Dead: Leslie Nielsen.

Shirley, you can't be serious. From NY Daily News:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Leslie Nielsen, who went from drama to inspired bumbling as a hapless doctor in "Airplane!" and the accident-prone detective Frank Drebin in the "Naked Gun" comedies, has died. He was 84.

His agent John S. Kelly says Nielsen died Sunday at a hospital near his home in Ft. Lauderdale where he was being treated for pneumonia.

The Canadian-born Nielsen came to Hollywood in the mid-1950s after performing in 150 live television dramas in New York. With a craggily handsome face, blond hair and 6-foot-2 height, he seemed ideal for a movie leading man.

He quickly became known as a serious actor, although behind the camera he was a prankster. That was an aspect of his personality never exploited, however, until "Airplane!" was released in 1980 and became a huge hit.

Priest solicited murder of boy he abused.

From CNN:

A Catholic priest, facing criminal charges and a lawsuit alleging that he sexually abused a teenage boy, is now charged with attempting to hire someone to kill the youth, authorities said Tuesday.

The Rev. John M. Fiala was in the Dallas County, Texas, jail on Tuesday, charged with one count of criminal solicitation to commit capital murder, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the jail's website. He also is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. His bail totals $700,000.

Fiala, 52, of Dallas, was out on bond on other sexual assault charges involving the youth, now 18, when he allegedly attempted to negotiate the boy's murder, said Tom Rhodes, the teen's attorney.

He was arrested last week after he offered an undercover agent with the Texas Department of Public Safety $5,000 to kill the teen, according to department spokeswoman Lisa Block.

"This guy," Edwards County Sheriff Don Letsinger said, "is an evil man."

A call to Rex Gunter, the defense attorney listed in jail records for Fiala, was not immediately returned Tuesday.

The youth met Fiala in 2007, according to Rhodes. The attorney said the priest started "grooming him," buying him gifts including a computer and a car. In early 2008, when the boy was 16, under the guise of providing private catechism lessons, Fiala "gained access to him and began to sexually abuse him once or twice a month, including on church grounds," Rhodes said.

At the time, Fiala was administrator of Sacred Heart of Mary in Rocksprings, Texas, which is in Edwards County. The alleged abuse occurred in two counties -- Edwards and Howard -- and included the youth's rape at gunpoint, the attorney said.

Fiala allegedly threatened to kill the youth if he told anyone -- threats he repeated in daily text messages, Rhodes said, and Fiala also threatened to kill himself, telling the teen they would "go to heaven together."

The teen, after struggling with the abuse, told a school counselor, who notified authorities, Rhodes said. He filed suit in April against Fiala, as well as the archdioceses of San Antonio, Texas, and Omaha, Nebraska -- where Fiala was before Texas -- and Fiala's religious order, the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, the attorney said.

Spanish woman claims she owns the Sun - and will start charging users.

Well, better her than Con Edison. From Daily Mail:

It has been up there in the sky in plain view for billions of years - and nobody seems to have thought of its earning potential - until now.

A canny Spanish woman from Galicia - a sun-drenched region on the boarder with Spain and Portugal - has decided that she owns the warming star, and has the registration papers to prove it.

Angeles Duran, 49, says that the Sun officially belongs to her now, having had the celestial body registered in her name at a local notary office.

Ms Duran told the online edition of daily El Mundo she took the step in September after reading about an American man who had registered himself as the owner of the moon and most planets in our solar system.

There is an international agreement which states that no country may claim ownership of a planet or star, but it says nothing about individuals, she added.

'There was no snag, I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law.

'I did it but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first.'

The document issued by the notary public declares Ms Duran to be the 'owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometers'.

Ms Duran, who lives in the town of Salvaterra do Mino, said she now wants to slap a fee on everyone who uses the sun and give half of the proceeds to the Spanish government - and 20 per cent to the nation's pension fund.

She would dedicate another 10 per cent to research, another 10 per cent to ending world hunger - and would keep the remaining 10 per cent herself.

She said: 'It is time to start doing things the right way, if there is an idea for how to generate income and improve the economy and people's wellbeing, why not do it?'

For those who might be a little too broke to venture out in the sunlight - and risk a large bill at the end of the day - Ms Dueran has not yet figured out a way of enforcing her sun charge.

More than 1 in 3 South African men admit to rape.

Awful. From Yahoo! News:

JOHANNESBURG – A new survey says more than one in three South African men admit to having committed rape.

A 2010 study led by the government-funded Medical Research Foundation says that in Gauteng province, home to South Africa's most populous city of Johannesburg, more than 37 percent of men said they had raped a woman. Nearly 7 percent of the 487 men surveyed said they had participated in a gang rape.

More than 51 percent of the 511 women interviewed said they'd experienced violence from men, and 78 percent of men said they'd committed violence against women.

A quarter of the women interviewed said they'd been raped, but the study says only one in 25 rapes are reported to police.

A survey by the same organization in 2008 found that 28 percent of men in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces said they had raped a woman or girl. Of the men who had committed rape, one third did not feel guilty, said Rachel Jewkes, a lead researcher on both studies.

Two-thirds of the men surveyed in that study said they raped because of a sense of sexual entitlement. Other popular motivating factors included a desire to punish women who rejected or angered them, and raping out of boredom, Jewkes said.

"Rape is completely trivialized by a great number of men. It is seen as a legitimate activity," she said.

Jewkes believes South Africa's history of racial division and associated trauma is part of the reason of the high incidence of sexual violence in the country.

"Apartheid has contributed to culture of impunity surrounding rape in South Africa," said Jewkes. Men who were abused or experienced trauma during their childhood are much more likely to rape, she said, adding that apartheid destroyed family life, fostering violence and anti-social behavior.

The apartheid period also saw very little enforcement of common law, which has contributed to a culture of impunity, said Jewkes.

"We need to start interventions in childhood, focusing on building a more empowering childhood environment in South Africa, especially for boys," she said, "and we need to make it worth their while for women to report sexual violence."

The new study, conducted with a gender rights advocacy body, is the first community-based study of its kind with women in 12 years.

The group hopes to replicate the study across southern Africa.

French fast food chain to sell foie gras burgers.

From the Daily Mail:

It may be steeped in controversy and prohibitively expensive, but foie gras is a favourite Christmas delicacy in France.

Now, though, it is set to become a far more mainstream snack, as a fast food chain is launching a limited-edition foie gras burger.

Quick, which is a rival to McDonalds in France, will be selling the 'Supreme Foie Gras Burger' for just 5 euros, or 7.50 euros with fries and a soft drink.

The burger features pieces of foie gras atop a minced beef patty, with onion relish and rocket leaves.

It will be served at its 360 outlets across the country for three days only, from December 17 to 19.

Foie gras, which translates literally as ‘fatty liver’, is produced mainly in the southwest of France by farmers who force-feed poultry with large quantities of ground corn and wheat in order to swell the birds’ livers.

Once extracted the livers can fetch up to 100 euros per kilo at markets in the Aquitaine region and even more in Paris during the pre-Christmas shopping rush.

The move from the fast food chain is likely to enrage animal rights groups, who argue that methods used to create the delicacy causes unnecessary suffering to geese and ducks.

Defenders of animal rights fear that if Quick's three-day offer is successful, it may spark a consumer taste for foie gras, as well as demand for cheap eastern European imports.

Producers defend the practice, arguing that the birds actually enjoy being force-fed.

Tom DeLay found guilty of money laundering.

From the NY Times:

AUSTIN, Tex. — Tom DeLay, one of the most powerful and divisive Republican lawmakers ever to come out of Texas, was convicted Wednesday of money-laundering charges in a state trial, five years after his indictment here forced him to resign as majority leader in the House of Representatives.

After 19 hours of deliberation, a jury of six men and six women decided that Mr. DeLay was guilty of conspiring with two associates in 2002 to circumvent a state law against corporate contributions to political campaigns. He was convicted of one charge of money laundering and one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

As the verdict was read, Mr. DeLay, 63, sat stone-faced at the defense table. Then he rose, turned, smiled and hugged his wife and then his weeping daughter in the first row of spectators. He faces between 5 and 99 years in prison, though the judge may choose probation.

A few minutes later, Mr. DeLay said outside the courtroom that he would appeal the decision. He called the prosecution a political vendetta by Democrats in the local district attorney’s office, and revenge for his role in orchestrating the 2003 redrawing of Congressional districts to elect more Republicans.

“This is an abuse of power,” he said. “It’s a miscarriage of justice. I still maintain my innocence. The criminalization of politics undermines our very system.”

Thanksgiving miracle: Boys survive two months adrift at sea.

From NY Daily News:

Three teenagers miraculously survived nearly two months on coconuts, rainwater and a raw seagull before being rescued at sea this week.

The teens from the Tokelau Islands - Edward Nasau, 14; Samu Perez and Filo Filo, both 15 - were rescued Wednesday by a tuna boat after a crew member spotted their tiny aluminum dinghy in the Pacific Ocean, northeast of Fiji.

"We knew it was a little weird," the tuna boat's first mate, Tai Fredricsen, told stuff.co.nz. "We had enough smarts to know there were people in it and those people were not supposed to be there."

The boys had gone missing Oct. 5, and their families had already held memorial services following failed searches by the New Zealand Air Force.

They had been attempting to row their 12-foot boat between two islands in the New Zealand territory of Tokelau.

The badly sunburned seafarers were in remarkably good spirits, Fredericsen told the BBC.

"They've got a lot of gusto, a lot of strong mental spirit," he said. "Physically, they were in a bad way but mentally they are very strong."

The teens told their rescuers that they had started drinking seawater for the two days prior to their rescue, after having consumed most of their supply of coconuts.

"They did go for a period where they were only drinking fresh water, which they were capturing during the night," Fredericsen said.

The water collected on their boat's tarpaulin kept them nourished along with a seabird they managed to kill - and eat raw.

Find a local food bank.

While we stuff our maw with giblets this week, it's important to remind ourselves that 1 in 6 Americans face hunger. Please take a minute to find your local food bank and give what you can.

Food Bank Locator.

Scientists invent disposable, paper e-readers.

Wow, e-reading on paper! What will they think up next?? Item!

A breakthrough in a University of Cincinnati engineering lab could clear the way for a low-cost, even disposable, e-reader. Electrical Engineering Professor Andrew Steckl's research into an affordable, yet high-performance, paper-based display technology is being featured this week as the November cover story of ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

In the research, Steckl and UC doctoral student Duk Young Kim demonstrated that paper could be used as a flexible host material for an electrowetting device. Electrowetting (EW) involves applying an electric field to colored droplets within a display in order to reveal content such as type, photographs and video. Steckl's discovery that paper could be used as the host material has far-reaching implications considering other popular e-readers on the market such as the Kindle and iPad rely on complex circuitry printed over a rigid glass substrate.

"One of the main goals of e-paper is to replicate the look and feel of actual ink on paper," the researchers stated in the ACS article. "We have, therefore, investigated the use of paper as the perfect substrate for EW devices to accomplish e-paper on paper."

Flying snakes caught on tape.

Planes on a snake? From Science Daily:

Five related species of tree-dwelling snakes found in Southeast and South Asia may just be the worst nightmares of ophidiophobes (people who have abnormal fears of snakes). Not only are they snakes, but they can "fly" -- flinging themselves off their perches, flattening their bodies, and gliding from tree to tree or to the ground.

To Virginia Tech biologist Jake Socha, these curious reptiles are something of a biomechanical wonder. In order to understand how they do what they do, Socha and his colleagues recently studied Chrysopelea paradisi snakes as they launched themselves off a branch at the top of a 15-meter-tall tower.

Four cameras recorded the curious snakes as they glided. This allowed them to create and analyze 3-D reconstructions of the animals' body positions during flight -- work that Socha recently presented at the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) meeting in Long Beach, CA.

The reconstructions were coupled with an analytical model of gliding dynamics and the forces acting on the snakes' bodies. The analyses revealed that the reptiles, despite traveling up to 24 meters from the launch platform, never achieved an "equilibrium gliding" state -- one in which the forces generated by their undulating bodies exactly counteract the force pulling the animals down, causing them to move with constant velocity, at a constant angle from the horizon. Nor did the snakes simply drop to the ground.

Instead, Socha says, "the snake is pushed upward -- even though it is moving downward -- because the upward component of the aerodynamic force is greater than the snake's weight."

"Hypothetically, this means that if the snake continued on like this, it would eventually be moving upward in the air -- quite an impressive feat for a snake," he says. But our modeling suggests that the effect is only temporary, and eventually "the snake hits the ground to end the glide."

Hackers taking holographic liberties with Microsoft's Kinect.

Hey, at least someone is having fun with Kinect! From NY Times:

When Oliver Kreylos, a computer scientist, heard about the capabilities of Microsoft’s new Kinect gaming device, he couldn’t wait to get his hands on it. “I dropped everything, rode my bike to the closest game store and bought one,” he said.

But he had no interest in playing video games with the Kinect, which is meant to be plugged into an Xbox and allows players to control the action onscreen by moving their bodies.

Mr. Kreylos, who specializes in virtual reality and 3-D graphics, had just learned that he could download some software and use the device with his computer instead. He was soon using it to create “holographic” video images that can be rotated on a computer screen. A video he posted on YouTube last week caused jaws to drop and has been watched 1.3 million times.

Mr. Kreylos is part of a crowd of programmers, roboticists and tinkerers who are getting the Kinect to do things it was not really meant to do. The attraction of the device is that it is outfitted with cameras, sensors and software that let it detect movement, depth, and the shape and position of the human body.

Companies respond to this kind of experimentation with their products in different ways — and Microsoft has had two very different responses since the Kinect was released on Nov. 4. It initially made vague threats about working with law enforcement to stop “product tampering.” But by last week, it was embracing the benevolent hackers.

“Anytime there is engagement and excitement around our technology, we see that as a good thing,” said Craig Davidson, senior director for Xbox Live at Microsoft. “It’s naïve to think that any new technology that comes out won’t have a group that tinkers with it.”

Freemason kills mom with ceremonial sword.

Maybe he saw the fnords. From the NY Post:

An actor who had a part in "Ugly Betty" repeatedly stabbed and killed his mother with a Freemason ceremonial sword this morning, cops said.

Yannick Brea, 55, was found in her second-floor Brooklyn apartment around 2:20 a.m. with multiple stab wounds. Her son, Michael Brea, 31, was taken into custody and then to Kings County Hospital, where he is undergoing psychiatric evaluation.

Cops were called to a domestic disturbance at the home earlier in the evening but left shortly thereafter. Neighbors Vernal Bent and his mother Phyllis said they heard yelling from the floor below between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. and called 911.

"I heard a shriek and a woman yelling 'help me'," Vernal Bent said. "We called 911 and we kept hearing screams and then we didn't hear them any more. Michael was chanting Biblical phrases and kept calling for Moses, Jerusalem and the 'architect of the universe'."

Taliban leader in peace talks was an imposter.

From the NY Times:

KABUL, Afghanistan — For months, the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise, if only because of the appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, one of the most senior commanders in the Taliban movement.

But now, it turns out, Mr. Mansour was apparently not Mr. Mansour at all. In an episode that could have been lifted from a spy novel, United States and Afghan officials now say the Afghan man was an impostor, and high-level discussions conducted with the assistance of NATO appear to have achieved little.

“It’s not him,” said a Western diplomat in Kabul intimately involved in the discussions. “And we gave him a lot of money.”

American officials confirmed Monday that they had given up hope that the Afghan was Mr. Mansour, or even a member of the Taliban leadership.

NATO and Afghan officials said they held three meetings with the man, who traveled from in Pakistan, where Taliban leaders have taken refuge.

The fake Taliban leader even met with President Hamid Karzai, having been flown to Kabul on a NATO aircraft and ushered into the presidential palace, officials said.

The episode underscores the uncertain and even bizarre nature of the atmosphere in which Afghan and American leaders search for ways to bring the nine-year-old American-led war to an end. The leaders of the Taliban are believed to be hiding in Pakistan, possibly with the assistance of the Pakistani government, which receives billions of dollars in American aid.

Many in the Taliban leadership, which is largely made up of barely literate clerics from the countryside, had not been seen in person by American, NATO or Afghan officials.

Red wine packed with anti-diabetes compounds.

From New Scientist:

Red wine is a potent source of antidiabetic compounds – but they might not get past your gut. The finding is sure to enliven the ongoing debate over the drink's health benefits.

Alois Jungbauer and colleagues at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria, tested 10 reds and two whites to find out how strongly the wines bound to a protein called PPAR-gamma, which is targeted by the antidiabetic drug rosiglitazone. (This drug is marketed under the brand name Avandia and, while still available in the US, has been withdrawn in Europe because of fears over side effects.)

PPAR-gamma is a type of protein called a receptor. Among other things, it regulates the uptake of glucose in fat cells. Rosiglitazone targets PPAR-gamma in fat cells to make them more sensitive to insulin and improve the uptake of glucose. It is used as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, a condition where people either do not make enough insulin to keep their body's glucose levels down, or become resistant to normal insulin levels.

Several studies have shown that moderate consumption of red wine can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. So Jungbauer and colleagues determined the wines' binding affinity for PPAR-gamma and compared the results with the effects of rosiglitazone. They found that the white wines had low binding affinities, but all the reds bound readily: the tendency of 100 millilitres of red wine – about half a glass – to bind to PPAR-gamma is up to four times as strong as the same tendency in the daily dose of rosiglitazone.

"It's incredible. It's a really high activity," says Jungbauer. "At first we were worried it was an artefact, but then we identified the compounds responsible in the wine."

The flavonoid epicatechin gallate – which is also present in green tea – had the highest binding affinity, followed by the polyphenol ellagic acid, which comes from the oak barrels the wine is kept in. The researchers think that some of the antidiabetic activity of red wine could be due to these compounds activating PPAR-gamma.

But Jungbauer warns that these compounds don't make red wine a magic bullet. The compounds in a glass of wine may have other antidiabetic effects and in any case, not all of the compounds will be absorbed and available to the body to use. "Wine also contains ethanol, which will add to your calories," he says.

Véronique Cheynier, research director at the department of oenology at the University of Montpellier 1, France, says that most polyphenols do not pass through the digestive tract unchanged and may not be absorbed at all.

GOP risking nuclear annihilation to screw Obama.

From Yahoo! News:

LISBON, Portugal – President Barack Obama appealed Saturday to Republicans in the U.S. Senate to stop blocking a nuclear arms pact with Moscow, saying failure to soon ratify it could jeopardize improving relations with Russia and send a mixed signal to Iran about the strength of the international front against its nuclear program.

He blamed the supercharged partisan climate in Washington for the delay and said inaction on the pact would leave "a partner hanging" at a time of better cooperation among the United States, its NATO partners and Russia.

Obama said European allies at the NATO summit told him that the stalled treaty is critical to U.S.-European security. He talked with reporters after the 28-nation alliance met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to press his case, noting that Russia had voted with the U.S. and other allies to impose the latest round of U.N. penalties against Iran over its nuclear program. Russia is a partner with Iran in a civilian nuclear power project and generally has been less concerned than the U.S. that Iran may be hiding a bomb program.

Obama suggested Republican senators standing in the way of the pact with Russia were abandoning Ronald Reagan's lesson of nuclear diplomacy: "Trust but verify."

The treaty would limit each country's stockpile of nuclear warheads to 1,550, down from the current level of 2,200, bringing the arsenals to a level last seen in the 1950s. It would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I, which expired last December.

Republicans led by U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona say they won't consider it until the Obama administration budgets adequate money for the nation's nuclear arsenal and the laboratories that oversee them. Kyl says he needs assurances that the remaining nuclear arsenal is modernized and effective.

The administration has pledged $85 billion to maintain the nuclear arsenal over the next 10 years, in an attempt to address Kyl's concerns. But Democrats might be less willing to go along with that plan if Republicans stall the treaty.

Pope endorses condoms... for male prostitutes.

From Raw Story:

Pope Benedict XVI says in a new book that condoms can be justified for male prostitutes seeking to stop the spread of HIV, a stunning comment for a church criticized for its opposition to condoms and for a pontiff who has blamed them for making the AIDS crisis worse.

The pope made the comments in a book-length interview with a German journalist, "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times," which is being released Tuesday. The Vaticannewspaper ran excerpts on Saturday.

Church teaching has long opposed condoms because they are a form of artificial contraception, although it has never released an explicit policy about condoms and HIV. The Vatican has been harshly criticized for its opposition.

Benedict said that condoms are not a moral solution. But he said in some cases, such as for male prostitutes, they could be justified "in the intention of reducing the risk of infection."

Benedict called it "a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way of living sexuality."

He used as an example male prostitutes, for whom contraception is not an issue, as opposed to married couples where one spouse is infected. The Vatican has come under pressure from even some church officials in Africa to condone condom use for monogamous married couples to protect the uninfected spouse from getting infected.

Jesus saves lamb.

From Daily Mail:

A reveller dressed as Larry the Lamb suffered these horrific burns after a prankster set fire to his outfit - and he turned into a human fireball.

Peter Buck, 35, spent four hours painstakingly gluing four bags of cotton wool to his torso to look like the famous cartoon character.

He went on a boozy night out with a group of mates - also in fancy dress - before ducking out of a pub for a cigarette.

With Peter's permission, a tipsy friend set fire to a loose strand of his costume 'to see what would happen'.

But the joke went horribly wrong and Peter's lamb costume burst into flames.

He ran screaming in agony into a busy main road before a driver swerved, narrowly avoiding mowing him down.

Then his friend Paul Bisson - an off-duty firefighter dressed as Jesus - bear-hugged him in a bid to douse the flames.

The cotton wool had melted and stuck to his body, causing a string of horrendous injuries to his body, legs, hands and torso.

Peter, an office administrator of Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, lost consciousness after the incident and woke up in hospital - eight hours later.

He said: 'It caught fire and burnt so fast, igniting my whole outfit almost instantly.

'I ran into the road trying to pat the flames out with my hands forcing a car to swerve, avoiding knocking me over by inches.

'Half the skin on my hands had burnt off as well as having numerous other burns on my legs, stomach, chest and arms.

'I burnt my face a little and had small burns to my lips and nose. I'm not a religious man, but the Lord saved me that day.

Thailand police find 2,000 fetuses in temple.

Indiana Jones & the Temple of Womb. From BBC:

Thai police say they have found the remains of more than 2,000 foetuses, thought to be from illegal abortions, hidden at a Buddhist temple in Bangkok.

The remains were discovered in the temple's mortuary in containers usually used for bodies awaiting cremation.

Police were alerted by a terrible smell after the temple's furnace broke down.

Two temple workers and a woman believed to have been paid to collect and dispose of foetuses from illegal abortion clinics have been arrested.

The bodies, wrapped in plastic bags, were discovered in a newly opened area of the mortuary, days after authorities found 348 in another room.

A 33-year-old woman has admitted taking money to collect foetuses from several clinics.

She earned just over $16 (£10) for each foetus she delivered to the temple.

Police said two temple workers had been charged with hiding the bodies.

Abortion is illegal in Thailand unless pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or a mother's health is at risk.

Police say they have begun raiding some of the 4,000 clinics in Bangkok they suspect are used to perform illegal abortions.

The case has also focused attention on the abortion business in Thailand, says the BBC's Vaudine England, in Bangkok.

Wealthy women can get abortions in safe facilities but the vast majority of Thai women wanting an abortion use clinics which could put their health and safety at great risk, our correspondent says.

Burmese democracy leader finally released by government.

From Huffington Post:

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar's military government freed its archrival, democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on Saturday after her latest term of detention expired. Several thousand jubilant supporters streamed to her residence.

A smiling Suu Kyi, wearing a traditional jacket and a flower in her hair, appeared at the gate of her compound as the crowd chanted, cheered and sang the national anthem.

"If we work in unity, we will achieve our goal. We have a lot of things to do," she told the well-wishers, who quickly swelled to as many as 5,000. Speaking briefly in Burmese, she said they would see each other again Sunday at the headquarters of her political party.

The 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, whose latest period of detention spanned 7 1/2 years, has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy in the Southeast Asian nation ruled by the military since 1962.

The release from house arrest of one of the world's most prominent political prisoners came a week after an election that was swept by the military's proxy political party and decried by Western nations as a sham designed to perpetuate authoritarian control.

Supporters had been waiting most of the day near her residence and the headquarters of her party. Suu Kyi has been jailed or under house arrest for more than 15 of the last 21 years.

As her release was under way, riot police stationed in the area left the scene and a barbed-wire barricade near her residence was removed, allowing the waiting supporters to surge forward.

Her release was immediately welcomed by world leaders and human rights organizations.

Driver distracted by ice cream, kills two.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for OMG LOOKOUT! From FOX News:

Police in the Vermont town of Woodstock say the driver of a car involved in a crash that killed two people was eating ice cream before she noticed she was in the wrong lane.

Forty-nine-year-old Judianne Wood of Stockbridge pleaded not guilty this week to two felony counts of grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting stemming from the May 5 accident on Vermont Route 12.

The Rutland Herald says that a Woodstock police officer talked to Wood while she was still sitting in her vehicle. She said told the officer she had been eating ice cream that she had brought from home.

Seventy-nine-year-old Marion Grover and her 82-year-old husband Paul died as a result of injuries suffered in the crash.

Cement mixer crashes through bridge, lands on passenger train.

This is so metal. From Daily Mail:

Seven people were injured when a cement mixer lost control smashing through the wall of a railway bridge and landing on a train below.

Paramedics are treating two people in the wreckage but it appears the vast majority of passengers had a miraculous escape.

Rescuers said the two people still in the train were not pinned down by debris but could not be moved because of their injuries.

The train was passing through Oxshott, in Surrey, on its way to London Waterloo when the huge vehicle left the road above.

GOP-led House will mean less science funding.

From the NY Times:

Federal financing of science research, which has risen quickly since the Obama administration came to power, could fall back to pre-Obama levels if the incoming Republican leadership in the House of Representatives follows through on its list of campaign promises.

In the Republican platform, Pledge to America, the party vows to cut discretionary nonmilitary spending to 2008 levels. Under that plan, research and development at nonmilitary agencies — including those that sponsor science and health research — would fall 12.3 percent, to $57.8 billion, from the Mr. Obama’s request of $65.9 billion for fiscal year 2011.

An analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science looked at what would happen if all of the agencies were cut to the 2008 amounts. The National Institutes of Health would lose $2.9 billion, or 9 percent, of its research money. The National Science Foundation would lose more than $1 billion, or almost 19 percent, of its budget, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would lose $324 million, or 34 percent.

“These agencies would be more severely impacted by a rollback to 2008,” said Patrick Clemins, who directs budget programs at the association.

What will actually emerge from the final 2011 budget bills is “really unclear,” Mr. Clemins said. “The pledge is very vague in terms of what programs will be cut,” he said.

Mr. Clemins noted that Mr. Obama had already asked federal agencies to prepare for a 5 percent cut in their budgets for 2012.

The Democrats could try to push the budget bills through the Congress before the Republicans take power in January, but since the Democrats do not have the votes to end a Senate filibuster, success would be unlikely.

Rugby star in dog sex scandal.

From News.com.au:

Canberra Raiders and Australian rugby league star Joel Monaghan is under investigation after a photo emerged showing him in a compromising position with a dog.

Monaghan described the incident as a "simulated act" meant to be a prank.

"Joel can't blame anyone but himself for an act of stupidity that will haunt him for the rest of his life," manager Jim Banaghan said in a statement.

"Joel wants to make it clear that he was the one playing a prank on an absent team mate by simulating the act.

"There are no words of explanation that can be offered because none can be appropriate.

"Joel has to now face his family as well as fans and supporters with that shame and has already undergone counselling to help him cope with the consequences of what has happened."

Raiders Chief Executive Officer Don Furner said an investigation was under way.

"If he did it, it is something he will live with for the rest of his life," Furner told a media conference.

"We don't know whether it's authentic but I am as appalled as everyone else.

"If he did do it, I don't know why he would do it."

The incident reportedly happened during the Raiders' Mad Monday celebrations following their finals loss to Wests Tigers.

The NRL says it will await the outcome of the Raiders investigation.

The photo was reportedly posted on the internet on Monday before being taken down by the Melbourne radio station that had put it online.

The action was too late with the image being re-posted through Twitter.

Harry Potter fans are decimating India's owls.

Not that FOX News cares about conservation - they just hate witchcraft. Item!

Die-hard fans of the best-selling Harry Potter stories are seriously threatening India's owl population, as demands for the ultimate wizarding accessory increase, a wildlife group says.

Potter's snow-white owl Hedwig, his trusty messenger throughout the book and film series, is being blamed by animal groups and politicians for fuelling the trade in Indian owls, as fans look to ape every aspect of their young wizard hero.

A report released this week in New Delhi by wildlife group TRAFFIC-India, which found that 15 of the country's 30 species were for sale in markets, also blames the demand for owl parts in ancient rituals for driving the illegal trade.

The report's author, Abrar Ahmed, said that his research was sparked when a friend asked him to procure an owl for her son's Harry Potter-themed birthday party.

"Although Hedwig spends much of her time in a bird cage in Harry's room, real owls do not make good pets because they need room to fly and hunt for food," said Ahmed.

"Following Harry Potter, there seems to be a strange fascination even among the urban middle classes for presenting their children with owls," India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told the BBC at the launch of the report. Traditional practitioners in India, known locally as tantriks, also demand owl bones, feathers, claws and organs, as well as the bird's blood and tears, for ceremonial rituals, the report said.

The heavily-coveted "ear-tufts" -- feathery extensions on the heads of larger owls -- are thought to grant the birds greater magical powers, and fetch a high price for the tribal communities that make a living from the trade.

One ancient practice demands the mixing of ground ear-tufts with seeds and milk, before spraying the dried powder on a person's head in order to hypnotize them.

GOP to investigate "scientific fraud" of global warming.

You voted for change.... climate change. From Raw Story:

Fresh off a dramatic victory in which it retook the House leadership, the Republican Party intends to hold major hearings probing the supposed "scientific fraud" behind global warming.

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder related the news in a little-noticed article Wednesday morning.

The effort is a likely attempt to out-step the White House on energy policy moving forward. Legislation on energy and climate change reform, one of President Barack Obama campaign promises, has yet to materialize, though Obama's EPA recently classified carbon dioxide as a pollutant.

Holding hearings would please the Republicans' conservative base, which increasingly doubts the scientific basis for global warming -- especially human-induced global warming -- and provide a reflection of the new GOP's tenor.

Ron Brownstein of the National Journal reported last week that in Tuesday's midterm election, "virtually all of the serious 2010 GOP challengers" have denied that there is scientific evidence that global warming is even happening.

"The GOP is stampeding toward an absolutist rejection of climate science that appears unmatched among major political parties around the globe, even conservative ones," Brownstein wrote.

Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists -- and just about every accredited international scientific institution in the world -- unequivocally agree that global warming occurring and is fueled by human activity.

Scientists say inaction will lead to an unmitigated spiral of polarized -- and over time rising -- temperatures, melting ice caps, rising sea levels and droughts, among other consequences.

The Republican belief to the contrary incubates the party's fervent opposition not only to cap and trade but to any measures reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Obama administration has long anticipated efforts from the GOP to weaken the Environmental Protection Agency, and plan to strongly enforce environmental regulations.

The deeply differing views of the White House and likely energy chairman, Texas Republican Joe Barton, suggests that conflicts over the issue are inevitable in the new divided government.

Coconuts removed from India for Obama's safety.

From BBC News:

Officials in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) have taken extraordinary measures to protect US President Barack Obama ahead of his visit.

In their effort to provide maximum security in the run-up to his visit on Friday, they have removed coconuts which may fall on his head from trees.

All coconuts around the city's Gandhi museum have now been cut down, an official told the BBC.

Every year in India people are injured or even killed by falling coconuts.

Germans fitted with bionic eyes.

From Sky News:

A ground-breaking eye implant has allowed three blind patients to see.

Within days of being fitted with the electronic device in their retina, the German patients were able to see objects on a table, including a cup and saucer.

One was even able to read his own name.

A British eye surgeon, who will lead the first UK trials of the device next year, said it was a significant advance.

Professor Robert MacLaren, from the Oxford Eye Hospital, said: "Until now this concept would have been considered only in the realms of science fiction. What surprised all of us was just how much resolution you can get from the implant."

The device consists of an electronic plate just three millimetres square, which is coated with 1,500 light-sensitive sensors.

Each sensor triggers an electronic pulse that stimulates nerves that lead to the brain. Patients see a rough black and white image.

The device has been developed by the German technology company Retina Implant AG.

It was fitted to three patients with the inherited condition retinitis pigmentosa, which gradually destroys the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye, causing blindness.

Invisibility cloak closer to reality.

Soon, women's locker room. Soon. Item!

Scientists in the UK have demonstrated a flexible film that represents a big step toward the "invisibility cloak" made famous by Harry Potter.

The film contains tiny structures that together form a "metamaterial", which can, among other tricks, manipulate light to render objects invisible.

Flexible metamaterials have been made before, but only work for light of a colour far beyond that which we see.

Physicists have hailed the approach a "huge step forward".

The bendy approach for visible light is reported in the New Journal of Physics.

Metamaterials work by interrupting and channelling the flow of light at a fundamental level; in a sense they can be seen as bouncing light waves around in a prescribed fashion to achieve a particular result.

But light waves can only be herded around by structures about the size of their wavelength - a property which is connected to their colour.

Until now, the most striking demonstrations of invisibility have occurred for light waves with a much longer wavelength than we can see. This is because it is simply easier to construct metamaterials with relatively large structures.

LHC set to create mini-Big Bang.

From BBC News:

Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are getting set to create the Big Bang on a miniature scale.

Since 2009, the world's highest-energy particle accelerator has been smashing together protons, in a bid to shed light on the fundamental nature of matter.

But now the huge machine will be colliding lead ions instead.

The experiments are planned for early November and will run for four weeks.

The LHC is housed in a 27km-long tunnel on the Franco-Swiss border and is managed by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern).

The collider consists of four different experiments and one of them, ALICE, has been specifically designed to smash together lead ions.

The goal of these collisions is to investigate what the infant Universe looked like. Colliding protons at high energies was aimed at other aspects of physics, such as finding the elusive Higgs boson particle and signs of new physical laws, such as a framework called supersymmetry.

Cern's spokesman James Gillies told BBC News that besides ALICE, the ATLAS and Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiments will also be temporarily colliding ions.
Big Bang

He said the tests could provide an insight into the conditions of the Universe some 13.7 billion years ago, just after the Big Bang.

They will look at the Universe fractions of a second after a tiny but very dense ball of energy exploded to create the cosmos as we know it today.

Girl, 13, avoids wheelchair with the healing power of breakdancing.

From the Daily Mail:

A teenage girl who was warned her curved spine could leave her in a wheelchair has defied doctors and taken up breakdancing.

Mia Latham, 13, was diagnosed with an S-shaped spine when she was just 11. She was told she would need metal rods inserted into her back to prevent damage to her heart and lungs.

But the determined youngster decided to take up yoga to try to straighten her spine without doctors' help.

Incredibly, Mia says the intense programme of exercises has managed to reduce the curve in her spine. She added that doctors said there is now no need for her to have the operation.

The sporty teenager has now taken up breakdancing - bending her body into all kinds of awkward positions.

Just 12 months after she was diagnosed, Mia can now perform a routine of body-popping moves similar to those performed by Britain's Got Talent star George Sampson.

However, a spokesman from the Scoliosis Association (UK) told Mail Online: 'The scientific evidence that extensive exercise "cures" scoliosis is sparse.

Teens trash Spike Lee over Absolut Brooklyn ads.

Well, at least he's not marketing Spike Lee joints. From NY Daily News:

Spike Lee put Bedford-Stuyvesant on the cinematic map, but some teens think he sold out the neighborhood with his Brooklyn-themed Absolut Vodka promo.

The kids did a survey of alcohol advertising posters and billboards in the area and found the logo designed by Lee dominated.

"I've seen his movies. I was a really big fan. But he lost respect from me," said Shenel Gunnis, 17.

"You're not supposed to be promoting stuff like that in areas that can barely afford food."

She's one of 10 teens who scoured Bed-Stuy this summer, mapping booze promos for the Children's Aid Society.

They tallied 56 and were surprised that Lee's limited-edition label - featuring the stoop of a Brooklyn brownstone - was the one that popped up over and over.

Frank Moore, 19, said he'd like to tell the "Do the Right Thing" helmsman that's just wrong.

"I'd be like, 'Why? Do you understand what you're doing ... that you're putting up an ad for liquor and you know there's an alcoholism problem here?'" he said.

"My thing with Spike Lee is you should use your prestige and position of power to help the problem, not add on to it."

Lee did not return a call left at his office and hung up on a reporter who reached him on his cell phone. A spokeswoman for Absolut had no immediate comment.

The limited-edition bottle rolled out last summer is emblazoned with the phrase "A Spike Lee Collaboration." In the ads, the bottle is superimposed on a photo of Brooklynites on stoops.

The teens felt Lee was trying to capitalize on borough pride.

"He was targeting us when normally he would make movies that would uplift our community," said Krystal Chapman, 17, a senior at the High School for Public Service in Crown Heights.

"I think it is hypocritical."

Study: Alcohol is more lethal than heroin or cocaine.

From Huffington Post:

Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study.

British experts evaluated substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a whole.

Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and how it harms the human body, in addition to other criteria like environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison.

Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine, or crystal meth, were the most lethal to individuals. When considering their wider social effects, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the deadliest. But overall, alcohol outranked all other substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy and LSD scored far lower.

The study was paid for by Britain's Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and was published online Monday in the medical journal, Lancet.

Experts said alcohol scored so high because it is so widely used and has devastating consequences not only for drinkers but for those around them.

"Just think about what happens (with alcohol) at every football game," said Wim van den Brink, a professor of psychiatry and addiction at the University of Amsterdam. He was not linked to the study and co-authored a commentary in the Lancet.

When drunk in excess, alcohol damages nearly all organ systems. It is also connected to higher death rates and is involved in a greater percentage of crime than most other drugs, including heroin.

Scientists creating giant cockroaches and dragonflies.

We are dooooooomed!! From the Geological Society of America:

The giant dragonflies of ancient Earth with wingspans of up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) are generally attributed to higher oxygen atmospheric levels in the atmosphere in the past. New experiments in raising modern insects in various oxygen-enriched atmospheres have confirmed that dragonflies grow bigger with more oxygen, or hyperoxia.

However, not all insects were larger when oxygen was higher in the past. For instance, the largest cockroaches ever are skittering around today. The question becomes how and why do different groups respond to changes in atmospheric oxygen.

The secrets to why these changes happened may be in the hollow tracheal tubes insects use to breathe. Getting a better handle on those changes in modern insects could make it possible to use fossilized insects as proxies for ancient oxygen levels.

“Our main interest is in how paleo-oxygen levels would have influenced the evolution of insects,” said John VandenBrooks of Arizona State University in Tempe. To do that they decided to look at the plasticity of modern insects raised in different oxygen concentrations. The team raised cockroaches, dragonflies, grasshoppers, meal worms, beetles and other insects in atmospheres containing different amounts of oxygen to see if there were any effects.

One result was that dragonflies grew faster into bigger adults in hyperoxia. However, cockroaches grew slower and did not become larger adults. In all, ten out of twelve kinds of insects studied decreased in size in lower oxygen atmospheres. But there were varied responses when they were placed into an enriched oxygen atmosphere. VandenBrooks will be presenting the results of the work on Monday, Nov. 1 at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver.

Antibiotics have long-term impacts on gut flora.

From EurekAlert:

Short courses of antibiotics can leave normal gut bacteria harbouring antibiotic resistance genes for up to two years after treatment, say scientists writing in the latest issue of Microbiology, published on 3 November.

The researchers believe that this reservoir increases the chances of resistance genes being surrendered to pathogenic bacteria, aiding their survival and suggesting that the long-term effects of antibiotic therapy are more significant than previously thought.

Antibiotics that are prescribed to treat pathogenic bacteria also have an impact on the normal microbial flora of the human gut. Antibiotics can alter the composition of microbial populations (potentially leading to other illnesses) and allow micro-organisms that are naturally resistant to the antibiotic to flourish.

The impact of antibiotics on the normal gut flora has previously been thought to be short-term, with any disturbances being restored several weeks after treatment. However, the review into the long-term impacts of antibiotic therapy reveals that this is not always the case. Studies have shown that high levels of resistance genes can be detected in gut microbes after just 7 days of antibiotic treatment and that these genes remain present for up to two years even if the individual has taken no further antibiotics.

The consequences of this could be potentially life-threatening explained Dr Cecilia Jernberg from the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control who conducted the review. "The long-term presence of resistance genes in human gut bacteria dramatically increases the probability of them being transferred to and exploited by harmful bacteria that pass through the gut. This could reduce the success of future antibiotic treatments and potentially lead to new strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria."

The review highlights the necessity of using antibiotics prudently. "Antibiotic resistance is not a new problem and there is a growing battle with multi-drug resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria. The development of new antibiotics is slow and so we must use the effective drugs we have left with care," said Dr Jernberg. "This new information about the long-term impacts of antibiotics is of great importance to allow rational antibiotic administration guidelines to be put in place," she said.

Brazil: Massive oil discovery off Atlantic coast.

From Earth Times:

Rio de Janeiro - Brazil's state oil agency ANP Friday announced the discovery of a new giant oil reserve off the Atlantic coast.

The deepwater field, called Libra, could contain reserves of between 3.7 billion and 15 billion barrels, the agency said.

An evaluation provided by the certification firm Gaffney, Cline & Associates, showed the most probable quantity is somewhere between, with 7.9 billion barrels.

"It is important to emphasize, that this Libra field alone could contain more than Brazil's current known reserves of 14 billion barrels," the ANP said.

The field lies about 180 km off the cost of Rio de Janeiro, the agency said. The estimated volume is larger than the coastal Tupi field, which holds an estimated 5 to 8 billion barrels.

The announcement is the latest in a series of mammoth Brazilian oil discoveries since 2007. Most of them lie up to 7,000 metres deep and under a thick layer of salt, making them difficult and cost intensive to mine.

The months-long oil BP oil gusher off the US Gulf Coast earlier this year raised anew worries about the environmental and economic risk of drilling at such ocean depths.

Coozer-Bits.

Aww: Cute story & video of a baby otter.

WWIII Watch: North Korea, South Korea exchange gunfire.

Eats: World's largest gummy worm on sale.

Science: 1 in 4 Sun-sized stars have Earth-like planets.

Man now regrets potato-only diet.

Submitted by our Coozer-Phile superstar, Jenny C. From Eater:

Chris Voigt, Executive Director of the Washington State Potatoes Commission, has vowed to eat 20 plain potatoes for 60 days in an attempt "to remind the public about the nutritional value of potatoes."

Make no mistake: This is a Grade-A stunt, but Voigt had no idea what he'd gotten himself into. He started October 1st; he's almost over the hump. Only 33 more days to go!

His original promise was to eat only plain potatoes. "No toppings, no chili, no sour cream, no cheese, no gravy, just potatoes and maybe some seasonings or herbs and a little oil for some of the cooking," he wrote on his website.

But Voigt's blog reveals an increasingly broken and desperate man. See the posts (no permalinks, ugh) in which he frets about things like having to eat four pounds of potatoes before going to bed. Who worries about such things? But worst of all, he even — gasp! — started cheating and used toppings like Taco Bell hot sauce and balsamic vinegar.

His stunt makes us worried. Very worried. >>>

His stunt makes us concerned for his health: At a Thai restaurant to celebrate his son's ninth birthday, there were no potatoes. So he was left to eat a 1/2 oz bag of potato chips. They were expired. He ate them anyway.

His stunt makes us grossed out: One day's meal was composed of three small bags of chips for breakfast, one baked potato for lunch, and an order of french fries at McDonald's for dinner.

His stunt has resulted in even more gross stunts: His wife made him potato ice cream by blending riced potatoes and ice and putting it in freezer. Topped with an ersatz chocolate sauce composed of a 1/2 cup cocoa powder, a 1/2 cup artificial sweetener, and water. What love will do!

His stunt makes us worried. Very worried: He told the Tri-City Herald about Tuesday. Tuesday was a bad day. Voigt really wanted a pickle. What does a man, who commits to eating only 20 potatoes a day for 60 days, do when he wants a pickle? Does he say, "Screw this stunt!" and just eat a pickle? No. He does not. He soaked a potato in pickle juice. And then he ate the potato.

We pray for you, Chris Voigt. We pray for you.

Coozer-Bits.

ZombieWatch: 10 uses for your body after you die.

ZombieWatch: Spirit of the dead alive and well in Haiti.

Science: Hints of lightweight dark matter particle found in space.

Misc: Stewart/Colbert rally schedule revealed.

Awesome: Time traveler talking on cell phone caught in 1920s Charlie Chaplin film.

Man arrested with 2,060 diamonds in stomach.

Talk about dirty diamonds... From Time:

Using laxatives and plenty of bananas, police in India have recovered 2,060 diamonds and precious stones from the stomach of an alleged jewel smuggler from Sri Lanka.

According to the Times of India, a "reliable informant" phoned authorities in the Indian city of Chennai in the early hours of Oct. 26 and said the suspect would arrive on an Air India flight later that morning. "That was the only information available and no other clue, but we zeroed in on him as soon as he came out of the airport and tried to board a taxi,'' Chennai suburban police commissioner S R Jangid said.

Police searched the man's two pieces of luggage to no avail, and grew suspicious as he struggled to sit still during questioning. The Sri Lankan blamed his discomfort on hemorrhoids. But the Indian super-sleuths couldn't be fooled. "The police," the paper reports, "took him to Chromepet Government Hospital. When doctors examined him, they found the stones lodged in his gut."

The man later admitted to acting as a human courier on three previous occasions, and he claimed to have received $225 each time. In this instance, he had placed the jewels into 42 condoms and swallowed them two and a half hours before his flight.

After police fed him laxatives, it took him six hours to eject the stones, estimated to be worth between $337,000 and $674,000. If only passing a stone were always so lucrative. . .

Dead: Paul the Octopus.

From BBC News:

Paul the octopus, an unlikely star of the 2010 World Cup who predicted the outcome of eight matches, has died at an aquarium in Germany.

Staff at the Sea Life centre in Oberhausen said they were devastated to learn that he had passed away during the night.

Paul made his name by successfully choosing a mussel from one of two boxes bearing the flags of competing nations.

Octopuses rarely live beyond two years so his death was not unexpected.

Paul was two-and-a-half years old and had been hatched at another centre at Weymouth in England in 2008.

The centre's manager, Stefan Porwoll, said that Paul had correctly guessed the outcomes of seven of Germany's World Cup matches, including their defeats, and had "enthused people across every continent".

As the tournament progressed, the octopus's uncanny knack of selecting the correct box drew increasing interest from the world's media, culminating in his choice of Spain as the eventual winner.

He became an instant hero in Spain, prompting a request to have him put on display at Madrid zoo.

Amid the euphoria, he was even made an honorary citizen of a Spanish town before being made an ambassador for England's 2018 World Cup bid.

The Oberhausen centre said he had seemed fine when last checked on Monday night but was found dead on Tuesday morning.

"We are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life," Mr Porwoll said.

Zombies invade NYC during morning rush hour.

From Yahoo! News:

NEW YORK – As if the morning commute wasn't odd enough, intrepid New Yorkers trying to make their way to work on Tuesday had to battle past hordes of the walking dead. Two dozen zombies, their clothes spattered with fake blood, were staggering up and down the block outside Madison Square Garden. Downtown, others shuffled across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Some pedestrians looked startled or amused by the ghost-white actors with bruised-looking eyes. Some people ignored them entirely. Others whipped out their cell phone cameras.

Horror movie fan Linda Emery was thrilled to see the creatures.

"I'm into zombies, anything with zombies," said the 58-year-old home care provider from Brooklyn. It made a change from her usual commute.

"You see a lot of stuff, but not this stuff," she said.

Erik Machado, an audio engineer heading to work in New Jersey, was unfazed and passed by the scene with nary a glance at the nightmares walking around.

"Gotta commute, gotta go where I gotta go," the Queens resident said.

The stunt was part of a campaign in 26 cities worldwide promoting the Halloween premiere of the AMC television series "The Walking Dead." The show is being broadcast outside of the United States on Fox International Channels.

At one point, about 15 zombies crawled on the roof, hood and trunk of a parked, off-duty taxi.

Taxi driver David Pollack managed to escape from the horde, scrambling out of the back seat, playing along with the drama of it all.

"I think I'm going to be walking over the George Washington Bridge and heading over to Jersey, hopefully they haven't gotten there yet," he said.

He added, "I'm a tough New Yorker, but I don't mess with zombies."

Iowa GOP platform calls for no activities on Wednesdays.

From Raw Story:

The Iowa Republican Party is seeking to establish a "no-activities night" every Wednesday in the state.

"We support the establishment of a no-activities night on Wednesdays," reads section 4:33 of its platform.

The unique declaration is sandwiched between clauses stating a commitment to allowing Bibles in schools and supporting the right to teach one's kids how to drive.

It's unclear what activities will be off limits on Wednesdays, seeing as how some activities are necessary for survival.

The penalties for engaging in activities on Wednesdays is not stated, nor does the Iowa GOP specify whether the unacceptable activities will involve being indoors or outdoors, or the methods by which they will be enforced.

US traveler to be caned for overstaying visa in Singapore.

From Gadling, submitted by JenK:

Tourist visas and their respective extensions are a matter of hot discussion among travelers in Southeast Asia. Many countries only issues visas for 30, 60 or 90 days, but the long term traveler often has reason to stay beyond. As a result, many simply cross the border into another country, stay for a bit and turn right around, earning another tourist visa on the inbound journey. Some even riskier folks choose to stay past their visa date and simply face any punishment that the state issues forth. Usually, that penalty is minor.

That is unless you're Kamari Charlton, a US citizen who recently overstayed his visa in Singapore and who has now been sentenced to three lashings with a cane. Mr. Charlton, who stayed nearly six months longer than his visa allowed, was in the small Asian city state while his wife was on a medical visa. On departure he was detained pending investigation of assorted fiscal adventures -- when it was then revealed that his visa was past due.

The plot further thickens with Mr. Charlton's claim that he was discriminated against in the ruling -- a similar case with an Asian relative was dismissed with a fine.

Needless to say, this serves as a pretty extreme reminder to mind your visa's due date when entering a country. The consequences could be stronger than you think.

Baby dies after hysterical people see the devil in Paris.

From the Daily Record:

A baby boy was killed when 12 people leapt off a second-floor balcony - to "get away from the Devil".

Eight people, including several children, were hurt, some seriously. Police are trying to get to the bottom of the bizarre tragedy.

Survivors of the mass plunge from a flat in a Paris suburb said the incident began in the early hours of the morning when a dad got out of bed naked to feed his crying baby.

They said the man's wife saw him moving around and started screaming that she had seen the Devil.

The man was then stabbed in the hand by his wife's sister and thrown out through the door of the flat.

But when he tried to get back in, the other people inside grabbed their children and jumped off the 20-foot balcony.

A spokeswoman for the local prosecutor's office said: "Panic erupted."

The family involved are of African origin, possibly from Angola. Police found no evidence of drug use or religious rituals at the flat.

One of the children, a four-month-old baby boy, died in hospital several hours after the incident.

Several of those hurt in the jump have multiple injuries.

Detectives are questioning the man who sparked the incident, and another male who jumped from the balcony with a two-year-old girl in his arms.

The prosecutor's office spokeswoman said: "A number of points remain to be cleared up."

Exposure to light at night may lead to weight gain.

From AOL Health, submitted by Coozer-Phile Jen C!

Exposure to light at night, when the body is programmed to shutdown or go into sleep mood, may lead to weight gain -- even if the person exposed to the light is not eating extra calories.

Ohio State University researchers recently discovered that mice exposed to light at night, particularly dim light, gained more weight than their counterparts who lived in a normal light/dark cycle even thought the mice exposed to light at night didn't eat more food.

"What was actually happening was that mice with light at night were shifting when they were eating," says Laura Fonken, lead study author and a doctoral student in Ohio State's neuroscience department. "They were eating during their rest phase."

So what does this mean for humans who stay up late watching TV or surfing the Internet?

"It's hard to predict," says Fonken, "but evidence suggests this may be true in humans, too."

She suspects there may be a link between humans' increased exposure to light at night and the increase in rates of obesity nationwide.

Celery kills 4.

From CNN:

Authorities have shut down a Texas food processing plant, saying it was contaminated by bacteria linked to the deaths of four people, state health officials said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services on Wednesday ordered Sangar Produce and Processing to immediately stop processing food and recall all products shipped from its San Antonio plant since January. This comes after state laboratory results showed Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause severe illness, in chopped celery at the plant.

Four people died after contracting listeriosis after consuming celery that had been processed at the Sangar plant, said Carrie Williams, a department spokeswoman. State health authorities came to this determination while investigating 10 cases in which people with serious underlying health problems contracted listeriosis over an 8-month period.

Six of those cases -- in Bexar, Travis and Hidalgo counties -- were linked to chopped celery processed at the SanGar plant, the state health services department said. Four of those people died, as did one other person who authorities believe got listeriosis from another source not connected with Sangar products.

20-year-old woman becomes police chief in ultra-violent Mexican city.

I don't believe in God, but God be with her all the same. From CNN:

Some headlines are hailing her as the bravest woman in Mexico. Marisol Valles Garcia, all of 20 years old, says she's just tired of everyone being afraid.

Valles Garcia, a criminology student, became the police chief this week of Praxedis G. Guerrero, one of the most violent municipalities in the border state of Chihuahua. She was the only person who accepted the top job in a police force whose officers have been abducted and even killed.

"Yes, there is fear," Valles Garcia said Wednesday in an interview with CNN en Español. "It's like all human beings. There will always be fear, but what we want to achieve in our municipality is tranquility and security."

There's good reason for the fear. Just this past weekend, a 59-year-old local mayor, Rito Grado Serrano, and his 37-year-old son, Rogoberto Grado Villa, were killed in a house in which they they were hiding in nearby Ciudad Juarez. Another area mayor was killed in June.

Juarez is the bloodiest city in Mexico, with a reported 2,500 people killed in drug violence this year. Praxedis G. Guerrero is located about 35 miles southeast of Ciudad Juarez. Both are in the state of Chihuahua, which borders Texas.

Nationwide, the federal government says, more than 28,000 people have lost their lives since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels after taking office in December 2006.

Valles Garcia sees a non-violent role for her 13-member force, which will be mostly female and unarmed.

"The weapons we have are principles and values, which are the best weapons for prevention," she told CNN en Español. "Our work will be pure prevention. We are not going to be doing anything else other than prevention."

Valles Garcia said she aims to establish programs in neighborhoods and schools, to win back security in public spaces and to foster greater cooperation among neighbors so they can form watch committees.

She has recruited three other women to join the force in the small municipality of 8,500 people, the government-run Notimex news agency said this week.

Valles Garcia said Wednesday she gladly accepted when Mayor Jose Luis Guerrero offered her the job. The first couple of days have gone smoothly, she said.

Extreme drought ahead for US.

From LiveScience:

Extreme drought is likely in store in the coming decades for parts of the United States and the broader Western Hemisphere, scientists said today (Oct. 19), cautioning that we should expect dry conditions unlike anything seen in modern times.

The likely culprit: warming temperatures linked to climate change.

"We are facing the possibility of widespread drought in the coming decades, but this has yet to be fully recognized by both the public and the climate change research community," said National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist and study team member Aiguo Dai. "If the projections in this study come even close to being realized, the consequences for society worldwide will be enormous."

Droughts can be associated with significantly reduced precipitation, dry soils that fail to sustain crops, and reduced levels in reservoirs and other bodies of water that can imperil drinking supplies.

However, Dai cautioned that the findings are based on the best current projections of greenhouse gas emissions. What actually happens in coming decades will depend on many factors, including actual future emissions of greenhouse gases as well as natural climate cycles such as El Niño.

Coozer-Bits.

Awesome: Panda Pambassador is best job in the world.

Science: How the leopard got its spots.

D'oh: Campaign ad even gets opponent wrong.

Creepy: UK to record and store every email, phone call, and website visit.

Man awarded Bronze Star 66 years after daring rescue.

From the NY Daily News:

A New Yorker who orchestrated the largest air rescue of American soldiers behind enemy lines in history was honored 66 years after the heroic operation.

George Vujnovich, 95, a retired salesman from Queens, was bestowed the Bronze Star on Sunday for bringing home 512 downed airmen in 1944 from what was then Yugoslavia.

"I feel deeply satisfied," said Vujnovich, who was studying in Belgrade when the war broke out and was later tapped by the OSS, a predecessor of the CIA. "Not for myself, but for men who gave their lives to save these airmen."

Born in the U.S. to Serbian parents, he knew his way around the Nazi-occupied Balkans and was called on to help the U.S. rescue the airmen downed while bombing Hitler's oil fields in Romania.

A secret air strip was built inside a corn field to allow cargo planes to land and rescue the Americans, who were hidden by the local resistance.

"It was a genius plan," said Tony Orsini, 87, a B-24 navigator who was one of the rescued men. "It all took place without any casualties."

Orsini, of Iselin, N.J., who hid under a bed to avoid the Nazis, recalled "the gracious attitude of the Serbian people." And he joked about "all the rakija I drank," referring to the alcoholic beverage of choice in the area.

Yesterday he was at Vujnovich's side during the ceremony at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava in Manhattan.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steven Oluic, who prepared the medal submission, called what was dubbed the Halyard Mission "an incredible feat that will echo in the annals of American military."

Anthony Bourdain to pen graphic novel.

From the Food Section:

It's been reported that author and "No Reservations" host Anthony Bourdain is working on a graphic novel about food, but now Eater notes that Vertigo, the publisher of the upcoming book, has just publicly confirmed that a book is in the works.

Bourdain will write the graphic novel in collaboration with novelist Joel Rose, along with illustrations by artist Langdon Foss. Vertigo provides these additional details:

"GET JIRO! is a futuristic action thriller that takes America’s newfound obsession with exotic cuisine to a manic, violent extreme. It takes place in a world where food and the secrets of how to prepare it are the source of all power leading master chefs to fight over Jiro, a mysterious top-notch sushi chef with ideas of his own."

By the way, contrary to those earlier reports, the title is not Get Gyro! so if you were expecting lamb, tahini, and pita to figure into the plot, you might be sorely disappointed.

Cali mayor charged with purse snatching.

From CBS News:

SAN GABRIEL, Calif. (CBS/AP) A prominent resident of San Gabriel, Calif. in suburban Los Angeles was early arrested Friday after he allegedly snatched a woman's purse and took her for a wild ride, clinging to his sport utility vehicle.

That prominent resident is the mayor.

San Gabriel police say Mayor Albert Y.M. Huang was booked in jail for investigation of felony assault, felony robbery and misdemeanor battery.

Police say the 35-year-old Huang was in a parking lot arguing with the woman about money, when he grabbed her purse and got into his SUV. Investigators say the woman was standing on the running board and reaching through the passenger window when Mayor Huang sped away, reaching speeds of 45 mph for more than a quarter-mile.

The woman's name and her relationship to the mayor weren't released.

Zombie Watch: Decomposing corpse wakes up.

From News.com.au:

An elderly woman police found "dead" on the bathroom floor of her Maryland home woke up several hours later as an employee from the State Anatomy Board went to collect her remains.

The woman, 89-year-old Ruth Shillinglaw Johnson, lay on the floor for three hours while officers notified her family, doctor and the medical examiner of her death, The Capital in Annapolis reported.

According to the police report, they noticed an odor "similar to a decomposition smell" in the house on October 1 after being called by a neighbour who had not seen the woman for a few days.

When they found Ms Johnson she was reportedly blue and not breathing. The officers did not check for a pulse because they believed she had been dead for a number of days.

Police learned from her son that Ms Johnson had made arrangements with the State Anatomy Board to donate her body for science - and it was when the board's employee came to collect her that she woke up.

Ms Johnson was taken to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center for medical treatment and was discharged on Wednesday.

Kung fu sisters challenge suitors to fighting tournament.

From Orange:

A pair of kung fu sisters have given traditional dating the chop - to hold a challenge tournament where only the survivors will get the chance to date them.

Marital arts experts Xiao Lin, 22, and little sister Yin, 21, are to stage a three day fighting festival in Foushan, south east China, where only the toughest suitors stand a chance of getting through.

First contestants must show off their archery skills, then they must carry a heavy weight over sharpened bamboo spears, and finally they have to defeat one of the sisters in full contact combat.

Only then will contestants earn the right to remove the girls' masks and propose to them.

"They can chose open hand or any weapon they wish but we won't be holding back. If they can't beat us they aren't worthy," explained Lin.

"We tried dating agencies but the men we met were all too weak. We could beat them easily," said Yin.

"So we went back to ancient ways called Bi Wu Zhao Qin - which was the way warrior princesses would find their men."

But so far, only a trickle of brave contestants has come forward.

"I'm a very good martial artist - but I think I'd want to see them with the masks off before I decided whether I wanted to fight for them," said one doubtful suitor.

Whooping cough still epidemic in California.

Parents, get your kids vaccinated for christ's sake. From ABC News:

The pertussis epidemic continues in California, which has seen 5,658 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases as of this week.

That is the most cases seen in the state since 1950, when there were 6,613, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

The rate of illness -- 14.5 per 100,000 population -- is the highest since 1959 (16.1 per 100,000).

Of the cases with hospitalization information, 10 percent required admission. Three-quarters of hospitalizations occurred in infants younger than 6 months, and of those, three-quarters were Hispanic.

Nine babies have died, including eight younger than 2 months -- the age at which pertussis vaccination starts -- and one 2-month-old who had been born prematurely and who had received just one dose of the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccine (Tdap). Eight of the infants were Hispanic, which fits a trend of a disproportionate number of deaths among that ethnic group reaching back to 1998.

The first indication of an increase in pertussis cases in California was detected in April, and an epidemic was declared by CDPH director Dr. Mark Horton in June.

Since then, CDPH has been actively encouraging the public to get vaccinated. The agency expanded its recommendations for a booster dose -- typically administered around age 11 -- to comprise everyone 7 years and older who is not fully immunized, including adults of all ages. It specifically noted the importance of vaccination in women of reproductive age before, during, or immediately after pregnancy and in other people who have close contact with pregnant women or infants.

Mountain goat kills hiker.

It has begun. From ABC News:

A 63-year-old man has died in a Port Angeles hospital after an attack from what state rangers believe was an angry mountain goat in Olympic National Park.

Park services officials said that Robert H. Boardman, of Port Angeles, Washington, was gored on Saturday while hiking close to the park's Klahhane Ridge. He was transported by U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to the hospital, where he later died.

"I am deeply saddened by this tragedy," said Karen Gustin, Olympic National Park superintendent. "My thoughts are with his family and friends."

It is unclear what sort of injuries Boardman suffered from the attack, but early investigations indicate that it was his encounter with a mountain goat that led to his injuries. Rangers have now tracked down and killed the animal, which will be analyzed by a veterinary pathologist, according to ABC News affiliate KOMO.

Officials said this is the only known fatal attack by a mountain goat in the park's history, and that there are roughly 3000 mountain goats in the park.

Family and friends told KOMO that Boardman was an experienced hiker, a diabetes nurse and a musician who loved the Olympic Mountains.

GOP candidate dressed up like Nazi on weekends.

From the NY Daily News:

Nazi or nerd?

That's the question hovering over GOP congressional candidate Rich Iott, after a photo of him posing in a Nazi uniform surfaced online this weekend.

Iott, a Tea Party favorite who is running for a seat in Ohio's ninth district, says he is not a Nazi sympathizer but a history buff who liked participating in historical re-enactments.

"It's purely historical interest in World War II," Iott told The Atlantic after the magazine discovered the photo.

But Eric Cantor, House Republican Whip (R.-Va), slammed Iott, telling Fox News Sunday, "I would absolutely repudiate that and do not support an individual who would do something like that."

Iott has admitted being involved with the WWII historical re-enactment society Wiking for many years, and the organization’s rosters reportedly show him being a member as early as 2003. He said he joined "as a father-son bonding thing" but quit in 2007 when his son was no longer interested.

The society models itself on the Wiking division of the SS, Hitler’s Nazi military force. In the controversial photo, Iott grins while wearing a Waffen-SS uniform.

Iott says his interest in the group came not from Nazi leanings but from a respect for their tactical accomplishments during WWII. “They took over most of Europe and Russia, and it really took the combined effort of the free world to defeat them,” he told the Atlantic. "From a purely historical military point of view that's incredible."

He chose the Wiking unit, he said, because the real-life division fought against the Russian Army, not American or British soldiers.

Historians, however, take issue with this version of events.

"The entire German war effort in the East was a racial crusade to rid the world of 'subhumans,'" military historian Rob Citino told the Atlantic. "The multimillion Jewish population of Eastern Europe was going to be exterminated altogether…It sends a shiver up my spine to think that people want to dress up and play SS on the weekend."