Not if the Meteor Kills Us First!

The conference also heard a gloomy analysis of the way the North Atlantic Ocean is reacting to global warming from Ruth Curry of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. Her new study showed that vast amounts of fresh water more than 20,000 cubic kilometres have been added to the northernmost parts of the ocean over the past 40 years because the Arctic and Greenland ice sheets are melting.

According to Dr Curry, the resulting change in the salinity balance of the water threatens to shut down the Ocean Conveyor Belt, which transfers heat from the tropics towards the polar regions through currents such as the Gulf Stream. If that happened, winter temperatures in northern Europe would fall by several degrees.

The possible failure of the North Atlantic conveyor has been discussed for several years and was fictionalised last year in the film The Day After Tomorrow. Dr Curry said the accumulation of freshwater in the upper ocean layers since the 1990s meant that the risk should be taken seriously. (Financial Times)

A Burglar Alarm for a House with no Locks

On Tuesday, Bill Gates and other Microsoft executives at the RSA Conference in San Francisco outlined several moves to beef up Windows' security, including giving away anti-spyware software for personal and home use, assembling a consumer-oriented anti-virus service, and releasing a beta of an updated Internet Explorer -- dubbed IE 7.0 -- to Windows XP users by the middle of 2005. (Information Week)

Mission Accomplished!

New allegations of prisoner abuse by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have been revealed in Army documents released by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The documents show photographs of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan posing with hooded and bound detainees during mock executions. The photos were taken at a base in southern Afghanistan (Fire Base Tycze) between December 2003 and February 2004. Some members of the infantry regiment said they took the pictures for fun and destroyed some of them after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq to avoid another public outrage. (Voice of America)

On the Fourth Day There Will Be Questions

The woman who claimed to have seen a baby being tossed from a moving car fabricated the story as a cover to abandon her newborn and hide an unwanted pregnancy from her family, authorities said Friday. State law allows a mother to take a baby to any medical facility or fire station within the first three days the baby is born without any questions asked.

"That provides parents or women with an option. You don't have to just abandon your child in way that would endanger his or her life," said Veda Coleman-Wright, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. (AP)

A Diplomatic Tussle Nobody Anticipated

Michael Jankelowitz, a Jewish Agency spokesman, said just over 10,000 Jews from the Soviet Union moved to Israel last year. In comparison, 12,000 moved to Germany, where he said they are granted refugee status and receive generous welfare benefits.

Israel has pressed Germany to cancel its absorption benefits to help encourage the remaining 800,000 Jews in former Soviet lands to move to Israel, he said. (Moscow News)

It's Like They Don't Like Us or Something

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami warned Thursday that any invader would be met by a "burning hell" as tens of thousands of people braved blizzards to join rallies for the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. After close to a week of record snowfall, Tehran and much of the north has been virtually paralysed - making it virtually impossible for many people to find transport to take them to the town centre for the annual anti-American demonstrations. But regime loyalists were out in force, parading effigies of US President George W. Bush and his new Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

According to powerful former president and top cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the strong turnout "in this snow and cold should send a message to America." (Middle East Online)

A Few People Had Their Suspicions at the Time

Is this a new and improved Corey Dillon, or have we finally been allowed to see the real Corey Dillon?

"People are going to view me how they want to," said Dillon, who admittedly has matured since his college days and his early years in Cincinnati, which included run-ins with the law. "The way I look at it, people didn't think Jesus was Jesus, so who am I? People are going to think what they want." (Espn.com)

And what is it that they are, sir?

A 1999 trial in Alzheimer's disease patients that Pfizer sponsored but never published found an increased risk of heart problems in those taking Celebrex. And the National Institutes of Health ended a study in December after finding that high doses of Celebrex more than tripled the incidence of heart attacks and strokes in patients. "They are what they are," Dr. Feczko [President of Pfizer] said of those two trials. But "the overwhelming preponderance of evidence" indicates the drugs are safe, he said.

Over all, Pfizer has performed much less research on Bextra than on Celebrex, Dr. Feczko said. Most of the company's studies of Bextra have been short term, with many lasting only two weeks. As a result, Pfizer has less data to support its contention that Bextra is safe, he said. (NY Times)

Oil Execs Can't Always Have Unimpeachable Integrity

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday he was "shocked" by an initial investigative report that found the man in charge of the U.N. oil-for-food program made illicit oil deals. Paul Volcker's report, released Thursday, said Benon Sevan "repeatedly solicited" several million barrels of oil worth about $1 million on behalf of a company named African Middle East Petroleum. The illicit deals "violated standards of integrity," the report said.

"We do not want this shadow to hang over the U.N. So we want to get to the bottom of it, get to the truth and take appropriate measures to deal with the gaps," he told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. (CNN)

In Your Face, Hans Blix!

But this year, Republicans stamped their support of President Bush's foreign policy on their index fingers, passing around a tin of purple stamp ink in homage to Iraqi voters, who marked their fingers similarly Sunday when they cast their ballots. While both sides of the aisle applauded throughout the speech when Bush mentioned the election in Iraq, GOP members stood and wagged their purple fingers as a clear signal that the election stemmed from their president's campaign for democracy in Iraq. (Chicago Tribune)

His Career is Like a Clock Melting on a Beach

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio's "exceptional career" has been honoured at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. He was presented with the award by Martin Scorsese. "It's a lifetime achievement award, which is completely and utterly surreal, given I'm only 30 years old," DiCaprio said. "But what has it been? Almost 17 years now. I've done quite a few films." (BBC)

Most of Them Believe in Evolution, For Instance

Speaking in the right spiritual tongue may be difficult for Democrats. Howard Dean stumbled during his presidential campaign when he famously stated his favorite book of the New Testament was the decidedly Old Testament Book of Job. Gaffes like that have Republicans excited to bash Democrats on the issue. "They have no credibility," said House Majority Leader Tom Delay about these Democrats efforts. "Talk is cheap. We'll see if their actions fit their words." (Time)

That's Not Leadership, That's Being a Dickhead

A-Rod sees no slight at Jeter in Steinbrenner's mandate. In fact, he's quick to point out, "This is still Jeter's team because he's the captain. But my approach is not to be everyone's best friend. My approach is to win championships. The only way to do that is to be myself, and to take care of my world. With my talent people will follow naturally."

A-Rod is so committed to delivering on that promise, he declined an invitation to Jeter's celebrity golf tournament in Tampa last week, even though the guest list included Michael Jordan, Roger Clemens, Reggie Jackson, Wayne Gretzky and Lawrence Taylor. Rodriguez's absence didn't go unnoticed, as his handlers said the third baseman didn't want to interrupt his workout schedule. (ESPN.com)

Unify This, Liberal Motherfuckers!

Secretary General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that he had selected former President Bill Clinton to be his special envoy for the countries affected by the tsunami in southern Asia. Mr. Clinton's role is expected to last two years. Mr. Eckhard said Mr. Clinton would most likely be called on to help settle longtime disputes between the governments and rebel forces in Indonesia and Sri Lanka where solutions might be more easily reached after the unifying experience of shared tragedy.

At the same time Jesse Helms, the former Republican senator from North Carolina, in a fund-raising letter for his senatorial library, has raised the issue of possible ambitions by Mr. Clinton to become secretary general.

According to The Associated Press, the letter said, "I'm sure you might agree that putting a left-wing, undisciplined and ethically challenged former president of the United States into a position of such power would be a tragic mistake." (NY Times)

Kafka Would Have Found Some Mirth

Judge Green cited the case of Mustafa Ait Idr, who was accused of associating "with a known al-Qaeda operative" when he lived in Bosnia. Faced with the allegation, Mr. Idr asked the tribunal the name of the alleged al-Qaeda member so he could identify him, but he was told this information was classified.

"These are accusations that I can't even answer," the detainee told the tribunal in exasperation. "You tell me I am from al-Qaeda, but I am not an al-Qaeda. I don't have any proof to give you except to ask you to catch bin Laden and ask him if I am part of al-Qaeda."

The judge said that the exchange might have been considered humorous if the consequences of the detainee's designation as an enemy combatant had not been so "terribly serious."

They're in a Better Place. The Shotguns, I Mean.

It wasn't until Martin reached the home that he realized just how vicious the blaze was: The roof and porch were gone, and the woods and a nearby camper were ablaze. Testifying Monday, the assistant chief of the West Chester (SC) Volunteer Fire Department said firefighters were certain no one could be inside the home, so they put out the fire and began trying to salvage the homeowner's guns.

They didn't learn until later that Joe Pittman, 66, and Joy Pittman, 62, lay dead upstairs.

Researchers Disagree Whether or Not Death is a Symptom of Being Dead

To get those results, however, Wolfe defined "serious heart problems" much more broadly than others--including Topol--have in the past. When Topol co-authored an influential paper on Vioxx and Celebrex in 2001, he and his colleagues looked at three certain signs of cardiovascular risk: heart attack, stroke and death. Wolfe, in contrast, grouped together a smorgasbord of heart problems that are harder to diagnose, such as angina, arrhythmia and heart failure, a weakening of the heart muscle.

Waitstaff Gratuities Were Also Bumped to 20%

President Bush will propose the dramatic increase in his budget proposal to Congress next week. He wants to increase the tax-free "death gratuity" to 100-thousand dollars from the current 12-thousand. He also proposes an extra 150-thousand dollars in life insurance payouts.

Assuredly, Sir, the Edge Lies Elsewhere

As part of an overall review of where cricket is heading, Packer is so keen to make sure the merits of Twenty20 cricket are analysed properly that he rang Shane Warne earlier this week and sought his opinion.

He is determined to make sure his network, Channel 9, which has broadcast cricket for almost 30 years, remains at the cutting edge of the sport and presents what the public wants.

Who Elected You the King of Nepal?

"I have decided to dissolve the government because it has failed to make necessary arrangements to hold elections by April and protect democracy, the sovereignty of the people and life and property," the King said announcing the dismissal of the Deuba government installed by him last year. This is the second time in three years that the King has dissolved the government.