18. oktober 2003

No stubs at the International Space Station Cosmonauts are not welcome to the ISS unless they are well-shaven and smell of quality deodorants, says Russian expert Galina Shumilina. "Even on a space mission, men must take proper care of their appearance. The ISS does not welcome unshaven personnel on board," she pointed out. They better do as she says. It's a long way down. 11:49:21 PM    comment []  trackback []

Define optimism The orthodox Jewish democrat hopeful Joseph Lieberman obviously faced an uphill battle when he tried to win Arab American voters for his cause. He was booed when defending the Israeli defence wall, but actually managed to be applauded when he called for tolerance and unity. Never has a man worked so much for so few votes. 9:36:52 PM    comment []  trackback []

Chinese space out An interesting article on the massive propaganda value of China's venture into space, and its strange mix of capitalism and market economy. Chairman Mao meets Ronald McDonald, in space! 8:41:34 PM    comment []  trackback []

Study: Solariums increase cancer risk A large study in Scandinavia has revealed that women who visit tanning salons more than once a month are 55 per cent more likely to develop malignant melanoma. The risk more than doubles for women in their 20s who frequent tanning parlours, the study says. The study, appearing this week in the Journal Of The National Cancer Institute, analyzed the lifestyle and melanoma risk for women between the ages of 30 and 50. They found that sunburns and tanning-lamp use during the adolescent and early adult years significantly increase susceptibility to skin cancer. The study also found that some women are more vulnerable to sun rays depending on skin and hair type. Blondes were twice as vulnerable as women with brown or black hair, while redheads had four times the risk. Fact: a tan is a sign of developing skin damage. Burning your skin to look pretty is probably one of the most destructive beauty practices ever in history. 7:51:46 PM    comment []  trackback []

Sickest story yet? This is far from being news, but it is surely sick and disturbing. In Cyprus, several men broke into the dog shelter in Polemidia, Limassol, and raped three dogs. Now allegations have been made that several more dogs have been raped because 'it cures chlamydia'. According to the daily Phileleftheros, a guard 'hired' the dogs out to people with the disease for a fee. The shelter has been shut down and demolished, prompting Limassol District Veterinary Officer Christos Ploutarchos to say "[While] these kinds of incidents are the bleeding wounds of our country...we have taken our precautions here. We built and paid for the dog shelter with money from our own pockets. They demolished our work just in two hours." From this news clip site, scroll down to 13 September 2002. 5:55:26 PM    comment []  trackback []

Ruling Christian Democrats hammered in opinion polls Opinion polls are not good reading for the Norwegian prime minister Kjell Magne Bondevik (picture), priest and politician. Through the absense of any realistic political platform, and pure political maneuvering, he managed to obtain the prime minister post for his party the Christian Democrats (KrF) even though his party only had 12.4 per cent of the vote in the national election in 2001. Since then, it has been all downhill. Thanks to a badly handled sex scandal, and a local election campaign focusing on the evils of alcopops being sold in shops alongside beer (which was not relevant for the local election anyway), the party slipped further down to 6.9 per cent. The latest opinion poll lands them only 5.3 per cent of the vote, which can hardly be construed as anything but a loud no-confidence warning to prime minister Bondevik and the party leader Valgerd Svarstad Haugland (no relation to this writer!). She is now considering to resign. So how can a mini party secure the post of prime minister? Blame a polticial system giving us countless political parties with obscure axes to grind (like not liking alcopops!), and a totally ungovernable parliament. Sometimes I wish we had a first past the post system, so at least some of the voters got their will, instead of everything being worked out as a compromise satisfying nobody. A bonus: it would send Bondevik over to the job nature intended him for: slick TV evangelist. 4:11:01 PM    comment []  trackback []

Reassuring? "This does not appear to be a terrorist event, and there is no imminent threat," FBI Director Robert Mueller told reporters in Houston. "I think it's safe to fly." (CNN) 12:54:55 PM    comment []  trackback []

Sue, sue, sue George of the Jungle 2, soon to be released directly on DVD, apparently has the helpless hero fighting "bulldozer bullies." Just harmless fun and watch out for that tree, right? Nope. Catarpillar Inc makes the bulldozers the bad guys use, and they are suring Disney over "trademark infringment" because bad people with bulldozers will damage their trade name. So there! Another mindless, clueless lawsuit has been launched. 4:39:40 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.11.2003; 03:20:09.