News & Not News Megathread

I picked the wrong line of work. . .

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/26/ndrangheta-mafia-mcdonalds-deutsche-bank-study said:
'Ndrangheta mafia 'made more last year than McDonald's and Deutsche Bank'

The 'Ndrangheta mafia from southern Italy made more money last year than Deutsche Bank and McDonald's put together with a turnover of €53bn (£44bn), a study has claimed.

The study by the Demoskopika research institute detailed the international crime syndicate's sources of revenue, including drug trafficking – which brought in an estimated €24.2bn – and illegal garbage disposal, which earned it €19.6bn.

The southern Italian mafia earned the equivalent of 3.5% of Italy's gross domestic product (GDP) last year, said the report based on analysis of documents from Italy's interior ministry and police, parliament's anti-mafia commission and the national anti-mafia task force.

The 'Ndrangheta is thought to have about 400 key "operatives" in 30 countries, but its activities are believed to involve as many as 60,000 people worldwide, the report said.

Extortion and usury last year brought in a substantial €2.9bn, while embezzlement earned the mafia €2.4bn and gambling €1.3bn. Arms sales, prostitution, counterfeiting goods and people-smuggling were less lucrative, bringing in less than €1bn together.
 
Wow ... that's a lot of money. Let me know when you do change your line of work aiye?

RIP Ultimate Warrior. He had some of the best, over the top, incomprehensible promos in the business. Watched him get inducted in the Hall Of Fame after so many years and his speech on Raw is surreal now, in context to his death.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/pro-wrestling/wwe-ultimate-warrior-dead-at-54-1.7652139

LSsfzof.jpg


Also, RIP to the streak :sad:
 
Armed Russian robocops to defend missile bases

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229664.400-armed-russian-robocops-to-defend-missile-bases.html#.U16B5_ldWls

THE West has always been a little squeamish about the idea of arming robots. Despite decades of development, no systems have ever been deployed and a vocal human rights campaign means it's unlikely to happen in the near future. The Russians, on the other hand, appear to be rather less concerned.

Last month, Dmitry Andreyev of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces announced that mobile robots would be standing guard over five ballistic missile installations. These robots can detect and destroy targets, without human involvement. Russia, it seems, is taking the lead in a new robotic arms race.

The robot sentry, aka the "mobile robotic complex", was developed by Izhevsk Radio Plant, a company based 1200 kilometres east of Moscow. It weighs around 900 kilograms and has cameras, a laser rangefinder and radar sensors. For fire power it has a 12.7-millimetre heavy machine gun, with optional smaller weapons. It is quick too, hitting speeds of 45 kilometres per hour on a petrol engine. It can operate for 10 hours, or switch to sleep mode for a week.

The makers put the sentry robot through its paces at an arms fair in Russia last year. Andreyev describes the robots as being able to engage targets in automatic as well as semi-automatic control mode. US policy, on the other hand, says a person has to authorise when weapons are fired. Drones don't fire missiles on their own, but act as remote launch platforms for human operators. Neither the makers of the Russian robot nor the Strategic Missile Forces responded to New Scientist's request for an interview at the time of going to press.

Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoygu is behind the move to arm robots. In January 2013, he said the army would expand its use of robots, saving $2.4 billion over two years. In June, the deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin announced plans for a new military robot laboratory at the Degtyarev arms factory in Kovrov, and a new centre of military robotics at the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. According to Rogozin, the robots will save lives: "We have to conduct battles without any contact, so that our boys do not die, and for that it is necessary to use war robots."

In the US, unarmed sentry robots called MDARS patrol nuclear sites and Marine bases, but there appears to be little appetite for armed robots. Thousands of US robots, known as unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), were rolled out for bomb disposal in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the trial deployment of SWORDS, an armed version of the Talon bomb-disposal robot, in Iraq in 2007 was cancelled due to "uncommanded or unexpected movements". There were rumours of robots going rogue and turning their machine-guns on friendly troops. In fact, there were two minor incidents, one caused by a loose wire and one by faulty solder. But commanders were spooked enough to postpone SWORDS' debut.

Thomas Nash, director of Article 36, the UK-based arms control campaign group, is worried. "The prospect of states developing autonomous weapons systems that would identify targets on their own and attack them is a grave concern for humanity," he says.

He should brace himself. Russia's armed UGVs may soon be called on to fight in the front line. A promotional video for the interior ministry shows their commandos training with an armed robot.

This article appeared in print under the headline "Armed and dangerous"

Inevitable?
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Sorry to hear it was the result of a fall. All too common and unpleasant way to go.
 
I received as a xmas gift, from a friend , a visual guide for Alien. Its a great artbook , had some sketches by Ridley scott, and the backstory for the alian, Giger's artwook, I only recenvly became acquainted with his work, its a pity that he had to go like that, but his work will endure. Its already a well established cultural mark.
 
Awful. Without that man, Miura's Berserk with all its monsters and apostles as we know it wouldn't exist. The world has grown poorer now, without Hans Rudolph Giger's weird, transgressive and wonderful paintings and sculptures enriching it. RIP :judo:
 
Such sad news,the world lost a great mind and artist. Giger has always been a huge inspiration to me and countless others. He may be gone, but his influence and legacy will live on forever.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Johnny Apples said:
Awful. Without that man, Miura's Berserk with all its monsters and apostles as we know it wouldn't exist.

There are certain influences, but I think you're overstating things here a bit. All of Miura's apostles and all of his monster designs weren't influenced by Giger.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
It's impossible to overstate Giger's importance to the world of film. There was before Alien and after Alien.
The creature is still the scariest movie monster.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
http://animals.io9.com/should-a-virile-bear-be-castrated-to-give-other-bears-a-1588418834

According to some estimates, approximately 1 in 200 men living today in historical Mongolia are descendents of Genghis Khan. Likewise, one particularly virile bear living in western Europe is the father, grandfather, or great-grandfather of every other bear born in his territory for the last two decades.

Pyros is a 26 year old male brown bear who likes to get around. There are four other unrelated males in his area, but none of them have ever successfully sired any offspring. Wildlife managers are concerned, because the health of the bear population in the Pyrenees, a mountain range between France and Spain, might suffer due to inbreeding. And it's a population of bears they've explicitly worked to conserve. The so-called straw that broke the camel's back was when a cub was recently born who is both daughter and granddaughter to Pyros.

:ganishka:

Don't worry, Pyros. It sounds like these prudish conservationists don't have the stones to sterilize you. Even if they tried they would come away only to realize they had been impregnated themselves!
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
http://animals.io9.com/should-a-virile-bear-be-castrated-to-give-other-bears-a-1588418834

:ganishka:

Don't worry, Pyros. It sounds like these prudish conservationists don't have the stones to sterilize you. Even if they tried they would come away only to realize they had been impregnated themselves!

I love the option to expand the bear porn image.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
A French bear, no doubt. :zodd:

File photo:
hilarious_french_bear_by_eecha1-d5yskq3.jpg




In other awesome animal news:

62 Year Old Fisherman Eaten Alive by 4.7m Saltwater Crocodile

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2651333/Man-snatched-crocodile-pulled-river-Kakadu.html

So, don't believe the whole "adult humans aren't prey size" bullshit. 4.7m? Jesus, that's big for a great white shark! Also, Aaz, you're welcome for the setup and I hope this doesn't give you a chill. =)
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith said:
62 Year Old Fisherman Eaten Alive by 4.7m Saltwater Crocodile

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2651333/Man-snatched-crocodile-pulled-river-Kakadu.html

So, don't believe the whole "adult humans aren't prey size" bullshit. 4.7m? Jesus, that's big for a great white shark! Also, Aaz, you're welcome for the setup and I hope this doesn't give you a chill. =)

Just a thrill. :slan: Crocs are just too badass, although this is obviously a very unfortunate accident. But really, much like with shark attacks, I can't help but question what these guys were doing. There are safe zones that are regularly patrolled. Going out in the wild in your own tiny boat is asking for trouble. And are there really people who believe that crocodiles won't attack an adult human? That's... pretty dumb.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
But really, much like with shark attacks, I can't help but question what these guys were doing. There are safe zones that are regularly patrolled. Going out in the wild in your own tiny boat is asking for trouble. And are there really people who believe that crocodiles won't attack an adult human? That's... pretty dumb.

There are people that think life is like a trip to Disneyland (where there are more fatalities than you think =), which is why I'm glad for stories like this so I don't sound so silly turning down that ill-planned camping trip with ill-prepared people because I don't want to be eaten alive by a horny French bear or a giant crocodile. NO THANKS! Who's crazy now!?
 
Griffith said:
62 Year Old Fisherman Eaten Alive by 4.7m Saltwater Crocodile

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2651333/Man-snatched-crocodile-pulled-river-Kakadu.html

Here's a CNN link - http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/09/world/asia/australia-crocodile-attack/

If you watch the video, 9 seconds the reporter's words sound like "Aaz's (As his) family watched ... in horror ..."
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
IncantatioN said:
Here's a CNN link - http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/09/world/asia/australia-crocodile-attack/

If you watch the video, 9 seconds the reporter's words sound like "Aaz's (As his) family watched ... in horror ..."

Don't place your bets too quickly, I've wrestled crocs before. :slan:
 

Kompozinaut

Sylph Sword
Casey Kasem died this morning.

I'm both surprised and unsurprised after his disappearance not too long ago.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/06/15/legendary-radio-broadcaster-casey-kasem-has-died-publicist-says/
 
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