News

Somehow, Scher, your signature coincidentally finds the moral in that posted article. :D

Thompson Ashes to Be Shot From Cannon

DENVER - Hunter S. Thompson's ashes will be blasted from a cannon mounted inside a 53-foot-high sculpture of the journalist's "gonzo fist" emblem, his wife said Tuesday.

The cannon shot, planned sometime in August on the grounds of his Aspen-area home, will fulfill the writer's long-cherished wish.

"It's expensive, but worth every penny," Anita Thompson said. "I'd like to have several explosions. He loved explosions."

Thompson, 67, shot himself in the head on Feb. 20 after a long and flamboyant career that produced such new journalism classics as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and cast his image as a hard-charging, drug-crazed daredevil.

The cannon shot will be part of a larger public celebration of Thompson's life. Some details remain to be worked out, including the exact date, what kind of cannon will be used and the specifics of the gonzo fist, Anita Thompson said.

She said the gonzo fist will be mounted on a 100-foot pillar, making the monument 153 feet high. It will resemble Thompson's personal symbol, a fist on an upthrust forearm, sometimes with "Gonzo" emblazoned across it.

Anita Thompson has said the monument will be a permanent fixture on the writer's 100-acre property.

She said planning for the fist has been guided by a video of Thompson and longtime illustrator-collaborator Ralph Steadman, recorded in the late 1970s when they visited a Hollywood funeral home and began mapping out the cannon scheme.

Meanwhile, Playboy magazine this week is publishing an interview with Thompson based on a series of conversations he had with magazine staffer Tim Mohr in December.

In the interview, Thompson discusses a range of topics from political freedom to the best kind of snow tires to buy but offers no obvious hints of his impending suicide.

"He was really enthusiastic and full of energy," Mohr told The Associated Press on Monday. Thompson even talked about embarking on a long-term project to expand the Playboy piece into a book, "a guide to life, sort of a handbook," Mohr said.

The interview appears in the magazine's May issue, which its newsstands Friday.

(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...unter_thompson)

Star Wars fans have started queuing seven weeks early for the opening of the final movie - but appear to have camped outside the wrong cinema.
Dedicated fans are lining up outside the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood but have been told it will open on 19 May at a cinema a mile away.

Producers opted to open the film at the ArcLight cinema, making it unlikely other cinemas in the area will show it.

But the fans are refusing to move, believing the news to be false.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith will open at the ArcLight complex, which is adjacent to another Hollywood landmark, the Cinerama Dome.

"We've heard all this before," said Sarah Sprague, one of the small group already queuing.

She said similar stories were circulated ahead of Star Wars releases in 1999 and 2002 - but the films had eventually opened at Grauman's.

"This is still the epicentre for Star Wars fans," Ms Sprague added.

"For the big iconic pictures of the 1970s, people lining up were here. They weren't at the Cinerama Dome."

Revenge of the Sith will be the last of three prequels to the original 1977 science fiction classic.

Executives from 20th Century Fox and ArcLight told Variety magazine Revenge of the Sith would be showing at the Arclight although a deal had yet to be completed.

In 2002, two die-hard fans started camping outside their local Seattle cinema four months before the release of Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Despite mixed reviews for the past two Star Wars releases, anticipation for the final instalment is expected to be high.

Director George Lucas has said Revenge of the Sith is darker and more emotional than previous Star Wars films.


(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...lm/4419365.stm)

I said it once, I will say it again... Only in the USA... :D


US software engineer Matthew Jean Rouse faces an uncertain future as he waits to discover what his new name will be.
After years of hating the middle name Jean, given to him in honour of a grandfather he did not like, the 31-year-old decided to take action.

He used the auction site eBay to sell his middle name, vowing to replace it with any name the highest bidder chose.

On Monday a company that hosts web sites placed a winning bid of $8,000 for the chance to rename Mr Rouse.

Brother's bid

But he will have to wait to find out what LucaHost.com want to call him.

"I'm guessing it will be LucaHost.com,'' Mr Rouse told the Associated Press news agency.

Also trying to win the auction had been Mr Rouse's brother Bill, who offered $1,500 to keep the name Jean in the family.

"Basically, he's trying to dump our grandfather's name, and I'm trying to buy it and make it stay as it is," his brother said.

The middle name was taken from his late grandfather, Jean Stelter.

Just short of 40 bids were made before the bidding was cut off by the web host company agreeing to pay the full "Buy it now" asking price.

"I guess I'm just surprised that this would generate that much interest,'' Mr Rouse told AP news agency.

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4417391.stm)

A Hong Kong woman who washed her face in a stream brought home an unwanted souvenir - a leech up her left nostril.
The woman only consulted a doctor a month later because her nose kept bleeding, the Hong Kong Medical Journal said in its April issue.

The patient was taken to hospital, where doctors identified the leech.

Removal was initially impossible because the 5cm long (2 inch) creature retracted into the nostril and disappeared, the journal said.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...3_leech203.jpg
The leech was anaesthetised with a nasal spray

Doctors used a nasal spray to anaesthetise the leech.

"After two minutes, the leech slowly moved out of the antrum [sinus] and was retrieved with forceps," the journal said.

The article said the leech could have suffocated the woman if it had moved into her larynx.


(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4423175.stm)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scheherazade

The woman only consulted a doctor a month later because her nose kept bleeding, the Hong Kong Medical Journal said in its April issue.

---

One month?! :eek:

Woman Charged in Road-Rage Apartment Ramming

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A woman has been arrested after she rammed a car into her neighbor's apartment in an apparent fight over a loud television, Canadian police said on Thursday.

The Penticton, British Columbia, woman got into her 1985 BMW after becoming upset with her neighbor and drove the car across the lawn and through some patio furniture before the vehicle hit the side of the building, police said.

There were no injuries in the incident that took place late on Wednesday, although the neighbor and a friend were inside the building watching television at the time of the crash. The vehicle received only minor damage.

The 36-year-old woman, whose name was not released, was being held in jail pending a court appearance.

(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...da_roadrage_dc)

Cookie Monster, the biscuit-eating puppet on US children's show Sesame Street, will cut down on his favourite food as part of an anti-obesity drive.
The blue-furred muppet who used to sing "C is for Cookie" will now tell viewers that "A Cookie is a Sometimes Food".

Each episode of the show's new series will begin with a "health tip" about healthy foods and physical activity.

A Sesame Street representative said the popular character would be "broadening his eating habits" in future.

Talking vegetables

"We are not putting him on a diet, and we would never take the position of no sugar," said Dr Rosemarie T Truglio, the show's vice president of research and education. "We're teaching him moderation."

New characters such as talking aubergines and carrots will be introduced, while guests stars such as soul singer Alicia Keys will talk about the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Almost one in three children in the US is now overweight, as opposed to one in 25 in the UK.

Sesame Street begins its 36th season on America's PBS network on Monday. It is broadcast in over 120 countries, with more than 20 local versions being made.

Last year Cookie Monster - originally played by Muppets regular Frank Oz, the voice of Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear - revealed that before eating his first cookie his name was Sid.


(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...io/4432415.stm)

New guidelines for religious education in Norfolk suggest expressions such as the Holy Ghost be banned from lessons because they could confuse pupils.
The Norfolk Agreed Syllabus for religious education recommends that teachers use the term Holy Spirit, to avoid comparisons with ghost stories.

Marian Agombar, who compiled the list, said the document provided advice to teachers, but it was not statutory.

The draft rules will be considered by Norfolk County Council this week.

The guidelines also suggest teachers avoid terms such as the "body of Christ" and the "blood of Jesus" because Christians are not actually eating flesh and blood.

In addition, when lecturing on Judaism, teachers are advised not to refer to the first 39 books of the bible as the Old Testament because it suggests the books are out-of-date.

Ms Agombar, said: "We've heard stories of children taking these stories home and becoming confused, particularly the little ones."

The document was a very small part of a large document which provided advice to teachers in the classroom, she added.

'Demystify life?'

"It's basically a list of dos and don'ts for teachers which we have borrowed from someone else and which have already been used to train teachers."

Head of Notre Dame Roman Catholic School in Norfolk, John Pinnington, said: "Updating language generally is good and if it's done with caution and respect it could be a good thing.

"But I'm just concerned about its motives, and if they are to demystify life?

"Life has its mysteries and all religions are part of a mystery based on God. It would be ashame to demystify everything.

"But it all depends on the general context of the document."

'Over-the-top'

Norfolk secretary for the National Union of Teachers, Tony Mulgrew, said: "I'm sure there's a lot of good ideas in this document, but it does all sound a bit silly.

"I've heard that they plan to change the name of the Old Testament because it makes it sound old.

"Will they change the New Testament too, because that's not new is it?

"We probably need to look at the whole document, but it does sound over-the-top."


(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/4432007.stm)

Children who fidget with their hands in class learn more quickly than those who stay still, say researchers. Psychologists found that children who could move their hands around freely were better at learning than pupils who were not allowed to move.

They believe that hand movements and gestures can help children to think, speak and learn.

The research on primary school children was carried out by academics at the University of Hertfordshire.

The study examined the differences in learning when children were able to move around their hands and when they were forced to keep their hands still - by putting them into a pair of mittens attached to the table.

Hand to mouth

The psychologists found that when children were able to move their hands they were more likely to be able to find the correct answer - particularly when it was a case of trying to recall a word on "the tip of their tongue".

The children, aged six to eight, had been asked to name objects in pictures - and the researchers found that using their hands to gesture helped children to "find the right word".

"People often think we gesture to help others understand what we are saying. But in fact gestures help us find the right words," said researcher Karen Pine.

"We also know they can help children think and are important for problem solving and speaking.

"Therefore, far from restricting children from moving their hands, if teachers encouraged more fidgeting in class they might find children actually learn more," said Dr Pine.

"Children who fidget in class can be an annoyance for teachers. Many cope by telling children to sit on their hands or keep absolutely still in class, but our research has shown that they need their hands free so that they can gesture."

The research, by Dr Pine, Hannah Bird and Liz Kirk, was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.


(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4437171.stm)

*sigh

Religious Man Wants To Rename Mt. Diablo

OAKLEY, Calif. - An Oakley man has asked the federal government to rename Mount Diablo, saying the current name, which means devil in Spanish, is offensive to his religious sensibilities.

Art Mijares applied to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for the change and suggests naming the mountain Mount Kawukum, which he believes has American Indian roots.

"Words have power, and when you start mentioning words that come from the dark side, evil thrives," Mijares told the Contra Costa Times. "When I take boys camping on the mountain, I don't even like to say its name. I have to explain what the name means. Why should we have a main feature of our community that celebrates the devil?"

To make the change, Mijares would need to persuade federal, state and local governments that it's necessary. That may be easier said than done.

It's been called Mount Diablo for at least 164 years, and references to the mountain permeate thousands of maps, books and historical documents.

The name Kawukum first surfaced in 1866, when a church group tried to change Mount Diablo's name for reasons nearly identical to Mijares', according to San Francisco Bay area researcher Bev Ortiz.

"We abhor the wicked creature to whom the name is appropriate, and spurn the use of the name for anything noble or good on earth," proclaimed the Congregational Church of San Francisco in its newsletter of the day.

The church proposed Kawukum, spelled then as Kahwookum, "a word learned from an unidentified Indian living at the base of the mountain," Ortiz wrote in a history of the mountain's name. Members presented a name-change petition to the Legislature, but lawmakers postponed a decision indefinitely.

The name Mount Diablo grew from the Spanish name given to an Indian village set near a willow thicket in modern-day Concord, where Chupcans staged a daring nighttime escape during an 1805 military campaign.

Spanish soldiers said Indians evaded them only with the help of evil spirits and named the site "Monte del Diablo," or thicket of the devil, which American explorers later mistakenly applied to the mountain.

(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...s/mount_diablo)

No comment . . . *sigh

Soldier Boy

In an effort to increase its ranks for coming wars, the U.S. military is recruiting - and paying - children as young as 14 years old for future combat duty.

By Tim Schmitt

Unfortunately, the document proved too long for the character limit. Find the rest of the article here:
(http://www.pointblank-dm.com/archive...05/cover.shtml)

the link's not working; neither is google's...

try this one..?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by amuse

the link's not working; neither is google's...

---

I apologize, amuse. I tried the link, and google too, but, oddly, I cannot find the story. I managed, however, to find the duplicate article on another link:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bangsa...om/message/572
How strange that it disappeared. :confused:

[The article mentions one US Rep Dennis Caster, who according to a search of the US House of Representatives website does not exist. Maybe they meant Hastert?

The "organization" that they say these kids have started - "Veterans of Future Wars" - was a joke in a TV show a while back; I want to say Simpsons but I'm not sure.

Also, I can't find any reference to a "National Peace and Justice Alliance" organization, in Iowa or anywhere else.]

I couldn't find any valid reference of Rep. Dennis Caster or Lt. James Pederson either - I think it's a joke (not funny, but a joke).
If it's a hoax the newspaper should have replaced the article with an explaination, instead of making it disappear. :/ And people wonder why so many people turn a blind eye to politics... :rage:

Also found this: http://sover.net/~alipsitt/nochild.htm
from google search for 'No Child Left Behind Act section 9528'

A collection of computer-generated gibberish in the form of an academic paper has been accepted at a scientific conference, to the delight of hoaxers. Three US boffins built a programme designed to create research papers with random text, charts and diagrams.

Two bogus papers were submitted to a computing conference in Florida, and one of them was accepted.

One of the hoaxers said the fake paper was designed to expose the lack of standards at academic gatherings.

The paper has the nonsense headline "Rooter: A Methodology for the Typical Unification of Access Points and Redundancy".

It was accepted for the World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (WMSCI), due to be held in the city of Orlando in July.

Donation request

Hoaxer Jeremy Stribling, a computer science graduate at Boston's MIT university, said they had targeted WMSCI because it sent large amounts of spam emails soliciting admissions for the conference.

"We were tired of the spam," he told Reuters news agency.

The trio are planning to attend the conference and give a randomly generated talk, for which they are requesting donations on their website.

They have so far received more than $2,000.

Visitors to the site are also invited to generate their own academic gobbledegook.

But conference organisers poured cold water on the proposed presentation, saying bogus papers would not be included in the conference agenda.

Conference General Chair Nagib Callaos said the paper had been passed because reviewers had not given feedback on it by a set deadline.

"We thought that it might be unfair to refuse a paper that was not refused by any of its three selected reviewers," Mr Callaos told Reuters news agency.

He added that the conference was now reviewing its acceptance procedures.

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4449651.stm)

thank you for the links, mono and Anselmus. i'm not going to comment on them here...i would lose my ability to post any more. :(

I feel reminded of a certain part of the French film, Amélie.

Gnome Gone Wile

Maybe you were one of the lucky college students who spent spring break on the beaches of Florida or California. Or maybe you're beyond those days, and spent that time at work on a very tedious yet fulfilling project.

But no matter what you did, you're unlikely to have had as much fun as "Gnome" Severson, who spent his spring break traveling around the country being photographed with celebrities, partying with society's upper crust and hanging out in Las Vegas.

All this ... and he isn't even human.

"Gnome" Severson is one of several ceramic garden ornaments belonging to Marianne Severson. For spring break, a group of college students kidnapped the ornament from Severson's home in Redmond, Wash., taking the gnome on an interstate joyride where he did more celebrity spotting than a New York gossip columnist.

Upon finding out about the kidnapping, Marianne told NBC's "Today" show that she alerted her husband. "We've been gnomed," she said.

Paris Hilton?
Severson first learned of the missing gnome when she received a mysterious photo album at her door complete with pictures of her gnome smiling with Paris Hilton at an Los Angeles gas station and a group photo featuring the gnome sandwiched between Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe in Las Vegas.

But it was the shocking picture of the gnome smiling with waitresses from Hooters that really got Severson steamed.

"He’s my prodigal gnome and he went without my permission," Severson told the "Today" show on Thursday. "And it’s a really good picture, but he hasn’t really told me much about it because he knows he’s in trouble."

Gnomes, traditionally thought to be ancient protectors of animals, have become popular fixtures in gardens all over the world. But after his spring break trip, "Gnome" Severson finds himself on the outs with the garden ornaments he left behind.

"The other three are still out there and they are not speaking to him," Severson said.

She added that the wayward gnome was currently under house arrest and won't be making anymore trip to Las Vegas or even the garden. "I've got him in the house here and he is totally grounded."

(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7501919/)

:lol: that's great!

Oh . . . my!

Eureka! Extraordinary discovery unlocks secrets of the ancients

By David Keys and Nicholas Pyke

17 April 2005

Thousands of previously illegible manuscripts containing work by some of the greats of classical literature are being read for the first time using technology which experts believe will unlock the secrets of the ancient world.

Among treasures already discovered by a team from Oxford University are previously unseen writings by classical giants including Sophocles, Euripides and Hesiod. Invisible under ordinary light, the faded ink comes clearly into view when placed under infra-red light, using techniques developed from satellite imaging.

The Oxford documents form part of the great papyrus hoard salvaged from an ancient rubbish dump in the Graeco-Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus more than a century ago. The thousands of remaining documents, which will be analysed over the next decade, are expected to include works by Ovid and Aeschylus, plus a series of Christian gospels which have been lost for up to 2,000 years.

(http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...p?story=630166)

An artist who randomly vandalised nearly 50 cars for a project said the owners should be happy they were part of his "creative process".

Mark McGowan, 37, will exhibit pictures of himself scratching the vehicles' paintwork in London and Glasgow.

He said he had "keyed" 17 cars in Glasgow's West End in March and 30 in Camberwell, south London.

The Met police said the act was criminal damage and if allegations are made they will be investigated.

Mr McGowan added: "I do feel guilty about keying people's cars but if I don't do it, someone else will.

"They should feel glad that they've been involved in the creative process. I pick the cars randomly.


"I got the idea when my sister and brother-in-law's cars were keyed. Is it jealousy that causes someone to key a car? Hatred? Revenge?
"There is a strong creative element in the keying of a car, it's an emotive engagement."

His work will be displayed on Wednesday night in a launch party at The Arches, an exhibition venue in Glasgow.

It is the latest in a string of bizarre stunts by the postgraduate in history of art from the prestigious Goldsmiths College in London.

Mr McGowan, who has described himself as "the British alternative to David Blaine" nailed his feet to an art gallery last year - in protest against leaves.

In 2003, he attracted the media's attention when he pushed a monkey nut with his nose for seven miles to 10 Downing Street in a protest over student debt.

Michelle Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Arts Council, said it was unlikely Mr McGowan would receive any funding.

"He is more likely to get a visit from Strathclyde's finest than any funding from us."

link

from yahoo! weekly picks:
http://www.channel4.com/history/micr...bs/index.html: "The Worst Jobs in History"

included are: Guillemot-egg Collector, Bog Iron Hunter, Fuller :eek:, Wise Woman, Artist's Model, and more...

which position would you like? ;)

After five years and 271 attempts to pass the theoretical part of his driving test, it was 272nd time lucky for South Korean Seo Sang-moon.
Despite all his hard work Mr Seo is still not able to drive. Next he needs to pass the test's practical section.

"Driving seems a bit hard. But after trying 271 times to pass... what do I have to be afraid of?" he said.

The 69-year-old repairman said he was hampered by illiteracy, which meant he could not read a driving manual.

Mr Seo told the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo: "Being a repairman travelling around North Gyeongsang and Gangwon provinces, the drivers license was a necessity, but I did not dare apply for the written examination because I am illiterate."

"Only after 2000, with the introduction of the oral exam, was I able to apply," he said.

Mr Seo took the test as often as he could, paying more than 1m won ($1,000) in application fees.

Each time he learned a little bit more, until finally, earlier this week, he passed.

Officials at the test centre were just as happy as Mr Seo.

"He has been coming here for more than five years and we regard him almost as being one of the family," an official from the exam office told Reuters.

Mr Seo said he was already preparing for his road test at a driving school in Yeongju City.

"I am confident," he told the Chosun Ilbo. "I'm already discussing with my wife which car we should buy."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4447925.stm

Single men spend an average of £12 a month on beauty products - £5 more than those in relationships, a survey says.
Two thirds of men said their sole aim in making an effort was to impress women, while 40% admitted feeling pressure from women to look good.

A female opinion on what to wear when preparing to go out was sought by 55% of those questioned.

The survey, for men's magazine Loaded, drew on the responses of 4,000 men aged between 18 and 24.

Regency dandys

The survey suggested that men take an average of 19 minutes getting ready for a date, compared with an average of seven minutes for going out with friends.

Martin Daubney, editor of Loaded said: "Men have, through the ages, smartened up to impress women.

"From Regency dandys, to mods, to the young men of today, all our sartorial and grooming habits are intended to make us more attractive to women."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4455075.stm

An Australian teenager said to be obsessed with trams is facing charges over the theft of two trolley cars in the city of Melbourne.
Police said the unnamed 15-year-old boy first managed to drive a tram a few hundred metres (yards) on Friday.

On Sunday he allegedly drove another tram around the city for 30 minutes, even stopping to pick up passengers.

He is said to have travelled 30km (19 miles) before the tram's electricity supply was cut off and he was arrested.

"He's a nice lad, he's a good lad... I think his obsession just got the better of him," police constable Barry Hills told reporters.

"It appears... that this young lad has been travelling around on the trams for some time and has been observing the drivers and observing the operating procedures," Mr Hills said.

Police believe he took tram keys from a depot three weeks ago.

The boy was released on bail to face several charges in court in June.

However, police said they saw no reason why the teenager could not become a tram driver in the future.

"If he stays on the straight and narrow, then it's certainly not going to affect his future," Mr Hills said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4457785.stm

A lawyer has threatened to sue police officers who handcuffed an allegedly uncontrollable five-year-old after she acted up at a Florida kindergarten.
The officers were called by the school after a teacher and assistant principal failed to calm down the little girl.

The incident was caught on a video camera which was rolling in the classroom as part of a self-improvement exercise at the St Petersburg school.

A lawyer for the girl's mother said the episode was "incomprehensible".

The video, made public by the lawyer this week, shows the unfolding of the violent tantrum, which started when the little girl refused to take part in a maths lesson.

She then ripped some papers off a bulletin board and lashed out at staff trying to calm her down.

After calling her mother and learning she would not be able to pick up the child for at least one more hour, the teachers resorted to calling the police.

Three officers rushed to the scene and handcuffed the girl, by that time apparently calm, after pinning her arms behind her back.

The footage showed her in distress after being handcuffed.

They finally drove her to her mother in the back of a police cruiser.

The St Petersburg Police Department declined to comment on the incident and said an investigation was under way.

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4475513.stm)

Jesus Christ! I have seen behaviour not entirely out of keeping with that from our own constabulary - but that really is foul.

that is just wrong what could that little girl have done to those police officers? really? stupid people

What I don't understand is why would the school authorities call the police to deal with her? Worse comes to worst, they should call child's parents and send her home or something... This is really beyond me.

People who suffer from stress do not have to move a muscle to improve their overall mood, new research claims. Nottingham Trent University researchers said sufferers can regain the "feel good factor" by watching their favourite sitcom or listening to music.

Stress researcher and health psychology expert Dr Attila Szabo tried to find a new way to help emotional wellbeing.

Participants were exposed to stationary cycling, sitting quietly, listening to new-age music and watching Friends.

Psychological questionnaires were used to assess their mood and anxiety levels five minutes before and five minutes after each treatment.

'Humour and music'

It was found the immediate psychological benefits of humour and music were greater than those generated from a bout of exercise.

Dr Szabo is based within the university's School of Biomedical and Natural Sciences.

He said: "Studies into the relationship between physical exercise and mental health have become extremely popular within health psychology.

"These results suggest that the acute mental benefits of exercise can be reproduced with physically less demanding and virtually effortless interventions, such as humour and music.

"It should be remembered, however, that this was a study into psychological wellbeing and there is no substitute for exercise in terms of physical health."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/n...re/4483583.stm

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladeshi customs officials found luxury cars, large-screen television sets and refrigerators in a container declared to be carrying metal scrap -- so they made it just that at a public ceremony on Monday.

Hundreds of people watched as officials from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) used bulldozers to crush a Mercedes Benz and a Toyota car and other luxury goods at a railway container terminal in Dhaka.

NBR chairman Khairuzzaman Chowdhury said a trading firm had sought to evade customs duties by falsely declaring that the container carried iron scrap.

"They wanted to befool us by saying they brought in scrapped metals...so we are giving them the same. They, or anyone like them, will not forget this," he told reporters at the site.

Cash-strapped Bangladesh is trying hard to increase domestic revenue ahead of announcing the budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year, beginning next July.

Officials say tax revenues were 9 percent short of target in the first nine month of the current 2004-05 fiscal year, partly owing to lower-than-expected import taxes.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ladesh_cars_dc

Genetic Mingling Mixes Human, Animal Cells

On a farm about six miles outside this gambling town, Jason Chamberlain looks over a flock of about 50 smelly sheep, many of them possessing partially human livers, hearts, brains and other organs.

The University of Nevada-Reno researcher talks matter-of-factly about his plans to euthanize one of the pregnant sheep in a nearby lab. He can't wait to examine the effects of the human cells he had injected into the fetus' brain about two months ago.

"It's mice on a large scale," Chamberlain says with a shrug.

As strange as his work may sound, it falls firmly within the new ethics guidelines the influential National Academies issued this past week for stem cell research.

In fact, the Academies' report endorses research that co-mingles human and animal tissue as vital to ensuring that experimental drugs and new tissue replacement therapies are safe for people.

Doctors have transplanted pig valves into human hearts for years, and scientists have injected human cells into lab animals for even longer.

But the biological co-mingling of animal and human is now evolving into even more exotic and unsettling mixes of species, evoking the Greek myth of the monstrous chimera, which was part lion, part goat and part serpent.

In the past two years, scientists have created pigs with human blood, fused rabbit eggs with human DNA and injected human stem cells to make paralyzed mice walk.

Particularly worrisome to some scientists are the nightmare scenarios that could arise from the mixing of brain cells: What if a human mind somehow got trapped inside a sheep's head?

The "idea that human neuronal cells might participate in 'higher order' brain functions in a nonhuman animal, however unlikely that may be, raises concerns that need to be considered," the academies report warned.

In January, an informal ethics committee at Stanford University endorsed a proposal to create mice with brains nearly completely made of human brain cells. Stem cell scientist Irving Weissman said his experiment could provide unparalleled insight into how the human brain develops and how degenerative brain diseases like Parkinson's progress.

Stanford law professor Hank Greely, who chaired the ethics committee, said the board was satisfied that the size and shape of the mouse brain would prevent the human cells from creating any traits of humanity. Just in case, Greely said, the committee recommended closely monitoring the mice's behavior and immediately killing any that display human-like behavior.

The Academies' report recommends that each institution involved in stem cell research create a formal, standing committee to specifically oversee the work, including experiments that mix human and animal cells.

Weissman, who has already created mice with 1 percent human brain cells, said he has no immediate plans to make mostly human mouse brains, but wanted to get ethical clearance in any case. A formal Stanford committee that oversees research at the university would also need to authorize the experiment.

Few human-animal hybrids are as advanced as the sheep created by another stem cell scientist, Esmail Zanjani, and his team at the University of Nevada-Reno. They want to one day turn sheep into living factories for human organs and tissues and along the way create cutting-edge lab animals to more effectively test experimental drugs.

Zanjani is most optimistic about the sheep that grow partially human livers after human stem cells are injected into them while they are still in the womb. Most of the adult sheep in his experiment contain about 10 percent human liver cells, though a few have as much as 40 percent, Zanjani said.

Because the human liver regenerates, the research raises the possibility of transplanting partial organs into people whose livers are failing.

Zanjani must first ensure no animal diseases would be passed on to patients. He also must find an efficient way to completely separate the human and sheep cells, a tough task because the human cells aren't clumped together but are rather spread throughout the sheep's liver.

Zanjani and other stem cell scientists defend their research and insist they aren't creating monsters — or anything remotely human.

"We haven't seen them act as anything but sheep," Zanjani said.

Zanjani's goals are many years from being realized.

He's also had trouble raising funds, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating the university over allegations made by another researcher that the school mishandled its research sheep. Zanjani declined to comment on that matter, and university officials have stood by their practices.

Allegations about the proper treatment of lab animals may take on strange new meanings as scientists work their way up the evolutionary chart. First, human stem cells were injected into bacteria, then mice and now sheep. Such research blurs biological divisions between species that couldn't until now be breached.

Drawing ethical boundaries that no research appears to have crossed yet, the Academies recommend a prohibition on mixing human stem cells with embryos from monkeys and other primates. But even that policy recommendation isn't tough enough for some researchers.

"The boundary is going to push further into larger animals," New York Medical College professor Stuart Newman said. "That's just asking for trouble."

Newman and anti-biotechnology activist Jeremy Rifkin have been tracking this issue for the last decade and were behind a rather creative assault on both interspecies mixing and the government's policy of patenting individual human genes and other living matter.

Years ago, the two applied for a patent for what they called a "humanzee," a hypothetical — but very possible — creation that was half human and chimp.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office finally denied their application this year, ruling that the proposed invention was too human: Constitutional prohibitions against slavery prevents the patenting of people.

Newman and Rifkin were delighted, since they never intended to create the creature and instead wanted to use their application to protest what they see as science and commerce turning people into commodities.

And that's a point, Newman warns, that stem scientists are edging closer to every day: "Once you are on the slope, you tend to move down it."

(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050430/...ng_3&printer=1)

hmm...what if a human mind were 'trapped' inside a sheep's head? would the sheep wander off to daydream about relativity, would it be insane due to it's inability to express itself on behalf of animal rights? would it...

*thinks

...it does seem cruel. they should ensure that any animal that receives human cerebral tissue gets a hyoid bone thrown in for good measure! speech, speech! :nod:

http://animatedtv.about.com/library/...an_tini_72.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by amuse

hmm...what if a human mind were 'trapped' inside a sheep's head? would the sheep wander off to daydream about relativity, would it be insane due to it's inability to express itself on behalf of animal rights? would it...

*thinks

...it does seem cruel. they should ensure that any animal that receives human cerebral tissue gets a hyoid bone thrown in for good measure! speech, speech! :nod:

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As the article mentioned, scientists test the behavior of all of the animals with human organs. I really wonder how they test and realize the difference between human behavior and 'lower' animal behavior; as you said, amuse, without speech, it seems difficult to measure objectively. Do the scientists merely research whether the sheep stand on two legs and drink martinis like the character from Family Guy on Basil's posted picture? :lol:

Drivers had to take evasive action on a busy city centre motorway when two horses galloped down the carriageway.

Stunned motorists watched as Dandy and Gandy trotted onto the M8 at Townhead, Glasgow, at about 0620 BST on Monday.

Traffic police had to direct vehicles while officers spent almost three hours trying to catch the runaways.

CCTV footage showed the horses running along the outside lane of the carriageway in the wrong direction with cars swerving to avoid them.

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "We received reports of two horses on the M8 on Monday morning.

"The horses were captured at 9.05am and taken to a farm in Stepps. We have now established the owner of the horses. She is arranging for their collection."

'Minor disruption'

Police said that the horses were from a farm in the Gartcosh area, though the owner did not want to be identified.

It is not known how the animals came to be on the motorway.

CCTV footage showed the horses running along the outside lane of the carriageway in the wrong direction.

One driver was seen to brake to a halt when he saw the horses running towards him.

However, there was less traffic on the road than usual as many commuters stayed at home on the bank holiday.

The police spokeswoman added: "It could have been a lot worse. There was a wee bit of disruption."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4506303.stm

There are certainly lots of sheep's minds trapped in human heads.

A Spanish designer has come up with what could be the perfect solution for the woman who feels frustrated that she has to do all the house chores.

It is a washing machine called "Your Turn", which will not let the same person use it twice in a row.

It uses fingerprint recognition technology to ensure the job of loading is not dumped on just one individual.

Pep Torres was approached by a Spanish white goods manufacturer to come up with an innovative Father's Day gift.

"I thought it would be good to finish with macho man from the ice age who doesn't do anything around the house except drink beers," said Torres, from DeBuenaTinta in Barcelona.

"Spain is changing a lot, and I wanted to come up with an invention to enable men to do more around the home."

Fast fingers

Some men may disagree that it is a good present for Father's Day and argue that it is more of a gift for the lady of the house.

"It was a tongue-in-cheek idea which seemed to catch the imagination," said Torres.

"It's an invention that has a philosophy behind it and I hope both women and men will think it's time for the men to do more around the house."

Your Turn requires both partners to register their fingerprints on the sensor while it is hooked up to their home computer.

When the sensor is then plugged into the washing machine, the software will only allow the wash programme to start if a different finger is placed on it each time.

So what about the cheats - how can you get round it?

Torres has an unusual solution: "I suggest the man can leave his finger at home... we have 10 fingers, so he won't miss one - well, you don't use the little finger a lot.

"Seriously though, the only way to override the system is to crawl around the back of the machine, unplug the sensor, take it back to the home computer and re-programme it - not that easy.

"We have to make it difficult to change otherwise it defeats the object of the exercise."

All thumbs

Your Turn is also childproof. Parents can be confident that young fingers will not be able to operate the washing machine as it is only their fingerprints that can start it.

But there is one bone of contention. The same person can still load the washing time after time. The finger print sensor only controls who starts the programme.

In future designs, Torres hopes to bring the door release mechanism under the thumb of the fingerprint sensor, too.

In the meantime, Your Turn is expected to go on sale in the next couple of weeks.

The one thing it will not do though is something that most guys are notoriously bad at - separating the whites from the coloureds.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4504393.stm

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Originally Posted by Basil

http://animatedtv.about.com/library/...an_tini_72.jpg

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Aahh... suave, sophisticated and loyal...

A study of Napoleon Bonaparte's trousers could put an end to the theory that the French Emperor was poisoned. Napoleon died aged 52 on St Helena in the south Atlantic where he had been banished after his defeat at Waterloo.

His post mortem showed he died of stomach cancer, but it has been suggested arsenic poisoning or over-zealous treatment was to blame.

Now Swiss researchers say his trousers show he lost weight prior his death, confirming he had cancer.

The research, by scientists from the anatomical pathology department of the University Hospital in Basel and the Institute of Medical History at the University of Zurich, looked at 12 pairs of Napoleon's trousers which he wore during the six years he lived in exile.

They also measured the waists, and weighed, living stomach cancer patients.

The largest pair of trousers Napoleon wore had a waist measurement of 110cm; those he wore just before his death measured 98cm.

This, they say, shows he lost a significant amount of weight - as did the living patients, who lost between 11 and 15kg over the six months they were studied.

Enemas

The Swiss team say the presence of arsenic in Napoleon's hair, the source of the poisoning theory, was linked to this enthusiasm for wine.

At the time, it was the custom of winemakers' to dry their casks and basins with arsenic.

Dr Alessandro Lugli, who carried out the study which appeared in the American Review of Human Pathology, told the BBC News website he thought theories about alternative explanations for Napoleon's death would continue to be put forward.

But he said: "We are sure that the autopsy report speaks clearly in favour of gastric [stomach] cancer."

The demise of the French Emperor has provoked numerous theories.

Last year, researchers from the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Department said in New Scientist magazine that it was regular doses of antimony potassium tartrate, or tartar emetic a poisonous colourless salt which was used to make him vomit, that killed him.

He was also given regular enemas.

The researchers, led by forensic pathologist Steven Karch, say this would have caused a serious potassium deficiency, which can lead to a potentially fatal heart condition called Torsades de Pointes in which rapid heartbeats disrupt blood flow to the brain.

Dr Karch told BBC News Online at the time that he studied similar modern cases.

He said: "There is a very strong argument for this - but it's not as sexy as the idea that he was murdered.

"The arsenic wasn't killing him - his doctors did him in!"


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4512289.stm

The prime minister of Bangladesh has intervened to help a poor woman who advertised to sell an eye to raise funds for her daughter's future. Shefali Begum has received offers of help from around the world and within Bangladesh after the BBC reported on her desperate newspaper advertisement.

Now Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has met her and arranged measures to support her, including a new house.

Ms Begum said she had no money for rent or to feed her daughter.

The 26-year-old mother lives with her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter in a tiny bamboo and corrugated-tin room in the east of the capital, Dhaka.

She says her husband of four years left her in March, leaving her penniless.

'So moved'

Prime Minister Zia has now met Ms Begum in her Dhaka office, her officials say.

"The prime minister was so moved by her story that she instantly decided to help this woman who has been abandoned by her husband," a spokesman for the prime minister told the BBC.

Officials say Ms Zia made arrangements to allocate Ms Begum in a house in a government-built shelter for the poor.

She also assured her that the government would provide financial assistance for her daughter's educational expenses. She will also receive the monthly allowance claimable by women abandoned by their husbands.

Officials also say the prime minister gave her some cash to pay for job training.

Ms Begum later told the officials that she would not now have to sell her eye after receiving help from the prime minister and many others anonymous donors.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4510699.stm