Animal rights group shuts down Japan's whaling season.

It's great to see good news. From CNN:

Japan has canceled the rest of its winter whaling season, with a top official reasoning that environmentalists' obstructive efforts made it dangerous for whalers to stay on the high seas.

Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Michihiko Kano told reporters Friday that the country's government halted whaling because of actions taken by the animal rights group, Sea Shepherd. He stressed that Japan did not want to do so, but felt its hand was forced.

"From the viewpoint of our crew's safety, we have decided to cut short the research whaling at this time, against our will," he said.

The decision marks the first time Japan has canceled its whale hunt in the waters of the Antarctic since it started the practice in 1987. In 2005, Sea Shepherd began its bitter battle with Japanese whalers, monitoring them and occasionally getting into altercations. What Japan calls its winter whaling season typically extends into mid-March.

On Thursday, Hiroshi Kawamura, a government official in charge of research whaling, said Japan had decided to a temporary halt while it determined its next step -- one that it later ended up taking .

Japan has left its fleet of four whaling vessels in the Antarctic, as it decides what to do about the winter hunt, according to the ministry.

Capt. Paul Watson, who is helming a Sea Shepherd vessel called the Steve Erwin off the coast of Antarctica, said early Friday that at least some of those whalers were still in the Antarctic region.

"If it's true, this is great news," said Watson, who heads Sea Shepherd's operations in the Antarctic. "But we'll keep tailing them until they leave these international waters."

Watson said he and his colleagues have gained momentum and numbers steadily in recent years, while Japanese whalers have become less of a force -- especially economically. He suggested that his group was able to "bankrupt" the fleet so that it wasn't economically feasible to keep going..

He said it was wrong for the Japanese minister to label him and others as dangerous, adding that no one has ever been hurt in their efforts.

"We're getting more support every year, so it's working out that we're wearing them down," Watson said. "We've found a way where, once we're on them, they can't kill whales."

"We're very stubborn and very persistent. We've clearly frustrated them," he added.

Japan annually hunts whales, despite a worldwide moratorium on whaling, under the auspices it is conducting scientific research. The moratorium allows the culling of whales for purposes of scientific research.

Critics call Japan's hunt a cover for commercial whaling, since the whale meat ends up in supermarkets and restaurants. Animal rights groups, from Greenpeace to Sea Shepherd, and the governments of Australia and New Zealand, have publicly condemned Japan's hunts.

"I hope this is the end of whale hunting by Japan," said Watson. "But if they return next year, we'll be here."

Woman sues Century 21 for 80 cents.

From the NY Daily News:

A coupon-clipping New Jersey mom insists Century 21 short-changed her and is suing the famed department store to recoup a grand total of...80 cents.

That's right, 80 cents.

Tova Gerson claims in court papers that she used a $5 coupon when she bought more than $100 worth of stuff last month at the chain's Paramus, N.J., store.

When she returned one item a week later, Gerson claims she got back $17.17 instead of the $17.97 she had been expecting because the coupon had been pro-rated over all the goods she purchased.

So she hired a New York lawyer and tried to up the ante by filing a class action lawsuit on Feb. 10 for damages.

Gerson has "been injured as a result of defendant's fraudulent conduct," the lawsuit states.

Reached at her suburban home in Bergenfield, N.J., Gerson refused to answer any questions about the case.

"It's not a good time," she said, accompanied by a pair of kids. "I'm a mom. It's not a good time."

Told there was going to be an article about the suit, Gerson said, "I'd really rather you didn't."

Gerson's lawyer, Harry Katz in Fresh Meadows, Queens, did not return repeated calls to his office.

There was also no comment from Century 21's legal team.

Katz and Gerson, who records suggest are related, teamed up before to launch a similar lawsuit in December 2008 against the Modell's sporting goods chain.

In that case, Gerson bought more than $100 worth of gear using a $25 coupon and complained "the consumer lost the full benefit" of the coupon if they returned "some or all items."

It was not immediately clear what happened to that suit - or whether Gerson was getting any other disgruntled consumers to go after Modell's.

In the Century 21 case, Gerson claims she bought $108.16 from the store on Jan. 10.

Included in the court papers are a copy of a receipt for purchases of tights, leggings, "faux suede" moccasins and other items. It says Gerson paid cash and got the $5 off.

On Jan. 19, Gerson returned a pink, two-piece, infant girl's outfit citing "incorrect size," according a copy of another receipt.

"By pro-rating the $5.00, the plaintiff lost the amount of $0.80 she would have been entitled to as part of a coupon she used," the lawsuit states.

South Dakota may legalize the murder of abortion doctors.

This is horrifying. These legislators are lunatics. From Alternet, submitted by Coozer-Phile Duff:

We knew the abortion debate was moving to scary extremes, but WHAT? New legislation in South Dakota is being introduced that would make killing abortion doctors a 'justifiable homicide.' Legal. Murder. It's too shocking to comprehend. Mother Jones:

A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus—a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon.

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Phil Jensen, a committed foe of abortion rights, alters the state's legal definition of justifiable homicide by adding language stating that a homicide is permissible if committed by a person "while resisting an attempt to harm" that person's unborn child or the unborn child of that person's spouse, partner, parent, or child. If the bill passes, it could in theory allow a woman's father, mother, son, daughter, or husband to kill anyone who tried to provide that woman an abortion—even if she wanted one.

Originally the bill was meant to clarify language in the state's justifiable homicide laws, but the anti-choicers immediately latched on with the abortion amendment after testimony in support made by representatives of the Family Heritage Alliance, Concerned Women for America, the South Dakota branch of Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, and a political action committee called Family Matters in South Dakota.

Sara Rosenbaum, a law professor at George Washington University, told Mother Jones, "It takes my breath away. Constitutionally, a state cannot make it a crime to perform a constitutionally lawful act."

Drug trafficking submarine found in Colombia.

From CNN:

The Colombian military has seized a 100-foot-long submarine capable of transporting eight tons of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico, news reports say.

The vessel was found in a jungle area in Timbiqui in southwestern Colombia on Sunday, according to a report from RTT News.

Colombian navy officials said the homemade sub had two diesel engines and sophisticated navigational equipment that would enable it to travel to Mexico while remaining up to 30 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

The vessel was set up for a crew of four but was unoccupied when found, RTT reported. Officials estimated it would have cost $2 million to build.

The submarine is just the latest example of crafts smugglers have made to try to get their illicit cargo past law enforcement.

US veterans sue Pentagon for ignoring rape victims.

It is shameful, if not downright evil, that our army and government turn a blind eye to this. From Daily Mail:

Fourteen U.S. veterans who say they were raped and abused by their comrades today accused the Pentagon of ignoring their claims.

More than a dozen female and two male current or former service members will launch a legal action today, claiming that servicemen get away with rape and other sexual abuse.

One woman claimed that two male colleagues raped her in Iraq and videotaped the attack, circulating it around the base.

She was bruised from her shoulders to her elbows from being held down but charges were not filed as the commander said she 'did not struggle enough or act like a rape victim'.

Victims have also claimed that they are often ordered to serve alongside those they say attacked them.

So incensed are some of the victims about the way complaints were handled that several women have waived their anonymity to speak out.

In a federal class-action lawsuit to be filed today, they want an objective third party to handle such complaints because individual commanders have too much say in how allegations are handled.

The alleged attackers in the lawsuit include an Army criminal investigator and an Army National Guard commander. The abuse alleged ranges from obscene verbal abuse to gang rape.

It also specifically names Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld who they say both failed to take aggressive measures to protect women.

In 2009, there were 3,200 sexual assaults reported in the military with fewer than a quarter of those prosecuted, many for lesser charges.

In fact statistics show it is more likely for a woman to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire.

Panayiota Bertzikis, who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit and claims she was raped in 2006, said: 'The problem of rape in the military is not only service members getting raped, but it's the entire way that the military as a whole is dealing with it.

'From survivors having to be involuntarily discharged from service, the constant verbal abuse, once a survivor does come forward your entire unit is known to turn their back on you. The entire culture needs to be changed.'

After 20 years of legal battles, Chevron fined $8 billion for Amazon pollution.

From Treehugger (thanks Jen):

It's been a long battle: people of the Ecuadorean Amazon against Chevron, which is accused of dumping more than 18 billion gallons of toxic waste sludge into the Amazon, leaving people sick with cancer and suffering miscarriages and birth defects. But the BBC reports that, after a lawsuit lasting nearly 20 years, a court in Ecuador has fined Chevron $8 billion for the pollution.

Technically, Texaco did the dumping—into unlined pits and rivers between 1972 and 1992, destroying large areas of rainforest—but the company merged with Chevron in 2001 and has never taken responsibility for the mess or its cleanup.

Chevron has called the ruling a "product of fraud" and plans to appeal—but one lawyer for the plaintiff also said he might consider an appeal, because the damages award is too small.

Considering the company tripled its profit in the second quarter of last year to $5.4 billion, it's not crazy to think people in Ecuador would be entitled to at least $8 billion for 20 years' worth of ongoing and irreparable health problems and damage to delicate ecosystems.

Cairo's cats forgotten as its humans rebel.

From Time:

Trying to reach Cairo's Tahrir Square through clouds of tear gas and volleys of rubber bullets, Egyptian TV anchor Mona Khalil was forced by the tumult into a side street. There, she remembers, "I saw cats running, running, running, and trying to get into houses or staircases or buildings and some of them were really gasping." Two kittens had found shelter under a car. She managed to take them inside a building, away from the toxic fumes. Others were not so lucky. "Going back later I found two cats that were lying on their sides, dead," she adds. For Khalil, 43, who is also one of the leaders of Egypt's fledgling animal rights movement, the event had particular resonance. It was, she said, "the first slap in the face that, oh my God, those streets are filled with cats and dogs."

While the world has focused on the many troubles faced by humans during the 18-day uprising, the four-legged residents of Cairo have been left to fend for themselves. Many Egyptians, expats, and tourists have been forced by authorities to flee the country without their pets; zoos and pet shops were also abandoned. The chaos of the uprising put a tremendous strain on the nation's largest animal rights organization, the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals (ESMA), of which Khalil serves as treasurer. "It's very common to see stray cats and dogs on the street, but not for us to see [abandoned] Persians and Siamese," she says.

[...] So much of what Westerners know about Egypt is animal related, from riding camels around the Pyramids to studying about the worship of cats in Pharaonic times. The recent political turmoil has revealed many deep-rooted, previously overlooked problems in that country, the plight of their animals not the least among them. "A couple of people have asked me why they should care about animals all the way in Egypt," says Cooper. "My response has been to say that animals aren't citizens of countries. They're citizens of our hearts, and our hearts have no borders."

ESMA's web site can be found here.

Woman, 55, beats back tiger with soup ladle, saves husband.

From BBC:

A man has been rescued from a near-fatal attack by a tiger in northern Malaysia by his wife.

She entered the fray wielding a wooden soup ladle at the tiger - which fled.

Tambun Gediu, now badly lacerated and recovering in hospital, had tried hitting the tiger away in vain and says his wife saved his life.

Wildlife rangers plan to track the tiger and send it further into dense, unpopulated jungle in the the northern state of Perak.

"I was trailing a squirrel and crouched to shoot it with my blowpipe when I saw the tiger.

"That's when I realised that I was being trailed," Mr Gediu said after surgery.

The tiger pounced not far from the Gediu home in a jungle settlement of the Jahai tribe.

Mr Gediu had tried climbing a tree to escape the animal, but was dragged down by the tiger.

His wife, 55-year old Han Besau, rushed out of the kitchen on hearing his screams and used the kitchen implement to good effect.

"I was terrified and I used all my strength to punch the animal in the face, but it would not budge," the New Straits Times newspaper quoted him as saying.

"I had to wrestle with it to keep its jaws away from me, and it would have clawed me to death if my wife had not arrived."

It was the first time anyone in the village had been attacked by a tiger.

Wild Oats CEO arrested in child prostitution sting.

From CNN:

The chief executive officer of a Western grocery store chain resigned after he was arrested in a child prostitution sting, according to police and CNN affiliate KNXV.

Michael Gilliland, 52, was one of eight people arrested in the sting, said Steve Martos, spokesman for Phoenix police. He is accused of soliciting sex online from a girl who identified herself as a minor on Thursday, he said.

Nevertheless, "the suspect arranged a meeting with this underage female" and allegedly drove to a hotel to meet her, authorities said. "The suspect agreed to pay the underage female for sexual intercourse," police said.

Gilliand founded Wild Oats Market, which was bought by Whole Foods in 2007, and was the CEO of Sunflower Farmers Market. He was charged with felony child prostitution.

Guitar Hero shuts down.

I guess people can only fit so many plastic drum sets in their apartments. From CNN:

The premiere plastic guitar game just flamed out. Activision, beset by falling sales, has decided to shutter the division that created "Guitar Hero" and its sequels.

It's an ignominious exit for a title that was once touted as the first great game franchise of the 21st century. "Guitar Hero" was created in 2005 by indie studio RedOctane, in collaboration with Harmonix, which had previously found success with the "Karaoke Revolution" franchise.

"Karaoke Revolution," where players plugged microphones into their consoles and were scored on the accuracy of their singing, was the first game to show a significant number of videogamers were interested in making "music." RedOctane's "Guitar Hero" proved they were equally interested in shredding a plastic guitar.

Activision purchased the franchise in 2006 for $100 million; to date it has shipped more than 25 million units for a roughly $2 billion ROI. "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" made $1 billion on its own. Harmonix went on to publish the highly successful "Rock Band" franchise, which added drums, microphones and keyboards to the plastic guitar mix.

How the mighty have fallen. The holiday season was a disastrous one for the music game genre. First Harmonix was sold by Viacom to a consortium of shareholders; the terms were undisclosed, but it was reported to be a fire sale. MTV Games, which collaborated with Harmonix on "Rock Band," was shut down. "Guitar Heroes: Warriors of Rock," the sixth title in the series, received lackluster reviews and even more lackluster sales.

Activision posted a $233 million net loss for the fourth quarter. Its decision to lay off the 500-person "Guitar Hero" division was, Activision said in a press release today, "due to continued declines in the music genre."

Shirtless GOP lawmaker caught trolling Craigslist to cheat on his wife.

Classy.

Upstate Rep. Christopher Lee abruptly quit his job yesterday after he was exposed trolling for an extramarital tryst on Craigslist -- using his real name and Gmail account.

In a mind-boggling blunder, the Buffalo-area Republican, who is married with a young son, responded to an ad in Craigslist's "women seeking men" section in DC. He claimed to be a "divorced" "lobbyist" and a "fit fun classy guy."

As proof, Lee sent along a cheesy photo of himself, flexing his muscles and posing shirtless in front of a mirror.

Lee's cover was blown when his would-be conquest did an Internet search, discovered he was lying, and sent the treasure trove of their correspondence to Gawker.com, which yesterday posted it online. Lee's staffers -- who initially suggested the lawmaker's e-mail had been hacked -- dodged media queries before announcing the resignation late yesterday.

"I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents," Lee said in the statement, which did not address the Craigslist brouhaha. He later told Fox News Channel, "I gotta work this out with my wife."

Lee's downfall apparently was sparked by his exchange with a 34-year-old single woman of "black/Irish" descent, who had advertised online for a "financially & emotionally secure" man.

"Will Someone Prove To Me Not All CL [Craigslist] Men Look Like Toads," she wrote in a Jan. 14 ad.

"Hi, Hope I'm not a toad. :)," Lee responded.

"I'm a very fit fun classy guy. Live in Cap Hill area. 6ft 190 lbs blond blue. 39. Lobbyist. I promise not to disappoint."

Lee, who represented Amherst, NY, is 46 -- although the woman he'd apparently hoped to romance had specifically said she wanted a man between 30 and 40.

At some point, Lee sent the photo of himself, posing in dress pants with a bare chest.

"I just took this one . . . I'm relaxing at home," Lee e-mailed.

"So do you always send shirtless pics to women from cl?" the woman responded. "Sorry. It's all I had," Lee replied.

The Gmail address he used matched the one posted on Lee's Facebook account.

When the woman asked if he was divorced, Lee answered, "Yes," and said he had a child.

In reality, Lee is married. He, his wife, Michele, and their young son recently moved into a new, $650,000, five-bedroom, four-bath home in the Buffalo suburb's Pomeroy Park area, public records show. According to his e-mail exchanges with his new Craigslist friend, Lee wasn't a first-time philanderer.

When the woman -- reportedly a college grad and government employee -- asked Lee when his last date was, he replied, "Lol. last Monday. She was not as advertised. Lol . . . how do people think you aren't going to figure it out once you see them in person."

In June 2009 -- shortly after he helped pass the Student Internet Safety Act -- Lee wrote an op-ed piece warning kids about the dangers of the Internet.

"Responding to what may seem like a friendly e-mail . . . can have serious consequences," he wrote. "Private information and images can so easily be transmitted to friends and strangers alike."

Keith Olbermann to join Current TV.

Cool, I hope he becomes the new host of Infomania! Item!

Keith Olbermann announced on Tuesday that he will host a one-hour, nightly primetime show on Current TV starting in late spring. He will also become the "chief news officer" for Current. Olbermann had been without a television home since he abruptly left MSNBC, where he had hosted "Countdown" for eight years, in January.

For Olbermann, his move to Current gives him a chance to wield large influence over a a relatively tiny network. Current averages about 23,000 viewers in primetime every night--a far cry from the million or so viewers who watched "Countdown."

In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday morning, Olbermann said that "nothing is more vital to a free America than a free media, and nothing is more vital to my concept of a free media than news that is produced independently of corporate interference." He called Current "the model truth seeking entity" in television, and said that his new show was "the most exciting event in my career."

Olbermann said the show "will be for all intents and purposes an improved and we hope amplified and stronger version of the show that I just did at my previous network." He could not, however, provide details of the name and time of the show, saying only, "stay tuned."

Al Gore, the chairman of Current TV, also spoke on the conference call. He said he was "extremely honored and delighted" that Olbermann was coming to Current. He said Olbermann was a "great fit with Current in every way."

Olbermann will also be the executive producer of the new show. In the conference call, he called Current the only "independent news and information" channel in the United States. He said he was looking forward to working somewhere where "purely market forces are not the deciding factor in what we're doing here."

Asteroid may hit Earth in 2036.

We are dooooooomed!! From HuffPo:

Apophis Asteroid is back in the news after a Russian report concluded it could hit Earth in 2036. They even have a date for the potential impact.

"It's likely collision with Earth may occur on April 13, 2036," Professor Leonid Sokolov of St. Petersburg State University concluded, according to UPI, which also reports an unrelated 4-foot-wide asteroid passed by Earth this week.

Sokolov says while the chances for impact are slim, it's important to plan for all possible scenarios, per Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. He added the asteroid is most likely to disintegrate into smaller parts that could collide with Earth in following years.

The Apophis Asteroid made headlines in 2009 when scientists predicted a greater than 2 percent chance of impact.

NASA scientists are cautious about the prospect.

"Technically, they're correct, there is a chance in 2036 [that Apophis will hit Earth]," said Donald Yeomans, head of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office. But that chance is just 1-in-250,000, Yeomans added.

Woman dies after illegal butt enhancement surgery.

From Daily Mail:

A British student who flew to America for illegal buttock-enhancement surgery has died from medical complications.

Police said Claudia Adusei, 20, checked into a budget Philadelphia hotel with three friends to have the procedure.

Almost 12 hours after receiving 'industrial silicone' injections of she complained of chest pains and was rushed to hospital where she later died.

The procedure, which can cost up to £2,000, involves substance usually used as a sealant.

Adusei was among a group of four British women from London who had flown to Philadelphia on February 5 for cosmetic surgery.

The Delaware County Medical examiner said a preliminary cause of death is the silicone injected into the woman's vascular system which ultimately led to a heart attack.

They have not released the name of the party who reserved the rooms at the Hampton Inn or who administered the silicone.

But the female 'surgeon' who performed the procedure is reported to have disappeared when the victim began feeling ill.

Police are now seeking two people involved in the cosmetic procedures which they believe were arranged over the internet.

Nonprofit ad meant to stem violence leads to death threats.

From the Nonprofit Quarterly:

Yesterday we reported how a purposely-insensitive Groupon television ad that ran during the Superbowl, mocking the plight of Tibetans, triggered negative reactions and resulted in an apology from the company's chief executive.

Now comes word of another Superbowl campaign, launched with good intentions by an Iowa nonprofit that serves victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, that so enraged some people that they've issued death threats against the organization's head. The campaign by Riverview Center in Dubuque encouraged people to watch television ads other companies were airing during the Superbowl and "pay attention to some of the negative messages" they contain. The campaign also invited people to visit Riverview's website to learn about what they can do to help end violence and sexual abuse.

Among the items on the Riverview site is an ad that features a smiling baby with the following voiceover: "He’s tough. He’s strong. He’s aggressive. He raped his girlfriend. But he wasn’t always this way. What are you teaching your son? …” Although the spot has been airing for about a year on television stations in northeast Iowa and parts of Illinois and Wisconsin, Sunday's campaign brought attention to it for the first time to many more people, including some around the world alerted to it by other blog postings.

After the ad aired, the angry emails began pouring in to Josh Jasper, Riverview's president and CEO. Said Jasper about the outraged responses: “I appreciate and respect when people have differing viewpoints. But for individuals to take it to a personal level and threaten my life, that’s taking it too far.”

Shipwreck's oldest beer to be analyzed, brewed again.

Item!

Samples of the world's oldest beer have been taken in a bid to determine its recipe - and brew it again.

In July 2010, a Baltic Sea shipwreck dated between 1800 to 1830 yielded many bottles of what is thought to be the world's oldest champagne.

Five of the bottles later proved to be the oldest drinkable beer yet found.

The local government of the Aland island chain where the wreck was found has now commissioned a scientific study to unpick the beer's original recipe.

Divers found the two-mast ship at a depth of about 50 metres in the Aland archipelago, which stretches between the coasts of Sweden and Finland in the Baltic Sea.

The ship was believed to be making a journey between Copenhagen in Denmark and St Petersburg, then the capital of Russia.

The salvaging operation to bring up 145 champagne bottles - since determined to include vintages from Heidseck, Veuve Clicquot, and Juglar - had one casualty: a bottle that burst open at the surface, revealing itself to be beer.

The brew has already been sampled by four professional beer tasters.

"They said that it did taste very old, which is no surprise, with some burnt notes. But it was quite acidic - which could mean there's been some fermenting going on in the bottle and with time it's become acid," said Annika Wilhelmson of the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT).

VTT has now been commissioned to get to the bottom of the sunken beer's recipe.

"We're going to try to see if we can find any living yeast or other microbial cells, because that would be very interesting with respect to reproducing the beer," Dr Wilhelmson explained.

Kansas abolishes its arts commission.

It's pretty lame when governments cut programs and assume nonprofits will/can fill in the gap. From the Kansas City Star:

Gov. Sam Brownback signed an executive order Monday abolishing the Kansas Arts Commission and replacing it with a private, nonprofit organization.

The move will save the cash-strapped state nearly $600,000 a year, but it has upset some arts advocates who worry about eroding support for the arts and art education.

“Our state faces a nearly $500 million budget shortfall,” Brownback, a Republican, said before signing the order. “Let’s do all we can to protect the core functions of government.”

The Arts Commission funnels state and federal arts grants to local organizations, artists and art education programs. Starting July 1, the nonprofit Arts Foundation will seek private funds.

Brownback wants Kansas to spend $200,000 next year to assist the foundation, and he said additional funding in future years is a possibility. He appointed nine Kansans to lead the foundation.

The executive order takes effect July 1 unless lawmakers vote to overturn it within 60 days.

Arts Commission Chairman Henry Schwaller said he has already discussed that possibility with legislators.

Schwaller worries that the new foundation won’t be eligible for federal funding and that private donors are unlikely to make up the difference.

“We understand there’s a $500 million deficit,” he said. “But our funding is so small — only 29 cents per capita per year — that cutting this is not going to make a sizable dent.”

Catholic Church gives blessing to confession iPhone app.

I wonder if being an Angry Bird is a sin...

The Catholic Church has approved an iPhone app that helps guide worshippers through confession.

The Confession program has gone on sale through iTunes for £1.19 ($1.99).

Described as "the perfect aid for every penitent", it offers users tips and guidelines to help them with the sacrament.

Now senior church officials in both the UK and US have given it their seal of approval, in what is thought to be a first.

The app takes users through the sacrament - in which Catholics admit their wrongdoings - and allows them to keep track of their sins.

It also allows them to examine their conscience based on personalised factors such as age, sex and marital status - but it is not intended to replace traditional confession entirely.

Instead, it encourages users to understand their actions and then visit their priest for absolution.

More here.

Coozer-Bits.

Creepy: Snakes used to have legs.

Duh: The more you lie, the easier it gets.

Neat: Anthropologists discover earliest cemetery in Jordan. Also: red foxes may have been Man's best friend before dogs.

Yipes: Pirates seize Italian oil tanker.

Neat: New bear habitat lets children swim with polar bears.

Angry crowd of 1,000 Muslims burn down churches in Indonesia.

From BBC:

More than 1,000 Muslim protesters have stormed a courthouse and burned two churches in central Java, Indonesia.

The attacks in Temanggung happened after a Christian man was sentenced to five years in jail for distributing leaflets deemed insulting to Islam.

Indonesian police said the crowd considered the sentence too lenient and were demanding the death penalty.

The incident came two days after Muslim villagers in western Java killed three members of a minority Islamic sect.

A police spokesman told the BBC that the angry crowd began attacking the court building in Temanggung after the verdict was read out.

The violence spread to surrounding neighbourhoods where two churches were set on fire and a third was damaged.

Police fired warning shots into the air to disperse the crowds.

In a separate development, a video has emerged of Sunday's deadly attack on members of the minority Ahmadiyah Muslim sect.

The footage apparently show how a group of about 20 men were forced by an angry crowd to strip before they were beaten so violently that several died.

The Ahmadiyah sect has been labelled by the government as deviant, but is not banned.

A body which advises the US government on religious freedom has said Indonesia must act against "extremist" attacks.

"Indonesia is a tolerant county that should be more intolerant of extremist groups. It's time the Indonesian government brings them to account for the violence and hatred they spread," said Leonard Leo, chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population but it is a secular nation.

International human rights groups say more hardline fringe groups have been harassing religious minorities in recent years. The Indonesian president has been criticised for not doing enough to protect the rights of all citizens.