While there is some disagreement on the idea of troop deadlines for US soldiers in Iraq, all sides seem to be on board with the amount included in the bill to fund the war.
Including the $124.2 billion bill, the total cost of the Iraq war may reach $456 billion in September, according to the National Priorities Project, an organization that tracks public spending.
The amount got us wondering: What would $456 billion buy?
Just click on the next button.
Japanese developers find way to create hot rice with cold water
TSUKUBA, Ibaraki — An environmental consulting firm and other developers here have come up with a non-perishable food pack that creates steaming hot rice with the simple addition of cold water.
The group has recently introduced the product, named “Hotto! Raisu,” to the market.
By subjecting rice to 4,000 times normal atmospheric pressure, the developers were able to preserve rice for long periods in a soft form that holds moisture. When water is poured over an exothermic agent in the pack, steam warms the rice contained within, and after about 15 minutes, the dish is piping hot.
Officials say the product could be useful in areas that have been hit by natural disasters, when electricity is often unavailable. The product is not cheap, costing 10,000 yen for 30 packs with pickled ume plums, but its producers say they are ready to work on new ideas.
“If our sales increase, we want to work at developing new side dishes,” one official said. (Mainichi)
Not one of them is from Texas.Â
From Radar Magazine:
10. Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC)
9. Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA)
8. Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
7. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
6. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)
5. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA)
4. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)
3. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV)
2. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
1. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)
His moustache is the most instantly recognisable – and sinister – in history.
Yet, according to new research into Adolf Hitler’s early life, the distinctive, toothbrush shape that adorned his scowling face was not his first preference.
A previously unpublished essay by a writer who served alongside Hitler in the First World War trenches reveals that the future Führer was only obeying orders when he shaped his moustache into its tightly-clipped style. He was instructed to do so in order that it would fit under the respirator masks, introduced in response to British mustard gas attacks.
Had that order never been issued, the tyrant who brought most of Europe to its knees would be remembered as a man with a large Prussian moustache.
