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Lily & Moochzilla

Lily & Sinbad

Skloot

500 women in secret affairs with priests: support group

May 22, 2009

At least 500 women in Ireland are conducting clandestine affairs with Catholic priests, says the leader of a support group set up to look after those in forbidden relationships.

Bishop Pat Buckley said a conservative estimate was that one in 10 of the 5000 priests enjoyed regular sex with women and some even referred to their clerical collar as the "bird catcher".

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Celebrate World Turtle Day

Turtles are one of the most endearing and symbolic of America's native wildlife. Turtles not only fascinate each passing generation of children, who find endless wonders under those hard shells, but they also continue to serve as a timeless role model in children's literature: the slow and steady turtle, whose patient progress always wins out against his fast but feckless competitor.

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New Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols attacks secularists

The new Archbishop of Westminster has launched an attack on secularists, warning that they threaten to undermine society in Britain.

Last Updated: 7:27PM BST 21 May 2009

Secularists, such as Richard Dawkins, who try to rubbish religion are encouraging intolerance Photo: REUTERS

In his installation service as the new leader of Catholics in England and Wales, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols called for a greater respect of religious belief.

He said that attempts to marginalise faith must not be allowed to succeed if the country is to overcome its problems of social cohesion.

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Revealed, six decades of 'ritual' child abuse: Catholic schools and orphanages damned in report

By Tom Kelly
Last updated at 2:33 PM on 21st May 2009

• Abuse was 'endemic' in childrens' institutions
• Safety of children in general was not a consideration
• No abusers will be prosecuted
  
• Victims banned from launch of shocking report
  

Church leaders and government watchdogs covered up 'endemic' and 'ritualised' abuse of thousands of children in Roman Catholic schools and orphanages in the Irish Republic, a shocking report revealed yesterday.

For six decades, priests and nuns terrorised boys and girls in the workhouse-style schools with sexual, physical and mental abuse.

Enlarge

Kevin Flannigan, right, and John Kelly, left, from the group Survivors of Child Abuse, protest at not being allowed into the launch of the long-awaited Child Abuse Commission report at the Conrad Hotel Dublin

But officials in Ireland's Catholic Church shielded paedophile staff from arrest to

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Why bosses are right to distrust women who don't want children... by a VERY outspoken mother (and ex-boss)

By Carol Sarler
Last updated at 8:17 AM on 21st May 2009

Much as I like to trumpet the importance of a woman's right to choose all things at all times, there's one choice I simply cannot understand: the choice of an otherwise sane and healthy woman not to have children.

If a would-be mother is a singleton of 40 who decides to have a baby without a partner, I might wish she'd thought of it sooner and prepared for it better - but I understand.

If she's half of a lesbian couple who 'borrows' the wherewithal, I might cross my fingers that the child is not teased at school - but I understand. Even if she's a 66-year- old pregnant pensioner, threatening to turn motherhood into a freak show, I might (indeed, I do) think she's monstrously selfish and dangerously wrong - but again, more or less, I understand.

Carol believes she can always pick which female staff have children

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With a wave of the hand

How using gestures can make you smarter

By Ellen Campana

iStock/René Mansi

Go into any busy coffee shop and you are likely to see people engrossed in conversation, waving their hands around. A man at the counter describes the coffee he wants to buy – in a mug, not a to-go cup – and his hand takes a familiar shape, as if he were already holding the cozy mug. Nearby, two sisters laugh, as one tells a story about a trip to the barrier reef and all of the fish that she saw, her hands wiggling and darting in an invisible sea in front of her. The drive to gesture when speaking is fundamental to human nature.

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Retired Actress Returns to Martial-Arts Film

Brigitte Lin as Dong Fang Bu Bai in "Swordsman II" [File Photo: baidu.com]

Actress Brigitte Lin, who retired in 1994 after playing many impressive roles, is set to make a comeback in a new biopic about martial-arts master Yip Man.

Lin has signed on to star in director Wong Kar-Wai's "The Great Master", Chinese media cited Yip Man's son, Yip Chun, as saying.

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Japanese punk documentary awarded Japan Foundation Grant

“Live House,” an upcoming feature-length music documentary on punk rock clubs in Japan directed by Kevin Mcgue, has been awarded a grant by the Japan Foundation, a non-profit
organization that carries out arts and cultural exchange programs to enhance mutual understanding among countries throughout the world.

The title of the documentary, “Live House,” is a term used in Japan to describe small live music venues featuring underground rock and punk acts. “They are different than bars in other countries that feature music,” says director Mcgue, an American-born journalist based in Tokyo for eight years. “In other countries, most people will be drinking at the bar while a band plays in the corner. In Japan, the focus is firmly on the music, and the fans really get into it. It is a unique kind of venue, and a unique way to enjoy music. It is a culture that has developed in Japan.”

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Moochie & Lily

Skloot

Looks pretty good for a turtle that was tossed around & used as a chew toy.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR

This is Moochie & the Sunday paper that was thrown at her by the FN carrier. 4:30ish I heard a “here kitty, kitty” then the paper flying at her. The a-holes were gone by the time I got out side.

Japanese Director Set to Make Taekwondo Film

Ryuhei Kitamura

The Japanese film director Ryuhei Kitamura looks like an erratic high school student with bleached blond hair and pitch black eyebrows. In Korea for a meeting with a potential distributor for his new project, a film tentatively titled "Tae Kwon" for which the shooting begins later this year, Kitamura already has a deal with big Japanese production company Yoshimoto Kogyo to make the film, with the U.S.' Arclight Films in charge of distributing the film in North America and Europe.

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Pope who was once a member of the Hitler Youth arrives in the Holy Land and condemns anti-Semitism

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 4:52 PM on 11th May 2009

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Pope Benedict used his first speech in Israel to remember the six million Jews killed by the Nazis and try to heal fresh wounds over his reinstatement of a bishop who denied the Holocaust.

In the 45 years since the Second Vatican Council rejected the concept of collective Jewish guilt for Christ's death, Catholic-Jewish relations have been haunted by the Holocaust and the question of what the church did, or failed to do, about it.

They went through one of their worst periods in January after the pope lifted the excommunication of four traditionalist bishops, including one who denied six million Jews were killed.

Pope Benedict XVI sits near Israel's national flag during a welcoming ceremony on his behalf at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International airport today

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Cool Movies

Movie Review: Ichi the Killer (2001)

Movie Review: A War Named Desire (2000)

Movie Review: Everybody Loves Sunshine (1999)

Movie Review: The Mission (1999)

Movie Review: Happy Together (1997)

Movie Review: Young and Dangerous (1996)

Movie Review: The Bride with White Hair (1993)

Movie Review: Miller's Crossing (1990)

Movie Review: The Krays (1990)

Movie Review: The Killer 1989)

Movie Review: A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

Movie Review: A Better Tomorrow (1986)

Movie Review: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

Movie Review: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

Movie Review: The Virgin Soldiers (1966)

Movie Review: Georgy Girl (1966)

KIYOSHIRO IMAWANO IN CUBA

Carlos Iglesias 2006-04-17

When asked about it, Japanese rock star Kiyoshiro Imawano said he had to reasons for coming to Cuba. He was never before on the Caribbean Island. The other reason was that Be-Pal magazine, official sponsor of the trip, wants to widen the spectrum of the Cuban music in Japan, where the public only knows Buena Vista Social Club and that kind of music. MORE HERE!

Japanese Rocker Kiyoshiro Imawano Dies

May 02, 2009 - Global

By Rob Schwartz, Tokyo

Japanese rocker Kiyoshiro Imawano, leader of the groundbreaking band RC Succession and later a solo act, has died in Tokyo at 58.

RC Succession started as a Ventures cover band in 1966 but moved on to be one of the leading rock bands in Japan with their 1972 hit record "Shoki no RC Succession." From that time the act was a staple of the Japanese rock scene and they also received international attention. In 1982 RC Succession took part in the high-profile "The Day of R&B" festival at which Chuck Berry headlined.

Unusual for Japan, Imawano was active politically and recorded anti-nuclear tracks as well as spoke out against war and for Tibetan freedom.

In his later years Imawano performed under his own name and was a favorite at the industry-leading Fuji Rock Festival. He appeared at the festival, which started in 1997, in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005. He was scheduled to appear in 2006 but was diagnosed with throat cancer and was forced to cancel.

Imawano succumbed to lymphatic cancer early Saturday morning.

Jello Biafra hits recording studio with new band

Robert Hurwitt, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Jello Biafra is back in the recording studio. A longtime leader in the punk and alternative rock scenes, who first rose to fame as Dead Kennedys lead singer and songwriter, Biafra - the stage name of Eric Reed Boucher - has become as well known for his political activities as for his music. The two have always gone hand in hand. Within a year of moving to San Francisco and starting the Dead Kennedys in 1978, Biafra ran for mayor, coming in fourth behind Dianne Feinstein.

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Learning Chinese languages makes you musical, claim scientists

Learning to speak Mandarin and Vietnamese as a child helps make you more musical, claims a study that suggests being fluent in the languages helps you have perfect pitch.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Last Updated: 6:51AM BST 30 Apr 2009

According to recent studies learning to speak Mandarin and Vietnamese as a child helps make you more musical Photo: GETTY

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Korean Historical Soaps Upset China

Korean historical dramas have upset Chinese authorities and Internet users alike. Chinese authorities have imposed a press embargo on "Taewangsasingi," about the Koguryo Kingdom (37BC-668AD) from the early days until King Kwanggaeto the Great, and Chinese Internet users are calling "Chumong," about the early kingdom’s founding, chauvinistic and anti-Chinese.

Tianya Club, one of the most popular Internet forums in China, and Chinese search engine Baidu are inundated with messages attacking "Chumong." Users complain Korean drama is following in the footsteps of Japanese attempts to rewrite history, depicting Koreans as innocent and the Han-dynasty Chinese as cruel. "The drama portrays Han China as even nastier than Japan," one message says. "What are the Chinese authorities doing? Korea is airing this kind of vicious TV drama all around the world."

Bae Yong-joon of "Taewangsasingi" (right) and Song Il-gook of "Chumong"

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New Historical Dramas Struggling to Find Viewers

The heroines of Korean history, who had been tipped to draw huge TV soap audiences this year, are struggling with present-day realities.

SBS drama "Princess Jamyeong" only draws about 10 percent ratings and KBS' "The Iron Empress" some 15 percent. One reason may be that they failed to win the hearts of middle-aged men, the bedrock of audiences for historical drama.

Chai Si-ra (left) in scene from "The Iron Empress" and Jung Ryeo-won in scene from "Princess Jamyeong"

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