Beer Wars Spill Over to Carnival Sambadrome
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - In the swelter of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival nights, cold beer is relief and fuel for many revelers. But for Brazilian breweries it is the marketing opportunity of the year.
Hospitality lounges where competing breweries invite droves of celebrities and socialites to watch dazzling parades by samba troupes in the Sambadrome avenue are the center of their campaigns -- known as "beer wars."
The more celebrities and media attention drawn to the lounge, or "camarote," the better for the companies' image.
It is not just local and foreign film stars or football deities that count but also the lavishness of the interior designs and the various services laid on, including catering by famous chefs and even massages.
Brahma, one of Brazil's best known brands, lured supermodel Gisele Bundchen and actors from the Oscar-nominated movie "City of God" to its camarote last year, winning pages of photos in Brazil's avidly read gossip magazines.
This year rival Schincariol has lined up Luiza Brunet, a stunning brunette model and actress who won a standing ovation at last year's Carnival parade for her looks and dancing, as well as model Ellen Jabour and her boyfriend actor Rodrigo Santoro.
For good measure, Australian chiropractor Jason Gilbert, whose clients include Nicole Kidman, will be on stand-by to fix party-goers' bones when they are tired of dancing.
The Rio Carnival begins on Friday and reaches a peak when the top samba schools parade on Sunday and Monday nights.
Schincariol's marketing director Luiz Claudio Taya said the importance of the Carnival-time campaign was "like a Santa with presents" for beverage companies in terms of business development.
The two major players in the Rio Carnival beer wars are AmBev, which owns Brahma, and the family-owned Schincariol, Ambev's much smaller but active rival in Latin America's largest country.
Ambev was acquired last year by Belgium's InBev which thus became the world's biggest brewer. Brahma alone accounts for nearly 20 percent of all beer sales in Brazil.
AmBev's market share, including its top-selling Skol brand as well as Antarctica beer, is 68 percent. Schincariol estimates it sells over 16 percent of all beer in Brazil under its Nova Schin brand.
"We seek to boost consumer loyalty through the camarote. People like to see famous people coming here in the media, they like to see the company's festive activities," said Carlos Lisboa, AmBev's marketing director.
Brahma's extensive guest list this year includes British "big beat" musician Fatboy Slim and Gisele. All guests have to wear the camarote's T-shirts. In 2001, Brahma refused entry to Arnold Schwarzenegger who declined to wear its garment.
Brahma founded the camarote tradition 15 years ago as its old brewery actually makes part of the Sambadrome complex. It is now used as an entertainment venue for over 1,000 people.
Schincariol's two lounges can host 600 revelers, but it has innovated this year by removing spectator seats in front of its camarote so that its guests can have a better view of the parades and more space to dance in full view of TV cameras.
In an apparent tongue-in-cheek reference to AmBev's acquisition by the Belgians, Schincariol's camarote theme is extremely nationalistic, underlining that it is a 100 percent Brazilian-owned company catering for the domestic market.
In its patriotic drive, the company went as far as saying it wouldn't mind having foreign celebrities in its camarote, but all it really cares about are its Brazilian guests.
Brahma said the acquisition did not mean AmBev would lose its Brazilian roots and as a token of that fielded its own samba troupe with feather-adorned, skimpily-dressed dancers.
TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES
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AussieMark
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AussieMark
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Radar Police Stumped by Parking Ticket
BERLIN (Reuters) - An over-zealous policeman slapped a parking ticket on the windshield of a fellow officer's squad car while his colleagues were setting a radar trap to catch speeding motorists in a town in eastern Germany.
"Traffic regulations apply for everyone," Hans-Joachim Schneider, head of the Jessen town office, told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
The radar police had parked their squad car on the wrong side of the road -- facing the oncoming traffic.
BERLIN (Reuters) - An over-zealous policeman slapped a parking ticket on the windshield of a fellow officer's squad car while his colleagues were setting a radar trap to catch speeding motorists in a town in eastern Germany.
"Traffic regulations apply for everyone," Hans-Joachim Schneider, head of the Jessen town office, told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
The radar police had parked their squad car on the wrong side of the road -- facing the oncoming traffic.
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AussieMark
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Cost Trumps Patriotism in Flag Pin Flap
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The next time a Canadian official hands you a lapel pin bearing an image of the country's maple leaf flag, take a closer look. That symbol of patriotism was likely made in China.
Opposition legislator Charlie Angus attacked the Liberal government on Wednesday for ordering millions of "inferior quality" pins from a Chinese supplier rather than the Canadian factory that has been making them for 35 years.
"They are selling off our cultural heritage like a bunch of roadside hucksters selling off hubcaps and velvet Elvis paintings," Angus told Parliament.
Public Works Minister Scott Brison, whose department buys the pins, said the Chinese pins were cheaper. But this did not satisfy Angus, a member of the left-leaning New Democrats.
"We're outsourcing the fundamental symbol of what Canada is to a foreign country. I think that's a scandal," he told reporters. Canadian officials and members of Parliament traditionally hand out the pins as presents.
Transport Minister Jean Lapierre said that to demand maple leaf pins be made by Canadian suppliers was bad policy for a country so dependent on international trade.
"I think we need to follow our procurement rules rather than falling into an existential crisis on this subject," he told reporters.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The next time a Canadian official hands you a lapel pin bearing an image of the country's maple leaf flag, take a closer look. That symbol of patriotism was likely made in China.
Opposition legislator Charlie Angus attacked the Liberal government on Wednesday for ordering millions of "inferior quality" pins from a Chinese supplier rather than the Canadian factory that has been making them for 35 years.
"They are selling off our cultural heritage like a bunch of roadside hucksters selling off hubcaps and velvet Elvis paintings," Angus told Parliament.
Public Works Minister Scott Brison, whose department buys the pins, said the Chinese pins were cheaper. But this did not satisfy Angus, a member of the left-leaning New Democrats.
"We're outsourcing the fundamental symbol of what Canada is to a foreign country. I think that's a scandal," he told reporters. Canadian officials and members of Parliament traditionally hand out the pins as presents.
Transport Minister Jean Lapierre said that to demand maple leaf pins be made by Canadian suppliers was bad policy for a country so dependent on international trade.
"I think we need to follow our procurement rules rather than falling into an existential crisis on this subject," he told reporters.
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AussieMark
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Complaints Force Hitler Photo from Auction
LONDON (Reuters) - A signed photo of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was withdrawn from an auction in Britain after complaints of insensitivity from a Jewish group, the auctioneer said Wednesday.
The local Jewish group objected to the timing of the sale, coming only days after world leaders had gathered at Auschwitz on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp to remember the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
"It's very much an exception withdrawing them. These documents are important historical records," said Richard Westwood-Brookes, historical documents expert at the auctioneers Mullock Madeley in Shropshire, western England.
"I'm not a Nazi sympathizer. Quite the opposite, like many others my father fought against the Nazis," he told Reuters.
The 1940s postcard portrait of Hitler and a signed biography, entitled "Adolf Hitler: His Life so Far" and written in 1932, will still be available for sale privately, Westwood-Brookes added.
He valued the items at between 650 and 1,000 pounds each. ($1,230 to $1,850).
LONDON (Reuters) - A signed photo of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was withdrawn from an auction in Britain after complaints of insensitivity from a Jewish group, the auctioneer said Wednesday.
The local Jewish group objected to the timing of the sale, coming only days after world leaders had gathered at Auschwitz on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp to remember the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
"It's very much an exception withdrawing them. These documents are important historical records," said Richard Westwood-Brookes, historical documents expert at the auctioneers Mullock Madeley in Shropshire, western England.
"I'm not a Nazi sympathizer. Quite the opposite, like many others my father fought against the Nazis," he told Reuters.
The 1940s postcard portrait of Hitler and a signed biography, entitled "Adolf Hitler: His Life so Far" and written in 1932, will still be available for sale privately, Westwood-Brookes added.
He valued the items at between 650 and 1,000 pounds each. ($1,230 to $1,850).
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AussieMark
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Hot Times at the Old Firehouse...
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Fire officials were as red as their fire trucks Thursday after announcing that five firemen were disciplined for inviting strippers to the fire station for a nude and topless photo session. The women, identified only as Jamie and Heather, posed with a fire truck at a city fire station in Tampa in October. They were naked in some photos and wore only high heels, firefighters' pants and suspenders in others. Dozens of the pictures were posted on the Internet.
The firefighters were charged with neglect of duty, moral turpitude and insubordination.
One of the men, a captain, was fired. The other four were suspended for two weeks to a month and will lose up to $5,000 in pay. One of them had a part-time job at a strip club where the women danced.
Fire Chief Dennis Jones said he was embarrassed by the firemen's actions but that "they didn't miss any calls."
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Fire officials were as red as their fire trucks Thursday after announcing that five firemen were disciplined for inviting strippers to the fire station for a nude and topless photo session. The women, identified only as Jamie and Heather, posed with a fire truck at a city fire station in Tampa in October. They were naked in some photos and wore only high heels, firefighters' pants and suspenders in others. Dozens of the pictures were posted on the Internet.
The firefighters were charged with neglect of duty, moral turpitude and insubordination.
One of the men, a captain, was fired. The other four were suspended for two weeks to a month and will lose up to $5,000 in pay. One of them had a part-time job at a strip club where the women danced.
Fire Chief Dennis Jones said he was embarrassed by the firemen's actions but that "they didn't miss any calls."
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AussieMark
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Bush to Seek Local Government Grant Fund Cuts
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush will propose a 4.5 percent spending reduction in all economic and community development programs, but ask Congress to make much deeper cuts to some grant programs tapped by local governments, two cabinet secretaries said on Thursday.
Bush will propose the consolidation of 18 grant programs, including the popular Community Development Block Grant program used by U.S. cities throughout the United States.
Those 18 programs would be mashed together into a new grant program with total funding of $3.71 billion.
That would be a far cry from current year funding for those programs, said congressional aides who pegged Bush's proposed community and economic development grant cuts closer to 40 percent. Funding this year totaled $4.7 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program alone, for example.
"This is an all-out assault on the community development program in an effort to cover up the budget crisis that they have created with the war and tax cuts for the rich," Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Reuters.
"George Bush's 'ownership society' is clearly only for the rich," he said.
Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, said Bush will request $15.5 billion in fiscal 2006 funds for all community and economic development programs that provide grants, loans and tax incentives, down from $16.2 billion this year.
The $3.71 billion for the grant programs pegged for consolidation would come out of that $15.5 billion total.
Senior Bush administration officials familiar with the plan said consolidation is aimed at focusing funds at the neediest communities to help them become "self-sufficient" and break their reliance on "perpetual federal government assistance."
The National League of Cities and other groups representing local governments said they were worried about the plan's impact on funding available to cities, especially funds that now come from the Community Development Block Grant program.
"We're concerned about the administration's statement that many communities no longer need assistance," said Jon Heroux, senior legislative counsel with the National League of Cities.
"This is a program that's meant to build upon the future. Human problems don't go away," he said.
Senior Bush administration officials said the 18 programs targeted lack accountability and cannot sufficiently demonstrate a measurable impact on economic development.
Some of the communities that receive grant funding may not need the money, they said, noting that 38 percent of the Community Development Block Grant funding goes to states and communities with less poverty than the national average.
NEW COMMERCE PROGRAM
The Community Development Block Grant, along with the 17 other programs in Bush's consolidation plan, would be moved from various federal agencies to a new division at the Commerce Department.
They would lose their individual identities and become part of one new program that would include two parts. The lion's share of the funding would be dedicated to a formula-based grant program for cities that meet eligibility criteria based on job loss, unemployment levels and poverty.
A smaller portion of the funding under the plan would be distributed to "development-ready" communities.
Communities show they are ready for development by meeting goals outlined under Bush's No Child Left Behind education reform, reducing regulatory barriers to business creation and housing development, and reducing violent crime rates.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush will propose a 4.5 percent spending reduction in all economic and community development programs, but ask Congress to make much deeper cuts to some grant programs tapped by local governments, two cabinet secretaries said on Thursday.
Bush will propose the consolidation of 18 grant programs, including the popular Community Development Block Grant program used by U.S. cities throughout the United States.
Those 18 programs would be mashed together into a new grant program with total funding of $3.71 billion.
That would be a far cry from current year funding for those programs, said congressional aides who pegged Bush's proposed community and economic development grant cuts closer to 40 percent. Funding this year totaled $4.7 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program alone, for example.
"This is an all-out assault on the community development program in an effort to cover up the budget crisis that they have created with the war and tax cuts for the rich," Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Reuters.
"George Bush's 'ownership society' is clearly only for the rich," he said.
Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, said Bush will request $15.5 billion in fiscal 2006 funds for all community and economic development programs that provide grants, loans and tax incentives, down from $16.2 billion this year.
The $3.71 billion for the grant programs pegged for consolidation would come out of that $15.5 billion total.
Senior Bush administration officials familiar with the plan said consolidation is aimed at focusing funds at the neediest communities to help them become "self-sufficient" and break their reliance on "perpetual federal government assistance."
The National League of Cities and other groups representing local governments said they were worried about the plan's impact on funding available to cities, especially funds that now come from the Community Development Block Grant program.
"We're concerned about the administration's statement that many communities no longer need assistance," said Jon Heroux, senior legislative counsel with the National League of Cities.
"This is a program that's meant to build upon the future. Human problems don't go away," he said.
Senior Bush administration officials said the 18 programs targeted lack accountability and cannot sufficiently demonstrate a measurable impact on economic development.
Some of the communities that receive grant funding may not need the money, they said, noting that 38 percent of the Community Development Block Grant funding goes to states and communities with less poverty than the national average.
NEW COMMERCE PROGRAM
The Community Development Block Grant, along with the 17 other programs in Bush's consolidation plan, would be moved from various federal agencies to a new division at the Commerce Department.
They would lose their individual identities and become part of one new program that would include two parts. The lion's share of the funding would be dedicated to a formula-based grant program for cities that meet eligibility criteria based on job loss, unemployment levels and poverty.
A smaller portion of the funding under the plan would be distributed to "development-ready" communities.
Communities show they are ready for development by meeting goals outlined under Bush's No Child Left Behind education reform, reducing regulatory barriers to business creation and housing development, and reducing violent crime rates.
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AussieMark
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So Cute! Spot's Going After Junior's Backpack!
TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian couple has launched a business offering worried parents or concerned employers private drug-detection services that will search homes and offices for everything from marijuana to heroin.
Russ Rathy of Pense, Saskatchewan, started the home-based business, Crusader Resources, along with his wife, after buying a young German shepherd trained to sniff out drugs.
The dog, named Alis Vicona, cost C$20,000 ($16,000) and can detect drugs or the residue of drugs in buildings or on clothing, even after 30 days.
"If you suspect your kids of drug use, this is one way to make sure there's no drugs in the house," Russ Rathy, 39, told Reuters from his home near the western province's capital of Regina.
"Obviously it gives you a little more leeway rather than waiting for them to become an addict and put them in rehabilitation -- or being picked up by the police and now they have a criminal record and their future is pretty much shot with that."
Once the dog detects drugs, Rathy said it is up to the client to decide what the consequences should be.
"Whether they contact police or flush it down the toilet, it's left up to them," he said. "We'll obviously make recommendations to call authorities."
Rathy, who says they started the business more out of parental concerns than a bid to make money, charges only C$20 ($16) for the search of a private home or vehicle.
For businesses it costs a bit more, depending on the frequency of searches and the length of the contract.
He uses a portion of the business income to fund free drug awareness presentations at schools and non-profit organizations.
TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian couple has launched a business offering worried parents or concerned employers private drug-detection services that will search homes and offices for everything from marijuana to heroin.
Russ Rathy of Pense, Saskatchewan, started the home-based business, Crusader Resources, along with his wife, after buying a young German shepherd trained to sniff out drugs.
The dog, named Alis Vicona, cost C$20,000 ($16,000) and can detect drugs or the residue of drugs in buildings or on clothing, even after 30 days.
"If you suspect your kids of drug use, this is one way to make sure there's no drugs in the house," Russ Rathy, 39, told Reuters from his home near the western province's capital of Regina.
"Obviously it gives you a little more leeway rather than waiting for them to become an addict and put them in rehabilitation -- or being picked up by the police and now they have a criminal record and their future is pretty much shot with that."
Once the dog detects drugs, Rathy said it is up to the client to decide what the consequences should be.
"Whether they contact police or flush it down the toilet, it's left up to them," he said. "We'll obviously make recommendations to call authorities."
Rathy, who says they started the business more out of parental concerns than a bid to make money, charges only C$20 ($16) for the search of a private home or vehicle.
For businesses it costs a bit more, depending on the frequency of searches and the length of the contract.
He uses a portion of the business income to fund free drug awareness presentations at schools and non-profit organizations.
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TexasStooge
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tropicalweatherwatcher wrote:Hot Times at the Old Firehouse...
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Fire officials were as red as their fire trucks Thursday after announcing that five firemen were disciplined for inviting strippers to the fire station for a nude and topless photo session. The women, identified only as Jamie and Heather, posed with a fire truck at a city fire station in Tampa in October. They were naked in some photos and wore only high heels, firefighters' pants and suspenders in others. Dozens of the pictures were posted on the Internet.
The firefighters were charged with neglect of duty, moral turpitude and insubordination.
One of the men, a captain, was fired. The other four were suspended for two weeks to a month and will lose up to $5,000 in pay. One of them had a part-time job at a strip club where the women danced.
Fire Chief Dennis Jones said he was embarrassed by the firemen's actions but that "they didn't miss any calls."
And I thought I heard stories about crooked officers in my vincinity.
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AussieMark
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Where in the World Is Condoleezza Rice?
LONDON (Reuters) - With Americans suffering a reputation as geographically challenged, Condoleezza Rice handed out pocket atlases to the U.S. press corps on her first trip abroad as Secretary of State.
"I would not want anybody to feel lost" the former university provost quipped as she handed out 18 copies of the books on her plane.
Americans are often mocked abroad for their perceived lack of knowledge of the outside world -- surveys sometimes show U.S. kids cannot even locate neighbors Canada and Mexico. The souvenir for journalists of her inaugural eight-day, 10-stop trip to Europe and the Middle East was also Rice's way of showing she will travel widely to fulfil her pledge that "the time for diplomacy is now."
Her predecessor Colin Powell was criticized for traveling too little when some more face-to-face diplomacy might have helped win over allies to radical U.S. policies.
Asked by reporters whether the presents were a portent of heavy travel schedules for the new top U.S. diplomat, Rice smiled and replied: "You will see."
LONDON (Reuters) - With Americans suffering a reputation as geographically challenged, Condoleezza Rice handed out pocket atlases to the U.S. press corps on her first trip abroad as Secretary of State.
"I would not want anybody to feel lost" the former university provost quipped as she handed out 18 copies of the books on her plane.
Americans are often mocked abroad for their perceived lack of knowledge of the outside world -- surveys sometimes show U.S. kids cannot even locate neighbors Canada and Mexico. The souvenir for journalists of her inaugural eight-day, 10-stop trip to Europe and the Middle East was also Rice's way of showing she will travel widely to fulfil her pledge that "the time for diplomacy is now."
Her predecessor Colin Powell was criticized for traveling too little when some more face-to-face diplomacy might have helped win over allies to radical U.S. policies.
Asked by reporters whether the presents were a portent of heavy travel schedules for the new top U.S. diplomat, Rice smiled and replied: "You will see."
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AussieMark
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Men Live with Father's Remains for 20 Years
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) - Two Malaysian men hid the body of their father under a mattress in their home and lived with the remains for 20 years because they could not afford a funeral.
Police said Friday they had recovered the skeletal remains of Lee Ying Fook, who died in his 60s, from a dilapidated house in the northern state of Perak.
"The two men are poor and are not well-educated," a police spokesman said. "They didn't know what to do with the body and they hid it under the mattress."
A friend of the brothers discovered the remains while on a visit to their home, and made arrangements for a proper funeral. But the undertaker refused and called the police.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) - Two Malaysian men hid the body of their father under a mattress in their home and lived with the remains for 20 years because they could not afford a funeral.
Police said Friday they had recovered the skeletal remains of Lee Ying Fook, who died in his 60s, from a dilapidated house in the northern state of Perak.
"The two men are poor and are not well-educated," a police spokesman said. "They didn't know what to do with the body and they hid it under the mattress."
A friend of the brothers discovered the remains while on a visit to their home, and made arrangements for a proper funeral. But the undertaker refused and called the police.
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AussieMark
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School Halts Adopt a Sniper Fund-Raiser
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A U.S. university in Wisconsin has blocked an attempt by Republican students to raise money for a group called "Adopt a Sniper" that raises money for U.S. sharp-shooters in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The students were selling bracelets bearing the motto "1 Shot 1 Kill No Remorse I Decide."
"Clearly the rhetoric of that organization raised some questions and we had some strong objections as a Jesuit university," Marquette University school spokeswoman Brigid O'Brien said on Thursday.
The students, representing a group called College Republicans, originally got permission to set up a table at the student union to raise money for U.S. troops in Iraq.
But they chose to promote a group called Adopt a Sniper, which says on its Web site it supports snipers deployed by the United States armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group says it "helps real snipers get the real gear they need to help keep us safe."
The brainchild of a Texas police SWAT officer Adopt a Sniper (http://www.adoptasniper.org) has raised thousands of dollars in cash and gear to supplement the kit of sharp shooters in U.S. combat platoons.
Among products sold on the site is a $15 coin with the imprinted phrase "Assistance From A Distance."
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A U.S. university in Wisconsin has blocked an attempt by Republican students to raise money for a group called "Adopt a Sniper" that raises money for U.S. sharp-shooters in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The students were selling bracelets bearing the motto "1 Shot 1 Kill No Remorse I Decide."
"Clearly the rhetoric of that organization raised some questions and we had some strong objections as a Jesuit university," Marquette University school spokeswoman Brigid O'Brien said on Thursday.
The students, representing a group called College Republicans, originally got permission to set up a table at the student union to raise money for U.S. troops in Iraq.
But they chose to promote a group called Adopt a Sniper, which says on its Web site it supports snipers deployed by the United States armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group says it "helps real snipers get the real gear they need to help keep us safe."
The brainchild of a Texas police SWAT officer Adopt a Sniper (http://www.adoptasniper.org) has raised thousands of dollars in cash and gear to supplement the kit of sharp shooters in U.S. combat platoons.
Among products sold on the site is a $15 coin with the imprinted phrase "Assistance From A Distance."
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AussieMark
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Clowns Offer to Raise Ailing Pope's Spirits
ROME (Reuters) - Pope John Paul may have the best medical care at Rome's Gemelli hospital, but there are some who think a red nose or two may cheer up the ailing Pontiff.
Hospital clowns Dr Little Cake and Dr White Cabbage told reporters they wanted to take some time out from their usual work on the children's wards and try their jokes on the Pope.
"We want to go and see him, if he'll have us," said one of the clowns, wearing a plastic red nose and a white laboratory coat decorated in colorful cartoon characters.
"After all it's our job to bring a smile wherever there is suffering," she added.
The two clowns were on their morning rounds in the Gemelli Friday when they were mobbed by journalists camped out at the hospital awaiting word of the Pontiff's health.
Soaking up the attention, Dr White Cabbage declared confidently that it was only a matter of time before they got a papal audience. "You can go everywhere with a red nose," he said, flipping up his joke tie for the cameras.
ROME (Reuters) - Pope John Paul may have the best medical care at Rome's Gemelli hospital, but there are some who think a red nose or two may cheer up the ailing Pontiff.
Hospital clowns Dr Little Cake and Dr White Cabbage told reporters they wanted to take some time out from their usual work on the children's wards and try their jokes on the Pope.
"We want to go and see him, if he'll have us," said one of the clowns, wearing a plastic red nose and a white laboratory coat decorated in colorful cartoon characters.
"After all it's our job to bring a smile wherever there is suffering," she added.
The two clowns were on their morning rounds in the Gemelli Friday when they were mobbed by journalists camped out at the hospital awaiting word of the Pontiff's health.
Soaking up the attention, Dr White Cabbage declared confidently that it was only a matter of time before they got a papal audience. "You can go everywhere with a red nose," he said, flipping up his joke tie for the cameras.
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AussieMark
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Man Who Shot Pope Wishes Him Swift Recovery -Paper
ANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish gunman who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul in 1981 has sent a letter wishing the ailing Pontiff a quick recovery, the Vatan daily said Friday.
The 84-year-old Roman Catholic leader is recovering in Rome's Gemelli hospital after suffering Tuesday night of a momentary blockage to his breathing.
Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot the Pope during a general audience in St Peter's Square on May 13, 1981, wrote his letter in Italian from the Istanbul jail where he is serving a sentence for killing a Turkish journalist and for robbery.
"You and I, we have both suffered in trying to spread religion around the world. I hope you regain your health in the near future," Vatan quoted Agca, a Muslim, as writing.
"We are approaching the end of the world. This generation is the last generation. I hope God grants you strength and health," it said.
Agca served 19 years in an Italian prison for his attempt on the Pope's life. Authorities pardoned him in 2000 and returned him to his native Turkey, where he was jailed for the other crimes.
Agca alleged Bulgaria's communist-era secret services commissioned him to kill the Pope on the orders of the Soviet KGB, who feared the Polish-born Pontiff would stir anti-communist revolt in Eastern Europe.
On a visit to Sofia in 2002, Pope John Paul cleared Bulgaria of any link in the attempt to assassinate him.
The shooting nearly killed the Pope and marked the start of his slow decline in health, though he publicly forgave Agca for his crime.
ANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish gunman who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul in 1981 has sent a letter wishing the ailing Pontiff a quick recovery, the Vatan daily said Friday.
The 84-year-old Roman Catholic leader is recovering in Rome's Gemelli hospital after suffering Tuesday night of a momentary blockage to his breathing.
Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot the Pope during a general audience in St Peter's Square on May 13, 1981, wrote his letter in Italian from the Istanbul jail where he is serving a sentence for killing a Turkish journalist and for robbery.
"You and I, we have both suffered in trying to spread religion around the world. I hope you regain your health in the near future," Vatan quoted Agca, a Muslim, as writing.
"We are approaching the end of the world. This generation is the last generation. I hope God grants you strength and health," it said.
Agca served 19 years in an Italian prison for his attempt on the Pope's life. Authorities pardoned him in 2000 and returned him to his native Turkey, where he was jailed for the other crimes.
Agca alleged Bulgaria's communist-era secret services commissioned him to kill the Pope on the orders of the Soviet KGB, who feared the Polish-born Pontiff would stir anti-communist revolt in Eastern Europe.
On a visit to Sofia in 2002, Pope John Paul cleared Bulgaria of any link in the attempt to assassinate him.
The shooting nearly killed the Pope and marked the start of his slow decline in health, though he publicly forgave Agca for his crime.
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AussieMark
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Education Chief: Strike Is a 5-Letter Word
TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario Education Minister Gerard Kennedy got low marks for spelling and math this week when discussing the possibility of a strike by the Canadian province's teachers.
"I think strike is a bit of a five-letter word in education and that gets people nervous," Kennedy said on Wednesday, according to media reports.
After it was pointed out that the word strike has six letters, Kennedy, a member of the Liberal Party, said that he meant to say something else all together. "Pardon me, I was going to say four, but it really is a tough word in education. Thank you -- show off!"
Critics were quick to call the gaffe a "Dan Quayle moment," in reference to the former U.S. vice-president, who famously made a schoolboy add an unnecessary "e" to the end of the boy's correctly spelled "potato."
"But then again, at least no one put Dan Quayle in charge of educating over a million schoolchildren," said legislator John Baird, of the opposition Conservative Party.
TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario Education Minister Gerard Kennedy got low marks for spelling and math this week when discussing the possibility of a strike by the Canadian province's teachers.
"I think strike is a bit of a five-letter word in education and that gets people nervous," Kennedy said on Wednesday, according to media reports.
After it was pointed out that the word strike has six letters, Kennedy, a member of the Liberal Party, said that he meant to say something else all together. "Pardon me, I was going to say four, but it really is a tough word in education. Thank you -- show off!"
Critics were quick to call the gaffe a "Dan Quayle moment," in reference to the former U.S. vice-president, who famously made a schoolboy add an unnecessary "e" to the end of the boy's correctly spelled "potato."
"But then again, at least no one put Dan Quayle in charge of educating over a million schoolchildren," said legislator John Baird, of the opposition Conservative Party.
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AussieMark
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Colorado Teens Fined for Giving Cookies to Neighbor
DURANGO, Colo. (Reuters) - A Colorado judge ordered two teen-age girls to pay about $900 for the distress a neighbor said they caused by giving her home-made cookies adorned with paper hearts.
The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbor Wanita Renea Young, 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.
Taylor Ostergaard, then 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitte, 18, paid the judgment on Thursday after a small claims court ruling by La Plata County Court Judge Doug Walker, a court clerk said on Friday.
The girls baked cookies as a surprise for several of their rural Colorado neighbors on July 31 and dropped off small batches on their porches, accompanied by red or pink paper hearts and the message: "Have a great night."
The Denver Post newspaper reported on Friday that the girls had decided to stay home and bake the cookies rather than go to a dance where there might be cursing and drinking.
It reported that six neighbors wrote letters entered as evidence in the case thanking the girls for the cookies.
But Young said she was frightened because the two had knocked on her door at about 10:30 p.m. and run off after leaving the cookies.
She went to a hospital emergency room the next day, fearing that she had suffered a heart attack, court records said.
The judge awarded Young her medical costs, but did not award punitive damages. He said he did not think the girls had acted maliciously but that 10:30 was fairly late at night for them to be out.
DURANGO, Colo. (Reuters) - A Colorado judge ordered two teen-age girls to pay about $900 for the distress a neighbor said they caused by giving her home-made cookies adorned with paper hearts.
The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbor Wanita Renea Young, 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.
Taylor Ostergaard, then 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitte, 18, paid the judgment on Thursday after a small claims court ruling by La Plata County Court Judge Doug Walker, a court clerk said on Friday.
The girls baked cookies as a surprise for several of their rural Colorado neighbors on July 31 and dropped off small batches on their porches, accompanied by red or pink paper hearts and the message: "Have a great night."
The Denver Post newspaper reported on Friday that the girls had decided to stay home and bake the cookies rather than go to a dance where there might be cursing and drinking.
It reported that six neighbors wrote letters entered as evidence in the case thanking the girls for the cookies.
But Young said she was frightened because the two had knocked on her door at about 10:30 p.m. and run off after leaving the cookies.
She went to a hospital emergency room the next day, fearing that she had suffered a heart attack, court records said.
The judge awarded Young her medical costs, but did not award punitive damages. He said he did not think the girls had acted maliciously but that 10:30 was fairly late at night for them to be out.
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AussieMark
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Worms on a Hook Don't Suffer?
OSLO (Reuters) - Worms squirming on a fishhook feel no pain -- nor do lobsters and crabs cooked in boiling water, a scientific study funded by the Norwegian government has found.
"The common earthworm has a very simple nervous system -- it can be cut in two and continue with its business," Professor Wenche Farstad, who chaired the panel that drew up the report, said Monday.
Norway might have considered banning the use of live worms as fish bait if the study had found they felt pain, but Farstad said "It seems to be only reflex curling when put on the hook ... They might sense something, but it is not painful and does not compromise their well-being."
The government called for the study on pain, discomfort and stress in invertebrates to help in the planned revision of Norway's animal protection law. Invertebrates cover a range of creatures from insects and spiders to mollusks and crustaceans.
Farstad said most invertebrates, including lobsters and crabs boiled alive, do not feel pain because, unlike mammals, they do not have a big brain to read the signals.
Some more advanced kinds of insects, such as honeybees which display social behavior and a capacity to learn and cooperate, deserve special care, she said.
"We have particular responsibility for animals that we have in our custody. That is not a scientific opinion, but the ethical side of the issue," Farstad said.
OSLO (Reuters) - Worms squirming on a fishhook feel no pain -- nor do lobsters and crabs cooked in boiling water, a scientific study funded by the Norwegian government has found.
"The common earthworm has a very simple nervous system -- it can be cut in two and continue with its business," Professor Wenche Farstad, who chaired the panel that drew up the report, said Monday.
Norway might have considered banning the use of live worms as fish bait if the study had found they felt pain, but Farstad said "It seems to be only reflex curling when put on the hook ... They might sense something, but it is not painful and does not compromise their well-being."
The government called for the study on pain, discomfort and stress in invertebrates to help in the planned revision of Norway's animal protection law. Invertebrates cover a range of creatures from insects and spiders to mollusks and crustaceans.
Farstad said most invertebrates, including lobsters and crabs boiled alive, do not feel pain because, unlike mammals, they do not have a big brain to read the signals.
Some more advanced kinds of insects, such as honeybees which display social behavior and a capacity to learn and cooperate, deserve special care, she said.
"We have particular responsibility for animals that we have in our custody. That is not a scientific opinion, but the ethical side of the issue," Farstad said.
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AussieMark
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U.S. Guards Threw Mudwrestling Party Prison Camp?
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. military police threw a mudwrestling party at a prison camp in Iraq and a woman who took part has been found guilty of indecent exposure and demoted, the U.S. military said Monday.
At least three female guards stripped to their underwear and wrestled each other in a paddling pool full of mud in the grounds of Camp Bucca, the biggest U.S. camp for detainees in Iraq, Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said.
Several guards who watched the wrestling have been reprimanded for failing to intervene.
The party took place on Oct. 30 last year, when one U.S. military police battalion, the 160th, was about to hand over responsibility to another, the 105th.
Officers from both battalions were involved and photographs were taken. A prison guard found the photos sometime later and handed them over to the camp's commanders.
"It does not appear that alcohol was involved and there is no evidence to support suggestions of any type of sexual misconduct," Johnson told Reuters.
"Detainees were nowhere in the vicinity and they had no possible way of seeing what occurred."
He said the incident was being investigated further and did not rule out further punishment. He declined to name the demoted soldier.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. military police threw a mudwrestling party at a prison camp in Iraq and a woman who took part has been found guilty of indecent exposure and demoted, the U.S. military said Monday.
At least three female guards stripped to their underwear and wrestled each other in a paddling pool full of mud in the grounds of Camp Bucca, the biggest U.S. camp for detainees in Iraq, Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said.
Several guards who watched the wrestling have been reprimanded for failing to intervene.
The party took place on Oct. 30 last year, when one U.S. military police battalion, the 160th, was about to hand over responsibility to another, the 105th.
Officers from both battalions were involved and photographs were taken. A prison guard found the photos sometime later and handed them over to the camp's commanders.
"It does not appear that alcohol was involved and there is no evidence to support suggestions of any type of sexual misconduct," Johnson told Reuters.
"Detainees were nowhere in the vicinity and they had no possible way of seeing what occurred."
He said the incident was being investigated further and did not rule out further punishment. He declined to name the demoted soldier.
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AussieMark
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Red Faces Over Fire Crew's Emergency Pizza Run
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Embarrassed emergency officials are investigating reports a Sydney fire station was unable to respond to an alarm because a fireman had taken the station's only fire truck to pick up a pizza and give some friends a joyride.
Fire officials said Monday there had been no risk to the public even though the fire station in the beachside suburb of Maroubra had been unable to respond to a call three weeks ago because the truck was missing.
But they confirmed they were investigating media reports that the fireman on duty had gone to pick up a pizza and then took some friends for a spin in his shiny red truck.
"This is extremely rare," said New South Wales Fire Brigade assistant commissioner John Benson. "I would say that this incident is unheard of in the New South Wales Fire Brigade in regards to utilizing fire appliances in an inappropriate manner and ... it's being thoroughly investigated," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
A fire engine from a neighboring station had already responded to the emergency call, described as a fire door alarm, before the Maroubra truck's absence was noted, Benson said.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Embarrassed emergency officials are investigating reports a Sydney fire station was unable to respond to an alarm because a fireman had taken the station's only fire truck to pick up a pizza and give some friends a joyride.
Fire officials said Monday there had been no risk to the public even though the fire station in the beachside suburb of Maroubra had been unable to respond to a call three weeks ago because the truck was missing.
But they confirmed they were investigating media reports that the fireman on duty had gone to pick up a pizza and then took some friends for a spin in his shiny red truck.
"This is extremely rare," said New South Wales Fire Brigade assistant commissioner John Benson. "I would say that this incident is unheard of in the New South Wales Fire Brigade in regards to utilizing fire appliances in an inappropriate manner and ... it's being thoroughly investigated," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
A fire engine from a neighboring station had already responded to the emergency call, described as a fire door alarm, before the Maroubra truck's absence was noted, Benson said.
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AussieMark
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Brushing 3 Times a Day Keeps Flab Away?
TOKYO (Reuters) - If you want to keep trim, forget the diet books and gym membership -- you may be better off just brushing your teeth more often, according to a Japanese study.
In a survey of the everyday habits of nearly 14,000 people whose average age was in their mid-40s, Dr. Takashi Wada of Jikei University in Tokyo found that those who managed to stay slim tended to brush their teeth after every meal.
Overweight men sometimes went more than a day without brushing their teeth, according to the study, published in the Journal of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity.
Wada and his team compared the lifestyles of people whose body mass index (BMI) was over 25 -- the level doctors define as overweight -- with those of slimmer people. The survey covered eating and drinking habits, sleep, work and exercise.
The results do not mean that brushing in itself constitutes a fat-burning exercise, the authors say.
"It's a sign that these people are careful about their health -- they want to maintain the appearance of their teeth and prevent bad breath," the paper said. "We think actively encouraging the habit of toothbrushing would play a role in maintaining health and would help prevent obesity."
TOKYO (Reuters) - If you want to keep trim, forget the diet books and gym membership -- you may be better off just brushing your teeth more often, according to a Japanese study.
In a survey of the everyday habits of nearly 14,000 people whose average age was in their mid-40s, Dr. Takashi Wada of Jikei University in Tokyo found that those who managed to stay slim tended to brush their teeth after every meal.
Overweight men sometimes went more than a day without brushing their teeth, according to the study, published in the Journal of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity.
Wada and his team compared the lifestyles of people whose body mass index (BMI) was over 25 -- the level doctors define as overweight -- with those of slimmer people. The survey covered eating and drinking habits, sleep, work and exercise.
The results do not mean that brushing in itself constitutes a fat-burning exercise, the authors say.
"It's a sign that these people are careful about their health -- they want to maintain the appearance of their teeth and prevent bad breath," the paper said. "We think actively encouraging the habit of toothbrushing would play a role in maintaining health and would help prevent obesity."
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AussieMark
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Wanna Ride in My Mercedes with Genuine Cloth Seats?
BERLIN (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz has agreed to offer "leather-free" versions of all its luxury cars to pacify an animal rights group that says thousands of cows are slaughtered each year for leather car seats and interiors.
After complaints from the German chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, DaimlerChrysler said its Mercedes subsidiary will offer fabric or synthetic leather as options. Daimler spokeswoman Ursula Mertzig-Stein said that far from wanting leather-free cars, "our customers ... are more likely to want even more leather at the premium end. But we'll make cars without leather on demand."
PETA officials, who had threatened protests at the carmaker's Stuttgart headquarters, said they were delighted.
"When you consider that the skins of four to 15 cows are needed for each car this means thousands of cows will be spared," said PETA researcher Edmund Haferbeck. "This is a huge victory for animal rights."
BERLIN (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz has agreed to offer "leather-free" versions of all its luxury cars to pacify an animal rights group that says thousands of cows are slaughtered each year for leather car seats and interiors.
After complaints from the German chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, DaimlerChrysler said its Mercedes subsidiary will offer fabric or synthetic leather as options. Daimler spokeswoman Ursula Mertzig-Stein said that far from wanting leather-free cars, "our customers ... are more likely to want even more leather at the premium end. But we'll make cars without leather on demand."
PETA officials, who had threatened protests at the carmaker's Stuttgart headquarters, said they were delighted.
"When you consider that the skins of four to 15 cows are needed for each car this means thousands of cows will be spared," said PETA researcher Edmund Haferbeck. "This is a huge victory for animal rights."
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