News

[Scheherazade]

A bicycle courier in Colombia has been given a four-year jail sentence for grabbing a woman pedestrian's bottom, a TV station has reported. A judge's ruling - criticised by some as being too harsh - ruled the courier had committed an abusive sexual act.

Diana Marcela Diaz told RCN that the courier had cycled off after groping her, but had been caught by passers-by.

When he was arrested, she was given the option of slapping him, letting him go, or filing a complaint.

She had chosen to set a precedent that would stop sexist behaviour, she said.

RCN described the sentence as historic, but some lawyers condemned it as excessive.

A female member of the national ombudsman's office said the courier had only acted out of lust.

"He didn't use violence or commit a sexual act," she was quoted as saying.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4746760.stm

[Nightshade]

excuse me?
hehe well it were me Id have slapped ( no that seems to light maybe broken a book on his head) then filed charges and turned myself in for GBH. or would it be aggrivated assult?:D
But I say good on her :nod:

[RobinHood3000]

Bummer for him. Not to say he shouldn't have thought before he acted, but wow--four years? For a grope? Most celebrities get richer, not poorer, when they pull that kind of thing.

[Basil]

Shakespeare Died of Rare Cancer? (http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20060227/shakespeare_his.html)

[Scheherazade]

The Bay has hung in Detroit since 1965. An abstract painting worth an estimated $1.5m (£850,000) is in need of repair after a 12-year-old boy stuck a piece of chewing gum on the canvas. The gum left a small stain in a corner of The Bay, a 1963 painting by American artist Helen Frankenthaler.

The boy, who visited the Detroit Institute of Arts with a school group, has now been suspended by teachers.

Curators at the museum said they were researching how to remove the stain, but expected no permanent damage.

Frankenthaler is regarded as one of the most influential second generation US abstract expressionist painters.

The Bay, one of her most celebrated works, is thought to be one of the most valuable paintings in the museum's collection.

Rock, rap and art

The director of the Holly Academy, where the boy goes to school, confirmed that the pupil had been suspended for his actions.

"Even though we give very strict guidelines on proper behaviour and we hold students to high standards, he is only 12," Julie Kildee said.

"I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened, but he certainly understands the severity of it now."

His parents had also taken disciplinary action, Ms Kildee said.

A security guard spotted the gum on the corner of the painting after the group of schoolchildren had left the display room.

Staff moved quickly to remove the gum, which had not stuck firmly to the canvas. It did leave a small stain, which curators expect to remove in the near future.

Becky Hart, assistant curator of contemporary art at the museum, said she had tried to explain to the boy how the museum helped preserve works of art.

"I knew that probably wouldn't make any sense to him, so I asked him what kind of music he liked," Ms Hart told the Detroit Free Press.

"He said he liked rap, so I said: 'Well, you know what rock and roll is,' and he did.

"So I said: 'Can you imagine if somebody had messed up the beat in rock and roll so you didn't have any rhythm in rap.' And he looked at me, and he got it immediately."

The painting will be kept on display while repairs are carried out, but the museum is to review its display policies.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4767888.stm

[kilted exile]

US 'plans stealth shark spies'

Pentagon scientists are planning to turn sharks into "stealth spies" capable of tracking vessels undetected, a British magazine has reported.

They want to remotely control the sharks by implanting electrodes in their brains, The New Scientist says.

It says the aim is "to exploit sharks' natural ability to glide through the water, sense delicate electrical gradients and follow chemical trails".

The unusual project was unveiled last week in Hawaii, it says.

'Steering' sharks

The research is being funded by the Pentagon's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), according to the magazine.

It aims to build on latest developments in brain implant technology which has already seen scientists controlling the movements of fish, rats and monkeys.

"Neural implants consists of a series of electrodes that are embedded into the animal's brain, which can then be used to stimulate various functional areas," the magazine says.

It says such devices are already being used by scientists at Boston University to "steer" a spiny dogfish in a fish tank.

The next step for the Pentagon scientists will be the release of blue sharks with similar devices into the ocean off the coast of Florida.

As radio signals will not penetrate the sea, communications with the animals will be made by sonar.

The US navy has acoustic signalling towers capable of sending sonar signals to a shark up to 300km (187 miles) away, the magazine says.

It says the scientists will be particularly interested in the animals' health during the tests.

"As wild predators, it is very easy to exhaust them, and this will place strict limits on how long the researchers can control their movements in any one session without harming them.

"Despite this limitation, though, remote-controlled sharks do have advantages that robotic underwater surveillance vehicles just cannot match: they are silent, and they power themselves," the magazine says.

The project was discussed at the 2006 Ocean Sciences Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Honolulu, Hawaii.

link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4767428.stm)

[RobinHood3000]

Ohh, boy. The animal rights groups will be up in arms--now we're depriving OTHER species of free will.

[Virgil]

Here's another one on animals. And no it wasn't me in Colorado.


Wolf seen in Colorado
Wildlife officer videotapes animal near Wyo. border

By Deborah Frazier And Gary Gerhardt, Rocky Mountain News
March 4, 2006

A lone wolf videotaped strolling across a snowy valley in Colorado near the Wyoming border inspired joy in conservationists Friday as new evidence the wolf is making a long-predicted return to the state.

"It's a wolf, not a dog and not a wolf-dog hybrid," said Rob Edward of Sinapu, a Boulder-based wolf advocacy group, after watching the video taken by a Colorado Division of Wildlife officer.

"The black coat is the kicker. It's characteristic of the Yellowstone wolves," he said.

"Another kind of animal would not have that coat and that stride."

Yellowstone National Park, where wolves were reintroduced in 1994 and have thrived, is about 500 miles northwest of Walden - where ranchers have seen the wolf - and is home to about 300 wolves.

"Of the 200 tagged wolves that have dispersed from the park, only seven have gone over 180 miles," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"If this is a wild wolf, and it looks like one to me, it's number eight," said Bangs, who is based in Montana.

"It's the right time of year. The Yellowstone packs mate about Valentine's Day. It's probably a young wolf looking for love," said Bangs.

The first confirmed migrant wolf in Colorado was found dead on Interstate 70 near Idaho Springs in 2004. The wolf wore a radio collar from Yellowstone National Park.

At the time, some skeptics speculated that the wolf might have been killed in Wyoming and moved to Colorado as a hoax. Federal officials confirmed with a necropsy that the wolf was killed by a car in Colorado.

On Friday, DOW wolf specialists agreed that the animal looks and acts like a wolf, but stress that even genetic testing isn't 100 percent reliable.

A rancher called the DOW after seeing the wolf and the local DOW manager, Josh Dilley, videotaped the animal on Feb. 16, 10 miles south of the Wyoming border.

"We get a lot of reports about wolf sightings, but this is extraordinarily rare because it's confirmed," said Randy Hampton of the DOW.

Wolves roamed Colorado until settlers arrived and the federal government offered a bounty on pelts, which led to the species' extermination.

Wolf advocates, including Sinapu, have unsuccessfully sought a wolf reintroduction program in Colorado to control wildlife numbers.

Biologists have predicted that wolves would wander into Colorado after they were reintroduced in Wyoming. Wolves are an endangered species, protected by federal law.

"The wolf numbers are increasing in Wyoming," said Gary Wockner, a wildlife researcher and member of Colorado's Wolf Working Group, created to study wolf reintroduction.

"It's an indication of what is to come," he said.

"I don't see a large number of wolves migrating down, but you'll get more than a few random individuals over the next decade or two."

News of another wolf roving in Colorado didn't surprise sheep and cattle ranchers.

The livestock industry opposes the reintroduction of wolves in Colorado,

"We knew that lone wolves would migrate into Colorado and there have been sightings on the Colorado-Wyoming border for years," said Terry Fankhauser, executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association.

Two other ranchers in the Walden area reported seeing the same wolf, he said. Ranchers, whose cows are calving now, are watching their stock closely, he said.

"One saw the wolf up close to the yard at his house, but when the wolf saw him, the wolf ran away," Fankhauser said.

No one in the area has reported a wolf attacking livestock, he said.

"Wolves are opportunists and predation happens when a wolf is hungry," he said. "The wolf might prey on livestock and it could prey on wildlife."

Bonnie Cline, of the Colorado Woolgrowers Association, said the wolf spotted near Walden shows that a formal wolf reintroduction isn't necessary.

"They are obviously heading here on their own," she said. "This shows that it's going to happen sooner rather than later."

Bangs and other wolf specialists said a single wolf isn't significant, unless it finds another wolf of the opposite sex.

"A dispersing wolf doesn't mean that wolf recovery has started in Colorado," said Bangs. "It's cool the wolf went a long way, but unless the wolf finds another wolf, no one should read anything into this."

They're out there

Division of Wildlife wolf specialists agree that an animal sighted near the Colorado-Wyoming border looks and acts like a wolf. The endangered animals were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1994.

• Tale of the tape: A DOW officer videotaped the animal in North Park, an area west of Rocky Mountain National Park.

• Location, location: A rancher called the DOW after spotting the animal. At least two other ranchers in the Walden area reported seeing the same animal, which if it is a wolf, likely migrated south to mate. This would be the eighth wolf to migrate since the Wyoming reintroduction in 1994.

[Nightshade]

Wow well the shark thingis simply disgusting to me ( sorry ). As for the wolf pretty exciting but rentroducing wolves? Seems rather dangerous to me themn again they want to reintroduce tblackbears linxes and wolves in the uk.... I wonder i f they forget they are extinct most ly because they were bloody dangerous to cohabit with. Or am I wrong and was it just mass hunting for recreation and fur?
still the forets and woods are mostlky too close to citys now I think.

[Taliesin]

Um, wolves aren't so dangerous than wolf-dog hybrids. Wolves usually mind their own business. Unless it is a female wolf with cubs or a rabid wolf - then you're in trouble. But usually wolves don't attack humans for food.
Bears usually eat mostly berries and usually don't hunt other animals for food. Again, female bears with cubs are dangerous and waking them up from hybernation isn't wise too.
We are not very sure about lynxes but we are sure that they don't attack humans for food.
They weren't hunted to extinction in your lands because they were dangerous to live with. Wolves give trouble to sheep-herders and were hunted because of that.
Also, deforestation brought their population down, we think.

*boasting about a country with 40% forests and 20% swamps.*

[Nightshade]

Ahh well Im not really great on details :blush: all I know was a place in cairo they had some wild dogs or possibly dingos and quite a few babies were killed. Or so the story goes then again after peopl left one rich guy bought up all the land very cheaply and built a golf course.

[Taliesin]

Wild dogs is a completely another matter, if we remember correctly.
Wild dogs don't fear humans and are actually even more dangerous than wolves.

[Virgil]

Um, wolves aren't so dangerous than wolf-dog hybrids. Wolves usually mind their own business. Unless it is a female wolf with cubs or a rabid wolf - then you're in trouble. But usually wolves don't attack humans for food.
Bears usually eat mostly berries and usually don't hunt other animals for food. Again, female bears with cubs are dangerous and waking them up from hybernation isn't wise too.
We are not very sure about lynxes but we are sure that they don't attack humans for food.
They weren't hunted to extinction in your lands because they were dangerous to live with. Wolves give trouble to sheep-herders and were hunted because of that.
Also, deforestation brought their population down, we think.

*boasting about a country with 40% forests and 20% swamps.*
While bears don't eat humans for food, they are quite unpredictable and should be avoided at all costs. What may seem as to a human as not being provocative to a bear, bears will interpret things very differently.

Wolves are mostly shy when it comes to people.

I don't know anything about lynxes.

[Scheherazade]

If you're slim, don't think you can get away with not exercising - you still risk heart problems if you don't hit the gym, a study suggests. The London-based team measured the levels of heart-clogging cholesterol (LDL) in 37 lean exercisers, 46 lean and 28 obese non-exercisers.

They found lean exercisers had good LDL levels, but those in lean and obese non-exercisers were higher and similar.

The study is published in the International Journal of Obesity.

It concluded that exercisers were fitter and leaner than those who were sedentary, and had a better chance of not developing cardiovascular disease.

Dr Gary O'Donovan, exercise physiologist at Brunel University, said: "Many people, especially slim people believe that they only benefit that can be achieved from exercising is weight-loss.

"This is not the case. Our study suggests that slim people need to exercise as much as others in order to stay healthy and keep LDL cholesterol in check."

Dr O'Donovan said he devised the study to look at how exercise affected a person's health profile.

It was already known that aerobic fitness was amongst the most reliable measure of health now and in the future and that those who did well in fitness tests were likely to live around five years longer, he added.

For the study he divided his 113 non-smoking men aged 30 to 45, with similar socio-economic profiles, into three groups - lean exercisers, lean non-exercisers and obese exercisers.

Obesity was classed as a person with a waist of more than 100cms, measured at the narrowest point.

Heart health

An exerciser was someone who took regular cardiovascular exercise, such as running or cycling, three times a week or more.

Dr O'Donovan suggested that, because the profiles of the men were the same, it was a reasonable assumption that the differences in cholesterol results were linked to whether the person exercised or not.

He added: "The benefits of exercise are not just about maintaining a normal weight.

"There's some quite convincing research that shows that habitual exercisers live a little longer."

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said exercise was essential in maintaining a healthy heart - no matter what your body shape.

"We know that for some people a low fat diet can help keep their cholesterol level low, whilst for some their blood cholesterol stays high no matter how thin they are.

'Fat fit'

"We can all take steps towards a healthier heart by eating a balanced diet and taking at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five times a week."

Dr O'Donovan now wants to look at the bad cholesterol levels of obese exercisers - the so-called "fat fit".

If such a study found that LDL-cholesterol was similar in obese exercisers and lean exercisers, it would suggest that habitual exercise lowers heart disease risk independent of body fat.

Dr O'Donovan says: "We have started looking for volunteers to take part in the next phase of the study.

"Basically, we're looking for the Jason Leonard's of the world - men who regularly exercise but have a large frame!"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4778274.stm

[Scheherazade]

Author Margaret Atwood has invented a remote-controlled pen which allows her to sign books for her fans from thousands of miles away. Autographs are signed on an electronic pad while Atwood chats to a fan via a video link.

Seconds later two metal arms holding a pen reproduce the signature in the fan's book.

Atwood, 66, invented the LongPen after tiring of travelling round the world on book tours.

"You cannot be in five countries at the same time. But you can be in five countries at the same time with the LongPen," said Atwood.

The pen had its first public outing at the London Book Fair after a technical hitch delayed the demonstration by a few minutes.

The Canadian author signed her new short story collection, The Tent, for Nigel Newton, chief executive of her publisher Bloomsbury.

In another part of the exhibition, the message appeared via the LongPen in Mr Newton's copy: "For Nigel, with best wishes, Margaret Atwood."

The pen's next venture will be to deliver autographs in copies of The Tent for fans in New York and Guelph, Ontario.

The idea for the LongPen came after Atwood signed for a package on an electronic pad.

"I thought my signature was whizzing through the air and landing somewhere else, and I thought as I was crawling through the night on another maniacal book tour, wouldn't it be great if I could sign a book like that?

"It turns out they don't work that way. But I asked some technically-minded people if such a thing was possible, and they said it was."

The gadget will be leased out to publishers for one-off signing events and tours.

Impersonal

"This creates the possibility of an entirely new book promotion event that will inject new life into the marketing of books and authors' relationship with their readers," said Nigel Newton.

Dajan Papic of Atwood's Serbian publisher, Laguna, said the device could help bring international authors - albeit virtually - to his small country.

"We are not always in a position to invite international authors and pay their costs," he said.

But some had concerns that it might end the personal contact between author and reader.

"I might do it if she wasn't in the same room," said Jeff Doorn, a small-press author who queued up at the book fair to have Atwood sign his book in person.

"But it's nice to have the personal touch," he added.

The pen can also be used to sign hockeysticks and the project director Matthew Gibson is working on getting it to sign basketballs.

Atwood's novels include The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4778962.stm

[kilted exile]

Ok, first an apology for posting another story related to violence in Glasgow. I am quite sure you are all bored of reading them.



Late night revellers are being served drinks in plastic or toughened glasses on the first weekend of a glass ban in Glasgow's city centre and west end.

About 90 clubs and pubs with 0300 licences are now subject to the policy, which aims to reduce glass attacks.

Latest figures show police recorded 59 attempted murders or serious assaults with glass in the 12 months to November 2005 in both areas.

The city's licensing board will extend the ban to pubs in June.

For the moment, the ban only applies to nightclubs and "superpubs".

About 70 clubs have switched to plastic and "tempered" or toughened glass, which shatters into small pieces when it breaks.

A further 21 "superpubs" with late night entertainment licenses have made the switch.

Some venues selling fine wine and champagne have been granted exemptions.

'Not killjoys'

Malcolm Cunning, vice convener of Glasgow's Licensing Board, said: "We are implementing the ban as a measure to ensure customers have a pleasant and safe environment.

"The quality of plastic and toughened glass has improved enormously.

"We are not killjoys, the trade and suppliers are expecting it to become the norm.

"All premises are quite willingly taking part."

He added: "It may be slightly more difficult to introduce in pubs."

Police figures for November 2004 to November 2005 show the majority of people attacked were under the age of 35.

In one case, a man was stabbed in the neck with the stem of a glass.

He fell onto a table where two off-duty surgeons saved his life.

The cost of the switch to the licensed trade is put at up to £10,000 per venue.

Eddie Tobin, chairman of the Bar Entertainment and Dance Association, said: "The nightclubs largely adopted and embraced the policy before its introduction and the vast majority are supportive.

"The only concern is the board acts reasonably in terms of exemptions and so far I have no complaints."

He added: "I defy anyone to tell me the difference between tempered glass and the real thing."

Bars in Greater Glasgow have until 31 January, 2007 to comply with the scheme as a condition of their licence.

link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4678338.stm)

The plastic idea is sensible, & anyone who has had a bottle smashed on their head will be able to tell you it hurts a hell of a lot less if the glass shatters. So this is also good but the number of people injured when those tempered glasses smash into a million pieces will be huge. Time to stick to the plastic.

[Scheherazade]

A parent has spoken of his anger after his wife had to go to their daughter's school to put a plaster on when staff said they were not allowed to. Julie Scott, 38, was called by staff at Uphill Primary School near Weston-super-Mare, after her daughter Emily, 9, cut her finger.

The school said strict guidelines meant they were not allowed to give plasters.

The head says the school is to review their interpretation to make sure they take a "common sense approach".

Mrs Scott travelled the short distance to the school, bandaged up her daughter's finger and left a box of plasters by her desk in case of ny "further mishaps".

Staff at the school told Mrs Scott that local council guidelines meant they were unable to put the sticking plaster on Emily's cut finger.

But Emily's father Kevan, 39, criticised the guidelines.

He said: "The whole saga is absolutely ridiculous. My daughter had a tiny cut and I just cannot see the reason why a plaster couldn't be put on her finger by the staff.

"I am not criticising the school at all which has always been great. The staff I've spoken to there think the rule is stupid also.

"When my wife went in to put the plaster on Emily's finger the teachers were apologising to her for having to come in.

"It's a ludicrous guideline that the school seem to have been given, people should be men not mice."

Judgement call

North Somerset Council stated that their guidelines have been interpreted incorrectly.

A council spokesman said: "We provide broad guidelines for first aid in schools and there is no mention of using plasters.

"Each child joining a school has to produce a medical declaration which includes allergies and therefore it is down to the school to use its judgement about whether it is appropriate to use plasters or not.

"This case highlights that we perhaps need to re-issue guidelines to schools to clarify the issue," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/4796486.stm

[Scheherazade]

A family from the Mescalero Apache tribe is suing the producers of a Steven Spielberg TV series for cutting their daughter's hair for the show. The family said the hair of Christina Ponce, aged eight, was cut without regard for their tribal customs.

"It's part of our culture not to cut a girl's hair until her Coming of Age ceremony," her father Danny Ponce said.

"The only ones allowed to do that are the parents." His daughter had been acting in mini-series Into the West.

Mr Ponce added that "nobody asked for permission" before a stylist cut Christina's hair. He said he had filed his claim in the US District Court in Albuquerque.

His legal papers, which seek $250,000 (£142,000) for emotional distress and $75,000 (£43,000) in damages, named Turner Films Inc and the unknown stylist as defendants.

A Turner Films spokeswoman said the company did not comment on pending litigation.

Into the West is executive produced by Spielberg and is based on the novel by Max McCoy.

It explores the expansion of the American West through the eyes of two families - one white, the other native American.

According to legal papers filed by Mr Ponce, Christina responded through her parents last March to an open casting call for work on Into the West.

'Like a boy'

She attended a three-day shoot near Carrizozo, New Mexico.

Her hair was cut by a stylist to "make her look more 'Indian' and like a male Indian child because the movie casting call failed to produce sufficient young male extras of Indian heritage", the papers state.

The Mescalero tradition forbids cutting a girl's hair as she approaches puberty, in preparation for a sacred Coming of Age ceremony that requires her hair to reach her waist.

Mr Ponce said that before it was cut, his daughter's hair fell midway down her back.

"It was cut very short above her ears. She looked like a boy," he said.

New Mexico governor Bill Richardson has increased state efforts to attract the film industry there in recent years.

Mr Ponce said that, while he welcomed this, film-makers from outside the state should try to be more culturally sensitive.

"Just because you're wealthy, you don't do something without checking first," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4820582.stm

[Virgil]

It's reaching the point where you can't chew gum without getting sued.

[Scheherazade]

A female teacher is claiming £1m in damages after she was forced to sit in a chair that made flatulent sounds.

Sue Storer, 48, told an industrial tribunal she was constantly apologising to children, parents and teachers about the rude noises which emanated from her chair every time she moved.

But the school refused to replace the chair, she claimed.

A year later two male deputy heads got new executive chairs.

"It was very embarrassing to sit on," she told the tribunal.

"I asked for a chair that didn't make these very embarrassing farting sounds."

The divorcee claims the the chair problem was just one example of sexist behaviour that undermined her position at Bedminster Down secondary school in Bristol.

She quit her £48,000 a year job last year and is claiming constructive dismissal and sex discrimination.

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13515063,00.html

[Virgil]

A fun read. Who says we don't have wild life in New York City? From today's NY Post. http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/63498.htm



COYOTE IS CAPTURED AFTER HOWLER OF A 'DOG RUN' IN CENTRAL PK.
By LORENA MONGELLI and BILL HOFFMANN
The wily coyote of Central Park was bagged yesterday with a well-aimed shot to the butt - but not before he led cops on a wild-goose chase over hill and dale, disrupted a Robin Williams movie shoot, terrorized a pampered pet pooch and delighted tourists watching the drama unfold.

"This was one very adventurous coyote," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe after the 35-pound, 1-year-old critter was tranquilized just north of the 79th Street Transverse shortly after 10 a.m.

"Apparently, males start to feel a bit frisky and exploratory at this time of year - and this one made it all the way from somewhere up north to Midtown," Benepe said.

Cops picked up the trail of the coyote - nicknamed Hal, after the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, where he was first spotted Tuesday - just before 8 a.m. yesterday. Witnesses spotted him padding around Heckscher Playground, near the famous carousel.

"He was beautiful - and he was very fast," said parkgoer Suzanne Kelly, 43.

"It started coming toward me and I tried not to make eye contact. I really have bad luck with dogs and I didn't want it to bite me."

Then Hal turned his attentions on another park visitor, who was walking her small, yapping West Highland white terrier - freaking out both master and pet and sending them packing.

Within minutes, dozens of cops fanned out over the area and Hal was on the run again. He barreled several hundred yards southeast to the nature sanctuary near The Pond by Central Park South - where he had previously left little piles of feathers behind after feasting on water fowl.

The coyote then ducked under the "Romantic Bridge," where thousands of newlyweds have their pictures taken, and then climbed some rocks.

"At this point, he seemed more afraid then anything else. You could see he was running scared," a hardhat working in the area told The Post.

Not scared enough to stop him from pausing for a swim, however. Hal leaped into the drink and skillfully dog-paddled for a minute before getting out and shaking himself dry.

He then continued north toward Wollman Rink, where a skating scene for the movie drama "August Rush," starring Williams, Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, was being shot.

As a figure skater gracefully pirouetted before the rolling cameras, Hal mischievously wiggled through the bars of the rink fence and trotted toward the ice.

"Clear the ice! Clear the ice!" cops screamed to the jolted movie crew, as they closed in for the capture.

But crafty Hal launched into stunt-dog mode, taking a stunning leap over an 8-foot fence and racing further north.

The coyote zoomed past the famed statue of hero Alaskan sled dog Balto - as if paying homage to his fellow four-legged adventurer - then to Literary Walk, through The Mall, past The Bandshell and along Bethesda Terrace.

Witnesses spotted Hal zipping along the east shores of The Lake, turning left around the north side of the Loeb Boathouse and heading northwest through the Ramble.

"What excitement here in Central Park!" squealed Pilly Meyer, a tourist from Holland, after Hal dashed by.

"I'm amazed!" added Patricia Lombroso, a correspondent for an Italian newspaper. "If I told someone there was a coyote in Central Park, they would say I was drunk."

Things turned Coyote Ugly for Hal as he reached Belvedere Castle and eagle-eyed park workers flagged down Detectives Philip Tropp and Tracyann Kupinski, of Emergency Service Unit Truck 2.

Hal found himself cornered at the back of the castle and Tropp, seeing a window of opportunity, raised his gun.

"I fired one dart and struck him," he said.

Still, Hal wasn't about to go down without one last try to stay free.

He made his way around the Parks Department building, ran across the 79th Street Transverse and hid behind some pipes by a Fire Department communications substation.

But sleep came fast.

"We waited a few minutes for the [drug] to take effect," Tropp said. "We moved in and noosed it and waited a little longer. Then we caged it."

Hal was taken to the 79th Street maintenance yard, where he was examined by a veterinarian and proclaimed fit and healthy.

"We took his vitals and he's doing fine. He's a young animal and in good shape," said veterinarian Njeri Couse, of the city's Animal Care and Control agency.

In a few weeks, animal-welfare workers will transport him upstate to release him back into the wild.

Benepe said that while Hal was resourceful in staying free for so long, he was no match for New York's Finest.

"They are not only good at fighting international terrorism, they're also very effective when it comes to wild animals," he said.

Mayor Bloomberg said, "Now the question is, can we find a mate for the coyote?"

Hal is the second coyote known to have visited the park in recent years, the first being Otis. He was captured in 1999 and is now a star attraction at the Queens Zoo.

It's not easy for coyotes to make it onto the island of Manhattan, Benepe said.

"You either have to swim or cross a railroad trestle used by Metro-North and Amtrak that runs along the Hudson under the George Washington Bridge and then goes through a very wooded area," he said.

Once Hal got to the park, he apparently feasted on ducks and other birds. Parks workers found little piles of feather.

With more development in nearby rural areas, Hal probably won't be the last wild animal who visits our world-famous park, according to officials.

And that may spur the Parks Department into working with the city Department of Health to develop a protocol, Benepe said.

[jackyyyy]

A female teacher is claiming £1m in damages after she was forced to sit in a chair that made flatulent sounds.]
Constructive dismisal, but I can't help wondering how she was forced.. and why didn't she stand or take another chair, bring her own chair even.

Bristol again.

[Scheherazade]

Constructive dismisal, but I can't help wondering how she was forced.. and why didn't she stand or take another chair, bring her own chair even. I was wondering the same thing... Why not take your own chair to the school instead of quitting a well-paid job?

[Scheherazade]

A tortoise that once belonged to British colonial general Clive of India in the 18th Century has died in a zoo in Calcutta. Adwaita, "the only one" in Bengali, was found dead by keepers in Alipore Zoo on Wednesday. His shell cracked some months ago and a wound had developed.

West Bengal officials said records showed Adwaita was at least 150 years old but other evidence pointed to 250.

The shell of Adwaita, an Aldabra tortoise, will now be carbon-dated.

Forestry minister in the West Bengal government, Jogesh Barman said: "Historical records show he was a pet of British general Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago."

Mr Barman said Adwaita was probably brought from the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean and presented to Clive, an increasing force in the East India Company's military hierarchy.

Aldabra tortoises are found in the four-island Aldabra atoll of the Seychelles, a UN World Heritage Site that now has about 152,000 giant tortoises.

They average about 120kg (265lbs) and are thought the longest-lived of all animals.

The BBC's Amitabha Bhattasali in Calcutta says Adwaita brought in many of the zoo's visitors and when he fell sick for the first time eight years ago with a leg infection a full medical board was instigated to treat him.

The director of the zoo, Subir Chowdhury, said Adwaita's shell would be preserved and kept there.

One zookeeper told the Reuters news agency: "This is a sad day for us. We will miss him very much."

Lord Clive, the son of a Shropshire squire, became a soldier and adventurer who rose through the East India Company.

He won the key Battle of Plassey against the Nawab of Bengal in 1757.

Lord Clive later became an opium addict and committed suicide in 1774 at the age of 49.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4837988.stm

[Scheherazade]

A man with no arms has been caught speeding at 121 km/h (75 mph), according to police in New Zealand. The driver, who used one foot to steer and another to operate the pedals, told officers he was born with no arms but had been driving for years.

The 32-year-old had passengers in the car when he was stopped on a highway near Papamoa in the Bay of Plenty area.

Police fined the unemployed man NZ$170 (£60) and banned him from driving, local media reported.

'Shocked officer'

The driver, whose name has not been published, was going well over the speed limit of 100 km/h (60 mph) when he was stopped by police on Thursday.

Senior Constable Brent Gray approached the driver's window, saw a foot on the dashboard and noticed the seat was reclined.

Mr Gray told colleagues he thought the man had an "attitude", then noticed the driver had no arms.

"He (Mr Gray) was pretty shocked by that, as you would be," acting Senior Sgt Deirdre Lack was quoted as telling local newspaper the Bay of Plenty Times.

The driver told police he had never held a driving licence.

Ms Lack said the motorist had been a danger to fellow drivers because he was breaking the limit.

"Obviously, driving at a speed like that, arms or not, you're just waiting for an accident," she said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4842634.stm

[kilted exile]

A rare Beethoven manuscript which includes songs written by Robert Burns has failed to sell at auction.

The 22-page manuscript in Beethoven's own handwriting shows five arrangements for popular Scottish and Irish folk songs.

The music, commissioned by Scottish publisher George Thomson, was expected to fetch between £350,000 and £450,000.

Bidding at Christie's reached £300,000, but the owner was not willing to sell for that amount.

Christie's said it could not reveal the reserve price.

Heated exchanges

It is the most complete manuscript in Beethoven's hand to come to the market for 15 years.

Between 1803 and 1814 Beethoven wrote 126 settings for Thomson, who wanted to popularise Scottish and Irish folk songs in 19th century drawing rooms.

However, the arrangements produced by Beethoven were too complicated for drawing room performers.

Correspondence in the British library suggests Beethoven and Thomson had heated exchanges on the matter, with the composer refusing to simplify the music and also continually haggling on his price.

link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4485754.stm)

[Scheherazade]

Dealing with fingernails, flowers and hair brings happiness at work, according to an annual survey. The study of 1,300 people revealed that beauticians, florists and hairdressers are among the UK's happiest workers.

At the other end of the scale, lawyers, civil servants and pharmacists are the least cheerful.

The City and Guilds study also suggests that skilled workers are more content with their work-life balance than white collar professionals.

One of the secrets to a happiness appears to be the opportunity to socialise while at work. Florists, beauticians and hairdressers all identify meeting new people and feeling appreciated as key to enjoying their working day.

Welcoming the local congregation obviously has the same effect on many members of the clergy, the highest placed professionals, who came second on this year's City and Guilds Happiness Index.

When asked to rate their happiness on a scale of one to ten, the clergy averaged 9.14, just behind beauticians on 9.20.

Index points up

However, the study did show that sitting behind a desk is not all bad, as both vocational workers and professional workers say they are happier in their jobs than they were a year ago.

The Happiness Index is published annually by City and Guilds, the UK's largest vocational awards body, which hands out over a million vocational qualifications each year to craftsmen and skilled workers.

Keith Brooker of City and Guilds said: "It is great to see that workers in all careers are happier than they were last year.

"Given the amount of time we spend in the workplace, finding a career that we are happy with should be everyone's priority."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4849168.stm

[Scheherazade]

More people than ever are asking to be buried or cremated with their mobile phones when they die, say researchers. The trend, which began in South Africa, has now spread to a number of countries, including Ireland, Australia, Ghana, and the US.

Martin Raymond, director of international trend-spotting think-tank, The Future Laboratory said that this had started off "in the realm of the urban myth", but was fast becoming fact.

"You hear about it, the idea that people are being buried with their mobile phones, but you can't really believe it," he told the BBC World Service's Culture Shock programme.

He explained that the first cases of people asking to be buried with their phone originated in Cape Town, where some people's belief in witchcraft meant they feared that "they could fall under a spell, be put to sleep and actually be buried.

"In fact, they were asking for the phones to be put into the coffins with them in case they woke up."

'Limelight funerals'

Mr Raymond said that in Australia the trend was more about affluence.

"People wanted to be buried with the totems that they felt represented their lifestyle," he explained.

"We came across one guy who asked to be buried with his mobile phone and his Blackberry, and also with his laptop."

He added that in many cases, being buried with your phone is part of what he termed limelight funerals, people wanting to be buried like celebrities.

The phone is put in the coffin along with diamonds, jewellery, expensive suits, and gold watches.

In some places, however, the practice has parallels with a much more distant time, as being buried along with one's possessions can be traced to ancient Egypt.

In the days of Tutankhamen it was done because they believed literally that the objects would be available to them in the afterlife.

However, in modern times some people are finding they like the idea of being buried with the things that defined them while they were alive.

"When we looked at this in Chad and Ghana, there was part of that implicit in the burial service - that you were taking things with you that would be useful," Mr Raymond said.

"In Ireland, where we came across this, it was more to do with people being buried with things they liked. One guy we came across was buried with a pack of cigarettes and some matches.

"Another was buried with his favourite teddy bear, given to him by his girlfriend."

Spare battery

In some cases, they are even taking their mobiles into cremation.

"We came across this in places like South Carolina in the US - people were being burned but unknown to the crematorium, they had left the phones in their jackets," Mr Raymond said.

"If you heat a mobile phone battery, it tends to explode, and the first reports were about explosions, and that's how they started noticing this trend."

Some funeral parlours will now arrange for the phone put into the box with the ashes following the cremation.

And one service in South Africa will put a number of batteries in the coffin just in case the dead person wakes up much later and finds their own battery has run out.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4853548.stm

[RobinHood3000]

Some of those people are begging to have their graves robbed, honestly...

[Riesa]

Late Grateful Dead Leader's Toilet Stolen
Apr 2, 6:39 AM EST


The Associated Press

SONOMA, Calif. -- The long, strange trip continues for Jerry Garcia's toilet. Police say the Grateful Dead leader's commode was stolen recently from a driveway along with three other toilets and a bidet, The Press Democrat newspaper reported Saturday.

Garcia's salmon-colored toilet was the subject of a legal battle before it was finally moved to Sonoma, to await shipment to a Canadian casino.

It's unclear if the toilet was swiped by a wayward Deadhead or a thief remodeling a bathroom. Police have no suspects or leads.

Henry Koltys bought Garcia's Marin County home for $1.39 million in 1997 and removed the toilet and other items he planned to sell to raise money for a charity.

After Koltys sold the house to a friend of the band's, the new owner sued to block the auction. The dispute was resolved last year, and Koltys moved the items to his home in Sonoma, about 40 miles north of San Francisco.

Last month, Koltys sold the Grateful Dead singer's toilet for $2,550 to online casino Goldenpalace.com, which planned to use it as part of a traveling marketing exhibit. The casino is offering a $250 reward for its return.

Henry Koltys said Friday that the toilet once stood in the master bathroom of Garcia, who died in 1995 at age 53. "It would have been his personal head," he said.

The casino has made other unusual purchases in the last year — it paid $25,000 for actor William Shatner's kidney stones and $28,000 for a grilled cheese sandwich that reportedly had the image of the Virgin Mary on it, Koltys said.

Jonathon Lipsin, who worked for Garcia as a gardener and now owns a Northern California record store, said the toilet might appeal to dedicated Deadheads.

"It's a little gross," Lipsin said. "But I could see it at a rock 'n' roll museum, too."

http://http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=220133&GT1=7702

[Nightshade]

Such a lot of fuss over a loo.
:lol:

[beer good]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060405/music_nm/clash_dc

Man held as terrorism suspect over punk song
LONDON (Reuters) - British anti-terrorism detectives escorted a man from a plane after a taxi driver had earlier become suspicious when he started singing along to a track by punk band The Clash, police said Wednesday.

Detectives halted the London-bound flight at Durham Tees Valley Airport in northern England and Harraj Mann, 24, was taken off.

The taxi driver had become worried on the way to the airport because Mann had been singing along to The Clash's 1979 anthem "London Calling," which features the lyrics "Now war is declared -- and battle come down" while other lines warn of a "meltdown expected."

Mann told British newspapers the taxi had been fitted with a music system which allowed him to plug in his MP3 player and he had been playing The Clash, Procol Harum, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles to the driver.

"He didn't like Led Zeppelin or The Clash but I don't think there was any need to tell the police," Mann told the Daily Mirror.

A Durham police spokeswoman said Mann had been released after questioning -- but had missed his flight.

"The report was made with the best of intentions and we wouldn't want to discourage people from contacting us with genuine concerns," she said.




That's it. Next time I see someone listening to Michael Bolton, I'm sicing Interpol on him. Must be a terrorist.

[kilted exile]

Astronomers have discovered that the planet Uranus has a blue ring - only the second found in the Solar System.

Like the blue ring of Saturn, it probably owes its existence to an accompanying small moon.

Scientists suspect subtle forces acting on dust in the rings allow smaller particles to persist while larger ones are recaptured by the moon.

Smaller particles reflect blue light, giving the ring its distinctive colour, the US team reports in Science.

All other rings - those around Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - are made up of both large and small particles, making the rings reddish in appearance.

Bright blue

Astronomers have long known that the gas giant Uranus is surrounded by rings of dark particulate matter up to ten metres in diameter.

But last December, two new rings - the planet's twelfth and thirteenth - were discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope.

Schematic view of outermost rings of Saturn (Image: de Pater, Hammel, Gibbard, and Showalter, courtesy of Science magazine)
...and Saturn

Astronomers observed the ring system at infrared wavelengths with the Keck telescope, in Hawaii.

The outermost ring, and its ice-bound moon Mab, could not be observed in infrared light unlike the red inner ring.

A team led by Imke de Pater, professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, found that the ring was bright blue, something of an oddity in planetary terms.

"The blue colour says that this ring is predominantly submicron-sized material, much smaller than the material in most other rings, which appear red," Professor de Pater said.

The tiny particles - less than a thousandth of the width of a human hair - scatter and reflect predominantly blue light, much like the very small molecules in the air that make the Earth's sky blue.

The more common rings are reddish because they also contain many larger particles, which gives the reflected light its colour, and may be made up of reddish material, perhaps from iron.

It appears that the outer blue rings of Saturn and Uranus are strikingly similar, not least because they are both associated with small moons.

Moon dance

"The moon orbits the planet in the ring," Professor de Pater told the BBC News website.

"It is continuously impacted by very tiny particles [micrometeorites]. On a moon that doesn't have any atmosphere these tiny particles impact the moon at high velocity, and throw stuff up into space.

"Because the moon is so small, it escapes the moon and goes into orbit around the planet.

"The smaller particles stay in orbit around the planet but the larger particles smash back into the moon."

The work was carried out in collaboration with Mark Showalter, of the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (Seti) Institute in California; Heidi Hammel, of the Space Science Institute, Colorado; and Seran Gibbard, of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

The scientists plan to carry out further observations next year, when the faint rings of Uranus will be more visible.

link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4883848.stm)

[Pensive]

Hey Kilted, Congratulations on your 1000th post!

[emily655321]

Congratulations, Kilted! :banana:

[Riesa]

Burroughs' Former Cabin for Sale on eBay Fri Apr 14, 12:40 AM ET



LAWRENCE, Kan. - It's a 568-square-foot cabin with narrow concrete stairs, outdoor shower and an incinerating toilet in the bedroom — not the first place a home buyer might want to drop nearly $160,000. But what makes the place outside Lawrence special is that it once belonged to Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs, author of "Naked Lunch" and "Junkie." Burroughs, who died in 1997 in Lawrence, mentioned the cabin in his book "My Education."

Owner Carol Dengel listed the cabin on eBay on March 22 as a collector's item with an asking price of $159,950 and received more than 1,600 hits on her page.

Dengel first came into contact with the cabin in 1999, when she and Diane Fry, an old high school friend from Ottawa, decided to buy a place near Lone Star Lake where they could spend weekends with their families.

"I used to come here as a kid, so I wanted a place near the lake. When we found out who it belonged to we bought it for the asking price right there," Dengel said.

She declined to say what she paid, but the county appraiser lists the current value as $66,100.
More (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060414/ap_on_hi_te/burroughs_cabin_sale_1)

[Scheherazade]

An ex-Japanese soldier who disappeared after World War II and was officially declared dead in 2000 has turned up alive in Ukraine, officials say. Ishinosuke Uwano was serving with the Japanese Imperial Army in Russia's Sakhalin Island when the war ended. He lost contact with his family in 1958.

The 83-year-old has now reappeared, in Ukraine, where he is married and has a family, Japanese officials say.

He is due to visit Japan for the first time in six decades on Wednesday.

Just six years ago, his family officially registered him as having been killed in the war - and his details were removed from the official family registry.

Because of this, Mr Uwano must "return to Japan technically as a Ukrainian citizen with a Ukraine passport," a government official said.

Mr Uwano is due to visit family members and friends in Iwate, northern Japan, with his son before returning to Ukraine on 28 April, the AFP news agency reports.

The Japanese authorities are now restoring him to the family registry.

Strong interest

Mr Uwano's existence came to light last year after he asked friends in Ukraine to help him contact the Japanese government, which then sent officials to interview him in Kiev.

He was one of thousands of Japanese soldiers and civilians who were left stranded across the Pacific and in parts of China and Russia after the war ended.

Some were kept as prisoners and forced to work as slave labourers, others chose to remain of their own accord.

Why Mr Uwano remained in Russia, and how he ended up in Ukraine, has not been disclosed.

There is still much interest in Japan in the plight of former soldiers who never made it home, the BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says.

Last year, Japanese officials returned empty-handed after going to a remote Philippine village to investigate reports that two former Imperial Army members were hiding there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4916294.stm

[Scheherazade]

A method of creating super-nutritious but flatulence-free beans has been developed by scientists. Beans are a cheap and key source of nutrition especially in the developing world, but many people are thought to be put off by anti-social side-effects.

A Venezuelan team says fermenting beans with certain friendly bacteria can cut the amount of wind-causing compounds, and boost beans' nutritional value.

The research appears in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

Flatulence is caused by bacteria that live in the large intestine breaking down parts of food - such as soluble fibre - that have not been digested higher in the gut

Beans, such as the black bean commonly eaten across Central and Southern America and tested by the team, contain many of these compounds.

Researchers from the Simon Bolivar University in Caracas found that by boosting the natural fermentation process by adding a particular type of bacteria , called Lactobacillus casei (L casei), the amount of these indigestible wind-causing compounds were reduced.

Soluble fibre was reduced by two thirds and the amount of raffinose, another flatulence-causing substance, by 88.6%.

But the amount of insoluble fibre, which is thought to have a beneficial effect on the gut and help the digestive system get rid of toxins, increased by 97.5%.

The team concludes that fermentation involving L casei could decrease flatulence compounds and increase nutritional quality.

They suggest the bacteria is used by the food industry to create better bean products.

The team led by Marisela Granito said: "Given that flatulence is one of the main limiting factors for the consumption of this important foodstuff, the implementation of processes which allow for nutritious and non-flatulence-producing beans to be obtained would be interesting."

'Social concerns'

Dr Frankie Phillips, a nutrition expert and spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, said: "This study provides an interesting lead in helping us to overcome some of the less desirable aspects of eating legumes - i.e. flatulence - whilst ensuring that the nutritional benefits from eating them remain.

"On a practical note, some people find that gradually increasing consumption levels of legumes helps, as the body adapts, and others have no symptoms at all.

"I'd suggest trying small portions of legumes as part of a meal and gradually eating larger portions as they can be tolerated."

She said that products existed, mainly in the US, which can help reduce flatulence.

She added: "Despite the obvious social concerns, there is no physiological harm from the flatulence caused by eating beans and other legumes, and considerable nutritional benefits from eating them owing to fibre content as well as a wide range of other nutrients and phytonutrients."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4943486.stm

[Nightshade]

Now if they could just invent beans that dont make my face bright red andswell up I wont have to buy meat at uni and save some money ...

[Scheherazade]

The judge who presided over the failed Da Vinci Code plagiarism case at London's High Court hid his own secret code in his written judgement. Seemingly random italicised letters were included in the 71-page judgement given by Mr Justice Peter Smith, which apparently spell out a message.

Mr Justice Smith said he would confirm the code if someone broke it.

"I can't discuss the judgement, but I don't see why a judgement should not be a matter of fun," he said.

Italicised letters in the first few pages spell out "Smithy Code", while the following pages also contain marked out letters.

Although he would not be drawn on his code and its meaning, Mr Justice Smith said he would probably confirm it if someone cracked it, which was "not a difficult thing to do".

In March, he presided over a High Court case brought by authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, who claimed Dan Brown plagiarised their own historical book for The Da Vinci Code.

But Mr Justice Smith ruled Mr Brown did not substantially copy Mr Baigent and Mr Leigh's work The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, saying it did not have a central theme in the way its authors suggested.

The Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, features a number of codes the heroes of the book must crack to solve the mystery.

A much-anticipated movie version of the novel, starring Tom Hanks as historian Robert Langdon, is released on 19 May.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4949488.stm

[Scheherazade]

A code hidden by a judge in his written judgement in the failed Da Vinci Code plagiarism case has been broken. Mr Justice Peter Smith has explained how to crack the code in his 71-page ruling after two newspapers claimed to have solved it.

The message read: "Smithy Code Jackie Fisher who are you Dreadnought."

The judge admires Admiral Jackie Fisher, who developed battleship HMS Dreadnought, which launched in February 1906, 100 years before the case began.

In a statement, Mr Justice Smith said: "The message reveals a significant, but now overlooked event that occurred virtually 100 years to the day of the start of the trial."

"I hate crosswords and do not do Sudoku as I do not have the patience," he said.

He added that the preparation of the code took 40 minutes, with its insertion in the text taking the same length of time.

Mr Justice Smith said a typographical error had been added deliberately to "create further confusion".

Ancient sequence

The Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, features a number of codes the heroes of the book must crack to solve the mystery.

Mr Justice Smith had earlier said he intended it as "a matter of fun".

His entry in Who's Who lists him as a fan of Fisher, who is credited with modernising the British navy.

The judge had told The Guardian and The Times that the code was based on the ancient Fibonacci number sequence, which is used by the heroes in Brown's novel.

In March, Mr Justice Smith presided over a High Court case brought by authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, who claimed Dan Brown plagiarised their own historical book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.

But Mr Justice Smith ruled Mr Brown did not substantially copy Mr Baigent and Mr Leigh's work, saying it did not have a central theme in the way its authors suggested.

A film version of the novel, starring Tom Hanks as historian Robert Langdon, is released on 19 May.

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4953948.stm

[Scheherazade]

A new breed of "brat bullies" from middle class homes is terrorising the playground because of parents' refusal to say "no", MPs have been warned. Children are going to school believing themselves "little gods", the Commons education select committee heard.

Michele Elliott of Kidscape said the bullies were not thugs but "little Miss Sunshine or little Mr Wonderful".

When confronted by schools many parents also refused to believe their "perfect child" was bullying, she said.

"In addition to children coming from homes where bullying is basically fostered, we found a whole other group of bullies who come from homes where they are so indulged that they go to school and they are little gods," Dr Elliott told the hearing.

"They think that everything just revolves around them. We call them the 'brat bullies'."

Speaking after the committee hearing, psychologist Dr Elliott said this behaviour was often more of a problem among girls than boys.

"They are spoilt by their parents and feel that the world basically owes them, and that the other children should be as in awe of them as their families," she said.

"They expect all the teachers and other kids to kow-tow to them. If they don't, they start to bully the other children.

"The parents of these children are pretty difficult to deal with because they do not see the children in that situation."

Ostracised

David Moore, a senior inspector at Ofsted, said girls tended to be more open about their feelings and gave bullies more ammunition.

He told the committee that girls used "non-verbal communication" to bully each other.

A group of girls would walk up to one of their classmates and deliberately turn away without speaking to her in order to isolate her.

"Nothing is said but that actually diminishes the youngster in their self-esteem and confidence," he said. "It stops them from learning."

He also called for accurate figures on how widespread the problem of bullying was in English schools and for more long-term research into the issue.

Mr Moore also suggested that one way of tackling the problem in schools would be for teachers to warn older bullies that they could face criminal prosecution for intimidating and threatening behaviour.

The Department for Education and Skills said: "Children must know what is right and what is wrong, and that there will be consequences for crossing the line."

Schools had to have anti-bullying policies, and had expert advice as well as "hard-hitting measures" including parenting orders and permanent exclusion.

¿Measures in the Education Bill, including a new legal right to discipline, weekend detentions and fines for parents will send a strong message to pupils and their parents that bullying and failure to take responsibility for tackling it will not be tolerated," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4758717.stm

[Scheherazade]

A Birmingham shopping centre has beaten off competition from Edinburgh Castle and Tower Bridge to be named one of the UK's favourite landmarks. London landmarks took the top two places, with Big Ben and the London Eye taking first and second place.

The Bullring came third in a survey of which landmark people most wanted to snap, putting Edinburgh Castle fourth.

Entries from Portsmouth, Peterborough, Liverpool and York joined two other London attractions in the top ten.

Top 10 landmarks to photograph

1. The London Eye (completed 1999)
2. Big Ben (1858)
3. Bullring, Birmingham (2003)
4. Edinburgh Castle (1574)
5. 30, St Mary Axe (The Gherkin), London (2004)
6. Peterborough Cathedral (c.1118)
7. Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth (2005)
8. Tower Bridge, London (1893)
9. Royal Liver Building, Liverpool (1911)
10. York Minster (1408)

Birmingham's Bullring has won worldwide acclaim for its distinctive Selfridge's store, which is bespeckled with aluminium discs.

The top ten also features Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower that opened last year, contrasting with Peterborough's 12th century cathedral.

Darren Peake, marketing manager at Fujifilm, which commissioned the survey, said: "The UK's top ten landmarks highlight the fantastic diversity of architecture and design that is on offer.

"While London is home to a number of modern and historic gems, the top ten features buildings from up and down the country, with fine historic examples of our heritage sitting alongside modern examples of UK innovation."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4762807.stm

[Logos]

Probably the most disturbing medical news I've seen recently.. :cold:

From MySA.com: (http://www.mysanantonio.com/global-includes/printstory.jsp?path=/news/metro/stories/MYSA051106.morgellans.KENS.32030524.html)


"If diseases like AIDS and bird flu scare you, wait until you hear what's next. Doctors are trying to find out what is causing a bizarre and mysterious infection that's surfaced in South Texas.

Morgellons disease is not yet known to kill, but if you were to get it, you might wish you were dead, as the symptoms are horrible.

"These people will have like beads of sweat but it's black, black and tarry," said Ginger Savely, a nurse practioner in Austin who treats a majority of these patients.

Patients get lesions that never heal.

"Sometimes little black specks that come out of the lesions and sometimes little fibers," said Stephanie Bailey, Morgellons patient."

see also: http://www.morgellons.org/index.html

[RobinHood3000]

That's funny--sounds like a sadistic version of the Plague.

[Logos]

Or aliens taking over Homo sapiens :goof:

[mono]

Probably the most disturbing medical news I've seen recently.. :cold:

From MySA.com: (http://www.mysanantonio.com/global-includes/printstory.jsp?path=/news/metro/stories/MYSA051106.morgellans.KENS.32030524.html)



see also: http://www.morgellons.org/index.html
Morgellons disease, actually, seems nothing of recent news, having existed for nearly 400 years. Recently, however, it has had a bit of an outbreak, but nothing as severe as malaria, AIDS/HIV, Avian ('bird') flu (which actually has no proof of spreading from human-to-human, but only bird-to-human), West Nile Virus (from which very few people had severe cases, and only in areas of little medical assistance), and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom now on the down-low for years).
Morgellons disease itself has had much relation to, in a way, 'chronic' Lyme disease, spread by specific kinds of ticks and other parasites, most commonly found, indeed, in the American midwest. The media will merely exaggerate anything to get coverage, specifically on 'new,' 'amazing,' 'baffling says Dr. X' medical diseases.

[Jay]

The National Geographic Society has been part of an international effort, in collaboration with the Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art and the Waitt Institute for Historical Discovery, to authenticate, conserve, and translate a 66-page codex, which contains a text called James (also known as First Apocalypse of James), the Letter of Peter to Philip, a fragment of a text that scholars are provisionally calling Book of Allogenes, and the only known surviving copy of the Gospel of Judas.

The Gospel of Judas gives a different view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas, offering new insights into the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Unlike the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in which Judas is portrayed as a reviled traitor, this newly discovered Gospel portrays Judas as acting at Jesus' request when he hands Jesus over to the authorities.

related NG site (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/)

[Logos]

"This article is from the (RED) edition of The Independent, guest-edited for 16 May 2006 by Bono. Half the revenue from the edition will be donated to the Global Fund to Fight Aids."

Bono, Guest Editor: I am a witness. What can I do?

"May I say without guile, I am as sick of messianic rock stars as the next man, woman and child. I am also tired of average work being given extra weight because it's attached to something with real gravitas, like the Aids emergency. So I truly try to tread carefully as I walk over the dreams of dignity under my feet in our work for the terrible beauty that is the continent of Africa. I'm used to the custard pies. I've even learnt to like the taste of them. But before you are tempted to let fly with your understandable invective, allow me to contextualise. Not for the sake of my vanity, but for the sake of people who are depending on you - the reader - to respond to the precariousness of their lives."

http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article484978.ece

[AimusSage]

Bears Eat Monkey in Dutch Zoo
Monday, May 15, 2006

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Bears killed and ate a monkey in a Dutch zoo in front of horrified visitors, witnesses and the zoo said Monday.

In the incident Sunday at the Beekse Bergen Safari Park, several Sloth bears chased the Barbary macaque into an electric fence, where it was stunned. It recovered and fled onto a wooden structure, where one bear pursued and mauled it to death.

The park confirmed the killing in a statement, saying: "In an area where Sloth bears, great apes and Barbary macaques have coexisted peacefully for a long time, the harmony was temporarily disturbed during opening hours on Sunday.

"Of course the habitats here in the safari park are arranged in such a way that one animal almost never kills another, but they are and remain wild animals," it said.

Witness Marco Berelds posted a detailed report on the incident, including photos, on a Dutch Web site. He said one Sloth bear tried unsuccessfully to shake the monkey loose after it took refuge on the structure, built of crossing horizontal and vertical poles.

Ignoring attempts by keepers to distract it, the bear climbed onto a horizontal pole, and, standing stretched on two legs, "used its sharp canines to pull the macaque, which was shrieking and resisting, from its perch."

The bear then brought the animal to a concrete den, where three bears ate it.

The zoo said it "usually wasn't possible" for keepers to intervene when an animal killed another.

The park plans now to move the Barbary macaques — which are large monkeys but often inaccurately called "Barbary Apes" — to another part of the park, it said.

(source: Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,195519,00.html)

The monkey's have since been moved to another area.

[kilted exile]

The US military is putting soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan into its video game in an attempt to put a human face on its operations overseas.

The soldiers' stories are part of a new version of America's Army, a game which is part of its recruitment strategy.

The US military denies that the project is a way of selling an unpopular war to the American public.

Instead the free game is designed to inspire young people by relating the real-life experiences of the troops.

"The majority of the public is not touched by the war," said Major Jason Amerine, who served in Afghanistan and is one of the nine soldiers appearing in the game.

"It is dangerous to have an army overseas fighting and for a public to become so disconnected that they don't realise that we are not automatons over there. We're real people," he told the BBC News website.

'Real heroes'

America's Army was first released in July 2002 and has gone on to become one of the top online games, with seven million registered players.

It taps into the popularity of military and war simulation titles among predominantly young men.


It shows we are not robots, that we're not trained killing machines. We're just people
Matt Zedwick, National Guardsman
It was developed by the Army to simulate combat and life in the military and reach young people for whom video games are a part of everyday life.

In the latest version of the game, called America's Army: Special Forces (Overmatch), the military is adding the experiences of nine soldiers who served in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The title has a so-called real heroes section when players can learn about the real-life troops.

In a virtual recruiting room, gamers can click on a soldier to hear them tell their story. They can also compare their achievements in the game to those of the GIs.

"It gets our stories out there about what the army is doing," said Sergeant Matt Zedwick, who served and was wounded during a tour of duty in Iraq in 2004.

"It is a good communications device to introduce people to what is really going on, rather than what you see on the news."

"It shows we are not robots, that we're not trained killing machines. We're just people," said the 25-year-old who is now studying graphic design at a college in Oregon.

Reaching the public

The US military sees America's Army as an information, rather than as a recruitment, tool.

America's Army screenshot
The game is designed to be as realistic as possible
The latest version was showcased at last week's E3 games expo in Los Angeles and is due to be released in the summer.

It comes at a time of growing unease in the US about the war in Iraq.

And last year, an official US government study warned that the military was falling behind in its effort to recruit troops for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the people involved in the title say there is no connection between the new game and America's troubles over its combat operations.

"We're not talking about the war, we're talking about people in the war," insisted Major Amerine, who served in Afghanistan in 2001 during the initial invasion.

"We are not attempting in any way to sell a war to the people, that has nothing to do with our agenda.

"We're trying to create awareness about the people doing the fighting, and that is a very apolitical agenda," said the major who now teaches at West Point.

Toy soldiers

America's Army figures
The figures are intended to be collector's items
As part of "real heroes" campaign, figures of the soldiers featured in the game are to go on sale.

The Army says these are not designed to be toys for children but items for collectors who wish to express their support for the troops.

Seeing themselves as little plastic soldiers is a strange experience for the troops involved.

"It is kinda funny and a little creepy. Unbelievable in a way," said Sergeant Zedwick.

"It is kind of funny to think there are going to be millions of people buying little dolls of you in the stores."


link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4991306.stm)

[Scheherazade]

Modern teenagers are better behaved than their counterparts of 20 years ago, research suggests. Boys and girls had "less problematic behaviour" involving sex, drugs and drink than teenagers surveyed in 1985.

However, girls in 2005 were likely to smoke and binge drink more than boys and start having sex earlier.

The researchers, Bournemouth University's Professor Colin Pritchard and Richard Williams, surveyed 10 schools along England's south coast.

In 2005 they repeated a 1985 survey of Year 10 and 11 secondary students and compared the results, published in the book Breaking the Cycle of Educational Alienation.

A 30-question survey was answered by pupils aged 14 and 15 and covered truancy, vandalism, theft, fighting, drinking and drugs, the same areas as the 1985 study.

Questions about sex, which were not permitted in 1985, were also included and compared with other research.

In 1985, about 824 pupils responded, with 854 answering it in 2005.

"The good news and, perhaps, unexpected is that the 2005 youngsters have less problematic behaviour than the 1985 cohort and even with the problematic behaviour, drugs, drink and sex, this is still a minority activity," said Prof Pritchard.

"The bad news, however, is that 20 years ago boys drugged, drank, smoked, truanted, stole, vandalised and fought more than girls.

"Today it is very different."

He said the girls smoked and drunk "significantly" more than boys.

Personal relationships

"They truant, steal and fight at similar rates to boys but have started under-aged sex earlier than boys - with 17% of lads in Year 11 having their first sexual intercourse (FSI) whereas 31% of Year 11 girls have had their FSI, indicating they are going with older boys," Prof Pritchard said.

Children of parents who smoke were four times more likely to start smoking themselves and twice as likely to steal, get into fights and become sexually active at an early age, the research showed.

Figures indicated they are also more than twice as likely to take drugs and/or binge drink.

"It is not that smoking causes the student's behaviour, but it reflects something of their personal, family and social relationships," said Prof Pritchard.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4994538.stm

[Scheherazade]

Heavy metal monsters Lordi have been hailed as heroes in their home country after scoring Finland's first ever Eurovision Song Contest victory. President Tarja Halonen congratulated the band in a telegram after their song Hard Rock Hallelujah won in Athens.

Hundreds of people celebrated in the streets of Helsinki, honking car horns, waving flags and singing Lordi's song.

Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat proclaimed: "It's official: Hell has frozen over. Finland has won."

The band won the Eurovision public vote after singing their heavy rock anthem dressed in horror costumes and accompanied by pyrotechnics.

Many people in Finland had feared Lordi would flop and damage the country's reputation.

But they have now become national icons and Culture Minister Tanja Karpela said Lordi's victory proved Finnish music could be successful abroad.

One fan, Erkki Turunen, said Finland won "because it put on a genuine show".

"This wasn't some sort of rubbish. This was really cool," he said.

Another person on the Helsinki streets, Nina Laisi, said: "I don't claim to be a rock fan, and it's not my favourite music, but I admire these guys."

'Humiliation'

Helsingin Sanomat wrote: "Years of humiliation, frustration, and 'zero points' were wiped away as the Finnish entry blew everyone off the stage in Athens.

"When the United Kingdom voters gave Finland 12 points, one knew somehow that nothing would ever be quite the same again."

The Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) said Lordi returned from Athens on Sunday and would meet the press on Monday.

But TV cameras will not be admitted because the band do not allow themselves to be filmed without their monster outfits.

They will stage a public celebration in Helsinki on Friday.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said the government would hep finance the contest when it comes to Finland next year.

"There are quite a few of us listeners of heavy and rock music, and for once there was the possibility to vote for a piece that differed from the general Eurovision line," he said.

UK disappointment

Lordi amassed 292 points in the public vote - 44 ahead of Russia's Dima Bilan.

But UK rapper Daz Sampson could only manage to come 19th out of 24 countries with his song Teenage Life.

"There were some very good songs in it this year," he said. "I thought mine was one of them - obviously Europe didn't agree."

The contest attracted an average of 8.2 million viewers in the UK on BBC One on Saturday, according to unofficial overnight figures.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5002798.stm

[AimusSage]

I wonder if this (http://www.votelordi.org/) had anything to do with their victory :D

Personally, I like to think it was a fair victory! :)

[Nightshade]

I thought Daz was rubbish, absaloute rubbish not worth even 12th place. Now my personal fav was the lot that tried to brain wash the voters Lithuania I think.

[jackyyyy]

I thought Daz was rubbish, absaloute rubbish not worth even 12th place. Now my personal fav was the lot that tried to brain wash the voters Lithuania I think.I am still laughing at that comment, "Hell has frozen over". I could not help think of KISS when I saw them, and I agree about Daz. Isn't that a soap powder?

[Nightshade]

yupp Daz the soap you can belive in... great adverts though :D :p
anyway the only thing that makes watching Eurovision fun is listening to Terry Wogan get into his grumpy act.

[mono]

Report: Ozone Hole May Disappear by 2050

TOKYO - The ozone hole over the Antarctic is likely to begin contracting in the future and may disappear by 2050 because of a reduction in the release of chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting gases, according to a team of Japanese scientists.

The findings are based on a series of numerical simulations carried out by Eiji Akiyoshi of the National Institute for Environmental Studies, near Tokyo, using projected emissions of chlorofluorocarbons and other gases blamed for the ozone hole.

According to a report posted Friday on the institute's Web site, the hole is at its largest now but is likely to gradually start contracting around 2020 and disappear by around 2050.

The team's findings are in line with research by other scientists.

Some, however, have suggested the hole won't heal until much later because old refrigerators and air-conditioning systems — many in the United States and Canada — are still releasing ozone-killing chemicals. Both countries curbed those chemicals in newer products.

Satellites and ground stations have been monitoring the ozone hole over the South Pole since its discovery in the 1980s.

Chlorofluorocarbon levels in the earth's atmosphere have been declining since the mid-1990s due to international efforts to reduce emissions.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060520/ap_on_sc/japan_ozone_hole;_ylt=Aod5eXNKhQ6emti.5_gtLpSs0NUE ;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MzV0MTdmBHNlYwM3NTM-)

[Logos]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5009250.stm

"The web should remain neutral and resist attempts to fragment it into different services, web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee has said."

{snip}

"The British scientist developed the web in 1989 as an academic tool to allow scientists to share data. Since then it has exploded into every area of life."

[Scheherazade]

Comic book heroine Batwoman is to make a comeback as a "lipstick lesbian" who moonlights as a crime fighter, a DC Comics spokesman has confirmed. Batwoman - real name Kathy Kane - will appear in 52, a year-long DC Comics publication that began this month.

In her latest incarnation, she is a rich socialite who has a romantic history with another 52 character, ex-police detective Renee Montoya.

52 will be published in the UK as a graphic novel by Titan Books in 2007.

The series is set in a world in which established superheroes like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman no longer play a part.

Reinvention

The new-look Batwoman is just one of a wave of ethnically and sexually diverse characters entering the DC Comics universe.

Others include Mexican teenager Blue Beetle - who replaces the character's previous white incarnation - and the Great Ten, a government-sponsored team of Chinese superheroes.

Regular characters Firestorm and The Atom, meanwhile, have been reinvented as black and Asian heroes respectively.

The characters are part of a wider effort to broaden the make-up of comic-book creations in line with society as a whole.

Batwoman, who first appeared in July 1956, has not been seen since September 1979 when she was killed by the League of Assassins and the Bronze Tiger.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5030518.stm

[Scheherazade]

A couple in Italy have been arrested for using a World War II bomb as a garden ornament. The bomb, dropped by the RAF during a raid over Arezzo in northern Italy, still contained high explosive but had never gone off.

The couple said they were convinced it was harmless.

The bomb had been transformed by the couple into a garden fountain to decorate the grounds of their new home, and had 60kgs of TNT in it.

Police said if someone had smoked a cigarette near the bomb, it could well have blown up the house.

Incredibly, it had been moved several times.

The businessman, who runs a construction company, had found it eight years ago while digging at a work site near Arezzo.

He had contacted police but the find was never followed up.

Convinced it was empty, he dragged it to his warehouse where it remained.

Then two years ago, he decided to install the bomb in his new garden feature.

This week, while chatting to a policeman over a beer, he casually asked whether he needed a licence to keep it. The next morning a squad of military policeman arrived at the house, and the man and his wife were arrested.

Under Italian law, all unexploded ordnance must be reported.

The couple have since been bailed and the bomb successfully defused.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5038368.stm

[Scheherazade]

Students are outsourcing coursework in a phenomenon dubbed "contract cheating", academics have found. Researchers at Birmingham's University of Central England found coursework being put out to tender on the internet and suppliers bidding to finish it.

The students used legitimate websites normally used by businesses offering freelance project work.

The researchers found one in 10 of all bid requests submitted to one website were from students.

It appears to be a twist on the well-established practice of buying essays via websites which are advertising for such business.

Lecturer Thomas Lancaster carried out the research with his colleague Robert Clarke.

'Middle men'

In a two-month period they identified 236 unique individuals outsourcing coursework - 102 of whom were from the UK, from 46 separate institutions.

They also found individuals who were advertising dozens of assignments from more than one institution.

Dr Lancaster said this suggested agencies were acting as "middle men" and offering to do coursework before outsourcing it themselves.

Dr Lancaster first became alerted to the practice when he found a piece of work he had assigned was being put out to tender on one of the websites.

He said: "What we've identified is a new type of cheating where students put their coursework out to tender and suppliers bid to complete it.

"This type of cheating is cost effective for students, because many of the suppliers are internationally based and can complete the set assignments for a few dollars a time."

'Serious concern'

Dr Lancaster said the majority of cheats identified through the website had previously requested between two and seven pieces of work.

He said: "We believe this shows that this form of cheating is becoming habitual.

"As an academic community, we need to take stock of this situation.

"More automated detection techniques are needed to monitor these sites and assessments and academic policies need to be reconsidered to remove the potential for contract cheating to be committed.

"There is a serious concern that, unlike plagiarism, academic institutions are not yet fully aware of the potential prevalence of contract cheating and the measures that can be taken to avoid it."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5071886.stm

[RobinHood3000]

That's really sad. Do they have any idea how much trouble they could save by doing it themselves?

[Scheherazade]

The former Lakeland home of the author of Peter Rabbit has been recreated brick-for-brick in Japan. Beatrix Potter used the money earned from the sale of her children's classic, to buy Hill Top Farm in Sawrey, Cumbria in 1903.

A full-size replica has now been built at a children's zoo near Tokyo.

Despite the popularity of Potter's books in Japan, less is known about the author and it is hoped the recreation of the farm will redress the balance.

'Earthquake proof'

George Wallace, a university professor teaching English literature in Tokyo, has seen both the original and the copy.

He said: "It is an almost exact replica, although it does not have the aged look of the original.

"And buildings in Japan have to be earthquake-proof, so there are one or two small changes."

Richard Foster, who runs The World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness on Windermere, and is chairman of Cumbria's Japan Forum, said it was a good link to the area.

"It's a little bastion of the Lake District out in Japan.

"A nice, light-hearted place for people to go and sample Britain, and in particular, the Lake District."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/5070620.stm

[Scheherazade]

It's goodbye to Baa Baa Black Sheep and Humpty Dumpty for children in primary schools in a central Indian state. The Madhya Pradesh government has banned the teaching of English nursery rhymes in primary schools to "reduce Western influence" on children.

Indian rhymes will now replace their popular English counterparts.

"There is no need for English rhymes when there are Indian rhymes to infuse patriotism in children," says state education minister Narrotam Mishra.

He has asked government primary schools from now on to teach Indian rhymes and tales from the life of Ahilya Bai, the legendary ruler credited with building a number of leading temples in India.

"We want our children to have value education in local colour," Mr Mishra was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times newspaper.

'Churlish'

Many teachers and parents say they are unhappy with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-run state government's move.

"They were melodious rhymes and children love to recite them as much as they love to recite Indian rhymes," Renu, a school teacher, told the BBC.
"Seeing everything in the light of native and foreign, ours and theirs, is not always good," added a parent.

The BBC's Faisal Mohammad Ali in Bhopal says the decision to drop English rhymes is being seen as part of the BJP's efforts to "nationalise" education and press for Hindu thoughts and values in the syllabus.

Leading academician Zamiruddin told the Hindustan Times that the decision was "churlish and thoughtless" unless the government replaced the rhymes with equally popular and easy-to-learn Indian ones.

Private schools are unaffected by the move - and of course nobody can stop the children reciting English rhymes away from state school classrooms, our correspondent says.

'Controversial'

English nursery rhymes have been the subject of many controversies around the world in recent years.

In 2000, education chiefs at Birmingham City Council in the UK published guidelines warning that the rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep should not be taught in schools because it was "racially offensive".

The guidelines were dropped after black parents condemned the advice as ridiculous.

Three years ago, tongue-in-cheek Canadian researchers found that some nursery rhymes send dangerously inaccurate messages to young listeners.
They were concerned that characters in popular rhymes suffer major injuries without receiving proper treatment.

The characters include Humpty Dumpty, who had a great fall, and Jack and Jill, who tumbled down a hill.

A similar study by British doctors found nursery rhymes expose children to far more violent incidents than an average evening watching TV.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5079002.stm

[Jay]

Physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter are to write a science book for children which will be "a bit like Harry Potter", but without the magic.

They aim to explain theoretical physics in an accessible way to youngsters.

Professor Hawking became famous for his bestseller A Brief History of Time, which attempted to simplify cosmology, the Big Bang and black holes.

His daughter Lucy said their forthcoming project would be aimed at people like her own eight-year-old son.

"It is a story for children, which explains the wonders of the universe," she said.

She did not provide any further details, nor a likely publication date.

Professor Hawking - a professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge - has sold more than 10 million copies of A Brief History of Time since it was first published in 1988.

source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5075516.stm)

[Scheherazade]

When a little girl wrote to CS Lewis asking him for an explanation of the Chronicles of Narnia, she never expected to get a reply. But the letter Anne Jenkins from Hertfordshire received when she was just 10-years-old is to be displayed in Queen's University's new CS Lewis Reading Room.

Anne wrote to the Belfast born author in 1961 after being intrigued by a particular passage in The Silver Chair.

Recalling that time, Anne said she was fascinated by the books and the mystical world of Narnia.

"I just used to scrutinise them quite carefully and it was a little bit at the end of The Silver Chair, that I just didn't understand what he was saying," she said.

"It was where the dead king Caspian is brought back to life by Aslan the lion's blood and Eustace says 'hasn't he died' and the lion says 'yes he has died, most people have you know, even I have, there are very few people who haven't'.

"For some reason this stuck in my brain , so I asked my parents what does he mean by saying that most people have died?

"They didn't know, so they said that I should write and ask him."

Christian theme

And as far as Anne is aware, her letter is the only known document from the author which supports the argument that Alsan represented Jesus Christ.

Anne said she has often thought about what exactly was in the author's mind at the time he wrote to her.

"I think it must have been the mood he was in at the time, his wife had died a couple of years before, maybe he was just thinking about it a lot at the time," she said.

"I see it as a coincidence, but maybe not."

In the letter Lewis simply states that the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tells the story of the "Crucifixion of Christ and the resurrection".

He also explains that the story of Prince Caspian "tells the restoration of the true religion after the corruption".

"If you read the letter he wrote to other children, none of them are like this at all," Anne said.

Anne believes the letter is just too important a piece of historical literature not to be shared with the world.

"The letter could easily have got lost it is just lucky I have kept it safe all of these years, she said.

"The letter is so valuable and really needs to go into the public domain now rather than where I've kept it in a wardrobe, which is quite appropriate."

The letter will be displayed in Queen's University's new £44m library, which is due to open in 2009.

Until then it will be kept in the university library's special collection.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/5078462.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/uk_enl_1150289274/img/1.jpg

[mono]

Heart Association Urges Trans Fats Limits

The American Heart Association has become the first big health group to urge a specific limit on trans fats in the diet — less than 1 percent of total calories — in new guidelines released Monday.

Also for the first time, the organization's dietary guidelines include lifestyle recommendations, including an emphasis on getting exercise and not smoking.

A panel of specialists in nutrition and heart disease reviewed more than 90 studies to update the dietary advice the association released in 2000. The guidelines are for healthy Americans ages 2 and older.

Rather than slavishly counting calories and grams of fat, people should try something simpler: getting in the habit of cooking with healthier oils, and balancing calories consumed with calories burned through exercise, said Alice Lichtenstein, a Tufts University nutrition expert who chaired the guidelines panel.

Trans fats, or trans fatty acids such as partially hydrogenated oils, are in many cookies, crackers, breads, cakes, French fries and other fried foods. They contribute to heart disease risk by raising LDL, or the bad cholesterol.

Avoiding them and keeping a healthy diet is challenging while eating out as much as Americans do, panel members noted.

Last week, a consumer group sued KFC to try to get the company to stop frying its chicken in trans fats, and other fast-food chains have been pressured to lower such fats as well.

"Total fat reduction alone is not the only answer. It is important what kind of fat you eat," said Linda Van Horn, a Northwestern University dietitian who helped draft the guidelines.

Among the panel's other recommendations:

_Limiting saturated fats to no more than 7 percent of daily calories, down from the 10 percent formerly recommended and the 11 percent most Americans consume. Saturated fats are in meat and dairy products, and in coconut and palm oil.

_Getting at least half an hour of exercise a day.

_Eating fruits and vegetables (not fruit juices) that are deep in color, such as spinach, carrots, peaches and berries.

_Choosing whole-grain, high-fiber foods.

_Eating fish, especially oily fish like salmon and trout, at least twice a week. (Children and pregnant women should follow federal guidelines for avoiding mercury in fish.)

_Choosing lean meats and trying vegetable alternatives.

_Consuming fat-free and 1 percent fat milk and other dairy products.

_Minimizing calories from beverages and avoiding ones with added sugars.

_Adding little or no salt to foods.

_Drinking alcohol in moderation.

The guidelines were published in the association's journal Circulation. For a free brochure, visit http://www.americanheart.org or call 1-800-AHA-USA1.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060619/ap_on_sc/diet_guidelines;_ylt=AkHZLRc3ygZhsLrcNW2ZtU.s0NUE; _ylu=X3oDMTA3czJjNGZoBHNlYwM3NTE-)

[Scheherazade]

Life mirrored art - or at least a nursery tale - when a West Vancouver woman came home to find a bear munching oatmeal in her kitchen. The bear was said to have entered the house through an open sliding door, the Vancouver Province newspaper reported.

"It sounds like a nursery rhyme," Sgt Paul Skelton told the paper.

But unlike Goldilocks - caught stealing food in the Three Bears' house in the popular children's story - this bear did not flee when found.

"It appeared to be a one to two-year-old bear - a juvenile - within the kitchen enjoying some oatmeal it had obtained by breaking a ceramic food container," Sgt Skelton said.

"When she saw it, she did the right thing. She vacated the area and called us."

Not aggressive

But the bear paid scant attention as police arrived on the scene, and continued tucking in with little sign of fear or remorse.

"The bear didn't appear to be aggressive and wasn't destroying the house, so they just let it do what it was doing.

"Eventually the bear decided to make its way out of the residence and down toward a forested gully," Sgt Skelton said.

Intrusions are common in the area as bears come out of hibernation, the paper reported, and are happening later than usual this year because of heavy winter snows, according to police.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5097124.stm

[Scheherazade]

Dressed in chic black attire and face covered with a trendy mask, he runs like the wind, leaps over treetops and skyscrapers and fights evil forces with the help of his supernatural powers.

He is Bollywood's very own superhero, in the film Krrish which will hit Indian screens a week before Hollywood's Superman Returns makes its debut.

Well known film director Rakesh Roshan's latest offering has his son and popular actor Hrithik Roshan starring in the film.

Krrish is a sequel to his previous 2003 blockbuster, Koi Mil Gaya (I Found Someone).

Inspired by Steven Spielberg's 1982 feature E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Koi Mil Gaya was about a mentally-challenged young man who meets an alien and is granted supernatural powers by the extra-terrestrial.

Krrish takes the story forward and revolves around the man's son, who is born with similar extraordinary powers and uses them to fight an evil scientist.

New genre

Set in Singapore, the film has the trademark Bollywood song and dance sequences.

Director Rakesh Roshan told the BBC News website that he decided to explore the new genre of an Indian superhero because "nobody else seems to be trying out anything unusual".

"Most of the films revolve around family subjects, dramas and love themes and no one seemed to move away from it," he said.

"I decided I had to take these steps, try something different and raise the bar, increase the standard of films being made here."

Roshan also said a film around a larger-than-life character was possible now because Hrithik fits the bill perfectly.

"Before Hrithik, there was no one I could think of who could play a superhero. His personality and physique made it possible for me to conceptualise such a being," he said.

Eagerly awaited

Indian films have traditionally starred heroes who are capable of extraordinary feats such as fighting any number of men at any given time to emerge victorious. They are also seen jumping out of fast moving trains with as much alacrity as getting atop a galloping horse.

But this is possibly the first time an indigenous hero styled after Spiderman and Superman is being introduced to Indian audiences.

Roshan hired foreign technicians and signed on well-known Hong Kong-based action director Tony Ching Siu-tung, to choreograph all the action sequences.

Siu-tung has already gained recognition for his work in films such as The House Of Flying Daggers, The Hero and Shaolin Soccer.

Krrish was made on a budget of 450 million rupees ($10m) a big-budget film by Bollywood standards.

Trade analyst Vinod Mirani says it is one of the most awaited films of the year because of its novelty and the successful track record of the director.

"We've never had anything like this before.

"Our version of a superhero was Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, who was constantly portrayed as the saviour of the people. Now film audiences have grown and I think we are ready for something new," he says.

He adds: "Rakesh Roshan has delivered some great hits because he understands the audience and makes even the most unlikely scripts plausible to the people. If he succeeds in doing so with this film as well, then this one will also be as big a hit as his last release."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5098600.stm

[mono]

Worker flicks wrong switch, costs Nova $11 mln

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A worker accidentally tripping a shut-off switch at a major Ontario plastics plant will cost Nova Chemicals Corp. $11 million in lost profit, the company said on Wednesday, because it won't be able to fulfill some contracts because of the blunder.

A contractor's employee installing a structural steel platform at an ethylene plant in Corunna, Ontario, mistakenly activated a process shutdown switch on Monday afternoon, halting production and forcing two weeks of repairs at the facility.

"The switch is a safety thing so if anyone sees something going wrong they have the opportunity to shut down the plant," said Nova spokesman Greg Wilkinson. "But that's not what happened here. It was not a safety issue. It was simply inadvertent."

Because of the unexpected shutdown, Nova declared force majeure on shipments of propylene and some other products. Force majeure is a legal term that means a company can't fulfill contracts because of circumstances beyond its control. It will be lifted when the plant returns to normal operating rates and inventory levels.

The company said the outage and lost sales will shave profits by about $8 million in the second quarter and $3 million in the third. According to Reuters Knowledge, analysts, on average, had expected the company to earn $68.2 million in the second quarter.

Nova has launched an investigation into just how the worker hit the button, but the company said its priority is repairing the facility.

Nova's spokesman said later on Wednesday that the company has decided to await the results of its inquiry before making any decision on potential penalties. However Wilkinson said he has some sympathy for the worker.

"I can't imagine how that feels, but it has got to be very distressing," he said.

The Corunna plant is one of Canada's largest plastics facilities, capable of supplying up to 40 percent of the country's primary petrochemical market.

The plant processes crude oil, natural gas condensates and liquids into products like ethylene, propylene, benzene and toluene. Those are in turn used to make plastic resins for the manufacture of small appliances, plastic bottles, carpets, cosmetics and other items.

The facility, located near Sarnia, Ontario, 180 miles (290 kilometers) southwest of Toronto, employees about 1,000.

Shares of Nova, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, but maintains executive offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, fell 26 Canadian cents, or 0.85 percent, to C$30.30 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

($1=$1.11 Canadian)

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060622/od_nm/chemicals_nova_dc;_ylt=AjTRNOquUHoMGet6_hEDlqGs0NU E;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-)

[Scheherazade]

The regimental goat of the 1st Battalion Royal Welch has been demoted - after refusing to keep in step at a parade to mark the Queen's birthday.
Six-year-old William Windsor, otherwise known as Billy, got a dressing down because of his "lack of decorum" at the event at the Episkopi base in Cyprus.

Fusiliers will no longer have to stand to attention when Billy - demoted from Lance Corporal to Fusilier - passes by.

Monarchs since Queen Victoria have presented the regiment with a goat.

Billy, a Kashmir goat given to the 1st Battalion Royal Welch by the Queen in 2001, was on his first overseas posting.

Goat major

The parade on 16 June was held in the presence of a number of invited dignitaries including the ambassadors of Spain, Netherlands and Sweden and the Argentine commander of UN forces on Cyprus.

His handler Lance Corporal Dai Davies, 22, from Neath, South Wales, dubbed the goat major, found he was unable to keep him in line.

"Billy can be badly behaved at times but I didn't think there was anything wrong myself at the time," said the regiment's Captain Crispin Coates.

"However, after the parade he was reported through the chain of command and accused of disobeying a direct order."

But the loss of prestige could be temporary.

According to Captain Coates, Billy is "extremely well known" on Cyprus and highly liked.

"His situation is currently being reviewed and he could regain his rank," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5113188.stm

[RobinHood3000]

...one finds it difficult to know how to respond to this.

[Scheherazade]

...one finds it difficult to know how to respond to this.By saying one finds it difficult to know how to respond to it?

:D

[Scheherazade]

Extra security had to be drafted in to an historic royal palace after people said their food was being stolen. Concert-goers who were at Hampton Court Palace, south-west London, to see the likes of Eric Clapton, complained of cakes and sandwiches going missing.

Eventually a duck was identified as the culprit after being caught on camera taking the food for her ducklings.

Organisers are now urging people to bring secure hampers and cool bags to "be on the safe side".

Hampton Court Palace east front manager Mark Howarth said: "Robin the Duck, as we've nicknamed her, lives in the East Front gardens.

"As soon as everyone has gone into the show and the music starts she appears by the picnics to see what she can raid."

One guest added: "I thought I was losing my marbles when I couldn't find the rest of our sandwiches.

"I was amazed that anyone here would steal food. It's such a relief to discover that it was only the palace duck.

"She obviously has very expensive tastes because she took all my smoked salmon sandwiches. I suppose it also explains why the duck pate was left!"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5114720.stm

[Scheherazade]

Moscow has overtaken Tokyo to become the most expensive city in the world, according to a new study. According to Mercer Human Resource Consulting's annual report, an expat's money stretches three times further in Asuncion, Paraguay - the cheapest city. Mercer said it ranked 144 cities on transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment costs.

After Moscow the world's next most expensive cities are Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and London.

The main cause of Moscow's ascent was a surge in property values, Mercer said in its annual report.

"Steep accommodation costs have contributed to Moscow's high ranking, as the recent property boom has driven up rental prices for expatriates," Mercer said in its report.

'Significant shifts'

Rising prices are also a problem in Russia, where high oil prices helped drive the inflation rate to 5% during the first three months of 2006. The International Monetary Fund has warned that Russia now has little chance of meeting its 2006 inflation target of between 8.5% and 9%.

THE 10 MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES
Moscow, Russia
Seoul, South Korea
Hong Kong, China
London, UK
Osaka, Japan
Geneva, Switzerland
Copenhagen, Denmark
Zurich, Switzerland
Oslo, Norway
New York, US
Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting

"We have seen significant shifts in the cost-of-living rankings over the past few years, reflecting a changing global market," Mercer explained.

Over the past 12 months, London has dropped two places in the rankings, mainly as a result of a decline in the value of the UK pound against the US dollar.

Currency movements have also seen Ukraine move up from 54th to 21st as its hryvnia strengthened against the dollar.

Mercer said its report was often used by companies that sent their workers abroad as foreign, or expatriate, workers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5117480.stm

[mono]

:lol:
Rush Limbaugh under new investigation

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Rush Limbaugh could see a deal with prosecutors in a long-running prescription fraud case collapse after authorities found a bottle of Viagra in his bag at Palm Beach International Airport. The prescription was not in his name.

Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at the airport after returning from a vacation in the Dominican Republic. Customs officials found the Viagra in his luggage but his name was not on the prescription, said
Paul Miller, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

Miller said the alleged violation could be a second-degree misdemeanor. The sheriff's office was investigating and will soon turn the case over to the state attorney's office, which had no immediate comment Tuesday.

Under the deal reached last month with prosecutors, Limbaugh was not to be arrested for any infraction for 18 months in exchange for authorities deferring a charge of "doctor shopping." Prosecutors had alleged the conservative talk-show host illegally deceived multiple physicians to receive overlapping painkiller prescriptions.

Limbaugh also must submit to random drug tests and continue treatment for his admitted addiction to painkillers.

Limbaugh's doctor had prescribed the Viagra, but it was "labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes," Roy Black, Limbaugh's attorney, said in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection examined the 55-year-old radio commentator's luggage after his private plane landed at the airport, Miller said.

Investigators confiscated the drugs, which treat erectile dysfunction. Limbaugh was released without being charged.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060627/ap_on_en_ot/limbaugh_viagra;_ylt=AtNaQbUVkEkEXoJYhhnafhGs0NUE; _ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-)

[Scheherazade]

A German entrepreneur plans to launch the world's first smokers' airline next year, promising a return to the times before planes became smoke-free zones. Alexander Schoppmann, a former stockbroker, is seeking the start-up cash for Smintair - Smoker's International Airways.

On its website Smintair promises to "bring back the exclusivity in flying encountered in the 1960s".

The plan is to fly two leased Boeing 747s on the Duesseldorf-Tokyo route.

Old-fashioned luxuries

The airline will not offer economy-class tickets, but will target business people who enjoy smoking - and who are willing to pay for some extra pampering.

Smoking will be allowed in all 138 seats on board - and there will be extra leg room, because jumbo jets normally accommodate more passengers.

"The upper deck will be the passengers' lounge and not be jammed with seats, as you can sadly find everywhere, nowadays," the website says.

"Allergics against tobacco smoke or militant anti-smokers are asked to not apply," Smintair says on its jobs page.

On the website Mr Schoppmann writes nostalgically about the old times when Lufthansa offered its passengers a vast selection of Montecristo cigars.

He says airline smoking bans were prompted by a desire to economise on air conditioning systems. He promises to restore the old-fashioned system of pumping fresh air through the cabin.

Before it can launch, Smintair needs to find at least 40 million euros (£27.6m) for an operating licence from the German federal aviation authority.

Mr Schoppmann is optimistic his airline will take off next summer.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5121786.stm

[mono]

Tropical Stonehenge may have been found

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A grouping of granite blocks along a grassy Amazon hilltop may be the vestiges of a centuries-old astronomical observatory — a find archaeologists say indicates early rainforest inhabitants were more sophisticated than previously believed.

The 127 blocks, some as high as 9 feet tall, are spaced at regular intervals around the hill, like a crown 100 feet in diameter.

On the shortest day of the year — Dec. 21 — the shadow of one of the blocks, which is set at an angle, disappears.

"It is this block's alignment with the winter solstice that leads us to believe the site was once an astronomical observatory," said Mariana Petry Cabral, an archaeologist at the Amapa State Scientific and Technical Research Institute. "We may be also looking at the remnants of a sophisticated culture."

Anthropologists have long known that local indigenous populations were acute observers of the stars and sun. But the discovery of a physical structure that appears to incorporate this knowledge suggests pre-Columbian Indians in the Amazon rainforest may have been more sophisticated than previously suspected.

"Transforming this kind of knowledge into a monument; the transformation of something ephemeral into something concrete, could indicate the existence of a larger population and of a more complex social organization," Cabral said.

Cabral has been studying the site, near the village of Calcoene, just north of the equator in Amapa state in far northern Brazil, since last year. She believes it was once inhabited by the ancestors of the Palikur Indians, and while the blocks have not yet been submitted to carbon dating, she says pottery shards near the site indicate they are pre-Columbian and maybe older — as much as 2,000 years old.

Last month, archaeologists working on a hillside north of Lima, Peru, announced the discovery of the oldest astronomical observatory in the Western Hemisphere — giant stone carvings, apparently 4,200 years old, that align with sunrise and sunset on Dec. 21.

While the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs built large cities and huge rock structures, pre-Columbian Amazon societies built smaller settlements of wood and clay that quickly deteriorated in the hot, humid Amazon climate, disappearing centuries ago, archaeologists say.

Farmers and fishermen in the region around the Amazon site have long known about it, and the local press has dubbed it the "tropical Stonehenge." Archeologists got involved last year after geographers and geologists did a socio-economic survey of the area, by foot and helicopter, and noticed "the unique circular structure on top of the hill," Cabral said.

Scientists not involved in the discovery said it could prove valuable to understanding pre-Columbian societies in the Amazon.

"No one has ever described something like this before. This is an extremely novel find — a one of a kind type of thing," said Michael Heckenberger of the University of Florida's Department of Anthropology.

He said that while carbon dating and further excavation must be carried out, the find adds to a growing body of thought among archaeologists that prehistory in the Amazon region was more varied than had been believed.

"Given that astronomical objects, stars, constellations etc., have a major importance in much of Amazonian mythology and cosmology, it does not in any way surprise me that such an observatory exists," said Richard Callaghan, a professor of geography, anthropology and archaeology at the University of Calgary.

Brazilian archaeologists will return in August, when the rainy season ends, to carry out carbon dating and further excavations.

"The traditional image is that some time thousands of years ago small groups of tropical forest horticulturists arrived in the area and they never changed — (that) what we see today is just like it was 3,000 years ago," Heckenberger said. "This is one more thing that suggests that through the past thousands of years, societies have changed quite a lot."

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060628/ap_on_sc/brazil_tropical_stonehenge;_ylt=AmWcn_0mVsGMgpRoix DvtF.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MzV0MTdmBHNlYwM3NTM-)

[Scheherazade]

Campaigners in India's Tamil Nadu state say the law is literally an *** after a judge ordered the arrest of a donkey. The animal was kept overnight in a police station after being seized at a rally in which it was used to highlight alleged failings of local officials.

Police said the donkey was evidence from the "scene of a crime". They have been accused of animal cruelty.

The donkey's owners, meanwhile, say they are grateful to get it back after its period of incarceration.

They say that while it is good to have it home again, it is even more stubborn and bad-tempered than normal.

'Unmotivated and mulish'

The story began when two groups working in the district of Kancheepuram asked the animal's owners if they could borrow it as part of their campaign to promote land rights for Irula tribes people.

The Kancheepuram District People's Forum and the Sons of the Soil groups rented the donkey for use in a demonstration against what they say is the lethargy of the authorities in dealing with the issue.

A poster was hung from the donkey's neck during the protest earlier this week in which the district administration was caricatured as "slow to act, unmotivated and mulish".

This gesture angered members of the administration, who filed a complaint with police against the two groups.

They complained that they had been "derided" in the demonstration.

Police then arrested the demonstrators and materials used by them including a tent, a loudspeaker and an amplifier, as well as the donkey.

Detention order

By the time they took the case before Magistrate IG Uthamaraj, it was late in the day. So he remanded the detainees - and the donkey - overnight in custody.

Bewildered police say they did not expect this development, because the usual practice is for animals at crime scenes to be returned to their owners.

But because the animal's owners could not be traced, the magistrate said he had not option but to order its detention.

Officers were heard to complain that their four-legged prisoner was not the easiest of detainees, and was upset about everything from food and drink to the standard of accommodation.

Fortunately for police, the donkey's owners were traced the next day.

They said that they were unaware that the animal had been used for a demonstration when they agreed to hire it out.

Now police have filed a case against the two campaigning groups for animal cruelty. They in turn have accused the police of cruelty.

Owners of the donkey, meanwhile, joke that it is now consulting its lawyers with a view to suing both parties.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5128250.stm

[mono]

Luciano Pavarotti recovering from surgery

Tenor Luciano Pavarotti underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer and is "recovering well," his manager said Friday.

The 70-year-old singer was preparing to leave New York last week to resume his farewell world concert tour in Britain when doctors discovered a malignant pancreatic mass, Terri Robson said from her London office.

"Fortunately, the mass was able to be completely removed at surgery," she said in a statement. "Mr. Pavarotti is recovering well and his physicians are encouraged by the physical and emotional resilience of their patient."

She told The Associated Press he underwent surgery within the past week at a hospital in New York that she declined to identify.

She said he remained hospitalized Friday.

As a result of Pavarotti's treatment, all remaining 2006 concerts have been canceled, she said. It is anticipated that tour plans will resume in early 2007.

Concerts had been scheduled for Finland, Norway, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal in September.

Pavarotti was forced to postpone five June dates because of complications from back surgery. He canceled eight concerts in April, saying he had been advised not to travel or perform while undergoing back treatment.

Because pancreatic cancer is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, it has one of the worst prognoses of all types of malignancies. Less than 4 percent of patients are still alive five years after diagnosis, and most die within a year. Even in the minority of cases where the tumor can be operated on, only about 23 percent remain cancer free.

Robson didn't say what type of pancreatic cancer Pavarotti had. In 2004, Apple Computer Inc.'s
Steve Jobs said he had a less-lethal form of the disease and that doctors had successfully removed his cancerous tumor.

Pavarotti made his debut as Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme" at Reggio Emilia, Italy, in 1961, and took advantage of the television age to become the world's most widely recognized opera singer.

He made his American debut in Miami in 1965 opposite Joan Sutherland in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" and his
Metropolitan Opera debut in New York on Nov. 23, 1968, in "La Boheme." He became a star when he nailed the nine high Cs in "Ah! Mes amis" as Tonio in Donizetti's "La Fille du Regiment" at the Met in 1972.

His Met finale, on March 13, 2004, was his 379th performance with the company. He sang 140 times at Milan's Teatro all La Scala, 100 at London's Royal Opera, 76 each with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Opera, 48 at the Opera de Paris and 45 at the Vienna State Opera.

He retired from opera two years ago, saying his weight problem and bad knee prevented him from moving comfortably around stages. But he kept up with his concert career.

Pavarotti joined with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras to form The Three Tenors, who sang 34 concerts from 1990 through 2003. They sang together before four World Cup finals, at Rome (1990), Los Angeles (1994), Paris (1998) and Yokohama, Japan (2002).

Domingo was to be joined Friday night by tenor Rolando Villazon and soprano Anna Netrebko for this year's pre-World Cup final concert in Berlin.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060707/ap_on_en_mu/pavarotti_cancer;_ylt=ApQdc6LC5EG22VbfZn7bxjms0NUE ;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-)

[mono]

Spain confirms its first case of bird flu

MADRID, Spain - Spain has recorded its first case of H5N1 bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday. The deadly strain was found in a water fowl in a marsh area outside the northern city of Vitoria.

A protective area of 2 miles was declared outside the area where the bird — known as a great crested grebe — was found, the ministry statement said.

Spanish officials said late last year, as bird flu spread to several European countries, that it was only a matter of time before the disease made it to this country, which is on the route of northern-bound migratory birds from Africa.

Preventive measures taken so far had included banning outdoor poultry farming within a 6-mile radius of marshlands where migratory birds tend to gather.

Bird flu has killed at least 131 people worldwide since it started ravaging Asian poultry farms in late 2003, according to the WHO. Most human cases have been linked to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that makes it more easily transmissible among humans.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060708/ap_on_he_me/spain_bird_flu;_ylt=AvLBrO4PXy45X7JMWj6a_iys0NUE;_ ylu=X3oDMTA3czJjNGZoBHNlYwM3NTE-)

[Scheherazade]

People can live long, happy lives without consuming large amounts of the Earth's resources, a survey suggests. The 178-nation "Happy Planet Index" lists the south Pacific island of Vanuatu as the happiest nation on the planet, while the UK is ranked 108th.

The index is based on consumption levels, life expectancy and happiness, rather than national economic wealth measurements such as GDP.

The study was compiled by think-tank the New Economics Foundation (Nef).

Size doesn't matter

One of the authors, Nef's Nic Marks, said the aim of the index was to show that well-being did not have to be linked to high levels of consumption.

'HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH'

Population: 209,000
GDP/capita: $2,900 (£1,575)
Climate: tropical
Resources: forests, fish
Economy: agriculture, tourism
Environmental issues: deforestation and clean water
Source: CIA Handbook 2006

"It is clear that no single nation listed in the index has got everything right, but it does reveal patterns that show how we might better achieve long and happy lives for all while living within our environmental means," Mr Marks said.

The small island state of Vanuatu is situated in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, and has a population of 209,000. Its economy is built around small-scale agriculture and tourism.

Latin American nations dominate the top 10 places in the index, while African and Eastern European nations fill most of the bottom 10.

Among the world's largest economies, Germany is ranked 81st, Japan 95th, while the US comes in at 150th.

Richard Layard, director of the Well-Being Programme at the London School of Economics' Centre for Economic Performance, said that the index was an interesting way to tackle the issue of modern life's environmental impact.

"It reminds us that it is not good enough to be happy today if we are impoverishing future generations through global warming.

"Over the last 50 years, living standards in the West have improved enormously but we have become no happier," Mr Layard told the BBC.

"This shows we should not sacrifice human relationships, which are the main source of happiness, for the sake of economic growth."

Although Vanuatu tops the happiness index, it is ranked 207th out of 233 economies when measured against Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Simon Bullock, economics co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth, which helped compile the data, said the findings showed that happiness did not have to cost the Earth.

"The UK economy hoovers up vast quantities of the world's scarce resources, yet British people are no happier than Colombians, who use far fewer," he said.

"The current crude focus on GDP is outdated, destructive and doesn't deliver a better quality of life."

Nef is calling for the adoption of a "global manifesto for a happier planet" that will list ways nations can live within their environmental limits and increase people's quality of life. The recommendations include:

Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
Recognising the contribution of individuals and unpaid work
Ensuring economic policies stay within environmental limits

The index builds on a report that Nef published earlier this year that warned if annual global consumption levels matched the UK's, it would take 3.1 Earths to meet the demand.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5169448.stm

[mono]

China con man proves money doesn't grow on trees

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese man who conned dozens of farmers out of 2 million yuan ($250,400) to grow trees he said would be used in the 2008 Olympics has been jailed for 12 years, a Chinese newspaper said Tuesday.

Liu Lutang was barking up the wrong tree when he duped more than 50 farmers into contracts to buy saplings of a maple tree for 20 yuan ($2.50) each, promising them he would buy them back at a higher price after six months, the Beijing News said.

"He told the farmers (they) would be used in the Olympics," the paper said.

Liu, who had set up a bogus forestry company with offices in several Chinese cities, convinced the farmers the trees would sprout six to eight branches in a year and that he would pay them 8 yuan ($1) per branch, the paper said.

Liu's con was perpetrated between December 2001 and March 2002. He was arrested in 2002, but then skipped bail and evaded police for nearly three years, the paper said.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060711/od_nm/china_trees_dc;_ylt=AjUevPVHxOpMAE4naLzOFrgSH9EA;_ ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--)

[mono]

Shakespeare book sells for more than $5M

LONDON - A rare complete copy of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, widely regarded as one of the most important books in the English language, sold for $5.2 million at auction Thursday.

London dealer Simon Finch Rare Books purchased the book — still in its original 17th-century calfskin binding — during a sale at Sotheby's.

The book is one of about 40 complete copies known to exist and one of the few in private hands. Its value was estimated at between $4.6 million and 6.4 million.

Formally titled "Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies," the First Folio was produced in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death. It contains 36 plays, of which 18 — including "Macbeth" and "Twelfth Night" — were published there for the first time. Without the book, scholars say, those plays might have been lost.

Of some 750 copies of the First Folio, about a third have survived, though most of them have lost pages over the years, the auction house said. All but a few copies are in museums, universities or libraries.

"Relatively complete copies of the Folio in contemporary or near-contemporary bindings very rarely come to the market," said Peter Selley, Sotheby's English literature specialist. "There is only one copy recorded as remaining in private hands."

Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen bought a copy of the First Folio for $6,166,000 at Christie's in New York in 2001.

The book auctioned Thursday was sold by the trustees of Dr. Williams' Library, a private London library established in the early 18th century under the will of Daniel Williams, a government minister.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060713/ap_en_ot/books_first_folio;_ylt=AgaE4Z3cMpPrYkeT9uIUiD9X24c A;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--)

[mono]

Suspected thief robs judge at own trial

BERLIN (Reuters) - A 61-year-old German on trial for theft got himself into more trouble when he stole from the judge during his court hearing, police said Thursday.

Police in the central town of Coburg said that while facing her at the bench, the man pocketed a bunch of keys from the judge, who did not notice until he had left the room.

When confronted by court officials in the toilet, the man, who had a string of convictions for theft, told them he had been shocked to discover the keys in his pocket.

"He told them he realized how suspicious his story would sound and that he had therefore hidden the keys under a toilet brush," said police spokesman Bernhard Schmitt. "He'd been stealing all his life so it was probably just an intuitive act."

While the court officials decided what to do next, the man wrote a written confession to the deed. The theft meant the initial trial had to be temporarily suspended on legal grounds in case the judge showed bias in the case.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060714/od_nm/germany_thief_dc;_ylt=Apim_uO0uCD_CveZuMSyE9.s0NUE ;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-)

[Scheherazade]

A clinic that offers treatment for people addicted to playing computer games has opened in the Netherlands. The service, run by addiction consultancy Smith and Jones, offers a program lasting up to eight weeks.

The clinic estimates that up to 20% of gamers, many of which are children, could develop a dependency.

Compulsive gamers have similar symptoms to gambling addicts, they say, and risk damage to relationships, health, education and their careers.

"I lived in my room. I have 4 televisions around me, with one X-Box 360, PlayStation 2, X-Box 1 and a Game Cube and a lap-top, where I can play online games," said Tim, a 21 year old who has received treatment at the clinic.

Tim played games for up to 17 hours a day.

Obsessive behaviour

The new eight-bed residential clinic in Amsterdam was set up in response to a growing demand for people with gaming addictions. It is the first of its kind in Europe.

Initially gaming was a secondary issue for many of the patients who came to the clinic to seek help for other addictions.

Eventually the sheer number of addicts forced the clinic to set up a dedicated programme.

"They kept on coming in so we started taking it more and more seriously," said Keith Bakker, an addiction consultant at the centre.

Addicted gamers display many symptoms, including obsessive thinking and health problems. Others may use stimulants to keep awake during gaming marathons.

Some who play online multiplayer games may feel extreme guilt about leaving fellow gamers if they switch their console off.

Last year a man in South Korea died after spending 50 hours playing an online game.

Addicts may also experience "time warps" where all other activities are replaced with gaming. This can take extreme forms.

Tim could not even wrestle himself away from the screen for long enough to go to the toilet.

"I take an empty bottle and I pee into it," he said.

The treatment involves a period of detox when patients are not allowed access to any computer games.

This is followed by group therapy and sessions with psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists.

The clinic also tries to find replacement activities to fill the void left by giving up gaming.

"We help them find other ways to deal with life and they begin to develop true self esteem," says Mr Bakker.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5191678.stm

[Scheherazade]

It was a strange sight for a wedding reception. The newly married couple lying down in makeshift beds, donating blood.

For the 40-year-old bridegroom, such donations have become routine.

He is popularly known as Blood Kumar.

An employee of the Indian Space Research Organisation, which has its headquarters in Bangalore, Blood Kumar is the doyen of the local blood donor circuit.

'A mission'

He said that it seemed obvious to turn his wedding ceremony into a collective blood donor session.

Guests arriving with presents found themselves cajoled by Blood Kumar and his wife Mangalam to join the blood party, held at a corner of the wedding hall in a busy part of the city.

Most of the 52 invitees ranging from film stars to high-powered businessmen - were supportive of the initiative.

"I don't think he is crazy. It is a mission for him. I thought this was a good opportunity to donate blood and encourage him to do what he is doing," said C Dinesh Kumar, an executive with a leading bank.

"I thought this was the best way to spread the message," said Blood Kumar, who braved opposition from his parents to link the reception with a blood donation session.

"Shedding blood on an occasion like a wedding is considered inauspicious," he explained.

"A lot of people think I am mad but I don't care what they say. I was determined that my wedding - our special day - would also be a blood donor's party."

Children dying

Blood Kumar said that his wife, who was a first-time donor, was initially nervous.

"She is getting to know me and is very supportive," said Blood Kumar with reassuring confidence.

The blood donation at his wedding is the 81st to be completed by him since his mission began when he saw many children dying in a circus fire in the 1980s.

"I went to the hospital and saw the need for blood to save lives. From then on I have not stopped," he said.

Blood Kumar now makes sure that he is rarely more than a telephone call away during emergencies, and has even taken steps to update a blood donor directory that is a godsend to needy friends and strangers.

Local medics are also impressed.

"Blood camps are often considered insignificant events," said Manipal Hospital's Transfusion Services chief C Shivaram.

"But it is only when you link them with functions like weddings or birthdays that people stop and take notice.

"That is why we encourage blood donation camps, so that the message goes out in a big way."

Bangalore - with a population of over six million - needs 500 to 600 bottles of blood a day for emergencies.

Half the requirement is met by voluntary donors.

"But we need more to meet the shortage, because many lives can be saved in this way," said Mr Shivaram.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5192030.stm

[mono]

Not really 'news,' but interesting, nonetheless . . . :D

Genghis Khan, Renaissance guy...

BEIJING (Reuters) - Genghis Khan -- notorious as the ruthless, bloodthirsty creator of an empire that spanned Asia and Europe -- also laid the foundations for the Renaissance, China's Xinhua news agency said Thursday.

"Genghis Khan introduced papermaking and printing technologies to Europe and pioneered cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe," it quoted Zhu Yaoting, a specialist on Mongolian history at Beijing Union University, as saying.

"He brought cultural progress that helped liberate the Europeans from the bondage of theology -- in this sense, his expeditions served as a catalyst for the Renaissance," he said.

Genghis Khan's expeditions to Europe also reopened the Silk Road and laid the path for Marco Polo's historic trip to China.

"The expedition revived the ancient trade link and made economic and cultural exchanges possible again between the isolated civilizations," said Chen Yuning, a professor at Ningxia University.

Last month, state media said Genghis Khan could also be considered the founder of globalization for forming the largest contiguous land empire in history. The 800th anniversary of his uniting Mongol tribes, the beginnings of his empire, is being commemorated this year.

History is divided on when the Renaissance started and some historians believe there were a number of Renaissance periods in Europe starting from the 12th century. The Italian Renaissance in the 15th century is perhaps the most famous, during which the arts and sciences, particularly mathematics and astronomy, flourished.

China has also in the past made numerous other unusual historical claims, including the contention the Chinese invented football and golf.

And some Chinese academics say China "discovered" America decades before Christopher Columbus.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060720/od_nm/mongolia_genghis_dc;_ylt=Ai88Inx1RelsOZ1KdUqTeiys0 NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-)

[mono]

Doggie hotel opens -- 23 dollars a night, television optional

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Washingtonians can now drop their pooches off at a pet hotel that cares for their friendly canines in a five-star environment -- pet-themed television shows optional.

In the mahogany paneled lobby of the PetSmart PetHotel, which just opened in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, the pets' human "parents" line up to plunk down 23 dollars plus tax for each night their pooch stays.

The doggie hotel is nothing like kennels of yore: in this inn there is lactose-free ice cream, indoor recreation, and for 10 more dollars a night, pooch can stay in a roomier "suite" with a television set showing an "animal related movie all day," said Vince Malanaphy, who manages the Bethesda PetsHotel.

"It helps them to relax and to adjust as they are used to hearing TV at home," Malanaphy says.

In one "suite" a little white poodle named Bijou is lost in the embrace of Morpheus with "Little Nemo" and his cartoon friends swimming by in an eternal loop on the TV set.

A stay at "Doggie Day Camp" without the overnight goes for 20 dollars the day.

Half of the boarders come every day. "It's better than leaving them at home alone," said Cyra, one of the pet "mothers," as she drops off her Labrador and her poodle for Day Camp before running off to the office. Here "they can socialize," she said.

For potty breaks there is a 20 square meter (215 square foot) "relief room" complete with a plastic tree. "For security reasons, no outdoor walking," says Malanaphy.

Meredith, in charge of animal recreation, says that if dogs "are aggressive or play too rough, we give them a time out in a cage" for 15 minutes. "After twice, they get the message," she says.

The Bethesda site has room for 180 dogs and 26 cats. Cats stay in plexiglass cages known as "kitty cottages" for a mere 14 dollars plus tax a night, which includes 15 minutes of TLC -- Tender Loving Care, otherwise known as petting.

The Phoenix, Arizona-based PetSmart Inc. launched the pet hotel concept three years ago and it is "the fastest growing sector" of the pet business, said spokesman Bruce Richardson. "Now we have 32 hotels; we anticipate 240 by 2010," he said.

Gina Martin, a consumer retail analyst at Wachovia Bank, sees only growth in the pet care industry.

"General spending for pets is growing at an extraordinary pace," said Martin. "There is a trend for the treatment of the pet as another human being."

Americans spend nearly 40 billion dollars a year on their household pets -- 30 percent more than five years ago. The figure is close to what Americans spend on toys for children -- 48 billion dollars -- and more than twice the 17 billion spent on cosmetics, Martin said.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060718/ts_alt_afp/afplifestyleusanimalshotelpetsoffbeat;_ylt=ApmdMdw g9nx4cN.9CO3a7uys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM 5NjQ-)

[Scheherazade]

Increasing numbers of Americans are becoming too fat to fit into X-ray machines, US researchers report. The nation's rising obesity problems mean many citizens are not only too large for scanners but they have too much fat for the rays to penetrate.

Over the past 15 years, the number of failed scans linked to patient obesity has doubled, Radiology journal reports.

The problem is not confined to scanners. UK hospitals have had to make their beds stronger for obese patients.

And airlines are designing aircraft to carry heavier loads because passengers are becoming plumper.

Dr Raul Uppot and colleagues, who work in radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, had noticed that they were seeing more and more patients whose weight prevented them from having medical scans.

He and his team decided to look back at radiology reports between 1989 and 2003 to see the extent of the problem.

Missed diagnoses

Year on year they saw a small but significant increase in the number of scans that had to be abandoned because the patient was too fat.

Ultrasound images were affected the most because the sound waves need to penetrate the skin and fatty tissue before reaching the organs being examined.

The study authors warned that important diagnoses could be missed if people could not be scanned.

The US government says 64% of the population are overweight.

Dr Colin Wayne of the UK's National Obesity Forum said the UK was showing a similar trend.

"The obesity rates in the US have been going up relentlessly. Sadly, in the UK we are following in their wake.

"The UK is now the fastest growing country in Europe for rising obesity.

"It's worrying if people can't get the necessary investigations. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. It is the epidemic of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases that will follow in the wake of obesity that is even more worrying."

Professor Adrian Dixon of the Royal College of Radiologists said: "It is a real problem and it is getting worse. People are getting fatter."

"One may not be able to offer the obese patient the best possible imaging test because of their weight," he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5219884.stm

[mono]

Uncensored 'On the Road' to be published

LOWELL, Mass. - Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" will be published in its unedited original scroll version by Viking Press, which published the Beat Generation classic in September 1957.

John Sampas, executor of the writer's literary estate and brother of Stella Sampas, Kerouac's third wife, said he has signed a contract with Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group USA. He hopes the work will be out by the end of next year, the 50th anniversary of the publication.

"Incidents in the original were edited out of the published version because of the censorship of the time," said Sampas, who noted that some of the edited sections refer to drugs and sex. "On the scroll, entire paragraphs are crossed out and not included in the published version."

Sampras said the new version will be in book form, but taken from the original scroll. Any sections Kerouac had crossed out before turning it into the publisher will be excluded in the new edition.

In 1951, Kerouac, hopped up on coffee and Benzedrine, sat at a typewriter and began retelling the tale of an aimless trek he made across America. In a spontaneous, stream-of-consciousness burst, he typed on long sheets of tracing paper, taping each finished page to the previous one to form one continuous, rolling text.

Published six years later, "On the Road" won critical praise and became an icon of the post-World War II subculture of intellectuals, writers, musicians and rebels who identified with the freedom of Kerouac's cross-country odyssey and embraced his disdain for 1950s conformity.

The original, 120-foot, coffee-stained scroll that is yellowing with age was purchased in 2001 by James Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, for $2.43 million. The scroll is touring U.S. museums and libraries.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060726/ap_en_ot/books_on_the_road;_ylt=Ag_T0Zq7gI9nk3cmw0gZI4qs0NU E;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-)

[Scheherazade]

The age-old argument over the best way to cook the perfect boiled egg could be a thing of the past thanks to a new hi-tech ink logo going on shells. After cooking begins, an invisible, temperature-sensitive thermochromic print appears in black to indicate when an egg is soft, medium or hard-boiled.

The eggs, developed by UK assurance scheme Lion Quality, will be sold in three different types of cartons.

The new logos will start to appear on eggs in the next few months.

'Big issue'

"We had a lot of inquiries from people which sparked an interest in the industry," said a spokeswoman for Lion Quality.

"We said OK, this is a big issue - people can't even boil an egg."

The best technique has taxed some of the greatest culinary experts in the past.

In a 2005 survey conducted by the magazine Waitrose Food Illustrated, five leading chefs all came up with different solutions.

And in 1998, a TV series presented by Delia Smith included one show concentrating on the finer points of boiling an egg.

Smith said her How To Cook programme on the BBC intended to re-introduce people to the pleasures of cooking and herald a return to basic skills.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5226338.stm

[RobinHood3000]

Curing culinary incompetence everywhere!

[mono]

Something known for years, but never put so simply . . .

Slower breathing may lower blood pressure

WASHINGTON - Take a slow deep breath, then exhale just as slowly. Can you take fewer than 10 breaths a minute? Research suggests breathing that slowly for a few minutes a day is enough to help some people nudge down bad blood pressure.

Why would that brief interlude of calm really work? A scientist at the
National Institutes of Health thinks how we breathe may hold a key to how the body regulates blood pressure — and that it has less to do with relaxation than with breaking down all that salt most of us eat.

Now Dr. David Anderson is trying to prove it, with the help of a special gadget that trains volunteers with hypertension to slow-breathe.

If he's right, the work could shed new light on the intersection between hypertension, stress and diet.

"If you sit there under-breathing all day and you have a high salt intake, your kidneys may be less effective at getting rid of that salt than if you're out hiking in the woods," said Anderson, who heads research into behavior and hypertension at the NIH's National Institute on Aging.

An estimated 65 million Americans have high blood pressure, putting them at increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney damage, blindness and dementia. Many don't know it. Hypertension is often called the silent killer, because patients may notice no symptoms until it already has done serious damage.

Anyone can get high blood pressure, measured as a level of 140 over 90 or more. But being overweight and inactive, and eating too much salt — Americans eat nearly double the upper limit for good health — all increase the risk. Indeed, losing weight, physical activity and cutting sodium are the most effective lifestyle changes people can make to lower blood pressure. Still, most hypertension patients need medications, too.

While they know risk factors, scientists don't fully understand the root causes of hypertension: What skews the body's usually finely tuned mechanisms for regulating the force of blood pounding against artery walls, until it can't compensate for some extra pounds on a couch potato? Understanding those mechanisms could point to better ways to prevent and treat hypertension.

Enter breathing.

Meditation, yoga and similar relaxation techniques that incorporate slow, deep breathing have long been thought to aid blood pressure, although research to prove an effect has been spotty.

Then in 2002, the
Food and Drug Administration cleared the nonprescription sale of a medical device called RESPeRATE, to help lower blood pressure by pacing breathing. The Internet-sold device counts breaths by sensing chest or abdominal movement, and sounds gradually slowing chimes that signal when to inhale and exhale. Users follow the tone until their breathing slows from the usual 16 to 19 breaths a minute to 10 or fewer.

In clinical trials funded by maker InterCure Inc., people who used the slow-breathing device for 15 minutes a day for two months saw their blood pressure drop 10 to 15 points. It's not supposed to be a substitute for diet, exercise or medication, but an addition to standard treatment.

Why slow-breathing works "is still a bit of a black box," says Dr. William J. Elliott of Chicago's Rush University Medical Center, who headed some of that research and was surprised at the effect.

Slow, deep breathing does relax and dilate blood vessels temporarily, but that's not enough to explain a lasting drop in blood pressure, says NIH's Anderson.

So, in a laboratory at Baltimore's Harbor Hospital, Anderson is using the machine to test his own theory: When under chronic stress, people tend to take shallow breaths and unconsciously hold them, what Anderson calls inhibitory breathing. Holding a breath diverts more blood to the brain to increase alertness — good if the boss is yelling — but it knocks off kilter the blood's chemical balance. More acidic blood in turn makes the kidneys less efficient at pumping out sodium.

In animals, Anderson's experiments have shown that inhibitory breathing delays salt excretion enough to raise blood pressure. Now he's testing if better breathing helps people reverse that effect.

"They may be changing their blood gases and the way their kidneys are regulating salt," he says.

If Anderson's right, it would offer another explanation for why hypertension is what he calls "a disease of civilization and a sedentary lifestyle."

Meanwhile, health authorities recommend that everyone take simple steps to lower blood pressure: by dropping a few pounds, taking a walk or getting physical activity, and eating less sodium — no more than 2,300 milligrams a day — and more fruits and vegetables.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060801/ap_on_he_me/healthbeat_blood_pressure;_ylt=AhQE_MKbaMlrGCiXzUp aFQes0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3czJjNGZoBHNlYwM3NTE-)

[Scheherazade]

A lavish wedding in a French town which saw the happy couple showered in confetti made from shredded euro notes has caused outrage. Residents of the southern town of Sete were up in arms after the bride and groom were covered in confetti made from 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro notes.

They also lodged a formal complaint, as destruction of banknotes is a crime.

But according to reports, the money was worthless - the euros were defective and bound for the incinerator.

'Revolting'

The controversy began after townsfolk had seen the confetti at the 8 July wedding and formed a collective to force local officials to react.

"It's revolting that people have to see their minimum wage turned into confetti lying on the street," one member of the collective said.

The scandal-causing confetti was part of a lavish ceremony attended by more than 200 guests, which included a fireworks display costing more than 40,000 euros ($51,000), according to French newspaper Liberation.

The doomed notes had been procured by a friend of the bride's family.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5237966.stm

[Scheherazade]

Railway officials in India have come up with a novel way of stopping monkeys intimidating passengers - by training another ape to scare them off.

The langur monkey, which has been trained since the age of three months, has been patrolling stations on a leash.

It comes after a series of complaints about aggressive monkeys boarding trains in New Delhi and upsetting passengers.

In June, a monkey boarded a train at the underground Chawri Bazaar station and reportedly scared passengers by scowling at them for three stops.

It then got off at Civil Lines station.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation says it hopes its new special agent will avert a repeat of such episodes.

Metro spokesman Anuj Dayal said: "It started working about a month ago and since then we've not had a single incident."

The langur's keeper - or langurwallah - is being paid 6,900 rupees - about £79 - a month.

Langur monkeys are similarly employed around the grounds of parliament and some government buildings in New Delhi.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13536000,00.html

[Virgil]

Railway officials in India have come up with a novel way of stopping monkeys intimidating passengers - by training another ape to scare them off.

The langur monkey, which has been trained since the age of three months, has been patrolling stations on a leash.

It comes after a series of complaints about aggressive monkeys boarding trains in New Delhi and upsetting passengers.

In June, a monkey boarded a train at the underground Chawri Bazaar station and reportedly scared passengers by scowling at them for three stops.

It then got off at Civil Lines station.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation says it hopes its new special agent will avert a repeat of such episodes.

Metro spokesman Anuj Dayal said: "It started working about a month ago and since then we've not had a single incident."

The langur's keeper - or langurwallah - is being paid 6,900 rupees - about £79 - a month.

Langur monkeys are similarly employed around the grounds of parliament and some government buildings in New Delhi.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13536000,00.html
It sounds like the beginning of our road to Planet of the Apes!! :lol:

[Scheherazade]

Teachers should stop calling bright pupils "clever" for fear they might not be considered "cool" by classmates, a union has been told. Instead they should refer to academic high-achievers as "successful", the Professional Association of Teachers' conference in Oxford heard.

Simon Smith, a teacher from Essex, said it was important to avoid a culture which "mocks being clever".

A government spokesman said it was "not the brightest idea we have heard".

'Semantic debates'

He added: "The education system is about ensuring that every child is supported and also challenged to achieve the very best that they can. Semantic debates will not achieve this."

Last year, the union voted to replace the word "failure" with "deferred success".

Mr Smith said: "Change the language we use; change something.

"If we were to use the word 'successful' rather than 'clever' we could all achieve it at our own level and in our own way.

"With a few exceptions, including sport, academic prowess is in many eyes not 'cool'."

Shadow schools minister Nick Gibb said: "In this information age, where an increasing number of jobs are in the creative industries, it is vital that all children aspire to academic excellence, whatever their background or ability."

Last month, an "excellent" student revealed she had had a mark taken away in a mock GCSE exam for giving an answer which a teacher deemed "too sophisticated".

Katie Merchant, 16, of Brighton College, missed a "key word" in a Latin test, although she showed more than enough knowledge for a full mark.

Headmaster Richard Cairns said the OCR exam board's assessment scheme, which the school used, was "too mechanistic".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5241524.stm

[RobinHood3000]

:brickwall :brickwall :brickwall :brickwall :brickwall

WHY???

Behold the collapse of independent thinking...where feelings become more important than emotional stability.

[Scheherazade]

Robin> Yes, soon we will start praising those students who refuse to do their homework or show any interest in their lessons... and punishing those who do is not too far in the future either!


Artwork 'changes to suit moods'

Artwork that changes to suit a viewer's mood has been created by scientists.
The technology, developed by a UK/US team, enables a digital painting to recognise a person's emotional state and respond accordingly.

Angry faces prompt an image with darker colours, applied in violent brush stokes; a happier person will see more vibrant shades, subtly daubed.

The team said they hope it would provide an interactive experience for art lovers.

The technology, designed by scientists at the University of Bath and Boston University, renders any digital photograph to look like a painting.

As the artwork is viewed, a webcam positioned just above the picture captures the observer's face, allowing it to be analysed by a computer program.

Checking for key facial features, such as the curl of the mouth, brow furrow and the openness of the eyes, the program can work out the apparent emotional state of the viewer.

And in real time, the digital image responds to best suit the mood of the watcher.

Picture psychology

Researcher Dr John Collomosse, from the Computer Science Department at the University of Bath, said the team looked at image psychology to ascertain how the variations should correspond to emotional states.

The image can alter the look of the brushstrokes, background and colours to match disposition.

"This results in a digital canvas that smoothly varies its colours and style, and provides a novel interactive artistic experience," he added.

He said the drive for the project had arisen from research into producing synthetic artwork from photos and videos.

He said: "There are a lot of artworks that haven't made it through to end users because they are fiddly to control - there are a lot of parameters that need to be set.

"With this, a viewer can use facial expression to set the parameters.

"I think it is a really exciting area - digital photography has really taken off, and there is a market emerging for tools to manage and manipulate digital photos."

The work was recently presented at the Non-Photorealistic Animation and Rendering conference that took place in Annecy, France.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/technology_enl_1154617604/img/1.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5242060.stm

[RobinHood3000]

Yes, that's my worry -- "Stop overachieving!! You're making the other students feel bad!! Off to the headmaster's office with you!!"

[mono]

Beams reveal Archimedes' hidden writings

SAN FRANCISCO - Previously hidden writings of the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes are being uncovered with powerful X-ray beams nearly 800 years after a Christian monk scrubbed off the text and wrote over it with prayers.

Over the past week, researchers at Stanford University's Linear Accelerator Center in Menlo Park have been using X-rays to decipher a fragile 10th century manuscript that contains the only copies of some of Archimedes' most important works.

The X-rays, generated by a particle accelerator, cause tiny amounts of iron left by the original ink to glow without harming the delicate goatskin parchment.

"We are gaining new insights into one of the founding fathers of western science," said William Noel, curator of manuscripts at Baltimore's Walters Art Museum, which organized the effort. "It is the most difficult imaging challenge on any medieval document because the book is in such terrible condition."

Following a successful trial run last year, Stanford researchers invited X-ray scientists, rare document collectors and classics scholars to take part in the 11-day project.

It takes about 12 hours to scan one page using an X-ray beam about the size of a human hair, and researchers expect to decipher up to 15 pages that resisted modern imaging techniques. After each new page is decoded, it is posted online for the public to see.

On Friday, members of the public watched the decoding process via a live Web cast arranged by the San Francisco Exploratorium.

"We are focusing on the most difficult pages where the scholars haven't been able to read the texts," said Uwe Bergmann, the Stanford physicist heading the project.

Born in the 3rd century B.C., Archimedes is considered one of ancient Greece's greatest mathematicians, perhaps best known for discovering the principle of buoyancy while taking a bath.

The 174-page manuscript, known as the Archimedes Palimpsest, contains the only copies of treatises on flotation, gravity and mathematics. Scholars believe a scribe copied them onto the goatskin parchment from the original Greek scrolls.

Three centuries later, a monk scrubbed off the Archimedes text and used the parchment to write prayers at a time when the Greek mathematician's work was less appreciated. In the early 20th century, forgers tried to boost the manuscript's value by painting religious imagery on some of the pages.

In 1998, an anonymous private collector paid $2 million for the manuscript at an auction, then loaned it to the Walter Arts Museum for safekeeping and study.

Over the past eight years, researchers have used ultraviolet and infrared filters, as well as digital cameras and processing techniques, to reveal most of the buried text, but some pages were still unreadable.

"We will never recover all of it," Noel said. "We are just getting as much as we can, and we are going to the ends of the earth to get it."

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060805/ap_on_sc/archimedes_manuscript;_ylt=An1TtQdQJhf2S5kGrwzrlyK s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MzV0MTdmBHNlYwM3NTM-)

[mono]

I think I remember someone bringing up something similar to this (Logos, perhaps?) . . .

CDC probes bizarre Morgellons condition

ATLANTA - Imagine your body pocked by erupting sores. The sensation of little bugs crawling all over you. And worst of all, mysterious red and blue fibers sprouting from your skin.

It may sound like a macabre science fiction movie, but a growing legion of Americans say they suffer from this condition. And now the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating.

Some doctors dismiss these patients as delusional. But the condition — called Morgellons — has caused a small frenzy on the Internet, with hundreds of people pleading for help.

"Sometimes the government doesn't want to panic people until they can figure out a definitive cause," said Pat Boddie, a 62-year-old Alabama woman who said she's had Morgellons for 14 years.

"They're trying to figure out if this is going to be an epidemic. I hate to tell them, but it already is," she said.

The CDC has been receiving as many as 20 calls a day from self-diagnosed Morgellons patients. The agency has been urged to investigate by, among others, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record) of California.

"We're going into this with an open mind," said Dan Rutz, spokesman for a CDC Morgellons task force that began meeting in June.

But so far there is no evidence of an infectious agent, and health officials say there is not yet enough evidence even to call it a disease.

People claiming to have Morgellons report a wide variety of symptoms, ranging from joint pain to irregular bowel movements. But most describe crawling sensations along the skin, sores, fatigue, "brain fog," and the appearance of small or microscopic fibers on or under the skin.

Some say they've suffered for decades, but the syndrome did not get a name until 2002, when the name "Morgellons" (pronounced mor-GELL-uns) was chosen by Mary Leitao. The South Carolina woman, who said her son suffers from the condition, founded the Morgellons Research Foundation.

She found the name in a 1674 medical paper that described a condition called Morgellons, with symptoms somewhat like her son's. So she began using the name. "I never expected it to stick," she said.

Leitao's organization has become a leading source of information and research advocacy, but it too has become controversial.

Last week, at least three of the eight members of the organization resigned over disagreements with Leitao, the executive director, about how she's been running the foundation. One member — the board's chairman — sent a letter to the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service, saying Leitao had failed to produce requested financial records and he voiced suspicions of financial impropriety.

Another board member who resigned, Dr. Greg Smith, a Gainesville, Ga., pediatrician, had recently posted a donations-soliciting letter for the foundation on an Internet site frequented by Morgellons patients. Last week, he posted a retraction.

"I cannot in good faith ask anyone to contribute to the foundation," Smith wrote.

Leitao described the controversy as "a power struggle" and said she's done nothing illegal.

Also resigning from the organization was Randy Wymore, an Oklahoma State University assistant professor of pharmacology. He was the organization's director of research.

Wymore had initiated the relationship last year. But because of the in-fighting he said he decided to distance himself. "The research I'm doing is not affected by this," Wymore added.

Until the CDC task force, Wymore was seen as the most reputable scientist to research Morgellons, although he was trained in molecular biology, not clinical disease or fibrous materials.

He recruited two Oklahoma State faculty physicians. They tweezed fibers from beneath the skin of some Morgellons patients who visited the Oklahoma State Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa in February, Wymore said, and sent those samples to the Tulsa Police Department's forensic laboratory.

The police checked the samples against carpet and clothing fibers and other materials, and conducted chemical analyses and other tests. Nothing matched, said Mark Boese, the police lab's director.

"How it is being produced, I don't know," Boese said. He theorized the fibers could be produced by human hair follicles that somehow encapsulated pollutants processed by the body.

Some doctors believe Morgellons is produced by the mind, not the body.

"I think of Morgellons as a piece of a larger phenomenon — delusional parasitosis," said Dr. Annette Matthews, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

Delusional parasitosis is a psychosis in which sufferers believe they are infected with parasites. Often the patients have a real-life problem with scabies, lice, or some other tiny attackers, but then imagine they are continuing to plague them, Matthews said.

Asked about reports of multiple Morgellons cases within a family, Matthews said delusions are transmissible — the psychiatric term is 'folie a deux,' for instances in which people come to share a delusion.

Some people will biopsy themselves, or seek large quantities of antibiotics, herbal remedies, industrial bug killers and other expensive and potentially harmful treatments, she said.

The CDC's Rutz said there may be several subgroups among the people who identify themselves as Morgellons sufferers. One group may have delusional parasitosis, but another may have something else.

The 12-person CDC task force includes two pathologists, a toxicologist, an ethicist, a mental health expert and specialists in infectious, parasitic, environmental and chronic disease. The group is developing a case definition of Morgellons.

It's impossible to say how many people have Morgellons without a commonly accepted way to define it. The Morgellons Research Foundation believes the number is at least 5,500, based on the number of families registered with the organization's Web site.

Hopefully, a CDC case definition will lead some physicians to stop treating Morgellons patients like they're crazy, said Smith, the Georgia pediatrician and a Morgellons sufferer.

"A lot of physicians think that if it's not in the textbooks, it's not real," said Smith, who said a fiber once slid across his eyeball and then burrowed in.

Verna Gallagher, 48, said she's been seeing a dermatologist for nearly a year. "(But) he doesn't believe in Morgellons. He said 'That's not a real thing,'" said Gallagher, of Roseville, Calif., near Sacramento.

But while her doctor dismisses the fibers as lint, Gallagher says he is concerned that she may become suicidal. "I cry, and he says I have to live my life" and tells here to write down things that she likes to do.

Meanwhile, she says she is plagued by tiny dark specks and fibers that infest her house. She's paid for exterminators, taken antidepressants, bathed in Borax and spent hundreds on vitamins, garlic pills and other potential remedies.

"Nothing's helped," she said.

source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060809/ap_on_he_me/morgellons_cdc;_ylt=AmOI9k.yFC98FUicAp4peHus0NUE;_ ylu=X3oDMTA3czJjNGZoBHNlYwM3NTE-)

[kilted exile]

A drunken man who tried to rob a bank as a "joke" fell asleep while waiting on his money, a court has heard.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court, Derek Burns, 47, admitted a breach of the peace at a branch of Lloyds TSB in Glasgow's south side on 4 November, last year.

He had threatened workers with a can of deodorant in a bag portrayed as a weapon but when cash was refused he fell asleep, prompting staff laughter.

Sentence was deferred until later this month for background reports.

The incident happened at the Lloyds TSB branch in Albert Road, Crosshill.

Burns entered wearing his fluorescent works jacket with the hood up and approached a teller.


Prosecutor Derek Buchanan said: "Burns produced a blue carrier bag and held it in such a way that something long and cylindrical could be seen.

"He tried to push the bag through the counter tray. He said 'give us your money, give us your money'."

Staff activated the panic alarm.

The bank manager spoke with Burns and told him he was not getting any money.

The court heard how Burns remained in the bank, sat down and fell asleep.

The accused, of Alness Crescent, Mosspark claimed it had all been a joke.

His lawyer said the incident latterly became so farcical that staff could be seen laughing on closed circuit television footage.

Joe Shields, defending, added: "It was a joke of the worst possible taste."

:lol: :lol:


link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/4776865.stm)

[Chava]

Two groups of international youths, are going to travel around denmark, to answer the question "What do the danes think of themselves?" they have no money, and will rely only on people's generosity, asking for lifts, and getting invited into people's homes, and hopefully also invited to dinner.

Now really? how cool is that?!

[kilted exile]

A story and a short Rant..........

'Alarm' at cross player's caution

The Catholic Church has criticised Scottish prosecutors for cautioning a Celtic goalkeeper who crossed himself during a match against Rangers.

Artur Boruc was cautioned for a breach of the peace over the incident at an Old Firm match at Ibrox in February.

The Catholic Church called it "worrying and alarming" as the sign of the cross was a "gesture of religious reverence".

However, the Crown Office said the decision was based on the player's behaviour, rather than a single act.

In addition to crossing himself, the player was alleged to have made gestures to the crowd at the start of the second half of the game on 12 February.

Strathclyde Police investigated complaints that Boruc, 26, had angered a section of the crowd with his behaviour and they submitted a report to the procurator fiscal.

However, as an alternative to prosecution, Boruc was cautioned. That does not leave him with a criminal record, although the information about the caution will be retained.

The Crown Office said his actions "provoked alarm and crowd trouble and as such constituted a breach of the peace".

In a further statement issued on Saturday, it said: "The decision to use an alternative to prosecution in this case was based on an assessment of behaviour, not one single act, which appeared to be directed towards the crowd which was being incited by that behaviour and which caused the police to intervene and calm the crowd."

However, Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church, said the move to caution Boruc was "regrettable".

'Very common'

He said other actions could not be defended, but that a gesture of religious significance should not be considered offensive.

"It's a worrying and alarming development, especially since the sign of the cross is globally accepted as a gesture of religious reverence," he said.

"It's also very common in international football and was commonplace throughout the World Cup.

"It is extremely regrettable that Scotland seems to have made itself one of the few countries in the world where this simply religious gesture is considered an offence."

Nationalist leader Alex Salmond also criticised the decision to caution the player.

"The procurator fiscal has taken leave of their senses. I will be demanding an explanation for this," he said.

He said the "ludicrous" move was the type of action which brought the law and legal system into disrepute.

"The procurator fiscal and the Crown Office is acting in a way that will inflame rather than reduce religious antagonism," he said.

Liberal Democrat MSP Donald Gorrie said he felt the situation could have been addressed by talking to Mr Boruc privately.

He added: "I think they were wrong to focus on the crossing rather than the whole performance, as described to me by quite sensible people who were definitely wound up by it as they were intended to be, and he shouldn't do that."

'Set an example'

The goalkeeper, who played during this year's World Cup in Germany, signed for Celtic from Legia Warsaw in July last year.

Neither Celtic Football Club or Rangers have commented on the cautioning.

However, Rangers Supporters Group said it was "disappointing" Celtic did not take action against the player after the game.

Stephen Smith, spokesman for the group, added: "Professional footballers are meant to set an example. What he was, was deliberately provocative and completely done to wind up the fans, as if the fixture isn't volatile enough."

National plan

The fixture takes place in a charged atmosphere and has produced no shortage of controversy down the years.

Last year 12 people were arrested for acts of "religious prejudice" after an Old Firm match during which Rangers player Fernando Ricksen was struck by an object.

The match took place days after an "historic" summit on sectarianism where it was agreed to work on a national plan to tackle the problem.

That event was attended by both Celtic and Rangers, who later in the year launched a project to tackle bigotry and sectarianism in the west of Scotland.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/5288184.stm


Ok now for my rant:

I am sick and tired of this nonsense every single year. I dont care whether its Rangers Directors singing "The Sash", Celtic players crossing themselves, Rangers fans singing about being "Up to our knees in fenian blood" or "No Pope of Rome", or Celtic fans singing the praises of the IRA and "Go home British soldiers go home, have you got no homes of your own?" NONE of this crap has any place in Scottish football.

There will be those of you who think I am being unfair saying players should no be able to make a public diplay of their religion. At the current stage however the west of scotland is still in the dark ages with respect to this. Artur Boruc knew full well what his gesture signifies in Glasgow, and if he didnt someone at Celtic FC should have made him fully aware of it.

It is mildly ironic that this should happen on the same day that the first openly Catholic player to sign for Rangers (Mo Johnston - 1989, previously Rangers had a policy of not signing Catholics) was named the manager of the new Toronto team that is due to start playing in the MLS.

[Scheherazade]

A growing number of schools around the US are banning birthday cakes, saying the tradition has become too unhealthy.

Millions of students go back to school next week as their annual summer holiday comes to an end.

But one thing will be missing from classrooms across the country.

For generations American children have brought homemade cakes and cupcakes to school to celebrate birthdays with their classmates.

Like the rest of the country, children are facing what health officials call an epidemic of obesity.

The Centers for Disease Control estimate that one out of every six school-age children in the US is overweight.

The birthday cake bans are part of a wider national trend of schools discouraging sugary junk foods between classes in favour of healthier snacks, like fruits or yogurt.

But the new rules are not without controversy.

'Childhood tradition'

When one suburban school district just west of New York City tried it, the response from parents was overwhelmingly negative.

"The reaction was pretty overwhelming that this was not the way we wanted to treat kids," Kathy Meyer, a spokesperson for the Scotch Plains school district in New Jersey, said.

"Particularly elementary school parents who seem to think that the celebration of their children's birthday had become such a traditional part of classroom practice that somehow we were taking that moment of childhood from their children."

One state has even decided to offer financial incentives.

Connecticut recently passed a law giving schools 10 cents per student if they agreed to ban the sale of sugary foods, and they have compiled a 175-page list of foods that comply with the new guidelines.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5308796.stm

[RobinHood3000]

Anyone here seen that movie Demolition Man, which says that in the future, everything unhealthy will be illegal?

[Nightshade]

I havent but Ive read Bootleg by Alex Shearer which is when the "Good for You party" ( who appeato be alot like the Nazi's) come into power and ban choclate and these kids have a bootlegging factory and start a revolution.

SCarily I think they might just try and do it ban anything unhealthy.

LAst week on the radio there was this woman saying parents should shame their kids into losing weight because ( qnd Im not making this up) no one can be proud of a fat child.

[Nightshade]

'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin killed

Australian naturalist and television personality Steve Irwin has been killed by a stingray during a diving expedition off the Australian coast.
Mr Irwin, 44, died after being struck in the chest by the stingray's barb while he was filming a documentary in Queensland's Great Barrier Reef.

Paramedics from Cairns rushed to the scene but were unable to save him.

Mr Irwin was known for his television show The Crocodile Hunter and his work with native Australian wildlife.

Police in Queensland confirmed the environmentalist's death and said his family had been notified. Mr Irwin was married with two young children.

Mr Irwin's manager John Stainton told the BBC the stingray's barb had pierced the personality's heart.

"He came over the top of a stingray and a barb, the stingray's barb went up and put a hole into his heart," he said.

"We got him back within a couple of minutes to Croc 1, which is Steve's research vessel, and by 12 o'clock when the emergency crew arrived they pronounced him dead."

The incident happened at Batt Reef, off Port Douglas.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he had known Mr Irwin well, and that the country had lost a "wonderful and colourful son".

"I am quite shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden untimely and freakish death", he said.

"It's a huge loss to Australia - he was a wonderful character, he was a passionate environmentalist, he brought entertainment and excitement to millions of people."

The stingray is a flat, triangular-shaped fish, commonly found in tropical waters.

It gets its name from the razor-sharp barb at the end of its tail, coated in toxic venom, which the animal uses to defend itself with when it feels threatened.

Attacks on humans are a rarity - only one other person is known to have died in Australia from a stingray attack, at St Kilda, Melbourne in 1945.

"Stingrays only sting in defence, they're not aggressive animals so the animal must have felt threatened. It didn't sting out of aggression, it stung out of fear," Dr Bryan Fry, Deputy Director of the Australian Venom Research Unit at the University of Melbourne said.


more (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5311298.stm)

[RobinHood3000]

:bawling: Fare thee well, Crocodile Hunter. Your courage and tenacity will never be forgotten. May you yet live ever in the hearts of adventurers everywhere. In pace requiescat! :bawling:

[Scheherazade]

A US woman who won $1m (£536,000) in the New York state lottery four years ago has beaten the odds by winning another $1m lottery jackpot. Valerie Wilson scooped her second $1m prize on a lottery scratch card.

Experts say that the chances of her winning both games were an incredible 1 in 3,669,120,000,000.

"The first time I couldn't believe it," the 56-year-old Long Island deli worker told the Newsday newspaper. "This time I said, 'God's on my side'."

Lottery officials say that in 2002 Ms Wilson beat odds of 1 in 5.2 million when she won the Cool Million scratch card game

Then last month she beat odds of 1 in 705,600 by winning New York lottery's Jubilee scratch card game.

According to New York state lottery officials, there have been two other double jackpot winners, who like Ms Wilson each won $1m prizes on two separate occasions.

"I lost my husband in 1993, so I went to the cemetery and thanked him," Ms Wilson told Newsday. "I figured he had something to do with it."

Ms Wilson says that the first time she won she used the money to help buy houses for her three children.

"This one is going to be for me," she said of the latest win. "I'm going to live a little bit."

Instead of getting a lump sum, Ms Wilson will get instalments of $50,000 a year for the next 20 years.

But despite her double victory Ms Wilson says she is not planning to quit her job in a local deli where she makes sandwiches and works on the till.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5331556.stm

[Scheherazade]

A great-grandfather is to graduate with an honours degree in sociology, days ahead of his 90th birthday.

After six years of part-time study, widower William Cooper, 89, gained a lower-second-class degree from Wolverhampton University.

He said his last experience of formal education at Wolverhampton Grammar School in the 1920s, had prepared him well for his latest challenge.

"I was used to attending every day. So for six years, I didn't miss an hour."

'Snooze and you lose'

Mr Cooper had been retired from his job as a chief wages cashier for more than 20 years when his daughter-in-law first suggested he went to university.

"It's very difficult when you become a widower," said Mr Cooper, whose wife died in 1995.

"You can snooze in a chair all afternoon but you have to push yourself to get going."

He had already taken up cookery classes, computing and keep fit, but a sociology degree gave him the excuse for a good argument, he said.

Asked what he would do with his degree, he said: "Nothing really. It's just a thing to pass retirement.

"But I proved to myself that I was as good as the rest and I got a certain amount of satisfaction that I had not wasted my time.

"I asked a lot of questions. The young ones were rather dumb as far as speaking up was concerned, but I induced them to follow suit.

"Lecturers told me I got my degree through persistence."

'Only a whim'

Mr Cooper, of Wednesfield in Wolverhampton, said that while he could not always remember people's names, his memory was still intact and technology had not proved an obstacle.

"I'm computer literate. We had computers where I worked in the 70s, although they were huge."

The degree cost Mr Cooper £4,000.

"I suppose it's only fair that people like me pay who are not going to give anything back. It's only really a whim."

Once next week's graduation ceremony and the following month's birthday celebrations are over, Mr Cooper is considering an Alpha Bible study course.

"So I can prepare for the next life," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5320852.stm

[Scheherazade]

Now we know why the surly teenager storms off in a huff after being told to tidy their bedroom.

Adolescents do not put the part of the brain that considers others' feelings to full use, scientists have found.

It seems our neural decision-making processes mature quite slowly, and researchers think this might help to explain typical teenage behaviour.

The adolescent brain undergoes massive changes and does not reach maturity until 20 or 30 years old.

Details of the study were reported here at the British Association's annual Science Festival.

"The brain is pre-programmed to undergo massive changes during adolescence," Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of University College London told the meeting.

Movie matters

Dr Blakemore and her team used a sophisticated fMRI scanner to measure the brain activity of teenagers between 11 and 17, and young adults between 21 and 37.

The fMRI technique measures blood flow in different brain areas, and can identify "hotspots" where a lot of activity is taking place.

The volunteers were asked to think about what they would do in certain situations that involved their own actions.

For example, the researchers might say: "You want to go to the cinema. Do you look at the newspaper?"

When thinking about what they would do, both age groups used the same neural pathway; but different parts of the pathway were most active in the two groups.

Adults used a brain area towards the front of the pathway, called the medial prefrontal cortex, to come up with their answers. Adolescents showed more brain activity in the superior temporal sulcus - an area at the rear.

"The superior temporal sulcus is usually used in making simple actions, or watching other people make actions," said Dr Blakemore. "We think adolescents are performing this task by simply thinking about the action they're going to take.

"The part of the brain that the adults are using more is involved in much higher level thinking, such as thinking about the consequences of your actions in terms of other peoples' emotions and feelings."

Immature minds

As a control, the study subjects were asked questions that did not involve their own actions, such as, "It's been raining hard. Does the ground get warmer?"

These questions activated brain networks in a similar way in both groups.

The new research shows that hormones may not be fully to blame for typical teenage behaviour.

Teenage brains undergo large structural changes during adolescence, and do not reach full maturity until at least 20 or 30 years of age.

"If you're making decisions about how you treat teenagers, socially and legally, you need to take this new research into account," said Dr Blakemore.

"The brain of, for example, a typical 15-year-old boy is very much still developing; he's a very different person from himself at 25. His brain is very different."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5327550.stm

[RobinHood3000]

How much money did we just spend to tell people that teenagers are inconsiderate? I thought that much was obvious.

In another sense: how much money did we just spend to give teenagers another reason to say, "It's just the way I am"?

[Pensive]

How much money did we just spend to tell people that teenagers are inconsiderate? I thought that much was obvious.

In another sense: how much money did we just spend to give teenagers another reason to say, "It's just the way I am"?
Now, now, now - you are speaking Eminem-ishly. :p Current obsession, perhaps?

[thevintagepiper]

I think it was a good research...it's interesting to know. But it's still no real excuse for teenagers.

[AimusSage]

If only I had known this 10 years earlier. :D

[Scheherazade]

It is interesting that it is the 'teens' of the Forum who have responded to this article! :D

[AimusSage]

Hey, I'm not a teen! my brain is still in its infancy though, it's like a smelly little baby, all wrinkly and stuff :nod: :)

[Scheherazade]

Madrid fashion week, one of Spain's most prestigious shows, is banning underweight models on the basis of their body mass index (BMI). UN health experts recommend a BMI of between 18.5 and about 25, and some models may fall well below the minimum.

The Spanish Association of Fashion Designers has decided to ban models who have a BMI of less than 18.

Unhealthily skinny models at last year's fashion shows led to protests from doctors and women's rights groups.

The association agreed to use the BMI - a calculation based on height and weight - in response to local government pressure.

It suggests that 30% of would-be participants fail this test and this year's fashion week, which begins on 18 September, will offer medical treatment to excessively thin models.

Outrage

"The restrictions could be quite a shock to the fashion world at the beginning but I'm sure it's important as far as health is concerned," Leonor Perez Pita, director of the Madrid fashion show, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

Madrid's local government says it wants to set a more positive, healthy image of beauty for teenagers to follow.

"Fashion is a mirror and many teenagers imitate what they see on the catwalk," said regional official Concha Guerra.

Spain's Anorexia and Bulimia Association says if designers refuse to follow these voluntary restrictions the government should legislate to ban thin models.

However, some sections of the fashion world have expressed outrage at the idea of weight restrictions.

Cathy Gould, of New York's Elite modelling agency, said the fashion industry was being used as a scapegoat for weight-related illnesses.

"I understand they want to set this tone of healthy beautiful women but what about discrimination against the model and what about the freedom of the designer?" she asked, adding that the careers of naturally "gazelle-like" models could be damaged.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5341202.stm

[Nightshade]

Madrid fashion week, one of Spain's most prestigious shows, is banning underweight models on the basis of their body mass index (BMI). UN health experts recommend a BMI of between 18.5 and about 25, and some models may fall well below the minimum.

The Spanish Association of Fashion Designers has decided to ban models who have a BMI of less than 18.

Madrid's local government says it wants to set a more positive, healthy image of beauty for teenagers to follow.





However, some sections of the fashion world have expressed outrage at the idea of weight restrictions.

Cathy Gould, of New York's Elite modelling agency, said the fashion industry was being used as a scapegoat for weight-related illnesses.



This could be good and could be very very bad :nod: mind you my first instinct is http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/musik/k010.gif http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/musik/k010.gif Horray!! About time.
On the other hand this is weightisim and isnt fair. :nod: But then again the fashion industry has always been weightisit .

[Scheherazade]

The set of CSI: Miami became a real-life police investigation scene when a body washed up during filming. An off-duty police officer working on the set was alerted to a body floating in Bicentennial Park.

An autopsy will be carried out but police are not treating the death as suspicious at this time.

Earlier in the week a mummified body was found inside a building in Los Angeles where spin-off drama CSI: New York was being filmed.

The cast and crew of CSI: Miami were filming offshore to get aerial shots from a helicopter when the body was spotted.

"Unfortunately, it's not unusual during certain times of the year that people who have fallen in the bay, either homeless people or people who were asleep or in some cases boaters who had a mishap, fall into the bay and turn up days later," said Detective Delrish Moss.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5353704.stm

[Scheherazade]

A drunken Chinese tourist says he bit a panda who attacked him after he jumped into a zoo enclosure to "hug" the bear. Zhang Xinyan, 35, had drunk four draught beers before deciding to enter the Beijing Zoo pen belonging to six-year-old male panda Gu Gu.

The startled Gu Gu bit both legs of his intruder, who responded by biting "the panda on its back", Mr Zhang was quoted by state media as saying.

Mr Zhang said he had not realised pandas could be violent.

He told the Beijing Morning Post that he had come to the Chinese capital "only to see the pandas".

"The seven-hour train ride was exhausting, and I drank bottles of beer when I arrived then had a nap," he added.

Punishment

The newspaper said Mr Zhang had a "sudden urge" to touch Gu Gu with his hand, so he jumped over the waist-high railing into the enclosure.

"When he got closer and was undiscovered, he reached out to hug it," the newspaper added.

Mr Zhang was bitten first on his right leg, and then on his left.

Newspaper photographs showed him lying on a hospital bed with blood-soaked bandages over his legs.

"I bit the panda on its back but its fur was too thick," Mr Zhang recalled.

He went on: "No one ever said they would bite people. I just wanted to touch it."

Zoo spokeswoman Ye Mingxia said the panda was unharmed and they were not considering punishing Mr Zhang yet.

"He's suffered quite a bit of a shock," she told the Associated Press by telephone.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5364058.stm

[Taliesin]

Yeah, pandas are violent, but cute.

http://www.wulffmorgenthaler.com/strip.aspx?id=b76121d6-39f5-4c2a-a125-5449d9de0158

[Scheherazade]

Tourism officials in Israel did little to sell the city of Jerusalem as a must-see for visitors when a brochure suggested it did not exist. The sightseeing pamphlet was translated from Hebrew and should have read: "Jerusalem - there's no city like it!".

But instead the slogan in English read: "Jerusalem - there's no such city!", reported the Israeli newspaper Maariv.

Tens of thousands of the leaflets were distributed before the Jerusalem municipality realised its mistake.

The flyers were promoting a musical and arts festival held in the city in August.

Gidi Shermling, spokesman for the Jerusalem municipality, said: "The flyer was apparently translated by someone outside the municipality. In new publications this mistake has been removed."

Israel currently claims sovereignty over the entire city of Jerusalem, and claims it as its capital, after capturing East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war.

That claim is not recognised internationally and East Jerusalem is considered to be occupied territory.

Palestinians hope to establish the capital of an independent state in East Jerusalem.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5364192.stm

[RobinHood3000]

Poof. :goof:

[WriterAtTheSea]

Mouthy parrot 'reveals sex secret'


LONDON, England -- A computer programmer found out his girlfriend was having an affair when his pet parrot kept repeating her lover's name, British media reported Tuesday.
The African grey parrot kept squawking "I love you, Gary" as his owner, Chris Taylor, sat with girlfriend Suzy Collins on the sofa of their shared flat in Leeds, northern England.

But when Taylor saw Collins's embarrassed reaction, he realized she had been having an affair -- meeting her lover in the flat whilst Ziggy looked on, the UK's Press Association reported.
(EVIDENTLY HAVING QUITE A BIRDS EYE VIEW!)

Ziggy even mimicked Collins's voice each time she answered her telephone, calling out "Hiya Gary," according to newspaper reports.

Call-center worker Collins, 25, admitted the four-month affair with a colleague called Gary to her boyfriend and left the flat she had shared with Taylor, 30, for a year.

Taylor said he had also been forced to part with Ziggy after the bird continued to call out Gary's name and refused to stop squawking the phrases in his ex-girlfriend's voice, media reports said.

"I wasn't sorry to see the back of Suzy after what she did, but it really broke my heart to let Ziggy go," he said.

"I love him to bits and I really miss having him around, but it was torture hearing him repeat that name over and over again.

"I still can't believe he's gone. I know I'll get over Suzy, but I don't think I'll ever get over Ziggy." (OKaaaaaaAY! LOL)

Taylor acquired Ziggy as a chick eight years ago and named him after the David Bowie character Ziggy Stardust.

The bird has now found a new home through the offices of a local parrot dealer. Collins, who admitted the affair, said: "I'm not proud of what I did but I'm sure Chris would be the first to admit we were having problems. (YOU'RE KIDDING? LOL)

"I am surprised to hear he got rid of that bird," she added to The Guardian newspaper. "He spent more time talking to it than he did to me."

(...AND I WONDER WHY? HAHAHA!)

:lol:

So, perhaps if I ever find myself married or in relationship again, I too will invest in a loud mouth parrot, to keep me abreast of the activities in a day! Hahahaha! Polly wanna cracker? ;)

[cuppajoe_9]

I dunno, Writer, that smells of urban legend to me. It sounds very familiar. It's a great story though.



Cricket machine masters bowling

The robotic bowler has been created at Loughborough University as part of a virtual reality project to improve match training for cricket.

"Cricketers want to be able to face bowlers like Shane Warne," said project lead Dr Andy West.

"The machine is helping us to figure out the science of bowling and the mysteries of spin and swing," he added.

Dr West demonstrated the machine at a conference at Loughborough University organised by the Institute of Physics on Thursday.

More on that here : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5412632.stm

[WriterAtTheSea]

Hey Cuppa...

Nah, believe me, it is a true story from London town. I think I got it off the BBC. Will have to check. It is on another blog site I do with a paper on the East Coast. I think it is completely hilarious! Hahahahaha!

What a concept, eh? :brow:

[Serenata]

Yet another school shooting. This time in Joplin, MO. There have been like five school shootings in the past month. A couple, including this one, were at middle schools.

[Scheherazade]

Social division might split humans into two sub-species 100,000 years from now, an evolution expert has claimed. The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative. They would be a far cry from the "underclass" humans, who will have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures.

The forecast was made by Dr Oliver Curry, who spent two months investigating the ascent and descent of man over the next 100 millennia.
He said, within a thousand years, humans will evolve into coffee-coloured giants between 6 and 7ft tall.

But Dr Curry said centuries of sexual selection - being choosy about one's partner - was likely to create more and more genetic inequality. The logical outcome would be two sub-species, "gracile" and "robust" humans. Dr Curry said: "Things could get ugly, with the possible emergence of genetic 'haves' and 'have-nots'."

Other predictions included:

:: Physical appearance, driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility, will improve.

:: Men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises.

:: Women will develop lighter skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, even features and smooth hairless skin.

:: Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people.

:: Improved nutrition and medical science will see people growing taller and fitter, while life-spans are extended to 120 years.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13547374,00.html

[cuppajoe_9]

Ridiculous. Groups that are subect to worse environments (i.e. the poor) always evolve more. If anybody evolves into a 'super-race', it will be the 'undercalasses'. The predictions about women are some sort of Lamarkian wet dream. It wouldn't matter if a thousand generations of women kept their hair clean and their legs waxed, they still won't develop pre-shampood hair or hairless legs. Those predictions also assume that laissez-faire capitalism will continue to be the norm for another 100 000 years. That's a pretty bold assumption if you ask me.

[cuppajoe_9]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6064028.stm

Seriously, Iceland, what the hell is this?

[cuppajoe_9]

Somebody had better come through with some good news, because it's been a depressing day:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6071454.stm

[Scheherazade]

One in five British children cannot find the UK on a map of the world, a magazine's research suggests. National Geographic Kids said it also found fewer than two thirds of children were able to correctly locate the US.

The magazine, which questioned more than 1,000 six to 14-year-olds, said it found several London children did not know they lived in England's capital.

Teachers' union the NASUWT said the findings were "nonsense" and did not reflect staff and pupils' hard work.

National Geographic Kids also discovered 86% of the children interviewed failed to identify Iraq and one in 10 could not name a single continent.

Boys seemed to show a slightly better geographical knowledge than girls, with 65% able to locate a number of countries around the world compared with 63% of girls.

Scottish children appeared to be the most geographically aware with 67% able to point out the most countries, out of England, the US, France, China and Iraq, on a world map.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, said the findings were "rather frightening".

"These results underline the need for education to concentrate on the essentials.

"How are children going to be able to get as much out of their life if they fail to have an understanding of the shape of the world?"

Compulsory geography

The Department for Education and Skills said geography was a compulsory subject on the National Curriculum for five to 14-year-olds.

A spokesman said all 14-year-olds should be taught to use atlases and globes, as well as learning about places and environments in the world.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "The constant desire for groups to produce statistics to do down the English education system is quite appalling and does nothing to recognise the excellent work of children and staff."

The magazine carried out the study to mark its UK launch and highlight "gaps in children's geographical knowledge".

Environmentalist David Bellamy said the world was still an undiscovered place for many children.

"Making geography fun and exciting is so important because it makes children aware of the importance of caring for the environment and, by learning about the world, it helps bring other people's worlds and cultures closer to their own."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6074202.stm

[cuppajoe_9]

One in five British children cannot find the UK on a map of the world, a magazine's research suggests. National Geographic Kids said it also found fewer than two thirds of children were able to correctly locate the US.To me, this suggests that one in five British children are smartarses.

[kilted exile]

Hopefully this doesnt cross the line to "politics"

Middle East protest disrupts game

A Middle East protester had to be removed from the pitch during Rangers Uefa Cup game against Israeli side Maccabi Haifa in Glasgow.

The man ran about 50 yards across the park wearing a Palestinian flag around his shoulders during the second half of the game at Ibrox.

He then attempted to handcuff himself to a goalpost in what was thought to be a protest against the visiting side.

Stewards and police officers caught the man and carried him off.

The protest sparked angry shouts from home and away supporters as travelling fans waved Israeli flags.

The game was held up for several minutes.

Strathclyde Police said a 21-year-old man was arrested in connection with an incident within Ibrox Stadium.

The man is expected to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday.

A police spokeswoman said a report would be submitted to the procurator fiscal.

Rangers went on to win the game 2-0.


* Now my comments which will probably seem cold & uncaring: I need sports, I need escapism, I need a refuge from serious problems in the world - somewhere my biggest concern is my team winning on a Saturday afternoon. There are other places to protest, please keep it out of sport.

[Nightshade]

Sorry for the double post, but I have just seen this and it has annoyed me no end :flare: :flare: :flare: this is likely to be the focus of a blog entry sometime tomorrow/today.....what day is it anyway.


Children 'living in fuel poverty'

About 90,000 children in Scotland are living in homes where families cannot afford to pay energy bills, a group of charities has warned.

The coalition of Barnardo's, Children in Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group, Capability Scotland and Save the Children blamed high fuel prices.

They said the number affected had nearly doubled in four years.

During the same period electricity prices had risen by more than 60% and gas prices by more than 90%.

And its meant to go up again this year --unless the swithch to british gas apparantly theyve fixied there prices ( probably at a ridiculous price already till 2010) and the other thing...is this where the numbers of the deaths due to the cold come from thats just ---you know I really want to swear here just a really mild one--- disgraceful! See more reason to stopcomplaining about the disruption to the landscape wind turbines cause and just get on with it cheap renewable energy, they could also do those tide generater things they have in japan , I doubt solar panels will do anything this is the uk we are talking about... or else the goverment shouuld be heating those houses...:flare:

[Scheherazade]

Police officers in Staffordshire have been working in shifts to pour 2,500 cans of beer and hundreds of bottles of spirits and champagne down a toilet.
The alcohol was confiscated from an off licence that was trading illegally and a judge ordered it to be destroyed.

Severn Trent said it could not be poured into the drains so officers at Hanley police station will spend the next week flushing it away.

Staffordshire Police said it was the only viable way to carry out the order.

'It's incredulous'

"We are going to have to open every single can and bottle and tip them down the toilet," Sgt David Wright told BBC News.

"We will be staggering it over a two or three day period, but it is probably going to take the best part of a whole shift of two to three days for one officer."

But the former secretary of the Police Federation criticised the move saying it was a waste of tax payers' money.

Kevin Waters said: "I find it incredulous to think that this is going to be taking place within our force when it is paid for by the people of Staffordshire.

"Community taxes are going to be spent on police officers having to do this rather than having to look after the community of Staffordshire."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/6115272.stm

[cuppajoe_9]

"We will be staggering it over a two or three day period, but it is probably going to take the best part of a whole shift of two to three days for one officer."The officer in question will no doubt also be staggering for two or three days.

[Nightshade]

UK scientists have applied for permission to create embryos by fusing human DNA with cow eggs.
Researchers from Newcastle University and Kings College, London, have asked the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for a three-year licence.

The hybrid human-bovine embryos would be used for stem cell research and would not be allowed to develop for more than a few days.

But critics say it is unethical and potentially dangerous.

Stem cell research is one of the most promising areas of medical science.

They are the body's master cells and five-day-old embryos are packed with them - each with the potential to turn into any tissue in the body.

It is this ability which scientists want to harness to treat diseases such as Parkinson's Disease, strokes and Alzheimer's Disease.

To do that, they need to have access to thousands of embryos for research.

Short supply

The problem is that human eggs for research are in short supply and to obtain them women have to undergo surgery.

That is why scientists want to use cows' eggs as a substitute.

They would insert human DNA into a cow's egg which has had its genetic material removed and then create an embryo by the same technique that produced Dolly the Sheep.

The resulting embryo would be 99.9% human, the only bovine element would be DNA outside the nucleus of the cell.

It would though, technically be a chimera, part-human, part-animal.

The aim would be to extract stem cells from the embryo when it is six days old, before destroying it.

The quality and the viability of stem cells would then be checked to see if technique has worked.

The scientists also plan to examine the way the cells are reprogrammed after fusion to see if there are useful processes they could replicate in the laboratory.

Lead researcher Dr Lyle Armstrong said: "If we can learn from the egg cell how to make embryonic stem cells without having to use an animal egg at all then some day we may be able to cure diseases such as Parkinson's disease, or better still some of the age-related diseases which are creating such a burden on society."

Dr Stephen Minger, from King's College London, said: "The current state of the technology is such that literally hundreds of human ooctyes (eggs) from young women will be required to generate a single human embryonic stem cell line.

"Therefore we consider it more appropriate to use non-human oocytes from livestock as a surrogate.

"We feel that the development of disease-specific human embryonic stem cell lines from individuals suffering from genetic forms of neurodegenerative disorders will stimulate both basic research and the development of new medicines to treat these horrific brain diseases."

'Undermining humanity'

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, head of Developmental Genetics, National Institute for Medical Research, said: "This is a very rational step: to learn what you can using animal eggs, which are readily obtainable, before moving on to valuable human eggs when or if this becomes necessary."

But some will argue the end does not justify the means.

Calum MacKellar, from the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, said the research undermines the distinction between animals and humans and breaches human rights.

He said: "In the history of humankind animals and human species have been separated.

"In this kind of procedure you are mixing at a very intimate level animal eggs and human chromosomes, and you may begin to undermine the whole distinction between humans animals and humans.

"If that happens it might also undermine human dignity and human rights."

[RobinHood3000]

Those who claim that humans and animals are any more distinct than Fuji apples and Red McIntosh apples needs an ego check.

I foresee that there will be a number of people who will skip the "99.9%" bit and begin arguing that they don't want babies with udders.

[cuppajoe_9]

Those who claim that humans and animals are any more distinct than Fuji apples and Red McIntosh apples needs an ego check.

I foresee that there will be a number of people who will skip the "99.9%" bit and begin arguing that they don't want babies with udders.

They would also have to skip the part about it not living past six days. Chee-rist, they might be able to cure Parkinson's Disease with these things. Who cares if some human DNA touches some a cow gamete temporarily?

[Scheherazade]

Two police officers are suing Burger King after claiming they were served burgers which had been sprinkled with marijuana.

Mark Landavazo and Henry Gabalson were in uniform and riding in a marked patrol car when they bought food at a Burger King restaurant in Los Lunas, New Mexico.

They ate about half of their burgers before discovering marijuana on the meat.

They used a field test kit for confirmation of the substance and then went to a hospital for medical tests.

Three Burger King employees, Justin Armijo, 19, Robert Nuckols, 21, and manager Joseph Ledesma, 33, were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and aggravated battery on an officer.

The policemen's civil action seeks punitive and compensatory damages and they are alleging personal injury, negligence, battery and violation of fair practices.

Their lawyer Sam Bregman said: "It gives a whole new meaning to the word 'Whopper'.

"The idea that these hoodlums would put marijuana into a hamburger and therefore attempt to impair law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs is outrageous."

While the case is already the subject of jokes on US chat shows, Mr Bregman said it was "deadly serious".

He said: "God forbid these officers didn't realise their burgers were laced with pot and then were called to a violent situation where they'd have to draw their firearms.

"Their lives were placed in danger because of these idiots and Burger King."

The company has refused to comment as it has a policy against discussing pending court cases.


http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13550714,00.html

[kilted exile]

Huge 'hurricane' rages on Saturn

A hurricane-like storm, two-thirds the diameter of Earth, is raging at Saturn's south pole, new images from Nasa's Cassini space probe reveal.

Measuring 5,000 miles (8,000km) across, the storm is the first hurricane ever detected on a planet other than Earth.

Scientists say the storm has the eye and eye-wall clouds characteristic of a hurricane and its winds are swirling clockwise at 350mph (550km/h).

However, unlike Earth hurricanes it seems stuck at the pole, not drifting.

"It looks like a hurricane, but it doesn't behave like a hurricane," Dr Andrew Ingersoll, a member of Cassini's imaging team at the California Institute of Technology said. "Whatever it is, we're going to focus on the eye of this storm and find out why it's there."

Though Jupiter's Great Red Spot storm moves counter-clockwise, and is far bigger than the storm on Saturn, it does not have the eye and eye-wall that mark out a hurricane.


We've never seen anything like this before. It's a spectacular-looking storm
Michael Flasar, Nasa astrophysicist
An Earth hurricane's eye and eye-walls form when warm, moist air flows inwards across an ocean's surface and rapidly rises vertically, dropping heavy rain in a circular band around descending air in the eye.

But Saturn is a gaseous planet therefore this storm does not have an ocean at its base.

The Saturn storm is bigger not only in diameter than an Earth hurricane, but in height too, with a ring of huge clouds towering 20-45 miles (30-70km) above the well-developed eye - two to five times higher than in storms on Earth.

Unknown phenomenon

One Nasa scientist, Michael Flasar, told Reuters news agency that the storm looked just like water swirling down a bath plug hole, only on a colossal scale. "We've never seen anything like this before," Mr Flasar said. "It's a spectacular-looking storm."

Fourteen frames of the storm were captured by the Cassini spacecraft over the course of three hours on 11 October 2006.

Cassini was passing about 210,000 miles (340,000km) from the ringed planet as it continues its exploration of Saturn and its moons.

Cassini entered into orbit around Saturn on 1 July 2004. Later that year, it released the piggybacked Huygens probe towards the planet's largest moon, Titan.

Huygens touched down on Titan on 14 January 2005, sending back data on the moon's atmosphere, weather and its surface.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a co-operative project of the US space agency (Nasa), the European Space Agency (Esa) and the Italian Space Agency (Asi).

Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6135450.stm)

[RobinHood3000]

The comic book geek in me tells me that we could be on the verge of a massive stellar event that will grant a chosen few Earthlings cosmically-based superpowers!! Fingers crossed...

[Scheherazade]

The Earth is wide open to alien attack, a former Government advisor has warned.

Nick Pope said the department that formally investigated UFO sightings had closed down, meaning unexplained phenomena were not being investigated.

Mr Pope, who ran the Ministry of Defence UFO project from 1991 to 1994, said there had been a series of "highly credible" alien sightings and landings in the UK.

"The consequences of getting this one wrong could be huge," he said.

"If you reported a UFO sighting now, I am absolutely sure that you would just get back a standard letter telling you not to worry.

"Frankly, we are wide open - if something does not behave like a conventional aircraft now, it will be ignored.

Mr Pope said those working for the MoD UFO project spend their time releasing formerly classified documents in answer to Freedom of Information requests from the media or members of the public.

The UFO expert resigned from his MoD post at the Directorate of Defence Security this week.

He said there was no evidence of UFO hostile intent - but it could not be ruled out.

"There has got to be the potential for that and one is left with the uneasy feeling that if it turned out to be so, there is very little we could do about it," he said.

"If you believe these things are extra terrestrial craft then you cannot rule out that what is happening is some kind of covert reconnaissance."

The MoD insisted that all UFO sightings were investigated for "evidence to suggest that UK airspace has been compromised by hostile or unauthorised air activity.

"Unless there is such evidence, the MoD doesn't attempt to positively identify what was seen."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-1240382,00.html

[kilted exile]

Observe the Sabbath plea to MSPs

MSPs at Holyrood are to consider a petition calling for Sunday to be declared an official day of rest.

A church minister will argue that Scotland suffers spiritually, socially and economically by not observing the Sabbath.

Representing the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Reverend Hugh Cartwright will raise the issue with the petitions committee.

If the committee is persuaded, MSPs could take up the cause.

Mr Cartwright will say that historically, prohibiting Sunday working was not needed.

But now his church believes due regard is not being given to the Christian constitution of Scotland, with a secular society emerging by default.

He will also attempt to make an economic case for closing businesses on a Sunday.

The petition comes in the same week that a bid to ban large stores from opening on Christmas Day and New Year's Day was backed by some MSPs.


Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6148828.stm)

[Scheherazade]

White mice are to take part in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing - their task to protect international athletes from food poisoning. The mice will be fed milk, alcohol, salad, rice, oil and seasonings, the city's health inspectors said.

Mice show adverse reactions within 17 hours, while laboratory tests take much longer, they said.

Poor hygiene in food handling and low standards in distribution have made food poisoning rife in China.

The move is part of the huge effort the Chinese are making to ensure the showpiece event passes off smoothly.

24-hour guard

All the food and ingredients to be prepared in Olympic kitchens will fed to the mice a day before they are served to athletes, state news agency Xinhua quoted Zhao Xinsheng of the Beijing Municipal Health Inspection Bureau as saying.

Infected food can then be traced and destroyed in time.

More than 10,000 competitors will be staying at the athletes' village during the Games.

The kitchens will also have 24-hour guards, storage will be constantly monitored and transportation will have global positioning systems.

Zhen Xiaozhen, of the Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, said the food served would be Western, complemented by Chinese dishes.

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing says nothing is being allowed to stand in the way of the perfect Olympics.

Stray cats and dogs will vanish from the streets, he says, and anti-aircraft guns, small planes and rockets will be used to disperse rain clouds, ensuring there will be blue skies over Beijing for the duration.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6153382.stm

[Scheherazade]

A Doncaster pub has the country's youngest bartender - Chris Hardacre, who is just 12 years old. His father David is licensee of the Star but Chris has just passed all the exams to rival him.

The law now allows him to serve behind the bar - with adult supervision - but not to drink the profits.

He gained his National Licensees' licensing certificate after studying for only a few weeks and is now qualified to dispense the ales.

"I just like being around the pub," said Chris. "It's a good atmosphere and the people are nice.

"I thought it would be a good idea to study all about it."

His proud father said his son approached him with the idea, so they sent away for all the information.

"He studied the law and spent three weeks revising before the exam - and passed."

Regulars at the Star said they liked the father-and-son combination, though all said Chris was better-looking than his dad.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/6193924.stm

[AimusSage]

A Doncaster pub has the country's youngest bartender - Chris Hardacre, who is just 12 years old. His father David is licensee of the Star but Chris has just passed all the exams to rival him.

The law now allows him to serve behind the bar - with adult supervision - but not to drink the profits.

He gained his National Licensees' licensing certificate after studying for only a few weeks and is now qualified to dispense the ales.

"I just like being around the pub," said Chris. "It's a good atmosphere and the people are nice.

"I thought it would be a good idea to study all about it."

His proud father said his son approached him with the idea, so they sent away for all the information.

"He studied the law and spent three weeks revising before the exam - and passed."

Regulars at the Star said they liked the father-and-son combination, though all said Chris was better-looking than his dad.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/6193924.stm
I honestly don't want to know what his dad looks like :eek2:

[Nightshade]

hey hey dont be nasty meanie!
What I want to know is WHEN did they change the law???

[Scheherazade]

In Germany plans have been suggested to build a new playground - not for children, but for elderly people.

The authorities in the city of Nuremberg are hoping to get enough funding for a playground tailored to suit the needs of the elderly.

They would incorporate activities to keep fit and stimulate the mind. If it proves a success, the idea could be adopted across the country.

If children can go to a playground, then why not pensioners as well.

This is the argument put forward by Horst Foerther, the deputy mayor of Nuremberg, who is planning to build the playground.

It will have giant chess boards, areas for card-playing and, for the more adventurous, it will have a running track and even a badminton court.

But there will be no swings or slides - the aim is to help elderly people keep fit and stop them getting bored.

Germany has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe - with an ever growing number of pensioners, experts have often warned that a demographic crisis is looming in the not too distant future.

"This country in two decades in the future will be a country of old people, a country of less innovative potential in the economy, a people living from the social systems and a country which is not compared to that what Germany was in the past," says Professor Klaus Bade, a researcher at Osnabrueck University.

The deputy mayor of Nuremberg, Horst Foerther, said he got the idea of a playground for the elderly after travelling to Hong Kong.

He said he saw many pensioners practising Tai Chi outside in parks and realised that elderly people in Germany could benefit from more social activities.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6204292.stm

[Scheherazade]

Britain's teenagers risk becoming a nation of "Vicky Pollards" held back by poor verbal skills, research suggests. And like the Little Britain character the top 20 words used, including yeah, no, but and like, account for around a third of all words, the study says.

Lancaster University's Professor Tony McEnery who conducted the research said vocabulary size was defined early on.

His study of blogs, questionnaires and speech found teenagers used half the words of average 25 to 34-year-olds.

His study of a database of teenage speech suggested teenagers had vocabulary of just over 12,600 words compared with the nearly 21,400 words that the average person aged 25 to 34 uses.

Prof McEnery said in his study: "Of note when examining the word 'no' is the frequency with which the word is accompanied by the word 'but'.

"These words occur in the sequence 'but no' or 'no but' almost twice as frequently in teenage speech as it does in young adult or middle aged speech."

The sequence is particularly reminiscent of Vicky Pollard's trademark "Yeah but, no but".

"I think it was extremely well observed as most comedy often is.

"When things are funny it is because they ring true with people," said Prof McEnery who conducted the research conducted by Tesco Internet phone.

Verbal skills

But he says there is a serious point to the research, which is to highlight what he sees as the neglect of verbal communication skills in schools.

"While the school curriculum shows a strong focus on literacy, speech has been relatively neglected in the curriculum," he said.

Employers often complained that new employees were unable to answer the telephone in the formal way required of them for work and that they were also intimidated by speaking formally in meetings, the professor added.

He put this down to a lack of training and the overuse of technologies such as computer games and MP3 players.

"This trend, known as technology isolation syndrome, could lead to problems in the classroom and then later in life.

"Employers are already complaining that first jobbers are lacking basic verbal communication and it seems things could be set to get worse.

"Kids need to get talking and develop their vocabulary."

Tesco, which commissioned the report, said it was responding by launching a scheme which allows all UK comprehensive schools to interact and communicate with other schools around the country using its internet phone technology.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6173441.stm

[Scheherazade]

More than 100 passengers on a Saudi plane were left panic-stricken by the unexpected appearance of furry fellow flyers - dozens of mice. The small rodents - about 80 in total, according to a local newspaper - escaped from the bag of a man travelling on the domestic flight.

An airline official said the aircraft was at 28,000 feet (8,500m) when mice began scurrying around the cabin.

Some of the mice fell on passengers' heads, Al-Hayat newspaper reports.

The incident occurred on a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from the capital, Riyadh, to north-eastern town of Tabuk.

The flight landed safely and the bag's owner was detained by police investigating how he managed to get the mice onto the plane.

No explanation was given for the man's live cargo.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6183587.stm

[Scheherazade]

A Japanese woman trying on a pair of jeans in a shop got a shock when she was stung by a scorpion hidden inside. The woman, on the southern island of Okinawa, ended up in hospital for five days as a result of the sting, which was not life-threatening.

Local health officials captured the 5cm (2 inch) scorpion, which was believed to be a Chinese bark scorpion.

It is thought to have travelled inside the jeans from China, where they were made.

Officials told the Mainichi Daily News that the woman, who was not named, felt a sudden pain in her right knee as she tried the trousers on.

When she rubbed the area with her hand, the scorpion then stung her right index finger.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6192373.stm

[kilted exile]

BBC moves to file-sharing sites
Red Dwarf
Zudeo users will be able to download copies of Red Dwarf
Hundreds of episodes of BBC programmes will be made available on a file-sharing network for the first time, the corporation has announced.

The move follows a deal between the commercial arm of the organisation, BBC Worldwide, and technology firm Azureus.

The agreement means that users of Azureus' Zudeo software in the US can download titles such as Little Britain.

Until now, most BBC programmes found on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks have been illegal copies.

Beth Clearfield, vice president of program management and digital media at BBC Worldwide, said that the agreement was part of a drive to reach the largest audience possible.

"We are very excited to partner with Azureus and make our content available through this revolutionary distribution model," she said.

High definition

Azureus is best known for developing a BitTorrent client, or program, that allows large media files to be easily shared over the internet. The program has been downloaded more than 130 million times.


Once you have watched a show, you can rate it, comment on it and recommend it to a friend
Gilles BianRosa, Azureus

Earlier this month the company launched a video sharing site similar to YouTube, codenamed Zudeo. The site allows users to upload and view content.

However, in contrast to most video sharing sites, Zudeo offers high definition videos. Users must also download a program to access and upload content.

The new deal means that users of the software will be able to download high-quality versions of BBC programmes, including Red Dwarf, Doctor Who and the League of Gentleman. Classic series such as Fawlty Towers will also be available through a BBC "channel".

The titles will be protected by digital rights management software to prevent the programmes being traded illegally on the internet.

"This will be a very different experience from traditional file-sharing networks," said Gilles BianRosa, CEO of Azureus.

Users will also be able to link to programmes from blogs, social networks and fansites.

"If you have Zudeo running it will take you to that programme; and if you don't, it will suggest you install it, like the first time you download a flash movie," said Mr BianRosa.

"Once you have watched a show, you can rate it, comment on it and recommend it to a friend."

Mr BianRosa believes the cult status of many BBC programmes will make these features appealing to Zudeo users.

Legal services

File-sharing is often associated with illegal distribution of copyrighted content. But in recent months a number of networks have tried to shake off this old image.

BitTorrent, the company behind the original file-sharing software of the same name, has recently signed a number of deals with content providers, such as 20th Century Fox, in a bid to become a legitimate download service.

Earlier this year, Sharman Networks, the owners of Kazaa, did similar deals. Kazaa uses advertising to provide content for free.

No pricing structure for the BBC content on Zudeo has been revealed.

Azureus is expected to announce other partnerships in the New Year.

link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6194929.stm)

[Scheherazade]

Fossils found in Spain belong to what was probably Europe's biggest ever dinosaur, according to scientists.

Turiasaurus would have been 30 to 37 metres long, and would have weighed between 40 and 48 tonnes.

Writing in the journal Science, researchers say the beast is probably the only member so far discovered of a European group of Jurassic reptiles.

The world's biggest recorded dinosaur is Argentinosaurus, a South American reptile twice as heavy.

Like the rest of the giant long-necked sauropods, Turiasaurus riodevensis was a herbivore, despite the fierce appearance of its teeth.

Big-boned

Fossils came to light in 2004 at Teruel in eastern Spain, and the scientists responsible, from the Fundacion Conjunto Paleontologico de Teruel-Dinopolis, have just published a formal analysis.

Although languishing some way behind Argentinosaurus, Turiasaurus was a substantial specimen.

At 1.79m long, its humerus (upper arm bone) is one of the largest ever recorded, while one of its claws is comparable with a rugby ball or American football.
The discovery site also contains teeth from theropod dinosaurs, Stegosaurus remnants, and fragments from fish and turtles.

By comparing its features with other European dinosaurs, the scientists deduce that it belongs to a previously unknown clade, or grouping, which evolved in the Jurassic period (200 to 145 million years ago).

Teeth excavated in France, Portugal and the UK are similar, indicating that Turiasaurus, or more likely its close relatives, ranged across the continent.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6201251.stm

[Scheherazade]

Many German mothers-to-be are reportedly trying to delay labour so their births coincide with a generous new government scheme. Parents of babies born on or after 1 January will be entitled to up to 25,200 euros (£16,911, $33,300) to ease the financial burden of parenthood.

But those born even a minute earlier will not be covered by the scheme.

The cash subsidies are part of a government initiative to boost Germany's dwindling birth rate.

German women have an average of 1.37 children, well below the average of 2.1 needed to keep a population stable. One minister recently warned of "the lights going out".

Under the current system of Elterngeld, parents receive a maximum of 7,200 euros (£4,831, $9,472) over two years.

But the parents of children born in 2007 will be granted over two thirds of their former salary for up to a year - up to 25,200 euros.

'Let nature take its course'

Doctors have been warning women not to take any medication to try to delay labour, and few, they stress, would put the life of their baby at risk for the sake of the money.

But what many mums-to-be do in order to bring on labour, pregnant Germans are now anxious to avoid.

These include drinking red wine, eating curries and taking part in physical activity.

Midwives are also advising women to avoid cinnamon and cloves - a staple of German Christmas cooking.

And it was to the government's festive spirit that a Berlin bishop appealed this week when he asked for the start date for the new benefits to be brought forward.

"It would be an anti-bureaucratic act in the spirit of Christmas to move the date from 1 January to 24 December," Wolfgang Huber, a leader of the Protestant church, said in the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6211737.stm

[Scheherazade]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42420000/jpg/_42420331_label2_ap203b.jpg

A washing machine complete with a warning not to put anybody inside has been given an award for the "wackiest warning" by a US lobby group. The Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch says the tendency of Americans to sue companies has gone too far, encouraging absurd warning labels on products.

But others say warning labels can play a role in protecting the public.

An engine manufacturer which warned "Never use a lit match or open flame to check fuel level" won second prize.

Excessive litigation

Warnings not to dry wet mobile phones in microwave ovens and not to iron lottery tickets tied for third place.

Honourable mentions went to a phonebook which advised: "Please do not use this directory while operating a moving vehicle".

The Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch (M-Law) is campaigning to cut down on what it considers the harmful effects of excessive litigation in the United States.

The winning labels were selected by listeners of a Detroit radio station from a list compiled by M-Law.

The group began the Wacky Warning Labels contest 10 years ago as part of its campaign to have "common sense warnings on products", M-Law says on its website.

But a spokesperson from the washing machine maker whose label bagged top prize, said its warning is valid.

"A front loader (washing machine) is just at the right height - speaking now as a mother and not a corporate spokeswoman - for a four-year-old," said Patti Andresen Shew of Alliance Laundry Systems.

She said other companies had been sued after small children had climbed into washing machines which had then been started.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6236585.stm

[RobinHood3000]

It's the bottom part that bothers me most. You'd think people could tell the difference between an open and closed washing machine. :rolleyes:

[Nightshade]

You know I still thiink kids need to be told thjings like dont get in the washer/dryer. When We wer little and we watched mountains of Tom and JErry I wane dto test the come out fluffy idea when they go though he wash...but sadly we didnt have a dryer and we never could quite fit in the washinng machine

maybe it should be happily, then again I was 5? at the time and my sisters were 3 and 2.

[Virgil]

I thought this was an interesting article.



Tasty Curry Might Have a Fringe Benefit

By Kathleen Fackelmann

Five years ago Darci Jayne hardly ever touched a vegetable and pretty much lived on pizza, pasta and fast food.

That diet led to weight gain and health problems, including severe joint pain. "I was close to 200 pounds and getting scared," she says.

By cutting portion sizes she lost 50 pounds but always felt as if she were on a diet. Then Jayne took an Indian cooking class that emphasized fresh vegetables and curry spices.

She began to whip up an Indian dinner once or twice a week -- and soon she noticed she wasn't always looking for a late-night snack. And the curry in the food offered her a bonus: It seemed to ease the pain and swelling in her joints.

"I have arthritis," says Jayne, 55. "But I'm moving better now."

Preliminary research suggests Jayne may be right. A study in the November issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism suggests turmeric, one component of curry spice, almost completely prevented joint swelling in rats with arthritis. Other studies have suggested that the spice could protect against diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's, a degenerative brain disease that afflicts nearly 5 million people in the USA.

Rates of Alzheimer's in India are about four times lower than in the USA, says Gregory Cole, a researcher at the University of California-Los Angeles. His studies suggest that curry contains a powerful substance that might protect the brain from damage that leads to Alzheimer's.

Surprising findings in mice

Can scientists prove curry wards off such diseases as Alzheimer's or cancer? Not yet, says Bharat Aggarwal at the University of Texas-Houston. But he says the growing file on curry includes compelling evidence gleaned from animal and human studies.

The findings from Western science fit with what traditional Indian healers have long said about turmeric. "They call it the spice of life," says P. Murali Doraiswamy, an Alzheimer's expert at Duke University in Durham, N.C.

For centuries, doctors trained in Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional medical system in India, have turned to turmeric to treat inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, says Janet Funk, a researcher at the University of Kansas. In the USA, many people with arthritis take over-the-counter supplements that contain curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric.

In the November study, Funk and her colleagues gave rats that were bred to develop rheumatoid arthritis injections of turmeric. "The turmeric almost completely prevented the onset of arthritis," Funk says. The spice also seemed to help stop joint destruction in rats that had already started to develop the disease, she says.

Curry also may offer some protection against cancer. "Indians eat from 100 to 200 milligrams of curry every day, and that might be enough to prevent cancer," says Aggarwal of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.

The curcumin in curry seems to shut down genes that trigger the development and the spread of breast cancer, animal studies in Aggarwal's lab suggest. And a preliminary human study suggests curcumin supplements might -- in a handful of cases -- be able to stabilize pancreatic cancer, he says.

Epidemiology studies in humans also have linked frequent use of turmeric spice to lower rates of breast, prostate and colon cancer, he says.

Large clinical studies still needed

Other research suggests curry might shield the brain from Alzheimer's, Cole says.

The studies on curry and Alzheimer's include:

*A test-tube study by researchers at UCLA in October showed that curcumin could help clear the human brain of toxic protein deposits thought to cause the memory loss and confusion of Alzheimer's.

*A study of more than 1,000 older men in Singapore last year found that those who ate lots of curry-spiced food did better on memory tests than those who rarely ate the spice.

The findings from Singapore suggest curry may help keep the aging brain in top shape. But to get the proof that curcumin fights cancer or Alzheimer's or arthritis, researchers will have to conduct large clinical trials, Cole says, and those studies will be expensive and take years to complete.

Americans don't need to wait for the proof on curry to enjoy a diet that includes more of this spice, says Alamelu Vairavan, co-author of the book Healthy South Indian Cooking. "You don't need to gulp supplements," she says, adding that cooks can find turmeric in Indian specialty shops and in most grocery stores.

Americans should give Indian food a try, Vairavan says. "This kind of food is very tasty and satisfying."

Eating more Indian food has worked for Jayne, who lives with her family in a small town outside Milwaukee. A family physician who recently retired because of disabling arthritis pain, Jayne says she knows there's no hard evidence of curry's health benefits. But that won't stop her from enjoying a lunch of tuna masala or an Indian stir-fry for dinner. She says the food seems to warm her joints and helps keep her in a size 8 dress.

"You can't argue with success," she says.

Source: USA TODAY

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/792236/tasty_curry_might_have_a_fringe_benefit/index.html

[Scheherazade]

"Plutoed" has been chosen as word of the year for 2006 by the American Dialect Society, beating "climate canary" in a run-off vote. If you have been "plutoed" you have been demoted or devalued, just as happened to the former planet Pluto when its status was downgraded.

A "climate canary" is something whose poor health indicates a looming environmental catastrophe.

This is the 17th time ADS members have voted to choose a word of the year.

"It was good that the society focused on a genuine scientific concern, though I believe the nomination came in from outer space," said committee chairman Professor Wayne Glowka.

Racial slur

The General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided last year that Pluto did not meet its new definition of a planet and would be categorised as a dwarf planet instead.

Other words in the running were:

flog - an advertisement disguised as a blog or web log
prohibited liquids - "fluids that cannot be transported by passengers on airplanes"
macaca - "an American citizen treated as an alien"
Macaca is considered by some to be a racial slur.

Former Senator George Allen had a comfortable lead in the polls ahead of last November's Congressional elections when he referred to the son of Indian immigrants as a macaca.

Mr Allen lost to Democrat Jim Webb.

Members of the 117-year-old ADS include academics, writers, editors and linguists.

The society says its vote is for fun only and they do not act in any official capacity of introducing words into the English language.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6240055.stm

[Nightshade]

I thought this was an interesting article.




http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/792236/tasty_curry_might_have_a_fringe_benefit/index.html

Werent they saying in August that curry could help migranes, come to think of it curries are filling when they dont come out of a jar....I guess Ill need to learn to cook that hen next:nod:

[SleepyWitch]

The Times January 09, 2007

The spy who offered to blow up Hitler on a suicide mission
Ben Macintyre
MI5 turned down plan by the safe-cracker turned double agent who wanted to end his days in a blaze of glory

A British secret agent who offered to blow up Adolf Hitler at the height of the Second World War was dissuaded from carrying out the assassination by MI5, according to newly released wartime archives.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2537272_1,00.html

[Scheherazade]

Mums will spend almost three years of their lives cooking for the family, according to new research.

The average mother will be chained to the stove for 17 days every year.

That is the equivalent of about an hour a day.

Often they will cook two different meals to cater for different members of the family.

This means mums will cook a staggering 45,990 meals in their lifetime, the poll by meat alternative brand Quorn revealed.

Some 20% of the 2,149 mothers surveyed say they cook as many as three or more meals on one occasion to keep everyone happy.

The man of the house is hardest to please followed by fussy teenage sons and daughters.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13561448,00.html

[Basil]

Thailand puts panda on low-carb sex diet

BANGKOK (AFP) - A male panda in Thailand has been put on a low-carb diet because he is too heavy to mate with his partner, his caretakers have said.

Story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070114/wl_asia_afp/thailandwildlifepandasex)

Guys, this could set a dangerous precedent.

[Nightshade]

Mums will spend almost three years of their lives cooking for the family, according to new research.

The average mother will be chained to the stove for 17 days every year.

That is the equivalent of about an hour a day.

Often they will cook two different meals to cater for different members of the family.

This means mums will cook a staggering 45,990 meals in their lifetime, the poll by meat alternative brand Quorn revealed.

Some 20% of the 2,149 mothers surveyed say they cook as many as three or more meals on one occasion to keep everyone happy.

The man of the house is hardest to please followed by fussy teenage sons and daughters.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13561448,00.html
They should do what m mum does ..if you dont like what I cook cook yourself.


Thailand puts panda on low-carb sex diet

BANGKOK (AFP) - A male panda in Thailand has been put on a low-carb diet because he is too heavy to mate with his partner, his caretakers have said.

Story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070114/wl_asia_afp/thailandwildlifepandasex)

Guys, this could set a dangerous precedent.

A wedding? :eek2: would panda's even wedding was? :lol:

[RobinHood3000]

...lovely. The Western disease is spreading, and it's killing other species, as well.

[Scheherazade]

Here is the full list of winners and nominees for the 2007 Golden Globe Awards, which have been held in Hollywood:

FILM CATEGORIES
Best film (drama)


Babel


Also nominated:
Bobby
Little Children
The Queen
The Departed

Best film (musical or comedy)


Dreamgirls


Also nominated:
Borat
Little Miss Sunshine
Thank You For Smoking
The Devil Wears Prada

Best director

Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Also nominated:
Clint Eastwood - Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood - Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel


Best actor (drama)

Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

Also nominated:
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness


Best actor (musical or comedy)

Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat

Also nominated:
Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You For Smoking
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Kinky Boots
Will Ferrell - Stranger Than Fiction

Best actress (drama)

Helen Mirren - The Queen

Also nominated:
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby
Kate Winslet - Little Children


Best actress (musical or comedy)

Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada

Also nominated:
Annette Bening - Running With Scissors
Toni Collette - Little Miss Sunshine
Beyonce Knowles - Dreamgirls
Renee Zellweger - Miss Potter

Best supporting actor

Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls

Also nominated:
Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland
Jack Nicholson - The Departed
Brad Pitt - Babel
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

Best supporting actress

Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

Also nominated:
Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel

Best foreign language film

Letters From Iwo Jima (US)

Also nominated:
Apocalypto (US)
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
The Lives of Others (Germany)
Volver (Spain)


Best animated feature film

Cars

Also nominated:
Happy Feet
Monster House


Best screenplay

Peter Morgan - The Queen

Also nominated:
Guillermo Arriaga - Babel
Todd Field and Tom Perrotta - Little Children
Patrick Marber - Notes on a Scandal
William Monahan - The Departed

Best original song

The Song of the Heart - Happy Feet

Also nominated:
Listen - Dreamgirls
Never Gonna Break My Faith - Bobby
Try Not to Remember - Home of the Brave
A Father's Way - The Pursuit of Happyness


Best original score

Alexandre Desplat - The Painted Veil

Also nominated:
Clint Mansell - The Fountain
Gustavo Santaolalla - Babel
Carlo Siliotto - Nomad
Hans Zimmer - The Da Vinci Code


Cecil B DeMille Award - lifetime achievement

Warren Beatty


TELEVISION CATEGORIES
Best series (drama)

Grey's Anatomy

Also nominated:
24
Big Love
Heroes
Lost

Best series (musical or comedy)

Ugly Betty

Also nominated:
Desperate Housewives
Entourage
The Office
Weeds

Best mini-series or film made for TV

Elizabeth I

Also nominated:
Bleak House
Broken Trail
Mrs Harris
Prime Suspect: The Final Act


Best actor (drama)

Hugh Laurie - House

Also nominated:
Patrick Dempsey - Grey's Anatomy
Michael C Hall - Dexter
Bill Paxton - Big Love
Kiefer Sutherland - 24

Best actor (musical or comedy)

Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock

Also nominated:
Zach Braff - Scrubs
Steve Carrell - The Office
Jason Lee - My Name is Earl
Tony Shalhoub - Monk

Best actor (mini-series or film made for TV)

Bill Nighy - Gideon's Daughter

Also nominated:
Andre Braugher - Thief
Robert Duvall - Broken Trail
Michael Ealy - Sleeper Cell
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Tsunami: The Aftermath
Ben Kingsley - Mrs Harris
Matthew Perry - The Ron Clark Story


Best actress (drama)

Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer

Also nominated:
Patricia Arquette - Medium
Edie Falco - Sopranos
Evangeline Lilly - Lost
Ellen Pompeo - Grey's Anatomy


Best actress (musical or comedy)

America Ferrera - Ugly Betty

Also nominated:
Marcia Cross - Desperate Housewives
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - The New Adventures of Old Christine
Felicity Huffman - Desperate Housewives
Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds

Best actress (mini-series or film made for TV)

Helen Mirren - Elizabeth I

Also nominated:
Gillian Anderson - Bleak House
Annette Bening - Mrs Harris
Helen Mirren - Prime Suspect: The Final Act
Sophie Okonedo - Tsunami: The Aftermath


Best supporting actor

Jeremy Irons - Elizabeth I

Also nominated:
Thomas Haden Church - Broken Trail
Justin Kirk - Weeds
Masi Oka - Heroes
Jeremy Piven - Entourage

Best supporting actress

Emily Blunt - Gideon's Daughter

Also nominated:
Toni Collette - Tsunami: The Aftermath
Katherine Heigl - Grey's Anatomy
Sarah Paulson - Studio 60

[RobinHood3000]

Yaaay, Hugh Laurie!! I should've stuck around for his acceptance speech!

[kilted exile]

:eek: :eek: :eek:

When Britain and France nearly married

Formerly secret documents unearthed from the National Archives have showed Britain and France considered a "union" in the 1950s.

On 10 September 1956 French Prime Minister Guy Mollet arrived in London for talks with his British counterpart, Anthony Eden.

These were troubled times for Mollet's France. Egypt's President Gamel Abdel Nasser had nationalised the Suez Canal and, as if that was not enough, he was also busy funding separatists in French Algeria, fuelling a bloody mutiny that was costing the country's colonial masters dear.

Monsieur Mollet was ready to fight back and he was determined to get Britain's help to do it.

Formerly secret documents held in Britain's National Archives in London, which have lain virtually unnoticed since being released two decades ago, reveal the extraordinary proposal Mollet was about to make.

The following is an extract from a British government cabinet paper of the day. It reads:

"When the French Prime Minister, Monsieur Mollet was recently in London he raised with the prime minister the possibility of a union between the United Kingdom and France."

Mollet was desperate to hit back at Nasser. He was also an Anglophile who admired Britain both for its help in two world wars and its blossoming welfare state.

There was another reason, too, that the French prime minister proposed this radical plan.

Tension was growing at this time along the border between Israel and Jordan. France was an ally of Israel and Britain of Jordan. If events got out of control there, French and British soldiers could soon be fighting each other.

With the Suez issue on the boil Mollet could not let such a disaster happen.

Secret document

So, when Eden turned down his request for a union between France and Britain the French prime minister came up with another proposal.

This time, while Eden was on a visit to Paris, he requested that France be allowed to join the British Commonwealth.

A secret document from 28 September 1956 records the surprisingly enthusiastic way the British premier responded to the proposal when he discussed it with his Cabinet Secretary, Sir Norman Brook.

It says: "Sir Norman Brook asked to see me this morning and told me he had come up from the country consequent on a telephone conversation from the prime minister who is in Wiltshire.

"The PM told him on the telephone that he thought in the light of his talks with the French:

* "That we should give immediate consideration to France joining the Commonwealth

* "That Monsieur Mollet had not thought there need be difficulty over France accepting the headship of her Majesty

* "That the French would welcome a common citizenship arrangement on the Irish basis"

Seeing these words for the first time, Henri Soutou, professor of contemporary history at Paris's Sorbonne University almost fell off his chair.

Stammering repeatedly he said: "Really I am stuttering because this idea is so preposterous. The idea of joining the Commonwealth and accepting the headship of Her Majesty would not have gone down well. If this had been suggested more recently Mollet might have found himself in court."

Textbooks

Nationalist MP Jacques Myard was similarly stunned on being shown the papers, saying: "I tell you the truth, when I read that I am quite astonished. I had a good opinion of Mr Mollet before. I think I am going to revise that opinion.

"I am just amazed at reading this because since the days I was learning history as a student I have never heard of this. It is not in the textbooks."

It seems that the French prime minister decided to quietly forget about his strange proposals.

No record of them seems to exist in the French archives and it is clear that he told few other ministers of the day about them.

This might well be because after Britain decided to pull out of Suez, the battle against President Nasser was lost and all talk of union died too.

Instead, when the EEC was born the following year, France teamed up with Germany while Britain watched on. The rest, it seems, is history.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6261885.stm

[Scheherazade]

They refuse to rally for neo-Nazis, but as long as the price is right a new type of German mercenary will take to the streets and protest for you.
Young, good-looking, and available for around 150 euros (£100), more than 300 would-be protesters are marketing themselves on a German rental website.

They feature next to cars, DVDs, office furniture and holiday homes.

For some, these protesters show how soulless life has become. For others, they breathe new life into old causes.

Staging a protest

Their descriptions read like those on a dating site.

Next to a black and white posed picture, Melanie lists her details from her jeans size to her shoe size and tells potential protest organisers that she is willing to be deployed up to 100km around Berlin.

Six hours of Melanie bearing your banner or shouting your slogan will set you back 145 euros.

A spokesperson for erento.com was unable to say how many demonstrators had been booked since the service was launched earlier this month, but that there had certainly been demand.

Organisations using the service are unlikely to reveal themselves, keen to pass off their protesters as genuine supporters of the cause. But German media reported a Munich march had hired protesters because its own adherents were too old to stand for hours waving banners.

Erento.com stresses that no protester needs to offer their services to a cause they object to, and therefore many may genuinely believe in the protest they are joining.

But the fact they are paid has perturbed a number of commentators in Germany, especially those who remember the passion-fuelled protests of 1968.

"It seems to confirm the increasingly common assumption," wrote one, "that democracy is for sale".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6292341.stm

[Scheherazade]

Spain is to overhaul its clothing sizes for women as part of a government drive to ease pressure on young girls over their body size.

There are fears that efforts to conform could be leading to eating disorders.

The move follows Spain's ban of ultra-thin models on the catwalk during Madrid fashion week last September.

Among the range of measures being introduced in Spain to address the body image issue, is an agreement that shop window mannequins should get larger.

It is a source of frustration for customers and shop assistants alike that in Spain women tend to go into the changing rooms with an armful of different sizes never knowing which one will fit this time or whether any will fit at all.

Survey of sizes

But by 2008 those days could be over. Spain's biggest fashion retailers have bowed to government pressure to standardise their sizes and reflect the real size of Spain's growing population.

For the first time ever the National Consumer Institute will measure Spanish females - more than 8,000 of them to be exact - between the ages of 12 and 70.

Spanish fashion houses will then try to fit them, rather than the other way round.

They have also agreed to decorate their shop windows with slightly bigger mannequins.

The health ministry described the current ones as unreal dolls of alien dimensions, which it sees as directly encouraging eating disorders such as anorexia.

The move is likely to affect women and girls all over the world as international brands such as Mango and Zara have signed up to the agreement.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6300793.stm

[Basil]

Good luck, Themis! Godspeed! Bon voyage! Auf Wiedersehen!

THEMIS Ready For Launch (http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/0-0&fp=45d68e799dce5282&ei=RDTWRaTFK7TIHPqurIEF&url=http%3A//www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/02/16_prelaunch.shtml&cid=1113633935)

[RobinHood3000]

Not that gossip is right to spread, but there was a quote in here I wanted to point out:


"The problem that we have is that in the U.S., we judge sexual behavior harshly," Dyson says. To which I say: WHAT??? :confused:

Article (http://news.aol.com/entertainment/movies/articles/_a/is-ralph-fiennes-a-sex-addict/20070216071309990001)

[Virgil]

Strange story. My wife says that someday they may find my body in front of a computer after a year. ;) So if my name shows up on the Who's Online here for weeks on end without posting, someone call the police. :p :p


Man's body found in front of TV year after death
Television was still on, authorities say; body partially mummified

Vincenzo Ricardo, 70, apparently died of natural causes, said Dr. Stuart Dawson, Suffolk County’s deputy chief medical examiner.

Police found Ricardo’s body this week when they investigated a report of burst pipes.

The home’s dry air had preserved his features, morgue assistant Jeff Bacchus said.

“You could see his face. He still had hair on his head,” Bacchus said.

Ricardo’s wife died years ago, and he lived alone, Dawson said.

“He hasn’t been heard from in over a year. That’s the part that baffles me,” he said. “Nobody sounded the alarm.”

Neighbors said they had thought Ricardo was in a hospital or nursing home.

“We never thought to check on him,” said neighbor Diane Devon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17202448/

[Nightshade]

Novelists Ian Rankin and Julian Barnes to fight Tessa Jowell's decision not to protect Sherlock Holmes' house
By Anthony Barnes, Art & Media Correspondent
Published: 11 February 2007
The leafy country mansion Undershaw, where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created his most famous work, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is at the centre of a literary controversy.

The home is revered by millions of Sherlock Holmes devotees around the world. Campaigners are furious that their efforts to upgrade the listed status of the 36-room property in Surrey, designed partly by Conan Doyle himself, to preserve it for future generations, have been blocked by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The writer was judged not significant enough to merit such a move.

Leading writers - including Julian Barnes and Ian Rankin - have condemned the Secretary of State for Culture, Tessa Jowell, for failing to recognise the author's place in the nation's cultural canon.

Barnes, whose own Booker-shortlisted novel Arthur & George features the home extensively, has criticised Ms Jowell for the "regrettable" failing.

He told The Independent On Sunday: "Given that you can't channel-surf without coming across a Conan Doyle adaptation of some sort, I think the Secretary of State is profoundly misguided. It's a fine and interesting property and a rare example of a house where a writer was the co-architect of their house. The only other I can think of is Thomas Hardy's."

Rankin, the creator of Inspector Rebus,has also added his voice to the criticism. He said it appeared to be "literary snobbery", and added: "He created one of the most recognisable and archetypal figures in literature, and if his house is not worth saving, then I would say that no house is worth saving."

The home was commissioned in 1896 at Hindhead in Surrey because the area's "microclimate" was said to help ease the difficulties of TB sufferers, a condition that his wife Louisa had been diagnosed with three years earlier. Conan Doyle lived there until 1906, writing Baskervilles and many other stories at the location, as well as entertaining guests such as Bram Stoker and Virginia Woolf.

It is now in a terrible state of disrepair after years of neglect, and lead from the roof has recently been stolen. Water is said to gush through the home during rainstorms and stained-glass windows, based on Conan Doyle family designs, have been damaged.

Recent plans to divide the property into flats and build more homes in the grounds were recently turned down. Although it has Grade II listed status, the Victorian Society wanted this raised to Grade I, to give added protection and attract funding for its preservation.

However, the Department for Culture turned down the application after its advisers from English Heritage noted that Conan Doyle "cannot be said to be an author of the standing of... Charles Dickens or Jane Austen".

more (http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2258904.ece)

[Scheherazade]

Cadbury Schweppes has apologised after a marketing stunt forced the closure of a historic graveyard in the US city of Boston.

The 347-year-old Old Granary Burial Ground was shut after Cadbury's Dr Pepper unit hid a gold coin there as part of a 23-city treasure hunt promotion.

Thousands of people flocked to the cemetery to find the coin, prompting fears that graves would be desecrated.

The cemetery is the final resting place of American Revolutionary patriots Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, as well as about 5,000 other people.

Customers entering the promotion bought specially-marked bottles of Dr Petter each day to get codes printed on them.

Entering the codes on the Dr Pepper website brought up daily clues.

Advertisement

The 29th clue for Boston indicated the coin was in the vicinity of the Orpheum Theatre, across the street from the cemetery, with the 30th and final clue saying: "You're hot on the trail, though the place may feel chilly. The coin rests by the name of a patriot at rest in Philly."

That clue was released Tuesday at 3 am, and within minutes, dozens of people were camped out in front of the cemetery, waiting for it to open.

Cadbury Schweppes donated the $10,000 (£5,000) Boston prize to the graveyard for "its time and trouble,'' the Boston Globe reported.

It also said that the company would pay the city $500 (£255) for a police team called to guard the cemetery.

The problems caused Dr Pepper to cancel the entire promotion, meaning that the top prize of $1m (£510,000) will not be won.

"It absolutely is disrespectful," said Boston Parks Commissioner Toni Pollak. "It's an affront to the people who are buried there, our nation's ancestors."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-1253153,00.html

[Scheherazade]

Thousands of British children think cows lay eggs, a survey has suggested.

Townies fared worst in the research designed to find out if kids know where their food comes from.

Dairy Farmers of Britain asked more than 1,000 children aged eight to 15 where they believed food like cheese, yoghurt and beef burgers originated.

Although knowledge improved with age, more than one in 10 (11%) of eight-year-olds did not know that pork chops come from pigs.

City children were almost three times as likely not know that beef burgers come from cows as their rural counterparts - 8% against 3%.

One in 10 townie children did not know where yoghurt comes from, compared to 6% of those from the countryside.

Worst of all, 2% of city kids in the sample survey thought that eggs come from cows, and that bacon is from cows or sheep.

Welsh children proved to be the least clued-up when it comes to cheese - with 11% unaware that it came from cows or sheep, compared to just 3% in the East Midlands.

But there was one piece of reassuring news for dairy farmers - all of the children knew that cows produce milk.

Dairy Farmers' Phil Gibson said: "With the Government and health organisations encouraging healthy eating in schools, it is important that children are taught about the way food is produced as well as what it contains."

:: Dairy Farmers of Britain is a company owned and run by 2,750 farmers in England and Wales.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13569871,00.html

[Scheherazade]

A dolphin is dying of a broken heart after its beloved trainer was killed by her neighbour in a frenzied attack.

Mary G was rescued from the Adriatic Sea and nurtured back to full health by Tamara Monti at the Oltremare water park in Riccione, Italy.

But the 37-year-old was stabbed to death at her flat by neighbour Alessandro Doto.

He claimed he had been driven mad by the constant barking of Ms Monti's two dogs.

Now Mary G is refusing her diet of milk and squid and has lost 50kg in weight. She has also failed to respond to treatment for a gastric infection.

Leonardo Stanzani, the park's director, said Ms Monti had become the dolphin's "substitute mother".

"The relationship between a dolphin and its trainer is always special but this time it was especially close," Mr Stanzani told The Times.

"Tamara was constantly stroking Mary, who would nuzzle her cheek."

Keepers are hoping the introduction of an older dolphin called Pele into Mary G's aquarium will help cheer her up.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-1252170,00.html

[Scheherazade]

An 80-year-old woman has crashed her car into a driving test centre in Florida, after being summoned to retake a road safety examination. Therese Smith smashed into the office's waiting room, injuring 11 people.

It is thought she was moving out of her parking space but accelerated too hard, propelling her through an outside wall.

The accident was caught on surveillance camera and shows people rushing up to Ms Smith who was still buckled in her seat belt. No-one was seriously hurt.

The videotape also shows a man in a Superman costume walking around the car, but he did not stop to help the driver or any of the victims. His identity is unknown.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6414003.stm


I wanna know who the guy in Superman costume was!!! :D

[kilted exile]

Asylum seekers targeted by gangs

Clad in the youth uniform of shellsuits, baseball caps and trainers, the teenagers swig from half empty MD 20/20 bottles.

The scene in the shadow of a decaying tower block is played out in towns and cities across the UK by bored youngsters hanging around on street corners.


Swastika graffiti

Hardly an asylum seeker haven?
Maimed by teenage racist gang

But this is Scotland's largest city and these youths are part of a worrying new trend - self styled street gangs which increasingly target asylum seekers and refugees.

Some of those now terrorising housing schemes in Glasgow have allegedly formed tentative links with Nazi groups and display a fevered determination to attack refugees and asylum seekers.

Glasgow's gangs are nothing new. They have a long and violent history dating back to fiercesome battles fought over long-forgotten streets during the 18th century.

As the city positions itself as a post-industrial success story, many would rather forget the city's notorious street gangs and their appetite for Clockwork Orange-style "recreational violence".

But this new breed of (predominantly) teenage thugs have been quick to capitalise on the sinister opportunities offered by the internet.

Gang websites and online forums proliferate with links to extremist groups such as Combat 18 and loyalist paramilitaries. Notorious gangs such as the Toryglen Nazi Circus, the Young Toryglen Toi and the Bowery Wee Mob have websites daubed with Nazi insignia and links to far right discussion forums.


GANG WARS
A new generation of Glasgow's gangs target asylum seekers

In the south side of Glasgow, one gang member, who asked not to be named, said: "Why shouldn't we give them a hard time?

"They (asylum seekers) are dropped in here from all over the place and end up with the best houses in the scheme.

"We just give them grief and it can get a bit mental."

Groups, such as the BNP, have already used recent flashpoints such as the Kriss Donald murder trial to fuel racial hatred.

The case, one of Scotland's most high profile racially motivated murders, became a cause celebre for gang members who use message boards to discuss attacks on asylum seekers and refugees.

Several gang web pages, complete with pictures of gang members in various states of intoxication, are linked to another series of websites billing themselves as a forum for "national socialists worldwide".

An entry from Glasgow used a number of racial epithets and issued an ominous warning about the Kriss Donald murder.

It said: "It's a disgrace. Imagine if it was an ethnic child who was snatched off the street, tortured and killed.

"Gone but never forgotten, wee man, justice is coming."

Some of these gangs have a fiercesome reputation for violence and are quick to defend their territory against "outsiders".

It would appear for many of them, that asylum seekers and refugees have formed an easily identifiable target.

One area in Glasgow has more than 300 asylum seeker and refugee families.

Gang signs

While some members of the community have welcomed asylum seekers with open arms, gangs of youths have also tried to make their lives a misery.

The area is dotted with aging multi-storey flats and run-down shop fronts. Most of them are emblazoned with gang signs and racially offensive graffiti.

One local community activist said: "There were some real problems and at one time we thought the asylum seekers would have to get bussed in and out.

"It's a youth problem. These kids have nothing to do and they are fiercely territorial. Drink is often involved too.

"Then when you add a group of asylum seekers or refugees who in some cases look different or have a different cultural background, these gangs can react.

"You do get swastikas daubed on shop fronts and that type of thing and it is totally unacceptable.

"Whether that is part of youthful bravado and an attempt to look tough or of something more sinister remains to be seen. It is very worrying."

Fears of a growing politicisation of gangs and the specific targeting of ethnic minorities comes at a time when there is already a massive exodus among asylum seekers.

Nearly all of Scotland's asylum seekers are based in Glasgow, but research has shown two-thirds leave the city once the Home Office has approved their claims.

A Scottish Executive study labelled the levels of racial harassment "shocking".

Dr Susan Batchelor, a leading criminologist at the University of Glasgow, said asylum seekers and refugees were an easy target for young gang members.


She said: "These gangs are very territorial. Some of them are quick to chase out anyone who enters their patch and asylum seekers would fall into that category.

"As a group, asylum seekers and refugees are easily 'othered'. They perhaps speak a different language or have a different culture and it is very easy for them to be singled out.

"I have met some of the people involved in gangs and they were very insular. I interviewed young people from Possil in the north of the city and yet they had still never been into the city centre.

Extra officers

"Gangs are about belonging, and race and ethnicity are a very quick way to differentiate people."

Last year, a crackdown on youth gangs in Glasgow was stepped up. About 90 extra police officers have been posted on the streets in "hot spot" areas as part of Operation Tag.

Plain clothes "spotters" are used to "identify and disrupt" gangs which cause the most trouble between 1800 BST and 2200 BST on Friday and Saturday.

Extra officers have already been posted from police offices at Govan, New Gorbals, Cathcart, Giffnock and Pollok.

However, for asylum seekers in particular, these gangs and their deep-seated territorialism means that, as yet, they have little chance of making a happy and productive new home in Scotland.

link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6292747.stm)

Ok, now my cooments............

1) I like the link to Clockwork Orange "recreational violence" its very true for a lot of these people the night isnt complete unless you've attempted to chib some pure dobber man, or gi'en some daftie a malky.

2) This really isnt anything new, its just finally the BBC has writtensomething about it, it is a link through the football casuals which was where these people used to "graduate" to. There was always the same "linkage" when I was growing up as well. But with the internet it is more visible, and we can no longer sweep it under the carpet and believe Scotland has no race problems

3) I have always wondered why asylum seekers would be sent to Glasgow, they are basically just exchanging warzones.

4) Just incase anyone is worried about these people leading anyone astray, here (http://glasgowprideworldwide.4t.com/) is an example of one of these gang sites. Half the time the links dont work and you also need to be able to understand hieroglyphics as far as I can figure out to be able to make any sense of it.

[Scheherazade]

Body parts from China intended for a US laboratory have been mistakenly sent to a Michigan home by a delivery firm. The recipient, in Cascade near Grand Rapids, said her husband opened two packages - one containing a liver, the other a partial human head.

"He started the second one, but stopped as soon as we saw the ear," she told the Grand Rapids Press newspaper.

The delivery company, DHL, said it was not immediately clear what happened but the labels were reportedly in Chinese.

The company says it is co-operating with investigators.

The authorities believe 28 more bubble-wrapped human organs could have been dispersed across the country.

The body parts - which are preserved - were for medical research, police spokesman Roger Parent said.

"There will definitely be a shock to people if they see these things, but there is no hazard to health," he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6416459.stm

[RobinHood3000]

Well. That's bizarre. Remind me to be wary about opening DHL packages in Chinese at my door.

[Scheherazade]

There really is something in the way she moves, according to researchers.
An hourglass figure has long been perceived to be the ideal figure for a woman to have.

But New York University researchers have found that to be found attractive, a woman had to move in a feminine way - swaying her hips.

Men, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper found, were more attractive if they moved with a "shoulder swagger".

The waist-hip ratio has long been thought to be key to Western perceptions of attractiveness, with a small waist and bigger hips the ideal combination.

Marilyn Monroe, and now Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez are famous examples of women with that figure.

Its popularity may be down to media images, or because Western women do not need to have strong and muscular bodies in order to carry out manual labour, unlike women in developing countries.

But the US research, which was also published in the journal Psychological Science, suggests they would never have achieved their sex symbol status if they did not move in the right way.

Not just measurements

The team carried out a series of studies involving over 700 participants who were shown a variety of animations and videos of people moving.

Some showed shadow figures, where it was not possible to see if it was a man or a woman, while others obviously showed a man or a woman.

No matter which format was being used, the participants rated women or "female" figures as more attractive if their hips swayed as they walked, while men were more attractive if they had the characteristic shoulder movement.

The research also confirmed the waist-hip ratio assumption, with women's attractiveness being rated higher if their waist-hip ratio was small and men's being higher if their ratio was large.

The ideal waist-hip ratio for women is to have a waist measurement which is no more than 70% of their hip measurement.

But Kerri Johnson and Louis Tassinary who led the research, say their work shows attractiveness is not as simple as the difference between two measurements.

Writing in PNAS, the researchers said: "The body's shape and motion provoke basic social perceptions, biological sex and gender - ie masculinity or femininity respectively.

"The compatibility of these basic precepts predicts perceived attractiveness."

The team say their findings only apply to Western cultures, and other societies will judge attractiveness depending on their most prized feminine and masculine traits.

Dr George Fieldman, principal lecturer in psychology at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College said: "This is quite plausible.

"It's the movement which attracts, and not just the waist-hip ratio per se."

He added: "It would be interesting to see what the ideal combination of measurements and wiggle is."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6444851.stm?ls

[hockeychick8792]

WOW!!! There are some pretty interesting stories out there. Please do tell more, but watch what you say ;)

[Virgil]

There really is something in the way she moves, according to researchers.
An hourglass figure has long been perceived to be the ideal figure for a woman to have.

But New York University researchers have found that to be found attractive, a woman had to move in a feminine way - swaying her hips.

Men, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper found, were more attractive if they moved with a "shoulder swagger".


It took a study to figure this out????:confused: We knew this as teenagers growing up on the streets of Brooklyn. ;)

[Scheherazade]

It took a study to figure this out????:confused: We knew this as teenagers growing up on the streets of Brooklyn. ;)BINGO!!! I knew Virgil would post a reply to this article! :p



Poor sleep clouds moral judgement

A couple of sleepless nights can cloud a person's moral judgement, study findings suggest. Army researchers found soldiers struggled to make snap decisions in emotionally charged situations after being deprived of sleep for two nights.

The authors say this could be important for other professions, including doctors, who have broken sleep and need to make quick decisions in a crisis.

The US work is published in the latest edition of the journal Sleep.

Lack of shut-eye

It is well established that poor sleep can impair many functions, including concentration and memory.

Some people say they need as little as three hours of sleep in every 24 hours to feel rested, while others need 11 hours.

Experts generally advise people get about eight hours of solid sleep per night to be on top form.

Lead researcher Dr William Killgore, of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, stressed that the findings did not mean that sleep deprivation leads to a decline in "morality" or in the quality of moral beliefs.

"Our results simply suggest that when sleep deprived, individuals appear to be selectively slower in their deliberations about moral personal dilemmas relative to other types of dilemmas," he said.

Sluggish judgement

The dilemmas used in the study were hypothetical scenarios, rather than actual events.

The researchers asked 26 healthy soldiers to judge whether a given course of action would be "appropriate" or "inappropriate" in each of the test situations, ranging from minor inconsequential ones to serious dilemmas where the decision could theoretically harm another person.

In general, the soldiers found it harder to perform the task when they were sleep deprived and had been awake continuously for 53 hours.

Some even changed their view of what was morally acceptable after they had been awake for two days.

The US military currently is investigating how little sleep soldiers can safely get by on and whether drugs can help them to stay alert for longer without sleep.

Unsafe

Neil Stanley of the British Sleep Society said: "We know that being tired impairs judgement generally. This work suggests it affects moral judgement too.

"You react differently and situations can escalate. Your emotions can be out of kilter and you are either close to tears or a zombie."

He said there was a worrying trend towards a 24-hour society, with people burning the candle at both ends.

"We should not accept tiredness as a normal state," he said.

He said the longest stint ever recorded was a person who went 11.5 days without sleep.

Sleep deprivation is exceedingly common, not just among shift workers.

Allen Davey, director of the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association, estimates at least a quarter of people in the UK do not get enough sleep because a family member snores.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6453247.stm

[Virgil]

BINGO!!! I knew Virgil would post a reply to this article! :p


You know me too well now. ;) :D


Poor sleep clouds moral judgement

A couple of sleepless nights can cloud a person's moral judgement, study findings suggest. Army researchers found soldiers struggled to make snap decisions in emotionally charged situations after being deprived of sleep for two nights.

The authors say this could be important for other professions, including doctors, who have broken sleep and need to make quick decisions in a crisis.

The US work is published in the latest edition of the journal Sleep...

Now this sounds like something worth studying.

[Scheherazade]

Two sniffer dogs have been so successful hunting pirated films in Malaysia that crime bosses have put a price on their head, officials say. The black Labradors, Lucky and Flo, made dangerous enemies this week after their first bust, discovering about a million pirated DVDs and CDs.

Authorities say there is now a bounty on offer to anyone who eliminates the dogs, though the amount is not known.

The animals are being kept in a secret location with increased security.

"The dogs are a genuine threat to the pirated disc syndicates, thus the instruction to eliminate them," Firdaus Zakaria, enforcement director at the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, told the New Straits Times.

Piracy hub

Six people were arrested when the dogs led handlers to a stash of pirated material, thought to be worth up to $3m (£1.5m), in Malaysia's southern city of Johor Baru on Monday.

The animals were trained in Northern Ireland to identify the smell of polycarbonates - chemicals used in the disc manufacturing process.

Malaysia is one of the hubs of Asia's huge trade in pirated films, music and games.

The Motion Picture Association of America says big entertainment studios lost $1.2bn (£600m) to movie piracy in the region last year.

A spokesman for the MPAA said Malaysia is the first country in the world to use dogs to detect fake discs.

The dogs are being loaned to Malaysian police on a one-month trial from the MPAA, which is ramping up efforts to fight counterfeiting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6478235.stm

[Scheherazade]

Many parents may regard it as a deafening din, but liking heavy metal may be a sign of intelligence in youngsters.

New research suggests clever teenagers listen to it as a way of coping with the pressures of being talented.

A study of 1000 of the country's brightest adolescents revealed "metalheads" are often extremely bright.

"There is a perception of gifted and talented students as being into classical music and spending a lot of time reading," Stuart Cadwallader, from Warwick University, said.

"There is literature that links heavy metal to poor academic performance and delinquency, but we found a group that contradicts that.

"We are looking at a group with lower than average self-esteem that does not feel quite so well adjusted.

"They feel more stressed out and turn to heavy metal as a way of relieving that stress."

The study revealed those who enjoyed heavy metal often had more difficuilties in their relationships with family and friends.

One of those questioned in the survey said: "It's the general thrashiness of it.

"You can't really jump your anger into the floor and listen to your music at the same time with other types of music."

Being brainy is not limited to the music's fans though.

Iron Maiden's lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, is a history graduate as well as being a novelist and qualified commercial pilot.

:: The survey involved 1,057 members of the National Academy for Gifted and talented Youth.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-1256804,00.html

[AimusSage]

Many parents may regard it as a deafening din, but liking heavy metal may be a sign of intelligence in youngsters.

New research suggests clever teenagers listen to it as a way of coping with the pressures of being talented.

A study of 1000 of the country's brightest adolescents revealed "metalheads" are often extremely bright.

"There is a perception of gifted and talented students as being into classical music and spending a lot of time reading," Stuart Cadwallader, from Warwick University, said.

"There is literature that links heavy metal to poor academic performance and delinquency, but we found a group that contradicts that.

"We are looking at a group with lower than average self-esteem that does not feel quite so well adjusted.

"They feel more stressed out and turn to heavy metal as a way of relieving that stress."

The study revealed those who enjoyed heavy metal often had more difficuilties in their relationships with family and friends.

One of those questioned in the survey said: "It's the general thrashiness of it.

"You can't really jump your anger into the floor and listen to your music at the same time with other types of music."

Being brainy is not limited to the music's fans though.

Iron Maiden's lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, is a history graduate as well as being a novelist and qualified commercial pilot.

:: The survey involved 1,057 members of the National Academy for Gifted and talented Youth.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-1256804,00.html
I knew that!


Besides, there are a great many metal heads who like classical music too! (like me)

[Scheherazade]

The theory that short men end up as more aggressive than taller ones has been dismissed by a scientific study. The University of Central Lancashire research for the BBC found taller men were more likely to lose their temper.

Men of different heights duelled with wooden sticks but one of the subjects deliberately provoked the other by rapping them across the knuckles.

Heart monitors revealed it was the taller men who flew off the handle more quickly and hit back.

Chopstick Game

The research was designed to test Short Man Syndrome - or "Napoleon complex" - the theory that shorter men are more aggressive to dominate those who are taller than them.

The experiment - called the Chopstick Game - involved 10 men of average height and the same number below 5ft 5ins.

The subject who did the provoking had been briefed to do so by the scientists.

The other men were under the impression they were being tested for physical attributes, reaction times and eye-hand co-ordination.

Obvious attribute

Dr Mike Eslea said the study suggested it made no more sense to say diminutive footballer Dennis Wise was aggressive on the pitch because he was small, than it was to say Robbie Savage was likewise because he was blond.

Dr Eslea said: "The results were consistent with the view that Small Man Syndrome is a myth.

"When people see a short man being aggressive, they are likely to think it is due to his size simply because that attribute is obvious and grabs their attention."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6501633.stm

[Scheherazade]

A French high-speed train (TGV) has smashed the world record for a train on conventional rails by a big margin, reaching 574.8km/h (356mph).
The previous TGV record was 515km/h (320mph), set in 1990.

The record attempt by a modified TGV took place on a track between Paris and the eastern city of Strasbourg.

More (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6521295.stm)

[Dante Wodehouse]

They refuse to rally for neo-Nazis, but as long as the price is right a new type of German mercenary will take to the streets and protest for you.
Young, good-looking, and available for around 150 euros (£100), more than 300 would-be protesters are marketing themselves on a German rental website.

They feature next to cars, DVDs, office furniture and holiday homes.

For some, these protesters show how soulless life has become. For others, they breathe new life into old causes.

Staging a protest

Their descriptions read like those on a dating site.

Next to a black and white posed picture, Melanie lists her details from her jeans size to her shoe size and tells potential protest organisers that she is willing to be deployed up to 100km around Berlin.

Six hours of Melanie bearing your banner or shouting your slogan will set you back 145 euros.

A spokesperson for erento.com was unable to say how many demonstrators had been booked since the service was launched earlier this month, but that there had certainly been demand.

Organisations using the service are unlikely to reveal themselves, keen to pass off their protesters as genuine supporters of the cause. But German media reported a Munich march had hired protesters because its own adherents were too old to stand for hours waving banners.

Erento.com stresses that no protester needs to offer their services to a cause they object to, and therefore many may genuinely believe in the protest they are joining.

But the fact they are paid has perturbed a number of commentators in Germany, especially those who remember the passion-fuelled protests of 1968.

"It seems to confirm the increasingly common assumption," wrote one, "that democracy is for sale".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6292341.stm

I can finally start that revolution that I have been putting off for so long.

[Scheherazade]

The Indian civil service is dropping part of a new appraisal form requiring female employees to detail their menstrual cycles, a top official says. The ministry of personnel says that the decision to delete the controversial part of the form was taken following an intervention by the prime minister.

Some female civil servants described the form as grossly insensitive.

The questions were reported to have been put in the 2007 appraisal on advice from the health ministry.

MORE (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6553567.stm)

[kilted exile]

The Indian civil service is dropping part of a new appraisal form requiring female employees to detail their menstrual cycles, a top official says. The ministry of personnel says that the decision to delete the controversial part of the form was taken following an intervention by the prime minister.

Some female civil servants described the form as grossly insensitive.

The questions were reported to have been put in the 2007 appraisal on advice from the health ministry.

MORE (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6553567.stm)

That question must have been included by a woman, we men have no interest in knowing about that stuff

[RobinHood3000]

That's not entirely true - it is occasionally useful to know, if only for self-defense purposes. Of course, having the impertinence to ask is often self-defeating, anyway...

[papayahed]

That's not entirely true - it is occasionally useful to know, if only for self-defense purposes. Of course, having the impertinence to ask is often self-defeating, anyway...


WHAT is THAT suppossed to mean???:flare: ;) :p ;)

[littlewing53]

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[RobinHood3000]

WHAT is THAT suppossed to mean???:flare: ;) :p ;)...nuthin...

~sidles away~

[kilted exile]

Well at least we're stilling setting records for something :lol:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6570955.stm

[kilted exile]

Limbo no more:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070420/ts_nm/pope_limbo_dc

[Madhuri]

The Indian civil service is dropping part of a new appraisal form requiring female employees to detail their menstrual cycles, a top official says. The ministry of personnel says that the decision to delete the controversial part of the form was taken following an intervention by the prime minister.

Some female civil servants described the form as grossly insensitive.

The questions were reported to have been put in the 2007 appraisal on advice from the health ministry.

MORE (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6553567.stm)

Hey I didn't know of this, i'll have to ask my mother. Even if all officers have to go through the medical examination process, it can be on one to one basis, between the examiner and the officer. Why does it need to be public? :rolleyes: Silly govt. rules :rolleyes:

[kilted exile]

Oops, sorry.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6582293.stm

Seriously, how the hell does this happen. I knew that Scotland & the UK in general was still in some ways behind here with regards to treatment processes but over nillions of litres of raw sewage into the firth of forth? Where are the bypasses, standby pumps and emergency diversion procedures?

[Scheherazade]

Kryptonite is no longer just the stuff of fiction feared by caped superheroes.
A new mineral matching its unique chemistry - as described in the film Superman Returns - has been identified in a mine in Serbia.

According to movie and comic-book storylines, kryptonite is supposed to sap Superman's powers whenever he is exposed to its large green crystals.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6584229.stm

Now all we need to do is to find the Superman! :D

[RobinHood3000]

Neato!! :D

Brandon Routh, beware...

[Scheherazade]

The 41-cent stamp featuring Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi
Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor is to feature in a new set of stamps from the US Postal Service. The star, from Crieff in Perthshire, appears on one of 15 special edition stamps designed to commemorate the film series' 30th anniversary next month.

The 41-cent stamp shows the 37-year-old in his role of Obi-Wan Kenobi fighting with Anakin Skywalker.

The new stamps take in characters from all six movies in the Star Wars saga. The stamps will go on sale on 25 May.

MORE (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6605297.stm)

[papayahed]

The 41-cent stamp featuring Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi
Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor is to feature in a new set of stamps from the US Postal Service. The star, from Crieff in Perthshire, appears on one of 15 special edition stamps designed to commemorate the film series' 30th anniversary next month.

The 41-cent stamp shows the 37-year-old in his role of Obi-Wan Kenobi fighting with Anakin Skywalker.

The new stamps take in characters from all six movies in the Star Wars saga. The stamps will go on sale on 25 May.

MORE (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6605297.stm)


I guess I'll have to camp out to be the first in line. Hopefully it'll be more of the first 3.

[cuppajoe_9]

The 41-cent stamp shows the 37-year-old in his role of Obi-Wan Kenobi fighting with Anakin Skywalker.

I feel that somebody should point out that neither one of those actors is American. Isn't it traditional to depict Americans on American stamps?

[Scheherazade]

Singapore showed a 30% increase, making it the most frenetic city
The pace of life for city dwellers is literally getting faster, a new British-led study suggests.

People are walking 10% more quickly than a decade ago, according to research in 32 cities across the globe.

Thousands of pedestrians were secretly timed in city centres with Singapore's residents found to be the most swift, followed by Copenhagen and Madrid.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6614643.stm

[kilted exile]

Curry told police: "I thought as long as you were wearing a seatbelt you were alright to have eight or nine pints."

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/6607529.stm?ls

[Niamh]

Work on the contraversial M3 motorway in Ireland has been brought to a halt due to the archaeological discovery of an bronze age/Iron age ceremonial site the size of three football fields. The site is situated in the screen valley beside the world famous Tara Fort. World wide petitions had been sent to the Irish government to reroute the motorway Prior before any work had started on the proposed route. The minister for the Inviornment, Ducas and heritage has till wednesday to decide whether the site is a significant part of Irish Heritage and should be preserved as a national monument, which would mean the rerouting of the motorway.

[Scheherazade]

A Magellanic penguin whose natural habitat is the cool climes of southern Chile has strayed thousands of miles from his home, arriving in Peru. The penguin, native to the Strait of Magellan region of Chile, swam all the way to Peru's Paracas national reserve.

Scientists say the bird appeared to have made the 5,000km (3,000-mile) journey alone.

They say the penguin must have "got off course" to end up just 14 degrees south of the equator.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6647485.stm

[Scheherazade]

A rocket containing the ashes of Star Trek actor James Doohan has not yet been found, two weeks after it returned from the edge of space. A portion of Doohan's ashes, along with 200 others, were launched from a site in New Mexico on 28 April.

The rocket reached its planned altitude of 72.7 miles (117 kms) before coming down in a mountainous area.

Operator Space Services Inc said the craft had locator beacons, but that bad weather had hampered the search.

Doohan played Scotty, the Enterprise's straight-talking engineer, in the original TV series and several movies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6646837.stm

[kilted exile]

War poet's lost medal discovered


A medal given to one of Britain's most famous war poets has been found in an attic on a Scottish island.The family of Siegfried Sassoon believed he had hurled his Military Cross into the River Mersey in protest over the First World War.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6641881.stm

[Scheherazade]

Steven Spielberg and The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson are to bring Tintin to the big screen, according to industry reports. Movie publication Variety reports that a three feature deal has been struck, with the pair directing one each and the third still to be decided.

Jackson's special effects team Weta Digital will use 3-D animation to bring the junior reporter to life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6656635.stm


Will be looking forward to this one; grew up reading Tintin comics.

[Niamh]

:eek: I loved TinTin growing up! But i see that as an odd collaberation!

[Nightshade]

Tintin? poor actor will have one sore head after getting bashed enough times

:lol:

I loved captain Haddock and Johnson and Johnson they always made me think of baby products... :lol:

Umm is it animated then? Oh I dont really like digital animations I might skip it.

[Wizard272002]

Why did they do this? (http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/baby-bubba-gets-state-gun-permit/20070516104709990002?ncid=NWS00010000000001)

[Scheherazade]

A woman in China has offered to marry off her cancer-stricken mother to anyone who can pay her medical bills. Du Chunmei says she cannot afford the $6,000 of treatment and believes it is the only way to save her mother's life.

She has put an advert online saying: "I post this message in desperation. If anyone could pay for my mother's treatment, I'll marry her to you."

Her appeal, which she says has her mother's approval, has captured the public's attention in China.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6665457.stm

[Niamh]

Why did they do this? (http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/baby-bubba-gets-state-gun-permit/20070516104709990002?ncid=NWS00010000000001)

Thats a Joke! The kid cant even walk! Whats wrong with people these days! there really should be an age limit of a gun licence. No wonder some parts of America are the way the are!(Sorry if i offend by american friends)

[Scheherazade]

Hundreds of Hindus in Nepal are flocking to see a statue of a deity which is said to be "sweating". Devotees believe the apparant perspiration is a sign of impending turmoil or natural disaster.

The statue of the Hindu God of trade and commerce, Bhimeshwor, has reportedly been sweating since Saturday.

The statue is located in Dolakha district, 70km (43 miles) east of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6676775.stm

[andave_ya]

This story wrenched my heart out! :bawling: :bawling: and :flare: :flare:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070528/ap_on_re_us/book_burning

[mtpspur]

Incredible--I kept wondering about all the early stuff he might have had, Tom Swift, Hardy Boys, pulps(??), Sabatinis, Haggards, etc. Surely Terhune was in there. Used book stores have always been a tough sell but I rarely toss a book and try to find a home for it. My library isn't much but I'm sure my oldest son will appreciate most of them and Tim Bookery Fantasy would take them. Still looking casually for grace Livingston Hill hardcovers for the long suffering wife--she has about half of them (50 or so) on a bookshelf whose space I covet. Now if she would just read them. Sigh.

[Fango]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070528/ap_on_re_us/book_burning

I'm sorry to have posted such thing in a forum that would be sensitive to it, but my anger and frustration have to be shared. Say what you will, that guy is insane!

[kilted exile]

What would you have him do with them? He needs to make space & attempts to give them away, but no-one will take them. So he burns them in protest - they were to be disposed of in some way (would you have preferred he just threw them out?) at least he has made a statement.

[Bakiryu]

Baka! He shuold have posted a notice in the internet, I'm sure a bunch of bibliophiles (including me) would've bought his books or taken then. Burning books is a horrendous crime! Almost as horrifiying as murder!

[Fango]

Nah nah nah, kilted, this is no way to make a statement. I'm sure that if he tried harder to get rid of them he would've. I second what Bakiru said, and like him I would've taken his entire collection gladly! (understatement)

[papayahed]

Nah nah nah, kilted, this is no way to make a statement. I'm sure that if he tried harder to get rid of them he would've. I second what Bakiru said, and like him I would've taken his entire collection gladly! (understatement)

And paid shipping?

[andave_ya]

All those books! I wouldn't have wanted all of them but the ones like the 1910 one would have been lovely! *groans loudly*

[Bebbin]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070528/ap_on_re_us/book_burning

I'm sorry to have posted such thing in a forum that would be sensitive to it, but my anger and frustration have to be shared. Say what you will, that guy is insane!
When I saw the book-burning on the news earlier today, I immediately thought of Fahrenheit 451. It's very disappointing how the store owner couldn't even give the books away because no one would take them. http://clicksmilies.com/s1106/traurig/sad-smiley-013.gif

I would've taken them in loads (and I'm sure lots of us here probably would too, haha), but I live a thousand miles away.

[Fango]

And paid shipping?

Every last penny.

Really, I mean it.

[kilted exile]

US town to ban saggy trousers

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6751777.stm


*EDIT* Lets hope for consistency they are outlawing swimming as well

[andave_ya]

:lol: that's probably a good thing :lol:

[Scheherazade]

Sunita Williams, a US astronaut aboard the International Space Station, has set a new record for the longest unbroken space flight by a woman. As of 0547 GMT on Saturday, she had passed the 188-day, four-hour mark set by Shannon Lucid in 1996. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6759539.stm

[RobinHood3000]

HOO-rah for the American space program, which we actually do about as well as we say we do.

[Scheherazade]

A US man has lost a $54m (£27m) claim against a South Korean dry-cleaning firm which lost a pair of his trousers. Roy Pearson, a judge of administrative law, claimed that Custom Cleaners had violated the Consumer Protection Act.

By refusing to pay him $1,000 (£500) after losing his trousers, they failed to honour a pledge to provide "Satisfaction Guaranteed", he argued.

But a Washington judge dismissed the case, which drew international attention, awarding the cleaners costs.
Legal groups have said the case, which has dragged on for two years and involved thousands of hours of legal investigative work, has damaged the image of the US judicial system.

MORE (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6238364.stm)

[Brigitte]

Poor Korean family!! I do hope they don't go back to Korea and stay here. I mean come on... a pair of pants?

[kilted exile]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6257194.stm

Someone has just driven a burning jeep into glasgow airport.
Not sure if this is current politics or not. Very thankful the father was flying yesterday & not today.

[Scheherazade]

A grandmother won second prize in a cake-baking contest at a fete, only to discover she was the only entrant. Jenny Brown, 62, entered her Victoria Sponge into the competition and was initially pleased to have come second.

But she was left shocked when a friend revealed to her that she was the only person to take part.

The contest was organised by the Wimblington Sports Committee and judges marked down the cake because it had indentations from a wire rack.

MORE (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/6274044.stm)

[Mortis Anarchy]

How'd she get second then?

[Scheherazade]

The contest was organised by the Wimblington Sports Committee and judges marked down the cake because it had indentations from a wire rack.

__________________

[Mortis Anarchy]

Still...if she's the only one...dumb.

[applepie]

That poor woman... Some friend to tell her that she was the only entrant and still managed to get 2nd place. Sometimes I think it is much kinder to keep your mouth shut.

[Madhuri]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6914890.stm