Drone Wars

The use of private drones has skyrocketed, yet their owners don't seem to have grasped the serious nature of airspace intrusion over places like airports, nuclear power plants and prisons.
So the gloves are now OFF!

Defence giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin have developed technology ranging from detection systems to more disruptive solutions such as software that forces unauthorised drones to go home or land safely, and laser cannons that shoot unwanted drones out of the sky.
At a demonstration in California, Boeing's compact 2kw laser system took only about 15 seconds to set a drone alight.
Another company has developed software that establishes invisible barriers - "geofences" - around sensitive airspace. When drones hit the virtual boundary, the software overrides the drone's flight controller and forces it to hover. Any drone deployed inside the barrier won't be able to lift off.
It's anticipated the counter-drone industry (both civil and military) could be worth at least several hundred million dollars at this stage, let alone in the future.
Much will depend on how well the technology works. The first step is identifying whether drones are 'friendly' or not. Systems also need to be able to distinguish between slow-moving drones and birds, and the signals from drones compared to cellphones.

It's envisaged that eventually airports, government locations, public swimming pools, defence facilities and the like will all erect "geofences" to inhibit airspace intrusions. Once enough "geofences" intersect, the 'free range' areas for drones will be severely restricted, certainly in cities at least.
So it seems the days of airborne voyeurs roaming wherever they wish via their drones may be coming to an end...

Apocolypse-Not-Quite-Now

In a few years from now, scientists will try to push an asteroid off its orbital path.
It's not a case of "because they CAN"…it's actually a practice run for

saving the world!
So the joint US-European AIDA (Asteroid Deflection and Assessment) mission will crash a probe into a small asteroid called 65803 Didymos. It's only 160m wide, but the test will show if in principle a much larger asteroid threatening to wipe out human civilisation can be deflected the same.
Two spacecraft, one kamikaze and the other to monitor the effect, will be launched in October 2020. They'll travel about 6million km and reach the target mid-2022.
Dr Patrick Michel, lead investigator for the European Space Agency: "To protect Earth from potentially hazardous impacts, we need to understand asteroids much better - what they are made of, their structure, origins and how they respond to collisions."
Planet Earth has had a couple of near misses in the last few years: an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier wizzed by - closer than the Moon! - in late 2011.

And let's not forget that on 13 April 2029, an asteroid called 99942 Apophis will miss us by a mere 35,000km, a hair's breadth in astronomical terms. Apophis is the size of a football field, enough mass to cause widespread devastation should it ever collide with Earth. It too will be well within the orbit of the moon. That's damn close...so better to be safe than sorry.
After all, if/when the situation is for REAL, Bruce Willis will be too far into his dotage to save us!

Water Conservation Is All BALLS!!

California's record-breaking drought shows no sign of ending, so Los Angeles has come up with something different to protect the city's water...
96-million 'shade balls' floating on its 75-acre LA Reservoir.
These apple-sized plastic balls are designed to help protect the supply against dust, rain, chemicals and wildlife, as well as prevent massive water loss each year.

So how do they work? Well, they float on the surface and block the sun's rays, to prevent evaporation and also to prevent a chemical reaction that creates the carcinogenic compound bromate. As well, the balls form a protective barrier across the surface that helps keep birds, animals and other contaminants out.
They cost 36 cents each, and are coloured black because that's the only colour able to deflect UV rays. Additionally, they reduce evaporation off the reservoir surfaces by 85-90%!
Mayor Eric Garcetti: "In addition to reducing chemical treatment to prevent natural occurrences like algae, these shade balls are a cost-effective way to reduce evaporation annually by nearly 300 million gallons, enough to provide drinking water for 8,100 people for a full year."
The polyethylene balls are expected to save $250 million when compared to other techniques to protect the water.
This is a phenomenal saving in both dollars and water, and an idea deserving of high praise!

Last Chance For His Kind

Sudan is an elderly northern white rhinoceros.
He spends his days surrounded 24/7 by armed guards.
At 42, he's the oldest northern white rhino to have lived in captivity and it shows. His left eye is nearly blind, his hind legs so weak he can't mount the remaining females. His sperm count is low, and the

females reject him.
His subspecies has spent generations evolving to their habitat - their mouths shaped to suit the local vegetation, their hides more resistant to specific parasites. But they could not prepare for man's wars. They lived in battle zones - Congo, the Central African Republic, Sudan - and were killed for horns that could be turned into cash and weapons (in SE Asian markets, rhino horn sells for around $71,000 per kilo!).
In the 1960s, northern whites were estimated at around 2000. When Sudan was captured at age 3, and taken to a Czech zoo, his kind were listed as 'endangered'. Conservationists believed they could still save them, but no one did anything. So they were wiped out in the wild, first in the Central African Republic, then in Sudan.
By 2003, there were less than two dozen left in the wilds of DRC's Garamba National Park. After the govt refused to move them to safety in Kenya, they too were poached. In 2008, northern white rhinos were declared extinct in the wild. Only those in captivity remained.
Other rhino subspecies have suffered the same fate: the western black rhino and a subspecies of Javan rhino in the wilds of Vietnam were declared extinct in 2011.
Scientists set the minimum requirement for a viable breeding population of a subspecies at around 2000. Right now, there are five. Two of the four remaining females are in a San Diego zoo, too old to mate.
The two other females are Sudan's own offspring. Yet, despite in-breeding being common among wild rhinos, his daughter Najin (25) and granddaughter Fatu (14) will no longer have him.
In an ironic situation created by human plunder and blunder, the best chance for survival now rests with human intervention. Conservationists are planning to create the world's first test-tube rhino, through in-vitro fertilisation of Najin or Fatu's eggs with sperm harvested from Sudan. The tiny embryo could then be implanted into a southern white rhino, a surrogate mother from a closely related subspecies.
It has never been done before. But it's the only choice left.

Aliens Among Us

A new species of whale may be cruising the icy cold waters of the Antarctic.
Scientists have recorded a unique whale song, which they can't identify, in the area. Evidence is tantalising, rather than strong, as the song could be from one of a few known species of beaked whale. But it's structure doesn't quite fit any known beaked whales... leaving open the possibility it's from a new species.
Although beaked whales comprise the 2nd-largest cetacean family (the group containing whales and dolphins), they're one of the most poorly-known groups of all large mammals.

Cuvier's beaked whales: it wasn't US!

All beaked whales are extremely elusive, diving deeply (to depths of over 9,000ft!!!) and spending very little time at the surface, which makes them difficult to spot. But they do produce unique sounds for echolocation, that scientists can use to track their movements.
New species of beaked whale are still being discovered - in 2014, a new discovery brought the total number of species to 22.
This strange signal, known as the Antarctic BW29 signal, was recorded more than 1000 times. It's unique in both its timing and the type of sounds making up the signal.
As well as BW29, the researchers also recorded another unique call on six other occasions, dubbed Antarctic BW37. This second signal was produced at a higher frequency. It's unknown yet whether this belongs to a different beaked whale species than the one producing Antarctic BW29.
So there's only one thing to do: allow Japanese "research" vessels down there to hunt the sources of BW29 and BW37, so they can carry out extensive "studies"...before they eat 'em!

H3: The Chinese Lunar Takeaway

The Chinese see things long-term.
And I mean REALLY looooooooooooong-term!
China used to be regarded as a source of laughable-quality novelty products made by impossibly-cheap labourers who worked 20 hours a day for a cup of rice. But then China embraced capitalism 30yrs ago...and never regretted it. Just check the items around you for their production source – the vast majority will say 'Made In China'. China has grabbed the West by the proverbials, and just about torn

'em completely off!
Westerners say "the sky's the limit", but China is looking BEYOND the sky. It's eyeing up the Moon! It landed its first vehicle on the Moon last month, and says it wants to carry out mining operations there!
Why, grasshopper? Because the Moon has H3, a helium isotope with two protons and one neutron. It's rare on Earth but common on the Moon and can produce LOTS of energy! One wheelbarrow of H3 will keep the whole US economy going for a week.
Mining on the Moon…a helluva challenge. Well, don't write off the rice-munching novelty-makers: if anyone can do it, these long-term visionaries can! And as the stuff's worth US$5 billion per ton, it's worth the challenge.
There's the slight stumbling block of the 1979 UN Moon Treaty, saying no state has Moon ownership or mining rights and all decisions concerning the Moon and other celestial bodies must be referred to the international community. But surprise, China hasn't signed it. Neither has US…or any of the other countries that've actually sent anything into space!

They're not bound by the treaty, so when it comes to mining the H3, it'll be first-in first-served. And let's face it, when the mining's going on nearly 390,000kms away on a desolate grey dusty rock, who'll be there to complain?
Pass the moon cakes please, Chang.

Japan To Use Non-Lethal Farce

Japan's move to send whaling boats back to the Antarctic for non-lethal scientific research is being labelled "a farce" by environmental group Sea Shepherd.
The Institute of Cetecean Research (ICR) says it'll use methods such as sightings and biopsy sampling.

Last March, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled Japan's whaling was illegal. So today, to get around the ruling, the institute is sending four boats for non-lethal research - they'll be there until the end of March.
Greenpeace has welcomed Japan's decision to do non-lethal research, but environmental watchdog Sea Shepherd is more cynical.

Is this Japan's idea of 'non-lethal'???

Speaking from Bob Barker in the South Indian Ocean, SS Captain Peter Hammarstedt, says the scientific programme is merely a way to scope the whales out before killing them next season:
"We're incredibly sceptical of Japan's current idea, given that they've already declared they plan to resume their commercial whaling in 2015-16. The data they collect now will be used for future lethal programmes."

Last November, Japan announced its intention to kill 333 Minke whales in the 2015-16 season.
ICR spokesman, Glenn "Ginza" Inwood, says Japan is entirely open and honest about its research intentions. He says the Institute wants to develop its knowledge base required to undertake sustainable whaling in the Antarctic.
In March, the ICJ said the special permits granted by Japan "for the killing, taking, and treating of whales...are not for purposes of scientific research". It said the sample size of its lethal research was not driven by strictly scientific considerations. It also said that despite Japan killing about 3,600 minke whales in the past decade, its scientific output to date appeared to be limited.
ICR's Inwood says future research would be in accordance with the ICJ's decision: "Future research expeditions in the Antarctic are likely to include some lethal research sampling, where limited numbers of whales from abundant species are taken, and Japan is confident that it is consistent with last year's decision by the ICJ."
Jeez, which part of "no" do the nasty Nippons not understand??!!

Japanese Women Compared To Whalemeat?

Australia's anti-whaling campaign...is like restricting the right of Japanese women to wear the kimono!
Joji Morishita, Japan's chief negotiator at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), says Japan will defy "eco-imperialist" anti-whaling countries and resume killing in the Southern Ocean in late 2015.
This contravenes the March 2014 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), that Japan could not justify its "research" killing of whales.

Note the similarity...?
No, neither do I!

Morishita says international objections to whaling compare to restrictions on the wearing of kimono (!!!): "The average Japanese woman wears kimono perhaps 2-3 in her lifetime. Those ceremonial kimono cost millions of yen, so some might argue they're a waste of money. But what if another country then said that only a small number of women could wear kimono?"
Say WHAT?? Such a bizarre argument!!
The world court withdrew Japan's whaling licence in the Antarctic, forcing it to devise a new programme it claims has solid scientific foundations. In its revised scheme, Japan will kill 333 minke whales in the Southern Ocean next year, and a total of 3,996 over 12 years. The quota is significantly lower than the 850 minke it targeted each year, until Australia's legal challenge at The Hague put a temporary halt to the hunt.
However environmental groups have condemned the new plans, saying the hunt is still commercial – not science.
Morishita claims Japan is only interested in scientific proof that sustainable use of an "ordinary marine resource" is possible. He says weak demand for whale meat among Japanese consumers is no reason to end the slaughter. (A dramatic drop in demand in recent decades means thousands of tonnes of meat have been left unsold.) He fully expects the whaling fleet will leave for the Antarctic at the end of next year.
But the resumption of Antarctic whaling could be short-lived. From 2016, 'scientific' whale hunts must first be reviewed and approved by the general membership of the IWC, the majority of which is anti-whaling. The next hunt will not be subject to the requirement, because it's due to start a year before the IWC's next meeting.

Frog In A Blender

How does the old joke go?
Q: What's green and wizzes round and round very fast?
A: A frog in a blender!
Peruvians recommend freshly-blended FROGS as a cure for stress and

special of the day

low sex drives!
Villagers in the Andes have a traditional cure-all that they use to treat everything from a slow sex drive and high stress levels, to asthma and bronchitis: blended frog juice. Many locals living in Peru and Bolivia believe it's the ultimate fix for almost any illness.
The most popular recipe calls for the use of whole frogs, which are beaten to death and skinned before being put into the blender. Many local food vendors then add a number of other healthy ingredients, such as carrots, Peruvian maca root and honey, before blending the mixture until it is smooth. The finished product is usually light green in colour and is served to customers right there on the spot.

"Jump, Forrest, JUMP!"

The Medical College of Lima reports there is no scientific evidence that frog juice is a cure for anything, despite its continuing popularity within Andean culture.
And unfortunately, the juice requires the use of one specific type of frog... thetelmatobius culeus, from remote Lake Titicaca, a species that's listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Space Elevator? Yea, Right!

Straight from the pages of Ripley's Believe It Or Not, a Japanese construction giant says it'll have a space elevator up and running by 2050....reaching 96,000km out into space.
Robotic cars powered by magnetic linear motors will carry people and cargo to a newly-built space station, at a fraction of the cost of

rockets. It will take seven days to get there.
The Obayashi company says this fantasy is within reach due to the development of carbon nanotechnology, the tensile strength of which is almost a hundred times stronger than steel cable.
Yoji Ishikawa, R+D manager: "Right now we can't make the cable long enough. We can only make 3cm-long nanotubes but by 2030 we'll be able to do it."
The boffins reckon the space elevator could signal the end of rockets which are hugely expensive - a space shuttle costs about $22,000 per kilogram to take cargo into space: the estimate for the space elevator is about $200!
The elevator would allow small rockets to be housed and launched from stations in space without needing huge amounts of fuel to break the Earth's gravitational pull.
It's also hoped the space elevator could help in solving the world's power problems, by delivering huge amounts of cheap solar power or storing nuclear waste.
And hey, why not idly speculate about space tourism! Obayashi is working on 30-man elevator cars, and believes it won't be too long before the Moon is the next must-see tourist destination.
Yea, right!!! Open the pod bay doors, Hal...

IWC Is A Eunuch

It's all over, bar the shouting...of which there will be much.
The International Whaling Commission's (IWC) 65th meeting has ended, with an agreement to toughen scrutiny of Japan's Antarctic hunts, but without the balls to do much else.

The 35/20 vote, for a NZ resolution to tighten the review of proposals for research whaling, was hailed by conservationists as a major victory. Patrick Ramage, whale programme director at International Fund for Animal Welfare, called it a great day for NZ's anti-whaling efforts:
"It really tightens the noose on Japan's ongoing scientific whaling in and around Antarctica."
The resolution instructs the IWC's scientific committee to assess whether a research bid is truly science-driven, including by satisfying itself that non-lethal means are not an option. And until such a review is completed, it "requests" that countries do not issue any research whaling permits.
And there's the problem: while the IWC's scientific committee considers proposals for scientific whaling, there's nothing preventing a nation from going ahead without its blessing (as Sara Phillips writes for ABC Environment). So while the majority of nations in this particular vote want to close the "scientific whaling" loophole, they're working with another gap, ie: that the IWC resolution itself is non-binding.
As we already know, Japan cancelled this summer's Antarctic hunt after March's International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, but says it'll resume in 2015-16, and will file a new "research" plan by the end of this year.
Patrick Ramage: "It's as though Japan is saying: 'Pay no attention to the world court judgment - we are going back to killing in a whale sanctuary around Antarctica.' Ultimately, Japan needs to reconcile itself to the emerging global consensus for whale conservation and the court order of the ICJ."
Let's be BLUNT: Japan is saying "あなたをファック！" to us all!

Battling For Whales Again

New Zealand is expecting a fight, over it's bid to have the World Court's ban on Japan's scientific whaling adopted by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
The IWC meeting starting today in Slovenia will be decisive: it's the first since the ruling and there's not another until 2016.

It is in effect a battle over Antarctic whaling, because Japan has a new plan to resume commercial whaling next season which will also be presented to the IWC. The nasty Nippons have said they'll restart Southern Ocean whaling with a "redesigned scientific whaling programme" in the 2015/16 season which will meet the requirements of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The ICJ ruled this annual expedition is a commercial activity masquerading as research. NZ wants to set that judgment into IWC stone, so no further illegal scientific whaling happens.
The resolution needs just a majority of 50% of countries plus one to pass. But, knowing the way Japan buys supporters' votes, it's likely the resolution will be hard-fought.
The debate will be a key test of NZ/Australia resolve, as well as other like-minded governments, to ensure the resolution is passed without watering-down. If successful, it'll prevent Japan from whaling in Antarctica until 2016/17 at the earliest.
Another country targeted at the IWC is Iceland, where commercial whaling was resumed in 2006, in addition to a "scientific programme" of research whaling. A proposal for a Sth.Atlantic whale sanctuary will also be put forward. And recent figures show Norway killed a record 729 whales so far this year, the highest since 1993 when it resumed whaling.

The Power To Play God…

An experimental drug has healed all 18 monkeys infected with the deadly Ebola virus!

The monkeys were given ZMapp 3-5 days after they were infected with Ebola and symptomatic: that's several days later than any other experimental Ebola treatment tested so far. This is the first monkey test ever done with ZMapp.
It's not known how well the drug would work in people, who can take up to 21 days to show symptoms and are not infected the way these monkeys were in a lab, but it's very encouraging that the animals recovered...even after advanced Ebola had developed.
ZMapp had never been tested in humans, before two US aid workers in Africa who got Ebola were allowed it. The rest of the limited supply was given to five others.
Ebola has killed more than 1,500 people this year. Last Friday, it spread to a 5th.African country - Senegal.
ZMapp's maker says the small supply of the drug is now exhausted and it'll take about a month to make 20-40 doses. There're plans for a clinical trial on people early next year eg: experts need to know what a safe and proper dose for humans should be.
Meanwhile those infected have nothing left to lose, so surely it would be humane to use ZMapp as soon as some is produced. The big question is not "should it be used on humans before it has been trialled?"...but more, "who should be given it before trials are done?"
Which organisation will be given the power over life-and-death...
and the authority to save a life BEFORE trials are over?
Who gets to play God?

The Date Of The End Of The World!

We're all gonna DIE!
Planet Earth may be obliterated by an asteroid!!
And the boffins can even give us the YEAR this'll happen!!!
But don't worry: you and I will be long gone.
The coneheads reckon the Big One will happen on 16 March 2880. Riiiiiggghhhttt...
Of course, this is assuming we haven't poisoned, blown up or right royally fucked the planet over first!
However, good news is: scientists are also closer to working out how to stop this asteroid. Researchers at the University of Tennessee have found that blowing up the space rock, like in the movie Armageddon, could cause several collisions with the Earth...and that's not a good thing! So they feel the way to avoid calamity is to make changes to the surface of the asteroid in order to break it up in outer space.
The chances of Asteroid 1950 DA hitting Earth is 1-in-300, which the eggs reckon is small risk. But check out the stats:
This big rock has a diameter of 1km (3,280 feet) and is travelling at a speed of 14km (8.7 miles) per second. It'll hit Earth at around 61,000kmph (37,900 miles per hour).
The force of the collision would be like 44,800 megatons of TNT exploding and result in tsunamis and a huge change to Earth's climate.
OK, I'm rather glad I won't be here that day...

Japan Continues Whaling

The Japanese whaling fleet returned home last week after a successful Pacific whaling season.

Research fellows...

Yes, it's STILL killing whales: indeed, this was it's second campaign since it was ordered to halt a separate slaughter in the Southern Ocean, by the ICJ (International Court of Justice) last March. The ICJ ruled that Japan's annual Antarctic expedition was a commercial activity masquerading as research.
115 whales (90 Sei and 25 Bryde's) were killed during the 2½ month campaign. This is on top of the 30 Minke whales killed in June, as part of a coastal whaling hunt - taking this year's tally to 145.
The nasty Nippons called off the 2014-15 season for it's Antarctic hunt, and said it would redesign the controversial whaling mission in a bid to make it "more scientific", while filing for a permanent injunction against Sea Shepherd, it's long-time nemesis.
Just WHAT will constitute "more scientific" is anyone's guess, given the virtually ZERO level of peer-reviewed research produced by the Japanese in the preceding decades of slaughter. Perhaps triple-counting the number of cartons of whale meat per kill may convince Japanese scientists that they're conducting real research. That's about the level of "science" in this whole self-deluding farce!

Sex In Space

At this very moment, a Russian satellite full of geckos (possibly having sex), is floating above us in space!

"Stop watching, ya Russian perverts!"

The Foton-M4 research satellite was launched on 19 July with five geckos on board. All the Ruskies wanted was to observe how the lizards would "do the wild thang" in zero-gravity. Several other earthly creatures, including plants and insects, were also placed on board for experiments.
But that was far too simple a destiny for the craft. Shortly after it's first few orbits, the satellite stopped responding to commands. The Russians're still receiving data from the satellite about how the lizards are doing, but for now, that's all they can do.
A spokesman for Russia's Institute of Biomedical Problems says experts are working to re-establish a connection to the satellite.
Meantime - above all the turmoil on Earth that Russia is embroiled in - it's bizarre Lizard Space Sex project continues as Mother Nature intended, for the rest of the 60-day mission.
Go, you randy lil' green things, you!

Voters Want Maui's Dolphin Saved

There are only 55 Maui's dolphins left. Less than five dozen!!!
We WILL see this critically-endangered subspecies become extinct in our lifetime - probably within the next DECADE - unless our politicians act NOW.

Mallard's completely QUACKERS!

And yet, in the countdown to this year's election, Labour's Hutt South MP Trevor Mallard continues to push a flakey dream that the long-extinct moa can be brought back to life through DNA technology, and become a tourist attraction!
Mallard says moa could return to the Rimutaka Forest Park (in his electorate): "It would certainly give us international focus and frankly I can't think of a better place."
His leader David Cunliffe: "It's not official Party policy."
But Mallard's absolutely serious that New Zealand should be taking advantage of science as it develops...with provisos: "I only want the small moa. I don't want 240kg ones, 3.5 metres tall. I'd like ones that I could pat on the head."
Riiiiiiiiight. So Mallard wants some sort of cute feathered pet, with no true intent to save a species! This may explain the dire plight of the world's smallest dolphin, on our own doorstep. Mallard was at one time the Minister for the Environment: he could have made a difference. Now instead he wants to re-birth a bloody giant chicken!
A World Wildlife Foundation poll by Colman Brunton found 60% of NZ voters would be more likely to vote for a political party that expanded a ban on set and trawl nets to cover the entire area that Maui's dolphin live in.
Election Day is 20 September...just a thought.

Stand Aside, Sir Isaac Newton

A sleek Gulfstream V is set to soar into the South Island skies this month.
The US-based High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (Hiaper) aircraft is centrepiece of a huge, multi-national scientific study centred on the South Island over the next two months.

The 8yr.old $100m highly-modified corporate jet contains some of the most sophisticated scientific technology ever sent airborne. With 100+ researchers from the US, UK, Germany, Oz and NZ, the Deepwave project sets out to unravel the mysteries of gravity waves, a vital but little-understood atmospheric element.
Gravity waves form when winds strike a large obstacle (such as a mountain range), sending ripples hundreds of kilometres across land and water, and vertically into the atmosphere.
The Southern Alps are considered a "hot spot" for gravity waves, as the seasonal positioning of the southern circumpolar jet system over them creates strong gravity waves.

Tony Bromley, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research meteorologist: "Because there are no other influences from terrain, you get a smooth flow on the western side right across the Southern Ocean and, when they hit the Southern Alps, you get the uplifting effect."
Within these waves (which can reach heights of 100km), the jet will fly 20 missions at up to 12,800m, extending across to Tasmania and deep into the subantarctic Southern Ocean.
The Deepwave project will be based at Christchurch Intl.Airport.

Is Your Brain In Your DICK???

If you thought watching porn could make you go blind, think again.
A new German study says that porn may have adverse effects on your brain!
Researchers say men who watch a lot of porn usually have smaller striatum (that's the area of the brain linked to motivation and rewards). The connection between the striatum and the prefrontal cortex (responsible for behaviour and decision-making) also decreases when watching increased amounts of porn.

As well as possible brain shrinkage, a lot of porn also makes it difficult for people to become aroused by their own sexual partners, there are potency problems, and some become bored by mainstream porn and seek more extremes.
A survey by the University of East London said 97% of boys aged 16-20 have viewed porn, and girls of the same age: 80%. One in three women regularly watches porn, and 70% of men 18-24 visit porn sites at least once a month.
There's a significant number of students, boys in particular, for whom it is quite a frequent behaviour. At that age, they're still developing their sexuality, their ideas of what's normal in sex, and ideas of what's appropriate in relationships. Heavy exposure to pornography can be problematic in all of these areas.
So the nuns were right - pornography DOES sink the brain! Mind you, perhaps those with smaller brains are more attracted to porn. And, if their brains are in their dicks, they may be very very small brains indeed...

The Japanese Solution

It's the whaling you do when you're not doing whaling...
Japan's whalers will send four ships into the Southern Ocean next summer.
Brisbane Times says they plan to use biopsy guns instead of harpoons, after their Antarctic hunting was outlawed by the

Whale biopsy: REAL scientists have done this for YEARS!

International Court of Justice.
Three whale chaser ships and a fourth security vessel will undertake a non-lethal research programme in Japan's usual whaling grounds south of Australia and New Zealand. Only the factory ship Nisshin Maru will be absent.
Under their new survey proposal put before the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission, the ships will be confined to sightings, surveys and biopsy sampling in 2014-15. But the Japanese Govt plans to resume a lethal hunt the following summer, as it tries to revive legal commercial whaling.
The Institute of Cetacean Research says the priority will be to gather abundance estimates for Antarctic minke whales and other baleen whale species. Crossbows and darting guns would be used to gain biopsy samples on large whales. With minke whales, work will focus on biopsy sampling and faeces observation and collection.
At least one experienced Japanese researcher will be aboard each ship, and international researchers have been invited to join the voyage...but at their own expense.
Anti-whaling activists Sea Shepherd Australia confirmed they will also return to the Antarctic to track the Japanese vessels.