Archive for April, 2010
MIT Student Develops $3 Cutting-Edge Healing Device, Field Tested in Haiti
David L. Chandler writes on MIT News:
No one really knows why, but for an open wound, simply applying suction dramatically speeds healing times. (The theory is that the negative pressure draws bacteria out, and encourages circulation.) But for almost everyone, that treatment is out of reach — simply because the systems are expensive — rentals cost at least $100 a day and need to be recharged every six hours.
No more. Danielle Zurovcik, a doctoral student at MIT, has created a hand-powered suction-healing system that costs about $3. The device is composed of an airtight wound dressing, connected by a plastic tube to a cylinder with accordion-like folds. Squeezing it creates the suction, which lasts as long as there’s no air leak. What’s more, where regular dressings need to be replaced up to three times a day — a painful ordeal — the new cuff can be left on for several days.
Zurovcik…
GE Files 7,000 Tax Returns Globally, Ends Up With A $0 U.S. Tax Bill
Annalyn Censky writes on CNNMoney:
General Electric filed more than 7,000 income tax returns in hundreds of global jurisdictions last year, but when push came to shove, the company owed the U.S. government a whopping bill of $0.
How’d it pull off that trick? By losing lots of money.
GE had plenty of earnings last year — just not in the United States. For tax purposes, the company’s U.S. operations lost $408 million, while its international businesses netted a $10.8 billion profit.
That left GE with no U.S. profit left for Uncle Sam to tax. Corporations typically face a 35% federal income tax on their earnings. Thanks to its deductions and adjustments, GE reported an actual U.S. federal income tax rate of negative 10.5%. It got to add a “tax benefit” of $1.1 billion back into its reported earnings.
“This is the first time in at least decades that GE has reported negative U.S. pretax…
Kids ‘Too Damn Sexy’ Says Catholic Church
From Blather.net:
Catholic priests are not the ’sexual predators’ that they are being portrayed as in the press, but are in fact the ‘victims of a vast homosexual right-wing conspiracy’ to bring the Holy Roman Catholic church into ‘a state of disrepute and disgrace’, according to Cardinal Conal Colmcille Grupenfuhrer Von Graspenpantzen, speaking today in a wide-ranging defence of the day-to-day sexual activities of Catholic priests.
Speaking before a press conference in the Vatican this morning, Cardinal Von Graspenpantzen, Chief Spokesman of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that he believed he knew exactly who was behind the recent allegations of mass child-rape levelled at the Catholic church.
‘”An extensive Vatican investigation of itself has finally brought to light who precisely is responsible for these scurrilous accusations”, said Graspenpantzen. “As previously stated, the Vatican has already established that Satan, who is currently at work in the Vatican, has been employing…
Has Obama’s NASA Strategy Fizzled at Launch?
From Time:
Never mind the tropical sun. Visit Florida and dis the space program, and the reception you’ll get is going to be awfully cool. Nobody knew that better than President Obama on Thursday, when he toured the Kennedy Space Center and then spoke to a roomful of 200 VIPs about his plans for NASA after the shuttle program ends later this year. The President had to know that more than the agency’s future could be on the line. In Florida — the ultimate presidential swing state — his could be too. So how was the temperature in the room? Chilly — and not without reason.
Obama’s take on space has never been an easy thing to track. During the campaign, he targeted NASA as a likely area for budget-balancing cuts. Electoral arithmetic made that position untenable, and he quickly backtracked, pledging a robust future for the space agency, albeit one that…
Fluoride In Water Latest Volcano Health Concern
It’s long been known that fluoride is a serious threat to health, causing many to question it’s being added to municipal water systems. Advocates of fluoride in water routinely dismiss those voicing concerns as conspiracy theorists, but how are they going to spin this: scientists are warning that the volcanic ash now settling over Europe contains naturally-high levels of fluoride that may contaminate water supplies and threaten the health of livestock and people. Reported by AFP:
REYKJAVIK — The fallout of volcanic ash over parts of Iceland could jeopardise the safety of drinking water, health authorities warned Friday, but said the greatest health risk was to livestock.
“It is important to prevent the ash from reaching water supplies, both for public and animal health reasons and for safe milk production,” Halldor Runolfsson of the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority told AFP.
His colleague Guthjon Gunnarsson said the agency was evaluating the quality of drinking…
The 5 Creepiest Unsolved Crimes Nobody Can Explain
Thought this would be right up Disinfo’s alley. Via Cracked:
‘The Toynbee Tiles are cryptic messages found embedded in asphalt in various cities. The messages are thought to be layers of linoleum and asphalt crack-filling compound, and all tiles are found with variations of the same short message, referencing 2001: A Space Odyssey and suggesting we resurrect the dead on planet Jupiter.
Other than that, the only things setting these abnormally permanent acts of vandalism apart: They’ve been showing up out of nowhere, with no explanation for 30 damned years.’
You can see the word “Toynbee” at the top, which is referring to a famous historian. And if you’ve seen 2001 you know that the planet Jupiter is involved. And… that’s as much sense as we can make of it…
[more at Cracked]
Large and colorful Toynbee tile found in downtown Washington D.C., with closeup of its bottom tab. Taken by en:User:Erifnam in 2002 (GNU License)
…
Volcano Air Traffic Ban In Europe May Cause Higher Temperatures
Approximate drawing of estimated ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption as of 17 April 2010 at 18:00 UTC. Source: UK Met Office (CC)
Yes, you read that correctly. The volcanic ash cloud over Europe might be expected to block sunlight and lower continental temperatures in a sort of nuclear winter scenario à la The Road, but according to this report in the Daily Mail the opposite may be true:
Temperatures in Europe could rise as a result of planes being grounded across the continent, according to research.
A study conducted after commercial flights were grounded for three days following the September 11 terror attacks found the average daily temperature range in the U.S. rose markedly – exceeding the three-day periods before and after by 1.8c.
Scientists claimed this showed that clouds formed by the water vapour in the exhaust from jet planes have a small but significant effect on daily temperatures. The unprecedented study suggests the…
Christopher Hitchens on ‘Why We Should Fight Religion’…
I will let the man speak for himself:
Tea Party Censors Counter-Protesters, But News Crew Mocks Tea Party!
A local California newscast panned the empty sidewalk where a massive Tea Party rally was supposed to have occurred! But another small Tea Party rally still shut out any pro-government protesters by reserving all four sides of the Sacramento state Capitol — and demanding exclusive use of the grounds for the entire day (even though their rally didn’t start until noon).
They’d threatened to have anyone else escorted away by the police, effectively “preventing opposing voices from being heard,” according to one pro-government supporter from a new rival group called “the Coffee Party.”
But in the end the Coffee still staged their rally nearby on April 15 — and arranged a second rally on April 16 to show their support lasts more than one year!
Time Travel, Chasing Shadows and The Harlequin on The Black Fridays
The Black Fridays Episode 15 — Jason Ouffut
Website • iTunes • Direct Download • RSS
The Black Fridays welcomes Jason Offutt. Jason is a syndicated columnist, author, college journalism instructor, and a “fan of all things strange”. We talk with Jason about ghosts, Shadow People, and even a guy who invented a time travel machine.
We had a great time speaking with Jason and hope you enjoy it!
Find out more about Jason at www.from-the-shadows.blogspot.com
‘Unbearably Creepy’ Canadian Game Show Host (Video)
I wonder if this guy is working in the Catholic Church now. A montage of clips making the rounds on the internets from a vintage Canadian game show called Just Like Mom:
Why Is FEMA Trying To Cover Up NLE 10?
From Public Intelligence:
Public Intelligence has received a request from FEMA to remove a “For Official Use Only” document regarding the National Level Exercise 2010 (NLE 10), which was scheduled for this coming May. The exercise was to be based on National Planning Scenario 1 which simulates a nuclear detonation in a U.S. city. However, recent political pressure has led to the exercise being “scaled back” according to the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor and a variety of other publications. At the behest of Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), the exercise’s Nevada events have reportedly been canceled and the FEMA website now shows no mention of NLE 10…
[continues at Public Intelligence]
Wazup Jakarta!
Map by Uwe Dedering (CC)
Adam Martin reporting for Vice:
I’ve worked on a few daily papers over the last five years, but I’ve never before written or edited the phrase “the dead officer is understood to have been disemboweled.”
That was one of the early reports from the riot that knocked the head off Jakarta yesterday. A few hundred protestors who were convinced that the city was out to demolish a sacred tomb near Koja port in Tanjung Priok assembled at about 6 AM to stand guard against 2,000 or so public order officers (a security force kind of like police, but who work for a different city administration) who poured into the area, accompanied by two excavators.
It’s not clear which side swung the first club, but by 7ish the scene was a full-fledged battle. Protestors came prepared with machetes and sickles, which they used on the officers and later the cops…
Headless Human Sacrifice Victim Found In Indian Temple
Cutting off people’s heads as a gesture to the gods may have fallen out of favor, but it still happens sometimes, BBC News reports:
The severed head and torso of a man has been found in a temple in the Indian state of West Bengal in what the police say is a case of “human sacrifice.” The head and the body were found at the local temple to the goddess Kali near Chotomakdampur village in the western district of Birbhum.
“This man has been sacrificed to propitiate the gods,” said local official Kalyan Mukherjee. “This is a shame for Bengal where the ruling Left coalition claim they have eradicated social evils and combated superstition,” an opposition leader Samir Kumar Ray said.
Government Brings Fraud Charges Against Goldman Sachs
Finally! Despite the cozy relationship between the Obama administration’s financial team of Geithner, Summers, et al with their brethren on Wall Street, the SEC reveals that it has the balls to go up against Goldman Sachs. I fear for the job security of senior SEC staffers, but meanwhile they are hurting Goldman where it counts – the firm’s stock price dropped 10% on the announcement, as reported by NPR:
The government has accused Goldman Sachs & Co. of defrauding investors by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in mortgage investments it sold as the housing market was faltering.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday civil fraud charges against the Wall Street powerhouse and one of its vice presidents. The agency alleges Goldman failed to disclose that one of its clients helped create — and then bet against — subprime mortgage securities that Goldman sold to investors.
Investors in the mortgage securities are alleged to…
Video Of Maryland Police Brutally Beating Student
Walking on campus as students celebrated a basketball victory, University of Maryland student John McKenna was suddenly surrounded by a group of police officers, on foot and horseback, who began beating, kicking, and clubbing him. The police claimed that McKenna had attacked them, and he was charged with assaulting an officer. Luckily, the event was caught on tape.
California Police Return Man’s Medical Marijuana — With No Court Order!
Steve Elliott continues the great work on Toke of the Town:
Going against its own policy, a police department in California has returned several containers of marijuana to a 21-year-old man who said he was falsely accused of possession, transportation and sales.
The man, who lives in Mountain Ranch, California, asked that his full name not be used, opting to be referred to only as “Frank,” reports Joel Metzger of the Calaveras Enterprise.
He was pulled over by Officer Jim McKeon of the Angels Camp Police Department on Nov. 22 in a parking lot for expired registration on his vehicle, according to the police report.
Officer Chris Johnson arrived on the scene, said he smelled the odor of raw marijuana, and claimed he saw some marijuana in plain sight in the car, according to Angels Camp Police Chief Dale Mendenhall.
Read More on Toke of the Town
The Blackmail Virus That Targets Internet Porn Addicts
It’s amazing that no one thought of this before: place a computer virus on porn sites, use it to obtain the names of people downloading content from the sites, and threaten to expose them unless a payment is made to the blackmailer. Genius, in fact… As reported by the BBC:
A new type of malware infects PCs using file-share sites and publishes the user’s net history on a public website before demanding a fee for its removal.
The Japanese trojan virus installs itself on computers using a popular file-share service called Winni, used by up to 200m people. It targets those downloading illegal copies of games in the Hentai genre, an explicit form of anime.
Website Yomiuri claims that 5500 people have so far admitted to being infected. The virus, known as Kenzero, is being monitored by web security firm Trend Micro in Japan.
Masquerading as a game installation screen, it requests the PC…
Meteor Lights Up Iowa (Video)
A bright meteor in the night sky provided many people in Eastern Iowa with a rare treat late Wednesday night. A Howard County Sheriff Department dash cam caught the meteor’s fall. (April 15, 2010)
