Tiny Planet

Palaeontologists have found what may be the oldest human fossil in western Europe — a 1.2 million-year-old tooth.

It was unearthed at a site in Atapuerca, northern Spain. The Atapuerca Foundation said:

“The tooth represents the oldest human fossil remain of western Europe. Now we finally have the anatomical evidence of the hominids that fabricated tools more than one million years ago. Since it is an isolated fossil remain, it is not possible at this point to confirm which Homo species this tooth belongs to,” but first analyses “allow us to suppose it is an ancestor of Homo antecessor.”

This is believed to either be the same or an ancestor species to Homo heidelbergensis, which lived in Europe from 600,000-250,000 years ago. It has been put forward as a common ancestor to Neanderthals and modern humans (Homo sapiens). I lack the anthropological background to favour or discredit this theory.

Read the rest of the tooth story here.

Humans are funny creatures. We want to see patterns in everything as we strive to find order amidst chaos.

I didn’t think I would get to 100 posts so quickly. Nor did I think I’d log on this morning and find I had attracted 666 visitors.

So I fired up Wordpress and settled down to write something special to mark these occasions.

Unfortunately I found myself devoid of inspiration.

But it’s strange how I saw those two figures and considered them significant. Perhaps its symptomatic of how we are conditioned as people.

The contrast struck me most.

This post is number 100, which is supposed to be a good thing. And yet it’s written in the shadow of visitor 666, which is supposedly an evil number (read Revelations for the source of this notion).

I’m not a particularly superstitious person and so I looked on 666 as nothing more than a quirky coincidence. Plus I like to think I’m a nice guy — ladies if you think otherwise let me know what I can do to remedy the situation! — so I didn’t take it as a reflection on myself and certainly not on my anonymous visitor.

And yet I found the 100 to be a landmark, a sense of achievement. I’m still very new to the blogosphere and readily admit I’m still finding my feet. But the number of posts snuck up on me; to be frank I wasn’t sure I’d hit the number at all let alone do it in just a couple of months.

The focus of the blog has meandered somewhat since April 19. I began with the intention of looking at world events and how they can be significant to people everywhere — I called my blog tinyplanet because something that happens on the other side of the planet can be immediately relevant to everyone. Communication, transport and economic links are such that the world really isn’t that big any more.

Along the way I got sidetracked by all the weird and wonderful things that happen on our beloved planet screwball and wanted to share them. Hopefully you don’t hold it against me.

Expect more international analysis and commentary in the weeks to come. I’m getting back into the rhythm of writing whole articles in a short space of time and having a blast. But that doesn’t mean I’ll have lost my taste for the unusual.

We’ve barely started on a long and interesting road. I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

David

Scripted or not, Mika Brzezinski is the girl for me.

Paris Hilton’s release from prison was such a non-story. The way she sauntered out for the cameras, smiling coquettishly and milking every second of the attention was quite frankly nauseating.

Mr Angry has an excellent blog entry on the Australian government’s plan to ban alcohol and porn in some Aboriginal Australian communities.

If you missed the story, the move comes on the back of a report that found alcoholism and child abuse were rampant in some of these communities in the Northern Territory.

The report blamed “rivers of grog” and the breakdown of traditional Aboriginal society for the endemic abuse.

Prime minister John Howard has called the issue a “national emergency”, but some have pointed out that it’s an election year in Australia. But Kathy Mark, writing for the Independent, points out he did not speak to the report’s authors before coming up with this crackdown. Check out Mr Angry’s take on things here.

Child abuse is a horrific crime, there is no escaping that fact. But sending troops to enforce a ban on beer and porn is not the way to go. Prohibiting something only makes its allure stronger — and prohibition by the strong arm of the government risks breeding resentment.

But as Mr Angry points out, some communities have welcomed the intervention.

There are times when Draconian measures are necessary. Do you think this is one of those times, dear reader?

A Mickey Mouse-type character who preached Islamic domination on a children’s television program was beaten to death in the show’s final episode yesterday, according to Associated Press.

The giant black-and-white rodent, Farfour, was “martyred”, the show’s teenage presenter said. Farfour was killed by an actor playing the role of an Israel trying to take the mouse’s land. Farfour called his slayer a “terrorist” during the sequence.

Farfour had regularly urged Palestinian children to fight Israel.

The show, Tomorrow’s Pioneers, was broadcast on Hamas-linked al-Aqsa TV. It has been take off the air to make room for new programs, apparently.

God only knows what insane shit will be taking its place.

I haven’t been able to find the footage, but here’s a still of the Farfour miming how to hold an AK47:

A friend of mine described this as one of the cheekiest covers in the history of news reports… and I have to agree. From the Polish weekly Wprost:

That’s German chancellor Angela Merkel with Polish president and prime minister Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, by the way. The headline translates as “Europe’s stepmother”. Read how the magazine (predictably) got in trouble with the German press here.

Someone who works for Microsoft has posted an internal memo detailing what the Google work environment is like. It’s apparently an interview with an ex-Googlebot and is the only entry on the blog, which is entitled Just Say “No” To Google. That said the memo is an interesting read.

I respect Tony Blair for not taking the easy route.

He could have sat on the back benches for a few years then hit the lecture circuit, making a lot of money for relatively little effort. His post as Middle East envoy will be anything but easy.

Despite his successes in Kosovo and Northern Ireland — and his achievement there must be applauded — Iraq will overshadow his legacy as Britain’s prime minister. He authorised his country’s involvement in an invasion based on lies and an occupation that has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, as well as shattering his international standing.

The Mideast post is his shot at redemption.

He failed to bring peace to the region as PM, but clearly feels he can now it’s possible to devote his full energies to the situation.

But he has a long way to go to convince the various parties in the region that he is a credible envoy.

He will represent the US, EU, UN and Russia; the European Union and United Nations have made enormous contributions of aid and humanitarian work, while Russia has historic trade relations with a number of Middle East countries. Various policy decisions ranging from total support of Israel to the invasion of Iraq have weakened US credibility.

In an editorial yesterday, The Guardian said Blair’s new role “could be a painful reminder of the most unhappy aspects of his premiership, as he encounters Arab suspicion that he is merely a lackey of George Bush, and Arab anger over Iraq and the Lebanon war of 2006″.

He came in for criticism over Lebanon for doing little to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a path the US also took.

So this is the baggage he brings to the Middle East. It will take a lot of hard work on his half to become a man all sides can do business with or for this to be seen as more than a political goodwill job.

I believe it is possible for Blair to have some success. By adopting an even-handed approach and by really throwing himself into the job he can win over some — though never all — of his doubters.

The Quartet has said Blair’s first job will be to mobilise international support and assistance for the Palestinians, and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has promised to give all necessary assistance in this.

Starting small is the key.

The Hamas situation complicates things, but if Blair can work on getting aid to the people who really need it he may build the foundations for a more concrete solution.

This may be the start of a long road for Tony Blair.

There is no chance of a quick resolution to the many political and social problems affecting the Middle East. There is no hope at all of a lasting peace as long as the Palestinians are split in two. But there is a chance that what he does in the next 12 months can make a difference in the years to come.

One man’s road to redemption could change everything. Maybe Blair will make a difference, maybe he won’t. But good luck to him for at least having the balls to try.

Testing whale faeces is only tenth on Popular Science’s list of the ten worst jobs in science.

Gavin tagged me, so:

• MS Society Ireland
• Irish Red Cross
• Samaritans
• Cancer.ie – Irish Cancer Society
• Irish Hospice Foundation – Hospice and palliative care in Ireland
• Barnardos – Ireland’s leading children’s charity
• The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity – Polish Charity
• CPR For Schools Across Poland – CPRTraining
• Program of Insulin Pumps in Diabetic Children Therapy – Insulin Pumps For Children
• Non-invasive Neonatal Breathing Support – Infant Flow
• Program of Universal Neonatal Hearing Screenings – Neonatal Hearing
• American Red Cross – disaster relief
• Raleigh Rescue Mission – homeless raleigh
• Samaritan’s Purse – emergency relief programs
• St. Jude Children’s Hospital – cancer research
• Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders – Humanitarian Relief
• American Red Cross – Emergency Preparedness
• AMREF – African Medical & Research Foundation – African Health Development
• DOROT – Programs for Elderly
• Feed the Children – Protect Children
• Service International – Disaster Relief
• Pujols Family Foundation – Children with Down Syndrome
• National Alliance to End Homelessness – Homelessness
• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research – Parkinson’s Research
• Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Program – Child Healthcare
• Aids Research Alliance – Aids Research
• Wildlife Conservation Society – Wildlife Protection
• Cancer Research Institute – Cancer Research
• Second Harvest – End Hunger
• AARP Foundation – Helping Senior Citizens
• Bubblegum Club – Children In Crisis
• Autism NI – Autism Northern Ireland
• Adoption Ireland – Irish Adoption Charity
• Ireland Funds – Peace and Reconciliation In Ireland
• Dublin Simon Community – Combating Homelessness in Dublin
• Aware
• To Russia with Love

And so I tag:

Harry

Félim

Rick

Mick

Dan