Forget about the threat that mankind poses to the Earth: our activities may be shortening the life of the universe too. The startling claim is made by a pair of American cosmologists investigating the consequences for the cosmos of quantum theory, the most successful theory we have. Over the past few years, cosmologists have taken this powerful theory of what happens at the level of subatomic particles and tried to extend it to understand the universe, since it began in the subatomic realm during the Big Bang.
But there is an odd feature of the theory that philosophers and scientists still argue about. In a nutshell, the theory suggests that we change things simply by looking at them and theorists have puzzled over the implications for years.
They often illustrate their concerns about what the theory means with boggling mind experiments, notably Schrodinger's cat in which, thanks to a fancy experimental set up, the moggy is both alive and dead until someone decides to look, when it either carries on living, or dies. That is, by one interpetation (by another, the universe splits into two, one with a live cat and one with a dead one.)
New Scientist reports a worrying new variant as the cosmologists claim that astronomers may have accidentally nudged the universe closer to its death by observing dark energy, a mysterious anti gravity force which is thought to be speeding up the expansion of the cosmos.
The damaging allegations are made by Profs Lawrence Krauss of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and James Dent of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, who suggest that by making this observation in 1998 we may have caused the cosmos to revert to an earlier state when it was more likely to end. "Incredible as it seems, our detection of the dark energy may have reduced the life-expectancy of the universe," Prof Krauss tells New Scientist. AlGore to sell "Dark Energy Credits" in 5...4....3..
what complete and utter tripe. GW hysteria seems to need ever-darker, ever-nearer bigger and badder disasters. These two idiots may have jumped to the head of the pack. I blame W for damaging the universe. Hillary would stop it
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/23/2007 08:25 ||
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#1
..who suggest that by making this observation in 1998 we may have caused the cosmos to revert to an earlier state when it was more likely to end
But, but, but that was Clinton the First's watch. Oh, never mind. Of course, severe BDS also has associated symptoms of time-space distortions as well.
#2
So, does this mean I have the power to change things just by looking at them? There are some things that need energy added in order for one to be able to observe them. This means the state after observation is different than the state before observation. In that sense observation has changed things. Mearly looking at something doesn't change the state. Bugwits.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/23/2007 9:23 Comments ||
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#3
It's all my fault, I'm sorry, I'll just crawl into foetal position, laying naked in the snow, and wait for death, or having to go to the bathroom, whichever comes first.
#5
There are many varieties of the 'multiverse' hypothesis. It's mostly just a fun subject for conjecture since no objective test of any of these versions of the hypothesis is doable for many years.
#6
Gah! As if the perturbations of a single atom could foredoom the structure of an entire solar system. That's pretty much the scale of mankind to the universe, only much more infintesimal. Tripe like this should result in instant budget cuts and pink slips.
Posted by: James ||
11/23/2007 11:27 Comments ||
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#10
cosmologists claim that astronomers may have accidentally nudged the universe closer to its death by observing dark energy, a mysterious anti gravity force which is thought to be speeding up the expansion of the cosmos.
Utter rubbish on many levels.
Fancy that, they call it "dark nergy" because they can't observe it.
It is just a mathematical construct to explain some behavior (presumed expansion, based on red shift which BTW is not an indication of speeding away--there is enough evidence that we got this completely wrong).
They have also "dark energy" that is a glue for galaxies because calcs based on gravity alone would have them flying apart.
#15
Universe to end, women and minorities hit hardest!
These dudes just proved the existence of God and that He is a jelous God. In a universe without a creator, there would be no unknowable mysteries and certainly no unknowables which would cause the soap bubble to burst when approached too closely (on an intellectual basis). QED God exists.
Take that, Chris Hitchens! And you, Dawkins!- quit mucking about or you will make Him take his ball and go home.
#16
1) You have liberal colleges turning out all liberals who have one goal. To ignore facts and put out garbage to support the leftist agenda.
2) In a round about way it supports the humans are responsible for "global warming" scam. Another guilt trip thing against people into saying, "OK, my bad. You are now in charge, wackos." Just what the scam artists want you to say.
#22
But the bad is that quantum theory says that whenever we observe or measure something, we could stop it decaying due what is what is called the "quantum Zeno effect," which suggests that if an "observer" makes repeated, quick observations of a microscopic object undergoing change, the object can stop changing - just as a watched kettle never boils.
all that micro-layout Zeno guilt and billions double tape sizing/measures of dimensional lumber...
OhMyGawd, Ima dooomed... No you are doomed... we're all doomed!
/and dat poor poor tape worm!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
11/23/2007 14:16 Comments ||
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#23
This is the old "If a tree falls in a forest..." question.
Of course there's a sound, saying that unless a human hears it, it didn't happen. Is trying to place humans in an all-important role THAT DOESN"T EXIST, it's simply a ploy to imply false human superiority.
Bullshit then, bullshit now.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/23/2007 14:20 Comments ||
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#24
George Bush don't care about dark matter!
Posted by: Kanye West ||
11/23/2007 14:24 Comments ||
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#25
hey.. that cat looks mighty suspecious like..
like he might know where all the stuff is..
..the dark stuff that is...
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
11/23/2007 14:32 Comments ||
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#26
hey.. that cat looks mighty suspecious like..
like he might know where all the stuff is..
..the dark stuff that is...
I don't know for that one, but THIS one certainly does...
#29
I will point out that you're reading an interpretation of an interpretation of a science paper, made by a person whose math scores were such that he was forced to become a journalist. As long as we're generalizing wildly.
Actual paper (PDF) is here. Download options on the right. It's only four pages. It's been a long time since I looked at this stuff, but basically it's talking about excited vacuum energy states. You'd think the vacuum (i.e., space), being nothing, would have zero energy. This turns out not to be true: the vacuum has an energy level, sort of analogous to the energy level of electrons in an atom. This leads to the question of whether the vacuum energy can change, what would make it do that. (Note: that would presumably lead to Very Bad But Very Brief Day for Earth.)
When I was in grad school one of my friends was working on a paper which investigated whether the then-proposed Superconducting Supercollider would reach energies capable of inducing the vacuum to decay to a lower energy state, thereby destroying the universe (answer:no).
Krauss and Dent's paper is on the snooze-inducing subject of whether vacuum decay is exponential or a power law, and how you would tell the difference. The quantum-y destruction of the Universe part is this, at the very end:
If observations of quantum mechanical systems reset their clocks, which has been observed for laboratory systems, then by measuring the existence dark energy in our own universe have we reset the quantum mechanical configuration of our own universe so that late time will never be relevant? Put another way, can internal observations of the state of a metastable universe affect its longevity?
In other words, it's just something they thought of and want to check out. I myself will not be losing much sleep over the question. I'm more intrigued by the thought of who the hell trolls through dry and arcane scientific articles, looking for something juicy and sensational?
(Apparently the answer is Marcus Chown, who evidently missed his true calling as a *nix system administrator. Full article is subscription only.)
Krauss, by the way, is the author of The Physics of Star Trek and other books.
#32
Procopius2k, not the dark matter (a figment of someone runaway imagination) but aether is now called vacuum. Yea, they thought of vacuum as medium devoid of anything, but no such a thing. Aether is so 1890s, so they say vacuum and mean aether.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/23/2007 18:57 Comments ||
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#34
OK, folks, with thanks to Angie, here is the poop scoop on Creation:
The world was made in six days
And finished on the seventh
According to the contract
It should have been the eleventh
But the painters wouldn't paint
And the workers wouldn't work
So the quickest thing to do
Was to fill it up with dirt
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/23/2007 19:20 Comments ||
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Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/23/2007 21:13 Comments ||
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#37
Due to the Robertson-Schrodinger relation, the authors can not accurately measure the degree to which observation of the universal state affects same. Therefore, this argument can not proceed beyond the hypothetical. It lies in the realm of philosophy, not physics.
Posted by: Ulomoque Protector of the Hatfields2940 ||
11/23/2007 23:00 Comments ||
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DHAKA - The plight of survivors of Bangladeshs killercyclone Sidr was causing increasing concern Friday as relief workers struggled to ferry aid to stricken villagers a week after the disaster. More than 3,400 people are now confirmed dead after cyclone Sidr ripped through southern and central districts on November 15. Thousands more are missing feared dead. The government estimates that around 280,000 people have been left homeless. A huge military-led aid effort was underway but officials said logistical problems meant only small amounts of relief were getting through and that the pace was slow.
UN resident coordinator Renata Lok Dessallien said the army believed most victims had now received some aid. It is not enough necessarily for everyone but at least they have the first batch and the next batch will be close behind. Every day it has been growing steadily, she told AFP. Dessallien said the lack of fresh drinking water was also fuelling fears of an epidemic of water-borne diseases. We are concerned about outbreaks of diarrhoea and cholera, she said, adding that all the aid agencies faced a major challenge in targeting relief where it was most needed.
The water problem is compounded by the fact that it is not just a question of purifying it, but also about the fact that much of it is saline, she said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/23/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Ummm, that storm's over Florida and Cuba, find a better graphic?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/23/2007 15:02 Comments ||
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Hardly, that storm is way the hell west of Florida and NW of Cubs. We need more nit-picking.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/23/2007 19:00 Comments ||
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Had Toni Vernelli gone ahead with her pregnancy ten years ago, she would know at first hand what it is like to cradle her own baby, to have a pair of innocent eyes gazing up at her with unconditional love, to feel a little hand slipping into hers - and a voice calling her Mummy.
But the very thought makes her shudder with horror.
Because when Toni terminated her pregnancy, she did so in the firm belief she was helping to save the planet.
And how many millions of years has this planet existed?
Posted by: Pecos Bill ||
11/23/2007 18:13 ||
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#1
Actually, she was sort of saving planet from her genetic inheritance. The very thought that she would propagate makes me shudder with horror.
The unfortunatte aspect of it was the pregnancy, it is possible that be offspring would be okay if removed from her mother's harmful vibes right after birth.
The moral to eco-wackos: Sterilize yourselves before any potential pregnancy.
#3
There will undoubtedly be some benefits to the gene pool at large (see Boobs not Bombs at Zombietime.com) but it will not result in total extinction of the lefty plague. Unlike, say, rats or cockroaches, leftists do not reproduce primarily by any biological process but by stealing the offspring of others through their control of the social indoctrination apparatus, specifically the media-industrial complex and public education.
The real answer to this is new media, the blogs, talk radio, and other independent outlets. This is why lefties hate the new media so much. To them, it is a threat of sterilization and they react as normal people do when they are grabbed by the gonads.
#5
There goes their whine 'in the name of the Children[tm]'. Got to rethink that game.
Oh, of course everyone else's children will be expected to pay the taxes for their old age pension and medical, unless of course they elect to off themselves rather than demand more from others than they themselves gave.
#8
Given the choice, she eliminated her unborn child rather than herself.
The truly sincere and unselfish thing would have been for her to have the kid, give it to some real parents, then dispose of herself in some environmentally benign way.
I would suggest the middle of the ocean, where her bio-mass would be quickly and efficiently recycled for the benefit of more deserving organisms.
"Two Baker County women who cared for the boy, Suzette Renee Stevenson, 45, and her girlfriend, Jamie Lynn Martin, 26, are accused of leaving the child in a car while they toured Westgate's time-shares Nov. 6. Each woman was arrested on charges of aggravated child abuse. Martin is being held at the Columbia County Jail, and Stevenson is jailed in Baker County."
They deserve to spend a few months years in a Brazilian jail cell with 20 men. I suspect they might learn a few tricks they didn't know.
Posted by: Ho Chi Whimp8387 ||
11/23/2007 17:46 Comments ||
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#3
good to keep Hugo paranoid and repeated purges of the military will lead to a hierarchy of loyal, but incompetent buffoons, like himself.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/23/2007 3:24 Comments ||
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#4
It doesn't need to be locked up. 'ugo is buying the poor, he's geniunely popular, altho I'll still wager he loses the Dec. 3 vote.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/23/2007 3:41 Comments ||
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#5
Eva Golinger
Nevermind the entire post was Chavista pap for the weak-minded gringo press.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/23/2007 3:44 Comments ||
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#6
First generation thugs like Hugo don't go down once ensconced with the means to have their watch dogs in place. As long as he and his mafia have 'true believers' to carry out the directives to maintain order, only outside intervention can bring them down. All else is wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy.
#12
I concur with those who think that Fat Loud Mouth Hugo will still be blasting away with his Bocca until he is assassinated or dies of natural causes.
The Soviets taught the Cubans how to build up a State apparatus that protects any Thug in Chief while neutralizing all internal threats and the Cubans have passed this black art along to Hugo.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
11/23/2007 14:54 Comments ||
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#13
Moose SCORES BIG EXPLOSION of popcorn /:)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
11/23/2007 14:56 Comments ||
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#14
" there's little doubt of CIA involvement as it's always part of this kind of dirty business."
What's truly unfortunate is that they so seldom succeed...
#15
Article bought and paid for by PDvSA social funds, it's absolute BS.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/23/2007 19:05 Comments ||
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#16
The thing is Hugo has no party or seccession. A coup that started with a bullet into Hugo would succeed as long as the assassin was killed or unknown so others could be blamed.
KRASYLIVKA, Ukraine (AP) - After authorities broke into Yakiv Atamanenko's home in autumn of 1932 and confiscated the family's food, his mother and two brothers died of starvation and their bloated bodies were tossed among others in a freshly dug grave on the outskirts of this farming village.
Atamanenko and other survivors here said one of their neighbors, Oleksandra Korytnyk and her husband, ate their two children. "They cut their children into pieces and ate them," recalled Atamanenko, now a frail, gray-haired 95-year-old.
In the end, he and others said, the Korytnyks died as well.
On Saturday, Ukraine marks the 75th anniversary of the terrible famine of 1932-33, engineered by Soviet authorities to force peasants across the former U.S.S.R. to give up their privately held plots of land and join collective farms. Millions perished.
Now President Viktor Yushchenko is leading an effort to gain international recognition of Holodomoror death by hunger, as it is known hereas a crime rather than merely a disaster, by labeling it an act of genocide. Which it clearly is, walter duranty to the contrary.
Long kept secret by Soviet authorities, accounts of the great famine still divide historians and politicians, not just in this nation of 47 million but throughout the former Soviet Union.
Some are convinced that the famine targeted Ukrainians as an ethnic group. Others argue authorities set out to eradicate all private land owners as a social class, and that the Soviets sought to pay for the U.S.S.R.'s industrialization with grain exports at the expense of starving millions of its own people. Race-based racism and genocide, as opposed to class-based racism and genocide.
The dictator Josef Stalin's collectivization drive affected the entire U.S.S.R, but was particularly calamitous for Ukraine, which had some of the former Soviet Union's richest agricultural land. The campaign coincided, as well, with the Kremlin's efforts to root out a growing Ukrainian nationalist movement.
Estimates of the number of people who perished in Holodomor differ, but there is no doubt the death toll was horrific. Yushchenko estimates 10 million Ukrainians died, while Stanislav Kulchitsky, a Ukrainian historian, believes the number is closer to 3.5 million.
Authorities set production quotas for each village. But these quotas generally exceeded crop yields and in village after village, when farmers failed to meet their targets, all their food was confiscated.
Residents were prohibited to leave their homeseffectively condemning them to starvation.
In Krasylivka as many as 1,017 peopleroughly the village's present day populationdied in the course of that terrible year, according to a list of the victims compiled by village authorities. Elders say the famine nearly wiped out the village.
Villagers tell stories of their neighbors collapsing in the street and dying. Driven to despair, people ate whatever they could scrounge: leaves, dirt, birds, dogs, rats andseveral witnesses saideven each other.
Olena Yaroshchuk, 94, her wrinkled face framed by a green kerchief, said she filled her aching stomach with grass. "Those who could survived, those who couldn'tthat was the end of it, one house after anotheralmost all died," she said.
Kulchitsky, a leading famine researcher, argues the famine was a genocide aimed at Ukrainians who resisted Soviet rule. "The conditions authorities created for the Ukrainian peasantry were incompatible with life," he wrote in a recent article.
But Heorhiy Kasyanov, a top historian with the National Academy of Sciences, says the issue is more Nuanced subtle. "There is no hard evidence that there were concrete statements or actions aimed at destroying ethnic Ukrainians by someone else. I don't have a clear answer whether or not it was genocide."
The Ukrainian parliament has already labeled the famine genocide. So has the United States, and some other countries. But Russia, the legal successor to the Soviet state, resists the label.
Under international law, genocide is defined as deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial or ethnic group. Moscow insists the famine also targeted other groups, including Russians and Kazakhs.
"There are no grounds to talk about genocide. We can talk about 'sociocide'the extermination of peasants, a political crime on the part of Soviet leadership," said Andrei Petrov, a historian with the Russian Academy of Sciences.
But another Russian historian said Holodomor was one of many acts of genocide by Stalin against the peoples of the former Soviet Union. "It was genocide in the direct sense of this wordit is the killing of people, the killing of the Ukrainian people," he said. "The same must be done for the Kazakhs, the Russians and peoples of other territories."
Ukrainian politicians are themselves divided on the topic. The genocide vote in parliament last year was boycotted by the party of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who draws his support from Russian- speaking eastern Ukraine, as well as the Communists.
Even in Krasylivka, people say the issue is complicated. Many survivors blame the Soviet government for the famine. But many also say that the cruelty of the local authorities compounded the tragedy.
#1
"ya gotta crack a couple million eggs if you wanna make a half-baked omellette"
/Walter "NYTimes Pulitzer" Duranty
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/23/2007 17:18 Comments ||
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#2
Yes, the NYT is more than willing to push the 'guilt' game like everyone else. Their own action via the Duranty case shows that such behavior is only about exploiting other peoples' sense of shame. You need to have a soul to have shame. Something the NYT's staff and owner apparently don't.
Hang Seng Bank, a unit of global lender HSBC Group, launched Thursday Hong Kongs first Islamic fund, in a move that provides Islamic investors with an opportunity to gain exposure to the Chinese and Hong Kong markets while meeting Islamic law knows as Sharia. "Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global financial industry," William Leung, Hang Sengs General Manager of Personal Financial Services and Wealth Management, said in a statement. "Global Islamic financial assets are currently worth about USD 1 trillion and this figure is expected to grow by 15 percent per year," said Leung. The new fund, called Hang Seng Islamic China Index Fund, is the only Islamic equity fund in the world that focuses on the mainland China and Hong Kong markets
#4
While Sarkozy definitely showed a firm hand in all of this, it should not be forgotten just how badly these union thugs antagonized the general public. Putting a symbol of national prestige at risk while inconveniencing untold thousands of communters and interfering with the economy in general doesn't win you many friends. Especially when one of your key demands is the right to retire on full pension at age 50.
Dunno much about this crash, but this enquiry has got a whiff of Eau de Flogged Horse mixed with a smidgen of NATO is a Poopyhead Cologne.
The Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) declared here Thursday that the plane crash which killed former Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski and eight others in February 2004 was "most likely accidental".
In a statement, the Committee affirmed that despite this fact, there are "worrying" inconsistencies which need further enquiry. In this regard, the rapporteur Andreas Gross noted that there were "possible indications of negligence on the side of the NATO-led stabilization force SFOR, which could have prompted a cover-up, and pointed to quite worrying questions such as the long time needed to find the wreckage and the dysfunctional black box flight-recorder". He added that "he had been struck by numerous inconsistencies and contradictions in the official inquiry".
The official called for a "fresh investigation" by a Macedonian parliamentary committee of inquiry, with PACE involvement "to open doors". On the basis of Gross's findings, PACE indicated that its Bureau will write to the head of the parliamentary delegation of "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", proposing such an enquiry.
Trajkovski, who has died in an air crash aged 47, came to power in December 1999 and was regarded as the person "best able" to ensure stability in Macedonia and who saved his country from a civil war.
#4
Holger Schmieding, economist at Bank of America: Regardless of short-term cyclical fluctuations, the long-term demographic and economic prospects for the US economy and currency are better than for the eurozone. Once the dollar has hit its cyclical bottom, talk of the euro dethroning it will die down.
Six people were in hospital, two with serious injuries, on Wednesday after a depressurisation incident during the test flight of an Airbus A330 to be delivered to Air Mauritius, firefighters said.
"Whoa! Where's Pierre?"
"Out the port-hole of seat 27A, I think."
European manufacturer Airbus said two of the 10 people on board the wide-body commercial passenger plane at the time of the test suffered various kinds of injuries and four were undergoing tests for health problems due to the depressurisation. The six were in a hospital in the southwestern city of Toulouse where Airbus, a unit of EADS, is based.
A company spokeswoman said two people would remain under observation in hospital Wednesday night after having been 'unconscious for a while'. Firefighters said those hospitalised were suffering from spine injuries and ear drum problems.
'Because of a sudden depressurisation the pilot pulled the plane down quickly, in line with procedure, causing those on board standing or walking about to fall,' Airbus said. The plane landed normally at Toulouse-Blagnac airport.
On Nov 15, an Airbus A340-600 carrying out engine tests crashed into an anti-noise barrier at Toulouse airport, injuring 10 people. Two of the passengers and another person on the ground were seriously injured. The four-engined plane was destined for Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad Airways. It can carry between 380 and 472 passengers depending on the model.
This is a low-grade insurgency. We've had a taste of it in Seattle and it could worsen here too if we don't push back.
Militants threw paint bombs at the home of Germany's new labour minister only hours after he had been sworn in, police in the city of Hamburg said Thursday. Stones and glass vessels containing green and black paint were hurled in the small hours of Thursday at the Hamburg house of Olaf Scholz, a senior Social Democrat who Wednesday took over the post in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government from Franz Muentefering.
Scholz was not at home at the time, but his wife, who is a member of the Hamburg state legislature, was woken by the noise and called police. The paint spoiled the wall and one layer of a double-glazed window was broken.
Militants, thought to be communist-aligned, have repeatedly paint-bombed homes or set fire to the parked cars of government officials and industry executives in Hamburg and Berlin over the past couple of years. One target last year was the Hamburg home of Thomas Mirow, state secretary of the finance ministry. No one has been physically hurt.
The frequency of attacks in the two cities peaked just before the Group of Eight (G8) summit on the Baltic coast in June.
Police have made no arrests in Hamburg.
In Berlin, many fleet cars belonging to big corporations or very luxurious models were set on fire before the summit, but the attacks have continued, reaching a 2007 tally of 100 politically motivated car-burnings this week. Last year the tally was 36. Berlin police say they have identified 14 young leftists as suspects. One of them has been convicted.
#5
You wouldn't want that CrazyFool (#2), The best the Florida delegation should do is to insist that the state election commission certify a 100% fair voting privilege to all voters eligible. Boycotting the DNC will only escalate back to the Supreme Court for another handout should it(the results) be close again. All precincts electronic tallying, and for God's sake...no 'hanging chads'!!
#7
Gawd, 100% fair voting privledge? LOL! Pony with that? Shetland? Gray or palamino? Fluffy mane?
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/23/2007 3:50 Comments ||
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#8
Sea salt on mine, Barbara.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/23/2007 7:44 Comments ||
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#9
The REAL fun starts if the Florida dems go to the FEC and cite the the national party for voting rights violations and get the Democrats stricken from NATIONAL ballots.
Of course this would be extremely stupid to do but we are dealing with the DNC.
Posted by: bruce ||
11/23/2007 17:41 Comments ||
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#10
I could go with the dry salted, Barb, or maybe a batch with parmesan cheese sprinkled on it.
The weak dollar is threatening the survival of European planemaker Airbus, chief executive Tom Enders told workers in Hamburg on Thursday. And the firm once again warned that its cost saving plan would have to cut deeper to counter the impact of the weakening US currency. The dollar has hit new record lows against the euro this week, something which Airbus says favours its US rival Boeing. Airbus is owned by European aerospace and defence group EADS.
"The dollar's rapid decline is life-threatening for Airbus," Mr Enders said in the speech to employees. The dollar exchange rate has gone beyond the pain barrier" And he said that Airbus's entire business model needed reviewing as "reasonable processes of adjustment" were hardly possible now, he said.
Airbus is already shedding about 10,000 jobs and selling plants as part of its Power8 restructuring plan after delays to its A380 superjumbo drove the planemaker into a loss last year. Earlier this month Airbus warned it may have to deepen its planned restructuring after steeper than expected third-quarter losses. It said a net loss of 776m euros ($1.14 bn; £541m) - as against a loss of 189m euros in 2006 - was down to delays with its A400M military transport aircraft. And it said full-year earnings would only "roughly break even".
EADS said it might have to make more savings, as cost-cutting plans were drawn up when the euro was weaker. And back in September, Airbus chief operating officer Fabrice Bregier said a further 1bn euros might have to be added to a savings plan which was originally based on a $1.35 euro.
The current exchange rate is $1.49 to the euro, a difference of fourteen cents from the prior restructure. IMO the Airbus 'business' model was in deep doodoo even before the dollar plunged. My advice to Airbus is to call Prince Alwaleed and cry on his shoulder.
#3
I don't remember them complaining when the euro dived to record lows against the dollar after inception. That coincided with the period when Boeing simply could not compete with Airbus.
#6
Of course they could try delivering an airplane on time and under budget. And for extra credit, they could try including features that the public actually wants.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
11/23/2007 12:29 Comments ||
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#7
Weak $ means more useless junk, knives and books to buy online for me. Now, the best thing would be for it to slide down more against the euro, so it would make up for the last increases in USPS fees. USPS, what were you thinking!?
As long as I can spend away my money, it's ok for me, until the US and then the World cconomy, or the euro, collapse in a convulsis crisis that will ruin my standards of living and make me bitterly regret having wasted away all that dough.
I'm not exactly the type who thinks or worries about the Big Picture.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Forget about the threat that mankind poses to the Earth: our activities may be shortening the life of the universe too. The startling claim is made by a pair of American cosmologists investigating the consequences for the cosmos of quantum theory, the most successful theory we have. Over the past few years, cosmologists have taken this powerful theory of what happens at the level of subatomic particles and tried to extend it to understand the universe, since it began in the subatomic realm during the Big Bang.
DHAKA - The plight of survivors of Bangladeshs killercyclone Sidr was causing increasing concern Friday as relief workers struggled to ferry aid to stricken villagers a week after the disaster. More than 3,400 people are now confirmed dead after cyclone Sidr ripped through southern and central districts on November 15. Thousands more are missing feared dead. The government estimates that around 280,000 people have been left homeless. A huge military-led aid effort was underway but officials said logistical problems meant only small amounts of relief were getting through and that the pace was slow.
Hang Seng Bank, a unit of global lender HSBC Group, launched Thursday Hong Kongs first Islamic fund, in a move that provides Islamic investors with an opportunity to gain exposure to the Chinese and Hong Kong markets while meeting Islamic law knows as Sharia. "Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global financial industry," William Leung, Hang Sengs General Manager of Personal Financial Services and Wealth Management, said in a statement. "Global Islamic financial assets are currently worth about USD 1 trillion and this figure is expected to grow by 15 percent per year," said Leung. The new fund, called Hang Seng Islamic China Index Fund, is the only Islamic equity fund in the world that focuses on the mainland China and Hong Kong markets
Six people were in hospital, two with serious injuries, on Wednesday after a depressurisation incident during the test flight of an Airbus A330 to be delivered to Air Mauritius, firefighters said.
The weak dollar is threatening the survival of European planemaker Airbus, chief executive Tom Enders told workers in Hamburg on Thursday. And the firm once again warned that its cost saving plan would have to cut deeper to counter the impact of the weakening US currency. The dollar has hit new record lows against the euro this week, something which Airbus says favours its US rival Boeing. Airbus is owned by European aerospace and defence group EADS. 
