Image by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District
Familiar faces vie for table tennis glory
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District and URS Corporation have held ping pong leagues for several years and ultimately hold a championship tournament on the seventh-floor patio of their downtown Los Angeles office building.
This year’s Pingpong Extravaganza men’s championship was held July 26, featuring a chili dog lunch to raise funds for and promote membership in the District-sponsored Toastmasters club.
“Another great year,” said Ed Louie, member of Essayons Toastmasters Club 988 and One-Alarm Chili chef. “We had some scheduling issues, so only the men’s final was held today.”
In the men’s division, it was an all-District final as ACE-IT contractor Bee Cha won three sets to one against David Coltharp of the asset management division.
Corps vs. Corps lined up as the women took the table on July 31. Perennial finalist and 2006 champion Rosa Ramirez, programs and project management division lost a hard fought battle to Roxanne Vidaurre, engineering division.
This fun rivalry got its start when Ed Louie attended a Toastmasters meeting in URS’ conference room and noticed a ping pong table in the patio area. A URS Toastmasters member asked him if he would like a quick game after the meeting. After the match, the two decided it would be fun if the district and URS challenge each other to a friendly ping pong match. From that point in 2006 to present, it’s two wins for URS men and five wins for the Corps men. For the women, its four wins for URS and two wins for the Corps women. The Corps is looking for future men and women players to join.
“If this year is any indication, the men and women of the Los Angeles District and URS Corporation will continue this friendly challenge, and I may have to add another ‘alarm’ to my chili,” added Louie.
Question by ¡əʞᴉ: BUZZ Conspiracy Theory?
There are some scientists who have a theory that the radiation from cell phones are disrupting the internal navigation that bees use to find their way back to their hives. If bees go into extinction, this could cause worldwide famine. Many other plant and animal species would also go extinct resulting from plants not being able to reproduce from not being pollenated and animals that survive on eating these types of plants which would also reduce animals higher up on the food chain, including humans.
MY CONSPIRACY THEORY IS SCIENTISTS ARE BEING PAID BY BIG CORPORATE AGRICULTURE AND CELL PHONE COMPANIES TO PUT THIS FALSE INFORMATION OUT AS AN EXCUSE TO RAISE FOOD PRICES AND NEWER, MORE EXPENSIVE CELLPHONES.
Virtually everyone I know in my neighborhood has a cell phone and the crab apple tree outside my window was buzzing with bees a couple of months ago just like it always has. Now the tree has tons of apples just like normal. So this scare that’s being put out there makes me skeptic.
The underlying question is “could this conspiracy theory be true?”
Add your own answer in the comments!
When scientists look to explain an observation, they entertain a variety of theories, some of which look a little kooky at the time, but turn out to be right, and some of which look a little kooky at the time and turn out to just be kooky.
No consiracy required.
I wouldn’t put it past marketers to try to come up with ‘bee-safe phones,’ though.
B.Kevorkian
September 22, 2012 at 11:17 pm
fyi.
Someone will report you for not asking a question.
Not me…but someone will.
This is just a long-winded statement, of which I know nothing about because you also neglected to include a source or two.
just_hanging_out_in_b&w
September 22, 2012 at 11:50 pm
I don’t know if cell phones are the reason or cell phone towers, but they better find out before it is too late.
suzy m
September 23, 2012 at 12:10 am
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070223-bees.html
superpolitics
September 23, 2012 at 12:24 am
No, dip.
It’s Al Gore’s Scientists that are saying this.
Not Real Scientists.
Take it up with Albert Gore, and his Billion Dollar Hoax.
You are funny, to bash Corporate Agriculture. Are you trying to fool people, AL?
Greenies hate Employers that hire us Working People.
wolf
September 23, 2012 at 12:27 am
Yup like the he said someone will give you a violation.
I talked to a neighbor of mine who is a beekeeper. Her bees are doing just fine. She said that bees get some kind of mite. She thinks this is responsible.
delphi
September 23, 2012 at 1:12 am
Microwaves from Cell phone do have an effect on organic matter… For exemple when you use a cellphone of more than 130mA/h more than 20minutes, its waves are transformed in infrared radiations, thus heating the nerve cells of the brain close to the antenna, such heat make the nerves cell to release its cytoplasmic MSG’s, that trigger the serial death of surrounding nerves cell… So in other words, using a cellphone for too long period of time, MAY cause your brain lose nerves cells by intoxication process…
It also inhibite the production or Melatonin neurotransmitter, but this of course is only a conspiracy…
sentrynox
September 23, 2012 at 1:25 am
Its the work of terrorists who are using portable battery operated vacuums to suck out all the bee’s from the hives . They are left un guarded at night and easy to access .
Notice that only nations that oppose Islamic terrorists seem to bee effected by this strange phenomenon .
Its like crop circles .
Who is keeping an eye on the crops when these circles are made . No one and no one is paying attention to the bee’s
Terrorist activity for sure and can have a great impact on every american .
Trust me with a few million dollars and a little help In the course of just a few months I could cause more harm then you could repair with 100 billion dollars .
Bee’s are not the only means to attack a society .
trouble maker
September 23, 2012 at 1:52 am
Bayer Pesticide Blamed for Mass Deaths of Honeybees
Suspect in bee die-off
Insecticide Widely used bug spray may be behind
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5375.cfm
References
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder#Possible_effects
Wikipedia
2 http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/FAQ/FAQCCD.pdf
FAQ’s Colony Collapse Disorder (PDF)
See also: “http://www.ento.psu.edu/MAAREC/index.html”
3 http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Alarm_sounded_over_US_honey_bee_die-off
Alarm sounded over US honey bee die-off
Wikinews, February 10, 2007
4 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6438373.stm
Vanishing bees threaten US crops
By Matt Wells, March 11, 2007
5 http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/ap_070211_bee_disease.html
Mystery Ailment Strikes Honeybees
By Genaro C. Armas, Associated Press, February 11, 2007
6 http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece
Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?
By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross, April 15, 2007
7 http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?p=137300
Thread on dubious Einstein quote.
8 http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/04/22/vanishing.bees.reut/index.html
Vanishing honeybees mystify scientists
Reuters, April 22, 2007
9 http://www.bushfarms.com/beespests.htm
Enemies of Bees
by Michael Bush
10 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070426100117.htm
Scientists Identify Pathogens That May Be Causing Global Honey-Bee Deaths
Source: Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, April 26, 2007
11 http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/050517_bee_mite.html
Bees Wiped Out by Cascade of Deadly Events
By Robert Roy Britt, May 17, 2005
12 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050517110843.htm
Bee Mites Suppress Bee Immunity, Open Door For Viruses And Bacteria
Source: Penn State, May 18, 2005
13 http://eepicheep.gnn.tv/blogs/21650/The_Bees_Are_Dying_And_We_Shall_Be_Hungry
Labchuk’s email is reproduced in comments section; authorship was confirmed by this writer
14 http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm
15 http://agriculture.senate.gov/Hearings/hearings.cfm?hearingid=2015&witnessId=5586
Regional Farm Bill field hearing: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, July 21, 2006
16 http://www.aginfo.psu.edu/News/07Jan/HoneyBees.htm
Honey bee die-off alarms beekeepers, crop growers and researchers
Penn State press release Jan 29, 2007
17 http://www.journaltimes.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=12512
Colony collapse disorder is reducing U.S. bee population
By Zena McFadden, Medill News Service, April 26, 2007
18 http://www.apimondia.org/apiacta/articles/2003/porrini.pdf
Honey Bees and Bee Products as Monitors of the Environmental Contamination
Porrini et al., University of Bologna,
In Apiacta, the journal of the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations
( http://www.beekeeping.com/apimondia/apiacta_us.htm )
19 http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-04-27-voa3.cfm
Taiwan Is Latest Country Stung by Vanishing Honey Bees
By Jessica Berman, VOA News, April 27, 2007
20 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/3747337.stm
Secret of bumblebee capital
BBC, 25 May, 2004
21 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061211220927.htm
Research Upsetting Some Notions About Honey Bees
Source: Texas A&M University – Agricultural Communications, December 29, 2006
22 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/6558973.stm
Bid to halt bumblebee decline
BBC, April 16, 2007
23 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/17/bumblebee_crisis/
UK’s bumblebees face extinction
By Lester Haines
24 http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/insects/
In Depth Insects: The plight of the honeybee
CBC News Online, Updated April 12, 2007
25 http://www.thestar.com/article/203818
Why are Niagara’s bees dying?
By Dana Flavelle, Toronto Star, April 17, 2007
26 http://tinyurl.com/2wnyjv
Bee mite found on Oahu
Apr 12, 2007 by Katherine Fisher, Hawaii Health Guide.com
27 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/
Experts may have found what’s bugging the bees
By Jia-Rui Chong and Thomas H. Maugh II, LA Times, April 26, 2007
28 http://tinyurl.com/246o9v
Senator Clinton Calls on USDA to Respond
All American Patriots, April 20, 2007
29 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/26/taiwan_bee_mystery/
Taiwan mislays millions of honeybees
By Lester Haines, The Register, April 26, 2007
30 http://tinyurl.com/39a2wk
Collapsing colonies
By Joanne C. Twaddell, The Daily Courier, April 23, 2007
31 http://tinyurl.com/343f8b (PDF)
A Comparison of Russian and Italian Honey Bees
By David R. Tarpy, NC State University, and Jeffrey Lee, Beekeeper, Mebane NC
32 http://tinyurl.com/37ax5j
Tiers bees avoid deadly disease
By Salle E. Richards, Elmira Star-Gazette, April 3, 2007
http://www.gnn.tv/articles/3063/Please_Lord_not_the_bees
DCCIII
September 23, 2012 at 2:11 am
I did notice the news report saying that bees are being affected by cell phones and can’t find their way home. Then they showed bee hives full of dead bees which contradicts what they said. If bees can’t find their way home how can they be home dead?
ogphatboi
September 23, 2012 at 2:59 am
again it all gos back to Red China and the poisons there sending to us
honeybeejim
September 23, 2012 at 3:51 am
Sorry not sure where you live, but you will not find honey bees any where near the Cell phone towers. ANYWHERE. Here on the east cost, they are springing up about every 3 miles from each other, needless to say, the honey bees are a rarity.
alleninthehills
September 23, 2012 at 3:52 am
Could it be true. A possibility. Is it true, an improbability. You ask a good question though.
We have noted a definite decline in bees in our neck of the woods.(THE NORTH)!
Thanks for asking a thought provoking question.
Pat Shepherd
September 23, 2012 at 4:39 am
Definitely
Janet B
September 23, 2012 at 5:38 am
Of course. The ideas and actions of most corporations would scare the willies out of any sane person, if we were aware of them, and had access to them. Corporate secrets are the scariest secrets of all!
correrafan
September 23, 2012 at 6:22 am