The Iceland Worm Monster
Footage was captured of an obscure phenomenon yesterday which appeared to be swimming in the glacial river Jökulsá í Fljótsdal, east Iceland.
People speculate whether this may be the notorious snake-like monster Lagarfljótsormurinn, which is said to reside in the lake Lagarfljót.
The video was taken by Hjörtur Kjerúlf and posted on ruv.is.
Lagarfljótsormurinn is Iceland’s equivalent to Scotland’s Loch Ness monster. It was first mentioned in sources dating back to 1345. According to legend, it was at first a tiny worm which was placed on a ring of gold to make the gold grow.
When the owner of the ring returned she noticed to her great terror that the worm had grown immensely but not the gold. She tossed the ring and worm into Lagarfljót where the worm continued to grow.
Whether Hjörtur’s video is indeed evidence of the existence of the legendary monster is debatable; skeptics believe it shows a torn fishing net which blew into the river where it froze.
When the river cleared itself of ice the net came loose and the “worm” wriggled its way through the water. - icelandreview
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Sorry your dying...but go find a job anyway!
Thousands of dying people are being sent letters urging them to consider getting a job, it has been revealed. The Department for Work and Pensions writes to everyone claiming the new Employment Support Allowance suggesting that they see a personal advisor to “help you move towards work”. That includes those whose families have specifically told officials that they have less than six months left to live. Ministers have admitted that 1,000 terminally ill people were sent the letters in just three months in a written answer to MPs. The shocking figure comes after David Cameron railroaded his brutal welfare reforms which will take cash from disabled children and cancer sufferers through Parliament.
The letters state: “You can volunteer to work with a specialist personal adviser or job broker who will support and encourage you to carry out reasonable steps to manage your illness or disability and undertake relevant activity which will help you move towards work.” They do say that those receiving them “are not required to take part in any work-related activity”. But that doesn’t stop them causing upset and alarm among dying people and their families, Labour MP Tom Greatrex warned. Mr Greatrex uncovered the scale of the problem after coming across the case of a constituent Stevie McGowan, 51, who was sent one despite being blind, bed-ridden and suffering severe dementia.
His wife Elizabeth said it was an insult for officials to suggest that the former painter and decorator, who was struck down by multiple sclerosis in 2002, should be considering work. She said: “We thought is was a joke. And when I saw that paragraph I thought it was an insult to Stevie.” Elizabeth, 49, of Blantyre in Scotland, added: “There is no amount of ‘support’ that they could give my husband that would enable him to go back to work.” The Department of Work and Pensions stood by the letters. A spokeswoman said: “There are no conditions attached to the financial support you receive if you have a terminal illness.
“However, it would be wrong not to give those with a terminal illness the same opportunities as others. All our customers are told about the extra support their benefit entitles them to.” But Mr Greatrex, MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, said that officials should stop causing upset and alarm by sending the letters to the terminally ill. “The Government know these people are nearing the end of their lives and it is clearly inappropriate to be sending these letters suggesting they should go back to work. It is causing unnecessary distress to people who are terminally ill and their loves ones and they should stop it.” - mirror
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Reason for Zimbabwe reservoir delays... mermaids have been hounding workers away!
Essential work on planned reservoirs in Zimbabwe has stopped because mermaids have been hounding workers away, according to the country's Water Resources Minister.
Samuel Sipepa Nkomo told a Zimbabwean parliamentary committee that terrified workers are refusing to return to the sites, near the towns of Gokwe and Mutare.
Minister Nkomo said the only way to solve the problem was to brew traditional beer and carry out any rites to appease the spirits.
'All the officers I have sent have vowed not to go back there', Minister Nkomo was reported as saying in Zimbabwe's state-approved Herald newspaper.
Mermaids are mythological water creatures with a female body twinned with the tail of a fish.
Opinion about the existence of mermaids varies throughout Zimbabwe - some people are skeptical, but some firmly believe that mermaids exist in Zimbabwe.
Dating back centuries, many mermaid stories continue to make their rounds in Zimbabwe.
One tale says mermaids carry humans underwater, but if there is a public outcry their relatives might never see them again.
But another tale suggests victims can return as spirit mediums if their disappearance is not mourned.
The senior politician said that mermaids were also present in other reservoirs.
'We even hired whites thinking that our boys did not want to work but they also returned saying they would not return to work there again,' he added.
The two, long overdue reservoirs are considered essential if Zimbabwe is provide adequate water to its population and to boost its agricultural production.
Having once been the 'bread basket' of Southern Africa, the country's farms have been laid low by lack of faith in government policy.
From 2000, President Robert Mugabe expropriated some 4,000 white owned farms and gave them to politically connected blacks.
Partly as a result, agricultural production is this year forecast to be at its second lowest level since Zimbabwe achieved independence from Britain in 1980.
The belief in mermaids and other mythical creatures is widespread in the country, where many people combine a Christian faith with traditional beliefs.
Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo said the government wants to give the population the water it needs, but cannot do so until the rituals are performed and necessary repairs can be carried out.
Three quarters of Zimbabwe's population live on less than one US dollar a day. - dailymail
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Thousands of Iranian Women Training to Become Ninjas
Ninjutsu is considered to be one of the deadliest forms of martial arts in the world. But this doesn’t deter the 3,500 odd Iranian women who are currently receiving official training in the sport.
In fact, when I saw a video of these women in action, I was awestruck by their agility and the ease with which they performed gravity-defying stunts and back flips. I couldn’t even tell that the ninjas were female until they removed the masks from their faces. Iran, like many other Islamic countries, has stringent rules regarding the freedom and conduct of women. The laws severely restrict them from participating freely in society; perhaps this is where they derive their quiet strength from. The Ninjustu school in Iran was started in 1989 by Sensei Akbar Faraji. This was the first time the martial art was introduced to the country. While the club now has over 24,000 members, the number of female participants is slowly on the rise. According to Faraji, in Ninjutsu, men are called ninjas, while women are addressed as kunoichi.
The club’s female instructor, Fatima Muamer, says that the sport appeals to women as it helps in maintaining a balance between body and mind. She also points out that the most important lessons in Ninjutsu are respect and humility. “They learn to respect themselves – first to respect their existence and then the art that they are mastering.” Students at the school are also taught to use dangerous weapons – including bows, swords, nunchucks and shurikens – small traditional Japanese implements known as ‘swords in the hand’.
This is not the first time Iranian women have made their mark in sports. In 2005, two Iranian women scaled Mount Everest, becoming the first Muslim women in the world to summit the peak. These women have left their mark in rugby, soccer, and several other sports in the Olympics. This proves that no law can truly suppress the spirit of strong-willed women, such as these Iranians. - odditycentral
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Britain Big Cat footage - very convincing evidence!
Big cat gets caught on tape
A leopard-like creature 6ft from nose to tail is caught on video bounding across a field at dusk — which an expert believes is final proof Britain's Big Cats really do exist.
The film was taken by teaching assistant Coryn Memory close to the site of a recent spate of deer killings.
But it was not an isolated sighting. Coryn, 45, says she has seen the animal, described as a "slim, black leopard" in a valley outside Stroud, Gloucs, FIVE TIMES — before finally getting the evidence on film.
She said: "It was around for about 20 minutes and luckily I had my camera. It was probably 300 yards away and I don't think it was aware I was there.
"It came in and out of the field and at one point seemed to be having a root around, probably for small animals...go to Catcha! for more information and graphics