(03-13-2009, 02:23 PM)Grim Wrote: The animal attacks continue. Heinous. XD

Quote:The loutish behaviour of a stone-throwing chimpanzee at a zoo near the Arctic circle has challenged scientists' beliefs about human beings.

Santino, a 31-year-old male at Furuvik zoo in Sweden, may be the first animal to exhibit an unambiguous ability to plan for the future, a behaviour many scientists argue is unique to humans. Forward planning takes considerable cognitive skills, because it requires an animal to envisage future events it will have to deal with.

Santino would get agitated when the first groups of visitors arrived at his enclosure in the morning, and would start hurling stones at the spectators. When the zookeepers investigated, they found that, while the zoo was closed, Santino had been busy making piles of ammunition, and returned to them to resupply.

To catch the chimp in action, one zookeeper hid in a room overlooking the enclosure and observed the ape's behaviour before the zoo gates opened each morning. She saw Santino dragging stones from a protective moat that surrounded his island home, before placing them in piles. Further covert surveillance of the ape revealed he spent some time tapping areas of concrete floor with his fist. Occasionally, the animal would thump harder, releasing chunks of concrete that he broke into rough discs.

A survey of the enclosure showed that Santino made piles of ammunition only on the quarter of the island's shore that faced the visiting crowds.

Quote:The animal threw the missile from the top of a tree after becoming frustrated with his tiring labour, according to reports.

Leilit Janchoom, 48, had employed the monkey to pick coconuts which he could then sell for around 4p each.

It is believed that the monkey eventually snapped, and targeted his owner from a high branch with one of the hard-skinned fruits.

Mr Janchoom, from the province of Nakorn Sri Thammarat in Thailand, died on the spot after being struck by the coconut, according to reports in a local newspaper.

The dead man's wife said that the monkey had "seemed lovable" when they bought him for £130.

News of the attacks comes after scientists disclosed this week that a chimpanzee at a Swedish zoo became so annoyed at being gawked at by tourists in a zoo that he started creating weapons to hurl at them.

Santino the chimp would calmly collect stones and fashion discs made out of concrete even when the zoo was closed, to throw at visitors when they returned.

Scientists believe his behaviour is the strongest proof yet that humans are not the only creatures which can make plans for the future.

(03-14-2009, 11:32 AM)NiX Wrote: Hahha yeah na-post na yan ni Twin-Skies. Pero I remember dito sa Philippines, we've always had legends about huge-ass crocodiles. I remember may giant crocs pa nga daw dati sa Pasig eh.

(03-16-2009, 12:23 AM)NiX Wrote: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1883598,00.html

A nine-year-old girl in Brazil becomes pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather. Even more unfortunately, her immature pelvis makes the pregnancy life-threatening. Her mother and doctors opt for an abortion, of course, which is legal in her case.

A local Archbishop gets pissed off though and says that the abortion is worse than the rape. The Vatican then decides to excommunicate everyone involved in the abortion.

So much for an understanding god.

(03-16-2009, 12:23 AM)NiX Wrote: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1883598,00.html

A nine-year-old girl in Brazil becomes pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather. Even more unfortunately, her immature pelvis makes the pregnancy life-threatening. Her mother and doctors opt for an abortion, of course, which is legal in her case.

A local Archbishop gets pissed off though and says that the abortion is worse than the rape. The Vatican then decides to excommunicate everyone involved in the abortion.

So much for an understanding god.

(03-17-2009, 11:01 AM)NiX Wrote: Didn't say that the girl was excommunicated, but rather everyone involved in performing/initiating the abortion. She's still under invincible ignorance anyway.

Yeah, WTF indeed.

Quote:YAOUNDE, Cameroon - Condoms are not the answer to Africa's fight against HIV, Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday as he began a weeklong trip to the continent. It was the pope's first explicit statement on an issue that has divided even clergy working with AIDS patients.

Benedict arrived in Yaounde, Cameroon's capital, on Tuesday afternoon, greeted by a crowd of flag-waving faithful and snapping cameras. The visit is his first pilgrimage as pontiff to Africa.

In his four years as pope, Benedict had never directly addressed condom use, although his position is not new. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, often said that sexual abstinence — not condoms — was the best way to prevent the spread of the disease.

Benedict also said the Roman Catholic Church was at the forefront of the battle against AIDS.

"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane heading to Yaounde. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."

The pope said a responsible and moral attitude toward sex would help fight the disease.

The Roman Catholic Church rejects the use of condoms as part of its overall teaching against artificial contraception. Senior Vatican officials have advocated fidelity in marriage and abstinence from premarital sex as key weapons in the fight against AIDS.