allvoices -

UK Mother: I flushed newborn in toilet by accident...

Olivier — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:06:29 -0600

Warning: if you are sensitive to tragic stories involving unborn children, you might not want to read this. And if this woman's story sounds hard to believe to you, then it probably is.

The Associated Press reported that Claire Jones, a British woman, told the coroner's court in Cardiff, Wales on Nov. 24 that she 'accidentally flushed her newborn down the toilet because she didn't realize she was giving birth'. She claims that she thought she was suffering from diarrhea on Dec. 28 and was unaware she was in labor. Jones then claimed that she didn't realize she had given birth until she saw a foot in the toilet bowl. She said she tried to revive the baby but was unsuccessful. So guess what? She put the baby in the trunk of her car until the corpse was found in her vehicle after she was arrested.

Yea, that's logical and compassionate. I certainly find Jones' excuse ridiculous. What kind of woman would be unaware that she was giving birth? Yes, this woman deserves a fair trial, but she's not looking very innocent at this point. She seems to have a motive for not wanting the child since she got pregnant from an affair with a colleague.

The circumstances of the baby's death are being investigated. Let's hope if she is guilty, she is convicted. This is a horrible tragedy and would be an unimaginable crime.

Cassini Nears Four-year Mark

Olivier — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:11:27 -0600

On June 30th (next year) NASA's Cassini Spacecraft is reaching the end of its four-year prime mission. Soon it will enter into its extended mission. Here is a retrospective of some of the great images sent back home by Cassini over the past four years.

Chromeplated Mercedes-Benz SLR

Olivier — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:47:59 -0600

Here is the most unique chromeplated Mercedes-Benz SLR in the world. The car is being showcased in Dubai. Built on oil money. Check it out...

How many Pakistanis can you get on a Train?

Olivier — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:01:30 -0600

Riding trains in Pakistan is a riot. Check out this picture showing Pakistani Sunni Muslims devotees returning back to their homes on a packed train after attending an annual religious congregation in Multan, Pakistan.

Pakistan Railways carries 65 million passengers annually and daily operates 228 mail, express and passenger trains. The number of passengers carried daily is thus about 178,000.

You can't get more efficiency in terms of utilization then what they have done with this train. Wonder if all of them have bought tickets?

Bond Shatters all UK Records

Olivier — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:58:20 -0500

Quantum of Solace, the 22nd Bond film, has made box office history on its first day in UK raking in almost $10 million. This is probably the biggest Friday opening of all time. Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire held previous record, which was around $9 million. Quantum of Solace has opened across 542 movie theaters in the UK and Ireland. It will arrive in the US on November 14th. Daniel Craig plays the part of Bond again. What is different about this movie is that the familiar Bond clichés are gone. They dropped the line: The name is Bond, James Bond." I will most definitely miss that...

Marcabians: An Anonymous Flowchart

Olivier — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:08:18 -0500

In the Church of Scientology, the Marcab Confederacy is said to be one of the most powerful galactic civilizations still active. Church founder L. Ron Hubbard describes it as:

Various planets united into a very vast civilization which has come forward up through the last 200,000 years, formed out of the fragments of earlier civilizations. In the last 10,000 years they have gone on with a sort of decadent kicked-in-the-head civilization that contains automobiles, business suits, fedora hats, telephones, spaceships - a civilization which looks almost an exact duplicate but is worse off than the current US civilization. [1] [2]

The capital of the Confederacy is said to be "one of the tail stars of the Big Dipper", probably Alkaid, a star 108 light years distant from Earth. The Marcabians used to rule Earth at some point in the past but lost control of it due to "losses in war and other things".

Here is a Anonymous flowchart I came across on the web. Don't know exactly what this means around who has influence...

A House that Simply Walks Away from Floods

Olivier — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:56:10 -0500

Designers in UK have built first "walking house." It is the "ultimate property" which will allow owners an instant solution to beat the floods. Any problems in your neighborhood just shift the house into walk mode and you are safe.

The house was designed by N55 in Copenhagen, Denmark alongside with engineers in Massachusetts. The house has six hydraulic legs and is powered by both solar and wind. It can stroll almost on any terrain at the speed of an average person walking.

It was designed to address issues around rising water levels in certain parts of the world. As water levels rise, the "house can simply walk away from floods."
It comes equipped with a living room, kitchen, toilet, wood stove and bed. A mainframe computer controls the hydraulic legs.

According to Helen Robinson of the Wysing Arts Center, 'this is far more than a caravan. It's all about sustainable living - it can sustain a life for many years. 'It may seem radical but it could be a solution to land use in the near future.'

The prototype cost almost $60,000 to build and in future it could be the price of a prius.

Hey, in the future you will drive your house to work...

Amazing Animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson the Lion Whisperer

Olivier — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 10:09:23 -0500

This is unreal. Animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson has an unbelievable bond with big cats that he can spend the whole night with them curled up without any fear of attack.

Check out the pictures below:

This is what a Ferrari Motorcycle would Look like...

Olivier — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:52:10 -0500

Is a Ferrari motorcycle in the works? Well check out Amir Glinik’s design of a Ferrari motorcycle concept. He has taken the design to the limit. Glinik starting researching the concept back in 2005 and the design since then has evolved. According to Glinik, “Vintage and modern Ferrari projects influence my design. It’s a mix of what I find to be the best Ferrari lines, with the latest technology I could think of in terms of the engine and driveline.”

“When you think of a Ferrari motorcycle, you probably imagine a V12 hanging between two wheels, but that was not my idea. For me, it was slicing a V4 out of one of the bigger Ferrari engines,” says Glinik. He used an imaginary V4 based on the Ferrari Enzo’s mighty V12. Check out the pictures below…

Virtual GTbyCitroen from Gran Turismo jumps to Reality

Olivier — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:35:04 -0500

The French are known for their sense for good design. Take for example "GTbyCitroen" in the hit game Gran Turismo 5 for Playstation 3. The response to the virtual car was so strong that one of France's oldest auto manufacturers decided to make the jump to reality. This bold design initiative makes the car even faster visually-lots of impressions of continous movement. They have oversized the rear-end in order to create an effect of "retinal persistence." What a cool term? Does it mean a big butt? The car was designed with Gran Turismo game disigners Polyphony takes us closer to "form beyond function."

Which Politician is Supporting the Bank Bailout: Just Follow the Money Trail and You Will Know...

Olivier — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:27:24 -0500

Following the money trail is the best way to figure out what is truly going on with our failing banks. Once you can see the flow it is easy to see who really wants to bail out the bank with your hard earn money. Just look at the table and see which politician has given million of dollars by the failing banks. From the sources I have seen on the web, the numbers for Paul are just for one year.

Cigarette packs to carry graphic picture warnings...

Olivier — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:49:51 -0500

Smokers who will be buy cigarettes from Wednesday will see gruesome images of cancerous lungs and throats as well as rotting teeth printed on the packets showing how tobacco harms a person's health.

The pictures will replace written warnings from October 1st like "Smoking clogs the arteries and causes heart attacks and strokes" and will be requirement for all tobacco products from October 2010.

One in six people in the UK smokes out of population of more than 60 million. The government has been stepping up measures to reduce that figure. See images below.

Sarah Palin's Wikipedia page scrubbed before Announcement

Olivier — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:10:12 -0500

NPR is reporting that someone edited Sarah Palin's Wikipedia page on Friday right before the word got out that she was John McCain's pick for a running mate. Obviously, the edits were made to make her look good. The changes were made by one person. NPR is implying that one person was Sarah Palin. Here is the All Things Considered writeup where they admit to missing the scoop initially:

If you happened to check Sarah Palin's Wikipedia entry Thursday, you might have had a good tip about Friday's announcement.

Someone - and apparently it was just one person - felt like the existing biography wasn't appropriate for a vice-presidential candidate.On Friday, 15 minutes before the rumor that John McCain had picked Palin as his running mate, a Wikipedia editor discovered 30 mostly favorable changes had been made to the Alaska governor's profile.

She was called "a politician of eye-popping integrity" and sections on her participation in a beauty pageant and her alleged use of influence to get her former brother-in-law fired were diminished.

Wikipedia is now restricting who can change the profile. See the Allvoice's Profile on Sarah Palin.

Official Net Worth: McCain $36.4 Million, Obama $799,000

Olivier — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:52:02 -0500

McCain's camp has been attacking Barack Obama as a rich elitist who lives in a "frikin mansion" just like him. "Frickin mansion" is a term they have used. The only problem with this attack is that it does not hold any ground.

Sunlight Foundation (nonpartisan) recently conducted a study of the net worth of each of the 535 members of congress. The data they used is from personal financial disclosure. Guess what? McCain is worth $36 million and Obama is $799,000. Are they in the same class-hell no?

Americans held as China Cracks Down on pro-Tibetan Groups

Olivier — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:08:15 -0500

China is cracking down once again. This time it is going after American and foreign blogger-activist who are pro-Tibetan. So far a dozen people have been arrested as Beijing intensfies its crackdown.

Students for a Free Tibet reported that fix citizen journalists who were in Beijing to promote Tibetan freedom have been detained. Activist/artist James Powerderly had also been nabbed.

On Wednesday, two Americans and a Brit were arrested for displaying Tibetan flag outside the National Stadium, Bird's Nest.

China is highly sensitive to criticism of its engagement in Tibet, -- the Communist troops entered the region in 1950.

"In relation to foreigners holding demonstrations in Beijing in support of Tibet independence, competent authorities have the right to handle these things according to law," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference on Wednesday.

The world is watching very closely now because of the Olympics. Many fear that once the games are over, the Chinese government will clampdown once again...

Lexus Nuaero Concept Car Straight Out of Starship Troopers...

Olivier — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:59:01 -0500

The Lexus Nuaero concept car looks incredibly cool and something out of the future. The car is designed by Jon Radbrink who was inspired by a catamaran and believes the autos "low weight and large presence" will be the way exotic and expensive cars could be manufactured in the future.

The car is loaded with technology. Radbrink has eliminated the pedals in this design. He believes that our hands are more accurate for driving than our feet. The drive would use a drive-by-wire steering pad equipped with a multi-point touch screen. Electrical motors power the car--each wheel has a motor. There is no transmission and according to Radbrink, "your break intuitively by pushing the steering wheel away from your body."

The 14.5 ft car is extremely lightweight designed for better mileage and efficiency. It weighs as much as SMART fortwo."I believe that this design paradox of low weight and large presence could be the way we'll define premium in the future,"

Olympics 2008: Beijing Sports Complexes built in LEGOs

Olivier — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:36:04 -0500

Enthusiasts from Hong Kong have built a large-scale copy of the the Olympic Village in Beijing using LEGOS. It was built for the 2008 Olympics. The structures included famous sports complexes and buildings like the national stadium "Birds' Nest", swimming center "WaterCube" and the Olympic village. Check out the pictures below...

Taj Mahal: Largest LEGO Set Ever

Olivier — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:45:04 -0500

LEGO is releasing the largest set ever: The Taj Mahal. It has over 5,922 pieces but it is only 20" wide and 16"tall which is not very big. This set will release in September at a price of $300.

Here is a quote from their site: "The famous Taj Mahal palace of India is known all over the globe for its incredible beauty and elegance. Now you can recreate this modern wonder of the world for yourself! Designed for experienced builders, the LEGO Taj Mahal model features advanced building techniques, rare elements and colors, and realistic details of architecture. With over 5,900 pieces, the Taj Mahal makes an awesome addition to any LEGO collection!"

The Pipeline War

Olivier — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:11:09 -0500

The war in Georgia escalated dangerously last night after Russian jets reportedly bombed a vital pipeline that supplies oil to the West.

After a day of heightening international tensions, Georgian leaders claimed that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which transports oil from the Caspian Sea to Turkey, had been attacked. But it is thought the bombs missed their target.

Their claims came after Russian jets struck deep into the territory of its tiny neighbour, killing civilians and ‘completely devastating' the strategic Black Sea port of Poti, a staging post for oil and other energy supplies.

Click to Read More...

Athletes have bigger, more powerful hearts

Olivier — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:56:00 -0500

Athletes have bigger hearts both in terms of size and the ability to pump blood, according to an Italian study.

The research, involving top rowers, showed that a naturally-produced hormone called IGF-1 actually makes their hearts bigger, and more powerful.

Measuring the hormone levels in 38 people, half of whom were rowers, researchers from the Universities of Milan and Naples observed that the rowers had higher hormone levels and larger hearts.

The rowers also had a far lower resting heart rate compared with the others.

"Our results show both the left and right sides of the rowers' hearts are larger, and function at an enhanced capacity compared with those of controls. The causes of this are not completely clear - it could be due to the production of growth factors, such as IGF-1, during training," the BBC quoted Dr. Giovanni Vitale, who led the study, as saying.