks and acupuncture are free for customers who drop up to $130 an ounce on 16 varieties of marijuana. But a reviewer of the business warns the decor looks a little cliche, what with the Grateful Dead posters on the wall and the Mexican-blanket tablecloths. The medical marijuana review business is booming as states like Colorado and California have seen an explosion in the number of pot shops. A Denver alternative newspaper recently posted an ad for what some consider the sweetest job in journalism — a reviewer of the state's marijuana dispensaries and their products. Medical marijuana users can also look to dozens of review Web sites, even mainstream rating sites such as Yelp or Citysearch, to find their high. At least five iPhone applications allow weed fans to find the closest place to legally buy bud in the 14 states that allow some sort of medical marijuana. The Denver paper, Westword, has already has gotten more than 120 applicants, many of them offering to do the reviews for free. When the newspaper settles on a permanent critic for its new "Mile Highs and Lows" column, industry watchers say, it will be the first professional newspaper critic of medical marijuana in the country. There's one condition: The critic has to have a medical ailment that allows them to legally enter a dispensary, and buy and use marijuana. "More and more people are having the opportunity to use marijuana for whatever illness they have. So we want to be a place they can come to find out which place is the best, the cleanest, the closest, that kind of stuff," said Joe Tone, Web editor at Westword. Most current reviews focus on dispensaries in California, the first state in the nation to approve medical marijuana in 1996. Los Angeles now has an estimated 800 medical pot shops, up from only four in 2005. Colorado has more than 100, including one across the street from the state Capitol.

Cheating husbands should be whipped? BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Reuters) – Most Bruneians want husbands who cheat on their wives to be whipped, according to a recent survey in the Muslim-majority country. The survey, conducted by website brudirect ( www.brudirect.com ), found 76 percent of 272 respondents said men should be whipped for having affairs while only 55 percent said unfaithful wives should receive the same punishment. "The result of the survey is an indication of the pent-up feelings that women harbor against irresponsible men," an unnamed social worker from Brunei was quoted as saying on the website. The oil-rich state of Brunei, located on Borneo Island, has a population of almost 400,000 of which 66 percent are Muslim.

‘ Lottery winner’ causes riot at Ohio coat store Woman’s promise to pay for everyone’s purchases ends up being a ho Wed., Oct . 14, 2009 COLUMBUS, Ohio - A woman being driven around in a rented limousine pulled up at a coat store and announced she'd won the lottery and would pay for everyone's purchases, police said, but she ended up causing a riot when customers realized it was a hoax. Angry customers threw merchandise around and looted, leaving the store looking as though a hurricane had passed through it, police said. Linda Brown was arrested Tuesday after an hours-long shopping spree that began when she hired a stretch Hummer limousine to drop her off at a Burlington Coat Factory store, police Sgt. Lt. Michael Deakins said. Brown walked to a cash register and loudly announced she had won the lottery and would pay for each person's merchandise up to $500, he said.

Can Spy Satellites read your Car Number Plate? NerdModo 2009-10-16 A spy satellite can neither read your car plate or the newspaper headlines. Since time immemorial (not really), people have been fascinated by spy satellites. Everybody wonders what they do and what sort of new information do governments have on each other. One of the most reliable sources of intelligence has always been Imagery Intelligence, from Aerial Intelligence to Imagery gathered using Satellites. From the days of Hot Air Balloons taking pictures, to the day of the U-2 and Sr-71 to the days of KH-11 and today’s era of high resolution commercial satellites, spy imaging has been a great asset for all governments. A nearly universal myth tells the story of US and Russian Spy Satellites being able to read car number plates and the headlines of newspapers being held on a sidewalk clearly, but is that true? Here is the truth. Rayleigh’s Criterion gives us the highest possible resolution for an optical device with a circular aperture. It is expressed as follows : http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/f/d/8/fd83540e22140c050d0de6c139415bf1.png As explained clearly by me on Wikipedia, the Hubble Space Telescope has a Diameter of 2.4m. Hubble being one of the biggest bad-ass satellites ever launched should be able to see my car plate if it can see a galaxy a gazillion miles away. Mathematically, the highest possible resolution for Hubble comes out to be around 16cm which is around 6.3 inches or half a foot. Now that is good enough to spot a car and a building in detail but not good enough to read a newspaper headline. Modern day spy satellites have highest resolutions around 10cm and even that is not enough to read a newspaper headline.

Is this Australia's fittest woman? The Daily Telegraph Sat Oct 17 00:27:26 EST 2009 MORNING, noon and night, six days a week for all but two weeks a year, ironwoman Hayley Bateup has been working to sculpt the body and mind many believe combine to make her the fittest woman in Australia. She swims, runs, board paddles, skis and even hits the gym all but one day a week and in the lead-up to tomorrow's iconic surf lifesaving event, the NIB Coolangatta Gold, has done the 30.5km course an extraordinary 25 times. It's a regimen so extreme it has repeatedly left other athletes in her wake but one she believes will carry her to a record fourth title without too much pain tomorrow. "I love it but I work pretty hard on my body,'' said the former television Gladiator, at 29 one of the oldest women in the elite women's NIB Coolangatta Gold field. "I do believe I am getting fitter and stronger as I'm getting older which is a good thing. "And I do believe I'm one of the fittest women around.''

Leaping wolf snatches photo prize BBC news Jose Luis Rodriguez's haunting portrait of an Iberian wolf won over the judges A picture of a hunting wolf has won the prestigious Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009 award.

Man pleads guilty to DWI in motorized La-Z-Boy October 22, 2009 - 12:05pm DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to driving his motorized La-Z-Boy chair while drunk. A criminal complaint says 62-year-old Dennis LeRoy Anderson told police he left a bar in the northern Minnesota town of Proctor on his chair after drinking eight or nine beers. Prosecutors say Anderson's blood alcohol content was 0.29, more than three times the legal limit, when he crashed into a parked vehicle in August 2008. He was not seriously injured. Police said the chair was powered by a converted lawnmower and had a stereo and cup holders. Sixth Judicial District Judge Heather Sweetland stayed 180 days of jail time Monday and ordered two years of probation for Anderson. His attorney, David Keegan, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Suit says Madoff's offices were awash in cocaine, topless parties and 'sexual revelry' USA Today Convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff promoted a "culture of sexual deviance" at his New York headquarters that featured vast quantities of cocaine and drug-fueled parties with topless waitresses, according to details of a new lawsuit. "Madoff's affinity for escorts, masseuses and attractive female employees was well known in the office culture," the complaint says. "A significant amount of the money stolen from investors went towards these lavish indulgences as well as other expenses for his employees, family and favorite feeders." The suit charges that a number of the "feeders" brought investors to Madoff and also took part in the "sexual revelry" including trysts on his office couch. According to the filing, Madoff -- as far back as 1975 -- kept two street thugs on his payroll to set up a cocaine pipeline in the offices of Madoff Securities. Update at 10:53 a.m. ET: The lawsuit also offers considerable detail about Madoff's life in prison, the AP reports. It says the onetime financial wizard shares a cell with a drug offender and eats pizza cooked by a child molester. Madoff spends time with Carmine Persico, a reputed Colombo crime family boss, and Jonathan Pollard, an American convicted of selling military secrets to Israel more than two decades ago, according to the lawsuit. For fun, he takes nighttime walks around a prison track.

Human Cat Girl 10/21/09 - “ A 6-year-old dubbed ‘cat-girl’ has baffled doctors after thick grey hair started growing uncontrollably all over her body . Until just a few months ago little Li Xiaoyuan had just a tiny birthmark on her back. But hair started to grow from the mole — and quickly spread over her entire back and is now starting to grow on her arms and face. Her dad Li Yan said: “Doctors told us it was just a birthmark even when it started spreading but now it covers half her body. “None of the other children want to play with her they are calling her cat-girl and are really mean.” Surgeon Dr Lou Zhongquan of Zhaoqing City Dermatological Hospital believes the youngster may be suffering from a rare disease that sends normal moles out of control.” w/ photos

Erotic farm girls calendar aims to make agriculture alluring Published: 20 Oct 09 11:27 CET The Local - Germany's News in English Hoping to make working in agriculture more attractive to younger Germans, a Bavarian farming association has presented the latest edition of a calendar showing farm girls in erotic poses. The 2010 Young Farm Girls Calendar is meant to be “an homage to all the young women farmers in Germany who support agricultural work in a self-confident and fun manner,” according to the website of the Association of Young Bavarian Farmers. Inspired by a similar rural pinup calendar started in neighbouring Austria in 2001, the group has expanded beyond using only comely Bavarian lasses for a tribute to pan-German pastoral beauty. Click here for a photo gallery of the calendar. “We want to present young farmers as modern and open-minded entrepreneurs and do away with the antiquated image and do away with preconceptions,” said Elisabeth Köstinger, the chairwoman of Association of Young Austrian Farmers, in a statement. The calendar shows scantily clad women posing in various bucolic or farmland landscapes. For example, Ms July stands in a field of wheat sporting pigtails and a corset with a tractor in the distance, while Ms September attends to cider vats wearing a gossamer nightshirt. The Local ( [email_address] )

World’s Heaviest Man Weighing In At 980lbs. 10/21/09 – “Languishing in a reinforced bed with treats and entertainments close to hand, this is the world’s heaviest man at home. Paul Mason, who weighs 980lbs, is rarely able to leave his bed and so spends much of his life in the room, eating and playing computer games. The 48-year-old consumes around 20,000 calories a day – more than eight times what the average male is supposed to eat. And it emerged today that Mr Mason actually had an ambition to become the world’s fattest man. He lost 20 stone in hospital three years ago but reportedly told staff he didn’t really want to lose the weight. After leaving the medical unit, he gorged himself on three family-sized takeaways every day and even ate whole boxes of Sugar Puffs in one go. The total cost of his care, accommodation, benefits, medical equipment and treatment is estimated at more than $150,000 a year and has so far topped $1,500,000 million .” w/ photos

Woman recants story of West Virginia abuse Wed October 21, 2009 CNN (CNN) -- A 22-year-old woman whose claims that she was abused in a trailer in rural West Virginia in 2007 helped send six people to prison now says she made up the story, her lawyer said Wednesday. "She is recanting her entire story," attorney Byron Potts told reporters in Columbus, Ohio, about his client, Megan Williams, who moved there after the incident. "She says it did not happen. She fabricated it." He added, "She wanted to get back at her boyfriend. She was mad at him." In 2007, police acting on a tip found the black woman in a trailer with cuts and bruises. She said she had been stabbed in the leg and beaten, sexually assaulted, forced to eat feces and subjected to a racial slur by her white captors. The suspects included a mother and son, a separate mother and daughter, and two men. All are still jailed, according to the prosecutor who handled the case. The incident, which drew extensive media coverage, stirred outrage around the country.

Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton called for the incident to be investigated as a hate crime. Last year, all six defendants pleaded guilty and were given terms of up to 40 years in prison. Potts said his client was coming forward "to right the wrong perpetrated on these six individuals." He added that she told him all her injuries except for the bruises on her face were self-inflicted. The bruises, he said, were from an altercation she had had with her then-boyfriend before the incident in question. Potts described Williams' feelings as "total remorse; that's why she's coming forward. She is remorseful for having these people spend time in jail.“ Asked if she was being pressured to recant, he said, "No, she's not being pressured into this." Williams had been expected to speak herself, but Potts said she would not appear before the news media because she was afraid for her safety. He said she was "fully aware" that she might face criminal charges, "but she still wanted to go forward with this." Brian Abraham, the former Logan County prosecutor who handled the case, defended the convictions. "The case wasn't based on her statements," he said, noting that Williams never testified in the case. "The case was based on the evidence discovered by the police, including the confessions of the six defendants." He added, "All six of them have been in jail without filing appeals. If they file something afterwards, the evidence was pretty overwhelming for the charges on which they were convicted." The current county prosecutor, John Bennett, said he could not comment on whether the case would be reopened. He said he represented one of the suspects in 2007 and so would let a judge decide how to handle the potential conflict of interest. Sharpton said, "If they are being held under false information and she misled authorities, and if the authorities went solely on her testimony, then they should be released." But he added, "If there are other circumstances around the recanting, we should know what they are."

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