JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Organisers of the "Antiquities Theft in Israel" exhibition could not have chosen a more fitting name for their display.
Burglars on Wednesday broke into the Ashdod Museum where hundreds of artefacts recovered from the black-market were on show and snatched several valuable items, including a silver ring belonging to Alexander the Great and gold earrings.
The Israel Antiquities Authority said the popular exhibition had been running for four years.
News of the Weird - this just in!
What's that moving in your pants?! 
Pete 
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A German reptile collector has been jailed for 14 weeks and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine for plundering New Zealand's wild gecko and skink populations, a judge has ruled.
Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, is to be deported to Germany as soon as he is released from prison, Judge Colin Doherty ordered Tuesday.
Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.
He admitted trading in exploited species without a permit and hunting absolutely protected wildlife without authority, pleading guilty to two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act.
Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie told Christchurch District Court that Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of 500,000 dollars and six months in prison.
Bodie told Doherty that the department sought a deterrent sentence for "the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more."
The geckos may have been worth 2,000 euros ($2,800) each on the European market, he noted.
"Internationally, this type of trade is prevalent and is on the increase worldwide and can be lucrative," he said.
Customs records showed that Kubus had also been to New Zealand in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, he had been with a Swiss reptile dealer.
Doherty said Kubus had come to New Zealand and set about poaching the animals in a premeditated way which would have had an impact on particular colonies.
There was a potential for Kubus to end up with far more animals than he could have housed in his own collection and the rest would have been sold.
"I don't think you necessarily came here to steal to sell, but I am sure the fact that you might have had excess was figured into your thinking," said the judge, describing the offending as "pretty close to the worst case."
Pete WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A German reptile collector has been jailed for 14 weeks and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine for plundering New Zealand's wild gecko and skink populations, a judge has ruled.
Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, is to be deported to Germany as soon as he is released from prison, Judge Colin Doherty ordered Tuesday.
Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.
He admitted trading in exploited species without a permit and hunting absolutely protected wildlife without authority, pleading guilty to two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act.
Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie told Christchurch District Court that Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of 500,000 dollars and six months in prison.
Bodie told Doherty that the department sought a deterrent sentence for "the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more."
The geckos may have been worth 2,000 euros ($2,800) each on the European market, he noted.
"Internationally, this type of trade is prevalent and is on the increase worldwide and can be lucrative," he said.
Customs records showed that Kubus had also been to New Zealand in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, he had been with a Swiss reptile dealer.
Doherty said Kubus had come to New Zealand and set about poaching the animals in a premeditated way which would have had an impact on particular colonies.
There was a potential for Kubus to end up with far more animals than he could have housed in his own collection and the rest would have been sold.
"I don't think you necessarily came here to steal to sell, but I am sure the fact that you might have had excess was figured into your thinking," said the judge, describing the offending as "pretty close to the worst case."
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Pork
Never mind the side effects, try this:
Pork better for sex than Viagra - Argentine leaderReuters January 28,
Reuters © Enlarge photo
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's president recommended pork as an alternative to Viagra on Wednesday, saying she spent a satisfying weekend with her husband after eating barbecued pork.
"I've just been told something I didn't know; that eating pork improves your sex life ... I'd say it's a lot nicer to eat a bit of grilled pork than take Viagra," President Cristina Fernandez said to leaders of the pig farming industry.
She said she recently ate pork and "things went very well that weekend, so it could well be true."
Argentines are the world's biggest per capita consumers of beef, but the government has sought to promote pork as an alternative in recent years due to rising steak prices and as a way to diversify the meat industry.
"Trying it doesn't cost anything, so let's give it a go," Fernandez said in the televised speech.
(Reporting by Karina Grazina; Writing by Helen Popper)
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/mp ... ne-leader/
Pork better for sex than Viagra - Argentine leaderReuters January 28,
Reuters © Enlarge photo
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's president recommended pork as an alternative to Viagra on Wednesday, saying she spent a satisfying weekend with her husband after eating barbecued pork.
"I've just been told something I didn't know; that eating pork improves your sex life ... I'd say it's a lot nicer to eat a bit of grilled pork than take Viagra," President Cristina Fernandez said to leaders of the pig farming industry.
She said she recently ate pork and "things went very well that weekend, so it could well be true."
Argentines are the world's biggest per capita consumers of beef, but the government has sought to promote pork as an alternative in recent years due to rising steak prices and as a way to diversify the meat industry.
"Trying it doesn't cost anything, so let's give it a go," Fernandez said in the televised speech.
(Reporting by Karina Grazina; Writing by Helen Popper)
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/mp ... ne-leader/
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
A tribal court in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island has fined a man and his lover four buffalo and a pig for having an extramarital affair, a report said Sunday.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100131/to ... ed10f.html
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100131/to ... ed10f.html
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Khundon1975
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Normal news story but crazy: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/02 ... 121640.php
They have captured 10,000 pigeons and now nowhere to put them as other provinces don't want them.
Can I recommend a bit of gas as they use to get rid of tens of thousands of fowl at the slightest hint of bird flu.
So much time, energy, money, words, headaches, resources wasted on stupid things like this.
Pete
They have captured 10,000 pigeons and now nowhere to put them as other provinces don't want them.
Can I recommend a bit of gas as they use to get rid of tens of thousands of fowl at the slightest hint of bird flu.
So much time, energy, money, words, headaches, resources wasted on stupid things like this.
Pete Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Inventor unveils $7,000 talking sex robot
Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) -- To some men, she might seem like the perfect woman: She's a willowy 5 feet 7 and 120 pounds. She'll chat with you endlessly about your interests. And she'll have sex whenever you please -- as long as her battery doesn't run out.
Meet Roxxxy, who may be the world's most sophisticated talking female sex robot. For $7,000, she's all yours.
"She doesn't vacuum or cook, but she does almost everything else," said her inventor, Douglas Hines, who unveiled Roxxxy last month at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lifelike dolls, artificial sex organs and sex-chat phone lines have been keeping the lonely company for decades. But Roxxxy takes virtual companionship to a new level.
Powered by a computer under her soft silicone "skin," she employs voice-recognition and speech-synthesis software to answer questions and carry on conversations. She even comes loaded with five distinct "personalities," from Frigid Farrah to Wild Wendy, that can be programmed to suit customers' preferences.
"There's a tremendous need for this kind of product," said Hines, a computer scientist and former Bell Labs engineer.
Roxxxy won't be available for delivery for several months, but Hines is taking pre-orders through his Web site, TrueCompanion.com, where thousands of men have signed up.
"They're like, 'I can't wait to meet her,' " Hines said. "It's almost like the anticipation of a first date."
Women have inquired about ordering a sex robot, too. Hines says a female sex therapist even contacted him about buying one for her patients.
Roxxxy has been like catnip to talk-show hosts since her debut at AEE, the largest porn-industry convention in the country. In a recent monologue, Jay Leno expressed amazement that a sex robot could carry on lifelike conversations and express realistic emotions.
"Luckily, guys," he joked, "there's a button that turns that off."
Curious conventioneers packed Hines' AEE booth last month in Las Vegas, asking questions and stroking Roxxxy's skin as she sat on a couch in a black negligee.
"Roxxxy generated a lot of buzz at AEE," said Grace Lee, spokeswoman for the porn-industry convention. "The prevailing sentiment of everyone I talked to about Roxxxy is 'version 1.0,' but people were fascinated by the concept, and it caused them to rethink the possibilities of 'sex toys.' "
Hines, a self-professed happily married man from Lincoln Park, New Jersey, says he spent more than three years developing the robot after trying to find a marketable application for his artificial-intelligence technology.
Roxxxy's body is made from hypoallergenic silicone -- the kind of stuff in prosthetic limbs -- molded over a rigid skeleton. She cannot move on her own but can be contorted into almost any natural position. To create her shape, a female model spent a week posing for a series of molds.
The robot runs on a self-contained battery that lasts about three hours on one charge, Hines says. Customers can recharge Roxxxy with an electrical cord that plugs into her back.
A motor in her chest pumps heated air through a tube that winds through the robot's body, which Hines says keeps her warm to the touch. Roxxxy also has sensors in her hands and genital areas -- yes, she is anatomically correct -- that will trigger vocal responses from her when touched. She even shudders to simulate orgasm.
When someone speaks to Roxxxy, her computer converts the words to text and then uses pattern-recognition software to match them against a database containing hundreds of appropriate responses. The robot then answers aloud -- her prerecorded "voice" is supplied by an unnamed radio host -- through a loudspeaker hidden under her wig.
"Everything you say to her is processed. It's very near real time, almost without delay," Hines said of the dynamics of human-Roxxxy conversation. "To make it as realistic as possible, she has different dialogue at different times. She talks in her sleep. She even snores." (The snoring feature can be turned off, he says.)
Roxxxy understands and speaks only English for now, but Hines' True Companion company is developing Japanese and Spanish versions. For an extra fee, he'll also record customizable dialogue and phrases for each client, which means Roxxxy could talk to you about NASCAR, say, or the intricacies of politics in the Middle East.
Hines believes that Roxxxy is a step above other love dolls -- the similar but mute RealDoll costs about $5,500 -- because her conversational abilities provide something close to emotional companionship. His customer base? Shy, awkward or older men who "have trouble meeting girls," he says.
In an industry known for pushing the technological envelope, observers are curious about how Roxxxy will fare in the marketplace.
"Is this a viable product? Yes," said Sherri Shaulis, an editor at Adult Video News, a trade magazine for the pornographic industry. "There's a market for it. Granted, it's a very small market."
Maybe not. TrueCompanion claims that more than 4,000 men have placed pre-orders for Roxxxy robots, and another 20,000 or so have requested information about the product. TrueCompanion also is developing a male sex robot, named Rocky.
"There's really nothing like this on the market," said Hines, who speaks of his unique creation with what seems like genuine affection. "Whenever she's out in public, everyone wants to talk to her and pose for pictures. It's so cute."
Meet Roxxxy, who may be the world's most sophisticated talking female sex robot. For $7,000, she's all yours.
"She doesn't vacuum or cook, but she does almost everything else," said her inventor, Douglas Hines, who unveiled Roxxxy last month at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lifelike dolls, artificial sex organs and sex-chat phone lines have been keeping the lonely company for decades. But Roxxxy takes virtual companionship to a new level.
Powered by a computer under her soft silicone "skin," she employs voice-recognition and speech-synthesis software to answer questions and carry on conversations. She even comes loaded with five distinct "personalities," from Frigid Farrah to Wild Wendy, that can be programmed to suit customers' preferences.
"There's a tremendous need for this kind of product," said Hines, a computer scientist and former Bell Labs engineer.
Roxxxy won't be available for delivery for several months, but Hines is taking pre-orders through his Web site, TrueCompanion.com, where thousands of men have signed up.
"They're like, 'I can't wait to meet her,' " Hines said. "It's almost like the anticipation of a first date."
Women have inquired about ordering a sex robot, too. Hines says a female sex therapist even contacted him about buying one for her patients.
Roxxxy has been like catnip to talk-show hosts since her debut at AEE, the largest porn-industry convention in the country. In a recent monologue, Jay Leno expressed amazement that a sex robot could carry on lifelike conversations and express realistic emotions.
"Luckily, guys," he joked, "there's a button that turns that off."
Curious conventioneers packed Hines' AEE booth last month in Las Vegas, asking questions and stroking Roxxxy's skin as she sat on a couch in a black negligee.
"Roxxxy generated a lot of buzz at AEE," said Grace Lee, spokeswoman for the porn-industry convention. "The prevailing sentiment of everyone I talked to about Roxxxy is 'version 1.0,' but people were fascinated by the concept, and it caused them to rethink the possibilities of 'sex toys.' "
Hines, a self-professed happily married man from Lincoln Park, New Jersey, says he spent more than three years developing the robot after trying to find a marketable application for his artificial-intelligence technology.
Roxxxy's body is made from hypoallergenic silicone -- the kind of stuff in prosthetic limbs -- molded over a rigid skeleton. She cannot move on her own but can be contorted into almost any natural position. To create her shape, a female model spent a week posing for a series of molds.
The robot runs on a self-contained battery that lasts about three hours on one charge, Hines says. Customers can recharge Roxxxy with an electrical cord that plugs into her back.
A motor in her chest pumps heated air through a tube that winds through the robot's body, which Hines says keeps her warm to the touch. Roxxxy also has sensors in her hands and genital areas -- yes, she is anatomically correct -- that will trigger vocal responses from her when touched. She even shudders to simulate orgasm.
When someone speaks to Roxxxy, her computer converts the words to text and then uses pattern-recognition software to match them against a database containing hundreds of appropriate responses. The robot then answers aloud -- her prerecorded "voice" is supplied by an unnamed radio host -- through a loudspeaker hidden under her wig.
"Everything you say to her is processed. It's very near real time, almost without delay," Hines said of the dynamics of human-Roxxxy conversation. "To make it as realistic as possible, she has different dialogue at different times. She talks in her sleep. She even snores." (The snoring feature can be turned off, he says.)
Roxxxy understands and speaks only English for now, but Hines' True Companion company is developing Japanese and Spanish versions. For an extra fee, he'll also record customizable dialogue and phrases for each client, which means Roxxxy could talk to you about NASCAR, say, or the intricacies of politics in the Middle East.
Hines believes that Roxxxy is a step above other love dolls -- the similar but mute RealDoll costs about $5,500 -- because her conversational abilities provide something close to emotional companionship. His customer base? Shy, awkward or older men who "have trouble meeting girls," he says.
In an industry known for pushing the technological envelope, observers are curious about how Roxxxy will fare in the marketplace.
"Is this a viable product? Yes," said Sherri Shaulis, an editor at Adult Video News, a trade magazine for the pornographic industry. "There's a market for it. Granted, it's a very small market."
Maybe not. TrueCompanion claims that more than 4,000 men have placed pre-orders for Roxxxy robots, and another 20,000 or so have requested information about the product. TrueCompanion also is developing a male sex robot, named Rocky.
"There's really nothing like this on the market," said Hines, who speaks of his unique creation with what seems like genuine affection. "Whenever she's out in public, everyone wants to talk to her and pose for pictures. It's so cute."
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
It looks as if the pigeons have won the first battle. Stay tuned for more nail biting episodes in coming days.prcscct wrote:Normal news story but crazy: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/02 ... 121640.php
They have captured 10,000 pigeons and now nowhere to put them as other provinces don't want them.
Can I recommend a bit of gas as they use to get rid of tens of thousands of fowl at the slightest hint of bird flu.
So much time, energy, money, words, headaches, resources wasted on stupid things like this.
Pete
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/3 ... er-pigeons
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
An Australian banker is in hot water after being filmed looking at semi-nude photos of a model while a colleague was doing a television interview nearby.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 494854.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 494854.stm
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Randy Cornhole
- Rock Star
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- Location: London
- Contact:
Indonesia bans buffaloes from political protests
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that he was upset by having his picture stuck onto a water buffalo during a protest in Jakarta.
The softly-spoken ex-general took exception at the suggestion he was "big, stupid and slow like a buffalo".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... tests.html
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that he was upset by having his picture stuck onto a water buffalo during a protest in Jakarta.
The softly-spoken ex-general took exception at the suggestion he was "big, stupid and slow like a buffalo".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... tests.html
R.I.P Doraemon. 
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
AYUDHYA, THAILAND - A Doraemon doll was laid to rest today in an elaborate Thai Buddhist funeral ceremony that spared no expense and cost the owner of the plush toy 200,000 baht (about $6000 US).
Plubplueng Ngamchareon, a 48 year old Thai woman received the Doraemon doll from a Buddhist monk when she was in the hospital being treated for cancer three years ago.
After her recovery she began to have dreams where the Doraemon doll would appear to her and give her advice and sometimes lottery numbers. She attributed her recovery, health, good fortune in business and occasional lottery winnings to her Doraemon doll; which she had come to think of as her own child. The doll even went to school! The woman hired someone to bring the doll to school every day where it had its own locker. (Whether or not the doll received good grades is unclear at this time.)
In October of 2009, the Doraemon doll visited her dreams once again to say goodbye and told the woman that he was dead. The doll instructed the woman to prepare his funeral. As is tradition, the 'body' was laid to rest at the temple for 100 days and the funeral culminated in today's cremation ceremony which was attended by a hundred people, including his kindergarten classmates.
HERE
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
AYUDHYA, THAILAND - A Doraemon doll was laid to rest today in an elaborate Thai Buddhist funeral ceremony that spared no expense and cost the owner of the plush toy 200,000 baht (about $6000 US).
Plubplueng Ngamchareon, a 48 year old Thai woman received the Doraemon doll from a Buddhist monk when she was in the hospital being treated for cancer three years ago.
After her recovery she began to have dreams where the Doraemon doll would appear to her and give her advice and sometimes lottery numbers. She attributed her recovery, health, good fortune in business and occasional lottery winnings to her Doraemon doll; which she had come to think of as her own child. The doll even went to school! The woman hired someone to bring the doll to school every day where it had its own locker. (Whether or not the doll received good grades is unclear at this time.)
In October of 2009, the Doraemon doll visited her dreams once again to say goodbye and told the woman that he was dead. The doll instructed the woman to prepare his funeral. As is tradition, the 'body' was laid to rest at the temple for 100 days and the funeral culminated in today's cremation ceremony which was attended by a hundred people, including his kindergarten classmates.
HERE
Two Chinese men who found a horde of priceless antiques in an ancient tomb did not realise their value and sold them for pennies.
One of the artworks was a pottery figure of a woman worth nearly £100,000 which they sold for the equivalent of 28p.
Feng and Zheng of Guying town, Henan province, say they found the tomb while hunting hares in a field near their homes.
"We saw a 50cm diameter opening in the field. Curiosity drove us to dig deep," Feng told the Zhengzhou Evening Post.
They dug out more than 20 antiques from the tomb, and sold them to a collector for just over £1,000 altogether.
"We don't know the value of these things. The collector said the pottery meant nothing, so we virtually gave it away," added Feng.
The pair were shocked to later discover that the tomb they had found dated back to the 1,000-year-old Sui Tang Dynasty.
One of the artworks was a pottery figure of a woman worth nearly £100,000 which they sold for the equivalent of 28p.
Feng and Zheng of Guying town, Henan province, say they found the tomb while hunting hares in a field near their homes.
"We saw a 50cm diameter opening in the field. Curiosity drove us to dig deep," Feng told the Zhengzhou Evening Post.
They dug out more than 20 antiques from the tomb, and sold them to a collector for just over £1,000 altogether.
"We don't know the value of these things. The collector said the pottery meant nothing, so we virtually gave it away," added Feng.
The pair were shocked to later discover that the tomb they had found dated back to the 1,000-year-old Sui Tang Dynasty.