Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are part of "The West"?

As far as I can tell, unless you actually believe the biased and unreliable Russian sources, the weapons come from the above mentioned countries... That's hardly the United States and Europe, or "the West" as its collectively known.

The US claims that:

"The United States is not sending arms directly to the Syrian opposition. Instead, it is providing intelligence and other support for shipments of secondhand light weapons like rifles and grenades into Syria, mainly orchestrated from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The reports indicate that the shipments organized from Qatar, in particular, are largely going to hard-line Islamists."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/world/middleeast/jihadists-receiving-most-arms-sent-to-syrian-rebels.html

Here in Norway you can now add QR codes to your tombstone with a link to a dedication website. I think the idea is "popular" in the US as well, I don't know who came up with the idea.

The violence in Libya was indeed pre-planned, that's not evidence that the violence across the Muslim world was!? You're taking that incident too far.

I fully support the freedom of expression, and I have no interest in Saudi Arabia's suggestion. You however have to give credit where credit is due. That silly movie created a spontaneous reaction across the Muslim world which is far more than simply Libya!

I almost forgot the most interesting counter-argument to your joke! If the world experiences a major catastrophe where agriculture is severely affected it probably would be quite useful to be able to reach the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, hehe.

Try finding the seed bank without GPS and keeping an eye out for the very hungry polar bears that roam there!

Interestingly they control satellites from Svalbard, not the other way around :)

Kongsberg Satellite Services operates both SvalSat in Norway's Arctic regions and TrollSat at the Norwegian Antarctic base on the opposite pole. It is the largest commercial ground station in the world. The first customer was NASA, which uses it for its EOS satellites, NEN and SLR. The European, Japanese and Indian Space Agencies also use it extensively. The business idea for Svalbard satellite station is to provide cost-effective services to polar satellite operators.

The SvalSat system is used for Near real-time (NRT) Maritime Situational Awareness services, including vessel detection and oil spill monitoring, and producing images on demand from Earth using data acquired by satellites in orbit. With stations near both poles and at mid-latitudes, KSAT can access satellites at many positions in orbit and download almost any conceivable mix of data from them.

NASA's Satellite Laser Ranging network (SLR) is a fundamental measurement technique used to support both national and international programs in Earth dynamics, ocean and ice surface altimetry, navigation, and positioning. SLR utilizes a global network of stations [including Svalbard] to measure distances by bouncing very short pulses of laser light off special reflectors installed on satellites orbiting the earth, and also left on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts and Soviet rovers. By accurately timing the round-trip time of flight of these pulses, distances can be computed and precise orbits determined. This data is then used to acquire fundamental information about the geophysical processes of the Earth and the Earth-Moon system.

To supply NASA, United States Department of Defense, NOAA, ESA and others with this data they even laid a dedicated submarine cable to Svalbard from mainland Norway (1400 km).

This isn't a case of gaining the EU's permission simply for show, it's all about keeping the European Union's inner market open and competitive. This is the core mission of the EU(!) Free and unhindered trade amongst the members. It's a two-way street.

If the British government(s) want to spend their money on rural broadband, that's just great, but they can't simply hand the money to their own preferred partners (BT). That would be illegal state subsidies. There has to be free and open competition for the contracts!

That's all there is to this case. All the other EU member states have the exact same scrutiny from Brussels, where equally eager British representatives are watching out for their own interests.

The real issue however is the fact that such subsidies would be illegal even without the EU. I'm pretty sure it would run afoul of the World Trade Organization (WTO). I will just mention the Boeing and Airbus cases.

Even within the EU's economic area (EEA), as per your original comment, includes countries that are not members of the EU itself. The same laws apply in the whole EEA-region.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Supranational_European_Bodies.png

It is in fact amongst this group of countries you will the few registrars that [still] require a local entity. I see now that there are very few left...

NORID of Norway's requirements are as follows:

Main requirements
To register a domain name within .no, you need to:
- have a local presence in Norway
- be an organization. At present this is defined as being one of certain forms of organization registered in the Brønnøysund Register Centre
- ensure that the domain is technically operative

http://www.norid.no/regelverk/index.en.html

This does not apply to all European countries, there are still European countries that require that you have a local corporation and registration number to apply for domains [under the national TLD]. I assume you're wrongly using EU as a synonym for all of Europe(?)

The EU only requires that you don't put barriers in place, in any form, that hinder inter-European trade. French and Italian TLDs require a European address, but nothing beyond that.

Thanks for replying, it's an interesting subject and I welcome opposing views.

Are rats poor models? I'm not sure if they are in this case, as it's not my area, but almost all human genes known to be associated with diseases have counterparts in the rat genome, confirming that the rat is an excellent model for many areas of medical research.

There are reasons for why we sequenced the rat and mice genome after decoding the [complete] human genome.

While I won't claim the fact that the United States is the "fattest" country in the world is evidence for any link between HFCS and obesity it's certainly worth noting. Whatever is to blame it's having a large-scale impact. Technically the US is 3rd place in 2012 behind two insignificant, micro-nations where the Pacific Islander population is genetically predisposed to obesity, diabetes etc.

That's unfair, it's not a "non-issue". There is some hysteria as usual, but there are valid reasons for avoiding HFCS. It's not just another sugar, but it does depend on who you listen to. I'm by no means a fanatic, but I have read my fair share of research on the subject. According to research from one the world's most prestigious Universities, Princeton;

"A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same. "

"These rats aren't just getting fat; they're demonstrating characteristics of obesity, including substantial increases in abdominal fat and circulating triglycerides," said Princeton graduate student Miriam Bocarsly."

"Rats on a diet rich in high-fructose corn syrup showed characteristic signs of a dangerous condition known in humans as the metabolic syndrome, including abnormal weight gain, significant increases in circulating triglycerides and augmented fat deposition, especially visceral fat around the belly.

The central issue being the amount of adipose tissue (fat around the belly).

Adipose tissue or body fat is loose connective tissue composed of adipocytes. It is technically composed of roughly only 80% fat; fat in its solitary state exists in the liver and muscles. Adipose tissue is derived from lipoblasts. Its main role is to store energy in the form of lipids, although it also cushions and insulates the body.

Far from hormonally inert, adipose tissue has in recent years been recognized as a major endocrine organ, as it produces hormones such as leptin, estrogen, resistin, and the cytokine TNF. Moreover, adipose tissue can affect other organ systems of the body and may lead to disease. Obesity or being overweight in humans and most animals does not depend on body weight, but on the amount of body fat—to be specific, adipose tissue.

However I did read a recent report from Harvard (2012) that stated there was no difference in how the human body digested sugars (HFCS or not). The case is certainly not clear, but I do not want to be a "guinea pig" to increase some corporation's profit.

Sources:

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scientists-conclude-high-fructose-corn-syrup-should-not-be-blamed-for-obesity-170179136.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue

Hello neighbour! Wie geht's? Sometimes I think we should have national flag icons next to our usernames :) I much prefer my Norwegian Lutefisk anyway, that Surströmming can stay in Sweden, hehe ;)

The problem is obviously spreading and becoming class based, so we're likely to see the same sort of problems here in Europe eventually. It is scary to imagine a future where people only know supermarket "ready meals". Food prices may be higher here where I live, but at least it's produced in my country to acceptable standards. I can only hope that you, the members of the EU, manage to keep the American GM foods and their additives out of your/our products. Tschüß!

http://www.visitnorway.com/en/What-to-do/Food-and-drink/Popular-Christmas-food-in-Norway/

Yes, it's very interesting, I only have a laymans understanding of the subject(s) involved. My degrees are all in other areas.

What I have understood however is that the genetic component may be far more important than the diet itself for individuals. The Mediterranean diet may only work well for people with [that or] similar genetic makeup and/or environmental conditions (climate, eating patterns, etc). Consuming butter heavy, low carb diets (Ketogenic) has recently become a fad here in Scandinavia. It even lead to a butter "shortage" before Christmas due to our agricultural policy (protectionist/self-sufficiency).

From what I have read and seen a lot of industrial food products in the US may have everything from trans-fats, [traces of] anti-biotics and growth hormones and frequently contains High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). The variation of products with corn derivatives is incredible, from beer to dry-wall! We know long-term consumption of HFCS leads to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats (triglycerides).

That's why I'm thankful that HFCS is not common in food products here in Scandinavia, even our [non-light] sodas use real sugar. It may be part of the obesity problem, in addition to the lack of exercise.

I remember reading one particularly interesting [American] study on the effects of poor nutrition, lack of healthy alternative food sources and polluted natural environments on the urban poor, and how it effectively locked them in poverty, poor health, low education, unemployment and crime. A cycle that is very hard to break. Think of all the money save and problems we could avoid in health care, welfare and crime prevention!

No, it doesn't exactly, if you see my second post, it goes into detail about the possible causes for why and how Indians and other Asians differ from European ethnic populations.

I'm no expert in this field I do however remember the recent BBC documentary on the subject which I believe discussed the fact that the typical diet was in fact leading to similar health problems without the outward appearance of obesity. How this relates to rice I'm not certain I can remember. There were not only dietary, but also genetic differences (see below).

If I remember correctly a lot of Indian children were in fact born underweight at birth, but also so-called "thin-fat", without the outward appearance of such problems. They don't appear to be obese on the outside, but their insides were remarkably similar to Western diabetes sufferers. The dietary conditions later in life leads to weight increase and stronger symptoms of the disease/condition.

See the document I linked to for more information:

http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/documents/india/CYajnik.pdf

I will also add that the BBC showed an interesting documentary a short while ago about the cause(s) and effects on the "Thin-Fat Indian".

This document by Prof C.S. Yajnik MD, FRCP is very detailed in its analysis of the genetics differences between Indians and European ethnic people:

http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/documents/india/CYajnik.pdf

India is bracing for a massive surge in type 2 diabetes, with credible estimates putting the number of sufferers in the next 20 years at more than 100 million.

It is a frightening phenomenon that threatens to overwhelm the country's health system, according to a leading diabetes specialist in India.Between them, India and China now have more than half of the world's type 2 diabetics.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-23/obesity-produces-diabetes-epidemic-in-india/4148616