Current Events & Other News

[Quiet Tempest]

When I was in school, "current events" was part of our daily routine in Govt./Economics class. I actually enjoyed doing it then and thought it might be enjoyable to incorporate it here as well.

Some of you have great insight in this field. It is my hope that those of you with such a grasp on today's issues can shed some light on them for all of us. I think it's important for everyone to have an interest in the goings-on of your city, state, nation, continent, planet. :)

That being said.... Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to get your paws on a current event. Something in the newspaper or on the news is great. Share a brief summary on the topic (cite your source so the rest of us can see the full article, too!), and share your opinions on the topic.

I'll start:

Test reveals gender early in pregnancy
Ethicists fear use in sex selection
By Carey Goldberg, Globe Staff | June 27, 2005 (http://www.pregnancystore.com/in_the_news.htm)
A new blood test being marketed to American women offers them the chance to find out whether they are having a boy or a girl almost as soon as they realize they are pregnant, as early as five weeks along.

Just two or three days after mailing the test overnight to a Lowell lab for processing, a pregnant woman can know what color to paint the nursery -- or even decide whether to get an abortion if she wants a child of the opposite sex, a prospect that worries ethicists.

The $275 test works by detecting and analyzing fetal DNA floating in the mother's blood, a method that researchers say holds promise for serious clinical uses, from cancer testing to prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

The test, called the Baby Gender Mentor, is meant for ''the type of woman who can't wait to open Christmas presents," said Sherry Bonelli, president of Mommy's Thinkin', the company that is marketing the test at an online pregnancy store.

But ethicists asked about this early, commercial application of fetal DNA testing say it raises concerns about sex selection, particularly in societies and immigrant groups where boy babies are preferred.

''You can tiptoe around it, but the fact is that if you're sending information about sex, then you're in the sex-selection testing business," said bioethicist Arthur Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania. He would not ban the test, he said, but ''I would condemn it."

Sex selection, mainly using ultrasound tests and abortion, is considered a growing and potentially destabilizing problem in parts of Asia. In its most extreme form, parents kill girl babies. In China, it has led to an imbalance of about 120 men for every 100 women; and in India, one recent report from an affluent area of New Delhi found that for every 1,000 boys born in 2004, only 762 girls were born.

This new test, seen Here (http://www.pregnancystore.com/baby_gender_mentor.htm), will make it possible for parents to find out what they're having earlier than ever. I think it's a great innovation. It allows parents more time to plan for a specific gender. It is true that there is a possibility for the product being used as a device for gender selection, though. I realize I'm probably going to sound really cruel for even thinking this, but this sort of device might actually benefit places such as China. China's implemented a one-child only policy in an attempt to control population problems. The policy was relaxed somewhat in 2002-'03.
Unless a couple were both only children, the policy is strictly enforced by financial penalties in urban areas (Country Reports 2001 4 Mar. 2002). However, for the majority of China's population, who live in rural areas, two-children families are common. For example, rural families whose first child is a girl, or whose first child is disabled, are entitled to another child. Moreover, ethnic minorities, such as Tibetans or Muslim Uighurs, are permitted to have multiple births. Another significant aspect of the law is that discrimination against women and infant girls is prohibited. However, there is still a traditional preference for sons and there are still cases of abortion, neglect, abandonment, and even infanticide known to occur to female infants. There is also baby-trafficking. The sale of both female and male infants to couples not permitted to have a second child or to families intent on a son is prevalent in the country.
I think (and, again, maybe I sound cruel and inhumane saying this) that the use of something like the Baby Gender Mentor would alleviate some of the problems associated with Chinese couples who desperately want a son. It would "save" an unwanted female infant from the horrors of abandonment, neglect, abuse, and infantcide.


*sigh* Now you're all going to think I'm evil. :(



Who else has a current event to talk about?

[Pink Pinker]

OH ME! In my school, we had Current Events tests, and I had the highest score for my team(there are 2 teams per each grade) for every test except one. I'm a news junkie. Also, we had a "Newsbowl" team, and we had quizzes every Friday,way back in like, 5th grade. And our team came in first in the nation, when we took the final, online test. I'll shut up now :blahblah:

TV In Child's Romm May Hinfer Learning (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8471072/)

B]TV in child's room may hinder learning
But home computers boost test scores, study suggests[/B]
The Associated Press
Updated: 1:55 p.m. ET July 5, 2005


CHICAGO - Too much TV-watching can harm children’s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, three new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on kids.

Critics faulted the research for not adequately considering the content of the TV watched, but experts said it bolsters advice that children shouldn’t have TVs in their rooms.

The separate findings were published Monday in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

One of the studies involved nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedroom TVs.

A second study, looking at nearly 1,000 adults in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year-olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood.

TV watching linked to reading problems
A third study, based on nationally representative data on nearly 1,800 U.S. children, found that those who watched more than three hours of television daily before age 3 scored slightly worse on academic and intelligence tests at ages 6 and 7 than youngsters who watched less TV. The effect was only modest but still worrisome, said co-author Frederick Zimmerman, a researcher at the University of Washington.


The studies took into account other factors that might have influenced the outcome, such as household income. But they largely ignored other research that “found positive associations between children’s educational TV viewing and subsequent academic achievement,” according to an Archives editorial.

“Reliable and valid estimates of viewing, including content-based measures, are critical to our understanding of the effects of TV on young children, especially children younger than age 2 years,” the editorial said.

Previous research has linked television exposure in young children with attention problems and difficulty learning to read.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that youngsters under age 2 not watch any television, that older children watch no more than two hours daily of “quality” programming, and that televisions be kept out of children’s bedrooms.

Recent data suggest, however, that U.S. youngsters from infancy to age 6 watch an average of one hour of TV daily, and that 8-to-18-year-olds watch an average of three hours daily.

John Wilson, senior vice president of programming at PBS, released a statement saying that other studies have shown that the Public Broadcasting Service’s children’s programs, which include “Sesame Street,” can benefit child development.

“As overall media usage increases among young children ... further research and study on media’s impact on child development is needed,” Wilson said.

Home computers may boost scores
The New Zealand study led by Dr. Robert Hancox of the University of Otago in Dunedin acknowledged that the results don’t prove that TV is the culprit and don’t rule out that already poorly motivated youngsters may watch lots of TV. But the authors said they don’t think that explains their results.

Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. Participants with college degrees had watched an average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight during childhood, compared with an average of more than 2½ hours for those who had no education beyond high school.

In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest, while those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest, according to researchers Dina Borzekowski of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Dr. Thomas Robinson of Stanford University.

“While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating data that kids shouldn’t have TVs in their bedrooms,” Robinson said.


I don't have a TV in my room, which, now, I'm glad my parenst haven't gotten me. Though, I do watch TV a whole lot, but like I said before, I'm a news junkie, so it's usually CNN, or the ABC station when Lost is on so I can catch a commercial. I'm not sure Lost counts as "quality programming" But I do have a computer (duh).

[Quiet Tempest]

I never thought it was really detrimental to expose kids to tv. I think it all goes back to how you've raised your child. If you, as the parent, nurture your child's development and incorporate television as a learning tool and a reward for academic accomplishments, I think tv helps rather than hinders education. Parents who use a tv as a replacement for parenting or as a babysitter are responsible for their children's academic problems.

That's just my opinion, though.

Any more current events to discuss? :)

[rock_on7210]

I'm at Taiwan so here's a Taiwan news:

Noodles give cause for concern
2005-07-07 / Taiwan News, Staff Writer /
Many people in the habit of eating cold noodle for breakfast, lunch or dinner in the summer, should be aware that the Consumers Foundation has found many of these products failed to pass the government approved sanitary standards.

More than half of such products on sale in wholesale markets, convenient stores and restaurants either contained E. colitis or chemical preservatives that maybe harmful to humans, according to a test report released by the Consumers Foundation yesterday.

A spokesman for the foundation said it had purchased 33 samples of boxed cold noodles, including three from the wholesale markets, 12 from convenient stores, and 18 from restaurants in the greater Taipei area during May for testing.

Of the 33 products, three purchased from Hyper Mart in Chingmei, Carrefour and Tesco outlets in Hsintien City, 18 purchased from restaurants, and two purchased from two convenient stores all contained excessive amounts of E. colitis.

In addition, 14 products contained chemical preservatives.

The spokesman urged manufacturers of these products to adopt higher sanitary standards for making boxed cold noodles for sale in their outlets and to mark clearly the contents of their products to warn consumers of the risks of eating it.

The amounts of E. colitis and chemical preservatives are two stick yards for judging the sanitation of ready-made food. E. colitis may cause diarrhea and food poisoning.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/Society/2005/07/07/1120699495.htm

It's amazing how people here love noodles.

[cemipi]

Mickey Mouse Wants Your Fingerprints (article source (http://suicidegirls.com/news/technology/10347/))

All tourists visiting Disney parks in Florida must now have their index and middle fingers electronically scanned (http://www.local6.com/news/4724689/detail.html) at the entrance. Formerly, this technology was used to verify that season passes were only being used by legitimate ticket holders, but now, for some reason, Disney is scanning the fingers of all park visitors.

Disney officials say they're not actually taking your fingerprints.. just your "fingerprint geometry." Fingerprint geometry, however, is a verifiable personal identifier

Critics of the new scanning technology do not agree with Disney and said the scans border on a violation of privacy.

I think it's a step in the wrong direction," Civil Liberties Union spokesman George Crossley said. "I think it is a step toward collection of personal information on people regardless of what Disney says."

Crossley said they will be looking into the scans.

"The collecting of this fingertip information and how it is to be used and what the source of that information is as it relates to what it will show -- I don't like it and we will look into it," Crossley said.What I want to know is what purpose this could possibly serve other than to create a huge fingerprint database? What is this information used for, and who is going to have access to it?



i found this article to be very, very strange. what, exactly, does disney want with our fingerprints...?

[nsmith12916]

Oh, I went to disney in february, so i was subject to this. What happens is you put your index and middle fingers in a littlle V, and stick those in this machine with a little bar that comes up to keep them seperated, and scans your prints, or the geometry of th prints. It has nothing to do with your name or anything...(that is never know, so they don't have your identity) they are just used to make sure that nobody can steal your pass into the park...i.e terrorists, and get in later using the same card. Before they do that, they stick you card into the machine, which will burn that information onto it when it is takem. They then give it back to you, and you are on your way. The entire process for both my mom and I took a total of about a minute, but I think it is worth it and that people shouldn't second guess it. It is just a small price we have to pay to help make sure that potential terrorists can get in unnoticed. In addition to this though, they are also searching EVERY bag that comes into the park... I think it is perfectlty fair...and that these things should be done to boost up our safety.

[cemipi]

i was in a weird mood when i posted that and was thinking more along the lines of a disney conspiracy and they wanted our fingerprints for world domination (even more so :p). i was very tired...

but you have a good point, its a pretty good safety method. i went to a charter school that took our fingerprints for attendance. it only lasted about a year cuz kids kept breaking them, but it was a pretty neat security measure.

but I think it is worth it and that people shouldn't second guess it. It is just a small price we have to pay to help make sure that potential terrorists can get in unnoticed.i'm on the border with that whole issue, about taking away certain rights we have in order to "protect" us (like the patriot act), but thats a whole other subject i wont get started on.

but i agree with you about how places should do their jobs (within the law) to insure our safety. a lot of places are lacking in that department. just the other day a local news team did an undercover investigation and got into an airport with expired, fake, and non-valid ids. here's part of that article (full article (http://www.local10.com/news/4722326/detail.html)):

June 16th. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

This is my company photo ID I show to U.S. Airways ticket agents and passenger screeners on my way to Charlotte, North Carolina. There were no questions and no demands for a driver's license or passport ID.

OK. I am an on-camera reporter. Perhaps they recognized me. But Robin Cox is not a familiar face. The next day, also flying U.S. Airways out of Fort Lauderdale the Local 10 videographer successfully used her WPLG ID card to pass through security screening.

It happened again on June 25 when WPLG employee Sharon Harrison flew out of Miami International Airport on Northwest Airlines.

"And the man looked at it and he said, 'Oh. Channel 10. OK.' And he let me through," Harrison said.

The ID Harrison, Cox and I presented is essentially a homemade ID. Using a Polaroid camera, WPLG puts a picture on a card that lists only the employee's name, title and signature, then laminates it. Voila -- a photo ID. But it is not what is required by the Transportation Security Administration.

According to the TSA's Web site, passengers, "must present one form of photo identification issued by a local, state or federal government agency."

So, is a Visa credit card considered government issued? No. But when Miguel Jiminez said good-bye to his brother on June 27 and prepared to board a Southwest flight to Houston out of Fort Lauderdale, the Visa card is what he handed the security screener. She asked him if he had a driver's license. "Yes" he said and he started to reach for his wallet. When the screener told him to go on, without ever seeing his license.

WPLG Director of Creative Services Paul Kaniewski used his nearly 30-year-old open-water diver ID to fly Northwest Airlines out of Miami to go to Detroit. He said he was surprised they accepted the license, which was issued in 1976.

"I was very, very surprised that they accepted it because i don't really look like that anymore at all," Kaniewski said. "I really don't look like the same person."

"And did they comment?" Unruh asked.

"No, not at all," said Kaniewski.

[ShadedSkies]

That sounds good to me! i've been studying and taking economics/sociologics and politics class for like 5 years and current events are the source of many debates!
I'll get involved when i have smthg interesting to say!

[Quiet Tempest]

Climate, storm experts disagree on impact of greenhouse gases
MIAMI - If hurricanes again pound the United States this summer, their roar is likely to be accompanied by the din of another storm — an angry debate among U.S. scientists over the impact of global warming.

Last season’s $45 billion devastation, when 15 tropical storms spawned nine hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean, prompted some climatologists to warn of a link to warming temperatures.

But hurricane experts say the unusual series of hurricanes, four of which slammed into Florida in a six-week period, was the result of a natural 15- to 40-year cycle in Atlantic cyclone activity.

After a lull between 1970 and the mid-1990s, the number of storms picked up dramatically from 1995 and higher-than-normal activity is expected for the next five to 30 years as a phenomenon known as the “Atlantic multidecadal mode” holds sway.

“Really, for the folks that are doing work on hurricanes, there isn’t a debate (about global warming),” said Chris Landsea of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s hurricane research division in Miami.

Hurricane environment 'clearly changing'
Many climatologists disagree. They say the large, decades-long swings in hurricane activity may mask, but do not rule out, longer term climate change trends.

The warmer waters and increased air moisture that global warming is expected to produce are, after all, the primary fuels that hurricanes feed off during the June to November season.

“Global climate change is happening. The environment in which these hurricanes form is clearly changing,” said Kevin Trenberth, a climatologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado. He is also a lead author of the next major U.N. report on climate change, due in 2007.

Landsea withdrew from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this year after accusing Trenberth of linking current heightened hurricane activity too closely to global warming.

The public clash highlighted the sensitivity of the climate debate in the United States, which under President Bush dismayed environmentalists by rejecting the Kyoto pact on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Some government scientists, such as James Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, have complained they are forced to downplay evidence of climate change, which most scientists link to manmade emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases.

But hurricane experts say their dismissal of global warming in relation to hurricanes is based on science not politics.

According to meteorologist Thomas Knutson of NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, higher carbon dioxide levels have probably resulted in a 1/7th of a category increase in Atlantic cyclone intensity in the past century, and likely will raise a storm’s potential by half a category in 80 years.

Hurricanes are graded under the Saffir-Simpson scale based on wind speeds, with a Category 5, marked by winds higher than 155 mph , the strongest and most destructive.

Similarly, studies by Kerry Emanuel, a professor of meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, indicate the 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit increase in sea surface temperatures predicted by the IPCC would raise the upper limit on a storm’s intensity by 10 percent.

Hurricane expert: 'Tiny' changes
Landsea said those changes were largely imperceptible given the overall ferocity of hurricanes.

He added that other factors, like the El Nino weather event in the Pacific, and the differences between lower level and upper level winds, called wind shear, play as critical a role as water temperatures in determining whether hurricanes form.

“The folks in the field are unanimous in saying that global warming doesn’t have an appreciable impact on hurricanes today and that changes in the future look to be really tiny,” Landsea said.

Climatologists take another view, arguing that a 10 percent increase in wind speeds leads to a 20 percent increase in destructive force. They also point out that many researchers are revising upward their original estimates of how much greenhouse gas emissions are affecting world climate.

“We are so far along, this is happening so much faster than we thought it would happen,” said Paul Epstein of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School.

“I think this summer will portend some really strange weather.”


Scientists debate potential impact of future storms patterns
Climate change could make future hurricanes stronger, but whether the effect is measurable is still a matter of debate. It is also unknown whether it will change the total number of storms.

Kevin Trenberth from the National Center for Atmospheric Research claims that warmer oceans and increased moisture could intensify the showers and thunderstorms that fuel hurricanes.

"Trends in human-influenced environmental changes are now evident in hurricane regions," Trenberth said. "These changes are expected to affect hurricane intensity and rainfall, but the effect on hurricane numbers remains unclear. The key scientific question is how hurricanes are changing."



Though I am in no way a scientist, I do believe that what we do to the environment inevitably plays into cause-and-effect. Global warming is a real issue and I think politicians should think more about what their actions will entail for our children's future rather than profit-gain today.

[cemipi]

But hurricane experts say the unusual series of hurricanes, four of which slammed into Florida in a six-week period, was the result of a natural 15- to 40-year cycle in Atlantic cyclone activity.i live in south florida and last year was a bad year for hurricanes. i was evacuated from my schools campus for several weeks (we only packed for a few days), and the storm did some damage. theres already been a hurricane this season (which is pretty early, but it didnt hit where i am) and judging from last season, this one doesnt look any better. im hoping those scientists are wrong (not likely, but i can hope) and this season isnt that bad cuz i moved closer to the beach this past year... :eek:

[tui-iut]

current events in new zealand are pretty much the same as everywhere else on this [planet...most of its about iraq and the wars in the middle eastern area.though theres just been a huge drugbust and two former sports personal have been charged with it along with about 50 others...but thats about it...and the leaders of the two main political parties are having big fights coz it's election year here...

[purplepenguin91]

I have a new current event! But I am just summarizing it, because the only place I saw it was in my local news paper, and I don't want to retype it.

So anyway, recently the lacrosse team that one the national championships or something took a picture with President Bush. They were told to dress appropriately and they did, they all had skirts or dresses. But there was some controversy because they all wore flip flops. Anyway it was just addressing the issue of wether flip flops were appropriate. Some people say it just goes with the fact that the Y generation is going with comfortable clothes and society is starting to dress down.So I was wondering wether you guys would feel that it is wrong to wear flip flops in the White House?

[Quiet Tempest]

Frankly, I don't think Bush deserves to see me "dressed up".

Although I'm not a big fan of flip flops, I don't see how they could be controversial. I recall seeing someone carrying some pairs of flip flops after the London bombings looking for their owners. They lost their shoes when they ran.. maybe White House officials don't want lost flip flops littering the grounds if there is a terrorist threat?

That whole ordeal seems ridiculous. They're flip flops. Would they prefer stiletto heels? Oh, wait.. those probably violate safety regulations. They could be used as a weapon.

*rolls eyes* I love my country, but my government needs a lobotomy.

[purplepenguin91]

lol, I don't see what the big deal is either. And ya, I said that why should I dress up if I don't like Bush? But I understand that its also kind of the whole White House thing, and having flip flops in the Oval Office may be disrespecful for all the past presidents and the whole government kind of thing, like a symbolic gesture. But even then, I think flip flops are fine. First of all, they weren't like the three dollar Old Navy kind, they were pretty good looking, and like fancy shoes. And they are a sports team, its kinda like what do you expect, they were just getting a picture, its not lik they were going to a ball or something lol. I bet I would have worn flip flops too, I wear them everywhere lol.

[Quiet Tempest]

A media watchdog group on Friday denounced the maker of the hugely popular video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" over graphic sexual content that allegedly exists in the game and can be unlocked with an Internet download.

The game's plot is already objectionable to many people: Its main character carjacks for fun and profit and picks up women along the way.

But some say its content becomes sexually explicit if players download and install a modification to the game one of many so-called "mods" available on Web sites maintained by video game enthusiasts.

"While San Andreas is already full of violent behavior and sexual themes, the pornographic sex scenes push it over the edge," said David Walsh, founder of The Minneapolis-based National Institute on the Media and the Family, which issued a "nationwide parental alert" Friday.

The controversy has prompted an investigation by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, which determines the rating on every video game sold. Rockstar Games issued a statement Friday, confirming the investigation and avoiding comment on whether its programmers created the sex scenes in the first place.

"We also feel confident that the investigation will uphold the original rating of the game, as the work of the mod community is beyond the scope of either publishers or the ESRB," the company said.

The mod's author Patrick Wildenborg, 36, of Deventer, Netherlands told The Associated Press on Friday that his code merely unlocks content that is already included in the code of each off-the-shelf game.

"If Rockstar Games denies that, then they're lying and I will be able to prove that," Wildenborg wrote in an e-mail. "My mod does not introduce anything to the game. All the content that is shown was already present on the DVD."


It's really hard for me to go into full-blown rant mode with a baby in one arm, so I'll make this short.

I feel like the ratings system for games needs to be adjusted, but I don't think that the things shown in these 'M' (mature) games is much worse than some of the COMMERCIALS on tv. I mean GGW commercials pop onto tv at just 9 o'clock here! Most kids today are still up watching tv when that filth comes on. I think the biggest problem is that parents are oblivious to what they're buying for their kids. This game is definitely NOT for children, hence the M. What do you guys think about the video game controversy?

[cemipi]

GTA Nanny Sets Sights on Sims (article source (http://suicidegirls.com/news/technology/10430/))

Readers here are probably aware of the recent moral panic over the discovery that "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" contains a bonus sex mini-game, removed in the version sent to retailers but accessible through a special patch distributed by third parties. Now that the ESRB has agreed to relabel the game as Adults Only, Miami attorney Jack Thompson wants to punish EA's The Sims 2 because, in principle, a patch could remove the pixelated blur used to hide nude Sim bodies.
In the statement, Thompson says, "Sims 2, the latest version of the Sims video game franchise ... contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair."He appears to believe that EA created this feature with the intention of attracting additional customers, including the lucrative gaming pedophile market:
"The nudity placed there by the publisher/maker, Electronic Arts, is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called 'the blur' which obscures the genital areas. In other words, the game was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the game and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet."

It's not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobes. Sims kids can also be nudified, "much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse."Unless and until new information comes to light, though, it appears that Thompson may have been a little overeager.
Jeff Brown, vice president of corporate communications at EA, in response to the accusations, told GameSpot, "This is nonsense. We've reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie."

[Eksynyt]

If your children are not old enough to handle the material...then don't buy the games. It should be up to parents to decide what is best for their children...it works in Europe.

[purplepenguin91]

Ya, I agree with Eksynyt, but I think parents need to understand that alot of those kind of games are as bad or worse than many pg 13 and R rated movies. It seems like parents will buy their kids teen and even mature games and they don't think it is a big deal, because its a game or something I guess.

[Quiet Tempest]

Russian mini-sub with 7 aboard trapped on Pacific floor
U.S., Britain sending help
By Yevgeny Kulkov
ASSOCIATED PRESS

11:22 a.m. August 5, 2005

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia – A Russian mini-submarine carrying seven sailors snagged on a fishing net and was stuck 625 feet down on the Pacific floor Friday. A Russian vessel attempted to tow the stranded sub to shallower waters as the United States and Britain rushed unmanned vehicles there to help in rescue efforts.
It was unclear whether there was enough oxygen aboard the mini-sub to keep the crew alive long enough for remote-controlled vehicles to reach them from bases in San Diego and Britain.

A Russian rescue vessel attempted to snag the mini-submarine with a cable and drag it to shallower waters. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Viktor Fyodorov said one vessel had tension on a cable, and video cameras would be lowered into the water to see if the submarine had been snagged, the Interfax news agency reported.

Earlier, Fyodorov said on state television that the sub was being towed. Navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo then told The Associated Press that tension was noted on a cable, but it could not be confirmed that the vessel had been snagged.

Interfax earlier quoted Fyodorov as saying the crew's air supply would last until sometime Monday. However, he earlier told Russia's Channel One television that air would last "a little more than 24 hours."

The Russian sub's propeller became entangled in a fishing net Thursday, Dygalo said on state-run Rossiya television. The accident occurred in Beryozovaya Bay, about 50 miles south of Kamchatka's capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, officials said.

"There is air remaining on the underwater apparatus for a day – one day," Dygalo said at about 6 a.m. EDT. "The operation continues. We have a day, and intensive, active measures will be taken to rescue the AS-28 vessel and the people aboard."

Fleet spokesman Capt. Alexander Kosolapov said contact had been made with the sailors, who were not hurt.

The mini-sub, called an AS-28, initially was too deep to allow the sailors to swim to the surface on their own or divers to reach it, officials said. However, dragging the sub into shallower waters could make such an escape or rescue possible.

The crisis evoked comparisons with the 2000 disaster involving the nuclear submarine Kursk. The Kursk sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea after explosions on board, killing all 118 seamen aboard.

However, some Kursk sailors survived for hours as oxygen ran out, and President Vladimir Putin was criticized severely for waiting several days before asking for international assistance. Also, Russian divers discharged by the navy for lack of funds said at the time their own offers to help were rebuffed.

This time, Russia waited just a day before seeking help.

Both accidents raised questions about the state of Russia's cash-strapped military. The same type of vessel that is now stuck, called a Priz, was used in the rescue efforts that followed the Kursk disaster, Interfax reported.

The latest accident occurred early Thursday after the mini-submarine was launched from a rescue ship during a combat training exercise, Kosolapov said. The AS-28, built in 1989, is about 44 feet long and 19 feet high and can dive to depths of 1,640 feet.

Russia appealed to the United States and Japan for assistance, the Interfax news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Malakhov as saying.

The U.S. Navy was loading two robotic rescue vehicles aboard a massive C-5 transport plane at Naval Air Station North Island near San Diego for the flight to Russia. The loading started at 1:45 p.m. EDT and was expected to take several hours, officials said.

"When we got word the Russians were in need, we were more than happy to help out a friend," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Ryan Lindsay, the C-5 pilot.

The unmanned vehicle, called a Super Scorpio, can reach depths of up to 5,000 feet and is equipped with high-powered lights, sonar and video cameras, said Capt. Matt Brown, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet in Honolulu.

The Deep Submergence Unit team is scheduled to depart at 1:45 p.m. EDT, the Pentagon said.

The Super Scorpio then will be transported by truck and loaded on a Russian ship before making its descent to the stricken vessel.

Brown said the Russian military has indicated that the AS-28 may have been fouled by fishing nets or steel cables. The Super Scorpio has an instrument that can cut 1-inch-thick steel cables, he said.

The Super Scorpio, which weighs about 4,500 pounds, has been used to conduct underwater surveys and inspections.

About 30 people will accompany the vehicle to Russia, Brown said.

"We are working as fast as we can to make this happen," he said.

The British vehicle was being loaded onto a Royal Air Force transport plane at Scotland's Prestwick airport and was expected to arrive at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the city nearest the site, at about 5 a.m. Saturday, said Anton Atrashkin, spokesman for the British Embassy in Moscow.

That means the British vessel likely will arrive before the U.S. vessel.

Since Soviet times, the Kamchatka Peninsula has housed several major submarine bases and numerous other military facilities, and large areas of it have remained closed to outsiders.

Airlifting a U.S. underwater vehicle to the area will mark the first time since the World War II era that a U.S. military plane has been allowed to fly there.

At Moscow's request, Japan dispatched a vessel carrying submarine rescue gear and three other ships to join salvage efforts, but they were not expected to arrive at the scene until early next week, Marine Self Defense Force spokesman Hidetsubu Iwamasa said.

Since the Soviet collapse, the Russian navy has struggled to find funds to maintain and repair its ships and has had to scale back its modernization program.

After the Kursk disaster, Putin called for serious improvements in the military's equipment and training, but little improvement has been noticed publicly.



Associated Press reporters Robert Burns in Washington and Greg Risling in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


7 Russian sailors trapped over 600 feet underwater in the Pacific. It's been estimated that enough oxygen is available to last until Monday... I hope they're able to save the crew and that no one is hurt. :eek:

[cemipi]

How triple bypass caught out man with three wives (article source (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1730168,00.html#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=Britain))

BALD and overweight, Melvyn Reed may not fit most women’s idea of a heart-throb, but over the years three found him loveable enough to marry. And all may have lived happily ever after if Reed had not had to go to hospital for a triple heart bypass. His careful planning came unravelled when all three “wives” visited him at the same time and met at his bedside.

He was trying to pass off his third wife, Lyndsey, as a hospital visitor to his second, Denise, when his first and only legal wife, Jean, appeared. The trio ended up in the car park where all was revealed. According to reports, it took a week before their husband owned up to his deceit.

The women had suspected nothing, although his children from his first marriage, Jenny, 34, Jill, 29, and Ian, 32, were curious about why their father was rarely at home in Kettering, Northamptonshire, especially at Christmas. Reed said that he was too busy delivering toys to children in hospitals.

Jenny finally found evidence of his second marriage to Denise, but her father said it was a mistake and had ended quickly.

Reed also explained away the absence of any of his family at his third “wedding”. He said the minibus bringing them had broken down — bringing sympathy from wedding guests.

For seven years Reed, a company director, had carefully balanced his life to keep all three “wives” happy. After recovering from both the surgery and his shock he walked into Wimbledon police station and, on the advice of his solicitor, admitted two counts of bigamy.

At Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court he was given a four-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay £70 costs after pleading guilty. He has agreed to pay more than £1,000 a month compensation to each of the women.

His solicitor, Laurence Grant, of Amer Sargent, said that Reed felt his first wife was not strong enough to cope with a divorce so he stayed married to her and “kind of fell into the other relationships”.

His first marriage was at Wandsworth Register Office in 1966 to Jean Grafton, 61, then a 22-year-old secretary. Divorce proceedings were started but never completed.

In September 1998 Reed, now 59 and living in Doncaster, married Denise Harrington, 38, in Doncaster Register Office while working as a regional manager in the motor trade. His new “wife” was a car sales administrator whose previous marriage had been dissolved. She was not even aware that he was still in touch with his first wife, let alone that they were still married.

Then in 2003 he married Lyndsey Hutchinson, 53, a receptionist with one daughter, in the Cannizaro House hotel in Wimbledon. Reed describes himself as a bachelor on all of his marriage certificates.

His first wife is said to be standing by him and sharing a three-bedroom home with him.

Reed has refused to comment.

[purplepenguin91]

Oh, they got all the people in the submarine out didn't they.

Hey, it seems to me like I have been seeing alot of information about lung cancer. Peter Jennings died of it, although he smoked. And now I think Christopher Reeves wife has it, and she has never smoked. And there have been news storied about alot of people getting lung cancer who have never smoked...Thought I'd bring it up.

[Quiet Tempest]

They were talking a lot about cancer lately because it seems that everyone has it... from tiny melanomas to gigantic tumors..

Peter Jennings was a smoker, but he spoke out against cigarettes. It's really ironic that he died from the very thing he wanted other people to avoid. It was Jennings that made people stop and think about the way cigarettes were marketed.

The fact that Reeve's widow, Dana, now has lung cancer is really sad. The survival rate for lung cancer patients is 49%. The survival rate for lung cancer patients in which cancer has spread to other organs is 2%. She's hopeful, though, and has faith in her doctors.

******************************************

in other news.....

Jolie Is Awarded Cambodian Citizenship
Friday August 12 10:24 AM ET


Cambodia's king has awarded Cambodian citizenship to actress Angelina Jolie for her conservation work in this poverty-stricken country, an official said Friday.

King Norodom Sihamoni signed a royal decree approving the citizenship on July 31, said Sok Sam Oeun, an official of the government Council of Ministers.

Jolie is giving the Cambodian Vision in Development, a community development group, $1.5 million for its environmental protection efforts in remote parts of the country's northwest.


Sok Sam Oeun said he was working through Jolie's contacts in Cambodia to notify the actress about her new citizenship.

During Jolie's most recent visit to Cambodia in July last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen had offered her citizenship in recognition of her generosity.

"I would be honored, I think. I would certainly be thrilled," she told reporters at the time.

Cambodian Vision in Development's director, Mounh Sarath, expressed delight over the news on Friday.

"I don't know what else to say. This is what we have dreamed for her for a long time. Now it's a dream come true," he said.

He said the Hollywood actress deserves such a reward "not because of the money she has given but her good heart and love" for the Cambodian people.

Parts of Jolie's adventure movie "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" were filmed at Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple.

The actress adopted her Cambodian son, Maddox, three years ago, and has recently adopted an orphaned baby girl from Ethiopia.


I think this is great for Angelina. She's such a great humanitarian! I wish more celeb's were like her. :)

[Quiet Tempest]

Violence erupts as Israel formally begins Gaza pullout
AFP - 1 hour, 14 minutes ago

KISSUFIM, Israel - Israel formally began its historic operation to withdraw from the Gaza Strip after a 38-year occupation by outlawing the continued presence of Jewish settlers in the Palestinian territory. The order, which came into effect at midnight (2100 GMT Sunday), will pave the way from Wednesday for the forcible evacuation of all remaining settlers who fail to take advantage of a 48-hour grace period to leave of their own accord.


Personally, I think this is great news for the Palestinians. :) They can finally reclaim what was taken from them nearly 4 decades ago.

[cemipi]

http://suicidegirls.com/media/groups/843/8715/125025.jpg

'Today' Reporter Paddles in Shallow Water
Oct 14 5:25 PM US/Eastern

If Michelle Kosinski's canoe had sprung a leak on NBC's "Today" show Friday, she didn't have much to worry about.

In one of television's inadvertently funny moments, the NBC News correspondent was paddling in a canoe during a live report about flooding in Wayne, N.J. While she talked, two men walked between her and the camera _ making it apparent that the water where she was floating was barely ankle-deep.

Matt Lauer struggled to keep a straight face, joking about the "holy men" who were walking on water.

"Have you run aground yet?" Katie Couric asked.

"Why walk when you can ride?" Kosinski replied.

Later, an NBC News spokeswoman explained that Kosinski had been riding in deeper water near an overflowing river down the street, but there were concerns that the current was too strong for her.

"It's not like we were trying to pass it off as something it wasn't," spokeswoman Lauren Kapp said.

article source: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/10/14/D8D824KO4.html
picture from: http://suicidegirls.com/news/culture/12345/

[Quiet Tempest]

White House on Edge in CIA Leak Case (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051026/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_2;_ylt=AqtzS.mgXy4K2Wd1n7EnwYZqP0AC;_ylu=X3oD MTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl)

AP - 1 hour, 50 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The prospect of indictments against White House officials in the leak of a CIA officer's identity created anxiety in the West Wing on Wednesday as Bush administration officials worked to conduct business as usual. The White House is waiting to find out the results of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's two-year criminal investigation that has entangled officials close to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

Click Here for full story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051026/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_2;_ylt=AqtzS.mgXy4K2Wd1n7EnwYZqP0AC;_ylu=X3oD MTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl)

[cemipi]

is that another leak or the same one?

qt, did you delete those other new articles you had before? they were funny.

[Quiet Tempest]

It's the same leak.

I did delete the other post. I wanted to bump this thread, but at the same time, I didn't want such a long, long post.

[Razor]

$9,900,000,000 3rd quarter!

Nice to see that in the midst of so much death and destruction to so many, vis-a-vis Katrina, Rita, et al..., that at least some profited. :worry:

Exxon/Mobil (http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/11/115/115024/items/171179/xom_102705news.pdf)

[Quiet Tempest]

$9,900,000,000 3rd quarter!

Nice to see that in the midst of so much death and destruction to so many, vis-a-vis Katrina, Rita, et al..., that at least some profited. :worry:

Exxon/Mobil (http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/11/115/115024/items/171179/xom_102705news.pdf)

http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/mad/mad0250.gif *mutters under breath* #$@&#!(*%"#$@&#!(*%$!

[cemipi]

During Novembers elections one of the ballot questions in Maine (Question 1) reads:

"Do you want to reject the new law that would protect people from discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodations and credit based on their sexual orientation?"

This bill was voted on 2 times before and rejected both times but passed anyway by Governor John Baldacci. Maine residents petitioned his decision so they're voting for it again for the 3rd time.

It sickens me that people would vote for discrimination.

Question 1: 'Special' rights, or civil rights?
Michael_Reagan@TimesRecord.Com
10/26/2005

Mainers will vote for the third time in seven years on whether a law banning discrimination against gays and lesbians is needed.
Part 1 of 3-part series

BRUNSWICK - In March, the Maine Legislature approved a bill that bans discrimination against gay men and lesbians in housing, employment, education and public accommodations, and Gov. John Baldacci signed it into law.

Opponents of the measure subsequently launched a petition drive to place a "people's veto" of the measure on the Nov. 8 ballot. They succeeded in collecting enough signatures to put a repeal of the legislation to a statewide vote.

The repeal petition appears as Question 1 on the Nov. 8 ballot. A "yes" vote on the referendum would overturn the law that bans discrimination against gays and lesbians while a "no" vote would let it stand.

The issue is not new to Maine voters. Question 1 is the third "gay rights" referendum to appear on the state ballot in the last seven years.

A 1997 law extending gay rights was narrowly repealed by a people's veto in February 1998. In 2000, voters were asked if they would ratify the Legislature's approval of a law that would have provided similar protections based on sexual orientation to the ones approved earlier this year. But voters rejected that proposal by a narrow margin.

[...]the rest of this article: "Question 1: 'Special' rights, or civil rights?" (http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/E873C974A44ADA94052570A6005EFB22?Opendocument)

related article: "Question 1 debate gets personal" (http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/D5A67C6D5DBEBAC5052570A700572646?Opendocument)

[Quiet Tempest]

They're voting for discriminative laws?

[cemipi]

Well the majority certainly hasn't voted against it. I'm hoping come election time that I'm very wrong.

[heatdamaged]

Chirac Promises Punishment in Riots
Unrest Reaches Paris Where 32 Cars Are Torched
By ELAINE GANLEY, AP

PARIS (Nov. 6) - French President Jacques Chirac on Sunday promised arrests, trials and punishment for those sowing "violence or fear" across France - as the urban unrest that has triggered attacks on vehicles, nursery schools and other targets hit central Paris for the first time.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watch Video:
More Than 800 Cars Set Ablaze
Riots Take Hold of New Cities
French Citizens March in Silent Protest

Talk About It: Post Thoughts



Youths set ablaze nearly 1,300 vehicles and torched businesses, schools and symbols of French authority, including post offices and provincial police stations, on the 10th consecutive night of unrest.

The violence took another alarming turn with attacks in the well-guarded French capital. Police said 35 cars were torched, most on the city's northern and southern edges.

In central Paris, gasoline bombs damaged three cars near Place de la Republique. Residents reported a loud explosion and flames.

"We were very afraid," said Annie Partouche, 55, who watched the cars burning from her apartment window. "We were afraid to leave the building."

Chirac spoke after a security meeting of his top ministers.

"The law must have the last word," Chirac said in his first public address on the violence. Those sowing "violence or fear" will be "arrested, judged and punished."

"The absolute priority is restoring security and public order," he said. He said security measures would be reinforced.

The French president had faced criticism from opposition politicians for not publicly speaking about France's worst civil unrest in more than a decade. His only previous comments came through a spokesman.


"The law must have the last word... The absolute priority is restoring security and public order."
-Jacques Chirac, president of France

From an outburst of anger in suburban Paris housing projects, the violence has fanned out into a nationwide show of disdain for French authority from youths and minorities, most French-born children of Arab and black Africans angered by years of unequal opportunities.

Arsonists burned 1,295 vehicles nationwide overnight Saturday-Sunday - sharply up from 897 the night before, national police spokesman Patrick Hamon said, adding that police made 349 arrests nationwide.

For a second night, a helicopter equipped with spotlights and video cameras to track bands of marauding youths combed Paris suburbs and small teams of police chased rioters speeding from attack to attack in cars and on motorbikes.

"What we notice is that the bands of youths are, little by little, getting more organized," arranging attacks through cell phone text messages and learning how to make gasoline bombs, Hamon said.

Police also found a gasoline bomb-making factory in a derelict building in Evry south of Paris, with more than 100 bottles ready to turned into bombs, another 50 already prepared, as well as fuel stocks and hoods for hiding rioters' faces, senior Justice Ministry official Jean-Marie Huet told The Associated Press. Police arrested six people, all under 18.

The discovery Saturday night, he said, shows that gasoline bombs "are not being improvised by kids in their bathrooms."

Police said copycat attacks are fanning the unrest but had no evidence of separate gangs coordinating. Officials said older youths, many already with police records, appear to be teaching younger teens arson techniques.

Unrest extended west to Normandy and south to Nice and Cannes on the Mediterranean coast, with attacks in or around the cities of Lyon, Lille, Marseille, Strasbourg. In all, 3,300 buses, cars and other vehicles have been incinerated in 10 nights, the police spokesman said.

In Evreux, 60 miles west of Paris, five police officers and three firefighters were injured in clashes with youths who destroyed at least 50 vehicles, shops and businesses, a post office and two schools, authorities said.

"Rioters attacked us with baseball bats," said Philippe Jofres, a deputy fire chief, told France-2 television. "We were attacked with pickaxes. It was war."

The rioting erupted Oct. 27 after two teenagers of north African descent were accidentally electrocuted as they hid in a power substation, apparently believing police were chasing them. Anger was then fanned anew days ago when a tear gas bomb exploded in a mosque in Clichy-sous-Bois _ the northern suburb where the youths died.

Government officials have held a series of meetings with Muslim religious leaders, local officials and youths from poor suburbs to try to calm the violence.

___

Associated Press writers John Leicester, Jocelyn Gecker and Jamey Keaten contributed to this report in Paris.


11/6/2005 14:26:26



I believe that sometimes civil disobedience is necessary to protest injustice. But I also believe that great leaders such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King have demonstrated that the most powerful protests are nonviolent. Attacking nursery schools and torching other citizens' property cannot be justified. It will be perceived and reacted to for what it is, thuggery.

[tabjai]

Peru's Fujimori makes surprise visit to Chile
Mon Nov 7, 2005 12:28 AM GMT
Printer Friendly | Email Article | RSS






By Fiona Ortiz and Robin Emmott

SANTIAGO/LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's ex-President Alberto Fujimori, wanted in Peru on human rights abuse and corruption charges, made a surprise visit to Chile on Sunday as he tried to relaunch his political career and run for president next year.

Fujimori, who led Peru from 1990 to 2000, has been a fugitive in his ancestral homeland Japan since he fled there in November 2000, when a corruption scandal toppled his government. He flew from Japan to Chile on Sunday.

"It is my aim to temporarily remain in Chile as part of my efforts to return to Peru and keep my promise to an important part of the Peruvian people who have called on me to be a candidate in the 2006 elections," Fujimori, 67, said in a statement released in Peru and Chile.

Fujimori said in October he would run for president in Peru despite being barred from political activity due to 21 criminal charges against him, including corruption and political responsibility for the death squad murders of 25 people, including a child, in the early 1990s.

The head of the International Police in Chile, Maria Elena Gomez, said authorities were aware of Fujimori's presence in a hotel in the capital.

"There are several international arrest warrants against Alberto Fujimori, which are not legally valid in Chile," Gomez told reporters.

As soon as immigration officials here knew Fujimori was in the airport they alerted Interpol and Peruvian judicial authorities so they could decide how to proceed, she said.

Gomez said Fujimori is free to leave Chile at this time.

JAPAN REFUSED TO EXTRADITE FUJIMORI

For Chile to hold Fujimori, Gomez said, Peru would have to ask for the arrest through the foreign ministry, and the request would then go to Chile's Supreme Court to determine whether to issue a warrant valid here.

Peru has tried and failed to extradite Fujimori from Japan, and planned to take a suit to the International Court in The Hague this year to try to force Japan to send the former president back to Peru for trial.

Japan refused to extradite Fujimori because he obtained citizenship after moving there in 2000.

He was born in Peru to Japanese immigrants and is known as "Chino" in Peru, a common nickname for people with Asian appearance throughout Latin America.

Fujimori's right-hand man, former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos, is in prison after spinning a web of cash for favours to keep Fujimori in power.

Still, many Peruvians remember Fujimori for crushing left-wing rebels, controlling hyperinflation and bringing electricity and schools to remote Peruvian towns and villages.

Hundreds of Fujimori supporters gathered in central Lima on Sunday evening, many wearing his political colour orange, waving balloons and blowing whistles in a planned meeting to launch the alliance of three political groups that support his election campaign.

Fujimori arrived in Chile at a time of tense relations between Chile and Peru, after Peru's Congress passed a law last week in an attempt to reclaim sea territory from Chile.

Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the issue, and in Chile's national palace officials were meeting to determine the government's next steps.

(Additional reporting by Manuel Farias in Santiago)


Finally apparently coming back. For the ones who don't know him, he did very good things as well as bad. For more info on him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Fujimori

Info on Vladimiro Montesinos:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimiro_Montesinos

Info on Peruvian Terrorists:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sendero_Luminoso

Hope you are interested

[cemipi]

During Novembers elections one of the ballot questions in Maine (Question 1) reads:

"Do you want to reject the new law that would protect people from discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodations and credit based on their sexual orientation?"

This bill was voted on 2 times before and rejected both times but passed anyway by Governor John Baldacci. Maine residents petitioned his decision so they're voting for it again for the 3rd time.

It sickens me that people would vote for discrimination.

just thought i'd update to let you know question 1 got a no vote:


ELECTION DAY VICTORIES MOVE EQUALITY FORWARD

‘Fairness advanced forward Tuesday, with voters securing equality in the law, in the statehouse and in city hall,’ said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

WASHINGTON — Election Day 2005 produced solid and crucial victories for equality with defeat of an anti-gay ballot measure in Maine, the ousting from office of one of the most viciously anti-gay legislators in America and the victory of the first-ever openly gay city councilperson in Columbus, Ohio.

[...]

* The Maine victory was a historic win. The ballot measure defeated Tuesday would have repealed a non-discrimination bill that passed both houses of the Maine Legislature in March 2005 with strong bipartisan support and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. John Baldacci. This was the third attempt to repeal the measure and the first time voters approved the law. HRC invested more than $150,000 to defeat the measure, working closely with Maine Won’t Discriminate.
full article (http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Press_Room&CONTENTID=29783&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm)

[Quiet Tempest]

Old news, but...




Walgreens Suspends Pharmacists For Refusing To Fill "Morning After" Prescriptions
created: 11/28/2005 10:44:28 PM

By Ann Rubin

(KSDK) — Walgreens put four Illinois pharmacists on unpaid leave Monday for refusing to fill prescriptions for the "morning after pill."

The pharmacists say they're standing up for their beliefs. Walgreens says they're violating state law.

The "morning after pill" is also called Plan B. It is often prescribed to prevent or terminate pregnancy.

But pharmacist John Menges says it is the one prescription he won't fill, "I can advise people what pharmacies to go to. I mean, I can help them in every way. But I can't actually fill them because of my religious belief."

For this reason, Walgreens has put Menges and three other pharmacists on indefinite unpaid leave.

One of them asked that we hide his identity since he'll soon be searching for a new job, "I'm not imposing my beliefs on someone else, I'm telling them I choose not to participate in what they're going to do. Now that's not imposing my will on them, it's just saying leave me out of this. On the other hand, they're telling me I have to do this, so they're imposing their will on me."

Illinois has a new law relating to this type of emergency contraceptive. It says that pharmacies must fill these prescriptions and in a timely manner.

Walgreens says this law is forcing them to take drastic action. Spokesman Michael Polzin says, "If a pharmacist refuses to fill a prescription in Illinois, they are putting the pharmacy's license at risk, as well as the pharmacist in charge at that store."

Illinois has long had something called the "Right Conscience Act," which allows all healthcare professionals to make judgements based on their own code of ethics.

Still according to the SIUE College of Pharmacy, the patient's health is supposed to come first, with or without the new law.

Professor Chris Lynch says, "The pharmacists' responsibility to themselves, their moral responsibility to themselves, should be superceded by their responsibility to their patients' healthcare."

The four Walgreens pharmacists, two men and two women, say they will take a stand and they will fight this in court. Menges says, "That's what I let them know, my faith and my religion is more important than this job."

In other states, Walgreens' policy is to allow pharmacists to decline to fill prescriptions according to their beliefs. But they say the new law makes Illinois an exception to this rule. They say they are offering the four pharmacists work in Missouri if they choose.

-------------------------------------------------------------------


The pharmacists knew this would be part of the job when they signed up for it. There's no excuse for not doing their job. When someone doesn't do something that is in their job description, they get disciplined for it regardless of their religious and moral beliefs. There should be no an exception for pharmacist.

If a vegeterian worked at a burger joint could they not work behind at the grill and refuse to sell hamburgers because they didn't believe in it? Of course not.

A pharmacist is not hired to be a Christian psychiatrist, a minister, a priest, an ethicist, or a professional moralizer. They arehired to fill and dispense prescriptions. If the pharmacist cannot do what they are trained to do and fill and dispense prescriptions, which is a part of his job responsibilities, they should either leave that job and do something else or be fired, in my opinion.

Edit:
There are a lot of people who think the "Morning After Pill" is the "abortion pill".... The "Morning After Pill" is not the abortion pill. The abortion pill is "RU486".

The Emergency Contraception Pill, or morning after pill, is a pill that is available as a combination of estrogen-progestin, or progestin only (Plan B is one brand name of this). These are the exact same medications that are contained in normal, daily, birth control pills. They work to inhibit ovulation, fertilization, and implantation of the egg in the uterus. Emergency Contracpetion does not work if a fertilized egg has already implanted (i.e. the woman is pregnant). The pill can be used within 72 hours of sex to prevent a pregnancy.

RU-486 is a pill taken in combination with prostaglandin. RU-486 is a high dose of mifepristone, which works to block the creation of progesterone, a hormone that is necessary to create and sustain pregnancy. This triggers the uterus to shed its lining and opens the cervix.

(http://womensissues.about.com/od/ab...faqru486map.htm)

The "Morning After Pill" is used when a couple's contraceptive breaks or when a woman is raped or lured into sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It is taken within 72 hours of having unprotected sex in order to prevent the possibility of pregnancy -- not to terminate a pregnancy.

[heatdamaged]

I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said QT. I have always wondered why certain Pro-life individuals are against emergency contraception. It seems to me it is an alternative to abortion that would fit their belief system.

[Quiet Tempest]

Yeah, but you've got parts of the pro-life crowd that believe a human life is there the very moment sperm meet an egg.

[heatdamaged]

I guess your right, and there is no way to combat a belief like that. But as you said it is the law, it is their job, and if they had a problem with it, they should've pursued another career. Should we broach this topic in Religious Debates?

[Quiet Tempest]

Spanish at school translates to suspension
Controversy caused by Kansas City incident reflects national debate
By T.R. Reid

Updated: 12:31 p.m. ET Dec. 9, 2005
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Most of the time, 16-year-old Zach Rubio converses in clear, unaccented American teen-speak, a form of English in which the three most common words are "like," "whatever" and "totally." But Zach is also fluent in his dad's native language, Spanish -- and that's what got him suspended from school.

"It was, like, totally not in the classroom," the high school junior said, recalling the infraction. "We were in the, like, hall or whatever, on restroom break. This kid I know, he's like, 'Me prestas un dolar?' ['Will you lend me a dollar?'] Well, he asked in Spanish; it just seemed natural to answer that way. So I'm like, 'No problema.' "

But that conversation turned out to be a big problem for the staff at the Endeavor Alternative School, a small public high school in an ethnically mixed blue-collar neighborhood. A teacher who overheard the two boys sent Zach to the office, where Principal Jennifer Watts ordered him to call his father and leave the school.

Watts, whom students describe as a disciplinarian, said she can't discuss the case. But in a written "discipline referral" explaining her decision to suspend Zach for 1 1/2 days, she noted: "This is not the first time we have [asked] Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school."

Since then, the suspension of Zach Rubio has become the talk of the town in both English and Spanish newspapers and radio shows. The school district has officially rescinded his punishment and said that speaking a foreign language is not grounds for suspension. Meanwhile, the Rubio family has retained a lawyer, who says a civil rights lawsuit may be in the offing.

(Full Story Here (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10372148/))


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


I think this is ridiculous. Why was he punished for speaking a foreign language??

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edit:
Another news story that I thought deserved mentioning because it's just cute...

Century old tortoise adopts baby hippo (with pics!) (http://www.digyourowngrave.com/tortoise-adopts-baby-hippo/)

[Ice Berg Legend]

Massive oil fire here in the UK (Herts)

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41110000/jpg/_41110074_smoke310.jpg

Massive blaze rages at fuel depot


A fire is continuing to blaze at a fuel depot in Hertfordshire after a series of large explosions sent black smoke drifting across south-east England.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is to visit the scene of the blasts which injured 43 people, two seriously.

The incident at the Buncefield fuel depot near Hemel Hempstead, after 0600 GMT, was said to be the largest of its kind in peacetime Europe.

The fire, which police believe was an accident, could burn for another day.

About 2,000 people living near the site have been evacuated, while police have advised others to keep their windows and doors closed because of fumes.


Amateur footage
Thick clouds of smoke are spreading to the south-east and south-west of the site.

One person is in Watford General Hospital in intensive care with respiratory problems. Another person is in Hemel Hempstead Hospital being kept under observation.

The other 41 people were treated for minor injuries and discharged.

Witnesses said another two explosions followed the first at 0626 GMT and 0627 GMT at the site near junction 8 of the M1.

Further explosions

In total, 20 petrol tanks were involved in the fire, each said to hold three million gallons of fuel.

Hertfordshire Police Chief Constable Frank Whiteley told a press conference: "There is still a possibility there could be further explosions."

A police investigation into the incident has begun, including investigations by anti-terrorist police.

But Chief Con Whiteley said there was "nothing to suggest anything other than an accident".

A Hertfordshire fire service spokesman said: "This is possibly the largest incidence of its kind in peacetime Europe."

Samples of the smoke are being taken to determine the long term effects of exposure, if any, according to Dr Jane Halpin, director of Hertfordshire Public Health.

She said: "However, what I would restate is that those people who are most at risk are those people who have inhaled the smoke."

Mr Prescott is on his way to the scene of the blast having earlier visited Hertfordshire police headquarters.

Tanker driver Paul Turner said he ran for his life after the explosion lifted him off his feet.

"I just saw this great big ball of fire come up from behind the building. It was about 50 metres wide," he told the BBC.

"Then there was the loudest explosion I have ever heard in my life. I got up, turned around and ran to my car and sped out of there as fast as I could."

Many houses have been damaged, with some reporting feeling effects from the explosion as far away as Oxfordshire - while it was heard in a number of counties and even France and the Netherlands.

School closures

Eye witnesses reported buckled front doors, cracked walls and blown-out windows.

The M1 has been closed both ways between junctions 6a and 12 and may remain shut on Monday.

Schools in and around Hemel Hempstead are likely to be closed on Monday, said police.

The M10 motorway is closed in both directions between junction 1 and junction 7 as well as some arterial roads in Hemel Hempstead.

Motorists have been told not to go "anywhere near the M1 from the M25 upwards".

At Heathrow airport some flights were forced to delay landing because of smoke, but Luton airport was operating as usual.

The Buncefield depot is a major distribution terminal operated by Total and part-owned by Texaco, storing oil, petrol as well as kerosene which supplies airports across the region, including Heathrow and Luton.

The country's fifth largest fuel distribution depot, it is also used by BP, Shell and British Pipeline.

Police said there was no indication the explosion would cause fuel shortages and warned against panic-buying.

A spokesman for Total said: "We are doing everything we can to support the emergency services and to bring the situation under control."

A spokesman for the Department for Trade and Industry said it was too early to say what the effect would be on fuel supply but oil companies were getting oil from other parts of the south east and across the UK.

"We understand that the oil industry is meeting this afternoon to determine how the supply of petroleum products can be augmented from other distribution terminals," he said.

Shadow trade and industry secretary Alan Duncan, a former oil trader, said the oil industry had a first class safety record.

"This dramatic explosion will need a serious inquiry and a proper study of its implications," he said.

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said it would be investigating the incident.

[Quiet Tempest]

Elton John Ties Knot With Partner

By DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press Writer
27 minutes ago



WINDSOR, England - Britain's most famous gay couple — Sir Elton John and Canadian filmmaker David Furnish — tied the knot Wednesday in a much-anticipated ceremony that capped the first week of legalized civil unions in the United Kingdom.

John, 58, and Furnish, 43, were among hundreds of same-sex couples taking advantage of a new British law offering same-sex couples a legal status similar to marriage. The law took effect Wednesday in England and Wales. Ceremonies were held earlier this week in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Fans turned up before sunrise in the cobbled streets around Windsor's town hall, the Guildhall, where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wed in April. Cameras flickered as the couple — John wearing purple spectacles and a black suit — walked out arm-in-arm, waving to the crowd.

[Full Story Here] (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051221/ap_en_mu/people_elton_john)

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Awwwwww... Good for them. :) I love a good wedding.

[bsteve74]

Thought this was a cute story (except for the end) and thought I'd share!

LONDON (Reuters) - A "Parking Ticket Santa Claus" has been spreading cash as well as Christmas cheer around the English city of Birmingham, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The mystery Santa has placed Christmas cards containing 30 pounds ($53) on the windscreens of drivers who have received parking tickets, the Daily Telegraph said.

"Don't let this ticket spoil your Christmas," declares a note in each card. "Here's #30 to pay it off. Merry Christmas - Parking Ticket Santa."

Fourteen drivers are believed to have received gifts from the unseen Father Christmas, who has given his profession an image boost after a string of stories about "Bad Santas."

In recent days, men in Santa outfits have been accused of committing armed robbery in Germany, exposing themselves in southern England and going on a drunken rampage in New Zealand.

[Quiet Tempest]

Thought this was a cute story (except for the end) and thought I'd share!

LONDON (Reuters) - A "Parking Ticket Santa Claus" has been spreading cash as well as Christmas cheer around the English city of Birmingham, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The mystery Santa has placed Christmas cards containing 30 pounds ($53) on the windscreens of drivers who have received parking tickets, the Daily Telegraph said.

"Don't let this ticket spoil your Christmas," declares a note in each card. "Here's #30 to pay it off. Merry Christmas - Parking Ticket Santa."

Fourteen drivers are believed to have received gifts from the unseen Father Christmas, who has given his profession an image boost after a string of stories about "Bad Santas."

In recent days, men in Santa outfits have been accused of committing armed robbery in Germany, exposing themselves in southern England and going on a drunken rampage in New Zealand.

Hehehe! That is a cute story. ;) Thanks for that.

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Create an e-annoyance, go to jail
By Declan McCullagh (declan.mccullagh@cnet.com?subject=FEEDBACK:Create an e-annoyance, go to jail)

Published: January 9, 2006, 4:00 AM PST

Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.

It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.

In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for small favors, I guess.

This ridiculous prohibition, which would likely imperil much of Usenet, is buried in the so-called Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties include stiff fines and two years in prison.

(Full Story Here) (http://news.com.com/Create+an+e-annoyance,+go+to+jail/2010-1028_3-6022491.html?part=rss&tag=6022491&subj=news)

[ShadedSkies]

Hehehe! That is a cute story. ;) Thanks for that.

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Edit:


Create an e-annoyance, go to jail
By Declan McCullagh (declan.mccullagh@cnet.com?subject=FEEDBACK:Create an e-annoyance, go to jail)

Published: January 9, 2006, 4:00 AM PST

Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.

It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.

In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for small favors, I guess.

This ridiculous prohibition, which would likely imperil much of Usenet, is buried in the so-called Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties include stiff fines and two years in prison.

(Full Story Here) (http://news.com.com/Create+an+e-annoyance,+go+to+jail/2010-1028_3-6022491.html?part=rss&tag=6022491&subj=news)

LOL sorry but i find this somewhat funny. :D

And that is very true:
"The use of the word 'annoy' is particularly problematic," says Marv Johnson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "What's annoying to one person may not be annoying to someone else."