Zephyrist's sunday night briefs - week 13, 2007

Well this week the UK / Iran incident was all over the news. I personally believe that the UK navy were within Iraq waters and the Iranians are trying it on and provoking the west. This week has all been about propaganda but I think one thing that everyone can agree on is that Iran is wrong to parade the navy personnel on television.

Legal issues over captured crew (BBC)

Apparently the legal status of the navy personnel is not as clear cut as one might think. After all we are not officially at war with Iran so they are not officially prisoners of war which means there are questions over whether the Geneva conventions apply. The article tries to make sense of the legal status and what international rules apply.

Mystery of Great Pyramid Solved (BBC)

Jean-Pierre Houdin, a French architect has solved the mystery of how the Great Pyramid was built. It was built using an inner ramp to lift the massive stones into place. Mr Houdin has studied the problem for eight long years and even built 3D computer models. Even now there will be a long project of follow up work on site to try and prove his theory.

A man's life work proving how a pyramid that is 4,500 years old was built. All that work deserves some recognition which is why it is on my Sunday night briefs.

Heathrow Concorde model removed (BBC)

The real final end of Concorde at Heathrow airport as the model that has graced the roundabout for the last 16 years is retired as British Airways gives up its lease of the roundabout. If you want to know it costs £1.5 million to rent the roundabout which must make it one of the most expensive roundabouts in the world. Pretty secure as well, you cant really load the roundabout in the back of a lorry and make off with it.

Call for blogging code of conduct (BBC)

This is about bringing some kind of common law to blogging or maybe some etiquette rules. Some bloggers get death threats and as a close knit community fellow bloggers have had enough. In this article the BBC talks about the community lead response to recent prominent incidents.

Evanomics - Figuring out real life (BBC Blog Evan Davis)

This is a blog that I will be keeping a close eye on. It takes current issues and applies economic theories to work things out.

Schoolgirls rumble Ribena (NewScientist)

Schoolgirls in New Zealand tested different drinks for vitamin C content. It transpired that some versions of Ribena did not contained the amount of vitamin C stated on the label. The NZ Government were made aware of the results, did a bit of digging and then fined GlaxoSmithKline NZ$217,000.

School girls 1 - GlaxoSmithKline 0

France Releases UFO Files (New Scientist)

Every country has the UFO files locked away in a really secure filing cabinet. Well the French have now published all their reports on-line. They also openly admit they can only explain 75% of accounts but suggest that just because they cant explain the rest doesn't automatically prove the existence of aliens.