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I think the problem is rather less about the actual horse meat and more about deception.

Well, looking at the reader comments on this bit of naval gazing by the BBC there's a fairly rich brew of reasons ranging from sentimentality, to an association with knackers yards and horsemeat being seen as pet food. There's no shortage of people with silly ideas about which animals it is 'right' to eat - but after the Mad Cow Disease debacle (during which ministers fed beef burgers to their kids to prove that they were safe... then decided that, oh dear, maybe they weren't) theres also a lot of sensitivity about accountability and traceability which, as you say, is the sensible concern.

Personally, I'm relieved and surprised to find that 'value' beef burgers actually contain meat from named mammals. :-)

Yes, poor name, but the BBC recently put together a decent documentary about Hacktivists amongst other cyber security topics called The Hackers. Nothing in it may be news to you but it may be a useful resource for someone you know who doesn't understand the point or how it is done. True to the documentary form, they spent most of it on interviews with the people involved.

I would mod your comment slightly funny, overwhelmingly ignorant. Good job playing off of broad stereotypes.

Firstly, Adulyadej doesn't enforce these rules. He has publicly stated he that invites criticism.

Disingenuous? Perhaps, but when you take that comment in context -- the fact that he is a figurehead without any actual power, and he has demonstrated a nobles oblige that, I am guessing, few contemporary monarchs have matched-- then I tend to believe he is speaking honestly.

From what I have read about him, he genuinely cares about his people. He has an inquisitive mind, and while I wouldn't call him a polymath, his interests are varied and deep. That mindset doesn't lend itself well to someone who lacks perspective and self-insight -- qualities you typically will not see in a despot.

I'd think actually the number collection is so that the next time you go in, they can put your phone number in and ID you... "Do you have a discount card? Do you have it with you?? No, can I get your phone number? There you are!"

Most small shops don't (yet) have the smarts/connections to sell customer data. But the potential IS there, yes.

That may be one reason, but it isn't the only reason. the fact is, an extensive phone list linked to a specific demographic (e.g. hair care, female, city district) is worth money to the right person.

if they are giving you a 10% discount or raffling for a car in the mall, remember the information they're asking for is worth more to them than the discount out the till or the new car. Ask someone who works as a dataminer if they have any frequent flyer cards, supermarket loyalty cards, or petrol cards in their wallets.

These shops don't even have to be willing to sell the information: in 2005, a firefighter from Tukwilla, WA was charged with attempted arson, based on a police investigation that revolved around his Safeway Club Card purchase history

Not really. Having a plane go down and THEN having a grounding is as bad as it gets.

Having a plane with a structural failure is far worse than having a subsystem failure like this. Like the time back in 2005 when an Airbus 310 rudder came off over the Caribbean.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/mar/13/theairlineindustry.internationalnews

Or the cracks in the wings of the Airbus 380:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16452878

Or engines blowing off the Airbus 380 in 2010.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1104/Airbus-A380-fleet-grounded-after-Qantas-jet-engine-blowout

Or a cockpit electrical failure on the Airbus A320 during take-off.

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_21378229/airbus-a320s-cockpit-problems-continue-since-faa-order

There are many things that are much worse than a battery fire.

For those doubting parent's claim of the doctors in the UK trying to ban French style chef knives (the big knife that Le Cordon Bleu, and presumably every other culinary school, teaches is to be used for EVERYTHING), here's a link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4581871.stm

I have to admit that I thought he was making it up, but there it is.

Your link is from 2005. One doctor called for it. Nobody listened.

"All the fish examined in the study showed elevated levels of radioactive caesium - the isotopes 134 and 137.
Caesium-137 is present in seawater anyway as a result of the fallout from atomic weapons testing, but the short, two-year half-life of caesium-134 means the contamination can be tied directly to Fukushima. There is no other explanation for the isotope's presence."

"All the fish examined in the study showed elevated levels of radioactive caesium - the isotopes 134 and 137.
Caesium-137 is present in seawater anyway as a result of the fallout from atomic weapons testing, but the short, two-year half-life of caesium-134 means the contamination can be tied directly to Fukushima. There is no other explanation for the isotope's presence."

It was less that two years ago that they said that the reason warming is lower than forecasts is because of pollution in China Global warming lull down to China's coal growth. While I certainly believe the earth has warmed and humans have some blame I'm HIGHLY skeptical of the media's representation of Climate Change for reasons like this.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4581871.stm

I have to admit that I thought he was making it up, but there it is.

It's just a proposal, not a requirement.

Even Joshua Lewis, inventor of the new system believes the traditional valuations can make the game more exciting.

"You're really lucky if you pick an X because it's over-valued and unlucky if you pick a V. So if they were to re-do the values of the tiles that would reduce the level of luck.

"That might be desirable in tournaments but it might not be as good in casual play where you want the less skilled players to have a shot periodically at beating the more highly skilled players."

Source: The "British Media"

It isn't always that way. From back in 2010:

Killed by Code: Software Transparency in Implantable Medical Devices (related video) (BBC summary of the main story)

Written primarily by a free software attorney whose doctors also recommended an implanted ICD and who examined 1) the regulatory requirements, 2) what the device makers have to actually submit to the FDA (not source code), and some other relevant security and design characteristics like just how close to you a controller device would need to be before being able to connect with and control your implanted device, in order to make an informed decision about the surgery.

One of the most important issues discovered during this process was just how little doctors had through of these issues, if at all. If your doctor is recommending an implanted device, whatever you decide about the treatment, it is important to discuss these issues with your doctors and help them understand your concerns.

You really are a closed-minded wanker aren't you? I will provide references showing that although your view is true for the last century, over the last two decades there has been a massive regression in many areas. I will provide citations

There are been great progress in the West. This is probably where you are making your statements about, yeah? However, you are completely *ignorant* (or chose to ignore) several facts: 1) anti-Semitism is increasing in the West (correlated strongly with massive immigration from OIC countries), 2) honor-crime and rape are increasing in countries where formerly it was never heard of (eg. Scandinavia, and again strongly and geographically correlated with OIC immigration), 3) the amount of terrorism has increased massively in the last decade, most of it is Muslim-on-Muslim (so if one is not paying attention, like you, then it is easy to miss: ), 4) the United Nations is OIC dominated and they are actively working to inhibit Free Speech across the globe, eg. see UN HRC Resolution 16/18 (where Hilliary Clinton very stupidly agreed to punish US First Amendment Free Speech rights against her own citizens in her own country - completely craven, shameful and anti-Constitutional).

In the last two decades Human Rights have been going backward for the 1.3 billion people in OIC countries (that's a lot of people). Example analyses: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/07/the_lamps_are_going_out_all_over_the_islamic_world.html
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/study-finds-worsening-conditions-for-democracy-and-human-rights-in-central-asia.aspx?pageID=438&n=study-finds-worsening-conditions-for-democracy-and-human-rights-in-central-asia-2002-08-20
Sudan going backwards: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3130234.stm
Consider the cases of the following countries: Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Indonesia, Chechnya/Dagestan. Have human rights and tolerance gone forward in these countries with the dismantling of secular, socialist or moderate regimes and replaced with increasingly Islamist or repressive ones? Even in Britain, Canada and the US there is regression with an increasing rate of 'dishonor killings' that were unheard of a few years back (and the killing of any number innocent girls by their families for trying to life a liberal Western lifestyle is completely unacceptable, yes? or are you a fascist too?). There are now also places (eg. in France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden) were non-Muslims and even the police fear to go. Even Russia has experienced significant regressing with respect to human and civil rights. And as I mentioned, "useful idiot" Hilliary Clinton has just made the US agreed to UN Resolution 16/18 to suppress the Free Speech rights that US citizens have had for several centuries. These regressions are significant.

It is not all doom and gloom. The World just might be sorted out eventually (although there is also a good chance it won't be), but to say it is all forward progress is delusional and contrary to the facts if you look outside the Western/Free World. For a substantial chunk of the World's population there may have been material growth has been noticeable regression in human and civil rights.

So get out of your cozy neighborhood and start looking at the entire globe. For the last decade or so there has been significant regression for a large chunk of the World's population. It is indeed "it is incredible how backward the world has become". Oh yeah, if you are going to be a moron through ignorance, at least try not to be such a jerk about it. k?

how is Apple misleading customers?

Probably the same way they were in the UK and Italy. Apple was using false and misleading advertising to sell unnecessary "AppleCare" coverage when EU law required a 2-year warranty built into the price of the product.

Alan Turing might not have killed himself. He was simply careless with a science experiment. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18561092 Vincent Van Gogh might not have killed himself. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/new-biography-argues-van-gogh-did-not-kill-himself/ Take away these famous cases and the link between genius and suicide disappears. It's actually very unusual for genius at his or her peak to commit suicide. The peak is the ultimate high.

> Ford stayed strong throughout the economic recession, did not require any
> bailout, posted record profits, and produces the best selling car in the world.

Correction. Ford was going down to the same hot place in the same handbasket as GM. Bonds of both companies were downgraded to junk-bond status in early May of 2005 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41573-2005May6.html Ford had fewer assets than GM, and suffered a near-death experience with a loss of $12.7 billion in 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6298463.stm They caught a lucky break, in that they ran into their problems before the credit markets froze up in 2008. So they were able to mortgage themselves to the gills and obtain $18 billion in financing http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29921 to execute a turnaround.

> Two specific automakers were poorly managed and operated,
> *AND WHEN THE ECONOMY TANKED*, they couldn't survive.

Correction. when the economy tanked, they couldn't get financing to execute a turnaround, and had to get financing from US and Canadian governments, on those governments' terms. I will grant that Ford did their restructuring right, but they did get lucky in that they were forced to do so before the economy tanked, and it was still possible to borrow $18 billion.

Credit where credit is due; Wkipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company with lots of citations.

Archived @:
http://slexy.org/view/s21UWKzafS
http://hpaste.org/79175
https://paste.debian.net/plain/216145
==
The hum that helps to fight crime (ENF) Electrical Network Frequency analysis

"For the last seven years, at the Metropolitan Police forensic lab in south London, audio specialists have been continuously recording the sound of mains electricity.

It is an all pervasive hum that we normally cannot hear. But boost it a little, and a metallic and not very pleasant buzz fills the air. ...

"The power is sent out over the national grid to factories, shops and of course our homes. Normally this frequency, known as the mains frequency, is about 50Hz," explains Dr Alan Cooper, a senior digital forensic practitioner at the Met Police.

Any digital recording made anywhere near an electrical power source, be it plug socket, light or pylon, will pick up this noise and it will be embedded throughout the audio.

This buzz is an annoyance for sound engineers trying to make the highest quality recordings. But for forensic experts, it has turned out to be an invaluable tool in the fight against crime.

While the frequency of the electricity supplied by the national grid is about 50Hz, if you look at it over time, you can see minute fluctuations. ...

Comparing the unique pattern of the frequencies on an audio recording with a database that has been logging these changes for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year provides a digital watermark: a date and time stamp on the recording.

Philip Harrison, from JP French Associates, another forensic audio laboratory that has been logging the hum for several years, says: "Even if [the hum] is picked up at a very low level that you cannot hear, we can extract this information."

It is a technique known as Electric Network Frequency (ENF) analysis, and it is helping forensic scientists to separate genuine, unedited recordings from those that have been tampered with."

- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20629671
- http://cryptogon.com/?p=32789

#

Met lab claims 'biggest breakthrough since Watergate'
Power lines act as police informers

- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/01/enf_met_police/

#

Noisy, muffled, incoherent recordings are an audio engineerâ(TM)s worst nightmare, but all too often they contain vital evidence in criminal trials. Itâ(TM)s the job of the forensic audio specialist to extract that evidence.

- http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan10/articles/forensics.htm

#

(discussion forum) Electrical network frequency analysis, Mains frequency variations detectable in digital audio recordings?

- http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=81346

#

Met Police use electrical 'hum' to solve crimes

The Metropolitan Police is using the "hum" of background noise produced by mains electricity to help solve crimes, it has been disclosed.

- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9739037/Met-Police-use-electrical-hum-to-solve-crimes.html

#

Related Research
- http://www.ece.umd.edu/~ravig/Research.html

#

Engineers Use Electrical Hum To Fight Crime

- http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/12/12/1331243/engineers-

Tiny molecular machine apes cellular production line

Greece should really be a poster child for how austerity *DOESN'T WORK*. Greece has tried year after year to cut its debt by cutting spending, but doing so has only sent it into a worse and worse recession that has seen tax revenues shrink. Result? Mass unemployment and social disorder of the likes not seen since the end of Weimar Germany, and financially absolutely ZERO progress.

And no, the greeks are not, in fact, lazy. Prior to this crisis, they were working many more hours than Germany. The problem is that greek industries just aren't the sectors that make a lot of profit.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17155304

And if the UK were split into constituent parts, no US state is likely to be worse than Scotland for general health and life expectancy.

You may or may not be right but that doesn't change the fact there is a serious problem in the US.

And if the UK were split into constituent parts, no US state is likely to be worse than Scotland for general health and life expectancy.

Second paragraph from the very article you quoted:

"Men in Scotland are expected to live for 76 years and women for 80 years."

If the average life expectancy for the entire U.S. is 75.6 for men and 80.8 for women, I'm guessing about 1/3 of our states fall below Scotland.

And if the UK were split into constituent parts, no US state is likely to be worse than Scotland for general health and life expectancy.

Deep-fried butter vs deep-fried mars bars... no, I don't think I can call that one. (OTOH, Scotland's much further north than anywhere in the continental 48, so there's a lot of health problems associated with lack of winter sunlight to contend with in addition to historically poor diet.)

The analysis could probably be tailored to fit any assertion you wanted to make. A breakdown by state in the US probably reveals significant discrepancies.

And if the UK were split into constituent parts, no US state is likely to be worse than Scotland for general health and life expectancy.

From the summary: "The report notes that average life expectancy for American men, at 75.6 years"

From your link: "Men in Scotland are expected to live for 76 years"

They did another crowd-source event last year. The hunt was on for all the viewers to help find exo-planets - they succeeded.

The analysis could probably be tailored to fit any assertion you wanted to make. A breakdown by state in the US probably reveals significant discrepancies.

And if the UK were split into constituent parts, no US state is likely to be worse than Scotland for general health and life expectancy.

You're joking, right?

Concussion in Rugby is hidden epidemic

Concerns rise over rugby concussion risk

Concern at lack of rugby head injury reporting

Rugby players urged to donate their brains to help head-injury research

The saddest part is your bullshit got modded as interesting and insightful.

You're joking, right?

Concussion in Rugby is hidden epidemic

Concerns rise over rugby concussion risk

Concern at lack of rugby head injury reporting

Rugby players urged to donate their brains to help head-injury research

The saddest part is your bullshit got modded as interesting and insightful.

According to the FBI, 300,000 people defended themselves with guns - not millions. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/guns.cfm

Gun related crime in the UK has fallen http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8153392.stm

The ratio of gun crime to population in the UK is 0.0001. In the US it is 0.0011.

So, with easy access to guns and culture of gun ownership means that you are 10 times as likely to be involved with a gun crime in the US, even though you have a gun to defend yourself.

By all means, defend Gun ownership on the moral grounds of your US constitution, defend it on cultural grounds, or how you wish to own a gun, or how you want to rise up to overthrow your government. Don't defend in any way by claiming it makes the world a safer place, because that, sir, is bollocks.

The only real issue that 4K may have is if it makes enough visual difference that anyone will care enough to pay the premium. .

I think the bigger issue is that it's already planned to be made obsolete by 8K TV. Japan's NHK is apparently going to jump straight to 8K and skip 4K entirely.

Right, blaming a physical object for a _mental_ problem is the "problem".

You're an idiot.

Humans have been killing one another for thousands of years. The problem isn't the tech -- it is the spiritual retards who exert to violence.

Spot the difference:

In December, a deranged lunatic walked into a primary school and attacked the children. None died. 22 were injured, 2 seriously. Police arrested a 36-year-old local man at the scene.

In December, a deranged lunatic walked into a primary school and attacked the children. 20 died, and 6 teachers. The man then killed himself

Right, blaming a physical object for a _mental_ problem is the "problem".

You're an idiot.

Humans have been killing one another for thousands of years. The problem isn't the tech -- it is the spiritual retards who exert to violence.

Spot the difference:

In December, a deranged lunatic walked into a primary school and attacked the children. None died. 22 were injured, 2 seriously. Police arrested a 36-year-old local man at the scene.

In December, a deranged lunatic walked into a primary school and attacked the children. 20 died, and 6 teachers. The man then killed himself

"But outside Kabul and other big cities the changes are more patchy. Most Afghans still live in rural areas, where poverty, conflict and conservative attitudes are more likely to keep girls and women at home. [...] These are also the heartlands of the Pashtuns, the ethnic group from which the Taliban emerged and who have always had the most conservative views of a woman's role." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19911341

First off, RoundUp is the most talked about, but far from the only pesticide used

Second, the whole big thing with pesticide resistant crops is that it allows you to use more of the pesticide on your farm. This is leading to increased pesticides in soil.

Manufacturers have a history of toxic pesticides being used than proven dangerous decades later only to be replaced by new products.

We are now getting reports that manure compost is testing at times with high enough levels of herbicides to post a problem.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-study-pesticides-idUSBRE89100X20121002

http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/10/how-gmos-ramped-us-pesticide-use

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/02/genetically-modified-crops-pesticides_n_1931020.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/pesticides-gmo-monsanto-roundup-resistance_n_1936598.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817143610.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8308903.stm

http://www.motherearthnews.com/killer-compost-herbicide-contamination-zl0z1211zkin.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyphosate#Human

GMOs infected non GMO products. Yes, we were originally told this wasn't a risk.

The SCIENCE is there...you just want to be ignorant.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129010499

From TFA

"The fire started after a battery in the jet's auxiliary power system overheated."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20942484

And here I thought it was gun control. Now, if only we could ban those terrible long, pointy kitchen knives, no one will ever harm anyone again!

Agree, that's the way to go... Personally, I don't think it'll take 3 generations... As soon as you have physics in high-school you'll start to truly appreciate the metric system...

You wouldn't think so. But ask the brits how long it's taken - especially with weights used in the home.

I see that the BBC still lists both imperial and metric, for example:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/easy_chocolate_cake_31070

Or the Brits would take the whole credit for 70 years, besides other war crimes.

When that pretty blond western journalist was brutally raped in Cairo during the Egyptian uprising against Mubarak, Al Jazeera deleted all posts that mentioned it.

I assume you're on about Natasha Smith, who's recently published a piece on sexual harassment in Egypt, and the wider area. Other outlets cover the problem more generally BBC, Guardian

I'll have to take your word about Al Jazeera's censorship, but it's interesting that there's surprisingly little coverage of this case. The BBC doesn't have any mention of a british citizen being attacked in this way. it's cropped up in reputable sources (the independent and CNN), as well as the sensationalist tripe that is the daily mail. The coverage that Lara Logan got 15 months earlier was much more extensive coverage world wide, but it appears Al Jazeera didn't cover it. They later ran a story on sexual violence in Tahir Square in general, mentioning both women, linking to abc news for the Logan assault.

A lot of the blame can be put at the backwards society that prevails in the middle east and south asia, men are brought up to think of women as objects to be possessed and conquered, and they're asking for it if they're not hiding under a blanket, or dare to go out on their own. Sadly this society is infiltrating the more enlightened parts of the world, like Europe and the U.S.

We can only hope that main stream muslims will eventually grow out of these views, like christians eventually stopped genocide in south america and burning "witches"

I know of no such censorship. Perhaps Al Jazeera's coverage of the war in Afghanistan would have been better if the US hadn't bombed their office there.

And on the moral aspects of simulation: http://users.digitalkingdom.org/~rlpowell/rants/simulation_errors.html
http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/LegalRightsOfRobots.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6200005.stm
http://www.aspcr.com/newcss_rights.html

The UK is supposed to increase the fixed amount (the duty) every year, but in the last few years the government has "put off" the increase. Driving in the UK is cheaper (accounting for inflation) than it's been for a long while.

Meanwhile, rail fares went up 4.2% today, for the Nth time in a row, and are 50-95% higher than they were 10 years ago in many cases: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20881684

If you have ever flown, you've been on board a plane with dozens of cell phones that have -not- been turned off, electronics in luggage that haven't been turned off, an the list goes on -- on every flight for the last 20 years, and probably much more.

Stupid regulations are stupid. If you really spend more that a second actually thinking about it, aircraft would be dropping out of the sky every second because of electronic interference. And if electronic interference caused problems like that, we'd be really wondering what kind of lame ass testing they do with their electronics on their plane. No shielding, open air, hand soldered, flimsy electronics, usually put together by a high-school-enthusiast-intern. It would be dropping like paper each time radar shined on them.

Other places have done it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7334372.stm

Guns are designed for no other purpose than to kill or maim. Easy availability allows for more and deadlier crimes, so their use should be restricted. However, Apple devices are the targets of crime owing to their desirability.

Knives are designed for no other purpose than to kill or maim. Easily availability allows for more and deadlier crimes, so their use should be restricted. Anything is a target of desirability, including money.

In fact, the doctors over in the UK just called for a knife ban. You're just a stinking fool.

What China is doing today, the democratic world will be doing tomorrow.

China orders children to visit their elderly parents: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20860264

Those basement stairs can really be a killer climb . . .

Thankyou, I agree fully, almost any progress is good progress when it comes to space, China blowing stuff up and cluttering up LEO accepted http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6289519.stm of course.

I hope you don't know what that bold word means...

Thankyou, I agree fully, almost any progress is good progress when it comes to space, China blowing stuff up and cluttering up LEO accepted http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6289519.stm of course.

BBC News: Europe: Switzerland and the gun

Thursday, 27 September, 2001, 13:19 GMT 14:19 UK

Guns are deeply rooted within Swiss culture - but the gun crime rate is so low that statistics are not even kept.

The country has a population of six million, but there are estimated to be at least two million publicly-owned firearms, including about 600,000 automatic rifles and 500,000 pistols.

This is in a very large part due to Switzerland's unique system of national defence, developed over the centuries.

Instead of a standing, full-time army, the country requires every man to undergo some form of military training for a few days or weeks a year throughout most of their lives.

Between the ages of 21 and 32 men serve as frontline troops. They are given an M-57 assault rifle and 24 rounds of ammunition which they are required to keep at home.

Once discharged, men serve in the Swiss equivalent of the US National Guard, but still have to train occasionally and are given bolt rifles. Women do not have to own firearms, but are encouraged to.

Few restrictions

In addition to the government-provided arms, there are few restrictions on buying weapons. Some cantons restrict the carrying of firearms - others do not.

The government even sells off surplus weaponry to the general public when new equipment is introduced.

Guns and shooting are popular national pastimes. More than 200,000 Swiss attend national annual marksmanship competitions.

But despite the wide ownership and availability of guns, violent crime is extremely rare. There are only minimal controls at public buildings and politicians rarely have police protection.

Mark Eisenecker, a sociologist from the University of Zurich told BBC News Online that guns are "anchored" in Swiss society and that gun control is simply not an issue.

Some pro-gun groups argue that Switzerland proves their contention that there is not necessarily a link between the availability of guns and violent crime in society.

Low crime

But other commentators suggest that the reality is more complicated.

Switzerland is one of the world's richest countries, but has remained relatively isolated.

It has none of the social problems associated with gun crime seen in other industrialised countries like drugs or urban deprivation.

Despite the lack of rigid gun laws, firearms are strictly connected to a sense of collective responsibility.

From an early age Swiss men and women associate weaponry with being called to defend their country.

At first, I was super excited by the headline and thought: "I hope they include these newly discovered python viruses!" Only to quickly realize the authors meant a different kind of Python...

What's "evil" about clean, safe, cheap power?

Nuclear is none of those things. It's only 'clean' in regards to atmospheric emissions. It has waste issues we still haven't been able to deal with and for every 'year' of operation it mandates 100+ years of storage; that's not sustainable.

'Safe' is very very relative. We've seen significantly higher mortality rates around Chernobyl. 15000 dead? That Fukushima hasn't yet reached those levels (and may never) doesn't make it safe. It makes Japan 'lucky' - this time.

'Cheap'? Seriously, you're calling nuclear power CHEAP? It's only doable when the government guarantees the loans because the potential liability is astronomical. Without government subsidy it would never happen in the first place. Then there's the cost with storing the fuel for 100+ years. Who pays for that? Oh yea, the government, not the utility. So the prices you pay for electricity from nuclear are heavily subsidized. It is anything but cheap.

Wind is a loser? It's FREE electricity. Seriously how is it a loser? Everything has infrastructure costs, but wind has NO fuel costs. Hence the 'free'.

Solar is the same. Neither will supplant grid scale power until we have better energy storage technology.

Thorium nuclear is an entirely different tech than uranium and I agree it has significant potential without much of the downsides to current Uranium plants.

It does have a problem with nuts running around killing defenseless people.

And without guns, they tend to be nuts running around annoying people.

Another example of the gun problem America has today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20842120

As a practical matter, the wealthy and well-connected can always get the guns they want, regardless of a country's laws.

??? Certainly not in the UK. Where did you have in mind?