What we have to look forward to when China dominates the world -- the Pig Olympics.

They run over hurdles, jump through hoops, dive, and swim in shows twice a day, it said.

The pigs, a midget species from Thailand, begin training soon after birth and can begin performing professionally from about 1 year of age, Yang Ying, a manager with promoters Bluesea Broadway Co. Ltd. was quoted as saying.

``These lovely pigs are of a special species that is good at sports by nature,'' Yang said.

Barbarian nomad update

Unfortunately, the losing streak of the Huns that started shortly after Atilla's death continues into the new millenium.

The Hungarian parliament have rejected an attempt by people claiming descent from Attila the Hun to be recognised as an ethnic minority.
The Huns conquered much of Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries AD but vanished from the history books after the death of their leader, Attila.

Some 2,500 people identified themselves as Huns on a petition presented to a Hungarian parliamentary committee.

Their bid for minority status, though a failure, has won them publicity.

After an hour-long debate, the Human Rights Committee of the Hungarian parliament rejected the idea of recognising the Huns with 17 against, four abstentions and no votes in favour. From the BBC

Huns in the News!

Adammagazine.com is, as always, your source for news of nomadic barbarians. A group of Hungarians who claim descent from Attilla the Hun are seeking recognition as a seperate ethnic group.
Bonus fun fact: Magyars (ethnic Hungarians) are not descendants of the Huns.

Origin of the word "Hungarian"
The word derives from the old Slavic word og(?)r- for the proto-Magyars. Through Germanic languages, the word got into other European languags ((H)ungarus, (H)ungarn, Vengry etc.). The Slavic word is thought to be derived from the bulgaro-turkic Onogur, which could have arisen because the proto-Magyars were neighbours of the Empire of the Onogurs in the 6th century, whose leading tribal union was called the "Onogurs" (meaning "ten tribes").

The H- in many languages (Hungarians, Hongrois, Hungarus etc.) is a later error. It was taken over from the word "Huns", which was a similar semi-nomadic tribe living some 400 years earlier in present-day Hungary and having a similar way of life. In ancient times and in the middle ages such false identifications (Huns=Hungarians) often occurred in history and literature.

Still, Hun names like Attila and Réka are popular among Hungarians, and forms derived from Latin Hungaria are used like in the racetrack Hungaroring (mostly due to the strong English language pressure in tourism and international matters). From Wikipedia

You can say a lot about the dead Pope...

much of it bad. BUt he did help introduce the world to the term "Popemobile." And that ain't nuthin'