NORFOLK, Va. - To all those people who blurt out "Wow, you're tall!" as they stare up at George Bell: He knows. And now, the world will know, too. The lanky, 7-foot-8 Norfolk sheriff's deputy is being recognized Thursday by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Man in the United States.
That makes him 2 inches taller than the NBA's current tallest player, Yao Ming, but too short to be the world's tallest living man. He stands below, according to Guinness, Ukraine's 8-foot-5.5 Leonid Stadnyk and China's Bao Xi Shun, who is 7 feet 8.95 inches.
To answer the inevitable questions:
Bell wears size-19 shoes, pants with a 43-inch inseam and shirts with 45-inch sleeves.
He did play basketball, in college and with the Harlem Wizards and Harlem Globetrotters show teams.
And as for how he feels about being so tall?
"I have no choice but to like it," Bell, 50, said in an interview with The Associated Press as he paced the sidelines of a Pee Wee football game at a city park, where he was providing security.
"I'm used to a small man's world," he added in a deep voice that suits his stature. "I've been dealing with a small man's world since I was a kid."
Bell was to be revealed as America's tallest man on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday, when 200,000 people worldwide were expected to celebrate Guinness World Records Day by attempting to set records of their own.
Guinness began searching for America's tallest man in August. Bell's ex-wife registered him online, and Guinness spokesman Stuart Claxton said Bell's doctor documented his height.
The Guinness record book now lists only the tallest man in the world, but Bell will be noted — along with the tallest men in several other countries — in the edition to be published next year.
Bell hit 5-foot-4 at age 9. In middle school, he topped 6 feet. By the end of high school, he was 7-foot-6. He played basketball until, at 30, he lost interest in the sport and switched to law enforcement.
His height doesn't intimidate jail inmates — it helps him develop a rapport.
"They've never seen anyone this tall before, so they're amazed," Bell said. "They want to talk."
Bell focuses on the perks of being tall. For example, he usually gets free upgrades to first class on flights when the ticket-counter attendants realize he's going to need a lot of leg room.
He credits his late great-aunt, Etonia Johnson, with his positive attitude: "She always told me, 'Don't feel ashamed of yourself. Stand tall. God made you. Be happy and show your pride.' "
Thursday, November 8, 2007
NYC eatery offers $25,000 dessert
NEW YORK - This is one rich cup of haute chocolate: A New York eatery is offering a $25,000 dessert bulging with top-grade cocoa, edible gold and shavings of a luxury truffle.
The Frrrozen Haute Chocolate was declared the most expensive dessert in the world on Wednesday by Guinness World Records.
The dessert is a frozen, slushy mix of cocoas from 14 countries, milk and 5 grams of 24-carat gold topped with whip cream and shavings from a La Madeline au Truffle.
It is served in a goblet with a band of gold decorated with 1 carat of diamonds and served with a golden spoon diners can take home.
The dessert was created by Serendipity 3, a restaurant popular with tourists and once featured in a John Cusack movie.
The Frrrozen Haute Chocolate was declared the most expensive dessert in the world on Wednesday by Guinness World Records.
The dessert is a frozen, slushy mix of cocoas from 14 countries, milk and 5 grams of 24-carat gold topped with whip cream and shavings from a La Madeline au Truffle.
It is served in a goblet with a band of gold decorated with 1 carat of diamonds and served with a golden spoon diners can take home.
The dessert was created by Serendipity 3, a restaurant popular with tourists and once featured in a John Cusack movie.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
My First Blog Mate Rendezvous
I never thought that blogging can create new friendships and meet new wonderful people.
Yesterday, I was able to meet the authors of one of my most favorite blog BISEAN. It's a blog about the wonderful things in South East Asia, the region where I live, and the authors blog about their visits to SE Asian countries. Their insights are a fresh view of my country and they are seeing everything through a home and foreign eyes for they are all half-Asians.
I did not ask permission to write about them but I would just like to record my wonderful experience meeting these BEAUTIFUL people. At first, I felt awkward because I look like a little child walking along with them for they are tall and slim and almost celebrity-like. There is an air of (what do you call it?)..."royalty" about them but truly down-to-earth.
Pisanu is exceptionally friendly and (if I may say) sexy. Those dark green eyes melt me whenever he looks at me (I'm blushing now). He likes to make conversations with just about everybody around. I laugh when he gets frustrated when people don't understand what he is saying. I learned that he speaks more than 9 languages and to top it all, he is an expert in sign language. Yes! He even makes conversation with our deaf brothers. Truly an admirable guy.
Sofia looks like a mannequin off a fashion runway. Although she looks this way, she gladly smiles to everyone staring at her and even say hello all the time. She may sound very whiny on their blog but never have I heard her complain when we were walking around my city Phnom Penh.
Morgan is like a little boy who likes to eat every food he sees. I learned one of his passion is cooking and he was collecting recipes from restaurants! That was really funny!
Sucre is the silent type. She likes to observe everything. I love it when she tried to finish 5 banana cups of Amok Trei, a Cambodian signature dish. Tommy is like the big brother of the gang. He is the one who controls everybody when things get out of hand. Very authoritative but charming.
There was this one hilarious instance when they asked me to take them to our national Tourism Office. When we got there, they insists on meeting the Minster of Tourism! But of course he was not available. The whole building was in awe when the Biseaners (as they are called by one of their readers) asked to change the tourism slogan on the official website! I was also in awe! They must have a ton of confidence to ask a national bureau just like that!
I was wondering why these smart, attractive people are not working for a living. I am quite sure they will be an asset for a compny who would hire them. But, it's their personal choice. So, I respect it.
Tomorrow, they invited me to go with them to Sihanoukville, Cambodia's beach province. I am very thankful that they wanted to meet me again. They are truly amazing people promoting brotherhood (sisterhood, in my case) in our region they optly call "PARADISE".
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
If it's any consolation, fish get insomnia too
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Fish might not have eyelids, but they do sleep, and some suffer from insomnia, scientists reported on Monday.
California scientists studying sleep disorders in humans found that some zebrafish, a common aquarium pet, have a mutant gene that disrupts their sleep patterns in a way similar to insomnia in humans.
Zebrafish with the mutant gene slept 30 percent less than fish without the mutation. When they finally drifted off they remained asleep half as long as the normal fish, the researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine said.
The mutant fish lacked a working receptor for hypocretin, a neuropeptide that is secreted in normal fish by neurons in the region of the brain that controls hunger, sex and other basic behaviours.
Zebrafish, also known as zebra danio, have become popular research subjects because they are cheaper to breed than mice and they have a backbone that better represents the human nervous system than fruit flies.
The researchers, led by Emmanuel Mignot, said they would look for fish that have a mutation that causes them to oversleep or never sleep in the hope of discovering if sleep-regulating molecules and brain networks developed through evolution.
"Many people ask the questions, 'Why are we sleeping?' and, 'What is the function of sleep?'" Mignot said. "I think it is more important to figure out first how the brain produces and regulates sleep. This will likely give us important clues on how and maybe why sleep has been selected by natural evolution and is so universal."
The study was published in Tuesday's edition of the Public Library of Science-Biology.
-- By Jill Serjeant
California scientists studying sleep disorders in humans found that some zebrafish, a common aquarium pet, have a mutant gene that disrupts their sleep patterns in a way similar to insomnia in humans.
Zebrafish with the mutant gene slept 30 percent less than fish without the mutation. When they finally drifted off they remained asleep half as long as the normal fish, the researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine said.
The mutant fish lacked a working receptor for hypocretin, a neuropeptide that is secreted in normal fish by neurons in the region of the brain that controls hunger, sex and other basic behaviours.
Zebrafish, also known as zebra danio, have become popular research subjects because they are cheaper to breed than mice and they have a backbone that better represents the human nervous system than fruit flies.
The researchers, led by Emmanuel Mignot, said they would look for fish that have a mutation that causes them to oversleep or never sleep in the hope of discovering if sleep-regulating molecules and brain networks developed through evolution.
"Many people ask the questions, 'Why are we sleeping?' and, 'What is the function of sleep?'" Mignot said. "I think it is more important to figure out first how the brain produces and regulates sleep. This will likely give us important clues on how and maybe why sleep has been selected by natural evolution and is so universal."
The study was published in Tuesday's edition of the Public Library of Science-Biology.
-- By Jill Serjeant
Israeli father of 67 kids seeks 9th wife
EMEK HEFER, Israel - With eight wives and 67 children, Shahadeh Abu Arrar has given new meaning to the term "family man." Abu Arrar, 58, is a member of Israel's impoverished Bedouin Arab community. But even in a traditional society where men commonly have several wives and many children, Abu Arrar is exceptional."I'm thinking about a new wife, No. 9," he told the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot in a recent interview. "There are many women who wish to marry me and there is no lack of women. I never had a problem with such things."
Abu Arrar, whose oldest child is 37, was photographed by the newspaper in a long Bedouin robe and head cover, surrounded by a dozen of so of his kids.
During a visit to his multistory home in central Israel, The Associated Press spotted 17 of the children milling about, dressed in bright red, blue and green-embroidered Palestinian dresses and headscarves. Four veiled women, including two who said they were his wives, sat on the porch peeling vegetables.
While Islam allows Muslim men to have four co-wives, it is a custom in Bedouin society to flout the already-generous ruling — and an Israeli ban on polygamy — by marrying women one at a time, divorcing them and marrying others, experts on Bedouin culture said.
Culturally, it's understood that the renounced wives are still married to Abu Arrar, the experts said.
It's unclear how Abu Arrar supports his massive family. Camels, goats and a cow were grazing on his property. Yediot said he also receives about $1,700 (euro1,200) in government handouts each month.
According to the Israeli Interior Ministry, Abu Arrar has 53 children registered as Israeli citizens. He has 14 other children born to Palestinian wives in the West Bank and who are not eligible for Israeli citizenship, his other wives said.
Either way, his family size pales in comparison to the size of the average Israeli family: 2.3, according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
Abu Arrar claims to remember all his children's names, and says they are split almost evenly between boys and girls. And he's still going strong.
"My first wife is my age, and today I hardly spend any time with her. Her children are big, and I leave her alone. I have younger wives to spend time with. Every night I decide which wife to be with," Abu Arrar told the newspaper. He refused to talk to an AP reporter.
Activists said Abu Arrar's story showed the urgency of raising literacy and education among women in the impoverished Bedouin community. Many are pressured into marriage or feel they have no other options beside raising children, said Khadra al-Sani, director of Sidra, a Bedouin women's rights group.
Still, Abu Arrar pales in comparison to others in the region. In August, the Emirates Today newspaper in Dubai ran a story about a one-legged 60-year-old man with 78 children from 12 wives.
Daad Abdul Rahman said he hoped to have a hundred children by 2015.
DUI defendant caught drinking near court
MINDEN, Nev. - A man who was out on bail following a drunken driving arrest is back behind bars after he was caught drinking a 12-pack of beer on the Douglas County Courthouse lawn. Martin Ruiz asked the judge to release him on his own recognizance, promising not to drink another beer or drive.
But Judge Michael Gibbons set his bail at $100,000 on Monday, saying he was surprised Ruiz was released on recognizance the first time.
Ruiz was arrested in January shortly after his 21st birthday following an accident in which he, his passenger and the other driver were injured. He allegedly was driving 70 miles an hour down the twisting mountain road with a blood alcohol content of .104. The legal limit in Nevada is 0.8.
Gibbons said it would be "completely inappropriate" to release him on recognizance again.
But Judge Michael Gibbons set his bail at $100,000 on Monday, saying he was surprised Ruiz was released on recognizance the first time.
Ruiz was arrested in January shortly after his 21st birthday following an accident in which he, his passenger and the other driver were injured. He allegedly was driving 70 miles an hour down the twisting mountain road with a blood alcohol content of .104. The legal limit in Nevada is 0.8.
Gibbons said it would be "completely inappropriate" to release him on recognizance again.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Man texting while driving hits train
EUGENE, Ore. - When Robert Gillespie looked up from his text message, he saw a freight train. EOM. ("End of message," that is, for non-texters.) Eugene police say Gillespie's car crashed into the side of the Union Pacific freight train about 2 a.m. Tuesday.
When officers arrived, they found him alert and talking, but trapped in the car. They learned about the cell phone and text message as they worked to rescue him.
Gillespie, who had turned 38 the day before, was charged with drunken driving and careless driving, police spokeswoman Kerry Delf said. His injuries were described as not life threatening, and no members of the train crew were hurt.
Delf said officers believe he was driving faster than the 35 mph speed limit as well as using his cell phone to send a text message. She said he tried to brake for the train, but it was too close.
"There are all kinds of ways to get distracted these days," said police spokeswoman Kerry Delf. "We don't recommend any of them while you're driving."
When officers arrived, they found him alert and talking, but trapped in the car. They learned about the cell phone and text message as they worked to rescue him.
Gillespie, who had turned 38 the day before, was charged with drunken driving and careless driving, police spokeswoman Kerry Delf said. His injuries were described as not life threatening, and no members of the train crew were hurt.
Delf said officers believe he was driving faster than the 35 mph speed limit as well as using his cell phone to send a text message. She said he tried to brake for the train, but it was too close.
"There are all kinds of ways to get distracted these days," said police spokeswoman Kerry Delf. "We don't recommend any of them while you're driving."
Monday, October 15, 2007
Fisherman lands record 844-pound shark
DESTIN, Fla. - Six friends went to a fishing tournament looking to catch some grouper. They caught an 844-pound shark instead.The fight by Adlee Bruner and friends to pull the 11-foot mako shark onto the boat from the Gulf of Mexico took more than an hour on Saturday. But when they made it back to land, it was a record for the decades-old Destin Fishing Rodeo.
"It was tense," Bruner, 47, said about the fight to land the shark, which has a mouthful of huge, fearsome teeth. "I've fished for 40 years. I've never see one that big."
Bruner and his fishing buddies were on a 52-foot charter boat with Capt. Robert Hill, about 70 miles southwest of this beach city in the Florida Panhandle.
The fishermen first noticed the big mako because it kept eating grouper and scamp they had hooked.
"It was like 'Jaws,'" Hill said.
Hill hooked a two-foot amberine on as bait and tossed it out. The shark eventually hit it.
After the long fight, the shark was gaffed and eventually gave up after its tail was roped. But even then, the men could not get the big shark in the boat. They tied it to the stern with three ropes and made the four-hour trip back to land.
The shark was hoisted at the rodeo before a big crowd. It tipped the scale at 844.4 pounds.
After it was gutted, the mako still weighed 638 pounds, breaking the tournament's previous shark division record by 338 pounds.
*Photo by AP
Monday, July 30, 2007
Mystery money in Japan appears in mailboxes, falls from sky
TOKYO (AFP) - A mystery gripping Japan over anonymous cash gifts has taken a new twist. For those who want the next batch of giveaways, the place to look is in their mailboxes -- or even right at their feet.
Residents of a Tokyo apartment building are baffled after a total of 1.81 million yen (15,210 dollars) was found in 18 mailboxes by Saturday, a police spokesman said.
"The money was in identical plain envelopes, which were unsealed and carried no names or messages," the spokesman told AFP.
But residents became "spooked" rather than pleased with the anonymous gifts -- and were too upright to pocket the money secretly.
"Some people initially suspected they were fake bills. When they realised the bills were real, they reported them to us," the spokesman said.
The predominantly middle-class apartment building in Tokyo is not alone. An envelope with one million yen was left in the mailbox of a 31-year-old woman in the western city of Kobe on Wednesday.
Police admit they have no idea who is leaving the cash -- whether a few people are behind the bizarre giveaways or if Japan is witnessing a craze of copycat benevolence.
Since June, dozens of city halls and other public buildings across the country have reported finding neatly packaged envelopes full of cash in men's restrooms.
The bathroom money has come with identical letters asking people to do good deeds -- leading to speculation that the benefactor may be a public servant trying to cheer up his profession or perhaps a member of a new-age religion.
Japanese cash dropoffs are not always so neat.
On Wednesday, bills worth 960,000 yen were inexplicably seen "falling" in front of a convenience store.
"We can just say the money came from the skies," a puzzled police official said. "There were other passers-by outside and customers in the store but the incident caused no confusion," he said.
"People thought it was too eerie to touch."
A man who contacted police saying his daughter had dropped the money had his claim rejected as groundless, the official said.
The largest single dropoff so far was in the ancient city of Kyoto on July 23, astonishing a 67-year-old woman who found an envelope containing 10 million yen of stacked bills in her mailbox.
But mystery money does not always reach police intact.
A woman walking on a bridge over Tokyo's Sumida River told officers that she saw bills falling at her feet from an elevated expressway above on July 6.
She believes 30 to 40 notes fell but police managed to collect only six notes worth 46,000 yen by the time they arrived.
"Some people were picking the money up on the bridge," the Tokyo Shimbun quoted the woman as saying.
No one can say if more people have collected money and not told police.
Media tallies suggest more than four million yen, including some found last year, has been found in the public restrooms.
Dutifully, police are holding most of the money in case the rightful owner eventually decides to reveal their identity.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
As tasty as a truckload of rats
BEIJING (Reuters) - Live rats are being trucked from central China, suffering a plague of a reported 2 billion rodents displaced by a flooded lake, to the south to end up in restaurant dishes, Chinese media reported.
Rats had been doing a roaring trade thanks to strong supply over the last two weeks, the China News Service quoted vendors as saying.
"Recently there have been a lot of rats... Guangzhou people are rich and like to eat exotic things, so business is very good," it quoted a vendor as saying, referring to the capital of Guangdong province, where people are reputed to eat anything that moves.
Some vendors, who declined to reveal their names, had asked people from a village in Hunan province, near Dongting Lake, to sell them live rats, the Beijing News said Monday.
"The buyers offered 6 yuan for a kg, but as to where they will sell the rats, they would not say," the newspaper quoted a local resident as saying, adding that villagers had to catch the rats alive.
"If we want to do that, there is no problem. We could catch 150 kg of rats in one night...but we will not do this against our conscience," the villager was quoted as saying.
Some Guangdong restaurants were promoting "rat banquets," charging 136 yuan ($18) for one kg of rat meat, the newspaper said.
But the restaurants denied their rats came from Hunan.
Local governments in Hunan have been grappling with the rats, which had already destroyed 1.6 million hectares (6,200 sq miles) of crops and could spread disease, according to media reports.
A lack of snakes, also a popular dish in the south, and owls, a traditional Chinese medicine, was held partly responsible.
Chinese media reported last week that some Internet users from Guangdong had offered rat recipes as a way to deal with the problem.
Scientists have also blamed China's massive Three Gorges Dam project and climate change for the Hunan rodents' flight to dry land.
Rats had been doing a roaring trade thanks to strong supply over the last two weeks, the China News Service quoted vendors as saying.
"Recently there have been a lot of rats... Guangzhou people are rich and like to eat exotic things, so business is very good," it quoted a vendor as saying, referring to the capital of Guangdong province, where people are reputed to eat anything that moves.
Some vendors, who declined to reveal their names, had asked people from a village in Hunan province, near Dongting Lake, to sell them live rats, the Beijing News said Monday.
"The buyers offered 6 yuan for a kg, but as to where they will sell the rats, they would not say," the newspaper quoted a local resident as saying, adding that villagers had to catch the rats alive.
"If we want to do that, there is no problem. We could catch 150 kg of rats in one night...but we will not do this against our conscience," the villager was quoted as saying.
Some Guangdong restaurants were promoting "rat banquets," charging 136 yuan ($18) for one kg of rat meat, the newspaper said.
But the restaurants denied their rats came from Hunan.
Local governments in Hunan have been grappling with the rats, which had already destroyed 1.6 million hectares (6,200 sq miles) of crops and could spread disease, according to media reports.
A lack of snakes, also a popular dish in the south, and owls, a traditional Chinese medicine, was held partly responsible.
Chinese media reported last week that some Internet users from Guangdong had offered rat recipes as a way to deal with the problem.
Scientists have also blamed China's massive Three Gorges Dam project and climate change for the Hunan rodents' flight to dry land.
Schoolgirl loses "virginity ring" battle
LONDON (Reuters) - A teen-ager whose teachers had stopped her wearing a "purity ring" at school to symbolize her commitment to virginity lost a High Court fight against the ban Monday.
Lydia Playfoot, 16, says her silver ring is an expression of her faith and had argued in court that it should be exempt from school regulations banning the wearing of jewelry.
"I am very disappointed by the decision this morning by the High Court not to allow me to wear my purity ring to school as an expression of my Christian faith not to have sex outside marriage," Playfoot said in a statement.
"I believe that the judge's decision will mean that slowly, over time, people such as school governors, employers, political organizations and others will be allowed to stop Christians from publicly expressing and practicing their faith."
Playfoot's legal challenge was the latest in a series of disputes in British schools in recent years over the right of pupils to wear religious symbols or clothing, such as crucifixes and veils.
Last year, the Law Lords rejected Shabina Begum's appeal for permission to wear a Muslim gown at her school in Luton. That case echoed a debate in France over the banning of Muslim headscarves in state schools.
Playfoot's parents are key members of the British arm of the American chastity campaign group the Silver Ring Thing, a religious group which urges abstinence among young people.
Those who sign up wear a ring on the third finger of the left hand. It is inscribed with "Thess. 4:3-4," a reference to a Biblical passage from Thessalonians which reads: "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin."
During the case, Playfoot's lawyers argued that the ban by her school in Horsham, West Sussex, breached her human rights to "freedom of thought, conscience and religion" which are protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Lawyers for the school denied discrimination and said the purity ring breached its rules on wearing jewelry.
They said allowances were made for Muslim and Sikh pupils only for items integral to their religious beliefs and that, for the same reason, crucifixes were also allowed. But it argued that the purity ring was not an integral part of the Christian faith.
Playfoot said in her statement she would consult her legal team to consider whether to appeal.
Lydia Playfoot, 16, says her silver ring is an expression of her faith and had argued in court that it should be exempt from school regulations banning the wearing of jewelry.
"I am very disappointed by the decision this morning by the High Court not to allow me to wear my purity ring to school as an expression of my Christian faith not to have sex outside marriage," Playfoot said in a statement.
"I believe that the judge's decision will mean that slowly, over time, people such as school governors, employers, political organizations and others will be allowed to stop Christians from publicly expressing and practicing their faith."
Playfoot's legal challenge was the latest in a series of disputes in British schools in recent years over the right of pupils to wear religious symbols or clothing, such as crucifixes and veils.
Last year, the Law Lords rejected Shabina Begum's appeal for permission to wear a Muslim gown at her school in Luton. That case echoed a debate in France over the banning of Muslim headscarves in state schools.
Playfoot's parents are key members of the British arm of the American chastity campaign group the Silver Ring Thing, a religious group which urges abstinence among young people.
Those who sign up wear a ring on the third finger of the left hand. It is inscribed with "Thess. 4:3-4," a reference to a Biblical passage from Thessalonians which reads: "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin."
During the case, Playfoot's lawyers argued that the ban by her school in Horsham, West Sussex, breached her human rights to "freedom of thought, conscience and religion" which are protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Lawyers for the school denied discrimination and said the purity ring breached its rules on wearing jewelry.
They said allowances were made for Muslim and Sikh pupils only for items integral to their religious beliefs and that, for the same reason, crucifixes were also allowed. But it argued that the purity ring was not an integral part of the Christian faith.
Playfoot said in her statement she would consult her legal team to consider whether to appeal.
Vandals attack man's Hummer, leave note
WASHINGTON - When Gareth Groves brought home his massive new Hummer, he knew his environmentally friendly neighbors disapproved. But he didn't expect what happened next. The sport utility vehicle was parked for five days on the street before two masked men smashed the windows, slashed the tires and scratched into the body: "FOR THE ENVIRON."
"The thought of somebody vandalizing it never crossed my mind," said Gareth Groves, who lives near American University in Northwest Washington. "I've kind of been in shock."
Police said they see small acts of vandalism in the area from time to time, but they have not seen anything so severe, or with such a clear political message, in recent years.
"This seems to be an isolated event," Cmdr. Andy Solberg said.
Investigators said they are searching for the vandals but don't have many leads. Witnesses said they saw two men smash up the seven-foot-tall SUV early Monday and then run off.
Now, as Groves contemplates what to do with the remains of his $38,000 Hummer, he has had to deal with a number of people who have driven by the crime scene and glared at him in smug satisfaction.
"I'd say one in five people who come by have that 'you-got-what-you-deserve' look," said his friend Andy Sexton.
Neighbor Lucille Liem, who owns a Prius hybrid, said that a common sentiment in the neighborhood is that large vehicles such as the Hummer are impractical and a strain on the Earth.
"The neighborhood in general is very concerned with the environment," said Liem, whose Prius gets about 48 miles a gallon compared with the Hummer's 14 miles a gallon. "It's more liberal leaning. It's ridiculous to be driving a Hummer."
Liem quickly added that she does not condone violence.
"The thought of somebody vandalizing it never crossed my mind," said Gareth Groves, who lives near American University in Northwest Washington. "I've kind of been in shock."
Police said they see small acts of vandalism in the area from time to time, but they have not seen anything so severe, or with such a clear political message, in recent years.
"This seems to be an isolated event," Cmdr. Andy Solberg said.
Investigators said they are searching for the vandals but don't have many leads. Witnesses said they saw two men smash up the seven-foot-tall SUV early Monday and then run off.
Now, as Groves contemplates what to do with the remains of his $38,000 Hummer, he has had to deal with a number of people who have driven by the crime scene and glared at him in smug satisfaction.
"I'd say one in five people who come by have that 'you-got-what-you-deserve' look," said his friend Andy Sexton.
Neighbor Lucille Liem, who owns a Prius hybrid, said that a common sentiment in the neighborhood is that large vehicles such as the Hummer are impractical and a strain on the Earth.
"The neighborhood in general is very concerned with the environment," said Liem, whose Prius gets about 48 miles a gallon compared with the Hummer's 14 miles a gallon. "It's more liberal leaning. It's ridiculous to be driving a Hummer."
Liem quickly added that she does not condone violence.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Red panda escapes from Zoo exhibit again
NORFOLK, Va. - Virginia Zoo officials on Monday began trimming the landscaping around a new red panda exhibit after the animal escaped for the second time in less than a month.
Yin, a 1-year-old that resembles a raccoon with red, white and black fur, was discovered missing from her exhibit Saturday. On June 21, Yin made visitors wait two hours until she emerged from her habitat for her debut only to escape into a nearby tree.
"She's just testing every limit that might be in the exhibit," zoo director Greg Bockheim said.
After the zoo opened Saturday, zookeepers discovered Yin was missing. They located her near the bison exhibit, then she scampered to a tree near the back of the duck pond. Bockheim climbed about 30 feet up to retrieve her, but Yin scurried down to the zookeepers.
She also was found hiding in a tree near the duck pond after she escaped the first time.
"She's a character," said Alison Till, the zoo's director of development.
How and why she escaped from her habitat, which includes an air-conditioned bamboo hut and logs for climbing, is unclear.
Staff lowered the ground level around the exhibit's perimeter and put electrified wire around her habitat after the first escape. While the wires don't carry much current, the staff thought it would prevent a second escape.
"We don't know how she got out," Till said. "She's fooling the experts."
Bockheim believes Yin is using low tree branches that extend into her habitat to escape.
"There are routes we might not see but a panda does," he said.
Meanwhile, Yin remained in a holding area until zoo staff can figure out how she escaped and what they can do to fix the problem, Till said.
"We hope it will be the last time, but you never know," Till said. "She could fool us again."
Yin, a 1-year-old that resembles a raccoon with red, white and black fur, was discovered missing from her exhibit Saturday. On June 21, Yin made visitors wait two hours until she emerged from her habitat for her debut only to escape into a nearby tree.
"She's just testing every limit that might be in the exhibit," zoo director Greg Bockheim said.
After the zoo opened Saturday, zookeepers discovered Yin was missing. They located her near the bison exhibit, then she scampered to a tree near the back of the duck pond. Bockheim climbed about 30 feet up to retrieve her, but Yin scurried down to the zookeepers.
She also was found hiding in a tree near the duck pond after she escaped the first time.
"She's a character," said Alison Till, the zoo's director of development.
How and why she escaped from her habitat, which includes an air-conditioned bamboo hut and logs for climbing, is unclear.
Staff lowered the ground level around the exhibit's perimeter and put electrified wire around her habitat after the first escape. While the wires don't carry much current, the staff thought it would prevent a second escape.
"We don't know how she got out," Till said. "She's fooling the experts."
Bockheim believes Yin is using low tree branches that extend into her habitat to escape.
"There are routes we might not see but a panda does," he said.
Meanwhile, Yin remained in a holding area until zoo staff can figure out how she escaped and what they can do to fix the problem, Till said.
"We hope it will be the last time, but you never know," Till said. "She could fool us again."
Monday, July 16, 2007
Mayor wants grandmas to help fight gangs
SALINAS, Calif. - Grandmas are being asked to help battle gangs. Mayor Dennis Donohue and Monterey Bishop Richard Garcia want to recruit "abuelitas," Spanish for grandmothers, to help steer youngsters away from gang life.
"My own grandmother, my mother's mother, Guadalupe, was a very influential person in my life," Garcia said. "Speaking to inmates in prison, I found that to be true in their own lives."
A meeting next week will give grandmothers a chance to discuss what prevention approaches have worked in their families.
Donohue and Garcia said grandmothers are pivotal figures in the lives of youngsters.
"I'd like to point out that a couple of moms won the Nobel (Peace) Prize in Northern Ireland, so the notion that moms can't help is not true," the mayor said.
The partnership is part of the gang prevention program Community Safety Alliance. The alliance plays an advisory role in how the city of Salinas spends $1 million for crime-prevention programs this year.
"My own grandmother, my mother's mother, Guadalupe, was a very influential person in my life," Garcia said. "Speaking to inmates in prison, I found that to be true in their own lives."
A meeting next week will give grandmothers a chance to discuss what prevention approaches have worked in their families.
Donohue and Garcia said grandmothers are pivotal figures in the lives of youngsters.
"I'd like to point out that a couple of moms won the Nobel (Peace) Prize in Northern Ireland, so the notion that moms can't help is not true," the mayor said.
The partnership is part of the gang prevention program Community Safety Alliance. The alliance plays an advisory role in how the city of Salinas spends $1 million for crime-prevention programs this year.
Plane returns after drunken brawl on board
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A Russian plane flying from St Petersburg in Russia to Doloman in Turkey had to turn back midflight after a drunken brawl over a young woman spun out of control, police said in a statement Friday.
Three young Russians boarded the plane drunk Thursday and "continued their party on board."
"One of them took a fancy to a girl but she did not want to socialize with the new admirer," police said.
On rejection, the passenger slapped the woman on her face several times. Another passenger immediately rose to defend her.
"A fight began, the situation started to get out of hand and the crew made the only right decision -- to turn back."
The three drunk men were detained on landing at /a St Petersburg airport. They faced fines of "dozens of thousands of dollars," police said.
The woman received medical treatment at the airport and the plane resumed its flight to Turkey.
Three young Russians boarded the plane drunk Thursday and "continued their party on board."
"One of them took a fancy to a girl but she did not want to socialize with the new admirer," police said.
On rejection, the passenger slapped the woman on her face several times. Another passenger immediately rose to defend her.
"A fight began, the situation started to get out of hand and the crew made the only right decision -- to turn back."
The three drunk men were detained on landing at /a St Petersburg airport. They faced fines of "dozens of thousands of dollars," police said.
The woman received medical treatment at the airport and the plane resumed its flight to Turkey.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Remember your home phone number? Forget it!
LONDON (Reuters) - Can't remember life before mobiles? Chances are you'll also struggle to recall your home phone number and family birthdays.
According to a survey released Friday, the boom in mobiles and portable devices that store reams of personal information has created a generation incapable of memorizing simple things.
A quarter of those polled said they couldn't remember their landline number, while two-thirds couldn't recall the birthdays of more than three friends or family members.
The tech-savvy young fared worse than older people. The under-30s could remember fewer birthdays and numbers than the over-50s, according to the survey.
Two-thirds said they relied on their phone or electronic organizer to remember key dates.
"People have more to remember these days and they are relying on technology more for their memory," said Ian Robertson, professor of psychology at Trinity College, Dublin.
Researchers polled 3,000 people over the last two weeks in the survey for Puzzler Brain Trainer magazine.
According to a survey released Friday, the boom in mobiles and portable devices that store reams of personal information has created a generation incapable of memorizing simple things.
A quarter of those polled said they couldn't remember their landline number, while two-thirds couldn't recall the birthdays of more than three friends or family members.
The tech-savvy young fared worse than older people. The under-30s could remember fewer birthdays and numbers than the over-50s, according to the survey.
Two-thirds said they relied on their phone or electronic organizer to remember key dates.
"People have more to remember these days and they are relying on technology more for their memory," said Ian Robertson, professor of psychology at Trinity College, Dublin.
Researchers polled 3,000 people over the last two weeks in the survey for Puzzler Brain Trainer magazine.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Cat survives 3 weeks crossing ocean
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - A cat that spent nearly three weeks crossing the Pacific inside a shipping container with no food or water appears to be just fine.
Pamela Escamilla lost sight of her 3-year-old calico, Spice, while packing a large container with household goods in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii. The container was shipped June 15 to Southern California.
Escamilla, 39, and her husband could not find the cat before taking their flight and asked neighbors in Hawaii to call if Spice returned.
As it turns out, Spice spent 18 days in the pitch-black container without food or water before arriving at the San Bernardino home of Escamilla's parents on Tuesday.
"We really thought that cat was going to be dead," said Edward Gardner, Escamilla's father.
When Escamilla opened the container, she and family members noticed fluffs of cat hair on the floor. They started removing items, and Escamilla climbed into the container to search.
She said she saw Spice poke her head out from behind some bicycles.
"I started to scream," she said.
Escamilla gently picked up the cat and took her to a veterinarian who said the feline's prognosis was good. Spice's kidneys had shrunk and her bowels were backed up, but she managed to get some food and water down at the vet, Escamilla said.
Escamilla said the veterinarian told her that calicos have a strong survival instinct.
"It's always a good day when the cat's alive," said Escamilla. "We didn't know what we would find."
Pamela Escamilla lost sight of her 3-year-old calico, Spice, while packing a large container with household goods in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii. The container was shipped June 15 to Southern California.
Escamilla, 39, and her husband could not find the cat before taking their flight and asked neighbors in Hawaii to call if Spice returned.
As it turns out, Spice spent 18 days in the pitch-black container without food or water before arriving at the San Bernardino home of Escamilla's parents on Tuesday.
"We really thought that cat was going to be dead," said Edward Gardner, Escamilla's father.
When Escamilla opened the container, she and family members noticed fluffs of cat hair on the floor. They started removing items, and Escamilla climbed into the container to search.
She said she saw Spice poke her head out from behind some bicycles.
"I started to scream," she said.
Escamilla gently picked up the cat and took her to a veterinarian who said the feline's prognosis was good. Spice's kidneys had shrunk and her bowels were backed up, but she managed to get some food and water down at the vet, Escamilla said.
Escamilla said the veterinarian told her that calicos have a strong survival instinct.
"It's always a good day when the cat's alive," said Escamilla. "We didn't know what we would find."
Monday, July 9, 2007
Look for life not as we know it, U.S. report urges
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Extraterrestrial life may well be so weird we would not immediately recognize it, and scientists looking for alien life should be seeking the unfamiliar as well as the familiar, experts advised on Friday.
They said NASA'S current approach to "follow the water" works well if the assumption is that life everywhere is just like life is on Earth -- based on water, carbon and DNA.
But the "life as we know it" approach could easily miss something exotic, the National Academy of Sciences panel advised.
"The purpose of this whole report was to be able to look for life on other planets and moons with an open mind ... and not maybe miss some other life form because we looking for some obvious life form," said John Baross, professor of oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle, who chaired the committee.
The U.S. space agency commissioned the report from the National Research Council, one of the independent National Academies set up to advise the federal government on scientific issues.
The panel of biochemists, planetary scientists, geneticists and other experts considered all the possible ways that life can arise and exist.
Recent discoveries of extremophiles -- organisms living in conditions of heat, cold and dark and using chemicals once thought incompatible with life -- have changed ideas of where life can survive.
As a biochemist, Baross said lab experiments also show water does not necessarily have to be the basis for life. It might be possible for a living organism to use methane, ethane, ammonia or even more bizarre chemicals, he said.
HOW WEIRD CAN IT GET
"We had some discussion about how weird to make this because there are so many concepts out here. There are so many theories about what life is and what could be a living system," Baross said in a telephone interview.
NASA and other groups are looking hard for extraterrestrial life. Telescopes search for spectral signatures from other planets that might suggest water is on the surface. Robots on Mars are seeking evidence of water, past or present.
"We wanted to actually think outside of that box a little bit and at least try to articulate some of the other possibilities besides water-carbon life," Baross said.
All life on Earth uses some form of DNA or RNA to encode the basic information for replicating and changing, but perhaps other life forms exist that use a different method to do this, the report suggests.
NASA might also think about returning to some of the more promising places in our own solar system to look for evidence of life, the committee said. They include Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus and even steamy Venus.
"If you are a biochemist, Titan is of enormous interest, because it's a carbon moon. It does have clearly some liquid methane or liquid ethane lakes or pools. There could be chemical reactions going on that could be favorable for producing complex biochemicals," Baross said.
"The exploration that could lead to a novel life form ... would be the most profound discovery ever made," Baross said.
Stumbling past it or worse, destroying it because it did not look like life, would be an equally profound tragedy, he said.
They said NASA'S current approach to "follow the water" works well if the assumption is that life everywhere is just like life is on Earth -- based on water, carbon and DNA.
But the "life as we know it" approach could easily miss something exotic, the National Academy of Sciences panel advised.
"The purpose of this whole report was to be able to look for life on other planets and moons with an open mind ... and not maybe miss some other life form because we looking for some obvious life form," said John Baross, professor of oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle, who chaired the committee.
The U.S. space agency commissioned the report from the National Research Council, one of the independent National Academies set up to advise the federal government on scientific issues.
The panel of biochemists, planetary scientists, geneticists and other experts considered all the possible ways that life can arise and exist.
Recent discoveries of extremophiles -- organisms living in conditions of heat, cold and dark and using chemicals once thought incompatible with life -- have changed ideas of where life can survive.
As a biochemist, Baross said lab experiments also show water does not necessarily have to be the basis for life. It might be possible for a living organism to use methane, ethane, ammonia or even more bizarre chemicals, he said.
HOW WEIRD CAN IT GET
"We had some discussion about how weird to make this because there are so many concepts out here. There are so many theories about what life is and what could be a living system," Baross said in a telephone interview.
NASA and other groups are looking hard for extraterrestrial life. Telescopes search for spectral signatures from other planets that might suggest water is on the surface. Robots on Mars are seeking evidence of water, past or present.
"We wanted to actually think outside of that box a little bit and at least try to articulate some of the other possibilities besides water-carbon life," Baross said.
All life on Earth uses some form of DNA or RNA to encode the basic information for replicating and changing, but perhaps other life forms exist that use a different method to do this, the report suggests.
NASA might also think about returning to some of the more promising places in our own solar system to look for evidence of life, the committee said. They include Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus and even steamy Venus.
"If you are a biochemist, Titan is of enormous interest, because it's a carbon moon. It does have clearly some liquid methane or liquid ethane lakes or pools. There could be chemical reactions going on that could be favorable for producing complex biochemicals," Baross said.
"The exploration that could lead to a novel life form ... would be the most profound discovery ever made," Baross said.
Stumbling past it or worse, destroying it because it did not look like life, would be an equally profound tragedy, he said.
Ozzy Osbourne to help Taiwan in U.N. membership quest
TAIPEI (Reuters) - After 14 failed attempts at joining the United Nations using media campaigns and presidential appeals, Taiwan is turning to a local goth-style rock band backed by Ozzy Osbourne in its quest for membership to the world body.
The band, named ChthoniC, will travel to at least 80 cities in four countries by the end of the year, supported in part by the Taiwan government, which is providing pro-U.N. literature and a slogan-painted truck.
The band will visit Canada, Germany, Britain and the United States.
ChthoniC has also recorded a song urging the United Nations to let Taiwan join, even though its bid for membership keeps getting knocked down because of objections from Beijing.
"I'm not for any political party, but I'm for my poor country's joining the United Nations," band lyricist Freddy Lim told reporters on Wednesday at the tour's launch.
Ozzy Osbourne, a satanic-theme rocker known for biting heads off bats on stage, is helping set up 20 of the U.S. gigs, paying some transport costs and letting the Taiwan band promote U.N. membership as it wishes, Lim said. He said the band hooked up with Osbourne through personal connections.
Taiwan's leadership came up with the idea as it prepares to reapply for U.N. membership later this year, the cabinet's news office said on Tuesday.
China blocks self-ruled Taiwan's applications every year because it sees the island as part of its territory and not a separate country. The two sides split after civil war in 1949, and Taiwan left the United Nations in 1971 under Chinese pressure.
The band, named ChthoniC, will travel to at least 80 cities in four countries by the end of the year, supported in part by the Taiwan government, which is providing pro-U.N. literature and a slogan-painted truck.
The band will visit Canada, Germany, Britain and the United States.
ChthoniC has also recorded a song urging the United Nations to let Taiwan join, even though its bid for membership keeps getting knocked down because of objections from Beijing.
"I'm not for any political party, but I'm for my poor country's joining the United Nations," band lyricist Freddy Lim told reporters on Wednesday at the tour's launch.
Ozzy Osbourne, a satanic-theme rocker known for biting heads off bats on stage, is helping set up 20 of the U.S. gigs, paying some transport costs and letting the Taiwan band promote U.N. membership as it wishes, Lim said. He said the band hooked up with Osbourne through personal connections.
Taiwan's leadership came up with the idea as it prepares to reapply for U.N. membership later this year, the cabinet's news office said on Tuesday.
China blocks self-ruled Taiwan's applications every year because it sees the island as part of its territory and not a separate country. The two sides split after civil war in 1949, and Taiwan left the United Nations in 1971 under Chinese pressure.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Winner of buried Belvedere died in 1979
TULSA, Okla. - The winner of a rusted 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that was unearthed last week from a leaky vault in Tulsa died in 1979, and the ownership of the car will pass to his closest living relatives.
When the car was buried in 1957, more than 800 people submitted guesses on what Tulsa's population — which was around 250,000 in 1957 — would be in 2007. Guesses ranged from zero to 2 billion, but Raymond E. Humbertson's guess of 384,743 was only slightly off the official U.S. Census count of 382,457.
Tulsa officials announced Friday that Humbertson had won the two-door hardtop Belvedere that drew international attention when it was pulled from the vault on June 15.
His nephew, Donald Humbertson of Woodbridge, Va., said that Raymond Humbertson died of cancer at age 57 and his wife, Margaret Humbertson, died in 1988. Raymond and Margaret Humbertson had no children, their nephew said.
Raymond Humbertson's closest living relatives are two elderly sisters in Maryland, Donald Humbertson said.
The Oklahoma Centennial Commission will have a trust company speak with the Humbertson family about the family's wishes for the car, centennial events co-chairwoman Sharon King Davis said Saturday.
Donald Humbertson said that his uncle was a career Marine and a Korean War veteran who spent his final years as an administrator at a community college in northern Virginia.
"He was just sort of a happy-go-lucky guy," Donald Humbertson said.
The family coincidentally had a reunion planned for Saturday to unveil a monument in a cemetery in Cumberland, W.Va.
"This will probably give us something to talk about," said Dina Lawyer, Raymond Humbertson's grandniece.
Had it been in good condition when it was lifted from its vault under the lawn of the Tulsa County Courthouse, the gold-and-white Belvedere could have been worth as much as $50,000, but because of massive water damage, its value now mostly is historical.
The winner of the car also will receive a $100 savings bond buried with it.
On the Web: http://www.buriedcar.com/
When the car was buried in 1957, more than 800 people submitted guesses on what Tulsa's population — which was around 250,000 in 1957 — would be in 2007. Guesses ranged from zero to 2 billion, but Raymond E. Humbertson's guess of 384,743 was only slightly off the official U.S. Census count of 382,457.
Tulsa officials announced Friday that Humbertson had won the two-door hardtop Belvedere that drew international attention when it was pulled from the vault on June 15.
His nephew, Donald Humbertson of Woodbridge, Va., said that Raymond Humbertson died of cancer at age 57 and his wife, Margaret Humbertson, died in 1988. Raymond and Margaret Humbertson had no children, their nephew said.
Raymond Humbertson's closest living relatives are two elderly sisters in Maryland, Donald Humbertson said.
The Oklahoma Centennial Commission will have a trust company speak with the Humbertson family about the family's wishes for the car, centennial events co-chairwoman Sharon King Davis said Saturday.
Donald Humbertson said that his uncle was a career Marine and a Korean War veteran who spent his final years as an administrator at a community college in northern Virginia.
"He was just sort of a happy-go-lucky guy," Donald Humbertson said.
The family coincidentally had a reunion planned for Saturday to unveil a monument in a cemetery in Cumberland, W.Va.
"This will probably give us something to talk about," said Dina Lawyer, Raymond Humbertson's grandniece.
Had it been in good condition when it was lifted from its vault under the lawn of the Tulsa County Courthouse, the gold-and-white Belvedere could have been worth as much as $50,000, but because of massive water damage, its value now mostly is historical.
The winner of the car also will receive a $100 savings bond buried with it.
On the Web: http://www.buriedcar.com/
Firefighter in bikini accepts plea deal
MASON, Ohio - A man who was arrested in a park wearing a woman's wig and a bikini accepted a plea deal Thursday that dropped a charge of public indecency.
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Steven S. Cole, a former volunteer firefighter, pleaded guilty to a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and disorderly conduct.
Municipal Court Judge George Parker sentenced Cole to attend a mandatory driver intervention program and placed him on two years' probation. Cole was ordered to stay out of the city's public parks during that time and pay a $250 fine.
Parker also suspended Cole's driving privileges for six months, except for work, counseling sessions, family appointments and visits with his probation officer.
Police arrested Cole on April 4 in his truck as he was leaving Heritage Oak Park in this Cincinnati suburb after parents complained about a man dressed in women's clothing.
Police said they found an open, half-empty bottle of beer in the truck, along with a gym bag containing wigs, bikinis, silver go-go boots and other women's garments.
Cole's blood-alcohol test registered 0.17, more than twice Ohio's legal driving limit of 0.08, police said.
The arrest report said Cole told an officer he was on his way to a bar in Dayton to perform as a woman in a contest offering a $10,000 prize.
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Steven S. Cole, a former volunteer firefighter, pleaded guilty to a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and disorderly conduct.
Municipal Court Judge George Parker sentenced Cole to attend a mandatory driver intervention program and placed him on two years' probation. Cole was ordered to stay out of the city's public parks during that time and pay a $250 fine.
Parker also suspended Cole's driving privileges for six months, except for work, counseling sessions, family appointments and visits with his probation officer.
Police arrested Cole on April 4 in his truck as he was leaving Heritage Oak Park in this Cincinnati suburb after parents complained about a man dressed in women's clothing.
Police said they found an open, half-empty bottle of beer in the truck, along with a gym bag containing wigs, bikinis, silver go-go boots and other women's garments.
Cole's blood-alcohol test registered 0.17, more than twice Ohio's legal driving limit of 0.08, police said.
The arrest report said Cole told an officer he was on his way to a bar in Dayton to perform as a woman in a contest offering a $10,000 prize.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Peru Celebrates Tasty Guinea Pigs
CHURIN, Peru (AP) - Peru's celebration of the guinea pig included contests for the biggest, the best-dressed - and the tastiest. The second annual festival of the cuy, as guinea pigs are known in the Andes, brought brass bands into the streets of highland Churin on Sunday to celebrate all things related to the furry rodents.
"Zero cholesterol! Protein for anemia!" Teresa Figeroa shouted from under her woven, flower-lined hat.
For 20 soles ($7), she sold plates of guinea pig fried, grilled, baked - even cuy au vin - with generous helpings of Andean potatoes and large Peruvian corn called choclo.
Foreigners may cringe at seeing the critters served for lunch, looking much like they did in life, face down on a bed of greens. But people came from across Peru to savor the meat and to compete in a cuy cookoff.
There was also a competition for the biggest guinea pig; the winner weighed in at almost 8 pounds of flesh, fat and fur. And some competed in a fashion show of traditional Andean dress, with guinea pigs decked out in fedoras and frilly skirts looking like Disney cartoons come to life.
But the food was the main event.
"This isn't common," said Nicolas Campos Sanchez, his lips shiny with grease as he ate a mouthful of barbecued guinea pig. "We're very proud of it."
"Zero cholesterol! Protein for anemia!" Teresa Figeroa shouted from under her woven, flower-lined hat.
For 20 soles ($7), she sold plates of guinea pig fried, grilled, baked - even cuy au vin - with generous helpings of Andean potatoes and large Peruvian corn called choclo.
Foreigners may cringe at seeing the critters served for lunch, looking much like they did in life, face down on a bed of greens. But people came from across Peru to savor the meat and to compete in a cuy cookoff.
There was also a competition for the biggest guinea pig; the winner weighed in at almost 8 pounds of flesh, fat and fur. And some competed in a fashion show of traditional Andean dress, with guinea pigs decked out in fedoras and frilly skirts looking like Disney cartoons come to life.
But the food was the main event.
"This isn't common," said Nicolas Campos Sanchez, his lips shiny with grease as he ate a mouthful of barbecued guinea pig. "We're very proud of it."
Friday, July 6, 2007
China public restroom has 1,000 stalls
BEIJING - They're flush with pride in a southwestern Chinese city where a recently-opened porcelain palace features an Egyptian facade, soothing music and more than 1,000 toilets spread out over 32,290 square feet.
Officials in Chongqing are preparing to submit an application to Guinness World Records to have the free four-story public bathroom listed as the world's largest, the state-run China Central Television reported Friday.
"We are spreading toilet culture. People can listen to gentle music and watch TV," said Lu Xiaoqing, an official with the Yangrenjie, or "Foreigners Street," tourist area where the bathroom is located. "After they use the bathroom they will be very, very happy."
Footage aired on CCTV showed people milling about the sprawling facility and washing their hands at trough sinks. For open-aired relief, there is a cluster of stalls without a roof.
Some urinals are uniquely shaped, including ones inside open crocodile mouths and several that are topped by the bust of a woman resembling the Virgin Mary.
"Other bathrooms are all the same. This one is very special, I've never seen anything like it," one visitor to the tourist area told CCTV.
There are also plans to build a supermarket nearby, which will sell toilet-related items, CCTV reported.
Officials in Chongqing are preparing to submit an application to Guinness World Records to have the free four-story public bathroom listed as the world's largest, the state-run China Central Television reported Friday.
"We are spreading toilet culture. People can listen to gentle music and watch TV," said Lu Xiaoqing, an official with the Yangrenjie, or "Foreigners Street," tourist area where the bathroom is located. "After they use the bathroom they will be very, very happy."
Footage aired on CCTV showed people milling about the sprawling facility and washing their hands at trough sinks. For open-aired relief, there is a cluster of stalls without a roof.
Some urinals are uniquely shaped, including ones inside open crocodile mouths and several that are topped by the bust of a woman resembling the Virgin Mary.
"Other bathrooms are all the same. This one is very special, I've never seen anything like it," one visitor to the tourist area told CCTV.
There are also plans to build a supermarket nearby, which will sell toilet-related items, CCTV reported.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Dinner guest finds host's wife, son in freezer
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Belgian man appeared in court on Friday after a woman at his dinner party found the bodies of his wife and stepson in the freezer as she put away the leftovers, prosecutors said.
The woman went to the police after discovering the 46-year-old woman and her 11-year-old son and officers arrested the man in the town of Verviers, near Liege in east Belgium, on Wednesday.
"She went to the freezer and that is what she saw. She then alerted the police," said Georges Lahaye of the local public prosecutors' office. Prosecutors want the suspect, aged 43, to be remanded in custody to allow more time for an investigation into the deaths.
Lahaye said the suspect had not made a confession. He added that the couple argued a lot.
The woman went to the police after discovering the 46-year-old woman and her 11-year-old son and officers arrested the man in the town of Verviers, near Liege in east Belgium, on Wednesday.
"She went to the freezer and that is what she saw. She then alerted the police," said Georges Lahaye of the local public prosecutors' office. Prosecutors want the suspect, aged 43, to be remanded in custody to allow more time for an investigation into the deaths.
Lahaye said the suspect had not made a confession. He added that the couple argued a lot.
Girl, 4, called 911 nearly 300 times
CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. - Authorities tracked down a 4-year-old girl who called 911 nearly 300 times last month by offering to deliver McDonald's to her suburban Chicago apartment.
Unbeknownst to her mother, the girl used a deactivated cell phone to call dispatchers 287 times in June — sometimes as often as 20 times a shift.
Dispatchers heard the child's voice but could only track the phone's signal to the apartment complex.
So authorities used a ruse to pinpoint her.
"We asked (the caller) what she wanted. She said she wanted McDonald's," said Steve Cordes, executive director of QuadCom's emergency center, which covers Carpentersville.
"We talked with her and we convinced her if she told us where she lives, we would bring her McDonald's," he said. "She finally gave us her address. So we sent the police over — with no McDonald's."
After police arrived, the girl's mother took away the phone, Cordes said.
Under federal law, deactivated cell phones still must be able to access 911. Many deactivated phones will contact an emergency call center if the user holds down the nine key.
Unbeknownst to her mother, the girl used a deactivated cell phone to call dispatchers 287 times in June — sometimes as often as 20 times a shift.
Dispatchers heard the child's voice but could only track the phone's signal to the apartment complex.
So authorities used a ruse to pinpoint her.
"We asked (the caller) what she wanted. She said she wanted McDonald's," said Steve Cordes, executive director of QuadCom's emergency center, which covers Carpentersville.
"We talked with her and we convinced her if she told us where she lives, we would bring her McDonald's," he said. "She finally gave us her address. So we sent the police over — with no McDonald's."
After police arrived, the girl's mother took away the phone, Cordes said.
Under federal law, deactivated cell phones still must be able to access 911. Many deactivated phones will contact an emergency call center if the user holds down the nine key.
Scientists solve puzzle of Chile's missing lake
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Scientists said that a lake in southern Chile that mysteriously disappeared last month developed a crack which allowed the water to drain away.
A buildup of water opened a crack in an ice wall along one side of the lake. Water flowed through the crack into a nearby fjord and from there into the sea, leaving behind a dry lake-bed littered with icebergs, scientists told Chilean state television on Tuesday.
"It looks like it's slowly filling up with water again," said Andres Rivera, a glacier expert who headed a team which recently flew over the lake in a bid to solve the mystery.
The lake is situated in the Magallanes region in Patagonia and is fed by melt-water from glaciers. Earlier this year it had a surface area of 4 to 5 hectares (10-12 acres) -- about the size of 10 soccer fields.
Scientists noticed it had disappeared during a routine patrol of the area in May.
Rivera said the incident was evidence of the effects of global warming.
A buildup of water opened a crack in an ice wall along one side of the lake. Water flowed through the crack into a nearby fjord and from there into the sea, leaving behind a dry lake-bed littered with icebergs, scientists told Chilean state television on Tuesday.
"It looks like it's slowly filling up with water again," said Andres Rivera, a glacier expert who headed a team which recently flew over the lake in a bid to solve the mystery.
The lake is situated in the Magallanes region in Patagonia and is fed by melt-water from glaciers. Earlier this year it had a surface area of 4 to 5 hectares (10-12 acres) -- about the size of 10 soccer fields.
Scientists noticed it had disappeared during a routine patrol of the area in May.
Rivera said the incident was evidence of the effects of global warming.
EU consumer chief wants "fire-safe" cigarettes
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's consumer chief aims to prevent thousands of fire-related deaths and injuries each year by making all cigarettes sold in EU countries self-extinguishing, European Commission officials said.
The "fire-safe" cigarettes stop burning automatically after a few seconds if not puffed, due to small gaps in the cigarette paper which cuts the circulation of oxygen.
Officials at the EU executive said EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva would bring forward proposals later this year to make the self-extinguishing cigarettes mandatory throughout the 27-nation bloc.
"Data from just 14 member states show that over 2,000 deaths a year are caused by cigarette-related fires, with thousands more people injured and tens of millions of euros worth of damage caused," a Commission official told Reuters.
"There have already been discussions with the various stakeholders such as the fire-safety authorities, the tobacco industry and consumer groups. There is general support across the board."
Commission officials are developing an EU-wide standard for the cigarettes, similar to one in the United States and Canada.
"Canada introduced legislation in 2005 and a number of U.S. states have followed suit including New York, New Jersey and California, while Australia intends to also bring in laws for fire-safe cigarettes," another Commission official said.
"So, it would be more sensible and easier for industry if we draw up a common standard to be used across the globe."
The officials said research showed the cost of the new regulations in North America did not affect the overall cost of cigarettes.
"The cost is around 0.01 to 0.02 euro cent per packet," a Commission official said.
The Commission officials said the tobacco industry told them it would back the plan, if it was given time to adapt to the new legislation.
Previously tobacco firms said chemical additives required for fire-safe cigarettes would cause more damage to smokers and complained that smokers would not like the new taste.
"We support the push, but it must be in line with the standard adopted in New York," said Richard James, spokesman for Philip Morris -- maker of top-selling Marlboro and other brands.
"Also it must be made clear that this measure alone with not totally prevent fires from burning cigarettes, smokers must also be more responsible when smoking."
ANEC, an EU-wide consumers' lobby group for standardisation, backed the move.
"From a safety point of view and saving people, we welcome this news, but on the other hand we do not want to encourage smoking and we are also cautious regarding the final contents of these cigarettes which will be agreed as some could be highly inflammable," an ANEC spokeswoman said.
The "fire-safe" cigarettes stop burning automatically after a few seconds if not puffed, due to small gaps in the cigarette paper which cuts the circulation of oxygen.
Officials at the EU executive said EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva would bring forward proposals later this year to make the self-extinguishing cigarettes mandatory throughout the 27-nation bloc.
"Data from just 14 member states show that over 2,000 deaths a year are caused by cigarette-related fires, with thousands more people injured and tens of millions of euros worth of damage caused," a Commission official told Reuters.
"There have already been discussions with the various stakeholders such as the fire-safety authorities, the tobacco industry and consumer groups. There is general support across the board."
Commission officials are developing an EU-wide standard for the cigarettes, similar to one in the United States and Canada.
"Canada introduced legislation in 2005 and a number of U.S. states have followed suit including New York, New Jersey and California, while Australia intends to also bring in laws for fire-safe cigarettes," another Commission official said.
"So, it would be more sensible and easier for industry if we draw up a common standard to be used across the globe."
The officials said research showed the cost of the new regulations in North America did not affect the overall cost of cigarettes.
"The cost is around 0.01 to 0.02 euro cent per packet," a Commission official said.
The Commission officials said the tobacco industry told them it would back the plan, if it was given time to adapt to the new legislation.
Previously tobacco firms said chemical additives required for fire-safe cigarettes would cause more damage to smokers and complained that smokers would not like the new taste.
"We support the push, but it must be in line with the standard adopted in New York," said Richard James, spokesman for Philip Morris -- maker of top-selling Marlboro and other brands.
"Also it must be made clear that this measure alone with not totally prevent fires from burning cigarettes, smokers must also be more responsible when smoking."
ANEC, an EU-wide consumers' lobby group for standardisation, backed the move.
"From a safety point of view and saving people, we welcome this news, but on the other hand we do not want to encourage smoking and we are also cautious regarding the final contents of these cigarettes which will be agreed as some could be highly inflammable," an ANEC spokeswoman said.
Australia condom maker seeks "sexecutive" testers
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Condom makers say it's the world's best job, a "sexecutive position". An Australian company is seeking real life testers for its condom products.
"Got what it takes to be an official condom tester?" asks an advertisement launched by Durex Australia next to a photo of a busty young woman in a revealing nurse's outfit.
"With this job on your CV, it really will be a chance to brag to your mates about the special skills you possess, not to mention that your new role will work wonders with the opposite sex," Durex Marketing Manager Sam White told local media.
The "bed-testing" position is unpaid, but 200 selected testers would be up for free pack of Durex products, plus a bonus prize of A$1,000 (425 pounds) for one lucky winner, White said.
In return, testers would have to report back on the feel and performance of the company's products.
Only Australians need apply, and would-be testers will be asked to explain why they should be considered. Humour would help in the application, Durex said.
"To apply, simply explain why you think you're right for the position (missionary is acceptable) and you could be eligible for the employee bonus of $1,000," said the ad on Web site www.durex.com.au.
"Got what it takes to be an official condom tester?" asks an advertisement launched by Durex Australia next to a photo of a busty young woman in a revealing nurse's outfit.
"With this job on your CV, it really will be a chance to brag to your mates about the special skills you possess, not to mention that your new role will work wonders with the opposite sex," Durex Marketing Manager Sam White told local media.
The "bed-testing" position is unpaid, but 200 selected testers would be up for free pack of Durex products, plus a bonus prize of A$1,000 (425 pounds) for one lucky winner, White said.
In return, testers would have to report back on the feel and performance of the company's products.
Only Australians need apply, and would-be testers will be asked to explain why they should be considered. Humour would help in the application, Durex said.
"To apply, simply explain why you think you're right for the position (missionary is acceptable) and you could be eligible for the employee bonus of $1,000," said the ad on Web site www.durex.com.au.
Money falls from sky
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German motorist surprised by euro notes swirling in the air around her car hit the brakes and collected a "substantial amount of money" before turning it over to police, authorities in Worms said on Thursday.
A police spokesman in the small western town said the 24-year-old woman saw the money flying through the air in her rear view mirror late on Wednesday. She pulled over and tried to collect all the notes, unsuccessfully.
When police went with her to the scene they could not find any more cash.
A spokesman at Worms city hall said police were withholding details on the exact sum and location of the find in the hope of learning more about the money's orig
A police spokesman in the small western town said the 24-year-old woman saw the money flying through the air in her rear view mirror late on Wednesday. She pulled over and tried to collect all the notes, unsuccessfully.
When police went with her to the scene they could not find any more cash.
A spokesman at Worms city hall said police were withholding details on the exact sum and location of the find in the hope of learning more about the money's orig
Money falls from sky
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German motorist surprised by euro notes swirling in the air around her car hit the brakes and collected a "substantial amount of money" before turning it over to police, authorities in Worms said on Thursday.
A police spokesman in the small western town said the 24-year-old woman saw the money flying through the air in her rear view mirror late on Wednesday. She pulled over and tried to collect all the notes, unsuccessfully.
When police went with her to the scene they could not find any more cash.
A spokesman at Worms city hall said police were withholding details on the exact sum and location of the find in the hope of learning more about the money's orig
A police spokesman in the small western town said the 24-year-old woman saw the money flying through the air in her rear view mirror late on Wednesday. She pulled over and tried to collect all the notes, unsuccessfully.
When police went with her to the scene they could not find any more cash.
A spokesman at Worms city hall said police were withholding details on the exact sum and location of the find in the hope of learning more about the money's orig
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Which is the chatty sex? Turns out both are
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Men talk every bit as much as women do, U.S. researchers said after painstakingly counting every word that 400 volunteers spoke.
Their study, published on Thursday in the journal Science, challenges the common wisdom that women are somehow biologically programmed to talk more -- but the researchers said people do often fulfil gender roles when it comes to subject matter.
"Women and men both use on average about 16,000 words per day, with very large individual differences around this mean," the researchers, led by psychologist Matthias Mehl of the University of Arizona, wrote.
Mehl and colleagues had been struck by widespread assertions that women talk more each day than men, and have a bigger vocabulary. "The 20,000-versus-7,000 word estimates appear to have achieved the status of a cultural myth," they wrote.
"So we generalize and say that women just talk all the time," Mehl added in a telephone interview.
Mehl's team tested this belief by recruiting 396 U.S. and Mexican college students who wore a personal digital assistant with a recorder for anywhere between two and 10 days.
The devices recorded for 30-second periods every 12 or so minutes, giving representative samples of how much each person talked.
OVERWHELMING VERBIAGE
Teams of transcribers took down every word and then extrapolated each person's daily verbiage.
"The data suggest that women spoke on average 16,215 words and men 15,669 words over an assumed period of, on average, 17 waking hours," the researchers wrote.
The variation among the different men in the sample and among the women was far greater than the differences between the sexes as a group, Mehl said.
"Just to illustrate the magnitude of difference, among the three most talkative males in the study, one used 47,000 words. The least talkative male spoke just a little more than 500," he said.
Mehl noted that because all the volunteers were college students, there could be social or cultural factors at work. But the study suggests that there is no underlying biological difference that accounts for talkativeness.
"I think the next step is to look into older community samples, maybe older adults in different parts of the world and see whether different cultural norms play a role," Mehl said.
There were stereotypical difference in subject matter.
"Men talk more about technology, work, money. They also use more numbers," he said.
"Women talk more about fashion and about relationships."
But again, Mehl said, the differences between two men or between two women were far greater than overall sex differences.
And both sexes can babble on senselessly. "Sometimes you find a stream of words but people don't say very much," he said. "You just talk and talk and talk."
Their study, published on Thursday in the journal Science, challenges the common wisdom that women are somehow biologically programmed to talk more -- but the researchers said people do often fulfil gender roles when it comes to subject matter.
"Women and men both use on average about 16,000 words per day, with very large individual differences around this mean," the researchers, led by psychologist Matthias Mehl of the University of Arizona, wrote.
Mehl and colleagues had been struck by widespread assertions that women talk more each day than men, and have a bigger vocabulary. "The 20,000-versus-7,000 word estimates appear to have achieved the status of a cultural myth," they wrote.
"So we generalize and say that women just talk all the time," Mehl added in a telephone interview.
Mehl's team tested this belief by recruiting 396 U.S. and Mexican college students who wore a personal digital assistant with a recorder for anywhere between two and 10 days.
The devices recorded for 30-second periods every 12 or so minutes, giving representative samples of how much each person talked.
OVERWHELMING VERBIAGE
Teams of transcribers took down every word and then extrapolated each person's daily verbiage.
"The data suggest that women spoke on average 16,215 words and men 15,669 words over an assumed period of, on average, 17 waking hours," the researchers wrote.
The variation among the different men in the sample and among the women was far greater than the differences between the sexes as a group, Mehl said.
"Just to illustrate the magnitude of difference, among the three most talkative males in the study, one used 47,000 words. The least talkative male spoke just a little more than 500," he said.
Mehl noted that because all the volunteers were college students, there could be social or cultural factors at work. But the study suggests that there is no underlying biological difference that accounts for talkativeness.
"I think the next step is to look into older community samples, maybe older adults in different parts of the world and see whether different cultural norms play a role," Mehl said.
There were stereotypical difference in subject matter.
"Men talk more about technology, work, money. They also use more numbers," he said.
"Women talk more about fashion and about relationships."
But again, Mehl said, the differences between two men or between two women were far greater than overall sex differences.
And both sexes can babble on senselessly. "Sometimes you find a stream of words but people don't say very much," he said. "You just talk and talk and talk."
Blinded by love, man stabbed in eye by girlfriend
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong woman who blinded her boyfriend in one eye in a fight six years ago has been jailed for jabbing a chopstick into his other eye, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Last November, Po Shiu-fong, 58, accused long-time boyfriend Kwok Wai-ming, 49, of having an affair, the South China Morning Post reported.
During the row, Po stabbed a plastic chopstick into his left eye, which she had already blinded six years ago when she poked it with her finger.
"Po became hysterical when she saw the wound and mopped it with a towel. The pair then went to bed," the paper said.
"The next morning they had another argument in which she grabbed a chopstick and stabbed Kwok's right eye," it said.
Two days later, he sought medical treatment and filed a police report against Po, whom he had dated since 1993.
The paper said he didn't report the attack six years ago, telling the court his silence was "a love sacrifice."
Kwok lost 10 to 20 percent vision in his right eye, the paper said.
Po was jailed for six months on Tuesday.
"If I forgive her, God would not forgive me," the paper quoted Kwok as saying. "No matter what, nothing could compensate for the loss of my eye."
Last November, Po Shiu-fong, 58, accused long-time boyfriend Kwok Wai-ming, 49, of having an affair, the South China Morning Post reported.
During the row, Po stabbed a plastic chopstick into his left eye, which she had already blinded six years ago when she poked it with her finger.
"Po became hysterical when she saw the wound and mopped it with a towel. The pair then went to bed," the paper said.
"The next morning they had another argument in which she grabbed a chopstick and stabbed Kwok's right eye," it said.
Two days later, he sought medical treatment and filed a police report against Po, whom he had dated since 1993.
The paper said he didn't report the attack six years ago, telling the court his silence was "a love sacrifice."
Kwok lost 10 to 20 percent vision in his right eye, the paper said.
Po was jailed for six months on Tuesday.
"If I forgive her, God would not forgive me," the paper quoted Kwok as saying. "No matter what, nothing could compensate for the loss of my eye."
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Ice cream vendor accused of selling pot
BENTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Southwestern Michigan authorities say they arrested an ice cream truck operator who was selling marijuana along with his frozen desserts.
After authorities got tips about the alleged pot-peddler, a deputy "heard jingling bells" about 2 p.m. Thursday and saw the ice cream truck entering a mobile home park, Berrien County sheriff's Lt. Keith Hafer said in a written statement.
Deputy John Hopkins stopped the truck, spoke with the driver and "detected the odor of marijuana coming from the truck (along with tutti-frutti and a couple other flavors)," Hafer wrote.
Authorities searched the van and found several packages of marijuana under the dashboard, the statement said.
The 36-year-old suspect was jailed while awaiting arraignment on charges of marijuana possession with intent to deliver and maintaining a drug vehicle. He also faces an outstanding warrant for skipping child support, Hafer said.
Authorities released the vehicle to the vending company "in spite of an effort by Narcotics Officers to devise a way to forfeit the vehicle and its icy cold treats," Hafer said. He said police would seek revocation of the company's license to operate in Benton Township.
After authorities got tips about the alleged pot-peddler, a deputy "heard jingling bells" about 2 p.m. Thursday and saw the ice cream truck entering a mobile home park, Berrien County sheriff's Lt. Keith Hafer said in a written statement.
Deputy John Hopkins stopped the truck, spoke with the driver and "detected the odor of marijuana coming from the truck (along with tutti-frutti and a couple other flavors)," Hafer wrote.
Authorities searched the van and found several packages of marijuana under the dashboard, the statement said.
The 36-year-old suspect was jailed while awaiting arraignment on charges of marijuana possession with intent to deliver and maintaining a drug vehicle. He also faces an outstanding warrant for skipping child support, Hafer said.
Authorities released the vehicle to the vending company "in spite of an effort by Narcotics Officers to devise a way to forfeit the vehicle and its icy cold treats," Hafer said. He said police would seek revocation of the company's license to operate in Benton Township.
Gender minister bodyguard accused of groping
TOKYO (Reuters) - A policeman assigned as a bodyguard for Japan's gender equality minister has been arrested on suspicion of molesting a female college student on a train, a police spokesman said on Thursday.
The 39-year-old bodyguard is suspected of touching the young woman's bottom on a train in Tokyo on Monday night, the spokesman said. He was turned over to police by fellow passengers.
The bodyguard was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying he was drunk and did not remember what happened.
"I am surprised and worried," Sanae Takaichi, the cabinet minister for gender equality, was quoted by her office as saying, adding that she did know details of the allegation.
Takaichi, one of three women in the cabinet, was known before taking up her post last September as an opponent of legislation to allow women to keep their family name after marriage.
The 39-year-old bodyguard is suspected of touching the young woman's bottom on a train in Tokyo on Monday night, the spokesman said. He was turned over to police by fellow passengers.
The bodyguard was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying he was drunk and did not remember what happened.
"I am surprised and worried," Sanae Takaichi, the cabinet minister for gender equality, was quoted by her office as saying, adding that she did know details of the allegation.
Takaichi, one of three women in the cabinet, was known before taking up her post last September as an opponent of legislation to allow women to keep their family name after marriage.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Brazilian pair record longest final set
LONDON (Reuters) - Brazil's Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa entered the Wimbledon record books on Wednesday when they won the longest final set in championship history.
The Brazilian pair upset sixth seeds Paul Hanley of Australia and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe, winning 5-7 7-6 4-6 7-6 28-26 in a rain-interrupted encounter that spanned an unprecedented four days of play.
Although an opening doubles set in the 1968 championships took 62 games to complete, the 54 played on Court 16 is the most for a deciding set.
The total of 102 games played was also the most in a single match since tiebreaks were introduced in 1973.
The match began on Saturday. It ended after five hours and 58 minutes play and was 11 minutes shy of the longest match in Wimbledon history when Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor beat Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry in the last year's doubles quarter-final.
The Brazilian pair upset sixth seeds Paul Hanley of Australia and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe, winning 5-7 7-6 4-6 7-6 28-26 in a rain-interrupted encounter that spanned an unprecedented four days of play.
Although an opening doubles set in the 1968 championships took 62 games to complete, the 54 played on Court 16 is the most for a deciding set.
The total of 102 games played was also the most in a single match since tiebreaks were introduced in 1973.
The match began on Saturday. It ended after five hours and 58 minutes play and was 11 minutes shy of the longest match in Wimbledon history when Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor beat Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry in the last year's doubles quarter-final.
Risque EU defends Internet orgasm clip
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Talk of monetary union and wine quotas gave way to controversy over orgasms and innuendo at the European Commission on Wednesday as it defended a risque Internet video clip highlighting its backing for European cinema.
The EU executive's usually dry daily news briefing sprung to life with questions over whether a 44-second clip of 18 couples achieving ecstasy in a variety of positions and venues was the best way to show how Brussels uses taxpayers' money.
The raunchy clip is made up of snippets from various general release films that have been funded by the EU, including "Amelie" and "Good Bye Lenin!."
Some reporters also took a swipe at the title of the sequence, asking whether "Let's Come Together" was acceptable innuendo -- and if it was, whether the pun worked in the 27-member Union's other official languages.
A Commission spokesman insisted it had not received a single complaint in the 14 weeks since the clip first appeared on Internet site YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKFTfAWnYh8), suggesting the Brussels press corps should relax and get with the times.
"Let us for once also have a good sense of humor and let us not start the old wars of the fifties about what is sex, what is pornography and what is simply normal to watch on television," spokesman Martin Selmayr appealed.
The EU executive's usually dry daily news briefing sprung to life with questions over whether a 44-second clip of 18 couples achieving ecstasy in a variety of positions and venues was the best way to show how Brussels uses taxpayers' money.
The raunchy clip is made up of snippets from various general release films that have been funded by the EU, including "Amelie" and "Good Bye Lenin!."
Some reporters also took a swipe at the title of the sequence, asking whether "Let's Come Together" was acceptable innuendo -- and if it was, whether the pun worked in the 27-member Union's other official languages.
A Commission spokesman insisted it had not received a single complaint in the 14 weeks since the clip first appeared on Internet site YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKFTfAWnYh8), suggesting the Brussels press corps should relax and get with the times.
"Let us for once also have a good sense of humor and let us not start the old wars of the fifties about what is sex, what is pornography and what is simply normal to watch on television," spokesman Martin Selmayr appealed.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Woman wins settlement in breast-feeding case
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Watch-maker and clothier Fossil Inc. agreed to pay $3,600 to a woman who was barred from breast-feeding her infant while visiting a company showroom, the New York Civil Liberties Union said on Tuesday.
Lass King, 37, a buyer for a Maine clothing store and a mother of two, said she received a letter of apology and the payment from Fossil after threatening the company with a lawsuit.
In its letter to King, Fossil also said it had issued a policy affirming that breast-feeding was permitted in all Fossil stores and showrooms, said Galen Sherwin, director of the NYCLU's Reproductive Rights Project.
Representatives of Fossil could not immediately confirm details of the settlement.
New York law states that women are permitted to breast-feed "in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be."
King called her experience humiliating.
In August 2006, while meeting with a salesperson in a Manhattan showroom, King was told she was making others feel uncomfortable by breast-feeding her 8-month-old son, Cody.
King was taken to another floor to finish feeding Cody but was then not allowed back into the showroom. In January, as she made plans to again visit a Fossil showroom, she was told by a Fossil representative that breast-feeding was forbidden.
"I wanted to be apologized to. I wanted not to be humiliated or for anybody else to be humiliated either," she told Reuters of her decision to contact the civil liberties organization.
Lass King, 37, a buyer for a Maine clothing store and a mother of two, said she received a letter of apology and the payment from Fossil after threatening the company with a lawsuit.
In its letter to King, Fossil also said it had issued a policy affirming that breast-feeding was permitted in all Fossil stores and showrooms, said Galen Sherwin, director of the NYCLU's Reproductive Rights Project.
Representatives of Fossil could not immediately confirm details of the settlement.
New York law states that women are permitted to breast-feed "in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be."
King called her experience humiliating.
In August 2006, while meeting with a salesperson in a Manhattan showroom, King was told she was making others feel uncomfortable by breast-feeding her 8-month-old son, Cody.
King was taken to another floor to finish feeding Cody but was then not allowed back into the showroom. In January, as she made plans to again visit a Fossil showroom, she was told by a Fossil representative that breast-feeding was forbidden.
"I wanted to be apologized to. I wanted not to be humiliated or for anybody else to be humiliated either," she told Reuters of her decision to contact the civil liberties organization.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
11-year-old charged with driving drunk in Alabama
MIAMI (Reuters) - An 11-year-old girl was charged with drunken driving after leading police on a chase at speeds of up to 100 mph that ended when she flipped the car in an Alabama beach town.
A video camera in the police car captured the look of surprise on the officer's face when he approached the wrecked car and got a look at the motorist.
The Mobile Press-Register newspaper said the patrolman saw the Chevrolet Monte Carlo speeding and flashed his lights to signal the driver to stop. Instead, the car sped faster, travelling at up to 100 mph (160 kph) before sideswiping another vehicle and flipping over in the Gulf Coast town of Orange Beach, Alabama, on Tuesday night.
The young driver, who lived nearby in Perdido Key, Florida, was treated at a hospital for scrapes and bruises and released to relatives. Police also charged her with speeding, leaving the scene of an accident and reckless endangerment.
The car belonged to a relative and police were still trying to find out where she got the alcohol. There was none in the vehicle but her blood alcohol level was over the limit for adult motorists, police told the newspaper.
A video camera in the police car captured the look of surprise on the officer's face when he approached the wrecked car and got a look at the motorist.
The Mobile Press-Register newspaper said the patrolman saw the Chevrolet Monte Carlo speeding and flashed his lights to signal the driver to stop. Instead, the car sped faster, travelling at up to 100 mph (160 kph) before sideswiping another vehicle and flipping over in the Gulf Coast town of Orange Beach, Alabama, on Tuesday night.
The young driver, who lived nearby in Perdido Key, Florida, was treated at a hospital for scrapes and bruises and released to relatives. Police also charged her with speeding, leaving the scene of an accident and reckless endangerment.
The car belonged to a relative and police were still trying to find out where she got the alcohol. There was none in the vehicle but her blood alcohol level was over the limit for adult motorists, police told the newspaper.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Man sues after plane hits Lamborghini
An Oregon man has sued over a traffic accident that involved an unlikely pair of vehicles - his Lamborghini and a small plane piloted by FBI agents. The propeller from the Cessna airplane mangled the driver's side of the black Lamborghini that Marlowe Treit had given himself as a 60th birthday present in 1998.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Hacker claims Harry Potter's alleged ending on Web
By Jim Finkle
BOSTON (Reuters) - The mystery surrounding the end to fictional British boy wizard Harry Potter's saga deepened on Wednesday with a computer hacker posting what he said were key plot details and a publisher warned the details could be fake.
The hacker, who goes by the name "Gabriel," claims to have taken a digital copy of author J.K. Rowling's seventh and final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," by breaking into a computer at London-based Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
For months now, leading up to the book's July 21 release, legions of "Harry Potter" fans have debated whether Rowling killed Harry or one of his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, in the final book.
Gabriel has posted information at Web site InSecure.org that, if true, would answer that question.
"We make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring," Gabriel said in the posting.
"Harry Potter" publishers have taken great pains to keep the conclusion a secret and preserve the multibillion-dollar entertainment enterprise surrounding the boy wizard.
A Bloomsbury spokesman declined comment on the hacker's claims.
Kyle Good, a spokesman for U.S. distributor Scholastic Corp., would not say whether the posting was accurate, but did warn readers to be skeptical about anything on the Web that claims to have inside information on the book's plot.
"There is a whole lot of junk flying around," she said. "Consider this one more theory."
David Perry, a spokesman for computer security company Trend Micro, said there was a good chance Gabriel's claim could be a hoax.
"We've had hypes like this on the last couple of Harry Potter books," he said. "There is a very high level of spurious information in the hacker world."
But if true, it could be a problem for Bloomsbury. The "Harry Potter" books have been global best-sellers with fans buying some 320 million versions worldwide, and anticipation for "Deathly Hallows" is high.
In April, U.S. retailer Barnes & Noble said advance orders for the book had already topped 500,000 copies, setting a chain record. Scholastic plans to release a record 12 million copies of "Deathly Hallows" to meet demand.
A stolen copy of the sixth Harry Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" surfaced in Britain about a month before its official release in July 2005. Two people were charged after reportedly trying to sell a copy to the London tabloid the Sun.
Four "Potter" movies made by Warner Bros. film studio, a division of Time Warner Inc., have brought in $3.5 billion in global ticket sales, and a fifth film is due in theaters in early July.
(Additional reporting by Bob Tourtellotte in Los Angeles and Kate Holton in London.)
BOSTON (Reuters) - The mystery surrounding the end to fictional British boy wizard Harry Potter's saga deepened on Wednesday with a computer hacker posting what he said were key plot details and a publisher warned the details could be fake.
The hacker, who goes by the name "Gabriel," claims to have taken a digital copy of author J.K. Rowling's seventh and final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," by breaking into a computer at London-based Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
For months now, leading up to the book's July 21 release, legions of "Harry Potter" fans have debated whether Rowling killed Harry or one of his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, in the final book.
Gabriel has posted information at Web site InSecure.org that, if true, would answer that question.
"We make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring," Gabriel said in the posting.
"Harry Potter" publishers have taken great pains to keep the conclusion a secret and preserve the multibillion-dollar entertainment enterprise surrounding the boy wizard.
A Bloomsbury spokesman declined comment on the hacker's claims.
Kyle Good, a spokesman for U.S. distributor Scholastic Corp., would not say whether the posting was accurate, but did warn readers to be skeptical about anything on the Web that claims to have inside information on the book's plot.
"There is a whole lot of junk flying around," she said. "Consider this one more theory."
David Perry, a spokesman for computer security company Trend Micro, said there was a good chance Gabriel's claim could be a hoax.
"We've had hypes like this on the last couple of Harry Potter books," he said. "There is a very high level of spurious information in the hacker world."
But if true, it could be a problem for Bloomsbury. The "Harry Potter" books have been global best-sellers with fans buying some 320 million versions worldwide, and anticipation for "Deathly Hallows" is high.
In April, U.S. retailer Barnes & Noble said advance orders for the book had already topped 500,000 copies, setting a chain record. Scholastic plans to release a record 12 million copies of "Deathly Hallows" to meet demand.
A stolen copy of the sixth Harry Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" surfaced in Britain about a month before its official release in July 2005. Two people were charged after reportedly trying to sell a copy to the London tabloid the Sun.
Four "Potter" movies made by Warner Bros. film studio, a division of Time Warner Inc., have brought in $3.5 billion in global ticket sales, and a fifth film is due in theaters in early July.
(Additional reporting by Bob Tourtellotte in Los Angeles and Kate Holton in London.)
Canadian students could soon be graduating from "Taco Bell High"
OTTAWA (AFP) - Canadian students could soon be graduating from "Taco Bell High" or "Wal-Mart Public School" if trustees here go ahead with a scheme to sell school naming rights to corporations to raise extra funds.
The proposal has pitted members of the cash-strapped Ottawa-Carleton District School Board with public education advocacy groups who fear it would jeopardize universal education.
"No one wants to go to Taco Bell High," Ellen Dickson, chair of the Ottawa Carleton Assembly of School Councils, told the daily Ottawa Citizen.
But proponents say it would help eliminate growing budget deficits at many of Canada's school boards, hit by rising enrolment and cuts in provincial funding.
The Ottawa school board, for example, passed a 634.8-million dollar (595-million US) budget last week, but even after deep cuts, was left with a deficit of 6.2 million dollars (5.8 million US).
Ottawa trustee Riley Brockington told the Citizen in support of the plan: "I have no problem with the Loeb Library or the Cognos Centre of Performing Arts," invoking the names of a grocery chain and a software firm, respectively.
But Annie Kidder of the parents group People for Education countered: "The minute you end up with a Wal-Mart Public School ... you are taking away the notion of the importance of public education, which is to provide every child, no matter where they live or the income of their parents, with an equal chance at success."
The proposal has pitted members of the cash-strapped Ottawa-Carleton District School Board with public education advocacy groups who fear it would jeopardize universal education.
"No one wants to go to Taco Bell High," Ellen Dickson, chair of the Ottawa Carleton Assembly of School Councils, told the daily Ottawa Citizen.
But proponents say it would help eliminate growing budget deficits at many of Canada's school boards, hit by rising enrolment and cuts in provincial funding.
The Ottawa school board, for example, passed a 634.8-million dollar (595-million US) budget last week, but even after deep cuts, was left with a deficit of 6.2 million dollars (5.8 million US).
Ottawa trustee Riley Brockington told the Citizen in support of the plan: "I have no problem with the Loeb Library or the Cognos Centre of Performing Arts," invoking the names of a grocery chain and a software firm, respectively.
But Annie Kidder of the parents group People for Education countered: "The minute you end up with a Wal-Mart Public School ... you are taking away the notion of the importance of public education, which is to provide every child, no matter where they live or the income of their parents, with an equal chance at success."
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Skulls Smuggled for Monks' Chalices
No bones about it—this collection of skulls and femurs was part of an international smuggling operation, Indian officials announced Tuesday.
The skeleton stash was headed to Buddhist monasteries in Bhutan, a neighboring Himalayan kingdom.
"During interrogation [the gang] confessed that the hollow human thigh bones were in great demand in monasteries and were used as blow-horns, and the skulls as vessels to drink from at religious ceremonies," investigating officer Ravinder Nalwa told the Reuters news service Tuesday.
Police officers found the bones in Jaigaon, India, on the border with Bhutan.
In April police in Jaigaon had uncovered a human-bones factory and arrested six people. The factory's bones had come from cremation centers on the Ganges River in Varanasi, a Hindu holy city. They were being sold to students of traditional medicine.
Eastern India was once a flourishing center for the export of human skeletons. The government banned the trade in the late 1980s after human rights groups questioned bone-collection practices.
Today, as evidence surrounding the bones continues to surface, police suspect the region could be the center of an expansive underground industry.
—Cori Sue Morris
The skeleton stash was headed to Buddhist monasteries in Bhutan, a neighboring Himalayan kingdom.
"During interrogation [the gang] confessed that the hollow human thigh bones were in great demand in monasteries and were used as blow-horns, and the skulls as vessels to drink from at religious ceremonies," investigating officer Ravinder Nalwa told the Reuters news service Tuesday.
Police officers found the bones in Jaigaon, India, on the border with Bhutan.
In April police in Jaigaon had uncovered a human-bones factory and arrested six people. The factory's bones had come from cremation centers on the Ganges River in Varanasi, a Hindu holy city. They were being sold to students of traditional medicine.
Eastern India was once a flourishing center for the export of human skeletons. The government banned the trade in the late 1980s after human rights groups questioned bone-collection practices.
Today, as evidence surrounding the bones continues to surface, police suspect the region could be the center of an expansive underground industry.
—Cori Sue Morris
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
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