Legislators have approved a bill that would block all porn sites in Israel unless people ask to view it.
The Israeli ministerial committee for legislation unanimously approved the bill, which forces internet companies in the country to censor adult websites by default.
The approval of the bill means that it now moves to the legislator, the Knesset, for approval and passage into law.
Tuesday 29 November 2016
Picasso's widow may have hidden artworks from son
A retired electrician who kept nearly 300 Pablo Picasso artworks in his garage for almost 40 years told a French court on Monday (2016-11-01) that the artist's widow may have wanted to keep the works hidden from his son Claude.
Pierre Le Guennec, convicted last year of possessing stolen goods, said after Picasso died in April 1973, his widow had asked him to store 15-17 garbage bags containing the artworks.
Pierre Le Guennec, convicted last year of possessing stolen goods, said after Picasso died in April 1973, his widow had asked him to store 15-17 garbage bags containing the artworks.
Sunday 25 September 2016
Toppels' Cafe, Wertheim, near Frankfurt, Germany - an unusual upside cafe
This is Toppels' Roadside Cafe in Wertheim, near Frankfurt, Germany.
It's owned by a fictitious family, the Toppels, who were clearly very high when building this place. Why? Because they mixed up the ceiling and the floor of the place. Yes, you're thinking right! Their house and cafe is UPSIDE DOWN.
And it's not just from the outside. It's inverted from the inside too. So once you enter the cafe from what's normally an attic window, you're in a for a really trippy experience.
Everything from the windows to the ceiling lamps, the cafe counter, bedrooms, living room, is upside down.
A website to help shop for wife No 2
Polygamy.com is aimed at polygamists; its creator claims it's better than adultery and one-night stands.
Add this twist to the panoply of websites that promise to fill the holes in your love life: Sites that are aimed at married men who want to add wives, and single women who'd be happy sharing a spouse.
Certain that there were plenty of people in the world who'd be interested in such a service, Azad Chaiwala, a 33-year-old British entrepreneur of Pakistani origin, created what he said were the world's first matchmaking sites for aspiring polygamists.
He started SecondWife.com, aimed specifically at Muslims, in late 2014, followed by Polygamy .com, which is open to anyone, this year. The sites now have thousands of members, Chaiwala said. Most registered users are in Britain or the US, even though bigamy is a crime in both countries. But some members log in from India, Pakistan, or other countries in Asia or Africa where it can be legal. While he has no way to know how many polygamous marriages his sites may have facilitated, Chaiwala said he had received more than 100 letters from users thanking him for guiding them toward multiple-marital bliss. He speaks of his sites with an evangelist's fervor, hoping to spread the idea that polygamy offers a pro-family antidote to promiscuity, prostitution, divorce and broken homes. He dismisses those who criticize polygamy as anachronistic, saying it is better than adultery or one-night stands. "I am saying, `Marry two or three, and be loyal to them'." Creating a profile on either site is free, but to browse profile photos, you need to upgrade to a paid membership of $20 (Rs 1,340) a month or $45 (Rs 3,016) for three months.
Three-quarters of the users on SecondWife.com are men, but most of the profiles on Polygamy.com are posted by women. He guesses that many women don't want the obligation of a full-time husband, or consider it a plus that a man is already married. "If they are capable of taking care of one wife, perhaps they are capable of taking care of me," he said, speculating on what women might be thinking.
(Source: Ben Hubbard, NYT NEWS SERVICE)
Amazon delivers priests in Japan
The Buddhist priest lit incense at a small altar just as members of his order have done for centuries. As he chanted sutras, Yutaka Kai prayed for his wife, who died last year. Kai, 68, set aside his family's devout Buddhism when he left his hometown years ago to work in a tire factory . That meant he did not have a local temple to turn to for the occasion that's considered a milestone for Japanese Buddhists.
Cue the internet. J In modern Japan, a B Buddhist priest can a now be found just a few clicks away -on Amazon.com. Junko Soko, the priest at Mrs Kai's memorial, is part of a controversial business that is disrupting traditional funeral arrangements. Their venture has been condemned by many Buddhist leaders. Many sects in Japan complained after Amazon began offering obosan-bin (priest delivery) on its Japanese site last year. But priests say that it is helping to preserve Buddhist traditions by making them accessible to millions who have become estranged from the religion.
However, much of the reaction has been positive, for familiar reasons: It offers convenience and low, predictable prices. Obosan-bin was originally the brainchild of Minrevi, a for-profit internet start-up.Before signing on with Amazon, it built a network of 400 priests and took bookings on its own website. It said it keeps about 30%of the fees it collects; the rest goes to the priest.
Now, the company has added another 100 priests to meet demand generated by the Amazon partnership, said Jumpei Masano, a spokesman. It expects bookings to increase by 20% this year, to around 12,000.
"A lot of people don't have any connection with a temple, so they don't know where to turn or what to do when they have to ar range a funeral," Masano said. "We saw there was a need."
First test of driverless minibus EZ-10 in Paris on 2016-09-24
The French capital's transport authority carried out its first test of a driverless minibus on Saturday (2016-09-24), in the hope that regular routes for the hi-tech vehicles will be up and running within two years.
The electric-powered driverless EZ10 minibus, able to carry up to 12 passengers, has already been tested on closed circuits in Japan, Singapore and California and in a road test in Helsinki.
One of the self-driving shuttle buses, made by French hi-tech firm Easymile, will on Saturday run along a special circuit in Paris on a pedestrianised street near the River Seine.
The bus will travel at 25 kilometres (15 miles) an hour and for RATP, the transport authority for the Paris region, it is the start of a series of tests.
The second test, to be held in the French capital before the end of 2016, will see the EZ10 running between two major transport hubs, the Lyon and Austerlitz train stations.
"The autonomous vehicle presents an opportunity for new services notably in less densely populated areas," RATP president Elisabeth Borne said in a statement.
The east-central French town of Lyon carried out its own test on a driverless minibus this month.
New York opens first breast milk donation bank
The first community-based, non-profit breast milk bank has opened in New York.
The New York Milk Bank, which collects, sorts and pasteurises breast milk from donors, ships it throughout the state to premature babies who are most in need.
Follow @NewYorkMilkBank on Twitter.
Roman Court to man: Buy feminist books for minor sex worker
A court in Rome has ordered the client of an underage prostitute to buy her 30 books on the theme of women's dignity.
In addition to a two year jail sentence, the man, 35, will be required to give the 15-year-old victim works, including novels by Virginia Woolf, Anne Frank's diary and poems of Emily Dickinson, as well as two feminist-themed movies, the court said.
(Source: TheGuardian.com)
Sunday 7 August 2016
Toilet-paper blaze razes 4,000 hectares in Spain
Spanish authorities said that a forest fire started by a German man while burning his soiled toilet paper has spread to La Palma in the Canary Islands on 2016-08-06.
Spain's acting minister of agriculture and environment, Isabel Garcia Tejerina, said the four-dayold blaze has consumed 3,500-4,000 hectares of forest. The fire claimed the life of one forest worker and has caused evacuation of 2,500 people from three towns. A 27-year-old German man admitted to police on 2016-08-05 that he had started the fire accidentally by burning some soiled toilet paper. Four planes and eight helicopters are assisting over 350 firefighters on the ground to control the fire.
The authorities said high temperatures, dense vegetation and rocky terrain were "complicating efforts".
Spain's acting minister of agriculture and environment, Isabel Garcia Tejerina, said the four-dayold blaze has consumed 3,500-4,000 hectares of forest. The fire claimed the life of one forest worker and has caused evacuation of 2,500 people from three towns. A 27-year-old German man admitted to police on 2016-08-05 that he had started the fire accidentally by burning some soiled toilet paper. Four planes and eight helicopters are assisting over 350 firefighters on the ground to control the fire.
The authorities said high temperatures, dense vegetation and rocky terrain were "complicating efforts".
Inferno from birthday cake candles kills 13 in Rouen, France
A massive fire sparked by birthday cake candles tore through a bar in France on Saturday , killing about 13 people in the nation's deadliest blaze in over a decade.
The dead were between aged between 16 and 25, while one of the six injured at Au Cuba Libre bar in Rouen was critical.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls expressed "deep sadness at the tragedy". Local deputy prosecutor Laurent Labadie said the blaze, which began around midnight in the bar's basement, was triggered accidentally . "Someone came down with a birthday cake with candles and fell down the stairs. The candles were thrown onto the walls and ceiling, where there was soundproofing material. There was an immediate conflagration and gas was released," Labadie said.
Police had earlier said the flames had ignited polystyrene on the ceiling of the basement room, releasing a toxic mix of gases that poisoned the victims. The investigation will focus on whether building safety rules were respected at the bar.
The dead were between aged between 16 and 25, while one of the six injured at Au Cuba Libre bar in Rouen was critical.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls expressed "deep sadness at the tragedy". Local deputy prosecutor Laurent Labadie said the blaze, which began around midnight in the bar's basement, was triggered accidentally . "Someone came down with a birthday cake with candles and fell down the stairs. The candles were thrown onto the walls and ceiling, where there was soundproofing material. There was an immediate conflagration and gas was released," Labadie said.
Police had earlier said the flames had ignited polystyrene on the ceiling of the basement room, releasing a toxic mix of gases that poisoned the victims. The investigation will focus on whether building safety rules were respected at the bar.
Friday 22 July 2016
Brazilian MP breastfeeds in the National assembly
A Brazilian MP breastfeeds her child at an open debate in the National assembly in July 2016.
Saturday 2 July 2016
Tesla driver dies in first fatal autonomous car crash in US
Operator Was Watching Film And Speeding.
A driver with a history of speeding who was so enamoured of his Tesla Model S sedan that he nicknamed the car “Tessy“ and praised the safety benefits of its sophisticated ", Autopilot" system has become the first US fatality in a wreck involving a car in self-driving mode. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the driver's death on Thursday , and said it is investigating the design and performance of the Autopilot system.
Joshua D Brown of Canton, Ohio, the 40-year-old owner of a technology company, was killed on May 7, 2016 in Williston, Florida, when his car's cameras failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky and didn't automatically activate its brakes, according to statements by the government and the automaker. Just one month earlier, Brown had credited the Autopilot system for preventing a collision.
Frank Baressi, 62, the driver of the truck and owner of Okemah Express LLC, said the Tesla driver was "playing Harry Potter on the TV screen“ at the time of the crash and driving so quickly that "he went so fast through my trailer I didn't see him." The movie "was still playing when he died," Baressi said. He, however, acknowledged he didn't see the movie, only heard it. A digital video disc player was found in the car.
Tesla Motors Inc said it is not possible to watch videos on the Model S touch screen. There was no reference to the movie in initial police reports.
Brown's driving record showed he had eight speeding tickets in a six-year span. His published obituary described him as a member of the Navy SEALs for 11years and founder of Nexu Innovations Inc, working on wireless internet networks and camera systems.
Tesla said that this was the first known death in over 130 million miles of Autopilot operation. Before Autopilot can be used, drivers have to acknowledge that the system is an "assist feature" that requires a driver to keep both hands on the wheel at all time.
2 Muslim girls denied Swiss citizenship for refusing to swim with boys in school
Switzerland has rejected citizenship requests from two Muslim girls for refusing to take part in swimming lessons with boys at school. The girls aged 12 and 14 will no longer be considered for naturalised citizenship because they have not complied with the school curriculum, authorities in Basel said.
The girls are understood to have refused to take part in school swimming lessons because boys were present and their religion forbade that form of interaction, according to USA Today . Their applications for Swiss passports have now been overturned.
Meanwhile, the father of two other girls who refused to let his daughters swim with boys was fined $4,000 swiss francs (around £2,900) by a district court in another part of the country. Stefan Wehrle, president of the country's naturalisation committee, told TV station SRF that "whoever doesn't fulfil these conditions, violates the law and therefore cannot be naturalised."
The father, who was fined by a court in Altstaeten in the north-east of the country , had been in trouble with authorities previously for requiring his daughters to wear head veils in school, according to The Local. In the end, his eldest daughter was granted the right to wear a veil to school by Switzerland's highest court on the grounds of religious freedom.
The two cases in Switzerland are the latest in a series of refusals by authorities to grant immigrants citizenship for cultural reasons.
Two Muslim brothers who refused to shake hands with their female teacher on the grounds of religious restriction were also the centre of widespread media coverage and public uproar. The boys' father, an imam at the Basel mosque, immediately had his naturalisation request suspended by authorities, while any parent or guardian who refuses to shake a teacher's hand can now expect a $5,000 fine.
Yet the case is not always limited to instances of religious difference. The resident-led committees which lead recommendations for immigrants gaining citizenship have previously rejected applications on the grounds of people not seeming "Swiss enough".One immigrant family from Kosovo, who had been in the country for a decade, was told their tendency to wear shabby clothing and not greet passersby was proof of their lack of integration.
(Source: The Independent)
The girls are understood to have refused to take part in school swimming lessons because boys were present and their religion forbade that form of interaction, according to USA Today . Their applications for Swiss passports have now been overturned.
Meanwhile, the father of two other girls who refused to let his daughters swim with boys was fined $4,000 swiss francs (around £2,900) by a district court in another part of the country. Stefan Wehrle, president of the country's naturalisation committee, told TV station SRF that "whoever doesn't fulfil these conditions, violates the law and therefore cannot be naturalised."
The father, who was fined by a court in Altstaeten in the north-east of the country , had been in trouble with authorities previously for requiring his daughters to wear head veils in school, according to The Local. In the end, his eldest daughter was granted the right to wear a veil to school by Switzerland's highest court on the grounds of religious freedom.
The two cases in Switzerland are the latest in a series of refusals by authorities to grant immigrants citizenship for cultural reasons.
Two Muslim brothers who refused to shake hands with their female teacher on the grounds of religious restriction were also the centre of widespread media coverage and public uproar. The boys' father, an imam at the Basel mosque, immediately had his naturalisation request suspended by authorities, while any parent or guardian who refuses to shake a teacher's hand can now expect a $5,000 fine.
Yet the case is not always limited to instances of religious difference. The resident-led committees which lead recommendations for immigrants gaining citizenship have previously rejected applications on the grounds of people not seeming "Swiss enough".One immigrant family from Kosovo, who had been in the country for a decade, was told their tendency to wear shabby clothing and not greet passersby was proof of their lack of integration.
(Source: The Independent)
Woman wins right to give birth to grandchild
Honoring a dying wish - Woman wins right to give birth to grandchild
A 60-year-old woman determined to use her dead daughter's frozen eggs to give birth to her own grandchild won a crucial legal victory on Thursday (2016-06-30) in second-highest court in Britain.
The woman, referred to by the Court of Appeal in London as M., said she wanted to honour the last dying wish of her daughter, who died of bowel cancer in 2011 at the age of 28.The daughter had been adamant that she wanted her mother to carry her baby and have her parents raise the child.
The ruling is not the final word on the matter: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the governmental agency that blocked M.'s effort, said on Thursday that it would reconsider the case as soon as possible in light of the court's judgment.
The authority, the government's independent fertility regulatory body, ruled in 2014 that the daughter's eggs could not be removed from London and taken to a clinic in New York.
M. wanted to use the eggs to create an embryo with sperm from RING A, an anonymous donor, but the authority refused to approve the transport of the eggs abroad on the grounds that the daughter had not given her informed consent.
The high court in London upheld the authority's decision. M. then took her case to the court of appeal. On Thursday, the appeals court found that the fertility authority had set the bar too high in determining consent, finding that there was sufficient evidence of Mr. and Mrs. M.'s daughter's true wishes for her mother to have, and raise, her own grandchild.
During the appeal, lawyers acting for M. warned that the frozen eggs could "simply be allowed to perish" if M. was prevented from forging ahead with the conception.
(Source: NYT NEWS SERVICE)
A 60-year-old woman determined to use her dead daughter's frozen eggs to give birth to her own grandchild won a crucial legal victory on Thursday (2016-06-30) in second-highest court in Britain.
The woman, referred to by the Court of Appeal in London as M., said she wanted to honour the last dying wish of her daughter, who died of bowel cancer in 2011 at the age of 28.The daughter had been adamant that she wanted her mother to carry her baby and have her parents raise the child.
The ruling is not the final word on the matter: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the governmental agency that blocked M.'s effort, said on Thursday that it would reconsider the case as soon as possible in light of the court's judgment.
The authority, the government's independent fertility regulatory body, ruled in 2014 that the daughter's eggs could not be removed from London and taken to a clinic in New York.
M. wanted to use the eggs to create an embryo with sperm from RING A, an anonymous donor, but the authority refused to approve the transport of the eggs abroad on the grounds that the daughter had not given her informed consent.
The high court in London upheld the authority's decision. M. then took her case to the court of appeal. On Thursday, the appeals court found that the fertility authority had set the bar too high in determining consent, finding that there was sufficient evidence of Mr. and Mrs. M.'s daughter's true wishes for her mother to have, and raise, her own grandchild.
During the appeal, lawyers acting for M. warned that the frozen eggs could "simply be allowed to perish" if M. was prevented from forging ahead with the conception.
(Source: NYT NEWS SERVICE)
Friday 3 June 2016
Kangaroo jumps on top of woman, ruptures her breast implants
A kangaroo jumped on a woman cycling in South Australia, rupturing her breast implants. Sharon Heinrich was cycling with her friend when the kangaroo jumped and landed on her.
"The kangaroo was taller than me, and so heavy . Once he landed on me, he used me to launch off again, which caused more damage." Heinrich said she suffered ruptured breast implants, three cracked ribs, grazes and a numb leg. "The implants are silicon and saline. The saline will go through your body , but the silicon congeals, so it's very painful," Heinrich added.
"The kangaroo was taller than me, and so heavy . Once he landed on me, he used me to launch off again, which caused more damage." Heinrich said she suffered ruptured breast implants, three cracked ribs, grazes and a numb leg. "The implants are silicon and saline. The saline will go through your body , but the silicon congeals, so it's very painful," Heinrich added.
Monday 25 April 2016
Mom forced to dump 14.8 litres of breast milk at Heathrow
A US mother-of-two, who was forced to dump 14.8 litres of breast milk at security at London's Heathrow Airport, has spoken about her humiliation and the "incredibly unfair" security rules.
In a Facebook post, Jessica Coakley Martinez, who was travelling without her eight month-old son, said she felt "humiliated". She said, "You made me dump out nearly two weeks worth of food for my son."
Heathrow says the UK government's rules on carrying liquids on planes are set out on its website and say that liquids may only be carried in containers holding 100ml or less in a transparent and re-sealable single bag. The website says exceptions are made in the case of baby food or baby milk, but only if the passenger is travelling with a baby . It says excess liquids should be carried as hold luggage. Martinez wrote that the regulation that breast milk was not allowed if the mother was travelling without her baby was "incredibly unfair and exclusionary in consideration of all of the other working mothers like me."
(Source: PTI, London)
In a Facebook post, Jessica Coakley Martinez, who was travelling without her eight month-old son, said she felt "humiliated". She said, "You made me dump out nearly two weeks worth of food for my son."
Heathrow says the UK government's rules on carrying liquids on planes are set out on its website and say that liquids may only be carried in containers holding 100ml or less in a transparent and re-sealable single bag. The website says exceptions are made in the case of baby food or baby milk, but only if the passenger is travelling with a baby . It says excess liquids should be carried as hold luggage. Martinez wrote that the regulation that breast milk was not allowed if the mother was travelling without her baby was "incredibly unfair and exclusionary in consideration of all of the other working mothers like me."
(Source: PTI, London)
Tuesday 15 March 2016
Man's rescue attempt goes awry
Joe Craig had an awkward moment recently while walking his dog in East Finchley, London. He heard some screams from a parked car's boot and made up his mind to rescue the trapped person.
Since he couldn't see inside as it was dark, he got closer and was sure the urgent, muffled screams were coming from the boot. He rushed to the car, which was rattling. When he flung open the boot, he saw a couple having sex. Before he could shut the boot back, his dog jumped in, taking the couple by surprise. Craig pulled the dog away, and asked the couple to carry on.
Since he couldn't see inside as it was dark, he got closer and was sure the urgent, muffled screams were coming from the boot. He rushed to the car, which was rattling. When he flung open the boot, he saw a couple having sex. Before he could shut the boot back, his dog jumped in, taking the couple by surprise. Craig pulled the dog away, and asked the couple to carry on.
Man robs photo booth, gets snapped
A photo booth snapped several pics of a man who allegedly stole $75 (over Rs5,000) out of the booth at an arcade and bowling alley in Batavia, Illinois. Several photos of the suspect were taken by the machine at the arcade.
Though he escaped with the cash he stole from the booth, he may not be able to hide from police for long, as he failed to avoid the booth's built-in security feature. "What the person didn't know was, if you start to tamper with this machine in any way, it takes your picture while you're sitting there," said the police.
Though he escaped with the cash he stole from the booth, he may not be able to hide from police for long, as he failed to avoid the booth's built-in security feature. "What the person didn't know was, if you start to tamper with this machine in any way, it takes your picture while you're sitting there," said the police.
Moms who sleep next to babies likely to breastfeed longer
You may want to start sharing your bed with your newborn as according to a research, sleeping with babies can boost breastfeeding. The study found that mothers who sleep next to their babies for at least an hour a week are more likely to carry on breastfeeding for longer, but those who go to the baby's cot are more likely to stop breastfeeding before six months.
Experts recommend exclusive breastfeeding for around the first six months as breastfed babies have less chance of diarrhoea and vomiting, fewer chest and ear infections, less likelihood of becoming obese and therefore developing type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related ill nesses later in life. The longer breastfeed, the longer the protection lasts and the greater the benefits.
Researcher Helen Ball said that in this paper they show that mothers with the strongest intent to breastfeed are the ones who sleep with their babies the most, adding that these mothers therefore need information on how to make bed-sharing while breastfeeding as safe as possible. Ball noted that given the complex relationship between bed-sharing and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), appropriate guidance balancing risk minimisation with support for breastfeeding mothers is crucial.
Why wedding night sex is waning
ACCORDING TO A POLL, ONE IN THREE DIDN'T CONSUMMATE THEIR MARRIAGE UNTIL AFTER THE BIG DAY, POINTING OUT A DECLINE IN WEDDING NIGHT SEX
A new poll has revealed that one in three newly-weds didn't consummate their marriage until after the big day, pointing out a decline in wedding night sex. A survey of 711 married adults showed that nearly half of those who were surveyed stated fatigue as the main reason for not making love on the big night.
Although, more than three quarters of those surveyed did make love on their wedding night, the reasons for those who didn't remain the same, with exhaustion topping the list of reasons at 37%, followed by drinking too much at 23%. Worryingly, 8% of 18 to 39 year olds didn't actually remember whether they had sex or not, although whether this is down to tiredness, alcoholism or both is unknown.
(Source: ANI)
Woman on TV, two years after 'dying'
A grieving husband suffered the greatest shock of his life when he saw his dead wife, whom he had buried two years back, appear on a popular TV show. Abragh Mohamed had even held a funeral for his beloved wife after he thought she was dead.
Mohamed was told by doctors at Casablanca Hospital, Morocco, that his wife had succumbed to the serious injuries she had suffered during the accident. But she turned up on a TV programme Al Mujtafun. Mohamed's wife called in then to request the host of the show to help her connect with her husband whom she has lost contract with. She gave the producers of the show his name, address and contact number.
Mohamed was told by doctors at Casablanca Hospital, Morocco, that his wife had succumbed to the serious injuries she had suffered during the accident. But she turned up on a TV programme Al Mujtafun. Mohamed's wife called in then to request the host of the show to help her connect with her husband whom she has lost contract with. She gave the producers of the show his name, address and contact number.
New way to decode lipstick stain to solve crimes
Scientists have developed a new method for lifting and analysing lipstick smears from surfaces at crime scenes, which may help forensic teams identify the brand of the cosmetic and narrow down on suspects.
For years, forensic scientists have applied various methods to remove lipstick samples from crime scenes and analyse their chemical constituents. Many current methods involve difficult or expensive steps such as a tedious lipstick removal process or examination of samples by Raman spectroscopy or X-ray diffraction. However, these methods require specialised equipment and training, which are in short supply in under-funded and over-worked forensics labs. Researchers at Western Illinois University in US began with an established method of lipstick sample extraction, but then eliminated unnecessary steps and improved upon the rest.
The final method is a two-part process. First they add an organic solvent to remove most of the oils and waxes, and then they add a basic organic solvent to extract the remaining residue.
"Right now we are just lifting samples off of paper, but in the future we are hoping to use different articles and media that could be found at a crime scene," said Brian Bellott. To avoid methods that involve complex training, the team investigated three types of chromatography - thin layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography (GC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). GC and HPLC methods rely on injecting a sample into a machine and reading the results on a computer, whereas TLC involves looking at samples on a special surface under UV light.
Different brands of lipsticks have unique compositions of organic molecules, which give distinct chromatography signals.
(Source: PTI, Washington)
Monday 14 March 2016
IS jihadis use the pill to keep raping sex slaves
Locked inside a room where the only furniture was a bed, the 16-year-old learned to fear the sunset, because nightfall started the countdown to her next rape.
During the year she was held by the Islamic State, she spent her days dreading the smell of the IS fighter's breath, the disgusting sounds he made and the pain he inflicted on her body . More than anything, she was tormented by the thought she might become pregnant with her rapist's child. It was the one thing she needn't have worried about. Soon after buying her, the fighter brought the teenage girl a round box containing four strips of pills, one of them colored red.
"Every day , I had to swallow one in front of him. He gave me one box per month. When I ran out, he replaced it. When I was sold from one man to another, the box of pills came with me," explained the girl, who learned only months later that she was being given birth control.
It is a particularly modern solution to a medieval injunction: According to an obscure ruling in Islamic law cited by the IS, a man must ensure that the woman he enslaves is free of child before having intercourse with her.
IS leaders have made sexual slavery as they believe it was practiced during the Prophet Muhammad's time integral to the group's operations, preying on the women and girls the group captured from the Yazidi religious minority almost two years ago. To keep the sex trade running, the fighters have aggressively pushed birth control on their victims so they can continue the abuse unabated while the women are passed among them.
More than three dozen Yazidi women who recently escaped the IS and who agreed to be interviewed for this article described the numerous methods the fighters used to avoid pregnancy , including oral and injectable contraception, and sometimes both. Some described how they knew they were about to be sold when they were driven to a hospital to give a urine sample to be tested for the hCG hormone, whose presence indicates pregnancy.
The rules have not been universally followed, with many women describing being assaulted by men who were either ignorant of the injunction or defiant of it. But over all, the methodical use of birth control during at least some of the women's captivity explains what doctors caring for recent escapees observed: Of the more than 700 Yazidi rape victims who have sought treatment so far at a UN-backed clinic in northern Iraq, just 5% became pregnant during their enslavement, according to Dr Nagham Nawzat, the gynecologist carrying out the examinations.
In its official publications, the IS has stated that it is legal for a man to rape the women he enslaves under just about any circumstance. Even sex with a child is permissible, according to a pamphlet published by the group. The injunction against raping a pregnant slave is functionally the only protection for the captured women. The IS cites centuries-old rulings stating that the owner of a female slave can have sex with her only after she has undergone 'istibra' - "the process of ensuring that the womb is empty," said Bernard Haykel, an expert on Islamic law. Most of the Sunni scholars who ruled on the issue argued that the requirement could be met by respecting a period of sexual abstinence whenever the captive changes hands, proposing a duration of at least one menstrual cycle, according to Brill's Encyclopedia of Islam.
(Source: NYT NEWS SERVICE, written by Rukmini Callimachi)
During the year she was held by the Islamic State, she spent her days dreading the smell of the IS fighter's breath, the disgusting sounds he made and the pain he inflicted on her body . More than anything, she was tormented by the thought she might become pregnant with her rapist's child. It was the one thing she needn't have worried about. Soon after buying her, the fighter brought the teenage girl a round box containing four strips of pills, one of them colored red.
"Every day , I had to swallow one in front of him. He gave me one box per month. When I ran out, he replaced it. When I was sold from one man to another, the box of pills came with me," explained the girl, who learned only months later that she was being given birth control.
It is a particularly modern solution to a medieval injunction: According to an obscure ruling in Islamic law cited by the IS, a man must ensure that the woman he enslaves is free of child before having intercourse with her.
IS leaders have made sexual slavery as they believe it was practiced during the Prophet Muhammad's time integral to the group's operations, preying on the women and girls the group captured from the Yazidi religious minority almost two years ago. To keep the sex trade running, the fighters have aggressively pushed birth control on their victims so they can continue the abuse unabated while the women are passed among them.
More than three dozen Yazidi women who recently escaped the IS and who agreed to be interviewed for this article described the numerous methods the fighters used to avoid pregnancy , including oral and injectable contraception, and sometimes both. Some described how they knew they were about to be sold when they were driven to a hospital to give a urine sample to be tested for the hCG hormone, whose presence indicates pregnancy.
The rules have not been universally followed, with many women describing being assaulted by men who were either ignorant of the injunction or defiant of it. But over all, the methodical use of birth control during at least some of the women's captivity explains what doctors caring for recent escapees observed: Of the more than 700 Yazidi rape victims who have sought treatment so far at a UN-backed clinic in northern Iraq, just 5% became pregnant during their enslavement, according to Dr Nagham Nawzat, the gynecologist carrying out the examinations.
In its official publications, the IS has stated that it is legal for a man to rape the women he enslaves under just about any circumstance. Even sex with a child is permissible, according to a pamphlet published by the group. The injunction against raping a pregnant slave is functionally the only protection for the captured women. The IS cites centuries-old rulings stating that the owner of a female slave can have sex with her only after she has undergone 'istibra' - "the process of ensuring that the womb is empty," said Bernard Haykel, an expert on Islamic law. Most of the Sunni scholars who ruled on the issue argued that the requirement could be met by respecting a period of sexual abstinence whenever the captive changes hands, proposing a duration of at least one menstrual cycle, according to Brill's Encyclopedia of Islam.
(Source: NYT NEWS SERVICE, written by Rukmini Callimachi)
Investors favour cos with women board members
Companies with women on heir executive and supervisory boards are valued more highly by the stock markets, especially if they made it to the top without a gender quota, a new study has found. Investors rate their performance as being bet er than that of their male peers, researchers said.
Economists from Technical University of Munich (TUM) and University of Hong Kong studied share price development of companies following he exit of top managers due to death or illness in a sample of around 50 countries. They looked at around 3,000 cases in 51 countries where no gender quota requirements were in place during the selected period (1998 to 2010).
The study shows that share prices ell by 2% on average following the sudden departure of a woman director. In cases where a woman was replaced by a man, there was an even bigger drop of 3%. Conversely, when the departing board member was a man, the share price remained steady . "Women who have reached the highest management level without the help of a mandatory gender quota therefore contribute more value to a firm than their male peers," said Daniel Urban, of Technical University of Munich.
The second part of the analysis shows that shareholders do not value women per se more highly. Rather, they evidently judge the actual performance delivered by a firm's executive and supervisory boards.
The researchers came to this conclusion by looking at the representation of women on the executive and supervisory boards of companies in the countries studied. The proportion was just 3% in Japan, 8% in US and 20% in the Philippines.
Economists from Technical University of Munich (TUM) and University of Hong Kong studied share price development of companies following he exit of top managers due to death or illness in a sample of around 50 countries. They looked at around 3,000 cases in 51 countries where no gender quota requirements were in place during the selected period (1998 to 2010).
The study shows that share prices ell by 2% on average following the sudden departure of a woman director. In cases where a woman was replaced by a man, there was an even bigger drop of 3%. Conversely, when the departing board member was a man, the share price remained steady . "Women who have reached the highest management level without the help of a mandatory gender quota therefore contribute more value to a firm than their male peers," said Daniel Urban, of Technical University of Munich.
The second part of the analysis shows that shareholders do not value women per se more highly. Rather, they evidently judge the actual performance delivered by a firm's executive and supervisory boards.
The researchers came to this conclusion by looking at the representation of women on the executive and supervisory boards of companies in the countries studied. The proportion was just 3% in Japan, 8% in US and 20% in the Philippines.
Sunday 13 March 2016
Woman on TV, two years after `dying'
A grieving husband suffered the greatest shock of his life when he saw his dead wife, whom he had buried two years back, appear on a popular TV show. Mohamed was told by doctors at Casablanca hospital, Morocco, that his wife had succumbed to the serious injuries she had suffered during the accident. She turned up on a TV programme Al Mujtafun. Mohamed's wife called in then to request the host of the show to help her connect with her husband whom she has lost contact with. She gave the producers of the show his name, address and contact number.
British women pay £147 to reach the Big O
A new fad, called orgasmic meditation, helps female clients improve sex lives with a little help from strangers.
File this away under wild and wacky. According to a UK tabloid, some women will go to great lengths to improve their sex lives. A new trend suggests that many are paying strangers to touch their private parts and provide sexual stimulation.
The trend, which has been labelled 'orgasmic meditation', involves group masturbation classes. The classes are about "a larger state of consciousness, improving intimacy in relationships and generally increasing your orgasm skills". Orgasmic meditation has been growing in popularity since it was founded in 2001. There are more than 10,000 practitioners all over the world and 2,000 in the UK alone. The sessions attract couples ranging anywhere between 20-year-olds and 80-year-olds.
Orgasmic meditation was founded by Nicole Daedone and her San Francisco-based organisation OneTaste.
Daedone once said: "The female orgasm is vital for every woman on the planet." Each session costs £147.
Monday 29 February 2016
Lee Road rechristened Satyajit Ray Dharani inspired by a political honcho
I am suffering from acute bouts of indigestion and dehydration from the continuous overdose of culture and creativity being inspired and exhaled by the one and only greatest gift of God to present day Bengali mankind.
Lee Road in Kolkata becomes Satyajit Ray Sarani and in less than 2 minutes after the announcement it was rechristened 'Satyajit Ray Dharani' after some impromptu inspiration on 2016-02-29!
#HowIndiaTravels
#UnmarketingWestBengal
#BengalDoomed
#BengalisShamed
Tuesday 16 February 2016
Thursday 21 January 2016
Man run over twice by trains, gets no help
A 39-year-old civic employee lay helplessly on railway tracks at Halisahar station in West Bengal after a train severed both his legs on Monday (2016-01-18) morning. Hundreds, including GRP and RPF personnel and commuters watched, yet no one raised a finger to help. After 20 minutes, another train crushed him to death.
“If the authorities had blocked train movement for a few minutes, he could have been rescued,“ said a witness. The railways denied any laxity and insisted that the victim, Laltu Pal, had died on the spot as soon as he was hit by the first train. But witnesses say he was trying to get away from the second train and managed to raise himself to a sitting position before he was run over.
Locals blocked the tracks for over three hours alleging callousness by railway authorities.
Laltu was walking on the tracks to reach platform 2 at 8.30am and did not notice the down Shantipur local headed towards him. “The passengers shouted out, but it was drowned by another train rolling into platform 3. He tried to jump away but his legs were severed,“ said Dipak Das, a tea stall owner.
A commuter ran to inform the stationmaster. Some locals said that a few commuters from platform 3 tried to reach him but were afraid of being run over by another train.
“After being informed, railway police recovered his body from the tracks and sent it for post-mortem,“ the official said.
Source: The Times of India, Kolkata dated 2016-01-19)
“If the authorities had blocked train movement for a few minutes, he could have been rescued,“ said a witness. The railways denied any laxity and insisted that the victim, Laltu Pal, had died on the spot as soon as he was hit by the first train. But witnesses say he was trying to get away from the second train and managed to raise himself to a sitting position before he was run over.
Locals blocked the tracks for over three hours alleging callousness by railway authorities.
Laltu was walking on the tracks to reach platform 2 at 8.30am and did not notice the down Shantipur local headed towards him. “The passengers shouted out, but it was drowned by another train rolling into platform 3. He tried to jump away but his legs were severed,“ said Dipak Das, a tea stall owner.
A commuter ran to inform the stationmaster. Some locals said that a few commuters from platform 3 tried to reach him but were afraid of being run over by another train.
“After being informed, railway police recovered his body from the tracks and sent it for post-mortem,“ the official said.
Source: The Times of India, Kolkata dated 2016-01-19)
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