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The Belfast shipyard where the Titanic was built was allowed to fall into ruin as the city blocked out the painful memories of that doomed voyage.
But now the derelict dock from which the vessel set out has been revitalised for the 100th anniversary of the tragedy.
Visitors from across the world have bought tickets to the Northern Ireland attraction, which recounts a tale that still touches people's hearts.

The six-storey attraction is designed to look like the bow of the Titanic and stands beside the slipway where the liner was floated in 1911.
The unique dockside centre, Titanic Belfast, is part of a £100million regeneration project of the yards.
Its opening was attended by dignitaries, politicians and a 105-year-old who watched the fateful journey begin more than a century ago.
Cyril Quigley, who saw the Titanic launch with his parents at four years old, said the new building at the old Harland and Wolff shipyard was 'our Sydney Opera House'.
'My father and mother took me to Workman and Clark shipyard which is on the opposite side (of Belfast Lough) to watch the launch,' said Mr Quigley.

'That was better than all the people in Harland and Wolff watching it because of the crowds.
'I just saw a mass of metal in the gantries that they built for it and all I saw was this big thing sliding out into the water. I was only four and half.'
Retired accountant Mr Quigley, who lives in east Belfast, added: 'It's wonderful, it really is.
'I often thought they would make another plastic ship here and have it as a restaurant or something but this is fantastic.
'It's like our Sydney Opera House.'
It is hoped the centre will attract more than 400,000 visitors in its first year with its nine fascinating galleries, each devoted to a different aspect of the tragedy. Around 100,000 people have already bought tickets.

At the opening ceremony, Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson said the centre was just one reason people should visit a peaceful Northern Ireland.
'While many people will come to see the visitor attraction I believe they will be captivated and fall in love with the people of Northern Ireland,' said the Democratic Unionist leader.
'This is a new era in this province and I believe that we want to bring people to Northern Ireland not just to see what a generation 100 years ago were able to achieve, but what this generation can achieve in this new era of peace and stability.
'We have so much to offer, this is just the beginning.'

Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the building was testament to what political power-sharing in the region had achieved.
'This building is a fantastic achievement,' he said. 'It's here because of the peace process, it's here because people like Peter Robinson and myself and others have pushed forward decisively in leadership to make a bold statement, as bold a statement as this building makes, that we need to stand together - that united we are strong, divided we are very, very weak.'
Mindful of the tragic fact that more than 1,500 lives lost in the maritime disaster, the ceremony was understated, with Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness cutting a blue ribbon to mark the opening.
Lord Mayor of Belfast Niall O'Donnghaile said the human tragedy had made a deep impact on Belfast. 'But certainly we take great pride in the ability that we have taken from that story and that tragedy to realise opportunities for us in the here and in the now,' he added.

'The Titanic belongs to Belfast but this spectacle - Titanic Belfast - belongs to the world.'
Tourism Minister Arlene Foster said it was a proud day for Belfast and Northern Ireland.
'The story of the Titanic is known around the world and it is this unique history which will leave a deep impression upon visitors to the wonderful new building,' she said.
'Located beside the slipway where the Titanic was built, Titanic Belfast has an authenticity which will bring the ship's legend to life.'
Pat Doherty, chairman of Titanic Belfast, said he had been working on the regeneration of the shipyards for a decade.

'I always envisioned a stunning building which would reflect Belfast's former industrial glories and act as a catalyst for not just the city's tourist trade, but its wider transformation,' he said.
'In Titanic Belfast we have such a building.'
A memorial garden has been planted at the slipway, with different-sized strips of grass and wood representing the proportion of lives lost and saved among the crew and first, second and third class passengers when the ship sank after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage.
The opening of the centre is to be followed by a Titanic Festival which will run until April 22.
Highlights among the 120 events include Titanic Sounds, an open-air MTV concert on the slipway, one of the world's largest light shows to be projected on to Titanic Belfast and the opening of a memorial garden at Belfast City Hall.

'My boobs are agony!' Girl, 17, says 34K breasts are ruining her life – but faces four-year wait to have them reduced

Puberty is a tough time for teenage girls. Whether developing too quickly or too slowly, their changing shape can be a source of much anguish.

Spare a thought then for Ellie Jaycock, who at just 17 years of age has size 34K breasts.

She has been diagnosed with a rare condition that causes breasts to develop at a rapid pace from the onset of puberty.

Rare: Ellie Jaycock, 17, suffers from juvenile macromastia, a condition that causes rapid breast growth

Now Ellie, a student from East Looe, Cornwall, is desperate to have surgery to reduce the size of her breasts, saying they are causing crippling back pain.

But doctors have refused to operate until she is 21 and has stopped growing.

Ellie, who is 5ft 4in and weighs nine and a half stone (one stone of which is her breasts), says that her breasts haven't changed for nine months – but doctors still refuse to operate.

She is a slim size 10 but has to wear size 18 tops to accommodate her bust, which causes her constant pain – and have contributed to a massive loss of confidence.

'My boobs are ruining my life,' she says in an interview with Closer magazine. 'Girls call me a slag and people scream, “Who do you think you are, Jordan” I don't know how I'll cope until I'm 21.'

At first, Ellie's breasts seemed to be developing normally and she bought her first bra, a size 34B, when she was 12 years old.

Bullied: Ellie was taunted by classmates, who called her Tittie Tania, and by strangers who called her slag

But from then on, Ellie's bust began to increase in size dramatically.

At 13, her breasts grew from a C-cup to a DD-cup during the summer holidays. She began to suffer sharp pains in her breasts as well as crippling shoulder and backache.

Ellie suffers chronic back and shoulder pain owing to her breasts, which weigh around a stone, but doctors refuse to operate until she is 21

Painful: Ellie suffers chronic back and shoulder pain owing to her breasts, which weigh around a stone, but doctors refuse to operate until she is 21

At 15, Ellie and her family pleaded with doctors to allow her to have her H-cup breasts reduced.

But because of the likelihood of her body changing further, Ellie was told she had to go on the NHS waiting list until she was 21.

Doctors agree
that performing surgery too soon could cause harm to her breasts, possibly damaging milk ducts and making breastfeeding difficult in the future.

The operation would cost 7,000 privately – a price Ellie, who is now studying hotel management at college, can not afford.

And while Ellie has left the school bullies behind, she is still attracting unwelcome attention.

She tells Closer that she recently had to leave a work placement in a restaurant after she found a cartoon of herself in the staff room that said “her husband will never need pillows.”'

Her troubles do not end there. Ellie says she finds it hard to meet boys, because she gets suspicious about their motives for approaching her.

She struggles to find underwear to fit – and has even gone to the lengths of requesting via Facebook that Bravissimo, a lingerie brand that caters for women with larger breasts, open a branch of their shop in the South West.

'I just feel it's unfair that no one will help me,' she says. 'At least girls with flat chests can use special bras to boost their busts – but I can't hide my boobs.'

If you're behind the wheel and you aren't great with heights it's probably best not to look down.
This record-breaking bridge has opened allowing motorists to cross over a canyon - at 1,102ft.
Named the Aizhai Extra Large Suspension Bridge, it's now the world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge.

Work started on the feat of engineering in October 2007 and the bulk of the work finished at the end of last year.
It is designed to ease traffic in the Jishou area of Hunan province and officially opened to motorists today.

Drivers can take in the views of the Dehang Canyon as they steer their way across all 3,858ft of the new sky-high road which links two tunnels.
The bridge, which is lit up at night with 1,888 lights, is the fourth suspension bridge to cross a valley so wide it seems to be connecting two mountain ranges.

Once on the bridge cars and lorries can motor along a two-way, four-lane motorway at about 50mph. Pedestrians can also walk along it on a special walkway under the road.
The bridge is a key part of the Jishou-Chadong Expressway, a 64-kilometre road which has 18 different tunnels which cover about half of its length.

It is hoped the bridge will help ease traffic jams which are common in the mountainous area which has narrow, steep and winding roads.
The structure is supported by a base 78ft wide.
China is has the longest bridge in the world, the Danyang Kunshan Grand Bridge which is just over 100miles long and was built two years ago to carry the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway.

An incandescent light bulb recognized by Guinness World Records as being the longest burning is still glowing strong days after celebrations that marked its 110th anniversary.

 The Centennial Light Bulb, at Fire Station No. 6 in Livermore, Calif., has been burning bright since it was first installed in 1901. (The exact date appears unknown, though the bulb's "birthday" is typically held in June, most recently June 18th.) Since then, the 60-watt bulb has been alight 24 hours a day, operating at about 4 watts, to provide night illumination of the fire engines.

Other than a few power outages, there has only been one break in its operation, when it was removed from one fire station and fitted in another in 1976. The cord was severed out of fear that unscrewing the bulb would break it, and it was moved with a full police and fire truck escort, under the watch of Capt. Kirby Slate. It got but 22 minutes of rest during the ordeal.


The bulb is an improved incandescent lamp, invented by Adolphe A. Chaillet, and produced by the Shelby Electric Co. It is a hand-blown bulb with carbon filament. The light continues to confound scientists from across the country who have been unable to explain how it has managed to continue to glow for so long. According to a website dedicated to the bulb, www.centennialbulb.org, Debora Katz, a physicist at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., has conducted extensive research into the Livermore light bulb's physical properties, using a vintage light bulb from Shelby Electric Co. that is a near replica of the Livermore light.

"The Livermore light bulb differs from a contemporary incandescent bulb in two ways," says Katz. "First its filament is about eight times thicker than a contemporary bulb. Second, the filament is a semiconductor, most likely made of carbon. "When a conductor gets hotter, its ability to conduct electricity goes down. When the Shelby bulb gets hotter, it becomes a better conductor of electricity." Katz says she will test the filament of a broken vintage Shelby light bulb at the US Naval Academy's particle accelerator to learn more about its properties. "It is possible that the Livermore light bulb is one of a kind."

The bulb has a dedicated live webcam that refreshes every 10 seconds, which you can see here.

It's the picture the world has been waiting to see.
Fabrice Muamba sits up his hospital bed wearing a wide smile almost two weeks after collapsing mid-way through a match.
The footballer's fiance Shauna Magunda posted the heart-warming image earlier today to say thank you to the millions of fans who have supported her partner after he suffered a near fatal heart attack.
It shows the Bolton FC star wearing a blue hooded sports top and lying back in his hospital bed. His smile shows the miraculous recovery he has made since the game on March 17.


Ms Magunda wrote alongside the image: 'Fab wanted me to post this pic for you all and to also say thank you for such overwhelming support.'
The picture attracted a string of emotional responses from fans on the social networking site.
One wrote: 'God bless you Fabrice. You keep on fighting, son. Get well soon.'
Muamba's heart stopped for 78 minutes as paramedics - including a cardiologist who leapt onto the pitch from the stands - battled to keep the player alive.
He was rushed to the London Chest Hospital, where he was visited by his Bolton team-mates and a string of football friends.

It was later revealed that 15 defibrillator shocks were administered before the sportsman began to show signs of life.
The incident stunned the football community and heralded a worldwide outpouring of sympathy for the 23-year-old player as his family urged fans to prey for him.
The picture will delight the legions of football supporters who have followed the plight of the youngster. He is likely to undergo a long rehabilitation before he can come close to playing again.
Meanwhile, a student who mocked the footballer on Twitter after he collapsed today lost his appeal against a 56-day jail term.
Liam Stacey, 21, of Pontypridd, south Wales, sobbed as he was taken away following the failed sentence appeal hearing at Swansea Crown Court.


Stacey now faces being thrown off his University course. He had been in the the final semester of his three-year biology degree but with the case gaining widespread publicity, his barrister Paul Hobson said Stacey's future was now in tatters.
Mr Justice Wyn Williams told him he rejected an argument that Stacey had already been punished enough. He said the Swansea University biology student had admitted an offence, racially aggravated public disorder, of intent.
'He was intending to say what he said and was intending to produce the effect that he did.'
The court heard Stacey has been treated as a 'pariah' by other prisoners since he was locked up.
High Court Judge Mr Justice Wyn Williams told him: 'There can be no avoiding the conclusion that your offence was committed in the context of a grave illness that had afflicted Fabrice Muamba.
'It was immediately apparent that he was gravely ill and while he was lying prostrate on the pitch you posted comments that were extremely racist couched in terms that can only be described as extremely offensive.
'What was written was capable of being read by any user of Twitter and these messages provoked a very strong response.
'You received responses which were extremely critical but you did not desist - instead you posted eight messages which were extremely abusive and insulting.
'You later realised the enormity of your behaviour and tried to apologise. But you deserve to be punished for your actions. It can’t be argued that a term of 56 days is too long for this offence.
'By pleading guilty you admitted a racist intent to your comments.'


Stacey was watching the FA cup match between Spurs and Bolton Wanderers on TV when Muamba fell to the ground.
Earlier he had been drinking while watching Wales win the rugby Grand Slam match against France.
Stacey Tweeted: “LOL, F*** Muamba. He’s dead!!! £haha,” - then posted eight further offensive racist messages.
Stacey was jailed for 56 days on Tuesday after admitting racially aggravated harassment and disorder.
The reviled tweet came at a time when the Bolton midfielder's plight was attracting a wave of sympathy around the world.
Football fans watched in horror as Muamba collapsed after suffering a heart attack during the FA Cup clash.
Millions witnessed the incident at White Hart Lane as Bolton's clash with home team Tottenham Hotspur was screened live on television.

But after a drunken Stacey received a deluge critical replies to his distasteful tweet, he responded with a torrent of racist abuse on the website.
A criminal conviction for a racially aggravated public order offence has all but killed the undergraduate's dream of becoming a forensic scientist.
His incarceration means he will not be able to sit some upcoming exams - and as a result will fail his third year.
But more importantly, next month university officials will hold a disciplinary hearing to decide whether to kick out the suspended Stacey for good.
Swansea University student Jon May, who is the features editor for student newspaper The Waterfront, said there was not a great deal of sympathy for Stacey - despite him once being a popular figure.
'A lot of people have been calling for him to be expelled,' added the 22-year-old business management undergraduate.
'What he said has shocked a lot of people on campus. He's currently suspended at the moment, and a disciplinary hearing is going to take place in April.
'Given what has happened, the whole affair is hardly a good news story for the university.'
Support for Stacey’s jail sentence was widespread on the day it was handed down, and widely debated on Twitter.
But a significant minority criticised his punishment and claimed it was politically motivated to make an example of him.
His legal team will tomorrow launch an appeal against his sentence at Swansea Crown Court.
The hearing, which is expected to last at least one hour, will go before High Court judge Mr Justice Wyn Williams.
The messages were forwarded to the police by several members of the social network, including former England striker Stan Collymore, himself a victim of abuse on Twitter.
Stacey initially claimed his account had been accessed by somebody else, but later pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment, and was sent to prison to ‘reflect the public outrage’ at his comments.
As he spent his first night behind bars, the two teams replayed the fixture that was called off when the midfielder came close to death.
Tottenham and Bolton met again at White Hart Lane, with the home team cruising to a 3-1 victory.
It means Muamba's club are now out of the FA Cup, but this hardly seemed to matter to the fans and players treating the match as a chance to pay tribute to him.
Team-mate Sam Ricketts was seen to wipe a tear from his eye before kick-off. It was a difficult return for the entire Bolton squad, and manager Owen Coyle commended them for their bravery.
Players from both sides wore T-shirts bearing messages of thanks to those who supported Muamba, while the whole of the Tottenham stadium erupted in applause for him.
Stacey, meanwhile, faces expulsion from Swansea University. The third-year biology student had hoped to become a forensic scientist. Describing his tweets, prosecutor Louise Barron told the court: ‘The offence is clearly racially aggravated.
‘There was sustained and gratuitous racism. These were unprovoked comments and persistent abuse. The recipients were disgusted.’
Jailing the student at Swansea Magistrates’ Court, District Judge John Charles said: ‘Not just the footballer’s family, not just the footballing world, but the whole world were literally praying for Muamba’s life. Your comments aggravated this situation.
‘I have no choice but to impose an immediate custodial sentence to reflect the public outrage at what you have done.’

They can often be enormous, ornate buildings which are the focal point of communities up and down the country.
But as these pictures show, not all churches are quite so domineering over their surrounding landscapes.
Perched on a small grassy mound, in the middle of a farm yard, on the outskirts of Malmesbury, Wiltshire, sits the smallest ‘in service’ church in Britain.


Measuring just 13ft by 11ft, Bremilham Church has all the appearances of a ‘Monopoly House’ and is dwarfed by neighbouring farm buildings.
Inside there’s scarcely room for a congregation larger than ten, seating for just four on one tiny pew and no room for an altar.
But despite it’s diminutive size this tiny little church still manages to draw quite a crowd and just having a service at all is quite an achievement.


It was only when the present farm owners arrived that the tiny church finally made it into the Guinness Book of Records.
For many years it was used for storing turkey's by the local farmer. But once the Collins family came along and bought the neighbouring farm, they cleaned it out, got a Bishop to bless it and it became constituted as a little church.
Bindy Collins, who helped put Bremilham Church back on the map, said:
'We have to pay for the upkeep of the church. It’s in the deeds of the farm, but we like to keep it as a church.

'Both of our children were christened there. My youngest grandchild was christened there in 1992 and my husband buried there.
'There was a large church here originally but it was pulled down in the early 1800’s and this one was built, but very much smaller.

'But why it was pulled down, we don’t know and nobody knows, it’s not in any church records.'
From what is known, it seems the tiny church is all that’s left of the village of Bremilham, which dropped off the map in the 1600s, and the Parish of Bremilham, which disappeared into the parish of Foxley in the 1980s.
Ms Collins said: 'We’re all that’s left of the village of Bremilham and the Parish of Bremilham was never very big it was practically just this farm.'
The Rogation Sunday Service is held at Bremilham Church on the Sixth Sunday of Easter.
St Trillo’s Chapel in Rhos on Sea, which still holds weekly services measure 3.3m by 4m (10.8ft x 13.12ft) and is Britain’s second smallest church.

The Scouts have designed a special uniform for Muslim girls to cater for their growing female membership.
A hoodie dress and a T-shirt dress which ‘encapsulate the adventurous spirit of Scouting’ are now available to attract recruits from Muslim families.
It is hoped that the new uniforms will allow the movement to build on its growing popularity with girls. Around one in six of the 400,000 UK Scouts is a girl.

At present a typical uniform for a girl Scout includes a short-sleeved T-shirt and no headgear. The new dresses both have long sleeves, are knee-length and can be worn with a headscarf.
They feature orange symbols based on the Scout badges for camping, canoeing, scuba diving and windsurfing.

There are currently 2,000 Muslim Scouts and 40 Scout groups which have predominantly Muslim members in Britain.
Scout leaders say they are attracting interest from increasing numbers of Muslims from second and third generation immigrant families.
The organisation has also been working hard to recruit girls and claimed to have signed up more girls than boys in 2010 to 2011.

Traditionally, girls would have joined the Guides, who number 530,000. Girls have been allowed into the Scouts since 1976.
Chief Scout Bear Grylls said: ‘Scouting has something to offer everyone, no matter your religion, ethnicity or belief, and I’m so proud that we offer an environment for people of all backgrounds to come together.’
The dresses were developed by Palestinian British designer Sarah Elany, who aimed to create a uniform which did not necessarily mark out its wearer as a Muslim.
She said: ‘Girls told me what they wanted to wear and what issues they had with the existing range.
'They feel more comfortable wearing the new outfits and feedback from Muslims and non-Muslims has been brilliant.’

This is the 19-year-old girl who has eaten nothing but Margherita pizza for the past eight years.
Sophie Ray, from Wrexham, Wales, has not had a proper meal since she was two, and from the age of 11 she has subsisted solely on cheese and tomato pizza.
The teenager says she now gags if she touches anything but the takeaway meal, and even a slice of pepperoni is enough to turn her stomach.


Miss Ray suffers from a rare condition called Selective Eating Disorder (SED), which means she has a phobia of almost all foods, leaving her petrified to try new dishes.
Her problem began when she was struck down by a stomach bug, Gastroenteritis, at two years old.

Following the illness, Miss Ray began to fear food and could only face eating cheesy pasta, chips and lemon curd sandwiches.
By 11, she would eat only piping hot plain pizzas with no extra toppings - sometimes up to three a day.
The performing arts student said: 'I love pizza, each brand offers a new flavour, but it’s all the same food so I don’t have to try new foods.

'I began selective eating when I was two. My mum said after I was ill, I became frightened to eat, I thought food had caused my illness.
'I began eating cheesy pasta or chips and then moved on to lemon curd sandwiches, which I ate every day for four years.
'I plucked up the courage to try pizza when I was 11 and I’ve eaten it every day since - sometimes I have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
'If I don’t have chance to eat pizza before I start college, I go all day without eating, because there’s nothing else I can eat, so I wait until I get home and have one or sometimes two pizzas.

'It has to be cheese and tomato and it has to be cooked, I can’t eat it cold and I can’t have any toppings on it.'
Miss Ray has not touched a fruit or vegetable in years and says the thought of eating a varied meal terrifies her.
Very occasionally she will try some pasta and chips or a packet of cheese and onion crisps, but she is now so used to her junk food diet that even this slight variation in her diet makes her feel sick.
She said: 'The thought of trying other foods makes me very anxious, I feel sick and really clam up.
'The taste the texture even the smell of some foods can make me gag.
'A lot of people think I’m just a picky eater but SED is a phobia. Asking me to try new foods is like asking someone who hates spiders to hold one.

'The more ingredients a food has in it the more terrifying I find it, a full English breakfast would be my worst nightmare, I feel really sick just looking at one.
Miss Ray visited a specialist two years ago who tried to encourage her to try new foods. But she said while this helped reduce some of the anxiety she felt about trying new foods, she is still unable to add variety to her diet.
'My favourite pizza is Pizza Express but I also like Dominos and supermarket pizzas, I eat all brands of pizza as long as it’s cheese and tomato.
'I can have a pizza from ASDA and it will taste really cheesy and then have one from Pizza Express which has more flavour from the tomatoes.
'But if a pizza had any other ingredient on it, I wouldn’t be able to eat it. I wouldn’t even be able to pick it off.
'Selective eating disorder makes me feel quite low, I get depressed at times and going out for meals with family or friends is a nightmare, so I often don’t go.

'I know my diet isn’t doing my health any good and I’d really love to eat normally but it’s really hard to change my diet after eating like this for so long.'
Nutritionist Carina Norris said: 'This is by no means a balanced diet, she's going to missing out on a lot of vitamins and minerals.
'Her health care team is going to have to work with her to gradually introduce different food into her diet. This is definitely a problem, not just a fad.
'She could start with different toppings on pizzas. She needs to start as soon as possible, however, because what you eat when you are young has huge effect on your health in later life.'
A spokesman from eating disorder charity BEAT said: 'Selective eating disorder when someone focuses on one particular type of food, usually high-fat or carbohydrate, is generally a sign that there are deep emotional issues at work and they may feel their world is not in control.
'These issues must be addressed in order to overcome the illness.
'In the past selective eaters were generally thought to be young boys who survived on food like chips and sandwiches alone but recent research shows more adults seeking help for this illness.
'It can be very isolating with the individual not wishing to engage in social situations where food is involved.
'Research also shows that often people are genetically hard-wired in a way that makes them vulnerable to developing an eating disorder along with the various societal and cultural factors that can trigger their development.'

A young couple were left utterly devastated when, just hours after moving into their dream home, the entire kitchen collapsed.
Rosie Kennedy, 25, and her partner Chris Brennan, 30, were enjoying a celebratory drink when they felt a rumble beneath their feet.
Before they had a chance to dash out of the room the foundations of the newly-fitted kitchen in their semi-detached home caved in leaving terrified Rosie trapped under her brand new cooker.


The shaken pair, who paid £163,000 for the three-bedroom 1930s semi, were taken to hospital with minor injuries but were dealt a double blow when their insurance company Direct Line told them they would not pay for the repairs.

The horrified couple were landed with a whopping £24,000 repair bill - the equivalent of £1,000 for every hour they lived in the house.
Stunned Rosie who works as a direct ship manager, said: 'It was our dream home but it's turned into an absolute nightmare.
'It was such a massive shock and really scary.
'It is the last thing you would expect to happen, especially after just buying the house.
'The kitchen was in perfect condition with a brilliant large range cooker - and it was one of the reasons we bought the house.
'The place didn’t need much work doing to it at all.
'Like every young couple when they buy a house, we used every penny we had to buy it.
'We have no idea what to do now. We are devastated.'


The day after the collapse, the couple lodged a claim with insurers Direct Line but they have refused to cover the costs of the repairs.
Rosie said: 'I don't know why we are not covered because even though the Home Buyers report picked up an issue with the floor it didn't suggest it would be a problem for us.
'I feel very angry that we have done everything by the book but are still being left out of pocket.
'Chris and I bought the house to be a home forever and planned to get married and have kids but that's all on hold now because we have to pay for the repairs ourselves and we don't have any money.'
A spokeswoman for Direct Line said: 'Miss Kennedy has been through a distressing time with her home and we offer our condolences for the strain she has suffered.
'When Miss Kennedy’s kitchen floor collapsed the day after she moved in, we explained that any inherent building defects were not covered by insurance.
'We still attended the property to confirm our decision, and indeed Miss Kennedy’s own survey reveals that the concrete floor was not reinforced as it should have been.
'As a gesture of goodwill, we have arranged four weeks alternative accommodation.'

It seems as though this Penn State scandal has brought more attention to child pornography, endangerment and other forms of child abuse as of late. A 41-year-old mother is currently facing child endangerment charges because she forced her 10-year-old daughter to strip of all her clothing for Skype, allegedly. According to Ann Lussier, Joshua Dunfee, the pedophile on the other end of the camera, posed as a photographer from Florida. He then persuaded Lussier to force her daughter to disrobe for his sick pleasure. Who does this?

"There are sickos out there, and they let them go. But I get locked up. I'm a victim", says the 41-year-old mother. In whose mind was she a victim? You force your under-aged daughter to get naked for a man, participating in child pornography via webcam. Not only should her sanity be questioned but she should have her child taken away from her. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Lussier told her twin sister about her daughter's "uncooperative behavior" during the entire incident. The sister then told the police about the situation once she heard her niece crying in the background. Authorities investigated the claim for a month until they made the arrests of both Ann Lussier and Joshua Dunfee. The mother is charged with "exhibiting a child in a state of nudity, indecent assault, and battery on a person under 14, and reckless endangerment of a child"; while, Dunfee will be sent to Massachusetts charged with child pornography. What are your thoughts?

After the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) won a battle with Apple after alleging the Cupertino, Calif.-based company was misleading customers about its third-generation iPad, authorities in other countries, including the UK, Sweden and Denmark, are all now looking to assess the compatibility of the new iPad with local 4G LTE networks.

Now that Apple is granting refunds to Australian customers unhappy with their iPads, other countries want to know if their customers should deserve refunds too. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) confirmed on Tuesday that it is investigating complaints of Apple's misleading "4G" claim.

"We are aware of the news from Australia regarding the iPad 4G marketing claim," an ASA spokeswoman told Pocket-Lint. "Without going through due process we can't say whether the [UK] ad is likely to be problematic. If anyone has concerns about the iPad ad then they can lodge a complaint with us and we will establish whether or not there is a problem under the Code."

The UK's "Advertising Code" says that all advertisements must not mislead the consumer by "omitting material information or by presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible or ambiguous way." This code is similar to the terms used in Australia, which did in fact win its argument with Apple, giving unhappy iPad customers a chance to refund their money.

When Apple launched the new iPad on March 16, the company only announced international LTE carriers for Canada, including Rogers, Bell and TELUS. But on the Australian and UK webpages for the new iPad, it clearly states that the "Wi-Fi + 4G model can roam worldwide on fast GSM/UMTS networks, including HSPA, HSPA+, and DC-HSDPA. When you travel internationally, you can use a micro-SIM card from a local carrier. The problem is, if you use a micro-SIM card in Australia, the UK, or any number of countries, you won't get the high-speed 4G LTE network.

Other countries are bound to start investigating these claims too, which would be a major blow to Apple's overseas reputation. Customers are already frustrated with the fact that they receive new iPads and iPhones weeks after they're released in the U.S., but this latest frustration could put international customers over the edge.

Sweden and Denmark are also reportedly considering investigations, after agencies within both countries received "several complaints" from customers about 4G connectivity. Even though Sweden carries broad LTE coverage, the new iPad isn't supported on those networks.

"One may rightfully ask if the marketing of the new iPad is misleading," said Marek Andersson, a lawyer with the Swedish Consumer Agency. "The question is whether this information is clear enough in Apple's marketing."

Even if Apple doesn't offer refunds to the European countries, it will at least need to correct its language and clarify the 4G LTE terms of the new iPad. But given Apple's history, it will likely allow disgruntled customers to refund their new iPads, but only within a certain time frame. Australian customers have only 14 days to claim a refund after buying their new iPads.

After months of laboratory work, scientists say they can definitively finger oil from BP's blown-out well as the culprit for the slow death of a once brightly colored deep-sea coral community in the Gulf of Mexico that is now brown and dull.

In a study published Monday, scientists say meticulous chemical analysis of samples taken in late 2010 proves that oil from BP PLC's out-of-control Macondo well devastated corals living about 7 miles southwest of the well. The coral community is located over an area roughly the size of half a football field nearly a mile below the Gulf's surface.

The damaged corals were discovered in October 2010 by academic and government scientists, but it's taken until now for them to declare a definite link to the oil spill.


Most of the Gulf's bottom is muddy, but coral colonies that pop up every once in a while are vital oases for marine life in the chilly ocean depths. The injured and dying coral today has bare skeleton, loose tissue and is covered in heavy mucous and brown fluffy material, the paper said.

"It was like a graveyard of corals," said Erik Cordes, a biologist at Temple University who went down to the site in the Alvin research submarine.

So far, this has been the only deep-sea coral site found to be seriously damaged by the spill.

On April 20, 2010, the well blew out about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, leading to the death of 11 workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the nation's largest offshore spill. More than 200 million gallons of oil were released.

"They figured (the coral damage) was the result of the spill, now we can say definitely it was connected to the spill," said Helen White, a chemical oceanographer with Haverford College and the lead researcher.

She said pinpointing the BP well as the source of the contamination required sampling sediment on the sea floor and figuring out what was oil from natural seeps in the Gulf and what was from the Macondo well. Finally, the researchers matched the oil found on the corals with oil that came out of the BP well.

Also, the researchers concluded that the damage was caused by the spill because an underwater plume of oil was tracked passing by the site in June 2010. The paper also noted that a decade of deep-sea coral research in the Gulf had not found coral dying in this manner. The coral was documented for the first time when researchers went looking for oil damage in 2010.

The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The scientists said that they have gone back to the dying corals by submarine since 2010, but that they are not ready to talk about what they've seen at the site.

However, Charles Fisher, a biologist with Penn State University who's led the coral expeditions, said recovery of the damaged site would be slow.

"Things happen very slowly in the deep sea; the temperatures are low, currents are low, those animals live hundreds of years and they die slowly," he said. "It will take a while to know the final outcome of this exposure."

BP did not immediately comment on the study.

The researchers said the troubled spot consists of 54 coral colonies. The researchers were able to fully photograph and assess 43 of those colonies, and of those, 86 percent were damaged. They said 10 coral colonies showed signs of severe stress on 90 percent of the coral.

White, the lead researcher, said that this coral site was the only one found southwest of the Macondo well so far, but that others may exist. The researchers also wrote in the paper that it was too early to rule out serious damage at other coral sites that may have seemed healthy during previous examinations after the April 2010 spill.

Jerald Ault, a fish and coral reef specialist at the University of Miami who was not part of the study, said the findings were cause for concern because deep-sea corals are important habitat. He said there are many links between animals that live at the surface, such as tarpon and menhaden, and life at the bottom of the Gulf. Ecosystem problems can play out over many years, he said.

"It's kind of a tangled web of impact," he said.

An 83-year-old American woman has sued Apple for 1 million dollars after she failed to see the glass door at the tech giant's office and smashed her face.

Evelyn Paswall, a former Manhattan fur-company vice president, went to Apple's Manhasset store to return an iPhone on December 13.

While approaching the store, Paswall didn't realize she was heading straight for a wall of glass.


She smashed her face against it, breaking her nose, Paswall claims in her suit filed in the US Eastern District federal court.

Now the Forest Hills, Queens, resident, Paswall claimed in her lawsuit that the company was negligent not elderly-proofing the store's see-through fa ade, The New York Post reports.

She argues that Apple should have put marks on the glass that older people could spot before they come face-to-face with disaster.

"The defendant was negligent . . . in allowing a clear, see-through glass wall and/or door to exist without proper warning," Paswall suit said.

With space enough for only two seats and a ledge for a table, this could just be the world's smallest coffee shop.
Owner Adam Lowiss, 28, says his Little Espresso Co can accommodate just four people at any one time - two seated and two in the queue.
He currently serves just 35 customers a day in Lincoln city centre with clients clamouring for space on two stools and an 80cm ledge in the the 2m sq area.


At peak times, they are even happy to queue in the rain such is the draw of the tiny shop.
Guinness World Records have received his application for the record and is set to beat off competition from a shop in East Anglia.

Adam says it beats the unofficial smallest shop in Britain, The Window in Norwich, which measures a huge 5msq by comparison.
A chartered surveyor will now confirm its dimensions to Guinness and the record is set be verified within two weeks.

Adam said: 'People come in for the novelty of it now and they love the intimacy. It's only ever me here. I prepare everything.
'People say they've never seen anything anywhere near as small for a shop. It's not like a van or a kiosk, there's a whole little atmosphere here. Many people pop in just to see how small it is.

'It gets a bit cosy in here in the morning rush, but people enjoy chatting and seeing a familiar face.
'It's a bit unconventional for a shop for people to queue in the rain when it gets busy. But some of them seem to like that.
'I feel it has to the smallest in the country and probably the world. If there is any kind of award for it, then I want it.'
Adam took over the bijou property in November last year and opened for business in Silver Street in the city in January.
Sandwiched between an estate agents and a bridalwear shop on one of Lincoln's busiest streets, he says customers love seeing a small business arrive in the recession.
And he says he is not bothered by The Window, with its one table and a bench for its customers, being a rival to his smallest coffee shop crown.

Adam said: 'I've heard a bit about my competition but to be quite frank, if it has a window and a table then it can't be smaller than The Little Espresso Co.
'A place like this is not just like the Caffe Nero or Starbucks down the road.
People like to come somewhere different than sitting in the same old style coffee shop.
'The fact it's so small and brings people in is great.
'But like all coffee shops, the success of it will be if the coffee and the snacks are good enough.

'Then people will definitely keep coming back.'
As well as teas and coffees, Adam from Horncastle, Lincolnshire, offers sandwiches, paninis and cakes to go with his best selling lattes and cappuccinos.
He said: 'I have wanted to do something like this for a while now.
'I have run a couple of pubs and worked for the National Trust in the past but this job seems just perfect for me.'

A magazine cover featuring a pregnant Jessica Simpson posing nude has been censored in an Arizona grocery store.

The new issue of Elle was partially obscured at the Safeway in Tuscon by a piece of cardboard bearing the words: 'Please do not remove cardboard'.
Even though the star's pose carefully obscured anything that might be considered indecent, the store deemed it unsuitable for all audiences.

An image of the notice was taken by a shopper, who sent it to women's news site Jezebel.
The censorship of Miss Simpson's pregnant body is ironic given that a female Arizona state official today announced that she wants to force women to watch videos of an abortion before getting one.

And last week, it was reported that a proposed new law would give Arizona employers the power to request that women being prescribed birth control pills provide proof that they're using it for non-sexual reasons.

As Jezebel noted, these discussions regarding women's reproduction in Arizona portray the state as being very pro-pregnancy.

They commented: 'It's curious that this red state grocery store finds the physical manifestation of God's greatest gift to women (whether they want it or not) so offensive that it warrants being covered up.'
The image of Miss Simpson is a parody of a famous 1991 Vanity Fair cover in which Demi Moore was photographed nude and pregnant.
It was banned and censored on many American newsstands, setting off national debate on motherhood, feminism and beauty. Now, it seems the pose, a celebration of a woman's pregnant body, is still causing controversy twenty years later - despite countless other celebrities copying the Vanity Fair cover too. Facebook also recently pulled a profile portrait of a naked and pregnant British woman who had adopted the nude pose.
The site's censorship prompted users to create a group on the site titled 'Pregnancy Bared Is Not Obscene! - The Naked Truth' which had over 200 members before it was taken down.

Discovery of a new giant wasp species last year has led to the discovery of an even larger species than had been sitting in a collection for 80 years.



Megalara garuda hails from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the same island where a team led by professor Lynn Kimsey (UC Davis) discovered the wasp’s slightly smaller relative Dalara garuda.

Both species belong to the digger wasp family, a diverse group of wasps that sting and paralyze prey insects. These paralyzed insects are then placed in a protected nest where they often remain alive until eaten by hatched digger wasp larvae.

What separates the two newly discovered wasps from the rest of the digger wasp family is the unusual body shape and extremely large jaws. The large jaws are sickle-shaped and longer than the wasp’s front legs.

The large jaws probably play a role not only in hunting prey and defense but also reproduction, according to Kimsey.

“In another species in the genus the males hang out in the nest entrance,” Kimsey said. “This serves to protect the nest from parasites and nest robbing, and for this he exacts payment from the female by mating with her every time she returns to the nest. So it’s a way of guaranteeing paternity. Additionally, the jaws are big enough to wrap around the female’s thorax and hold her during mating.”


In what appears to be some kind of taxonomic cold case, Kimsey’s expedition to Sulawesi, along with a research team from the UC Davis, last year led to the discovery of the initial giant wasp, Dalara garuda. The island is renowned for its biodiversity, its rainforest and its proximity to the equator. Kimsey is part of a $4 million grant program awarded to UC Davis scientists in 2008 to study the biodiversity on Sulawesi, which is being threatened by logging and development.

Another species was recently discovered in California’s Death Valley National Park. Using ultraviolet light that causes scorpions to glow a fluorescent green, a group led by PhD candidate Matthew Graham of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) located a new species of scorpion. They named the species Wernerius inyoensis, after the Inyo Mountains where it was found.

The new species, which measures about 16mm, is identified by the presence of a conspicuous spine at the base of the stinger. Previously known species of this type of scorpion are rarely observed in the wild. Researchers speculate that either these scorpions occur at very low densities or have limited surface activity hinting at the possibility that these scorpions are subterrestrial. In this instance, the scorpions would spend the majority of their time deep in rock crevices or among piles of rock.

Scorpions, having eight legs, are related to arachnids and although the most biodiversity of scorpion populations are found in subtropical climates, they can be found in almost any habitat. There are approximately 1400 know species of scorpions, about 25 of those are lethal to humans.

The new species joins the genus Wernerius, which can be found primarily in southwestern region of North America. The various types of scorpions comprise the majority of biodiversity in this arid, desert section of the United States.

The exhibition and retail pavilion inside the Postojna cave is the first underground post office building in the world. The aim of the project was the renovation of a pavilion in the Concert Hall deemed inappropriate functionally and material-wise. The design would as well replace previously inappropriate visitor sanitary facilities located at the platform with new ones within the structure and connect them to a new biological treatment plant. The entire construction was possible only within the maximum dimensions of the partly demolished existing structure, while the specifics of construction in an underground cave required the use of inorganic construction materials appropriate for such conditions, adjusted to simple transport by the cave train and appropriate for manual fitting.


The entire construction and fitting of construction elements observed nature protection requirements for the smallest impact on the value of nature possible. The concept of sustainability is also reflected in the heating system and ventilation and, last but not least, the first underground biological treatment plant in Slovenia.

The exhibition and retail pavilion is designed in two parts. The pavilion part is a transparent, passable area with four entrances/exits, designed within a longitudinal volume in the form of the letter S, thus reflecting the wall of the underground hall. The volume is structured in a manner that directs the flow of visitors and points to entrances and exits.


In the renovated service part of the structure, service areas and new sanitary facilities for the visitors of the postojna cave were provided as well as connected to the treatment plant on the level of the platform. The interior of the structure functions as a uniform, flexible space with installed floor plugs for plug-in exhibits and movable equipment. The volume of the exhibition and retail area is transparent throughout the entire interior height, functioning as an extension of the concert hall.

The exhibition and retail area is flexible, as it is equipped with floor plugs prepared for plug-in equipment elements or exhibits. Other equipment elements in the exhibition niche can also be plugged in as desired to wall holders according to required exhibition or retail purposes.

A large fishing vessel swept away by the tsunami that devastated Japan last year has been spotted bobbing in the seas near British Columbia in western Canada.The trawler is part of the 5 million tons of debris that were swept into the ocean in March 2011 when a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.The 23ft wall of water struck the east coast of the island nation following a 9.0 earthquake, sweeping everything from cars to houses into the ocean leaving a wake of devastation.


More than a year later a Canadian military air patrol spotted the vessel - 4,703 miles away from where it was originally moored - floating towards the shore.It has been determined that the boat has been adrift without anybody at the helm since March 11 last year.

The 50-foot-long (15-meter-long) vessel was recently about 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Haida Gwaii, islands off the north-coast of British Columbia, slowly drifting toward shore.

A maritime warning has been issued because the vessel could pose a navigational hazard.The Japan Coast Guard identified the owner of the fishing trawler after being contacted by Canadian officials, who were able to provide the identification number on the hull of the ship.The vessel, which was used for squid fishing, was moored at Hachinohe in the Aomori prefecture when the tsunami hit, said Toshiro Yoshinaga, a Coast Guard official.Canadian agencies are monitoring the ship for possible marine pollution, though there are no reports of leaks from the vessel, the defense department said.The earthquake, which struck about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo, was the largest in the country’s history.Thousands of people were killed when the earthquake triggered the tsunami and other giant waves that devastated cities and rural areas.According to the official toll, the disasters left 15,839 dead, 5,950 injured, and 3,642 missing.

France's education minister called for disciplinary proceedings against a teacher in the north of France on Friday, after she allegedly asked her students to observe a moment's silence for serial killer Mohamed Merah, the man who gunned down three children and a rabbi in front of Jewish school in Toulouse earlier this week.


Students in the the French English teacher's class in Rouen wrote to their principal that she had called the serial killer a "victim," and said his links to al-Qaida were fabricated by the media and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, according to AFP.

The teacher's request prompted most of the students to empty out of the classroom, though some stayed behind to "try to understand what she was talking about," AFP reported according to their letter.

French Education Minister Luc Chatel has called for the teacher to be suspended for her request, which was made the day after police shot Merah dead in the south of France after he went on a killing spree.

On Thursday, France's Le Monde newspaper reported that Merah, who killed three soldiers and four Jews in France in the last two weeks, had been on a trip to Israel in the past.

According to the report, Merah's passport had Israeli stamps in it. The purpose of his visit is not known, but analysts suspect he was either trying to visit the Palestinian territories or do reconnaissance to plan a terror attack.

The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the veracity of this report.

Based on the stamps in his passports, Merah also visited Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Afghanistan.

The 23-year-old gunman who said al-Qaida inspired him to kill seven people in France died from a gunshot wound to the head on Thursday as he scrambled out of a ground-floor window during a gunbattle with elite police commandos.

Sarkozy called Merah's killings terrorist attacks and announced a crackdown on people following extremist websites.

"From now on, any person who habitually consults websites that advocate terrorism or that call for hate and violence will be punished," he said in a statement. "France will not tolerate ideological indoctrination on its soil."

Initially one hears the actor was wary of addressing the issue on public platforms arguing that he would be only too happy to support the cause as a back-bench player.

We now hear John has been persuaded to take a more active part in the sperm-donation theme of the film.

This week John shot a promotional video for the film Vicky Donor to support the cause of sperm donation.


In the video he'd be seen actually agreeing to donate his sperms publicly.

Says a source, "The concept of the song is that John appears as himself at a function where he addresses the issue of sperm donation. Some ladies in the audience ask him if he would agree to donate sperms for infertile couples. John agrees. Then some lady asks if he would donate his sperms for her."

Apparently John was extremely shy of being part such an aggressive campaign for sperm donation. But he finally agreed.

Director Shoojit Sircar confirms John's public nod to sperm donation.

Says Sircar, "It's a song on stage where my film's lead pair Ayushmann Khurrana and Yami Gautam are joined by John on stage at a public function. All I can says, John's sperms are much in-demand."

The Russian capital remains the city with the most expensive hotels in Europe despite a decrease in prices from 2011, a prominent hotel booking service said.

Travellers had to shell out an average of 7,227 rubles (around $250) for one night's stay in Moscow in February, according to Hotel.info.

The runner-up, Oslo, averaged 6,334 rubles ($216) per night, while hotel rooms in London, which came third, cost 6,236 rubles ($212), the service said in a survey.

Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Warsaw also made it to the European top 10, the report said.

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook and lawmakers have warned employers against requesting Facebook passwords while screening job applicants, a controversial practice that underscores the blurring distinction between personal and professional lives the era of social media.

The practice has reportedly grown more commonplace as companies increasingly regard profiles - or embarrassing photos from wild nights out - as windows into a prospective employee's character.


On Friday, Facebook Inc's Chief Privacy Officer, Erin Egan, posted a note warning that the social networking company could "initiate legal action" against employers that demand Facebook passwords.

Also, lawmakers in several states and in Washington said they would introduce bills to prohibit companies from vetting employees by demanding access to private accounts.

Leland Yee, a California state senator, told Reuters on Friday he introduced legislation that would prohibit companies in the state from soliciting Facebook passwords from job applicants. The Associated Press reported that lawmakers in Illinois and Maryland were also considering similar moves.

"Employers can't ask in the course of an interview your sexual orientation, your age, and yet social media accounts may have that information," Yee said.

"Employers have legitimate questions about a person's job performance, but they can get that information the regular way, without cutting corners and violating people's privacy."

Egan said in a post on Facebook's website published on Friday that the social networking company has seen in recent months "a distressing increase in reports of employers or others seeking to gain inappropriate access to people's Facebook profiles.

"We don't think employers should be asking prospective employees to provide their passwords because we don't think it's the right thing to do.

"But it also may cause problems for the employers that they are not anticipating. For example, if an employer sees on Facebook that someone is a member of a protected group (e.g. over a certain age, etc.) that employer may open themselves up to claims of discrimination if they don't hire that person."

OPEN UP YOUR MAIL

The issue bubbled up this week after the Associated Press reported that employers are increasingly asking to look at content job applicants have uploaded to their digital accounts, regardless of whether that content is shared or not.

In the case of the Maryland Department of Corrections, job applicants were asked to browse through their own Facebook accounts with an interviewer present, the AP reported.

The ACLU, which previously criticized the Maryland state government's online vetting, called the practice "an invasion of privacy" in a statement this week.

"You'd be appalled if your employer insisted on opening up your postal mail to see if there was anything of interest inside," said ACLU attorney Catherine Crump.

"It's equally out of bounds for an employer to go on a fishing expedition through a person's private social media account."

Facebook's outspoken stance on the issue cast it in an unfamiliar but welcome role.

Hundreds of users cheered Egan, applauding a company that has been repeatedly criticized for bungling privacy issues over the years, especially when changing privacy settings without duly notifying users.

By Friday afternoon, close to a thousand users had "Liked" Egan's post and many users left positive comments.

Yet there were still a few cynics.

"FB you're talking out of both sides of your mouth," wrote Facebook user Ron Carrubba. "Now how about fixing your other privacy issues in the application itself?"

The topless women's group FEMEN protested in Moscow today, protesting against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his cabinet choices, to which the topless protesters, and others in various levels of nudity, say that these choices are anti-women.

How to protest domestic violence, corruption and a visit by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin? Femen's answer: Take off your bra!
A group of young activists is gaining popularity here for staging topless protests that involve sexually charged gestures, obscene slogans and scuffles with security guards and police. Often, the point seems to be just getting naked.
The activists, slender, long-legged beauties with traditional Ukrainian flower wreaths in their hair, say they are promoting women's rights and fighting for democracy, but some critics say they're just seeking fame and undermining the feminist cause.

"If sexuality is used to sell cars and cookies, why not use it for social and political projects," said Anna Hutsul, 26, the chain-smoking leader of Femen who has closely cropped red hair. "Sometimes you need to show your breasts for ideological reasons."
It's perhaps no coincidence that Femen originated in Ukraine, where the 2004 Orange Revolution ushered in chaotic democracy and made noisy street protests something of a national sport.
Born out of a girls' pajama party two years ago, the group has turned into a popular movement whose escapades are the subject of evening news, talk shows and blog gossip. They've become so popular, in fact, that Hutsul plans to launch a political party and run for parliament.


This group does not even really need a reason to go topless, as they even admit to the Moscow Times: "'We don't really care, we just want to show our boobs,' says the group's blog about one protest."

Others say some of Femen's escapades are meaningless, such as when Shevchenko clad in nothing but black panties, stockings, suspenders and a helmet disturbed a respected women's rights conference. The argument was that the experts talk too much and do too little.
"Your clothes, dressing, undressing — it should not be about that," said Anna Dubrovina, 31, a manager at a telecommunications company in Kiev. "It should be about what you do, about your achievements."

Even in the United States, there are groups of women known for their protesting using their own bodies in various states of undress. But as Doug would point out, they would definitely lose out in a beauty contest against these Ukrainian protesters.
Source - Moscow Times

EAST LANSING, Mich. – A Michigan State University associate professor's nude photographs that show him posing with students has prompted questions about art and ethics among some associated with the school.Danny Guthrie's work is well-known by campus officials, who have reviewed the issue, The Detroit News reported Wednesday. Coverage by The State News student newspaper drew recent attention at the East Lansing campus to Guthrie's photos, which depict the 65-year-old teacher bare-chested in some photos, while in others he's fully clothed. Guthrie poses with male and female students, faculty and colleagues and often is touching them.


In an email to The Detroit News, Guthrie, whose biography on the university's website says he has been a faculty member there for 13 years, declined an interview and wrote: "It is not a great climate for being edgy in the area of sexuality."

An email seeking comment from Guthrie was sent Wednesday by The Associated Press.The school has determined there's a protocol in place so students do not feel pressured to participate, Heather Swain, interim vice president for university relations, said in a statement. She said Guthrie does not recruit students currently enrolled in his classes to model for photographs.



"Sometimes art, and the means by which it is expressed, evokes strong responses -- both for and against it. In situations where the art relates to an academic activity, MSU's main concern is to maintain the integrity of the teaching and learning environment," the statement said.Laura Merrihew of the southern Michigan community of Brooklyn has a daughter who attends Michigan State. She has been lobbying university officials to stop Guthrie's photos after a relative showed her a column written by a student challenging Guthrie's work.

"This man has breached the bounds of the student-professor relationship," Merrihew said. "His pictures are sexually motivated and they are taking advantage of the students. There are several with totally nude girls that he's holding . and touching."To think that he is participating in this and not thinking: `What good luck I have to be able to do this and get away with this."'Others, however, have defended Guthrie's photographs. Henry Brimmer, an assistant professor in Michigan State's Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Retailing, said those raising questions don't understand that Guthrie is a serious artist.



"His work is gorgeous, it is beautiful, it is well done, it has significance," Brimmer said.Those who choose to participate are volunteers, Swain said, and they determine the extent of their participation and approve the final photographs. She noted in an email Wednesday that the university has not received complaints from participants.

"While we understand the shock value of Professor Guthrie's art, it is not sexual harassment and does not violate university policies. Whether students, as adults, choose to model for him is not something the university can or should control," she said.Michael Hersrud, a former Michigan State assistant professor in graphic design, said he chose to pose with a female faculty member. Now an assistant professor for Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, he said via email that Guthrie's work challenges perceptions of art and media."A painting of a nude figure prior to photography was not always viewed as `art,' but over time we have come to accept this nude painting as a work of art," Hersrud said.