To wait over 20 years for the body of your loved one to come home to you... :(

Iran and Iraq swap troop remains

'The ICRC, which supervised the exchange, said in August that thousands of Iraqi and Iranians are still missing, 20 years after the end of the war, in which one million people were killed on both sides...



On the Iranian side of the border, women in long black robes knelt and wept over the coffins of their loved ones.'

BBC
28 Nov 2008

China has executed a scientist accused of spying for Taiwan.

Wo Weihan's family had appealed for clemency, saying that the scientist was tortured into admitting that he was a spy. He was sentenced last year.


Ran Chen says her father was tortured into making a false confession.

The 59-year-old man, who ran his own medical research company in Beijing, was arrested in early 2005.

Among other things, he was convicted of passing Chinese military secrets to Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province.

Court documents said he spied for an organisation called The Grand Alliance for the Reunification of China under the Three Principles of the People between 1989 and 2003.

This group is under the auspices of Taiwan's new ruling party, the Kuomintang, according to China.

His daughter, Ran Chen, who holds an Austrian passport, said her father's death had been confirmed by the Austrian embassy in Beijing.

Mr Wo's family alleged that he had been denied access to a lawyer for a year.

A spokeswoman for the United States' embassy in Beijing condemned the execution.

Susan Stevenson told the AFP news agency that the US was "deeply disturbed and dismayed".

The European Union also voiced its indignation, saying the execution seriously undermined the spirit of trust and mutual respect between the EU and China.

The execution will heighten tensions between China and the EU, says the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels, coming on the same day EU officials raised his case at a meeting on human rights with their Chinese counterparts.

Earlier in the week, Beijing postponed its annual summit with the bloc in protest against plans by EU leaders to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

:(

**Cleared of murder. Can you believe it? Even when they are all asking each other HOW something like this could happen, they dun even convict for murder. It would seem that there is no end to the evil and injustice in this world.

Two men found guilty of causing Baby P's death

Men and mother cleared of murder but jury finds they caused or allowed death of 17-month-old boy in case that echoes Victoria Climbié affair

Haroon Siddique and Sam Jones
Guardian
Tuesday November 11 2008

Two men have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of causing or allowing the death of a 17-month old baby in a case which highlighted one of the most severe child protection failures since the murder of Victoria Climbié.

The abuse of the child, known as Baby P, was said to have taken place over eight months, during which time the boy was on the child protection register of Haringey – the same local authority that was found to have failed seriously in its duty of care to Victoria, who died eight years ago.

This is Baby P. At his death, his injuries made him unrecognisable.

The 27-year-old mother of the boy pleaded guilty to causing or allowing his death at the beginning of the trial in September.

One of the men was the 32-year-old boyfriend of the baby's mother. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of murder. The other man was Jason Owen, 37, who lodged in the same house.

Both men have been remanded in custody to be sentenced on December 15.

Last week, on the orders of the judge, Stephen Kramer QC, the jury found the mother and Owen not guilty of murdering the baby on August 3 last year.

The 17-month-old died after months of being used "as a punchbag" and then having his back and ribs broken, the court heard.

He was seen 60 times by health or social workers during that period, around twice a week. However, close to his death he became unrecognisable, had more than 50 injuries or bruises, and an attempt had been made to cover up the crime.

A postmortem examination revealed the boy had a broken back, eight fractured ribs, missing fingernails and toenails, multiple bruises and an injury to the inside of his mouth. He had also swallowed one of his own teeth. The court heard that his back had been broken by slamming him down over a bent knee or a bannister, which would have left him paralysed.

It is claimed he was taken to hospital three times in the months before his death after being repeatedly beaten and abused. The child was last seen by social services on July 30 – when his mother and her boyfriend had smeared him with chocolate to cover up his injuries, according to Owen - and by a paediatrician two days before his death. ( >>Continue reading )

By Daniel Howden
Belfast Telegraph
Sunday, 9 November 2008

'After 10 minutes she was dug up and two nurses checked to see if she was alive. She was. So they put her back in the ground and the stoning recommenced.'

**I will put this entire story behind a cut because it is just so sad and so disgusting to think that human beings are capable of doing such a thing. I know they are because I read about human cruelty every day. It is the major reason that I have zero faith in the human race. People get excited by the results of an election or a change in government, but the human capacity for evil never ever changes.

( 'Don't kill me,' she screamed. Then they stoned her to death )

Belfast Telegraph
6 November 2008



A Japanese man has enlisted hundreds of people in a campaign to allow marriages between humans and cartoon characters, saying he feels more at ease in the "two-dimensional world."

Comics books are hugely popular in Japan. Marriage is meanwhile on the decline as many younger people find it difficult to find partners.

Taichi Takashita launched an online petition aiming for one million signatures to present to the government to establish a law on marriages with cartoon characters.

"I am no longer interested in three dimensions. I would even like to become a resident of the two-dimensional world," explained Taichi Takashita. "Therefore, at the very least, would it be possible to legally authorize marriage with a two-dimensional character?"

Growing human organs in a laboratory has moved a step closer after scientists developed a structure that can support beating heart muscle.

By Graham Tibbetts
Telegraph.co.uk
03 Nov 2008

The non-living material is described as a "scaffold" that is robust enough to hold the organ tissue in place yet is designed to degrade within two months to leave the organ behind.

In the short term scientists will seed the structure with stem cells to grow tissue which can be used to repair damaged hearts.

But in the longer term they hope to be able to produce fully functioning organs from scratch, reducing the need for donors. ( Continued )

By MIKE LARKIN
Scotsman
30 October 2008

A FATHER jumped into a burning building and dragged out his unconscious neighbour – then dashed back in to save a litter of puppies.

Jamie McDade, 31, smashed his way into the house to drag Winnie Brannigan through choking smoke into the fresh air.

And when he realised a litter of new-born pups was still trapped inside, he risked his life again by charging in to rescue them as well.

( Read on )

A woman has been arrested in Japan after she allegedly killed her virtual husband in a popular video game.

The 43-year-old was reportedly furious at finding herself suddenly divorced in the online game Maplestory.

Police say she illegally accessed log-in details of the man playing her husband, and killed off his character.

>>Read on


**That's kinda scary... :O

Hens jammed six or eight to a tiny cage. Animals with open wounds or body parts trapped in the conveyor belt. Workers twisting the necks of sick and injured hens, then throwing them while still alive to languish and suffer on dead piles.

It’s beyond sickening. According to an undercover investigation released this week by San Francisco’s KGO-TV and the group Mercy for Animals, all these atrocities took place at California’s largest egg factory farm over the last two months. This so-called farm, Norco Ranch, keeps 8 million birds in confinement -- about 40 percent of hens in battery cages in California.

It gets worse. This factory farm is overseen by MoArk, LLC, which happens to be the largest funder of the agribusiness front group fighting The Humane Society of the United States’ efforts to pass California's Proposition 2. If approved by you and your fellow voters in California, Prop 2 will be the greatest victory for farm animals in U.S. history. It would ban the cruel confinement of hens in battery cages, pigs in gestation crates, and calves in veal crates throughout California -- and help improve the lives of 20 million animals. And a win in November will lead to nationwide reforms in how farms raise animals for food.

MoArk has a history of animal cruelty violations, and this is the latest example of appalling conduct by the company. MoArk and Norco together have funneled more than $850,000 into the campaign to defeat Prop 2.

That’s why I’m writing you again today with this urgent request: Will you stand with us to ensure that companies like Norco and MoArk can’t continue with business as usual in California's factory farms?

Please make a special donation to the YES! on Prop 2 campaign today.

The opponents of Prop 2 have told us all along that they treat their hens humanely. I guess we’ve found out (yet again) what really goes on when they think no one’s watching. To make matters worse, as you read this, ads funded by Norco and MoArk are being aired in California, spreading deceptions and lies about Prop 2.

To counter their scare tactics, the YES! on Prop 2 campaign desperately needs donations to keep our ads on the air through November 4. Don’t let animal abusers win in California this Election Day -- we’re the animals’ only hope and we can’t let them down. Please join us in making history. Donate to help pass Prop 2 today.

Thank you for all you do for animals.

Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States