Clipmarks | spolastre's clips

Green Polar Bears?

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:02:33 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: This is a cute story

Three normally white polar bears at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan changed their color in July after swimming in a pond with an overgrowth of algae.

High temperatures in July and August and less-frequent water changes because of the zoo's conservation efforts caused an algae growth in the bear pond and safety moat, Kurobe said.

Algae that enters hollow spaces in the bears' fur is hard to rinse off, he said.

The bears are expected to return to their natural color when the algae growth subsides in November, Kurobe said.

Tags: polar bear, animal

He's a Cheater...It's in the Genes

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:40:19 GMT

clipped by: spolastre

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Men are more likely to be devoted and loyal husbands when they lack a particular variant of a gene that influences brain activity, researchers announced yesterday -- the first time that science has shown a direct link between a man's genes and his aptitude for monogamy.

"Men with two copies of the allele had twice the risk of experiencing marital dysfunction, with a threat of divorce during the last year, compared to men carrying one or no copies," said Hasse Walum, a behavioral geneticist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm who led the study. "Women married to men with one or two copies of the allele scored lower on average on how satisfied they were with the relationship compared to women married to men with no copies."

The finding set off a debate about whether people should conduct genetic tests to find out whether potential mates are bad marriage prospects.

Tags: gene, men, monogomy

A Less Invasive Option

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:38:28 GMT

clipped by: spolastre

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

With incisions no bigger than keyholes and recovery time reduced by two-thirds, some women are opting to have a laparoscopic hysterectomy rather than a conventional hysterectomy. Hysterectomy is the most common non-pregancy-related surgical procedure for women in the United States; more than 600,000 are performed a year. Only a quarter of these surgeries are performed in a minimally invasive way.

Tags: women, hysterectomy

What Makes Life Worth Living?

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:35:16 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: Great blog entry that I found.

Clip Source: www.lifehack.org

I think there’s a resistance to answering a question like this honestly.

Creating: Writing, drawing, painting

Relating: It’s not “family” that makes life worth living, I think, but the relationships we create with members of our family, and the way we maintain and build those relationships. Same goes for friends, lovers, business partners, students, and everyone else.

Helping: Being able to lend a hand to people in need – however drastic or trivial that need may be – strikes me as an important part of life.

Realizing: Making, working towards, and achieving goals, no matter what those goals are.

Playing:

Letting go of restraints, imagining new possibilities, testing yourself against others or against yourself, finding humor and joy.

Growing: Learning new things, improving my knowledge and ability in the things I’ve already learned.

What about you? What makes your life worth living?

Tags: dreams, goals, life, self reflection

For All You Starbucks Lovers

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:20:03 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: I haven't gone to Starbucks in months cause I make my own coffee, but for those who don't.

Clip Source: articles.moneycentral.msn.com

Starbucks (SBUX, news, msgs) is testing several types of promotions in stores across the country, a move it hopes will help counter the decline in domestic store traffic that led to a recent decision to close 600 stores.

The promotions vary by region and timing.

Starbucks would not say how many stores are planning promotions, only that the majority of its more than 11,000 U.S. stores will offer some sort of deal between now and early September.

And elsewhere, the company is selling discounted drinks throughout the day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Tags: coffee, starbucks, promotion

Woman Lives in Man's Closet For a Year

Fri, 30 May 2008 20:25:08 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: This is super hysterical. I need to do this.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

A homeless woman who sneaked into a man’s house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when food mysteriously began disappearing.

Woman found the home unlocked
The woman told police she had no place to live and first sneaked into the man’s house about a year ago when he left it unlocked.

Police were investigating how she managed to go in and out of the house unnoticed, as well as details of her life inside the closet, and if she had taken anything else besides food.

She had moved a mattress into the small closet space and apparently even took showers, Itakura said, calling the woman "neat and clean."

UN Peacekeeprs, Aid Workers Sexually Abusing Kids

Tue, 27 May 2008 20:42:55 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: This is one of the most disgusting reports that i have heard in awhile. These children are already traumatized enough to have these perverts go over there and make it worse. They need to start screening their applicants more.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed "deep concern" Tuesday after a leading children's charity said it uncovered evidence of widespread sexual abuse of children at the hands of U.N. peacekeepers and international aid workers.

The report by Save the Children UK, based on field research in southern Sudan, Ivory Coast and Haiti, describes a litany of sexual crimes against children as young as 6.

It said some children were denied food aid unless they granted sexual favors; others were forced to have sex or to take part in child pornography; many more were subjected to improper touching or kissing.

In its report, Save the Children UK makes three key recommendations: establish a way for people to report abuse locally, create an international watchdog agency this year to deal with the problem, and set up a program to deal with the underlying causes of child abuse.

Tags: un, united nations, sexual abuse, molestation, pedophiles, children

Barnes & Noble Buying Borders?

Fri, 23 May 2008 20:44:02 GMT

clipped by: spolastre

Clip Source: www.proposalwritingnews.com

I was reading my Writer's Market newsletter, when I read this story and couldn't believe it:

Barnes & Noble may buy Borders: Mega-bookseller Barnes & Noble is considering buying its top competitor, Borders Group. Investors, however, are wondering whether antitrust issues would allow the deal to go through.

It was a very good question that was raised. Will this be considered an antitrust issue? We have read, or I hope, the problems that arose with XM and Sirius trying to merge. It's kind of the same thing. At least we could say that XM and Sirius have valid arguments that might sway you to think that it isn't really an issue, but what can Barnes & Noble say? The only other bookseller around is Books-A-Million, and they definitely aren't competition for Borders and Barnes & Noble as it stands.

Tags: antitrust, booksellers

Junta Open Door to More Myanmar Aid

Fri, 23 May 2008 17:22:46 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: I am so relieved and happy about this. These poor people are dying, and I am glad that Junta will finally allow this to happen.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Myanmar's junta agreed on Friday to admit cyclone aid workers "regardless of nationalities" to the hardest-hit Irrawaddy Delta, a breakthrough for delivering help to survivors, U.N. officials said.

"The general said he saw no reason why that should not happen ... as long as they were genuine humanitarian workers and it was clear what they were going to be doing," a U.N. official with Ban said.

The U.N. chief and his aides, on a mission to help 2.4 million left destitute by the storm that struck three weeks ago, met Senior General Than Shwe for more than two hours in the remote new capital of Naypyidaw.

Disaster experts say that unless the generals open their doors thousands more people in the Irrawaddy Delta could die of hunger and disease, adding to the nearly 134,000 reported killed or missing in Cyclone Nargis.

Tags: myanmar, junta, aid

Daughter Held Captive By Her Dad for 24 Years

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:04:51 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: This is disgusting, and I hope this man gets tortured. What is even sadder is that he didn't give the chance for three of his children with his daughter to live a fulfilling life due to this sick and twisted mind. I hope he goes to hell three times over.

Clip Source: www.nypost.com

A man has confessed to imprisoning his daughter for 24 years in a windowless cell with a soundproofed door and fathering seven children with her including three who "never saw sunlight," police said Monday.

Josef Fritzl, now 73, also told investigators that he tossed the body of one of the children in an incinerator when the infant died shortly after birth, said Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs.

The daughter, who is now 42, had been missing since 1984 and was found by police in the town of Amstetten on Saturday evening after police received a tip. She and the children have been placed under psychiatric care in an undisclosed location.

Authorities on Monday released several photos showing parts of the cramped basement cell, with a small bathroom and a narrow passageway leading to a tiny bedroom. Investigators said an electronic keyless-entry system apparently kept the daughter from escaping from the cell, which was made of solid reinforced concrete.

Tags: incest, abuse

Sex Offenders Living in Chlid Care Homes

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:19:29 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: Scary. One of the many reasons why I have my kids in a centralized day care, but even then you have to still worry.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

The state social services agency on Wednesday was moving to shut down nine homes used for child daycare and foster care after an audit found registered sex offenders living there in violation of state law.

California Department of Social Services Director John Wagner said the audit found that the addresses of 49 sex offenders matched those of 46 child care facilities.

Investigators are interviewing the children who had contact in each of the homes or day care centers.

"We haven't finished the interviews, but no indication yet" that any child was actually abused, Bolton said.

Tags: sex offenders, child care, children

Stolen rhino horns could be deadly, I

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:17:50 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: For some reason, I do not have much sympathy.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Two 19th century rhino horns stolen from a South African museum could be deadly if sold as a popular aphrodisiac because they are drenched in poison, a museum official said on Monday.

Unknowingly, the thieves have exposed themselves to more than the danger of arrest and prosecution," Bredekamp said in a statement.

Bredekamp said the horns were deliberately targeted in a carefully planned robbery, and might be destined for Asia, where ground rhino horns are a prized aphrodisiac.

"This could have unforeseen consequences," he said.

Bredekamp said museums worldwide were being targeted by organized crime to help supply lucrative markets with a wide range of artifacts. After a previous robbery attempt, South African museum officials removed several other specimens of rhino horn from public display, he said.

Tags: aphrodisiac, death, rhinos, horns

Transguy Pregnant With His Child

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:35:07 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: This is pretty cool.

Clip Source: www.womenshealthmag.com

Thomas Beatie, a transgendered male, is approximately 6 months pregnant with his own child. In a story he wrote for The Advocate, a well-known Los Angeles-based magazine, he explains that he is "legally male, and legally married" to his wife Nancy.

Because Nancy cannot bear children due to a severe case of endometriosis when she was younger, the couple decided Beatie would carry the child. Beatie was born female and had sex assignment surgery to remove his breasts, but kept his other female reproductive organs. The child was conceived through home insemination.

He says in the article, "How does it feel to be a pregnant man? Incredible."

Tags: transgender, transguy, pregnancy

Circus Slaves Forced to Swim with Piranhas and Snakes

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:31:08 GMT

clipped by: spolastre
clipper's remarks: This is grotesque. This is definitely a form of slavery. Poor girls.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Police rescued two teenage Bulgarian sisters from a circus in southern Italy which forced one of them to swim with flesh-eating piranhas for the amusement of guests, police said.

While the 19-year-old sister swam in a transparent tank, the younger, 16-year-old was forced into a container where the circus staff tossed snakes at her. She was injured by one of the snakes, police said.

Police arrested three Italians who ran the circus south of Naples, in Salerno province, accusing them of forcing the sisters to live in virtual slavery.

The women were paid 100 euros ($155.8) per week and lived in a trailer that had previously been used to transport animals, they said.

Tags: slaves, italy, bulgarian, piranhas, snakes, circus

Native Americans Can Trace DNA to 6 Women

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:12:14 GMT

clipped by: spolastre

Clip Source: www.npr.org

A new study of DNA suggests nearly all Native Americans can trace part of their ancestry to just six women, whose descendants immigrated to North, Central and South America as much as 20,000 years ago.

According to the study published this week by the scientific journal PLoS One, researchers believe the women left a DNA legacy that can be found in about 95 percent of native people throughout the Americas.

The study said the finding does not mean those six women were the only ancestors of the migrants who populated the Americas from Asia.

Researchers said the women probably did not live in Asia because the DNA signatures they left behind are not found there. They likely lived on Beringia, a now-submerged land bridge that once connected Asia and North America.

The estimate for when the women lived is open to question because it is unclear if the researchers properly accounted for differing mutation rates in mitochondrial DNA, she said. Further work could change the estimate, she said.

Tags: dna, study, native americans