Wednesday, September 16, 2009
日本‧《蠟筆小新》作者失蹤‧家屬尋人
（日本‧東京）日本人氣漫畫《蠟筆小新》的作者臼井儀人早前往行山後失蹤，生死未卜，他的家人已要求警方協助搜尋。
51歲的臼井儀人（真名臼井義人），於9月11日向家人表示：“到群馬縣登山，週三（9月16日）晚上就回來。”但之後就下落不明。他的家人翌日向埼玉縣警方求助，要求前往搜索。警方於週三早上發佈有關的消息後，日本傳媒紛紛在網上報導。
日本人氣漫畫《蠟筆小新》的作者臼井儀人早前往行山後失蹤，生死未卜。
臼井儀人住在埼玉縣春日部市。他筆下的《蠟筆小新》，主人翁小新是春日部市幼稚園的學生。這漫畫於1990年開始連載，其後成為動畫，在港台甚為流行。
英國‧54歲“性治療師”‧23年與1500男人上床
（英國‧倫敦）英國婦女西蒙娜23年來跟約1500個男人上過床，而且大都是人家的丈夫或男朋友，但她不是妓女，而是所謂的“性治療師”。
現年54歲的西蒙娜來自西倫敦，現在多數時間在美國工作，而她的職業是“性治療師”，專門協助男人、女人或夫婦解決他們的性愛問題！
西蒙娜聲稱，過去23年來，她大約為1萬人上過“性愛教育課”，其中15%曾和她共赴巫山。
她說：“我是靠跟別人的老公或男友做愛維生，但我不是妓女，而是代理性伴，因為我是在治療的環境下進行這件事的。人們付錢給我是要我輔導他們的性問題，而並非為了解決性慾。”
有者被老婆送來
西蒙娜絕未為“勾搭”有婦之夫而內疚，她說：“有的客戶根本是被老婆送來改善技巧。”
她每天為客戶提供5節輔導課，每節收費約100英鎊（約馬幣574令吉），為不同人士提供治療；男的主要問題是不舉和早泄，女的多沒法達到高潮。
泰王午夜醫院體檢‧逗留一個多小時
（泰國‧曼谷）泰王蒲密蓬週二（9月15日）午夜旋風式進出醫院，進行“例行身體檢查”，並已在週三（9月16日）凌晨離開醫院。
現年81歲高齡的蒲密蓬，是目前全球在位時間最長的國王。
斯里拉賈醫院職員透露：“泰王於週二午夜抵達醫院，週三凌晨1時許離開。”
泰國王室發言人證實，蒲密蓬是在週二晚11時許，在家人陪同下，到曼谷的斯里拉賈醫院進行了1個小時多的例行身體檢查。
王室聲稱，這是例行、常規的體檢，因此不需要公佈聲明，但並沒有說明為何例行的體檢要在三更半夜進院。
泰王今年3月也住院1天，接受檢查。檢查結束後，王室並沒有對外公佈體檢結果。
儘管泰王年事已高，但他仍心繫國政，8月罕有地對泰國已經持續了4年的政治危機發表評論，公開呼吁國人停止分裂，團結一心，避免國家陷入困境。
中國‧疑工廠非法丟棄有毒廢塑‧浙江居民中毒3死17傷
（中國‧上海）浙江東陽政府週三（9月16日）指出，當地居民於週日，接觸疑遭一家工廠非法丟棄的有毒廢塑後出現不適症狀，3人於較後死亡，另有17人需入院治療。
根據東陽政府發出的一項聲明，其中4名接觸者為兒童。他們曾在裝有2，4－二硝基苯酚的廢塑附近嬉戲。
調查官員已扣押據指涉嫌這起事件的4名負責人。
聲明指出，初步調查發現，當地一家化學廠將二硝基苯酚丟入塑料袋，將袋子非法送往一個廢品收購點，隨後又將廢塑轉賣給另一個收購點。3名死者是在裝卸廢塑後感不適，而後喪命。
新加坡‧不滿腳趾被踩‧惡男毆女狠踩報復
一名女郎在地鐵內，不慎踩到一名男子的腳趾。男子發怒將她推開，女郎道歉後，男子竟要她當場脫下鞋子，讓他狠狠踩一腳，之後還揮拳打傷她。
女郎魯恩上週六中午1時42分，在政府大廈（City Hall）地鐵站登上了北向的列車，準備到烏節路ION去參加一項藝術比賽。
當列車駛進地鐵站時，列車稍微搖晃，女郎失去平衡，不小心踩到後面男子的腳趾。女郎還來不及道歉，被踩到的男子馬上發飆，推了她一把。
2人開始爭執，幾分鐘後，女郎妥協道歉，希望結束這起風波。女郎道歉後，越想越覺得荒謬，和朋友笑了起來，不料卻激怒男子。
男子要女郎脫鞋，讓他踩回去。女郎為了息事寧人，照著他的話做。
據她說，男子踩她的腳趾，還使勁扭來扭去，故意問她痛不痛。當列車抵達索美塞站後，女郎忍不住，把男子推出列車外。
新加坡‧中元節譯成“餓鬼節”‧學生雙語“半桶水”
（新加坡）“Hungry Ghost Festival”譯成“餓鬼節”，學生的雙語“半桶水”？
7年前，新加坡的華文旅遊宣傳冊子將中元節譯成“匈牙利鬼節”，鬧了笑話。如今，適逢中元節，《逗號》測試一些學生的翻譯結果顯示，“Hungry Ghost Festival”變成了“餓鬼節”或“惡鬼節”，依舊“鬼影幢幢”，讓人驚心。
前陣子，在“綠色交通週”的開幕儀式上豎立的環保告示牌，出現了一些翻譯上的錯誤，引發議論。
第31期《逗號》讓20名中二到初級學院的學生進行一個小測試，翻譯“綠色交通週”出現的英文告示牌和一些節日名稱。8道題中，沒有學生全對。
Has Osama Bin Laden been dead for seven years - and are the U.S. and Britain covering it up to continue war on terror?
Ron Paul: End the Fed
From the Campaign for Liberty:
Our movement to Audit the Fed has gained an unprecedented amount of support from Congress and the American people.
But as we all know, a thorough audit is just the first step to restoring a sound money system in our country. Before we can truly have confidence in our currency once again, we have to get rid of the out of control, business cycle-fueling Federal Reserve System!
This week marks the official release of a tremendous new tool with which to spread this message: Congressman Ron Paul's newest book, End the Fed.
This powerful new work rips away the veil of mystery from how the Fed operates and exposes its corrosive effects on our economy and lives. Most Americans have no idea how the Federal Reserve System works, and this book will be an easy-to-understand guide to why it's time to abolish an institution that has helped to erode our dollar's purchasing power by more than 95% since its creation in 1913.
End the Fed is sure to bring our movement's position on the Federal Reserve into the mainstream national debate like never before.
Yes We Can? New UK Report Says: No You Can’t
According to the study researches have concluded that President Barack Obama will have to turn to others for help dealing with the world’s problems due to the fact that he has no other alternative.
“Domestically Obama may have campaigned on the theme ‘yes we can’; internationally he may increasingly have to argue ‘no we can’t',” the institute said in its annual review of world affairs.
The report said the U.S. struggles against insurgent groups in Iraq and Afghanistan had exposed the limits of the country’s military muscle, while the near-collapse of the world financial markets sapped the economic base on which that muscle relied.
The report also claimed that the U.S. had lost traction in its efforts to contain Iran’s nuclear program and bring peace to the Middle East.
“Clearly the U.S. share of ‘global power,’ however measured, is in decline,” the report said.
The United States has become a cultural breeding ground for nationwide insolence – bold and brazen Americans glorifying nationalism and displaying several qualities of a behavioral disorder which coincides with malignant narcissism:
Factor1: “Aggressive narcissism”
- Glibness/superficial charm
- Grandiose sense of self-worth
- Pathological lying
- Cunning/manipulative
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow affect
- Callous/lack of empathy
- Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
- Promiscuous sexual behavior
Factor2: “Socially deviant lifestyle”
- Parasitic lifestyle
- Poor behavioral control
- Lack of realistic, long-term goals
- Impulsivity
- Irresponsibility
- Juvenile delinquency
- Early behavior problems
- Many short-term marital relationships
- Revocation of conditional release
Though the tab in relation to ’short-term marital relationship’ may seem a bit off par in terms of this comparison one should note political relationships marred by nationalistic pride including one during the start of the occupation of Iraq wherein upon hearing France’s defiance many Americans decided it was most appropriate to rename “French” Fries – dubbing the greasy staples, “Freedom” Fries.
The United States is carrying heavy baggage from the previous administration; failed international policies,political war-time train wrecks and detracted relationships between its allies – some of whom refused to allow the United States to garner all the bureaucratic spotlight.
The term “superiority complex”,according to Alfred Adler,”refers to an overly high opinion of oneself; in psychology, it refers to the unrealistic and exaggerated belief that one is better than others. In some people, this develops as a way to compensate for unconscious feelings of low self-esteem or inadequacy.”
This neurosis,along with the United States’ aggressive narcissism, has caused a number of failed wars (i.e Iraq,Afghanistan,Pakistan,Somalia etc…), a declining economy,nuclear proliferation (e.g Israel) and a vernacular sensation which imposes U.S. policy on a majority of the globe.
Interdependence is the only logical way for the United States to move forward,because as of now our bold sense of pride is not only killing us but others we come into contact with who refuse to pay homage to our nation and the destruction we leave behind.
“Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being. Without interrelation with society he cannot realize his oneness with the universe or suppress his egotism. His social interdependence enables him to test his faith and to prove himself on the touchstone of reality.”-Mahatma Gandhi
US lists China, Russia as its main challengers
The United States on Tuesday put emerging superpower China and former Cold War foe Russia alongside Iran and North 
In a report outlining the major priorities for the US intelligence community, China was singled out for its "increasing natural resource-focused diplomacy and military modernization."
"Russia is a US partner in important initiatives such as securing fissile material and combating nuclear terrorism, but it may continue to seek avenues for reasserting power and influence in ways that complicate US interests," said the report, which is released every four years.
The report stressed that there may be opportunities to work with China and Russia and was far harsher in its criticism of Iran and North Korea, whose nuclear weapons programs are a top concern in the West.
"Iran poses an array of challenges to US security objectives in the Middle East and beyond because of its nuclear and missile programs, support of terrorism, and provision of lethal aid to US and coalition adversaries.
"North Korea continues to threaten peace and security in East Asia because of its sustained pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, its transfer of these capabilities to third parties, its erratic behavior, and its large conventional military capability," it said.
The report, which lays out the priorities for the US intelligence community for the next four years, said Al-Qaeda "will continue to pose a grave threat to US persons and interests at home and abroad."
Listed at the top of its "mission objectives" were combating violent extremism and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
U.S. credit card defaults up, signal consumer stress
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc customers defaulted on their credit card debts in August at the highest rates since the onset of the recession, a sign that the banks' consumer lending woes are far from over.
The trend was echoed among most other major credit card issuers, dashing optimism sparked when many banks and specialty finance companies reported lower default rates for July.
"People have gotten very bullish with the July data, and (the August data) raises the question about how fast the consumer will get better," said Scott Valentin, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. "People were assuming the pace would be pretty rapid, and this maybe slows the pace down."
The worse-than-expected August numbers bolstered the contention of some analysts that the July decline in defaults was due more to seasonal effects, like tax refunds, then an improvement in consumers' financial health.
Many analysts expect bad-loan levels will keep rising until later this year or early 2010.
"The defaults are a wake-up call for those expecting a V-shaped recovery," said Elliot Spar, options market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus & Co.
Bank of America said its charge off-rate -- loans the company does not expect to be repaid -- rose to 14.54 percent in August from 13.81 percent in July.
Citigroup, the largest issuer of MasterCard-branded credit cards, said its charge-off rate rose to 12.14 percent in August from 10.03 percent in July.
The charge-off rates for both Citi and Bank of America, two of the biggest recipients of U.S. government bailouts, were the highest yet during the financial crisis.
JPMorgan Chase & Co, the largest issuer of Visa-branded credit cards, said its charge-off rate rose to 8.73 percent from 7.92 percent, while smaller Discover Financial Services said its rate rose to 9.16 percent from 8.43 percent.
American Express Co's default rate fell to 8.5 percent from 8.9 percent as the company increased its lending portfolio.
JPMorgan, Discover and Capital One Financial Corp reported late payments on credit cards -- an indicator of future defaults -- rose in August after several monthly declines.
Valentin said the rise in delinquencies at some companies was double or triple the levels expected.
NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET
Credit card defaults usually track unemployment, which rose to a 26-year high of 9.7 percent in August. The jobless rate is expected to peak at more than 10 percent by year-end.Considering the trend of unemployment and the increase in delinquencies, analysts have estimated credit card losses will keep rising in coming months.
Yet analysts have a rosier outlook now than they did a few months ago, expecting credit-card defaults to bottom out at an average of 11 percent to 12 percent, below earlier estimates of up to 14 percent.
As credit card losses rose to record highs in recent months, credit card companies closed millions of accounts, trimmed lending limits and slashed rewards.
Lenders are also raising fees and interest rates ahead of a new law that increases protection for consumers. The law is expected to shrink the industry and limit subprime borrowers' access to plastic money.
Also on Tuesday, MasterCard Inc, the world's second-largest credit card network, said the volume of payments it processed in the United States declined less in July and August than in the second quarter, a sign that the payments industry may be stabilizing.
Shares of Bank of America fell 0.5 percent to $16.89 in afternoon trade, JPMorgan declined 0.7 percent to $43.45, Discover was 0.7 percent lower at $14.92, and Citigroup dropped 6.6 percent to $4.22.
Capital One declined 3 percent to $37.16, and American Express was up 1.8 percent to $34.54.
By Juan Lagorio(Reporting by Juan Lagorio, additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by John Wallace)
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China 'covers suicide bridge in butter'
Government officials in south-east China have ordered workers to cover a 1,000 ft long steel bridge in butter to prevent citizens from using it to attempt suicide.
All the climbable surfaces on the structure in Guangzhou have been covered in greasy fat to put an end to the spate of people threatening to jump from it, The Sun reports.
Government spokesman Shiu Liang said: "We tried employing guards at both ends but that didn't work - and we put up special fences and notices asking people not to commit suicide here.
"None of it worked - and so now we have put butter over the bridge and it has worked very well. Nobody can get up there and nobody who tries ever falls."
Bridge guard Wong Man added: "The butter makes the bars and frames slippery and hard to climb on to, and we can easily catch them.
"Each time somebody threatens to commit suicide to get media attention or sympathy over personal problems we end up with several hours of tailbacks and there were lots of complaints.
"Since we put up the butter there have been no problems with these attention seekers."
How is Jim Rogers Investing in this slow economy CNBC14 Sept 2009
Sheen Blasts Cowardly Media Response To ‘20 Minutes’ Letter
Actor labels corporate media shills “cockroaches” for completely failing to address 20 bullet points on 9/11
Charlie Sheen has blasted the cowardly corporate media response to his “20 Minutes With The President” letter, slamming the press as “hopeless lap-dogs” for failing to address a single one of his 20 bullet points on 9/11 while ignoring completely his challenge to publicly debate 9/11 truth debunkers.
Sheen’s open letter to the President, which took the form of a fictionalized account of a meeting between the two in which Sheen grills Obama about the unanswered questions surrounding 9/11, received widespread media coverage and was featured in thousands of newspaper stories, online articles and TV segments. Awareness of the subject only increased after the subsequent release of a You Tube video in which Sheen personally appeals to the President to answer the questions.
However, not one single mainstream media report adequately covered even one of Sheen’s 20 bullet points that were listed in the article and backed up by a substantial online bibliography.
Indeed, scores of corporate media hit pieces completely fabricated the content of Sheen’s letter, attributing phrases to him that he had never made in an attempt to portray Sheen as abrasive and “insulting” to 9/11 victims and their families, despite the fact that the majority of family members share Sheen’s questions.
Fox News was one of many corporate media outlets to claim that Sheen had stated “that Bush/Cheney planned it all,” when in reality he had said no such thing. The media merely manufactured this spin so that they could politicize the issue, make it partisan, and then attack Sheen as just another deluded Hollywood liberal.
Claims that Sheen directly accused President Bush of planning 9/11 were erroneously carried by hundreds of media outlets despite the fact that the actor never made any such statement. The fact that the press had to invent a strawman stance and put words in Sheen’s mouth to then attack him on proves how scared the media is of the power of the actual questions that Sheen asked in his letter.
In a statement released to Prison Planet.com, Sheen chastised the media response as nothing more than a “mendacious side-show” performed by journalists he describes as “hopeless lap dogs”.
Sheen slams the press for following “a desperate, juvenile and transparent script” in response to his letter after they collectively “attacked the man and ignored the facts”.
“We can no longer allow these cowards and shills to contaminate the reservoirs of truth. In addition to their slanderous folly, they have ignored my very public challenge to a debate on Larry King Live. If these cockroaches had but one shred of courage, they would embrace this opportunity,” states Sheen.
Sheen also released to Prison Planet.com the e mails that he sent to the White House following the publication of his letter to Obama. After his request to meet with Obama was rejected by Obama’s staff, Sheen made another request to meet with Obama, this time accompanied by 9/11 family member Bob Mcllvaine who lost his son on September 11. Sheen has yet to hear back from Obama’s staff regarding his follow-up request.
In a telling illustration that Obama has failed to even acknowledge Sheen’s “20 Minutes” piece not just because he is “busy,” the President did manage to find time to comment on the mindless antics of rapper Kanye West on MTV, according to an ABC News reporter.
It seems that Obama is more concerned about a hip-hop star’s behavior at a music awards show than he is with serious questions about 9/11 that are shared by the majority of 9/11 victims’ family members.
Charlie Sheen’s full statement and his e mails to the White House are reprinted below.
Another Bin Laden tape has surfaced this morning. I will be monitoring the FBI’s most wanted web site to see if this tape finally provides the Bureau with the evidence required to list “9/11″ in Bin Laden’s rap sheet. Thus far it has not.
I must point out as well, that the mainstream media has once again followed a desperate, juvenile and transparent script in their response to my letter, “Twenty Minutes with the President”.
Not a single member of this mendacious side-show has focused their attention, for one second, on the 20 bullet points chronicled in my letter. Instead, they have attacked the man and ignored the facts. If this is their definition of, “responsible journalism”, I urge all free thinking people to ignore these hopeless lap-dogs and responsibly do their own research. We can no longer allow these cowards and shills to contaminate the reservoirs of truth. In addition to their slanderous folly, they have ignored my very public challenge to a debate on Larry King Live. If these cockroaches had but one shred of courage, they would embrace this opportunity.
As of 1 o’clock PM, PST, on Sep. 14th, I still await a formal response from The White House. The emails I authored are printed below.
I thank you all for your patriotic support.
Respectfully – Charlie Sheen
—————————————————-
Dear Mr. Gibbs – I understand you are quite busy so I won’t take up too much of your time. I have recently published a letter (article) online entitled, “Twenty Minutes with the President”. It is currently garnering worldwide attention. It is a fictional account of myself and President Obama in an interview setting, discussing the events of Sep.11th. If you haven’t read it yet, I would urge you to do so.
My request is pretty straightforward: I would like to invite our Commander in Chief to join me in a real discussion/interview focusing specifically on Sep. 11th and it’s aftermath. If you would provide the President with a copy of my letter, he will have all of my questions and data ahead of time, therefore no surprises. I understand he is extremely busy and I can only imagine how many requests you receive each day.
If nothing else, it might be a welcome break from the stress of health care reform and the issues surrounding the economy. Twenty minutes, 1200 seconds, the location of your choice. America deserves this Mr. Gibbs.
I await your response. My very Best – Charlie Sheen
—————————————————-
Dear Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Burton – I’m deeply saddened to hear that my request to interview President Obama regarding 9/11 and present him with the facts has been declined. However, I am now making another request.
This request is on behalf of a large section of 9/11 victim’s family members, more specifically Mr. Bob Mcllvaine, who tragically lost his son Bobby on that awful day. Mr. Mcllvaine represents and echoes a growing number of outspoken victim’s family members who still have numerous unanswered questions regarding 9/11.
Mr. Mcvllaine and I would like to sit down with the President and focus solely on the 20 bullet points outlined in my document. Again gentlemen, these facts are not my opinions or theories, these glaring inconsistencies are supported and confirmed by 6 of the 10 commission members responsible for shaping and creating the “Official Report”.
If this secondary request cannot be enacted, I would ask, at the very least, for an explanation in writing from the President himself, detailing the reason(s) for his decision.
Thank you for your time. My very best – Charlie Sheen
FBI issues warning for police depts to look out for explosive materials after NYC raids
Investigators issued warrants to search the residences early Monday for explosives material but did not find any, according to a person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity.
The searches came after the man, who was under surveillance for possible links to the terrorism network, visited New York City over the weekend and then left the area, said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.
The joint FBI and Homeland Security intelligence warning, issued Monday, lists indicators that could tip off police to homemade hydrogen peroxide-based explosives, such as people with burn marks on their hands, face or arms; foul odors coming from a room or building; and large industrial fans or multiple window fans. The warning, obtained by The Associated Press, also said that these homemade explosive materials can be hidden in backpacks, suitcases or plastic containers.
The notice was not intended for the public, said Justice Department spokesman Richard Kolko.
Homeland Security and the FBI have no specific information on the timing or target of any planned attack, Kolko said, but "we believe it is prudent to share information with our state and local partners about the variety of domestically available materials that could be used to create homemade explosives, which have been utilized in previous terrorist attacks."
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Tuesday he couldn't comment on whether there would be any arrests or whether the raids were tied to al-Qaida.
"I think you just have to think about the sequence of events here," Kelly told the AP. "Warrants were executed. Material was obtained during the execution of those warrants, that material is now being analyzed, and we'll see what develops from the analaysis."
Sen. Charles Schumer said the law enforcement action Monday was unrelated to President Barack Obama's visit to the city the same day.
"There was nothing imminent, and they are very good now at tracking potentially dangerous actions, and this was preventive," said Schumer, D-N.Y.
Both lawmakers were briefed by law enforcement officials.
Two U.S. intelligence officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly, said the target of any purported attack — or who would carry it out — remained unclear.
Authorities have not found any weapons ready for use that would indicate an attack was imminent, they said. Nevertheless, one of the officials called the threat very real and emphasized the urgency of it.
New York police spokesman Paul Browne confirmed that searches were conducted in the borough of Queens by agents of a joint terrorism task force.
Residents in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens on Monday described officers armed with search warrants swarming their immigrant neighborhood at about 2:30 a.m.
Akbari Amanullah, a cab driver who lived in an apartment with four other natives of Afghanistan, said when he arrived home from work afterward, he was told that one of his roommates had been taken away.
Neither the FBI nor the NYPD would discuss the whereabouts of the al-Qaida suspect or whether anyone was being held for questioning in New York.
A White House spokesman said Obama, who spoke on Wall Street on Monday, had been briefed on the investigation.
The person familiar with the case said the raids were the result of previous law enforcement surveillance of people.
The investigation was continuing.
One man at a three-story brick apartment building in the neighborhood confirmed Monday that authorities had been at his apartment, but he wouldn't identify himself or comment further. Nearby resident Kabir Islam said he saw FBI agents and police officers surrounding the apartment when he arrived home after 3 a.m.
Amanullah said about a dozen FBI agents went to his nearby fifth-floor apartment at about 2:30 a.m.
___
Associated Press writers Eileen Sullivan, Lara Jakes and Pamela Hess in Washington and Adam Goldman and Bonny Ghosh in New York contributed to this report. Barrett reported from Washington.
World celebrities sing to stop global warming
GENEVA — British rock group Duran Duran and heavy metal band Scorpions are among 55 world celebrities who have joined in recording a song to draw attention to the global warming crisis, organisers said on Monday.
The song is part of a mass media campaign on the threats of climate change organised by the Geneva-based Global Humanitarian Forum, headed by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
The song entitled "Beds'r Burning", which was originally recorded by the Australian group Midnight Oil in the 1980s, can be downloaded from the Internet for free and will be presented to the public at a launch in Paris on October 1.
"If we do not stop the (greenhouse gas) emissions today, global warming will be still be with us in 40 to 50 years," warned Walter Fust, director of the Forum, at a press conference in Geneva.
The media campaign featuring the song is aimed at putting pressure on world leaders to reach an agreement on tackling climate change at a UN-sponsored conference in Copenhagen in December.
Some of the other popular artists who add their voices to the anti-global warming song include French 'Piaf' actress Marion Cotillard, Senegalese star Youssou N'dour, Irish singer/composer Bob Geldorf, Chinese singer Khalil Fong, and even a Nobel peace laureate, South African archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Teaching Students About 9/11
Lisa Torres asks her students to get out a piece of paper and jot down their thoughts on the following question: "What were you doing on September 11?" The teenagers in this 11th-grade American history class--most of whom were around 9 years old at the time of the attacks--take a moment to think about what they can recall from that tragic day eight years ago. Then, the students begin to talk out loud, a little reticently at first, about their personal memories. Eventually, they're sharing stories with one another about where they were and what they were doing when the news broke that four planes had crashed into New York's Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pa.
Torres, who teaches at River Dell High School in Oradell, N.J., then poses a different set of discussion questions--this time more structured around critical thinking skills--and asks her students to reflect on them as they watch a short film of interviews with 9/11 survivors and victims' family members, as well as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The discussion questions include such queries as, "How would you explain 9/11 today to someone who was born on Sept. 12, 2001?" and "Do you think those killed on 9/11 were civilian casualties of war?"
Located about 20 miles north of Manhattan, River Dell High School--which lost three of its alumni in the attacks on the World Trade Center--is one of a handful of schools in eight states this week to test a new 9/11 curriculum developed for middle and high school students. The makers of the program are calling it the country's first comprehensive 9/11 curriculum. Other schools in New York City, California, Alabama, Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, and Kansas are pilot testing the program, which is taught using videos, discussions, and interactive digital exercises, including one that has students map global terrorist activity with Google Earth software.
The program was created by the Brick, N.J.-based September 11th Education Trust, a nonprofit organization representing survivors and families. The group partnered with Social Studies School Service, an educational materials distributor, and the Taft Institute for Government at Queens College to develop the lessons, which are based on primary sources culled from more than 240 hours of archival footage and 80 interviews with witnesses, family members of victims, and politicians.
The curriculum's goals are twofold: to help students understand the human dimension of the events of September 11 and to impart critical thinking and writing skills that students can apply to all areas of their lives.
At a press conference on Tuesday at a hotel blocks from the World Trade Center site, Giuliani said the program can help students think critically about the attacks as both a historic event and one that shapes the present, noting the continued threat of terrorism and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Teachers say that today's middle and high school students might be too young to have strong memories of the attacks, so the program can help them develop insight into what actually happened.
"Students are getting progressively younger as we move further and further away from the events," says Torres. In a few years, students who are taught about the attacks will not even have been alive when they occurred, adds Anthony Gardner, executive director of the Education Trust, whose brother died in the World Trade Center.
Casey Gillingham, a senior at Lincoln High School in Vincennes, Ind., says she remembers vividly what she was doing on 9/11 as the events unfolded. But the lessons she's received through her school's pilot implementation of the curriculum have helped her understand the history of conflicts in the Middle East, she says.
At Lincoln High, Michael Hutchison, who teaches U.S. history and government, has been using the week to incorporate the program's "timelines and personal narratives" lesson into his classes. Students examined two timelines, one coming from the 9/11 Commission Report and the other covering a longer period of 30 years, starting with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Students compared and contrasted the two timelines and analyzed how each might affect a person's interpretation of the events. In addition, students had to find people to interview to learn about their experience on 9/11 and how it affected them.
"I really wanted to put it all into context and look at the possible reasons why 9/11 might have happened," says Hutchison.
The program, named the September 11th Education Program: A National Interdisciplinary Curriculum, provides seven lesson plans, which can be taught as independent lessons or as a semester-long course of study. A website devoted to the program, learnabout9-11.org, features the 12-minute short film used by Torres and other teachers, as well as discussion questions and sample lessons, all free. The full curriculum package costs $99 for a single-user license and $499 for a five-user license.
By Zach MinersTUC fears risk of riots as jobless total rises
Public spending cuts could plunge Britain into a double-dip recession, driving unemployment above 4m and threatening to provoke riots on the streets, the country’s most senior union leader has said.
Sunday’s warning from Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, came as public sector unions told Labour and the Conservatives they would hold industrial action ballots if jobs were threatened.
Union leaders said they expected an “onslaught” against the public sector, whichever party won the general election due by next spring. Lord Mandelson, business secretary, will on Monday say Britain faces a “period of public spending constraint” and Labour should not try to solve problems “simply by throwing money at them”.
On the eve of the TUC conference in Liverpool, Mr Barber said replacing the government and Bank of England’s stimulus programme with public spending cuts to reduce the £175bn budget deficit would have a catastrophic effect.
“A double-dip recession would not just be deeper but also longer. Prolonged mass unemployment would not just do economic damage, but have terrible social effects. I don’t think Britain is broken, but this would be one way to break it,” he said.
The congress is taking place on Liverpool’s rejuvenated waterfront, only half a mile from where the Toxteth riots broke out in 1981, resulting from tension between police and the black community.
Mr Barber said: “Last time we suffered slash and burn economics we had riots on the streets here in Liverpool. I make no prediction that this would happen again, but I do know that prolonged mass unemployment will have terrible effects on social cohesion, family break-up and the nation’s health.”
Lord Mandelson will set out Labour’s credentials as “wise spenders, not big spenders” in an attempt to fine tune the party’s position on public investment ahead of the election. Until this summer, Gordon Brown and other ministers were insisting that the party could continue to increase public spending in spite of the black hole in Britain’s public finances.
But the business secretary will tell a London audience in a speech to the Blairite think-tank Progress: “We should not allow ourselves to be painted as a party that is oblivious to economic conditions.”
The speech will reflect an agreement made in recent weeks between Lord Mandelson, Mr Brown and chancellor Alistair Darling to abandon the illusion that Labour could escape spending cuts.
Lord Mandelson will argue that the Tories are anticipating an era of “deep, savage, indiscriminate” cuts with “zeal” because they want a small state as a matter of principle. He will maintain that Labour has spent so much money in the past decade – a “huge catch-up investment in public services” – that it will be possible to keep “higher standards” even in tough times.
However, it would be wrong to turn that higher spending into “some kind of eternal doctrine; that social democracy is about high growth in public spending for its own sake”.
Mr Brown will urge the conference on Tuesday not to disrupt the “fragile” recovery with industrial action. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, the largest public sector union, said its focus would be campaigning, but “if our members are facing job cuts and compulsory redundancies, we will ballot members for industrial action”.
Mark Serwotka, head of the Public and Commercial Services union, urged joint industrial action by unions where necessary.
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Indian Press: Military Police Shot by Chinese Troops Along Sikkim Border
Sept. 15 – China apparently seriously escalated the ongoing border conflict between itself and India as reports in the Indian press indicate that two Indian military personnel were shot and wounded after coming under fire from Chinese troops in the Indian-controlled Kerang area of Sikkim.
The injured soldiers were apparently members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, India’s regional border force patrolling the Line of Actual Control (LAC). They were injured in bullets fired from the Chinese side.
The incident occurred a fortnight ago but had been kept under wraps. It was confirmed in the India press on Monday by an anonymous “highly-placed intelligence source,” who is not authorized to give information to the media. ITBP officials at their headquarters in New Delhi declined to confirm the incident.
If factual, this marks the first incident where bullets have been fired since the landmark 1996 Sino-India agreement in which both sides pledged not to open fire, no matter what the provocation, as a part of confidence-building measures. Violations by Chinese troops crossing the LAC have increased in recent months.
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China-India Border Row Escalates
India Times Television Report of the Incident