TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Uncontrolled fires destroy 'paradise of diversity' Scientists say many native animal species in Northern Australia are "plunging towards extinction". abc.net.au |
More than 10,000 people take to the streets to protest against pope Degree of hostility over Pope Benedict's three day visit takes observers by surpriseI never expected to hear a middle-class crowd that almost filled up Piccadilly chanting "Fuck the Pope". But yesterday's anti-pope demo in London took even the organisers by surprise. I don't know how many people there were, but 10,000 seems a reasonable minimum estimate. It wouldn't be surprising if there had been 15,000.The higher figure would be nearly a tenth of the number of people who paid to see the Pope over the last three days but it is still a lot more hostility than sober observers had expected.There was a mixture of slogans from the policy wonkish to the straightforwardly abusive. "Boss of the world's largest sex abuse gang" said one, next to "Vatican promotes segregated schools". "Thou shalt not bugger boys" marched next to the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association. "Despicable, Twisted, Vile hypocrite" marched ahead of "Why not women priests?"There was a picture of the pope holding a golden swastika, which the organisers apparently took down later, as offensive. I don't know why, since Richard Dawkins later published on his web site the speech he meant to deliver, comparing every Catholic in Britain to Adolf Hitler: "Adolf Hitler was a Roman Catholic. Or at least he was as much a Roman Catholic as the 5 million so-called Roman Catholics in this country today", although in the event he said something less gratuitously provocative: "Adolf Hitler was a Roman Catholic ... If the church wants to claim [5m Britons] as Catholics, then they have to claim Hitler as a Catholic". But for the most part, the crowd was cheerful and good humoured. Almost at the end, a young man who seemed like Puck walked past wearing a spiky headdress of inflated condoms.Whether this energy will dissipate is one of the most interesting questions that the Pope leaves behind him. The crowd was certainly having a lot more fun than the gloomy handful of Paisleyite protestors traditional on these occasions. The face of anti-Catholicism in England has changed forever.• This article was amended on 20 September 2010. It was revised to reflect the disparity between Richard Dawkins' prepared text and the speech he delivered. ACBPope Benedict XVIRichard DawkinsCatholicismAndrew Brownguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
China to launch second lunar probe this weekend By 2010-09-30T06:24:50ZBEIJING (AP) -- China's space ambitions are forging ahead with plans to launch the country's second unmanned lunar probe this weekend.... hosted.ap.org |
Whale of a Trip: Humpback makes record migration By RAPHAEL G. SATTER 2010-10-13T22:03:15ZLONDON (AP) -- It wasn't love. It could have been adventure. Or maybe she just got lost.... hosted.ap.org |
Vital Signs: Diet: Good-for-You Things Come in Orange Leftover pumpkin pie? Indulge. A study reports that people with high blood levels of alpha-carotene live longer and are healthier. feeds.nytimes.com |