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sheeza
Extreme Poster
Joined: 06 Oct 2007
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 Posted: Dec 31, 2007 Topic Views : 3083 Post subject: The Things We Learned In 2007 From All Over The World |
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Boosting your brainpower has never been so simple: ever the oracles, we’ve distilled the most interesting things we learned this year into an easy-to-swallow capsule guaranteed to expand your mind – without risking the wrath of the law.
From surprise cannabis confessions to novel alternatives to hugging a hoodie, increase your IQ without having to get off the sofa.
It’s not just London that is at risk from terror attacks. Up until this year, people living in the UK but not in London felt much safer than those living in the capital. But all that has changed. In June, the arrivals terminal of Glasgow airport was targeted by terrorists, who set a car ablaze and drove it into the building. The attack shattered the perception that London was the only place of interest to terrorists in the UK.
Never underestimate a monk – not all of them are the silent type. In September, tens of thousands of Buddhist monks marched through Burma to protest against the military junta. By way of a response, troops fired on protestors, killing at least 20 people and prompting international condemnation.
Although it ended two decades ago, the Cold War has left a lingering chill between Britain and Russia, as evidenced in July when Moscow refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, chief suspect in the murder of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko. Not one to tolerate bullyboy tactics, Britain promptly expelled several Russian diplomats.
When it rains, it pours – and then some: nearly 55,000 British homes and businesses were flooded during the summer that wasn’t, leaving a soggy legacy in the shape of insurance claims worth £1bn. Whether or not you believe global warming is to blame, be warned: unprecedented downpours and ensuing floods are set to become an increasingly common occurrence in this country.
Smoking cannabis isn’t the sole preserve of social radicals: an unofficial biography of David Cameron claimed the Conservative leader smoked marijuana during his student days at Eton. Cameron refused to comment, but the episode prompted a slew of politicians – including Chancellor Alistair Darling, Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman and Skills Secretary John Denham – to admit to having been high on more than just life in the past. Boris Johnson, currently vying to become London’s next mayor, told journalists he had tried cannabis at university and found it “jolly nice.”
If you’re going to play dead, stay dead. Proof that faking your own demise is best left to fictional characters such as Reginald Perrin, John Darwin – the “back-from-the-dead” canoeist – has, along with his wife Anne, been charged with deception and will be spending the festive season in custody.
It really is all in a name: the Justice Ministry is calling for the removal of the word “prostitute” – which has been around for almost 200 years – from criminal statutes. Ministry officials argue the word carries too much social stigma and are pushing to replace it with the phrase “persons who sell sex persistently.” Try saying that with a mouthful.
Be very careful what you wish for. More than 13 years after making THAT pact with Tony Blair, Gordon Brown was finally handed the reins of the Labour Party – and almost immediately Britain’s new premier was beset by floods, car bombs, foot and mouth and an infuriatingly resurgent Conservative Party.
The gap between humans and robots is rapidly closing. In a quantum leap that makes Sir Isaac Asimov seem more prescient than ever, Toyota is breathing life into a new generation of “partner” robots smart enough to help people with manual tasks in factories, hospitals homes and around town. It has even created one sufficiently dextrous to play the violin.
Hugging isn’t the only thing you can do to hoodies, as demonstrated by Jeremy Clarkson. Confronted by a gang of teenagers, the Top Gear presenter took umbrage when the youths failed to heed his polite request for privacy – and lifted one up by the scruff of his neck. Describing the incident in his Sunday Times column, the motoring megamouth wrote: “And so, figuring that attack was probably the best form of defence, I grabbed the ringleader by his hoodie, lifted him off the ground and explained, firmly, that it'd be best if he went back to his tenement.”
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