In an age where Victoria’s Secret models are viewed as an ideal, 31 women sent in their images to prove otherwise.

Gabi Gregg, a writer for xojane.com, posted a request for the images, to inspire women with similar bodies as her own (a U.S. size 18) to feel good about wearing a bikini.

Ms Gregg wrote: ’Our culture is so obsessed with having a “beach ready bod,” that the mere idea of someone my size in a swimsuit, let alone a bikini, is shocking to most.’

She continued: ’I know first-hand how inspiring it can be to see people with bodies that look similar to my own feeling confident and happy on the beach in something other than a Hawaiian-print skirted one piece’

The bikini has come to inspire both dread and awe as our culture increasingly enshrines physical perfection through magazine features that encourage women to be bikini-ready for summer, and the constant trolling of other women by women.

Rather than being a statement about health, which it could have easily turned into, the gallery appears to be an endorsement of diversity, and an statement that no one particular size or shape of woman has a monopoly on being considered attractive or even ‘normal’.

European’s earliest ancestors were playing musical instruments and showing artistic creativity more than 40,000 years ago, a study has shown.

Evidence of the musicians was unearthed in Germany in the form of primitive flutes made from bird bones and mammoth ivory.

A new system of fossil dating confirmed the age of animal bones excavated in the same rock layers as the instruments and examples of early art.

The bones, probably the remains of meals, bore cuts and marks from hunting and eating.

The finds, described in the Journal of Human Evolution, are from Geissenkloesterle Cave in the Swabian Jura region of southern Germany.

They show that the Aurignacian culture, a way of living linked with early modern humans, existed at the site between 42,000 and 43,000 years ago.

It suggests that some of the first ‘modern’ humans to arrive in central Europe had a musical bent.

Professor Nick Conard, from Tubingen University in Germany, who took part in the excavation, said:

“These results are consistent with a hypothesis we made several years ago that the Danube River was a key corridor for the movement of humans and technological innovations into central Europe between 40,000 to 45,000 years ago.”

“Geissenkloesterle is one of several caves in the region that has produced important examples of personal ornaments, figurative art, mythical imagery and musical instruments. The new dates prove the great antiquity of the Aurignacian in Swabia.”

The results indicate that modern humans entered the Upper Danube region before an extremely cold climatic phase around 39,000-40,000 years ago.

Previously, experts had argued that modern humans only migrated up the Danube immediately after this event.

Professor Tom Higham, from Oxford University, who led the team that dated the bones, said: ‘Modern humans during the Aurignacian period were in central Europe at least 2,000-3,000 years before this climatic deterioration, when huge icebergs calved from ice sheets in the northern Atlantic and temperatures plummeted.

‘The question is what effect this downturn might have had on the people in Europe at the time.’

Rob Waugh
Daily Mail 

Bill Gates lost the “world’s richest man” crown to Carlos Slim, the Mexican businessman. Now, according to Australia’s BRW magazine, Gina Rinehart – the Australian mining magnate – has become the world’s richest woman. She takes the crown from Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton, who held the title of world’s richest woman for seven years.

According to BRW’s 2012 Rich 200 List, Ms. Rinehart’s net worth is now $29.7 billion. That tops Ms. Walton’s $26 billion pile. Ms. Rinehart’s fortune has nearly tripled over the past year – at the rate of more than $1 million per hour – due to the mining boom in Australia and strong commodity prices.

Of course, guessing people’s wealth is usually a guess. And the Bloomberg Billionaire Index  lists Ms. Rinehart’s current wealth at a mere $18 billion, putting her well below Christy. So there is room for disagreement.

BRW said Ms. Rinehart could become the richest person in the world if commodity prices and Ms. Rinehart’s mining projects continue to grow. E

Yet with her new crown comes anxiety. Ms. Rinehart has been engaged in a vicious battle with her own kids over control of the family business empire.  Three of Rinehart’s four kids – John Hancock, Bianca Rinehart and Hope Welker – are suing her to oust her as trustee of the multibillion-dollar family trust established by her late father Lang Hancock.

Ms. Rinehart has said that her kids are unfit to run the business. “None of the plaintiffs (her children) has the requisite capacity or skill, nor the knowledge, experience, judgment or responsible work ethic to administer a trust in the nature of the trust in particular as part of the growing HPPL Group,” she claimed in court papers.

She is also facing new claims from Aboriginal landowners who say her company isn’t paying them enough for royalty payments.

Apparently, it’s not easy at the top – even with $28 billion.

Do you think Gina Rinehart will ever be the richest person in the world?

Robert Frank, CNBC

The Royal knickers were thought to be placed on eBay by the estate of the late “Baron” Joseph de Bicske Dobronyi“… who had claimed he came into possession of the undergarments after they were left on a private plane when the Queen visited Chile in 1968.

But, sources close to WWN say that the Queen herself put them on eBay.   Royal watchers say that the Queen is worried about her money and that she wants to start getting rid of things she doesn’t want anymore.  ”The Queen is actually on the verge of bankruptcy,” said a source close to the Royal Family.  ”They’ve been spending money like drunken sailors for decades.  Every little bit helps.

The  cyber auction of the Queen’s bloomers consisted of 18 total bids and one lucky mystery buyer emerged victorious. So far, his identity has not been revealed … and we’re guessing it probably won’t be.

Actually, the Queen has sold her bloomers before.  Look at this pair she sold last year (along with the women holding them).

Will the Queen sell her bras?  WWN asked the Royal Family.  We have yet to hear back.  But we did find out that she has a 39DD.

Let’s have a closer look at those panties.

Long live the Queen’s  panties!

Siberian separatists have agreed to allow the United States to annex their region of Russia.

Many, if not all Siberians, may think at times that the Siberian regions with their natural riches live poorly just because they have to give away a big part of their incomes to other territories of the Russian Federation.

Siberians have tried to put that idea into action for decades and established a political movement. The vain attempts did not lead to anything for years, but now the movement has reached critical mass and and, if all goes according to plan, Siberia will become an American territory (much like Puerto Rico), within six months.

It’s a win-win situation for Siberians.

Those living in Siberia will be now identified as Siberians.  Vladimir Kiselyov, a 37-year-old resident of the city of Mezhdurechensk, was a leader in the movement and believed that Siberia had to get rid of the Moscow yoke.

The only way for the territory to truly prosper was to become a part of the US.

Of course, Vladmir Putin and the new Russian leadership vow to do everything to block the annexing of Siberia, but they did open a door with President Obama hinted that he would make Russia “an offer they couldn’t refuse” in order to get Siberia.

President Obama believes that Siberia is rich in minerals that the United States is uniquely qualified to take advantage of.   Will Obama drill for oil in Siberia?  “Absolutely not,” said a spokesman for the White House.  “President Obama wants to end oil drilling around the globe by the end of the second term.”

The US has been working quietly over the last six months to help Siberia obtain independence.

Siberia will be a territory of the United States, much like Alaska and California were in the 19th century.  Siberia has no plans to apply for statehood right away, but hopes to be the 51st State by 2015.

US politician Zbigniew Brzezhinski, a well-known politician, applauds Siberia becoming part of the U.S. and wants to help create a new commonwealth from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

The Irkutsk State University recently held a seminar with the participation of fifth-year students of the US-Siberian Department for Management and “Regionalistic Alternative to Siberia” Public Movement. The future graduates of the US-Siberian Department of the University were thrilled at the prospect of being part of the United States.

“Our economic future is bright,” said one excited graduate.

The big question:  Will Siberia get an NFL franchise?

Siberia facts:

Siberia covers 4.9 million square miles, an area that is three-fourths of the Russian Federation or onethird larger than the United States and one-fourth larger than Canada.

Siberia stretches from the URALS in the west over 3,000 miles to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has borders with Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China.

Siberia’s size is not advantageous as the climate is usually very harsh with a marked continental climate. The northeastern part shows the coldest temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere with – 90 degrees F at Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk in Yakutia. In summer, temperatures can reach 90 degrees F.  These great differences in temperature present a challenge for human colonization and exploitation of the rich natural resources (wood, coal, oil, gas, gold). Permafrost has a decisive impact on soil formation with the consequence that infrastructure is expensive to build.

The famous Trans-Siberian Railroad, built between 1891 and 1903, touches the southern belt of Siberia. Although Siberia is inhabited by nearly 45 different ethnic groups, Russians represent the majority. According to the census of 1989, 85 percent of the population are Russians. Russian colonization since the late 16th century resulted in a decline of the indigenous nationalities that counted more than 200 tribes before the Russian arrival. There are three great ethnic groups: Finno-Ugrians, Turco-Tatars, and Tungus and Paleo-Asiatics.

Dating from about 800 AD, the stones are associated with early Christian crosses – of which there is one on the isle.

It was found in an old graveyard by a National Trust for Scotland (NTS) farm manager.

The stone is about 25cm in diameter and engraved with an early Christian cross.

It was later found to fit exactly into a large rectangular stone with a worn hole which was located at the base of the Canna cross.

The experts that found the stone – have already been cursed:

NTS manager of Canna, Stewart Connor, said the importance of the stone became clear after he was notified of the discovery.

He said: “We knew of the importance of bullaun stones and that it could be a really significant find.

“Our head of archaeology confirmed a possible link to the stone at the cross and I was so excited that I went back out at 9pm that night to check whether it fitted the stone with the hole and it did.”

Katherine Forsyth, an expert in the history and culture of early Celtic-speaking peoples, based at the University of Glasgow, described it as an “amazing find”.

“Stones like this are found in Ireland, where they are known as ‘cursing stones’, but this is the first to be discovered in Scotland,” she said.

“They date from the early Christian period but have continued to be used by pilgrims up to modern times.

“Traditionally, the pilgrim would recite a prayer while turning the stone clockwise, wearing a depression or hole in the stone underneath.”

Dr Forsyth said bowl-shaped lower stones had been found elsewhere in Scotland, including on Canna, but this was the first discovery of a top stone.

She added: “This exciting find provides important new insight into religious art and practice in early Scotland and demonstrates just how much there is still to be discovered out there.”

In the early-Christian period, Canna belonged to the monastery on Iona.

The island was gifted to the National Trust for Scotland in 1981 by Gaelic scholar John Lorne Campbell.
BBC

Unlike a spectacular total solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and sun and blocks all but the sun’s corona, Sunday’s annular eclipse will leave a visible “ring of fire” surrounding the moon’s dark silhouette.

Instead of the moon moving directly in front of the sun, the moon will be slightly off-center and the effect will be more of a “C” shape instead of a omplete “O,” experts said.

“This is probably the most easily accessible (annular solar eclipse) for people in the Bay Area in their remaining lifetimes. To see the complete ring is rare and they should do it,” Alex Filippenko, an astronomy professor.

Both types of solar eclipses require alignment of the three bodies, but in an annular eclipse the moon is far enough away from Earth that is doesn’t fully obstruct the disk, leaving the slim ring of sunlight.

The event comes two weeks after a “supermoon,” in which the full moon appeared when it was close in orbit to the Earth. Now the new moon is at the far end of the lunar orbit.

The annular solar eclipse begins in Asia, travels across the Pacific Ocean and hits the West Coast near the California-Oregon border and moves southeast through Eureka, Reno, parts of Utah and Arizona, and Albuquerque, N.M., before ending in Lubbock, Texas.

Viewers in a 150-mile-wide swath of the eclipse path — clear skies permitting — should be able to see the full annular effect, where the moon ultimately will cover about 89 percent of the sun, said Paul Doherty, senior scientist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

The moon will pass in front of the sun between 5:16 p.m. and 7:40 p.m., with the peak of the eclipse occurring about 6:33 p.m., Doherty said.

“We’re close enough that we get a good partial eclipse,” he said.

Experts warned that no one should look directly at the sun or a solar eclipse because of the danger of permanent eye damage.

Instead, viewers should get specially made solar eclipse glasses available at science supply stores, some museums or on the Internet.

Viewers also can use No. 14 welders glass, which is hard to find because welders do not need glass that dark. Filippenko aid, however, welding supply shops can recommend glass combinations that can be stacked together to allow for the same protection.

Filippenko said it is important that glasses or other material used to view the eclipse specify that it is capable of blocking 99.999 percent of light.

Another easy and inexpensive method to view the celestial event is to create a pinhole viewer by poking a small hole in a piece of cardboard; something the size of a box side will work. A hole poked by a pencil or pen should be enough to project an image of the eclipse on a surface behind it. Doherty suggested a white surface placed about 6 feet behind the cardboard.

Clouds or fog could ruin the chance to witness the event, but conditions appear to be shaping up well.

“It should be good, but no guarantees,” said Suzanne Sims, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

The marine layer has been burning off by afternoon, especially in Contra Costa County. Areas closer to the coast could have fog, but that will depend mostly on how much fog develops in the morning, Sims said.

Next up on the celestial calendar: a June 4 lunar eclipse followed the next day by a rare “Transit of Venus,” in which Venus passes before the sun. That event won’t be visible again on Earth for more than 100 years.

To learn more about the science of eclipses and to read more viewing tips, go to www.nature.nps.gov/features/eclipse.

Pliny the Younger beer has a perfect BeerAdvocate.com score of 100, which puts it in the “world-class” range, reserved for beers that score between 95 and 100.

Pliny The Younger beer has an average user rating of 4.68 out of a possible five. It’s received more than 723 reviews on BeerAdvocate.

BeerAdvocate user hophead247 was one of the reviewers to give Pliny the Younger beer a perfect five out of five on look, smell, taste, feel and overall score.

“Poured from a tap into a 4 ounce taster glass…Finally had my chance to taste The Younger, and oh my GOD, what a day to remember,” hophead247 gushed. “The smell was of fresh hops…citrusy and crisp. One word describes the taste…PHENOMENAL!! … It’s definitely not one to chug, but to savor, for this is one ale that people will remember for years to come.”

According to top  ecologists from around the world, from 1970 to 2008 the biological resources of our planet have shrunk by 68%.

And according to ecology experts in South America and the Australian state of Tasmania, in comparison to 1966, the biggest consumer of natural resources i is the USA.

Specialists from The World Is Ending Fund studied the development of more than 9000 mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians.  The report put out by the Tasmanian ecologist states that if the whole world were to use natural resources to the extent that  Americans use them, we will run out of natural resources in two weeks.

So in order to support the eco-balance on the planet, we would need five Earths to provide the natural resources we need.

America isn’t the only hog of natural resources.  There are others gobbling up everything.  Here they are:

1) Qatar

2) Kuwait

3) The United Arab Emirates

4) Denmark

5) Belgium

6) Australia

7) Canada

8) The Netherlands

9) Ireland

10) Russia

The amount of garbage in the Pacific Ocean has increased by 150 times in the last 40 years, according to the Tasmanians.

The most littered part of the ocean is the section between California and Hawaii. Researchers have noted that the smaller particles present a serious threat to sea life since they can get into their respiratory or digestive systems. Around 10% of fish caught in the areas close to the islands of garbage have  small particles of plastic in their stomachs and many of the fish have McDonald’s wrappers inside their intestines.

So what do we do?  How do we stop the demise of the Earth.

“Nothing we can do,” said the lead Tasmanian researcher.  ”We should just all party like it’s 2015!”

Here is one researcher who thinks we can make it 40 more years at our current burn rate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1wddgb-Reqs&w=480&l=385]

The suggestion follows tests in the laboratory comparing high-fructose corn syrup, which is six times sweeter than cane sugar and a common ingredient in processed foods, with omega-3 fatty acids, known to aid memory and learning.

Look at this sugar lover!

In an experiment on rats, one group had a sugary diet for six weeks and another was fed healthily.

At the start of the study, published in the Journal of Physiology, the  University of California team tested how well the rats navigated a maze – placing landmarks to help them learn the way.

Six weeks later, the researchers tested the rats’ ability to recall the route.

Study co-author Professor Fernando Gomez-Pinilla said the rats fed just a sugary diet were slower and their brains had declined.

He said: ‘Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information.

However, the good news is that eating nuts and fish such as salmon can counteract this disruption. Here’s Professor Fernando Gomez-Pinilla.

‘Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think,’ said Prof Gomez-Pinilla. ‘Adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimise the damage.’

While earlier research has revealed how fructose harms the body through its role in diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, this study is the first to uncover how the sweetener influences the brain.

Here’s a major sugar lover:

The researchers were studying the impact of high-fructose corn syrup on rats, who have similar brain chemistry to humans.

The inexpensive liquid is six times sweeter than cane sugar and is commonly added to processed foods such as soft drinks.

We’re not talking about naturally occurring fructose in fruits, which also contain important antioxidants,’ said Prof Gomez-Pinilla.

‘We’re concerned about high-fructose corn syrup that is added to manufactured food products as a sweetener and preservative.’

Prof Gomez-Pinilla and co-author Rahul Agrawal found the brain’s of the rats that each consumed a fructose solution as drinking water for six weeks had changed.

Prof Gomez-Pinilla said: ‘Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats’ ability to think clearly and recall the route they’d learned six weeks earlier.’

A closer look at the rats’ brain tissue suggested that insulin had lost much of its power to influence the brain cells.

The authors suspect that eating too much fructose could block insulin’s ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar for the energy required for processing thoughts and emotions.

However, their study also suggests that eating foods rich in omega-3 regularly could protect the brain from the effects of fructose.

Prof Gomez-Pinilla said: ‘It’s like saving money in the bank. You want to build a reserve for your brain to tap when it requires extra fuel to fight off future diseases.’

Claire Bates, Daily Mail