Wonder Land: กรกฎาคม 2010

วันเสาร์ที่ 24 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Facebook page praising British killer removed after row

By Manager Online

17 July 2010 14:29

The creator of a Facebook tribute to a British killer who shot himself dead after a standoff with police removed the page Thursday after it sparked condemnation, including from the prime minister. (AFP/File/Leon Neal)

July 17, 2010
LONDON (AFP) - The creator of a Facebook tribute to a British killer who shot himself dead after a standoff with police removed the page Thursday after it sparked condemnation, including from the prime minister.

Siobhan O'Dowd said she had taken down the page dedicated to Raoul Moat -- but was unrepentant and did not rule out reinstating the group, which had attracted more than 38,000 members.

She set up "R.I.P. Raoul Moat You Legend!" after the former nightclub bouncer killed himself on Saturday following one of Britain's biggest manhunts.

He was on the run for a week after shooting his ex-girlfriend and killing her new boyfriend, and shooting and severely injuring a policeman.

Explaining her decision to remove the page, O'Dowd told a British radio station: "I don't know really. A few of us came to a decision but it's going to be up again running.

"We don't condone what he did as what he did was wrong. I feel sorry for the families but he was still a human being at the end of the day."

She added that the killer "hid from police for a week... I think he's a legend for keeping the police on their toes."

British Prime Minister David Cameron led condemnation of the online tribute page and lawmakers and the media joined his call for Facebook to act.

But the social networking giant refused to bow to the pressure, insisting that its users had the right to express their own views.

Cameron said in the House of Commons on Wednesday: "It is absolutely clear that Raoul Moat was a callous murderer, full stop, end of story. I cannot understand any wave, however small, of public sympathy for this man."

He was responding to a question from Conservative lawmaker Chris Heaton-Harris, who urged Facebook to remove the page.

"We don't want to set laws on Facebook at all, but we do want people who are hosting these sites and other pages to have some responsibility," Heaton-Harris told BBC radio on Thursday.

He condemned the comments on the site, which include "RIP Moat. Misunderstood man who was killed by the brutal police who ruined his life", and "U are a true legend".

The Internet group triggered a media storm, with Britain's top-selling daily newspaper The Sun dismissing the "Facebook morons" who idolised the killer.

"The prime minister deserves credit for swiftly passing on his anger to Facebook bosses," the tabloid said in an editorial. "How can such revolting web pages be justified? They should be removed."

Facebook had earlier defended the decision to leave the tribute online, saying: "We have 26 million people on Facebook in the UK, each of which has their own opinion, and they are entitled to express their views on Facebook as long as their comments do not violate our terms."

Not all the members of the group supported Moat -- some people posted messages condemning him.

New railway between Narita airport and central Tokyo opens

By Manager Online

17 July 2010 16:41

Tokyo, JAPAN : Officials of the new model Skyliner (L), based on the design concept of fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, attend a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new railway line at Nippori Station in Tokyo on July 17, 2010. A new high-speed railway line for faster transport linking Narita airport with central Tokyo opened, officials said. AFP PHOTO/JIJI PRESS

July 17, 2010
TOKYO 2010 (AFP) - A new high-speed railway line linking Narita airport with central Tokyo opened on Saturday.

The 64-kilometre (40-mile) line, Narita Sky Access, cuts the travel time between Nippori Station in Tokyo and the airport in Chiba, southeast of the capital, by 15 minutes to 36 minutes.

Fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto designed the new "Skyliner" train for the service, which can run at 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour.

Aussie horse butcher 'faces death threats'

By Manager Online

19 July 2010 11:14

This photo retrieved July 17, 2010 is from www.google.co.th. Perth butcher Vince Garreffa became the nation's first legal retailer of horse meat on Tuesday after years of campaigning to get a long-standing ban lifted.

July 19, 2010
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's first butcher to sell horse meat said Friday he had received death threats and over 2,000 abusive emails, but that customers were delighted they could now buy horse steaks.

Perth butcher Vince Garreffa became the nation's first legal retailer of horse meat on Tuesday after years of campaigning to get a long-standing ban lifted.

"(There) were the only two that brought fear to me," he told AFP between serving customers, saying the threats could be the work of "a couple of over-passionate animal liberationists or pet lovers".

One threat had been so alarming he said he had referred it to the authorities. Police said they were not able to comment.

Garreffa said his butcher shop sells "probably every meat you can imagine that is legal," and put much of the opposition down to ignorance.

"The moment I remind (opponents) that Australia has been selling 50 to 70,000 horses a year to the rest of the world for human consumption, 95 percent of them fall over backwards and die of shock and are so embarrassed that they didn't know their facts."

Government data says that between 30,000 and 40,000 horses are slaughtered every year for export in Australia.

Garreffa vowed to push on with the practice, which he said was simply responding to community demand.

"The European clients I have got that have been in Australia for anything from 50, 40, 30, 20 years, they are so desperate for a taste of home," he said.

"When you come in and whisper, 'can I have a kilo of horse steak or a horse stew or a horse mince' -- we'll become the horse whisperers -- we will look after you, because that's the business I'm in."

The consumption of horse meat is popular in parts of Asia and Europe, including France, Belgium, and some Central Asian countries.

Thailand to unleash swarm of wasps on crop pest

By Manager Online

17 July 2010 15:30

Thai ethnic women chop up newly harvested cassava in Vietnam's northwestern province of Son La. Thailand is preparing to release a quarter of a million wasps to fight a South American insect that is wreaking havoc on the country's cassava crops, scientists have announced. (AFP/File/Hoang Dinh Nam)

July 17, 2010
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand is preparing to release a quarter of a million wasps to fight a South American insect that is wreaking havoc on the country's cassava crops, scientists announced Friday.

The tiny parasitic wasps will be unleashed in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen starting from Saturday in an attempt to control the pest outbreak, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture announced.

The invader, the cassava mealybug, sucks sap from the plants and causes them to shrivel, resulting in yield losses as high as 50 percent in the tropical root crop in the affected Thai area.

The first colony of the wasps -- which measure less than two millimetres (0.008 inches) -- was carried by hand from Benin to Bangkok last year for testing and mass rearing.

The Anagyrus lopezi wasp is said to have already shown itself to be a formidable natural enemy of the cassava mealybug in South America and sub-Saharan Africa, injecting their eggs into the mealybugs.

When the eggs hatch, they kill the unsuspecting host from the inside out. Adult females also feed on the host insect. Scientists said the wasps posed no threat to humans, animals, or other insects.

"Applying chemicals on such a large scale would be environmental vandalism," said Tony Bellotti, an entomologist at the not-for-profit centre, which is involved in the project.

"Sending in the wasps is a proven way to kill the cassava mealybugs quickly and effectively. Think of them as a kind of eco-friendly SWAT team."

Scientists are investigating reports that the cassava mealybug has already spread to Cambodia, Burma, Laos and Vietnam. There are fears it will soon reach other parts of Southeast Asia as well.

"It's going to be an international game of cat-and-mouse," Bellotti said. "As the cassava mealybug finds its way to new countries and regions, we can send in the wasps."

France supports Mitsubishi taking stake in Areva: PM

By Manager Online

17 July 2010 13:31

This photo retrieved July 16, 2010 is from http://www.channelnewsasia.com. A H-2B rocket by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).

July 17, 2010
TOKYO (AFP) - France is open to a plan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan to take a stake in French nuclear giant Areva, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Friday.

Fillon supports the idea of "cooperation between Areva and Mitsubishi... in particular on the new nuclear reactor Atmea," Fillon said, referring to a joint venture between the two to develop and market a new reactor.

"In particular, I say that France is open to Mitsubishi taking shares in Areva," he said in a statement with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

Fillon said France and Japan were the leading countries in the field of nuclear energy and could enhance cooperation in the field.

MHI has reportedly launched negotiations with the French government on its plan to take a two-percent share in Areva.

วันจันทร์ที่ 5 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2553

The vuvuzela: coming to an Asian country near you

By Manager Online

22 June 2010 11:03

Sydney, AUSTRALIA : Vaughn de Kretser, the director of Appaloosa Toys, displays some of the plastic vuvuzelas which sell for USD 10 each at his warehouse near Sydney on June 21, 2010. The Australian company has enjoyed a "1,000 percent" rise in sales of the noisy South African trumpet since the start of the World Cup in South Africa, where it has provided an ear-splitting soundtrack. AFP PHOTO / Torsten BLACKWOOD

by Talek Harris, June 22, 2010
SYDNEY (AFP) - It's the World Cup instrument that has irked the globe -- and now, the vuvuzela is coming to an Asian country near you, courtesy of an Australian retailer.

Sydney's Appaloosa Toys has enjoyed a "1,000 percent" rise in sales of the noisy South African trumpet since the start of the World Cup, where it has provided an ear-splitting soundtrack.

Company director Vaughn de Kretser said Appaloosa, believed to be among the region's leading suppliers, had sold thousands of vuvuzelas, including shipments to Japan, Singapore and Fiji.

De Kretser said Appaloosa received an order for 200 vuvuzelas from New Zealand on Monday morning -- the day after the All Whites held world champions Italy to a 1-1 draw.

"They're very, very popular," said de Kretser. "We're not only restricting our sales to Australia, we sell them over eBay. We're selling them all around the world."

The monotonous vuvuzela has become a controversial symbol of Africa's first World Cup with organisers rejecting calls for a stadium ban as they drown out crowd chants and leave players unable to hear their team-mates.

The genteel Wimbledon tennis tournament has already announced a strict bar as a British supermarket chain sold 40,000 England-branded vuvuzelas, while Italians have also snapped up the plastic horns.

Sydney, AUSTRALIA : Vaughn de Kretser, the director of Appaloosa Toys, blows some of the plastic vuvuzelas which sell for USD 10 each at his warehouse near Sydney on June 21, 2010. The Australian company has enjoyed a "1,000 percent" rise in sales of the noisy South African trumpet since the start of the World Cup in South Africa, where it has provided an ear-splitting soundtrack. AFP PHOTO / Torsten BLACKWOOD

"The absurd thing is that everyone hates them, but everyone wants them," a spokeswoman for the South African tourism board in Italy told AFP.

In Sydney, vuvuzelas were discouraged at the official Fan Fest big-screen site at Darling Harbour, subduing the atmosphere further as Australia drew a vital game with Ghana on Saturday.

Appaloosa has placed mass orders for vuvuzelas from producers in southern China, where factories are churning out hundreds of thousands of the cheap toy and sending them worldwide.

De Kretser said his company has already sold at least 2,000 vuvuzelas, and warned sales were yet to peak.

"We've been selling this product for the last three or four months but since the World Cup started it's transformed sales. It's like a piece of history -- everybody wants to grab one for themselves," he said.

"I don't think it's really hit the peak because the World Cup momentum will keep going," he added.

A range of vuvuzelas is available, from a tiny version for children to the normal size priced at 11 dollars (10 US), while another symbol of the World Cup -- outsized plastic glasses -- are also on sale.

"People have said that it (vuvuzelas) adds to the atmosphere. We can hear the groan going on in the background, it's a constant drone," Kretser said.

Scientists sequence genome of the human louse

By Manager Online

22 June 2010 13:02

This photo retrieved June 22, 2010 is from http://esciencenews.com. CDC Photo, Courtesy of Frank Collins, Ph.D.

June 22, 2010
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Scientists have sequenced the genome of the body louse, offering insights into human biology and insect evolution that could help detach us from our inseparable, blood-sucking companions.

The study, published on Monday in the official journal of America's National Academy of Sciences, showed the louse had the smallest genome of any insect and very few genes related to light reception, odors and tastes.

The body louse has "the smallest number of detoxification enzymes observed in any insect," researchers wrote, suggesting new repellants could one day help rid us of the tiny mites that have been our companions for millions of years.

"The ecology of lice is very, very simple. It either lives in your hair or on your clothing, and it has one type of meal, and that's blood," said University of Illinois entomology professor Barry Pittendrigh.

"So most of the genes that are responsible for sensing or responding to the environment are very much reduced," said Pittendrigh, who coordinated the research of 28 institutions in the United States, Europe, Australia and South Korea.

Known to experts as Pediculus humanus humanus, the body louse has played its unsanitary part in history, blamed for spreading typhus and trench fever to Napoleon's retreating army in Russia in 1812.

"As an obligatory parasite of humans, the body louse is an important vector for human diseases, including epidemic typhus, relapsing fever, and trench fever," the study said.

"Thus, the body louse genome project offers unique information and tools to use in advancing understanding of coevolution among vectors, symbionts, and pathogens."

Completely dependent on humans for its survival, the louse will die if separated from its host for very long.

In turn a tiny microbe, the bacterium Candidatus Riesia pediculicola, lives inside it and produces pantothenate (Vitamin B5), an essential nutrient for its host's survival.

The study also sequenced the genome of the microbe and pointed out that the research was key to understanding the co-evolution of disease-carrying parasites and their bacterial co-conspirators.

"Lice have been used to understand human evolution and migration. They've been used to estimate when we started wearing clothing," Pittendrigh said.

"The genome should also help us develop better methods of controlling both head and body lice."

Japan still hopes to sell bullet train to Vietnam: minister

By Manager Online

22 June 2010 18:06

This photo retrieved June 22, 2010 is from www.google.co.th. Japan plans to sell its bullet train technology to Vietnam. The train would link the capital Hanoi with the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City 1,570 kilometres (975 miles) away, at speeds of 300 kilometres an hour, by 2035.

June 22, 2010
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan said Tuesday it will push on with efforts to sell its bullet train technology to Vietnam despite the project's rejection in a rare show of defiance by legislators in the communist nation.

"We hope Vietnam will introduce Japan's Shinkansen bullet train system," Japan's Transport Minister Seiji Maehara told a Tokyo press conference, after the vote in the National Assembly in Hanoi Saturday.

"Japan will try to help Vietnam introduce the Japanese system by cooperating with the Vietnamese government to draw up a feasible plan so that the National Assembly will approve it," Maehara told reporters.

Vietnam's legislators, who usually back government plans, rejected the 56-billion-dollar project, arguing that the country has more pressing development needs.

Vietnam has seen rapid economic growth, but roughly half the population still works in agriculture and per capita income is about 1,000 dollars.

Under the government's proposal, the train would link the capital Hanoi with the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City 1,570 kilometres (975 miles) away, at speeds of 300 kilometres an hour, by 2035.

On the existing single-track railway, the journey takes almost two days.

Japan, battling to revive its economy, hopes to sell its cutting-edge technology -- from nuclear plants to renewable energy systems to bullet trains -- abroad, especially to Asia's emerging economies.

It is also among bidders hoping to help build a high-speed rail network in the United States under a plan proposed by President Barack Obama.

Maehara said his government would study ways to help Vietnam import the expensive train technology, such as by giving official development assistance or creating a fund to support such infrastructure exports.

Social networking popular among boomers

By Manager Online

23 June 2010 12:25

The Facebook logo is displayed on a computer screen in Brussels, April 21, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Thierry Roge

By Patricia Reaney, June 23, 2010
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – Social networking isn't only for the under 40s. More than 25 percent of Americans 50 years and older stay connected using sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, according to new research.

And nearly half of older adults, aged 50 to 64, say they are savvy about the Internet.

"The latest data tells us that more and more, social networking is becoming a part of everyday life for Americans 50 plus, and boomers in particular," said Kevin Donnellan, the chief communications officer at AARP, which released the report.

The powerful lobbying group for older Americans said Facebook is by far the most popular networking site, followed by MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Nearly a quarter of older Americans are on Facebook and 73 percent said they use it to stay in touch with relatives, but not just their children and grandchildren.

"They are using the Internet to keep up with the world and the people who are important to them," said Jean Koppen, the author of the report.

She added that older adults are also on Facebook to stay connected, not only with their family, but with their friends and peers.

Almost 50 percent of older adults were introduced to the social networking sites by a family member, mainly a child or grandchild.

"Just under one-fifth of adults age 50 and older say they do not use the Internet," according to the report.

The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,863 adults. In addition to keeping up on Facebook and Twitter older adults are also aware of the latest technology.

Eighty-three percent had heard about the Apple iPad and 11 percent intended to buy one, mainly for browsing the web, reading news, magazines and books and for sharing photos and watching movies and TV shows.

Despite the popularity of the Internet among the over 50s, print newspapers and magazines are still their preferred source for news. Only one percent said they followed blogs.

The full report can be found on AARP.org/socialmediasurvey.

Wonder Land

วันเสาร์ที่ 24 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Facebook page praising British killer removed after row

New railway between Narita airport and central Tokyo opens

Aussie horse butcher 'faces death threats'

Thailand to unleash swarm of wasps on crop pest

France supports Mitsubishi taking stake in Areva: PM

วันจันทร์ที่ 5 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2553

The vuvuzela: coming to an Asian country near you

Scientists sequence genome of the human louse

Japan still hopes to sell bullet train to Vietnam: minister

Social networking popular among boomers

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