No Link Between Cannabis Attitudes and Use?

Two news posts in brief. First, YLE reported that the Finnish youths have relaxed their attitude towards cannabis use in general. They continue that this change does not reflect in the amount of drug use.

The next post, same day, on the same subject says 2010 cannabis confiscations reached a record high.

According to YLE a youth researcher commented nothing radical is happening, and that running a campaign saying "one out of every five youngsters has tried cannabis" can cause unecessary panic. They talk about how the media is interested in the topic only if they can report increases.

The second article surely fits the bill. It says the police discovered an unprecedented amount of grow-ops. Oh, and they also mention how drug trafficking is mostly organized crime and strongly connected to international criminal organizations.

But wait, in the first article, you can read on how we saw growing usage numbers from 1990-2000 and how usage has since stopped increasing in any major way. After that, I don't suppose the points they raise about designer drugs or anything else really makes sense. What a mess.

The Finnish Defence Force to have Boots

It took all autumn, and a good portion of the early winter, but the FDF has now promised to remove the restrictions on using combat boots. (Report) In July this year YLE reported a court order was given to halt purchases while the court examined a complaint on an unfair acquisition procedure which was now dismissed. In the meantime the FDF restricted the use of combat boots and made recruits wear rubber boots instead.

This isn't a big issue, but bear in mind the FDF is very keen on reminding us we need a credible defense. It is the main line they feed us when they justify our nationwide mandatory conscript service. It also comes up when new material is being considered or when existing systems are not dropped. I remember it was being talked about when we decided to keep on using land mines.

So now we see the army doesn't have the muscle to purchase shoes when necessary. The ban is lifted and orders will proceed sometime in March 2011 after which new recruits will be again issued two pairs of boots, just like reservists will have a pair for use when in training.

Not that we should expect the military to fully equip our troops in case of conflict, the military passport issued to me in 2002 came with an insert which clearly states in case of mobilization I am to report to my unit with serviceable outdoor clothing suitable for the time of year and items such as a backpack, sleeping bag, compass, knife, field axe, flashlight some spare underwear and a washing kit. The FDF promises to purchase these items.

At least in 2002 they promised us that most of the reservists would be issued an assault rifle in case of mobilization. That would come in handy, seeing as I've received training for the RK-62 assault rifle, the FDF LMG and a 66 KES 88 LAW. If they couldn't issue me a similar assault rifle they would have to retrain me. So that's a credibility boost, right? Now I can expect boots too.

Assholes, the Limit is 50

The guy got fed up with the drivers doing 80 on a 50 road, dropped due to construction. Yeah, YLE beat me to it, but it's worth a quick blog entry.

Fear Huge Icebergs

An unstoppable iceberg four times the size of Manhattan is coming, possibly to the same shipping lanes in which the Titanic sunk. It's huge, and we've had a summer of near biblical climatical havoc, like wildfires in Russia and killer floods in Asia. It's so big it cannot be stopped from drifting, it's unstoppable.

And don't think I'm sounding hysterical to make a point about some news post. All of this was written by Karl Ritter in the first three opening paragraphs of his post for AP. I'm sorry, but when the article starts like a Godzilla movie you expect the ending to be about a giant lizard fighting an ice monster at the heart of Tokyo by the end of it. When the article goes to talk about global warming it's just disappointments all around.

Oh, and the picture is not related to this. It's the ever industrious Thais dumping tanks to create artificial reefs for fish to live in. (source.)

Crazies: Dead Squirrel Beer + 100's of Ships

Okay, today seems to have been a day at the nut house as far as reading news goes.

Today's top stories for me were Iran who declared they have 100 vessels for every US ship that threatens them and BrewDog who got in to the news by just being odd enough.

For Iran, the article itself is brief but mentions that an Iranian General Saffari was quoted in the weekly magazine Panjereh that "... U.S. warships are morsels for Iran to target." and that they have a 100 vessels for every opposing one. Maybe if we for the sake of argument allow only one U.S. carrier strike group, Iran should still have 600 - 700 ships at the ready. To get that count I assume Gen. Saffari believes a floating bucket can oppose a guided missile destroyer. Insane, but apparently newsworthy to AP.

What isn't newsworthy is BrewDog who made a very limited, very expensive patch of 55% proof beer, sold inside a dead animal. You can see what I mean with it in the video below. This "offbeat" article brought to you by AFP through Yahoo.

Foxconn is Sheer Evil?

Foxconn to it's employees: If you want wages you can live on, fine, but we'll move the production away from here to someplace where people will settle for less. Except that in this case the salary one can live on is literally enough not to commit a suicide. It appears Southern China is too expensive for large foreign mobile phone component manufacturers and they have to relocate to Central China.

If you recall the stream of China news where employees had killed themselves, assumedly due to unworkable conditions or salaries, you probably didn't expect a turn for sheer malevolence after salary raises were announced. We'll, today's news adds insult to injury as Foxconn heads to Hebei.

Quick to pass the puck, Foxconn said Apple hadn't approved of the salary increases, which is the reason for the move.

The news is here (Yahoo!)

To me it just seems a step up from the old-fashioned "twirling my mustache" kind of evil to a more Doctor Evil type of supervillainry, where the next step is to move the workers to a lightless underground bunker to work on a death laser.

For a little background, you can read a Reuters article on Apple / Foxconn security, at the end there's a story from February when a photographer taking pictures of a component factory was assaulted but facility guards and was later told by the police that Foxconn enjoys a special status. No charges were pressed, obviously.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61G3XA20100217

Terrible Crap Out of Nowhere

Nobody expects a giant hole in the ground to suddenly eat your house, just like nobody expected a storm to cause one. Well, Agatha swept over Guatemala killing at least 180.

It's just that stuff of this magnitude is unprecedented. The hole didn't kill anybody, neither did the collapsing building, as at that place there was a clothing manufacturer and the city had been evacuated at least partly. But regardless, that's one whole intersection missing.

AP has more on this, including the usual video of some poor sod trudging through flowing mud (collected here on the USA Today site) http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/2010-05-30-first-tropical-storm-agatha_N.htm?csp=34

The video behind that link wouldn't be worth it, but you can see people trying to save their sofa from knee-high mud. I shouldn't laugh, but that is a case of missing priorities, made more funny that there is a news reporter filming it. If it wasn't so hypocritical he should perhaps tell them to do something more useful. And here I am calling him useless...

What The? Australian Camel Attack

If you didn't think Australia was a strange country, perhaps you read up on their camels. AFP helps, reporting that some 6000 wild camels have invaded the community of Docker River in search of water.

If the article is missing one thing it's a photo from the area. Man what a missed opportunity, the stock footage camel is a shame.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091125/wl_asia_afp/australiawildlifedroughtcamels

The first reaction of the locals has been to keep the kids inside as they naturally want to go out and play with the camels. Everyone can guess the second step, right? Well at least part of it, first they are going to herd the camels outside of the inhabited area with helicopters and only then shoot them.

That's to be expected I suppose. According to the article there are about a million wild camels in Australia and they are a pest - they spread disease and push native species back as they have very few predators.

Rabbits? Everyone has rabbits, call again when you get invaded by camels.

What The? Nigerian Christian Style

Here's a long writeup by Katherine Houreld for AP:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091017/ap_on_re_af/af_nigeria_child_witches

I'm not here to pick the article apart, and I think you should read it for yourself, but I'll summarize.

Christian churches in Nigeria have began to punish children as witches. As an example, a pastor from Mount Zion Lighthouse denounced a 9-year old as a witch. His father tried to perform an exorcism by pouring acid down the boy's throat. The boy struggled and later died from his burns on the face and in the throat.

There have been hundreds of cases where witches are discovered. At least 13 churches have taken part. The numbers for the last decade are worse. Evangelical Christian churches have been popping up all around the country, in some places now outnumbering banks, schools and clinics put together. 15000 children accused and 1000 killed.

Last month there was an actual witch burning. Actually, make that three.

Why the hell would they do it? Well, there is so much competition between congregations that they have to be able to find witches to attract believers. They might also be able to catch a quick buck from parents paying for an exorcism. That, or maybe they don't want their child burned.

Another kid got beaten up because she liked to sleep outside on hot nights. That was enough to require a series of exorcisms, which cost the family eight months' wages and when that didn't help the girl got beaten up.

This is happening today. The churches say they are helping people.

Help The Swan is Stuck - What The?

The Oulu and Koillismaa area emergency centers have been troubled by people calling in, worried that the swans are stuck in the lake, frozen. Yes, that's right, they fear that a large, flight capable bird would be frozen solid.

There must be a reason when rational thinking fails, but I can't fathom why someone would think the birds wouldn't just fly away - it's a migratory bird! They have never seen a frozen swan. But that's not enough, they have to call the fire department, some people won't even call the department, they'll just dial 112, the emergency number.

Reporting this is adding failure to a failure of course, it's like failure with interest on top. Compound failure.

Yes, it's a pitiful thing when people act stupidly, but it's hardly national news. As usual, YLE fails to give a name for the reporter or editor, besides, their site has no direct feedback link, you have to go trough general site feedback if you want to let them know your opinion. They do have a picture of a swan though, alas they didn't even bother to get a picture of a swimming swan or a swan on ice.

Here's the link, but there's not much:
http://yle.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/2009/10/joutsenista_turhia_soittoja_pelastusviranomaisille_1072591.html?origin=rss

What The? Artificial Virginity

If you live in a culture where virginity is a necessity for marriage but have had past indiscretions (or you are free minded but still need to follow your cultural rules,) do I have the product for you.

Artificial Virginity kits are available from the friendly online merchant Gigimo. The kit, inserted 15 minutes before intercourse, will make you bleed (fake blood) upon penetration. The rest is up to your acting skill but the potential husband should be convinced. That, or perhaps you find the idea of banging virgins exciting and want to buy this for your partner.

It's a reasonable 29.90 USD + S/H, available to all Arab countries. They do other countries too, but their main market is covered.

Joseph Freeman from AP has an article for the product available here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091005/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_artificial_hymen

He writes Egyptian lawmakers are aiming to ban the artificial hymens. Apparently it is against Egyptian and Arab values. I will refrain on commenting on said values further, but if you are interested in faking virginity you can find help here:
http://www.gigimo.com/main/product/Artificial,Virginity,Hymen,2299.php?prod=2299
The link is not work safe as they sell sex toys.

What The? Indian Flight Crew in a Fight

Bringing you an outright strange piece of news from Indian Airlines - The pilot and co-pilot got in a fight with the cabin crew midair. The fight took place in the cockpit as well as the isle where passengers saw them slug it out.

The two parties give two different stories. I can't honestly make heads or tails out of it. It's either previous tension, harassment, a mistake in an announcement or something.

But if you thought turbulence scary how would you react to seeing your pilot in a fist fight at 30,000 feet? Oh, and it was an Airbus A-320, which can carry about 150 people. I would probably feel safer flying in an old Tupolev piloted by a drunk Russian than with Indian Airlines right now.

You can find the original here, as reported by The Times of India:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/business/india-business/Air-India-pilots-crew-come-to-blows-at-30000-ft/articleshow/5085243.cms