Was the Virgin Queen a King of Deception?

Elizabeth I never married, was proud to be called 'The Virgin Queen', and claimed that people needed to feel their monarch was wedded to the whole country, rather than one man. On other occasions, she hinted that the debacle of her father’s six wives, and her mother’s death at the block, had put her off marriage for life, but many people believe that Elizabeth's aversion to marriage was due to the need to hide a terrible secret that, if it were to be exposed, would bring the nation to its knees. What was her—supposed—terrible secret? Shocking as it may sound; some evidence suggests she was a drag queen monarch, rather than a true Queen.

Although many people have heard nothing of this rumored high-level deception, it is a subject that more people may soon become aware of because noted author, Steve Berry, has worked it into the plot of his controversial new novel The King's Deception. The book is part of Berry's Cotton Malone series.

From the Amazon sales page:

"Cotton Malone and his fifteen-year-old son, Gary, are headed to Europe. As a favor to his former boss at the Justice Department, Malone agrees to escort a teenage fugitive back to England. But after he is greeted at gunpoint in London, both the fugitive and Gary disappear, and Malone learns that he’s stumbled into a high-stakes diplomatic showdown—an international incident fueled by geopolitical gamesmanship and shocking Tudor secrets."

Berry is not the only writer to have been aware of this rumor. Dracula author, Bram Stoker was aware of it as well, and was so convinced of its credibility that that he included the story in the final chapter of his lesser-known work Imposters.

But what is this story that Stoker found so convincing, and has now inspired Berry's new novel?

Apparently Henry VIII sent his young daughter to a manor house in the Cotswold village of Bisley, not for a holiday, but as a precautionary measure because he was afraid that she, like so many Londoners, would fall victim to the plague. This much is known is an historical fact, subsequent events are, however, harder to prove, but this is the story . . .

The King's sensible precaution proved to be a futile because Elizabeth caught a fever and died, a terrible turn of events that would surely have entailed terrible consequences for those who had been assigned to protect her, so the whole matter was hushed up. Elizabeth was buried in secret and a substitute was sought in the village. Unfortunately the only substitute that could be found was a young boy and, with the king's imminent arrival at Bisley there was no time to find a better option.

The two people who manufactured this incredible deception—if deception it was—were Lady Kat Ashley (her governess) and Thomas Parry (her guardian) and, fortunately for them, certain circumstances worked to their advantage. The King had rarely spent time with his daughter and even when he did so she was such a quiet child that he was used to her sitting in silence; so in the dim light of the manor, the King had no reason to suspect that anyone other than his daughter stood before him. Opportunity for a better replacement was never forthcoming, so the boy was taught to be a princess, while the real Elizabeth was buried in the manor's grounds.

It is this clandestine burial that proved to be of particular interest to Stoker, who heard persistent rumors that a coffin had been unearthed at Bisley, during the 1800s, that contained the remains of a young girl, fully garbed in Tudor finery with precious gems sewn into the fabric.

Stoker could easily see how such a deception explained the Virgin Queen's failure to marry, even though one of her most important duties was to provide an heir, and her refusal to give her hand to the Prince of Spain provoked a war.

Berry believes that when the Queen said she had the heart of a man she was telling the truth. Stoker believed it too, so much of this story is heresay; the rest is a mix of heresy and history, while the truth of the matter remains a matter of personal opinion. Queen of the Realm, or drag Queen King? Maybe this is one piece of history that is better forgotten.

More at the Mail Online

Woman Gives Up Eating in Favor of a Strict Diet of Sunlight

Sixty-five-year-old Navene Shine has decided that it is perectly possible to live on sunshine all washed down, of course, with plenty of water. A firm believer in the Breatharian Diet, she has not eaten solid food since May 30th.

Exponents of Breatharianism believe that sunlight provides all the nourishment the body needs. Sadly none of  many thousands of people who are starving in Africa have come forward to back up this theory and all of the western world practitioners who managed to find the will power to stick with the Breatharian diet are now dead.

Mrs. Shine, who has been sharing her experience via Facebook and YouTube, and has set up eight cameras around her home to track her progress, admits that her new diet has not been easy. She occasionally gets twinges of something that ‘feels like hunger ‘ and has been constipated, and claims to feel short of energy.  She also says she has suffered from nausea.

So far she has lost more than six inches from her belly and has dropped from a weight of 159lbs to 130lbs and on her 30th day of the diet she wrote:
‘I have the feeling that my body has reached a point where it has used up all its stored fats and is now looking around for what next to consume.’

If someone doesn’t get her on a sunbed pretty soon the old dear may well starve to death, but she is one lady who knows what she wants out life and appears to be ready to fight to the death to get it.

More on this story from the Mail Online

Queen Guitarist Brian May Leads Protest to Stop Badger Cull

It’s official. June 1^st is the start of culling season and one of the worst things about this is the sad fact that this outrageous and barbaric state of affairs has been fully sanctioned by the British government.

Five thousand badgers may be killed in two pilot badger culls in West Gloucestershire and West Somerset and it is likely that it will cost around £4 million to provide enough police officers to cope with the inevitable disruptions caused by animal right protestors.

Brian May, Bill Oddie, and hundreds of protestors—some wearing badger masks—have already stormed the streets of London and delivered a petition against this cruel practice. The petition had been signed by 228,000 people, but the powers that be refuse to be moved and continue to claim that course of action is necessary to prevent the spread of bovine TB.

Many experts disagree and consider the cull do be an ill-advised act that may cause the disease to spread faster than normal, meaning the government will have spent millions of pounds of the British taxpayer's money to create a bigger problem than they had before.

Philip Mansbridge, chief executive of animal charity Care for the Wild, has stated: "The badger cull has no scientific, economic or animal welfare justification.

"The Government and the NFU are blindly embarking on one of the worst agricultural policies of the past 30 years, which will lead to senseless slaughter, chaos and disruption in the countryside, huge cost to the taxpayer and no meaningful reduction in the spread of bovine TB."

Dental Visit Results in Amazing Weight Loss

Four years ago Denise Petty sat in the dentist's chair, but instead of a dental checkup she had a life changing experience. Denise weighed a hefty 36 stone and the dentist's chair was unable to lift her. The embarrassment of the experience, couple with the realization that, if she did not take action and diminish her weight, she would be lucky to survive to the end of the year, provided Denise with the necessary encouragement to lose and incredible 21 stone in 4 years.

Denise had been aware of the severity of her problem long before her Dental chair disgrace and had even picked up the courage to discuss the matter with her GP, who warned her she was morbidly obese. But even the worrying words of her GP failed to move Denise enough to make her try and remove some of her excess baggage.

At 42-years-old she was unable to walk father than 20 yards. A fact made all the more alarming by the fact she was employed as a health care assistant. Talking the talk was one thing, and being unable to walk the walk was setting a very poor example, but she still lacked the necessary fat-busting motivation until the straining dental chair finally forced her to face facts and stop stuffing her face.

In 2009 Denise was garbed in tent-like size 34 dresses; now she is a much healthier size 14 and happily states, “It’s about smaller portion sizes and about moderating what you eat

More on this story at: http://www.thisisjersey.com/news/uk-news/2013/05/18/amazing-slimmer-loses-21-stone/

New Research Reveals the Reason Why Women Can Expect to Live Longer Than Men

According to figures provided by the World Health Organization, the life expectancy for UK men is 79 years. On average women can expect to live 3 years longer and new research reveals that the reason for this is all in the blood.

The research was conducted at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University. Scientists took blood samples from 356 men and women, aged between 20 and 90, and counted the amount of white blood cells and cytokines (immune system signaling molecules).  It was found that the level reduced with age, for both sexes, but in men the rate of decline of T-cell and B-cell lymphocytes was much higher—these lymphocytes have a significant role to play in the human immune system.

The samples also revealed that in men the two cytokines, IL-6 and IL-10 also showed a more rapid rate of decline.

The human immune system relies on CD4 T-cells to destroy bacteria that invade the body. The amount of these increases with age, but in women the increase was shown to be much faster than in men.

After completion of all the tests the scientists concluded that, ‘Age-related changes in various immunological parameters differ between men and women. Our findings indicate that the slower rate of decline in these immunological parameters in women than in men is consistent with the fact that women live longer than do men.’

More on this story at the Mail Online:   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2324783/Women-live-longer-men-immune-systems-age-slowly.html

Outrageous New Guidelines Pressure Pregnant Women into Smoking Tests

Mothers and the Midwives who take care of them have got together in angry response to newly proposed smoking tests.

The new proposals, due to come into effect later this year, will make it standard practice for midwives to test the carbon monoxide levels of mothers to be by giving them a breath test at their first antenatal appointment.

It is believed that many women are too embarrassed to admit to their doctor or midwife that they continue to smoke. The proposed breath tests are the idea of the health watchdog NICE, who believe that up to 20% of women lie about their smoking habits.

Mothers are furious about the proposed changes and members of the website 'Mumsnet' are stating that the plans are 'utter meddlesome nonsense' and 'intrusive nannying'.

In the words of one Mumsnet member the plans are a ‘Really terrible idea. Women are not just baby incubators once they’re pregnant.’ And midwives are in agreement because they feel that such tests could undermine the trust between them and the mothers in their care, with Louise Siverton, director of midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, calling the plans 'draconian'.

Even the director of the smokers' lobby group, Simon Clark, has spoken up against the plans, stating that "This seems incredibly invasive."

More on this story at The Daily Mail:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2323252/Fury-smoking-breath-test-mothers-revealed-light-pregnancy.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Experts Claim That Diabetes Can Be Work-Related

Researchers at Tel Aviv University, Israel, have discovered that working in a stressful environment, with unfriendly work colleagues can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Dr Sharon Toker studied 5,843 people, who visited a Tel Aviv health center for a check-up. All of them were found to be in good health and showed no sign of diabetes.  Dr Toker continued to monitor the group for a period of 41 months, during which 182 of them developed type 2 diabetes.

When a comparison was made to the working conditions of the various members of the group it became clear that having a good working relationship, with supportive colleagues can lower the chances of developing the disease by as much as 22%. And clocking up extra overtime hours can increase the chances by 18%.

Faulty Breast Implants Give Further Cause for Concern

Despite their continuing popularity, the worry of faulty breast implants is an issue that affects many women who have gone under the knife in an effort to look bigger and better than ever before. Now some implantees are faced with fresh concerns because experts are warning that faulty PIP implants may be harmful to unborn babies.
The problem area this time is a chemical used inside the implants. In the event of rupture the chemical is released into the body and experts at the Royal Society of Medicine are now stating that British authorities should let inform women of the dangers that this entails.
Although use of the French produced PIP implants has been banned since 2010, many women are still walking around with the potentially dangerous implants inside them.
Previous reports by The British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulation Authority state that the implants contain no hazardous material, but The consumer protection group Antidote Europe disagree with this and have identified dangerous levels of chemicals in the implants, one of which (D4) is of particular concern.

More on the Story at The Mail Online   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2321705/Chemical-faulty-breast-implants-used-47-000-women-UK-causes-damage-unborn-babies.html

No More Pill-Popping—New Treatment for Hay Fever Symptoms Works Twice as Fast!

The traditional way of treating hay fever used to be popping a few corticosteroid tablets and some antihistamine, but the new Dymista spray combines both drugs for super-fast results without the need for pills.

Summer seems to be on its way at last, but for many hay fever sufferers waving goodbye to winter sniffles has always meant saying a quick hello to the summer sniffles, and itchy sore eyes, caused by rising pollen levels.

Clinical trial on 4,000 hay fever sufferers have shown some very promising results, with the Dymista spray relieving symptoms within just five days—that's three days faster than the old pill-popping method.

Sadly it is not all good news. One in four people suffer from hay fever, but it will cost the NHS £19 to provide patients with a month of treatment; so Dymista will only be available to people who suffer from moderate to severe hay fever symptoms.

Know Your Aunty with the Anti-Incest App

New smartphone technology could prevent Icelanders accidently becoming too familiar with family members.

The population of Iceland is just 320,000 and, with the majority of true Icelanders all being descended from one family, accidental incest is not unheard of in the small Viking country. All that could change thanks to three Icelandic software designers and their new smartphone app. Now when boy meets girl they can simply bump their phones together and an alert will warn them of the dangers of the potentially sticky situation to come.

The three designers, who all work at the Sad Engineer Studios, developed the app to work in conjunction with the new online Iselandingabok database—a useful resource for Icelanders who wish to trace their family history.

The Sad Engineers also came up with a motto for their creation: "Bump the app before you bump in the bed". They even added a  birthday calendar—so even if the bump loses someone a jump, at least they won’t forget to buy an extra present that year.

Sadly the new app that ensures a little smart phone banging will prevent any inadvertent granny banging comes a little too late for some people. One reviewer in Google's Play store  gave the app a score of 4.5 out of 5, but added an embarrassing admission: 'If I would have had this app last year I probably wouldn't have gone home with my cousin.'

More on this story at the Mail Online

New Hope for Diabetics—Insulin-Boosting Hormone Could End the Need for Daily Injections

In tests on mice the newly discovered betatrophin hormone causes a thirty-fold increase in insulin-producing beta cells. It is now believed that betatrophin could revolutionize the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at the prestigious Harvard University believe that betatrophin may even be capable of stopping type 2 diabetes in its tracks. ‘It could eventually mean that, instead of taking insulin injections three times a day, you might be able to take this hormone once a week or once a month, or in the best case, maybe once a year,’ they said. This would certainly be a big improvement on the several injections that are presently necessary each day to keep the condition under control.

In type 2 diabetes the cells in the pancreas fail to produce sufficient quantities of insulin—vital for turning sugar into energy—and the insulin that is produced does not work correctly.

At the onset, the condition may be successfully controlled by adhering to a stringent diet and exercise regime. As time progresses, however, many diabetes sufferers will find they need tablets or injections.

Rather than try to find an alternative to providing insulin, the Harvard researchers decided to search for a way to boost insulin production in the body. Betatrophin is the result.

Diabetes is more common now than ever before and the high blood sugar levels associated with the disease can have severe complications such as nerve and circulatory damage, blindness, and heart disease. Researcher, Professor Doug Melton, said that the discovery had left him so excited that he could hardly sleep, but stressed that further tests are necessary, meaning that it may be a decade before betatrophin reaches the market.

A Couple of Aspirin Could Be Powerful Allies in War Against Cancer

New research shows that daily doses of aspirin may reduce the reproductive speed of breast cancer cells.

Scientists from the University of Kansas have discovered that the humble aspirin can inhibit the growth of cancer tumors by limiting the speed at which the cancer cell can reproduce and tests on mice revealed that low doses of aspirin proved highly effective against two different strains of the disease.

One of the strains that appears to be vulnerable to the drug is responsible for 'triple negative' breast cancer—which affects one in five patients and is resistant to many forms of treatment.

The scientists also discovered that aspirin can boost the effectiveness of tamoxifen, which is widely used in the battle against the more common form of cancer.

The results of the research suggest that the reason behind the effectiveness of aspirin may be due to it interfering with ability of the tumors to generate aggressive stem cells.

Head scientist Professor Sushanta Banerjee presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Society of Biochemistry, where he stated 'If you don't target the stemness," it is known you will not get any effect. It will relapse.'

Bigfoot on Ice, But Who is Responsible for the Recent Sasquatch Deaths?

Last month two young boys in Massachusetts found Bigfoot body parts decomposing in the woods. Two weeks ago a pair of Georgian hunters discovered a Sasquatch corpse deep in the woods. Who is targeting the Sasquatch—and why?

On the twenty-ninth of March two young boys discovered a Bigfoot foot decomposing in the woods and reported their discovery to the local police department. Police Chief Frank Alvihiera sent the gruesome find to the medical examiner, who has ascertained that, although it has five toes, the foot is not human.

Over in Georgia, Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer—who run Bigfoot expeditions—claim that they found a dead bigfoot deep in the woods a couple of weeks ago and hauled the corpse home with them. Since then the men have been storing it in their freezer. Whitton and Dyer claim that the Bigfoot, which has reddish hair and weighs over 230kg, appears to be a cross between a human and an ape. The two main promise to provide further proof of their find—including DNA and further photographs—at a press conference, but they refuse to divulge the exact location where they found the body, in an effort to protect other bigfoot which they claim to have seen around the body.

Bigfoot sightings are not that rare, but evidence of this nature is, and if the decaying foot turns out to be real, and the corpse does as well, it raises several questions: what happened to the monsters? Could someone be targeting the Sasquatch

Motherhood Forced on Panda at Edinburgh Zoo

Unwilling panda parent Tian Tian was artificially inseminated this morning by a team of experts, flown in from Germany.

Former childhood sweethearts, the Giant pandas, Tian Tian and Yuang Guang, were both bred in Sichuan, China and lived together until they reached maturity and where flown to Scotland in December 2011, where they were forced to live separate lives at Edinburgh zoo. The following spring, when Tian Tian came into season, zoo officials reunited the panda pair, and had high hopes of hearing the patter of little panda feet. That was over two years ago and, despite the zoo's every effort; Tian Tian has continued to resist the amorous advances of her would-be suitor.

In an effort to create the right mood Edinburgh Zoo spent £280,000 on the construction of a purpose built enclosure for the Tian Tian and Yuang Guang. They even incorporated a "Love Tunnel" into the design to provide the pandas with a little privacy for their special moment and, realizing that the piped in music and panda-cams may have interfered with the romance, the zoo turned them off.

Pandas only have a small 36-hour long period in which to breed, and it comes but once a year, so the zoo has taken drastic action of forcing artificial insemination on Tian Tian and if it is successful the reluctant mother could deliver her cub or cubs in late August or early September.

I'm a Belieber!

Justin Bieber fans in Norway will do just about anything to get a concert ticket—and that includes converting to Islam.

Last year the Norwegian authorities were almost forced to declare a state of emergency when Oslo was inundated with thousands of youngsters, there for a free Justin Bieber concert. This year some Norwegian schools even went as far as rescheduling their midterm examinations to accommodate the needs of students with tickets to see the teen star perform. Bieber has a huge fan-base in Norway, but there are only so many tickets available and it would seem that some fans who missed out on a ticket will stop at nothing to get one. A recent stunt, organized by the Norwegian Comedy show 'Anne-Kat', proves this, but the stunt has angered many religious leaders.

The show is hosted by comedienne Anne-Katrine Hegna Haerland, who wanted to find out how far Beliebers would be willing to go to get a ticket, so free tickets were offered to Bieber fans in exchange for their converting to Islam. The girls had to remove their make-up, don hijabs, and recite what was reportedly and Islamic statement of belief. The Norwegian news website, Dagen, also reports the Beliebers were forced to insult their hero by saying, "Justin Bieber is unclean and probably gay."

The show has been heavily criticized for trivializing people's faith and Halyor Northug, Bishop of the Norwegian Lutheran Church, told Dagen that the stunt 'testifies to Hærland’s lack of understanding of how much faith means to a lot of people . . . . This is an example of an idea where irony and lack of respect turns into something tragic.'

Bieber's name has been in the news a lot lately, and after his controversial visit to Anne Frank's House, and his monkey troubles in Germany, he probably could have done without a stunt like this, but at least this time nobody can say it is his fault.

Magic Mushrooms Could Make Depression Vanish

About one in ten people in Britain suffer from depression and at least ten of them fail to respond to traditional treatment. New research conducted at the Imperial College, London; has shown that a psychedelic ingredient, found in magic mushrooms, can switch off the areas of the brain that are involved in depression.

The magic ingredient found in the mushrooms is called psilocybin, but the present laws in Britain prohibit the picking of the mushrooms and ban the manufacture of the drug.

President of the British Neuroscience Association, Professor David Nutt calls the restrictions "archaic" and is campaigning for a change in the law to allow him to conduct clinical trials of Psilocybin.

“Our approach is being limited by the baggage of drug laws, drug controls and the illegal status of these substances," says Nutt, who is now worried that scientists in Columbia, may beat him to the trial.

A spokesperson from the British Home Office insists that the present laws do not need to be changed, but a frustrated Nutt is adamant that his research should not continue to be hindered and it is high time for a change. If he continues to keep banging his head against beurocratic walls though, Nutt could well need a dose of psilocybin himself.

Manchester is Coronary Capital of the UK, But Beetroot Could Be The Answer

New figures show that, for some people, eating beetroot could be a life or death decision!
The findings of a recent study, conducted by The British Heart Foundation, reveal that residents of Manchester are more likely to die from coronary heart disease than people who live elsewhere in the country.

For residents of the Chelsea and Kensington areas of London things are very different. They should feel their hearts beating with pride because they have the healthiest hearts in the nation. And with a death rate, from heart disease, of only 39 people out of 100,000; there is a significant difference between the London borough and the Tameside area of Manchester where there are a heart-stopping 132 deaths, caused by heart disease, per 100,000 people.

"These latest figures expose staggering inequalities in deaths from heart disease across the UK," states Professor Peter Weissberg (BHF medical director), "But it’s unacceptable that people continue to die from heart attacks, regardless of their postcode."

It is not all doom and gloom over at BHF headquarters though, because a report on their website reveals some interesting results from another study, recently published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension. The study shows that eating more beetroot can significantly lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes.

The miraculous power of the beetroot is apparently due its high nitrate content. Nitrates occur naturally in the soil and vegetables such as beetroot, lettuce, fennel and cabbage, suck it up through their roots and then pass on the benefits when eaten. Tamworth residents can take heart in the news that just two beetroots a day can make all the difference.

Putting on Your Running Shoes Could Reduce Likelihood of Brain Damage

New findings reveal that regular exercise could help prevent the damage caused by alcohol.

Alcohol can be as bad for the brain matter as it is for the liver, but although attempts have been made to educate drinkers about safe levels of alcohol consumption 'binge-drinking' is on the rise. But a new study, conducted on sixty people with similar brain and clinical data, could offer hope to those who are as fanatical about keeping fit as they are about drinking.

Researchers at the University of California quizzed the participants about how much alcohol they consumed, their loss of control over drinking, and how much exercise they do. They then calculated the results to examine the relationship between exercise and drinking-related neurological damage.

The report, due to be published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, concludes that the extent of brain damage caused by heavy drinking is dependent on the amount of exercise the drinker gets; so it would seem that lacing up the pumps, pumping the arms, and pounding the pavement is, can be as good for the mind as it is for the body.

Justin Bieber Causes Outrage After Crazy Comment at Anne Frank House

Justin Bieber has been labeled insensitive after a tasteless comment left at Anne Frank's House.
Anne Frank's House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Holland. Anne Frank wrote her famous diary while living in a hidden room of the house and in 2012 the house—now a museum— opened its doors to a record-breaking 1,152,888 people visitors.
Still on his World Tour, Justin Bieber arrived in Holland last week for a performance at Arnhem's GelreDome and took some time out to visit the house. Someone should have confiscated the teen star's pen though because his entry in the guestbook was not a hit with admirers of the wartime heroine—

 "Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a Belieber."

The comment was posted on the Anne Frank House Facebook Page and caused an immediate outrage that soon spread to the social network, Twitter.

"Just saw what Justin Bieber wrote in the Anne Frank Museum guestbook. Absolutely disgusted," read one tweet.

A spokeswoman for the museum was more understanding about the  Bieber comment—
"He's 19. It's a crazy life he's living, he didn't mean bad… and also it's nice that he made the effort, he didn't have to come."

She makes a fair point, but with many of his Twitter followers suspected to be fake, and his recent monkey troubles in Germany, Bieber certainly seems to be making news for all the wrong reasons lately.

New Biometric Scanning iPhone Could Collect Your Data Without Your Knowledge

Californian tech company, AOptix has developed a new tool for the iPhone 4 or 4S and the implications are quite worrying because the new tool is a biometric scanning device.

The term biometrics (or biometric authentication) refers to the process of identifying people by their characteristics or traits.  Iris scanning devices are just one example of biometrics at work.

Although biometric technology can be very effective, and could be seen as the ultimate aid in verifying an identity; there have always been concerns about possible misuse of the technology and the gathered date. The thought of Big Brother watching you is frightening, but the possibility of Big Brother cataloguing your details and filing them away somewhere is terrifying. So the prospect of mobile phones with this technology is sure to be a very controversial issue.

The new tool is called the AOptix Stratus and it consists of an app and a wrap-around device that can be hooked onto an iPhone by using a 30-pin connector. The app can collect basic data such as facial images, voice recordings and GPS coordinates. The optional wrap-around device is necessary for higher-level work such as scanning irises and fingerprints. The app then sorts the collected data into profiles. After that a tap of the app is all that is required to send the information to a "network" via the phone's standard internet connection.

AOptix's new biometric app also has an automatic capture facility that first judges how close someone is, then makes any adjustments needed before collecting their data and filing it.

The app cost $3,000 000 to develop and the fact that the US Defense Department footed the bill, is possibly one of the most unnerving things about all of this.

New App Could Spice Up Your Love Life

It's now easier than ever before to get hot and sticky with your tablet or mobile phone—and that is without resorting to making or receiving dirty phone calls.

The Kama Sutra has been spicing up love lives for over 2, 000 years; now it's gone digital thank to a new app that allows the reader to examine all 69 of the sexual positions more closely than ever before because the pictures have been replaced with holograms that can be spun through a full 360 degrees. Something like that should provide even the slowest of learners with all the ins and outs of even the most difficult positions.

The name of this sexy new app? The Karma Xcitra; and as if sexual tutoring by horny holograms is not good enough, the user can also customize the app by changing the skin and hair color of their tutors.

Hazel Cushion, managing director of Xcitra, stated that in the past couples have been confused by some of the more challenging positions in the Indian love manual have been baffling people for centuries. This could now be a thing of the past because "tapping the app" could open up a whole world of new possibilities. But with names like "Catherine Wheel" and "Prone Tiger" many people may prefer to stay remain in ignorance.

Six of the Best -Elisabeth Shue Horror Movies

Elisabeth Shue got her big break in 1984, when she was cast as Ali Mills in The Karate Kid and, since her initial success; she has kept herself busy by starring in a variety of movies.  Shue usually seems to prefer working on dramas, more often than not with a romantic element involved. But although she may have enjoyed a Cocktail with Tom Cruise,  and has had her Adventures in Babysitting,  she is a versatile actress who has proved to her fans, again and again, that she is also more than capable of taking a walk on the dark side by starring in several horror movies.

Shue's on-going flirtation with the horror genre began in 1986, when she teamed up with Terence Stamp in the British horror movie Link, but she did not return to the genre until four years later when she starred alongside Kevin Bacon in the dark sci-fi Hollow Man (2000). The movie earned an Oscar nomination for its special effects, but was slammed by critics and received a Rotten Tomato rating of just 27% after 113 reviews. The Rotten Tomato consensus:  "Despite awesome special effects, Hollow Man falls short of other films directed by Paul Verhoeven. This flick over time degenerates into a typical horror film."

After Hollow Man Shue forsook horror movies for five years, but returned to the dark side in 2005 when she starred alongside Hollywood veteran, Robert De Niro, in Hide and Seek.  The story revolves around a young girl whose supposed invisible friend turns out to be something much more dangerous. Shue plays single mom, Amy Irvin, who finds out the hard way that just because something is out of sight it does not mean that it is necessarily out of mind and, pays the price, when she befriends the troubled girl's father (De Niro).

Two Years later Shue starred in First Born (2007). The story of a woman who feels her sanity slipping away from her after the birth of her first child; First Born was labelled by some critics as a "Rosemary's Baby rip off" and received a predominantly negative reception, with some reviewers noting that Shue was the only thing that made the movie worth watching.

Piranha 3-D was released in 2010. Shue was cast as Sheriff Julie Forester n this 3-D comedy horror, loosely based on the 1978 B movie. The 3-D remake went down well with horror fans and the movie gained a more respectable 73% on the Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer, after 118 reviews.

Shue returned to safer roles after Piranha, but two years later the dark side exerted its pull once again and she agreed to play single-again-mom Sarah in Mark Tonderai's House at the End of the Street (2012); starring alongside Hollywood hottie Jennifer Lawrence.

House at the End of the Street was Shue's  sixth, and final, horror movie—to this date—but if her past credits are anything to go by it probably will not be too long before the dark side exerts its pull once more and Elisabeth Shue is drawn into another horror movie.

Third Time Lucky For Kerry Katona?

Wedding bells are on the horizon for Kerry Katona, and the Atomic Kitten looks like the cat that got the cream.

Kerry Katona looks set to walk down the aisle for a third time after saying, "yes", to her boyfriend George Kay.

Speaking to The Sunday Mirror, Katona stated that she was, "Thrilled, but a bit overwhelmed by it all," and further stated that, "There were roses and champagne and George got down on one knee. It was the most romantic thing in the world. I am so happy." As with great lovers the world over, Kay popped the question at the most romantic location he could think of, which just happened to be—strange to say—The Blackpool Tower.

The ex-rugby leaguer, who was previously employed as Katona's bodyguard, arranged for the tower to be cleared of guests before he got down on one knee,  but  Katona's four children were there to witness the occasion.

It is believed that the loved-up pair have been dating for about 8 months, but the romance was kept under wraps until they went public last December.

Justin Bieber v Lady Gaga: Twitter Battle Continues

When Justin Bieber knocked Lady Gaga from the twitter top spot, and was ordained the new King of Twitter, tweeting Bieber fans the world over were delighted.  Now his reign as king may be cut short thanks to a new report that suggest half the singer's twitter followers could be fake.

The report was prepared by the social media statistics company SocialBakers and their investigation suggests that a massive 16.7 million of Bieber's 37 million Twitter fan base consisted of empty Twitter accounts. A further 2.6 million accounts were inactive—shocking news indeed and news that may get people in a tweet over the singer for all the wrong reasons.

If SocialBaker's finding prove to be correct the ousted Queen of Gaga will retake her throne and Bieber will fall back to second place. There is no shame in being second, especially to a lady like Gaga, but nobody would blame Bieber if he got into a Twitter Tantrum over it because the lad has been having a hard time of it lately. A month ago he arrived at London's O2 Arena two hours late and was booed the moment he set foot on stage. The star's relationship with the press has also taken a turn for the worse recently and, as if that isn’t bad enough, he fell foul of the German authorities last week, when he arrived in the country without the correct paperwork and customs officers were forced to confiscate his monkey.  These days it seems to be all bad news for the Beebster, but he never stops smiling, and you have got to admire him for that.

It's Not a Fair Cop

These days it seems that people are prepared to sue at the drop of a hat, as garage owner Steve Jones discovered in August of last year, when a police officer turned up to investigate a break-in and put in a claim for compensation instead.

PC Kelly Jones (no relation) tripped on a kerb, while investigating a dimly lit area behind the garage. The matter is now in the hands of her solicitors, who claim that Mr Jones failed to ensure that the officer was 'reasonably safe', and are assisting the PC with her injuries—she hurt her left leg, her right wrist, and missed six weeks of duty.

This is not the first time the compensation culture cop has put in a claim either, earlier in the year she sued her own constabulary. On this occasion she was a passenger in a police car that was involved in a high speed chase and was hurt when the car left the road.

The Strange Tale of the British Cuppa

The history of the British cuppa is rather a strange tale to tell. When it was first imported it was sold for its supposed medicinal values and the price of a pound of tea was well beyond the means of the average worker, so it became a rich person's brew. Then when the price of tea finally did come down the amount of tax payable on it went up and the tea smuggling industry was born: A Nation of Tea Drinkers.

Social Networks: How they Could Save Your Life

Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter began as a way of keeping in touch with friends and loved ones and soon became a part of everyday life. Since then the social networks have been exploited for other uses, such as internet marketing; now, thanks to a new bracelet, they may even save lives.

Designed for aid workers—who often work in dangerous areas—the Natalia Project Bracelet is an anti-kidnap device that can send out potentialy life-saving tweets, or contact Facebook, if the wearer finds themself in a hostage situation.
 
The bracelet is designed so that the wearer can activate it manually, should the need arise, but it is also capable of activating itself if someone tries to remove it by force.  Once the bracelet is activated mobile phone technology, incorporated into the design, transmits a message to any nearby contacts and also to the headquarters of the Civil Rights Defenders, where the attack can then be verified and another message sent out via the social networking sites.

This is all very clever stuff, but before anyone can rush to rescue they need to establish the location of the hostage and, here again, the Natalia Bracelet comes into its own because it also transmits the wearer's real-time GPS location.

The bracelet has little to offer in the way of looks, but looks are not everything and what the bracelet lacks in aesthetics it more than makes up for in function and it is nice to see the social networks being utilized for such a positive use.

Write Articles Get Paid: Dead and Gone

I used to write the occasional article for WriteArticlesGetPaid.com, and they always paid me when they said they would, but the earnings were pretty poor so I haven't visited the site for quite a while. Today I became curious about whether the site was still in business, so I clicked through to see: dead and gone. Another online writing gig bites the dust. I can't say that it will make much difference to me, but I am sure that there are plenty of writers who will miss the site; especially writers who live in third world countries, where $1 goes a lot further than here in the west.

Dirty Money: Oxford University Boffins Come Clean

Those clever scientific people at Oxford University have spilled the beans and admitted all: they have been running tests on the coins and notes of the realm and the results do not look good. Yes indeed, the great British Coin has a dirty secret, and with up to 26, 000 bacteria on a single note, paper money is even worse.

Bearing in mind some of the places people hide their money, and the way it is passed about from hand to hand, it isn't really surprising that the filthy lucre lives up to its name. But this is not the first time that the pound has been put to the test and found to be a currency that is lacking in currency cleanliness. Earlier tests found bank notes that were harbouring a dodgy bacteria, called Klebsiella, that can cause reparatory infections and mess up your waterworks, which is not good at all because, with the National Health Service being the way it is, nobody want to spend ten or more hours sitting cross legged in accident and emergencies, gasping for breath and praying to God they remembered to lock the lid on their cash box.

Enterobacter is another money-loving bacteria that can cause a list of diseases as long as your arm, some of which may require rectal screening—and nobody wants that!

If you are shocked at the secret life that the British Pound has teeming all over it, you may be relieved to hear that it is not, by any means, the worst offender.  The Swiss Franc harbours close to double the amount of bacteria of the British Pound, but the Danish Krone tops the list with a massive 40, 266 bacteria.

According to the old saying 'A fool and his money are soon parted', but with statistics like these, maybe the fool had the right idea all along. So next time you put your hand in your purse, or open your wallet, just remember a few more old sayings: 'Health is better than wealth' and 'Money is the root of all evil'; so 'Neither a lender, nor a borrower be' because 'Where there's muck there's brass' and 'You can't take it with you when you die'.

Product Review: Helix Shredding Scissors

Helix's shredding scissors offer a cheap and simple alternative to electric shredders. One of the main advantages of buying shredding scissors is that they are a lot smaller than an electric shredder; they take up no room on a desk or worktop and can easily fit into a drawer—try doing that with an electric shredder. It is also easier to remove trapped paper from between the blades of a pair of shredding scissors than it is from the shredding mechanism of an electric shredder; and, in my experience, electric shredders are more prone to this problem than shredding scissors.

There are, however, some disadvantages to using shredding scissors. A pair of scissors is powered by the fingers and thumb of the user and, due to the fact that they have multiple blades (5 in this case) it takes a lot more effort to work the scissors; making it difficult to shred more than one sheet at a time.

Even light office duties would probably be too much work for Helix's shredding scissors, but, for occasional use in the home, they are probably a much better option than an electric shredder; unless complete sheets of paper need shredding on a regular basis. In most cases though, it is unnecessary to shred a full sheet because it is only the sensitive information such as names, addresses, and bank account details etc. that need to be removed; and this is where these scissors really come into to their own. Just a few snips to the area containing the personal details, followed by a few more snips across the resulting cuts; reduces it all to tiny squares of paper that are so small that they make confetti seem like big-stuff.

So, for large sheets or quantities of paper, an electric shredder remains the better option; but, for light or occasional use in the home, a pair of Helix Shredding Scissors are a cut above the competition.

  

How To Stop Toothache The Natural Way

Toothache is a painful and distracting problem. Most people suffer from it at some point in their lives and once the pain starts, sooner or later, a visit to the dentist will become necessary. Modern day life can be hectic though, and busy work schedules, family commitments, or any number of other things can result in people having to live with toothache until they have time to visit the dentist. Modern over the counter medicine offers many options for suppressing pain, but some people do not wish to tackle the problem by popping pain killing tablets, so they seek a simple home remedy instead.

• Oil of Cloves is one of the best known home remedies for toothache and it is easy to target the problem area with a piece of cotton wool or tissue that has been dipped in clove oil. Even chewing on a clove that has been taken from the spice rack in the kitchen can provide effective relief for aching teeth; though it may take several minutes before this simple home remedy has time to take effect.
  
• Salt can also be used to treat aching teeth. Dissolve a couple of teaspoons of salt into a glass of warm water. Give the mixture a good stir and use it to swill around the aching tooth. After a minute or two spit out the mixture, take another sip of the salty water and rinse and repeat until the glass is empty.
  
• Another alternative is to use some ice. Even a bag of frozen peas, when held against against the cheek, may offer some relief, but a better idea is to use an ice pack. In the event that an icepack  is not available; a sandwich bag filled with ice can work just as well, or—if you are feeling brave—pop an ice cube into your mouth and hold it on top of the offending tooth.
  
• Swilling the mouth with brandy, whiskey, or vodka can also alleviate the pain of an aching tooth. Another option is to soak a Q-tip or piece of cotton wool in one of the aforementioned spirits and use it to dab away the pain.

• The medicinal properties of garlic can also be called on to repel the pain caused by an aching tooth. Simply crush a clove or two with a pestle and mortar—the back of a spoon works just as well—and add a little salt to the mix. Apply the resulting paste to the offending tooth and allow the garlic ten minutes to half an hour to work its magic. Reapply the paste three or four times a day.

• Unlikely as it may sound, raw potato can also take away the pain from an aching tooth. Cut the potato into small to medium sized cubes, chill them in the refrigerator, and then press them against  the problem tooth.

Remember, these remedies are, at best, a means of attaining temporary relief. Pain is just the symptom though; the problem needs to be tackled at its source, by a trained dental practitioner.

Maneki Neko, The Ornament That Brings Good Luck

Many people who have visited a Chinese restaurant, or sought the aid of an oriental medical practitioner, may have noticed a ceramic cat ornament on display; usually holding up one of its paws. They are a quite a common sight and lots of people buy them as household ornaments. Most people, however, do not know the name of this friendly-looking feline and are equally unaware that it is believed to be a source of good luck.

The cat’s name is Maneki Neko; it means 'beckoning cat' in Japanese and this beckoning action has important relevance in the mythical origins of Maneki Neko. There are several different versions of the story, but two common factors are incorporated into all of the tales—the raised paw and the belief that Maneki Neko is lucky.

One tale states that Maneki Neko belonged to a priest who lived in poverty in a rundown temple, in Tokyo. He was a very good man, who had very little to eat, but whatever meagre provisions he could scrape together he was happy to share with his cat. One day a wealthy nobleman was caught in a sudden storm and was forced to take shelter under a large tree that stood in the temple grounds. The nobleman glanced through the driving rain towards the temple and saw cat in the doorway, beckoning him inside. Fascinated by such an incredible sight, he felt impelled to take a closer look at the strange cat, so he dashed out from under the tree and ran for the temple. Seconds later the tree was struck by lightning and, knowing full well that he would have been killed if not for the cat’s intervention, the nobleman was so filled with gratitude that befriended the priest and neither he nor his cat ever went hungry again. If this story is to be believed, the present day cat ornaments pay homage to this unusual temple cat.

In another version of the story, also set in Tokyo, the cat belonged to a courtesan named Usuguno. She loved her cat very much, but one night had cause for concern when the cat repeatedly pulled at the hem of her kimono and prevented her from entering the toilet. Usuguno tried to shoo her cat away several times, but it was so persistent in its actions that she became frightened. The owner of the brothel was witness to this strange scenario and, believing the cat to be bewitched, he drew his sword and cut off its head. The severed head flew up towards the ceiling of the toilet, where a large snake was poised, ready to strike Usuguno.  In a final act of loyalty to its mistress, the decapitated head sank its teeth into the serpent and killed it. Usuguno was divested by the loss of her pet, so one of her customers carved a wooden likeness of it and presented it to her as a gift. One of the cat's paws was raised in greeting, and if this story is to be believed, this wooden cat was the first Maneki Neko.

Maneki Neko's colour also has significance.  A black Maneki Neko is supposed to protects its owner from evil; gold attracts wealth, red is for good health and there are many other colours and combinations of colours, all of which have a different meaning.  But what of the paw? Some cats hold up the right paw; others the left. A beckoning right paw is generally believed to bring wealth.  The left paw is raised to attract customers to a business establishment.


Left paw or right paw, black, gold or red; it’s all a matter of personal preference, and whichever legend you choose to believe, a Maneki Neko of any type is trying to attract only good things; and what more could anyone ask of a little ornamental cat?