Archive for April 13th, 2010
Asatruarfelag blót on an erupting volcano in Iceland
Today I received an email from one of my contacts from the Asatruarfelag in Iceland.
A volcano erupted there last week which caused major concern that it would trigger a neighboring volcano to erupt, threatening neighboring homes and surrounding cities. During this time of uncertainty, a few members of the Asatruarfelag decided to travel onto the mountain and hold a blót there, hoping that the positive energy would help prevent the situation from deteriorating. He sent me some incredible pictures they took themselves, which I just couldn’t keep to myself, so I’m sharing them here, with his permission.
Alcohol ‘only protects non-smokers against stroke’
Sensible drinking can substantially reduce your risk of a stroke, but only if you don’t enjoy a cigarette at the same time, research suggests.
A study of over 20,000 people in the UK found non-smokers who drank moderate amounts were nearly 40% less likely to have a stroke than non-drinkers.
Kentish Sites and Sites of Kent – A miscellany of four archaeological excavations
This volume presents the results of archaeological investigations undertaken at four sites in Kent. The two ‘linear’ schemes: the West Malling and Leybourne Bypass and Weatherlees–Margate–Broadstairs Wastewater Pipeline, provided transects across the landscape revealing settlement and cemetery evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon date.
Council considers banning word ‘obesity’ to avoid offending overweight children
A council is considering banning the word “obesity” from its health campaigns for fear of offending overweight children.
Liverpool City Council believes the expression could stigmatise youngsters and wants to replace it with the phrase “unhealthy weight”.
Intel Wants Brain Implants in Its Customers’ Heads by 2020
If the idea of turning consumers into true cyborgs sounds creepy, don’t tell Intel researchers. Intel’s Pittsburgh lab aims to develop brain implants that can control all sorts of gadgets directly via brain waves by 2020.
The scientists anticipate that consumers will adapt quickly to the idea, and indeed crave the freedom of not requiring a keyboard, mouse, or remote control for surfing the Web or changing channels.
WHO Appoints H1N1 Cover-Up Committee
Reports that the WHO is appointing an ‘independent’ committee to investigate its own conduct in the H1N1 panic of 2009 has been tempered by the fact that one of the committee’s members, John Mackenzie, was in fact one of the advisors who urged the WHO to declare a pandemic in the first place. He also has ties to vaccine manufacturers, making him part of the very charge being investigated: that the WHO relied on advisors with a financial interest in declaring a pandemic regardless of the facts on the ground.
Optician cures his own blindness with herbal medicine made with marigolds
A retired optician says he has cured his own case of age-related blindness by self-medicating with a supplement containing a marigold derivative.
“I decided to this off my own back,” said 73-year-old Harry Marsland. “I treated myself, which is the very thing you’re not supposed to do in any profession. As a retired professional, I feel a responsibility to get this message across to as many people as possible.”
The future of Scotland’s wildlife
Should Scottish wildlife tourism focus on penned-in safari-style parks or be wild and natural?
Monsanto Under Investigation by Seven US States
At least seven US state attorneys general are investigating whether Monsanto Company has abused its market power to lock out competitors and raise prices on seed. Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and two other unidentified states are in a working group to investigate the biotech giant.
Should Texas Cops Be Giving Tickets to 6-Year-Olds?
