We're sending 2011 off in style by celebrating our favorite exit lines from the large and small screens.
Can you match each sign-off to its source?
Movies Lines
1. Merry Christmas, and may God bless us, every one.
2. Eliza, where the devil are my slippers?
3. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
4. After all, tomorrow is another day!
5. Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
6. His name will live as long as there is a ball, a bat and a boy.
7. I know the perfect place, you guys will love it. Trust me.
8. Stella! Hey, Stella!
9. As you wish.
10. There's no place like home.
11. I now pronounce you men and wives.
12. Mein Fuhrer, I can walk!
13. I've got a flat tire, and I ain't got no spare.
14. Hell, he's a natural-born world's shaker.
15. Love means never having to say you're sorry.
16. No prisoners!
17. Wanna dance, or would you rather just suck face?
18. Play ball!
19. Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.
20. I'm 60.
21. That'll do, pig. That'll do.
22. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that, he's gone.
23. Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.
24. Boy's let's watch the cigarette butts, shall we? This is my house, not a pigsty.
25. For a moment there, I thought we were in trouble.
a) Beverly Hills Cop
b) A Streetcar Named Desire
c) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
d) The Odd Couple
e) Dr. Strangelove
f) Bonnie and Clyde
g) King Kong (1933)
h) Cool Hand Luke
i) Animal House
j) My Fair Lady
k) The Shawshank Redemption
l) Casablanca
m) On Golden Pond
n) The Usual Suspects
o) The Babe Ruth Story
p) A Christmas Carol
q) Back to the Future
r) Murphy's Romance
s) Gone With the Wind
t) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
u) The Princess Bride
v) Babe
w) The Wizard of Oz
x) The Pride of the Yankees
y) Love Story
TV Personalities
26. Good night, and good luck.
27. Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.
28. Good night, and grease for peace!
29. Goodnight, Dick.
30. See you on the radio.
31. And that's the way it is.
32. And so it goes.
33. That's the news and I am outta here!
34. Say goodnight, Gracie.
35. Y'all come back now, hear?
36. Bless your pea-pickin' hearts.
37. That's the news. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.
38. I bid you a very heartfelt good night.
A) Dennis Miller
B) Linda Ellerbee
C) George Burns
D) Walter Cronkite
E) Dick Martin
F) Charles Osgood
G) Tennessee Ernie Ford
H) Sha Na Na
I) Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin
J) Jimmy Durante
K) The Clampetts
L) Johnny Carson ( on his last Tonight Show)
M) Edward P. Murrow
TV Series Finales
39. Sorry, we're closed.
40. Good-bye, kids.
41. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
42. Oh, I went ahead and ordered something for the table.
43. I don't care what you say, I'm coming to work Monday!
44. Until we meet again.
45. Shut it down.
46. All right, hey, you've been great! See you in the Cafeteria.
47. The sky's the limit.
48. We've been waiting for you.
49. The day the running stopped.
50. Good-bye (spelled in stones).
A) Lost
B) Doctor Who
C) M*A*S*H
D) Howdy Doody
E) The Sopranos
F) Cheers
G) Coach
H) The Oprah Winfrey Show
I) The Fugitive
J) 24
K) Seinfield
L) Star Trek: The Next Generation
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Answers : 1. p ; 2. j ; 3. k ; 4. s ; 5. l ; 6. o ; 7. a ; 8. b ; 9. u ; 10. w ; 11. c ; 12. e ; 13. f ; 14. h ; 15. y ; 16. i ; 17. m ; 18. x ; 19. q ; 20. r ; 21. v ; 22. n ; 23. g ; 24. d ; 25. t ; 26. m ; 27. j ; 28. h ; 29. e ; 30. f ; 31. d ; 32. b ; 33. a ; 34. c ; 35. k ; 36. g ; 37. i ; 38. l ; 39. f ; 40. d ; 41. b ; 42. e ; 43. g ; 44. h ; 45. j ; 46. k ; 47. l ; 48. a ; 49. i ; 50. c
Saturday, March 31, 2012
POP QUIZ (The rhymes of freedom and art)
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Bob Dylan's self-titled debut album. To mark the occasion, see if you can match up the Dylan lyric, from that release and some other early albums, with the appropriate tune.
1. "Close your eyes, close the door,/You don't have to worry anymore."
2. "Come mothers and fathers / Throughout the land / And don't criticizze / What you can't understand."
3. "Here's to the hearts and the hands of the men / That come with the dust and are gone with the wind."
4. "Oh, God said to Abraham, 'Kill me a son' / Abe says, 'Man, you must be puttin' me on."
5. "The guilty undertaker sighs, / The lonesome organ grinder cries, / The silver saxophones say I should refuse you."
6. "Why wait any longer for the one you love / When he's standing in front of you."
7. "Without your love I'd be nowhere at all."
8. "Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows / That too many people have died?"
9. "You don't need a weather man / To know which way the wind blows."
10. "You say you're lookin' for someone / Never weak but always strong, / To protect you an' defend you / whether you are right or wrong."
a) "Blowin' in the Wind."
b) "Highway 61 Revisited."
c) "If Not for you."
d) "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight."
e) "It Ain't Me, Babe."
f) "I Want You."
g) "Lay, Lady, Lay."
h) "Song to Woody."
i) "Subterranean Homesick Blues."
j) "The Times They Are A-Changin'."
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Answerws : 1. d ; 2. j ; 3. h ; 4. b ; 5. f ; 6. g ; 7. c ; 8. a ; 9. i ; 10. e
1. "Close your eyes, close the door,/You don't have to worry anymore."
2. "Come mothers and fathers / Throughout the land / And don't criticizze / What you can't understand."
3. "Here's to the hearts and the hands of the men / That come with the dust and are gone with the wind."
4. "Oh, God said to Abraham, 'Kill me a son' / Abe says, 'Man, you must be puttin' me on."
5. "The guilty undertaker sighs, / The lonesome organ grinder cries, / The silver saxophones say I should refuse you."
6. "Why wait any longer for the one you love / When he's standing in front of you."
7. "Without your love I'd be nowhere at all."
8. "Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows / That too many people have died?"
9. "You don't need a weather man / To know which way the wind blows."
10. "You say you're lookin' for someone / Never weak but always strong, / To protect you an' defend you / whether you are right or wrong."
a) "Blowin' in the Wind."
b) "Highway 61 Revisited."
c) "If Not for you."
d) "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight."
e) "It Ain't Me, Babe."
f) "I Want You."
g) "Lay, Lady, Lay."
h) "Song to Woody."
i) "Subterranean Homesick Blues."
j) "The Times They Are A-Changin'."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answerws : 1. d ; 2. j ; 3. h ; 4. b ; 5. f ; 6. g ; 7. c ; 8. a ; 9. i ; 10. e
F. Y. I.
Back Then
In Elizabethan England, statutes known as the Sumptuary Laws dictated what colors people were allowed to wear, based on their rank and status.
Quotable
by Pericles, ancient Greek statesman (495-429 B.C.)
"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."
Wild Fear
Pteronophobia is the fear of feathers.
Presidents' Files
Although he gave the longest inauguration speech of any president---almost two hours --- William Henry Harrison died in office after serving just one month, the shortest term of any president.
Did You Know?
Pineapples were originally called "pinas," the Spanish word for pine cones, because of their resemblance to them.
Still on the Books
In Wyoming, it is illegal for women to stand within 5 feet of a bar while drinking.
In Elizabethan England, statutes known as the Sumptuary Laws dictated what colors people were allowed to wear, based on their rank and status.
Quotable
by Pericles, ancient Greek statesman (495-429 B.C.)
"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."
Wild Fear
Pteronophobia is the fear of feathers.
Presidents' Files
Although he gave the longest inauguration speech of any president---almost two hours --- William Henry Harrison died in office after serving just one month, the shortest term of any president.
Did You Know?
Pineapples were originally called "pinas," the Spanish word for pine cones, because of their resemblance to them.
Still on the Books
In Wyoming, it is illegal for women to stand within 5 feet of a bar while drinking.
For sale in Singapore: $200,000 bottle of whisky
A whisky made to mark the 60th year on the throne of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is on sale in Singapore for a mere S$250,000 ($198,500) a bottle - and it may well find a buyer. No doubt it's a premium sip. Only 60 bottles of Diamond Jubilee were made by the Johnnie Walker unit of Diageo PLC from a blend of whiskies distilled in 1952.
It's also a premium price for Asian aficionados at the month-long Master of Spirits II event featuring specialty wine and liquor put on by luxury travel retailer DFS Group, part of the LVMH empire of high-end goods and services.
Singapore is the first stop this year for a series of DFS events highlighting a wide range of luxury offerings.
The city-state, home to the world's highest concentration of millionaires, has become a playground for the global jet-set with casinos, expensive shops, fine dining, top hotels and showrooms featuring Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other supercars.
The same package - the vintage whisky in a crystal decanter with silver trimmings, two crystal glasses and a leather-bound booklet - is priced at 100,000 pounds ($159,100) in Britain.
Asia has seen a boom in wealth and a growing appetite for luxury goods, including top-of-the-line cars, jewelry, fashion, beauty products, watches and spirits.
The rest of the 84 items on show in Singapore, worth more than $1 million, include Dom Perignon Reserve de L'Abbaye 1978, Chateau Cheval Blanc 1986 Imperial and Luzhoulaojiao National Salute from Chinese liquor maker Luzhou Laojiao.
"I want to sell them all. Our plan is really to showcase the brands, our relationships and the uniqueness of our products," Harold Brooks, president of global merchandising at DFS, told Reuters at Saturday's invitation-only opening.
"Some of them are buying them for investment, some of them are buying them because they can and some people really buy it to enjoy it."
Brooks did not directly address the question of regional pricing but said Asia is a "critical opportunity" for Hong Kong-based DFS, especially China and its brand-conscious consumers.
The gold and black invitation for Saturday's event included RSVP numbers for China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia.
Singapore is also no stranger to pricey whisky.
Last year, a Chinese businessman spent S$250,000 on a bottle of rare 62-year-old Dalmore single malt at Changi Airport during the previous Master of Spirits promotion.
Diamond Jubilee is among the dearest whiskies ever sold, although exact comparisons are difficult because of shifting auction prices and differences between blends and single malts.
Not surprisingly, free samples of Diamond Jubilee are in short supply. Not even Brooks has had a sip.
So what does that much money taste like?
"Its different facets weave around each other: velvet texture, the refreshing bitter perfume of spices, pools of soft fruits as it flows down the throat," the Whisky Advocate blog said in a February review, giving it 93 marks out of 100.
($1 = 1.2593 Singapore dollars)
($1 = 0.6285 British pounds)
It's also a premium price for Asian aficionados at the month-long Master of Spirits II event featuring specialty wine and liquor put on by luxury travel retailer DFS Group, part of the LVMH empire of high-end goods and services.
Singapore is the first stop this year for a series of DFS events highlighting a wide range of luxury offerings.
The city-state, home to the world's highest concentration of millionaires, has become a playground for the global jet-set with casinos, expensive shops, fine dining, top hotels and showrooms featuring Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other supercars.
The same package - the vintage whisky in a crystal decanter with silver trimmings, two crystal glasses and a leather-bound booklet - is priced at 100,000 pounds ($159,100) in Britain.
Asia has seen a boom in wealth and a growing appetite for luxury goods, including top-of-the-line cars, jewelry, fashion, beauty products, watches and spirits.
The rest of the 84 items on show in Singapore, worth more than $1 million, include Dom Perignon Reserve de L'Abbaye 1978, Chateau Cheval Blanc 1986 Imperial and Luzhoulaojiao National Salute from Chinese liquor maker Luzhou Laojiao.
"I want to sell them all. Our plan is really to showcase the brands, our relationships and the uniqueness of our products," Harold Brooks, president of global merchandising at DFS, told Reuters at Saturday's invitation-only opening.
"Some of them are buying them for investment, some of them are buying them because they can and some people really buy it to enjoy it."
Brooks did not directly address the question of regional pricing but said Asia is a "critical opportunity" for Hong Kong-based DFS, especially China and its brand-conscious consumers.
The gold and black invitation for Saturday's event included RSVP numbers for China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia.
Singapore is also no stranger to pricey whisky.
Last year, a Chinese businessman spent S$250,000 on a bottle of rare 62-year-old Dalmore single malt at Changi Airport during the previous Master of Spirits promotion.
Diamond Jubilee is among the dearest whiskies ever sold, although exact comparisons are difficult because of shifting auction prices and differences between blends and single malts.
Not surprisingly, free samples of Diamond Jubilee are in short supply. Not even Brooks has had a sip.
So what does that much money taste like?
"Its different facets weave around each other: velvet texture, the refreshing bitter perfume of spices, pools of soft fruits as it flows down the throat," the Whisky Advocate blog said in a February review, giving it 93 marks out of 100.
($1 = 1.2593 Singapore dollars)
($1 = 0.6285 British pounds)
Urine-soaked eggs a spring taste treat in China city
It's the end of a school day in the eastern Chinese city of Dongyang, and eager parents collect their children after a hectic day of primary school. But that's just the start of busy times for dozens of egg vendors across the city, deep in coastal Zhejiang province, who ready themselves to cook up a unique springtime snack favored by local residents.
Basins and buckets of boys' urine are collected from primary school toilets. It is the key ingredient in "virgin boy eggs", a local tradition of soaking and cooking eggs in the urine of young boys, preferably below the age of 10.
There is no good explanation for why it has to be boys' urine, just that it has been so for centuries.
The scent of these eggs being cooked in pots of urine is unmistakable as people pass the many street vendors in Dongyang who sell it, claiming it has remarkable health properties.
"If you eat this, you will not get heat stroke. These eggs cooked in urine are fragrant," said Ge Yaohua, 51, who owns one of the more popular "virgin boy eggs" stalls.
"They are good for your health. Our family has them for every meal. In Dongyang, every family likes eating them."
It takes nearly an entire day to make these unique eggs, starting off by soaking and then boiling raw eggs in a pot of urine. After that, the shells of the hard-boiled eggs are cracked and they continue to simmer in urine for hours.
Vendors have to keep pouring urine into the pot and controlling the fire to keep the eggs from being overheated and overcooked.
Ge said he has been making the snack, popular due to its fresh and salty taste, for more than 20 years. Each egg goes for 1.50 yuan ($0.24), a little more than twice the price of the regular eggs he also sells.
Many Dongyang residents, young and old, said they believed in the tradition passed on by their ancestors that the eggs decrease body heat, promote better blood circulation and just generally reinvigorate the body.
"By eating these eggs, we will not have any pain in our waists, legs and joints. Also, you will have more energy when you work," said Li Yangzhen, 59, who bought 20 eggs from Ge.
The eggs are not bought only at street stalls. Local residents are also known to personally collect boys' urine from nearby schools to cook the delicacy in their homes.
The popularity of the treat has led the local government to list the "virgin boy eggs" as an intangible cultural heritage.
But not everyone is a fan. Chinese medical experts gave mixed reviews about the health benefits of the practice, with some warning about sanitary issues surrounding the use of urine to cook the eggs.
Some Dongyang residents also said they hated the eggs.
"We have this tradition in Dongyang that these eggs are good for our health and that it would help prevent things like getting a cold," said Wang Junxing, 38. "I don't believe in all this, so I do not eat them."
Basins and buckets of boys' urine are collected from primary school toilets. It is the key ingredient in "virgin boy eggs", a local tradition of soaking and cooking eggs in the urine of young boys, preferably below the age of 10.
There is no good explanation for why it has to be boys' urine, just that it has been so for centuries.
The scent of these eggs being cooked in pots of urine is unmistakable as people pass the many street vendors in Dongyang who sell it, claiming it has remarkable health properties.
"If you eat this, you will not get heat stroke. These eggs cooked in urine are fragrant," said Ge Yaohua, 51, who owns one of the more popular "virgin boy eggs" stalls.
"They are good for your health. Our family has them for every meal. In Dongyang, every family likes eating them."
It takes nearly an entire day to make these unique eggs, starting off by soaking and then boiling raw eggs in a pot of urine. After that, the shells of the hard-boiled eggs are cracked and they continue to simmer in urine for hours.
Vendors have to keep pouring urine into the pot and controlling the fire to keep the eggs from being overheated and overcooked.
Ge said he has been making the snack, popular due to its fresh and salty taste, for more than 20 years. Each egg goes for 1.50 yuan ($0.24), a little more than twice the price of the regular eggs he also sells.
Many Dongyang residents, young and old, said they believed in the tradition passed on by their ancestors that the eggs decrease body heat, promote better blood circulation and just generally reinvigorate the body.
"By eating these eggs, we will not have any pain in our waists, legs and joints. Also, you will have more energy when you work," said Li Yangzhen, 59, who bought 20 eggs from Ge.
The eggs are not bought only at street stalls. Local residents are also known to personally collect boys' urine from nearby schools to cook the delicacy in their homes.
The popularity of the treat has led the local government to list the "virgin boy eggs" as an intangible cultural heritage.
But not everyone is a fan. Chinese medical experts gave mixed reviews about the health benefits of the practice, with some warning about sanitary issues surrounding the use of urine to cook the eggs.
Some Dongyang residents also said they hated the eggs.
"We have this tradition in Dongyang that these eggs are good for our health and that it would help prevent things like getting a cold," said Wang Junxing, 38. "I don't believe in all this, so I do not eat them."
Medvedev reassures Russia his cat is safe
President Dmitry Medvedev reassured Russians on Wednesday that his cat Dorofei was safe after reports that it had run away made him an object of satire on Twitter. "About the cat. A source close to #Dorofei says he has not got lost anywhere. Thank you all for your concern!" Medvedev tweeted from a trip to Asia.
By then a newly created Twitter account in the cat's name had almost 400 followers and attracted many remarks making fun of Medvedev's subordinate relationship to President-elect Vladimir Putin.
"It's simple. I ran away from Medvedev because he promised to hand me over to Vladimir Putin. Help me hide!" @KotDorofey tweeted in a play on words after Medvedev said this week he would pass on a message from U.S. President Barack Obama to Putin after talks in Seoul.
Medvedev was overheard telling Obama: "I will transmit this information to Vladimir." In Russian, the same expression is used to say "hand over to".
Reports that Dorofei had been lost spread after a tabloid newspaper, Sobesednik, said he was missing and that appeals to find him had been posted on telephone poles in the elite Moscow suburb near Medvedev's official residence.
"Police are already nervous and searching for the cat under every shrub," it wrote beside pictures of the fluffy, blue-eyed cat, described as a rare Nevsky Masquerade acquired by his wife for about $1,000 in 2003.
Some Twitter users were sympathetic but many joked the cat showed good sense to make a break for it.
"'It's now or never,' Dorofei thought," Anatoly Srakarny tweeted.
"Run, #Dorofei, Run!" was another popular tag line.
Alexander Gorbunov joked: "Dorofei's owner should learn from his example. The cat has character and doesn't need to agree his actions with anyone!"
By then a newly created Twitter account in the cat's name had almost 400 followers and attracted many remarks making fun of Medvedev's subordinate relationship to President-elect Vladimir Putin.
"It's simple. I ran away from Medvedev because he promised to hand me over to Vladimir Putin. Help me hide!" @KotDorofey tweeted in a play on words after Medvedev said this week he would pass on a message from U.S. President Barack Obama to Putin after talks in Seoul.
Medvedev was overheard telling Obama: "I will transmit this information to Vladimir." In Russian, the same expression is used to say "hand over to".
Reports that Dorofei had been lost spread after a tabloid newspaper, Sobesednik, said he was missing and that appeals to find him had been posted on telephone poles in the elite Moscow suburb near Medvedev's official residence.
"Police are already nervous and searching for the cat under every shrub," it wrote beside pictures of the fluffy, blue-eyed cat, described as a rare Nevsky Masquerade acquired by his wife for about $1,000 in 2003.
Some Twitter users were sympathetic but many joked the cat showed good sense to make a break for it.
"'It's now or never,' Dorofei thought," Anatoly Srakarny tweeted.
"Run, #Dorofei, Run!" was another popular tag line.
Alexander Gorbunov joked: "Dorofei's owner should learn from his example. The cat has character and doesn't need to agree his actions with anyone!"
Japan bees cook enemy in 'hot defensive bee ball'
Don't mess with Japanese honeybees. Not only do they cooperate to attack their enemies, researchers now say their brains may actually be processing and responding to the threat. When confronted with their arch-enemy, the aggressive giant Asian hornet, the honeybees will attack it by swarming en masse around the hornet and forming what scientists call a "hot defensive bee ball" - a move unique to their species.
With up to 500 bees all vibrating their flight muscles at once, the bee ball cooks the hornet to death.
While this defensive maneuver has been known for some time, the mechanism behind it has been shrouded in mystery. But researchers at Japan's University of Tokyo, through study of the bees' brains, have now found that neural activity in bees taking part in the attack picks up.
"When the hornet, the Japanese honeybee's natural enemy, enters a colony, the bees quickly form a 'hot defensive bee ball,' trapping the hornet inside and heating it up to 46 degrees C (115 F) with their collective body heat," said Atsushi Ugajin, a University of Tokyo graduate student.
He said that while the high temperature phase lasts about 20 minutes, it often takes up to an hour before the hornet dies inside the ball.
Set off if bees posted as "guards" at the entrance to the colony detect an intruder, the move evolved because the bee's stingers aren't strong enough to penetrate the hornet's tough exo-skeleton, researchers said.
The research team, whose latest research on the phenomenon appeared in the scientific journal PLoS ONE in mid-March, was astounded by the fact that the collective heat generated by the group, while fatal for the hornet, leaves the bees unaffected.
They were also surprised that the bees used perfectly coordinated teamwork during the process, said Takeo Kubo, a professor at the University of Tokyo graduate school.
"When an outsider enters, the honeybees are immediately on their guard. Then, all at once, they gather to attack," he said.
"So, it isn't one commanding all the rest, we believe in this moment of emergency they're acting collectively."
Curious about why the bees attack this way, the researchers examined their brains and found that neural activity increased in the bees involved with the bee ball, apparently reflecting processing of thermal stimuli.
The group also said that while this discovery may seem to demonstrate that the Japanese honeybee is "smarter" than its European counterpart, this is not the case - it's merely a matter of development in response to environmental factors.
"When a member of the colony, a worker drone, is killed, this is a grievous loss for the hive. Evolution has reacted in this way (for their survival)," said Masato Ono, a Japanese honeybee and hornet expert who was also part of the study.
And many fundamental unknowns remain.
"One of the great mysteries for us is how animals' brains have evolved and how they operate," Kubo said. "This will be for us the next great puzzle to examine."
With up to 500 bees all vibrating their flight muscles at once, the bee ball cooks the hornet to death.
While this defensive maneuver has been known for some time, the mechanism behind it has been shrouded in mystery. But researchers at Japan's University of Tokyo, through study of the bees' brains, have now found that neural activity in bees taking part in the attack picks up.
"When the hornet, the Japanese honeybee's natural enemy, enters a colony, the bees quickly form a 'hot defensive bee ball,' trapping the hornet inside and heating it up to 46 degrees C (115 F) with their collective body heat," said Atsushi Ugajin, a University of Tokyo graduate student.
He said that while the high temperature phase lasts about 20 minutes, it often takes up to an hour before the hornet dies inside the ball.
Set off if bees posted as "guards" at the entrance to the colony detect an intruder, the move evolved because the bee's stingers aren't strong enough to penetrate the hornet's tough exo-skeleton, researchers said.
The research team, whose latest research on the phenomenon appeared in the scientific journal PLoS ONE in mid-March, was astounded by the fact that the collective heat generated by the group, while fatal for the hornet, leaves the bees unaffected.
They were also surprised that the bees used perfectly coordinated teamwork during the process, said Takeo Kubo, a professor at the University of Tokyo graduate school.
"When an outsider enters, the honeybees are immediately on their guard. Then, all at once, they gather to attack," he said.
"So, it isn't one commanding all the rest, we believe in this moment of emergency they're acting collectively."
Curious about why the bees attack this way, the researchers examined their brains and found that neural activity increased in the bees involved with the bee ball, apparently reflecting processing of thermal stimuli.
The group also said that while this discovery may seem to demonstrate that the Japanese honeybee is "smarter" than its European counterpart, this is not the case - it's merely a matter of development in response to environmental factors.
"When a member of the colony, a worker drone, is killed, this is a grievous loss for the hive. Evolution has reacted in this way (for their survival)," said Masato Ono, a Japanese honeybee and hornet expert who was also part of the study.
And many fundamental unknowns remain.
"One of the great mysteries for us is how animals' brains have evolved and how they operate," Kubo said. "This will be for us the next great puzzle to examine."
Wife shot dead by husband after dog poops in house: police
A 76-year-old Texas man was charged with murder for shooting his wife and two dogs after one of the animals pooped in the house. Police arrested Michael Stephen Stolz after a five-hour standoff at the man's home in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville late Tuesday. He was charged with murder in the shooting death of his wife, Bernice Stolz, and remained in the Denton County Jail on Wednesday on a $250,000 bond.
Stolz told officers he shot his 49-year-old wife and the couple's two dogs after the German Shepherd mix defecated on the floor on Saturday, said Lewisville Police Capt. Kevin Deaver. He told officers that he shot the dog, then their other dog, a Rottweiler, then his wife, who was screaming because of the shootings of the dogs, Deaver said.
Police were called to investigate after Bernice Stolz' employer reported that she failed to show up at work for several days. Stolz rebuffed officers who asked to enter the house and check on the woman's welfare, Deaver said.
Officers reported smelling an odor of decomposition from the home and called for SWAT officers to help encourage Stolz to surrender. SWAT officers finally sent a robot with a camera inside for a look, Deaver said. They noticed Stolz was unarmed and lying on the floor.
Stolz finally surrendered peacefully. Bernice Stolz's body was found on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to the head. Stolz told officers he had also intended to kill himself but ran out of bullets after shooting his wife and dogs, Deaver said.
"Sometimes it's just a trivial little thing that sets people off," Deaver said.
Police had previously responded to calls for medical assistance at the home but Stolz had no history of mental illness, Deaver said.
Stolz told officers he shot his 49-year-old wife and the couple's two dogs after the German Shepherd mix defecated on the floor on Saturday, said Lewisville Police Capt. Kevin Deaver. He told officers that he shot the dog, then their other dog, a Rottweiler, then his wife, who was screaming because of the shootings of the dogs, Deaver said.
Police were called to investigate after Bernice Stolz' employer reported that she failed to show up at work for several days. Stolz rebuffed officers who asked to enter the house and check on the woman's welfare, Deaver said.
Officers reported smelling an odor of decomposition from the home and called for SWAT officers to help encourage Stolz to surrender. SWAT officers finally sent a robot with a camera inside for a look, Deaver said. They noticed Stolz was unarmed and lying on the floor.
Stolz finally surrendered peacefully. Bernice Stolz's body was found on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to the head. Stolz told officers he had also intended to kill himself but ran out of bullets after shooting his wife and dogs, Deaver said.
"Sometimes it's just a trivial little thing that sets people off," Deaver said.
Police had previously responded to calls for medical assistance at the home but Stolz had no history of mental illness, Deaver said.
Ready, steady...stack at Japan competition
More than 100 people gathered to vie for the title of Japan's fastest hands, competing to stack a set of plastic cups into a pyramid in the shortest time possible. The 2012 Sport Stacking competition allowed competitors to show off their skills in a "sport" that organizers say teaches eye-hand coordination, improves reaction time and uses as much energy as archery, bowling or volleyball.
Using the 12 specially designed plastic cups, contestants took part in either individual, team relays or with a partner, with each person allowed to use only one hand.
The room filled with clattering as hands moved so rapidly to stack the cups that most almost seemed like film run at fast-forward speed.
Participants struggled to explain the allure.
"Once I actually tried it, it's really quite interesting and now I'm kind of hooked," said Shuuji Hirasaki, 53, who took part in a parent-child team with son Ryouya, 10.
The contestants on Sunday ranged from four years old to Senzaburo Kunimatsu, 83, who said he took part mainly for fun.
"I'm just doing it to help prevent getting old, I don't really worry about setting a record," he said.
The winner, for the fourth year running, was teenager Sota Takamori, who came in at 1.93 seconds for the simplest version of the pyramid.
He qualified to take part in the World Stacking Championships to be held in Germany in April.
Using the 12 specially designed plastic cups, contestants took part in either individual, team relays or with a partner, with each person allowed to use only one hand.
The room filled with clattering as hands moved so rapidly to stack the cups that most almost seemed like film run at fast-forward speed.
Participants struggled to explain the allure.
"Once I actually tried it, it's really quite interesting and now I'm kind of hooked," said Shuuji Hirasaki, 53, who took part in a parent-child team with son Ryouya, 10.
The contestants on Sunday ranged from four years old to Senzaburo Kunimatsu, 83, who said he took part mainly for fun.
"I'm just doing it to help prevent getting old, I don't really worry about setting a record," he said.
The winner, for the fourth year running, was teenager Sota Takamori, who came in at 1.93 seconds for the simplest version of the pyramid.
He qualified to take part in the World Stacking Championships to be held in Germany in April.
Referee dishes out five red cards in dressing room
A referee sent off five players in the dressing rooms after a post-match brawl at an English League Two (fourth tier) game between Bradford City and promotion-chasing Crawley Town. "I can't believe this has happened," Bradford manager Phil Parkinson, who had three players shown red cards after the 2-1 home defeat on Tuesday night, told the BBC.
"I have never been in a situation before where a ref has come into the dressing room, pulled players on one side and sent them off. He wouldn't allow me in there."
Six Crawley players and one from Bradford were booked during the match with Bradford's Andrew Davies, who was sent off, now set for a five-match ban after being shown red cards twice previously this season.
"I have never been in a situation before where a ref has come into the dressing room, pulled players on one side and sent them off. He wouldn't allow me in there."
Six Crawley players and one from Bradford were booked during the match with Bradford's Andrew Davies, who was sent off, now set for a five-match ban after being shown red cards twice previously this season.
Couple to wed live on Country Music Awards show
A New Jersey couple, who unexpectedly found love during the grief of bereavement, plan to marry on a country music awards show on Sunday and be serenaded by Martina McBride. Country fans Christina Davidson, 31, and Frank Tucci, 33, will exchange wedding vows live on television during the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, show organizers said.
Martina McBride and Train frontman Pat Monahan will perform their new single "Marry Me" as the couple marry onstage in what is thought to be a first live wedding during an awards show.
Davidson lost her husband Paul in a drowning accident in 2009 when she was 29-years-old and pregnant with their second child. She founded a support group for young widows and widowers in her Washington Township hometown, where she met Tucci, whose wife Danielle had died in the same year from thyroid cancer, leaving him with a young son.
The pair became friends, supported each other and later fell in love. They were picked to be married on the awards show by McBride.
"When I was asked to perform 'Marry Me' with Pat on the ACM's, the first thought that popped into my head was, 'Wouldn't it be cool if we actually had a couple get married live on the show while we sang the song?' I think it's so special that we will be witnessing the union of these two wonderful people and that we will all be sharing that moment together," McBride said.
McBride is nominated for female vocalist of the year at the ACM awards, which will be broadcast live on Sunday on CBS. Kenny Chesney leads the nominations with nine, followed by Jason Aldean with six.
Martina McBride and Train frontman Pat Monahan will perform their new single "Marry Me" as the couple marry onstage in what is thought to be a first live wedding during an awards show.
Davidson lost her husband Paul in a drowning accident in 2009 when she was 29-years-old and pregnant with their second child. She founded a support group for young widows and widowers in her Washington Township hometown, where she met Tucci, whose wife Danielle had died in the same year from thyroid cancer, leaving him with a young son.
The pair became friends, supported each other and later fell in love. They were picked to be married on the awards show by McBride.
"When I was asked to perform 'Marry Me' with Pat on the ACM's, the first thought that popped into my head was, 'Wouldn't it be cool if we actually had a couple get married live on the show while we sang the song?' I think it's so special that we will be witnessing the union of these two wonderful people and that we will all be sharing that moment together," McBride said.
McBride is nominated for female vocalist of the year at the ACM awards, which will be broadcast live on Sunday on CBS. Kenny Chesney leads the nominations with nine, followed by Jason Aldean with six.
"Cash Mobs" gather to splurge in locally owned stores
Flash mobs have been blamed as a factor in looting during urban riots. But now a group of online activists is harnessing social media like Twitter and Facebook to get consumers to spend at locally owned stores in cities around the world in so-called Cash Mobs. At the first International Cash Mob day on Saturday, wallet- toting activists gathered in as many as 200 mobs in the United States and Europe, with the aim of spending at least $20 a piece in locally owned businesses, according to the concept's founder, Cleveland lawyer Andrew Samtoy.
"It's my baby but I'm not a helicopter parent," Samtoy told a crowd of more than 100 people gathered Saturday at Nature's Bin, a grocery store that specializes in local and organic food, in Lakewood, an inner ring suburb of Cleveland.
The 32-year-old dreamed up the Cash Mob idea last year after spending time in Britain during summer riots that unleashed looting in cities including London, Manchester and Birmingham. His first Cash Mob, in Cleveland last November, brought around 40 shoppers packing in to the Visible Voice book shop, on a welcome spree in which each of them spent on average $40 within an hour-and-a-half. "We are kind of slow in November so I wasn't going to turn it down," said the independent book store's owner, Dave Ferrante, who estimated he made about eight times his normal take on that day.
"We have a very limited marketing budget and it brought in people who wouldn't have been here. It sounds corny but we really build a base one customer at a time," he added.
After the original Cash Mob in Cleveland, Samtoy's Facebook friends in other cities picked up on the idea and organized their own gatherings.
Samtoy can rattle off a list of friends from Los Angeles to Boston, from church camp to law school, who were the 'early adapters' of the Cash Mob phenomenon.
MEET PEOPLE, SPEND AND HAVE FUN
As well as the spree in Cleveland on Saturday, gatherings also took place in Kansas City and New York. Reuters was unable to verify independently if community shoppers splurged in other U.S. cities and worldwide.
Samtoy's approach is to target one location bringing as many people to one site as possible but other cities have taken a different approach. "There is no science to it and there are also no hard and fast rules," he explains.
He told the group gathered in Cleveland that he only has three rules or goals as he explains them: "You have to spend at least $20, meet three people you never met before and have fun."
Cash Mob participant Amy Marke, from Independence, Ohio, came with her cousin because she wanted to support local businesses and was drawn to this event because the store does vocational training for disabled adults.
"I never do anything spur of the moment or crazy like this but I heard about it and had to come," she said. Kelly Ziegler, co-founder of the Cash Mob movement in Kansas City, Missouri, told Reuters activists planned flash spending sprees in nine different locations around the metro area on Saturday. "Kansas City is really spread out. We have a really strong following on Facebook and there were calls for cash mobs at all of these areas. There are so many shops to hit we thought 'why not hit a lot all at once?'"
"I grew up in a family with a small business. I know these small businesses can't afford a million dollar ad campaign. When you spend $1 at these local stores that stays in the community," she added.
And in Brooklyn, New York, activists noted how easy they are to organize. "It really doesn't take a lot of effort," said Park Slope Cash Mob organizer, Amy Cortese, author of 'Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From it.'
With the large amount of locally-owned business and culture of entrepreneurship in Brooklyn she says it only made sense to get behind the Cash Mob movement. "It is surprising that no one had thought to do this before," she added.
"It's my baby but I'm not a helicopter parent," Samtoy told a crowd of more than 100 people gathered Saturday at Nature's Bin, a grocery store that specializes in local and organic food, in Lakewood, an inner ring suburb of Cleveland.
The 32-year-old dreamed up the Cash Mob idea last year after spending time in Britain during summer riots that unleashed looting in cities including London, Manchester and Birmingham. His first Cash Mob, in Cleveland last November, brought around 40 shoppers packing in to the Visible Voice book shop, on a welcome spree in which each of them spent on average $40 within an hour-and-a-half. "We are kind of slow in November so I wasn't going to turn it down," said the independent book store's owner, Dave Ferrante, who estimated he made about eight times his normal take on that day.
"We have a very limited marketing budget and it brought in people who wouldn't have been here. It sounds corny but we really build a base one customer at a time," he added.
After the original Cash Mob in Cleveland, Samtoy's Facebook friends in other cities picked up on the idea and organized their own gatherings.
Samtoy can rattle off a list of friends from Los Angeles to Boston, from church camp to law school, who were the 'early adapters' of the Cash Mob phenomenon.
MEET PEOPLE, SPEND AND HAVE FUN
As well as the spree in Cleveland on Saturday, gatherings also took place in Kansas City and New York. Reuters was unable to verify independently if community shoppers splurged in other U.S. cities and worldwide.
Samtoy's approach is to target one location bringing as many people to one site as possible but other cities have taken a different approach. "There is no science to it and there are also no hard and fast rules," he explains.
He told the group gathered in Cleveland that he only has three rules or goals as he explains them: "You have to spend at least $20, meet three people you never met before and have fun."
Cash Mob participant Amy Marke, from Independence, Ohio, came with her cousin because she wanted to support local businesses and was drawn to this event because the store does vocational training for disabled adults.
"I never do anything spur of the moment or crazy like this but I heard about it and had to come," she said. Kelly Ziegler, co-founder of the Cash Mob movement in Kansas City, Missouri, told Reuters activists planned flash spending sprees in nine different locations around the metro area on Saturday. "Kansas City is really spread out. We have a really strong following on Facebook and there were calls for cash mobs at all of these areas. There are so many shops to hit we thought 'why not hit a lot all at once?'"
"I grew up in a family with a small business. I know these small businesses can't afford a million dollar ad campaign. When you spend $1 at these local stores that stays in the community," she added.
And in Brooklyn, New York, activists noted how easy they are to organize. "It really doesn't take a lot of effort," said Park Slope Cash Mob organizer, Amy Cortese, author of 'Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From it.'
With the large amount of locally-owned business and culture of entrepreneurship in Brooklyn she says it only made sense to get behind the Cash Mob movement. "It is surprising that no one had thought to do this before," she added.
Austrian saws off own foot to avoid work - report
An unemployed Austrian man sawed his foot off, apparently to avoid being found fit to go back to work. Hours before an appointment on Monday for the labor office to check on his health, the 56-year-old man held his left leg against an electric saw in his home workshop and severed his foot just above the ankle, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.
Bleeding profusely, the man from the province of Styria then threw the foot into an oven, hobbled to his garage and called an ambulance. An emergency operation was unable to reattach the foot, ORF said.
Bleeding profusely, the man from the province of Styria then threw the foot into an oven, hobbled to his garage and called an ambulance. An emergency operation was unable to reattach the foot, ORF said.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
POP QUIZ (Women's History Month)
To start off Women's History Month, match the president, prime minister, or chancellor with the country she leads.
1. Laura Chinchilla a) Argentina
2. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner b) Bangladesh
3. Dalia Grybauskaite c) Costa Rica
4. Tarja Halonen d) Denmark
5. Sheikh Hasina e) Finland
6. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf f) Germany
7. Angela Merkel g) Iceland
8. Prathiba Patil h) India
9. Johanna Siguroardottir i) Liberia
10. Helle Thorning-Schmidt j) Lithuania
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. c ; 2. a ; 3. j ; 4. e ; 5. b ; 6. i ; 7. f ; 8. h ; 9. g ; 10. d
1. Laura Chinchilla a) Argentina
2. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner b) Bangladesh
3. Dalia Grybauskaite c) Costa Rica
4. Tarja Halonen d) Denmark
5. Sheikh Hasina e) Finland
6. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf f) Germany
7. Angela Merkel g) Iceland
8. Prathiba Patil h) India
9. Johanna Siguroardottir i) Liberia
10. Helle Thorning-Schmidt j) Lithuania
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. c ; 2. a ; 3. j ; 4. e ; 5. b ; 6. i ; 7. f ; 8. h ; 9. g ; 10. d
POP QUIZ (Saints and nations)
While reflecting on this weekend's festivities in honor of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, see if you can match up other nations and their patron saints. ( In some cases, the saint listed is just one of a country's patron saints.)
1. St. Basil the Great a) Czech Republic
2. St. Bridget b) France
3. St. Catherine of Siena c) India
4. St. David d) Italy
5. St. Francis Xavier e) Mexico
6. St. Gertrude f) Russia
7. St. James the Greater g) Spain
8. St. Joan of Arc h) Sweden
9. Our Lady of Guadalupe i) Wales
10. St. Wenceslas j) West Indies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. f ; 2. h ; 3. d ; 4. i ; 5. c ; 6. j ; 7. g ; 8. b ; 9. e ; 10. a
1. St. Basil the Great a) Czech Republic
2. St. Bridget b) France
3. St. Catherine of Siena c) India
4. St. David d) Italy
5. St. Francis Xavier e) Mexico
6. St. Gertrude f) Russia
7. St. James the Greater g) Spain
8. St. Joan of Arc h) Sweden
9. Our Lady of Guadalupe i) Wales
10. St. Wenceslas j) West Indies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. f ; 2. h ; 3. d ; 4. i ; 5. c ; 6. j ; 7. g ; 8. b ; 9. e ; 10. a
POP QUIZ (A quiz you can't refuse)
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the classic "The Godfather," which addedmore than its share of memorable lines to the lexicon.
Match the quote with the speaker.
1. "Connie and Carlo want you to be godfather to their little boy."
2. "I need, Don Corleone, all of those politicians that you carry around in your pocket, like so many nickels and dimes."
3. "If Don Corleone, had all the judges, and the politicians in New York, then he must share them. .... Certainly he can present a bill for such services; after all ... we are not Communists."
4. "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
5. "My father made him an offer he couldn't refuse."
6. "Never tell anyone outside the family what you are thinking again."
7. "Tell Mike it was only business, I always liked him."
8. "In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns."
9. "You do not come to LasVegas and talk to a man like Moe Greene like that!"
10. "You've gotta get up close like this and -- bada-BING! -- you blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit."
a) Kay Adams b) Emilio Barzini c) Calo d) Peter Clemenza e) Fredo Corleone
f) Michael Corleone g) Sonny Corleone h) Don Vito Corleone i) Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo
j) Salvatore "Sal" Tessio
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. a ; 2. i ; 3. b ; 4. d ; 5. f ; 6. h ; 7. j ; 8. c ; 9. e ; 10. g
Match the quote with the speaker.
1. "Connie and Carlo want you to be godfather to their little boy."
2. "I need, Don Corleone, all of those politicians that you carry around in your pocket, like so many nickels and dimes."
3. "If Don Corleone, had all the judges, and the politicians in New York, then he must share them. .... Certainly he can present a bill for such services; after all ... we are not Communists."
4. "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
5. "My father made him an offer he couldn't refuse."
6. "Never tell anyone outside the family what you are thinking again."
7. "Tell Mike it was only business, I always liked him."
8. "In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns."
9. "You do not come to LasVegas and talk to a man like Moe Greene like that!"
10. "You've gotta get up close like this and -- bada-BING! -- you blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit."
a) Kay Adams b) Emilio Barzini c) Calo d) Peter Clemenza e) Fredo Corleone
f) Michael Corleone g) Sonny Corleone h) Don Vito Corleone i) Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo
j) Salvatore "Sal" Tessio
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. a ; 2. i ; 3. b ; 4. d ; 5. f ; 6. h ; 7. j ; 8. c ; 9. e ; 10. g
F. Y. I.
Fast Fight
The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and Great Britain in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.
Mythically Speaking
Although St. Patrick is believed to have driven snakes out of Ireland, snakes have never existed on the Emerald Isle.
Bearing Down
Polar bears can swim as far as 60 miles without pausing for a rest.
Stout Commitment
On any given day, 5.5 million pints of Guinness are consumed around the world. That number more than doubles on St. Patrick's Day.
Quotable
by Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress
"I am an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house."
Still on the Books
In Florida, it is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.
The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and Great Britain in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.
Mythically Speaking
Although St. Patrick is believed to have driven snakes out of Ireland, snakes have never existed on the Emerald Isle.
Bearing Down
Polar bears can swim as far as 60 miles without pausing for a rest.
Stout Commitment
On any given day, 5.5 million pints of Guinness are consumed around the world. That number more than doubles on St. Patrick's Day.
Quotable
by Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress
"I am an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house."
Still on the Books
In Florida, it is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.
F. Y. I.
Sweet Duet
Unlike many songbirds, both male and female cardinals sing.
Huh?
"It's fun to do a small film that might be released to DVD not because it's a horrible film, but because it's an independent film."
Dubious Distinction
March is National Frozen Food Month.
In Other Worlds
Pickled beets are a common hamburger topping in Australia.
Mythically Speaking
The Ancient Greeks believed parsley sprung from the blood of the hero Archemorus after he was killed by a dragon.
Still on the Books
London taxis must carry a bale of hay and a sack of oats.
Unlike many songbirds, both male and female cardinals sing.
Huh?
"It's fun to do a small film that might be released to DVD not because it's a horrible film, but because it's an independent film."
Dubious Distinction
March is National Frozen Food Month.
In Other Worlds
Pickled beets are a common hamburger topping in Australia.
Mythically Speaking
The Ancient Greeks believed parsley sprung from the blood of the hero Archemorus after he was killed by a dragon.
Still on the Books
London taxis must carry a bale of hay and a sack of oats.
Borat anthem played by mistake at medals ceremony
Kazakhstan's shooting team demanded an apology after a spoof national anthem from the comedy film Borat was played instead of the real one at a medal ceremony in Kuwait, the BBC reported on Friday. The team's coach told Kazakh media the organizers of the Kuwait tournament had downloaded the parody from the internet by mistake and had also got the Serbian national anthem wrong.
Footage of Thursday's original ceremony shows gold medalist Maria Dmitrienko listening solemnly to the anthem before smiling. The ceremony was later rerun.
The spoof anthem, from the movie featuring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan", praises Kazakhstan for its superior potassium exports and for having the cleanest prostitutes in the region.
Footage of Thursday's original ceremony shows gold medalist Maria Dmitrienko listening solemnly to the anthem before smiling. The ceremony was later rerun.
The spoof anthem, from the movie featuring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan", praises Kazakhstan for its superior potassium exports and for having the cleanest prostitutes in the region.
Danish lottery winners go from riches to rags
Three hundred Danes who thought they'd won enough money on the lottery to last them several lifetimes were brought down to earth with a bump minutes later when they learnt their actual prizes wouldn't even pay for a weekend break. State lottery company Danske Spil blamed "human error" for a glitch that held out the promise for part of Tuesday of jackpots ranging from an astronomical 1 billion Danish crowns to a mind-blowing 280 billion ($49.7 billion).
The shamefaced lottery firm shattered the 302 winners' dreams by email an hour and a half later.
"All won prizes but not billions of crowns," Thomas Rorsig, spokesman for Danske Spil, said. "The correct winnings .. were typically 200, 300 or 400 crowns (around $35 to $70)".
Rorsig said most had taken the bad news on the chin, though a few were "very angry" and demanded their original prize. Danske Spil was considering whether to boost the payouts by way of compensation, he added.
He said the mishap was caused by "human error" when employees at Danske Spil were preparing letters to winners of Eurojackpot, a game with a large payouts though nowhere near the billions announced.
Nothing like it had ever happened at Danske Spil, he said, "and I hope it never does again."
($1 = 5.6351 Danish crowns)
The shamefaced lottery firm shattered the 302 winners' dreams by email an hour and a half later.
"All won prizes but not billions of crowns," Thomas Rorsig, spokesman for Danske Spil, said. "The correct winnings .. were typically 200, 300 or 400 crowns (around $35 to $70)".
Rorsig said most had taken the bad news on the chin, though a few were "very angry" and demanded their original prize. Danske Spil was considering whether to boost the payouts by way of compensation, he added.
He said the mishap was caused by "human error" when employees at Danske Spil were preparing letters to winners of Eurojackpot, a game with a large payouts though nowhere near the billions announced.
Nothing like it had ever happened at Danske Spil, he said, "and I hope it never does again."
($1 = 5.6351 Danish crowns)
Pink-haired student invited back to school
A school that barred a sixth grader after she dyed her hair pink with her parents' blessing to celebrate her good grades lifted its ban on Tuesday following an outcry from civil rights advocates. After missing three days of classes, pink-haired Brianna Moore headed back to Shue-Medill Middle School in Newark, Delaware, on Tuesday after administrators reversed their decision after a call from the Delaware branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
"We're on our way right now," said Kevin Moore as he drove his 12-year-old daughter to school.
At his daughter's request last week, he helped dye her hair a shade called crimson storm, which has a pink hue, as a reward for improving her grades.
But when she showed up for school the next day, she was sent home and told not to return until her hair met school policy mandating a "natural color, brown, blond, black, natural red/auburn."
The ACLU soon got in touch with attorneys for the school district and asked, "Don't you think this is unconstitutional?" said Kathleen MacRae, ACLU executive director in Delaware.
Moore was invited back to school with assurances she would not be punished, said Wendy Lapham, school district spokeswoman.
"The hair is not going to be an issue," Lapham said.
"We're on our way right now," said Kevin Moore as he drove his 12-year-old daughter to school.
At his daughter's request last week, he helped dye her hair a shade called crimson storm, which has a pink hue, as a reward for improving her grades.
But when she showed up for school the next day, she was sent home and told not to return until her hair met school policy mandating a "natural color, brown, blond, black, natural red/auburn."
The ACLU soon got in touch with attorneys for the school district and asked, "Don't you think this is unconstitutional?" said Kathleen MacRae, ACLU executive director in Delaware.
Moore was invited back to school with assurances she would not be punished, said Wendy Lapham, school district spokeswoman.
"The hair is not going to be an issue," Lapham said.
Messi's footwork part of anti-Syria conspiracy: TV
Barcelona footballers don't just have a slick passing game, they can also secretly indicate arms smuggling routes to Syria, a pro-government Syrian television channel claimed this week. Without a hint of irony, Addounia TV superimposed a map of Syria on a screen to show how Lionel Messi and his team-mates, representing smugglers, had kicked a ball, representing a weapons shipment, into Syria from Lebanon.
The subtle signals to rebels were transmitted when Barcelona played Real Madrid in December, said the channel, which is owned by a cousin of President Bashar al-Assad. It did not trouble viewers by revealing Barcelona's motives for the exploit.
"First we see how the guns are brought from Lebanon," the presenter comments as one player passes the ball. "Then they cross into Homs and give the weapons to other terrorists in Abu Kamal," he added, referring to rebel strongholds in Syria.
Messi's final flick indicates the successful handover of the weapons to their destination in eastern Syria, he said.
Bizarre it may be, but paranoid conspiracy theories are common coin in the deeply divided and conflict-ridden state.
Take a documentary aired by Addounia in December on how French and American film directors had purportedly helped build mock-up Syrian city squares in Qatar to enable Doha-based Al Jazeera TV to film actors staging phony anti-Assad protests.
Such fantasies feed into Assad's narrative that the year-long unrest against him is all a foreign-orchestrated plot.
"We will defeat this conspiracy," he declared in January, pledging to crush what he has cast as terrorism and sabotage.
"Regional and international sides have tried to destabilize the country," the former ophthalmologist said. "We will not be lenient with those who work with outsiders against the country."
Assad, 46, has indeed earned himself some foreign enemies.
Western powers and the Arab League have told him to step aside in a peaceful transition, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have gone further by calling for Syrian rebels to be armed.
Syria expert Joshua Landis of Oklahoma University says conspiracy theories reflect the mistrust between ruling minority Alawites and majority Sunni Muslims who spearhead the revolt.
"How can you expect them to be any less conspiratorial? The sectarian lines of hatred are growing and (Assad) thinks that everyone is a traitor," he said. "This has plagued the country since it was created."
MEDIA WAR
The United Nations says more than 8,000 people have been killed in the uprising, which started peacefully but has turned violent with daily clashes between rebels and security forces.
Paranoia is compounded by the media environment in which Syrians can watch Al Jazeera, which often shows graphic footage of casualties inflicted by security forces, or state-sponsored television, which portrays rebels as blood-crazed terrorists.
In the old city of Damascus, Assad loyalists have laid a poster with the hated Al Jazeera emblem on it along a main walkway for shoppers to trample on.
The uprising has spawned a media war, with both sides fighting to sway public sentiment through online propaganda and conspiracy theories, consigning truth to an ever greyer area.
Britain's Guardian newspaper said last week it had obtained a trove of emails, via anti-Assad activists, in which the president takes advice from Iran on countering the revolt and his wife Asma spends tens of thousands of dollars on internet shopping sprees while Syria descends into bloodletting.
Within hours, Assad loyalists had uploaded videos on YouTube saying that the emails were faked by revolutionaries.
"So these are supposed 'leaks' from the President & First Lady?" a group calling itself the Syrian Truth Network sneered in one video. "Try again later, Guardian."
The government and its opponents traded blame when dozens of people were found dead with their hands tied behind their backs in the city of Homs on March 10. Each side lit up Twitter and Facebook with detailed theories. The facts remain unclear.
Syria's state news agency website SANA said terrorists had killed civilians and then mutilated their corpses, staging a government massacre to vilify Assad's forces. Opposition activists accused Assad loyalists of carrying out the killings.
Independent journalists have repeatedly been denied access into Syria, making it hard to assess conflicting reports.
Many Syrians are befuddled by the claims and counter-claims. "We might not believe pro-government television, but we don't trust the satellite channels either," a Damascus resident said.
The subtle signals to rebels were transmitted when Barcelona played Real Madrid in December, said the channel, which is owned by a cousin of President Bashar al-Assad. It did not trouble viewers by revealing Barcelona's motives for the exploit.
"First we see how the guns are brought from Lebanon," the presenter comments as one player passes the ball. "Then they cross into Homs and give the weapons to other terrorists in Abu Kamal," he added, referring to rebel strongholds in Syria.
Messi's final flick indicates the successful handover of the weapons to their destination in eastern Syria, he said.
Bizarre it may be, but paranoid conspiracy theories are common coin in the deeply divided and conflict-ridden state.
Take a documentary aired by Addounia in December on how French and American film directors had purportedly helped build mock-up Syrian city squares in Qatar to enable Doha-based Al Jazeera TV to film actors staging phony anti-Assad protests.
Such fantasies feed into Assad's narrative that the year-long unrest against him is all a foreign-orchestrated plot.
"We will defeat this conspiracy," he declared in January, pledging to crush what he has cast as terrorism and sabotage.
"Regional and international sides have tried to destabilize the country," the former ophthalmologist said. "We will not be lenient with those who work with outsiders against the country."
Assad, 46, has indeed earned himself some foreign enemies.
Western powers and the Arab League have told him to step aside in a peaceful transition, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have gone further by calling for Syrian rebels to be armed.
Syria expert Joshua Landis of Oklahoma University says conspiracy theories reflect the mistrust between ruling minority Alawites and majority Sunni Muslims who spearhead the revolt.
"How can you expect them to be any less conspiratorial? The sectarian lines of hatred are growing and (Assad) thinks that everyone is a traitor," he said. "This has plagued the country since it was created."
MEDIA WAR
The United Nations says more than 8,000 people have been killed in the uprising, which started peacefully but has turned violent with daily clashes between rebels and security forces.
Paranoia is compounded by the media environment in which Syrians can watch Al Jazeera, which often shows graphic footage of casualties inflicted by security forces, or state-sponsored television, which portrays rebels as blood-crazed terrorists.
In the old city of Damascus, Assad loyalists have laid a poster with the hated Al Jazeera emblem on it along a main walkway for shoppers to trample on.
The uprising has spawned a media war, with both sides fighting to sway public sentiment through online propaganda and conspiracy theories, consigning truth to an ever greyer area.
Britain's Guardian newspaper said last week it had obtained a trove of emails, via anti-Assad activists, in which the president takes advice from Iran on countering the revolt and his wife Asma spends tens of thousands of dollars on internet shopping sprees while Syria descends into bloodletting.
Within hours, Assad loyalists had uploaded videos on YouTube saying that the emails were faked by revolutionaries.
"So these are supposed 'leaks' from the President & First Lady?" a group calling itself the Syrian Truth Network sneered in one video. "Try again later, Guardian."
The government and its opponents traded blame when dozens of people were found dead with their hands tied behind their backs in the city of Homs on March 10. Each side lit up Twitter and Facebook with detailed theories. The facts remain unclear.
Syria's state news agency website SANA said terrorists had killed civilians and then mutilated their corpses, staging a government massacre to vilify Assad's forces. Opposition activists accused Assad loyalists of carrying out the killings.
Independent journalists have repeatedly been denied access into Syria, making it hard to assess conflicting reports.
Many Syrians are befuddled by the claims and counter-claims. "We might not believe pro-government television, but we don't trust the satellite channels either," a Damascus resident said.
Great-great grandmother, 101, breaks paragliding record
A great-great grandmother in America was declared the oldest woman to paraglide tandem on Tuesday after taking to the air to celebrate her 101st birthday. In confirming the feat, Guinness World Records said Mary Allen Hardison's historic flight near Salt Lake City on September 1 last year was "pushing record breaking to new heights."
Hardison, of Ogden, Utah, said she decided to go paragliding after her 75-year-old son Allen took up the sport.
"Just because you are old doesn't mean you have to sit on your duff all day," Hardison told Reuters.
Hardison's flight was cheered on by her great-grandchildren, who have witnessed other such birthday adventures: On her 90th birthday, Hardison rode all the adult rides at Disneyland, and for her next she plans test out a mountain slide in Utah.
She invited other centenarians to break her new record.
"I heard of one fellow that hadn't walked for quite a while and he decided when he heard about me he would walk again. So he got up and started walking again," she said.
"He said if she can do that, I can do this. If I can inspire some of the older people to get up and do something it's well worth it."
Hardison, of Ogden, Utah, said she decided to go paragliding after her 75-year-old son Allen took up the sport.
"Just because you are old doesn't mean you have to sit on your duff all day," Hardison told Reuters.
Hardison's flight was cheered on by her great-grandchildren, who have witnessed other such birthday adventures: On her 90th birthday, Hardison rode all the adult rides at Disneyland, and for her next she plans test out a mountain slide in Utah.
She invited other centenarians to break her new record.
"I heard of one fellow that hadn't walked for quite a while and he decided when he heard about me he would walk again. So he got up and started walking again," she said.
"He said if she can do that, I can do this. If I can inspire some of the older people to get up and do something it's well worth it."
400-pound gorilla escapes, bites zookeeper at Buffalo Zoo
A 400-pound adult male gorilla escaped his cage at the Buffalo Zoo on Monday, biting a female zookeeper before being tranquilized and captured in what a SWAT team leader called, "the scariest thing I've ever done." Zoo officials said Koga, a 24-year-old silverback gorilla, took advantage of an unlocked door in his living quarters on Monday morning and slipped into the space behind it, used by zoo personnel but closed to the public.
A keeper who has cared for Koga since he arrived in 2007 was bitten on her hand and calf, in what officials said was an act of excitement rather than aggression.
"He was probably just as surprised coming face to face with her as she was with him," Buffalo Zoo President Donna Fernandes said.
The keeper, whose name was not released, took refuge inside the habitat of a female gorilla and her newborn baby, Fernandes said. The keeper had a good relationship with the mother who, like Koga, is a West Lowland gorilla, native to West Africa and the Congo River Basin, she said.
Meanwhile, police sent in the SWAT team to secure the area while a veterinarian used a handheld blow pipe to sedate Koga through a porthole.
Visitors to the zoo were moved indoors and stayed there throughout the roughly 45-minute ordeal -- the zoo's first escape, Fernandes said.
"That was the scariest thing I've ever done in my career," said SWAT team captain Mark Maraschiello.
"It's a 400 pound animal that's capable of who knows what. He could rip your arm out of its socket," Maraschiello said.
The sedated gorilla was dragged by zoo staff back to his habitat once the drugs took hold, about 15 minutes after they were administered.
The keeper's decision to lock herself inside the separate habitat likely kept her from being further harmed, according to officials at the zoo. Several locked doors kept Koga from running amok through the zoo and beyond.
Fernandes promised an investigation into how Koga escaped.
"I'm sure it was very dramatic for (the zoo keeper) and for all the keepers. It was pins and needles," she said.
The wounded zookeeper was undergoing an evaluation at a nearby hospital but her injuries were not considered serious.
Koga was born at the Bronx Zoo in New York City and transferred in 1994 to the Memphis Zoo before landing in Buffalo. Fernandes said he has no history of unusual aggression.
A keeper who has cared for Koga since he arrived in 2007 was bitten on her hand and calf, in what officials said was an act of excitement rather than aggression.
"He was probably just as surprised coming face to face with her as she was with him," Buffalo Zoo President Donna Fernandes said.
The keeper, whose name was not released, took refuge inside the habitat of a female gorilla and her newborn baby, Fernandes said. The keeper had a good relationship with the mother who, like Koga, is a West Lowland gorilla, native to West Africa and the Congo River Basin, she said.
Meanwhile, police sent in the SWAT team to secure the area while a veterinarian used a handheld blow pipe to sedate Koga through a porthole.
Visitors to the zoo were moved indoors and stayed there throughout the roughly 45-minute ordeal -- the zoo's first escape, Fernandes said.
"That was the scariest thing I've ever done in my career," said SWAT team captain Mark Maraschiello.
"It's a 400 pound animal that's capable of who knows what. He could rip your arm out of its socket," Maraschiello said.
The sedated gorilla was dragged by zoo staff back to his habitat once the drugs took hold, about 15 minutes after they were administered.
The keeper's decision to lock herself inside the separate habitat likely kept her from being further harmed, according to officials at the zoo. Several locked doors kept Koga from running amok through the zoo and beyond.
Fernandes promised an investigation into how Koga escaped.
"I'm sure it was very dramatic for (the zoo keeper) and for all the keepers. It was pins and needles," she said.
The wounded zookeeper was undergoing an evaluation at a nearby hospital but her injuries were not considered serious.
Koga was born at the Bronx Zoo in New York City and transferred in 1994 to the Memphis Zoo before landing in Buffalo. Fernandes said he has no history of unusual aggression.
Norwegian gains instant fame as taxpayers' everyman
A 36-year-old business consultant became Norway's best known taxpayer this week after the government accidentally displayed his records to everyone who logged onto its tax website. Kenneth Belcovski's name is on every Norwegian taxpayer's lips this week after a glitch on the Norwegian government's 2011 tax website redirected people logging on to check their declarations to a page detailing Belcovski's tax details.
Belcovski's social security number, earnings, mortgage payments and the kinds of other juicy details that will have identity thieves rubbing their hands together were on display.
Although Norwegians are able to check online some of the income details of public figures -- including the king and the prime minister -- the recent breach goes far beyond what is considered acceptable.
Belcovski is now known among Norway's five million inhabitants as "Altinn-Kenneth" - "Altinn" being the tax authority's website.
"Today we are all Kenneth," has become a popular catchprase.
In total some 1,500-2,000 Norwegians who logged on to the system found themselves redirected to Belcovski's tax page.
Belcovski declined to discuss the incident when he was contacted by Reuters.
"I don't have anything else to add to what has been reported," he said.
Tax authorities, who have apologised for the mistake, have suspended access to the tax website until the problem is fixed.
"We are in dialogue with the person, and will do our best to assist him," a Tax Office spokeswoman said.
Belcovski's social security number, earnings, mortgage payments and the kinds of other juicy details that will have identity thieves rubbing their hands together were on display.
Although Norwegians are able to check online some of the income details of public figures -- including the king and the prime minister -- the recent breach goes far beyond what is considered acceptable.
Belcovski is now known among Norway's five million inhabitants as "Altinn-Kenneth" - "Altinn" being the tax authority's website.
"Today we are all Kenneth," has become a popular catchprase.
In total some 1,500-2,000 Norwegians who logged on to the system found themselves redirected to Belcovski's tax page.
Belcovski declined to discuss the incident when he was contacted by Reuters.
"I don't have anything else to add to what has been reported," he said.
Tax authorities, who have apologised for the mistake, have suspended access to the tax website until the problem is fixed.
"We are in dialogue with the person, and will do our best to assist him," a Tax Office spokeswoman said.
North Korean triplets born thanks to "honey tonics"
Impoverished North Korea celebrated the arrival this week of its 415th set of triplets, thanks to infusions of honey tonics and a legacy of care bestowed on triple births by the country, state news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday. The triplets were born to Kim Sun Ok, who works in a shoe factory in capital Pyongyang, and her husband Kim Kyong who works in a factory producing soju, a fiery Korean liquor.
Thanks to the instructions of recently deceased leader Kim Jong-il, KCNA said, special care is afforded to triplets whose mothers are given special maternity care and gifts including clothes, blankets, milk and honey.
"Flowing into her body were honey tonics including the royal jelly honey and the barrenwort honey and various kinds of nutrients," KCNA reported.
The triplets can look forward to more rewards than most of the 22 million North Koreans, whose economy, by some calculations, has only just regained the level it achieved in 1974.
North Korea needs regular aid supplies to feed its population and recently struck a deal with the United States to supply food in exchange for promising to stop its nuclear and missile programs.
Kim lay in hospital for nearly 100 days to ensure the safe delivery of the triplets. KCNA said the first triplets were born in North Korea in 1947.
Thanks to the instructions of recently deceased leader Kim Jong-il, KCNA said, special care is afforded to triplets whose mothers are given special maternity care and gifts including clothes, blankets, milk and honey.
"Flowing into her body were honey tonics including the royal jelly honey and the barrenwort honey and various kinds of nutrients," KCNA reported.
The triplets can look forward to more rewards than most of the 22 million North Koreans, whose economy, by some calculations, has only just regained the level it achieved in 1974.
North Korea needs regular aid supplies to feed its population and recently struck a deal with the United States to supply food in exchange for promising to stop its nuclear and missile programs.
Kim lay in hospital for nearly 100 days to ensure the safe delivery of the triplets. KCNA said the first triplets were born in North Korea in 1947.
Poo for tea: China's pandas brew a top drop
China's national treasure, the giant panda, will become even more precious if one businessman succeeds in using their dung to grow organic green tea he intends to sell for over $200 a cup. An Yanshi, an entrepreneur in southwest China, grows the tea in mountainous Ya'an in Sichuan province using tons of excrement from panda bears living at nearby breeding centers.
The first batch of panda dung tea will be sold in lots of 50 grams that will cost some 22,000 yuan ($3,500) each, a price An said makes it the world's most expensive tea. Most people use about 3 grams of tea per cup.
An defended the steep price, saying he would channel profits from the initial batches into an environmental fund. Future batches would be cheaper, he added.
"I thank heaven and earth for blessing us with this environmental panda tea," the 41-year-old former teacher and journalist said at a weekend event to promote the tea.
"I just want to convey to the people of the world the message of turning waste into something useful, and the culture of recycling and using organic fertilizers."
Dressed in a panda suit to promote his tea, An invited a dozen or so guests to help hand-pick the first batch of tea at his plantation at the weekend.
The fertilizer made the tea a health boon, An said, because pandas only eat wild bamboo and absorb only a fraction of the nutrients in their food.
And pandas make plenty of fertilizer.
"They are like a machine that is churning out organic fertilizer." An said. "They keep eating and they keep producing feces."
"Also, they absorb less than 30 percent of the nutrition from the food, and that means more than 70 percent of the nutrients are passed out in their feces."
After brewing the first pickings, An described the tea as fragrant and smooth. Some of his guests, however, were not impressed.
"It's sold at such a sky-high price, perhaps this is just hype," said 49-year-old Li Ximing. ($1 = 6.3227 Chinese yuan)
The first batch of panda dung tea will be sold in lots of 50 grams that will cost some 22,000 yuan ($3,500) each, a price An said makes it the world's most expensive tea. Most people use about 3 grams of tea per cup.
An defended the steep price, saying he would channel profits from the initial batches into an environmental fund. Future batches would be cheaper, he added.
"I thank heaven and earth for blessing us with this environmental panda tea," the 41-year-old former teacher and journalist said at a weekend event to promote the tea.
"I just want to convey to the people of the world the message of turning waste into something useful, and the culture of recycling and using organic fertilizers."
Dressed in a panda suit to promote his tea, An invited a dozen or so guests to help hand-pick the first batch of tea at his plantation at the weekend.
The fertilizer made the tea a health boon, An said, because pandas only eat wild bamboo and absorb only a fraction of the nutrients in their food.
And pandas make plenty of fertilizer.
"They are like a machine that is churning out organic fertilizer." An said. "They keep eating and they keep producing feces."
"Also, they absorb less than 30 percent of the nutrition from the food, and that means more than 70 percent of the nutrients are passed out in their feces."
After brewing the first pickings, An described the tea as fragrant and smooth. Some of his guests, however, were not impressed.
"It's sold at such a sky-high price, perhaps this is just hype," said 49-year-old Li Ximing. ($1 = 6.3227 Chinese yuan)
Greek parties - and pirates - spring up ahead of election
Greek voters will have a long list of parties to choose from in an election to be held by early May, as new groups spring up on the left and right, including one band of Internet-savvy "Pirates". While many of them will win nowhere near the 3 percent of the vote needed to enter parliament, they can still chip away at support for those backing the international bailout Greece needs to avoid immediate default.
Rebel lawmakers and angry citizens have formed four new parties this week alone, riding a wave of frustration at decades of political cronyism and mismanagement that has plunged Greece into a debt crisis and its deepest recession since World War Two.
One of these groups - the Pirates - is a Greek offshoot of a successful political movement in Sweden and Germany that claims no right- or left-wing allegiance and instead seeks transparent government and greater freedom and privacy of Internet use.
Its members paid 5 euros each on Sunday to cover the costs of an unassuming hotel room where they held their first gathering in Athens.
"I'm dreaming of a different Greece, with different politicians," Dimitris Vagenas, a laid-off airline employee, told the audience of about 40 people, mostly casually dressed 30- to 40-year-old men in the computer business.
The party has registered about 650 members and voted via the Internet this week to stand in the elections.
"We're here to stay," spokesman Anestis Samourkasidis, 42, told Reuters.
SPLINTERS
Nearly a third of all voters plan to abstain or cast blank ballots in the coming election, polls have shown.
The pro-bailout parties, the Socialist PASOK and conservative New Democracy (ND), in a coalition under technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, have seen their support sink to an all-time low of about 36 percent combined.
If that were to drop much more they might fail to win the absolute majority they need in the 300-seat parliament to renew their coalition, even with the 50-seat bonus that goes to the party winning the biggest share of the vote.
Support has surged instead for anti-bailout politicians from the extreme right to the hardline Communist left.
As many as 10 parties may win parliament seats in the next election, twice as many as in the previous 2009 poll.
Lawmakers expelled from PASOK and New Democracy for rejecting the bailout unveiled two other new parties this week.
Panos Kammenos, an outspoken former New Democracy lawmaker unveiled his "Independent Greeks" party on Sunday and is already taking as much as 6.5 percent in some polls.
"The Kammenos party will probably make the 3 percent threshold and enter parliament, hurting ND," pollster Elias Nikolakopoulos told Reuters.
Playing on anti-German feeling which is riding high among Greeks who blame Berlin for their job losses and wage cuts, Kammenos launched his party in Distomo, central Greece, where the dozens of villagers were killed in World War Two.
"We beat them (the Germans) in the war. We'll beat them again in the Fourth Reich they are trying to impose," he said.
Separately, Louka Katseli, a former PASOK labor minister who resisted EU/IMF demands to lower the minimum wage, on Wednesday launched the "Social Pact", a party targeting disgruntled Socialists.
MAJORITY CRUCIAL
Securing a solid majority will be crucial for whatever government emerges from the polls, which in turn will be crucial for the fate of a 130 billion euro bailout the country secured this month, its second since 2010.
The new government must spell out as early as June austerity measures worth another 5.5 percent of GDP, or more than 10 billion euros. That may entail widespread layoffs of civil servants - a move the country has so far avoided.
Still, despite the growing number of challengers, some pollsters expect the two big parties to recover enough strength by election day to win a comfortable majority between them.
"The election result will most probably confirm their dominance," said political analyst George Sefertzis, who expects PASOK and New Democracy to take more than 55 percent of votes between them, garnering about 180 seats.
For one thing, the threat of immediate default if the pro-bailout parties collapse will likely sway voters.
The expected election of Evangelos Venizelos, the popular, energetic finance minister, to the post of PASOK Chairman on March 18 - he runs unopposed in that race - may also revive the party's ratings.
"It's very hard for me to imagine the two parties failing to win an absolute majority," said Nikolakopoulos.
Rebel lawmakers and angry citizens have formed four new parties this week alone, riding a wave of frustration at decades of political cronyism and mismanagement that has plunged Greece into a debt crisis and its deepest recession since World War Two.
One of these groups - the Pirates - is a Greek offshoot of a successful political movement in Sweden and Germany that claims no right- or left-wing allegiance and instead seeks transparent government and greater freedom and privacy of Internet use.
Its members paid 5 euros each on Sunday to cover the costs of an unassuming hotel room where they held their first gathering in Athens.
"I'm dreaming of a different Greece, with different politicians," Dimitris Vagenas, a laid-off airline employee, told the audience of about 40 people, mostly casually dressed 30- to 40-year-old men in the computer business.
The party has registered about 650 members and voted via the Internet this week to stand in the elections.
"We're here to stay," spokesman Anestis Samourkasidis, 42, told Reuters.
SPLINTERS
Nearly a third of all voters plan to abstain or cast blank ballots in the coming election, polls have shown.
The pro-bailout parties, the Socialist PASOK and conservative New Democracy (ND), in a coalition under technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, have seen their support sink to an all-time low of about 36 percent combined.
If that were to drop much more they might fail to win the absolute majority they need in the 300-seat parliament to renew their coalition, even with the 50-seat bonus that goes to the party winning the biggest share of the vote.
Support has surged instead for anti-bailout politicians from the extreme right to the hardline Communist left.
As many as 10 parties may win parliament seats in the next election, twice as many as in the previous 2009 poll.
Lawmakers expelled from PASOK and New Democracy for rejecting the bailout unveiled two other new parties this week.
Panos Kammenos, an outspoken former New Democracy lawmaker unveiled his "Independent Greeks" party on Sunday and is already taking as much as 6.5 percent in some polls.
"The Kammenos party will probably make the 3 percent threshold and enter parliament, hurting ND," pollster Elias Nikolakopoulos told Reuters.
Playing on anti-German feeling which is riding high among Greeks who blame Berlin for their job losses and wage cuts, Kammenos launched his party in Distomo, central Greece, where the dozens of villagers were killed in World War Two.
"We beat them (the Germans) in the war. We'll beat them again in the Fourth Reich they are trying to impose," he said.
Separately, Louka Katseli, a former PASOK labor minister who resisted EU/IMF demands to lower the minimum wage, on Wednesday launched the "Social Pact", a party targeting disgruntled Socialists.
MAJORITY CRUCIAL
Securing a solid majority will be crucial for whatever government emerges from the polls, which in turn will be crucial for the fate of a 130 billion euro bailout the country secured this month, its second since 2010.
The new government must spell out as early as June austerity measures worth another 5.5 percent of GDP, or more than 10 billion euros. That may entail widespread layoffs of civil servants - a move the country has so far avoided.
Still, despite the growing number of challengers, some pollsters expect the two big parties to recover enough strength by election day to win a comfortable majority between them.
"The election result will most probably confirm their dominance," said political analyst George Sefertzis, who expects PASOK and New Democracy to take more than 55 percent of votes between them, garnering about 180 seats.
For one thing, the threat of immediate default if the pro-bailout parties collapse will likely sway voters.
The expected election of Evangelos Venizelos, the popular, energetic finance minister, to the post of PASOK Chairman on March 18 - he runs unopposed in that race - may also revive the party's ratings.
"It's very hard for me to imagine the two parties failing to win an absolute majority," said Nikolakopoulos.
Cashing in on 19th century champagne, 11 bottles for sale
Like smart investors who dispose of their stocks, the government of Aland, a string of islands off the coast of Finland, is selling 11 bottles of antique Champagne from a cache of 145 found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
Divers from Aland stumbled across the Champagne and beer while exploring a shipwreck in July 2010. The owner of the vessel and its destination remain unknown, but the sunken craft and its cargo now belong to the government of Aland.
"We began by selling two bottles of this antique Champagne at an auction last year," Rainer Juslin, head of Aland's Department of Education and Culture, said in a statement announcing the sale.
One of two bottles, a Veuve Clicquot, sold for $43,630, at the auction at New York wine house of Acker, Merrall & Condit, setting a world record price for a single bottle of Champagne.
The French auction house Artcurial, Briest-Poulain-F. Tajan will conduct this year's auction on June 8 at the Alandica Congress & Conference Center in Mariehamn, Aland.
Four bottles of Veuve Clicquot, one bottle of Heidsieck & Co and six bottles of Juglar, a champagne house that ceased to exist in 1829, will go to the highest bidders.
Before their discovery the wines had been kept undisturbed, 150 feet deep in the Baltic at temperatures of 39-43 degrees Fahrenheit (4-6 degrees Celsius) -- perfect wine cellar conditions.
"It tasted sweet, but it had that really crisp acidity that made it so balanced," Ella Grussner Cromwell-Morgan, a sommelier who lives on Aland, said in an interview after tasting several bottles last year.
Veuve-Clicquot dated their bottles from the period around 1841-1850. A couple of bottles have been kept for museums and the proceeds from the sales will be donated to foundations for improving the quality of the water in the Baltic and maritime archeological research, according to the government.
Divers from Aland stumbled across the Champagne and beer while exploring a shipwreck in July 2010. The owner of the vessel and its destination remain unknown, but the sunken craft and its cargo now belong to the government of Aland.
"We began by selling two bottles of this antique Champagne at an auction last year," Rainer Juslin, head of Aland's Department of Education and Culture, said in a statement announcing the sale.
One of two bottles, a Veuve Clicquot, sold for $43,630, at the auction at New York wine house of Acker, Merrall & Condit, setting a world record price for a single bottle of Champagne.
The French auction house Artcurial, Briest-Poulain-F. Tajan will conduct this year's auction on June 8 at the Alandica Congress & Conference Center in Mariehamn, Aland.
Four bottles of Veuve Clicquot, one bottle of Heidsieck & Co and six bottles of Juglar, a champagne house that ceased to exist in 1829, will go to the highest bidders.
Before their discovery the wines had been kept undisturbed, 150 feet deep in the Baltic at temperatures of 39-43 degrees Fahrenheit (4-6 degrees Celsius) -- perfect wine cellar conditions.
"It tasted sweet, but it had that really crisp acidity that made it so balanced," Ella Grussner Cromwell-Morgan, a sommelier who lives on Aland, said in an interview after tasting several bottles last year.
Veuve-Clicquot dated their bottles from the period around 1841-1850. A couple of bottles have been kept for museums and the proceeds from the sales will be donated to foundations for improving the quality of the water in the Baltic and maritime archeological research, according to the government.
Rare bunny crushed to death by cameraman at German zoo
A fawn-colored baby rabbit tipped for fame in Germany as he was born without ears was accidentally trampled and killed by a cameraman who had come to a zoo to film him, German media reported this week. "I can't believe it. The rabbit was so sweet. It is a huge tragedy," zoo manager Uwe Dempewolf told Bild newspaper.
The rabbit, due to be named "Til", had hopped behind the cameraman during filming in his small hay-strewn stall at the zoo in Limbach-Oberfrohna, and was crushed as the cameraman took a step backwards.
Several German animals have become international celebrities in recent years, including polar bear Knut, who was hand-reared as a cub at Berlin Zoo, and Paul, an octopus who correctly predicted the results of each of Germany's World Cup soccer matches and accurately tipped Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final.
Til's death recalls that of another German star-in-the-making, a squirrel named "Cinderella", who died in 2005 after also being trampled on accidentally by a German television reporter.
The rabbit, due to be named "Til", had hopped behind the cameraman during filming in his small hay-strewn stall at the zoo in Limbach-Oberfrohna, and was crushed as the cameraman took a step backwards.
Several German animals have become international celebrities in recent years, including polar bear Knut, who was hand-reared as a cub at Berlin Zoo, and Paul, an octopus who correctly predicted the results of each of Germany's World Cup soccer matches and accurately tipped Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final.
Til's death recalls that of another German star-in-the-making, a squirrel named "Cinderella", who died in 2005 after also being trampled on accidentally by a German television reporter.
U.S. man buried under mound of pinto beans dies
A 56-year-old man was killed when he was buried under a 20-foot (six-meter) mound of pinto beans at a warehouse in eastern Colorado where he worked, police said. Raymond Segura Jr. was pronounced dead at the Brush, Colorado, facility of the Kelley Bean Company on Thursday after efforts to reach him alive were unsuccessful, Morgan County Undersheriff Dave Martin said.
"We moved several tons of beans to get to him," Martin said in a telephone interview.
Martin said emergency personnel were summoned to the site at 11:30 a.m. on reports of a worker trapped in a pile of loose pinto beans.
Martin said dozens of rescue workers and even four inmates from the county jail spent an hour digging through a mound of the legumes to get to the trapped worker, but he was dead when crews reached him.
Segura had worked at the warehouse for between 12 and 15 years, Martin said. The cause of the accident, how the victim became trapped and the exact cause of death are under investigation.
"We moved several tons of beans to get to him," Martin said in a telephone interview.
Martin said emergency personnel were summoned to the site at 11:30 a.m. on reports of a worker trapped in a pile of loose pinto beans.
Martin said dozens of rescue workers and even four inmates from the county jail spent an hour digging through a mound of the legumes to get to the trapped worker, but he was dead when crews reached him.
Segura had worked at the warehouse for between 12 and 15 years, Martin said. The cause of the accident, how the victim became trapped and the exact cause of death are under investigation.
No joke: Italy lawyers strike for better pay, job security
This is not a lawyers joke. Italian lawyers have gone on strike - again - and they say that in their struggle for better working conditions and pay they are looking for inspiration to none other than Mahatma Gandhi, the little lawyer who liberated India. "Lawyers are going through difficult times," said Maurizio De Tilla, president of the United Lawyers Organisation, as he led a protest of about 2,000 lawyers outside one of Rome's main court buildings.
"Out of 230,000 of us, more than 100,000 are in difficulty; we have insecure jobs and we are underpaid," he said, wearing a gold-tasseled, black-and-purple robe and a fluffy white cravat.
Around him, hundreds of other lawyers held up pastel-colored balloons bearing the words "The Constitution" on them.
While the idea of lawyers striking for job security and better pay might raise chuckles elsewhere, Italy's lawyers say they are deadly serious.
At the protest that at times resembled a children's garden party on a warm late winter day, lawyers stood their ground against what they call "savage" plans by Mario Monti's government to increase competition in their profession.
Lawyers' guilds say the reforms will only increase legal costs, undermine the protection of the weak, reduce expertise and unleash an uncontrolled market in fees.
"The reforms worsen the situation rather than improving it and that is absurd," said De Tilla, as a pink balloon floated behind his head.
The lawyers oppose the abolition of minimum fees, which the government says will reduce costs for citizens.
They also oppose plans to extend a fast-track conciliation procedure for minor civil cases -- similar to small claims court in the United States -- which would not require the use of lawyers.
INSPIRED BY GANDHI
De Tilla says most lawyers are idealists, not the stereotypical money grabbers or ambulance chasers.
"Gandhi was a lawyer. We want to imitate his way of protesting - silent, well-mannered, civilized but determined - and we shall not stop until lawyers are given back the role and the profile that they have always had," he said, in tones similar to a summing up speech at a trial.
There were some tense moments later when the lawyers tried to march up the steps of the justice palace and had to be held back by police.
Lawyers are among the most powerful of Italy's lobbies due both to their political influence and their sheer numbers - there are some 230,000 lawyers for 60 million people, compared to 54,000 in France which has a slightly bigger population.
They are by far the biggest profession represented in Italy's parliament and critics say they are only trying to protect what many, including consumer groups, see as entrenched and outdated privileges.
But lawyers believe the deregulation measures will undermine professional standards by cutting the length of probation periods for graduates and allowing businessmen to hold a majority interest in legal practices - raising a conflict of interest and undermining the lawyers' independence.
Italy's consumer groups have condemned strikes by lawyers, who already held a two-day nationwide stoppage last month, during which some of them taped up their mouths.
The consumer lobbies say competition will be good for ordinary Italians and that lawyers have been at least partly to blame for Italy's notoriously snail-paced justice system.
The average time taken to resolve a civil case in Italy is nearly seven-and-a-half years and the average to settle criminal cases through a long appeal process is nearly five years.
There is a backlog of nine million cases, 5.5 million of them civil and the rest criminal. The guilty often escape justice simply because time runs out due to the statute of limitations.
Justice Minister Paola Severino said recently that Italy was the fourth most litigious country in Europe, with 2.8 million new cases brought in 2011.
"Out of 230,000 of us, more than 100,000 are in difficulty; we have insecure jobs and we are underpaid," he said, wearing a gold-tasseled, black-and-purple robe and a fluffy white cravat.
Around him, hundreds of other lawyers held up pastel-colored balloons bearing the words "The Constitution" on them.
While the idea of lawyers striking for job security and better pay might raise chuckles elsewhere, Italy's lawyers say they are deadly serious.
At the protest that at times resembled a children's garden party on a warm late winter day, lawyers stood their ground against what they call "savage" plans by Mario Monti's government to increase competition in their profession.
Lawyers' guilds say the reforms will only increase legal costs, undermine the protection of the weak, reduce expertise and unleash an uncontrolled market in fees.
"The reforms worsen the situation rather than improving it and that is absurd," said De Tilla, as a pink balloon floated behind his head.
The lawyers oppose the abolition of minimum fees, which the government says will reduce costs for citizens.
They also oppose plans to extend a fast-track conciliation procedure for minor civil cases -- similar to small claims court in the United States -- which would not require the use of lawyers.
INSPIRED BY GANDHI
De Tilla says most lawyers are idealists, not the stereotypical money grabbers or ambulance chasers.
"Gandhi was a lawyer. We want to imitate his way of protesting - silent, well-mannered, civilized but determined - and we shall not stop until lawyers are given back the role and the profile that they have always had," he said, in tones similar to a summing up speech at a trial.
There were some tense moments later when the lawyers tried to march up the steps of the justice palace and had to be held back by police.
Lawyers are among the most powerful of Italy's lobbies due both to their political influence and their sheer numbers - there are some 230,000 lawyers for 60 million people, compared to 54,000 in France which has a slightly bigger population.
They are by far the biggest profession represented in Italy's parliament and critics say they are only trying to protect what many, including consumer groups, see as entrenched and outdated privileges.
But lawyers believe the deregulation measures will undermine professional standards by cutting the length of probation periods for graduates and allowing businessmen to hold a majority interest in legal practices - raising a conflict of interest and undermining the lawyers' independence.
Italy's consumer groups have condemned strikes by lawyers, who already held a two-day nationwide stoppage last month, during which some of them taped up their mouths.
The consumer lobbies say competition will be good for ordinary Italians and that lawyers have been at least partly to blame for Italy's notoriously snail-paced justice system.
The average time taken to resolve a civil case in Italy is nearly seven-and-a-half years and the average to settle criminal cases through a long appeal process is nearly five years.
There is a backlog of nine million cases, 5.5 million of them civil and the rest criminal. The guilty often escape justice simply because time runs out due to the statute of limitations.
Justice Minister Paola Severino said recently that Italy was the fourth most litigious country in Europe, with 2.8 million new cases brought in 2011.
Thieves evade lasers to nab Italian shipwreck's bell
Underwater thieves have evaded an array of laser systems that measure millimetric shifts in the Costa Concordia shipwreck and 24-hour surveillance by the Italian coast guard and police to haul off a symbolic booty - the ship's bell.
The giant cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio after hitting a rock on January 13, killing at least 25 people. Seven people are still unaccounted for.
Prosecutors have accused Captain Francesco Schettino of causing the accident by bringing the multi-storey Costa Concordia, which was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, too close to the shore.
Now prosecutors have opened an investigation to find out who filched the modern-day Titanic's bell.
Judicial sources said on Thursday thieves nabbed the ship's bell more than two weeks ago from one of the decks of the Costa Concordia, which is submerged in 8 meters (26 feet) of water.
Investigators suspect more than one person was involved in stealing the heavy bell, etched with the ship's name and 2006, the year it was christened. Ships bells were traditionally used to signal half-hour intervals in a four-hour watch.
"I can only guess that someone took it as a sort of morbid memento," Giglio's mayor, Sergio Ortelli, told Reuters.
"In my mind, the missing bell is of no importance. We have the ship's statue of the Madonna in our church, and that for us has much more symbolic meaning."
Divers recovered the meter-tall plaster statue of the Madonna in January from the ship's chapel and gave the statute to the parish priest of Giglio.
The giant cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio after hitting a rock on January 13, killing at least 25 people. Seven people are still unaccounted for.
Prosecutors have accused Captain Francesco Schettino of causing the accident by bringing the multi-storey Costa Concordia, which was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, too close to the shore.
Now prosecutors have opened an investigation to find out who filched the modern-day Titanic's bell.
Judicial sources said on Thursday thieves nabbed the ship's bell more than two weeks ago from one of the decks of the Costa Concordia, which is submerged in 8 meters (26 feet) of water.
Investigators suspect more than one person was involved in stealing the heavy bell, etched with the ship's name and 2006, the year it was christened. Ships bells were traditionally used to signal half-hour intervals in a four-hour watch.
"I can only guess that someone took it as a sort of morbid memento," Giglio's mayor, Sergio Ortelli, told Reuters.
"In my mind, the missing bell is of no importance. We have the ship's statue of the Madonna in our church, and that for us has much more symbolic meaning."
Divers recovered the meter-tall plaster statue of the Madonna in January from the ship's chapel and gave the statute to the parish priest of Giglio.
Korean, educated and female? Find a matchmaker
If you are thirty-plus and a woman with a masters degree in South Korea, you may need the help of a matchmaker to find love -- and your worried mother may even end up doing the legwork for you. As women in this rich Asian country have become better educated, with five times as many now getting advanced degrees as in 1995, they have also become more choosy and are less likely to settle for the role of meek spouse traditionally expected of Korean women.
"I heard if you are a female with master's degree, it is much harder to arrange a meeting than if you have a bachelors degree because of an unfavorable perception toward 'too smart women' here," said Lee, 24, a college senior in Seoul who wished to be known only by her last name.
The age at which Korean women are getting hitched has risen by an average 4.1 years over the past 20 years to 28.9 years, according to Statistics Korea, and that has created plenty of worried mothers getting things rolling for their daughters.
"My daughter is in her early 30's, an age considered late for marriage here", said a woman in her mid 50s who wished to be identified only by her surname Ahn and who took her daughter to one of the many match-making agencies in Seoul.
"I was worried that if she does not find her match this year, it will be much more difficult to marry in the coming years, so I went to the firm with her and made her join."
At DUO, a matchmaking firm, its 26,000 members can choose between five different membership programs with fees from 1.08 million won ($971) to 8.8 million won.
In a bid to attract clients, the site displays the average annual income of its male and female customers, as well as statistics on their professional standing.
"In a privately set up blind date, you cannot be entirely sure of how much of personal information given to you is accurate," said DUO spokesman Yon Jun.
Critics say the industry prioritizes income, status and materialism. Local wags have coined the phrase "employage" to sum up employment and marriage.
"If your father works in the financial industry or is a high-ranking administrator, you will find your match with similar backgrounds through a matchmaking firm, starting a perfect marriage on the back of parental support," said comedian Choi Hyo-jong, a presenter on a local satirical show called "the Wart's Kindergarten".
Demand appears to only be rising.
Overall, the industry is estimated to be worth 100 billion won ($88.79 million), according to local newspaper Asia Business Daily. This compares to estimates of around 50 billion won in 2005, media said.
Experts said anxiety in tough economic times appeared to be playing a part.
"With increasing uncertainty and anxiety about the future weighing on people, the concept of marriage has become a tool to maintain one's social status," said anthropology professor Kim Hyun-mee at Yonsei University in Seoul. ($1 = 1126.2750 Korean won)
"I heard if you are a female with master's degree, it is much harder to arrange a meeting than if you have a bachelors degree because of an unfavorable perception toward 'too smart women' here," said Lee, 24, a college senior in Seoul who wished to be known only by her last name.
The age at which Korean women are getting hitched has risen by an average 4.1 years over the past 20 years to 28.9 years, according to Statistics Korea, and that has created plenty of worried mothers getting things rolling for their daughters.
"My daughter is in her early 30's, an age considered late for marriage here", said a woman in her mid 50s who wished to be identified only by her surname Ahn and who took her daughter to one of the many match-making agencies in Seoul.
"I was worried that if she does not find her match this year, it will be much more difficult to marry in the coming years, so I went to the firm with her and made her join."
At DUO, a matchmaking firm, its 26,000 members can choose between five different membership programs with fees from 1.08 million won ($971) to 8.8 million won.
In a bid to attract clients, the site displays the average annual income of its male and female customers, as well as statistics on their professional standing.
"In a privately set up blind date, you cannot be entirely sure of how much of personal information given to you is accurate," said DUO spokesman Yon Jun.
Critics say the industry prioritizes income, status and materialism. Local wags have coined the phrase "employage" to sum up employment and marriage.
"If your father works in the financial industry or is a high-ranking administrator, you will find your match with similar backgrounds through a matchmaking firm, starting a perfect marriage on the back of parental support," said comedian Choi Hyo-jong, a presenter on a local satirical show called "the Wart's Kindergarten".
Demand appears to only be rising.
Overall, the industry is estimated to be worth 100 billion won ($88.79 million), according to local newspaper Asia Business Daily. This compares to estimates of around 50 billion won in 2005, media said.
Experts said anxiety in tough economic times appeared to be playing a part.
"With increasing uncertainty and anxiety about the future weighing on people, the concept of marriage has become a tool to maintain one's social status," said anthropology professor Kim Hyun-mee at Yonsei University in Seoul. ($1 = 1126.2750 Korean won)
"Antiques Roadshow" find could fetch $1 million at auction
Five rhinoceros horn cups that had been appraised on the popular television show "Antiques Roadshow" could fetch $1 million when they will be sold at auction next week, Sotheby's said. Douglas Huber, a Vietnam veteran from Oklahoma, had brought his set of Qing Dynasty carved rhinoceros cups, which he started collecting in 1969, to a filming of the show in Tulsa, Oklahoma last year.
Appraiser Lark Mason valued the set of five intricately carved horns at $1 million to $1.5 million -- the highest value in the show's long history.
"They are in superb condition and represent a fine and comprehensive group that showcases the different styles of these extraordinary objects," Sotheby's said in a statement.
The auction house will sell the cups on March 20 in New York at its sale of fine Chinese ceramics and works of art. It has estimated the group will fetch between $700,000 and $1 million, with individual ones estimated as $120,000 to $250,000.
Huber collected the cups over 40 years, including one purchased at Sotheby's in 1977.
Once he heard the television show was coming to his home state he rallied his co-workers to apply for tickets, and scored one of the 3,000 sets issued from among 19,000 applications.
"I have kind of been following prices of rhinoceros horn cups and they kind of skyrocketed," Huber told the Tulsa World newspaper.
"They are being bought up by the Chinese," he added. "I didn't buy them for investment but for the rarity of them and the beauty."
Huber paid about $5,000 total for the cups.
The highlight of the group is an "Eight Immortals" rhinoceros horn cup from the Qing Dynasty, 17th-18th century, which Sotheby's expects to sell for $180,000 to $250,000.
The piece depicts a lively interpretation of the eight immortals welcoming Shoulao, the god of longevity -- a popular birthday motif that is used to wish the recipient a long life filled with blessings, Sotheby's explained.
The cup is similar to many that are in major museum collections.
All five cups will go on public exhibition at the auction house's New York headquarters on Friday.
Appraiser Lark Mason valued the set of five intricately carved horns at $1 million to $1.5 million -- the highest value in the show's long history.
"They are in superb condition and represent a fine and comprehensive group that showcases the different styles of these extraordinary objects," Sotheby's said in a statement.
The auction house will sell the cups on March 20 in New York at its sale of fine Chinese ceramics and works of art. It has estimated the group will fetch between $700,000 and $1 million, with individual ones estimated as $120,000 to $250,000.
Huber collected the cups over 40 years, including one purchased at Sotheby's in 1977.
Once he heard the television show was coming to his home state he rallied his co-workers to apply for tickets, and scored one of the 3,000 sets issued from among 19,000 applications.
"I have kind of been following prices of rhinoceros horn cups and they kind of skyrocketed," Huber told the Tulsa World newspaper.
"They are being bought up by the Chinese," he added. "I didn't buy them for investment but for the rarity of them and the beauty."
Huber paid about $5,000 total for the cups.
The highlight of the group is an "Eight Immortals" rhinoceros horn cup from the Qing Dynasty, 17th-18th century, which Sotheby's expects to sell for $180,000 to $250,000.
The piece depicts a lively interpretation of the eight immortals welcoming Shoulao, the god of longevity -- a popular birthday motif that is used to wish the recipient a long life filled with blessings, Sotheby's explained.
The cup is similar to many that are in major museum collections.
All five cups will go on public exhibition at the auction house's New York headquarters on Friday.
Airport security to passengers: Please leave grenades home
Most airline passengers pack a toothbrush and fresh underwear in their luggage, while others carry land mines, grenade launchers, swords and mortar shells. Not only does the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confiscate four handguns a day among the contraband it takes from airline customers, its agents once seized a stun gun concealed as lipstick and found a dagger hidden inside a hairbrush, according to weekly updates on The TSA blog.
"If I'm going with the weirdest, it would have to be the guy who had all the snakes in his pants," recalled Bob Burns, 41, who writes online for the agency as Blogger Bob.
Some of the deadly weapons are a real threat to airline safety, he said, but in other cases it's simply a matter of cluelessness.
"The first incident occurred at the Miami International Airport (MIA) and involved a gentleman with seven small snakes in his pants ...," Burns wrote in August 2011.
"The passenger was arrested on the federal charge of 'harboring reptiles in an unnatural habitat.' I made that up ... the individual was actually charged with violating the Lacey Act," the blog said, referring to the law that combats trafficking in illegal wildlife, fish and plants.
In a post last month about a western New York airport, he wrote, "Believe it or not, the chainsaw found at Elmira (ELM) was not the problem here. You can travel with your chainsaw as checked luggage, however, gassing it up is the problem. You know... Gas? Highly flammable liquid."
When a 350,000-volt stun gun disguised as a tube of lipstick was found in a carry-on bag Burns wrote, "This particular lipstick is known to leave your lips looking stunning."
Burns used to train security screeners at the Cincinnati airport as part of the newly created TSA, designed to strengthen security of U.S. transportation systems in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
When TSA superiors decided the agency needed a blog, he got the job. Burns also uses the post to refute some of the bad press the TSA gets.
Responding to claims of a cancer cluster among TSA employees at Boston Logan International Airport related to body scanners, he blogged that there is no link.
"In fact, there were no body scanners at BOS when the complaints were filed," he wrote.
The items gathered from passengers are shipped to their homes, used as evidence or sold for revenue for the state, said TSA spokesman Greg Soule.
No figures are available for the number of items seized or people arrested, he said, but the TSA's 60,000 employees are busy most days.
Burns recently signed off on this post: "Paging Captain Ahab: Another spear gun was discovered in a carry-on bag at Newark (EWR). The passenger assumed spear guns were good to go. Nope."
"If I'm going with the weirdest, it would have to be the guy who had all the snakes in his pants," recalled Bob Burns, 41, who writes online for the agency as Blogger Bob.
Some of the deadly weapons are a real threat to airline safety, he said, but in other cases it's simply a matter of cluelessness.
"The first incident occurred at the Miami International Airport (MIA) and involved a gentleman with seven small snakes in his pants ...," Burns wrote in August 2011.
"The passenger was arrested on the federal charge of 'harboring reptiles in an unnatural habitat.' I made that up ... the individual was actually charged with violating the Lacey Act," the blog said, referring to the law that combats trafficking in illegal wildlife, fish and plants.
In a post last month about a western New York airport, he wrote, "Believe it or not, the chainsaw found at Elmira (ELM) was not the problem here. You can travel with your chainsaw as checked luggage, however, gassing it up is the problem. You know... Gas? Highly flammable liquid."
When a 350,000-volt stun gun disguised as a tube of lipstick was found in a carry-on bag Burns wrote, "This particular lipstick is known to leave your lips looking stunning."
Burns used to train security screeners at the Cincinnati airport as part of the newly created TSA, designed to strengthen security of U.S. transportation systems in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
When TSA superiors decided the agency needed a blog, he got the job. Burns also uses the post to refute some of the bad press the TSA gets.
Responding to claims of a cancer cluster among TSA employees at Boston Logan International Airport related to body scanners, he blogged that there is no link.
"In fact, there were no body scanners at BOS when the complaints were filed," he wrote.
The items gathered from passengers are shipped to their homes, used as evidence or sold for revenue for the state, said TSA spokesman Greg Soule.
No figures are available for the number of items seized or people arrested, he said, but the TSA's 60,000 employees are busy most days.
Burns recently signed off on this post: "Paging Captain Ahab: Another spear gun was discovered in a carry-on bag at Newark (EWR). The passenger assumed spear guns were good to go. Nope."
Cows worldwide to mourn superstud Jocko the bull
Dairy cows across the world are mourning the loss of "Jocko", ranked as the world's third most-potent breeding bull, who has died of natural causes leaving behind as many as 400,000 offspring. Jocko Besne had an industrious 17-year career donating some 1.7 million sperm straws that were used in France and abroad to keep alive the Prim'Holstein cattle strain, the main strain of black-and-white milking cow used in France.
"An international star from the Prim'Holstein breed, this bull rose to become an unquestionable reference and ranked third globally in terms of use," said Creavia, the farming cooperative that raised the broad-shouldered beast.
The organization said it believed he had could have spawned between 300,000 and 400,000 offspring. Officially he is credited as being the father of a mere 161,888 cattle in 21 countries as not all nations have kept records.
"In France alone, Jocko Besne's daughters are present in 23,370 farms," Creavia said in a statement.
Born in 1994 at a farm belonging to breeder Gildas Fertil, Jocko was allowed to retire last year and died earlier this month. Rather than becoming prize beef, his body is to be sent to Paris' natural history museum where his prowess will be studied.
"An international star from the Prim'Holstein breed, this bull rose to become an unquestionable reference and ranked third globally in terms of use," said Creavia, the farming cooperative that raised the broad-shouldered beast.
The organization said it believed he had could have spawned between 300,000 and 400,000 offspring. Officially he is credited as being the father of a mere 161,888 cattle in 21 countries as not all nations have kept records.
"In France alone, Jocko Besne's daughters are present in 23,370 farms," Creavia said in a statement.
Born in 1994 at a farm belonging to breeder Gildas Fertil, Jocko was allowed to retire last year and died earlier this month. Rather than becoming prize beef, his body is to be sent to Paris' natural history museum where his prowess will be studied.
No rise in heart deaths after 2008 market crash in LA
The 2008 stock market crash generated a lot of stress, but it did not trigger a spike in heart attack deaths -- at least, not in Los Angeles, according to a study. Past studies have found upswings in heart-related deaths after a stressful mass event, anything from natural disasters such as earthquakes to sports disasters like a home team losing the Super Bowl.
But the current study, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, found no evidence that the October 2008 crash led to a spike in deaths, from heart problems or otherwise, in Los Angeles.
"It was surprising, given what other studies have found," said lead researcher Bryan Schwartz, of the Heart Institute at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles.
What the findings suggested is that while the stock market crash was stressful, it may not have been an intense, personal emotional trigger for most Angelenos, he told Reuters Health.
There is plenty of research suggesting that for people with heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, acute stress can temporarily raise the odds of a cardiac "event" such as a heart attack.
Acute stress can be physical, like sudden heavy exertion, or it can be emotional, Schwartz said, noting that this study did not negate the importance of acute stress in heart risks.
But the stress surrounding the 2008 crash may not have been enough to cause a "population shift" in heart disease deaths, said Robert Kloner, senior researcher on the study.
The researchers set out to investigate a possible relation between a stock market crash and cardiac death in a large population within the United States. Their findings were based on LA county death certificate data and daily stock market figures for 2005 through the end of 2008.
The researchers found no evidence that the October market crash affected death rates, overall or from heart complications specifically. After the crash, deaths remained at or below the seasonal average.
For 2008 overall, the death rate from heart disease in LA was 0.12 percent, slightly lower than the 0.14 percent in 2005.
Their findings contrast to a study in Shanghai, China, where the stock market woes of 2008 were tied to a spike in deaths.
A study published last year by Chinese researchers found that every 100-point change in the Shanghai stock market index during 2007 and 2008 was linked to a five percent rise in heart-related deaths.
But the link may be due to population differences in Shanghai and LA, the researchers said.
In Shanghai, many new investors in China's boom years of 2006 and 2007 were elderly and already at increased risk of heart disease. And unlike LA investors, who typically leave their money in the hands of professionals, Shanghai investors were watching the market themselves, monitoring it daily.
"They were more personally and emotionally involved in it," Schwartz said, speculating that market volatility may have been a bigger risk for Shanghai investors' hearts compared to their LA counterparts.
By contrast, one risk factor for cardiac death did stand out consistently -- winter, even in LA's mild climate.
Holiday stress is often blamed for the effect, but Kloner also recommended maintaining a healthy diet and regular exercise during the winter, when those habits often tend to fall away. Low temperatures can also have potentially risky effects on the cardiovascular system, such as making the blood more prone to clotting. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/wCMwLE
But the current study, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, found no evidence that the October 2008 crash led to a spike in deaths, from heart problems or otherwise, in Los Angeles.
"It was surprising, given what other studies have found," said lead researcher Bryan Schwartz, of the Heart Institute at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles.
What the findings suggested is that while the stock market crash was stressful, it may not have been an intense, personal emotional trigger for most Angelenos, he told Reuters Health.
There is plenty of research suggesting that for people with heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, acute stress can temporarily raise the odds of a cardiac "event" such as a heart attack.
Acute stress can be physical, like sudden heavy exertion, or it can be emotional, Schwartz said, noting that this study did not negate the importance of acute stress in heart risks.
But the stress surrounding the 2008 crash may not have been enough to cause a "population shift" in heart disease deaths, said Robert Kloner, senior researcher on the study.
The researchers set out to investigate a possible relation between a stock market crash and cardiac death in a large population within the United States. Their findings were based on LA county death certificate data and daily stock market figures for 2005 through the end of 2008.
The researchers found no evidence that the October market crash affected death rates, overall or from heart complications specifically. After the crash, deaths remained at or below the seasonal average.
For 2008 overall, the death rate from heart disease in LA was 0.12 percent, slightly lower than the 0.14 percent in 2005.
Their findings contrast to a study in Shanghai, China, where the stock market woes of 2008 were tied to a spike in deaths.
A study published last year by Chinese researchers found that every 100-point change in the Shanghai stock market index during 2007 and 2008 was linked to a five percent rise in heart-related deaths.
But the link may be due to population differences in Shanghai and LA, the researchers said.
In Shanghai, many new investors in China's boom years of 2006 and 2007 were elderly and already at increased risk of heart disease. And unlike LA investors, who typically leave their money in the hands of professionals, Shanghai investors were watching the market themselves, monitoring it daily.
"They were more personally and emotionally involved in it," Schwartz said, speculating that market volatility may have been a bigger risk for Shanghai investors' hearts compared to their LA counterparts.
By contrast, one risk factor for cardiac death did stand out consistently -- winter, even in LA's mild climate.
Holiday stress is often blamed for the effect, but Kloner also recommended maintaining a healthy diet and regular exercise during the winter, when those habits often tend to fall away. Low temperatures can also have potentially risky effects on the cardiovascular system, such as making the blood more prone to clotting. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/wCMwLE
Threatening letters suspect appears in court in Washington state
A man suspected of sending about 100 threatening letters to members of Congress and the media last month made his first appearance on Monday in federal court in Washington state, where a judge ordered him sent back to Oregon. The mass mailing of the menacing envelopes, which were postmarked in Portland and contained a white powdery substance later determined to be harmless, triggered a security alert on Capitol Hill and among several media outlets.
Authorities have yet to discuss a possible motive for the letters.
A federal indictment returned last Friday against Christopher Lee Carlson, 39, charged him with one count of mailing a threatening communication to a member of Congress and one count of mailing a letter threatening to use a biological weapon to a U.S. senator.
If convicted of both offenses, Carlson, who authorities said resided in the vicinity of Portland and its Vancouver, Washington, suburbs, faces a combined maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
He was arrested at his home on Friday. Unshaven and wearing a white T-shirt and Khaki pants for his brief court appearance in Tacoma on Monday, Carlson acknowledged that he understood the charges and waived his right to an identity hearing.
Judge Richard Creatura then signed an order of transfer that will keep Carlson in detention until he is handed over to authorities in Oregon. No further proceedings were immediately scheduled in the case.
The threatening letters began showing up on Capitol Hill and in offices of lawmakers on February 22. A number of media organizations and television shows, including The New York Times, National Public Radio and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," also received such mail.
In 2001, in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, deadly anthrax-laced letters were sent to several news organizations and Senate offices.
Five people were killed and 17 sickened from those letters, which ultimately were traced by federal investigators to a lone U.S. Army scientist who committed suicide in 2008.
Authorities have yet to discuss a possible motive for the letters.
A federal indictment returned last Friday against Christopher Lee Carlson, 39, charged him with one count of mailing a threatening communication to a member of Congress and one count of mailing a letter threatening to use a biological weapon to a U.S. senator.
If convicted of both offenses, Carlson, who authorities said resided in the vicinity of Portland and its Vancouver, Washington, suburbs, faces a combined maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
He was arrested at his home on Friday. Unshaven and wearing a white T-shirt and Khaki pants for his brief court appearance in Tacoma on Monday, Carlson acknowledged that he understood the charges and waived his right to an identity hearing.
Judge Richard Creatura then signed an order of transfer that will keep Carlson in detention until he is handed over to authorities in Oregon. No further proceedings were immediately scheduled in the case.
The threatening letters began showing up on Capitol Hill and in offices of lawmakers on February 22. A number of media organizations and television shows, including The New York Times, National Public Radio and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," also received such mail.
In 2001, in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, deadly anthrax-laced letters were sent to several news organizations and Senate offices.
Five people were killed and 17 sickened from those letters, which ultimately were traced by federal investigators to a lone U.S. Army scientist who committed suicide in 2008.
Chasing cell phone, U.S. teen gets stuck in trash chute
A suburban U.S. teenager had to be rescued from an apartment complex trash chute after accidentally throwing away her cell phone and getting stuck when she tried to retrieve it, police said. The 19-year-old woman from Atlanta, Georgia had ordered food from a fast food restaurant early Sunday and mistakenly dropped her cell phone in the food bag, said Dunwoody, Georgia police spokesman Tim Fecht.
After she threw the bag into the trash chute at the apartment complex she realized her phone was missing. She got stuck as she reached for the bag, Fecht said.
Her friends called police, and fire fighters dislodged her within 10 minutes by moving a dumpster at the end of the chute and pulling her out, said Fecht.
"I've heard of people getting stuck while cleaning the chutes, but taking a swan dive, like in the movies, that's pretty rare," Fecht said.
He said the woman was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries.
After she threw the bag into the trash chute at the apartment complex she realized her phone was missing. She got stuck as she reached for the bag, Fecht said.
Her friends called police, and fire fighters dislodged her within 10 minutes by moving a dumpster at the end of the chute and pulling her out, said Fecht.
"I've heard of people getting stuck while cleaning the chutes, but taking a swan dive, like in the movies, that's pretty rare," Fecht said.
He said the woman was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries.
That's not a salad, it's a symphony
Vendors at the local market in Beijing could be forgiven for thinking that Nan Weidong and Nan Weiping run a restaurant. But the bags stuffed full of vegetables the brothers lug back home are used for a very different purpose -- musical instruments. The two grew up surrounded by vegetables in China's central Anhui province, but their music teacher father encouraged them to learn conventional instruments from a young age. As teenagers, they joined a local theatrical troupe.
But it wasn't until two years ago that they thought of making instruments out of vegetables, an idea that has fascinated them ever since.
They now live and work in a narrow Beijing apartment, drilling holes in carrots, marrows, lotus roots and Chinese yams and testing the pitch against an old electronic tuner -- nibbling silently on the shavings all the while.
A sweet potato becomes a perky ocarina, a bamboo shoot a mellow, reedy flute. A row of carrots tied upright to leeks is transformed into a set of Chinese panpipes.
"The deeper the hole, the lower the pitch. The shallower the hole, the higher the pitch," said pony-tailed Nan Weiping, at age 41 the younger by two years.
"The size of the holes also matters to guarantee the quality of the sound. The leeks only serve as decoration."
But controlling the pitch is extremely difficult, he added, with changes in the air temperature and humidity potentially warping the shape of the holes, putting the notes out of tune.
Their repertoire is as varied as their instruments, ranging from traditional Chinese flute music to Western songs such as Auld Lang Syne.
The two have appeared on numerous talent shows in China and often receive payments of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan ($4,800 to $7,900) for a performance -- their sole income. Each show requires making a whole new set of instruments.
Though the size and shape of the vegetables is important, the utmost importance is placed on freshness, said Nan Weidong.
"If the water content in vegetables evaporates, the tune will become higher than the basic tune, or even out of tune. Therefore we choose vegetables with as much water content as possible," he said.
"The vegetables have to be solid and hard. We can't use vegetables left over for days. They are too soft to be played."
But it wasn't until two years ago that they thought of making instruments out of vegetables, an idea that has fascinated them ever since.
They now live and work in a narrow Beijing apartment, drilling holes in carrots, marrows, lotus roots and Chinese yams and testing the pitch against an old electronic tuner -- nibbling silently on the shavings all the while.
A sweet potato becomes a perky ocarina, a bamboo shoot a mellow, reedy flute. A row of carrots tied upright to leeks is transformed into a set of Chinese panpipes.
"The deeper the hole, the lower the pitch. The shallower the hole, the higher the pitch," said pony-tailed Nan Weiping, at age 41 the younger by two years.
"The size of the holes also matters to guarantee the quality of the sound. The leeks only serve as decoration."
But controlling the pitch is extremely difficult, he added, with changes in the air temperature and humidity potentially warping the shape of the holes, putting the notes out of tune.
Their repertoire is as varied as their instruments, ranging from traditional Chinese flute music to Western songs such as Auld Lang Syne.
The two have appeared on numerous talent shows in China and often receive payments of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan ($4,800 to $7,900) for a performance -- their sole income. Each show requires making a whole new set of instruments.
Though the size and shape of the vegetables is important, the utmost importance is placed on freshness, said Nan Weidong.
"If the water content in vegetables evaporates, the tune will become higher than the basic tune, or even out of tune. Therefore we choose vegetables with as much water content as possible," he said.
"The vegetables have to be solid and hard. We can't use vegetables left over for days. They are too soft to be played."
Vampire books, iPads form new UK inflation benchmark
Tablet computers like Apple's iPad and teenage fiction such as the popular vampire-themed "Twilight" series now form part of Britain's official inflation benchmark, the country's statistics agency said on Tuesday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the new entrants replace items that have fallen out of favor - such as glass casserole dishes used for slow-cooked meals and the cost of developing photographic film.
The ONS samples a vast range of goods each month to track how the prices change due to inflation. The annual revision to its shopping "basket", as Britons' lifestyles change and technology develops, is also a barometer of consumer tastes.
"Tablets have been added as they represent a significant and growing market. Fiction was previously covered by children's and adult books, but with the growing popularity of many titles aimed specifically at teenagers, this new item has been added to the basket," the ONS said.
Technology has been a strong driver of change in the basket, with color film processing being removed as consumers use digital cameras, and tablet PCs added to reflect the popularity of products like Apple's iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Changing palates are also reflected, with pineapples, cans of stout beer such as Guinness, soft continental cheese and take-away chicken and chips all making an appearance.
Last year's CPI changes featured the addition of mobile smartphones and phone apps, as well as dating agency fees.
The ONS samples a vast range of goods each month to track how the prices change due to inflation. The annual revision to its shopping "basket", as Britons' lifestyles change and technology develops, is also a barometer of consumer tastes.
"Tablets have been added as they represent a significant and growing market. Fiction was previously covered by children's and adult books, but with the growing popularity of many titles aimed specifically at teenagers, this new item has been added to the basket," the ONS said.
Technology has been a strong driver of change in the basket, with color film processing being removed as consumers use digital cameras, and tablet PCs added to reflect the popularity of products like Apple's iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Changing palates are also reflected, with pineapples, cans of stout beer such as Guinness, soft continental cheese and take-away chicken and chips all making an appearance.
Last year's CPI changes featured the addition of mobile smartphones and phone apps, as well as dating agency fees.
Chasing cell phone, U.S. teen gets stuck in trash chute
A suburban U.S. teenager had to be rescued from an apartment complex trash chute after accidentally throwing away her cell phone and getting stuck when she tried to retrieve it, police said. The 19-year-old woman from Atlanta, Georgia had ordered food from a fast food restaurant early Sunday and mistakenly dropped her cell phone in the food bag, said Dunwoody, Georgia police spokesman Tim Fecht.
After she threw the bag into the trash chute at the apartment complex she realized her phone was missing. She got stuck as she reached for the bag, Fecht said.
Her friends called police, and fire fighters dislodged her within 10 minutes by moving a dumpster at the end of the chute and pulling her out, said Fecht.
"I've heard of people getting stuck while cleaning the chutes, but taking a swan dive, like in the movies, that's pretty rare," Fecht said.
He said the woman was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries.
After she threw the bag into the trash chute at the apartment complex she realized her phone was missing. She got stuck as she reached for the bag, Fecht said.
Her friends called police, and fire fighters dislodged her within 10 minutes by moving a dumpster at the end of the chute and pulling her out, said Fecht.
"I've heard of people getting stuck while cleaning the chutes, but taking a swan dive, like in the movies, that's pretty rare," Fecht said.
He said the woman was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries.
China's faux Bordeaux stirs wine market
Master of Wine Jeannie Cho Lee could tell instantly when she tasted fake wine at a Hong Kong dinner party. "Just from colour and the nose, once you taste it, it was confirmation that it wasn't the genuine wine," she said.
But not everyone possesses Lee's acumen. China's booming appetite for fine wine in recent years has fueled a rampant counterfeit market that industry insiders fear could be turning local buyers off.
"What we're seeing across the country is a proliferation of knock-offs and copycats and outright counterfeit as the imported wine industry really explodes in this market," said Ian Ford of Summergate Fine Wines in Shanghai, adding that counterfeiters are taking advantage of inexperienced Chinese consumers.
China has become the world's fifth-largest consumer of wine, ahead of Britain, according to an International Wine and Spirit Research study. It forecasts 54 percent growth from 2011 to 2015 -- the equivalent of a billion more bottles.
That means supply and demand in the Chinese market can have a significant impact on global prices.
The cost of high-end wines was down more than 20 percent year-on-year in late February, according to the Liv-ex 50 Index, which tracks Bordeaux wines. The plunge has been attributed to a range of factors, including a pull-back following a strong surge in prices and market turmoil in Europe.
Some believe fake wine may have played a role by denting Chinese consumers' confidence in the product.
"It has definitely been a contributing factor because there has been a drop-off in demand for some of the wines which have been particularly affected by counterfeits -- for example Lafite Rothschild," says Thomas Gearing of Cult Wines, a London wine investment firm.
"As someone has their fingers burnt by buying counterfeit wine, they are going to lose their desire to continually buy that wine."
But not everyone possesses Lee's acumen. China's booming appetite for fine wine in recent years has fueled a rampant counterfeit market that industry insiders fear could be turning local buyers off.
"What we're seeing across the country is a proliferation of knock-offs and copycats and outright counterfeit as the imported wine industry really explodes in this market," said Ian Ford of Summergate Fine Wines in Shanghai, adding that counterfeiters are taking advantage of inexperienced Chinese consumers.
China has become the world's fifth-largest consumer of wine, ahead of Britain, according to an International Wine and Spirit Research study. It forecasts 54 percent growth from 2011 to 2015 -- the equivalent of a billion more bottles.
That means supply and demand in the Chinese market can have a significant impact on global prices.
The cost of high-end wines was down more than 20 percent year-on-year in late February, according to the Liv-ex 50 Index, which tracks Bordeaux wines. The plunge has been attributed to a range of factors, including a pull-back following a strong surge in prices and market turmoil in Europe.
Some believe fake wine may have played a role by denting Chinese consumers' confidence in the product.
"It has definitely been a contributing factor because there has been a drop-off in demand for some of the wines which have been particularly affected by counterfeits -- for example Lafite Rothschild," says Thomas Gearing of Cult Wines, a London wine investment firm.
"As someone has their fingers burnt by buying counterfeit wine, they are going to lose their desire to continually buy that wine."
Threatening letters suspect appears in court in Washington state
A man suspected of sending about 100 threatening letters to members of Congress and the media last month made his first appearance on Monday in federal court in Washington state, where a judge ordered him sent back to Oregon.
The mass mailing of the menacing envelopes, which were postmarked in Portland and contained a white powdery substance later determined to be harmless, triggered a security alert on Capitol Hill and among several media outlets.
Authorities have yet to discuss a possible motive for the letters.
A federal indictment returned last Friday against Christopher Lee Carlson, 39, charged him with one count of mailing a threatening communication to a member of Congress and one count of mailing a letter threatening to use a biological weapon to a U.S. senator.
If convicted of both offenses, Carlson, who authorities said resided in the vicinity of Portland and its Vancouver, Washington, suburbs, faces a combined maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
He was arrested at his home on Friday. Unshaven and wearing a white T-shirt and Khaki pants for his brief court appearance in Tacoma on Monday, Carlson acknowledged that he understood the charges and waived his right to an identity hearing.
Judge Richard Creatura then signed an order of transfer that will keep Carlson in detention until he is handed over to authorities in Oregon. No further proceedings were immediately scheduled in the case.
The threatening letters began showing up on Capitol Hill and in offices of lawmakers on February 22. A number of media organizations and television shows, including The New York Times, National Public Radio and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," also received such mail.
In 2001, in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, deadly anthrax-laced letters were sent to several news organizations and Senate offices.
Five people were killed and 17 sickened from those letters, which ultimately were traced by federal investigators to a lone U.S. Army scientist who committed suicide in 2008.
The mass mailing of the menacing envelopes, which were postmarked in Portland and contained a white powdery substance later determined to be harmless, triggered a security alert on Capitol Hill and among several media outlets.
Authorities have yet to discuss a possible motive for the letters.
A federal indictment returned last Friday against Christopher Lee Carlson, 39, charged him with one count of mailing a threatening communication to a member of Congress and one count of mailing a letter threatening to use a biological weapon to a U.S. senator.
If convicted of both offenses, Carlson, who authorities said resided in the vicinity of Portland and its Vancouver, Washington, suburbs, faces a combined maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
He was arrested at his home on Friday. Unshaven and wearing a white T-shirt and Khaki pants for his brief court appearance in Tacoma on Monday, Carlson acknowledged that he understood the charges and waived his right to an identity hearing.
Judge Richard Creatura then signed an order of transfer that will keep Carlson in detention until he is handed over to authorities in Oregon. No further proceedings were immediately scheduled in the case.
The threatening letters began showing up on Capitol Hill and in offices of lawmakers on February 22. A number of media organizations and television shows, including The New York Times, National Public Radio and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," also received such mail.
In 2001, in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, deadly anthrax-laced letters were sent to several news organizations and Senate offices.
Five people were killed and 17 sickened from those letters, which ultimately were traced by federal investigators to a lone U.S. Army scientist who committed suicide in 2008.
France's Sarkozy "sorry" for tomato attack: source
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has apologized in person to a policewoman who said she was the victim of a tomato attack involving the president's teenage son, a police official said on Sunday. The suspects, who hurled a tomato and a marble at the officer from the presidential palace last Thursday, were narrowed down to 15-year-old Louis Sarkozy and a friend he was with at the time, the official told Reuters.
"She said she saw a child's face at the window, without being able to say for sure whether it was Louis," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sarkozy is seeking to recover from the worst poll scores of any modern-day French President seeking re-election and the incident marks another potentially embarrassing hiccup in his flagging campaign.
Last week, Sarkozy's entourage was pummeled with eggs and scrunched-up political tracts on a campaign stop in the southern town of Bayonne.
A spokeswoman for the Elysee Palace declined to comment.
The young Louis is not the only Sarkozy offspring to have made headlines in France.
Pierre Sarkozy, the president's 26-year-old, rap-loving DJ son, caused a stir in January when he had to be flown home in a government plane from Ukraine where he was due to play a concert, after an apparent bout of food poisoning.
"She said she saw a child's face at the window, without being able to say for sure whether it was Louis," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sarkozy is seeking to recover from the worst poll scores of any modern-day French President seeking re-election and the incident marks another potentially embarrassing hiccup in his flagging campaign.
Last week, Sarkozy's entourage was pummeled with eggs and scrunched-up political tracts on a campaign stop in the southern town of Bayonne.
A spokeswoman for the Elysee Palace declined to comment.
The young Louis is not the only Sarkozy offspring to have made headlines in France.
Pierre Sarkozy, the president's 26-year-old, rap-loving DJ son, caused a stir in January when he had to be flown home in a government plane from Ukraine where he was due to play a concert, after an apparent bout of food poisoning.
Smoking Slovak children burn down castle
Two Slovak children were suspected of burning down a large gothic castle in eastern Slovakia when their experimentation with smoking went wrong, police said on Sunday. Police were investigating two boys on suspicion that they set grass at the foot of the Krasna Horka castle on fire on Saturday when they tried to light up cigarettes, said Jana Mesarova, police spokeswoman for the eastern Slovak region of Kosice. Children under the age of 15 cannot be prosecuted in Slovakia.
"A unit sent to the site found that two local boys aged 11 and 12 were trying to light up a cigarette and because of careless use of safety matches, they set grass at the castle hill on fire," Mesarova said.
The castle subsequently caught fire and emergency services deployed 84 firefighters to the scene.
The Slovak National Museum wrote on its Facebook page that damage to the castle was extensive but about 90 percent of historical collections were saved, including contemporary photographs of furnished castle premises from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, oil paintings and various ornaments.
"The castle's roof burned down completely, as well as the new exhibition in the gothic palace and the bell tower. Three bells melted," the museum said.
The castle, near the UNESCO-protected Domica Cave, dates back to the early 14th century.
"A unit sent to the site found that two local boys aged 11 and 12 were trying to light up a cigarette and because of careless use of safety matches, they set grass at the castle hill on fire," Mesarova said.
The castle subsequently caught fire and emergency services deployed 84 firefighters to the scene.
The Slovak National Museum wrote on its Facebook page that damage to the castle was extensive but about 90 percent of historical collections were saved, including contemporary photographs of furnished castle premises from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, oil paintings and various ornaments.
"The castle's roof burned down completely, as well as the new exhibition in the gothic palace and the bell tower. Three bells melted," the museum said.
The castle, near the UNESCO-protected Domica Cave, dates back to the early 14th century.
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