NetFlipper.com

Twitter, the social-networking service derided for being the last refuge of the banal, has gained a new currency on the world stage. The stream of micro-blog postings has proven an important source of real-time news and images of the violence that erupted following the contested presidential election in Iran.

Iranian protesters turned to Twitter — and other social-networking sites, including Facebook — after Iranian censors ordered foreign journalists to stop live reporting of the protests. Now, according the Middle Eastern news outlet Al Jazeera, the government of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is trying to filter Twitter and Facebook traffic to stop the reports.

Delayed Maintenance

In the United States, the tweets from the streets of Iran caught the attention of the State Department. With old media shut down and no formal diplomatic presence, the department was just as reliant on the Twitterverse as everyone else — so much so, in fact, that a “low-level State Department official” contacted Twitter and asked it to delay a long-scheduled maintenance shutdown. State Department officials stressed that it was not Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who made the call.

As Twitter cofounder Biz Stone later tweeted, “NTT America proves again why they are such an awesome partner and reschedules urgent network maintenance.”

As he explained in a linked blog post, “A critical network upgrade must be performed to ensure continued operation of Twitter. In coordination with Twitter, our network host had planned this upgrade for tonight. However, our network partners at NTT America recognize the role Twitter is currently playing as an important communication tool in Iran. Today’s decision and actions continue to prove why NTT America is such a powerful partner for Twitter.”

Routing Around Censorship

The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s John Gilmore once famously said that “The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.” The tweeting in Iran…

Virgin Media, Britain’s largest provider of broadband services, has announced it will launch an unlimited music download program later this year. The company is initially partnering with Universal Music, the world’s leading music company, although other labels and are expected to sign up when more details are announced.

In return for what Virgin Media describes as “a great value monthly subscription fee,” consumers will be able to download as much music as they like. All of the MP3 downloads will be DRM-free, which means consumers will be able to play them indefinitely on whatever device they choose.

No estimate was provided for the possible cost of the service. However, Virgin Media did say an entry-level subscription would be available for consumers who want to download some music but who don’t need unlimited access.

“In terms of both convenience and value,” Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett said, “our new music service will be superior to anything that’s available online today and provides a fair deal for both consumers and artists. There is no better example of Virgin Media’s commitment to harnessing digital technology to give customers what they want, when they want and how they want.”

Reducing Piracy

One of the goals of the program, Virgin said, is to bring about “a material reduction” in the piracy of Universal Music content across Virgin Media’s network. The initial step will be to educate (or presumably remind) consumers that music piracy is illegal, and to promote the availability of a legal low-cost alternative.

If those steps are insufficient, then Virgin Media will implement a “graduated response system” for persistent music pirates. Ultimately, the company said, continued piracy could result in temporary suspension of Internet access. The company made it clear, however, that no one will permanently lose their Internet access, and the company will not monitor customer traffic to…

Does Bing have Google shaking in its boots? Google may indeed be concerned about Microsoft’s breakout Bing launch, analysts said.

According to the New York Post, Google cofounder Sergey Brin is so rattled by the rival search engine that he has assembled a team of top engineers to work on urgent updates to the site. The Post also reported that Brin himself is leading the team to determine how Bing serves up its results.

“I do think Google is taking Bing very seriously,” said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. “According to the early traffic indications, there has been some bump for Bing.”

Bing’s Bump

Microsoft launched Bing about two weeks ago and is sinking between $80 million to $100 million to market its so-called decision engine. The early results are impressive.

Microsoft increased its average daily penetration among U.S. searchers from 13.8 percent during May 26-30 to 15.5 percent during June 2-6, according to comScore. The research firm concluded this is an indication that the search engine is reaching more people than before. Microsoft’s share of search-result pages in the U.S., a proxy for overall search intensity, increased from 9.1 percent to 11.1 percent during the same time frame.

Meanwhile, StatCounter is reporting that Bing has overtaken Yahoo to secure the number-two spot in the search market. StatCounter said Bing grabbed market share from Google. StatCounter’s analysis reveals that in the U.S., Bing leapfrogged Yahoo to take second place with 16.28 percent. Yahoo had 10.22 percent. Google still dominates the U.S. search market with 71.47 percent.

In the U.S., Bing ranked 17th out of more than 450,000 Web sites, up from 5,120 the week before the official launch when the Web site was merely a placeholder, according to Hitwise. Within the search-engines category, Bing ranked fourth out of the search engines tracked by Hitwise.

Batu Caves

One cave regarded as holy in Malaysia is the Batu Caves. This holy cave is a limestone hill, which has a series of caves and cave temples, located in Kuala Lumpur- the capital of Malaysia. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, dedicated to god Murugan. It is the focal point of the annual Thaipusam festival in Malaysia and attracts over more than 1.5 million pilgrims, making it one of the largest gatherings in History.

Cave of the Patriarchs

The picture above is the enclosure of the Cave of the Patriarchs. The Cave of the Patriarchs is considered holy for the Jews, Christians and Muslims. It is a series of subterranean caves located in a complex called by Muslims the Ibrahimi Mosque or Sanctuary of Abraham. The name is either a reference to the layout of the burial chamber, or alternatively refers to the biblical couples, i.e.: cave of the tombs of couples. The compound is located in the ancient city of Hebron. The 3 religious groups maintain the same traditions that the site is the burial place of four Biblical couples: (1) Adam and Eve; (2) Abraham and Sarah; (3) Isaac and Rebekah; (4) Jacob and Leah. According to Midrashic sources the Cave of the Patriarchs also contains the head of Esau and according to some Islamic sources it is also the tomb of Joseph.

Amarnath Caves

Amarnath Caves are one of the most famous shrines in Hinduism, dedicated to the god Shiva. The caves are located in the Jammu and Kashmir. The shrine is claimed to be over 5,000 years old and forms an important part of ancient Hindu mythology. Inside the main Amarnath cave lays an ice stalagmite resembling the Shiva Linga, which waxes during May to August and gradually wanes thereafter. This lingam is said to grow and shrink with the phases of the moon, reaching its height during the summer festival. According to Hindu mythology, this is the cave where Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity to his divine consort Parvati. There are two other ice formations representing Parvati and Ganesha, Shiva’s son.

Holy Cave of Matale

For Buddhists, the Holy Cave of Matale is the most holy of all the caves in the whole island of Sri Lanka. Two thousands years ago a small group of Theravada Buddhist Monks gathered there for several years to inscribe the entire Pali Tipitaka in Ola Leaves, a crucial historical act which sustain the original textual teaching of the Buddha to this day.

Ajanta Caves

Other caves considered holy in India are the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India. These are rock-cut cave monuments dating from the 2nd century BCE, containing paintings and sculpture considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art and universal pictorial art. The Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

Gardner’s Gut: New Zealand

A visit to New Zealand is incomplete if we’re not going to see some of its popular caves. A cave worth-seeing there is the Gardner’s Gut, an extensive cave system in the Waitomo area. It is located in the Ruakuri Caves & Bush Scenic Reserve, an area that also contains a number of other natural features of note. With a length of over 12 km of explored passages, it is the country’s 6th largest known cave system.

From New Zealand, we’ll climb up to the north.

Ease Gill Cave System: British isle

Looking for an exotic cave? Well, the Ease Gill Cave System which is the longest cave system in the British Isles, with over 100 km of passages is the right cave for you. Just looking at its unique krypton-colored stalagmites and stalactites is already an awesome experience. This cave also includes connections only passable by cave diving that spans the valley between Leck Fell and Casterton Fell. The water resurges into Leck Beck.

Fingal’s Cave: Scotland

UK offers lots of scenic views and one of these is the natural wonder – Fingal’s Cave. It is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The cave is formed entirely from hexagonally-jointed basalt columns, similar in structure to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland making them a unique tourist spots.

Gruta de Moinhos Velhos: Portugal

One of the most important cave systems known in Portugal is the Gruta de Moinhos Velhos. The system has about 9 km in extension. It is characterized by the existence of two fossil paragenetic main conduits of about one decameter in diameter with dendritic tributaries, and a set of semi-active passages in a dendritic pattern at the north and angulates at the south. The fossil zone has a drop of 100 meters and the thickness of intermediate zone varies from 80 meters upstream to 60 meters downstream. Water flows in syngenetic galleries, from the northern to the southern quadrant, towards Gruta da Pena spring.

Caves of Nerja: Spain

Another well-known tourist spot in the Iberian Peninsula is the Caves of Nerja. These caves are a series of caverns close to the town of Nerja in Andalusia. Stretching for almost 5 km the caverns are one of Spain’s major tourist attractions. Concerts are regularly held in one of the chambers which form a natural amphitheater.

Eisriesenwelt: Austria

From Western Europe, let’s proceed to the eastern European countries. One popular cave for a destination is the Eisriesenwelt. The name of this cave means “World of the Ice Giants”. This cave is a natural limestone ice cave located in Werfen, Austria. The cave is inside the Hochkogel Mountain in the Tennegebirge section of the Alps. This cave is really worth visiting because it is the largest ice cave in the world, extending more than 42 km and visited by about 150,000 tourists every year.

Caves of Han-sur-Lesse: Belgium

Another cave in the continent of Europe which is regarded as a famous tourist destination is the Caves of Han-sur-Lesse. These caves are a major tourist attraction with about half a million visitors annually. The caves are the result of the underground erosion of a limestone hill by the river Lesse. The caves have a constant temperature of 13°C (55°F) and a high level of humidity.

From Europe, we’ll move to North America.

Luray Caverns: Virginia, USA

One of the largest and commercially celebrated caves in the US is Luray Caverns located in Virginia, USA. It has already drawn several thousands of visitors since its discovery in 1878. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems (columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, mirrored pools, etc). The caverns are noted for the Great Stalacpipe Organ, a lithophone made from solenoid fired strikers that tap stalactites of various sizes to produce tones similar to those of xylophones, tuning forks, or bells.

Lechuguilla Cave: New Mexico, USA

As of 2008, Lechuguilla Cave is the fifth longest cave known to exist in the world with a length of 193 km. It is also the deepest in the continental United States at 489 meters or 1,604 ft long. This cave is well-known because of its unusual geology, rare formations, and pristine condition.

Abukuma-do: Japan

From Continental America, we’ll finally end up in the “Land of the Rising Sun” -Japan. I think something is wrong here, isn’t it more enjoyable if our last destination is the “Land of the Setting Sun? Well, just asking, to continue with our tour, Abukuma-do or Abukuma Cave is perfect cave for our last destination. This cave is a limestone cave located in Fukushima Prefecture discovered only in 1969. Visitors can traverse a 600-meter-long path inside the cave as well as a 120-meter-long exploration course to view the stalactites and stalagmites. Each stalactite has taken more than eighty million years to form. Beyond the public areas lie about 2,500 meters of cave that are not open to the public. The temperature inside Abukuma-do is around 15°C and the humidity is above 90%.

Laas Geel: Somalia

There are still a lot of things to discover about our past. This cave in Somalia just recently provided us additional knowledge of the past. Laas Geel, a complex of caves and rock shelters in Somalia is famous for its recently discovered cave paintings. The caves are located outside Hargeisa. They contain some of the earliest known art in the Horn of Africa and the African continent in general, dating back to somewhere between 9,000-8,000 and 3,000 BCE.

Liang Bua Cave: Indonesia

In Asia, an important archaeological site recently excavated is the Liang Bua Cave on the Island of Flores, Indonesia. It was the site of the 2003 discovery of a potentially new species of Homo genus, Homo florensis, the remains of which are coded LB1, LB2, etc, after the cave. So far it is the only location in which such remains have been identified.

Cave of Letters: Israel

Israel has always been one of the most important sources of archaeological finds and one of these many sites is the Cave of Letters. This is a cave located in the Dead Sea area that contained one of the largest caches of ancient documents and personal correspondence ever discovered in the land of Israel. This cave was discovered in 1960, the cave contained letters from Bar Kochba, leader of the Third Jewish Revolt, as well as other documents from that period. Since its discovery the letters found there have slowly been published, but not yet in its entirety.

Cave of Archedemos the Nympholept: Greece

An archaeological site that provided the world with some significant findings is the Cave of Archedemos the Nympholept. This small cave is located somewhere in Attica, Greece. The cave is unique in Greece because ancient sculptures hewn into the living rock of the cave exist. In fact, the sculptures are carved into a calcite column and flowstone within the cave. The cave was used from the Archaic period and reused in Early Christian times. The marble votive tablets from the cave are now exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

Ghar Dalam: Malta

Ghar Dalam which literally means “Cave of Darkness” is an extraordinary pre-historical cul de sac containing the bone remains of animals that were stranded and subsequently became extinct on Malta at the end of the Ice Age. This cave was the site where remains of extinct animals were found like dwarf elephant, hippopotamus, deer and bear. Their bone deposits found here are of a different age; the hippopotamuses became extinct about 180,000 years ago, whilst the deer species became extinct much later, about 18,000 years ago. It is also here that the earliest evidence of human settlement on Malta, some 7,400 years ago, was discovered.

Zhoukoudian : China

Archaeological finds in China have given us early idea about early men. One significant archaeological site in that country is Zhoukoudian or Choukoutien. This is a cave system near Beijing in China. It has yielded many archaeological discoveries, including one of the first specimens of Homo erectus or commonly called Peking Man, and a fine assemblage of bones of the gigantic hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris. The Peking Man lived in this cave approximately 200,000 to 500,000 years ago.

Tabon Caves: Philippines

Tabon cave is the site of important Philippine Archaeological discoveries. The Tabon caves are a set of caves in Quezon, Palawan, Philippines. They are famous for the found skull cap remains of the Tabon Man, which are 22,000 years old. Bones of elephants have also been found in the area signifying that the Philippines was once connected to mainland Asia.

Lascaux Cave: France

One of the most popular sites in the world for its prehistoric cave paintings is Lascaux Caves. They contain some of the most well-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 16,000 years old. They primarily consist of realistic images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time. In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.

Font de Gaume: France

Still in Europe, one important cave which houses a collection of prehistoric polychrome cave paintings is Font de Gaume. It is a cave in southwestern France and is a popular site for tourists. Font de Gaume holds over 200 polychrome paintings and is considered the best example of polychrome painting other than Lascaux. The paintings in Font de Gaume include depictions of more than 80 bison, approximately 40 horse depictions, and more than 20 mammoth depictions.

Pestera cu Oase: Romania

In Europe, another significant archaeological site is Pestera cu Oase (The Cave with Bones), a system of 12 karstic galleries and chambers located in Romania. This cave is where the oldest modern human remains (between 35,000 and 40,000 years old) in Europe have been found.

Altamira: Spain

Another popular cave in Europe because of its Upper Paleolithic cave paintings is Altamira. Altamira, Spanish for “high view”, is a cave in Spain which features drawings and polychrome rock paintings of wild mammals and human hands. The cave with its paintings has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cueva de los Casares: Spain

Another notable cave in Spain is Cueva de los Casares. It was discovered in 1933 and contains a number of Paleolithic cave paintings and is most notable for a series of paintings depicting what some have argued is the earliest representation of human understanding of the reproductive process, featuring images of copulation (perhaps mediated by a mysterious shaman figure), pregnancy, childbirth, and family life. Mammoths and other animals feature frequently in the illustrations. There are many representations of animals, anthropomorphs (human-like figures), and ideomorphs (including penises, vulvas, tools, and more abstract images). The cave and its paintings are little known to scholars outside Spain.

Karain Cave: Turkey

A site where evidence of human habitation had been found is Karain Cave. This is a cave and a Paleolithic archaeological site located in Turkey. These evidences date back to the early Paleolithic age (150,000-200,000 years). The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations hosts an extensive collection of artifacts from the excavations at Karain. The stone and bone tools of the people of that Age are exhibited in the museum.

Priest’s Grotto: Ukraine

This cave had saved a few Jewish lives during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine during the Second World War. The Priest’s Grotto is a cave in Ukraine, part of the extensive Gypsum Giant cave system, now known to be among the longest in the world at over 77 miles explored. Several Jewish families lived in the cave during the Nazi occupation, some of them never exiting for over an entire year. Thirty-eight Jews survived the occupation in this way (during a period when 95% of Jews in Ukraine were exterminated and only 1% of families survived intact).

Actun Tunichil Muknal: Belize

One remarkable cave in South America for its archaeological importance is Actun Tunichil Muknal. It is a cave in Belize. As a Maya archaeological site, this cave is notable for its skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware. The most famous of the human remains is known as “The Crystal Maiden”. It is the skeleton of a teenage girl, probably a sacrifice victim, the bones of which have been completely covered by the natural processes of the cave, leaving them with a sparkling appearance. There are several such skeletons in the Main Chamber. The ceramics at the site are significant partially because they are marked with “kill holes”, which indicates they were used for ceremonial purposes. Without these archaeological sites we will not have a clear understanding on the life and culture of primitive people.

The biodiversity on this planet is just astounding. Even with loss of habitat and the threat to flora and fauna, there is still so much to uncover and appreciate. Here we’ve gathered just a few interesting specimens of plants and fungi for you to discover. Some are more common while others are super strange, and to make things even more interesting for you, they all resemble animals and human body parts. Enjoy!

Mushroom Zombie Hand

This mushroom – thought to be a specimen of Clathrus archeri, or “Devil’s Fingers” – takes the cake for being the strangest and creepiest specimen of a fungus looking like something else. It looks like a cold, dead hand reaching out to pull the rest of the zombie body out of the earth. Those even look like tattered sleeves down by the wrists of the hands!

Buddha’s Hand

This yellow fruit is named Buddha’s hand because its fruit is divided into what look like many, many fingers of a hand. This particular image makes it look like a big mop of clown hair and could even be reminiscent of Medusa’s snake-y locks. Found in Asia, the Buddha’s Hand has a thick peel and little flesh. It is used by the Japanese and Chinese to scent rooms because of its strong citrus smell; in Western cooking, it’s prized for its zest.

Starfish Out of Water

Endemic to Namibia, the Stapelia flavopurpurea flower looks like a bright starfish with a strange protrusion coming out of its middle. Most members of the Stapelia genus of flowers smell like rotting meat to attract pollinators, with the Stapelia flavopurpurea standing as the exception with its beeswax scent.

Eyeballs

This plant looks pretty creepy, almost alien-like, with what look like multiple eyes poking out and staring every which way.

Jaws

These jaws look pretty intimidating to us alright! The name, Faucaria tigrina, is derived from the Latin word fauces meaning animal mouth and tigrina meaning tiger. No wonder it’s nicknamed “Tigers Jaws”!

Cactus Brain

Aside from its hairy greenness, this cactus looks very much like a human brain.

Happy Face

Sometimes timing is everything. The photographer of this great shot found the sun hitting this Ceropegia monteroiae flower just so, to create a smiling face with eyes slightly shaded by what look like long, lovely lashes.

While it is hard to rank rivers and lakes around the world in terms of who is THE worst, there are a few that stand out in the crowd. Pollutants like industrial waste, sewage runoff, overpopulation and agriculture discharges all make for quite a toxic brew. When you count in the fact that many of these major rivers and lakes supply food to nearby major population centers then they are having an even greater effect than as simply some polluted body of water in the middle of nowhere. Below are a few of the worst offenders that you should watch out for.

Lake Victoria borders three countries in East Africa – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – making it extra difficult to negotiate cleanup and pollution prevention. As there are few enforced regulations, residents wash cars in the same lake water that sewage water is regularly released in and that they also end up bathing in. Even worse, people who come in contact with the water are susceptible to coming away with several diseases including, schistosomiasis, bilharzia, cholera, pneumonia, diarrhea, and several skin diseases.

The 200-mile long Citarum River in Indonesia hosts more than 500 factories along its banks and is quite possibly the most polluted river in the world. There is so much garbage coating the surface that in many places you can’t see the water, and it is more profitable to forage for garbage than making a living fishing the river, though you do risk catching a nasty disease by spending any time in it.

The Great Lakes (US/Canada) have taken a beating over the years thanks to pollution from the auto industry, oil refineries, steel plants, agricultural runoff and pollution, chemical plants and transportation runoff. While not the worst on this list, the lakes have accumulated a toxic soup that we have yet to deal with.

This 3,400 mile-long Yellow River in China is frequently contaminated by chemical spills, and frequent diversions and damming, which causes the Yellow to often run dry and sometimes even turn red. 1/3 of the river is unusable, but this doesn’t seem to be slowing things down as the river is used to provide water for millions of people in China, whose expanding cities are another reason the river is contaminated.

While small compared to the others on this list (only 65 miles), the Riachuela River, running through the heart of Buenos Aires, is referred to as the largest open pit toilet in the world, absorbing over 325,000 tons of sewage each day. Lead, mercury, cadmium, nitrates and copper all pollute this river and affect drinking water supplies for the over 5 million people living in the area.

Lake Onondaga (US) is so polluted it was designated a hazardous waste site by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Phosphorous, ammonia, nitrite, mercury, bacterial contaminants, from a long history of industrial activity in the area, along with non-point source pollutants, combine to make this lake one toxic soup.

The Sarno River is regarded as the most polluted river in Italy and possibly all of Europe. Agricultural and sewage runoff frequently contaminates the river and treatment methods are inadequate to handle the pollution. The Sarno River frequently overflows its banks and therefore puts the local population at repeated risk for exposure.

Believe it or not, Lake Karachay (Russia) is completely contaminated with radioactive (and other types of) waste, that was dumped into the lake from the Mayak Nuclear Waste Storage Facility, starting in the 1950′s. The waste is currently seeping out into area soils and rockbeds, threatening other rivers and even the Arctic. Scientists predict that if it makes it to the Arctic, it could spread around the world.

The Yumana River may be the site of historic and holy rituals, but it’s also got its share of crap – literally. Over 3.5 billion litres of sewage pass through the river daily (making it over 100,000 times higher than limits safe for bathing), and the city removes another 1.1 billion litres of river water each day. No fish or plants can live in the river and holy leaders have threatened to boycott annual pilgrimages to the area due to the high contamination levels.

More than 2,800 factories line the shores of Lake Tai, the 3rd largest lake in China, contributing to its title as one of the largest and most polluted in the country. Officials have estimated a hefty $14.4 billion price tag to clean up all of the industrial dumping and sewage that contaminates these waters. Currently the waters have a green tint from all of the algae flourishing thanks to their ample source of industrial pollution in the lake.

The damage done to the Yangtze River due to pollution is so bad its been described as irreversible. Over 360 miles of the 3,860-mile long Yangtze River are polluted due to damming, inadequate sewage, industrial pollution and rapid population growth. Currently the river is responsible for 35% of the country’s fresh water fish supply, while construction of the Three Gorges Dam along the river displaced over 1 million people.

The King River (Australia) is the most polluted river in all of Australia, principally due to mining activities along the river dating back to the 1880′s. 1.5 million tons of mining tailings entered the river every year until 1995, while the fumes from the smelter created acid rain in the area. Today the mining operations continue to make the river highly toxic to marine life thanks to the leftover dissolved metals and tailings still in the river.

The Mississippi River (US). How could we forget this mammoth river that crosses 10 states and carries millions of metric tons of pollutants with it to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico each year, creating a the notorious “deadzone.” During the 1990s, this river discharged over 100 million pounds of toxics downriver each year. The Dead Zone is aptly named due to the low levels of oxygen, causing no aquatic life to survive in this area.