Population Crisis: Beyond 7 Billion

After remaining stable for most of human history, the world’s population has exploded over the last two centuries. The boom is not over: The biggest generation in history is just entering its childbearing years. The coming wave will reshape the planet, and the impact will be greatest in the poorest, most unstable countries.

via Beyond 7 Billion – latimes.com.

… the world’s population — now 7 billion — will continue to grow … According to United Nations projections, the number will rise to 9.3 billion by 2050 — the equivalent of adding another India and China to the world.

That’s an optimistic scenario, one that assumes the worldwide average birthrate, now 2.5 children per woman, will decline to 2.1.

If birthrates stay where they are, the population is expected to reach 11 billion by midcentury — akin to adding three Chinas.

Under either forecast, scientists say, living conditions are likely to be bleak for much of humanity. Water, food and arable land will be more scarce, cities more crowded and hunger more widespread.

On a planet with 11 billion people, however, all those problems will be worse.

The outcome hinges on the cumulative decisions of hundreds of millions of young people around the globe. …

“We’re going to have to produce more food in the next 40 years than we have the last 10,000,” he said. “Some people say we’ll just add more land or more water. But we’re not going to do much of either.”

Most of Earth’s best farmland has already come under hoof or plow, and farmers are losing ground to expanding cities and deserts. Soil erosion, chemical contamination and salt buildup from irrigation are despoiling prime acreage.

Climate change will make all of these challenges more daunting. Higher temperatures and violent weather will stunt or destroy crops. Increased flooding will imperil millions living in low-lying regions. More severe droughts could displace masses of people, leading to conflict.

By 2050, the United Nations predicts, there could be as many as 200 million “climate refugees.”

Despite these trends, population growth has all but vanished from public discourse. …

via LATimes

If you gave people a choice: starve to death, die in a nuclear war, or stop reproducing, which do you think they’d choose?

Britain has NEVER asked the US for an American citizen extradition to the UK

Britain has not made a single request for a US citizen be sent to this country for a crime committed over there, it emerged last night.

Critics of Britain’s extradition treaty with the US – which is being used to send Gary McKinnon for trial – said the revelation further exposed how ‘lop-sided’ that agreement remains.

Mr McKinnon, who is the subject of the Mail’s Affront to British Justice campaign, hacked into Pentagon computers from the bedroom of his North London flat. He says he was looking for evidence of ‘little green men’.

There are at least two other comparable current cases involving UK citizens.

But a Freedom of Information request from the Home Office showed Britain has never even asked the US for a US citizen to be sent here for trial over crimes committed from their home country.

Between January 2004 and March 30, 2012, there were a total of seven known extraditions of US citizens to the UK, but none concerned crimes committed while the person was in the US.

Tory MP Dominic Raab said: ‘The fact that Britain has never even requested extradition of a US citizen for actions done on American soil highlights the lop-sided nature of the extradition relationship.

‘We have seen a string of recent cases, from Gary McKinnon to Richard O’Dwyer, where that is the sole basis of US extradition requests.

‘The case for reform is overwhelming and would both ensure justice for British citizens and remove a thorn in the side of the special relationship.’
MPs want what is known as a ‘forum bar’ to be introduced in this country, which would stop Britons being extradited for crimes committed in this country.

Last night, Gary’s mother Janis Sharp said: ‘The fact that the UK has never even asked for a US citizen to be sent here for a crime committed there just goes to show how futile it would be.

‘They do not extradite their own, they are automatically tried there if they commit a crime there.’

A report earlier this year from the Home Affairs Select Committee said the UK/US extradition treaty was ‘unbalanced’ and must be urgently reformed.

They called for suspects to be tried in the country where their crimes were allegedly committed unless there are exceptional reasons not to do so.

The MPs said they believed it was ‘easier to extradite a British citizen to the USA than vice versa’.

Under the Extradition Act, passed by Labour in 2003, US citizens have the right to a court hearing to examine the evidence against them before they can be extradited to the UK.

However, Britons wanted by the US do not get the same protection. …

via Britain has NEVER asked the US for an American citizen to be sent to the UK for trial over crimes committed in their home country | Mail Online.

 

Scientists Find Brain’s Irony-Detection Center

The French research team that made the latest contribution to this effort presents its findings in the current issue of the journal NeuroImage. Referring to a part of the brain known as the “ToM network,” the researchers write, “We demonstrate that the ToM network becomes active while a participant is understanding verbal irony.”

This isn’t just one of those “shot in the dark” MRI studies, where you see what brain regions happen to light up when people engage in a particular mental activity. The ToM network has been the focus of previous work on irony apprehension, and enough is known about it to give us some ideas about the particular role it could play in that apprehension.

Here’s how the experiment worked. The researchers prepared short written stories, and each story came in two versions. Both versions contained a sentence that could be read either literally or ironically, with the correct reading depending on how the context had been set earlier in the story. In one story, for example, one opera singer says to another, “Tonight we gave a superb performance,” and whether the sentence is ironic or literal depends on whether the performance had been described earlier in the story as a failure or as a success. The researchers had correctly predicted that the ToM network would show more activity when the sentence, read in context, was ironic than when it was literal.

ToM stands for “theory of mind,” which in turn refers to the fact that we naturally attribute beliefs and intentions and emotions to people we interact with. That is, we develop a “theory”–though not necessarily a theory we’re consciously aware of–about what’s going on in their minds. (An inability to do this is thought to play a role in autism.) And this “theory” in turn shapes our interpretation of things people say. The “ToM network” is a brain region–or, really, a network of different brain regions–that seems to play an important role in the construction of these theories.

It makes sense that parts of the brain involved in theorizing about other people’s minds would be involved in grasping irony. After all, detecting irony means departing sharply from the literal meaning of a sentence, something it’s hard to do without having a “theory” about the intent behind the sentence.

Consider Twitter: I sometimes wonder, reading sarcastic tweets from someone I know, how they’re interpreted by people less familiar with the tweeter’s mind than I am. And it seems to me that people who don’t know the tweeter but correctly sense the irony must, in the process, develop a kind theory about the tweeter’s mindset. …

via Scientists Find Brain’s Irony-Detection Center! – Robert Wright – The Atlantic.

Chimpanzee uses sign language, asks visitors to free him from enclosure in heartbreaking film

Intelligent and inquisitive, chimpanzees have always been able to communicate with man.

But this heartbreaking video shows just how desperate this chimp is to be understood and to be let out of his cage.

The chimp is seen in the video motioning to a watching visitor to unlock the bolt on what appears to be a glass door and lift the window, so he can be free.

Tapping on the window the chimp repeatedly urges people standing on the other side of the glass to let them outside.

It links its fingers together, a signal similar to the American Sign Language representation of the word ‘gate’.

Alex Bailey from Manchester, who recorded the interaction at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, interprets the signs as a direction to free the chimp, The Telegraph reported.

One chuckling man taps on the window and copies the chimp’s actions, mimicking the animal’s mimes of opening the window.

A bystander can be heard giggling and saying: ‘He wants us to open it’.

But the chimpanzee is more focused on trying to make itself understood, as it longingly looks at the people in front of him.

The video, which lasts around 48 seconds, was filmed at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, according to The Telegraph.If it is communicating with sign language, it is not the first chimpanzee to do so.

Washoe was a female chimpanzee who was the first non-human to learn to communicate using American Sign Language. The animal, who died in 2007, learnt 350 words, and taught her adopted son Loulis.

Other chimpanzees were later taught 150 or more signs, which they were able to combine to form messages. Chimpanzees and humans share many similarities and they are believed to be our closest relative in the animal kingdom.

via Welsh Mountain Zoo: Chimpanzee ‘asks’ visitors to free him from enclosure in heartbreaking film | Mail Online.

Peter Dickinson, a worker at Welsh Mountain Zoo, has written about using sign language with animals as part of their enrichment programme and has previously observed chimpanzees at the zoo trying to communicate with visitors.

“I have watched our animals sign to visitors, asking them to carry out certain behaviours. What is more the visitors react and do exactly what they are told,” he said.

“If a visitor is reproached by a member of staff the excuse is always “But the chimp asked me to do it!”.

via Telegraph

You can see how the chimp decides fairly quickly that the human is too stupid to understand what he is saying.

Bees swarm Hillary Clinton in Malawi

… Clinton ran for cover and boarded her jet to escape the bees, which attacked her at Malawi’s international airport, the local Nyasa Times quotes witnesses as saying. The Secretary was preparing to board a Johannesburg-bound flight when the stinging swarm forced her to make a quicker entry than planned.

Clinton wasn’t the only one spooked by the bees: “There was a slight panic as the bees winged across the airport. People c

ould be seen running away to keep cover as the Secretary of State swiftly boarded her plane to avoid any stings,” a witness told the Nyasa Times.

The Secretary of State visited Malawi as part of an 11-day tour of Africa. While there, Clinton held bilateral talks with President Joyce Banda and pledged $36 million to strengthen Malawi’s agricultural value chain, the Nyasa Times reported.

Clinton began her African tour in Senegal, and has already been to Uganda, South Sudan and Kenya. She is expected to end her tour in Ghana on August 10, where she will attend the funeral of the country’s President John Atta Mills, who died on July 24. …

via Swarm of bees tells Hillary Clinton to ‘buzz off’ — RT.

Las Vegas officer finds driver dead after pursuit

A Las Vegas police officer was in his patrol car in the central valley late Sunday afternoon when a Nissan Maxima that appeared to be steering itself ran through a red light.

It was no ordinary traffic offense, Homicide Lt. Ray Steiber said.

The officer was startled as the Maxima continued south on Martin Luther King Boulevard, near Lake Mead Boulevard, because there didn’t appear to be anyone in the driver’s seat.

Steiber said the officer tailed the Maxima with his patrol vehicle as the Maxima continued south. Then the Maxima jumped a median and crossed the northbound lanes into a landscape area near a church.

But the chase wasn’t over. The Maxima veered back onto Martin Luther King south in the northbound lanes, at which point it struck another vehicle. The collision occurred near Jimmy Avenue and Martin Luther King.

When the Maxima came to a stop, the officer peered inside and saw what the problem was: A man who was shot multiple times was slouched in the driver’s seat.

The unidentified man, who appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured in the crash.

The maroon Maxima had bullet holes in its driver’s side, Steiber said.

He added the man who was shot must have had his foot on the accelerator, and the haphazard chase lasted between 10 and 15 seconds after the Maxima drove through the intersection.

The incident occurred about 6:09 p.m.

Steiber said late Sunday night police had no witnesses, and no motive.

“We want to know what happened,” Steiber said. “We don’t know how long he had been unconscious. We don’t know how long prior to this coming to an end had he been shot.”

Steiber said police received 911 calls of gunshots just before the officer spotted the Maxima. The calls were made from north of the Martin Luther King, Lake Mead intersection.

Anyone with information on this shooting is urged to call the (Las Vegas) Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555. …

via Las Vegas officer finds driver dead after pursuit – News – ReviewJournal.com.

Cemetery bans crosses because of health and safety fears

Council staff have been removing wooden crosses without informing relatives, it has been claimed.

One grieving woman says she was told to ‘look round the back’ where various bits of rubbish had been dumped to find the cross she had left on a grave.

Liz Maggs put the 60cm (2ft) cross bearing a personal inscription on the grave of her mother-in-law Rosemary, while the family waited for a headstone to be made.

But when Mrs Maggs returned to visit the grave with her husband, Charles, and daughters, Zoe, 16, and Danielle, 14, just a few days later she found the cross had disappeared.

The 43-year-old, from Shirehampton near Bristol, reported it stolen to staff but they told her it had been removed because it did not meet council regulations.

Danielle collapsed with shock on hearing that the cross had been moved to the alleyway at the cemetery in at in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

Mrs Maggs said: ‘The whole incident has left us all very upset.

‘We had a look around and saw wooden crosses on other graves so thought something similar would be appropriate.

‘I am very angry that it was removed without us being told. I think the rules are completely over the top.’

Mrs Maggs has now taken the cross home and placed it in the family’s garden. The family paid more than £1,000 for the triple plot at the site.

North Somerset Council said the cross posed a health and safety risk because all the other graves had flat memorials, not upright headstones.

Council spokesman Nick Yates said: ‘There are a number of regulations we ask people to follow and our staff did discuss with the family what could be placed in the cemetery and we do give relatives written information to this effect.

‘Our staff try to deal with all situations in a sensitive way.’

Mrs Maggs said she was not made aware of any guidelines.

via Cemetery bans crosses because of health and safety fears | Metro.co.uk.

NHS health and safety chiefs ban ‘dangerous’ metal paper clips

Manchester NHS Trust officials made the decision to stop the use of the metal stationary item after a member of staff cut their finger using one.

In a memo to staff, it was warned that the use of metal fasteners was ‘prohibited’ and the offending clips must be ‘carefully disposed of immediately’.

‘Due to recent incidents, NHS Manchester has decided to immediately withdraw the use of metal paper fasteners,’ explained the memo featuring an accompanying picture of a paper clip – just to avoid any confusion.

‘Please ensure any that remain in use be replaced by similar plastic fasteners.

‘The use of metal fasteners is prohibited and must be carefully disposed of immediately. Thank you for your co-operation.’

The clips have been banned from the city’s GP surgeries, clinics and offices in favour of a plastic alternative.

However, a member of staff told the Manchester Evening News: ‘It is ridiculous. They’re vaguely sharp, like drawing pins and fountain pens.

‘I can only assume top brass think that they’ve employed idiots who need nannying through the working day.’

Another added: ‘We should just be lucky the safety memo didn’t run to two pages, that might have proved a bit tricky.’

via NHS health and safety chiefs ban ‘dangerous’ metal paper clips | Metro.co.uk.

“Since its launch in 1948, the NHS has grown to become the world’s largest publicly funded health service. It is also one of the most efficient, most egalitarian and most comprehensive. “- NHS

Pavarotti impersonator refused bank card because he looked too much like opera star

A Luciano Pavarotti impersonator was refused a personalised debit card after staff at his bank refused to accept his photograph was not the real opera singer.

Colin Miller, 66, had attempted to apply for the Barclays photo card, uploading his picture on to their website in line with the company’s rules.

But days later, his card was posted back to him missing the all-important photograph, after staff suggested he did not own the copyright to the snapshot of his own face.

Officials at Barclays informed him pictures of celebrities were not permitted on bank cards, insisting that his uncanny resemblance to the late tenor had caused the confusion.

Staff have now explained the error as an “understandable mistake” and resolved to issue a card, complete with image, at the first opportunity.

Mr Miller, who has worked as a Pavarotti impersonator for more than 20 years, said he spent said he was “shocked” to be “penalised for looking like someone”.

“I was shocked,” he said. “I don’t try to look like him. I have had no cosmetic surgery and I don’t try to do things to myself to look like him.

“I am being penalised for looking how I do.”

Mr Miller, from Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, added: “When I phoned to complain it took 45 minutes of being passed around their call centre, on my own phone, at my cost, before someone gave me any kind of answer.

“Then she said she didn’t know what the issue was, but suggested it may be because I don’t own the copyright to Luciano Pavarotti’s image.

“It is the picture I use on my business cards because I look like this naturally, and then I cropped it to the neck.

“I have never been contacted by people representing the real Pavarotti about it, or been threatened with legal action for looking like him.

“You are allowed to use pictures of pets, so I asked if someone had a dog that looked like Lassie would they be refused? She was stumped. …

via Pavarotti impersonator refused bank card because he looked too much like opera star – Telegraph.

Have trouble sleeping? Have you had a Lego piece up your nose for the last 3 years?

Isaak Lasson can finally breathe easy after three years of sinus problems.

The cause? A single wheel-shaped Lego piece that he got stuck up his nose back when he was 3.

At least that’s what his dad, Craig Lasson, said he thinks. His son started having a hard time breathing back then.

“I felt so bad,” the father told KSL.com. Isaak “was sleeping with his mouth open, trying to breathe.”

Numerous doctors looked at isaak’s nose and prescribed antibiotics.

But last week, a new doctor noticed that Isaak seemed to have something foreign stuck up his schnozz and asked what it might be.

“I put some spaghetti up there, but that was a long time ago,” Isaak told the doctor, according to KTLA-TV.

But it wasn’t pasta that was up Isaak’s nose, just a ball of fungus encasing a Lego wheel.

“We think he bent it in half — it’s pretty flexible — and that it opened up once it got into his sinuses,” Isaak’s father told reporters.

Although Craig Lasson momentarily worried he was a bad parent for needing three years to figure out the Lego problem plaguing his son’s sinuses, he said he is happy that Isaak is eating and sleeping better than he has in years.

via Isaak Lasson, 6, Finds Missing Lego Piece In His Nose (VIDEO).