Anne Bouey

"Nearly 1,000 protesters from a Muslim ethnic group rioted in China's far west, overturning barricades, attacking bystanders and clashing with police in violence that killed at least three people, including a policeman, state media and witnesses said. State media initially said at least three ethnic Han Chinese were killed in the violence Sunday, though later reported that an unknown number died, among them an armed policeman. An activist group said one demonstrator may have died. Protesters, mostly from the Uighur ethnic group, set at least one car on fire, overturned police barriers and attacked buses in several hours of violence that appeared to subside somewhat as police and military presence intensified into the night, according to participants and witnesses. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that "the situation was under control" by Monday morning and that police had shut down traffic in parts of the city as a precaution. Tensions between Uighurs and Chinese are never far... more... - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Zimbabwe has promised to withdraw its soldiers from diamond fields in the east, an official newspaper reported Sunday — a week after a rights group alleged the military was committing killings and abuses in the area. The move appeared to be an attempt to diffuse criticism over the military's takeover of the Marange diamond fields and ensure that Zimbabwe's precious stones won't be tainted with the "blood diamond" label by activists, which would reduce their value. The Ministry of Mines denied last month's report by Human Rights Watch that said troops had killed more than 200 people at the Marange diamond fields while forcing children to search for diamonds and beating villagers who got in the way. Instead, Zimbabwe's coalition government said the military was there to secure the area, about 150 miles (250 kilometers) east of Harare, where mining is managed by the state's Mining Development Corp. The 60,000-hectare (140,000-acre) Marange diamond fields were discovered in 2006 — at the... more... - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Looks like everyone's favorite meany is making nice. After Simon Cowell recently spoke out about mistakes made in handling the Susan Boyle phenomenon, the famed music man has teamed up with the Britain's Got Talent songstress to begin production on her debut album and the duo has already recorded her first song. "She sounds fantastic on record," Cowell tells People. "She's so good, the album is not just going to be show tunes." Just don't expect to see Boyle's record out any time soon. After the runner-up's countless issues with hospitalization, stress and exhaustion, the American Idol judge reassures fans: "We're going to take our time with this." Sources say that Boyle's Sony Music label is also on board with absolutely no pressure to record being placed on the overnight-sensation, as well as an open option to walk away from the project at any time. Despite a few bumps along the way, Boyle can currently be seen performing across the U.K. on the Britain's Got Talent tour." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"The growing evidence that caffeine consumption may help treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease has received an extra boost from two new studies. Florida researchers report that a daily dose of 500 milligrams of caffeine -- the equivalent found in five 8-ounce cups of coffee -- reversed memory issues in mice bred to develop Alzheimer-like symptoms. After two months on the stimulant, the mice rebounded to score just as well on memory tests as normal mice of the same age that had never exhibited signs of dementia." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Has the housing market scraped bottom? Not in some of the wealthier neighborhoods -- places like New York City's Greenwich Village, Santa Monica, Calif. and Chicago's Lincoln Park. They held up nicely while the rest of the country slumped last year. This year such Tiffany zip codes are on track to fall 15 percent to 25 percent. Why haven't you heard about this? Statistics lag. With relatively low unemployment, high-end addresses don't have foreclosures to hasten capitulation. If they've attracted luxury high-rise developers, these markets may be propped up by recent condo closings at foolish prices agreed to two years ago. But talk to experts who know the regions block by block -- or to people who've sold (or tried to sell) a home or co-op. There is a still-growing supply of wildly overpriced, unsold homes--60,000 U.S. properties priced above $2 million listed on Realtor.com. Experts get these gloomy vibes by dividing inventory by the current monthly rate of purchases." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Uganda will pass a law banning female genital mutilation, which is rampant among pastoralist tribes in the country's eastern region, the president said in a statement Friday. "The way God made it, there is no part of a human body that is useless," President Yoweri Museveni told a gathering in the eastern Karamoja district. "Now you people interfere with God's work. Some say it is culture. Yes, I support culture but you must support culture that is useful and based on scientific information," he added. Last year, the United Nations passed a resolution that called female genital mutilation a violation of the rights of women and said it constituted "irreparable, irreversible abuse." The resolution also said female circumcision increases the risk of HIV transmission, as well as maternal and infant mortality. The UN estimates that between 100 million to 140 million worldwide have undergone the practice." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

Good news. I hope it's enforced as strictly as possible. - John

"Michael Jackson's untimely death coupled with the deaths of Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett in the same week revived the belief of many that celebrity deaths, plane crashes and all manner of catastrophes come in threes. The persistence of this belief is difficult to explain since the case for it is so easily demolished. After all, every recurrent phenomenon must come in threes. All we need to do is wait for the third one to occur. If Michael Jackson hadn't died, we would simply wait for another celebrity to die. Given how many people we tend to elevate to this status, this shouldn't take long. Billy Mays and Gayle Storm, for example, died as I wrote this. Or we could go back in time. If Jackson hadn't died, then believers could point to the deaths of David Carradine, Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett as illustrating their claim. The death-in-threes claim is empty and uselessly flexible in at least two senses. Not only is the time frame unspecified, but so is the definition of celebrity.... more... - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

Posted especially for Stephen Mack! - Anne Bouey

Thanks! He makes some very good arguments. - Stephen Mack via iPhone

"When Micheline Leon was diagnosed with HIV, her parents told her they would fit her for a coffin. Fifteen years later, she walks around her two-room concrete house on Haiti's central plateau, watching her four children play under the plantain trees. She looks healthy, her belly amply filling a gray, secondhand T-shirt. Her three sons and one daughter were born after she was diagnosed. None has the virus. "I'm not sick," she explained patiently on a recent afternoon. "People call me sick but I'm not. I'm infected." In many ways the 35-year-old mother's story is Haiti's too. In the early 1980s, when the strange and terrifying disease showed up in the U.S. among migrants who had escaped Haiti's dictatorship, experts thought it could wipe out a third of the country's population. Instead, Haiti's HIV infection rate stayed in the single digits, then plummeted. In a wide range of interviews with doctors, patients, public health experts and others, The Associated Press found that Haiti's... more... - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Researchers now test men and women aged 15 to 49, and the official rate is 2.2 percent, according to UNAIDS. That's still far higher than in the developed world, but it's lower than the Bahamas, Guyana and Suriname, and much lower than sub-Saharan Africa, where the rate averages about 5 percent but spikes to 24 percent in Botswana and 33 percent in Swaziland. But the crisis is far from... more... - Anne Bouey

"Ousted President Manuel Zelaya was kept from landing at the main Honduras airport Sunday because the runway was blocked by military vehicles and groups of soldiers, some of them clashing with a crowd of thousands outside. His Venezuelan pilots circled around the airport and decided not to risk a crash. Zelaya instead headed for El Salvador, and vowed to try again Monday or Tuesday in his high-stakes effort to return to power in a country where all branches of government have lined up against him. "I am the commander of the armed forces, elected by the people, and I ask the armed forces to comply with the order to open the airport so that there is no problem in landing and embracing my people," Zelaya said from the plane. "Today I feel like I have sufficient spiritual strength, blessed with the blood of Christ, to be able to arrive there and raise the crucifix." But interim President Roberto Micheletti insisted on keeping him out, and said he won't negotiate until "things return to... more... - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Some members of Iran's powerful clerical class are stepping up their antigovernment protests over Iran's election in defiance of the country's supreme leader, bringing potential aid to opposition figures as the regime is increasingly labeling them foreign-sponsored traitors. An influential group of religious scholars seen as politically neutral during the presidential election called the country's highest election arbiter, the Guardian Council, biased, and said the June 12 election was "invalid." Earlier, it had endorsed the official result that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated Mir Houssein Mousavi and other challengers by a wide margin. The group, with no government role, has little practical ability to change the election outcome. But its new posture may carry moral weight with Iranians after security forces have quashed street protests and jailed hundreds of opposition supporters. It highlights a growing unease among Iran's scholarly ruling class about the direction of the... more... - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

No fireworks?? Eh, happy 4th anyway! - Kelly

"A pink baby elephant has been caught on camera in Botswana. A wildlife cameraman took pictures of the calf when he spotted it among a herd of about 80 elephants in the Okavango Delta. Experts believe it is probably an albino, which is an extremely rare phenomenon in African elephants. They are unsure of its chances of long-term survival - the blazing African sunlight may cause blindness and skin problems for the calf." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"He said that the condition might make it difficult for the calf to survive into adulthood. "What happens to these young albino calves remains a mystery," said Dr Chase. "Surviving this very rare phenomenon is very difficult in the harsh African bush. The glaring sun may cause blindness and skin problems." However, he told BBC News that there might be a ray of hope for the pink calf as... more... - Anne Bouey

I want it! - Kelly

"Defying the United States on Independence Day, North Korea fired five missiles on Saturday into the sea off its east coast. The test-firings came two days after North Korea, which is being squeezed by the U.S. government and other countries for its recent nuclear test, fired four short-range missiles into the sea. North Korea had warned ships to avoid waters near its east coast through July 10 because of military exercises, and the test-firing were widely predicted. The South Korea military confirmed that five missiles had been fired on Saturday morning, but declined to say what type they were. Military officials told South Korea's Yonhap news agency that they appeared to be Scud-type missiles with a range of up to 310 miles and described them as more dangerous than the short-range weapons fired Thursday. North Korea is the largest manufacturer of Scud-type missiles in the developing world and is working on long-range ballistic missiles that may one day be able to strike the United... more... - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"An underground youth culture in Japan which makes a rebellious fashion statement against traditional rules on eastern beauty, is taking hold on Britain's youth. Manba involves devotees wearing dark tans, white make-up around their eyes and hair that is often a combination of neon colours. British teenagers like 18-year-olds Eilish and Declan got caught up in manba after an interest in Japanese culture led them to start researching on the internet, where they came across the style. Manba in Japan is also known as ganguro, gonguro, yamamba and mamba. Yama-uba in Japanese is the name of a mountain hag in Japanese folklore whom the fashion is thought to resemble. It has been around for nearly a decade and is an eye-catching statement against conformity. When the practitioners began darkening their skin, widening their eyes and wearing blue contact lenses, they were making a rebellious statement against the traditions of fair-skinned beauty. The rebellion has now, perhaps somewhat ironically, been taken up by Britain's naturally fair-skinned youth." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Declan and Eilish say they have been accused of racism for darkening their skin in this way, but they say this could not be further from the truth. Eilish insists that she is "not mocking anybody" and Declan asks, "what black person looks like this?" Another member of the group says that she does not like her white skin and covers up if she is unable to get a spray tan. "I just think... more... - Anne Bouey

"Everyone loves fireworks—and everyone can learn to snap photographs that better capture their beauty." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"A glass of wine a day may help breast cancer patients better tolerate radiation therapy and reduce its adverse effects, according to a new study by an Italian medical university. The study, released on Wednesday, said polyphenols found in wine may help protect healthy tissues from the effects of radiation while combating cancerous cells. The research was carried out on 348 women treated for breast cancer between 2003 and 2007 at the radiotherapy and palliative care unit of the Catholic University of Campobasso. The study at the southern university showed that moderate daily consumption of wine was associated with a 75 percent reduction of skin lesions compared to those who did not drink wine. "Our data are to be taken with caution as our study was an observational one," said Alessio Morganti, director of the radiotherapy unit." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Iran's Basij militia has asked prosecutors to investigate the role of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated opposition candidate, in protests that broke out after the presidential election he maintains was rigged. The government militia that enforced much of the crackdown against protesters last week, accused Mousavi of several crimes including undermining national security, which could see him jailed for up to 10 years. The semi-official Fars news agency said the Basij sent the country's chief prosecutor a letter accusing Mousavi of taking part in nine offences against the state, including "disturbing the nation's security". "Whether he wanted to or not, Mr Mousavi in many areas supervised or assisted in punishable acts," said the Basij letter, which also accused Mousavi of bringing "pessimism" into the public sphere. The charges came on Wednesday as Mousavi again rejected the results of the June 12 vote which authorities confirmed for the second time earlier this week." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Visitors to the Sears Tower's new glass balconies all seem to agree: The first step is the hardest. The balconies are suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out four feet from the building's 103rd floor Skydeck. Their transparent walls, floor and ceiling leave visitors with the impression they're floating over the city. "It's like walking on ice," said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, Calif., who said her heart was still pounding even after stepping away from the balcony. "That first step you take — 'am I going down?'" Kemp was among the visitors who got a sneak preview of the balconies Wednesday. "The Ledge," as the balconies have been nicknamed, open to the public Thursday. Visitors are treated to unobstructed views of Chicago from the building's west side and a heart-stopping vista of the street and Chicago River below — for those brave enough to look straight down." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Matthew Brzica and his wife hardly noticed when the hospital took a few drops of blood from each of their four newborn children for routine genetic testing. But then they discovered that the state had kept the dried blood samples ever since -- and was making them available to scientists for medical research. "They're just taking DNA from young kids right out of the womb and putting it into a warehouse," said Brzica, of Victoria, Minn. "DNA is what makes us who we are. It's just not right." The couple is among a group of parents challenging Minnesota's practice of storing babies' blood samples and allowing researchers to study them without their permission. The confrontation, and a similar one in Texas, has focused attention on the practice at a time when there is increasing interest in using millions of these collected "blood spots" to study diseases." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

I support the research, but I think that there ought to be informed consent at the time the blood is drawn. - John

"A 12-foot Burmese python escaped from its aquarium and strangled a 2-year-old Florida girl in her bed today, officials said. Lt. Bobby Caruthers of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office said the toddler lived in the central Florida town of Oxford. WFTV in Orlando, Fla., reported the story earlier today. The python belonged to the mother's boyfriend, who did not have a state license to possess the snake, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told ABCNews.com. "Basically, the snake was put away last night in an aquarium in a bag," Caruthers said. "[He] woke up this morning and discovered the snake was missing, ran into the infant's bedroom and saw the snake on top of the child." Caruthers said the owner stabbed the snake to remove it from the child. Emergency officials were notified with a 911 call at 9:53 a.m. but the child was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after they arrived around 10 a.m." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

Oh my god. How horrible for everyone involved. - Soup

"Former Iranian president and leading reformist Mohammad Khatami says the outcome of Iran's disputed presidential election is a "coup" against democracy. Khatami also accused Iran's government of suppressing the rights of people to protest the election results. His statement Wednesday comes two days after Iran's powerful Guardian Council upheld the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Defeated presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi also criticized the election outcome Wednesday, calling the government led by Mr. Ahmadinejad "illegitimate." In a statement on his Web site, Mousavi urged his supporters to keep fighting for the rights of the people.  He also called for press freedom, election reforms and the release of those detained during post-election protests.  Mousavi and Karroubi say the June 12 vote was rigged.Iran stopped publication Wednesday of a reformist newspaper allied with Karroubi after he vowed to continue his fight against the election outcome." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"In a two-minute video clip televised here last month, 29-year-old Amit Daruka and his doting parents listed the attributes of the ideal bride for him -- she must be tall, fair-skinned and respectful of her elders, share Daruka's ethnicity and horoscope, and be ready to work in the family's garment business. The video also showed Daruka enjoying a meal at home with his parents, praying with his mother, driving his Honda to work and out clubbing with friends. The program's hosts then chatted with the family in the studio and urged interested viewers to send a text message. Welcome to the latest wrinkle in India's age-old tradition of arranged marriage. News of eligible prospects is no longer brought by helpful priests or family aunts. In the past couple of decades, as Indian communities fragmented and families scattered, people looking to marry had already begun using other means, such as classified newspaper ads, marriage bureaus and the Internet. Now, India's booming television industry wants to play matchmaker, expanding the universe of arranged marriage with three wedding reality shows." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"A shambling sentence about sea fellows who bellow took top honors in an annual contest celebrating bad writing. David McKenzie, a 55-year-old Washington man, won grand prize in San Jose State University's 27th Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest with this: "Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin' off Nantucket Sound from the nor' east and the dogs are howlin' for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the "Ellie May," a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin' and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests."" - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"She walked into my office on legs as long as one of those long-legged birds that you see in Florida the pink ones, not the white ones except that she was standing on both of them, not just one of them, like those birds, the pink ones, and she wasn't wearing pink, but I knew right away that she was trouble, which those birds usually aren't," from Eric Rice of Sun Prairie, Wisc., winner in the detective category." - Anne Bouey

"Of the four women who advanced to Wimbledon's semifinals, only one has lost a set. Only one has consistently berated herself over every on-court lapse of judgment and failure of will. And only one has drawn an umpire's warning for flinging her racket in a high-strung fit of self-loathing. She is, not surprisingly, Dinara Safina, younger sister of the former No. 1 Marat Safin, whose combustible personality is widely regarded as having undermined his prodigious talent over the course of a career that's drawing to a close. In the case of 23-year-old Safina, six years Safin's junior, it's still an open question whether her volatile emotions are the key to her recent success or whether she's succeeding in spite of them. But there she was again Tuesday, slamming her racket on Centre Court after double-faulting to lose the tiebreak of her opening set against German teenager Sabine Lisicki." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Asked afterward if she was working on the mental aspect of her game, Safina drew laughs for replying that if she were, "I would not serve 250 double faults today!" "It's just, my brain sometimes doesn't do the things that I have to do," Safina added. Few women have worked more tirelessly to improve their games. The 6-foot Safina has trimmed down, toned up and reached the finals of... more... - Anne Bouey

"The Geysers, an area about 25 miles north of Santa Rosa, pretty much has more small earthquake activity than anywhere else in California ... definitely the most in this region. Well, there was a 3.8 quake just after 10:30 this morning that some of our readers in the St. Helena area felt. Did it move you this morning?" - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

nope, but we are too far south most likely. - Rachel Lea Fox

Yeah, I didn't feel it either, and I'm only a few miles away! I think CA natives are immune to these small ones! - Anne Bouey

"Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Tuesday continued to build support for his return home, but the country's de facto rulers said he'd be arrested the minute he set foot on national territory. As Zelaya addressed a supportive United Nations audience in New York, Hondurans in Tegucigalpa were demonstrating against and, in smaller numbers, in favor of the deposed leftist leader. Zelaya was flown to exile in Costa Rica early Sunday after soldiers removed him from his home. Honduran Atty. Gen. Luis Alberto Rubi, who clashed frequently with Zelaya, said Tuesday that arrest warrants had been issued accusing Zelaya of 18 crimes, including treason and abuse of authority. Rubi said Honduran authorities would ask Interpol to detain Zelaya, who has said he plans to return to Honduras on Thursday with a delegation of regional heads of state and other officials. "The justice tribunals of my country have issued orders to capture [Zelaya] because he broke laws," said Roberto Micheletti, the... more... - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Think your local emergency room is crowded? Here’s a startling look at why that might be.  An analysis of emergency room usage in the central Texas area found that in the last six years, just nine residents accounted for a whopping 2,678 visits. One of the nine was in the emergency room more than 100 times a year for four years. Little is known about these nine individuals other than that they’re all middle-age, speak English and are about evenly split between male and female. Some have histories of substance abuse and mental health issues. What is clear, though, is that the abundance of visits likely could have been avoided, says Anjum Khurshid, director of clinical research and evaluation at the Integrated Care Collaboration, which conducted the analysis. “The key lesson of this is if we talk to each other and have a coordinated system, we can prevent these kinds of numbers,” Khurshid says. Reducing the numbers could make a big difference. The average cost of an emergency room visit in the United States is about $1,000. At that rate, the nine Texans likely racked up more than $2.7 million in charges." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

Interesting. - Gordon Herd

"Brigham Young University, the Mormon church school where students agree to live a chaste and virtuous life, has lifted its almost three-year policy of blocking access to YouTube. Administrators lifted the ban on Friday, citing an increasing amount of educational material on the popular video-sharing site, university spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. YouTube has its own filters for porn, but BYU added it to the list of Web sites blocked by campus online filters in 2006 because administrators felt there was too much content that could violate the school's strict, conservative standards. The university's software also blocks pornography, adult content and violence from other sites." - Anne Bouey via Bookmarklet

"Students and faculty at the university agree to follow the school's honor code, a list of standards in line with the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The code includes provisions against alcohol, tobacco and caffeine use, among other things. It also specifically labels pornography as taboo." - Anne Bouey

fascinating - Cee Bee