GTA V is the latest game in the GTA series, which often follow the rise of a lowly criminal to the status of mob or gang boss. Most of the game is centered around driving missions with frequent breaks for over-the-shoulder shooting action. The trailer suggests that GTA V won’t drift too far from this formula.

After watching and rewatching the trailer, this is what we found:

• The game takes place in and around California. The end screen shows the “Hollywood” sign as “Vinewood.”
• Looks like there might be a mini-golf game.
• More watercraft, like jet-skis, make an appearance.
• Setting seems to be the discernible present.
• The main character seems to be an older white man who heads into crime instead of retiring and being a “good guy.”
• The main character also seems to have significant wealth.
• Immigration and illegal workers may make an appearance.
• Property ownership and management make a return.
• Some of the game will involve homeless encampments.
• There’s a brief shot of a fighter jet, although it’s unclear if it will be playable.

Note: All of these are our best guesses after watching the trailer. So take these predictions with a grain of salt. Better yet, let us know what you make you of the trailer. What will the new features be? Was the trailer kick-ass or a letdown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

A recent largest study conducted over entire adult population of 350,000 people more than a decade time  in Denmark shows that there is no link between the brain cancer and the use of cellphones.

The authors reported its finding to CBS news,”What did they find? Overall, nearly 11,000 Danes developed central nervous system tumors during the 18-year period. But when researchers analysed the cancer cases based on whether or not the person was a cell phone user, there was no significant difference between users and non-users.”

The authors further concluded,“In this update of a nationwide study of mobile phone subscribers in Denmark we found no indication of an increased risk of tumours of the central nervous system,” the authors conclude. However, the authors warn that “a small to moderate increase in risk for subgroups of heavy (cellphone) users” cannot be ruled out, which calls for further studies on large populations.

Last year, a separate large study found no clear connection between cell phones and cancer. But it showed a hint of a possible association between very heavy phone use and glioma, a rare but often deadly form of brain tumor. However, the numbers of heavy users was not sufficient to make the case.

Two U.S. agencies — the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Communications Commission — have found no evidence that cell phones are linked to cancer.

Article source: http://www.speedywap.com/169908/mobile-phones-and-cancer-no-link-case-study/

“It works! It really works! It’s so freaking amazing,” Josh Evans and Ollie Hayward announced Tuesday on the blog they created to chronicle what they call “Project Black Mirror.”

In the accompanying YouTube video, Evans wears EEG pads on his forehead and squints in concentration. A circuit board attached to an iPhone on the table beeps shortly later, and a mechanical voice says “calling Graham,” the third member of the project, whose phone then rings.

The hackers explain that they used the EEG pads to record the “signature brain patterns” of 25 Siri-based commands. By pairing the signatures with the commands, they effectively create a brain pattern-to-voice dictionary.

That means their system doesn’t necessarily know what a person is thinking, but it knows that certain electrical activity in the brain translates to certain commands.

When the system identifies the electrical signature in the brain, it feeds the appropriate command to a sound synthesizer chip, the audio output of which is plugged into the iPhone’s microphone jack.

The Case For

It’s hardly an implausible system. Computer interfaces controlled by electrical energy in the brain have been in development for years. A company called Emotiv created an EEG-based videogame controller in 2009. Emotiv founder Tan Lee talks about the technology in this TED video.

Scientists at the Honda Research Institute unveiled a technology in 2009 that makes its robot, Asimo, responsive to thought commands. It also used EEG technology to translate electrical signals into commands.

The Case Against

But Honda also said the real-life applications of the technology were limited. That was partly because of the way our thoughts get easily distracted, and partly because brain patterns can differ greatly between two people who are thinking the same word. In other words, anyone who wanted to use the technology would need to train it.

Jonathan Hefter, the CEO of technology company Neverware, says that if Project Black Mirror does work, it probably has similar limitations and is unlikely to be capable of executing a large number of commands.

“Black Mirror does not seem to be using a general dictionary of human thought, what we would call mind reading,” he says. “Their EEG can’t really tell the difference between you thinking about a movie you like and a song you like. ‘Mind reading’ will require a much higher resolution scanner, like an fMRI or an embedder array, and a common map and dictionary of what our natural thoughts look like.”

It seems that this is a mistake someone familiar enough with the technology to use it in a thought command project would be unlikely to make. The setup is also somewhat suspicious, according to Dami Omojola, who similarly used four electrodes in a brain computer interface he created to move a cursor on a computer screen.

“[In their setup] they are far more likely to be picking up the electrical signals generated by moving the larger muscles of the face such as when blinking the eyes,” he says, “[and] the lack of shielding in the leads from the head also mean there is going to be lots of ambient noise in their signal.”

Those who are willing to believe that the project is genuine may soon have a chance to put some skin in the game. The hackers’ demo video is intended for a Kickstarter funding page.

Much like the men’s one, here is a list of the 15 biggest female snubs of the past 15 years (1996-2011). Again, all of these choices are just my opinion; I expect suggestions and disagreements. WARNING: there will likely be spoilers in this list.

We start our list with Keira Knightley as Cecilia Tallis in Atonement. She may not be given the benefit of the doubt, but this and A Dangerous Method (2011) show that when she is given good scripts, she can make the most of the material. She plays Cecilia with alternating lust and vindictiveness toward James McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan, respectively. She breaks free of Elizabeth Swann and gets a chance to play a three-dimensional character, and makes the most of it.

As Annette Bening’s partner in a two-mother relationship, Julianne Moore plays her character as a modicum of mystery. Her affair with Mark Ruffalo’s character Paul sets off a chain of heartbreak and confusion, which shockingly works itself out for her and Bening by the end.

Sarcastic and sassy, Shailene Woodley received a Golden Globe nomination as the smart-alec daughter of George Clooney. Unfortunately, a Golden Boy nomination eluded her this year. Her bitter monologue towards her dying mother reveals a vulnerability and sadness that will stay for a while. Her troubled character is only a teenager, but her performance is well beyond her years. With a little more time, this performance could probably be ranked higher.

Admittedly, the film hasn’t held up to its critical acclaim recently, but it is certainly good for an adaptation of a graphic novel. While Hugo Weaving is fantastic as V, it is Natalie Portman as the strong-willed Evey Hammond that makes the film. Her rebellion and corruption by V is one of the most enduring character performances of the 2000s.

As Josh Brolin’s trailer-trash wife, Kelly Macdonald provides his character Llewellyn Moss with a level head. Her final confrontation with Anton Chigurh, where she pleads (albeit unsuccessfully) for him to spare her life is one of the most enduring moments of the film. She alternates between comic relief, loving wife, and tough-willed woman throughout the film.

In many ways, Emma Thompson’s character Karen is the glue of the film – she is the sister of the new British Prime Minister, and she provides a shoulder for Liam Neeson to lean on. She also plays mother to two children, hoping to keep the cheer going during the holiday season. When she finds out about Harry’s (Alan Rickman) affair, she finally loses her composure and weeps while listening to “Blue” by Joni Mitchell. Nothing is more appropriate for this film.

Wood’s character Molly serves as a wannabe “femme fatale,” lusting after Ryan Gosling while still trying to impact the Democratic primary. After great performances in Thirteen (2003) and The Wrestler (2008), Wood becomes an adult in this film. Her character is a teenager in an adult’s body, and her monologue about getting pregnant and her subsequent frantic phone calls before her demise are shattering in a film that shatters the grand illusion of American politics.

As the mother of a 12 year-old boy, Toni Collette should have earned her second Supporting Actress nomination for this film. Her troubles with motherhood forces Hugh Grant’s Will to act as a surrogate to her son, while she struggles to put her life back together.

Mixing politics and satire, Hope Davis serves as a great foil to Paul Giamatti’s Harvey Pekar. 2003 was a better year for female performances than people realize (as will be seen later in this list), and Davis is no exception. Her “chronic nerviness” and scathing commentary help make the film one to watch.

Admittedly, Scarlett Johansson hasn’t made the best choices since, but one could argue that without Lost in Translation, she wouldn’t have broken out. Her counterpoint to Bill Murray’s character Bob Harris, her character is suffering a quarter-life crisis, and they struggle to pick themselves up surrounded by the lure of Tokyo’s nightlife.

As the enigmatic precog Agatha, Morton plays a frightening symbol of what the future could become. Seeking to avenge her mother’s murder, Agatha is the heroine in a film where anti-heroes are the norm, and her character helps Tom Cruise beat the system.

She may be more famous as Jake Gyllenhaal’s older sister, but Maggie Gyllenhaal’s performance in Secretary shows that she is talented in her own right. It’s a powerful character study about personal dysfunction and the power of submission, as she becomes the submissive partner of eccentric attorney James Spader. Her devotion – which could also be argued as being a stalker or as a weak-willed woman – holds up, and her character Lee is one of the screen’s premier female anti-heroes.

It could be said that her performance is better – and certainly just as heart-wrenching – as her Oscar-winning performance in A Beautiful Mind. As Kathy, Connelly is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic whose ignorance cause her to lose her father’s house. Connelly is brilliant as an addict, but even more as a seductress, luring married policeman Lester (Ron Eldard) into causing trouble for the Behrani family. I doubt Jennifer Connelly’s performance would have beat Charlize Theron, but man, it would have been closer than it was had she been nominated.

I think the only reason (as fickle as it sounds) that Mila Kunis was snubbed was because of her role as Meg Griffin. Regardless, Kunis’ character Lily is the embodiment of the “femme fatale” – or is it all part of Natalie Portman’s hallucination? One of the most psychologically chilling performances, Lily is hypersexual, and certainly convinced that she could be Nina. Her “bad girl” image is a perfect contrast to Nina’s conservative, controlled image which gradually falls apart. We get to see Kunis as a bad girl, and it’s a chilling portrayal.

Kate and Leo re-unite, and it’s evident the chemistry is still there between the two. I have no problem with Kate Winslet winning Best Actress, but this is the movie she should have won for, instead of The Reader. Her character April Wheeler starts as an enthusiastic and idealistic young wife, whose love and spirit wane over the course of twenty-plus years. Her scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio indicate that even when they aren’t living pseudo-happily ever after (a la Titanic), there is still an amazing camaraderie and friendship and deep-seated love and respect between them. Why she was nominated for The Reader instead eludes me, as she proves just how fraudulent and farcical the American can be, and often is.

Music is a factor in almost everybody’s daily life, some more than others though. There are many places that come to mind, perhaps New York City, Los Angeles, London, etc., but unfortunately many great music scenes exist that are completely under-recognized. I’ve complied a list here.

Akron’s most famous band is undoubtedly the blues rock band The Black Keys, but the city also features a large indie music scene. The largest and most powerful genre in Akron though, is the Garage Rock scene. It has two annual festivals, Akron Summer Music Festival and Lock (which just wrapped up).

Popular Akronite Artists: The Black Keys, James Ingram, Devo, Len Chandler

Cape Town, South Africa’s second most populous city, has a jaw-droppingly huge electronic scene in which almost all electronic sub-genres are represented. You can hear New Age to Dubstep to Trance. The electronic scene flourishes along a traditional African music scene. It features one Jazz Festival held every summer.

Popular Cape Town Artists: Tidal Waves, Kinetic, Rattex, Yunique

Houston has a rap scene unrivaled in the region. Just going to downtown and uptown shows how large the rap scene is by the sheer number of music venues and nightclubs. Houston is isolated from many rap hubs so it has developed a unique, one-of-a-kind style. Many artists have very choppy and repetitive beats and lyrics creating a sound that is rare in rap music. The city also features several music festivals and many non-music festival events feature a concert or two.

Popular Houston Artists: Alicia James, Psyguy, Marx De Lux

In Minneapolis’ music scene nearly all genres are represented. With indie, underground, rap, electronic, and even a unique and thriving spoken word/poetry scene. The city also boasts around ten music festivals of many genres. With the largest being Bella Music Festival, which is primarily a local music festival.

Popular Minneapolis Artists: Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Bob Dylan (once based in Minneapolis)

Omaha has a history of music dating back to the early 1920s. It was one of the driving cities of African American music in the 1920s and 1930s. It was also a driving city of surf rock in the 1960s. Currently though, it has several scenes ranging from metal to hip-hop and several in-between including country, jazz and indie. It also features three annual music festivals.

Popular Omaha Artists: Bright Eyes, The Faint, 311

Iceland’s most famous artist is by far Bjork. Iceland features many other genres of music though, ranging from a very large indie scene to folk to electronica. It even features a SXSW-esque festival in Reykjavik called Iceland Airwaves in which all clubs in Reykjavik are filled with local and international artists. Iceland also has a number of niche music festivals. The most unique of these being Viking-themed, LBGT artists in a Gay pride festival and, a young artists-based festival.

Popular Icelandic Artists: Bjork, Sigur Ros, Mum, Esja

Denver is a very up-and-coming music scene. It includes many genres although metal and punk are the dominant ones. One of the rising genres though is the offspring of the metal scene and the small, yet vibrant jazz and funk scene. It is now one of Denver’s staple genres. Denver also features many music festivals.

Popular Denver Artists: Judy Collins, John Denver, Kyuss, 16 Horsepower

Ireland has a long history of music with its earliest (known) artist living in 920s A.D. The traditional Irish music still is relatively popular today, despite the large amounts of emigration in the area in the 19th and 20th centuries. Traditional Irish music still influences many Irish artists today. Today though it has several thriving genres including: indie, rock, and folk. Ireland also has dozens of music festivals.

Popular Irish Artists: U2, The Cranberries, Enya, Snow Patrol

Vancouver has a large and flourishing indie music scenes that is starting to throw out some big names in indie rock. Vancouver also has a small but very acclaimed hip-hop scene that has had some success. The electronic/industrial scene of Vancouver is not as strong as it used to be, but it is still relevant. Vancouver has a couple of music festivals, most notably the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

Popular Vancouver Artists: Dan Mangan, The New Pornographers, Hot Hot Heat, Japandroids, Said The Whale

Denton is a Texas town located about 50 miles northwest of Dallas. The University of North Texas has one of the best music colleges in America. Denton has a music scene that is beginning to rival that of Austin’s. Denton has hundreds of artists in which every genre is represented. Its music scene has rapidly developed in the last decade. Indie music is the primary staple of Denton music. Denton also has a a festival that is made to rival SXSW, called 35 Denton. It also features a popular Jazz festival.

Popular Denton artists: Bowling For Soup, Fishboy, Meat Loaf, Neon Indian, The Riverboat Gamblers

I have written several other fire-related lists for Listverse but never one on this topic. Prisons, and insane asylums are not the kind of buildings people typically think about when they consider fire safety for the occupants. But humans can die just as easily and quickly in a burning building that is a prison as they can in a factory or a school. In fact, they can die far more easily as they are, in most cases, locked inside the building and can only escape the fire if someone unlocks the doors holding them in. In addition, many older prisons and asylums had little to no fire safety warning or suppression systems and were constructed of wood and other combustible materials. Finally, prisons and asylums were (are) usually overcrowded and those that are in charge of their operation are far more inclined to worry about intentional or accidental escapes of the prisoners/occupants than putting out the fire. All of these factors make fires in these types of building especially deadly for those trapped inside.

There have been many examples of tragic loss of life fires at prisons and what were then called “lunatic asylums.” I included both prisons and asylums in this list because they share so many common fire safety hazards – overcrowding, locked doors/cells, etc. There are scores if not hundreds of possible prison and asylum fires to include in any such list. For this list I chose a few notable, and few lesser known (in some cases, almost completely forgotten) tragic fires.

One thing that seems to never change when it comes to these fires is that reforms are talked about, questions asked, and concerns raised but the underlying causes of these fires such as overcrowding, are seldom addressed. I anticipate the most recent tragic prison fire of just two days ago, the tragic fire in Comayaga, Honduras, which so far has killed at least 355 people, will once again force us to evaluate fire safety in prisons and mental health facilities. And once again, probably nothing will change as a result. Here are ten tragic and horrible prison and asylum fires.

On March 7, 2005 the Higuey prison, made to hold 180 prisoners but used to house over 400, was the site of one of the worst prison fires in history up to the Comayaga Honduras prison fire. On that morning there was a riot of the prisoners at the prison. Supposedly the fight started in one wing of the prison between two sets of prison gangs and the guards were unable to control the riot. The prisoners then set fire to mattresses using weed killer to try to keep the guards away. The resulting fire and smoke killed at least 134 people and 26 more were injured. Only about 20 prisoners in the cellblock survived.

The Colney Hatch asylum was one of the earliest psychiatric prisons and was in operation from 1851-1993. Among its famous guests was John Duffy the serial killer, a possible Jack the Ripper suspect, and a woman who dressed as a man to fight on the front lines of World War I. It was a huge, sprawling complex (it was said that to walk the entire asylum took one over five hours) and housed up to 3,500 “patients.”

At around 5:30 PM on January 27, 1903, a steam whistle sounded a fire alarm at the asylum. City residents heard the siren and streamed into the London streets to see the growing blaze take hold of the building. The fire had started in one of the bottom block of wards. Soon the entire southern block, known as X Ward 5 was ablaze. The building was made of wood and the breeze fanned the flames. There were less than a dozen staff trained to fight fires in the prison fire brigade and they were quickly over matched by thee size of the blaze. The flames and smoke spread to X Ward 4 through the long corridor (said to be the longest continuous corridor in London). By the time London city firefighters arrived and were able to get water pressure, it was nearly an hour after the fire started and the entire temporary ward on the south side of the building was destroyed. The corrugated iron roof melted and collapsed. In all, five wards were destroyed. Apparently there were over 600 Jewish women (this was the Jewish ward of the building) in the five wards, but many managed to escape. The death toll was at least 52 people. Londoners were frightened that lunatics had literally escaped the asylum and were roaming the streets.

The Oakley Training School is a juvenile correctional facility located near Raymond, Mississippi and it is Mississippi’s sole juvenile correctional facility for children. Today it has a capacity of 150 students. However, it was originally called Oakley Farm and it was a State prison. Built in 1894, it failed due to poor soil in the area the women prisoners were moved to another State prison. But in 1913 it was still the Oakley Prison Farm and also the Mississippi state prison hospital and this is when the fire happened.

It is unclear how the fire started but like all buildings of the time it as constructed of wood and burned quickly. After spending the day working the cotton fields, the prisoners were locked up for the night on the second floor of the two-story prison building. When the fire started, it quickly burned the single stairs leading to the second floor. The prison had no fire apparatus to fight the fire. Local farmers ran to the prison to try to help the guards but nothing could be done. The prisoners screamed and tore at the cell bars, but no one escaped. When the fire ended, 35 prisoners, all of them African American, were dead.

The Maury County jail was located in the center of the city of Columbia Tennessee when it caught fire on Sunday June 26, 1977 during visitor’s hour. Before the fire was over, 33 inmates and 9 visitors were dead.

Unlike the older prisons that caught fire, Maury County jail was made of modern, fire-resistant construction – concrete and cinder block with few combustible building materials. However there was no fire alarm system, or sprinkler system, only fire extinguishers to fight a fire if one started. At the time of the fire there were 63 inmates, approximately 20 visitors, and 5 guards in the building. It was visiting hour and the visitors, as was the normal practice, were locked inside the jail with the prisoners.
Though the building was made of fire-resistant materials, the padding in the padded “drunk tank” was flammable – made mostly of PVC and other combustible materials, secured to plywood on the walls. Early that afternoon, a 16 year-old prisoner was moved to the drunk tank. He asked a visitor for a cigarette and the visitor gave him one, as well as his own lit cigarette to light it. At about 1:30 PM, the prisoner started yelling that his cell (the drunk tank) was on fire.

The guards opened the door to the drunk tank to rescue the prisoner (he would live as they dragged him outside) and a wall of flame and dense smoke blasted into their faces and the hallway. Visitors who were not locked in with prisoners quickly escaped but in the confusion, the guard with the keys lost them and they could not be located as the prison filled with black smoke.

Firefighters arrived quickly from the local fire department located one block from the prison, but already the building was filled with black smoke and they could not reach the prisoners trapped in their cells. They did, eventually get inside and put out the fire in the padded walls of the drunk tank. Meanwhile, firefighters using sledge hammers, cutting tools, and trucks and chains, pulled out some of the exterior walls to the prison cells and the few prisoners who escaped death managed to get out through these holes. But before it was over, 42 people were dead, most killed by carbon monoxide and cyanide gas from the burning plastic padding.

An almost identical fire to the Maury County jail fire occurred on June 21, 1977 at the Saint John city prison/holding center located inside the Saint John city hall, a 16-story high rise building in the center of the city. The building housed the city and municipal offices as well as the police and a small prison/holding area for prisoners awaiting trial. Again, the building was of modern, non-combustible construction, but contained a padded “drunk tank” holding cell. And again, this is where the fire started.

A prisoner was placed into the “drunk tank” padded cell, and a short time later other prisoners began to yell that there was fire. No one knows how he started the fire but again, as the guards arrived and opened the cell door, they were hit with a flash over of heat, smoke, and flames as the combustible and deadly gases from the burning plastic ignited. This quickly spread smoke through out the prison. Again, the guards managed to drag the prisoner out of the building and he lived, and in the confusion, again, the cell keys were lost, but quickly found. However, as guards attempted to open the metal cell doors to free the prisoners, they found the doors would not open. At first they thought the heat had melted and warped the locks but it was later determined the heat of the fire had slightly warped the metal cell doors in their sliding tracks so the doors would not slide. Firefighters had to use an acetylene torch to get into the cell block to remove the bodies.

Again, the fire itself was small and quickly extinguished, but the smoke contained deadly carbon monoxide and cyanide gas. When it was over, 21 inmates were dead.

When constructed in the late 1800s, the Seacliff Lunatic Asylum was the largest building ever built in New Zealand at that time. The asylum was built in an isolated coastal spot and forested area. It could handle 500 patients with 50 staff. Created by one of New Zealand’s legendary 19th century architects, the prison was grand in scale and design. One commentator, describing the location and scale/grandiosity of the prison remarked: “The Victorians might not have wanted their lunatics living with them, but they liked to house them grandly.”

On December 8, 1942 at around 9:45 pm a fire broke out in Ward 5 of the hospital, which was a two-story, wooden “out building” added onto the original construction of the prison. It held between 39-41 female patients, all of whom were locked inside their cells or a common dormitory. Male prison workers noticed a fire in the building and quickly tried to get the fire under control using a fire hose system. But the fire spread too quickly through the wood structure and though two women were saved, the rest perished as the flames consumed the building and it collapsed. All that could be done was to prevent the fire spreading to the remainder of the building. Either 39 or 41 people, all women, died.

The true extent of the horror at the Comayaga Honduras prison fire of February 15, 2012 is still not known. The latest reports have more than 350 prisoners killed in the fire. Sadly, this fire was only of several recent deadly prison fires in the country of Honduras. On May 17, 2004 the San Pedro Sula prison fire killed 103 prison inmates and followed another deadly prison fire in Honduras only a year earlier. (the April 2003 prison fire at the El Porvenir Prison farm killed 86 prisoners).

San Pedro Sula is the second largest city in Honduras and it is an economic center for the small country. But it is also a center for gang violence and leads the country in the number of murders. Many of the gang members were housed in the San Pedro Sula prison. The fire allegedly started with an electrical short in a refrigerator kept by gang members in one of the cellblocks but it is also thought that one of the prison gangs intentionally set the fire. All of the victims were gang members. The prison was built to hold 800 but was holding almost 2,000 when the fire occurred.

Even by the horrible standards of care received by those who were sent to 19th century insane asylums, the Longue Pointe asylum seemed to be something right out of a nightmare. The prisoners were chained, handcuffed and generally treated like animals, which was something all too common for such institutions.

Established in 1873 the Loungue Pointe asylum was one of Canada’s largest at the time and was completely operated by Catholic nuns. It held 1500 inmates. The fire originated around 11:30 AM on May 6, 1873 in the third ward in the women’s wing of the asylum. The asylum was divided into flats – the fire hit the fourth and fifth flats which each housed about 50-60 people. It was thought that one of the female inmates set fire to the building as she had previously tried to set fire to herself. Though there were fire hoses, it appears they were not connected to the pipes supplying the water. The women were of course kept locked away in the wards and it appears every one of them in the fourth and fifth flats died. When the fire was over, 94 of the women were dead as well as four Sister of Providence nuns.

An editorial in a Montreal newspaper the next day said that given the size of Lounge Pointe and the overcrowding it was only a matter of time until such a tragedy occurred. The paper blasted the lack of fire fighting apparatus and know how which could have saved many of the people and called for an investigation and reforms to be made to the asylum system in Canada as a result of the fire. The editorial asked if there were not in fact many large and similar public buildings which could also catch fire leading to huge loss of life, and wasn’t it just pure chance that fires did or did not kill? Also, they asked, “does not such an event (the fire) indicate that the whole system of Government inspection of asylums is for all practical purposes worthless?” The paper correctly pointed out that the chances of escaping a burning building are poor enough for the sane, but even less for the insane. It then went on to say, “the chances of a fire being started in such a place are greatly increased if over a thousand people living in it are lunatics.”

The worst prison fire in US history occurred on April 21, 1930 at the Ohio State penitentiary in which 322 people were killed. Built in 1890 and only designed to hold 1,500 prisoners, by the 1930s the Ohio State penitentiary was housing 4,300. It was undergoing renovations to add more space at the time of the fire and in fact, construction activities may have caused the fire (the cause of the fire was listed as ‘incendiary”).

What is known for certain is the fire started at around 5:00 PM just after prisoners had knocked off construction for the day. Did a prisoner set the fire as a diversionary tactic for a prison break? That was one possibility, though never proven. The fire began at the northwest corner of the prison roof. The fire quickly spread through the wood roof and frame of the six story tall prison. The guards became aware of the fire at about 5:20 PM but at first did not believe it. The guards quickly realized the fire was real and told Warden Preston Thomas. Thomas was convinced it was a prison break and delayed calling the local fire department, instead calling the local National Guard to come help keep order. By the time the Columbus Fire Department was notified 20 minutes later, they arrived to a scene of complete chaos and death as the fire raged through the wood structure with prisoners on the top two floors already being burned alive in their cells. Still, there may have bee n time to save at least the prisoners in the cells of the lower part of the prison, but guards later testified they were ordered not to unlock the cells and let the prisoners escape.

Finally, as the National Guard had arrived with the fire department, guards and the few prisoners who were not in cells desperately and heroically tried to get to the inmates still trapped inside. One man later said he had tried to reach a prisoner who was screaming from his cell “for God’s sake let me out, I’m burning!” but could not. He ran away as he could no longer stand the screams of the men dying inside.

As some of the prisoners were finally released from their cells, they attacked the firefighters for the fire hoses to try to save their fellow inmates. The National Guard had to put down a near riot. One guard reported: “we could not reach them for the bars, the convicts dropped to the floor, they were literally burned alive before our eyes.”

The full details of the February 15, 2012 fire at the prison in Comayaga Honduras are now becoming clear, and it is a horror story right out of the mind of Stephen King.

Honduras has the highest murder rate (80 per 100,000 people) in the world and has been described as a “failing state.” Gangs essentially rule the country. The country is a central area for drug and weapon trafficking between South and North America. All of the jails in the country can hold 6,000 inmates, but have over 12,000 crammed in.

At 11:00 PM on February 15, a prison inmate called the state governor Paola Castro and screamed that he was going to burn the place down. The man then set his own bed on fire. The governor dispatched fire officials to the prison who arrived but were not allowed in by the prison guards who thought the screaming they heard was part of a riot or prison break. After a delay of 30 minutes the fire fighters were allowed entrance but could find no keys to open the six barracks which each contained about 100 prisoners. All of these barracks were on fire.

It is thought that 358 died and perhaps 100 prisoners escaped but the final death toll is still unknown. Workers dragged out the charred bodies from the prison. Some inmates thought they could survive the fire by standing in the showers with the water running on them. They too died. Others were found pressing their arms against the corrugated metal roof trying to break out, piled one on top of each other.

Family members felt the fire was set by the government and was no accident. The angry crowd of relatives threatened the guards and police, who hit the crowd with tear gas and fired bullets into the ground. It is reported that half of the prisoners were not even charged with a crime and that for a prison built to hold 500, only 12 guards at night guarded the 800 inmates. One human rights documentarian stated: “When fires break out, they will not open gates to release prisoners and they die inside. It’s happened before … They haven’t learned because this is a collapsing country, they’re not interested in making change.”

Brisbane: Still in search of his 100th international ton, batting ace Sachin Tendulkar is likely to go for a precautionary MRI scan on Monday, for a hit that he took on the helmet while batting in Sunday’s CB series match between India and Australia on Sunday.

A naster bouncer from Brett Lee struck Tendulkar when the latter went for a hook on the final delivery of Lee’s second over.

Sachin Tendulkar was struck on the head by a Brett Lee bouncer while batting against Australia.

Tendulkar also left the field for a lengthy period of time during the Australian innings after he was struck on the shin while fielding in the slip region.

Article source: http://arw360.com/sports/sachin-to-undergo-precautionary-mri-scan.html

Toshiba Satellite L750-I5011 Laptop is recently launched in India. The Laptop comes with Free DOS and powered by Second Generation Intel i3 processor NVIDIA GeForce GT 315M Graphics.

Toshiba Satellite L750-I5011 Laptop Features Technical Specifications:

• Operating System: Free DOS
• 15.6″ HD Clear SuperView LED Backlit TFT (1366 x 768) Pixels Display Screen
• Intel Core i3-2350M Processor (Up to 2.3GHz, 3MB Cache)
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 315M 512MB DDR3 Graphics Card
• Mobile Intel HM65 Express Chipset
• 2GB DDR3 RAM, Upgradable Up to 8GB
• 500GB SATA Hard Disk
• Webcam: Integrated 1.3MP Camera
• Card Reader: Multi Card Reader
• Optical Drive: 12.7mm 8x DVD SuperMult +/- R DL SATA
• Audio: Built in Speakers, 16-Bit Intel High Definition Audio Support
• Keyboard: Flat Half Glossy Black with 10 Key Numeric Keypad
• Pointing Device: Multi-Touch Touchpad with Gesture Support
• Ports: 3 x USB 2.0, RGB, HDMI, RJ-45, Microphone In, Headphone Out
• Wireless 802.11 a/b/g/n
• 10/100 Mbps LAN
• Bluetooth v3.0 + HS
• Kengsington Lock Slot
• 6 Cells Li-Ion Battery
• Dimension: 380 x 227 x 27.7/37.5 mm
• Weight: Approx. 2.4 kg
• Warranty: 1 Year
• Special Feature: Sparkling Grace Silver with 3D Dots Pattern
• Exciting Offer: Tata Photon Plus Offer

Toshiba Satellite L750-I5011 Price: Approx. Rs. 32,089 /- INR

Article source: http://todaynewz.com/toshiba-satellite-l750-i5011/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=toshiba-satellite-l750-i5011

The mobile phones comes with a .3MP camera, multi-format music player, speakers, FM Radio, 3.5 mm jack, internal memory and up to 4GB external memory support.

The Micromax X268 is powered by a 1000 mAh standard Battery and supports Bluetooth, USB, WAP data connectivity.

Micromax X268 Dual SIM Phone Features and Specs

• Dimensions: 112.3 x 46.5 x 14mm
• Network: 2G
• Sensors: NA
• Display: 2.2-Inches TFT Display
• 176 x 220 pixles screen resolution
• 2MP camera with Flash
• Video Playback / Recording
• Multi format Music player
• FM Radio with recording
• Audio Equalizer
• 3.5 mm jack
• Speakers
• Internal memory: Internal memory
• up to 4GB external memory
• Bluetooth, USB, WAP data connectivity
• Torch Light
• SMS/MMS
• Apps: Browser
• Battery: 1000 mAh Li-Ion Standard
• Talk time: up to 5 hours
• Standby: up to 11 days
• Weight: 85g

Micromax X268 Price

The new Micromax X268 Dual SIM Mobile phone price of Rs. 3000 approx.