column1

SOMEONE needs to point out which section to use when charging one’s neighbour to polluting the air by burning rubbish in the neighbourhood and on the hills whenever they want to. It really is an ugly site, flying into the capital city and the first thing that greets you is smoke from up in the air and the black scarred mountain tops and even flat land stretching over miles, just black.
***
LISTENING to music might help prevent epileptic seizures, a US study has found. Researchers from Ohio State University discovered that epilepsy patients’ brains react differently to certain types of music than those without the disorder. They found less confronting music, like songs by John Coltrane and Mozart could help prevent the debilitating seizures that came with epilepsy.
***
THE researchers recorded brainwave patterns while patients listened to 10 minutes of silence, and then recorded their brainwave patterns while they listened to music. The study’s lead author, Dr Christine Charyton, told the BBC the overwhelming majority of epilepsy cases occur in the temporal lobe – the part of the brain that helps turn sensation into meaning.
***
THE most popular resident of the Barcelona Zoo during his life, Copito de Nieve was an albino Western Lowland Gorilla – the only known albino gorilla. Originally captured in 1966 in what is now Equatorial Guinea, where he was called Nfumu Ngi, or “White Gorilla,” he later gained fame as Copito de Nieve, Spanish for “Snowflake,” a nickname given to him by National Geographic magazine. During his nearly 40 years in captivity, Snowflake fathered 22 offspring.
***
IN one of the instances of violent anti-Semitism during Joseph Stalin’s regime, 15 Soviet Jews linked to the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee were falsely accused of espionage, treason, and other crimes. After their arrests, they were tortured and isolated for three years before being formally charged. In 1952, 13 of them were executed in Moscow on a night remembered as the “Night of the Murdered Poets,” named after five of the prisoners, who were Yiddish writers.
***
WIDELY recognised as Canada’s national air show, the three-day event is an opportunity for the aviation industry to display the latest developments in civilian aircraft. Since the first show was held in 1962, it has included aerobatic performances by the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Air Force, the Snowbirds Jet Team and the US Air Force’s Thunderbirds. There is also a large banquet featuring well-known personalities in the aviation and aerospace fields.
***
QUOTE of the day: Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting and, of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals. These are all lessons in life. – Kristi Yamaguchi, gold medalist in figure skating in 1992
***
[email protected]