Saturday 10 July 2010

Who
"is an attention-seeking, foaming-mouthed fuckpig, who is “rabbits-are-eating-my-face” mad."?

Iranians still facing death by stoning despite 'reprieve'

An Iranian woman at a protest in Brussels highlights the barbarity of death by stoning, in which women are buried up to their necks in front of a crowd of volunteers and killed in a hail of rocks. Photograph: Thierry Roge/Reuters
Twelve Iranian women and three men are on death row awaiting execution by stoning despite an apparent last-minute reprieve for a mother of two who had been facing the horrific sentence after being convicted of adultery.
Human rights groups and activists welcomed a wave of international publicity and protests over the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, who was awaiting execution in the western Iranian town of Tabriz after what her lawyer called an unjust trial and a sham conviction.
The Iranian embassy in London said in a statement that "according to information from the relevant judicial authorities" the stoning would not go ahead. If confirmed it would be an victory for a brief but intense campaign that was first highlighted by the Guardian last week.
However, there are still concerns over her plight. In a previous case a prisoner who was to be stoned was instead executed by hanging.
Speaking to this paper Mohammadi Ashtiani's son Sajad, said his mother – whom he had spoken to by telephone – believed the pressure on her behalf might succeed, although he had not heard of any reprieve. "The campaign for her release is going very well," he said. "They gave me permission to talk to her and she was very thankful to the people of the world for supporting her. I'm very happy that so many have joined me in protesting this injustice. It was the first time in years I heard any hope in my mother's voice."
Without a reprieve, Mohammadi Ashtiani would have been buried up to her neck before being pelted with stones large enough to cause pain but not so large as to kill her immediately. Iran routinely censors information about executions, but all the 12 other women on death row have been convicted on adultery charges, as has one of the three men.
Azar Bagheri, 19, was arrested when she was 15 after her husband accused her of seeing another man. She has been subjected to mock stonings along with partial burial in the ground.
Ashraf Kalhori, 40, also sentenced to death by stoning, was forced to confess to a relationship with her husband's murderer, and has been in Tehran's Evin prison for seven years, according to her lawyer.
In one especially gruesome case, Maryam Ayubi, another alleged adulteress, fainted while being ritually washed before her execution in 2001 and was stoned to death while strapped to a stretcher. Outrage over that led to the marking of 11 July as the annual international day against stoning – which will see demonstrations at the Iran embassy in London.
Iranian activists say the tragedy is that the families of those sentenced to death often ignore them. "It doesn't matter to them whether the charge of adultery is true or not because the honour of the family is tainted so they forget the poor creature awaiting death," said Soheila Vahdati, who is now based in California.
"It's not possible to talk about these prisoners in public because their families don't want their names mentioned or their pictures published. Their families don't want to defend them neither. Mohammadi Ashtiani's case is amazing because her children are campaigning for her courageously and said that their mother is innocent."
Shammameh Ghorbani, who is awaiting stoning, begged not to be freed from prison because she feared being killed by her family.
Shadi Sadr, an acclaimed Iranian lawyer, said it was hard to know exactly how many people were still facing stoning. Last year the Iranian parliament passed a law banning it, but the powerful Guardian Council has been silent on the issue.
"Many women are kept in prison because the government is very scared of the public attention," Sadr said. "One of my clients has been there for eight years and her family have abandoned her."
Publicity helps. "The only reason the Iranian government has not carried out stoning sentences on all these people is that it is afraid of Iranian public reaction and international attention," said Sadr.
The embassy said in its statement: "This kind of punishment has rarely been implemented in Iran" and condemned media reports about the case as unreliable.
The 12 women on death row also include Mariam Ghorbanzadeh, 25, Iran Iskandari, 31, Kheyrieh Valania, 42, Sarimeh Sajadi, 30, Kobra Babaei, and Afsaneh R.
Mohammadi Ashtiani was convicted of having "illicit relationships" with two men. But her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaie, insisted there was no evidence to justify an adultery conviction. As a member of Iran's Azerbaijani minority, her inability to understand the language of the court also prevented a fair trial, he said.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, added his voice to the outrage today, condemning a "medieval punishment that has no place in the modern world". He added: "The continued use of such a punishment in Iran demonstrates a blatant disregard for international human rights commitments ... as well as the interests of its people. I call on Iran to put an immediate stay to the execution of Ms Mohammadi Ashtiani on the charge of adultery and review the process by which she was tried, and her sentence.
"She has already faced the disgraceful punishment of 99 lashes for adultery; her execution would disgust and appal the watching world."
Actors Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Juliette Binoche and playwright Sir David Hare have backed the appeal to halt the stoning. John Bercow, the Commons speaker, made a rare statement condemning a "horrific" matter and a "grotesque abuse" of human rights.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party, requires states that have not yet abolished the death penalty to restrict its use to the "most serious crimes". The United Nations general assembly has called on all states to introduce a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

Saeed Kamali Dehghan and Ian Black @'The Guardian'

Hallucinations and hospitalizations: Tree Datura/Angel's Trumpet

Toxicity reports are re-emerging in southern California this week after a dozen hospitalizations of kids using teas made from a fragrant flowering plant called Angel's Trumpet. A tea made from the plants is used to produce hallucinations, but they can progress to extremely unpleasant experiences. Moreover, Angel's Trumpet can be deadly, accelerating the heart rate and causing fatal cardiac rhythmic disturbances and bronchoconstriction that can trigger asthma attacks in sensitive individuals.

Angel's Trumpet is one of a series of plants in the Brugmansia genus that make a variety of muscarinic cholinergic antagonists such as atropine (dl-hyoscyamine, pictured to the right) and scopolamine (l-hyoscine). These compounds are also known chemically as tropane alkaloids or belladonna alkaloids, the latter derived from their classical isolation from Atropa belladonna. The belladonna name derives from the use of eye drops made from the plants that prevent constriction of the pupils (mydriasis), back when the size of a woman's pupils was a sign of beauty and arousal.

The tropane alkaloids are ubiquitous in plants and fungi and act as classic hallucinogens when used in high doses. Their legend goes back to witches brews, which we discussed here, and beyond. A wonderfully colorful history of tropane alkaloids by Robert S. Holzman of Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School was offered in this free 1998 paper in the journal, Anesthesiology (1998; 89:241-249).

However, the aftermath of Angel's Trumpet use isn't all fun and games. In cases like these, I like to turn to the Erowid site, a respected, user-supported site that offers non-judgmental information on plant-derived and synthetic psychoactive agents. The Erowid Experience Vault has several descriptions of the use of Angel's Trumpet but this one is the most detailed and representative of the downsides of this plant. (Note that the colloquial term for Angel's Trumpet in Australia is sometimes "Tree Datura," although Brugmansia is a closely-related but distinct genus from Datura within the Solanaceae family.)

I also came across a poorly-documented 2003 news article cited a German teenager cutting off his penis and tongue with garden shears after using Angel's Trumpet.

While I'm NOT a physician, emergency personnel stumbling upon this post would do well to note that physostigmine or pilocarpine are typical antidotes for anticholinergic poisonings with Angel's Trumpet, Atropa, Datura, and other similar plants that cause dilated pupils with loss of accommodation, xerostomia (dry mouth), and tachycardia. Click on this paragraph to access the Medscape poisoning article with more details on when and where specific treatments should be employed.

From the eMedicine article linked to in the above paragraph:

Remember common signs and symptoms with the mnemonic, "red as a beet, dry as a bone, blind as a bat, mad as a hatter, and hot as a hare." The mnemonic refers to the symptoms of flushing, dry skin and mucous membranes, mydriasis with loss of accommodation, altered mental status (AMS), and fever, respectively.

If you are a kid screwing with this stuff and have asthma, or see an asthmatic friend screwing with this stuff, quickly use an albuterol inhaler and call 911.

The photo shown here of Brugmansia 'Feingold' is from a Wikimedia Commons gallery of Angel's Trumpet is one is in need of identifying the plant after treating a poisoning case.

Abel Pharmboy @'Scienceblogs'

One ton tarball found off Florida coast

One of two one-ton masses of tarball material recovered south of Perdido Pass, Fla., by the crew of the lift boat Sailfish, a Vessel of Opportunity working in the largest oil spill response in U.S. history, on Saturday, June 11, 2010. Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class John Walker, USCG.
@'US Coast Guard'

jackofkent

Judge: Ms Kaschke you admit arrest on suspicion re criminal terrorist gang. What diff with saying Baader Mnff? A: errr. Adjournment... 2 minutes ago via mobile web

Grievous Angel - 2step Heaven Volume 2 Mix

New mix of classic 2step is now out! Been waiting for the warm weather to come back. It’s hot today so it’s now OUT. Music to play in your car.

All vinyl, one edit.

Groove Chronicles: Life is what you make it (DPR 1998)
El B Feat Reis and Dee: Keep the Love (Scorpion Records)
MJ Cole: Bandalero Desperado (El-B VIP mix) (Talkin Loud 2000)
Sevi G / El B: Beautiful Music (Dub Mix) (Vinylocity 2000)
Ghost: The Club (Ghost 2000)
Ghost: Lyrical Tempo (Ghost 2001)
El B: Serious (Locked On 2001)
Ruff Cut Bias: Down (Locked On 2000)
Groove Chronicles: Faith In You (DPR 1998)
Sonrisa: Grooving Me (Splash It Like Champagne Mix) (Public Demand 2000)
Sevi G / Groove Chronicles: In the Air Tonight (2 Step Mix) (White)
Shade Sheist Feat Nate Dogg: Where I Wanna Be (Dub-A-Holics R&B Switch Mix – Explicit Version) (Public Demand 2001)
De La Soul: Ain’t All Good: MJ Cole Remix (Tommy Boy Music 2000)
Victor Romeo: Love Will Find A Way (Ray Hurley & Mark Yardley Dub Mix) Public Demand 1998
Ramsey and Fen: Love Bug (Bug Records 1998)
The Bomb Squad: Bad Acid (Big Kid Productions 2000)
Kevin Real Deal: Breaking Rocks (White 1998)
The Bomb Squad: No Dub (Big Kid Productions 2000)
Monie Love: Slice of Da Pie (El B Remix) 1999
Groove Chronicles: Be Happy (White, 1999)
Angie Lee: What’s Your Name? (MJ Cole Master Mix) (WEA 1999)
Roll: Let it Roll (White, 1999)

HERE

Pete Doherty reportedly 'hospitalised' as gig is pulled

Me want: The USB typewriter...

The USBTypewriter™ is a new and groundbreaking innovation in the field of obsolescence. Lovers of the look, feel, and quality of old fashioned manual typewriters can now use them as keyboards for any USB-capable computer, such as a PC, Mac, or even iPad! The modification is easy to install, it involves no messy wiring, and does not change the outward appearance of the typewriter (except for the usb adapter itself, which is mounted in the rear of the machine). So the end result is a retro-style USB keyboard that not only looks great, but feels great to use.

At this website, you can buy buy a USB Typewriter of your very own, or you can buy a kit to make one yourself. You can also send me your typewriter to customize.

Check it out:

Have I ever mentioned to you about the kunst that threw out my 1916 Underwood? I have...oh sorry!

HERE

Australia - This is what you are anxious about. Get over it!

(Click to enlarge)

@'Robert Corr'

It's official: Israel has gotten away with it - again

Refs Subconsciously Call More Fouls on Plays to the Left

Until we invent reliable robot soccer referees, fans have one more reason to suspect the refs of bias.

Referees are more likely to make foul calls when they see the action moving from right to left, or leftward, according to a new study by brain researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

Twelve varsity soccer players were shown identical images of plays, with the only difference being that some viewed the images flipped horizontally, so there were right-to-left and left-to-right versions. The participants that saw the action as moving from right-to-left were statistically more likely to call a foul.

Other studies have shown that the direction in which people read and write leads to a bias toward rightward or leftward action. One study found that Italians were more likely to view a soccer goal as “stronger, faster and more beautiful” when it was presented with a left-to-right trajectory rather than the other way around, and that Arabic speakers showed the opposite bias.

Before we throw the human refs out in favor of robots, the bias that they found would need to be repeated with more participants, preferably with video, and with speakers of Arabic or other languages written right to left to confirm any correlation with reading and writing habits.

The study appeared online July 7 in PLoS One.

Image: Flikr/seriouslysilly

Jess McNally @'Wired Science'