For Memorial Day weekend, let's take a tour of Arlington National Cemetery.
1. John F. Kennedy's grave is one of the cemetery's most-visited spots. But one other president is buried in Arlington. Who is it?
a) Theodore Roosevelt
b) Ronald Reagan
c) William Howard Taft
d) Dwight D. Eisenhower
2. Though the cemetery was established during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln is not buried there, though one of his sons is. Which one?
a) Robert Todd Lincoln
b) Edward Baker Lincoln
c) William Wallace Lincoln
d) Thomas "Tad" Lincoln
3. The graves of four chief justices of the United States are in Arlington. Pick the chief who is not there.
a) Warren Burger
b) John Marshall
c) William Rehnquist
d) William Howard Taft
e) Earl Warren
4. Eight associate justices are in Arlington, butonly one of the names on this list. Which one?
a) Felix Frankfurter
b) Louis Brandeis
c) Owen J. Roberts
d) Thurgood Marshall
5. This civil rights leader was buried here after he was shot outside his home in 1963.
a) Martin Luther King Jr.
b) Fred Hampton
c) Medgar Evers
d) Malcolm X
6. He was selected by President Franklin Roosevelt and General of the Army George C. Marshall as the first black general in the U.S. military in 1940.
a) Daniel "Chappie" James
b) Benjamin O. Davis Sr.
c) Roscoe Robinson Jr.
d) Alexander T. Augusta
7. In 1898, she became the first female Army surgeon.
a) Anita Newcomb McGee
b) Ollie Josephine B. Bennett
c) Juanita Hipps
d) Juliet Opie Hopkins
8. Two of the three victims of the 1967 Apollo spacecraft fire are in Arlington. Which of the three is buried at West Point?
a) Roger B. Chaffee
b) Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
c) Edward H. White
9. Army physician who established that yellow fever is transmitted by a species of mosquito.
a) Leonard Wood
b) Philip Sheridan
c) Jonathan Letterman
d) Walter Reed
10. Arlington grew around the former home of Robert E. Lee, yet it took until this year for Congress to authorize a section of Arlington for burial of Confederate dead.
a) 1870 b) 1880
c) 1890 d) 1900
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Answers : 1. c ; 2. a ; 3. b ; 4. d ; 5. c ; 6. b ; 7. a ;8. c ; 9. d ; 10. d
Monday, May 28, 2012
Mexican mother arrested after son's eyes gouged out
A mother in Mexico has been arrested on suspicion of gouging out the eyes of her 5-year-old son during a ceremony.
Police said on Thursday they had arrested seven people, including the boy's parents, after his eyeballs were pulled out during the ritual in Nezahualcoyotl, a working-class neighborhood on the eastern flank of Mexico City.
"There was some kind of ceremony inside a house," said Laura Uribe, a spokeswoman for state prosecutors in the State of Mexico, a populous region that borders much of the capital.
She did not give details of what the ritual involved.
The mother is believed to have removed the eyes with her bare hands because the boy refused to close them during the ceremony, police told a news conference.
Officers found the mutilated boy in the house on Thursday morning, before rushing him to a hospital in Mexico City for treatment.
Police said on Thursday they had arrested seven people, including the boy's parents, after his eyeballs were pulled out during the ritual in Nezahualcoyotl, a working-class neighborhood on the eastern flank of Mexico City.
"There was some kind of ceremony inside a house," said Laura Uribe, a spokeswoman for state prosecutors in the State of Mexico, a populous region that borders much of the capital.
She did not give details of what the ritual involved.
The mother is believed to have removed the eyes with her bare hands because the boy refused to close them during the ceremony, police told a news conference.
Officers found the mutilated boy in the house on Thursday morning, before rushing him to a hospital in Mexico City for treatment.
South Africa painting debate exposes racial rifts
South Africa's ruling ANC went to court on Thursday seeking to remove from public display a painting of President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed, saying the work is symbolic of the lingering racial oppression of apartheid.
Proceedings were halted after a bizzare scene where Gcina Malindi, lawyer for the ANC, broke down in tears when a judge asked him how the court can halt viewing of an image widely distributed on the Internet.
The portrait shows Zuma in a pose mimicking Soviet-era posters of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, chest thrust out, arm raised to the side, coat tail flowing in the wind.
It has stirred one of the country's most heated political debates in years with a divide growing on racial lines over whether the image is symbolic of Zuma's failings or demeans the dignity of an African leader.
"From where I am sitting, that picture is racist. It is disrespectful. It is crude and it is rude," Gwede Mantashe, the secretary-general of the African National Congress told Reuters this week.
"The more black South Africans forgive and forget, the more they get a kick in the teeth," he said.
The former liberation movement ANC came to office 18 years ago when apartheid ended, pledging to end the economic inequalities that grew out of decades of white minority rule.
BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT
But its record has been spotty, with many in the ANC blaming white capitalists for not doing enough to transform Africa's largest economy, while a growing cross section blames the ANC for enriching itself and allies at the expense of taxpayers.
According to Statistics South Africa, 29 percent of blacks are unemployed compared with 5.9 percent of whites, while IHS Global Insight, an economic consultancy, estimates that whites have an average income nearly seven times that of blacks.
"The response by ANC follows a pattern seen in the past where criticism of the party by white people is said to be racist, instead of dealing with the issue," said Lucy Holborn, research manager at South African Institute of Race Relations.
The artist of the portrait, Brett Murray, is a white, anti-apartheid activist who once used his work to lampoon the rulers of the white-minority regime.
But he turned into an ANC enemy with the Zuma portrait that was part of an exhibit in Johannesburg gallery called "Hail to the Thief", which lampooned growing corruption under ANC rule.
Tension was heightened when the painting was defaced this week by a white man - peacefully taken into custody by security guards - and a black man who was head butted and body slammed by a guard. The defaced painting has been removed from public view.
Adding to the mix is that Zuma, a polygamist married six times and father of 21 children, has been a polarizing figure seen as having a colorful personal life but an ineffectual leader of the continent's top economic power.
"This is a constitutional democracy, not a monarchy. Respect is earned, and very few would say that the president has earned our respect given his lifestyle," political analyst Justice Malala wrote in an opinion piece for Britain's Guardian newspaper.
Proceedings were halted after a bizzare scene where Gcina Malindi, lawyer for the ANC, broke down in tears when a judge asked him how the court can halt viewing of an image widely distributed on the Internet.
The portrait shows Zuma in a pose mimicking Soviet-era posters of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, chest thrust out, arm raised to the side, coat tail flowing in the wind.
It has stirred one of the country's most heated political debates in years with a divide growing on racial lines over whether the image is symbolic of Zuma's failings or demeans the dignity of an African leader.
"From where I am sitting, that picture is racist. It is disrespectful. It is crude and it is rude," Gwede Mantashe, the secretary-general of the African National Congress told Reuters this week.
"The more black South Africans forgive and forget, the more they get a kick in the teeth," he said.
The former liberation movement ANC came to office 18 years ago when apartheid ended, pledging to end the economic inequalities that grew out of decades of white minority rule.
BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT
But its record has been spotty, with many in the ANC blaming white capitalists for not doing enough to transform Africa's largest economy, while a growing cross section blames the ANC for enriching itself and allies at the expense of taxpayers.
According to Statistics South Africa, 29 percent of blacks are unemployed compared with 5.9 percent of whites, while IHS Global Insight, an economic consultancy, estimates that whites have an average income nearly seven times that of blacks.
"The response by ANC follows a pattern seen in the past where criticism of the party by white people is said to be racist, instead of dealing with the issue," said Lucy Holborn, research manager at South African Institute of Race Relations.
The artist of the portrait, Brett Murray, is a white, anti-apartheid activist who once used his work to lampoon the rulers of the white-minority regime.
But he turned into an ANC enemy with the Zuma portrait that was part of an exhibit in Johannesburg gallery called "Hail to the Thief", which lampooned growing corruption under ANC rule.
Tension was heightened when the painting was defaced this week by a white man - peacefully taken into custody by security guards - and a black man who was head butted and body slammed by a guard. The defaced painting has been removed from public view.
Adding to the mix is that Zuma, a polygamist married six times and father of 21 children, has been a polarizing figure seen as having a colorful personal life but an ineffectual leader of the continent's top economic power.
"This is a constitutional democracy, not a monarchy. Respect is earned, and very few would say that the president has earned our respect given his lifestyle," political analyst Justice Malala wrote in an opinion piece for Britain's Guardian newspaper.
Mountain lion wanders into California city center, is killed
A mountain lion ventured into the center of a crowded Southern California city on Tuesday, and was shot and killed when authorities had trouble corralling the animal in the courtyard of a building, police said.
It was not immediately clear how the 3-year-old mountain lion weighing about 75 pounds (34 kg) ended up in the middle of the beachside city of Santa Monica, which lies just west of Los Angeles.
Police received a call from a janitor who spotted the predator at about sunrise, a block away from a pedestrian thoroughfare called the Third Street Promenade that during the day is filled with shoppers and street performers.
The giant cat ended up in the courtyard of a building a few hundred feet from a bluff overlooking the beach, with Santa Monica police officers and California Department of Fish and Game wardens at the scene.
"A variety of means were used to try to keep the animal back inside the courtyard area," Santa Monica police spokesman Lieutenant Robert Almada said.
"We deployed less-lethal pepper ball, we deployed fire hoses, and the animal continued to charge in (an) attempt to flee out of the courtyard. Regrettably, the animal was euthanized in order to protect public safety."
Santa Monica police Lieutenant Calisse Lindsey said it was the first time she could remember such an incident in her 24 years in the department.
The densely populated city is several miles south of the Santa Monica Mountains, an area that is home to many different kinds of wildlife including mountain lions.
Madeline Bernstein, president of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles, said her organization was "dismayed" with the killing of the mountain lion.
"Basically, they agitated and frightened a cornered cat before they killed her," she said.
It was not immediately clear how the 3-year-old mountain lion weighing about 75 pounds (34 kg) ended up in the middle of the beachside city of Santa Monica, which lies just west of Los Angeles.
Police received a call from a janitor who spotted the predator at about sunrise, a block away from a pedestrian thoroughfare called the Third Street Promenade that during the day is filled with shoppers and street performers.
The giant cat ended up in the courtyard of a building a few hundred feet from a bluff overlooking the beach, with Santa Monica police officers and California Department of Fish and Game wardens at the scene.
"A variety of means were used to try to keep the animal back inside the courtyard area," Santa Monica police spokesman Lieutenant Robert Almada said.
"We deployed less-lethal pepper ball, we deployed fire hoses, and the animal continued to charge in (an) attempt to flee out of the courtyard. Regrettably, the animal was euthanized in order to protect public safety."
Santa Monica police Lieutenant Calisse Lindsey said it was the first time she could remember such an incident in her 24 years in the department.
The densely populated city is several miles south of the Santa Monica Mountains, an area that is home to many different kinds of wildlife including mountain lions.
Madeline Bernstein, president of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles, said her organization was "dismayed" with the killing of the mountain lion.
"Basically, they agitated and frightened a cornered cat before they killed her," she said.
Phony "dying bride" ordered to repay victims
A New York bride who faked having terminal cancer to swindle well-wishers into funding her dream wedding and honeymoon to the Caribbean on Wednesday was ordered to repay more than $13,000 to her victims, prosecutors said.
Jessica Vega, 25, pleaded guilty last month to fraud and forgery charges for deceiving people in the Hudson Valley area of New York into thinking she had only a few months to live, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said. Moved by her tale, individuals and businesses donated thousands of dollars to pay for her wedding in May 2010 and her honeymoon in Aruba.
Her scheme unraveled after her husband, Michael O'Connell, contacted the Times Herald-Record in Orange County to say his bride had faked her illness. He was not charged, and the couple have since divorced, although the Times Herald-Record reported he was there to pick her up from jail on Wednesday.
"To prey on people's emotions by pretending to have a terminal illness is unconscionable," Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a statement. "I am pleased that the community members, who felt so compelled to generously help a neighbor in need, will be given back their hard-earned money."
Besides repaying $13,368.48 to her victims, Vega was sentenced to time already served in jail, must do 300 hours of community service and serve five years on probation. She spent eight weeks in jail before her release on Wednesday.
Vega agreed to hand over the money to repay the nine known victims ahead of her sentencing on Wednesday in the hope of receiving a more lenient sentence, and the checks are due to be sent out to her victims over the coming week, a spokeswoman for the attorney general said.
An attorney for Vega did not immediately respond to queries.
Jessica Vega, 25, pleaded guilty last month to fraud and forgery charges for deceiving people in the Hudson Valley area of New York into thinking she had only a few months to live, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said. Moved by her tale, individuals and businesses donated thousands of dollars to pay for her wedding in May 2010 and her honeymoon in Aruba.
Her scheme unraveled after her husband, Michael O'Connell, contacted the Times Herald-Record in Orange County to say his bride had faked her illness. He was not charged, and the couple have since divorced, although the Times Herald-Record reported he was there to pick her up from jail on Wednesday.
"To prey on people's emotions by pretending to have a terminal illness is unconscionable," Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a statement. "I am pleased that the community members, who felt so compelled to generously help a neighbor in need, will be given back their hard-earned money."
Besides repaying $13,368.48 to her victims, Vega was sentenced to time already served in jail, must do 300 hours of community service and serve five years on probation. She spent eight weeks in jail before her release on Wednesday.
Vega agreed to hand over the money to repay the nine known victims ahead of her sentencing on Wednesday in the hope of receiving a more lenient sentence, and the checks are due to be sent out to her victims over the coming week, a spokeswoman for the attorney general said.
An attorney for Vega did not immediately respond to queries.
Are sweaty brokers more ethical?
If you want to know how ethical your broker is, give them a moral dilemma and see how much they sweat before deciding what to do.
It's quite a jump from the laboratory to real-world decisions about asset management but British researchers have found that gut feeling can override rational thought when people are faced with financial offers that look unfair.
Even when we could benefit, a physical response like sweating can make people reject a financial proposition they consider to be unjust. The key is how tuned in they are to their own bodies.
Researchers from the University of Exeter, the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and the University of Cambridge, gave 51 people a series of offers based on dividing 10 pounds ($16) between two people. They found that although an offer to split the money 50:50 was mostly accepted, an offer of less than a 'fair share' was often rejected, even though rejecting it left them with nothing.
The game, a version of a well-known psychological test called the Ultimatum Game, showed gut reactions, especially made under time pressure with incomplete information, can lead to decisions that are irrational from a purely economic perspective.
The researchers measured how much participants sweated through their fingertips and how much their heart rate changed.
Clinical psychologist Barney Dunn, who led the study, told Reuters that participants were also tested on how accurately they could monitor their physical responses by counting their own heartbeats. Those who were most accurate were more prone to having their bodies dictate their decisions in the game.
"It's a bizarre finding but it's very robust," said Dunn.
It's uncontroversial to say that thoughts trigger responses in your body but the research, published on Tuesday in the journal Cognitive Affective and Behavioural Neuroscience, adds to growing evidence that our bodies can sometimes govern how we think and feel, rather than the other way round.
"Humans are highly attuned to unfairness and we are sometimes required to weigh up the demands of maintaining justice with preserving our own economic self-interest," said Dunn. "At a time when ideas of fairness in the financial sector - from bankers' bonuses to changes to pension schemes - are being widely debated, it is important to recognize why some individuals rebel against perceived unfairness, whereas other people are prepared to accept the status quo."
Once you know how ethical your broker is, the next decision is whether they will make you the most money, of course. ($1 = 0.6326 British pounds)
It's quite a jump from the laboratory to real-world decisions about asset management but British researchers have found that gut feeling can override rational thought when people are faced with financial offers that look unfair.
Even when we could benefit, a physical response like sweating can make people reject a financial proposition they consider to be unjust. The key is how tuned in they are to their own bodies.
Researchers from the University of Exeter, the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and the University of Cambridge, gave 51 people a series of offers based on dividing 10 pounds ($16) between two people. They found that although an offer to split the money 50:50 was mostly accepted, an offer of less than a 'fair share' was often rejected, even though rejecting it left them with nothing.
The game, a version of a well-known psychological test called the Ultimatum Game, showed gut reactions, especially made under time pressure with incomplete information, can lead to decisions that are irrational from a purely economic perspective.
The researchers measured how much participants sweated through their fingertips and how much their heart rate changed.
Clinical psychologist Barney Dunn, who led the study, told Reuters that participants were also tested on how accurately they could monitor their physical responses by counting their own heartbeats. Those who were most accurate were more prone to having their bodies dictate their decisions in the game.
"It's a bizarre finding but it's very robust," said Dunn.
It's uncontroversial to say that thoughts trigger responses in your body but the research, published on Tuesday in the journal Cognitive Affective and Behavioural Neuroscience, adds to growing evidence that our bodies can sometimes govern how we think and feel, rather than the other way round.
"Humans are highly attuned to unfairness and we are sometimes required to weigh up the demands of maintaining justice with preserving our own economic self-interest," said Dunn. "At a time when ideas of fairness in the financial sector - from bankers' bonuses to changes to pension schemes - are being widely debated, it is important to recognize why some individuals rebel against perceived unfairness, whereas other people are prepared to accept the status quo."
Once you know how ethical your broker is, the next decision is whether they will make you the most money, of course. ($1 = 0.6326 British pounds)
Fired for being "too hot," New Jersey woman claims
A New Jersey woman said on Monday that she was dismissed from a temporary job at a New York lingerie warehouse because her male employers felt she was too busty and dressed too provocatively for the workplace.
Wearing a form-fitting sequined black dress and black leather, sequin-studded boots, Lauren Odes, 29, said her Orthodox Jewish employers at Native Intimates told her that outfit and others like it were "too hot" for the warehouse.
"We should not be judged by the size of our breasts or the shape of our body," Odes said.
Odes's attorney, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, said she filed a gender and religious discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in New York.
Odes said she felt her wardrobe was appropriate for a business that sells "thongs with hearts placed in the female genital area and boy shorts for women that say 'hot' in the buttocks area."
Media photographers climbed on chairs and crashed into each other as Odes held a pose and Allred held up a series of purple, black and brown outfits she said also led to the woman's dismissal.
Odes said that on successive days during her week-long employment in late April she was warned that her attire was too alluring, that her breasts should be taped down to make them look smaller, and that she was asked to wear a red bathrobe to cover one outfit.
"This whole experience has been horrifying to me," she told reporters. "I love fashion and I always will, but I don't believe any woman should be treated as I was."
Odes, whose said her duties included data entry and coordinating the shipping of samples to customers, said she eventually agreed to purchase a sweater to wear over her dress, but was dismissed anyway.
"I understand that there are Orthodox Jewish men who may have their views about how a woman should dress ... but I do not feel that any employer has the right to impose their religious beliefs on me," she said.
An employee at the company had no immediate comment on Odes' claims.
Wearing a form-fitting sequined black dress and black leather, sequin-studded boots, Lauren Odes, 29, said her Orthodox Jewish employers at Native Intimates told her that outfit and others like it were "too hot" for the warehouse.
"We should not be judged by the size of our breasts or the shape of our body," Odes said.
Odes's attorney, celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, said she filed a gender and religious discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in New York.
Odes said she felt her wardrobe was appropriate for a business that sells "thongs with hearts placed in the female genital area and boy shorts for women that say 'hot' in the buttocks area."
Media photographers climbed on chairs and crashed into each other as Odes held a pose and Allred held up a series of purple, black and brown outfits she said also led to the woman's dismissal.
Odes said that on successive days during her week-long employment in late April she was warned that her attire was too alluring, that her breasts should be taped down to make them look smaller, and that she was asked to wear a red bathrobe to cover one outfit.
"This whole experience has been horrifying to me," she told reporters. "I love fashion and I always will, but I don't believe any woman should be treated as I was."
Odes, whose said her duties included data entry and coordinating the shipping of samples to customers, said she eventually agreed to purchase a sweater to wear over her dress, but was dismissed anyway.
"I understand that there are Orthodox Jewish men who may have their views about how a woman should dress ... but I do not feel that any employer has the right to impose their religious beliefs on me," she said.
An employee at the company had no immediate comment on Odes' claims.
Japan train with "rice balls" to sharpen soccer skills
Japan have come up with a novel way of preparing themselves for this year's London Olympic men's soccer tournament - training with odd-bouncing triangular 'rice balls.'
The balls, shaped like the traditional Japanese 'onigiri' rice ball wrapped in seaweed, were fired at goalkeepers during training at the weekend, local media reported on Monday.
"It was good practice," goalkeeper Takuya Masuda told the Nikkan Sports newspaper after a dizzying session trying to stop the oversized lunch snacks.
"Hopefully we can apply it in matches."
Goalkeeping coach Hisanori Fujiwara said: "The ball is irregular in shape so it behaves irregularly through the air too. It sharpens reactions and helps improve concentration."
Japan, who employ various innovative training methods, including playing with volleyballs, face Spain on July 26 in their opening Group D match at the London Olympics before meeting Honduras and Morocco.
The balls, shaped like the traditional Japanese 'onigiri' rice ball wrapped in seaweed, were fired at goalkeepers during training at the weekend, local media reported on Monday.
"It was good practice," goalkeeper Takuya Masuda told the Nikkan Sports newspaper after a dizzying session trying to stop the oversized lunch snacks.
"Hopefully we can apply it in matches."
Goalkeeping coach Hisanori Fujiwara said: "The ball is irregular in shape so it behaves irregularly through the air too. It sharpens reactions and helps improve concentration."
Japan, who employ various innovative training methods, including playing with volleyballs, face Spain on July 26 in their opening Group D match at the London Olympics before meeting Honduras and Morocco.
Ukraine's topless fighters plot to storm the Euros
Anna darts gleefully around the two sparsely-furnished rooms situated through an archway off a steep street that climbs up from Kiev's Independence Square. She is a general showing off her new headquarters.
"This is going to be our training room for our Euro strikes," she says.
"That's for the girls to get fit on for when they scrap with the police or have to run away from them," she says, pointing to a set of wall-bars and an overhead muscle-tone pulley-bar by the front door.
The topless activists of the Femen women's rights group, whose eye-catching antics have made them the cover girls of international feminist protest, are shouting loud and clear that their attendance at next month's Euro-2012 soccer tournament - welcome or not - can be counted on.
Bare-breast public appearances - flash-mob-style - by the neo-feminist group are guaranteed throughout a month-long Euro soccer feast expected to draw a million or so foreign visitors.
Indeed, Anna Hutsol, a small 27-year-old with close-cut, flame-dyed hair and the group's main ideologue, is warning of a blitz of stunts to dramatize Femen's view that Euro-2012 will only fuel prostitution and the former Soviet republic's sex industry which it says demeans women.
Ukraine's police, gearing themselves to control hundreds of thousands of rowdy visiting fans, might find themselves just as busy with the small army of activists that Femen plans to field.
"We are going to do everything we can to interrupt and disrupt, to break up these (Euro) events," Anna said.
She says she has 40 or so Femen activists on stand-by for action in Kiev with two or three in each of the other Euro cities -- Lviv, Kharkiv and Donetsk.
"We've got people coming from abroad too - a Brazilian woman and someone from France," she said.
So what do they plan for the tournament, which opens in Ukraine on June 9 and runs for the whole month? Will they "streak" onto a pitch? Will they raid a VIP box? Will they pull off an en masse Femen spectacular at the July 1 final in Kiev ?
"I can't give you concrete details. But we'll be staging all sorts of strikes - at stadiums and alongside, at press conferences and at cup ceremonies, everywhere," she said.
"Of course, we'll be going to Poland, too," she said. Neighboring Poland is co-host of the tournament.
For Femen, Euro-2012 is both a target to be disrupted and a platform for protest. Far from being a showcase for a modern European state as the authorities envisage, the Euros will only hurt Ukraine's future by boosting prostitution and making it a sex tourism destination in Europe, Femen says.
It is an event the group has spent at least two years sharpening its knives for.
Some critics question the sincerity of their beliefs and dismiss the young women, all in their 20s, as attention-seekers.
Don't their topless antics only provide images for a prurient, sex-obsessed media and re-inforce the stereotype of Ukrainian women that Femen is fighting against? Do their tactics help or hurt their cause?
Eccentric and contradictory though it might seem to some, stripping down to the waist publicly is the only effective weapon the group has found to get attention, Femen says.
"Euro-2012 will not help Ukraine develop. The only thing that will develop is the sex industry here. Euro-2012 will help make Ukraine one big Euro brothel," says Sasha Shevchenko, a tall, blonde 24-year-old and a regular participant in topless actions.
SEX TOURISM
Other Femen core activists are Oksana Shachko, 25, a waif-like icon painter who handles design for the group, and Inna Shevchenko, 21, a blonde, former journalist who has the same surname as Sasha but is no relation.
Since the group set itself up in 2008 - then using a downtown cafe as its operational base - it has gone on to establish itself as a global reputation.
There is something to Femen's complaints about sex tourism.
Any online 'Ukraine' search on the Internet soon throws up a dating ad for Ukrainian girls "looking for" foreign men.
Though prostitution is illegal in Ukraine, pimps regularly work central Kiev streets, such as the Khreshchatyk boulevard, handing out visiting cards for erotic massage parlors or walking up to foreign men to direct them to apartments for sex.
Equally, young women often complain they are approached on the streets and propositioned for sex by foreigners.
Prostitution parlors have sprung up in many apartment blocks in advance of the Euros, Femen says.
Femen's argument is that Ukraine's authorities and UEFA, Europe's governing soccer body, have turned a blind eye to the directors of the sex trade who have set up shop well in advance.
"UEFA has social programs like, for instance, 'football without racism'. Why can't it set up the program 'football without prostitution or sex tourism'?," asked Anna.
She is echoed by fellow activist Sasha Shevchenko.
"At the start we had high hopes that UEFA would speak out against prostitution. But after several protests we realized that UEFA and the Euro organizers have an interest in Ukraine becoming one big bordello," she said.
FIRST SHOTS
With a new operational base close to Kiev city centre, Femen has already fired its first shots.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the Kiev this month, 23-year-old Yulia Kovpachyk loped up the ramp of an open-air exhibition where the Euro soccer trophy was on public display, ostensibly to be photographed alongside it like hundreds of other sightseers.
She then pulled down her T-shirt to reveal the words "Fuck Euro 2012" - Femen's current slogan - etched in black paint across her torso.
She was seized by security guards, but not before she had grabbed hold of the 60 centimeters (two feet) high cup with both hands.
"Yulia got the usual fine of 119 hryvnias (nearly $15) for the administrative offence of hooliganism," said Anna. "But, of course, we don't pay these fines."
The group has started going further afield too.
For a protest last year outside the Paris apartment of the former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, three activists provocatively dressed up as hotel chamber maids - an allusion to his arrest in New York on accusations of attempted rape. He was later cleared and released.
In Switzerland on a bitter cold day in January, Femen activists took off their tops and scaled a security fence at the Davos economic summit.
And in March they went topless at a Moscow polling station against Putin's certain re-election. Oksana's breasts were emblazoned with: "I steal for Putin!"
Their actions typically end with them being bundled away - often physically carried off kicking and screaming - by local police.
But a bare-breast action in the former Soviet republic of Belarus against the country's hardline leadership turned into something far more serious.
Inna, Oksana and a third activist were seized, apparently by members of Belarus's KGB state security agency. Inna says they were driven off to woodlands away from the capital where they were interrogated and made to undress and dress again several times.
Green dye was poured on their heads and, before being abandoned in woodlands, they were told never to return to Belarus.
"It was the very worst experience we have had. Thank God we have not reached the stage of being like Belarus," Inna said.
CAMPAIGN VICTORIES
Anna herself does not take part in topless protests, but reels off recent successes with the pride of a general listing his campaign victories.
"We grabbed the UEFA cup of course. We had our 'sex bomb' action on the metro. There was the protest in the bell tower of St Sophia's cathedral. We staged an action in Turkey in March, then there was Putin and we carried out our action at the Indian embassy," she said.
There are unanswered questions about the group - notably about the funding which allows Anna, Sasha, Oksana and Inna to devote themselves full-time to Femen activities, and pays for travel abroad, legal counsel in numerous court actions and a stack of other overheads.
Anna ducks the question, speaking broadly of "charitable help" from inside the country and abroad and income raised from Femen's online shop which sells branded T-shirts, sweat shirts, handbags and hats.
"The biggest part of our supporters are people abroad. They understand what a woman's movement is all about. Ukrainian society is less ready to help and sympathize. But now we can afford to go to McDonald's whereas before it was a yoghurt and a stick of bread," she said.
And the question remains over just what long-term effect their brash protests will have in improving women's rights. Have they made a difference?
"I can see progress and I can't help but be happy about it," said Anna. "We have new supporters springing up in different countries and they are organizing themselves. This shows that our ideas are not being confined to our country and this city."
"The Euro organizers now know who they have to be afraid of. They have to be afraid of us and they will have to get ready for us appearing at every Euro event," says Inna.
As she leans forward to make her point, the black scrawl of a partly-visible Femen slogan shows at the neckline of her denim jacket.
"This is going to be our training room for our Euro strikes," she says.
"That's for the girls to get fit on for when they scrap with the police or have to run away from them," she says, pointing to a set of wall-bars and an overhead muscle-tone pulley-bar by the front door.
The topless activists of the Femen women's rights group, whose eye-catching antics have made them the cover girls of international feminist protest, are shouting loud and clear that their attendance at next month's Euro-2012 soccer tournament - welcome or not - can be counted on.
Bare-breast public appearances - flash-mob-style - by the neo-feminist group are guaranteed throughout a month-long Euro soccer feast expected to draw a million or so foreign visitors.
Indeed, Anna Hutsol, a small 27-year-old with close-cut, flame-dyed hair and the group's main ideologue, is warning of a blitz of stunts to dramatize Femen's view that Euro-2012 will only fuel prostitution and the former Soviet republic's sex industry which it says demeans women.
Ukraine's police, gearing themselves to control hundreds of thousands of rowdy visiting fans, might find themselves just as busy with the small army of activists that Femen plans to field.
"We are going to do everything we can to interrupt and disrupt, to break up these (Euro) events," Anna said.
She says she has 40 or so Femen activists on stand-by for action in Kiev with two or three in each of the other Euro cities -- Lviv, Kharkiv and Donetsk.
"We've got people coming from abroad too - a Brazilian woman and someone from France," she said.
So what do they plan for the tournament, which opens in Ukraine on June 9 and runs for the whole month? Will they "streak" onto a pitch? Will they raid a VIP box? Will they pull off an en masse Femen spectacular at the July 1 final in Kiev ?
"I can't give you concrete details. But we'll be staging all sorts of strikes - at stadiums and alongside, at press conferences and at cup ceremonies, everywhere," she said.
"Of course, we'll be going to Poland, too," she said. Neighboring Poland is co-host of the tournament.
For Femen, Euro-2012 is both a target to be disrupted and a platform for protest. Far from being a showcase for a modern European state as the authorities envisage, the Euros will only hurt Ukraine's future by boosting prostitution and making it a sex tourism destination in Europe, Femen says.
It is an event the group has spent at least two years sharpening its knives for.
Some critics question the sincerity of their beliefs and dismiss the young women, all in their 20s, as attention-seekers.
Don't their topless antics only provide images for a prurient, sex-obsessed media and re-inforce the stereotype of Ukrainian women that Femen is fighting against? Do their tactics help or hurt their cause?
Eccentric and contradictory though it might seem to some, stripping down to the waist publicly is the only effective weapon the group has found to get attention, Femen says.
"Euro-2012 will not help Ukraine develop. The only thing that will develop is the sex industry here. Euro-2012 will help make Ukraine one big Euro brothel," says Sasha Shevchenko, a tall, blonde 24-year-old and a regular participant in topless actions.
SEX TOURISM
Other Femen core activists are Oksana Shachko, 25, a waif-like icon painter who handles design for the group, and Inna Shevchenko, 21, a blonde, former journalist who has the same surname as Sasha but is no relation.
Since the group set itself up in 2008 - then using a downtown cafe as its operational base - it has gone on to establish itself as a global reputation.
There is something to Femen's complaints about sex tourism.
Any online 'Ukraine' search on the Internet soon throws up a dating ad for Ukrainian girls "looking for" foreign men.
Though prostitution is illegal in Ukraine, pimps regularly work central Kiev streets, such as the Khreshchatyk boulevard, handing out visiting cards for erotic massage parlors or walking up to foreign men to direct them to apartments for sex.
Equally, young women often complain they are approached on the streets and propositioned for sex by foreigners.
Prostitution parlors have sprung up in many apartment blocks in advance of the Euros, Femen says.
Femen's argument is that Ukraine's authorities and UEFA, Europe's governing soccer body, have turned a blind eye to the directors of the sex trade who have set up shop well in advance.
"UEFA has social programs like, for instance, 'football without racism'. Why can't it set up the program 'football without prostitution or sex tourism'?," asked Anna.
She is echoed by fellow activist Sasha Shevchenko.
"At the start we had high hopes that UEFA would speak out against prostitution. But after several protests we realized that UEFA and the Euro organizers have an interest in Ukraine becoming one big bordello," she said.
FIRST SHOTS
With a new operational base close to Kiev city centre, Femen has already fired its first shots.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the Kiev this month, 23-year-old Yulia Kovpachyk loped up the ramp of an open-air exhibition where the Euro soccer trophy was on public display, ostensibly to be photographed alongside it like hundreds of other sightseers.
She then pulled down her T-shirt to reveal the words "Fuck Euro 2012" - Femen's current slogan - etched in black paint across her torso.
She was seized by security guards, but not before she had grabbed hold of the 60 centimeters (two feet) high cup with both hands.
"Yulia got the usual fine of 119 hryvnias (nearly $15) for the administrative offence of hooliganism," said Anna. "But, of course, we don't pay these fines."
The group has started going further afield too.
For a protest last year outside the Paris apartment of the former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, three activists provocatively dressed up as hotel chamber maids - an allusion to his arrest in New York on accusations of attempted rape. He was later cleared and released.
In Switzerland on a bitter cold day in January, Femen activists took off their tops and scaled a security fence at the Davos economic summit.
And in March they went topless at a Moscow polling station against Putin's certain re-election. Oksana's breasts were emblazoned with: "I steal for Putin!"
Their actions typically end with them being bundled away - often physically carried off kicking and screaming - by local police.
But a bare-breast action in the former Soviet republic of Belarus against the country's hardline leadership turned into something far more serious.
Inna, Oksana and a third activist were seized, apparently by members of Belarus's KGB state security agency. Inna says they were driven off to woodlands away from the capital where they were interrogated and made to undress and dress again several times.
Green dye was poured on their heads and, before being abandoned in woodlands, they were told never to return to Belarus.
"It was the very worst experience we have had. Thank God we have not reached the stage of being like Belarus," Inna said.
CAMPAIGN VICTORIES
Anna herself does not take part in topless protests, but reels off recent successes with the pride of a general listing his campaign victories.
"We grabbed the UEFA cup of course. We had our 'sex bomb' action on the metro. There was the protest in the bell tower of St Sophia's cathedral. We staged an action in Turkey in March, then there was Putin and we carried out our action at the Indian embassy," she said.
There are unanswered questions about the group - notably about the funding which allows Anna, Sasha, Oksana and Inna to devote themselves full-time to Femen activities, and pays for travel abroad, legal counsel in numerous court actions and a stack of other overheads.
Anna ducks the question, speaking broadly of "charitable help" from inside the country and abroad and income raised from Femen's online shop which sells branded T-shirts, sweat shirts, handbags and hats.
"The biggest part of our supporters are people abroad. They understand what a woman's movement is all about. Ukrainian society is less ready to help and sympathize. But now we can afford to go to McDonald's whereas before it was a yoghurt and a stick of bread," she said.
And the question remains over just what long-term effect their brash protests will have in improving women's rights. Have they made a difference?
"I can see progress and I can't help but be happy about it," said Anna. "We have new supporters springing up in different countries and they are organizing themselves. This shows that our ideas are not being confined to our country and this city."
"The Euro organizers now know who they have to be afraid of. They have to be afraid of us and they will have to get ready for us appearing at every Euro event," says Inna.
As she leans forward to make her point, the black scrawl of a partly-visible Femen slogan shows at the neckline of her denim jacket.
Cloak and dagger world of spies exposed in NYC show
The mysterious cloak and dagger world of international espionage and its real-life heros and villains are exposed in a new exhibition, the first to be sanctioned by U.S. intelligence agencies.
"Spy, the Secret World of Espionage," which opens at the Discovery Times Square on Friday, includes hundreds of artifacts, some from the vaults of the CIA and FBI and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
They range from a World War Two-era collapsible motorbike that could be dropped by parachute and deployed in 10 seconds and a German ENIGMA machine to create secret messages to a camel saddle used by one of the first CIA agents in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks to bugging devices, microdots and surveillance equipment.
"This is the first and only time these items will ever travel. It is kind of an unparalleled cooperation and collaboration with the CIA and FBI," said H. Keith Melton, an author, intelligence historian and expert on spy technology who contributed items from his own collection.
The interactive exhibit, which will travel to 10 U.S. cities, offers a glimpse into a part of history and a secret world peopled with real-life agents, who Melton says are often completely misdefined by Hollywood and are nothing like James Bond.
"Pop culture is about two things -- assassination and seduction. The real world is about information and communication. The sad thing is information and communication don't sell movies," said Melton.
"James Bond wouldn't last four minutes in the real world."
Melton, the author of several books on espionage including "Ultimate Spy," has spent decades gathering unusual spying gadgets from Germany, Russia, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Great Britain and the Czech Republic that explain what espionage is.
"I have devoted most of my life to tracking down obscure bits of spy gear around the world," he said.
The exhibition, which runs through March 2013, traces the world of international intrigue from the start of World War Two, to the establishment of the first U.S. spying agency, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), after Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War, the downing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 and the September 11, 2001 attacks.
It also includes the expulsion by the U.S. of 10 Russian spies in 2010, including Anna Chapman, who had been dubbed a modern-day Mata Hari by the popular press.
Although Melton said Chapman was a "darling of the media," he added that she was not a trained intelligence officer. The best spies, he added, are the ones no one knows about.
"They stay beneath the radar," he explained. "We hear of the ones who are caught but the ones we should worry about are the ones we don't hear of."
Oleg Penkovsky, a Soviet military intelligence officer who spied for the U.S. and Britain in the early 1960s is one of the most valuable double agents to work with the U.S. because of the Soviet missile secrets he provided to the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
A U.S. Navy chief warrant officer named John Walker has the dubious distinction of being the most damaging spy in U.S. history.
He offered to sell secrets to the Soviet intelligence agency, the KGB, in the 1970s. Codenamed "number 1" by the KGB, by the time he was arrested in 1985 he had recruited his best friend, his brother and his son into his spy ring.
The exhibit's debut in New York seems appropriate.
"New York is a hotbed of spies," said Melton. "There are more spies at the U.N. than diplomat
"Spy, the Secret World of Espionage," which opens at the Discovery Times Square on Friday, includes hundreds of artifacts, some from the vaults of the CIA and FBI and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
They range from a World War Two-era collapsible motorbike that could be dropped by parachute and deployed in 10 seconds and a German ENIGMA machine to create secret messages to a camel saddle used by one of the first CIA agents in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks to bugging devices, microdots and surveillance equipment.
"This is the first and only time these items will ever travel. It is kind of an unparalleled cooperation and collaboration with the CIA and FBI," said H. Keith Melton, an author, intelligence historian and expert on spy technology who contributed items from his own collection.
The interactive exhibit, which will travel to 10 U.S. cities, offers a glimpse into a part of history and a secret world peopled with real-life agents, who Melton says are often completely misdefined by Hollywood and are nothing like James Bond.
"Pop culture is about two things -- assassination and seduction. The real world is about information and communication. The sad thing is information and communication don't sell movies," said Melton.
"James Bond wouldn't last four minutes in the real world."
Melton, the author of several books on espionage including "Ultimate Spy," has spent decades gathering unusual spying gadgets from Germany, Russia, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Great Britain and the Czech Republic that explain what espionage is.
"I have devoted most of my life to tracking down obscure bits of spy gear around the world," he said.
The exhibition, which runs through March 2013, traces the world of international intrigue from the start of World War Two, to the establishment of the first U.S. spying agency, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), after Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War, the downing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 and the September 11, 2001 attacks.
It also includes the expulsion by the U.S. of 10 Russian spies in 2010, including Anna Chapman, who had been dubbed a modern-day Mata Hari by the popular press.
Although Melton said Chapman was a "darling of the media," he added that she was not a trained intelligence officer. The best spies, he added, are the ones no one knows about.
"They stay beneath the radar," he explained. "We hear of the ones who are caught but the ones we should worry about are the ones we don't hear of."
Oleg Penkovsky, a Soviet military intelligence officer who spied for the U.S. and Britain in the early 1960s is one of the most valuable double agents to work with the U.S. because of the Soviet missile secrets he provided to the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
A U.S. Navy chief warrant officer named John Walker has the dubious distinction of being the most damaging spy in U.S. history.
He offered to sell secrets to the Soviet intelligence agency, the KGB, in the 1970s. Codenamed "number 1" by the KGB, by the time he was arrested in 1985 he had recruited his best friend, his brother and his son into his spy ring.
The exhibit's debut in New York seems appropriate.
"New York is a hotbed of spies," said Melton. "There are more spies at the U.N. than diplomat
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer robbed again
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who was robbed in February at his Caribbean vacation home by a man armed with a machete, recently was the victim of a burglary at his residence in Washington, a court spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said no one was home at the time of the burglary, which was discovered May 4 by a housekeeper. The Washington, D.C., police were investigating, she said.
Breyer and his wife, Joanna, have a townhouse in Washington's upscale Georgetown neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In the February incident on the island of Nevis, the intruder stole about $1,000 but no one was hurt. Breyer, his wife and two guests were present at the time.
There have been previous instances of crimes involving U.S. Supreme Court justices.
In 2004, then-Supreme Court Justice David Souter suffered minor injuries when he was mugged by a group of young men as he jogged alone near his residence in Washington.
In 1996, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had her purse snatched as she walked home with her husband and daughter from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to their nearby residence in their Watergate apartment complex. No one was hurt.
Spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said no one was home at the time of the burglary, which was discovered May 4 by a housekeeper. The Washington, D.C., police were investigating, she said.
Breyer and his wife, Joanna, have a townhouse in Washington's upscale Georgetown neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In the February incident on the island of Nevis, the intruder stole about $1,000 but no one was hurt. Breyer, his wife and two guests were present at the time.
There have been previous instances of crimes involving U.S. Supreme Court justices.
In 2004, then-Supreme Court Justice David Souter suffered minor injuries when he was mugged by a group of young men as he jogged alone near his residence in Washington.
In 1996, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had her purse snatched as she walked home with her husband and daughter from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to their nearby residence in their Watergate apartment complex. No one was hurt.
South Africa protesters deface Zuma penis portrait
Two men vandalized a portrait of South African President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed on Tuesday, intensifying a heated debate about the picture that has enraged the ruling African National Congress.
Television footage showed a white middle-aged man in a suit walking up to the portrait at a Johannesburg gallery and painting a red cross on president's face and private parts.
A younger black man then smeared black paint over the picture while the first man was being taken into custody by security guards.
"I was stupefied and screamed for gallery security to apprehend the man," said Iman Rapetti, a reporter for the local eNews channel who witnessed the incident.
The picture of Zuma, called "The Spear", is a facsimile of a famous poster of communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, and is part of a wider exhibition addressing the perception of endemic corruption in Nelson Mandela's former liberation movement.
In the red, black and yellow painting, the president is shown striking Lenin's heroic stance, but with his penis hanging out of his trousers.
The artist, Brett Murray, is well-known in South Africa for his work criticizing the white-minority apartheid government that ended in 1994.
Zuma's African National Congress party had already launched a legal bid to try to force the Goodman Gallery to remove the picture, which it described as crude and racist.
Minutes before the vandal attack, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told Reuters people had a right to criticize the government, but there were limits.
When you had an artist depicting the president's genitals, he added, "you are not raising a discussion, you are insulting people."
Zuma has been married six times and fathered 21 children.
The two men were taken into police custody. Police did not comment on what charges they might face.
Anton Harber, chairman of South Africa's Freedom of Expression Institute last week called the ANC's criticism of the picture "silly" and defended artists' right to pose difficult, uncomfortable questions with their work.
Television footage showed a white middle-aged man in a suit walking up to the portrait at a Johannesburg gallery and painting a red cross on president's face and private parts.
A younger black man then smeared black paint over the picture while the first man was being taken into custody by security guards.
"I was stupefied and screamed for gallery security to apprehend the man," said Iman Rapetti, a reporter for the local eNews channel who witnessed the incident.
The picture of Zuma, called "The Spear", is a facsimile of a famous poster of communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, and is part of a wider exhibition addressing the perception of endemic corruption in Nelson Mandela's former liberation movement.
In the red, black and yellow painting, the president is shown striking Lenin's heroic stance, but with his penis hanging out of his trousers.
The artist, Brett Murray, is well-known in South Africa for his work criticizing the white-minority apartheid government that ended in 1994.
Zuma's African National Congress party had already launched a legal bid to try to force the Goodman Gallery to remove the picture, which it described as crude and racist.
Minutes before the vandal attack, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told Reuters people had a right to criticize the government, but there were limits.
When you had an artist depicting the president's genitals, he added, "you are not raising a discussion, you are insulting people."
Zuma has been married six times and fathered 21 children.
The two men were taken into police custody. Police did not comment on what charges they might face.
Anton Harber, chairman of South Africa's Freedom of Expression Institute last week called the ANC's criticism of the picture "silly" and defended artists' right to pose difficult, uncomfortable questions with their work.
THE WORLD ENDS ------MAYAN STYLE
IF OCEANS boil next year and ancient gods start sucking human souls into the fiery heavens, only then will you wish you had heeded the words of former Phillies catcher Darren Daulton.
"The Mayan calendar stops at Dec. 21, 2012 --- the date the Mayans believed the world would end." Dutch supposedly told Sports Illustrated in 2006. "On that day, at 11:11 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, those who are ready to ascend wil vanish from this plane of existence, like the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek."
Few of us really know anything about the Mayans, though many have gotten drunk, diarrhea or sun poisoning in Cancun, not far from some of their ancient ruins.
The Mayan people of Mexico and Central America made an elaborate calendar way-back-when that either ends, resets or keeps on going next December and, depending on whom you asks, it means the dawn of a new human consciousness, the end of the world or another year of political commercials and the Kardashians.
The University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology will be educating the masses about Mayan culture, and cashing in on pop culture, in May when it opens a new exhibit, "Maya.2012: Lords of Time."
Penn is considered the go-to-source for all things Mayan and, thankfully, the exhibit ends in 2013.
"You kind of have to embrace it to some extent," Simon Martin, a co-curator of the upcoming show, said about the Mayan phenomenon. "When we did research, we found that lots of people heard about it, but they couldn't tell you a thing about it. There are lots of genuine mysteries about the Mayans."
In the meantime, there's always Wikipedia or Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto."
"It's not a terrible movie," said Mark Van Stone, a professor at Southwestern College in California and author of "2012: Science & Prophecy of the Ancient Maya." "It does mix up the Mayans, Aztecs and even the Nazis, though."
If you've been stockpiling Spam or invested in "survival seeds" at the urging of Glenn Beck, you might want to skip the next few paragraphs because Van Stone thinks that the world will continue.
"Not only did the Maya not predict the world would end, they did not predict their calendar would end either," he said.
The link between the Mayans and the word "Armageddon," Van Stone said, was introduced to the general public in 1966 book by Yale archaeologist Michael Coe, though he wasn't making a prediction himself. Calendars are arbitrary human constructs.
It's not really Dec. 30, 2011, today, because the Earth is billions of years old.
Still, the Mayan calendar phenomenon simmered in the pscyhedelic subculture for decades and exploded when a new psychedelic age and the birth the Internet merged in the 1990s.
"I would be hard-pressed to not find someone who smokes a lot of cannabis who doesn't know about 2012," said John Hooppes, an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kansas.
Thousands of books have been written about 2012 and websites abound with predictions and advice, both free and for a fee.
"What if the Crazy's are Right?" the website http://www.survivalplan2012.com/ asks.
Michael Borek, a Virginia man, sells $27 books on the site with pointers about edible plants, Morse code and how to make a wood "gassifier."
"Randomly one day, I asked myself the question 'What would I want to know?" I didn't really have all those answers," he said.
Daulton seemed to know something in 2006, but told Philadelphia magazine earlier this yearthat he never personally said the world would end in 2012. The Daily News wanted to hear it fom Dutch, so we sent an email to his website and received a cryptic response from a guy named Tony.
"Thanks for the inquiry. When he was talking no one was listening," Tony wrote. "And [now] he isn't saying anything......."
"The Mayan calendar stops at Dec. 21, 2012 --- the date the Mayans believed the world would end." Dutch supposedly told Sports Illustrated in 2006. "On that day, at 11:11 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, those who are ready to ascend wil vanish from this plane of existence, like the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek."
Few of us really know anything about the Mayans, though many have gotten drunk, diarrhea or sun poisoning in Cancun, not far from some of their ancient ruins.
The Mayan people of Mexico and Central America made an elaborate calendar way-back-when that either ends, resets or keeps on going next December and, depending on whom you asks, it means the dawn of a new human consciousness, the end of the world or another year of political commercials and the Kardashians.
The University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology will be educating the masses about Mayan culture, and cashing in on pop culture, in May when it opens a new exhibit, "Maya.2012: Lords of Time."
Penn is considered the go-to-source for all things Mayan and, thankfully, the exhibit ends in 2013.
"You kind of have to embrace it to some extent," Simon Martin, a co-curator of the upcoming show, said about the Mayan phenomenon. "When we did research, we found that lots of people heard about it, but they couldn't tell you a thing about it. There are lots of genuine mysteries about the Mayans."
In the meantime, there's always Wikipedia or Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto."
"It's not a terrible movie," said Mark Van Stone, a professor at Southwestern College in California and author of "2012: Science & Prophecy of the Ancient Maya." "It does mix up the Mayans, Aztecs and even the Nazis, though."
If you've been stockpiling Spam or invested in "survival seeds" at the urging of Glenn Beck, you might want to skip the next few paragraphs because Van Stone thinks that the world will continue.
"Not only did the Maya not predict the world would end, they did not predict their calendar would end either," he said.
The link between the Mayans and the word "Armageddon," Van Stone said, was introduced to the general public in 1966 book by Yale archaeologist Michael Coe, though he wasn't making a prediction himself. Calendars are arbitrary human constructs.
It's not really Dec. 30, 2011, today, because the Earth is billions of years old.
Still, the Mayan calendar phenomenon simmered in the pscyhedelic subculture for decades and exploded when a new psychedelic age and the birth the Internet merged in the 1990s.
"I would be hard-pressed to not find someone who smokes a lot of cannabis who doesn't know about 2012," said John Hooppes, an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kansas.
Thousands of books have been written about 2012 and websites abound with predictions and advice, both free and for a fee.
"What if the Crazy's are Right?" the website http://www.survivalplan2012.com/ asks.
Michael Borek, a Virginia man, sells $27 books on the site with pointers about edible plants, Morse code and how to make a wood "gassifier."
"Randomly one day, I asked myself the question 'What would I want to know?" I didn't really have all those answers," he said.
Daulton seemed to know something in 2006, but told Philadelphia magazine earlier this yearthat he never personally said the world would end in 2012. The Daily News wanted to hear it fom Dutch, so we sent an email to his website and received a cryptic response from a guy named Tony.
"Thanks for the inquiry. When he was talking no one was listening," Tony wrote. "And [now] he isn't saying anything......."
Sunday, May 27, 2012
POP QUIZ (You say it's your birthday)
Too many celebrity birthdays on this date to ignore.
Match the names with the birth year.
1. Danny Aiello a) 1908
2. Cher b) 1930
3. Joe Cocker c) 1933
4. Mindy Cohn d) 1944
5. James McEachin e) 1946
6. Bronson Pinchot f) 1949
7. Busta Rhymes g) 1958
8. Jimmy Stewart h) 1959
9. Dave Thomas i) 1966
10. Jane Wiedlin j) 1972
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. c ; 2. e ; 3. d ; 4. i ; 5. b ; 6. h ; 7. j ; 8. a ; 9. f ; 10. g
Match the names with the birth year.
1. Danny Aiello a) 1908
2. Cher b) 1930
3. Joe Cocker c) 1933
4. Mindy Cohn d) 1944
5. James McEachin e) 1946
6. Bronson Pinchot f) 1949
7. Busta Rhymes g) 1958
8. Jimmy Stewart h) 1959
9. Dave Thomas i) 1966
10. Jane Wiedlin j) 1972
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. c ; 2. e ; 3. d ; 4. i ; 5. b ; 6. h ; 7. j ; 8. a ; 9. f ; 10. g
POP QUIZ (Hey, Mom, it's for you)
"Mom Quiz" might be the more appropriate title for this pop quiz.
1. The "Mothers of Invention" refers to.....?
a) A museum in Cleveland dedicated to female patent holders.
b) A 1950s sitcom starring Betty White.
c) An organization of retired nunnery directors.
d) A rock band led by Frank Zappa.
2. Who was Mother Jones?
a) 1937 Triple Crown winner.
b) Labor activist Mary Jones.
c) The woman who inspired the song "Me and Mrs. Jones."
d) Bill Clinton's pet name for Paula Jones, who sued him for sexual harassment.
3. What was Mother Teresa's real name?
a) Carol Wojtyla
b) Hildegard von Bingen
c) Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu
d) Mary Wollstonecraft
4. Amy Chua is best known for this book, released last year.
a) Tiger Mom
b) My Tiger Mom & Me
c) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Daughter
d) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
5. This state, where eight chief executives were born, is known as the Mother of Prresidents.
a) Virginia
b) Ohio
c) New York
d) Massachusetts
6. Which pair made up the female half of the Mams and the Papas?
a) Cher and Cass Elliot
b) Michelle Phillips and Cass Elliot
c) Mackenzie Phillips and Denny Doherty
d) Ann and Nancy Wilson
7. Who cowrote and sang the hit song "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh"?
a) Bobby Vee
b) Bobby Sherman
c) Allan Sherman
d) Mr. {eabody and Sherman
8. Which of the following is not a Beatles song?
a) "Mother's Little Helper."
b) "Mother Nature's Son"
c) "Your Mother Should Know"
d) "Lady Madonna"
9. Who was not in the cast of the movie Mamma Mia?
a) Meryl Streep
b) Anne Hathaway
c) Amanda Seyfried
d) Christine Baranski
10. Who played the title character in Throw Momma From the Train?
a) Ruth Gordon
b) Ruth Bui
c) Helen Hayes
d) Anne Ramsey
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. d ; 2. b ; 3. c ; 4. d ; 5. a ; 6. b ; 7. c ; 8. a ; 9. b ; 10. d
1. The "Mothers of Invention" refers to.....?
a) A museum in Cleveland dedicated to female patent holders.
b) A 1950s sitcom starring Betty White.
c) An organization of retired nunnery directors.
d) A rock band led by Frank Zappa.
2. Who was Mother Jones?
a) 1937 Triple Crown winner.
b) Labor activist Mary Jones.
c) The woman who inspired the song "Me and Mrs. Jones."
d) Bill Clinton's pet name for Paula Jones, who sued him for sexual harassment.
3. What was Mother Teresa's real name?
a) Carol Wojtyla
b) Hildegard von Bingen
c) Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu
d) Mary Wollstonecraft
4. Amy Chua is best known for this book, released last year.
a) Tiger Mom
b) My Tiger Mom & Me
c) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Daughter
d) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
5. This state, where eight chief executives were born, is known as the Mother of Prresidents.
a) Virginia
b) Ohio
c) New York
d) Massachusetts
6. Which pair made up the female half of the Mams and the Papas?
a) Cher and Cass Elliot
b) Michelle Phillips and Cass Elliot
c) Mackenzie Phillips and Denny Doherty
d) Ann and Nancy Wilson
7. Who cowrote and sang the hit song "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh"?
a) Bobby Vee
b) Bobby Sherman
c) Allan Sherman
d) Mr. {eabody and Sherman
8. Which of the following is not a Beatles song?
a) "Mother's Little Helper."
b) "Mother Nature's Son"
c) "Your Mother Should Know"
d) "Lady Madonna"
9. Who was not in the cast of the movie Mamma Mia?
a) Meryl Streep
b) Anne Hathaway
c) Amanda Seyfried
d) Christine Baranski
10. Who played the title character in Throw Momma From the Train?
a) Ruth Gordon
b) Ruth Bui
c) Helen Hayes
d) Anne Ramsey
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. d ; 2. b ; 3. c ; 4. d ; 5. a ; 6. b ; 7. c ; 8. a ; 9. b ; 10. d
F. Y. I.
In the Running
Ryan O'Neal was almost cast in the role that went to Sylvester Stallone in the "Rocky" franchise.
Of Note
Antarcitica is the only continent that does not have a McDonald's.
Lore Has It
An acorn at the window will keep lightning out.
Still on the Books
In New Jersey, it is illegal to slurp your soup.
State Stats
Dog mushing is the official state sport of Alaska.
Actually Stated
by Danny Ozark, former Phillies manager
"Half this game is 90 percent mental."
Ryan O'Neal was almost cast in the role that went to Sylvester Stallone in the "Rocky" franchise.
Of Note
Antarcitica is the only continent that does not have a McDonald's.
Lore Has It
An acorn at the window will keep lightning out.
Still on the Books
In New Jersey, it is illegal to slurp your soup.
State Stats
Dog mushing is the official state sport of Alaska.
Actually Stated
by Danny Ozark, former Phillies manager
"Half this game is 90 percent mental."
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Snapple Real Facts #2
- New Jersey is home to the world's first drive-in-movie theater.
- A group of jellyfish is called a smack.
- Over half of the world's geysers are found in Yellowstone National Park.
- In some cultures telling of Snow White, the Dwarfs are thieves.
- Children grow faster during springtime.
- Hawaii is further south than Flordia.
- The jaguar, the largest cat in the Western Hemisphere, once lived all over the southern U.S.
- Jack-O-Lanterns were originally made out of turnips.
- It takes an interaction of 72 muscles to produce human speech.
- A spider's silk is stronger than steel.
- The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger.
- Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
- The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
- The side of a hammer is cslled a cheek.
- It is not possible to tickle yourself.
- The average housefly lives for one month.
- There are more species of fish inthe Amazon river than in the Atlantic Ocean.
- The only insect that can turn its head is a praying mantis.
- In Ancient Greece throwing an apple to a woman was considered a marriage proposal.
- One lump of sugar is equivalent to three feet of sugar cane.
- In one day, a full-grown oak tree expels 7tons of water through its leaves.
- Women's hearts beat faster than men's hearts.
- The only food that does not spoil is honey.
- George Washington was the only unanimously elected President
- Hybrid cars produce up to 75% less pollution than other vehicles.
- Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
- The peach was the first fruit to be eaten on the moon.
- The average lead pencil can draw a line 35 miles long or write roughly 50,000 English words.
- Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental United States, and Zabrisklen Point, the lowest point in the United States, are less than eighty miles apart.
- If you shake a can of mixed nuts, the larger nuts will rise to the top.
- The Saturn V moon rocket consumed 15 tons of fuel per second.
- In 1859, 24 rabbits were released in Australla. Within 6 years, the population grew to 2 million.
- Most rechargeable batteries can be recharged up to 1,000 times.
- Armadillos have four babies at a time and they are always all the same sex.
- Broadway is one of the longest streets in the world. It is 150 miles long.
- A cubic mile of fog is made up of less than a gallonof water.
- Penguins can jump 6 feet.
- Shakespeare invented the words "assassination" and "bump"
- The chicken is the closet living relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex.
- Wild camels once roamed Arizona's deserts.
Snapple Real Facts #1
- Flamingos can only eat with their heads upside down.
- Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
- Hawaii is the only U.S. state that grows coffee.
- More than 180 countries celebrate Earth Day together every April 22nd.
- Less than 2% of the water on Earth is fresh.
- A full-grown tree produces enough oxygen to support a family of four.
- The highest denomination issued by the U.S. was the 100,000 dollar bill.
- Stepping out for a walk every day can actually help you sleep better at night.
- A group of goats is called a trip.
- Some violins contain 70 seperate pieces of wood.
- In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.
- Right-handed people tend to chew food on the right side and lefties chew on the left.
- A cucumber consists of 96% water.
- The number "1" or the word "one" appears on the dollar bill 16 times.
- More babies are born at night than during the day.
- If you had 1 billion dollars and spent 1 thousand dollars a day, it would take you 2,749 years to spend it all.
- The planet Saturn has a density lower than water. It would float if placed in water.
- Plants, like humans, can run a fever if they are sick.
- A polar bear cannot be seen by an infrared camera, due to it's transparent fur.
- A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle, a group of geese in the air is a skein.
- Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.
- More turkeys are raised in California than in any other state in the United States.
- The average cat can jump five times as high as its tail is long.
- A male cricket's ear is located on the tibia of its leg.
- The dots on a domino are called pips.
- 2nd Street is the most common street name in the United States; First Street is the 6th most common.
- Miami installed the first ATM for rollerbladers.
- Bamboo (the world's tallest grass) can grow up to 90cm in a day.
- There are over 2,000 different species of cactuses.
- People don't sneeze when they are asleep because the nerves involved in the sneeze reflex are also resting.
- A full moon is nine times brighter than a half moon.
- To estimate the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, count the number of cricket chirps in 15 seconds then add 37.
- A tiger's night vision is six times better than a human's.
- Buzz Aldrin was one of the first men on the moon. His mother's maiden name was also Moon.
- The infinity sign is called a lemniscate.
- Your skull is made up of 29 different bones.
- The average human dream lasts only 2 to 3 seconds.
- In Albania, nodding your head means "no" and shaking your head means "yes".
- The White House was originally called the President's Palace. It became the White House in 1901.
- The official color of California's Golden Gate Bridge is International Orange.
- Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
What really Grinds our Gears
Contrary to popular belief, we teenagers don't complain all the time. But that doesn't mean there aren't things that drive us crazy.
Passing on the right
The amount of time spent slowly squeezing by on the right typically equals the amount of time it takes to just wait for the car to turn. I've seen cars that would rather drive up on the side of the road, just barely inches from scraping a tree, than just wait the two seconds it takes for the car in front to turn.
Terrible Parents
Please control your screaming and crying child who is badly misbehaving in a public area and not being reprimanded in any way whatsoever.
Pocket Dialing
I can't stand when people accidentally call my phone and I pick up, only to hear no one else on the other end of the line. Most of the time, this happens when I'm driving and have my iPhone hooked up to my stereo, so I have to unplug my phone, look to see who it is, answer the phone, say, "Hello? Hello? Hello?" and get no response. It just ruins my drive and makes me never want to answer my phone again.
Grammar and spelling mistakes
Mainly contractions. Recently, I have been noticing high school-aged students, as well as teachers, have no clue what the difference is between you're and your, along with their and they're. Why? Where were you in first grade when your teacher was going over this? It might just be the writer in me, but it drives me crazy.
People who stand too close in line
If you stand behind me in line, I should not be able to feel you breathing on me. A 2-foot personal bubble between us is fine; no one will cut in front of you, I promise. And I can't guarantee I won't accidentally stretch /elbow you in the face if you stay where you are.
People who don't use turn signals
I loathe the people who can't take the millisecond it requires to switch on their turn signal at an intersection. Seriously, I am courteously waiting for you to pass so I can turn, but you are SO inconsiderate to not let me know you're turning, too. Your turn signal is within easy reach for a freaking reason... and it's ILLEGAL not to use it!
Loud eaters
Squish, squish, chomp, chomp....Who raised you, horses? Cows? People who chew their food in the same manner a cow chews its cud really "grinds my gears" ("Family Guy" reference). I mean, how hard is it to close your mouth while you devour the plate of food in front of you? It literally takes no effort to chew quietly. Oh, and the people who smack their lips after they eat....don't even get me started.
Scratching paper
One thing that really bothers me is when something, anything, scratches something else made of paper. Cardboard, printer paper, you name it, I hate when it scratches against something else. Especially fingernails. Ick.
Passing on the right
The amount of time spent slowly squeezing by on the right typically equals the amount of time it takes to just wait for the car to turn. I've seen cars that would rather drive up on the side of the road, just barely inches from scraping a tree, than just wait the two seconds it takes for the car in front to turn.
Terrible Parents
Please control your screaming and crying child who is badly misbehaving in a public area and not being reprimanded in any way whatsoever.
Pocket Dialing
I can't stand when people accidentally call my phone and I pick up, only to hear no one else on the other end of the line. Most of the time, this happens when I'm driving and have my iPhone hooked up to my stereo, so I have to unplug my phone, look to see who it is, answer the phone, say, "Hello? Hello? Hello?" and get no response. It just ruins my drive and makes me never want to answer my phone again.
Grammar and spelling mistakes
Mainly contractions. Recently, I have been noticing high school-aged students, as well as teachers, have no clue what the difference is between you're and your, along with their and they're. Why? Where were you in first grade when your teacher was going over this? It might just be the writer in me, but it drives me crazy.
People who stand too close in line
If you stand behind me in line, I should not be able to feel you breathing on me. A 2-foot personal bubble between us is fine; no one will cut in front of you, I promise. And I can't guarantee I won't accidentally stretch /elbow you in the face if you stay where you are.
People who don't use turn signals
I loathe the people who can't take the millisecond it requires to switch on their turn signal at an intersection. Seriously, I am courteously waiting for you to pass so I can turn, but you are SO inconsiderate to not let me know you're turning, too. Your turn signal is within easy reach for a freaking reason... and it's ILLEGAL not to use it!
Loud eaters
Squish, squish, chomp, chomp....Who raised you, horses? Cows? People who chew their food in the same manner a cow chews its cud really "grinds my gears" ("Family Guy" reference). I mean, how hard is it to close your mouth while you devour the plate of food in front of you? It literally takes no effort to chew quietly. Oh, and the people who smack their lips after they eat....don't even get me started.
Scratching paper
One thing that really bothers me is when something, anything, scratches something else made of paper. Cardboard, printer paper, you name it, I hate when it scratches against something else. Especially fingernails. Ick.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
F. Y. I.
Deep Down
Sunlight can reach a depth of about 262 feet in the ocean.
Still on the Books
In Iowa, a kiss may not last longer than five minutes.
Quotable
by Pema Chodron, Buddhist nun and teacher
"Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth."
State Stats
Niagara Falls, N.Y., is the oldest touristattraction in the United States.
Before Fame
Whoopi Goldberg worked in a funeral home applying makeup to corpses and as a bricklayer.
Of Note
Australia's Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on earth.
Sunlight can reach a depth of about 262 feet in the ocean.
Still on the Books
In Iowa, a kiss may not last longer than five minutes.
Quotable
by Pema Chodron, Buddhist nun and teacher
"Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth."
State Stats
Niagara Falls, N.Y., is the oldest touristattraction in the United States.
Before Fame
Whoopi Goldberg worked in a funeral home applying makeup to corpses and as a bricklayer.
Of Note
Australia's Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on earth.
Italy "dog and cat tax" muzzled after uproar
A proposal to levy a tax on cats and dogs that stunned Italy on Friday turned out to be all bark and no bite after a wave of popular anger saw it withdrawn on the same day it was made public.
Italy was abuzz for hours after local media reported that a parliamentary commission had proposed a tax on domestic "animals of affection" to raise revenue for debt-strapped cities and towns.
Protests were voiced by everyone from animal rights groups - who said it would prompt more people to abandon animals - to politicians who called it everything from "grotesque" to "surreal" to "idiotic" to "shameful".
There was so much reaction - all of it incredulous - that one Italian agency ran nearly 40 news items on the proposal in less than four hours.
The proposal was withdrawn by early Friday evening however, and it seemed everyone on the commission where it was discussed was denying its paternity.
"The only thing that's left to tax are wives and children," said parliamentarian Domenico Scilipoti.
Italy, like many other countries across the euro zone, is struggling to revive its economy and reduce its public debt, a predicament that has prompted the country's lawmakers to try to dream up new revenue-raising measures.
Italy was abuzz for hours after local media reported that a parliamentary commission had proposed a tax on domestic "animals of affection" to raise revenue for debt-strapped cities and towns.
Protests were voiced by everyone from animal rights groups - who said it would prompt more people to abandon animals - to politicians who called it everything from "grotesque" to "surreal" to "idiotic" to "shameful".
There was so much reaction - all of it incredulous - that one Italian agency ran nearly 40 news items on the proposal in less than four hours.
The proposal was withdrawn by early Friday evening however, and it seemed everyone on the commission where it was discussed was denying its paternity.
"The only thing that's left to tax are wives and children," said parliamentarian Domenico Scilipoti.
Italy, like many other countries across the euro zone, is struggling to revive its economy and reduce its public debt, a predicament that has prompted the country's lawmakers to try to dream up new revenue-raising measures.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Breyer robbed again
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who was robbed in February at his Caribbean vacation home by a man armed with a machete, recently was the victim of a burglary at his residence in Washington, a court spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said no one was home at the time of the burglary, which was discovered May 4 by a housekeeper. The Washington, D.C., police were investigating, she said.
Breyer and his wife, Joanna, have a townhouse in Washington's upscale Georgetown neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In the February incident on the island of Nevis, the intruder stole about $1,000 but no one was hurt. Breyer, his wife and two guests were present at the time.
There have been previous instances of crimes involving U.S. Supreme Court justices.
In 2004, then-Supreme Court Justice David Souter suffered minor injuries when he was mugged by a group of young men as he jogged alone near his residence in Washington.
In 1996, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had her purse snatched as she walked home with her husband and daughter from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to their nearby residence in their Watergate apartment complex. No one was hurt.
Spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said no one was home at the time of the burglary, which was discovered May 4 by a housekeeper. The Washington, D.C., police were investigating, she said.
Breyer and his wife, Joanna, have a townhouse in Washington's upscale Georgetown neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In the February incident on the island of Nevis, the intruder stole about $1,000 but no one was hurt. Breyer, his wife and two guests were present at the time.
There have been previous instances of crimes involving U.S. Supreme Court justices.
In 2004, then-Supreme Court Justice David Souter suffered minor injuries when he was mugged by a group of young men as he jogged alone near his residence in Washington.
In 1996, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had her purse snatched as she walked home with her husband and daughter from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to their nearby residence in their Watergate apartment complex. No one was hurt.
'Psychic' pig to make Euro tips
A psychic pig is set to take over where Paul the Octopus left off at the 2010 World Cup by predicting the results of matches at the European championships in Ukraine and Poland.
Kiev's city government said on Friday it would wheel out the porky tipster to give daily forecasts once the tournament kicks off next month.
"A unique oracle hog, a real Ukrainian pig and a psychic which knows the mysteries of football," a statement said. "Every day at 16.00 it will predict the result of the upcoming match."
Paul, who has since passed away, shot to fame at the 2010 World Cup after his feeding behavior was used to correctly predict the winner of each of the Germany's seven matches.
He also tipped World Cup winners Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final in South Africa from his tank at an aquarium in Oberhausen.
Kiev officials said they wanted bring similar excitement to Ukrainians by bringing the telepathic pig to the city's fan zone before matches.
'Psychic' creatures have become the rage since Paul blazed his tentacled trail.
A rare two-headed tortoise called Magdalena embarked on a new career as a tipster at last year's ice hockey world championships in Slovakia.
Germany discovered a cross-eyed opossum called Heidi, who made an appearance on American television earlier this year to predict the Oscar winners. She died last September.
The hog will be eager to sniff out the correct result himself to avoid the chop as pork is a staple of the local cuisine.
Kiev's city government said on Friday it would wheel out the porky tipster to give daily forecasts once the tournament kicks off next month.
"A unique oracle hog, a real Ukrainian pig and a psychic which knows the mysteries of football," a statement said. "Every day at 16.00 it will predict the result of the upcoming match."
Paul, who has since passed away, shot to fame at the 2010 World Cup after his feeding behavior was used to correctly predict the winner of each of the Germany's seven matches.
He also tipped World Cup winners Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final in South Africa from his tank at an aquarium in Oberhausen.
Kiev officials said they wanted bring similar excitement to Ukrainians by bringing the telepathic pig to the city's fan zone before matches.
'Psychic' creatures have become the rage since Paul blazed his tentacled trail.
A rare two-headed tortoise called Magdalena embarked on a new career as a tipster at last year's ice hockey world championships in Slovakia.
Germany discovered a cross-eyed opossum called Heidi, who made an appearance on American television earlier this year to predict the Oscar winners. She died last September.
The hog will be eager to sniff out the correct result himself to avoid the chop as pork is a staple of the local cuisine.
Canada museum kills masturbation video after outcry
Canada's federal science museum has removed an animated video showing youth masturbating from an upcoming sex exhibit following a public outcry, a museum spokesman said.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum will open the "Sex: A Tell-all Exhibition" on Thursday as planned despite strong criticism from Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, who has called it an insult to taxpayers.
But the facility has decided to remove the video and raise to 16 from 12 years the minimum age for unaccompanied children to tour the exhibit designed to answer questions youth have about sexuality.
"The museum has received a higher than expected amount of expressions of concerns from the public," spokesman Yves St-Onge said.
"We take the feedback of our community seriously, and so we have carefully considered their suggestions, and taken appropriate action that we believe will best serve our audiences."
The show includes life-sized, full-frontal nude photos of males and females at various stages of life, and Canada's Sun newspapers have described a "climax room" showing animations of aroused genitals with a voice of a man describing an orgasm.
Moore spokesman James Maunder said it was clear the exhibit fell outside the museum's mandate of fostering scientific and technological literacy.
"This content cannot be defended, and is insulting to taxpayers," he said.
Responding to criticism, St-Onge said: "The exhibition is designed to present information in a scientific, frank and accessible manner, an approach that the Canada Science and Technology Museum supports."
The Canada Science and Technology Museum will open the "Sex: A Tell-all Exhibition" on Thursday as planned despite strong criticism from Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, who has called it an insult to taxpayers.
But the facility has decided to remove the video and raise to 16 from 12 years the minimum age for unaccompanied children to tour the exhibit designed to answer questions youth have about sexuality.
"The museum has received a higher than expected amount of expressions of concerns from the public," spokesman Yves St-Onge said.
"We take the feedback of our community seriously, and so we have carefully considered their suggestions, and taken appropriate action that we believe will best serve our audiences."
The show includes life-sized, full-frontal nude photos of males and females at various stages of life, and Canada's Sun newspapers have described a "climax room" showing animations of aroused genitals with a voice of a man describing an orgasm.
Moore spokesman James Maunder said it was clear the exhibit fell outside the museum's mandate of fostering scientific and technological literacy.
"This content cannot be defended, and is insulting to taxpayers," he said.
Responding to criticism, St-Onge said: "The exhibition is designed to present information in a scientific, frank and accessible manner, an approach that the Canada Science and Technology Museum supports."
Fugitive penguin 337 spotted alive in Tokyo Bay
After Penguin Number 337 made a daring bid for freedom from a Tokyo aquarium and vanished into the waters of Tokyo Bay two months ago, many feared the worst for the adventurous feathered fugitive.
But the one-year-old Humboldt penguin has now popped up on video footage in a different part of the bay, frolicking in the water and apparently healthy.
The penguin, still too young to determine whether it is male or female and thus known only by a number, scaled a rock wall four meters (13 ft) high and squeezed through a barbed wire fence to escape its harborside aquarium in March.
"You can see it's got the same ring around its flipper and identical facial patterns," said Kazuhiro Sakamoto, deputy director of the Tokyo Sea Life Park, when shown footage of the tubby escapee taken by Japan's Coast Guard.
"It didn't look like it has gotten thinner over the past two months, or been without food. It doesn't seem to be any weaker. So it looks as if it's been living quite happily in the middle of Tokyo Bay."
Penguin 337 was filmed earlier this month near Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge.
In the days following the penguin's escape, the aquarium launched a city-wide appeal for tips on its whereabouts and sent keepers on daily penguin-hunts throughout the bay area.
They received hundreds of sighting reports, some from as far away as western Japan, but Sakamoto said most had probably mistaken cormorants for the flightless penguin. Only about 30 of the reports were thought genuine.
Tokyo Bay is a crowded and busy body of water bordering the densely-populated city, and the area around the aquarium consists of high-rise apartment buildings and concrete.
Many people had worried that the water was too dirty for the bird to stay healthy. More recently, reports of rising radiation levels in the bay have prompted concern.
"They say there's radiation in there, so I've got my fingers crossed that it can live in Tokyo Bay safely," said local resident Tateki Futagami.
The bird is probably gorging on small fish in the bay during daylight hours and returning to the shore at night to rest somewhere along the bay, keepers said.
The penguin, hatched in 2011, had shared life in a rocky outdoor enclosure at the aquarium with 135 other Humboldts and a number of other penguins prior to its escape. Sakamoto attributed its flight to a sense of adventure.
But the one-year-old Humboldt penguin has now popped up on video footage in a different part of the bay, frolicking in the water and apparently healthy.
The penguin, still too young to determine whether it is male or female and thus known only by a number, scaled a rock wall four meters (13 ft) high and squeezed through a barbed wire fence to escape its harborside aquarium in March.
"You can see it's got the same ring around its flipper and identical facial patterns," said Kazuhiro Sakamoto, deputy director of the Tokyo Sea Life Park, when shown footage of the tubby escapee taken by Japan's Coast Guard.
"It didn't look like it has gotten thinner over the past two months, or been without food. It doesn't seem to be any weaker. So it looks as if it's been living quite happily in the middle of Tokyo Bay."
Penguin 337 was filmed earlier this month near Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge.
In the days following the penguin's escape, the aquarium launched a city-wide appeal for tips on its whereabouts and sent keepers on daily penguin-hunts throughout the bay area.
They received hundreds of sighting reports, some from as far away as western Japan, but Sakamoto said most had probably mistaken cormorants for the flightless penguin. Only about 30 of the reports were thought genuine.
Tokyo Bay is a crowded and busy body of water bordering the densely-populated city, and the area around the aquarium consists of high-rise apartment buildings and concrete.
Many people had worried that the water was too dirty for the bird to stay healthy. More recently, reports of rising radiation levels in the bay have prompted concern.
"They say there's radiation in there, so I've got my fingers crossed that it can live in Tokyo Bay safely," said local resident Tateki Futagami.
The bird is probably gorging on small fish in the bay during daylight hours and returning to the shore at night to rest somewhere along the bay, keepers said.
The penguin, hatched in 2011, had shared life in a rocky outdoor enclosure at the aquarium with 135 other Humboldts and a number of other penguins prior to its escape. Sakamoto attributed its flight to a sense of adventure.
Presidential penis portrait riles S.Africa's ANC
South Africa's ruling ANC threatened to take legal action against a Johannesburg gallery for displaying art which lampoons President Jacob Zuma and accuses the party of corruption.
The African National Congress wants the Goodman Gallery to remove a painting of Zuma called "The Spear", which depicts the president with his genitals exposed, and another work that has a "For Sale" sign superimposed over the party logo.
The picture of Zuma is a facsimile of a famous poster of communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. In the red, black and yellow drawing, the president is depicted as striking Lenin's heroic stance, except his genitals hang outside of his trousers.
The works are part of a collection called "Hail to the Thief" and are meant to question whether the century-old African National Congress has lost its moral compass.
"It's making a mockery of the highest office," ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu told Reuters.
Mthembu said the artist was within his rights to express himself but said "The Spear" was "vulgar" and ridiculed President Zuma's stature.
The collection takes a provocative look at ANC heroes and highlights public perception that there is growing corruption in government, with officials abusing positions to amass wealth.
Other works include a Soviet-style poster reading: "The Kleptocrats" and "We demand Chivas, BMW's and Bribes".
The images play to concerns raised by international investors and the ANC's governing partner, labor federation COSATU, which has said South Africa is becoming a "predator state" for sale to the highest bidder.
"We are not going to remove the images for the sake of defending the artist's right to freedom of expression and for the sake of upholding the gallery's reputation," said Lara Koseff who works at the gallery.
Since coming into office in 2009, Zuma has been widely regarded as unimpressive on the policy front, while making headlines with his colorful personal life.
The president has been married six times and fathered 21 children. He faces a race for re-election as the party leader at the end of this year.
The Spear by well-known anti-apartheid artist Brett Murray has already been sold for R136,000 ($16,300) to a German citizen.
Anton Harber, chairman of the Freedom of Expression Institute called the ANC's demands "silly".
"I can see that some of the images may make people feel uncomfortable but art is not there to make people feel comfortable," Harber said.
"It is meant to get us thinking and talking about pertinent issues of corruption, nepotism... these are serious things."
($1 = 8.3457 South African rand)
The African National Congress wants the Goodman Gallery to remove a painting of Zuma called "The Spear", which depicts the president with his genitals exposed, and another work that has a "For Sale" sign superimposed over the party logo.
The picture of Zuma is a facsimile of a famous poster of communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. In the red, black and yellow drawing, the president is depicted as striking Lenin's heroic stance, except his genitals hang outside of his trousers.
The works are part of a collection called "Hail to the Thief" and are meant to question whether the century-old African National Congress has lost its moral compass.
"It's making a mockery of the highest office," ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu told Reuters.
Mthembu said the artist was within his rights to express himself but said "The Spear" was "vulgar" and ridiculed President Zuma's stature.
The collection takes a provocative look at ANC heroes and highlights public perception that there is growing corruption in government, with officials abusing positions to amass wealth.
Other works include a Soviet-style poster reading: "The Kleptocrats" and "We demand Chivas, BMW's and Bribes".
The images play to concerns raised by international investors and the ANC's governing partner, labor federation COSATU, which has said South Africa is becoming a "predator state" for sale to the highest bidder.
"We are not going to remove the images for the sake of defending the artist's right to freedom of expression and for the sake of upholding the gallery's reputation," said Lara Koseff who works at the gallery.
Since coming into office in 2009, Zuma has been widely regarded as unimpressive on the policy front, while making headlines with his colorful personal life.
The president has been married six times and fathered 21 children. He faces a race for re-election as the party leader at the end of this year.
The Spear by well-known anti-apartheid artist Brett Murray has already been sold for R136,000 ($16,300) to a German citizen.
Anton Harber, chairman of the Freedom of Expression Institute called the ANC's demands "silly".
"I can see that some of the images may make people feel uncomfortable but art is not there to make people feel comfortable," Harber said.
"It is meant to get us thinking and talking about pertinent issues of corruption, nepotism... these are serious things."
($1 = 8.3457 South African rand)
Sniffer dog nabs smuggler hiding heroin in rectum
A man who tried to smuggle heroin into the United States concealed in his rectum was caught by U.S. officials - with the help of a drug-sniffer dog named Malone - as he walked across the border from Mexico.
Paulo Alfredo Macias, 35, was being held in the El Paso County Jail without bond after being caught on Monday at the Paso Del Norte pedestrian crossing with nearly 5 ounces of heroin, officials said.
"Internal body carriers are not common at land border ports of entry so this is a significant seizure," El Paso Port Director Hector Mancha of Customs and Border Protection said in a statement on Wednesday.
Macias, a Texan, had been selected for screening at the El Paso crossing, and the dog helped officials determine he was carrying drugs, the statement said.
In an interview with officials, Macias admitted he had heroin hidden in his body, and he removed an oval-shaped pellet containing the drugs, it added.
Paulo Alfredo Macias, 35, was being held in the El Paso County Jail without bond after being caught on Monday at the Paso Del Norte pedestrian crossing with nearly 5 ounces of heroin, officials said.
"Internal body carriers are not common at land border ports of entry so this is a significant seizure," El Paso Port Director Hector Mancha of Customs and Border Protection said in a statement on Wednesday.
Macias, a Texan, had been selected for screening at the El Paso crossing, and the dog helped officials determine he was carrying drugs, the statement said.
In an interview with officials, Macias admitted he had heroin hidden in his body, and he removed an oval-shaped pellet containing the drugs, it added.
Paris exotic dancers strike, say wages "miserable"
Topless dancers at the renowned Crazy Horse night club in Paris have gone on strike, saying they are not being paid enough to take the shirts off their backs.
The Crazy Horse, one of the most popular establishments of its kind in the world, said on Wednesday it was forced to cancel performances on Tuesday and again on Wednesday for the first time since the cabaret was created in 1951.
The night club, which declined to give details on salary demands or current wages, said in a statement that it had always taken the wellbeing of its artists very seriously and that talks were continuing to resolve the dispute.
"It's an exceptional place which has the specialty of presenting a fully naked show," Suzanne, one of the dancers, told RTL radio.
"What's wrong is that we are asked to work 24 days per month for a pay that is worse than miserable," she said.
The cabaret's management said it was doing everything possible to reopen.
"Everything is done to give the Crazy Horse show back to its public," it said.
In the meantime, clients with tickets for a show on Tuesday or Wednesday will be offered a new date or a refund, a spokeswoman said.
The Crazy Horse, Lido and Moulin Rouge - where topless dancers perform in carefully orchestrated shows - have been top attractions for generations of tourists and locals.
The Crazy Horse, one of the most popular establishments of its kind in the world, said on Wednesday it was forced to cancel performances on Tuesday and again on Wednesday for the first time since the cabaret was created in 1951.
The night club, which declined to give details on salary demands or current wages, said in a statement that it had always taken the wellbeing of its artists very seriously and that talks were continuing to resolve the dispute.
"It's an exceptional place which has the specialty of presenting a fully naked show," Suzanne, one of the dancers, told RTL radio.
"What's wrong is that we are asked to work 24 days per month for a pay that is worse than miserable," she said.
The cabaret's management said it was doing everything possible to reopen.
"Everything is done to give the Crazy Horse show back to its public," it said.
In the meantime, clients with tickets for a show on Tuesday or Wednesday will be offered a new date or a refund, a spokeswoman said.
The Crazy Horse, Lido and Moulin Rouge - where topless dancers perform in carefully orchestrated shows - have been top attractions for generations of tourists and locals.
Shock-seekers snap up new Aussie art dare
Smelling excrement may not be everyone's idea of fun, but for those who like to push the boundaries, Australia's most controversial new museum may be just what they are looking for.
Dubbed "the subversive adult Disneyland", the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is located in Tasmania and features around 400 works of art from Egyptian mummies to Young British Artists including Chris Ofili and Jenny Saville.
But the most talked-about piece is the Cloaca Professional, labeled the "poo-machine." It was built by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye to mimic the actions of the human digestive system.
A series of glass receptacles hang in a row with the machine being "fed" twice a day on one end. The food is ground up "naturally," the way it is in the human body, and the device produces feces on the clock at 2 pm at the other end.
The smell is so powerful that not many visitors can take it.
"It put me off because of the overwhelming assault on the senses," said Diane Malnic, a Sydney-based accountant.
Yet this was her second visit in five months, following a family holiday in Tasmania earlier in the year. This time, she flew without her husband and children just to have another look at the collection, interested in Delvoye's other pieces.
She took great care to avoid the "smelly" parts and still talked vividly about the "vomit room" which was part of an earlier exhibit no longer on display.
"I wouldn't go back to see them," she said, laughing.
The Cloaca is part of a series of at least five similar machines built by the artist, another of which will soon be exhibited at the Louvre. It is the most hated piece in the museum but also the most visited.
The museum, which opened in January 2011, is owned by eccentric and philanthropist David Walsh, who made his fortune as a professional gambler, and features one of the largest private art collections in the world with an estimated value of around A$100 million.
Its motto is to shock, offend, inform and entertain.
"It definitely challenges your interpretation of what art is," said Malnic.
Pieces include Chris Ofili's Holy Virgin Mary, which features elephant dung and porn-magazine cutouts of genitals. It caused controversy in 1996, with then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani reportedly describing Ofili's work as "sick".
Another much-talked-about piece is the Matrix by Jenny Saville, a full-frontal large painting of a naked transgender man with his modified genitals exposed.
"It's confronting," said Margarita Silva, a Melbourne-based dentist making during her third trip to the MONA.
Detractors argue that some of the pieces don't belong to a museum, which is also what Malnic initially thought. But upon reflection, she said the Cloaca machine opened her mind and argued that perhaps it was the future of art.
For Silva, her favorites were a soundproof room of 30 Madonna fans who were individually filmed singing a capella the artist's Immaculate Collection album. The other was a waterfall with droplets spelling out a series of words.
Keeping with the MONA's sensibility, none of its art work is grouped or chronological, leaving viewers to walk at random.
"Overall, it's a fantastic experience," said Silva.
The museum charges A$20 ($20) for entry and has drawn around 389,000 visitors in its first year ($1 = 0.9887 Australian dollars)
Dubbed "the subversive adult Disneyland", the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is located in Tasmania and features around 400 works of art from Egyptian mummies to Young British Artists including Chris Ofili and Jenny Saville.
But the most talked-about piece is the Cloaca Professional, labeled the "poo-machine." It was built by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye to mimic the actions of the human digestive system.
A series of glass receptacles hang in a row with the machine being "fed" twice a day on one end. The food is ground up "naturally," the way it is in the human body, and the device produces feces on the clock at 2 pm at the other end.
The smell is so powerful that not many visitors can take it.
"It put me off because of the overwhelming assault on the senses," said Diane Malnic, a Sydney-based accountant.
Yet this was her second visit in five months, following a family holiday in Tasmania earlier in the year. This time, she flew without her husband and children just to have another look at the collection, interested in Delvoye's other pieces.
She took great care to avoid the "smelly" parts and still talked vividly about the "vomit room" which was part of an earlier exhibit no longer on display.
"I wouldn't go back to see them," she said, laughing.
The Cloaca is part of a series of at least five similar machines built by the artist, another of which will soon be exhibited at the Louvre. It is the most hated piece in the museum but also the most visited.
The museum, which opened in January 2011, is owned by eccentric and philanthropist David Walsh, who made his fortune as a professional gambler, and features one of the largest private art collections in the world with an estimated value of around A$100 million.
Its motto is to shock, offend, inform and entertain.
"It definitely challenges your interpretation of what art is," said Malnic.
Pieces include Chris Ofili's Holy Virgin Mary, which features elephant dung and porn-magazine cutouts of genitals. It caused controversy in 1996, with then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani reportedly describing Ofili's work as "sick".
Another much-talked-about piece is the Matrix by Jenny Saville, a full-frontal large painting of a naked transgender man with his modified genitals exposed.
"It's confronting," said Margarita Silva, a Melbourne-based dentist making during her third trip to the MONA.
Detractors argue that some of the pieces don't belong to a museum, which is also what Malnic initially thought. But upon reflection, she said the Cloaca machine opened her mind and argued that perhaps it was the future of art.
For Silva, her favorites were a soundproof room of 30 Madonna fans who were individually filmed singing a capella the artist's Immaculate Collection album. The other was a waterfall with droplets spelling out a series of words.
Keeping with the MONA's sensibility, none of its art work is grouped or chronological, leaving viewers to walk at random.
"Overall, it's a fantastic experience," said Silva.
The museum charges A$20 ($20) for entry and has drawn around 389,000 visitors in its first year ($1 = 0.9887 Australian dollars)
Aussie shooter Mark squirms under "mankini" bet threat
Australian Olympic shooting gold medalist Russell Mark is set to parade in a lime-green "mankini" made famous by the movie character "Borat" at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics as the penalty for losing a bet.
Mark, who won double trap gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games and silver in Sydney, pledged to wear the skimpy swimsuit worn by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in the 2006 film if Melbourne-based Carlton lost to St. Kilda in the Australian Football League.
Carlton suffered a shock four-goal defeat in the match on Monday night and Mark owned up to making the bet on local radio.
"Oh, I must've been intoxicated. Carlton promise so much and just deliver so little. It kills me," the burly 48-year-old said on Tuesday.
"Anyway, a lot of people would think a mankini might look better than the uniform they've nominated for us, so I don't know if it's such a bad thing."
The one-piece swimsuit would certainly stand out among the other Australian athletes, who will be kitted out in stodgy green blazers and white slacks which fashion critics have generously described as "retro".
An Australian Olympic Committee spokesman recommended Mark keep the mankini in the closet.
"Age is the problem here. Russell is no spring chicken, his days of being a model are long gone, and we don't think it would be a good look for the team to have Russell in a mankini," the spokesman told local media.
"Besides, this will be his sixth Olympics and he is a chance to be named as flag bearer. Imagine the flag bearer out in front of our team in a mankini. And a big, butch shooter at that.
"As we all know the London weather is fickle and we would not want him to catch cold."
Mark, who won double trap gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games and silver in Sydney, pledged to wear the skimpy swimsuit worn by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in the 2006 film if Melbourne-based Carlton lost to St. Kilda in the Australian Football League.
Carlton suffered a shock four-goal defeat in the match on Monday night and Mark owned up to making the bet on local radio.
"Oh, I must've been intoxicated. Carlton promise so much and just deliver so little. It kills me," the burly 48-year-old said on Tuesday.
"Anyway, a lot of people would think a mankini might look better than the uniform they've nominated for us, so I don't know if it's such a bad thing."
The one-piece swimsuit would certainly stand out among the other Australian athletes, who will be kitted out in stodgy green blazers and white slacks which fashion critics have generously described as "retro".
An Australian Olympic Committee spokesman recommended Mark keep the mankini in the closet.
"Age is the problem here. Russell is no spring chicken, his days of being a model are long gone, and we don't think it would be a good look for the team to have Russell in a mankini," the spokesman told local media.
"Besides, this will be his sixth Olympics and he is a chance to be named as flag bearer. Imagine the flag bearer out in front of our team in a mankini. And a big, butch shooter at that.
"As we all know the London weather is fickle and we would not want him to catch cold."
"Subversive" newspaper crossword stirs Venezuela
A veteran Venezuelan crossword-writer has been accused of hiding a coded message to assassinate President Hugo Chavez's brother in the latest surreal twist to election year politics in the South American nation.
Neptali Segovia was interviewed by intelligence agents, his newspaper said on Friday, after a state TV pundit said he had disguised a message to gun down Chavez's brother, Adan, in the answers to various clues in a crossword this week.
"These sorts of messages were used a lot in World War Two," the pundit, Perez Pirela, said earlier in the week in a dramatic denouncement of Ultimas Noticias newspaper on live television.
Segovia has denied any subversive intentions.
While causing laughter in some circles, the case also shows the dangerously polarized environment in Venezuela, where the socialist Chavez has been accusing opposition leaders of planning violence in the run-up to an October presidential vote.
Mystery over cancer-stricken Chavez's condition has only heightened the nervous atmosphere in Venezuela.
The pugnacious Pirela, who uses an early evening TV show to lay into Chavez opponents, said a group of mathematicians, psychologists and others had studied the Spanish-language crossword and concluded it was a coded assassination plot.
Answers to clues included "Adan", "asesinen" (meaning "kill") and "rafaga" (which can mean either a burst of gunfire, or a gust of wind).
LIKE DE GAULLE?
"It's a message ... I'm speaking in the name of truth," Pirela added, noting how French leader Charles de Gaulle used to broadcast coded messages from London to Resistance fighters in France during World War Two.
Police were not available for comment.
But Ultimas Noticias said six officers from Venezuela's intelligence service had visited the newspaper's editorial offices on Thursday asking for information about Segovia.
After that, he went voluntarily to the intelligence service's headquarters to give a statement, it said.
"I am the first to want to clarify this. I have nothing to hide because the work I have been doing for the last 17 years has only a cultural and education intention, and is transparent," Segovia was quoted as saying.
"I was treated respectfully. They took down my comments and made a routine summary. Then they took me home."
Another newspaper, the militantly pro-opposition Tal Cual, lampooned the Chavez government on Friday with a front-page crossword highlighting the nation's ills.
Clues included: "What officials do when they misuse public funds" (Corruption); Perhaps the most abused law? (Constitution); and "Name of supreme leader who governs our destiny? Bearded." (Fidel Castro).
Neptali Segovia was interviewed by intelligence agents, his newspaper said on Friday, after a state TV pundit said he had disguised a message to gun down Chavez's brother, Adan, in the answers to various clues in a crossword this week.
"These sorts of messages were used a lot in World War Two," the pundit, Perez Pirela, said earlier in the week in a dramatic denouncement of Ultimas Noticias newspaper on live television.
Segovia has denied any subversive intentions.
While causing laughter in some circles, the case also shows the dangerously polarized environment in Venezuela, where the socialist Chavez has been accusing opposition leaders of planning violence in the run-up to an October presidential vote.
Mystery over cancer-stricken Chavez's condition has only heightened the nervous atmosphere in Venezuela.
The pugnacious Pirela, who uses an early evening TV show to lay into Chavez opponents, said a group of mathematicians, psychologists and others had studied the Spanish-language crossword and concluded it was a coded assassination plot.
Answers to clues included "Adan", "asesinen" (meaning "kill") and "rafaga" (which can mean either a burst of gunfire, or a gust of wind).
LIKE DE GAULLE?
"It's a message ... I'm speaking in the name of truth," Pirela added, noting how French leader Charles de Gaulle used to broadcast coded messages from London to Resistance fighters in France during World War Two.
Police were not available for comment.
But Ultimas Noticias said six officers from Venezuela's intelligence service had visited the newspaper's editorial offices on Thursday asking for information about Segovia.
After that, he went voluntarily to the intelligence service's headquarters to give a statement, it said.
"I am the first to want to clarify this. I have nothing to hide because the work I have been doing for the last 17 years has only a cultural and education intention, and is transparent," Segovia was quoted as saying.
"I was treated respectfully. They took down my comments and made a routine summary. Then they took me home."
Another newspaper, the militantly pro-opposition Tal Cual, lampooned the Chavez government on Friday with a front-page crossword highlighting the nation's ills.
Clues included: "What officials do when they misuse public funds" (Corruption); Perhaps the most abused law? (Constitution); and "Name of supreme leader who governs our destiny? Bearded." (Fidel Castro).
Stripper fired from newspaper alleges discrimination
A newspaper reporter who was fired after another publication reported that she worked part-time as a stripper says she has filed a complaint against her former employer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging sex discrimination.
Sarah Tressler, 30, was working as a society and general assignment reporter for the Houston Chronicle and was writing an anonymous blog entitled "Diary of an Angry Stripper" when the weekly Houston Press revealed her part-time profession in an article entitled "Society Writer by Day, Stripper by Night."
Tressler says that after the story came out earlier this year, she was fired by the Chronicle "because of a claim that I did not disclose on my employment application that I worked as an exotic dancer."
"There was no question on the form that covered my dancing," Tressler said in a statement issued on Thursday. "I answered the questions on the form honestly."
Tressler's attorney, Los Angeles celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, says her work as a "dancer" should not affect her ability to be an effective reporter for a major newspaper.
Allred says Tressler's firing was clearly "sexually discriminatory."
"Most exotic dancers are female, and therefore to terminate an employee because they had previously been an exotic dancer would have an adverse impact on women, since it is a female dominated occupation," Allred said in a statement.
Allred said Tressler was dancing at clubs as an independent contractor, not an employee, so she would not have had a reason to list dancing as prior employment on her job application.
In her blog, Tressler, who refers to herself as "Sarah," discusses things like the odd and disgusting behavior of strip club customers, "stripper terms" and other subjects.
"I had demonstrated that I was able to do my job as a reporter very well and I would have been happy to continue to do it had I not been terminated," Tressler said. She says she plans to continue her work in journalism.
The Chronicle, in an article about the complaint, said it "declined to comment."
Sarah Tressler, 30, was working as a society and general assignment reporter for the Houston Chronicle and was writing an anonymous blog entitled "Diary of an Angry Stripper" when the weekly Houston Press revealed her part-time profession in an article entitled "Society Writer by Day, Stripper by Night."
Tressler says that after the story came out earlier this year, she was fired by the Chronicle "because of a claim that I did not disclose on my employment application that I worked as an exotic dancer."
"There was no question on the form that covered my dancing," Tressler said in a statement issued on Thursday. "I answered the questions on the form honestly."
Tressler's attorney, Los Angeles celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, says her work as a "dancer" should not affect her ability to be an effective reporter for a major newspaper.
Allred says Tressler's firing was clearly "sexually discriminatory."
"Most exotic dancers are female, and therefore to terminate an employee because they had previously been an exotic dancer would have an adverse impact on women, since it is a female dominated occupation," Allred said in a statement.
Allred said Tressler was dancing at clubs as an independent contractor, not an employee, so she would not have had a reason to list dancing as prior employment on her job application.
In her blog, Tressler, who refers to herself as "Sarah," discusses things like the odd and disgusting behavior of strip club customers, "stripper terms" and other subjects.
"I had demonstrated that I was able to do my job as a reporter very well and I would have been happy to continue to do it had I not been terminated," Tressler said. She says she plans to continue her work in journalism.
The Chronicle, in an article about the complaint, said it "declined to comment."
Afterlife comes at a discount for diehard Benfica fans
Diehard fans of Portugal's Premier League soccer club Benfica can now rest in peace knowing they can be buried at a discount thanks to a deal signed between the club and the country's largest undertakers agency.
In addition to a 12.5 percent rebate, the ultimate advantages for card-carrying Benfica fans also include having the club's anthem performed during the funeral ceremony, having the club's official logo chiseled on coffins or urns, as well as having the Benfica flag laid over the receptacle.
"Given the massive passion that Benfica instills, it made sense to go and talk to them to bring the club into funeral ceremonies in a professional way," Paulo Carreira, assistant director general at Servilusa funeral home, told Reuters.
The Guinness Book of Records considered Benfica the most widely supported football club in the world in 2006, with 160,398 paid-up members.
"Funerals are part of life and the discount can be important to soften families' financial burden these days, given the economic crisis we are in," said Carreira, who does not support any particular club.
He added that Servilusa does not rule out broadening the offer to other clubs in the future.
In addition to a 12.5 percent rebate, the ultimate advantages for card-carrying Benfica fans also include having the club's anthem performed during the funeral ceremony, having the club's official logo chiseled on coffins or urns, as well as having the Benfica flag laid over the receptacle.
"Given the massive passion that Benfica instills, it made sense to go and talk to them to bring the club into funeral ceremonies in a professional way," Paulo Carreira, assistant director general at Servilusa funeral home, told Reuters.
The Guinness Book of Records considered Benfica the most widely supported football club in the world in 2006, with 160,398 paid-up members.
"Funerals are part of life and the discount can be important to soften families' financial burden these days, given the economic crisis we are in," said Carreira, who does not support any particular club.
He added that Servilusa does not rule out broadening the offer to other clubs in the future.
Man bitten by rattlesnake at Washington state Walmart
When Mica Craig reached down to brush what he thought was a stick off some mulch in the garden section of a Washington state Walmart, it turned around and sank its fangs into his hand.
The Friday encounter with a rattlesnake sent Craig, 47, to the hospital, where he said he remained in excruciating pain and may lose feeling in two fingers. Wal-Mart Stores Inc has apologized.
"I reached down to grab the stick to move it out of the way, and the snake stretched out, turned around and got its fangs in my right hand," he said. "I slung it off and I did a tap dance on it until it was dead."
Craig was rushed to the hospital by fellow customer Maria Geffre, who told Reuters she saw him crumple to the ground after crying out that he had been bitten by a snake.
"He had punctures on his hand and there was the dead rattler he'd stomped on," Geffre said, describing the snake as at least a foot long with four buttons, or rattles.
Craig, a married father of two, said the mulch was for his marijuana plants, which he is licensed to grow for medical reasons. It was unclear whether the snake came from an adjacent field or arrived at the store along with garden supplies.
Craig said doctors who initially thought the snake had inflicted only a "dry bite" - or one that did not inject venom - treated him with six bags of anti-venom after his right hand swelled to the size of a melon.
A Walmart spokeswoman offered an apology to Craig and said the retailer was looking into how the incident could have happened at the store in Clarkston, in eastern Washington.
"At this point, it appears to be an isolated incident. We are working with a pest management team, which is conducting a sweep of the property to ensure there is no additional rattlesnake activity," Walmart spokeswoman Kayla Whaling said.
Travis Taggart, director of the Center for North American Herpetology, said about half of documented rattlesnake bites, which are usually defensive when directed at humans, are "dry" but still cause severe pain.
The Friday encounter with a rattlesnake sent Craig, 47, to the hospital, where he said he remained in excruciating pain and may lose feeling in two fingers. Wal-Mart Stores Inc has apologized.
"I reached down to grab the stick to move it out of the way, and the snake stretched out, turned around and got its fangs in my right hand," he said. "I slung it off and I did a tap dance on it until it was dead."
Craig was rushed to the hospital by fellow customer Maria Geffre, who told Reuters she saw him crumple to the ground after crying out that he had been bitten by a snake.
"He had punctures on his hand and there was the dead rattler he'd stomped on," Geffre said, describing the snake as at least a foot long with four buttons, or rattles.
Craig, a married father of two, said the mulch was for his marijuana plants, which he is licensed to grow for medical reasons. It was unclear whether the snake came from an adjacent field or arrived at the store along with garden supplies.
Craig said doctors who initially thought the snake had inflicted only a "dry bite" - or one that did not inject venom - treated him with six bags of anti-venom after his right hand swelled to the size of a melon.
A Walmart spokeswoman offered an apology to Craig and said the retailer was looking into how the incident could have happened at the store in Clarkston, in eastern Washington.
"At this point, it appears to be an isolated incident. We are working with a pest management team, which is conducting a sweep of the property to ensure there is no additional rattlesnake activity," Walmart spokeswoman Kayla Whaling said.
Travis Taggart, director of the Center for North American Herpetology, said about half of documented rattlesnake bites, which are usually defensive when directed at humans, are "dry" but still cause severe pain.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Prominent Psychic Predicts Positive End to 2012
Joseph Tittel's notoriety blossomed in 2007 after he appeared on the Lifetime Television series "America's Psychic Challenge.".
The world won't end in 2012. Nor will the presidency of Barack Obama.
Those are just two of the prophecies from Bucks County psychic Joseph Tittel. He draws listeners to his weekly radio program and New Year's Day prophecies.
Tittel's notoriety blossomed in 2007 after he appeared on the Lifetime Television series "America's Psychic Challenge."
In a New Year's Day 2010 broadcast, je predicted an East Coast earthquake registering between 5.5 and 6.0 on the Richter scale.
The Aug. 23 earthquake felt from Virginia to Canada registered 5.8 on the Richter scale, according to the U.S. Geological Service.
On New Year's 2009, Tittel forecast a "major downfall" for Michael Jackson "leaving him hospitalized." During a Feb. 2, 2009, interview on "MTV Live," Tittel said, "We might actually lose him."
Jackson died June 25 of a cardiac arrest.
In one particular episode of "America's Psychic Challenge," producers said they transported Tittel to the scene of murder and challenged him to sense details of the crime.
Tittel appeared to correctly deduce the spot where the victim died, the method of stabbing, and other details.
The Bristol Township resident has spent hours in focused mediation on 2012. Often, the visions appear to him as headlines in newspapers.
"People are going to think I'm really crazy when I tell them Obama is going to clean up in the next election," Tittel said Thursday. "Mitt Romney is going to screw up late in the year and Obama is going to win big time."
Tittel doesn't care much for politics or favor either candidate.
He doesn't foresee the end of the world with the end of the Mayan calendar on Dec. 12, 2012. However, he does fear mass suicides as that date approaches.
"People are worried , but it's not going to be all doom and gloom," he said. "We're going to have some catastrophic events next year without a doubt. There's already chaos, but it's also going to end on a positive level."
Every psychic has hits and misses, and Tittel certainly is no exception.
His recorded list of prophecies for 2011 includes the near death of President Barack Obama. I kept seeing the headline 'president shot,'" Tittelsaid in the broadcast recording. "I also got the feeling that it wouldn't be fatal."
In the recording, Tittel also predicted a missle attack on Iran, the death of a queen, and a "pope on the run."
Tittel said he began to sense future events as a teenager, once predicting the collapse of a waterslide at the Jersey Shore. He also claims to communicate with the dead.
In 2007, Tittel released the book "Messages from the Other Side."
Believers will pay $125 per person for group sessions with him several times within the next month. Some shows were reportedly sold out.
Tittel's New Year's Day radio program is scheduled to air from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at http://www.josephtittel.com/
The world won't end in 2012. Nor will the presidency of Barack Obama.
Those are just two of the prophecies from Bucks County psychic Joseph Tittel. He draws listeners to his weekly radio program and New Year's Day prophecies.
Tittel's notoriety blossomed in 2007 after he appeared on the Lifetime Television series "America's Psychic Challenge."
In a New Year's Day 2010 broadcast, je predicted an East Coast earthquake registering between 5.5 and 6.0 on the Richter scale.
The Aug. 23 earthquake felt from Virginia to Canada registered 5.8 on the Richter scale, according to the U.S. Geological Service.
On New Year's 2009, Tittel forecast a "major downfall" for Michael Jackson "leaving him hospitalized." During a Feb. 2, 2009, interview on "MTV Live," Tittel said, "We might actually lose him."
Jackson died June 25 of a cardiac arrest.
In one particular episode of "America's Psychic Challenge," producers said they transported Tittel to the scene of murder and challenged him to sense details of the crime.
Tittel appeared to correctly deduce the spot where the victim died, the method of stabbing, and other details.
The Bristol Township resident has spent hours in focused mediation on 2012. Often, the visions appear to him as headlines in newspapers.
"People are going to think I'm really crazy when I tell them Obama is going to clean up in the next election," Tittel said Thursday. "Mitt Romney is going to screw up late in the year and Obama is going to win big time."
Tittel doesn't care much for politics or favor either candidate.
He doesn't foresee the end of the world with the end of the Mayan calendar on Dec. 12, 2012. However, he does fear mass suicides as that date approaches.
"People are worried , but it's not going to be all doom and gloom," he said. "We're going to have some catastrophic events next year without a doubt. There's already chaos, but it's also going to end on a positive level."
Every psychic has hits and misses, and Tittel certainly is no exception.
His recorded list of prophecies for 2011 includes the near death of President Barack Obama. I kept seeing the headline 'president shot,'" Tittelsaid in the broadcast recording. "I also got the feeling that it wouldn't be fatal."
In the recording, Tittel also predicted a missle attack on Iran, the death of a queen, and a "pope on the run."
Tittel said he began to sense future events as a teenager, once predicting the collapse of a waterslide at the Jersey Shore. He also claims to communicate with the dead.
In 2007, Tittel released the book "Messages from the Other Side."
Believers will pay $125 per person for group sessions with him several times within the next month. Some shows were reportedly sold out.
Tittel's New Year's Day radio program is scheduled to air from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at http://www.josephtittel.com/
POP QUIZ (Triple Crown extravaganza)
Thousands of horses have participated in the Triple Crown races ---- the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness States, and the Belmont Stakes. Only 11 have won all three. Will the winner of this weekend's Derby be No. 12?
Match the horse with the year of his Triple Crown victory.
1. Affirmed a) 1919
2. Assault b) 1930
3. Citation c) 1935
4. Count Fleet d) 1937
5. Gallant Fox e) 1941
6. Omaha f) 1943
7. Seattle Slew g) 1946
8. Secretariat h) 1948
9. Sir Barton i) 1973
10. War Admiral j) 1977
11. Whirlaway k) 1978
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. k ; 2. g ; 3. h ; 4. f ; 5. b ; 6. c ; 7. j ; 8. i ; 9. a ; 10. d ; 11. e
Match the horse with the year of his Triple Crown victory.
1. Affirmed a) 1919
2. Assault b) 1930
3. Citation c) 1935
4. Count Fleet d) 1937
5. Gallant Fox e) 1941
6. Omaha f) 1943
7. Seattle Slew g) 1946
8. Secretariat h) 1948
9. Sir Barton i) 1973
10. War Admiral j) 1977
11. Whirlaway k) 1978
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. k ; 2. g ; 3. h ; 4. f ; 5. b ; 6. c ; 7. j ; 8. i ; 9. a ; 10. d ; 11. e
The Shamrock Spot
Count your blessings instead of your crosses,
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes,
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears,
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean,
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth,
Love your neighbor as much as yourself.
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes,
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears,
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean,
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth,
Love your neighbor as much as yourself.
CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS ?!
When a 400-pound, New York City prison inmate couldn't fit into his "jailhouse attire," what did he do?
Why, sue the prison, of course!
According to the New York Post: A 400-pound felon -- who claims he spent eight months in jail in one set of street clothes because the city wouldn't find him fashion that fit -- is hoping to tip the scales of justice with a $1 million federal lawsuit.
Why, sue the prison, of course!
According to the New York Post: A 400-pound felon -- who claims he spent eight months in jail in one set of street clothes because the city wouldn't find him fashion that fit -- is hoping to tip the scales of justice with a $1 million federal lawsuit.
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