Pagans have a cow over Homer

Gods of war....Homer painted next to fertility legend

By ONLINE REPORTER
July 16, 2007

PAGANS have pledged to perform “rain magic” to wash away cartoon character Homer Simpson who was painted next to their famous fertility symbol - the Cerne Abbas giant.

The 17th century chalk outline of the naked, sexually aroused, club-wielding giant is believed by many to be a symbol of ancient spirituality.

Many couples also believe the 180ft giant, which is carved in the hillside above Cerne Abbas, Dorset, is an aid to fertility.

A giant 180ft Homer Simpson brandishing a doughnut was painted next to the well-endowed figure today in a publicity stunt to promote The Simpsons Movie released later this month.

It has been painted with water-based biodegradable paint which will wash away as soon as it rains.

Ann Bryn-Evans, joint Wessex district manager for The Pagan Federation, said: “It’s very disrespectful and not at all aesthetically pleasing.

“We were hoping for some dry weather but I think I have changed my mind. We’ll be doing some rain magic to bring the rain and wash it away.”

She added: “I’m amazed they got permission to do something so ridiculous. It’s an area of scientific interest.”

She also expressed fears that the painting of Homer, from the animated television series The Simpsons, would cause a mess as it washed away.

During the Second World War, he was disguised to prevent the Germans from using him as an aerial landmark.

Since then he has always been visible, receiving regular grass trimming and a full re-chalking every 25 years.

 

This was found at The Sun.

Technorati Tags: Cool, Funny, Movies, Weird

Synthetic Adhesive Mimics Sticking Powers Of Gecko And Mussel

Science Daily — Geckos are remarkable in their ability to scurry up vertical surfaces and even move along upside down. Their feet stick but only temporarily, coming off of surfaces again and again like a sticky note. But put those feet underwater, and their ability to stick is dramatically reduced.

Water is an enemy of adhesives, which typically do not work well in wet environments -- think of how long a bandage on your finger lasts. Now two Northwestern University biomedical engineers have successfully married the gecko's adhesive ability with that of an animal well known for its sticking power underwater: the mussel.

Combining the important elements of gecko and mussel adhesion, the new adhesive material, called "geckel," functions like a sticky note and exhibits strong yet reversible adhesion in both air and water.

The findings, which could lead to applications in medical, industrial, consumer and military settings, will be published in the July 19 issue of the journal Nature.

"The geckel material should be useful for reversible attachment to a variety of surfaces in any environment," said Phillip B. Messersmith, professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and an author of the paper.

"I envision that adhesive tapes made out of geckel could be used to replace sutures for wound closure and may also be useful as a water-resistant adhesive for bandages and drug-delivery patches. Such a bandage would remain firmly attached to the skin during bathing but would permit easy removal upon healing."

A gecko's strong but temporary adhesion comes from a mechanical principle known as contact splitting. Each gecko foot has a flat pad that is densely packed with very fine hairs that are split at the ends, resulting in a greater number of contact points than if the hairs were not split. (The diameter of one of the split hairs is as small as 200 nanometers.) More contact points between hairs and surface result in a significant increase in adhesion force. Flies, bees and other insects also use this strategy.

Many researchers before Messersmith have attempted to mimic the gecko foot but have had limited success in replicating the reversible property over many contact cycles. No synthetic mimics have been able to stick past two contact/release cycles, and none work underwater.

In contrast, the geckel material created by Messersmith and Haeshin Lee, one of his graduate students and lead author of the Nature paper, sticks through 1,000 contact/release cycles (like a gecko) and performs extremely well underwater, with high adhesion strength (like a mussel). The material performs similarly in dry environments.

"I was reading a research paper about the drop of adhesion in geckos when underwater, and it hit me -- maybe we could apply what we know about mussels to make gecko adhesion work underwater," said Messersmith.

In earlier work, he and his research group created mussel-mimetic polymers and have studied extensively an amino acid called 3,4-L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), which is found in high concentration in the "glue" proteins of mussels.

Messersmith and Lee imitated a gecko's foot by nanofabricating arrays of silicone pillars that exhibit enough flexibility to adapt to rough surfaces. Next they brought in the mussel power, coating the pillars with a very thin layer of a synthetic polymer, designed by the researchers, that mimics the wet adhesive mussel proteins.

The researchers measured the performance of the geckel material using an atomic force microscope. They found that pillar arrays coated with the mussel-mimetic polymer improved wet adhesion 15-fold over uncoated pillar arrays. (The pillars in the arrays tested were 400 nanometers in diameter and 600 nanometers high.)

In a control experiment, the researchers took the DOPA out of the polymer coating and found the adhesion strength dropped rapidly, illustrating the importance of the synthetic amino acid. DOPA, said Messersmith, is critical to the polymer sticking both to the pillars and to the surface with which the pillars are interacting.

"We have demonstrated a proof of concept, but it will be necessary to develop a patterning approach that works on a large scale," said Messersmith, who believes they can produce a material with even better adhesion. "The challenge will be to scale up the technology and still have the geckel material exhibit adhesive behavior."

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health and NASA.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Northwestern University.

 

This was found at ScienceDaily.

Technorati Tags: Animals, Cool, Science

Anheuser-Busch to Distribute Icelandic Glacial Water in the United States

Leading U.S. Brewer Takes Equity Interest in Icelandic Water Holdings

July 18, 2007: 08:00 AM EST

ST. LOUIS and THORLAKSHOFN, Iceland, July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Anheuser-Busch, Inc. and Icelandic Water Holdings ehf jointly announced today Anheuser-Busch will become the master distributor for Icelandic Glacial super-premium natural spring water in the United States, effective immediately. Anheuser-Busch has taken a 20 percent equity interest in Icelandic Water Holdings as part of the agreement.

Icelandic Glacial is a naturally pure, high-quality spring water sourced exclusively from the Olfus Spring in Southwest Iceland, which was formed during a volcanic eruption more than 4,500 years ago. The spring is one of the largest in the world and is protected by a barrier of lava rock. The water is piped directly from the Olfus Spring and packaged at Icelandic Glacial's state-of-the-art bottling facility in Thorlakshofn, Iceland. Icelandic Water Holdings controls the sole commercial rights to bottle and sell water from the Olfus Spring in Thorlakshofn.

This deal will give Icelandic Glacial natural spring water access to more consumers through Anheuser-Busch's strong network of wholesalers across the country. It also provides Anheuser-Busch distributors with a pure, high-end natural spring water to compete in the fast-growing, nearly $11 billion U.S. bottled water market at a time when consumer demand for superior-quality water is increasing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Icelandic Water Holdings has plans to build a new 70,000-square-foot bottling facility on 1,500 acres in Hlidarendi, Iceland. The new facility will enable Icelandic Water Holdings to meet increased consumer demand for Icelandic Glacial natural spring water and make more bottled water available for Anheuser-Busch's distribution network in the United States. In keeping with the company's ongoing commitment to minimizing its impact on the environment, the new facility will incorporate a sophisticated Building Energy Management System that reflects their CarbonNeutral(R) status announced just last month. Icelandic Glacial is the first super-premium bottled water distributed in the United States to receive this certification in recognition for its ongoing commitment to reduce its overall carbon imprint on the environment.

Icelandic Glacial natural spring water was introduced in the United States in November 2005, and also is available in Canada, Iceland and selected markets throughout mainland Europe. The brand currently is available in a limited number of U.S. markets through a variety of local beverage distributors, including tests with a few Anheuser-Busch wholesalers. Icelandic Water Holdings will transition distribution to the Anheuser-Busch network effective immediately. Initial distribution will focus on select markets -- including California, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- with plans to expand nationwide in 2008. Icelandic Water Holdings will continue to oversee all sales and marketing for the brand in the United States.

"Icelandic Glacial is pure natural spring water imported from one of the cleanest, most natural environments in the world, which gives it a competitive advantage in the United States' high-end bottled water market," said August A. Busch IV, president and chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. "Our business landscape is changing, and we are looking for opportunities outside the alcohol beverage category to fuel additional growth for our company and our wholesalers. We believe Icelandic Glacial natural spring water has tremendous potential in the United States when combined with the strength of our distribution network."

According to recent statistics from the International Bottled Water Association and Beverage Marketing Corporation, U.S. bottled water volume increased 9.5 percent in 2006 with sales exceeding $10.8 billion. The super-premium segment in which Icelandic Glacial competes in the United States is relatively small, but profitable and rapidly growing. According to a 2006 survey conducted by Zenith International, the U.S. market for super-premium, imported water sales grew by nearly 20 percent in value during 2005 due to increased recognition and demand for quality by U.S. consumers.

"Anheuser-Busch immediately understood the value to consumers of our rare source of naturally and exceptionally pure spring water," said Jon Olafsson, executive chairman of Icelandic Water Holdings ehf, parent company of Icelandic Glacial. "We have a shared commitment to provide consumers access to the highest-quality natural spring water in the world, something that can only be found thousands of miles from major sources of pollution. This has become a highly coveted resource, and Anheuser-Busch can now pave the way for broad consumer access."

Anheuser-Busch wholesalers will distribute Icelandic Glacial natural spring water in 500-milliliter, 750-milliliter sports-cap, 1-liter PET bottles, and 500-milliliter PET bottle six-packs. Icelandic Glacial's distinct packaging features square, ice-chunk bottles with four different Icelandic landscape label designs wrapped around each bottle.

About Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water

Icelandic Glacial is the product of Icelandic Water Holdings ehf, which was founded in April 2004 and is located in Thorlakshofn, Iceland. Largely uninhabited and pollution free, Iceland has one of the cleanest environments on the planet. The source of this legendary water is the Olfus Spring, a naturally replenished catchment zone formed during a massive volcanic eruption more than 4,500 years ago. The local government is particularly appreciative of the need to protect this valuable resource and has applied an exclusion zone around the spring. For more information on Icelandic Glacial, see http://www.Icelandicglacial.com.

About Anheuser-Busch

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.4 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in China brewer Tsingtao, whose namesake beer brand is the country's best-selling premium beer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine's Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2007. Anheuser-Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world's largest recyclers of aluminum cans.

 

This was found at CNNMoney.com

Technorati Tags: Business, Funny, Lame, Weird

Senior Qaeda figure in Iraq a myth: U.S. military

By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A senior operative for al Qaeda in Iraq who was caught this month has told his U.S. military interrogators a prominent al Qaeda-led group is just a front and its leader fictitious, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner told a news conference that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, which was purportedly set up last year, did not exist.

The Islamic State of Iraq was established to try to put an Iraqi face on what is a foreign-driven network, Bergner said. The name Baghdadi means the person hails from the Iraqi capital.

Bergner said the information came from an operative called Khalid al-Mashadani who was caught on July 4 and who he said was an intermediary to Osama bin Laden.

He said Mashadani was believed to be the most senior Iraqi in the Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in Iraq network.

"In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks the foreign influence and leadership within al Qaeda in Iraq in an attempt to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq," Bergner said.

U.S. military officials in recent weeks have been pressed to explain the link between al Qaeda in Iraq and bin Laden's global network given the military's heightened focus on al Qaeda in Iraq as the biggest threat to the country.

The military blames al Qaeda in Iraq for most of the major bombings in Iraq, saying the group is trying to spark all-out civil war between majority Shi'tes and minority Sunni Arabs.

Bergner said Mashadani served as an intermediary between the al Qaeda in Iraq leader, Egyptian Abu Ayyab al-Masri and bin Laden and also the Egyptian cleric Ayman al-Zawahri, who is the global network's No. 2 commander.

The Islamic State of Iraq was set up in October, comprising a group of Sunni militant affiliates and tribal leaders led by Baghdadi. In April, it named a 10-man "cabinet".

The Islamic State of Iraq has claimed many high-profile acts of violence.

But Bergner said Mashadani and Masri had co-founded a "virtual organization in cyberspace called the Islamic State of Iraq in 2006 as a new Iraqi pseudonym for AQI".

"To further this myth, Masri created a fictional head of the Islamic State of Iraq known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi," he said.

"To make al-Baghdadi appear credible, al-Masri swore allegiance to al-Baghdadi and pledged to obey him, which is essentially pledging allegiance to himself since he knew Baghdadi was fictitious and a creation of his own," he said.

"The rank and file Iraqis in AQI believe they are following the Iraqi al-Baghdadi. But all the while they have been following the orders of the Egyptian Abu Ayyab al-Masri."

Voice recordings purporting to be from Baghdadi have appeared on the Internet, although Bergner said he had been played by an actor. He did not refer to any video clips.

Bergner said Mashadani was al Qaeda's "media emir" for Iraq.

He said the operative was "providing significant insights into the nature and circumstances of al Qaeda in Iraq".

The U.S. military has always said al Qaeda in Iraq was run by foreigners.

 

This was found at Reuters.

Technorati Tags: International, Politics, Scary, War