General characteristics :-
Crew: 1
Length: 14 ft 10 in (4.5 m)
Wingspan: 21 ft 1 in (6.4 m)
Height: 8 ft 3 in (2.5 m)
Wing area: 90 ft² (8.3 m²)
Empty weight: 3,740 lb (1,696 kg)
Loaded weight: 4,550 lb (2,063 kg)
Max takeoff weight: lb (kg)
Powerplant: 1× Westinghouse XJ34-WE-22 turbojet, 3,000 lbf (13.3 kN)

Performance :-
Maximum speed: 664 mph (1,069 km/h)
Service ceiling 48,000 ft (14,630 m)
Rate of climb: 12,500 ft/min (3,810 m/min)
Wing loading: 51 lb/ft² (247 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.66

Armament :-
4x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun

This unusual fighter plane McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was designed to meet a USAAF requirement for a single-seat "parasite" escort fighter that could be carried by a large bomber. Development of two prototypes was ordered in March 1947. The resulting design was entirely the product of design constraints, which required it to fit into the bomb bay of a B-36 (although it was actually tested under a B-29). The B-36 was the intended mother ship that would carry as many as three Goblins.

A tiny, short fuselage was fitted with low/mid-set foldable swept wings, of 21 ft 1.5 in (6.44 m) span. It was powered by a Westinghouse J34-WE-7 turbojet, of 3,000 lb. (1,361 kg) thrust. There was no landing gear except for emergency skids. The fighter was intended to return to the parent aircraft and dock with a trapeze, by means of a retracting hook.

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Jo Whaley has lifelong roots in the San Francisco Bay Area, having earned advanced degrees in Art and Photography from the University of California, Berkeley by 1980. Whaley originally studied to become a painter, putting her abilities to work as a scenic artist for the San Francisco Opera and other Bay Area theatrical companies. Her theater experience openly informs her photography, in which she creates stage sets and employs numerous props, painted backdrops and dramatic lighting. All of her photographic series fuse the language of photography with the language of painting and rely on an expressive use of color.

Working in discreet series, the subject matter of her photographs over the last 25 years have ranged from allegorical nudes, to a revision of the "vanitas" still life tradition, to a fusion of natural history and environmental issues in the Entomology Portfolio of insects. The compelling issue, that has driven her work, is the interface between nature and urban technological culture. With an ironic and quirky point of view, she juxtaposes organic and manmade elements to reflect the issue of environmental degradation in an imaginative manner.


Since the early 1980’s Whaley’s photographs have been exhibited in the United States, Europe and Japan. Between 1989 and 1993 Whaley received numerous grants to work with the Polaroid 20x24 camera in New York and received one of the last National Endowment Visual Artists Fellowships in 1994. She taught at various Universities from 1983-2003. She is married to the photographer Greg Mac Gregor and they divide their time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Oakland, California.

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Georgia Davis weighs 210 kg at just 15 years of age, which makes her the world’s fattest Teenager.

Georgia began over-eating when she was five years old and her father had just died. She kept on stuffing her face and today she can’t take more than 2 steps without having to stop and catch her breath. She can’t sleep in a normal bed because, well she simply can’t get in or out of it and she recently got banned from the school cafeteria for the simple reason that she just ate too much.

“It’s like a drug. Some people choose heroin but I’ve chosen food and it’s killing me. Doctors have told me I could drop dead at any moment.” says Georgia Davis. To prevent this the 15-year-old will have to take a trip to the US and join a fat-camp and attempt to loose over 100 kg in six months.

Georgia’s daily diet includes 2 loafs of bread, an entire chocolate cake, 2 plates of chips, 7 sandwiches, a gallon of soda, lasagna and many more. Her calorie intake is 14,000 calories a day while a normal 15 year-old takes in 2000 calories.

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China's gymnast Deng Linlin performs on the balance beam during the women's gymnastics team finals at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Wednesday.


China's gymnast Yang Yilin performs on the uneven bars during the women's team final competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Wednesday.


China's gymnastics team poses after winning the gold medal in the women's team final at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug 13, 2008.

No one's saying teetotaling President Bush would actually try and sneak some shots of alcohol while enjoying himself at the Beijing Olympics as his apocalyptically bad presidency recedes into history. That's the sort of thing you'd read in, say, the National Enquirer, which as everyone knows is full of trashy tabloid lies. Besides, the president doesn't have to consume actual alcohol to act like a bumbling fraternity president. Still, it's worth noting that Bush has been doing a funny/terrifying impersonation of a drunk president for all the press photographers at the Olympics. He's even got the red face thing down! After the jump, enjoy a photo gallery of the president looking his most wasted, from that beach volleyball embarrassment to daughter Barbara looking embarrassed next to Bush at a swimming match, plus some of the other ones Wonkette found on Four Winds 10 last night and some other ones thrown in for fun.


The AP caption reads, "U.S. President George W. Bush stumbles as he and his wife Laura, front, arrive to watch the swimming competitions." So it's not that he's having trouble standing, as some have suggested. It's sitting that's the problem. Totally different.


"This is all you have to show for the past four years of your life?" Note the nose.


"Kidding, heh. Actually I'll take this now." Note the red face.


"Nice flip turn or whatever, dude."


"OK, what the hell are you even..."


"Now you've gone and embarrassed yourself in front of both of Mitt's wives. Ugh."


Bush with Chinese president Hu Jintao, looking a bit ruddy....


To be fair, she asked him to back-spank her.


Looks like somebody fell!

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The HTC Touch Pro™ brings together elegant touch screen response with the direct precision of keyboard entry… leaving out nothing to deliver a powerhouse communication tool in a beautiful, compact design.

The 2.8-inch VGA touch screen provides four times the resolution of most smart devices, making email, documents and web pages sharper and easier to work with than ever before.

HTC’s rich, touch-responsive interface, TouchFLO™ 3D, provides a stunningly intuitive way to zip through common tasks like messaging, calendar checks or making calls. Delve a little deeper to find that playing media files, searching for contacts and surfing the web are also responsive to your touch.

The web browser puts the full Internet in the palm of your hand. Websites look just like they do on a PC, and TouchFLO™ 3D makes it easy to pan around and zoom in on exactly the information you’re looking for. If you need a wide screen, simply tilt the Touch Pro sideways and the page switches to landscape view.

Slide out the 5-row QWERTY keyboard to make light work of typing-intensive tasks like composing email or working on Microsoft Office® documents… perfect for when your day takes a serious turn.

High speed connectivity will keep you in touch with colleagues and contacts wherever you are. Integrated GPS can be used with maps software for a full turn-by-turn satellite navigation experience.

Built-in Wi-Fi and TV-out functionality* mean you can hook up to the local wireless hot spot to surf, then deliver the perfect PowerPoint® presentation without a laptop in sight.

A beautiful angle on business, the HTC Touch Pro introduces effortless presence to enterprise-standard communications.
 
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A convoy of Russian troops makes its way through the Caucasus Mountains toward the armed conflict between Georgian troops and separatist South Ossetian troops, in the South Ossetian village of Dzhaba on August 9, 2008. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili declared a "state of war" as his troops battled it out with Russian forces over the breakaway province of South Ossetia.


Last month, separatist authorities in the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia arrested four Georgian soldiers in Tskhinvali on July 8, 2008. South Ossetian authorities said they had arrested the soldiers amid heightened tensions in the mountainous province. The soldiers were later released.


A refugee girl from the Georgian region of South Ossetia sits on a bed after her arrival to Russian territory in Vladikavkaz, the capital of Russian North Ossetia early on August 4, 2008. Refugees have been leaving South Ossetia for days now, anticipating possible heavy conflict.


A convoy of Russian troops makes its way through the mountains toward the armed conflict between Georgian troops and separatist South Ossetian troops in the South Ossetian village of Dzhaba.


Georgian soldiers walk in Gori, central Georgia, on August 9, 2008. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili declared a "state of war" on August 9 as his troops battled it out with Russian forces over the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Earlier, Russian warplanes bombed the Georgian city of Gori, killing civilians, Georgia's Public TV reported.

An unidentified fighter jet drops munitions near the Georgian town of Gori.


Georgian soldiers pass by a building hit by bombardments in Gori.


Georgian troops fire rockets at seperatist South Ossetian troops from an unnamed location not far from Tskhinvali on August 8, 2008. Georgia is taking measures to prevent Russian "mercenaries" from infiltrating the country, its prime minister said as Georgian forces attacked the Russian-backed breakaway province of South Ossetia.


A man looks at unidentified men killed fighting for the South Ossetian side in the conflict in the town of Dzhava, South Ossetia on August 9, 2008. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said "dozens" of people had been killed in Georgian attacks on South Ossetia, contradicting a claim by Moscow's separatist allies of 1,500 dead.


A South Ossetian doctor stands next to a wounded man in the basement of a destroyed hospital in Tskhinvali.


People hold candles during a protest front of the Georgian embassy in Moscow August 10, 2008. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner flew to Tbilisi on Sunday on an EU mission to mediate an end to the conflict in Georgia's rebel South Ossetia region, which was under Russian control after Georgian forces retreated.


A car passes as fire engulfs the woods near the Georgian town of Gori, just outside the breakaway province of South Ossetia, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. Georgian troops retreated from South Ossetia on Sunday and their government pressed for a truce, overwhelmed by Russian firepower as the conflict threatened to set off a wider war.


A Georgian soldier lays dead on a street, after earlier fighting on outskirts of Tskhinvali.


Georgian policemen evacuate a Georgian soldier wounded in battle with South Ossetian separatists, in the town of Gori on August 8, 2008. Russia's defence ministry said that more than 10 of its troops deployed as peacekeepers in South Ossetia have been killed amid a Georgian offensive in the breakaway region, Russian news agencies reported.


An unidentified crying Georgian woman is calmed by her husband after finding out that her child was killed in a neighboring village, in Gori, about 80 km (50 miles) from Tbilisi.

On Thursday, August 7th, Georgian armed forces entered into the breakaway region of South Ossetia to assert Georgian governance of the region - a de facto (yet largely unrecognized) independent republic that has support from neighboring Russia. Russia responded on August 8th by sending its own military into Georgia - not only into region of South Ossetia - but also into the nearby breakaway republic of Abkhazia and deeper into Georgia itself. Many Airstrikes and ground skirmishes have taken place since, with several parties calling for a cease-fire, but no agreement as yet. Those paying the highest price for the war are the South Ossetian civilians, which may have suffered (depending on who is reporting) between 100 and 2,000 deaths to date.

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Hot and sweaty ... Manuel Uribe, who was once the heaviest man in the world but now weighs around 310 kilograms, visits a lake at Santiago, Monterrey in northern Mexico, on a truck holding his specially designed bed.


Hang about ... Mr Uribe, who is better known as "Meme", left his home for only the third time in six bedridden years for the trip, part of a postponed birthday celebration.


Big grin ... Mr Uribe smiles while girlfriend Ms Solis looks on.


Going up ... a forklift carries Mr Uribe on his bed to a truck which will take him to the beach.


On the road ... Mr Uribe and his bed are placed on a truck outside his home in the suburb of San Nicolas de los Garza, in Monterrey.


Waiting ... Mr Uribe waits for the forklift outside his home.


Down the ramp ... friends of Mr Uribe pull his bed out of his home in preparation for his belated birthday trip to the beach.

A MAN once believed to be the world's heaviest has gone on a daytrip, bed and all, from his home in northern Mexico to a local lake.
Manuel Uribe, who once tipped the scales at 560kg, was hauled from his home on a forklift and loaded onto a platform truck for the weekend day trip, the Associated Press reported.
Mr Uribe, who now weighs around 310kg, stayed on his specially designed bed throughout the trip to the lake, where he dined on fish and vegetables.
It is the first time Mr Uribe has left his home in five months. Unable to walk, his last planned outing in March was abandoned after the platform carrying his bed got stuck under an overpass.
His last successful trip outside his home was in March 2007, when six people pushed his bed out to the street as a mariachi band played and a crowd gathered to greet him.
Before that, he hadn't left his home in five years.

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Abhinav Bindra shows his medal as he stands with silver medallist Zhu Qinan and bronze medallist Henri Hakkinen.


Gold medallist Abhinav Bindra of India is hugged by his coach Gabriele Buhlmann after the finals.


Abhinav Bindra wins gold for India.
World champion Abhinav Bindra clinched India's first ever individual gold medal at the Olympics, winning 10m air rifle event at the Beijing Games here on Monday.

The 25-year-old, who qualified fourth for the event, shot an overall score of (596+140.5) 700.5 in a thrilling finale which went right down to the last shot.

Bindra's historic feat makes him India's first-ever individual gold medallist, bettering the silver medal feat of double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in Athens 2004.

"He is the best shooter in the world and I think his is a morale boosting feat for everyone in the contingent," a jubilant Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi said after Bindra's win.

"We are all very happy. He is a very hardworking athlete. The entire shooting contingent is celebrating. We are very proud of him and it is just the beginning," national coach Sunny Thomas said.

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