Reading - 'Grey goo' food laced with nanoparticles could swamp Britain - microscopic compounds that can worm into your brain -
Prince Charles derided nanoparticles as 'grey goo' food
Britain is on the brink of a massive expansion in foods containing controversial 'grey goo' nanoparticles, according to the former head of the Food Standards Agency.
Low-calorie chocolate and beer that doesn't go flat could be on sale within just five years, Lord Krebs said last night.
However, he and other peers believe there will be no requirement for the hi-tech products to be labelled as containing nanoparticles - microscopic compounds that can worm their way into the brain, liver and kidneys with unknown consequences.
But critics said the public have the right to know what they are putting into their bodies, and point out that new legislation will mean that cosmetics that contain nanoparticles will have to be clearly labelled.
Once derided by Prince Charles as 'grey goo', nanoparticles are tiny particles - 300 million would fit in a pinhead - with powerful properties that make them of interest to food companies.
Although they are small, they have a large surface area at which key chemical reactions can take place. This means that relatively low numbers of sugar nanoparticles can have the same effect as a large amount of normal sugar, creating tasty chocolate or cakes with a fraction of the calories.
The same principle could be applied to fat, allowing the creation of low-fat icecreams and mayonnaise that taste like the real thing.
Nanotechnology-inspired packaging promises to improve food shelf-life, and in the U.S. plastic beer bottles have been lined with 'nanoclay' to stop the brew from going flat.
Lord Krebs chaired an inquiry by the House of Lords science and technology committee into the safety of nanotechnology in food, which found that although there is no evidence that the tiny particles are harmful, there are 'large gaps' on our knowledge.
The committee called for the Food Standards-Agency to compile a database of nanoproducts that can be accessed by the public. The FSA is not in favour of nanoparticles being declared on food labels, saying they are cluttered enough already.
The inquiry also criticised the food industry for being unnecessarily ' secretive' about the products it has in the pipeline. It said this seemed mainly to be because it was concerned about the public's reaction.
Julian Hunt of the Food and Drink Federation said: 'Given that nanotechnology is in its infancy in the food and drink sector, and that bringing innovations to market is a long and complex process, we are surprised that the report seems to criticise the food industry for an apparent reluctance to communicate extensively on this subject.
'There are many questions and unknowns about the potential future uses of nanotechnologies in our sector, and there is much work still to be done by scientists, governments and regulators, as well as the food and drink industry.'
Reading - Ford unveils Tweeting car - Ford, the US car giant, has unveiled the world’s first tweeting car -
Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally gives the keynote address at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show Photo: EPA
Alan Mulally, Ford’s chief executive, said the company will produce a range of vehicles which can read motorist's twitter messages to them as they drive down the street.
Drivers may even be able to Tweet replies as the cars will feature voice recognition technology. But composing Tweets will not be possible on the first models, due out in the US later this year, because of safety fears.
US Road safety group the AAA warned that the new technology could put lives at risk. "The more things that are going on in a vehicle, the more things can distract a driver," a spokeswoman said. "You only have so much attention to give, and we really want everyone to keep their attention on the roadway for safety reasons."
However, Doug VanDagens, Ford's global director of connected services, said people currently read Twitter feeds while they are driving anyway, and the new system would increase road safety by enabling motorists to keep both hands on the wheel.
"We take what people do – they talk on the phone, they fumble with mp3 players, they look at maps. We take these activities and make them safer," he said.
The tweeter function is part of Ford’s plan to connect cars to the internet. Ford said drivers will also be able to stream music live from Panadora, a website similar to Last.fm.
The technology, developed in partnership with Microsoft, works by connecting an on-board computer to a mobile phone with 3G internet browsing capabilities.
In a speech at the Consumer Electronics Showin Las Vegas said the technology, called Sync, is designed to allow drivers to attend to their social lives, "all while keeping their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel."
Reading - 'Aliens will eat the fatties first': Gym sparks outrage with new advertising campaign -
An advert for one of Britain’s biggest gyms has sparked outrage by declaring: ‘When the aliens come, they will eat the fatties first.’
The campaign, featuring a little green man, was meant to encourage people to join up and shed pounds put on over Christmas.
But instead slimmers have branded the ad in offensive and weight loss experts said the ‘negative message’ is more likely to drive people away.
'Offensive': The ad for Cadbury Gym, Bristol, was intended to encourage slimmers
Signs put up near the health club and spa at Cadbury House Hotel in Congresbury, Bristol, read: ‘Advance health warning! When the aliens come, they will eat the fatties first.’
However, mother-of-two Vicky Palmer, who suffered from an eating disorder as a teenager, believes the sign should be removed immediately.
Mrs Palmer, 45, of Churchill, Somerset, said: ‘I would like to think that their hotline is very “hot” with people phoning to complain about this degrading and offensive advertising.
‘I am not overweight yet I still find this extremely offensive and patronising but how much more so to someone genuinely overweight?
‘People who have a weight problem may also suffer with low self esteem and this advert is not going to help them in any way.
‘The people who came up with this idea and sanctioned the advert need a good, stiff kick up the backside, and if that backside is a rather bony one, then they will feel this all the more.’
The health club and spa is attached to the 72-bedroom Cadbury House Hotel, which is part of the prestigious Hilton Doubletree chain.
However, the centre, which boasts two gym studios, a spa, salon, bistro and won European Club of the Year in 2007, is managed separately to the hotel.
Gym manager Jason Eaton stands beside one of the roadside signs
The club, which is one of the largest independent health clubs in the UK, has two purpose-built studios along with a spa, salon and bistro.
It employs a team of personal trainers and offers more than 100 fitness classes each week.
Health club bosses claim they launched their advertising campaign last week in an attempt to persuade people to shape up after Christmas.
But a spokesman for the Beat Eating Disorders association believes the ‘negative message’ will not work on potential customers.
He said: ‘This is a very unfortunate choice of words. People get fit and healthy when they are positively motivated and are unlikely to respond to such a negative message.
‘Perhaps the gym should reconsider their approach.’
Local resident Alison Winter added: ‘I am shocked and disgusted that they feel they have the right to blatantly discriminate like this.’
But club manager Jason Eaton defended his campaign as a ‘fun’ way to approach the subject of obesity.
He said: ‘The alien campaign has been developed as a tongue in cheek look at the fact that people generally, over the Christmas period, do put on a little weight.
‘Our view is that people should not feel stigmatised by the use of the word “fatties” as it encompasses everyone who might have over-indulged during the holidays and now wants to do something about it.
‘At the club we are doing all we can to combat the problems of obesity and our advertising has to get the message over in a forthright but fun way.
‘We do not intend to cause any offence to anyone.’
After reading the article released by Cracked.com, I decided to update and revise their work. the article gave me a chuckle because it lacked many famous and much larger conspiracy theories that became known. Their article had only listed seven. I can name 33 and I am about to release a revised list soon with 75. The article I read at cracked can be viewed here, but don't waste your time, all of that is in this article and more.
Most people can't resist getting the details on the latest conspiracy theories, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. At the same time, many people quickly denounce any conspiracy theory as untrue ... and sometimes as unpatriotic or just plain ridiculous. Lets not forget all of the thousands of conspiracies out of Wall Street like Bernie Madoff and many others to commit fraud and extortion, among many crimes of conspiracy.USA Today reports that over 75% of personal ads in the paper and on craigslist are married couples posing as single for a one night affair.When someone knocks on your door to sell you a set of knives or phone cards, anything for that matter, do they have a profit motive?What is conspiracy other than just a scary way of saying “alternative agenda”?When 2 friends go to a bar and begin to plan their wingman approach on 2 girls they see at the bar, how often are they planning on lying to those girls?“I own a small business and am in town for a short while.Oh yeah, you look beautiful.”
Conspiracy theory is a term that originally was a neutral descriptor for any claim of civil, criminal or political conspiracy. However, it has come almost exclusively to refer to any fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by conspirators of almost superhuman power and cunning.To conspiremeans "to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or to use such means to accomplish a lawful end."The term "conspiracy theory" is frequently used by scholars and in popular culture to identify secret military, banking, or political actions aimed at stealing power, money, or freedom, from "the people".
To many, conspiracy theories are just human nature.Not all people in this world are honest, hard working and forthcoming about their intentions.Certainly we can all agree on this.So how did the term “conspiracy theory” get grouped in with fiction, fantasy and folklore?Maybe that’s a conspiracy, just kidding.Or am I?
Skeptics are important in achieving an objective view of reality, however, skeptism is not the same as reinforcing the official storyline. In fact, a conspiracy theory can be argued as an alternative to the official or “mainstream” story of events. Therefore, when skeptics attempt to ridicule a conspiracy theory by using the official story as a means of proving the conspiracy wrong, in effect, they are just reinforcing the original “mainstream” view of history, and actually not being skeptical. This is not skeptism, it is just a convenient way for the establishment view of things to be seen as the correct version, all the time, every time. In fact, it is common for "hit pieces" or "debunking articles" to pick extremely fringe and not very populated conspiracy theories. This in turn makes all conspiracies on a subject matter look crazy. Skeptics magazine and Popular Mechanics, among many others, did this with 9/11. They referred to less than 10% of the many different conspiracy theories about 9/11 and picked the less popular ones, in fact, they picked the fringe, highly improbable points that only a few people make. This was used as the "final investigation" for looking into the conspiracy theories. Convenient, huh?
In fact, if one were to look into conspiracy theories, they will largely find that thinking about a conspiracy is associated with lunacy and paranoia. Some websites suggest it as an illness. It is also not surprising to see so many people on the internet writing about conspiracy theories in a condescending tone, usually with the words "kool-aid," "crack pot," or "nut job" in their articulation. This must be obvious to anyone that emotionally writing about such serious matter insults the reader more than the conspiracy theorist because there is no need to resort to this kind of behavior. It is employed often with an "expert" who will say something along the lines of, "for these conspiracies to be true, you would need hundreds if not thousands of people to be involved. It's just not conceivable."
I find it extremely odd that the assumption is on thousands of participants in a conspiracy. I, for one, find it hard to believe any conspiracy involving more than a handful of people but the fact remains that there have been conspiracies in our world, proven and not made up, that involved many hundreds of people. It's not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of fact.
One more thing to consider, have you noticed that if the conspiracy is involving powerful interests with the ability to bribe, threaten or manipulate major institutions (like the mafia, big corporations or government) then don't you find it odd when people use one of those as the "credible" counter-argument? What I mean is, if you are discussing a conspiracy about the mafia, and someone hands you a debunking article that was written by the mafia, it doesn't seem like it would take rocket science to look at that with serious criticism and credibility. This is the case with many conspiracies. In fact, I am handed debunking pieces all the time written in many cases by the conspirators in question. Doesn't this seem odd to anybody else but me?
While intelligent cynicism certainly can be healthy, though, some of the greatest discoveries of all time were initially received (often with great vitriol) as blasphemous conspiracy theories -- think of the revelation that the earth was not the center of the universe, or that the world was not flat but actually round.
What follows are some of these most shocking modern conspiracy theories that turned out true after thorough investigation by our society. Some through congressional hearings, others through investigative journalism. Many of these, however, were just admitted to by those involved. These are just 33 of them, and I still had a long list of others to add. There are a total of 33 in this article. Many of these are listed with original and credible news clips on the matter, as well as documentaries.
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1.The Dreyfus Affair: In the late 1800s in France, Jewish artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted of treason based on false government documents, and sentenced to life in prison. The French government did attempt to cover this up, but Dreyfus was eventually pardoned after the affair was made public (an act that is credited to writer Émile Zola).
2.The Mafia: This secret crime society was virtually unknown until the 1960s, when member Joe Valachi first revealed the society's secrets to law enforcement officials.What was known was that organized crime existed, but not that the extent of their control included working with the CIA, politicians and the biggest businesses in the world.
3.MK-ULTRA: In the 1950s to the 1970s, the CIA ran a mind-control project aimed at finding a "truth serum" to use on communist spies. Test subjects were given LSD and other drugs, often without consent, and some were tortured. At least one man, civilian biochemist Frank Olson, who was working for the government, died as a result of the experiments. The project was finally exposed after investigations by the Rockefeller Commission.
A short video about MK-ULTRA from a documentary called Secrets of the CIA:
4.Operation Mockingbird: Also in the 1950s to '70s, the CIA paid a number of well-known domestic and foreign journalists (from big-name media outlets like Time, The Washington Post, The New York Times, CBS and others) to publish CIA propaganda. The CIA also reportedly funded at least one movie, the animated "Animal Farm," by George Orwell. The Church Committee finally exposed the activities in 1975.
5.Manhattan Project:The Manhattan Project was the codename for a project conducted during World War II to develop the first atomic bomb. The project was led by the United States, and included participation from the United Kingdom and Canada. Formally designated as the Manhattan Engineer District (MED), it refers specifically to the period of the project from 1942–1946 under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under the administration of General Leslie R. Groves. The scientific research was directed by American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.The project's roots lay in scientists' fears since the 1930s that Nazi Germany was also investigating nuclear weapons of its own. Born out of a small research program in 1939, the Manhattan Project eventually employed more than 130,000 people and cost nearly US$2 billion ($22 billion in current value).
It resulted in the creation of multiple production and research sites that operated in secret.With the total involved, this makes it one of the largest conspiracies in history.Entire towns were built for short periods of time, employing people, all under secrecy and top national secrecy at that.The government never admitted to it, the media never reported on it, and people had no idea for over 25 years.Project research took place at over thirty sites across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The three primary research and production sites of the project were the plutonium-production facility at what is now the Hanford Site, the uranium-enrichment facilities at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the weapons research and design laboratory now known as Los Alamos National Laboratory. The MED maintained control over U.S. weapons production until the formation of the Atomic Energy Commission in January 1947.
6.Asbestos: Between 1930 and 1960, manufacturers did all they could to prevent the link between asbestos and respiratory diseases, including cancer, becoming known, so they could avoid prosecution. American workers had in fact sued the Johns Manville company as far back as 1932, but it was not until 1962 that epidemiologists finally established beyond any doubt what company bosses had known for a long time – asbestos causes cancer.
7.Watergate: Republican officials spied on the Democratic National Headquarters from the Watergate Hotel in 1972. While conspiracy theories suggested underhanded dealings were taking place, it wasn't until 1974 that White House tape recordings linked President Nixon to the break-in and forced him to resign. The documentary series, Core of Corruption, will be exploring details on the Iran Contra conspiracy in greater detail. The series if 5 seperate films written and directed by Jonathan Elinoff, investigative journalist and reporter for the New World Order Report.
8.The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: The United States Public Health Service carried out this clinical study on 400 poor, African-American men with syphilis from 1932 to 1972. During the study the men were given false and sometimes dangerous treatments, and adequate treatment was intentionally withheld so the agency could learn more about the disease. While the study was initially supposed to last just six months, it continued for 40 years. Close to 200 of the men died from syphilis or related complications by the end of the study.
Reading - A STAR primed to explode in a blast that could wipe out the Earth was revealed by astronomers yesterday
It will self-destruct in an explosion called a supernova with the force of 20 billion billion billion megatons of TNT.
New studies show the star, called T Pyxidis, is much closer than previously thought at 3,260 light-years away - a short hop in galactic terms.
Risk ... impression of T Pyxidis
So the blast from the thermonuclear explosion could strip away our ozone layer that keeps out deadly space radiation. Life on Earth would then be frazzled.
The doomsday scenario was described yesterday by astronomers from Villanova University, Philadelphia, US.
They said the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite has shown them that T Pyxidis is really two stars, one called a white dwarf that is sucking in gas and steadily growing. When it reaches a critical mass it will blow itself to pieces.
It will become as bright as all the other stars in the galaxy put together and shine like a beacon halfway across the universe.
The experts said the Hubble space telescope has photographed the star gearing up for its big bang with a series of smaller blasts or "burps", called novas.
These explosions came regularly about every 20 years from 1890 - but stopped after 1967.
So the next blast is nearly 20 years overdue, said scientists Edward M Sion, Patrick Godon and Timothy McClain at the American Astronomical Society in Washington. Robin Scagell, vice-president of the UK's Society for Popular Astronomy, said last night: "The star may certainly became a supernova soon - but soon could still be a long way off so don't have nightmares.
Reading - Wikileaks.org has gone dark until it finds funds to support its operations and fend off lawsuits -
A Web site that for years has let anonymous whistleblowers break stories of corruption and government malfeasance has gone dark and is expected to remain offline until it finds funds to support its operations and fend off lawsuits.
Investigators and governmental watchdogs say Wikileaks.org has been an invaluable tool for exposing corruption and releasing previously unseen documents. Founded in late 2006, the Web site has posted sensitive documents related to the September 11 attacks, Guantanamo Bay and the Church of Scientology, among others.
The site had been expected to return today, according to a post on its default page. But now the home page times out without loading.
"Wikileaks is overloaded," the page read on Tuesday. "We need your support for more servers."
It said Wikileaks had received "hundreds of thousands" of pages from corrupt banks and other information pertaining to the Iraq war, China, the United Nations and other topics that it does not currently have the resources to release.
"You can change that and by doing so, change the world," it read.
The site, which says it has "successfully" fought more than 100 lawsuits filed against it, had been accepting donations via credit card as late as Tuesday, but it was inaccessible on Wednesday. Multiple attempts to contact Wikileaks officials were not successful.
Neil Gordon, an investigator for the Project on Government Oversight, an independent nonprofit group that exposes corruption, said Wikileaks had played pivotal roles in some "pretty juicy stories" in recent years, including documents related to standard operating procedures at Guantanamo Bay and rules of engagement for American troops in Iraq.
"We think there's nothing but good that can come from sites like Wikileaks," Gordon told FoxNews.com. "It provides places for whistleblowers to provide documents anonymously, which is often the only way you can uncover corruption."
Gordon, who writes a blog at the Project on Government Oversight, last wrote on Wikileaks in July regarding fusion centers, joint anti-terrorism entities consisting of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Gordon said the site posted resumes that purportedly proved that some applicants at a Washington state fusion center had "traveled back and forth through the revolving door" between the military and private firms.
Wikileaks.org has reportedly applied for a two-year, $532,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to expand its anonymous submission system by local newspapers. The foundation's News Challenge will give as much as $5 million this year to projects that use digital technology in community news.
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said sites like Wikileaks can provide invaluable resources to investigative journalism.
"Assuming the documents that are posted are accurate, it can be an important site," Dalglish told FoxNews.com. "When traditional newsrooms ... have very few funds to pay for investigative reporting, and to litigate for access, sites like this can be important because it would cut down on the cost, presumably, of some investigative reporting."
Reading - Now the Third Natural Disaster of 2010 - USDA Designates Five Counties in Maine as Primary Natural Disaster Areas
USDA Designates Five Counties in Maine as Primary Natural Disaster Areas
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2010 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Aroostook, Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis, and Somerset Counties in Maine as primary natural disaster areas in three separate disaster designations.
Aroostook County received a disaster designation for drought that occurred between Aug. 1 and Sept. 15, 2009. Somerset County received a designation for heavy rains, flash flooding and high winds that occurred from June 1, 2009 and continuing. Hancock, Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties received a designation for heavy rains and subsequent drought from June 9 through Aug. 30, 2009.
"President Obama and I understand these conditions caused severe damage to the area and serious harm to farms in Maine and we want to help," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "This action will provide help to hundreds of farmers who suffered significant production losses to potatoes, blueberries, corn, and forage."
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Maine also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous:
Franklin
Kennebec
Knox
Waldo
Washington
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas Jan. 4, 2010, making all qualified farm and ranch operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers and ranchers recover from adversity.
USDA has also made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), which was approved as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; the Emergency Conservation Program; Federal Crop Insurance; and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. Interested producers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online athttp://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
