Dowbrigade

height=”282″ align=”left”>The embattled
Russian oil giant Yukos, already battered by the jailing of its head
amid a politically tinged probe, also faces allegations of letting rabbits
mate without supervision and of mistreating pigs, news reports said Thursday.

The animal mistreatment allegations against Yukos surfaced in an inspection
of a farm belonging to a Yukos-affiliated company in the Siberian region
of Yakutia, news reports said.

The report found that male and female rabbits were kept together and "couplings
take place unsystematically," the Interfax news agency said.

from
AP News

An
artist’s impression of Big Ben exploding like the World Trade Centre
has caused outrage among relatives of the September 11 victims.

James Cauty’s work, which shows huge fireballs exploding from the London
landmark, is an attempt to link Guy Fawkes night with the terror attacks
on America.

Mr Cauty said: "Any uncomfortable reaction to this new artwork
may reflect the proximity of the subject. If Blacksmoke 5-11 depicted
the government buildings in Baghdad or Kabul, would we pay attention?
The war on terrorism starts here."

from
Ananova

Surrounded
by exuberant girls, including her own 8-year-old, a Wisconsin resident
named Jean Carter seemed positively thrilled as she paid $650, more than
twice what she had planned, at American Girl Place.

To start, she had bought two of the store’s $90 dolls, each representing
a character from a different era in American history, and then novels about
each doll’s character. Then came high tea, the musical theater show and
finally some of the endless stream of tie-in merchandise that has made
American Girl a huge marketing success as well as a cultural phenomenon.
Advertisement.

"
It’s a racket, but it’s a good racket," Ms. Carter
said. "The kids get strong historical role models and stories that
teach them a lot about life. You actually feel good spending the money."

from the New York
Times