Monthly Archives: July 2009

Microwave weapon will rain pain from the sky (1)

THE Pentagon’s enthusiasm for non-lethal crowd-control weapons appears to have stepped up a gear with its decision to develop a microwave pain-infliction system that can be fired from an aircraft. The device is an extension of its controversial Active Denial … Continue reading

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Cleavage power: A scientific inquiry (1)

EXPERIMENT: “God was very generous with you,” a Parisian friend once told me. Sadly, he wasn’t referring to my IQ or ability to find a parking space. No, he was talking about my breasts, big and especially disproportionate to my … Continue reading

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Canada, beacon of enterprise

Canada and the U.S. are experimenting with two radically different responses to the great recession of 2008-09. The Obama administration has opted for a massive increase in government spending and government debt. It enacted a colossal stimulus package, followed by … Continue reading

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US conspiracists question Obama's birth certificate (2)

On the fringes of the American right, a growing conspiracy claims that Barack Obama is hiding a Kenyan birth certifcate, making him ineligible to serve as president. Congress is wrestling with historic health care reforms, soldiers are dying in far … Continue reading

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Report: 30,000 China Steelworkers in Deadly Clash

BEIJING — Some 30,000 Chinese steelworkers clashed with police in a protest over plans to merge their mill with another company and beat the company’s general manager to death, a human rights monitor said Saturday. Several hundred people were injured … Continue reading

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Bear-Proof Can Is Pop-Top Picnic for a Crafty Thief

NORTH ELBA, N.Y. — It was built to be impenetrable, from its “super rugged transparent polycarbonate housing” to its intricate double-tabbed lid that would keep campers’ food in and bears’ paws out. The BearVault 500 withstood the ravages of the … Continue reading

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Twillingate in Toronto

Toronto is having a Newfoundland summer. Now I don’t mean, even though it would be a wonderful idea, that there are bake-apple festivals at Bloor and Yonge. Or that the Bay Street stockbrokers are out jigging codfish on “food fish” … Continue reading

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World July 25th, 2009 (8)

#1 — NP | Arizona girl, 8, shunned after alleged rape PHOENIX — Charges have been filed against four boys, ages nine to 14, suspected of raping an eight-year-old girl in Phoenix, Arizona, last week, the Maricopa County Attorney’s office … Continue reading

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Canada July 25th, 2009 (9)

#1 — CBC | No proof woman stranded in Kenya is Canadian: Cannon The federal government has found no proof that a woman stranded in Kenya because she didn’t look like the photo on her Canadian passport is actually a … Continue reading

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"Hey Mel — You lose!" (1)

ESTELI, Nicaragua — Honduras’ deposed president set up base near his country’s border to prepare a return home, urging soldiers to ignore an arrest order against him and shrugging off warnings that his homecoming could provoke violence. Manuel Zelaya drove … Continue reading

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Key Chairman Threatens to Bypass Committee (1)

A key House committee chairman on Friday threatened to roll over moderate Democrats who are holding up the health care reform bill and bring the package straight to the floor. The statement underscored the deep divisions the health care reform … Continue reading

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