MONROVIA, Jul 11, 2010 (IPS) - Vivian Howard is a single mother who cooks and cleans like just about any other woman in Liberia - but in her work life she's in charge of 22 strong, athletic men. The first and only centre female referee in Liberia with a FIFA badge, Howard is standing shoulder to shoulder with the men of Liberia.There's a perception - especially in the international community - that in a country led by Africa's first elected female president, women in Liberia are taking the lead in all walks of life. It's true there are more female ministers in Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's government than ever before, new legislation has been passed to protect and promote women's rights and some women are being given chances in life that they had never experienced. However, women still remain firmly on the bottom rung of society. They're the most vulnerable members of the community in terms of access to education, access to health and access to justice.
July 12 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa has pulled off what many said couldn't be done: a soccer World Cup that filled stadiums and gave thousands of fans a party they won't forget. The month-long tournament, the world's most-watched sporting event, ended yesterday with a victory for Spain at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg. Foreign visitors to the competition may have numbered half a million, the Finance Ministry said, exceeding an earlier estimate by 200,000. The absence of any serious crime, the tournament's smooth operation and the publicity given to South Africa will help the country shed its reputation for murder and racial tension, said Pratibha Thaker, Africa director at the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. Now, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan says he hopes the country can use that drive to tackle unemployment, AIDS and poor educational standards. "Before the World Cup, the news was all about crime and AIDS," Thaker said in a July 5 phone interview. "What we're seeing now is a very favorable image. This will help to boost tourism and boost the recovery. It's crucial that the government keeps the momentum going."
July 12 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa has pulled off what many said couldn't be done: a soccer World Cup that filled stadiums and gave thousands of fans a party they won't forget.
The month-long tournament, the world's most-watched sporting event, ended yesterday with a victory for Spain at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg. Foreign visitors to the competition may have numbered half a million, the Finance Ministry said, exceeding an earlier estimate by 200,000.
The absence of any serious crime, the tournament's smooth operation and the publicity given to South Africa will help the country shed its reputation for murder and racial tension, said Pratibha Thaker, Africa director at the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. Now, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan says he hopes the country can use that drive to tackle unemployment, AIDS and poor educational standards.
"Before the World Cup, the news was all about crime and AIDS," Thaker said in a July 5 phone interview. "What we're seeing now is a very favorable image. This will help to boost tourism and boost the recovery. It's crucial that the government keeps the momentum going."
AP - Fidel Castro is back. The aging revolutionary leader will appear Monday on Cuba's key public affairs television program, according to a front-page headline in the Communist-party newsletter Granma. It may be the most prominent appearance by the former president since he fell ill in 2006. Castro, 83, was set to discuss his concerns about the Middle East on the Mesa Redonda - or Round Table - a daily talk show about current events that is usually transmitted live on state media and seen across the island.
AP - Fidel Castro is back. The aging revolutionary leader will appear Monday on Cuba's key public affairs television program, according to a front-page headline in the Communist-party newsletter Granma. It may be the most prominent appearance by the former president since he fell ill in 2006.
Castro, 83, was set to discuss his concerns about the Middle East on the Mesa Redonda - or Round Table - a daily talk show about current events that is usually transmitted live on state media and seen across the island.
AFP - A total solar eclipse drew an 11,000-kilometer (6,800-mile) arc over the Pacific Sunday, plunging remote territories into darkness, but drawing thousands of curious tourists and their dollars. The skies grew black in the middle of the day as the Moon slipped in front of the Sun and aligned with the Earth, blotting out the sunshine that just moments earlier had swathed the island's silent, ancient stone guardians. Applause erupted from thousands of stargazers who began gathering days ago on this remote Chilean outpost for the rare four-minute, 41-second eclipse.
Two men who organized a controversial art exhibition in Moscow in 2007 were found guilty of inciting hatred by a Russian court on Monday, but the judge let them go free, after ordering them to pay fines. The trial was fiercely criticised by human rights activists. Art expert Andrei Yerofeyev and former museum director Yury Samodurov had set up the Forbidden Art Exhibition at the Museum of Moscow. The show included a depiction of Jesus Christ with a Mickey Mouse head, and a spoof Coca-Cola ad carrying the slogan, "This is my Blood."
Two men who organized a controversial art exhibition in Moscow in 2007 were found guilty of inciting hatred by a Russian court on Monday, but the judge let them go free, after ordering them to pay fines. The trial was fiercely criticised by human rights activists.
Art expert Andrei Yerofeyev and former museum director Yury Samodurov had set up the Forbidden Art Exhibition at the Museum of Moscow. The show included a depiction of Jesus Christ with a Mickey Mouse head, and a spoof Coca-Cola ad carrying the slogan, "This is my Blood."
Tommaso Dorigo, a physicist at the University of Padua, has said in his blog that there has been talk coming out of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, that the Higgs has been discovered. The Tevatron, the huge particle accelerator at Fermi - the most powerful in the world after the LHC - is expected to be retired when the CERN accelerator becomes fully operational, but may have struck a final blow before it becomes obsolete.
Tommaso Dorigo, a physicist at the University of Padua, has said in his blog that there has been talk coming out of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, that the Higgs has been discovered.
The Tevatron, the huge particle accelerator at Fermi - the most powerful in the world after the LHC - is expected to be retired when the CERN accelerator becomes fully operational, but may have struck a final blow before it becomes obsolete.
The New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) has compiled a damning report into Australia's most prominent anti-vaccination group, the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN). The HCCC accuses the AVN of providing inaccurate and misleading information and selectively quoting research out of context to argue against vaccination. The report has also noted accusations that the AVN harassed the parents of a child who died of whooping cough last year, after they advocated the importance of childhood vaccination.
The New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) has compiled a damning report into Australia's most prominent anti-vaccination group, the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN).
The HCCC accuses the AVN of providing inaccurate and misleading information and selectively quoting research out of context to argue against vaccination.
The report has also noted accusations that the AVN harassed the parents of a child who died of whooping cough last year, after they advocated the importance of childhood vaccination.
BBC Sport was guilty of a false start this weekend when it launched a half-baked Olympic microsite with some unfortunate - and unflattering - holding text in place... see if you can spot it (scroll down for a close-up and some other screengrabs):
The Church of England's ruling synod has decided that women bishops should be allowed, but there are further steps to take before they can be ordained. The General Synod has given minimal concessions to traditionalist Anglicans who opposed the move. They had sought exemptions from serving under women bishops and guaranteed access to a male alternative. But the synod decided women bishops should be able to decide the identity of any bishop entering their dioceses. They would also have the ability to dictate the functions these bishops could carry out.
The Church of England's ruling synod has decided that women bishops should be allowed, but there are further steps to take before they can be ordained.
The General Synod has given minimal concessions to traditionalist Anglicans who opposed the move.
They had sought exemptions from serving under women bishops and guaranteed access to a male alternative.
But the synod decided women bishops should be able to decide the identity of any bishop entering their dioceses.
They would also have the ability to dictate the functions these bishops could carry out.
12 July 2010 This is a single issue newsletter asking for your urgent help in getting a government website closed down. The site, set up by the treasury to allow people to suggest ways to cut government spending, is full of hate-filled racist and disablist suggestions, including the sterilisation of benefits claimants, the return of the workhouse and the forced repatriation of asylum seekers and migrants. Some of the site's content is so extreme it may even constitute a criminal offence. The Spending Challenge website was set up on Friday by the coalition government and features an introduction and video on its home page by chancellor George Osborne. In his video Osborne tells visitors that "Your government needs you, please get in touch" and the introduction assures visitors that:
A previous study found that evening people are smarter than morning people. In a new paper, Kanazawa replicates the finding and provides a theoretical grounding. Because the nocturnal lifestyle allowed by electricity didn't exist 10,000 years ago, we must now rely on general intelligence to override our early-to-bed instincts. So those with more of it stay up later. How much later? See below. Night Lights Bedtimes and wake-up times for Americans in their 20s by IQ. Very Dull (IQ < 75) Weekday: 11:41 P.M.-7:20 A.M. Weekend: 12:35 A.M.-10:09 A.M. Normal (90 < IQ < 110) Weekday: 12:10 A.M.-7:32 A.M. Weekend: 1:13 A.M.-10:14 A.M. Very Bright (IQ > 125) Weekday: 12:29 A.M.-7:52 A.M. Weekend: 1:44 A.M.-11:07 A.M.
Night Lights
Bedtimes and wake-up times for Americans in their 20s by IQ.
Very Dull (IQ < 75)
Weekday: 11:41 P.M.-7:20 A.M.
Weekend: 12:35 A.M.-10:09 A.M.
Normal (90 < IQ < 110)
Weekday: 12:10 A.M.-7:32 A.M.
Weekend: 1:13 A.M.-10:14 A.M.
Very Bright (IQ > 125)
Weekday: 12:29 A.M.-7:52 A.M.
Weekend: 1:44 A.M.-11:07 A.M.
so that explains a lot. keep to the Fen Causeway
Lazy bastards.
Because the nocturnal lifestyle allowed by electricity didn't exist 10,000 years ago, we must now rely on general intelligence to override our early-to-bed instincts.
I love Just So stories.
