Jewish militants put death curse on Sharon?

well now.... thats a bit harsh, isnt it...
I wonder if hes worried.
read the story at reuters

from article:

"It's preferable that God, rather than a mortal, kills him because his bodyguards are just too good," Ynet quoted one of the participants at a "Pulsa Denora," an ancient Jewish ceremony which it said was held at a cemetery at the weekend.

tourist attraction of the month

I find this somewhat shocking. Im not sure why...
It seems that some folks in New Zealand have built themselves a full size mock-up of stonehenge.
They call it Stonehenge Aotearoa ( Aotearoa being the name of the location in New Zealand, not some esoteric jargon ).
Heres a quick blurb from the extensive site:

"Stonehenge Aotearoa, a full-scale working adaptation of Stonehenge, is intended to inspire New Zealanders to explore and experience for themselves how technologies of ancient times were used, and still can be used, to give practical and detailed information on the seasons, time and navigation."

Super science & crowd control

An article from back in March that some of you might have seen at new scientist.com tells of a new type of non-lethal riot weapon which fire bursts of plasma. This plasma explodes when it hits something solid, like a person. It causes intense pain and may even knock you down, but isn't supposed to do any lasting damage. Of course, as fantastic as all this sounds for those who need decent crowd control and are frustrated with the old water-hose/shoot a few method, not everyone is pleased with the idea..
From article:

Amanda Williams, a clinical psychologist at University College London, fears that victims risk long-term harm. "Persistent pain can result from a range of supposedly non-destructive stimuli which nevertheless change the functioning of the nervous system," she says. She is concerned that studies of cultured cells will fall short of demonstrating a safe level for a plasma burst. "They cannot tell us about the pain and psychological consequences of such a painful experience."

The weapon is supposed to be ready for use against any and all instances where people feel strongly enough about an idea to group together en-masse and challenge the power structure collectively.... in 2007.

Not to be out done, those crazy bastards at Sandia National Laboratories have been cooking up a little toy of their own.

"ADT emits a 95 GHz non-ionizing electromagnetic beam of energy that penetrates approximately 1/64 of an inch into human skin tissue, where nerve receptors are concentrated. Within seconds, the beam will heat the exposed skin tissue to a level where intolerable pain is experienced and natural defense mechanisms take over."

ADT is Active Denial Technology, and its around right now. They are strappin' these bad boys to hum-vees and helicopters as we speak. This particular article focuses on the use of the technology as a security device. Theft deterrent for our 'nuclear assets' is how its billed. How soon until they are used to enclose 'terrorists' and other social miscreants in American prison camps. I guess its better than a collar around the neck that explodes past the electronic fence...
just a thought. Read the insightful details here.

inconsiderate bastards

"NASA spacecraft Deep Impact collides with the comet Tempel 1 in this image captured by Deep Impact's fly-by spacecraft and released on July 4, 2005."

...

"PASADENA, Calif. (Reuters) - A spectacular collision between a spacecraft and a comet has freed a huge plume of primordial material from the comet's nucleus that could unlock the secret of how life arrived on Earth, NASA scientists said on Monday.

The first images returned from the Deep Impact fly-by spacecraft showed a small fireball followed by a much larger, incandescent flash that engulfed one end of the comet Tempel 1 as the impactor smashed into its surface at 1:52 a.m.

The impactor was vaporized upon slamming into the comet at 23,000 mph (37,000 kph) -- the speed it would take to fly from New York to Los Angeles in about six minutes.

The collision, which occurred 83 million miles from Earth, marks the first time a spacecraft has come in contact with a comet." Read the story from reuters here

Somewhat interesting. It will br nice to see what data those scientists glean from the debris knocked off the comet. What is even more interesting is this related headline:

Astrologist sues NASA over comet crash
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian astrologist who says NASA has altered her horoscope by crashing a spacecraft into a comet is suing the U.S. space agency for damages of $300 million, local media reported Monday.
It is obvious that elements of the comet's orbit, and correspondingly the ephemeris, will change after the explosion, which interferes with my astrology work and distorts my horoscope," Izvestia daily quoted astrologist Marina Bai as saying in legal documents submitted before Monday's collision.

I reiterate.... fuck NASA.

In other news....

I wonder what kind of line he caught that on...

Fishermen in northern Thailand have caught the biggest catfish on record -- a 646-pound (293-kg) giant the size of a grizzly bear -- and eaten it, the WWF and the National Geographic Society said on June 29. The giant catfish, believed to be the largest freshwater fish ever found, was caught along the Mekong River, home to more species of massive fish than any river on Earth. Photo by Stringer/Thailand/Reuters.

read story here

...

TONGANOXIE, Kan. -- Lightning struck twice in Tonganoxie Thursday morning. One bolt hit a house, traveled through the roof and down some metal edging in a bedroom wall, and set a mattress on fire. Unfortunately, 7-year-old Kaylee Shriner was sleeping on the mattress at the time.

read story here

...

It seems that half of Moscow sits atop georectonic fractures. These are reported to be the cause of the water-park tragedy in 2004.

"The park was built in the area of one of the fractures. A series of mini-earthquakes took place on the site of the park before its dome collapsed," head of the Digger-Spas underground research center, Vadim Mikhailov, said.

Russia is having some serious-ass problems lately. read more about this story
and then, there was this:
MOSCOW, May 19 (Reuters) - A Russian village was left baffled on Thursday after its lake disappeared overnight.

Also, here is a delightful little article giving an overview of how the U.S. continues to do its best de-fang the soviets once and for all.
Dividing Russia by Mark Ames