Battle Over Mother Teresa

From BBC News:

India has rejected a demand by the Albanian government for the return of the remains of Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, buried in the city of Calcutta.

"Mother Teresa was an Indian citizen and she is resting in her own country, her own land," Foreign Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said.

A spokeswoman for the nun's Missionaries of Charity described the Albanian request as "absurd".

Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian, was born in Skopje, now part of Macedonia.

Correspondents say that the row over her resting place could develop into an ugly three-way squabble between India, where she worked most of her life, Albania where her parents came from and Macedonia where she lived the first 18 years of her life.

The row is expected to intensify by August next year - the 100th anniversary of Mother Teresa's birth - by which time many commentators expect her to have been canonised as a saint.

The ethnic Albanian nun, who was known as the "Saint of the Gutters" for her work among the poor of Calcutta, was given Indian citizenship in 1951.

Mother Teresa once said: "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world."

Temple of Nemisis

From Thaindian News:

Archaeologists have found traces of a temple built for the Greek goddess of divine retribution, Nemesis, during excavations in the ancient city of Agora in the Aegean port city of Izmir in Turkey.

According to a report in Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review, Akin Ersoy of Dokuz Eylul University’s archaeology department and heading the archaeological excavations in the ancient city, said that there might be a temple built for Nemesis in the area.

“We found traces of such a temple during our excavations in Agora,” he said. “We want to concentrate our work to unearth the temple in the future,” he added.

This year’s archeological excavations have unearthed many important findings that belonged to the Ottoman era, including many pieces of Ottoman ceramics.

“There are several layers to be worked,” said Ersoy. “We will work on the Ottoman era first, followed by the Eastern Roman, Roman and then the earlier ages,” he added.

Ersoy said that it was during the excavation work when they found clues of a temple to Nemesis built in the ancient city.

“We think the temple is situated on the western side,” he said. “It might be under the Hurriyet Anatolian High School building. We hope to unearth it in coming years,” he added.

In Greek mythology, Nemesis was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris, vengeful fate, personified as a remorseless goddess.

Celebrating Women in Science

From Reuters:

The L'OREAL-UNESCO For Women in Science partnership today announced the five exceptional women scientists who will receive the 2010 L'OREAL-UNESCO Awards in the Life Sciences.

This year, the Laureate for North America is Professor Elaine Fuchs, Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development at The Rockefeller University in New York. She is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Professor Fuchs was selected for her contributions to our knowledge of skin biology and skin stem cells. Her research focuses on how the skin and its hair follicles regenerate and maintain the balance of cell loss and cell replacement. Professor Fuchs was also recently awarded the National Medal of Science for her work.

Along with Professor Fuchs, the other 2010 For Women in Science Laureates recognized for their scientific contributions are:

• Rashika El Ridi (Africa & the Arab States): Professor at Cairo University in Egypt, for paving the way towards the development of a vaccine against the tropical disease Schistomiasis/Bilharzia.
• Lourdes J. Cruz (Asia-Pacific): Professor at the Marine Science Institute at the University of the Philippines Diliman in the Philippines, for the discovery of marine snail toxins that can serve as powerful tools to study brain function.
• Anne Dejean-Assemat (Europe): Professor at the Pasteur Institute in France, for her contributions to our understanding of leukemia and liver cancers.
• Alejandra Bravo (Latin America): Professor at the Institute of Molecular Microbiology of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma in Mexico, for her work on a bacterial toxin that acts as a powerful insecticide.

The 2010 Laureates join an esteemed group of women researchers, including two 2008 L'OREAL-UNESCO Award For Women in Science recipients, Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn and Dr. Ada Yonath, who were recently named to receive the Nobel Prizes in Medicine and Chemistry respectively.

A Pioneering Program: Twelve Years of Encouraging Passion and Promoting Excellence:
Since the launch of the partnership in 1998, L'Oreal and UNESCO have been actively supporting the cause of women in science. In the context of economic crisis and the changes within modern society, both partners believe that today, more than ever, the world needs science. At the heart of this commitment, L'Oreal and UNESCO are acting to promote women scientists who are devoting their lives, with courage and passion, to finding solutions to tomorrow's challenges.

In the past 12 years, 62 Laureates, 150 International Fellows, 700 National Fellows have been recognized through the For Women in Science program. The partnership of L'Oreal and UNESCO and the For Women in Science program serve as a benchmark for international scientific excellence, and an invaluable source of motivation, support, and inspiration for all women in the sciences.

About UNESCO:

Since its creation in 1945, UNESCO has pursued the mission of promoting science for peace. Today, UNESCO aims to reinforce international cooperation in the basic sciences among its 192 Member States and promotes ethical norms in science. The organization has also been dedicated to eliminating all forms of discrimination and promoting equality between men and women. As well as developing educational programs in science particularly designed for girls, UNESCO has established a network of academic chairs creating links between women in science around the world.

Obituary: Nan Robertson

From LA Times:

Nan Robertson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter who brought distinction and change to her newspaper through highly publicized professional and personal battles -- one against sex discrimination at her newspaper, the other against toxic shock syndrome, which nearly killed her -- died Tuesday at a nursing home in Rockville, Md. She was 83.

A reporter for the New York Times for 33 years beginning in 1955, Robertson was known for her role in a drive to improve pay and career opportunities for women writers and editors, which culminated in a class-action lawsuit settled in favor of the women plaintiffs in 1978. She chronicled the fight and the paper's long history of discrimination against women in the 1992 book "The Girls in the Balcony."

Ireland: No Room In Refuges

From the Irish Times:

MORE THAN 1,700 women fleeing violent spouses or partners were turned away from refuges last year due to lack of space.

The figures, published yesterday, also show there was a 21 per cent increase in demand for domestic violence services last year, as compared with 2007.

Safe Ireland, which represents 40 domestic violence services throughout the State, said over 5,000 women accessed domestic violence services annually.

Last year 1,947 women and 3,269 children were admitted to refuges, said Sharon O’Halloran, Safe Ireland Director.

Some 4,638 women received support from services, an increase of 21 per cent on 2007 figures.

“On 1,722 occasions last year, we couldn’t accommodate a woman in need because our services were full,” she said.

Dr Catherine Hamlin

From ABC News:

An Australian-born doctor who founded an Ethiopian Hospital for women damaged by childbirth has received an international award known as the 'alternative Nobel'.

Dr Catherine Hamlin is sharing the Right Livelihood Award with environmentalists Dr David Suzuki and Rene Ngongo and New Zealand Peace activist Alyn Ware.

Dr Hamlin says she is excited to receive the award and says it will greatly help her cause.

"It's a well-known award and it will be useful," she said.

"It will help to make known this cause that so few people really know about, and also our extraordinary number of maternal deaths that we get in our country as well.

"So it will help the women of the developing world."

Dame Vera Lynn

From the Mirror:

Dame Vera Lynn received a Lifetime Achievement award at yesterday's Women Of The Year Lunch.

The tribute recognises her past as a Forces sweetheart and her enduring success as a singer.

Last month, the 92-yearold became the oldest living artist to have a No.1 album. We'll Meet Again - The Very Best of Vera Lynn, which features many of her wartime classics, outsold Arctic Monkeys and even The Beatles' much-hyped remastered editions.

Last month, Dame Vera urged pop stars to do more for our troops. She said: "I don't know why they don't do more and I don't think any young stars are writing songs for them either."

She received her award from Katherine Jenkins at a ceremony in London, watched by stars including artist Tracey Emin, actress Anita Dobson, broadcaster Esther Rantzen and TV personality Fern Britton.

Karen McKeown

From the Western Week-ender:

Penrith City Councillor, Karen McKeown, has been named a National Ambassador for the 2010 Year of Women in Local Government.

An initiative of the Local Government Managers Australia (LGMA), the Ambassador Program celebrates the outstanding achievements of individual champions for women in local government, and raises awareness of the valuable contributions of women in the sector.

Across the nation 21 ambassadors were selected, with Cr McKeown’s being one of only four selected in NSW, recognising her active involvement in local government and her passionate advocacy for women in our region.

The Mysterious Death of Cleopatra - comments

The Post Mortem

Two things which struck me: (1) I think you need to know your Cleopatra as they did not go into a great deal of detail about her life or her relationships with two of Rome's most powerful men at all; (2) the background music was very annoying - at times I could not hear what they were saying; and (3) they kept highlighting certain points - repeatedly - as if trying to fill in time.

Having said all that - and spoiler alert - Pam Brown disproves the suicide theory based on: (1) the length of time between the "suicide note" reaching Octavian and the discovery of Cleopatra's body; (2) the length of time it would have taken for snake venom to work (ie: any where from a couple of hours to a couple of days) - not within a few minutes; (3) the psychology of Cleopatra herself - she was a woman who was determined to succeed, who had faced obstacles and had overcome them, who was intelligent, stubborn and resourceful; and (4) her family history - no Ptolemy had ever committed suicide - yes they often met "untimely" deaths - but usually at the hands of others.

So to the prime suspect. Yes - Octavian (later named Augustus). He had the motive, means and opportunity.

Motive: the removal of both Cleopatra and her son Caesarian. The boy was the direct offspring of Caesar whereas Octavian was a great nephew. Caesarian's claim to Rome was greater than Octavian's - he posed a direct threat to Octavian achieving his ultimate goal - restoring Rome to a dictatorship. And even though Cleopatra sent the boy away, Octavian hunted him down and killed him. And as for Cleopatra - she stood in his way of claiming Egypt for Rome. She was a thorn in his side - a woman ruling a great empire that rivaled Rome.

Means: well, he was surrounding by any number of capable lackies, willing to do any task to keep or gain Octavians favour.

Opportunity: he was there - he could easily give the order and arrive just in time to witness Cleopatra's demise.

Conclusion: the scenario of Cleopatra committing suicide was written 100 years after her death by two men who based their writings upon Octavian's own memoirs. So, to coin an old phrase - history is written by the victor. And the victor in this case was Octavian. Pam Brown believes the myth of death by snake bite was concocted by Octavian himself to not only tarnish the image of this great Queen but to cover up his murder of her. The trouble was - the myth grew - and grew!. And rather than destroy the image and reputation of Cleopatra, it only enhanced it.


So, there you have it - where fact become fiction and a woman becomes a legend.