Reuters.com
Tue May 30, 2006. AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch pedophiles are launching a political party to push for a cut in the legal age for sexual relations to 12 from 16 and the legalization of child pornography and sex with animals.
The Charity, Freedom and Diversity (NVD) party said on its Web site it would be officially registered Wednesday, proclaiming: "We are going to shake The Hague awake!"
The party said it wanted to cut the legal age for sexual relations to 12 and eventually scrap the limit altogether.
"A ban just makes children curious," Ad van den Berg, one of the party's founders, told the Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper.
"We want to make pedophilia the subject of discussion," he said, adding that the subject had been a taboo since the 1996 Marc Dutroux child abuse scandal in neighboring Belgium. "We have been hushed up. The only way is through parliament."
The Netherlands already has liberal policies on soft drugs, prostitution, and gay marriage, but the NVD is unlikely to win much support, the AD quoted experts as saying.
"They make out as if they want more rights for children. But their position that children should be allowed sexual contact from age 12 is of course just in their own interest," anti-pedophile campaigner Ireen van Engelen told the daily.
The party said private possession of child pornography should be allowed although it favors banning the trade of such materials. The broadcast of pornography should be allowed on daytime television, with only violent pornography limited to the late evening, according to the party.
Toddlers should be given sex education and youths aged 16 and up should be allowed to appear in pornographic films and prostitute themselves. Sex with animals should be allowed although abuse of animals should remain illegal, the NVD said.
The party also said everybody should be allowed to go naked in public.
The party's program also includes ideas for other areas of public policy including legalizing all soft and hard drugs and free train travel for all.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Slingbox TV-over-Internet device lands in Europe....
Technology-Reuters.com By Adam Pasick
Tue May 30, 2006. LONDON (Reuters) - An electronic gadget that promises to unshackle consumers from their TV sets became available in Europe for the first time on Tuesday, opening up new ways for users to watch television wherever they go.
The Slingbox plugs into a terrestrial, cable or satellite TV set-top box and then transmits the video over the Internet. Users can then tune in via a PC or a laptop. It is part of a new product category known as "placeshifting," similar to the "time-shifting" made popular by digital video recorders like Sky+ and TiVo.
The Slingbox is available in Britain this week, ahead of a broader European launch later this year.
The device, which sells for 180 pounds ($338) could complicate the nascent efforts of broadcasters and mobile phone companies to sell TV downloads and other video services. Slingbox users in the United States can also use mobile phones to watch video, though that service is not yet available in Britain.
However, at least one mobile phone company sees the Slingbox not as a threat but as a possible opportunity to sell new services to subscribers.
An executive for U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Nextel told Reuters last week that his company is talking to Slingbox manufacturer Sling Media Inc and other companies about bulking up its multimedia capabilities.
A Sling Media spokesman declined to comment further on the discussions with Sprint Nextel, but said that the company was also in early-stage talks with mobile carriers and cable and satellite companies in Europe.
"Conversations are clearly beginning," he told Reuters on Monday.
Sling Media's competitors include Orb Networks and consumer electronics giant Sony Corp, whose LocationFree service works with the popular PlayStation Portable device.
(Additional reporting by Sinead Carew in New York)
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Tue May 30, 2006. LONDON (Reuters) - An electronic gadget that promises to unshackle consumers from their TV sets became available in Europe for the first time on Tuesday, opening up new ways for users to watch television wherever they go.The Slingbox plugs into a terrestrial, cable or satellite TV set-top box and then transmits the video over the Internet. Users can then tune in via a PC or a laptop. It is part of a new product category known as "placeshifting," similar to the "time-shifting" made popular by digital video recorders like Sky+ and TiVo.
The Slingbox is available in Britain this week, ahead of a broader European launch later this year.
The device, which sells for 180 pounds ($338) could complicate the nascent efforts of broadcasters and mobile phone companies to sell TV downloads and other video services. Slingbox users in the United States can also use mobile phones to watch video, though that service is not yet available in Britain.
However, at least one mobile phone company sees the Slingbox not as a threat but as a possible opportunity to sell new services to subscribers.
An executive for U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Nextel told Reuters last week that his company is talking to Slingbox manufacturer Sling Media Inc and other companies about bulking up its multimedia capabilities.
A Sling Media spokesman declined to comment further on the discussions with Sprint Nextel, but said that the company was also in early-stage talks with mobile carriers and cable and satellite companies in Europe.
"Conversations are clearly beginning," he told Reuters on Monday.
Sling Media's competitors include Orb Networks and consumer electronics giant Sony Corp, whose LocationFree service works with the popular PlayStation Portable device.
(Additional reporting by Sinead Carew in New York)
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Flaw found in Symantec business antivirus software...
Technology Reuters.com
Fri May 26, 2006. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Versions of Symantec Corp.'s anti-virus business security software contain a flaw that could put millions of computers at risk of a crippling worm attack, Internet experts warned on Friday.
Researchers at eEye Digital Security discovered the vulnerability, which they said could allow an attacker to create a worm able to take over a user's computer and destroy critical programs and files.
They rated the threat as high because a hacker could exploit the flaw to get on a machine and edit, remove and delete programs and files without a user doing anything, such as clicking on a link, eEye spokesman Mike Puterbaugh said.
"This could potentially result in an Internet worm," he said. "It is a flaw that can be triggered from another location and provides the attacker with system-level access."
A worm is a computer virus that spreads by sending copies of itself over a network. Most viruses these days are worms, since almost all computers are now linked by networks.
Symantec, a leading maker of anti-virus software used by consumers and businesses, said in a statement it was investigating and that the issue does not affect its popular Norton consumer brand of products.
It confirmed eEye's finding that its Client Security 3.1 and AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.1 offerings contained the flaw that Symantec said could allow a remote user to attack a machine.
"Fixes have been identified for all affected products and work on these fixes is ongoing," the company said in a statement. "To date, Symantec has not had any reports of any related exploits of this vulnerability."
The warning comes as Internet security experts say cyber criminals are more interested in breaching systems for financial gain rather than simply to win notoriety by unleashing a devastating worm.
In fact, the number of headline-grabbing viruses has slowed since the Blaster worm outbreak in 2003, which targeted Microsoft software and devastated hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Fri May 26, 2006. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Versions of Symantec Corp.'s anti-virus business security software contain a flaw that could put millions of computers at risk of a crippling worm attack, Internet experts warned on Friday.
Researchers at eEye Digital Security discovered the vulnerability, which they said could allow an attacker to create a worm able to take over a user's computer and destroy critical programs and files.
They rated the threat as high because a hacker could exploit the flaw to get on a machine and edit, remove and delete programs and files without a user doing anything, such as clicking on a link, eEye spokesman Mike Puterbaugh said.
"This could potentially result in an Internet worm," he said. "It is a flaw that can be triggered from another location and provides the attacker with system-level access."
A worm is a computer virus that spreads by sending copies of itself over a network. Most viruses these days are worms, since almost all computers are now linked by networks.
Symantec, a leading maker of anti-virus software used by consumers and businesses, said in a statement it was investigating and that the issue does not affect its popular Norton consumer brand of products.
It confirmed eEye's finding that its Client Security 3.1 and AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.1 offerings contained the flaw that Symantec said could allow a remote user to attack a machine.
"Fixes have been identified for all affected products and work on these fixes is ongoing," the company said in a statement. "To date, Symantec has not had any reports of any related exploits of this vulnerability."
The warning comes as Internet security experts say cyber criminals are more interested in breaching systems for financial gain rather than simply to win notoriety by unleashing a devastating worm.
In fact, the number of headline-grabbing viruses has slowed since the Blaster worm outbreak in 2003, which targeted Microsoft software and devastated hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Strongwoman seeks phone books to save show...
Reuters.com
<--- What a strongwoman looks like...
Fri May 26, 2006. BLACKPOOL (Reuters) - A circus strongwoman who rips up telephone directories as part of her act has launched an appeal for 500 phone books to ensure her show in northern England can go on.
German-born Sylvia Brumbach, known as The Woman of Steel, says she is about to run out of books after destroying over 100 at Blackpool Tower Circus.
"I just brought 200 over from Germany ... I've used over half of them already," she told Reuters.
Brumbach, who says she can tear a directory in half in around 30 seconds, has placed ads in local newspapers appealing for more books.
"You have to find the right point to rip, the book must not be too old and the spine must be tough, not wobbly," she said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
<--- What a strongwoman looks like...Fri May 26, 2006. BLACKPOOL (Reuters) - A circus strongwoman who rips up telephone directories as part of her act has launched an appeal for 500 phone books to ensure her show in northern England can go on.
German-born Sylvia Brumbach, known as The Woman of Steel, says she is about to run out of books after destroying over 100 at Blackpool Tower Circus.
"I just brought 200 over from Germany ... I've used over half of them already," she told Reuters.
Brumbach, who says she can tear a directory in half in around 30 seconds, has placed ads in local newspapers appealing for more books.
"You have to find the right point to rip, the book must not be too old and the spine must be tough, not wobbly," she said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Zoo apes have taste for red wine...
Reuters.com
Tue May 23, 2006. BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Monkeys and apes in Budapest's Zoo drink their way through 55 litres of red wine each year, albeit in small quantities each day, to help boost their red blood cells, the zoo said Monday.
Budapest Zoo spokesman Zoltan Hanga said it was the 11 anthropoid apes who drank most of the wine in 2005.
"Obviously, they do not have it all at once and get drunk, but they get it in small amounts mixed in their tea," Hanga said.
"And it's not Eger Bulls Blood or some expensive wine that they are getting but simple table wine, as it's mainly good for their blood cells."
Bulls Blood from the town of Eger in northeast Hungary, became one of eastern Europe's best-known wines under communism.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Tue May 23, 2006. BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Monkeys and apes in Budapest's Zoo drink their way through 55 litres of red wine each year, albeit in small quantities each day, to help boost their red blood cells, the zoo said Monday.
Budapest Zoo spokesman Zoltan Hanga said it was the 11 anthropoid apes who drank most of the wine in 2005.
"Obviously, they do not have it all at once and get drunk, but they get it in small amounts mixed in their tea," Hanga said.
"And it's not Eger Bulls Blood or some expensive wine that they are getting but simple table wine, as it's mainly good for their blood cells."
Bulls Blood from the town of Eger in northeast Hungary, became one of eastern Europe's best-known wines under communism.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Google launches Australian news service...
ZDNet Australia By James Pearce.
12 May 2006. Today Google launched local versions of its popular Google News service, which aggregates news stories from 4,500 sources worldwide, in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Canada.
The Australian version, Google News Australia, is still in its beta stage. "We'll take feedback from the market, and make sure it's 100 percent up to scratch before we launch it properly," Kate Vale, the head of Google Sales for Australia and New Zealand told ZDNet Australia .
The Google News Service uses the same search algorithm as the Google search page, with local news sites and local stories prioritised for the individual markets. In a similar move to the launch of Google Australia last year, Google relied on a single hyperlink on its search page to publicise the new service.
The Google News sites are not designed to generate revenue, and currently contain no advertising, according to Vale, although she left the option open for the introduction of advertising at a later date.
"A lot of Australians are looking in the US version of [Google] News and they [now have] a more relevant service in Australia," said Vale, explaining Google's reason for launching the site. Vale emphatically denied Google was in competition with anyone, pointing out all the site does is direct traffic to news sites. She emphasised Google has no plans to become a portal or directory site.
Google Australia is currently evaluating other Google services available in the US, such as the shopping search engine, Froogle, and the fee-based answering service Google Answers but has no immediate plans to introduce them locally, according to Vale.
According to a Nielson Netratings March 03 Custom Report, 39.8 percent of the online Australian population uses Google each month.
12 May 2006. Today Google launched local versions of its popular Google News service, which aggregates news stories from 4,500 sources worldwide, in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Canada.
The Australian version, Google News Australia, is still in its beta stage. "We'll take feedback from the market, and make sure it's 100 percent up to scratch before we launch it properly," Kate Vale, the head of Google Sales for Australia and New Zealand told ZDNet Australia .
The Google News Service uses the same search algorithm as the Google search page, with local news sites and local stories prioritised for the individual markets. In a similar move to the launch of Google Australia last year, Google relied on a single hyperlink on its search page to publicise the new service.
The Google News sites are not designed to generate revenue, and currently contain no advertising, according to Vale, although she left the option open for the introduction of advertising at a later date.
"A lot of Australians are looking in the US version of [Google] News and they [now have] a more relevant service in Australia," said Vale, explaining Google's reason for launching the site. Vale emphatically denied Google was in competition with anyone, pointing out all the site does is direct traffic to news sites. She emphasised Google has no plans to become a portal or directory site.
Google Australia is currently evaluating other Google services available in the US, such as the shopping search engine, Froogle, and the fee-based answering service Google Answers but has no immediate plans to introduce them locally, according to Vale.
According to a Nielson Netratings March 03 Custom Report, 39.8 percent of the online Australian population uses Google each month.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Madonna crucifies herself in tour opener...
Reuters.com By Dean Goodman
Mon May 22, 2006. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Madonna launched her first world tour in two years Sunday, delighting an enthusiastic Los Angeles crowd by hanging herself from a cross, insulting President George W. Bush, and dusting off some of the sexy moves that have sustained her career for more than 20 years.
The "Confessions" tour will keep her on the road for two months in North America, and then resume on July 30 in Wales for a five-week stadium swing through eight European cities. Shows in Japan are also on tap for mid-September.
The 47-year-old dance diva spent two hours churning out most of the tunes from her new album, "Confessions on a Dancefloor," as well as a few old hits such as "Like a Virgin," "Ray of Light" and "Lucky Star."
The audience at the Los Angeles Forum included Madonna's Kabbalah guru Rabbi Yehuda Berg, socialite Nicole Richie, and gay icon Rosie O'Donnell, who upgraded herself to a premium seat on the floor and left her spouse alone in the stands.
The meticulously choreographed Vegas-style routine began 50 minutes late when a giant mirror ball was lowered from the ceiling to the end of a catwalk stretching deep into the floor. Out popped Madonna, in S&M-styled riding gear and whip, singing the new tune "Future Lovers" as four bare-breasted male dancers writhed around with ball gags in their mouths.
MADONNA, HITLER & BUSH
Later on, she donned a crown of thorns and suspended herself from a giant mirrored cross to deliver the ballad "Live to Tell." Video screens showed images of third-world poverty and reeled off grim statistics.
During one of her half-dozen costume changes, another video montage juxtaposed images of Bush, members of his administration and British Prime Minister Tony Blair with footage of Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. Midway through the new song "I Love New York," she deviated from the script and made a crude reference to Bush and oral sex.
Beyond that, she barely spoke to the audience, largely focusing on keeping control of a busy nightclub-style stage that boasted 15 dancers, four musicians and three backing vocalists. For the most part, she joined in the tricky choreography, her voice evidently not affected by the aerobic workout. She did pause for a few songs during which she appeared to play a shiny Gibson Les Paul guitar.
A disco segment near the end, where she dressed in a "Saturday Night Fever"-style white suit to perform "Music" thrilled the crowd, as did the "Like a Virgin" routine, when she climbed aboard a carousel-style black leather saddle.
There was no encore, and the lights came up as soon as she had completed a medley of "Lucky Star" and latest hit single "Hung Up" while sporting an illuminated white cape with "Dancing Queen" embroidered on the back.
Billboard magazine has forecast ticket sales could reach the $200 million range, making it the most successful tour by a female artist. Cher holds the record with $192.5 million from 273 shows on a "farewell" world tour that began in June 2002 and lasted almost three years, according to Billboard.
Madonna, on the other hand, is scheduled to play fewer than 60 dates on this tour. Similarly, her $125 million-grossing Re-Invention tour in 2004 and the $75 million Drowned trek in 2001 were also relatively brief.
What catapults her to the top of the leagues is her ticket price, topping out at $380 (including Ticketmaster fees) in most U.S. venues. However, it did not stop her from adding dates to accommodate demand.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mon May 22, 2006. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Madonna launched her first world tour in two years Sunday, delighting an enthusiastic Los Angeles crowd by hanging herself from a cross, insulting President George W. Bush, and dusting off some of the sexy moves that have sustained her career for more than 20 years.The "Confessions" tour will keep her on the road for two months in North America, and then resume on July 30 in Wales for a five-week stadium swing through eight European cities. Shows in Japan are also on tap for mid-September.
The 47-year-old dance diva spent two hours churning out most of the tunes from her new album, "Confessions on a Dancefloor," as well as a few old hits such as "Like a Virgin," "Ray of Light" and "Lucky Star."
The audience at the Los Angeles Forum included Madonna's Kabbalah guru Rabbi Yehuda Berg, socialite Nicole Richie, and gay icon Rosie O'Donnell, who upgraded herself to a premium seat on the floor and left her spouse alone in the stands.
The meticulously choreographed Vegas-style routine began 50 minutes late when a giant mirror ball was lowered from the ceiling to the end of a catwalk stretching deep into the floor. Out popped Madonna, in S&M-styled riding gear and whip, singing the new tune "Future Lovers" as four bare-breasted male dancers writhed around with ball gags in their mouths.
MADONNA, HITLER & BUSH
Later on, she donned a crown of thorns and suspended herself from a giant mirrored cross to deliver the ballad "Live to Tell." Video screens showed images of third-world poverty and reeled off grim statistics.
During one of her half-dozen costume changes, another video montage juxtaposed images of Bush, members of his administration and British Prime Minister Tony Blair with footage of Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. Midway through the new song "I Love New York," she deviated from the script and made a crude reference to Bush and oral sex.
Beyond that, she barely spoke to the audience, largely focusing on keeping control of a busy nightclub-style stage that boasted 15 dancers, four musicians and three backing vocalists. For the most part, she joined in the tricky choreography, her voice evidently not affected by the aerobic workout. She did pause for a few songs during which she appeared to play a shiny Gibson Les Paul guitar.
A disco segment near the end, where she dressed in a "Saturday Night Fever"-style white suit to perform "Music" thrilled the crowd, as did the "Like a Virgin" routine, when she climbed aboard a carousel-style black leather saddle.
There was no encore, and the lights came up as soon as she had completed a medley of "Lucky Star" and latest hit single "Hung Up" while sporting an illuminated white cape with "Dancing Queen" embroidered on the back.
Billboard magazine has forecast ticket sales could reach the $200 million range, making it the most successful tour by a female artist. Cher holds the record with $192.5 million from 273 shows on a "farewell" world tour that began in June 2002 and lasted almost three years, according to Billboard.
Madonna, on the other hand, is scheduled to play fewer than 60 dates on this tour. Similarly, her $125 million-grossing Re-Invention tour in 2004 and the $75 million Drowned trek in 2001 were also relatively brief.
What catapults her to the top of the leagues is her ticket price, topping out at $380 (including Ticketmaster fees) in most U.S. venues. However, it did not stop her from adding dates to accommodate demand.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
India on alert for suicides after stocks slide...
Reuters.com
Mon May 22, 2006. MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian police are watching out for possible suicides by brokers and investors after a steep market slide wiped out billions of dollars in share values, officials said Monday.
Policemen were keeping a watch near lakes and canals, possible places where people in distress could head to kill themselves. They said rescue teams were on alert.
"A financial crisis can trigger suicides. We are just trying to prevent them. Till now, no such cases have been reported," said R.K. Patel, a police official in the western city of Ahmedabad.
India's Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd., which had a market value of $657 billion last week after falling 10 percent in the previous two sessions, slid as much as another 10 percent in early trade Monday following sales of stocks held by brokers as security on behalf of their clients.
"Gold has turned into brass. We are finished," said S.S. Gupta, a middle-aged Mumbai broker who said he had lost millions of rupees in two hours of trading Monday morning.
Ahmedabad is considered particularly vulnerable to stock market volatility.
With over five million retail investors, the city is one of India's main trading hubs where people have put in millions of dollars of their disposable income into the stock market.
"I borrowed money to trade in the market. I lost it all in the past two days," said 37-year-old Sanjay Joshi, a small investor. "I don't know how will I repay my loans."
In the 1990s, a stock market meltdown led to several bankrupt brokers and small investors committing suicide across India, some of them drowning in rivers or throwing themselves off highrises.
Analysts described the market slide -- which has been as much as 22.4 percent from an all-time high of 12,671.11 points on May 11 -- as a correction and said order should return soon.
"It seems overdone and the market should stabilize during the second half of this week," said Rajat Jain, Chief Investment Officer, Principal Asset Management Company Pvt Ltd.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mon May 22, 2006. MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian police are watching out for possible suicides by brokers and investors after a steep market slide wiped out billions of dollars in share values, officials said Monday.
Policemen were keeping a watch near lakes and canals, possible places where people in distress could head to kill themselves. They said rescue teams were on alert.
"A financial crisis can trigger suicides. We are just trying to prevent them. Till now, no such cases have been reported," said R.K. Patel, a police official in the western city of Ahmedabad.
India's Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd., which had a market value of $657 billion last week after falling 10 percent in the previous two sessions, slid as much as another 10 percent in early trade Monday following sales of stocks held by brokers as security on behalf of their clients.
"Gold has turned into brass. We are finished," said S.S. Gupta, a middle-aged Mumbai broker who said he had lost millions of rupees in two hours of trading Monday morning.
Ahmedabad is considered particularly vulnerable to stock market volatility.
With over five million retail investors, the city is one of India's main trading hubs where people have put in millions of dollars of their disposable income into the stock market.
"I borrowed money to trade in the market. I lost it all in the past two days," said 37-year-old Sanjay Joshi, a small investor. "I don't know how will I repay my loans."
In the 1990s, a stock market meltdown led to several bankrupt brokers and small investors committing suicide across India, some of them drowning in rivers or throwing themselves off highrises.
Analysts described the market slide -- which has been as much as 22.4 percent from an all-time high of 12,671.11 points on May 11 -- as a correction and said order should return soon.
"It seems overdone and the market should stabilize during the second half of this week," said Rajat Jain, Chief Investment Officer, Principal Asset Management Company Pvt Ltd.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Mottram defends New York 10km Title...
Athletics Australia
q
<--- Craig Mottram Celebrates His Win in the NY Healthy Kidney 10km in Central Park.
21 May 2006 Defending champion Craig Mottram ran away from the field to keep his Healthy Kidney 10km crown on Saturday in convincing fashion, but the victory was a bittersweet one for the Australian Olympian as he failed by just three seconds to set a Central Park 10km record and collect a $10,000 record bonus.
Running virtually alone from the 2km mark, Mottram finished in 28 minutes and 13 seconds, coming up 3 seconds short of the Central Park mark set by Kenyan Paul Koech in 1997.
Grabbing the lead early, Mottram pushed forward and was on record setting pace through the halfway mark at 14:05.
The longest part might have been the final uphill 400 meters when Mottram put on a strong 66 second closing sprint in his record bid. But Mottram promised to keep coming back for the record, a chore made a bit more appealing after New York Road Runners officials announced that the race sponsor, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates was raising the course record bonus for next year to US$15,000.
Mottram was pleased to run 15sec faster than his 2005 winning time, although disappointed to miss the record "I'm a little disappointed, I was 14:05 at the half way mark which was right on track, but the second half is slightly tougher, slightly uphill and I was always going to be on my own". Of the last stretch he joked, "The last 500m is straight uphill, if they can flatten that out that would be great".
Running on his own from 2km made the task of breaking the record more difficult, but he said his priority was to win "If you can win a race in the first 2km why wouldn't you? Why wait for the last 5km? We go out and try to win the race first then look at records".
Not all was lost on the day as Mottram prolonged his streak of 10km road race victories to 12 stretching back to 2001. He also won this third consecutive road race in New York City; in addition to his Healthy Kidney victory last year, he also won the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile last September. The win earns Mottram US$7500.
Mottram's training partner, Mohamed Farah of England, passed both Linus Maiyo of Kenya and early front-runner Anthony Famiglietti of the United States in the second half to finish second in a personal best 28:37. Famiglietti was third in 28:40 And Maiyo fourth in 28:46. Mohamed Amyn of Morocco was fifth in 29:01.
Mottram will now turn his attention to the track and run the 2km at the next week’s Prefontaine Classic in Oregan before heading to Europe to run the mile at the Bislett Games Golden League meet in Oslo on 2 June and the 3km at the British Grand Prix meet at Gateshead on 11 June
with Richard Finn
q
<--- Craig Mottram Celebrates His Win in the NY Healthy Kidney 10km in Central Park.21 May 2006 Defending champion Craig Mottram ran away from the field to keep his Healthy Kidney 10km crown on Saturday in convincing fashion, but the victory was a bittersweet one for the Australian Olympian as he failed by just three seconds to set a Central Park 10km record and collect a $10,000 record bonus.
Running virtually alone from the 2km mark, Mottram finished in 28 minutes and 13 seconds, coming up 3 seconds short of the Central Park mark set by Kenyan Paul Koech in 1997.
Grabbing the lead early, Mottram pushed forward and was on record setting pace through the halfway mark at 14:05.
The longest part might have been the final uphill 400 meters when Mottram put on a strong 66 second closing sprint in his record bid. But Mottram promised to keep coming back for the record, a chore made a bit more appealing after New York Road Runners officials announced that the race sponsor, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates was raising the course record bonus for next year to US$15,000.
Mottram was pleased to run 15sec faster than his 2005 winning time, although disappointed to miss the record "I'm a little disappointed, I was 14:05 at the half way mark which was right on track, but the second half is slightly tougher, slightly uphill and I was always going to be on my own". Of the last stretch he joked, "The last 500m is straight uphill, if they can flatten that out that would be great".
Running on his own from 2km made the task of breaking the record more difficult, but he said his priority was to win "If you can win a race in the first 2km why wouldn't you? Why wait for the last 5km? We go out and try to win the race first then look at records".
Not all was lost on the day as Mottram prolonged his streak of 10km road race victories to 12 stretching back to 2001. He also won this third consecutive road race in New York City; in addition to his Healthy Kidney victory last year, he also won the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile last September. The win earns Mottram US$7500.
Mottram's training partner, Mohamed Farah of England, passed both Linus Maiyo of Kenya and early front-runner Anthony Famiglietti of the United States in the second half to finish second in a personal best 28:37. Famiglietti was third in 28:40 And Maiyo fourth in 28:46. Mohamed Amyn of Morocco was fifth in 29:01.
Mottram will now turn his attention to the track and run the 2km at the next week’s Prefontaine Classic in Oregan before heading to Europe to run the mile at the Bislett Games Golden League meet in Oslo on 2 June and the 3km at the British Grand Prix meet at Gateshead on 11 June
with Richard Finn
Schoolkids 'peddling drugs' to classmates...
NEWS.com.au
Perth Australia-May 21, 2006. The problem has become so common that principals are asking police to use sniffer dogs to check children for cannabis and amphetamines.
The Sunday Times also can reveal that senior WA police are meeting monthly with teachers and principals in Perth and country towns to try to combat the drug scourge.
Supt David Parkinson said parents and politicians would be naive to think drugs were not in public, private and Catholic schools throughout WA.
He said police had made the disturbing discovery that some parents were supplying drugs to their children and ordering them to sell the illicit substances to classmates.
"Some of these low-lifes are using their kids to access the (drug) market in schools," Supt Parkinson said.
"Some principals have asked for the dog squad to be brought in and we are having a look at the legality of that."
The warning came as police charged five students from Waroona District High School in the South-West with drug offences.
A 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were charged with supplying cannabis. Three other students aged between 13 and 14 were charged with possession of cannabis or a smoking implement.
But Supt Parkinson said the drug problem was not isolated to any school or region.
"It's not just one or two incidents. You'd have to be naive, you'd really have to have your head in the sand, to think drugs are not in the majority of schools," he said.
"Police are meeting with principals across the districts and we're getting our drug and alcohol people in to find out who are the dealers and suppliers."
Supt Parkinson said police had found syringes in bush near several schools, with evidence they had been used by students to inject amphetamines.
"In one case, the kids threw the used syringes in one particular tree they called the Christmas tree," he said.
The latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey showed a third of teenagers had used illicit drugs.
One in four had tried cannabis and one in 15 had tried amphetamines.
Detectives told The Sunday Times drugs were regularly found in Perth schools, though teenagers were often disciplined without police being called in.
John Barich, WA director of Drug Free Australia, blamed schools for going soft on drugs to protect their reputations.
"The schools are all looking the other way because they're too scared of what they might find," Mr Barich said.
But Department of Education and Training acting executive director Chris Cook said children who wanted to use drugs were more likely to do so outside school.
"Schools are a setting that is controlled, supervised and monitored, the opportunity to use drugs in such a setting is limited," Ms Cook said.
WA Catholic Education Office director Ron Dullard said it was rare that students were caught with drugs, but he admitted illicit substances were in schools.
"Drugs are endemic in our society and it does rear its head now and then," Mr Dullard said.
Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich earlier this year revealed that children as young as 10 would be shown bongs at school as part of a push to educate them about drugs.
National Drug Research Institute director Steve Allsop said 12-year-olds dealing drugs were a "real concern", but he warned parents not to panic because drug use among the very young was not widespread.
Perth Australia-May 21, 2006. The problem has become so common that principals are asking police to use sniffer dogs to check children for cannabis and amphetamines.
The Sunday Times also can reveal that senior WA police are meeting monthly with teachers and principals in Perth and country towns to try to combat the drug scourge.
Supt David Parkinson said parents and politicians would be naive to think drugs were not in public, private and Catholic schools throughout WA.
He said police had made the disturbing discovery that some parents were supplying drugs to their children and ordering them to sell the illicit substances to classmates.
"Some of these low-lifes are using their kids to access the (drug) market in schools," Supt Parkinson said.
"Some principals have asked for the dog squad to be brought in and we are having a look at the legality of that."
The warning came as police charged five students from Waroona District High School in the South-West with drug offences.
A 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were charged with supplying cannabis. Three other students aged between 13 and 14 were charged with possession of cannabis or a smoking implement.
But Supt Parkinson said the drug problem was not isolated to any school or region.
"It's not just one or two incidents. You'd have to be naive, you'd really have to have your head in the sand, to think drugs are not in the majority of schools," he said.
"Police are meeting with principals across the districts and we're getting our drug and alcohol people in to find out who are the dealers and suppliers."
Supt Parkinson said police had found syringes in bush near several schools, with evidence they had been used by students to inject amphetamines.
"In one case, the kids threw the used syringes in one particular tree they called the Christmas tree," he said.
The latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey showed a third of teenagers had used illicit drugs.
One in four had tried cannabis and one in 15 had tried amphetamines.
Detectives told The Sunday Times drugs were regularly found in Perth schools, though teenagers were often disciplined without police being called in.
John Barich, WA director of Drug Free Australia, blamed schools for going soft on drugs to protect their reputations.
"The schools are all looking the other way because they're too scared of what they might find," Mr Barich said.
But Department of Education and Training acting executive director Chris Cook said children who wanted to use drugs were more likely to do so outside school.
"Schools are a setting that is controlled, supervised and monitored, the opportunity to use drugs in such a setting is limited," Ms Cook said.
WA Catholic Education Office director Ron Dullard said it was rare that students were caught with drugs, but he admitted illicit substances were in schools.
"Drugs are endemic in our society and it does rear its head now and then," Mr Dullard said.
Education Minister Ljiljanna Ravlich earlier this year revealed that children as young as 10 would be shown bongs at school as part of a push to educate them about drugs.
National Drug Research Institute director Steve Allsop said 12-year-olds dealing drugs were a "real concern", but he warned parents not to panic because drug use among the very young was not widespread.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
If you're THAT drunk, then don't steal a car!
Reuters.com
Wed May 17, 2006. BERLIN (Reuters) - Officers were dumbfounded when they stopped a Polish woman drunk at the wheel of a stolen car, driving on the wrong side of a motorway and without a license, German police said Tuesday.
"I don't think I've ever encountered such an accumulation of traffic offences," said Helmuth Klinger, a police spokesman in the western city of Wiesbaden.
"The normal combination would be to drink and then drive against the traffic, but people who steal a car tend to be a bit more discreet as rule," he added.
The 28-year-old woman was four times over the legal alcohol limit when she was stopped on the highway between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, having driven about five miles against the traffic.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wed May 17, 2006. BERLIN (Reuters) - Officers were dumbfounded when they stopped a Polish woman drunk at the wheel of a stolen car, driving on the wrong side of a motorway and without a license, German police said Tuesday."I don't think I've ever encountered such an accumulation of traffic offences," said Helmuth Klinger, a police spokesman in the western city of Wiesbaden.
"The normal combination would be to drink and then drive against the traffic, but people who steal a car tend to be a bit more discreet as rule," he added.
The 28-year-old woman was four times over the legal alcohol limit when she was stopped on the highway between Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, having driven about five miles against the traffic.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Symantec sues Microsoft in contract dispute...
Technology Reuters.com
Thu May 18, 2006. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Symantec Corp. (SYMC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) sued software rival Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday, accusing it of misappropriating trade secrets to develop its own competing features and products, including the next version of Windows.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle charges the world's biggest software maker with misappropriating intellectual property and breach of contract related to a licensing deal with Veritas, which Symantec acquired last year.
It also seeks an injunction that would block the further development, sale or distribution of Vista -- the already- delayed next version of Windows -- and other products until all Symantec intellectual property is removed.
"Microsoft's pervasive and continuing disregard of Symantec's intellectual property and contract rights has irreparably harmed Symantec and constitutes trade secret misappropriation," the complaint said.
Microsoft said in statement it worked hard to try to resolve the dispute and that it acted within its rights in the contract.
"We are confident that our actions are wholly consistent with the legal agreements between Veritas and Microsoft and that these claims will be shown to be without merit," Microsoft said.
The dispute pits two of the biggest consumer software makers against each other and centers on a Symantec product called Volume Manager, which allows operating systems to store and manipulate large amounts of data.
The complaint accuses Microsoft of improperly incorporating the technology into its own operating system products and seeks compensation as well as the removal of the intellectual property from the company's offerings.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Thu May 18, 2006. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Symantec Corp. (SYMC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) sued software rival Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday, accusing it of misappropriating trade secrets to develop its own competing features and products, including the next version of Windows.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle charges the world's biggest software maker with misappropriating intellectual property and breach of contract related to a licensing deal with Veritas, which Symantec acquired last year.
It also seeks an injunction that would block the further development, sale or distribution of Vista -- the already- delayed next version of Windows -- and other products until all Symantec intellectual property is removed.
"Microsoft's pervasive and continuing disregard of Symantec's intellectual property and contract rights has irreparably harmed Symantec and constitutes trade secret misappropriation," the complaint said.
Microsoft said in statement it worked hard to try to resolve the dispute and that it acted within its rights in the contract.
"We are confident that our actions are wholly consistent with the legal agreements between Veritas and Microsoft and that these claims will be shown to be without merit," Microsoft said.
The dispute pits two of the biggest consumer software makers against each other and centers on a Symantec product called Volume Manager, which allows operating systems to store and manipulate large amounts of data.
The complaint accuses Microsoft of improperly incorporating the technology into its own operating system products and seeks compensation as well as the removal of the intellectual property from the company's offerings.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Americans may take too many vitamins, experts say...
Health Reuters.com By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
Wed May 17, 2006. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans may be taking too many vitamin supplements in the hope of staying healthy and living longer, a panel of U.S. experts said on Wednesday.
Some people clearly need supplements, the panel said -- for instance, older women benefit from taking calcium and vitamin D to strengthen their bones, and younger women need to take folic acid to reduce birth defects in any children they may have.
But no studies show strongly that people prosper from popping multivitamin and mineral supplements and some suggest that eating healthily and exercising provide more benefit, the panel said.
"Half of American adults are taking multivitamins and minerals and the bottom line is that we don't know for sure that they're benefiting from them," said Dr. J. Michael McGinnis, a senior scholar with the Institute of Medicine, who chaired the panel.
"In fact, we're concerned that some people may be getting too much of certain nutrients," added McGinnis, whose organization advises the federal government on health issues.
The 13-member panel included experts in nutrition, biostatistics, biochemistry, toxicology, geriatric medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, cancer prevention, consumer protection and other fields.
They said much more study was needed on what vitamins Americans lacked in their diets and whether taking supplements provided actual benefit.
Many people may assume that because vitamins and minerals are vital for health, that more is better. But some are toxic at high levels, including vitamin A and iron, and others are simply excreted in the urine.
Beta-carotene was shown in a surprise study to raise the risk of lung cancer in smokers.
The panel said anti-oxidant vitamins and zinc might help nonsmoking adults with early stage, age-related macular degeneration, which can cause blindness.
But many foods are fortified with vitamins and minerals, so the value of supplements is often questioned.
There are no good studies showing people who take multivitamin or mineral supplements can prevent chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Many of the studies that suggest a protective effect also show that people who take vitamins tend to take care of their health in other ways, such as eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, exercising and not smoking, so it is difficult to determine whether the vitamins were responsible for health benefits.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wed May 17, 2006. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans may be taking too many vitamin supplements in the hope of staying healthy and living longer, a panel of U.S. experts said on Wednesday.
Some people clearly need supplements, the panel said -- for instance, older women benefit from taking calcium and vitamin D to strengthen their bones, and younger women need to take folic acid to reduce birth defects in any children they may have.
But no studies show strongly that people prosper from popping multivitamin and mineral supplements and some suggest that eating healthily and exercising provide more benefit, the panel said.
"Half of American adults are taking multivitamins and minerals and the bottom line is that we don't know for sure that they're benefiting from them," said Dr. J. Michael McGinnis, a senior scholar with the Institute of Medicine, who chaired the panel.
"In fact, we're concerned that some people may be getting too much of certain nutrients," added McGinnis, whose organization advises the federal government on health issues.
The 13-member panel included experts in nutrition, biostatistics, biochemistry, toxicology, geriatric medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, cancer prevention, consumer protection and other fields.
They said much more study was needed on what vitamins Americans lacked in their diets and whether taking supplements provided actual benefit.
Many people may assume that because vitamins and minerals are vital for health, that more is better. But some are toxic at high levels, including vitamin A and iron, and others are simply excreted in the urine.
Beta-carotene was shown in a surprise study to raise the risk of lung cancer in smokers.
The panel said anti-oxidant vitamins and zinc might help nonsmoking adults with early stage, age-related macular degeneration, which can cause blindness.
But many foods are fortified with vitamins and minerals, so the value of supplements is often questioned.
There are no good studies showing people who take multivitamin or mineral supplements can prevent chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Many of the studies that suggest a protective effect also show that people who take vitamins tend to take care of their health in other ways, such as eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, exercising and not smoking, so it is difficult to determine whether the vitamins were responsible for health benefits.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Friend left as deposit at gas station...
Reuters.com
Thu May 18, 2006. BERLIN (Reuters) - A German woman left her friend as a deposit at a gas station because she did not have enough cash to pay for her petrol, police said Wednesday.
"She didn't have enough money to pay the bill, so her friend stayed behind as a human deposit while she went to withdraw cash," said a spokesman for police in the southern town of Muenchberg. "Unfortunately, the woman did not return."
Two hours after the 20-year-old driver left, the gas station called the police, who interrogated the stranded "deposit" before releasing her. Police are investigating the driver on suspicion of fraud.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Thu May 18, 2006. BERLIN (Reuters) - A German woman left her friend as a deposit at a gas station because she did not have enough cash to pay for her petrol, police said Wednesday.
"She didn't have enough money to pay the bill, so her friend stayed behind as a human deposit while she went to withdraw cash," said a spokesman for police in the southern town of Muenchberg. "Unfortunately, the woman did not return."
Two hours after the 20-year-old driver left, the gas station called the police, who interrogated the stranded "deposit" before releasing her. Police are investigating the driver on suspicion of fraud.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Microsoft to announce Vista minimum requirements...
PC World Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service
19/05/2006. Microsoft has launched a Web site outlining the minimum hardware requirements for the next version of the Windows OS, Windows Vista.
The move comes less than a week before the company will host its Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle. At the show, which kicks off Tuesday, Microsoft and hardware manufacturers are expected to show how Vista will run on a variety of machines, as well as showcase add-on technology built to enhance the OS.
On the Microsoft "Get Ready" Web site, the company has outlined the requirements for running both low-end versions of Vista or higher-end versions that take advantage of the OS's new Aero graphical user interface capabilities.
The company differentiates between the two by calling the former a "Windows Vista Capable PC" and the latter a "Windows Vista Premium Ready PC."
Hardware requirements for a Vista Capable PC are a modern processor with a speed of at least 800MHz, 512M bytes of system memory and a graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.
A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC has a good deal more requirements. It must have at least a 1GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor, 1G byte of system memory, 128M bytes of graphics memory, 40G bytes of hard drive capacity with 15G bytes free space, a DVD-ROM drive, audio output capabilities and Internet access capability.
It also needs a graphics processor that runs Windows Aero, which Microsoft defines as a DirectX 9 class graphics processor that supports a Windows Display Driver Model Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware and 32 bits per pixel.
The graphics processor for Aero also must meet the following requirements for graphics memory: 64M bytes of graphics memory to support a single monitor less than 1,310,720 pixels; 128M bytes of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions from 1,310,720 to 2,304,000 pixels; or 256M bytes of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions higher than 2,304,000 pixels.
Microsoft began working with hardware partners several months ago to prepare customers for Vista's release. In April, PCs with stickers saying "Windows Vista Capable" became available in stores, letting customers know what hardware can be upgraded to Vista once it is available. Microsoft does not plan to do the same with the Windows Vista Premium Ready designation, recommending customers ask a retailer or manufacturer about PCs that meet those requirements.
On the Get Ready Web site, Microsoft stressed that purchasing a Windows Vista Capable PC does not mean customers will get discount vouchers for Windows Vista. They still must purchase an edition of the OS for full price when Vista is available.
In March, Microsoft said the consumer release of Vista would be delayed until January 2007, though business customers will have access through Microsoft volume licensing to the OS before the end of the year. Since Microsoft is missing the busy Christmas holiday shopping season with Vista's general release -- which had been an important target for selling the new OS -- analysts are predicting that the company may release Vista even later than January.
19/05/2006. Microsoft has launched a Web site outlining the minimum hardware requirements for the next version of the Windows OS, Windows Vista.
The move comes less than a week before the company will host its Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle. At the show, which kicks off Tuesday, Microsoft and hardware manufacturers are expected to show how Vista will run on a variety of machines, as well as showcase add-on technology built to enhance the OS.
On the Microsoft "Get Ready" Web site, the company has outlined the requirements for running both low-end versions of Vista or higher-end versions that take advantage of the OS's new Aero graphical user interface capabilities.
The company differentiates between the two by calling the former a "Windows Vista Capable PC" and the latter a "Windows Vista Premium Ready PC."
Hardware requirements for a Vista Capable PC are a modern processor with a speed of at least 800MHz, 512M bytes of system memory and a graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.
A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC has a good deal more requirements. It must have at least a 1GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor, 1G byte of system memory, 128M bytes of graphics memory, 40G bytes of hard drive capacity with 15G bytes free space, a DVD-ROM drive, audio output capabilities and Internet access capability.
It also needs a graphics processor that runs Windows Aero, which Microsoft defines as a DirectX 9 class graphics processor that supports a Windows Display Driver Model Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware and 32 bits per pixel.
The graphics processor for Aero also must meet the following requirements for graphics memory: 64M bytes of graphics memory to support a single monitor less than 1,310,720 pixels; 128M bytes of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions from 1,310,720 to 2,304,000 pixels; or 256M bytes of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions higher than 2,304,000 pixels.
Microsoft began working with hardware partners several months ago to prepare customers for Vista's release. In April, PCs with stickers saying "Windows Vista Capable" became available in stores, letting customers know what hardware can be upgraded to Vista once it is available. Microsoft does not plan to do the same with the Windows Vista Premium Ready designation, recommending customers ask a retailer or manufacturer about PCs that meet those requirements.
On the Get Ready Web site, Microsoft stressed that purchasing a Windows Vista Capable PC does not mean customers will get discount vouchers for Windows Vista. They still must purchase an edition of the OS for full price when Vista is available.
In March, Microsoft said the consumer release of Vista would be delayed until January 2007, though business customers will have access through Microsoft volume licensing to the OS before the end of the year. Since Microsoft is missing the busy Christmas holiday shopping season with Vista's general release -- which had been an important target for selling the new OS -- analysts are predicting that the company may release Vista even later than January.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
And the world's loneliest Web users are..THE IRISH !!!
Reuters.com
Mon May 15, 2006. DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland may be enjoying stellar economic growth and seen as one of the best places in the world to live, but its inhabitants are apparently also the globe's loneliest.
Google Trends, which works out how many searches have been done via the Internet search engine on particular terms, showed the word "lonely" was entered most frequently by Internet users in Ireland: http://www.google.com/trends?q=lonely.
The Irish, enjoying new-found wealth and a flood of immigration following more than a century of economic decline, are followed in the misery stakes by residents of Singapore and New Zealand -- although Singaporeans are the most frequent searchers of "happiness."
Google Trends calculates the ratio of searches for a given term coming from each city, region or language divided by total Google searches coming from the same area.
Ireland's capital, Dublin, topped the city list for "lonely" searches, followed by Melbourne, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand.
In 2004, the Economist magazine named Ireland the best place to live in the world in a "quality of life" assessment.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mon May 15, 2006. DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland may be enjoying stellar economic growth and seen as one of the best places in the world to live, but its inhabitants are apparently also the globe's loneliest.
Google Trends, which works out how many searches have been done via the Internet search engine on particular terms, showed the word "lonely" was entered most frequently by Internet users in Ireland: http://www.google.com/trends?q=lonely.
The Irish, enjoying new-found wealth and a flood of immigration following more than a century of economic decline, are followed in the misery stakes by residents of Singapore and New Zealand -- although Singaporeans are the most frequent searchers of "happiness."
Google Trends calculates the ratio of searches for a given term coming from each city, region or language divided by total Google searches coming from the same area.
Ireland's capital, Dublin, topped the city list for "lonely" searches, followed by Melbourne, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand.
In 2004, the Economist magazine named Ireland the best place to live in the world in a "quality of life" assessment.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Workers need time to watch World Cup?
Reuters.com
Mon May 15, 2006. BERLIN (Reuters) - Employers in World Cup host nation Germany should grant their workforces the flexibility to down tools and watch soccer matches during their shifts, the head of a major workers' union was quoted as saying.
With kick-off times for World Cup matches beginning as early as 3 p.m. local time, the chief of one of Germany's most powerful unions argued that workers should be given the chance to see at least part of the games.
"Employers should be flexible about working hours in order that their workforces can follow the matches," Frank Bsirske, head of the public services union Verdi, told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper in an article on the paper's Web site.
Companies such as Adidas, which are sponsoring the World Cup in Germany, have agreed to allow their employees to watch the matches at their desks, the paper said. Others, like Postbank, are organizing parties for some of the matches.
The head of Germany's employers' association Dieter Hundt told the newspaper no uniform rules should be applied to companies but that each firm should be free to decide for itself what was acceptable for soccer-mad fans.
"Every company should find its own ways together with their workers," Hundt was quoted as saying.
"If there is interest in my firm ... then the current flexible working practices would allow football fans the opportunity to watch part of the match on television."
However, his employees would not be allowed to watch the games at their workplaces, he said.
"I prefer it if my employees remain 100 percent committed to their jobs and not with half an eye or half an ear on the stadiums," he said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mon May 15, 2006. BERLIN (Reuters) - Employers in World Cup host nation Germany should grant their workforces the flexibility to down tools and watch soccer matches during their shifts, the head of a major workers' union was quoted as saying.With kick-off times for World Cup matches beginning as early as 3 p.m. local time, the chief of one of Germany's most powerful unions argued that workers should be given the chance to see at least part of the games.
"Employers should be flexible about working hours in order that their workforces can follow the matches," Frank Bsirske, head of the public services union Verdi, told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper in an article on the paper's Web site.
Companies such as Adidas, which are sponsoring the World Cup in Germany, have agreed to allow their employees to watch the matches at their desks, the paper said. Others, like Postbank, are organizing parties for some of the matches.
The head of Germany's employers' association Dieter Hundt told the newspaper no uniform rules should be applied to companies but that each firm should be free to decide for itself what was acceptable for soccer-mad fans.
"Every company should find its own ways together with their workers," Hundt was quoted as saying.
"If there is interest in my firm ... then the current flexible working practices would allow football fans the opportunity to watch part of the match on television."
However, his employees would not be allowed to watch the games at their workplaces, he said.
"I prefer it if my employees remain 100 percent committed to their jobs and not with half an eye or half an ear on the stadiums," he said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Lingering longer in the lingerie...
Reuters.com
Mon May 15, 2006. RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has postponed plans to replace male sales assistants in lingerie shops, saying it wants to give outlets more time to prepare for the move which has irritated the influential religious circles.
The government, which wants more women to work as part of its efforts to reduce reliance on foreign labor, took the decision last June and businesses were given a year to prepare for implementation.
"Based on pleas by shop owners ... that they were unable to comply with the deadline, the ministry's decision is postponed until all the required preparations are finalized," state news agency SPA quoted the Labor Ministry as saying.
While women in Saudi Arabia are forbidden from mixing with men outside their immediate family in public, they have little alternative to buying their most intimate items of clothing from men.
Many clerics and Islamists in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam which imposes a strict version of Sunni Islam, have opposed the idea as the start of reform process promoted by King Abdullah that they fear will liberalize the stringent system.
A Western diplomat said the move had irritated some of the most influential clerics in kingdom, where women are not allowed to drive and face employment restrictions because of the need to segregate sexes.
"The ministry may very well be honest in its argument (for the postponement). But the facts hint at a setback for the ministry future efforts in integrating Saudi women in the job life," the diplomat said.
Labor Minister Ghazi Algosaibi, who is despised by hardline Islamists as a liberal reformer, said plans to allow women to work in other sectors would go ahead, citing a group of government-backed clerics who have approved the reforms.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mon May 15, 2006. RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has postponed plans to replace male sales assistants in lingerie shops, saying it wants to give outlets more time to prepare for the move which has irritated the influential religious circles.The government, which wants more women to work as part of its efforts to reduce reliance on foreign labor, took the decision last June and businesses were given a year to prepare for implementation.
"Based on pleas by shop owners ... that they were unable to comply with the deadline, the ministry's decision is postponed until all the required preparations are finalized," state news agency SPA quoted the Labor Ministry as saying.
While women in Saudi Arabia are forbidden from mixing with men outside their immediate family in public, they have little alternative to buying their most intimate items of clothing from men.
Many clerics and Islamists in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam which imposes a strict version of Sunni Islam, have opposed the idea as the start of reform process promoted by King Abdullah that they fear will liberalize the stringent system.
A Western diplomat said the move had irritated some of the most influential clerics in kingdom, where women are not allowed to drive and face employment restrictions because of the need to segregate sexes.
"The ministry may very well be honest in its argument (for the postponement). But the facts hint at a setback for the ministry future efforts in integrating Saudi women in the job life," the diplomat said.
Labor Minister Ghazi Algosaibi, who is despised by hardline Islamists as a liberal reformer, said plans to allow women to work in other sectors would go ahead, citing a group of government-backed clerics who have approved the reforms.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Maria nets perfect males...
Tennis - Fox Sports
<---Well, hello ... Sharapova sizes up one of the boys in Madrid.
The 19-year-old Russian was the centre of attention at the casting event held in a Madrid hotel overnight.
A selection panel that included Sharapova, former champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and film actress Natalia Verbeke was invited to narrow down a field of 15 hopefuls.
The male models, wearing white shorts and figure-hugging t-shirts, were brought up one at a time and tested on their knowledge of tennis, among other things, amidst giggles from Sharapova and everyone else in attendance.
"What is a tiebreak?" and "What would you do if a player asked you for a towel?" proved particularly tricky questions for a couple of contestants, not least those who grasp of English was a bit loose.
Models who could get by in English seemed to win favour with Sharapova, who does not speak much Spanish.
Two candidates were marked down by the world No.3 after being asked who was their favourite female tennis player. One replied Amelie Mauresmo and the other Kim Clijsters.
When one failed to name the 2004 Wimbledon women's champion (Sharapova) quickly, he also appeared to get the thumbs down.
The idea to use male models as ball-boys derived from the Madrid ATP Masters tournament which has courted controversy by using female models as ball-girls.
The WTA event takes place in the Madrid Arena in November and organisers say the $US1 million ($1.29 million) winner's cheque will equal the largest in the history of women's sport.
Earlier, Sharapova demanded women players receive equal prize money to the men.
"I believe women are strong, bold and powerful and deserve to be treated the same as men," she said.
"There has been a long debate about equal prize money but these things take time. If we keep pushing we'll eventually get there."
Of the four grand slam tournaments, Roland Garros and Wimbledon still have a differential in prize money between the men and the women, although the French Open will pay the men's and women's singles champions the same this year.
WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott hopes the championships will help promote prize money parity.
"This will be the elite event in women's tennis with only the top eight players competing at the end of the season for a total prize money of $3 million. The winner will earn $1 million," he said.
The French Open starts in Paris on May 22.
Agence France-Presse
<---Well, hello ... Sharapova sizes up one of the boys in Madrid.The 19-year-old Russian was the centre of attention at the casting event held in a Madrid hotel overnight.
A selection panel that included Sharapova, former champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and film actress Natalia Verbeke was invited to narrow down a field of 15 hopefuls.
The male models, wearing white shorts and figure-hugging t-shirts, were brought up one at a time and tested on their knowledge of tennis, among other things, amidst giggles from Sharapova and everyone else in attendance.
"What is a tiebreak?" and "What would you do if a player asked you for a towel?" proved particularly tricky questions for a couple of contestants, not least those who grasp of English was a bit loose.
Models who could get by in English seemed to win favour with Sharapova, who does not speak much Spanish.
Two candidates were marked down by the world No.3 after being asked who was their favourite female tennis player. One replied Amelie Mauresmo and the other Kim Clijsters.
When one failed to name the 2004 Wimbledon women's champion (Sharapova) quickly, he also appeared to get the thumbs down.
The idea to use male models as ball-boys derived from the Madrid ATP Masters tournament which has courted controversy by using female models as ball-girls.
The WTA event takes place in the Madrid Arena in November and organisers say the $US1 million ($1.29 million) winner's cheque will equal the largest in the history of women's sport.
Earlier, Sharapova demanded women players receive equal prize money to the men.
"I believe women are strong, bold and powerful and deserve to be treated the same as men," she said.
"There has been a long debate about equal prize money but these things take time. If we keep pushing we'll eventually get there."
Of the four grand slam tournaments, Roland Garros and Wimbledon still have a differential in prize money between the men and the women, although the French Open will pay the men's and women's singles champions the same this year.
WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott hopes the championships will help promote prize money parity.
"This will be the elite event in women's tennis with only the top eight players competing at the end of the season for a total prize money of $3 million. The winner will earn $1 million," he said.
The French Open starts in Paris on May 22.
Agence France-Presse
This explains a lot...
Reuters.com
Fri May 12, 2006. LONDON (Reuters) - More than 60 percent of Britons use items such as screwdrivers, scissors and earrings to remove food from between their teeth, according to a survey published Friday.
The National Dental Survey found that, when it came to oral hygiene, people used whatever was close to hand to pick their teeth.
More than 60 percent questioned by the British Dental Health Foundation said they used makeshift items, including knives, keys, needles and forks.
The survey also found that 23 percent of people chose to leave food stuck between their teeth, increasing the risk of gum disease and bad breath, according to the foundation which promotes oral health.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Fri May 12, 2006. LONDON (Reuters) - More than 60 percent of Britons use items such as screwdrivers, scissors and earrings to remove food from between their teeth, according to a survey published Friday.The National Dental Survey found that, when it came to oral hygiene, people used whatever was close to hand to pick their teeth.
More than 60 percent questioned by the British Dental Health Foundation said they used makeshift items, including knives, keys, needles and forks.
The survey also found that 23 percent of people chose to leave food stuck between their teeth, increasing the risk of gum disease and bad breath, according to the foundation which promotes oral health.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Man admits foot-fetish assaults on subway...
Reuters.com By Jeanne King
Thu May 11, 2006. NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 23-year-old with a foot fetish has admitted he tried to kiss, fondle and lick the legs and toes of more than 70 women on the New York subway over the last three years, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
In a handwritten confession to police released by the Manhattan district attorney's office, Joseph Weir said his aim was "to make them laugh and smile and open to talk to me."
Weir, who was arrested late last week after attacking a woman on a subway in lower Manhattan, is charged with forcible touching, sex abuse and unlawful imprisonment -- the latter charge referring to his habit of grabbing his victims' legs and not letting go.
He faces up to a year in jail if convicted and has been released on $6,000 bail until a court hearing on June 26.
In a rambling confession peppered with grammatical errors, Weir, who lives in Brooklyn, detailed how he accosted the women while riding the subways between Manhattan and the borough of Queens.
"I get on my knees, bow, grab their feet, kiss them. I grab their hand and tell them 'You're so beautiful. I'm not worthy,'" he wrote. "I do not give me real name. If they ask I will tell them my name is Anthony, Jason or Careem."
Weir said his motivation was to get to know the women, but he recalled that often they would move away when he tried to "taste and touch them."
"Some women had kick(ed) me and screamed," he wrote. "I've done this to about 70 women, mostly black."
Prosecutors said dozens of women had started to come forward to identify Weir, who told detectives in his confession that he lived with his parents and two sisters.
"I am currently unemployed," he wrote, adding that he had been fired from his previous job with a sightseeing company.
In his confession, Weir apologized to his victims, saying: "I don't mean to hurt no body and I am sorry."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Thu May 11, 2006. NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 23-year-old with a foot fetish has admitted he tried to kiss, fondle and lick the legs and toes of more than 70 women on the New York subway over the last three years, prosecutors said on Wednesday.In a handwritten confession to police released by the Manhattan district attorney's office, Joseph Weir said his aim was "to make them laugh and smile and open to talk to me."
Weir, who was arrested late last week after attacking a woman on a subway in lower Manhattan, is charged with forcible touching, sex abuse and unlawful imprisonment -- the latter charge referring to his habit of grabbing his victims' legs and not letting go.
He faces up to a year in jail if convicted and has been released on $6,000 bail until a court hearing on June 26.
In a rambling confession peppered with grammatical errors, Weir, who lives in Brooklyn, detailed how he accosted the women while riding the subways between Manhattan and the borough of Queens.
"I get on my knees, bow, grab their feet, kiss them. I grab their hand and tell them 'You're so beautiful. I'm not worthy,'" he wrote. "I do not give me real name. If they ask I will tell them my name is Anthony, Jason or Careem."
Weir said his motivation was to get to know the women, but he recalled that often they would move away when he tried to "taste and touch them."
"Some women had kick(ed) me and screamed," he wrote. "I've done this to about 70 women, mostly black."
Prosecutors said dozens of women had started to come forward to identify Weir, who told detectives in his confession that he lived with his parents and two sisters.
"I am currently unemployed," he wrote, adding that he had been fired from his previous job with a sightseeing company.
In his confession, Weir apologized to his victims, saying: "I don't mean to hurt no body and I am sorry."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Insurer offers policy for World Cup "sick days"...
Reuters.com
Wed May 10, 2006. AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch insurer is offering employers in the country the chance to insure themselves against the sudden rise in staff sick days expected during next month's soccer World Cup.
Tens of thousands of Dutch workers phoned in ill during the European Championships in Portugal in 2004, with sickness levels rising 20 percent on days when the Dutch national side played.
"We are expecting a lot of claims," said Dennis Massaar of insurer SEZ.
Under Dutch law, companies must pay employees who are too ill to report to work. They can insure themselves against this, but most policies apply only to absences longer than two weeks.
SEZ said it would waive the usual two-week time limit and pay out for any employees absent on the day of a Netherlands match or the day after, regardless of the excuse given.
"Obviously nobody will phone in and say they're ill because they want to watch the match or because they drank too much."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wed May 10, 2006. AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch insurer is offering employers in the country the chance to insure themselves against the sudden rise in staff sick days expected during next month's soccer World Cup.
Tens of thousands of Dutch workers phoned in ill during the European Championships in Portugal in 2004, with sickness levels rising 20 percent on days when the Dutch national side played.
"We are expecting a lot of claims," said Dennis Massaar of insurer SEZ.
Under Dutch law, companies must pay employees who are too ill to report to work. They can insure themselves against this, but most policies apply only to absences longer than two weeks.
SEZ said it would waive the usual two-week time limit and pay out for any employees absent on the day of a Netherlands match or the day after, regardless of the excuse given.
"Obviously nobody will phone in and say they're ill because they want to watch the match or because they drank too much."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
German cyclist elated as British return stolen bike...
Reuters.com
Wed May 10, 2006. LONDON (Reuters) - A German cyclist who has ridden 335,000 miles in almost 44 years on the same bike and then had it stolen in Britain celebrated Wednesday after it was recovered.
Heinz Stucke had just arrived in Portsmouth, southern England, on the latest leg of a global cycle ride which he began in 1962 when thieves stole his bike as he slept in his tent.
Distraught, he appealed to police and media, telling the Portsmouth News: "I would do anything to get my bike back, I'm emotionally attached to it."
He told BBC radio Wednesday he was rejoicing after police told him the bike had been found abandoned in a park.
"I ... expected it to be found, because it's not a flashy one, it's not an expensive one," he said.
The bike, an old-fashioned, black, German-built three-gear cycle, has taken Stucke through more than 200 countries and into the record books as the world's most traveled cyclist since he set out from his home in Hovelhof, Germany, in 1962.
He has painted a map of the world marked with a route of his journeys on to the frame.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wed May 10, 2006. LONDON (Reuters) - A German cyclist who has ridden 335,000 miles in almost 44 years on the same bike and then had it stolen in Britain celebrated Wednesday after it was recovered.
Heinz Stucke had just arrived in Portsmouth, southern England, on the latest leg of a global cycle ride which he began in 1962 when thieves stole his bike as he slept in his tent.
Distraught, he appealed to police and media, telling the Portsmouth News: "I would do anything to get my bike back, I'm emotionally attached to it."
He told BBC radio Wednesday he was rejoicing after police told him the bike had been found abandoned in a park.
"I ... expected it to be found, because it's not a flashy one, it's not an expensive one," he said.
The bike, an old-fashioned, black, German-built three-gear cycle, has taken Stucke through more than 200 countries and into the record books as the world's most traveled cyclist since he set out from his home in Hovelhof, Germany, in 1962.
He has painted a map of the world marked with a route of his journeys on to the frame.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Man buys fighter jet, wants refund...
Reuters.com
Tue May 9, 2006. BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese businessman who bought a Russian fighter jet online wants his money back after finding it could not be shipped to China, state media reported on Tuesday.
Zhang Cheng, a Beijing businessman, bid $24,730 and paid a $2,000 deposit for the former Czech air force plane on Chinese-based eBay, Xinhua news agency said.
But legal experts informed Zhang that the MiG-21, located in Idaho in the United States, was "almost impossible to ship back," Xinhua said, quoting the Beijing Times.
Moreover, the seller had clearly confined the destination of the plane to the United States and Canada, Xinhua quoted a member of eBay's public relations staff as saying.
Chinese Web surfers have accused Zhang of trying to gain fame, but others suggest it merely shows the improved living standards of the Chinese, Xinhua said.
The buyer, however, said he was building a collection.
"I like to collect valuable items," he said. "I have the buying power and my company has an empty space where I can display the plane."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Tue May 9, 2006. BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese businessman who bought a Russian fighter jet online wants his money back after finding it could not be shipped to China, state media reported on Tuesday.Zhang Cheng, a Beijing businessman, bid $24,730 and paid a $2,000 deposit for the former Czech air force plane on Chinese-based eBay, Xinhua news agency said.
But legal experts informed Zhang that the MiG-21, located in Idaho in the United States, was "almost impossible to ship back," Xinhua said, quoting the Beijing Times.
Moreover, the seller had clearly confined the destination of the plane to the United States and Canada, Xinhua quoted a member of eBay's public relations staff as saying.
Chinese Web surfers have accused Zhang of trying to gain fame, but others suggest it merely shows the improved living standards of the Chinese, Xinhua said.
The buyer, however, said he was building a collection.
"I like to collect valuable items," he said. "I have the buying power and my company has an empty space where I can display the plane."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Teen boys arrested for bank robberies...
Reuters.com
Tue May 9, 2006. VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Three boys, all under the age of 15, are being investigated for a string of bank robberies in the Vancouver area over the past month and half, police said on Monday.
The boys, who range in age from 13 to 14, were arrested on Saturday in connection with two robberies in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey and may be linked to seven hold-ups in the area, police said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said none of the boys is believed to have a previous criminal record. "They're off to a heck of a start," a police spokesman said.
Two of the boys have been released into their parents' custody, and none can be publicly identified because of their young age.
No weapons were produced in the bank robberies.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Tue May 9, 2006. VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Three boys, all under the age of 15, are being investigated for a string of bank robberies in the Vancouver area over the past month and half, police said on Monday.
The boys, who range in age from 13 to 14, were arrested on Saturday in connection with two robberies in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey and may be linked to seven hold-ups in the area, police said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said none of the boys is believed to have a previous criminal record. "They're off to a heck of a start," a police spokesman said.
Two of the boys have been released into their parents' custody, and none can be publicly identified because of their young age.
No weapons were produced in the bank robberies.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Last American to remember Titanic sinking dies...
Reuters.com
Mon May 8, 2006. BOSTON (Reuters) - The last American to remember seeing hundreds of fellow passengers drown in the icy North Atlantic when the Titanic sank 94 years ago has died at age 99, a funeral home spokesman said Sunday.
Lillian Gertrud Asplund was returning home to the United States from Sweden with her parents and four brothers when the ship, believed to be "unsinkable," struck an iceberg on April 12, 1912. A U.S. Senate report said 1,523 people were killed.
Asplund died at home, a spokesman for the Nordgren Memorial Chapel, in Worcester, Massachusetts confirmed.
A lifetime resident of Massachusetts, Asplund was an intensely private person who shunned all publicity surrounding the disaster, one of the worst peacetime maritime accidents.
The funeral home spokesman said she instructed relatives to keep quiet about what she saw and even asked that the disaster not be mentioned in her obituary.
The two last Titanic survivors are said to be living in England but both women were infants when they were rescued and have no memories of that night, Titanic experts say.
Asplund lost more than half her family in the accident when her father and three brothers stayed behind as crewmen rushed the young girl, her younger brother and their mother into a lifeboat.
"We went to the upper deck. I could see the icebergs for a great distance around ... It was cold and the little ones were cuddling close to one another and trying to keep from under the feet of the many excited people ...," Asplund's mother told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in an interview decades ago.
"My little girl, Lillie, accompanied me, and my husband said 'Go ahead, we will get into one of the other boats.' He smiled as he said it."
Asplund's mother, younger brother and uncle returned to the United States five days after the Titanic sank, the newspaper reported at the time.
Asplund never married, worked as a clerk at an insurance company and spent her life caring for her mother, reported the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, which republished her mother's recollections of the disaster Sunday.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mon May 8, 2006. BOSTON (Reuters) - The last American to remember seeing hundreds of fellow passengers drown in the icy North Atlantic when the Titanic sank 94 years ago has died at age 99, a funeral home spokesman said Sunday.
Lillian Gertrud Asplund was returning home to the United States from Sweden with her parents and four brothers when the ship, believed to be "unsinkable," struck an iceberg on April 12, 1912. A U.S. Senate report said 1,523 people were killed.
Asplund died at home, a spokesman for the Nordgren Memorial Chapel, in Worcester, Massachusetts confirmed.
A lifetime resident of Massachusetts, Asplund was an intensely private person who shunned all publicity surrounding the disaster, one of the worst peacetime maritime accidents.
The funeral home spokesman said she instructed relatives to keep quiet about what she saw and even asked that the disaster not be mentioned in her obituary.
The two last Titanic survivors are said to be living in England but both women were infants when they were rescued and have no memories of that night, Titanic experts say.
Asplund lost more than half her family in the accident when her father and three brothers stayed behind as crewmen rushed the young girl, her younger brother and their mother into a lifeboat.
"We went to the upper deck. I could see the icebergs for a great distance around ... It was cold and the little ones were cuddling close to one another and trying to keep from under the feet of the many excited people ...," Asplund's mother told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in an interview decades ago.
"My little girl, Lillie, accompanied me, and my husband said 'Go ahead, we will get into one of the other boats.' He smiled as he said it."
Asplund's mother, younger brother and uncle returned to the United States five days after the Titanic sank, the newspaper reported at the time.
Asplund never married, worked as a clerk at an insurance company and spent her life caring for her mother, reported the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, which republished her mother's recollections of the disaster Sunday.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
A new wrinkle in gifts for Mom and Dad...
Reuters.com
Mon May 8, 2006. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans traditionally used to say it with flowers or money, but now more are showing love and respect to their parents by giving mom and dad coupons for cosmetic surgery.
Local media has reported a boom in orders this year for botox treatments, face lifts and hair transplants to mark Parents' Day Monday.
Cosmetic surgery clinics in Seoul said they have been booked solid for weeks with appointments made by children for their parents.
Using surgery to ehance looks is common in South Korea, with few stigmas attached to having procedures done to make eyes rounder, noses more shapely and even calves slimmer.
Many parents pay for cosmetic surgery for their children as a graduation gift and it has become more common in recent years for children to return the favor.
"Appointments for procedures for Parents' Day have increased by over 50 percent from five years ago," said Lim Ee-seok, the president of the Theme Dermatology Clinic, a large cosmetic surgery facility in Seoul.
The most sought-after procedures at the clinic are botox injections, which range from 300,000 won to 600,000 won ($322 -$645) and surgery to remove wrinkles.
"Parents who have always sacrificed for their children are now more bold in asking for what they want," the Herald Business newspaper said in a story it carried on the subject.
Lee Shin-ja's children gave her a coupon for laser surgery to remove liver spots from her face.
"I never thought my children would do this," Lee, 62, said by telephone. "I am really happy they did because I look much younger now,"
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mon May 8, 2006. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans traditionally used to say it with flowers or money, but now more are showing love and respect to their parents by giving mom and dad coupons for cosmetic surgery.Local media has reported a boom in orders this year for botox treatments, face lifts and hair transplants to mark Parents' Day Monday.
Cosmetic surgery clinics in Seoul said they have been booked solid for weeks with appointments made by children for their parents.
Using surgery to ehance looks is common in South Korea, with few stigmas attached to having procedures done to make eyes rounder, noses more shapely and even calves slimmer.
Many parents pay for cosmetic surgery for their children as a graduation gift and it has become more common in recent years for children to return the favor.
"Appointments for procedures for Parents' Day have increased by over 50 percent from five years ago," said Lim Ee-seok, the president of the Theme Dermatology Clinic, a large cosmetic surgery facility in Seoul.
The most sought-after procedures at the clinic are botox injections, which range from 300,000 won to 600,000 won ($322 -$645) and surgery to remove wrinkles.
"Parents who have always sacrificed for their children are now more bold in asking for what they want," the Herald Business newspaper said in a story it carried on the subject.
Lee Shin-ja's children gave her a coupon for laser surgery to remove liver spots from her face.
"I never thought my children would do this," Lee, 62, said by telephone. "I am really happy they did because I look much younger now,"
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Kitchen and bedroom blessings offered by vicars...
Reuters.com
Mon May 8, 2006. LONDON (Reuters) - British homeowners wanting to liven up their sex lives, ward off bathroom germs or calm kitchen rows can now call on God -- or at least his ministers -- for help.
A new service is being offered by vicars in the north of England who give blessings to people moving to a new home.
They will say prayers for each room, calling on divine assistance to protect the home and the health of those in it.
Rev Chris Painter, a vicar in the diocese of Manchester, told Reuters the initiative was designed tempt new people into the church.
"For a large part of the church's history, people have come into the church building," he said. "Nowadays people tend not to come into church so we need to find new ways to meet people."
"This is exactly what Jesus did in his ministry -- he went out to where the people were and he met them there."
Painter said invitation cards would be left in the offices of real-estate agents around the diocese to inform new residents of the free home blessing service.
Individual prayers can be said for every room in the house: For the bedroom, clergy will lay hands on the bed and pray its occupants have a healthy sex life. In the bathroom, they will pray for good health and "give thanks for sanitation."
In the kitchen, the prayer will ask: "O Lord, to all who shall work in this room that, in serving others, they may serve you and share in your perfect service and that in the noise and the clutter of the kitchen they may possess you in tranquility, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mon May 8, 2006. LONDON (Reuters) - British homeowners wanting to liven up their sex lives, ward off bathroom germs or calm kitchen rows can now call on God -- or at least his ministers -- for help.
A new service is being offered by vicars in the north of England who give blessings to people moving to a new home.
They will say prayers for each room, calling on divine assistance to protect the home and the health of those in it.
Rev Chris Painter, a vicar in the diocese of Manchester, told Reuters the initiative was designed tempt new people into the church.
"For a large part of the church's history, people have come into the church building," he said. "Nowadays people tend not to come into church so we need to find new ways to meet people."
"This is exactly what Jesus did in his ministry -- he went out to where the people were and he met them there."
Painter said invitation cards would be left in the offices of real-estate agents around the diocese to inform new residents of the free home blessing service.
Individual prayers can be said for every room in the house: For the bedroom, clergy will lay hands on the bed and pray its occupants have a healthy sex life. In the bathroom, they will pray for good health and "give thanks for sanitation."
In the kitchen, the prayer will ask: "O Lord, to all who shall work in this room that, in serving others, they may serve you and share in your perfect service and that in the noise and the clutter of the kitchen they may possess you in tranquility, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Doubts over Van Nistelrooy future...
BBC SPORT Football
<---Will Ruud van Nistelrooy still be at Old Trafford next season?
Sunday, 7 May 2006. Ruud van Nistelrooy's Manchester United future is in doubt after he drove away from Old Trafford three hours before the Premiership finale with Charlton.
And manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed the Dutch striker's actions will be discussed at a board meeting this week.
He said: "There have been a couple of issues during the week that concerned us in terms of the spirit of the club.
"On such an important day, I felt that Ruud should be left out. We will be discussing it with club directors."
Van Nistelrooy was at Old Trafford on Sunday morning and is understood to have been fully fit and expecting to play alongside Louis Saha because Wayne Rooney is sidelined with a broken bone in his foot.
But he had left the ground by the time the team ran out and Giuseppe Rossi was selected to play alongside Saha.
Van Nistelrooy, 29, has spent much of the final third of the season on the bench and the latest events raise more questions about his future.
Recent newspaper speculation has suggested that Van Nistelrooy may leave United in the summer - but Ferguson has not made any comment on his future.
RUUD's Version..
Ruud has no problem with Ferguson?
Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy says he has not fallen out with boss Sir Alex Ferguson after being dropped for the Carling Cup final.
Van Nistelrooy was left on the bench during Sunday's 4-0 victory over Wigan with Louis Saha picked ahead of him.
"The manager told me before the game that I wasn't playing," he said.
"I was very disappointed but I could understand why he wanted to play Louis because he has been playing very well in the competition this season."
Van Nistelrooy added: "You have to accept the decision as a professional player.
"There is no problem between me and the manager. I cheered the first two goals with everyone else on the bench and I was happy for the team.
"I've heard suggestions I was acting. Well, if I was, then I'm the best actor in Holland.
"I've scored a lot of goals this season and feel I've been playing well and I hope to be back in the team to play Wigan on Monday. I expect to play the league matches."
<---Will Ruud van Nistelrooy still be at Old Trafford next season? Sunday, 7 May 2006. Ruud van Nistelrooy's Manchester United future is in doubt after he drove away from Old Trafford three hours before the Premiership finale with Charlton.
And manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed the Dutch striker's actions will be discussed at a board meeting this week.
He said: "There have been a couple of issues during the week that concerned us in terms of the spirit of the club.
"On such an important day, I felt that Ruud should be left out. We will be discussing it with club directors."
Van Nistelrooy was at Old Trafford on Sunday morning and is understood to have been fully fit and expecting to play alongside Louis Saha because Wayne Rooney is sidelined with a broken bone in his foot.
But he had left the ground by the time the team ran out and Giuseppe Rossi was selected to play alongside Saha.
Van Nistelrooy, 29, has spent much of the final third of the season on the bench and the latest events raise more questions about his future.
Recent newspaper speculation has suggested that Van Nistelrooy may leave United in the summer - but Ferguson has not made any comment on his future.
RUUD's Version..
Ruud has no problem with Ferguson?
Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy says he has not fallen out with boss Sir Alex Ferguson after being dropped for the Carling Cup final.
Van Nistelrooy was left on the bench during Sunday's 4-0 victory over Wigan with Louis Saha picked ahead of him.
"The manager told me before the game that I wasn't playing," he said.
"I was very disappointed but I could understand why he wanted to play Louis because he has been playing very well in the competition this season."
Van Nistelrooy added: "You have to accept the decision as a professional player.
"There is no problem between me and the manager. I cheered the first two goals with everyone else on the bench and I was happy for the team.
"I've heard suggestions I was acting. Well, if I was, then I'm the best actor in Holland.
"I've scored a lot of goals this season and feel I've been playing well and I hope to be back in the team to play Wigan on Monday. I expect to play the league matches."
Sunday, May 07, 2006
India first stop for mass food, merchant retail
India-The Economic Times
SUNDAY, MAY 07, 2006. NEW YORK: India has emerged as the world’s most attractive destination for mass merchant and food retailing, maintaining its 2005 position in an annual study of retail investment attractiveness among 30 emerging markets.
India was given the top ranking in management consulting company A T Kearney’s 2006 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI).
“The Indian retail market is gradually but surely opening up, while China’s market becomes increasingly saturated,” said Fadi Farra, a principal in A T Kearney’s Consumer Industries and Retail Practice and leader of the GRDI study.
Much to the surprise of market observers, China was ranked fifth in this year’s tally, declining one more place since 2005.
While China remains very attractive, the market is becoming increasingly saturated as international retailers rush to establish a presence and build market share, the study reveals.
According to the study, Asia with a large 40% of the top 20 markets has surpassed Eastern Europe as the ‘dominant region for global retail expansion’.
“The learning is that timing is the most important source of competitive advantage for global and regional retailers in the globalisation race. Knowing when to enter emerging retail markets is the key to success,” said Farra.
Powering Asia’s charge are Vietnam, which has risen five places to third place, and countries like Thailand, South Korea and Malaysia, all of which are in the top 15, the report said.
After topping the ranking for two consecutive years in 2003 and 2004, Russia slipped to second place behind India last year and remained there in 2006 too.
SUNDAY, MAY 07, 2006. NEW YORK: India has emerged as the world’s most attractive destination for mass merchant and food retailing, maintaining its 2005 position in an annual study of retail investment attractiveness among 30 emerging markets.India was given the top ranking in management consulting company A T Kearney’s 2006 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI).
“The Indian retail market is gradually but surely opening up, while China’s market becomes increasingly saturated,” said Fadi Farra, a principal in A T Kearney’s Consumer Industries and Retail Practice and leader of the GRDI study.
Much to the surprise of market observers, China was ranked fifth in this year’s tally, declining one more place since 2005.
While China remains very attractive, the market is becoming increasingly saturated as international retailers rush to establish a presence and build market share, the study reveals.
According to the study, Asia with a large 40% of the top 20 markets has surpassed Eastern Europe as the ‘dominant region for global retail expansion’.
“The learning is that timing is the most important source of competitive advantage for global and regional retailers in the globalisation race. Knowing when to enter emerging retail markets is the key to success,” said Farra.
Powering Asia’s charge are Vietnam, which has risen five places to third place, and countries like Thailand, South Korea and Malaysia, all of which are in the top 15, the report said.
After topping the ranking for two consecutive years in 2003 and 2004, Russia slipped to second place behind India last year and remained there in 2006 too.
Events mark Freud 150th birthday...
BBC NEWS World Europe
Sat 6 May 2006. Freud's theories also had an impact on art, literature and anthropology. Celebrations are being held to mark the 150th birthday of Sigmund Freud, seen as the father of psychoanalysis.
Events are being staged in Vienna - where Freud spent most of his life - and in London, where he was forced to flee from the Nazis in 1938.
But the Viennese celebrations are said to be muted compared to those planned for Mozart's 250th anniversary.
Freud is credited with developing theories mapping the human mind and its links to the unconscious.
His theories are said to have influenced the fields of art, literature, anthropology and religion.
Celebrations
In Vienna, exhibitions, lectures and film festivals are being held.
Vienna's Sigmund Freud Museum, where he lived and had his practice, is opening an exhibit on the couch, a piece of furniture which has become almost synonymous with Freud and psychoanalysis.
However, the celebrations are subdued in comparison to the festivities for Mozart year, the BBC's Bethany Bell says.
Originally the Sigmund Freud Foundation had hoped that a soiree on Freud would be held at the Volksoper Opera house in Vienna on 5 May.
But the Volksoper decided to stage yet another performance of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, our correspondent says.
Sigmund Freud was born in Moravia in what is now the Czech Republic in 1856.
Freud was forced to flee to London after Austria was annexed by the Nazis in 1938.
However, his time in London was short-lived and he died in London in 1939.
Sat 6 May 2006. Freud's theories also had an impact on art, literature and anthropology. Celebrations are being held to mark the 150th birthday of Sigmund Freud, seen as the father of psychoanalysis.Events are being staged in Vienna - where Freud spent most of his life - and in London, where he was forced to flee from the Nazis in 1938.
But the Viennese celebrations are said to be muted compared to those planned for Mozart's 250th anniversary.
Freud is credited with developing theories mapping the human mind and its links to the unconscious.
His theories are said to have influenced the fields of art, literature, anthropology and religion.
Celebrations
In Vienna, exhibitions, lectures and film festivals are being held.
Vienna's Sigmund Freud Museum, where he lived and had his practice, is opening an exhibit on the couch, a piece of furniture which has become almost synonymous with Freud and psychoanalysis.
However, the celebrations are subdued in comparison to the festivities for Mozart year, the BBC's Bethany Bell says.
Originally the Sigmund Freud Foundation had hoped that a soiree on Freud would be held at the Volksoper Opera house in Vienna on 5 May.
But the Volksoper decided to stage yet another performance of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, our correspondent says.
Sigmund Freud was born in Moravia in what is now the Czech Republic in 1856.
Freud was forced to flee to London after Austria was annexed by the Nazis in 1938.
However, his time in London was short-lived and he died in London in 1939.
Anatomy of a crisis...
The Australian
Senior doctors fear today's medical graduates lack basic knowledge about how the body works. Megan Howe reports
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 06, 2006. DISSECTION of the human body was once a rite of passage for medical students – a test of their nerve, their skill and their anatomical knowledge.
But the remarks made by some of today's students while observing autopsies have forensic pathologist Dr Peter Ellis worried about the way medicine is now being taught.
"Students say 'what organ is that – oh, is that what a spleen looks like'," he says.
"I'm a bit horrified that students within one year of becoming qualified doctors have not seen what (organs) they are supposed to be feeling for."
The concerns raised by Dr Ellis, clinical senior lecturer in pathology at the University of Sydney and director of the department of forensic medicine at the Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research at Westmead, are at the heart of a row about anatomy teaching that has polarised the Australian medical fraternity.
While older doctors spent countless hours as students dissecting cadavers, some of today's doctors will graduate having never done a single dissection.
At medical schools worldwide, anatomy teaching has been cut back to make way for the explosion of knowledge in fields like pharmacology, genetics and biochemistry – and the introduction of subjects like communication skills into a crowded curriculum.
While he supports the broader curriculum, Dr Ellis is not convinced students can fully appreciate the structures of the human body without having dissected it.
"They don't hold a heart and see the chambers and see what the vessels looks like, so that when they put a stethoscope on someone's chest to listen for a heart murmur, they are able to picture in their mind what those things look like," he says.
"You can learn that from a book, but when you have got a resource available – and that resource is the human body – it seems crazy not to give medical students access to that material. There is nothing like seeing and touching something to learn."
Associate Professor Barry Oakes, a former anatomy lecturer at Monash University, says he retired in 2002 because of the "appalling state of affairs" regarding the lack of anatomical teaching within Monash's undergraduate course, which was cut from six to five years in 2002.
"Undergraduates have been disempowered from basic anatomy," he says. "You can't make an adequate clinical diagnosis unless you have an understanding of where the body parts are and how they are put together and how they work." He demonstrates his point with a mechanical analogy. "Would you take your car to a mechanic who does not know where all the parts of the engine are?" he asks.
"That is what 'modern' undergraduate medical education is producing: physicians who do not know in detail where all the body parts are, but can tell you in some detail about the metallurgical composition of the hard-facing of the crank shaft."
Last year, several of Australia's leading medicos took up the cause for teaching basic sciences at a conference entitled "Rescuing medical education", run by the Australian Doctors' Fund. The ADF later issued a public statement, calling on the deans of medical schools to ensure that "all medical students receive a comprehensive practical education in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, pharmacology and pathology as an essential requirement and foundation of their medical education and hence reverse the downgrading of these basic medical sciences". They also demanded students be exposed to dissection as an essential part of their medical education. The then Federal Education Minister, Brendan Nelson, pledged his department would review medical education in Australia.
The ongoing review is investigating how well undergraduate medical education prepares graduates for their work as interns and to meet the requirements of postgraduate training in future medical careers.
Professor Lindon Wing, chair of the Committee of Deans of Medical Schools and a member of the review steering committee, believes there is no need for today's students to have the same level of anatomy knowledge as when he was a student.
"There is absolutely no doubt that a medical student does not need the detailed level of anatomical knowledge that was thrust down my throat in 1962 and 1963," he says.
The University of Western Australia's associate dean of teaching and learning in the faculty of medicine, Professor Paul McMenamin, agrees. He stresses that the university is no longer aiming to produce a medical "jack of all trades".
Rather, he says the Australian Medical Council, which accredits medical degree courses, requires the university to produce medical graduates who can work safely, under supervision, in an intern environment.
The anatomy component of the WA university's medical degree was reduced from about 350 to 250 hours in a curriculum revision in 2000.
While a popular, optional dissection course is on offer for those students with a particular interest in it, Professor McMenamin says students largely work with prosected specimens of body parts.
"There are lots of other ways of teaching anatomy that are far more interesting than spending hours cleaning away fat to see one or two small features," he says.
Professor Chris Briggs, deputy head of anatomy and cell biology at the University of Melbourne, say medical students do 130 hours of anatomy, including dissection, in their first two-and-a-half years. That compares to approximately 600 hours of anatomy in the curriculum 30 years ago.
While he believes it would be a "major disadvantage" if students never engaged in dissection, he says anatomy can be taught in a variety of other ways including studying prosected specimens – where organs, limbs or other body parts are already removed and prepared for study, using new imaging techniques and through electronic alternatives such as Anatomedia, developed by the University of Melbourne. which allows students to virtually dissect body parts.
"I think the objective of the current undergraduate course is to provide students with a thorough grounding in the principles and concepts of anatomy," he says. "I'm not sure that it is necessary for undergraduate students to know every minute detail."
After all, most medical graduates will face another three or so years of training in their chosen speciality after they graduate – although they usually work in the hospital system as undifferentiated doctors for two or three years first. Some never do further training.
Professor John Collins, dean of education at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, says you'll get as many opinions on the issue of the teaching of anatomy as people you ask. "Older surgeons, who did two years in anatomy rooms, will all tell you that younger people have grossly inadequate anatomy," he says. "Myself, I wasted an enormous amount of time in anatomy rooms and having to learn it again as a surgeon."
He argues that graduates don't need to have handled organs, but do need a grasp of functional "living anatomy" – much of which can now be gained through imaging, telescopic techniques and computer-based "virtual dissection".
At the centre of the debate sit the students.
Australian Medical Students Association president Teresa Cosgriff, in her fourth year of medicine at Melbourne University, says some students are concerned they are not being taught enough anatomy or being exposed to enough dissection. However, she believes dissection is only a useful learning tool when well guided and supervised. "One student told me he felt like he had just mutilated the perfect opportunity because he didn't know what he was doing," she says.
While she admits she hasn't found dissection particularly useful, Cosgriff says she would still elect to do dissection if it was optional. "It's something students expect. You go into medicine naive, straight out of school, and you expect to have experiences working with specimens."
At the University of Sydney, Associate Professor Chris Roberts, director and assistant dean of the faculty of medicine, says the students graduating today are every bit as skilled as those of yesteryear.
"We've got good evidence that our graduates are just as competent as those from 'traditional' courses," he says.
Professor Wing, dean of Flinders University medical school in SA, also stresses there is no substantial evidence to support claims graduates are missing vital knowledge.
Rather, he says the "publicly strident" lobby group fighting the anatomy cause simply can't accept that students are not being taught exactly the same way they were.
"There has been a major revolution in medical education in Australian in the last 15-plus years," he says. "Every medical course has changed markedly and a number of new medical courses have come on stream. All are subject to a very, very rigorous level of accreditation and peer review based on best international practice. The whole issue is, what is the balance of knowledge that someone needs to have when they come out of medical school?"
Senior doctors fear today's medical graduates lack basic knowledge about how the body works. Megan Howe reports
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 06, 2006. DISSECTION of the human body was once a rite of passage for medical students – a test of their nerve, their skill and their anatomical knowledge.
But the remarks made by some of today's students while observing autopsies have forensic pathologist Dr Peter Ellis worried about the way medicine is now being taught.
"Students say 'what organ is that – oh, is that what a spleen looks like'," he says.
"I'm a bit horrified that students within one year of becoming qualified doctors have not seen what (organs) they are supposed to be feeling for."
The concerns raised by Dr Ellis, clinical senior lecturer in pathology at the University of Sydney and director of the department of forensic medicine at the Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research at Westmead, are at the heart of a row about anatomy teaching that has polarised the Australian medical fraternity.
While older doctors spent countless hours as students dissecting cadavers, some of today's doctors will graduate having never done a single dissection.
At medical schools worldwide, anatomy teaching has been cut back to make way for the explosion of knowledge in fields like pharmacology, genetics and biochemistry – and the introduction of subjects like communication skills into a crowded curriculum.
While he supports the broader curriculum, Dr Ellis is not convinced students can fully appreciate the structures of the human body without having dissected it.
"They don't hold a heart and see the chambers and see what the vessels looks like, so that when they put a stethoscope on someone's chest to listen for a heart murmur, they are able to picture in their mind what those things look like," he says.
"You can learn that from a book, but when you have got a resource available – and that resource is the human body – it seems crazy not to give medical students access to that material. There is nothing like seeing and touching something to learn."
Associate Professor Barry Oakes, a former anatomy lecturer at Monash University, says he retired in 2002 because of the "appalling state of affairs" regarding the lack of anatomical teaching within Monash's undergraduate course, which was cut from six to five years in 2002.
"Undergraduates have been disempowered from basic anatomy," he says. "You can't make an adequate clinical diagnosis unless you have an understanding of where the body parts are and how they are put together and how they work." He demonstrates his point with a mechanical analogy. "Would you take your car to a mechanic who does not know where all the parts of the engine are?" he asks.
"That is what 'modern' undergraduate medical education is producing: physicians who do not know in detail where all the body parts are, but can tell you in some detail about the metallurgical composition of the hard-facing of the crank shaft."
Last year, several of Australia's leading medicos took up the cause for teaching basic sciences at a conference entitled "Rescuing medical education", run by the Australian Doctors' Fund. The ADF later issued a public statement, calling on the deans of medical schools to ensure that "all medical students receive a comprehensive practical education in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, pharmacology and pathology as an essential requirement and foundation of their medical education and hence reverse the downgrading of these basic medical sciences". They also demanded students be exposed to dissection as an essential part of their medical education. The then Federal Education Minister, Brendan Nelson, pledged his department would review medical education in Australia.
The ongoing review is investigating how well undergraduate medical education prepares graduates for their work as interns and to meet the requirements of postgraduate training in future medical careers.
Professor Lindon Wing, chair of the Committee of Deans of Medical Schools and a member of the review steering committee, believes there is no need for today's students to have the same level of anatomy knowledge as when he was a student.
"There is absolutely no doubt that a medical student does not need the detailed level of anatomical knowledge that was thrust down my throat in 1962 and 1963," he says.
The University of Western Australia's associate dean of teaching and learning in the faculty of medicine, Professor Paul McMenamin, agrees. He stresses that the university is no longer aiming to produce a medical "jack of all trades".
Rather, he says the Australian Medical Council, which accredits medical degree courses, requires the university to produce medical graduates who can work safely, under supervision, in an intern environment.
The anatomy component of the WA university's medical degree was reduced from about 350 to 250 hours in a curriculum revision in 2000.
While a popular, optional dissection course is on offer for those students with a particular interest in it, Professor McMenamin says students largely work with prosected specimens of body parts.
"There are lots of other ways of teaching anatomy that are far more interesting than spending hours cleaning away fat to see one or two small features," he says.
Professor Chris Briggs, deputy head of anatomy and cell biology at the University of Melbourne, say medical students do 130 hours of anatomy, including dissection, in their first two-and-a-half years. That compares to approximately 600 hours of anatomy in the curriculum 30 years ago.
While he believes it would be a "major disadvantage" if students never engaged in dissection, he says anatomy can be taught in a variety of other ways including studying prosected specimens – where organs, limbs or other body parts are already removed and prepared for study, using new imaging techniques and through electronic alternatives such as Anatomedia, developed by the University of Melbourne. which allows students to virtually dissect body parts.
"I think the objective of the current undergraduate course is to provide students with a thorough grounding in the principles and concepts of anatomy," he says. "I'm not sure that it is necessary for undergraduate students to know every minute detail."
After all, most medical graduates will face another three or so years of training in their chosen speciality after they graduate – although they usually work in the hospital system as undifferentiated doctors for two or three years first. Some never do further training.
Professor John Collins, dean of education at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, says you'll get as many opinions on the issue of the teaching of anatomy as people you ask. "Older surgeons, who did two years in anatomy rooms, will all tell you that younger people have grossly inadequate anatomy," he says. "Myself, I wasted an enormous amount of time in anatomy rooms and having to learn it again as a surgeon."
He argues that graduates don't need to have handled organs, but do need a grasp of functional "living anatomy" – much of which can now be gained through imaging, telescopic techniques and computer-based "virtual dissection".
At the centre of the debate sit the students.
Australian Medical Students Association president Teresa Cosgriff, in her fourth year of medicine at Melbourne University, says some students are concerned they are not being taught enough anatomy or being exposed to enough dissection. However, she believes dissection is only a useful learning tool when well guided and supervised. "One student told me he felt like he had just mutilated the perfect opportunity because he didn't know what he was doing," she says.
While she admits she hasn't found dissection particularly useful, Cosgriff says she would still elect to do dissection if it was optional. "It's something students expect. You go into medicine naive, straight out of school, and you expect to have experiences working with specimens."
At the University of Sydney, Associate Professor Chris Roberts, director and assistant dean of the faculty of medicine, says the students graduating today are every bit as skilled as those of yesteryear.
"We've got good evidence that our graduates are just as competent as those from 'traditional' courses," he says.
Professor Wing, dean of Flinders University medical school in SA, also stresses there is no substantial evidence to support claims graduates are missing vital knowledge.
Rather, he says the "publicly strident" lobby group fighting the anatomy cause simply can't accept that students are not being taught exactly the same way they were.
"There has been a major revolution in medical education in Australian in the last 15-plus years," he says. "Every medical course has changed markedly and a number of new medical courses have come on stream. All are subject to a very, very rigorous level of accreditation and peer review based on best international practice. The whole issue is, what is the balance of knowledge that someone needs to have when they come out of medical school?"
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Van Gogh portrait fetches $52m...
ABC News Online
Wednesday, May 3, 2006. A van Gogh portrait of a French cafe owner has sold for more than $A52 million at the season's first major impressionist and modern art sale.
Led by the 1890 van Gogh work, L'Arlesienne, Madame Ginoux, which went for $A52.55 million, Christie's took in $A235 million including commissions.
It was the fourth-highest price obtained for a van Gogh painting at auction.
That was the auction house's highest total since May 1990, when a market driven largely by speculation at the hands of Japanese buyers gave way to the crash of the early 1990s.
Sluggish economic conditions did not deter bidders from paying $A45.25 million for Picasso's 1932 work The Rest.
The vibrant, large-scale depiction of the artist's wife, Olga, was estimated to fetch $A19.55 million to $A26 million, but a bidding war erupted.
Auctioneer Christopher Burge says the sale reflects "right across the board a solid, strong market, without being a crazy market".
The prices, he adds, are "not in any way out of control."
In all, 43 of the 50 lots on offer found buyers.
Bidding was more restrained than at some of the more freewheeling sales of recent seasons, but determined bidders drove up the prices of several Picassos and a Kandinsky.
"The art market is incredibly healthy and stable," said Guy Bennett, Christie's head of impressionist and modern art afterward.
Other highlights from the sale included a pair of Henry Moore sculptures, Large Four Piece Reclining Figure and Reclining Figure, which went for $A6.5 million and $A4.7 million respectively.
Kandinsky's Pfeile (Arrows) soared to $A4.95 million, more than twice its high estimate.
The spring sales continue on Wednesday when Sotheby's holds its Impressionist and modern art auction, and both houses will host their contemporary and post-war art sales next week.
Reuters
Wednesday, May 3, 2006. A van Gogh portrait of a French cafe owner has sold for more than $A52 million at the season's first major impressionist and modern art sale.
Led by the 1890 van Gogh work, L'Arlesienne, Madame Ginoux, which went for $A52.55 million, Christie's took in $A235 million including commissions.
It was the fourth-highest price obtained for a van Gogh painting at auction.
That was the auction house's highest total since May 1990, when a market driven largely by speculation at the hands of Japanese buyers gave way to the crash of the early 1990s.
Sluggish economic conditions did not deter bidders from paying $A45.25 million for Picasso's 1932 work The Rest.
The vibrant, large-scale depiction of the artist's wife, Olga, was estimated to fetch $A19.55 million to $A26 million, but a bidding war erupted.
Auctioneer Christopher Burge says the sale reflects "right across the board a solid, strong market, without being a crazy market".
The prices, he adds, are "not in any way out of control."
In all, 43 of the 50 lots on offer found buyers.
Bidding was more restrained than at some of the more freewheeling sales of recent seasons, but determined bidders drove up the prices of several Picassos and a Kandinsky.
"The art market is incredibly healthy and stable," said Guy Bennett, Christie's head of impressionist and modern art afterward.
Other highlights from the sale included a pair of Henry Moore sculptures, Large Four Piece Reclining Figure and Reclining Figure, which went for $A6.5 million and $A4.7 million respectively.
Kandinsky's Pfeile (Arrows) soared to $A4.95 million, more than twice its high estimate.
The spring sales continue on Wednesday when Sotheby's holds its Impressionist and modern art auction, and both houses will host their contemporary and post-war art sales next week.
Reuters
US survey shows autism very common...
Health News-Reuters.com By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
Thu May 4, 2006 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first national surveys of autism show the condition is very common among U.S. children -- with up to one in every 175 with the disorder, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
This adds up to at least 300,000 U.S. schoolchildren with autism, a condition that causes trouble with learning, socializing and behavior, the CDC said.
The CDC analyzed data on 24,673 children whose parents took part in two separate government surveys on health in the United States to generate its first national estimate of the prevalence of autism.
"Together, these two national surveys of parents indicate that at least 300,000 children aged 4 to 17 years old had autism in 2003-04," the CDC said in the report.
The surveys came up with similar results -- that autism has been diagnosed in anywhere between 5.5 per 1,000 and 5.7 per 1,000 children aged 4 to 17. This translates to between one in every 175 to one in every 181 children.
"(The surveys) affirm that autism is a condition of major public health concern that affects many families," Dr. Jose Cordero, director of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, told reporters in a telephone briefing.
He said the findings fit in with previous estimates of autism, which were based on local surveys done in Atlanta and New Jersey.
The 1996 Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program survey showed autism had been diagnosed in 3.4 per 1,000 of the 3- to 10-year-olds included, or one in every 296. The 1998 Brick Township, New Jersey survey showed a rate of 6.7 per 1,000 children of the same age, or one in every 166.
None of the surveys pointed to a cause for autism -- a matter of deep controversy in the United States. Some groups have accused the CDC of covering up data that would link autism with vaccines, although studies in several countries have discounted such a link.
"We recognize that parents want answers," Cordero said.
"If children have autism, parents want to know what caused it and how they can lower this risk if they have other children. We share their frustration."
NO TRENDS
While there were some differences among age groups, the CDC said the differences were not statistically significant.
"Both surveys indicated that boys were nearly four times more likely to have been diagnosed with autism than girls," the CDC said in the report, published in its weekly report on death and disease.
"Both surveys indicated that Hispanic children were less likely to have an autism diagnosis." The survey could not indicate why that might be.
Laura Schieve, an epidemiologist at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities who helped conduct the study, said the study could not answer many questions about autism.
"Although often autism can be identified as early as 18 months, many children will not be diagnosed until they get to school," she told the briefing.
And parents of older children could easily have forgotten an early childhood diagnosis, she said.
"After children have received treatment for an extended time, they may show fewer symptoms of autism," she added.
"Also the criteria for autism have been broadened slightly."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Thu May 4, 2006 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first national surveys of autism show the condition is very common among U.S. children -- with up to one in every 175 with the disorder, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
This adds up to at least 300,000 U.S. schoolchildren with autism, a condition that causes trouble with learning, socializing and behavior, the CDC said.
The CDC analyzed data on 24,673 children whose parents took part in two separate government surveys on health in the United States to generate its first national estimate of the prevalence of autism.
"Together, these two national surveys of parents indicate that at least 300,000 children aged 4 to 17 years old had autism in 2003-04," the CDC said in the report.
The surveys came up with similar results -- that autism has been diagnosed in anywhere between 5.5 per 1,000 and 5.7 per 1,000 children aged 4 to 17. This translates to between one in every 175 to one in every 181 children.
"(The surveys) affirm that autism is a condition of major public health concern that affects many families," Dr. Jose Cordero, director of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, told reporters in a telephone briefing.
He said the findings fit in with previous estimates of autism, which were based on local surveys done in Atlanta and New Jersey.
The 1996 Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program survey showed autism had been diagnosed in 3.4 per 1,000 of the 3- to 10-year-olds included, or one in every 296. The 1998 Brick Township, New Jersey survey showed a rate of 6.7 per 1,000 children of the same age, or one in every 166.
None of the surveys pointed to a cause for autism -- a matter of deep controversy in the United States. Some groups have accused the CDC of covering up data that would link autism with vaccines, although studies in several countries have discounted such a link.
"We recognize that parents want answers," Cordero said.
"If children have autism, parents want to know what caused it and how they can lower this risk if they have other children. We share their frustration."
NO TRENDS
While there were some differences among age groups, the CDC said the differences were not statistically significant.
"Both surveys indicated that boys were nearly four times more likely to have been diagnosed with autism than girls," the CDC said in the report, published in its weekly report on death and disease.
"Both surveys indicated that Hispanic children were less likely to have an autism diagnosis." The survey could not indicate why that might be.
Laura Schieve, an epidemiologist at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities who helped conduct the study, said the study could not answer many questions about autism.
"Although often autism can be identified as early as 18 months, many children will not be diagnosed until they get to school," she told the briefing.
And parents of older children could easily have forgotten an early childhood diagnosis, she said.
"After children have received treatment for an extended time, they may show fewer symptoms of autism," she added.
"Also the criteria for autism have been broadened slightly."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
It's hard out there for a virgin...
Reuters.com
Fri May 5, 2006 BERLIN (Reuters) - A brothel has become the first in Berlin to offer special deals for virgins with prostitutes trained in the delicate art of catering for customers who have never had sex, a German newspaper reported Friday.
The brothel in the red light area of the Kreuzberg district of the city charges 60 euros for a half an hour of sex and works within the laws of Germany where prostitution is legal.
"These are men who either never had sex before or have never been in a brothel before," the brothel's operator was quoted as saying in Berlin's B.Z. tabloid.
"It's the first house of love in Berlin that specializes in taking care of beginners," wrote the daily on its front page.
Prostitutes are given "sensitivity training" for first-time clients, who the brothel operator said are not necessarily young but often 40 or older: "They need to be aware of how much courage it takes to go to a brothel the first time."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Fri May 5, 2006 BERLIN (Reuters) - A brothel has become the first in Berlin to offer special deals for virgins with prostitutes trained in the delicate art of catering for customers who have never had sex, a German newspaper reported Friday.The brothel in the red light area of the Kreuzberg district of the city charges 60 euros for a half an hour of sex and works within the laws of Germany where prostitution is legal.
"These are men who either never had sex before or have never been in a brothel before," the brothel's operator was quoted as saying in Berlin's B.Z. tabloid.
"It's the first house of love in Berlin that specializes in taking care of beginners," wrote the daily on its front page.
Prostitutes are given "sensitivity training" for first-time clients, who the brothel operator said are not necessarily young but often 40 or older: "They need to be aware of how much courage it takes to go to a brothel the first time."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Primus joins Internet telephony battle..
ZDNet Australia: News: Communications
By Renai LeMay.
6 March 2006. Primus Telecom this morning became the latest telco to add a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service to its broadband offerings.
Like existing offerings from iiNet and Internode, Primus' service -- dubbed "TalkBroadband" -- does not require the user to own a computer, as it can be used by plugging a normal telephone into an ADSL router.
The service has been modelled on Primus' "Lingo" VoIP service offered in the United States. It offers standard telephony features like call forward, call return, call waiting, last number redial and caller ID.
Call costs for the service are similar to competing offerings, with untimed local calls to anywhere in Australia costing a flat 10 cents per call. Charges for international calls start from 2.7 cents a minute.
However unlike several competitors, Primus will charge monthly line rental for its VoIP offering.
Three plans are available, with price points set at AU$9.95 per month, AU$19.95 per month and AU$29.95 per month. The AU$29.95 plan includes some free local, national and international calls.
According to Primus' Web site, TalkBroadband will count towards download data usage, and the analogue telephone adapter used to access the service is locked to Primus' VoIP network, unless users pay a fee to have it unlocked.
Further information is available in a "Frequently Asked Questions" document at Primus' Web site.
By Renai LeMay.
6 March 2006. Primus Telecom this morning became the latest telco to add a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service to its broadband offerings.
Like existing offerings from iiNet and Internode, Primus' service -- dubbed "TalkBroadband" -- does not require the user to own a computer, as it can be used by plugging a normal telephone into an ADSL router.
The service has been modelled on Primus' "Lingo" VoIP service offered in the United States. It offers standard telephony features like call forward, call return, call waiting, last number redial and caller ID.
Call costs for the service are similar to competing offerings, with untimed local calls to anywhere in Australia costing a flat 10 cents per call. Charges for international calls start from 2.7 cents a minute.
However unlike several competitors, Primus will charge monthly line rental for its VoIP offering.
Three plans are available, with price points set at AU$9.95 per month, AU$19.95 per month and AU$29.95 per month. The AU$29.95 plan includes some free local, national and international calls.
According to Primus' Web site, TalkBroadband will count towards download data usage, and the analogue telephone adapter used to access the service is locked to Primus' VoIP network, unless users pay a fee to have it unlocked.
Further information is available in a "Frequently Asked Questions" document at Primus' Web site.
Psychologist to be UK's oldest mother at 63...
Health News-Reuters.com By Gavin Jones and Tim Castle
Thu May 4, 2006 ROME/LONDON (Reuters) - A 63-year-old British hospital consultant is set to become one of the world's oldest mothers after undergoing fertility treatment, the Italian doctor who treated her said on Thursday.
Patricia Rashbrook, a child psychologist from Lewes, East Sussex, was given in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment last October, Severino Antinori told Reuters.
Antinori, who said he was "excited and proud" about the treatment, gained notoriety in the early 1990s when he helped a 62-year-old Italian woman give birth following fertility treatment with a donated egg.
Italy has since introduced some of Europe's most restrictive laws on assisted reproduction and Antinori said he had carried out the procedure on Rashbrook in an unnamed former Soviet republic.
"The case of the English woman gave me great joy," he said, adding that the treatment was successful at the first attempt, using a single embryo.
He said Rashbrook, whom he last saw in November, was "perfect" for the treatment, because although she was 62 at the time, she had a biological age of about 45.
"She came here with her husband, the couple love each other, she is very slim, blonde and in perfect condition, she fits all the criteria for maternity."
"She should live for at least 20 to 25 years -- we are not giving birth to an orphan," he said.
Rashbrook's 61-year-old husband, John Farrant, told the Sun newspaper that his wife was seven months pregnant.
"We are of course both very happy and looking forward to the birth," he said.
"Obviously at our age it is quite a daunting prospect."
Farrant is Rashbrook's second husband and she has a 26-year-old daughter and a 22-year0old son, the paper said.
In a joint statement the couple said: "We wish to emphasize that this has not been an endeavor undertaken lightly or without courage."
"A great deal of thought has been given to planning and providing for the child's present and future wellbeing, medically, socially and materially."
Many fertility clinics in Britain will not provide treatment for women past the normal age for childbirth.
In 1997, Welsh woman Liz Buttle became Britain's oldest mother at the age of 60. Media reports said she had obtained fertility treatment after lying about her age to doctors.
Last year, a 66-year-old Romanian, Adriana Iliescu, became the world's oldest mother when she gave birth to a baby girl after IVF treatment.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Thu May 4, 2006 ROME/LONDON (Reuters) - A 63-year-old British hospital consultant is set to become one of the world's oldest mothers after undergoing fertility treatment, the Italian doctor who treated her said on Thursday.
Patricia Rashbrook, a child psychologist from Lewes, East Sussex, was given in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment last October, Severino Antinori told Reuters.
Antinori, who said he was "excited and proud" about the treatment, gained notoriety in the early 1990s when he helped a 62-year-old Italian woman give birth following fertility treatment with a donated egg.
Italy has since introduced some of Europe's most restrictive laws on assisted reproduction and Antinori said he had carried out the procedure on Rashbrook in an unnamed former Soviet republic.
"The case of the English woman gave me great joy," he said, adding that the treatment was successful at the first attempt, using a single embryo.
He said Rashbrook, whom he last saw in November, was "perfect" for the treatment, because although she was 62 at the time, she had a biological age of about 45.
"She came here with her husband, the couple love each other, she is very slim, blonde and in perfect condition, she fits all the criteria for maternity."
"She should live for at least 20 to 25 years -- we are not giving birth to an orphan," he said.
Rashbrook's 61-year-old husband, John Farrant, told the Sun newspaper that his wife was seven months pregnant.
"We are of course both very happy and looking forward to the birth," he said.
"Obviously at our age it is quite a daunting prospect."
Farrant is Rashbrook's second husband and she has a 26-year-old daughter and a 22-year0old son, the paper said.
In a joint statement the couple said: "We wish to emphasize that this has not been an endeavor undertaken lightly or without courage."
"A great deal of thought has been given to planning and providing for the child's present and future wellbeing, medically, socially and materially."
Many fertility clinics in Britain will not provide treatment for women past the normal age for childbirth.
In 1997, Welsh woman Liz Buttle became Britain's oldest mother at the age of 60. Media reports said she had obtained fertility treatment after lying about her age to doctors.
Last year, a 66-year-old Romanian, Adriana Iliescu, became the world's oldest mother when she gave birth to a baby girl after IVF treatment.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Na nachtvorst komt zonneschijn...
Eindhovens Dagblad Door Jan Speelman
<--- EVEN WAT ZONNEN!
Dinsdag 4 mei 2006 HELMOND/EINDHOVEN – Het warmterecord in de regio werd gisteren genoteerd op vliegbasis Eindhoven: 26 graden. De zonaanbidders spoedden zich dan ook naar de stranden om te genieten van de eerste zomerse dag van het jaar.
Claudia Hensen en David van den Hurk genieten op Sunrise Beachclub in Best van de eerste zonnestralen. Foto Jurriaan Balke
Wie z’n ogen een beetje dichtknijpt op Sunrise
Beachclub bij Aquabest waant zich al snel in mediterrane sferen. De trendy club is het domein van Jeeps op de parkeerplaats, Von Dutch op het welgevormde lichaam en welgekozen jazzy loungeklanken uit de boxen. Bediening, champagne, palmbomen (plastic, maar toch) en het kleine jacht (de ’James Bond’) maken het Monaco-plaatje compleet.
Lekker lui
„Het is hier gezellig samenkomen“, constateert vaste gast David van den Hurk (29) uit Eindhoven. „Je kan hier echt lekker lui zijn.“
Samen met Claudia Hensen (22) wachtte hij met grote smart op de eerste zomerse dag. „Vorig jaar zaten we hier alle dagen dat het zonnig was. Maar sinds oktober zijn we hier niet meer geweest.“ Hensen: „De winter heeft nu lang genoeg geduurd, ik werd er echt chagrijnig van. Maar dit is heerlijk, om vrolijk van te worden. Echt een verademing.“
Club-eigenaar Jochem van Pelt (25) kijkt tevreden hoe de luxe strandstoelen zich vullen met genietende gasten. Ook bij het verderop gelegen cablewaterskicenter en het kinderparadijs DippiDoe – de joelende kinderen gelukkig op veilige afstand van de zachte lounge-jazz – is het opvallend druk. Honderden mensen vermaken zich aan de waterkant.
Van Pelt: „De mensen die hier komen, houden van een beetje luxe. Bediening, lekker sfeertje, dj’s: echt een klein paradijsje.“
Zwembroek
Bij de Helmondse recreatieplas Berkendonk gaat het er intussen heel wat minder trendy aan toe. Het is er rustig en twijfelaars bepalen het beeld: korte mouwen, korte broek, dat werk. Zonaanbidder Ad Scheepers (45) durft echter te kiezen, en geniet in zwembroek van de eerste echte zonnekracht. „Het is genieten geblazen“, zegt hij. „De winter heeft lang genoeg geduurd. Ongelofelijk dat het nu zo warm is. Twee weken geleden hadden we nog nachtvorst.“
Tot zijn spijt zijn de twee kleine strandhuisjes nog gesloten.
„Jammer dat er zo weinig te doen is, vooral voor kinderen. Er zijn geen ijsjes te koop, geen drinken, niks. Dat zou de gemeente wel wat beter mogen regelen, wat mij betreft.“
<--- EVEN WAT ZONNEN! Dinsdag 4 mei 2006 HELMOND/EINDHOVEN – Het warmterecord in de regio werd gisteren genoteerd op vliegbasis Eindhoven: 26 graden. De zonaanbidders spoedden zich dan ook naar de stranden om te genieten van de eerste zomerse dag van het jaar.
Claudia Hensen en David van den Hurk genieten op Sunrise Beachclub in Best van de eerste zonnestralen. Foto Jurriaan Balke
Wie z’n ogen een beetje dichtknijpt op Sunrise
Beachclub bij Aquabest waant zich al snel in mediterrane sferen. De trendy club is het domein van Jeeps op de parkeerplaats, Von Dutch op het welgevormde lichaam en welgekozen jazzy loungeklanken uit de boxen. Bediening, champagne, palmbomen (plastic, maar toch) en het kleine jacht (de ’James Bond’) maken het Monaco-plaatje compleet.
Lekker lui
„Het is hier gezellig samenkomen“, constateert vaste gast David van den Hurk (29) uit Eindhoven. „Je kan hier echt lekker lui zijn.“
Samen met Claudia Hensen (22) wachtte hij met grote smart op de eerste zomerse dag. „Vorig jaar zaten we hier alle dagen dat het zonnig was. Maar sinds oktober zijn we hier niet meer geweest.“ Hensen: „De winter heeft nu lang genoeg geduurd, ik werd er echt chagrijnig van. Maar dit is heerlijk, om vrolijk van te worden. Echt een verademing.“
Club-eigenaar Jochem van Pelt (25) kijkt tevreden hoe de luxe strandstoelen zich vullen met genietende gasten. Ook bij het verderop gelegen cablewaterskicenter en het kinderparadijs DippiDoe – de joelende kinderen gelukkig op veilige afstand van de zachte lounge-jazz – is het opvallend druk. Honderden mensen vermaken zich aan de waterkant.
Van Pelt: „De mensen die hier komen, houden van een beetje luxe. Bediening, lekker sfeertje, dj’s: echt een klein paradijsje.“
Zwembroek
Bij de Helmondse recreatieplas Berkendonk gaat het er intussen heel wat minder trendy aan toe. Het is er rustig en twijfelaars bepalen het beeld: korte mouwen, korte broek, dat werk. Zonaanbidder Ad Scheepers (45) durft echter te kiezen, en geniet in zwembroek van de eerste echte zonnekracht. „Het is genieten geblazen“, zegt hij. „De winter heeft lang genoeg geduurd. Ongelofelijk dat het nu zo warm is. Twee weken geleden hadden we nog nachtvorst.“
Tot zijn spijt zijn de twee kleine strandhuisjes nog gesloten.
„Jammer dat er zo weinig te doen is, vooral voor kinderen. Er zijn geen ijsjes te koop, geen drinken, niks. Dat zou de gemeente wel wat beter mogen regelen, wat mij betreft.“
Man weighing 1,200 pounds seeks life-saving surgery...
Health News-Reuters.com By Phil Stewart
Wed May 3, 2006 ROME (Reuters) - A Mexican man who at 550 kg (1,200 lb) is possibly the heaviest person in the world hopes to travel to Italy for a life-saving operation to shed weight.
Manuel Uribe, bedridden for the past five years, cannot stand on his own and will need a special flight to take him from Monterrey, Mexico to Modena, where a surgical team has offered to perform an intestinal bypass free of charge.
"I can't walk. I'm can't leave my bed," the 40-year-old Uribe, who weighs the same as five baby elephants, said in a recent telephone interview.
"I'm trying to reduce my weight a bit right now so I can be in the right condition for the operation."
Uribe made an impassioned plea for help earlier this year on Mexican television, saying he weighed a more normal 130 kg (290 lb) until aged 22 and did not know what happened to him.
The broadcast drew the attention of doctor Giancarlo De Bernardinis, who visited Mexico with a medical team to examine Uribe in March.
Bernardinis, whose biggest patient to date weighed 350 kg (770 lb), told Reuters he plans a gall bladder, intestinal bypass procedure that will allow Uribe to pass food more quickly without so many calories being absorbed.
Bernardinis planned to perform the surgery in Modena as early as this month, although a Mexican health official doubted Uribe would be ready for a trip to Europe that quickly.
MEDICAL MYSTERY
Uribe's case puzzles doctors since his cholesterol and blood-sugar levels are normal, despite his extreme obesity.
"His heart works very well. He has some respiratory difficulty because of his obesity, but in strict terms, he's well," said Marco Anibal Rodriguez Vargas, the director of hospitals in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.
Rodriguez Vargas said Mexican hospitals still hoped to treat Uribe themselves, but added Uribe would ultimately decide what to do.
Uribe said it was just a matter of time before he went to Italy: "Are we going? Yes. We're going. But the doctors will decide when."
The operation would last four to five hours and would likely require Uribe to spend one month in Italy.
"He will always be heavier than normal but certainly not like he is now ... We would be satisfied even if he weighed 150 kg (330 lb) after two years," Bernardinis said.
No one has managed to find suitable scales for Uribe in years and estimates of his weight are made partly by tape-measure. Guinness World Records 2006 only said it was aware of living people weighing over 508 kg (1,120 lb).
The record for the heaviest man ever is held by Jon Brower Minnoch, who died in Seattle in 1983 after reaching a record 635 kg (1,400 lb). He was in his early 40s.
Uribe hopes to avoid that fate. His wife, horrified by his increasing size, feared the worst and abandoned him more than a decade ago.
"She left me because she must have thought I was dying," Uribe said.
"Thank God, I'm still alive and hopefully will be able to take care of this problem."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wed May 3, 2006 ROME (Reuters) - A Mexican man who at 550 kg (1,200 lb) is possibly the heaviest person in the world hopes to travel to Italy for a life-saving operation to shed weight.Manuel Uribe, bedridden for the past five years, cannot stand on his own and will need a special flight to take him from Monterrey, Mexico to Modena, where a surgical team has offered to perform an intestinal bypass free of charge.
"I can't walk. I'm can't leave my bed," the 40-year-old Uribe, who weighs the same as five baby elephants, said in a recent telephone interview.
"I'm trying to reduce my weight a bit right now so I can be in the right condition for the operation."
Uribe made an impassioned plea for help earlier this year on Mexican television, saying he weighed a more normal 130 kg (290 lb) until aged 22 and did not know what happened to him.
The broadcast drew the attention of doctor Giancarlo De Bernardinis, who visited Mexico with a medical team to examine Uribe in March.
Bernardinis, whose biggest patient to date weighed 350 kg (770 lb), told Reuters he plans a gall bladder, intestinal bypass procedure that will allow Uribe to pass food more quickly without so many calories being absorbed.
Bernardinis planned to perform the surgery in Modena as early as this month, although a Mexican health official doubted Uribe would be ready for a trip to Europe that quickly.
MEDICAL MYSTERY
Uribe's case puzzles doctors since his cholesterol and blood-sugar levels are normal, despite his extreme obesity.
"His heart works very well. He has some respiratory difficulty because of his obesity, but in strict terms, he's well," said Marco Anibal Rodriguez Vargas, the director of hospitals in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.
Rodriguez Vargas said Mexican hospitals still hoped to treat Uribe themselves, but added Uribe would ultimately decide what to do.
Uribe said it was just a matter of time before he went to Italy: "Are we going? Yes. We're going. But the doctors will decide when."
The operation would last four to five hours and would likely require Uribe to spend one month in Italy.
"He will always be heavier than normal but certainly not like he is now ... We would be satisfied even if he weighed 150 kg (330 lb) after two years," Bernardinis said.
No one has managed to find suitable scales for Uribe in years and estimates of his weight are made partly by tape-measure. Guinness World Records 2006 only said it was aware of living people weighing over 508 kg (1,120 lb).
The record for the heaviest man ever is held by Jon Brower Minnoch, who died in Seattle in 1983 after reaching a record 635 kg (1,400 lb). He was in his early 40s.
Uribe hopes to avoid that fate. His wife, horrified by his increasing size, feared the worst and abandoned him more than a decade ago.
"She left me because she must have thought I was dying," Uribe said.
"Thank God, I'm still alive and hopefully will be able to take care of this problem."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Charity exec who stole to pay dominatrix gets jail...
Reuters.com By Jeanne King
Wed May 3, 2006 NEW YORK (Reuters) - An executive at a heart disease charitable foundation who embezzled close to a quarter of a million dollars over two years to pay a dominatrix to beat him was sentenced Tuesday to two to six years in prison.
Abraham Alexander, an accounts payable executive at the Manhattan Cardiovascular Research Foundation, admitted to stealing $237,162 and spending most of it on services provided by a Columbus, Ohio-based dominatrix called Lady Sage.
Manhattan prosecutors said Alexander, a Singapore-born citizen of India, had forged or altered checks payable to himself, to two credit card companies and to an online-based dominatrix company called Through the Looking Glass.
Alexander, 45, bought airline tickets for trips between New York and Ohio, paid for car rentals in Ohio and charged purchases at stores called Wicked Naughty Accessories and Leather Creations and at Victoria's Secret, prosecutors said.
In jail since his arrest in November, Alexander pleaded guilty to grand larceny in Manhattan Supreme Court in March.
His wife, who is raising their two daughters in their Long Island home, filed for divorce after Alexander was arrested.
Judge Renee White told Alexander that if he came up with more than half of the $237,162 he stole, she would shorten his prison term to one to three years. He had faced up to 15 years in prison had he been convicted at trial.
Lady Sage's Web site features dozens of photographs of the stern, unsmiling dominatrix carrying a whip. She is seen in some pictures wearing a feathered boa over leather or with a metal-studded thong bikini in high-heeled boots.
She lists her services at $250 for the first hour and $200 for each additional hour. An eight-hour session costs $1,500 and 12 hours runs clients $2,000. Lady Sage also commands $1,000 a day in travel expenses if she has to beat a customer on his own turf.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wed May 3, 2006 NEW YORK (Reuters) - An executive at a heart disease charitable foundation who embezzled close to a quarter of a million dollars over two years to pay a dominatrix to beat him was sentenced Tuesday to two to six years in prison.Abraham Alexander, an accounts payable executive at the Manhattan Cardiovascular Research Foundation, admitted to stealing $237,162 and spending most of it on services provided by a Columbus, Ohio-based dominatrix called Lady Sage.
Manhattan prosecutors said Alexander, a Singapore-born citizen of India, had forged or altered checks payable to himself, to two credit card companies and to an online-based dominatrix company called Through the Looking Glass.
Alexander, 45, bought airline tickets for trips between New York and Ohio, paid for car rentals in Ohio and charged purchases at stores called Wicked Naughty Accessories and Leather Creations and at Victoria's Secret, prosecutors said.
In jail since his arrest in November, Alexander pleaded guilty to grand larceny in Manhattan Supreme Court in March.
His wife, who is raising their two daughters in their Long Island home, filed for divorce after Alexander was arrested.
Judge Renee White told Alexander that if he came up with more than half of the $237,162 he stole, she would shorten his prison term to one to three years. He had faced up to 15 years in prison had he been convicted at trial.
Lady Sage's Web site features dozens of photographs of the stern, unsmiling dominatrix carrying a whip. She is seen in some pictures wearing a feathered boa over leather or with a metal-studded thong bikini in high-heeled boots.
She lists her services at $250 for the first hour and $200 for each additional hour. An eight-hour session costs $1,500 and 12 hours runs clients $2,000. Lady Sage also commands $1,000 a day in travel expenses if she has to beat a customer on his own turf.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Oorlogstrauma niet overdraagbaar op kind...
Trouw, hetNieuws nederland
De wijdverbreide gedachte dat partners en kinderen van oorlogsslachtoffers zelf ook een oorlogstrauma kunnen ontwikkelen, berust op drijfzand.
Dat stelt psychiater Arend Veeninga in het Maandblad Geestelijke volksgezondheid, dat zaterdag verschijnt. „Familieleden noemen wel eens dezelfde klachten als mensen die zelf traumatische oorlogservaringen hebben meegemaakt: angst, spanning, slapeloosheid en zelfs herbeleving”, zegt Veeninga. „Veel behandelaars spreken dan van een ’secundair trauma’. Maar er zijn geen wetenschappelijke bewijzen dat dit ziektebeeld bestaat.”
Veeninga is voorzitter van de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychotherapie en werkt in het Sinai Centrum in Amersfoort, dat zich toelegt op de behandeling van slachtoffers van oorlog en geweld. Daar raakte hij geïnteresseerd in de vermeende ’besmettelijkheid’ van oorlogstrauma’s. Niet alleen voor familieleden, ook voor behandelaars die veel met getraumatiseerde mensen werken.
„Er is onderzoek naar gedaan, onder meer bij Vietnam-veteranen en familieleden van slachtoffers van de holocaust”, ontdekte hij. „Maar dat onderzoek kan de toets der kritiek zelden doorstaan.” Zo zag hij studies met een duidelijke ’voorselectie’ van proefpersonen die al onder behandeling waren, of al meenden een secundair trauma te hebben.
Ook vond hij wetenschappelijke studies die juist níet wijzen op het bestaan van secundair trauma. Uit een overzicht van onderzoeken onder kinderen van holocaustslachtoffers bleek dat deze mensen over het algemeen redelijk tot goed functioneerden. Alleen op ziekte of ingrijpende gebeurtenissen reageerden ze gevoeliger. „En dat is iets anders dan het hebben van een posttraumatische stress-stoornis.”
Veel partners en kinderen van oorlogsslachtoffers hebben absoluut problemen, benadrukt hij: „Daar wil ik niets aan afdoen. Vraag is alleen hoe dat komt: door het verhaal van hun naaste, waardoor deze mensen zelf een trauma oplopen, of door het agressieve gedrag of het aanhoudende zwijgen van een oorlogsslachtoffer? Het laatste ligt veel meer voor de hand.”
In die zin, zegt hij, onderscheiden partners en kinderen van oorlogsslachtoffers zich niet van familieleden van verslaafden of psychiatrisch patiënten. „Maar een secundair oorlogstrauma klinkt gewoon beter dan lijden onder een alcoholische vader.” Hij signaleert in de hele samenleving toch al een groeiende neiging van mensen om zich als slachtoffer te zien van welk –vermeend– trauma dan ook.
Maar de ’status’ van het trauma heeft zijn prijs: „Als familieleden van slachtoffers de oorlog de schuld blijven geven van hun eigen psychische toestand, komen ze niet aan de werkelijke problemen toe. Ze blijven steken in hun slachtofferrol en staan zo genezing in de weg.”
De wijdverbreide gedachte dat partners en kinderen van oorlogsslachtoffers zelf ook een oorlogstrauma kunnen ontwikkelen, berust op drijfzand.
Dat stelt psychiater Arend Veeninga in het Maandblad Geestelijke volksgezondheid, dat zaterdag verschijnt. „Familieleden noemen wel eens dezelfde klachten als mensen die zelf traumatische oorlogservaringen hebben meegemaakt: angst, spanning, slapeloosheid en zelfs herbeleving”, zegt Veeninga. „Veel behandelaars spreken dan van een ’secundair trauma’. Maar er zijn geen wetenschappelijke bewijzen dat dit ziektebeeld bestaat.”
Veeninga is voorzitter van de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychotherapie en werkt in het Sinai Centrum in Amersfoort, dat zich toelegt op de behandeling van slachtoffers van oorlog en geweld. Daar raakte hij geïnteresseerd in de vermeende ’besmettelijkheid’ van oorlogstrauma’s. Niet alleen voor familieleden, ook voor behandelaars die veel met getraumatiseerde mensen werken.
„Er is onderzoek naar gedaan, onder meer bij Vietnam-veteranen en familieleden van slachtoffers van de holocaust”, ontdekte hij. „Maar dat onderzoek kan de toets der kritiek zelden doorstaan.” Zo zag hij studies met een duidelijke ’voorselectie’ van proefpersonen die al onder behandeling waren, of al meenden een secundair trauma te hebben.
Ook vond hij wetenschappelijke studies die juist níet wijzen op het bestaan van secundair trauma. Uit een overzicht van onderzoeken onder kinderen van holocaustslachtoffers bleek dat deze mensen over het algemeen redelijk tot goed functioneerden. Alleen op ziekte of ingrijpende gebeurtenissen reageerden ze gevoeliger. „En dat is iets anders dan het hebben van een posttraumatische stress-stoornis.”
Veel partners en kinderen van oorlogsslachtoffers hebben absoluut problemen, benadrukt hij: „Daar wil ik niets aan afdoen. Vraag is alleen hoe dat komt: door het verhaal van hun naaste, waardoor deze mensen zelf een trauma oplopen, of door het agressieve gedrag of het aanhoudende zwijgen van een oorlogsslachtoffer? Het laatste ligt veel meer voor de hand.”
In die zin, zegt hij, onderscheiden partners en kinderen van oorlogsslachtoffers zich niet van familieleden van verslaafden of psychiatrisch patiënten. „Maar een secundair oorlogstrauma klinkt gewoon beter dan lijden onder een alcoholische vader.” Hij signaleert in de hele samenleving toch al een groeiende neiging van mensen om zich als slachtoffer te zien van welk –vermeend– trauma dan ook.
Maar de ’status’ van het trauma heeft zijn prijs: „Als familieleden van slachtoffers de oorlog de schuld blijven geven van hun eigen psychische toestand, komen ze niet aan de werkelijke problemen toe. Ze blijven steken in hun slachtofferrol en staan zo genezing in de weg.”
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