Animal Wonders
A zedonk is the offspring of a Zebra and a donkey.
Dumb Laws
In Alaska, waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking its picture is illegal.
Name Change
When 11-year-old Frank Epperson first invented the popsicle in 1905, leaving a mixture of powered soda and water with a stir stick on the porch overnight, he called it an epsicle.
Actually Stated
by Dan Rather, former anchor for "CBS Evening News"
"And now the sequence of events in no particular order."
Drink Up
Advetisements for coffee in London in 1657 claimed the beverage was a cure for scurvy, gout and other ills.
So Called
A scrap or morsel of food left at a meal is known as an ort.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
F. Y. I.
Quotable
by Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet (1803-1882)
"I hate the giving of the hand unless the whole man accompanies it."
So called
A group of turtles or tortoises is known as a turn.
Did You Know?
On average, a man spends about five months of his life shaving.
Tip to Try
Turning the faucet off while brushing your teeth can save up to five gallons of water.
Table Tidbits
Ketchup was originally a fish sauce originating in the Orient. Early Western ketchups were in fact made with fish and spices, or mushrooms.
Still on the Books
In Marshalltown, Iowa, horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants.
by Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet (1803-1882)
"I hate the giving of the hand unless the whole man accompanies it."
So called
A group of turtles or tortoises is known as a turn.
Did You Know?
On average, a man spends about five months of his life shaving.
Tip to Try
Turning the faucet off while brushing your teeth can save up to five gallons of water.
Table Tidbits
Ketchup was originally a fish sauce originating in the Orient. Early Western ketchups were in fact made with fish and spices, or mushrooms.
Still on the Books
In Marshalltown, Iowa, horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants.
F. Y. I.
In Other Words
The Spanish traditionally eat 12 grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve to secure 12 happy months in the coming year.
Of Note
The brown thrasher has the largest song repertoire of all North American birds.
Point of Origin
Noisemaking and fireworks on New Year's Eve is believed to have originated in ancient times, when noise and fire were thought to dispel evil spirits and bring good luck.
Quotable
by Jon Bon Jovi
"Don't get too comfortable with who you are at any given time ---- you may miss the opportunity to become who you want to be."
Famous Firsts
Bandleader Guy Lombardo popularized "Auld Lang Syne," an olld Scottish song, as a New Year's tradition when he first played it at midnight at a New Year's Eve party at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1929.
Still on the Books
In North Carolina, elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.
The Spanish traditionally eat 12 grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve to secure 12 happy months in the coming year.
Of Note
The brown thrasher has the largest song repertoire of all North American birds.
Point of Origin
Noisemaking and fireworks on New Year's Eve is believed to have originated in ancient times, when noise and fire were thought to dispel evil spirits and bring good luck.
Quotable
by Jon Bon Jovi
"Don't get too comfortable with who you are at any given time ---- you may miss the opportunity to become who you want to be."
Famous Firsts
Bandleader Guy Lombardo popularized "Auld Lang Syne," an olld Scottish song, as a New Year's tradition when he first played it at midnight at a New Year's Eve party at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1929.
Still on the Books
In North Carolina, elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.
F. Y. I.
Back Then
In the 18th century, chocolate was a popular treatment for stomachaches.
Actually Said
by Chuck Nevitt, retired professional basketball player
"My sister's expecting a baby, and I don't know if I'm going to be an uncle or an aunt."
Point of Origin
Reportedly, tea was accidentally invented in 2737 B.C. when Chinese Emperor Shen Nung noted a pleasing aroma from some tea leaves that had blown into a pot of boiling water.
So Named
A group of giraffes is called a tower.
Did You Know?
The modern waffle originated from Middle Age wafers. Those light, thin cakes of barley and oats were baked between wafer irons and sold by street vendors called waferers.
Still on the Books
In Wisconsin, margarine may not be substituted for butter in restaurants unless it is requested by the customer.
In the 18th century, chocolate was a popular treatment for stomachaches.
Actually Said
by Chuck Nevitt, retired professional basketball player
"My sister's expecting a baby, and I don't know if I'm going to be an uncle or an aunt."
Point of Origin
Reportedly, tea was accidentally invented in 2737 B.C. when Chinese Emperor Shen Nung noted a pleasing aroma from some tea leaves that had blown into a pot of boiling water.
So Named
A group of giraffes is called a tower.
Did You Know?
The modern waffle originated from Middle Age wafers. Those light, thin cakes of barley and oats were baked between wafer irons and sold by street vendors called waferers.
Still on the Books
In Wisconsin, margarine may not be substituted for butter in restaurants unless it is requested by the customer.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Colombia rebels selling cows as drug money drops: Santos
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Monday the country's largest rebel group was increasingly selling its cattle to finance South America's longest-running insurgency as income from trafficking cocaine drops. Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has been reeling from more than a decade of a U.S.-backed military offensive that has dealt it major blows and cut cocaine output in one of the world's top producers of the drug.
"The FARC is designing a complete strategy to counter the problem of lack of financing ... due to the blows to their funding sources, especially drug trafficking. One of the orders was to sell cattle to get more resources," Santos said.
The FARC has been trying in recent weeks to sell cattle stolen in other regions of the country, Santos said in a speech in the southern province of Caqueta.
The rebels have for decades funded their movement through control of coca production and have built up ties with drug gangs in some parts of the country and fought for control over key routes and supplies in others.
The billions of dollars a year in cocaine money has been one of the main reasons why Colombia's war has continued for nearly five decades and its political system has been rocked by scandals of collusion between officials and gangs.
Santos is responsible for some of the harshest blows against the FARC - first as defense minister and then as president - including killing the group's leader Alfonso Cano in November.
Strikes against the FARC since 2002 have severely weakened the rebels' ability to launch attacks on the country's economic infrastructure, while better security has helped attract billions of dollars in foreign investment.
Colombia's steps to improve security, however, mask deep-seated issues like unequal land distribution, rural poverty, flourishing criminal gangs and weak institutions.
Santos has pushed through a range of reforms to tackle structural economic defects that prompt support for the FARC such as returning land stolen by right-wing paramilitaries and rebels to displaced peasants.
Despite being at its weakest in years, the FARC still carry out ambushes and bombings.
On Friday, rebels were suspected by police of detonating a car bomb in Catatumbo in Norte de Santander province, which is along the border with Venezuela in an area where new FARC chief Timoleon Jimenez or "Timochenko" is believed to be operating.
Both guerrillas and the government have called for peace but Santos says the Marxist rebels must first take steps they want peace, such as releasing hostages and stopping attacks. The FARC has refused to disarm.
Various peace efforts in Colombia since the 1980s have brought mixed success, with some smaller illegal armed groups demobilizing, but the FARC has pressed on.
"The government does not have any indication nor demonstration at this time that can convince us of the good will of the other party in reaching a peace agreement," Santos said.
"Action by the security forces will be strong and remain strong."
"The FARC is designing a complete strategy to counter the problem of lack of financing ... due to the blows to their funding sources, especially drug trafficking. One of the orders was to sell cattle to get more resources," Santos said.
The FARC has been trying in recent weeks to sell cattle stolen in other regions of the country, Santos said in a speech in the southern province of Caqueta.
The rebels have for decades funded their movement through control of coca production and have built up ties with drug gangs in some parts of the country and fought for control over key routes and supplies in others.
The billions of dollars a year in cocaine money has been one of the main reasons why Colombia's war has continued for nearly five decades and its political system has been rocked by scandals of collusion between officials and gangs.
Santos is responsible for some of the harshest blows against the FARC - first as defense minister and then as president - including killing the group's leader Alfonso Cano in November.
Strikes against the FARC since 2002 have severely weakened the rebels' ability to launch attacks on the country's economic infrastructure, while better security has helped attract billions of dollars in foreign investment.
Colombia's steps to improve security, however, mask deep-seated issues like unequal land distribution, rural poverty, flourishing criminal gangs and weak institutions.
Santos has pushed through a range of reforms to tackle structural economic defects that prompt support for the FARC such as returning land stolen by right-wing paramilitaries and rebels to displaced peasants.
Despite being at its weakest in years, the FARC still carry out ambushes and bombings.
On Friday, rebels were suspected by police of detonating a car bomb in Catatumbo in Norte de Santander province, which is along the border with Venezuela in an area where new FARC chief Timoleon Jimenez or "Timochenko" is believed to be operating.
Both guerrillas and the government have called for peace but Santos says the Marxist rebels must first take steps they want peace, such as releasing hostages and stopping attacks. The FARC has refused to disarm.
Various peace efforts in Colombia since the 1980s have brought mixed success, with some smaller illegal armed groups demobilizing, but the FARC has pressed on.
"The government does not have any indication nor demonstration at this time that can convince us of the good will of the other party in reaching a peace agreement," Santos said.
"Action by the security forces will be strong and remain strong."
Iran cracks down on moral peril of Barbie peddlers
Iran's morality police are cracking down on the sale of Barbie dolls to protect the public from what they see as pernicious western culture eroding Islamic values, shopkeepers said on Monday. As the West imposes the toughest ever sanctions on Iran and tensions rise over its nuclear program, inside the country the Barbie ban is part of what the government calls a "soft war" against decadent cultural influences.
"About three weeks ago they (the morality police) came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies," said a shopkeeper in a toy shop in northern Tehran.
Iran's religious rulers first declared Barbie, made by U.S. company Mattel Inc, un-Islamic in 1996, citing its "destructive cultural and social consequences." Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops.
The new order, issued around three weeks ago, forced shopkeepers to hide the leggy, busty blonde behind other toys as a way of meeting popular demand for the dolls while avoiding being closed down by the police.
A range of officially approved dolls launched in 2002 to counter demand for Barbie have not proven successful, merchants told Reuters.
The dolls named Sara, a female, and Dara, a male arrived in shops wearing a variety of traditional dress, with Sara fully respecting the rule that all women in Iran must obey in public, of covering their hair and wearing loose-fitting clothes.
"My daughter prefers Barbies. She says Sara and Dara are ugly and fat," said Farnaz, a 38-year-old mother, adding that she could not find Barbie cartoon DVDs as she was told they were also banned from public sale.
Pointing to a doll covered in black long veil, a 40-year-old Tehran toy shop manager said: "We still sell Barbies but secretly and put these in the window to make the police think we are just selling these kinds of dolls."
Iran has fought a running battle to purge pervasive western culture from the country since its Islamic revolution overthrew a western-backed king in 1979, enforcing Islamic dress codes, banning Western music and foreign satellite television.
As another swipe at the West, Iranians will soon be able to buy toy versions of the U.S. spy drone that it captured in December, Iranian media reported.
Models of the bat-wing RQ-170 Sentinel - which Iran's military displayed on TV after it was downed near the Afghan border - will be mass produced in a variety of colors, reports said.
"About three weeks ago they (the morality police) came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies," said a shopkeeper in a toy shop in northern Tehran.
Iran's religious rulers first declared Barbie, made by U.S. company Mattel Inc, un-Islamic in 1996, citing its "destructive cultural and social consequences." Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops.
The new order, issued around three weeks ago, forced shopkeepers to hide the leggy, busty blonde behind other toys as a way of meeting popular demand for the dolls while avoiding being closed down by the police.
A range of officially approved dolls launched in 2002 to counter demand for Barbie have not proven successful, merchants told Reuters.
The dolls named Sara, a female, and Dara, a male arrived in shops wearing a variety of traditional dress, with Sara fully respecting the rule that all women in Iran must obey in public, of covering their hair and wearing loose-fitting clothes.
"My daughter prefers Barbies. She says Sara and Dara are ugly and fat," said Farnaz, a 38-year-old mother, adding that she could not find Barbie cartoon DVDs as she was told they were also banned from public sale.
Pointing to a doll covered in black long veil, a 40-year-old Tehran toy shop manager said: "We still sell Barbies but secretly and put these in the window to make the police think we are just selling these kinds of dolls."
Iran has fought a running battle to purge pervasive western culture from the country since its Islamic revolution overthrew a western-backed king in 1979, enforcing Islamic dress codes, banning Western music and foreign satellite television.
As another swipe at the West, Iranians will soon be able to buy toy versions of the U.S. spy drone that it captured in December, Iranian media reported.
Models of the bat-wing RQ-170 Sentinel - which Iran's military displayed on TV after it was downed near the Afghan border - will be mass produced in a variety of colors, reports said.
Troubled euro gains currency with counterfeiters
Europe's debt crisis may be threatening to unravel the euro but criminals increasingly see the single currency as worth counterfeiting.
The number of fake euro banknotes found in the second half of last year rose by 4.7 percent to 310,000 bills from the prior six months, the European Central Bank said Monday, though it hastened to add that the vast majority of euros were real.
"When compared with the number of genuine euro banknotes in circulation (on average 14.4 billion during the second half of 2011), the proportion of counterfeits remains very low," the ECB said in a statement.
The 20 and 50-euros banknotes remain counterfeiters' favorites, accounting for four out of five fake bills.
The number of fake euro banknotes found in the second half of last year rose by 4.7 percent to 310,000 bills from the prior six months, the European Central Bank said Monday, though it hastened to add that the vast majority of euros were real.
"When compared with the number of genuine euro banknotes in circulation (on average 14.4 billion during the second half of 2011), the proportion of counterfeits remains very low," the ECB said in a statement.
The 20 and 50-euros banknotes remain counterfeiters' favorites, accounting for four out of five fake bills.
Banned Bulgarian soccer referee uses false identity
A banned Bulgarian referee took charge of this week's friendly between Werder Bremen and AZ Alkmaar under a false identity, state television BNT reported on Friday. BNT said Luchezar Yonov used the name of fellow countryman and eligible referee Raicho Raichev for Wednesday's game played in the Turkish resort of Belek.
"This story convinces us the decision we took last year was right," Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) refereeing commission chairman Kostadin Kostadinov told state television.
Yonov and his assistants Petar Tarulov and Emil Mitev were among the referees who were suspended in 2011 for officiating at international matches in South America without informing the BFU.
"I'll take all necessary measures to clear my name," Raichev told the Bulgarian football referees association's website (http://www.bgreferee.org/). "What they did is so sneaky."
Bundesliga club Werder came back from a goal down to beat their Dutch opponents 2-1.
"I read some reports and they said there was 10 minutes of added time, a controversial penalty and a free kick in the ninth minute of added time," said Kostadinov.
The referees association has urged the BFU to inform European soccer's governing body UEFA about the incident.
"This story convinces us the decision we took last year was right," Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) refereeing commission chairman Kostadin Kostadinov told state television.
Yonov and his assistants Petar Tarulov and Emil Mitev were among the referees who were suspended in 2011 for officiating at international matches in South America without informing the BFU.
"I'll take all necessary measures to clear my name," Raichev told the Bulgarian football referees association's website (http://www.bgreferee.org/). "What they did is so sneaky."
Bundesliga club Werder came back from a goal down to beat their Dutch opponents 2-1.
"I read some reports and they said there was 10 minutes of added time, a controversial penalty and a free kick in the ninth minute of added time," said Kostadinov.
The referees association has urged the BFU to inform European soccer's governing body UEFA about the incident.
Russian villager mistakenly buys Kalashnikov arsenal
A Russian villager discovered a stockpile of Kalashnikov assault rifles hidden in the wooden crates he bought for $15 from a stranger to use as fuel for his winter stove. A total of 79 guns and 253 cartridges were stuffed in more than 60 wooden boxes bought by a resident of the village of Sovkhozny in Udmurtia, a region some 1,300 km South-East of Moscow, Interfax news agency reported on Friday.
The 57-year old local resident said he bought them from a random truck driver for 500 roubles ($15.81) to heat his home.
The fully functional rifles, produced in 1959-1960, were on their way to a recycling plant from Izhmash, one of the country's oldest arms manufacturing plants, the company said, when they wound up in the man's possession.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, appointed last December by President Dmitry Medvedev to oversee the country's defense industry, said he will launch a probe into the mysterious appearance of automatic rifles.
"Wow! I will hold a meeting with Izhmash about its firearms next week and we will deal with this miracle," he wrote on his Facebook page www.facebook.com/dmitry.rogozin.
A deadly mixture of corner cutting and negligence continues to plague Russia's defense industry 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, with Russia still the world's second-largest arms exporter.
"I imagine how scared the West is of our nuclear arms," a Facebook user Oleg Zabara wrote in a comment on Rogozin's post. "Not because they exist, but because they could accidentally fall on them (by mistake), just like those rifles got to that old man."
It was not immediately clear if the driver was aware that he was carrying firearms in the boxes he rushed to cash in on, but investigators said a probe will look into the incident.
($1 = 31.6182 Russian roubles)
The 57-year old local resident said he bought them from a random truck driver for 500 roubles ($15.81) to heat his home.
The fully functional rifles, produced in 1959-1960, were on their way to a recycling plant from Izhmash, one of the country's oldest arms manufacturing plants, the company said, when they wound up in the man's possession.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, appointed last December by President Dmitry Medvedev to oversee the country's defense industry, said he will launch a probe into the mysterious appearance of automatic rifles.
"Wow! I will hold a meeting with Izhmash about its firearms next week and we will deal with this miracle," he wrote on his Facebook page www.facebook.com/dmitry.rogozin.
A deadly mixture of corner cutting and negligence continues to plague Russia's defense industry 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, with Russia still the world's second-largest arms exporter.
"I imagine how scared the West is of our nuclear arms," a Facebook user Oleg Zabara wrote in a comment on Rogozin's post. "Not because they exist, but because they could accidentally fall on them (by mistake), just like those rifles got to that old man."
It was not immediately clear if the driver was aware that he was carrying firearms in the boxes he rushed to cash in on, but investigators said a probe will look into the incident.
($1 = 31.6182 Russian roubles)
Modern trading killing off "barrow boy" market slang
"The Old Lady just bought half a yard of cable and there are plenty of bids for Bill and Ben." Confused?
To most foreign exchange traders in London's "City" financial district that sentence would make perfect sense: "The Bank of England just bought half a billion British pounds against the U.S. dollar and there's interest to buy the Japanese yen."
A mixture of Cockney rhyming slang, market banter and expressions picked up from horse racing bookmakers makes up the basis for a financial lingua franca that may sound like nonsense to most people, but has dominated the $4 trillion a day foreign exchange (FX) market for decades up until recently.
Most often used for currencies, countries and numbers, this financial market mumbo jumbo is starting to die out on the modern trading floors of international banks.
The growth of electronic dealing over computer screens rather than telephones or in person, a new generation of university-educated traders, and the introduction of the single European currency are all seen as reasons behind slang's demise.
"These terms get batted around a little bit but not as much as they used to," said Graham Davidson, director of FX trading at National Australia Bank in London, who said dealing rooms in general are much quieter than they used to be.
"FX is much more electronic. Lots of the slang came about through banter with the voice brokers, but that doesn't really work with machines. A lot of day-to-day chit chat has faded away, it's quite sad."
Some market players say the shift in the language of the dealing rooms also highlights a wider shift in the demographic of those doing the trading.
Many traders nowadays are recruited as university graduates with top marks from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and M.I.T., whereas 30 years ago aspiring youngsters with few, if any, academic qualifications often started as back office clerks and worked their way up to the trading floor.
Young London lads blessed with quick wits, common sense and ability to juggle numbers were often prized above those with academic laurels and went on to make fortunes as City traders.
"They were the 'barrow boys' coming off the market stalls. It was more working class and with that came the language of the street," said one trader, who used to work alongside some dealers who also owned fruit and vegetable and flower stalls.
"In the early days of dealing rooms it was the City institutions and especially the British banks where you heard it. Now dealing rooms might be a bit more international and slang is dying off a bit."
HALF A YARD OF CABLE
Some expressions have endured despite the changed dealing room environment. "Yard," meaning billion comes from shortening the French word for billion, which is "milliard."
"Cable" - one of the most-used slang terms - means the British pound/U.S. dollar currency pair and refers to the transatlantic telegraph cable that allowed prices to be transmitted between the London and New York Exchanges.
The Bank of England gained its title from its address, making it the "Old Lady" of Threadneedle Street, while the yen is nicknamed the Bill and Ben - after a pair of puppets from a 1950s British children's TV show - simply because it rhymes.
Country nicknames tend to conform to stereotypes, some less politically correct than others, while currencies were given nicknames to help distinguish them easily.
Some traders said if countries did give up the single European currency (euro) as a result of an on-going debt crisis in Europe, some slang might re-emerge.
"We have talked about this a lot recently given the euro zone situation, and thought about what it would be like to go back to mark/Paris (deutschmark/French franc)," a London-based trader said.
"These days there are far fewer names to worry about - the euro is the euro. Whereas in years gone by you would have had to worry about what the Estonian currency was even called."
Short selection of City slang
NUMBERS:
A SPANIARD 1 From the Spanish name Juan
A PRICKLY 2 A prickly pear
A CARPET 3 UK prisoners used to be allowed
carpet in their cells after 3 years
LADY GODIVA 5 Rhymes with fiver
AYRTON 10 Tenner rhymes with Ayrton
Senna, the late racing car driver
A BULLY 50 From the 50-point bullseye
on a dartboard
A MONKEY 500 The 500-Indian rupee note used to
have a picture of a monkey on it
CURRENCIES:
THE LOONIE CANADIAN DOLLAR A waterfowl named the
loon is depicted on
Canada's one-dollar coin
THE KIWI NZ DOLLAR National bird of New
Zealand
THE AUSSIE AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR
THE STOKKIE SWEDISH CROWN
THE NOKKIE NORWEGIAN CROWN
To most foreign exchange traders in London's "City" financial district that sentence would make perfect sense: "The Bank of England just bought half a billion British pounds against the U.S. dollar and there's interest to buy the Japanese yen."
A mixture of Cockney rhyming slang, market banter and expressions picked up from horse racing bookmakers makes up the basis for a financial lingua franca that may sound like nonsense to most people, but has dominated the $4 trillion a day foreign exchange (FX) market for decades up until recently.
Most often used for currencies, countries and numbers, this financial market mumbo jumbo is starting to die out on the modern trading floors of international banks.
The growth of electronic dealing over computer screens rather than telephones or in person, a new generation of university-educated traders, and the introduction of the single European currency are all seen as reasons behind slang's demise.
"These terms get batted around a little bit but not as much as they used to," said Graham Davidson, director of FX trading at National Australia Bank in London, who said dealing rooms in general are much quieter than they used to be.
"FX is much more electronic. Lots of the slang came about through banter with the voice brokers, but that doesn't really work with machines. A lot of day-to-day chit chat has faded away, it's quite sad."
Some market players say the shift in the language of the dealing rooms also highlights a wider shift in the demographic of those doing the trading.
Many traders nowadays are recruited as university graduates with top marks from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and M.I.T., whereas 30 years ago aspiring youngsters with few, if any, academic qualifications often started as back office clerks and worked their way up to the trading floor.
Young London lads blessed with quick wits, common sense and ability to juggle numbers were often prized above those with academic laurels and went on to make fortunes as City traders.
"They were the 'barrow boys' coming off the market stalls. It was more working class and with that came the language of the street," said one trader, who used to work alongside some dealers who also owned fruit and vegetable and flower stalls.
"In the early days of dealing rooms it was the City institutions and especially the British banks where you heard it. Now dealing rooms might be a bit more international and slang is dying off a bit."
HALF A YARD OF CABLE
Some expressions have endured despite the changed dealing room environment. "Yard," meaning billion comes from shortening the French word for billion, which is "milliard."
"Cable" - one of the most-used slang terms - means the British pound/U.S. dollar currency pair and refers to the transatlantic telegraph cable that allowed prices to be transmitted between the London and New York Exchanges.
The Bank of England gained its title from its address, making it the "Old Lady" of Threadneedle Street, while the yen is nicknamed the Bill and Ben - after a pair of puppets from a 1950s British children's TV show - simply because it rhymes.
Country nicknames tend to conform to stereotypes, some less politically correct than others, while currencies were given nicknames to help distinguish them easily.
Some traders said if countries did give up the single European currency (euro) as a result of an on-going debt crisis in Europe, some slang might re-emerge.
"We have talked about this a lot recently given the euro zone situation, and thought about what it would be like to go back to mark/Paris (deutschmark/French franc)," a London-based trader said.
"These days there are far fewer names to worry about - the euro is the euro. Whereas in years gone by you would have had to worry about what the Estonian currency was even called."
Short selection of City slang
NUMBERS:
A SPANIARD 1 From the Spanish name Juan
A PRICKLY 2 A prickly pear
A CARPET 3 UK prisoners used to be allowed
carpet in their cells after 3 years
LADY GODIVA 5 Rhymes with fiver
AYRTON 10 Tenner rhymes with Ayrton
Senna, the late racing car driver
A BULLY 50 From the 50-point bullseye
on a dartboard
A MONKEY 500 The 500-Indian rupee note used to
have a picture of a monkey on it
CURRENCIES:
THE LOONIE CANADIAN DOLLAR A waterfowl named the
loon is depicted on
Canada's one-dollar coin
THE KIWI NZ DOLLAR National bird of New
Zealand
THE AUSSIE AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR
THE STOKKIE SWEDISH CROWN
THE NOKKIE NORWEGIAN CROWN
Sweden gives digital piracy advocate religion status
Sweden dealt a symbolic blow to the global fight against digital music and film piracy by recognizing a group that promotes file-sharing across the Internet as a religion. One of the most wired nations in the world, Sweden has long been a battleground between those who support file-sharing and the music and film industry. The Nordic state gave birth to the world's largest file-sharing website, Pirate Bay.
Registering the Church of Kopimism is a way to avoid "persecution," said the website of the group, which was given official recognition by the Swedish state last month.
Kopimism's name is derived from the words "copy me" and as its website makes clear it strongly supports all forms of downloading and uploading files and sees copyright laws as violating freedom of information.
"We believe that information is holy," said Isak Gerson, who calls himself the "spiritual leader" of a church whose key symbols are "Ctrl C" and "Ctrl V," the keyboard short cuts for copy and paste.
"We do not think that copying is stealing or can ever be stealing," Gerson, 20, added to Reuters.
Such comments are anathema to the film and music industries, which view Sweden as a blackspot for illegal file-sharing.
Even though a Swedish court has sentenced the men behind Pirate Bay to prison and fines, the website is still freely available in Sweden and other countries.
Ludvig Werner, head of the Swedish branch of recording industry body IFPI, declined to comment on Kopimism but noted that 1.5 million people in Sweden out of a population of 9 million were active file-sharers.
"This means Sweden is one of the most active countries in Europe for file-sharing. So we still have a problem, even if the legal streaming of music has helped limit it," he said, referring to services such as Spotify.
After strong criticism from Hollywood, Sweden passed laws to make file-sharing illegal in 2009.
But Werner noted that the law, which is Sweden's application of an EU law called the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED), had been effectively suspended due to an appeal of a Swedish case which has gone all the way to the European Court of Justice.
This meant Sweden was left with a more cumbersome and time-consuming process for fighting Internet piracy, he said.
Registering the Church of Kopimism is a way to avoid "persecution," said the website of the group, which was given official recognition by the Swedish state last month.
Kopimism's name is derived from the words "copy me" and as its website makes clear it strongly supports all forms of downloading and uploading files and sees copyright laws as violating freedom of information.
"We believe that information is holy," said Isak Gerson, who calls himself the "spiritual leader" of a church whose key symbols are "Ctrl C" and "Ctrl V," the keyboard short cuts for copy and paste.
"We do not think that copying is stealing or can ever be stealing," Gerson, 20, added to Reuters.
Such comments are anathema to the film and music industries, which view Sweden as a blackspot for illegal file-sharing.
Even though a Swedish court has sentenced the men behind Pirate Bay to prison and fines, the website is still freely available in Sweden and other countries.
Ludvig Werner, head of the Swedish branch of recording industry body IFPI, declined to comment on Kopimism but noted that 1.5 million people in Sweden out of a population of 9 million were active file-sharers.
"This means Sweden is one of the most active countries in Europe for file-sharing. So we still have a problem, even if the legal streaming of music has helped limit it," he said, referring to services such as Spotify.
After strong criticism from Hollywood, Sweden passed laws to make file-sharing illegal in 2009.
But Werner noted that the law, which is Sweden's application of an EU law called the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED), had been effectively suspended due to an appeal of a Swedish case which has gone all the way to the European Court of Justice.
This meant Sweden was left with a more cumbersome and time-consuming process for fighting Internet piracy, he said.
"Rocket man" Kim Jong-il immortalized in North Korea
North Korea declared February 16 the "Day of the Shining Star" to commemorate the birthday of late "Great Leader" Kim Jong-il, using the same name as a long-range rocket developed under his trademark songun, or military first, policy. During his 17-year reign, Kim oversaw major developments in the North's military -- mainly a nuclear weapons program and work toward building a long-range ballistic missile.
The secretive state also announced Kim's body will lie in state permanently at the same mausoleum housing his father's embalmed body.
"The great leader Comrade Kim Jong-il will be laid in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, the sacred temple of Juche," state media quoted a declaration by the ruling party. Juche is the North's homegrown official ideology that fuses Marxism, an extreme concept of nationalism and economic self-sufficiency.
It said Kim Jong-il had been named as the "eternal leader of the party." His father, the North's founder Kim Il-sung is referred to as the country's "eternal president."
The North will also erect Kim's statue and portraits and build towers across the country in what could be an attempt to strengthen his personality cult and help the dynastic succession of his son, Kim Jong-un.
Giant portraits and statues of Kim Il-sung already exist in cities, towns and villages across North Korea. There are believed to be more than 3,000 so-called "eternal life towers" dedicated to Kim Il-sung's godly status.
North Korea already marks April 15 as the country's greatest celebration, the anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth, with musical performances, a nationwide festival of flowers named after him and discussion of his exploits.
His son died of a heart attack on December 17, the North's state media said. A state funeral and a commemorative event capped 10 days of mourning and his son, Jong-un, believed to be 28, is hailed as the "great successor" who will carry on the revolution.
The secretive state also announced Kim's body will lie in state permanently at the same mausoleum housing his father's embalmed body.
"The great leader Comrade Kim Jong-il will be laid in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, the sacred temple of Juche," state media quoted a declaration by the ruling party. Juche is the North's homegrown official ideology that fuses Marxism, an extreme concept of nationalism and economic self-sufficiency.
It said Kim Jong-il had been named as the "eternal leader of the party." His father, the North's founder Kim Il-sung is referred to as the country's "eternal president."
The North will also erect Kim's statue and portraits and build towers across the country in what could be an attempt to strengthen his personality cult and help the dynastic succession of his son, Kim Jong-un.
Giant portraits and statues of Kim Il-sung already exist in cities, towns and villages across North Korea. There are believed to be more than 3,000 so-called "eternal life towers" dedicated to Kim Il-sung's godly status.
North Korea already marks April 15 as the country's greatest celebration, the anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth, with musical performances, a nationwide festival of flowers named after him and discussion of his exploits.
His son died of a heart attack on December 17, the North's state media said. A state funeral and a commemorative event capped 10 days of mourning and his son, Jong-un, believed to be 28, is hailed as the "great successor" who will carry on the revolution.
Half-naked South Korean soldiers train for winter war
Cool under fire took on new meaning for more than 200 South Korean soldiers this week as they stripped off their shirts, flung snow on each other and walked through an ice-encrusted stream -- all part of drills to hone endurance. North and South Korea have yet to sign a peace treaty after the 1950-1953 Korean War, and tension remains high along the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) that splits the peninsula -- particularly after the North's young new leader, Kim Jong-un, assumed power last month.
Pushups in the snow were also part of the annual winter drill by special forces soldiers, which took place in Pyeongchang, about 180 km (113 miles) east of Seoul and the venue for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
"Our members are holding this drill to be able to survive in the enemy's camp, overcome freezing cold weather -- 20 degrees below zero in the mountain area -- without any help from our army," said Commander Choi Ik-bong of the special forces.
"They train as if it is a real battle and they will fight in a battle as if it's a kind of training."
The United States has about 30,000 troops in South Korea to support the country's 650,000-strong armed forces. But North Korea has some 1.2 million troops, most stationed along the border.
"The creed for our special forces is that we can do whatever cannot be done (by others), and a man dies just once, not twice, in this life," said 24-year-old Kim Sung-hoon.
"As a man, I am proud to sacrifice myself for my country, so this sort of difficulty is nothing to me."
Among the soldiers were ten women, who took part wearing short-sleeved shirts.
"I put the fact that I am a special forces member before the fact that I am a woman, so I have only been thinking about accomplishing my mission flawlessly," said 24-year-old Kim Yea-ji.
Pushups in the snow were also part of the annual winter drill by special forces soldiers, which took place in Pyeongchang, about 180 km (113 miles) east of Seoul and the venue for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
"Our members are holding this drill to be able to survive in the enemy's camp, overcome freezing cold weather -- 20 degrees below zero in the mountain area -- without any help from our army," said Commander Choi Ik-bong of the special forces.
"They train as if it is a real battle and they will fight in a battle as if it's a kind of training."
The United States has about 30,000 troops in South Korea to support the country's 650,000-strong armed forces. But North Korea has some 1.2 million troops, most stationed along the border.
"The creed for our special forces is that we can do whatever cannot be done (by others), and a man dies just once, not twice, in this life," said 24-year-old Kim Sung-hoon.
"As a man, I am proud to sacrifice myself for my country, so this sort of difficulty is nothing to me."
Among the soldiers were ten women, who took part wearing short-sleeved shirts.
"I put the fact that I am a special forces member before the fact that I am a woman, so I have only been thinking about accomplishing my mission flawlessly," said 24-year-old Kim Yea-ji.
Hospital rooms may be nearly as noisy as chainsaws: study
Everybody knows hospital rooms are noisy, but now a study has confirmed it -- with the added finding that noise levels may sometimes spike to nearly that of a chainsaw. "The hospital environment is certainly not a restful environment," said Vineet Arora, at the University of Chicago, who led the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
In a study of about 100 adult patients at their medical center, she and her colleagues found that noise levels in patient rooms at night tended to be lower than during the day, but almost always exceeded recommendations for average and maximum noise level.
According to World Health Organization recommendations, noise in hospital rooms generally shouldn't get above 30 to 40 decibels. But Arora's team found that the average noise level in patient rooms was close to 50 decibels, and sometimes spiked to as high as 80 decibels -- almost as loud as a chainsaw.
Much of the extra noise at night was due to talking between doctors and nurses, but the loudest interruptions were likely from alarms and intercoms, she said.
Higher maximum noise levels in individual rooms were linked to sleep disruptions in their occupants, with patients sleeping over an hour less in the hospital than they'd reported sleeping at home. They often also had restless, poor-quality sleep.
"One of the most common complaint that patients will report is that they had a difficult night sleeping," Arora said -- and that could delay their recovery.
"It could be part of a cycle of: you're sick, you get bad sleep, and you're not able to get better as quickly."
But other medical experts said noise may not be the only culprit for poor patient sleep, noting that the illness for which the patients are hospitalized may also play a part.
More noise may be a reflection of more nurses having to come in and out, checking on patients or giving them medicine -- indicating that they may be sicker than those with less noisy rooms.
"That doesn't mean that ... noise is not a factor -- noise is certainly a factor," said Sairam Parthasarathy, who studies patient sleep at the University of Arizona in Tucson but was not involved in the study.
Parthasarathy suggested that patients keep their blinds open during the day to get natural sunlight, wear noise-cancelling headphones if sound on the ward is disturbing them, and walk around during the day if they're physically able.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/zwelz1
In a study of about 100 adult patients at their medical center, she and her colleagues found that noise levels in patient rooms at night tended to be lower than during the day, but almost always exceeded recommendations for average and maximum noise level.
According to World Health Organization recommendations, noise in hospital rooms generally shouldn't get above 30 to 40 decibels. But Arora's team found that the average noise level in patient rooms was close to 50 decibels, and sometimes spiked to as high as 80 decibels -- almost as loud as a chainsaw.
Much of the extra noise at night was due to talking between doctors and nurses, but the loudest interruptions were likely from alarms and intercoms, she said.
Higher maximum noise levels in individual rooms were linked to sleep disruptions in their occupants, with patients sleeping over an hour less in the hospital than they'd reported sleeping at home. They often also had restless, poor-quality sleep.
"One of the most common complaint that patients will report is that they had a difficult night sleeping," Arora said -- and that could delay their recovery.
"It could be part of a cycle of: you're sick, you get bad sleep, and you're not able to get better as quickly."
But other medical experts said noise may not be the only culprit for poor patient sleep, noting that the illness for which the patients are hospitalized may also play a part.
More noise may be a reflection of more nurses having to come in and out, checking on patients or giving them medicine -- indicating that they may be sicker than those with less noisy rooms.
"That doesn't mean that ... noise is not a factor -- noise is certainly a factor," said Sairam Parthasarathy, who studies patient sleep at the University of Arizona in Tucson but was not involved in the study.
Parthasarathy suggested that patients keep their blinds open during the day to get natural sunlight, wear noise-cancelling headphones if sound on the ward is disturbing them, and walk around during the day if they're physically able.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/zwelz1
Magpies and bears mourn North Korea's "Dear Leader"
The passing of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il has been marked by plunging temperatures, mourning bears and now, according to North Korean state media, by flocks of magpies.
Kim, who died in December aged 69 years after 17 years running the world's most reclusive state, was reputed to be able to control the weather, as well as to have scored a miraculous 38 under par round of golf.
"At around 17:30 on December 19, 2011, hundreds of magpies appeared from nowhere and hovered over a statue of President Kim Il Sung on Changdok School campus in Mangyongdae District, clattering as if they were telling him the sad news," state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.
Kim's death was announced on December 19, although he was reported by official media to have died on December 17 on a train journey to give guidance to his subjects.
He has been succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, who will become the third of his line to head the world's only hereditary totalitarian Stalinist state. Mythmaking is a key part of the personality cult that surrounds the family of founding father Kim Il-sung.
KCNA reported last week that a family of bears who usually hibernate through the fierce Korean winter had been seen lamenting Kim Jong-il's death.
"The bears, believed to be a mother and cubs, were staying on the road, crying woefully," it said.
Mythmaking for Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, has already started. He is portrayed as the spitting image of his grandfather and has been dubbed the "genius of geniuses" in military affairs despite having no known military experience.
Kim, who died in December aged 69 years after 17 years running the world's most reclusive state, was reputed to be able to control the weather, as well as to have scored a miraculous 38 under par round of golf.
"At around 17:30 on December 19, 2011, hundreds of magpies appeared from nowhere and hovered over a statue of President Kim Il Sung on Changdok School campus in Mangyongdae District, clattering as if they were telling him the sad news," state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.
Kim's death was announced on December 19, although he was reported by official media to have died on December 17 on a train journey to give guidance to his subjects.
He has been succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, who will become the third of his line to head the world's only hereditary totalitarian Stalinist state. Mythmaking is a key part of the personality cult that surrounds the family of founding father Kim Il-sung.
KCNA reported last week that a family of bears who usually hibernate through the fierce Korean winter had been seen lamenting Kim Jong-il's death.
"The bears, believed to be a mother and cubs, were staying on the road, crying woefully," it said.
Mythmaking for Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, has already started. He is portrayed as the spitting image of his grandfather and has been dubbed the "genius of geniuses" in military affairs despite having no known military experience.
Australian survives terrifying fall after bungee snaps
An Australian woman has survived a terrifying fall after her bungee cord snapped during a 111-metre (364-feet) leap off Africa's Victoria Falls Bridge, plunging her into the crocodile-infested Zambezi River below. Erin Langworthy, who suffered only cuts and bruises in the fall on New Year's Eve, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, said it was a "miracle" that she had survived the plunge into the rapids below the bridge, which borders Zambia and Zimbabwe.
"It felt like I had been slapped all over," the 22-year-old from Perth told Australia's Channel Nine television.
Video footage showed the moment towards the end of the fall that the cord snapped and hurled her into the river.
Langworthy had to dive under the water to unravel the rope bound around her feet as she entered the rapids.
"I actually had to swim down and yank the bungee cord out of whatever it was caught on to make it to the surface," she said.
After unbinding her feet she managed to swim to the river bank on the Zimbabwe side to await assistance.
"Yes, I think it's definitely a miracle that I survived," she said.
Langworthy was treated at a nearby clinic before being evacuated to South Africa.
A Zambian minister sought to reassure tourists about bungee safety but said the issue would be discussed with the operator.
"The bungee has proven to be a very viable operation considering that more than 50,000 tourists jump on it every year. It has been in operation for 10 years.
This is the first time I am hearing of an incident. The probability of an incident is one in 500,000 jumps," Information Minister Given Lubinda was quoted as saying in a report published on the Lusakatimes.com web site.
"It felt like I had been slapped all over," the 22-year-old from Perth told Australia's Channel Nine television.
Video footage showed the moment towards the end of the fall that the cord snapped and hurled her into the river.
Langworthy had to dive under the water to unravel the rope bound around her feet as she entered the rapids.
"I actually had to swim down and yank the bungee cord out of whatever it was caught on to make it to the surface," she said.
After unbinding her feet she managed to swim to the river bank on the Zimbabwe side to await assistance.
"Yes, I think it's definitely a miracle that I survived," she said.
Langworthy was treated at a nearby clinic before being evacuated to South Africa.
A Zambian minister sought to reassure tourists about bungee safety but said the issue would be discussed with the operator.
"The bungee has proven to be a very viable operation considering that more than 50,000 tourists jump on it every year. It has been in operation for 10 years.
This is the first time I am hearing of an incident. The probability of an incident is one in 500,000 jumps," Information Minister Given Lubinda was quoted as saying in a report published on the Lusakatimes.com web site.
Taiwan's Ma to win election? The stars have foreseen it
The stars are aligning for Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to narrowly win re-election at the island's January 14 election, but he'll only get by with a little help from his wife, according to a well-known Taiwan fortune teller. Chan Wei-chung, who has been divining destinies for 30 years and is an adviser to many of Taiwan's glitterati, told Reuters Friday that Ma will have the edge but will need his wife's help to offset the forces acting against him.
Seated behind a wooden table in front of a large statue of the Buddha in a spartan, wood-floor entrance of his Taipei home, the 48-year old began with a traditional analysis of the Chinese characters of each candidate's name -- on his not so traditional iPad.
Then on the more traditional paper he pulled up natal charts constructed using an ancient Chinese method that plots destiny from alignments of stars in 12 "palaces" at the time and date of birth.
"The marriage palace in his natal chart shows that his wife brings a lucky star," Chan said. "So he really needs to seek his wife's help."
That should offset poor feng shui at his campaign headquarters and some issues with the way he handles people, according to Chan.
"Also if he doesn't go out drinking or taking money from people, he will have a chance of a small victory."
His main challenger, the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen, who narrowly trails Ma in opinion polls, is going to push him all the way, Chan said.
Tsai has more elements in the Chinese characters of her name that represent grass than Ma does. In the year of the rabbit, Chan said, having lots of grass the rabbit can eat is a bonus.
Seated behind a wooden table in front of a large statue of the Buddha in a spartan, wood-floor entrance of his Taipei home, the 48-year old began with a traditional analysis of the Chinese characters of each candidate's name -- on his not so traditional iPad.
Then on the more traditional paper he pulled up natal charts constructed using an ancient Chinese method that plots destiny from alignments of stars in 12 "palaces" at the time and date of birth.
"The marriage palace in his natal chart shows that his wife brings a lucky star," Chan said. "So he really needs to seek his wife's help."
That should offset poor feng shui at his campaign headquarters and some issues with the way he handles people, according to Chan.
"Also if he doesn't go out drinking or taking money from people, he will have a chance of a small victory."
His main challenger, the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen, who narrowly trails Ma in opinion polls, is going to push him all the way, Chan said.
Tsai has more elements in the Chinese characters of her name that represent grass than Ma does. In the year of the rabbit, Chan said, having lots of grass the rabbit can eat is a bonus.
Women are a mystery to British physicist Hawking
The biggest mystery in the universe perplexing one of the world's best known scientists is -- women. When New Scientist magazine asked "Brief History of Time" author Stephen Hawking what he thinks about most, the Cambridge University professor renowned for unraveling some of the most complex questions in modern physics answered: "Women. They are a complete mystery."
The wheelchair-bound Hawking, who only recently retired from a post once held by Isaac Newton, talked to the magazine in the run-up to celebrations for his 70th birthday about his biggest scientific blunder and his hopes for modern science.
Hawking is due to celebrate his 70th birthday on Sunday with a public symposium entitled "The State of the Universe" at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.
Hawking heads a list of speakers including British Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Saul Perlmutter and Kip Thorne, one of the world's leading theoretical physicists.
The wheelchair-bound Hawking, who only recently retired from a post once held by Isaac Newton, talked to the magazine in the run-up to celebrations for his 70th birthday about his biggest scientific blunder and his hopes for modern science.
Hawking is due to celebrate his 70th birthday on Sunday with a public symposium entitled "The State of the Universe" at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.
Hawking heads a list of speakers including British Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Saul Perlmutter and Kip Thorne, one of the world's leading theoretical physicists.
Colorado woman accused of damaging $30 million painting
A 36-year-old woman was accused of causing $10,000 worth of damage to a painting by the late abstract expressionist artist Clyfford Still, a work valued at more than $30 million, authorities said on Wednesday. A police report said Carmen Tisch punched and scratched the painting, an oil-on-canvas called "1957-J no.2", at the recently opened Clyfford Still museum in Denver and pulled her pants down to slide her buttocks against it.
Tisch was charged with felony criminal mischief on Wednesday and has been held on a $20,000 bond since the incident in late December, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney's Office.
Kimbrough said Tisch urinated after she rubbed up against the canvas, but whether urine got on the painting was still under investigation, she said.
Born in North Dakota in 1904, Still was considered one of the most influential of the American post-World War Two abstract expressionist artists, although he was not as well known as others such as Jackson Pollock.
Still died in 1980, and the city of Denver worked for years with his widow, Patricia, to secure the single-artist museum. She died in 2005, and her husband's collection was bequeathed to the city.
Four of Still's works were auctioned by Sotheby's last year for $114 million to endow the Denver museum, which opened with much fanfare in November.
Because Still closely guarded his works, most of the pieces at his namesake museum had not previously been displayed.
Tisch will be formally advised of the charges on Friday, Kimbrough said.
Tisch was charged with felony criminal mischief on Wednesday and has been held on a $20,000 bond since the incident in late December, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney's Office.
Kimbrough said Tisch urinated after she rubbed up against the canvas, but whether urine got on the painting was still under investigation, she said.
Born in North Dakota in 1904, Still was considered one of the most influential of the American post-World War Two abstract expressionist artists, although he was not as well known as others such as Jackson Pollock.
Still died in 1980, and the city of Denver worked for years with his widow, Patricia, to secure the single-artist museum. She died in 2005, and her husband's collection was bequeathed to the city.
Four of Still's works were auctioned by Sotheby's last year for $114 million to endow the Denver museum, which opened with much fanfare in November.
Because Still closely guarded his works, most of the pieces at his namesake museum had not previously been displayed.
Tisch will be formally advised of the charges on Friday, Kimbrough said.
Maldives lifts ban on luxury resort spas
A ban on luxury spas at hotels and massage parlors in the Maldives was lifted on Wednesday under pressure from the country's key tourism industry a week after it was imposed as part of an effort to curb perceived vice.
"We have lifted the ban and all the services will be available for tourists," President Nasheed told Reuters by telephone from the Maldives capital Male. "We wanted to give confidence to tourists."
Nasheed said he ordered the ban in response to calls by the main opposition party which claimed the spas and parlors were fronts for prostitution and led to the spread of drugs and alcohol to locals in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation of more than 1,200 atolls home to a population of 400,000.
But former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's said the Progressive Party of the Maldives never asked for the ban. He claimed it was really aimed at leisure businesses owned by some opposition members.
The ban badly affected the tourism industry in the Indian Ocean island nation where pristine white sand beaches and turquoise waters attract more than 800,000 tourists annually, including honeymooners and celebrities from around the world.
($1 = 15.4 Maldives rufiyaa)
"We have lifted the ban and all the services will be available for tourists," President Nasheed told Reuters by telephone from the Maldives capital Male. "We wanted to give confidence to tourists."
Nasheed said he ordered the ban in response to calls by the main opposition party which claimed the spas and parlors were fronts for prostitution and led to the spread of drugs and alcohol to locals in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation of more than 1,200 atolls home to a population of 400,000.
But former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's said the Progressive Party of the Maldives never asked for the ban. He claimed it was really aimed at leisure businesses owned by some opposition members.
The ban badly affected the tourism industry in the Indian Ocean island nation where pristine white sand beaches and turquoise waters attract more than 800,000 tourists annually, including honeymooners and celebrities from around the world.
($1 = 15.4 Maldives rufiyaa)
Sunday, January 8, 2012
POP QUIZ (SANTA CLAUS LOOKS DIFFERENT EVERY TIME)
Santa Claus looks different every time he comes home.
For Christmas Day, match the cinema Santa with his film or TV movie.
1. Tim Allen a) The Chronicles of Narnia:
2. Ed Asner The Lion, the Witch, and the
3. John Call Wardrobe.
4. James Cosmo b) Elf.
5. Paul Giamatti c) Fred Claus.
6. John Goodman d) Miracle on 34th Street
7. Richard Griffiths e) A Muppets Christmas:
8. Edmund Gwenn Letters to Santa.
9. Tom Hanks f) The Polar Express.
10. George Wendt g) Santa Baby.
h) The Santa Clause.
i) Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
j) The Year Without Santa Claus
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. h ; 2. b ; 3. i ; 4. a ; 5. c ; 6. j ; 7. e ; 8. d ; 9. f ; 10. g
For Christmas Day, match the cinema Santa with his film or TV movie.
1. Tim Allen a) The Chronicles of Narnia:
2. Ed Asner The Lion, the Witch, and the
3. John Call Wardrobe.
4. James Cosmo b) Elf.
5. Paul Giamatti c) Fred Claus.
6. John Goodman d) Miracle on 34th Street
7. Richard Griffiths e) A Muppets Christmas:
8. Edmund Gwenn Letters to Santa.
9. Tom Hanks f) The Polar Express.
10. George Wendt g) Santa Baby.
h) The Santa Clause.
i) Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
j) The Year Without Santa Claus
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. h ; 2. b ; 3. i ; 4. a ; 5. c ; 6. j ; 7. e ; 8. d ; 9. f ; 10. g
"Mary's Christmas Dream"
I had a dream, Joseph, I don't understand it, but in it people were having a birthday celebration for our Son.
In my dream people have been preparing for it for some weeks beforehand. They put lovely red berried holly and tinsel all around the house and bought new clothes. They went shopping and bought elaborate gifts. But I found it strange that these presents were not for our Son, but for themselves.
They wrapped them in beautiful paper and tied them with lovely bows and placed them under a tree, which they call a Christ Mass Tree. I did think that this must be in memory of our Son. They'd decorated the tree with all sorts of colorful decorations.
The branches were covered with sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on the top of the tree. It looked like a protective angel. I must say I thought it was beautiful especially if it was in honor of our Son.
Everyone was laughing and happy. They were all exited and at first I thought it was excitement for our Son's birthday. But in all their celebrations, I again found it strange that they never mentioned His name. How can you have a birthday were the little child whose birthday it is, is not mentioned?
I had the strangest feeling that if our Son had gone to this celebration He would have been intruding. Everything was so beautiful, Joseph, and everyone so full of cheer, but it made me cry for our little Son, that He was not mentioned at His own birthday celebration.
I'M GLAD IT WAS ONLY A DREAM JOSEPH! HOW TERRIBLE IF IT HAD BEEN REAL!
In my dream people have been preparing for it for some weeks beforehand. They put lovely red berried holly and tinsel all around the house and bought new clothes. They went shopping and bought elaborate gifts. But I found it strange that these presents were not for our Son, but for themselves.
They wrapped them in beautiful paper and tied them with lovely bows and placed them under a tree, which they call a Christ Mass Tree. I did think that this must be in memory of our Son. They'd decorated the tree with all sorts of colorful decorations.
The branches were covered with sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on the top of the tree. It looked like a protective angel. I must say I thought it was beautiful especially if it was in honor of our Son.
Everyone was laughing and happy. They were all exited and at first I thought it was excitement for our Son's birthday. But in all their celebrations, I again found it strange that they never mentioned His name. How can you have a birthday were the little child whose birthday it is, is not mentioned?
I had the strangest feeling that if our Son had gone to this celebration He would have been intruding. Everything was so beautiful, Joseph, and everyone so full of cheer, but it made me cry for our little Son, that He was not mentioned at His own birthday celebration.
I'M GLAD IT WAS ONLY A DREAM JOSEPH! HOW TERRIBLE IF IT HAD BEEN REAL!
The Proclamation of the Birth of Christ
Today, the twenty-fifth day of December, unknown ages from the time when God created the heavens and the earth and then formed man and woman in his own image.
Several thousand years after the flood, when God made the rainbow shine forth as a sign of the covenant.
Twenty-one centuries from the time of Abraham and Sarah; thirteen centuries after Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Eleven hundred years from the time of Ruth and the judges; one thousand years from the annointing of David as King; in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel.
In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome.
The forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus; the whole world being at peace, Jesus Christ, eternal God ans Son of the eternal Father, desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming, being conceived since his conception, was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary.
Today is the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.
Merry Christmas!
Several thousand years after the flood, when God made the rainbow shine forth as a sign of the covenant.
Twenty-one centuries from the time of Abraham and Sarah; thirteen centuries after Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Eleven hundred years from the time of Ruth and the judges; one thousand years from the annointing of David as King; in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel.
In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome.
The forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus; the whole world being at peace, Jesus Christ, eternal God ans Son of the eternal Father, desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming, being conceived since his conception, was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary.
Today is the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas
Here's how some of our neighbors around the world wish each other the best of this season!
Chinese (Mandarin) - Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
Dutch - Vrolijk Kerstfeest
French - Joyeux Noel
German - Frohliche Weihnachten
Greek - Kala Christouyenna!
Irish - Nollaig Shona Dhuit
Portuguese - Feliz Natal
Russian - Pozdravlyenie s Rozjdyestvom isNovym Godom!
Spanish - Feliz Navidad
Italian - Buon Natale!
Welsh - Nadolig Llawen
Slovak - Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok.
Chinese (Mandarin) - Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
Dutch - Vrolijk Kerstfeest
French - Joyeux Noel
German - Frohliche Weihnachten
Greek - Kala Christouyenna!
Irish - Nollaig Shona Dhuit
Portuguese - Feliz Natal
Russian - Pozdravlyenie s Rozjdyestvom isNovym Godom!
Spanish - Feliz Navidad
Italian - Buon Natale!
Welsh - Nadolig Llawen
Slovak - Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok.
The Star of Bethlehem
The star, canbe found below the alter in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in Israel. It marks the place where Jesus was born.
The site was found by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. It was Constantine who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in the third century and sent his mother to discover sites in the Holy Land that were connected to the life of Jesus.
When Helena arrived in Bethlehem, she had a basilica built to memorialize the spot identified in the second century by St. Justin Martyr as the birthplace of Jesus. While the original church built by Helena was destroyed in the sixth century, the one that was erected in its place in 529 still stands, making it the oldest church in the Holy Land still in use.
The site was found by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. It was Constantine who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in the third century and sent his mother to discover sites in the Holy Land that were connected to the life of Jesus.
When Helena arrived in Bethlehem, she had a basilica built to memorialize the spot identified in the second century by St. Justin Martyr as the birthplace of Jesus. While the original church built by Helena was destroyed in the sixth century, the one that was erected in its place in 529 still stands, making it the oldest church in the Holy Land still in use.
An Unlikely Christmas Hero
Saint Francis of Assisi
Hearing the name of St. Francis of Assisi, we automatically picture the monk in a brown robe, ministering to the poor and tending to animals of all varieties. We think of the wealthy young man who turned from a life of comfort to one of poverty for the love of God. We think of his stigmata and of his order of priests who continue his work. But surprisingly in this, the Christmas Season, we owe St. Francis a debt of gratitude.
Francis went to the Holy Land and was overwhelmed by much of what he saw. He was so inspired that he wanted to share the feeling of the Holy Land with people at home.
In the year 1224, in the small town of Greccio, Francis set out to show people just what Christmas was about. Most people were illiterate and could not understand a lot of what was said during the Latin Mass. Francis wanted people to realize the great beauty of the navity. He found a small cave outside of the town. There he set up a manger and brought in live animals. He found townspeople to dress in biblical garb and act out the Nativity while Francis himself told the story in the lanfuage of the people. Francis's Nativity was a great success and was repeated all over Europe. Today Living Nativities are still celebrated. The scene is replicated countless times by creches large and small in homes and churches all over the world.
Francis's influence on our Christmas celebrations didn't stop there. Because he wanted the people to leave the scene filled with the joy of Christmas and to spread that joy to all they met, he introduced the first Christmas Carols. Prior to Francis's Christmas celebration, Christmas music sung at Masses was solemn and usually in Latin. Francis instead took popular songs that people would know and put religious words to the tunes. The result was spectacular. People left the ceremony singing words of Christmas put to familiar tunes.
So this Christmas, when you look at a manger scene or hear "Silent Night" or your favorite carol, take a moment to thank St. Francis for helping to make Christmas merry.
Hearing the name of St. Francis of Assisi, we automatically picture the monk in a brown robe, ministering to the poor and tending to animals of all varieties. We think of the wealthy young man who turned from a life of comfort to one of poverty for the love of God. We think of his stigmata and of his order of priests who continue his work. But surprisingly in this, the Christmas Season, we owe St. Francis a debt of gratitude.
Francis went to the Holy Land and was overwhelmed by much of what he saw. He was so inspired that he wanted to share the feeling of the Holy Land with people at home.
In the year 1224, in the small town of Greccio, Francis set out to show people just what Christmas was about. Most people were illiterate and could not understand a lot of what was said during the Latin Mass. Francis wanted people to realize the great beauty of the navity. He found a small cave outside of the town. There he set up a manger and brought in live animals. He found townspeople to dress in biblical garb and act out the Nativity while Francis himself told the story in the lanfuage of the people. Francis's Nativity was a great success and was repeated all over Europe. Today Living Nativities are still celebrated. The scene is replicated countless times by creches large and small in homes and churches all over the world.
Francis's influence on our Christmas celebrations didn't stop there. Because he wanted the people to leave the scene filled with the joy of Christmas and to spread that joy to all they met, he introduced the first Christmas Carols. Prior to Francis's Christmas celebration, Christmas music sung at Masses was solemn and usually in Latin. Francis instead took popular songs that people would know and put religious words to the tunes. The result was spectacular. People left the ceremony singing words of Christmas put to familiar tunes.
So this Christmas, when you look at a manger scene or hear "Silent Night" or your favorite carol, take a moment to thank St. Francis for helping to make Christmas merry.
"Twas the night before Christmas..........."
and all through houses all over the United States families are doing last-minute preparations for the blessed celebration of Christmas. Driving down the street or peeking in the windows, the similarity of those preparations is striking.
Did you ever wonder..........
WHY December 25?
There is no record of the actual date of the birth of Jesus. In fact the church did not celebrate the occasion until more than 300 years after His birth. In actuality historians believe Jesus was most likely born in the Spring when sheperds would be more apt to spend the nights in the fields rather than winter due to weather.
The early Church believed celebrating birthdays was a pagan custom. Church Fathers found much more importance in celebrating the day a person died----or was born into eternity. Therefore Easter and Good Friday were much more important in the early Church.
It wasn't until 340 AD that the Church began to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The date of December 25 was chosen for a couple of reasons. It was chosen to counterbalance the Roman feast celebrating the sun god, a major feast for the pagans of the time. December 25 was also the time of the Winter Solstice, the time when nights begin to get shorter and days longer----symbolically the time when the light once again begins to overtake the darkness. The importance of Christmas is not that it is the actual birthday of Jesus but rather a commemoration of his coming into this world to bring us salvation. It is estimated that more than 400 million people around the world celebrate Christmas.
WHY gift-giving?
The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas can be found in the Gospel according to Matthew (2:10-11). It tells us of the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus, "They saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." While the Gospels do not specify that there were three visitors to the Holy Family, tradition has chosen that number because of the number of gifts mentioned. The beauty of these gifts is found not in their value or worth, but rather in the giving with no expectation of a return.
WHY Christmas Stockings?
Legend attributes this custom to St. Nicholas. There was a kindly nobleman whose wife died. The gentleman became despondent at the death of his wife and because of this his fortune was soon gone, squandered foolishly. There was no money left for dowries for his three young daughters and so the girls faced uncertain futures. When Nicholas, the generous Bishop of Myra in Turkey in the fourth century, heard of the girls' plight, he was determined to help but wanted to remain anonymous. Late one night, he rode his white horse by the nobleman's house and threw three pouches of gold coins down the chimney where they were fortuitously captured by the stockings the young women had hung by the fireplace to dry. The young women went on to be married and live happy lives.
WHY Christmas trees?
The first Christmas trees appeared in 16th century Germany. They were used both indoors and out and were decorated with apples, roses and colored paper. It is believed that Martin Luther first added lighted candles to the tree after being srtuck by the beauty of starlight shinning through the branches of a fir tree outside of his home. Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, first brought the Christmas tree to England in the 19th century. Hessian soldiers who fought in the Revolution are credited with the first Christmas trees in America. The first Christmas tree market appeared in 1851 when a Catskill farmer hauled two sleds of evergreen trees into New York City and sold them all. By 1900, one in five American families had Christmas trees and by 1925 the custom was nearly universal.
Did you ever wonder..........
WHY December 25?
There is no record of the actual date of the birth of Jesus. In fact the church did not celebrate the occasion until more than 300 years after His birth. In actuality historians believe Jesus was most likely born in the Spring when sheperds would be more apt to spend the nights in the fields rather than winter due to weather.
The early Church believed celebrating birthdays was a pagan custom. Church Fathers found much more importance in celebrating the day a person died----or was born into eternity. Therefore Easter and Good Friday were much more important in the early Church.
It wasn't until 340 AD that the Church began to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The date of December 25 was chosen for a couple of reasons. It was chosen to counterbalance the Roman feast celebrating the sun god, a major feast for the pagans of the time. December 25 was also the time of the Winter Solstice, the time when nights begin to get shorter and days longer----symbolically the time when the light once again begins to overtake the darkness. The importance of Christmas is not that it is the actual birthday of Jesus but rather a commemoration of his coming into this world to bring us salvation. It is estimated that more than 400 million people around the world celebrate Christmas.
WHY gift-giving?
The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas can be found in the Gospel according to Matthew (2:10-11). It tells us of the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus, "They saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." While the Gospels do not specify that there were three visitors to the Holy Family, tradition has chosen that number because of the number of gifts mentioned. The beauty of these gifts is found not in their value or worth, but rather in the giving with no expectation of a return.
WHY Christmas Stockings?
Legend attributes this custom to St. Nicholas. There was a kindly nobleman whose wife died. The gentleman became despondent at the death of his wife and because of this his fortune was soon gone, squandered foolishly. There was no money left for dowries for his three young daughters and so the girls faced uncertain futures. When Nicholas, the generous Bishop of Myra in Turkey in the fourth century, heard of the girls' plight, he was determined to help but wanted to remain anonymous. Late one night, he rode his white horse by the nobleman's house and threw three pouches of gold coins down the chimney where they were fortuitously captured by the stockings the young women had hung by the fireplace to dry. The young women went on to be married and live happy lives.
WHY Christmas trees?
The first Christmas trees appeared in 16th century Germany. They were used both indoors and out and were decorated with apples, roses and colored paper. It is believed that Martin Luther first added lighted candles to the tree after being srtuck by the beauty of starlight shinning through the branches of a fir tree outside of his home. Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, first brought the Christmas tree to England in the 19th century. Hessian soldiers who fought in the Revolution are credited with the first Christmas trees in America. The first Christmas tree market appeared in 1851 when a Catskill farmer hauled two sleds of evergreen trees into New York City and sold them all. By 1900, one in five American families had Christmas trees and by 1925 the custom was nearly universal.
Taiwan's Ma to win election? The stars have foreseen it
The stars are aligning for Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to narrowly win re-election at the island's January 14 election, but he'll only get by with a little help from his wife, according to a well-known Taiwan fortune teller. Chan Wei-chung, who has been divining destinies for 30 years and is an adviser to many of Taiwan's glitterati, told Reuters Friday that Ma will have the edge but will need his wife's help to offset the forces acting against him.
Seated behind a wooden table in front of a large statue of the Buddha in a spartan, wood-floor entrance of his Taipei home, the 48-year old began with a traditional analysis of the Chinese characters of each candidate's name -- on his not so traditional iPad.
Then on the more traditional paper he pulled up natal charts constructed using an ancient Chinese method that plots destiny from alignments of stars in 12 "palaces" at the time and date of birth.
"The marriage palace in his natal chart shows that his wife brings a lucky star," Chan said. "So he really needs to seek his wife's help."
That should offset poor feng shui at his campaign headquarters and some issues with the way he handles people, according to Chan.
"Also if he doesn't go out drinking or taking money from people, he will have a chance of a small victory."
His main challenger, the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen, who narrowly trails Ma in opinion polls, is going to push him all the way, Chan said.
Tsai has more elements in the Chinese characters of her name that represent grass than Ma does. In the year of the rabbit, Chan said, having lots of grass the rabbit can eat is a bonus.
Seated behind a wooden table in front of a large statue of the Buddha in a spartan, wood-floor entrance of his Taipei home, the 48-year old began with a traditional analysis of the Chinese characters of each candidate's name -- on his not so traditional iPad.
Then on the more traditional paper he pulled up natal charts constructed using an ancient Chinese method that plots destiny from alignments of stars in 12 "palaces" at the time and date of birth.
"The marriage palace in his natal chart shows that his wife brings a lucky star," Chan said. "So he really needs to seek his wife's help."
That should offset poor feng shui at his campaign headquarters and some issues with the way he handles people, according to Chan.
"Also if he doesn't go out drinking or taking money from people, he will have a chance of a small victory."
His main challenger, the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen, who narrowly trails Ma in opinion polls, is going to push him all the way, Chan said.
Tsai has more elements in the Chinese characters of her name that represent grass than Ma does. In the year of the rabbit, Chan said, having lots of grass the rabbit can eat is a bonus.
Women are a mystery to British physicist Hawking
The biggest mystery in the universe perplexing one of the world's best known scientists is -- women. When New Scientist magazine asked "Brief History of Time" author Stephen Hawking what he thinks about most, the Cambridge University professor renowned for unraveling some of the most complex questions in modern physics answered: "Women. They are a complete mystery."
The wheelchair-bound Hawking, who only recently retired from a post once held by Isaac Newton, talked to the magazine in the run-up to celebrations for his 70th birthday about his biggest scientific blunder and his hopes for modern science.
Hawking is due to celebrate his 70th birthday on Sunday with a public symposium entitled "The State of the Universe" at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.
Hawking heads a list of speakers including British Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Saul Perlmutter and Kip Thorne, one of the world's leading theoretical physicists.
The wheelchair-bound Hawking, who only recently retired from a post once held by Isaac Newton, talked to the magazine in the run-up to celebrations for his 70th birthday about his biggest scientific blunder and his hopes for modern science.
Hawking is due to celebrate his 70th birthday on Sunday with a public symposium entitled "The State of the Universe" at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.
Hawking heads a list of speakers including British Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Saul Perlmutter and Kip Thorne, one of the world's leading theoretical physicists.
Colorado woman accused of damaging $30 million painting
A 36-year-old woman was accused of causing $10,000 worth of damage to a painting by the late abstract expressionist artist Clyfford Still, a work valued at more than $30 million, authorities said on Wednesday. A police report said Carmen Tisch punched and scratched the painting, an oil-on-canvas called "1957-J no.2", at the recently opened Clyfford Still museum in Denver and pulled her pants down to slide her buttocks against it.
Tisch was charged with felony criminal mischief on Wednesday and has been held on a $20,000 bond since the incident in late December, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney's Office.
Kimbrough said Tisch urinated after she rubbed up against the canvas, but whether urine got on the painting was still under investigation, she said.
Born in North Dakota in 1904, Still was considered one of the most influential of the American post-World War Two abstract expressionist artists, although he was not as well known as others such as Jackson Pollock.
Still died in 1980, and the city of Denver worked for years with his widow, Patricia, to secure the single-artist museum. She died in 2005, and her husband's collection was bequeathed to the city.
Four of Still's works were auctioned by Sotheby's last year for $114 million to endow the Denver museum, which opened with much fanfare in November.
Because Still closely guarded his works, most of the pieces at his namesake museum had not previously been displayed.
Tisch will be formally advised of the charges on Friday, Kimbrough said.
Tisch was charged with felony criminal mischief on Wednesday and has been held on a $20,000 bond since the incident in late December, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney's Office.
Kimbrough said Tisch urinated after she rubbed up against the canvas, but whether urine got on the painting was still under investigation, she said.
Born in North Dakota in 1904, Still was considered one of the most influential of the American post-World War Two abstract expressionist artists, although he was not as well known as others such as Jackson Pollock.
Still died in 1980, and the city of Denver worked for years with his widow, Patricia, to secure the single-artist museum. She died in 2005, and her husband's collection was bequeathed to the city.
Four of Still's works were auctioned by Sotheby's last year for $114 million to endow the Denver museum, which opened with much fanfare in November.
Because Still closely guarded his works, most of the pieces at his namesake museum had not previously been displayed.
Tisch will be formally advised of the charges on Friday, Kimbrough said.
Maldives lifts ban on luxury resort spas
A ban on luxury spas at hotels and massage parlors in the Maldives was lifted on Wednesday under pressure from the country's key tourism industry a week after it was imposed as part of an effort to curb perceived vice. "We have lifted the ban and all the services will be available for tourists," President Nasheed told Reuters by telephone from the Maldives capital Male. "We wanted to give confidence to tourists."
Nasheed said he ordered the ban in response to calls by the main opposition party which claimed the spas and parlors were fronts for prostitution and led to the spread of drugs and alcohol to locals in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation of more than 1,200 atolls home to a population of 400,000.
But former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's said the Progressive Party of the Maldives never asked for the ban. He claimed it was really aimed at leisure businesses owned by some opposition members.
The ban badly affected the tourism industry in the Indian Ocean island nation where pristine white sand beaches and turquoise waters attract more than 800,000 tourists annually, including honeymooners and celebrities from around the world.
($1 = 15.4 Maldives rufiyaa)
Nasheed said he ordered the ban in response to calls by the main opposition party which claimed the spas and parlors were fronts for prostitution and led to the spread of drugs and alcohol to locals in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation of more than 1,200 atolls home to a population of 400,000.
But former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's said the Progressive Party of the Maldives never asked for the ban. He claimed it was really aimed at leisure businesses owned by some opposition members.
The ban badly affected the tourism industry in the Indian Ocean island nation where pristine white sand beaches and turquoise waters attract more than 800,000 tourists annually, including honeymooners and celebrities from around the world.
($1 = 15.4 Maldives rufiyaa)
U.S. twin births have doubled in three decades: study
The number of twins born in the United States has doubled in the last three decades largely as a result of fertility treatments, with one in 30 infants born in 2009 a twin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. "The increases are quite widespread, affecting all age groups and all parts of the country," said Joyce Martin, a CDC epidemiologist and coauthor of the new study.
More than 137,000 twins were born in the United States in 2009, accounting for one in every 30 babies. That compares to 68,339 twins born in 1980 when just one in 53 infants born was a twin, the CDC said.
A third of the increase in the twin birth rate can be attributed to women waiting longer to have children, the CDC said. From 2000 to 2009, more than 35 percent of all births were to mothers ages 30 and over, up from 20 percent in 1980.
The number of twins per 1,000 births rose in all 50 states and doubled in Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
Treatment for infertility such as in-vitro fertilization accounts for much of the remainder of the increase in twins, the CDC said.
"We seem to be making improvements, refinements to fertility-enhancing therapies, so that could then result in a lowering of the increase of the pace in twin and other multiple births," Martin told Reuters.
Twin births are riskier than single births, she said.
"Infants born in twin deliveries are at greater risk of poor outcome," she said. "They are born smaller, they are born earlier. They are more likely not to survive the first year. Most twins do fine, but they are at higher risk."
More than 137,000 twins were born in the United States in 2009, accounting for one in every 30 babies. That compares to 68,339 twins born in 1980 when just one in 53 infants born was a twin, the CDC said.
A third of the increase in the twin birth rate can be attributed to women waiting longer to have children, the CDC said. From 2000 to 2009, more than 35 percent of all births were to mothers ages 30 and over, up from 20 percent in 1980.
The number of twins per 1,000 births rose in all 50 states and doubled in Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
Treatment for infertility such as in-vitro fertilization accounts for much of the remainder of the increase in twins, the CDC said.
"We seem to be making improvements, refinements to fertility-enhancing therapies, so that could then result in a lowering of the increase of the pace in twin and other multiple births," Martin told Reuters.
Twin births are riskier than single births, she said.
"Infants born in twin deliveries are at greater risk of poor outcome," she said. "They are born smaller, they are born earlier. They are more likely not to survive the first year. Most twins do fine, but they are at higher risk."
Give slim kids higher marks, says French diet guru
Pierre Dukan, the nutritionist behind the popular but controversial Dukan diet, has suggested that France tackle child obesity by giving extra exam marks for slimness. Dukan, who has sold 8 million copies of his diet book worldwide, made the proposal in a 250-page book called 'An Open Letter to the Future President', which he sent out on Tuesday to 16 candidates for France's presidential election.
The plan calls for high school students to be allowed to take a so-called "ideal weight" option in their final year exams, the "baccalaureat," under which they would earn extra points if they kept a body mass index (BMI) of between 18 and 25.
Those already overweight at the start of the two-year course would score double points if they managed to slim down over a period of two years.
"It's a fantastic motivator," Dukan told Reuters.
"The baccalaureat is really important in France. Kids want to get it, their parents want them to even more, so why not get them to work together on nutrition?"
Weight gain is becoming an increasing problem in France and experts say sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition are to blame.
World Health Organisation (WHO) figures show 50.7 percent of the population were overweight in 2010, including 18.2 percent classed as obese.
"There's a real problem. Since the 1960s the number of overweight people in France has risen from 500,000 to 22 million and it's going up every year," Dukan said.
"When you reach those levels, it's no longer a health problem, it becomes a political problem, and the leaders of the nation need to worry about it."
As well as the suggestion for students, Dukan's book, which will hit French bookshops on Thursday, contains a further 119 suggestions for the future president on ways to fight obesity.
One idea is the creation of a French fast-food restaurant serving more nutritional versions of the ubiquitous burgers and fries.
Dukan has earned an international reputation as diet guru to the stars, although his methods have drawn criticism from some health experts and weightwatchers who say his high-protein meal plan causes fatigue, bad breath and dizziness. But he is also a committed campaigner for the promotion of healthier lifestyles.
He recently met executives from McDonald's France with a suggestion for a healthy "McDukan" burger, made with low-fat meat and with oatmeal bread instead of the usual white bun. Unfortunately, the giant food chain turned him down.
"They were interested, but they said the public wasn't quite ready for it yet," he said.
The BMI, obtained by dividing a person's weight by the square of their height, is used as an indicator of the proportion of body fat. The WHO defines a BMI of 18.5 to 25 as normal, 25 to 30 as overweight, and over 30 as obese.
The plan calls for high school students to be allowed to take a so-called "ideal weight" option in their final year exams, the "baccalaureat," under which they would earn extra points if they kept a body mass index (BMI) of between 18 and 25.
Those already overweight at the start of the two-year course would score double points if they managed to slim down over a period of two years.
"It's a fantastic motivator," Dukan told Reuters.
"The baccalaureat is really important in France. Kids want to get it, their parents want them to even more, so why not get them to work together on nutrition?"
Weight gain is becoming an increasing problem in France and experts say sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition are to blame.
World Health Organisation (WHO) figures show 50.7 percent of the population were overweight in 2010, including 18.2 percent classed as obese.
"There's a real problem. Since the 1960s the number of overweight people in France has risen from 500,000 to 22 million and it's going up every year," Dukan said.
"When you reach those levels, it's no longer a health problem, it becomes a political problem, and the leaders of the nation need to worry about it."
As well as the suggestion for students, Dukan's book, which will hit French bookshops on Thursday, contains a further 119 suggestions for the future president on ways to fight obesity.
One idea is the creation of a French fast-food restaurant serving more nutritional versions of the ubiquitous burgers and fries.
Dukan has earned an international reputation as diet guru to the stars, although his methods have drawn criticism from some health experts and weightwatchers who say his high-protein meal plan causes fatigue, bad breath and dizziness. But he is also a committed campaigner for the promotion of healthier lifestyles.
He recently met executives from McDonald's France with a suggestion for a healthy "McDukan" burger, made with low-fat meat and with oatmeal bread instead of the usual white bun. Unfortunately, the giant food chain turned him down.
"They were interested, but they said the public wasn't quite ready for it yet," he said.
The BMI, obtained by dividing a person's weight by the square of their height, is used as an indicator of the proportion of body fat. The WHO defines a BMI of 18.5 to 25 as normal, 25 to 30 as overweight, and over 30 as obese.
"Occupy" makes annual list of most overused words
Occupy this: the trash bin. At least, so say students at Michigan's Lake Superior State University who released an annual list of words they deem so misused, overused and cliched they should be banished in the year ahead. "Occupy," the term associated with the months-long protest movement in New York and across the United States against income inequality and a variety of other social ills, was among the 12 nominees after just a few months of overexposure.
"It has been overused and abused, even to promote Black Friday shopping," said Grant Barnett of Palmdale, California, who was among those to nominate the word.
"We are headed to Grandma's house - Occupy Thanksgiving is under way," said Bill Drewes of Rochester Hills, Michigan, giving another example of how the word has been overused.
At the head of the class, though, was the word "amazing," which garnered nominations from around the United States and from as far away as Israel and the United Kingdom for inclusion on the list by the school in remote Sault Ste. Marie.
Many nominators mentioned overuse on television, specifically by personalities such as Martha Stewart and Anderson Cooper, and on reality TV.
"Every talk show uses this word at least two times every five minutes. Hair is not 'amazing.' Shoes are not 'amazing,'" said Martha Waszak of Lansing, Michigan.
Although one critic suggested that the act of giving birth was amazing enough to be termed, well, amazing, the term "baby bump," often attached to pregnant celebrities such as Beyonce or Gwyneth Paltrow, drew scorn.
"This is a phrase we need to finally give birth to, then send on its way," offered Mary Sturgeon of Vancouver, British Columbia.
The school began its list of words proposed for banishment in 1976, when it named "at this point in time" a linguistic dud, as substituted for the concise and elegant "now." The college now receives well over 1,000 nominations each year through its website, lssu.edu/banished/.
Previous winners and nominees include the terms "shovel ready" for 2010, "battleground states" for 2005, "24/7" for 2000 and "family values" for 1995.
Also on this year's list were "shared sacrifice," "blowback," which is sometimes exchanged with "pushback" to mean resistance, and "mancave," now a favorite with advertising copywriters.
"Not every man wants a recliner the size of a 1941 Packard that has a cooler in each arm and a holster for the remote," said David Hollis of Hubbardsville, New York.
Heading into the 2012 election year, votes were cast to ban the term "win the future," a phrase that has been claimed by both the left (President Barack Obama) and the right (Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich).
Other vote-getters included "the new normal," "ginormous," a mash-up of gigantic and enormous, and "thank you in advance."
"It has been overused and abused, even to promote Black Friday shopping," said Grant Barnett of Palmdale, California, who was among those to nominate the word.
"We are headed to Grandma's house - Occupy Thanksgiving is under way," said Bill Drewes of Rochester Hills, Michigan, giving another example of how the word has been overused.
At the head of the class, though, was the word "amazing," which garnered nominations from around the United States and from as far away as Israel and the United Kingdom for inclusion on the list by the school in remote Sault Ste. Marie.
Many nominators mentioned overuse on television, specifically by personalities such as Martha Stewart and Anderson Cooper, and on reality TV.
"Every talk show uses this word at least two times every five minutes. Hair is not 'amazing.' Shoes are not 'amazing,'" said Martha Waszak of Lansing, Michigan.
Although one critic suggested that the act of giving birth was amazing enough to be termed, well, amazing, the term "baby bump," often attached to pregnant celebrities such as Beyonce or Gwyneth Paltrow, drew scorn.
"This is a phrase we need to finally give birth to, then send on its way," offered Mary Sturgeon of Vancouver, British Columbia.
The school began its list of words proposed for banishment in 1976, when it named "at this point in time" a linguistic dud, as substituted for the concise and elegant "now." The college now receives well over 1,000 nominations each year through its website, lssu.edu/banished/.
Previous winners and nominees include the terms "shovel ready" for 2010, "battleground states" for 2005, "24/7" for 2000 and "family values" for 1995.
Also on this year's list were "shared sacrifice," "blowback," which is sometimes exchanged with "pushback" to mean resistance, and "mancave," now a favorite with advertising copywriters.
"Not every man wants a recliner the size of a 1941 Packard that has a cooler in each arm and a holster for the remote," said David Hollis of Hubbardsville, New York.
Heading into the 2012 election year, votes were cast to ban the term "win the future," a phrase that has been claimed by both the left (President Barack Obama) and the right (Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich).
Other vote-getters included "the new normal," "ginormous," a mash-up of gigantic and enormous, and "thank you in advance."
Hello Heidi to bye bye bunga bunga in 2011 odd news
Bunga Bunga, Zenga Zenga, a tweeting cobra and other wacky news capped a year that saw the capture of America's most wanted man and the overthrow of dictators. 2011 was filled with animal antics that began with the introduction of Heidi, the cross-eyed opossum, as the latest feral German celebrity to capture hearts around the world.
The star of Leipzig Zoo made an appearance on U.S. television in February predicting Oscar winners, had her own merchandise, a song written about her and gained more than 330,000 fans on Facebook before dying in September to join Paul the oracle octopus and Knut the polar bear in the hereafter.
"The cross-eyed opossum Heidi has closed her eyes forever," the zoo wrote on its website.
But Heidi wasn't the only news story about the animal world which saw New Zealanders rescue, set free and then lose track of "Happy Feet," the wrong-way Emperor penguin. A fox also escaped from a Belarus hunter by shooting his would-be killer with his own rifle and a flying bear killed two people in Canada.
And who could forget Mia, the cobra who escaped from New York's Bronx zoo? She became a Twitter sensation when an anonymous Twitter user began posting tweets from @bronxzooscobra, which followed the snake's progress visiting New York landmarks and a popular cafe for morning coffee.
"Getting my morning coffee at the Mudtruck. Don't even talk to me until I've had my morning coffee. Seriously, don't. I'm venomous," one Twitter message read.
Twitter gained followers and broke news, including the musings of Osama bin Laden's unwitting neighbor who tweeted about the "unusual" noises in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad during the raid to capture America's most wanted man in May.
"Uh oh, now I'm the guy who live blogged the Osama raid without knowing it," IT consultant Sohaib Athar said on Twitter a few hours after reporting a loud bang rattling his windows.
Video-sharing website YouTube delighted millions with hit videos showing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev parking a car and then trying to hold it back from ploughing into a crowd. It also showed the U.S. Presidential Cadillac marooned on a Dublin ramp and a music video entitled "Zenga Zenga," which lampooned embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Gaddafi, who is flanked by gyrating female dancers in the video, was later captured and killed -- one of four dictators overthrown in an Arab Spring which also swept through Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen.
BUNGA BUNGA
Other less authoritarian leaders also fell in 2011.
In seven tumultuous days in November Italy went, as one cartoonist put it, "from Bunga Bunga to Banca Banca." The first refers to the name that former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi bestowed on the wild parties he allegedly held at his villas.
The second, Italian for bank, refers to the financial world that will dominate much of new Prime Minister Mario Monti's term as he tries to reign in Italy's profligate spending and tackle a major debt crisis threatening the entire euro zone.
The flamboyant Berlusconi, who is accused of sleeping with a teenage prostitute and hosting parties where girls dressed up in sexy nun or nurse outfits, said he had no regrets.
"I have a high regard for myself and I have nothing to reprimand myself for when I look at myself in the mirror," he said. "Perhaps at times I've exaggerated with irony, but never with brutal offences like those directed towards me."
Berlusconi once described U.S. President Barack Obama as "suntanned," suggested that he seduced Finnish President Tarja Halonen and held up two fingers behind a Spanish minister's head in an EU summit photograph.
British royalty enjoyed a surge of global popularity, with the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton in April, which sparked celebrations across Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and a horse-racing victory on the day for the aptly named Royal Wedding at odds of 4/1.
Irish leprechauns, tea-sipping Britons, Australian ABBA impersonators and the oldest yoga teacher on the planet were just some of the people who set records on Guinness World Records Day in November.
In Ireland, 262 people in Dublin set the record for the largest gathering of people dressed as leprechauns.
"We believe that a record for leprechauns belongs to its native soil and we're really pleased to bring it back to Ireland," Derek Mooney from Ireland's RTE Radio One said.
NO JOBS, HOPE OR CASH
Charlie Sheen wasn't the only celebrity to top odd stories with his "winning" ways.
Three Polish police commandos were sacked from an elite anti-terrorist unit for serving as bodyguards for Paris Hilton and singer Lady Gaga threatened to sue a London ice cream shop for its "Baby Gaga" ice cream made from breast milk.
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner was jilted in June by prospective wife number three and French actor Gerard Depardieu apologized to fellow passengers for urinating during takeoff on an Air France flight.
The presenters of British motoring TV show "Top Gear" described Mexicans as "lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight" and didn't fear complaints from Mexico's UK envoy. Ambassador Eduardo Medina Mora described the comments as "vulgar," "inexcusable" and "xenophobic" in a letter to the BBC.
Apple's iPhone edged past pop stars and celebrities as the top searched term on the Web in 2011, despite the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
"10 years ago we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash. Now we have no Jobs, no Hope and no Cash," according to a joke lamenting the dire straits of the current U.S. economy.
The world of comedy also lost one of its favorite figures with the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in December.
Although he was a brutal dictator reviled by human rights groups for jailing or starving hundreds of thousands of North Koreans and abhorred for his proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Kim was comedy gold to satirists.
The late leader with his elevator shoes and bouffant hairstyle was immortalized in the 2004 U.S. film "Team America: World Police" in which a foul-mouthed Kim drops U.N. nuclear inspector Hans Blix into a shark aquarium and sings a heartfelt ballad about the burden of leadership in politically incorrect accented English: "I'm so Ronery" (I'm so Lonely).
The last laugh fell to The Economist magazine, which put a waving Kim on its cover in 2000 under the headline "Greetings, earthlings" as the world's most reclusive nation began cautiously opening up to South Korea.
Eleven years later, the British magazine's Asia blog noted Kim's death with another photo of Kim waving under the caption "Farewell, earthlings."
The star of Leipzig Zoo made an appearance on U.S. television in February predicting Oscar winners, had her own merchandise, a song written about her and gained more than 330,000 fans on Facebook before dying in September to join Paul the oracle octopus and Knut the polar bear in the hereafter.
"The cross-eyed opossum Heidi has closed her eyes forever," the zoo wrote on its website.
But Heidi wasn't the only news story about the animal world which saw New Zealanders rescue, set free and then lose track of "Happy Feet," the wrong-way Emperor penguin. A fox also escaped from a Belarus hunter by shooting his would-be killer with his own rifle and a flying bear killed two people in Canada.
And who could forget Mia, the cobra who escaped from New York's Bronx zoo? She became a Twitter sensation when an anonymous Twitter user began posting tweets from @bronxzooscobra, which followed the snake's progress visiting New York landmarks and a popular cafe for morning coffee.
"Getting my morning coffee at the Mudtruck. Don't even talk to me until I've had my morning coffee. Seriously, don't. I'm venomous," one Twitter message read.
Twitter gained followers and broke news, including the musings of Osama bin Laden's unwitting neighbor who tweeted about the "unusual" noises in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad during the raid to capture America's most wanted man in May.
"Uh oh, now I'm the guy who live blogged the Osama raid without knowing it," IT consultant Sohaib Athar said on Twitter a few hours after reporting a loud bang rattling his windows.
Video-sharing website YouTube delighted millions with hit videos showing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev parking a car and then trying to hold it back from ploughing into a crowd. It also showed the U.S. Presidential Cadillac marooned on a Dublin ramp and a music video entitled "Zenga Zenga," which lampooned embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Gaddafi, who is flanked by gyrating female dancers in the video, was later captured and killed -- one of four dictators overthrown in an Arab Spring which also swept through Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen.
BUNGA BUNGA
Other less authoritarian leaders also fell in 2011.
In seven tumultuous days in November Italy went, as one cartoonist put it, "from Bunga Bunga to Banca Banca." The first refers to the name that former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi bestowed on the wild parties he allegedly held at his villas.
The second, Italian for bank, refers to the financial world that will dominate much of new Prime Minister Mario Monti's term as he tries to reign in Italy's profligate spending and tackle a major debt crisis threatening the entire euro zone.
The flamboyant Berlusconi, who is accused of sleeping with a teenage prostitute and hosting parties where girls dressed up in sexy nun or nurse outfits, said he had no regrets.
"I have a high regard for myself and I have nothing to reprimand myself for when I look at myself in the mirror," he said. "Perhaps at times I've exaggerated with irony, but never with brutal offences like those directed towards me."
Berlusconi once described U.S. President Barack Obama as "suntanned," suggested that he seduced Finnish President Tarja Halonen and held up two fingers behind a Spanish minister's head in an EU summit photograph.
British royalty enjoyed a surge of global popularity, with the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton in April, which sparked celebrations across Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and a horse-racing victory on the day for the aptly named Royal Wedding at odds of 4/1.
Irish leprechauns, tea-sipping Britons, Australian ABBA impersonators and the oldest yoga teacher on the planet were just some of the people who set records on Guinness World Records Day in November.
In Ireland, 262 people in Dublin set the record for the largest gathering of people dressed as leprechauns.
"We believe that a record for leprechauns belongs to its native soil and we're really pleased to bring it back to Ireland," Derek Mooney from Ireland's RTE Radio One said.
NO JOBS, HOPE OR CASH
Charlie Sheen wasn't the only celebrity to top odd stories with his "winning" ways.
Three Polish police commandos were sacked from an elite anti-terrorist unit for serving as bodyguards for Paris Hilton and singer Lady Gaga threatened to sue a London ice cream shop for its "Baby Gaga" ice cream made from breast milk.
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner was jilted in June by prospective wife number three and French actor Gerard Depardieu apologized to fellow passengers for urinating during takeoff on an Air France flight.
The presenters of British motoring TV show "Top Gear" described Mexicans as "lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight" and didn't fear complaints from Mexico's UK envoy. Ambassador Eduardo Medina Mora described the comments as "vulgar," "inexcusable" and "xenophobic" in a letter to the BBC.
Apple's iPhone edged past pop stars and celebrities as the top searched term on the Web in 2011, despite the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
"10 years ago we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash. Now we have no Jobs, no Hope and no Cash," according to a joke lamenting the dire straits of the current U.S. economy.
The world of comedy also lost one of its favorite figures with the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in December.
Although he was a brutal dictator reviled by human rights groups for jailing or starving hundreds of thousands of North Koreans and abhorred for his proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Kim was comedy gold to satirists.
The late leader with his elevator shoes and bouffant hairstyle was immortalized in the 2004 U.S. film "Team America: World Police" in which a foul-mouthed Kim drops U.N. nuclear inspector Hans Blix into a shark aquarium and sings a heartfelt ballad about the burden of leadership in politically incorrect accented English: "I'm so Ronery" (I'm so Lonely).
The last laugh fell to The Economist magazine, which put a waving Kim on its cover in 2000 under the headline "Greetings, earthlings" as the world's most reclusive nation began cautiously opening up to South Korea.
Eleven years later, the British magazine's Asia blog noted Kim's death with another photo of Kim waving under the caption "Farewell, earthlings."
New Year's Day to come early as Samoa leaps ahead
If you are reading this on Friday you cannot be in Samoa. Friday, December 30, has been cut this year for the tiny South Pacific island nation as it ditched a time-zone alliance with the United States and moved its time zone 24 hours ahead to catch up with Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
On New Year's Eve, Samoa will have jumped to the west of the international dateline, which runs zig-zags through the Pacific Ocean and broadly follows the 180 degree line of longitude, in a move Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said would make it easier for Samoa to trade with key partners.
"No longer shall we have people ringing us up on Monday from New Zealand and Australia thinking it is Monday when we are closing our eyes and praying at churches. And vice versa on our Fridays when we ring up and already our contacts are holidaying on their Saturdays," he told Radio New Zealand on Friday.
"It will remove the enormous amount of confusion in our travel times for the Samoans and especially for the tourists who come to Samoa, who keep thinking of the New Zealand and Australian time zones."
Church bells will ring and carol services will herald the changeover time.
"I think the people are pretty calm about it, they are not expecting to have any major changes," said Samoa Observer newspaper editor Savea Sano Malifa.
To help win public support, the government declared employers must still pay workers for the missing Friday, although banks will not be allowed to charge interest for the lost day.
Countries are free to choose whether the dateline passes to the east or west, and Samoa's decision will mean all new maps will need to change.
The vast nation of China uses one national time zone while Australia is a mesh, particularly with summer daylight savings time that sees southern Adelaide city move from half an hour behind the eastern states to an hour in front of far northeastern Queensland.
But some tourism operators are worried Samoa will lose business by losing its position as the last place on earth to see the sunset each day, although it will now be one of the first places to see in each new day.
The nation's seventh Day Adventists are also divided over the change, and whether they should now observe the Sabbath on Saturday or Sunday.
The small former New Zealand dependency Tokelau, which has its administration in Samoa's capital Apia, is also changing datelines, while nearby American Samoa will continue to be on the other side of the dateline and will be a day behind.
Samoa, a country of about 180,000 people, used to be same time zone as New Zealand Australia but went back a day in 1892, celebrating July 4 twice and aligning itself with the United States.
The date change is not the first major change in Samoa in recent years. In 2009, the country switched to driving on the left hand side of the road from the right hand side, in line with New Zealand and Australia.
On New Year's Eve, Samoa will have jumped to the west of the international dateline, which runs zig-zags through the Pacific Ocean and broadly follows the 180 degree line of longitude, in a move Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said would make it easier for Samoa to trade with key partners.
"No longer shall we have people ringing us up on Monday from New Zealand and Australia thinking it is Monday when we are closing our eyes and praying at churches. And vice versa on our Fridays when we ring up and already our contacts are holidaying on their Saturdays," he told Radio New Zealand on Friday.
"It will remove the enormous amount of confusion in our travel times for the Samoans and especially for the tourists who come to Samoa, who keep thinking of the New Zealand and Australian time zones."
Church bells will ring and carol services will herald the changeover time.
"I think the people are pretty calm about it, they are not expecting to have any major changes," said Samoa Observer newspaper editor Savea Sano Malifa.
To help win public support, the government declared employers must still pay workers for the missing Friday, although banks will not be allowed to charge interest for the lost day.
Countries are free to choose whether the dateline passes to the east or west, and Samoa's decision will mean all new maps will need to change.
The vast nation of China uses one national time zone while Australia is a mesh, particularly with summer daylight savings time that sees southern Adelaide city move from half an hour behind the eastern states to an hour in front of far northeastern Queensland.
But some tourism operators are worried Samoa will lose business by losing its position as the last place on earth to see the sunset each day, although it will now be one of the first places to see in each new day.
The nation's seventh Day Adventists are also divided over the change, and whether they should now observe the Sabbath on Saturday or Sunday.
The small former New Zealand dependency Tokelau, which has its administration in Samoa's capital Apia, is also changing datelines, while nearby American Samoa will continue to be on the other side of the dateline and will be a day behind.
Samoa, a country of about 180,000 people, used to be same time zone as New Zealand Australia but went back a day in 1892, celebrating July 4 twice and aligning itself with the United States.
The date change is not the first major change in Samoa in recent years. In 2009, the country switched to driving on the left hand side of the road from the right hand side, in line with New Zealand and Australia.
Two die, 561 hurt in Italian New Year celebrations
Two men were killed and 561 other people were wounded as Italians celebrated the New Year with massive displays of illegal and homemade fireworks, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday. Of those wounded, 76 were children under the age of 12.
Marking New Year's Eve festivities with fireworks is a deadly Italian tradition. Up to 2,000 cities, towns and villages had banned them this year, but police said they still seized thousands of tonnes of fireworks, including more than a thousand rocket launchers.
The most serious incident took place in Rome when a 31-year-old man lit a large firecracker which exploded in his apartment before he could throw it out the window. The explosion set off a bigger blast of the remaining fireworks that killed him and wounded several others in the apartment, including three children, police said.
"I was in bed, and the bed jumped. It was like an earthquake," said one neighbor, according to Ansa news agency.
A 39-year-old man was killed by a stray bullet in Naples as someone fired a weapon randomly in celebration. The victim himself was setting off a barrage of fireworks in front of his restaurant.
Marking New Year's Eve festivities with fireworks is a deadly Italian tradition. Up to 2,000 cities, towns and villages had banned them this year, but police said they still seized thousands of tonnes of fireworks, including more than a thousand rocket launchers.
The most serious incident took place in Rome when a 31-year-old man lit a large firecracker which exploded in his apartment before he could throw it out the window. The explosion set off a bigger blast of the remaining fireworks that killed him and wounded several others in the apartment, including three children, police said.
"I was in bed, and the bed jumped. It was like an earthquake," said one neighbor, according to Ansa news agency.
A 39-year-old man was killed by a stray bullet in Naples as someone fired a weapon randomly in celebration. The victim himself was setting off a barrage of fireworks in front of his restaurant.
Florida town seeks nudist vacationers from Europe
A west Florida community is spending $3,800 in tax dollars to entice naked Germans to spend their summer vacations there.
The advertising grant was awarded Tuesday by the Pasco County commission to Pandabare, a local nudist organization representing 16 resorts, campgrounds and clubs located in the largely rural county north of Tampa.
The ads, to be placed in European publications, will promote the county's longstanding reputation as the nudist capital of America.
"The idea is to create a Euro-bird season in July and August which are our worst two months of the year," said Eric Keaton, public communications manager for the Pasco County tourist development agency. Keaton said nudism contributes to the county's economy, but he had no figures to quantify its impact.
The first target market for the ad campaign will be Germany which, according to Pandabare's application, is "a large and lucrative market whose millions of nudists are among the world's most prolific travelers." The group also anticipates a campaign aimed at British nudists.
Keaton said the advertisements, set to launch in 2012, remain in the conceptual stage.
"They are very clean, and somewhat funny," he said.
The advertising grant was awarded Tuesday by the Pasco County commission to Pandabare, a local nudist organization representing 16 resorts, campgrounds and clubs located in the largely rural county north of Tampa.
The ads, to be placed in European publications, will promote the county's longstanding reputation as the nudist capital of America.
"The idea is to create a Euro-bird season in July and August which are our worst two months of the year," said Eric Keaton, public communications manager for the Pasco County tourist development agency. Keaton said nudism contributes to the county's economy, but he had no figures to quantify its impact.
The first target market for the ad campaign will be Germany which, according to Pandabare's application, is "a large and lucrative market whose millions of nudists are among the world's most prolific travelers." The group also anticipates a campaign aimed at British nudists.
Keaton said the advertisements, set to launch in 2012, remain in the conceptual stage.
"They are very clean, and somewhat funny," he said.
Canadian charity throws doomed bunnies a lifeline
A Canadian charity, appropriately named EARS, is offering to help a Rocky Mountain town deal with its bunny problem, promising to neuter and spay the unwanted rabbits rather than let the city carry out its trap-and-cull proposal. The estimated 2,000 rabbits of Canmore, Alberta, are the black, white and brown descendents of pets released into the wild. "They are not a native wildlife species," the city said sternly in a news release on Wednesday.
Under the new proposal, which has yet to be finalized, Earthanimal Humane Education and Rescue Society (EARS) would trap and spay or neuter the feral rabbits, and then provide a sanctuary for them to live out their lives.
"EARS has brought us a sound proposal and we are looking forward to working with them," Canmore Mayor Ron Casey said in a statement. "We want to make sure that any transfer of rabbits is done responsibly. We can't have our problem become someone else's."
Canmore had wanted to trap and kill the feral rabbits, prompting protests from animal rights groups
Under the new proposal, which has yet to be finalized, Earthanimal Humane Education and Rescue Society (EARS) would trap and spay or neuter the feral rabbits, and then provide a sanctuary for them to live out their lives.
"EARS has brought us a sound proposal and we are looking forward to working with them," Canmore Mayor Ron Casey said in a statement. "We want to make sure that any transfer of rabbits is done responsibly. We can't have our problem become someone else's."
Canmore had wanted to trap and kill the feral rabbits, prompting protests from animal rights groups
Hungary tech firm immortalizes Steve Jobs in bronze
A Hungarian software company unveiled what it said was the world's first bronze statue of Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs Wednesday, calling him one of the greatest personalities of the modern age. Jobs died on October 5 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56.
The bronze work by sculptor Erno Toth stands in the Budapest campus of architectural software maker Graphisoft.
"He was one of the greatest (personalities) in our era, that's what we wanted to express with this sculpture here," Graphisoft Chairman Gabor Bojar told Reuters.
Bojar said Jobs gave cash and computers to Graphisoft, helping it to become a global leader in architecture software from humble roots as a tiny firm in the 1980s in then-communist Hungary.
"In some ways, Apple was a religion," Bojar said at the unveiling ceremony, comparing the experts from Cupertino-based Apple who helped educate Graphisoft's engineers to evangelists.
Steve Jobs represented a technological revolution which can be compared only to the discovery of writing, Bojar said.
"We have felt his spirit every day and now it is embodied," he said. "We hope that we can deserve with our entrepreneurial culture in Hungary what this sculpture expresses as a message."
The bronze work by sculptor Erno Toth stands in the Budapest campus of architectural software maker Graphisoft.
"He was one of the greatest (personalities) in our era, that's what we wanted to express with this sculpture here," Graphisoft Chairman Gabor Bojar told Reuters.
Bojar said Jobs gave cash and computers to Graphisoft, helping it to become a global leader in architecture software from humble roots as a tiny firm in the 1980s in then-communist Hungary.
"In some ways, Apple was a religion," Bojar said at the unveiling ceremony, comparing the experts from Cupertino-based Apple who helped educate Graphisoft's engineers to evangelists.
Steve Jobs represented a technological revolution which can be compared only to the discovery of writing, Bojar said.
"We have felt his spirit every day and now it is embodied," he said. "We hope that we can deserve with our entrepreneurial culture in Hungary what this sculpture expresses as a message."
Mystery buyer acquires vatican.xxx web address
The Vatican said on Wednesday an unknown buyer had snapped up the internet address vatican.xxx, a domain combining its name with an extension reserved for pornographic content. "This domain is not available because it has been acquired by someone else, but not the Vatican," Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said on Vatican radio.
It was not clear from his statement if the Vatican had tried to acquire the domain in order to prevent future misuse and had been beaten to the punch by the unknown buyer.
Lombardi denied Italian media reports that the Vatican had, like many other organizations including companies, universities and museums, registered the xxx domain to prevent its misuse.
The xxx domains are being launched this month for pornographic content and many organizations have preemptively acquired them so others cannot.
It was not clear from his statement if the Vatican had tried to acquire the domain in order to prevent future misuse and had been beaten to the punch by the unknown buyer.
Lombardi denied Italian media reports that the Vatican had, like many other organizations including companies, universities and museums, registered the xxx domain to prevent its misuse.
The xxx domains are being launched this month for pornographic content and many organizations have preemptively acquired them so others cannot.
Waiting for Congress, Obama takes dog Bo shopping
With his wife and daughters already in Hawaii for the holidays, President Barack Obama took his dog Bo shopping on Wednesday as he waited for congressional leaders to mop up a payroll tax mess that has kept him in Washington. Obama travelled with Bo, and an entourage of aides, Secret Service agents, doctors and reporters, to a Northern Virginia strip mall to buy treats for the three-year-old Portuguese Water Dog featured on the White House holiday cards this year.
Bo accompanied him to PetSmart, where the dog made friends with a brown poodle named Cinnamon.
"Okay, Bo, don't get too personal here," Obama told the dog. He deposited Bo in the car before stopping by Best Buy for Apple gift cards and Nintendo Wii video games for his daughters, including "The Sims 3: Pets" and "Just Dance 3."
"The girls beat me every time on these dance games," he told reporters, joking that he would never let his picture get taken while dancing.
His total came to just under $200, and he told the cashier: "Let's see if my credit card still works," which it did.
The next stop was at Del Ray Pizzeria in Alexandria, Va., where the president bought three pizza pies. He shook hands with supporters to shouts of "I love you, President Obama," although a 50-year-old man said he disagreed with the Obama administration's decision to delay approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oilsands crude from the western Canadian province of Alberta to Texas.
Michelle, Sasha and Malia Obama left for Hawaii on Friday and the president has delayed his trip to join them as a result of a political impasse over extending payroll tax cuts that are set to expire December 31.
He called Republican House Speaker John Boehner earlier on Wednesday to urge him to accept a two-month extension as a step towards a full-year deal, to be negotiated in early 2012.
White House spokesman Jay Carney, asked about the shopping excursion, said the president had been very busy ahead of the trip. "Sometimes it's nice to get out of the house," he said.
Bo accompanied him to PetSmart, where the dog made friends with a brown poodle named Cinnamon.
"Okay, Bo, don't get too personal here," Obama told the dog. He deposited Bo in the car before stopping by Best Buy for Apple gift cards and Nintendo Wii video games for his daughters, including "The Sims 3: Pets" and "Just Dance 3."
"The girls beat me every time on these dance games," he told reporters, joking that he would never let his picture get taken while dancing.
His total came to just under $200, and he told the cashier: "Let's see if my credit card still works," which it did.
The next stop was at Del Ray Pizzeria in Alexandria, Va., where the president bought three pizza pies. He shook hands with supporters to shouts of "I love you, President Obama," although a 50-year-old man said he disagreed with the Obama administration's decision to delay approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oilsands crude from the western Canadian province of Alberta to Texas.
Michelle, Sasha and Malia Obama left for Hawaii on Friday and the president has delayed his trip to join them as a result of a political impasse over extending payroll tax cuts that are set to expire December 31.
He called Republican House Speaker John Boehner earlier on Wednesday to urge him to accept a two-month extension as a step towards a full-year deal, to be negotiated in early 2012.
White House spokesman Jay Carney, asked about the shopping excursion, said the president had been very busy ahead of the trip. "Sometimes it's nice to get out of the house," he said.
Boston student re-united with $170,000 violin
Christmas came early for a Boston music student who was reunited with the $170,000 violin she forgot in the overhead compartment of a regional commuter bus she rode last week, police said.
Muchen Hsieh, a student at the New England Conservatory in Boston, had traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arriving at roughly 11 p.m. on Tuesday.
Christine O'Brien, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia police, who helped Hsieh track down the missing instrument, said then came a moment of sheer panic for the student.
O'Brien said Hsieh realized she had forgotten the instrument after she was picked up from the bus station. She blamed her absent-mindedness on travel fatigue.
Hsieh called the bus company, Megabus, roughly 30 minutes after she arrived but the bus had already left the Philadelphia station, O'Brien said. Hsieh also notified police, making a plea for the instrument's recovery, O'Brien said.
The 176-year-old instrument, on loan to Hsieh from a Taiwanese cultural foundation, was found by bus cleaners in the same compartment in which Hsieh left it. They put it in storage, and police returned it to Hsieh on Friday.
Hsieh joins the ranks of esteemed musicians who have mislaid or forgotten their valuable and sometimes priceless instruments. World renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma once left his in a cab.
One German string player required medical attention from the stress caused when he left his violin, worth roughly $1.4 million, on a commuter train in 2010.
It is not unusual for students at Hsieh's school to have such valuable instruments, Ellen Pfeifer, spokeswoman for the New England Conservatory, told the Boston Globe.
"Most of our string players, whether violinists, cellists, or violists, have pretty expensive, old, rare, instruments," Pfeifer said. "They frequently get them on loan from wealthy foundations."
The violin, which is in pristine condition, was made in 1835 by Vincenzo Jorio in Naples.
"This is certainly one of the most expensive items I have ever heard of and we were so relieved to get it back to the owner," said Megabus spokesman Bryony Chamberlain, adding that people often forget stowed-away items after long trips.
Hsieh had traveled from Boston to New York City and then to Philadelphia, Chamberlain said, a trip that could have taken more than six and a half hours.
"Each division has incidents of lost items that rare -- but this is probably one of the most unique," police spokeswoman O'Brien said, adding that Hsieh put on a mini-concert for the officers who organized the recovery.
"She is very talented," O'Brien said.
Muchen Hsieh, a student at the New England Conservatory in Boston, had traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arriving at roughly 11 p.m. on Tuesday.
Christine O'Brien, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia police, who helped Hsieh track down the missing instrument, said then came a moment of sheer panic for the student.
O'Brien said Hsieh realized she had forgotten the instrument after she was picked up from the bus station. She blamed her absent-mindedness on travel fatigue.
Hsieh called the bus company, Megabus, roughly 30 minutes after she arrived but the bus had already left the Philadelphia station, O'Brien said. Hsieh also notified police, making a plea for the instrument's recovery, O'Brien said.
The 176-year-old instrument, on loan to Hsieh from a Taiwanese cultural foundation, was found by bus cleaners in the same compartment in which Hsieh left it. They put it in storage, and police returned it to Hsieh on Friday.
Hsieh joins the ranks of esteemed musicians who have mislaid or forgotten their valuable and sometimes priceless instruments. World renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma once left his in a cab.
One German string player required medical attention from the stress caused when he left his violin, worth roughly $1.4 million, on a commuter train in 2010.
It is not unusual for students at Hsieh's school to have such valuable instruments, Ellen Pfeifer, spokeswoman for the New England Conservatory, told the Boston Globe.
"Most of our string players, whether violinists, cellists, or violists, have pretty expensive, old, rare, instruments," Pfeifer said. "They frequently get them on loan from wealthy foundations."
The violin, which is in pristine condition, was made in 1835 by Vincenzo Jorio in Naples.
"This is certainly one of the most expensive items I have ever heard of and we were so relieved to get it back to the owner," said Megabus spokesman Bryony Chamberlain, adding that people often forget stowed-away items after long trips.
Hsieh had traveled from Boston to New York City and then to Philadelphia, Chamberlain said, a trip that could have taken more than six and a half hours.
"Each division has incidents of lost items that rare -- but this is probably one of the most unique," police spokeswoman O'Brien said, adding that Hsieh put on a mini-concert for the officers who organized the recovery.
"She is very talented," O'Brien said.
NORAD's Santa tracking set to launch on Christmas Eve
With Santa's departure from the North Pole imminent, preparations to track his global trek were underway on Friday at an aerospace command center in Colorado. Children eager for Santa's take-off can count down the hours on the track Santa clock on the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Tracks Santa website.
Also on the website, kids can watch Santa prepare for his flight, check out the bustling shops in the North Pole and then watch online "Santa cams" as the big bearded guy in the red suit visits kids around the world.
Year-round, NORAD is tasked with protecting the skies of North America, monitoring man-made objects in space and detecting any potential attack by aircraft, missiles or space vehicles.
Tracking Santa seems to be a natural seasonal extension of NORAD's typical duties.
"His flight is something that we absolutely would track," said Lieutenant Commander Bill Lewis, a NORAD spokesman.
"Rudolph's nose helps us quite a bit with that. His nose puts off quite the heat signature," Lewis said.
The origins of tracking Santa date back to 1955, Lewis said, when a local ad to speak directly with Santa printed the wrong phone number -- instead directing children to a military defense operations center.
Tracking Santa grew from there after officers on duty actually fielded the kids questions, he said.
For more than 50 years NORAD has followed the flight path of jolly old Saint Nick, but these days technology helps children and families pinpoint Santa's more exact route to their own homes.
This year, kids can download mobile device apps to watch Santa and the reindeer traverse the globe.
Otherwise, they can call or email the command center for Santa's coordinates.
Last year, 1,250 military families, civilians and local volunteers from around Colorado Springs took shifts at NORAD's facility to field more than 80,000 calls and countless emails from children asking where Santa is and when he might be coming down their chimney.
But as all good youngsters know, and volunteers remind them when they call in, Santa won't be able to stop by your home until you are sound asleep.
Also on the website, kids can watch Santa prepare for his flight, check out the bustling shops in the North Pole and then watch online "Santa cams" as the big bearded guy in the red suit visits kids around the world.
Year-round, NORAD is tasked with protecting the skies of North America, monitoring man-made objects in space and detecting any potential attack by aircraft, missiles or space vehicles.
Tracking Santa seems to be a natural seasonal extension of NORAD's typical duties.
"His flight is something that we absolutely would track," said Lieutenant Commander Bill Lewis, a NORAD spokesman.
"Rudolph's nose helps us quite a bit with that. His nose puts off quite the heat signature," Lewis said.
The origins of tracking Santa date back to 1955, Lewis said, when a local ad to speak directly with Santa printed the wrong phone number -- instead directing children to a military defense operations center.
Tracking Santa grew from there after officers on duty actually fielded the kids questions, he said.
For more than 50 years NORAD has followed the flight path of jolly old Saint Nick, but these days technology helps children and families pinpoint Santa's more exact route to their own homes.
This year, kids can download mobile device apps to watch Santa and the reindeer traverse the globe.
Otherwise, they can call or email the command center for Santa's coordinates.
Last year, 1,250 military families, civilians and local volunteers from around Colorado Springs took shifts at NORAD's facility to field more than 80,000 calls and countless emails from children asking where Santa is and when he might be coming down their chimney.
But as all good youngsters know, and volunteers remind them when they call in, Santa won't be able to stop by your home until you are sound asleep.
Stressed Chinese fight back - with pillows
A whirlwind of pillows bearing the names of bosses and teachers filled the air as hundreds of Chinese gathered to blow off stress in Shanghai, staging a massive pillow battle. The annual event marked its fifth year with such a surge in interest from stressed young office workers and students that organizers held two nights of pillow fighting before Christmas Day and plan another for Dec 30.
"Nowadays there are many white collar workers and students that are facing huge pressures at work and at school, so we hope to give them an outlet to release their stress before the end of the year," said Eleven Wang, the founder and mastermind behind the epic pillow fights.
"Sometimes we have pressure on us by our bosses, teachers and exams, so today we can go crazy. Everyone will get to write onto the pillows the names of their bosses, teachers and exam subjects, and enjoy and vent to the maximum," he added.
"After releasing the stress, we can once again face our daily life with joy."
Pillows were handed out at the door as participants entered, then emotion stoked by a rock concert, with many on the floor of the huge event space rocking and waving their pillows in time to the music.
Then came the fighting.
Pillows filled the air, with many combatants opting for throwing rather than using them to whack opponents. A few hapless participants shielded their heads with as many pillows as they could hold, but most ventured eagerly in to the fray.
"I really enjoyed the fight, but my friend was useless. He joined in for two ticks and could not go on, he was afraid of getting beaten by other people," said 24-year-old Chen Yi.
"I thought it was pretty meaningful. I've just been working so much (at the office) and never get to break out in a sweat, so it felt really good."
Others gamely said they enjoyed the experience even though they ended up as attackees rather than attackers.
"I don't know who pushed me, but all of a sudden I was in the pile of pillows, where I became the target of many people, and was beaten by all sorts of people," said university student Zhu Shishan. "Very meaningful."
"Nowadays there are many white collar workers and students that are facing huge pressures at work and at school, so we hope to give them an outlet to release their stress before the end of the year," said Eleven Wang, the founder and mastermind behind the epic pillow fights.
"Sometimes we have pressure on us by our bosses, teachers and exams, so today we can go crazy. Everyone will get to write onto the pillows the names of their bosses, teachers and exam subjects, and enjoy and vent to the maximum," he added.
"After releasing the stress, we can once again face our daily life with joy."
Pillows were handed out at the door as participants entered, then emotion stoked by a rock concert, with many on the floor of the huge event space rocking and waving their pillows in time to the music.
Then came the fighting.
Pillows filled the air, with many combatants opting for throwing rather than using them to whack opponents. A few hapless participants shielded their heads with as many pillows as they could hold, but most ventured eagerly in to the fray.
"I really enjoyed the fight, but my friend was useless. He joined in for two ticks and could not go on, he was afraid of getting beaten by other people," said 24-year-old Chen Yi.
"I thought it was pretty meaningful. I've just been working so much (at the office) and never get to break out in a sweat, so it felt really good."
Others gamely said they enjoyed the experience even though they ended up as attackees rather than attackers.
"I don't know who pushed me, but all of a sudden I was in the pile of pillows, where I became the target of many people, and was beaten by all sorts of people," said university student Zhu Shishan. "Very meaningful."
Crime scene cleanup ad lifts Handel's Messiah
Who says beautiful music and blood spatter cleanup can't go together. When Chorus North Shore performs Handel's Messiah or Verdi's Requiem, the Boston-area group usually can count on Timothy Riley and his crime scene cleanup business for moral and economic support.
Riley, for example, recently advertised his company's "crime and death scene cleaning" in the playbill of Chorus North Shore's Handel's Messiah performance at two Catholic churches north of Boston.
Next to ads by a local dentist and a prep school, Riley's ad featured specialties that include suicide and body decomposition cleanup and automobile deodorization.
It's a jarring combination, to be sure, but Riley said he has been supporting the chorus group for years.
"My wife is one of the singers," Riley told Reuters in a telephone interview. "I really haven't gotten any business from it. An ad costs me something like 50 or 75 dollars."
Riley said no one has complained to him about having his ads in the back of performance playbills.
"Most of the chorus members I've talked to think it's absolutely hilarious," Riley laughed.
"I try to have a good sense of humor. You can't be completely serious all of the time in this business or you'd go crazy. It's not one of those businesses you think of until you need it."
Riley started CADSC Inc. in 1998 after working 27 years as a science teacher. He said crime scene cleanup accounts for about 6 percent of his business, while about half is what he described as "filthy living or pooh related."
"We deal with hoardings, bird droppings, human droppings," Riley explained. "We average about 20 jobs a month."
He said the work can be painstaking and tedious. A shotgun suicide, for example, can be especially difficult.
"You have to look at every square inch. Things go everywhere," Riley said.
Riley, for example, recently advertised his company's "crime and death scene cleaning" in the playbill of Chorus North Shore's Handel's Messiah performance at two Catholic churches north of Boston.
Next to ads by a local dentist and a prep school, Riley's ad featured specialties that include suicide and body decomposition cleanup and automobile deodorization.
It's a jarring combination, to be sure, but Riley said he has been supporting the chorus group for years.
"My wife is one of the singers," Riley told Reuters in a telephone interview. "I really haven't gotten any business from it. An ad costs me something like 50 or 75 dollars."
Riley said no one has complained to him about having his ads in the back of performance playbills.
"Most of the chorus members I've talked to think it's absolutely hilarious," Riley laughed.
"I try to have a good sense of humor. You can't be completely serious all of the time in this business or you'd go crazy. It's not one of those businesses you think of until you need it."
Riley started CADSC Inc. in 1998 after working 27 years as a science teacher. He said crime scene cleanup accounts for about 6 percent of his business, while about half is what he described as "filthy living or pooh related."
"We deal with hoardings, bird droppings, human droppings," Riley explained. "We average about 20 jobs a month."
He said the work can be painstaking and tedious. A shotgun suicide, for example, can be especially difficult.
"You have to look at every square inch. Things go everywhere," Riley said.
Whale sperm, orgasmic feet top 2011 bad science list
From whale sperm to colon cleansers to the shape of a woman's foot when she has an orgasm, celebrities did not disappoint during 2011 with their penchant for peddling suspect science in the world's media.
In its annual list of what it considers the year's worst abuses against science, the Sense About Science (SAS) campaign named reality TV star Nicole Polizzi, Republican presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann and American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro as top offenders, with their dubious views on why the sea is salty, the risks of cervical cancer vaccines and the colon.
"I used to get a lot of sore throats and then one of my sisters told me that all illnesses start in the colon. I started taking a daily colon cleanser powder mixed with fresh juice every morning and it made an enormous difference," Quatro told the Daily Mail newspaper.
But SAS was keen to dispel such myths. It asked qualified scientists from various disciplines to comment on some of the worst celebrity science offences.
"The colon is very important in some diseases, but it certainly is not the cause of all illnesses," said Melita Gordon, a consultant gastroenterologist said in the review.
"Sore throats do not come from your colon; they are caused by viruses that come in through your nose and mouth. Taking 'colon cleansers' has no beneficial effect on your throat - or on your colon."
While the review is partly about entertainment, the campaign group stresses it also has a serious aim - to make sure pseudo-science is not allowed to become accepted as true.
After Bachmann used an appearance on a television show to tell a story of a woman from Tampa, Florida, who said her daughter had become "mentally retarded" after getting an HPV vaccine designed to protect against cervical cancer, doctors said they feared the damage done may take many years to reverse.
"It's tempting to dismiss celebrity comments on science and health, but their views travel far and wide and, once uttered, a celebrity cancer prevention idea or environmental claim is hard to reverse," said SAS's managing director Tracey Brown.
"At a time when celebrities dominate the public realm, the pressure for sound science and evidence must keep pace."
The review also highlighted a bizarre quote from TV personality Polizzi, who declared recently: "I don't really like the beach. I hate sharks, and the water's all whale sperm. That's why the ocean's salty."
Simon Boxall, a marine expert and oceanographer dismissed Polizzi's suggestion. "It would take a lot of whale sperm to make the sea that salty," he said.
Some of the most intriguing pseudo-scientific suggestions came via repeated second hand information picked up at parties - never the most reliable source.
Christian Louboutin, a French footwear designer, was taken with something a fellow party guest told him about shoes.
"She said that what is sexual in a high heel is the arch of the foot, because it is exactly the position of a woman's foot when she orgasms. So putting your foot in a heel, you are putting yourself in a possibly orgasmic situation," he explained.
Kevan Wylie, a consultant in sexual medicine, responded drily that it's important to differentiate cause from effect.
"A woman's foot may be in this position during orgasm, but that does not mean that putting her foot into this position under other circumstances will result in orgasm," he said.
In its annual list of what it considers the year's worst abuses against science, the Sense About Science (SAS) campaign named reality TV star Nicole Polizzi, Republican presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann and American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro as top offenders, with their dubious views on why the sea is salty, the risks of cervical cancer vaccines and the colon.
"I used to get a lot of sore throats and then one of my sisters told me that all illnesses start in the colon. I started taking a daily colon cleanser powder mixed with fresh juice every morning and it made an enormous difference," Quatro told the Daily Mail newspaper.
But SAS was keen to dispel such myths. It asked qualified scientists from various disciplines to comment on some of the worst celebrity science offences.
"The colon is very important in some diseases, but it certainly is not the cause of all illnesses," said Melita Gordon, a consultant gastroenterologist said in the review.
"Sore throats do not come from your colon; they are caused by viruses that come in through your nose and mouth. Taking 'colon cleansers' has no beneficial effect on your throat - or on your colon."
While the review is partly about entertainment, the campaign group stresses it also has a serious aim - to make sure pseudo-science is not allowed to become accepted as true.
After Bachmann used an appearance on a television show to tell a story of a woman from Tampa, Florida, who said her daughter had become "mentally retarded" after getting an HPV vaccine designed to protect against cervical cancer, doctors said they feared the damage done may take many years to reverse.
"It's tempting to dismiss celebrity comments on science and health, but their views travel far and wide and, once uttered, a celebrity cancer prevention idea or environmental claim is hard to reverse," said SAS's managing director Tracey Brown.
"At a time when celebrities dominate the public realm, the pressure for sound science and evidence must keep pace."
The review also highlighted a bizarre quote from TV personality Polizzi, who declared recently: "I don't really like the beach. I hate sharks, and the water's all whale sperm. That's why the ocean's salty."
Simon Boxall, a marine expert and oceanographer dismissed Polizzi's suggestion. "It would take a lot of whale sperm to make the sea that salty," he said.
Some of the most intriguing pseudo-scientific suggestions came via repeated second hand information picked up at parties - never the most reliable source.
Christian Louboutin, a French footwear designer, was taken with something a fellow party guest told him about shoes.
"She said that what is sexual in a high heel is the arch of the foot, because it is exactly the position of a woman's foot when she orgasms. So putting your foot in a heel, you are putting yourself in a possibly orgasmic situation," he explained.
Kevan Wylie, a consultant in sexual medicine, responded drily that it's important to differentiate cause from effect.
"A woman's foot may be in this position during orgasm, but that does not mean that putting her foot into this position under other circumstances will result in orgasm," he said.
Now or never for workers as "Elvis" the croc strikes again
Two workers at a reptile park near Sydney were all shook up Wednesday, running for their lives when a 500 kg crocodile named Elvis suddenly lunged at them, making off with their lawnmower.
Five-meter long Elvis was already not exactly a hunk of burning love, having eaten two girlfriends at another crocodile park where he lived.
He struck again Wednesday, surging out of the water while the workers performed routine maintenance nearby.
"Elvis is quite a dangerous croc, he's a real firecracker," said Tim Faulkner, operations manager at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford, about an hour's drive north of Sydney.
"He came flying out and before we knew it he had the mower in his mouth and he's taken it back into the water, dropping a couple of teeth in the process."
The cantankerous croc is believed to be between 40 and 60 years old -- more or less in his prime. He was captured near Darwin, in Australia's north, for attacking fishing boats.
Faulkner said it was not unknown for Elvis to chase workers around and that the lawnmower had become an important piece of equipment.
"We have a golden rule -- keep the mower between you and the croc," he said.
While the park workers were safe, the mower was damaged beyond repair, with puncture marks and a torn throttle. Lawrence said Elvis was likely to be hard to handle for a while.
"Crocodiles are real primitive creatures, they've got a real basic set of principles, and he's beaten us today," he said.
"For him, today, he's king of the jungle."
Five-meter long Elvis was already not exactly a hunk of burning love, having eaten two girlfriends at another crocodile park where he lived.
He struck again Wednesday, surging out of the water while the workers performed routine maintenance nearby.
"Elvis is quite a dangerous croc, he's a real firecracker," said Tim Faulkner, operations manager at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford, about an hour's drive north of Sydney.
"He came flying out and before we knew it he had the mower in his mouth and he's taken it back into the water, dropping a couple of teeth in the process."
The cantankerous croc is believed to be between 40 and 60 years old -- more or less in his prime. He was captured near Darwin, in Australia's north, for attacking fishing boats.
Faulkner said it was not unknown for Elvis to chase workers around and that the lawnmower had become an important piece of equipment.
"We have a golden rule -- keep the mower between you and the croc," he said.
While the park workers were safe, the mower was damaged beyond repair, with puncture marks and a torn throttle. Lawrence said Elvis was likely to be hard to handle for a while.
"Crocodiles are real primitive creatures, they've got a real basic set of principles, and he's beaten us today," he said.
"For him, today, he's king of the jungle."
Venezuela's Chavez: Did U.S. give Latin American leaders cancer?
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speculated on Wednesday that the United States might have developed a way to give Latin American leaders cancer, after Argentina's Cristina Fernandez joined the list of presidents diagnosed with the disease.
It was a typically controversial statement by Venezuela's socialist leader, who underwent surgery in June to remove a tumor from his pelvis. But he stressed that he was not making any accusations, just thinking aloud.
"It would not be strange if they had developed the technology to induce cancer and nobody knew about it until now ... I don't know. I'm just reflecting," he said in a televised speech to troops at a military base.
"But this is very, very, very strange ... it's a bit difficult to explain this, to reason it, including using the law of probabilities."
Chavez, Fernandez, Paraguay's Fernando Lugo, Brazil's Dilma Rousseff and former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have all been diagnosed recently with cancer. All of them are leftists.
Doctors say Fernandez has a very good chance of recovery and will not need chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Her diagnosis was made public on Tuesday.
Chavez said other regional leaders should beware, including his close ally, Bolivian President Evo Morales.
"We'll have to take good care of Evo. Take care Evo!" he said.
The 57-year-old is Latin America's loudest critic of U.S. foreign policy along with Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro, and he frequently lashes out at what he calls the "Yankee Empire".
CASTRO'S WARNING
"Fidel always told me, 'Chavez take care. These people have developed technology. You are very careless. Take care what you eat, what they give you to eat ... a little needle and they inject you with I don't know what,'" he said.
In his comments on Wednesday, Chavez also slammed Washington and its European allies for criticizing Russia's recent parliamentary elections - and said they were planning the same thing for Venezuela's presidential election in October, when he will seek re-election.
"They are crying fraud and saying the elections need to be re-run ... They're trying to destabilize no less than Russia, a nuclear power. That's the madness of the Empire," Chavez said.
"I say this because here in Venezuela, the Imperial Yankee, the local bourgeoisie, and a good part of what they call the opposition parties here, are preparing a similar plan," he said.
"I call on the armed forces to be alert, on the Venezuelan people to be alert. Because we are not going to let the Imperial Yankee destabilize Venezuela again like they did in the past."
Details about Chavez's health remain a closely guarded secret, although he now appears to be recovering and is making longer and longer televised appearances.
Earlier this month he made his first official foreign trip after his surgery, to a regional summit in Uruguay.
Since his return he has often appeared sporting something of a younger, new look: a dark sports coat over an open-necked maroon shirt, and is hair is growing back after chemotherapy.
It is far cry from the green fatigues and red beret that he became famous for wearing for much of his 13 years in power.
It was a typically controversial statement by Venezuela's socialist leader, who underwent surgery in June to remove a tumor from his pelvis. But he stressed that he was not making any accusations, just thinking aloud.
"It would not be strange if they had developed the technology to induce cancer and nobody knew about it until now ... I don't know. I'm just reflecting," he said in a televised speech to troops at a military base.
"But this is very, very, very strange ... it's a bit difficult to explain this, to reason it, including using the law of probabilities."
Chavez, Fernandez, Paraguay's Fernando Lugo, Brazil's Dilma Rousseff and former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have all been diagnosed recently with cancer. All of them are leftists.
Doctors say Fernandez has a very good chance of recovery and will not need chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Her diagnosis was made public on Tuesday.
Chavez said other regional leaders should beware, including his close ally, Bolivian President Evo Morales.
"We'll have to take good care of Evo. Take care Evo!" he said.
The 57-year-old is Latin America's loudest critic of U.S. foreign policy along with Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro, and he frequently lashes out at what he calls the "Yankee Empire".
CASTRO'S WARNING
"Fidel always told me, 'Chavez take care. These people have developed technology. You are very careless. Take care what you eat, what they give you to eat ... a little needle and they inject you with I don't know what,'" he said.
In his comments on Wednesday, Chavez also slammed Washington and its European allies for criticizing Russia's recent parliamentary elections - and said they were planning the same thing for Venezuela's presidential election in October, when he will seek re-election.
"They are crying fraud and saying the elections need to be re-run ... They're trying to destabilize no less than Russia, a nuclear power. That's the madness of the Empire," Chavez said.
"I say this because here in Venezuela, the Imperial Yankee, the local bourgeoisie, and a good part of what they call the opposition parties here, are preparing a similar plan," he said.
"I call on the armed forces to be alert, on the Venezuelan people to be alert. Because we are not going to let the Imperial Yankee destabilize Venezuela again like they did in the past."
Details about Chavez's health remain a closely guarded secret, although he now appears to be recovering and is making longer and longer televised appearances.
Earlier this month he made his first official foreign trip after his surgery, to a regional summit in Uruguay.
Since his return he has often appeared sporting something of a younger, new look: a dark sports coat over an open-necked maroon shirt, and is hair is growing back after chemotherapy.
It is far cry from the green fatigues and red beret that he became famous for wearing for much of his 13 years in power.
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