Crash victim's headstone repossessed - Yahoo! News
SPRINGVILLE, Utah - The cemetery headstone for a teenager who died in a car wreck was repossessed after a $750 bill went unpaid. "That's just business," said Linda Anderson of Memorial Art Monument. "If we give every stone to everybody, we'd be out of business. They'd repossess your car if you didn't make payments."
Brady Conger, 17, and two friends died when their car smashed into a sport utility vehicle a year ago Thursday.
Memorial Art said bills sent to one address were returned, and the business couldn't reach Brady's mother, who apparently had agreed last year to pay the balance. "The end result was that there was absolutely no one who I could talk to about this," owner Mike Anderson said.
Brady's classmates raised money to pay the bill, and the headstone will be installed again this week.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
First Down: Vick Cohort Cops Plea - July 30, 2007
First Down: Vick Cohort Cops Plea - July 30, 2007
First Down: Vick Cohort Cops Plea
Tells feds dogfighting operation "almost exclusively funded" by QB
JULY 30--An associate of Michael Vick's today pleaded guilty to his role in a brutal dogfighting ring and signed an agreement pledging to cooperate in the government's prosecution of the NFL star. Four days after being arraigned with Vick on a federal conspiracy rap, Tony "T" Taylor, 34, entered his felony plea today during an appearance in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia. According to a statement of facts filed in court, Taylor copped to a key role in the operation of Bad Newz Kennels, the dog fighting ring that was allegedly headquartered at Virginia home purchased by the athlete in 2001. In the statement of facts, a copy of which you'll find below, Taylor implicates Vick, the Atlanta Falcons's star quarterback, in an array of criminal activity. While the Vick indictment charges that the athlete participated in killing dogs that performed poorly in fights or testing sessions, Taylor's statement of facts does not make a similar allegation against the player (though Taylor admitted once executing two dogs and claimed that codefendants Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips also killed pit bulls that failed in test fights). Taylor contends that Vick provided most of the gambling funds staked by Bad Newz Kennels when its dogs faced off with other pit bulls in fights in Virginia, New Jersey, and North Carolina. When a Bad Newz dog prevailed, Taylor said, the winnings were distributed between him and Peace and Phillips. By cooperating, Taylor is seeking leniency at his future sentencing, a so-called downward departure from federal sentencing guidelines that call for a five-year sentence on the conspiracy charge.
First Down: Vick Cohort Cops Plea
Tells feds dogfighting operation "almost exclusively funded" by QB
JULY 30--An associate of Michael Vick's today pleaded guilty to his role in a brutal dogfighting ring and signed an agreement pledging to cooperate in the government's prosecution of the NFL star. Four days after being arraigned with Vick on a federal conspiracy rap, Tony "T" Taylor, 34, entered his felony plea today during an appearance in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia. According to a statement of facts filed in court, Taylor copped to a key role in the operation of Bad Newz Kennels, the dog fighting ring that was allegedly headquartered at Virginia home purchased by the athlete in 2001. In the statement of facts, a copy of which you'll find below, Taylor implicates Vick, the Atlanta Falcons's star quarterback, in an array of criminal activity. While the Vick indictment charges that the athlete participated in killing dogs that performed poorly in fights or testing sessions, Taylor's statement of facts does not make a similar allegation against the player (though Taylor admitted once executing two dogs and claimed that codefendants Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips also killed pit bulls that failed in test fights). Taylor contends that Vick provided most of the gambling funds staked by Bad Newz Kennels when its dogs faced off with other pit bulls in fights in Virginia, New Jersey, and North Carolina. When a Bad Newz dog prevailed, Taylor said, the winnings were distributed between him and Peace and Phillips. By cooperating, Taylor is seeking leniency at his future sentencing, a so-called downward departure from federal sentencing guidelines that call for a five-year sentence on the conspiracy charge.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Dog Who Searched for 9/11 Survivors Dies is put to sleep
Story - Dog Who Searched for 9/11 Survivors Dies - AOL News
By VERENA DOBNIK,
AP
Posted: 2007-07-26 11:32:22
NEW YORK (July 26) - A black Labrador who became a national canine hero after burrowing through white-hot, smoking debris in search of survivors at the World Trade Center site died Wednesday after a battle with cancer.
Owner Mary Flood had Jake put to sleep Wednesday after a last stroll through the fields and a dip in the creek near their home in Oakley, Utah. He was in too much pain at the end, shaking with a 105-degree fever as he lay on the lawn.No one can say whether the dog would have gotten sick if he hadn't been exposed to the smoky air at ground zero, but cancer in dogs Jake's age - he was 12 - is quite common.Some rescue dog owners who worked at the World Trade Center site claim their animals have died because of their work at ground zero. But scientists who have spent years studying the health of Sept. 11 search-and-rescue have found no sign of major illness in the animals.The results of an autopsy on Jake's cancer-riddled body will be part of a University of Pennsylvania medical study of Sept. 11 search-and-rescue dogs.Flood had adopted Jake as a 10-month-old disabled puppy - abandoned on a street with a broken leg and a dislocated hip."But against all odds he became a world-class rescue dog ," said Flood, a member of Utah Task Force 1, one of eight federal search-and-rescue teams that desperately looked for human remains at ground zero.
Anguished New Yorkers honored the dogs.On the evening of his team's arrival, Jake walked into a fancy Manhattan restaurant wearing his search-and-rescue vest and was promptly treated to a free steak dinner under a table.Flood eventually trained Jake to become one of fewer than 200 U.S. government-certified rescue dogs - a muscular animal on 24-hour call to tackle disasters such as building collapses, earthquakes, hurricanes and avalanches.After Hurricane Katrina, Flood and Jake drove 30 hours from Utah to Mississippi, where they searched through the rubble of flooded homes in search of survivors .In recent years, Jake helped train younger dogs and their handlers across the country. Jake showed other dogs how to track scents, even in the snow, and how to look up if the scent was in a tree.He also did therapy work with children at a Utah camp for burn victims and at senior homes and hospitals."He was a great morale booster wherever he went," says Flood. "He believed that his cup was always full, never half-full. He was always ready to work, eager to play - and a master at helping himself to any unattended food items."Cynthia Otto of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, who is researching the health of Sept. 11 dogs, expects Jake and the other animals being analyzed will serve as sentinels on possible long-term consequences stemming from 9/11.Jake's ashes will be scattered "in places that were important to him," says Flood, like his Utah training grounds, the rivers and hills near home where he swam and roamed.
By VERENA DOBNIK,
AP
Posted: 2007-07-26 11:32:22
NEW YORK (July 26) - A black Labrador who became a national canine hero after burrowing through white-hot, smoking debris in search of survivors at the World Trade Center site died Wednesday after a battle with cancer.
Owner Mary Flood had Jake put to sleep Wednesday after a last stroll through the fields and a dip in the creek near their home in Oakley, Utah. He was in too much pain at the end, shaking with a 105-degree fever as he lay on the lawn.No one can say whether the dog would have gotten sick if he hadn't been exposed to the smoky air at ground zero, but cancer in dogs Jake's age - he was 12 - is quite common.Some rescue dog owners who worked at the World Trade Center site claim their animals have died because of their work at ground zero. But scientists who have spent years studying the health of Sept. 11 search-and-rescue have found no sign of major illness in the animals.The results of an autopsy on Jake's cancer-riddled body will be part of a University of Pennsylvania medical study of Sept. 11 search-and-rescue dogs.Flood had adopted Jake as a 10-month-old disabled puppy - abandoned on a street with a broken leg and a dislocated hip."But against all odds he became a world-class rescue dog ," said Flood, a member of Utah Task Force 1, one of eight federal search-and-rescue teams that desperately looked for human remains at ground zero.
Anguished New Yorkers honored the dogs.On the evening of his team's arrival, Jake walked into a fancy Manhattan restaurant wearing his search-and-rescue vest and was promptly treated to a free steak dinner under a table.Flood eventually trained Jake to become one of fewer than 200 U.S. government-certified rescue dogs - a muscular animal on 24-hour call to tackle disasters such as building collapses, earthquakes, hurricanes and avalanches.After Hurricane Katrina, Flood and Jake drove 30 hours from Utah to Mississippi, where they searched through the rubble of flooded homes in search of survivors .In recent years, Jake helped train younger dogs and their handlers across the country. Jake showed other dogs how to track scents, even in the snow, and how to look up if the scent was in a tree.He also did therapy work with children at a Utah camp for burn victims and at senior homes and hospitals."He was a great morale booster wherever he went," says Flood. "He believed that his cup was always full, never half-full. He was always ready to work, eager to play - and a master at helping himself to any unattended food items."Cynthia Otto of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, who is researching the health of Sept. 11 dogs, expects Jake and the other animals being analyzed will serve as sentinels on possible long-term consequences stemming from 9/11.Jake's ashes will be scattered "in places that were important to him," says Flood, like his Utah training grounds, the rivers and hills near home where he swam and roamed.
Going Blind Justice - July 25, 2007
Going Blind Justice - July 25, 2007
Going Blind Justice
Florida inmate convicted for pleasuring self in cell
JULY 25--In a verdict that could chill lonely inmates everywhere, a jury today convicted a Florida inmate for masturbating in the privacy of his Ft. Lauderdale cell. After deliberating for only 45 minutes, a Broward County panel found Terry Lee Alexander, 20, guilty of indecent exposure for an episode last November. According to investigators, a female guard--who was monitoring Alexander's cell from a jail control room--spotted Alexander pleasuring himself while seated on his bunk.
At the time, he was jailed on auto theft and gun raps (Alexander subsequently pleaded guilty to the felony raps and was sentenced to ten years in prison). Alexander (see above link for photo) was sentenced to 60 days in custody for today's indecent exposure conviction, though the time will be served concurrently with his lengthier sentence. No, you'll get no jokes from us about the penal system, doing "hard time," Alexander behaving like a jerk, or how his lawyer failed to get him off.
Going Blind Justice
Florida inmate convicted for pleasuring self in cell
JULY 25--In a verdict that could chill lonely inmates everywhere, a jury today convicted a Florida inmate for masturbating in the privacy of his Ft. Lauderdale cell. After deliberating for only 45 minutes, a Broward County panel found Terry Lee Alexander, 20, guilty of indecent exposure for an episode last November. According to investigators, a female guard--who was monitoring Alexander's cell from a jail control room--spotted Alexander pleasuring himself while seated on his bunk.
At the time, he was jailed on auto theft and gun raps (Alexander subsequently pleaded guilty to the felony raps and was sentenced to ten years in prison). Alexander (see above link for photo) was sentenced to 60 days in custody for today's indecent exposure conviction, though the time will be served concurrently with his lengthier sentence. No, you'll get no jokes from us about the penal system, doing "hard time," Alexander behaving like a jerk, or how his lawyer failed to get him off.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Google's Privacy Chief Backs T-Shirts, Not Ties
I like the way this guy thinks
Google's Privacy Chief Backs T-Shirts, Not Ties
Google's global privacy counsel says the tie "constricts circulation to the brain."Part 1 of a special five-part series. -->
Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 07:00 AM PDT
Google Inc.'s global privacy counsel, Peter Fleischer, wants to see t-shirts replace the tie as standard business attire, saying the tie "constricts circulation to the brain."
In addition, the tie "acts as decorative camouflage for the business suit, designed to shield the middle-aged male physique, with its shrinking shoulders and protruding paunch, from feeling sufficiently self-conscious to hit the gym," Fleischer wrote in a recent letter to The Financial Times.
The letter, written in response to an article that praised the tie as appropriate business attire, was signed using Fleischer's Google job title.
Fleischer suggested replacing the tie with t-shirts, which he said do less to hide the shape of a man's body. "Wouldn't you like to know whether your business partners are fit? Why should you trust a man in business if he abuses his own body?," Fleischer wrote, saying casual attire may also result in greater creativity.
"If your fashion editor can hardly imagine a better garment for men to exhibit their personality, power and masculinity than wearing ties, well ... I work at Google. Our unofficial motto is, 'Be serious without a suit,'" Fleischer wrote.
Google, like many other technology companies, allows employees to dress casually for work. A company recruitment video posted on YouTube shows the range of attire, including t-shirts and dress shirts, worn by employees. None of the employees are shown wearing ties.
However, several of Google's senior managers are shown wearing ties in their official photographs, including Omid Kordestani, senior vice president of global sales and business development; Elliot Schrage, vice president of global communications and public affairs; and Vint Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist.
Google's Privacy Chief Backs T-Shirts, Not Ties
Google's global privacy counsel says the tie "constricts circulation to the brain."Part 1 of a special five-part series. -->
Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 07:00 AM PDT
Google Inc.'s global privacy counsel, Peter Fleischer, wants to see t-shirts replace the tie as standard business attire, saying the tie "constricts circulation to the brain."
In addition, the tie "acts as decorative camouflage for the business suit, designed to shield the middle-aged male physique, with its shrinking shoulders and protruding paunch, from feeling sufficiently self-conscious to hit the gym," Fleischer wrote in a recent letter to The Financial Times.
The letter, written in response to an article that praised the tie as appropriate business attire, was signed using Fleischer's Google job title.
Fleischer suggested replacing the tie with t-shirts, which he said do less to hide the shape of a man's body. "Wouldn't you like to know whether your business partners are fit? Why should you trust a man in business if he abuses his own body?," Fleischer wrote, saying casual attire may also result in greater creativity.
"If your fashion editor can hardly imagine a better garment for men to exhibit their personality, power and masculinity than wearing ties, well ... I work at Google. Our unofficial motto is, 'Be serious without a suit,'" Fleischer wrote.
Google, like many other technology companies, allows employees to dress casually for work. A company recruitment video posted on YouTube shows the range of attire, including t-shirts and dress shirts, worn by employees. None of the employees are shown wearing ties.
However, several of Google's senior managers are shown wearing ties in their official photographs, including Omid Kordestani, senior vice president of global sales and business development; Elliot Schrage, vice president of global communications and public affairs; and Vint Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
IRS Sued Over Sex-Change Tax Deduction
IRS Sued Over Sex-Change Tax Deduction - News Story - WCVB Boston
IRS Sued Over Sex-Change Tax Deduction
Government Calls Procedure 'Cosmetic'
BOSTON -- After a tormented existence as a father, a husband, a Coast Guardsman and a construction worker, a 57-year-old suburban Boston man underwent a sex-change operation. Then she wrote off the $25,000 in medical expenses on her taxes.
But the IRS disallowed the deduction -- ruling the procedure was cosmetic, not a medical necessity -- in a potentially precedent-setting dispute now before the U.S. Tax Court.
Rhiannon O'Donnabhain is suing the IRS in a case advocates for the transgendered are hoping will force the tax agency to treat sex-change operations the same as appendectomies, heart bypasses and other deductible medical procedures. The case is set to go to trial July 24.
An estimated 1,600 to 2,000 people a year undergo sex-change surgery in the United States, according to the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
O'Donnabhain said she could have paid back the approximately $5,000 she received in her tax refund, but decided to challenge the IRS because she believes the ruling against her was rooted in politics and prejudice.
"This goes way beyond money," O'Donnabhain said in an interview with The Associated Press. "If I were to give the money back, it would be saying it's OK for you to do this to me. It is not OK for them to do this to me or anyone like me."
The U.S. Tax Court has never issued an opinion in a similar case, said Jennifer Levi, an attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the Boston-based legal organization representing O'Donnabhain. But the IRS has ruled against allowing the deduction in at least one other case.
In a 2005 case, the IRS ruled the costs of a woman's gender reassignment surgery and related treatments were not deductible as medical expenses.
The IRS cited the section of the tax code that says cosmetic surgery or similar procedures are deductible only when they are needed to improve a congenital abnormality, an accident or trauma, or a disfiguring disease.
In a 1983 case, however, the IRS allowed a father to deduct his transportation costs when he accompanied his college-age son to a clinic where he received a sex-change operation.
Levi argues that because gender-identity disorder is a recognized mental disorder that is generally treated with hormones and surgery, the costs are legitimate medical deductions.
"Every mental health textbook and medical dictionary recognizes the legitimacy of both the diagnosis and course of treatment," Levi said.
IRS officials declined to comment, citing the upcoming trial.
Robert Adelson, a Boston tax attorney, said the IRS "might take the position that you were dealt a particular hand, you are the gender you are, and if you want to now change the gender, should the government now subsidize you to do so?"
Others say the IRS has made a mistake.
"The IRS ruling is pure bias, since scientists agree that gender transition services are medically necessary and not cosmetic," said Joel Ginsberg, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
O'Donnabhain (pronounced oh-DON-oh-vin) will not disclose her original name to protect her family's privacy. She said she struggled with uncomfortable feelings she could not identify while growing up in an Irish Catholic family.
"There was a definite feeling I wanted to be female, but there was no language for it," she said. "It was confessions on Saturdays and Mass on Sundays. We didn't talk about those things."
O'Donnabhain, now 63, served in the Coast Guard, got married, raised three children and worked as a supervisor at various engineering and construction jobs, including Boston's colossal Big Dig highway project.
"I always thought the feelings would go away. If I date, the feelings will go away, if I marry, they'll go away, if I do male stuff, they'll go away. But of course, they never went away," she said. "I finally reached a point where I just couldn't contain this any more. I felt like my life was unraveling."
In 1996, O'Donnabhain began seeing a psychotherapist who eventually diagnosed her with gender-identity disorder. Five years later, her therapist recommended sex-change surgery, finding it was a medically necessary. A psychologist who examined O'Donnabhain concurred.
O'Donnabhain claimed the expenses on her 2001 tax return. The IRS denied the deduction in 2003.
Kenneth Vacovec, a tax attorney from Newton, said O'Donnabhain could have a strong case because of the psychological component of gender identity disorder.
"If you were going to a psychiatrist and you had a bipolar condition, and you were taking medication and getting treatment and it made you function better in society, how is that different from having a sex-change operation that allows you to function better and be more comfortable in society?" Vacovec said.
IRS Sued Over Sex-Change Tax Deduction
Government Calls Procedure 'Cosmetic'
BOSTON -- After a tormented existence as a father, a husband, a Coast Guardsman and a construction worker, a 57-year-old suburban Boston man underwent a sex-change operation. Then she wrote off the $25,000 in medical expenses on her taxes.
But the IRS disallowed the deduction -- ruling the procedure was cosmetic, not a medical necessity -- in a potentially precedent-setting dispute now before the U.S. Tax Court.
Rhiannon O'Donnabhain is suing the IRS in a case advocates for the transgendered are hoping will force the tax agency to treat sex-change operations the same as appendectomies, heart bypasses and other deductible medical procedures. The case is set to go to trial July 24.
An estimated 1,600 to 2,000 people a year undergo sex-change surgery in the United States, according to the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
O'Donnabhain said she could have paid back the approximately $5,000 she received in her tax refund, but decided to challenge the IRS because she believes the ruling against her was rooted in politics and prejudice.
"This goes way beyond money," O'Donnabhain said in an interview with The Associated Press. "If I were to give the money back, it would be saying it's OK for you to do this to me. It is not OK for them to do this to me or anyone like me."
The U.S. Tax Court has never issued an opinion in a similar case, said Jennifer Levi, an attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the Boston-based legal organization representing O'Donnabhain. But the IRS has ruled against allowing the deduction in at least one other case.
In a 2005 case, the IRS ruled the costs of a woman's gender reassignment surgery and related treatments were not deductible as medical expenses.
The IRS cited the section of the tax code that says cosmetic surgery or similar procedures are deductible only when they are needed to improve a congenital abnormality, an accident or trauma, or a disfiguring disease.
In a 1983 case, however, the IRS allowed a father to deduct his transportation costs when he accompanied his college-age son to a clinic where he received a sex-change operation.
Levi argues that because gender-identity disorder is a recognized mental disorder that is generally treated with hormones and surgery, the costs are legitimate medical deductions.
"Every mental health textbook and medical dictionary recognizes the legitimacy of both the diagnosis and course of treatment," Levi said.
IRS officials declined to comment, citing the upcoming trial.
Robert Adelson, a Boston tax attorney, said the IRS "might take the position that you were dealt a particular hand, you are the gender you are, and if you want to now change the gender, should the government now subsidize you to do so?"
Others say the IRS has made a mistake.
"The IRS ruling is pure bias, since scientists agree that gender transition services are medically necessary and not cosmetic," said Joel Ginsberg, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
O'Donnabhain (pronounced oh-DON-oh-vin) will not disclose her original name to protect her family's privacy. She said she struggled with uncomfortable feelings she could not identify while growing up in an Irish Catholic family.
"There was a definite feeling I wanted to be female, but there was no language for it," she said. "It was confessions on Saturdays and Mass on Sundays. We didn't talk about those things."
O'Donnabhain, now 63, served in the Coast Guard, got married, raised three children and worked as a supervisor at various engineering and construction jobs, including Boston's colossal Big Dig highway project.
"I always thought the feelings would go away. If I date, the feelings will go away, if I marry, they'll go away, if I do male stuff, they'll go away. But of course, they never went away," she said. "I finally reached a point where I just couldn't contain this any more. I felt like my life was unraveling."
In 1996, O'Donnabhain began seeing a psychotherapist who eventually diagnosed her with gender-identity disorder. Five years later, her therapist recommended sex-change surgery, finding it was a medically necessary. A psychologist who examined O'Donnabhain concurred.
O'Donnabhain claimed the expenses on her 2001 tax return. The IRS denied the deduction in 2003.
Kenneth Vacovec, a tax attorney from Newton, said O'Donnabhain could have a strong case because of the psychological component of gender identity disorder.
"If you were going to a psychiatrist and you had a bipolar condition, and you were taking medication and getting treatment and it made you function better in society, how is that different from having a sex-change operation that allows you to function better and be more comfortable in society?" Vacovec said.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Look Ma, No Hands - July 18, 2007
Look Ma, No Hands - July 18, 2007
For photos and details of the story click the above link to the story.
Naughty nonagenerian nabbed for public indecency in Ohio park
(CINCINNATI) -- A 90-year-old man has been arrested for public indecency at a local park.
Leonard G. Dickman, of West Harrison, Ind. was arrested Tuesday afternoon at Mount Airy Forest.
According to the arrest report, Dickman was arrested while sitting in his red Kia Rio and exposed his private parts by raising the leg of his shorts.
Dickman is also accused of touching an undercover officer.
Police have made several arrests in the Mount Airy Forest in the past few weeks after setting up an undercover sex sting.
Public indecency is a misdemeanor.
For photos and details of the story click the above link to the story.
Naughty nonagenerian nabbed for public indecency in Ohio park
(CINCINNATI) -- A 90-year-old man has been arrested for public indecency at a local park.
Leonard G. Dickman, of West Harrison, Ind. was arrested Tuesday afternoon at Mount Airy Forest.
According to the arrest report, Dickman was arrested while sitting in his red Kia Rio and exposed his private parts by raising the leg of his shorts.
Dickman is also accused of touching an undercover officer.
Police have made several arrests in the Mount Airy Forest in the past few weeks after setting up an undercover sex sting.
Public indecency is a misdemeanor.
Opera singer Jerry Hadley dead at 55
Wed Jul 18, 1:38 PM ET
Jerry Hadley, the world-class tenor known for his agile and lyric voice, died Wednesday, a week after he shot himself in an apparent suicide attempt.
The 55-year-old singer died two days after doctors at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie took him off life support, said family friend and spokeswoman Celia Novo.
Hadley, who had been battling personal problems, shot himself with an air rifle July 10 at his home in Clinton Corners, 80 miles north of New York City. State police said he was found unconscious on his bedroom floor.
The Illinois-born Hadley sang everything from Mozart to show tunes, including appearing on a recording of "Show Boat" that was a best-seller.
He built his reputation tackling demanding work, including the title role in composer John Harbison's 1999 "The Great Gatsby" at the Metropolitan Opera. Leonard Bernstein chose Hadley to sing the title role in a 1989 production of his musical "Candide," and he sang the lead in Paul McCartney's "Liverpool Oratorio" in 1991.
Hadley was featured in the Leos Janacek's opera "Jenufa," which won a Grammy in 2004.
"I particularly admired the strength and sweetness of his voice in the lyric Mozart parts and the imagination and commitment he brought to contemporary works," James Levine, music director of the Metropolitan Opera, said in a statement.
"He was also a warm, generous colleague with a great sense of humor, who always gave his very best. ... We will miss him enormously."
Hadley started his career in regional companies. He was noticed in the late 1970s by Beverly Sills, then general director of the New York City Opera, which hired him. She died earlier this month.
Hadley also performed at Milan's La Scala, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the San Diego Opera and the festivals in Glyndebourne, England, Aix-en-Provence, France, and Salzburg, Austria.
Hadley in recent years had been dealing with financial problems and was being treated for depression, police said after the shooting. He had been arrested in Manhattan last year in a parked car on a charge of driving while intoxicated. His lawyer said the singer never intended to drive because he realized he was tipsy, and the case was eventually dropped.
Jerry Hadley, the world-class tenor known for his agile and lyric voice, died Wednesday, a week after he shot himself in an apparent suicide attempt.
The 55-year-old singer died two days after doctors at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie took him off life support, said family friend and spokeswoman Celia Novo.
Hadley, who had been battling personal problems, shot himself with an air rifle July 10 at his home in Clinton Corners, 80 miles north of New York City. State police said he was found unconscious on his bedroom floor.
The Illinois-born Hadley sang everything from Mozart to show tunes, including appearing on a recording of "Show Boat" that was a best-seller.
He built his reputation tackling demanding work, including the title role in composer John Harbison's 1999 "The Great Gatsby" at the Metropolitan Opera. Leonard Bernstein chose Hadley to sing the title role in a 1989 production of his musical "Candide," and he sang the lead in Paul McCartney's "Liverpool Oratorio" in 1991.
Hadley was featured in the Leos Janacek's opera "Jenufa," which won a Grammy in 2004.
"I particularly admired the strength and sweetness of his voice in the lyric Mozart parts and the imagination and commitment he brought to contemporary works," James Levine, music director of the Metropolitan Opera, said in a statement.
"He was also a warm, generous colleague with a great sense of humor, who always gave his very best. ... We will miss him enormously."
Hadley started his career in regional companies. He was noticed in the late 1970s by Beverly Sills, then general director of the New York City Opera, which hired him. She died earlier this month.
Hadley also performed at Milan's La Scala, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the San Diego Opera and the festivals in Glyndebourne, England, Aix-en-Provence, France, and Salzburg, Austria.
Hadley in recent years had been dealing with financial problems and was being treated for depression, police said after the shooting. He had been arrested in Manhattan last year in a parked car on a charge of driving while intoxicated. His lawyer said the singer never intended to drive because he realized he was tipsy, and the case was eventually dropped.
U.S. college students seek the magic of Quidditch
Good Grief!!!
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Stephen Dewey knows he lacks the magic to play Quidditch quite like they do in the Harry Potter novels but he does all he can to create an authentic experience for fans of the teenage wizard.
Dewey, a student at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, organizes the campus Quidditch club of about 40 Potter devotees imitating the aerial game of the book series.
Although Bucknell has not played its first official game -- that is expected in September -- Dewey's club has received $150 from the college to buy supplies, including hula hoops and a volleyball that stands in for the fictional "quaffle."
Also on the equipment list are the brooms on which J.K. Rowling's Quidditch players fly around during games and which Bucknell players are required to hold between their legs.
"I wanted to emulate the magical nature you find in Harry Potter books," said Dewey, 20, a student of music and education. But he admits he has to make concessions to reality. "A lot of that you can't really replicate exactly because we are not witches and wizards."
Bucknell's Quidditch players follow the rules, adopted by some 10 other U.S. Quidditch-playing colleges, which come from the Potter books.
Each team consists of 12 to 15 players, seven of whom are on the field at a time. They include a "keeper" to defend the hoops through which scores are made; "chasers" whose job it is to put the quaffle through the hoops; and "beaters" who throw balls called "bludgers" at their opponents.
There is also a "seeker" who chases the elusive "golden "snitch" around campus during the game. The capture of the snitch, usually after about 15 minutes, signals the end of the game.
Dewey described the sport as "mildly full-contact" and said it requires some athletic ability, particularly for seekers, who are typically cross-country runners. It appeals equally to men and women, he said.
Players have worn outlandish garb including swimming goggles and capes made out of shower curtains and bed sheets.
Dewey said he's received "some puzzled looks" when recruiting but that even the skeptics want to know more. He suspects they are secretly Harry Potter fans.
"They are usually curious to know how I could make this into a playing game," he said. "Running around on brooms does appeal to a surprising number of college students."
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Stephen Dewey knows he lacks the magic to play Quidditch quite like they do in the Harry Potter novels but he does all he can to create an authentic experience for fans of the teenage wizard.
Dewey, a student at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, organizes the campus Quidditch club of about 40 Potter devotees imitating the aerial game of the book series.
Although Bucknell has not played its first official game -- that is expected in September -- Dewey's club has received $150 from the college to buy supplies, including hula hoops and a volleyball that stands in for the fictional "quaffle."
Also on the equipment list are the brooms on which J.K. Rowling's Quidditch players fly around during games and which Bucknell players are required to hold between their legs.
"I wanted to emulate the magical nature you find in Harry Potter books," said Dewey, 20, a student of music and education. But he admits he has to make concessions to reality. "A lot of that you can't really replicate exactly because we are not witches and wizards."
Bucknell's Quidditch players follow the rules, adopted by some 10 other U.S. Quidditch-playing colleges, which come from the Potter books.
Each team consists of 12 to 15 players, seven of whom are on the field at a time. They include a "keeper" to defend the hoops through which scores are made; "chasers" whose job it is to put the quaffle through the hoops; and "beaters" who throw balls called "bludgers" at their opponents.
There is also a "seeker" who chases the elusive "golden "snitch" around campus during the game. The capture of the snitch, usually after about 15 minutes, signals the end of the game.
Dewey described the sport as "mildly full-contact" and said it requires some athletic ability, particularly for seekers, who are typically cross-country runners. It appeals equally to men and women, he said.
Players have worn outlandish garb including swimming goggles and capes made out of shower curtains and bed sheets.
Dewey said he's received "some puzzled looks" when recruiting but that even the skeptics want to know more. He suspects they are secretly Harry Potter fans.
"They are usually curious to know how I could make this into a playing game," he said. "Running around on brooms does appeal to a surprising number of college students."
Fire crew tests skills _ on wrong house - Yahoo! News
Fire crew tests skills _ on wrong house - Yahoo! News
Fire crew tests skills _ on wrong house
Wed Jul 18, 8:11 AM ET
It looked like a textbook training exercise, but there was something amiss.
Firefighters drove to a vacant house on Tuesday, cut holes in the roof and walls, and broke windows to test their tools and their proficiency.
The problem? It was the wrong house.
They were supposed to be two blocks away at a house slated for demolition.
The owners of the damaged home now want the town pay for the mistake, but they're trying to keep a sense of humor about it.
"Accidents happen," said Jeffrey Luu, who owns the house with his brother, Clayton. "Luckily, nobody got hurt," added Clayton Luu.
The home had been vacant since an electrical fire last year left a scorch mark up one side. The knee-high grass had not been cut in several weeks. The owners were planning a renovation of the house — just not this much of one.
The fire department is conducting an internal investigation, Deputy Chief John Donahue said in a statement, but officials otherwise remained tightlipped and red-faced about the incident.
Meanwhile, the house where the firefighters were supposed to train was demolished later Tuesday as scheduled.
Fire crew tests skills _ on wrong house
Wed Jul 18, 8:11 AM ET
It looked like a textbook training exercise, but there was something amiss.
Firefighters drove to a vacant house on Tuesday, cut holes in the roof and walls, and broke windows to test their tools and their proficiency.
The problem? It was the wrong house.
They were supposed to be two blocks away at a house slated for demolition.
The owners of the damaged home now want the town pay for the mistake, but they're trying to keep a sense of humor about it.
"Accidents happen," said Jeffrey Luu, who owns the house with his brother, Clayton. "Luckily, nobody got hurt," added Clayton Luu.
The home had been vacant since an electrical fire last year left a scorch mark up one side. The knee-high grass had not been cut in several weeks. The owners were planning a renovation of the house — just not this much of one.
The fire department is conducting an internal investigation, Deputy Chief John Donahue said in a statement, but officials otherwise remained tightlipped and red-faced about the incident.
Meanwhile, the house where the firefighters were supposed to train was demolished later Tuesday as scheduled.
DNA Study Finds Chihuahuas Aren't Dogs
As part of an ambitious effort to identify genes that cause disease in dogs and humans, scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle analyzed DNA collected from 414 dogs representing 85 breeds, including some of the most popular. The findings have sent reverberations though the ranks of dog fanciers, who primp and preen their beloved companions for shows and take great pride in their pedigrees.
"It was a surprise to find that some breeds such as the Ibizan hound and the Pharaoh hound, along with several others that dog aficionados have long believed dated back thousands of years, are actually much more modern animals – re-creations that were probably produced by breeders," said geneticist Leonid Kruglyak, who helped conduct the research. "However, it was more of a surprise to find that some breeds are not even dogs."
Among other findings, the analysis determined that the Chihuahua is actually a type of large rodent, selectively bred for centuries to resemble a canine.
"This is clearly going to raise some eyebrows in the Chihuahua world," said Peggy Wilson, president of the Chihuahua Club of America. "It goes against our belief system. People are pretty passionate about their dogs. There is going to be disbelief."
Using 96 distinct patterns in the genes called "microsatellites," the researchers compared dogs within breeds, and breeds with one another. In the May 21 issue of the journal Science, the team concluded that almost every breed was surprisingly distinct genetically. They were able to identify each dog's breed by its genes with 99 percent accuracy. They also found that breeds could be clearly grouped into four distinct clusters based on striking genetic similarities: ancient dogs, hunters, herders, and guard dogs.
"Once we had these groups pretty well mapped out, the canine mimics were easy to pick out," added Kruglyak. "And actually, it was kind of intuitive in hindsight."
The study found that several diminutive breeds had been independently created around the world from a variety of other animals, including the Lhasa apso (Tibetan snow rabbit), Pekingese (Chinese water rat), Shih Tzu (stoat), and Yorkshire Terrier (pigeon).
"Most of these do contain some actual dog genes," admitted Kruglyak, "but the percentage is no higher than ten percent in each case."
Officials at the American Kennel Club and the AKC Canine Health Foundation praised the work in spite of the controversial findings, saying it will help breeders, veterinarians and scientists eliminate dog diseases.
"This really is revolutionary in terms of increasing the number of tools available to breeders," the AKC's Patti Strand said.
"It really will have a tremendous effect on improving the health of dogs. However, it does require us to rethink our mission and reevaluate whether it is appropriate to continue numbering breeds such as Chihuahuas and Yorkies with the real dogs."
The potential ramifications of these findings are significant as condominiums and rentals around the nation which prohibit exotic animals anxiously await news as to whether scientists will be officially reclassifying these breeds as other animals.
"Oh, heavens, if they make it official that Chihuahuas aren't dogs, it would make my day," said Miami condominium owner Frances LaCroix. "I would finally have grounds to make Elsie Tabernathy get rid of her wretched little yapping pack of – rodents, did you say they were? Oh, that would be marvelous."
"It was a surprise to find that some breeds such as the Ibizan hound and the Pharaoh hound, along with several others that dog aficionados have long believed dated back thousands of years, are actually much more modern animals – re-creations that were probably produced by breeders," said geneticist Leonid Kruglyak, who helped conduct the research. "However, it was more of a surprise to find that some breeds are not even dogs."
Among other findings, the analysis determined that the Chihuahua is actually a type of large rodent, selectively bred for centuries to resemble a canine.
"This is clearly going to raise some eyebrows in the Chihuahua world," said Peggy Wilson, president of the Chihuahua Club of America. "It goes against our belief system. People are pretty passionate about their dogs. There is going to be disbelief."
Using 96 distinct patterns in the genes called "microsatellites," the researchers compared dogs within breeds, and breeds with one another. In the May 21 issue of the journal Science, the team concluded that almost every breed was surprisingly distinct genetically. They were able to identify each dog's breed by its genes with 99 percent accuracy. They also found that breeds could be clearly grouped into four distinct clusters based on striking genetic similarities: ancient dogs, hunters, herders, and guard dogs.
"Once we had these groups pretty well mapped out, the canine mimics were easy to pick out," added Kruglyak. "And actually, it was kind of intuitive in hindsight."
The study found that several diminutive breeds had been independently created around the world from a variety of other animals, including the Lhasa apso (Tibetan snow rabbit), Pekingese (Chinese water rat), Shih Tzu (stoat), and Yorkshire Terrier (pigeon).
"Most of these do contain some actual dog genes," admitted Kruglyak, "but the percentage is no higher than ten percent in each case."
Officials at the American Kennel Club and the AKC Canine Health Foundation praised the work in spite of the controversial findings, saying it will help breeders, veterinarians and scientists eliminate dog diseases.
"This really is revolutionary in terms of increasing the number of tools available to breeders," the AKC's Patti Strand said.
"It really will have a tremendous effect on improving the health of dogs. However, it does require us to rethink our mission and reevaluate whether it is appropriate to continue numbering breeds such as Chihuahuas and Yorkies with the real dogs."
The potential ramifications of these findings are significant as condominiums and rentals around the nation which prohibit exotic animals anxiously await news as to whether scientists will be officially reclassifying these breeds as other animals.
"Oh, heavens, if they make it official that Chihuahuas aren't dogs, it would make my day," said Miami condominium owner Frances LaCroix. "I would finally have grounds to make Elsie Tabernathy get rid of her wretched little yapping pack of – rodents, did you say they were? Oh, that would be marvelous."
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Dozens of problems at quake-hit plant - Yahoo! News
Dozens of problems at quake-hit plant - Yahoo! News
Boys and Girls - can you say "Cover-up"? I knew you could!!
Dozens of problems at quake-hit plant
By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 13 minutes ago
A long list of problems — including radiation leaks, burst pipes and fires — came to light Tuesday at the world's largest nuclear power plant, a day after it was hit by a powerful earthquake.
The malfunctions and a delay in reporting them fueled concerns about the safety of Japan's 55 nuclear reactors, which have suffered a string of accidents and cover-ups.
"They raised the alert too late. I have sent stern instructions that such alerts must be raised seriously and swiftly," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in Tokyo. "Those involved should repent their actions."
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the world's largest nuclear plant in power output capacity. Japan's nuclear plants supply about 30 percent of the country's electricity, but its dependence on nuclear power is coupled with deep misgivings over safety.
The power plant suffered broken pipes, water leaks and spills of radioactive waste when it was hit by the earthquake Monday, the plant's operator said.
Signs of problems, however, came first not from the officials, but in a plume of smoke that rose up when the quake triggered a small fire at an electrical transformer.
It was announced only 12 hours later that the magnitude 6.8 temblor also caused a leak of about 315 gallons of water containing radioactive material. Officials said the water leak was well within safety standards. The water was flushed into the sea.
The company also said a small amount of radioactive materials cobalt-60 and chromium-51 had been emitted into the atmosphere from an exhaust stack.
Later Tuesday, it said 50 cases of "malfunctioning and trouble" had been found. Four of the plant's seven reactors were running at the time of the quake, and they were all shut down automatically by a safety mechanism.
Officials said there was no harm to the environment, but acknowledged it took a day to discover about 100 drums of low-level nuclear waste that were overturned, some with the lids open.
Kensuke Takeuchi, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co., which runs the plant, called the malfunctions "minor troubles."
Across town, more than 8,000 residents hunkered down for their second night in shelters. The death toll — nine, with one person missing — was not expected to rise significantly. Most of the newer parts of town escaped major damage.
For residents, thousands of whom work at the plant, the controversy over its safety compounded already severe problems, which included heavy rains and the threat of landslides, water and power outages, and spotty communications.
"Whenever there is an earthquake, the first thing we worry about is the nuclear plant. I worry about whether there will be a fire or something," said Kiyokazu Tsunajima, a tailor who sat outside on his porch with his family, afraid an aftershock might collapse his damaged house.
"It's frightening, but I guess we are used to it," said Ikuko Sato, a young mother who was spending the night in a crowded evacuation center near her home, which was without water or power.
"It's almost the summer swimming season," she said. "I wonder if it'll be safe to go in the water."
The area around Kashiwazaki was hit by an earthquake three years ago that killed 67 people, but the plant suffered no damage.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari told TEPCO it must not resume operations at the plant until it has made a thorough safety check. Nuclear power plants around Japan were ordered to conduct inspections.
The plant in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, 135 miles northwest of Tokyo, eclipsed a nuclear power station in Ontario as the world's largest power station when it added its seventh reactor in 1997.
The Japanese plant, which generates 8.2 million kilowatts of electricity, has been plagued with mishaps. In 2001, a radioactive leak was found in the turbine room of one reactor.
The plant's safety record and its proximity to a fault line prompted residents to file lawsuits claiming the government had failed to conduct sufficient safety reviews when it approved construction of the plant in the 1970s. But in 2005, a Tokyo court threw out a lawsuit filed by 33 residents, saying there was no error in the government safety reviews.
Environmentalists have criticized Japan's reliance on nuclear energy as irresponsible in a nation with such a vulnerability to powerful quakes.
"This fire and leakage underscores the threat of nuclear accidents in Japan, especially in earthquake zones," said Jan Beranek, a Greenpeace official in Amsterdam. "In principle, it's a bad idea to build nuclear plants in earthquake-prone areas."
Nearly 13,000 people packed into evacuation centers in the quake zone, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. By nightfall, the number dropped to about 8,200.
Nine people in their 70s or 80s were killed, and 47 were seriously injured. About 450 soldiers to sent to clear rubble, search for survivors under collapsed buildings, and provide food, water and toilets.
About 50,000 homes were without water and 35,000 were without gas, local official Mitsugu Abe said. About 27,000 households were without power.
Japan has a history of nuclear accidents, some of them deadly.
In 2004, five workers at the Mihama nuclear plant in western Japan were killed and six were injured after a corroded pipe ruptured and sprayed plant workers with boiling water and steam. The accident was the nation's worst at a nuclear facility.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires that nuclear plants be built with the capacity to withstand the strongest earthquake to hit its site within 100 years. In a "safe shutdown earthquake," the chain reaction in the reactor stops, but the cooling system keeps running so excess heat is carried away from the core.
William Miller, a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Missouri, said the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant "did what it was supposed to. It shut down."
Although its operator said there were leaks, Miller called the amounts he had heard were "so small as to be negligible."
However, David Lochbaum, director of the Nuclear Safety Project at the Union of Concerned Scientists, noted that fire and loss of power, both of which occurred at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, are the two most likely causes of meltdowns at nuclear facilities.
___
AP writers Hiroko Tabuchi and Kozo Mizoguchi contributed to this report from Tokyo and AP writer Sarah DiLorenzo contributed from New York.
Boys and Girls - can you say "Cover-up"? I knew you could!!
Dozens of problems at quake-hit plant
By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 13 minutes ago
A long list of problems — including radiation leaks, burst pipes and fires — came to light Tuesday at the world's largest nuclear power plant, a day after it was hit by a powerful earthquake.
The malfunctions and a delay in reporting them fueled concerns about the safety of Japan's 55 nuclear reactors, which have suffered a string of accidents and cover-ups.
"They raised the alert too late. I have sent stern instructions that such alerts must be raised seriously and swiftly," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in Tokyo. "Those involved should repent their actions."
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the world's largest nuclear plant in power output capacity. Japan's nuclear plants supply about 30 percent of the country's electricity, but its dependence on nuclear power is coupled with deep misgivings over safety.
The power plant suffered broken pipes, water leaks and spills of radioactive waste when it was hit by the earthquake Monday, the plant's operator said.
Signs of problems, however, came first not from the officials, but in a plume of smoke that rose up when the quake triggered a small fire at an electrical transformer.
It was announced only 12 hours later that the magnitude 6.8 temblor also caused a leak of about 315 gallons of water containing radioactive material. Officials said the water leak was well within safety standards. The water was flushed into the sea.
The company also said a small amount of radioactive materials cobalt-60 and chromium-51 had been emitted into the atmosphere from an exhaust stack.
Later Tuesday, it said 50 cases of "malfunctioning and trouble" had been found. Four of the plant's seven reactors were running at the time of the quake, and they were all shut down automatically by a safety mechanism.
Officials said there was no harm to the environment, but acknowledged it took a day to discover about 100 drums of low-level nuclear waste that were overturned, some with the lids open.
Kensuke Takeuchi, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co., which runs the plant, called the malfunctions "minor troubles."
Across town, more than 8,000 residents hunkered down for their second night in shelters. The death toll — nine, with one person missing — was not expected to rise significantly. Most of the newer parts of town escaped major damage.
For residents, thousands of whom work at the plant, the controversy over its safety compounded already severe problems, which included heavy rains and the threat of landslides, water and power outages, and spotty communications.
"Whenever there is an earthquake, the first thing we worry about is the nuclear plant. I worry about whether there will be a fire or something," said Kiyokazu Tsunajima, a tailor who sat outside on his porch with his family, afraid an aftershock might collapse his damaged house.
"It's frightening, but I guess we are used to it," said Ikuko Sato, a young mother who was spending the night in a crowded evacuation center near her home, which was without water or power.
"It's almost the summer swimming season," she said. "I wonder if it'll be safe to go in the water."
The area around Kashiwazaki was hit by an earthquake three years ago that killed 67 people, but the plant suffered no damage.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari told TEPCO it must not resume operations at the plant until it has made a thorough safety check. Nuclear power plants around Japan were ordered to conduct inspections.
The plant in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, 135 miles northwest of Tokyo, eclipsed a nuclear power station in Ontario as the world's largest power station when it added its seventh reactor in 1997.
The Japanese plant, which generates 8.2 million kilowatts of electricity, has been plagued with mishaps. In 2001, a radioactive leak was found in the turbine room of one reactor.
The plant's safety record and its proximity to a fault line prompted residents to file lawsuits claiming the government had failed to conduct sufficient safety reviews when it approved construction of the plant in the 1970s. But in 2005, a Tokyo court threw out a lawsuit filed by 33 residents, saying there was no error in the government safety reviews.
Environmentalists have criticized Japan's reliance on nuclear energy as irresponsible in a nation with such a vulnerability to powerful quakes.
"This fire and leakage underscores the threat of nuclear accidents in Japan, especially in earthquake zones," said Jan Beranek, a Greenpeace official in Amsterdam. "In principle, it's a bad idea to build nuclear plants in earthquake-prone areas."
Nearly 13,000 people packed into evacuation centers in the quake zone, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. By nightfall, the number dropped to about 8,200.
Nine people in their 70s or 80s were killed, and 47 were seriously injured. About 450 soldiers to sent to clear rubble, search for survivors under collapsed buildings, and provide food, water and toilets.
About 50,000 homes were without water and 35,000 were without gas, local official Mitsugu Abe said. About 27,000 households were without power.
Japan has a history of nuclear accidents, some of them deadly.
In 2004, five workers at the Mihama nuclear plant in western Japan were killed and six were injured after a corroded pipe ruptured and sprayed plant workers with boiling water and steam. The accident was the nation's worst at a nuclear facility.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires that nuclear plants be built with the capacity to withstand the strongest earthquake to hit its site within 100 years. In a "safe shutdown earthquake," the chain reaction in the reactor stops, but the cooling system keeps running so excess heat is carried away from the core.
William Miller, a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Missouri, said the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant "did what it was supposed to. It shut down."
Although its operator said there were leaks, Miller called the amounts he had heard were "so small as to be negligible."
However, David Lochbaum, director of the Nuclear Safety Project at the Union of Concerned Scientists, noted that fire and loss of power, both of which occurred at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, are the two most likely causes of meltdowns at nuclear facilities.
___
AP writers Hiroko Tabuchi and Kozo Mizoguchi contributed to this report from Tokyo and AP writer Sarah DiLorenzo contributed from New York.
AOL Jobs - Articles - 'Business Casual' Causes Confusion - AOL Find a Job
AOL Jobs - Articles - 'Business Casual' Causes Confusion - AOL Find a Job
Do Kilts count???
'Business Casual' Causes Confusion
By STEPHANIE ARMOUR, USA TODAY
Posted: 2007-07-16 17:46:32
Cast Your Vote
Jennifer Cohen thought she had a good understanding of her company's policy allowing business casual attire.So the 24-year-old was stunned when an older colleague pulled her aside to tell her she was dressing inappropriately by donning Bermuda shorts, sleeveless tops and capris."Each generation seems to have a different idea of what is acceptable in the workplace, and in this situation I was highly offended," says Cohen, who works at a marketing firm in Philadelphia. "I was actually not allowed to attend a meeting because my attire was deemed 'inappropriate.' People my age are taught to express themselves, and saying something negative about someone's fashion is saying something negative about them."Business casual has become a staple of the office, but more companies are trying to enforce rules that set at least a minimum standard of dress, and an increasing number also are enforcing more formal attire -- especially at meetings or on days when clients may visit the office. And as summer heats up and fashion trends become even more laid back, employers are wrestling with how to adopt dress-code policies that encourage both productivity and professionalism.There is little question that business casual, largely popularized by the dot-com craze in Silicon Valley, has permeated the workplace, with six in 10 employers allowing a dress-down day at least once a week, according to a 2006 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.But a backlash is brewing: The number of employers allowing casual dress days every day has plunged from 53 percent in 2002 to a new low of 38 percent.The reason for the return to more dressed-up attire is, in part, because of the confusion generated by business casual standards. Should flip-flops be allowed? What about tennis shoes, jeans and shorts? Sleeveless dresses? T-shirts? Younger employees are more likely to push the envelope, rankling more veteran generations who have long worked in offices where ties and skirts were expected no matter the day of the week. Many employers resent becoming fashion police.Casual Fridays Get Out of Hand "It started with casual Fridays and got out of hand," says June Webb, in Alexandria, Va., a fashion consultant. "Now companies are starting to clamp down a little bit. They've found women have a tendency to show off too much skin, and men tend to show up in clothes that are wrinkled and not ironed."Despite the push toward a more dressed-up workplace, employer policies still run the gamut. Some are gussying up. Consider marketing firm McGrath/Power in Santa Clara, Calif. Because they're based in the heart of Silicon Valley, they used to allow shorts, T-shirts and baseball caps. But now they require a more businesslike attire, with business casual including slacks and skirts. Still, there have been situations where employees have been asked to take off a baseball cap, leave on a sweater or not wear something again. With the third warning, employees are sent home to change.
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"The pendulum has swung," says CEO Jonathan Bloom. "We went through a too-casual period. … In the aftermath of the dot-com bubble, we tightened things up a little. When we were very casual, the quality of the work wasn't as good."Others are getting strict. In Auburn, N.Y., the city manager made headlines in April when he banned most city employees from wearing jeans on Fridays, a day that had long been reserved for casual attire. His office did not return calls seeking comment.Some companies, such as IBM, have thrown out dress codes altogether. Once known as a traditional company of button-down shirts, cuff links and pinstriped suits, today it's a much more anything-goes approach."As society has changed, so has IBM," says Donna Riley, a human resources vice president at IBM. "We do have a Birkenstock crowd in some of our locations. Many years ago, it was a suit and tie for men and skirt, dress and stockings for women. (Today's policy) says we trust our employees to use good judgment."In an IBM research lab in San Jose, Calif., Dan Gruhl, 35, a researcher who works in text analytics, typically shows up in flip-flops and shorts. He owns only two button-down shirts.
Work Casual
Wage Slave Blog: What's Going Too Far?
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"Having a relaxed environment encourages you to think more openly," Gruhl says. "Dress is part of a much larger culture. It really encourages camaraderie."General Motors, where suits were once expected, now is also much more casual. While business casual is considered appropriate during the workweek, employees representing GM to customers, suppliers and visitors are expected to dress consistently with the norms and expectations of the meeting or event, officials say. Business casual does not include apparel such as athletic shoes, jeans, shorts, tank tops or sweatshirts.Procter & Gamble also allows employees to dress more casually than in previous generations. Ford Motor has a casual business dress code, which is more laid back than 15 or 20 years ago."We ask them to use good judgment," says Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman.The mishmash of conflicting policies has created general confusion and a host of fashion faux pas. Fifty-five percent of employees consider tank tops and exposed undergarments the season's top work-wear mishap, according to an April survey by Monster, an online career and recruitment resource. Nearly 30 percent cited flip-flops, while just 8 percent were put off by Hawaiian-print shirts. The online poll got more than 18,000 responses.It's enough to baffle executives like Suzie Boland, president of RFB Communications Group in Tampa."I saw something new (recently). It was an invitation to an evening business reception that said the dress was 'dressy business casual,' " Boland says in an e-mail. "I give up: What in the name of heaven is that?"Making rules more clearWhat some employers are doing to make rules clear:•Five Point Capital, a San Diego-based equipment-leasing specialist, allows jeans with no rips or holes on Fridays for operations and support departments. No T-shirts, tank tops or exposed thong undergarments are allowed. The company asks that no body parts from the shoulders to the knees be seen, except for arms. The goal is to keep cleavage and belly views at a minimum.•At Texas A&M University, the interim president in May sent out a note to more than 10,000 faculty and staff establishing a new summer dress code in an effort to make employees comfortable while the school tries to reduce costs by keeping building thermostats turned to 75 degrees. "Examples for men are golf or polo shirts and khaki pants, and capri pants and summer sweaters for women," the memo says. Fridays are designated school spirit days, when employees are encouraged to wear clothes with Texas A&M or department logos.•The National Basketball Association has adopted an off-court dress code for players. It requires them to adhere to a business-casual dress policy that includes a long- or short-sleeved dress shirt and/or a sweater, dress slacks, khakis or dress jeans. Appropriate shoes and socks, including dress shoes, dress boots or other presentable shoes, but not including sneakers, sandals, flip-flops or work boots. Sunglasses are not allowed indoors, and NBA players can't wear chains or medallions when on team or league business.Legal issues can arise When it comes to dress policies, there are legal issues, too. Employers who enforce dress codes on women but not men risk sexual discrimination claims, and companies also can get in trouble for taking some steps, such as banning styles that are worn as part of religious beliefs.Some have been sued over policies, such as dress codes requiring Muslim female employees to remove headscarves. In June, a Phoenix jury awarded $287,000 to a Somali employee who had worked at Alamo Car Rental. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the company engaged in religious discrimination for firing her for wearing the scarf during Ramadan.But employers can legally enforce dress requirements as long as they are not discriminatory, and courts have given employers leeway. Harrah's Casino in Reno requires women to wear makeup. Bartender Darlene Jespersen sued the company, saying the policy discriminated against women. In April 2006, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower-court ruling that it was not unlawful gender-based discrimination for an employer to dismiss a female bartender for not complying with dress and grooming standards.Greater leeway is also creating increasing havoc for job interviewees, who are finding the traditional suit may make them seem too stodgy in a more laid-back workplace atmosphere.How employees look can affect how they're perceived: Thirty-six percent of respondents said those who dress casually are perceived as more creative, yet 49% said they run the risk of being taken less seriously, according to a 2006 survey by online job service TheLadders.com. The survey was conducted in August 2006 and included 2,243 executives.But dress is also about personal statement and comfort, and that's why some employees such as Jennifer Cohen, the marketing employee in Philadelphia, bristles at policies and attitudes that she believes stifles self-expression."I can't say I don't push the envelope a little if I'm not going to see clients everyday," she says. "When you're comfortable, you don't worry. You focus on your work."Do you think flip-flops are appropriate business casual attire? Where do you draw the line?Copyright 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Do Kilts count???
'Business Casual' Causes Confusion
By STEPHANIE ARMOUR, USA TODAY
Posted: 2007-07-16 17:46:32
Cast Your Vote
Jennifer Cohen thought she had a good understanding of her company's policy allowing business casual attire.So the 24-year-old was stunned when an older colleague pulled her aside to tell her she was dressing inappropriately by donning Bermuda shorts, sleeveless tops and capris."Each generation seems to have a different idea of what is acceptable in the workplace, and in this situation I was highly offended," says Cohen, who works at a marketing firm in Philadelphia. "I was actually not allowed to attend a meeting because my attire was deemed 'inappropriate.' People my age are taught to express themselves, and saying something negative about someone's fashion is saying something negative about them."Business casual has become a staple of the office, but more companies are trying to enforce rules that set at least a minimum standard of dress, and an increasing number also are enforcing more formal attire -- especially at meetings or on days when clients may visit the office. And as summer heats up and fashion trends become even more laid back, employers are wrestling with how to adopt dress-code policies that encourage both productivity and professionalism.There is little question that business casual, largely popularized by the dot-com craze in Silicon Valley, has permeated the workplace, with six in 10 employers allowing a dress-down day at least once a week, according to a 2006 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.But a backlash is brewing: The number of employers allowing casual dress days every day has plunged from 53 percent in 2002 to a new low of 38 percent.The reason for the return to more dressed-up attire is, in part, because of the confusion generated by business casual standards. Should flip-flops be allowed? What about tennis shoes, jeans and shorts? Sleeveless dresses? T-shirts? Younger employees are more likely to push the envelope, rankling more veteran generations who have long worked in offices where ties and skirts were expected no matter the day of the week. Many employers resent becoming fashion police.Casual Fridays Get Out of Hand "It started with casual Fridays and got out of hand," says June Webb, in Alexandria, Va., a fashion consultant. "Now companies are starting to clamp down a little bit. They've found women have a tendency to show off too much skin, and men tend to show up in clothes that are wrinkled and not ironed."Despite the push toward a more dressed-up workplace, employer policies still run the gamut. Some are gussying up. Consider marketing firm McGrath/Power in Santa Clara, Calif. Because they're based in the heart of Silicon Valley, they used to allow shorts, T-shirts and baseball caps. But now they require a more businesslike attire, with business casual including slacks and skirts. Still, there have been situations where employees have been asked to take off a baseball cap, leave on a sweater or not wear something again. With the third warning, employees are sent home to change.
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"The pendulum has swung," says CEO Jonathan Bloom. "We went through a too-casual period. … In the aftermath of the dot-com bubble, we tightened things up a little. When we were very casual, the quality of the work wasn't as good."Others are getting strict. In Auburn, N.Y., the city manager made headlines in April when he banned most city employees from wearing jeans on Fridays, a day that had long been reserved for casual attire. His office did not return calls seeking comment.Some companies, such as IBM, have thrown out dress codes altogether. Once known as a traditional company of button-down shirts, cuff links and pinstriped suits, today it's a much more anything-goes approach."As society has changed, so has IBM," says Donna Riley, a human resources vice president at IBM. "We do have a Birkenstock crowd in some of our locations. Many years ago, it was a suit and tie for men and skirt, dress and stockings for women. (Today's policy) says we trust our employees to use good judgment."In an IBM research lab in San Jose, Calif., Dan Gruhl, 35, a researcher who works in text analytics, typically shows up in flip-flops and shorts. He owns only two button-down shirts.
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"Having a relaxed environment encourages you to think more openly," Gruhl says. "Dress is part of a much larger culture. It really encourages camaraderie."General Motors, where suits were once expected, now is also much more casual. While business casual is considered appropriate during the workweek, employees representing GM to customers, suppliers and visitors are expected to dress consistently with the norms and expectations of the meeting or event, officials say. Business casual does not include apparel such as athletic shoes, jeans, shorts, tank tops or sweatshirts.Procter & Gamble also allows employees to dress more casually than in previous generations. Ford Motor has a casual business dress code, which is more laid back than 15 or 20 years ago."We ask them to use good judgment," says Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman.The mishmash of conflicting policies has created general confusion and a host of fashion faux pas. Fifty-five percent of employees consider tank tops and exposed undergarments the season's top work-wear mishap, according to an April survey by Monster, an online career and recruitment resource. Nearly 30 percent cited flip-flops, while just 8 percent were put off by Hawaiian-print shirts. The online poll got more than 18,000 responses.It's enough to baffle executives like Suzie Boland, president of RFB Communications Group in Tampa."I saw something new (recently). It was an invitation to an evening business reception that said the dress was 'dressy business casual,' " Boland says in an e-mail. "I give up: What in the name of heaven is that?"Making rules more clearWhat some employers are doing to make rules clear:•Five Point Capital, a San Diego-based equipment-leasing specialist, allows jeans with no rips or holes on Fridays for operations and support departments. No T-shirts, tank tops or exposed thong undergarments are allowed. The company asks that no body parts from the shoulders to the knees be seen, except for arms. The goal is to keep cleavage and belly views at a minimum.•At Texas A&M University, the interim president in May sent out a note to more than 10,000 faculty and staff establishing a new summer dress code in an effort to make employees comfortable while the school tries to reduce costs by keeping building thermostats turned to 75 degrees. "Examples for men are golf or polo shirts and khaki pants, and capri pants and summer sweaters for women," the memo says. Fridays are designated school spirit days, when employees are encouraged to wear clothes with Texas A&M or department logos.•The National Basketball Association has adopted an off-court dress code for players. It requires them to adhere to a business-casual dress policy that includes a long- or short-sleeved dress shirt and/or a sweater, dress slacks, khakis or dress jeans. Appropriate shoes and socks, including dress shoes, dress boots or other presentable shoes, but not including sneakers, sandals, flip-flops or work boots. Sunglasses are not allowed indoors, and NBA players can't wear chains or medallions when on team or league business.Legal issues can arise When it comes to dress policies, there are legal issues, too. Employers who enforce dress codes on women but not men risk sexual discrimination claims, and companies also can get in trouble for taking some steps, such as banning styles that are worn as part of religious beliefs.Some have been sued over policies, such as dress codes requiring Muslim female employees to remove headscarves. In June, a Phoenix jury awarded $287,000 to a Somali employee who had worked at Alamo Car Rental. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the company engaged in religious discrimination for firing her for wearing the scarf during Ramadan.But employers can legally enforce dress requirements as long as they are not discriminatory, and courts have given employers leeway. Harrah's Casino in Reno requires women to wear makeup. Bartender Darlene Jespersen sued the company, saying the policy discriminated against women. In April 2006, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower-court ruling that it was not unlawful gender-based discrimination for an employer to dismiss a female bartender for not complying with dress and grooming standards.Greater leeway is also creating increasing havoc for job interviewees, who are finding the traditional suit may make them seem too stodgy in a more laid-back workplace atmosphere.How employees look can affect how they're perceived: Thirty-six percent of respondents said those who dress casually are perceived as more creative, yet 49% said they run the risk of being taken less seriously, according to a 2006 survey by online job service TheLadders.com. The survey was conducted in August 2006 and included 2,243 executives.But dress is also about personal statement and comfort, and that's why some employees such as Jennifer Cohen, the marketing employee in Philadelphia, bristles at policies and attitudes that she believes stifles self-expression."I can't say I don't push the envelope a little if I'm not going to see clients everyday," she says. "When you're comfortable, you don't worry. You focus on your work."Do you think flip-flops are appropriate business casual attire? Where do you draw the line?Copyright 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Los Angeles ports facing strike threat - Yahoo! News
Los Angeles ports facing strike threat - Yahoo! News
Los Angeles ports facing strike threat
BY ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 16, 2:09 PM ET
LOS ANGELES - Negotiators for a clerical union and some of the world's largest shipping lines and terminal operators worked past a strike deadline Monday to try to reach a contract deal and avert a shutdown of the nation's largest port complex.
The union's deadline had been 12:01 a.m. Monday, but negotiations continued. Workers remained on the job Monday morning and there was no disruption of port operations.
John Fageaux Jr., president of the office clerical unit of Local 63, a division of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said the 750 clerks would strike if talks with employers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach collapsed.
"We're in the process of presenting our last, best and final offer," he said. It could take several hours for the employers to review the offer after it is submitted.
Steve Berry, lead negotiator for the 14 marine terminal operators and other firms who employ the office clerks, wouldn't predict a timetable.
"We're working hard. We just keep going," he said.
The 15,000-member ILWU has indicated that longshoremen would honor picket lines if the clerks strike. That would effectively shut down loading and unloading operations at the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The port complex accounts for 40 percent of all the cargo container traffic coming into the United States.
A work stoppage could create ripple effects throughout many industries that depend on timely movement of cargo. It also would come as the ports enter their busy pre-holiday season, when shippers depend on the facilities to handle imports.
The clerks work at marine terminals and handle bookings for the export of cargo and other transport documents.
Under their most recent contract, full-time, port clerical workers earned about $37.50 an hour, or $78,000 a year. They also receive a pension, health care benefits free of premiums, and 20 paid holidays a year.
Berry said Monday that employers' latest offer included raises that over the life of a three-year contract would bump the employees' hourly pay to $39.50; the union is seeking increases that would equal $53 per hour by the last year of the contract.
In 2002, longshore workers across the West Coast were locked out for 10 days over a contract dispute. The shutdown cost the nation's economy an estimated $1 billion to $2 billion a day.
Los Angeles ports facing strike threat
BY ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 16, 2:09 PM ET
LOS ANGELES - Negotiators for a clerical union and some of the world's largest shipping lines and terminal operators worked past a strike deadline Monday to try to reach a contract deal and avert a shutdown of the nation's largest port complex.
The union's deadline had been 12:01 a.m. Monday, but negotiations continued. Workers remained on the job Monday morning and there was no disruption of port operations.
John Fageaux Jr., president of the office clerical unit of Local 63, a division of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said the 750 clerks would strike if talks with employers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach collapsed.
"We're in the process of presenting our last, best and final offer," he said. It could take several hours for the employers to review the offer after it is submitted.
Steve Berry, lead negotiator for the 14 marine terminal operators and other firms who employ the office clerks, wouldn't predict a timetable.
"We're working hard. We just keep going," he said.
The 15,000-member ILWU has indicated that longshoremen would honor picket lines if the clerks strike. That would effectively shut down loading and unloading operations at the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The port complex accounts for 40 percent of all the cargo container traffic coming into the United States.
A work stoppage could create ripple effects throughout many industries that depend on timely movement of cargo. It also would come as the ports enter their busy pre-holiday season, when shippers depend on the facilities to handle imports.
The clerks work at marine terminals and handle bookings for the export of cargo and other transport documents.
Under their most recent contract, full-time, port clerical workers earned about $37.50 an hour, or $78,000 a year. They also receive a pension, health care benefits free of premiums, and 20 paid holidays a year.
Berry said Monday that employers' latest offer included raises that over the life of a three-year contract would bump the employees' hourly pay to $39.50; the union is seeking increases that would equal $53 per hour by the last year of the contract.
In 2002, longshore workers across the West Coast were locked out for 10 days over a contract dispute. The shutdown cost the nation's economy an estimated $1 billion to $2 billion a day.
Friday, July 13, 2007
2 NY teens charged with school plot - Yahoo! News
2 NY teens charged with school plot - Yahoo! News
Can you say "Trailer Park"???
2 NY teens charged with school plot
By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago
Two teenagers were charged with conspiring to attack a Long Island high school on the anniversary of the Columbine attacks after a chilling journal and videotape surfaced in which one teen identifies several potential victims by name, authorities said Friday.
"I will start a chain of terrorism in the world," a 15-year-old suspected of planning the assault allegedly wrote in the journal, which led to his arrest. "This will go down in history. Take out everyone there. Perfecto."
Both teens were charged with misdemeanor conspiracy, punishable by up to a year in jail. The 15-year-old was scheduled to appear in juvenile court Friday; the second suspect, 17-year-old Michael McDonough, pleaded not guilty.
Authorities said the two suspects, co-workers at a suburban McDonald's, targeted scores of students in an attack they planned for April 20, 2008 — the ninth anniversary of the Columbine High School rampage, where 12 students and a teacher were killed in Littleton, Colo.
The two teens planned to attack Connetquot High School in Bohemia, about 50 miles east of New York City, Dormer said. The 15-year-old was the driving force behind the plan, authorities said, and was recently suspended for making threats of violence.
On July 6, school authorities obtained a handwritten journal that contained "numerous terrorist threats and plans to attack the school on a future date," police said. The journal was turned over to the school after the 15-year-old dropped it in the McDonald's parking lot, Dormer said.
"He felt that everyone was against him," Dormer said of the 15-year-old, whose name was withheld due to his age. "The world was against him. He was upset at life in general and the world in general."
Police found that the teen who penned the journal had already tried several times to buy weapons online, including five pounds of explosive black powder and an Uzi. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said Friday that officers were still trying to determine "if any weapons have been acquired over the Internet."
Neighbors in the mobile home park where McDonough lives described him as a "nice boy" who did odd jobs for them such as mowing lawns. His father told the court that McDonough, who attended Sachem North High School, was receiving mental health counseling.
A woman who answered the telephone Friday at the county's Legal Aid, which is representing McDonough, declined comment and hung up.
More than 2,000 students attend Connetquot High School in Bohemia, a working-class community near Brookhaven on the eastern end of Long Island.
___
Associated Press writer Amy Westfeldt contributed to this report.
(This version CORRECTS the dateline.)
Can you say "Trailer Park"???
2 NY teens charged with school plot
By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago
Two teenagers were charged with conspiring to attack a Long Island high school on the anniversary of the Columbine attacks after a chilling journal and videotape surfaced in which one teen identifies several potential victims by name, authorities said Friday.
"I will start a chain of terrorism in the world," a 15-year-old suspected of planning the assault allegedly wrote in the journal, which led to his arrest. "This will go down in history. Take out everyone there. Perfecto."
Both teens were charged with misdemeanor conspiracy, punishable by up to a year in jail. The 15-year-old was scheduled to appear in juvenile court Friday; the second suspect, 17-year-old Michael McDonough, pleaded not guilty.
Authorities said the two suspects, co-workers at a suburban McDonald's, targeted scores of students in an attack they planned for April 20, 2008 — the ninth anniversary of the Columbine High School rampage, where 12 students and a teacher were killed in Littleton, Colo.
The two teens planned to attack Connetquot High School in Bohemia, about 50 miles east of New York City, Dormer said. The 15-year-old was the driving force behind the plan, authorities said, and was recently suspended for making threats of violence.
On July 6, school authorities obtained a handwritten journal that contained "numerous terrorist threats and plans to attack the school on a future date," police said. The journal was turned over to the school after the 15-year-old dropped it in the McDonald's parking lot, Dormer said.
"He felt that everyone was against him," Dormer said of the 15-year-old, whose name was withheld due to his age. "The world was against him. He was upset at life in general and the world in general."
Police found that the teen who penned the journal had already tried several times to buy weapons online, including five pounds of explosive black powder and an Uzi. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said Friday that officers were still trying to determine "if any weapons have been acquired over the Internet."
Neighbors in the mobile home park where McDonough lives described him as a "nice boy" who did odd jobs for them such as mowing lawns. His father told the court that McDonough, who attended Sachem North High School, was receiving mental health counseling.
A woman who answered the telephone Friday at the county's Legal Aid, which is representing McDonough, declined comment and hung up.
More than 2,000 students attend Connetquot High School in Bohemia, a working-class community near Brookhaven on the eastern end of Long Island.
___
Associated Press writer Amy Westfeldt contributed to this report.
(This version CORRECTS the dateline.)
- Speed Trap What Police Officer Uses to Catch You - AOL Autos
- Speed Trap What Police Officer Uses to Catch You - AOL Autos
Speed Trap: What a Police Officer Uses to Catch You
By KEVIN RANSOM, AOL AUTOS
What to Look Out for:
• Good old-fashioned radar: method of speed detection you know and loathe
• Laser Guns: same technology, but more accurate than old-school radar
• Aerial Detection: a more cunning way to catch you
• Speed Cameras: You won’t know what hit you until you get the mail
Of course no one likes getting a speeding ticket, and who hasn't cried out, "You gotta be kidding me!" upon learning that a heavy foot just lightened your wallet by $150 or $200? But the sad truth is, the best way to avoid that kind of a bite is to just slow down, because police officers -- whether they be city cops, state troopers or county sheriff's deputies -- definitely have technology on their side.
At this point in the history of highway driving, everyone knows that the most popular police speed traps employ good old-fashioned radar. In this scenario, of course, a police officer will stealthily park his or her police car out of the view of oncoming motorists, perhaps under an overpass, in a ditch in the middle of the freeway or behind a billboard.Then, the police officer will flip on a radar unit that transmits radio waves at particular frequencies. The waves bounce off the target, in this case, a car that the police officer thinks is speeding, and those waves are then picked up by a receiver. The shift in frequencies tells the police officer how fast the car is going.In recent years, however, more and more police departments have been using laser guns, either in addition to or instead of radar. "We began using the laser guns about 10 years ago," says one former police officer from a midwestern state, who asked that we not use his real name. We'll call him Jack.
" Then, there will be a 'spotter' in a police copter or plane, and he can calculate your speed ... "
"They're actually more efficient than radar. The laser guns can pinpoint a specific car much more accurately," says Jack. The other advantage to using a laser gun is that the laser light can't be detected by those pricey radar detectors often used by drivers who would really rather speed with impunity -- or is that immunity?One of the more sly methods that police officers use to detect hot-footing motorists is aerial detection. Typically, this is done by painting white lines at either end of a stretch of highway -- usually a quarter-mile or half-mile long. A police officer in a helicopter or plane will time how long it takes the driver to travel the distance between the lines. "That allows the spotter to calculate the driver's speed," says Jack. "He can then just call ahead to an officer in a patrol car on the ground that's another two or three miles down the highway, and tell him, 'green Taurus, left lane.'"In another aerial speed-detection technique, the police officer simply does a visual estimate of the speed of the cars below, and compares it to the "ground speed" of the helicopter based on using visual targets along the highway.
There is yet another method to catch speeders, and it doesn't require a police officer to be physically present at the speed trap location. Speed cameras are attached to lampposts or telephone poles and are programmed to snap photos of speeding vehicles. While speed cameras have been employed on a comparatively limited basis in the United States, they've been used more extensively in Europe, Canada and other parts of the world for more than 30 years, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.This method can deliver a delayed shock to the system of a speeder, since the driver isn't pulled over on the spot. He won't know that he's gotten a speeding ticket until he receives the eye-popping infraction notice in the mail. If you have a problem controlling your tongue in the presence of a police officer who has just written you a $200 speeding ticket, this ticketing system might be your favorite.Sometimes, the best enforcement of speed limits is a not-so-subtle reminder in the form of the electronic speed boards you see alongside a highway that flash big, bright, white-hot numbers in your face to let you know how fast you're going. These boards also employ radar.
" That’s a myth that we had quotas on how many traffic tickets we had to write in a single month. "
"The radar unit sees the target, transmits the radio waves, they bounce back, and tell the drivers how fast they're going," says Jack. "We used to think of those speed boards as being more of an 'awareness program,' because they reminded people how fast they were going. A lot of drivers really don't know how fast they're going, so these speed boards essentially are a means of urging voluntary compliance."And, according to Jack, that's the main point of enforcing speed limits via speed traps. While traffic fines do augment revenues for the city, state or country, that's not why speed traps are set up, says Jack. "That's a myth that we had quotas on how many traffic tickets we had to write in a single month. We just want people to obey the speed limit, because it's for their own safety," says Jack. "The main reason for setting up a speed trap, whether it's radar, laser or aerial monitoring, is simply to encourage voluntary compliance of the law," says Jack."And we never cared if someone called in a radio station and says, 'Oh, there's a speed trap set up on such-and-such a road,' because it achieved the same result as a motorist seeing a cop writing someone a ticket. It got people to slow down."(Ed. Note: Based on reader reaction to the statement about quotas we consulted a second police officer, a highway patrolman in the southwest, and he offered the same answer, "We didn't have quotas, either." said Carl, whose name was changed for reasons of anonymity. "In my experience, speeding-citation revenues were not a great portion of municipal revenue. Speed enforcement is for the benefit of the public -- to reduce the number of accidents, especially fatal accidents. Unfortunately, drivers think they know best what they should be able to do, and choose convenience over caution." It is possible quotas are enforced in some states or districts and not in others, like Jack's or Carl's.)
Speed Trap: What a Police Officer Uses to Catch You
By KEVIN RANSOM, AOL AUTOS
What to Look Out for:
• Good old-fashioned radar: method of speed detection you know and loathe
• Laser Guns: same technology, but more accurate than old-school radar
• Aerial Detection: a more cunning way to catch you
• Speed Cameras: You won’t know what hit you until you get the mail
Of course no one likes getting a speeding ticket, and who hasn't cried out, "You gotta be kidding me!" upon learning that a heavy foot just lightened your wallet by $150 or $200? But the sad truth is, the best way to avoid that kind of a bite is to just slow down, because police officers -- whether they be city cops, state troopers or county sheriff's deputies -- definitely have technology on their side.
At this point in the history of highway driving, everyone knows that the most popular police speed traps employ good old-fashioned radar. In this scenario, of course, a police officer will stealthily park his or her police car out of the view of oncoming motorists, perhaps under an overpass, in a ditch in the middle of the freeway or behind a billboard.Then, the police officer will flip on a radar unit that transmits radio waves at particular frequencies. The waves bounce off the target, in this case, a car that the police officer thinks is speeding, and those waves are then picked up by a receiver. The shift in frequencies tells the police officer how fast the car is going.In recent years, however, more and more police departments have been using laser guns, either in addition to or instead of radar. "We began using the laser guns about 10 years ago," says one former police officer from a midwestern state, who asked that we not use his real name. We'll call him Jack.
" Then, there will be a 'spotter' in a police copter or plane, and he can calculate your speed ... "
"They're actually more efficient than radar. The laser guns can pinpoint a specific car much more accurately," says Jack. The other advantage to using a laser gun is that the laser light can't be detected by those pricey radar detectors often used by drivers who would really rather speed with impunity -- or is that immunity?One of the more sly methods that police officers use to detect hot-footing motorists is aerial detection. Typically, this is done by painting white lines at either end of a stretch of highway -- usually a quarter-mile or half-mile long. A police officer in a helicopter or plane will time how long it takes the driver to travel the distance between the lines. "That allows the spotter to calculate the driver's speed," says Jack. "He can then just call ahead to an officer in a patrol car on the ground that's another two or three miles down the highway, and tell him, 'green Taurus, left lane.'"In another aerial speed-detection technique, the police officer simply does a visual estimate of the speed of the cars below, and compares it to the "ground speed" of the helicopter based on using visual targets along the highway.
There is yet another method to catch speeders, and it doesn't require a police officer to be physically present at the speed trap location. Speed cameras are attached to lampposts or telephone poles and are programmed to snap photos of speeding vehicles. While speed cameras have been employed on a comparatively limited basis in the United States, they've been used more extensively in Europe, Canada and other parts of the world for more than 30 years, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.This method can deliver a delayed shock to the system of a speeder, since the driver isn't pulled over on the spot. He won't know that he's gotten a speeding ticket until he receives the eye-popping infraction notice in the mail. If you have a problem controlling your tongue in the presence of a police officer who has just written you a $200 speeding ticket, this ticketing system might be your favorite.Sometimes, the best enforcement of speed limits is a not-so-subtle reminder in the form of the electronic speed boards you see alongside a highway that flash big, bright, white-hot numbers in your face to let you know how fast you're going. These boards also employ radar.
" That’s a myth that we had quotas on how many traffic tickets we had to write in a single month. "
"The radar unit sees the target, transmits the radio waves, they bounce back, and tell the drivers how fast they're going," says Jack. "We used to think of those speed boards as being more of an 'awareness program,' because they reminded people how fast they were going. A lot of drivers really don't know how fast they're going, so these speed boards essentially are a means of urging voluntary compliance."And, according to Jack, that's the main point of enforcing speed limits via speed traps. While traffic fines do augment revenues for the city, state or country, that's not why speed traps are set up, says Jack. "That's a myth that we had quotas on how many traffic tickets we had to write in a single month. We just want people to obey the speed limit, because it's for their own safety," says Jack. "The main reason for setting up a speed trap, whether it's radar, laser or aerial monitoring, is simply to encourage voluntary compliance of the law," says Jack."And we never cared if someone called in a radio station and says, 'Oh, there's a speed trap set up on such-and-such a road,' because it achieved the same result as a motorist seeing a cop writing someone a ticket. It got people to slow down."(Ed. Note: Based on reader reaction to the statement about quotas we consulted a second police officer, a highway patrolman in the southwest, and he offered the same answer, "We didn't have quotas, either." said Carl, whose name was changed for reasons of anonymity. "In my experience, speeding-citation revenues were not a great portion of municipal revenue. Speed enforcement is for the benefit of the public -- to reduce the number of accidents, especially fatal accidents. Unfortunately, drivers think they know best what they should be able to do, and choose convenience over caution." It is possible quotas are enforced in some states or districts and not in others, like Jack's or Carl's.)
Jail for Women in Burqas, Lawmaker Says
Jail for Women in Burqas, Lawmaker Says
AP
Posted: 2007-07-13 02:02:24
Filed Under: World
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (July 13) - A right-wing Dutch lawmaker wants women jailed for wearing the head-to-toe Islamic robe known as a burqa, calling it a "symbol of oppression."
Fred Ernst, AP
This is the second time Dutch lawmakers have proposed a ban on the burqa. When the first ban was suggested.
Geert Wilders , whose Freedom Party has nine lawmakers in the 150-seat lower house of Dutch parliament, filed a proposal Thursday to make wearing a burqa in public a crime punishable by up to 12 days jail.
"The burqa and niqab are a symbol of oppression of women," Wilders told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. He said burqas and the niqab - a full-faced veil with only a slit for the eyes - hindered integration of Muslim women into Dutch society and also posed a security risk.An Islamic community spokesman, Ayhan Tonca, called Wilders ' proposal "totally out of proportion" and accused him of seeking to broaden a rift between Muslims and the rest of Dutch society.
Last November, the Dutch government said it was drawing up legislation to ban burqas, but that administration was defeated in elections the same month. The new centrist coalition of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has no plans to implement a burqa ban, meaning Wilders ' proposal has little chance of becoming law.
Few women wear the burqa in the Netherlands, but the debate over whether to outlaw it underscores a drift away from traditional Dutch tolerance and unease with the growing influence of Islam in the country. About 6 percent of the Dutch population of 16 million is Muslim.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
AP
Posted: 2007-07-13 02:02:24
Filed Under: World
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (July 13) - A right-wing Dutch lawmaker wants women jailed for wearing the head-to-toe Islamic robe known as a burqa, calling it a "symbol of oppression."
Fred Ernst, AP
This is the second time Dutch lawmakers have proposed a ban on the burqa. When the first ban was suggested.
Geert Wilders , whose Freedom Party has nine lawmakers in the 150-seat lower house of Dutch parliament, filed a proposal Thursday to make wearing a burqa in public a crime punishable by up to 12 days jail.
"The burqa and niqab are a symbol of oppression of women," Wilders told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. He said burqas and the niqab - a full-faced veil with only a slit for the eyes - hindered integration of Muslim women into Dutch society and also posed a security risk.An Islamic community spokesman, Ayhan Tonca, called Wilders ' proposal "totally out of proportion" and accused him of seeking to broaden a rift between Muslims and the rest of Dutch society.
Last November, the Dutch government said it was drawing up legislation to ban burqas, but that administration was defeated in elections the same month. The new centrist coalition of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has no plans to implement a burqa ban, meaning Wilders ' proposal has little chance of becoming law.
Few women wear the burqa in the Netherlands, but the debate over whether to outlaw it underscores a drift away from traditional Dutch tolerance and unease with the growing influence of Islam in the country. About 6 percent of the Dutch population of 16 million is Muslim.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
America Doesn’t Belong to Americans Anymore ~ Chris Pirillo
America Doesn’t Belong to Americans Anymore ~ Chris Pirillo
America Doesn’t Belong to Americans Anymore
July 12, 2007 at 7:58 pm · in Science, Political · Comments
Via Bad Astronomy comes news that the United States government is pulling a “Catholic Church” by squelching science and wisdom:
So now we have an ex-Surgeon General saying the Bush White House pressured him not to talk about stem cell research and other topics not deemed palatable by this troglodyte Administration that is so routinely antiscience that if they said the Sun rises in the West we’d have a hundred slavering “journalists” saying they have been saying that for years, and hardly anyone would notice.
And this is what Carmona stated, quite clearly:
“Anything that doesn’t fit into the political appointees’ ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried,” Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation’s top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.
This is not a partisan issue - everybody in government with a modicum of power and responsibility is to share this blame equally. If you truly believe that the government has your best interests at heart, I’d encourage you to start thinking with your brain instead of your goddamned television set.
Either they haven’t figured out how to properly monetize stem cell solutions, or the pharmaceuticals’ pockets are far deeper. Trust me - at the end of the day, this is a money issue (not a science issue, nor a religious issue). This is the way politics works - and your ignorant life is the one on the line.
If you already know that your life is on the line and you’re not doing anything about it, you’re not ignorant - you’re stupid. You can’t keep dismissing these issues and expect that some pundit on the radio or television is going to give it to you straight. There is no supreme source for information (despite what CNN or Fox News or The New York Times or Time Magazine or Sean Hannity or Al Franken would have you believe).
The Earth is flat. It’s the truth because we’re told it’s the truth. It’s the truth because those in power tell you it’s the truth. It’s the truth because everybody believes it’s the truth. The Earth is flat - common sense.
Now, let’s see how long it takes before Dr. Carmona suffers a character assassination…
When Copernicus published his work, he was contradicting what the Church taught and thus was a heretic. Since Copernicus died before anything could be done to him, the worst punishment was that his book was placed on the Index (list of “naughty” books) in 1616 and wasn’t removed until 1835. However, people who came later suffered by way of the Catholic Church, in particular Bruno and Galileo who were both called before the Inquisition and charged with being heretics.
America Doesn’t Belong to Americans Anymore
July 12, 2007 at 7:58 pm · in Science, Political · Comments
Via Bad Astronomy comes news that the United States government is pulling a “Catholic Church” by squelching science and wisdom:
So now we have an ex-Surgeon General saying the Bush White House pressured him not to talk about stem cell research and other topics not deemed palatable by this troglodyte Administration that is so routinely antiscience that if they said the Sun rises in the West we’d have a hundred slavering “journalists” saying they have been saying that for years, and hardly anyone would notice.
And this is what Carmona stated, quite clearly:
“Anything that doesn’t fit into the political appointees’ ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried,” Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation’s top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.
This is not a partisan issue - everybody in government with a modicum of power and responsibility is to share this blame equally. If you truly believe that the government has your best interests at heart, I’d encourage you to start thinking with your brain instead of your goddamned television set.
Either they haven’t figured out how to properly monetize stem cell solutions, or the pharmaceuticals’ pockets are far deeper. Trust me - at the end of the day, this is a money issue (not a science issue, nor a religious issue). This is the way politics works - and your ignorant life is the one on the line.
If you already know that your life is on the line and you’re not doing anything about it, you’re not ignorant - you’re stupid. You can’t keep dismissing these issues and expect that some pundit on the radio or television is going to give it to you straight. There is no supreme source for information (despite what CNN or Fox News or The New York Times or Time Magazine or Sean Hannity or Al Franken would have you believe).
The Earth is flat. It’s the truth because we’re told it’s the truth. It’s the truth because those in power tell you it’s the truth. It’s the truth because everybody believes it’s the truth. The Earth is flat - common sense.
Now, let’s see how long it takes before Dr. Carmona suffers a character assassination…
When Copernicus published his work, he was contradicting what the Church taught and thus was a heretic. Since Copernicus died before anything could be done to him, the worst punishment was that his book was placed on the Index (list of “naughty” books) in 1616 and wasn’t removed until 1835. However, people who came later suffered by way of the Catholic Church, in particular Bruno and Galileo who were both called before the Inquisition and charged with being heretics.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Bride accused in shoe attack on groom
"Bride accused in shoe attack on groom
A Scottish bride attacked her new husband with her stiletto shoe, striking the groom in the head in an upstairs hotel room while their wedding reception went on below, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Teresa Brown, 33, told police she and her husband had 'been accusing each other of different things,' prosecutor Alan Townsend said. Brown said she hit him on the head after their April wedding because he grabbed her, Townsend added.
The distraught groom, Mark Allerton, 40, staggered to the front desk, clutching a bloody towel to his head, Townsend said.
'He indicated that his wife had struck him over the head with a stiletto heel,' the prosecutor said.
Police found Brown sitting on the hotel room bed, surrounded by broken glass. She spent the rest of her wedding weekend in a cell.
Brown's lawyer Stuart Beveridge said the newlyweds began throwing things at each other after an argument in their room turned physical. He said Brown was on antidepressants at the time and had been drinking.
'She and her husband are still together although this incident has not helped,' he said, adding she is receiving counseling.
Sheriff James Tierney dropped the assault charge against Brown by issuing a warning and fining her $505 for damaging the hotel room. He also ordered her to pay the hotel $1,150 in compensation."
A Scottish bride attacked her new husband with her stiletto shoe, striking the groom in the head in an upstairs hotel room while their wedding reception went on below, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Teresa Brown, 33, told police she and her husband had 'been accusing each other of different things,' prosecutor Alan Townsend said. Brown said she hit him on the head after their April wedding because he grabbed her, Townsend added.
The distraught groom, Mark Allerton, 40, staggered to the front desk, clutching a bloody towel to his head, Townsend said.
'He indicated that his wife had struck him over the head with a stiletto heel,' the prosecutor said.
Police found Brown sitting on the hotel room bed, surrounded by broken glass. She spent the rest of her wedding weekend in a cell.
Brown's lawyer Stuart Beveridge said the newlyweds began throwing things at each other after an argument in their room turned physical. He said Brown was on antidepressants at the time and had been drinking.
'She and her husband are still together although this incident has not helped,' he said, adding she is receiving counseling.
Sheriff James Tierney dropped the assault charge against Brown by issuing a warning and fining her $505 for damaging the hotel room. He also ordered her to pay the hotel $1,150 in compensation."
Monday, July 9, 2007
Obese survive heart attacks better - Yahoo! News
Obese survive heart attacks better
By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer 1 hour, 52 minutes ago
LONDON - While being fat increases your chances of a heart attack, some studies suggest a puzzling paradox: Obese people seem to have a better chance of surviving one.
Scientists are stumped over why that seems to be the case and pose several theories. There may be physiological differences in the hearts of obese and normal-weight people. Or perhaps it depends on where the fat is on their bodies.
However, experts warn, the results should not be used as an excuse for the overweight to indulge.
"We really don't want people to think that they should put on a bit of weight to have a better chance with their bypass surgery," said Dr. Gerald Fletcher, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Florida and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.
"These results do not mean it's OK to be fat. Being fat is still dangerous to your health for lots of other reasons," Fletcher said.
A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Medicine by scientists at Duke University examined nearly 16,000 people in 37 countries. The authors found that one year after a heart attack, the death rate for normal-weight patients was 4.3 percent. For obese patients, it was just 2.2 percent.
Several other studies have confirmed those findings, including a paper last month in the European Heart Journal. German and Swiss doctors tracked more than 1,600 patients for three years after their heart attacks, and concluded that only 3.6 percent of fat patients had died, against nearly 10 percent of normal-weight patients.
"We don't have a good explanation for the biological phenomenon that's causing this," said Dr. Eric Eisenstein, leader of the Duke study. "We need to understand scientifically what's happening in these folks before we can develop new therapies."
There is a higher prevalence of smoking among thin patients, one possible explanation. But even after statistically adjusting for that, fat patients still had a distinct advantage, researchers found.
Some experts suggest it depends on where the fat is located, noting that fat around the abdomen is the biggest risk. Other doctors think there may be physiological differences in the heart.
"It could be that the hearts of obese people are 'pre-conditioned' because they're under more stress in the first place," said Dr. Andrew Newby, a professor of vascular biology at Bristol Heart Institute and spokesman for the European Society of Cardiology. Newby said that fat people who had heart attacks might be better able to withstand the initial shock to the system.
Dr. Rob Califf of Duke University said the survival rate difference between fat and thin "is not a big enough factor" to make changes in patient care. Other signs such as the magnitude of the heart attack and whether patients have kidney problems are more important in predicting survival, he said.
But experts say it is important to better understand the fat-thin paradox so doctors can provide better treatment.
Some suggested that fat people who have heart attacks can markedly improve their survival odds if they make some major lifestyle changes, an option that normal-weight patients may not have.
"Even moderate weight loss can have a big impact," said Dr. Heinz Buettner of the Heart Centre in Bad Krozingen in Germany. "Obese patients have a better chance to correct their situation compared to thin patients who may just have bad genes."
Because obesity can lead to other dangers — including high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer — the apparent survival advantage fat people have after a heart attack might be erased by something worse down the line.
"Obese patients may get lucky after one heart attack, but they are still high-risk patients," said Fletcher. "If they stay fat after their surgery, they could end up back in the hospital soon and more bad things could happen."
By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer 1 hour, 52 minutes ago
LONDON - While being fat increases your chances of a heart attack, some studies suggest a puzzling paradox: Obese people seem to have a better chance of surviving one.
Scientists are stumped over why that seems to be the case and pose several theories. There may be physiological differences in the hearts of obese and normal-weight people. Or perhaps it depends on where the fat is on their bodies.
However, experts warn, the results should not be used as an excuse for the overweight to indulge.
"We really don't want people to think that they should put on a bit of weight to have a better chance with their bypass surgery," said Dr. Gerald Fletcher, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Florida and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.
"These results do not mean it's OK to be fat. Being fat is still dangerous to your health for lots of other reasons," Fletcher said.
A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Medicine by scientists at Duke University examined nearly 16,000 people in 37 countries. The authors found that one year after a heart attack, the death rate for normal-weight patients was 4.3 percent. For obese patients, it was just 2.2 percent.
Several other studies have confirmed those findings, including a paper last month in the European Heart Journal. German and Swiss doctors tracked more than 1,600 patients for three years after their heart attacks, and concluded that only 3.6 percent of fat patients had died, against nearly 10 percent of normal-weight patients.
"We don't have a good explanation for the biological phenomenon that's causing this," said Dr. Eric Eisenstein, leader of the Duke study. "We need to understand scientifically what's happening in these folks before we can develop new therapies."
There is a higher prevalence of smoking among thin patients, one possible explanation. But even after statistically adjusting for that, fat patients still had a distinct advantage, researchers found.
Some experts suggest it depends on where the fat is located, noting that fat around the abdomen is the biggest risk. Other doctors think there may be physiological differences in the heart.
"It could be that the hearts of obese people are 'pre-conditioned' because they're under more stress in the first place," said Dr. Andrew Newby, a professor of vascular biology at Bristol Heart Institute and spokesman for the European Society of Cardiology. Newby said that fat people who had heart attacks might be better able to withstand the initial shock to the system.
Dr. Rob Califf of Duke University said the survival rate difference between fat and thin "is not a big enough factor" to make changes in patient care. Other signs such as the magnitude of the heart attack and whether patients have kidney problems are more important in predicting survival, he said.
But experts say it is important to better understand the fat-thin paradox so doctors can provide better treatment.
Some suggested that fat people who have heart attacks can markedly improve their survival odds if they make some major lifestyle changes, an option that normal-weight patients may not have.
"Even moderate weight loss can have a big impact," said Dr. Heinz Buettner of the Heart Centre in Bad Krozingen in Germany. "Obese patients have a better chance to correct their situation compared to thin patients who may just have bad genes."
Because obesity can lead to other dangers — including high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer — the apparent survival advantage fat people have after a heart attack might be erased by something worse down the line.
"Obese patients may get lucky after one heart attack, but they are still high-risk patients," said Fletcher. "If they stay fat after their surgery, they could end up back in the hospital soon and more bad things could happen."
Hasek - Why won't you just GO AWAY!!!!
Red Wings re-sign G Hasek, F Hudler
By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports WriterJuly 6, 2007
AP - Jul 5, 11:28 pm EDTMore Photos
DETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Red Wings checked off two of the top items on their offseason to-do list by re-signing star goalie Dominik Hasek and up-and-coming forward Jiri Hudler.
The Red Wings and Hasek agreed Thursday to terms of a one-year contract worth more than $2 million in base salary with a chance to earn an additional $2 million in bonuses.
Hudler, a restricted free agent, signed a two-year contract that will pay him $880,000 next season.
The 42-year-old Hasek, a six-time Vezina Trophy winner and two-time MVP, informed the Red Wings that he wanted to play in Detroit again. But it took weeks for both sides to reach a deal.
"It's a lot less than he should be making," said Hasek's agent, Ritch Winter. "It's one of the few deals that I do in which the player, the club and the agent agree the player is worth $5 (million) or $6 million and we talk it down from there.
"Dom didn't want more. He's taking one for the team. It's not one of my fun deals, but Dom is happy and that's important."
In July 2006, Hasek signed a one-year contract worth $750,000 and earned $900,000 in bonuses after helping the Red Wings advance past the second round for the first time since 2002. Detroit was eliminated in the Western Conference finals by the Anaheim Ducks, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Hasek was 38-11-6 with a 2.05 goals-against average, .913 save-percentage and eight shutouts during his 15th regular season and third in Detroit. In the playoffs, Hasek was 10-8 with a 1.79 GAA, .923 save-percentage and two shutouts.
He looked a lot like he did in his previous playoff appearance in 2002, when he had six postseason shutouts en route to the Stanley Cup. Hasek has 362 career regular-season victories over a 14-year career in Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit and Ottawa.
Hudler, 23 and like Hasek a native of the Czech Republic, led Detroit's rookies with 15 goals and 25 points in 76 games last season, his first full year in the NHL. He had two assists in six playoff games.
"We felt it was important to get him signed because he's a young player that was able to score 15 goals in part-time duty last season," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said Thursday. "And with our salary cap, you can't address every need with unrestricted free agents.
"You need some homegrown tomatoes."
Hudler had 36 goals and 97 points during the 2005-06 season for Grand Rapids in the AHL.
The Red Wings might not make another significant move this offseason.
They added free agent defenseman Brian Rafalski last week, shortly after losing Mathieu Schneider in free agency. But they don't expect to replace departed forwards Robert Lang or Todd Bertuzzi, both of whom left the team as free agents.
"We would like to add a top-six forward, but we're probably not going to be able to because of what's on the market, our cap space now and our plans for the future," Holland said. "We'd like to add an NHL veteran up front to help our depth before training camp and we'll also bring in some minor league defensemen.
"But we really need our young guys, such as Jiri Hudler, to step forward and contribute consistently."
By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports WriterJuly 6, 2007
AP - Jul 5, 11:28 pm EDTMore Photos
DETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Red Wings checked off two of the top items on their offseason to-do list by re-signing star goalie Dominik Hasek and up-and-coming forward Jiri Hudler.
The Red Wings and Hasek agreed Thursday to terms of a one-year contract worth more than $2 million in base salary with a chance to earn an additional $2 million in bonuses.
Hudler, a restricted free agent, signed a two-year contract that will pay him $880,000 next season.
The 42-year-old Hasek, a six-time Vezina Trophy winner and two-time MVP, informed the Red Wings that he wanted to play in Detroit again. But it took weeks for both sides to reach a deal.
"It's a lot less than he should be making," said Hasek's agent, Ritch Winter. "It's one of the few deals that I do in which the player, the club and the agent agree the player is worth $5 (million) or $6 million and we talk it down from there.
"Dom didn't want more. He's taking one for the team. It's not one of my fun deals, but Dom is happy and that's important."
In July 2006, Hasek signed a one-year contract worth $750,000 and earned $900,000 in bonuses after helping the Red Wings advance past the second round for the first time since 2002. Detroit was eliminated in the Western Conference finals by the Anaheim Ducks, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Hasek was 38-11-6 with a 2.05 goals-against average, .913 save-percentage and eight shutouts during his 15th regular season and third in Detroit. In the playoffs, Hasek was 10-8 with a 1.79 GAA, .923 save-percentage and two shutouts.
He looked a lot like he did in his previous playoff appearance in 2002, when he had six postseason shutouts en route to the Stanley Cup. Hasek has 362 career regular-season victories over a 14-year career in Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit and Ottawa.
Hudler, 23 and like Hasek a native of the Czech Republic, led Detroit's rookies with 15 goals and 25 points in 76 games last season, his first full year in the NHL. He had two assists in six playoff games.
"We felt it was important to get him signed because he's a young player that was able to score 15 goals in part-time duty last season," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said Thursday. "And with our salary cap, you can't address every need with unrestricted free agents.
"You need some homegrown tomatoes."
Hudler had 36 goals and 97 points during the 2005-06 season for Grand Rapids in the AHL.
The Red Wings might not make another significant move this offseason.
They added free agent defenseman Brian Rafalski last week, shortly after losing Mathieu Schneider in free agency. But they don't expect to replace departed forwards Robert Lang or Todd Bertuzzi, both of whom left the team as free agents.
"We would like to add a top-six forward, but we're probably not going to be able to because of what's on the market, our cap space now and our plans for the future," Holland said. "We'd like to add an NHL veteran up front to help our depth before training camp and we'll also bring in some minor league defensemen.
"But we really need our young guys, such as Jiri Hudler, to step forward and contribute consistently."
Pumpkins may make insulin jabs history
Pumpkins may make insulin jabs historyFrom our ANI CorrespondentWashington, July 9: A new study by boffins in China has given new hope to diabetics by finding that compounds in pumpkin could potentially replace or at least drastically reduce the daily insulin injections.
Researchers led by Tao Xia of the East China Normal University, found that diabetic rats fed the extract had only 5percent less plasma insulin and 8 percent fewer insulin-positive (beta) cells compared to normal healthy rats.Xia now says that the pumpkin extract is a potential treatment for pre-diabetics as well as diabetics that could help drastically reduce the amount of insulin they need to take."Pumpkin extract is potentially a very good product for pre-diabetic persons, as well as those who have already developed diabetes," he said.David Bender, sub-dean at the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, called the findings 'very exciting' but insisted that tests needed to be carried out first on humans before reaching any conclusions."This research is very exciting... the main finding is that feeding pumpkin extract prevents the progressive destruction of pancreatic beta-cells... but it is impossible to say whether pumpkin extract would promote regeneration in humans. I think the exciting thing is that this may be a source of a medication that could be taken by mouth," he said.The protective effect of pumpkin is thought to be due to both antioxidants and D-chiro-inositol, a molecule that mediates insulin activity. Boosting insulin levels has the effect of lowering blood sugar levels, which reduces levels of oxidative oxygen species that damage beta-cell membranes, preventing further damage and allowing for some regeneration. Beta cells levels in the diabetic rats are, however, unlikely ever to reach that of controls, because some of the cells will have been damaged beyond repair.The rats used in this study represent type I diabetes, but the researchers believe the pumpkin extract may also play a role in type II diabetes.The findings of the study are published in Chemistry and Industry, the magazine of the SCI.
Copyright Dailyindia.com/ANI
Researchers led by Tao Xia of the East China Normal University, found that diabetic rats fed the extract had only 5percent less plasma insulin and 8 percent fewer insulin-positive (beta) cells compared to normal healthy rats.Xia now says that the pumpkin extract is a potential treatment for pre-diabetics as well as diabetics that could help drastically reduce the amount of insulin they need to take."Pumpkin extract is potentially a very good product for pre-diabetic persons, as well as those who have already developed diabetes," he said.David Bender, sub-dean at the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, called the findings 'very exciting' but insisted that tests needed to be carried out first on humans before reaching any conclusions."This research is very exciting... the main finding is that feeding pumpkin extract prevents the progressive destruction of pancreatic beta-cells... but it is impossible to say whether pumpkin extract would promote regeneration in humans. I think the exciting thing is that this may be a source of a medication that could be taken by mouth," he said.The protective effect of pumpkin is thought to be due to both antioxidants and D-chiro-inositol, a molecule that mediates insulin activity. Boosting insulin levels has the effect of lowering blood sugar levels, which reduces levels of oxidative oxygen species that damage beta-cell membranes, preventing further damage and allowing for some regeneration. Beta cells levels in the diabetic rats are, however, unlikely ever to reach that of controls, because some of the cells will have been damaged beyond repair.The rats used in this study represent type I diabetes, but the researchers believe the pumpkin extract may also play a role in type II diabetes.The findings of the study are published in Chemistry and Industry, the magazine of the SCI.
Copyright Dailyindia.com/ANI
Google Earth Captures China's New Ballistic-Missile Sub
Google Earth Captures China's New Ballistic-Missile Sub
Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service
Monday, July 09, 2007 06:00 AM PDT
Google Inc. is offering a rare public glimpse of China's new ballistic-missile submarine, according to a researcher at the Federation of American Scientists.
"The new submarine was photographed by the commercial Quickbird satellite in late 2006 and the image is freely available on the Google Earth Web site," wrote Hans Kristensen on the Strategic Security Blog.
If you want to see more unusual images captured by Google Earth check out PC World's image gallery on strange sights in Google Earth.
Kristensen identified the submarine, pictured alongside a naval pier, as a Jin-class vessel, one of five that China is expected to build.
Comparing the Google Earth image with a picture of China's existing Xia-class submarine, Kristensen was able to discern some of the features of the new submarine.
"The Jin-class appears to be approximately 35 feet (10 meters) longer than the Xia-class [submarine], primarily due to an extended mid-section of approximately 115 feet (35 meters) that houses the missile launch tubes and part of the reactor compartment," Kristensen wrote.
But the picture was not clear enough to resolve a debate over whether the Jin-class submarine has tubes for 12 or 16 nuclear-tipped missiles.
Discovery of the submarine image is likely to cause consternation within China's military, which generally keeps as low a profile as possible. If so, it wouldn't be the first time that Google Earth has caused worry inside China's government. In 2006, government officials reportedly expressed concerns over Google Earth imagery of the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing, an area normally off limits to prying public eyes.
Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service
Monday, July 09, 2007 06:00 AM PDT
Google Inc. is offering a rare public glimpse of China's new ballistic-missile submarine, according to a researcher at the Federation of American Scientists.
"The new submarine was photographed by the commercial Quickbird satellite in late 2006 and the image is freely available on the Google Earth Web site," wrote Hans Kristensen on the Strategic Security Blog.
If you want to see more unusual images captured by Google Earth check out PC World's image gallery on strange sights in Google Earth.
Kristensen identified the submarine, pictured alongside a naval pier, as a Jin-class vessel, one of five that China is expected to build.
Comparing the Google Earth image with a picture of China's existing Xia-class submarine, Kristensen was able to discern some of the features of the new submarine.
"The Jin-class appears to be approximately 35 feet (10 meters) longer than the Xia-class [submarine], primarily due to an extended mid-section of approximately 115 feet (35 meters) that houses the missile launch tubes and part of the reactor compartment," Kristensen wrote.
But the picture was not clear enough to resolve a debate over whether the Jin-class submarine has tubes for 12 or 16 nuclear-tipped missiles.
Discovery of the submarine image is likely to cause consternation within China's military, which generally keeps as low a profile as possible. If so, it wouldn't be the first time that Google Earth has caused worry inside China's government. In 2006, government officials reportedly expressed concerns over Google Earth imagery of the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing, an area normally off limits to prying public eyes.
Bus Strike Expected to Complicate Commute for Thousands in SoCal
Bus Strike Expected to Complicate Commute for Thousands in SoCal
Monday , July 09, 2007
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The first bus strike in Orange County in more than two decades disrupted the commutes of thousands of riders Monday after 1,100 transportation workers walked off the job.
Companies sought to help employees cope with the strike by setting up car pool hot lines and other resources for people who have no transportation. Transit officials braced for plenty of confusion and frustrated residents.
About 70 percent of Orange County Transportation Authority riders don't have access to a car and half are members of families making $22,000 a year or less, according to the agency's chairwoman, Carolyn Cavecche.
The strike began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after union leaders rejected a salary increase and a 30-day contract extension for the drivers.
Only 31 of the county's 81 bus lines were still running, most of them short routes and rail feeders operated by a subcontractor. One of the major routes still running was being driven by managers who are licensed bus operators.
"We're really hopeful this won't be a long-term situation. We want the union to come back and talk to us," said transit spokesman Joel Zlotnik.
Transportation Authority board members were meeting Monday morning at the transit headquarters in Orange to discuss their next move, and members of the union picketed outside, but no negotiations were scheduled.
"I would hope that they would make some movement and get it done," said Patrick Kelly, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 952. "If not, it's going to be a long, hot July."
The drivers are demanding a 14 percent pay raise over three years, arguing Orange County is one of the most expensive places in the state. Drivers now make between $13.72 to $21.42 an hour. A three-year contract offer of 3 percent pay increases each year was rejected.
One major sticking point has been which drivers will benefit most from proposed wage increases: Labor leaders want to concentrate raises among more senior drivers to reward service; the transportation authority wants to spread the raises more evenly and give a greater portion to those lower on the seniority scale to improve recruiting.
"It's not about money, it's about where the money goes," Kelly said. "There's almost enough money there to get it settled — if they're willing to work with us on allocation."
Meanwhile, commuters and their employers were making alternative plans.
Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, the county's largest employer, set up a hot line that matches workers with car pools in their area, spokesman Bob Tucker said.
Joanna Bear, director of rooms at Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach, said the company also has been organizing car pools among staffers.
"With it being high-season for our resort, we are doing everything we can to help our staffers get to work," she said.
The county's last bus strike, in 1986, lasted 12 days.
Monday , July 09, 2007
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The first bus strike in Orange County in more than two decades disrupted the commutes of thousands of riders Monday after 1,100 transportation workers walked off the job.
Companies sought to help employees cope with the strike by setting up car pool hot lines and other resources for people who have no transportation. Transit officials braced for plenty of confusion and frustrated residents.
About 70 percent of Orange County Transportation Authority riders don't have access to a car and half are members of families making $22,000 a year or less, according to the agency's chairwoman, Carolyn Cavecche.
The strike began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after union leaders rejected a salary increase and a 30-day contract extension for the drivers.
Only 31 of the county's 81 bus lines were still running, most of them short routes and rail feeders operated by a subcontractor. One of the major routes still running was being driven by managers who are licensed bus operators.
"We're really hopeful this won't be a long-term situation. We want the union to come back and talk to us," said transit spokesman Joel Zlotnik.
Transportation Authority board members were meeting Monday morning at the transit headquarters in Orange to discuss their next move, and members of the union picketed outside, but no negotiations were scheduled.
"I would hope that they would make some movement and get it done," said Patrick Kelly, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 952. "If not, it's going to be a long, hot July."
The drivers are demanding a 14 percent pay raise over three years, arguing Orange County is one of the most expensive places in the state. Drivers now make between $13.72 to $21.42 an hour. A three-year contract offer of 3 percent pay increases each year was rejected.
One major sticking point has been which drivers will benefit most from proposed wage increases: Labor leaders want to concentrate raises among more senior drivers to reward service; the transportation authority wants to spread the raises more evenly and give a greater portion to those lower on the seniority scale to improve recruiting.
"It's not about money, it's about where the money goes," Kelly said. "There's almost enough money there to get it settled — if they're willing to work with us on allocation."
Meanwhile, commuters and their employers were making alternative plans.
Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, the county's largest employer, set up a hot line that matches workers with car pools in their area, spokesman Bob Tucker said.
Joanna Bear, director of rooms at Surf & Sand Resort in Laguna Beach, said the company also has been organizing car pools among staffers.
"With it being high-season for our resort, we are doing everything we can to help our staffers get to work," she said.
The county's last bus strike, in 1986, lasted 12 days.
Sheehan Threatens to Run Against Pelosi - washingtonpost.com
Sheehan Threatens to Run Against Pelosi - washingtonpost.com
Sheehan Threatens to Run Against Pelosi
By ANGELA K. BROWNThe Associated PressMonday, July 9, 2007; 4:01 AM
CRAWFORD, Texas -- Cindy Sheehan, the slain soldier's mother whose attacks on President Bush made her a darling of the anti-war movement, has a new target: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Sheehan, who announced in late May that she was departing the peace movement, said she decided to run against Pelosi unless the congresswoman moves to oust Bush in the next two weeks.
"I think all politicians should be held accountable," Sheehan told The Associated Press on Sunday. "Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership. We hired them to bring an end to the war."
Sheehan said she will run as an independent against the San Francisco Democrat in 2008 if Pelosi does not file articles of impeachment against Bush by July 23. That's when Sheehan and her supporters are to arrive in Washington, D.C., after a 13-day caravan and walking tour starting from the group's war protest site near Bush's Crawford ranch.
Although Sheehan has never held public office, she said she already has the name recognition and would not have to run against Pelosi in a primary.
"I would give her a run for her money," Sheehan said.
Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said the congresswoman has said repeatedly her focus is on ending the war in Iraq.
"She believes that the best way to support our troops in Iraq is to bring them home safely and soon," Daly said in an e-mail to the AP. "July will be a month of action in Congress to end the war, including a vote to redeploy our troops by next spring."
Sheehan, who turns 50 on Tuesday, said Bush should be impeached because she believes he misled the public about the reasons for going to war, violated the Geneva Convention by torturing detainees and crossed the line by commuting the prison sentence of former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. She said other grounds for impeachment are the domestic spying program and the "inadequate and tragic" response to Hurricane Katrina.
The White House declined to comment Sunday.
Sheehan said she hopes Pelosi files the articles of impeachment. But if not, Sheehan said she is ready to run for office.
Sheehan plans her official candidacy announcement Tuesday. She was in Crawford over the weekend to ceremoniously give the keys of the 5-acre protest site near Bush's ranch to its new owner, California radio talk show host Bree Walker.
"I'm doing it to encourage other people to run against Congress members who aren't doing their jobs, who are beholden to special interests," Sheehan said.
Sheehan first came to Crawford in August 2005 during Bush's vacation, demanding to talk to him about the war that claimed her son Casey's life in 2004.
She became the face of the anti-war movement during her 26-day roadside vigil that drew thousands of demonstrators. But it also drew counter protests of Bush supporters, many who said she was hurting troop morale.
Sheehan recently said she was leaving the Democratic Party because it "caved" into the president. Last week, she announced her caravan to Washington, which she calls the "people's accountability movement."
Sheehan said she lives in a Sacramento suburb but declined to disclose which city, citing safety reasons. The area is outside Pelosi's district, but there are no residency requirements for congressional members, according to the California secretary of state's office.
Sheehan Threatens to Run Against Pelosi
By ANGELA K. BROWNThe Associated PressMonday, July 9, 2007; 4:01 AM
CRAWFORD, Texas -- Cindy Sheehan, the slain soldier's mother whose attacks on President Bush made her a darling of the anti-war movement, has a new target: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Sheehan, who announced in late May that she was departing the peace movement, said she decided to run against Pelosi unless the congresswoman moves to oust Bush in the next two weeks.
"I think all politicians should be held accountable," Sheehan told The Associated Press on Sunday. "Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership. We hired them to bring an end to the war."
Sheehan said she will run as an independent against the San Francisco Democrat in 2008 if Pelosi does not file articles of impeachment against Bush by July 23. That's when Sheehan and her supporters are to arrive in Washington, D.C., after a 13-day caravan and walking tour starting from the group's war protest site near Bush's Crawford ranch.
Although Sheehan has never held public office, she said she already has the name recognition and would not have to run against Pelosi in a primary.
"I would give her a run for her money," Sheehan said.
Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said the congresswoman has said repeatedly her focus is on ending the war in Iraq.
"She believes that the best way to support our troops in Iraq is to bring them home safely and soon," Daly said in an e-mail to the AP. "July will be a month of action in Congress to end the war, including a vote to redeploy our troops by next spring."
Sheehan, who turns 50 on Tuesday, said Bush should be impeached because she believes he misled the public about the reasons for going to war, violated the Geneva Convention by torturing detainees and crossed the line by commuting the prison sentence of former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. She said other grounds for impeachment are the domestic spying program and the "inadequate and tragic" response to Hurricane Katrina.
The White House declined to comment Sunday.
Sheehan said she hopes Pelosi files the articles of impeachment. But if not, Sheehan said she is ready to run for office.
Sheehan plans her official candidacy announcement Tuesday. She was in Crawford over the weekend to ceremoniously give the keys of the 5-acre protest site near Bush's ranch to its new owner, California radio talk show host Bree Walker.
"I'm doing it to encourage other people to run against Congress members who aren't doing their jobs, who are beholden to special interests," Sheehan said.
Sheehan first came to Crawford in August 2005 during Bush's vacation, demanding to talk to him about the war that claimed her son Casey's life in 2004.
She became the face of the anti-war movement during her 26-day roadside vigil that drew thousands of demonstrators. But it also drew counter protests of Bush supporters, many who said she was hurting troop morale.
Sheehan recently said she was leaving the Democratic Party because it "caved" into the president. Last week, she announced her caravan to Washington, which she calls the "people's accountability movement."
Sheehan said she lives in a Sacramento suburb but declined to disclose which city, citing safety reasons. The area is outside Pelosi's district, but there are no residency requirements for congressional members, according to the California secretary of state's office.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Print Story: American is hot dog eating champion on Yahoo! News
Print Story: American is hot dog eating champion on Yahoo! News
American is hot dog eating champion
By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press WriterThu Jul 5, 8:08 AM ET
In a gut-busting showdown that combined drama, daring and indigestion, Joey Chestnut emerged as the world's hot dog eating champion, knocking off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in a record-setting yet repulsive triumph.
Chestnut, the great red, white and blue hope in the annual Fourth of July competition, broke his own world record by inhaling 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes — a staggering one every 10.9 seconds before a screaming crowd in Coney Island.
"If I needed to eat another one right now, I could," the 23-year-old Californian said Wednesday after receiving the mustard yellow belt emblematic of hot dog eating supremacy.
Kobayashi, the Japanese eating machine, recently had a wisdom tooth extracted and received chiropractic treatment due to a sore jaw. But the winner of every Nathan's hot dog competition from 2001 to 2006 showed no ill effects as he stayed with Chestnut frank-for-frank until the very end of the 12-minute competition.
Once the contest ended, the runner-up suffered a reversal — competitive eating-speak for barfing — leading to a deduction from his final total. Kobayashi finished with 63 HDBs (hot dogs and buns eaten) in his best performance ever.
Competitors receive credit for anything in their mouths at the 12-minute mark, provided they can swallow it.
"Obviously, the last bit exited his mouth quite dramatically," said Rich Shea of the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Kobayashi's gastric distress was the only sour note in the tube-steak tussle, which aired nationally on ESPN.
Kobayashi's previous best was 53 1/2 in the competition that dates back to 1916. The all-time record before Wednesday's remarkable contest was Chestnut's 59 1/2, set just last month in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe.
The two gustatory gladiators quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the 17 competitors, processing more beef than a slaughterhouse within the first few minutes. The two had each downed 60 hot dogs with 60 seconds to go when Chestnut — the veins on his forehead extended — put away the final franks to end Kobayashi's reign.
Kobayashi, through a translator, promised to return for the 2008 event.
The victory by the San Jose, Calif., resident ended Japan's long dominance of the contest. The only previous non-Japanese winner since 1996 was New Jersey's Steve Keiner in 1999. Third place this year went to another American, Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago, with 49.
"This title's been held by Kobayashi for six years, so it's about time it came home," said Chestnut, holding an American flag in his arms. "I knew going into this contest that Kobayashi was going to give 100 percent."
American is hot dog eating champion
By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press WriterThu Jul 5, 8:08 AM ET
In a gut-busting showdown that combined drama, daring and indigestion, Joey Chestnut emerged as the world's hot dog eating champion, knocking off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in a record-setting yet repulsive triumph.
Chestnut, the great red, white and blue hope in the annual Fourth of July competition, broke his own world record by inhaling 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes — a staggering one every 10.9 seconds before a screaming crowd in Coney Island.
"If I needed to eat another one right now, I could," the 23-year-old Californian said Wednesday after receiving the mustard yellow belt emblematic of hot dog eating supremacy.
Kobayashi, the Japanese eating machine, recently had a wisdom tooth extracted and received chiropractic treatment due to a sore jaw. But the winner of every Nathan's hot dog competition from 2001 to 2006 showed no ill effects as he stayed with Chestnut frank-for-frank until the very end of the 12-minute competition.
Once the contest ended, the runner-up suffered a reversal — competitive eating-speak for barfing — leading to a deduction from his final total. Kobayashi finished with 63 HDBs (hot dogs and buns eaten) in his best performance ever.
Competitors receive credit for anything in their mouths at the 12-minute mark, provided they can swallow it.
"Obviously, the last bit exited his mouth quite dramatically," said Rich Shea of the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Kobayashi's gastric distress was the only sour note in the tube-steak tussle, which aired nationally on ESPN.
Kobayashi's previous best was 53 1/2 in the competition that dates back to 1916. The all-time record before Wednesday's remarkable contest was Chestnut's 59 1/2, set just last month in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe.
The two gustatory gladiators quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the 17 competitors, processing more beef than a slaughterhouse within the first few minutes. The two had each downed 60 hot dogs with 60 seconds to go when Chestnut — the veins on his forehead extended — put away the final franks to end Kobayashi's reign.
Kobayashi, through a translator, promised to return for the 2008 event.
The victory by the San Jose, Calif., resident ended Japan's long dominance of the contest. The only previous non-Japanese winner since 1996 was New Jersey's Steve Keiner in 1999. Third place this year went to another American, Patrick Bertoletti of Chicago, with 49.
"This title's been held by Kobayashi for six years, so it's about time it came home," said Chestnut, holding an American flag in his arms. "I knew going into this contest that Kobayashi was going to give 100 percent."
Remembering Beverly Sills - Newsweek Society - MSNBC.com
Remembering Beverly Sills - Newsweek Society - MSNBC.com
Remembering Beverly Sills
The late Beverly Sills, a peerless soprano, did everything she could—and there wasn’t much she couldn’t do—to make people fall in love with opera
By Katrine Ames
Special to Newsweek
July 3, 2007 - When Beverly Sills made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1975, almost a decade later than she should have, she stopped the show without opening her mouth. The instant she came on stage in Rossini’s “The Siege of Corinth,” the audience went wild. They knew that the soprano, born Belle “Bubbles” Silverman in Brooklyn, had pulled off a rare feat in the rarefied world of opera, and they wanted to show it. An American singer had made it to the top, had an international career, had been on the covers of NEWSWEEK and Time, years before scaling the operatic Everest, the Met. The company’s general director, Viennese-born Rudolf Bing—referred to so often as autocratic that it could have been part of his title—had kept her out, but the ink was barely dry on his successor’s contract when her debut was arranged. The morning after that “Corinth” premiere, a photograph of Sills taking a curtain call took up the entire front page of The New York Daily News. The hometown girl had definitely made good.
Sills died of cancer Monday night, at 78, and it’s impossible to imagine a singer having that kind of impact now. Through formidable vocal and dramatic gifts, good humor and a will of titanium, she changed the face of opera in America. A frequent and hilarious guest on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show,” she sang with Miss Piggy, Carol Burnett, and Danny Kaye, wanting people to know, she liked to say, “that opera singers don’t have horns.” Immeasurable numbers who had once evinced more interest in oral surgery than in opera suddenly embraced it.
Before she lost her baby teeth she was already singing on the radio (“I had 65 curls on both my chubby heads”). She began vocal studies at the freakishly early age of 7, when she had already memorized more than 20 arias from recordings her mother played. Sills stayed with that teacher, Estelle Liebling, for more than three decades, getting technique pounded into her. That resulted in the cornerstones of her vocal production, flexibility and breath control. At her peak in the 1960s and 1970s, she could float passages over a full orchestra; she could sing long runs in which each individual note was clear but which ran down a listener’s back like melted chocolate. She had a trill that could wind a clock, and could color her voice from shimmering silver or almost transparent blue to dark red.
All this would have insured a good career, but what truly set Sills apart was her insistence on the marriage of text and music. Her Lucia wasn’t jut mad, she was off-the charts mad; her Manon seduced not just a priest but 3,000 people in the theater. Sills’s rock-solid technique made it possible for her to take on heavier roles than other lyric coloratura sopranos. If singing a meaty, fiendishly demanding part such as Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti’s “Roberto Devereux” cut a few years off her career, so be it. Neither Sills nor anyone who saw her as the aged, impassioned monarch (in one performance, she slapped a tenor so hard his false mustache fell off) would have traded it for something safer. She was a risk-taker, willing to sing lying on her back or with her back to the audience. In Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Le Coq d’or,” she wore a kind of harem outfit while doing a belly dance. “I figured a moving target was safest,” she said. Sills was very funny, and very, very smart. There were singers with bigger, steelier, richer voices, but in her combination of talents and in her range of repertoire, she was just about peerless.
Her professional life was often triumphant; her personal life, far less so. She was happily married to Peter Greenough, a former newspaper columnist who died last year, for almost 50 years, but their daughter, Meredith, is profoundly deaf and their son, Peter Jr., is severely retarded and autistic. Before the births of her children, Sills had always been a good, dependable singer. But after taking a leave of absence to be with them, she came back a different artist. Her only worry-free moments, she said, were when she was onstage, and the stage was her liberator. She became artistically fearless, and she tore through the musical world. In 1974, she had a serious but successful cancer operation and returned to performing almost immediately.
Though Sills hadn’t sung in the last 27 years, her recordings still sell well. In a way, she never really left the stage. After performing with the New York City Opera for 25 years, she ran the company for another 10; then became chairwoman of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and after that, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera. Just months before her death, she was still appearing regularly as a commentator on the Met’s broadcasts and telecasts, and it’s deliciously ironic that the company’s $50,000 annual prize to a young singer is the Beverly Sills Artist Award.
“The arts are the signature of a civilization,” she often said, exhorting anyone within reach—concertgoers, tycoons, the government—to open their checkbooks. She was a legendary fundraiser, not just for the New York City Opera and the Met, but for the Mother’s March on Birth Defects and for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her brain was an Elias Sport Bureau of financial reports and balance sheets, and there’s a joke about her fund-raising skills. The engines on a trans-Pacific flight have failed. “The good news is that I know an uncharted island and can land the plane there,” the pilot tells his passengers. “The bad news is that no one will ever know we’re there.” Pandemonium ensues, but one businessman continues calmly reading his Wall Street Journal. A flight attendant asks if he heard the pilot’s message. “Oh, yes,” the man says. “But yesterday I made a $50,000 pledge to Beverly Sills. She’ll find me.”
Sills always said that she had a love affair with her audience, and she did. She ended her recitals with a folk song that she learned, at 10, from her teacher. “Time has come for me to leave you, ‘tis the moment for good-byes,” she sang. “You’ll be forever in my heart.” To which anyone who ever had the good luck to hear her can only say, right back at you, Beverly.
Katrine Ames, a features director at House & Garden and formerly NEWSWEEK’s chief classical music critics for many years, was a close friend of Beverly Sills.
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19583214/site/newsweek/page/0/
Remembering Beverly Sills
The late Beverly Sills, a peerless soprano, did everything she could—and there wasn’t much she couldn’t do—to make people fall in love with opera
By Katrine Ames
Special to Newsweek
July 3, 2007 - When Beverly Sills made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1975, almost a decade later than she should have, she stopped the show without opening her mouth. The instant she came on stage in Rossini’s “The Siege of Corinth,” the audience went wild. They knew that the soprano, born Belle “Bubbles” Silverman in Brooklyn, had pulled off a rare feat in the rarefied world of opera, and they wanted to show it. An American singer had made it to the top, had an international career, had been on the covers of NEWSWEEK and Time, years before scaling the operatic Everest, the Met. The company’s general director, Viennese-born Rudolf Bing—referred to so often as autocratic that it could have been part of his title—had kept her out, but the ink was barely dry on his successor’s contract when her debut was arranged. The morning after that “Corinth” premiere, a photograph of Sills taking a curtain call took up the entire front page of The New York Daily News. The hometown girl had definitely made good.
Sills died of cancer Monday night, at 78, and it’s impossible to imagine a singer having that kind of impact now. Through formidable vocal and dramatic gifts, good humor and a will of titanium, she changed the face of opera in America. A frequent and hilarious guest on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show,” she sang with Miss Piggy, Carol Burnett, and Danny Kaye, wanting people to know, she liked to say, “that opera singers don’t have horns.” Immeasurable numbers who had once evinced more interest in oral surgery than in opera suddenly embraced it.
Before she lost her baby teeth she was already singing on the radio (“I had 65 curls on both my chubby heads”). She began vocal studies at the freakishly early age of 7, when she had already memorized more than 20 arias from recordings her mother played. Sills stayed with that teacher, Estelle Liebling, for more than three decades, getting technique pounded into her. That resulted in the cornerstones of her vocal production, flexibility and breath control. At her peak in the 1960s and 1970s, she could float passages over a full orchestra; she could sing long runs in which each individual note was clear but which ran down a listener’s back like melted chocolate. She had a trill that could wind a clock, and could color her voice from shimmering silver or almost transparent blue to dark red.
All this would have insured a good career, but what truly set Sills apart was her insistence on the marriage of text and music. Her Lucia wasn’t jut mad, she was off-the charts mad; her Manon seduced not just a priest but 3,000 people in the theater. Sills’s rock-solid technique made it possible for her to take on heavier roles than other lyric coloratura sopranos. If singing a meaty, fiendishly demanding part such as Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti’s “Roberto Devereux” cut a few years off her career, so be it. Neither Sills nor anyone who saw her as the aged, impassioned monarch (in one performance, she slapped a tenor so hard his false mustache fell off) would have traded it for something safer. She was a risk-taker, willing to sing lying on her back or with her back to the audience. In Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Le Coq d’or,” she wore a kind of harem outfit while doing a belly dance. “I figured a moving target was safest,” she said. Sills was very funny, and very, very smart. There were singers with bigger, steelier, richer voices, but in her combination of talents and in her range of repertoire, she was just about peerless.
Her professional life was often triumphant; her personal life, far less so. She was happily married to Peter Greenough, a former newspaper columnist who died last year, for almost 50 years, but their daughter, Meredith, is profoundly deaf and their son, Peter Jr., is severely retarded and autistic. Before the births of her children, Sills had always been a good, dependable singer. But after taking a leave of absence to be with them, she came back a different artist. Her only worry-free moments, she said, were when she was onstage, and the stage was her liberator. She became artistically fearless, and she tore through the musical world. In 1974, she had a serious but successful cancer operation and returned to performing almost immediately.
Though Sills hadn’t sung in the last 27 years, her recordings still sell well. In a way, she never really left the stage. After performing with the New York City Opera for 25 years, she ran the company for another 10; then became chairwoman of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and after that, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera. Just months before her death, she was still appearing regularly as a commentator on the Met’s broadcasts and telecasts, and it’s deliciously ironic that the company’s $50,000 annual prize to a young singer is the Beverly Sills Artist Award.
“The arts are the signature of a civilization,” she often said, exhorting anyone within reach—concertgoers, tycoons, the government—to open their checkbooks. She was a legendary fundraiser, not just for the New York City Opera and the Met, but for the Mother’s March on Birth Defects and for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her brain was an Elias Sport Bureau of financial reports and balance sheets, and there’s a joke about her fund-raising skills. The engines on a trans-Pacific flight have failed. “The good news is that I know an uncharted island and can land the plane there,” the pilot tells his passengers. “The bad news is that no one will ever know we’re there.” Pandemonium ensues, but one businessman continues calmly reading his Wall Street Journal. A flight attendant asks if he heard the pilot’s message. “Oh, yes,” the man says. “But yesterday I made a $50,000 pledge to Beverly Sills. She’ll find me.”
Sills always said that she had a love affair with her audience, and she did. She ended her recitals with a folk song that she learned, at 10, from her teacher. “Time has come for me to leave you, ‘tis the moment for good-byes,” she sang. “You’ll be forever in my heart.” To which anyone who ever had the good luck to hear her can only say, right back at you, Beverly.
Katrine Ames, a features director at House & Garden and formerly NEWSWEEK’s chief classical music critics for many years, was a close friend of Beverly Sills.
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19583214/site/newsweek/page/0/
Study: Women don't talk more than guys - Yahoo! News
Study: Women don't talk more than guys - Yahoo! News
Study: Women don't talk more than guys
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Another stereotype — chatty gals and taciturn guys — bites the dust. Turns out, when you actually count the words, there isn't much difference between the sexes when it comes to talking.
A team led by Matthias R. Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, came up with the finding, which is published in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
The researchers placed microphones on 396 college students for periods ranging from two to 10 days, sampled their conversations and calculated how many words they used in the course of a day.
The score: Women, 16,215. Men, 15,669.
The difference: 546 words: "Not statistically significant," say the researchers.
"What's a 500-word difference, compared with the 45,000-word difference between the most and the least talkative persons" in the study, said Mehl.
Co-author James W. Pennebaker, chairman of the psychology department at the University of Texas, said the researchers collected the recordings as part of a larger project to understand how people are affected when they talk about emotional experiences.
They were surprised when a magazine article asserted that women use an average of 20,000 words per day compared with 7,000 for men. If there had been that big a difference, he thought, they should have noticed it.
They found that the 20,000-7,000 figures have been used in popular books and magazines for years. But they couldn't find any research supporting them.
"Although many people believe the stereotypes of females as talkative and males as reticent, there is no large-scale study that systematically has recorded the natural conversations of large groups of people for extended periods of time," Pennebaker said.
Indeed, Mehl said, one study they found, done in workplaces, showed men talking more.
Still, the idea that women use nearly three times as many words a day as men has taken on the status of an "urban legend," he said.
"We realized we had the data," Mehl said in a telephone interview, so they went back to their recordings and calculated the actual numbers.
Their research began with one group of students in 1998, two groups sampled in 2001, two in 2003 and a final group in 2004. One of the 2003 groups involved 51 students in Mexico, the rest were all in the United States.
The students were fitted with unobtrusive recorders that sampled their conversations — the students didn't know when the recorders were on. From the samples, a total number of words for the day could be calculated.
Of the six groups sampled, women used more words than men in three and men used more words than women in the other three, including the one in Mexico.
The research was limited to college students, but Pennebaker said he believes it would probably apply to others in the same age range.
"The question is, how it applies to people as we get older," he said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
Mehl said he thinks it should apply across age groups, but he wondered how it would be affected by different cultures.
___
Study: Women don't talk more than guys
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Another stereotype — chatty gals and taciturn guys — bites the dust. Turns out, when you actually count the words, there isn't much difference between the sexes when it comes to talking.
A team led by Matthias R. Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, came up with the finding, which is published in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
The researchers placed microphones on 396 college students for periods ranging from two to 10 days, sampled their conversations and calculated how many words they used in the course of a day.
The score: Women, 16,215. Men, 15,669.
The difference: 546 words: "Not statistically significant," say the researchers.
"What's a 500-word difference, compared with the 45,000-word difference between the most and the least talkative persons" in the study, said Mehl.
Co-author James W. Pennebaker, chairman of the psychology department at the University of Texas, said the researchers collected the recordings as part of a larger project to understand how people are affected when they talk about emotional experiences.
They were surprised when a magazine article asserted that women use an average of 20,000 words per day compared with 7,000 for men. If there had been that big a difference, he thought, they should have noticed it.
They found that the 20,000-7,000 figures have been used in popular books and magazines for years. But they couldn't find any research supporting them.
"Although many people believe the stereotypes of females as talkative and males as reticent, there is no large-scale study that systematically has recorded the natural conversations of large groups of people for extended periods of time," Pennebaker said.
Indeed, Mehl said, one study they found, done in workplaces, showed men talking more.
Still, the idea that women use nearly three times as many words a day as men has taken on the status of an "urban legend," he said.
"We realized we had the data," Mehl said in a telephone interview, so they went back to their recordings and calculated the actual numbers.
Their research began with one group of students in 1998, two groups sampled in 2001, two in 2003 and a final group in 2004. One of the 2003 groups involved 51 students in Mexico, the rest were all in the United States.
The students were fitted with unobtrusive recorders that sampled their conversations — the students didn't know when the recorders were on. From the samples, a total number of words for the day could be calculated.
Of the six groups sampled, women used more words than men in three and men used more words than women in the other three, including the one in Mexico.
The research was limited to college students, but Pennebaker said he believes it would probably apply to others in the same age range.
"The question is, how it applies to people as we get older," he said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
Mehl said he thinks it should apply across age groups, but he wondered how it would be affected by different cultures.
___
Loser!!! - Gore's son on drugs charges
ITV News - Gore's son on drugs charges:
"Gore's son on drugs charges
1.07, Thu Jul 5 2007
The 24-year-old son of former US Vice President and Live Earth pioneer Al Gore has been arrested for possessing drugs.
Police stopped Al Gore III after he was spotted speeding in his suitably eco-friendly Toyota Prius in LA in the early hours of the morning.
He was arrested after the officer smelled cannabis in the car. Prescription drugs were also found.
The sheriff's department said: 'They found some additional marijuana. They found some Vicadin, Valium, Xanax, Adderol, Soma which is a muscle relaxant.
'Mr Gore was placed under arrest. He did not have a prescription for any of those narcotics.
'He did admit to smoking marijuana early this morning but not enough to influence his driving.'
Mr Gore has now been bailed and a court date will be set within 30 days.
"Gore's son on drugs charges
1.07, Thu Jul 5 2007
The 24-year-old son of former US Vice President and Live Earth pioneer Al Gore has been arrested for possessing drugs.
Police stopped Al Gore III after he was spotted speeding in his suitably eco-friendly Toyota Prius in LA in the early hours of the morning.
He was arrested after the officer smelled cannabis in the car. Prescription drugs were also found.
The sheriff's department said: 'They found some additional marijuana. They found some Vicadin, Valium, Xanax, Adderol, Soma which is a muscle relaxant.
'Mr Gore was placed under arrest. He did not have a prescription for any of those narcotics.
'He did admit to smoking marijuana early this morning but not enough to influence his driving.'
Mr Gore has now been bailed and a court date will be set within 30 days.
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