| Hobbit hominids were 'dwarf cretins'
AUSTRALIAN scientists are causing controversy in the usually placid world of anthropology, becoming embroiled in a feud about diminutive "hobbit" people whose fossilised remains were found in a cave on a remote Indonesian island four years ago. Combatting a bid to have the hobbits enshrined as a separate branch of the human family tree, they argue the tiny cave-dwellers were simply Homo sapiens who became stunted and retarded as a result of iodine deficiency in pregnancy. Dubbed after the wee folk in J.R.R. Tolkien's tale, the hominids - just a metre tall and with a chimp-sized brain - lived around 18,000 years ago on the island of Flores. The Australian-Indonesian team which announced the discovery in 2004 honoured the cave-dwellers with the name of "Homo floresiensis," or "Man of Flores," to bolster their claim that the hobbits were a new species of human.
Former Mountain States Nurse Says She Was Fired After Supporting ...
How could you fire me on something I might do, when I hadn't done any of that?" Smith said. "I guess I should have realized that it went through the company email…(Management) said that I have a bad attitude and that I'm not a team player." Mountain States would not comment on camera about Smith's firing, but the company did release a statement. "It's an internal matter that we can't discuss, but she was a disgruntled employee as is evident in the letter," the company said. At one point in the email, Smith says Mountain States is financing a massive smear campaign against Wellmont. "Aren't I entitled to an opinion?" she asked. It seems yes and no. Kingsport Attorney Bruce Shine specializes in employment law. "Employees do not enjoy the constitutional rights in the workplace that they enjoy in the public place," Shine said.
Penthouse Puts Out $500M for Social Networking Sites
Penthouse Media Group, Inc. (PMGI), the parent company for Penthouse magazine and the owner of extensive online properties, announced Wednesday that it is spending $500 million to acquire Various, Inc., the owner of numerous social networking sites, including AdultFriendFinder.com, one of the Web's leading dating sites. The transaction is one of the largest ever for an adult business. "Various is an attractive addition to our already strong print platform, and one that puts Penthouse in a very robust position in the ever-growing online social networking arena," said Penthouse Media Group CEO Marc Bell said in a statement. "We like where the business combination puts us and that this transaction will enhance PMGI's current and future licensing, print and interactive ventures." In addition to AdultFriendFinder.com, Various owns and operates a network of more than 25 other popular sites, including JewishFriendFinder.com, OutPersonals.com, and Cams.com, which advertises itself as "The Wildest Live Webcams." A Massive Customer Database Clearly, a leading attractor for Penthouse Media Group is the staggeringly large member base that Various commands.
3 Cents Blog
I hope it passes. Al, Hanover MD -I'm so glad our elected officials are spending our tax dollars on such important issues as this. Let sprawl destroy our rural landscapes, let pollution and overfishing kill the Chesapeake, let our children grow up obese and uneducated as long as we get those ornaments off the road...for surely nothing will ruin their psyche for life more than seeing a little tasteless humor! Might actually do girls some good to know what testicles look like, since this country has just about banned any kind of sex ed in schools!! Whitney, Arlington VA -Really? There's nothing more pressing to pass legislation on? To be vulgar, wouldn't a truck need to actually have testicles? Most cars don't have "bras"... some do. Are the ones that don't going to be pulled over for indecent exposure? The "Truck nuts" could be (aren't but could be) a place for storing 2 different sized hitch balls.... Jason, Minneapolis MN -This is totally ridiculous.
Murder on MySpace
DEANNE BAYS WAS WORRIED about her kid brother, Daniel. His girlfriend hadn't heard from him for a day and a half. There was no sign of him online, even though he usually spent hours a day on MySpace. And he'd been hanging out a lot with that drug dealer. Bays hoped that didn't mean young Daniel Varo was back in jail. All day long on February 7, even as Bays crammed for Accounting 211 and Spanish 102 and took her daughter to the dentist, she wondered where he could be. That evening, two hours into her 4-to-10 pm shift at the Norm Thompson catalog company, just outside Portland, Oregon, Bays finally got a chance to check her own MySpace page for messages. There was one from her husband, frantic, telling Bays to phone right away – even though he knew that she wasn't allowed to make personal calls on the job.
Product Recalls
Furthermore, the manufacturer's formulation revealed that sliced peanuts and milk powder were used as ingredients. These were also not listed on the label. Consumers who have purchased 19-gram packages of Lotte Margaret Brand Korean Cracker are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 718-821-5252. Georgia Department of Agriculture sanitarians will be looking for these recalled crackers during their routine inspections of grocery stores and food warehouses to make sure they are removed from sale. 2/25/2008 MAYFIELD ICE CREAM RECALL Mayfield Dairy Farms is recalling half-gallon paper cartons of its Vanilla Classic Ice Cream. The 250 units are being recalled because there are pecans in the product that were not listed on the label.
SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL
Sony unveiled the Walkman in 1979, and portable music has been a staple for music fans ever since. But only recently with the popularity of MP3 players, in particular Apple's iPod and Microsoft's Zune, and the earbuds that accompany them, has the issue of hearing damage and headphones become such a hot topic. Protecting hearing is a must -- and the earlier it begins, the better. "Excessive volume can have an affect at any point in life, even in utero. Three out of five babies are born with some level of hearing loss," says C. Scot Frink, an audiologist in Salem. Many states have mandated screening within 24 hours of birth with otoacoustic emissions, a very accurate, quick and inexpensive test that usually catches any hearing loss before the baby has left the hospital. "The first school screening is when hearing loss is often first detected, but a lot can be detected much sooner," says Frink.
Officials brace for costs of election
A special primary was held Feb. 8, and the special general election will be Saturday.It will cost Kane County $493,000 to $500,000, along with logistical headaches, Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham said. And because the election is on a Saturday, nine polling places in Kane County had to move, and more than 1,000 election judges, along with janitors and other employees, must report to work, Cunningham said.In November, just after Hastert’s retirement, Cunningham estimated that the special election would cost Kane County between $400,000 and $800,000. For all eight counties that fall partly or completely in the district, Cunningham estimated the cost at between $1 million and $2 million.One challenge for the candidates is getting the word out that residents can cast a ballot on a Saturday.Republican candidate Jim Oberweis said his campaign strategy didn’t change, except that he scheduled more public appearances and other campaigning before March 8.Democratic candidate Bill Foster said his campaign was working to educate voters about the unusual election day as well.He also said it would be an "interesting experiment" to see what voter turnout is on a Saturday.
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