Infiniumetal

Print Story - canada.com network

Print Story - canada.com network: "Iran eyes badges for Jews
Law would require non-Muslim insignia

Chris Wattie
National Post

Friday, May 19, 2006

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.
'This is reminiscent of the Holocaust,' said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. 'Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis.'
Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical 'standard Islamic garments.'
The law, which must still be approved by Iran's 'Supreme Guide' Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims.
Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.
'There's no reason to believe they won't pass this,' said Rabbi Hier. 'It will certainly pass unless there's some sort of international outcry over this.'
Bernie Farber, the chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said he was 'stunned' by the measure. 'We thought this had gone the way of the dodo bird, but clearly in Iran everything old and bad is new again,' he said. 'It's state-sponsored religious discrimination.'
Ali Behroozian, an Iranian exile living in Toronto, said the law could come into force as early as next year.
"

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Allergic to having allergies?

Although mast cells are found in connective tissue and basophils are a type of white blood cell, they have one thing in common to the allergy sufferer. They contain histamine, an important weapon in the body's arsenal for fighting infection. Unfortunately, when released into the body inappropriately or in too high a quantity, histamine is a potentially devastating substance. It takes between a week and 10 days of sensitizing exposure for the mast cells and basophils to become primed with IgE antibodies. Then, if the allergen comes along again, it triggers a destructive domino effect within the system called the allergic cascade. Whether it's a protein molecule on a ragweed pollen particle that has been inhaled, or the injected protei
n in the venom of a wasp, the same sequence of events takes place: <ul> <li>The IgE antibodies bound to the surfaces of basophils and mast cells recognize the protein surface markers of the allergen. <li>The IgE antibodies react by binding to the protein surface markers while remaining attached to the mast cells or basophils. <li>This binding alerts a group of special proteins called the complement complex that circulates in the blood. </li></li></li></ul> There are about 20 proteins in this family of proteins, at least nine of which are involved in the allergic-response mechanism. After the IgE antibody (which is already attached to a mast cell or basophil) encounters and binds to its specific allergen, the first complement protein attaches itself to the site. This alerts the next complement protein in the sequence, which joins and alerts the n
ext, and so on. When the string is complete, the offending cell is destroyed. This is fine in a normal immune system, as Ig antibodies latch onto surface markers of disease cells and cause their destruction. But in an allergic episode, the cells involved are mast cells and basophils.

When mast cells and basophils are destroyed, their stores of histamine and other allergy mediators are released into the surrounding tissues and blood. This causes dilation of surface blood vessels and a subsequent drop in blood pressure. The spaces between surrounding cells fill with fluid. Depending on the allergen or the part of the body involved, this brings on the various allergy symptoms, some of the most common being: Itching (body, eyes, nose), hives, sneezing, wheezing, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Adapted from http://health.howstuffworks.com/allergy2.htm
howstuffworks.com

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Alergic to allergies?

Allergic to having allergies?

Although mast cells are found in connective tissue and basophils are a type of white blood cell, they have one thing in common to the allergy sufferer. They contain histamine, an important weapon in the body's arsenal for fighting infection. Unfortunately, when released into the body inappropriately or in too high a quantity, histamine is a potentially devastating substance.

It takes between a week and 10 days of sensitizing exposure for the mast cells and basophils to become primed with IgE antibodies. Then, if the allergen comes along again, it triggers a destructive domino effect within the system called the allergic cascade.

Whether it's a protein molecule on a ragweed pollen particle that has been inhaled, or the injected protein in the venom of a wasp, the same sequence of events takes place:

The IgE antibodies bound to the surfaces of basophils and mast cells recognize the protein surface markers of the allergen.
The IgE antibodies react by binding to the protein surface markers while remaining attached to the mast cells or basophils.
This binding alerts a group of special proteins called the complement complex that circulates in the blood.

There are about 20 proteins in this family of proteins, at least nine of which are involved in the allergic-response mechanism. After the IgE antibody (which is already attached to a mast cell or basophil) encounters and binds to its specific allergen, the first complement protein attaches itself to the site. This alerts the next complement protein in the sequence, which joins and alerts the next, and so on. When the string is complete, the offending cell is destroyed. This is fine in a normal immune system, as Ig antibodies latch onto surface markers of disease cells and cause their destruction. But in an allergic episode, the cells involved are mast cells and basophils.

When mast cells and basophils are destroyed, their stores of histamine and other allergy mediators are released into the surrounding tissues and blood. This causes dilation of surface blood vessels and a subsequent drop in blood pressure. The spaces between surrounding cells fill with fluid. Depending on the allergen or the part of the body involved, this brings on the various allergy symptoms, some of the most common being: Itching (body, eyes, nose), hives, sneezing, wheezing, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Adapted from howstuffworks.com.

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Fwd: I. S. Wichman, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University

Please email support to Prof. I.Wichman at Wichman@msu.edu

and President of the University ...Pres.Lou Ann Simon at Presmail@msu.edu

Thanks and regards,

AC

From the Detroit Free Press, the text of Wichman's email:

Dear Moslem Association: As a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at MSU I intened to protest your protest.
I am offended not by cartoons, but by more mundane things like beheadings of civilians, cowardly attacks on public buildings, suicide murders, murders of Catholic priests (the latest in Turkey!), burnings of Christian chirches, the continued persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the imposition of Sharia law on non-Muslims, the rapes of Scandinavain girls and women (called "whores" in your culture), the murder of film directors in Holland, and the rioting and looting in Paris France.

This is what offends me, a soft-spoken person and academic, and many, many, many of my colleagues. I counsul you dissatisfied, agressive, brutal, and uncivilized slave-trading Moslems to be very aware of this as you proceed with your infantile "protests."

If you do not like the values of the West -- see the 1st Ammendment -- you are free to leave. I hope for God's sake that most of you choose that option. Please return to your ancestral homelands and build them up yourselves instead of troubling Americans.

Cordially, I. S. Wichman, Professor of Mechanical Engineering

And here are selections from the Free Press's story on the fallout:

An Islamic student group at Michigan State University demanded Monday that university officials publicly reprimand a professor whose Feb. 28 e-mail called on Muslims who don't "like the values of the West" to leave the United States.

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Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Coupe Explode on the Road

How secure is a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Coupe? Check this movie... the explosion happend yesterday. (Don't bother watching it with sound it's in romanian and sounds annoying.)

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Online Poker Rigged?

Something I've suspected for sometime, but Richard Marcus makes the allegations in his book, Dirty Poker. He goes in depth about online poker sites, how their random card generation isn't so random in order to promote more betting. More betting = more $ to the site

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The most addictive free game: Battle for Wesnoth

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BestBuy using illegal software

a software company is suing the best buy chain for breaking it's copyright protection and using the software illegally, they also are making some hefty demands be completed in 20 days.

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Pictures of world's thinnest mobile phone

Samsung's new X828 is the world's thinnest phone. At 6.9mm thin it's just half the thickness of a RAZR, yet still packs a 2 megapixel camera, and much more.

more images....http://www.slashphone.com/102/4076.html

http://www.slashphone.com/news/uploads/4076/samsung_x828_03.jpg

http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/12/samsungs-tristar-x828-6-9-mm-thin-champ/

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Catch 'Lost' 'Alias' Online a Day Later - With Unskippable Ads

Yesterday, Disney announced details of the plan. Beginning in May, the company will begin a two-month trial that will make four popular shows from its ABC network — "Desperate Housewives," "Lost," "Commander in Chief" and "Alias" — available for free viewing online the day after they are broadcast.

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University BANS all P2P Traffic

UConn (University of Connecticut) Information Technology Services says it's going to in effect ban all p2p file sharing programs, except DC++.

http://torrentfreak.com/university-bans-p2p-apps/

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Apple to bring back colorful enclosures?

When Apple Computer introduces its new line of Intel-based consumer notebooks this spring, the company may once again offer buyers a fashionable option it phased out of its iMac product line 5 years ago.

http://appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1667

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Genuine random numbers, generated by radioactive decay

Given knowledge of the algorithm used to create the numbers and its internal state, you can predict all the numbers returned by subsequent calls to the algorithm, whereas with genuinely random numbers, knowledge of one number or an arbitrarily long sequence of numbers is of no use whatsoever in predicting the next number to be generated.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/hotbits/

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Up-to-date web portal from infiniumetal

Google DNA

An analysis of Google's business structure that argues that the company's unique organizational structure gives it the flexibility to consistently transform to meet any challenge the globe can offer.....

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2006/id20060411_490873.htm?campaign_id=bier_inna

MIT discover the secret behind nature's medicine

MIT scientists have just learned another lesson from nature. After years of wondering how organisms managed to create self-medications, such as anti-fungal agents, chemists have discovered the simple secret........

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/drennan-chemistry.html

Now Showing: Declining Sales at Theater Snack Bars
As more people decide to stay away from movie houses, the drop in attendance is being felt by makers of food for concession stands.....

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-concessions18mar18,1,1654689.story

Coming Soon: Google Voice Search

Google's latest patent issued today by the US Patent and Trademark Office covers a "Voice interface for a search engine."........

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060411-6577.html

Regrow your own parts--salamanders can do it--why can't humans?

Stem cell therapy has long captured the limelight as a way to the goal of regenerative medicine, that of repairing the body with its own natural systems. But a few scientists, working in a relatively obscure field, believe another path to regenerative medicine may be as likely to succeed.........

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/health/11regen.html?ex=1302408000&en=45ea05ad0c39ef49&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Larger than life...This is a great series of sculptures

Ron Mueck is an Australian hyper-realist sculptor who creates gargantuan-sized sculptures that capture details of the human body so well that they're hard to believe. Mueck is a master at capturing human expression and recreating the detail of muscles, skin, fat and bones that we are all made of. Also - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Mueck.......

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2005/12/29/GA2005122900888_metaRefresher.htm?startat=1

Soduku used as a bait for adaware downloads.

It's common practice for hackers to attempt to trick users into visiting maliciously constructed websites by offering either warez or smut. These pages are designed to exploit various software vulnerabilities in order to install malware onto victims' machines...........

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/10/yazzlesoduko/

Why a spider hangs from a thread and does not rotate.

"The extraordinary properties of spider's thread are like a blessing for researchers working on polymers. However, the amazing twisting properties it displays are still not very well understood.".............

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060404201844.htm

Apple downloads will be availible on airplanes.

Companies that make in-flight entertainment systems for airliners are trying to get Apple to let them host iTunes on aircraft. They want passengers to burn their frequent flier miles on downloads. Thales and Panasonic are definitely interested...........

http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2006/04/10/Navigation/177/205915/Apple+talks+to+airline+in-flight+entertainment+developers+to+bring+iTunes+to.html

nanoparticles are effective in killing cancer.

Research studies, based at the University of Pennsylvania, demonstrate that biodegradable nano-particles containing two potent cancer-fighting drugs are effective in killing human breast tumors...............

http://physorg.com/news63902953.html

A weird look at some of the most important numbers in mathematics.

i dugg this out of the BBC archives. "Hear about the stark reality behind the imaginary number, try a slice of pi, find out about the natural beauty of the golden ratio, discover why some infinities are bigger than others, and see why nothing really matters."...........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/5numbers.shtml

Next toyota prius will hit 113 miles per gallon.

Apparently the next Toyota Prius will get an insane 113 mpg. It's going to use lithium batteries instead of nickel and will accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in under 10 seconds, compared to 11 for the current model...........

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/04/10/next-prius-to-offer-113-mpg/

3d chocolate printer made from lego's.........

http://www.instructables.com/ex/i/961360D260131028A786001143E7E506/

LED construction signs hacked

Someone, or a group of someone's in or around the University of Toronto has figured out how to hack the construction signs and is using them to display anti-car messages: "Don't Drive" and "Take Your SUV Back to Detroit"...........

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/31/1/

Discovery of nti-freeze gene may be a boon for crops

Australian scientists have discovered an "anti-freeze gene" that allows Antarctic grass to survive at minus 30 Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), saying it could prevent multi-million-dollar crop losses from frost.........

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-04-10T094642Z_01_SYD291568_RTRUKOC_0_US-SCIENCE-AUSTRALIA-GENE.xml

The .EU landrush fiasco

The .EU landrush fiasco. A bumbling registry allows Europe's very own domain name to be highjacked! From Bob Parsons blog, CEO and founder of GoDaddy.com...........

http://bobparsons.com/EULandrushFiasco.html

Nanotech Raises Worker-Safety Questions (No one knows the consequences)

No state or federal worker-protection rules address the specific risks of nanomaterials, even though many laboratory and animal studies have shown that nano-size particles -- those on the order of a millionth of a millimeter -- spur peculiar biological reactions and can be far more toxic than larger granules of the same chemicals........

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/07/AR2006040701725.html?sub=AR

water drops bounce into action.

What happens if you let a drop of water fall gently onto a water-repelling surface? Physicists in France and the Netherlands who tried the experiment were surprised by what they saw. They found that a violent, ultra-fine jet of water emerges from the drop, moving at up to 40 times the drop's initial impact speed.............

http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/10/4/4/1

Explanations of Phi: The golden ratio

Shapes proportioned according to the golden ratio have long been considered aesthetically pleasing in Western cultures, and the golden ratio is still used frequently in art and design, suggesting a natural balance between symmetry and asymmetry........

http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~pbourke/other/phi/

Most lucrative collage degrees in 2006

Engineers are still tops in this 2006 CNN Money survey. Liberal arts majors are still starving...

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/13/pf/college/starting_salaries/index.htm

Registry edits for windows xp

This site contains 383 registry tweaks/vbs scripts for windows XP. Includes removing/deleting sticky keys, setting RDP port number, tons of modifications to start menu behavior, and about 380 more (But be careful some of these changes are not reversible and can damage your computer if used inappropriately)...........

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Google Buys Search Algorithm Invented by Israeli Student

Google recently acquired an advanced text search algorithm invented by an Israeli student. Yahoo and Microsoft were also negotiating....

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/703798.html

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