Provocative Best-Selling Fragrances From Europe Are Now Also Available in the USA & Canada

25 January 2023

The German discovered his passion for fragrances at the age of 22. Now his collection is one of the most sought-after fragrance collections in Europe.

HATE ME LOVE ME® was Europe’s best-selling vegan fragrance collection last year. Now also available in the USA.

The bestselling gourmand fragrance from 2022 – Suicide Blonde Eau de Parfum from HATE ME LOVE ME®

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, new European fragrances are available in the USA: They are already best-selling fragrances in Europe and are highly addictive.

I am grateful that we already have so many incredible HATE ME LOVE ME® customers in America. They understand our empowering statement of fragrances and wear them on their skin. I love that!”
— Mike Arens, perfumer at HATE ME LOVE ME®

PARIS, FRANCE, January 25, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Vienna- January 24th, 2023 – The European fragrance label HATE ME LOVE ME^® from Vienna is one of the most exciting discoveries in the perfume world. This is due to the surprising Eau de Parfum creations of perfumer Mike Arens, which lead to unexpected emotions. The fragrances are seductive and create a new world of scents that excite the senses and express the most profound feelings—a scented universe of beauty, sophistication, and sex appeal. Apparent contradictions merge into captivating Eau de Parfum creations because the world only becomes exciting through its extremes: Fascinating as day and night. Contrasting like yin and yang. Sinful like Adam and Eve.Hate Me Love Me^® Rebels With Surprising Compositions
“Scents and perfumes have fascinated me since I was a child, but I also get bored very easily, so I like to combine notes like pepper, honey, ISO-E Super, and florals, which develop over time quite than you would expect,” says Mike Arens, perfumer & co-founder of HATE ME LOVE ME^®.

Finally, selling in the US

“We are thrilled to announce that our luxurious European perfumes are now available in the United States through our online shop. Indulge in our premium fragrance’s rich scents and elegant Viennese designs, crafted with the highest quality ingredients from across Europe. Shop now and experience the seduction and sophistication of our perfumes on your skin”, says Mike Arens.

Vegan by Persuasion

“Our customers are paying more and more attention to ingredients, and not only that – they are questioning the entire brand much more. In addition to wanting sustainable, resource-saving packaging, many demand transparency and specifically ask for fragrances free of toxins and animal ingredients. It is no longer enough for the perfume to smell good; it must also be environmentally friendly and socially responsible. As a young perfume start-up, we integrate these needs and can tell more about our fragrances and their origins through the targeted use of influencers,” says Lukas Ebster, Co-Founder of HATE ME LOVE ME^®.

Gourmand Women’s Fragrances, Particularly in Demand

“Sweet fragrances are more important to us now than ever because they can dispel anxiety even in crises. That’s because cotton candy scents wrap us in a protective cocoon where we revel in carefree childhood memories. Men are also incredibly attracted to a woman wearing a pleasant gourmand perfume. Cultural imprinting plays a major role here. Germans and Austrians love the smell of vanilla cookies on their skin, while American men tend to go weak at the smell of cinnamon buns and apple pie. The motto is: “When you smell like dessert, men won’t forget you,” says Mike Arens.

Europe bans neonicotinoid derogations granted by Member States

EuropeanTimes

22 January 2023

Europe bans neonicotinoid derogations granted by Member States

The 27 EU Member States are not entitled to derogate from the EU ban on neonicotinoid seeds, the European Court of Justice ruled on 19 January. This applies even in exceptional circumstances.

The ruling follows an application to the Belgian Council of State to annul Belgium’s derogation for the use of bee-toxic insecticides on sugar beet crops. The application was filed by the activist groups Pesticide Action Network Europe, (PAN Europe), the association Nature & Progrès Belgium, which raises awareness and informs the general public about environmental and societal issues, and a Belgian beekeeper.

The CJEU ruling reshuffles the deck and gives new hope to environmental organisations, as the institution recalled that the ban was adopted “because of the high acute and chronic risks to bees from seeds treated with plant protection products containing these neonicotinoids”. Since 2021, despite protests from associations against successive authorisations, neither the government nor the courts have followed them.

Neonicotinoids have been banned since the end of 2018 in the European Union because of their danger to biodiversity and human health. Eleven countries continue to grant “emergency authorisations” to stakeholders in the sugar beet sector, who are struggling to find alternatives. According to a recent PAN Europe report, EU Member States have granted more than 236 derogations for banned pesticides in the last four years, with neonicotinoids accounting for almost half (47.5%).

Anti-pesticide groups have argued that neonicotinoids are increasingly used preventively by ‘seed coating’ instead of being sprayed on the crop. This means that they are applied directly to the seed before the plant is even infested with pests.

Not surprisingly, today’s ruling puts an end to almost half of the derogations granted by Member States to banned pesticides.

The French government was planning to grant a derogation for the third consecutive year, in 2023, to sugar beet growers using these substances. It will have to abandon this project, now considered illegal by the EU.

New Study Refutes Current Timeline of Mammoth Extinction

Guest Author

22 January 2023

New Study Refutes Current Timeline of Mammoth Extinction

Experts suggest that DNA found in sedimentary deposits likely originated from long-deceased animals.

The mystery surrounding the exact timing of the extinction of mammoths has long captivated paleontologists, as the decline of these giant ice age creatures seemed to coincide with the arrival of humans in North and South America.

This has led many to question if human activity played a role in the extinction of mammoths over 10,000 years ago.

A University of Cincinnati paleontologist refutes the latest timeline published in 2021 in the journal Nature that suggested mammoths met their end much more recently than we believed. An international team of researchers examined the environmental DNA of mammoth remains and more than 1,500 arctic plants to conclude that a wetter climate quickly changed the landscape from tundra grassland steppe to forested wetlands that could not support many of these big grazing animals, driving mammoths to extinction as recently as 3,900 years ago.

But in a rebuttal paper in Nature, UC College of Arts and Sciences assistant professor Joshua Miller and co-author Carl Simpson at the University of Colorado Boulder argue that the environmental DNA used to establish their updated timeline is more complex than previously recognized.

University of Cincinnati paleontologist Joshua Miller poses with a bronze statue of a mammoth outside the Geier Collections and Research Center of the Cincinnati Museum Center. Credit: Andrew Higley/UC

“The issue is you have no idea how old that DNA is,” Miller said. “Sedimentary deposits are complex. Materials of different ages are routinely buried together.”

Researchers have many tools to date sedimentary deposits and the materials contained in them. But not everything can be dated, Miller said.

“We can radiocarbon date all kinds of things: bones, teeth, charcoal, leaves. That’s very powerful. But currently, we can’t independently date DNA found in sediments,” Miller said.

From recent discoveries like the baby mammoth found in Canada this year, we know that many ice-age animals that died tens of thousands of years ago can become mummified in the arctic’s dry, cold environment. Miller said researchers can’t tell whether environmental DNA preserved in sediment was shed from a living or dead animal.

University of Cincinnati assistant professor Joshua Miller examines a mammoth skull at the Cincinnati Museum Center’s Geier Collections and Research Center. Credit: Andrew Higley/UC

“DNA is shed from organisms all the time,” Miller said. “In fact, DNA continues to be shed long after the animal dies. In places where decomposition is slow, that means long-dead and even long-extinct species can continue to make their way into surrounding sediments. In the arctic and other cold-weather places, it can take thousands of years for something to decompose.”

The researchers say the slow decomposition of animals in arctic regions could explain how mammoth DNA is showing up thousands of years later than the most recent mammoth fossil discovered. The paper notes that the mummified remains of elephant seals near Antarctica can be more than 5,000 years old.

Simpson said his work studying marine environments from recently eroded hillsides demonstrates how difficult it is to date ancient specimens.

“Seashells can sit on the seafloor for thousands of years. When you see shells on the beach, some could be from animals that died recently while others might be from shellfish that died millennia ago,” Simpson said. “This happens in the vertebrate record as well.”

Miller said the question remains what impact, if any, humans had on the global decline and extinction of mammoths. Humans were known to use fire to alter landscapes in profound ways, Miller said. They also hunted mammoths and made use of their ivory tusks.

So when did the last mammoths die off? Scientists say most mammoths went extinct more than 10,000 years ago, but remnant populations lived on islands such as Russia’s Wrangel Island until much more recently.

This cohabitation with modern humans is one reason mammoths capture our imaginations, researchers said.

“They’re tantalizingly similar to animals that live among us today,” Miller said. “We can almost touch them. That makes mammoths really alluring. For many people, they are the poster children of ice age megafauna.”

Simpson noted that mammoths once lived on the Channel Islands of California near where he grew up. The islands were home to a pygmy mammoth weighing 2,000 pounds. Today, the biggest mammal on the island is a tiny endemic fox.

“I think about how amazing it would have been to grow up with all of those big animals walking around,” Simpson said. “But I just missed them.”

Reference: “When did mammoths go extinct?” by Joshua H. Miller and Carl Simpson, 30 November 2022, Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05416-3

Monitoring soil threats in Europe

Newsdesk

18 January 2023

European soils are under increasing pressure due to soil sealing, pollution, intensive agriculture and climate change. At the same time, there are management options to improve soil functions and health, including to sequester carbon, increase biodiversity and prevent erosion.

The EEA’s ‘Soil monitoring report’ presents a comprehensive set of common indicators to assess soil health as well as risk-based thresholds to inform protection and restoration needs and soil-related policies in Europe.

The selected indicators address soil organic carbon, nutrients, acidification, pollution, biodiversity, erosion, compaction and sealing. For each indicator, the EEA report identifies thresholds beyond which soil functioning, for example for water purification or food production, is negatively affected. These thresholds can be regarded as critical tipping points for soil health and action points to safeguard soils.

The EEA assessment supports the EU soil strategy for 2030, which is an integral element of the European Green Deal with the overall aim of ensuring healthy soil ecosystems and sustainable use of EU soils.

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The doctrine of the “Russian world” is a dualistic political religion

Guest Author

17 January 2023

Gerry Armstrong, Alexander Dvorkin (FECRIS Vice-President), Thomas Gandow and Luigi Corvaglia (member of the Board) during a FECRIS conference in Salekhard, Sibéria, 29 September 2017. In the Center, Mgr Nikolai Chashin.

The international conference “The Mission and the Orthodox Church” ended in Volos, bringing together Orthodox theologians from all over the world who discussed theological and current problems of church life in dozens of sections. One of the topics generating the most interest was “War and Peace”, with its focus on the “Russian world” doctrine, which is currently the main ideology of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Already at the beginning of the Russian invasion of the neighboring country, the Academy of Theological Studies in Volos formulated several theses about the nature of this ideology, which became extremely popular in Orthodox circles (see here and here). In this theological text, the “Russian world” is defined as a heresy based on ethnophiletism. The discussion on the issue of whether it is also the doctrine of the Russian world or is it a political ideology has been going on for several months. At the graduate theological forum in Volos, the report of Archimandrite Cyril (Govorun), whose point of view can be summarized in the following few points. Specifically, he claims:

“1. If by heresy we mean the Trinitarian or Christological heresies discussed between the fourth and seventh centuries, then the “Russian world” could not qualify as a heresy. However, if we go back to the time of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, when Christianity was confronted by the hostile pagan Greco-Roman world, we can draw some parallels with the teaching of the “Russian world.”

In my opinion, both worlds are dualistic and based on coercion and a mixture of religion and politics. These features are embodied in the religious currents that the martyr Irenaeus and his companions defined as heresies. I think that the doctrine of the “Russian world” can be approached in the same spirit.

It is dualistic because, like the ancient dualistic Manichaeism or Montanism, it sees the world as ontologically polarized—between the “Godless West” and “Holy Russia.” It is based on coercion that has reached unprecedented bloody proportions. Finally, we witness the politicization of religion in Russia to a degree comparable to the period from Augustus to Diocletian. It may well be called a political religion, as the pagan imperial religion was in the age before Constantine.

St. Irenaeus and his associates saw heresies as forms of pagan thought disguised as Christianity. I would interpret the “Russian world” in a similar way.

2. Almost all local Orthodox churches are subjected to ethnophiletism – each to its own degree. It would be unfair to accuse only the Russian Orthodox Church of ethnophiletism. At the same time, the Russian Orthodox Church demonstrated an unprecedented degree of ethnophiletism. Even the Balkan wars at the beginning of the 20th century are less ethnophiletic because they are less cruel and bloody than the Russian war in Ukraine.

I think it is more correct to call the “Russian world” not ethnophyletic, but phyletic doctrine. The “Russian world” claims to be above ethnic boundaries. Essentially, he states that the Russian-speaking ethnicities (ἔθνη) in Eastern Europe and even in Central Asia constitute one “people” – a word that can be translated by the Greek race. Therefore, the Russian world can and should be accused not so much of ethnophyleticism as of violent phyleticism, the emphasis being on “violent.”

3. The Council of Crete of 2016 called Philetism a “church heresy”. I find this adjective promising in the interpretation of the “Russian world” doctrine. The “Russian world” has its own ecclesiology, and it is twisted. It is in such ecclesiology that the ROC found justification not to go to the island of Crete in 2016, later to unilaterally sever relations with other churches, as well as to deploy non-canonical activities in Africa. The way in which the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate treat the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is another proof of a distorted church consciousness. It has come to the point that the ROC and the UOC-MP are ready to rechristen the members of the OCU, which, it must be reminded, is in full communion with at least some of the local Orthodox churches, including the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The distorted ecclesiology, which is the basis of the ideology of the Russian world, is characterized by a number of reductionisms. The universal church, if viewed through the prism of the “Russian world”, is practically reduced to one local church – the Moscow Patriarchate. In this case, the statement “I believe in one, holy, conciliar and apostolic church of the Moscow Patriarchate” is not anecdotal, but quite convincing. It is these distorted ecclesiological views that are the cause of the fear that prevents many members of the UOC from joining the OCU.

4. Finally, let me use the distinction I made in my earlier ecclesiological studies. In the case of the Russian Church, we are dealing with an extreme case of replacing the nature of the Church with its administrative structures. As a result, the Russian Church turned out to be silent about the war in Ukraine. Or rather, only her administration is allowed to speak about the war, and these are words of unequivocal support. The voice of the entire church has been reduced to the pro-war pronouncements of its administrative apparatus.

5. As a conclusion: all heresies are primarily a reductionism of Orthodoxy. The “Russian world” has created an ecclesiology that is such reductionism. It is therefore quite similar to an ecclesiastical heresy.’

Illustrative photo: Saint Louis King of France and a page (El Greco)

Church of Scientology in London wins further recognition at upper tribunal

EuropeanTimes

16 January 2023

Church of Scientology in London wins further recognition at upper tribunal — © Church of Scientology London

The Church of Scientology in London just won an appeal over the recognition of its chapel as a place of “public religious worship”.

The case was not about being recognized as a genuine religion, as this was already affirmed by the supreme court in 2013 (and the new appeal decision rightfully start by these very words: “1. Scientology is a religion.”) in R. (Hodkin) v Registrar General. Rather, the case was about whether was the chapel to be considered as a public worship space, per the existing case law.

The Church of Scientology in London had stated that their chapel and ancillary premises were to be tax exempt as place of public religious worship (from non-domestic rating”, a tax on properties not used for living accommodation), and the HM Revenue & Customs disagreed. A first instance judge agreed with HM Revenue & Customs, and the case was appealed by the Church before the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in London.

The appeal judges heard evidence and experts from both parts and concluded that the chapel was a place of “public religious worship” and that it and most of the parts of the Church building were indeed to be exempted, overturning the previous ruling.

In their long judgment in 146 points, dated 5 January 2023, they described the Church building as an “imposing Portland stone façade [which] features balconies and flagpoles which would not look out of place in the Vatican.” They stated that estimates of the Church’s total UK membership vary widely, writing that “media estimates have ranged from 15,000 adherents to as many as 118,000”, but that Sunday services were only attended by small congregations, other Scientology services being more at the core of Scientology religious practice (“In Scientology, greater emphasis is placed on other forms of observance.”).

Nevertheless, the judges made clear that the numbers were not the stake, the only issue being “if all ‘properly disposed persons’ are eligible to enter and participate in the acts of worship being conducted there.”

And here is their conclusion:

“Taking the evidence as a whole, we are entirely satisfied that at the material time in 2013 the chapel at the London Church was a place of public religious worship, and that it has continued to be so. The building itself indicates by its permanent signage and branding that it is a place where strangers are welcome, including to attend services. The Church actively invites non-Scientologists who have had no previous significant contact with the religion to participate in its services as a way of introducing them to its message and encouraging them to discover more. It uses conventional advertising on its premises, which are open to visitors every day, as well as word of mouth, email invitations, and its website. Its ambition is not limited to drawing its existing members closer, or attracting their immediate friends and family, and plainly extends to all comers.”

Therefore, the tribunal granted the Church with the exemption from non-domestic rating and ruled that the Scientology chapel was a place of public religious worship.

This Week @NASA: Space Exploration Collaboration, Webb Reveals Galaxies From Dawn of the Universe

NASA

15 January 2023

Continuing a collaboration in space exploration …

Space station research heads back to Earth …

And highlighting new science from NASA missions …

A few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

[embedded content]

US, Japan Sign Space Agreement at NASA Headquarters

On January 13 at NASA Headquarters, administrator Bill Nelson, Japan’s prime minister Kishida Fumio, and others were on hand as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hayashi Yoshimasa signed an agreement for a continued collaboration in space exploration between the two nations.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft is pictured departing the vicinity of the space station following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port. Credit: NASA

SpaceX Dragon Cargo Ship Departs the Space Station

A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship undocked from the International Space Station on January 9 with about 4,400 pounds of cargo to be returned to Earth, including valuable scientific experiments.

Newly discovered Earth-size planet TOI 700 e orbits within the habitable zone of its star in this illustration. Its Earth-size sibling, TOI 700 d, can be seen in the distance.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Robert Hurt

Webb, Other Missions Highlighted at AAS

The 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society featured news that our Webb Space Telescope helped reveal remarkable similarities between distant galaxies from the dawn of the universe and a rare class of small galaxies much closer to us.

Our Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory and TESS were also discussed at the meeting.

[embedded content]

2022 effectively tied for Earth’s 5th warmest year since 1880, and the last 9 consecutive years have been the warmest 9 on record. NASA looks back at how heat was expressed in different ways around the world in 2022. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Reports 2022 Tied for 5th Warmest Year on Record

According to an analysis by NASA, Earth’s global average surface temperature in 2022 tied with 2015 as the fifth warmest on record. The past nine years have been the warmest years since modern recordkeeping began in 1880.

That’s what’s up this week at NASA.

China showed off its first cloned horse

Newsdesk

13 January 2023

A cloned horse – the first of its kind born in China, which is expected to open up new opportunities for the country’s equestrian sector – has been unveiled in Beijing, AFP reported.

Cloning of race or thoroughbred horses has already been practised in several countries since the early 2000s, especially for the purpose of genetic improvement.

Born in June last year to a surrogate mother, Zhuang Zhuang, it was created at the Sinojin Laboratory in Beijing with materials from Germany. He is the first “warmblood” horse born in China and officially licensed by the China Horse Industry Association. Warmblood is an official classification for breeds of light horses with a lively temperament, specifies BTA.

Cloning can help reduce the cost of breeding and raising horses. The production of horses in China through cloning should reduce dependence on expensive horse imports and thus facilitate Chinese equestrian sport.

The world’s first cloned horse was born in Italy in 2003.

Chinese animal cloning companies have made significant progress, with technologies already developed for sheep, cows, pigs, dogs and cats.

Illustrativre Photo by Aysegul Alp :

Latest news of Europe and the world.

Provocative Best-Selling Fragrances From Europe Are Now Also Available in the USA & Canada

Europe bans neonicotinoid derogations granted by Member States

New Study Refutes Current Timeline of Mammoth Extinction

Experts suggest that DNA found in sedimentary deposits likely originated from long-deceased animals.

More efforts needed to address land sources of marine litter

Plastic waste still growing

What we need to know to act

Our latest press releases

More efforts needed to address land sources of marine litter

Plastic waste still growing

What we need to know to act

Our latest press releases

Monitoring soil threats in Europe

The doctrine of the “Russian world” is a dualistic political religion

Church of Scientology in London wins further recognition at upper tribunal

The Church of Scientology in London just won an appeal over the recognition of its chapel as a place of “public religious worship”.

This Week @NASA: Space Exploration Collaboration, Webb Reveals Galaxies From Dawn of the Universe

US, Japan Sign Space Agreement at NASA Headquarters

SpaceX Dragon Cargo Ship Departs the Space Station

Webb, Other Missions Highlighted at AAS

NASA Reports 2022 Tied for 5th Warmest Year on Record

China showed off its first cloned horse

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