Wunderkammer

BBC NEWS | Africa | US crew seized by Somali pirates

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:37:29 -0700

The ship was reportedly attacked by up to three pirate skiffs at a time Somali pirates have hijacked a ship with at least 20 US crew on board, after what maritime officials described as a sustained night-time attack.The US-operated container vessel, Maersk Alabama, was seized in the Indian Ocean about 400 miles (645km) east of the capital, Mogadishu. The Danish-owned ship's crew members are believed to be safe, the European Union's maritime security force said. It is the sixth seizure in recent days, including a British and Taiwanese ship. Among the cargo of the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama was UN food aid destined for Somalia and Uganda. Pirates typically hold the ships and crews until large ransoms are paid by the shipping companies - last year the firms handed over about £80m (£54m). The huge increase in frequency of attacks has forced several navies to deploy warships in the Gulf of Aden. The BBC's Adam Mynott says in the past few weeks the warships have forced the pirates to switch the focus of their attacks further out into the Indian Ocean. Evasive actionIn a statement, the AP Moller-Maersk Group confirmed its ship had been "attacked by pirates and presumed hijacked" at around 0600 BST on Wednesday. "The vessel is deployed in Maersk Line's East Africa service network and was en route to Mombasa, when it was attacked approximately 500 km off the Somalia coast," the statement said. "Our initial concern is to ensure proper support of the crew and assistance to their families." Now the weather has improved, they're back in business again ICG's Rashid Abdi The lure of easy money Why are pirates getting away? The assault began late at night and apparently lasted for some five hours, according to maritime officials. The ship was attacked by up to three pirate skiffs at a time. Maritime officials say the ship took all possible evasive action before it reported that the pirates had boarded. It is believed to be the first ship with Americans on board to be hijacked in recent times. The BBC's correspondent in the region, Peter Greste, says hostages from previous pirate attacks have been largely well-treated, but the capture of Americans may change the equation. Somalia is largely under the control of a group with links to al-Qaeda, our correspondent says, and they may choose to make a political point out the situation. A US Navy official told the Associated Press that the government is in contact with the shipping firm, finding out all the details of the attack. Earlier this week pirates boarded a British-owned ship, the Malaspina Castle, in an area heavily patrolled by a European Union taskforce. The taskforce, consisting of six ships and two planes, is among almost a dozen anti-piracy patrols in the area. But pirates managed to seize 15 ships last month - a large increase on the two taken in January and February. One expert believes the weather had a bigger impact than the patrols on the pirates. Rashid Abdi, of the International Crisis Group (ICG), a Brussels-based think tank, said: "It was all down to the fact that the weather did not favour them. "And now the weather has improved, they're back in business again." More than 130 pirates attacks, including close to 50 successful hijackings, were reported in 2008, threatening one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Bookmark with:DeliciousDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponWhat are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version Print Sponsor

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7989474.stm

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Air car

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:45:56 -0800

An air-powered car? It may be available sooner than you think at a price tag that will hardly be a budget buster. The vehicle may not run like a speed racer on back road highways, but developer Zero Pollution Motors is betting consumers will be willing to fork over $20,000 for a vehicle that can motor around all day on nothing but air and a splash of salad oil, alcohol or possibly a pint of gasoline.

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106040/Air-Cars:-A-New-Wind-for-America's-Roads

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Cassini-Huygens: Multimedia-Videos

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:41:20 -0700

The movie consists of 34 images taken over the course of 12 hours as Cassini pierced the ring plane. Additional frames were inserted between the original images in order to smooth the motion in the sequence -- a scheme called interpolation.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/video-details.cfm?videoID=147

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Why Mommy and Daddy Are Democrats

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:17:06 -0700

"Whether they be young in spirit, or young in age, the members of the Democratic Party must never lose that youthful zest for new ideas and for a better world, which has made us great."-John F. Kennedy

http://littledemocrats.net/index.html

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Why Mommy and Daddy Are Brain Democrats

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:15:54 -0700

http://littledemocrats.net/index.html

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Why Mommy and Daddy Are Brain Washers

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:14:17 -0700

http://littledemocrats.net/index.html

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Burrowing muskrat causes levee to fail in Missouri

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:11:21 -0700

Residents Henry James, left, and Herb Crosby sit on top of a house as they wait for the floodwaters to arrive after a levee break Friday, June 27, 2008, in Winfield, Mo. A section of an earthen levee broke Friday morning, releasing Mississippi River waters that officials predicted will "ultimately inundate" part of the small town. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hw95ek5Sllmi4SoQ_N4HJvwHE0ZAD91ILVLO0

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Shout out from overseas friends

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:07:39 -0700

Tuesday night I spend with Manuel and Philipp, founders of Spickmich.de, at some web2.0-expo after parties. We started our tour at the office-party of six apart where hey had arranged a beautiful mini golf course - built mainly from macbooks and thinkpads…

http://www.janbeckers.com/blog/2008/04/25/silicon-valley-us/golf-course-made-of-notebooks-how-us-start-ups-spend-their-vc-money/

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Fancy Parking

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:55:01 -0700

Have you ever walked through a parking lot, and gazed in awe at how certain cars have parked? Maybe you never knew how to describe it before. You've referred to it as Backwards Parking, Rear End Parking, Front Wheels Out, and even Wrong Way Parking. Its called Fancy Parking

http://www.fancyparking.com/index.html

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Big Quake Likely in Calif.

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:32:45 -0700

Geophysicist Ned Field of the United States Geological Survey, refers to an illustration, during a news conference Monday, April 14, 2008, at the University of Southern California, Davidson Conference Center U.S. Geological Survey. California faces an almost certain risk of being rocked by a strong temblor by 2037, scientists said Monday in the first statewide forecast of the seismic threat. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRzQkXfv-W1jgRB5w8p5zUY6gAjgD90211280

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D&D cocreator Gary Gygax now beyond scope of healing spells

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:23:37 -0800

On March 4, Gary Gygax died at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, after suffering two strokes in 2004 and being diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was 69. While the man may not be with us any more, the ideas that he popularized though his work on Dungeons and Dragons will guide the game world for a very long time to come. In many ways, Gary Gygax built the bridge (complete with trolls underneath and dragons flying above) that we walk across every time we play a role-playing game, whether it be with a pen and pencil, a computer, or a home console.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080305-dd-cocreator-gary-gygax-now-beyond-scope-of-healing-spells.html

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Photos: Apple adds multitouch, power to MacBooks | CNET News.com

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:58:27 -0800

MacBook Pro is now available with Intel Core 2 Duo (Penryn) processors that are built using a 45-nanometer technology. They can run up to 2.6GHz and up to 6 megabytes of cache memory. Up to 4GHz of RAM and a hard drive with up to 250GHz of storage space will be available for the MacBook Pro.

http://www.news.com/2300-1044_3-6232112-1.html

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Consumer advocate Nader starts presidential bid | Reuters

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 09:58:07 -0800

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, blamed by many Democrats for their loss of the White House in the 2000 election, said on Sunday he is launching another independent campaign for the White House.

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed8/idUSN2465110920080224

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The $20,000 Coffee Maker, Step by Step - The New York Times > Dining & Wine > Slide Show > Slide 1 o

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:18:23 -0800

The Japanese siphon bar, which makes brewed coffee, at the Blue Bottle Café in San Francisco. The only halogen-powered model in the United States, the siphon bar was imported from Japan at a cost of more than $20,000.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/01/23/dining/20080123_COFFEE_SLIDESHOW_index.html

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'Teddy bear' teacher gets 15-day prison term in Sudan

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:53:26 -0800

Story Highlights British teacher in Sudan found guilty of insulting religion Gillian Gibbons, 54, arrested after her class named teddy bear "Mohammed" Gibbons was not convicted of two other charges brought against her UK consular staff, Gibbons' defense team initially refused access to the court Next Article in World »

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/11/29/sudan.bears/?imw=Y

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The Romantics sue 'Guitar Hero' maker

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 10:34:06 -0800

DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- The Romantics have filed a federal lawsuit against Activision Inc., the maker of "Guitar Hero," saying the popular video game infringes on the band's rights by featuring a soundalike recording of its 1980 hit "What I Like About You."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/22/guitar.hero.suit.ap/index.html?imw=Y

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Spilled fuel oil is 'the nastiest stuff around'

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:26:33 -0800

The fuel that spilled from a container ship into San Francisco Bay on Wednesday is a "nasty" oil that breaks down slowly, is hard to clean up and could affect marine life for years, environmentalists and oil-spill experts say.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/11/08/MND7T870A.DTL

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Spilled fuel oil is 'the nastiest stuff around'

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:24:05 -0800

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/11/08/MND7T870A.DTL

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NPR: Don't Eat These at Home: Toy Recalls

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 07:37:57 -0800

Main Blog PageOlder Post »Don't Eat These at Home: Toy RecallsBig time not for internal use.photocreditThe Consumer Product Safety Commission just recalled a gamillion toy cars from China because of fear they might contain lead. But it's the Aqua Dots recall that has us spooked.The art project thingamajig contains a chemical that contain converts into the so-called date rape drug GHB. Kids who've eaten the colorful Aqua Dots vomit, then go into a coma. Find the full list of CPSC recalls this month and last -- personal fave: the Dizzy Duck.Laura Conaway 9:12 AM ET | 11- 8-2007 | permalink

http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/11/dont_eat_these_at_home_toy_rec.html

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I Do Dog Tricks

nobody@vox.com(Garth) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:45:43 -0700

http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html

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