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Bizarre lungless frog found

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:23:50 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

The first lungless frog has been discovered lurking in the jungles of Borneo.

The enigmatic amphibian, dubbed Barbourula kalimantanensis, apparently gets all the oxygen it needs through its skin.

Scientists first saw one of these frogs 30 years ago, but due to their rarity, just one other specimen had been collected since then and neither had been dissected.

The amphibians, no more than 2 inches long, have proven elusive because they live in cold, fast rivers in remote areas of the rainforests of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo.

He and his colleagues had no idea this frog would be lungless.

CONTINUED: Other bizarre organs ...

Tags: wildlife, evolution, nature, frog, jungle, science

Tibetan Buddhism's next leader?

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:21:36 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan
clipper's remarks: "he Panchen Lama, the third of a triumvirate and previously the second-highest ranking among the three lamas, vanished into Chinese custody as a boy in 1995 and has been replaced by Beijing's own political appointee."

Clip Source: www.iht.com

The recent outburst of Tibetan rage against the Chinese government not only demonstrated once again the fear and anger among Himalayan Buddhists living under the cultural insensitivity of Beijing, it also illuminated the crucial role of the Dalai Lama, navigating skillfully between restive Tibetan exiles and an Indian government under Chinese pressures to stifle their protests. What will happen when he is gone?

The West is about to get its first glimpse of that possible future.

In mid-May, a serious young man of 22 who is revered as the 17th Karmapa - now the second-most-important figure in Tibetan Buddhism - will make his first visit to the United States.

The Karmapa Lama, spiritual head of the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism, is now the only major Tibetan lama recognized as a reincarnation of his lineage by both the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government since it overran Tibet in the 1950s.

Tags: religion, faith, reincarnation, china, tibet, lama

Erotic Jesus sparks art debate in Austria

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:19:20 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

They knew it would be risky to exhibit a homoerotic version of Christ's Last Supper, but curators at museum of Vienna's Roman Catholic Cathedral weren't ready for a barrage of angry messages and calls to be shut down.

The source of the dispute, which Austrian media has dubbed Vienna's version of the Mohammad caricature row, is a retrospective honoring Austria's cherished artist Alfred Hrdlicka, who turned 80 earlier this year.

The Church hastily removed the main picture, "a homosexual orgy" of the Apostles as Hrdlicka describes it.

The museum's director defends both Hrdlicka's work and his decision to host the artist's controversial versions of biblical imagery in a museum tied to the Catholic Church.

He said the museum never intended to offend people but that art should be allowed to provoke a debate.

Tags: art, artist, museum, christ, religion, catholic, bible

First Deaths Among Russian Doomsday Cult

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:13:31 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

— Two members of the Russian doomsday cult that have been hiding in a cave to wait for the end of the world have reportedly died, the first fatalities since the group went underground five months ago.

One member of the religious sect, Vitaly Nedogon, who left the cave last week, said that both were women and that one had died from cancer and another had starved herself to death.

Officials in the Penza region were continuing efforts to persuade the remaining members to return above ground amid fears that the cave near the village of Nikolskoye is in imminent danger of collapse.

The task has been complicated by the group's decision to take a vow of silence while they wait for the Apocalypse.

The doomsday sect is a splinter group from the Russian Orthodox Church and its adherents believe that the world will end in May.

Tags: religion, cult, russia, doomsday, faith, belief, death, sect, church