September 11, 2019

Ghost crabs use teeth in stomachs to 'growl' at predators

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Ghost crabs, named for their sand-pale bodies and nocturnal antics, use teeth in their stomachs to “growl” at aggressors, leaving their claws free for attacking manoeuvres and general waving about.

It is the first known evidence of an animal using the sounds of its stomach to communicate, the researchers say.

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Most crabs make noises called stridulations by rubbing their pincers together. The rasping comes from ridges or bristles that run up and down each claw.

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Crabs possess unusual apparatus to help them process food. Inside their stomachs are little teeth that together form what is known as a gastric mill. In ghost crabs, the mill has a central tooth flanked by neighbours that carry their own fine comb-like teeth. A complex arrangement of muscles and nerves sends the mill into motion, allowing crabs to shred food that has already passed into their stomachs.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/sep/11/ghost-crabs-use-teeth-in-stomachs-to-growl-at-predators

September 11, 2019

Ghenadie Valuta, a Worst Person in the World Candidate if ever there was one

https://www.rferl.org/a/call-for-moldovan-priest-to-be-charged-after-driving-with-dog-chained-to-bumper/30071274.html

Tens of thousands of Moldovans have signed a petition calling for the authorities to punish a priest after he appeared in a social-media post apparently dragging a dog on a chain hooked to his car.

Ghenadie Valuta, an Orthodox priest known in Moldova for his antigay activism and publicity stunts, was forced on July 22 to stop his car by other motorists who had him release the dog from the chain.

Valuta, from Anenii-Noi, a village some 30 kilometers southeast of Moldova's capital, Chisinau, says in a video posted on the Internet that he chained the dog to the bumper to keep the interior of the car clean, but that he drove "very slowly for less than three kilometers." Pictures show the dog collapsed on the asphalt surrounded by bloodstains.

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In January, Valuta prompted outrage in Moldova after posting online selfies in which he is smiling next to a dying woman.

************
The article is from July 23, and I cannot find out anything new about it. An investigation was opened end of July. Couldn't find the progress of it.

He's something. I am certain there is a hole somewhere to dump this oxygen thief in

September 11, 2019

Dis-Chord: Pro-Kremlin Rapper Removes Music Video With Record Number Of Dislikes

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The clip for Moscow, a track featuring Timati and fellow rapper GUF, has proven so unpopular on YouTube that Timati removed it from the video-sharing platform after just two days.

But not before it received over 1 million "dislikes," handing the two artists the record of largest negative rating in the history of Russian YouTube.

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The clip, versions of which have been copied and uploaded after its deletion by prescient YouTube users, is a paean to Moscow, a city that has emerged from the Soviet and tsarist eras as an architectural smorgasbord and major metropolis of over 12 million inhabitants.

But most controversially, Timati's verses include a veiled condemnation of rallies in support of free elections, which rocked the capital for weeks ahead of a September 8 city-council vote, and a shout-out to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, a Kremlin ally accused of corruption and blamed for a violent crackdown on the protest movement.

https://www.rferl.org/a/pro-kremlin-rapper-removes-music-video-with-record-number-of-dislikes/30157341.html

September 11, 2019

Five Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

(Running behind this week. Missed posting last weekend)

1. Bacteria developing new ways to resist antibiotics, doctors warn

Bacteria are increasingly developing ways of resisting antibiotics, threatening a future in which patients could become untreatable, doctors have warned.

Over the last decade scientists in the UK studying samples from patients have identified 19 new mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.

The changes in bacteria are driven by genetics and mean they become able to repel even entire types of “last resort” antibiotics, including carbapenems and colistin.

For example, in 2016 an antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhoea emerged, which posed a major challenge for hospital doctors and sexual health experts seeking to treat those affected.

Over the same period no fewer than 12 new diseases and infections have been detected in England for the first time. Many have been brought into Britain by people who have picked it up abroad.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/sep/11/bacteria-developing-new-ways-resist-antibiotics-doctors-warn


2. Bulgaria Charges Former Lawmaker With Spying For Russia

SOFIA -- Nikolai Malinov, a former parliamentary deputy from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) who now heads a pro-Russian nongovernmental organization, has been formally charged in Sofia with spying and laundering money for Russian organizations.

Bulgaria's Prosecutor-General Sotir Tsatsarov announced the charges against Malinov on September 10, saying Malinov could face a prison sentence of five to 15 years if convicted.

Malinov was released from custody on September 10 after posting bail of 25,000 euros ($27,600). He has been banned from leaving Bulgaria, Tsatsarov said.

Malinov is accused of accepting payments for transferring Bulgarian state secrets to two Russian organizations -- the Double-Headed Eagle Society and the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies.

https://www.rferl.org/a/bulgaria-charges-former-lawmaker-with-spying-for-russia/30157289.html


3. What's the 'European way of life'? EU chief's new Commission portfolio draws criticism

Some announcements from EU incoming chief Ursula von der Leyen about her Commission raised eyebrows on Tuesday but perhaps none more so than the new portfolio for "Protecting our European Way of Life."

It's Greece's new commissioner, Margaritis Schinas, a former member of the European Parliament and a long-serving official at the Commission, who has been handed the portfolio.

But it's what falls under his purview that has raised eyebrows and seen accusations of "fascist thinking" lobbed at the Commission.

Schinas is to steer the bloc's policy-making on migration and security as well as education and employment.

https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/10/what-s-the-european-way-of-life-eu-chief-s-new-commission-portfolio-draws-criticism

4. Yerevan Court Hears Arguments On Petition To Release Ex-President

Armenia's Prosecutor-General's Office has argued that there are no grounds to drop criminal proceedings against former President Robert Kocharian, or to release him from custody, as demanded by his defense team.

The two sides presented their arguments in a Yerevan court on September 9 after Kocharian's lawyers petitioned for his release, based on a ruling by the Constitutional Court last week that the former president's July arrest was "unconstitutional."

Prosecutors argued that the constitution does not provide Kocharian immunity from prosecution related to his decision to declare emergency rule to quell protests against the results of the 2008 presidential election.

Kocharian faces charges of overthrowing the constitutional order relating to the March 2008 decision to call in troops following clashes that left at least eight people, including a police officer, dead in the worst civil violence in that country's post-Soviet history.

https://www.rferl.org/a/yerevan-court-arguments-petition-ex-president/30155320.html

5. Hungary tops EU anti-fraud investigations

The misuse of EU funds prompted protests around Central Europe from the Czech Republic to Romania in 2019.

OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud agency, has released a report saying almost 4% of development funding that went to Hungary between 2014-2018 is in question, by far the highest percentage in the EU.

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"Its important to look always behind the numbers. The numbers are not always telling the whole truth. That's why I am coming (visiting) Hungary too. To discuss with judicial authorities and law enforcement what is behind and if there are problems, let's find together common solutions for those," Ville Itälä, OLAF General director told Euronews.

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"I think what stands out most for us, is that member states simply don't seem to be taken the fight against corruption with EU funds seriously. The 36% indictment rate is unacceptable and needs to be addressed. I think the Czech case where the Czech prosecutor decided to suspend the corruption probe into Prime Minister Babis's holdings is an example how member states used to react to OLAF investigations, where they simply drag their feet, don't investigate properly and let the investigation dry up or be forgotten," Nick Aiossa, of Transparency International, told Euronews.

https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/03/hungary-tops-eu-anti-fraud-investigations

September 9, 2019

Israeli PM wrongly refers to Boris Johnson as Boris Yeltsin

tbh: I'm not sure he's that wrong. They are/were both buffoons

The office of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has released a video that clumsily tries to edit out a gaffe where he calls the British prime minister by the wrong name.

Netanyahu misspoke at Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting, referring to his UK counterpart Boris Johnson as Boris Yeltsin, the former Russian president who died in 2007.

“I’ve returned from a very pleasant visit in London, where I’ve met with Prime Minister Boris Yeltsin and the US defence secretary,” Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting.

Cabinet ministers immediately interjected, and Netanyahu gave a wry smile before correcting himself, saying he was checking to see if his colleagues were paying attention.

link
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/09/israeli-pm-wrongly-refers-to-boris-johnson-as-boris-yeltsin

September 4, 2019

Vintage Ads that are bizarre, weird and wrong. Some almost laughably so (a little pic heavy)

Uhhhh... yeah. Sugary carbonated beverage regiment




This is just weird and wrong



And, speaking of weird. Though this is laughably so.
Here you are Jenny, for your bridal shower, a meat thermometer
Aren't all bridal showers about the husband to be?



For children who want only the classiest of cigars



This child is getting his hands on his inheritance as early as possible



Santa keeping his "Ho Ho Ho"s loud and jolly. No throat scratch for him.
Maybe throat cancer



I know you're happy to find out that more doctors smoke Camels



Even dentist recommend cigarettes; though they smoke Viceroys




If you're pregnant, don't hold back: Nico Time for you



Saving the best for last
A barbituate that has, what appears to be a ghost boy for it's marketing

&f=1

September 2, 2019

Brochure Issued In Ingushetia Instructs Women To 'Defer' To Men

MAGAS, Russia -- Authorities in Russia's mostly Muslim-populated North Caucasus region of Ingushetia have issued a brochure instructing women "to be deferential" to men.

The brochure issued earlier this week by the administration in the regional capital, Magas, gives general instructions to Ingush youth on how to dress and behave in public places.

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"Women's beauty is shyness, politeness, a calm tone and keeping a distance from strangers. Women cannot shout and laugh loudly in public," the brochure says.

It also says that "a noble Ingush will never leave his house barefoot," and calls it "improper" "to wear tight clothes."

The instructions also say that people must step aside when a person who is at least one day older is walking toward them.

link:
https://www.rferl.org/a/ingushetia-brochure-women-defer-to-men/30138077.html

I do agree with showing respect to elders... though one day older is a bit much. In Korean culture age is everything
The barefoot thing, I'm okay with; hygiene and safety. Again, when I lived in Korea barefoot was considered a no
Adult women standing up for teenage boys... Uh... noooooooooooooooooooooooo!