Tuesday, August 09, 2005



How happy are the astrologers if they tell one truth to a hundred lies, while other people lose all credibility if they tell one lie to a hundred truths.
-Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540), a papal adviser

A simple tank-and-siphon system for removing oil from oily water and protecting the environment is about to be launched internationally by an engineering team from the University of New South Wales No Trouble removing oil from oily water

Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: What's My Name, Fool?
In The Godfather, Part II, dying mob boss Hyman Roth wheezes the obscene truth to young Don Michael Corleone: Michael, We're bigger than US Steel

This scene updated for 2004 could have Yankees kingpin George Steinbrenner booming at pubescent Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, "Screw US Steel. We're bigger than the damn mafia." Just like Hyman Roth, "Big Stein" would be telling no lies. Professional sports are now the tenth largest industry in the United States, generating $220 billion in revenue every year. And just like Roth's rackets, it's a business that stinks to high heaven.


Big Stein [Citizen Spin ; society's obsessive search for heroes ]
• · American Teenagers; Philosophizing post-punk ; Not to mention the early nineties. And I’m not ashamed to admit it. Luckily, college rock is back, and better than ever I Love the Eighties ; A Child abduction alert system will be introduced in NSW after police revealed 20 kidnap attempts in the past two months Alarm to target child stalkers
• · · Shao Meiyuan is sick and tired of waiting for her 25-year-old daughter to find a boyfriend and get married, so she has taken matters into her own hands Chinese Parents seek romance for single children ; Darwin and Design: The Flawed Origins of a Critique
• · · · "Pummel-me feminism" is the latest Hollywood trend Female Fight Club ; Marc Abrahams finds that information is a two-way thing when it comes to policewomen working undercover as prostitutes Kerbstone cops
• · · · · An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural Another mystery ; Among the fast crowd in our own Sin City, Auckland, being unmasked as a prostitute no longer spells the end to a social life The great morality debate ; Forget sex. That's dated, history even, unless you work in advertising. "Morality" was once all about sex, but the two are almost unrelated now Sex is passe, give us a new barometer ; Political Philosophy: Plato to Machiavelli My Name is Michael Vocino
• · · · · · The triumph of hope over experience Uncommon Knowledge, a show on Love and Marriage ; Threaten a man's masculinity and he will assume more macho attitudes Men overcompensate when their masculinity is threatened; Is it irrational to discriminate against the appearance-challenged? Not entirely The Ugliness Problem ; Millions of Australians get sick every year because people who handle food in restaurants and cafes are neglecting basic hygiene Real cost of takeaway ; Dark Side of the Net: Cemeteries, Funerals, and Death