Seafood Could Collapse By 2048

The world's fish and seafood populations will collapse by 2048 if current trends in habitat destruction and overfishing continue, resulting in less food for humans, researchers said on Thursday.

In an analysis of scientific data going back to the 1960s and historical records over a thousand years, the researchers found that marine biodiversity -- the variety of ocean fish, shellfish, birds, plants and micro-organisms -- has declined dramatically, with 29 percent of species already in collapse. Extending this pattern into the future, the scientists calculated that by 2048 all species would be in collapse, which the researchers defined as having catches decline 90 percent from the maximum catch. This applies to all species, from mussels and clams to tuna and swordfish, said Boris Worm, lead author of the study, which was published in the current edition of the journal Science. Ocean mammals, including seals, killer whales and dolphins, are also affected. "Whether we looked at tide pools or studies over the entire world's ocean, we saw the same picture emerging," Worm said in a statement. "In losing species we lose the productivity and stability of entire ecosystems. I was shocked and disturbed by how consistent these trends are -- beyond anything we suspected." When ocean species collapse, it makes the ocean itself weaker and less able to recover from shocks like global climate change, Worm said. The decline in marine biodiversity is largely due to over-fishing and destruction of habitat, Worm said in a telephone interview from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. OVER-EXPLOITATION The loss of biodiversity makes ocean ecosystems less able to recover from the effects of global climate change, pollution and over-exploitation, Worm said. He likened a diverse ocean environment to a diversified investment portfolio. With lots of different species in the oceans, just as with lots of different kinds of investments, "You spread the risk around," Worm said. "In the ocean ecosystem, we're losing a lot of the species in our stock portfolio, and by that we're losing productivity and stability. by losing stability, we're losing the ability of the system to self-repair." "This research shows we'll have few viable fisheries by 2050," Andrew Sugden, international managing editor of Science, told reporters at a telephone news briefing. "This work also shows that it's not too late to act." To help depleted areas rebuild, marine-life reserves and no-fishing zones need to be set up, Worm and other authors of the study said. This has proven effective in places including the Georges Bank off the US Atlantic coast, he said. With marine reserves in place, fishing near the reserves can improve as much as four-fold, Worm said. Beyond the economic benefits to coastal communities where fishing is a critical industry, there are environmental benefits to rebuilding marine biodiversity, the scientists said. Depleted coastal ecosystems are vulnerable to invasive species, disease outbreaks, coastal flooding and noxious algae blooms, they reported. Certain kinds of aquaculture -- like the traditional Chinese cultivation of carp using vegetable waste -- can also be beneficial, according to the scientists. However, farms that aim to raise carnivorous fish are less effective.

Nun gets 30 years for genocide

Kigali - A local Rwandan traditional court sentenced a Catholic nun to 30 years in prison for helping militiamen kill hundreds of Tutsis hiding in a hospital during the country's 1994 genocide, said an official on Friday.

Theophister Mukakibibi was sentenced by the traditional gacaca courts on Thursday for working closely with Hutu militiamen to kill Tutsis hiding in Butare Hospital, where she worked. She was also accused of dumping a baby in a latrine.

Jean Baptiste Ndahumba, president of the local gacaca court in Butare town, said: "She would select Tutsis and throw them out of the hospital for the militia to kill. She did not even spare pregnant mothers."

Focusing on confession and apology, the traditional gacaca courts had been used in Rwanda to ease the backlog of genocide cases. They were also intended to ease the way to national reconciliation.

Mukakibibi 'first nun to be sentenced'

Under gacaca, those who confessed and plead guilty before a set date would have their sentences reduced. Those sentenced to prison would serve their time in a Rwandan jail.

Mukakibibi was the first nun to be sentenced by a Rwandan court for her role in the genocide. A Belgian court convicted two Roman Catholic nuns in 2001 for aiding in the mass murder.

More than 20 witnesses testified against Mukakibibi during the trial, which lasted for one year. Ndahumba said: "She used to hold meetings with militiamen and had an army officer as her escort during the killings."

As the official in charge of stock in the hospital, she was also accused of denying food to Tutsis hiding at the hospital.

The Rwandan Roman Catholic Church was accused of playing a significant role in the 100-day genocide, in which an estimated 800 000 people were killed.

A Roman Catholic priest was on trial before a Tanzania-based United Nations tribunal, accused of ordering the slaughter of 2 000 people who sought refuge in his church.

In July 2005, the head of the Roman Catholic Church appeared before a similar court to give information on what he knew about the genocide.

Archbishop Thaddee Ntihinyurwa, a Hutu, was summoned to the local gacaca courts after dozens of survivors accused him of taking part in several meetings that were allegedly planning the slaughter of ethnic Tutsi in the southern Cyagungu province.

Fertile Women Dress to Impress

And as long as I'm writing about aspects of gender and sexuality, this is interesting:

Fertile women dress to impress, U.S. study finds

Women dress to impress when they are at their most fertile, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a study they say shows that signs of human ovulation may not be as mysterious as some scientists believe.

A study of young college women showed they frequently wore more fashionable or flashier clothing and jewelery when they were ovulating, as assessed by a panel of men and women looking at their photographs.

Some will say, "Nothing surprising about that." Others will say, "It's just a stereotype."

We report. You decide.

The point is that, even though human females have an estrous cycle like most other placental mammals do, it has been believed that they do not exhibit outward signs during the most receptive part of the cycle. According to the Wikipedia article,

Humans, unlike some other species, do not have any external signs to signal receptivity at ovulation. Research has shown however, that women tend to have more sexual thoughts and are most prone to sexual activity right before ovulation.

The new research is saying that lack of external signs is another gender myth, although the signs are subtle:

"They tend to put on skirts instead of pants, show more skin and generally dress more fashionably," said Martie Haselton, a communication studies and psychology expert at the University of California Los Angeles who led the study.

Writing in the journal Hormones and Behavior, Haselton and colleagues said their findings disproved the conventional wisdom that women are unique among animals in concealing, even from themselves, when they are most fertile.

It's interesting that, apparently, this is only a behavioral change, and that there are still no outward physiological signs of peak fertility.

Hormones are still at work. It's just that in humans their effect is on the brain only, rather than on the epidermis.

More detailed report: Forget Basal Body Temperature -- Check Out Her Clothes; Signs Of Ovulation May Be More Obvious Than Supposed

Man Accused of Having Relations With Dog

A man accused of having sex with the family dog has been charged under the state's new animal cruelty law, which makes bestiality a felony, a prosecutor said.

Michael Patrick McPhail, 26, of nearby Spanaway, pleaded not guilty Thursday to one count of first-degree animal cruelty in Pierce County Superior Court.

Assistant Pierce County Prosecutor Karen Watson said McPhail was the first person in Pierce County to be charged with the new bestiality offense.

She said the dog was taken by animal control.

McPhail posted $20,000 bail on Friday.

Judge Katherine Stolz has set a trial date of Dec. 11.

McPhail's wife told investigators that she found her husband on their back porch Wednesday night having intercourse with their 4-year-old female pit bull terrier, the Pierce County sheriff's office report said. The dog was squealing and crying, according to charging papers.

The woman took photos with her cell phone and called the sheriff's office.

Calls to McPhail's public defender, David Katayama, were not immediately returned Friday.

The bestiality law, which took effect in June, was prompted by a case near Enumclaw in which a Seattle man died after having sex with a horse. Before the law was enacted, Washington was one of 14 states where bestiality had not been explicitly prohibited.

___

Information from: The News Tribune,

www.thenewstribune.com

a few things

finally passed my first yr of driving 4 days ago. goodbye bright yellow/orange triangle plate!!

one more week to exams. still extremely behind time. as usual.

shall start my attachment at IMCB at the 2nd week of Dec. goodbye NTU and hello IMCB! shall be continuing my FYP there as well all the way till graduation..

as siming's previous entry in her blog mentioned, time sure flies. can't believe i'm actuallie going to graduate next july. i wonder where i'll be going after that. if i can get a 2nd upper honours i'll be thanking the Lord everyday for the rest of my life.

well, actuallie i can't wait to graduate. altho i knoe i'm going to miss uni life (cos i get to skip classes whenever i want to).. but at least after i graduate i get to earn $$! hopefully i can earn enuff la.. sigh the future looks so bleak.

ok nvm abt that. i already haf a bunch of places i wanna go after graduation! there's, of cos, tibet. wonder if i'll ever get to go. then i shall be going china (perhaps back to yunnan to visit my aunt).. china's such a beautiful country. tho i'm not sure i can actuallie find a handful of ppl who'll be willing to go there with me.. but it's ok i can go with my parents or i can just go over myself to find my aunt! hahaha.

of cos i shall be going to melbourne to find and ka jiao my dear brother.. he shall not haf peace cos he's going to have to bring me around australia!!! *hahaha* then maybe i'll go hong kong to find dear lynda.. haven't seen her in a while.. i miss ya lynda!! and i can look up my aunt over there too!! and then i'll plan for a trip to taiwan with genyi! let's go shop and eat.. so fun!

wonder if there's anyone out there who knows japan and is willing to bring me around over there.. i heard that i haf a relative there but i'm not quite sure who it is. hmmm. maybe i can go either vietnam or cambodia too.. xp u wanna go??

and carole, if can bring me around UK! i wanna go all those cool places u said! and i wanna go rome too! and greece!!

wow.. i'm happily planning so many things. doubt i have the $$ or time to go so many places in the first place. *sob* haha sounds more like a world tour instead of a graduation trip. *-_-*

oh well.

feeling a lot better

I had some things to sort out for just awhile....I felt the kindnesses and warm wishes from all of you...thank you. Had a couple of calls from some who have that number of mine. They listened as my tears came and flushed out the pain and then talked with me of how I am fine and now it's in the other's court. I have come full circle now and feel renewed, and strengthened by lots of pray and the warm feelings from you all here on my page calling me your friend in this 360land.....all I can say humbly is,......thank you. some

blab

...know why I was gone for four days last week. I asked Allyson, whom had called me to say "hi" and found out what had been going on with me, to let ya'll know that I'd be out for awhile.

Hence yesterday, I placed my new blast to indicate to all where I was....and to know that I was "murdered" but now ressurected.

Sometimes life will grind to a halt, and find you in a place that you really don't want to be, but you have to "walk" through it. And sometimes, we think that family will always love us and support us without condemnation. They will be compassionate and selfless, but when that changes, it comes all at once and in a tsnami kind of way. Of course it's all emotional, and that can deeply hurt when it does happen. You feel like you can't breathe or catch your breath....and you just feel yourself being thrown against a wall.

Well I have a younger sister who thinks she knows all...and is the "ambassador" for the family, thus making sure that everyone does what they're suppose to do at any cost!

There are times when we also have that with friends. Who make a mountain out of a molehill and then create this chasm between, so that even simple communication becomes a defensive move from both sides of the "fence". This doesn't allow the truth to become seen, and then it's lost in hurt feelings or prideful feelings, which tear at the fabric of the sweetness, which is friendship and family.

Words are used in such a way as to "murder" someone. It or they can be so damaging, They can actually break down someone's esteem in an instant. And once those words are uttered or written, they are in the real world and can never be erased from the mind of the person they were "murdering" with their words and judgements.

It is said in Romans that we who know the law will be judged far greater than those who don't know the law or God. That we who judge will be wrathfully judged by God. God's wrath is discussed in Revelations. Judgement is mine sayeth the Lord, it is not for us mortals to judge by any means anyone! Not for one hair on anyone's head! Pride goes before wisdom when we strike out against someone in anger. When we predispose to think or judge in our own minds, the person is guilty of transgressing against us. Before we judge, take the plank out of your own eye so that you may see much clearer the situation before lancing at the other person you so thought to love, like, or be friends with.

Know that to love is to love totally, and to look upon each other with eyes that see no fault. To accept with an open, loving heart is to see those around us as Christ sees us.

Human that we are, we will make mistakes and then regret....but please take some time before striking out in anger....walk away for some time to pass and to clear your mind to take time to really see the picture before you. Then dessminate from your own pridem that which you think has pained you to stike out...only then will you be able to see just how wronged you were NOT!

and how wrong you will be when you strike out against the other person for what you felt was a deep, prideful hit against you.

Think................

I'm studying Romans in my BSF class on Monday nights, and find it interesting those things that have happened to me these last 2 weeks are running parrallel to my study. Showing me the pride in most which drive them to hate, quick to anger, and judgement, and not having compassion and not being unselfish, like some lately on 360 that I used to know. Once a bridge is burned it cannot be rebuilt, nor will it be.

Britney No Longer a Slave for Kevin

Well, they said it wouldn't last...and hey, they (and by "they," we mean "everbody") were right! Seriously, we've all been expecting the Spederline split for so long, we could have saved ourselves some time by writing this story in advance, something like:
Britney Spears filed for divorce from her husband, aspiring rapper Kevin Federline, on [insert date here] in [insert city here] Superior Court. She is requesting full custody of the couple's [insert number here] children, Sean Preston, Jayden James, and [insert any additional offspring here].

By the way, we just love it that news reports still refer to K-Fed as an "aspiring rapper," despite the fact that he actually has an album out in stores. Anyhoo, there's one twist to this plot that we didn't see coming: That K-Fed (who from now on shall be known as Fed-Ex) suddenly wants to be a full-time proud papa to little SP and JJ. Yes, that's right--he wants full custody of the kids, and presumably the fat monthly child support checks that come with them. "Kevin is prepared to go the distance in order to do what he feels is necessary to protect and safeguard the children and will not be intimidated or dissuaded from pursuit of those goals," states his attorney. Hmmm...Fed-Ex didn't seem especially eager to protect or safeguard his children with his other, decidedly less wealthy babymama, Shar Jackson, but now, whaddya know, he's Father Of The Year. Funny how that works. Sheesh...Britney probably would've been better off staying with Jason Alexander. Anyway, in this custodial battle Fed-Ex may have a slight edge over his estranged missus, given that he wasn't the one seen driving with a baby on his lap or nearly dropping poor Sean Preston on his head. However, we simply suggest that, as an airtight defense, Britney's lawyer play Fed-Ex's aforementioned debut album, Playing With Fire, in open court. After reviewing that damning piece of evidence, it's unlikely that any judge will grant Fed-Ex even supervised visitation rights...