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Post by mhbruin on Apr 7, 2023 8:58:14 GMT -8
Accupuncture is a jab well done.
We've Been Trippin' for a Long Time
People were getting high on hallucinogenic drugs in Spain around 3,000 years ago, according to new research.
Scientists say that hair from a burial site in Menorca shows that ancient human civilisations used drugs derived from plants and bushes.
It is believed to be Europe's oldest direct evidence of people taking hallucinogenic drugs.
They would have induced delirium and hallucinations, researchers found.
The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, showed signs of human activity at the Es Càrritx cave, on the south-western side of Menorca.
The cave houses more than 200 human graves, and is believed to have served as a ritual and funerary site for about 600 years, until 800BCE.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 7, 2023 9:00:14 GMT -8
Rouble Trouble
The Russian rouble has suffered its biggest intraday fall of the year as it tumbled to the lowest levels against the dollar and euro since April last year in the face of a foreign currency crunch in Moscow and the sale of Western businesses in Russia.
The rouble nosedived to 113 to the dollar after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though the Russian central bank and finance ministry stabilised the currency and it strengthened to 50 per dollar in July.
But since the West imposed a price cap on Russian oil – the lifeblood of the Russian economy – late last year, the rouble has weakened from about 60 per dollar to more than 80 this week.
On Friday, the rouble skidded more than two percent against the US dollar to an intraday low of 83.5.
Traders said the Russian currency was under pressure from a cocktail of problems including the sale of Western assets to domestic investors, which stoked demand for dollars, while lower oil prices in March cut export revenue.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 7, 2023 9:03:02 GMT -8
Leak of the Week
Secret documents that provide details of US and NATO plans to help prepare Ukraine for a spring offensive against Russia have spilled onto social media platforms, the New York Times reported.
The apparent leak looked like a Russian disinformation operation to sow doubt about Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive, a Ukrainian presidential official said on Friday.
Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters news agency the data contained a “very large amount of fictitious information” and Russia was trying to seize back the initiative in its invasion.
The Pentagon said on Thursday it is assessing the apparent security breach.
“We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the department is reviewing the matter,” Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said.
The documents were spread on Twitter and Telegram, and reportedly contain charts and details about weapons deliveries, battalion strengths and other sensitive information, the Times said.
There was no explanation as to how the plans were obtained.
Information in the documents is at least five weeks old with the most recent dated March 1, the report said. The plans did not provide specific action such as when Ukraine would launch the offensive.
One of the documents summarised the training schedules of 12 Ukraine combat brigades, and said nine were being trained by US and NATO forces. About 250 tanks and more than 350 mechanised vehicles are required for the operation, the newspaper said.
The classified documents, at least one of which carried a “top secret” label, were circulated on pro-Russian government channels, it said.
Information in the documents also details expenditure rates for munitions under Ukraine military control, including for the HIMARS rockets, the US-made artillery systems that have proven highly effective against Russian forces, it added.
“To the trained eye of a Russian war planner, field general or intelligence analyst … the documents no doubt offer many tantalizing clues and insights,” the Times said.
The report quoted military analysts who warned some documents appear to have been altered in a disinformation campaign by Russia, with one inflating Ukrainian troop deaths and minimising Russian battlefield losses.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 7, 2023 9:04:59 GMT -8
So Much For Being Afraid to Get Vaccinated While Pregnant.
Researchers at the University of Miami reported on Thursday what they believe are the first two confirmed cases in which the SARS-CoV-2 virus crossed a mother’s placenta and caused brain damage in the infants they were carrying.
Doctors previously had suspected this was possible, but until now, there was no direct evidence of Covid-19 in a mother’s placenta or an infant’s brain, the team told reporters at a news briefing.
The babies were born to young mothers who tested positive for the virus during their second trimester at the height of the pandemic’s Delta wave in 2020, before vaccines were available. The case studies were published in the journal Pediatrics.
Several viruses are known to be capable of crossing the placenta and causing fetal brain damage, including Cytomegalovirus, Rubella, HIV and Zika. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been detected in adult brain tissue, and some experts had suspected it could also damage fetal brain tissue.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 7, 2023 9:08:35 GMT -8
"LET'S GET READY TO FUMBLE!"
World Wrestling Entertainment inexplicably used footage of infamous Nazi death camp Auschwitz in a recent promotion, prompting the grappling giant to apologize Friday for the offensive gaffe.
In a spot hyping the WWE's recent WrestleMania and the on-screen rivalry between Dominik and Rey Mysterio, the former discusses his background as hardened criminal, saying “You think this is a game to me. I served hard time. And I survived" with footage of the concentration camp.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 7, 2023 9:14:35 GMT -8
Now Whip It Into Shape. Shape it Up. Get Straight.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 7, 2023 9:16:17 GMT -8
Nobody in the QOP is Using the I-Word.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 7, 2023 9:21:32 GMT -8
Tennessee QOP Expels the Black Men. Keeps the White Woman
In One Action, They Managed to Be Racist, Anti-Democratic, and Promote Gun Deaths.
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Post by gainsborough on Apr 7, 2023 13:14:29 GMT -8
What the GOP accomplished in Tennessee is so terrible that schoolchildren in Florida won't be allowed to learn about it.
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