Nigerian schoolchildren who received laptops from a U.S. aid organization have used them to explore pornographic sites on the Internet, the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Thursday.

NAN said its reporter had seen pornographic images stored on several of the children's laptops.

"Efforts to promote learning with laptops in a primary school in Abuja have gone awry as the pupils freely browse adult sites with explicit sexual materials," NAN said.

A representative of the One Laptop Per Child aid group was quoted as saying that the computers, part of a pilot scheme, would now be fitted with filters.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Family searches feces of cash-eating dog

Debbie Hulleman's dog Pepper has been known to gnaw on lipstick, munch on shampoo bottles and chew on toothpaste. But Pepper got Hulleman into a real mess after gobbling nearly $750.

"This is probably the worst," Hulleman said Thursday, recalling how she poked through vomit and dog piles left in the yard to recover the cash.

Hulleman had asked her mother in Oakdale, Minn., to take care of Pepper and Zach, the family's other dog last month while she and husband went on vacation.

Pepper, an 8-year-old black Labrador-German shorthair, got into a purse belonging to her mother's friend and chewed the cash from an envelope.

Hulleman's mother recovered some of the money that Pepper spit out, thinking she had it all. But when Hulleman returned from the trip and went to clean up her dogs' mess outside, she noticed a $50 bill hanging from one pile.

The chore of sorting through dog feces netted about $400, the 50-year-old dog lover said. Between that and other bills that Pepper had either vomited or simply chewed on, the family recovered $647.

"We have a $100 bill that can't be recovered because you need three-fourths of a bill and it is only half of a bill," Hulleman said.

The family swapped the soiled money for fresh currency at a bank.

"It wasn't that bad. I soaked it and strained it and rinsed it. I just kept rinsing it and rinsing it. I had rubber gloves on of course," Hulleman said.

"Everyone said, 'I can't believe you did that.' Well, for $400, yeah, I would do that," she said.

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press.

Tiny brain no obstacle to French civil servant

A man with an unusually tiny brain managed to live an entirely normal life despite his condition, caused by a fluid buildup in his skull, French researchers reported on Thursday.

Scans of the 44-year-old man's brain showed that a huge fluid-filled chamber called a ventricle took up most of the room in his skull, leaving little more than a thin sheet of actual brain tissue.

"He was a married father of two children, and worked as a civil servant," Dr. Lionel Feuillet and colleagues at the Universite de la Mediterranee in Marseille wrote in a letter to the Lancet medical journal.

The man went to a hospital after he had mild weakness in his left leg. When Feuillet's staff took his medical history, they learned he had had a shunt inserted into his head to drain away hydrocephalus -- water on the brain -- as an infant.

The shunt was removed when he was 14.

So the researchers did a computed tomography (CT) scan and another type of scan called magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They were astonished to see "massive enlargement" of the lateral ventricles -- usually tiny chambers that hold the cerebrospinal fluid that cushions the brain.

Intelligence tests showed the man had an IQ of 75, below the average score of 100 but not considered mentally retarded or disabled, either.

"What I find amazing to this day is how the brain can deal with something which you think should not be compatible with life," commented Dr. Max Muenke, a paediatric brain defect specialist at the National Human Genome Research Institute.

"If something happens very slowly over quite some time, maybe over decades, the different parts of the brain take up functions that would normally be done by the part that is pushed to the side," added Muenke, who was not involved in the case.


Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.

Football player deserts Asian Cup to get married

For the second time during this Asian Cup a player will desert his team to get hitched. Vietnam playmaker Phan Van Tai Em is to miss the biggest game of his life on Saturday as he has already organised his wedding on the same day.

The tournament surprise package play Iraq in the quarter-finals but will be without one of their star players.

Coach Alfred Riedl previously expressed his disappointment that a player had so little faith in his team's chances of making the knock-out stages that he arranged his wedding on the day of the quarters.

But on Friday he said: "Tai Em has his wedding day so we have to release him. He can't change his wedding day as there are too many people coming to the marriage already and it's an important day for him.

"We don't want to force him or put pressure on him."

Vietnam captain Nguyen Minh Phuong, a club-mate of Tai Em's, admitted that he and his team-mates had even been invited to the wedding.

"Everyone has been invited, even coach Riedl, but we are busy as we have a match. But we are hoping to offer him a present -- a place in the semi-finals."

Just a week ago maverick midfielder Datsakorn Thonglao shocked his Thailand teammates ahead of their crunch Asian Cup game with heavyweights Australia by skipping training to get married.

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse.

One of the largest Viking treasure hoards found in northern England

The Associated Press
Thursday, July 19, 2007
LONDON: One of the biggest Viking treasures ever found has been discovered on an English farm by a father-son team of treasure hunters, the British Museum said Thursday.

The trove of coins and jewelry was buried more than 1,000 years ago — a collection of items drawn from Ireland, France, Russia and Scandinavia in a testament to the raiders' international reach and commercial prowess.

"It's a fascinating find, it's the largest find of its type of over 150 years," said Gareth Williams, an expert at the British Museum who examined the trove.

He said it was the largest such find ever seen in Britain since the 1840 discovery of the Cuerdale Hoard — a mass of 8,500 silver coins, chains, and amulets.

David Whelan, 60, and his 35-year-old son Andrew were trawling a through a farmer's field near Harrogate, in northern England, on Jan. 6 when their metal detector squealed. The pair began digging, finding a silver bowl more than a foot (40 centimeters) beneath the soil. Under British law, such finds have to be reported to authorities.

The pair turned the bowl over to archaeological experts who discovered it was packed with coins and jewelry .

"We thought it was marvelous," David told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "But we didn't know for nearly a month what was in it."

The bowl, a 9th century gilt silver container probably seized by Vikings from a monastery, had been used as an improvised treasure chest before being buried.

"We were pleased, but we were more pleased when we found out what was in it," Whelan said.

In all, more than 600 coins and dozens of other objects, including a gold arm band, silver ingots and fragments of silver were found in and around the container.

Some of the coins mixed Christian and pagan imagery, said Gareth Williams, a curator of early medieval coins at the British Museum, shedding light on the beliefs of newly Christianized Vikings.

The booty was likely accumulated through a combination of commerce and warfare, Williams said. Its quantity indicated that at least some of it was taken by force, perhaps in raids on northern Europe or Scandinavia, he said.

The items were manufactured as far afield as Afghanistan, Russia and Scandinavia.

The Vikings raids were chronicled as early as the eighth century by Christian monks on the coasts of northern Europe. The raids spread throughout Europe, from modern day Spain to Turkey.

In some places, the raids grew into full-fledged invasions, and Viking kingdoms were established in Britain, Ireland, and Normandy, in France, among other places.

The British Museum said that the loot was hidden some time after the fall of the Viking Kingdom of Northumbria in 927. Vikings often buried their wealth in times of trouble.

The museum said it hoped to buy at least some of the hoard from the Whelan family once its value was determined. David, for his part, said he and his son enjoyed the walks through the countryside, and would keep hunting together on the weekends.

"If we hadn't found it we would've still been going," he said. "We just keep going, we enjoy it."

pepper reminded me of my dog who had once eaten my brand new shoe

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- http://www.nswccl.org.au/issues/sniffer_dogs.php ('If a dog sits down
next you, then police can search you. It pays to know your rights so
check out the following pointers. Stay calm and be polite. You could be
fined or arrested if you swear at the police, so don't give them an
excuse . . .')

- http://www.soidog.org ('There are about 50 temples on the island, most
have an average of about 30 dogs, it is estimated that Soi Dog look
after about 600 dogs in temples alone, not counting other street dogs, and
the 400+ dogs at the Shelter and stray cats around the island . . .',
Phuket, Thailand)

- http://www.i-love-dogs.com/dog-games/game/2394/Dog-Pacman.html (dog
Pacman)

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curses: 'Try to bolster your disbelief. Find reasons that the curse is
nothing to worry about. For example, most magickal practicioners who
have been at it for long enough to get good don't put curses on people.
People are generally quite good at messing themselves up without any
magickal help. It's very likely that the person who laid the curse on you
in the first place is just trying to scare you, and maybe look cool . .
.')

- target=_blank>http://www.globalpsychics.com/enlightening-you/metaphysics/being-psychic/remove-curses.shtml
('Notes on Removing a Curse: 'Throughout this section, our stated
position is that it is NOT possible to have a curse removed . . . that
paying money for such services will only make the problems worse . . .
however, we have received several letters over the years disputng our
position . . .')

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Belushi's last night: 'On March 4, 1982, Belushi, Smith, and former SNL
writer Nelson Lyon spent the evening partying together. The trio
ingested massive quantities of liquor and snorted even larger quantities of
cocaine. They stumbled all over West Hollywood looking for the next party
. . .')

- http://www.stopaddiction.com/cocaine_history.html (Scientology's
Narconon programme: 'As a rule, famous people are role models that can and do
influence the masses. Star power has proven time and again to be the
most potent form of advertising. Think about it: the worlds most famous
psychologist; the man that invented the light bulb; a stable of
Hollywood silent film stars; and the inventor or the most popular soft drink
in history - all on the pro-cocaine band wagon. All promoting the drug's
positive effects . . .')

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on our Christian sex toys and fantastic customer service, while
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as Christian sex toys, they are just sex toys that we are offering to
the Body of Christ without all the bad stuff . . .')

- http://www.sexinchrist.com/threesome.html ('Threesomes Within a
Christian Marriage)

- http://www.christiansandbdsm.com/cbdsmintro.html (Christian BDSM:

Underwear Outlawed In Another US Town

Fashion criminals in Delcambre, Louisiana face up to six months in jail
under new laws which outlaw public display of underwear, the BBC
reported this week.

"This is a new ordinance that deals specifically with sagging pants,"
Delcambre attorney Ted Ayo told Associated Press, "It's about showing
off your underwear in public."

Mayor Carol Broussard warned miscreants they face further fines of $500
and suggested 'they're better off taking the pants off and just
wearing a dress'.

The town's no knicker ban matched similar legislation drawn up in
Virginia in 2005, when councillors introduced what became known as the
"droopy drawers" bill though local politician Algie T Howell was more
circumspect when introducing the law.

"It's not an attack on baggy pants," Mr Algie stressed when outlining
the details of the 'below-waist undergarment' ban.

"To vote for this bill would be a vote for character, to uplift your
community and to do something good not only for the state of Virginia,
but for this entire country," he added.

In more cover up news, a new protest group in Spain launched a campaign
to ban 'skimpy bikini bottoms and thongs' from beaches along the Costa
Blanca this week, with topless bathing also something they hope to
eradicate.

"As things stand at the moment, children are having to see things they
are yet to be taught by their families," Maribel Martinez, president of
the Family Beaches group told the Metro newspaper.

'We have already got nudist beaches and beaches where smoking is
banned. Why can't we set aside beach areas for the enjoyment of families?"
she proposed.

Can Dreams Really Come True?

Dreams can certainly come true and will do if you
actively visualise what you want and support that vision with belief.

Spend time each day in a relaxed mode with your eyes closed visualising
and believing yourself a short way into the future, having managed to
jump over al obstacles and enjoying the reality your heart desires.
Avoid getting caught up in arguments with your rational mind, which will
inevitably come up with a thousand plausible reasons why your dream
can't come true and simply remain focused during the visualization period
concentrating on the vision you seek.

Life will take care of the details that will facilitate the necessary
conditions for your dream to actualise itself and will urge you and
nudge you to take various actions along the way in terms of playing your
part - phone this one, email that one and so on - these will arise as
instinctive feelings to take action and you must let go and follow them,
otherwise attending to all your responsibilities to the best of your
ability at all times.

Then, before you know it, as if by a miracle, you'll find yourself
living out the scenario you've been visualising in real time. It may not
look quite as you'd imagined and will certainly be more multi-dimensional
but it will contain all the necessary elements to promote the
fulfillment and satisfaction you're wanting. The key to it all is belief."

We don't play him all the time because it wouldn't be fair on the staff. It's only when we feel the hoodies start to outnumber the families."Traveling funfair spokesman Seth Carter stresses they only play Cliff Richard records on the rides when gangs of teenagers start to intimidate older people.


"Sunglasses in clubs. You look dumb. And you're standing on my foot." (Sunday Times)Sunday Times' Style section gives the thumbs down to sunglasses at night.