H์ilarious Newspaper Clippings

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To Maintain Kingdom of Thailand OR To Change to Republic of Thailand?

It is not easy to see any way out from the present impasse in Thailand, which has seen successive governments at the mercy of mob rule while the security forces have failed to do their duty.

Much of the international press and media has romanticized the events in Bangkok as some kind of grassroots democracy at work, in which the poor rural masses have come to Bangkok to confront the cruel ruling classes. This is utter nonsense. Thailand is being torn apart by gangs of hoodlums masquerading as democrats and pretending they are embarked on the pure quest for fresh elections. Mobs of "red shirts," proclaiming allegiance to exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, are in command of a glitzy hotel and shopping district close to Bangkok's main financial area.

There is big money backing the red shirts, with large numbers of demonstrators being paid 1,000 baht a day, five times the agricultural wage, and their leaders having recourse to the comforts of five-star hotels. The red shirts have also shown good planning and organization and the support of modern weaponry. Some Red leaders have said they are going to wage "war" against the government.

If it is war against the government, this is not democracy. It means that the only democracy the demonstrators will accept is theirs. A BBC correspondent in Bangkok claimed that Thaksin had "empowered the poor." Other Western commentators have painted Thaksin as some democratic hero turfed out of office by military thugs acting on behalf of Thailand's elite vested interests.

William Pesek of Bloomberg astutely noted that Thaksin's "economic policies, dubbed 'Thaksinomics,' were never more than Tammany Hall-like doling out of cash for support." Thaksin certainly had some good ideas, like providing money for poor farmers and trying to establish cheap health coverage, but they were mostly borrowed from previous leaders and spoiled by corruption and the bigger pursuit of vote-buying.

Any civilized government would find it impossible to accept what the red shirts are doing. The mobs move in convoys, randomly blocking all traffic, and storm Parliament, threatening to lynch the prime minister, then go to his house and throw excrement and threaten to kill him. When authorities move in to disperse them, they fire rocket grenades and snipers use laser guidance to pick off officers.

There is no easy way out for Thailand because almost every potential leader has been compromised. Thai politicians have long been thought to be as corrupt as those anywhere in the world. But hitherto the conservative bureaucracy and business elite could be relied upon to see that the country ran relatively smoothly, with backstop from the military if necessary and a cautionary word from King Bhumipol Adulyadej if things really got out of hand.

But when it came to the crunch, the military failed. They ousted Thaksin when he was at the United Nations in September 2006, and then showed that they lacked the imagination and intelligence to run the complex, developing country that Thailand has become. They further disgraced themselves by failing to take action against the previous royalist "yellow shirt" demonstrators even when they took over Bangkok's international airport.....

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Kiki, The Icon Of Hope In The Rubble

Sometimes we need a picture like this to remind us, not only how fragile our life can be, but how we should never, never give up on life, on hope, on each other, on ourself too easily...see his smile?

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I Think Google is Watching Me

Google has a long history of tracking user activity, and the introduction of its Chrome operating system later this year is sure to follow suit.

Google personalized Web search--Google's bread and butter business is its search engine, and its personalized search is a way to put a face on the data. When you're signed in with your Google account you can opt in to having your Web history tracked; Google archives all of the sites you've clicked on from search results, as well as what time of day you clicked on them.
For those who are not signed in, the company uses identifiers like cookies and IP addresses. But when you're signed in it can actually aggregate that data no matter what computer you're on. With a system-level log-in, it could theoretically do this no matter what browser you're using, giving Google a far richer set of data.

Chrome browser--When Chrome was first released, Google got in some hot water over its terms of service, which stated that Google had the rights to license any content that went through the browser. It quickly backtracked on the claim, citing that the terms heavily borrowed from other Google products and that it didn't make sense for Chrome. This would have given Google licensing control over things like user photos, videos, and words.
The one area where Google's Chrome can still access some of that information is with its reports system. This is an opt-in program for users to provide Google with crash reports and detailed information about what features they're using. Google has said this does not include any information from form fields, or from users' Google accounts. However, it does track what sites and search terms you've entered into the address bar.

Gmail--Google's Web mail service was one of the first Web mail services to provide contextual advertising, meaning it actually goes through your e-mail messages to give you advertisements that match up with a conversation you're having. Did you mention skiing in that last e-mail? Don't be surprised if you start seeing ads for local lift tickets or a new pair of ski boots.

Google Checkout--Checkout is Google's online payment service. It lets customers pay for items using credit cards or bank accounts that are tied to their Google credentials. As far as collecting information goes, Google holds all of a customer's financial information on its servers including name, address, and account numbers. It also tracks how quickly they type in that information when making purchases, which account they used to pay for the good, and what that good was, giving the company a broad overview of a particular customer's purchasing habits.

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Improve Your Eyesight with Games

Doctors may start prescribing a dose of violent conflict, if a trial confirms evidence that computer gaming improves eyesight.

Six years ago Daphne Bavelier at the University of Rochester, New York, exploded the myth that gaming is bad for your eyes by showing that expert gamers outperform non-gamers at a variety of visual tasks. Now she has demonstrated that playing action-packed video games improves a person's ability to perceive contrast, a skill we rely on in dark conditions.

The finding raises the prospect that people with amblyopia, sometimes known as "lazy eye", could be treated with games.

Bavelier's team randomly assigned 13 healthy young adults, who did not previously play video games, to play either action games like the first-person shooter Unreal Tournament or more sedate titles such as The Sims for 50 hours over nine weeks.

Tests before and after showed that the contrast perception of both groups improved - the action-game group improved by 43% and 11% in the other group. The effect persisted for months, even when people didn't play games at all.

The study is the first indication that contrast sensitivity can be altered without corrective lenses or surgery, says Bavelier. Her work has inspired Dennis Levi and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, to begin a trial to see whether gaming can help people with amblyopia.

Bavelier's results show gaming's potential for clinical treatment, says Lotfi Merabet, a neuroscientist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who uses games for visual rehabilitation. He predicts gaming will become increasingly common as a clinical tool.


Via New Scientist

Gay Ducks Give an Extinction to Their Own Species

Keepers at a bird sanctuary in West Sussex hoped that the last remaining female Blue Duck in the country - called Cherry - might mate with either of the drakes, Ben or Jerry.

But neither male duck appeared interested and are now inseparable at the Arundel Wetland Centre, leaving Cherry to her own devices.

Centre warden Paul Stevens said he was disappointed that efforts to produce new Blue Duck offspring had failed but said the two male birds made "a lovely couple".

"They stay together all the time, parading up and down their enclosure and whistling to each other as a male might do with a female he wants to mate with," he said.

"People who visit the centre think they're a fantastic couple, without really coming around to the idea that they are two males.

"They both have very big personalities and people come from all over the country to come and see them.

Cherry doesn't seem bothered by it, she's just happy to keep herself to herself."

Blue ducks originate from New Zealand but there were thought to be just three birds in the UK.

Keepers initially introduced Ben to Cherry, but neither seemed keen. They then brought Jerry down from a sanctuary in London.

Mr Stevens said: "Cherry showed some interest in him. She displayed typical mating behaviour - she approached him and called to him, she even looked like she was nesting.

"We thought it was great and it was all going to happen but nothing ever did."

Mr Stevens said the male ducks were then placed in the same enclosure: "To our surprise the two males really took to each other and it was obvious that they really liked each other.

"It would have been nice to get a last clutch of eggs from Cherry but Ben and Jerry do make a lovely couple."

Via The Telegraph

The Act of Total Selflessness

Local heroine Emily, the smokin' hot neighbor lady from across the street, reportedly went above and beyond the call of duty Monday by selflessly changing her clothes within full view of her bedroom window.

Sources said the humble woman—whose last name remains a mystery as no one has yet summoned the courage to speak to her—did not accept any praise for her heroic act, nor did she mention her altruistic stripping to anyone afterward. But her sacrifice that evening will not soon be forgotten, as her fearless nakedness inspired dozens of passersby and saved the neighborhood from a debilitating drought of T&A sightings.

"I never thought I'd see this day," said Juan Ramirez, 23, one of countless local residents who said they owed the gallant Emily more than they could ever repay. "You could see everything. Everything. Thank God she happened to be there, naked."

"She is a true example of just how generous a human being can be," said Jim Petersen, 32, who lives two houses down from his new idol. "I think I speak for everyone huddled here tonight when I say I'll never forget what that benevolent woman did for us."

"I didn't think we'd ever see all that pain and suffering alleviated, but God bless her, she did it," said Riordan, closing his eyes to remember the triumphant moment all over again.

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Cow Urine, Anyone?

India's Hindu nationalist movement is currently developing a new soft drink made from cow urine. Yes, you heard it right! It is planned to be launched by the end of this year. "Don't worry, it won't smell like urine and will be tasty too...Its USP will be that it's going to be very healthy. It won't be like carbonated drinks and would be devoid of any toxins," said Department head Om Prakash.

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The Bridget Jones Effect

Psychologists say keeping a diary can make you happier.

"Writing seems to help the brain regulate emotion unintentionally. Whether it's writing things down in a diary, writing bad poetry, or making up song lyrics that should never be played on the radio, it seems to help people emotionally,"

"Men seemed to benefit from writing about their feelings more than women, and writing by hand had a bigger effect than typing."

"Men tend to show greater benefits and that is a bit counterintuitive. But the reason might be that women more freely put their feelings into words, so this is less of a novel experience for them. For men it's more of a novelty."

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Bukowski's Twin Separated at Birth?!

I have developed some love and respect for Bukowski since a decade ago...but had been clueless about his twin!

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Japan Pledges To Halt Production Of Weirdo Porn That Makes People Puke

TOKYO—Acknowledging its embarrassment over worldwide outbreaks of violent, uncontrolled regurgitation, the Japanese government apologized Wednesday to the millions of viewers who have been sickened over the past three decades by the revolting depravity of the nation's pornographic exports.

The response came after leaders of the world's 20 largest economies signed an accord threatening sanctions against Japan if international distribution of the nauseating materials did not immediately cease.

"We honestly had no idea people did not enjoy this stuff," said Cultural Affairs Minister Kazuhiro Nakai, expressing regret for the thousands of hours of bondage porn, rape porn, utensil-rape porn, food-rape porn, frozen-food-rape porn, vomit-enema porn, elder-care-coma-patient-rape porn, and the kind of a porn in which a nubile youth is kidnapped, stripped, tied down in a wading pool and raped. "We are deeply ashamed for whatever it is about these films that has made people around the world vomit so vigorously. Please know that the content was only intended to entertain and arouse."

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Why We Cheat...?

Dan Ariely is a people hacker. A professor of behavioral economics at Duke University and MIT as well as director of MIT's Center for Advanced Hindsight, Ariely deconstructs human behavior to find the hidden ways we deceive ourselves about the things we do and to construct better ways of resolving some of life's issues.

"... we cheat up to the level that we would find it comfortable [to still feel good about ourselves]. "

"...As we deal with things that are more distant [from] money, the easier it is to cheat and not to think of yourself as a bad person."

"I really think that people have good moral standards, but it's just the case that you don't go around all day asking yourself am I moral. And when you don't ask yourself am I moral, you can do all kinds of little things that don't seem to be engaging your moral compass."

"You see somebody behaving in a bit more extreme way, and you adopt that way. If you stopped and thought about [what you were doing] it would be clear it was crazy, but at the moment you just accept that social standard."

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