Deep-Fried Candy Bars: Scotland's Worst Food?
James Owen in London
for National Geographic News
December 28, 2004
The deep-fried Mars bar, served with a side order of fries, threatens to usurp the haggis as Scotland's best-known dish.
Worried public health experts, who investigated stories about the chocolate-covered caramel and nougat candy bars being deep-fried at Scottish fast food outlets, say the claims are not an urban myth.
The researchers discovered similarly bizarre examples of calorie-laden fast food cuisine, such as batter-fried ice cream, pizza, and pineapple rings.
Poor diet is a leading cause of poor health in Scotland, where rates of heart disease, cancer, and strokes are among the highest in the developed world, according to official figures. Above, a pub in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The study, reported this month in the British medical journal The Lancet, adds to concerns over poor diet and physical health problems in Scotland. Only last month First Minister Jack McConnell, the leader of Scotland's executive cabinet, described the country as "one of the unhealthiest nations in Europe."
Doctors David Morrison and Mark Petticrew, both based in Glasgow, Scotland, say they decided to check claims that Scots had developed a taste for deep-fried Mars bars after the phenomenon was mentioned by Jay Leno on his NBC Tonight Show in the United States.
"We hoped to be able to lay to rest an urban myth," said Morrison, a consultant in public health medicine with the National Health Service.
Morrison and Petticrew surveyed around 300 Scottish fast food restaurants that sell Britain's most popular meal: fish and chips (fries). They found 22 percent of these "chip shops" also served deep-fried Mars bars (a Milky Way in the U.S.). Each contains more than 420 calories.
Average sales were 23 bars per week, with some shops selling more than 200 each week. Three-fourths of customers were children.
The researchers found that Mars bars aren't Scotland's only deep-fried specialties, with chip shops also frying up ice-cream, pizza, pineapple rings, pickled eggs, Snicker bars, and bananas.
Deep-fried Haggis
Haggis, Scotland's national dish, a combination of seasoned meat and oatmeal boiled in a sheep's stomach, also appears on the fast food menu. But instead of being boiled and served with "neeps and tatties" (turnips and potatoes), in the traditional way, the haggis goes into the deep fat-fryer as well.
The deep-fried Mars bar is believed to have originated in the northeast Scottish village of Stonehaven, following a bet struck between a chip shop owner and a customer. The Carron Fish and Chip Bar today sells as many as 300 deep-fried Mars bars a week. They cost 70 pence each (U.S. $1.38), or £1.70 (U.S. $3.30) when served with fries.
"Encouragingly, we did also find some evidence of the penetration of the Mediterranean diet into Scotland, albeit in the form of deep-fried pizza," said Petticrew, director of the social and public health services unit of the UK Medical Research Council, a government health research body.
Morrison said this fried-food culture probably has its roots in the industrial revolution, when there was mass migration to cities from rural areas.
The shift "resulted in a loss of much of the indigenous food culture. Much of Scotland's indigenous food is very healthy—oats, root vegetables, venison, fish, and seafood," Morrison said. "Heavy industry and labor demands eating a lot of calories, and fatty food is a good and cheap source. Deep-frying also kills bacteria and viruses, making it a relatively safe food."
Morrison noted that in the 18th and 19th centuries Scotland's fortunes were built on importing sugar, among other commodities. "This is likely to have given us our predilection for sweet food," he said.
Scotland records among the highest rates of heart disease, cancer, and strokes in the developed world, according to official figures. Residents also have the lowest life expectancy.
A major report for Scotland's Chief Medical Officer, which looked at the relationship between diet and disease, stated that Scots have the highest premature death rates from coronary heart disease in the world.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Institute for Scotland found that in 1998, 62 percent of men and 54 percent of women were either overweight or obese.
Morrison said there's a duty for the National Health Service and other public bodies to inform and educate the population about what constitutes a healthier diet.
"Poor Diet"
Speaking last month, Scotland's First Minister, Jack McConnell, admitted that such efforts need to be stepped up.
"In comparison with the rest of the UK, with Europe, and with too many countries worldwide, our mortality and morbidity rates across far too many indicators are lamentable," he said. "Poor diet, excessive drinking, lack of exercise, and drug abuse all contribute to making us one of the unhealthiest nations in Europe."
McConnell claims some progress has already been made, noting that investment in public health since 1999 has cut death rates from heart disease by 14 percent.
However, a new report, published earlier this month by Scotland's National Health Service, suggests that levels of obesity in children is still rising. It states: "By the school year ending 2002, 30 percent of 13- to 15-year-olds were estimated to be overweight—this was double the expected number."
And it's these youngsters who appear most susceptible to the delights of the deep-fried Mars bar, according to Petticrew, the study co-author. He said 76 percent of Mars bars were sold to children, and 15 percent to teenagers. "Sixteen percent of shops said they were more likely to sell them during school term," he added.
Kevin McIndoe, a Glasgow newspaper journalist, said he has yet to come across the infamous dish in the city's chip shops. "If they do a deep-fried Mar bar, it's not something they put on the menu," he added.
However, McIndoe, 38, does admit to having a soft spot for the odd battered sausage and deep-fried black pudding.
Despite the Mars bar study, McIndoe said he feels the Scots' reputation as unhealthy eaters is overexaggerated. He added, "It's a bit like me saying everyone in London likes jellied eels."
Dec 19, 2004
The penalty does seam a little ruff
Nebraska StatePaper.com - Case of Doggone Sex Goes Before Nebraska Supreme Court: "The state Supreme Court will hear the appeal of a woman who thinks 90 days in jail is too harsh a penalty for having sex with a dog.
Ramon Anglemeyer was charged after her arrest in January of 2003 when Lincoln police seized videotapes at the home of John Ways Jr.
The tapes showed Anglemeyer having sex with a canine.
The high court will hear oral arguments in the case on January 5th.
Ways owned a strip club until he was sentenced to six years in a federal pen for possessing an explosive device.
On appeal, Anglemeyer says her conviction was based on her association with Ways, rather than evidence presented against her. She received the maximum sentence: 90 days and a $500 fine.
When sentencing Anglemeyer, Lancaster County Judge Gale Pokorny said she and Ways had made similar tapes involving animals and other woman. He concluded that Ways and Anglemeyer were part of a pornography business."
Ramon Anglemeyer was charged after her arrest in January of 2003 when Lincoln police seized videotapes at the home of John Ways Jr.
The tapes showed Anglemeyer having sex with a canine.
The high court will hear oral arguments in the case on January 5th.
Ways owned a strip club until he was sentenced to six years in a federal pen for possessing an explosive device.
On appeal, Anglemeyer says her conviction was based on her association with Ways, rather than evidence presented against her. She received the maximum sentence: 90 days and a $500 fine.
When sentencing Anglemeyer, Lancaster County Judge Gale Pokorny said she and Ways had made similar tapes involving animals and other woman. He concluded that Ways and Anglemeyer were part of a pornography business."
Dec 17, 2004
Wildlife artist gored to death by a buffalo
Times Online - Britain
By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi and Simon de Bruxelles
A WILDLIFE artist who dedicated his career to helping animals in Africa was gored to death by a bull buffalo in front of his wife and a friend.
Simon Combes, 64, was attacked by the one-tonne animal in dense bush as he returned from a clifftop which he had climbed to watch a sunset in the wildlife reserve in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, where he lived.
Last night Kat Combes told how her husband died in her arms in the pitch-dark bush four hours later, just as paramedics arrived.
“We had just started to come back down from a 1,000ft-high precipice called the Sleeping Warrior and were in a patch of quite thick bush,” she said.
“Suddenly the buffalo was right there, right next to us. He was a lone bull, huge, a massive, massive animal, and he came charging out.
“We had no time at all to react. I was walking in the middle, Simon was on my right and it just got to him first. Simon tried to turn and run but the buffalo was too close. It just started throwing him up in the air, over and over and over.”
She and the friend, Mary Wykstra, a cheetah expert, tried throwing sticks and stones at the animal but it continued the attack until it lost interest. Mrs Combes stayed at her husband’s side trying to comfort him and encourage him to stay alive as they waited for help.
She said: “He was so brave and strong. He tried so hard to stay alive. I tried so hard to keep him alive. I don’t remember what I was saying — I was just talking to him, trying my best to make sure that he made it as long as he could.
“He was still alive when the doctor got to him, but even if he could have kept going, there was that very difficult climb down the hill. It is hard enough if you are fit and healthy.”
Mr Combes was renowned for getting perilously close to the animals he loved to paint. One of his best-known works was the portrait of a buffalo, entitled Menace. He was born in Shaftesbury, Dorset, in June 1940 but moved to Kenya with his parents and brother at the age of 5. He began painting when he was a young officer in the Kenyan Army, where he served as a major in the guerri-lla conflict with Somalia.
He moved back to England in 1978 so that his children could have an English education and they lived in Bushley, Gloucestershire, for 17 years, but he returned to Kenya every winter to work as a safari guide.
In that time he produced many of his best-known paintings of big cats and other wild animals. He was entirely self-taught, apart from mentoring sessions in later life with the wildlife artist David Shepherd. He published two best-selling books, African Experience and Great Cats.
He claimed to have no fear of dangerous animals, despite having been chased by elephants, forced to climb a tree to escape a rhino and been bitten by a Bengal tiger. He said it was mankind he feared the most.
His daughter, Cindy, who lives in Cheltenham, said: “Dad grew up in Africa. He spent the majority of his youth in the bush. He was very experienced when it came to African living.”
His work achieved worldwide recognition and won many awards, including the Society of Animal Artists’ Award of Excellence. He used his position to further wildlife conservation. Last year he was appointed project director for Kenya by the Rhino Rescue Trust. He married Kat, an American, in August last year.
His family will travel to Kenya in the next few days to be with Mr Combes’s son, Guy, 33, who works there.
Cindy said: “Dad just loved wildlife and he loved painting. He was in his element in Kenya.”
By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi and Simon de Bruxelles
A WILDLIFE artist who dedicated his career to helping animals in Africa was gored to death by a bull buffalo in front of his wife and a friend.
Simon Combes, 64, was attacked by the one-tonne animal in dense bush as he returned from a clifftop which he had climbed to watch a sunset in the wildlife reserve in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, where he lived.
Last night Kat Combes told how her husband died in her arms in the pitch-dark bush four hours later, just as paramedics arrived.
“We had just started to come back down from a 1,000ft-high precipice called the Sleeping Warrior and were in a patch of quite thick bush,” she said.
“Suddenly the buffalo was right there, right next to us. He was a lone bull, huge, a massive, massive animal, and he came charging out.
“We had no time at all to react. I was walking in the middle, Simon was on my right and it just got to him first. Simon tried to turn and run but the buffalo was too close. It just started throwing him up in the air, over and over and over.”
She and the friend, Mary Wykstra, a cheetah expert, tried throwing sticks and stones at the animal but it continued the attack until it lost interest. Mrs Combes stayed at her husband’s side trying to comfort him and encourage him to stay alive as they waited for help.
She said: “He was so brave and strong. He tried so hard to stay alive. I tried so hard to keep him alive. I don’t remember what I was saying — I was just talking to him, trying my best to make sure that he made it as long as he could.
“He was still alive when the doctor got to him, but even if he could have kept going, there was that very difficult climb down the hill. It is hard enough if you are fit and healthy.”
Mr Combes was renowned for getting perilously close to the animals he loved to paint. One of his best-known works was the portrait of a buffalo, entitled Menace. He was born in Shaftesbury, Dorset, in June 1940 but moved to Kenya with his parents and brother at the age of 5. He began painting when he was a young officer in the Kenyan Army, where he served as a major in the guerri-lla conflict with Somalia.
He moved back to England in 1978 so that his children could have an English education and they lived in Bushley, Gloucestershire, for 17 years, but he returned to Kenya every winter to work as a safari guide.
In that time he produced many of his best-known paintings of big cats and other wild animals. He was entirely self-taught, apart from mentoring sessions in later life with the wildlife artist David Shepherd. He published two best-selling books, African Experience and Great Cats.
He claimed to have no fear of dangerous animals, despite having been chased by elephants, forced to climb a tree to escape a rhino and been bitten by a Bengal tiger. He said it was mankind he feared the most.
His daughter, Cindy, who lives in Cheltenham, said: “Dad grew up in Africa. He spent the majority of his youth in the bush. He was very experienced when it came to African living.”
His work achieved worldwide recognition and won many awards, including the Society of Animal Artists’ Award of Excellence. He used his position to further wildlife conservation. Last year he was appointed project director for Kenya by the Rhino Rescue Trust. He married Kat, an American, in August last year.
His family will travel to Kenya in the next few days to be with Mr Combes’s son, Guy, 33, who works there.
Cindy said: “Dad just loved wildlife and he loved painting. He was in his element in Kenya.”
Dec 14, 2004
Man paid $20,000 in support for nonexistent child
Man paid $20,000 in support for nonexistent child
ALBUQUERQUE — Steve Barreras’ attorney said he had never seen anything like it.
After Barreras was hauled into court, peppered with threats and demands for money for a child he adamantly denied fathering five years ago and even paid out $20,000 to support, his ex-wife was under a judge’s order to produce the child.
So last week, Viola Trevino picked up a 2-year-old girl and her grandmother off the street, promised them a trip to see Santa Claus and $50 and took the girl to court, alleging it was her daughter.
“I have seen hundreds of jury trials and I have never seen anything like this,” said Rob Perry, Barreras’ attorney.
It was the latest chapter in a bizarre case that has prompted Gov. Bill Richardson’s office to call for a full investigation.
The elaborate ruse stretched over five years and involved fake DNA evidence, a forged Social Security number and birth and baptismal certificates, court records show.
Last week, state District Judge Linda Vanzi ruled the child did not exist.
After feeding the standin daughter and her grandmother hamburgers, it seems Trevino parked near the courthouse, where she left the grandmother in the car and took the child into court.
Only when the grandmother followed her into court did Trevino admit that the child was not hers.
The 52-year-old Trevino announced to a family-court judge in December 1999 that she gave birth to a girl fathered by Barreras that September.
Barreras, 47, who says he had a vasectomy in 1998, said it was impossible . The couple had two adult children, a son and a daughter.
Paternity tests were ordered, and, in February 2001, Barreras was ordered to pay Trevino child support . Barreras continued to protest.
Trevino was ordered to bring in a birth certificate, but she did not.
Her adult daughter was even fired from a hospital after she was caught attempting to create documents pertaining to the birth of a Stephanie Trevino , according to court records.
Then another DNA paternity test was ordered, this time done by a private doctor, but Trevino did not obey the court order and instead went back to the same company where the first test was done.
Court records show that both DNA tests were done by a friend of the couple’s daughter.
Because of the DNA matches, Perry said the Child Enforcement Division of the state Human Services Department garnisheed Barreras’ paycheck , forcing him to pay child support.
“How can this happen? It is like a plane wreck caused by a cascading series of events,” he said.
Betina Gonzales McCracken, spokeswoman for the department, said her agency is not to blame because the division was only enforcing a court order for payment of child support .
When the agency got a tip that there might be fraud in this case, she said officials investigated.
Meanwhile, Vanzi’s ruling that the child does not exist has prompted reaction from Richardson’s office.
“The governor’s office has asked the Human Services for a complete report on what happened to make sure this mistake is never repeated,” said Billy Sparks, Richardson’s spokesman.
ALBUQUERQUE — Steve Barreras’ attorney said he had never seen anything like it.
After Barreras was hauled into court, peppered with threats and demands for money for a child he adamantly denied fathering five years ago and even paid out $20,000 to support, his ex-wife was under a judge’s order to produce the child.
So last week, Viola Trevino picked up a 2-year-old girl and her grandmother off the street, promised them a trip to see Santa Claus and $50 and took the girl to court, alleging it was her daughter.
“I have seen hundreds of jury trials and I have never seen anything like this,” said Rob Perry, Barreras’ attorney.
It was the latest chapter in a bizarre case that has prompted Gov. Bill Richardson’s office to call for a full investigation.
The elaborate ruse stretched over five years and involved fake DNA evidence, a forged Social Security number and birth and baptismal certificates, court records show.
Last week, state District Judge Linda Vanzi ruled the child did not exist.
After feeding the standin daughter and her grandmother hamburgers, it seems Trevino parked near the courthouse, where she left the grandmother in the car and took the child into court.
Only when the grandmother followed her into court did Trevino admit that the child was not hers.
The 52-year-old Trevino announced to a family-court judge in December 1999 that she gave birth to a girl fathered by Barreras that September.
Barreras, 47, who says he had a vasectomy in 1998, said it was impossible . The couple had two adult children, a son and a daughter.
Paternity tests were ordered, and, in February 2001, Barreras was ordered to pay Trevino child support . Barreras continued to protest.
Trevino was ordered to bring in a birth certificate, but she did not.
Her adult daughter was even fired from a hospital after she was caught attempting to create documents pertaining to the birth of a Stephanie Trevino , according to court records.
Then another DNA paternity test was ordered, this time done by a private doctor, but Trevino did not obey the court order and instead went back to the same company where the first test was done.
Court records show that both DNA tests were done by a friend of the couple’s daughter.
Because of the DNA matches, Perry said the Child Enforcement Division of the state Human Services Department garnisheed Barreras’ paycheck , forcing him to pay child support.
“How can this happen? It is like a plane wreck caused by a cascading series of events,” he said.
Betina Gonzales McCracken, spokeswoman for the department, said her agency is not to blame because the division was only enforcing a court order for payment of child support .
When the agency got a tip that there might be fraud in this case, she said officials investigated.
Meanwhile, Vanzi’s ruling that the child does not exist has prompted reaction from Richardson’s office.
“The governor’s office has asked the Human Services for a complete report on what happened to make sure this mistake is never repeated,” said Billy Sparks, Richardson’s spokesman.
Japanese men lap up new comfort
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Japanese men lap up new comfort: "Japanese men without a shoulder to cry on this Christmas are being offered a woman's lap - made out of foam - to rest on instead.
The 'lap pillow', shaped like the bottom half of a kneeling woman, is selling for about 9,429 yen ($90), the French news agency AFP reported.
'Single men find this soothing,' said Mitsuo Takahashi of the manufacturer Trane KK.
He told AFP that the Hizamakura, or lap pillow, fulfilled a primal need.
'From the time people were kids, people have laid their heads on their mothers' laps to get their ears cleaned,' he said. 'This is made to be quite close to the real thing.'
But they are also reported to be proving popular as joke gifts at office parties.
So far the company has sold about 3,000 laps, Mr Takahashi said.
The Hizamakura is similar to a product, shaped like a man's torso with one sturdy arm, which has been on sale since last December.
That product, the Boyfriend's Arm Pillow, was made by Japanese company Kameo, and is being targeted at Japanese single women. "
The 'lap pillow', shaped like the bottom half of a kneeling woman, is selling for about 9,429 yen ($90), the French news agency AFP reported.
'Single men find this soothing,' said Mitsuo Takahashi of the manufacturer Trane KK.
He told AFP that the Hizamakura, or lap pillow, fulfilled a primal need.
'From the time people were kids, people have laid their heads on their mothers' laps to get their ears cleaned,' he said. 'This is made to be quite close to the real thing.'
But they are also reported to be proving popular as joke gifts at office parties.
So far the company has sold about 3,000 laps, Mr Takahashi said.
The Hizamakura is similar to a product, shaped like a man's torso with one sturdy arm, which has been on sale since last December.
That product, the Boyfriend's Arm Pillow, was made by Japanese company Kameo, and is being targeted at Japanese single women. "
Man who howled like werewolf sent to jail
Man who howled like werewolf sent to jail: "A MAN who 'alarmed' his neighbours by making howling noises after watching the film An American Werewolf in London has been jailed.
David Boag was given four months in prison for breaching an anti-social behaviour order handed down after a string of similar incidents.
The 28-year-old stood for several hours at his bedroom window, dancing with a Christmas tree and 'screaming and wailing like a werewolf' at the top of his voice.
Worried neighbours who went to investigate saw Boag at the window with his head thrown back, howling and pretending to dance with the tree.
He then started banging on the window of his home in Dechmont, West Lothian. His wails disturbed several households in the street.
It is understood Boag had been drinking heavily and taking drugs while watching An American Werewolf in London.
In January, Boag, of Knightsridge Road, was issued an anti-social behaviour order at Linlithgow Sheriff Court banning him from shouting, swearing, banging windows, moaning and dumping rubbish in his back garden. But he breached the order twice in February and found himself in the dock once more. He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail with the condition that he did not enter the village.
In August, he was jailed for two months for each breach.
And last Saturday, police were called to Boag�s semi-detached house again after he breached his order for the third time with his werewolf impressions.
Neighbours said the noise began at about 4pm, but they did not call police until 7.40pm when the wails reached a deafening crescendo.
Officers had to break down Boag�s door to get in. He was arrested and held in custody until he appeared at Linlithgow Sheriff"
David Boag was given four months in prison for breaching an anti-social behaviour order handed down after a string of similar incidents.
The 28-year-old stood for several hours at his bedroom window, dancing with a Christmas tree and 'screaming and wailing like a werewolf' at the top of his voice.
Worried neighbours who went to investigate saw Boag at the window with his head thrown back, howling and pretending to dance with the tree.
He then started banging on the window of his home in Dechmont, West Lothian. His wails disturbed several households in the street.
It is understood Boag had been drinking heavily and taking drugs while watching An American Werewolf in London.
In January, Boag, of Knightsridge Road, was issued an anti-social behaviour order at Linlithgow Sheriff Court banning him from shouting, swearing, banging windows, moaning and dumping rubbish in his back garden. But he breached the order twice in February and found himself in the dock once more. He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail with the condition that he did not enter the village.
In August, he was jailed for two months for each breach.
And last Saturday, police were called to Boag�s semi-detached house again after he breached his order for the third time with his werewolf impressions.
Neighbours said the noise began at about 4pm, but they did not call police until 7.40pm when the wails reached a deafening crescendo.
Officers had to break down Boag�s door to get in. He was arrested and held in custody until he appeared at Linlithgow Sheriff"
Dec 10, 2004
Police called to Santa rumble
: "Police called to a mass brawl found an army of Santas punching and kicking each other.
Officers had to use batons and CS spray to quell the fight in the centre of Newtown, Powys.
Four were hurt and there were five arrests.
The battle of the Santas followed a 21/2-mile charity run involving more than 4,000 people dressed as Father Christmas. Some of them are believed to have overindulged in alcohol after crossing the finishing line.
The fun run is expected to benefit up to 200 charities and it is hoped that it will exceed last year's total raised of 80,000.
Organisers believe they have broken their own world record for having the most number of Santas in the same place. Last year a mere 3,200 took part.
PC Gareth Slaymaker, community safety officer for North Powys, said: ' Behaviour like this justifies the reluctance by the police to
extend the licensing hours for public houses and bars for this type of event'. "
Officers had to use batons and CS spray to quell the fight in the centre of Newtown, Powys.
Four were hurt and there were five arrests.
The battle of the Santas followed a 21/2-mile charity run involving more than 4,000 people dressed as Father Christmas. Some of them are believed to have overindulged in alcohol after crossing the finishing line.
The fun run is expected to benefit up to 200 charities and it is hoped that it will exceed last year's total raised of 80,000.
Organisers believe they have broken their own world record for having the most number of Santas in the same place. Last year a mere 3,200 took part.
PC Gareth Slaymaker, community safety officer for North Powys, said: ' Behaviour like this justifies the reluctance by the police to
extend the licensing hours for public houses and bars for this type of event'. "
Dec 8, 2004
$1M gift to boost study of animal rights law
heraldsun.com: Bob Barker's $1M gift to boost ...
BY MICHAEL PETROCELLI : The Herald-Sun
mpetrocelli@heraldsun.com
Dec 6, 2004 : 10:46 pm ET
DURHAM -- Duke Law School has a new $1 million endowment fund, but it didn't have to guess the price of a dinette set to win the money.
Bob Barker, the octogenarian host of daytime television's long-running game show "The Price is Right," chose Duke to receive one in a series of gifts he is making to top law schools to promote the teaching of animal rights law.
Barker, a longtime animal advocate who ends his show by reminding viewers to have their pets spayed and neutered, recently gave similar gifts to the law schools at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and the University of California at Los Angeles.
But Duke won't have to start its animal rights law program from scratch.
Professor William Reppy, who does pro bono work for animal rights causes, has been teaching a class on animal law in alternating years. The endowment, he said, should allow him to teach the course every year.
Duke's animal law program encompasses a number of issues, including cruelty to animals, veterinary malpractice and laws prohibiting people from hoarding large numbers of pets, Reppy said.
The school also plans to use the Bob Barker Endowment Fund for the Study of Animal Rights Law to establish an animal law clinic, where students can earn credit working on animal rights-related litigation.
According to Duke officials, Reppy already has been involved in the state's passage of a law, unique in the United States, that allows individuals and outside organizations to seek injunctions against people who violate the state's animal cruelty laws.
Reppy noted that Duke already draws interest from prospective students interested in animal law. It is poised to become a national leader in the field, he added.
"We've got a head start," he said.
Thomas Hadzor, the law school's associate dean for external relations, said Barker's representatives had approached Duke with the offer -- a scenario he called "one of those development officer dreams."
Although he has never spoken directly to Barker, Hadzor surmised that the host might have included Duke in his plans because of its existing animal law program, or simply because he wanted to endow a program at a top-flight law school in the Southeast.
"I never asked why, because I didn't want to scare him off," he said.
Barker, who was taping back-to-back episodes of his show Monday, could not be reached for an interview. However, he recently told The New York Times that he hopes his gifts would create a cadre of lawyers steeped in animal rights and animal cruelty issues.
"The laws are not stringent enough, and unfortunately, the laws that we do have are not necessarily enforced," Barker told the Times. "If we can get more and more young lawyers to be aware of this, then if they're involved in a case that involves animals, they'll know what to do.
"If they become judges, that's wonderful," he said, "they're making decisions. And some of these lawyers are going to become politicians."
BY MICHAEL PETROCELLI : The Herald-Sun
mpetrocelli@heraldsun.com
Dec 6, 2004 : 10:46 pm ET
DURHAM -- Duke Law School has a new $1 million endowment fund, but it didn't have to guess the price of a dinette set to win the money.
Bob Barker, the octogenarian host of daytime television's long-running game show "The Price is Right," chose Duke to receive one in a series of gifts he is making to top law schools to promote the teaching of animal rights law.
Barker, a longtime animal advocate who ends his show by reminding viewers to have their pets spayed and neutered, recently gave similar gifts to the law schools at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and the University of California at Los Angeles.
But Duke won't have to start its animal rights law program from scratch.
Professor William Reppy, who does pro bono work for animal rights causes, has been teaching a class on animal law in alternating years. The endowment, he said, should allow him to teach the course every year.
Duke's animal law program encompasses a number of issues, including cruelty to animals, veterinary malpractice and laws prohibiting people from hoarding large numbers of pets, Reppy said.
The school also plans to use the Bob Barker Endowment Fund for the Study of Animal Rights Law to establish an animal law clinic, where students can earn credit working on animal rights-related litigation.
According to Duke officials, Reppy already has been involved in the state's passage of a law, unique in the United States, that allows individuals and outside organizations to seek injunctions against people who violate the state's animal cruelty laws.
Reppy noted that Duke already draws interest from prospective students interested in animal law. It is poised to become a national leader in the field, he added.
"We've got a head start," he said.
Thomas Hadzor, the law school's associate dean for external relations, said Barker's representatives had approached Duke with the offer -- a scenario he called "one of those development officer dreams."
Although he has never spoken directly to Barker, Hadzor surmised that the host might have included Duke in his plans because of its existing animal law program, or simply because he wanted to endow a program at a top-flight law school in the Southeast.
"I never asked why, because I didn't want to scare him off," he said.
Barker, who was taping back-to-back episodes of his show Monday, could not be reached for an interview. However, he recently told The New York Times that he hopes his gifts would create a cadre of lawyers steeped in animal rights and animal cruelty issues.
"The laws are not stringent enough, and unfortunately, the laws that we do have are not necessarily enforced," Barker told the Times. "If we can get more and more young lawyers to be aware of this, then if they're involved in a case that involves animals, they'll know what to do.
"If they become judges, that's wonderful," he said, "they're making decisions. And some of these lawyers are going to become politicians."
Dec 3, 2004
South Korean parents can preserve their child's umbilical cord
Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com: "SEOUL (Reuters) - Forget desktop photographs of your children.
Doting South Korean parents can preserve their child's umbilical cord in acrylic resin to make a personal seal or even have it gold plated.
In this Confucian society where family values are highly prized, suppliers also offer services for parents to have traditional Korean calligraphy brushes made from their child's hair.
Shim Jae-cheol of U&I Impression said the firm had gold-plated about 80 to 100 umbilical cords a month since starting business in August, with prices ranging from 80,000 won to 100,000 won ($76 to $96). It also offers mail order.
South Korean law allows parents to keep the umbilical cord of their children, although sales to a third party would be illegal.
Another supplier, Agamo, which makes calligraphy brushes made from human hair and preserves umbilical cords in personal seals, hopes to branch out to Japan.
'The company got the idea from mothers just storing umbilical cords and navels in an album or what-not,' said Suk Tae-jin of Agamo.
Keeping children's umbilical cords and making calligraphy brushes from their hair have long been a long tradition in Korea."
Doting South Korean parents can preserve their child's umbilical cord in acrylic resin to make a personal seal or even have it gold plated.
In this Confucian society where family values are highly prized, suppliers also offer services for parents to have traditional Korean calligraphy brushes made from their child's hair.
Shim Jae-cheol of U&I Impression said the firm had gold-plated about 80 to 100 umbilical cords a month since starting business in August, with prices ranging from 80,000 won to 100,000 won ($76 to $96). It also offers mail order.
South Korean law allows parents to keep the umbilical cord of their children, although sales to a third party would be illegal.
Another supplier, Agamo, which makes calligraphy brushes made from human hair and preserves umbilical cords in personal seals, hopes to branch out to Japan.
'The company got the idea from mothers just storing umbilical cords and navels in an album or what-not,' said Suk Tae-jin of Agamo.
Keeping children's umbilical cords and making calligraphy brushes from their hair have long been a long tradition in Korea."
Dec 2, 2004
Blind car thief strikes again
IOL: Blind car thief strikes again
Bucharest - Romanian police have arrested a blind man for stealing a car and crashing into a tree for the second time in one month.
Alin Prica, 24, managed to drive the stolen car 40km before crashing into a tree, according to reports.
Prica allegedly stole the car with another blind pal and a sighted friend in the passenger seat telling him which direction to drive.
A police spokesperson said: "He drove the car after instructions from his friend who could see.
"But again the journey ended with a crash. We were astonished for the second time in a month by this same man."
Earlier this month, Prica, from Izvoare, in south-west Romania, stole a car and managed to drive it for almost two kilometres by himself before smashing into a tree and knocking himself out.
"I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do anything I wanted - despite my handicap. I only crashed because I was not sure of the way home," he said at the time.
Police said they would not press charges against the two teenagers who helped but have taken Prica in for questioning.
Bucharest - Romanian police have arrested a blind man for stealing a car and crashing into a tree for the second time in one month.
Alin Prica, 24, managed to drive the stolen car 40km before crashing into a tree, according to reports.
Prica allegedly stole the car with another blind pal and a sighted friend in the passenger seat telling him which direction to drive.
A police spokesperson said: "He drove the car after instructions from his friend who could see.
"But again the journey ended with a crash. We were astonished for the second time in a month by this same man."
Earlier this month, Prica, from Izvoare, in south-west Romania, stole a car and managed to drive it for almost two kilometres by himself before smashing into a tree and knocking himself out.
"I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do anything I wanted - despite my handicap. I only crashed because I was not sure of the way home," he said at the time.
Police said they would not press charges against the two teenagers who helped but have taken Prica in for questioning.
Nov 30, 2004
And they said nothing good came of nuclear weapons testing !
My Way News: "LOS ANGELES (AP) - Godzilla received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, 50 years after he stomped onto movie screens and hours before the premiere of his latest film, 'Godzilla: Final Wars.'
Producer Shogo Tomiyama appeared at a ceremony outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where the 2,271st star is located.
'I'm here representing Godzilla. Unfortunately, he cannot speak English,' he said. 'We're very excited he is being honored in America.'
On screen, the fire-breathing sea creature was spawned by nuclear weapons testing. He made his appearance in Japanese theaters in November 1954 - while the United States was conducting nuclear tests in the South Pacific.
A version starring Raymond Burr made it to theaters in the United States two years later."
Producer Shogo Tomiyama appeared at a ceremony outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where the 2,271st star is located.
'I'm here representing Godzilla. Unfortunately, he cannot speak English,' he said. 'We're very excited he is being honored in America.'
On screen, the fire-breathing sea creature was spawned by nuclear weapons testing. He made his appearance in Japanese theaters in November 1954 - while the United States was conducting nuclear tests in the South Pacific.
A version starring Raymond Burr made it to theaters in the United States two years later."
JAPAN:Schools to tighten up against players who have had their eyebrows shaved
Mainichi Interactive - Top News: "High school baseball players told to stop shaving eyebrows
The Japan High School Baseball Federation has taken the unusual step of telling schools to tighten up against players who have had their eyebrows shaved or those wearing shabby clothes.The latest trend among schoolboys to shave their eyebrows has already created a stir among education officials who are outraged over the fashion.
Officials of the high school baseball federation on Friday decided to warn member schools to take action against student players with shaved eyebrows or those wearing clothes considered too rough.
'This is probably the first time for us to give instructions over the appearance of student players,' one of the officials said.
Some high schools have already banned their students from shaving their eyebrows.
The federation's warning says that student players must realize that they represent their schools as baseball club members. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Nov. 28, 2004)"
The Japan High School Baseball Federation has taken the unusual step of telling schools to tighten up against players who have had their eyebrows shaved or those wearing shabby clothes.The latest trend among schoolboys to shave their eyebrows has already created a stir among education officials who are outraged over the fashion.
Officials of the high school baseball federation on Friday decided to warn member schools to take action against student players with shaved eyebrows or those wearing clothes considered too rough.
'This is probably the first time for us to give instructions over the appearance of student players,' one of the officials said.
Some high schools have already banned their students from shaving their eyebrows.
The federation's warning says that student players must realize that they represent their schools as baseball club members. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Nov. 28, 2004)"
Nov 27, 2004
Are you Kidding?
Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com
BERLIN (Reuters) - Thieves have stolen scantily clad garden gnomes from a gnome peepshow in an eastern German amusement park, park manager Frank Ullrich said on Thursday.
"The gnomes display naked body parts -- the same ones you'd expect to see in a human peep show," Ullrich said of his missing stars.
The adults-only attraction at Dwarf-Park Trusetal, where visitors peep through keyholes to see the saucy German miniatures in compromising poses, was smashed open early on Thursday morning.
Ullrich said he feared the gnomes would not be traced.
"I doubt they're standing in someone's garden, they'll have to have been hidden inside."
BERLIN (Reuters) - Thieves have stolen scantily clad garden gnomes from a gnome peepshow in an eastern German amusement park, park manager Frank Ullrich said on Thursday.
"The gnomes display naked body parts -- the same ones you'd expect to see in a human peep show," Ullrich said of his missing stars.
The adults-only attraction at Dwarf-Park Trusetal, where visitors peep through keyholes to see the saucy German miniatures in compromising poses, was smashed open early on Thursday morning.
Ullrich said he feared the gnomes would not be traced.
"I doubt they're standing in someone's garden, they'll have to have been hidden inside."
Adults keep out
FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Fla. Libraries Ban Adults From Kids' Section
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orange County Library System (search) is barring "unaccompanied" adults from lingering in the children's areas of its 14 branches, a policy that is among the first of its kind in the nation.
As of Nov. 1, adults without children may select items in the children's section, but they cannot read books or loiter in the department, said Marilyn Hoffman, community-relations coordinator.
Adults may visit the teen-oriented "Club Central" section of the downtown library with their kids, but they may enter only with a librarian if they are alone.
Officials with the Association for Library Service to Children (search) said many libraries limit adults' use of computers or bathrooms in their children's departments, but Orange County's policy could be the first in the nation to restrict adults' presence the areas.
"It's not a common trend, but I think it's going to become more common," said Cynthia Richey, the association's immediate past president. "It's, in part, a pre-emptive move."
Hoffman said a specific incident did not lead the county's library board of directors to enact the rules. But Orlando police arrested a man in August after a 15-year-old girl said he tried to molest her at the downtown library. Earlier, the February rape of a girl in a Philadelphia library bathroom underscored the issue of library safety.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orange County Library System (search) is barring "unaccompanied" adults from lingering in the children's areas of its 14 branches, a policy that is among the first of its kind in the nation.
As of Nov. 1, adults without children may select items in the children's section, but they cannot read books or loiter in the department, said Marilyn Hoffman, community-relations coordinator.
Adults may visit the teen-oriented "Club Central" section of the downtown library with their kids, but they may enter only with a librarian if they are alone.
Officials with the Association for Library Service to Children (search) said many libraries limit adults' use of computers or bathrooms in their children's departments, but Orange County's policy could be the first in the nation to restrict adults' presence the areas.
"It's not a common trend, but I think it's going to become more common," said Cynthia Richey, the association's immediate past president. "It's, in part, a pre-emptive move."
Hoffman said a specific incident did not lead the county's library board of directors to enact the rules. But Orlando police arrested a man in August after a 15-year-old girl said he tried to molest her at the downtown library. Earlier, the February rape of a girl in a Philadelphia library bathroom underscored the issue of library safety.
Nov 17, 2004
Lionel Richie's wife jailed for bathroom beauty 'clinic'
Link
Musical legend Lionel Richie's estranged wife has been arrested for allegedly allowing her boyfriend to turn her bathroom into an illegal cosmetic surgery clinic, officials said.
Diane Richie was charged with aiding and abetting Daniel Tomas Fuente Serrano by allowing him to inject patients with anti-wrinkle drugs, which were not approved by US drug regulators, in her Beverly Hills bathroom.
She spent a night in jail but was released on 25,000 dollar bail at a court hearing late Tuesday.
Serrano, who is not licensed to practice medicine in California, is accused of charging thousands of dollars to inject patients, including Grammy-award winner Lionel Richie, with anti-ageing drugs, court documents showed.
Diane Richie, who filed for divorce from her famous husband last year, was arrested Monday and she and Serrano appeared in court in Los Angeles Tuesday.
While Diane Richie was bailed, Serrano was held pending the outcome of a bail hearing set for Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Joseph Johns said.
Authorities allege that Serrano, who went by the name of Dr. Daniel, was licensed to practise medicine in Argentina but not in California, although he is registered here as a nurse.
He is accused of injecting both male and female patients with either a Dutch drug or a cheaper Brazilian version aimed at reversing the ageing process without Federal Drug Administration approval.
The drug was allegedly either Artecoll, a collagen solution distributed by a Dutch company, or Metacrill, a similar but cheaper substance made by a Brazilian company, court papers said.
Serrano also allegedly charged thousands of dollars to inject the anti-wrinkle drug Botox, using Diane Richie's bathroom and other private homes as well as the office of a local aesthetician, the documents said.
Some of Serrano's patients developed complications from the injections, prosecutors allege.
One woman complained that she developed a lump on her lip that makes it difficult for her to drink and pronounce words, while another had what court papers describe as "holes in her face" following Serrano's treatment.
Singer Lionel Richie told investigators that he paid 600 or 700 dollars for the injections from his wife's lover, but said he was unaware that Serrano was not a licensed physician, court papers stated.
An attorney for Richie could not be reached for immediate comment. Serrano's attorney, John Yzurdiaga, declined to comment.
Diane and Lionel Richie married in December 1996 and have two children.
Musical legend Lionel Richie's estranged wife has been arrested for allegedly allowing her boyfriend to turn her bathroom into an illegal cosmetic surgery clinic, officials said.
Diane Richie was charged with aiding and abetting Daniel Tomas Fuente Serrano by allowing him to inject patients with anti-wrinkle drugs, which were not approved by US drug regulators, in her Beverly Hills bathroom.
She spent a night in jail but was released on 25,000 dollar bail at a court hearing late Tuesday.
Serrano, who is not licensed to practice medicine in California, is accused of charging thousands of dollars to inject patients, including Grammy-award winner Lionel Richie, with anti-ageing drugs, court documents showed.
Diane Richie, who filed for divorce from her famous husband last year, was arrested Monday and she and Serrano appeared in court in Los Angeles Tuesday.
While Diane Richie was bailed, Serrano was held pending the outcome of a bail hearing set for Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Joseph Johns said.
Authorities allege that Serrano, who went by the name of Dr. Daniel, was licensed to practise medicine in Argentina but not in California, although he is registered here as a nurse.
He is accused of injecting both male and female patients with either a Dutch drug or a cheaper Brazilian version aimed at reversing the ageing process without Federal Drug Administration approval.
The drug was allegedly either Artecoll, a collagen solution distributed by a Dutch company, or Metacrill, a similar but cheaper substance made by a Brazilian company, court papers said.
Serrano also allegedly charged thousands of dollars to inject the anti-wrinkle drug Botox, using Diane Richie's bathroom and other private homes as well as the office of a local aesthetician, the documents said.
Some of Serrano's patients developed complications from the injections, prosecutors allege.
One woman complained that she developed a lump on her lip that makes it difficult for her to drink and pronounce words, while another had what court papers describe as "holes in her face" following Serrano's treatment.
Singer Lionel Richie told investigators that he paid 600 or 700 dollars for the injections from his wife's lover, but said he was unaware that Serrano was not a licensed physician, court papers stated.
An attorney for Richie could not be reached for immediate comment. Serrano's attorney, John Yzurdiaga, declined to comment.
Diane and Lionel Richie married in December 1996 and have two children.
BERKELEY / Carts stay cool as city takes heat on storage policy / When the homeless lose or abandon stuff, it gets frozen
Link
Berkeley tolerates its homeless people, and takes good care of their stuff when they abandon it in shopping carts.
Not only does the city pack carts and other belongings into a huge container in case folks want it back -- it also deep-freezes them for as long as 90 days.
About a year ago, Berkeley bought a 40-foot-long, 8-foot-wide refrigerated container for $8,200 after public works officials complained about vermin infesting carts stored at the city's outdoor corporation yard.
The city signed a five-year, $61,500 lease with Caltrans for land under the University Avenue overpass at Interstate 80 to put the container on, and ran power to the unit.
Deputy City Attorney Matthew Orebic said the city is heeding state law that requires storage of lost goods. He said it is not clear, however, that that law applies to unattended shopping carts because they may not be lost.
"We just do that to be safe and fair, to make sure that there's no argument that we've violated any laws and to be fair to the person,'' Orebic said. "What if you've got your medication in there?''
San Francisco and UC Berkeley also store homeless people's belongings as a result of lawsuits filed by homeless advocates, but they don't freeze them.
Critics say Berkeley's freezer program is an example of good intentions run amok. The city, which faces a $7.5 million deficit, should treat abandoned shopping carts as stolen property instead of worrying so much about the contents, they say.
"The amount of money wasted in this city is so outrageous it's ridiculous, '' said Jim Hultman, who learned of the cart freezing while fighting a $50,000- a-year program near his house that gave homeless people rented storage space.
But Orebic said it would be impractical, for legal and logistical reasons, for police to make a practice of seizing shopping carts from homeless people or charging them with misdemeanor theft charges.
Robert Long, coordinator of the Multi-Agency (homeless) Service Center in downtown Berkeley, said he was "conflicted'' about the storage program, but he knows that one person's trash is another person's treasure.
"I doubt that many of those carts will be claimed,'' Long said.
Marci Jordan, executive director of the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, said she would like the money spent on other projects. "I don't see it as an effective strategy,'' she said.
Deputy Public Works Director Patrick Keilch said very few items from the hundreds of carts picked up annually are retrieved. He estimated the annual cost of refrigerating the stuff at 0 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit at about $3,000.
"Being Berkeley, we're pretty tolerant and we bend over backward. What's the phrase? 'Walk a mile in my shoes,' " said Keilch, who estimated the city spends about $100,000 annually for two people to clean stuff that homeless people leave in public areas.
Keilch opened the container for a Chronicle reporter and photographer last week to view the contents, which included a box of vinyl records, a broken music keyboard, several backpacks and a TV set, in addition to shopping carts.
A homeless man who lost his cart holding blankets and new shoes a month ago, when he left it to go to Oakland to face charges of public intoxication, said Monday that he did not know about the storage program.
But George Williams, 60, said it would have been a lot of trouble to find the right city officials and get to West Berkeley to retrieve his stuff.
"I never followed up,'' said Williams, who was pushing a different cart full of blankets, some food and a bottle of vodka.
Hultman and other critics of city spending practices are also outraged that the city throws out shopping carts, with stores passing the cost of lost carts -- typically $100 apiece -- on to customers.
"The residents end up paying more for their groceries,'' said Marie Bowman, who fought against $8 million in proposed city taxes that voters rejected this month.
By contrast, San Francisco takes everything out of carts, separates perishable goods and charges businesses if identifiable carts are not picked up within a few days.
Hultman provided a copy of an e-mail he received dated Jan. 12 from Public Works Director René Cardinaux stating that "at one time, stores were called to pick up their carts and a service used to pick them up, (but) this no longer happens.''
Cardinaux was not in the office Monday, but Keilch acknowledged that many carts have been trashed in the past. He said the city is now planning to hold meetings with local retailers to find out what they want done.
"Sometimes, market officials have said they don't want the carts back, and so typically the city has been throwing them out,'' Keilch said. Also, many carts are damaged or have identifying information removed, he said.
In Berkeley, cart contents are often put in garbage bags, but carts themselves are also sometimes wheeled into the freezer car. Keilch said sifting through cart contents to separate material of value from junk can be risky because of hazards such as hypodermic needles.
Cardinaux told the City Council in October that an added benefit of buying a freezer car is that it could serve as a temporary morgue in cases of a major disaster. But the main reason, he said, was that the city attorney advised that a storage program was needed.
Berkeley Bowl general manager Dan Kataoka said he did not know of the storage program but his store actively tries to retrieve wayward carts. The store loses about 300 carts a year, although many are stolen for sale to other stores outside Berkeley, he said.
Roy Pervall, 57, who has been homeless for five years, said Monday that while the city usually doesn't actively sweep up carts, he is careful to avoid losing his stuff.
"I never leave mine (cart),'' he said. "I never go anywhere without it.''
E-mail Patrick Hoge at phoge@sfchronicle.com.
Berkeley tolerates its homeless people, and takes good care of their stuff when they abandon it in shopping carts.
Not only does the city pack carts and other belongings into a huge container in case folks want it back -- it also deep-freezes them for as long as 90 days.
About a year ago, Berkeley bought a 40-foot-long, 8-foot-wide refrigerated container for $8,200 after public works officials complained about vermin infesting carts stored at the city's outdoor corporation yard.
The city signed a five-year, $61,500 lease with Caltrans for land under the University Avenue overpass at Interstate 80 to put the container on, and ran power to the unit.
Deputy City Attorney Matthew Orebic said the city is heeding state law that requires storage of lost goods. He said it is not clear, however, that that law applies to unattended shopping carts because they may not be lost.
"We just do that to be safe and fair, to make sure that there's no argument that we've violated any laws and to be fair to the person,'' Orebic said. "What if you've got your medication in there?''
San Francisco and UC Berkeley also store homeless people's belongings as a result of lawsuits filed by homeless advocates, but they don't freeze them.
Critics say Berkeley's freezer program is an example of good intentions run amok. The city, which faces a $7.5 million deficit, should treat abandoned shopping carts as stolen property instead of worrying so much about the contents, they say.
"The amount of money wasted in this city is so outrageous it's ridiculous, '' said Jim Hultman, who learned of the cart freezing while fighting a $50,000- a-year program near his house that gave homeless people rented storage space.
But Orebic said it would be impractical, for legal and logistical reasons, for police to make a practice of seizing shopping carts from homeless people or charging them with misdemeanor theft charges.
Robert Long, coordinator of the Multi-Agency (homeless) Service Center in downtown Berkeley, said he was "conflicted'' about the storage program, but he knows that one person's trash is another person's treasure.
"I doubt that many of those carts will be claimed,'' Long said.
Marci Jordan, executive director of the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, said she would like the money spent on other projects. "I don't see it as an effective strategy,'' she said.
Deputy Public Works Director Patrick Keilch said very few items from the hundreds of carts picked up annually are retrieved. He estimated the annual cost of refrigerating the stuff at 0 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit at about $3,000.
"Being Berkeley, we're pretty tolerant and we bend over backward. What's the phrase? 'Walk a mile in my shoes,' " said Keilch, who estimated the city spends about $100,000 annually for two people to clean stuff that homeless people leave in public areas.
Keilch opened the container for a Chronicle reporter and photographer last week to view the contents, which included a box of vinyl records, a broken music keyboard, several backpacks and a TV set, in addition to shopping carts.
A homeless man who lost his cart holding blankets and new shoes a month ago, when he left it to go to Oakland to face charges of public intoxication, said Monday that he did not know about the storage program.
But George Williams, 60, said it would have been a lot of trouble to find the right city officials and get to West Berkeley to retrieve his stuff.
"I never followed up,'' said Williams, who was pushing a different cart full of blankets, some food and a bottle of vodka.
Hultman and other critics of city spending practices are also outraged that the city throws out shopping carts, with stores passing the cost of lost carts -- typically $100 apiece -- on to customers.
"The residents end up paying more for their groceries,'' said Marie Bowman, who fought against $8 million in proposed city taxes that voters rejected this month.
By contrast, San Francisco takes everything out of carts, separates perishable goods and charges businesses if identifiable carts are not picked up within a few days.
Hultman provided a copy of an e-mail he received dated Jan. 12 from Public Works Director René Cardinaux stating that "at one time, stores were called to pick up their carts and a service used to pick them up, (but) this no longer happens.''
Cardinaux was not in the office Monday, but Keilch acknowledged that many carts have been trashed in the past. He said the city is now planning to hold meetings with local retailers to find out what they want done.
"Sometimes, market officials have said they don't want the carts back, and so typically the city has been throwing them out,'' Keilch said. Also, many carts are damaged or have identifying information removed, he said.
In Berkeley, cart contents are often put in garbage bags, but carts themselves are also sometimes wheeled into the freezer car. Keilch said sifting through cart contents to separate material of value from junk can be risky because of hazards such as hypodermic needles.
Cardinaux told the City Council in October that an added benefit of buying a freezer car is that it could serve as a temporary morgue in cases of a major disaster. But the main reason, he said, was that the city attorney advised that a storage program was needed.
Berkeley Bowl general manager Dan Kataoka said he did not know of the storage program but his store actively tries to retrieve wayward carts. The store loses about 300 carts a year, although many are stolen for sale to other stores outside Berkeley, he said.
Roy Pervall, 57, who has been homeless for five years, said Monday that while the city usually doesn't actively sweep up carts, he is careful to avoid losing his stuff.
"I never leave mine (cart),'' he said. "I never go anywhere without it.''
E-mail Patrick Hoge at phoge@sfchronicle.com.
Nov 2, 2004
300 children bitten by 'blood sucking' monkeys at famous Indian temple
Link:
Monkeys lurking at an ancient Hindu temple in India's northeast have attacked up to 300 children over three weeks, temple officials said Tuesday.
'They hide in trees and swoop on unsuspecting children loitering about in the temple premises or walking by, clawing them and even sucking a bit of blood,' Bani Kumar Sharma, a priest at the Kamakhya temple in Assam state, told The Associated Press. The temple, one of the most famous in India, is located in Gauhati, Assam's capital.
'I was returning home from school when a monkey suddenly pounced on me, scratched my head and hand and pushed me to the ground,' said Jolly Sharma, a 6-year-old girl.
At least 2,000 rhesus monkeys roam in and around the temple, but none had shown aggressive behavior in the past, the priest said.
Monkeys are often found in tens of thousands of temples across India. They are seen as a symbol of Hanuman, the mythical monkey god, and devotees visiting temples often feed them. While occasional attacks by monkeys are not uncommon at temples, the sudden surge in attacks at the Gauhati temple has experts perplexed.
Some say the Gauhati monkeys may be turning violent because of shrinking living spaces, or because animals once kept as pets might not have been able to adjust to new lives around the temple.
'The loss of habitat due to increased human settlement in the hills around the temple and the release of monkeys kept confined at home ... could be among the reasons for some of the monkeys behaving in a weird manner,' said Narayan Mahanta, a wildlife official in Gauhati.
Three monkeys were randomly tranquilized by wildlife officials over the weekend and have been taken to the Gauhati Zoo where"
Oct 27, 2004
Remains of New Species of Hobbit-Sized Human Found
Yahoo! News - Remains of New Species of Hobbit-Sized Human Found
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in Australia have found a new species of hobbit-sized humans who lived about 18,000 years ago on an Indonesian island in a discovery that adds another piece to the complex puzzle of human evolution.
The partial skeleton of Homo floresiensis, found in a cave on the island of Flores, is of an adult female that was a meter (3 feet) tall, had a chimpanzee-sized brain and was substantially different from modern humans.
It shared the isolated island to the east of Java with miniature elephants and Komodo dragons. The creature walked upright, probably evolved into its dwarf size because of environmental conditions and coexisted with modern humans in the region for thousands of years.
"It is an extraordinarily important find," Professor Chris Stringer, of the Natural History Museum in London, told a news conference on Wednesday. "It challenges the whole idea of what it is that makes us human."
Peter Brown of the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, and his colleagues made the discovery of the skull and other bones, and miniature tools in September 2003 while looking for records of modern human migration to Asia. They reported the finding in the science journal Nature.
"Finding these hominins on an isolated island in Asia, and with elements of modern human behavior in tool making and hunting, is truly remarkable and could not have been predicted by previous discoveries," Brown said in a statement.
Local legends tell of hobbit-like creatures existing on islands long ago but there has been no evidence of them.
DESCENDENT OF HOMO ERECTUS
The hominin family tree, which includes humans and pre-humans, diverged from the chimpanzee line about 7 million years ago. Early African hominins walked upright, were small and had tiny brains.
The new species, dubbed "Flores man," is thought to be a descendent of Homo erectus, which had a large brain, was full-sized and spread out from Africa to Asia about 2 million years ago.
The new species became isolated on Flores and evolved into its dwarf form to conform with conditions, such as food shortages. Flores, which was probably never connected to the mainland, was home to a variety of exotic creatures including a dwarf form of the primitive elephant Stegodon.
Modern humans had reached Australia about 45,000 years ago but they may not have passed through Flores. The scientists suspect the new species became extinct after a massive volcanic eruption on the island about 12,000 years ago.
Brown and his colleagues have found the remains of seven other dwarf individuals at the same site since the first find.
"The other individuals all show similar characteristics, and over a time range that now extends from as long ago as 95,000 years to as recently as 13,000 years ago -- a population of hobbits that seemed to disappear at about the same time as the pygmy elephants that they hunted," said Bert Roberts, one of the authors of the Nature study.
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in Australia have found a new species of hobbit-sized humans who lived about 18,000 years ago on an Indonesian island in a discovery that adds another piece to the complex puzzle of human evolution.
The partial skeleton of Homo floresiensis, found in a cave on the island of Flores, is of an adult female that was a meter (3 feet) tall, had a chimpanzee-sized brain and was substantially different from modern humans.
It shared the isolated island to the east of Java with miniature elephants and Komodo dragons. The creature walked upright, probably evolved into its dwarf size because of environmental conditions and coexisted with modern humans in the region for thousands of years.
"It is an extraordinarily important find," Professor Chris Stringer, of the Natural History Museum in London, told a news conference on Wednesday. "It challenges the whole idea of what it is that makes us human."
Peter Brown of the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, and his colleagues made the discovery of the skull and other bones, and miniature tools in September 2003 while looking for records of modern human migration to Asia. They reported the finding in the science journal Nature.
"Finding these hominins on an isolated island in Asia, and with elements of modern human behavior in tool making and hunting, is truly remarkable and could not have been predicted by previous discoveries," Brown said in a statement.
Local legends tell of hobbit-like creatures existing on islands long ago but there has been no evidence of them.
DESCENDENT OF HOMO ERECTUS
The hominin family tree, which includes humans and pre-humans, diverged from the chimpanzee line about 7 million years ago. Early African hominins walked upright, were small and had tiny brains.
The new species, dubbed "Flores man," is thought to be a descendent of Homo erectus, which had a large brain, was full-sized and spread out from Africa to Asia about 2 million years ago.
The new species became isolated on Flores and evolved into its dwarf form to conform with conditions, such as food shortages. Flores, which was probably never connected to the mainland, was home to a variety of exotic creatures including a dwarf form of the primitive elephant Stegodon.
Modern humans had reached Australia about 45,000 years ago but they may not have passed through Flores. The scientists suspect the new species became extinct after a massive volcanic eruption on the island about 12,000 years ago.
Brown and his colleagues have found the remains of seven other dwarf individuals at the same site since the first find.
"The other individuals all show similar characteristics, and over a time range that now extends from as long ago as 95,000 years to as recently as 13,000 years ago -- a population of hobbits that seemed to disappear at about the same time as the pygmy elephants that they hunted," said Bert Roberts, one of the authors of the Nature study.
Oct 25, 2004
Ashlee's Lip-Synch Lapse
FOXNews.com - Foxlife - Fox411 - Ashlee's Lip-Synch Lapse: "Ashlee Simpson's Lip-Synch Lapse
In case you don't know by now, Jessica Simpson's little sister, Ashlee, who happens to have the No. 1 album in the country, had a singing malfunction on Saturday night that may end her career.
Ashlee, the musical guest on 'Saturday Night Live,' was the victim of a snafu when someone in the control room pushed the wrong button and the same song she'd sung in her first segment began playing again.
Ashlee, who had obviously lip-synched the first song, became confused. Her band tried to switch back into the first song, but Simpson just gave up, did a weird little jig and shrugged off the stage.
Later, at the end of the show, she had the audacity to blame the band for playing the wrong song.
It's no surprise that this latest pre-fabricated pop star can't sing live (and at this point has no shame either)."
Oct 20, 2004
Ye who weep the first stone.
Indian girl who weeps stones in plea for help
By Justin Huggler in Delhi
19 October 2004
The girl who wept stones: it sounds like something out of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel. But according to reports from Jharkhand state in eastern India it is all too real.
A 15-year-old girl called Savitri been admitted to hospital suffering from tiny stones that emerge from the corners of her eyes. Doctors say they have never seen anything like it, and they cannot explain it.
At the girl's village in Jharkhand, they have two explanations. Either she is possessed by an evil spirit, or she is an incarnation of a goddess. But for Savitri, the condition is anything but a blessing. Before the stones emerge, she suffers from excruciating pain in her head. Tiny stones emerge from her ears, nose and mouth as well.
"In some cases, stones have come out from the nose and the ear of some people," said Dr Ragho Saran, an ear, nose and throat specialist who has treated Savitri. "But this is the first time I have even heard of stones coming out of the eyes. Stones are formed due to the high level of calcium in the body. But they are generally found in the gall bladder and kidney."
Savitri and her family are desperate for a cure. Her bedside at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science has been overrun by reporters, but the family say no one has been able to offer medical help.
By Justin Huggler in Delhi
19 October 2004
The girl who wept stones: it sounds like something out of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel. But according to reports from Jharkhand state in eastern India it is all too real.
A 15-year-old girl called Savitri been admitted to hospital suffering from tiny stones that emerge from the corners of her eyes. Doctors say they have never seen anything like it, and they cannot explain it.
At the girl's village in Jharkhand, they have two explanations. Either she is possessed by an evil spirit, or she is an incarnation of a goddess. But for Savitri, the condition is anything but a blessing. Before the stones emerge, she suffers from excruciating pain in her head. Tiny stones emerge from her ears, nose and mouth as well.
"In some cases, stones have come out from the nose and the ear of some people," said Dr Ragho Saran, an ear, nose and throat specialist who has treated Savitri. "But this is the first time I have even heard of stones coming out of the eyes. Stones are formed due to the high level of calcium in the body. But they are generally found in the gall bladder and kidney."
Savitri and her family are desperate for a cure. Her bedside at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science has been overrun by reporters, but the family say no one has been able to offer medical help.
Oct 18, 2004
Scholars Grapple With Godzilla Legacy
Yahoo! News - Scholars Grapple With Godzilla Legacy: "'I would like people to take Godzilla more seriously,' "
By JOHN HANNA, Associated Press Writer
LAWRENCE, Kan. - He's attacked other monsters and terrorized Japan for decades. Now Godzilla is confronting academics who want to wrestle with his legacy.
The University of Kansas plans to pay homage to the giant lizard later this month, organizing a three-day scholarly conference for the 50th anniversary of his first film.
It's not just about celebrating campy creature features. Planners want to provoke discussion of globalization, Japanese pop culture and Japanese-American relations after World War II.
"I would like people to take Godzilla more seriously," said Bill Tsutsui, a history professor at the University of Kansas and author of the book "Godzilla on My Mind," which discusses the history of the monster's movies.
The conference that begins Oct. 28 will offer speeches, panel discussions and free screenings of Godzilla films, including "Gojira," the Japanese movie that started Godzilla's career in November 1954.
Atop the movie theater will be an inflatable 28-foot Godzilla balloon. Items from Tsutsui's collection of Godzilla memorabilia will be on display in the university's main library.
The notion of a serious Godzilla conference drew puzzled looks on campus.
"It's kind of odd," freshman Kathleen Schafer said. "I didn't think scholars would be interested."
But historians, anthropologists and other academics are coming from universities such as Duke, Harvard and Vanderbilt.
Among the fans in attendance will be Andrew Kar, a technical writer from St. Joseph, Mo., who has been hooked on monster movies since childhood.
"When you're a 35-year-old man and you're still enjoying these films, you have to ask yourself why," he said. "For some of us, it translates. For others, it's gibberish."
Japan's Toho Co. has produced 27 Godzilla films in five decades, with a 28th movie, "Godzilla: Final Wars," to be released in December. An American "Godzilla" was released in 1998, though many aficionados don't consider it a true Godzilla movie.
Yoshikuni Igarashi, director of east Asian studies at Vanderbilt, sees Godzilla films as important cultural artifacts.
For example, the first Godzilla film came only eight months after the United States tested a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.
The movie — in which H-bomb testing disturbs Godzilla's undersea habitat and transforms him into a behemoth with fiery, radioactive breath — reflects anxiety and a feeling of helplessness in the face of a nuclear threat, Igarashi said.
The franchise was widely known for its campy special effects. Godzilla films featured men in dinosaur suits stomping around miniature urban landscapes and some monster battles that, Tsutsui acknowledged in his book, seem more like professional wrestling matches.
When an American version of the first film was released in 1956 — re-edited to include new scenes featuring Raymond Burr of "Perry Mason" fame — the New York Times dismissed it as "cheap cinematic horror-stuff."
"It is true there were some bad, bad films produced, particularly in the late '60s and early '70s," said Igarashi, who plans to lecture at the conference on the 1964 movie "Godzilla vs. the Thing," in which Godzilla battles the giant moth, Mothra, and its offspring.
Two Japanese foundations provided $35,000 to help fund the conference.
Takao Shibata, the Japanese consul general in Kansas City, Mo., said the meeting will help educate people about his nation but acknowledged: "The idea of this kind of serious analysis of the evolution of Godzilla — it never occurred to me."
____
On the Net:
Conference Web site: http://www.g2004.net/godzilla/
By JOHN HANNA, Associated Press Writer
LAWRENCE, Kan. - He's attacked other monsters and terrorized Japan for decades. Now Godzilla is confronting academics who want to wrestle with his legacy.
The University of Kansas plans to pay homage to the giant lizard later this month, organizing a three-day scholarly conference for the 50th anniversary of his first film.
It's not just about celebrating campy creature features. Planners want to provoke discussion of globalization, Japanese pop culture and Japanese-American relations after World War II.
"I would like people to take Godzilla more seriously," said Bill Tsutsui, a history professor at the University of Kansas and author of the book "Godzilla on My Mind," which discusses the history of the monster's movies.
The conference that begins Oct. 28 will offer speeches, panel discussions and free screenings of Godzilla films, including "Gojira," the Japanese movie that started Godzilla's career in November 1954.
Atop the movie theater will be an inflatable 28-foot Godzilla balloon. Items from Tsutsui's collection of Godzilla memorabilia will be on display in the university's main library.
The notion of a serious Godzilla conference drew puzzled looks on campus.
"It's kind of odd," freshman Kathleen Schafer said. "I didn't think scholars would be interested."
But historians, anthropologists and other academics are coming from universities such as Duke, Harvard and Vanderbilt.
Among the fans in attendance will be Andrew Kar, a technical writer from St. Joseph, Mo., who has been hooked on monster movies since childhood.
"When you're a 35-year-old man and you're still enjoying these films, you have to ask yourself why," he said. "For some of us, it translates. For others, it's gibberish."
Japan's Toho Co. has produced 27 Godzilla films in five decades, with a 28th movie, "Godzilla: Final Wars," to be released in December. An American "Godzilla" was released in 1998, though many aficionados don't consider it a true Godzilla movie.
Yoshikuni Igarashi, director of east Asian studies at Vanderbilt, sees Godzilla films as important cultural artifacts.
For example, the first Godzilla film came only eight months after the United States tested a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.
The movie — in which H-bomb testing disturbs Godzilla's undersea habitat and transforms him into a behemoth with fiery, radioactive breath — reflects anxiety and a feeling of helplessness in the face of a nuclear threat, Igarashi said.
The franchise was widely known for its campy special effects. Godzilla films featured men in dinosaur suits stomping around miniature urban landscapes and some monster battles that, Tsutsui acknowledged in his book, seem more like professional wrestling matches.
When an American version of the first film was released in 1956 — re-edited to include new scenes featuring Raymond Burr of "Perry Mason" fame — the New York Times dismissed it as "cheap cinematic horror-stuff."
"It is true there were some bad, bad films produced, particularly in the late '60s and early '70s," said Igarashi, who plans to lecture at the conference on the 1964 movie "Godzilla vs. the Thing," in which Godzilla battles the giant moth, Mothra, and its offspring.
Two Japanese foundations provided $35,000 to help fund the conference.
Takao Shibata, the Japanese consul general in Kansas City, Mo., said the meeting will help educate people about his nation but acknowledged: "The idea of this kind of serious analysis of the evolution of Godzilla — it never occurred to me."
____
On the Net:
Conference Web site: http://www.g2004.net/godzilla/
Pilgrims Flock to Honor Idiot Savant Saint
Yahoo! News - Pilgrims Flock to Honor Idiot Savant Saint
By Tim Gaynor
EL ESPINAZO, Mexico (Reuters) - Thousands of barefoot penitents walked, rolled and even shuffled on all fours to a desert shrine in northern Mexico on Friday to pay homage to a long-dead healer hailed as an idiot savant saint.
Pilgrims from across the Americas descend on the village of El Espinazo each October to visit the tomb of El Nino Fidencio, an eerie man-child figure famed for his playful cures and folk wisdom dispensed in a shrill contralto during the 1920s and 1930s.
"Many regard him as a saint, others as a being of light or spirit guide, and they come to pay off a debt for a favor that he granted," Magdalena Ibarra, a descendant of a local family who adopted Fidencio as a youngster, said at his shrine.
"The festival is celebrated with a great deal of religious fervor and is getting bigger each year. People are coming from as far away as the United States, Canada, Cuba and El Salvador (news - web sites)," she added above the sound of pilgrims singing Mexican folk anthem Las Mananitas.
This year the Ibarra family expect 50,000 pilgrims to attend the three-day bash, which culminates on Sunday -- the anniversary of a divine revelation that the Nino Fidencio said marked his "spiritual rebirth."
Fidencio is not recognized as a saint by the Vatican (news - web sites). He gained an early reputation for faith healing and clairvoyance and won fame throughout Mexico for his playful and unorthodox cures for a range of maladies including cancer and lameness.
He diagnosed the sick by rocking them on a swing in the village, and sometimes lobbed pieces of fruit at them from a rooftop to cure them. Other whimsies included curative country walks, elaborate religious stage shows, and ducking followers in a murky pond behind his single-story adobe home.
Since his death at age 40 in 1938, some followers claim to channel his spirit from the afterlife. They offer pilgrims visiting the mountain-ringed village cures and advice in the folk saint's high-pitched warble.
"He's like a child, he is playful and he talks in a sweet voice," said Maria Guadalupe Galvan, 75, a medium or "materia" who claims to have channeled Fidencio's spirit for more than five decades. "For those that have faith, just hearing his voice helps."
Many believers drive for days to visit the shrine at his home, which includes his cot-like bed, a chipped enamel bathtub that is claimed to cure cancer, and a collection of dozens of wooden crutches discarded by the cured lame.
"The Nino has performed a lot of miracles," emergency room technician Tomas Castro said at the end of a two-day drive from his home in Fresno, California. "Faith brought us here."
By Tim Gaynor
EL ESPINAZO, Mexico (Reuters) - Thousands of barefoot penitents walked, rolled and even shuffled on all fours to a desert shrine in northern Mexico on Friday to pay homage to a long-dead healer hailed as an idiot savant saint.
Pilgrims from across the Americas descend on the village of El Espinazo each October to visit the tomb of El Nino Fidencio, an eerie man-child figure famed for his playful cures and folk wisdom dispensed in a shrill contralto during the 1920s and 1930s.
"Many regard him as a saint, others as a being of light or spirit guide, and they come to pay off a debt for a favor that he granted," Magdalena Ibarra, a descendant of a local family who adopted Fidencio as a youngster, said at his shrine.
"The festival is celebrated with a great deal of religious fervor and is getting bigger each year. People are coming from as far away as the United States, Canada, Cuba and El Salvador (news - web sites)," she added above the sound of pilgrims singing Mexican folk anthem Las Mananitas.
This year the Ibarra family expect 50,000 pilgrims to attend the three-day bash, which culminates on Sunday -- the anniversary of a divine revelation that the Nino Fidencio said marked his "spiritual rebirth."
Fidencio is not recognized as a saint by the Vatican (news - web sites). He gained an early reputation for faith healing and clairvoyance and won fame throughout Mexico for his playful and unorthodox cures for a range of maladies including cancer and lameness.
He diagnosed the sick by rocking them on a swing in the village, and sometimes lobbed pieces of fruit at them from a rooftop to cure them. Other whimsies included curative country walks, elaborate religious stage shows, and ducking followers in a murky pond behind his single-story adobe home.
Since his death at age 40 in 1938, some followers claim to channel his spirit from the afterlife. They offer pilgrims visiting the mountain-ringed village cures and advice in the folk saint's high-pitched warble.
"He's like a child, he is playful and he talks in a sweet voice," said Maria Guadalupe Galvan, 75, a medium or "materia" who claims to have channeled Fidencio's spirit for more than five decades. "For those that have faith, just hearing his voice helps."
Many believers drive for days to visit the shrine at his home, which includes his cot-like bed, a chipped enamel bathtub that is claimed to cure cancer, and a collection of dozens of wooden crutches discarded by the cured lame.
"The Nino has performed a lot of miracles," emergency room technician Tomas Castro said at the end of a two-day drive from his home in Fresno, California. "Faith brought us here."
Yahoo! News - Prostitutes' Soccer Team Loses to Cops
Yahoo! News - Prostitutes' Soccer Team Loses to Cops
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - A soccer team made up of Guatemalan prostitutes, formed to call attention to their poor working conditions, lost 3-1 to policewomen on Saturday.
The women get paid as little as $2.50 for sex and complain of frequent police harassment, despite their profession being legal and widespread in Guatemala.
"We get much more attention from the public now our faces are known; people come up and congratulate us and tell us to keep up the good work," said Valeria, 27, who scored the prostitutes' goal on Saturday.
"It's good to feel the power of being united; when we work, we are more isolated in our rooms," said defender Beatriz, 37.
The prostitutes, the Stars of the Tracks, were kicked out of an elite amateur league last month because of allegations that their fans used profanity.
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - A soccer team made up of Guatemalan prostitutes, formed to call attention to their poor working conditions, lost 3-1 to policewomen on Saturday.
The women get paid as little as $2.50 for sex and complain of frequent police harassment, despite their profession being legal and widespread in Guatemala.
"We get much more attention from the public now our faces are known; people come up and congratulate us and tell us to keep up the good work," said Valeria, 27, who scored the prostitutes' goal on Saturday.
"It's good to feel the power of being united; when we work, we are more isolated in our rooms," said defender Beatriz, 37.
The prostitutes, the Stars of the Tracks, were kicked out of an elite amateur league last month because of allegations that their fans used profanity.
Good luck? Not unless there is a Chinese Trial Lawyers association I don't know about.
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Satellite smashes Chinese house: "Satellite smashes Chinese house
A Chinese satellite has smashed into a villager's house on its return to earth, the country's media reports.
The satellite destroyed the building in Sichuan province, but officials say no-one was hurt.
A local newspaper printed a picture of a kettle-shaped capsule which appeared to be about two metres long, lying amid broken bricks, beams and roof tiles.
The satellite was part of a space probe to carry out land surveys and other research, Xinhua news agency said.
'The satellite landed in our home. Maybe this means we'll have good luck this year,' the tenant of the wrecked apartment was quoted as saying by the newspaper"
A Chinese satellite has smashed into a villager's house on its return to earth, the country's media reports.
The satellite destroyed the building in Sichuan province, but officials say no-one was hurt.
A local newspaper printed a picture of a kettle-shaped capsule which appeared to be about two metres long, lying amid broken bricks, beams and roof tiles.
The satellite was part of a space probe to carry out land surveys and other research, Xinhua news agency said.
'The satellite landed in our home. Maybe this means we'll have good luck this year,' the tenant of the wrecked apartment was quoted as saying by the newspaper"
Oct 12, 2004
Say hello to my little friend Mr. Uppercut to the Belly button
LAS VEGAS -- Rick Roufus, left, delivers a blow to the body of Taro Akebono of Japan during the third round of the K-1 Battle of Bellagio III at Bellagio in Las Vegas. Roufus won the fight by a unanimous decision. (08/07/04 AP photo)
Hey you missed a spot
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Ilker Yilmaz snorts milk up his nose and squirts it out of his eye in a bid to set a new world record. Yilmaz squirted the milk 2 meters 79.5 centimeters, surpassing the exisitng world record of 2 meters 61 centimeters. Organizers said the record must still be verified. (09/01/04 AP photo)
Too much time on his hands
MADRAS, India -- C. Manoharan Snake Manu practices with a garden snake by running it through his nose and out his mouth in an attempt to create a Guinness Record. Manu plans to set the record by using a live cobra. (09/02/04 AP photo)
Hey what do you have in your Wallet?
Hey can I charge a new brain on this credit card?
MINNEAPOLIS -- A new twist on the idea of concealable weapons, the credit card-sized shotgun, is shown at Koscielski's Guns and Ammo, the only gun shop in Minneapolis. It's a two-shot weapon machined from a block of metal the height and width of a standard credit card, and about a half-inch thick. Each barrel fires seven standard steel BBs. It will retail for $100. Mark Koscielski, owner of Koscielski's Guns and Ammo, and Patrick Teel, who makes the guns in suburban Blaine, gave The Associated Press a preview Tuesday night ahead of a news conference scheduled for Wednesday. They said the guns are meant to be used only for close-range self-defense and wouldn't be effective as offensive weapons. (10/05/04 AP photo)
Looks like he should have had that brake job done anyway.
DHAKA, Bangladesh -- A Bangladeshi Biman aircraft lies at an angle after it skidded off a rain-soaked runway. The plane, carrying 87 people including five crew, hit a large puddle of water before veering off the runway injuring several people. (10/08/04 AP photo)
THIS SEASON I WILL MOSTLY BE WEARING.. A BAG ON MY HEAD
I guess it is on purpose but her face looks a little red from lack of O2
As Paris fashion week drew to a close it seemed some were in a battle to create the most ludicrous outfit.
HAT WALK: Model with her bag on
As Paris fashion week drew to a close it seemed some were in a battle to create the most ludicrous outfit.
HAT WALK: Model with her bag on
Oct 1, 2004
Kids Visit Margaritaville
Report: Alcohol Accidentally Served To Students In Alexandria
Pitcher Of Margaritas Mistaken For Limeade
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Officials at Alexandria Country Day School are apologizing to parents after students were accidentally served margaritas during lunch.
The school's international focus this year is Mexico, so the day before the first day of class, teachers celebrated with nachos and margaritas after preparing their classrooms.
"The faculty's not a big drinking group, and so we had the mixed margarita together -- the tequila and the mix -- and we put the pitcher in the back of the refrigerator," said Headmaster Alexander Harvey IV. "Next day, school starts. Everyone's focusing on kids and making it a good first couple of days of school."
But on the first day of school, the milk supply ran out after two lunch periods, so students were served what an employee thought was limeade. It turned out to be the leftover margaritas and was served to third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students.
The cafeteria staff consists of two people: the housekeeper and either a volunteer or another staff member.
"We asked the teachers to start observing the children, because this is at 12:30 and school's not over 'til 3, and to see if there are any abnormal reactions, if they are sleepy or anything like that, even though we knew that the exposure was basically one sip to a very small number. The majority of the kids pushed it away, saying, 'We don't like the smell,' and didn't even taste it."
School officials say they acted quickly, checking students' medical and religious records to insure there weren't problems.
A letter explaining the incident was sent home with students.
"I view it as an unfortunate incident that the school handled as well as they possibly could," said Laura Colton, the president of the parent-teacher association. "Our children were inadvertently exposed. We were told immediately. No child was harmed."
Harvey called it a humbling and embarrassing accident, and it won't happen again. Alcohol has been banned from the campus.
Sep 30, 2004
Man-shaped pillow for solo sleeper
By Kaori Hitomi in Nagareyama, Japan
29sep04
AFTER a long night at work as a radio DJ, Junko Suzuki likes to snuggle at bedtime - and she says she's found the perfect partner: a man-shaped pillow.
Linen maker Kameo Corp.'s new "Boyfriend's Arm Pillow" - which consists of a headless torso and a stuffed arm that curls around the sleeper - might make some people uneasy.
But not Ms Suzuki, or about 1000 others in Japan who have bought the pillow, which Kameo says is the first of its kind. The product went on the market last December.
"I like to sleep holding someone's hand," Ms Suzuki, 34. "And this pillow makes me feel relaxed because I can hold the arm and feel something warm at my side."
Kameo, based in the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka, says the pillow is not only an emotional comfort, but that its shape keeps the body balanced by supporting the sleeper from both sides.
Sleepers typically curl up in between the body of the pillow and the crooked arm, with the sleeper's head resting on the pillow's "bicep."
"My grandmother used to say that there is nothing more comfortable pillow than human," Kameo President Tomoki Kakehashi said. "So, I thought that maybe women would want to sleep on an arm-shaped pillow."
The pillow is only on sale in Japan, where customers can buy one for Y8500 ($106.8). Covered in a shirt-shaped pillow cover, it comes in blue, pink or green.
For Ms Suzuki, who is estranged from her husband, the pillow has definite advantages: It doesn't squirm or thrash in the night, and you know it'll be there in the morning.
"It keeps holding me all the way through," she said in her home outside of Tokyo. "I think this is great because this does not betray me."
One-size pillows do not fit all.
So Kameo is working up new models: muscular pillows for sleepers who like their pillows well-built; slender models for those after a more sensitive, vulnerable partner.
The company also has a prototype for its next big project: a female pillow for men. This one will be shaped like a woman's lap, with a "skirt" cover.
"I always thought someone's lap would the best pillow for me," Mr Kakehashi said.
Sep 23, 2004
Lets hope that fire extinguishers are stationed by Sir Elton at all times.
Raging 'Rocket Man' explodes
By This is London
23 September 2004
Sir Elton John branded photographers in Taiwan "rude, vile pigs" today in a furious airport bust-up.
The star arrived in the country to play a concert, the last date in his tour of the Far East.
But after touching down at Taipei's Chiang Kai-Shek airport by private jet in the early hours of this morning, he was besieged by photographers and TV crews.
Taiwanese news channel ETTV showed Sir Elton, dressed in a royal blue tracksuit and matching sunglasses, clenching his teeth and muttering expletives as he stood with his arms crossed tightly across his chest.
"Rude, vile pigs!" he shouted. "Do you know what that means? Rude, vile pigs. That's what all of you are."
One of the photographers shouted back: "Why don't you get out of Taiwan?"
Sir Elton replied: "We'd love to get out of Taiwan if it's full of people like you. Pig! Pig!"
The star, who recently performed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, said: "We had a great tour of the Far East and then we come to Taiwan."
It is not the first time the 57-year-old singer has lost his temper in public.
In the fly-on-the-wall documentary Tantrums And Tiaras, made by his partner David Furnish, he famously threw a fit when a female fan waved at him and
shouted "Yoo hoo!" on the tennis court of his French Riviera hotel.
He stormed off court saying: "I'm never coming back to the south of France again."
A spokeswoman for Sir Elton accused police and airport security officials of failing to protect the star but said he was "bravely" carrying on with tonight's concert at the Chung Shan soccer stadium.
"Elton John's arrival at Taipei Airport was greeted by what can only be described as chaos and confusion," the spokeswoman said.
"No sooner had he disembarked from the aircraft, he was led into the public immigration area of the airport which was immediately besieged by hordes of photographers and live TV crews intent upon disrupting his progress.
"The local police and security at the airport failed to protect Elton John from the ensuing chaos.
"Despite this frightening arrival, his spirits remain high and he is looking forward to performing the concert."
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