Washed It!

German geologists Thursday said they have discovered in India one of the world’s rarest rocks, dating back to the birth of the planet when the Earth was covered with a hot ocean of melted stone.

The fragment from the primeval crust is only the second ever discovered, said scientists at the University of Muenster.

The ancient magma formed more than 4 billion years ago as the planet slowly cooled in the Hadean period. The fragment, found in Orissa state, yields answers about what the Earth was like in those times.

The find was detailed in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

The only other piece of early magma, which was located in Canada, has been dated at 4.3 billion years old.

Normally, old rock is sucked back into the ground by the churning of tectonic movement and melted again, but the finds show some pieces of the old crust still exist.

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Mention the word carbon fiber and mountain bikes in the same sentence and you will rarely fail to get a reaction. It not only looks cool, but is light and flexible, while remaining stiff and supportive. It is the holy grail of building materials.

The new Cannondale Rush Carbon 4 is a new bike, built on existing ideas, and is right now, the cheapest carbon full susser around. Take a good look at it though and you would never think of the word cheap. There is an aura of sleekness and quality about the build, and close inspection shows that this is a bike made well indeed. The long fluid lines that wrap sinuously around the head tube and flow all the way to the bottom bracket fools the eye into thinking this frame was grown rather than made.

The first word that popped into my head when riding this bike was ‘friendly’. The frame digs in and bobs only slightly when applying the power, getting you off to a flying start. The lightness is felt almost immediately you get yourself comfortable and start turning corners. The Fox Float RL32 front end is reassuring steady as it absorbs anything I throw at it. The rear Fox Float RP2 shock too seems unflappable even with the Pro Pedal lever switched on.

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The ride is superb, the cockpit dimensions are spot on, the controls are smooth but firm and the overall effect is one of overwhelming confidence.
the balance is excellent, although the low bottom bracket may give you a few nasty pedal clatters until you get used to it.

The only negative I could find in my time with the bike is the flex in the back end. The carbon swingarm had a little too much flex for my liking, and an unhealthy sway too, which ended up loosening the shock bolt enough that trackside repairs were needed. Any sideways angles at all made the bike flex and bend a little too noticeably and certainly takes some getting used to. If any other bike did that you would be stopping to make sure your wheels were on tight!

For a the price, this is a great (mostly) carbon bike. It feels solid and treasuring once you get used to the vagaries of the carbon fiber. The running gear is well chosen and sits well with the frame. It’s easy for a bad running gear choice to show when using such a light frame, but the gear on the Rush 4 is top notch.

Anyone in the market for a full-suss mountain bike, who fancies a piece of carbon pie could do much worse than the Cannondale. The front end ride is sharp and precise, the equipment is excellent and the suspension is dialled in perfectly. The whole package is only slightly undermined by that rear end flex. Once that little niggle has been ironed out this is going to be a class leader.

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Experts agree that at least fifty five percent of communication is through body language alone. Be aware though that women give off more messages through body language than men, but can read men much better. Be conscious of your own body language when talking to her as she may be seeing more than you think. This is something that is worth training yourself out of if you intend on playing the game for a while. It would give you the advantage if she is kept guessing.

Women, especially those who don’t really know what they want from one minute to the next can give off mixed signals. An older, more self aware woman will be far more informative in her body language. She may even use it to her own advantage!

The most common way women use to flirt using their body is to preen. Playing with her hair, tossing it or sliding it away from her eyes or face or checking her nails. A favourite trick is to do something with lipstick. The image of lips does something to a man, and women know it.

A slow crossing or uncrossing of legs is a classic flirt gesture. Any adjustment of clothing in a opening or loosening movement is a sign of definite interest. Just try not to stare too obviously!

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If chatting to a woman over drinks, stroking a glass, teasing condensation or ice is a sign she is also teasing you. This is a message that she may have plans for you if you are a good boy! If you don’t do it naturally (which you probably will) open your legs slightly as if unconsciously, this is the return signal for ‘bring it on’.

Mirroring is a classic body language tool to gain intimacy between you. The theory is that people like people like themselves. Therefore mirroring advertises that you may be just like her. Be careful with your timing though. If she leans forward, pause before you do the same. Keep the timings random and it won’t look like you’re doing it on purpose.

Check where she is pointing. for some reason we point to people we like. Don’t just look at her hands though because chances are she will have them under control. Look at the feet and legs. If they are pointing in your direction, then you may be in with a chance.

Blinking is for the ‘body language adept’ among you. We unconsciously blink more when we like someone and the size of our pupils increase. You can increase the effect you are having by speeding up your blink rate slightly. If she matches the increased pace then she likes you.

Body language is one of the most effective ways of communicating your intentions and feelings in a non verbal, therefore, non-confrontational way. This gives you the edge and saves embarrassment if you can gauge your chances before you even speak to her

Identity is formed in relation to both internal and external influences. It is partly what we are, and feel inside and also partly how we are influenced, viewed and constrained by culture and society. Identity isn’t fixed and can be changed and adjusted in many ways. Some we choose ourselves, and others thrust upon us by external influences. Similarly, race and ethnicity are also fluid, altering as people’s perceptions change.

A quote from Henry Louis Gates in the course material is an ideal example of this;

‘My grandfather was coloured, my father was negro, and I am black.’

This illustrates that attitudes and ideas on what being ‘black’ meant have changed since the 1970’s. What it meant varied depending on what the prevailing attitude towards the group was. When being black meant being part of an African or Caribbean ethnic group, the identities of the people in that group were fairly certain. As the term became more wide ranging to include South Asians and Asians, it became less certain. Gradually being black meant something completely different, therefore altering the feeling of identity for black people.

The rights of others to dictate what ethnic or racial group a person belongs to has been a problem area for many years. It was traditionally the established and dominant group which decided what the other groups were or were not. This power balance shifted in more recent time as the different groups all began to exercise their own power.

As the example of the ‘Black is beautiful’ campaign illustrates, identity isn’t fixed and can be changed with a concerted effort to improve the social standing of the subject group. This is a good example of how race and ethnicity impacts identities. The black community worked to improve their social standing with the Black Power campaign, eventually altering their identity. By doing this they also took some of the power away from the dominant white group to decide on the definitions and meanings of the different ethnic groups and their standing in society.

As part of identity is a relationship between what you are a part of, and what you are different from, this change in attitude towards black people also affected the other ethnic groups, especially the white population. Once secure in the knowledge that everyone who wasn’t white was black, and therefore inferior, people were suddenly on shifting ground. With their certainties shaken, the white majorities own identities were changed. For your own identity to be certain you need to know where you are in relation to others. If the identities of others shift then it inevitably affects your own, as the marker you compare yourself to has changed.

These changes have made life more complicated for all ethnic groups. No longer just black or white, there is now a plethora of races and ethnicities to contend with. The power has shifted away from the majority white group to every other racial and ethnic group. Political correctness has also had a hand in this, as white people are often unsure of what to call other racial or ethnic groups for fear of being called racist. Because of institutional racism there appears to be positive discrimination, and preferential treatment to other racial groups. Police training has a specific class, where cadets are taught to treat racial and ethnic groups that aren’t white preferentially, as they may have a negative view of the police. This just adds to confusion and inequality of different kinds of people’s identities.

A quote from Stuart Hall in the course notes sums it up nicely.

‘I never called myself black because no one in the Caribbean was then. I’ve come home to an identity I was never allowed to settle for; discovering I’ve become something I was all the time; a black intellectual, a migrant… People who are 68 should feel the ground solid under their feet. But I’m not surprised it feels shifting… More and more people feel life this way.

This complication of ethnic and racial identities has made it more difficult for all racial ranges to feel secure in their identities. No longer are there just whites and blacks, but more social groups than ever before. This empowerment has in turn allowed all ethnic groups more agency over how they create their own identities. Once severely constrained by racism and strict social boundaries, there is certainly more freedom of expression for all groups.

Well that’s the name of the next model phone from HTC anyway. The next incarnation of the iPhone’s closest rival was unveiled yesterday and it looks a beauty!

Although the heart of the phone runs Android, HTC have added a layer which they call ‘Sense’. HTC themselves say it adds “an intuitive and seamless experience for users”. Checking the phone out shows that the Sense layer does add some functionality and character to the UI and is a cinch to use, although it is a little similar to TouchFlo.

The phone itself is sleek and slim at only 112 x 56 x 14 mm is size with a 3.2” TFT LCD with a resolution of 320×480 taking up most of the real estate. There is also an odd looking 15 degree curve on the lower part of the phone, which HTC advises makes it ideal for holding. Well I don’t have much trouble holding a phone without the neat little bend in it so I’ll take their word on that one!

The handset also sports a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus, trackball, GPS, WiFi and all the usual expansion ports. It doesn’t come with built in memory but a quick SD upgrade will take care of that. It also has a full size 3.5mm headphone jack which will allow proper headphones to be used when listening to music. A nice little touch. WiFi is 802.11b/g or up to 7.2mbs though HSDPA 3G if the carrier supports it. The phone is also quad band GSM enabled so can be used anywhere in the world where there is coverage.

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The one available at launch looked good, with a silver frame around the screen and a white Teflon coated back that will purportedly protect it from most disasters. While not earth shattering, it should improve the longevity of the phone for those millions of us that walk around with them in our pockets.

The onscreen keyboard is quick and probably one of the best around, even without the little simulated bounce when you touch a key. Despite having no actual keyboard, typing was easy enough to do on the screen, easily matching the Nokia N87 or the iPhone 3g. Overall the interface was fairly quick and easy to use. It has a profile setting that you can split between ‘home’ and ‘work’. Both will show the applications relevant to each phase. This is quite a clever idea and will make dividing the two just a tiny bit easier.

One of the biggest marketing features being lauded around the launch is the native Flash support. This will allow YouTube and the like to be played natively on the screen.

It will eventually be available in seven colors, white, black, yellow, pink, gold, red and turquoise and will be released in Europe in July and later in the year in the US, just in time to compete with the 3G S.

Joe Sports Fan needed more questions for his podcast a few weeks ago and I thought that it would be fun to re-cast the movie “Major League” with current Major League baseball players. He thought it was a good idea and may touch on it in a future podcast. I started brainstorming ideas about who would play each character and thought it deserved its own post. Here is the player-by-player re-casting of the movie “Major League.” (I had to thrown in other sports figures for the female characters).

Jake Taylor – This character needs to be played by a catcher who is on his last legs, but is enjoying a nice season. I choose Jason Varitek since he seemed washed-up last year and it playing great this season. He is also the captain, which Taylor certainly was in “Major League.”

Rick Vaughn – I know what you’re thinking, he should be John Rocker. That would have been the answer about 7-8 years ago, but we need a current baseball player to play “Wild Thing.” I think Joba Chamberlain is a great fit to play Rick Vaughn. He was arrested for a DUI, so he has the sketchy criminal past. He is pretty wild on occassion, especially his celebratory fist pumps.

Roger Dorn – Dorn’s character has to be a guy who has made a lot of money during his career and is just out there for endorsements and maybe some road-tail. He has to play 3rd base, so I’m going with Alex Rodriguez, although A-Rod would probably be the one that would try and sleep with a player’s wife, not the other way around.

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Willie “Mays” Hayes – My early vote would have gone to Torii Hunter, since Mays had a great glove and made a few nice catches in center. I couldn’t do it, ’cause Hunter is a 5-tool player and Hayes couldn’t hit well and possibly floated around in the minors awahile. I have to go with Joey Gathright since Mays would probably put up YouTube videos of himself jumping over things too. Gathright isn’t known for his bat, but if he hits grounders, I’m sure he could leg out a few infield singles.

Eddie Harris – Harris was the old-timer that used Vagisil, among other foreign substances, to get movement on the ball. He probably threw a 75mph fastball. This pick was easy, Jamie Moyer is the unanimous choice. He is in his later 40’s and hasn’t see 90 on the radar gun since he married Digger Phelps’ daughter.

Pedro Cerrano – Cerrano prayed to the voodoo gods to help him hit a curveball. He had crazy power, but he was a little crazy. Milton Bradley is the perfect player, although the voodoo religion ties are unfounded. I could see Bradley using bat-warmers and lighting gunpower to awake his bat.

Coach Lou Brown – Brown was a lifer coaching in the minors and came up to coach the Indians. I think he is a smarter coach than he portrayed in the movie. I assume that he was one of the first coaches to use VORP and BBIP to revise his daily line-up of characters. I’m going to throw a curveball here and say that Trey Hillman, the coach of the Kansas City Royals. Hillman coached all over before he was given the shot at the Royals. He is known as a smart guy and a little of a hardass.

Rachel Phelps – She was the ex-showgirl that received the Indians when the owner died. He wanted the team to tank so she could move the team to Miami. I thought long and hard about this and think that Monica Seles would fit the role of Phelps. Seles has been dating the owner of the Buffalo Sabres for awhile and think that she may be in it for the long haul. If he kicks the bucket, Seles could be in line to own a small-market sports franchise.

Lynn Wells – Wells was the character that ended up with Jake Taylor at the end. She clearly has a thing for baseball players, possibly a fetish. I would like Alyssa Milano to play the role of Lynn Wells. Milano has dated many players and she is a huge fan. This could also help the eye-candy factor for the movie.

Harry Doyle – Doyle was the play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Indians. He was played by Bob Uecker and he did a fantastic job. I would like to see Uecker reprise his role, since he was still the play-by-play guy for the Milwaukee Brewers.

That was my re-casting of the movie “Major League.” It was the 20th anniversary of the movie’s release on Monday. The Cleveland Indians gaveaway a Rick Vaughn bobblehead and had Bob Uecker throw out the first pitch. The pitch was “just a bit outside.”

Allegations of abuse and neglect at a US detention facility in Afghanistan have been uncovered by the BBC.

Former detainees have alleged they were beaten, deprived of sleep and threatened with dogs at the Bagram military base.

The BBC interviewed 27 former inmates of Bagram around the country over a period of two months.

The Pentagon has denied the charges and insisted that all inmates in the facility are treated humanely.

All the men were asked the same questions and they were all interviewed in isolation.

Ill-treatment

They were held at various times between 2002 and 2008. They were all accused of belonging to or helping al-Qaeda or the Taliban.

None were charged with any offence or put on trial – some even received apologies when they were released.

Just two of the detainees said they had been treated well.

Many allegations of ill-treatment appear repeatedly in the interviews: physical abuse, the use of stress positions, excessive heat or cold, unbearably loud noise, being forced to remove clothes in front of female soldiers.

In four cases detainees were threatened with death at gunpoint.

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“They did things that you would not do against animals let alone to humans,” said one inmate known as Dr Khandan.

“They poured cold water on you in winter and hot water in summer. They used dogs against us. They put a pistol or a gun to your head and threatened you with death,” he said.

“They put some kind of medicine in the juice or water to make you sleepless and then they would interrogate you.”

The findings were shown to the Pentagon.

Lt Col Mark Wright, a spokesman for the US Secretary of Defence, insisted that conditions at Bagram “meet international standards for care and custody”.

Col Wright said the US defence department has a policy of treating detainees humanely.

“There have been well-documented instances where that policy was not followed, and service members have been held accountable for their actions in those cases,” he said.

‘Legal black hole’

Bagram has held thousands of people over the last eight years and a new detention centre is currently under construction at the camp.

Some of the inmates are forcibly taken there from abroad, especially Pakistanis and at least two Britons.

Since coming to office US President Barack Obama has banned the use of torture and ordered a review of policy on detainees, which is expected to report next month.

But unlike its detainees at the US naval facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the prisoners at Bagram have no access to lawyers and they cannot challenge their detention.

The inmates at Bagram are being kept in “a legal black-hole, without access to lawyers or courts”, according to Tina Foster, executive director of the International Justice Network, a legal support group representing four detainees.

She is pursuing legal action that, if successful, would grant detainees at Bagram the same rights as those still being held at Guantanamo Bay.

But the Obama administration is trying to block the move.

Last year, the US Supreme Court ruled that detainees at Guantanamo should be given legal rights.

Speaking on the presidential campaign trail, Barack Obama applauded the ruling: “The court’s decision is a rejection of the Bush administration’s attempt to create a legal black hole at Guantanamo.

“This is an important step toward re-establishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law, and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus.”

Ms Foster accuses the new administration of abandoning that position and “using the same arguments as the Bush White House”.

In its legal submissions, the US justice department argues that because Afghanistan is an active combat zone it is not possible to conduct rigorous inquiries into individual cases and that it would divert precious military resources at a crucial time.

They also argue that granting legal rights to detainees could harm Mr Obama’s “ability to succeed in armed conflict and to protect United States’ forces” by limiting his powers to conduct military operations.

These revelations come at a time when Mr Obama is trying to re-set Washington’s relationship with the Muslim world and trying harder than ever to win the war in Afghanistan.

It is a controversy that threatens to damage the image of the new administration in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Posted on June 24th, 2009

Today, the 76ers announced that they’ll be going back to the Old School Julius Ervin-era 76ers logo. The move is partly to rekindle the glory days of Dr. J. and Wilt Chamberlain. It’s also partly because pale blue brings out Eddie Jordan eyes. In honor of the changeover, here are Six Teams That Should Bring Back Their Old Logos:

Denver Nuggets

My personal favorite. It wasn’t just a rainbow, it was a veritable rainbow assault on your senses. This should have never been cast aside.

Atlanta Hawks

Suggested by Will Brinson (Fanhouse, Brahsome), and universally agreed upon. The logo worn by ‘Nique. The red could not be more ketchup. The yellow could not be more mustard.

Minnesota Timberwolves

You guys got it right the first time when you put White Fang on your shirts.

New England Patriots

Some crack logo genius managed to design the angriest looking dude short of the Wake Forest Demon Deacon. I hate when people mess with their success.
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Carolina Hurricanes

Also, move back to Hartford and change the team name back to The Whalers. Actually, I’d prefer if you went with Hartford The Whale.

Milwaukee Brewers

Last but not least, the old school yellow and blue brew-crew glove. It’s sexual and violent.

Wednesday, June 24

A poll released Monday showed 72 percent of Americans favor an insurance health care plan with a public option. So why do only 36 senators support it?

Sure, the Senate is supposed to be a more deliberative body and not be swayed by public opinion to the same extent as the House. But, if there’s widespread backing for this concept, and it’s getting a renewed push from President Obama, why so much resistance in the Senate?

Is it because senators are standing on good old-fashioned apple pie principles?

Maybe not. Here’s an analysis that suggests insurance company PAC money is having the greatest impact on middle-of-the road Democratic senators. According to the report:

“Liberal Democrats are likely to hold firm to the public option unless they receive a lot of remuneration from health care PACs. Conservative Democrats may not support the public option in the first place for ideological reasons, although money can certainly push them more firmly against it.

“But the impact on mainline Democrats appears to be quite large: if a mainline Democrat has received $60,000 from insurance PACs over the past six years, his likelihood of supporting the public option is cut roughly in half from 80 percent to 40 percent.”

As I’ve said, there may well be legitimate philosophical reasons to oppose this type of national health care plan, or any other approach, for that matter. An umbilical cord flowing with ready cash from major insurers isn’t one of them.

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To his credit, Obama finally put pressure on health care companies, and opponents of the public option, in a news conference Tuesday.

As he correctly pointed out: “If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care … then why is it that the government, which they say can’t run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That’s not logical.”

It’s only logical if you understand that cash is the conduit through which public policy decisions are often made.

Money doesn’t talk, Dylan said, it swears.