http://www.liveleak.com/browse?channel_token=295_1302937115 Items in channel 'Interloper' Mon, 20 May 2013 08:02:28 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?channel_token=295_1302937115 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:25:45 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=778_1214245545 Interloper WHICH city uses more cocaine: Los Angeles or London? Is heroin a big problem in San Diego? And has ecstasy emerged in rural America? Environmental scientists are beginning to use the bottom line - raw sewage - to paint an accurate portrait of drug abuse in communities. Tests at municipal sewage plants in many areas of the United States and Europe have detected illicit drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana. Law enforcement officials have long sought a way to come up with reliable and verifiable calculations of narcotics use, to identify new trends and formulate policies. Surveys, the backbone of drug-use estimates, are only as reliable as the people who answer them. But sewage does not lie. Since people excrete chemicals in urine and flush it down toilets, measuring raw sewage for street drugs can provide quick, fairly precise snapshots of drug use in communities, even on a particular day. The results have been intriguing: methamphetamine levels in sewage are much higher in Las Vegas than in Omaha and Oklahoma City. Los Angeles County has more cocaine in its sewage than several major European cities. And Londoners apparently are heavier users of heroin than people in cities in Italy and Switzerland. "Every sample has one illicit drug or another," said Jennifer Field, an environmental chemist at Oregon State University who has tested sewage in many US cities. "You may see differences from place to place, but there's always something." The new practice has illuminated an environmental threat. Many urban waterways around the world are contaminated with low doses of cocaine and other illicit drugs from treated sewage. So far, this "sewage forensics" or "sewage epidemiology" has not been widespread. Treatment plants do not regularly monitor sewage for street drugs. Unlike prescription drugs and personal care products, which are a hot topic in environmental contamination, illicit drugs have long been below the radar. Christian Daughton, chief of environmental chemistry at the Environmental Protection Agency's national exposure research laboratory, first proposed the tests in 2001. Although initially interested in the environmental ramifications, he realised that the data could help law enforcement, sociologists and others trying to gauge trends in drug abuse. Scientists in Italy, led by Roberto Fanelli and Ettore Zuccato, were the first to implement his idea, testing sewage in Milan, London and Lugano, Switzerland in 2005. Amphetamines, including ecstasy, were the least prevalent drugs in the three cities, while marijuana was widely detected, the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research reported last month in the online version of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. For every 1000 people, about 210 milligrams of heroin were used daily in London, compared with 70 in Milan and 100 in Lugano. Amphetamine use also was higher in London. The scientists were even able to use sewage to estimate individual use and weekly trends. For instance, they estimated that in Milan, cocaine use peaked on Saturdays, while heroin and marijuana use remained steady week-long. For now, this new drug test remains anonymous. Waste water from thousands, sometimes millions, of people is pooled at treatment plants, so it cannot be tracked to any individual or specific location. But because waste also can be tested in local sewers, questions about privacy have been raised. "You could take this down to a community, a street, even a house," Mr Daughton said. "It's sort of unlimited." LOS ANGELES TIMES http://www.theage.com.au/national/scientists-flush-out-the-evidence-about-drug-use-20080623-2vlg.html?page=-1 Still from the movie Trainspotting http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=778_1214245545 Interloper Scientists flush out the evidence about drug use scientists, flush, evidence, drug use, cities Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:03:45 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bad_1213826625 Interloper IF EVER there was a case that cried out for enhanced interrogation techniques, it was Tuesday's Senate appearance by the Pentagon's former top lawyer. William "Jim" Haynes, the man who blessed the use of dogs, hoods and nudity to pry information out of recalcitrant detainees, proved to be a model of evasion himself as he resisted all attempts at inquiry by the Armed Services Committee. Did he ask a subordinate to get information about harsh questioning techniques? "My memory is not perfect." Did he see a memo about the effects of these techniques? "I don't specifically remember when I saw this." Did he remember doing something with the information he got? "I don't remember doing something with this information." When did he discuss these methods with other Bush Administration officials? "I don't know precisely when, and I cannot discuss it further without getting into classified information." The chairman, Democrat Senator Carl Levin, had had enough. "You say you don't remember it any more clearly than what you've said," he pointed out. "Therefore, going into classified session isn't going to give us any more information than what you've said, which is you had conversations but your memory is bad." "Correct," Mr Haynes agreed. "And that's all you remember?" "Correct," Mr Haynes repeated. Luckily for the witness, they don't allow naked pyramids and simulated electrocutions in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. It was the most public case of memory loss since former attorney-general Alberto Gonzales, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, forgot everything he ever knew about anything. And, like Mr Gonzales, Mr Haynes (who, denied a federal judgeship by the Senate, left the Pentagon in February for a job with Chevron) had good reason to plead temporary senility. A committee investigation found that, contrary to his earlier testimony, Mr Haynes had shown strong interest in potentially abusive questioning methods as early as July 2002. Later, ignoring the strong objections of the uniformed military, Mr Haynes sent a memo to Donald Rumsfeld recommending the approval of stress positions, nudity, dogs and light deprivation. Before Mr Haynes took his seat at the witness table on Tuesday, a parade of underlings pointed the finger at him. The former top lawyer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff testified that Mr Haynes "was aware that the services had concerns". The woman on whose legal reasoning Mr Haynes relied for his judgement on torture testified that she was "shocked" that he did so. And the former general counsel for the Navy said he had warned Mr Haynes that the legal reasoning was "inadequate". In two hours of testimony, Mr Haynes managed to get off no fewer than 23 don't recalls, 22 don't remembers, 16 don't knows, and various other protestations of memory loss. It was an impressive performance, to be sure. But let's see him try to do that with a hood over his head, standing on a crate with wires attached to his arms. Dana Milbank, Washington June 19, 2008 WASHINGTON POST http://www.theage.com.au/world/an-unforgettable-display-of-amnesia-but-sheer-torture-20080618-2suu.html?page=-1 Forgetful: William "Jim" Haynes http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bad_1213826625 Interloper An unforgettable display of amnesia but sheer torture interrogation, torture, US, memory loss Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:27:25 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0f9_1213622845 Interloper European researchers today said they discovered a batch of three "super-Earths'' orbiting a nearby star, and two other solar systems with small planets as well. They said their findings, presented at a conference in France, suggest that Earth-like planets may be very common. "Does every single star harbour planets and, if yes, how many?'' asked Michel Mayor of Switzerland's Geneva Observatory. "We may not yet know the answer but we are making huge progress towards it,'' Mayor said in a statement. The trio of planets orbit a star slightly less massive than our Sun, 42 light-years away towards the southern Doradus and Pictor constellations. A light-year is the distance light can travel in one year at a speed of 300,000km per second - or about 9.5 trillion kilometres. The planets are bigger than Earth - one is 4.2 times the mass, one is 6.7 times and the third is 9.4 times. They orbit their star at extremely rapid speeds - one whizzing around in just four days, compared with Earth's 365 days, one taking 10 days and the slowest taking 20 days. Mayor and colleagues used the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher or HARPS, a telescope at La Silla observatory in Chile, to find the planets. More than 270 so-called exoplanets have been found. Most are giants, resembling Jupiter or Saturn. Smaller planets closer to the size of Earth are far more difficult to spot. None can be imaged directly at such distances but can be spotted indirectly using radio waves or, in the case of HARPS, spectrographic measurements. As a planet orbits, it makes the star wobble very slightly and this can be measured. "With the advent of much more precise instruments such as the HARPS spectrograph ... we can now discover smaller planets, with masses between 2 and 10 times the Earth's mass,'' said Stephane Udry, who also worked on the study. The team also said they found a planet 7.5 times the mass of Earth orbiting the star HD 181433 in 9.5 days. This star also has a Jupiter-like planet that orbits every three years. Another solar system has a planet 22 times the mass of Earth, orbiting every four days, and a Saturn-like planet with a three-year period. "Clearly these planets are only the tip of the iceberg,'' said Mayor. "The analysis of all the stars studied with HARPS shows that about one third of all solar-like stars have either super-Earth or Neptune-like planets with orbital periods shorter than 50 days.'' R http://www.theage.com.au/world/astronomers-find-batch-of-superearths-20080616-2rjd.html http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0f9_1213622845 Interloper Is there anybody out there? Is there anybody out there, super-earths, planets, life Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:18:50 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5db_1212877130 Interloper The effects of the drug ecstasy are worse when taken in a warm environment, according to a new study. Research by Emily Jaehne, a PhD student at the University of Adelaide, shows that ecstasy deaths may be related to drug users' failure to recognise their body is abnormally hot. "The fact that these drugs are often taken in warm nightclubs and at rave parties increases the risk of long term changes in brain function, or even death," Ms Jaehne said. "Our bodies usually maintain a constant temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, but in some cases ecstasy can elevate this by up to five degrees, leading to severe brain damage. "It is crucial ... that we make people more aware of the dangers associated with this drug," she said. "When ecstasy users are taking the drug in nightclubs they tend to blame the surroundings for their elevated body temperature and just ignore the warning signs. That can be fatal." http://www.theage.com.au/news/health/heat-magnifies-ecstasys-effects/2008/06/06/1212259071718.html Fever pitch ... using ecstasy in warm environments can lead to dangerously high body temperatures. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5db_1212877130 Interloper Heat makes ecstasy more dangerous heat, ecstasy, dangerous Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:09:22 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ca9_1212516562 Interloper A SENIOR officer with the highly secretive NSW Crime Commission, who has led some of Australia's biggest drug busts, has been charged over his alleged involvement in a $120 million international drug conspiracy. Mark Standen, 51, an assistant director of investigations at the commission, was arrested as he worked at his desk yesterday over the plot to import chemicals from the Netherlands to manufacture methamphetamine, or "ice". It is understood he may have been under investigation for the past 18 months to two years. The arrest of Standen, a father from the Central Coast, stunned law-enforcement officers, who admired his investigative prowess. His teams have also been involved in investigating alleged corrupt conduct by police. The arrest is understood to be part of a series of co-ordinated raids in Europe, Thailand and Sydney. One report said about 150 police, including six SWAT teams, had raided homes and offices in four cities in the Netherlands last week and arrested 11 people. more: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/drug-cop-accused-in-120m-bust/2008/06/02/1212258741677.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 Charged... Mark Standen arrives handcuffed at Sydney Central Local Court http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ca9_1212516562 Interloper Drug cop accused in $120m bust drug, cop, busted Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:09:56 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b46_1212512996 Interloper THE summer silly season has started early in Germany with the country's biggest newspaper printing a guide to avoiding British tourists abroad. To be fair, the Germans say it was the Poms who started it. Bild's contribution to the annual battle of the beach lounges was sparked when Briton David Barnish sued his travel company for selling him a holiday at a resort filled with stereotypically German Germans. He complained of sun lounges being claimed at a record rate, of only German programs on the hotel's TVs and of staff at the Grecotel Park Hotel on the Greek island of Kos speaking only German. "The crazy British! Too many Germans in the hotel! Compensation for an Englander!" screamed the headlines which seemed to pile on top of one another like, well, discarded beach towels. Bild quoted a German legal expert saying Germans who found themselves at an all-Brit resort would not have the same opportunity of suing as Mr Barnish, who pocketed http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b46_1212512996 Interloper Germans avoid Brits germans, avoid, brits, tourism Sun, 01 Jun 2008 08:33:40 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=729_1212323620 Interloper About 500 Australian combat troops today have begun pulling out of their base in southern Iraq. A British military spokesman in the southern city of Basra said the pullout from Talil base in Nassiriya was underway. But a spokesman for the governor of Dhi Qar province said it had been completed, with US forces replacing the Australians. The pullout fulfils an election promise by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to bring the soldiers home this year. The Australian government had been expected to begin mid-year the withdrawal of the 500-member Australian battlegroup based at Tallil in southern Iraq under British command. Mr Rudd had pledged during last year's election campaign to bring the troops home in contrast to the Howard government. During his prime ministership, Mr Howard repeatedly said the troops should stay until the job was done, arguing Labor's plan to "cut and run" from Iraq would galvanise terrorists. Preparations were made to pull out at the end of the troop's current six-month rotation in the middle of the year, and Britain and the US were informed. Last week, British Defence Secretary Des Browne said Britain had planned accordingly for an Australian drawdown of troops. "As it turns out, where they are working in Iraq is in an advanced stage of its own independence in terms of providing its own security," he said in a speech at the National Press Club in Canberra last week. "Coincidentally, it was probably about time they were coming out of Tallil anyway so it works out in a way that suits all of us." Britain still has about 4,000 troops in southern Iraq. He said then that Britain was grateful to the people of Australia and to the troops for their "magnificent" contribution to Iraq. In April, US Ambassador to Australia Robert McCallum said Washington harboured no hard feelings over the Labor government's decision to pull Australian combat troops out of Iraq. AGencies http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=729_1212323620 Interloper Troops heading home australian, soldiers, war, iraq, over Fri, 23 May 2008 20:43:23 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=958_1211589803 Interloper Whether it's businessmen, politicians or entertainers, there's no shortage of rich, successful men marrying much younger women. The assets of fame, power and big bucks, the belief goes, tend to make up for the debits of time - grey hair, paunches and assorted wrinkles. But, according to new US research, the "success" part may not have much to do with it, either. The older a man is when he marries after 40, the greater the likelihood that his bride will be significantly younger - whether that man is wealthy and educated or not. "If you look at guys who do marry, the poor guys marry down in age just as much as the rich guys do," said Paula England, a Stanford University sociologist and co-author of the new study. "That was kind of surprising to us." Men in their 40s tend to marry women who average seven years younger, and men in their 50s are marrying brides who average 11 years younger, according to England's research. And men in the 60s? They tend to marry women who are 13 years younger. "In first marriages, men are typically a couple years older than women," England said. But, "the older men are when they marry, and it doesn't matter whether it's a first or a second marriage, the more years they marry down." England and research partner Elizabeth McClintock of Stanford partially explain their findings as due to major alterations of the family structure following the tumult of the 1960s. But they especially point to "a double standard of aging." They say the male ideal of beauty is found in women in their early 20s, and that ideal remains fixed for men no matter that they themselves are growing older. "Women may be a little more indifferent to age than men are," England said, "because they are not judging people as much on looks." Women certainly don't have trouble buying into the results. Men "don't want to get old," said Paulette Dickerson of San Jose. "We don't worry about it so much because we take care of ourselves." Thi Tran, a 44-year-old social worker from Milpitas, California, said it always bothered her that women in her mother's generation worried so much about their looks as they aged. But things haven't changed, she said. "We can't deviate from what the TV tells you to look like," she said. "Every day you look at the TV, at magazines, at the newspaper; it's very hard. I see friends that are starting to worry about how they look." While the age differential between husbands and brides is narrowing in first marriages, a significant portion of husbands in the US are still substantially older than their wives. A wife who is even four years older than her husband remains a rarity, US Census data shows. In about one-third of American marriages, husbands are at least four years older than their wives, according to 2006 Census data. Wives are four years or more older than their husbands in just 7 per cent of unions. Still, in a first marriage the median age difference is 2.2 years between brides and grooms in California, the Census Bureau says. That narrowing points to a trend to more egalitarian marriages, argues Stephanie Coontz, author of Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage. Other research shows that women who marry later in life tend to have lower rates of divorce, even though they are more likely to marry men of a different race or religion. "You're still getting a lot of guys who marry down" in age, said Coontz, "but I think that obscures a trend to more age-equal, more power-equal relationships between men and women, a long-term trend over the last 50 years." What demographers call the Second Demographic Transition - the explosion in divorce and the rearranging of family units after the 1960s - has increased the potential for wider marital age gaps, with more people marrying later in life, frequently for the second or third time. With both older and younger men chasing younger women, the law of supply and demand make the marriage market a tough place for middle-aged people of both genders, England said. For women, the marriage market may be limited to potential husbands who are significantly older, because many men of the same age are interested in younger women, she said. And for middle-aged men, the marriage market is tougher because they must compete with younger men for the same pool of younger brides. Less clear from the data is how lower-income, less educated older men are successfully marrying younger women. "We do find that money helps men's chances of getting married," England said. "But if we take youth as our crude measure of beauty, it doesn't seem like men are being able to exchange their money for younger women, so we don't know what's differentiating which older guys are able to marry very young women." MCT Youth is beauty, beauty youth ... Rupert Murdoch and his significantly younger third wife, Wendi Deng, are typical of US demographic trends. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=958_1211589803 Interloper Trophy wives a proven prize trophy wives, a, proven, prize Fri, 23 May 2008 20:29:51 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2fc_1211588991 Interloper By Thomas Friedman... THERE has been much debate in this campaign about which of our enemies the next US president should deign to talk to. The real story, the next president may discover, though, is how few countries are waiting around for us to call. It is hard to remember a time when more shifts in the global balance of power are happening at once http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2fc_1211588991 Interloper US failure on energy policy to cost dearly US, failure, on, energy, policy, to, cost, dearly Thu, 15 May 2008 23:40:04 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a92_1210909204 Interloper KILLINGS of Aboriginal women in remote parts of central Australia have jumped sharply in the past year, reaffirming the Red Centre's unwanted title as the nation's homicide capital. On average, 1.3 out of 100,000 Australians die each year as a result of murder or manslaughter. But if you were an Aboriginal woman living in the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara lands, you would take no comfort from those figures. One in 1200 people were killed in the NPY area last year. There are only 6000 people living in the 350,000sqkm region that covers parts of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Since May last year, five women who were NPY residents died after alleged violent attacks. In most cases, their husbands have been arrested and are in custody. At least 10 children have been orphaned by these events. The recent spike in killings is demonstrated by the fact that between 1994 and 2006, a total of 10 women from the NPY region were homicide victims. Several of the women were travelling off the NPY lands when they were killed. All were with their husbands at the time and in each case alcohol was allegedly involved. Janie Norman, 29, from Mutitjulu, was allegedly killed by blunt-force injuries to the head after being assaulted with a rock at the Little Sisters town camp in Alice Springs. Her husband, Ronald Djana, who was on parole at the time of the alleged killing, has been committed for trial. Doris Bennett, 25, from Tjukurla, was allegedly assaulted and died of exposure after being left in the elements overnight in the Karnte town camp of Alice, also in May last year. Her husband, Francis Martin, has been committed to face trial. Diane Nelson, 44, died from blunt-force injuries to the head at Warakurna in December. Samuel Jackson has been charged. Rebecca Hogan, 29, from Indulkana, was allegedly repeatedly punched then repeatedly struck with a saucepan, with rocks, a wheel rim and a wheel brace at Coober Pedy in March. Leon Curtis has been charged with murder. Thelma Foster, 42, was allegedly struck four times to the head and body with a tree branch at Warburton in April. It is not certain if charges have been laid. The NPY lands are defined as the vast bush area where the Aboriginal organisation, the NPY Women's Council, is active. The council monitors domestic violence and women's issues in the region which is only partly subject to the federal intervention in the Northern Territory. No source was able to offer a definitive explanation for the surge in death. Alcohol appears to continue to infiltrate what are by law dry communities. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23695369-5006790,00.html No names... aboriginal women from NT. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a92_1210909204 Interloper Rise in killings of remote Aboriginal women rise, in, killings, of, remote, aboriginal, women, australia Thu, 15 May 2008 08:05:53 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=eb1_1210853153 Interloper Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife says she and her husband watched in horror as George W Bush became US president in 2000, according to extracts of her autobiography. Cherie Blair said her husband's heart sank as Bush defeated Al Gore to succeed President Bill Clinton, according to passages of the book serialised in The Times of London and to be published on Thursday. "I think it's fair to say that our hearts sank when the result was finally ratified," Blair wrote in her book Speaking For Myself, according to the newspaper. The couple were close friends of the Clintons, but she said they later developed a warm relationship with President Bush and his wife Laura. "George is actually a very funny, charming man with a quirky sense of humour," the newspaper quoted her as writing in the biography. "The reason he gets a bad press, he says, is 'because I talk Texan'." Cherie Blair wrote that she struck a bond with the First Lady, who was "a very warm, genuine person". Blair suffered domestically because of his relationship with Bush, chiefly over the decision to support the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. The British leader was dubbed Bush's poodle and saw his popularity ratings nosedive. Bush was due to meet Tony Blair on Thursday in Jerusalem to discuss the ex-British leader's new work as envoy to the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers. Blair was scheduled to update Bush on progress for improving Palestinian civic institutions and economic conditions. The former British leader's wife also discusses the couple's relationship with the Clintons in her biography, which is being published in Britain by Little, Brown on Thursday. She says little about her husband's response to Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, but is blunt about her own response. "My reaction was basically, 'Oh Bill, how could you?'," she wrote. Cherie Blair, a human rights lawyer, said she admired Hillary Clinton's handling of the situation. "If I had been impressed by Hillary before, I was doubly impressed now," the newspaper quoted her as writing. AP US President George Bush kisses Cherie Blair http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=eb1_1210853153 Interloper 'Our hearts sank when Bush became president' george bush, cherie, tony, blair Tue, 13 May 2008 10:58:29 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=627_1210690709 Interloper By Jamie Walker, original title "Law of the jungle". SO this is what another corner of indigenous Australia has come to: "a jungle" where the law and decency no longer apply, where children give up what's left of their innocence for a meal or sniff of petrol. Ted Mullighan's swan-song report on the social catastrophe that has overtaken South Australia's Central Desert lands is cause for anger and deep introspection. Anger because, after all the government inquiries and chest beating by politicians and community leaders, the billions in remedial funding and interventions of one kind or another, children are still subjected to unspeakable cruelty in an Aboriginal heartland. Further cause for national soul-searching are Mullighan's searing words on the Third World conditions stretching south from the Northern Territory's famed Pitjantjatjara country that continue to destroy the promise of each generation born there. The harrowing cases of child sex abuse documented by the former Supreme Court judge and his investigators add a fresh layer of horror to what was uncovered by the Little Children are Sacred report in the territory, which last year impelled the Howard government to elbow aside local sensibilities and send in the army and federal police. Mullighan, in delivering his report yesterday, the final instalment of his three-year inquiry into the mistreatment of children in state care in SA, firmly rejected the intervention option, noting that the best solutions would come from the people of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands. But the need for state and federal action to support them was imperative, he warns. "It is clear the scourge of child sexual abuse is widespread, devastating and a national disgrace," the commissioner writes. Social dysfunction caused by despondency, alcohol, drugs, petrol sniffing and gambling has already destroyed countless lives. Parents do not know how to care for and protect their children or have become unable to do so, Mullighan reports. "It's the law of the jungle here," one male witness told his inquiry. Read more: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23656621-28737,00.html Crowd watching a football game in Anangu Pitantjara Yankunytjatjara lands. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=627_1210690709 Interloper The dark side of Australia dark, side, of, australia, aborigines, neglect, abuse