The Lumpen Proletarian

Roger Ebert's Journal: Archives

BBC NEWS | Americas | Mexico cocaine 'hidden in sharks'

The Mexican Navy says it has seized more than a tonne of cocaine hidden inside the carcasses of frozen sharks.

BBC NEWS | Americas | US man 'posed as his dead mother' [via claudio]
A New York man is charged with impersonating his dead mother to fraudulently claim her benefits for six years.

A sonic boom in the world of lasers

It was an idea born out of curiosity in the physics lab, but now a new type of ‘laser’ for generating ultra-high frequency sound waves instead of light has taken a major step towards becoming a unique and highly useful 21st century technology.

A Polymer Solar Cell with Near-Perfect Internal Efficiency

An international group of scientists has developed a polymer-based solar cell with an ability not yet seen in similar cells: almost every single photon it absorbs is converted into a pair of electric-charge carriers, and every one of those pairs is collected at the cell's electrodes.

Story That Takes 1,000 Years to Read Is Antidote to Media Whirlwind | Underwire | Wired.com

San Francisco conceptual artist and journalist Jonathon Keats is trying to rejuvenate literature in the age of hyperspeed media by writing a story that will

Powerful Nutrient Cocktail Can Put Kids With Crohn's Into Remission

Treating children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) usually involves the same steroids-based medication prescribed to adults. But such treatments can have negative side effects for kids and teens dealing with IBD. A researcher now promotes liquid nutrition to combat inflammatory bowel disease.

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VIDEO: World's Largest Stone Dome Rises
The world's largest stone dome built without pillars is near completion in India at the site of a gigantic pagoda.

Army Challenges Older Recruits, and Vice Versa - NYTimes.com [via claudio]

The pace of over-35 enlistment in the Army jumped sharply in the first months of this year. Rising unemployment is a major reason, say Army officials, recruiters and training officers.

Boy, 14, sixth case of swine flu

WINDSOR, Ont. -- The sixth swine flu case in Windsor and Essex County, involving a 14-year-old boy,

PETA Says No More Fly-Killing, Sends Obama a Humane Fly Catcher - Political Punch

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: PETA has a few words for President Obama: Brush, don’t kill. After the President very publically swatted and then killed a fly during an interview with CNBC yesterday, the outspoken animal rights group PETA (People... Political Punch Blog

Residents fight burglars with flower power | Oddly Enough | Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Tokyo district plagued with burglaries has turned to planting flowers to beautify its streets and help stamp out crime.
'Operation Flower' began about three years ago. By planting

Cairo Journal - Penned-In Egyptians Find Peace in City’s Din - NYTimes.com

Space is tight in Cairo, so residents often head to bridges and other public places for a bit of contemplation.

New York City Homicides Map - The New York Times
This data is compiled from police reports, news accounts, court records and additional reporting.

In Heat of Summer, and the Moment, Murder Grows More Likely - NYTimes.com

An analysis of homicide data provides insights about who is killed in New York, who does the killing, where murders occur and why.

Barrel ‘monster’ gets student arrested - Weird news- msnbc.com

When Joseph Carnevale chopped up three stolen orange and white traffic barrels to create a massive sculpture of a roadside monster thumbing a ride, the student said he saw it as a form of art.

Huge Pre-Stonehenge Complex Found via "Crop Circles"

Given away by crop circle-like formations, the pre-Stonehenge site surprised archaeologists with temple ruins, dozens of burial mounds, and two huge tombs that are among "Britain's first architecture."

US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive - Telegraph
Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of

drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the
Obama administration to tackle economic decline.

Eco-warrior evicted from cave dwelling without fire exit - Telegraph

An eco-warrior has been evicted from the cave he lives in on his allotment
patch in Brighton, East Sussex, because it doesn't have a fire exit.

Avoiding digital decay: Not forgotten | The Economist

How to store data for a billion years