I for one put my hand up to say I really enjoyed the wedding. Only the Poms do the pagentry so well.
Even Julia looked pretty smart in her all Australian designed outfit. Just a pity about the two young princesses ( Fergie and Andrews kids ) in outfits that looked more suitable for a girls night out at the club!
Come on girls- what did you think of it?
I dragged my hubby along to friends for the event and even he behaved himself.
I am a bit amused at the scare about radiation from the damaged Japanese reactors. I'm not saying anyone should be blase about it, certainly not. But no news items have mentioned the radiation ALL people suffered during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s above ground nuclear tests. Over 1 000 bombs were tested. Many in South Australia, the islands to the west of Australia and in the Solomons. One rainy day in the 1950s at Amberly RAAF base someone put a Geiger counter outside a window and the counter went nuts! Atherton Tableland milk had to be dumped because of too much radioactivity. The Russians exploded a 50 MEGAton bomb in Siberia. (about 1/10 the power of the 9.0 earthquake that hit Japan.) The radioactive cloud from it circled the NH 3 times. The Russians abandoned a 100 MEGAton test. They soon agreed to underground testing. But, so far, what the Japanese have been exposed to is very small in comparison unless a core does explode emitting some extra radiation.
Neville, just to put a few records straight. If you put a Geiger counter outside in the rain, or in the dry it will always go nuts. That's what Geiger counters do. Background radiation can vary considerably ... you aught to see what a will happen when you hold a Geiger counter next to a mobile phone tower or a microwave oven for that matter ... what counts (?) is the little meter on top.
The irradiated milk scare turned out to be a load of political mischief, but because it wasn't such a good story, it wasn't given anywhere near the publicity it should have received.
There were, I think about six nuclear explosions at Maralinga in SA lit by the poms, and a couple of hydrogen devises exploded on Barrow Island which is one of the Monte Bello group. I have met a couple of ex-army types who were trying all legal avenues for compensation, as they and their mates were used as guinea pigs. I understand both had contracted leukemia.
The Yanks conducted some tests notably at Bikini atoll (that's the one you always see in the movies which went off underwater ... all the surrendered german and Japanese navy ships being engulfed, the very same that the swim-suit was named after), and in Truk lagoon and other parts of the Marshall Islands. The French conducted their tests in the Toamotu Islands east of Tahiti at Mururoa but none, thankfully in the Solomons, far too many thickly populated islands and too many people to relocate as they did in the Marshalls.
How do I know all this? Well I used to work for what was then the Australian Atomic Energy Commission public relations Department, which was located in a grand old mansion in Coogee (Sydney's eastern Suburbs).
You were right about the Russians, although I'm pretty sure the 100 kt weapon turned out to be a bluff, although the Yanks have exploded bigger ones subsequently.
John, but the French tests were below ground. Even so, the NZ PM Lange toured the world demanding all nuclear weapons be destroyed. He stopped U.S. ships visiting NZ which strained the ANZUS pact. But he gained some support. Driving to Ipswich there was a sign saying,"Nuclear Free Zone". As if!!
The underground tests were agreed by all sides after radiation levels in the atmosphere were becoming too high. The bombs being tested were far bigger in power than the tiny firecracker which hit Hiroshima. That was only 10 000 kilotons. Later Hydrogen bomb tests were around the range of 5 million (5 000 000) tons of TNT. So the Russian 50 megaton bomb was equivalent to 50 000 000 tons.
I suspect there was and is an agreement not to reveal the true extent of irradiation by above ground testing. After all, think of the $trillions a class action that might be taken out against governments if those early tests could be linked to ill health.
I realise, however, that even background radiation varies a lot. Those living in granite areas get twice the radiation than those living in red soil areas.
Just as an aside; the amount of 50kg of Plutonium used up in the Hiroshima bomb was only 0.1% of the Plutonium. 99.9% was unused. Imagine the explosion if ALL the Plutonium had chain reacted!
That's why some scientists at Los Alamos for the first bomb test literally thought the earth's atmosphere might be torn off! It was a huge gamble that may have resulted in the demise of all of us.
It's because Television is primarily (say 90%) Visual Medium. What that means for you is that the newspeople go out . . Looking For Good Visuals. and then write the words around their visuals, facts be damned.
But you did watch the japanese stuff didn't you? The gyrating signs hanging from the ceiling, and the falling files, in the impossibly overcrowded TV Newsroom. Excellent Pictures, now someone get some words to go with it.
And you saw umpteen dozen pictures (before and after) of the 'camouflaged' reactor buildings. and people being ferried about in red and yellow plastic jumpsuits. And probably with not one word of verifiable fact amongst it.
I despair, also, at the number of 'wriggle words' on the news ( and on commercials) " up to 10,ooo people were injured " ie no more than ten thousand, maybe only a couple of hundred, maybe only a dozen.
Up to also applies to "up to 30% Discount" meaning 'no way are you going to get any more than 30% off, and knowing business, most probably a lot less, say 5%. The 30% only applied to the cut you get from the smallest priced item.
More undeniable truth in "The death toll continues to rise " Lazarus doesn't live here any more.
Ever seen a storm n a teacup? Well, this is one for you. The news people are all over this poor beknighted reactor which might, or might not, be poisoning the population. But before digging your Bunker, dear japanese people, look to see which way the wind is blowing.
If the answer is " Out to Sea" no need to panic. go back to your bottled water, face masks in the street, and orderly regimented lives. All is well.. . . .If on the other hand it's blowing towards you, then now is the time to have a holiday elsewhere for a short time.
I know i will be accused of callousness here, but i am still amazed the deathtoll from this tidal wave was only ten thousand. yes a lot, but out of a Hundred and Thirty Million People, it's not even a blip on the radar. There are six thousand japanese funerals every day in the best of times.
Further, no mention have i heard of how many other nuclear plants are operating quite normally, and indeed taking up the load from this one. That would be an interesting fact to discover.
On todays news there is information that some people in Japan have been admitted to hospital with radiation burns. I hope they are not the general populace, but workers in the plant that is causing all the problems. Of course is is a shame for it to happen at all.
The thing about all those past nuclear events is that they taught us a lot, and the most important thing was to change our attitude towards the whole thing. There has not been a nuclear powerplant built in the USA since the Three Mile Island disaster, but there are still nuclear ships and submarines being built.
Although we can't be too blase about nuclear power it can't be thrown into the trash can as a means of clean, green energy well into the future. The reactors in Japan were Mark 1 General Electric type erected in 1971. No one expected a mag' 9 earthquake as well as a tsunami would block the cooling abilities.
Future generation 4 reactors being built in China, USA have means to overcome those problems. 3 Mile Island was caused by too much human action. If they had stood back nothing would have happened. A previous case a year back in a similar plant proved that but the information was not spread around.
USA, Britain &France have been using nuclear powered ships since the 1950s. Only Russia suffered some setbacks. Some cruise ship lines are seriously considering using nuclear power for their gigantic ships for economy.
The call is for less coal=CO2*. Coal stations emit many impurities such as mercury and even some radiation. Coal mining in China kills thousands of workers. China digs up 10 X more coal than Australia. Sure, it is dismantling some old stations, but is also building bigger, new coal stations. And China is not going to be reliant on wind or solar power because they can't be relied upon...anywhere.
I see where a 20 hectare (50 acres) solar farm is planned for the Sunshine Coast. This will sure to be negative to the wildlife. 50 acres of housing would be frowned upon.
Since hydro power is banned in Australia (Franklin, Wolfedene, Wild rivers) then for back up power on cold windless nights to charge the electric cars it will still be imperative coal or nuclear power is generated.
If nuclear is feared too much we come back to square one. i.e. using coal. If the cost is too great then we go back to the 1920s with just 1 light per room, 1 power point per room, no electric heating or A/C, gas stoves, no big TVs and who knows what other deprivations. High income earners will not care less.
*No one can say any figure by which the temperature will stabilise at even if all nations stopped emitting CO2 today.
Yep, LindaField, all's well here. Hope you are well too.
To type a lowercase character by using a key combination that includes the SHIFT key, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT+symbol keys simultaneously, and then release them before you type the letter.
To insert thisPress à, è, ì, ò, ù, À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù CTRL+` (ACCENT GRAVE), the letter á, é, í, ó, ú, ý Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý CTRL+' (APOSTROPHE), the letter â, ê, î, ô, û Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û CTRL+SHIFT+^ (CARET), the letter ã, ñ, õ Ã, Ñ, Õ CTRL+SHIFT+~ (TILDE), the letter ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ, Ä, Ë, Ï, Ö, Ü, Ÿ CTRL+SHIFT+: (COLON), the letter å, Å CTRL+SHIFT+@, a or A æ, Æ CTRL+SHIFT+&, a or A œ, Œ CTRL+SHIFT+&, o or O ç, Ç CTRL+, (COMMA), c or C ð, Ð CTRL+' (APOSTROPHE), d or D ø, Ø CTRL+/, o or O ¿ ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+? ¡ ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+! ß CTRL+SHIFT+&, s The Unicode character for the specified Unicode (hexadecimal) character code
The character code, ALT+X
For example, to insert the euro currency symbol , press 20AC, and then hold down the ALT key and press X.
I'm sure there is a lot of valuable info in those shortcuts but I am having trouble following them. For example: my euro symbol sits on the 5 key. How do I access that without typing 0128? It seems a long way round.
You're dead right, of course. € I've not ever noticed it on the '5' key before. Have no idea whatsoever how to activate it, though. ( have never had a use for it, incidentally)
(and incidentally, Ewen, the Euro is also thename for a variety of Kangaroo /wallaroo, so put that in your cryptic word base)
To complicate matters further, and I blame Ceridwyn for this completely, . . . GOT does not support most of the Acutes Graves, etc. This means, of course that we all use 'word' or similar to type our stuff and then cut and paste it all, holus bolus, into here.. . . After doing the spellcheck, of course.
OMG!!!!!!! I may have been able to remember all that when I was in studying mode at High School 45 years ago, but now? My brain has become so used to thinking in my craft mode that I'll never remember all those instructions. Lucky I can cut and paste them for reference!
I think someone should declare 2011 the Year of the Disaster.
Yesterday's earthquake near Japan was a HUGE one, and it's effects will be far-reaching indeed. Add to that the continual rain in North Queensland, the ongoing trauma from the NZ earthquake, and the massive cleanup that continues after extensive flooding in Queensland (and indeed, across Australia), it's becoming an incredible unrelenting year of misfortune!
Something that I've noticed is how people seem to be getting their news more 'up-to-the-minute' now, using the internet and Social Media sites such as facebook and twitter to check on loved ones in the affected areas. In my own experience, being flooded in at 1770 over Christmas, we turned to the net for more reliable and up-to-date travel and weather information than was available on 'traditional' media - even the ABC Radio's information regarding road closures wasn't as fast as what we could get online.
Careful what you place on Facebook. This evening (Friday 8 April), I received an e-mail from a group called 'Cause' I usually vet my e-mail by going into the server first, before they make it to my computer proper. I didn't kill this immediately as the intro was "April 22 is approaching", which is my 70th birthday ... Good Friday, which given my initials, is pretty appropriate), so I let it through. Turns out they got my details from Facebook, begging me to 'donate my birthday' to give to the orphans of Haiti, Japanese earthquake victims, and orphaned puppies in Mississippi! Oh for goodness sake ... I'm afraid that I replied somewhat disengenuously ... buy pointing out in rather colourful language that had they bothered to look up my age and figured out that in all probability I was on an age pension and having difficulty enough holding my own together, let alone donating the one time I get to smirk at everyone younger! Further more, we are a small country, that they should have realised had they bothered to look at the 'au' at the end of my e-mail address, and we are surrounded by just as many good causes in equally small nations which also suffer earthquakes, and tsarmis, to which I am more inclined to donate my meagre resources ... I then called them "stupid, unthinking, ill-educated, northern hemisphereically self-centred morons, who should be looking to donate to their own, about-to-collapse economy etc etc ... I'm really a nice fella, most of the time, and I felt ashamed of myself afterwards ... however,
I use this to point out to be careful what you place on Facebook ... the owners don't give a pile of frog poo what happens to it, or who uses it, a fact they are constantly proving and demonstrating their unwillingness to correct errors or their own incompetance.
puff, puff, pant, pant, a-th... the...th... that's all folks!
the second article cited includes the paragraph " evacuation advice issued for up to 6000 people living within 3km of Fukushima no 1 plant. where they're considering venting radioactive steam...
Within a circle of 3km radius there is an area of 28 square kilometres.
And there are no more than . . . Six Thousand People living on this . . Twenty Eight Square Kilometres?
I believe the news services completely, Don't you?
"Give me Land, . . lots of land, . . and the starry sky above, . . Don't fence me in."
Why is it the the "me too" brigade come out in full force at times like this.
I took a good look at the Usa contribution, Crescent City, wherever That is. The harbour didn't look all that bad to me, the boats 'crushed' by the tsunami looked just about as rust-streaked and about to fall apart as they did yesterday and the day before, The solitary fatality was a wanker with a camera.
Oh yes, in Elk Creek (pop'n 1600) the rising waters, reached the doors of the 'community center' (sic). Shall we send trauma counsellors to Elk Creek Community Centre?
My parents are currently travelling in New Zealand, so I heard of this news with some shock - my father-in-law called as soon as he heard, to see if they were in the Christchurch area at all. An immediate call to my mother (RehanahDavis) got her answering machine, but she has since texted to let me know that she and Dad are nowhere near Christchurch. Which was a huge relief for me - but my heart goes out to those hundreds, if not thousands, of people affected. I know that some of our GOT members have family in NZ, so my thoughts and prayers are with you.
I guess we have all checked that family and friends are OK, but how incredible the coverage has been and oh how sad that one of the broken buildings is now in the recovery status and not rescue.
I still can't believe the Cathedral will be demolished- anyone who has travelled to Christchurch would know what an icon it has always been in the CBD.
It's also wonderful the rapid supply of experts in rescue from Australia and elsewhere, but great to see those NSW jackets early this morning, literally on the ground, ready to go!
I'm still absolutely devastated! However I am happy for our friends who came out of this awful situation unscathed. They were not in Christchurch but further south and are hoping to get to Auckland on Thursday ( don't blame them).
We also have a friend from the UK who will be visiting us in 2 weeks who arrived in Christchurch last evening. Yes he was in the CBD when the earthquake struck. He is staying with his brother in the 'burbs and when he TXTd they were experiencing yet another aftershock. I think he too will be glad to leave Christchurch, on Friday in his case.
What a terrible day it has been. I hate earthquakes, having grown up in Wellington and experiencing them as a child- very scary!
We finally had an email from him last evening. I had mentioned he was staying in the suburbs with his brother and all was well. In actual fact he was in the CBD when the quake struck. His first thought was to check on his brother's apartment in the city. He was there when the 1st aftershock hit.
Reading his email left me aghast - he could have been killed but not used to earthquakes his thoughts were obviously on how his brother's place had weathered the quake. As it turns out, the whole building will be demolished. I think he is still a bit fragile, but I'm sure he will have more to tell us when he arrives.
Glad to hear Mum and Dad are not in Ch-Ch but unfortunately we have friends who are holidaying in the area and we are just trying to contact them. Just so so sad.
Apparently the networks can't cope with the surge in phone calls - they are urging everyone to text instead. And there's been an emergency hotline set up for Aussies who are wanting information on family / friends: 1300 555 135.
I've been nearly in tears watching it all on TV. As Hubby said, we'll put the tragedy in Libya on hold today while there's one nearer for us to sympathise with.
Yes the newspeople do a good job of stirring emotions, but then they have our un-divided attention whilst they're on screen. Do people chatter during the news, like they used to around the tea-table, NO sir !
So, they can fill our heads with whatever emotions they want, no matter how nonsensical. " Fatalities are now 65, but that number is expected to rise". Was anyone expecting people to do a LAzarus and lower that number?
And in NZ there seem to be an awful lot of people in FLuoro red and yellow, running about in groups, but not actually Doing anything, except hauling a fellow with a ladder away from a building, (they later brought in a mechanised laddder, which made Much Better TV Pictures, you'll agree.)
And midday news today announced there are 74 urban search and rescue people from Qld arriving, and another 74 from NSW, (what a co-incidence, same number from each state?) and more from Singapore, Taiwan and a few other places. What i want to know is ... What were these people doing last week, and who is paying them to do it? .
Kilroy
and no mention of the twelve thousand who died in the usa yesterday, but that was not filmed..
Just thought I'd give us all a brief respite from all the 'floods'.
A British court has convicted a man of assault and placed him under a two-week curfew for throwing a snowball at a female police officer.
Dean Smith was shopping with his family before Christmas in the town of Swadlincote, central England, when he chucked the snowball at the officer.
The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to common assault at the court in Derby, central England. He was handed a 14-day curfew and ordered to pay 85 pounds costs.
Before his conviction, Smith said he thought it had been a joke when police turned up at his door several days after he threw the snowball.
"I couldn't understand it. When they took me to the police station I thought it was a joke at first," said Smith, quoted in The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"How much has all this cost the taxpayer?"
However, prosecutors said Smith had been acting aggressively because of a grudge and pointed out he had previously been convicted for obstructing a police officer.
Under the terms of his curfew, Smith reportedly has to wear an electronic tag and stay at home between 7:00pm and 7:00am for the next two weeks.
I note the miscreant was 31 yoa. So, a childish prank wouldn't wash with the magistrate.
He already had 'form' it seems. Perhaps he has a vendetta going against the cops?
What accompanied the snowball ... like "Get #$%**!! you %#@**!fascist ##@$!**! maggot ... or words to that effect? (use imagination).
If what we know is true, I reckon the idiot might've profitted from a few hours on the rock-pile (or better still, in the stocks) to help change his ways. Not for throwing the snowball ... it probably missed anyway. Just for being an objectionable twit!
PS. I remember a very unusual snow storm hitting Moe in central Gippsland when I was a callow youth. Some moron landed a bloody snowball right between my eyes as I was leaving the front door of the bank where I worked. It hit me like a rock (whoever it was had compressed the thing into an ice missile!).
Larry King, America's interviewer-in-chief, ended his record-setting career as CNN's prime-time, talk-show host Thursday night with a serenade from Tony Bennett, a greeting from President Obama and a "Larry King Day" proclamation from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Those guests and others capped his 25-year run behind the microphone with CNN.
"Welcome to the last 'Larry King Live.' It's hard to say that," King said in his opening remarks to his last show.
He was joined on the set by comedian Bill Maher and television host Ryan Seacrest.
On several occasions, King stifled tears, especially when Maher put King in the same company as TV legends Johnny Carson, Steve Allen and Walter Cronkite.
"This is not Larry's funeral," Maher interjected early in the show. "Larry is hopefully going to be in our living rooms for years to come. This is the end of a show, not the end of a man."
King wore his signature suspenders -- a pair of red ones with a red-and-white polka-dot tie over a black shirt.
At end of his hourlong broadcast, King became choked up with his final sentences.
"It's not very often in my life that I've been without words," King said. He thanked his staff and producers.
"When I started 25 years ago in a little studio in Washington, D.C., I never thought it would last this long or come to this," King said. "I'm going to do specials on CNN and do radio work ... so you're not going to see me go away, but you're not going to see me on this set any more.
"I don't know what to say, except to you my audience, thank you. And instead of goodbye, how about so long?" King concluded.
His set then went black -- except for a spotlight illuminating his chrome microphone.
A senior Chinese delegate on Friday urged his fellow international officials to extend the commitments of the environmental Kyoto Protocol, which is set expire in 2012 and has been a contentious issue at this week’s U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico.
“If any balanced outcome can be produced in international climate change, there must be a continuation of KP,” said China’s Huikang Huang at a press conference in Cancún, in reference to the Kyoto Protocol. “There must be a second period. Without this element there will be no balance.”
Alien life has been among us all along, according to new biological findings announced by NASA Thursday.
Research conducted by biochemist Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon from the U.S. Geological Survey has turned the quest for alien life on its ear, suggesting that phosphorous, carbon, and the other fundamental elements found in every living thing on Earth aren't the only signs of life. Wolfe-Simon will explain the findings at a hotly anticipated NASA press conference today at 2 p.m.
can't say i'm surprised by this at all,other planets are made up of entirely different chemicals than our earth,it only stands to reason life on them would be made up of different chemicals,at least that has been my take on it,ellie
The publication of a quarter-million sensitive diplomatic cables Sunday exposed years of U.S. foreign-policy maneuvering that could prove embarrassing to the U.S. and its allies, especially in the Islamic world.
Among activities detailed in the documents was the extensive, and increasingly successful, push by the U.S. for an international consensus to confront Iran's nuclear program. Five newspapers obtained early access to the documents, which had been gathered by the website WikiLeaks.
The cables showed how some Arab leaders were largely in sync with Israel to support greater financial penalties, if not military operations, against Iran unless it abandons its nuclear ambitions. Regarding Iran, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah was portrayed in an April 2008 memo as having told the U.S. "to cut off the head of the snake."
one of the advantages of Yankee-Speak is that it's obvious.
"publication of a quarter-million" The civilised world would say " quarter of a million", so the first sentence shows this article was lazily lifted from somewhere else, quite probably usa, given the quote from the article . . .
U.S. intelligence believes Iran has obtained from North Korea powerful missiles able to reach European capitals notably Jerusalem
No other country is mentioned other than usa, as well. except that Arabs and Jews will now be embarassed to know that the WORLD NOW KNOWS how they were both hornswoggled by the us into damning Iran.
WikiLeaks is about the Best thing that could ever happen to International Relations.
Just as a case in point, who amongst us ever thought that All the Neighbouring Arab countries wanted Iran to Have "The Bomb" it's in their own back yard, and as soon as it was revealed (big surprise) that an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile could travel from Iran to , say , Israel, all the jewry in Israel got all hot and bothered, and wrote to their Twenty Million Relatives in the USA, who lobbied the us govt (Obama doesn't want to upset Twenty Million [rich] voters) so of course he brought the Hounds of Justice down on poor old Iran, and is forcing their disarmament.
Of course the usa still has Twelve Thousand or so Nukes.
Schoolyard bullying might be on the way out, but . . .
My point is, the world knows you did it, You know you did it, so where's the problem with Wiki ??
Kilroy
Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, has circulated across the internet an encrypted “poison pill” cache of uncensored documents suspected to include files on BP and Guantanamo Bay.
One of the files identified this weekend by The Sunday Times — called the “insurance” file — has been downloaded from the WikiLeaks website by tens of thousands of supporters, from America to Australia.
Assange warns that any government that tries to curtail his activities risks triggering a new deluge of state and commercial secrets.
The military papers on Guantanamo Bay, yet to be published, have been supplied by Bradley Manning, Assange’s primary source until his arrest in May. Other documents that Assange is confirmed to possess include an aerial video of a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan that killed civilians, BP files and Bank of America documents.
One of the key files available for download — named insurance.aes256 — appears to be encrypted with a 256-digit key. Experts said last week it was virtually unbreakable.
The backlash against WikiLeaks intensifed today after payments site PayPal revealed it had frozen WikiLeaks' account, saying it was being used to "encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity".
The company, owned by auction website eBay, revealed it had cut access for donations to WikiLeaks amid unsubstantiated speculation that the decision may have been inspired by heavy political pressure. Last week Amazon.com stopped hosting WikiLeaks only 24 hours after being contacted by the staff of Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate's committee on homeland security.
The latest action is likely to harm Wikileaks because PayPal is an important avenue for donations and arguably the most secure and convenient way to support the organisation.
Paypal's decision comes a day after Swedish authorities, who want to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, 39, over sex offence allegations, issued a fresh arrest warrant to British police. However, amid speculation Assange is about to be picked up, his lawyer said it could be weeks before the Australian, who is understood to be in south-east England, is arrested.
"Two more business who were doing remarkably well until they caved in to us govt pressure, alienating a goodly portion of their clientele."
. . . . is what their epitaphs will read
Or should that be just one epitaph, cos as you said e-bay owns paypal. That must be encouraging to buyers and sellers on ebay.
And the Swedes ' want to question' Mr Wiki, a man who probably makes more money than Volvo, over allegations of sexual impropriety.
I remind the Swedes that this has been tried too often in recent months, notably in Burma where the non-Govt presidential candidate was questioned, at length, for some months over sexual improprieties
The whole world is a circus. The acts just move from country to country.
Kilroy
It's good to see you back joining the fray, Kilroy. I think another member alluded to " why shoot the messenger" and I totally agree.
For those who subscribe to the " threat to global security ", "terrorist activities" , which Assange has been accused of, I say it's a bit like the ostrich. If we don't know about it, it won't hurt us!
I also agree, it's a great pity Paypal/ebay have knuckled under to US Gov. pressure.
watched some of this on tv tonight, i just wonder what trouble will come from this how is the king of saudi arabia for instance going to justify this with iran,after all he would never say this to iran
there are many things said in private that will now haved to be explained and justified,how many will become enemies knowing what each has said about the other?
i think it's a very bad thing to have this stuff published,ellie
Isn't this scurrulous gossip on a Global scale? It's like the neighbourhood sticky-beak going to somebody and saying "She said this and that about you, and now I'm going to stand back and watch the fight this information creates. HeHeHe!!!!"
There are some terrible trouble-makers in this world, and I hope they catch whoever it is. Being a whistle-blower for good is one thing, but creating more dissention and arguments is pretty awful behaviour.
Let's set a good example to our little ones, who are always being told to behave well.
The trouble with this rotten world is not whistle-blowers. It is the penchant for secrecy which attaches to every so-called 'leadership' group in politics, business and, even petty administration. That includes outright despots like the King of Saudi Arabia and/or 'elected' Presidents/Prime Ministers/Premiers throughout the rest of the world.
Mainly, they recognise their own fallibility (and, loose tongues) ... so the schemes they plot MUST remain secret to protect their individual (and, often collective) arses from the people they are actually supposed to represent and, on whose behalf, they are expexcted to act honestly and responsibly!
How else do you ever expect to learn of the disasters, outright lying and chicanery these people indulge themselves in 'on your behalf'? On the rare occasions they do something which they think you will applaud and endorse ... they broadcast it loud and long to whoever will listen. When they choose to keep their activities secret ... you can take it for granted IT AINT GOOD for YOU and, they know you would pillory them if you knew of it before the fact!
And, know this folks. Only a total moron stoked with mis-placed hubris would commit his/her wrong-doings to either hard-copy or electronic storage during this 'information age'. That said, if people like the Saudi King and US President now find themselves up the proverbial creek in a barbed-wire canoe without a paddle ... who can they credibly blame? Gossips? Rumour mongers?
If the 'Wikileaks' are true ... shoot the messenger???
Very nerve wracking, watching the delicate operation of the rescue - I'm extremely claustrophobic so it's doing me in but I do hope they are all rescued safely and can again take up their lives, albeit traumatised, with their families.
Firstly it's very brave of them to risk their lives by going underground to work, then to have that ordeal of waiting for the rescuers to get them out. I'd be a quivering wreck! Give me childbirth any time! I wonder if they'll go back to the same job?
The Royal Wedding
Well it didn't rain on their parade!
I for one put my hand up to say I really enjoyed the wedding. Only the Poms do the pagentry so well.
Even Julia looked pretty smart in her all Australian designed outfit. Just a pity about the two young princesses ( Fergie and Andrews kids ) in outfits that looked more suitable for a girls night out at the club!
Come on girls- what did you think of it?
I dragged my hubby along to friends for the event and even he behaved himself.
radiation scare
I am a bit amused at the scare about radiation from the damaged Japanese reactors. I'm not saying anyone should be blase about it, certainly not. But no news items have mentioned the radiation ALL people suffered during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s above ground nuclear tests. Over 1 000 bombs were tested. Many in South Australia, the islands to the west of Australia and in the Solomons. One rainy day in the 1950s at Amberly RAAF base someone put a Geiger counter outside a window and the counter went nuts! Atherton Tableland milk had to be dumped because of too much radioactivity. The Russians exploded a 50 MEGAton bomb in Siberia. (about 1/10 the power of the 9.0 earthquake that hit Japan.) The radioactive cloud from it circled the NH 3 times. The Russians abandoned a 100 MEGAton test. They soon agreed to underground testing. But, so far, what the Japanese have been exposed to is very small in comparison unless a core does explode emitting some extra radiation.
fallout
Neville, just to put a few records straight. If you put a Geiger counter outside in the rain, or in the dry it will always go nuts. That's what Geiger counters do. Background radiation can vary considerably ... you aught to see what a will happen when you hold a Geiger counter next to a mobile phone tower or a microwave oven for that matter ... what counts (?) is the little meter on top.
The irradiated milk scare turned out to be a load of political mischief, but because it wasn't such a good story, it wasn't given anywhere near the publicity it should have received.
There were, I think about six nuclear explosions at Maralinga in SA lit by the poms, and a couple of hydrogen devises exploded on Barrow Island which is one of the Monte Bello group. I have met a couple of ex-army types who were trying all legal avenues for compensation, as they and their mates were used as guinea pigs. I understand both had contracted leukemia.
The Yanks conducted some tests notably at Bikini atoll (that's the one you always see in the movies which went off underwater ... all the surrendered german and Japanese navy ships being engulfed, the very same that the swim-suit was named after), and in Truk lagoon and other parts of the Marshall Islands. The French conducted their tests in the Toamotu Islands east of Tahiti at Mururoa but none, thankfully in the Solomons, far too many thickly populated islands and too many people to relocate as they did in the Marshalls.
How do I know all this? Well I used to work for what was then the Australian Atomic Energy Commission public relations Department, which was located in a grand old mansion in Coogee (Sydney's eastern Suburbs).
You were right about the Russians, although I'm pretty sure the 100 kt weapon turned out to be a bluff, although the Yanks have exploded bigger ones subsequently.
Cheers,
JC
French tests, etc
John, but the French tests were below ground. Even so, the NZ PM Lange toured the world demanding all nuclear weapons be destroyed. He stopped U.S. ships visiting NZ which strained the ANZUS pact. But he gained some support. Driving to Ipswich there was a sign saying,"Nuclear Free Zone". As if!!
The underground tests were agreed by all sides after radiation levels in the atmosphere were becoming too high. The bombs being tested were far bigger in power than the tiny firecracker which hit Hiroshima. That was only 10 000 kilotons. Later Hydrogen bomb tests were around the range of 5 million (5 000 000) tons of TNT. So the Russian 50 megaton bomb was equivalent to 50 000 000 tons.
I suspect there was and is an agreement not to reveal the true extent of irradiation by above ground testing. After all, think of the $trillions a class action that might be taken out against governments if those early tests could be linked to ill health.
I realise, however, that even background radiation varies a lot. Those living in granite areas get twice the radiation than those living in red soil areas.
Just as an aside; the amount of 50kg of Plutonium used up in the Hiroshima bomb was only 0.1% of the Plutonium. 99.9% was unused. Imagine the explosion if ALL the Plutonium had chain reacted!
That's why some scientists at Los Alamos for the first bomb test literally thought the earth's atmosphere might be torn off! It was a huge gamble that may have resulted in the demise of all of us.
Do Not Look At Your Television News
What nonsense is this? Not to look at a TV?
It's because Television is primarily (say 90%) Visual Medium. What that means for you is that the newspeople go out . . Looking For Good Visuals. and then write the words around their visuals, facts be damned.
But you did watch the japanese stuff didn't you? The gyrating signs hanging from the ceiling, and the falling files, in the impossibly overcrowded TV Newsroom. Excellent Pictures, now someone get some words to go with it.
And you saw umpteen dozen pictures (before and after) of the 'camouflaged' reactor buildings. and people being ferried about in red and yellow plastic jumpsuits. And probably with not one word of verifiable fact amongst it.
I despair, also, at the number of 'wriggle words' on the news ( and on commercials) " up to 10,ooo people were injured " ie no more than ten thousand, maybe only a couple of hundred, maybe only a dozen.
Up to also applies to "up to 30% Discount" meaning 'no way are you going to get any more than 30% off, and knowing business, most probably a lot less, say 5%. The 30% only applied to the cut you get from the smallest priced item.
More undeniable truth in "The death toll continues to rise " Lazarus doesn't live here any more.
I still despair
Radiation
Ever seen a storm n a teacup? Well, this is one for you. The news people are all over this poor beknighted reactor which might, or might not, be poisoning the population. But before digging your Bunker, dear japanese people, look to see which way the wind is blowing.
If the answer is " Out to Sea" no need to panic. go back to your bottled water, face masks in the street, and orderly regimented lives. All is well.. . . .If on the other hand it's blowing towards you, then now is the time to have a holiday elsewhere for a short time.
I know i will be accused of callousness here, but i am still amazed the deathtoll from this tidal wave was only ten thousand. yes a lot, but out of a Hundred and Thirty Million People, it's not even a blip on the radar. There are six thousand japanese funerals every day in the best of times.
Further, no mention have i heard of how many other nuclear plants are operating quite normally, and indeed taking up the load from this one. That would be an interesting fact to discover.
Radiation
On todays news there is information that some people in Japan have been admitted to hospital with radiation burns. I hope they are not the general populace, but workers in the plant that is causing all the problems. Of course is is a shame for it to happen at all.
The thing about all those past nuclear events is that they taught us a lot, and the most important thing was to change our attitude towards the whole thing. There has not been a nuclear powerplant built in the USA since the Three Mile Island disaster, but there are still nuclear ships and submarines being built.
Hope all's well with you, Neville.
nuclear still has a place
Although we can't be too blase about nuclear power it can't be thrown into the trash can as a means of clean, green energy well into the future. The reactors in Japan were Mark 1 General Electric type erected in 1971. No one expected a mag' 9 earthquake as well as a tsunami would block the cooling abilities.
Future generation 4 reactors being built in China, USA have means to overcome those problems. 3 Mile Island was caused by too much human action. If they had stood back nothing would have happened. A previous case a year back in a similar plant proved that but the information was not spread around.
USA, Britain &France have been using nuclear powered ships since the 1950s. Only Russia suffered some setbacks. Some cruise ship lines are seriously considering using nuclear power for their gigantic ships for economy.
The call is for less coal=CO2*. Coal stations emit many impurities such as mercury and even some radiation. Coal mining in China kills thousands of workers. China digs up 10 X more coal than Australia. Sure, it is dismantling some old stations, but is also building bigger, new coal stations. And China is not going to be reliant on wind or solar power because they can't be relied upon...anywhere.
I see where a 20 hectare (50 acres) solar farm is planned for the Sunshine Coast. This will sure to be negative to the wildlife. 50 acres of housing would be frowned upon.
Since hydro power is banned in Australia (Franklin, Wolfedene, Wild rivers) then for back up power on cold windless nights to charge the electric cars it will still be imperative coal or nuclear power is generated.
If nuclear is feared too much we come back to square one. i.e. using coal. If the cost is too great then we go back to the 1920s with just 1 light per room, 1 power point per room, no electric heating or A/C, gas stoves, no big TVs and who knows what other deprivations. High income earners will not care less.
*No one can say any figure by which the temperature will stabilise at even if all nations stopped emitting CO2 today.
Yep, LindaField, all's well here. Hope you are well too.
blasé.
To type a lowercase character by using a key combination that includes the SHIFT key, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT+symbol keys simultaneously, and then release them before you type the letter.
To insert this Press à, è, ì, ò, ù,À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù CTRL+` (ACCENT GRAVE), the letter á, é, í, ó, ú, ý
Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý CTRL+' (APOSTROPHE), the letter â, ê, î, ô, û
Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û CTRL+SHIFT+^ (CARET), the letter ã, ñ, õ
Ã, Ñ, Õ CTRL+SHIFT+~ (TILDE), the letter ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ,
Ä, Ë, Ï, Ö, Ü, Ÿ CTRL+SHIFT+: (COLON), the letter å, Å CTRL+SHIFT+@, a or A æ, Æ CTRL+SHIFT+&, a or A œ, Œ CTRL+SHIFT+&, o or O ç, Ç CTRL+, (COMMA), c or C ð, Ð CTRL+' (APOSTROPHE), d or D ø, Ø CTRL+/, o or O ¿ ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+? ¡ ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+! ß CTRL+SHIFT+&, s The Unicode character for the specified Unicode (hexadecimal) character code
The character code, ALT+X
For example, to insert the euro currency symbol , press 20AC, and then hold down the ALT key and press X.
The ANSI character (ANSI character set: An 8-bit character set used by Microsoft Windows that allows you to represent up to 256 characters (0 through 255) by using your keyboard. The ASCII character set is a subset of the ANSI set.) for the specified ANSI (decimal) character codeALT+the character code (on the numeric keypad)
Note Make sure that NUM LOCK is on before you type the character code.
For example, to insert the euro currency symbol, hold down the ALT key and press 0128 on the numeric keypad.
Acutes and Graves and stuff
I'm sure there is a lot of valuable info in those shortcuts but I am having trouble following them. For example: my euro symbol sits on the 5 key. How do I access that without typing 0128? It seems a long way round.
Euro €
You're dead right, of course. € I've not ever noticed it on the '5' key before. Have no idea whatsoever how to activate it, though. ( have never had a use for it, incidentally)
(and incidentally, Ewen, the Euro is also thename for a variety of Kangaroo /wallaroo, so put that in your cryptic word base)
To complicate matters further, and I blame Ceridwyn for this completely, . . . GOT does not support most of the Acutes Graves, etc. This means, of course that we all use 'word' or similar to type our stuff and then cut and paste it all, holus bolus, into here.. . . After doing the spellcheck, of course.
över tõ yõu.
OMG
OMG!!!!!!! I may have been able to remember all that when I was in studying mode at High School 45 years ago, but now? My brain has become so used to thinking in my craft mode that I'll never remember all those instructions. Lucky I can cut and paste them for reference!
Japanese earthquake
I think someone should declare 2011 the Year of the Disaster.
Yesterday's earthquake near Japan was a HUGE one, and it's effects will be far-reaching indeed. Add to that the continual rain in North Queensland, the ongoing trauma from the NZ earthquake, and the massive cleanup that continues after extensive flooding in Queensland (and indeed, across Australia), it's becoming an incredible unrelenting year of misfortune!
Something that I've noticed is how people seem to be getting their news more 'up-to-the-minute' now, using the internet and Social Media sites such as facebook and twitter to check on loved ones in the affected areas. In my own experience, being flooded in at 1770 over Christmas, we turned to the net for more reliable and up-to-date travel and weather information than was available on 'traditional' media - even the ABC Radio's information regarding road closures wasn't as fast as what we could get online.
I've just stumbled across this blog post this morning, and thought I'd link to it here. It lists some of the best ways to get information about the latest Japanese earthquake. Hope it might be helpful for those of you with friends and family in the affected area. The post is: http://mashable.com/2011/03/11/follow-japan-earthquake-online/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Mashable+(Mashable)
On the Subject of Facebook
Careful what you place on Facebook. This evening (Friday 8 April), I received an e-mail from a group called 'Cause' I usually vet my e-mail by going into the server first, before they make it to my computer proper. I didn't kill this immediately as the intro was "April 22 is approaching", which is my 70th birthday ... Good Friday, which given my initials, is pretty appropriate), so I let it through. Turns out they got my details from Facebook, begging me to 'donate my birthday' to give to the orphans of Haiti, Japanese earthquake victims, and orphaned puppies in Mississippi! Oh for goodness sake ... I'm afraid that I replied somewhat disengenuously ... buy pointing out in rather colourful language that had they bothered to look up my age and figured out that in all probability I was on an age pension and having difficulty enough holding my own together, let alone donating the one time I get to smirk at everyone younger! Further more, we are a small country, that they should have realised had they bothered to look at the 'au' at the end of my e-mail address, and we are surrounded by just as many good causes in equally small nations which also suffer earthquakes, and tsarmis, to which I am more inclined to donate my meagre resources ... I then called them "stupid, unthinking, ill-educated, northern hemisphereically self-centred morons, who should be looking to donate to their own, about-to-collapse economy etc etc ... I'm really a nice fella, most of the time, and I felt ashamed of myself afterwards ... however,
I use this to point out to be careful what you place on Facebook ... the owners don't give a pile of frog poo what happens to it, or who uses it, a fact they are constantly proving and demonstrating their unwillingness to correct errors or their own incompetance.
puff, puff, pant, pant, a-th... the...th... that's all folks!
Cheers,
JC
Onya, John.
It does you good to let off a bit of steam now and again. I totally agree.
F7, John F7
That is the key you need to spell-check your stuff.
You will usually need to transport your stuff to Word, deposit it there, Spellcheck and correct, then spellcheck again.
And don't forget, spellcheck is not perfect, so Re-Read your wok.
spell check
Desperately in need of a sub ... I like to call it creative dyslexia ... promise I'll do better when I'm not so het up ...
Cheers, JC
Easter, JC's Birthday?
Must re-read that book.
Book
You've been reading the wrong book!
I think someone should declare 2011 the Year of the Disaster.
They have. One tv channel put together a doco, " 2011, 87 days of calamity" or similar, and aired it recently.
and in more news:
Los Angeles, Crescent City - harbour destroyed, four swept into sea, one feared dead in waves from Japanese Tsunami. Read more at http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-crescent-city-harbor-destroyed-20110311,0,1559190.story
Thousands evacuated near Japanese nuclear plant - at http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=588019&vId=
Japanese must be thin on the ground
the second article cited includes the paragraph " evacuation advice issued for up to 6000 people living within 3km of Fukushima no 1 plant. where they're considering venting radioactive steam...
Within a circle of 3km radius there is an area of 28 square kilometres.
And there are no more than . . . Six Thousand People living on this . . Twenty Eight Square Kilometres?
I believe the news services completely, Don't you?
"Give me Land, . . lots of land, . . and the starry sky above, . . Don't fence me in."
Kilroy
Me too, Mee tooo
Why is it the the "me too" brigade come out in full force at times like this.
I took a good look at the Usa contribution, Crescent City, wherever That is. The harbour didn't look all that bad to me, the boats 'crushed' by the tsunami looked just about as rust-streaked and about to fall apart as they did yesterday and the day before, The solitary fatality was a wanker with a camera.
Oh yes, in Elk Creek (pop'n 1600) the rising waters, reached the doors of the 'community center' (sic). Shall we send trauma counsellors to Elk Creek Community Centre?
Kilroy. of the 'me too' brigade
Another NZ earthquake- even bigger than last September's one!
My parents are currently travelling in New Zealand, so I heard of this news with some shock - my father-in-law called as soon as he heard, to see if they were in the Christchurch area at all. An immediate call to my mother (RehanahDavis) got her answering machine, but she has since texted to let me know that she and Dad are nowhere near Christchurch. Which was a huge relief for me - but my heart goes out to those hundreds, if not thousands, of people affected. I know that some of our GOT members have family in NZ, so my thoughts and prayers are with you.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/large-quake-hits-new-zealand/story-e6frf7jo-1226009955454 seems to give a fairly comprehensive coverage of the story.
Ongoing coverage
I guess we have all checked that family and friends are OK, but how incredible the coverage has been and oh how sad that one of the broken buildings is now in the recovery status and not rescue.
I still can't believe the Cathedral will be demolished- anyone who has travelled to Christchurch would know what an icon it has always been in the CBD.
It's also wonderful the rapid supply of experts in rescue from Australia and elsewhere, but great to see those NSW jackets early this morning, literally on the ground, ready to go!
In touch by TXT
I'm still absolutely devastated! However I am happy for our friends who came out of this awful situation unscathed. They were not in Christchurch but further south and are hoping to get to Auckland on Thursday ( don't blame them).
We also have a friend from the UK who will be visiting us in 2 weeks who arrived in Christchurch last evening. Yes he was in the CBD when the earthquake struck. He is staying with his brother in the 'burbs and when he TXTd they were experiencing yet another aftershock. I think he too will be glad to leave Christchurch, on Friday in his case.
What a terrible day it has been. I hate earthquakes, having grown up in Wellington and experiencing them as a child- very scary!
Our friend arrives tomorrow
We finally had an email from him last evening. I had mentioned he was staying in the suburbs with his brother and all was well. In actual fact he was in the CBD when the quake struck. His first thought was to check on his brother's apartment in the city. He was there when the 1st aftershock hit.
Reading his email left me aghast - he could have been killed but not used to earthquakes his thoughts were obviously on how his brother's place had weathered the quake. As it turns out, the whole building will be demolished. I think he is still a bit fragile, but I'm sure he will have more to tell us when he arrives.
Christchurch
Glad to hear Mum and Dad are not in Ch-Ch but unfortunately we have friends who are holidaying in the area and we are just trying to contact them. Just so so sad.
Phones are out
Apparently the networks can't cope with the surge in phone calls - they are urging everyone to text instead. And there's been an emergency hotline set up for Aussies who are wanting information on family / friends: 1300 555 135.
I've been nearly in tears
I've been nearly in tears watching it all on TV. As Hubby said, we'll put the tragedy in Libya on hold today while there's one nearer for us to sympathise with.
Emotional TV News
Yes the newspeople do a good job of stirring emotions, but then they have our un-divided attention whilst they're on screen. Do people chatter during the news, like they used to around the tea-table, NO sir !
So, they can fill our heads with whatever emotions they want, no matter how nonsensical. " Fatalities are now 65, but that number is expected to rise". Was anyone expecting people to do a LAzarus and lower that number?
And in NZ there seem to be an awful lot of people in FLuoro red and yellow, running about in groups, but not actually Doing anything, except hauling a fellow with a ladder away from a building, (they later brought in a mechanised laddder, which made Much Better TV Pictures, you'll agree.)
And midday news today announced there are 74 urban search and rescue people from Qld arriving, and another 74 from NSW, (what a co-incidence, same number from each state?) and more from Singapore, Taiwan and a few other places. What i want to know is ... What were these people doing last week, and who is paying them to do it? .
Kilroy
and no mention of the twelve thousand who died in the usa yesterday, but that was not filmed..
As if Haiti weren't suffering enough...
It looks as though now they are seeing a mutant form of Polio...
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1001:1145858000319744::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,86762
Briton convicted for throwing snowball
Just thought I'd give us all a brief respite from all the 'floods'.
A British court has convicted a man of assault and placed him under a two-week curfew for throwing a snowball at a female police officer.
Dean Smith was shopping with his family before Christmas in the town of Swadlincote, central England, when he chucked the snowball at the officer.
The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to common assault at the court in Derby, central England. He was handed a 14-day curfew and ordered to pay 85 pounds costs.
Before his conviction, Smith said he thought it had been a joke when police turned up at his door several days after he threw the snowball.
"I couldn't understand it. When they took me to the police station I thought it was a joke at first," said Smith, quoted in The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"How much has all this cost the taxpayer?"
However, prosecutors said Smith had been acting aggressively because of a grudge and pointed out he had previously been convicted for obstructing a police officer.
Under the terms of his curfew, Smith reportedly has to wear an electronic tag and stay at home between 7:00pm and 7:00am for the next two weeks.
- AFP
Courtesy: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/13/3111904.htm
So what do you think? Too harsh? Not harsh enough?
Snowball chucker
I note the miscreant was 31 yoa. So, a childish prank wouldn't wash with the magistrate.
He already had 'form' it seems. Perhaps he has a vendetta going against the cops?
What accompanied the snowball ... like "Get #$%**!! you %#@**!fascist ##@$!**! maggot ... or words to that effect? (use imagination).
If what we know is true, I reckon the idiot might've profitted from a few hours on the rock-pile (or better still, in the stocks) to help change his ways. Not for throwing the snowball ... it probably missed anyway. Just for being an objectionable twit!
PS. I remember a very unusual snow storm hitting Moe in central Gippsland when I was a callow youth. Some moron landed a bloody snowball right between my eyes as I was leaving the front door of the bank where I worked. It hit me like a rock (whoever it was had compressed the thing into an ice missile!).
Believe me, snowballs can hurt.
Larry King ends his record-setting run on CNN
Larry King, America's interviewer-in-chief, ended his record-setting career as CNN's prime-time, talk-show host Thursday night with a serenade from Tony Bennett, a greeting from President Obama and a "Larry King Day" proclamation from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Those guests and others capped his 25-year run behind the microphone with CNN.
"Welcome to the last 'Larry King Live.' It's hard to say that," King said in his opening remarks to his last show.
He was joined on the set by comedian Bill Maher and television host Ryan Seacrest.
On several occasions, King stifled tears, especially when Maher put King in the same company as TV legends Johnny Carson, Steve Allen and Walter Cronkite.
"This is not Larry's funeral," Maher interjected early in the show. "Larry is hopefully going to be in our living rooms for years to come. This is the end of a show, not the end of a man."
King wore his signature suspenders -- a pair of red ones with a red-and-white polka-dot tie over a black shirt.
At end of his hourlong broadcast, King became choked up with his final sentences.
"It's not very often in my life that I've been without words," King said. He thanked his staff and producers.
"When I started 25 years ago in a little studio in Washington, D.C., I never thought it would last this long or come to this," King said. "I'm going to do specials on CNN and do radio work ... so you're not going to see me go away, but you're not going to see me on this set any more.
"I don't know what to say, except to you my audience, thank you. And instead of goodbye, how about so long?" King concluded.
His set then went black -- except for a spotlight illuminating his chrome microphone.
Read more at: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/12/16/larry.king.finale/
China calls for Kyoto Protocol extension
A senior Chinese delegate on Friday urged his fellow international officials to extend the commitments of the environmental Kyoto Protocol, which is set expire in 2012 and has been a contentious issue at this week’s U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico.
“If any balanced outcome can be produced in international climate change, there must be a continuation of KP,” said China’s Huikang Huang at a press conference in Cancún, in reference to the Kyoto Protocol. “There must be a second period. Without this element there will be no balance.”
Read more at:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-calls-for-kyoto-protocol-extension-2010-12-03?siteid=rss&rss=1
Are Aliens among us? Sort of, NASA says
Alien life has been among us all along, according to new biological findings announced by NASA Thursday.
Research conducted by biochemist Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon from the U.S. Geological Survey has turned the quest for alien life on its ear, suggesting that phosphorous, carbon, and the other fundamental elements found in every living thing on Earth aren't the only signs of life. Wolfe-Simon will explain the findings at a hotly anticipated NASA press conference today at 2 p.m.
Story courtesy John Brandon at FoxNews. Read the full article at http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/02/alien-life-nasa-titan-arsenic-bacteria/
alien life
can't say i'm surprised by this at all,other planets are made up of entirely different chemicals than our earth,it only stands to reason life on them would be made up of different chemicals,at least that has been my take on it,ellie
Vast Leak Discloses Diplomatic Secrets
The publication of a quarter-million sensitive diplomatic cables Sunday exposed years of U.S. foreign-policy maneuvering that could prove embarrassing to the U.S. and its allies, especially in the Islamic world.
Among activities detailed in the documents was the extensive, and increasingly successful, push by the U.S. for an international consensus to confront Iran's nuclear program. Five newspapers obtained early access to the documents, which had been gathered by the website WikiLeaks.
The cables showed how some Arab leaders were largely in sync with Israel to support greater financial penalties, if not military operations, against Iran unless it abandons its nuclear ambitions. Regarding Iran, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah was portrayed in an April 2008 memo as having told the U.S. "to cut off the head of the snake."
Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704700204575642812775841790.html
Lifted complete from Some USA publication.
one of the advantages of Yankee-Speak is that it's obvious.
"publication of a quarter-million" The civilised world would say " quarter of a million", so the first sentence shows this article was lazily lifted from somewhere else, quite probably usa, given the quote from the article . . .
U.S. intelligence believes Iran has obtained from North Korea powerful missiles able to reach European capitals notably Jerusalem
I'll also ask why the document needs the ID number "SB10001424052748704700204575642812775841790"
How many articles are there ??
No other country is mentioned other than usa, as well. except that Arabs and Jews will now be embarassed to know that the WORLD NOW KNOWS how they were both hornswoggled by the us into damning Iran.
Kilroy.
Au Contraire,
WikiLeaks Ready to Release Giant 'Insurance' File if Shut Down
Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, has circulated across the internet an encrypted “poison pill” cache of uncensored documents suspected to include files on BP and Guantanamo Bay.
One of the files identified this weekend by The Sunday Times — called the “insurance” file — has been downloaded from the WikiLeaks website by tens of thousands of supporters, from America to Australia.
Assange warns that any government that tries to curtail his activities risks triggering a new deluge of state and commercial secrets.
The military papers on Guantanamo Bay, yet to be published, have been supplied by Bradley Manning, Assange’s primary source until his arrest in May. Other documents that Assange is confirmed to possess include an aerial video of a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan that killed civilians, BP files and Bank of America documents.
One of the key files available for download — named insurance.aes256 — appears to be encrypted with a 256-digit key. Experts said last week it was virtually unbreakable.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/12/05/wikileaks-ready-release-massive-insurance-file-shut/#ixzz17HKPgEMC
PayPal joins internet backlash against WikiLeaks
The backlash against WikiLeaks intensifed today after payments site PayPal revealed it had frozen WikiLeaks' account, saying it was being used to "encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity".
The company, owned by auction website eBay, revealed it had cut access for donations to WikiLeaks amid unsubstantiated speculation that the decision may have been inspired by heavy political pressure. Last week Amazon.com stopped hosting WikiLeaks only 24 hours after being contacted by the staff of Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate's committee on homeland security.
The latest action is likely to harm Wikileaks because PayPal is an important avenue for donations and arguably the most secure and convenient way to support the organisation.
Paypal's decision comes a day after Swedish authorities, who want to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, 39, over sex offence allegations, issued a fresh arrest warrant to British police. However, amid speculation Assange is about to be picked up, his lawyer said it could be weeks before the Australian, who is understood to be in south-east England, is arrested.
Read more at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/04/paypal-internet-backlash-wikileaks
PayPal and E-Bay
Paypal
It's good to see you back joining the fray, Kilroy. I think another member alluded to " why shoot the messenger" and I totally agree.
For those who subscribe to the " threat to global security ", "terrorist activities" , which Assange has been accused of, I say it's a bit like the ostrich. If we don't know about it, it won't hurt us!
I also agree, it's a great pity Paypal/ebay have knuckled under to US Gov. pressure.
wikkieleaks
watched some of this on tv tonight, i just wonder what trouble will come from this how is the king of saudi arabia for instance going to justify this with iran,after all he would never say this to iran
there are many things said in private that will now haved to be explained and justified,how many will become enemies knowing what each has said about the other?
i think it's a very bad thing to have this stuff published,ellie
This is gossip.
Isn't this scurrulous gossip on a Global scale? It's like the neighbourhood sticky-beak going to somebody and saying "She said this and that about you, and now I'm going to stand back and watch the fight this information creates. HeHeHe!!!!"
There are some terrible trouble-makers in this world, and I hope they catch whoever it is. Being a whistle-blower for good is one thing, but creating more dissention and arguments is pretty awful behaviour.
Let's set a good example to our little ones, who are always being told to behave well.
The cloak of secrecy.
The trouble with this rotten world is not whistle-blowers. It is the penchant for secrecy which attaches to every so-called 'leadership' group in politics, business and, even petty administration. That includes outright despots like the King of Saudi Arabia and/or 'elected' Presidents/Prime Ministers/Premiers throughout the rest of the world.
Mainly, they recognise their own fallibility (and, loose tongues) ... so the schemes they plot MUST remain secret to protect their individual (and, often collective) arses from the people they are actually supposed to represent and, on whose behalf, they are expexcted to act honestly and responsibly!
How else do you ever expect to learn of the disasters, outright lying and chicanery these people indulge themselves in 'on your behalf'? On the rare occasions they do something which they think you will applaud and endorse ... they broadcast it loud and long to whoever will listen. When they choose to keep their activities secret ... you can take it for granted IT AINT GOOD for YOU and, they know you would pillory them if you knew of it before the fact!
And, know this folks. Only a total moron stoked with mis-placed hubris would commit his/her wrong-doings to either hard-copy or electronic storage during this 'information age'. That said, if people like the Saudi King and US President now find themselves up the proverbial creek in a barbed-wire canoe without a paddle ... who can they credibly blame? Gossips? Rumour mongers?
If the 'Wikileaks' are true ... shoot the messenger???
Chilean Miners
Very nerve wracking, watching the delicate operation of the rescue - I'm extremely claustrophobic so it's doing me in but I do hope they are all rescued safely and can again take up their lives, albeit traumatised, with their families.
Firstly it's very brave of
Firstly it's very brave of them to risk their lives by going underground to work, then to have that ordeal of waiting for the rescuers to get them out. I'd be a quivering wreck! Give me childbirth any time! I wonder if they'll go back to the same job?