Archive for the ‘Humanities’ Category

2012, the Chinese year of the Dragon

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

CHINESE YEAR OF THE DRAGON
 
On January 23rd the celebrations for the Chinese New Year have started. On Sunday 29th, they have reached a peak. (more…)

Revealed: Famous names who snubbed UK queen’s honors

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

LONDON | Thu Jan 26, 2012 8:59am EST

(Reuters) - Receiving an honor from Britain's Queen Elizabeth marks the pinnacle of many careers. But for more than 250 people named in a once-secret official document, the idea was so unappealing that they turned down the monarch's offer.

Artist Lucian Freud, sculptor Henry Moore and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" author Roald Dahl all rejected honors, according to papers released by the British government on Thursday.

"Psycho" film director Alfred Hitchcock also refused an award in 1962, only to accept a knighthood shortly before his death in 1980.

Other public figures named on the official list include painters Francis Bacon and L.S. Lowry and the "Brave New World" novelist Aldous Huxley.

The British government was forced to publish the document after repeated requests under freedom of information laws.

Previously, rejected honors only came to light through unofficial leaks or if the person involved chose to spoke about their decision to snub the twice-yearly "gongs."

Several well-known writers appeared on the list, which only includes people who are no longer alive.

Poet Philip Larkin refused the chance in 1968 to become an OBE, or Officer of the Order of the British Empire, one of the five classes of the chivalric order set up by King George V in 1917 to recognize service in the arts, science, charities and public bodies. Larkin later accepted a higher ranking CBE, or Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Eveyln Waugh, who wrote "Brideshead Revisited" and "Scoop," rejected an offer in 1959 to become a CBE.

Graham Greene, author of "Our Man in Havana" and "The Quiet American," turned down the same honor three years earlier, only to accept honors later in life. "The Chronicles of Narnia" creator C.S. Lewis also said no to a CBE.

The government gave no details of why people rejected their honors.

In the past, "refuseniks" have cited a range of reasons, from antipathy to the monarchy and Britain's colonial past, to a general lack of interest in prizes or a fear of perpetuating snobbery.

Japan and Costa Rica: An Unlikely Parallel

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

 Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in Costa Rica
 
With my first time living abroad being in Japan, it is inevitable that I would attempt to make parallels between my experience there and my life here. (more…)

The Cost of Living and How it Depends on your Standards

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Market in  Jerusalem, Israel
 
Jews and Christians world over donate generously to the Israeli cause, (more…)

Living the Simple Life

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Jonah Kruvant
 
It was time for a change. My best friends here, Carlos, Monse, and Jacob, had either returned to the US or were about to. (more…)

2012: year of the environment

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

 
If you open a famous search engine and look for those keywords: plans for environment 2012, (more…)

Love and Asperger’s

Friday, January 6th, 2012

Love and Asperger's
 
On Boxing Day, a famous American newspaper published a news about a successful romantic relationship between two people with autism, precisely a form called Asperger’s syndrome. (more…)

AVÓ

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

(more…)

A History of Violence: a reflection on our society

Friday, December 30th, 2011


 
I have been paying little attention to the news, or the journalists underline the bad in the world and forget about all the good, but the impression I have nowadays is that our world is full of violence, and we have no more place to repress it. (more…)

The Waterfall

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Jonah Kruvant at Montezuma Waterfalls in Costa Rica
 
There are some things you dread. With just the thought of them your entire body convulses, and your mind, for a brief moment, is overcome with fear. (more…)

A Return to Rosa Parks? Women in Israel must also fight for their place on the bus

Monday, December 19th, 2011

A Return to Rosa Parks? Women in Israel must also fight for their place on the bus.
 
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently commented that the status of Israel as a democracy is in danger, due mostly to its increasingly worrisome treatment of women. (more…)

The Dog Who Looks Both Ways

Sunday, December 18th, 2011


 
There are no street names in Costa Rica. There are no house numbers. There are no mailboxes. Ok…so how do you get around? How do you receive mail? (more…)

Christmas for everyone: a reflection

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011


When I was a child, December was my favourite time of the year. It didn’t only mean the Advent Calendar (more…)

"Chavez Nativity" creates controversy in Venezuela

Friday, December 9th, 2011
A figurine of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (C) is seen in a recreation of a Nativity scene in Caracas December 8, 2011. The Nativity scene in Caracas showing the socialist president standing before the traditional crib-in-a-manger has stirred up a pre-Christmas controversy in the politically polarized country. Picture taken December 8, 2011. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

CARACAS | Fri Dec 9, 2011 12:28pm EST

(Reuters) - In the Bible, shepherds and wise men paid homage to the newborn baby Jesus. In Venezuela, it seems Hugo Chavez turned up in the manger, too.

A Nativity scene in Caracas showing the socialist president standing before the traditional crib-in-a-manger has stirred up a pre-Christmas controversy in the politically polarized country.

"It has nothing to do with the real Nativity, with religion. I don't like it," said passerby Arnaldo Amundaray, tutting as he took a close look at the model.

For Chavez supporters and the Nativity's creators, it is a legitimate and innocent tribute to their man.

"The intention is to show off all the revolution's achievements because the media silence the good things President Chavez has done," said Maria Alejandra Mijares, a Women's Ministry employee who helped make the Nativity.

The lovingly constructed model, which stands in a concourse of residential and business towers in central Caracas, has the traditional Christian scene at its heart. But it also politicizes the Nativity by paying tribute to some of Chavez's most popular policies during his 13-year rule.

To symbolize his infrastructure achievements there is a miniature cable car reaching up to a replica shantytown. The flagship social projects of the Chavez government, including his Barrio Adentro (Inside the Slum) clinics, also are painstakingly represented.

In the middle -- in front of and below Jesus's crib -- stands Chavez next to a model of his hero, South America's 18th century independence fighter Simon Bolivar.

Elsewhere, there is a photo of Chavez hugging a child.

"Like Christianity, the revolution is all about love," said another Women's Ministry worker, Yasmina Ereu. "Some people are fascinated. Others don't like it. But this is a democratic country. Everyone is welcome to their opinion."

The Fight For Human Rights in Afghanistan

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Afghan Elections 2009 (Kandahar) / Élections afghanes 2009 (Kandahar)

In a rare triumph of human rights in Afghanistan, a young woman who was jailed for “zina” (adultery) has been pardoned by President Karzai. (more…)

Journey into the Jungle: Part 2 – The Coconut

Thursday, November 24th, 2011


 
My roommate, Jacob “the Dude” Westman, coined the term “Costa Rica, the new west” on our trip to Cahuita National Park.  (more…)

DNA Testing for the Wrongly Convicted

Friday, November 18th, 2011

DNA Evidence Frees Man Convicted Of Bronx Rape 21 Years Ago:  Alan Newton is my Hero

Advancements in forensic DNA testing are expected to improve the efficacy of our criminal justice system, but is the technology being utilized as it ought to be?

(more…)

Journey into the Jungle: Part 1 – The Sloth

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Photo: Jonah Kruvant (All Rights Reserved)


 

5% of the world’s biodiversity (animal and plant life) is in Costa Rica, more than Europe and the United States combined, all in an area of the size of West Virginia. (more…)

Devil found in detail of Giotto fresco in Italy’s Assisi

Monday, November 7th, 2011
A detail of a fresco by Giotto is seen in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi in this picture released to Reuters on November 5, 2011.  REUTERS/Basilica of St Francis in Assisi/Handout

ROME | Mon Nov 7, 2011 10:23am EST

(Reuters) - Art restorers have discovered the figure of a devil hidden in the clouds of one of the most famous frescos by Giotto in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, church officials said on Saturday.

The devil was hidden in the details of clouds at the top of fresco number 20 in the cycle of the scenes in the life and death of St Francis painted by Giotto in the 13th century.

The discovery was made by Italian art historian Chiara Frugone. It shows a profile of a figure with a hooked nose, a sly smile, and dark horns hidden among the clouds in the panel of the scene depicting the death of St Francis.

The figure is difficult to see from the floor of the basilica but emerges clearly in close-up photography.

Sergio Fusetti, the chief restorer of the basilica, said Giotto probably never wanted the image of the devil to be a main part of the fresco and may have painted it in among the clouds "to have a bit of fun."

Strapped county sacks Santa to save $660

Monday, November 7th, 2011

NEW YORK | Mon Nov 7, 2011 10:22am EST

(Reuters) - Faced with the difficult task of balancing a budget in austere times, officials in New York's Suffolk County said on Friday they had no choice: they had to sack Santa Claus.

The county executive said he could not justify carving out $660 from his $2.7 billion budget to pay David McKell, 83, a World War II veteran and former homicide detective, to don his Santa suit for the tenth year running and greet children on Long Island.

"How do you justify that expenditure when a health center is losing money?" Steve Levy, the Suffolk County Executive, said in an interview.

He said that some 750 county employees were facing layoffs as a result of budget restraints, including what he described as a $20 million cut in state aid to the county's health system.

"Let either the private sector come forward with a donation, or, better yet, let's tap the volunteers in the community," he said.

Levy was quickly called a Grinch by his opponents.

Germany admits accounting blunder but no scapegoats

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

BERLIN | Thu Nov 3, 2011 3:53pm EDT

(Reuters) - The German government has no plans to sack the bankers or accountants who made a 55-billion euro ($75 billion) bookkeeping blunder that exposed it to ridicule across Europe, the finance minister said Wednesday.

Wolfgang Schaeuble said it was "an extremely annoying mistake" for the nationalised mortgage bank Hypo Real Estate (HRE) and the PwC accountancy firm to have let such an error slip through undetected.

The Berlin government has been scathing about Greece's bookkeeping practices during the euro zone crisis.

"I don't believe in looking for scapegoats," Schaeuble told a news conference after summoning executives from HRE and the accountancy firm to his office.

"Everyone promised improvements."

The blunder briefly raised Germany's total debt by more than 55 billion euros, and Schaeuble and the government were lampooned by cartoonists and pilloried in editorials.

The minister conceded the blunder did shake public confidence but called it a "communications problem" which never really put Germany's fiscal interests at risk.

Schaeuble said the Bundesbank (German central bank) would take a deeper look into the accounting mistakes made.

Teen in recovery from accidental haunted house hanging

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

ST. LOUIS | Thu Nov 3, 2011 10:32am EDT

(Reuters) - A teenager who was accidentally tangled in a hangman's noose while acting at a Halloween haunted house was out of intensive care on Wednesday and recovering from the incident that left her briefly not breathing and unconscious, police said.

Logger says cut off toes to free himself

Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Montrose, Colorado resident John Hutt is shown in this handout photo released to Reuters August 31, 2011. REUTERS/Margaret Hutt/Handout

Montrose, Colorado resident John Hutt is shown in this handout photo released to Reuters August 31, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Margaret Hutt/Handout

DENVER | Thu Sep 1, 2011 3:47pm EDT

(Reuters) - A western Colorado logger said on Wednesday that he amputated all the toes on his right foot with a pocket knife to free himself after a 7-ton trailer landed on his foot, trapping him in an isolated forest.

Jon Hutt, 61, of Montrose, Colorado, said he's "on the mend" after the harrowing August 19 incident.

Hutt told Reuters he was gathering a load of firewood for the upcoming winter months in a remote area west of Telluride, Colorado. As he was working on his tractor-trailer, the trailer lurched, became detached and landed on his foot.

"It was like stepping into a bear trap," he said.

Lobsters liberated by Buddhist intervention

Friday, August 5th, 2011
Buddhist monk Geshe Tenley releases a lobster back into the ocean during ''Chokhor Duchen'', or the anniversary of Buddha's turning of the Dharma Wheel, from a boat in the waters off Gloucester, Massachusetts August 3, 2011. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

GLOUCESTER, Mass | Fri Aug 5, 2011 11:07am EDT

(Reuters) - Instead of plunging headfirst to their death in a pot of boiling water, 534 live lobsters escaped the dinner plate and belly flopped to freedom into the dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

A group of Tibetan Buddhists flanked the sides of a whale-watching boat at dusk on Wednesday, sprayed the lobsters with blessed water, clipped the bands binding their dangerous claws and released them one by one into the deep water below.

The 30 Buddhists of all ages trekked to this northern Massachusetts fishing hub to buy 600 pounds of lobster from a seafood wholesaler and save the critters from imminent death.

The lobster liberation was scheduled for August 3, which is Wheel Turning Day on this year's Tibetan lunar calendar, the anniversary of the first sermon Buddha taught. On this holiday, the merit for positive actions is multiplied many times.

Continue reading

Woman faces trial for fake testicles

Thursday, July 28th, 2011
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The police chief of a small South Carolina town will ask a jury to decide if a woman broke the state's obscenity laws by driving a pickup truck with plastic testicles hanging from the back.

U.S. man operates on himself with butter knife

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - A 63-year-old American man with a hernia plunged a butter knife into his abdomen to try to fix the problem, and later put a lit cigarette in the wound, according to police.

Half of men would ditch woman who gained weight?

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Men are more concerned with their partner's body type than women but they also seem to value family more highly, according to a new survey released on Tuesday.

Jail guard guilty of serving up hacksaw blade

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - In old movies, the inmate usually got a hacksaw blade secreted into his cell baked in a cake.

Yard banner for U.S. Marine sparks legal tussle

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - When Corey Burr left to serve with U.S. forces in Afghanistan in January, his parents erected a banner in their front yard with his photo and a message: "Our son defends our freedom".

Mother Sets Fire to Daughter’s Gloating Rapist

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

A Spanish mother has taken revenge on the man who raped her 13-year-old daughter at knife point by dousing him in gasoline and setting him on fire. He died of his injuries eleven days later in hospital.
(more…)

Thousands in Portland take to bikes for naked ride

Monday, June 20th, 2011
PORTLAND, Ore (Reuters) - It was a typical early summer evening in Portland: cloudy skies threatening rain, temperatures in the mid-60s, and thousands of naked bicyclists gathered near the city's waterfront for a clothing-free night ride.

Erection-boosting condom gets EU backing

Monday, June 20th, 2011
LONDON (Reuters) - A British medical company has had its erection-enhancing condom recommended for European approval.

U.S. air passenger arrested in saggy pants dispute

Monday, June 20th, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. college football player who allegedly refused a request to hoist his saggy pants when he boarded a flight was arrested after a dispute with the crew, authorities said on Friday.

Green: Murder of Activists Raises Questions of Justice in Amazon

Saturday, May 28th, 2011
Whether an investigation will result in punishment for the killers -- or those who hired them -- is uncertain. More than 1,000 rural activists, small farmers, religious workers and others fighting deforestation have been slain in the past 20 years, but only a handful of killers have been successfully prosecuted.

FBI says "mullet bandit" holds up another bank

Thursday, May 26th, 2011
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Ohio bank robber dubbed the "mullet bandit" by federal authorities appears to have struck again.

Metro cans French music after complaints

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brussels may be a largely French speaking city but the operator of its metro service has ruled out playing French music at its stations after an experiment drew complaints from Dutch-speaking Belgians.

Brooding men, smiling women seen as sexy?

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Guys, want to look sexy and get the girl? Don't smile too much. Look brooding or show a bit of shame instead. Women, ignore that advice.

Warning: Walking on a Florida street may be dangerous

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Warning to pedestrians -- Walking down the street in Florida could be hazardous to your health.

Texas legislature acts to make state safe for "noodling"

Friday, May 20th, 2011
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Texas may still have problems like a multi-billion dollar budget deficit and public schools facing major spending cuts, but its legislature has moved to make the Lone Star State safe for "noodling."

Illegal immigrants arrive in grand style

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Malaysian man faces charges of attempting to smuggle nine Chinese illegal immigrants into the United States as passengers on board the luxury RMS Queen Mary 2 ocean liner, officials said on Monday.

Scientists stung by theft of research bees

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
LONDON (Reuters) - Several thousand bees that were part a multi-million pound neuroscience research project have been stolen from a British university.

Pious Indians bank on holy deposits

Friday, May 6th, 2011
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - In a bank with no security gates, guards or locks, deposits from thousands of customers from across India are stacked on shelves, protected from theft by the grace of God.

South Korea’s "kiss apple" for better breath, dating pleasure

Friday, May 6th, 2011
SEOUL (Reuters) - In South Korea, home of kimchi and other pungent, garlicky food, having fresh breath for life's big moments -- such as a kiss -- is a major concern.

Green: The Top 10 Solar States

Friday, April 29th, 2011
In the case of New Jersey, No. 2, the solar market blossomed because of a state government commitment to greater reliance on renewable energy.

Marijuana smoke odor in car not enough for police action?

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
BOSTON (Reuters) - The smell of marijuana smoke is no longer enough reason for police to order someone out of a car, now that pot has been decriminalized in Massachusetts, the state's highest court said in a decision published on Tuesday.

Some NY cab drivers to wear bulletproof vests

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - New York City livery cab drivers, often called to crime-ridden neighborhoods that yellow taxis tend to ignore, are being armed with bulletproof vests, an advocacy group said on Tuesday.

Exploring self-publishing

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

“When you write try to leave out all the parts readers skip.” (Elmore Leonard)

I started writing first as a literary translator, after spending years of dedicated study on interpreting books written by other people, experimenting with different styles and genres. Four years ago I began writing my own fiction. I was coming back from Greece where I used to work as a Black Jack and Stud Poker dealer. Expressing myself in my own voice wasn’t a choice but an irrepressible need.

Things worsened when I decided to publish what I had written. I was immediately assailed by an army of dissuaders, who kept telling me that it was going to be ‘very, but very hard’. Nevertheless I was determined to go on with my decision. I had to experience for myself the excruciating process of trying to find a publisher interested in my work.

Some American friends introduced me to the world of self-publishing and independent writers. I was to adopt a different perspective: becoming my own publisher. I did a lot of research on e-books and digital publishing and eventually found an ideal setting for my stories. What convinced me was the idea of creating a kind of text that could be adapted to different tablets, and converted into six different digital formats: Kindle, EPub, Pdf, Rtf, Lrf (Sony Reader), PDB (Palm Doc). The files had to be DRM-free in order to meet my potential readers’ requirements, and provide a wider transportability.

The overlapping of contents’ streams is an ever-growing phenomenon, each one of us is developing a personal way of experiencing digital narratives:

“We are living in an age when changes in communications, storytelling and information technologies are reshaping almost every aspect of contemporary life — including how we create, consume, learn, and interact with each other. A whole range of new technologies enable consumers to archive, annotate, appropriate, and recirculate media content and in the process, these technologies have altered the ways that consumers interact with core institutions of government, education, and commerce.”

(Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture)

The usual prejudice against self-publishing is that it is the result of an improvised author. Actually, the very concept of self-publishing suspends judgement. There are no filters between the author and the reader, as there is no third party involved. It’s a solitary journey where the writer needs to juggle different abilities and acquire a managerial competence. Independent writers are responsible for everything, from editing and formatting to marketing, in complete autonomy.

E-books keep floating in a virtual world until they are selected by a reader and transported into another dimension. Unlike print editions, e-books turn into digital chameleons waiting for new configurations.

 

Thieves steal diamonds worth millions from fair

Thursday, March 31st, 2011
ZURICH (Reuters) - Thieves stole four diamonds worth several million dollars from a trader's stand at the world's biggest watch and jewelry fair in Basel on Wednesday, prosecutors said.

Struggling stewardess exposed euro coin fraud ring

Thursday, March 31st, 2011
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - An airline stewardess struggling to lift her bag at a German airport led to the discovery of a 6-million euro ($8.4 million) coin fraud.

Cyprus … Selling its Soul for Russian Cash

Saturday, March 19th, 2011


As I sit at my desk, overlooking an orange orchard and the mountains in the distance with the sea behind me, I wonder if I’m over exaggerating the growing sense of unease and dissatisfaction I feel. (more…)

Global Unity harmony Foundation Launch/Concert

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

Come and Join us for our launch on the

23rd April 2011

launch starts at 2pm and finishes at 5pm, we are having a family funday for volunteers children from 2pm to 7pm Followed by a concert from 6pm to 10pm.

We are having this event to showcase the reason that we are being set up and to fundraise for future events. As we will be having further family fundays, concerts, fashion shows and auctions, so that we can show the public that we can show that we can encourage people that art & crafts, music, sports and outdoor activities are an excellent medium for recovery of trauma that has been inflicted by abuse.

These mediums are not only an excellent tool to heal the mental, psychological and pyscical recovery, but they heal the soul. So during our events we will always have speakers who can speak about many mediums about recovery and wellbeing. From surivors, researchers, artists and proffessionals who work within the health proffession who have used these forms of recovery for their service users.

We are also going to set up projects after the launch for people who have suffered trauma to be able to set up their own projects to enable them to take charge of their own recovery and enable them to become more socially and economically active. We will be doing this by assisting them to source micro finance to start up their projects.

We will also have a youth section of the foundation, where young people from the age 14-25 will be able to put forward projects that will enhance their communities socially. The membership will chose which projects that we assist bring into friutation. The young people whose projects are chosen will recieve a Community Champion Award from the Foundation and the trustees will oversee these projects.

http://www.globalunityharmony.com

Huge parking fines inspired parking watch app

Friday, January 21st, 2011
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Massive parking fines inspired one Australian man to create an iPhone app that lets users warn each other when parking officers are spotted lurking near their cars.

Burglars snort man’s ashes, thought it was cocaine

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
MIAMI (Reuters) - Burglars snorted the cremated remains of a man and two dogs in the mistaken belief that they had stolen illegal drugs, Florida sheriff's deputies said on Wednesday.

Man admits mailing hundreds of tarantulas

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A German national who shipped hundreds of live tarantulas into the United States through the mail has pleaded guilty to a federal smuggling charge, prosecutors said.

Monk caught with nun’s skeleton at airport

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
ATHENS (Reuters) - A Cypriot monk caught at a Greek airport with the skeletal remains of a nun in his baggage on the weekend told authorities he was taking the relics of a saint back to his monastery.

How To Be an Effective Dissident

Monday, January 17th, 2011

Thieves make BMW hottest car at auto show

Friday, January 14th, 2011
DETROIT (Reuters) - When carmakers like BMW say they hope people find their next car at auto shows like the one in Detroit this week, this wasn't exactly what they meant.

Radio stations told to censor Dire Straits

Friday, January 14th, 2011
VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian radio station have been warned to censor the 1985 Dire Straits hit "Money for Nothing," after a complaint that the lyrics of the Grammy Award-winning song were derogatory to gay men.

Trapped burglars call police for help

Thursday, January 13th, 2011
BERLIN (Reuters) - Two would-be thieves called in their own crime to police in Germany after they could not escape from a broken-down elevator over the weekend, police said in a statement.

Three in 10 Americans commit financial infidelity?

Thursday, January 13th, 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three in 10 Americans commit "financial infidelity" by lying to their spouses about money, sometimes suffering consequences such as separation or divorce, according to a new survey.

Credit Protection: Bouncer’s cards stop knife blows

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011
BERLIN (Reuters) - A wallet stuffed with 20 plastic cards and a stroke of luck saved a pub doorman in western Germany from serious injury during a knife attack.

What is the worth of a woman?

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Image by Evil Cheese Scientist via Flickr

What, I ask you, is the worth of a woman?

Can it be measured against the force of a clock,
stuck into a wall,
ticking against time and perceived accomplishment?

Is it to be given compliments
as to the shape of a body or a countenance that draws glances?

Or is it the longer view,
the sound of her voice
without regard to physicality?

Is it two half moons
she wakes with

each day beneath her chin; yet,

above the mid-point of life?

Is the worth of a woman
to disregard herself?
To take herself lightly
in pieces
in jokes
in half smiles?

Decorum.  How charming.

Or is her weight
something
that can not measured
in present time?

Not the
the deprecation
of her soul nor diminishment of the purity of her heart

Rather,

The unbidden, unguarded

Pure moments

In whispers

Where her soul drops as golden tears upon the ones she loves

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Awakening

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Awakening,

the hours have lost their sense. (more…)

Circus forced to stop live fish regurgitation act

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Russian circus has been forced to cancel an act in which a woman swallows a live fish and regurgitates it after Australian officials deemed it cruel.

German party mistakenly hands out porn pens to kids

Friday, September 3rd, 2010
BERLIN (Reuters Life!) - To sweeten their first day at primary school German children are normally given a cardboard cone filled with sweets, but schoolchildren in Essen this year opened their cones to find pens which project erotic images.

Tourist treat – famous toilets

Friday, September 3rd, 2010
BERLIN (Reuters) - For tourists tired of traditional sightseeing tours, one Berlin tour guide is offering something altogether different: a tour of Berlin's public conveniences.

Koranic teachers arrested over child begging

Friday, September 3rd, 2010
DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegalese security forces have arrested seven Koranic teachers for forcing children to panhandle, a police official said on Friday, days after the West African state announced a crack down on public begging.

Man bites police over a pet peeve

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Police arrested an 82-year-old man after he bit and kicked officers who had arrived to mediate in a dispute with a neighbor over a domestic pet.

Pilots on alert for high-flying vulture

Thursday, August 19th, 2010
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's air traffic controllers put pilots on alert this week after a vulture which can soar as high as 30,000 feet escaped from her handlers during a display.

Vuvuzelas make it into the Oxford dictionary

Thursday, August 19th, 2010
LONDON (Reuters) - The ever-present hum of the vuvuzela during this year's soccer World Cup catapulted the plastic trumpet to prominence and now it has earned a place in the Oxford Dictionary of English.

Canadian police find bears guarding pot crop

Thursday, August 19th, 2010
VANCOUVER (Reuters) - A pair of marijuana growers in Western Canada appear to have been using bears to protect their illegal crop, but the well-fed animals proved to be a bit lax in their guard duties, police said on Wednesday.

Aboriginal elder leads police to body — but wrong one

Friday, August 13th, 2010
SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Aboriginal elder who claimed to have seen the location of a missing child in a dream has led Australian police to a body -- but it was not the corpse of a child but of an adult woman.

Top food was olives in time of the ancient mariner

Thursday, August 12th, 2010
NICOSIA (Reuters) - A huge quantity of olive stones on an ancient shipwreck more than 2,000 years old has provided valuable insight into the diet of sailors in the ancient world, researchers in Cyprus said Thursday.

Traffickers hide cocaine under rare python

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
ROME (Reuters) - Italian police seized a rare albino python in Rome Wednesday in a raid on a group of drug traffickers who used the snake to guard cocaine and intimidate customers who owed them money.

Martin Luther has Wittenberg in a stir 500 years on

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
BERLIN (Reuters) - About 800 colorful statuettes of 16th-century Protestant reformer Martin Luther are popping up in the eastern German town of Wittenberg, where Luther first railed against some practices of the Roman Catholic church almost 500 years ago.

Advice to job seekers: drop the Merlot

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
DETROIT (Reuters) - Job applicants who drink alcohol are perceived as less intelligent and less hireable by American bosses, a bias dubbed the "imbibing idiot bias" in a study published on Monday.

French criminals now face short arm of the law

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
PARIS (Reuters) - France has ended restrictions barring people under 1.6 meters (5 ft 3 in) from joining the police force.

Western Gas to Buy Anadarko Assets

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Western Gas agreed to acquire Anadarko's natural-gas assets in northeastern Colorado in a deal valued at $498 million.

Oil Nears $80

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
U.S. crude futures neared $80 a barrel, as investors brushed off slowing growth in Chinese manufacturing and focused instead on rising European equity markets.

MetLife to Sell 75 Million Shares to Fund Alico Deal

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
MetLife announced plans to sell at least 75 million shares and $3 billion of debt to fund the cash portion of its planned acquisition of American International Group's second-largest foreign life-insurance business.

Gold Sticks to Tight Range

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
The spot price of gold hovered just below $1,180 a troy ounce as the yellow metal continued to stabilize following last week's selloff.

Bank Shares Rally in Europe

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
European stock markets rallied, led higher by solid earnings in the banking sector and stronger basic-resource stocks.

UBS Makes U.S. Mortgage Push

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
UBS is expected to announce Monday the hiring of two executives from Goldman Sachs and Bank of America who will lead the Swiss bank's efforts to make more mortgages and other loans through its brokerage force in the U.S.

Asian Stocks Rise on PMI Data

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Asian stocks rallied Monday as soft Chinese manufacturing activity in July led to hopes Beijing would put growth-inhibitive policies on hold, while Japanese shares climbed on the back of strong earnings reports.

HSBC’s Net Profit Doubles

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
HSBC Holdings said its net profit for the first half of the year doubled on lower impairment charges.

BNP Paribas’s Net Profit Jumps 31%

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
BNP Paribas reported far better-than-expected net profit, as strong retail operations more than offset a slide in investment banking. Shares soared 3.8%.

Banks Push European Shares Higher

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
European stocks rose on the first trading day of the month, boosted by banking shares and positive trading in Asia.

Gordmans Stores Tests IPO Market

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
The week's hottest IPO could be in Omaha: Gordman Stores, which competes against firms like TJX.

Asia Holds on to Morning Gains

Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Asian stocks traded mostly higher despite a tepid lead from Wall Street on Friday and weak Chinese manufacturing data, with the Tokyo market spurred higher by strong earnings reports.

SGX Profit Falls 13%

Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Singapore Exchange's fiscal fourth-quarter net profit fell 13% due to lower contributions from its securities clearing and derivatives business.

Big Investors Fear Deflation

Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Some of the world's leading investors are re-shaping their portfolios to prepare for a possible period of falling prices.

Asia Up; Earnings Help Japan

Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Asian stocks gained Monday, with the Nikkei up 1.2%, spurred higher by strong earnings reports.

UBS’s U.S. Mortgage Push

Sunday, August 1st, 2010
UBS is expected to announce Monday the hiring of two executives from Goldman Sachs and Bank of America who will lead the Swiss bank's efforts to make more mortgages and other loans through its brokerage force in the U.S.

Playing Defense as Fed Weighs New Game Plan

Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Investors' defensive stance makes sense, even as some Fed policy makers now seem to be mulling additional, unorthodox ways to try to reflate the U.S. economy.

Sleepy Treasurys Market May Awaken Soon

Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Volatility in the Treasurys market has fallen back to pre-crisis levels, with yields holding to tight ranges since late June. But Friday's payrolls report for July could end the market's calm.

Yuan Undergoes Hong Kong Lab Test

Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Banks in the city are for the first time starting to lend yuan to one another outside mainland China and offering hedging services that weren't available before.

Afghan Women: Fearing a Taliban Future

Saturday, July 31st, 2010
Women fear that even the small steps that they have taken so far will be threatened if the Afghan government and Western donors make a peace that does not allow small steps to become larger ones.

Blue Chips Rose 7.1% in July

Saturday, July 31st, 2010
The Dow industrials overcame an early 120-point decline to finish down by just one point on the day, but for the month of July the index rose 691.92 points or 7.1%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were up 6.9% for the month.

Little Glimmering At Glimmerglass

Friday, July 30th, 2010

The Glimmerglass Opera has been a must-see festival, presenting unusual repertoire and creative productions in an intimate, 900-seat house. Not this year.

Unfinished Perfection

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Leonardo’s “The Virgin and Child With St. Anne” in the Louvre may be unfinished, but it offers a total aesthetic experience.

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