Crystal meth fears over Lemsips!

Some over-the-counter flu remedies could face restrictions, amid fears that they are being used to produce the highly addictive drug, crystal meth.

It is feared that pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, contained in certain flu remedies such as Lemsips, can be used to make the drug.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is considering making these ingredients prescription-only.

It comes after Health Minister Caroline Flint said police found the ingredients in raids on drug factories.

Crystal meth, also known as methylamphetamine, was reclassified last January as a Class A drug.

The highly addictive substance affects the central nervous system and can cause serious physical and psychological harm.

When smoked in its crystalline form, the stimulant produces effects similar to, but longer-lasting than, crack cocaine.

So it's cheap, can be made relatively easily and a hit lasts for over 8 hours? What could go possibly go wrong?

Cover of The Educator, Spring 2006

WSNIA

Meth Head

Meth-Idemic - a scourge on society

America's Meth Prevention Cookbook

Washington State Narcotics Investigators Association

Sony DVDs Not Working In Some Players

It looks like Sony didn't learn anything from their previous DRM (Digital Rights Management) crapola with music CDs installing rootkits onto users computers without their knowledge or consent.

From Slashdot:
"It seems that the most recent DVDs released by Sony — specifically Stranger Than Fiction, Casino Royale, and The Pursuit of Happyness — have some kind of 'feature' that makes them unplayable on many DVD players.

This doesn't appear to be covered by the major media yet, but this link to a discussion over at Amazon gives a flavor of the problems people are experiencing. A blogger called Sony and was told the problem is with the new copy protection scheme, and they do not intend to fix it. Sony says it's up to the manufacturers to update their hardware."

Myspace house party chaos!

Some people are dumb, some are dumber and then you have 17 year-old Rachel Bell, formerly of Chipchase Court, Woodstone Village, Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, who advertised on the Myspace website that she was throwing an Easter Monday, “Skins Unofficial Party” while her parents were away.

Ensuing merriment and general debauchery follows.

Crocodile bites off Taiwan vet's arm

Surgeons in Taiwan have reattached a vet's arm, after it was bitten off by a crocodile as he tried to give it an anaesthetic injection.

After six hours of surgery, Chang Po-yu is said to be doing well and in a stable condition in hospital.

His attacker is one of a pair of Nile crocodiles kept at Shoushan zoo, in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung.

Nile crocodiles are known to be man-eaters, but are also listed as an endangered species.


Eek!

Cultural Icons, The Proclaimers, still at No.1

The Proclaimers have clinched a three-week run at the top of the charts with the charity remake of their hit (I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles.

The Scottish twins teamed up with comics Peter Kay and Matt Lucas to re-record the song for Comic Relief.

The top three remain unchanged from last week, with Avril Lavigne at two, and Gwen Stefani at three.


The Proclaimers are cultural icons, I tell you, cultural icons! Up there alongside Jimmy Hendrix ...