NEWS OF THE WORLD - Current Events (May Be Disturbing, No Politics Please)

[zombiehorror]

I sure hope so . . .

My paper definitely skipped those ladies!!

[Fester]

Thank Heavens!

[Unknown Primate]

" U - F "   Ukrainian Foto - hee hee...

[Fester]

Ever wonder what is in a Twinkie?
http://madartlab.com/2012/01/27/twinkie-the-opera/

[zombiehorror]

'Lost World' reached: 20 million yr old Antarctic lake 'drilled'

Anyone else read about this, I just heard about it a few weeks ago!  http://rt.com/news/antarctic-million-secrets-lake-583/

Article excerpts~
"After 30 years spent drilling through a four-kilometer-thick ice crust, researchers have finally broken through to a unique subglacial lake. Scientists are set to reveal its 20-million-year-old secrets, and imitate a quest to discover ET life."

"Lake Vostok is a unique closed ecosystem hidden under some four kilometers of ice. Its water has been isolated from the atmosphere – and therefore from any contact with the outside world – since before man existed. The key question for scientists is, could the lake harbour life?"

"But if the lake proves to be a closed system devoid of any life, it would offer scientists the chance to test their theories on how to search for extra-terrestrial life on future space trips. Conditions in the lake are often described as "alien," as they resemble lakes on Jupiter's moon Europa."

"After the 24-hour-a-day drilling work is over, scientists are to take samples of lake water which penetrates through the crack. Specialists at the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute predict they will find "the only giant super-clean water system on the planet." The pristine water will be "twice cleaner than double-distilled water," they believe. "

I'm thinking eventually Coke or Pepsi will put a bid in on the lake and start bottling the water and selling it, bringing them a mint!!

[Sean]

Specialists at the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute predict they will find "the only giant super-clean water system on the planet." The pristine water will be "twice cleaner than double-distilled water," they believe. "

Even with Pleisiosaur poop in it?

[Fester]

OMG !  They've vanished!

The Russian scientists drilling down into Lake Vistok have gone missing!  No word from them for several days!

Russian scientists seeking Lake Vostok lost in frozen 'Land of the Lost'?
Published February 02, 2012
| FoxNews.com
A group of Russian scientists plumbing the frozen Antarctic in search of a lake buried in ice for tens of millions of years have failed to respond to increasingly anxious U.S. colleagues -- and as the days creep by, the fate of the team remains unknown.
"No word from the ice for 5 days," Dr. John Priscu -- professor of ecology at Montana State University and head of a similar Antarctic exploration program -- told FoxNews.com via email.

The team from Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) have been drilling for weeks in an effort to reach isolated Lake Vostok, a vast, dark body of water hidden 13,000 ft.  below the ice sheet's surface. The lake hasn't been exposed to air in more than 20 million years.
Priscu said there was no way to get in touch with the team -- and the already cold weather is set to plunge, as Antarctica's summer season ends and winter sets in.
"Temps are dropping below -40 Celsius [-40 degrees Fahrenheit] and they have only a week or so left before they have to winterize the station," he said. "I can only imagine what things must be like at Vostok Station this week."
The team's disappearance could not come at a worse time: They are about 40 feet from their goal of reaching the body of water, Priscu explained, a goal that the team was unable to meet as they raced the coming winter exactly one year ago.
When the winter arrives in the next few weeks, the temperature can get twice as cold. Vostok Station boasts the lowest recorded temperature on Earth: -89.4 degrees Celsius (-129 degrees Fahrenheit).
If the team does reach the lake water, they will bring its water up through the hole and let it freeze there over the winter. The following year they will be able to start research on what they find, Priscu explained.
While there are only a few researchers actually working at the lake, scientists around the globe have been waiting with bated breath to see what the Russian's unearth this weekend.
"We are terribly interested in what they find," Alan Rodger, a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, told FoxNews.com last year. "This is a lake that we don't think has been exposed for 15 million years. Therefore, if there is life there, we're going to have so many questions. How has it evolved over those years, how has it survived, what does it look like? Won't it be exciting to find something completely new on Planet Earth?"

The Lake Vostok project has been years in the making, with initial drilling at the massive lake -- 15,690 square kilometers (6,060 sq mi) -- starting in 1998. Initially, they were able to reach 3,600 meters, but had to stop due to concerns of possible contamination of the never-before-touched lake water.
"Ice isn't like rock, it's capable of movement," Dr. Priscu told FoxNews.com. "So in order to keep the hole from squeezing shut, they put a fluid in the drill called kerosene. Kerosene also grows bacteria, and there's about 65 tons of kerosene in that hole. It would be a disaster if that kerosene contaminated this pristine lake."
But the scientists came up with a clever way to make sure this debacle would not occur. They agreed to drill until a sensor warned them of free water. At that point they will take out the right amount of kerosene and adjust the pressure so that none of the liquids fall into the lake, but rather lake water would rise through the hole.
Priscu was concerned for his colleagues, but also admits the stunning scope of the story.
"It could be fodder for a great made-for-TV movie," he said
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/02/02/russian-scientists-lost-in-frozen-land-lost/

Have giant ice worms taken them hostage?

Oh, wait . . . here they are!

Guess they were just a little  misplaced . . .

Never mind.

Fox Flub: Russian Vostok Lake Scientists Safe
Russian team trying to uncover Antarctica's Lake Vostok 'Doing something that has never been done before.'

By Jason Koebler
February 3, 2012 RSS Feed Print

The team of Russian scientists trying to uncover the prehistoric Lake Vostok miles beneath a surface of Antarctic ice are not lost, according to American Antarctic explorer John Priscu.

"I can assure you that they are not lost or out of contact," he wrote in an email. "I never said the Russians were lost."

Fox News reported that the team hadn't been heard from for more than five days.

"What I can tell you is that they are doing something that has never been done before—think of it, sampling a lake under 2.5 miles of ice at a location that is the highest, driest and coldest desert on our planet," he adds.

What the Russian team is trying to do is unprecedented—the waters of Lake Vostok have been left untouched beneath more than two miles of ice for more than 15 million years. Lake Vostok has been called the "most alien lake on earth," and scientists believe microscopic "extremophiles" that can survive in very low temperature and light situations might live in the water.

The drilling expedition started more than a decade ago, in 1998, and the team was expected to hit water any day as the unforgiving Antarctic winter approaches. Vostok Station, the Russians' headquarters, has recorded the lowest temperature ever seen on earth: -129 degrees. In recent days, temperatures have dipped below -40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Priscu, who heads an American Antarctic exploration team, said the Russians are "working round the clock and trying to reach their goals as winter approaches. I completely understand why they are not communicating as frequently as in the past."


http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/02/03/fox-flub-russian-vostok-lake-scientists-safe

[Moonshadow]

Good to see Fox News is upholding their high standards of journalism.

[Fester]

Man eating at Heart Attack Grill suffers heart attack 
Customer was dining on Las Vegas grill's notorious Bypass Burger when attack struck

By Philip Caulfield / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 9:30 AM

A man who scarfed down a burger and fries at a Heart Attack Grill restaurant in Las Vegas over the weekend actually suffered a heart attack mid chew, authorities said.
Witnesses said the man, who was in his 40s, was grubbing on one of the grill's notorious "Triple Bypass Burgers" when his symptoms started.
"He was having the sweats and shaking," a waitress identified as "Nurse" Bridgett told local station KVUU.

"The gentleman could barely talk," the joint's owner, Jon Basso, added. "He was sweating, suffering."
Basso called 911 and the man was rushed to a local hospital. He survived and was reportedly recovering, KVUU reported.
The Arizona-based chain caused a stir in Sin City when it opened in October because of its shameless glorification of fatty, high calorie food.
Patients wear hospital gowns over their clothes and are served by waitresses in skimpy nurse's uniforms, who check diners' pulses before taking their drink order.
Bypass burgers are served with "Flatliner Fries" cooked in lard washed down with butterfat milkshakes.
A sign on the door says, "Caution! This establishment is bad for your health." Customers who weigh over 350 pounds eat free.
Tragedy stuck the franchise last March when Blair River, a 6-foot-8, 575-pound pitchman, died at 29 after contracting pneumonia during a bout with the flu.
The grill has no plans to trim the fat from the menu following Saturday's scare, but Basso said his heart went out to the customer.
"I actually felt horrible for the gentleman because the tourists were taking photos of him as if it were some type of stunt," he told KVUU.
"Even with our own morbid sense of humor, we would never pull a stunt like that.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-eating-heart-attack-grill-suffers-heart-attack-article-1.1022918

[Unknown Primate]

I was just going to post that myself, Dave - I've seen that same restaurant showcased on one of The Food Network's programs!

[Sean]

Mark Loescher, Assault Suspect, Tells Police He's Half-Orangutan And Elvis's Brother

When Mark Loescher,51, was arrested for assault in Naples, Fla., he warned officers that, among other things, he was half-orangutan, Elvis Presley's borther and director of the CIA.   


If the police officers who arrested Mark Loescher for assault didn't think he was slightly bananas at first, it's possible they changed their minds when he allegedly told them he was half orangutan.
Florida police also say Loescher told them he was also Elvis Presley's brother, a friend of President Bush, and director of the CIA.

Deputies confronted Loescher in Naples, Fla., last week after after a woman said he had threatened her with a gun, Newser.com reported.
When the deputies got to the bank shortly before 5 p.m., they found Loescher still sitting in the driver's seat while another woman, not the one who called the police, sat in the front passenger seat, according to the Naples Daily News.

The paper also reports that Loescher allegedly told police that he needed to call the "Fusion Center" about his monkey blood.

Those who attempt to arrest Mark Loescher have their work cut out for them. When he was arrested for assault, he not only told officers that he was Elvis Presley's brother, a friend of President Bush, and director of the CIA, but he was also half-orangutan.

[Moonshadow]

Mark Loescher, Assault Suspect, Tells Police He's Half-Orangutan And Elvis's Brother

When Mark Loescher,51, was arrested for assault in Naples, Fla., he warned officers that, among other things, he was half-orangutan, Elvis Presley's borther and director of the CIA.   


If the police officers who arrested Mark Loescher for assault didn't think he was slightly bananas at first, it's possible they changed their minds when he allegedly told them he was half orangutan.
Florida police also say Loescher told them he was also Elvis Presley's brother, a friend of President Bush, and director of the CIA.

Deputies confronted Loescher in Naples, Fla., last week after after a woman said he had threatened her with a gun, Newser.com reported.
When the deputies got to the bank shortly before 5 p.m., they found Loescher still sitting in the driver's seat while another woman, not the one who called the police, sat in the front passenger seat, according to the Naples Daily News.

The paper also reports that Loescher allegedly told police that he needed to call the "Fusion Center" about his monkey blood.

Those who attempt to arrest Mark Loescher have their work cut out for them. When he was arrested for assault, he not only told officers that he was Elvis Presley's brother, a friend of President Bush, and director of the CIA, but he was also half-orangutan.

Half orangutan and from Florida? Come on, he's obviously related to Scatter.

[Fester]

Anyone seen Charlie Sheen lately?

[Unknown Primate]

Only half orangutan?  What a sis!

[Sean]

Only half orangutan?  What a sis!

It would have been cooler if he were FULL orang and Elvis's HALF brother.