Sharks Wary of Drunk Serbs

Dragan Stevic of Serbia is the new Egyptian hero who killed a large shark which had previously terrorized numerous tourists (injured 4 and killed 1) at the famous Egyptian resort Sarm El Sheikh.

The Serbian hero was too drunk to remember what had happened, though one of his friends who witnessed the incident explained it all for the Belgrade based media.
Dragan Stevic was dubbed by the Egyptian media as "Shark El Sheikh" and thanked him for saving their tourist season.

Milovan Ubirapa, one of Stevic’s friend who witnessed the incident explained that Dragan had decided to go to the beach for a swim after a long night of drinking. As Dragan and his friends approached the beach, he saw a fairly high positioned jumping board utilized earlier in the day by divers.

more

China Matches U.S. Space Launches for First Time

By David Axe

Outwardly, it looked like just another big space launch – and those happen about once a week, from spaceports all around the world. But Friday’s blast-off of a rocket, carrying a Chinese GPS-style navigation satellite, from the Xi Chang Satellite Launch Center was different. It set a record for successful Chinese launches in one year: 15. The launch represented another important milestone. For the first time since the chilliest days of the Cold War, another country has matched the U.S. in sheer number of rocket launches.

To some observers, the rapid acceleration of the Chinese space program is perfectly reasonable, even expected. With nearly 20 percent of the world’s population and the planet’s second-biggest economy by some measures, it stands to reason that China would join other advanced, spacefaring nations — and on a grander scale. But more cautious (or alarmist, depending on your point of view) China-watchers question Beijing’s motives … and warn of potentially dire consequences if China comes to dominate the heavens.

more

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

"A man born out of due season, an anachronism, a throwback to the Tartars of the steppes, a fierce elemental force of a man. With his military genius and his ruthless determination, in a different age he might well have been a Genghis Khan, conquering empires."

Every time I post a story about a Turkish hero kicking ass for the crescent moon, I can generally come into the office Monday expecting a series of emails from my legions of faithful Turkish readers reminding me, "Yes, this guy is very cool, but you're still missing the biggest badass in our country's history so WTF is up with that shit."

"The biggest badass in Turkish history" no small claim for a land that produced a few centuries of uber-powerful, harem-packing sultans who commanded vast amounts of wealth and flexed nuts over even more massive swaths of land, yet it still appears that despite the excellent pedigree of ass-whomping awesomeness going down in Anatolia, one man stands alone as the unequivocal national hero – Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. An, asskicking whirlwind of leadership who is almost universally beloved by his people and respected by his enemies. A guy who made a name for himself by crushing his battle opponents' balls with over-the-top displays of hardcore bayonet-to-face destruction on the battlefield, yet still somehow found a way to end up being honored by the United Nations for promoting "world peace, international understanding, and respect for human rights." A man so unapproachably hardcore that it's actually illegal to publicly insult him in his home country, assuming the locals don't kick your ass into a paste and you somehow survive to see your trial.

more 

6 Near Death Experiences Caught on Video

By: Robert Brockway

YouTube has given us a lot of things: vlogs, Fred, one billion parody videos of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" starring adorable kittens instead of saucy black ladies. And now, finally, it's given us something to make up for all of that horrible, horrible bullshit: The ability to watch people nearly die from the safety of our own Cheeto-stained ergonomic office chairs. I'm not talking about hillbilly fireworks accidents or teenage skateboard shenanigans, either; I'm talking about very real, extremely terrifying and possibly bowel-exploding, first-person POV accounts that chronicle what it's really like to survive the scariest disasters possible. You can experience all of it -- the thrills, the adventure, the adrenalin -- and you don't even have to put on pants! In fact, you probably shouldn't (See: Bowel Explosion, above.)

more

Ancient humans, dubbed 'Denisovans', interbred with us

By Pallab Ghosh

Scientists say an entirely separate type of human identified from bones in Siberia co-existed and interbred with our own species.

The ancient humans have been dubbed Denisovans after the caves in Siberia where their remains were found.

There is also evidence that this group was widespread in Eurasia.

A study in Nature journal shows that Denisovans co-existed with Neanderthals and interbred with our species - perhaps around 50,000 years ago.

An international group of researchers sequenced a complete genome from one of the ancient hominins (human-like creatures), based on nuclear DNA extracted from a finger bone.

more

Most Expensive Signatures in the World

Signature could be worth millions when written by a man who stays popular and famous even death or alive . Here’s a list of 5 most expensive signatures in the world.

more

Christmas Truce at the World War I Front

Though World War I had been raging for only four months, it was already proving to be one of the bloodiest wars in history. Soldiers on both sides were trapped in trenches, exposed to the cold and wet winter weather, covered in mud, and extremely careful of sniper shots. Machines guns had proven their worth in war, bringing new meaning to the word "slaughter."

In a place where bloodshed was nearly commonplace and mud and the enemy were fought with equal vigor, something surprising occurred on the front for Christmas in 1914. The men who lay shivering in the trenches embraced the Christmas spirit. In one of the truest acts of goodwill toward men, soldiers from both sides in the southern portion of the Ypres Salient set aside their weapons and hatred, if only temporarily, and met in No Man's Land.

more

Chili Parlor's Capitol Challenge: Binge for the cure

by John Kelso, Commentary

If you're not doing anything Wednesday afternoon around 3 and you want to see something a bit disturbing, or at least messy, drop by the Texas Chili Parlor at 1409 Lavaca St. for the Capitol Challenge.

Big eaters who can pound down about 6½ pounds of food shaped like the Capitol in 40 minutes — four hot dogs and six burgers covered with chili and cheese — get a $35 gift certificate, a commemorative "I took down the Capitol!" T-shirt, a photo of themselves on the restaurant's "Wall of Honor," and a lifetime supply of Beano.

Just kidding about the Beano. But it is true that people who enter have to sign a waiver that says,"I freely and by my own admission know this is not a smart thing to do."

"It's just a big old plate of food," said Scott "Zoob" Zublin, the Chili Parlor's owner.

A big old plate of food. Maybe that's why only three guys have committed so far: Jorge Rodriguez, the Chili Parlor's prep cook (maybe they bribed him with a raise); Carl the cabbie ("If any of our customers get a little inebriated, we call Carl," Zoob said); and Will Holmes, a bartender at the Elephant Room. A Chili Parlor regular known as Big Wayne backed out.

"He's got a sore tooth," Zoob said. Then again, maybe he's just smart.

more

The World's Biggest Cave

National Geographic presents The World’s Biggest Cave, a TV special that gives us a close-up look at Son Doong, a huge recently-discovered underground labyrinth in Vietnam.

In 2009, a team of British cavers investigated a recently uncovered cave in a remote Vietnamese jungle. The Son Doong cave is enormous; can it be larger than the current world-record holder? The explorers traveled for miles through the cave before hitting a 46-foot-high wall. Now, follow the team as they return to Son Doong to finish exploring the cave and climb the wall. Will Son Doong prove to be the worlds biggest cave? And what secrets are undiscovered inside this unique ecosystem?

more 

How to View Tonight's Total Lunar Eclipse

BY EarthSky.org

There is a lunar eclipse on December 20 or 21 – depending on your time zone. See below for the date in your location. This December solstice eclipse is also the northernmost total lunar eclipse for several centuries.

There won’t be a total lunar eclipse this far north on the sky’s dome until December 21, 2485.

That’s because this eclipse is happening almost simultaneously with the December solstice – which in 2010 occurs on December 21 – when the sun will be southernmost for this year. Remember, a totally eclipsed full moon has to lie exactly opposite the sun. The winter sun rides low to the south now, as it crosses the sky each day. So this December full moon is far to the north on the sky’s dome. It rides high in the sky – much like the June solstice sun.

Remember, it’s the same eclipse – happening in the same magical moments – for all of us. But our clocks will say different times.

more

Amazing Spectacle: Total Lunar Eclipse Monday Night

By Joe Rao

For a few hours tonight, the upcoming full moon -- the first total lunar eclipse in nearly three years -- will also take place on the same date as the winter solstice (if you live north of the equator), an event that hasn't happened in almost 500 years.

So break out the flashlights. Because when a full lunar eclipse takes place on the shortest day of the year, North America may just get awfully dark.

But if the weather is clear, favorably placed skywatchers will have a view of one of nature's most beautiful spectacles.

Unlike a total eclipse of the sun, which is only visible to those in the path of totality, eclipses of the moon can usually be observed from one's own backyard. The passage of the moon through the Earth's shadow is equally visible from all places within the hemisphere where the moon is above the horizon.

The total phase of the upcoming event will be visible across all of North and South America, as well as the northern and western part of Europe, and a small part of northeast Asia, including Korea and much of Japan. Totality will also be visible in its entirety from the North Island of New Zealand and Hawaii — a potential viewing audience of about 1.5 billion people.

more

Invisible Children

FULL HERE

Living Among Graves: the Metaphor and the Reality

by Brad Zellar

Camden , New Jersey, where Walt Whitman is buried, is the poorest and most dangerous city in the United States. Chris Hedges has a dispatch in The Nation that paints an almost unbelievably dystopic portrait of a place that few Americans would recognize or ever visit. It’s a tough read, and you’d be hard pressed to find in Hedges’ story a single kernel of any version of the American dream. Joe Sacco’s accompanying illustrations would not look out of place in his graphic novels set in Palestine or Bosnia.

Once a booming city of 120,000 and industrial power that employed 36,000 in its shipyards, today Camden’s population has shrunk to 70,390. The high school dropout rate is 70 percent, Hedges reports, and unemployment is somewhere in the range of 30-40 percent. Hundreds of the homeless live in elaborate encampments, and open air drug markets represent one of the city’s few viable businesses. Despite such grim facts, Hedges writes, “The city is planning $28 million in draconian budget cuts, with officials talking about cutting 25 percent from every department, including layoffs of nearly half the police force. The proposed slashing of the public library budget by almost two-thirds has left the viability of the library system in doubt.”

more

Amelia Earhart May Have Survived Months as Castaway

The famous pilot and her navigator may have eaten turtles, fish and bird to survive on a remote island after making an emergency landing.

By Rossella Lorenzi

Amelia Earhart, the legendary pilot who disappeared 73 years ago while flying over the Pacific Ocean in a record attempt to fly around the world at the equator, may have survived several weeks, or even months as a castaway on a remote South Pacific island, according to preliminary results of a two-week expedition on the tiny coral atoll believed to be her final resting place.

"There is evidence on the island suggesting that a castaway was there for weeks and possibly months," Ric Gillespie, executive director of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), told Discovery News.

more 

HACK ATTACK

TIRED of being threatened and bullied by makers of anti-virus software, your correspondent tried a little experiment several months ago. He decided to remove the various third-party firewall and anti-malware packages on a particular Windows machine in his office, and let it rely solely on the house-brand of security software (Microsoft Security Essentials) and what little added protection the broadband router afforded.

Barely a day had gone by without some report from Symantec, McAfee, BitDefender, Trend Micro, Kaspersky or some other security firm warning of the dangers that lurked out there in the online wild—and why the only solution was to buy a subscription (typically $20-60 a year) to the anti-virus suite being touted. Even your correspondent’s existing programs got in on the act. At least once a day, one or other of them would pop up with an alert boasting about the number of viruses, worms, Trojans, keyloggers, rootkits, spyware, hijackers or other nasties they had just saved you from.

more 

Genetic Basis of Brain Diseases

ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2010) — Scientists have isolated a set of proteins that accounts for over 130 brain diseases, including diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, epilepsies and forms of autism and learning disability. The team showed that the protein machinery has changed relatively little during evolution, suggesting that the behaviors governed by and the diseases associated with these proteins have not changed significantly over many millions of years. The findings open several new paths toward tackling these diseases.

In research published Dec. 19, the researchers studied human brain samples to isolate a set of proteins that accounts for over 130 brain diseases. The paper also shows an intriguing link between diseases and the evolution of the human brain.

more

Shu Qi Naked, Latest Female Starlet in Edison Chen Sex Scandal Photos

 

Just some explosive braking news about Edison Chen sex scandal. Rumors said Edison took instructions by “someone” to take sex photos. Then “they” can use those photos to threaten girls when necessary for negotiation power (like taking part in shows, movies, etc) that will benefit that party. The question is who is that “someone”? Click on pictures to enlarge.
Edison was suspected of arranging for the pictures to be distributed with his permission by a PC repair technician. And this may have justify his fear of being prosecuted by police in Hong Kong, and may be the reason he tried to cut a deal with police and prosecutors before returning to Hong Kong.

Actress Shu Qi（舒淇）attended the events held by Swarovski and gave a press statement to reveal plan on the defamation suit against the Hong Kong weekly magazine company over the Edison nude photos sex scandal.

Utterly Weird Ways to Bring Anime into Your Real Life

Touch Something Real With The Anna Mae Realdoll

For the ultimate immersion in anime lust, try the Anna Mae Realdoll. Personally, this one really creeps me out. It's one thing to have a crush on a cartoon girl. It's even not that bad to have a very real looking blow up doll. But, to cross the two is just too much and those breasts are terrifying. Whatever floats your boat, but please keep that lake water far, far away from me.

Love Your Anime With The Aiko Love Doll With Removable Vagina

When you can't afford the realistic love of Anna Mae, a regular anime blow up doll is a good second choice. This Aiko love doll has a removable, washable pocket vagina...sexy.

The Year in Pictures

The year brought stories of great tragedy both in the United States and the world. The gulf oil spill put New Orleans through devastation it had not seen since the hurricane. In Haiti, a massive earthquake made an already bad situation for those who live there even worse.

A street vendor tries to keep the crowd from stealing her goods in Port-au-Prince on January 24, 2010. Police in the Haitian capital counted their losses and gathered their forces today, preparing for a surge in crime they are certain will follow the devastating January 12 earthquake.

Pakistani flood survivors try to catch food bags from an army helicopter in Lal Pir on August 7, 2010. Pakistan raced to evacuate families threatened with fresh floods, as heavy rains worsened the disaster, with up to 15 million people affected.

Chilean miner Osman Araya is welcomed by his wife Angelica as he comes out of the Fenix capsule after been brought to the surface on October 13, 2010 following a 10-week ordeal in the collapsed San Jose mine, near Copiapo, 800 km north of Santiago, Chile. Araya was the sixth from the 33 trapped miners to be lifted from underground.

GALLERY HERE

Stuxnet 'virus' could be altered to attack US facilities, report warns

Stuxnet 'virus,' a cyberweapon aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities, could be redirected to launch a broad attack on US basic services, such as water and power supplies, says a report to Congress.

By Mark Clayton

Stuxnet, a computer worm that hit and may have severely damaged Iranian nuclear facilities, is the type of cyberweapon that could broadly harm the United States, undermining both society and government ability to defend the nation, says a strongly worded report to Congress.

A successful broad-based attack on the US, using new variants of the Stuxnet weapon, could do enough widespread damage to critical infrastructure – including water, power, transportation, and other services – that it "threatens to cause harm to many activities deemed critical to the basic functioning of modern society," said the little-noticed report issued by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) Dec. 9.

more