Fake Dutch 'moon rock' revealed

A treasured piece at the Dutch national museum - a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing - is nothing more than petrified wood, curators say.

It was given to former Prime Minister Willem Drees during a goodwill tour by the three Apollo-11 astronauts shortly after their moon mission in 1969.

When Mr Drees died, the rock went on display at the Amsterdam museum.

At one point it was insured for around $500,000 (£308,000), but tests have proved it was not the genuine article.

The Rijksmuseum, which is perhaps better known for paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, says it will keep the piece as a curiosity.

"It's a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered," Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation that proved the piece was a fake, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"We can laugh about it."

The "rock" had originally been been vetted through a phone call to Nasa, she added.

The US agency gave moon rocks to more than 100 countries following lunar missions in the 1970s.

US officials said they had no explanation for the Dutch discovery.

bbcnews 28 Aug 2009

Could this be something part of a bigger picture?

Original moon landing videos taped over,

Moon Rock really petrified wood.

The US government lied ??? !!! ??? impossible....

Was it for the protection of all countries concerned ??? !!! ???

Billion-dollar rain needed to save wilting winter crop

A "billion-dollar rain" in the next week could be the difference between a bumper crop and a below-average harvest for growers in northern NSW and southern Queensland.

The Australian Financial Review reports that the unusually hot, dry and windy weather in Central Queensland has already wilted the crop there and farmers further south, around the Darling Downs, are hoping they will soon receive rain to salvage what could be a good crop.

Northern NSW desperately need spring rains now. and the outlook in central and southern NSW is worse.

But the winter crop is doing well in Western Australia, where growers have received good rains through July and August. Crops are also looking good so far in South Australia and Victoria.

Fairfax, theland.farmonline.com.au 27 Aug 2009

Australia's State Governments, have become more religious than some of the most religious religions on the planet.

The governments are PRAYING for the rains that NEVER alleviate the droughts.

Over the past generation Australia has been becoming drier, and ZERO dollars have been spent on providing water for the general populous.

The ultimate price for government INACTION will be that the people will pay extraordinary prices for water, to the multinationals.

Ja Rule's trail of destruction

Driving in Australia takes some getting used to, at least as far as Ja Rule is concerned.

The rap star turned heads when he got behind the wheel of Nova radio host Kate Ritchie's mum's car this morning.

Adjusting to the Australian road rules, the American rapper drove on the wrong side of the road, went through a red light and almost collided with a police car, according to footage taken by Nova.

It's an inauspicious start to Ja Rule's time in Australia, especially after his struggle to get a visa after previous arrests* in the U.S.

So a fine will be issued like it is to the plebs, since it is documented AND on video, as claimed in the article?

• Limbs must NOT protrude from vehicle,
• Dangerous Driving,
• Careless Driving,
• Driving through an intersection on a red light,
• Traveling on the opposite side of the road.
  

Or are the celebrities immune from the same rules that govern us?

* And this American Entertainment Trash is supposed to be a role model for our children ??

If you are convicted of a crime, you are unable to enter the United States.

So Australia is supporting criminals.... All in the name of corporate $$$

Looks like Australia is STILL the dumping ground for human waste.

P.S. W.T.F. is a JaRule ??? !!! ???

Vic govt targets mobiles, GPS 'on laps'

The days of drivers chatting on mobile phones perched on their laps are over.

The Victorian government is set to outlaw the habit, along with the use of loose GPS units.

From November 9, drivers will only be able to use hand-held mobile phones and navigation devices if they are inserted in a fixed holder.

Drivers who flout the laws will risk fines of $234, plus the loss of three demerit points for mobile phone offences.

The government says the tougher requirements will increase road safety and clarify the rules about talking on the phone while behind the wheel.

But exactly what will constitute an offence is uncertain, and doubts have been raised over whether the laws will have any impact.

According to VicRoads, drivers may only use a hands-free mobile phone or one that is in a fixed holder and can be operated without being touched.

Holding a phone, including resting it on the driver's lap will be an offence, regardless of whether or not it is being used.

There is no mention of phones in pockets, centre consoles or on passenger seats.

Roads Minister Tim Pallas said the laws were in line with national standards and would give drivers clarity about using their phones lawfully.

"It just provides greater enforcement capacity," he said.

Mr Pallas said talking on a hand-held mobile phone while driving quadrupled the risk of a crash.

But the Monash University Accident Research Centre says no research has been done on the risk of talking on speaker mode, compared with hands-free earpieces and headsets.

There was little difference between using a hand-held phone and hands free, the centre says.

"The crash risk is really the same for both, and it increases by about four times - that's been found for hand-held and hands-free," research fellow Kristie Young said.

"It's really the act of having a conversation on the phone that's distracting, although holding the phone can have some added safety issues, such as not having two hands on the wheel."

But Ms Young said she supported the new laws.

The opposition says the laws have been rushed and the government hasn't done its homework.

"It just reeks of a nanny-state announcement," opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said.

"If they've tried to provide clarity, they've done nothing other than to confuse the community about what their intentions are and what the laws are going to be. Does it mean that you can't carry a telephone in your pocket even if you're not using it? It seems quite bizarre."

Victoria's peak motoring body, the RACV, says the new laws are a good start to tackling risky driver behaviour.

RACV traffic and transport chief engineer Peter Daly said reducing distractions for drivers would help cut road accidents.

27 Aug 2009

VICTORIA may as well be called , the POLICE STATE.

FACT : As the population increases, together with road vehicle registrations, SO does the road death RATE.

No matter how optimistic the government tries to be, the reality is VERY different.

As a cloaking mechanism to the official version that we are interested in YOUR safety, the huge benefit is REVENUE.

Apple in hot water over 'exploding iPhones'

Half a dozen new cases of "exploding iPhones" have emerged in France as Apple faces an official inquiry and calls to come clean over possible risks linked to its wildly popular smartphone.

An 80-year-old pensioner from the Paris suburbs said his iPhone screen cracked up in his hands, a day after a supermarket watchman claimed he was hurt in the eye when his screen suddenly shattered this week.

Ten French consumers have now come forward saying their iPhone screens exploded or cracked without explanation, according to an AFP tally, including a first case in mid-August in which a teenager suffered an eye injury.

Apple is accused of trying to hush up 15 cases of iPod music players heating up and bursting into flames in the United States and in one similar British case, all apparently due to overheated lithium ion batteries.

None of the incidents has caused a serious injury but Apple was forced to defend the safety of its flagship smartphone before the European Union this month, insisting the exploding screen cases were "isolated incidents".

The US technology giant, which has sold 26 million iPhones and 200 million iPods to date, said it been informed of the French cases, but would not comment until it had examined the damaged phones.

"We are aware of these reports and we are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers. Until we have the full details, we don't have anything further to add," Alan Hely, head of communications at Apple Europe, told AFP.

But France's official competition, consumer affairs and fraud watchdog, the DGCCRF, has launched an investigation to find out whether the Apple smartphone could pose a threat to consumers.

"An investigation is under way. We have been alerted to the problem and we are looking into it closely," a spokesman said Tuesday.

France's consumer rights group, UFC-Que Choisir, also called on Apple to come clean about possible faults with its iPod and iPhone devices.

"We want to know if this is an isolated incident as they claim, or a real problem involving the iPhone — in which case, what are they planning by way of compensation and to prevent it happening again?" said a spokesman.

In the British case Apple came under fire for allegedly asking the young girl's family to sign a confidentiality agreement — slammed as a "gagging order" — before it would agree to refund her.

In the latest French incident, Rolland Caufman, a pensioner from the Paris suburb of Noisy-le-Sec, says his iPhone screen broke up on July 21, the week after he bought it.

"I went out shopping, with my iPhone in my left pocket, when I suddenly felt it heat up and start vibrating -- even though I never use the vibrate setting.

"I took it out of my pocket and held it to my ear — and saw the screen crack up like a car windscreen," he told AFP.

Caufman says Apple initially refused to believe him, before finally sending him a free replacement.

On Tuesday, 26-year-old security guard Yassine Bouhadi, claimed he was hit in the eye with a glass shard when the screen of his iPhone cracked up. He said he would seek a full refund and file suit for damages.

French mobile phone operator Orange said it had been contacted by two customers with shattered iPhone screens, out of 1.2 million iPhones sold.

The European Commission has asked all 27 EU nations to keep it informed of any problems, under the community's rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products, known as RAPEX.

Commission spokeswoman Helen Kearns said "Apple has been very cooperative", stressing that RAPEX alerts were issued every week — sometimes leading to mass product recalls, but at other times with no consequence.

"We're not there yet. We just need to monitor closely now and see if these are isolated incidents," she told AFP.

"We'll be vigilant and if necessary we'll take further actions. But we need to examine the situation better."

ninemsn 27 Aug 2009


This post is NOT so much to discuss the technicalities of the the iphone,

as in it initial version it's technical specifications were less than that of its competitors,
nor its the purpose to discuss the marketing 'HYPE' about the product, as in Sydney Apple forebode entry into its store UNLESS the customer was purchasing an iphone ( a breach of the Australian Trade Practices Act, which EVERYONE ignored)

This article illustrates that Apple again, are above the consumer laws.

If a product is faulty, all reasonable attempts must be made by the retailer, to rectify the problem.

There is NO legally binding contract that a customer must enter into in order to 'fix' their faulty electronic goods.

As stated in the article:

In the British case Apple came under fire for allegedly asking the young girl's family to sign a confidentiality agreement — slammed as a "gagging order" — before it would agree to refund her.

This illustrates how consumers can be at the mercy of large corporations.

Credit cards: where's the limit?

You could almost believe in Santa Claus, couldn’t you? There you are, fretting over the fact that it’s the run-up to Christmas and you’ve got no cash and a credit card that’s almost maxed out (if not dead in the water), when, voila!

A letter appears from your financial institution, telling you you’re pre-approved for a credit-limit increase. All you have to do is tick, sign and send it off, and you’re ready to spend again.

Magic? Actually, no; it’s called marketing, cleverly disguised as a favour. And insidiously effective, according to a recent report by the Consumer Action Law Centre.

Their report, titled ‘Congratulations, you’re pre-approved!: An analysis of credit limit upselling letters’ (August 2008), found that banks and other credit providers use a range of psychological manipulations to persuade, encourage and convince their current customers to take up a credit card limit increase.

Dr Paul Harrison, senior lecturer in consumer behaviour and marketing at Deakin University and principal researcher of the report, began by looking at the language used in the offer letters we receive.

He soon realised that our reactions to such letters went well beyond the wording — they went right to the heart of our relationship with our finances. ‘People have a very low involvement in their relationship with their finances’, he says.

‘We view banks almost like utilities and we don’t think that much about what the bank is doing. We form a trust relationship with the bank and assume they’ll be looking after our money. When we form a trust relationship, our willingness to take a risk increases. In simple terms, we let down our guard.’

We assume the bank will act in our best interests, just because they’re the bank. We forget that banks are not a community service; they’re mostly highly profitable businesses. ‘Marketing always exploits vulnerabilities’, says Dr Harrison.

‘Banks are making money out of your credit card, and it’s not by accident they’re making big profits.’

Of course, in light of recent world events our lack of interest in what the bank is doing with our money might change, but most of us will continue not to think about it.

We’ll just deposit our salaries, use our ATM cards and assume that money will come out of the wall. We’ll trust that the bank is doing the right thing by us. And, according to Dr Harrison, when the chips are down and we’re feeling a bit vulnerable (due to possible lack of cash), we’re more likely to look upon a credit-limit increase offer as a favour, rather than seeing it as an invitation to pay the bank more money in interest.

money.ninemsn.com.au March 2009 Full story here

Since it's corporations defrauding the general public NO ACTION is ever taken against these Goliaths.