January 16, 2006
Shameless plug for my new website
I have made some updates and corrections since its Friday inauguration.
Predestined For Free Will: http://www.freewill-predestination.com/
The following sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham…” “Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-am. I do not like green eggs and ham.”
Fluorescent green pig
January 13, 2006 - By injecting fluorescent green protein into embryonic pigs, a research team at the island's leading National Taiwan University managed to breed three male transgenic pigs, said professor Wu Shinn-Chih of the university's Institute and Department of Animal Science and Technology.
"There are partially fluorescent green pigs elsewhere, but ours are the only ones in the world that are green from inside out. Even their hearts and internal organs are green," Wu said today.
The transgenic pigs, commonly used to study human diseases, would help researchers monitor and trace changes of the tissues during the physical development, Wu said…
Photos (I guess these are JPIG pictures…) at:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060113/ids_photos_wl/r1277527826.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/01/13/pig_narrowweb__300x458,0.jpg
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060112/060112_glowpig_hmed_4a.hmedium.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/and-now-its-fluoro-pig/2006/01/13/1136956327408.html
And you wonder why some people home school their children…?
Ohio High School Porn Homework Canceled
Jan 13 BROOKLYN, Ohio- A high school research assignment on Internet pornography was canceled after parents in this Cleveland suburb complained.
Superintendent Jeff Lampert said that although the teacher's apparent goal to discuss the harmful effects of pornography “was well- intentioned”, he agreed with parents that the assignment was inappropriate for 14- and 15-year-old freshmen.
The assignment asked students to research pornography on the Internet and list eight facts about pornography. Students also were asked to write their personal views of pornography and any experience they had with it.
Lampert said he doubted the teacher would face any punishment.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/13/D8F41B9O3.html
College illiteracy stuns educators
January 12, 2006-- Stunned, shocked and appalled are American educators as they study the recent report from the National Center of Education Statistics, which reveals that only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. "It's really astounding," said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association. "That's not saying much for the remainder," he added, meaning that 69 percent of our college graduates cannot read at or above a "proficient" level.
Absolutely appalled by the results of the survey was Mark S. Schneider, commissioner of education statistics, who remarked, "The declining impact of education on our adult population was the biggest surprise for us, and we just don't have a good explanation. What's disturbing is that the assessment is not designed to test your understanding of Proust, but to test your ability to read labels."
The Boston Globe (Dec. 26, 2005) explained that the test measured how well adults handled basic reading tasks – such as figuring out costs per ounce of food items, comparing viewpoints on two editorials, and reading prescription labels. Of graduate students tested in 2003, 41 percent were classified as "proficient" in prose – able to read and understand information in short texts – down 10 percent since 1992. As for college graduates, only 31 percent were classified as proficient – compared with 40 percent in 1992. The results were based on a sample of more than 19,000 individuals 16 or older, who were interviewed in their homes. They were asked to read prose, do math, and find facts in documents…
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48309
Plants adding to greenhouse gases
12/01/2006- Planting trees to neutralise greenhouse gas emissions and other climate problems has become a fashionable activity for the eco-conscious citizen.
Today, however, an international team of scientists raises an unexpected objection to using forests to soak up the effects of man-made carbon dioxide: plants have been found for the first time to produce considerable quantities of methane, another potent greenhouse gas.
"We now have the spectre that new forests might increase greenhouse warming through methane emissions rather than decrease it by being sinks for CO2," said David Lowe of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in Wellington, New Zealand.
Frank Keppler, the lead author of the study published today in the journal Nature, said he was anxious that the discovery should not be seized on in the debate about what to do about global warming. (because it doesn’t fit in with their ultimate goals…)
He and colleagues studied plant litter and living plants and found that both gave off methane. Maize and ryegrass let out some 10 to 100 times more methane than dead plant material.
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/12/wplants12.xml
Victims of tsunami in tents as aid agency 'sits on millions'
12/01/2006- A report has criticised Britain's Disaster Emergency Committee over the millions of pounds (£) in donations for the survivors of the Asian tsunami that are still lying in its bank account, while tens of thousands of people left homeless by the disaster are still living in tents.
…The report said there had been a tendency for agencies to "rush ahead" with reconstruction, which had resulted in "tens of thousands still living in tents" and temporary shelters, which were "unsafe".
…The study also claimed agencies had so much money "they have shown little inclination to work together, and on many occasions behaved in a competitive way".
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/12/ntsun12.xml
Massachusetts has been losing more people than it attracts every year since 1990
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/jeffjacoby/2006/01/16/182453.html
Inmate goes from man to woman and back on NHS
(It must one those “guaranteed rights issues… )
England- A prisoner who had a sex change operation to become a woman is to undergo further surgery to become a man again. (both at tax payer expense)
John Pilley, currently known as Jane Anne, is in Holloway women’s jail in North London. The prisoner made legal history in 1999 when he became the first inmate in England and Wales to be granted permission for a sex change operation. He is understood to have undergone the gender reassignment operation on the NHS in 2001 at an estimated cost of £15,000.
Pilley, 54, was moved from Gartree Prison, in Leicestershire, where he was serving life for attempted murder and kidnapping a female taxi driver, to Holloway, but after living in the female jail has decided to become a man again. He is waiting to have his second operation on the NHS, then will be transferred to a male prison.
…Research published last year suggested that there was no conclusive evidence that sex- change operations improved the lives of transsexuals.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2-1981218%2C00.html
Sean Penn Blames President Bush for Smoking Habit
Sean Penn told the audience at an anti-war forum hosted by the Progressive Democrats of America the other night that the stress of living under the Bush administration is making it impossible for him to quit smoking, the PDA’s Web site reported… http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTrack/view.bg?articleid=120949
Shark repellent sticker hits the market
12 January 2006 -"When a shark swims underneath they can easily identify the sticker as another shark" Fang Shooey creator Craig Wills.
Over the past decade there has been an increase in the research and development of devices that deter sharks. Some of the shark deterrents available in the market include electronic shields and chemical repellents.
Danny Togo and Craig Wills are the designers of Fang Shooey, a sticker and picture of a Great White shark, which they believe, stuck to the bottom of surfboards will deter sharks from attacking.
Photo at http://www.abc.net.au/sunshine/stories/m1172686.jpg
http://www.abc.net.au/sunshine/stories/s1546405.htm
I have made some updates and corrections since its Friday inauguration.
Predestined For Free Will: http://www.freewill-predestination.com/
The following sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham…” “Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-am. I do not like green eggs and ham.”
Fluorescent green pig
January 13, 2006 - By injecting fluorescent green protein into embryonic pigs, a research team at the island's leading National Taiwan University managed to breed three male transgenic pigs, said professor Wu Shinn-Chih of the university's Institute and Department of Animal Science and Technology.
"There are partially fluorescent green pigs elsewhere, but ours are the only ones in the world that are green from inside out. Even their hearts and internal organs are green," Wu said today.
The transgenic pigs, commonly used to study human diseases, would help researchers monitor and trace changes of the tissues during the physical development, Wu said…
Photos (I guess these are JPIG pictures…) at:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060113/ids_photos_wl/r1277527826.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/01/13/pig_narrowweb__300x458,0.jpg
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060112/060112_glowpig_hmed_4a.hmedium.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/and-now-its-fluoro-pig/2006/01/13/1136956327408.html
And you wonder why some people home school their children…?
Ohio High School Porn Homework Canceled
Jan 13 BROOKLYN, Ohio- A high school research assignment on Internet pornography was canceled after parents in this Cleveland suburb complained.
Superintendent Jeff Lampert said that although the teacher's apparent goal to discuss the harmful effects of pornography “was well- intentioned”, he agreed with parents that the assignment was inappropriate for 14- and 15-year-old freshmen.
The assignment asked students to research pornography on the Internet and list eight facts about pornography. Students also were asked to write their personal views of pornography and any experience they had with it.
Lampert said he doubted the teacher would face any punishment.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/13/D8F41B9O3.html
College illiteracy stuns educators
January 12, 2006-- Stunned, shocked and appalled are American educators as they study the recent report from the National Center of Education Statistics, which reveals that only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. "It's really astounding," said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association. "That's not saying much for the remainder," he added, meaning that 69 percent of our college graduates cannot read at or above a "proficient" level.
Absolutely appalled by the results of the survey was Mark S. Schneider, commissioner of education statistics, who remarked, "The declining impact of education on our adult population was the biggest surprise for us, and we just don't have a good explanation. What's disturbing is that the assessment is not designed to test your understanding of Proust, but to test your ability to read labels."
The Boston Globe (Dec. 26, 2005) explained that the test measured how well adults handled basic reading tasks – such as figuring out costs per ounce of food items, comparing viewpoints on two editorials, and reading prescription labels. Of graduate students tested in 2003, 41 percent were classified as "proficient" in prose – able to read and understand information in short texts – down 10 percent since 1992. As for college graduates, only 31 percent were classified as proficient – compared with 40 percent in 1992. The results were based on a sample of more than 19,000 individuals 16 or older, who were interviewed in their homes. They were asked to read prose, do math, and find facts in documents…
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48309
Plants adding to greenhouse gases
12/01/2006- Planting trees to neutralise greenhouse gas emissions and other climate problems has become a fashionable activity for the eco-conscious citizen.
Today, however, an international team of scientists raises an unexpected objection to using forests to soak up the effects of man-made carbon dioxide: plants have been found for the first time to produce considerable quantities of methane, another potent greenhouse gas.
"We now have the spectre that new forests might increase greenhouse warming through methane emissions rather than decrease it by being sinks for CO2," said David Lowe of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in Wellington, New Zealand.
Frank Keppler, the lead author of the study published today in the journal Nature, said he was anxious that the discovery should not be seized on in the debate about what to do about global warming. (because it doesn’t fit in with their ultimate goals…)
He and colleagues studied plant litter and living plants and found that both gave off methane. Maize and ryegrass let out some 10 to 100 times more methane than dead plant material.
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/12/wplants12.xml
Victims of tsunami in tents as aid agency 'sits on millions'
12/01/2006- A report has criticised Britain's Disaster Emergency Committee over the millions of pounds (£) in donations for the survivors of the Asian tsunami that are still lying in its bank account, while tens of thousands of people left homeless by the disaster are still living in tents.
…The report said there had been a tendency for agencies to "rush ahead" with reconstruction, which had resulted in "tens of thousands still living in tents" and temporary shelters, which were "unsafe".
…The study also claimed agencies had so much money "they have shown little inclination to work together, and on many occasions behaved in a competitive way".
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/12/ntsun12.xml
Massachusetts has been losing more people than it attracts every year since 1990
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/jeffjacoby/2006/01/16/182453.html
Inmate goes from man to woman and back on NHS
(It must one those “guaranteed rights issues… )
England- A prisoner who had a sex change operation to become a woman is to undergo further surgery to become a man again. (both at tax payer expense)
John Pilley, currently known as Jane Anne, is in Holloway women’s jail in North London. The prisoner made legal history in 1999 when he became the first inmate in England and Wales to be granted permission for a sex change operation. He is understood to have undergone the gender reassignment operation on the NHS in 2001 at an estimated cost of £15,000.
Pilley, 54, was moved from Gartree Prison, in Leicestershire, where he was serving life for attempted murder and kidnapping a female taxi driver, to Holloway, but after living in the female jail has decided to become a man again. He is waiting to have his second operation on the NHS, then will be transferred to a male prison.
…Research published last year suggested that there was no conclusive evidence that sex- change operations improved the lives of transsexuals.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2-1981218%2C00.html
Sean Penn Blames President Bush for Smoking Habit
Sean Penn told the audience at an anti-war forum hosted by the Progressive Democrats of America the other night that the stress of living under the Bush administration is making it impossible for him to quit smoking, the PDA’s Web site reported… http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTrack/view.bg?articleid=120949
Shark repellent sticker hits the market
12 January 2006 -"When a shark swims underneath they can easily identify the sticker as another shark" Fang Shooey creator Craig Wills.
Over the past decade there has been an increase in the research and development of devices that deter sharks. Some of the shark deterrents available in the market include electronic shields and chemical repellents.
Danny Togo and Craig Wills are the designers of Fang Shooey, a sticker and picture of a Great White shark, which they believe, stuck to the bottom of surfboards will deter sharks from attacking.
Photo at http://www.abc.net.au/sunshine/stories/m1172686.jpg
http://www.abc.net.au/sunshine/stories/s1546405.htm
posted by David Bennett | 6:13 AM
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