Deet bug repellent ‘toxic worry’
September 3, 2009
Rodney Hide to resign over Maori seats
post has been updated
Rodney Hide says he will have to resign as minister if Auckland gets Maori seats on the super council, as it is fundamentally against the culture of New Zealand. He even said it won’t threaten the stability of government as Act will still provide confidence and supply.
He’s wrong about the seats. He’s partially right about the stability; as the Maori Party also provides confidence and supply, stability wont be threatened even if Act withdraws its support.
My take is simply this: Auckland should get the seats.If Hide wants to resign it is up to him, but he`d be a hypocrite not to if Auckland get the seats. Audrey Young said this in October last year
Act’s Rodney Hide put his weight behind the Maori Party last night, supporting any move to entrench the Maori seats on the basis that what was good for the general seats should apply to the Maori seats too.
Whereas here he says the Maori seats are ” just wrong”. If they are just wrong, why support entrenchment and stand ACT candidates in the Maori electorate at the 2008 election?
Deet bug repellent ‘toxic worry’
BBC NEWS | Health | Deet bug repellent toxic worry 
Health expert Yvonne Bishop-Weston Nutritionist London says “The issue is not so much whether this particular toxin is dangerous but how it interacts in human body the with the cumulative cocktail of toxins in our modern lifestyles. There’s little actual scientific proof that individually they affect our fertility and nervous systems or have an effect on escalating cancer rates but it’s basic common sense to avoid these toxins where possible. The residues from non organic food we eat, the water we drink, cosmetics we use and the chemicals used in our workplace and at home all add up. It’s good living assurance advice as opposed to ill-health insurance. Look for Deet Free Alternative Insect Repellents!”
The study reported by the BBC in the open access journal BioMed Central Biology shows deet works in the same way as paralysing nerve gases used in warfare.
Deet (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) was developed by the US Army in 1946 following its experience of jungle warfare during the second world war, then registered for use by the general public in 1957.Deet has been in use for decades and is found in most of the commonly used repellents to ward off mosquitoes.
About 200 million people use deet-based repellents every year and over 8 billion doses have been applied over the past 50 years.
The researchers also found that deet interacts with carbamate insecticides, used in agriculture, increasing their toxicity.
In research deet blocked an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase, whose job is to control one of the main chemical messengers used by the nervous system.
Buy Now.
DEET FREE insect Repellent
US halts aid over Honduras coup – BBC News
September 3, 2009
US halts aid over Honduras coup – BBC News
 CBS News |
US halts aid over Honduras coup
BBC News The US has halted all non-humanitarian aid to Honduras in the wake of the coup there in June. The department of state said it needed to take strong action given the failure of the replacement regime "to restore democratic, constitutional rule". … US cuts aid to Honduras in support of ex-leader US announces aid cut off to Honduras Zelaya planning for his return to Honduras |
Kennedy memoir calls Chappaquiddick ‘inexcusable’ – The Associated Press
 Washington Post |
Kennedy memoir calls Chappaquiddick 'inexcusable'
The Associated Press NEW YORK — Sen. Edward M. Kennedy wrote in a memoir being published this month that he made terrible decisions after the 1969 car crash that killed Mary Jo Kopechne, but said he was never romantically involved with her and was haunted by that night for … Kennedy: Chappaquiddick haunted me 'every day of my life' Chappaquiddick 'haunts me,' Kennedy said Kennedy memoir reveals |
Truth on Swine flu – Man Made
August 21, 2009
Truth on Swine flu – Man Made
YouTube – WARNING! Truth behide Swine flu! ~ Do NOT take Vaccines! ~
More Videos accusing biochemical companies of genetically engineering SwineFlu from 1918 human Spanish Flu, Avian Flu and Swine Flu to concoct a new virus that only they have a vaccine for.
The vaccine is also alleged to be dangerous attacking our own immune system
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-FFobqCZzs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9hUV0NwmNs
How much pressure is there on these companies to make profits for the shareholders andhow far will they go? or have they gone?
TSN’s Kraft Celebration Tour will give no less than 10 lucky Canadian communities a $25,000 grant, aka “community refresh”, plus an onsite hosting of TSN’s live SportsCentre broadcast.
Nominations come from the public via this special website, and nominations close at 5:00pm eastern time this coming Friday, June 12.
We’ve noticed that one community has made an all-curling application.
The East Hants Curling Association in Lantz, Nova Scotia has been looking to build a four-sheet curling facility since 1988 (!) and geez, for pure stubborness alone, we think Lantz should make it into the top 10!
Don’t you?
Brier competitor (with Team Shawn Adams) and EHCA Director Kelly Mittelstadt is heavily involved in the drive for a curling club.
“We’ve secured government funding sufficient to allow conceptual drawings to be completed,” Mittelstadt told The Curling News.
“Once these drawings are finalized our next, and largest, hurdle will be getting funding from all three levels of government to build this facility.”
Here’s the EHCA nomination under which TCN readers are invited to comment – positively, of course!
What else for a Tuesday?
• There’s not much to say about the the appearance of curling on last night’s TV episode of The Bachelorette. The skill level was, of course, abysmal. One of the bachelors – who had clearly never stepped on ice before – declared the sport “terrifying.”
And to some surprise, the Canadian Curling Association sent out an email urging people to tune in to watch, prompting this blogger to wonder how the organization got her email address …
• Marie-France Larouche: skip et professeure?
• Yeah, yeah, yeah… everyone knows about the spoof story re. an IBM Supercomputer competing at the 2010 Worlds… but here’s the link in case you missed it …
• And finally, Eric Deckers is the latest newbie to utter the obvious: Curling is Harder Than It Looks …
A Comparative Study of Scientific Journal Databases in the Social Sciences and the Humanities
July 28, 2009
A Comparative Study of Scientific Journal Databases in the Social Sciences and the Humanities 
JournalBase *- *A Comparative International Study of Scientific Journal Databases in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (SSH)
Michèle Dassa et Christine Kosmopoulos / Cybergeo, The Electronic European Journal of Geography / Dossier publié le 25 juin 2009 / Document published on 25 June 2009 / Last updated : 17 July 2009.
Presented here for the first time in a comparative table are the contents of the databases that inventory the journals in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (SSH), of the Web of Science (published by Thomson Reuters) and of Scopus (published by Elsevier), as well as of the lists European Reference Index for Humanities (ERIH) (published by the European Science Foundation and of the French Agence pour l’Evaluation de la Recherche et de l’Enseignement Supérieur (AERES).
With some 20,000 entries, this is an almost exhaustive overview of the wealth of publications in the Social Sciences and the Humanities, at last made available in this table, adopting the same nomenclature for classing the journals according to their disciplines as the one used in 27 workstations of the European Science Foundation.
The multiple assignments reveal the multidisciplinarity of the journals, which is quite frequent in SSH, but also sometimes the incoherence of databases that have not been corrected.The research was carried out in 2008 with the financial support of the TGE Adonis of the CNRS.
An updated version will soon be presented online.The final objective of this project, which concerns the entire international community of the Social Sciences and the Humanities, is to put online, in a bilingual English/French version, the database of JournalBase in interactive mode on a collaborative platform, as well as the final report of the study, so that the decision-makers, the scientists, the experts in scientific information have access to up-to-date information, and so that they may contribute to forward movement in the reflection on these questions, through the exchange of experiences and of good working practices.
JournalBase has been updated on the 17 July 2009. It includes the information on open access journals indexed in the DOAJ.
Source
[http://www.cybergeo.eu/index22492.html]
Full Text
[http://www.cybergeo.eu/pdf/22492]
Banner year for Canadian curling governance
July 25, 2009
Banner year for Canadian curling governance
Another Congress has now come and gone, and today’s news release reveals that another $880,000 surplus has been committed to the long-term reserve fund.
“Financial performance is the item that stands out,” said Stremlaw, in an interview with The Curling News.
“This puts us at $1.7 million in accumulated surplus.”
Indeed, as the CCA newser mentions, a Senior Program Officer with Sport Canada noted that the CCA’s financial performance has been particularly outstanding and that some of the results are hard to believe, given where the organization was only a few short years ago.
There were tons of interesting presentations, workshops, breakout sessions, discussions and notices of motion throughout the week. Items catching our keen TCN eye include:
• a new “Curling For Life” document, which closely examines the “paradigm shift” between curling as a lifetime recreational sport and curling as a high-performance athletic endeavour;
• an embracing of new social marketing efforts, from Facebook to Blogger to Twitter and whatever techno-stuff is still to come;
• plans to “Leverage 2010” and thus ensure that curling clubs are prepared for an expected avalanche of phone calls, walk-ins and other outreach from the general public during February’s Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games;
• an “investigation of the possibility of establishing” a Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship;
• implementation of a single competitor’s fee, starting in 2010-11, that will allow competitors to enter all disciplines which require the payment of a fee;
• a Member Association code of conduct, that will be developed for presentation and approval at the 2010 National Curling Congress.
In terms of elections, 2008-09 volunteer boss Fran Todd of Ontario (CCA photo above) has been replaced by her former Vice-Chair, Graham Prouse of Grande Prairie, Alberta, who now serves as Chair of the Board of Governors. Jack Bowman (Victoria, B.C.) is the new Vice-Chair.
CCA Governors Lew Andrews (St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador) and Beth Sullivan (Bathurst, New Brunswick) have retired from the Board, while three newcomers are on board: Elaine de Ryk of Greenfield Park, Quebec, Ron Hutton of Saint John, New Brunswick and Georgina Granchelli of Sydney, Nova Scotia.
For his part, Stremlaw seems pumped about just how smoothly the curling landscape is rolling out before him.
“I am personally witnessing a collaborative spirit with the stakeholders,” said Stremlaw.
“Truth be told, it hasn’t always been this way. At times the sport can become political.
“We’ve got 14 member associations and they’re all diverse, all different, but there seems to be a genuine interest in working together, getting ourselves to where we want to go.”
Anything else, you ask?
• CCA Governor and longtime curling leader Bernadette McIntyre does have other interests besides the Roaring Game… such as her very cool job …
• Monsanto Canada has renewed its sponsorship agreements with CCA through to 2013. The news release indicates that the Continental Cup, which will not be contested in the upcoming Olympic season, will return for another run of events from 2011, 2012 and 2013 …
• Monsanto, of course, also supports western-based curling clubs through the “A Better House” grant program, which disbursed some $80,000 in funding directly to prairie clubs this past season …
• Another curling mover and shaker has taken a step back from the sport. Fast Eddie Lukowich, the former Brier and world champion skip, has resigned his position with the United States Curling Association after nearly 10 years, and just eight months prior to Vancouver 2010. Canwest has the story here …
• Winnipeg’s Jill Officer made a recent appearance in Thunder Bay, Ont. on behalf of Olympic sponsor RBC …
• World Senior men’s champion skip Eugene Hritzuk is on the air via The Curling Show …
• And finally, this brief YouTube video asks the question “What’s curling all about?”
Well, gee, didn’t you know the answer…?
Feds bust mayors, others in big N.J. sweep – MSNBC
July 24, 2009
Feds bust mayors, others in big N.J. sweep – MSNBC
NEWARK, N.J. – The mayors of two New Jersey cities and a state legislator were arrested Thursday in connection with a major corruption and international money-laundering conspiracy probe. Some of the suspects were also allegedly involved in an illegal human organ-selling ring. Among the
Lance Armstrong slips; Alberto Contador still 1st in Tour de France – Greenville News
LE GRAND-BORNAND, France — Lance Armstrong couldn’t stay in the front during the final Alpine stage in the Tour de France, so he played faithful teammate for Alberto Contador instead. When all was said and done in Wednesday’s Stage 17, the 26-year-old Spaniard further cemented his grip on the
Indonesia police reconstructing face of suicide bomber – Reuters
July 19, 2009
Indonesia police reconstructing face of suicide bomber – Reuters
 Times Online |
Indonesia police reconstructing face of suicide bomber
Reuters JAKARTA, July 18 (Reuters) – Indonesian police said on Sunday they were reconstructing the face of one of the suspected suicide bombers from a severed head in a bid to push forward a probe into deadly attacks on two … Jakarta Hotel Bombers Linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, Police Say Police may have found Jakarta bomber's laptop Terrorist attacks rekindle Indonesians' anxieties |
NEW: Man taken in custody by Tennessee authorities in six slayings – CNN
 Boston Globe |
NEW: Man taken in custody by Tennessee authorities in six slayings
CNN (CNN) — "A gruesome scene" is how one investigator described the aftermath of five killings in Tennessee. A sixth body was found in Alabama. Police gather outside one of the scenes of mutliple slayings in Fayetteville, Tennessee, on Saturday. … Man charged after 6 found slain in Tenn., Ala. Lincoln County Community Reacts To Murders Six Found Dead in Lincoln County |
World Celebrates First Annual 'Mandela Day' – Voice of America
 guardian.co.uk |
World Celebrates First Annual 'Mandela Day'
Voice of America By VOA News Leaders, celebrities and admirers are marking the 91st birthday of former South African President Nelson Mandela. Mr. Mandela celebrated Saturday at his home in Johannesburg with family and several prominent African leaders, including South … Stars in New York honor Mandela with birthday bash World news in brief: Hillary Clinton, Carla Bruni and Nelson Mandela UN chief lauds South Africa's Mandela as "exemplary global citizen" |
Probe begins in Calif. rail crash that hurt dozens – The Associated Press
 Novinite.com |
Probe begins in Calif. rail crash that hurt dozens
The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Authorities are investigating mechanical and human errors as possible causes of a collision between two San Francisco light-rail trains that has left several dozen people injured. Municipal Railway spokesman Judson True said the transit … Dozens hurt in San Francisco rail accident Probe begins in Calif. rail crash that hurt dozens light-rail trains crash in San Francisco, injuring 44 |
PhD student: A systems analysis of rodent animal models of human disease
July 14, 2009
PhD student: A systems analysis of rodent animal models of human disease
PhD student: A systems analysis of rodent animal models of human disease
Function title PhD student Where Bioinformatics Laboratory, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam Apply before July 15, 2009 Project Model organisms have been essential for improving our knowledge of human disease. Especially rodents, mainly mouse and rat, are often used for this purpose, as well as for pre-clinical trials of new drugs and toxicology screens. However, often animal models fail to mimic human disease adequately. As a consequence drugs successfully tested in animal models fail in costly clinical trials or are falsely discarded.
Goal of this project is to explore the suitability of rodents as a model organism for human disease, specifically metabolic syndrome. Since metabolic syndrome is a complex multifactorial group of metabolic conditions, a systems approach will be taken to uncover the molecular networks perturbed by disease.
Specifically, we aim to validate the similarity of a large number of rodent models for metabolic syndrome to their human counterparts. The project is tightly linked to ongoing projects in biological and clinical groups at the AMC. This project is part of the second round of the BioRange programme of the Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre (NBIC; ww.nbic.nl).
Tasks
The successful candidate will work towards a PhD degree in bioinformatics. We will build a compendium of rodent and human metabolic syndrome related gene expression datasets. We develop module-based joint analysis methods that search for conserved patterns consisting of sets of genes and sets of conditions in both rodent model and human under which they are co-expressed. These patterns are used to evaluate the molecular similarity of rodent models and their human counterpart. Conserved patterns will be further interpreted by constructing functional networks for metabolic syndrome in rodents and human. We expect methods developed and resulting conserved patterns and functional networks to be useful for elucidating the model mismatch and for increasing the predictive value of preclinical trials and toxicity screens.
Requirements
We are looking for an enthusiastic communicative team player with
• a MSc in one of the following areas: bioinformatics, computer science, engineering, statistics, physics, plus a proven interest in biology
• strong background in computer science (machine learning, graph algorithms, relational databases)
• good programming knowledge (R, C/Java/C++, SQL)
Additional conditions of employment: The appointment will be on temporary basis for a maximum period of four years. Based on a full-time appointment (36 hours per week), compensation will be according to standard salary levels for PhD students starting with a salary of € 2046,- with a yearly growth to € 2622,- gross a month. The collective employment agreement of the AMC is applicable. Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained
from: Dr. ir. P.D. Moerland Bioinformatics Laboratory Telephone number: +31 (0) 20 566 4660 E-mail address: p.d.moerland@amc.uva.nl
Contact: Applications should include a detailed curriculum vitae and a letter of motivation, and be sent to:
AMC Medical Research BV.
Mevrouw M.J.Scholtemeijer
Personeel & Organisatie, J1A-229
Postbus 22660
1100 DD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
CDC H1N1 Flu Swine Fever Pig Flu
July 13, 2009
CDC H1N1 Flu Swine Fever Pig Flu
CDC H1N1 Flu | CDC H1N1 Flu Update: U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection
So the latest is….. no surprise that the pig producing state of Illinois ((producing over 8 Million pigs per year) is winning the league tables for confirmed cases of Swine flu (H1N1 flu)
Illinois now have 122 cases compared with New York’s 97 cases.
The pig industry is keen to play down the risks and say there is “no health risk from eating Pork” but meanwhile 3,000 pigs have died in mysterious fires in factory pig farms since the Pig Flu outbreak (Illinois Pig Farm Fires)
The word from the Pharmaceutical Industry is that we should be fairly safe for the summer the big dangers will be in the fall / Autumn 2009 when it’s thought the virus could mutate again and we could be in serious trouble.
London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston says ” Make an appointment with a qualified Nutritionist for a full check up, tests, and then optimise your health and particularly your immune system so you have a fighting chance this winter. Particularly if you are at all stressed as adrenal stress uses up vast amounts of nutrients than can leave various functions in your body compromised”
Foods for Life Nutritionists can provide you with a personal emergency health management strategy to reduce risks should you have to travel and be in high risk situations.
Meanwhile National Vegetarian Week campainers are suggesting a Star Trek Diet is the best way to protect against Swine Flu
Nation & world US soccer beats Spain to reach Confederations Cup final – Detroit Free Press
June 25, 2009
Nation & world US soccer beats Spain to reach Confederations Cup final – Detroit Free Press Nation & world US soccer beats Spain to reach Confederations Cup final
MiamiHerald.com
Detroit Free Press
The United States stunned top-ranked Spain, 2-0, Wednesday night in South Africa on goals by Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, advancing to the Confederations Cup final with one of the Americans' biggest soccer victories.
Spain 0-2 United States
Ratto: Great US soccer win, but…
ZeniMax Media buys Id Software – Los Angeles Times ZeniMax Media buys Id Software
Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
The maker of the Elder Scrolls games and Fallout 3 says development will stay intact at the creator of Doom and Quake. ZeniMax's strength is role-playing games; Id's is first-person shooter games.
Fallout publisher scoops up classic Doom/Quake developer
Bethesda Parent Company Buys Legendary Doom Developer
Freezing Iran assists 'violates human rights' – PRESS TV Freezing Iran assists 'violates human rights'
guardian.co.uk
PRESS TV
Amid growing tension between Tehran and London over post-vote riots, an Iranian dignitary lashes out at the UK for freezing a large sum of Iranian assets.
Opposition leader postpones rally in Iran
Mousavi Web site: 70 professors detained in Iran
