We're all going to die!

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Malaria fear as global warming increases
Global warming could lead to a return of insect-borne diseases in Britain such as malaria, and increased incidence of skin cancer caused by exposure to the sun, a government report warns today. With temperatures forecast to rise into the high 30s this summer, scientists fear Britain could be in line for at least one extreme heatwave before 2012. Tick-borne diseases are set to increase, along with the threat of other diseases associated with hotter climates. The report by a group of scientists for the Department of Health updates earlier warnings that climate change could see heat-related deaths rise to more than 2,800 a year in Britain. Heatstroke claimed the lives of nearly 15,000 people in France in exceptional conditions in 2003, and today's report by the Department of Health warns that could be a taste of things to come in Britain.
Oh, hang on a minute...on the other hand:
- milder winters could continue to see a drop in winter deaths and ease pressure on the NHS, which used to suffer an annual winter emergency. Some estimates suggest that the number of cold-related winter deaths could fall by up to 20,000.
Oh, hang on another minute...

“Global Warming and Malaria: A Call for Accuracy” (The Lancet, June 2004)


A nice brisk walk, just the thing...no?

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What walking speeds say about us

Make up your minds! I thought brisk walking was supposed to be as good as jogging for improving cardiovascular health but apparently not:
The world is walking faster than ever before, according to research by the British Council. So what can we learn about someone who walks quickly?

Things to do**, people to meet.

Rushing around is regarded as an acceptable hazard of city living. But an international study commissioned by the British Council suggests urban populations are walking faster and faster, and putting their health in danger in the process.

Researchers in 35 city centres timed how long it took 70 people unencumbered by phones, shopping and companions to walk 60 feet.Singapore came top of the table, followed by Copenhagen, Madrid and Guangzhou in China. London was outside the top 10 and overall speeds were 10% higher than the previous study in the early 1990s.

"The key conclusion is that the world is speeding up," says Professor Richard Wiseman, who headed the study. "Pace around the world is 10% faster than ever before. That's not great for our health. As people speed up in their lives they are not eating properly, exercising or seeing friends and family. All these things can lead to all kinds of things, especially heart attacks."


Of course, this is utter bollocks. Heart attacks are NOT brought on by the stress of modern living or by having a 'Type A' personality - a fallacy debunked donkey's years ago. But then the good professor knows less about heart disease than he does about juggling, being neither a cardiologist nor an epidemiologist but, rather, a glorified Paul Daniels with a Ph.D - an ex-magician best known for leading an international experiment in 2001 to find the world's funniest joke. I think this research must rank pretty highly in any list of 'jokes' alongside Wiseman himself, of course.

**



Rejected (and dejected?)

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Up here in Scotland it looks like it's the night of the spoilt ballot paper as much as anything, or to be more correct, the 'rejected' ballot paper. These papers haven't been spoilt deliberately by disgruntled non-voters but appear to to result from confusion over the two distinct marking systems being used.

As for the SNP, although it's still early (3am), it looks like their gathering a large number of votes but are not being as successful in turning them into gains. We now have the situation where Alex Salmond is an MP in both Scotland  and Westminster. My understanding is that he will give up his Westminster seat but some of the pundits didn't seem so clear about it. 

UPDATE: 8-30am.  Labour did badly, but not as disastrously as many thought they would (unless they lose Scotland - still no clear result yet). Tories did rather well, but nothing to jump up and down about. LibDems. Mmmm, bye bye Menzies? In Scotland both the postal vote and the flawed ballot design left thousands disenfranchised. A disgraceful set of affairs but don't expect anyone to put their hands up.



Azmi Bishara

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Why Israel is after me


I am a Palestinian from Nazareth, a citizen of Israel and was, until last month, a member of the Israeli parliament. But now, in an ironic twist reminiscent of France's Dreyfus affair -- in which a French Jew was accused of disloyalty to the state -- the government of Israel is accusing me of aiding the enemy during Israel's failed war against Lebanon in July.

Israeli police apparently suspect me of passing information to a foreign agent and of receiving money in return. Under Israeli law, anyone -- a journalist or a personal friend -- can be defined as a "foreign agent" by the Israeli security apparatus. Such charges can lead to life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

The allegations are ridiculous. Needless to say, Hezbollah -- Israel's enemy in Lebanon -- has independently gathered more security information about Israel than any Arab Knesset member could possibly provide. What's more, unlike those in Israel's parliament who have been involved in acts of violence, I have never used violence or participated in wars. My instruments of persuasion, in contrast, are simply words in books, articles and speeches.


Where's John Holmes?

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Guido suggests not voting


...and backs it up with a creepy flash animation from Ken Schoolland, the author of the children's 'libertarian novel', Jonathan Gullible, with a soundtrack like a mashup of a second-rate suspense movie, an early seventies porn film and a children's progamme segment on paper-folding.



It does have a certain charm though, reminiscent of sixties public information films about sneezing or VD.

One commenter sums it up well: 'pretty meaningless stuff..It is what one might call The Ladybird Book of Political Philosophy.'  But sophisticated political commentary it ain't.


Blair, Our Man in Baghdad

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Boris Johnson: Send Blair to Baghdad
Every time he glides over what is going on, he sounds more insouciant, more indifferent to the deaths of Iraqis, and more provocative. So I have a plan.

Better than sending him off on his lecture tour to America, Gordon should immediately appoint him Our Man in Baghdad, where he could use those skills, honed in Northern Ireland, to heal the rift between Sunni and Shia. Iraqis would see that he did really care about them and their government.In the face of this personal effort and sacrifice, Muslim anger around the world would abate.

Yes, it's goodbye Tony, and hello Lord Blair of Baghdad. If it's good enough for Prince Harry, it's good enough for him.


Mmm, no intelligent lifeforms found here, Captain.

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MoD opens its files on UFO sightings to public
The Ministry of Defence plans to open its "X-Files" on UFO sightings to the public for the first time.

Officials have not yet decided on a date for the release of the reports, which date back to 1967, but it is hoped to be within weeks.

The move follows the decision by the French national space agency to release its UFO files in March, the first official body in the world to do so.


Gym

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Pictures that show there’s more to sport than meets the eye
These amazing photographs are the result of a painstaking process to capture the movements of sports players at incredibly high speed.

Made by British photographer Hugh Turvey, they reveal the beauty and complexity of the moving body that the human eye cannot see.


Or not, as the case may be. This image has been removed by me after a complaint from the artist’s agent and a request for a licence fee.

You’ll just have to make the huge effort to click on the link above and see it at the Daily Mail site, which was the original intention anyway, hence the low resolution and the link to the original site.

Some might have seen that as free promotion rather than copyright infringement but there you go, I’m sure this is hugely beneficial to the photogapher and that the world has now returned once more to a peaceful equilibrium.

Watch out! He's a suicide comedian

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Vatican calls verbal attack on Pope "terrorism"
The Vatican's official newspaper accused an Italian comedian on Wednesday of "terrorism" for criticizing the Pope and warned his rhetoric could fuel a return to 1970s-style political violence. In an unusually strongly worded editorial, L'Osservatore Romano said a presenter of a televised May Day rock concert, which is sponsored by Italy's labor unions, had launched "vile attacks" on Pope Benedict in front of an "excitable crowd"."

This, too, is terrorism. It's terrorism to launch attacks on the Church," it said. "It's terrorism to stoke blind and irrational rage against someone who always speaks in the name of love, love for life and love for man."
Via J-Walk