Mozilla's Firefox browser has been downloaded over a billion times, an event the Mozilla community is using to launch a new evangelism campaign. Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's director of Firefox, estimates that the one billionth download took place at 7:47 A.M. Pacific Time on Friday. To celebrate the event, Mozilla plans on Monday to launch www.onebillionplusyou.com, a Web site devoted rallying the Mozilla community and "as a hub of information concerning the billionth download of Firefox." Asked to clarify what will actually be on the site, Mary Colvig, marketing manager for Mozilla said in an e-mail that the site "will reflect on how our community members around the world have helped improve the Web." Whatever there is to be said about the billionth download, Mozilla expects to make it available in 22 languages
Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's director of Firefox, estimates that the one billionth download took place at 7:47 A.M. Pacific Time on Friday.
To celebrate the event, Mozilla plans on Monday to launch www.onebillionplusyou.com, a Web site devoted rallying the Mozilla community and "as a hub of information concerning the billionth download of Firefox."
Asked to clarify what will actually be on the site, Mary Colvig, marketing manager for Mozilla said in an e-mail that the site "will reflect on how our community members around the world have helped improve the Web."
Whatever there is to be said about the billionth download, Mozilla expects to make it available in 22 languages
All private organ transplants are to be banned in the UK to avoid a perception that patients, including those from overseas, can jump the queue for scarce donor organs by paying for treatment.The government said today that it will take immediate steps to implement the recommendations of an independent report published by Elisabeth Buggins, former chair of the Organ Donation Taskforce. She recommended banning private organ transplants from 1 October.The ban will stop foreign patients living outside the UK paying to receive organs donated by British people.Earlier this year it was revealed the livers of 50 British NHS donors were transplanted into foreign patients over a two-year period, with the bulk of the operations taking place at King's College hospital and the Royal Free hospital in London.Of the patients, 40 were from Greece or Cyprus, while the remainder included patients from non-EU countries such as China, Libya and the United Arab Emirates.Health minister Ann Keen said: "We accept her recommendations and will now take these forward to ensure a UK system that is fair and transparent and one which patients and potential donors can have trust and confidence in."
All private organ transplants are to be banned in the UK to avoid a perception that patients, including those from overseas, can jump the queue for scarce donor organs by paying for treatment.
The government said today that it will take immediate steps to implement the recommendations of an independent report published by Elisabeth Buggins, former chair of the Organ Donation Taskforce. She recommended banning private organ transplants from 1 October.
The ban will stop foreign patients living outside the UK paying to receive organs donated by British people.
Earlier this year it was revealed the livers of 50 British NHS donors were transplanted into foreign patients over a two-year period, with the bulk of the operations taking place at King's College hospital and the Royal Free hospital in London.
Of the patients, 40 were from Greece or Cyprus, while the remainder included patients from non-EU countries such as China, Libya and the United Arab Emirates.
Health minister Ann Keen said: "We accept her recommendations and will now take these forward to ensure a UK system that is fair and transparent and one which patients and potential donors can have trust and confidence in."
Michael Jackson's death was every bit as strange as his progressively eccentric life. He died in a room that was swelteringly hot as he always felt cold, surrounded by the paraphernalia of addiction - oxygen tanks, an IV drip, empty drug cannisters.As the details of his final hours have emerged, attention has come to settle on the drug Propofol which he appears to have been given intravenously by his personal doctor in the early hours of June 25, the day he died. Should the imminent toxicology reports confirm Propofol as the primary cause of death, that would place Jackson in a rare category.There are only two other cases recorded of lay people addicted to Propofol. The first was an American man aged 21 who bought it through eBay and took it through a drip, killing himself - an echo there of Jackson, though in this case the man administered himself. The other was a 25-year-old Berliner who obtained it from vets' clinics. He pretended he kept tropical fish and needed to anaesthetise them.These exceptions apart, Propofol abuse is confined to the medical profession, specifically anaesthetists and nurses working with them who are constantly in the presence of the drug and have easy access to it. Outside the medical world, the plight of these men and women is relatively little known, a secret world open only to their closest family and friends and carers. Interviews with recovering users, self-help groups and the leading experts in Propofol addiction in the US paint a picture of desperate cravings, yearnings for oblivion, escape from childhood abuse and the slow, stuttering road back to recovery. They reveal too a drug that is almost entirely unregulated, kept freely available to medical staff at the behest of drug companies and health providers. Yet it is powerfully addictive and potentially lethal. A tiny excess dose can stop the heart or suppress breathing, and send the user into a coma from which they never come back.Propofol, or Diprivan as it trades in America, is a white milky substance that was introduced in 1986. Its popularity as an anaesthetic has steadily grown until it is now the most widely used IV drug for putting patients to sleep. Doctors like it because it is quick to act and leaves a minimal hangover.But it became known early on that it was addictive. In tests, rats and primates became hooked on it. In 1992 the first human dependency was recorded, an anaesthetist in his early thirties who began injecting himself to cope with stress. His secret was uncovered when he was found unconscious one night in the bathroom at work.
Michael Jackson's death was every bit as strange as his progressively eccentric life. He died in a room that was swelteringly hot as he always felt cold, surrounded by the paraphernalia of addiction - oxygen tanks, an IV drip, empty drug cannisters.
As the details of his final hours have emerged, attention has come to settle on the drug Propofol which he appears to have been given intravenously by his personal doctor in the early hours of June 25, the day he died. Should the imminent toxicology reports confirm Propofol as the primary cause of death, that would place Jackson in a rare category.
There are only two other cases recorded of lay people addicted to Propofol. The first was an American man aged 21 who bought it through eBay and took it through a drip, killing himself - an echo there of Jackson, though in this case the man administered himself. The other was a 25-year-old Berliner who obtained it from vets' clinics. He pretended he kept tropical fish and needed to anaesthetise them.
These exceptions apart, Propofol abuse is confined to the medical profession, specifically anaesthetists and nurses working with them who are constantly in the presence of the drug and have easy access to it. Outside the medical world, the plight of these men and women is relatively little known, a secret world open only to their closest family and friends and carers. Interviews with recovering users, self-help groups and the leading experts in Propofol addiction in the US paint a picture of desperate cravings, yearnings for oblivion, escape from childhood abuse and the slow, stuttering road back to recovery. They reveal too a drug that is almost entirely unregulated, kept freely available to medical staff at the behest of drug companies and health providers. Yet it is powerfully addictive and potentially lethal. A tiny excess dose can stop the heart or suppress breathing, and send the user into a coma from which they never come back.
Propofol, or Diprivan as it trades in America, is a white milky substance that was introduced in 1986. Its popularity as an anaesthetic has steadily grown until it is now the most widely used IV drug for putting patients to sleep. Doctors like it because it is quick to act and leaves a minimal hangover.
But it became known early on that it was addictive. In tests, rats and primates became hooked on it. In 1992 the first human dependency was recorded, an anaesthetist in his early thirties who began injecting himself to cope with stress. His secret was uncovered when he was found unconscious one night in the bathroom at work.
The lost Roman city of Altinum has been found in Italy. Sophisticated aerial images released this week reveal fascinating new details about Venice's predecessor, which was abandoned by its citizens and then sank into the lagoon. After a long search, the ancient city of Altinum -- considered to be the predecessor of Venice -- has been discovered. In a report published this week in Science, archaeologists at the University of Padua also report that the most popular of Venetian tourist attractions, the Grand Canal, was flowing through the Roman trade town as long as 1,500 years ago.
After a long search, the ancient city of Altinum -- considered to be the predecessor of Venice -- has been discovered. In a report published this week in Science, archaeologists at the University of Padua also report that the most popular of Venetian tourist attractions, the Grand Canal, was flowing through the Roman trade town as long as 1,500 years ago.
The former East Germany made significant contributions to modern architecture. Today, they would be historical landmarks full of insights into life in the GDR. But many have been lost. Germany has a lot to celebrate this year: 60 years since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and 90 years since the founding of the Bauhaus architecture movement in Weimar, to name but a few of the anniversaries. But while the Bauhaus birthday is commemorated with champagne and special exhibits, few are aware that great architects like former Bauhaus student Selman Selmanagic were responsible for developing architectonic modernity in post-war East Germany. Much of their work was destroyed shortly after German reunification.
Germany has a lot to celebrate this year: 60 years since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and 90 years since the founding of the Bauhaus architecture movement in Weimar, to name but a few of the anniversaries.
But while the Bauhaus birthday is commemorated with champagne and special exhibits, few are aware that great architects like former Bauhaus student Selman Selmanagic were responsible for developing architectonic modernity in post-war East Germany. Much of their work was destroyed shortly after German reunification.
The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman
It is a much-belated response, but 25-year-old Robert Nieuwenhuijs' July 27 video reply to Fox News' description of Amsterdam as a "cesspool of corruption" has nevertheless become a hit on the video-sharing website YouTube. "Amsterdam is a cesspool of corruption. Everything is out of control, it's anarchy", a sidekick of Fox News conservative anchor Bill O'Reilly said during a broadcast in December 2008. The O'Reilly Factor wanted to prove the point that the liberal drug policy of the Netherlands had backfired, since the Dutch government was planning to tighten the rules governing soft drugs use. "The Netherlands are becoming more conservative", said O'Reilly. By showing smudgy images of Amsterdam's red light district over negative commentary - "It's a moral disaster" -, O'Reilly wanted to make his viewers believe that Amsterdam has turned into a modern equivelant of Sodom and Gomorrah. 25-year-old film academy graduate Robert Nieuwenhuijs from Amsterdam recently saw the show on YouTube and felt affronted by O'Reilly's Amsterdam-bashing. He decided to post a video reply on YouTube, calling it . He looked up numbers about drugs use from American and Dutch national surveys and made some striking comparisons.
It is a much-belated response, but 25-year-old Robert Nieuwenhuijs' July 27 video reply to Fox News' description of Amsterdam as a "cesspool of corruption" has nevertheless become a hit on the video-sharing website YouTube.
"Amsterdam is a cesspool of corruption. Everything is out of control, it's anarchy", a sidekick of Fox News conservative anchor Bill O'Reilly said during a broadcast in December 2008.
The O'Reilly Factor wanted to prove the point that the liberal drug policy of the Netherlands had backfired, since the Dutch government was planning to tighten the rules governing soft drugs use. "The Netherlands are becoming more conservative", said O'Reilly.
By showing smudgy images of Amsterdam's red light district over negative commentary - "It's a moral disaster" -, O'Reilly wanted to make his viewers believe that Amsterdam has turned into a modern equivelant of Sodom and Gomorrah.
25-year-old film academy graduate Robert Nieuwenhuijs from Amsterdam recently saw the show on YouTube and felt affronted by O'Reilly's Amsterdam-bashing. He decided to post a video reply on YouTube, calling it . He looked up numbers about drugs use from American and Dutch national surveys and made some striking comparisons.
Intriguingly, this could mean the device is even older than thought. The inscriptions have been dated to around 100 BC, but according to Jones the device may have been made at latest in the early second century BC, because after that the Romans devastated or took over the Greek colonies in the region, so it's unlikely that people would still have been using the Greek calendar there.
Hay tip naked capitalism "Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
nrc.nl - International - Features - Gay Pride has 'widened and deepened'
"It's still a party. But partying and fighting for what you believe in are not mutually exclusive," says Frank van Dalen, director of Pro Gay, the company behind the Gay Pride celebrations in Amsterdam. The 14th edition of Gay Pride will see eighty boats converge on Amsterdam's canals. Thirty of them have a "heavy message", says Van Dalen, with themes like violence against homosexuals or the emancipation of Christian homosexuals. There are also "political" boats like that of Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen or Labour minister Ronald Plasterk, whose portfolio includes homosexual emancipation. "Gay Pride has widened and deepened," says Van Dalen. In 2009, Gay Pride is looking more socially responsible than ever before. That shows not just in the number and type of boats in the Canal Parade, but also in the surrounding activities during the week. The university of Amsterdam is showing a collection of rare homosexual books, for instance, and the Hermitage museum laid on on a special gay day.
"It's still a party. But partying and fighting for what you believe in are not mutually exclusive," says Frank van Dalen, director of Pro Gay, the company behind the Gay Pride celebrations in Amsterdam.
The 14th edition of Gay Pride will see eighty boats converge on Amsterdam's canals. Thirty of them have a "heavy message", says Van Dalen, with themes like violence against homosexuals or the emancipation of Christian homosexuals. There are also "political" boats like that of Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen or Labour minister Ronald Plasterk, whose portfolio includes homosexual emancipation.
"Gay Pride has widened and deepened," says Van Dalen.
In 2009, Gay Pride is looking more socially responsible than ever before. That shows not just in the number and type of boats in the Canal Parade, but also in the surrounding activities during the week. The university of Amsterdam is showing a collection of rare homosexual books, for instance, and the Hermitage museum laid on on a special gay day.
