ÐnA | Family Affairs

Dolphin assassins menace Gulf of Mexico

Rogue cetacean death squad may be armed
By Thomas C Greene in Washington
Published Monday 26th September 2005 08:24 GMT

Heavily-armed, frightened, and confused. No, we don't mean the Bush Administration, but a group of killer dolphins trained by the US Navy and lately washed into the Gulf of Mexico by Hurricane Katrina, if The Guardian is to be believed.

Read the rest of it here...

Ohh, I can think of so many better was to spend/invest that money.....



Movie's record costs
From:
By Michael Bodey

September 21, 2005

IT has taken steely resolve but finally Superman Returns is nearing the screen. But at what cost?
The revisioned Superman tale, filming at Sydney's Fox Studios, could well be the most expensive film of all time.

Variety reported its director Bryan Singer acknowledged its budget is approaching $326 million - that would top Titanic's $250 million and Waterworld's $225 million.

Continue reading "$326 million" »

Football fans fake air emergency

A chartered plane carrying nearly 300 Gambians faked a fuel emergency to land in time for a football match in a youth tournament in Peru, officials say.

The plane should have landed in the capital, Lima.

However, when the fans realised they would be late for the game, the crew radioed the Peruvian authorities to say the plane was low on fuel.

The plane then made an emergency landing in the northern city of Piura, where the game was taking place.

Dedicated followers

The Gambian fans, dressed in national colours, were allowed to disembark and watched their team beat Qatar 3-1 to qualify for the quarter-finals in the Fifa championships.

Football fever has swept The Gambia since their under-17 team beat pre-tournament favourites Brazil last Saturday in their first game in any world championships.

Gambian newspaper Daily Observer says the group's trip to Peru had been delayed by a week and they had been forced to watch the historic victory over Brazil on television at home.

However, their celebrations could be dampened by the reaction of Peruvian officials.

Thinking the plane's problem was real, the Peruvians had declared a red alert and scrambled the emergency services.

The Gambians' plane has now been impounded, and the airline could face penalties.

"It truly was a scam," said Betty Maldonado, a spokeswoman for Peru's aviation authority, CORPAC.

She said the plane had been chartered by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh and had entered Peruvian airspace "without permission".

As seen on BBC

The most sold book in the world has a new version.


New page-turner Bible is launched

A new version of the Bible which its author says can be read in less than two hours has been launched.

The 100-Minute Bible, written as a page-turner for those who do not have the time to read the full version, was unveiled at Canterbury Cathedral.

Its author, ex-headteacher the Rev Michael Hinton said: "We have majored on Jesus, because he is the central figure in the Bible."

Bishop of Jarrow, the Rt Rev John Pritchard was a consultant on the book.

We majored on the stories that have entered the common consciousness, like Noah's Ark, Jonah and so on
Rev Michael Hinton

"This is an attempt to say, 'Look, there's a great story here - let's get into it and let's not get put off by the things that are going to be the sub-plot. Let's give you the big plot'."

More than 11,000 copies of the 100-Minute Bible, which is roughly the size of a notebook, have been printed, for distribution to churches and schools.

It took Mr Hinton more than two years to cut down the 66 books of the Bible into a version that could be read in 1hr 40min.

He said readers would find all the familiar Bible stories.

"We majored on the ones that have entered the common consciousness, like Noah's Ark, Jonah and so on."

The publishers of the book say that, just like the original, the 100-minute version should be a bestseller.

Len Budd, proprietor of the 100-Minute Press, said: "This is a book for adults and has been written in a style to encourage readers to keep turning the pages, but without resorting to any literary gimmicks."

As seen on BBC

To the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

--A message from Jesus

Loss. Damage. Death. Devastation. These are words you hear a lot right now. You have been touched by sorrow. You know what loss means. Your heart aches. Your spirit is low. You've seen how from one day to the next a life can drastically change--or end. Someone who was here yesterday could be gone tomorrow. Anything can happen. Nothing physical lasts forever.

Hope. Peace. Happiness. Faith. These are words you don't hear much right now. These aren't things you can see and feel, the way you can see and feel your loss. Yet these spiritual things are what matter most at the end of the day.

I know about suffering. I know about loss. I experienced it Myself. I also know about hope, peace, happiness, and faith. They come from Me, and they are yours for the asking. To find faith, you just need to find Me--Jesus--and I'm right here. All you have to do is call, and I'll be right with you. I have a lot to offer you! In fact, I have just what you need, no matter what it is or who you are, and I start giving the moment you reach out to Me. In the day-to-day rush of normal life, it's easy to ignore Me, and even forget about Me. At times like this, though, it becomes more obvious that you need more than what you have within yourself, or around you. You need Me. You've seen how material things and even the people you love and count on most can't always be there for you. There are only two constants in life, only two sure things that will never change no matter what, and they are Me and My love. I am always here for you, and so is My love.

The reasons for disasters like this one, as well as the ways in which I manifest My love in such times, are as varied and as complex as the people involved. But if you'll open your heart and reach out to Me, wanting to trust and believe in My love, then you will come to know it. Continue reading "Let Me Help" »