Revealed: How China killed off discussion on the web...

Research commissioned by the Telegraph shows that the number of posts on the hugely successful Twitter-like microblog may have fallen by as much as 70 per cent in the wake of an aggressive campaign by the Communist party to intimidate influential users.

..But that was the same month that the Communist party struck its first major blow against Weibo, requiring users to register their real names with the service.From that point, those wishing to criticise the Party had to do so without the comforting blanket of anonymity and users started to rein themselves in.

...Over the following months, the Party gradually tightened its censorship of the service, deleting the accounts of activists and instituting a 'five strikes-and-out rule’,which suspended the accounts of anyone posting five “sensitive” tweets for 48 hours. In June last year, however, the Party changed tack. To great effect, it began arresting hundreds of users posting “rumours” on Weibo...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10608245/China-kills-off-discussion-on-Weibo-after-internet-crackdown.html

Australia: Deport asylum seekers who spit or swear...

New draft code: 'Antisocial means an action that is against the order of society'

(Huffington Post) Asylum seekers should be deported for “irritating people, disturbing someone or spitting or swearing in public”, according to the leaked draft of an Australia’s Behaviour Code.

Immigration minister Scott Morrison announced in December that detainees would have to sign a new code of conduct, and a draft of the draconian code has been leaked to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.Australia has seen a growing number of refugees from Iran, Afghanistan and Burma, as well as immigrants from South East Asia, but has come under fire for some of its harsh policies toward asylum...

http://m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/4695197?utm_hp_ref=uk&ir=UK

Google Scientists Say The Age Of The Cyborg Is Here

Technology has the potential to augment, improve and even replace every aspect of our body, from our vital organs to our legs.

A new remake of the movie RoboCop (out February 12) shows us a future where technology and humans become one – but experts say the age of the cyborg is already upon us.

With everything from smart contact lenses that could improve our vision to exoskeletons that give us superhuman strength, cyborgs are set to become a big part of our future.

Full Story

Pope Francis Poses For The ‘Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll’ Crowd On Rolling Stone Cover...

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4682143?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Yahoo! Mail compromised, change! your! Mail! password! now!

Yahoo! is urging users of its Mail service to change their passwords to something secure and unique to the web giant – after a security breach exposed account login details to theft.

The company said that it has reset the passwords on accounts connected to what it termed a "third-party database compromise" – that database contained records on some of Yahoo!'s users. Yahoo! said the nabbed sensitive information is already being used by crooks' automated attack programs to compromise accounts and their users.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/31/yahoo_mail_users_change_your_password_now/

Vodka blamed for high death rates in Russia

The high number of early deaths in Russia is mainly due to people drinking too much alcohol, particularly vodka, research shows. The study, in The Lancet, says 25% of Russian men die before they are 55, and most of the deaths are down to alcohol.

The comparable UK figure is 7%. Causes of death include liver disease and alcohol poisoning. Many also die in accidents or after getting into fights.  

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25961063

BREAKING: Elevated levels of radioactivity detected at Britain's Sellafield nuclear plant, say plant authorities...

@FRANCE24: #BREAKING: http://f24.my/MD9Iq8

Muslim terrorists caught in Russia

(CNN) -- Russian police have identified two people they believe are the suicide bombers responsible for deadly bombings in Volgograd and detained two suspected accomplices, anti-terrorism officials said Thursday, according to Russian state news agency Ria Novosti.

CNN

› Gold Coast Blog — Queensland Australia

Man goes through wood chipper -- Survives

A Longview Washington man is recovering from serious injuries after he was trapped and sent through a shredding wood chipper machine at work.Much of Frank Arce’s body has been shredded and crushed after he climbed into a turned-off wood chipper machine to retrieve an object stuck in the bark-shredding device...

http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2014/01/30/washington-man-survives-going-through-wood-chipper/

GC Paper: Will the real Gold Coast Mayor please stand up? Council revolts over Tate's 'faceless man'

Councillors question the powerful role of Mayor Tom Tate's chief of staff Wayne Moran

http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/councillors-question-the-powerful-role-of-mayor-tom-tates-chief-of-staff-wayne-moran/story-fnj94idh-1226814515991

Elementary school deprives students of food due to outstanding lunch bills...

It sounds like a scene out of a Charles Dickens novel: 40 children served lunch, only to have cafeteria workers take their meals and toss them in the trash.

That’s what happened on Tuesday at Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake City, as the district’s child-nutrition department took drastic measures to get parents to pay the outstanding balance on their lunch bills.

http://blog.sfgate.com/hottopics/2014/01/30/school-throws-away-lunches-of-students-in-debt/

Australia's greatest Olympian admitted to rehab...

IAN Thorpe has been admitted to a Sydney hospital to fight his decade-long battle with depression and alcohol abuse.

Thorpe opened up about his struggles, "Not even my family is aware that I've spent a lot of my life battling what I can only describe as crippling depression," he wrote.

http://m.couriermail.com.au/sport/ian-thorpe-admitted-to-rehab-to-battle-depression-and-alcohol-abuse/story-fnia3gmj-1226814426052

Its a ONE STEP SOLUTION - One step to JESUS

Experts Warn Of ‘Caffeine Use Disorder’.. How much is too much?

A new study has found that more people are dependent on caffeine to the point experts are issuing a “caffeine use disorder” warning.The study, coauthored by American University psychology professor Laura Juliano, shows that more people are suffering withdrawl symptoms and are unable to reduce caffeine consumption which is causes the “caffeine use disorder.”

Juliano advises that caffeine consumption should be limited to no more than 400 mg per day or the equivalent of about two to three 8-oz cups of coffee for healthy adults.  She noted that pregnant women should consume less than 200 mg per day along with people who experience anxiety or insomnia regularly.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/01/29/experts-warn-of-caffeine-use-disorder/

North Qld pounded as Cyclone Dylan crosses coast... QUEENSLAND is braced for a double whammy

The Bureau of Meteorology said the category-two storm, packing wind gusts up to 150km/h, hit near Bowen about 3.30am.It is moving south at 16km with heavy rain underneath the eye of the system lashing towns as far south as Gladstone. ....

...Another cyclone brews in the Coral Sea, road and rail links are cut, flights cancelled and tourists stranded as the category-two system pounded the tropical coast between Townsville and the Whitsundays.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/north-queensland-pounded-as-cyclone-dylan-intensifies/story-fnkt21jb-1226814383791

Sunday's Super Bowl Set to Feature Some Intense Layers of Security Most Attendees Will Never See

Pilots and maintainers from the Atlantic City Air National Guard unit, the 177th Fighter Wing, showcased their F-16s Fighting Falcons for the ABC report, explaining that the jets can respond, intercept – and if necessary shoot down – potential aerial threats within mere minutes.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/30/sundays-super-bowl-set-to-feature-some-intense-layers-of-security-most-attendees-will-never-see/

Priest Who Performed Reported Exorcisms in Terrifying Indiana Case Doubles Down -- and the Reporter Who Broke the Story Speaks Out

“First time I heard about the incident was just after the boy walked up the wall backwards,”.....

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/30/something-unworldly-indiana-exorcism-priest-doubles-down-on-demon-possession-story-as-bill-oreilly-presses-for-answers/

Boom? Ray White Surfers Paradise Prestige Event ends without a sale

NOT one home sold under the hammer as buyers kept purse strings tight and vendors refused to budge at one of the country's biggest luxury property auctions.

The Ray White Surfers Paradise Prestige Event, held last night at Palazzo Versace, attracted a room full of high-end buyers but couldn't attract a winning bid on the 11 high-end homes plated up...

http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/realestate/ray-white-surfers-paradise-prestige-event-ends-without-a-sale-as-bids-fall-short-of-expectation/story-fnjdgobq-1226814507636

Justin Bieber charged with assault in Canada..

Justin Bieber was charged Wednesday with assault for allegedly hitting a Toronto limousine driver several times in the back of the head last month, just hours after his attorney entered a separate not guilty plea in Florida to drunken-driving and other charges...

http://www.wnem.com/story/24583501/justin-bieber-charged-with-assault-in-canada?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=michiganonline

Conformed To This World: Pope cements place in hippie universe, shares values

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

http://pagesix.com/2014/01/29/pope-francis-graces-the-cover-of-rolling-stone/?_ga=1.18160369.975338139.1383351185

Apple losing in #China

While the Tame Apple Press was trying to tell the world that Apple was going to do well in China, TechEye received a good kicking from Apple Fanboys for daring to say it was not going to happen.

Well it looks like we were right and anyone who invested in Jobs' Mob would have a case for suing the New York Times and its ilk for trying to talk up what was obviously false...

http://news.techeye.net/mobile/apple-losing-in-china