In at least one Twin Cities pet shop, it takes a note from his parents nowadays for a teen-ager to lay in any big supply of catnip. Owners of other stores have taken to questioning their youthful customers closely about large-scale purchases. They know the reason for the sudden popularity of catnip in the Twin Cities and nationwide and it isnt the one a young man gave the owner of a Hennepin Av. pet shop: I have, he explained, a GREAT, BIG cat.
The fact is, the kids are smoking the stuff, apparently in dubious pursuit of a low-budget thrill.
Whats more, its getting so you cant even trust your friendly neighborhood dope peddler anymore theres evidence that marijuana salesmen are diluting the pot with catnip or substituting catnip altogether.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Scientific American has an article in its latest issue describing a method to actually tell the amounts and types of drugs being used in a locale by constant measurements of the drugs in sewage.
It appears to be undergoing full scale tests in some cities.
Because, even druggies use toilets, it is much more accurate then analysis like this.
#3
This article says people can score an OUNCE of weed for ONLY $10 to $20 in the Twin Cities! And then they say people buy catnip because it's cheaper?? This reporter clearly has his head in his @$$. Paging Dan Rather!
A German policeman handcuffed a primary school teacher to show her class how he would make an arrest - and then discovered he had left the keys at home. The class of six- and seven-year-olds at the school in the western town of Saerbeck were delighted to see the officer clap the cuffs on the teacher during a road safety lesson. "Tase him, bro!"
But when he came to remove them, he found he had no key and had to call for back-up. 'The children applauded, and the teacher thought it was all part of the lesson, so she went along with it,' a police statement said on Friday.
Eventually another officer arrived with a bunch of keys. Only then did the teacher realise that anything had gone wrong.
Last August, astronomers working on the analysis of data being acquired by NASAs WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) satellite announced that they found a huge void in the universe. A void is a region of space that has much less material (stars, nebulae, dust and other material) than the average. Since our universe is relatively heterogeneous, empty spaces are not rare, but in this case the enormous magnitude of the hole is way outside the expected range. The hole found in the constellation of Eridanus is about a billion light years across, which is roughly 10,000 times as large as our galaxy or 400 times the distance to Andromeda, the closest large galaxy.
The dimension of the hole is so big that at first glance, it results impossible to explain under the current cosmological theories, although scientists put forward some explanations based on certain theoretical models that might predict the existence of giant knots in space known as topological defects.
However, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill physics Professor Laura Mersini-Houghton made a staggering claim. She says, Standard cosmology cannot explain such a giant cosmic hole and goes further with the ground-breaking hypothesis that the huge void is the unmistakable imprint of another universe beyond the edge of our own.
The idea of alternative, or parallel universes has been around for quite a while and has provided considerable inspiration for Sci-Fi literature and sparked endless philosophical debate, but although begin seriously considered within the scientific realm it never crossed the limits of speculative of purely theoretical grounds. Perhaps until now. If Mersini-Houghton is right, Eridanus giant hole would be the first experimental evidence for the existence of another universe. The implications of this possibility are obviously of huge importance for everybody, but it also has further relevance for the astrophysics community as it would bring support for the hotly debated string theory and other central debates.
But Mersini-Houghton and colleagues theory of entangled universes make testable predictions, providing the opportunity to confirm or refute the claim as more data arrive to the astronomers computers. Her model predicts the existence of two voids rather than one, one in each hemisphere of our universe. The one that has been found by WMAPs data lies in the Northern hemisphere. They expect new data will show a second similar void in the Southern side. This and other cutting-edge experimental projects testing Mersini-Houghtons ideas will tell us whether a new era in cosmological thinking has indeed arrived.
The NYT, WaPo, Koss Kiddies, DU, etc all demonstrate that there is in fact an alternate universe. Obviously, it's not parallel cause there appears to be an intersection where they appear in my universe.
You're traveling through another dimension -- a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's a signpost up ahead: your next stop: the Twilight Zone!
#4
"...they found a huge void in the universe."
----------
From the 1975 movie "Love and Death"
Boris (Woody Allen): Something's missing.
Doctor: What?
Boris: I don't know, I feel a void at the center of my being.
Doctor: What kind of void?
Boris: Well... an empty void.
Doctor: An empty void?
Boris: Yes. I felt a full void about a month ago but it was just something I ate.
#8
So if you get caught in an interphasic rift and cannot get out, try to stay alive; you'll have to wrest control the ship from an evil version of one of your childhood heroes.
#11
Steady state they're Mr. James, be cool, else the black helicopters 'l get youz. Not even Patty the Buchannan can save you from them.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/26/2007 20:26 Comments ||
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#12
Such a massive void could easily prepresent a "brane" (membrane), where an alternate universe branched or co-seeded from our own. Then again, it could also be the well-swept locale of a massive supernova or some huge matter-anitimatter annihilation as well. Perish the thought we might omit the possibility that this immense and vaccuous region is the fundament of Gore and Carter's braincase, but we'll leave that to the experts. Or not.
rate reindeer herders from Sweden's indigenous Sami population took to the streets of Stockholm on Friday to protest against Norway's alleged attempts to force the animals from their traditional pastures.
With a real-life reindeer taking the lead, the protesters in traditional dress sang songs on their way to the Norwegian embassy.
The Saarivuoma reindeer herders group accuses Sweden of failing to come to their assistance and allowing Norway to systematically tear down fences, drive away their reindeer and threaten to fine Sami groups on the Swedish side of the border in Lapland.
"This is completely unreal. We can't live with a state that terrorizes and hunts us, despite the fact that we are on our own land. We have lived on this land and cultivated it for thousands of years, long before the creation of the Norwegian state," said Saarivuoma chairman Per Anders Nutti in a statement.
A 14-year-old New Zealand girl nearly lost her eyesight when her eyes were gouged by relatives in a Maori exorcism ceremony in which her cousin died, a report said Monday.
The girl is recovering after emergency operations on her eyes to save her sight after relatives scratched at her eyes to remove the devil, the Dominion Post newspaper said, quoting unnamed sources. Members of the indigenous Maori family also syringed water into her eyes and poured it down her throat in an attempt to drive out the curse.
Sounds like they were serious.
The girl's cousin, 22-year-old Janet Moses, drowned during the October 12 ceremony, which reportedly left the house ankle deep in water. The ceremony was reportedly held to remove a Maori curse after Moses' sister stole a stone lion from outside a hotel.
Police have declined to give detailed information about the ceremony in a house in Wainuiomata, near the capital Wellington.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Levy told the newspaper police were still working through evidence, seeking legal advice and consulting Maori experts. "We know what's happened, but we're assessing the culpability of individuals," he said.
Start with the one holding the syringe.
Up to 40 members of the extended indigenous Maori family attended the ceremony, when Moses also had her eyes scratched and water poured down her throat. Her body was grazed and bruised, indicating she was held down during the curse-lifting.
After she died, the family continued to work on the 14-year-old girl, who reportedly nearly died and spent several days in hospital for treatment of her eye and other injuries. Another five family members were also worked on during the curse-lifting ceremony, but were not injured.
The Polynesian Maori settled New Zealand around 1300. Following the settlement of the country by European settlers in the 19th century, they now make up about 15 percent of the population.
Today is not a good day to be old and feeble in gay SA... but when is it, really?
Grahamstown - Two men accused of breaking into an elderly woman's house and beating her with a sjambok appeared in the Grahamstown High Court on Monday. The woman's skull was fractured in the assault.
Khayalethu Harmaans, 23, of Tuinplaas, Kirkwood, and David Hanabe, 32, of Moses Madiba, Kirkwood, pleaded not guilty before Judge Elna Revelas. They are accused of breaking into the home of Joan Schonken of Kopkrap Farm, Kirkwood, on November 19 2006, and robbing her of R88 000 worth of household goods, including a Toyota Cressida valued at R70 000.
The State's indictment alleges the two men, after breaking into the house by sawing through the burglar bars on the bedroom window, knocked Schonken to the ground, kicked her and struck her with a sjambok. Use of sjamboks by anti-riots apartheid cops was decried by the usual suspects, because it is so painful; it continues to this day, I think, with no more complaints, I wonder why?...
The bespectacled Schonken, who is now 73 and walks with the aid of a crutch, told the court she was a widow, and lived alone on the farm. "That night I was watching television at about 22:30 when I heard a noise from my bedroom. I went to the bedroom and was about to phone the security people, when I saw two men standing in my bedroom," she said. "They demanded cash, weapons and wanted to know where the safe was. They kicked me and struck me with their fists. Then they began beating me all over with a sjambok."
#1
I wasn't familiar with the item. Wikipedia sez:
The sjambok or litupa is the traditional heavy leather whip of South Africa, sometimes seen as synonymous with apartheid but actually much older and still used outside the official judiciary. It is made from an adult hippopotamus (or rhinoceros) hide, or possibly from the penis of either species.
A strip of the animal's hide is cut and carved into a strip 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) long, tapering from about 1 inch (25 mm) thick at the handle to about 3/8 (9 mm) at the tip. This strip is then rolled (possibly between heavy metal plates) until reaching a near circular form. The resulting whip is as flexible as whalebone, and very tough.
A plastic version was made for the South African Police Service, and used for riot control.
The sjambok had a variety of uses, with the most obvious being cattle driving. While it may have been synonymous with slave discipline, it was heavily used by the Voortrekkers driving their oxen while migrating from the Cape of Good Hope. Even today, the sjambok is used by herdsmen to drive cattle. They are actually illegal to use in South Africa due to their historic connotations.
The sjambok is also used today in South Africa by those who mete out discpline imposed by Kangaroo courts.
#3
I might add those copies could turn out to be a God-given gift for fathers or mothers; just buy one, and give 20-30 lashes to each of your kids daily; when they come back from school with low grades, double the dose. You then should soon see a definite improvement in their behavior and grades, or go to jail for quite a few years, it depends.
Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry said a girl who it sentenced to jail time and flogging after being gang raped by seven men was an adulteress who invited the attack because at the time she was partially dressed in a parked car with her lover.
The statement from the ministry, carried by the Saudi Press Agency late Saturday, defended the court's decision to sentence the girl to six months in prison and 200 lashes for violating the country's strict sex segregation laws. It also sought to ease international outrage over the case by discrediting the woman who had told reporters earlier that she was meeting a friend from high school when the attack occurred. "The Saudi justice minister expressed his regret about the media reports over the role of the women in this case which put out false information and wrongly defended her," the statement said. "The charged girl is a married woman who confessed to having an affair with the man she was caught with."
Known only as the "Girl from Qatif," the 19-year-old rape victim said she was a newlywed who was meeting a high school friend in his car to retrieve a picture of herself from him when the attack occurred in the eastern city of Qatif. While in a car with him, two men got into the vehicle and drove them to a secluded area where others waited, and then she and her companion were both raped.
The ministry's latest account of the incident alleges that the woman and her lover met in his car for a tryst "in a dark place where they stayed for a while. Then they were spotted by the other defendants as the woman was in an indecent condition as she had tossed away her clothes, then the assault occurred on her and the man."
It said the sentence of prison and lashes, handed down last week following an appeal, was legal and followed the "the book of God and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad," noting that she had "confessed to doing what God has forbidden." The woman and her husband were "convinced of the verdict and agreed to it," it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
So basically the Saudi justice minister is saying Saudi males are worse than male animals as they can't control their baser instincts of "humping" anything with two legs that shows skin?
Yep theres a great PR builder right there for you folks. Saudi men...stupider than cats in heat.
#2
While in a car with him, two men got into the vehicle and drove them to a secluded area where others waited
Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry said a girl who it sentenced to jail time and flogging after being gang raped by seven men was an adulteress who invited the attack because at the time she was partially dressed in a parked car with her lover
Mutually exclusive statements as I see it. The first statement suggests that the attack involved some forethought. The second suggests that the attack was unplanned.
Seems it was pre-planned to me. Or hastily and purposefully put together using the "partially clothed" thingy that - although pathetic - serves as permission/excuse for animal behavior in this part of the world.
Mohamhead taught his followers to peek into a car's windows and drag its occupants to a pre-planned gang-rape party put together by means of text messages on their cell phones? I think not. They will have to face their maker one day. I wonder if "ignorance of the law" is an excuse in Allan's eyes.
#4
One Mullah once said, "the truth belongs to allah." Hence, mullahs get to lie through their rotten teeth. The British had a huge presence in the Persian Gulf in much of the 18th and 19th centuries; Hormuz Strait was a British tool. Later, Anglo-American interests tried to civilize those savage, together. Didn't work. Its time to send them back to the desert, where they can prostrate to the moon god until the camels come home.
#9
So basically the Saudi justice minister is saying Saudi males are worse than male animals as they can't control their baser instincts of "humping" anything with twofour legs that shows skin?
Animals have to suffer all sorts of indignities at their hands of their owners, but imposing their politics is surely a step too far.
But a German dog owner is being investigated on suspicion of shaving illegal Nazi symbols into the fur of his pet. Police claim to have found Swastikis and the SS symbol in his fur, in the Bavarian town of Straubing.
The discovery came when an ex-girlfriend appealed to police to help her recover her belongings because she said she was afraid of him. But it is not clear if the man has contravened Germany's strict laws banning Nazi symbols being displayed in public.
'That still needs to be proved,' said a police spokesman. 'If he only kept the dog inside the apartment it wouldn't be public.'
If found guilty the man could face three years in jail.
#5
That's not my understanding, 'moose. Where do you get those ideas? This article contradicts them.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2958351,00.html
#6
Nobody is meeting Kyoto. The Euros chose 1990 as the base year so with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe the next year, the Euros could claim the formerly wasteful E. Euro carbon emissions as their own. Big slight of hand.
Ironically, the US can claim half of the Kyoto targets are met just by the carbon sink effect of reforestation going on in many parts of the US. But the Euros will have non of that.
Posted by: ed ||
11/26/2007 16:48 Comments ||
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#7
This article contradicts them.
No, it doesn't:
New data released on Tuesday, Nov. 20 by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has projected that by 2012, the industrial nations that signed and ratified the Kyoto convention are on track to emit 10.8 percent less greenhouse gasses than they did in 1990.
The European Union as a whole is on track to meet its Kyoto targets, but only by making use of mechanisms such as emissions trading, according to the report.
This doesn't say the EU is meeting its Kyoto goals, only that it will in five years. Riiiiight. They haven't met them yet in the real world. See here and here. Europe will play games investing in underdeveloped countries and buying carbon credits to make al-Gore wealthy, but they won't cut co2 emissions.
"Britain, France, Germany and Sweden are the only pre-enlargement EU-15 countries expected to meet the 2012 goal without implementing additional measures."
Also (in contradiction to #4):
"The United States... emitted 16.3 percent more greenhouse gases in 2005 than in 1990, the report noted."
#9
Sorry Darrell, moose said, "The great irony is that NONE of those sanctimonious bastards has come anywhere near their target goals they agreed to in that frigging treaty."
Now I don't know my tenses perfectly, but has come is something like the past perfect. It's talking about what has happened.
The Deutsch Welle article talks about projections of meeting targets in 2012. That's the future. So the article doesn't contradict what moose said. Where moose gets his idea that "NONE of those sanctimonious bastards has come anywhere near their target goals" is from historic reporting the countries have had to do about their actual co2 emissions, and he's correct.
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.
Cop arrests teacher by accident
A 14-year-old New Zealand girl nearly lost her eyesight when her eyes were gouged by relatives in a Maori exorcism ceremony in which her cousin died, a report said Monday. 
Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry said a girl who it sentenced to jail time and flogging after being gang raped by seven men was an adulteress who invited the attack because at the time she was partially dressed in a parked car with her lover.
Animals have to suffer all sorts of indignities at their hands of their owners, but imposing their politics is surely a step too far. 
