Georges Bizet website

http://www.geocities.com/pearlineypants/home.html

CE 26-30

CE 26: Italy arrests 'top mafia boss'

When you first hear the phrase, "mob boss", what comes to mind? A rather physically fit man who is dressed in the best designer suit with a tommy-gun, is what comes to my brain. Well, in this current event, the mob boss was 73 years old and was caught April 11, 2006, after being the most wanted man in Italy since having taken over the mafia in 1993. But, Bernardo Provenzano has actually been on the run for 42 years. His skill at evading capture and creating disguises has allowed him to actually not be photographed in a crazy amount of time. The last time he was actually photographed by the police was in 1959.

He has been sentenced to life in prison.

CE 27: Self-repair gene therapy promise

Researchers are taking a new approach to repairing genes. "Gene therapy experts say they have found a way to persuade cells to repair themselves."

German researchers have found a drug that could possibly influence the way a faulty gene repairs itself as opposed to replacing the whole gene. The European Society of Human Genetics conference in Amsterdam is currently researching/focusing on spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMA is a common inheirted disease that is the leading cause of death in infants.

CE 28: Tight controls on food labelling

"The European Parliament has passed new laws to clamp down on misleading claims on food product labels."

The labels on the food now have to follow a strict regulation. For example if they say that they are 'low fat', they have to meet a standard definition set forth by the EU. Other foods, such as those that make a claim to be low in salt, on the same label have to say that they are also high in fat or in sugar. This is so that when consumers are reading their labels in the supermarket, they have all of the information they need upfront.

"EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said: 'The new laws will ensure that consumers will be able to rely on the truth and accuracy of information on food labels.' "

In the next few years, these laws will be slowly phased in. One member of parliament says that she welcomes the changes because it will finally make it much harder for producers to make strange claims and false promises about their foods. It will also allow the European people as a whole, to make better, healthier choices when food shopping.

Yay for being healthy!

CE 29: More men dying from skin cancer

"The number of men who have died from skin cancer in the UK has topped a thousand a year - a rise of nearly a third over the past decade."

The Cancer Research UK suggests that a major reason for this is that men fail to get strange moles checked by doctors. Each year more women are diagnosed with melanoma, yet more men die of it? This is due to the fact that by the time men are diagnosed with melanoma much later than average women are, and that is when it is more difficult to treat.

"The latest figures show 1,777 people, including 1,002 men, die from melanoma each year in the UK."

CE 30: Man died after scratch from cat

Days after being scratched by the family cat, 61-year old Martin Maas died.

Strange as it sounds, if you think about it, it sort of makes sense? After being scratched by the cat, the injury became infected and he died of the infection. The coroner says that the cause of death is of natural causes. Laying the blame solely on the cat would just be ridiculously harsh. The scratch was just the means for infection.

The family does not hold any grudges against the cat. =)

French Revolution: Marie Antoinette

Maria Antonia was the seventh child of Francis I and Emperess Maria Theresa of Austria. The Emperess made it a point to marry off her children to European royalty, a way of maintaining peace. All of Maria Antonia's sisters were married off, next in line was Maria Antonia. Austria and France were intermittently fighting and so, to prevent this, there was a peace treaty to be signed. To further ensure peace, Louis-Auguste was to marry one of Empress Maria Theresa's. Because the daughter that was next in line, Johanna Gabriella had passed away in 1762 of smallpox, Empress Maria Theresa agreed to allow Maria Antonia to marry. In May of 1769, only fourteen years old, she left Austria for France. Upon arrival, she changed her name to sound more French. Around two weeks later, she was presented at the royal palace of Versailles where she first met her future husband, Dauphin Louis-Auguste. Being only one year older than her, marriage or anything sexual was not on his mind. Hours later, they were married.

Being only 14 and 15 years old, they were not having sex and therefore did not have a child for the first seven years of their marriage. Rumors began to spread that Louis-Auguste was impotent or that he suffered from phimosis. There were also rumors that Marie Antoinette was simply unable to give birth. People began to suggest that she be divorced and sent back to Austria. May 10th, 1774, King Louis XV died of smallpox and Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were named king and queen.

The following year, Marie-Antoinette's sister-in-law gave birth to her first child, and the rumors began again. Everyone wondered why Marie had not produced a son for her King. They began to resuggest that she be divorced for another more capable woman. Hearing this, she would spend the following days crying in her rooms, much to the distress of ther ladies-in-waiting. A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant who attends to a queen, princess, or other noblewoman. Depending on her status, the lady-in-waiting is can either range from a royal companion and confidant to the queen (such as a sister or other female relative) to someone who is only required for ceremonial occasions. Because she was being ridiculed by many, she began to become very selective in who she spoke to and confided in. This made the courtiers think that she was deliberately excluding them. In reality, she was simply trying to protect herself. Nonetheless, the gossip at Versailles began to use her as their target. To avoid the gossip, she was convinced to attend operas in disguise. But in the end, this plan backfired as well and she was accused of having secret and scandalous affairs. Being only twenty-one years old and having a rather large amount of money at her disposal, Marie Antoinette was addicted to spending. She would buy countless articles of expensive clothing and diamonds.

Eventually, more rumors began to circulate and by means of an illegal press, pamphlets began to be printed, depicting the queen having sex with her brother-in-law. Although the rumors were untrue, they began to convice the public that Marie-Anoinette was nothing more than a problem.

On December 8, 1778, Marie-Antoinette gave birth to her first child, Princess Marie Therese, named for her mother the Empress of Austria. In 1781, Louis Joseph was born. He was to be the next King of France. Sadly this would never be because amongst the public, resentment began to grow. The royals and noblemen locked themselves away at the Palace of Versailles and ignored the needs of the people. The King and Queen were oblivious to the needs of their people and instead indulged in extravagent parties and excessive gambling. As the country and it's economy was crumbling, the royals and noblemen ignored any issues that should've been taken care of.

Finally, in 1789, the people could stand it no more and had themselves a revolution.

Realizing that their lives and the lives of their children were in jeopardy, the royal family tried to escape France, but were instead captured near the border in 1791. The Austrians invaded France with the hope of restoring the two to the throne, but were forced to retreat. In August of 1792, Marie-Antoinette and her husband, King Louis XVI were accused of treason. The king was executed January 1793. Soon after this, things steadily began to get worse for the former queen of France. Her son, Louis XVII was taken from her and she was transferred from the Temple Prison to the Conciergier where she was tried before the Revolutionary Tribuneral from October 14-15 of 1793. She was found guilty of treason and guillotined on October 16th.

Armenian Genocide

http://www.armenian-genocide.org/

Genocide the the systematic extermination of a people; it's sole purpose is to put an end to the "collective existence" of a race. The Armenian Genocide did precisely this. During WWI, from 1915 to 1918, the Armenian people were subject to "deportation, expropriation, abduction, torture, massacre, and starvation. Throughout the Ottoman Empire, Armenians were removed and sent to the desert to die of thirst and hunger. Nearing the end of WWI, the atrocities began to calm down, but in 1920-1923 they were renewed and the Armenians that managed to survive the first wave of extermination, were again subject to expulsions and massacres. From 1915 to 1923, it is estimated that 1.5 million Armenians perished; at the time, there were only about 2 million living in the Ottoman Empire.

The Armenian Genocide is commemorated on April 24th because on the night of April 24, 1915, the Turkish government placed over 200 Armenian community leaders. They were all sent to prison where most were executed. The Turks that were held responsible for the Armenian Genocide had been planning for years prior to there actually being action. They started by disarming Armenian recruits in the Ottoman Army and "reducing them to labor battalions and working them under conditions equaling slavery." They were able to keep all of this under the protection of the government. It was not until April 24th that public began to detect their true intentions for the Armenians.

CE 22-25

CE 22: Scotland plans circus animal ban
"Animal groups are urging the Scottish Executive to include all wild animals in a ban which would prevent them [from] performing in circuses."

Basically, the Rural Affairs Minister has said that there will soon be an executive movement to exclude certain animals from being allowed to perform. The decision on what animals will actually be included will be left to the public to decide, but ultimately, it is for the animals' welfare and safety. "The ban would be secondary to provisions made in the Animal Health and Welfare Bill."

There are already certain animals that are banned from performing in travelling circuses in England & Wales. A spokesperson for the "The Born Free Foundation" is pleased by this movement because he believes that the frequent traveleing will deprieve the animals from receiving the proper treatment.


CE 23: Nurse murdered 'to satisfy lust'
"A nurse accused of murder denied he used his patients to "satisfy his lust for excitement", a court has heard."

Before actually starting this, the nurse, Benjamin Green is only 25 years old and is being charged with two accounts of murder and 18 counts of GBH (grievous bodily harm). Honestly, my first thought was if he had a lust for excitement, why didn't he just go sky diving? Maybe jumping out of a plane isn't exciting enough? Then he should go hunting, I hear that's exciting.

"In the cross-examination prosecuter Michael Austin-Smith, QC, referred to the case of 77-year-old David Nelson, who was admitted to the hospital with heart trouble but suddenly stopped breathing after appartently being injected by Mr. Green."

"I just panicked. I realized I should not have that syringe on me." --Benjamin Green

Hmm... getting caught in the act with a filled syringe in his pocket?

The trial is still going, but seriously? Come on people.
The only thing he's got going for him is that he's not weird looking.


CE 24: EU Adopts shoe dumping penalties
"The EU has finally adopted duties on shoe imports from China and Vietman in a dispute over alleged dumping of cheap footwear."

Basically, they are trying to correct the damage that the Chinese and Vietnamese shoes have caused because they are so cheap. Because the prices are so low, other companies in other countries, such as in Italty and Portugal are being badly hurt.

"We do not target China and Vietnam's natural competitive advantages, only unfair distortions of trade."

China urges that the EU reconsider because they consider the duties to be unfair. They say that there is no evidence of dumping.

The tariffs will add £1 to the average import price of the footwear of about £6.


CE 25: Greedy wife gets life for murder
"A former prostitute who murdered her elderly husband after finding he was not wealthy has been jailed for life."

She admitted to stabbing him, but said that it was an accident. In reality, she was trying kill herself after having found out that the man she had married was in fact, not the millionarie she was after.

But there is another side to this story. In 2002, she was raped and forced into prostitution. At at London brothel, "she set out to snare Mr. Edwards, who hinted he was a multi-millionaire, the trial was told." Once married, she demanded clothes, cash, and other numerous luxuries. Gwyn Edwards was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife.

No matter how bad her life was, that is no reason to kill a 72 year old man who treated her well until she murdered him.

Impressionist: Edgar Degas

Born on July 19, 1834, Edgar Degas came to be one of the most well-known painters and sculptors of his time. Born Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas, he was the oldest of five children. Degas's father, encouraged his artistic ability and sent him to receive a classical education at the Lycee Louis-le-Grand from 1845 to 1852.

In 1852, what once was a family room, became a studios and under the tutelage of Felix Joseph Barrias, began to focus more on his artwork. In 1855, Degas began to study at the École des Beaux-Arts under Louis Lamothe. Although informative, he found the courses there far too restricting and preferred independent study in the classical tradition. 1859, he opened a studio in Paris and painted portraits and historial subjects. The reasoning for this being that these subjects were what were selling in the market. But, after seven years, in 1866, Degas abandoned the historical genre for many reasons. One was that after meeting Manet, he was introduced and became fond of Manet's style of painting depictions of modern life rather than traditional history or religion.

From the early 1870's until the 1880's, Degas lived in Paris and opened a studio where he concentrated on the themes of modern life, such as dancers, singers, and female nudes. In the 1880's, because his eyesight was beginning to fail, he shifted genres. Instead of painting, he turned his attention to sculpture and pastels, which consequently did not require the artist to have acute eyesight.


In 1908, Degas gave up on art completely and became somewhat of a recluse. He was evicted from his home and although a new studio was found for him to reside in, he never settled there. He instead wandered the streets.
Degas died in Paris on September 27, 1917, leaving behind an entire art studeo filled with art and sculptures that were cast in bronze. He is buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris, France. He left behind more than 2000 oil paintings and pastels and 150 sculptures.

Degas is especially known for his depiction of ballet dancers and other women. Although he is considered to mainly be a impressionist, some of the works that he has created have classical and realist styles within them.

CE 21: 30 Million Year Old Spiders

Amber Reveals Ecology Of 30 Million Year Old Spiders

"Scientists at The University of Manchester and the Manchester Metropolitan University have carried out the first comparative scientific study of ancient spiders trapped in amber more than 30 millions years ago."

By studying fossilized spiders scientists are able to find things out about spiders dating back to the Cenozoic period. "This is the first time ancient spiders from different parts of the world have been compared on such a large scale." The reason that finding the spiders in amber is so important is that amber not only preserves the spiders themselves, but also parts and information about the area and environments in which they lived.

By studying a spiders from 30 million years ago, scientists are able to study their evolution from then until now, and are also able to possibly, with their comparison skills, predict what they will look like and act like in the future. Because there were 671 spiders compared in the study, they found that the web-spinning spiders found in the Baltic amber were much larger than those in the Dominican amber, but the hunting spiders showed no difference in size. The reasoning? Perhaps the fauna.

In finding the amber, scientists were also able to determine that the amber was "trapping the organisms uniformly."

CE 20: Shoppers can pay by fingerprint

Shoppers Can Pay by Fingerprint

"Suppermarket customers are being offereed the chance to pay for their shopping by using a fingerprint."

"Hello Jetsons, what would you like to purchase today?" Haha, that is the first thing that came to mind upon reading this headline. Three stores in the Oxford area are offering this technology. It is the first of it's kind in Europe. Being able to pay by fingerprint means that customers no longer have to carry around cash or even credit cards. The system is already in the United States and there are 2.5 million shoppers already signed up for it. The only problem with this method of payment is that it may not work for those who have actually worn down their fingerprints through their work. For example, builders, who work so often with their hands, will have slightly worn down their fingerprints. Also, surgeons might have the same problem because they have to wash their hands so often.

Katherine, sorry you can pay by fingerprint. =P

Another problem would be that the retailers might not want to pay for the technology to update their systems. But honestly? This type of technology will be all over the place and they will need to update sooner or later. So oh well!

CE 19: UK beef export ban lifted by EU

UK Beef export ban lifted by EU

Drumroll please, the beef shall be back soon enough folks. Six weeks from March 8th, the ban on being able to export live animals, beef and beef exports will be lifed in about six weeks. The National Farmer's Union is extremely happy to hear this news because over the time that the ban was actually in place, they lost out on the trade of around £675m a year; that is around 1.1751075 billion dollars. Now, multiply that the ten years that this ban has been in place and you have a rather large number on your hands.

I don't know about you but that is definintely a lot of money to lose out on, especially if you are a farmer. The average salary of a farmer, whether it be a vegetable or live stock one, is significantly less than that of everyone else.

"The lifting means that live animals born after 1 August, 1996, beef and beef products made from cattle slaughtered after 15 June 2005 will be able to be exported. The European Commission eased the original ban on 1 August 1999 to allow exports of boneless British beef products from animals aged between six and 30 months to recommence."

Although the ban on exporting beef will be lifted, scientists still suggest that the live cattle remain banned. Environment minister, Margaret Beckett believes that because the British farmers produce high quality beef, the demand will come back once the ban is lifted.

The National Farmers' Union says that the news of the ban being lifted is "the most positive news for the British feef industry in a decade."

CE 18: Make-up offence!

CE 18 - Make-up offence!

HA HA! Too bad Donna Marie Maddock. She was fined £200 (347.72 U.S. dollars) after admitting to careless driving. Actually, she was banned from the road last week for drunk-driving. She was driving with eyeliner in one hand and a compact in the other.
"Magistrates hear that it was an Arrive Alive mobile anti-speeding van, equipped with a camera, that caught Maddock driving her Vauxhall Astra in Ala Road - the road out of Pwllheli towards Abersoch. "

This was actually an unusual case of the police to handle because, they are used to speeders, but she was going 32mph in a 40mph zone. So there was no speeding... but BOTH HANDS WERE OFF THE STEERING WHEEL! CRAZY!

At the time of the offense, she was already serving an 20-month driving ban.