German police Thursday captured two men suspected of stealing from 15 cars and two garden sheds by following their footprints in the snow for several miles.
Policemen were checking up on a car whose alarm had been set off just after midnight in the town of Hoentrop when they found a smashed window and two sets of footprints which they followed more than ten streets.
"At one point the tracks disappeared because someone had cleared the pavement outside their home in the middle of the night," police said in a statement.
After this minor setback, the officers picked up the trail again. The two sets of footprints led them directly to the entrance of a flat where the burglars not only stored their booty but also left their shoes and gloves to dry.
20051231
This is going to disappoint some people
Pregnant women coached through their first delivery do not fare much better than those who just do what feels natural, according to a study released on Friday.
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern found that women who were told to push 10 minutes for every contraction gave birth 13 minutes faster than those who were not given specific instructions.
But they said the difference has little impact on the overall birth, which experts say can take up to 14 hours on average.
"There were no other findings to show that coaching or not coaching was advantageous or harmful," said lead author Dr. Steven Bloom, the interim head of obstetrics and gynecology at the Dallas-based university.
"Oftentimes, it's best for the patient to do what's more comfortable for her," he added.
Bloom and his team studied 320 first-time mothers who had simple pregnancies and did not receive epidural anesthesia.
About half were given specific instructions by certified nurse-midwives during the second stage of labor, when they were fully dilated. The rest were told to "do what comes naturally."
On average, coached mothers trimmed the final stage to 46 minutes compared to 59 minutes, according to the study sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health.
Women in both groups experienced about the same number of forceps use, Caesarean deliveries and skin tears, among other complications.
The results were published in the January issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Less clear was whether extra pushing encouraged by a coach could lead to bladder trouble.
In an earlier study, the researchers tested bladder function in 128 of the mothers three months later.
While such problems usually resolve on their own over time, women who had been coached had a smaller bladder capacity and felt the urge to urinate more often, they previously found.
Senior author Dr. Kenneth Leveno, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the school, said it was still not clear if the bladder problems could lead to long-term complications and more studies are needed.
"We don't want to alarm patients about this," he said.
Friday's finding that coaching "confers neither benefit nor harm might be pre-empted if it is confirmed that coaching has deleterious long-term effects," the study concluded.
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern found that women who were told to push 10 minutes for every contraction gave birth 13 minutes faster than those who were not given specific instructions.
But they said the difference has little impact on the overall birth, which experts say can take up to 14 hours on average.
"There were no other findings to show that coaching or not coaching was advantageous or harmful," said lead author Dr. Steven Bloom, the interim head of obstetrics and gynecology at the Dallas-based university.
"Oftentimes, it's best for the patient to do what's more comfortable for her," he added.
Bloom and his team studied 320 first-time mothers who had simple pregnancies and did not receive epidural anesthesia.
About half were given specific instructions by certified nurse-midwives during the second stage of labor, when they were fully dilated. The rest were told to "do what comes naturally."
On average, coached mothers trimmed the final stage to 46 minutes compared to 59 minutes, according to the study sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health.
Women in both groups experienced about the same number of forceps use, Caesarean deliveries and skin tears, among other complications.
The results were published in the January issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Less clear was whether extra pushing encouraged by a coach could lead to bladder trouble.
In an earlier study, the researchers tested bladder function in 128 of the mothers three months later.
While such problems usually resolve on their own over time, women who had been coached had a smaller bladder capacity and felt the urge to urinate more often, they previously found.
Senior author Dr. Kenneth Leveno, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the school, said it was still not clear if the bladder problems could lead to long-term complications and more studies are needed.
"We don't want to alarm patients about this," he said.
Friday's finding that coaching "confers neither benefit nor harm might be pre-empted if it is confirmed that coaching has deleterious long-term effects," the study concluded.
20051230
Why yes, I'm familiar with that model..
A 44-year-old German businessman whose digital camera was stolen at a restaurant was relieved when he managed to buy exactly the same model on the eBay Internet auction site to match his accessories.
But he became suspicious when it emerged the seller came from his home town. It proved to be the same camera.
Police said Thursday they were questioning the 34-year-old vendor who, a statement said, "claims he got the camera at a flea market, but was also offering other cameras on the Internet."
But he became suspicious when it emerged the seller came from his home town. It proved to be the same camera.
Police said Thursday they were questioning the 34-year-old vendor who, a statement said, "claims he got the camera at a flea market, but was also offering other cameras on the Internet."
20051228
U.S. Navy officer arrested in alleged hit-and-run incident in Japan
Japanese police have arrested a U.S. sailor on suspicion of hitting three young boys with her vehicle in Tokyo and fleeing from the scene, a news report said Wednesday.
A 23-year-old female sailor from the Atsugi U.S. Navy base in Kanagawa prefecture (state), outside Tokyo, was arrested last Thursday for allegedly hitting three third-grade boys at an intersection in Tokyo last Thursday, seriously injuring one boy, Kyodo News agency reported, citing unnamed sources.
She fled the scene in her vehicle, but police caught up with her about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the accident site, the report said.
The sailor admitted to the hit-and-run incident, but was released hours after her arrest in line with legal agreements between Japan and the U.S., Kyodo said.
Officials at the National Police Agency and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department refused to confirm the case. Repeated calls to U.S. military representatives in Japan went unanswered late Wednesday.
The U.S. maintains nearly 50,000 military personnel in Japan. Residents have long complained about noise, pollution and crimes associated with U.S. bases.
A 23-year-old female sailor from the Atsugi U.S. Navy base in Kanagawa prefecture (state), outside Tokyo, was arrested last Thursday for allegedly hitting three third-grade boys at an intersection in Tokyo last Thursday, seriously injuring one boy, Kyodo News agency reported, citing unnamed sources.
She fled the scene in her vehicle, but police caught up with her about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the accident site, the report said.
The sailor admitted to the hit-and-run incident, but was released hours after her arrest in line with legal agreements between Japan and the U.S., Kyodo said.
Officials at the National Police Agency and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department refused to confirm the case. Repeated calls to U.S. military representatives in Japan went unanswered late Wednesday.
The U.S. maintains nearly 50,000 military personnel in Japan. Residents have long complained about noise, pollution and crimes associated with U.S. bases.
20051227
Auction for World Cup rubbish relaunched
German decorator Matthias Blume said Monday he had relaunched the bidding process for the name tags of the 32 World Cup finalists used in the televised draw after receiving bogus offers.
Blume, who found the slips of paper in a rubbish bag while cleaning up after the draw in Leipzig on December 9, said bidders must now register with passports before making offers.
"We had to cancel the auction because some of the bids were not serious," Blume told Reuters. "We've now taken steps to ensure there are only serious bids."
One bid of 120,000 euros ($142,400) turned out to be a prank, Blume said.
He said the seven-day auction for the orange and white slip of paper reading "Germany," hosts for the 2006 World Cup, started Monday and bids were at 15,000 euros.
Two further slips of paper would be offered each day, with "England" and "Australia" next in the internet auction on Tuesday. The auctions for the slips of paper would last 10 days, the 31-year-old said.
Soccer's governing body FIFA has challenged Blume's attempts to capitalize on the slips of paper.
"FIFA has sent a warning to the legal representatives of the person concerned and pointed out that this is a violation of FIFA's name rights and that the auction should be stopped," FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said last week. "If that doesn't happen, we will have to look at further legal steps."
But Blume has hired a lawyer and said he was going ahead with the auction.
"The material was found in the rubbish bin by me and I'm the owner now," he said Monday.
Blume, who found the slips of paper in a rubbish bag while cleaning up after the draw in Leipzig on December 9, said bidders must now register with passports before making offers.
"We had to cancel the auction because some of the bids were not serious," Blume told Reuters. "We've now taken steps to ensure there are only serious bids."
One bid of 120,000 euros ($142,400) turned out to be a prank, Blume said.
He said the seven-day auction for the orange and white slip of paper reading "Germany," hosts for the 2006 World Cup, started Monday and bids were at 15,000 euros.
Two further slips of paper would be offered each day, with "England" and "Australia" next in the internet auction on Tuesday. The auctions for the slips of paper would last 10 days, the 31-year-old said.
Soccer's governing body FIFA has challenged Blume's attempts to capitalize on the slips of paper.
"FIFA has sent a warning to the legal representatives of the person concerned and pointed out that this is a violation of FIFA's name rights and that the auction should be stopped," FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said last week. "If that doesn't happen, we will have to look at further legal steps."
But Blume has hired a lawyer and said he was going ahead with the auction.
"The material was found in the rubbish bin by me and I'm the owner now," he said Monday.
Group sex club patrons swinging free
On a recent night out on the town, Michel and Chantal Delbecchi left their suburban Montreal home and drove to the L'Orage Club in the city's east end, where they had sex with a couple they had never met before.
The Delbecchis, husband and wife since 1978, are "echangistes," French for "swingers," who for the past 21 years have been visiting clubs like L'Orage (Thunderstorm) to have consensual sex in a group with one or more other people.
For future outings, they will no longer have to fear police will raid the club and arrest them for being in a "bawdy house," a place where prostitution or acts of public indecency take place.
In a landmark decision on Dec, 21, the Supreme Court of Canada lifted a ban on swingers' clubs, ruling that group sex among consenting adults is neither prostitution nor a threat to society.
The ruling sparked outrage, largely in English-speaking parts of Canada, where critics said it would erode limits on indecency or obscenity, encourage prostitution and even contribute to the corruption of minors.
In the mainly French-speaking and predominantly Catholic province of Quebec, however, the decision caused barely a ripple of adverse reaction. Newspaper editorialists fumed in Toronto, but largely yawned in Montreal.
Swingers across Canada cheered the ruling, especially those in Quebec, where adherents go to clubs not only to meet others like them, but also to have sex on the premises.
"It might make it easier for others interested in swinging to take the next step and visit a club," said Michel, 48, huddled next to Chantal, 43, on a sofa at the dimly lit L'Orage.
Michel, who works at an outlet of warehouse retailer Costco, and Chantal, on leave from her job at a school bus operator, said most swingers are not comfortable in the public spotlight.
"We have a few friends who were afraid to come out to a club because they were worried about how a raid might affect their work or family situation," said Chantal.
For L'Orage club owner Jean-Paul Labaye, the court ruling is vindication after a seven-year court battle that began with a 1998 police raid in which he and 40 of his patrons were arrested for being in a bawdy house.
"Everyone was shocked that we would be treated like bandits," said Labaye. "I vowed to defend myself and their cause if that was their desire and that is what I did."
GANG BANG TUESDAYS
Labaye, a portly and jovial 46-year-old native of France, said swingers celebrated the Supreme Court victory with a late-night party at L'Orage.
In an interview the next day at the club, temporarily housed at a venue which features "gang bang" Tuesday afternoons, Labaye apologized for not being able to show a reporter and photographer the upstairs rooms where groups have sex because the housekeeping service had not yet cleaned them.
The club is housed in an elegant but aging two-story house on a busy street. The ground floor has mismatched sofas and chairs, scant lighting and framed photographs on the walls depicting scenes of mild sexual bondage.
The club has no license to sell alcoholic beverages, but sports a small bar that offers coffee and caffeine-loaded soft drinks.
Labaye hopes a group of Florida investors will help him move into swankier digs, which in addition to the requisite private rooms will have something resembling a refined cigar lounge.
Club rules will be the same -- no illicit drugs or alcohol abuse, and when it comes to propositions for sex, a reply of no means no.
In the meantime, the swinger soirees will continue at L'Orage and at least two dozen similar clubs in Quebec, including one in Gatineau, just opposite the Ottawa River from the imposing stone hulk of the Supreme Court building.
Labaye and the Delbecchis, who have three adult sons, are preparing for important changes in their personal lives.
Labaye plans to marry his girlfriend in Paris in May.
As for Michel and Chantal, a 25-year-old woman has become their mutual lover and all three plan to move in together early next year. Despite that new relationship, the Delbecchis expect to continue exchanging sex partners in Quebec clubs.
Said Michel: "At the club, we have sex with people. At home, we make love."
The Delbecchis, husband and wife since 1978, are "echangistes," French for "swingers," who for the past 21 years have been visiting clubs like L'Orage (Thunderstorm) to have consensual sex in a group with one or more other people.
For future outings, they will no longer have to fear police will raid the club and arrest them for being in a "bawdy house," a place where prostitution or acts of public indecency take place.
In a landmark decision on Dec, 21, the Supreme Court of Canada lifted a ban on swingers' clubs, ruling that group sex among consenting adults is neither prostitution nor a threat to society.
The ruling sparked outrage, largely in English-speaking parts of Canada, where critics said it would erode limits on indecency or obscenity, encourage prostitution and even contribute to the corruption of minors.
In the mainly French-speaking and predominantly Catholic province of Quebec, however, the decision caused barely a ripple of adverse reaction. Newspaper editorialists fumed in Toronto, but largely yawned in Montreal.
Swingers across Canada cheered the ruling, especially those in Quebec, where adherents go to clubs not only to meet others like them, but also to have sex on the premises.
"It might make it easier for others interested in swinging to take the next step and visit a club," said Michel, 48, huddled next to Chantal, 43, on a sofa at the dimly lit L'Orage.
Michel, who works at an outlet of warehouse retailer Costco, and Chantal, on leave from her job at a school bus operator, said most swingers are not comfortable in the public spotlight.
"We have a few friends who were afraid to come out to a club because they were worried about how a raid might affect their work or family situation," said Chantal.
For L'Orage club owner Jean-Paul Labaye, the court ruling is vindication after a seven-year court battle that began with a 1998 police raid in which he and 40 of his patrons were arrested for being in a bawdy house.
"Everyone was shocked that we would be treated like bandits," said Labaye. "I vowed to defend myself and their cause if that was their desire and that is what I did."
GANG BANG TUESDAYS
Labaye, a portly and jovial 46-year-old native of France, said swingers celebrated the Supreme Court victory with a late-night party at L'Orage.
In an interview the next day at the club, temporarily housed at a venue which features "gang bang" Tuesday afternoons, Labaye apologized for not being able to show a reporter and photographer the upstairs rooms where groups have sex because the housekeeping service had not yet cleaned them.
The club is housed in an elegant but aging two-story house on a busy street. The ground floor has mismatched sofas and chairs, scant lighting and framed photographs on the walls depicting scenes of mild sexual bondage.
The club has no license to sell alcoholic beverages, but sports a small bar that offers coffee and caffeine-loaded soft drinks.
Labaye hopes a group of Florida investors will help him move into swankier digs, which in addition to the requisite private rooms will have something resembling a refined cigar lounge.
Club rules will be the same -- no illicit drugs or alcohol abuse, and when it comes to propositions for sex, a reply of no means no.
In the meantime, the swinger soirees will continue at L'Orage and at least two dozen similar clubs in Quebec, including one in Gatineau, just opposite the Ottawa River from the imposing stone hulk of the Supreme Court building.
Labaye and the Delbecchis, who have three adult sons, are preparing for important changes in their personal lives.
Labaye plans to marry his girlfriend in Paris in May.
As for Michel and Chantal, a 25-year-old woman has become their mutual lover and all three plan to move in together early next year. Despite that new relationship, the Delbecchis expect to continue exchanging sex partners in Quebec clubs.
Said Michel: "At the club, we have sex with people. At home, we make love."
20051225
Can they do that? Workplace horrors compiled
The time-honored office tradition of whining at the water cooler just might get you fired, according to a newly compiled list of workplace horrors around the world.
Two workers who exceeded the official limit of two moans per employee at one unnamed German firm were fired this year. Several colleagues quit before their moans could be counted.
Their employer's strict policy tops a list compiled by Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The Chicago-based outplacement firm gave nine notable examples from hundreds of cases.
Most involve petty rules.
Workers at a DaimlerChrysler plant in Kokomo, Indiana, should drive a Chrysler model or they may find their car in Indianapolis, 50 miles away. That's because a rule limits parking space for non-Chrysler cars. Violators will be towed.
"These are things that make you go hmmm," Challenger spokesman James Pedderson said.
Such stories pour in throughout the year and Challenger plans to make the list an annual tradition, he said. The point is to encourage managers and their staff to communicate better.
Some of the worst stories involve discrimination against a worker's religion, ethnicity, or, less seriously, squirrels. A librarian lost her job for devoting too much time to saving a squirrel stuck in a ceiling.
"I think reason has to prevail in some of these instances," Pedderson said.
Two workers who exceeded the official limit of two moans per employee at one unnamed German firm were fired this year. Several colleagues quit before their moans could be counted.
Their employer's strict policy tops a list compiled by Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The Chicago-based outplacement firm gave nine notable examples from hundreds of cases.
Most involve petty rules.
Workers at a DaimlerChrysler plant in Kokomo, Indiana, should drive a Chrysler model or they may find their car in Indianapolis, 50 miles away. That's because a rule limits parking space for non-Chrysler cars. Violators will be towed.
"These are things that make you go hmmm," Challenger spokesman James Pedderson said.
Such stories pour in throughout the year and Challenger plans to make the list an annual tradition, he said. The point is to encourage managers and their staff to communicate better.
Some of the worst stories involve discrimination against a worker's religion, ethnicity, or, less seriously, squirrels. A librarian lost her job for devoting too much time to saving a squirrel stuck in a ceiling.
"I think reason has to prevail in some of these instances," Pedderson said.
20051222
Fall in love and risk a police thrashing
Outrage and protests mounted in India Wednesday after TV channels showed police officers repeatedly slapping, punching and pulling the hair of young women on a date in a public park in a north Indian city.
Indian media reported one couple was so humiliated by the police action in front of TV crews they have not returned home.
"Is falling in love wrong? Who gave the police the right to beat and hit people and misbehave in such a manner," a woman in Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh state told Aaj Tak television news.
Since Tuesday, shocked TV viewers in India have been watching images of female officers pummelling and abusing crying young women in Meerut in what the media is calling "moral policing."
TV footage also showed male policemen with sticks surrounding the scared women and taking them to women officers who beat them. Several of their male companions were beaten also.
The police operation, termed "operation Romeo," in a popular park in Meerut Monday was touted by police as a move to prevent sexual harassment of women.
It turned out to be something very different.
In Meerut, students shouting "Down with police dictatorship" have staged demonstrations and burned effigies of police officers.
The outcry, including from women groups, has forced the police to suspend two women officers and probe the incident.
One of India's most conservative states, Uttar Pradesh is also one of the most crime-ridden, known for gangs indulging in murder, extortion and kidnapping. People in Meerut are amazed that police have the time to go after dating couples.
Some defended the right of young people to date in parks.
"Nobody should be allowed to bother them as long as they are not indulging in obscene acts," local lawmaker S.P. Agarwal said.
Young couples in cities often meet in parks as dating before marriage is frowned upon by many Indian parents but they are harassed by police who threaten to report them or ask for bribes.
Indian media reported one couple was so humiliated by the police action in front of TV crews they have not returned home.
"Is falling in love wrong? Who gave the police the right to beat and hit people and misbehave in such a manner," a woman in Meerut city in Uttar Pradesh state told Aaj Tak television news.
Since Tuesday, shocked TV viewers in India have been watching images of female officers pummelling and abusing crying young women in Meerut in what the media is calling "moral policing."
TV footage also showed male policemen with sticks surrounding the scared women and taking them to women officers who beat them. Several of their male companions were beaten also.
The police operation, termed "operation Romeo," in a popular park in Meerut Monday was touted by police as a move to prevent sexual harassment of women.
It turned out to be something very different.
In Meerut, students shouting "Down with police dictatorship" have staged demonstrations and burned effigies of police officers.
The outcry, including from women groups, has forced the police to suspend two women officers and probe the incident.
One of India's most conservative states, Uttar Pradesh is also one of the most crime-ridden, known for gangs indulging in murder, extortion and kidnapping. People in Meerut are amazed that police have the time to go after dating couples.
Some defended the right of young people to date in parks.
"Nobody should be allowed to bother them as long as they are not indulging in obscene acts," local lawmaker S.P. Agarwal said.
Young couples in cities often meet in parks as dating before marriage is frowned upon by many Indian parents but they are harassed by police who threaten to report them or ask for bribes.
20051221
Police called to convince lottery winner
A lottery company had to call the police to convince an elderly German woman that she had hit the jackpot, police said Tuesday.
"The woman had quite a sizeable win but was worried that she was having her leg pulled," said Joachim Gerhardt, a police inspector in the eastern German city of Gera.
"We were fortunately able to convince her so she could celebrate her good fortune," he said, adding that the woman would probably receive her winnings before Christmas.
"The woman had quite a sizeable win but was worried that she was having her leg pulled," said Joachim Gerhardt, a police inspector in the eastern German city of Gera.
"We were fortunately able to convince her so she could celebrate her good fortune," he said, adding that the woman would probably receive her winnings before Christmas.
Some Christmas trees shed needles..
Convicts in Berlin cannot decorate their cells with Christmas trees, which could be used to bring drugs as well as festive cheer into prison, a court ruled Monday.
The city's highest legal authority overturned a decision by a lower court, which had granted a prisoner the right to deck out his cell with a tree of "no more than 50 centimetres (19.7 inches) in height (not including the tip)" during the festive season.
This prompted a protest by the prison's director, whose complaint was upheld by the higher body.
"The (director's) complaint correctly points out that the branches and trunk of the tree can easily be hollowed out and sealed with glue, which renders it extremely difficult to prevent the smuggling of drugs in this way," the court said.
The city's highest legal authority overturned a decision by a lower court, which had granted a prisoner the right to deck out his cell with a tree of "no more than 50 centimetres (19.7 inches) in height (not including the tip)" during the festive season.
This prompted a protest by the prison's director, whose complaint was upheld by the higher body.
"The (director's) complaint correctly points out that the branches and trunk of the tree can easily be hollowed out and sealed with glue, which renders it extremely difficult to prevent the smuggling of drugs in this way," the court said.
Christmas shopper sees red at star in the east
Stars may seem like a harmless symbol of Christmas goodwill -- but in eastern Europe, if they're red, they may be anything but.
Hungarian shopper Istvan Hamza made a formal complaint to police that the star decorations in a record shop in the town of Szombathely were too much like the communist red star -- banned by law as a symbol of decades of dictatorship.
But the police let Christmas charity prevail.
"The shop's red stars are an irregular shape and their branches are not pointed but rounded, so they do not meet the specification set out in the law," spokesman Peter Kovacs said Monday, according to the local news agency MTI.
Hungarian shopper Istvan Hamza made a formal complaint to police that the star decorations in a record shop in the town of Szombathely were too much like the communist red star -- banned by law as a symbol of decades of dictatorship.
But the police let Christmas charity prevail.
"The shop's red stars are an irregular shape and their branches are not pointed but rounded, so they do not meet the specification set out in the law," spokesman Peter Kovacs said Monday, according to the local news agency MTI.
20051219
Battles rage in U.S. over celebrating holidays
Ebenezer Scrooge would enjoy Christmas in America this year.
Drowning out the sounds of sleigh bells ringing and children singing are the sounds of arguing. At issue is how to greet people, how to decorate main street and how to sell gifts -- all without offending someone.
Religious conservatives are threatening lawsuits and boycotts to insist that store clerks and advertisements say "Merry Christmas." Countering are those who argue they are being inclusive and inoffensive with the secular "Happy Holidays."
In the middle seem to be most Americans, who not only aren't offended but find the whole spat rather ridiculous.
"You'd think there might be some Christmas spirit around Christmas time around the issue of Christmas," said Paul Cantor, a popular culture expert and professor at the University of Virginia. "It's one time you really wish people really could live and let live."
Alas, that's not what this Christmas is all about.
Sparks flew when U.S. President George W. Bush sent out cards referring to the "holiday season," a leading Republican declared the decorated tree on the Capitol lawn a "Christmas Tree" and not a "Holiday Tree" and the logger who cut down the tree for the Boston Common was so upset when officials called it a "Holiday Tree" that he said he'd rather see it fed into a wood chipper.
"HANGING OF THE GREENS"
Conservative groups have marshaled the forces of lawyers volunteering to help anyone fighting for Christmas displays and launched boycotts of retailers whose advertisements fail to say "Merry Christmas."
A school system in Texas found itself in court after teachers asked children to bring white -- rather than red and green -- napkins to a party, while Annapolis, Maryland raised hackles by calling its evergreen boughs and ribbons on public buildings the "Hanging of the Greens" rather than "Christmas decorations."
Fanning the flames are conservative talk show personalities bemoaning the secularization of Christmas. Fox News anchor John Gibson chimed in with a book "The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse than You Thought."
"'Happy Holidays' and 'Season's Greetings' are not a substitute for 'Merry Christmas,"' said Manuel Zamorano, head of the Sacramento, California-based Committee to Save Merry Christmas, which organizes store boycotts over holiday advertising.
"Christmas is the holiday and 'Merry Christmas' is what we want to hear," he said. "It's political correctness gone amok."
BLAME POLITICS
Bah humbug, said radio talk show host Bill Press, author of "How the Republicans Stole Christmas."
"People have been saying 'Happy Holidays' for a hundred years at least," he said. "This is nothing new. It just celebrates the diversity of America."
He blames politics.
"It is all by design," he said. "The more people are talking about who's saying 'Happy Holidays' and who's saying 'Merry Christmas,' the less people are talking about Karl Rove, torture, Tom DeLay, the war in Iraq and other hot issues.
"And the more they stir up their evangelical Christian base over this issue, the more likely they are to get out and vote Republican in 2006," he said.
The debate has become comic grist.
"Every time you say 'Happy Holidays,' an angel gets
AIDS," warned television comedian Jon Stewart.
The satirical newspaper The Onion wrote a spoof about a judge who declared Christmas unconstitutional, with a photograph purporting to be workers dismantling the famed tree at Rockefeller Center to comply with the judge's ruling.
Making the rounds on the Internet is a series of mock memos from a fake company inviting employees to a Christmas Party, complete with open bar, gift exchange and tree lighting.
By the last of the memos, the increasingly beleaguered company is forced to apologize to its Jewish employees, the office alcoholics, Muslims, dieters, pregnant women, gays and lesbians, union members, management, cross-dressers, diabetics and vegetarians. In the end, the party is canceled.
RETAILERS IN THE MIDDLE
Stuck in the middle of the debate are retailers, whose seasonal selling campaigns seem to raise particular wrath.
"When someone says 'Happy Holidays,' they're saying something very nice to you. There's no ill intent behind any of this," said Dan Butler of the National Retail Federation. "When you're dealing with the public you'll get positive comments and negative comments about everything in the world."
Perhaps, added Peter Steinfels of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, there isn't a war on Christmas after all but a more sensitive religious right.
Conservatives are using the super-fast Internet and e-mail to publicize what they see as extreme examples of "super politically correct conduct," he said. "It gives the impression that there's a great deal of political correctness ... when in fact it may not really be so different from the way it's always been".
Drowning out the sounds of sleigh bells ringing and children singing are the sounds of arguing. At issue is how to greet people, how to decorate main street and how to sell gifts -- all without offending someone.
Religious conservatives are threatening lawsuits and boycotts to insist that store clerks and advertisements say "Merry Christmas." Countering are those who argue they are being inclusive and inoffensive with the secular "Happy Holidays."
In the middle seem to be most Americans, who not only aren't offended but find the whole spat rather ridiculous.
"You'd think there might be some Christmas spirit around Christmas time around the issue of Christmas," said Paul Cantor, a popular culture expert and professor at the University of Virginia. "It's one time you really wish people really could live and let live."
Alas, that's not what this Christmas is all about.
Sparks flew when U.S. President George W. Bush sent out cards referring to the "holiday season," a leading Republican declared the decorated tree on the Capitol lawn a "Christmas Tree" and not a "Holiday Tree" and the logger who cut down the tree for the Boston Common was so upset when officials called it a "Holiday Tree" that he said he'd rather see it fed into a wood chipper.
"HANGING OF THE GREENS"
Conservative groups have marshaled the forces of lawyers volunteering to help anyone fighting for Christmas displays and launched boycotts of retailers whose advertisements fail to say "Merry Christmas."
A school system in Texas found itself in court after teachers asked children to bring white -- rather than red and green -- napkins to a party, while Annapolis, Maryland raised hackles by calling its evergreen boughs and ribbons on public buildings the "Hanging of the Greens" rather than "Christmas decorations."
Fanning the flames are conservative talk show personalities bemoaning the secularization of Christmas. Fox News anchor John Gibson chimed in with a book "The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse than You Thought."
"'Happy Holidays' and 'Season's Greetings' are not a substitute for 'Merry Christmas,"' said Manuel Zamorano, head of the Sacramento, California-based Committee to Save Merry Christmas, which organizes store boycotts over holiday advertising.
"Christmas is the holiday and 'Merry Christmas' is what we want to hear," he said. "It's political correctness gone amok."
BLAME POLITICS
Bah humbug, said radio talk show host Bill Press, author of "How the Republicans Stole Christmas."
"People have been saying 'Happy Holidays' for a hundred years at least," he said. "This is nothing new. It just celebrates the diversity of America."
He blames politics.
"It is all by design," he said. "The more people are talking about who's saying 'Happy Holidays' and who's saying 'Merry Christmas,' the less people are talking about Karl Rove, torture, Tom DeLay, the war in Iraq and other hot issues.
"And the more they stir up their evangelical Christian base over this issue, the more likely they are to get out and vote Republican in 2006," he said.
The debate has become comic grist.
"Every time you say 'Happy Holidays,' an angel gets
AIDS," warned television comedian Jon Stewart.
The satirical newspaper The Onion wrote a spoof about a judge who declared Christmas unconstitutional, with a photograph purporting to be workers dismantling the famed tree at Rockefeller Center to comply with the judge's ruling.
Making the rounds on the Internet is a series of mock memos from a fake company inviting employees to a Christmas Party, complete with open bar, gift exchange and tree lighting.
By the last of the memos, the increasingly beleaguered company is forced to apologize to its Jewish employees, the office alcoholics, Muslims, dieters, pregnant women, gays and lesbians, union members, management, cross-dressers, diabetics and vegetarians. In the end, the party is canceled.
RETAILERS IN THE MIDDLE
Stuck in the middle of the debate are retailers, whose seasonal selling campaigns seem to raise particular wrath.
"When someone says 'Happy Holidays,' they're saying something very nice to you. There's no ill intent behind any of this," said Dan Butler of the National Retail Federation. "When you're dealing with the public you'll get positive comments and negative comments about everything in the world."
Perhaps, added Peter Steinfels of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, there isn't a war on Christmas after all but a more sensitive religious right.
Conservatives are using the super-fast Internet and e-mail to publicize what they see as extreme examples of "super politically correct conduct," he said. "It gives the impression that there's a great deal of political correctness ... when in fact it may not really be so different from the way it's always been".
20051218
The catch of a lifetime
A New York woman threw her one-month-old son from the third floor of a burning building and the baby was caught by an amateur baseball player standing outside, media reports said on Thursday.
Local television stations aired a videotape of Wednesday's dramatic rescue in the Bronx taken by a surveillance camera.
It showed the baby, swathed in white, tumbling some 30 feet
into the arms of Housing Authority employee Felix Vazquez, one of several people waiting below.
The Daily News said firefighters rescued Tracinda Foxe from her apartment shortly after she tossed her baby to Vazquez, who plays catcher on a neighborhood baseball team.
"I said 'God, please save my son,'" Foxe was quoted as saying. "I prayed that someone would catch him and save his life."
Vazquez, a 39-year-old former lifeguard, gave the baby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before medics arrived and took mother and child to the hospital. Neither was seriously injured and they were later released.
Local television stations aired a videotape of Wednesday's dramatic rescue in the Bronx taken by a surveillance camera.
It showed the baby, swathed in white, tumbling some 30 feet
into the arms of Housing Authority employee Felix Vazquez, one of several people waiting below.
The Daily News said firefighters rescued Tracinda Foxe from her apartment shortly after she tossed her baby to Vazquez, who plays catcher on a neighborhood baseball team.
"I said 'God, please save my son,'" Foxe was quoted as saying. "I prayed that someone would catch him and save his life."
Vazquez, a 39-year-old former lifeguard, gave the baby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before medics arrived and took mother and child to the hospital. Neither was seriously injured and they were later released.
20051216
Senate Rejects Extension of Patriot Act
The Senate on Friday refused to reauthorize major portions of the USA Patriot Act after critics complained they infringed too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders.
In a crucial vote early Friday, the bill's Senate supporters were not able to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote was 52-47.
President Bush, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Republicans congressional leaders had lobbied fiercely to make most of the expiring Patriot Act provisions permanent.
They also supported new safeguards and expiration dates to the act's two most controversial parts: authorization for roving wiretaps, which allow investigators to monitor multiple devices to keep a target from evading detection by switching phones or computers; and secret warrants for books, records and other items from businesses, hospitals and organizations such as libraries.
Feingold, Craig and other critics said those efforts weren't enough, and have called for the law to be extended in its present form so they can continue to try and add more civil liberties safeguards. But Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert have said they won't accept a short-term extension of the law.
If a compromise is not reached, the 16 Patriot Act provisions expire on Dec. 31, but the expirations have enormous exceptions. Investigators will still be able to use those powers to complete any investigation that began before the expiration date and to initiate new investigations of any alleged crime that began before Dec. 31, according to a provision in the original law. There are ongoing investigations of every known terrorist group, including al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Islamic Jihad and the Zarqawi group in Iraq, and all the Patriot Act tools could continue to be used in those investigations.
Five Republicans voted against the reauthorization: Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, John Sununu of New Hampshire, Craig and Frist. Two Democrats voted to extend the provisions: Sens. Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.
Frist, R-Tenn., changed his vote at the last moment after seeing the critics would win. He decided to vote with the prevailing side so he could call for a new vote at any time. He immediately objected to an offer of a short term extension from Democrats, saying the House won't approve it and the president won't sign it.
"We have more to fear from terrorism than we do from this Patriot Act," Frist warned.
If the Patriot Act provisions expire, Republicans say they will place the blame on Democrats in next year's midterm elections. "In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without these vital tools for a single moment," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "The time for Democrats to stop standing in the way has come."
But the Patriot Act's critics got a boost from a New York Times report saying Bush authorized the National Security Agency to monitor the international phone calls and international e-mails of hundreds — perhaps thousands — of people inside the United States. Previously, the NSA typically limited its domestic surveillance to foreign embassies and missions and obtained court orders for such investigations.
"I don't want to hear again from the attorney general or anyone on this floor that this government has shown it can be trusted to use the power we give it with restraint and care," said Feingold, the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act in 2001.
"It is time to have some checks and balances in this country," shouted Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. "We are more American for doing that."
Most of the Patriot Act — which expanded the government's surveillance and prosecutorial powers against suspected terrorists, their associates and financiers — was made permanent when Congress overwhelmingly passed it after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington. Making the rest of it permanent was a priority for both the Bush administration and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill before Congress adjourns for the year.
The House on Wednesday passed a House-Senate compromise bill to renew the expiring portions of the Patriot Act that supporters say added significant safeguards to the law. Its Senate supporters say that compromise is the only thing that has a chance to pass Congress before 2006.
"This is a defining moment. There are no more compromises to be made, no more extensions of time. The bill is what it is," said Sen. Jon Kyl (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz.
The bill's opponents say the original act was rushed into law, and Congress should take more time now to make sure the rights of innocent Americans are safeguarded before making the expiring provisions permanent.
"Those that would give up essential liberties in pursuit in a little temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security," said Sen. John Sununu (news, bio, voting record), R-N.H. They suggested a short extension so negotiations could continue, but the Senate scrapped a Democratic-led effort to renew the USA Patriot Act for just three months before the vote began.
"Today, fair-minded senators stood firm in their commitment to the Constitution and rejected the White House's call to pass a faulty law," said Caroline Fredrickson, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington legislative office. "This was a victory for the privacy and liberty of all Americans."
Justice Department's Web site on the USA Patriot Act: http://www.lifeandliberty.gov/
ACLU's Patriot Act Web site: http://www.aclu.org/safefree
In a crucial vote early Friday, the bill's Senate supporters were not able to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote was 52-47.
President Bush, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Republicans congressional leaders had lobbied fiercely to make most of the expiring Patriot Act provisions permanent.
They also supported new safeguards and expiration dates to the act's two most controversial parts: authorization for roving wiretaps, which allow investigators to monitor multiple devices to keep a target from evading detection by switching phones or computers; and secret warrants for books, records and other items from businesses, hospitals and organizations such as libraries.
Feingold, Craig and other critics said those efforts weren't enough, and have called for the law to be extended in its present form so they can continue to try and add more civil liberties safeguards. But Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert have said they won't accept a short-term extension of the law.
If a compromise is not reached, the 16 Patriot Act provisions expire on Dec. 31, but the expirations have enormous exceptions. Investigators will still be able to use those powers to complete any investigation that began before the expiration date and to initiate new investigations of any alleged crime that began before Dec. 31, according to a provision in the original law. There are ongoing investigations of every known terrorist group, including al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Islamic Jihad and the Zarqawi group in Iraq, and all the Patriot Act tools could continue to be used in those investigations.
Five Republicans voted against the reauthorization: Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, John Sununu of New Hampshire, Craig and Frist. Two Democrats voted to extend the provisions: Sens. Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.
Frist, R-Tenn., changed his vote at the last moment after seeing the critics would win. He decided to vote with the prevailing side so he could call for a new vote at any time. He immediately objected to an offer of a short term extension from Democrats, saying the House won't approve it and the president won't sign it.
"We have more to fear from terrorism than we do from this Patriot Act," Frist warned.
If the Patriot Act provisions expire, Republicans say they will place the blame on Democrats in next year's midterm elections. "In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without these vital tools for a single moment," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "The time for Democrats to stop standing in the way has come."
But the Patriot Act's critics got a boost from a New York Times report saying Bush authorized the National Security Agency to monitor the international phone calls and international e-mails of hundreds — perhaps thousands — of people inside the United States. Previously, the NSA typically limited its domestic surveillance to foreign embassies and missions and obtained court orders for such investigations.
"I don't want to hear again from the attorney general or anyone on this floor that this government has shown it can be trusted to use the power we give it with restraint and care," said Feingold, the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act in 2001.
"It is time to have some checks and balances in this country," shouted Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. "We are more American for doing that."
Most of the Patriot Act — which expanded the government's surveillance and prosecutorial powers against suspected terrorists, their associates and financiers — was made permanent when Congress overwhelmingly passed it after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington. Making the rest of it permanent was a priority for both the Bush administration and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill before Congress adjourns for the year.
The House on Wednesday passed a House-Senate compromise bill to renew the expiring portions of the Patriot Act that supporters say added significant safeguards to the law. Its Senate supporters say that compromise is the only thing that has a chance to pass Congress before 2006.
"This is a defining moment. There are no more compromises to be made, no more extensions of time. The bill is what it is," said Sen. Jon Kyl (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz.
The bill's opponents say the original act was rushed into law, and Congress should take more time now to make sure the rights of innocent Americans are safeguarded before making the expiring provisions permanent.
"Those that would give up essential liberties in pursuit in a little temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security," said Sen. John Sununu (news, bio, voting record), R-N.H. They suggested a short extension so negotiations could continue, but the Senate scrapped a Democratic-led effort to renew the USA Patriot Act for just three months before the vote began.
"Today, fair-minded senators stood firm in their commitment to the Constitution and rejected the White House's call to pass a faulty law," said Caroline Fredrickson, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington legislative office. "This was a victory for the privacy and liberty of all Americans."
Justice Department's Web site on the USA Patriot Act: http://www.lifeandliberty.gov/
ACLU's Patriot Act Web site: http://www.aclu.org/safefree
20051215
Danger! Scrambled eggs ahead!
A hazardous slick of broken eggs caused traffic chaos in rural Ireland Thursday after a truck carrying thousands of broody hens lost its load.
"Chickens have begun to lay eggs on the roads and the conditions are quite treacherous at the moment, very slippy," AA Roadwatch said on its traffic advice line, warning up to 7,000 chickens were on the loose.
Police said the vehicle carrying the birds may have hit a ditch, causing its boxes to "cascade off the lorry."
"The lorry has been moved off the road but the cargo is wandering around the roads out there," Sergeant Jim Greene from nearby town of Cavan told Reuters, adding there were no reports of any human casualties.
A team has been scrambled to help catch the birds, Greene said, but little could be done about their egg-laying: "We wouldn't expect anything less from a hen".
"Chickens have begun to lay eggs on the roads and the conditions are quite treacherous at the moment, very slippy," AA Roadwatch said on its traffic advice line, warning up to 7,000 chickens were on the loose.
Police said the vehicle carrying the birds may have hit a ditch, causing its boxes to "cascade off the lorry."
"The lorry has been moved off the road but the cargo is wandering around the roads out there," Sergeant Jim Greene from nearby town of Cavan told Reuters, adding there were no reports of any human casualties.
A team has been scrambled to help catch the birds, Greene said, but little could be done about their egg-laying: "We wouldn't expect anything less from a hen".
Polish man gets on his bike, ends up in London
An 84-year-old man, missing since he left home to ride his bike in the small central Polish town of Znin last week, has been found in good health wandering around London's Heathrow airport, Polish police said Wednesday.
"According to the family, he just took his bike and left", a police spokesman said.
He said police had been searching for the man, identified as Ludwik Z, when they got a telegram from the Polish consulate in London informing them he was safe and sound in London.
"The family have been unable to explain how he got to London," the spokesman said. "He doesn't speak English and has no friends or family in England, though he did take enough money with him to buy an air ticket."
Since joining the European Union last year, Poles have been flocking to London to work.
"According to the family, he just took his bike and left", a police spokesman said.
He said police had been searching for the man, identified as Ludwik Z, when they got a telegram from the Polish consulate in London informing them he was safe and sound in London.
"The family have been unable to explain how he got to London," the spokesman said. "He doesn't speak English and has no friends or family in England, though he did take enough money with him to buy an air ticket."
Since joining the European Union last year, Poles have been flocking to London to work.
20051213
Italy taps porn industry to help curb deficit
Italy's cash-strapped government has decided to hike taxes on one of the country's few vibrant industries, pornography, to help rein in the burgeoning budget deficit, government sources told Reuters Tuesday.
The "porno-tax," which imposes an additional levy of 25 percent on all income from pornography, is contained in a package of amendments to the 2006 budget to presented in the Chamber of Deputies Tuesday or Wednesday, the sources said.
Under the amendment, subscribers to hard core television channels must also pay additional value-added tax of 10 percent. Altogether, the tougher tax-treatment of porn should bring the government some 300 million euros next year.
A recent study by the Eurispes institute estimated revenues for pornography and related industries in 2004 at some 1.1 billion euros, up 100 million euros from the previous year and up 27 percent since 1991.
That is equal to about one-third of the revenues for a company like Italy's Mediaset, one of Europe's largest broadcasters, or about the same as the Giorgio Armani luxury goods group makes.
Italians spent an estimated 247 million euros on pay-TV porn in 2004, up 63 million euros from the previous year, as more satellite operators offered clients subscription packages.
NEW TAX AMNESTY
The center-piece of the budget amendments package, which has been seen by Reuters, is a new tax amnesty, despite numerous assurances from the economy minister that there would be no recourse to this often-used and much-criticized deficit plug.
The latest amnesty, by which tax dodgers can settle disputes with the authorities by paying a small proportion of what they owe, is available to companies and self-employed workers for allegedly unpaid taxes in the 2003-2004 fiscal year.
It is flanked by a more forward-looking tax measure aimed at reducing tax evasion, by which companies and self-employed workers can agree in advance to pay a limited sum for the next three years rather than make regular tax returns each year.
The tax amnesty and the forward-looking "tax agreement" aim to garner a total of 3 billion euros.
Government officials said this would not be an additional deficit cut but would substitute "less certain" revenue raising and spending cuts previously pencilled into the budget.
The draft budget, which was presented in September, aims to cut the 2006 deficit by some 16.5 billion euros to 3.8 percent of GDP from a targeted 4.3 percent in 2005. The package must be approved by parliament by the end of the year.
The "porno-tax," which imposes an additional levy of 25 percent on all income from pornography, is contained in a package of amendments to the 2006 budget to presented in the Chamber of Deputies Tuesday or Wednesday, the sources said.
Under the amendment, subscribers to hard core television channels must also pay additional value-added tax of 10 percent. Altogether, the tougher tax-treatment of porn should bring the government some 300 million euros next year.
A recent study by the Eurispes institute estimated revenues for pornography and related industries in 2004 at some 1.1 billion euros, up 100 million euros from the previous year and up 27 percent since 1991.
That is equal to about one-third of the revenues for a company like Italy's Mediaset, one of Europe's largest broadcasters, or about the same as the Giorgio Armani luxury goods group makes.
Italians spent an estimated 247 million euros on pay-TV porn in 2004, up 63 million euros from the previous year, as more satellite operators offered clients subscription packages.
NEW TAX AMNESTY
The center-piece of the budget amendments package, which has been seen by Reuters, is a new tax amnesty, despite numerous assurances from the economy minister that there would be no recourse to this often-used and much-criticized deficit plug.
The latest amnesty, by which tax dodgers can settle disputes with the authorities by paying a small proportion of what they owe, is available to companies and self-employed workers for allegedly unpaid taxes in the 2003-2004 fiscal year.
It is flanked by a more forward-looking tax measure aimed at reducing tax evasion, by which companies and self-employed workers can agree in advance to pay a limited sum for the next three years rather than make regular tax returns each year.
The tax amnesty and the forward-looking "tax agreement" aim to garner a total of 3 billion euros.
Government officials said this would not be an additional deficit cut but would substitute "less certain" revenue raising and spending cuts previously pencilled into the budget.
The draft budget, which was presented in September, aims to cut the 2006 deficit by some 16.5 billion euros to 3.8 percent of GDP from a targeted 4.3 percent in 2005. The package must be approved by parliament by the end of the year.
20051212
Ecuadorean woman, 116, is world's oldest person
A 116-year-old Ecuadorean woman was declared the oldest person in the world on Friday, lifting the title from a U.S. woman previously thought to be the oldest person alive, Guinness World Records said.
Maria Esther Capovilla was confirmed as the oldest living person after her family sent details of her birth and marriage certificates to Guinness World Records.
"We only told her yesterday she was the new Guinness world record holder," Kate White, brand manager at the records publisher told Reuters. "We hadn't heard of her before."
"She's in very good health, she's got good sight, is able to read the papers and watch television, and doesn't walk with a stick," White added.
Capovilla was born in Guayaqull in western Ecuador on September 14, 1889, and lives there today with her daughter-in-law and son.
She had five children, and has four grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Her husband died in 1949.
White said Capovilla had been asked what she thought about the changes she had seen over her life.
"She said she disliked the fact that presently it's acceptable for women to pursue men. And she said that every day she thanks God that she's alive," White said.
As a girl at the turn of the century one of Capovilla's favorite pastimes was going to parties, where she never drank alcohol.
At the time it was the custom for women just to touch the rim of the glass with their lips without drinking, as a sign of accepting hospitality, her family told Guinness World Records.
Elizabeth Bolden, from Memphis, Tennessee, born August 15, 1890, had previously been regarded as the oldest living person.
Edith "Judy" Ingamell, 111 years old, from Enfield north of London, became the oldest woman in Britain after the death on Wednesday of the previous title holder Lucy d'Abreu, Guinness World Records said.
D'Abreu, who lived to 113, attributed her longevity to a daily dose of brandy and dry ginger ale.
Emiliano Mercado Del Toro, from Puerto Rico, born August 21, 1891, is the world's oldest living man, aged 114, says Guinness World Records.
Maria Esther Capovilla was confirmed as the oldest living person after her family sent details of her birth and marriage certificates to Guinness World Records.
"We only told her yesterday she was the new Guinness world record holder," Kate White, brand manager at the records publisher told Reuters. "We hadn't heard of her before."
"She's in very good health, she's got good sight, is able to read the papers and watch television, and doesn't walk with a stick," White added.
Capovilla was born in Guayaqull in western Ecuador on September 14, 1889, and lives there today with her daughter-in-law and son.
She had five children, and has four grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Her husband died in 1949.
White said Capovilla had been asked what she thought about the changes she had seen over her life.
"She said she disliked the fact that presently it's acceptable for women to pursue men. And she said that every day she thanks God that she's alive," White said.
As a girl at the turn of the century one of Capovilla's favorite pastimes was going to parties, where she never drank alcohol.
At the time it was the custom for women just to touch the rim of the glass with their lips without drinking, as a sign of accepting hospitality, her family told Guinness World Records.
Elizabeth Bolden, from Memphis, Tennessee, born August 15, 1890, had previously been regarded as the oldest living person.
Edith "Judy" Ingamell, 111 years old, from Enfield north of London, became the oldest woman in Britain after the death on Wednesday of the previous title holder Lucy d'Abreu, Guinness World Records said.
D'Abreu, who lived to 113, attributed her longevity to a daily dose of brandy and dry ginger ale.
Emiliano Mercado Del Toro, from Puerto Rico, born August 21, 1891, is the world's oldest living man, aged 114, says Guinness World Records.
20051210
Lesbian bikers get 'Dykes on Bikes' trademark
Lesbian motorcycle enthusiasts in San Francisco have won their fight to trademark the name "Dykes on Bikes", a lawyer for their group said on Thursday.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had denied applications by the San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent to trademark "Dykes on Bikes," arguing the phrase would be perceived as disparaging to lesbians.
But the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Brooke Oliver Law Group said the word "dyke" is no longer viewed as derogatory.
"Within the lesbian community that term has been reclaimed as a very positive term that denotes strength and pride and empowerment," said Shannon Minter, a lawyer for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
The San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent sought the trademark after a woman in Wisconsin not affiliated with group attempted to use the phrase for a clothing line.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had denied applications by the San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent to trademark "Dykes on Bikes," arguing the phrase would be perceived as disparaging to lesbians.
But the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Brooke Oliver Law Group said the word "dyke" is no longer viewed as derogatory.
"Within the lesbian community that term has been reclaimed as a very positive term that denotes strength and pride and empowerment," said Shannon Minter, a lawyer for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
The San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent sought the trademark after a woman in Wisconsin not affiliated with group attempted to use the phrase for a clothing line.
20051209
Office Parties not like those you can't remember
It's office party time of year again, but the holiday shindigs just aren't what they used to be.
Gone are the nights of photocopying one's bare buttocks, groping interns and hauling home a gift bag full of goodies.
Instead, sensitized by sexual harassment cases, sobered by the dangers of drunk driving, solemn since September 11, 2001, saddened by Hurricane Katrina and set back by economic worries, companies are staging sedate affairs these days.
"In the mid-80's, when Wall Street was at its high, those parties were in their heyday," said Paul Siegel, an employment lawyer in Melville, New York. "It was a large frat party. Then it was all-out embarrassment the next day going back to work, having danced on the table wearing only a lampshade."
Indeed, a survey of Britons on a dating Web site showed two-thirds had kissed a colleague at a holiday office party and a third said they had sex with a boss at such a get-together.
Almost half reported having been so drunk they could not remember what they did.
Hoping to keep bad behavior at bay, an office party these days might easily be held in an art gallery, perhaps during the day, with libations limited to beer and wine, experts say. Even the food has gotten healthier and the portions smaller.
"No one wants to appear to be overly lavish. They're concerned about how they would look," said Joan Steinberg, a partner in Match Catering and Eventstyles in New York.
"No one wants a party turned into a downer," she added. "They're just being conscientious."
LEGAL LIABILITIES
Behind much of that conscience is the threat of legal liability, be it for employees driving home drunk or bosses harassing underlings, workplace experts say.
"It bleeds into a problem once the party's over and people go back to work. There's certainly a connection between these holiday parties and complaints in January and February," said Randall Gold, a Madison, Wisconsin-area attorney, who expects a rise in sexual harassment complaints early in the new year.
Typical is a recent case in which Gold represented a woman at a small company whose owner made explicit sexual advances at the holiday party.
"Monday morning, the owner of the company came into her office and wanted to continue where he left off," he said. She settled a federal lawsuit out of court, he said.
Despite the pitfalls, the office party is like a seasonal ailment that can't be shaken. As many as nine out of 10 companies throw holiday parties, surveys show.
A study by executive search firm Battalia Winston International showed the number of companies throwing parties was down 8 percent from last year, the first drop since 2001.
"The higher interest rates and rising energy costs of recent months may be beginning to impact spending," said the company's chief executive, Dale Winston.
Battalia also found a third of companies surveyed said their parties are more modest than they were five years ago.
Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an outplacement company, said its research found that roughly a fifth of companies holding office parties planned to spend more this year, but nearly as many planned to trim their party budgets.
"By dot.com-era standards, most of this year's holiday parties will be pretty tame affairs," said Chief Executive John Challenger. "Most employees do not want extravagant events. They just want the company to recognize and reward their efforts."
A recent survey of workers in Canada showed employees perhaps did not want to party at all. Just 19 percent of respondents found company bashes enjoyable and 81 percent found them a chore.
"One question I'm always asked is whether people have to go at all. People don't feel comfortable and they'd just as soon stay home," said Pamela Bedour, founder of The Protocol School of Ontario.
Her advice?
"Go. It's one of those things. You have to put yourself out and make an effort to go and an effort to mingle," she said.
Gone are the nights of photocopying one's bare buttocks, groping interns and hauling home a gift bag full of goodies.
Instead, sensitized by sexual harassment cases, sobered by the dangers of drunk driving, solemn since September 11, 2001, saddened by Hurricane Katrina and set back by economic worries, companies are staging sedate affairs these days.
"In the mid-80's, when Wall Street was at its high, those parties were in their heyday," said Paul Siegel, an employment lawyer in Melville, New York. "It was a large frat party. Then it was all-out embarrassment the next day going back to work, having danced on the table wearing only a lampshade."
Indeed, a survey of Britons on a dating Web site showed two-thirds had kissed a colleague at a holiday office party and a third said they had sex with a boss at such a get-together.
Almost half reported having been so drunk they could not remember what they did.
Hoping to keep bad behavior at bay, an office party these days might easily be held in an art gallery, perhaps during the day, with libations limited to beer and wine, experts say. Even the food has gotten healthier and the portions smaller.
"No one wants to appear to be overly lavish. They're concerned about how they would look," said Joan Steinberg, a partner in Match Catering and Eventstyles in New York.
"No one wants a party turned into a downer," she added. "They're just being conscientious."
LEGAL LIABILITIES
Behind much of that conscience is the threat of legal liability, be it for employees driving home drunk or bosses harassing underlings, workplace experts say.
"It bleeds into a problem once the party's over and people go back to work. There's certainly a connection between these holiday parties and complaints in January and February," said Randall Gold, a Madison, Wisconsin-area attorney, who expects a rise in sexual harassment complaints early in the new year.
Typical is a recent case in which Gold represented a woman at a small company whose owner made explicit sexual advances at the holiday party.
"Monday morning, the owner of the company came into her office and wanted to continue where he left off," he said. She settled a federal lawsuit out of court, he said.
Despite the pitfalls, the office party is like a seasonal ailment that can't be shaken. As many as nine out of 10 companies throw holiday parties, surveys show.
A study by executive search firm Battalia Winston International showed the number of companies throwing parties was down 8 percent from last year, the first drop since 2001.
"The higher interest rates and rising energy costs of recent months may be beginning to impact spending," said the company's chief executive, Dale Winston.
Battalia also found a third of companies surveyed said their parties are more modest than they were five years ago.
Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an outplacement company, said its research found that roughly a fifth of companies holding office parties planned to spend more this year, but nearly as many planned to trim their party budgets.
"By dot.com-era standards, most of this year's holiday parties will be pretty tame affairs," said Chief Executive John Challenger. "Most employees do not want extravagant events. They just want the company to recognize and reward their efforts."
A recent survey of workers in Canada showed employees perhaps did not want to party at all. Just 19 percent of respondents found company bashes enjoyable and 81 percent found them a chore.
"One question I'm always asked is whether people have to go at all. People don't feel comfortable and they'd just as soon stay home," said Pamela Bedour, founder of The Protocol School of Ontario.
Her advice?
"Go. It's one of those things. You have to put yourself out and make an effort to go and an effort to mingle," she said.
20051208
A gift list that would get Santa fired
It may be the thought that counts when it comes to Christmas presents, but an Australian consumer magazine has issued a "useless" presents list to warn shoppers what not to buy this festive season.
A Choice magazine survey of nearly 12,000 people found the worst present to give was an electric ice shaver, joking "apparently hairy ice isn't a big consumer issue."
"It never really worked properly and we always ended up with a big mess and not enough crushed ice to be worth the effort," said one person who owned an electric ice shaver.
A close second was an ice cream maker and the third was a foot spa.
"If you are tired and have tired feet the last thing you want to do is run around, put towels down, fill up the foot spa, try not to spill it. Then it goes cold in 10 minutes. Too much work for a few minutes comfort," said a disgruntled foot spa owner.
Also on the 40-plus list of what not to buy were: electric can openers, aromatherapy diffusers, hair removal appliances (apparently they were too painful), heated rollers, hair curling wands and deli-slicers.
It seems toasters, kettles and hand-held mixers are the most useful gifts to give, according to the Choice survey.
A Choice magazine survey of nearly 12,000 people found the worst present to give was an electric ice shaver, joking "apparently hairy ice isn't a big consumer issue."
"It never really worked properly and we always ended up with a big mess and not enough crushed ice to be worth the effort," said one person who owned an electric ice shaver.
A close second was an ice cream maker and the third was a foot spa.
"If you are tired and have tired feet the last thing you want to do is run around, put towels down, fill up the foot spa, try not to spill it. Then it goes cold in 10 minutes. Too much work for a few minutes comfort," said a disgruntled foot spa owner.
Also on the 40-plus list of what not to buy were: electric can openers, aromatherapy diffusers, hair removal appliances (apparently they were too painful), heated rollers, hair curling wands and deli-slicers.
It seems toasters, kettles and hand-held mixers are the most useful gifts to give, according to the Choice survey.
20051207
Pushing the envelope on love letters
Love may be in the air but it is no longer in the mail, according to a new competition to revive the lost art of love letter writing.
Run for the first time last year in the United States when it attracted 5,000 entries, philanthropist Henri Zimand's competition to find the best written love letters has now opened to entrants from Britain as well.
"In this age of one-line e-mails and abbreviated text messages, the simple art of letter writing has all but been forgotten," he said. "Writing a love letter is a dying art and to me that is a real shame."
The competition is dedicated to the memory of Zimand's wife Anda who died from breast cancer in 2003 aged 49.
"No one should underestimate the power of a letter that truly comes from the heart and with every letter I receive, I am moved, and remember my Anda," Zimand said.
For each of the first 10,000 letters submitted to the website www.AndaSpirit.com in Britain or www.AndaSpiritUSA.com in the United States, Zimand will make a contribution to a cancer facility in the area where the letter originated.
If inspiration is needed, an example of one of last year's entries is as follows: "Heartfelt and true, your beauty shines through, with love, emotion and everlasting devotion, I yearn to marry you.".
The winners -- to be selected by a panel including Zimand and judges from the Romance Writers of America -- will be flown to New York and, on the morning of St Valentine's Day, taken on a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride in the city.
Run for the first time last year in the United States when it attracted 5,000 entries, philanthropist Henri Zimand's competition to find the best written love letters has now opened to entrants from Britain as well.
"In this age of one-line e-mails and abbreviated text messages, the simple art of letter writing has all but been forgotten," he said. "Writing a love letter is a dying art and to me that is a real shame."
The competition is dedicated to the memory of Zimand's wife Anda who died from breast cancer in 2003 aged 49.
"No one should underestimate the power of a letter that truly comes from the heart and with every letter I receive, I am moved, and remember my Anda," Zimand said.
For each of the first 10,000 letters submitted to the website www.AndaSpirit.com in Britain or www.AndaSpiritUSA.com in the United States, Zimand will make a contribution to a cancer facility in the area where the letter originated.
If inspiration is needed, an example of one of last year's entries is as follows: "Heartfelt and true, your beauty shines through, with love, emotion and everlasting devotion, I yearn to marry you.".
The winners -- to be selected by a panel including Zimand and judges from the Romance Writers of America -- will be flown to New York and, on the morning of St Valentine's Day, taken on a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride in the city.
20051205
Erotic moments from Bible
A German Protestant youth group has put together a 2006 calendar with 12 staged photos depicting erotic scenes from the Bible, including a bare-breasted Delilah cutting Samson's hair and a nude Eve offering an apple.
"There's a whole range of biblical scriptures simply bursting with eroticism," said Stefan Wiest, the 32-year-old photographer who took the titillating pictures.
Anne Rohmer, 21, poses on a doorstep in garters and stockings as the prostitute Rahab, who is mentioned in both New and Old Testaments. "We wanted to represent the Bible in a different way and to interest young people," she told Reuters.
"Anyway, it doesn't say anywhere in the Bible that you are forbidden to show yourself nude."
Bernd Grasser, pastor of the church in Nuremberg where the calendar is being sold, was enthusiastic about the project which is explained online at www.bibelkalender.de.
"It's just wonderful when teenagers commit themselves with their hair and their skin to the bible," he said.
"There's a whole range of biblical scriptures simply bursting with eroticism," said Stefan Wiest, the 32-year-old photographer who took the titillating pictures.
Anne Rohmer, 21, poses on a doorstep in garters and stockings as the prostitute Rahab, who is mentioned in both New and Old Testaments. "We wanted to represent the Bible in a different way and to interest young people," she told Reuters.
"Anyway, it doesn't say anywhere in the Bible that you are forbidden to show yourself nude."
Bernd Grasser, pastor of the church in Nuremberg where the calendar is being sold, was enthusiastic about the project which is explained online at www.bibelkalender.de.
"It's just wonderful when teenagers commit themselves with their hair and their skin to the bible," he said.
20051202
Suicides by location
Suicides by location, records compiled by the Golden Gate Bridge.
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20051201
Grateful Dead to Allow Free Web Downloads
What a short, strange trip it was. After the Grateful Dead angered some of its biggest fans by asking a nonprofit Web site to halt the free downloading of its concert recordings, the psychedelic jam band changed its mind Wednesday.
Internet Archive, a site that catalogues content on Web sites, reposted recordings of Grateful Dead concerts for download after the surviving members of the band decided to make them available again.
Band spokesman Dennis McNally said the group was swayed by the backlash from fans, who for decades have freely taped and traded the band's live performances.
"The Grateful Dead remains as it always has -- in favor of tape trading," McNally said.
He said the band consented to making audience recordings available for download again, although live recordings made directly from concert soundboards, which are the legal property of the Grateful Dead, should only be made available for listening from now on.
The soundboard recordings are "very much part of their legacy, and their rights need to be protected," McNally said.
Representatives for the band earlier this month had directed the Internet Archive to stop making recordings of the group's concerts available for download. But fans quickly initiated an online petition that argued the band shouldn't change the rules midway through the game.
"The internet archive has been a resource that is important to all of us," states the petition, which also threatened a boycott of Grateful Dead recordings and merchandise. "Between the music, and interviews in the archive we are able to experience the Grateful Dead fully."
The Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995 following the death of guitarist and lead singer Jerry Garcia. The group once set concert attendance records and generated millions of dollars in revenue from extensive tours.
With concert tickets now removed as a source of revenue, sales of the band's music and other merchandise have become increasingly important in an age where music is distributed digitally instead of on CDs, vinyl and cassette tapes.
And the arrival of Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes online music store, and other similar sites, means free downloads can be seen as competition, said Marc Schiller, chief executive of Electricartists, which helps musicians market themselves online.
The band sells music on iTunes and exclusive shows through its Web site.
"When the music was given away for free to trade, the band was making so much money touring that the music was not as valuable to them," Schiller said. "Apple iTunes has made digital downloads a business."
The Grateful Dead's freeform improvisational style led to vastly different sounding songs, from year to year or even night to night. A song that lasted four minutes during one performance could be stretched to 20 minutes during a different show.
Fans eager to explore the varying versions frequently built large collections of shows spanning the band's 30-year career. The band even encouraged recording of their live shows, establishing a cordoned section for fans to set up taping equipment.
Representatives from the Internet Archive didn't immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday.
Internet Archive, a site that catalogues content on Web sites, reposted recordings of Grateful Dead concerts for download after the surviving members of the band decided to make them available again.
Band spokesman Dennis McNally said the group was swayed by the backlash from fans, who for decades have freely taped and traded the band's live performances.
"The Grateful Dead remains as it always has -- in favor of tape trading," McNally said.
He said the band consented to making audience recordings available for download again, although live recordings made directly from concert soundboards, which are the legal property of the Grateful Dead, should only be made available for listening from now on.
The soundboard recordings are "very much part of their legacy, and their rights need to be protected," McNally said.
Representatives for the band earlier this month had directed the Internet Archive to stop making recordings of the group's concerts available for download. But fans quickly initiated an online petition that argued the band shouldn't change the rules midway through the game.
"The internet archive has been a resource that is important to all of us," states the petition, which also threatened a boycott of Grateful Dead recordings and merchandise. "Between the music, and interviews in the archive we are able to experience the Grateful Dead fully."
The Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995 following the death of guitarist and lead singer Jerry Garcia. The group once set concert attendance records and generated millions of dollars in revenue from extensive tours.
With concert tickets now removed as a source of revenue, sales of the band's music and other merchandise have become increasingly important in an age where music is distributed digitally instead of on CDs, vinyl and cassette tapes.
And the arrival of Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes online music store, and other similar sites, means free downloads can be seen as competition, said Marc Schiller, chief executive of Electricartists, which helps musicians market themselves online.
The band sells music on iTunes and exclusive shows through its Web site.
"When the music was given away for free to trade, the band was making so much money touring that the music was not as valuable to them," Schiller said. "Apple iTunes has made digital downloads a business."
The Grateful Dead's freeform improvisational style led to vastly different sounding songs, from year to year or even night to night. A song that lasted four minutes during one performance could be stretched to 20 minutes during a different show.
Fans eager to explore the varying versions frequently built large collections of shows spanning the band's 30-year career. The band even encouraged recording of their live shows, establishing a cordoned section for fans to set up taping equipment.
Representatives from the Internet Archive didn't immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday.
An end to hard butter misery?
Ever get frustrated with fresh-out-of the-fridge butter that is too hard to spread?
A UK-based company has launched a portable, temperature-controlled butter dish, ButterWizard, which keeps butter at what it says is the optimal spreadable temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
It has a built-in fan and a chip which together control the temperature, adjustable for different textures, be it super-soft bread, crusty toast or delicate biscuits. "We were trying to find out what people's frustration with butter was. It's either too hard or too soft," said David Alfille, managing director of East Sussex-based company Alfille Innovations Limited.
"ButterWizard heats or cools the butter and you can adjust the temperature to suit yourself."
Nutritionist Fiona Hunter said: "There are over 16 million UK households buying butter on a regular basis, but one complaint I hear time after time is the lack of spreadability of real butter."
"Butter has been part of diet for thousands of years. The important thing is to spread butter thinly," she added.
A UK-based company has launched a portable, temperature-controlled butter dish, ButterWizard, which keeps butter at what it says is the optimal spreadable temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
It has a built-in fan and a chip which together control the temperature, adjustable for different textures, be it super-soft bread, crusty toast or delicate biscuits. "We were trying to find out what people's frustration with butter was. It's either too hard or too soft," said David Alfille, managing director of East Sussex-based company Alfille Innovations Limited.
"ButterWizard heats or cools the butter and you can adjust the temperature to suit yourself."
Nutritionist Fiona Hunter said: "There are over 16 million UK households buying butter on a regular basis, but one complaint I hear time after time is the lack of spreadability of real butter."
"Butter has been part of diet for thousands of years. The important thing is to spread butter thinly," she added.
Police seek truckload of cognac
British police were searching for 85,000 pounds worth of fine cognac on Tuesday after a French truck driver was robbed as he slept in his truck.
The man was bundled out of his cab as he snoozed in a truck park in southern England. His assailants made off with his entire cargo of Courvoisier cognac.
"We would like to hear from anyone who is offered Courvoisier for sale," said Detective Inspector David Smith of Hampshire police.
The man was bundled out of his cab as he snoozed in a truck park in southern England. His assailants made off with his entire cargo of Courvoisier cognac.
"We would like to hear from anyone who is offered Courvoisier for sale," said Detective Inspector David Smith of Hampshire police.
20051130
Baby, you make my "love molecule" soar!
Your heartbeat accelerates, you have butterflies in the stomach, you feel euphoric and a bit silly. It's all part of falling passionately in love -- and scientists now tell us the feeling won't last more than a year.
The powerful emotions that bowl over new lovers are triggered by a molecule known as nerve growth factor (NGF), according to Pavia University researchers.
The Italian scientists found far higher levels of NGF in the blood of 58 people who had recently fallen madly in love than in that of a group of singles and people in long-term relationships.
But after a year with the same lover, the quantity of the 'love molecule' in their blood had fallen to the same level as that of the other groups.
The Italian researchers, publishing their study in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, said it was not clear how falling in love triggers higher levels of NGF, but the molecule clearly has an important role in the "social chemistry" between people at the start of a relationship.
The powerful emotions that bowl over new lovers are triggered by a molecule known as nerve growth factor (NGF), according to Pavia University researchers.
The Italian scientists found far higher levels of NGF in the blood of 58 people who had recently fallen madly in love than in that of a group of singles and people in long-term relationships.
But after a year with the same lover, the quantity of the 'love molecule' in their blood had fallen to the same level as that of the other groups.
The Italian researchers, publishing their study in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, said it was not clear how falling in love triggers higher levels of NGF, but the molecule clearly has an important role in the "social chemistry" between people at the start of a relationship.
Longer needles needed for fatter buttocks
Fatter rear ends are causing many drug injections to miss their mark, requiring longer needles to reach buttock muscle, researchers said on Monday.
Standard-sized needles failed to reach the buttock muscle in 23 out of 25 women whose rears were examined after what was supposed to be an intramuscular injection of a drug.
Two-thirds of the 50 patients in the study did not receive the full dosage of the drug, which instead lodged in the fat tissue of their buttocks, researchers from The Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Dublin said in a presentation to the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
Besides patients receiving less than the correct drug dosage, medications that remain lodged in fat can cause infection or irritation, researchers Victoria Chan said.
"There is no question that obesity is the underlying cause. We have identified a new problem related, in part, to the increasing amount of fat in patients' buttocks," Chan said.
"The amount of fat tissue overlying the muscles exceeds the length of the needles commonly used for these injections," she said.
The 25 men and 25 women studied at the Irish hospital ranged in age from 21 to 87.
The buttocks are a good place for intramuscular injections because there are relatively few major blood vessels, nerves and bones that can be damaged by a needle. Plentiful smaller blood vessels found in muscle carry the drug to the rest of the body, while fat tissue contains relatively few blood vessels.
Obesity affects more than 300 million people worldwide and is based on a measure of height versus weight that produces a body mass index above 30. An estimated 65 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
Standard-sized needles failed to reach the buttock muscle in 23 out of 25 women whose rears were examined after what was supposed to be an intramuscular injection of a drug.
Two-thirds of the 50 patients in the study did not receive the full dosage of the drug, which instead lodged in the fat tissue of their buttocks, researchers from The Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Dublin said in a presentation to the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
Besides patients receiving less than the correct drug dosage, medications that remain lodged in fat can cause infection or irritation, researchers Victoria Chan said.
"There is no question that obesity is the underlying cause. We have identified a new problem related, in part, to the increasing amount of fat in patients' buttocks," Chan said.
"The amount of fat tissue overlying the muscles exceeds the length of the needles commonly used for these injections," she said.
The 25 men and 25 women studied at the Irish hospital ranged in age from 21 to 87.
The buttocks are a good place for intramuscular injections because there are relatively few major blood vessels, nerves and bones that can be damaged by a needle. Plentiful smaller blood vessels found in muscle carry the drug to the rest of the body, while fat tissue contains relatively few blood vessels.
Obesity affects more than 300 million people worldwide and is based on a measure of height versus weight that produces a body mass index above 30. An estimated 65 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
20051128
Armed robbers snatch lion cub from zoo
Armed robbers made off with a lion cub and two Arabic-speaking parrots in a recent raid on Gaza's zoo, Palestinian police chief and newspapers said.
Suod al-Shawwa, the zoo's chairman of the board, told Palestinian newspapers four masked gunmen used blankets to try and snatch a pair of lion cubs, but only managed to capture one.
"They wrapped the lion cub in a blanket and took him away," Shawwa said.
He said the Kalashnikov-toting gang first tied the zoo keeper up in a cafeteria and then made their way to the cages, where they also seized the parrots.
Palestinian police chief Ala Husni said forces were investigating the theft and believed the cub and parrots were being concealed in a Gaza hide-out.
Shawwa promised a $1,000 reward to whoever managed to track the animals down.
The small zoo opened last month in the crowded, poverty-stricken coastal strip and is also home to squirrels, monkeys, an ostrich, and some household pets.
Lawlessness in Gaza has increased since Israel completed its pullout in September, ending 38 years of occupation.
Rival armed groups have been trying to stake a claim to power in Gaza ahead of key parliamentary elections in January.
Suod al-Shawwa, the zoo's chairman of the board, told Palestinian newspapers four masked gunmen used blankets to try and snatch a pair of lion cubs, but only managed to capture one.
"They wrapped the lion cub in a blanket and took him away," Shawwa said.
He said the Kalashnikov-toting gang first tied the zoo keeper up in a cafeteria and then made their way to the cages, where they also seized the parrots.
Palestinian police chief Ala Husni said forces were investigating the theft and believed the cub and parrots were being concealed in a Gaza hide-out.
Shawwa promised a $1,000 reward to whoever managed to track the animals down.
The small zoo opened last month in the crowded, poverty-stricken coastal strip and is also home to squirrels, monkeys, an ostrich, and some household pets.
Lawlessness in Gaza has increased since Israel completed its pullout in September, ending 38 years of occupation.
Rival armed groups have been trying to stake a claim to power in Gaza ahead of key parliamentary elections in January.
20051125
Good news for inmates who aren't already tattooed
Canadian inmates can now get tattoos in prison parlors under a pilot program aimed at cutting down use of unclean needles and the spread of disease.
The Canadian government showed off its tattoo parlor program on Thursday at a prison in Bath, Ontario, where it is being tested.
"The program has advantages in that we can take a practice that already occurs, and make it safer," said Holly Knowles, a spokeswoman for Correctional Services Canada. "We're trying to reduce the amount of make-shift needles."
The government believes secret tattooing contributes to the spread of disease in prisons because of the use of shared needles.
Prison authorities say rates of hepatitis B and C among prisoners are about 30 times higher than outside prison walls. HIV rates are about 10 times higher.
To be eligible for the program, tattoo designs must be approved by prison officials and must not be gang-related, or deemed racist. Participating inmates must have a good prison record.
Prisoners are allowed a one-hour controlled session with an inmate tattoo artist for C$5 (US$4.25).
Officials said that if the pilot project is successful, it may be expanded to more prisons across Canada.
The Canadian government showed off its tattoo parlor program on Thursday at a prison in Bath, Ontario, where it is being tested.
"The program has advantages in that we can take a practice that already occurs, and make it safer," said Holly Knowles, a spokeswoman for Correctional Services Canada. "We're trying to reduce the amount of make-shift needles."
The government believes secret tattooing contributes to the spread of disease in prisons because of the use of shared needles.
Prison authorities say rates of hepatitis B and C among prisoners are about 30 times higher than outside prison walls. HIV rates are about 10 times higher.
To be eligible for the program, tattoo designs must be approved by prison officials and must not be gang-related, or deemed racist. Participating inmates must have a good prison record.
Prisoners are allowed a one-hour controlled session with an inmate tattoo artist for C$5 (US$4.25).
Officials said that if the pilot project is successful, it may be expanded to more prisons across Canada.
20051124
CNN explains 'X' glitch over Cheney's face
CNN apologized on Tuesday and offered a rare explanation from its control booth for a technical glitch many viewers failed to notice -- a large "X" the network flashed over Vice President Dick Cheney's face.
The wayward graphic, which CNN said lasted for about one-seventh of a second, appeared during the network's live coverage of Cheney's speech on Monday addressing critics of the Bush administration's conduct of the war in
Iraq.
Word of the snafu quickly surfaced on the Internet, including still photos of the image posted by online columnist Matt Drudge, along with a story suggesting that some who saw the momentary "X" thought it might have been deliberate.
CNN, a unit of Time Warner Inc., later issued a mea culpa saying an investigation by senior management concluded "this was a technical malfunction, not an issue of operator error" and expressing regret for the incident.
The network followed up with a special on-air segment during its "CNN Live Today" broadcast, in which anchor Daryn Kagan joined the network's technical manager, Steve Alperin, in the control room to offer a fuller explanation.
The "X" image, a place-holding marker used by technicians to cue up graphics, is not supposed to be visible to viewers but was inadvertently projected onto the screen by a malfunction in a "switcher" device, they explained.
"So, for all the conspiracy theories out there," Kagan said, " ... that's not what this is about. It's a computer bug that people deal with everyday. It's just that ours was in front of millions of people."
A spokesman for the vice president said Cheney had no comment on the incident.
The wayward graphic, which CNN said lasted for about one-seventh of a second, appeared during the network's live coverage of Cheney's speech on Monday addressing critics of the Bush administration's conduct of the war in
Iraq.
Word of the snafu quickly surfaced on the Internet, including still photos of the image posted by online columnist Matt Drudge, along with a story suggesting that some who saw the momentary "X" thought it might have been deliberate.
CNN, a unit of Time Warner Inc., later issued a mea culpa saying an investigation by senior management concluded "this was a technical malfunction, not an issue of operator error" and expressing regret for the incident.
The network followed up with a special on-air segment during its "CNN Live Today" broadcast, in which anchor Daryn Kagan joined the network's technical manager, Steve Alperin, in the control room to offer a fuller explanation.
The "X" image, a place-holding marker used by technicians to cue up graphics, is not supposed to be visible to viewers but was inadvertently projected onto the screen by a malfunction in a "switcher" device, they explained.
"So, for all the conspiracy theories out there," Kagan said, " ... that's not what this is about. It's a computer bug that people deal with everyday. It's just that ours was in front of millions of people."
A spokesman for the vice president said Cheney had no comment on the incident.
20051123
Woman gets probation for sex with student
Debra LaFave, a former Florida school teacher, pleaded guilty Tuesday to having sex with a 14-year-old male student and was sentenced to 10 years of community control and probation.
LaFave, 25, pleaded guilty to committing two counts of lewd and lascivious battery on the Greco Middle School student.
LaFave could have been sentenced to 30 years or more in prison if she had been convicted in a trial, which had been scheduled to begin next month in Tampa.
Under a plea agreement with Hillsborough County prosecutors in Tampa, LaFave agreed to accept three years of community control, including electronic monitoring, and seven years of probation.
She must enter a sexual offender treatment program and cannot have any unsupervised contact with children.
"I accept responsibility for my actions. I'm very sorry for everything that has occurred," LaFave said in court before she was sentenced.
Another condition of the agreement is that LaFave cannot profit from her conduct through book deals, television appearances or other commercial activity.
Her attorney had planned to offer an insanity defense if there was a trial.
LaFave was married at the time she began having sex with the student, but is now divorced. She had taught reading at the school for two years prior to her arrest in June 2004.
After the boy's parents found out he was having sex with LaFave, they allowed police to tape telephone calls between the two, which led to her arrest. The boy has not been identified.
Prosecutors said the boy's parents approved of the plea deal because they did not want him to testify at trial.
The case gained national attention after pictures of LaFave wearing a bikini and straddling a motorcycle appeared on the Internet.
LaFave's attorney, John Fitzgibbons, made headlines in July when he said his client was too pretty to survive prison. "To place an attractive young woman in that kind of hell-hole is like placing a piece of raw meat in with the lions," he said then.
LaFave, 25, pleaded guilty to committing two counts of lewd and lascivious battery on the Greco Middle School student.
LaFave could have been sentenced to 30 years or more in prison if she had been convicted in a trial, which had been scheduled to begin next month in Tampa.
Under a plea agreement with Hillsborough County prosecutors in Tampa, LaFave agreed to accept three years of community control, including electronic monitoring, and seven years of probation.
She must enter a sexual offender treatment program and cannot have any unsupervised contact with children.
"I accept responsibility for my actions. I'm very sorry for everything that has occurred," LaFave said in court before she was sentenced.
Another condition of the agreement is that LaFave cannot profit from her conduct through book deals, television appearances or other commercial activity.
Her attorney had planned to offer an insanity defense if there was a trial.
LaFave was married at the time she began having sex with the student, but is now divorced. She had taught reading at the school for two years prior to her arrest in June 2004.
After the boy's parents found out he was having sex with LaFave, they allowed police to tape telephone calls between the two, which led to her arrest. The boy has not been identified.
Prosecutors said the boy's parents approved of the plea deal because they did not want him to testify at trial.
The case gained national attention after pictures of LaFave wearing a bikini and straddling a motorcycle appeared on the Internet.
LaFave's attorney, John Fitzgibbons, made headlines in July when he said his client was too pretty to survive prison. "To place an attractive young woman in that kind of hell-hole is like placing a piece of raw meat in with the lions," he said then.
20051122
Sometimes you just have a really bad day..
A German man drank too much, wet his bed and set fire to his apartment while trying to dry his bedding, police in the western town of Muelheim said Monday.
"He was too drunk to go to the toilet," said a police spokesman. "The next morning he put a switched-on hairdryer on the bed to dry it and left the apartment." When the 60-year-old returned, his home and belongings were in flames.
Firemen eventually put out the blaze.
"He was too drunk to go to the toilet," said a police spokesman. "The next morning he put a switched-on hairdryer on the bed to dry it and left the apartment." When the 60-year-old returned, his home and belongings were in flames.
Firemen eventually put out the blaze.
20051120
Friday work meetings may mask love trysts
Employers be warned: UK workers who schedule Wednesday meetings are potentially going to a job interview and regular Friday afternoon meetings could be an excuse for a rendezvous with their lover.
A survey of 167 companies revealed a growing trend of so-called "me me meetings," out-of-office meetings used to cover a more personal encounter.
The poll, by Genesys Conferencing, showed 81 percent of office workers admitted arranging meetings to fit in with personal activities.
It also showed that over half of their colleagues were suspicious of the motives behind the meetings for which many of their workmates left the office.
Genesys said the most popular reason for a "me me meeting" was to get away early for the weekend.
But the survey also showed Friday afternoons were the best for meeting lovers or to go shopping. Monday mornings were the most popular time for scheduling a meeting to mask looking after the children and Wednesdays were the preferred time for job interviews.
A survey of 167 companies revealed a growing trend of so-called "me me meetings," out-of-office meetings used to cover a more personal encounter.
The poll, by Genesys Conferencing, showed 81 percent of office workers admitted arranging meetings to fit in with personal activities.
It also showed that over half of their colleagues were suspicious of the motives behind the meetings for which many of their workmates left the office.
Genesys said the most popular reason for a "me me meeting" was to get away early for the weekend.
But the survey also showed Friday afternoons were the best for meeting lovers or to go shopping. Monday mornings were the most popular time for scheduling a meeting to mask looking after the children and Wednesdays were the preferred time for job interviews.
20051118
Hollywood Madam to open Nevada 'stud farm'
Former "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss, whose previous career running a call-girl ring landed her in prison, is returning to the world's oldest profession -- to open a Nevada brothel catering to women.
Fleiss said on Thursday she has struck a deal with a licensed brothel owner in Nevada, where prostitution is legal, to turn one of his three establishments, the Cherry Patch, into a glitzy new bordello that she will rename Heidi Fleiss' Stud Farm.
She plans to remodel the building, located outside the town of Pahrump, Nevada, west of Las Vegas near the California border, with skylights, marble tiling, palm trees and waterfalls, and hopes to reopen the business within two months.
Fleiss said she is taking applications from men seeking to work in what she says will be the world's first licensed brothel catering exclusively to female clients.
"The Hollywood Madam is looking for a few good men out there," she told Reuters in a telephone interview in the midst of her move from Los Angeles to Nevada. "It's going to be an oasis in the desert."
Fleiss said she is aiming for an initial stable of about 20 male prostitutes who would charge $250 an hour -- far less, she said, then the fees paid by clients of the call-girl ring she ran a decade ago.
"Prostitution and modeling are the only businesses where women make more money than men," she said, adding that her "studs" would split their earnings 50/50 with her, but "keep all their tips."
Fleiss acknowledged that her biggest potential obstacle is her 1995 conviction on federal charges of tax evasion and money laundering, stemming from her prostitution service catering to the rich and famous. She ultimately served 21 months in prison and was released in November 1998.
Nevada state law allows counties to deny a brothel license to convicted felons, although Fleiss said she knows of several bordello owners with criminal records. She also said her plan was to operate her "stud farm" under an existing license.
"There's still a little bit of legalities that we're working through, but it's going to be OK," she said.
Her Las Vegas-based lawyer, Richard Schonfeld, said Fleiss will not be an owner or licensee of the establishment but merely an employee with the title of "madam/hostess."
She must first obtain a work card from the county sheriff's department, a process that requires far less scrutiny than applying for a business license, Schonfeld said.
"She just wants to be employed there and go through the regular steps that any employee at a brothel has to go through," he said. "She going to lend her name and her charm to the business."
Representatives of the Nye County Commission could not immediately be reached for comment. Commission chairwoman Candice Trummell told the Los Angeles Times that county attorneys were reviewing the proposed business and it was unclear whether it would be approved.
Assuming the brothel opens as planned, Fleiss said she is certain there will be plenty of demand for its services.
"Women make more money these days, they're calling the shots, they're more powerful. And let's face it, it's hard to meet someone," she said.
"And then you've got the situation with the old husband leaving his wife for the younger girl, and the lady sitting at home crying. Well, now she has a place to go, and say, 'Right back at you, buddy, and on your credit card.'"
Fleiss said on Thursday she has struck a deal with a licensed brothel owner in Nevada, where prostitution is legal, to turn one of his three establishments, the Cherry Patch, into a glitzy new bordello that she will rename Heidi Fleiss' Stud Farm.
She plans to remodel the building, located outside the town of Pahrump, Nevada, west of Las Vegas near the California border, with skylights, marble tiling, palm trees and waterfalls, and hopes to reopen the business within two months.
Fleiss said she is taking applications from men seeking to work in what she says will be the world's first licensed brothel catering exclusively to female clients.
"The Hollywood Madam is looking for a few good men out there," she told Reuters in a telephone interview in the midst of her move from Los Angeles to Nevada. "It's going to be an oasis in the desert."
Fleiss said she is aiming for an initial stable of about 20 male prostitutes who would charge $250 an hour -- far less, she said, then the fees paid by clients of the call-girl ring she ran a decade ago.
"Prostitution and modeling are the only businesses where women make more money than men," she said, adding that her "studs" would split their earnings 50/50 with her, but "keep all their tips."
Fleiss acknowledged that her biggest potential obstacle is her 1995 conviction on federal charges of tax evasion and money laundering, stemming from her prostitution service catering to the rich and famous. She ultimately served 21 months in prison and was released in November 1998.
Nevada state law allows counties to deny a brothel license to convicted felons, although Fleiss said she knows of several bordello owners with criminal records. She also said her plan was to operate her "stud farm" under an existing license.
"There's still a little bit of legalities that we're working through, but it's going to be OK," she said.
Her Las Vegas-based lawyer, Richard Schonfeld, said Fleiss will not be an owner or licensee of the establishment but merely an employee with the title of "madam/hostess."
She must first obtain a work card from the county sheriff's department, a process that requires far less scrutiny than applying for a business license, Schonfeld said.
"She just wants to be employed there and go through the regular steps that any employee at a brothel has to go through," he said. "She going to lend her name and her charm to the business."
Representatives of the Nye County Commission could not immediately be reached for comment. Commission chairwoman Candice Trummell told the Los Angeles Times that county attorneys were reviewing the proposed business and it was unclear whether it would be approved.
Assuming the brothel opens as planned, Fleiss said she is certain there will be plenty of demand for its services.
"Women make more money these days, they're calling the shots, they're more powerful. And let's face it, it's hard to meet someone," she said.
"And then you've got the situation with the old husband leaving his wife for the younger girl, and the lady sitting at home crying. Well, now she has a place to go, and say, 'Right back at you, buddy, and on your credit card.'"
20051117
A story to show your hairdresser
A Japanese hair salon was ordered to pay 240,000 yen in compensation this week after a customer sued the hairdresser for cutting her hair too short and dying it the wrong color.
A Tokyo court agreed with the 27-year-old cabaret club hostess's claim that the unflattering hairstyle had affected her ability to do her job, the English language Daily Yomiuri newspaper said Thursday.
"Hairstyles are a major influence on appearance," the paper quoted Judge Yuki Mizuno as saying in the ruling. "A hairstyle is a selling point for a cabaret club hostess and there was a period when her self-confidence was affected when she waited on customers."
The woman had claimed 6 million yen in compensation.
A Tokyo court agreed with the 27-year-old cabaret club hostess's claim that the unflattering hairstyle had affected her ability to do her job, the English language Daily Yomiuri newspaper said Thursday.
"Hairstyles are a major influence on appearance," the paper quoted Judge Yuki Mizuno as saying in the ruling. "A hairstyle is a selling point for a cabaret club hostess and there was a period when her self-confidence was affected when she waited on customers."
The woman had claimed 6 million yen in compensation.
20051115
No coins in the fountain....da de da de da de da...
Italian police arrested four street cleaners Monday as they tried to pocket hundreds of euros scooped from Rome's famed Fountain of Trevi.
Each day, thousands of tourists stand with their backs to the Renaissance masterpiece and throw coins over their shoulders into its shallow basin in a tradition which is supposed to ensure they return to Rome.
The money, which adds up to several hundred euros a day or more, is regularly swept out by a cleaning firm with half of the proceeds handed over to Roman Catholic charity Caritas.
However, Caritas workers had noted a sharp decline in recent takings and alerted the police, who caught the quartet of cleaners Monday trying to walk off with some 1,200 euros.
A police official estimated they might have stolen as much as 110,000 euros in recent weeks before being stopped.
The quartet were not the first to try to cash in on the Trevi Fountain. In 2002 police arrested a homeless man, dubbed d'Artagnan, who made up to 12,000 euros a month with his pre-dawn raids on the tourist attraction.
Each day, thousands of tourists stand with their backs to the Renaissance masterpiece and throw coins over their shoulders into its shallow basin in a tradition which is supposed to ensure they return to Rome.
The money, which adds up to several hundred euros a day or more, is regularly swept out by a cleaning firm with half of the proceeds handed over to Roman Catholic charity Caritas.
However, Caritas workers had noted a sharp decline in recent takings and alerted the police, who caught the quartet of cleaners Monday trying to walk off with some 1,200 euros.
A police official estimated they might have stolen as much as 110,000 euros in recent weeks before being stopped.
The quartet were not the first to try to cash in on the Trevi Fountain. In 2002 police arrested a homeless man, dubbed d'Artagnan, who made up to 12,000 euros a month with his pre-dawn raids on the tourist attraction.
20051113
Prosecutors not amused by accused mobster on TV
A reputed New York mobster has made a "mockery" of his bail conditions by starring in a reality television show in which he is seen frolicking with topless dancers at a strip club, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Christopher Colombo, who is charged with racketeering and extortion, spent the past few months filming HBO's upcoming "House Arrest," said prosecutor Benjamin Lawsky in a letter to a federal judge.
Lawsky sought stricter bail conditions for Colombo, who prosecutors have said belongs to the Colombo organized crime family. In August 2004, the judge allowed Colombo to spend more time out of his home because he said he wanted to spend more with his family.
Instead, Lawsky said, he spent much of his time on the town filming "House Arrest," which HBO billed on its Web site as a "a docu-comedy based on reality."
In the show, Colombo visits a Reiki therapist, a strip club, a Bronx tailor, a church confessional, a Chinese restaurant and a nightclub, before racing home to meet his curfew and play poker with friends.
"Colombo seems to have spent a large amount of his time filming his show, which reportedly makes a mockery of Colombo's conditions of release," Lawsky wrote the judge.
In his letter to the judge, Lawsky quoted a press release that he said Colombo gave him that describes a scene where "topless dancers cozy up to Colombo and wish him luck in fighting his indictment."
The prosecutor also noted a media report that said during the episode Colombo is seen witnessing an associate using a credit card to break in to a church and notes: "This could be a violation of my bail restriction."
"Colombo has used and abused the freedom the court granted him over the government's objection to go to strip clubs, attempt to break into churches, and generally gallivant around town with his associates," said Lawsky.
Lawsky, noting Colombo wanted to make the show into a series, asked the judge to forbid him to film further episodes of the show as part of his bail conditions.
Neither a lawyer for Colombo nor a spokesperson for HBO could be immediately reached.
Christopher Colombo, who is charged with racketeering and extortion, spent the past few months filming HBO's upcoming "House Arrest," said prosecutor Benjamin Lawsky in a letter to a federal judge.
Lawsky sought stricter bail conditions for Colombo, who prosecutors have said belongs to the Colombo organized crime family. In August 2004, the judge allowed Colombo to spend more time out of his home because he said he wanted to spend more with his family.
Instead, Lawsky said, he spent much of his time on the town filming "House Arrest," which HBO billed on its Web site as a "a docu-comedy based on reality."
In the show, Colombo visits a Reiki therapist, a strip club, a Bronx tailor, a church confessional, a Chinese restaurant and a nightclub, before racing home to meet his curfew and play poker with friends.
"Colombo seems to have spent a large amount of his time filming his show, which reportedly makes a mockery of Colombo's conditions of release," Lawsky wrote the judge.
In his letter to the judge, Lawsky quoted a press release that he said Colombo gave him that describes a scene where "topless dancers cozy up to Colombo and wish him luck in fighting his indictment."
The prosecutor also noted a media report that said during the episode Colombo is seen witnessing an associate using a credit card to break in to a church and notes: "This could be a violation of my bail restriction."
"Colombo has used and abused the freedom the court granted him over the government's objection to go to strip clubs, attempt to break into churches, and generally gallivant around town with his associates," said Lawsky.
Lawsky, noting Colombo wanted to make the show into a series, asked the judge to forbid him to film further episodes of the show as part of his bail conditions.
Neither a lawyer for Colombo nor a spokesperson for HBO could be immediately reached.
20051111
Woman raises multi-tasking to a new level
A young woman robbed four banks in Washington's suburbs without ever interrupting conversations her cell phone, a sheriff's spokesman said on Friday.
In the most recent heist, the woman, with sunglasses casually pushed up on her dark hair and a mobile phone at her ear, walked up to a bank teller in Ashburn, Virginia, on November 4 and opened her purse to show a handgun and a note demanding cash, said Loudoun County sheriff's spokesman Kraig Troxell.
"During the entire sequence, she was on her cell phone," Troxell said by telephone. "When we compared it with other robberies that have occurred in the area, we determined she was involved in three other robberies. ... In those cases, she was also on the cell phone."
The four jurisdictions -- Loudoun County, Prince William County, Fairfax County and the city of Vienna, Virginia -- are working together to track the suspect, circulating surveillance video to local media.
No one was injured in the robberies, and the amount taken was not disclosed. Troxell said it was unclear what role the cell phone may have played in the case.
"With the use of the cell phone, was she just trying to act nonchalant, not drawing any attention to herself? Was there anyone even on the other line? Was there an accomplice? Was she just talking to someone on the phone who may not have been aware of what she was doing, just to help her through the crime?"
Troxell said there might have been an accomplice waiting outside, or "it could be ... she was just doing it to make herself look like anybody else.".
In the most recent heist, the woman, with sunglasses casually pushed up on her dark hair and a mobile phone at her ear, walked up to a bank teller in Ashburn, Virginia, on November 4 and opened her purse to show a handgun and a note demanding cash, said Loudoun County sheriff's spokesman Kraig Troxell.
"During the entire sequence, she was on her cell phone," Troxell said by telephone. "When we compared it with other robberies that have occurred in the area, we determined she was involved in three other robberies. ... In those cases, she was also on the cell phone."
The four jurisdictions -- Loudoun County, Prince William County, Fairfax County and the city of Vienna, Virginia -- are working together to track the suspect, circulating surveillance video to local media.
No one was injured in the robberies, and the amount taken was not disclosed. Troxell said it was unclear what role the cell phone may have played in the case.
"With the use of the cell phone, was she just trying to act nonchalant, not drawing any attention to herself? Was there anyone even on the other line? Was there an accomplice? Was she just talking to someone on the phone who may not have been aware of what she was doing, just to help her through the crime?"
Troxell said there might have been an accomplice waiting outside, or "it could be ... she was just doing it to make herself look like anybody else.".
Singer Chuck Berry sues karaoke distributors
Rock 'n' roll pioneer Chuck Berry has sued three leading karaoke music distributors, claiming they sold sing-along versions of his most popular hits without paying royalties or obtaining licenses.
If he prevails in court, Berry, 79, stands to gain several hundred thousand dollars for each of his songs, including such hits as "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene" and "My Ding-A-Ling," his lawyer, Peter Haviland, told Reuters on Wednesday.
His lawsuit filed on Monday names three leading karaoke distributors in North America -- UAV Corp. of Fort Mill, South Carolina, Madacy Entertainment of Montreal and Top Tunes Inc. of Hilliard, Ohio. Representatives from the three companies could not immediately be reached for comment.
Karaoke is a sing-along genre that originated in Japan largely as a nightclub novelty has turned into a highly lucrative retail business as it increasingly moves from bar and restaurant lounges to family living rooms.
Haviland also represents several copyright holders of lesser-known songs who filed similar actions in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The suits seek royalties that are alleged to have gone uncollected on more than two dozen songs in all.
Unlike many recording stars of his era, Berry owns all the publishing rights to his songs through his Isalee Music Co., his attorneys said.
A New York Times article in May estimated the collective revenues generated by karaoke record labels at $50 million a year.
If he prevails in court, Berry, 79, stands to gain several hundred thousand dollars for each of his songs, including such hits as "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene" and "My Ding-A-Ling," his lawyer, Peter Haviland, told Reuters on Wednesday.
His lawsuit filed on Monday names three leading karaoke distributors in North America -- UAV Corp. of Fort Mill, South Carolina, Madacy Entertainment of Montreal and Top Tunes Inc. of Hilliard, Ohio. Representatives from the three companies could not immediately be reached for comment.
Karaoke is a sing-along genre that originated in Japan largely as a nightclub novelty has turned into a highly lucrative retail business as it increasingly moves from bar and restaurant lounges to family living rooms.
Haviland also represents several copyright holders of lesser-known songs who filed similar actions in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The suits seek royalties that are alleged to have gone uncollected on more than two dozen songs in all.
Unlike many recording stars of his era, Berry owns all the publishing rights to his songs through his Isalee Music Co., his attorneys said.
A New York Times article in May estimated the collective revenues generated by karaoke record labels at $50 million a year.
20051107
Three die playing catch with grenade
A hand grenade being used instead of a ball in a game of catch exploded early on Saturday killing three youths in this Bosnian town, police and news agencies said.
Two youths aged 19 and 20, one of them from neighboring Croatia, were killed instantly while a 20-year-old woman died on her way to hospital, police said. Her sister was slightly injured but two other youths suffered serious injuries.
The blast occurred at 2:00 a.m. in the western town of Novi Grad at a place in the town center frequented by youngsters. Police said an inquiry was under way and declined further comment. It was not clear why the grenade exploded.
ONASA news agency quoted witnesses as saying the youths tossed the hand grenade to each other before it exploded in the hands of one of them.
Bosnia is awash with illegal weapons left over from the 1992-95 war and tragic incidents are frequent despite several successful campaigns by international peacekeepers and police to get people to hand over illegal weapons.
Two youths aged 19 and 20, one of them from neighboring Croatia, were killed instantly while a 20-year-old woman died on her way to hospital, police said. Her sister was slightly injured but two other youths suffered serious injuries.
The blast occurred at 2:00 a.m. in the western town of Novi Grad at a place in the town center frequented by youngsters. Police said an inquiry was under way and declined further comment. It was not clear why the grenade exploded.
ONASA news agency quoted witnesses as saying the youths tossed the hand grenade to each other before it exploded in the hands of one of them.
Bosnia is awash with illegal weapons left over from the 1992-95 war and tragic incidents are frequent despite several successful campaigns by international peacekeepers and police to get people to hand over illegal weapons.
20051105
Man glued to toilet seat, sues store
A Colorado man who had a panic attack when he found he was glued to a toilet seat in a Home Depot restroom has sued the home improvement giant for negligence, saying staff ignored his plight.
Retired electrical engineer Bob Dougherty, 57, said on Thursday he was stuck in the stall with his pants down for about 20 minutes and that two years after the 2003 incident he was suffering from post-traumatic stress, which has triggered diabetes and heart complications.
"I have these nightmares every night where I am locked in this dark room, with no windows, no doors, no fresh air, no route for escape. I wake up in these cold sweats," Dougherty said.
Spokesmen for Home Depot Inc. could not immediately be reached for comment.
Dougherty said in a lawsuit filed last week in Boulder, Colorado, that he thought he was having a heart attack when he realized his buttocks and legs were stuck to the toilet seat in the Home Depot restroom in Louisville, Colorado.
He explained his plight to an employee who came into the restroom but other Home Depot staffers thought it was a hoax and he had to wait until someone else came in to again summon help.
Dougherty is claiming unspecified damages for help with medical and psychiatric bills, for humiliation and for the diabetes he said he has developed as a result of the stress.
"Home Depot not only ignored my plight, they refused my plight," he said. Dougherty said he suspected the glue had been placed there as a prank by three teens seen earlier in the store.
Retired electrical engineer Bob Dougherty, 57, said on Thursday he was stuck in the stall with his pants down for about 20 minutes and that two years after the 2003 incident he was suffering from post-traumatic stress, which has triggered diabetes and heart complications.
"I have these nightmares every night where I am locked in this dark room, with no windows, no doors, no fresh air, no route for escape. I wake up in these cold sweats," Dougherty said.
Spokesmen for Home Depot Inc. could not immediately be reached for comment.
Dougherty said in a lawsuit filed last week in Boulder, Colorado, that he thought he was having a heart attack when he realized his buttocks and legs were stuck to the toilet seat in the Home Depot restroom in Louisville, Colorado.
He explained his plight to an employee who came into the restroom but other Home Depot staffers thought it was a hoax and he had to wait until someone else came in to again summon help.
Dougherty is claiming unspecified damages for help with medical and psychiatric bills, for humiliation and for the diabetes he said he has developed as a result of the stress.
"Home Depot not only ignored my plight, they refused my plight," he said. Dougherty said he suspected the glue had been placed there as a prank by three teens seen earlier in the store.
20051104
Dentist severs finger and fakes car crash
A Dutch dentist who chopped off his finger and then faked a car crash before claiming 1.8 million euros ($2.2 million) from insurers was given a suspended sentence and fined by a court Thursday.
The man, aged 50, mutilated himself and crashed his car into a tree in Belgium in the hope of convincing insurers that the steering wheel had inflicted the injury, the court said.
However, the shape of the cut on his index finger, the level of anaesthetic in his blood and the absence of skid marks on the road suggested otherwise.
"It was not an accident but an amputation he carried out himself, or he had someone do it for him," a court spokeswoman said.
The dentist was fined 25,000 euros and received a six-month suspended jail sentence with 240 hours community service.
The man, aged 50, mutilated himself and crashed his car into a tree in Belgium in the hope of convincing insurers that the steering wheel had inflicted the injury, the court said.
However, the shape of the cut on his index finger, the level of anaesthetic in his blood and the absence of skid marks on the road suggested otherwise.
"It was not an accident but an amputation he carried out himself, or he had someone do it for him," a court spokeswoman said.
The dentist was fined 25,000 euros and received a six-month suspended jail sentence with 240 hours community service.
20051103
Boys get gunshots, not treats, for Halloween
Two Italian boys were recovering in hospital on Tuesday after a 70-year-old man shot them with his hunting rifle because he was frightened by their Halloween costumes.
The 14-year-old boys, dressed as demons, had knocked on the man's door during an evening of "trick or treat" near the northern town of Turin and set off a firecracker.
When the door opened, instead of a treat, the man fired four shots at the boys having been scared by the noise and their strange outfits, the news agency ANSA said.
Police arrested the man, who lived alone and was the victim of several robberies, for attempted murder, ANSA said. Police said the boys' lives were not in danger but one risked losing an eye.
The tradition of asking neighbors for sweets or money on Halloween is relatively new to Italy but is gaining popularity.
The 14-year-old boys, dressed as demons, had knocked on the man's door during an evening of "trick or treat" near the northern town of Turin and set off a firecracker.
When the door opened, instead of a treat, the man fired four shots at the boys having been scared by the noise and their strange outfits, the news agency ANSA said.
Police arrested the man, who lived alone and was the victim of several robberies, for attempted murder, ANSA said. Police said the boys' lives were not in danger but one risked losing an eye.
The tradition of asking neighbors for sweets or money on Halloween is relatively new to Italy but is gaining popularity.
20051102
The place that has no secrets..
Care to find out what your neighbor earned last year, or how much your partner really has stashed in the bank? In Finland you can -- and a lot of people did Wednesday.
Every November when the Nordic nation's tax records of the previous year become public, Finns indulge on a massive scale in satisfying their curiosity about each other's finances.
Newspapers were crammed with lists of the wealthiest and highest-earning men and women in 2004.
Veroporssi, a private firm which offers income details on everyone in Finland via mobile text message, said it was its busiest day of the year and had no time to comment.
Iltalehti tabloid devoted a 24-page supplement to juicy details on which celebrity earned what, while sports stars like Formula 1's Kimi Raikkonen and Liverpool footballer Sami Hyypia, who escape high taxes by living abroad, were highlighted for being "zero-income millionaires."
"People have always been interested in taxation, because in Finland you don't talk about your income, it's considered very vulgar, and even more impolite is to ask what someone earns," said Reijo Ruokanen, managing editor of Iltalehti.
"This is your chance to see if you're keeping up with the Joneses."
In a country where keeping your head down and not sticking out has traditionally been considered a virtue, the tax and income publication is a chance to brag a bit, Ruokanen said.
"A lot of them don't like it when we publish their names, but for some it's a way to be known as wealthy people without having to say so for themselves."
So who's the richest man of the republic?
Aatos Erkko, the main owner of media house SanomaWSOY, topped the list with a personal fortune of 192 million euros, while Olli Riikala, an executive of U.S. General Electric, was the top wage earner, making 5.3 million euros.
Every November when the Nordic nation's tax records of the previous year become public, Finns indulge on a massive scale in satisfying their curiosity about each other's finances.
Newspapers were crammed with lists of the wealthiest and highest-earning men and women in 2004.
Veroporssi, a private firm which offers income details on everyone in Finland via mobile text message, said it was its busiest day of the year and had no time to comment.
Iltalehti tabloid devoted a 24-page supplement to juicy details on which celebrity earned what, while sports stars like Formula 1's Kimi Raikkonen and Liverpool footballer Sami Hyypia, who escape high taxes by living abroad, were highlighted for being "zero-income millionaires."
"People have always been interested in taxation, because in Finland you don't talk about your income, it's considered very vulgar, and even more impolite is to ask what someone earns," said Reijo Ruokanen, managing editor of Iltalehti.
"This is your chance to see if you're keeping up with the Joneses."
In a country where keeping your head down and not sticking out has traditionally been considered a virtue, the tax and income publication is a chance to brag a bit, Ruokanen said.
"A lot of them don't like it when we publish their names, but for some it's a way to be known as wealthy people without having to say so for themselves."
So who's the richest man of the republic?
Aatos Erkko, the main owner of media house SanomaWSOY, topped the list with a personal fortune of 192 million euros, while Olli Riikala, an executive of U.S. General Electric, was the top wage earner, making 5.3 million euros.
20051101
Firefighters capture python in shop
A dozen French firefighters were called in to cut their way to a 10-foot-long python hiding a shop just outside Paris, an official said Sunday.
"We were alerted by someone who said he had seen a snake on the roof of a shop," a fire brigade spokesman said.
"We don't know where it escaped from. Probably from an apartment," he said. Police had taken charge of the reptile.
The firefighters cut a hole in the false ceiling of a shop in Gentilly, south of Paris, to retrieve the snake.
Pythons are among the longest species of snakes. They feed on birds and small mammals, squeezing them to death.
"We were alerted by someone who said he had seen a snake on the roof of a shop," a fire brigade spokesman said.
"We don't know where it escaped from. Probably from an apartment," he said. Police had taken charge of the reptile.
The firefighters cut a hole in the false ceiling of a shop in Gentilly, south of Paris, to retrieve the snake.
Pythons are among the longest species of snakes. They feed on birds and small mammals, squeezing them to death.
20051031
City tackles titillating mannequins
Police in northeastern Iran are launching a new morality drive by confiscating alluring mannequins from boutiques and clothes stalls in the bazaar, authorities in the city of Bojnourd said Monday.
A spokesman for the city's judiciary, who asked not be named, explained the drive would tackle problems of "public chastity." He said 65 mannequins have been impounded so far.
He explained the crack-down on tailors' dummies was part of a larger offensive against anti-social behavior such as vandalism and biker gangs.
Bojnourd owes its traditional religious climate to the nearby shrine city of Mashhad, a focal point of pilgrimage for the world's Shi'ite Muslims.
A spokesman for the city's judiciary, who asked not be named, explained the drive would tackle problems of "public chastity." He said 65 mannequins have been impounded so far.
He explained the crack-down on tailors' dummies was part of a larger offensive against anti-social behavior such as vandalism and biker gangs.
Bojnourd owes its traditional religious climate to the nearby shrine city of Mashhad, a focal point of pilgrimage for the world's Shi'ite Muslims.
20051029
Harry Potter's "flying" car is stolen
The "flying" Ford Anglia used in the Harry Potter films has been stolen from a film studio lot, police said on Friday.
"For those who have not seen the Harry Potter films, this is the car that flies in the movies and is very well known," a police spokesman said.
The blue Anglia went missing from South West Film Studios at St Agnes in the southwestern English county of Cornwall.
"The film prop was being stored under a tarpaulin. It was not in good condition and could not have been driven away under its own steam," the police spokesman said.
"For those who have not seen the Harry Potter films, this is the car that flies in the movies and is very well known," a police spokesman said.
The blue Anglia went missing from South West Film Studios at St Agnes in the southwestern English county of Cornwall.
"The film prop was being stored under a tarpaulin. It was not in good condition and could not have been driven away under its own steam," the police spokesman said.
20051027
Rome bans goldfish bowls
The city of Rome has banned goldfish bowls, which animal rights activists say are cruel, and has made regular dog-walks mandatory in the Italian capital, the town's council said Tuesday.
The classic spherical fish bowls are banned under a new by-law which also stops fish or other animals being given away as fairground prizes. It comes after a national law was passed to allow jail sentences for people who abandon cats or dogs.
"It's good to do whatever we can for our animals who in exchange for a little love fill our existence with their attention," said Monica Cirinna, the councilor behind the by-law.
"The civilization of a city can also be measured by this," she told Rome daily Il Messaggero.
The newspaper reported that round bowls caused fish to go blind. No one at Rome council was available to confirm this was why they were banned. Many fish experts say round bowls provide insufficient oxygen for fish.
In July 2004, parliament passed a law setting big fines and jail terms for people who abandon pets and since then local governments have added their own animal welfare rules many of which will be difficult to police.
The northern city of Turin passed a law in April to fine pet owners up to 500 euros if they do not walk their dogs at least three times a day.
The new Rome by-law requires owners to regularly exercise their dogs, and bans them from docking their pets' tails for aesthetic reasons.
It also provides legal recognition for cat lovers who provide food for the colonies of strays which live everywhere from the city's ancient Roman ruins to modern office car parks.
Animal rights groups estimate that around 150,000 pet dogs and 200,000 cats are abandoned in Italy every year.
The classic spherical fish bowls are banned under a new by-law which also stops fish or other animals being given away as fairground prizes. It comes after a national law was passed to allow jail sentences for people who abandon cats or dogs.
"It's good to do whatever we can for our animals who in exchange for a little love fill our existence with their attention," said Monica Cirinna, the councilor behind the by-law.
"The civilization of a city can also be measured by this," she told Rome daily Il Messaggero.
The newspaper reported that round bowls caused fish to go blind. No one at Rome council was available to confirm this was why they were banned. Many fish experts say round bowls provide insufficient oxygen for fish.
In July 2004, parliament passed a law setting big fines and jail terms for people who abandon pets and since then local governments have added their own animal welfare rules many of which will be difficult to police.
The northern city of Turin passed a law in April to fine pet owners up to 500 euros if they do not walk their dogs at least three times a day.
The new Rome by-law requires owners to regularly exercise their dogs, and bans them from docking their pets' tails for aesthetic reasons.
It also provides legal recognition for cat lovers who provide food for the colonies of strays which live everywhere from the city's ancient Roman ruins to modern office car parks.
Animal rights groups estimate that around 150,000 pet dogs and 200,000 cats are abandoned in Italy every year.
20051024
Inventions: Sex drive patch to sideways bike
From a scented patch to boost a woman's sex drive to a bicycle that travels sideways, the weird, wonderful and wacky were out in force at the British Invention Show on Saturday.
Inventor Liz Paul claims that her Scentuelle -- a tiny transparent patch that exudes dopamines and is worn by a woman on her wrist to recharge her sexual battery -- is just what today's stressed and multi-tasking females need.
"Men have Viagra, now we women have this," she told Reuters at the show in north London's Alexandra Palace. "Research has shown that 35 percent of women have problems with their libido."
At the other end of the scale she also has a patch that might not be quite so welcomed by women as it blocks cravings for chocolate -- regarded by many women to be as good as sex.
Elsewhere in the show -- and somewhat less discreet or even portable -- is a giant appliance called The Egg which offers a full body massage at the same time as aroma therapy and relaxing music.
"Step in stressed and emerge 15 minutes later a new person," said Cathy Morris. "We have had enquiries from business and even some home individuals interested in installing one at home."
But sensuality was not all that was on offer, Brent Simon waxed lyrical about his coolbag that behaves like a fridge, Roark McMaster showed off his rubber hat that keeps cut cucumbers fresh and Lewis Kirkbride had a new take on umbrellas.
Reza Kahouli even offered to make it rain -- or stop raining -- in just 15 minutes if someone would let him have an aircraft.
At the simple end of the spectrum, Mike Minton was deeply proud of his hand-held device that pre-cuts toast soldiers for dipping into soft-boiled eggs.
"Look," he said. "Straight edges and no crumbs every time."
But perhaps the wackiest invention was Michael Killian's SidewaysBike -- a contraption with a single handlebar at either end and a saddle in the middle that he described as the bicycling equivalent of snowboarding.
"The beauty of this is that it has absolutely no purpose except fun," he said with a broad smile.
Inventor Liz Paul claims that her Scentuelle -- a tiny transparent patch that exudes dopamines and is worn by a woman on her wrist to recharge her sexual battery -- is just what today's stressed and multi-tasking females need.
"Men have Viagra, now we women have this," she told Reuters at the show in north London's Alexandra Palace. "Research has shown that 35 percent of women have problems with their libido."
At the other end of the scale she also has a patch that might not be quite so welcomed by women as it blocks cravings for chocolate -- regarded by many women to be as good as sex.
Elsewhere in the show -- and somewhat less discreet or even portable -- is a giant appliance called The Egg which offers a full body massage at the same time as aroma therapy and relaxing music.
"Step in stressed and emerge 15 minutes later a new person," said Cathy Morris. "We have had enquiries from business and even some home individuals interested in installing one at home."
But sensuality was not all that was on offer, Brent Simon waxed lyrical about his coolbag that behaves like a fridge, Roark McMaster showed off his rubber hat that keeps cut cucumbers fresh and Lewis Kirkbride had a new take on umbrellas.
Reza Kahouli even offered to make it rain -- or stop raining -- in just 15 minutes if someone would let him have an aircraft.
At the simple end of the spectrum, Mike Minton was deeply proud of his hand-held device that pre-cuts toast soldiers for dipping into soft-boiled eggs.
"Look," he said. "Straight edges and no crumbs every time."
But perhaps the wackiest invention was Michael Killian's SidewaysBike -- a contraption with a single handlebar at either end and a saddle in the middle that he described as the bicycling equivalent of snowboarding.
"The beauty of this is that it has absolutely no purpose except fun," he said with a broad smile.
20051023
Senate budget chief wins big in lottery
Sen. Judd Gregg (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, worries that his deficit-ridden, free-spending country is gambling on its future.
But the New Hampshire Republican's own little gamble paid off big time when he won $853,492 -- before taxes -- as a second place winner in the multi-state Powerball lottery.
Gregg said on Thursday that he had bought $20 worth of tickets at a Washington gas station on his way to work on Monday. With gas selling for around $3 a gallon in Washington, Gregg said he was watching his bill mount when he decided to buy the lottery tickets "and see if I can make some of it back."
Gregg, who is affluent but not among the Senate's multi-millionaires, said he would donate part of the money to a foundation named for his father, Hugh, which helps New Hampshire charities.
About a third will go to taxes and his wife will have a say in how the rest is spent. "She deserves that," he said.
Meanwhile his colleagues gathered around him, mercilessly teasing him and proclaiming that they were long lost relatives "They're tormenting me," Gregg said.
The budget chief, who can rattle off all sorts of statistics about federal spending, said he couldn't remember what his winning numbers were. "The first one was a seven," he said.
But the New Hampshire Republican's own little gamble paid off big time when he won $853,492 -- before taxes -- as a second place winner in the multi-state Powerball lottery.
Gregg said on Thursday that he had bought $20 worth of tickets at a Washington gas station on his way to work on Monday. With gas selling for around $3 a gallon in Washington, Gregg said he was watching his bill mount when he decided to buy the lottery tickets "and see if I can make some of it back."
Gregg, who is affluent but not among the Senate's multi-millionaires, said he would donate part of the money to a foundation named for his father, Hugh, which helps New Hampshire charities.
About a third will go to taxes and his wife will have a say in how the rest is spent. "She deserves that," he said.
Meanwhile his colleagues gathered around him, mercilessly teasing him and proclaiming that they were long lost relatives "They're tormenting me," Gregg said.
The budget chief, who can rattle off all sorts of statistics about federal spending, said he couldn't remember what his winning numbers were. "The first one was a seven," he said.
20051020
Fowl play suspected in theater abduction
The star of a London West End theater comedy -- a talented duck called Daphne -- has been stolen, just two days before opening night.
Daphne was the leading lady in "Ducktastic" -- a spoof inspired by showbusiness duo Siegfried and Roy.
Daphne, who performs trick and bows to the audience in her show-stopping appearance, was stolen after a preview performance.
"I am very concerned. She had done 30 performances and was our best duck," producer David Pugh told Reuters. An understudy duck called Saber is waiting in the wings. "I hope it will be a case of 'A Star Is Born,'" Pugh added.
"The police came and were very supportive. Forty-five minutes after the theft, a lady found an empty box in Covent Garden. The box has been fingerprinted," Pugh said.
The show is being staged at a West End theater not far from London's Chinatown, famed for its Peking duck dishes.
"I am distraught. I found it too upsetting to walk through Chinatown afterwards in case there was any recognition," Pugh said. "It is not often you have a West End star stolen."
Pugh said he feared for the welfare of Daphne, a pure white Indian runner. "I hope they don't try to take this duck to water. Indian runners don't swim."
In desperation he has offered a reward -- two tickets to the play and an invitation to the first night party.
Daphne was the leading lady in "Ducktastic" -- a spoof inspired by showbusiness duo Siegfried and Roy.
Daphne, who performs trick and bows to the audience in her show-stopping appearance, was stolen after a preview performance.
"I am very concerned. She had done 30 performances and was our best duck," producer David Pugh told Reuters. An understudy duck called Saber is waiting in the wings. "I hope it will be a case of 'A Star Is Born,'" Pugh added.
"The police came and were very supportive. Forty-five minutes after the theft, a lady found an empty box in Covent Garden. The box has been fingerprinted," Pugh said.
The show is being staged at a West End theater not far from London's Chinatown, famed for its Peking duck dishes.
"I am distraught. I found it too upsetting to walk through Chinatown afterwards in case there was any recognition," Pugh said. "It is not often you have a West End star stolen."
Pugh said he feared for the welfare of Daphne, a pure white Indian runner. "I hope they don't try to take this duck to water. Indian runners don't swim."
In desperation he has offered a reward -- two tickets to the play and an invitation to the first night party.
20051019
Robbers snatch woman's purse, then return it
Two hooded gunmen who robbed a pharmacy returned an elderly woman's purse after she told them it contained the only money she had to buy medicine, Maltese newspapers reported Tuesday.
The two men barged into a pharmacy at Marsascala, a seaside village in the south of the island, Monday and took 600 Malta liri from the till after threatening the pharmacist with their guns.
One of them grabbed the purse held by the elderly woman who was waiting to be served, then handed it back after her pleading and rushed out to a waiting motorcycle.
The two men barged into a pharmacy at Marsascala, a seaside village in the south of the island, Monday and took 600 Malta liri from the till after threatening the pharmacist with their guns.
One of them grabbed the purse held by the elderly woman who was waiting to be served, then handed it back after her pleading and rushed out to a waiting motorcycle.
20051018
Lose weight, enjoy a better sex life: study
Obese women who start to lose weight will also see an improvement in the quality of their sex lives, according to a U.S. study released Monday.
Even a moderate weight loss reduced complaints of feeling sexually unattractive and led to improved desire, according to the study presented at the annual meeting of The North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) in Vancouver.
"If people experience benefits and rewards from their weight loss and health efforts, it may motivate them to continue a healthy lifestyle," said Martin Binks, director of behavioral health at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Researchers who tracked 161 obese women participating in a prescription weight loss program in Minnesota found almost two-thirds reported problems with aspects of their sex life when the study began.
Within the first year, the percentage of women who said they had problems with sexual desire dropped to 15 percent from 39 percent and the number who felt they were sexually unattractive dropped to 26 percent from 68 percent.
The Minnesota weight loss program lasted for two years, but health officials said it was normal for the majority of the weight loss to be in the first year.
The researchers said they found similar results in a survey of 26 obese men in the Minnesota weight-loss program, but cautioned that the small number of male participants made it difficult to draw conclusions from that data.
Health officials say there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in North America in the past two decades, and 64 percent of adults in the United States are considered to be overweight or obese.
Even a moderate weight loss reduced complaints of feeling sexually unattractive and led to improved desire, according to the study presented at the annual meeting of The North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) in Vancouver.
"If people experience benefits and rewards from their weight loss and health efforts, it may motivate them to continue a healthy lifestyle," said Martin Binks, director of behavioral health at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Researchers who tracked 161 obese women participating in a prescription weight loss program in Minnesota found almost two-thirds reported problems with aspects of their sex life when the study began.
Within the first year, the percentage of women who said they had problems with sexual desire dropped to 15 percent from 39 percent and the number who felt they were sexually unattractive dropped to 26 percent from 68 percent.
The Minnesota weight loss program lasted for two years, but health officials said it was normal for the majority of the weight loss to be in the first year.
The researchers said they found similar results in a survey of 26 obese men in the Minnesota weight-loss program, but cautioned that the small number of male participants made it difficult to draw conclusions from that data.
Health officials say there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in North America in the past two decades, and 64 percent of adults in the United States are considered to be overweight or obese.
20051017
U.S. rejects Katrina meals, offers them to others
The United States on Friday offered needy countries more than 330,000 packaged meals donated by Britain to feed Hurricane Katrina victims but rejected due to a U.S. ban on British beef.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the "Meals Ready to Eat," or MREs, had been held in a warehouse in Little Rock, Arkansas, for more than a month after U.S. Agriculture Department officials said they could not be distributed in the United States because they contained British beef products.
"We are certainly, for our part, looking to dispose of these MREs that were offered in the spirit of friendship and charity. We are looking to dispose of them in the same way," Ereli told a State Department briefing.
The United States bans the import of products containing British beef because of fears of mad cow disease, a chronic, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle.
An additional 33,000 MREs from Germany, Russia, Spain and France had also not been distributed to hurricane victims because of U.S. legal restrictions, Ereli said without elaborating.
More than 100 nations offered assistance to the United States after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and other U.S. Gulf Coast communities on August 29.
The U.S. relief effort to help victims of the hurricane was criticized as too slow and inefficient and bogged down by bureaucracy and in-fighting among government departments.
Early on, there was a need for about 500,000 readily packaged meals and the State Department asked its embassies worldwide to seek food donations. Britain was among the first countries to offer MREs.
The State Department said it did not want to appear ungrateful for the British donation and that it was working hard to pass on the meals to another country in need.
"We obviously want to find needy populations and get them these supplies as soon as possible, because if you need them, you need them now. So we're eager to resolve this soon," said Ereli, adding he did not know what the expiration dates were on the food packages.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the "Meals Ready to Eat," or MREs, had been held in a warehouse in Little Rock, Arkansas, for more than a month after U.S. Agriculture Department officials said they could not be distributed in the United States because they contained British beef products.
"We are certainly, for our part, looking to dispose of these MREs that were offered in the spirit of friendship and charity. We are looking to dispose of them in the same way," Ereli told a State Department briefing.
The United States bans the import of products containing British beef because of fears of mad cow disease, a chronic, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle.
An additional 33,000 MREs from Germany, Russia, Spain and France had also not been distributed to hurricane victims because of U.S. legal restrictions, Ereli said without elaborating.
More than 100 nations offered assistance to the United States after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and other U.S. Gulf Coast communities on August 29.
The U.S. relief effort to help victims of the hurricane was criticized as too slow and inefficient and bogged down by bureaucracy and in-fighting among government departments.
Early on, there was a need for about 500,000 readily packaged meals and the State Department asked its embassies worldwide to seek food donations. Britain was among the first countries to offer MREs.
The State Department said it did not want to appear ungrateful for the British donation and that it was working hard to pass on the meals to another country in need.
"We obviously want to find needy populations and get them these supplies as soon as possible, because if you need them, you need them now. So we're eager to resolve this soon," said Ereli, adding he did not know what the expiration dates were on the food packages.
Half-century in mental asylum a mistake..
More than half-a-century ago, Machal Lalung was thought to be insane and sent to a mental asylum in India's remote northeast.
A few months ago, he was set free after the National Human Rights Commission found that healthcare authorities had made a mistake and Lalung suffered only from epilepsy.
Lalung's confinement for 54 years has shocked rights activists and mental health experts in a country where it is not uncommon for people to be branded insane and locked up in homes or asylums for months, if not a few years.
"Machal Lalung's case was not in our knowledge but once it was brought to our notice, we immediately completed all legal formalities to secure his release," Assam's Home Minister Rokybul Hussain told Reuters.
"I am really sorry for him," he said.
That comes as small consolation for the 77-year-old frail tribal man, who was 23 when he was sent to the state-run mental hospital in the Assamese city of Tezpur.
Fifty-four years with psychiatric patients has dulled his senses, made him forget his family, his tribal dialect and even the taste of the food he liked.
His life before entering the asylum is nothing but a blip in his memory. So is the story of how and who brought him to the mental home. Doctors who treated Lalung have retired and records about him are missing.
Today Lalung said he awaits peace in death.
"I feel sad at what happened to my life but there is no use grumbling now. I am just waiting for death," he told Reuters at his nephew's home in Silchang village, about 55 miles east of Assam's main city of Guwahati.
"Initially, I used to miss my family and always begged my wardens to send me home. But they never listened to me," he said with tears in his eyes.
Lalung's only family members -- his father and elder sister -- are dead. He lives with his sister's son who grew up listening to stories about his uncle's disappearance.
It was in fact the nephew who managed to trace Lalung after a man from their village had gone to the same mental hospital for treatment and saw Lalung.
"It was very difficult to stay with insane people in the same room but gradually I got used to it," Lalung said.
Today, despite his poor health, Lalung likes to work in a small vegetable garden outside the house, carrying a spade and a pouch containing a tobacco and betel nut snack to chew.
Although there were many women in the hospital, Lalung never tried to make friends with them or consider marriage.
"Who would want to marry an insane woman?" he asks.
A few months ago, he was set free after the National Human Rights Commission found that healthcare authorities had made a mistake and Lalung suffered only from epilepsy.
Lalung's confinement for 54 years has shocked rights activists and mental health experts in a country where it is not uncommon for people to be branded insane and locked up in homes or asylums for months, if not a few years.
"Machal Lalung's case was not in our knowledge but once it was brought to our notice, we immediately completed all legal formalities to secure his release," Assam's Home Minister Rokybul Hussain told Reuters.
"I am really sorry for him," he said.
That comes as small consolation for the 77-year-old frail tribal man, who was 23 when he was sent to the state-run mental hospital in the Assamese city of Tezpur.
Fifty-four years with psychiatric patients has dulled his senses, made him forget his family, his tribal dialect and even the taste of the food he liked.
His life before entering the asylum is nothing but a blip in his memory. So is the story of how and who brought him to the mental home. Doctors who treated Lalung have retired and records about him are missing.
Today Lalung said he awaits peace in death.
"I feel sad at what happened to my life but there is no use grumbling now. I am just waiting for death," he told Reuters at his nephew's home in Silchang village, about 55 miles east of Assam's main city of Guwahati.
"Initially, I used to miss my family and always begged my wardens to send me home. But they never listened to me," he said with tears in his eyes.
Lalung's only family members -- his father and elder sister -- are dead. He lives with his sister's son who grew up listening to stories about his uncle's disappearance.
It was in fact the nephew who managed to trace Lalung after a man from their village had gone to the same mental hospital for treatment and saw Lalung.
"It was very difficult to stay with insane people in the same room but gradually I got used to it," Lalung said.
Today, despite his poor health, Lalung likes to work in a small vegetable garden outside the house, carrying a spade and a pouch containing a tobacco and betel nut snack to chew.
Although there were many women in the hospital, Lalung never tried to make friends with them or consider marriage.
"Who would want to marry an insane woman?" he asks.
GM posts huge loss, sets UAW deal
General Motors Corp. on Monday posted a quarterly loss of $1.6 billion, much worse than Wall Street had expected, and announced a deal with the United Auto Workers union to cut its health-care costs.
GM also said it plans to eliminate at least 25,000 manufacturing jobs.
The world's largest automaker, which lost more than $1.4 billion in the first half of the year amid deepening financial woes, posted a loss of $1.6 billion, or $2.89 a share, for the third quarter. The company had a profit of $315 million in the year-earlier quarter.
GM has seen high gasoline prices slam sales of big sport utility vehicles, while increased costs for everything from raw materials to health care have also eroded profits.
Excluding special items -- including a charge of $805 million for asset impairments primarily in North America and Europe and restructuring charges at GM Europe of $56 million -- GM's third-quarter loss totaled $1.92 per share. On that basis, analysts' average forecast was a loss of 81 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
Quarterly revenue rose more than 5 percent to $47.2 billion.
Months of talks with the UAW over GM's demand for cuts in health care and other benefits -- costs identified by Chief Executive Rick Wagoner as the company's single biggest challenge -- have finally produced positive results.
The tentative agreement is projected to reduce GM's retiree health-care liabilities by about $15 billion and cut its annual employee health-care expense by about $3 billion before taxes. Cash savings are estimated to be about $1 billion a year, GM said.
News of the agreement with the union sent GM shares up sharply in pre-market trading. The shares are down about 30 percent so far this year, compared with a 2 percent drop in the S&P 500 index and a 4.6 percent decline in the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial average.
GM also said it plans to eliminate at least 25,000 manufacturing jobs.
The world's largest automaker, which lost more than $1.4 billion in the first half of the year amid deepening financial woes, posted a loss of $1.6 billion, or $2.89 a share, for the third quarter. The company had a profit of $315 million in the year-earlier quarter.
GM has seen high gasoline prices slam sales of big sport utility vehicles, while increased costs for everything from raw materials to health care have also eroded profits.
Excluding special items -- including a charge of $805 million for asset impairments primarily in North America and Europe and restructuring charges at GM Europe of $56 million -- GM's third-quarter loss totaled $1.92 per share. On that basis, analysts' average forecast was a loss of 81 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
Quarterly revenue rose more than 5 percent to $47.2 billion.
Months of talks with the UAW over GM's demand for cuts in health care and other benefits -- costs identified by Chief Executive Rick Wagoner as the company's single biggest challenge -- have finally produced positive results.
The tentative agreement is projected to reduce GM's retiree health-care liabilities by about $15 billion and cut its annual employee health-care expense by about $3 billion before taxes. Cash savings are estimated to be about $1 billion a year, GM said.
News of the agreement with the union sent GM shares up sharply in pre-market trading. The shares are down about 30 percent so far this year, compared with a 2 percent drop in the S&P 500 index and a 4.6 percent decline in the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial average.
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