These planetary models contain just about all the countries on Earth -- from France to China, Singapore to Spain. But theres one glaring exception:

Why Do Cats Purr?

12-year-old Saudi girl in divorce battle with 80-year-old husband

A 12-year-old girl fighting to divorce her 80-year-old husband in Saudi Arabia is to receive legal assistance from the Government in what could become a test case for banning child marriage in the kingdom.

The state-run Human Rights Commission has hired a lawyer to represent the girl when she takes her case to court in Buraidah, a conservative town near the capital Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia has no minimum legal age for marriage and it is common in poorer, tribal areas for girls to be married off. However, it is rare for a child bride to challenge the match.

A draft law prohibiting child marriage is under discussion and activists hope that the case will be a watershed in the campaign to ban the practice.

The girl was married to her father?s cousin last year against her wishes and those of her mother. It was reported locally that the marriage was sealed with a dowry of 85,000 riyals (£14,500) and consummated.

Paint on canvas, paper, and why not on books?

He calls them ?Book Sculptures.? ?Los Angeles native Mike Stilkey has always been attracted to painting and drawing not only on vintage paper, record covers and book pages, but on the books themselves. Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer, Stilkey depicts a melancholic and at times a whimsical cast of characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of fantasy and fairy tales.? [1]

Foot Notes:  1. Bio of Mike Stilkey, www.mikestilkey.com, retrieved on January 8th, 2010.  Link via This Blog Rules

Earlier, Irans nuclear chief said it had told the UNs nuclear watchdog it would begin enriching uranium to 20%.

Iran is stepping up the pace of its nuclear confrontation with the West.

Here is a picture of Giant Oarfish caught at the US Navy SEAL training center on Coronado Island, just off the coast of San Diego, California. The photo was taken in 1996! Giant Oarfish are one of the strangest looking fish that you will ever see. It is believed that Giant Oarfish which get up to 50 feet long, have been the source of many sea monster reports. Take a look at the photo and I think you will understand why!

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning, with predictions of another 10 to 20 inches of snow, for northern Virginia and eastern Maryland, including the District of Columbia, beginning Tuesday afternoon and continuing through Wednesday.

Chinas reckless use of antibiotics in the health system and agricultural production is unleashing an explosion of drug resistant superbugs that endanger global health, according to leading scientists.

Chinese doctors routinely hand out multiple doses of antibiotics for simple maladies like the sore throats and the countrys farmers excessive dependence on the drugs has tainted the food chain.

"Doctors are daily finding there is nothing they can do, even third and fourth-line antibiotics are not working.

Particular alarm has been raised by resistance rates of MRSA in Chinese hospitals, which has more than doubled from 30 per cent to 70 per cent, according to Professor Xiao Yonghong of the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology at Beijing University.

A Beijing-based health expert with access to unpublished surveys showed that the situation in China was actually worse earlier studies had indicated.

If you enjoyed it as much as I liked doing it, let her know.  Leave a comment - there are so many nasty bastids.

If you are in the mood for more variety for your collection or something a little different then be sure to take a look at our other great wallpaper collections.

• Desktop Fun: Underwater Theme Wallpapers
• Desktop Fun: Winter Theme Wallpapers
• Friday Fun: Retro Nintendo Wallpapers
• Totally Awesome Lego Wallpapers for Your Desktop
• Awesome Desktop Wallpapers: Guitar Edition
• Awesome Desktop Wallpapers: Abstract Art Edition
• Awesome Desktop Wallpapers: Windows 7 Edition
• Fun Wallpapers: The Linux Desktop Edition
• Amazing Desktop Wallpapers: Castle Theme Edition

Independent voters see Pres. Obama in a negative light by a nearly 2-1 margin, according to a new Marist College survey, while almost half of voters say he has failed to meet their expectations.

The poll, conducted Feb. 1-3, showed just 44% of registered voters approving of Obamas job as president. 47% disapprove. But among indie voters, Obamas approval rating sits at a terrible 29%, while his disapproval rating is at 57%.

Obamas 44% job approval rating is the lowest he has scored in any non-internet poll since moving into the WH, according to a review of data compiled by Pollster.com.

And while GOPers strive to avoid attacking Obama personally, for fear of offending voters who see him in a favorable light personally, even that aura of invincibility is wearing off. Independent voters view Obama negatively, too, by a 39% favorable to 52% unfavorable margin. All registered voters still see Obama favorably by a 50%-44% margin, but thats down 5 points in just 2 months.

Critics have mocked the kitsch canvases of Pal Sarkozy, 82, a former advertising designer. But thanks to his famous son and daughter-in-law his huge paintings will grace the select Espace Pierre Cardin in a one-man show.

A poor university student in New Zealand who offered her virginity on an auction site has accepted a £20,000 offer to sleep with a stranger.

The 19-year-old, who has not been named or pictured, said she posted the advert to help pay for her university fees.

The girl, from Northland, in New Zealands north island, is only known by her username Unigirl.

She wrote on auction site ineed.co.nz after the auction had finished at NZ$46,000: "I have accepted an offer in excess of $NZ45,000, which is way beyond what I dreamed."

The student added that the advert had been viewed by more than 30,000 people and had received more than 1200 offers.

She wrote: "Thank you to the more than 30,000 people who viewed my ad and to the more than 1200 offers made."

In the auction she described herself as attractive, fit and healthy and that she had never been in a sexual relationship.

Police find a man being smuggled in a suitcase and other bizarre smuggling attempts

After police in Bari discovered an immigrant being smuggled in a suitcase earlier this week, we present other weird ways people have tried to smuggle things through undercover, whether it be animals, money or drugs.

An Avacado found stuffed full of Cocaine

Christian teacher forced out after complaining Muslim pupils praised 9/11 hijackers as heroes

A Christian teacher yesterday claimed he was forced out of his job after complaining that Muslim pupils as young as eight hailed the September 11 hijackers as heroes.

Nicholas Kafouris, 52, is suing his former school for racial discrimination.

Racism claim: Nicholas Kafouris arriving at the tribunal hearing

He told a tribunal that he had to leave his £30,000-a-year post because he would not tolerate the racist and anti-Semitic behaviour of Year 4 pupils.

The predominantly Muslim youngsters openly praised Islamic extremists in class and described the September 11 terrorists as heroes and martyrs.

One pupil said: Dont touch me, youre a Christian when he brushed against him.

Others said: We want to be Islamic bombers when we grow up, and The Christians and Jews are our enemies - you too because youre a Christian.

A muslim is taking a landmark High Court case demanding that the Irish state recognise his polygamous marriage.

The man is from Lebanon, where polygamy is permitted. He is married to two women and has been granted Irish citizenship.

Seven years ago the Department of Justice refused to grant the man?s first wife a visa. The Lebanese entered Ireland with his second wife and claimed asylum. His first wife did not arrive until much later. The man has children with both women.

After its decision was challenged, the justice department agreed to quash its refusal to issue a visa to the first wife. But as part of this settlement the man is required to ask the High Court to rule on the validity of his marriage under section 29 of the 1995 Family Law Act.

The state and the wives are all represented in the case. The residency rights of both spouses will depend on the decision. A number of similar cases are awaiting the outcome.

A Japanese monk in Tokyo is using rap, hip hop and chanting to bring Buddhism to a younger audience.

The hip-hop loving monk, who goes by the stage name of MC Happiness, plans to add tap dancing to his repertoire as he takes to the stage in the name of Buddhism.

Kansho Tagai is the head of the 400-year-old Kyoouji Temple in central Tokyo.

But once in a while, he raises the volume, and the tempo, of these prayers, going before an audience to rap Buddhist sutra, or teachings, to hip hop beats and in modern Japanese.

"When I listened to rap music for the first time, it was in English so I couldnt understand a word," Tagai said.

"I realised that the same can be said for Buddhist sutras because most people cant understand a word. And the thing is, listening to rap music makes you feel good even though it may be incomprehensible."

Said al-Shihri, the deputy chief of al-Qaedas wing in the Yemen, has called for Muslims in the region to wage holy war against Christians and Jews.

In an audio message posted on the internet Said al-Shihri, a former inmate of the US prison in Guantánamo Bay, urged followers "to attack the interests of America and the Crusaders."

He continued: "We advise you, our people in the peninsula, to prepare and carry your weapons and to defend your religion and yourselves and to join your mujahideen brothers."

Yemen is in the throes of a major crackdown on the global militant networks regional offshoot, which grabbed the worlds attention when it claimed a failed bomb attack on US-bound plane in December.

Al-Shihri congratulated Nigerian radical Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab for his "blessed" attempt to blow up the Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas.

The authenticity of the statement could not be independently confirmed but it was posted on a website commonly used for militant messages.

World War II-era navigation system shut down

Washington -- Good night, Loran.

In a series of small ceremonies, the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday shut down Loran-C, a navigation and timing system that has guided mariners and aviators since World War II.

The death blow came last May when President Obama called the system obsolete, saying it is no longer needed in an age in which Global Positioning System devices are nearly ubiquitous in cars, planes and boats.

Killing Loran-C will save the government $190 million over five years, Obama said. But supporters of Loran -- including the man known as "the father of GPS" -- say the nations increasing reliance on GPS paradoxically has increased the importance of maintaining Loran as a backup.

Supporters also argue that the mere existence of Loran makes the GPS satellite system a less attractive target for cyber-thugs, terrorists or future military adversaries.

South Africas polygamous president, Jacob Zuma, yesterday publicly apologised to his family and political colleagues for fathering a child out of wedlock.

Mr Zuma, 67, had already confirmed reports about the childs paternity and said he had met his "cultural obligations" to the family of the woman, who is the daughter of a friend.

"It has put a lot of pressure on my family and my organisation, the African National Congress. I deeply regret the pain that I have caused to my family, the ANC, the Alliance and South Africans in general," he added.

The childs mother is Sonono Khoza, the 39 year old daughter of Irvin Khoza, chairman of the World Cup local organising committee. Mr Khoza is said to feel betrayed by Mr Zumas relationship with his daughter. Mr Zuma has now made a traditional payment of inhlawulo (damages) to the Khoza family.

Iran Anniversary Punch Will Stun The West ? Khamenei

Iran anniversary punch will stun the west according to Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He claims that Iran is set to deliver a ?punch? that will stun world powers during this week?s 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. Not exactly new news to followers of this site. We first reported Iran?s President Ahmadinejad making the same threat a week ago, here

?The Iranian nation, with its unity and God?s grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned,? Khamenei, who is also Iran?s commander-in-chief, told a gathering of air force personnel.

The country's top cleric was marking the occasion when Iran's air force gave its support to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a key event which led to the toppling of the US-backed shah on February 11, 1979.

On December 27, in the eastern Kunar region of Afghanistan, ten Afghans, eight of whom were schoolchildren, were dragged from their beds and shot by US forces during a nighttime raid. Afghan government investigators said the eight students were aged from 11 to 17 years.

This incident is but one example of countless atrocities US military personnel have carried out in the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, US military personnel torturing detainees in Abu Ghraib, Iraqi civilians suffering the violence  meted out by US forces, or US forces detaining schoolchildren in Baghdad, the list of atrocities is seemingly endless.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Monday that President Obama is willing to "add various elements" to health care legislation suggested by Republican lawmakers during an upcoming bipartisan meeting on the topic. But he wont change the entire plan and he is "absolutely not" hitting the reset button on the legislative process, the former Kansas governor insisted.

"I certainly think so. I think he sees this as a step to actually accelerating the process forward. He wants to move forward. He wants a bill at his desk and he sees this as kind of closing the loop and lets go."

Im coming in..This stunning close-up shows the kingfisher diving into the tank to get at the fish

Gotcha! Perched on a branch by the side of the pool, the kingfishers beady eye is focused on just one thing - lunch

Pictured: Ady sets up to wait for the kingfisher.

Earlier I posted on the news that the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) led Somali Unity government had appointed an American citizen, Abukar Arman, to be their special envoy to the US. This would be the same ICU that we dubbed the African Taliban because of their support for Taliban-esque sharia law. The image to the right was taken at an ICU rally in Mogadishu shortly after they came to power the first time. Yes, that is Osama bin Laden.

In that post I asked if any one knew who Abukar Arman was. Thanks to dahozho, we learn that in addition to being a "community activist", Arman is also an author at the Huffington Post.

In this post Arman advocates the implementation of sharia law in Somalia. Ironically, since hes now working for a government that wishes to impose Taliban-like sharia, he argues that Taliban-like sharia isnt, you know, the real sharia:

That?s what I feel for this oversized cookie.

It?s the kind of love that involves brown sugar and it has everything to do with these little morsels.

Oh? butterscotch, how I love the?

I don?t even need the cookie. I could just munch on you guys for eternity.

Unless of course we?re talking about adding a little chocolate. Then, you could twist my arm and make me eat the cookie, too. You?ll have to twist hard.

Like I said? just a little chocolate. Spread the love.

The cookie heart pan is from Wilton. I found it the other day and snatched it right up. I?ve seen them online, at my local cake supply store and also at the grocery store. Grab one while you can.

Alright, I?m going in?

Don?t try and stop me? you might get hurt.

I mean it? all in.

yeah? that?s it.

Now, if you?ll excuse me? I don?t want you to watch the rest. It won?t be pretty.

Big Love Butterscotch Cookie

Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito may not have wanted to hear it during the State Of The Union address, but a new poll shows the majority of Americans agree with President Obamas take on the Citizens United ruling. More than 60 percent of respondents say it was a bad idea.

The opposition was found across party lines, and according to the pollsters was especially common among independents -- the group both parties have desperately fought over for a decade now. The pollsters said that result suggests that the parties would be well-served to take on the ruling and reinstate campaign finance regulations canceled out by the ruling with new law.

Israeli forces have raided a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank, arresting at least 40 people.

The arrests on Monday at the Shuafat camp in annexed east Jerusalem were part of an operation that Israeli police said was aimed at "putting order" in the area.

Al Jazeeras Elias Karram, reporting from the camp, said: "The raid was divided into two parts: the first of which ended on Monday when Israeli army and intelligence forces invaded the came and detained around 40 poeple based on their political affliation - either to Hamas or Fatah.

"The second part is still under way and it targets Palestinian workers who have come from various parts of the West Bank to work in the camps without necessary working permits."

In a separate incident, Israeli military officials raided offices of Stop the Wall, a human-rights group that campaigns against the construction of the West Bank separation barrier.

Dear John beats out Avatar at box office

(Entertainment Weekly) -- Romance proved to be a powerful foe for the epic "Avatar," which has dominated the box office for the last seven weekends. The Lasse Hallstrom-directed romantic drama "Dear John" won the weekend in a big way, grossing an estimated $32.4 million and setting a record for the highest-grossing Superbowl Sunday frame in history.

"Avatar" fell to second place for the first time, dropping a still scant 25 percent to $23.6 million. The James Cameron film has now out-grossed every movie in the history of cinema (as long as we dont adjust for inflation) with a domestic take of an astounding $630 million.

You really can be bored to death, scientists discover

Researchers say that people who complain of boredom are more likely to die young, and that those who experienced high levels of tedium are more than two-and-a-half times as likely to die from heart disease or stroke than those satisfied with their lot.

Researcher Martin Shipley, who co-wrote the report to be published in the International Journal of Epidemiology this week, said: The findings on heart disease show there was sufficient evidence to say there is a link with boredom.

As the submission deadline for the coveted award closed, the Nobel Committee maintained its tradition of giving no hints -- the contenders are kept secret for 50 years. But some nominations were announced by those who made them.

The Internet was proposed by the Italian version of Wired magazine, which cited its use as a tool to advance "dialogue, debate and consensus through communication" and to promote democracy. Organizers said signatories to its petition backing the nomination include 2003 peace laureate and exiled Iranian activist Shirin Ebadi -- which would make it a legitimate entry.

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art -

Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night

And watching, with eternal lids apart,

Like nature?s patient, sleepless Eremite,

The moving waters at their priestlike task

Of pure ablution round earth?s human shores,

Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask

Of snow upon the mountains and the moors -

No - yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,

Pillow?d upon my fair love?s ripening breast,

To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,

Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,

Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,

And so live ever - or else swoon to death.

John Keats

Brand Terms - Rules

Rules of use ot the trademark Moleskine on the web (Guidelines)

The job done by Focus on the Family and the Tebows with their much-publicized Super Bowl advertisement was nothing short of masterful. In fact, I?m not sure that word describes the level of mastery Focus on the Family showed with their domination of the pro-abortion left through last night?s ad and the public relations battles leading up to it.

That ? that ? was the ad that caused the pro-abortion crowd to go into a frenzy of censorship advocacy, character assassination, and mask-slipping demonization of mothers who dare choose life over death for their unborn children.

In one fell swoop, Focus on the Family and the Tebows exposed the real pro-abortion left to a larger audience than, perhaps, had ever seen them in their natural state: as abortion-loving autocrats who despised Choice almost as much as (infant) life itself ? all without really having to do anything.

A witness in Karachi, Pakistan captured video of a bombing on their cell phone. Smoke can be seen billowing from the explosion site.

Inside an Al Quaeda suicide bomber training camp for terrorists during the Taliban control of Afghanistan.

Benjamin Fulford: "THE OCTOPUS IS DYING - 5 KISSINGER ASSOCIATES KILLED; KISSINGER MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD"

Heres Ben Fulfords blog entry for Jan 10:

=====

The octopus is dying: 5 Kissinger associates killed; Kissinger missing-presumed dead

We can also independently confirm much of what heroic journalist Christopher Story wrote in his ground-breaking January 7th report.

The broadcaster Miriam OReilly is suing the BBC for ageism. Shes not the first TV presenter to cry foul, but how does the dearth of visible older women affect the rest of us?

Miriam OReilly could be forgiven for having ­believed that her job was safe. A long-established broadcaster, she worked for the BBC for 25 years, most recently as a presenter of the Sunday-morning rural-affairs programme, Countryfile. Then, in 2008, it was announced that the ­programme would be moving to a peak-time slot. OReilly, 52, and her three female colleagues ? all in their 40s and 50s ? were told the show would be "revamped". They were no longer needed.

Facial hair is everywhere. But who is setting the trend?

In the matter of facial hair, are celebrities copying the street or is the street copying celebrities? As you will be aware, Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Sting (presumably in an effort to stop being mistaken for Jeffrey Archer) and, most notoriously, David Beckham have been neglecting the razor of late. Not just for a few days for purposes of stubble generation, but for weeks, months on end. The beard is about as back as it?s been since the 19th century.

In addition, male models ? nameless and yet, one assumes, influential in their way ? now, more often than not, sport some growth beyond the designer scrub that has been fashionable for many years.

The Green Police Are Already Here

while there are fines associated with noncompliance of the recycling and composting ordinance, fines are not expected to be handed out except in extreme cases. The potential for fines is meant to increase awareness and add a sense of urgency to the matter, but they will only be implemented after repeated notices and phone calls. Additionally, a moratorium on fines is in effect until 2011. [emphasis mine]

2008 BA Boeing 777 Heathrow crash: Air traffic control

They blame what is described as "sticky" ice that formed in the planes fuel system resulting in a loss of power less than a minute before touchdown.

The report also suggests the actions of the planes captain extended the flight path towards the runway and away from radio transmitters where more substantial damage could have been sustained.

This recording of the Air Traffic Control dialogue immediately before and after the crash illustrates how authorities reacted to the incident.

"While its no surprise that there is water there, these short-lived ions are extra evidence for sub-surface water and where there?s water, carbon and energy, some of the major ingredients for life are present," said Andrew Coates from University College Londons Mullard Space Science Laboratory.

This news comes after NASAs Cassini Equinox mission made low passes over Saturns moon Enceladus in 2008 and 2009. Using an instrument called a plasma spectrometer, elements in the plumes of gas and dust ejected by the moons geysers could be measured and identified.

Now that the analysis has been completed, it appears the space probe has collected evidence for negatively charged water ions and negatively charged hydrocarbons. (Negatively charged water ions can be found in familiar places on the surface of Earth, near waterfalls and breaking ocean waves for example.)

Scientists have unearthed an almost perfectly preserved spider fossil in China dating back to the middle Jurassic era, 165 million years ago. The fossilized spiders, Eoplectreurys gertschi, are older than the only two other specimens known by around 120 million years.

The fossils were found at a site called Daohugou in Northern China that is filled with fossilized salamanders, small primitive mammals, insects, and water crustaceans. During the Jurassic era, the fossil bed was part of a lake in a volcanic region, Selden said.

Spider fossils from this period are rare, because the arachnids? soft bodies don?t preserve well. The pristine fossil pictured in these photos was probably created when the spider was trapped in volcanic ash. The ultra-fine clay particles squashed the spider without breaking up the animals? delicate cuticle as more coarse sediment would, Selden said.

The VAT increase and unprecedented blizzards last month contributed to a sudden and unexpected collapse in retail sales, according to the British Retail Consortium. Its sales monitor registered a 0.7pc drop in like-for-like sales last month, compared with a year before ? the steepest January fall since the survey began in 1995, and in stark contrast to economists expectations of an increase of 0.5pc.

The figures come amid concern about Britains capacity to finance itself in the international capital markets, with the spread between interest rates on benchmark UK gilts and German bunds widening, and arrive only days after the Bank of England signalled an end to its Quantitative Easing programme.

4 large baking potatoes (about 200g each)
200g plain cream cheese + few tbs of milk or cream
300g button mushrooms (diced)
2 onions (diced)
2 tbs unsalted butter
sea salt
black pepper
handful fresh chopped parsley

Make cross cuts on the top of each potato and bake in 200°C (392°F) for about 1 hour ? 1½ hours. Use skewer to check if potatoes are soft inside.

In meantime fry on butter mushrooms and onions, towards the end stir in also parsley and fry some more. Leave aside to cool down. Then stir in cream cheese, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Once potatoes are ready make cross cuts deeper so they will open up a little bit, fill this space with cream cheese-mushrooms mixture. Serve immediately as a side dish or snack.

Make 4 serving.

"The error is serious enough to require revisions in climate change estimates," it said, adding that all climate models used soil emission estimates based on measurements received using an erroneous method.

This showed "carbon dioxide emissions from the soil will be up to 50 percent higher than those suggested by the present mainstream method," if the mean global temperature rose by the previously forecasted five degrees Celsius before the end of the century, and if the carbon flow to soil did not increase.

The institute said a 100 to 200 percent increase of forest biomass was needed to offset the increasing carbon emissions from soil, whereas previous estimates called for a 70 to 80 percent increase.

PRETTY Louisa Ball is known to her family and friends as Sleeping Beauty... but there the fairytale ends.

For the teenager suffers from a very rare disorder that means she can drop off for up to TWO WEEKS at a time.

She has even snoozed through an ENTIRE FAMILY HOLIDAY and missed school exams because of incurable Kleine-Levin Syndrome. Her parents Lottie and Richard have to force her awake to feed her and stop her from starving. "Im so upset about having this illness because I know theres so much Im missing out on," says Louisa, 15, whose disorder affects only about 1,000 PEOPLE worldwide.

"I can never remember anything when I wake up. I think, Why has this happened to me."

The youngsters supersnoozes began after a bout of flu in 2008.

Scared

"She started falling asleep at school and at home. Even when she was awake she was rambling about things as if she was talking in her sleep," says Lottie, 45. "It really scared us."

A man of 31, who survived a cardiac arrest and spent 18 minutes without breathing, he returned home on Sunday in Newport, Wales

According to doctors, a person can usually survive up to four minutes after breathing stops, in the case of a cardiac arrest. After that, the likelihood is that it will die or suffer consequences.

But Rob Waggett survived the incident suffered only loss of memory for recent events.

He had gone to bed early on a Sunday night, with symptoms of influenza when, two hours later, his wife, Dianna, saw - a baby monitor - he was having difficulty breathing.

The woman called a neighbor to help her and four minutes later the ambulance arrived at their house. Paramedics used defibrillators to shock the patient six times.

At the seventh attempt, 18 minutes after he stopped breathing, he returned to check the air.

Waggett, father of two children, was admitted to a hospital after the incident, where he spent three days in an induced coma.

When a tourist arrives to an unknown city, it is usual that he is a little bit confused and he is not clear about which are the venues that he has to visit but, sometimes, he goes beyond logic and asks a few funny questions, so to speak.

A study made by a hotel booking website, as well as Tourism Offices of the most important European cities, has revealed a list of the strangest and weirdest questions that tourist have made since 1995.

In Madrid, for example, the agent tourist had to listen to questions like: ?At what time is the Cibeles closed??, when it?s one of the most famous statues in the city, in the open air, and you can go to visit it at anytime. Or foreigners mistake La Puerta del Sol for La Costa del Sol. One of the most surrealist questions is ?where is the beach in Madrid??

Sex with the ex ? sex with no strings attached

We all know the feeling, when suddenly the butterflies in the stomach are gone, your stomach churns and you fall from cloud number nine without a parachute. No matter for what reason or motives, separations from your beloved partner can be the worst thing ever. Lovesickness, heartache, fears and company can really make your life very difficult. However, after a period of crying and hurt, little by little you get back to reality. And then, some day you run into your ex and there is still this special feeling in the air. Of course, it?s very hard to resist these good vibrations: Sex with the ex ? sex with no strings attached.

The GOYA 2010 Awards - Agora v Celda 211

The Spanish Academy Awards or the Goya Awards is the most important event in Spanish cinema and will take place on 14th February 2010. this will be its 24th edition.

It looks like this year, the Academy has wanted to bet on blockbuster movies in Spain, such as Alejandro Amenábar?s ?Agora?, with box office receipts of 21 million Euros and which is nominated for 13 Goya, or the prison drama ?Cell 211? (Daniel Monzón), which has achieved receipts of almost 10 million Euros, a really profitable project, considering it only cost 3 million Euros. This one is the most nominated film, with 16. Following closely behind, we have ?The dancer and the thief? and ?The secret in their eyes?, with nine nominations each.

Sexting is one of the latest fashions that have arisen during this digital age. The term comes from the fusion of the words sex and texting (sending SMS messages via mobile phones). It consists of sending erotic or images and flirty text messages via your mobile phone. This practice has become increasingly common among the adolescents throughout the world who unwittingly take serious risks that can undermine their physical, moral or moral status.

Although it is not a practice that concerns only the youth, it is true that those are the ones who most practice it, and especially the girls. What they usually do is take a naughty photo of themselves and send it to someone else: their partner or girlfriend etc, so as to fool around or just feel wanted.

An Erotic Beer from Bavaria in Germany

One of the latest inventions to increase sexual desire is believe it or not?.a beer! An aphrodisiac beer! This peculiar beer comes from Germany and has been invented by a gentleman named Jürgen Hopo, whose secret is to prepare it at night dressed only in his underpants. Even Viagra is out of fashion due to this new Hopf Erotik Bier. And what?s his secret? It?s pure luck and the modus operandi.

The powers of this new beer are so powerful that an infertile English couple conceived a baby after drinking it. Men don?t have to hide any longer and take Viagra, because they just need to drink a few erotic beers. How about a cold beer to warm the engines? With a bit of barley, a shirtless man and a strong dose of love, anything is possible.

The American Class System

We (the working class) have become little more than the servants to a contemporary royalty.  Even the politicians that would have you believe they have the people?s best interests at heart (Tom Daschle) are involved in lucrative lobbying contracts and failing even to pay their taxes on those lucrative contracts.  The government has done nothing more than enrich the already super-wealthy through their bail-out programs.  The current tax structure is redistributing the wealth upwards while politicians are waging attacks on ?socialist? ideas.  Watching politicians on c-span they seem so concerned about spending on social policies yet military spending increases every year with corporate tax cuts right along with it.

Closer inspection of a photo of Sarah Palin, during a speech in which she mocked President Obama for his use of a teleprompter, reveals several notes written on her left hand. The words "Energy", "Tax" and "Lift American Spirits" are clearly visible. Theres also what appears to read as "Budget cuts" with the word Budget crossed out.

Just to be clear: The notes most likely werent for her speech, for which she used prepared remarks, but for the Q&A session that followed, during which she glanced at the hand in question.

But in my opinion thats even worse.

There were no specifics on there, just general concepts and things she supports.

The takeaway is that this presidential contender apparently cant remember her supposed core principles and needs a cheat-sheet when simply asked about her beliefs.

To quote Charlie Brown:

Good grief.

A British 69 years is causing a sensation on the dance floors of France.

Ruth Flowers, aka Mamy Rock (Rock Grandma in French), as she is nicknamed, recently led the night in the trendy nightclub Queen in Paris, and has provided other presentations in France and in other countries this year, said Brazil, the BBC producer, the Frenchman Aurélien Simon.

The DJ grandmother with white hair, which uses headphones silver, sequined clothes, shoes and is always dark glasses - will release their first album this year.

Flowers decided to launch the world of mixing by chance five years ago, after going to the birthday party of her grandson in a London club. She almost was barred by the doorman, but managed to get in and says it has discovered a new world.

"Young people danced like crazy. The light and the music transported me. It was so different from the parties that I used to go when he was young. Liked and thought I could do that too, "said Mamy Rock, who said he felt" rejuvenated "that night.

Democracy Inc.

Editorial

January 28, 2010

Heres a quick recap:

? And Pastor Rick Scarborough -- a self-proclaimed "Christocrat" -- "went after homosexuals several times to choruses of amens," according to Time.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change," he began, "the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."

It is now known as the Serenity Prayer. Its been adopted by 12-step recovery programs and cited in numerous self-help books. Yet few people know who wrote it. His name is Reinhold Niebuhr, and he was a Protestant pastor in the mid-20th century whose words tended to unsettle people, not offer comfort.

Niebuhr is getting attention again because he has a fan in the Oval Office.

At first, there seems to be little resemblance between the cool, cerebral Obama and the pugnacious Niebuhr.

The presidents political rhetoric reflects some of Niebuhrs world view, says great-nephew Gustav Niebuhr. He says Obama, like his great-uncle, avoids moral absolutes in his speeches: The U.S. is not always right, and its enemies are not always evil.

Crouter says he can see Niebuhrs pragmatism and moral complexity in Obamas governing style.

?There?s an issue that is coming up a lot right now,? said Laurent Dubois, a professor of history and romance studies at Duke University and an expert on Haiti. ?It?s the difference between wanting to help and being able to do good.  Most don?t speak any Creole, or have the cultural knowledge. ? (As a result) they are going to be very surprised by what they see in Haiti.?

Internet chatter had led to speculation that it might be an urban myth -- nothing more than clever digital trickery spreading via the Web.

But our friend Bob Collins at Minnesota Public Radio assures us hes seen it with his own eyes:

There is a billboard along I-35 near Wyoming, Minn., with a huge photo of former president George W. Bush and this question: "Miss Me Yet?"

Web sites like livinghistoryworldwide.com (with a membership of more than 5,700) and groups on Facebook allow people who enjoy past eras to connect with each other. But it goes beyond that: Some of them dress and live like they would decades, if not centuries, ago.

Step into Estelle Baradas living room in Providence, Rhode Island, and you might feel like youve traveled back to the 1890s.

Today, "Lady Estelle," as she likes to be called, lives out that dream by hosting tea parties for her friends while dressed in Victorian clothing, completely in character.

When going out, shes dressed in a more understated fashion, but still completely consistent with the late 1800s, with a long skirt and hat. "I always wear hats and when I go shopping, I get the attention of the older women, who say, I love the way you look," she said.

Look Who Says Bush Was Right on Terror

Obama invokes Bush policies as defense in Couric interview

(Newser) ? President Obama rolled out a surprising line of defense when Katie Couric quizzed him about civilian trials for terrorists in an interview Sunday, writes William McGurn. "Were not handling any of these cases any different than the Bush administration handled them all through 9/11," Obama insisted. Invoking Bush to defend himself is quite the reversal for someone who campaigned as the anti-Bush, McGurn writes in the Wall Street Journal.

The "new dawn" the administration promised on counterterrorism has turned into case after mishandled case that raises questions about its competence, McGurn writes. Expect more tough-sounding speeches as the administration tries to fix its image problem, McGurn writes, and maybe a rebranding of Guantanamo Bay to the "Caribbean House of Constitutional Correction" when they realize they cant close it.

James "Jamie" Doe: Im a child looking for my parents. Are they looking for me?

The man who did this attraction is Chayne Hultgren (The Space Cowboy). He is an Australia street performer who set a new Guinness World Record by swallowing 18 swords in one go.

Masked revellers swarmed the streets and waterways of Venice as the historic Italian city launched its annual Carnival

Thousands of tourists thronged the main piazza to watch the Carnivals traditional "flight of the angel" in which a young woman glides on a harness from the belltower of Saint Marks basilica...

The centuries-old carnival, rooted in the Christian festivities ahead of the fast of Lent, had fallen out of favour but was reinstated - in part as a tourist attraction - in 1980

Masked balls and theatrical performances will liven up the city streets through out the 10-day period

A reveller enjoys a cappuccino in a bar next to Saint Marks Square

Young ladies are carried in a procession on Saint Marks Square for the traditional Feast of Marie

THE HOMELESS AND SNOW

US snow storm hits DC homeless

Top 10 Unbelievable Miniatures

"I fear [political difference] is inseparable from the different constitutions of the human mind and that degree of freedom which permits unrestrained expression. Political dissention is doubtless a less evil than the lethargy of despotism, but still it is a great evil, and it would be as worthy the efforts of the patriot as of the philosopher, to exclude its influence, if possible, from social life. The good are rare enough at best. There is no reason to subdivide them by artificial lines. But whether we shall ever be able so far to perfect the principles of society, as that political opinions shall, in its intercourse, be as inoffensive as those of philosophy, mechanics, or any other, may be well doubted." --Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Pinckney, 1797. ME 9:389

"Nothing gives one person so great advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances." --Thomas Jefferson to Francis Eppes, 1816. ME 19:242

"Never [enter] into dispute or argument with another. I never yet saw an instance of one of two disputants convincing the other by argument. I have seen many on their getting warm, becoming rude and shooting one another. Conviction is the effect of our own dispassionate reasoning, either in solitude or weighing within ourselves dispassionately what we hear from others, standing uncommitted in argument ourselves... In the fevered state of our country, no good can ever result from any attempt to set... fiery zealots to rights either in fact or principle. They are determined as to the facts they will believe, and the opinions on which they will act. Get by them, therefore, as you would by an angry bull; it is not for a man of sense to dispute the road with such an animal." --Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Jefferson Randolph, 1808. ME 12:199

Chinese New Year is on Valentine?s Day this year. It?s different every year because the holiday is based on the lunar calendar. Learning about my own traditions has always been a hands-on, and sometimes painful, experience. When I was 5, I stuck my chopsticks upright in my bowl of white rice and got whacked. I later learned you only do that when making offerings to the deceased. Oops!

BEIJING (AFP) ? China said Tuesday it had nearly 6,000 tigers in captivity and could breed 1,000 more every year, amid international controversy over the benefits of farming the endangered species.

Yins comments came as China prepares to ring in the Year of the Tiger, which begins February 14, amid mounting worldwide concern over dwindling numbers of the great cats.

There are four varieties of wild tigers in China, and one of them -- the South China tiger -- has not been spotted in the wild since the late 1970s. In the 1950s, there were around 4,000 of the subspecies.

Degradation of the animals habitat and poaching of the tiger and its prey are blamed for its rapid disappearance.

The existence of tiger farms in China and other countries has sparked international controversy.

The Geezers? Crusade

We like to think that in days gone by, the young venerated the elderly. But that wasn?t always so. In ?As You Like It,? Shakespeare?s morose character, Jaques, calls old age ?second childishness and mere oblivion.? Walt Whitman hoped that the tedium and pettiness of his senior years would not infect his poetry.

Developmental psychologists, when they treated old age at all, often regarded it as a period of withdrawal. The elderly slowly separate themselves from the world. They cannot be expected to achieve new transformations. ?About the age of fifty,? Freud wrote, ?the elasticity of the mental processes on which treatment depends is, as a rule, lacking. Old people are no longer educable.?

The 1994 plans were for a six-year project costing $7.5m, but they were never pursued.

The US Air Force Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, sought Pentagon funding for research into what it called "harassing, annoying and bad guy-identifying chemicals".

The plans were obtained under the US Freedom of Information by the Sunshine Project, a group which monitors research into chemical and biological weapons.

Scientists also reportedly considered a "sting me/attack me" chemical weapon to attract swarms of enraged wasps or angry rats towards enemy troops.

A substance to make the skin unbearably sensitive to sunlight was also pondered.

Anthem Blue Cross Grilled By Obama Administration Over Rate Hike

LOS ANGELES ? Over the past 12 years, Josh Librescos health insurance premium has increased almost eight-fold for his family of four.

The 54-year-old San Rafael resident is facing a 39 percent rate hike from Anthem Blue Cross on March 1 that will raise his premium from $858 to $1,192 a month. In 1998, his monthly premium was $151.

Libresco was one of a number of Anthem policyholders who received a letter last week saying Californias largest for-profit health insurer plans to hike premiums on individual policies by as much as 39 percent.

Sarah Palin Aims to Bust Up the Republican Party -- And the Tea Party Movement

Sarah Palin appears to be running for president of the United States of America. You betcha.

In an interview with Chris Wallace, recorded on the eve of her Saturday night special of a speech to the Tea Party Nation convention in Nashville (and aired yesterday on Fox News Sunday), Palin didnt quite confirm that speculation, but left the door wide open.

"Why wouldnt you run for president?" Wallace asked.

"I would," Palin replied. "I would if I believe that that is the right thing to do for our country and for the Palin family. Certainly, I would do so."

Bring Your Child to Work Day: In New Delhi there are upwards of 100 construction projects underway in preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games scheduled to take place from Oct. 4 to 13. These projects -- ranging from several new stadiums to a new international airport terminal -- are drawing vast numbers of migrant workers from all over India to provide the extra labor needed. Contractors, already behind schedule, are taking advantage of lax labor laws and coercing their employees to bring their children to work alongside them, promising payments of bread and milk. Above an Indian girl carries a brick at a construction site in front of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Feb. 3.

Turkish police discovered the body after acting on an anonymous tip. The tipster told police that the girl was killed after a family council meeting, and had been buried under a chicken pen. Police say that the girl had complained two months earlier that her grandfather beat her for talking to boys.

"The autopsy result is blood-curdling. According to our findings, the girl - who had no bruises on her body and no sign of narcotics or poison in her blood - was alive and fully conscious when she was buried," one anonymous expert said.

The girl had been reported as missing by her family. Police have arrested her father, mother and grandfather. Her mother has been released but her father and grandfather are awaiting trial.

The case is expected to bring further attention to the issue of "honor" killings in Turkey. Official figures indicate that more than 200 "honor" killings take place each year - almost half of all murders in Turkey.

Miracle ... Cedric Genoud was dug out of the snow after beign buried for 17 hours. Photo: Reuters

The "miracle" survivor of an avalanche in the Swiss Alps, who was buried in a concrete-like "sarcophagus" of snow for 17 hours, has admitted he should not have ventured off the beaten track.

"After the event I realise I took a childish and ill-considered risk," Cedric Genoud told journalists at the hospital where the 21-year-old was being treated after escaping from a "long cold night" with mild hypothermia.

"I saw lights.... I shouted a lot," the Swiss skier said on Monday, as he explained how a night-time search party passed nearby while he fought against the soporific effect of the bitter cold.

"I kept on telling myself that I mustnt give up, that people loved me," he said from his hospital bed.

Majorities polled in D.C. back gay marriage, medical marijuana

District residents are generally supportive of the progressive, activist social agenda being pursued by the D.C. Council, putting their stamp of approval on efforts by government leaders to enact policies while Democrats control Congress.

Although most District residents are in sync with the council in support of same-sex marriage, there is widespread public support for putting the question to a city-wide vote.

African Americans tilt against same-sex marriage. Thirty-seven percent of black residents back legal same-sex marriage. A slim majority opposes it, and the bulk of opponents say they feel that way strongly.

An Anglo Saxon zoomorphic mount from the Staffordshire Hoard, which has returned to Britain after an eight-month world tour.

More than 100 pieces of the Staffordshire Hoard, a glittering treasure from the world of Beowulf, which has gone around the world in eight months, is back in the county that hid it for 1,300 years.

Yesterday, people were anxiously checking opening times at the museum information desk. "This is a part of our history and we still dont know the questions it will answer. It is a huge thing for us to have it here," Deb Klemperer, senior collections officer, said.

"Its warrior booty, and we would all like it to turn out to belong to Penda, who died in battle in AD654 having killed two kings and a saint," Klemperer said.

AmeriPAC Chart

Triquetra Celtic Symbol - Led Zeppelins John Paul Jones symbol

It seems the anteater is having the best week ever. Over at Discovery Cove in Orlando, a lesser anteater (only in name!) ? or tamandua ? was born just a few days ago to mother Cypress. And like any proud ma, Cypress? first order of business was to carry her adorable freeloader over to get some frame-worthy photos taken.

?Give me artsy-fartsy avant-garde-y!?

?Give me Burt-Reynolds-on-a-bear-skin-rug-circa-1979 hunky!?

?Give me eyelash-less-eyeball-y!?

People tend to pick different colors to describe different moods, according to research published Feb. 8, 2010 in the journal BMC Medical Research Methodology.

The study found that people with depression or anxiety were more likely to associate their mood with the color gray, while happier people preferred yellow. The results, which are detailed today in the journal BMC Medical Research Methodology, could help doctors gauge the moods of children and other patients who have trouble communicating verbally.

Colors are often used as metaphors for moods, but no one had systematically researched color associations, Whorwell said. To investigate, he and his colleagues picked eight colors ? red, orange, green, purple, blue, yellow, pink and brown ? and split each into four shades. They then added white, black and four shades of gray for a total of 38 options. After meeting with focus groups, the researchers decided to display the colors in the form of a wheel.

The hole where a 16-year-old girl was buried alive by her relatives in Adiyaman, southeastern Turkey Photograph: HO/REUTERS

Turkish police have recovered the body of a 16-year-old girl they say was buried alive by relatives in an "honour" killing carried out as punishment for talking to boys.

The girl, who has been identified only by the initials MM, was found in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a two-metre hole dug under a chicken pen outside her home in Kahta, in the south-eastern province of Adiyaman.

Police made the discovery in December after a tip-off from an informant, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on its website.

The girl had previously been reported missing.

The informant told the police she had been killed following a family "council" meeting.

Her father and grandfather are said to have been arrested and held in custody pending trial. It is unclear whether they have been charged. The girls mother was arrested but was later released.

Presidential Sins

January 30, 2010
Having given himself "a good, solid B-plus" for his first year in office and declaring he would "rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president," President Obama has a lot of people, even in his own party, wondering what on earth constitutes a good performance to his way of thinking.
Read on

A story on Page 1 of Tuesday?s Telegraph quoted a White House official explaining that a Q-and-A session with dozens of teenagers in Nashua High School North on Monday was ?off the record.? However, the explanation about the talk being ?off the record? was, it turns out, also ?off the record? and should not have been quoted.

Last months column on the TSA worker who jokingly planted a bag of white powder on a passenger at Philadelphia International Airport generated a half-million page views and scores of tips of other alleged abuses by those who work to keep us safe.

In Pellegrinos view, she stepped into a Kafkaesque nightmare. In court testimony, the TSA workers said she was the nightmare.

When screener Nuyriah Abdul-Malik arrived, Pellegrino asked her to change her gloves. Inside a small room, Pellegrino got a thorough screening. The woman examined every inch of the bags, Pellegrino said, smelling lipstick, pulling out credit cards.

At a hearing in June 2007 before Municipal Judge Thomas F. Gehret, TSA and airport officials explained that there was no surveillance tape to show what had happened.

I have to think all parties involved wish they had just waved the woman through.

Women Over 50: Become a Gentle Warrior

As baby boomer women, our generation can undoubtedly be described as courageous. We openly refuted the feminine ideal of the fifties, stood up for the rights of womankind, and broke through previously unquestioned barriers in the name of widening opportunities for our gender and demanding a long overdue parity of the sexes.

I?ll leave you with more of Mary Ann?s inspiring words: ?This is a journey that is yours alone to make, because you are the only one who can hear the music playing in your head. You are the only one who can sing that song, dance that dance, or write that story, and you owe it to yourself and to the world not to falter in your pursuit of those dreams.?

As D.C. continued to dig out from Snowmageddon and is keeping an eye on another storm system, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was busy making a climate change announcement.

NOAA, part of the Department of Commerce, is going to be providing information to individuals and decision-makers through a new NOAA Climate Service office. ?More and more, Americans are witnessing the impacts of climate change in their own backyards, including sea-level rise, longer growing seasons, changes in river flows, increases in heavy downpours, earlier snowmelt and extended ice-free seasons in our waters. People are searching for relevant and timely information about these changes to inform decision-making about virtually all aspects of their lives,? the release says.

Earlier snowmelt? That would be nice.

Internet chatter had led to speculation that it might be an urban myth -- nothing more than clever digital trickery spreading via the Web.

But our friend Bob Collins at Minnesota Public Radio assures us hes seen it with his own eyes:

There is a billboard along I-35 near Wyoming, Minn., with a huge photo of former president George W. Bush and this question: "Miss Me Yet?"

Doctors: Haitian may have survived 4 weeks in rubble

The 28-year-old man, identified as Evan Muncie, was found in the wreckage of a market where he sold rice, his family told staff at a University of Miami field hospital. He suffered from extreme dehydration and malnutrition, but did not appear to have significant crushing injuries, the doctors said.

"He was emaciated. He hadnt had anything in quite some time. He had open wounds that were festering on both of his feet," said Dr. Mike Connelly, of the universitys Project Medishare.

The people who brought him to the hospital said they found the man while digging out the marketplace, Connelly said.

iReporter Michael Andrew brought Muncies story to light while working with the 82nd Canadian Naval unit.

Read Andrews account of the discovery

Glenn Beck sends six year old history book to #1

On his radio program yesterday morning, Glenn Beck praised Larry Schweikarts A Patriots History of the United States: From Columbuss Great Discovery to the War on Terror, which came out in 2004 as a 900+ page hardcover.

Beck said (show transcript):

I went over to Amazon.com, where the book was ranked around #280,000. That was around 9:30AM ET.

I kept checking throughout the day, and sure enough, the books ranking went up and up.

I went back to Amazon.com this morning, just before Becks show went to air.

As of 9:00AM ET, 24 hours later, the book is #1.

Kyler Van Nocker?s story shows that even 5-year-old kids are not exempt from this insurance company abuse. Van Nocker has neuroblastoma, which is a very rare form of childhood cancer that targets the nervous system and creates tumors throughout the body.

The report demands that children 10 and older be given a "comprehensive sexuality education" by governments, aid organizations and other groups, and that young people should be seen as "sexual beings."

He said religions like Catholicism and Islam teach sex as part of a much bigger picture and that Planned Parenthood was trying to de-link sex from traditional values.

A friend wishing to remain anonymous emailed me this, and it is pretty damn cool.

10 Classic Cocktails

For those who like to stick to the basics, these classic drinks will never go out of style. With a few key liquors like rum, vodka, and whiskey, you can mix sophisticated drinks that are sure to satisfy even the toughest critic. Get more tempting drink recipes!

By Jennifer Treuting

Manhattan

Side Car

50-50 Martini

French Cosmopolitan

Miami Mojito

Mint Julep

Long Island Iced Tea

Bellini Mimosas

Raspberry Rickey

Italian Lemon Cordial

The Islamic Republic, which denies its program has military aims, defied the international community by announcing on Sunday that it would enrich uranium to 20-percent purity for a Tehran reactor making medical isotopes for cancer patients.

Salehi told state TV late on Monday that Iran was still prepared to carry out the fuel swap if its conditions were met:

"The president announced that we will start production of 20 percent enriched uranium, but he has kept the doors of interaction open ... which means we would stop working (enrichment to 20 pct) if they provide us the necessary fuel."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Irans sworn enemy Israel, widely believed to be the regions only nuclear armed state, demanded immediate sanctions against Iran.

"Iran is racing forward to produce nuclear weapons," Netanyahu told European diplomats. "This means crippling sanctions and these sanctions must be applied right now."

As part of its budget for the next year, Darpa is investing $6 million into a project called BioDesign, with the goal of eliminating ?the randomness of natural evolutionary advancement.? The plan would assemble the latest bio-tech knowledge to come up with living, breathing creatures that are genetically engineered to ?produce the intended biological effect.? Darpa wants the