Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S


Attention

'Killer' Wasps Menace State Department

As if the insurgency in Iraq and the fight against terrorism wasn't enough, U.S. diplomats are now struggling with a new threat: menacing "killer" wasps that have infested areas around the State Department's headquarters.

Mail

What's al-Qaeda's take on the iPhone?

In-depth analysis In a fortnight during which just about everyone on the planet, excluding naturally those in a coma or temporarily indisposed up some tributary of the Amazon, has offered their two bits' worth on the launch of Apple's iPhone, it comes as a bit of a surprise that al-Qaeda has dismally failed to contribute to the brouhaha.

Bizarro Earth

Fashion Alert: UK judges abandon traditional wig and gown in civil cases

Judges are to end centuries of tradition and abandon the wearing of wigs and gowns in hundreds of civil and family cases.

The decision to abolish the 300-year-old horsehair headgear, along with wing collars and bands, was announced yesterday by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers.

However, in a compromise ending one of the most hotly disputed legal debates of recent years, judges sitting in criminal courts will continue to wear their wigs.

And solicitor-advocates, who have long fought for parity with barristers, will be allowed to wear the same traditional costume that is the hallmark of the Bar. The issue of what judges and advocates should wear has split the profession and been the subject of several lengthy consultation exercises.

Star

Rock star back at university again after 33 gap years

Brian May, the multimillionaire guitarist who founded the rock group Queen, has finally completed the PhD in astrophysics that he abandoned more than 30 years ago.

The 59-year-old composer of hits such as Fat Bottomed Girls and We Will Rock You turned his back on the stars for international fame with Freddie Mercury and his band. His thesis on interplanetary dust clouds lay gathering dust of its own in the attic of his home in Surrey.

May's interest in the subject was rekindled last year when he co-authored a children's science book with the astronomer Sir Patrick Moore. He discovered that remarkably little research had been done in the intervening 33 years.

He dug out his old handwritten notes and spent nine months conducting further research at Imperial College, London, where he had studied before Queen hit the big time.

Key

Best of the Web: Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress Truth - Must Read Survival Guide

Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down or damage a government, religion, or corporation.

Where the crime involves a conspiracy, or a conspiracy to cover up the crime, there will invariably be a disinformation campaign launched against those seeking to uncover and expose the truth and/or the conspiracy.

When these type of entities lack an effective, fact-based offense or defense, Propaganda Techniques for Truth Suppression are employed.

The specific tactics which disinfo artists tend to apply are revealed here. Also included with this material are seven common traits of the disinfo artist which may also prove useful in identifying players and motives.

The more a particular party fits the traits and is guilty of following the rules, the more likely they are a professional disinfo artist with a vested motive. People can be bought, threatened, or blackmailed into providing disinformation, so even "good guys" can be suspect in many cases.

The success of these techniques, Built upon Thirteen Techniques for Truth Suppression by David Martin, depends heavily upon a cooperative compliant press, an inept and token opposition force, and how naive, frightened, and apathetic the general public is.

Beware of what and who you trust.

Know and understand what these Propaganda Techniques for Truth Suppression are, and how they can be used against (to destroy / damage) and for (to support) any issue or point of view- or you.

Remember, most of the information in the Information Age, is false--(what you think you know, just ain't so).

Heart

World's tallest man gets hitched

BEIJING - The world's tallest man married a woman who's two-thirds his height and half his age, holding a traditional Mongolian ceremony Thursday with great fanfare at the tomb of Kublai Khan.

©AP
The world's tallest man, Bao Xishun, who stands 2.36 metres (7 feet 9 inches), waves at guests and members of the Chinese media as he stands with his bride at his public wedding ceremony at the tomb of Kublai

Magic Wand

Money Found in Toilets Across Japan

TOKYO - Envelopes containing 10,000 yen ($82) bills and well-wishing notes have been discovered in municipal toilets across Japan, media reports said, baffling civil servants and triggering a nationwide hunt.

Wine

Queen Storms Out of Celeb Photo Shoot

LONDON - Annie Leibovitz received an icy stare and a stern response when she asked Queen Elizabeth II to remove her crown for an official portrait.

Magic Wand

Chinese city offers bounty for dead flies

A Chinese city is offering to buy dead flies from residents to promote public hygiene.

Officials in the Xigong district of Luoyang city are offering the equivalent of 3p for each dead fly, reports Henan Business News.

"We think giving people money will be more effective than fining them to keep the city clean," says Hu Guisheng, administrative director of Xigong district.

Hu says that in only one day, his office has collected more than 2,000 dead flies in six communities, and paid out more than £65.

Bizarro Earth

Unusual robbery disguise: Bandit's as thick as a plank

If you're going to rob a bank, it's not a bad idea to wear a disguise.

A balaclava will probably do the trick. So too, a pair of stockings slipped over the head. You might even get away with painting your face like a clown.

James Coldwell, 49, decided to go against the grain when he strolled into the Elm Street branch of the Citizens Bank in Manchester, New Hampshire, in the United States on Saturday morning, police say.

"Right after the bank opened a subject walked into the bank with tree branches and leaves duct-taped all over his body," Detective Sergeant William Davies told the Herald.