пятница, 1 февраля 2008 г.

3.8 million kronor $590,000) in research funds to measure the greenhouse gases released when cows belch

(AP) A Swedish university has received 3.8 million kronor $590,000) in research funds to measure the greenhouse gases released when cows belch.

About 20 cows will participate in the project run by the Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, about 40 miles north of Stockholm, officials said Monday.

Cattle release methane, a greenhouse gas believed to contribute to global warming, when they digest their food. Researchers believe the level of methane released depends on the type of food the eat.

Project leader Jan Bertilsson said that the cows involved in the study will have different diets and wear a collar device measuring the methane level in the air around them.

"This type of research is already being conducted in Canada so we will be in contact with Canadian agricultural researchers in the near future," he said.

The research will be funded by a grant from the government's Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning.
http://madconomist.com

Top 10 Best Conspiracy Theory Type Documentaries

1. The Vanished City of the Pharaoh

Awesome BBC Documentary about the Vanished City of the Pharaoh

2. Angels Still Don't Play This HAARP

The sequel to 'Angels Don't Play This HAARP'. This documentary is a visual accompaniment to the book by Dr. Nick Begich, 'Angels Still Don't Play This HAARP: Advances In Tesla Technology'

3. Aleister Crowley - The Other Loch Ness Monster

Superb Scottish-made documentary. Detailed history of Boleskine House, Aleister Crowley and Jimmy Page; including interviews with John Bonner (UK Head of the OTO), Colin Wilson, Sandy Robertson, Malcolm Dent, etc. Features a part performance of the Gnostic Mass, based on production assistance by Mogg Morgan.

4. David Ray Griffin - 911 Commission Report: Ommissions and Distortions

A lecture by David Ray Griffin about the "9/11 Commission Report" and his latest book "The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions". Here he debunkd the entire Kean commission and the report as an enourmous lie through ommissions.

5. War Against the Weak: Eugenics

Edwin Black discussed his book War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race, published by Four Walls Eight Windows. The book discusses a large-scale eugenics movement that began in the U.S. in 1904 and that was championed by the nation's medical, political, and religious elite. Eugenics sought to eliminate social "undesirables" and was eventually copied by the Third Reich. Mr. Black responded to questions from members of the audience.

6. RFK Must Die - The Assassination of Bobby Kennedy

On June 5, 1968, shortly after winning the hotly-contested California primary, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was slain in the pantry of the Los Angeles Ambassador hotel. Charged with the assassination is Sirhan Sirhan, a 24 year-old Palestinian whose notebooks repeatedly declare RFK MUST DIE! While Sirhan Sirhan recants his confession, investigatory oversights leave many questions unanswered.

7. Robert Anton Wilson - May Be Logic

Multiple clips complied to give us insight into the life and theories of Robert Anton Wilson.

8. Paul Krugman On US Economy

Krugman is an outspoken critic of the George W. Bush administration and its foreign and domestic policy. Unlike many economic pundits, he is also regarded as an important scholarly contributor by his peers. He has written over 200 scholarly papers and 20 books—some academic, and some written for the layperson.

9. Angels And Demons Or The Secret History Of Illuminati

Awesome documentary about the history of several secret societies that were the bases for the Illuminati.

10. A Second Look at the Federal Reserve by G Edward Griffin

Where does money come from? Where does it go? Who makes it? The money magician's secrets are unveiled. Here is a close look at their mirrors and smoke machines, the pulleys, cogs, and wheels that create the grand illusion called money. A boring subject? Just wait. You'll be hooked in five minutes. It sounds like a detective story, which it really is, but it's all true. Based on Mr. Griffin's book of the same title, this address will shatter your old ideas about money and change the way you view the world. 1998 lecture.
http://madconomist.com

четверг, 31 января 2008 г.

Richard Grieshop and Lynda Williams

TAMPA - A Tampa man and his roommate almost had to pay their $100,000 electric bill.

Richard Grieshop and Lynda Williams live in a one-bedroom mobile home. Both use wheelchairs and live on fixed incomes.

Grieshop says their power was turned off during the holidays. With help from friends and social services, they got it turned back on about two weeks ago.

He says he called the Tampa Electric Co. and was told to pay up or face having his power turned off again.

A company spokesman tells WFLA TV that the bill was caused by a system error and that they don't owe that amount.
http://madconomist.com

Tasha Maltby, 19, was the "pet" of her 25-year-old fiance Dani Graves

LONDON (Reuters) - A British bus company has apologized to a girl who is led around on a leash by her boyfriend and describes herself as a human pet after one of its drivers threw her off a bus.

Tasha Maltby, 19, told British newspapers she was the "pet" of her 25-year-old fiance Dani Graves.

Pictures showed her dressed in black Gothic-style clothing with silver buckles on a silver chain -- which the driver of a bus from the firm Arriva took exception to.

She told the Daily Mail newspaper Wednesday she was thrown off and told: "We don't let freaks and dogs like you on."

Arriva would not comment on specifics but said it apologized if the couple felt they had been discriminated against. It added, however, that the driver was worried about safety and the company told Maltby to take the leash off in the future.

"We have spoken to the driver who has talked about health and safety," a spokesman said. "Should she be attached to a chain and something happens on the bus, that could be dangerous. All we are saying is that she is very welcome to use the buses but not when she is on her lead."

Maltby -- who lives on state benefits and got engaged in November -- said her choice of lifestyle might seem unusual but was harmless.

"I am a pet," she told the Daily Mail. "I generally act animal-like and I lead a really easy life. I don't cook or clean and I don't go anywhere without Dani. It might seem strange but it makes us both happy. It's my culture and my choice. It isn't hurting anyone."
http://madconomist.com

It helped me be a little bit more conservative in my lifestyle

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - Vicki Armstrong has been saving her pennies for almost 19 years and she was making plans this week to cash them in at a bank - all 55,000 of them.

She knows the $550 won't make her rich, but says the symbolism reinforced frugal spending habits. "It helped me be a little bit more conservative in my lifestyle," said Armstrong, who is planning to retire at the end of the year from Christus Schumpert Highland Hospital, where she works as a maternity technician.

Armstrong has been storing pennies in vases, bowls and the occasional shoebox. In 1993, The (Shreveport, La.) Times reported she had squirreled away 14,000 pennies. Armstrong resisted the temptation of cashing them in and kept saving.

Her co-workers and friends have chipped in over the years. "They all hand over pennies generously," she said.

Her husband, Melvin, said he's never interfered with her healthy obsession and confessed that even their bicycle rides have been interrupted by tiny treasure hunts.

"She would see a penny in the road and just stop. I would to have to do circles just to let her catch up."
http://madconomist.com

Corporate chief executives and the public in many emerging markets

The future looks bleak in much of the developed world. It looks bright in the developing world.
Two opinion surveys released in connection with the World Economic Forum here showed optimism among corporate chief executives and the public in many emerging markets. But there are doubts in many of the world’s leading economies.
In the United States, just 27 percent of the people questioned in the Gallup International Voice of the People survey said they expected the next generation to be more prosperous than the current one, while 43 percent expected less prosperity.
Fear that the future will be worse is even greater in some other countries. In France, only 11 percent of respondents said they expected a more prosperous future. The figures in Japan, Germany and Italy were almost that low.
But in Nigeria, a country whose oil wealth has so far done little for most of its citizens, 78 percent said they expected a more prosperous future. In Kenya, the figure was 67 percent. (All the polls were taken during the fourth quarter of 2007, before a disputed election led to instability in Kenya, and before financial markets worldwide suffered this month.)
The question asked of chief executives covered a much narrower issue — whether they were very confident that their own company’s revenue would grow over the next 12 months.
In the United States, where recession fears have been rising, 36 percent of the executives said they were very confident, a percentage that exceeded the figures for Japan, France and Italy.
By contrast, the figures exceeded 70 percent in Mexico, Russia and China. In India, the number was 90 percent.
The confidence of emerging markets was shown in sessions at the forum this week, as participants from India proclaimed that their momentum could carry them past any downturn in the United States.
One Chinese speaker said a recession in the United States might bring China’s growth down to 9 percent a year, from the 10 to 11 percent he expected otherwise.
“A lot of people are going to be very shocked” if a recession in the United States does have a major impact on Asia, said Steven S. Roach, the chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, who has long been bullish on the region. But he also said he expected the American downturn to have a substantial impact in Asia.
The poll of individuals also asked whether they agreed with certain statements about business leaders, and found a wide variety of opinions.
Business leaders were generally viewed as more competent than political leaders, but they were also seen as dishonest by many.
The starkest view was in Germany, where only 6 percent thought the business leaders were not competent and capable, but 71 percent thought they were dishonest. In the United States, 49 percent said they thought business executives were dishonest, while 25 percent did not think they were competent.
The country with the highest regard for its business leaders appears to be Britain, where only 19 percent viewed them as dishonest, and 13 percent doubted their competence.
But perhaps some people do not think it is necessary to have competent business executives for a country to prosper. Nigeria, the country where 78 percent of the public expect the next generation to be more prosperous, had 40 percent of its respondents say business leaders were not competent. That was the most of any of the countries listed in the accompanying charts.
http://madconomist.com/

A pastor plans to put teams of chaplains in local bars in this central Pennsylvania town so they can lend a sympathetic ear to patrons who may need on

(AP) CARLISLE, Pa. - Barflies, forget having to talk your troubles over with a bartender.

The chaplains won’t preach against drinking or evangelize when the program starts at Market Cross Pub, organizer Chuck Kish said.

"We’re simply going to be there to help anybody who wants it. Sometimes people really just want somebody they can talk to who is not going to be judgmental, but be sympathetic," he said.

"Some people may think this would be a strange place to find a chaplain. But we need to go where the people are," said Kish, a 44-year-old senior pastor at the Bethel Assembly of God in Carlisle, southwest of Harrisburg.

Chaplains will work in teams, one male and one female, and will be in the bar for about three hours on the first Friday of every month, he said. The program is slated to start next month at one pub, with the hope it will be expanded.

Market Cross Pub owner Jeff Goss said he did a double-take when Kish first approached him.

"I thought, a chaplain in a restaurant and bar? And then I thought, that makes sense," Goss said.

Bartender Liz Horn said she’d have no problem referring a customer to a chaplain.

"Sometimes a bar is a place where people go when they’re down," she said.
http://madconomist.com

Vending machines distributing the drug marijuana are to begin operating in the US state of California

The machines can only be used by people who have been prescribed the drug for health reasons.
Patients will have to provide a prescription, and be fingerprinted and photographed before being allowed to use the facilities.
Eleven US states allow the medicinal use of marijuana, primarily for pain relief, but it remains controversial.
Vince Mehdizadeh, owner of the Herbal Nutrition Centre in Los Angeles, where one of the two first machines is based, said it would allow patients to buy extra supplies whenever needed.
Series of checks
Once the users have been photographed, fingerprinted and have shown their prescription, they will be issued with a card which can be used in the machines, he told KWTX News 10 in the US.
"They'll be greeted by a security guard right there. They'll slide the card in and they'll fingerprint in to verify that it's them," he was quoted by KWTX News 10 as saying.
"A camera takes a picture of them, verifying that they're actually at the machine. And they get the medicine and they move on."
The operators think that vending machines issuing prescription drugs could become a common sight in the US.
Proponents say marijauna is a valuable tool for relieving pain and stimulating appetite in the sick.
However, it remains banned by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act and the US federal government does not currently recognise any legitimate medical use.
http://madconomist.com

The Danish brewer is charging about $400 for a single bottle of less than a pint

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- It will take more than a few bucks to buy this bottle of brew.Carlsberg ASA officials said the brewery's new Vintage No. 1 beer is probably the world's best and most expensive.
The Danish brewer is charging about $400 for a single bottle of less than a pint. Brewmaster Jens Eiken said only 600 bottles of the beer will be made and most will be sold through three of Copenhagen's most exclusive restaurants. He said more than 50 have already been purchased.
The brewmaster said the beer, which weighs in at about 10.5 percent alcohol, is stored in Swedish French oak casks in a special place about 50 feet below Carlsberg's old brewery.
Consumers won't be returning the empties for a deposit. Each bottle has a hand-stenciled label by a well-known artist. The empties are said to be worth about $100 each.
http://madconomist.com

Jelly beans and other candy

The Jelly Belly Candy Company is a prominent maker of gourmet jelly beans and other candy. It was formerly known as The Herman Goelitz Candy Company before being renamed for their most popular product, "Jelly Belly" jelly beans. The company is based in Fairfield, California, off of State Route 12, with warehouse facilities in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
Jelly Belly makes many varieties of naturally flavored jelly beans, including juicy pear, watermelon, root beer, cherry and buttered popcorn. The success of their brand led to a jelly-bean renaissance, particularly in the 1980s, when U.S. President Ronald Reagan began keeping a jar of them on his desk in the White House.


The product is considerably more expensive than most retail candies due to the use of real fruit and other juices, averaging US$16.99 for a 2.2 lb (1 kg) bag (here is your $5 off coupon).
The person responsible for the invention of Jelly Belly jelly beans was David Klein (born in 1946). He created the concept of a new kind of jelly bean that had not only a flavored shell, but a flavored jelly center. He engaged the Goelitz Candy Company to manufacture it, where candy manufacturer Marinus van Dam was employed at the time. Marinus van Dam was born in Ooltgensplaat, a township in Oostflakkee, Netherlands, on October 24, 1929. After obtaining a candy manufacturing degree in the Netherlands, he immigrated to the United States and soon went to work for the Herman Goelitz Candy Company. He rose to the level of vice president before moving on to other companies and finally starting his own business, Marich Confectionery.


When Marinus was asked how he developed the manufacturing of the Jelly Belly, he answered that most jelly beans at the time were cheap candy that had a 56% sugar content and were sold as penny candy. All jelly beans started out with plain, uncolored starch centers that were merely sweetened with sugar. Only the outer candy coating was colored and flavored. He wondered how he could bring this candy to the adult market, and his solution was to enhance the jelly beans so that they would appeal to everyone. The centers for the new jelly bean were colored and flavored with real fruit juices and natural flavors. This flavor enhancing process was also used on the outer candy shell. The finished Jelly Belly contained about half the sugar of the regular jelly bean, was more flavorful, and consequently healthier than the generic jelly beans sold in stores.
David Klein sold the first Jelly Belly jelly beans in a small ice cream parlor, Fosselman's, in Alhambra, California in 1976. The first flavors were Very Cherry, Tangerine, Lemon, Green Apple, Grape, Licorice, Root Beer, and Cream Soda. David Klein's newest creation is a super sour jelly bean called "Spanks."


Official 50 flavorsThe 49-flavor assortment of jelly beans features all of the official 50 flavors except for jalapeño.The 49-flavor assortment of jelly beans features all of the official 50 flavors except for jalapeño.


Jelly Belly officially has 50 flavors that are made all year. Seasonal flavors such as candy cane are only produced at specific times of the year. Additionally, Jelly Belly frequently produces "rookie" flavors that sometimes are added to the jelly beans in the 50 official flavors if they become popular enough. Here is a list of the current official 50 flavors:
* A&W Cream soda* A&W Root Beer* Berry blue* Blueberry* Bubble gum* Buttered popcorn* Café latte* Cantaloupe* Cappuccino* Caramel apple

* Caramel corn* Chocolate pudding* Cinnamon* Coconut* Cotton candy* Crushed pineapple* Dr Pepper* French vanilla* Grape jelly* Green apple

* Island Punch* Jalapeño* Juicy pear* Kiwi* Lemon* Lemon drop* Lemon lime* Licorice* Mango* Margarita

* Orange juice* Orange sherbet* Peach* Peanut butter* Piña Colada* Pink grapefruit* Plum* Raspberry* Red apple* Sizzling cinnamon

* Strawberry cheesecake* Strawberry daiquiri* Strawberry jam* Tangerine* Toasted marshmallow* Top banana* Tutti-Fruitti* Very cherry* Watermelon* Wild blackberry
Rookie Flavor
Jelly Belly usually produces new prototype flavors that occasionally are added to flavors in the Official 50 group. Previous rookie flavours include:
* Apricot* Buttered Toast* Chocolate Cherry Cake* Honey Biscuit* TABASCO® Cinnamon* Baked Bean
The latest rookie is:
* Pomegranate
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