Who Owns the Moon?
Whether you're into mining, energy or tourism, there are lots of reasons to explore space. Some "pioneers" even believe humanity's survival depends on colonising celestial bodies such as the moon and Mars, both becoming central hubs for our further journey into the cosmos. Lunar land peddlers have started doing deals already – a one-acre plot can be yours for just £16.75.
More seriously, big corporations, rich entrepreneurs and even US politicians are eyeing up the moon and its untapped resources. Russia has plans for a manned colony by 2030 and a Japanese firm wants to build a ring of solar panels around the moon and beam energy back to Earth.
We need to be clear about the legal validity of extraterrestrial real estate as the same ideas that were once used to justify colonialism are being deployed by governments and galactic entrepreneurs. Without proper regulation, the moon risks becoming an extra-planetary Wild West. Read more at The Guardian
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Dubai: Husband divorces wife possessed by djinn
A court granted a divorce to a man after he discovered that his wife was possessed by a djinn and refused to go to bed with him.
The man lodged a divorce case against the woman after she repeatedly refused to have sex with him and her family informed him that she was possessed by a djinn.
Records said the Arab man tolerated his wife for a period of time as she persistently refused to go to bed with him.
However, the woman finally asked him to try to discuss the issue with her parents, who informed the husband that several religious scholars had failed to exorcise the djinn.
The Dubai Sharia Court awarded the husband the divorce and asked him to pay around Dh40,000 in maintenance to his ex-wife.
The man's lawyer, Hamda Makki, told the court: "The woman and her family cheated my client. They should have been honest and clear about the fact that the wife was possessed by a djinn. He was only told about the djinn after the problem escalated. The woman does not deserve any allowance."
The Dubai Appeal Court upheld the divorce. However, it cancelled the primary court's decision pertaining to the Dh40,000 in alimony.
The appellate court decided that the woman does not deserve the alimony since she was not honest about the djinn issue. - Maktoob
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Puppy-sized spider surprises scientist in rainforest
Piotr Naskrecki was taking a nighttime walk in a rainforest in Guyana, when he heard rustling as if something were creeping underfoot. When he turned on his flashlight, he expected to see a small mammal, such as a possum or a rat.
"When I turned on the light, I couldn't quite understand what I was seeing," said Naskrecki, an entomologist and photographer at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology.
A moment later, he realized he was looking not at a brown, furry mammal, but an enormous, puppy-size spider.
Known as the South American Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi), the colossal arachnid is the world's largest spider, according to Guinness World Records. Its leg span can reach up to a foot (30 centimeters), or about the size of "a child's forearm," with a body the size of "a large fist," Naskrecki told Live Science. And the spider can weigh more than 6 oz. (170 grams) -- about as much as a young puppy, the scientist wrote on his blog. [See Photos of the Goliath Birdeater Spider]
Some sources say the giant huntsman spider, which has a larger leg span, is bigger than the birdeater. But the huntsman is much more delicate than the hefty birdeater -- comparing the two would be "like comparing a giraffe to an elephant," Naskrecki said.
The birdeater's enormity is evident from the sounds it makes. "Its feet have hardened tips and claws that produce a very distinct, clicking sound, not unlike that of a horse's hooves hitting the ground," he wrote, but "not as loud."
When Naskrecki approached the imposing creature in the rainforest, it would rub its hind legs against its abdomen. At first, the scientist thought the behavior was "cute," he said, but then he realized the spider was sending out a cloud of hairs with microscopic barbs on them. When these hairs get in the eyes or other mucous membranes, they are "extremely painful and itchy," and can stay there for days, he said. [Creepy-Crawly Gallery: See Spooky Photos of Spiders]
But its prickly hairs aren't the birdeater's only line of defense; it also sports a pair of 2-inch-long (5 centimeters) fangs. Although the spider's bite is venomous, it's not deadly to humans. But it would still be extremely painful, "like driving a nail through your hand," Naskrecki said.
And the eight-legged beast has a third defense mechanism up its hairy sleeve. The hairs on the front of the spider's body have tiny hooks and barbs that make a hissing sound when they rub against each other, "sort of like pulling Velcro apart," Naskrecki said.
Yet despite all that, the spider doesn't pose a threat to humans. Even if it bites you, "a chicken can probably do more damage," Naskrecki said.
Despite its name, the birdeater doesn't usually eat birds, although it is certainly capable of killing small mammals. "They will essentially attack anything that they encounter," Naskrecki said.
The spider hunts in leaf litter on the ground at night, so the chances of it encountering a bird are very small, he said. However, if it found a nest, it could easily kill the parents and the chicks, he said, adding that the spider species has also been known to puncture and drink bird eggs.
The spider will eat frogs and insects, but its main prey is actually earthworms, which come out at night when it's humid. "Earthworms are very nutritious," Naskrecki said.
Birdeaters are not very common spiders. "I've been working in the tropics in South America for many, many years, and in the last 10 to 15 years, I only ran across the spider three times," Naskrecki.
After catching the specimen he found in Guyana, which was female, Naskrecki took her back to his lab to study. She's now deposited in a museum. - CBS News
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Todd Sees Death Investigation
NOTE: All current information can be found at Todd Sees Investigation (Ongoing)...Lon
Sometime this week, I plan to publish (on 'Phantoms & Monsters') an update on the Todd Sees death investigation...as well as a pending 'call to action' round table conference. It has come to our attention that others, without the benefit of actual research & investigation, are going to 'speculate' on this case...and possibly write a book. Be assured, all the information that UFORCOP and P&M Fortean Research present can be backed up with documented evidence...not heresay or rumor. If you have information or a lead in this case, please use this link to report. Thanks.
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Object in Mars' Sky?
Click for video - Object in Mars' Sky? or cut / paste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2INRLnnpnA8
What is that?
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TODAY'S TOP LINKS
Chemtrails - The Obvious - The Nefarious - The Hidden - And Something New?
A Brief History of Scientists Hunting for Time Travelers
Johannes the Vampire Slayer and the Reluctant Revenants
Aloha, Cryptozoology: Mythic and Mystery Beasts of Hawaii
The Search for the "Manchurian Candidate": The CIA and Mind Control: The Secret History of the Behavioral Sciences
Chemtrails, HAARP, and the Full Spectrum Dominance of Planet Earth
Haarp: The Ultimate Weapon of the Conspiracy (Mind-Control Conspiracy)
Virtual Government: CIA Mind Control Operations in America
