truesee's Blog

Earth 'to be wiped out' by supernova explosion

The Earth could soon be wiped out by the explosion of a star more than 3,000 light years away, according to American scientists.

Ben Leach

9:39AM GMT 06 Jan 2010

T Pyxidis Photo: NASA

The star, called T Pyxidis, is set to self-destruct in an explosion called a supernova with the force of 20 billion billion billion megatons of TNT.

Although the star is thought to be around 3,260 light-years away – a fairly short distance in galactic terms – the blast from the thermonuclear explosion could strip away the Earth's ozone layer, the scientists said.

Astronomers from Villanova University, Philadelphia, in the US, said the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite has shown them that T Pyxidis is really two stars, one called a white dwarf that is sucking in gas and steadily growing. When it reaches a critical mass it will blow itself to pieces.

It will become as bright as all the other stars in the galaxy put together, they said. The Hubble space telescope has photographed the star preparing for its big bang with a series of smaller blasts or "burps", called novas.

These explosions came regularly about every 20 years from 1890 – but stopped after 1967.

So the next blast is nearly 20 years overdue, said scientists Edward M Sion, Patrick Godon and Timothy McClain at the American Astronomical Society in Washington.

Robin Scagell, vice-president of the UK's Society for Popular Astronomy, said: "The star may certainly became a supernova soon – but soon could still be a long way off so don't have nightmares."

Men think about sex 5,000 times a year

Men think about sex almost 5,000 times a year – but only get down to doing it 104 times, a new study has found

10:33AM GMT 08 Jan 2010

Daily Telegraph

Men think a candlelit dinner is the best way to get women in the mood Photo: GETTY

Researchers found the average male turns their thoughts to sexual intercourse 13 times a day – a total of 4,745 times every year.

Almost a third even admitted it is often the first thing they think about when they wake up in the mornings.

In comparison, women think about sex just five times day – or 1,825 times a year.

But when it comes to actually having sex, men have to make do with it an average of just twice a week, or 104 times a year.

A spokesman for market research company www.Onepoll.com said: ''Men are well-known for thinking about sex a lot, but to find out exactly how often is staggering.

''It seems blokes have sex on the brain whether they are going through a dry spell or jumping between the sheets on a regular basis.

''They can't even get away from the sexy thoughts when they first wake up in the morning.

''So when you catch your man staring into space, you know what he's likely to be thinking about.''

The study of 3,000 people also showed that despite the difference in the amount of times men think about sex and actually do it, almost three quarters claim they are happy about the amount of sex they were getting.

But just 58 per cent of women said the same.

And 43 per cent of couples also admitted arguing over who instigates the lovemaking, with men most likely to make the first move.

Researchers also found one in three guys think a candlelit dinner is the best way of getting a woman in the mood, followed by a relaxing massage.

But women are more likely to play romantic music or cook their partner's favourite meal to try and get them into bed.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

KFC Commercial Pulled After Complaints Of Racism

KFC has been making positive moves with its KGC brand, or its grilled chicken. However, in terms of KFC commercial advertising and political correctness, it appears they have a way to go. In reality, though, it's because of a stereotype that doesn't exist in Australia.

This Australian KFC commercial (below) features a white man surrounded by a group of black revelers. To calm the situation, he hands them a bucket of chicken. The KFC commercial, however, is titled "Cricket Survival Guide," and the Colonel's response is that the KFC commercial was meant to celebrate West Indian Cricket team.

In the KFC commercial, the white man asks if "you need a tip when you're stuck in an awkward situation?" as he's surrounded by the revelers. There's no violence involved, just a bunch of people enjoying themselves.

Still, in America, the image of blacks and fried chicken is known as a racial stereotype. "It is a light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team ... The ad was reproduced online in the US without KFC's permission, where we are told a culturally-based stereotype exists, leading to the incorrect assertion of racism." The reference to a "culturally-based stereotype" seems to point to the fact that in Australia such a stereotype does not exist, and thus the company would not have caught how un-PC the KFC commercial might appear, to some.

Of course, that doesn't mean racism does not exist in Australia. It does mean that this stereotype does not resonate there, so to that country, the KFC commercial does not appear to exhibit racism.

At any rate, while the KFC commercial has been pulled, it still lives on (until they remove it for copyright reasons) via YouTube

. Watch the KFC commercial and decide for yourself.

LINK TO COMMERCIAL

http://snafu-ed.blogspot.com/2010/01/kfc-commercial-pulled-after-complaints.html

Atlanta Falcons

1:30 p.m. Saturday, January 9, 2010

Report: Michael Vick got ‘adrenaline' rush while killing dogs

Rhonda Cook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Michael Vick seemed to get an “adrenaline high” when he killed dogs that didn’t measure up at his now-defunct Virginia dog fighting operation, according to documents obtained by WSB TV.

The records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- part of the federal investigation of the former Atlanta Falcons, now Philadelphia Eagle, quarterback – describe graphically how Vick and others at Bad Newz Kennels killed dogs that lost or refused to fight.

Losing was not accepted, according to the records.

”All of the pit bull dogs were destroyed after they lost a fight or refused to fight,” an unnamed confidential witness told investigators. “The dog that won the fight was the only dog that was allowed to live.”

Vick pleaded guilty in 2007 to bankrolling a dog fighting operation and then served a year and a half of a 23-month federal prison sentence. Released to home confinement on May 22, 2009, he volunteered with the Humane Society of the United States' anti-dog fighting program that targets young men who may tempted because they find that world glamorous.

While still serving his federal prison sentence, Vick also pleaded guilty to a Virginia state charge of attending, sponsoring and participating in dogfights. He received a three-year suspended prison sentence for the Virginia charges.

Three others associated with Bad Newz Kennels -- Tony Taylor, Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace -- also have pleaded guilty and were sentenced to federal prison time.

In public, the former football star has been contrite about his zeal for fighting pit bulls. But the records of interviews in the federal investigation suggest a man who was more interested in the bloody fights, one of which lasted more than three hours, than in the money that came out of them.

“Vick never took portions of the winning wages,” according to a summary of an interview with one of the witnesses, whose identity was redacted from the records.

Witnesses said Vick, known as “Ookie” at the kennel, would bankroll bets for others but he didn’t claim any winnings. He also didn’t take the cash prize for the winning dogs.

And the money collected at the door to get into the fights – between $5 and $20 per person – was used only to buy food for the dogs, according to the WSB documents.

Yet, Vick paid for almost everything.

He paid for the dogs and the Surry County, Va., property for the kennel. He paid for a double-wide trailer to go on the land and then covered the costs of building a $400,000 house and sheds for training, fighting and treating injured dogs, a witness told investigators.

According to the records:

• In 2003, Vick and two other men attended a dog fight in Blackstone, Va., bringing with them two pit bulls. Both lost so “the dogs were left with the owner of the property because Vick did not keep dogs that lost matches.”

• In April 2007, Vick tested several dogs to determine if they had the predisposition to fight and if they were capable of winning. Vick ordered six or eight dogs destroyed because they did not meet his standards. The witness said Vick personally helped drown three or four dogs, a process that took two people to hold the animal’s legs while the dog’s head was held under water. Vick also hung dogs. The witness told investigators Vick, Peace and Phillips “seemed to get an ‘adrenaline high’ when killing the dogs.”

Attempts to reach Vick or his representative have not been successful.

Sen. Harry Reid says sorry to President Obama for 'no Negro dialect' remark

Saturday, January 9th 2010, 5:24 PM

 NY DailyNews

Brandon/AP

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologized Saturday for his "no Negro dialect" comments.

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologized Saturday for comments he made about Barack Obama's race during the 2008 presidential bid.

And Obama accepted.

Reid's remarks were reported in a book about the campaign to be released this week. The Nevada Democrat described Obama as "light-skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

"I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words," Reid said in a statement. "I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans for my improper comments."

Obama said Reid called him and apologized personally.

"I accepted Harry's apology without question because I've known him for years, I've seen the passionate leadership he has shown on issues of social justice and I know what's in his heart," he said. "As far as I am concerned, the book is closed."

Reid was neutral during the Democratic primary contest between Obama and Hillary Clinton. But the book, "Game Change," says he urged Obama to run.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/01/09/2010-01-09_reid_sez_hes_sorry_for_bam_negro_gaffe.html#ixzz0cAMtDeL2

Doctors have operated on a Chinese girl who was born with six virtually identical fingers on her right hand and no thumb.

Four-year-old Xiao Qian, of Wuhan, eastern China's Hubei province, also has five fingers on her left hand, reports Chutian Golden News.

Her parents took her to see doctors in Pu'ai Hospital who said they had never seen a hand like the little girl's before.

Although, six-fingered hands were not very rare, it was highly unusual for somebody to have six nearly identical fingers, they said.

Doctor Xin Danmo operated on Qian, removing her left-most finger and trying to thicken the second finger in a bid to turn it into a thumb.

He believes that the girl's abnormity was caused by radiation or chemical exposure to the mother during pregnancy.

LINK TO PHOTO OF HAND WITH SIX FINGERS

http://www.ananova.com/News/story/sm_3630380.html

Shoplifter gets 10 years for purloined tenderloin

RICHARD WALKER

T&D Staff Writer  

Thursday, January 07, 2010

12-year-old holds up store with toy gun

January 08, 2010 3:50 PM

Angel McCurdy

Daily News

WALTON COUNTY – A 12-year-old boy was arrested Thursday after pointing what turned out to be a toy gun at a convenience store clerk in northern Walton County.

Just after 7 p.m., the boy walked into Paxton Tom Thumb on U.S. Highway 331, according to a press release by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the release, the boy pointed a wood barreled, long gun at the clerk and demanded money from the cash register. After handing him an undisclosed amount of money, the clerk told deputies the boy said thank you and left the store.

A Walton County Sheriff’s deputy on patrol in the area noticed the boy walking north on Highway 331. The boy attempted to run before being stopped.

The boy was crying and said, “Please don’t take me to jail,” to the deputy. Authorities found the stolen money and toy weapon used in the stick-up just off U.S. Highway 331.

The boy was first transported to the Walton County Jail, and later transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Crestview.

An investigator for the Department of Children and Families has been contacted, and is assisting the Walton County Sheriff’s Office in the case, the release said.

Liberty Head 1913 nickel sells for $2.3m

A US nickel dubbed the "Mona Lisa of rare coins" has sold at auction for $2.3 million.

Published: 6:19PM GMT 08 Jan 2010

A rare 1913-dated U.S. Liberty Head nickel Photo: AP

Tens of millions of the Liberty Head coins were made between 1883 and 1912 but the design changed to depict an American Indian in 1913.

However, five nickels with the old design were secretly were made at the Philadelphia Mint that year and eventually sold to collectors.

The coin became famous when it was featured in an episode of Hawaii Five-O entitled The $100,000 Nickel in 1973.

It has previously been owned by King Farouk of Egypt who was deposed in 1952 and Los Angeles Lakers owner, Dr Jerry Buss.

The names of the seller and the winning bidder at the sale in Orlando were not disclosed.

Glenn Beck may have stepped in it again.

Sort of.

The radio host and Fox News Channel commentator has folks in a minor uproar for even questioning the term African-American on his syndicated radio show Thursday.

“African-American is a bogus, PC, made-up term,” Beck said, in a discussion about the new Census forms.

That is not a race. Your ancestry is from Africa, and now you live in America. Okay, so you were brought over, either your family was brought over in the slave trade, or you were born here and your family immigrated here, or whatever. But that is not a race.”

Beck’s on-air guests agreed, noting the frequent misuse of African-American as a label, using, for instance, the term incorrectly applied to  someone from Jamaica. Also, it’s not used to describe South African-born Charlize Theron. who is white and now a U.S. citizen.

The conversation stemmed from the new Census documents that give respondents three boxes from which to chose from: Black, African-American or Negro.

The watchdog group Media Matters picked up on the conversation and posted a clip on its Web site as has Thinkprogress.org.

“Negro used to be — is it still — not acceptable, is that still the clinical term, I don’t know,” Beck said. “It has negative connotations in this country. But what I’m asking is: what are the clinical categories?”

Not surprising, the clip, now circulating in the blogosphere, has generated a load of anti-Beck comments.

Last July, Beck created a real firestorm when when, during an appearance on the Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends,” he said President Obama’s initial reaction to the Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest situation in Cambridge, Mass., suggested a “deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.”

The show’s co-host, Brian Kilmeade then reminded Beck Obama had many whites in prominent positions.

“I’m not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem,” Beck responded. “This guy is, I believe, a racist.”

LINK TO VIDEO

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/01/08/2010-01-08_glenn_beck_africanamerican_a_bogus_pc_madeup_term_not_a_race.html#ixzz0c3xHLs6q

A Northbrook man arrested at his own wedding reception for slugging his new brother-in-law admitted guilt to misdemeanor battery Tuesday under a plea deal in which prosecutors dismissed seven felony weapons charges stemming from the same incident.

Sean T. Kelly, 26, of the 3500 block of Lawrence Lane, was sentenced to two years probation, fined $250 and ordered to undergo an anger evaluation under terms of the negotiated plea. He also was sentenced to 30 days in the McHenry County jail, but that already has been served since his July 26 arrest in Huntley.

In exchange for the guilty plea, county prosecutors dropped six counts of possession of a firearm without a valid firearm owner's identification card and one count of possession of ammunition without a FOID card filed after police arresting Kelly found three rifles, three handguns and 39 rounds of rifle ammunition in the trunk of his car.

The charges, which alleged Kelly could not lawfully possess the weapons because his FOID card had been revoked, were Class 3 felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.

Kelly's attorney, Senior Assistant Public Defender Richard Behof, noted Tuesday that it was his client who told police about the guns because he feared someone would take them from his car.

"He thought his card was valid and was doing the right thing," Behof said. "He didn't want to leave (the weapons) on the street. He was trying to be responsible."

Huntley police arrested Kelly after a brawl left several people bloodied and bruised during his wedding reception at a home on the 11200 block of Nicollete Lane. During the altercation, police said, Kelly punched a 30-year-old man later identified as his roommate and new brother-in-law, in the face.

Police said the brawl began when an exchange of words got out of hand. Many of those involved in the fight, police said, were intoxicated.

As officers arrested Kelly, police said, he asked if he could give his brother some items in the trunk of his car. Those items turned out to be the guns and ammunition, police said

.

Courtroom scuffle with texter leaves deputy with broken leg

Anne Arundel authorities to review their cell phone policy

Andrea F. Siegel

Baltimore Sun

2:44 p.m. EST, January 7, 2010

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/01/07/tetrapods.poland.evolution.discovery/

Swiss millionaire fined $290,000 for speeding

Court bases record-breaking fine on man's wealth of over $20 million

  ST. GALLEN, Switzerland - A Swiss court has slapped a wealthy speeder with a chalet-sized fine — a full $290,000.

Judges at the cantonal court in St. Gallen, in eastern Switzerland, based the record-breaking fine on the speeder's estimated wealth of more than $20 million.

A statement on the court's Web site says the driver — a repeat offender — drove up to 35 miles an hour faster than the 50-mile-an-hour limit.

Court clerk Heidi Baumann-Becker said Thursday the unidentified driver can appeal the decision, handed down in November, to the Swiss supreme court.

The Blick daily newspaper in Zurich reported the fine was more than twice the previous Swiss record of about $107,000.

29-year-old lottery winner found dead at home

Police have launched an inquiry after one of Britain's youngest lottery jackpot winners was found dead at his home.

Auslan Cramb

Scottish Correspondent
4:08PM GMT 07 Jan 2010

One of Britain's youngest lottery winners Stuart Donnelly, who was found dead at his home in Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire Photo: PA

Stuart Donnelly, 29, won almost 2 million when he shared a $25 million jackpot at the age of 17 in 1997.

The trainee pharmacist, who famously toasted his win with Coca Cola because he was too young to drink champagne, was said to have become a “virtual recluse” in recent years.

He used his money to buy homes for his parents – his father has since died - an executive seat at Celtic Park and a new house in the countryside near Castle Douglas in south-west Scotland.

He was found dead at his home on Wednesday morning and although police are investigating they said there were no suspicious circumstances.

Mr Donnelly, who also gave $15,000 to Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow where his younger brother was treated for a genetic disorder, told of the strain of winning the lottery at such a young age in an interview in 2003.

He said: "It was very hard to deal with all the attention I got. I even had people camping outside my house. It put a huge strain on me and my family."

On his page on the social networking site Bebo, he admitted that he was scared of socialising, and listed his activities as: "Sleeping, watching TV, listening to music, surfing the net. Basically, anything that involves not leaving the house."

A Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary spokesman said: "We can confirm we are investigating the death of 29-year-old Stuart Donnelly from the Castle Douglas area. The procurator fiscal has been informed of the death.

"Early investigations suggest that there are no suspicious circumstances and a post mortem is being arranged."