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Today: 64 articles and 132 comments as of 11:28.
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Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Chad says soldiers in Mali kill al Qaeda's Belmokhtar
Today's Headlines
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
South African police charged with murder over taxi driver's dragging
[ABC.NET.AU] Eight South African coppers have been charged with the murder of a taxi driver who was bashed, tied to the back of a van and dragged along the road in Johannesburg.

Mozambican taxi driver Mido Macia, 27, was found dead in detention with signs of head injuries and internal bleeding, according to an initial post-mortem report released by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

The video-recorded treatment of the Mozambican taxi driver has further damaged the reputation of the police force in South Africa, where more than 1,200 people a year die in jug.

"They will answer to a charge of murder when they appear in court on Monday," Moses Dlamini, front man for the IPID, told Rooters.

The video of Tuesday's incident shows Macia scuffling with police, who subdue him.

He is then bound by his arms to the back of a van before the vehicle drives off in front of scores of witnesses in the east Johannesburg area of Daveyton.

"We would like to assure the country and the world that what is in the video is not how the South African Police Service in a democratic South Africa goes about its work," Commissioner Riah Phiyega told a news conference.
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Policing is a bit rough in the townships particularly for someone from Mosambiek who actually has a job. I'd wager he was robbed and resisted, poor bastid. Oscar the bladerunner gets the news. I doubt this will gain a mention in the MSM.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/02/2013 0:32 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
4 on a bike killed in road crash
[Bangla Daily Star] Four people riding on a motorbike were killed in a road accident at Khankhanapur in sadar upazila of Rajbari yesterday morning.

The dead were identified as Nazrul Islam, 22, Al Amin, 24, Saidul Islam, 19, and Shafiqul Islam, 22, of Kalimohor in Pangsha upazila of Rajbari.

They were returning to Pangsha from Daulatdia when a Dhaka-bound truck rammed the motorcycle on Daulatdia-Khulna highway near Khakhanapur bridge at about 6.30am, said Masudur Rahman, in-charge of highway police in Ahladipur of the district.

Nazrul, Al Amin and Saidul died on the spot while Shafiqul on the way to Faridpur Medical College Hospital around 9.30am.

The driver and helper of the truck fled the scene.

The bodies were sent to Rajbari Sadar Hospital for autopsy.
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Here, hold mah beer"
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 8:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Yazza, I see the truck, but we've got plenty of roooO.....SPLAT, thump d'thump, thump d'thump!
Posted by: Unaque Hupaper3481 || 03/02/2013 12:36 Comments || Top||


Icelandic meat pies... have no meat
[News24] Here's one they weren't expecting - meat pies with no meat.

When officials in Iceland began hearing about horsemeat being secreted into beef products around Europe, they decided to run tests to ensure the same thing was not happening in Iceland.

Icelandic meat inspector Kjartan Hreinsson says his team did not find any horsemeat, but one brand of locally produced beef pie left it stumped.

It contained no meat at all.

"That was the peculiar thing," Hreinsson said in a telephone interview on Friday.

"It was labelled as beef pie, so it should be beef pie."

Hreinsson said it appeared to be some kind of vegetable matter.

He said the mystery pie was traced to a firm in western Iceland and the case had been handed to municipal authorities.
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Never heard of Welsh Rabbit?

Michael Quinion writes: "Welsh rabbit is basically cheese on toast (the word is not 'rarebit' by the way, that's the result of false etymology; 'rabbit' is here being used in the same way as 'turtle' in 'mock-turtle soup', which has never been near a turtle, or 'duck' in 'Bombay duck', which was actually a dried fish called bummalo)" - wiki
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/02/2013 0:32 Comments || Top||

#2  P2k, that's RAREBIT and it's delicious. I make a mean one myself.


(Fancy Cheese Fondue)
Posted by: Alanc || 03/02/2013 8:54 Comments || Top||

#3  I feel lied to.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/02/2013 9:52 Comments || Top||

#4  no meat ... but the gravy's DARN good eatin'.
HAHAHA!!!
Posted by: Raider || 03/02/2013 14:51 Comments || Top||

#5  I more of a HassenPferrerrrrr fan.
Posted by: Shipman || 03/02/2013 15:23 Comments || Top||

#6  Vegetarian meat pies.
Posted by: Barbara || 03/02/2013 16:43 Comments || Top||

#7  It's called 'Welsh rarebit' - the 'rabbit' is a degeneration of 'rarebit'.
Posted by: Chiting Clunk2413 || 03/02/2013 19:35 Comments || Top||


Benedict spends first night as Pope Emeritus watching TV
[TELEGRAPH.CO.UK] Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI spent his first few hours of freedom watching television coverage of his departure from the Vatican, strolling in the gardens of the castle he now calls home and pondering his historic resignation.
Ahhh! Beer and chips! Been there, done that. It can be good for the soul. So to speak.
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hat tip for a job well done. I understand the Swiss Guard Detachment baked him a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte [Black Forest Cake] That and an ice cold glass of milk, what else is there?
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/02/2013 4:50 Comments || Top||

#2  A girl, (Or is he too old).
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/02/2013 11:21 Comments || Top||

#3  I figured out why you hate intelligent design
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 14:43 Comments || Top||

#4  lol
Posted by: Shipman || 03/02/2013 15:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Umm, Frank, I don't hate "Intelligent Design", I hate the name, would you say that the Girls pictured appeal to ALL critterdom, Didn't think so, that's why the name Intelligent Design is wrong.

Now if you disagree, just present a female that applies to ALL crittterdom and I'll appologise.

Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/02/2013 18:19 Comments || Top||

#6  I'd just say your general comments about it, and your ignorant offense against Pope Benedict makes my case.
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 18:33 Comments || Top||

#7  How'd Pope Benedict get into this?

I think you're complaining about the wrong subject.

What, no reply?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/02/2013 20:05 Comments || Top||

#8  that's the subject of the post. Hello? Give it a rest
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 20:13 Comments || Top||

#9  The next time you disparage a Pope (#2) for stupid humor. Think twice and STFU.
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 20:16 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Worshippers flee as evening mass turns into mass brawl
[TELEGRAPH.CO.UK] Cops were called to Holy Cross Church in St Helens, Merseyside, on Saturday evening following reports that the men were brawling inside.

One eyewitness said: "There looked to be around 40 of them running riot.

"Police had to stop the mass because they were fighting. Quite a few elderly people were upset. The men seemed to be speaking a foreign language.

"Most of the elderly people went out through a side door, while the fighting carried on in Parade Street."

Police found one man with a cut to his head, but he refused medical attention.

They confirmed there were around 30 people involved in the disturbance, but insisted that only two were actually fighting during mass, which was led by Father Colin Fealey.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "This must have been very upsetting for the other people inside the church at the time. Obviously this type of behaviour inside a church is totally unacceptable and we are continuing to work to trace those responsible."

A statement from the Archdiocese of Liverpool read: "Towards the end of the 6.45pm mass at Holy Cross Church on Saturday, Feb 23 an incident took place which led to the involvement of the police. As those involved were not parishioners or regular members of the congregation, we are unable to comment further."
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The men seemed to be speaking a foreign language

two guesses and both are Urdu
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 8:36 Comments || Top||

#2  The men seemed to be speaking a foreign language.

Islamic?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/02/2013 11:24 Comments || Top||

#3  When the zombies cross onto sanctified ground...
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/02/2013 18:12 Comments || Top||

#4  It could be Romanians or some such, too -- all sorts of foreigners wandering into the UK these days.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/02/2013 19:24 Comments || Top||

#5  A feller that I used to work with is a Mennonite, and his church has a paired sister mission in Romania. So, knowing how militant those Mennonites can be, I think you might be onto something there TW. ;)
Posted by: abu do you love || 03/02/2013 19:33 Comments || Top||

#6  Now you're just being silly, abu do you love. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/02/2013 21:29 Comments || Top||

#7  Romulans in the UK? Now I've heard everything.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/02/2013 22:40 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Ennahda to surrender sovereign ministries
[MAGHAREBIA] Tunisia's ruling Ennahda party on Wednesday (February 27th) agreed to give up key ministries to independents.

"We agreed to maintain neutrality of the four ministries of illusory sovereignty, including the Interior Ministry which will be led by an independent person," Ennahda party leader Rachid Ghannouchi told Radio Kalima on Wednesday.

The new government will "be formed by five or six parties instead of the three parties that participated in the formation of the previous government", he said.

"We see that it is in the interests of the Tunisian government, in the transitional period and for the period to come, to bring together Islamists and secularists... even though we are the majority," Ghannouchi added.

The politician had previously declared that the ruling Islamist party would "never give up power" secured through "the legitimacy of the ballot".

The Islamist party has controlled the interior, justice and foreign ministries since Tunisia's first free elections in October 2011. The defence portfolio was already in the hands of an independent, Abdelkarim Zbidi.

With this decision, Ennahda meets the demands of Tunisian opposition parties and the two members of the ruling troika -- Ettakatol and Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki's Congress for the Republic.

"The concession made by Ennahda with regard to the sovereign ministries is a positive thing," Ettakatol Party front man Mohamed Bennour said.

The same day as the Ennahda concession was announced, however, the ruling party refused to sign a charter governing proper conduct between political parties.
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Central African Rebels Attack Northern Town
[An Nahar] An armed faction of the Seleka rebel coalition in the Central African Republic has attacked the northern town of Sido, a military source said Friday, in an apparent breach of a recent peace accord.

Fighters of the "CPJP Fondamentale" (the Convention of Patriots for Peace and Justice) led by General Nouredine Adam came across the border from Chad and attacked Sido, close to the frontier, on Thursday, the source said.

The rebels targeted the local administrative headquarters, the army base, the paramilitary police post, the customs post and the cop shoppe, he added. The town was abandoned as troops and residents fled into Chad.

"For the moment, we don't know the toll of this attack led by rebels who arrived on board four 4x4 vehicles, of which two were fitted with heavy machine guns," the source said.

The Seleka - which means "alliance" - signed a peace pact on January 11 in Gabon's capital Libreville with President Francois Bozize's regime in the deeply poor, landlocked and unstable country.

The accord mediated by regional leaders provided for a new government of national unity, which was formed and is now led by a member of the opposition, Nicolas Tiangaye, and includes Seleka members.

One of them, Communications Minister Christophe Ghazam Betty, went on local radio Friday to condemn the attack in the north.

"Nouredine Adam takes upon himself the responsibility of going against the Libreville accords. Also by this act, which I describe as madness, he annoys the heads of state in the Economic Community of Central African States and the international community."
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Venezuela: Hugo's not dead, just resting
[REUTERS] Senior aides and relatives of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez countered on Friday a crescendo of rumors that the socialist president may be dead from cancer, saying he was still battling for his life.

"There he is, continuing his fight, his battle, and we are sure of victory!" his brother Adan Chavez, the governor of Barinas state, told cheering supporters during an event.

Speculation about Chavez, 58, has reached fever pitch this week, fed in part by assertions from Panama's former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Guillermo Cochez, that the Venezuelan leader had died.
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  E's pining for the Orinoco!
Posted by: George Glaigum7976 || 03/02/2013 8:34 Comments || Top||

#2  "and another pallet of air fresheners if you please"
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 8:37 Comments || Top||

#3  I say he's dead:

"...Bereft of life, he rests in peace, having rung down the curtain, shuffled off this mortal coil and gone to join the bleedin' Choir Invisible - this is an EX-DICTATOR!!!"

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 03/02/2013 8:39 Comments || Top||

#4  He's just chillin. No sweatin happenin.
Posted by: Shipman || 03/02/2013 15:26 Comments || Top||

#5  More Ice! MORE ICE!!
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/02/2013 17:31 Comments || Top||

#6  You add the apparent demise of Hugo to the story of remote controlled rat brains, makes you wonder if the experiment might have been taken to Cybernetic Hugo Rat Presidente.
I need another beer.
Posted by: ed in texas || 03/02/2013 20:35 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Four found guilty over sharia law whipping in Australia
An Australian court heard that Wassim Fayad and three other men - Zakaryah Raad, Tolga Cifci and Cengiz Coskun - claimed they were following sharia when they held Muslim convert Cristian Martinez down and whipped him on the back in the middle of the night.

With these words, "Next time you think about picking up a drink you will remember this pain," Fayad delivered 40 lashes with an electrical cord across the back of Martinez, to help the Sydney man to quit drugs and alcohol.

Martinez vomited during the attack and pleaded for mercy, "Can you stop this? Stop what you're doing?"

Fayad told his victim he loved him and it was for his own good.

The whipping happened in a western Sydney townhouse in July 2011. In what is thought to be the first case of its kind in Australia, the four men were convicted on Thursday of assault and other charges.

Magistrate Brian Maloney told Burwood Local Court, "Until now, assaults occasioned in the course of a religious practice involving mortification of the flesh have not been before any court in any common law country."

A statement from Sheikh Omar El Banna, the imam of the Omar mosque in Auburn, said the whipping was not sanctioned or authorized by the community. When Martinez went to the sheikh for advice, he was told, "This is ridiculous. You can't apply this ruling, this is wrong. This isn't what should be happening."

The founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, Keysar Trad, said he was glad the court did not treat the case as a trial of the religion. He said, "The Islamic faith does not allow any person to take the law into their own hands. Muslims cannot perpetrate a crime and have no right to punish anyone. [The men] must have a very active imagination. They should not blame religion when things get out of hand."

The court heard that Martinez drank and took drugs, before he called Fayad to ask for guidance. Fayad said, "Yeah, it means I'm going to tie you up, brother, that's what I'm going to do."

Fayad called Raad and instructed him to go to Martinez's house, where Raad sent Fayad a message saying something like, "Allam, the sharia bring right material. It's important."

Fayad, Cifci and Coskun then joined Raad at Martinez's house and Fayad whipped him while the others held him down.

Maloney said, "Mr Fayad assured Mr Martinez that the last 20 lashes won't be so bad, and told [him] that he loves him, that he wants him to be a good person and the way he's going, he's ruining his life."

Martinez said he consented to the first, 11th and 21st lash, but Maloney found that he had withdrawn his consent.

Raad was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company, stealing and two counts of intimidation, while the others were convicted of the assault and stealing charges, related to a CCTV hard drive they took from Martinez's home.
Posted by: ryuge || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Islamic faith does not allow any person to take the law into their own hands.

So you see it’s not like the apostate didn’t deserve a beat down. They just needed to clear it first with the Grand Poobah. Besides, according to the Mooslimb holy handbook it appears this guy caught a break.

"But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them."

Posted by: DepotGuy || 03/02/2013 9:54 Comments || Top||


Europe
Finnish police find 'Jew list' at neo-Nazi's home
No worries. It's not as though neo-Nazis and jiadis are ever friends...
[Jpost] Finnish police have informed several members of the country's Jewish community that a neo-Nazi activist has been gathering information about them.

Police sent a letter to an undisclosed number of individuals after finding details about Finnish Jews on a USB stick in the possession of a man arrested two months ago, according a report Friday in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv.

The man was taken into custody in connection with a stabbing that took place at the library of Jyvaskyla, a city 170 miles north of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. When police searched his apartment they found the USB stick containing a folder named "Jews." It contained 300 photos and information, mostly about teenagers.

The name of the suspect was not disclosed as it is subject to a gag order. Finnish Jews have been instructed to exercise caution in revealing information about the events on Facebook and other social networks.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/02/2013 00:45 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How about finding(Or planting) a list of all Muslims in the area.

Make it even.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/02/2013 18:23 Comments || Top||


EU Muslims await fatwa on porky fish feed
Posted by: ryuge || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Rolling Stones add second Jerusalem concert in response to BDS pressure
(JNS.org) Legendary rock band The Rolling Stones has announced it will not cancel its planned concert in Jerusalem, to be held on Israel’s Independence Day April 15, despite pressure from anti-Zionist groups. Instead, the band decided to add a second Jerusalem concert the next day.

“We’ve been slammed and smacked and twittered a lot by the anti-Israeli side. All I can say is: anything worth doing is worth overdoing. So we decided to add a concert on Tuesday,” said Mick Jagger, the band’s lead singer, according to the Jewish Press.

Although BDS proponent Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb called the band’s decision “a huge mistake” and said “they stand to lose a lot of money as a result of showing solidarity with Zionism, because their most devoted fans also support boycotting Israel,” Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood still plan to arrive in Jerusalem prior to their concerts to meet Israeli President Shimon Peres.

“When ‘Get Off of My Cloud’ came out, Dayan brought me the single from London. We played it for hours in the office until Paula Ben Gurion threatened to throw us out,” Peres told Haaretz. Tickets to both concerts have already sold out.
Posted by: Thromotch Pheatle9230 || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It's only rock and roll, but I like it.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/02/2013 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  I am shocked. Off to iTunes.

Posted by: Shipman || 03/02/2013 5:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Nice 'fuck you' there by Mick & the boys!

Third show in response to the sellouts, anyone?
Posted by: Raj || 03/02/2013 10:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Wonder if the Lightbringer approves, or if the the Stones are no longer on his party entertainment list????
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 03/02/2013 10:53 Comments || Top||

#5  HOAX?

http://www.timesofisrael.com/fools-will-cry-over-stones-israel-tour/
Posted by: Thainter and Tenille1281 || 03/02/2013 13:32 Comments || Top||

#6  Beats the heck out of Roger Waters. Good job, Mick!
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 03/02/2013 14:58 Comments || Top||

#7  ...and said "they stand to lose a lot of money as a result of showing solidarity with Zionism, because their most devoted fans also support boycotting Israel

Tickets to both concerts have already sold out.

Ummmmmmmmm...what???
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/02/2013 17:30 Comments || Top||

#8  kol hakovod Mick. I first read Keith's landmark Rolling Stone interview in Jerusalem. I wish I could be there
Posted by: booker lew || 03/02/2013 18:02 Comments || Top||

#9  HOAX?

http://www.timesofisrael.com/fools-will-cry-over-stones-israel-tour/


Good catch, Thaninter and Tenille1281.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/02/2013 19:48 Comments || Top||

#10  The Stones have never been to Israel and they never will.

They'll just keep exploiting teen angst with sordid lewdness and narrow self-interest as they always have.

Satisfy THIS Mickey.
Posted by: Thainter and Tenille1281 || 03/02/2013 21:10 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
U.S. Teen Designs Compact Nuclear Reactor
[An Nahar] Eighteen-year-old Taylor Wilson has designed a compact nuclear reactor that could one day burn waste from old atomic weapons to power anything from homes and factories to space colonies.

The American teen, who gained fame four years ago after designing a fusion reactor he planned to build in the garage of his family's home, shared his latest endeavor at a TED Conference in southern California on Thursday.

"It's about bringing something old, fission, into the 21st Century," Wilson said. "I think this has huge potential to change the world."

He has designed a small reactor capable of generating 50-100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power as many as 100,000 homes.

The reactor can be made assembly-line style and powered by molten radioactive material from nuclear weapons, Wilson said. The relatively small, modular reactor can be shipped sealed with enough fuel to last for 30 years.

"You can plop them down anywhere in the world and they work, buried under the ground for security reasons," he said, while detailing his design at TED.

"In the Cold War we built up this huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and we don't need them anymore," Wilson said. "It would be great if we could eat them up, and this reactor loves this stuff."

His reactors are designed to spin turbines using gas instead of steam, meaning they operate at temperatures lower than those of typical nuclear reactors and don't spew anything if there is a breach.

The fuel is in the form of molten salt, and the reactors don't need to be pressurized, according to the teenager.

"In the event of an accident, you can just drain the core into a tank under the reactor with neutron absorbers and the reaction stops," Wilson said.

"There is no inclination for the fission products to leave this reactor," he said. "In an accident, the reactor may be toast, which is sorry for the power company, but there is no problem."

Wilson, who graduated grade school in May, said he is putting off university to focus on a company he created to make Modular Fission Reactors.

He sees his competition as nations, particularly China, and the roadblocks ahead as political instead of technical.

Wilson planned to have a prototype ready in two years and a product to market in five years.

"Not only does it combat climate change, it can bring power to the developing world," Wilson said with teenage optimism.

"Imagine having a compact reactor in a rocket designed by those planning to habitat other planets. Not only would you have power for propulsion, but power once you get there."
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Power to the stars, eh? Can it stop a people from spending itself into oblivion?
Posted by: Perfesser || 03/02/2013 8:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Wonder if GM (Volt) and Boeing (Easy-Bake Airliner) have considered these as replacements for their respective BAR-B-Qs.
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 03/02/2013 20:59 Comments || Top||


Scientists Link Two Rats' Brains, a Continent Apart
[An Nahar] Creating a "superbrain" of connected minds, scientists on Thursday said they had enabled a rat to help a fellow rodent while the animals were a continent apart but connected through brain electrodes.
I seen dis movie! Dey're gonna take over both cities!
With electrodes imbedded in its cortex, a rat in a research institute in Natal, Brazil sent signals via the Internet to a counterpart at a university lab in Durham, North Carolina, helping the second animal to get a reward.
"The chicken heart grew!"
The exploit opens up the prospect of linking brains among animals to create an "organic computer," said Brazilian neurobiologist Miguel Nicolelis.
[kathump kathump kathump]
It also helps the quest to empower patients stricken with paralysis or locked-in syndrome, he said.
"Then it got out!"
"We established a functional linkage between two brains. We created a superbrain that comprises two brains," Nicolelis said in a phone interview with Agence France Presse.
"Argh!"
Published in the journal Scientific Reports, Nicolelis' team gave basic training to thirsty rats, who had to recognize lights and operate a lever to get a reward of water.
"Then it ate Cleveland!"
They then implanted ultra-fine electrodes in the rats' brains, which were linked by a slender overhead cable to a computer.
[SLLLLLUSP!]
In a glass tank in Natal, the first rat was the "encoder," its brain sending out a stream of electrical pulses as it figured out the tricks for getting the reward.

The pulses were sent in real time into the cortex of the second rat, or "decoder," rat, which was facing identical apparatus in a tank in North Carolina.

With these prompts from its chum, the decoder rat swiftly found the reward in turn.

"The pair of animals collaborated to solve a task together," said Nicolelis.

What the second rat received were not thoughts, nor were they images, Nicolelis said.

When the encoder rat achieved various tasks, the peaks in his brain signals were transcribed into a telltale pattern of electronic signals that were received by the decoder rat.

Once the rat recognized the usefulness of these patterns, they became incorporated into its visual and tactile processing.

"The second rat learns to recognize a pattern, a statistical pattern, that describes a decision taken by the first rat. He's creating an association of that pattern with a decision," said Nicolelis.

"He may be feeling a little tactile stimulus, but it's something that we don't know how to describe because we cannot question the subject."

The linkage "suggests we could create a brain net, formed of joined-up brains, all interacting," the scientist said, hastening to stress that such experiments would only be conducted on lab animals, not humans.

"If you connect several animal brains, rat brains or primate brains, you probably could be creating an organic computer that is a non-Turing machine, a machine that doesn't work according to the Turing design of all the digital computers that we know. It would be heuristic, it wouldn't use an algorithm, and it would uses probabilistic decision-making based on organic hardware."

Still unclear is how the decoder animal incorporates the encoder's signals into its mental space, a phenomenon called cortical plasticity.

"We basically show that the decoder animal can incorporate another body as an extension of the map that the animal has in it's own brain," said Nicolelis, adding, though: "We don't know how this is done."
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Scientists Link Two Rats' Brains, a Continent Apart

Wasn't this already demonstrated with JournoList?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/02/2013 0:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Still unclear is how the decoder animal incorporates the encoder's signals into its mental space, a phenomenon called cortical plasticity.

What is "clear" is that much more grant money over a period of 8-10 years is required.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/02/2013 0:37 Comments || Top||

#3  problem with all the science they don't have all the right stuff inside have you seen a block head lately!
Posted by: Snise Cruter2274 || 03/02/2013 1:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Pesky e-mails and cellie towers be damned! Anyone know who currently holds the contract for the free Obama Zombiephone? I see a neuro-endoscope friendly upgrade coming available soon.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/02/2013 4:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Rat test number 2: Soros hooked up to Obama.
Posted by: airandee || 03/02/2013 8:49 Comments || Top||

#6  We'll not initiate human trials until the results from Test #2 are finalized.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/02/2013 8:53 Comments || Top||

#7  Some how I get the feeling there will be a run on tin foil very soon.

Posted by: Bugs Slaling1671 || 03/02/2013 8:59 Comments || Top||

#8  Americans Following Obama
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/02/2013 9:26 Comments || Top||

#9  Lots of people are willing to get a job at the professional writing services. That is really prestigefull to get a job there!
Posted by: Gross || 03/02/2013 15:09 Comments || Top||

#10  Sure, #9 gross - because all professional writers use words like "prestigefull."

Spam bot, I guess. :-(
Posted by: Barbara || 03/02/2013 16:45 Comments || Top||

#11  "the best online service to students who are in great need of academic and non-academic assignments."

Oh great. If you are in such a great need you might consider STUDYING? Isn't that what colleges are for?
Posted by: European Conservative || 03/02/2013 16:50 Comments || Top||

#12 
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 16:55 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Fourteen dead in shootout between Filipino clan, Malaysian forces
[LATIMES] Fourteen people reportedly were killed Friday in a shootout between Malaysian commandos and a Filipino clan that has holed up in a Malaysian coastal village for weeks, claiming the land belongs to them.

The lengthy standoff turned bloody after members of the clan started shooting at troops, who were tightening security around the village of Lahad Datu, a Malaysian police official told news hounds. Twelve clan members and two Malaysian commandos were reported dead in the shootout.

"We don't want to engage them but they fired at us," said Hamza Taib, police chief of Sabah state, in an interview with the News Agency that Dare Not be Named. "We have no option but to return fire."

A clan front man insisted to news hounds in the Philippines that Malaysian commandos had fired the first shot. The Filipinos had "no recourse but to defend themselves to their last breath," front man Abraham Idjirani told the Philippine Star.

A day before the bloodshed erupted, the Philippine government had pleaded with Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to persuade his followers to return to the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines.

"The Kirams would like to speak to us.... Let's do it in a way where the tense situation has been resolved and we can discuss in an objective, prudent atmosphere," said Edwin Lacierda, front man for Philippines President Benigno Aquino III, in a Thursday news conference.

The Mohammedan sultanate once ruled over most of northern Borneo, now the Malaysian state of Sabah. It has long claimed the area, but the dispute had been dormant for years. Then three weeks ago nearly 200 members of the Filipino clan arrived by boat to assert their claim to the territory.
Posted by: Fred || 03/02/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Culture Wars
NH Gun Store Depicts Obama As 'Firearms Salesman Of The Year'
One of the posters in the front window of a New Hampshire gun shop depicts President Obama as "Firearms Salesman of the Year." Below the president are two AK-47 rifles.

A second poster featuring the images of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Mao Zedong accompanies a statement that reads, "All Experts Agree, Gun Control Works."

The signs are in the front window of Collectable Arms & Ammo in Merrimack. Store Co-owner Keith Cox makes no apologies for the storefront that has irritated some neighbors.

Cox says he is sending two separate messages and is not connecting Obama to the dictators.

He says Obama's picture is meant to thank him for sending gun sales surging with all the talk in Washington about gun control. As for the images of the three dictators, Cox says his message is that people armed with guns are better able to protect themselves against tyranny.

"We like to have the creative storefronts which are sort of fun in one aspect and in another aspect if we have an opportunity to make a statement we'll do that as well," said Cox.

Chuck Mower, who lives down the street from the shop, says he understands free speech, but says the message is over the top and unnecessary.

"I can't even imagine any president's picture being portrayed on the front of a business with crossed assault weapons underneath it," Mower said. "When those kinds of things appear and take the public presence...they paint us more as a gooberville in Arkansas."

Mower, a longtime Merrimack resident, has filed a complaint with the city.
And there's the problem right there. He says he understands 'free speech' and then files a complaint. Apparently he doesn't understand free speech as well as he claims...
"It's not a good community standard message and it doesn't add to solving any of the complicated issues," he said.

Outside the store on Friday, there was curiosity about the controversy.

"If people want to show it then so be it, it's their freedom of rights," said one Merrimack resident.

"One thing great about this country is you can agree to disagree, but to take these extremes I think it's shameful and I'm sad to say it's the town I live in," said another resident.

Regardless of the controversy, the signage is not coming down.

"I certainly would not ask them to change a flag hanging on their homes or a sign in their yards because I am offended by it or disagree with it," said Cox. "I will support anybody's freedom of speech."

Town officials in Merrimack tell WBZ-TV the storefront is not breaking any town ordinances.
Posted by: Beavis || 03/02/2013 10:21 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...they paint us more as a gooberville in Arkansas.

Sorry, buddy. I've been to Merrimack.
I suggest you think of...sumthin else.
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/02/2013 17:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Chuck Mower - defender of constitutional rights...that he agrees with.

Hey Chuck, FOAD
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 17:34 Comments || Top||

#3  "'I think it's shameful and I'm sad to say it's the town I live in,' said another resident."

It's a free country, Mr/Ms. resident. You can always move if you're really ashamed , which you're not.
Posted by: Barbara || 03/02/2013 17:56 Comments || Top||

#4  I love it. (And Obama hates it)
Perfect.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/02/2013 18:24 Comments || Top||

#5  is not connecting Obama to the dictators

I dunno about this. Barak "I am not a dictatior" Obama seems to be doing a pretty fair job of that himself.

Merrimack, just down the road a piece, suffers from the same disease as much of southern NH, an uncontrolled influx of Massholes who are trying to escape the carnage they have caused in MA...and are now trying to reproduce in NH.
Posted by: Alanc || 03/02/2013 19:29 Comments || Top||

#6  Wide swathes of Colorado are facing a similar infestation with Californicators as well.
Posted by: abu do you love || 03/02/2013 19:34 Comments || Top||

#7  Iowa is suffering to, from Illinois. Crime rate has gone up, and all of the arrested seems to be from Chicago.
Posted by: Charles || 03/02/2013 20:51 Comments || Top||

#8  The Californicators first moved North (Oregon, Washington) and now move East to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. It's only taken 30-40 years to become really obvious.
Posted by: tipover || 03/02/2013 21:54 Comments || Top||

#9  what's interesting is that I'm more conservative than my Carson City NV side. I'd maybe like to retire there
Posted by: Frank G || 03/02/2013 22:16 Comments || Top||



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Sat 2013-03-02
  Chad says soldiers in Mali kill al Qaeda's Belmokhtar
Fri 2013-03-01
  Al-Qaeda commander Abu Zeid killed in Mali
Thu 2013-02-28
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Wed 2013-02-27
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Tue 2013-02-26
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Mon 2013-02-25
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Sun 2013-02-24
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Sat 2013-02-23
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Fri 2013-02-22
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Thu 2013-02-21
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Wed 2013-02-20
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Tue 2013-02-19
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Mon 2013-02-18
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Sun 2013-02-17
  Egyptian police publicly beat to death man suspected of killing officer
Sat 2013-02-16
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