FireUpChips10

FireUpChips10's Journal

October 28, 2013

Britney Spears songs used to thwart Somali pirates

Britney Spears songs are being used by navy officers to scare off Somali pirates off the coast of east Africa, it has been reported.

Songs including 'Oops! I Did It Again' and '...Baby One More Time' have proved best at keeping the pirates away, according to reports, with officers playing the songs in the direction of the pirates through speakers.

Merchant navy officer Rachel Owens, who works on supertankers off the east coast of Africa, told Metro of the unique security method: "Her songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most. These guys can’t stand Western culture or music, making Britney’s hits perfect. As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can."

Steven Jones, of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, adds: "Pirates will go to any lengths to avoid or try to overcome the music." He adds: "I’d imagine using Justin Bieber would be against the Geneva Convention."

http://www.nme.com/news/britney-spears/73465?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=britney#alrt9SGriwcdFmll.99

October 28, 2013

'Bishop Of Bling' Mansion May Become Refuge For Poor

Germany’s recently suspended “Bishop of Bling” faces the prospect of seeing his lavish multimillion euro residence turned into a refugee centre or a soup kitchen for the homeless, Catholic church officials in his home diocese announced today.

Bishop Franz Peter Tebartz-van Elst was formally suspended last week amid accusations that he had spent over €31m (£26.5m) on renovating his official residence in Limburg. The charges, which earned the 53-year-old bishop his nickname, provoked outrage among German Catholics.

Yesterday, church officials in Limburg said they were taking their own steps to admonish him.

“The residence is like an inherited sin which the bishop has left in his wake,” said a spokesman for the Caritas organisation for the homeless. “People who seek sanctuary with us could be given food in the residence,” he added.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/28/241391104/bishop-of-bling-mansion-may-become-refuge-for-poor

October 28, 2013

Australian nuns argue fracking is a habit we can't afford

Theirs is a cloistered, holy life, where the only sound some mornings is the flap of habits and the squawk of cockatoos.

And if nothing is more God-like than silence, what do the Discalced Carmelite nuns and friars of Varroville, near Camden, think of the prospect of coal seam gas drilling across NSW?

''To me it appears to be a slash and grab approach, get rich quick and - pardon this use of language - but to hell with the consequences,'' Sister Jocelyn Kramer said.

''It's not sensible to exploit the resources now and not bother what effect that might have for future generations.''

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/1867971/nuns-argue-fracking-is-a-habit-we-cant-afford/

October 27, 2013

Four words: Bacon-scented smartphone notifications

Now your meeting reminders can smell delicious.

A new smartphone plug-in accessory can release a puff of bacon smell into the air -- should you choose to live deliciously.

The technology "attaches to headphone socket on both iPhones and Android smartphones and, when told to by the companion app, releases a burst of fragrance, paired with a customizable LED light," Engadget reports.

Other smartphone smells include coffee and strawberry, but you're going to choose bacon, the world's most perfect food.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/26/bacon-scented-smartphone-notifications_n_4166088.html

October 24, 2013

Bernardin's legacy sees new life under Francis

The election of Pope Francis in March heralded a season of surprises for the Catholic Church, but perhaps none so unexpected – and unsettling for conservatives – as the re-emergence of the late Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin as a model for the American Catholic future.

While there is no indication that Francis knows the writings of Bernardin, who died in 1996, many say the pope’s remarks repeatedly evoke Bernardin’s signature teachings on the “consistent ethic of life” – the view that church doctrine champions the poor and vulnerable from womb to tomb – and on finding “common ground” to heal divisions in the church.

...

“The point that (Bernardin’s) consistent ethic makes is exactly the same point that Pope Francis is making – let’s look at the whole picture and not just focus almost exclusively on three or so issues,” said Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe, N.M., who had been close friends with Bernardin since the 1970s.

“I certainly think that if Cardinal Bernardin were alive he would be very pleased with what Pope Francis is saying and doing,” echoed Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, retired archbishop of Galveston-Houston, whose 1998-2001 term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was seen as one of the last in the mold of Bernardin.

http://www.religionnews.com/2013/10/24/pope-francis-breathes-new-life-cardinal-bernardins-contested-legacy/

October 23, 2013

That big-spending German bishop has been suspended until further notice

A German bishop under fire for lavish spending on his personal residence at a time when Pope Francis is sending a message of modesty has been suspended from his duties, pending the outcome of an investigation, the Holy See said Wednesday.

Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, 53, left his diocese in Limburg for Rome on a low-budget carrier last week, as anger mounted in Germany over the $42 million bill for revamping his residence. The bishop also faces charges that he made false statements twice under oath during a legal case against a magazine.

It was not immediately clear whether the bishop would remain at the Vatican while awaiting the final decision.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/24/world/europe/vatican-suspends-german-bishop-known-for-spending.html

October 22, 2013

Soccer team lets opposing player with Down syndrome score goal

The boys from the St. John Vianney Catholic School 5/6th Grand Boys’ Soccer team received a some heartwarming accolades from the mother of one of the boys on their competitions’ team after showing an great act of sportsmanship at a game recently. The woman who wrote the letter, Karen DeVries, is the mother of a young boy named Charlie who attends Grand Rapids Christian Middle School and has Down Syndrome. Her son took part in a game against St. John Vianney, and the outpouring of support from the St. John Vianney team for her son prompted DeVries to write the letter. See what she had to say after the jump!

http://wgrd.com/st-john-vianney-catholic-school-kids-get-heartwarming-letter-from-a-rival-schools-parent-after-showing-great-sportsmanship/

October 21, 2013

Nominees for USCCB presidency announced

The USCCB has announced the 10 candidates for presidency and vice presidency of the conference. The president is elected from these 10 nominees, and the vice president is elected from the remaining nine. Here are the candidates:

*Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans
*Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., of Philadelphia
*Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Wash.
*Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston
*Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles
*Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky.
*Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore
*Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati
*Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit
*Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami

It is an interesting list. The most obvious thing about it is the name that is not there: Cardinal Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap, who has become Pope Francis' "go-to" guy in the U.S. The work of the Council of Cardinals advising Pope Francis is time consuming and, in the event, more vital than anything that will be happening at the USCCB for the next three years, so O'Malley was smart to decline nomination.

Smart money says Kurtz is more or less a lock for the presidency. He is currently the VP at the USCCB, and he does not belong to any ideological camp. His early years doing social justice ministry as a priest in Allentown, Pa., shaped his understanding of the church in ways that would be simpatico with the vision of Pope Francis. And perhaps most importantly, he is well liked by his brother bishops. That means the real contest will be for the vice presidency.

http://ncronline.org/blogs/distinctly-catholic/nominees-announced-usccb

October 20, 2013

Japanese company creates wine for cats

You never have to drink alone again, because now you can drink with your cats. At least in Japan you can, because a Japanese company called B&H Lifes has begun selling wine made specifically for cats.

This special feline libation is called “Nyan Nyan Nouveau.” As Kotaku reports, “nyan nyan” is the Japanese equivalent of “meow meow.” (Oh hey, remember Nyan Cat?) This cat wine doesn’t really contain any alcohol, but it does contain juice made from Cabernet grapes, along with catnip. So just accept it. It’s wine. For cats.

Nyan Nyan Nouveau costs 399 yen (or $4) for a bottle, and the company is only producing a thousand of them, so you should probably act fast.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/15/never-drink-alone-again-because-now-theres-wine-for-cats/#ixzz2iI7FF3n2

October 16, 2013

"I'm concerned about the blueberries" - strange billboard perplexes Flint-area motorists

There’s no company affiliation. There’s no indication of who commissioned the billboard. There’s no hint of what it's about.

While Michigan is the nation’s No. 1 state in the production of high-bush blueberries – yielding more than 100 million pounds annually – no one has been able to explain the concern expressed on the billboard.

There were murmurs from people who noticed the billboard that maybe the folks at the Flint Farmers’ Market may have put the billboard there, but market Manager Dick Ramsdell put those rumors to bed.

...

She said that she doesn’t know of any reason to be concerned about the blueberries, especially in this region.

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