An Italian priest who said he wanted to hold the world's first beauty contest for nuns has decided to cancel the project, saying he was misunderstood. Antonio Rungi said he had never intended to put sisters on the catwalk, but had wanted to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour. He had wanted to hold the contest online on his internet blog. Father Rungi said he changed his mind after the local religious authorities expressed their displeasure.
An Italian priest who said he wanted to hold the world's first beauty contest for nuns has decided to cancel the project, saying he was misunderstood.
Antonio Rungi said he had never intended to put sisters on the catwalk, but had wanted to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.
He had wanted to hold the contest online on his internet blog.
Father Rungi said he changed his mind after the local religious authorities expressed their displeasure.
The Dalai Lama is suffering from exhaustion and has cancelled all his international trips, officials say. The exiled spiritual Tibetan leader, 73, has cancelled two forthcoming trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, said a statement issued by his office. The 1989 Nobel peace prize-winner had recently been experiencing "discomfort" which his doctors attributed to "exhaustion", the statement said. Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of stirring up unrest in Tibet.
The Dalai Lama is suffering from exhaustion and has cancelled all his international trips, officials say.
The exiled spiritual Tibetan leader, 73, has cancelled two forthcoming trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, said a statement issued by his office.
The 1989 Nobel peace prize-winner had recently been experiencing "discomfort" which his doctors attributed to "exhaustion", the statement said.
Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of stirring up unrest in Tibet.
Early stone tools developed by our species Homo sapiens were no more sophisticated than those used by our extinct relatives the Neanderthals. That is the conclusion of researchers who recreated and compared tools used by these ancient human groups. The findings cast doubt on suggestions that more advanced stone technologies gave modern humans a competitive edge over the Neanderthals. The work by a US-British team appears in the Journal of Human Evolution.
Early stone tools developed by our species Homo sapiens were no more sophisticated than those used by our extinct relatives the Neanderthals.
That is the conclusion of researchers who recreated and compared tools used by these ancient human groups.
The findings cast doubt on suggestions that more advanced stone technologies gave modern humans a competitive edge over the Neanderthals.
The work by a US-British team appears in the Journal of Human Evolution.
Two key figures in the right-wing music scene have been arrested in a major international operation. Police say the arrests, which follow three years of investigations, are a major blow to the extremist scene. A German and a Dane with ties to the right-wing music distributor Celtic Moon were arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 27, in Denmark, said Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). The BKA said the arrests, the outcome of international cooperation, shook up the extremist music distribution scene, dispelling its sense of security. Flemming C. and Stephan G. have been accused of financing, commissioning and distributing recordings that have been deemed illegal because of their extremist content.
A German and a Dane with ties to the right-wing music distributor Celtic Moon were arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 27, in Denmark, said Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
The BKA said the arrests, the outcome of international cooperation, shook up the extremist music distribution scene, dispelling its sense of security.
Flemming C. and Stephan G. have been accused of financing, commissioning and distributing recordings that have been deemed illegal because of their extremist content.
Whether cattle are reared organically or with conventional farming methods, the end effect is bad for the environment, according to a new German consumer report. The agricultural lobby, however, is preventing politicians from tackling this massive source of greenhouse gas emissions. A cow being measured for emissions. Cattle may be gentle creatures but farming them is contributing to climate change, says consumer group Foodwatch. For most people, it's the very picture of rural bliss, of a life in tune with nature and the wholesome world of farming: the happy cow standing on a lush meadow, calmly chewing its cud, a calf at its side. But for Thilo Bode, the sight of this gentle-eyed creature is everything but reassuring. Bode, the head of German consumer protection organization Foodwatch, warns: "The cow is a climate bomb." Whether they are raised conventionally or organically, one thing cows have in common is that they burp and fart to their hearts' content. Like all ruminants, cows are constantly emitting methane -- a greenhouse gas that is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide -- from both ends. As malodorous as pigs may be, it is the gaseous emissions of billions of cattle, goats and sheep that are contributing to global warming.
Whether cattle are reared organically or with conventional farming methods, the end effect is bad for the environment, according to a new German consumer report. The agricultural lobby, however, is preventing politicians from tackling this massive source of greenhouse gas emissions.
A cow being measured for emissions. Cattle may be gentle creatures but farming them is contributing to climate change, says consumer group Foodwatch. For most people, it's the very picture of rural bliss, of a life in tune with nature and the wholesome world of farming: the happy cow standing on a lush meadow, calmly chewing its cud, a calf at its side.
But for Thilo Bode, the sight of this gentle-eyed creature is everything but reassuring. Bode, the head of German consumer protection organization Foodwatch, warns: "The cow is a climate bomb."
Whether they are raised conventionally or organically, one thing cows have in common is that they burp and fart to their hearts' content. Like all ruminants, cows are constantly emitting methane -- a greenhouse gas that is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide -- from both ends. As malodorous as pigs may be, it is the gaseous emissions of billions of cattle, goats and sheep that are contributing to global warming.
What about the billions of humans? Or termites?
Sarah Michelle Gellar's hit show 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' has been blamed for 50,000 women abandoning traditional Christian religions to study paganism. The study's author Dr Kristin Aune says: "Because of its focus on female empowerment, young women are attracted by Wicca, popularised by the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In short, women are abandoning the church." (Examiner)
The study's author Dr Kristin Aune says: "Because of its focus on female empowerment, young women are attracted by Wicca, popularised by the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In short, women are abandoning the church." (Examiner)
And here is her book "Single Women: Challenge to the Church?"
Sounds like Dr. Kristin Aune is a nutter.
(Ouichata is the French orthographic version of the ancient mountains south of the Ozarks that in English orthography are known as Wichita, as in Wichita Falls, Texas and Wichita, Kansas. A portion of the Ouichatas has been found in the foothills of the Andes in Argentina. The word Arkansas is from Kumquat first Americans transliterated into French and pronounced Ar kan SAW. In Kansas they never spoke French and insist that the river be called the Ar KAN sas River.) As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
Diabetes researchers convert pancreas cells to produce insulin Harvard study may ultimately shift treatment options for a variety of diseases away from stem cells. By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 5:08 PM PDT, August 27, 2008 Injecting a cocktail of proteins directly into the bodies of diabetic mice, researchers have converted normal pancreas cells into insulin-producing cells -- a genetic transformation that could pave the way for treating intractable diseases and injuries using a patient's own supply of healthy tissue. The Harvard University scientists activated a trio of dormant genes that commanded the cells to transform themselves, much like loading a new operating system onto a computer to change a PC into a Mac. Within 10 days, the pancreas cells ceased their normal function -- making gut enzymes to digest food -- and instead produced insulin to regulate blood sugar, according to a study published online today in the journal Nature.
Harvard study may ultimately shift treatment options for a variety of diseases away from stem cells.
By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 5:08 PM PDT, August 27, 2008
Injecting a cocktail of proteins directly into the bodies of diabetic mice, researchers have converted normal pancreas cells into insulin-producing cells -- a genetic transformation that could pave the way for treating intractable diseases and injuries using a patient's own supply of healthy tissue.
The Harvard University scientists activated a trio of dormant genes that commanded the cells to transform themselves, much like loading a new operating system onto a computer to change a PC into a Mac.
Within 10 days, the pancreas cells ceased their normal function -- making gut enzymes to digest food -- and instead produced insulin to regulate blood sugar, according to a study published online today in the journal Nature.
Alarming sex appeal SCIENCE NEWS, Web edition : Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 Roosters that call out in alarm prove popular with the hens ALARM CHARM Roosters that readily call out in alarm when danger looms tend to win favor with hens and sire plenty of chicks. Full Story C. Evans In the long run it's not a guy's looks that count. It's his little clucks in the face of danger. A high rate of calling out in alarm turns out to be one of the clearest signs of a rooster with a successful sex life, says Chris Evans of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. A rooster that readily gives warning calls when danger looms tends to rank high in number of times hens accept him as a mate and in number of chicks sired, Evans, David R. Wilson and colleagues report in the September Animal Behaviour.
SCIENCE NEWS, Web edition : Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Roosters that call out in alarm prove popular with the hens
ALARM CHARM Roosters that readily call out in alarm when danger looms tend to win favor with hens and sire plenty of chicks. Full Story C. Evans
In the long run it's not a guy's looks that count. It's his little clucks in the face of danger.
A high rate of calling out in alarm turns out to be one of the clearest signs of a rooster with a successful sex life, says Chris Evans of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. A rooster that readily gives warning calls when danger looms tends to rank high in number of times hens accept him as a mate and in number of chicks sired, Evans, David R. Wilson and colleagues report in the September Animal Behaviour.
