The French have launched Operation Kill Kermit: TIME Europe
Most nights, armed men stomp through the Périgord-Limousin Regional Park in southwestern France with orders to shoot … frogs. But not just any amphibians. They’re after Rana catesbeiana — the North American bullfrog — introduced to France in 1968 by a French aviator who liked the idea of the critters croaking in his garden. They’re now an ecological menace.
It’s sad when a species becomes such a problem. Too bad… I love bullfrogs. If the French saw the numbers of bullfrogs in my one little pond, they’d be dropping the paratroopers. 😉
Bullfrogs here in Oregon are considered an invasive species. They are enormous (like more than 5 lbs.) and eat all our small native froggies as well as ducklings (!).
A second round of voting will be needed in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s landmark presidential poll after none of the candidates won 50% of the vote.
Incumbent President Joseph Kabila took a 45% share, while his nearest rival Jean-Pierre Bemba won 20%.
The pair are now set to face each other in a run-off on 29 October.
Prior to the announcement, at least five people were killed in Kinshasa, when security forces loyal to Mr Kabila and Mr Bemba exchanged gunfire.
The 30 July election was the first democratic poll to be held in the country since it gained independence in 1960.
A covert programme under which confidential information about British banking transactions is passed to the CIA with the full knowledge of the government may breach both British and European law, the Guardian has learned.
The information commissioner, who is responsible for enforcing the Data Protection Act, is investigating the arrangement, which has seen details of computerised transactions from around the world passed to the CIA in an attempt to spy on the financiers of jihadist terrorism.
The Tungara frog of Trinidad is an amphibian of unusual habits. When females lay eggs in ponds, their mates build huge balls of froth around them. These act as nests that protect their delicate, developing offspring. But those froth balls are proving to be very special.
Scientists have found that they contain a new type of detergent, as well as anti-microbial agents. Researchers are trying to isolate and develop this chemical to make new drugs and medicines.
‘This material is amazing,’ said Professor Malcolm Kennedy, of Glasgow University’s biology department. ‘You could imagine using this stuff as an emergency spray on soldiers injured by shell blasts or on burns victims. It could provide immediate protection for the wound and stop infections spreading.
This is one important reason to maintain biodiversity: new drugs and medicines.
Where Were the Air Marshals? None on Disrupted London Flight
No on-duty federal air marshals were on board the transatlantic flight that triggered a security scare on Wednesday, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case against the United passenger whose erratic behavior forced the captain to divert the flight to Boston.
Air marshals are required to file an affidavit when incidents involving criminal charges occur on flights they cover, according to current and former air marshals. In cases where there are no air marshals on board, the FBI files the affidavit.
“This begs the question: Why were there no air marshals on board a flight from the U.K. to the U.S. while we’re under orange alert?” said a former air marshal who asked to remain anonymous.
This must be part of their strategy: no one knows what the TSA or the DHS will do next. They can do next to nothing, or they can do nothing. Got to keep those terrorists guessing.
(snip)
“We thought it was just a little ball,” said Hassan with a hoarse whisper in the intensive care ward at Tyre’s Jabal Amel hospital. In the next bed Sukna, a ventilator cupped to her mouth and a tangle of tubes from her arms, said even less.
Her mother watched anxiously. “The Israelis wanted to defeat Hizbullah,” said Najah Saleh, 40. “But what did these children ever do to them?”
Israel may be pulling out of Lebanon but its soldiers leave behind a lethal legacy of this summer’s 34-day war. The south is carpeted with unexploded cluster bombs, innocuous looking black canisters, barely larger than a torch battery, which pose a deadly threat to villagers stumbling back to their homes.
Mine-clearing teams scrambling across the region have logged 89 cluster bomb sites so far, and expect to find about 110 more. Meanwhile, casualties are being taken into hospital – four dead and 21 injured so far. Officials fear the toll could eventually stretch into the thousands.
Researchers present an analysis of why American’s don’t believe in evolution. The short answer? Because Republicans have politicized the issue, and because the US, unlike other advanced nations, does not have a uniform science curriculum for schools.
The harmful bluetongue virus, normally found in Mediterranean regions, has been found on a Dutch farm, forcing movement restrictions around the affected area. Bluetongue poses no risk to human health, but does affect ruminants (deer, sheep, cattle and goats). Officials say they do not know how the virus traveled so far north. [Here’s a hint, folks: global warming. Better get used to it. – K.P.]
Brazil’s new generation of cars and trucks adapted to run on alcohol has just hit the two million mark, auto industry figures show. “Flex-fuel” vehicles, which run on any combination of ethanol and petrol, now make up 77% of the Brazilian market. Brazil has pioneered the use of ethanol derived from sugar cane as motor fuel. Ethanol-driven cars have been on sale there for 25 years, but they have been enjoying a revival since flex-fuel models first appeared in March 2003.
Sensible people now agree that climate change creates major risks and that the world should be taking significant steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But there is a neglected obstacle to achieving such reductions, the Washington Post reports, and it is the biggest source of the stalemate in international negotiations: there’s no incentive for the US and China to play nice, as the effects of climate change will be (comparatively) less there, and the costs of action are highest for those nations.
And from our department of perpetual motion, comes the following: An Irish company threw down the gauntlet on Friday to the worldwide scientific community to test a technology it has developed that it claims produces free energy. The company, Steorn, says its discovery is based on the interaction of magnetic fields and allows the production of clean, free and constant energy — a concept that challenges one of the basic rules of physics. The developers say the device is NOT merely converting the energy in the magnetic fields into another form of energy, but that additional energy is being picked up by the device as it operates. They issued the challenge in an ad in The Economist, which may be appropriate given widely accepted economic theories that believe wealth can be created the same way… ;-D
Agency countering terror threats seen in disarray
Budget leaders call it ‘a rudderless ship’
WASHINGTON — The federal research agency in charge of countering emerging terrorist threats such as liquid explosives is so hobbled by poor leadership, weak financial management, and inadequate technology that Congress is on the verge of cutting its budget in half.
The Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate has struggled with turnover, reorganizations, and raids on its budget since it was established in 2003, according to independent scientists, department officials, and senior members of Congress.
At the same time, the Bush administration’s overriding focus on nuclear and biological threats has delayed research on weapons aimed at aviation, a controversial choice that was questioned anew after a plot to blow up US-bound airliners from London was made public Aug. 10.
The most surprising thing to me in this article isn’t how Bush’s government is hobbled by incompetence and rot. Naw… that’s old news. The fact that the DHS has a department dedicated to science, (“Science and Technology Directorate”), was a real shocker.
All I can do is laugh at how pathetic this all is. Is that wrong?
The Republicans are tough on terra, and I’m supposed to be afraid of hair gel on an airplane because an agency that is “so hobbled by poor leadership, weak financial management, and inadequate technology that Congress is on the verge of cutting its budget in half” said so.
The French have launched Operation Kill Kermit: TIME Europe
What is the world coming to?
Not coming to it. We’re already there – the place where guns will solve our problems better than brains.
Frogs killing frogs – tch.
It’s sad when a species becomes such a problem. Too bad… I love bullfrogs. If the French saw the numbers of bullfrogs in my one little pond, they’d be dropping the paratroopers. 😉
you’d think the french would should show a little more tenderness…
Bullfrogs here in Oregon are considered an invasive species. They are enormous (like more than 5 lbs.) and eat all our small native froggies as well as ducklings (!).
DR Congo outcome forces run-off
Wow, first democratic election in 56 years…and the candidates’ supporters shoot at each other?
I hope Joe Lieberman doesn’t get any ideas from this for his campaign. 😉
Don’t worry, Joe doesn’t actually read the news, he reads a daily list of Republican talking points.
Whew. Thanks for reminding me.
someone else thought it was a good idea to beat up on their opponents, though.
CIA’s secret UK bank trawl may be illegal
Link
The Tungara frog of Trinidad is an amphibian of unusual habits. When females lay eggs in ponds, their mates build huge balls of froth around them. These act as nests that protect their delicate, developing offspring. But those froth balls are proving to be very special.
Scientists have found that they contain a new type of detergent, as well as anti-microbial agents. Researchers are trying to isolate and develop this chemical to make new drugs and medicines.
‘This material is amazing,’ said Professor Malcolm Kennedy, of Glasgow University’s biology department. ‘You could imagine using this stuff as an emergency spray on soldiers injured by shell blasts or on burns victims. It could provide immediate protection for the wound and stop infections spreading.
This is one important reason to maintain biodiversity: new drugs and medicines.
huge medicinal frothy frog balls? My my…
Who knew that frog balls were frothy? I learn something new every day here on this blog. 😉
Link
No on-duty federal air marshals were on board the transatlantic flight that triggered a security scare on Wednesday, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case against the United passenger whose erratic behavior forced the captain to divert the flight to Boston.
Air marshals are required to file an affidavit when incidents involving criminal charges occur on flights they cover, according to current and former air marshals. In cases where there are no air marshals on board, the FBI files the affidavit.
“This begs the question: Why were there no air marshals on board a flight from the U.K. to the U.S. while we’re under orange alert?” said a former air marshal who asked to remain anonymous.
This must be part of their strategy: no one knows what the TSA or the DHS will do next. They can do next to nothing, or they can do nothing. Got to keep those terrorists guessing.
Unexploded cluster bombs prompt fear and fury in returning refugees
Add thousands of Israeli landmines and you have quite the playground for Lebanese children.
All you need to know in that regard here:
The Mine Problem Southern Lebanon
The alarming extent of water scarcity across the world is detailed in a map compiled by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in a report on the use of water in agriculture. It shows two key types of scarcity; water is said to be either physically scarce or economically scarce. One quarter of the world’s population lives in river basins where water is physically scarce. Another one billion people live in river basins where water is economically scarce. In total, one-third of the world’s population is short of water – a situation that five years ago was predicted would not arrive until 20 years from now.
Researchers present an analysis of why American’s don’t believe in evolution. The short answer? Because Republicans have politicized the issue, and because the US, unlike other advanced nations, does not have a uniform science curriculum for schools.
The harmful bluetongue virus, normally found in Mediterranean regions, has been found on a Dutch farm, forcing movement restrictions around the affected area. Bluetongue poses no risk to human health, but does affect ruminants (deer, sheep, cattle and goats). Officials say they do not know how the virus traveled so far north. [Here’s a hint, folks: global warming. Better get used to it. – K.P.]
Speaking of which: grey jays, birds that store frozen food to help survive icy winters, are dying out in parts of North America because global warming is thawing and rotting their hoards.
Chinese solar cell maker Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. plans to spend around US$60 million to build a research and development plant outside Shanghai, a senior company executive said on Friday. The firm expects rising prices for solar power cells will start to decline as soon as next year, fuelling demand for solar energy.
Brazil’s new generation of cars and trucks adapted to run on alcohol has just hit the two million mark, auto industry figures show. “Flex-fuel” vehicles, which run on any combination of ethanol and petrol, now make up 77% of the Brazilian market. Brazil has pioneered the use of ethanol derived from sugar cane as motor fuel. Ethanol-driven cars have been on sale there for 25 years, but they have been enjoying a revival since flex-fuel models first appeared in March 2003.
Sensible people now agree that climate change creates major risks and that the world should be taking significant steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But there is a neglected obstacle to achieving such reductions, the Washington Post reports, and it is the biggest source of the stalemate in international negotiations: there’s no incentive for the US and China to play nice, as the effects of climate change will be (comparatively) less there, and the costs of action are highest for those nations.
Now at Truthout: The Institute for Public Policy Research in the UK takes a look at understanding how global warming is being communicated and whether this is helping or hindering efforts to achieve behavior change and climate protection.
And from our department of perpetual motion, comes the following: An Irish company threw down the gauntlet on Friday to the worldwide scientific community to test a technology it has developed that it claims produces free energy. The company, Steorn, says its discovery is based on the interaction of magnetic fields and allows the production of clean, free and constant energy — a concept that challenges one of the basic rules of physics. The developers say the device is NOT merely converting the energy in the magnetic fields into another form of energy, but that additional energy is being picked up by the device as it operates. They issued the challenge in an ad in The Economist, which may be appropriate given widely accepted economic theories that believe wealth can be created the same way… ;-D
Link
Budget leaders call it ‘a rudderless ship’
WASHINGTON — The federal research agency in charge of countering emerging terrorist threats such as liquid explosives is so hobbled by poor leadership, weak financial management, and inadequate technology that Congress is on the verge of cutting its budget in half.
The Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate has struggled with turnover, reorganizations, and raids on its budget since it was established in 2003, according to independent scientists, department officials, and senior members of Congress.
At the same time, the Bush administration’s overriding focus on nuclear and biological threats has delayed research on weapons aimed at aviation, a controversial choice that was questioned anew after a plot to blow up US-bound airliners from London was made public Aug. 10.
The most surprising thing to me in this article isn’t how Bush’s government is hobbled by incompetence and rot. Naw… that’s old news. The fact that the DHS has a department dedicated to science, (“Science and Technology Directorate”), was a real shocker.
All I can do is laugh at how pathetic this all is. Is that wrong?
The Republicans are tough on terra, and I’m supposed to be afraid of hair gel on an airplane because an agency that is “so hobbled by poor leadership, weak financial management, and inadequate technology that Congress is on the verge of cutting its budget in half” said so.
:::snicker:::