flickering pictures

Having apparently addressed their citizens’ crushing poverty, inadequate access to education and constant battles with malaria, dengue fever, typhoid and hepatitis A, Cambodian and Thai officials spent the last week threatening each other with all-out war over a newly dedicated UN World Heritage site that both countries insist is theirs.
From the International Herald Tribune:

Calling a […]

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It’s called trepanation, and this extreme cousin to acupuncture has been around for at least 8,500 years. Though it’s recently fallen out of favour — mainly because it comes with a pretty fair chance brain damage, death, or searing agony at the very least — the practice is aimed at heightening the consciousness of […]

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In case you’re not familiar with the original We Are the World, it’s a song written for charity by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and sung by an all-star cast including Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Bette Midler, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and, oddly, […]

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Yes, I know the title is cheesy. Has that ever stopped me before?
Found by Asher on divine caroline — a site I’m really starting to like — is a layman’s analysis of some of the chemicals, drugs and other heebie-jeebies in your food, by Brie Cadman:

The other day I was snacking on some bright […]

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Three days ago, I posted on the cyclone that wrecked much of Myanmar, killing thousands while the country’s government twiddled its thumbs.
Today, the UN believes that the death toll could hit 100,000 — about 286 times the Myanmar government’s initial public estimate of 350 deaths. Fearing a loss of control over its people if […]

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The Times of India — incidentally the world’s largest English-language newspaper — reports that India has just test-fired a new nuclear-capable Agni-III missile with 3,500km of range. The missile was specifically designed to hit Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai in the event of a conflict. The article calls the missile a “golden […]

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I’d heard the rumours and seen the Seinfeld episode, but I’d never actually seen pictures of Japan’s drawer-style hotel beds. They’re apparently quite comfortable, even if they do look like Easy-Bake Ovens.
From a neat write-up on the aptly-named Cool Things in Random Places:

These hotels are available all over major Japanese cities — especially Tokyo, […]

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