Archive for August, 2007
GERMAN FUND HALTS REDEMPTIONS
August 7th, 2007It’s just like musical chairs, boys and girls. Via: Bloomberg: Frankfurt Trust, the mutual fund manager of Germany’s BHF-Bank, stopped withdrawals from a fund after clients removed 20 percent of their money since the end of July amid concern about the U.S. subprime loan debacle. The FT ABS-Plus fund, which includes residential mortgage- backed securities […]
Study: Food in McDonald’s Wrapper Tastes Better to Kids
August 7th, 2007Via: CNN: Anything made by McDonald’s tastes better, preschoolers said in a study that powerfully demonstrates how advertising can trick the taste buds of young children. In comparing identical McDonald’s foods in name-brand and plain wrappers, the unmarked foods always lost. Even carrots, milk and apple juice tasted better to the kids when they were […]
Barf Light Weapon
August 6th, 2007Via: Fox News: It looks like a big flashlight — but it’s really a nonlethal weapon designed to make you sick. Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc., of Torrance, Calif., has been granted a contract by the Department of Homeland Security to develop what it calls the “LED Incapacitator,” according to a DHS online newsletter. The handheld […]
UK: Children as Young as Five to be Fingerprinted in Schools
August 6th, 2007Via: Daily Mail: Schools have been given the go-ahead to take fingerprints from children as young as five – without asking their parents first. Ministers issued guidance allowing heads to collect pupils’ biometric data to use when taking the register, paying for lunch or using the library. Schools can also take retina and iris scans […]
Abandoned Homes Taken Over by Weeds, Swimming Pools Breed Mosquitoes
August 6th, 2007Introductory rates starting at just 1.2%! Call now! Via: Arizona Republic: City code enforcers and county mosquito patrols across the Valley say they’re seeing a spate of weeds and green pools in places they never used to: newer neighborhoods with higher-priced homes. Increasing numbers of these properties are being abandoned by cash-strapped owners, leaving messes […]
Concord Councilman Dies Suddenly at Meeting
August 6th, 2007Via: CBS: Concord Councilmember Michael Chavez died suddenly Saturday afternoon after suffering a heart attack in the midst of a city planning meeting attended by more than 175 people, acording to Mt. Diablo Medical Center officials. Chavez, a 27-year Concord resident and owner of the Charisma Salon died of a heart attack at a meeting […]
Think Pure Electric Vehicle Is Coming Back
August 6th, 2007Well, maybe not totally pure EV. Dean Kamen is working on a stirling engine addon to assist with battery charging. But how is he running the stirling engine? Can anyone fathom out the answer to that? I’ve read about his stirling engine burning cow dung to produce electricity, but that fuel will be in short […]
Geothermal Power Could Meet World’s Annual Energy Needs 250,000 Times Over
August 6th, 2007Amount of taxpayer money that the U.S. Government has allocated to this deep, “hot rock” geothermal research: $2 million. Amount of taxpayer money flushed down the toilet of U.S. military operations in Iraq PER DAY: $200 million. Via: Yahoo / AP: Scientists say this geothermal energy, clean, quiet and virtually inexhaustible, could fill the world’s […]
Foot and Mouth Outbreak Linked to Foot and Mouth Lab
August 5th, 2007Via: Sky: The foot and mouth outbreak at a farm in Surrey may have been caused by a leak from a nearby animal research laboratory. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)said the virus is the same as one being used at Pirbright Laboratory, just a few miles from the farm. Defra could […]
Surge: Afghanistan Now Responsible for 95% of Global Opium Production
August 5th, 2007The people behind this represent the real Plunge Protection Team. Via: Yahoo / AP: Afghanistan will produce another record poppy harvest this year that cements its status as the world’s near-sole supplier of the heroin source, yet a furious debate over how to reverse the trend is stalling proposals to cut the crop, U.S. officials […]
