Club 30's "Kill the Boredom Demon" Jive Pad 155th Edition
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Originally posted by SBS2601D:
Dragged feet to work.
In other news....
Five-year-old boy accidentally kills sister with his own rifle
NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - A 2-year-old girl was accidentally shot and killed by her 5-year-old brother with a rifle he received as a birthday gift, Kentucky authorities said on Wednesday.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday afternoon in Burkesville, Kentucky, a community in the south-central part of the state, when the boy was playing with the .22-caliber rifle and accidentally shot his sister in the chest, state police said.
The boy had received the Crickett "youth model" gun for his birthday in November, Cumberland County Coroner Gary White said. White said these guns have child safety locks, but "evidently when the gun was put up, there was a live round in it."
He said no one realized the gun, which was kept in a corner, was loaded until the fatal gunshot.
White said the children's mother was home cleaning the house at the time of the shooting.
"She had just come out of the kitchen and went to the porch to throw out some grease from the skillet," White said.
Kentucky State Trooper Billy Gregory said police were investigating and it was "a little early" to talk about possible charges in connection with the shooting.
White called the shooting "a tragic accident."
"I've been the county coroner for 15 years and I think this is the first time I've had a case like this," White said. "I'm hoping that parents will realize that if you have kids, you need to put the guns out of harm's way."
*****
Seriously? Rife? Birthday??
Sigh.... damn rednecks.
What will the NRA say now? The only way to stop a bad kid with a gun is by having a good kid with a gun?
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Frankly the NRA arguments are moronic
Therer are so many countries with a gun ban and you with much lower crime rates than USA
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This reminds me...... I remember reading about how increased gun control can dramatically reduce the rate of successful suicides.
When you think about it, it makes sense. If someone wants to die by sticking their heads in the oven or tossing themselves into Bedok Reservoir, it takes effort to do it. It takes time for the gas to build up, and it takes time and effort to take the bus to the reservoir..... all sufficient time and opportunity for the would-be suicidal fella to reconsider his decision.
Also, there would still be a chance for intervention. A neighbour could smell the gas, call 999, and have the police break in. A certified lifeguard could jump in and perform CPR on a drowning victim. Not all suicide attempts lead directly to death.
In the case of firearms, though, it's a different story. One headshot, and that's it. No time to reconsider your actions once the bullet leaves the barrel. The paramedics can't shove your brain matter back in in order to resuscitate you, either.
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morning folks
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TGIF~~
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Morning ppl
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ytd nite was funny... As if some unspoken gathering of feasting...
I went to this kopitiam and ordered a fish head steamboat and 2 plates of rice. The person brought 2 pair of utensils but I told her I'm eating alone and she was so shocked...
Shortly after that another person came and sat down on another table nearby, he ordered 3 different types of prawn and 2 plates of rice, but was also eating by himself (god save him from cholestrol please -___-)
I tot he was already wierd when another person came alone and ordered curry fish head and 3 plates of vege all by himselves... -___-
I think ytd the poor staff must have a shock after working that night
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On the topic of food....
A looming shortage of phosphate threatens global food security
The world faces a dangerous shortage of phosphate, which could slash global crop yields and send food prices soaring within a generation if nothing is done to control its use in chemical fertilisers, according to two of Australia’s leading sustainability researchers.
The use of phosphate rock as a fertiliser has significantly boosted crop yields in the past 50 years and it will become increasingly important as the world’s population grows and living standards rise.
But without action and at current increasing rates of consumption, global supplies of phosphate will likely peak this century, possibly in as little as 20 years, say University of Technology, Sydney researchers at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, Dr Dana Cordell and Professor Stuart White.
The looming shortage has been described by some experts as the next peak oil or the new “inconvenient truth”, a reference to former US Vice President Al Gore’s 2006 documentary about climate change.
Dr Cordell and Professor White, who last year won a prestigious Eureka Prize for Environmental Research for their phosphate work, warn there is virtually no management of phosphate supplies by any national or international agency to ensure their long-term availability. Inefficient farming practises and food waste, among other things, have exacerbated the pressure on existing supplies, they say.
Australia, which is the fifth-largest consumer of phosphate fertiliser in the world, is in a particularly precarious position, says Dr Cordell: it is completely addicted to phosphate but imports about half of its supply from overseas.
“While we have naturally phosphorus-deficient soils, the food we grow and export is phosphorus-intensive and feeds about 60 to 70 million people, mostly in the Asia Pacific region,” she says. “What that means is we need a lot of phosphorus. Even if we recycle 100 per cent of it, it would nowhere near meet our demand.
“We might need to rethink the profiles of our agriculture and export industries in the future, which is not an easy thing to do.”
Phosphorus is an element found in the earth’s crust and in all living things. It is needed for plant growth and basic human functions – it’s in human cell walls and helps transport energy to the brain. Without it, animals can’t be fed, food can’t be produced and life on earth can’t survive.
“Phosphorus is an essential element, an essential building block for all life,” says Dr Cordell.
“A world without phosphorus is like a world without oxygen, or carbon or water – life wouldn’t exist as we know it.”
The two researchers began looking at global phosphorus stocks in 2005 and soon realised there was no co-ordinated management of them. In 2008, they pulled together a small group of researchers with an interest in phosphorus to form the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative (GPRI).
The standard of the group's science and the urgency of its concerns prompted Nobel Prize laureate Professor Paul Crutzen, who first drew the world's attention to ozone depletion, to become the GPRI's first ambassador.
Made up of researchers from Australia, Sweden, Canada and the Netherlands, the GPRI is researching the key issues underpinning the rapid depletion of phosphorus stocks as well as establishing sustainable phosphorus management guidelines.
These include controlling phosphate use, says Professor White. “Improving crop productivity with less phosphorus input, helping people to change their diets and produce less food waste, and developing recycling initiatives to recover and reuse phosphorus will all reduce the risks associated with a dependence on increasing imports,” he says.
An estimated 80 per cent of the phosphorus mined for food production is wasted throughout the food production and consumption chain.
The world got a glimpse of how serious a major phosphate shortage could be in 2008 when increased agricultural demand and limited supplies of phosphate rock sent the price soaring 800 per cent to a peak of $US430 a tonne. The average US dollar price that year was four times that of 2004. Phosphate is now trading at about $US185 a tonne but that is still well above the pre-peak level of $US50 a tonne.
Dr Cordell and Professor White are confidant the looming shortage can be solved. Solutions include recovering phosphorus from all organic sources such as human excrement, food waste, crop waste, manure and possibly even algae. Phosphorus can also be used much more efficiently, for example, ensuring it is not lost along the way from mine to field through leaks and spillages. Changes in human diet would also make a difference – less meat and more fruit, vegetables and grains.
“The very actions that we would take to improve agriculture, change dietary habits, improve soils, will positively impact the phosphorus issue,” says Professor White. “But they will also improve agricultural water use, greenhouse gas emissions – every single one of those is correlated. In almost every circumstance, you do something for one, you improve the other.”
*****Shared this on my fb last night.
Apparently we have been flushing phosphurus into the oceans without realising what it would mean for us next time.
And when you think about it, this is far far scarier than nuclear proliferation, FT in SG, or even global warming.
And yet nobody has taken notice yet.
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
ytd nite was funny... As if some unspoken gathering of feasting...
I went to this kopitiam and ordered a fish head steamboat and 2 plates of rice. The person brought 2 pair of utensils but I told her I'm eating alone and she was so shocked...
Shortly after that another person came and sat down on another table nearby, he ordered 3 different types of prawn and 2 plates of rice, but was also eating by himself (god save him from cholestrol please -___-)
I tot he was already wierd when another person came alone and ordered curry fish head and 3 plates of vege all by himselves... -___-
I think ytd the poor staff must have a shock after working that night
I think it's the table
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Originally posted by SBS2601D:
On the topic of food....
A looming shortage of phosphate threatens global food security
The world faces a dangerous shortage of phosphate, which could slash global crop yields and send food prices soaring within a generation if nothing is done to control its use in chemical fertilisers, according to two of Australia’s leading sustainability researchers.
The use of phosphate rock as a fertiliser has significantly boosted crop yields in the past 50 years and it will become increasingly important as the world’s population grows and living standards rise.
But without action and at current increasing rates of consumption, global supplies of phosphate will likely peak this century, possibly in as little as 20 years, say University of Technology, Sydney researchers at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, Dr Dana Cordell and Professor Stuart White.
The looming shortage has been described by some experts as the next peak oil or the new “inconvenient truth”, a reference to former US Vice President Al Gore’s 2006 documentary about climate change.
Dr Cordell and Professor White, who last year won a prestigious Eureka Prize for Environmental Research for their phosphate work, warn there is virtually no management of phosphate supplies by any national or international agency to ensure their long-term availability. Inefficient farming practises and food waste, among other things, have exacerbated the pressure on existing supplies, they say.
Australia, which is the fifth-largest consumer of phosphate fertiliser in the world, is in a particularly precarious position, says Dr Cordell: it is completely addicted to phosphate but imports about half of its supply from overseas.
“While we have naturally phosphorus-deficient soils, the food we grow and export is phosphorus-intensive and feeds about 60 to 70 million people, mostly in the Asia Pacific region,” she says. “What that means is we need a lot of phosphorus. Even if we recycle 100 per cent of it, it would nowhere near meet our demand.
“We might need to rethink the profiles of our agriculture and export industries in the future, which is not an easy thing to do.”
Phosphorus is an element found in the earth’s crust and in all living things. It is needed for plant growth and basic human functions – it’s in human cell walls and helps transport energy to the brain. Without it, animals can’t be fed, food can’t be produced and life on earth can’t survive.
“Phosphorus is an essential element, an essential building block for all life,” says Dr Cordell.
“A world without phosphorus is like a world without oxygen, or carbon or water – life wouldn’t exist as we know it.”
The two researchers began looking at global phosphorus stocks in 2005 and soon realised there was no co-ordinated management of them. In 2008, they pulled together a small group of researchers with an interest in phosphorus to form the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative (GPRI).
The standard of the group's science and the urgency of its concerns prompted Nobel Prize laureate Professor Paul Crutzen, who first drew the world's attention to ozone depletion, to become the GPRI's first ambassador.
Made up of researchers from Australia, Sweden, Canada and the Netherlands, the GPRI is researching the key issues underpinning the rapid depletion of phosphorus stocks as well as establishing sustainable phosphorus management guidelines.
These include controlling phosphate use, says Professor White. “Improving crop productivity with less phosphorus input, helping people to change their diets and produce less food waste, and developing recycling initiatives to recover and reuse phosphorus will all reduce the risks associated with a dependence on increasing imports,” he says.
An estimated 80 per cent of the phosphorus mined for food production is wasted throughout the food production and consumption chain.
The world got a glimpse of how serious a major phosphate shortage could be in 2008 when increased agricultural demand and limited supplies of phosphate rock sent the price soaring 800 per cent to a peak of $US430 a tonne. The average US dollar price that year was four times that of 2004. Phosphate is now trading at about $US185 a tonne but that is still well above the pre-peak level of $US50 a tonne.
Dr Cordell and Professor White are confidant the looming shortage can be solved. Solutions include recovering phosphorus from all organic sources such as human excrement, food waste, crop waste, manure and possibly even algae. Phosphorus can also be used much more efficiently, for example, ensuring it is not lost along the way from mine to field through leaks and spillages. Changes in human diet would also make a difference – less meat and more fruit, vegetables and grains.
“The very actions that we would take to improve agriculture, change dietary habits, improve soils, will positively impact the phosphorus issue,” says Professor White. “But they will also improve agricultural water use, greenhouse gas emissions – every single one of those is correlated. In almost every circumstance, you do something for one, you improve the other.”
*****Shared this on my fb last night.
Apparently we have been flushing phosphurus into the oceans without realising what it would mean for us next time.
And when you think about it, this is far far scarier than nuclear proliferation, FT in SG, or even global warming.
And yet nobody has taken notice yet.
Thing is, many ppl in the world does not care a hoot as long as they receive food on their table...Same goes for energy matters as well... The internet is burning energy like no body business... The countless amount of electricity being used to cool servers thruout the world is atonishing... Not sure if I have the data on hand...
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
Thing is, many ppl in the world does not care a hoot as long as they receive food on their table...Same goes for energy matters as well... The internet is burning energy like no body business... The countless amount of electricity being used to cool servers thruout the world is atonishing... Not sure if I have the data on hand...
I think I'll be dead before I see the effects
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Originally posted by elindra:
I think I'll be dead before I see the effects
Well yeah >___> This is wat most ppl think anyway... -
Originally posted by elindra:
I think I'll be dead before I see the effects
The most scary thing is that this problem will surface before we die for sure unless we stop flushing the phosphates into the sea.
67% of this resource (phosphate) was mined in just three countries - China (35%), the USA (17%) and Morocco and Western Sahara (15%). China has now restricted, and the USA has stopped, exports of phosphate.
****
This is a VERY inconvenient truth that somehow escaped newspaper headlines.
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You might want to read about phosphate mining on the Pacific island nation of Nauru.
They grew rich and fat (quite literally) when they mined the stuff like nobody's business. Practically everyone was involved in the phosphate mining industry, and nothing else.
Now that their phosphate resource is running out, their country is in serious, serious trouble.
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Originally posted by SBS2601D:
The most scary thing is that this problem will surface before we die for sure unless we stop flushing the phosphates into the sea.
67% of this resource (phosphate) was mined in just three countries - China (35%), the USA (17%) and Morocco and Western Sahara (15%). China has now restricted, and the USA has stopped, exports of phosphate.
****
This is a VERY inconvenient truth that somehow escaped newspaper headlines.
This is a VERY inconvenient truth that somehow escaped newspaper headlines.
Newspaper only includes article that the general mass likes to see... This is a fact that is everywhere -__-
Some news might be important but they will seldom get to appear on newspaper, instead, they will appear on special newletters for the various interest groups instead...
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Originally posted by fudgester:
You might want to read about phosphate mining on the Pacific island nation of Nauru.
They grew rich and fat (quite literally) when they mined the stuff like nobody's business. Practically everyone was involved in the phosphate mining industry, and nothing else.
Now that their phosphate resource is running out, their country is in serious, serious trouble.
The age-old resource curse.......
You might also find this relevant for yourself, at least then:
One reason why its only now that someone told us that phosphate is running out was because the scientific community blocked studies on it.
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
Newspaper only includes article that the general mass likes to see... This is a fact that is everywhere -__-
Some news might be important but they will seldom get to appear on newspaper, instead, they will appear on special newletters for the various interest groups instead...
Best example is the clearing of the Amazon Forest and the tragic effects on the various damming projects they are setting up
No word though. Only on special interest publications -
morning. was up early today...struggling to keep my eyes open
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can't believe this is still alive
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
ytd nite was funny... As if some unspoken gathering of feasting...
I went to this kopitiam and ordered a fish head steamboat and 2 plates of rice. The person brought 2 pair of utensils but I told her I'm eating alone and she was so shocked...
Shortly after that another person came and sat down on another table nearby, he ordered 3 different types of prawn and 2 plates of rice, but was also eating by himself (god save him from cholestrol please -___-)
I tot he was already wierd when another person came alone and ordered curry fish head and 3 plates of vege all by himselves... -___-
I think ytd the poor staff must have a shock after working that night
why u all spoil the market??!!!!u eat alone outside..they will surely chop your heads by giving u less prawns n rice since u all eating for one!u should all instead tapau back and read a paper like as if there is a list ordered by many people like its for an entire family or party!that way the shop will give u enough for an army....think u all not streetwise in spore.
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Originally posted by kopiosatu:
can't believe this is still alive
i cant believe you're here too!!!
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Good morning.
BN has all but won the general elections, and accusations of fraud have been flying around.
The most intriguing accusation was the one where the opposition was in the lead until a power blackout suddenly hit many polling stations. After power was restored, BN was suddenly in the lead.
Of course, it could all just be a coincidence, but I must say that the blackout was just too..... convenient.
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On the other hand, I wouldn't count on Anwar winning...
That guy isn't much better than BN.
Msian politics makes SG's look fantastic.
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There are parallels between their politics and ours.
For one thing, BN narrowly lost the popular vote yesterday but still retained a parliamentary majority. In our system, the contrast is even more stark: winning 60% of the vote could still make the ruling party gain the vast majority of parliamentary seats.
Also, the BN appears to be less popular with urbanites and the younger populace..... which is pretty much the case here with the MIW.
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In other news:
I can agree that a degree is not everything, but I still find it pretty irresponsible for a minister to say that it is not vital for success.
This was especially more so as he had been responding to a guy who asked if the government could help set aside more university places for ITE and poly graduates.
So all this talk about the need for skills upgrading is for what?