And you think your boss is bad. Workers at a Hindu shrine in southern India had to take their case to the local human rights commission in order to win the right to wear underpants at work. Their employers at the temple had banned underwear in an attempt to stop the theft of offerings stored in shrine's vault.
The men were forced to work in nothing but shoes, and a cotton wrap, which they wore around their waist. After being forced go commando for five years, the men complained to their union, who in turn took the matter to the Kerala State Human Rights Commission, who upheld their case. Temple authorities are now looking into more high tech security measures.
A British teenager faces prosecution after displaying a sign which called Scientology a "cult" during a protest against the church.
The un-named teen was participating in a May 10th protest organized by the web-based Anonymous anti-Scientology group. Within minutes of joining protesters outside Scientology's London headquarters, which are located near St. Paul's Cathedral, the teen was approached by a police officer who warned that "the word" was not allowed. The teen refused to remove his sign and was the formally cautioned by a female police officer. After again refusing to take his sign down, he was served with a court summons.
The anonymous teen posted an account of the incident on a forum on the anti-Scientology Enturbulation.org website the following day. "I was read the Section 5 Public Order Act of 1986, and was told I was strongly advised to remove the sign," writes the teen. "I was given until 11:30 to remove the sign. At around 12:05 the police caught up with me, I was given a Court Summons and my details were taken down."
The police also confiscated the sign, claiming it contravened Section 5 of the Public Order Act which outlaws "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior or disorderly behavior in a public or private place...with intention or awareness that such behavior may be threatening, abusive or insulting within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress."
In a statement released to The Register, the City of London Police said they "had received complaints about demonstrators using the words 'cult' and 'Scientology kills' during protests," and that "following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service some demonstrators were warned verbally and in writing that their signs breached section five of the Public Order Act 1986. One demonstrator, a juvenile, continued to display a placard despite police warnings and was reported for an offense under section five. A file on the case will be sent to the CPS."
It should be noted that the City of London police have come under fire for their association with The Church of Scientology. A Freedom of Information Act inquiry by The Guardian revealed that more than 20 high and low ranking police officers had been plied with lavish entertainment and hospitality that was laid on by the church.
Freedom of speech and civil liberties advocates are up in arms over the possible prosecution. "This barmy prosecution makes a mockery of Britain's free speech traditions," said Shami Chakrabarti, the director of U.K. human rights organization Liberty. "After criminalizing the use of the word 'cult', perhaps the next step is to ban the words 'war' and 'tax' from peaceful demonstrations?"
In his own defense, while being cautioned (as seen in the above video), the teen quoted from a 1984 high court ruling in which Justice Latey described the Church of Scientology as a "cult." The judge also said, "Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious," and went on to call the church "corrupt, sinister and dangerous."
Meanwhile the teen is contemplating his legal defense, and writes in his Enturbulation.org post, “What's the likelihood I'll need a lawyer? If I do have to get one, it'll have to come out of my pocket money...”
The California Supreme Court has ruled that gay couples should have the right to marry. The Republican-dominated high court voted 4-3 in favor of applying and expanding constitutional race and gender protections to sexual orientation and the institution of marriage.
In his ruling, Chief Justice Ronald George wrote that, "...retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite-sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise - now emphatically rejected by this state - that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects "second-class citizens" who may, under the law, be treated differently from, and less favorably than, heterosexual individuals or opposite-sex couples.... Accordingly, we conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional."
With couples already lining up at San Francisco City Hall for appointments to get marriage licenses, the judgment could be a boon to California's economy should it go unchallenged. Unlike other states, California has no residency requirements for obtaining marriage licenses, meaning that same sex couples could flock to the Golden State for ceremonies (though same-sex marriages performed in California may not be recognized in other states).
As comedienne and GLBT activist Margaret Cho pointed out, "just the ice sculptures alone" could be worth a small fortune to the local economy. Living in West Hollywood, the Daily Mantra can think of a new reason to hold on to our tax refund/stimulus payment when it arrives. With the slew of gay marriages that are likely to happen over the summer we anticipate that we'll have to allocate a rather large budget for wedding outfits and gifts in 2008! Yay! We love a good wedding!
Should you tie the knot? Click HERE to try our fast and free compatibility test and find out if your relationship’s destined to be a fun fling or for life.
"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are the big three inalienable rights set out in our Declaration of Independence, but a female politician in South America is hoping to build on this, and improve things south of the border for her fellow countrywomen, in more ways than one.
Ms Soledad Vela, a member of Ecuador's ruling party, is proposing that women should have the right "to enjoy sex in a free, fair and more open society" under the country's new constitution, which she is currently helping draft.
Not surprisingly, the measure is not popular in all quarters. One male politician called Ms Vela's proposal "ridiculous," another accused her of trying to enact “orgasms by law.” Ms Vela maintains she is just trying to ensure a better distribution of wealth and rights. Sounds fair to us.
Are you boring your goldfish to death? It seems we may have seriously underestimated the intelligence of our tiny, finned friends, who, it turns out, can be just as smart and playful as dogs.
"There is mounting evidence that fish are more intelligent than people give them credit for," says Dr. Dean Pomerleau. The 41-year old fish expert, who lives in Los Angeles, California, has developed a fish training program that will help owners realize the full potential of their aquarium bound pets.
"With the correct tools and the basic promise of a food reward, fish can very quickly learn complex tricks," claims Pomerleau, who used his techniques on Comet, the 2-year old common goldfish, who is featured in the promotional video for his owners' Fish School Training Kit (click HERE to view).
There is nothing common about Comet though, since the goldfish is well on his way to snagging the fish trick world record, which is currently held by fellow Fish School alum Albert Einstein, a 3-year old calico fantail also owned by Pomerleau.
"We've used techniques that we've customized for pet fish, but are based on those used to train dolphins and other marine mammals," explains Pomerleau, who uses fish food as an incentive for correctly executed stunts. "The basic idea is to reinforce successive, increasingly accurate approximations of a desired behavior…with a little time and repetition, the animal will learn to perform the complete behavior to receive the reward."
Pomerleau's Fish School Kit, which is available via Amazon.com, gives you all the apparatus, tools and training you need to teach your star swimmer basketball, fetch and football. With the help of an instructional DVD, which is also included in the kit, you'll also learn how to teach your fish new skills such as the limbo, slalom and tunneling.
With Pomerleau’s Fish School raising the bar on the fun that can be had with fish, he hopes that people will see these innately social and curious creatures in a new light. "Now people in the market for a dog might want to consider a fish instead.”
A meeting between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government took place in Shenzhen, north of Hong Kong this past Sunday (May 4). It's the first time that the two sides have come together for direct dialog since violence erupted in Tibet in March.
According to a press release on the Dalai Lama's official website, his special envoy Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen traveled to China for the talks, which began on Sunday morning.
It is too soon to say if any tangible progress has been made beyond the window dressing the Chinese needed to placate various governments around the globe, including our own, who've been putting mounting pressure on China to resume talks with the exiled Tibetan leadership in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. However, China's official news agency, Xinhua, has reported that a second round of talks are planned, though a firm date for these has yet to be announced.
Speaking at a gathering marking Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the White House yesterday, George Bush said he was working "to extend the hope of liberty throughout Asia." The president then followed up with a series of statements about the situation in Tibet. He said that any dialog between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama must be "substantive" and address the "legitimate concerns" of the Tibetan People.
"I welcome the recent statements by the Chinese government expressing its willingness to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama, precisely what I had suggested (Chinese) President Hu Jintao do," said Bush. "It's important that there be a renewed dialogue -- and that dialogue must be substantive so we can address, in a real way, the deep and legitimate concerns of the Tibetan people."
As we first reported on April 25 (see story), the official Chinese government press agency, Xinhua, announced that direct talks between government officials and a representative of the exiled Tibetan leader were likely to begin in the "coming days." However the Dalai Lama's spokesperson, Tenzin Taklha, said that though they would "welcome" an invitation, they had yet to be contacted directly by the Chinese government with regards to such talks.
We're enjoying the irony that one Chinese garment factory has been caught manufacturing forbidden Tibet freedom flags. The factory owner claims he had no idea what the brightly colored flags meant. He was shopped by some workers who saw images of similar flags on TV.
Police seized thousands of boxed flags from the factory, which is in the country's richest province, Guangdong, in Southern China. Chinese authorities fear thousands more may have already been exported in time for Olympic torch protests in Hong Kong and beyond. I'm sure the Dalai Lama would be most amused, since he's well endowed in the humor department.
With the Olympic torch serving a catalyst, it seems that the Chinese government is bowing under the weight of international pressure and is seeking to resume a dialog with the Dalai Lama. Xinhua, the official Chinese government press agency, has announced that direct talks between government officials and a representative of the exiled Tibetan leader are likely to begin in the "coming days." Xinhua quoted an unnamed official government source in a statement released today (April 25).
"In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days."
The Chinese government has repeatedly claimed that the Dalai Lama is behind the recent protests and violence in China, and has accused him of "scheming and instigating."
Referring to the charges in his statements, the official is quoted as saying, "It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks."
As we reported last week, the Dalai Lama had indicated that "some efforts" were being made with regards to diplomacy. When asked about China's latest overtures on Friday, the Dalai Lama's spokesman, Tenzin Taklha, said they had yet to be officially contacted by the Chinese government, but would be open to talks.
"Since His Holiness is committed to dialog, we would welcome this," said Taklha. "We also have to look at when the offer does officially arrive."
With the Tibetan troubles threatening to overshadow the Beijing Olympics, and mounting pressure from international governments (including our own) for China to resume talks with the Dalai Lama, it's questionable whether this is merely a public relations exercise or a sincere attempt at meaningful dialog. The Daily Mantra therefore thought we'd consult with a practitioner of the ancient Chinese art of astrology to gain some insight into the situation.
Looking at the Dalai Lama's astrological chart (he's a home loving Cancer BTW), our experts tell us that the "transiting Saturn in Virgo is weighing heavily on the 72-year-old" and that any talks with the Chinese are likely to be "stymied and frustrating."
On the plus side, since Saturn also rules accomplishment, we're told that "these talks may ultimately create a stronger foundation from which to negotiate Tibet's freedom." Oops sorry, since freedom is a dirty word as far the Chinese government is concerned when used in reference to Tibet, perhaps those pesky, all-seeing stars are just predicting some form of "autonomy" (a word The People's Republic seems marginally more comfortable with). For now, we'll just have to wait and see how the fortune cookie crumbles.
We're amazed at this story of a British hypnotist, who practiced what he preached, and underwent surgery without any anesthetic.
Alex Lenkei, 61, is a registered hypnotist and underwent surgery on his hand and wrist to alleviate his arthritis. During the 83-minute operation the surgeon removed a piece of the bone at the base of Lenkei’s thumb, cut tendons, and fused several joints together.
It was the second time Lenkei had undergone surgery without the aid of anesthetic. He’d previously been hypnotized by a colleague before a hernia operation in 1996. But this time Lenkei opted to hypnotize himself. The operation was undertaken by Dr. David Llewellyn-Clark at Worthing Hospital in West Sussex on the south coast of England.
"It took between 30 seconds to a minute for me to place myself under hypnosis, and from that point I felt a very deep relaxation," says Lenkei. He was conscious throughout the operation, and could hear his surgeon talking, which caused a little concern at one point.
"I heard him say, 'Can I have the saw please?' and imagined him holding this great big thing in his hand. But fortunately he then said 'I think we'll use the smaller one,'" recalls Lenkei.
"He used a hammer and chisel at one stage and I could hear him hammering away at the bone.
"I heard everything he was saying to his assistants and anesthetist, but there was no gossip. It was a shame - I was hoping to hear something juicy."
The doctors, who were not used to holding conversations with their patients while they were operating on them, were shocked at one point when Lenkei asked how everything was going.
An anesthetist was on stand by throughout the operation, but was not needed. Lenkei says he felt no pain. "I could have certainly told them if I was in pain. I told them to zap me straight away if I cried out."
Mr. Lenkei has been practicing hypnosis since he was 16, and has lectured on the subject at the prestigious Royal College of Nursing. Dr. Llewellyn-Clark says he was confident that Lenkei was a skilled hypnotist before the operation, and was “delighted” that it went so well.
"If he had been grinning and bearing it we would have known - but his heart rate and breathing remained constant throughout.”
Jason Beghe has made a YouTube video in which he slams the Church of Scientology. The actor, who played Demi Moore's love interest in G.I.Jane, and has appeared in numerous TV shows including Melrose Place, Chicago Hope, American Dreams, and Cane, calls the church "destructive" and a "rip off."
Beghe, who became a Scientologist in 1994, says the church, which targets celebrities, is "very, very dangerous for your spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional health and evolution." The three-minute video is a teaser for a longer interview, which has yet to be released. "If Scientology is real, then something's f*** up, 'cause it ain't delivering what it promised," says a clearly angry Beghe, who uses expletives throughout.
The actor is billed as the "first celebrity Scientologist to sit down and publicly talk about his experiences after leaving the group." The video was uploaded by Emmy Award-winning journalist Mark Bunker, who has had several run-ins with the controversial church, which he documents on his XenuTV1 profile page. Bunker says he hopes to use his YouTube channel to expose Scientology's "fraud and abuse through streaming video."
Meanwhile help is at hand for those who'd like more bedtime reading featuring the adventures of Xenu, but don't have the estimated $ 380,000 it takes to get to the full text through official Scientology channels. Anonymous exposé site WikiLeaks has obtained an unedited copy of the Operating Thetan manual, which features tales of Xenu, the dictator of the Galactic Confederacy. The documents, which contain instructions for novice OTs right through to Level 8's, can be downloaded from the site in PDF format.
Though the Church of Scientology has failed in its attempts to have the documents on WikiLeaks removed, it has succeeded in having Andrew Morton's biography of Tom Cruise shelved in the UK. "We will not now be publishing the book," said a spokesman for the publishers, Macmillian, who had been in negotiations with Cruise's lawyers after the Mission Impossible star made legal threats. "We have explored every possible option but have concluded that once the potentially defamatory sections are taken out, there is not enough left to make a good enough read."
That's one point to Scientology, and two to the champions of freedom the Church calls "suppressives." Let the game of cat and mouse continue.
Pope Benedict XVI said he was "deeply ashamed" of the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church. He addressed reporters, answering prescreened questions, during a special Alitalia flight from Rome to Washington, where he began his U.S. tour today.
"It is a great suffering for the Church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," said Benedict. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."
"I am deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future...We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," he continued. "It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound."
Benedict's claim that it is difficult to comprehend how the scandal happened is somewhat hollow however when you consider, as we reported yesterday (see story), that he was directly involved in the cover up of the scandal. For many, his apology will not go far enough, especially since he failed to acknowledge any responsibility, or his own well documented role in the scandal.
"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves," said Peter Isely of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem - complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy."
Benedict was up to his papal collar in both the church's complicity and attempted concealment of the abuse scandal. He personally ordered the relocation of perpetrators, and demanded silence, under threat of excommunication, from Roman Catholic clergy around the world.
The Dalai Lama indicated that "some efforts" in diplomacy were underway between his aides and the Chinese Government during a news conference on Sunday in Seattle. The Tibetan leader arrived in Seattle on Thursday. The trip is his first foreign foray since the current crisis with China, sparked by the impending Beijing Olympics, began.
Meanwhile it's been announced that a special envoy of George W. Bush will meet with the Dalai Lama next week. At a news conference, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky, the government's special envoy for Tibet, "is going to be meeting with the Dalai Lama in Michigan on April 21st."
"They're going to be talking about our view that the Chinese authorities ought to engage in a discussion with the Dalai Lama. We'll be interested in hearing his views on the situation there," said Casey.
As international pressure mounts, this latest move has upset Chinese officials. "We believe that the Tibetan affairs are internal affairs of China, and (are) strongly opposed to external interference in this respect," said Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, in a statement released to the AFP news service.
"We always demand that the US administration and US officials adhere to their commitment to recognizing Tibet as part of China, not supporting Tibetan independence, and refrain from holding any contact with the Dalai Lama and his clique," he said.
The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, is between a rock and a hard place. The Chinese government has accused him of "scheming and instigating violence," despite lack of evidence to support the accusation, and the Tibetan leader's numerous pleas for peaceful protest. Meanwhile, many of his followers are frustrated by the lack of progress and are calling for a more proactive approach. To complicate matters further, one of the conditions of residence for the Dalai Lama and his followers living in exile in India, is that they must not protest against the Chinese government on Indian soil. (And people wonder why he threatened to resign.)
When asked at Sunday's news conference in Seattle if the Tibetans would make concessions in order to secure talks with China, the Dalai Lama said that they had little to concede. "We've become refugees."
We love this story of a seemingly psychic dog called Sam, who busted through an electric fence, and embarked on a two-day trek to pay his last respects to his owner, who had recently died of cancer. Sam had never been to the church where the funeral was held, but managed to find his own way there, arriving moments before the service was due to start.
Click HERE to watch an ABC news report about this amazing, mega-faithful, furry friend.
Richard Gere and Archbishop Desmond Tutu teamed up to lend their support to the people of Tibet at a protest rally in San Francisco last night in anticipation of today's Olympic Torch sprint through the city. "We must tell the leaders of the world, 'For goodness sake, for God's sake, for the sake of your children, our children, for the sake of the beautiful people of Tibet, don't go,'" said Mr Tutu, who urged Bush to abstain from attending the Olympic opening ceremony during his address to the crowd. Gere, like the Dalai Lama, stressed the importance of peaceful protest. "I hope that a point is made, but non-violently," said Gere.
Meanwhile Tibet's Chinese-appointed governor warned of "severe" punishment for protesters who cause "trouble" on the torch's journey through the Himalayas to Mount Everest next month. "For these separatist forces, the Olympics in Beijing will be a rare opportunity," Governor Champa Phuntsok said in Beijing (as reported by The Daily Mail). "Therefore they wish to create major troubles or incidents. I don't doubt they will create trouble during the torch relay in Tibet....During the torch relay in Tibet and in climbing Mount Everest, if anyone should attempt to disrupt or undermine the torch relay, then they will be dealt with severely according to the law."
Such rhetoric only serves to heighten the irony that China is hosting the games. They are clearly missing the point of an event whose stated goal is to "strive for a bright future of Mankind. In spite of the differences in colors, languages and races, we share the charm and joy of the Olympic Games, and together we seek for the ideal of Mankind for peace." Clearly we could do with sending China to "charm" school in order to optimize the "joy" of the Olympics.
The torch's trip around the planet, which has raised much proverbial and literal hot air (and a projected 11 million pounds of CO2 by journey's end), is serving a greater purpose than could possibly have been anticipated, with the flame shining a global light on China's unacceptable attitudes to human rights, though, given our own recent transgressions, human rights violation is certainly a sport that we could seriously compete with China in for the dubious honor of gold.
The United Nations has designated April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day. U.S. car manufacturer Chevvy have therefore teamed up with Autism Speaks to help the non-profit organization raise funds for research into the causes, prevention, and treatments for this baffling condition.
All month, Chevy invites you to raise money for autism with just one click. Just point your mouse HERE, hit the button, and watch the virtual tour of the new 2008 Chevy Malibu (while fantasizing about the hybrid you really want), and a donation will be made to Autism Speaks. As an added bonus, they'll also hook you up with a free 30-day trial of XM Radio Online.
Enjoy this seasonal mocumentary on the migration habits of tropical sun-loving penguins from the jokers over at the BBC (click HERE to view video if player fails to load).
Pictured is a laundry label sewn inside an item of clothing that was manufactured by a boutique American company for sale in France. When translated, the label says:
Wash with warm water
Use mild soap
Dry flat
Do not use bleach
Do not dry in the dryer
Do not iron
We are sorry that our president is an idiot.
We did not vote for him.
British visionary and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke died on March 19, 2008 at the age of 90. Clarke, who has lived in Sri Lanka since 1956, was buried in his adopted country on March 22. His request not to have any sort of state funeral from either of his island nations sounded just like the man I've come to know through anecdotes told by people around Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital city.
My Sri Lankan father used to go spear fishing with him, and almost anyone would tell you that he could often be found at Otter's Swimming Club, at least in his healthier days. On one trip to visit my Sri Lankan family, I made it my mission to get Sir Clarke's autograph for my author friend, Jeff Gelb. Luckily, my cousin happened to run into him, and was able to just ask him and get it for me, because although he was listed in the phone book, being from L.A., I was too keenly aware of violations of celebrity privacy to just call or drop by.
Following Sri Lankan tradition, his body was kept for viewing at his home in Colombo 7, (Sri Lanka's equivalent to '90210'). With elephant tusks creating an arch over his body, and white gloves on his folded hands, loved ones could look onto his peacefully resting face to say their final farewells. According to his close family friend, he wanted written on his tombstone the following: 'Here lies Arthur Clarke. He never grew up, but didn't stop growing'.
Though they observed his wishes and did not hold a state funeral, the government did ask for a minute of silence to be held throughout the island at the same time that their most famous expatriate was being buried. Police and security personnel led the way while a mix of politicians, ever-present saffron-robed Buddhist monks and a Catholic priest joined the procession of mourners as they walked to the cemetery and watched as the sci-fi guru's body was laid to rest.
Sri Lanka offered the backdrop for at least one of Sir Arthur C. Clarke's books: The Fountains of Paradise. "He always loved it here -- the warm climate and the friendly people," his younger brother, Fred Clarke, told AFP. "He said he had managed to escape 40 British winters and had no regrets."
On his 90th birthday in December, he expressed a wish for lasting peace in his adopted homeland, which has been torn by more than 35 years of fighting between government troops and Tamil separatists. Knowing that many of his ideas have become reality, I can only hope that this one will as well.
His foundation (www.clarkefoundation.org) plans to keep up his visionary work so that his legacy can continue to enrich the lives of those of us he's left behind.
Image courtesy of the Clarke Foundation.
Daily Mantra contributor Malayna Dawn splits her time between Los Angeles and Sri Lanka.
A study, published in this week's Science Magazine, has found that spending money on others makes you happy. Following a series of experiments the research team, headed by Professor Elizabeth Dunn of the University of Columbia, concluded that it's not how much you earn, but how you spend what you have that counts, with modest amounts of altruistic spending making a big difference to perceived levels of personal happiness.
"Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not," said Dunn. "This work suggests that even making small alterations in how we spend money on a daily basis can make a difference in happiness."
The team initially surveyed 632 people, asking them questions on income, spending, and general happiness. The subjects were asked to breakdown their budgets into bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity, the latter two categories being deemed "prosocial" spending. The team found that "personal spending was unrelated to happiness," but that "higher prosocial spending was associated with significantly greater happiness."
In a follow-up experiment, researchers followed 16 employees from a firm in Boston, tracking and rating their happiness both before and after they received bonuses ranging from $3,000 to $8,000. They found that it wasn't the size of the bonus that mattered, but how the recipients spent it, with those spending more on gifts and charity consistently reporting that they were happier.
In a third experiment, the team gave subjects between $5 and $20 to spend in an afternoon. Half were asked to spend the money on themselves, and the other half asked to spend the money on others. At the end of the day, irrespective of the amount, those that spent the cash on others were found to be happier.
"This study provides initial evidence that how people spend their money may be as important for their happiness as how much money they earn," said Dunn. "Spending money on others might represent a more effective route to happiness than spending money on oneself."
If that's the case, George Clooney should be feeling pretty pleased with himself right now, since the charity he heads with pals Don Cheadle and Matt Damon has just given $500,000 to the United Nations World Food Program. And Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie should be feeling positively ecstatic, since it's being reported that the duo donated over $8 million in total to various charities.
If you'd like to make yourself happy, but are on a tighter budget, the Daily Mantra suggests you give The Generosity Game a whirl (see previous post). The stealth-giving sport can be played on any budget, and as a bonus encourages recipients of your guerrilla giving to pay-it-forward, spreading happiness like an infectious disease. Just think, catching happiness could almost be as easy as catching a cold (click HERE if you're confused).
Police in Italy are looking for a man who's been hypnotizing grocery store checkout clerks into handing over all the cash from their tills. In every case, that last thing staff remember is a man leaning over them saying, "look into my eyes."
The talented thief was also caught on tape making an unconventional withdrawal from a bank in Ancona in Northern Italy. He hypnotized a female bank teller into handing over $1,200 in cash, before calmly walking out. The bank employee involved in the incident had no recollection of it, and only knew something had happened after she realized that money was missing. Bank security footage subsequently shed light on the unauthorized transaction.
This is not the first time hypnotherapy has been used as a tool for robbery. In 2005, Moldavian police were on the hunt for a bank robber who employed similar tactics. The man, named Vladimir Kozak, persuaded one teller at a bank in Chisinau to hand over $12,000, and is thought to have grossed at least $40,000 from his mind-bending crime spree.
Today, March 14, is Pi Day (3.14 - get it?). To mark the day which honors the magical number that expresses the relationship between a circle's diameter and its circumference we're posting this video (click HERE if player fails to load). Those that are particular about their favorite mathematical constant observe Pi Minute on Pi Day at 1:59 p.m. or even Pi Second at 1:59:26 p.m. ( 3.1415926).
Pi is an irrational number, meaning it's one that cannot be expressed as a fraction (x/y, where x and y are integers). To celebrate Pi Day the Daily Mantra therefore suggests its readers do something irrational. The word irrational is defined as something that is not logical or reasonable. Have fun. We'd love to hear what you get up to.
Ellen DeGeneres' responded to Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern's homophobic remarks, which surfaced recently on the internet via You Tube.
"Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more then a few decades," said Kern, "I honestly think it's the biggest threat even, that our nation has, even more so than terrorism, or Islam, which I think is a big threat okay. Cause what's happening now is they are going after, in schools, two-year olds...And this stuff is deadly, and it's spreading, and it will destroy our young people, it will destroy this nation."
"I feel there's some misinformation going on here," quipped DeGeneres, "I think I need to call her. She's clearly just mistaken. She's talked to someone and they confused her." Sadly, DeGeneres' voice of reason failed to get through when the talk show host tried calling the misguided politician live on air. Kern's voicemail box was, not surprisingly, full.
Despite a public outcry, Kern remains unapologetic about her comments. "I said nothing that was not true, I said nothing out of hate and I don't believe my colleagues will censure me."
She was right too. They didn't. In fact instead of rebuking (and firing) her, as they should, a group of Republicans gave her a standing ovation following her fifteen minutes of You Tube infamy, which is exactly why they shouldn't be running our country.
Feel free to share you concerns with Kern (let's keep that voicemail full). You can reach out to the Republican legislator at her office via email at: sallykern@okhouse.gov or via phone at: (405) 557-7348
The manufacturers of Doritos in the UK are hoping to turn billions of aliens on to the brand by beaming a television commercial into space. The snack company is asking members of the public to participate in the project by shooting their own 30 second spot. The producer of the best ad will receive £20,0000 ($40,000) and have their commercial played on terrestrial, and extra terrestrial TV.
The commercial will be beamed into space via a 500 MHz ultra-high frequency radar at a space center in Norway. The signal will be aimed at the Ursa Major constellation, which is a solar system similar to our own 42 light years away from. The project is being undertaken with the help of the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association (EISCAT), which operates high tech radar systems.
"Broadcasting an advert extra-terrestrially is a big and exciting step for everyone on Earth as up until now we have only tended to listen out for incoming transmissions," said EISCAT director Professor Tony van Eyken in an interview with The Daily Mail. "If there were to be any response, it would change the face of humanity instantly.
Though the Beatles' song "Across The Universe" has previously been sent into space by NASA, Eyken hopes with his organization's help the first ever commercial to be beamed into space will be more potent. "With the transmission technology and planning we are employing there is a much greater chance that the Doritos advert will potentially be seen by billions of aliens."
"If passing aliens pick up the message and invade earth looking for tasty snacks, don't blame us," says a Doritos spokseman. "If the first word the aliens say when they land in their spaceship is Doritos, we will be delighted."
While we admire their sense of adventure, The Daily Mantra is concerned that with ingredients like Yellow 5 and Red 40 (both colorants derived from yummy coal tar), and additives such as disodium phosphate, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate (Mmmn!), any aliens that intercept the commercial will think it's part of a chemical warfare plot, and blast our planet into the next dimension. We therefore strongly urge Doritos to reconsider the wisdom of their interstellar marketing strategy.
After Bjork shouted "Tibet, Tibet" from a Shanghai stage after a performance of her controversial song "Declare Independence" (see previous story), Chinese officials have vowed to enforce tighter controls on Western pop stars who visit the country.
A statement posted on China's Culture Ministry's website said that the quirky Icelandic singer's outburst "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings."
Though Bjork's comments concerning Tibet were not reported in the state controlled media, they set Chinese chat rooms alight after her performance in the country on March 3rd.
"We will further tighten controls on foreign artists performing in China in order to prevent similar cases from happening in the future," the statement continues. "We shall never tolerate any attempt to separate Tibet from China and will no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this."
"If Bjork continued to behave like that in the future, we may consider never allowing her to perform in China," said a spokeswoman for the Culture Ministry speaking to an AFP reporter.
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The People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet in 1950. The province has since been under Chinese rule, though many people still regard the exiled Dalai Lama as the territory's rightful leader. "There is no country that admits that Tibet is an 'independent country,'" the Culture Ministry proclaimed.
Meanwhile The Free Tibet Campaign, a British-based organization which campaigns for the autonomy of Tibet, has praised the singer. "She's shown more courage than politicians like (British Prime Minister) Gordon Brown and (British Foreign Secretary) David Miliband, whose public silence on these issues during recent trips to China is a source of shame for the British people."
The Daily Mantra also applauds Bjork for exercising free speech in an oppressed corner of the globe, and hopes next time she visits Los Angeles that she’ll offer similar aid to free California.
One what planet is this OK? A female Fox & Friends presenter weighs in on the in-studio banter regarding Hillary Clinton's dress sense by proudly proclaiming, "Here at Fox, we like to be feminine. So we don't wear the pants." (If player fails to load, click HERE to view video.) It's like the feminist movement never happened. This Faux News woman is utterly oblivious to the damage she's doing. It's so sad that women are so often their own worst enemies. Evolve people. Then again, along with pant suits, she probably doesn't believe in evolution either. Charles Darwin and the suffragettes (sounds like a 60’s band) must be rolling in their graves. Perhaps she'd like to give up her vote too?
Vampire Chronicles author Anne Rice is relenting on her vow to abandon her blood sucking characters, and is considering writing one more novel in the series which features the enigmatic Brat Prince of Vampires, Lestat.
The first novel in the Vampire Chronicles series, Interview with the Vampire, was completed the year after the death of Rice's six year old daughter, who succumbed to leukemia in 1972. The novel sold over 8 million copies and spawned a film, which featured Tom Cruise (as the forever restless Lestat), Brad Pitt (as Louis, a conquest of Lestat's who invited him into his life after he lost his brother and his will to live) and Kirsten Dunst (who played Claudia, an eternally 5-year old child vampire).
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We're amazed at this story of a British hypnotist, who practiced what he preached, and underwent surgery without any anesthetic. 
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Police in Italy are looking for a man who's been hypnotizing grocery store checkout clerks into handing over all the cash from their tills. In every case, that last thing staff remember is a man leaning over them saying, "look into my eyes."
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After Bjork shouted "Tibet, Tibet" from a Shanghai stage after a performance of her controversial song "Declare Independence" (see 