Friday, March 11, 2005
Thank God it's Friday
Today is POETS day. For those who are not familiar with the acronym, that means "Piss Off Early, Tomorrow's Saturday". I am sure glad it's Friday. It's been a long week at work and I haven't been sleeping as well as I'd like. There wasn't a whole lot of funny stuff in the papers this morning, just some stupid things and some things that make you think. Tammy has the first part of her Dutch exams today, so be sure to send out some good vibes. I'm sure she'll do fine, though.
Doctors to investigate death toll in Iraq
A group of 24 experts in the area of public health are going to conduct an investigation into the number of dead since the invasion of Iraq. The medics find it unacceptable that neither the British nor the American government have made any kind of serious effort to establish the exact number of dead. The British government only counts the dead that are reported by the ministry of health in Iraq, which only registers the dead as reported by the medical services. I am sure that neither the British nor the American governments will be waiting with great anticipation for the investigation's results. I am sure they've done more to reduce the Iraqi population that the evil despotic rules they deposed. At least back then, they had houses to live in.
Protein retrieved from Neanderthal bones
Scientists have succeeded in retrieving a protein from a 75.000 year old Neanderthal bone. The accomplishment is hoped to give more insight into the eating habits and physiology of the Neanderthal. I feel yet another very bad sequel to Jurassic Park coming on.
Ikea discriminates against women in manuals
It seems the Norwegian prime minister has nothing constructive to do. The PM stated yesterday that there are no women wielding alan keys in any of the instruction manuals that come with the Ikea products. Ikea says it's done this for a reason, mainly that it is offensive to some of its customers, Muslims, to picture women doing handiwork, wearing short sleeved shirts and short skirts. The PM added that "I myself have great problems with screwing together such furniture.". So basically he's just a big pussy that can't even put together a cupboard. I bet his wife takes out the rubbish too.
Dog called to the witness stand
The DA in the state of Arkansas accidentally called a dog called Murphy to the stand. The mistake happened when the state subpoenaed everyone the suspect had ever communicated with during his time in jail. Unfortunately for the prosecution, the dog's testimony was not admissible since dogs are not allowed into the building. I sure hope they have something more solid on this guy.
Organ donors should get preference
More than half the Dutch population is of the opinion that people who carry a donor card should get preferential treatment should they ever need an organ themselves. 25% of the people questioned in the survey also said that they want their organs to be given to donor card carriers only. This was in response to a cabinet's rejection of an opt-out system for organ donations, making all people donors but allowing people to have a non-donor status if they apply for it. I think this would be preferential to an opt-in system. A lot of people die unnecessarily because of a severe shortage of donor organs.
Rotterdam most popular shopping city in Netherlands
This is a bit of a shameless plug for the city I live in. It seems that according to research done by the Intomart agency, Rotterdam heads the list of cities that are great for shopping. Next in line is Utrecht. Not only do they think that Rotterdam is the best city for shopping but they also spend the most money there. So you see, Rotterdam may have lost the title of biggest port in the world but at least the shops are good.
Doctors to investigate death toll in Iraq
A group of 24 experts in the area of public health are going to conduct an investigation into the number of dead since the invasion of Iraq. The medics find it unacceptable that neither the British nor the American government have made any kind of serious effort to establish the exact number of dead. The British government only counts the dead that are reported by the ministry of health in Iraq, which only registers the dead as reported by the medical services. I am sure that neither the British nor the American governments will be waiting with great anticipation for the investigation's results. I am sure they've done more to reduce the Iraqi population that the evil despotic rules they deposed. At least back then, they had houses to live in.
Protein retrieved from Neanderthal bones
Scientists have succeeded in retrieving a protein from a 75.000 year old Neanderthal bone. The accomplishment is hoped to give more insight into the eating habits and physiology of the Neanderthal. I feel yet another very bad sequel to Jurassic Park coming on.
Ikea discriminates against women in manuals
It seems the Norwegian prime minister has nothing constructive to do. The PM stated yesterday that there are no women wielding alan keys in any of the instruction manuals that come with the Ikea products. Ikea says it's done this for a reason, mainly that it is offensive to some of its customers, Muslims, to picture women doing handiwork, wearing short sleeved shirts and short skirts. The PM added that "I myself have great problems with screwing together such furniture.". So basically he's just a big pussy that can't even put together a cupboard. I bet his wife takes out the rubbish too.
Dog called to the witness stand
The DA in the state of Arkansas accidentally called a dog called Murphy to the stand. The mistake happened when the state subpoenaed everyone the suspect had ever communicated with during his time in jail. Unfortunately for the prosecution, the dog's testimony was not admissible since dogs are not allowed into the building. I sure hope they have something more solid on this guy.
Organ donors should get preference
More than half the Dutch population is of the opinion that people who carry a donor card should get preferential treatment should they ever need an organ themselves. 25% of the people questioned in the survey also said that they want their organs to be given to donor card carriers only. This was in response to a cabinet's rejection of an opt-out system for organ donations, making all people donors but allowing people to have a non-donor status if they apply for it. I think this would be preferential to an opt-in system. A lot of people die unnecessarily because of a severe shortage of donor organs.
Rotterdam most popular shopping city in Netherlands
This is a bit of a shameless plug for the city I live in. It seems that according to research done by the Intomart agency, Rotterdam heads the list of cities that are great for shopping. Next in line is Utrecht. Not only do they think that Rotterdam is the best city for shopping but they also spend the most money there. So you see, Rotterdam may have lost the title of biggest port in the world but at least the shops are good.
posted by Xander Soldaat at 07:40
