Natyu

Consumers Receiving Benefits for Imprelis Lawsuit

admin — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:07:27 +0000

Good news has been found from the Imprelis tree damage settlement. Lawn care professionals, property owners, and other former Imprelis buyers can receive benefits from the lawsuit against Imprelis, a weed-killer. It was found between August 2010 and August 2011 that the manufacturers of Imprelis made a product that actually killed trees and plant life. Many have reported plant damage and held the manufacturer accountable for its faulty weed-killer.

The Imprelis class action settlement requires those who claim plant damage and/or death to demonstrate Imprelis is the cause. A video showing how to identify Imprelis damage can be found on www.TreeDamageSettlement.com. Damage varies by tree type and are photographed throughout the video. For example, pine trees will show signs of twisting (curvature with a similar appearance of an umbrella) in the branches and terminal bud swelling. Spruce trees will have browning as well as twisting similar to affected pine trees. The tops of spruce trees will have a drooping appearance. Some of the benefits from the Imprelis tree damage settlement can include tree replacement, tree removal, refunds, and more (depending on time and consumer). Visit www.TreeDamageSettlement.com to see if you can receive benefits if you have used Imprelis.

This post was sponsored, but opinions are my own

Change the Game: Help Your Community Win $25,000

admin — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:49:57 +0000

If you could change your community, what would you do? Feed the hungry? Help military veterans? These are a few examples of what some causes have been doing for their communities. State Farm, the leading provider of car insurance in the U.S. and leading insurer in Canada, presents an opportunity of a lifetime for 40 charitable causes. Their State Farm Neighborhood Assist Youth Advisory Board, made up of 30 members ranging between the ages of 17 and 20, selected the top 200 causes for the public to decide which 40 out of the 200 causes should receive the $25,000 State Farm Grant.

The group is entirely youth-driven and made up of diverse high school and university students. The Youth Advisory Board have selected causes from 46 states and provinces such as California, Illinois, and New York. The website, www.statefarm.com/neighborhoodassist, allows the public to vote for which causes they want assisted.“The beauty of State Farm Neighborhood Assist is that it places decision-making power directly in the

hands of the public,” said Mary Crego, State Farm Senior Vice President. “We hope the 2013 program is able to increase last year’s widespread positive impact on U.S. and Canadian communities.”

This post was sponsored, but opinions are my own

Death Toll Has Risen in Argentina From 51 to 57

admin — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 21:26:35 +0000

In La Plata, Argentina, Argentine police and soldiers checked each house and creeks for bodies Thursday. In case you are subscribed to Latin America news you know that total number of deaths is 57 in the city of Buenos Aires. The raining has ceased, but public health and safety concerns are in the mind of the approximately 1 million citizens in the area. “There is no water, there is no electricity. We have nothing,” said Nelly Cerrado, who was looking for donated clothing at a local school. “Terrible, terrible what we are going through. And no one comes. No one. Because here, it is neighbors who have to do everything.”

Many of these peoples have faced near-death experiences due to the floods and overwhelming damage of homes, cars, and other debris. Many people are hungry and frustrated; in response to what has occurred, President Cristina Fernandez, several mayors and governors were booed when they tried to talk to the victims. They yelled at them saying the politicians were “too late” and should “go away”. “I understand you, I understand you’re angry,” Social Welfare Minister Alicia Kirchner said before she and the governor fled in their motorcade from an angry crowd.

Other downsides due to the flood include the looting of an elementary school and store. 750 provincial police officers, the national government sent in army, coast guard, police and social welfare workers. Mobile hospitals have been open because of the two main hospitals are completely flooded. Hepatitis shots were given in over 30 evacuation spots. Government workers handed out donated water, clothes, and canned food. Pope Francis sent a message of support to Argentina. “The humanitarian question comes first,” said Governor Daniel Scioli The material questions will be resolved in time,” said Scioli, who promised subsidies, loans and tax exemptions for the victims.

Argentina’s weather service had warned of serious thunderstorms, but nothing like rainfall that fell this week. More than 16 inches flooded La Plata in just a couple hours late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning; more than has ever been recorded there for the entire month of April.

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The Take Less Concept

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:28:44 +0000

New York-based HELP!,Provides easy to understand drugs that help with common ailments. Such as coughing, stomach pain, head or cure allergies.

The product concept is that a person can quickly find a cure without impurities for one specific case. Not wasting time on viewing bright packages and study meaningless statements. Tablets themselves are stored in a compact case without unnecessary caps that much reduces the space. Inside the package, a short description of the drug without words. Take less – take less.

6 Comic Book Movies That May Never Get Made

500 Brand New Cars Will Appear at NAIAS

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:40:41 +0000

NAIAS, or North American International Auto Show, is here for the 2013 debut of newly-created vehicles. Over 500 brand new cars from over 40 car manufacturers will make jaws drop. Jack R. Nerad, Kelley Blue Book’s executive editorial director and executive marketing analyst gave his input on how important this auto show is to many enthusiasts. “The 2013 Detroit Auto Show could be the most exciting auto show of the year,” Nerad claimed. “Car fans worldwide are eager to catch a good look at the many all-new vehicle debuts in Detroit.”

The list of vehicles that will make an appearance at 2013 Naias Detroit include: 2014 Acura MDX Prototype, 2014 Ford Transit, Nissan Resonance Concept, 2014 Lexus IS, and many more to come. The vehicles are outlined on the Kelley Blue Book website, www.kbb.com. Kelley Blue Book is the largest reliable car value resource. For more information on the vehicles and the Naias Detroit auto show in general, please go to the 2013 Detroit Auto Show section on KBB.com The never-before seen debuts of hundreds of top-of-the-line vehicles is one event any car devotee would not want to miss.

This post was sponsored, but opinions are my own

Online Marketing Summit Coming Up

admin — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 01:12:14 +0000

The Online Marketing Summit San Diego 2013 is coming on February 11, 2013. The new year will bring many surprises with the summit’s in-depth, informative workshops and sessions. A number of guest speakers will attend to advise marketers from all over the world how to be the best they can be. Microsoft’s Sr. Bing Evangelist John Gagnon, Intel’s Global Integrated Marketing Manager Pam Didner, and Marketing Interactions, Inc CEO Ardath Albee are just a few who will be seen at some of the sessions. Many of these experts are joining together to bring a quality summit for all to enjoy. For more speaker information, please visit www.onlinemarketingsummit.com.

The Expo of the Online Marketing Summit follows on February 12 and 13. Various exhibitors will be there including Silverpop, Dun & Bradstreet, and Compendium. Several PR opportunities are available to help promote a marketer’s company. The following services are of use: Public Relations Contacts, Media List Access, Press Release Guidelines, Inclusion of OMS Press Release, Press/Analyst Registration, and PR Strategy and Counsel. For a list of Exhibitor PR Opportunities, go to the website for details. Registrations and travel information can also be found on www.onlinemarketingsummit.com. The Online Marketing Summit San Diego 2013 is a place of opportunity.

This post was sponsored, but opinions are my own

Dunkin’ Donuts Drinks to New Seasonal Coffees

admin — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 16:18:52 +0000

Are you tired of the same brown sludge served to co-workers as a warm morning wake-up call? Give your co-workers the wonderful gift of various tasty coffees. Dunkin Donuts Seasonal Coffees Holiday Gift Giving is here to bring a new addition to its line of delectable warm drinks called Gingerbread Cookie. Now, you don’t have to only get the taste of gingerbread from the over; its now in a beautifully decorated package. Crafter and blogger Cindy Hopper, founder of SkiptoMyLou.org, has teamed up with Dunkin’ Donuts to come up with ideas for friends, family, and even fellow co-workers to enjoy. Pumpkin Spice and Mocha Mint coffees are also available to try; you won’t be disappointed.

Dunkin’ Donuts drinks to the new seasonal coffees as a great way for people to enjoy their cup o’ joe in a different way. It is a perfect way to share with co-workers as an everyday drink or for a holiday party. The great thing about these coffees is that they come with gift tags, so you can give the coffee for one co-worker for Secret Santa or just to say thanks for all the hard work during the year. For more information on these holiday brews, go to dunkindonuts.com or to a local Dunkin’ Donuts shop to seek these varieties.

This post was sponsored, but opinions are my own

Two-headed Bearded Dragon: One Head Eats, The Other Drinks

New Faces in Rachael vs Guy Celebrity Cook-Off

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:44:37 +0000

New faces for Food Network Rachael vs Guy Celebrity Cook Off in the second season. Stars including actress Kathy Najimy and one-third of music TLC’s Chilli will be competing against each other for the charities they are representing. The final contender will receive $50,000 and will be joining the ranks of last season’s winner, actor Lou Diamond Phillips. Each of the six episodes will show the good, the bad, and the ugly in all of these contestants.

Rachael Ray is excited to start the new season off and likes having the pleasure to work with Guy Fieri again. “I am thrilled to be returning with Guy for a new season of Rachael vs. Guy,” said Ray. “We are upping the ante this season, with eight new celebrity contestants, thrilling challenges and great humor. Viewers will be amazed at the contestants’ skills in the kitchen as they battle it out for their charity. And it is always great to compete for ultimate bragging rights against Guy.”

The show begins on Sunday, January 6th at 9PM ET/PT. Other contestants will include Gilbert Gottfried, Carnie Wilson, Hines Ward, Johnny Weir, Cornelia Guest, and Dean McDermott.

This post was sponsored, but opinions are my own

This post was sponsored, but opinions are my own

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Reach for the Stars: Art Institutes Scholarship Competition

admin — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 12:09:04 +0000

The old saying “reach for the stars” definitely applies to the up-and-coming competition brought by the The Art Institutes and Americans for the Arts. The Art Institutes 2013 Poster Design Competition help those interested in entering to set their crosshairs on scholarships. Winners will receive a scholarship at any of the numerous Art Institute schools. Contestants create a poster that expresses the theme “You Can Create Tomorrow”. The best poster designs that represents this will allow the winner to win a scholarship to any of The Art Institutes he or she so chooses on the contest registration sheet. Tuition scholarships add up to over $100,000!

The layout of all the rules for the contest can be found at www.aicompetitions.com/poster. High school senior or graduates from the United States, Canada (with the exception of Quebec), and Puerto Rico are eligible for this competition. There will be a selection of logos to choose from to put on the poster. The poster’s measurements must be at least 8.5”x11” and at most 11”x17”. A statement must also be typed out on what the concept is behind the poster as well as the reason of being interested in going to one of the Art Institutes schools. It’s never too late to reach for the stars.

This post was sponsored, but opinions are my own

Temporary Bouquets Artistic Artworks

admin — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 01:10:44 +0000

The American photographer Jack Long is renowned artist well known for his distinctive patterns with “splash photography”. The bouquets from the today’s gallery are entirely made with water combined with thickeners and with the usage of speed camera. This collection has been named “Vessels and Blooms”.

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Bukowski Fall Sale

admin — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 11:57:13 +0000

The fall sale of the century is arriving for the public’s enjoyment. The Bukowski Autumn Classic Sale is auctioning some of the finest pieces of the 19th and 20th centuries during December 4-7. The Swedish chocolate brand Throne-Holst purchased these European sculptures to enhance the lives of those in the workforce through artistic creativity. “What is so relevant to the Bukowski Marabou collection is the documentation of all the acquisitions,” says Julian Barran, an independent expert for the nineteenth and twentieth century European art. “Today, when there’s been an increase value for art, buyers want to be sure about what they are buying. In this case, the documentation links right back to the creation of the work, which is very rare.”

What are going to be present at the auction comprises of works from Eric Grate, Giacomo Manzu, and Auguste Rodin. One of the pieces by Auguste Rodin is such a rare collectible, that only ten have them have been created. The Bukowskis were entrusted to sell the collection well for the public and will include other pieces such as paintings, furniture, and silverware. For more information on the fall sale, go to www.bukowskis.com/auctions.571.

No, Her Name’s Not Spike!

admin — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:28:48 +0000

Bella Mae, a three-year-old bulldog from Oklahoma, learned a lesson she probably won’t forget after she tangled with a porcupine and was left with 500 quills stuck in her face.

Veterinarians in Norman undertook emergency surgery on her to remove the prickly spines from her head and her feet.

Some of the quills are still inside her body, veterinarians believe, though she is now recovering from the attack.

Ouch: Veterinarians say Bella Mae, a three-year-old Oklahoma bulldog, had 500 quills embedded in her face after a run-in with a porcupine

Trouble: Bella Mae was playing with other dogs near her owners’ pond when she apparently got too close to a porcupine

Badly injured: The veterinarian who led the procedure said he had never seen a pet so badly attacked by a porcupine

Jerry and Allison Noles told KWTV the bulldog was playing with their other pets near their pond on July 29, when they encountered an ambling porcupine.

The bristly rodents are typically nocturnal, slow and passive.

More…

Stuck in squirr-hell: Rodent left feeling drained after getting its head lodged in a man-hole cover
Lions at zoo found foaming at the mouth and in a critical state after being ‘poisoned’ by visitor

The Noleses believe the porcupine visited their pond to drink because water is becoming scarce in Oklahoma.

They think Bella Mae got a little too close for comfort and provoked the animal’s ire — prompting the prickly attack.

Procedure: The veterinarians didn’t count, but they estimate that they pulled 500 quills from Bella Mae’s face, head, neck, chest and feet

Common threat: Porcupines are prevalent in Oklahoma and unwary pets often have run-ins with the slow-moving rodents

Lip service: Veterinarians has to pull back Bella Mae’s jowls to remove some of the quills in her mouth, tongue and lips

Doctors at the Animal Emergency Center worked on the operating table to dig the quills out of the bulldog’s face, neck, legs and chest.

The lucky pooch was not hit in the eyes.

Veterinarian Leonardo Baez told KWTV he has never seen such a horrific porcupine attack against a pet before.

Recovery: The lucky pooch is healing from the attack, though veterinarians are still keeping an eye on her

‘I’ve seen some greyhounds and bird dogs come in (contact) with them, but it’s not very often it happens, especially here in the city,’ he said.

Bella May remains on antibiotics because of the quills remain embedded in her skin, where veterinarians could not dig them out.

News9.com – Oklahoma City, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports |

source

No, Her Name’s Not Spike!

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NEW JUSTIN BIEBER TATTOO

admin — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:28:05 +0000

Here are the live show details! Below is the broadcasting date/times of the show. Thursday, July 19 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm Central Time UTC-6 RSVP HERE: kondoot.com If you’re logged into kondoot and have your time zone set, it should actually tell you what time they start in your own time zone, but if you need a time zone converter, here ya go: www.timezoneconverter.com hope to see you guys there! I’ll be tweeting/facebooking/youtubing a reminder as well. xo If you need this info again, there it’s posted on my site, too: cupofjoeshow.blogspot.com cupofjoeshow.com GET THE APP bit.ly TWITTER: twitter.com TUMBLR: josephbirdsong.tumblr.com FACEBOOK facebook.com GOOGLE+ bit.ly Don’t forget! I post a video every Wednesday on ‘Answerly,’ so check it out, yo: youtube.com

tattoo

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20 Incredible Coconut Crab Photos

admin — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 05:41:03 +0000

Imagine you are lying in a hammock on the beach, relaxing and enjoying a spot of fresh air, when suddenly a ten-legged beast, measuring about three feet across, starts slowly climbing up the palm tree in front of you, or, worse, drops down right next to you. It’d almost be enough to make you drop your piña colada with horror and run for cover.

Photo: Bo Floyd

The coconut crab, the largest crab on land, and indeed world’s largest land-based arthropod, can have that effect on people.

Photo: Angelo O’Connor Villagomez

Coconut crabs, also known as robber crabs or palm thieves, might be large – the length of their bodies alone can extend upwards of a foot – but sadly their numbers are not. These huge creatures were once quite plentiful, but thanks to human appetites for crabmeat, they are now on the IUCN Red List as Data Deficient, meaning we don’t know exactly how many are left but that the numbers are most likely low.

Here, we’d like to share some amazing pictures and a few equally amazing facts about these unusual crabs, all of which demonstrates that they’re definitely a species worth preserving.

Photo: Angelo O’Connor Villagomez

This photograph should give you some idea of just how big these crabs really are. As you can see, these are two impressively sized critters! The man holding them is obviously either very brave or familiar enough with coconut crabs to know how to handle them. As mentioned earlier, these crabs can grow up to a foot in length, sometimes more, but it is not only their body size that is arresting – just look at those claws!

Photo: Eddy Rademaker

Here’s a wonderful specimen of this giant crab from Christmas Island. The photographer, Eddy Rademaker, reports that this particular crab measured 18 inches across! Rademaker was careful to stay out of reach of those pincers while taking this picture, which sounds like a very wise idea. If you want to see a coconut crab in the wild for yourself, Christmas Island is a good destination as it reportedly has the biggest population of the species in the world.

Photo: JR Manuel

Blue is the most common color for coconut crabs, although they can also be found in more orangey or reddish shades. The coconut crab is actually not a proper crab at all, but rather a type of hermit crab. Whereas true crabs have smaller abdomens that they tuck under their bodies, coconut crabs – as you can see from this picture – have large abdomens that are hardened for protection, like those of lobsters.

Photo: Rebecca Dominguez

Those pincers may look pretty powerful, but how effective they are at cracking open coconuts on their own is debatable. They can, however, be used to tear the husks off coconuts, as well as to cut open fruit, shred carrion – or even, in one reported incident, to catch and eat a rat. You certainly wouldn’t want to tangle with those pincers. As a creepy aside, coconut crabs may even have been responsible for the disappearance of legendary aviator Amelia Earhart’s body, as reported by Environmental Graffiti here.

Photo: Island-Life

This has to be one happy coconut crab: it’s enjoying its namesake meal, after all. Coconut crabs have a few tricks up their sleeves (or do we mean claws?) when it comes to getting inside the hard exterior of the fruit. One method observed is that the crabs climb up a palm tree, coconut in tow, and drop it from a height. The crab itself then drops from the tree (which they can do from a height of 15 feet, unharmed) to hopefully find its meal conveniently cracked open from the fall.

Photo: Brocken Inaglory

Coconut crabs use the pointed tips of their second and third pairs of legs and the pincer-like endings on their fourth legs to climb trees. They can get up to 20 feet high this way, which must be quite a sight for those who aren’t expecting it. Once they’re up there, they can drop the coconuts they’re carrying to be broken open on the ground below.

Photo: fearlessRich

We’re not sure what’s at the top of the tree that has interested this coconut crab so much. Maybe some fruit? Coconut crabs have a very keen sense of smell and can detect the odor of fruit, or rotting flesh, from a long way off. This is just as well, since the crabs don’t see very well, although they can detect vibrations in the ground, much the way snakes do.

Photo: Laura Beauregard/USFWS

Coconut crabs, like this one pictured on Palmyra Atoll, south of Hawaii, are scavengers that sometimes mistake human objects for food. This is the origin of their other names, ‘robber crab’ and ‘palm thief’. They especially like shiny items and, during WWII, were known for stealing from soldiers’ trenches.

Photo:

John Tann

Once again, here are a couple of Christmas Island crabs. According to photographer John Tann, this is a rather curious critter that wandered up to him for a closer look. Although this is obviously a daytime snap, coconut crabs are actually mostly nocturnal. During the day, they either hide in crevices or dig themselves burrows in sand or loose dirt.

Photo: James Humphreys

The beautiful blue hue of this Cook Islands crab makes it look lovely, rather than scary. However, as you can see, in comparison to the person holding it, it’s still one very large arthropod. The front claws alone are enormous! You can also see in this picture how the coconut crab’s body is divided into two sections – the front and the abdomen. Also clearly visible are the crab’s four front pairs of legs. The fifth pair is normally kept tucked into the upper part of the exoskeleton, or carapace.

Photo: The Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust

It’s not only the juicy contents of the coconut that these crabs use, either. They also utilize the husks, like those pictured, to line their burrows. Once in their underground lairs, coconut crabs seal the entrance, using their large pincers as spades. This serves the double purpose of both keeping the crabs protected and ensuring that the air in their burrows is kept nice and damp, making it easier for them to breathe.

Photo: Jebulon

Here’s another coconut crab, looking a little spider-like, on its way up to grab a tasty coconut snack. On some islands, these formidable creatures have spiritual significance. For example, Mariana Islanders believe that the crabs may be the returned spirits of deceased humans.

Photo: Angela Kirkpatrick

The name coconut crab doesn’t necessarily refer only to the species’ diet. When they are young (like this one), coconut crabs will use the discarded shells of mollusks or gastropods for protection, just as hermit crabs do. When they can’t find a suitable mollusk shell, they will occasionally use a coconut’s. Then, once they’ve grown their own hardened exoskeleton, they no longer need to use these second-hand coverings.

Photo: Drew Avery

One reason for the massive size of coconut crabs is that they continue to grow all through their lives – which can span 60 years! So the bigger a crab, the older it is. Although they are not the largest species of crab (there are bigger specimens in the ocean, with the Japanese spider crab the largest of all living arthropods), they are certainly the largest that live on land.

Photo: yemaria

Here’s another formidable looking crab. Note the gorgeous blue and purple colors of its exoskeleton. Although unlikely to attack a person unprovoked, a coconut crab will snap at someone they consider threatening. And just in case you are ever caught in one of those vice-like grips, you can try a trick reportedly used by the Micronesians; that is, tickle the crab on the soft parts of its body until it lets go. Better yet, stay out of the crabs’ way in the first place!

Photo: Ryshard Antonio

Looks like it’s time for this coconut crab to leave the tree hollow and go look for some food. According to Ryshard Antonio, who took this photograph, the crabs are easier to hear than to see at night. They apparently make a loud clanking noise that he describes as being similar to a rock hitting the ground. Not hard to believe, looking at those huge pincers.

Photo: Ryukyu Mike

Coconut crabs have a wide-ranging habitat and can be found on shores in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans; like this one, from Sesoko Island, Japan. We love its stylish-looking blue stripes! Unfortunately for coconut crabs, their shells are prized as souvenirs, just as their meat is sought after for eating. Because of human appetites, the crabs no longer exist in heavily populated areas like Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea or Madagascar. And they face a similar fate in places like Guam and the Solomon Islands.

Photo: S Glenum

Although it might seem impossible to stop the harvesting of these tough yet vulnerable creatures entirely, several countries, including Guam and Vanuatu, are trying to minimize the dangers to their coconut crab populations. The nature reserve of Palmyra Atoll also provides the crabs with a safe habitat in which to live. While farming the creature has also been considered, a lot still has to be learned about coconut crab reproduction for this to be viable.

Hopefully, these combined efforts will see coconut crabs continue to climb palm trees, grow to amazing sizes, and live out their long lives for generations to come.

Sources: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

20 Incredible Coconut Crab Photos

Cat, comprehended nirvana

admin — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 06:43:12 +0000

Meet a Shiro Neko. He was born March 8, 2002, and possibly the most laid back cat in the world. Information on the net about it a lot, even though the animal and has its own blog.

Cat, comprehended nirvana

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Walking at an altitude of 177 meters

admin — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 03:43:46 +0000

68-year-old tightrope walker Jay Cochrane anadsky July 6 carried out the first of 81 trips scheduled for this summer, says Welland Tribune.340-meter rope was strung between the skyscrapers Skylon Tower and Fallsview Hilton Hotel in Niagara Falls. It should be noted that the cable was up and Kokranu have to go to ten meters. The end point was at an altitude of 177 meters.

Walking at an altitude of 177 meters

The most fashionable

admin — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 09:27:09 +0000

In China, women are not taken to sunbathe, as tan is a sign of the peasantry and working in the fields under the scorching sun. Therefore, the Chinese ladies relaxing on the beaches in full gear – in closed swimsuits and nylon masks.

The most fashionable

A new look to old photos

admin — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 09:24:16 +0000

Taylor Jones – twenty-two a photographer who was inspired to create their own project “Dear Photograph”. His idea was born for the home table when viewing old family photos.

A new look to old photos

White tiger

admin — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:42:05 +0000

The tiger there is a known mutation that leads to the appearance of individuals with a full white color – Bengal Tigers with black and brown stripes on a white fur and blue eyes. This color is very rare in wild animals, but is relatively common in populations kept in captivity.

White tiger

Sculptures made of cedar chips

admin — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 06:43:15 +0000

Siberian sculptor, an ordinary schoolteacher ordinary provincial high school Sergey Bobkov, doing the work of the chip – sculptures of animals in full size. Chips he can skillfully imitate even the wool and feathers.

Sculptures made of cedar chips

The works of photographer Maxime Courty

admin — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:42:38 +0000

I want to show the emotional and brilliant work of the photographer Maxime Courty, from which one wants to take a backpack and a camera and go, at least, walk, or better yet go to Mt.

The works of photographer Maxime Courty

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Amazing blue city

admin — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 00:41:53 +0000

Incredible shades of blue can be seen in the Moroccan city of Shefshauen – one of the most beautiful cities in the world. More recently Shefshauen was a city from which Kufarev – incorrect, should stay away. Until 1920 it was visited only three Europeans. Two of them died a few hours after the start of the visit, and the third, English writer and traveler, Walter Harris, fled.

Amazing blue city

Beauty contest in Israel: Ms. Holocaust

admin — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 09:42:02 +0000

Smiling and beaming, 14 women who survived the horrors of World War II, went on the catwalk during the unusual beauty contest in the battle for the crown of the first in Israel, “Ms. Holocaust.” Organizers called the event “celebration of life”, but it caused a lot of objections and disputes. In a country where the Holocaust affected the lives of millions of older women judged by their appearance, such as blasphemous, and even insulting.

Beauty contest in Israel: Ms. Holocaust

Over 800,000 people forced to flee their countries in 2011: UN

Portraits of newborn babies

admin — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 18:41:59 +0000

Birth – such an important event in the life of the mother and the child’s life. At birth, the infant is experiencing severe stress, probably one of the best in human life. Where you will find a selection of portraits, which became the first in the lives of these tiny people, just emerging into the light.

Portraits of newborn babies

Tattoo craze among Americans

admin — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 03:42:22 +0000

Mania for applying tattoos on his body has recently become pervasive in American society. Festivals and Conventions tattoos of their fans throughout the year across the country. Surprisingly even the fact that more and more people are already in a fairly mature age cause a variety of pictures. Tattoo artist Greg French, and his client at the festival Keylon Brittany Hampton Roads in Virginia. Brittany recently separated from her husband, overcame cancer and survived the death of his father. She sees tattooing as a kind of therapy, each figure represents some part of her life.

Tattoo craze among Americans

I slept a couple of extra hours

admin — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 21:42:03 +0000

That way, behold, a couple of extra hours of sleep now cause the owner of the Opel sweat-site. And the thing is that the road service workers rolled asphalt pavement fresh, and even put a nice fence, but they have not thought about that – how will this car go.

I slept a couple of extra hours

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Kolya Lukashenka has a gun

admin — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 06:41:58 +0000

Journalists from Venezuela found that Kolya Lukashenka is constantly walking around with a gun. It’s perfectly evident in the photographs in the continuation of the post.

Kolya Lukashenka has a gun

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Decoration of the forks

admin — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:42:08 +0000

Nick the Greek – the master of jewelery that makes amazing jewelry … old forks. Just look at how he uses all of the forks to create different shapes and patterns. Looking at these rings, pendants, earrings and bracelets, can not believe that, for the manufacture of these ornaments have been used are commonplace items like forks.

Decoration of the forks

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Home kitten Enzo

admin — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:42:06 +0000

Today, few people can surprise the rare exotic animals. However, the preference of some people sometimes are surprising. Michael Jamison and Jackie Smith of South African cities Braklana brought himself as a pet Bengal tiger cub. Two-week “kitten” named Enzo. A year later, Enzo has grown to 170 kilograms.

Home kitten Enzo

Cats is recommended

admin — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:42:08 +0000

As they say, the cat paradox – at the disposal of the whole apartment, and he sleeps on the edge of the chair, occasionally throwing off his. But these cats – real professionals! They can sleep anywhere, and, most importantly, how you want. Attention! It is not necessary to repeat, of course, if you’re not a cat.

Cats is recommended

Miss England 2012

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:24:51 +0000

The title “Miss England 2012” went to a participant of reality show “Britain’s Next Top Model” Charlotte Holmes. Charlotte in ’23, she out of Devon. Before the final show in Leicester, the girls competed for the first special titles in Birmingham, including “Miss Fitness” and “Best Top Model.” Charlotte could not hold back tears during the awarding her the prize. In his magnificent blue dress, “Miss England” took place on the throne. Now, the girl will participate in the contest “Miss World“.

Miss England 2012

The legend of the treasure was real

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 20:22:16 +0000

At the farmer’s field located in the Channel Island of Jersey UK, archaeologists have discovered a treasure-lovers, numbering from 30 to 50 000 Celtic coins of the total estimated 3 to 10 million pounds (4 to 15 million dollars), which may be the largest in the history of Europe.

The legend of the treasure was real

An elegant home in the fall of China

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 19:40:49 +0000

Although China and flew into space, developed by leaps and bounds, but China is still China. Remember how in 2009 they dropped a house? That caught more material than I had then seen. Let us recall the details and see how well they manage to build a house.

An elegant home in the fall of China

Life in the USSR

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 18:41:59 +0000

I think it would be interesting to see how people lived in the Soviet Soyuze.Eta collection of photos shows the rich life of the inhabitants of the USSR, the true spirit of the time, courage and confidence in the future.

Life in the USSR

Pokemon cars

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 18:21:27 +0000

Pikachuuuu. Do you remember? Well, just tell me what not – will not believe. Pokemon – it is a cult. Especially in Japan. The Japanese company toy «Tamara Tomy» decided to revive its former popularity of Pokemon, making the two cars of Toyota’s two most popular Pokemon – Pikachu and Oshavotta. Unfortunately, these machines are unlikely to ever leave the exhibition center.

Pokemon cars

The highest mountain in the solar system

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 18:03:45 +0000

Olympus - the highest mountain in the solar system located on Mars. This extinct volcano altitude 21.2 km and 540 km in width, and depth of the crater – 3 km. Olympus area is so large that it can not be fully seen from the surface of Mars. Age of Olympus about 2 million years.

The highest mountain in the solar system

The whole world plays soccer

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:47:45 +0000

For several days, the attention of all football fans riveted to the European soccer championship, which is now in Ukraine and Poland. Within a few weeks fans will be rooting for your favorite team at stadiums and on television. Football is very popular around the world. It is played not only professional athletes, but also ordinary people from all over the world. Where you will find a selection of photos devoted to this wonderful sport.

The whole world plays soccer

Sales person or someone painted on nesting dolls

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 15:04:41 +0000

Foreigners are still being taken away from Moscow matreshkas, but became the main Russian souvenirs are also an important material for the study. Matryoshka, which many consider the symbol of the “mysterious Russian soul”, suddenly began to open the face of Russian and foreign politicians, famous musicians, movie and cartoon characters. People love to literally imprinted on the timber faces.

Sales person or someone painted on nesting dolls

Silhouettes in the sun

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 14:51:57 +0000

As is often the case, except for the name of the photographer and his nickname is practically unknown. The World Wide Web, the guy is better known as Pink Sword, which translated into Russian sounds very strange – “pink sword.” Lubis Irving currently lives and works in Dzhokyarta that in Indonesia. He often photographs of people of Asian descent, creating unique portraits in natural environments. However, we want to show you his extraordinary series of photographs.

Pink Sword also likes to do photography silhouette against the setting sun. When you first look at them, there are images that we as children were given the Disney cartoons. Although, it’s all subjective, and you may have very different associations. In any case, to make such images can only be master of his craft, to whom, of course, Mr. Lubis is.

Silhouettes in the sun

No related posts.

Natural Antibiotics that Fight Infection

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 14:38:42 +0000

Many of us no longer want to jump on the antibiotic bandwagon each time we get a sore throat or infection. These apprehensions are well-founded considering the more recent occurrences of Candida and fungal infections that are thought to be caused by antibiotics, and the fact that diseases seem to be getting smarter each day. When bad bacteria are surviving through multiple Penicillin prescriptions – we’ve got to look elsewhere for answers . That’s where natural remedies and natural antibiotics come play. Here’s a natural guide to natural antibiotics.

Prescription Antibiotics Have Their Place

Your medical doctor may have good reason for prescribing a round of antibiotics. They are meant to kill off all bacteria. So, when taken for a bad infection – they should rid your body of the illness.

Misuse and overuse of meds causes our bodies to have an imbalance of good and bad bacteria. This means that we lose our natural ability to fight disease. By not allowing ourselves sufficient healing time after an infection, our immunity becomes weaker. Unfortunately, in traditional medicine this usually leads to an increase of antibiotic prescriptions.

If you recognize the maddening cycle of poor health that can be caused by overuse of antibiotics, consider these natural remedies.

Think of Food as Natural Alternative Medicine

Food can heal or harm — depending on the amount used, form it is taken in and what it is combined with. Some major problems with natural remedies are that most people have no idea as to the amounts they need to take for a cure, they expect instant results, or they only put half efforts into healing.

The Wonders of Garlic

Garlic is a natural antibiotic. However, you need to consume lots of it in order to realize its benefits. You can hold raw garlic under your tongue or drink its juice for a more effective way of assimilating the healing properties. Cooking with garlic does help maintain health – however, the herb loses potency when cooked. You may be better off purchasing garlic pills, which contain only active ingredients, when you are ill.

Read The Labels

It is important that supplements are pure. Added preservatives add to your pain, by making it harder for your body to recognize the medicinal qualities. Unlike drugs, garlic’s antibacterial/antifungal properties only kill off bad organisms – leaving your body more capable of naturally eliminating bad bacteria. You can use garlic on a daily basis to help prevent illness and may need more when you are sick. In the case of serious infections, you may need to combine garlic with prescriptions or other natural remedies. Overdose is unlikely because the body will generally take what it needs and get rid of the rest. However, as with any medicine, overdose is possible.

When using garlic as an alternative method, expect to sweat and possibly get teary eyes or a runny nose. If over-used, you can experience serious skin problems and eye pain.

Benefits of Colloidal Silver

Colloidal Silver is a tasteless liquid can be taken in place of an antibiotic, and is especially helpful for upper respiratory ailments. Dosage is key. If you want to take this instead of an antibiotic, you need to begin at the onset of an illness and take the max dosage without skipping a dose. Colloidal Silver will kill both good and bad bacterium — which means you need to keep adding disease fighting good bacteria to your diet.

Many people have great results using CS routinely. However, in extreme cases over-use can cause the skin to turn grey. CS is made from pure silver and was used in the U.S. to effectively fight bacterial infections until the late 1940’s. You can get a good bottle for about $ 25 at a health food store, and you should be able to get info on the best brands from store managers or your holistic health practitioner.

Remember: product impurities may cause adverse side effects.
Other Natural Alternatives

Cooking Materials?

Lemon, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cumin, Cayenne Pepper and Onions are all cleansing and purifying foods that will help detox most illnesses. You can cook with them and eat them as much as you want.

What about Echinacea?

Echinacea is a flower/herbal immune booster. For starters, try it in the form of a tea. Stay clear of teas that include citric acid, which may inhibit the medicinal properties.

Patience Heals

For the most part, natural remedies seem to take longer to cure you than prescription drugs. This is because prescriptions also tend to hide symptoms. Our bodies ALWAYS need TIME to heal. When taking antibiotics – it is possible for your pain to disappear while your infection is thriving. In a worst case scenario, your infection can morph and bury itself deep within you.

Natural medicine allows infection to leave your body quicker – which means that you may feel sicker longer. Detoxing bad infections is very painful. Allow yourself plenty of rest and proper hydration while healing.

The Best of Both Worlds

Most of us choose to combine modern medicine with a home remedies. You can detox and further heal your body after a round of antibiotics by adding probiotics and going on an alkaline diet. Of course, doubling up on the garlic and healing herbs is a great help during this period.

Natural Antibiotics that Fight Infection

Tomato, Basil, Feta and Garlic Pizza

10 Food Additives to Avoid

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 14:33:56 +0000

1. Artificial Sweeteners
Aspartame, (E951) more popularly known as Nutrasweet and Equal, is found in foods labeled “diet” or “sugar free”. Aspartame is believed to be carcinogenic and accounts for more reports of adverse reactions than all other foods and food additives combined. Aspartame is not your friend. Aspartame is a neurotoxin and carcinogen. Known to erode intelligence and affect short-term memory, the components of this toxic sweetener may lead to a wide variety of ailments including brain tumor, diseases like lymphoma, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue, emotional disorders like depression and anxiety attacks, dizziness, headaches, nausea, mental confusion, migraines and seizures. Acesulfame-K, a relatively new artificialsweetener found in baking goods, gum and gelatin, has not been thoroughly tested and has been linked to kidney tumors.

Found in: diet or sugar free sodas, diet coke, coke zero, jello (and over gelatins), desserts, sugar free gum, drink mixes, baking goods, table top sweeteners, cereal, breathmints, pudding, kool-aid, ice tea, chewable vitamins, toothpaste

2. High Fructose Corn Syrup
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a highly-refined artificial sweetener which has become the number one source of calories in America. It is found in almost all processed foods. HFCS packs on the pounds faster than any other ingredient, increases your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, and contributes to the development of diabetes and tissue damage, among other harmful effects.

Found in: most processed foods, breads, candy, flavored yogurts, salad dressings, canned vegetables, cereals

3. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG / E621)
MSG is an amino acid used as a flavor enhancer in soups, salad dressings, chips, frozen entrees, and many restaurant foods. MSG is known as an excitotoxin, a substance which overexcites cells to the point of damage or death. Studies show that regular consumption of MSG may result in adverse side effects which include depression, disorientation, eye damage, fatigue, headaches, and obesity. MSG effects the neurological pathways of the brain and disengaged the “I’m full” function which explains the effects of weight gain.

Found in: Chinese food (Chinese Restaurant Syndrome ) many snacks, chips, cookies, seasonings, most Campbell Soup products, frozen dinners, lunch meats

4. Trans Fat
Trans fat is used to enhance and extend the shelf life of food products and is among the most dangerous substances that you can consume. Found in deep-fried fast foods and certain processed foods made with margarine or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, trans fats are formed by a process called hydrogenation. Numerous studies show that trans fat increases LDL cholesterol levels while decreasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol, increases the risk of heart attacks, heart disease and strokes, and contributes to increased inflammation, diabetes and other health problems. Oils and fat are now forbidden on the Danish market if they contain trans fatty acids exceeding 2 per cent, a move that effectively bans partially hydrogenated oils.

Found in: margarine, chips and crackers, baked goods, fast foods

5. Common Food Dyes
Studies show that artificial colorings which are found in soda, fruit juices and salad dressings, may contribute to behavioral problems in children and lead to a significant reduction in IQ. Animal studies have linked other food colorings to cancer. Watch out for these ones:

Blue #1 and Blue #2 (E133)

Banned in Norway, Finland and France. May cause chromosomal damage

Found in: candy, cereal, soft drinks, sports drinks and pet foods

Red dye # 3 (also Red #40 – a more current dye) (E124)

Banned in 1990 after 8 years of debate from use in many foods and cosmetics. This dye continues to be on the market until supplies run out! Has been proven to cause thyroid cancer and chromosomal damage in laboratory animals, may also interfere with brain-nerve transmission

Found in: fruit cocktail, maraschino cherries, cherry pie mix, ice cream, candy, bakery products and more!

Yellow #6 (E110) and Yellow Tartrazine (E102)

Banned in Norway and Sweden. Increases the number of kidney and adrenal gland tumors in laboratory animals, may cause chromosomal damage.

Found in: American cheese, macaroni and cheese, candy and carbonated beverages, lemonade and more.

6. Sodium Sulfite (E221)
Preservative used in wine-making and other processed foods. According to the FDA, approximately one in 100 people is sensitive to sulfites in food. The majority of these individuals are asthmatic, suggesting a link between asthma and sulfites. Individuals who are sulfite sensitive may experience headaches, breathing problems, and rashes. In severe cases, sulfites can actually cause death by closing down the airway altogether, leading to cardiac arrest.

Found in: Wine and dried fruit

7. Sodium Nitrate/Sodium Nitrite

Sodium nitrate (or sodium nitrite) is used as a preservative, coloring and flavoring in bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, corned beef, smoked fish and other processed meats. This ingredient, which sounds harmless, is actually highly carcinogenic once it enters the human digestive system. There, it forms a variety of nitrosamine compounds that enter the bloodstream and wreak havoc with a number of internal organs: the liver and pancreas in particular. Sodium nitrite is widely regarded as a toxic ingredient, and the USDA actually tried to ban this additive in the 1970′s but was vetoed by food manufacturers who complained they had no alternative for preserving packaged meat products. Why does the industry still use it? Simple: this chemical just happens to turn meats bright red. It’s actually a color fixer, and it makes old, dead meats appear fresh and vibrant.

Found in: hotdogs, bacon, ham, luncheon meat, cured meats, corned beef, smoked fish or any other type of processed meat

8. BHA and BHT (E320)
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydrozyttoluene (BHT) are preservatives found in cereals, chewing gum, potato chips, and vegetable oils. This common preservative keeps foods from changing color, changing flavor or becoming rancid. Effects the neurological system of the brain, alters behavior and has potential to cause cancer. BHA and BHT are oxidants which form cancer-causing reactive compounds in your body.

Found in: Potato chips, gum, cereal, frozen sausages, enriched rice, lard, shortening, candy, jello

9. Sulfur Dioxide (E220)

Sulfur additives are toxic and in the United States of America, the Federal Drugs Administration have prohibited their use on raw fruit and vegetables. Adverse reactions include: bronchial problems particularly in those prone to asthma, hypotension (low blood pressure), flushing tingling sensations or anaphylactic shock. It also destroys vitamins B1 and E. Not recommended for consumption by children. The International Labour Organization says to avoid E220 if you suffer from conjunctivitis, bronchitis, emphysema, bronchial asthma, or cardiovascular disease.

Found in: beer, soft drinks, dried fruit, juices, cordials, wine, vinegar, and potato products.

10. Potassium Bromate

An additive used to increase volume in some white flour, breads, and rolls, potassium bromate is known to cause cancer in animals. Even small amounts in bread can create problems for humans.

Found in: breads

10 Food Additives to Avoid

Don’t Smoke (infographic)

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 14:01:00 +0000

Don’t Smoke (infographic)

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Fruit Seeds and Skin: Should You Leave Them In?

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 03:42:18 +0000

Apple: The skins of apples are a good source of vitamin A but are extremely high vitamin C. As much as 50% of the vitamin C in the fruit can be found in the skin. The skin also contains fiber, antioxidants, and quercetin, a flavonoid that is purported to have anti-inflammatory properties. Apple seeds, on the other hand, contain amygdalin, a molecule which produces cyanide once ingested. Large-scale consumption of blended apple seeds is not recommended.

Apricot: Apricot skins are good sources of vitamin C and beta-carotene. Their seeds, though, are similar in properties to apples.

Avocado: No documented health benefits for avocado skins could be found. However, the darker-green flesh just underneath the skin contains its highest concentration of antioxidants. Be sure to scrape the inside of the skin well after peeling. The avocado seed, or pit, is high in potassium and antioxidants, and is one of the best sources of soluble fiber on Earth.

Banana: The peel of the banana is edible and is actually high in fiber. With non-organic bananas, however, the peel is highly susceptible to pesticides and chemical residues.

Blackberry: Blackberry seeds are good sources of omega-3 oils, protein, fiber, and antioxidants.

Cantaloupe: The seeds found in cantaloupes are extremely high in protein and are also excellent sources of phosphorus, potassium, vitamins A, B-12, and D, as well as unsaturated fats and digestive enzymes. Its rind, although very high in fiber and potassium, is also extremely porous, making it susceptible to mold, pesticides, and chemicals.

Cherry: Cherry pits are similar in chemical makeup to apple seeds. It is probably best to remove them prior to blending.

Grape: Grape skins are great for you and contain up to 100 times the concentration of resveratrol as does the grape pulp. Resveratrol is a phytochemical that has been linked to the inhibition of cancer, heart disease, and even Alzheimer’s. It is also highly prevalent in the seeds, especially those of globe and muscadine grapes, along with vitamin E, linoleic acid (an essential fatty acid), and other antioxidants.

Honeydew: The properties of honeydew seeds and rind are almost identical to those of cantaloupe.

Kiwi: Kiwi seeds have always generally been considered edible. They are great sources of vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids. The skin contains flavonoids and insoluble fiber, but caution should be exercised before ingesting kiwi skin as its hairy texture attracts pesticides.

Lemon: Lemon peels are edible but non-organic ones are often waxed prior to shipping to protect the fruit from bruising. Just underneath the peel is the pith which is white in color. The pith is extremely high in vitamin C and contains vitamin B6 and fiber, too. Trace amounts of salicylic acid (the main ingredient in aspirin) are found in lemon seeds.

Lime: The lime is similar to lemon in terms of the nutritive properties of its peel and seeds.

Mango: Mango peel is rich in phytonutrients but, ironically, is at its most bitter when the fruit is ripest. Several edible uses for the large pit in the fruit have been discovered, too. However, none have been found in its raw form. For this reason it is advisable to discard the pit.

Orange: Only trace amounts of anti-fungal properties and vitamin B-17, a cancer fighter, have been discovered in orange seeds. There is, however, as much vitamin C in its pith as the rest of the fruit, as well as fiber, pectin, bioflavonoids, and antioxidants.

Peach: The peach pit contains amygdalin, just as apples do. It’s probably best to avoid it. The skin, though, is very nutritious, containing vitamins A and C, as well as antioxidants.

Pear: There are numerous pear varieties in the United States, the most common of which is the European. The seeds in this pear are toxic like apple seeds. The skin is a good source of vitamin C and chlorogenic acid, an important antioxidant.

Pineapple: The healthiest part of a pineapple is its core which is loaded with bromelain, an enzyme which acts as a natural anti-inflammatory. Vitamin C, fiber, manganese, and copper can all be found in the core as well. Pineapple skin is also nutritious, containing vitamin C and bromelain. Keep in mind its texture, though. It’s very susceptible to chemicals and pesticides.

Plum: Plum skins contain fiber, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and antioxidants. The seed or pit, however, contains the same properties as apple seeds.

Strawberry: Strawberry “seeds” are actually tiny fruits, themselves, and are fairly good sources of fiber. If you’ve ever been to a live demonstration of Blendtec or Vitamix machines, you may have heard the demonstrator advocate the green caps of strawberries as being nutritious.

Watermelon: The watermelon, as a whole, is one of the healthiest fruits on the planet. Its seeds contain zinc, iron, and fiber, and can be composed of up to 30% protein. The outer skin is not exceptionally nutritious, but the rind definitely is, containing vitamins A and C, beta-carotene, and lycopene, an especially beneficial phytonutrient that studies suggest may serve as a preventative for certain cancers such as prostate cancer.

Fruit Seeds and Skin: Should You Leave Them In?

Pineapple An excellent fruit

admin — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 12:41:51 +0000

Pineapple is one of God’s best tasting, yet strangest creations. Although it looks like a cactus the pineapple, botanically ananas comosus, is the fruits of hundreds of individual flowers that cluster on the barb of the plant. When mature, all the pineapple’s fleshy tissues swell with juice. The pineapple does not grow on a tree or a cactus, but on a ‘bromeliad’ with stiff leathery leaves edged with a rough edge that can cut you. These leaves grow around a centre spike we call the core. Pineapples are usually two to four pounds, but the Giant Kew type can be more than twenty pounds.

The pineapple originated in South America in southern Brazil where Indians named the fruit ‘anana’, meaning excellent fruit. These native indians planted pineapples with their sharp picker leaves around their villages to keep out intruders. In 1493 Columbus discovered the Carib Indians growing pineapples on the island of Guadeloupe. His sailors created the present name because the exterior appeared as a pinecone, yet the core tasted as an apple. By the mid 1500′s pineapples were being grown in the West, but it took until 1640 to make it to England. Two centuries later, pineapples were being grown throughout the Caribbean chain. French King Louis the fourteenth loved the sweet fruits’ taste so much he forgot his manners and cut his mouth trying to bite an unpeeled pineapple. He treasured the fruit so much glass ‘greenhouses’ were created to grow them. Pineapples became a status symbol as a party decoration and as a dessert.

Hawaii is almost synonymous with pineapple. Captain Cook is credited for bringing the pineapple to Hawaii in 1790 but it was probably Spanish explorers much earlier. Steamship transport in the mid 1800′s made commercial production feasible. Pineapples were made available to the world when Dole began canning them in 1903. Hawaii produces ten per cent of the world’s pineapple, and it is the third most canned fruit after applesauce and peaches. Thailand is the presently world’s largest producer of pineapples. Trinidad’s pineapples are of a superior quality and desired by the European markets.

Pineapples are usually grown from the suckers around the stem at the base of the fruit. A good home children’s garden project is to plant the top of a pineapple in a pot of soil. Outdoors the soil must be worked a foot wide and deep. Some rotted manure can be placed deep in the hole before returning the soil. Plant at least two feet apart, water regularly and fertilise monthly with a high nitrogen mix. Pineapples never develop a big root system. Harvest when bright gold and can be easily twisted from the plant. If you are buying, a ripe pineapple should be firm, smell sweet with a fresh green top. It is ripe if one of its top leaves can easily be pulled out. To reduce the acid content, permit the pineapple to sit for three days before using. To increase its sweetness, salt and let sit before eating.

Pineapple is another fruit that not only tastes good, but also is good for you. Pineapple juice is chemically close to our stomach juices. Consumed moderately pineapple aids digestion. It has plenty of fibre and helps the body relieve fluids, especially mucus from nasal

passages. Never consume an unripe pineapple, as it can be poisonous causing throat irritations and diarrhoea. The juice is an excellent cooking marinade tenderising the meats while adding a tropical flavour. Two slices of a regular sized pineapple should be about a hundred grammes and has 60 calories with no fat or cholesterol. Pineapple contains vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorous, manganese and potassium. This fruit is a good source of fibre. Since it has a lot of carbs, it’s great for an energy boost. A few slices are a better choice than less healthy snacks.

HEALTH NOTE Pineapple contains micro-nutrients believed to prevent cancer and also break up blood clots. Pineapple juice kills intestinal worms, relieves intestinal disorders, and soothes the bile. The juice also stimulates the kidneys and aids in removing toxic elements in the body. Pineapple contains a mixture of enzymes called bromelain that helps reduce swelling by arthritis, gout, sore throat, and acute sinusitis. Bromelain also helps to prevent blood clots. It is a good food for those who have suffered from strokes or have high blood pressure. Pineapple also helps accelerate the healing of wounds due to injury or surgery. For medicinal benefits eat pineapple between meals. Eaten with meals, the enzymes are used digesting proteins.

Pineapple An excellent fruit

7 Super-Healing Summer Berries

admin — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:42:18 +0000

Blackberries

Loaded with vitamin C, blackberries also contain ellagic acid—an important phytonutrient that protects skin cells from damaging UV rays. Ellagic acid also prevents the breakdown of collagen in the skin that occurs as we age and is linked to wrinkling.

Blueberries

Blueberries are phytonutrient powerhouses. They contain: anthocyanins, ellagic acid, quercetin, catechins, and salicylic acid. If the latter sounds familiar, you may recognize it as the drug we’ve come to know as Aspirin. That’s right—blueberries contain natural aspirin, but in this beautiful and delicious packaging offered by Mother Nature, there’s no worry about harmful side effects. What’s more, blueberries are proven to reduce heat shock proteins that are linked with some forms of brain disease, making these little marvels potent weapons in the prevention of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease as well as other neurological disorders.

Berries are a delicious addition to any diet. But, taste is not the only reason to love them. Here’s why you should add these seven super-healing summer berries to your diet:

Loganberries

A cross between blackberries and raspberries, these berries strengthen blood vessels, making them an excellent addition to help fight heart disease or varicose veins. They contain rutin, which research shows strengthens capillaries and improves circulation. They look like long raspberries.

Currants

Currants contain gamma-linolenic acid that inhibit the body’s histamine—the allergic response in reaction to pollens. That makes them great to help you avoid or eliminate sinus congestion and itchy eyes linked to seasonal allergies. Since they are tart, you might enjoy them best mixed with other berries.

Raspberries

Raspberries are still my favorite fruit. Raspberries, like other berries, contain an important compound that is 10 times more effective at alleviating inflammation than aspirin. Containing the phytonutrient ellagic acid, raspberries can help protect against pollutants found in cigarette smoke, processed foods, and may neutralize some cancer-causing substances before they can damage healthy cells. They’re delicious on their own, in a fruit salad, in a smoothie, or on top of a green salad.

Gooseberries

Gooseberries—the berries that resemble green grapes—help you to feel happier. In recent research in the journal Experimental Neurobiology, scientists found that gooseberries contain a flavonoid called kaempferol that prevents the breakdown of brain hormones serotonin and dopamine. These brain chemicals naturally help us fight stress and keep our spirits up.

Strawberries

More than delicious, when it comes to disease prevention, these babies pack a serious punch. Not only do eight strawberries contain more vitamin C than an orange, they are antioxidant powerhouses. Whether you want to evade heart disease, arthritis, memory loss, wrinkling, or cancer, these berries have proven their ability to help. Plus, they’re just so easy to get into your diet on a regular basis.

7 Super-Healing Summer Berries

9 Super-Healthy, Vegetarian Protein Sources

DIY Sushi Maker (8 pics)

admin — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 06:42:15 +0000

DIY Sushi Maker (8 pics)

Rebels raid pro-govt Syrian TV Station as Assad declares war

admin — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:41:50 +0000

Hours after Syrian President Bashar al Assad announced his country being in a “state of war”, armed rebels rip through a pro-government Syrian TV station on Wednesday, blowing up newsrooms and killing seven employees, media said.

In the fiercest attack so far on any authoritarian organization, gunmen stormed the offices of Al-Ikhbariya al-Suriya (The Syrian News Channel) situated south of Damascus. They ransacked the office buildings, demolishing newsrooms and studios, officials said.

A photographer who visited the compound said five portable buildings used for offices and studios had collapsed, with blood on the floor and wooden partitions still on fire. Some walls had bullet holes, he said.

An employee at the station said several other staffers were wounded in the attack, which happened just before 4 am local time. He said the gunmen kidnapped him along with several station guards. He was released but the guards were not.

The employee, who did not give his name for fear of repercussions, said the gunmen drove him about 200 meters (yards) away, and then he heard the explosion of the station being demolished. “I was terrified when they blindfolded me and took me away,” the man said by telephone.

Al-Ikhbariya is privately-owned station, set up as separate, government-funded entity in late 2010 by Syria’s information ministry, but has been on the target of rebels as it strongly supports President Assad’s regime.

Earlier this month, two Ikhbariya employees were shot and seriously wounded by gunmen in the northwestern town of Haffa while covering clashes between government troops and insurgents.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi, who oversees the channel, called the attack “a massacre against the freedom of the press.

UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has called a meeting in Geneva on Saturday of the Syrian action group – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar.

Earlier Late Tuesday, declaring war, Assad said, “We live in a real state of war from all angles. When we are in a war, all policies and all sides and all sectors need to be directed at winning this war.”

According to the UN, at least 10,000 people have been killed in Syria since protests began in March 2011.

Rebels raid pro-govt Syrian TV Station as Assad declares war

9 Super-Healthy, Vegetarian Protein Sources

admin — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:41:59 +0000

According to the United Nations, the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than the world’s plane, train, and automobile fleets combined. So if you’re looking for a way to please The Lorax and stay well fed, start getting more of your protein from plants and reduce the amount of meat in your diet, especially the factory-farmed meat that’s widely available in supermarkets. It’s not just good for the planet, it’s healthier for you, too. Harvard scientists recently completed a study finding that eating a single serving of red meat each day increases your risk of early death, and factory-farmed chicken, often touted as a healthier alternative to beef, can be contaminated with e. coli bacteria that can give you urinary tract infections.

The idea that protein only comes from meat is a myth. Nearly all foods contain small amounts of protein, and it’s very easy to get your daily protein requirements from beans, grains, nuts, and certain green vegetables, which have less cholesterol and fat than meat and are usually cheaper, to boot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that women get 46 grams (g) of protein each day and that men get 56 g.

Beans & Lentils

Protein Content: beans, 12 to 14 g per cup cooked; lentils, 18 g per cup cooked

Why You Should Eat More: Beans and lentils are the cheapest source of protein out there. So whether you prefer kidney, garbanzo, white, black, or pinto beans, “Buy lots of cans of beans, rinse and drain them to remove 40 percent of the sodium, and use them in everything,” suggests Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life. “White beans taste delicious in pasta: garbanzo or edamame in stir-fries; black beans and pinto in burritos, tacos, and quesadillas; and lentils or kidney are great in salads and whole grain pita lunches.” To avoid bisphenol A, or BPA, a hormone-disrupting chemical, found in metal canned foods, buy Eden Organics brand (the company uses cans without BPA in their liners), look for frozen beans, or buy dried ones and cook them accordingly.

Nuts & Seeds

Protein Content: Nuts, 3 to 7 g per 1/3-cup serving, depending on the type (peanuts and pine nuts have the most); Seeds, 2 to 5 g per 1/3-cup serving, depending on type

Why You Should Eat More: Almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, and pine nuts are all good vegetarian protein sources. “Try a sprinkle of chopped nuts on everything from oatmeal to yogurt to salad, and nut-based dressings are healthy and delicious,” says Blatner. On the seed side, Blatner recommends pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower. “I particularly like seed butter, such as sunflower seed butter, on toast with an apple for breakfast,” she says.

Chia Seeds

Protein Content: 4 g per ounce

Why You Need to Eat More: Though the protein content isn’t as high as some other vegetarian foods out there, chia seeds pack a huge nutritional punch. For starters, they’re an incredible fiber resource with nearly half (11 g) of the amount you need every day in a single ounce. That helps fill you up and eat fewer calories. They also contain 18 percent of your daily calcium requirement, more than triple that of milk, which helps your bones. Chia seeds have no flavor, so you can add a tablespoon to any food you wish to without altering its flavor, and unlike flax, chia seeds don’t need to be ground in order for your body to absorb all the nutrients.

Tofu & Tempeh

Protein Content: Tempeh, 18 g per serving; tofu, 8 g per serving

Why You Should Eat Them: “I call tofu the veggie white meat, anything chicken can do, tofu can do, too,” says Blatner. “Tempeh [a fermented form of tofu] has a fabulous texture and is a great burger stand-in or perfect crumbled in chili or seasoned or broiled into a high-protein crouton on a salad.” Look for organic products to avoid genetically modified soy and hexane, a cancer-causing contaminant that has been detected in heavily processed, nonorganic soy products. If you’re not a fan of tofu or tempeh, you can still reap the protein benefits of soy in soy milk (8 g per glass) and edamame (green soybeans, which have 17 g per cup). But do go easy on soy products, as too much can raise estrogen levels and wreak hormonal havoc in both women and men. Aim for one serving of tofu, soy milk or edamame per day.

Hemp

Protein Content: Seeds, 6 g per ounce; Milk, 2 g per cup

Why You Need to Eat More: If you’re allergic to soy, or just freaked out by its estrogenic activity, hemp products are your next best bet. Sold as a dairy alternative or as seeds, hemp is one of very few plant proteins that supply you with all the essential amino acids, acids your body can’t produce on its own to build muscle and create more protein. The fatty acids in hemp seeds and hemp milk also boost your immune system, and the crop itself is highly sustainable, growing as fast as 10 feet in 100 days and naturally requiring very few pesticides.

Eggs

Protein Content: 6 g per egg

Why You Should Eat More: There’s a reason the incredible, edible egg is such a popular breakfast choice. The protein in eggs has the highest biological value, a measure of how well it supports your body’s protein needs, of any food, including beef. And the yolks contain vitamin B12, deficiencies of which are common in vegetarian diets and can cause attention, mood, and thinking problems while raising blood homocysteine levels, a risk factor for heart disease, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. To get the healthiest eggs, find a local producer whose chicken flocks are small and feed off of grass, bugs, and organic grain; studies have shown that E. coli and salmonella contamination in eggs is directly related to the size of the flock.

Greek Yogurt

Protein Content: 15 to 20 g per 6-ounce serving

Why You Need to Eat More: All dairy products are good sources of protein. A glass of milk provides you with 8 g, but Greek yogurt is a protein powerhouse, with twice the protein and half the sugar and carbs of regular yogurt. In fact, Greek yogurt contains the same protein as a three-ounce serving of lean meat. Top that with a handful of nuts and you could get half of your daily protein intake at breakfast. Mixing different vegetarian protein sources into your daily routine also insures that you’re getting the right mixture of amino acids, which aid in building muscle and regulating your metabolism.

Avocados

Protein Content: 4 g per avocado

Why You Need to Eat More: All vegetables contain between 1 and 2 g of protein per cup, but avocados (which are technically fruits) surpass them all. Though 4 g may not sound like much, avocado protein contains all nine essential amino acids, the amino acids your body can’t produce on its own to build muscle and create more protein, in addition to heart- and brain-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. There may even be a reason these fruits are in season during flu season. “Protein not only builds muscle and maintains organ structures, but is also needed to mount prompt, strong immune responses,” explains Carol S. Johnston, PhD, RD, professor and director of the nutrition program at Arizona State University’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation. “You want to have adequate protein intake daily to have amino acids ready for immune protein synthesis at the time of infection.”

Pseudograins

Protein Content: 5 to 7 g of protein per cup, cooked

Why You Should Eat More: There are grains, and then there are pseudograins. Grains, wheat, barley, rye, brown rice and corn, all contain decent amounts of protein, and globally, wheat provides more plant-based protein than any other food. But intolerance to the gluten in wheat, barley, and rye is on the rise, owing to the increased use of these grains in processed foods. So if you want to go gluten free, look to corn, rice, and pseudograins, foods that are cooked and served like grains but are technically seeds, including quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, millet, and wild rice. If you stick with corn, replace the standard yellow or white corn products with blue corn, which has 30 percent more protein.

Humanely Raised Beef

Protein Content: between 20 and 25 g per 3-ounce serving, depending on cut

Why It’s OK to Eat Meat Occasionally: OK, so beef isn’t vegetarian, but you don’t have to give up meat entirely to get heart-, brain-, and planet-friendly protein. The UN report finding that factory-farming was so bad for the planet also noted that improving animal diets and getting them off of grain was one huge step meat producers could take to counteract global warming. In other words, feeding animals their natural diet of grass and forage is better for our climate than pumping cattle full of corn and soy, which increase “enteric fermentation,” or, basically, flatulent cattle that produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. That diet also produces healthier beef. Grass-fed meats routinely show higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins, as well as lower levels of E. coli, than factory-farmed beef. Shop for grass-fed beef at your local farmer’s market, or order it online through U.S. Wellness Meats.

9 Super-Healthy, Vegetarian Protein Sources

Healthy Food Lesson

6 Surprising Ways Juice Companies Trick You

admin — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:41:58 +0000

When you look at a juice label, the first thing you see is the last thing you should trust, the label. Giant corporations are capitalizing on shoppers’ confusion over labels’ claims of healthy fiber, exotic antioxidants, and neuron-nourishing ingredients. What they don’t bring to your attention are the crushed bug parts used for coloring and the carcinogenic fungicide, exotic antioxidants, and cheap fake ingredients that are lurking in the bottles.

“Juice makers, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, realize that consumers are concerned about losing weight and reducing their risk of diet-related diseases,” says senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley, coauthor of a new juice review published in the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s (CSPI’s) Nutrition Action newsletter.

“But no juice is going to perform miracles for eyes, skin, hearts, colons, or any other part of the body. That goes for just plain juice, and it certainly goes for a juice dressed up with some combination of water, artificial sweeteners, food dyes, or fake fibers,” she adds.

Bone up on these hidden ingredients and marketing tricks and never be fooled in the juice aisle again!

Fungicide-Laced Fruit

Recent Food and Drug Administration testing found that a banned fungicide is turning up in about 15 percent of orange juice samples tested. According to the Los Angeles Times, the administration is ramping up efforts after Coca-Cola, the owner of the Minute Maid and Simply Orange juice brands, found toxic carbendazim in samples. Most of the tainted juices are from fruit grown in Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Belize, where the harmful fungicide is still legal. Organic juice is your best bet. Even better? Just eat a whole organic orange. The fiber will help prevent a blood sugar crash related to drinking juice.

Go-To Ingredients: The Least-Nutritious Juices

According to the CSPI report, juice makers often use the cheapest juices, apple and grape, as the main juice ingredients, even if they aren’t in the name of the product. For instance, Trop50′s Pomegranate Blueberry variety contains more apple juice than pomegranate juice and more grape juice than blueberry juice.

Fake Fiber

The label of Welch’s 100 percent Grape Juice with Fiber makes it seem like the fiber comes from unadulterated, natural sources like “whole Concord grape skins and seed.” Instead, CSPI points out that the fiber comes from the processed food additive maltodextrin, a starch-like carb that actually resists digestion. V8 High Fiber, Sunsweet PlumSmart, and Prune Juice Light pull similar tricks. To get your healthy fiber fix, just eat the actual fruit. It’s better for your blood sugar and diabetes risk.

Insane Sugar Content

Many parents think juices are health drinks, but that’s simply not the case. Take Tropicana Tropical Fruit Fury Twister, for example. One 20-ounce bottle contains 340 calories and a whopping 60 grams of sugar. That’s the sugar equivalent of giving your child two 7-ounce canisters of Reddi-wip to guzzle down. Tropicana is owned by Pepsi, and just like the parent company’s soda, the juices are loaded with artificial ingredients, and the juice products often contain very little actual fruit juice. Honest Kids organic pouch drinks are much healthier choices.

Crushed Beetle Ingredients

If you’re a fan of ruby-red grapefruit juice, you’d better flip the bottle over and read the label. If the product lists carmine, natural red #4, crimson lake, or cochineal extract, you’re likely ingesting food coloring that comes from the crushed abdomen of Dactylopius coccus, an African beetle-like insect.

Brain-Draining Food Dyes

Tropicana Twister Cherry Berry Blast contains 0 percent berry and cherry juice, despite the name of the drink. The color of the nutritionally defunct product comes not from healthy fruit, but from the artificial dye Red #40, which has been linked to hyperactivity and other behavioral problems in some kids. In many cases, it’s much cheaper for companies to use petroleum-derived fake coloring than real fruit juice. CSPI recently filed a regulatory petition urging the Food and Drug Administration to require front-of-label disclosure of food colorings, a labeling move that 75 percent of the population wants, according to a 2010 CSPI survey.

6 Surprising Ways Juice Companies Trick You

The 5 Healthiest Cheeses

admin — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:42:01 +0000

Cheese gets a lot of bad press for clogging arteries and packing on the pounds. But just because you shouldn’t eat an entire platter of Paula Deen’s cheese balls doesn’t mean you have to avoid cheese altogether.

Cheese can be both delicious and a great source of lean protein, calcium, phosphorus, and other health benefits — if you choose the right varieties. Here are five cheeses that belong on any shopping list.

1. Feta

A key component of Greek cuisine, feta is lower in fat and calories than most cheeses, says Natalie Caine-Bish, an associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Kent State University. A one-ounce serving — enough to make a Greek salad lover happy — has 4 grams of protein and only 74 calories.

Caine-Bish says feta’s characteristic strong flavor means you can get away with using less cheese without feeling cheated. Feta’s salty flavor makes it a good choice to crumble on salads and soups. It also pairs well with sweeter produce, like watermelon or sweet potatoes.

Tip: Although domestic feta is often made with cow’s milk, Greek feta is made from sheep or goat’s milk, which makes it a good choice for someone with problems digesting bovine dairy products. Keep in mind, though, that unpasteurized feta and other soft cheeses have a higher risk of containing the Listeria bacteria than other cheeses — so be sure to buy pasteurized feta if you’ll be serving it to a pregnant woman or someone with a compromised immune system.

2. String cheese

Seriously. String cheese, that favorite kid snack, is a great choice for adults too.

For starters, if you choose string cheese made of part-skim mozzarella, it’s low in calories and high in protein (a one-ounce serving has 71 calories and 7 grams of protein).

What’s more, string cheese isn’t actually a processed cheese — mozzarella naturally behaves in that stringy way, so it counts as a whole food. (Just make sure to buy string cheese that’s 100 percent mozzarella.)

Tip: String cheese is “quick and easy — grab and go, and already portioned out for you,” says Silvia Veri, the nutrition supervisor at Beaumont Health System’s Weight Control Center in Royal Oak, Michigan. The fact that it’s prepackaged makes it handy for healthy snacks at work, between errands, or at home.

3. Parmesan

Like feta, Parmesan is a great choice because just a little packs a potent, nutty punch.

Parmigiano-Reggiano comes from the Parma area of Italy, and its strong flavor has inspired a lot of buzz throughout history: Samuel Pepys famously buried his Parmesan cheese to keep it safe during the Great Fire of London, and Boccacio, in The Decameron, imagines a mountain of Parmesan inhabited by macaroni and ravioli makers.

Parmesan is relatively low in calories (110 in a one-ounce serving), but it’s high in sodium (449 milligrams for the same serving size), so be sure to use it in moderation.

Tip: Try shaving pieces onto a salad or eating small slices with ripe apples or pears, in addition to grating it over pasta and pizza.

4. Swiss

Swiss is another strong cheese that’s good for you. What we call Swiss cheese is often Swiss Emmentaler (or Emmental), though other cheeses with a similar taste and hole-studded texture are sometimes lumped in as well.

Swiss is a popular cheese, and Caine-Bish likes it specifically for that reason. Since it comes in a number of varieties, including low-sodium or low-fat, it’s easy to find a version that fits your dietary needs.

As a hard cheese, Swiss is also richer in phosphorus than nearly all soft cheeses. According to Caine-Bish, “Calcium and phosphorus are key to bone formation and to maintaining bone density” — important for women of any age.

Tip: Try adding a slice to your sandwich or grating a few ounces into scrambled or baked eggs. Small slices or cubes make a great snack, especially with fruit instead of crackers.

5. Cottage cheese

There’s a reason dieters love cottage cheese: It’s high in protein, low in fat (if you buy a low-fat variety), and versatile enough to add to most any meal or snack.

“You can eat it with almost anything,” says Veri. “You can eat it with veggies and make it savory, or add fruit and cinnamon and make it sweet.”

A one-ounce serving of low-fat cottage cheese has 3 grams of protein and only 20 calories. Like all cheeses, it’s also high in calcium.

Indian paneer, Mexican queso fresco, and other types of farmer’s cheese are simply pressed versions of cottage cheese. If you’re the DIY-type, this cheese and its firmer derivatives are some of the easiest cheeses to make at home.

Tip: Cottage cheese can have a lot of sodium, especially when it’s low-fat or nonfat. Be sure to check the nutrition label on the container before buying it. Some companies, such as Lucerne and Friendship Dairy, make no-salt-added versions.

The 5 Healthiest Cheeses

US Supreme Court upholds key part of Arizona immigration law

admin — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 03:43:02 +0000

The US Supreme Court upheld a key part of Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigrants.

A section of the US-Mexico border fence near Yuma, Arizona

Three of the four challenges brough up by the Obama administration were upheld by the court.

The US government had argued the law infringed on federal rights to oversee immigration policy – five other states have adopted versions of the Arizona law.

But it said that one much-debated part of the law could go forward – the portion requiring police to check the status of someone they suspect is not in the United States legally. Even there, though, the justices said the provision could be subject to additional legal challenges.

The decision upholds the “show me your papers” provision for the moment. But it takes the teeth out of it by prohibiting police officers from arresting people on minor immigration charges.

Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion for the court that was unanimous on allowing the status check to go forward. The court was divided on striking down the other portions.

US Supreme Court upholds key part of Arizona immigration law

George Washington’s copy of US Constitution sells for nearly $10m

admin — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:43:55 +0000

George Washington’s personal copy of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights sold for $ 9.8 million at auction on Friday, setting a record for an American book or historic document.

Washington was the winner in a contest run by the National Army Museum to identify the country’s most outstanding military opponent

Several bidders at Christie’s New York salesroom and others on the telephone competed for the first American president’s signed, gold-embossed volume dating to 1789, which had a pre-sale estimated of up to $ 3 million.

The Mount Vernon Ladies Association, which maintains the historic Mount Vernon estate in Virginia that was Washington’s home and is now open to the public, was the successful bidder.

The bound volume was Washington’s personal copy of the Acts of Congress.

They include the Constitution, whose preamble promises to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” and the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, which establish such fundamental liberties as the right to free speech, press, assembly and religion.

Christie’s described the book as being in near-pristine condition after 223 years. It was specially printed for Washington in 1789, his first year in office as president.

The margins include Washington’s handwritten brackets and notations highlighting key passages concerning the president’s responsibilities.

The Acts of Congress volume was sold from Washington’s library at Mount Vernon in 1876 and eventually bought at auction by collector Richard Dietrich in the 1960s. It was being sold by the family’s estate.

Similar volumes created for Thomas Jefferson, the first Secretary of State and third US president, and Attorney General John Jay, are in Indiana’s Lilly Library and a private collection, respectively.

Rare books and manuscripts have achieved impressive prices in recent years.

An autographed manuscript of Lincoln’s 1864 election victory speech sold for $ 3.4 million in February 2009, which set a record for an American manuscript at the time. A 1787 letter written from Washington to his nephew on the subject of the ratification of the Constitution fetched $ 3.2 million in December 2009.

George Washington’s copy of US Constitution sells for nearly m

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When Words Become Images (23 pics)

admin — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 21:41:52 +0000

When Words Become Images (23 pics)

The Desks of Famous Tech CEOs (11 pics)

admin — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 06:42:33 +0000

Steve Jobs, Apple

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft

Jeff Bezos, Amazon

Bill Gates, Microsoft

Dennis Crowley, Foursquare

Max Levchin, PayPal

Elon Musk, Space X

Michael Dell, Dell

Tony Hsieh, Zappos

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook

The Desks of Famous Tech CEOs (11 pics)

Eight men, seven legs and 3,051 miles: war-wounded British ex-servicemen race across America by bike (15pics)

admin — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 15:42:46 +0000

A team of seriously-wounded British servicemen is about to complete one of the world’s toughest endurance contests by cycling in the Race Across America.

The handover for Team Battle Back was seamless as Mark Allen sped into the pit-stop in a tiny Colorado farm town and Steve Arnold powered off towards the swirling dust-storm obscuring the horizon.

It was the latest stage in Race Across America, a coast-to-coast relay bicycle marathon through deserts, mountains and plains that is one of the most formidable endurance events in the world.

The contest would be tough enough for the fittest able-bodied competitor. But Sgt Allen was riding with a prosthetic leg. And Staff Sgt Arnold was pumping the pedals of a hand bicycle with his arms from his near-horizontal position just inches from the road, the stumps of his missing legs in front of him.

Supported by the charity Help for Heroes, the two men are members of a team of eight British war wounded with just seven legs – and a string of serious injuries – between them.

They paid a heavy physical price for their bravery and courage fighting for their country in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now they are cycling 3,051 miles across America in just eight days in a remarkable demonstration of defiance, resilience and life beyond injury.

“I wanted to show everyone that life isn’t over if you get injured, even serious injuries like this,” said SSgt Arnold, 32, a Royal Engineer who lost both his legs when he stepped on a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan in April last year.

Other shared a similar motivation to inspire fellow war heroes and inform the public. “My hope is to prove that after injury there are no limitations and that you can get out of life what you put into it,” said Joe Townsend, 24, a Royal Marine commando whose legs were blown off below the knee by an improvised explosive device (IED) on patrol in Afghanistan in 2008.

The Sunday Telegraph caught up with the team as they emerged from the gruelling climbs and dizzying descents of the Rockies and plunged into the seemingly never-ending expanses of the prairie in America’s heartland.

The cauldron-like heat of the Californian desert and the 10,000ft climb through the mountains were behind them.

But the plains provided new challenges in the form of 50mph side winds, dust storms, temperatures soaring above 100F – and the monotony of landscape that offered no distractions from their travails.

The race is a major logistical operation for the team, who are both backed by and raising funds for Help for Heroes.

They ride in relay around the clock, one cyclist on the road at a time, followed by 18 support crew – physiotherapists, doctors, logistics staff, drivers and mechanics – in five vehicles.

The men have been training since last year under the guidance of race crew chief Jonpaul Nevin, the chief coach at Help for Heroes’ Tedworth House recovery facility in Wiltshire.

Each rider, for whom cycling is part of their medical rehab, races several stretches a day, grabbing rest and sleep when they can in the accompanying transit vans and motor homes [RVs].

The team was averaging more than 17 miles an hour, putting them on schedule to complete the ride on Saturday evening at Annapolis in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay where some wives and girlfriends were waiting to greet them.

Each cyclist is followed by a support car, not least as a protective measure against other vehicles. It was in this race in 2010 that James Cracknell, the Olympic rowing gold medallist, was nearly killed when he was hit by a truck in Arizona.

Food is boil-in-the-bag meals of beef stew, chilli con carne, chicken curry and the like, supplemented with cereal bars and sweets. But even for servicemen accustomed to the military version of this monotonous fare on deployment, the occasional burger and chips grabbed at longer stops was a welcome treat.

The challenge for the support team is to persuade the men – their appetite lessened by heat and exhaustion – to eat the 4-6,000 calories that they are burning each day.

They also drink 750mls of fluid – well over a pint – every hour on the road. For the riders on hand bicycles, tubes over their shoulders run back to packs that are topped up with water or energy drinks before each stretch.

“These guys have the military ethos, they have served in Afghanistan, so they know the importance of re-hydrating,” said Dr Philip Lucas, an RAF medic accompanying the team.

“They are performing beyond all expectations. They’re a remarkable group. The attitude even of the double amputees is ‘There’s nothing wrong with me, I just happen to have no legs’.”

He said the men were suffering from a mixture of blisters, chafing, heat, tiredness and lack of sleep — just as any other competitors would be.

In their kits of red, white and blue, Team Battle Back are racing on four normal upright bicycles and, for the double leg amputees, four hand-cranked machines, each adapted to the injuries of their individual riders.

These have sponge seats for the riders as they lie almost flat, their eye line just above the chain, and propel themselves with their hands and arms using specially-modified gear and brake systems.

For Steve Richardson, there was an added challenge as he not only has no legs but has also lost all but four fingers – one on his right-hand and three on his left. Medics bound up his hands with tape as added protection beneath his cycling gloves, but the strain was still taking its toll.

“You do start questioning why you are here at times,” said Pte Richardson, 22, an infantryman who lost his legs to an IED during a firefight in Afghanistan in 2010. “But it’ll be worth it when we’ve finished.”

The fourth double amputee is Sgt Simon Harmer, 34, who also lost both legs to a roadside bomb. “We’re a team of injured guys with a new mission – to complete this thing in time to watch the England game with Italy on Sunday,” he said after England’s victory over Ukraine in Euro 2012.

“The heat, the gradients and the lack of sleep are all challenges. And the hand bikes are really hard work. But we’ll get there.”

Through the mountain ranges of the Rockies and the Appalachians, the riders on the regular bicycles take on the uphill stretches while the hand-cyclists tackle the descents. On one downhill run, SSgt Arnold hit 62mph, he noted with delight. “The adrenalin buzz was exhilarating,” he said.

In this year’s Race Across America, 49 solo riders and 51 teams set off from California’s Pacific coast in staged departures. Reto Shoch, a Swiss first-time competitor, crossed the finishing line first in eight days, six hours and 29 minutes on Friday.

For Team Battle Back, finishing the contest is a victory in its own right. But they have also been involved in their own private contest with the Wounded Warrior Project, a team of injured US servicemen.

The Americans are on course to win that tussle, although the British racers point out that just one of the rival eight riders is a hand-cyclist.

SNR Denton, an UK-US international law firm and major backer of Help for Heroes, is the chief sponsor of both military teams. “These guys are achieving an incredible feat that is an inspiring and humbling lesson to all of us,” said Alastair Young, a British partner in the firm who will host a reception for them in Washington his week.

“If they can do this, it makes the trials and tribulations of our lives seem small.”

The four veterans on upright bicycles are Sgt Allen, 40, who lost a leg after a parachute accident during pre-deployment training; Don Maclean, 34, a Royal Marine reservist who suffered serious foot injuries from an IED; Jamie Hull, 36, a Paratrooper badly burned after a light aircraft caught fire; and Capt Rab Smedley, 33, a who sustained a broken neck and back in an Army skiing accident.

“This race would be a tough one, with or without a leg,” said Sgt Allen. “Our injuries are a secondary thing. Yes, we have to adapt a bit because of them, but the real issues are the heat, sweat, blisters and chafing, like everyone would face.

“People ask why we’re doing this. It’s to show that our lives have changed, but they’re not over, far from it. I only lost part of a leg. The double amputees just crack on.”

Marine Maclean suffered the lightest injuries of the team – broken bones and a shattered heel that was rebuilt with grafts from his arm. “I was a lot luckier than some other blokes as the IED that I stood on only partially detonated,” he said.

“By taking part in this race, we also want to raise awareness with the general public. We have had major conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan for 10 years and even if we are winding down that involvement, there is going to be a legacy of men with serious injuries for the rest of their lives. We want to make sure those guys are not forgotten.

“And for the war wounded, we want them to know that there is life after injury. Not everyone is going to do the Race Across America, but they can achieve other things. The point is what you can do, not what you cannot do.”

Eight men, seven legs and 3,051 miles: war-wounded British ex-servicemen race across America by bike (15pics)

Window Washing (4 pics)

admin — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 00:41:53 +0000

Window Washing (4 pics)

Health Benefits of Black Rice

admin — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:42:06 +0000

Legend of The Forbidden Rice

One of the most interesting legends surrounding rice is that of “The Forbidden Rice”. Legend has it, that in China there was a special, heirloom variety of rice grown exclusively for the emperor. This variety of rice was the rice we know today as black rice or emperor’s rice. Black rice was cultivated in small amounts, in specially designated fields, by highly trusted servants and its seeds were guarded day and night. It was strictly forbidden for anyone, but the emperor, to consume this variety of rice.

The reason black rice was so highly valued, and closely guarded, by the Chinese emperors was because in ancient Chinese medicine, which relies heavy on the philosophy “food is medicine and medicine is food” black rice is seen as a main source of good health and longevity. In ancient days, black rice was viewed as the mystical source of the emperors’ good health and longevity and was consumed as a tonic. Therefore, anyone caught cultivating or consuming this rice was believed to be sabotaging or “stealing” the source of good health and longevity reserved especially for the emperor and thus was punished, severely.

History of Black Rice

Luckily, times have changed and no one will be punished today for consuming black rice. Though highly popular in Thailand and Indonesia, black rice is not a stable source of carbohydrates in most rice-consuming cultures such as the Indian culture, and the Arabic and Persian cultures. That is mostly due to the fact that the Greeks banned the cultivation, importation and consumption of black rice when they conquered the Middle East because they believed that the consumption of this food helped their enemies in battle. They did not however, ban white rice, which they deemed worthless. As a result, India, one of the largest exporters of rice to the Middle East, both then and now, stopped cultivation of black rice due to lack of demand. Therefore, white rice replaced black rice as the dominant source of carbohydrates in all Middle Eastern cultural cuisines. Due to events such as these, black rice, a food once highly reveled by the world’s most powerful figures, faded into oblivion.

Health Benefits of Black Rice

Though there is still a lot we do not know about the health benefits of black rice, a series of scientific studies have labeled it “The Long-Lost Superfood”, a treasure house of antioxidants, fiber, nutrients, minerals and amino acids capable of combating and preventing a host of health problems ranging from cancer, diabetes, and heart disease to Alzheimer’s. Apparently, the emperor’s of ancient China were right.

The Following is a List of The Recently Discovered Health Benefits of Black Rice:

A Rich Source of Antioxidants: The black, outer layer of this rice, contains antioxidant-rich bran. The purple and reddish pigment of this rice, which gives it its black appearance, contains Anthocyanins, the same antioxidants found in such prominent superfoods as blueberries, Acai berries and grapes. But, according to Dr. Zhimin Xu, Ph.D., an associate professor at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, in Baton Rouge, “black-rice bran has an advantage over blueberries, because blueberries still contain a high level of sugar.” Best of all, according to Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton, in Pennsylvania, “Some antioxidants in brown rice are fat-soluble, while Anthocyanins are water-soluble and can therefore reach different areas of the body.”
May Help Prevent Heart Attacks: In 2008, a group of scientists studied the effects of Anthocyanins on the heart. This study, which was published in the Journal of Nutrition and used mice as its primary source, concluded that Anthocyanins are capable of preventing the progression of atherosclerotic plaques, the main cause of most heart attacks, in the main arteries of the heart. The study also established that Anthocyanins play a key role in lowering triglycerides. Most astonishing of all was the finding that Anthocyanins are just as effective in lowering cholesterol levels as the prescription drug Simvastatin, a drug used to lower cholesterol levels.

Health Benefits of Black Rice

Local Businesses in Nairobi, Kenya (33 pics)

admin — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:42:32 +0000

Local Businesses in Nairobi, Kenya (33 pics)

Pictogram Rock Posters (8 pics)

admin — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 03:42:17 +0000

Pictogram Rock Posters (8 pics)

Talk of drones patrolling US skies creates anxiety

admin — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:42:53 +0000

The prospect that thousands of drones could be patrolling US skies by the end of this decade is raising the spectre of a Big Brother government that peers into backyards and bedrooms.

When Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell, a Republican, suggested during a radio interview last month that the unmanned drones be used by police domestically since they’ve done such a good job on foreign battlefields, the political backlash was swift.

John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, which provides legal assistance in support of civil liberties and conservative causes, warned the governor, “America is not a battlefield, and the citizens of this nation are not insurgents in need of vanquishing.”

There’s concern as well among liberal civil liberties advocates that government and private-sector drones will be used to gather information on Americans without their knowledge.

A lawsuit by the Electronic Frontier Foundation of San Francisco, whose motto is “defending your rights in the digital world,” forced the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year to disclose the names of dozens of public universities, police departments and other government agencies that have been awarded permission to fly drones in civilian airspace on an experimental basis.

Earlier this year Congress, under pressure from the Defense Department and the drone manufacturers, ordered the FAA to give drones greater access to civilian airspace by 2015. Besides the military, the mandate applies to drones operated by the private sector and civilian government agencies, including federal, state and local law enforcement.

Giving drones greater access to US skies moves the nation closer to “a surveillance society in which our every move is monitored, tracked, recorded and scrutinized by the authorities,” the American Civil Liberties Union warned last December in a report.

Talk of drones patrolling US skies creates anxiety

Anxiety Children

Sarcastic Street Art by Mobstr (30 pics)

admin — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:41:55 +0000

Sarcastic Street Art by Mobstr (30 pics)

Over 800,000 people forced to flee their countries in 2011: UN

admin — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 06:42:17 +0000

Crises in Libya, Sudan, Somalia and elsewhere in the world forced more than 800,000 people to flee their countries in 2011, setting a new record for cross-border displacement since 2000, the UN refugee agency said on Monday.

In its ’2011 Global Trends’ report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the past year saw more than 4.3 million people being displaced worldwide and of them over 800,000 had to leave their countries in order to save their lives.

“2011 saw suffering on an epic scale. For so many lives to have been thrown into turmoil over so short a space of time means enormous personal cost for all who were affected,” head of UNHCR Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

“We can be grateful only that the international system for protecting such people held firm for the most part and that borders stayed open. These are testing times,” Guterres said.

According to the 47-page report, there were 15.42 million refugees last year — 26.4 million internally displaced people and 895,000 others in the process of seeking asylum worldwide.

Moreover, about 12 million people were estimated to be stateless, which means they are not considered nationals of any country, noted the report.

With 2.7 million displaced nationals, Afghanistan remained the leading refugees producer in the world, followed by Iraq (1.4 million), Somalia (1.1 million), Sudan (500,000), and Democratic Republic of the Congo (491,000).

According to the report, about 80 per cent of the world’s refugees flee to their neighbouring countries. Pakistan was the leading country with 1.7 million refugees, followed by Iran (886,500), Kenya (566,500) and Chad (366,500).

Among developed countries, Germany remained the largest hosting country with 571,700 refugees. Meanwhile, South Africa was the largest recipient of individual asylum applications (107,000), a status it has held for the past four years.

The past year also saw around 532,000 refugees returning home voluntarily, more than double the previous year’s figure of 197,600, the report stated.

The report also noted that only 64 countries provided data on stateless people, meaning that UNHCR was able to capture numbers for only around a quarter of the estimated 12 million stateless people worldwide.

Despite the lack of a refugee specific law, India hosts more than 200,000 Tibetans and Sri Lankan refugees as well as 17,380 other nationals registered under UNHCR’s mandate. The country has also 3,710 asylum seekers, majority of whom are from Myanmar (2,728).

Over 800,000 people forced to flee their countries in 2011: UN

Vapour Trails and Cones Created by Planes (20 pics)

admin — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:41:52 +0000

Vapour Trails and Cones Created by Planes (20 pics)

Puppy in beeld:Denver

admin — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 00:42:02 +0000

Puppy in beeld:Denver

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Fast food nutrition facts – mystery ingredients are industrial chemicals

admin — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 09:43:00 +0000

Many people think occasional junk food indulgence can be balanced out by skipping meals later in the week or by putting in some extra time on the treadmill. The truth is that the consequences of this type of eating can turn up in unexpected ways, often years later as toxins accumulate in your body and cause serious illnesses like cancer or diabetes.

It is only in the past several decades that the abundance of toxic chemical ingredients in food, have made the consequences of dietary indulgences so lethal. In order to boost profits, food purveyors use chemicals which have a similar effect to the tobacco industry’s addition of nicotine to tobacco, making a substance at once more addictive and more deadly.

Mystery Ingredient #1

Take this quiz to help you to see how much you know about the real results of fast food snacking: What was concocted in a laboratory in 1908 and is present in nearly every non-dessert item on KFC’s menu?

What “seasoning” did the US begin manufacturing subsequent to WWII after learning that rations for soldiers on the opposing side included this substance?

When the FDA “generally regarded as safe” (GRAS) standard for food additives was established in 1958, what substance was grandfathered in without any testing to verify its safety?

What food additive, so omnipresent in fast food restaurants that even salads often contain it, has been linked to obesity as well as depression, migraines, mental confusion, dizziness, anxiety or panic attacks, stiffness, joint pain, loss of balance, slurred speech, diarrhea, blurred vision and ADHD?

What chemical substance do food manufacturers love to use so much that they have developed a long list of aliases to hide its presence from consumers?

If you answeredMSGto all of the above questions, give yourself a gold star for knowledge of food chemicals.

Mystery Ingredient #2

What popular sweetener, present in most soft drinks and “sports drinks,” is manufactured via a process which makes use of glutaraldehyde, an embalming chemical?

What sweet-tasting ingredient, found in such diverse products as McDonald’s Baked Hot Apple Pies, children’s vitamins and commercially prepared salad dressings is frequently contaminated with mercury because of the method by which is it prepared in factories?

What food additive delivers calories yet chemically fails to satisfy hunger, causing people to eat more than necessary? Because this substance does not stimulate insulin secretion or reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin, people continue to eat while the body converts what they consume into fat.

If you know the answer to the above 3 questions is high fructose corn syrup (HCFS), you are well-informed. This is a challenging accomplishment considering how much disinformation the food manufacturers, the government and the mainstream health establishment put out about HCFS being harmless. Beware, however, because the food industry has been mulling a name change for this ingredient, possibly calling it “corn sugar” or some new brand name so they can continue to take advantage of subsidized US corn.

Mystery Ingredient #3

Which of the following fast foods does NOT contain dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent also used in caulks and sealants and Silly Putty:

a) McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets
b) McDonald’s Fish Filet Patty
c) Wendy’s Natural Cut Fries
d) KFC BBQ Baked Beans
e) KFC Biscuit
f) None of the above

The correct answer is “f” none of the above. (Chances are if your child swallowed some caulk, you would rush to the emergency room. Perhaps people should start doing the same if their children consume fast food.)

Fast food nutrition facts – mystery ingredients are industrial chemicals

An Amazing Tattoo Artist – Peter Aurisch

admin — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 18:42:12 +0000

Peter Aurisch, a tattoo artist based out of Berlin, Germany, creates amazing one of a kind works of art that are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Each piece mirrors Peter’s signature style, merging a whimsical aesthetic with an overall edgy and visually enticing demeanor. His tattoos are exploding with creativity, as he intermingles a vast array of subjects and figures into his works, somehow they all come together to create an overall brilliant cohesive design.

An Amazing Tattoo Artist – Peter Aurisch

US holds high-level talks with Syrian rebels seeking weapons in Washington

admin — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 03:42:51 +0000

Syrian rebels have held meetings with senior US government officials in Washington as pressure mounts on the US to authorise a shipment of heavy weapons, including surface-to-air missiles to combat the Assad regime

A Free Syrian Army fighter fires his weapon during clashes with Syrian troops near Idlib

A senior Free Syrian Army representative met in the past week at the US State Department with the US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford and Frederick Hoff, special coordinator for the Middle East, sources have confirmed.

The rebel emissaries, armed with an iPad showing detailed plans on Google Earth identifying rebel positions and regime targets, have also met with senior members of the National Security Council, which advises President Obama on national security policy.

FSA representatives in Washington have compiled a “targeted list” of heavy weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and heavy machine guns that they plan to present to US government officials in the coming two weeks.

The consultations come ahead of next week’s G20 meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico where British and US officials are expected to make a last-ditch attempt to get the Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene in the Syria crisis.

Privately, western diplomats admit they now harbour scant hopes of forcing a change of heart on Russia, which has steadfastly refused to bow to US and British pressure to do more to arrest Syria’s slide into sectarian civil war.

While there remains little appetite for direct western military intervention, advanced contingency plans are already in place to supply heavy weapons to the rebels, including sophisticated anti-tank weapons and surface to-air-missiles.

The move towards what was described as a “Libya lite” intervention in Syria is expected to gather force following the anticipated failure of the Annan peace plan and the meeting of the Syria Contact Group scheduled for June 30 in Geneva.

Senior Middle Eastern diplomatic sources said that Libyan-supplied weapons, paid for by Saudi Arabia and Qatari government funds and private donations, had already been stockpiled in anticipation of the “inevitable” intervention needed to end the Assad regime.

“The intervention will happen. It is not a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’. The Libyans are willing to provide the anti-tank weapons, others are prepared to pay for it,” the source said

He added, however, that Turkey would “not open the floodgates” of acting as a conduit for the arms without Nato and US-backing that would guarantee them support in the event of a Syrian backlash, possibly mobilising Syrian Kurdish groups against Turkey.

Middle Eastern diplomatic sources said that the Obama administration was fully aware of the preparations being made to arm Syrian opposition groups.

The US has also agreed to be part of a group of countries that coordinates assistance to the rebels, the sources said, but was still deliberating over the time frame for escalation.

The Obama administration, which campaigned on a promise to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been reluctant to give the greenlight to military intervention in Syria as they seek a second term from a war-weary electorate.

However proponents of arming the rebels are now arguing forcefully that US inaction leaves Mr Obama vulnerable to accusations from the Republican camp that he is ‘leading from behind’ at the cost of thousands of innocent Syrian lives – a charge that would stick if there was another massacre.

Those in Washington who are lobbying on behalf of the rebel Free Syrian Army are aware of the limited political impetus for intervention in an election year, and that any deal would most likely need to be struck before influential congressmen return to their districts for summer recess in July.

Reports that heavy anti-tank weapons had been smuggled into Syria this week were denied by FSA sources that said that the rebels were still armed only with RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades.

The contacts between rebels groups and senior US government officials have now reached the “getting to know you stage” as the administration faces the growing likelihood it will have to sanction some kind of indirect intervention.

The US defence establishment is concerned that sophisticated weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist militants, or accelerate the cycle of sectarian revenge-killings, rather than bring about the swift demise of the Assad regime.

The FSA has long been seen as the name given to a collection of disparate militias. The movement has established a better command and control structure on the ground in recent months, setting up opposition military councils in ten Syrian cities and towns, including in the capital.

US holds high-level talks with Syrian rebels seeking weapons in Washington

Mysterious Bones May Belong to John the Baptist

admin — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 12:41:57 +0000

A small handful of bones found in an ancient church in Bulgaria may belong to John the Baptist, the biblical figure said to have baptized Jesus.

There’s no way to be sure, of course, as there are no confirmed pieces of John the Baptist to compare to the fragments of bone. But the sarcophagus holding the bones was found near a second box bearing the name of St. John and his feast date (also called a holy day) of June 24. Now, new radiocarbon dating of the collagen in one of the bones pegs its age to the early first century, consistent with the New Testament and Jewish histories of John the Baptist’s life.

“We got some dates that are very interesting indeed,” study researcher Thomas Higham of the University of Oxford said. “They suggest that the human bone is all from the same person, it’s from a male, and it has a very high likelihood of an origin in the Near East,” or Middle East where John the Baptist would have lived.

Mysterious bone box

The bones were found in 2010 by Romanian archaeologists Kazimir Popkonstantinov and Rossina Kostova while excavating an old church site on the island of Sveti Ivan, which translates to St. John. The church was constructed in two periods in the fifth and sixth centuries.

Beneath the altar, the archaeologists found a small marble sarcophagus, about 6 inches (15 centimeters) long. Inside were six human bones and three animal bones. The next day, the researchers found a second box just 20 inches (50 cm) away. This one was made of volcanic rock called tuff. On it, an inscription read, “Dear Lord, please help your servant Thomas” along with St. John the Baptist’s name and official church feast day.

A grotesque gift

The findings paint a story of a man named Thomas charged with bringing relics, or body parts, of St. John to the island to consecrate a new church there. It was common in the fourth and fifth centuries for wealthy patrons to pay for new churches and to gift saintly relics to the monks who staffed them,Higham told .

“We can imagine that the construction of this church was predicated on the basis of this very important gift, perhaps from the patron to the monastery,” Higham said.

The human bones in the box included a knucklebone, a tooth, part of a cranium, a rib and an ulna, or arm bone. The researchers could only date the knucklebone, because radiocarbon dating relies on organic material, and only that bone had enough collagen for a good analysis. The researchers were able to reconstruct DNA sequences from three of the bones, however, showing them to be from the same person, likely a Middle Eastern man.

“Our worry was that the remains might have been contaminated with modern DNA,” study researcher Hannes Schroeder, formerly of Oxford, said in a statement. “However, the DNA we found in the samples showed damage patterns that are characteristic of ancient DNA, which gave us confidence in the results. Further, it seems somewhat unlikely that all three samples would yield the same sequence considering that they had probably been handled by different people.”

Schroeder added that “both of these facts suggest that the DNA we sequenced was actually authentic.”

Strangely, the three animal bones (one from a sheep, one from a cow, and one from a horse), were all about 400 years older than the human bones in the reliquary. Those three bones all seem to come from the same time and location, Higham said. They may have been placed there as a way to desecrate the human bones, he said. Or someone may have just been trying to make the bone boxlook a little more impressive.

“It is very curious,” Higham said.

Elusive identification

Historical research by Oxford professor Georges Kazan suggests that relics supposedly from John the Baptist were on the move out of Jerusalem by the fourth century. Many of these artifacts were shuttled through the ancient city of Constantinople and may well have been gifted to the Sveti Ivan monastery from there.

None of this proves that the bones belonged to a historical figure named John the Baptist, but researchers haven’t been able to rule out the possibility, Higham said. Their study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but a program detailing the research will be aired on the United Kingdom National Geographic Channel on Sunday (June 17). National Geographic funded the research.

Even if the monks of Sveti Ivan believed the bones to be St. John’s, they may not have been. Fake relics were and still are common. For example, at least 30 nails have been venerated as the ones used to keep Jesus Christ on the cross (biblical scholars debate whether three or four nails would have been used). Likewise, French theologian John Calvin once noted that if all of the supposed fragments of Jesus’ cross were gathered together, they’d fill a shipload. Even Joan of Arc has been the subject of forgery. A 2007 study found that alleged pieces of her body kept in a French church actually belonged to an Egyptian mummy .

The Sveti Ivan box is not the only reliquary said to hold the remains of John the Baptist, Higham said. If the researchers are able to test other bones said to be the saint’s, they could build a circumstantial case for their authenticity. Nevertheless, a positive identification will likely remain out of reach.

“Definitely proving it, I think, is going to remain ever-elusive,” Higham said.

Mysterious Bones May Belong to John the Baptist

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Star Trek Enterprise NCC 1701-C Coffee Table

admin — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:42:39 +0000

By Barry Shields

Star Trek Enterprise NCC 1701-C Coffee Table

The Art of Crushing

admin — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 06:42:31 +0000

The Art of Crushing

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40 million stars mapped in all-sky survey

admin — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:42:18 +0000

A new map of the sky that accurately measures the brightness and position of over 40 million stars is expected to be available in the next two years.

This map will be the result of the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey, which has completely covered the sky at a level 100 times fainter than any prior stellar catalog. Millions of stars will have their brightness and color measured accurately for the first time in this survey.

“Prior surveys have done a good job measuring the brightness of bright stars. Other organizations have announced plans to measure faint stars. But this goldilocks zone of stars that are neither too bright or too faint has been neglected, until now,” said Dr. Arne Henden, Director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO).

“This catalog of stars will serve a key link between existing bright catalogs and fainter catalogs planned for the future, such as those created by Pan-STARRS and the LSST observatories,” Dr. Doug Welch, a professor of Physics and Astronomy at McMaster University.

The survey will measure stars ranging from magnitude 10 to 16.5. This is typically the range of stellar brightness that amateur astronomers can see with backyard telescopes. The faintest stars visible to the unaided eye are about 6th magnitude, and 11th-magnitude stars are only 1/100th as bright as that.

“We estimate nearly all of the stars mapped in this survey will be accurately measured for their first time in their history. Tens of thousands of these stars will likely change in brightness over time and need follow up monitoring by amateur astronomers,” Henden said.

The new catalog will also help save professionals valuable time when using major observatories.

“Time available for imaging targets on the largest telescopes will be increased by APASS since calibrated stars will exist on the target images themselves. Different pointings for calibration fields won’t be necessary,” Welch said.

This new map of the stars is being generated by telescopes located at two locations: New Mexico and Chile. Each location has two 8-inch (20cm) telescopes that take images of the sky through five colored filters from very blue through deep-red, and cover up to 1,000 square degrees per night.

The use of numerous color filters will make it easier for astronomers to combine APASS data with their own observations of a star. The survey began in 2009 and, while having complete sky coverage now, is expected to be available in final form by 2014.

The survey is predominantly a pro-am volunteer effort. A team of professional astronomers is primarily responsible for the photometry while a team of amateur astronomers is helping with the equipment, purchased with support from the Robert Martin Ayers Sciences Fund.

40 million stars mapped in all-sky survey

Soul of the trees

admin — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:42:04 +0000

Soul of the trees

The banyan bonsai is a very mystical trees

Google’s eye in sky could catch you with pants down

admin — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 09:42:02 +0000

US tech giants Google and Apple are in the race to come up with aerial maps so detailed and precise that they can practically catch you with your pants down, even in your own backyard.

Google says it has already sent planes over cities while Apple has acquired a firm using spy-in-the-sky technology that has been already tested on at least 20 locations, including London.

Apple’s cameras are understood to be so powerful they could potentially see into homes through skylights and windows. The technology is similar to that used by intelligence agencies in identifying terrorist targets in Afghanistan, the Daily Mail reports.

Google will use its spy planes to help create 3D maps with much more detail than its satellite-derived Google Earth images. Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, warned that privacy risked being sacrificed in a commercial ‘race to the bottom.’

“The next generation of maps is taking us over the garden fence,” he warned. “You won’t be able to sunbathe in your garden without worrying about an Apple or Google plane buzzing overhead, taking pictures.”

He said householders should be asked for their consent before images of their homes go online. Apple is expected to unveil its new mapping applications for its iPhone and other devices Monday – along with privacy safeguards. Its 3D maps will reportedly show for the first time the sides of tall buildings, such as the Big Ben clock tower.

Google expects by the end of the year to have 3D coverage of towns and cities with a combined population of 300 million. It has not revealed any locations so far.

Current 3D mapping technology relies on aerial images taken at a much lower resolution than the technology Apple is thought to be using. This means that when users ‘zoom in’, details tend to be lost because of the poor image quality.

Google ran into trouble when it emerged that its Street View cars, which gathered ground-level panoramic photographs for Google Maps, had also harvested personal data from household wifi networks.

Apple’s spy planes are believed to be equipped with technology developed by the military to guide missile strikes. Each plane is equipped with multiple cameras taking high-resolution photographs of buildings and landmarks from every possible angle, which are then compiled to make three-dimensional images.

The military-grade images are taken at a height of around 1,600 ft, meaning people below are very unlikely to realise they are being photographed. The cameras can be installed on planes, helicopters or even unmanned drones, although there are safety restrictions about the use of the latter in Britain.

Google’s eye in sky could catch you with pants down

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What School Lunches Look Like In 20 Countries Around The World

admin — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:42:00 +0000

1. Japan

Rice and fish make up the bulk of the menu, but some days students are treated to the kind of East-West comfort food.

2. Korea

3. France:

4. Sweden

5. Czech Republic

6. Italy

The majority of Italian schools serve lunches made from organic ingredients, mostly grown nearby. The daily meal at la mensa della scuolathe school canteenis usually centered around pasta or risotto, with salad served as a separate course. Meat shows up on the menu only a couple times a week.

7. Singapore

8. Kenya

9. Honduras

10. Slovakia

Smoked mackerel.

11. UK

12. Taiwan

13. Ghana

14. Chile

15. Philippines

Lechón kawali, liver sauce, rice.

16. Estonia

Potatoes and meat.

17. Brazil

Rice, Beans, Bread, Meat with vegetables, banana and alface, acelga salad.

18. China

A whole fish!

19. Djibouti

Rice and beans in sauce or curry.

20. USA

What School Lunches Look Like In 20 Countries Around The World

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward in first joint byline for 36 years

admin — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 03:42:24 +0000

Forty years after the Watergate burglary that forced Richard Nixon to resign, the two reporters who exposed the scandal have said Nixon ran the US presidency like a “criminal enterprise” and was “far worse” than they thought at the time.

Reporters Bob Woodward, right, and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting of the Watergate case won a Pulitzer Prize

In their first joint byline for 36 years, the two Washington Post journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward used an article to mark the 40th anniversary of the Watergate break-in to scotch creeping attempts by some former aides and “historical revisionists” to restore Nixon’s reputation.

“At its most virulent, Watergate was a brazen and daring assault, led by Nixon himself, against the heart of American democracy: the Constitution, our system of free elections, the rule of law,” the two men asserted in a sweeping 4,000-word account of how Nixon turned his White House into a “criminal enterprise”.

Woodward and Bernstein said that huge amount of information that has come out in the four decades since the June 17, 1972, burglary of the Democratic National Committee, had only served to diminish Nixon’s reputation.

Detailing Nixon’s orders to tap the phones of journalists and officials, the secret pay-offs to buy the silence of those accused in the Watergate break-in and attempts to destroy Edward Kennedy by putting a spy in his Secret Service detail, paint Nixon as a craven, anti-Semite and paranoiac.

Most damning all, the two journalists say, is that reviewing the tapes of Nixon in the Oval Office, they hadn’t found a single instance of Nixon talking about the good of the country – but only about himself.

“He is heard talking almost endlessly about what would be good for him, his place in history and, above all, his grudges, animosities and schemes for revenge,” the two men write, “The dog that never seems to bark is any discussion of what is good and necessary for the wellbeing of the nation.

Nixon died in 1994 and was controversially pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, after his resignation in August 1974. Nixon went on to try and rehabilitate his reputation with a series of books and foreign trips.

Speaking on CBS News’s Face the Nation on Sunday, Woodward and Bernstein said that President Ford had later told them that he had granted the pardon not for Nixon’s sake, or for his own, “but for the good the country. We had to get over Watergate.”

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward in first joint byline for 36 years

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US worked ‘round the clock’ to contain WikiLeaks

admin — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 12:41:55 +0000

United States officials worked around the clock to contain the fallout from the WikiLeaks scandal, a State Department official has said.

The comment from Rena Bitter, director of the State Department’s operations center, came on the second day of a preliminary hearing for Army Private Bradley Manning, 24, who is facing a court-martial for allegedly handing over a trove of classified documents to the whistle blowing website.

Bitter told the court at the Fort Meade military base how working groups, consisting of 25 people each, toiled day and night to ‘stay ahead of public disclosure’ between November 2010, when the scandal broke, and July 2011.

While one was called the ‘potential risks on individuals group’ another was dubbed the ‘WikiLeaks group,’ she said.

“At some point, we worked 18 or 20 hours a day. Our office coordinated, we did what we typically do in a crisis,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Bitter as saying.

“When there’s a crisis, everybody has to speak with one voice,” she added.

US worked ‘round the clock’ to contain WikiLeaks

Largest and most beautiful tower clocks in the world

The World’s Worst Body Piercings

admin — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 21:43:18 +0000

The World’s Worst Body Piercings

After Wisconsin and North Carolina, America has its silent majority. Now it needs a Nixon

admin — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 06:42:01 +0000

Nixon understood that the conservative silent majority likes its politicians moderate

There’s evidence that the old Reagan coalition is back in play. In May, the people of North Carolina voted by a landslide to outlaw all forms of same sex partnership; this week, the people of Wisconsin voted to keep their budget-balancing, tax-cutting governor by a margin of seven points. In both cases, polling put these votes much closer than they turned out to be. If America is moving to the Right, its citizens are bashful about admitting so to pollsters.

North Carolina and Wisconsin represent the two poles of the Reaganite axis. North Carolina’s vote showed the lingering influence of evangelicals and religious conservatives, bolstered by the logistical and intellectual support of the Roman Catholic Church. Considering that its opponents have voted down gay marriage in every state upon which there has been a referendum, we can only conclude that the coalition is stronger than it has been for quite a while. The late 1970s (the period most closely associated with evangelical revivalism) actually saw a significant defeat for anti-gay rights in California (the Briggs Initiative of 1978). Not so this time around. Indeed, Gallup says that the nation is more opposed to abortion than ever before.

On the other hand, Wisconsin demonstrates that economic conservatism still has a hold on the mind of mid-westerners. Again, the Tea Party finds an ancestor in the tax revolts of the late 1970s, when residents in California and Massachusetts voted to cut property taxes even at the cost of slashing public services. It was the combination of tax revolt and cultural reaction against the excesses of the 1960s that helped elect Ronald Reagan in 1980. If the late 1970s is a template for Republican electoral success, then Mitt Romney is well placed for a landslide.

There’s been some talk of this cycle reflecting the reawakening of that paradoxical group called “the silent majority” (paradoxical because, despite their famed silence, they never seem to shut up). Stepping back in time, the phrase finds its origins not in the Reagan moment of the late 1970s but in the Nixon administration of 1968-1974. Having promised “peace with honour” in Vietnam, Nixon in 1969 was now grinding through a stalemate and antiwar protests were back with a vengeance. In a televised speech, he laid out his plan for peace and concluded, “And so tonight – to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans – I ask for your support.”

Media coverage dismissed his Vietnam strategy as more of the same, but was intrigued by the idea that the President was no longer addressing the Americans as one people but instead as a nation divided between the decent middle and the radical extremes. The rhetorical device influenced policy to the extent that some within the administration began relentlessly to pursue “wedge issues” that could fashion an electoral majority out of opposition to the exploits of an (often disenfranchised) minority. “Split the country in two and we’ll take the bigger half,” as White House advisor Pat Buchanan put it. Future Republican strategists took the message to heart. So have some Democrats.

For Nixon, however, imagining the silent majority was a more complex matter. Historians have seized on memos by administration folks like Buchanan because they make for a good story and conform to the narrative of Nixon as a crude populist. But, in fact, other members of the administration urged a moderate line. The silent majority was neither Left nor Right, but firmly in the centre. It was to be mobilised, Nixon believed, by cool words rather than hot slogans. He saw himself as steering the nation between the Leftist utopianism of George McGovern and the Right-wing reaction of George C Wallace. The one time when he experimented with partisan conservatism – the 1970 midterms – was a disappointment. From that point on, the ideas of Pat Buchanan and the White House conservatives were sidelined. Nixon the moderate opened up relations with China, imposed price-wage controls, expanded the Environmental Protection Agency and embraced Keynesianism. He believed that he had a responsibility to put the Civil Rights reforms back on a stable, consensus-driven course. Yes, he vetoed bussing, but he also introduced affirmative action into federal contracts.

Nixon’s 1972 landslide re-election was not won on a Right-wing platform (Buchanan wrote after that it left the administration with no particular agenda at all) even if it did exploit Right-wing sentiments. He was proud of the fact that he received union endorsements and had a big group of Democrats for Nixon. He flirted with abolishing the Republican Party and establishing a new movement that he called conservative but was really Christian Democrat in the European tradition. Nixon guessed rightly that while the silent majority was centre-Right, it was also nervous of heated rhetoric from any quarter. Ronald Reagan recognised that in 1980 by avoiding bold statements on conservative issues and doing his best to appear loveable and fatherly. For an example of his centrist PR, here he is 1980 extolling the virtues of trade unions. Don’t tell Scott Walker.

Historically, there always has been a silent majority. Sometimes, it gets angry and delivers some surprising results but its tone is typically moderate and cautious. That’s what voters will be expecting in November. Fortunately for the GOP, the Republicans have the right man for the Right moment. The Tea Party has whipped the silent majority up, but it’s Mitt Romney who will express its anger in the moderate, sugar-coated way that it likes. He’s the Richard Nixon of our times.

After Wisconsin and North Carolina, America has its silent majority. Now it needs a Nixon

Wolf Creek: Spiders Spinning Out of Control as Waters Rise

admin — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 18:36:42 +0000

Ghostly landscape of cobwebs: Millions of spiders turn green fields white as branches and bushes are cocooned in sticky silk

Web horror … a property covered by cobwebs in Wagga. Photo: Reuters

At first glance it looks like the fields have been blanketed with snow – but this ghostly white landscape in Australia is the work of millions of spiders.

As flood waters raced past the town of Wagga Wagga, in New South Wales, the spiders were forced to clamber up trees and bushes, spinning their webs as they climbed.

The result was this amazing panorama – glistening sheets of web covering just about everything in sight.

Weaving: As flood waters rose, spiders were forced to clamber up trees and bushes, spinning their webs as they climbed

On higher ground: The spiders are seen crawling over one web-covered shrub

A dog walks through webs in Wagga Wagga. Photo: Reuters

Branches were cocooned in the sticky webs, while tall grasses appeared to be enrobed in silk.

The scenes are reminiscent of the coat of spiders’ webs that were spun in Pakistan after last year’s floods turning trees into what appeared like giant sticks of candy floss.

Residents of Wagga Wagga, returning to their evacuated homes as flood waters raced towards them after torrential rain turned rivers into raging torrents, were astonished to find the fields surrounding their houses transformed from green to white.

But while the town’s residents are breathing a sigh of relief that they have escaped the threatening dangers of the floods, fears were growing today for the safety of two teenage men who have gone missing in a flood-affected part of Queensland.

Amazing panorama: Glistening sheets of cobwebs cover just about everything in sight

A woman walks her dogs through webs in Wagga Wagga. Photo: Reuters

Branches were cocooned in the sticky webs, while tall grasses appeared to be enrobed in silk

Spiders in Wagga Wagga. Photo: Reuters

Luke Andus and Solomon Love, 19, set out from the town of Normanton at the weekend to travel 180 miles to the west – but have not arrived.

‘Police and family hold concerns for their welfare with some roads in the area impassable due to local flooding,’ said a police spokesman.

Dozens of freight trucks and hundreds of motorists remain stranded by the flood waters after the Bruce Highway was cut off in three places south of the town of Gympie.

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Wolf Creek: Spiders Spinning Out of Control as Waters Rise

The Next Money: As the Big Economies Falter, Micro-Currencies Rise

Syria: western powers close to abandoning UN peace plan

admin — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:41:53 +0000

Britain and America came close to writing off the United Nations peace plan for Syria on Thursday after the latest massacre of as many as 78 villagers triggered international outrage.

Graffiti sprayed on the back of a United Nations vehicle reading in Arabic ‘Down with Bashar’ referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

A man carries a child and a sack representing a dead body during a demonstration against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Binsh near Idlib, Syria

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

The bloodshed in Qubeir on Wednesday night bore a strong resemblance to the mass killing of 108 Sunnis in the town of Houla on 25 May, which prompted 13 states, including Britain, to register their revulsion by expelling Syrian diplomats. A further incident would, said officials, cause the international community to review its entire approach towards handling the conflict, based on a peace plan devised by Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, yesterday declared that this proposal was “not working” and urged President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to surrender power and go into exile after the “unconscionable” killings. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said that Mr Annan’s proposals had “clearly failed so far”.

Yet both ministers carefully refrained from saying that the Annan plan, which commands general international support, was categorically dead. Russia and China, Mr Assad’s leading allies on the Security Council, both back the proposals. Britain and America do not want to be blamed for prematurely abandoning them.

“We think it is important for us to give Kofi Annan and his plan the last amount of support that we can muster because, in order to bring others into a frame of mind to take action in the Security Council, there has to be a final recognition that it’s not working,” said Mrs Clinton.

Mr Hague echoed this message, saying: “Time is not yet at an end; it’s clearly running out.”

As footage of dead infants and young children filtered out of Qubeir, Mr Annan addressed the Security Council in New York and did his best to salvage his initiative. “I must be frank and confirm that the plan is not being implemented,” he said, adding that unless the proposals were observed “the future of Syria will be one of massacres, sectarian violence and all out civil war. All Syrians will lose.”

In what appeared to be a direct appeal to Russia and China, Mr Annan added: “We must find the will, the common ground to act and act as one. Individual actions or interventions will not resolve the crisis. And as we demand compliance with international law and the six-point plan, it must be made clear that there will be consequences if compliance is not forthcoming. For the sake of the Syrian people who are living through this nightmare, the international community must come together and act as one.”

Mr Annan said that he met Mr Assad in Damascus last week and the Syrian president had blamed his enemies for the violence. However, Mr Annan signalled his unease with that explanation, saying: “The first responsibility lies with the government…The government-backed militia seems to have a free rein, with appalling consequences.”

Mr Annan noted that the latest atrocity had taken place “just two weeks after the massacre in Houla that shocked the world”, adding: “Those responsible for perpetrating these crimes must be held to account. We cannot allow mass killing to become part of everyday reality in Syria.”

But Bashar Jaafari, the Syrian ambassador to the UN, responded by telling the Security Council that “terrorists”, not allies of the government, had carried out the Qubeir massacre.

He claimed that government troops had tried to intervene to save civilians and four were wounded in the attempt.

Mr Jaafari also accused news organisations, including the BBC, of broadcasting images of bodies from an entirely different location. Syrian state television would, he said, release the “true images” in due course.

Earlier Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General, said that UN observers were shot at when they tried to reach Qubeir to piece together the truth of the atrocity. The impotence of the 300-man mission, set up to monitor a persistently-violated truce supposedly agreed under the Annan plan, has become apparent. As well as being shot at, the observers were blocked from reaching the scene of the killings by the Syrian army.

Mr Ban appeared to lay the blame on the regime, saying the killings happened when the hamlet was surrounded by government forces. “The trail of blood leads back to those responsible,” he said. “Any regime or leader that tolerates such killing of innocents has lost its fundamental humanity.”

David Cameron, the Prime Minister, called the massacre “brutal and sickening”, saying: “We need to do much more to isolate Syria, to isolate the regime, to put the pressure in and to demonstrate that the whole world wants to see a political transition from this illegitimate regime.”

But Western nations have very few options for resolving the crisis. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, warned: “There will not be a Security Council mandate for outside intervention. I guarantee you that.”

Syria: western powers close to abandoning UN peace plan

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Venus Passing In Front Of The Sun (40 pics)

admin — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 00:42:09 +0000

Venus Passing In Front Of The Sun (40 pics)

The Transit of Venus in Pictures

admin — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 19:37:04 +0000

One of the rarest sights in the sky took place last night and early this morning – the Transit of Venus. It began just after 6 in the evening in North America and was visible to most as a tiny black dot – unlike this extraordinary image from NASA Goddard.

Seen above in Ultra High Definition, this rare event (which your grandchildren might see if they live to a good age) happens when the planet crosses directly in the path between the Sun and Earth, becoming observable against the solar disk.

Image Credit Flickr User bobthemtnbiker

Image Credit Flickr User Bob Gill

Above, the transit seen from Albuquerque in New Mexico and Romeoville, Illinois. The past decade has seen something of a renaissance in popular interest in astronomy and this event has given both experts and amateurs alike an opportunity to capture this amazing phenomenon. Here we present photographs from the experts (NASA) and ordinary people – in an extraordinary collection of images.

Image Credit Flickr User Roger Smith

Image Credit Flickr User Tarique Sani

Somewhat obscured from view in Starkville, Mississippi, and again the same in Maharashtra in India, the planet Venus looks tiny as it crosses the surface even though it is the size of the earth. Clouds will always be a problem for both amateur and professional observers. The view of many eclipses have been blighted by too much cloud cover – yet despite the weather the photographers above manage to capture the moment wonderfully.

Image Credit Flickr User Jimnista

Image credit Flickr User Jimnista

Huntington and Long Beaches in California, and two shots which most photographers could not have resisted.

Image Credit Flickr User Lamanj

A number of techniques were used to capture the moment. This was taken in hydrogen alpha narrowband.

Image Credit Flickr User Alan Cordova

Image Credit Flickr User SantiMB

These shots were taken in Houston, Texas and Barcelona in Spain. Venus is sometimes called our ‘evil twin’ as conditions on the Venus could not be more different. If life exists there it is, to coin a phrase, not as we know it. Although it once had oceans all its water evaporated in to its atmosphere. It is now believed that is microscopic life evolved and persisted on Venus then this is where it may be.

The US space agency NASA has given us the best possible views of the event through high-resolution images taken from its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), both in orbit around the Earth.

NASA has also given us an idea what the event must have looked like from deep in space with these two remarkable artist’s impressions.

The images are taken from this remarkable animation from NASA.

Image Credit Flickr User ZachStern

Image Credit Flickr User SimplyAlex

Washington DC and again cloud obscured the best views (top) as they did in Germany (the shot with the wind turbines). Yet only six transits have ever been recorded as having been observed – in 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and most recently in 2004 and so a little cloud is the least of our worries. This is because the transit is invisible to the naked eye and so without magnification, the event went unobserved, even though it has taken place 53 times between 2000 BCE and 2004.

Image Credit Flickr User Dave Malkoff

Dave Malkoff in Los Angeles managed to get this great shot of Venus on a Wire. Yet many amateur astronomers in the world over were disappointed. In many places it was cloudy with no sun visible. However, with the data collected from around the world it is hoped that this remarkable event will help in the search for planets around distance stars which could support life.

Image Credit Flickr User RedTim

Image Credit Flickr User Bobthemtnbiker

If you have missed it this time, perhaps these pictures will make up. Otherwise you might want to consider suspended animation. The next transit of Venus will not take place until 2117.

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The Transit of Venus in Pictures

US stiffen opposition to European carbon emissions ruling

admin — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:43:23 +0000

US Senate lawmakers and the Obama administration have stiffened their opposition to a European law that targets emissions from commercial jetliners and applied new pressure on Brussels and the United Nations to resolve global concerns.

In a rare display of election-year bipartisanship, Democratic and Republican members of the Commerce Committee and the administration’s top transportation official called the EU standard that puts a price on pollution unworkable.

“The European Union acted because it believes it needed to make a bold effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and I understand why they did so. But, I believe that their unilateral action is likely not sustainable by international law,” the panel’s chairman, Jay Rockefeller, said at a hearing. “I support the goals, but I have to oppose the action.”

Kay Bailey Hutchison, the committee’s top Republican, said that she and Rockefeller “are in agreement” on the primary point.

“The European Union, with this emissions trading scheme, is acting outside of their prerogative and most certainly will have a negative effect on our aviation community,” she said. “The EU needs to step back.”

It was the most extensive comments from key Senate lawmakers on the issue that has some observers concerned that the dispute could trigger a global trade fight since the law applies to all airlines and a number of countries have spoken out.

Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary, testifying at the hearing, called Europe “The Lone Ranger” for unilaterally imposing the measure in January and said the administration again would “strongly urge” it to cease the law’s application.

“We need to see real signs of flexibility from the EU,” Mr LaHood said.

The administration has threatened unspecified action if a compromise is not reached, but LaHood said no decision had been made on possible steps.

He said discussions within the administration, however, are centred on the possibility of the United States filing a formal complaint to the United Nations. That move would raise the diplomatic stakes and introduce sticky legal questions with no outcome guaranteed.

“We’re debating that,” LaHood said after Republicans and Democratic members urged the administration to pursue that route.

The law took effect in January and requires all airlines flying to and from EU airports to buy permits under an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The issue is especially important to the United States, whose airlines have a mature and lucrative transatlantic business. American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines are looking to grow international travel.

Moreover, lawmakers are concerned the aviation law could be a precedent for future unilateral European measures on the environment or other contentious issues.

The initial cost of the emissions law to industry globally is expected to be minimal but would rise to an estimated $ 12 billion by the end of 2020.

Airlines would not face any bill for carbon until next April, but the law’s extraterritorial reach has stirred outrage, especially from the United States, China and India.

Jos Delbeke, director general for climate action at the European Commission, defended Europe’s position at the hearing and vowed not to cave to pressure.

“There is no prospect of suspending the EU legislation,” Mr Delbeke said.

Delbeke said the EU favoured a global approach and is open to modifying it as part of a negotiated solution so long as market-based measures are similarly stringent, cover all airlines and include specific goals.

US and European officials and other countries have held a series of meetings to try to defuse tensions and nudge the United Nation’s International Civil Aviation Organization to establish a framework for negotiations.

“I believe they have the capacity to really begin the discussion,” Mr LaHood said. “There needs to be a starting point.”

Separately, Senate lawmakers are weighing legislation that would give LaHood’s office discretion to exempt US airlines from complying with the EU law.

A similar measure cleared the House of Representatives last year.

The legislation’s fate is unclear with other priorities demanding congressional attention. Airlines want Congress to take an aggressive stand and pass the bill, putting more pressure on the ICAO to come up with a plan.

Mr LaHood said the administration had not taken a position on whether legislation is a good idea.

US stiffen opposition to European carbon emissions ruling

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Cute Pup Boldly Confronts Self In Mirror [VIDEO]

admin — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 20:36:39 +0000

Pup Unknowingly Gets All Up In Own Grill

Meet Gizmo, a cute and energetic Shih Tzu who has become fascinated by the stunning dog he has discovered living in the bedroom mirror. Little does he know, he is voguing only at himself in the mirror.

Puppies Pimp Selves

As it turns out, puppies getting all up in their own grill in the mirror themselves in the mirror is quite common – check out some our favorite furry nutballs opening up a fresh can of Whoop Arse on themselves!

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Cute Pup Boldly Confronts Self In Mirror [VIDEO]

Nazi Germany – Color Photos from LIFE archive

admin — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 18:42:50 +0000

Nazism, commonly known as National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler; and the policies adopted by the government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, a period also known as the Third Reich.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin’s Communism. The very word “Nazi” is a German abbreviation for “National Socialist” (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler’s political party (translated) was “The National Socialist German Workers’ Party” (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei).

Nazi Germany – Color Photos from LIFE archive

40-Pound Cat (17 pics)

admin — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 03:43:16 +0000

Meet Garfield, the fattest cat in a U.S. Animal Shelter. 40-pound (18 kg) Garfield was brought to the shelter after his elder owner passed away.

40-Pound Cat (17 pics)

Iguazu Falls – Big Water of the Borders

admin — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 21:37:31 +0000

In the local Tupi language, the word means big water. One look at the staggering Iguazu Falls, located on the border of the Brazilian State of Paraná and the Argentine Province of Misiones and you realise that this is no exaggeration.

Image Credit Flickr User ametxa

Image Credit Flickr User feffef

There is a local legend that says a god became besotted with a young and beautiful girl called Naipi – however she did not reciprocate his feelings. She fled from his advances with her earthly lover, Taroba, canoeing down the river to escape. The god in his anger sliced through the river and created the waterfalls. Naipi and Taroba were condemned to fall for all eternity.

Image Credit Flickr User Phillie Casablanca

Image Credit Flickr User Kara Brugman

The edge of the waterfall is almost three kilometers in length and it is dotted with numerous islands. These islands create a copious number of separate falls, all of them more than two hundred feet in height. Many have their own names – for example the narrow chasm down which half the flow disappears is known as the Devil’s Throat.

Image Credit Flickr User *saxon*

Image Credit Flickr User ametxa

Image Credit Flickr User Henrique Assuncao

On each side of the falls is a national park. Argentina has the Iguazú National Park which was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 while Brazil has the Iguaçu National Park (note the single letter difference!), designated in 1987.

Image Credit Flickr User Abel Jorge

It is difficult to take in the immensity of the place. However, the view from the air does help to lend some perspective.

Image Credit Flickr User Miriam Cardaso de Souza

Image Credit Flickr User Henrique Assuncao

Image Credit Flickr User SF Brit

Little wonder then that Iguazu Falls was announced as one of the seven winners of the New7Wonders of Nature by the New Seven Wonders of the World Foundation.

Image Credit Flickr User SF Brit

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Iguazu Falls – Big Water of the Borders

This is how Rain looks when you are in AIR

admin — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:42:01 +0000

This is how Rain looks when you are in AIR

Cats in the Rain

A Dog Trapped In A Cat’s Body? You Decide [VIDEO]

admin — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 22:37:47 +0000

A video for all the cat haters who believe that cats pretty much just lay there!

Meet Tifa – a "species confused" cat who not only plays "fetch", but also smiles and pants like a dog and wags her tail! Wha?!

According to Tifa’s YouTube page, this video was taken when Tifa was about 6 months old — check out how she not only fetches the toys but also drops them. For those of you concerened about the panting, her owner apparently put Tifa through several tests and the vets found nothing wrong with her, as Tifa only pants when running and playing for too long.

Does your cat ever play fetch or act like a dog?

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A Dog Trapped In A Cat’s Body? You Decide [VIDEO]

AT-AT Bed (13 pics)

admin — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 21:42:24 +0000

AT-AT Bed (13 pics)

8 Benefits of Spinach

admin — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 06:41:58 +0000

Spinach was a powerfood even before there was the term powerfood.

We’re referring of course to Popeye the Sailor Man. “TOOT TOOT!” One can of the green stuff and he turned into muscle popping tornado of energy.

Even without Popeye’s recommendation, spinach contains more nutrients per calorie than any other food on the earth.

8 Benefits of Spinach:

1. Loaded with Vitamins: like A, K, D, and E and a host of trace minerals.

2. Good Source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids: the kind most of us need in North America.

3. Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants: Researchers have identified more than a dozen different flavonoid compounds in spinach that function as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agents. In a recent study on the relationship between risk of prostate cancer and vegetable intake (including such healthy vegetables as broccoli, cabbage, and brussel sprouts) only spinach showed evidence of significant protection against the occurrence of aggressive prostate cancer.

4. Alkalizes the Body: All those minerals helps to balance off the highly acid diet which most of us subject our bodies to and which drains our energy, increases obesity and a creates host of other health problems.

5. Nourishes the Eyes: The carotenoids found in spinach protect against eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

6. Strengthens the Bones: One cup of fresh spinach (or 1/6 cup of cooked spinach) contains TWICE your daily vitamin K needs. This along with the calcium and magnesium in spinach is essential to maintain healthy bones.

7. Perfect for Green Smoothies and Salads: Organic pre-washed spinach is now readily available in most grocery stores. If you haven’t yet tried a green smoothie yet and think they might taste yucky then try one with the main ingredient as spinach. Spinach is so sweet, we guarantee you will be impressed.

8. Spinach is FRESH! Studies have shown that even the artificial light in the grocery store shining on those plastic tubs of spinach can actually help keep the leaves from spoiling. This indicates the spinach is still metabolically active and fresh.

Tips and Cautions:

Tip #1: Make sure you only choose organic spinach. Non-organic spinach is on the list of top foods with lots of chemical pesticides. You can assume that canned spinach is NOT organic.

Tip #2: Choose the GREENEST looking spinach you can find. Probably you would have anyway, but studies have shown that the greenest spinach has the most vitamin C.

Tip #3: Because spinach contains high levels of so many nutrients it also has significant levels of oxalic acid. This has been associated with kidney problems and interference with absorption of other minerals.

There is much debate whether the oxalates in spinach would have this kind of effect but just to be sure, if you have a pre-existing kidney problem, it’s better to consult your doctor before eating too much.

8 Benefits of Spinach

You’re Having a Giraffe! Family Kept Beloved 10ft Animal as Pet

admin — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 23:39:09 +0000

IT sounds like a tall story — but these amazing snaps feature a real-life family who kept a giraffe as a pet.

This is friendly Fenne, the pet giraffe who roamed freely through the home of a family of six as they ate, slept and played – and used to come running just like a bounding puppy whenever her name was called.

The adorable animal happily walked around the home of Colin McRae, 59, wife Theony, 52 and their four children on their ranch in South Africa, taking extra care not to slide about on the tiled floor and stooping to get through doorways.

She lived with the family from birth, growing from five to ten feet tall by the time she was two.

Part of the family: Owen McRae, 19, with the family pet giraffe Fenne at home in Cullinan, South Africa

But tragic Fenne died suddenly after eating a poisoned leaf when grazing in the wild.

Fenne was just like a member of the family, Theony remembers. ‘Fenne loved company, when she felt like it she would come right indoors to look for us – even though she was ten-feet tall.

‘She loved to play with our dogs and would even follow our horses about – she just loved being sociable.

‘I hope one day we will find another precious gift like Fenne in our lives.’

Family Christmas: Fenne lived with the family for two years, roaming around the house and playing with the family and their other pets

The family run a game reserve in De Tweede Spruit, South Africa, where guests take part in horse riding safaris.

Four years ago Theony’s son, Craig, then 19, was leading a safari when he discovered dehydrated Fenne in the hot South African bush after she was abandoned by her mother.

Seeing her covered in insects and barely able to lift her head, Craig enlisted six people to carry Fenne to his pickup truck.

Bottling it … Craig McRae feeds Fenne the giraffe as a baby

Adorable: Fenne loved company and enjoyed playing with the four children

After he got Fenne back to safety, Craig and nursed her back to health by feeding her cow’s milk mixed with eggs.

‘Even when she was getting too big to really fit Fenne would still come to visit us indoors,’ said Theony.

‘She would duck down and come right in when she felt like it, she had to really get her head down.

Well-behaved: Fenne poses with guests at the McRae’s ranch in South Africa, where she grew up

‘We had to kick her out the house sometimes because she was rather clumsy inside because hoofs on tile floors do tend to slip. We were very cautious that she wouldn’t break her leg.

‘On carpet she was alright, and sometimes she would step right over furniture to get around. But she didn’t bump her head on things, she was very careful to bend down under things.’

As she grew older, the family fed Fenne on as many leaves as she could eat, eight litres of milk a day – plus carrots as a special treat.

Joining in the fun: The McRae family eat outdoors, joined by their friendly pet giraffe

Well-behaved: Fenne would take car on the slippery tiles, but was okay walking on the carpets. Sometimes she would step over furniture in her way

Feeling at home: Fenne would just come into the house when she felt like company and was looked after by the four McRae children

Living with a giraffe in the home often threw up surprises, Theony recalls. ‘I remember one night a guest ours was having a bath but left her bedroom door unlocked. Fenne was curious so pushed the door open and got right inside to say hello. This lady was so surprised and amazed by this encounter.

‘Living with Fenne was filled with magical moments like this.’

Menagerie: Fenne was just another family pet, and even enjoyed playing with the dogs

Happy giraffe: Fenne seemed content living with the McRaes, after she was rescued from the South African bush when she was abandoned by her mother

Fenne was so affectionate that sometimes family members and guests had to take extra care, Theony remembers. ‘She was very affectionate, Fenne would come right up to you so you had to be careful,’ she said.

‘Being a young animal she was quite clumsy, you had to be careful of her standing on your foot.

‘She weighed more than a person so you would really feel it if she stood on your foot.’

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You’re Having a Giraffe! Family Kept Beloved 10ft Animal as Pet

4 Most Epic Baby Animal Sneezes [Video]

Hay Festival 2012: Unlocking the secrets of the Universe

admin — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 15:41:57 +0000

The Essay: Paradoxes provide the keys to unlocking the secrets of the Universe, writes Jim Al-Khalili

The night sky is a profound confirmation of the Big Bang

A paradox is a statement or circular argument that either contradicts itself or leads to a situation that is logically impossible. But there is an important difference between a true logical paradox and mere scientific puzzles. Take the assertion: “This statement is a lie”. The sentence is grammatically correct and appears straightforward. But work through its implications and you soon see it is anything but. In announcing itself to be a lie it is stating that it cannot be a lie, in which case it is true, which is to say that it really is a lie, which means it is not a lie, and so on in an infinite loop. This is a clear paradox that cannot be resolved. More satisfying is when we know there’s a way out.

A veridical paradox is one in which the statement sounds counterintuitive, but which turns out not to be so on more careful consideration, even if this surprising. An example: “Every Scotsman who travels south of the border to England raises the average IQ of both nations”. Impossible? Well, no – albeit more satisfactorily resolved if you happen to be Scottish. The point is this: since all Scotsmen claim to be smarter than all Englishmen, then any one of them surely would enhance the average IQ of England by moving there. But to have left his beloved Scotland in the first place is deemed to be so foolish that he would have to be less intelligent than most Scots, and so will leave behind a slightly higher average IQ.

Many paradoxes in physics are of the veridical type and can, while seeming impossible, turn out to be missing some subtle consideration which knocks out one of the pillars on which the paradox is built and brings the edifice toppling down. But despite having been resolved, many of such scientific paradoxes continue to be referred to as such, partly due to the notoriety they gained at the time of inception (before we had figured out where we were going wrong) and partly because they are a useful tool in helping scientists gain a better understanding of nature.

Take a simple version of the time travel paradox: what if you were to travel back in time and kill your younger self? What happens to the older you? Do you pop out of existence because you stopped yourself from growing older? And if so, and you never did reach the age at which you became a murderous time traveller, who killed the younger you? The older you has the perfect alibi: you never even existed! So if you did not live long enough to reach the point in time when you travel back, then you do not end up killing your younger self, and so you will have survived to travel back in time and kill yourself, so you don’t, and so on. This would appear to be the perfect logical paradox. And yet physicists have not ruled out the possibility, in theory at least, of time travel to the past. But it turns out that this can only be achieved if our universe is but one of many parallel realities, so that multiple versions of history can be acted out.

Some paradoxes will be familiar to many. Take the quantum paradox of Schrödinger’s Cat, in which the unfortunate feline is locked inside a sealed box with poison that is released if triggered by the decay of a radioactive atom. Since the rules of quantum physics state that while we are not observing the atom we are forced to consider it to have both decayed and not decayed at the same time, then the fate of the cat must hang between being dead and alive until we open the box.

My favourite is Olbers’ paradox. This conundrum was first set in the 17th century and asks why the night sky is not ablaze with light, since we should see, in an infinite universe, a star at every point in the sky, however far away it might be. Many of the greatest minds in science grappled with this puzzle until it was resolved by Edgar Allan Poe. The reason is that our universe had a beginning, and therefore distant stars and galaxies are invisible to us because their light has not yet had time to reach us. So that the night sky is dark is a profound confirmation of the Big Bang. Isn’t that just delicious?

Hay Festival 2012: Unlocking the secrets of the Universe

Surrealistic Art

admin — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 00:41:57 +0000

Surrealistic Art

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4 Most Epic Baby Animal Sneezes [Video]

admin — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 00:37:13 +0000

When we humans sneeze all over ourselves, we are viewed as rude, disgusting germ factories. Observers stare at the sneezer with disdain while others run from the room to save themselves from whatever contagion they believe has been set alight.

However, when animals, particularly baby animals, sneeze all over themselves and others, it’s cause celebre - a viral video goldmine. To prove our point, herewith are our favorite sneezing baby animal videos of all time.

1) Epic Baby Animal Sneeze #1: Panda Baby - The mother of all baby sneezes, perhaps the most well-known out of all baby animal sneezes– it is pushing more than 132 MILLION views as of today!

2) Epic Baby Animal Sneeze #2: - Baby Elephant startles self with sneeze

3) Epic Baby Animal Sneeze #3: Baby Hedgehog – wait for it…….Ah Choo!

4) Epic Baby Animal Sneeze #4: Corgi Kerchew! An adorable Corgi puppy named Pepper has a sneezing fit and makes spectacularly funny faces while at it!

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If only they made Claritin for dogs!

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4 Most Epic Baby Animal Sneezes [Video]

The Future of Food: Five Frontiers

admin — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 09:41:55 +0000

Generations of kids have grown up forbidden to taste chocolate cake batter. The rationale for this quasi- torture: fear of salmonella poisoning.

And at the current rate of food technology, the kids of 2040 may be eating healthier cookie dough, too—gooey hunks infused with nano-sized nutrients, with chocolate chips engineered to be less fattening.

But future children may never know what salmonella is: A Dutch company is currently developing a consumer spray to kill the bacteria on contact. Salmonelex may sit next to Windex on future kitchen counters.

But most of the latest advancements in food technology go beyond dessert. Rather, scientists are motivated by an impending agricultural crisis: The world population will likely hit 9 billion by 2050, while climate change may render current agricultural systems and seeds inadequate. To stave off an agricultural doomsday, researchers are developing new techniques to transform our unsustainable practices.

For the month of June, Future Tense—a partnership of Slate, the New America Foundation, and Arizona State University—will look at the future of food in both the developed and developing world. We’ll explore how we grow food, package it, genetically engineer it, and cook it at home.

To kick things off, here are five of the exciting food frontiers, some of which we’ll be addressing more thoroughly in the weeks to come. Bon appetite.

1. Coding Corn
Some of the first genetically modified commercial crops in the ’90s were tweaked to be tolerant to herbicides and resistant to plant diseases caused by viruses. Scientists built these superfoods by introducing certain genes into the plant’s DNA.

Today, most genetically modified foods on the market are commodity crops used for animal feed or processed ingredients, like corn, soybeans, and sugar beets. Typically, they aren’t manipulated to be more nutritious for human consumers. But that may soon change. A DuPont-owned company is currently marketing a “high oleic” heart-healthier soybean—meaning its oil has 20 percent less saturated fat than normal commodity soybean oil. Monsanto is also developing omega-3 enriched soybeans.

Researchers are working to enhance the nutrients in staple crops like sweet potatoes and cassava, which provide some populations in developing countires with the majority of their daily calories. That’s a problem because though sweet potatoes, for example, are nutritious, they alone don’t contain all the nutrients necessary for a balanced diet..

And for a couple of years, another corporation has been seeking FDA approval for genetically engineered salmon, dubbed AquAdvantage, that matures to its full size in half the time. But the process has been mired in controversy, particularly over concerns about the environment.

Gregory Jaffe, the director of the Biotechnology Project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says that there are other concerns about GM foods in general. For example, genetic modification could introduce a new gene that produces an allergen in a food, posing consumer health risks. Scientists also have to worry about introducing a new gene and, in the process, inadvertently activating an existing gene in the plant that could produce a harmful substance in the edible part.

2. Tiny Titans
Nanoparticles aren’t new: The minuscule units appear naturally in some foods. But in the past decade, researchers have begun trying to use the particles to alter the taste and texture of food. Nanotechnology could be particularly useful for concocting diet-friendly foods: The particles can enhance the flavor and consistency of products without adding calories, sugar, or fat.

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies’ comprehensive database of nano-products in the United States lists only four in the food and beverage category. Canola Active Oil uses nano-particles to inhibit “the transportation of cholesterol from the digestive system into the bloodstream.” Another product, Nanoceuticals’ chocolate-flavored SlimShake, promises “enhanced flavor without the need for excess sugar.” (If you’ve tried it, let us know how it tastes by weighing in in the comments.)

But some scientists worry that nanoparticles in food could pose a danger to human health, and that companies are releasing products without adequate safety testing. Todd Kuiken at the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, which is affiliated with the nonpartisan Woodrow Wilson Center and advocates for the advancement of nanotechnology, says he hasn’t heard of much current research “on actual food products—what happens when [nanoparticles] get into the body, blood stream, and brain.” The FDA says it’s funding some research into the safety of nanotech. But the paucity of testing means that right now, no one can be certain that ingesting these tiny particles won’t come with big health consequences.

3. Lettuce Skyscrapers
Columbia University professor Dickson Despommier says Babylonians, with their hanging gardens, were first to pioneer the idea of vertical farms. But it was Despommier’s 2010 book The Vertical Farm—and website, launched in 2004—that inspired the modern movement. Despommier defines a vertical farm as a building that’s at least two stories with crops growing inside—stacked greenhouses, if you will. Back in 2010, there were none. Today, seven have sprouted around the world in places like South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands and Chicago.

Horizontal farmland can’t grow enough food to sustain the swelling population, Despommier says. Not only do vertical farms do more with less land; they also allow food producers to grow crops in cities next to consumers, eliminating transportation costs. Cultivating food indoors with hydroponics (a system of growing plants without soil) uses 60 percent to 70 percent less water than traditional farming, and indoor crops aren’t susceptible to drought, pests, diseases or floods.

PlantLab, based in the Netherlands, is a vertical farm that goes beyond Despommier. Rather than sunlight, it uses red, blue, and far-red LED lights to grow plants. But PlantLab isn’t a food producer (though the researchers there do sometimes eat the tomatoes they grow). Rather, they glean information from the plants they grow to create growing recipes for food production companies. These formulas specify the temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, airflow, nutrients, water, and LED light necessary to grow a crop most efficiently. Gertjan Meeuws, the managing partner of PlantLab, told me he’s currently developing recipes of more than 40 crops for about 20 companies—most of which have traditional greenhouses. He guesses that in five to 10 years, retail houses like Wal-Mart will be producing their own vegetables and herbs.

But unlike outdoor farmers, vertical cultivators don’t get government subsidies or tax breaks. “Indoor farmers aren’t looked at as serious yet by the U.S. government — there are no major incentive programs to make vertical farming part of the landscape,” Despommier says, stressing the vast size and influence of the American farm lobby. That means “the U.S. government will not be a big player in establishing vertical farming in the U.S.—but city governments might. If you talk to the mayor of Chicago or Philadelphia, you’ll learn that they’re passionate about this idea.”

4. Lab Burgers
Dutch scientist Willem van Eelen imagined creating animal meat—or muscle tissue—in a laboratory back in the 1940s. Decades later, Mark Post, a stem cell scientist at the Netherlands’ Maastricht University, is currently growing meat by capturing stem cells from cow muscles. His goal: to create a hamburger by November. But it’s slow work, as he’s forming the patty piece by piece. He’s produced about 500 slivers of muscle tissue and estimates he needs 3,000. Once he’s finished, Post estimates the hamburger will cost about 250,000 euros.

When will products from Post be on supermarket shelves? With sufficient funding, Post says, “we can probably make it happen in the order of 10 to 15 years.” But, he says, “If the research continues to be funded the way it’s funded now, it’s never going to happen.”

Another obstacle: Right now, cell division outside the body is induced with fetal bovine serum—liquid produced from the fetal blood of a dead cow. Not exactly PETA-friendly. Post tells me he would like to create a solution to replace the fluid. Alternative liquids that induce division in certain cells do exist—but so far, Post hasn’t found them to work as well with skeletal muscle cells. Creating a replacement will be tough, he says, since fetal bovine serum contains about 10,000 individual proteins. But it’s doable. The bottom line: You won’t be chowing down on an in-vitro steak any time soon.

5. Salmonella-Fighting Soldiers
Bacteriophages (also referred to as “phages”) are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. At Micreos, a company based in the Netherlands, researchers have created a phage spray to target particular bacteria that cause food-borne illnesses, like listeria and salmonella. (If you’re keeping track at home—that’s the third food technology incubated in the Netherlands.) The technology arose from research into antibiotic alternatives that began at the National Institute of Health in 1993. Micreos, a spinoff from the NIH project, was the first company to introduce phage spray technology—but others are entering the field, too. Recently, the FDA approved an American company’s E. coli spray. Right now, its main customers are large scale food producers. But Micreos plans to release a consumer spray in the next year, CEO Mark Offerhaus told me. The industrial spray costs a penny per pound of meat, and Offerhaus guesses that the consumer spray will run about $ 10 per bottle.

Martin Loesser, a professor of food microbiology at the Institute of Food Science and Nutrition at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, has been researching the consumer safety effects of phage technology for 25 years. Though early critics of phage treatments worried that since phages contain proteins they could cause allergic reactions, Loesser dismisses this risk. He’s confident because he can identify the proteins that comprise each phage through genetic sequencing and then test those proteins against a database of all known allergenic proteins—like those from wheat, soy, peanuts, and milk. He hasn’t found a similarity between a phage protein and a known allergen yet. “The amount of protein that’s in [these treatments] is still so low that even if that was allergenic, I doubt that this would cause any kind of reaction,” he says.

A Nano-Grain of Salt
Pondering the future of food has long captivated the imaginations of science fiction writers and policymakers. But these visionaries are often way off the mark. Take the food pill. Matt Novak, writer of the Paleofuture blog for Smithsonian magazine, recently traced the pill’s origins, finding that the premise—encapsulating a meal’s worth of calories synthetically—harkens back to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. As part of an essay project to promote the fair, suffragette Mary Elizabeth Lease predicted that Americans would be eating synthetic food essences by 1993, freeing women from their kitchen shackles.

The food-pill prediction appeared again in various newspapers, magazines, TV shows (like The Jetsons) and in the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. We now know that cramming a meal into a pill isn’t scientifically possible. Turns out that consuming 2,000 calories—what the average person needs daily—would mean swallowing about half a pound of pills per day.

Lease’s prediction now sounds both quaint and sweeping: Cooks of the future, she wrote, “will take, in condensed form from the rich loam of the earth, the life force or germs now found in the heart of the corn, in the kernel of wheat, and in the luscious juices of the fruits. A small phial of this life from the fertile bosom of Mother Earth will furnish men with substance for days. And thus the problems of cooks and cooking will be solved.”

Her prose offers an important reminder: Be wary of any scientist who suggests her technology is a food future panacea. Predicting which technology will radically change the food landscape is tough. For now, we’ll have to be content with the promise of licking a safer cake batter spoon.

The Future of Food: Five Frontiers

15 Ridiculously Adorable Baby Owls

admin — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 01:36:51 +0000

Soft toys have nothing on this little one’s plush down! Little Owlet

We’re not sure if it’s the wide eyes, fluffy down, tiny size or a combination of all three that makes baby owls so adorable, but whichever it is, it works! Unlike many other birds (which are often born naked and gangly) owlets have the advantage, at least in our eyes, of being adorable pretty much from birth. Not only that, but each species has its own particular charm, as proven by this collection of captivating photographs — which will have you longing to reach out and hold these precious little balls of fluff yourself!

Photo: Kms

The Little Owl may be a notably small breed of owl (growing from 23 to 27.5 cm in length) but it also appears to be one of the bravest. Not only does it often hunt in daylight; it also does so in heavily populated areas. Little owls will stand their ground and not be scared from their perches even by passing humans. Yet, however courageous it may be, there’s no denying the cuteness of the little critter captured on camera here! The genus name, Athene noctua, derives from this owl’s association with the Ancient Greek Goddess Athena, who was often depicted with an owl perched on her head.

Puffy? Who are you calling puffy? Boreal Owlet

Photo: Marios Hadjianastasis

Here’s another owl that gets its name from a Greek god: the Boreal Owl, named after Boreas, god of the north wind. Outside of North America, however, it’s usually called Tengmalm’s Owl after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm, who was (mistakenly) thought to have been the first to describe the species. Still, whatever its name, we think you’ll agree this is one very cute baby owl! We love the juvenile shades of brown… Fluff-ball-tastic!

I can see you! Barred Owlet

Photo: Matthew Paulson

This adorable baby has a lot of names for just a little bird. The Barred Owl is also known as the Swamp Owl, Striped Owl, Hoot Owl, Eight Hooter and Rain Owl… among others! Perhaps appropriately for an owl with so many names, the Barred Owl is a particularly vocal species. It’s distinctive cry of “Hoo, hoo, too-HOO; hoo, hoo, too-HOO, ooo” is often heard by people as “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you, all?” No mistaking that for any other bird call… And no mistaking how sweet this doe-eyed little youngster looks, either!

Don’t worry, just stay close to me until the big scary humans are gone… Sunda Scops Owlets

Photo: Irawan Subingar

Only a few weeks out of their eggs, these gorgeously fluffy Sunda Scops Owls are no doubt waiting for their parents to bring them back a tasty treat. Like most owls, Scops owlets are reared by both parents until they’re ready to survive on their own. Scops Owl parents have a habit of using cavity nests abandoned by other species — not that we’re complaining about the recycling aspect of this! Found on the Malay Peninsula and surrounding islands, Sunda Scops seem to have adapted well to human habitation, for they are to be found in gardens and buildings.

Hang on, this isn’t my nest! Barn Owlet

Photo: Monteen McCord

The distinctive-looking Barn Owl is not only the most widely distributed owl species but also one of the most widely distributed birds of any kind on Earth. Humans and Barn Owls have a long history together, as Barn Owls have been nesting in man-made lofts and steeples for centuries. Other names for the Barn Owl are Silver Owl, Golden Owl, Church Owl, and the more sinister sounding Death Owl and Ghost Owl — no doubt arising from their white colour and the mask-like appearance of their faces. This little guy doesn’t look much like a Death Owl, though. It’s a bit too cute for that.

Uh-oh, humans. Act casual… Great Horned Owlets

Photo: Gary M Stolz

These three aren’t the original occupiers of their nest, but there’s a good chance they’re the cutest! Great Horned Owls don’t bother building their own homes, especially when they can take over those of other birds. They’re also not that fussy, and if no nests are available, they’ll lay their eggs in cliffs, tree cavities, and even in abandoned buildings. This ability to adapt has contributed to their position as the most widely distributed owls in the Americas.

If I don’t look at them, maybe they’ll just go away… Eastern Screech Owlet

Photo: Monteen McCord

This baby Screech Owl provides us with an impressive example of the fluffy down that owls are born with. This down helps keep them warm while they are small and exposed to the elements — mainly due to their parents’ lack of nest-building skills! Later on, owls will develop regular feathers, which the Screech Owl will sometimes flatten against its body to disguise itself as a branch stub when threatened. Aww!

Can we stay with you? Pretty please? Tawny Owlets

Photo: Don Robinson

These poor little babies are orphans, rescued by the Screech Owl Sanctuary in Cornwall. We don’t know how they might have got there, especially since Tawny Owls are famed for aggressively protecting their young. They will fly at dogs, cats and even humans to scare them away from their nests. At least two people in Britain have lost eyes to angry Tawny Owls, including the well-known bird photographer Eric Hosking. So if you happen to see a Tawny Owl nest, best keep your distance — however adorable the babies inside might look!

Well, this is kind of embarrassing… Eastern Screech Owlet

Photo: Monteen McCord

Here we have another Eastern Screech Owl, this one sat next to a lemon so you can see just how tiny it is! Baby owls may look small and helpless but they are actually surprisingly tough. They have to be. As we mentioned earlier, owl parents are not known for their nest building skills, and so the nests in which baby owls are reared can be pretty hazardous places for them! They may not be the right size for the owl family, or falling to pieces by the time they move in. Not only that, but a crowded nest can result in the stronger baby owl pushing its sibling out, usually to its death. It’s no wonder these cute little creatures actually have a strong inborn sense of self-preservation.

We like to wear our down differently so you can tell us apart! Barn Owlets

Photo: Monteen McCord

Here’s are a couple of cute baby Barn Owls. Sadly, the Barn Owl is a particularly short-lived species of owl. If they manage the feat of surviving their first birthday (and most don’t) they’ll most probably only have another year of life in the wild. In captivity, however, it’s a completely different story: a captive Barn Owl in England reportedly lived 25 years! Interestingly, for the most widespread owl on the planet, Barn Owls don’t hoot. Instead, they make a rather terrifying screech, but can also hiss and even snore!

Look into my eyes… Spectacled Owlet

Photo: Steve Wilson

Immature Spectacled Owls like this one look more like they’re wearing a black mask than glasses, but all that will change when this little feller gets older and the colours reverse themselves. Living mostly in dense jungles or wooded areas in Mexico (as well as Central and South America) Spectacled Owls like to keep themselves to themselves, and there is still a lot we don’t know about them. We do know, however, that young owls leave the tree hollows in which they nest before they can fly and live in the surrounding branches of the tree. They may live this way for up to a year, all the time being fed by their parents! Talk about being spoiled…

I’d fly away but I don’t know how! Eastern Screech Owlet

Photo: Monteen McCord

Here’s yet another adorable baby Screech Owl. Don’t let the cute image fool you though! Screech Owl babies are very aggressive when it comes to fighting their siblings for food, and may even go as far as killing their weaker brothers or sisters. Like other owls, Screech Owls swallow smaller prey (such as mice and voles) whole — bones, fur and all! They regurgitate pellets of these indigestible parts later. Not a particularly attractive habit, but one that serves them well as predators without teeth.

OK, now what? Snowy Owlet

Photo: Glyn Ednie

Most of the time you’d have to be pretty lucky to catch a glimpse of a Snowy Owl. They make their home in the Arctic tundra, remote areas where conditions are harsh. In 2012, however, Snowy Owls have been spotted migrating as far south as Missouri, and even Hawaii! According to bird experts, this is highly unusual behaviour. Denver Holt, head of the Owl Research Institute in Montana, explains that the phenomenon could be linked to lemmings, a primary food source for the owls. A boom in the lemming population may have also caused a spike in the number of baby Snowy Owls, causing the mass migration. This little cutie, named Eubee, needn’t worry, though: she’ll never be short of food at her home at the Scottish Wool Centre in Aberfoyle, Scotland.

What are you doing down there? African Wood Owlet

Photo: Arno Meintjes

As the name suggests, African Wood Owls live mostly in forested areas of Africa, although they can sometimes be found on plantations. This little guy won’t be ready to leave his parents for around four months, or maybe not even until the next breeding season. Until then it’ll share their ‘nest’ — usually a hole in a tree, or perhaps a spot under a fallen log.

Hiya! Barn Owlet

Photo: Monteen McCord

Although they’re an incredibly successful species, it’s actually quite difficult for ornithologists to know the numbers of Barn Owls in the wild. This is mainly due to their nocturnal nature, and the fact that the use of pesticides (especially in the mid-20th century) caused a dip in population numbers. The fact that Barn Owls can, like most owls, fly perfectly silently doesn’t make them any easier to detect either!

Remember, although baby owls may not look it, they’re built for survival. If you ever come upon one that’s fallen out of its nest, leave it alone. As well as the possibility of it giving you a nasty nip, chances are it will be able to scramble back up a tree. Of course, it might not be the right tree, but some loud calls will still let mum and dad know where to deliver the food. And in no time at all the youngster will be winging away looking for somewhere to settle down and have its own little baby owls!

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15 Ridiculously Adorable Baby Owls

Rainbow Origami Street Art

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:42:31 +0000

French artist Mademoiselle Maurice creates stunning geometric figures on urban surfaces in Paris. For her recent project Rainbow, she used hundreds of colorful folded origami figures. Each of simple geometric shapes represents ideas such as harmony, spirituality and balance. Rainbow is a temporary installation.

Rainbow Origami Street Art

Euro is facing disintegration, Commission warns

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:41:53 +0000

The euro faces ‘disintegration’ unless European governments do much more to work together, the European Commission has warned.

Olli Rehn, the economics commissioner, gave the warning as Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank, criticised national leaders for a “lack of action” to help the single currency out of its crisis.

Spain remained at the eye of the financial storm yesterday, amid continuing fears for its banking sector.

Investors in Spanish banks are withdrawing money at a record rate, figures showed yesterday. More than £55 billion was withdrawn and moved out of the country last month.

Yesterday’s figures are for the month before the Spanish banking crisis entered its latest phase with the nationalisation of Bankia, one of the country’s biggest banks.

Even more money is thought to have left the country since then, raising fears that Spain is locked in an unbreakable cycle of market panic.

The flow of money out of Spain has raised fears that its banking system could collapse, requiring a bail-out that its government cannot afford.

Those fears are pushing up Spanish borrowing costs, which intensifies pressure on Spanish banks.

Underlining the fears gripping many investors, the FTSE 100 closed down 7.5 per cent in May, suffering its worst month since February 2009 when the banking crisis was at its height.

Ireland is voting in a referendum on the so-called “fiscal pact” that eurozone leaders agreed last year to commit themselves to balancing their budgets.

The result is expected to be announced on Friday.

A “yes” vote would commit the government to additional spending cuts, which could lead to widespread protests. A “no” vote would not derail the treaty, but could push Ireland’s bond yields – government borrowing costs – up again.

Despite months of market turmoil and repeated emergency summits, European leaders have made little progress towards measures that would persuade investors that the weakest eurozone members will be able to repay their debts.

Germany has continued to resist the creation of “Eurobonds”, which would see German taxpayers stand behind the debts of poorer southern countries.

Mr Rehn yesterday warned that, even if that scheme were ever approved, it would still not be sufficient to save the euro.

The single currency’s members needed “a genuine stability culture and a much upgraded common capacity to contain common contagion,” he said. “This is the case, at least if we want to avoid a disintegration of the eurozone and if we want it to survive.”

The euro crisis eased temporarily earlier this year after the ECB made cheap loans to European banks. But the relief has proved temporary, and bond yields are rising again in Spain and Italy.

Mr Draghi yesterday tacitly accused eurozone governments of squandering the opportunity the central bank had offered them.

“Can the ECB fill the vacuum of lack of action by national governments on fiscal growth? The answer is no,” Mr Draghi told the European Parliament. “Can the ECB fill the vacuum of the lack of action by national governments on the structural problem? The answer is no.”

Mr Draghi and Mario Monti, the Italian prime minister, both piled more pressure on Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, to stop blocking moves to pool the borrowing of eurozone members.

Mr Monti yesterday warned that Mrs Merkel’s entire economic agenda “risks being undermined because of lack of promptness in setting up the necessary instruments to limit the contagion.”

Euro is facing disintegration, Commission warns

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World’s smallest dog, Beyonce, fits on an iPhone

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 02:36:47 +0000

The world’s smallest puppy named after one of the world’s biggest pop stars, Beyoncé, was so tiny at birth she could fit on a spoon.

The puppy named Beyonce after one of the world’s biggest pop stars could set the world’s record for tiniest dog.

MEET the tiny pup vying for the title of world’s smallest dog – a miniscule Dachsund mix who fits on an iPhone.

The 10cm pup called Beyonce was so tiny when she was born she could fit onto a spoon.

Rescuers at the Grace Foundation Animal Shelter in northern California plucked pregnant mum Casey from the streets and oversaw the birth of the five pup litter on March 8.

Animal rescuers in Northern California say that Beyonce was so small at birth that she could fit into a spoon.

Itty-bitty Beyonce was last out, but vets had to work frantically to revive her with chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when she was born with no heartbeat.

Now three-weeks-old, the pint-sized pup named after one of the world’s most famous popstars is being fed hourly through a bottle.

Animal rescuers in Northern California bottle feed the tiny puppy, called Beyonce.

The proud team who brought her back to life have submitted an application to Guinness World Records to have her crowned world’s smallest dog.

It would be a doggone shame if she missed out.

To show just how small she is the Dachshund mix puppy, named Beyonce is photographed next to a cookie.

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World’s smallest dog, Beyonce, fits on an iPhone

Seventeen-year-old teenager is less than the guitar