Random News Stories

[Elder Iptuous]

From Mother Jones:

[Junkenstein]

I'd forgot about that link.

If I remember correctly, the main motivation for phasing it out was economic primarily (Lead's expensive) as well as a general push at the time.

Tetraethyllead
Gasoline, when used in high-compression internal combustion engines, has a tendency to autoignite (detonate) causing damaging "engine knocking" (also called "pinging" or "pinking") noise. Early research into this effect was led by A.H. Gibson and Harry Ricardo in England and Thomas Midgley and Thomas Boyd in the United States. The discovery that lead additives modified this behavior led to the widespread adoption of their use in the 1920s, and therefore more powerful, higher compression engines. The most popular additive was tetraethyllead. With the discovery of the extent of environmental and health damage caused by the lead, however, and the incompatibility of lead with catalytic converters found on virtually all newly sold US automobiles since 1975, this practice began to wane (encouraged by many governments introducing differential tax rates) in the 1980s.In the US, where lead had been blended with gasoline (primarily to boost octane levels) since the early 1920s, standards to phase out leaded gasoline were first implemented in 1973 — due in great part to studies conducted by Philip J. Landrigan. In 1995, leaded fuel accounted for only 0.6% of total gasoline sales and less than 2000 short tons (1814 t) of lead per year. From 1 January 1996, the Clean Air Act banned the sale of leaded fuel for use in on-road vehicles. Possession and use of leaded gasoline in a regular on-road vehicle now carries a maximum $10,000 fine in the US. However, fuel containing lead may continue to be sold for off-road uses, including aircraft, racing cars, farm equipment, and marine engines.[7] Similar bans in other countries have resulted in lowering levels of lead in people's bloodstreams.[8][9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline#Tetraethyllead

Will have a read around. Curious now and I can't remember shit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_J._Landrigan#Lead

In the early 1970s, Landrigan took on ASARCO, a smelting company and one of the largest employers in El Paso, Texas. In testing the blood of children attending schools near ASARCO's El Paso smelting plant, Landrigan concluded that 60% of children living within one mile of the smelter had elevated blood lead levels and that even small amounts of lead exposure lowers a child's IQ.[8] In a later study (2002), Landrigan correlated childhood lead exposure and lifetime earning potential, concluding that current levels of lead exposure in the United States amount to an aggregate income loss of over $40 billion dollars a year.[9]
Landrigan and his studies played a key role in the government mandate phasing out lead components from gasoline, beginning in 1975, and the federal ban on lead paint in 1978 – culminating in an 88% drop in lead levels in American children by 2005.[10][11]

edit- Just remembered I may have some work related stuff to this too. I'll dig out the current exposure guidelines and see if they add anything

[Cainad (dec.)]

From Mother Jones:

Cool! Makes sense that it would be correlated to lead in gasoline, rather than lead in general.

The story behind tetraethyl lead and the fight to get it removed is a pretty interesting one. I had to read a book about it for one of my classes.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I wish I had the source so I could look into it properly, but one of my professors showed us a graph that displayed a correlation between incidence of lead poisoning and rates of certain types of crime, offset by about 20 years. As lead-containing stuff became less prevalent, fewer children grew up with associated brain damage.

Of course, "I saw it on a graph once" is about as robust a source as a fortune cookie, so take that with a few grains of (lead-free) salt.

It would be really nice to believe that we could cure more of society's ills by identifying and removing more toxins from our food and products, though.

I wouldn't question the presence of a correlation, but we all know the trouble with correlations.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

(I'm not saying that's NOT the case, just that I am reserving judgement until I read more about it.)

[P3nT4gR4m]

I wish I had the source so I could look into it properly, but one of my professors showed us a graph that displayed a correlation between incidence of lead poisoning and rates of certain types of crime, offset by about 20 years. As lead-containing stuff became less prevalent, fewer children grew up with associated brain damage.

Of course, "I saw it on a graph once" is about as robust a source as a fortune cookie, so take that with a few grains of (lead-free) salt.

It would be really nice to believe that we could cure more of society's ills by identifying and removing more toxins from our food and products, though.

I wouldn't question the presence of a correlation, but we all know the trouble with correlations.

This!

[Junkenstein]

Putin - Big on Buddhism
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130411/180578136.html

ULAN-UDE, April 11 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin promised "100-percent support" for Russian Buddhists on Thursday during a visit to the country's Buryatia republic, where about 20 percent of the population is Buddhist.
Lama Damba Ayusheyev, head of the Buddhist Sangha of Russia, complained to the president that Buddhist universities often do not have state accreditation, and their students are drafted into the army for compulsory military service. Under Russian law, full-time university students are exempt from military service for the duration of their studies.
Putin suggested the students could be drafted for a few months in the summer during the course of their studies, as some Moscow university rectors have suggested. Lama Ayusheyev said that this would be "more acceptable."
"Buddhism plays a significant role in Russia...It has always been that way. It is well known that the Buddhists helped during both world wars," Putin told the lamas of the Ivolga datsan, Russia's main Buddhist temple.

[Junkenstein]

Police demonstrating conflict resolution method #81444/a

http://gizmodo.com/5994349/watch-the-police-attack-and-arrest-a-man-for-recording-them-with-a-cell-phone-camera?post=58831622

[P3nT4gR4m]

Police demonstrating conflict resolution method #81444/a

http://gizmodo.com/5994349/watch-the-police-attack-and-arrest-a-man-for-recording-them-with-a-cell-phone-camera?post=58831622

You can see the police officer fill out all the details on the ticket and then when he realizes he's being recorded, tells Pringle to put the camera away because it could be converted into a weapon.

Who was it posted that picture of the riot squad, compared to our UK filth? If a copper cycled down one of our streets in shorts and one of those retarded little push-bike helmets he would be dragged off it and beaten to death by the nearest gang of pre-schoolers. Just sayin 

[Junkenstein]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9985757/Iranian-scientist-claims-to-have-invented-time-machine.html#disqus_thread

Iran Invents time machine.

Razeghi said his latest project has been criticised by friends and relatives for "trying to play God" with ordinary lives and history. "This project is not against our religious values at all. The Americans are trying to make this invention by spending millions of dollars on it where I have already achieved it by a fraction of the cost," he said. "The reason that we are not launching our prototype at this stage is that the Chinese will steal the idea and produce it in millions overnight."

Does Iran feel like Best Korea's getting all the attention this month? I think so.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Police demonstrating conflict resolution method #81444/a

http://gizmodo.com/5994349/watch-the-police-attack-and-arrest-a-man-for-recording-them-with-a-cell-phone-camera?post=58831622

You can see the police officer fill out all the details on the ticket and then when he realizes he's being recorded, tells Pringle to put the camera away because it could be converted into a weapon.

Who was it posted that picture of the riot squad, compared to our UK filth? If a copper cycled down one of our streets in shorts and one of those retarded little push-bike helmets he would be dragged off it and beaten to death by the nearest gang of pre-schoolers. Just sayin 

That was me. Those guys in the video look just like old-timey police... the ones in Portland have to wear this ugly, heavy black armor crap at all times. The ones I've talked to hate it.

But, you never know when you're going to have to beat down a black jaywalker.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9985757/Iranian-scientist-claims-to-have-invented-time-machine.html#disqus_thread

Iran Invents time machine.

Razeghi said his latest project has been criticised by friends and relatives for "trying to play God" with ordinary lives and history. "This project is not against our religious values at all. The Americans are trying to make this invention by spending millions of dollars on it where I have already achieved it by a fraction of the cost," he said. "The reason that we are not launching our prototype at this stage is that the Chinese will steal the idea and produce it in millions overnight."

Does Iran feel like Best Korea's getting all the attention this month? I think so.

"Random Whackjob Registers Latest Quackdoodle "Invention".

Seriously, why is anyone even reporting on this? And why can't I find ANYTHING about the allegedly State-run "Centre for Strategic Inventions" outside of this article?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9985757/Iranian-scientist-claims-to-have-invented-time-machine.html#disqus_thread

Iran Invents time machine.

Razeghi said his latest project has been criticised by friends and relatives for "trying to play God" with ordinary lives and history. "This project is not against our religious values at all. The Americans are trying to make this invention by spending millions of dollars on it where I have already achieved it by a fraction of the cost," he said. "The reason that we are not launching our prototype at this stage is that the Chinese will steal the idea and produce it in millions overnight."

Does Iran feel like Best Korea's getting all the attention this month? I think so.

"Random Whackjob Registers Latest Quackdoodle "Invention".

Seriously, why is anyone even reporting on this? And why can't I find ANYTHING about the allegedly State-run "Centre for Strategic Inventions" outside of this article?

Because he went back and destroyed it.  Duh.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I swear, you can get ANYTHING reported as news these days.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I swear, you can get ANYTHING reported as news these days.

Except, you know, news.