New hoodies worry police

LONDON, Dec. 9 (UPI) — Jackets covering the head and face, leaving just two slits through which to see, is the latest fashion craze in Britain.Called burqas for boys, the jackets were borrowed from Italian fashion, where the concealing jackets were first inspired by the protective gear worn by drivers in the Mille Miglia, an Italian endurance race started in the 1920s.Authorities, however, are concerned by the craze, The Times of London reported Sunday.”The trouble in society is not just crime but the fear of crime, and this new jacket is enough to give anyone a shiver down their spine,” said Brian Paddick, a former senior officer at the Metropolitan police and now a London mayoral candidate.Steve Dodd, 18, of South Shields said he bought his jacket to protect his face from the freezing winds. He said he was taken aback by the reaction he gets in public.”After I bought the jacket I went into the Caffe Nero opposite, fully zipped up, and people just laughed,” he said.Copyright 2007 by United Press International

Voice of the London Underground gets sacked for having a sense of humour

Emma Clarke, the voice of the London Underground has just been fired for recording and posting some spoofs on her own blog. “Mind the gap” no more. To spare her server and just in case she’s forced to remove the recordings from her website, links to the recordings are below:

“Do not drop litter on the train. Please use the tramps provided”

“Warning, this is an emergency. I’ve chipped a nail”

“Would the passenger in the red shirt pretending to read a paper, but is actually staring at that woman’s chest, please stop. You are not fooling anyone. You filthy pervert”

We’d like to remind our American tourist friends that you are almost certainly talking too loud.”

“Passengers should note that the bearded gentleman’s rucksack contains the following items only: Some sandwiches, a library card and a picture of a bare ankle and is no cause for alarm”

“Passengers are reminded that a smile is actually a friendship signal and not a sign of weakness”

“Would the passenger in the pinstripe suit and £1000 glasses who obviously works in the media, please take one step forward on to the track as the train arrives. Thank you.”

Residents of London are reminded that there are other places in Britain outside your stinking shithole of a city, and if you removed your heads from your arses for just a couple of minutes, you may realise that the M25 is not the edge of the Earth”

“Passengers are reminded that, like all voiceover artists, I probably look nothing like you imagine and may turn out to be somewhat of a disappointment”

“Would passengers filling in answers on the Sudokus please accept that they’re just crosswords for the unimaginative and are not in any way more impressive just because they contain numbers”

“Here we are again, crammed into a sweaty tube carriage. And today’s Wednesday - only two more days until you can binge drink yourself into a state of denial about the mediocrity of you life. Oh, for Goodness sake, if you’re female smile at the bloke next to you and make his day. He probably hasn’t had sex for months”

Has the first evidence of another universe been seen?

Astronomers announced in August 2007 the discovery of a large hole at the edge of our universe. Since then, theoretical physicist and cosmologist Laura Mersini-Houghton and colleagues have claimed it is an “unmistakable imprint of another universe beyond the edge of our own.”

The article entitled “Astronomers Find Enormous Hole in the Universe” discusses the August 2007 discovery of the hole. It is located at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory website.

Dr. Laura Mersini-Houghton is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill).

The hole is estimated to be almost one billion light-years across, where one light-year is about 9.5 trillion kilometers (5.9 trillion miles) and is located within the constellation Eridanus.

The Mersini-Houghton team states that the hole is another universe at the edge of our own universe. Such an explanation, if true, would be the first experimental evidence of such an exo-universe, or a universe outside of our own universe.

Several teams of astronomers have used data from the NASA Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to make examinations of this large hole. The hole first showed up in images of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, the radiation left over from the formation of the universe (what we call the big bang).

In images made by WMAP back in 2004, the volume of the hole showed up as being of a colder temperature than surrounding volumes of space because of less energy being ejected from the region.

The hole is not actually devoid of matter, only has far fewer galaxies and galactic clusters than normally found in a comparable volume of space. It is estimated that the hole has about 20 to 45% less galaxies than normal, which contributes to it being colder than other volumes of space.

Not knowing how far away the hole was located astronomers then began looking at the Sloan data to make comparisons with galaxies. They found that the hole was about 900 light-years across and about 8 billion light-years away. This hole is the largest one ever found, and is difficult to explain, with current models of the universe, as to why it exists. Standard cosmology theory says that such a large void in space is exceedingly unlikely.

Several teams have made claims at to the explanation for this hole. Some cosmologists say that large hole in space is a “topological defect,” a large knot in space.

The Mersini-Houghton team, however, says it is another universe at the edge of our own. They looked at string theory for the explanation. In string theory, 10500 universes (or string vacuums) are described, each with unique properties. They contend that the largeness of our universe is due to its vacuum counterbalancing gravity. This counter-gravity of the vacuum keeps our universe very large (rather than shrinking due to gravity)—larger than the other multitude of universes. The team says that smaller universes are positioned at the edge of our universe, and because of this interaction they are seen by us.

The team predicts that another giant void will eventually be found. The already found void is in the northern hemisphere. They contend another one will be found in the southern hemisphere.

Cosmologists are mixed as to the conclusions from the Mersini-Houghton team. Some call it very interesting, while others call it very speculative. Future tests will be made that will probably validate or reject their conclusion.

Source: ITWire

U.N.: Tasers Are A Form Of Torture

(CBS/AP) A United Nations committee said Friday that use of Taser weapons can be a form of torture, in violation of the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

Use of the electronic stun devices by police has been marked with a sudden rise in deaths - including four men in the United States and two in Canada within the last week.

Canadian authorities are taking a second look at them, and in the United States, there is a wave of demands to BAN them.

The U.N. Committee Against Torture referred Friday to the use of TaserX26 weapons which Portuguese police has acquired. An expert had testified to the committee that use of the weapons had “proven risks of harm or death.”

“The use of TaserX26 weapons, provoking extreme pain, constituted a form of torture, and that in certain cases it could also cause death, as shown by several reliable studies and by certain cases that had happened after practical use,” the committee said in a statement.

Tasers have become increasingly controversial in the United States, particularly after several notorious cases where their use by police to disable suspects was questioned as being excessive. Especially disturbing is the fact that six adults died after being tased by police in the span of a week.

Last Sunday, in Frederick, Md., a sheriff’s deputy trying to break up a late-night brawl tased 20-year-old Jarrel Grey. He died on the spot.

“I want to know what he did that was so bad,” the victim’s mother, Tanya James, said. “Did the deputy think that their life was in danger? Did he have a weapon?”

The death came just weeks after Frederick police used a Taser to subdue a high school student.

Black leaders held a rally Tuesday calling for the department to ban Tasers, at least until there is a clear policy on how they are used. The NAACP says it appears the sheriff’s office is using Tasers routinely, rather than as a weapon of last resort.

Also this week, in Jacksonville, Fla., in two separate cases two men died after being stunned.

One suspect, who fled a car crash and tried to break into a nearby home, struggled with a policeman, prompting the officer to tase him three times. The man continued to fight, and tried to bite the officer, while he was being tased. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Another man died Tuesday after a Jacksonville officer pulled over his car. When the officer approached it, the man took off running. When the officer caught up with him, during a struggle, authorities say the officer used his Taser to subdue the suspect.

After being placed in the back of the police car the suspect became unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Last Sunday, in New Mexico, 20-year-old Jesse Saenz died after Raton police used a Taser to subdue him. Police say Saenz was struggling and fighting with them as they attempted to take him into custody.

London’s Great Fire Monument to get new accordion-shaped neighbour

Christopher Wren’s Monument to The Great Fire Of London is to have a new neighbour.

Architect Ken Shuttleworth has obtained planning permission for a building resembling an accordion which will fold around the City square where the Monument has stood since 1677.

There will be a roof garden that will form a giant sundial, with Wren’s 202ft column acting as the gnomon, the pillar which creates a shadow on the dial, indicating the time across the landscaping.

Mr Shuttleworth said he wanted to “reinstate a more coherent plan of the square as envisaged by Wren”.

He added: “The building’s pleated facades will provide a striking motif to frame and reflect the Monument.”

The 10-storey building, being developed by Carlyle Group, will have a ground floor cafe with views of the Monument and 90,000 sq ft of offices.

The Grade I listed Monument is undergoing a £4.5million refit, which involves cleaning the stonework, regilding the orb, installing new lighting and improving the cage around the viewing platform. The column stands 202ft from where the 1666 Great Fire started in a bakery.

From the Daily Mail

Ancient sea scorpion was bigger than a human

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found the fossilised claw of a 2.5-metre (8-foot) sea scorpion, a nightmarish creature living before the age of dinosaurs.

The discovery of the 390-million-year-old specimen in a German quarry suggests prehistoric spiders, insects and crabs were much larger than previously thought, researchers at Bristol University said on Wednesday.

“This is an amazing discovery,” said university researcher Simon Braddy.

“We have known for some time that the fossil record yields monster millipedes, super-sized scorpions, colossal cockroaches, and jumbo dragonflies but we never realised, until now, just how big some of these ancient creepy-crawlies were.”

The find was described by Braddy and colleagues in the journal Biology Letters.

The claw of the sea scorpion Jaekelopterus rhenaniae measured 46 centimetres (18 inches) long, indicating the creature was half a metre longer than previous estimates of the ancient arthropods.

Just why prehistoric arthropods — creatures with external skeletons and segmented bodies — grew so large is unclear. Some scientists believe they may have become giants because of the higher levels of oxygen in the atmosphere in the past.

Another theory is that they evolved in an “arms race” alongside their likely prey, the early armoured fish.

The iPhone is Coming to the UK

Apple has announced the release date for the iPhone in the UK, as well as finally revealing which telecoms carrier will offer the handset.

After months of speculation Apple said today that O2, the mobile UK mobile phone operator owned by Spain’s Telefonica, would sell the 8GB handsets through Apple stores and the Carphone Warehouse for £269 from 9 November.

Buyers will have to sign up to an eighteen month contract, with a choice of three tariffs ranging between £35 and £55 per month. Subscribers will get unlimited anytime, anywhere mobile data usage, and free access to 7,500 wifi hotspots across the country.

“Our strategy at O2 is to bring our customers the best products and experiences”, said Matthew Key, chief executive O2 UK, said in a statement. “The iPhone is a breakthrough that is changing the way people use their mobiles forever, and we’re thrilled to have it exclusively for O2 customers in the UK”

The Quad-band handset has support for Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, as well as Edge and Bluetooth 2.0.

Source: IT Week

A Motto for the UK?

Rumours are abound that Gordon Brown and Downing Street are looking to chisel out a national motto for the UK.

Americans, Swedes, Samoans have a national motto, so why not the UK?

Mr Brown’s spokesman said he welcomed debate about a motto like France’s “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”.

But he said the prime minister was investigating a longer “statement of values” which could be used as part of any future “Bill of Rights”.

Mr Brown has urged a new relationship between government and citizens.

The Daily Mail reported that a five or six word motto could be emblazoned on every public building in Britain - and could even be included on UK passports and birth certificates to boost national pride.

What do you think, dear TeenToday readers? What sort of motto would you be proud to see on your passport?

Charles takes trip down memory lane with grandad’s motor

There was a link to his family’s past in store for Prince Charles when he made a rather remarkable discovery in Scotland this week. As he visited a garage in Ballater, Aberdeenshire, the heir to the throne was shown an ancient Land Rover which belonged to his late grandfather, King George VI.

Charles - in the town to visit local businesses with his wife the Duchess of Cornwall - closely inspected the vehicle, which has been sitting in the garage for the last 40 years. It was used by King George during the monarch’s stays at nearby Balmoral Castle.

“The Prince was very interested in it,” says garage owner Robert Pringle, who bought the car in 1966. “He was delighted.”

Though the Land Rover has fallen into disrepair since its royal transport heyday, Robert aims to restore it to its former glory. “We are planning to do it up,” he reveals. “It is a beautiful car and it still runs well.”

Source: hellomagazine

Rare Magna Carta to be Sold

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A rare 710-year-old copy of the Magna Carta valued at up to $30 million (14.9 million pounds) is due to be sold by The Perot Foundation at Sotheby’s in New York in December, the auction house said on Tuesday.

The Magna Carta established rights of the English people and curbed the power of the king. The U.S. Constitution includes ideas and phrases taken almost directly from the charter, which rebellious barons forced their oppressive King John to sign in 1215.

Sotheby’s said the Magna Carta was ratified and reissued with each monarch who succeeded John. It was enacted as law in 1297 by parliament when it was reissued by King Edward I. The copy to be sold is from 1297.

Sotheby’s said there are fewer than 20 copies of the Magna Carta and that this copy, which has been on display at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington D.C., is one of only two held outside of Britain. The other copy, also from 1297, is owned by the Australian government.

David Redden, Sotheby’s vice chairman, said the document “symbolizes mankind’s eternal quest for freedom; it is a talisman of liberty”.

Sotheby’s said The Perot Foundation, created by billionaire former U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot to make philanthropic grants, would use the money for its charities. The Foundation bought the Magna Carta in 1984.

Source: Reuters

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