The "News" thread.

[Buster's Uncle]

No kiddin'.  You and everyone here, I bet - me for sure.

[Unorthodox]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/16/us-science-cern-nuns-idUSBRE8AF10A20121116

(Reuters) - A dozen kung fu nuns from an Asian Buddhist order displayed their martial arts prowess to bemused scientists at CERN this week as their spiritual leader explained how their energy was like that of the cosmos.

The nuns, all from the Himalayan region, struck poses of hand-chops, high-kicks and punches on Thursday while touring the research centre where physicists at the frontiers of science are probing the origins of the universe.

"Men and women carry different energy," said His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, a monk who ranks only slightly below the Dalai Lama in the global Buddhist hierarchy. "Both male and female energies are needed to better the world."

This, he said, was a scientific principle "as fundamental as the relationship between the sun and the moon" and its importance was similar to that of the particle collisions in CERN's vast "Big Bang" machine, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

The nuns, mostly slim and fit-looking teenagers with shaven heads and clad in flowing burgundy robes, nodded sagely.

But the 49-year-old Gyalwang Drukpa, head since the age of four of one of the new independent schools of Tibetan Buddhism centered in India and Nepal, stressed that their visit to CERN was not just scientific in purpose.

GENDER EQUALITY

By taking the nuns around the world and letting people of other countries enjoy their martial displays, he told physicists and reporters: "I hope to raise awareness about gender equality and the need for the empowerment of women."

The nuns themselves -- who star on Youtube videos -- have benefited from this outlook, he said.

For centuries in Tibet -- incorporated into communist China since 1951 -- and its surrounds, women were strictly barred from practicing any form of martial art.

In his homeland Himalayan region of Ladakh, the Gyalwang Drukpa said, women were mainly servants, cooks and cleaners to monks.

About three years ago he decided to break out of this pattern and improve the health and spiritual well-being of women by training them in kung fu and even allowing them to perform sacred rites once also restricted to men.

"And a very good thing too," declared CERN physicist Pauline Gagnon, who recently wrote a blog study pointing to the low, although growing, proportion of women in scientific research around the world.

The visit to CERN, whose director general Rolf Heuer recently sponsored a conference of scientists, theologians and philosophers to discuss the tense relationship between science and religion, was not the first by a top religious leader.

In 1983 the sprawling campus on the border of France and Switzerland hosted the Dalai Lama, Buddhism's most revered figure, who argues that most scientific discoveries prove the truth of the view of the cosmos expounded by his faith -- sometimes dubbed by outsiders an "atheistic religion."

Pope John-Paul II preceded him in 1982 and the present Pope Benedict has a standing invitation from Heuer.

Somewhere, there's a bad cartoon to be made here...

[Unorthodox]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2235933/Swedish-woman-used-SKELETONS-sex-acts--police-100-body-parts-flat.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Swedish woman accused of having sex in flat with SKELETONS after police find 100 body parts WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT
Gothenburg woman, 37, suspected of using 100 parts in 'sexual situations'
Charged with violating peace of deceased after police investigated her flat
Denies allegations and claims she collected bones for historical interest
CDs found by detectives entitled 'My Necrophilia' and 'My first experience'
Photos in which a woman is seen kissing and hugging skulls also found
She allegedly wrote on a forum: 'I want my man like he is, dead or alive'
By Mark Duell
PUBLISHED: 14:06 EST, 20 November 2012 | UPDATED: 06:15 EST, 21 November 2012
Comments (357) Share

..

A 37-year-old woman allegedly kept skeleton parts in her flat so she could have sex with them.
The Swedish woman is suspected of using 100 parts, which included six skulls and one backbone, in ‘sexual situations’ and was charged with violating the peace of the deceased, prosecutors said.
Police also allegedly found CDs titled ‘My Necrophilia’ and ‘My first experience’ as well as photos in which a woman is seen kissing and hugging the skulls, reported Swedish news agency TT.
 
Tucked up: A Swedish police handout showing a human skull in a bed in the apartment of a 37-year-old woman

 
On the floor: The Swedish woman was charged with possession of human skulls and bones, which the prosecution claimed she used for sexual purposes

 
In her flat: Police also allegedly found CDs titled 'My Necrophilia' and 'My first experience' as well as photos in which a woman is seen kissing and hugging the skulls
The woman, who comes from south-western Sweden, was charged at Gothenburg District Court today, but has denied the allegations - claiming she collected the bones out of historical interest.
The Goeteborgsposten newspaper alleged that she wrote on an internet forum a few years ago: ‘My morals set my limits and I'm prepared to take the punishment if something should happen.


 More...Inside the 'body farm' where corpses are left outside to decompose for forensic researchers to study

'It's worth it. I want my man like he is, whether he is dead or alive. He allows me to find sexual happiness on the side.’

Photos from a morgue were found hidden in the woman's home, as well as a drill and body bags, reported French news agency AFP. But police have found no proof that she was a grave-digger.
 
Extraordinary: The 37 year-old woman kept at least six skulls, one spine and 'a large number of other bones' in her Gothenburg apartment, according to the prosecution's charge sheet

 
In storage: The Swedish news agency TT cited a prosecutor as saying that the 37-year-old woman is suspected of using the remains, which included six skulls and one backbone, in 'sexual situations'

 
Collection: The woman, from south-western Sweden, was charged at Gothenburg District Court today
 
'Previous comments': The woman allegedly wrote on an internet forum a few years ago: 'My morals set my limits and I'm prepared to take the punishment if something should happen. It's worth it'
The woman, who has admitted that the items were kept in her apartment but denies doing anything wrong, was arrested in September and faces up to two years in jail if found guilty.
'I want my man like he is, whether he is dead or alive. He allows me to find sexual happiness on the side'
What woman 'wrote on an internet forum'

'Some of the photos show a woman licking a skull,' prosecutor Kristina Ehrenborg-Staffas told The Local newspaper in Sweden. 'We claim it’s her, but she claims it's someone else and she found the pictures on the internet.'
She sold three skulls and a spine to a person in Uppsala earlier this year, prosecutors said.

An access code to a morgue was also said to have been found in her apartment by detectives.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2235933/Swedish-woman-used-SKELETONS-sex-acts--police-100-body-parts-flat.html#ixzz2CrhzatOz
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Awwwwwwww





My problem is it's quite obvious from the pics that whoever TOOK them has repositioned things several times for different shots.  This is not cataloging as they were found by any stretch. 

That said, frankly, my remains could do worse than wind up with someone who loves them. 

[Unorthodox]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/bizarre-muppet-like-beast-discovered/story-e6freuy9-1226519548572

Bizarre muppet-like beast discovered From: The Daily Telegraph November 19, 2012 12:47PM
Increase Text SizeDecrease Text SizePrintEmail Share
Add to DiggAdd to del.icio.usAdd to FacebookAdd to KwoffAdd to MyspaceAdd to NewsvineWhat are these? 83 Source: The Daily Telegraph
NAMIBIAN media report a strange muppet-like beast has been shot dead after a group stumbled across several of the creatures in dense jungle.
Locals came across the bizarre being while they were escorting a shooting party in Namibia, local media reported.

Witnesses state that the creature was spotted apparently foraging for food, one of the shooting party wounded it with his rifle and it escaped into the thick brush.

The locals tracked it to a nearby lair or nest where they found three more creatures of similar size.

The wounded creature attacked one of the shooting party and it was shot dead, the others escaped into the brush

The body of the creature was taken back to the local camp, police later removed its corpse and a full forensics investigation is under way.

Blurry cell phone pic in thread not worth me wasting hosting space to steal.  Possible photoshop getting reported...

[Buster's Uncle]

Russian woman keeps hold of dead husband's body
Associated Press – Tue, Nov 20, 2012.. .


MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities say a woman with five children kept her husband's body in their apartment for almost three years after his death.

Prosecutors in the central Yaroslavl region said the unidentified woman, described as a devout Pentecostal Christian with a psychiatric record, was so distraught when her husband died of natural causes in 2009 that she believed he "was bound to resurrect."

An investigation was opened after the body was found in a dumpster in a plastic bag in July.

The prosecutors' office said Monday that the woman kept the cadaver in a bed in a room of her apartment and asked her children to talk to it and feed it.

The office says two children decided to dispose of the body when the family moved to another apartment.

http://news.yahoo.com/russian-woman-keeps-hold-dead-husbands-body-082749029.html

Doesn't sound very hygienic...

[Unorthodox]

http://kotaku.com/5963533/this-drug-is-legal-its-digital-and-its-supposed-to-improve-how-you-game-i-put-it-to-the-test

What's curious about binaural beats is that they're "digital drugs." There is no substance involved. You put on a pair of headphones, dim the lights, and focus on the sound. Seems like something out of a sci-fi, eh? Or well, sounds kind of like [nonsense], too.

Binaural beats were discovered over 100 years ago by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove when he noticed that two tones played at different frequencies in each ear produced a new sound. The interesting thing about this is that the beat can influence brainwaves, with some arguing that it could have all sorts of effects—from reducing anxiety, to yes, simulating drugs.

Big long article. 

I'm off to research if anyone is studying these for a haunt setting. 

[Unorthodox]

Well that was a short search.  Chance of seisures = nothin doin' at my place. 

[Unorthodox]

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=23201788&nid=711&title=vampire-on-the-loose-in-serbia-&s_cid=featured-5

ZAROZJE, Serbia (AP) - Get your garlic, crosses and stakes ready: a bloodsucking vampire is on the loose.

Or so say villagers in the tiny western Serbian hamlet of Zarozje, nestled between lush green mountain slopes and spooky thick forests. They say rumors that a legendary vampire ghost has awakened are spreading fear – and a potential tourist opportunity – through the remote village.

A local council warned villagers to put garlic in their pockets and place wooden crosses in their rooms to ward off vampires, although it appeared designed more to attract visitors to the impoverished region bordering Bosnia.

Many of the villagers are aware that Sava Savanovic, Serbia's most famous vampire, is a fairy tale. Still, they say, better to take it seriously than risk succumbing to the vampire's fangs.

"The story of Sava Savanovic is a legend, but strange things did occur in these parts back in the old days," said 55-year-old housewife Milka Prokic, holding a string of garlic in one hand and a large wooden stake in another, as an appropriately moody mist rose above the surrounding hills. "We have inherited this legend from our ancestors, and we keep it alive for the younger generations."

Vampire legends have played a prominent part in the Balkans for centuries – most prominently Dracula from Romania's Transylvania region. In the 18th century, the legends sometimes triggered mass hysteria and even public executions of those accused of being vampires.

Sava Savanovic, described by the Zarozje villagers as Serbia's first vampire, reputedly drank the blood of those who came to the small shack in the dense oak tree forest to mill their grain on the clear mountain Rogatica river.

The wooden mill collapsed a few months ago – allegedly angering the vampire, who is now looking for a new place to hang his cape.

Some locals claim they can hear steps cracking dry forest leaves and strange sounds coming from the rocky mountain peaks where the vampire was purportedly killed with a sharp stake that pierced his heart – but managed to survive in spirit as a butterfly.

"One should always remain calm, it's important not to frighten him, you shouldn't make fun of him," said villager Mico Matic, 56, whose house is not far from the collapsed mill.

"He is just one of the neighbors, you do your best to be on friendly terms with him," he said with a wry smile, displaying garlic from both of his trouser pockets.

Some locals say it's easy for strangers to laugh at them, but they truly believe.

"Five people have recently died one after another in our small community, one hanging himself," said Miodrag Vujetic, a local municipal council member. "This is not by accident."

Vujetic, however, said that "whatever is true about Sava," locals should use the legend to promote tourism.

"If Romanians could profit on the Dracula legend with the tourists visiting Transylvania, why can't we do the same with Sava?"

Richard Sugg, a lecturer in Renaissance Studies at the U.K.'s University of Durham and an expert on the vampire legends, said the fear could be very real. Stress can bring on nightmares, which makes people's feelings of dread even worse.

"The tourists think it is fun – and the Serbian locals think it's terrifying," he said.

[Unorthodox]

The hell with (pesticide caused) colony collapse disorder, beware the white nose disease. 
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1296590--loss-of-bats-to-white-nose-disease-could-hurt-ontario-farm-economy

A deadly disease that has decimated hibernating bats could cost billions of dollars to farmers and the economy in Canada and the U.S.

The severity of the disease — called “white-nose syndrome” for the fluffy fungal growth often found on the faces of infected bats — is only now being grasped. The fungus, which lurks in the caves of many parts of North America, is estimated to have killed 5.5 million bats, says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bats provide free pest control service to agriculture by eating tonnes of insects that can damage crops and produce. For example, bats eat adult June beetles, whose larva consume the roots of soybean and corn, two of the main crops in Ontario.

A study published last year in the journal Science estimates the economic impact of bats to U.S. agriculture ranged from $3.7 billion to $53 billion per year, depending on different projections of insect survival and pesticide use. This estimate represents 2 to 29 per cent of the total crop value in the U.S.

Applying these calculations to Canada — taken from the most recent Statistics Canada census of croplands in 2006 — yields an economic impact ranging from $1.1 billion to $15.3 billion. In Ontario, the value to farming from pest control performed by bats is estimated to range from $100 million to $1.6 billion.

There are no studies that have evaluated the services of bats to agriculture in Canada, however, but “it will be a goal of future research,” said Eric Santerre, communications director of the federal Ministry of Natural Resources in Quebec City.

White-nose syndrome is spreading across Ontario. It is now found as far west as Wawa and as far north as Timmins. Chris Heydon, policy adviser for wildlife health at the Ministry of Natural Resources in Peterborough, said it’s “not looking good” if the disease spreads into the Prairie provinces.

The disease was identified in Quebec and Ontario in 2010 and in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 2011.

Ground zero for white-nose syndrome is believed to be a cave west of Albany, N.Y. In 2006, a photograph taken of 18 dead bats showed the tell-tale fuzzy-looking growth. It has since spread further every year and now occurs in 21 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces.

The disease causes bats to be unusually active during hibernation, prematurely depleting precious fat reserves. This leads to starvation before their food sources awaken in spring.

The fungus was unknown prior to its scientific discovery and description as a new species in 2009. It lives in the soil in cooler climates and thrives in caves where bats hibernate. In Ontario, there are eight species of bats — three are migratory and not affected by the disease.

The lead author of the Science paper admits the reaction of the research community “has been and should be cautious.”

This was the first attempt at measuring the economic impact of the bat disease upon farming the calculations were based on certain assumptions, said Justin Boyles, assistant professor at South Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.

“It is imperative that we test some of those assumptions, which we’ll be doing,” Boyles said — for instance, “locations with different crops and more complex bat communities” could affect values across North America.

Heydon called it “a depressing situation” — researchers in Ontario simply don’t know where all bats hibernate, which hampers attempt to stop the spread of infection. The Ministry of Natural Resources does monitor caves with hibernating bats but must also rely on reports from the public about new caves with bats.

In the U.S., Ann Froschauer, national communications leader on the white-nose syndrome issue for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said scientists don’t yet know “the cascading effects” of the disease so it’s “tough to predict” the consequences for farming.

The fungus has not been found in the U.S. Midwest, so there is a “real concern” if it spreads to the breadbasket of America, she said.

The independent Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada has recommended to Environment Minister Peter Kent that “an emergency order be issued” to protect three species of endangered bats under the Species at Risk Act.

If it is approved, Ottawa would act to help the species recover from their endangered status by developing a recovery strategy and take steps to protect its natural habitat.

[Unorthodox]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/9719247/Amsterdam-to-create-scum-villages.html

Amsterdam is to create "Scum villages" where nuisance neighbours and anti-social tenants will be exiled from the city and rehoused in caravans or containers with "minimal services" under constant police supervision.
 
The plan echoes a proposal from Geert Wilders, the leader of a populist Dutch Right-wing party Photo: AFP/GETTY By Bruno Waterfield
4:05PM GMT 03 Dec 2012
Holland's capital already has a special hit squad of municipal officials to identify the worst offenders for a compulsory six month course in how to behave.

Social housing problem families or tenants who do not show an improvement or refuse to go to the special units face eviction and homelessness.

Eberhard van der Laan, Amsterdam's Labour mayor, has tabled the £810,000 plan to tackle 13,000 complaints of anti-social behaviour every year. He complained that long-term harassment often leads to law abiding tenants, rather than their nuisance neighbours, being driven out.

"This is the world turned upside down," the mayor said at the weekend.

The project also involves setting up a special hotline and system for victims to report their problems to the authorities.

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The new punishment housing camps have been dubbed "scum villages" because the plan echoes a proposal from Geert Wilders, the leader of a populist Dutch Right-wing party, for special units to deal with persistent troublemakers.

"Repeat offenders should be forcibly removed from their neighbourhood and sent to a village for scum," he suggested last year. "Put all the trash together."

Whilst denying that the new projects would be punishment camps for "scum", a spokesman for the city mayor stressed that the special residential units would aim to enforce good behaviour.

"The aim is not to reward people who behave badly with a new five-room home with a south-facing garden. This is supposed to be a deterrent," he said.

The tough approach taken by Mr van der Laan appears to jar with Amsterdam's famous tolerance for prostitution and soft drugs but reflects hardening attitudes to routine anti-social behaviour that falls short of criminality.

There are already several small-scale trial projects in the Netherlands, including in Amsterdam, where 10 shipping container homes have been set aside for persistent offenders, living under 24-hour supervision from social workers and police.

Under the new policy, from January next year, victims will no longer have to move to escape their tormentors, who will be moved to the new units.

A team of district "harassment directors" have already been appointed to spot signals of problems and to gather reports of nuisance tenants.

The Dutch Parool newspaper observed that the policy was not a new one. In the 19th century, troublemakers were moved to special villages in Drenthe and Overijssel outside Amsterdam. The villages were rarely successful, becoming sink estates for the lawless.

"We have learned from the past," said the mayor's spokesman. "A neighbourhood can deal with one problem family but if there are more the situation escalates."

[Unorthodox]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/411140/20121204/inmates-guards-accused-rub-hot-sauce-genitals.htm

Guards at the Sampson Correctional Institution, North Carolina, have been accused of forcing inmates to rub Habanero Hot Sauce on their testicles.

Prisoners at the facility also say guards made them throw captured bunnies into oncoming traffic, kiss wild snakes, strip naked and pretend to have sex.

In a letter written by six inmates to the US District Court in Greensboro, they ask for assistance in finding lawyers to help them bring charges against the state.

They said the guards made them gulp 'Exotic Hot Sauce' and slather it on their genitals, which resulted in painful blisters.

If they performed for the guards, they would be rewarded with food, cigarettes, beer and preferential work assignments, the inmates said.

Sampson is a medium/minimum security prison and has the capacity for 464 inmates. It employs around 190 members of staff.

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Pamela Walker, a spokeswoman for North Carolina's Department of Public Safety, said officials have asked the State Bureau of Investigation to review guards' conduct at the prison.

Walker said that since the letter, one prison staff member has been reassigned and another has gone on leave. The findings of the report are being kept confidential.

"Upon review of an internal investigation, (the Division of Adult Correction) has referred the inmate allegations to the SBI for their review and any subsequent actions they deem appropriate," she said.

"DAC considers the allegations to be serious and the alleged actions in violation of policy, which warrants further review by management."

Walker said the prison learned of the allegations through internal grievances filed by the inmates, not by the letter sent to the court. 

US Magistrate Judge Joi Elizabeth Peake agreed to accept the letter as a formal federal civil rights action on 19 November.

However, she said she could not accept the handwritten letter of complaint in its current condition because of legal issues with its format and because it was not filed in the correct judicial district.

[Unorthodox]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55394014-78/watts-district-porter-classroom.html.csp

Teacher disciplined for receiving foot massages from students, violating professional standards
Education » Third-grade teacher was also accused of using a hammer on a student’s desk to scare the child.

By ray parker
| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Dec 03 2012 05:20 pm • Updated 8 hours ago
A Taylorsville Elementary School teacher has returned to his third-grade classroom after being disciplined for violating professional standards after students reported they scratched his back, rubbed his feet and had other inappropriate contact while at school.

Granite School District officials found no criminal conduct by elementary teacher Bryan Watts, 53, who has worked at the school since 2004, but the district claims to have taken "appropriate disciplinary action" following complaints about Watts.

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"The district has put measures in place so no inappropriate actions can be taken [by Watts]," Doug Larson, district director of policy and legal services, said Monday.

Larson said he could not go into detail about the disciplinary action because of state laws dealing with public employees. Utah teacher records are exempt from the state’s public records law, he said.

Granite District police Detective Randall Porter started an investigation into Watts’ conduct Oct. 9 after a mother expressed concern to the district after her daughter reported odd classroom behavior by Watts.

"She complained that her daughter [name redacted] told her that Watts asks students to rub his feet and back during ‘movie time,’ that Watts told the class that they should not tell their parents about activities that happen in the classroom, and that Watts scared a student by hitting a hammer on the student’s desk," Porter wrote in his 19-page report.

Porter interviewed a school psychologist, a school employee, the parent and eight current and former students about Watts’ classroom conduct. Taylorsville Elementary, built in 1962, is located at 2010 W. 4230 South.

In the end, officials found there was no evidence of criminal conduct by Watts.

But officials said there were student statements about odd activities, including playing dodgeball in Watts’ classroom.

"[The student] said Watts did not throw the ball hard," Porter wrote.

But officials said there were student statements about odd activities, including playing dodgeball in Watts’ classroom.[/size]


Um, since when is dodgeball an "odd activity"?

[Buster's Uncle]

A.)  Dodgeball has no proper place in school in the first place, seeing as how it's inevitably a contest to hurt the more vunerable students.

B.) Indoors?

[Unorthodox]

A.)  Dodgeball has no proper place in school in the first place, seeing as how it's inevitably a contest to hurt the more vunerable students.

You can make that argument with any physical activity/sport though.  I was always incessently mocked for not climbing the stupid rope. 

B.) Indoors?

I don't think we ever played it outside.  I would imagine outside you're always chasing after a/the ball rolling down the field. 

[Buster's Uncle]

There's games and then there's just plain cruel.  Dodgeball is the latter.

I never saw it played indoors, and certainly not in a classroom.