Monthly Archives: November 2012

Urine-powered generator unveiled at international exhibition

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Four African girls have created a generator that produces electricity for six hours using a single liter of urine as fuel.

The generator was unveiled at last week’s Maker Faire in Lagos, Nigeria, by the four teens Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, and Faleke Oluwatoyin, all age 14, and Bello Eniola, 15.

So how exactly does the urine-powered generator work?

  • Urine is put into an electrolytic cell, which separates out the hydrogen.
  • The hydrogen goes into a water filter for purification, which then gets pushed into the gas cylinder.
  • The gas cylinder pushes hydrogen into a cylinder of liquid borax, which is used to remove the moisture from the hydrogen gas.
  • This purified hydrogen gas is pushed into the generator.

Yahoo! News

Mexican hitman claims cartels bought guns from US Border Patrol

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By Robert Beckhusen / 09 November 12 for Wired

The testimony of a Mexican hitman turned US government witness has revealed some astonishing details of life inside Mexico’s criminal underworld. Most astonishing of all: claims that cartel assassins obtained guns from the US Border Patrol.

According to Mexican magazine Revista Contralinea, the testimony comes from a protected government witness and former hitman, who cooperated in the prosecution of a Sinaloa Cartel accountant by the Mexican Attorney General’s Office. The testimony details a series of battles fought by a group of cartel members attempting to drive out rival gangsters from territory in Mexico’s desert west. To do it, the group sought weapons from the US, including at least 30 WASR-10 rifles — a variant of the AK-47 — allegedly acquired from Border Patrol agents.

If true, it could reignite the debate over Operation Fast and Furious, the last time US authorities allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican gangsters. Two days after the election, Attorney General Eric Holder — who had been at the centre of allegations surrounding the scandal — is now talking like he might not stay with the administration for much longer. “That’s something I’m in the process now of trying to determine,” Holder said 8 November. ” I have to think about, can I contribute in a second term?”

Read more at Wired.co.UK

CIA Director resigns for extramarital affair

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Admitting to affair, Petraeus resigns as CIA chief

By By ADAM GOLDMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus has brought a sudden and unexpected end to the public career of a four-star general who led U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and was thought to be a potential candidate for president.

Petraeus admitted to an extramarital affair in tendering his resignation, which President Barack Obama accepted Friday.

Petraeus carried on the affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell, a reserve Army officer, according to several U.S. officials with knowledge of the situation. They spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss publicly the investigation that led to the resignation.

The FBI discovered the relationship by monitoring Petraeus’ emails, after being alerted Broadwell may have had access to his personal email account, two of the officials said.

Broadwell did not respond to voice mail or email messages seeking comment.

Read more by Associated Press

Barrack Obama declares World Freedom Day

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Barrack Obama issued a proclamation declaring today as World Freedom Day. November 9, 1989 was the date in which the Berlin Wall began to be torn down during the administration of President Ronald Reagan.

“Today, we commemorate the collapse of the Iron Curtain and celebrate the freedom that grew in its place. We also remember that for many, the walls of oppression still stand, and the human rights we honor today are still beyond reach,” the proclamation reads.

“People around the world continue to demand fundamental liberties they are denied — freedom to express themselves, live their faith, assemble without fear, and choose their leaders freely and fairly.”

He encourages citizens “…to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, reaffirming our dedication to freedom and democracy.”

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Mourning in America – Here’s Those Layoffs We Voted For Last Night

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Rusty Weiss on November 07, 2012
FreedomWorks

Last night’s victory for the President marks the first time since its inception that Obamacare is no longer a what-if; it is the future of health care in America.

It also means a near immediate impact on the economy. With 20 or so new or higher taxes set to be implemented, ranging from a $123 billion surtax on investment income, through the $20 billion medical device tax, all the way down to the $600 million executive compensation limit, Obamacare will be a nearly unbearable tax burden on the economy.

Who will pay? The middle-class workforce, of course.

So with another four years for President Obama to look forward to, and the obvious inevitability of Obamacare that this entails, let’s examine the very real jobs that will be lost, and the very real lives that will be affected.

Read more at FreedomWorks

Why is the weakest Teachers Union in the U.S. going after Students with Special Needs?

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Jonathan Butcher

For the second time in a decade, Arizona’s teachers union is trying to block children with special needs from getting the best education they can find. After kicking children with special needs and foster children out of Arizona’s opportunity scholarship program three years ago, the union is now trying to rob these children of their education savings accounts.

It’s not clear what came first—the union’s attacks on children or their dwindling influence. But this week the Thomas B. Fordham Institute released How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions? A State-By-State Comparison, which ranks Arizona’s teachers unions as the weakest in the U.S. Teacher union support of sales tax increases and lawsuits in the past ten years has made it clear that their priorities are not children but money and education bureaucrats. .

Read more at The Goldwater Institute

Obama re-election protest escalates at Univ. of Mississippi; racial slurs, 2 arrests reported

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JACKSON, Miss. — A protest at the University of Mississippi against the re-election of President Barack Obama grew into crowd of about 400 people with shouted racial slurs as rumors of a riot spread on social media. Two people were arrested on minor charges.

The university said in a statement Wednesday that the gathering at the student union began late Tuesday night with about 30 to 40 students, but grew within 20 minutes as word spread. Some students chanted political slogans while others used derogatory racial statements and profanity, the statement said.

The incident comes just after the 50th anniversary of violent rioting that greeted the forced integration of Ole Miss with the enrollment of its first black student, James Meredith.

Read more at the Washington Post