tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14525927724902239912024-02-21T01:04:48.378+00:00Devoid of Thoughteverything appears in the form of an irrational existence devoid of thoughtAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-49299252015188709402018-07-10T14:54:00.002+01:002018-07-10T14:55:18.193+01:00So what's going on with the UK Government?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's not my writing (@ldobsonhughes) but it explains everything that's going on with respect to brexit right now:<br />
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It took the Cabinet 18months to agree on what Brexit should look like. The entire government has been consumed with Brexit and held hostage by hardline Brexiteers in the Tory party.<br />
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Cabinet agreed on a soft-ish Brexit last weekend (some Freedom of Movement and Goods). Also, 'Soft' is Overton Window stuff as 2 years ago, we'd have labelled the plan extreme and hardline.<br />
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The problem is, the plan would still have been rejected by the EU as the EU won;t allow its four freedoms to be divided. So it took the Cabinet just 18months to come up with a plan that may as well have been dancing unicorns.<br />
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In any case, the plan lasted 48 hours before the Brexit minister resigned. No. 10 talked a good game going into the weekend about calling Ministers' bluff, providing taxi numbers for those who wanted to resign and lose their ministerial cars.<br />
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So Ministers took their chauffeured cars back to London and then resigned. The EU really doesn;t care about resignations - they've always negotiated with the senior civil servant. And it's of little impact to them if Britain crashes out without a deal.<br />
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This is all internal Tory politics playing out on a national and international stage. The wild card was Boris Johnson. Boris was never particularly a Brexiteer, He was and is a Boris-eer. He'll do and say whatever advances his own interests. Boris resigning means he thinks there's a good chance of dumping may and stepping into her shoes (although why anyone would want to lead the bag of angry cats that is the Tory party right now is anyone's guess).<br />
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Funnily enough, the Fixed Term Parliaments Act now becomes crucial. There are only two ways an election can be called, and neither of them are normal ones. It makes it very difficult to trigger an election to dump May.<br />
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The powerful 1922 committee could call a leadership vote for May, but there's no guarantee a replacement Tory leadership could command the confidence of the House. May is reliant on the loyalist DUP to govern as it is.<br />
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If a hardline Brexiteer is elected leader, there is zero chance they can push through a hard Brexit. Mainly because it is literally impossible. It's like demanding ninety-six dancing unicorns, a personal miniature dragon and intergalactic flight for each household.<br />
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Hard Brexit is also impossible because the EU will simply reject it. They hold nearly all the cards and they know, even if hard Brexiteers deny it, that no deal is economic suicide for the UK.<br />
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Meanwhile, Nigel Farage is threatening yet another political comeback if magical fantasy Brexit isn't delivered. Which is news to the British public who firmly wish that at some point, he'd actually gone away, which is a necessary part of staging a comeback.<br />
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To underscore, May did not have to trigger Article 50 (which started the two year countdown to automatic ejection from the EU) when she did. She could have waited until there was an actual plan.<br />
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When May triggered Article 50, neither she, nor anyone else in the Cabinet or the Brexit campaign had the faintest, serious idea of what they wanted or their negotiating position. Even last weekend, when Brexiteers were told to put up a realistic, serious plan, or shut up, they couldn't come up with a position. They fell back on rejecting everyone else's plan and cries of 'freedom!'<br />
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At the heart of all this, Brexit was always ancillary to, or a vehicle for, the leadership ambitions of a series of Tory men. It was always a pipe dream, and a convenient way of achieving power.<br />
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I see we're now talking about confidence votes. Reminder, the Fixed Term Parliament Act overturned most of the conventional ways we think of withdrawing the confidence of the House. Budget and supply votes are no longer confidence votes. (@PhilippeLagasse is your go-to for this.)<br />
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Meanwhile, Trump visits in 72hours, and there was effectively a Russian assassination on British soil a few days ago. The bandwidth of the May goverment has been beyond filled by Brexit since its formation. It's sucked all the oxygen out of British politics for two years.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-46186072823113216512018-06-07T11:08:00.000+01:002018-06-07T11:09:05.488+01:00Introducing the Brexit Backstop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/back-strop-why-may-cant-solve-the-irish-issue-unless-she-stands-up-to-the-brexit-hardliners" target="_blank">Fascinating article regarding the contradictions of brexit and Northern Ireland.</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/border.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="580" height="213" src="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/border.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-44728772220014554482018-05-27T01:40:00.000+01:002018-05-27T01:40:57.747+01:00Can Britain Change Its Mind?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.cigionline.org/publications/brexit-can-united-kingdom-change-its-mind" target="_blank">Apparently, it's not too late.</a><br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Eu-Flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Eu-Flag.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-13186649260222692232018-05-24T10:27:00.001+01:002018-05-24T10:27:23.732+01:00The Van Driver being put out of Business by Brexit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is scary. A direct example of how Brexit uncertainty is affecting our economy, right now today.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-65900418371969433852018-05-23T10:14:00.002+01:002018-05-24T10:22:48.448+01:00Brexit already leaves us £900 a year worse off<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44207677" target="_blank">Thanks Brexit!</a><br />
<div class="story-body__introduction"><blockquote>
<i>The Brexit vote has left households £900 worse off, Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said.</i></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The vote to leave the European Union had lowered growth by "up to 2%", he told MPs on Tuesday.</i></blockquote>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-59143811245943582142018-05-22T08:55:00.001+01:002018-05-22T08:55:20.610+01:00Brexit: Kent Truck Park<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here we see the government guaranteeing frictionless trade with the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/1754e768-5d16-11e8-ad91-e01af256df68" target="_blank">EU by preparing for massive friction.</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/http%3A%2F%2Fcom.ft.imagepublish.upp-prod-us.s3.amazonaws.com%2F295bebe4-47ba-11e8-8ee8-cae73aab7ccb?source=next&fit=scale-down&width=700" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="700" height="180" src="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/http%3A%2F%2Fcom.ft.imagepublish.upp-prod-us.s3.amazonaws.com%2F295bebe4-47ba-11e8-8ee8-cae73aab7ccb?source=next&fit=scale-down&width=700" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-24837529300000116052018-05-22T08:44:00.001+01:002018-05-22T08:44:21.613+01:00We need to talk about Brexit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There is nothing that epitomizes the name of this blog more than Brexit. It's an act of political and economic suicide - a fact which pretty much everyone in the world can see except, apparently, us here in the UK. If any act can truly be called 'devoid of thought', it's Brexit.<br />
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I'm going to try and collate on this blog some of the posts I come across regarding Brexit. They will mostly be anti-Brexit, but that's only because there a very few, if any, factually correct pro-Brexit articles - very few because it's such a colossally stupid idea.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-26695445171780362082015-09-30T12:00:00.001+01:002015-09-30T12:00:17.899+01:00Did You Know... No. 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In the UK, one penny coins are only legal tender for amounts up to 20p. (Source: <a href="http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/policies-and-guidelines/legal-tender-guidelines" target="_blank">Royal Mint</a>)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-89013881376167364332015-05-13T10:45:00.000+01:002015-05-13T10:45:03.644+01:00Science Myth: Water Conducts Electricity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #222222; line-height: 23px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pure water itself doesn’t conduct electricity. It’s the impurities in the water, like salt, that do. But no water you come across is likely to be completely pure, so keep your hairdryer out of the bathroom to be on the safe side.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7ImDQlDE6YNWlBXq2xluDqzVKnM2q-6Dj2CWb7jtcibnYeUPMJC6Eb91RtYMHfk8rkGQgKoQfzZb_umd8OW2fjmB2GjY6-a40QIFJj9WKVBsysJ4SZ3TOo-w_rfkd0OCw81h3ZNaGRMP/s1600/water.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7ImDQlDE6YNWlBXq2xluDqzVKnM2q-6Dj2CWb7jtcibnYeUPMJC6Eb91RtYMHfk8rkGQgKoQfzZb_umd8OW2fjmB2GjY6-a40QIFJj9WKVBsysJ4SZ3TOo-w_rfkd0OCw81h3ZNaGRMP/s1600/water.JPG" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-56836207207430769052015-04-21T12:54:00.002+01:002015-04-21T12:55:03.915+01:00Science Myth: Glass is a Slow-Moving Liquid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may have lived for field trips as a kid, looking forward to a whole day of out-of-school fun and exploring. That is, until you got started on a tour of some musty building that seemed, well, boring. Not even the tour guide's explanation of how the glass in the wavy, uneven windowpanes has slowly flowed downward over time could keep your attention.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Liquid windowpanes? No.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rather than the (magical-sounding) slow drip of centuries, the reason old glass windows aren't perfectly even and clear is because of how they were made. Until the early-mid 1800s, most window glass was made using a process called the crown method. The glass was blown, flattened, heated and spun, yielding a sheet that was relatively cheap to produce. It was also rippled and thicker in some places than in others.</span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In other words, the windows looked that way when they were installed, and they look that way now. No downhill liquid flow is involved. (And if you're really wondering: Glass is an amorphous solid.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUdalVqg1qCc5eKnx6h8be9vl6e-Rf4ALwSyee1dIPu7dqBQyn_EfNUD_mNtEZi50ptio4cSoNtOdSQE0neR3DmfuEVXvFB2hEZqz16gAJWn63nkg1szv0wHPQVCmyErmETFUNnDRMGqT/s1600/Broken-glass-with-water-drops-on-it-wallpaper_191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUdalVqg1qCc5eKnx6h8be9vl6e-Rf4ALwSyee1dIPu7dqBQyn_EfNUD_mNtEZi50ptio4cSoNtOdSQE0neR3DmfuEVXvFB2hEZqz16gAJWn63nkg1szv0wHPQVCmyErmETFUNnDRMGqT/s1600/Broken-glass-with-water-drops-on-it-wallpaper_191.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-8109770078778439692015-04-13T16:02:00.001+01:002015-04-13T16:03:16.262+01:00Science Myth: The Great Wall of China is Visible from Space<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a myth that originates before we had spaceflight, so no-one knew enough to get it debunked before it became so pervasive. In fact, y<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">ou can see other man-made objects from space (especially when the part of the Earth being viewed is awash in the artificially illuminated glow of nighttime). It's also pretty hard to pick out the Great Wall of China from any space-based locale. In low-Earth orbit, it's next to impossible to see it with the naked eye. Even with a fairly hefty camera lens, it's still challenging to tell if you're looking at the Great Wall or not.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMwCYi-PnjMYwCuY_1VjTU9cTRSVSNyrrOoOTllSJBYsYizEcQJEEdf_QB31o72D01EWwltnYv_iw-ifFAbgaJ-xHA1rU42BSfR2lXSKRyx9shcrYRshy4UXl1UJ5cO1_x2xr3ZI-5W9Q/s1600/enhanced-buzz-17380-1368449399-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMwCYi-PnjMYwCuY_1VjTU9cTRSVSNyrrOoOTllSJBYsYizEcQJEEdf_QB31o72D01EWwltnYv_iw-ifFAbgaJ-xHA1rU42BSfR2lXSKRyx9shcrYRshy4UXl1UJ5cO1_x2xr3ZI-5W9Q/s1600/enhanced-buzz-17380-1368449399-0.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-4588634303200317322015-04-08T10:24:00.001+01:002015-04-08T10:26:55.524+01:00Science Myth: Body Heat Dissipates Mainly Through the Head<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="line-height: 20px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You lose most of your body heat through your head because there are so many blood vessels in your scalp. Or because there's not a lot of fat between your scalp and your skull. Or because there's a lot of circulation keeping your brain warm. Or something. At least, that's what we've all heard. That's why you need to wear a hat in the winter: Otherwise you'll catch cold.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But, the sad truth is, you lose just as much heat per square inch through your head as you do through the rest of the body, a fact that would become abundantly clear if you ever tried to scrape the frost off your windshield while naked. (I don't recommend trying that experiment.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So if you're out on a wintry day and you notice that your head seems to be particularly cold compared to the rest of your body, it's probably because your head is bare, and everything else is sensibly bundled up. Putting on a hat will fix that problem.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's less likely to keep you from catching a cold, though.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrfgxiTS4QCepzaMEE1EYpQXyec-I7f3q_Mry-H9pWtHjE08lcXSAOw6Tvl8qkhHw9PcZmuLdM6mRjQaKnEIgJKvqvbgPMo_S39s977DZ2p1r4n7ljMWnZgzAO9wDiujZNStv1k9y_AKK/s1600/screenhunter_155-jan-11-11-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrfgxiTS4QCepzaMEE1EYpQXyec-I7f3q_Mry-H9pWtHjE08lcXSAOw6Tvl8qkhHw9PcZmuLdM6mRjQaKnEIgJKvqvbgPMo_S39s977DZ2p1r4n7ljMWnZgzAO9wDiujZNStv1k9y_AKK/s1600/screenhunter_155-jan-11-11-07.jpg" height="320" width="192" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-71769220206706991872015-04-07T10:24:00.001+01:002015-04-07T10:40:22.051+01:00Science Myth: Salt is Bad for Us.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: #111111; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The salt myth is still alive and kicking, even though there has never been any good <a href="http://eathropology.com/2013/05/21/the-nacl-debacle-part-2-we-dont-need-no-stinkin-science-2/" style="color: #0000ee; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">scientific support</a> for it.</span></div>
<div style="color: #111111; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although lowering salt can reduce blood pressure by 1-5 mm/Hg on average, it doesn’t have <strong>any</strong> effect on heart attacks, strokes or death.</span></div>
<div style="color: #111111; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, if you have a medical condition like salt-sensitive hypertension then you may be an exception.</span></div>
<div style="color: #111111; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But the public health advice that <em>everyone</em> should lower their <a href="http://authoritynutrition.com/how-much-sodium-per-day/" style="color: #0000ee; text-decoration: none;">salt intake</a> (and have to eat boring, tasteless food) is not based on evidence.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNsgCa2uZ5jQF6E6K2ejcvV-rqBMpb9nsZrxShc67IB9R0-897lpKIPJcOPFtiDEGIPWlDsUBLXkFXYKLUMWKRN7MRhPsYl-du8sCCA33es0Qam6R0UX7y22ZamBz7GYyy92feK7QgnK6/s1600/Salt-014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNsgCa2uZ5jQF6E6K2ejcvV-rqBMpb9nsZrxShc67IB9R0-897lpKIPJcOPFtiDEGIPWlDsUBLXkFXYKLUMWKRN7MRhPsYl-du8sCCA33es0Qam6R0UX7y22ZamBz7GYyy92feK7QgnK6/s1600/Salt-014.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-6770666351152217232015-03-31T10:29:00.001+01:002015-03-31T10:30:06.201+01:00Science Myth: Brain Cell's Can't Regenerate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">Thankfully, they can and do. The reason for this myth being so common is that it was believed and taught by the science community for a very long time. But in 1998, scientists at the Sweden and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California discovered that brain cells in mature humans </span><span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: oblique; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">can</span><span style="line-height: 27px;"> regenerate. It had previously been long believed that complex brains would be severely disrupted by new cell growth, but the study found that the memory and learning center of the brain can create new cells – giving hope for an eventual cure for illnesses like Alzheimer’s.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AIoleAfzaCw/VRpo8iD5HHI/AAAAAAABI-8/HeFhLuh56cg/s1600/18lsf5saxgmkljpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AIoleAfzaCw/VRpo8iD5HHI/AAAAAAABI-8/HeFhLuh56cg/s1600/18lsf5saxgmkljpg.jpg" height="203" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-83709777444856733552015-03-30T11:31:00.001+01:002015-03-30T11:31:42.406+01:00Science Myth: Urinating on a Jellyfish Sting Helps Cure it.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately not. Not sure where this one came from (other than being popularised by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends">Friends</a> in the 1990's) but doing this can actually do more harm than good. In fact the best thing you can do (before seeking medical advice, of course) is to wash the affected area with salt water.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-byNzhzwHkw0/VRklyh1D6sI/AAAAAAABI-o/VH1nMdHXUAQ/s1600/MontereyBayAquarium_Jellyfish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-byNzhzwHkw0/VRklyh1D6sI/AAAAAAABI-o/VH1nMdHXUAQ/s1600/MontereyBayAquarium_Jellyfish.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-84656059766084638822015-03-26T15:50:00.001+00:002015-03-26T15:51:40.855+00:00Science Myth: The Tongue Has Zones For Different Tastes.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately not. All those experiments we did in Junior school? All lies and confirmation bias. <span style="line-height: 22px;">The notion that the tongue is mapped into four areas—sweet, sour, salty and bitter—is wrong. There are five basic tastes identified so far, and the entire tongue can sense all of these tastes more or less equally.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrEEG1ApSnERJti4uaTknjwfsBqPO9sCNfEAbgHPs6aIv8lGW7QugFHjPid3jxENj21MFgD-wXpEU5ULAhJKkKp0AF7BcRNVlMWQ1WWUIQrcykbVYu_zDYE44RVwNJEJhcXu-TiyDgllP/s1600/0008db75-22f1-1cbf-b4a8809ec588eedf_1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrEEG1ApSnERJti4uaTknjwfsBqPO9sCNfEAbgHPs6aIv8lGW7QugFHjPid3jxENj21MFgD-wXpEU5ULAhJKkKp0AF7BcRNVlMWQ1WWUIQrcykbVYu_zDYE44RVwNJEJhcXu-TiyDgllP/s1600/0008db75-22f1-1cbf-b4a8809ec588eedf_1.gif" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Scientists have identified a protein that detects sour taste on the tongue. This is a rather important protein, for it enables us and other mammals to recognize spoiled or unripe food. The finding has been hailed as a minor breakthrough in identifying taste mechanisms, involving years of research with genetically engineered mice. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This may sound straightforward but, remarkably, more is known about vision and hearing, far more complicated senses, than taste. Only in recent years have taste receptors been identified. One of the first breakthroughs in taste research came in 1974 with the realization that the tongue map was essentially a century-old misunderstanding that no one challenged.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You might know the map: The taste buds for "sweet" are on the tip of the tongue; the "salt" taste buds are on either side of the front of the tongue; "sour" taste buds are behind this; and "bitter" taste buds are way in the back. Wineglasses are said to cater to this arrangement. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tongue map is easy enough to prove wrong at home. Place salt on the tip of your tongue. You'll taste salt. For reasons unknown, scientists never bothered to dispute this inconvenient truth.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, back in school, you were right - you could taste sugar on the back of your tongue.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-13646041218095003632015-03-25T11:05:00.001+00:002015-03-25T11:05:17.370+00:00Science Myth: Water Drains Anti-Clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
No it doesn't. The Coriolis effect does make cyclones and weather systems spin different ways, but this force is so small in your sink that it has no effect. Instead, it's the way you pour the water in that matters.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGi1RoG8HQIpZel4H4H9Q0-2pSXq54viSVgwzk3XdOy_KJ41Lm21c4B1XobXnzwMjQRy-n62YTenU5GHkiHYI2XWLPAXhCCTc6qfd1ywcnFgnkuCrbhghXq35m_svaHxDi_dQ3qw2h5mds/s1600/Coriolis_effect14.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGi1RoG8HQIpZel4H4H9Q0-2pSXq54viSVgwzk3XdOy_KJ41Lm21c4B1XobXnzwMjQRy-n62YTenU5GHkiHYI2XWLPAXhCCTc6qfd1ywcnFgnkuCrbhghXq35m_svaHxDi_dQ3qw2h5mds/s1600/Coriolis_effect14.png" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-71454824547313534652015-03-24T11:39:00.003+00:002015-03-24T11:42:09.497+00:00Science Myth: You Can Kill A Virus.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, you can't. It can be de-activated or destroyed, but you can't kill it. Mainly because it wasn't alive to begin with. The main requirement for something to be considered 'alive', is that it must be able to reproduce and a virus can't do that. It survives only by hijacking a cell first.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ni48TdwjxmDv8AuYDpjqUvC14mWPbXkYwD_h2gjPmSytwsIS5uHzXspQG1TI2Hd9UYaUZM4yxZhPTgtHy1NSCrypf5UOvrKMGT-a4YZjoQZhr55V7bXWFqG9CcyYS0l9j7WiBalZCvXU/s1600/cellular-virus-wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ni48TdwjxmDv8AuYDpjqUvC14mWPbXkYwD_h2gjPmSytwsIS5uHzXspQG1TI2Hd9UYaUZM4yxZhPTgtHy1NSCrypf5UOvrKMGT-a4YZjoQZhr55V7bXWFqG9CcyYS0l9j7WiBalZCvXU/s1600/cellular-virus-wallpaper.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-44581236610630869372014-10-23T14:57:00.000+01:002015-03-24T13:57:23.158+00:00ASDA allows you to create the ultimate 'Selfie'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2836838/worlds-first-3d-full-body-scanning-booth-to-create-custom-you-figurines.html" href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2836838/worlds-first-3d-full-body-scanning-booth-to-create-custom-you-figurines.html" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; color: #333333; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out;" target="_blank" title="Selfie Doll">I can see this taking off in a big way</a>...</div>
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Not sure whether I'd be interested in getting one of myself (I don't think my narcissism is developed enough!) but I would guess there could be a big market for it.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-29953694031627389002013-09-24T13:32:00.001+01:002015-03-24T12:07:00.132+00:00music: polly scattergood – cocoon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
From Colchester's finest songtress...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N6B-WK58UUA/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N6B-WK58UUA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-35539697116898597842013-09-17T15:55:00.001+01:002015-03-24T12:07:49.026+00:00Because it’s still awesome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<a href="http://xkcd.com/1110/" target="_blank">Possibly XKCD’s finest moment?</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-16421969689376953382013-09-06T15:13:00.001+01:002015-03-24T12:08:55.949+00:00music: the mission – sometimes the brightest light…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="embed-youtube" style="display: block; text-align: center;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="226" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4kPFI68673o?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" type="text/html" width="375"> </iframe> </span> <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-78423427075877030782013-08-30T14:55:00.000+01:002015-03-24T13:56:09.155+00:00Does the UK condone chemical weapons attacks in Syria?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Baskerville, 'Playfair Display', 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
I don't usually comment on politics but after yesterdays antics in the UK parliament, I feel a need to.</div>
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Whilst I was not on-board with the Conservative's need to take action right away, I do believe that should the UN's investigation into the chemical weapon attack on Syrian civilians provide compelling evidence that the Syrian government was responsible, then we, as a nation, have a moral obligation to help those civilians in some manner.</div>
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However, what happened in parliament seems beyond farcical. The government (Conservatives & Lib Dems) tabled a motion to agree in principle to take military action against Syria. Labour tabled an amendment to only do this should their be compelling evidence that the syrian government was responsible. The governments motion was defeated and then, in an apparent fit of pique, the government wouldn't back the Labour amendment, and this was defeated.</div>
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This leaves us in the stupid situation where both our government and it's opposition want to take action (only the criteria is different) yet, they have voted to do nothing. This sends a disturbing signal to Syria - in voting to do nothing we effectively condone the actions of the Syrian government. Whilst its people continue to suffer.</div>
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Sometimes it seems that we really are governed by imbeciles.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-19984237058186018362013-07-03T14:54:00.000+01:002015-03-24T13:54:38.611+00:00ASA smackdown on homeopathy advertising<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In an adjudication <a data-mce-href="http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/7/Society-of-Homeopaths/SHP_ADJ_157043.aspx?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=Society%20of%20Homeopaths&utm_campaign=2012%20Wednesday%20Rulings" href="http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/7/Society-of-Homeopaths/SHP_ADJ_157043.aspx?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=Society%20of%20Homeopaths&utm_campaign=2012%20Wednesday%20Rulings" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; color: #333333; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">published today</a>, the Advertising Standards Authority(ASA) effectively killed all advertising on homeopathy. This statement from the adjudication pretty much covers it:</div>
<blockquote style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #666666; font-family: Baskerville, 'Playfair Display', 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 1em 1.5em;">
We told the Society of Homeopaths not to discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought, including offering specific advice on or treatment for such conditions. We also told them not to make health claims for homeopathy unless they held sufficiently robust evidence of efficacy.</blockquote>
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This has come about, in part, by a campaign led by the <a data-mce-href="http://www.nightingale-collaboration.org/news/152-landmark-decisions-for-homeopaths.html" href="http://www.nightingale-collaboration.org/news/152-landmark-decisions-for-homeopaths.html" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; color: #333333; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Nightingale Collaboration</a> that encouraged supporters to submit ASA complaints about claims made on homeopathy websites. Briefly, the ASA sent letters to homeopaths offering guidance on advertising homeopathy service. They also decided to investigate further two 'master' complaints in order to precedent for future cases. These are the two adjudications published today.</div>
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What this now means is that homeopath's must live up to their responsibilities and abide by the <a data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Advertising_Practice" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Advertising_Practice" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; color: #333333; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">CAP Code</a>, ASA Guidances and rulings. And they must stop claiming that homeopathy is effective for any medical condition.</div>
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It's worth noting that nothing here prevents anyone from practicing or earning a living from homeopathy; nothing prevents anyone from buying homeopathic 'remedies' if that's what they want to do. It is only about ensuring that homeopath's abide by the same rules that all other advertisers must do.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1452592772490223991.post-15454912467426413332013-06-14T14:53:00.000+01:002015-03-24T13:53:18.176+00:00It Always Comes Back To Lobster.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Apparently, <a data-mce-href="http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/06/why-i-have-nothing-to-hide-is-the-wrong-way-to-think-about-surveillance/" href="http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/06/why-i-have-nothing-to-hide-is-the-wrong-way-to-think-about-surveillance/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; color: #333333; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">the US government doesn't know how many federal laws exist</a>.</div>
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For instance, did you know that it is a federal crime to be in possession of a lobster under a certain size? It doesn’t matter if you bought it at a grocery store, if someone else gave it to you, if it’s dead or alive, if you found it after it died of natural causes, or even if you killed it while acting in self defense. You can go to jail because of a lobster.<br />
If the federal government had access to every email you’ve ever written and every phone call you’ve ever made, it’s almost certain that they could find something you’ve done which violates a provision in the 27,000 pages of federal statues or 10,000 administrative regulations. You probably do have something to hide, you just don’t know it yet.</blockquote>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14121867615279327267noreply@blogger.com0