moonbuggy

`An Afghan man is being tried in a court in the capital, Kabul, for converting from Islam to Christianity.

Abdul Rahman is charged with rejecting Islam and could face the death sentence under Sharia law unless he recants.

He converted 16 years ago as an aid worker helping refugees in Pakistan. His estranged family denounced him in a custody dispute over his two children.’

`Student athletes, musicians and others who participate in after school activities could increasingly be subject to random drug testing under a program promoted by the Bush administration.

White House officials say drug testing is an effective way to keep students away from harmful substances like marijuana and crystal methamphetamine, and have held seminars across the country to promote the practice to local school officials.

But some parents, educators and school officials call it a heavy-handed, ineffective way to discourage drug use that undermines trust and invades students’ privacy.’

`NASA, the American space agency, has unveiled plans for one of the largest rockets ever built to take a manned mission to the far side of the moon.

It will ferry a mother ship and lunar lander into Earth orbit to link up with a smaller rocket carrying the crew. Once united they will head for the moon where the larger ship will remain in orbit after launching the lunar lander and crew.’

`A third student stepped forward yesterday claiming a Queens gym teacher threatened him with a knife in class.

The 17-year-old autistic boy told investigators that Mark Omeltchenko, 45, pointed a knife at his neck and put him in a headlock during the same workout session in which the teacher allegedly threatened two other students, law-enforcement sources said.

The new complaint says the boy – like the two girls, ages 14 and 15, in his Aviation HS class – didn’t want to participate in drills Thursday morning and that set off the teacher, according to a spokesman for District Attorney Richard Brown.’

‘If wheel chair break dancing becomes a sport, this guy wont be going to the Olympics. How ironic would it be if while performing a wheelchair stunt this guy fell on his neck and became paralyzed?’

(2meg Windows media)

see it here »

`// Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
// by William Shakespeare
// ported to ActionScript 2.0 by Satori Canton – ActionScript.com [..]

var summer:Object = {};
var thee:Object = {};

summer.name = “Summer Day”;
thee.name = “Thee”;

summer.lovelyness = 9;
thee.lovelyness = 10;

summer.temperature = 98;
thee.temperature = 98.6; [..]’

`Internet service providers (ISPs) will be forced to block violent and pornographic material before it reaches home computers if Labor wins the next federal election.

Under the policy, announced by Opposition Leader Kim Beazley today, international websites would be banned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority if they contained graphic sexual or violent material, rated R or higher.

The bans would be maintained by ISPs.’

‘A man who neighbors say was devoted to his meticulously kept lawn is charged with murder in the shooting of a 15-year-old boy who apparently walked across his yard.

Charles Martin, 66, of Union Township, near this city about 20 miles east of Cincinnati, shot next-door neighbor Larry Mugrage in the chest with a shotgun around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, police said. The youth was pronounced dead at a hospital. [..]

Martin called 911 on Sunday, saying in a calm voice: “I just killed a kid.”

He also tells the dispatcher: “It’s been going on for five years … I’ve been harassed by him and his parents for five years. Today just blew it up.”‘

Update: now with 911 call audio and video.

(1.5meg Flash video)

see it here »

`As a government scientist, James Hansen is taking a risk. He says there are things the White House doesn’t want you to hear but he’s going to say them anyway.

Hansen is arguably the world’s leading researcher on global warming. He’s the head of NASA’s top institute studying the climate. But this imminent scientist tells correspondent Scott Pelley that the Bush administration is restricting who he can talk to and editing what he can say. Politicians, he says, are rewriting the science. [..]

Asked if he believes the administration is censoring what he can say to the public, Hansen says: “Or they’re censoring whether or not I can say it. I mean, I say what I believe if I’m allowed to say it.”‘

`Oh by Seinte Loy if Johannes Gower ys not a bugge in my butte. He ys always up on my aboute my drynkynge. Moral Gowere, indeede. Y have halfe a minde to telle kynge Richarde all of the nastie thinges that Gowere saith aboute hym in the confessio amantis.

Y have inventede a newe wondere. Yt is a rollede piece of papere wyth fierie and honie-smellynge herbe of some ferne londe, called “tobbaco.” Y shall clepen it “cigarette.” Now y smoke my cigarette with muchel relish.’

I have no fucken idea what that says, except for “tobbaco” and “cigarette”. :)

`Isaac Hayes did not quit “South Park.” My sources say that someone quit it for him.

I can tell you that Hayes is in no position to have quit anything. Contrary to news reports, the great writer, singer and musician suffered a stroke on Jan. 17. At the time it was said that he was hospitalized and suffering from exhaustion.’

`MIT researchers have developed a tiny light detector that may allow for super-fast broadband communications over interplanetary distances. Currently, even still images from other planets are difficult to retrieve. [..]

The new detector improves the detection efficiency to 57 percent at a wavelength of 1,550 nanometers (billionths of a meter), the same wavelength used by optical fibers that carry broadband signals to offices and homes today. That’s nearly three times the current detector efficiency of 20 percent.’

`A man is being held by German police after walking into a petrol station with his wife’s severed head in a bag.

The 40-year-old man, of Turkish origin, was covered in blood when he approached the night counter at about 0400 GMT and asked the attendant to call the police.

Hamburg police said officers found the head in a bag on a grass verge and arrested the man, who was in a confused state and admitted killing his wife.’

‘A guy convinces his friend to cover his face with a sweatshirt hood to see if he can catch a ball while blind. Thats what friends are for.’

(1.8meg Windows media)

see it here »

`[..] it appears some courts are finally pointing out to the RIAA that they don’t have the right to do some of these things. The latest example involves one of the lawsuits, where the accused claims she never was involved in file sharing. The RIAA demanded full access to her computer — which she rightly felt was a violation of her privacy, as there was a lot more on her computer that obviously had nothing to do with the case. A judge has agreed and told the woman she can hire her own forensics expert, and bill the RIAA for any expenses.’

`Vampire watermelons are a folk legend from the Balkans, in southeastern Europe. The story is associated with the Roma people of the region, who originated much of vampire folklore among other unusual legends.

The belief in vampire watermelons is similar to the belief that any inanimate object left outside during the night of a full moon will become a vampire. According to tradition, virtually any kind of melon or pumpkin kept more than ten days or after Christmas will become a vampire, rolling around on the ground and growling to pester the living. People have little fear of the vampire melons because of the creatures’ lack of teeth. One of the main indications that a melon is about to undergo a vampiric transformation (or has just completed one) is said to be the appearance of a drop of blood on its skin.’

‘Randy from Dover Delaware really loves his new Dell. He gives such a glowing recommendation that I’m thinking about getting one. It even comes with a 30 day money back guarantee and a McGuire rookie card.’

(2meg Windows media)

see it here »

`Companies have patented their method of hiring, and real estate agents have patented the way they sell houses. Lawyers now advise athletes to patent their sports moves, and screenwriters to patent their movie plots. (My screenplay for “Jurassic Park” was cited as a good candidate.)

Where does all this lead? It means that if a real estate agent lists a house for sale, he can be sued because an existing patent for selling houses includes item No. 7, “List the house.” It means that Kobe Bryant may serve as an inspiration but not a model, because nobody can imitate him without fines. It means nobody can write a dinosaur story because my patent includes 257 items covering all aspects of behavior, like item No. 13, “Dinosaurs attack humans and other dinosaurs.”

Such a situation is idiotic, of course. Yet elements of it already exist. And unless we begin to turn this around, there will be worse to come.’

`Saddam Hussein’s fear of internal rebellion led him to distrust his military commanders even after U.S. forces began their invasion in 2003, crippling the country’s defenses, the New York Times reported in Sunday editions.

Citing a classified U.S. military report as well other documents and interviews, the Times also said that top Iraqi commanders were shocked when Saddam told them three months before the war that he had no weapons of mass destruction. [..]

The report also said that Saddam put a general considered to be an incompetent drunk in charge of the elite Republican Guard because he considered him to be loyal. It said commanders were in some cases banned from communicating with other units and were unable to get maps of areas near the airport because those would have disclosed the locations of Saddam’s palaces.’

`One third of Australians are completely ignorant of the Islamic faith, with women and people without tertiary training the most likely to lack knowledge, a new study shows. [..]

The survey revealed only one in six Australians had a decent understanding of Islam, while one third claimed to be completely ignorant of it.

More than 55 per cent of respondents – mainly women, people with no tertiary training and those aged over 50 – reported having no contact with Muslims.

People who had no contact with Islam were twice as likely to be ignorant about the faith compared with those who were linked to it in some way, the study also showed.

It also found that whether people felt threatened by Islam depended on their knowledge of the religion.’

I might have already posted this. Can’t remember. Still, vaguely amusing and worth another quick look. :)

`The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has taken its fight against drunken driving to a new level. TABC agents, along with Irving police, targeted 36 bars and clubs Friday, arresting some allegedly intoxicated patrons before they departed the businesses.

The officers and agents also kept watch on bartenders who might have over-served patrons.

Agents arrested 30 people Friday night. Most of the suspects now face charges of public intoxication.’

`”South Park” has declared war on Scientology. Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of the animated satire, are digging in against the celebrity-endorsed religion after a controversial episode mocking outspoken Scientologist Tom Cruise was yanked abruptly from the schedule Wednesday � with Internet rumors it was covert warfare by Cruise that led to its departure.

“So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun!” the “South Park” creators said in a statement Friday in Daily Variety. “Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies… You have obsructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail!”‘

`Fake porn euro notes being sold as a gimmick in Germany are being successfully passed off as real cash.

The notes, in 300, 600 and 1,000 euro denominations have a ring of 12 hearts instead of the usual EU stars and feature hunky men and big-breasted nude women.

Instead of the word ‘Euro’ being printed in the corner these notes have ‘Eros’ – the Greek god of love.

But despite these differences – and the fact that the only large euro notes currently in circulation are 100s, 200s and 500s – police say they are being passed off as the real thing.’

`An Israeli court sentenced a man to two years in prison on Sunday for operating a fake clinic that offered penis enhancements and so-called medical treatments to make people taller, which failed to work.

Simon Sofer told dozens of clients he was a doctor and said he could add up to 3.9 inches to their height or 2.4 inches to their genitals, the Tel Aviv court said.

His clinic, in operation since 1999, was not medically supervised, a government prosecutor had told the court.’

`A macabre scandal in which corpses were plundered for body parts could be even bigger than previously disclosed, with one company alone saying it has distributed thousands of pieces of human tissue that authorities fear could be tainted with disease.

In addition, three other companies have reported quarantining or destroying more than $5 million in tissue from Biomedical Tissue Services — the now-defunct New Jersey supply house at the center of the scandal.

While the exact number of pieces distributed and used in operations has not been revealed, hospitals in recent weeks have spoken of contacting hundreds of patients who may have received tainted tissue.’

`With power cleaner than coal and cheaper than natural gas, the nuclear industry, 20 years past its last meltdown, thinks it is ready for its second act: its first new reactor orders since the 1970’s.

But there is a catch. The public’s acceptance of new reactors depends in part on the performance of the old ones, and lately several of those have been discovered to be leaking radioactive water into the ground.

Near Braceville, Ill., the Braidwood Generating Station, owned by the Exelon Corporation, has leaked tritium into underground water that has shown up in the well of a family nearby. The company, which has bought out one property owner and is negotiating with others, has offered to help pay for a municipal water system for houses near the plant that have private wells.’

A bit of tritium never hurt anyone, I say. :)

`Iraq is in the middle of civil war, the country’s former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi has told the BBC. [..]

The UK and US have repeatedly denied Iraq is facing a civil war, but Mr Allawi suggested there was no other way to describe the sectarian violence. [..]

“If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is.”‘

`Strange though it seems, a typical microwave oven consumes more electricity powering its digital clock than it does heating food. For while heating food requires more than 100 times as much power as running the clock, most microwave ovens stand idle—in “standby” mode—more than 99% of the time. And they are not alone: many other devices, such as televisions, DVD players, stereos and computers also spend much of their lives in standby mode, collectively consuming a huge amount of energy. Moves are being made around the world to reduce this unnecessary power consumption, called “standby power”.

[..] In 1998 they released an initial study which estimated that standby power accounted for approximately 5% of total residential electricity consumption in America, “adding up to more than $3 billion in annual energy costs”. According to America’s Department of Energy, national residential electricity consumption in 2004 was 1.29 billion megawatt hours (MWh)—5% of which is 64m MWh. The wasted energy, in other words, is equivalent to the output of 18 typical power stations.’