tagged w/ Scotland
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Glasgow - While the deadline has passed now to get tickets for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Glasgow's Bellahouston Park next month, it emerges that some parishes are returnng more than half of their allocated 400 tickets -- unsold.
As one can read in the Scotland Herald today, sales for the upcoming visit of the Catholic Church's great leader are very disappointing. Not to me, mind you, but to those in parishes and -- as the Herald says -- to those in the Papal Visit office who will be counting how many returns they have received.
It seems clear now that the uptake will fall short of the 100,000 pilgrims expected to turn out for the historic mass at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, on September 16. Even those projected 100,000 are a far cry from the Mass at Bellahouston in 1982 (by Pope John Paul II) that was attended by 300,000 faithful and spectators.
No one, of course, dares to say openly that John Paul II was a more popular pontiff than Benedict XVI, and the Herald article doesn't at all mention the possibility that the many catholic child abuse scandals could have something to do with the lack of people flocking to watch and listen to the church's primate -- but we can all make up our own minds.
Priests of the affected parishes have been scratching their heads while trying to find reasons for this failure to attract a big crowd, and what they came up with was the potential for bad weather in mid-September, opposed to a balmy day in June of 1982. They do have a point there, but I'm sure it's just one point among many.
In their great wisdom and disregard for the flock, organisers expect people to be in the park more than 2 hours before the pope is expected on stage, there will be no seating in the park which means people will have to remain standing for more than four hours, from 3.00pm at the latest until 7.30 when the event is scheduled to end.
September in Scotland can be cold, can be rainy, can be windy. However, true fans are known not to mind wading through muddy fields for days in order to see their favorite bands (see Glastonbury, Woodstock, Pink Pop), and that so many Scots are not prepared for a little suffering in this case speaks books.
The event is expected to cost £1.5 million, money that most likely would have been better spent on purchasing condoms for Africa. For the pope, a disappointing attendance will not really matter -- he's above such materialistic concerns. Anyway, his highlight of the day will have been in the morning, when he'll be received by Her Majesty The Queen in the Palace of Holyrood House in Edinburgh.Glasgow - While the deadline has passed now to get tickets for the visit of Pope... more
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In the UK the majority of the green technology development news comes from Scotland or council plans in Wales (recycling food waste and houses made from plastics). Currently, the latest news comes from a collaboration with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Mitsibushi Heavy industries, who plan to develop carbon capture and off shore wind turbines.
It is reported by the BBC the combination of the two companies in projects will increase employment over five years and could create 1,000 new jobs. "Up to 100 new highly skilled jobs will be created immediately at SSE's centre of engineering excellence in Glasgow."-BBC
Yesterday there was news on the BBC site from the MOD who stated wind turbines would not affect their training areas in the Scottish coastline. "The MoD has said the military and wind farms could "co-exist" following news of a Norwegian firm's search for an offshore test site."-BBCIn the UK the majority of the green technology development news comes from Scotland or... more
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Tilda Swinton shares her current Five Favorite Films with The Rotten Tomatoes Show. From classic black and white romance stories like "I Know Where I'm Going!" to more recent adventures in homoeroticism and satire seen in Sacha Baron Cohen's "Brüno," she loves a little of everything.
The Rotten Tomatoes Show is a movie review show that airs on Thursday nights at 10:30 e/p on Current TV. From reviews of the newest releases to commentary on cult favorites and movie trends, each episode of The Rotten Tomatoes Show is a fast-paced, comedic journey through the week in cinema.
For more from the Rotten Tomatoes Show: http://rottentomatoesshow.comTilda Swinton shares her current Five Favorite Films with The Rotten Tomatoes Show.... more
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bstein
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added this
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1 year ago
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According to a 6music report, swamp soccer is a great combination for fans of football and the Glastonbury festival mud. It's a mud filled football game, which originally started tournaments in Finland 1997 with only 13 teams. However, the sport has boosted in popularity with the website saying there are now over 200 swamp soccer teams.
This years Swamp world cup is taking place near Argyll in Scotland with 64 teams taking part. (26th& 27th June). I'm loving the world cup at the moment, but there's something brilliantly silly about the swamp soccer.
"Favourite Team Names
Sporting Abeergut
Unathletico Mudrid
Blackbum Rovers
Mudchesthair United
Cowdungbeath
Real Mudrid
Hurt of Mudlothian
Northfolk & Chance
Ar-mud-geddon
Swamp Bog Millionaire
Reservoir Mud Dogs
Gin’ll Fix It"-swampsoccer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D052vgU9EuYAccording to a 6music report, swamp soccer is a great combination for fans of football... more
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A report by a prominent think tank has questioned whether higher health spending in Scotland compared with England has made any difference.
The Centre for Public Policy in the Regions said it was hard to measure the effect of the extra spending.
According to government figures, £200 per head more is spent on health in Scotland than in England.
Now I see nothing wrong with the Scottish or Scotland, but why the hell do they get £200 per person spent more on them?! and why were their university tuition fees free when english people pay over £3000?? what is going on here?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/10277663.stmA report by a prominent think tank has questioned whether higher health spending in... more
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MOBILE phone "apps" users will be armed with a hi-tech weapon in the battle against one of Scotland's most persistent pests this summer.
The Midge App, designed by a Scottish company, is part of the national midge forecast which resumes at the end of this week ready for the first big hatch of the summer of the biting beastie.
The service developed by Edinburgh-based Advanced Pest Solutions will be available free on iPhones and is linked to Google maps so the forecast can be almost to the spot people are calling from. There are five levels of midge threat – with five being the highest.
Last year saw record low recordings at the 15 official midge traps around the country. But top expert Dr Alison Blackwell warned that a spell of hot and wet weather would be "perfect" breeding conditions for midges, which are due to emerge in numbers at the end of the week.
Dr Blackwell said: "We are launching the online midge forecast by the end of the week and there will be some new innovations such as the Midge App. It will mean people will be able to tell how bad the midges are, and where they are, from their mobile phone. It will be one phone pest people really want!
"The winter may have taken its toll on many midges, but it could be quite good news for them overall – because their predators suffered more. We shall have to wait and see the results with interest. I have a feeling we may be seeing quite a lot of midges this year.
"Insects survived the last ice age and were around long before humans. Midges are quite susceptible to the weather and their survival will go down in the wrong conditions for them. But they will not go away forever.
"Midges like warm and wet weather. Midges also need a blood meal within a week or they will not survive. But midges are very resilient. They will sit their in the ground waiting days for their meal."
Two million midges weigh just a kilo – and one square metre of land will contain about 500,000 of the insects. Only the female bites. The peak time for the midge hatch is the end of May and the first week in June.
The flying midge lives for between two days and two weeks depending on weather conditions. During this time the female can lay up to 170 eggs in as much as three batches. In a normal year there are two to three generations of midges born during the season.
The first batch of midges emerges at the start of the season from their over-wintering in the soil. These quickly bite, mate and lay their eggs. These eggs will then rapidly develop through the full midge-cycle to emerge as adults towards the end of July. These second generation midges then repeat the bite, mate and lay cycle.
http://news.scotsman.com/news/Avoid-scourge-of-midges-with.6316513.jpMOBILE phone "apps" users will be armed with a hi-tech weapon in the battle... more
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In the second part of a series on the conflicts facing Muslims in Europe, the BBC's Islamic affairs analyst, Roger Hardy, discovers strains between younger and older Muslims in Glasgow.
They are young, Muslim and Scottish - and will not take no for an answer.
I met Nazia Iqbal and two of her friends at the student union of Glasgow's Strathclyde University.
Ms Iqbal, who is the equal opportunities officer, has been making waves ever since she went to the city's Central Mosque and asked to become a voting member.
According to the mosque's constitution, Muslim men and women not only have the right to pray at the mosque - if they are over 18, they are entitled to become voting members and have a say in its running.
But Ms Iqbal, who is 20, was turned down, on the grounds that she is female.
Her response was to start a campaign on Facebook, and complain to the body that regulates Scottish charities.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8673213.stmIn the second part of a series on the conflicts facing Muslims in Europe, the... more
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A record £6.5 million has been seized from a Russian businessman by the police and Crown Office in the biggest single recovery of criminal assets in Scotland.
Moscow-based Anatoly Kazachkov was involved in a money laundering investigation that spanned five countries, including Scotland, and involving the businessman son of a Rangers football hero from the 1930s.
A confiscation order was issued after a three-year investigation into a $10m (£7m) transfer Mr Kazachkov, 64, made from a Budapest account to a Glasgow bank in 2004 as part of transactions in Latvia, Hungary, Russia the United States and Scotland.
Officers from the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) previously questioned Scots financier Lawrence Gillick, whose father Torry scored 62 goals for the Ibrox club, over the transaction. Mr Gillick, 64, of Seamill, North Ayrshire, is also a former business associate of ex-England football manager Terry Venables. The two made a failed £10m bid for London club Tottenham Hotspur in 1991.A record £6.5 million has been seized from a Russian businessman by the police... more
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Scientists make cancer cells vanish
Helen Puttick
Herald Scotland
April 28, 2010
Scottish scientists have made cancer tumours vanish within 10 days by sending DNA to seek and destroy the cells.
For the Full Story and...(VIDEO) Scottish Scientists Make Cancer Cells Vanish! Tumours Vanish in 10 Days…http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/scottish-scientists-make-cancer-cells-vanish/
The system, developed at Strathclyde and Glasgow universities, is being hailed as a breakthrough because it appears to eradicate tumours without causing harmful side-effects. A leading medical journal has described the results so far as remarkable, while Cancer Research UK said they were encouraging.Scientists make cancer cells vanish
Helen Puttick
Herald Scotland
April 28, 2010... more
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It turns out the Scottish TV debates are awesome, mainly because they contain less rules allowing the audience to talk back to the politicians and applaud to anything they like. The video is a clip of a Channel 4 news segment about the Scottish debates, which highlights the difference between the debates with clips of what questions were answered.It turns out the Scottish TV debates are awesome, mainly because they contain less... more
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The sparta remix of a drunk man called Anton in Edinburgh airport after his flight to Magaluf was cancelled due to a volcanic eruption.The sparta remix of a drunk man called Anton in Edinburgh airport after his flight to... more
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With his flight grounded thanks to volcanic ash from an eruption in Iceland drifting over Europe, drunk Scottish man is unhappy. And he's not afraid to tell everyone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34mHZgP9vkcWith his flight grounded thanks to volcanic ash from an eruption in Iceland drifting... more
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richjm
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added this
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2 years ago
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Yesterday Stonewall in Scotland highlighted that many LGBT people have experienced hate crimes but didn't report it to the police.
"Only four out of ten people who had been physically attacked told the authorities."
Now legislation has been put into place to protect LGBT people in Scotland from hate crimes,
"We need to send a clear message that hate crime will be dealt with with the full force of the law. [...] The new legislation will give sentencers greater powers and I hope that victims will feel that if they come forward they will get the support they need."
The law will also help the prosecution of hate crimes against people with disabilities.Yesterday Stonewall in Scotland highlighted that many LGBT people have experienced... more
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The world’s first wave and tidal energy projects on a commercial scale are to be built off the Scottish coast, with developers claiming they have the potential to power 750,000 homes.
Pelamis Wave Power will build a wave power scheme in the Pentland Firth capable of generating 50MW. The Crown Estate announced 10 schemes capable of generating up to 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity would be built around the Orkney Islands and on the Pentland Firth, off the northern coast of the Scottish mainland.
They are expected to cost £4billion to install and will require up to £1billion more of taxpayers’ money to build new grid connections, harbours and other structural facilities in Orkney and Caithness.
Many of the technologies being used are still being developed, but the power companies awarded the contracts insisted their 2020 completion date does not require a “leap of faith”.
Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister, said the announcement confirmed his prediction that Scotland will become the “Saudi Arabia of marine energy” thanks to the strong tides and currents off its coast.
Roger Bright, chief executive of the Crown Estate, said the 10 projects have the capacity to generate four times the electricity of Scotland’s former nuclear power station at Dounreay in Caithness.
“This shows the world that marine energy can produce significant electrical power and offer a real alternative to conventional power production,” he said.
“This announcement demonstrates the UK’s position as the leader in wave and tidal technologies. This emerging industry has a bright and promising future, with vast amounts of untapped energy in the seas all around us.”
continued.The world’s first wave and tidal energy projects on a commercial scale are to be... more
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Hundreds of powerful US “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran.
The Sunday Herald can reveal that the US government signed a contract in January to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island. According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 “Blu” bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures.
Experts say that they are being put in place for an assault on Iran’s controversial nuclear facilities. There has long been speculation that the US military is preparing for such an attack, should diplomacy fail to persuade Iran not to make nuclear weapons.
Although Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, it is used by the US as a military base under an agreement made in 1971. The agreement led to 2,000 native islanders being forcibly evicted to the Seychelles and Mauritius.
The Sunday Herald reported in 2007 that stealth bomber hangers on the island were being equipped to take bunker-buster bombs.
They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran
Dan Plesch, director, Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, University of London
Although the story was not confirmed at the time, the new evidence suggests that it was accurate.
Contract details for the shipment to Diego Garcia were posted on an international tenders’ website by the US navy.
A shipping company based in Florida, Superior Maritime Services, will be paid $699,500 to carry many thousands of military items from Concord, California, to Diego Garcia.
Crucially, the cargo includes 195 smart, guided, Blu-110 bombs and 192 massive 2000lb Blu-117 bombs.
“They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran,” said Dan Plesch, director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London, co-author of a recent study on US preparations for an attack on Iran. “US bombers are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in a few hours,” he added.
The preparations were being made by the US military, but it would be up to President Obama to make the final decision. He may decide that it would be better for the US to act instead of Israel, Plesch argued.
“The US is not publicising the scale of these preparations to deter Iran, tending to make confrontation more likely,” he added. “The US ... is using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran’s actions.”
According to Ian Davis, director of the new independent thinktank, Nato Watch, the shipment to Diego Garcia is a major concern. “We would urge the US to clarify its intentions for these weapons, and the Foreign Office to clarify its attitude to the use of Diego Garcia for an attack on Iran,” he said.
For Alan Mackinnon, chair of Scottish CND, the revelation was “extremely worrying”. He stated: “It is clear that the US government continues to beat the drums of war over Iran, most recently in the statements of Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
“It is depressingly similar to the rhetoric we heard prior to the war in Iraq in 2003.”
The British Ministry of Defence has said in the past that the US government would need permission to use Diego Garcia for offensive action. It has already been used for strikes against Iraq during the 1991 and 2003 Gulf wars.
About 50 British military staff are stationed on the island, with more than 3,200 US personnel. Part of the Chagos Archipelago, it lies about 1,000 miles from the southern coasts of India and Sri Lanka, well placed for missions to Iran.
The US Department of Defence did not respond to a request for a comment.Hundreds of powerful US “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from... more
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SCOTLAND'S biggest city has gone to great lengths to throw off its reputation for mean streets but, it seems, Glasgow still has some way to go.
Despite a soaring tourist trade and status as a Commonwealth Games host city, Glasgow has been ranked the second most unwelcoming city in the UK.
A survey ranked it second to London for its unwelcoming residents, from customer service to giving up seats on buses. Bradford rounded out the top three.
Aberdeen came seventh in the same list, while Edinburgh did not rate as either welcoming or unwelcoming. Southampton, Norwich and Exeter were rated the most welcoming cities in the country.
more here http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/news/Glasgow-rated-second-most-39unfriendly39.6150864.jpSCOTLAND'S biggest city has gone to great lengths to throw off its reputation for... more
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The Crown Estate will soon announce the companies that will receive the leases for constructing tidal and wave energy sources around marine seabeds.
Despite complaints that the project is moving too slowly, the article states the technology will be in place by 2020 around Pentland Firth and Orkney. They predict "that enough power for 500,000 homes could be generated by 2020"
"First Minister Alex Salmond has called the far north the "Saudi Arabia" of marine power because of its potential to produce huge amounts of energy."
The article doesn't say how many jobs will be created by the project, but hopefully it'll be a funding boost for the innovative engineering ideas needed for new energy projects.The Crown Estate will soon announce the companies that will receive the leases for... more
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The Young Scot charity organized the Youth Commission on Alcohol, which is made up of 14-22 year old volunteers eager to research and recommend ideas to the Scottish government on tackling the issue of alcohol abuse.
The article details the commissions findings that state there is a gap in current research 'into the impact of passive drinking on young people and adults.'.
The report shows a need for adults and young people to have an alcohol-free lifestyles through more positive leisure time culture with a ban on public alcohol advertising. In addition, they highlight that more research and lessons are needed to help discover the impact of passive alcohol consumption.
"Youth Commissioner Ryan Leitch, 22, from Glasgow, said: "We based our recommendations on the evidence we received from alcohol experts and the Scottish people.
Mr Leitch said the Scottish government's plan to introduce a minimum price for each unit of alcohol in a drink was not the only way of tackling the issue.
He said the youth commission supported minimum pricing but a "multi-pronged" approach was need to tackle alcohol abuse. "The Young Scot charity organized the Youth Commission on Alcohol, which is made up of... more
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New research has claimed that Scotland's notorious bad weather is behind the higher proportion of people with ginger hair.
The non scientific research found that in areas where the temperatures in summer were cooler and winter days were shorter – such as in Scotland – people with ginger hair were more likely to survive and evolve. This was compared to people with the trait living in places with hot temperatures, such as Africa where humans are thought to have evolved, where people with a ginger hair genetic strain were more likely die.
It is important to bear in mind however that this was not a scientific piece of research, Emily Pritchard, a 26 year-old University of Edinburgh genetics student, made the link to Scottish people, after writing a story for the university's magazine about her own sisters red hair.
Famous ginger Scots include ex Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy as well as Ewan McGregor.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/scotland/7396657/Bad-weather-blamed-for-Scotland-having-more-people-with-ginger-hair.htmlNew research has claimed that Scotland's notorious bad weather is behind the... more
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During an interview with STV this week, writer Mark Millar (responsible for "Wanted" and the upcoming "Kick-Ass") said that he wanted to make his filmmaking debut with a superhero movie, with a cast and a location in Scotland.
Mark says "I saw District 9, the South African alien movie. I thought that that was quite interesting to see something that people don't associate with South Africa, which is alien invasions, to juxtapose two things and make something quite interesting and quite odd, and I thought wouldn't it be cool to do a superhero movie in Scotland... Not a cheesy BBC Scotland comedy kind of thing, but to make it cool, as cool as X-Men 2 was or whatever"
Source: http://www.cinemaspy.com/article.php?id=4144During an interview with STV this week, writer Mark Millar (responsible for... more
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