Thoughtcrimes

Thank Goodness!

Project_Mayhem — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:10:05 GMT

We won't be subjected to Mini-Me's home porno Maybe all Verne Troyer ever wanted was a little more say in the matter. The diminutive actor has settled the $20 million lawsuit that he filed last month against TMZ.com, an adult film distributor and celebrity porn broker Kevin Blatt after a clip of a sex tape he made with a former girlfriend was posted on the celebrity-gossip site. Troyer attorney Edwin McPherson said Friday that his client never plans on selling the tape, but Blatt and online renter SugarDVD signed agreements requiring the Love Guru sidekick's permission before they are ever allowed to further promote or profit from the video. McPherson said he will also try to amend the suit Monday to include Troyer's ex, Ranae Shrider, among those who need to check with the actor first before peddling the tape. Other individuals or companies might end up finding themselves at the wrong end of a lawsuit, as well, to further ensure that this X-rated romp remains under wraps, McPherson added. After granting Troyer a temporary restraining order on June 27 to halt the airing of his sexcapades, a federal judge allowed TMZ to repost the footage after Shrider, an aspiring actress, admitted to leaking the home movie. The order against SugarDVD and Blatt was extended about a week later at Troyer's request as settlement talks kicked off between the opposing sides. "We achieved our goal," McPherson told reporters today. While Shrider apparently wasn't fazed by the idea of a little indecent exposure, Troyer exclusively told E! News this week that it was the invasion of privacy that had him fighting so hard to get this tape under wraps. "Just because people are seeing something that was meant to be between me and her. That's the biggest reason that I'm, you know, trying to stop the tape from being released. "I broke up with her in the middle of June; it was something probably to do with that. It was basically when she decided to give the tape away. I highly doubt that she thought that would get me back with her. Ransom or something," he said.

Happy Canada Day!

Project_Mayhem — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:52:28 GMT

Now closed for holidays... See y'all next week.

Happy 50th Lego

Project_Mayhem — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:36:55 GMT

50 Years of the Lego brick. Always a favourite with the kids.

1979-2008

Project_Mayhem — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:16:27 GMT

Get ready for cloned food!

Project_Mayhem — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:00:33 GMT

FDA gives blessing to food from cloned animals Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:51pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government ruled on Tuesday that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring is as safe as other food, but pressed firms that produce clones to hold off on bringing them into the food supply. "Extensive evaluation of the available data has not identified any subtle hazards that might indicate food consumption risks in healthy clones of cattle, swine or goats," the Food and Drug Administration said in a final risk assessment that confirmed preliminary findings from 2006. The FDA said it did not have enough information to make an assertion about cloned sheep. The ruling was the latest twist after years of debate over the reproductive technology, which advocates say will provide consumers with top-quality food by replicating prized animals that can breed highly productive offspring. The cloning industry, made up so far of only a handful of firms, expects that it will be the offspring of cloned animals, not the costly clones themselves, that would eventually provide meat or milk to U.S. consumers. There are currently about 570 cloned animals in the United States, but the livestock industry has so far followed a voluntary ban on marketing food from the animals. Yet even as the FDA unveiled its final assessment, the Agriculture Department asked the cloning industry to extend that ban during a "transition" period. USDA said it will reach out to livestock producers, cloning firms, trading partners and others to lay a smooth path for selling clone-derived food in the future. It could take four or five years before consumers are able to buy products derived from cloned animals. FUTURE HURDLES? While scientific studies appear to support the cloning industry's claims that the technology is safe, the topic remains controversial even within the agriculture industry. Some dairy firms oppose cloning, betting that consumers will shun goods they see linked to cloning technology. Others believe that more investigation is needed before concluding that cloning is safe -- especially after a year in which consumer confidence was marred by numerous food scares -- or oppose it on moral or religious grounds. "Despite widespread public disapproval, FDA is not planning to require labeling of products from cloned animals, keeping already wary consumers in the dark," Food and Water Watch, an advocacy group, said in a statement. Greg Jaffe, director of biotechnology at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the cloning industry must now convince the public why cloning is useful. "Just because the technology is safe, it doesn't mean that as a society there is reason to embrace it," he said. Jaffe expects Congress or some states may try to impose additional restrictions on marketing or labeling. The Senate has passed a measure that would delay FDA approval until the completion of more studies. Several major food companies quickly stated that they are not signing up, at least right away. Tyson Foods Inc, the largest U.S. meat producer, said on Tuesday it has no immediate plans to buy cloned livestock. The FDA cloning decision comes as biotechnology becomes an ever more important part of global agriculture. Last week, the European Food Safety Authority made an interim ruling about food from cloned animals and their offspring, saying it was unlikely there was any difference from food derived from traditionally bred animals.

Museum of Menstration

Project_Mayhem — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:27:44 GMT

You, too, can rely on “Lysol” to help protect your married happiness… keep you desirable! http://www.mum.org/Lysol48.htm

Vampire Bats

Project_Mayhem — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:57:08 GMT

Keeping with the Halloween theme....... Vampire Bat Saliva Compound Could Help Treat Strokes The average person wouldn't want to be bitten by a vampire bat. But the animal's saliva may one day give some stroke sufferers a better chance of survival. According to a report published online today by Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, vampire bat saliva contains a potent clot-busting substance that could help a greater number of patients than current medications do. Scientists identified the medicinally promising bat compound, an enzyme known as desmoteplase or DSPA, more than a decade ago. The substance's true function--to thin a vampire victim's blood so that it flows freely, allowing the bat to feed--also makes it a candidate for treating strokes. During an ischemic stroke one or more clots block the supply of blood to the brain. Previous research had shown that DSPA is more active than the currently FDA-approved clog-busting drug rt-PA when exposed to fibrin (an insoluble protein that makes up the framework of blood clots). Because rt-PA can also cause brain damage, it must be administered within three hours of stroke onset and is thus only prescribed to a small percentage of patients. To test DSPA's effect on brain cells, Robert L. Medcalf of Monash University in Australia and his colleagues injected the brains of mice with both DSPA and rt-PA. They found that DSPA attacked fibrin, but did not act upon two brain receptors known to promote brain damage. The scientists therefore suggest that DSPA could be administered up to nine hours after stroke onset without adverse effects. Although the results are encouraging, the study focused mainly on toxicity, cautions Larry Goldstein of the American Stroke Association Advisory Committee. "Whether this approach will prove either safe or efficacious in improving stroke outcomes requires further testing." According to the American Heart Association, human trials of DSPA are currently underway in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Burmese protesters shot, beaten

Project_Mayhem — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:50:21 GMT

I'm so depressed now. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSB58859920070926 Three killed as Myanmar troops battle protests Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:39am EDT By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Seething crowds of Buddhist monks and civilians filled the streets of Myanmar's main city on Wednesday, defying warning shots, tear gas and baton charges meant to quell the biggest anti-junta protests in 20 years. Two monks and a civilian were killed, hospital and monastery sources said, as decades of pent-up frustration at 45 years of unbroken military rule in the former Burma produced the largest crowds yet during a month of protests. Some witnesses estimated 100,000 people took to the streets on Wednesday despite fears of a repeat of the ruthless suppression of Myanmar's last major uprising, in 1988, when soldiers opened fire, killing an estimated 3,000 people. "They are marching down the streets, with the monks in the middle and ordinary people either side. They are shielding them, forming a human chain," one witness said over almost deafening roars of anger at security forces. As darkness fell, however, people dispersed ahead of a dusk-to-dawn curfew. The streets were almost deserted. In the second city of Mandalay, also under curfew, the Asian Human Rights Commission said there was no opposition to 10,000 protesting against grinding poverty. Five decades ago, the country was regarded as one of Asia's brightest prospects. Now it is one of its most desperate. In the northwest coastal town of Sittwe, which has seen some of the biggest crowds outside Yangon, residents said 10,000 took to the streets on Wednesday, the Buddhist holy day. World leaders again appealed again to the junta to exercise restraint over the protests that started against fuel prices rises last month and erupted into a major revolt after soldiers fired shots over monks in the town of Pakokku on September 5. Commenting on reports of deaths, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said: "If these stories are accurate, the U.S. is very troubled that the regime would treat the Burmese people this way." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for an immediate U.N. Security Council meeting, vowing "no impunity" for human rights violators in the country, while Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said he would ask the European Union to hold an urgent meeting to seek ways to "halt the violence". Singapore also called for restraint. The city state is current chairman of a Southeast Asian grouping that is one of the few such bodies to have isolated Myanmar as a member. In neighboring Thailand, the army was preparing C-130 planes to airlift its citizens from Yangon if the violence escalated, and troops on the border were braced for a flood of refugees. MONKS ARRESTED In the afternoon, riot police fired tear gas at columns of monks trying to push their way past barricades sealing off the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's holiest shrine and the starting point of more than a week of marches. "We cannot know if many people were injured but we can be sure that blood was spilled," French diplomat Emmanuel Mouriez, who is stationed in Myanmar, told French radio RTL. "We have several witnesses who speak of people on the floor. There were some monks who were beaten up." As many as 200 maroon-robed monks were arrested at the gilded shrine as the Buddhist priesthood, the country's highest moral authority, went head-to-head with the might of the military. "This is a test of wills between the only two institutions in the country that have enough power to mobilize nationally," said Bradley Babson, a retired World Bank official who worked in Myanmar. "Between those two institutions, one of them will crack," he said. "If they take overt violence against the monks, they risk igniting the population against them." The junta, whose leaders remain hunkered down in a new capital 250 miles to the north, had tried to keep the monks off the streets, sending trucks of soldiers and police to block six activist monasteries early in the morning. The generals also rounded up more prominent dissidents, including comedian Za Ga Na, who had urged people to take to the streets. Ranks of riot police remained outside the lakeside home of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to ensure no attempt was made to pluck the 62-year-old Nobel laureate from house arrest. China, the closest the junta has to a friend, has been making an effort recently to let the generals know how worried the international community is, a Beijing-based diplomat said, although it has refrained from public pressure. Representatives of Myanmar's pro-democracy and ethnic groups told Reuters Chinese officials had been meeting quietly with them behind the scenes for months, partly hedging their bets in their resource-rich neighbor

Burma military set for crackdown of pro-democracy protests

Project_Mayhem — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:51:08 GMT

Oh, I hope this doesn't turn ugly. http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSB58859920070925 Myanmar troops pour into Yangon after protests YANGON (Reuters) - The Myanmar junta poured troops and police armed with rifles into central Yangon on Tuesday in an attempt to end the biggest demonstrations against military rule in nearly 20 years. Hundreds of them surrounded the Sule Pagoda, focus of two days of mass protests led by thousands of maroon-robed monks, and appeared to be preparing to seal off the area, witnesses said. In another possible sign of a looming confrontation, a well-placed source said detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was moved to the notorious Insein prison on Sunday, a day after she appeared in front of her house to greet marching monks. Some analysts said the junta was been caught off guard by the speed with which protests mushroomed from sporadic marches against fuel prices in mid-August to massed demonstrations against 45 years of military rule a month later. On Tuesday evening, soldiers moved in on Sule Pagoda after the end of hours of peaceful protest by tens of thousands of people who turned up despite the junta's threat to use force. The area around the pagoda, which includes City Hall, was the scene of the worst bloodshed during a crackdown on nationwide pro-democracy protests in 1988 in which 3,000 people are thought to have been killed. Tuesday echoed with reminders of one of the darkest days of Myanmar's modern history, starting with vehicles bearing loudspeakers touring the city blaring out threats of action under a law allowing troops to break up illegal protests. DEFIANCE People arrived in huge numbers anyway and in Taunggok, a coastal city 250 miles (400) to the northwest, about 40,000 monks and civilians took to the streets, witnesses said. They were led in Yangon by 10,000 monks chanting "democracy, democracy" and, in a gesture of defiance, some waved the bright red "fighting peacock" flag, emblem of the student unions that spearheaded the 1988 uprising. The streets were lined with people clapping and cheering as the column of monks stretched several blocks on their march from the Shwedagon Pagoda, the Southeast Asian nation's holiest shrine and symbolic heart of the campaign, to the Sule Pagoda. The international community pleaded with the generals to avoid another bloodbath. British Ambassador Mark Canning told Reuters two ministers had assured him the protests "would be dealt with in a 'correct' fashion, whatever that means". But the chilling message behind the loudspeaker warnings was lost on nobody in Yangon, a city of 5 million people, a week after monks started marching in protest against warning shots being fired over the heads of fellow monks. "I'm really worried about the possible outbreak of violence," a street vendor said. "We know from experience that these people never hesitate to do what they want." Ethnic Karen rebels on the Thai border told Reuters troops of the 22nd Division had been redeployed to Yangon. MONKS THREATENED That division played a major role in the 1988 carnage and the report lent weight to threats against senior monks issued by Religious Affairs Minister Brigadier-General Thura Myint Maung. State radio quoted him as saying action would be taken against senior monks if they did not control their charges in protests he said were fomented by political extremists. China, the closest the junta has to a friend, has been making an effort recently to let the generals know how worried the international community is, a Beijing-based diplomat said. On Tuesday, China said it "certainly hopes Myanmar can maintain stability and resolve the issue in its own way", but left it unclear clear what kind of diplomatic pressure it was exerting on the generals behind the scenes. Other countries urged the generals to address the grievances of Myanmar's 56 million people who, in the past 50 years, have watched their country go from being one of Asia's brightest prospects to one of its most desperate. U.S. President George W. Bush said in a speech at the United Nations he would tighten economic sanctions "on the leaders of the regime and their financial backers" and expand a visa ban on "those responsible for the most egregious violations of human rights". However, the junta has lived with sanctions for years. U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari said he was praying the generals opted for compromise. "For the sake of the people of Myanmar, for the sake of neighboring countries and for the sake of Myanmar's place in the world, we certainly hope that the same reaction that took place in 1988 will not be the case now," he told CNN.