When you think of a mummy what comes to mind? Most of us usually picture an Egyptian mummy wrapped in bandages and buried deep inside a pyramid. While the Egyptian ones are the most famous, mummies have been found in many places throughout the world, from Greenland to China to the Andes Mountains of South America.
A mummy is the body of a person (or an animal) that has been preserved after death. Normally when we die, bacteria and other germs eat away at the soft tissues (such as skin and muscles) leaving only the bones behind. Since bacteria need water in order to grow, mummification usually happens if the body dries out quickly after death. The body may then be so well preserved that we can even tell how the dead person may have looked in life.
Mummies are made naturally or by embalming, which is any process that people use to help preserve a dead body. Mummies can be dried out by extreme cold, by the sun, by smoke, or using chemicals such as natron. Some bodies become mummies because there were favorable natural conditions when they died. Others were preserved and buried with great care.
The ancient Egyptians believed that mummifying a person's body after death was essential to ensure a safe passage to the afterlife.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
WATTLED CRANES
Banhine National Park, in AWF’s Limpopo Heartland, is home to a relic population of no fewer than ten pairs of wattled cranes. This population may form an important “missing link” between South Africa’s isolated population of wattled cranes and populations in other parts of the continent. AWF is working to identify
Key habitats currently being used by cranes for nesting and foraging in the park,
Suitable habitat,
Human threats that constrain the expansion of the crane population and
Factors that influence fluctuations and distribution of crane populations.
This project will contribute to the revival of wildlife in Mozambique’s inland wetlands and will become the basis for sustainable ecotourism.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Are Milan and Inter Really Fighting Over Ronaldhino?
Just as Milan’s interest in signing Ronaldinho looked to have cooled, along came Inter with an announcement that they want to sign the player. Gil Gillespie peers through the smoke and mirrors and tries to discover the truth behind the Milanese clubs intentions.
In the red corner we have Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani. In the blue corner are Massimo Moratti and Roberto Mancini. And in the middle is Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballing superstar, twice FIFA World Player of the Year and a fading idol currently sinking as fast as an unhappy, out-of-form fly in Frank Rijkaard's mid-morning cappuccino. Welcome to the one-city, two-club battle for to sign Ronaldinho - an event where no-one should be taken at face value and no words should be treated as gospel. Milan are known to be long-time admirers of Barcelona's unsettled 'fantasista', but the club's interest was generally thought to have dwindled in recent months, just like the form and commitment of the player himself. But then Inter signed a mammoth 10-year sponsorship deal with Nike, and the mischievous Roberto Mancini made his "nobody believed me when I talked about Ronaldinho" speech. Suddenly Milan were forced to prick up their ears again. (Or so we are led to believe.)Whether Inter are genuinely interested in Ronaldinho or not is beside the point. The Nerazzurri have left their neighbours in an extremely uncomfortable position by merely declaring their interest. After tracking the player for the last two years, can the Rossoneri just allow him to be snapped up from under their noses by their neighbours and biggest rivals?And, according to prominent Italian broadsheet the Corriere della Sera, it is Milan who are now favourites to sign the Barca star as they have allegedly agreed to allow him to have complete control over his image rights. "Not true," says Silvio Berlusconi. As always, the signing of Ronaldinho is a subject he's never been consistent on. He has openly voiced his admiration for the Barca playmaker for the last two years. Yet only a week ago the Milan president issued a clear statement of denial about his club’s interest in the player. "I don't think Ronaldinho represents a great objective for us," said the perma-tanned former PM, "we must keep an eye on the balance in the dressing room... his purchase is not a priority for Milan." But that was before Mancini stirred up this particular hornet's nest with his well-chosen press conference soundbites. So have Milan really taken Mancini's bait? It's difficult to say. But you have to ask yourself, why would the world and European champions want a player like Ronaldinho anyway? First of all, they have Kaka, who plays, more or less, in the same position that Ronaldinho occupies. Would Ancelotti ask Kaka to play out wide or drop deeper into midfield? Not a chance. Would he play the two of them behind a lone striker, probably Pato? It's a bit late in the day for Ancelotti to suddenly throw out a tactical approach that he has developed over many years and had so much success with, just so he can accommodate a potentially disruptive player whose best days may well be behind him. The mind wanders back to 2002 when the Rossoneri brought another former World Player of the Year to the San Siro from Barcelona. Rivaldo spent the majority of his one disastrous season at Milan keeping the bench warm. He didn't fit. He just wasn't a Milan kind of player.Neither is Ronaldinho. But it’s not Ancelotti who has the final say as to who is signed and who isn’t signed, as we discovered when it was revealed that Berlusconi vetoed the deals to bring Gianluigi Buffon and Luca Toni to the San Siro in the summer. But now, surely, the clubs' transfer targets lie elsewhere - with Gianluca Zambrotta, for example - and finding a replacement for the hapless, hopeless Dida. Thus even with £100 million to spend in the summer, it would be a surprise if Milan signed Ronaldinho. So what about Inter? Is the Nerazzuri's interest in getting Ronaldinho to sign on the dotted line genuine, or merely provocative? They certainly have more room to accommodate the player on the pitch, even with Luis Antonio Jiménez exceeding expectations playing in the hole behind Ibrahimovic and Cruz. And Ibrahimovic himself has given his approval to the idea. "Ronaldinho at Inter? Everyone would like to play with him,” the goal-bothering Swede told the Corriere dello Sport. But despite these comments and those of Mancini, Inter's president Massimo Moratti has attempted to pour cold water on the whole story. He reacted to the accusations made by Milan's chief executive Adriano Galliani, who claimed that he had been told of Inter's interest in Ronaldinho by Barcelona president Joan Laporta himself. "Galliani maybe knows more than I do, but it's not true," said the Inter president. "I don't know who has spoken to him, but at this time the information he has is not correct." In truth, it's impossible to know what is really going on beneath this curtain of double-speak, half-truths and Machiavellian double-bluffing. Maybe Inter are serious about signing Ronaldinho. Maybe they are just pulling their old sparring partner's leg. Maybe Milan will respond to Inter's noises. Maybe Inter are simply showing their fans that they have the financial muscle to compete with their nearest neighbours if they choose to do so. Whatever the reality of the situation, both clubs need to ask themselves just how effective the Brazilian shoe-shuffler is likely to be in Serie A in his current state of mind, anyway. If he's finding life tough in the defensively liberal world of the La Liga, how will he cope with the fierce shadowing of Italy's most uncompromising back lines? Has he even still got it in him to rise to such a daunting new challenge? Because, right now, Ronaldinho looks as if he'd like to spend more time on the bench - or the beach - and less on the training pitch. But before he unpacks his Bermuda shorts and lies back on the sun lounger, there is one other factor in this very complicated equation that hasn't been dealt with yet. Chelsea may yet have the final say in where Ronaldinho plays his football next season. According to the influential players' agent Enzo Bronzetti, Ronaldinho will definitely join up with his former Barca coach Henk ten Cate at Stamford Bridge in the summer. It is a rumour that Spanish sports daily Marca has been talking up for some time and it makes more sense than the ones that see him going to either of the Milan giants. Roman Abramovich is rich enough - and perhaps naive enough - to take a gamble on such a global superstar, regardless of whether his powers are on the wane. So for all the noise currently emanating from the city of Milan, London could well be the place you are most likely to find Ronaldinho playing his football next season. Then again, he could always stay with Barcelona. Gil GillespieWhat do you think? Are Milan and Inter serious about bringing the Brazilian superstar to Italy? Or are they both bluffing, waiting for each other to blink? Where do you think Ronaldinho will be playing in 2008/09?
In the red corner we have Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani. In the blue corner are Massimo Moratti and Roberto Mancini. And in the middle is Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballing superstar, twice FIFA World Player of the Year and a fading idol currently sinking as fast as an unhappy, out-of-form fly in Frank Rijkaard's mid-morning cappuccino. Welcome to the one-city, two-club battle for to sign Ronaldinho - an event where no-one should be taken at face value and no words should be treated as gospel. Milan are known to be long-time admirers of Barcelona's unsettled 'fantasista', but the club's interest was generally thought to have dwindled in recent months, just like the form and commitment of the player himself. But then Inter signed a mammoth 10-year sponsorship deal with Nike, and the mischievous Roberto Mancini made his "nobody believed me when I talked about Ronaldinho" speech. Suddenly Milan were forced to prick up their ears again. (Or so we are led to believe.)Whether Inter are genuinely interested in Ronaldinho or not is beside the point. The Nerazzurri have left their neighbours in an extremely uncomfortable position by merely declaring their interest. After tracking the player for the last two years, can the Rossoneri just allow him to be snapped up from under their noses by their neighbours and biggest rivals?And, according to prominent Italian broadsheet the Corriere della Sera, it is Milan who are now favourites to sign the Barca star as they have allegedly agreed to allow him to have complete control over his image rights. "Not true," says Silvio Berlusconi. As always, the signing of Ronaldinho is a subject he's never been consistent on. He has openly voiced his admiration for the Barca playmaker for the last two years. Yet only a week ago the Milan president issued a clear statement of denial about his club’s interest in the player. "I don't think Ronaldinho represents a great objective for us," said the perma-tanned former PM, "we must keep an eye on the balance in the dressing room... his purchase is not a priority for Milan." But that was before Mancini stirred up this particular hornet's nest with his well-chosen press conference soundbites. So have Milan really taken Mancini's bait? It's difficult to say. But you have to ask yourself, why would the world and European champions want a player like Ronaldinho anyway? First of all, they have Kaka, who plays, more or less, in the same position that Ronaldinho occupies. Would Ancelotti ask Kaka to play out wide or drop deeper into midfield? Not a chance. Would he play the two of them behind a lone striker, probably Pato? It's a bit late in the day for Ancelotti to suddenly throw out a tactical approach that he has developed over many years and had so much success with, just so he can accommodate a potentially disruptive player whose best days may well be behind him. The mind wanders back to 2002 when the Rossoneri brought another former World Player of the Year to the San Siro from Barcelona. Rivaldo spent the majority of his one disastrous season at Milan keeping the bench warm. He didn't fit. He just wasn't a Milan kind of player.Neither is Ronaldinho. But it’s not Ancelotti who has the final say as to who is signed and who isn’t signed, as we discovered when it was revealed that Berlusconi vetoed the deals to bring Gianluigi Buffon and Luca Toni to the San Siro in the summer. But now, surely, the clubs' transfer targets lie elsewhere - with Gianluca Zambrotta, for example - and finding a replacement for the hapless, hopeless Dida. Thus even with £100 million to spend in the summer, it would be a surprise if Milan signed Ronaldinho. So what about Inter? Is the Nerazzuri's interest in getting Ronaldinho to sign on the dotted line genuine, or merely provocative? They certainly have more room to accommodate the player on the pitch, even with Luis Antonio Jiménez exceeding expectations playing in the hole behind Ibrahimovic and Cruz. And Ibrahimovic himself has given his approval to the idea. "Ronaldinho at Inter? Everyone would like to play with him,” the goal-bothering Swede told the Corriere dello Sport. But despite these comments and those of Mancini, Inter's president Massimo Moratti has attempted to pour cold water on the whole story. He reacted to the accusations made by Milan's chief executive Adriano Galliani, who claimed that he had been told of Inter's interest in Ronaldinho by Barcelona president Joan Laporta himself. "Galliani maybe knows more than I do, but it's not true," said the Inter president. "I don't know who has spoken to him, but at this time the information he has is not correct." In truth, it's impossible to know what is really going on beneath this curtain of double-speak, half-truths and Machiavellian double-bluffing. Maybe Inter are serious about signing Ronaldinho. Maybe they are just pulling their old sparring partner's leg. Maybe Milan will respond to Inter's noises. Maybe Inter are simply showing their fans that they have the financial muscle to compete with their nearest neighbours if they choose to do so. Whatever the reality of the situation, both clubs need to ask themselves just how effective the Brazilian shoe-shuffler is likely to be in Serie A in his current state of mind, anyway. If he's finding life tough in the defensively liberal world of the La Liga, how will he cope with the fierce shadowing of Italy's most uncompromising back lines? Has he even still got it in him to rise to such a daunting new challenge? Because, right now, Ronaldinho looks as if he'd like to spend more time on the bench - or the beach - and less on the training pitch. But before he unpacks his Bermuda shorts and lies back on the sun lounger, there is one other factor in this very complicated equation that hasn't been dealt with yet. Chelsea may yet have the final say in where Ronaldinho plays his football next season. According to the influential players' agent Enzo Bronzetti, Ronaldinho will definitely join up with his former Barca coach Henk ten Cate at Stamford Bridge in the summer. It is a rumour that Spanish sports daily Marca has been talking up for some time and it makes more sense than the ones that see him going to either of the Milan giants. Roman Abramovich is rich enough - and perhaps naive enough - to take a gamble on such a global superstar, regardless of whether his powers are on the wane. So for all the noise currently emanating from the city of Milan, London could well be the place you are most likely to find Ronaldinho playing his football next season. Then again, he could always stay with Barcelona. Gil GillespieWhat do you think? Are Milan and Inter serious about bringing the Brazilian superstar to Italy? Or are they both bluffing, waiting for each other to blink? Where do you think Ronaldinho will be playing in 2008/09?
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