South Korea and Japan will expand restrictions on carrying liquids on board international flights from Thursday, to thwart terrorist attacks.Passengers on all international flights from South Korea, including transit flights, will only be allowed to bring in liquids, gels and aerosol items in containers no larger than 100 milliliters (3.38 oz.), which must be placed in transparent plastic bags, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation said yesterday on its Web site.

The same restrictions will go into effect for all international flights from Japan, the country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on its Web site on Dec. 19.

The move is an expansion of current restrictions on flights to the U.S. and EU countries that began last year based on guidelines from the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Korean ministry said.

Food for infants and medicines will be exempt from the restrictions but must be reported to security staff in advance, the ministry said.

I thought the “liquid bomb” theory was already discredited! There needs to be some kind of multilateral negotiating body where cooler heads can veto very bad ideas like this liquid rule and infinite copyright term extension.

What is going on in these pictures?

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Japan has ordered an investigation Tuesday after a boy who took Tamiflu jumped to his death in the latest case allegedly linked to the blockbuster flu medicine.

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has been defending its drug since last year, when reports first surfaced in Japan of “Tamiflu suicides” due to the medicine’s psychiatric effects.In the latest case, a 14-year-old boy was pronounced dead Tuesday after leaping from the 11th floor of a condominium in the northern Japanese city of Sendai, police said.

“According to our information, the boy woke up in the middle of night after taking the medicine,” said a local police spokesman.

“His mother suggested he go use the bathroom, but he opened the front door instead to go outside, and jumped off,” he said. “The mother immediately rushed out to stop him, but it was too late.”

In another case allegedly linked to Tamiflu, a 14-year-old girl jumped to her death earlier this month from a condominium in central Aichi prefecture.

The health ministry said it would study Tamiflu, but stopped short of immediately linking the drug to the deaths.

“The connection has not been made clear, but if that’s the case then we will have to study special measures,” Health Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa told reporters.

The ministry ordered Japan’s Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., which imports the drug, to provide information to assist a government investigation into the latest deaths, a health official said.

As of November last year, 54 people have died after taking Tamiflu, 16 of whom were 16 years old or younger, the health ministry said without drawing a direct link.

Tamiflu is considered a frontline drug against a potential pandemic of bird flu or other forms of influenza. Japan buys more than 60 percent of the world’s Tamiflu as a protective stockpile.

From everything I’ve read, the drug can mimic LSD like symptoms and cause depression. I have no idea if thats true, but if it is, that would be a pretty whacked out medicine to give to kids…

Scarily enough, there are probably USB versions of most items, and now Thanko has added a USB hygiene mask to that list. The mask operates with both Windows and Mac OS X, and not only prevents pollen and other rubbish from reaching your nose, but has two small fans to aid in keeping nasty germs away from yourself (including your own!), so you don’t have to inhale them repeatedly <_< . The mask costs 2,480 yen ($21/£11).

Spacecoyote (aka Nina Matusmoto from Vancouver) did the drawings as a joke for a few of her friends, and the digg/del.icio.us/fark machine took over, granting Nina the coveted and surreptitious honor of Internet famousness.

Here are the two pics (click for full-size):

On February 26, researchers from Ritsumeikan University and the Shiga University of Medical Science completed work on a miniature robot prototype that, once inserted into the body through an incision, can be freely controlled to perform medical treatment and capture images of affected areas. The plastic-encased minibot, which measures 2 cm (0.8 inch) in length and 1 cm (0.4 inch) in diameter, can be maneuvered through the body by controlling an external magnetic field applied near the patient.

While other types of miniature swallowable robots have been developed in the past, their role has mostly been limited to capturing images inside the body. According to Ritsumeikan University professor Masaaki Makikawa, this new prototype robot has the ability to perform treatment inside the body, eliminating the need for surgery in some cases.

The researchers developed five different kinds of prototypes with features such as image capture functions, medicine delivery systems, and tiny forceps for taking tissue samples. MRI images of the patient taken in advance serve as a map for navigating the minibot, which is said to have performed swimmingly in tests on animals. Sensor and image data is relayed back to a computer via an attached 2-mm diameter cable, which looks like it can also serve as a safety line in case the minibot gets lost or stranded.

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TV makes fun of a cheezy North Korean video that claims mankind originated in North Korea. Quite hilarious.

Sometimes I wonder if North Korea is just playing a big joke on the rest of the world. XD

Let everyone know you’re in control with this larger than life key board command wall clock. Or, if work is too hectic, put up the Escape Key clock, in bright red so no one will miss it.

20 bucks at Karma Kiss.