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Climate Change Puts New Species at Risk









The rich and unique biodiversity of the Mekong region, which has been discovered only in recent years, is likely to be put at risk by environmental impacts that climate change is expected to bring, says the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) in a report launched here Friday.

A total of 163 new species have been discovered in the Mekong region – which comprises Cambodia, China, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos – just over the past year.
These include a bird-eating frog, a gecko covered in leopard print, and a new species of banana, according to the WWF report 'Close Encounters'.

Many of the newly discovered species were "living right under our noses" and already known to local communities, said Stuart Chapman, director of the WWF Greater Mekong Programme. Indeed, scientists worked with local villages to identify species known locally, but not to the global scientific community.

"Some of these areas (where the species are documented) are remote and inaccessible… either due to political instability or the fact that there's been a lot of mines in certain areas. Now these areas are opening up," said Chapman.

The end of conflict and war in past decades has allowed economic growth and openness to take hold in the region, especially in the past 15 years.

The six countries of the region are also bound by the 4,880-kilometre Mekong River, which stretches from the Tibetan Plateau in China, through Burma, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before it reaches the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and flows out into the South China Sea.

"This river is the second most biodiverse river in the world… second only to the Amazon (river) in terms of fish numbers," Chapman added.

However, the Mekong's rich biodiversity also makes it highly susceptible to climate fluctuations.
"Some of these new species that have just been found might be at risk…. Rare, threatened and endangered species are an obvious choice because they are already at the brink of extinction," said Geoff Blate, climate change coordinator for the WWF Greater Mekong Programme.

For instance, the leopard gecko, which is found only in low-lying islands that could be inundated if seas continue to rise, is especially at risk due to its geographical location, added Blate. The Bangkok-based South-east Asia START Regional Centre, which has been monitoring climate change impact in the resgion since 1997, reports that the lower Mekong River basin would experience a substantially longer annual hot period and a shorter cool period over the next 10 years.

Rainfall in the region is also expected to increase by 10 to 30 percent. While the effects are far from certain, there have been reports warning of damage to the flood cycles that are key to food security, livelihood and biodiversity in places like the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the Tonle Sap in Cambodia.

These concerns are among those being highlighted by a series of initiatives and reports by various non-government organisations, development and research agencies in the run-up to the fourth round of global negotiations on climate change that will get underway here next week.


So far, environmental activists say that Mekong governments have yet to push particularly hard for stronger provisions in the negotiations for a stronger global climate change treaty in December.

"The countries from this (Mekong) region besides China have not been very vocal and very visible," said Kathrin Gutmann, head of policy and advocacy at the WWF Global Climate Initiative.
At a special U.N. climate change summit in New York earlier this week, China pledged to cut its carbon intensity by 2020 but gave no figures. Japan, on the other hand, pledged to reduce emissions by 25 percent by 2020, calling it the Hatoyama Initiative, after the newly elected prime minister.

These are below the WWF's target of 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions by industrialised countries, but Gutmann says that activists know that getting higher commitments from governments is a "high ask".

"There is a great opportunity for Vietnam, Cambodia, for Thailand... to really outline what they want (to happen), and next week (at the Bangkok climate change talks) is a good opportunity to get concrete," she added.

"What makes Bangkok (talks) so important (is that) that they really catch up," Gutmann said. "We need success in Copenhagen."

In December 2008, the WWF released 'First Contact', a report that compiled information about more than 1,000 newly identified species from the Mekong region discovered between 1997 and 2007.

Similar studies done for the eastern Himalayas and Borneo during the same period only yielded 300 species for both regions, according to Chapman.

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Posted by worldissues Wednesday, September 30, 2009 0 comments

Dennis Hopper Rushed to Hospital







Dennis Hopper's taken an uneasy ride to an emergency room.

The iconoclastic star of Easy Rider, Hoosiers and Blue Velvet was taken by ambulance today to an unidentified New York hospital.

While eyewitnesses told Entertainment Tonight the 73-year-old was brought into the E.R. wearing an oxygen mask, his publicist says Hopper is merely suffering from a flulike stomach ailment.

Hopper was in New York to promote his role as an unhinged music mogul on the Starz TV version of Crash, but has canceled most of his stops, including tonight's appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon as well as a swing by the Today show.

Hopper made a name for himself writing, starring and directing in 1969's counterculture classic Easy Rider, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

After a psychedelic-infused turn in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, Hopper nabbed a second Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's Hoosiers. He's also known for playing a series of memorable villains in such films as Blue Velvet and Speed and on the first season of 24.

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Skull Piece Thought to Be Hitler's Is from Woman








A piece of skull with a bullet hole through it that Russian officials claimed belonged to Adolf Hitler actually came from a woman, scientists at the University of Connecticut concluded.
The cranium fragment is part of a collection of Hitler artifacts preserved by Soviet intelligence in the months after Hitler and Eva Braun reportedly committed suicide in a Berlin bunker in April 1945.
The collection, now housed in the Russian State Archive in Moscow, also includes bloodstained pieces of the sofa where Hitler reportedly shot himself after taking a cyanide pill. The artifacts were put on public display in 2000.

Connecticut archaeologist Nick Bellantoni was asked to examine the skull and blood samples for a History Channel documentary on Hitler's death that aired this month.

Bellantoni said his initial forensic exam of the skull fragment showed it didn't match what he knew of Hitler's biology.

"The bone was very small and thin, and normally male bones are much more robust in our species," Bellantoni said Tuesday. "I thought it probably came from a woman or a younger man."

Bellantoni then took several pinhead-size pieces of the skull fragment and swabs of the blood stains back to the university for analysis.

Linda Strausbaugh, a professor of molecular and cell biology, got help from two former students who work in the New York City medical examiner's office. The former students, Craig O'Connor and Heather Nelson, are experts in working with challenging DNA samples and were able to extract enough DNA from the bone pieces to do a forensic study, Strausbaugh said.

She said they determined that the DNA came from a 20- to 40-year-old woman. The skull fragment could have come from Braun, but to know that, the lab would need samples of her DNA, she said. Also, the DNA samples were very degraded, making identification unlikely, Strausbaugh said.

Witnesses never reported Braun being shot in the head, Bellantoni said, and she is thought to have died of cyanide poisoning.

"This person, with a bullet hole coming out the back of the head, would have been shot in the face, in the mouth or underneath chin," he said. "It would have been hard for them to miss that."

DNA from the bloodstain swabs showed at least some of it came from a man, Strausbaugh said.

"The DNA is relatively degraded and we don't have a full range of markers that we'd like to have," she said.

Russian officials have said Hitler and Braun's bodies were removed from a shell crater outside the bunker shortly after he died.

An autopsy allegedly showed Hitler's body was missing part of his cranium. A Soviet team went back to the crater in 1946 and allegedly found the piece of cranium that the UConn scientists examined.

Russian officials have said the rest of Hitler was buried beneath a Soviet army parade ground in the former East German city of Magdeburg. They said his remains were exhumed in 1970 and incinerated, and the ashes were flushed into the city's sewage system.

Both Strausbaugh and Bellantoni said there is nothing in their findings that significantly challenges the conclusion that Hitler died in the bunker.

"My gut feeling is he did commit suicide there, and maybe the blood sample we found is his," Bellantoni said.

"What this does is it raises a question: If this is not him who is it?" he later added. "And, two, what really happened there?"

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Posted by worldissues Tuesday, September 29, 2009 0 comments

Violent Crackdown Shatters Democracy Hopes in Guinea













When Captain Moussa Dadis Camara took control of Guinea last December in a bloodless coup, tens of thousands of cheering supporters thronged the streets of the capital, Conakry, shouting: "Welcome to this change! Welcome to this change!" What a difference 10 months can make.

The capital was a scene of chaos on Sept. 28, when soldiers opened fire on crowds of unarmed civilians at a pro-democracy rally in a stadium, killing dozens of people and wounding hundreds, Isabelle Bourges, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, tells TIME. According to New York–based Human Rights Watch, bodies were also found with knife and bayonet wounds and witnesses saw women being stripped naked in the streets and sexually assaulted by security forces.

"They didn't even ask us to disperse. They just started shooting!" protester Bambaya Bari told TIME by telephone from Conakry.

The crackdown in the West African country was immediately condemned by the African Union, the European Union and human-rights organizations around the world. "The killing of dozens of unarmed protesters is shocking even by the abusive standards of Guinea's coup government," says Corinne Dufka, a senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Guinea's leaders should order an immediate end to attacks on demonstrators and bring to justice those responsible for the bloodshed."

Tensions had been building in the weeks leading up to Monday's protest after Camara hinted that he may run in the presidential election set for January 2010, going back on an earlier pledge not to take part in the election. The move infuriated the opposition, which wants to see free, democratic elections held in the country. Many opposition members were arrested in Monday's crackdown, according to Mohammed Jalloh, a Guinea expert at the think tank Crisis Group in Dakar, Senegal.

"There was a dialogue about how the transition to civilian rule should be accomplished," says Jalloh, who recently returned from a mission to Guinea. "But Camara blocked it ... and now the street is the only alternative for expressing discontent."

Camara had once been seen as a beacon of hope for the resource-rich country, one of the poorest in the world. When he took power following the death of autocratic President Lansana Conte, who had ruled for 24 years, Camara promised to hold elections to bring about civilian rule within a year. Many Guineans were also optimistic that Camara could stop the rampant looting of the country's coffers by government officials. In 2008, Guinea was ranked 173rd out of 180 countries in a corruption index by Transparency International, a corruption watchdog.

Camara initially looked like he was serious about cleaning up the country. He became the host of a popular television program in which he grilled former Conte cronies about their role in cocaine-smuggling operations in Guinea — under Conte, the country had become a stopover for cocaine shipments from Latin America to Europe. But Camara's heavy-handed approach soon turned off most of the country's non-military politicians and trade-union members. Ordinary Guineans, who had once been enthralled by his vociferous television appearances, over the past few weeks started demanding a change of power in several anti-government demonstrations. About 60,000 people gathered at Conakry's airport earlier this month to greet opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, expected to be one of the top candidates in next year's presidential election, when he returned from a trip overseas.

Now residents in Conakry remain locked in their homes, afraid to venture out into the streets. Jalloh says this could be the start of a massive government campaign against pro-democracy elements in the country. "This [scene] will repeat itself in the provinces," he says. "The situation will deteriorate as long as a new dialogue is not established." For Guineans weary of being ruled by dictators, the promise of life in a free democracy may yet be a far-fetched dream.

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How Badly Would Sanctions on Gas Imports Hurt Iran?








Could the U.S. block sales of refined gasoline to Iran as a way of ratcheting up pressure on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian regime? That's a prospect U.S. politicians have talked up for months. But as the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China prepare for crucial talks with Iran in Geneva on Oct. 1, there's a growing realization that the strategy might not work. "The hype around blocking gas is hugely overdone," says Richard Dalton, who was British ambassador to Iran until 2006 and is now an associate fellow at the London think tank Chatham House. "People use this term Achilles' heel, but it has got very little substance to it."

The idea of blocking refined gas to Iran was raised several times during last year's U.S. presidential campaign. Barack Obama described the plan in a debate with John McCain as "putting the squeeze" on Ahmadinejad. In April the U.S. Senate introduced the bipartisan Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, which would expand sanctions imposed by Bill Clinton in 1996 and give the White House the authority to sanction companies that export gas to Iran. Senator Joe Lieberman told reporters at the time that the law would "target Iran's Achilles' economic heel, which is its dependence on imports of petroleum ... most notably gasoline."

Iran sits atop mammoth energy reserves —about 136 billion bbl. of oil and some 14 trillion cu m of natural gas. But because its refineries are too few and too old, the country refines just two-thirds of the gas it needs to keep its economy working and its 65 million people lit, driving and heated. The remaining third — about 120,000 bbl. a day — has to be imported.

Blocking one-third of Iran's gasoline supplies might seem relatively simple. The country's imports come from a fairly small number of firms, including Swiss-Dutch companies Vitol and Trafigura and India's Reliance Industries. New U.S. sanctions would force those companies to choose between doing business in the U.S. or doing business with Iran — a no-brainer for most firms. "They have bigger fish to fry [than Iran]," says Mark Fitzpatrick, a former State Department official and now director of Nuclear Nonproliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "They all have bigger markets elsewhere, including in the U.S." Indeed, even talk of a refined-petroleum blockade convinced British Petroleum to halt its exports to Iran last year. Oil analysts believe Reliance has suspended sales to Iran too.


But that early talk gave Iran time to prepare for new sanctions. Earlier this year, it began importing far more than it was using. Intelligence consultancy Stratfor noted last week that Iran has probably stockpiled at least three months' worth of gasoline. The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co. estimates that the country has some 15.7 million bbl. of gasoline — about four months' worth — stockpiled in tankers on land and off its Persian Gulf coast. After BP and Reliance halted exports to Iran, Chinese state-owned oil companies filled the gap, supplying about one-third of Iran's gasoline imports as of last month, according to the Financial Times.


Lawrence Eagles, head of commodities research at JPMorgan, told the paper last week that Iran was importing 30,000 bbl. to 40,000 bbl. a day from Chinese companies. And Malaysia's state-owned oil company Petronas delivered three shipments of gas to Iran last month, each containing about 93,000 bbl., according to Stratfor.

It is far from certain that Chinese and Malaysian companies would bend to the same pressures that Western firms have to stop exports to Iran. Even if they do, Iran has other options. For one thing, gas-guzzling Iran could cut its consumption. As any visitor can testify, driving across Tehran can take hours in clogged traffic, which barely eases up at night. That's because Iran's regime, keen to keep voters happy, heavily subsidizes gas. Iranians are entitled to 26 gal. (100 L) of fuel a month at 38 cents per gal. (about 10 cents per L) — a tiny fraction of what it costs in the U.S. or Europe. If the U.S. blocked imports of refined gas, Tehran could simply ease its subsidies while pointing to Washington as the cause of the pain. As Iranian ire and the price of a tank of gas rose, demand would dip.

And then there's smuggling. Ahmadinejad could — perhaps easily — boost his gas supplies by cracking down on rampant smuggling. About 10.6 million gal. (40 million L) of gas are smuggled out of the country daily to neighboring countries like Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Turkey, where it is sold at higher prices, according to Iranian officials. "In some border regions, smugglers are using underground pipelines up to the frontiers," the ministry's director of economic affairs, Mohammed Reza Farzin, told an Iranian newspaper last week, explaining the difficulties of stopping the smuggling networks.


Tehran could use all these stopgap methods to buy time — which is all it really needs to do. Chinese firms and, until recently, India's Reliance, have been working on massive upgrades of the country's refineries. "If Iran can maintain its refinery upgrades, they'll be self-sufficient in gas by 2013," says Dalton.
U.S. officials believe going after oil imports may still be worth it.


Rather than passing laws or attempting to push new sanctions through the U.N. Security Council — where Russia and China could veto them — officials are quietly approaching companies directly, convincing executives that the cost of doing business with Iran has become too high. In the past few months, Washington has leaned on insurance companies that underwrite Iran's shipments abroad and as many as 80 banks that handle financial transactions for the country. In January, the U.S. slapped a $350 million fine on Britain's Lloyds TSB Bank for funneling money from Iran and Sudan into U.S. institutions. "The U.S. Treasury Department has been encouraging major firms to be cautious in their dealings with Iran," says Fitzpatrick. "They are informally advising them not to be investing in the Iranian oil and gas sector."

The message seems to be getting across. The French energy giant Total recently failed to bid on a major block in Iran's South Pars field — the world's biggest natural gas field — after spending years eyeing the business. Like other energy companies, it calculated that its Iran business was becoming a problem it could live without.




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Obama, Rasmussen discuss NATO efforts in Afghanistan
















"We both agree that it is absolutely critical that we are successful in dismantling, disrupting, destroying the al Qaeda network, and that we are effectively working with the Afghan government to provide the security necessary for that country," said Obama after his meeting with Rasmussen in the Oval Office.

"This is not a American battle, this is a NATO mission as well. And we are working actively and diligently to consult with NATO at every step of the way, " he added.

Obama tackled the missile defense system in Eastern Europe noting that he agreed with Rasmussen that "the configuration that we have proposed is one that ultimately will serve the interests of not only the United States, but also NATO Alliance members most effectively." The Obama administration decided last week to drastically alter European missile defense plans, after the previous US administration had planned to deploy 10 ground-based interceptors in Poland, a European Midcourse Radar in the Czech Republic, and proposed instead a new plan that calls for a focus on short and medium range interceptors.

He also stressed on the importance of reaching out to Russia and "explore ways in which the missile defense configurations that we envision could potentially lead to further collaboration with Russia on this front." "We want to improve generally not only U.S.-Russian relations, but also NATO-Russian relations," added the US President while making sure to reiterate commitment to US allies in Eastern Europe.

Obama called for NATO reform saying "we are now well into the 21st century and that means that we are going to have to constantly renew and revitalize NATO to meet current threats and not just past threats." He expressed confidence in Rasmussen "decisive and effective leadership abilities interested in reforming and renewing the NATO Alliance and always rooted in the understanding that this is the most successful military alliance in history and the cornerstone of transatlantic relationships.

" Rasmussen, a former Danish Prime Minister, was elected Secretary General during the NATO summit in Strasbourg last April, said he looks forward "to cooperating with the President and his administration on reforming, transforming, and modernizing NATO. We are going to elaborate a new strategic concept, which I hope can serve as leverage for renewal of NATO." Rasmussen said NATO "will stand united and we will stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to finish our job." "I welcome the new U.S. approach, which will allow all
allies to participate, which will protect all allies.

I think the proposed new system can serve as an instrument to bind all allies, new and old, even stronger together," he concluded.

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Australia aim for semi-final berth against Pakistan






A semi-final berth well within their grasp despite the wash-out against India, defending champions Australia take on a rejuvinated Pakistan in their final group A match of the Champions Trophy here on Wednesday.

If Australia win, they would book their place in the semi-final no matter what happens in the India-West Indies match.

But if they lose and India win, Ricky Ponting's world champion side has to ensure that its net run rate remains ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men as the two teams would be tied on three points each in such a scenario.

The Australians have had a reasonably good tournament, wining the opening match against the West Indies before dominating the abandoned game against India.

Ponting has led from the front in both the matches, scoring a couple of crucial fifties and putting together match-saving partnerships in tough conditions.

The biggest concern for the Aussies tomorrow would be all-rounder Shane Watson. Pushed to the opening slot some time ago, the big-hitting right-hander has come a cropper in the tournament so far, managing two ducks.

He has looked uncomfortable facing up to the new ball and it remains to be seen if he would be persisted with at the top on Wednesday.

The other opener Tim Paine has, however, adjusted well to the slot. Paine batted through a testing period in the match against India to make a fifty and stabilize the Australian innings.

Mike Hussey also seems to have rediscovered some of his lost form, against India, by scoring a morale-boosting half century.

The bowlers didn't get a chance last night as the heavy downpour forced abandonment of the match.

But Brett Lee and Co. were not too impressive against the West Indians in the opening match, in which the rag-tag Caribbean team gave a mighty scare to the world champions.

The Centurion track has been a batting paradise and it would take quite an effort from the Aussie bowlers to contain an in-form Pakistani line-up.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have little to be concerned about.

They are already in the semis and would be aiming to get some match practice before the last-four stage begins on October 2.

Skipper Younus Khan, who played with a fractured finger in the crucial win over India, might consider resting himself ahead of the knockout round.

It's a match that would decide the semifinal complexion despite the fact that one of the teams has absolutely nothing at stake.

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Rain spoils India's semi-final hopes in Champions Trophy







Centurion, Sep 29 (IANS) Heavy rains spoiled India's hopes of making it to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy after their must-win Group A match against defending champions Australia was called of at the SuperSport Park here Monday.

Australia were on course for a big total and were 234 for four in 42.3 overs with Cameron White batting on 35 and Callum Ferguson on two when heavy rains stopped the match.

Even after an hour, rain didn't stop and one of the light towers became dysfunctional after lightning struck it as India and Australia split points. Australia now have three points while India have one.

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What are the greatest fashion setting films?


Just in time for Fashion Week in New York, Turner Classic Movies is unveiling the network’s 15 Favorite Fashion Trendsetting Films. “Flashdance,” “It Happened One Night” and “Shaft” made the list.

Movies have long had a pivotal role in setting new fashion trends as well as being inspirations to designers. To assemble its list, TCM’s experts used guidance from two great contemporary designers, Manolo Blahnik and Todd Oldham.

They picked iconic films such as “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955), which featured James Dean setting a new standard in cool. “Even I had his red biker jacket,” Blahnik said.

Other films made the cut because of the work of someone behind the scenes, such as Edith Head, one of Hollywood’s greatest costume designers. “Edith Head was the first at so many things,” Oldham said. “She could change a national hemline with her influential designs.”

TCM is revealing its list of 15 Favorite Fashion Trendsetting Films in advance of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which is scheduled for Sept. 10-17 in New York. TCM’s extensive ties to fashion also include an ongoing promotion with Bloomingdale’s. TCM’s 15 Favorite Fashion Trendsetting Films will be included in the network’s ongoing selection of Dailies.
Here are TCM’s 15 Favorite Fashion Trendsetting Films, listed in chronological order:

Pandora’s Box (1929) – Louise Brooks once said, “A well dressed woman, even though her purse is painfully empty, can conquer the world.” That could have been the motto of Lulu, the role that made her a fashion icon for the ages. Brooks had been wearing her famous Buster Brown haircut and dressing in the height of flapper fashion for years, as had many other actresses, but her sleek hairdo and half-naked beaded gowns were a perfect match for the amoral charmer in Pandora’s Box. In many countries, the severe black bob is still referred to as “the Lulu.”

Letty Lynton (1932) – Joan Crawford and the designer Adrian were a match made in fashion heaven. The young designer’s work on this 1932 romance about a woman fleeing a disastrous love affair showed Hollywood just how much influence it had on the way women dressed. For Crawford, Adrian created a no-nonsense look that, while maintaining her femininity, accentuated her athletic shoulders. Letty’s white organdy dress with shoulder ruffles was copied and sold to more than a million women. And the broad-shouldered power suits Adrian designed for Crawford created a national rage for shoulder pads. Little wonder Edith Head once called Letty Lynton the greatest influence on fashion in film history.

It Happened One Night (1934) – When Clark Gable had trouble keeping up the pace while removing his undershirt in the famous “Walls of Jericho” scene, director Frank Capra suggested he just remove his shirt to reveal a bare chest. The scene was so sexy, men stopped buying undershirts, leading to a rumor that one underwear manufacturer had tried to sue Columbia Pictures. As if to make up for it, the clothes Gable did wear in the film – Norfolk jacket, V-neck sweater and trench coat – rose in popularity as men around the nation imitated Gable. After the film took off at the box office, Gable decided that trench coats were his good luck charm and wore them in any film he could.

Pat and Mike (1952) – While there really isn’t a single Katharine Hepburn film that established her impact on fashion, this 1952 comedy about an athletic coach breaking into pro sports is the perfect embodiment of her liberating – and at times gender-bending – image. From her arrival in Hollywood, Hepburn defied convention and, for some, morality by dressing like a man, claiming her high-waisted trousers, pantsuits, men’s shirts and loafers were simply more comfortable. The look fit the feisty, independent characters she played to perfection, revolutionizing fashion by freeing women for more active lives with a greater range of choices. So great was her influence that, in 1986, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored her with a special award.

Rear Window (1954) – The meeting of clotheshorse Grace Kelly and legendary designer Edith Head was sure to produce fashion magic. This Alfred Hitchcock classic established Kelly’s understated elegance, which stood in stark contrast to the florid, oversexed Hollywood designs of the ‘50s. With Kelly perfectly cast as a fashionable socialite, Head was able to create haute couture designs that didn’t seem out of place for everyday wear. From a pale green skirt suit with unfitted jacket to the floral print dress with multiple crinolines, the designs taught working women of that time how to be chic. Kelly’s little square overnight bag even prefigured the “Kelly Bag” that Hermés would eventually name for her.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) – Fashion would have been the furthest thing from Jim Stark’s (James Dean) mind when he donned a t-shirt and red jacket for a night of trouble. Thanks to Dean’s smoldering presence in Rebel Without a Cause, however, the two items became essential fashion for any self-styled rebel. Filming in color, director Nicholas Ray and costumer Moss Mabry decided that a red jacket, not brown, would help the character stand out. Some sources credit Dean with the idea. Regardless of who thought it up, though, the red jacket became, as Variety editor Robert Hofler has described it, the symbol of “a generation’s despair.”

And God Created Woman… (1956) – When Brigitte Bardot sunbathed wearing neither clothes nor the slightest hint of self-consciousness in And God Created Woman…, a new kind of sex symbol was born, a sexual rebel whose free-wheeling approach to romance anticipated the hippie era of free love. When she did wear clothes, though, she had the wardrobe to match. The long-ignored bikini became an international sensation. The ballet flats, cotton gingham beach dresses and open necklines (the latter dubbed “the Bardot neckline”) that captured her sense of abandon onscreen were soon the rage. And her tousled, up-swept hair, dubbed choucroute (sauerkraut), remains the height of casual elegance.

Auntie Mame (1958) – When John Galliano debuted his new line for 2009, the combination of zany colors, exaggerated silhouettes and exposed undergarments had many commentators crediting Madonna as his inspiration. But The New York Times’ Sameer Reddy placed the influence earlier – on Rosalind Russell’s over-the-top costumes in the 1958 Auntie Mame. Russell’s Mame Dennis lives and breathes fashion (some commentators have suggested the character resembles Vogue editor Diana Vreeland). Although not very influential at the time, Australian-born designer Orry-Kelly’s innovative and daring wardrobe for Mame has since gone on to impact collections and inspire young people to take up careers in fashion.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) – When Audrey Hepburn ate a Danish while gazing at a Tiffany’s window, the little black dress she wore became the crown jewel in any woman’s wardrobe. Created by her favorite designer, Givenchy, it highlighted her slight figure with simple, straight lines. That wasn’t the only fashion influence exerted by this classic 1961 comedy, one of the last films made with a sense of old Hollywood glamour. As ticket sales soared, so did sales of triple-strand pearl necklaces, sleeveless dresses and oversized sunglasses. But it is the little black dress, dubbed by Manolo Blahnik as “Divine!” and recently auctioned off for $900,000, that established a new standard for elegance that endures even today.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) – Initially, Faye Dunaway wanted to wear slacks in Bonnie and Clyde, arguing that she’d need mobility for the getaway scenes. When she got a look at Theodora van Runkle’s assembly of printed scarves, pencil skirts, knitted sweaters and bias-cut dresses, she not only changed her mind, the one-time model altered her entire approach to fashion, once saying “… until I met Theodora, clothes ... had just been part of the job.” Thanks to the anti-establishment comedy-drama, the “gun moll look” took off, triggering a resurgence of ‘30s retro chic. Even the lowly beret – once the sole property of Frenchmen and struggling poets – became a hot fashion item.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) – When Steve McQueen traded in his usual casual duds for tailored suits in this sexy 1968 caper film, the British Invasion hit U.S. menswear in a big way. Top English tailor Douglas Hayward created an assemblage of three-piece suits with two-button jackets and suppressed waists that captured the character’s affluence and set off the star’s lean frame to perfection. Even the accessories – from his $2,250 Patek Philippe pocket watch to the blue-lensed tortoise shell Persol sunglasses – were meticulously chosen to create a timeless image of opulence. Although British menswear had already been showcased at the movies before, it was this film that brought it to American stores and continues to inspire such designers as Ralph Lauren and Tom Ford.

Shaft (1971) – Considered the first “blaxploitation” film, Shaft mirrored the rise of urban chic among young, working-class African-Americans. Former model Richard Roundtree’s wardrobe in the film captured the sleekness and empowerment behind the new styles. Three-quarter-length leather jackets and leather pants combined with turtlenecks and other tight knits made him a fashion icon, the ultimate “sex machine to all the chicks.” Almost 30 years later, Giorgio Armani would draw on the look with a collection inspired by the release of the 2000 remake.

Annie Hall (1977) – Diane Keaton didn’t have to go far to help create a look that changed women’s fashion in this Oscar®-winning comedy; it originated in her own closet. Her eclectic style – mismatched pieces of oversized men’s wear, from floppy hats to baggy chinos, with a Ralph Lauren tie as the coup de gras – sent women running not to boutiques but to the neighborhood thrift shop. It also triggered the renewed popularity of women’s slacks on a par with the craze created in the ‘30s by Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn. Designer Ruth Morley was not sold on the idea initially and tried to nix it. But when Keaton showed up for shooting, director Woody Allen insisted, “She’s a genius. Let’s just leave her alone. Let her wear what she wants.”

Saturday Night Fever (1977) – The ultimate fashion icon of the ‘70s was not of some charismatic actress or famous model. It was John Travolta in his white disco suit, pointing to the heavens in the poster for Saturday Night Fever. He originally wanted a black leisure suit until designer Patrizia von Brandenstein explained that white would catch the disco lights and help him stand out from the crowd. Stand out he did and, for one of the few times in fashion history, men came to the fore. The film inspired a flock of polyestered peacocks in form-fitting clothes with electric colors, open collars and a medallion dangling from the neck. With a pair of platform shoes and a generous application of styling mousse, it was the birth of a new type of glamour designed for working class kids who blew off steam at the local dance club.

Flashdance (1983) – When the sweatshirt Jennifer Beals wanted to wear as welder-by-day/dancer-by-night Alex Owens shrunk in the wash, a fashion craze was born. Designer Michael Kaplan had to cut off the top just to get it over her head, and the image it created on the film’s poster swept the nation. Activewear was in, but not the kind worn on the playing field. Combining torn sweatshirts (specially cut by manufacturers) with leg warmers, spandex pants, headbands and hi-tops, Flashdance fashion made young women everywhere feel as if they were headed to the nearest dance studio. And the feeling is coming back today as the ‘80s revival has generated new interest in the film, its leading lady and her trend-setting look.

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“Jon & Kate Plus 8″ Drops the Jon, Record “Dexter” Rating

The season premiere of “Dexter” posted a series high for the acclaimed Showtime drama, reaching a total of 1.5 million viewers in its first airing (and 1.9 when the same-night encore was included).

Not only the best “Dexter” draw to date, the figure is also Showtime’s best-drawing telecast since the premium network implemented a new ratings system in 2004.

“Californication,” which also premiered, jumped 57% from last year with 821,000 viewers. The encore brought the night’s total to 1.2 million.

– TLC has confirmed that “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ will relaunch this fall as “Kate Plus 8.” Set to “include a deeper focus on Kate’s role in the family and her journey as a single mother building the next chapter in her life,” the show will still feature Jon Gosselin in an executive and recurring appearance capacity, but he will no longer be a focal point.

THRFeed.com reports that the network ultimately deemed Kate’s single mother story the most compelling in the wake of the couple’s much-publicized split.

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The Manila Floods: Why Wasn't the City Prepared?







In Manila, millions of residents now live in a world of mud. Torrential rain over the weekend triggered the worst flooding the Philippines' capital has seen in over four decades, submerging more than 80% of the city, killing at least 246 people and displacing hundreds of thousands more. By Tuesday, the water had receded in many places, but it left behind ruined homes and swept-away neighborhoods, and according to health officials, it disabled the majority of Manila's medical facilities. Debris, sewage and abandoned vehicles that were tossed around by gushing currents now litter the notoriously polluted capital; aid workers warn of water-borne diseases. The government has placed the area around Manila under a "state of public calamity."


In an appeal for assistance, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo described Tropical Storm Ketsana, which hit Manila on Sept. 26, as a "once-in-a-lifetime typhoon." A month's worth of rain deluged the city in the space of 12 hours. "The system is overwhelmed, local government units are overwhelmed," said Anthony Golez of the state's National Disaster Coordinating Council at a press conference on Sept. 28.

Yet many in the country are pointing fingers at its politicians for failing to predict the scale of the disaster or lessen the damage it caused. Manila, they say, was always bound to face such catastrophe, and more should have been done to help its millions of residents prepare. A recently published study by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSA), a research group based in Singapore, ranked metropolitan Manila as one of the provinces in Southeast Asia most vulnerable to flooding.


The capital region is perched on a marshy isthmus that is crisscrossed with streams and rivers. An ever-growing population — Manila is now a sprawling mega-city of some 12 million people, larger still when factoring in the day-worker population — and the lack of infrastructure to accommodate it left swaths of the city exposed. "What we are seeing is a phenomenon that will affect many major cities in Asia," says Neeraj Jain, country specialist for the Philippines at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is headquartered in Manila. "Urbanization has been so rapid, yet the planning processes have lagged."

Last weekend's flood was in large part the result of the capital's poor drainage and sanitation systems, which have been neglected by several successive administrations in power. As Ketsana rained down upon Manila, sewers that were clogged up by plastic bags and other refuse led to roads becoming rivers and gardens lagoons. Video images of desperate people riding floating pontoons of garbage down inundated streets were a sign not just of the consequences of the flood, but also its causes. Many impoverished Manila residents live in makeshift settlements by rivers and creeks — the source of their drinking water — that overflowed and carried off their homes. "People have always been living on the edge," says Carlos Celdran, a popular Manila historian and performing artist. "It's amazing the city has actually managed to make it this far."

The Spanish seized Manila from its Muslim rulers in the 16th century and set it up as their colonial seat in Asia. The city was a flourishing, elegant entrepôt for centuries, but in recent times civic planning has been more haphazard as the population has boomed. Lambert Ramirez, executive director of the National Institute for Policy Studies, a Manila-based think tank, says much of the blame for poor urban management ought to be leveled at the government. "There's no coordinated policy for cleaning up garbage. There's no political will to get even simple things done," he says. Ramirez spoke to TIME while salvaging appliances and valuables from his own flooded home.

Jain of the ADB says the leadership in Manila, faced with elections in the coming months, is indeed thinking of long-term solutions to its infrastructure woes. Plans have been afoot to improve sanitation and also relieve the population burden in metro Manila by shifting certain businesses and government offices to areas outside the dense capital region. But the challenge facing the Philippines and other poor Asian countries is one of resources. Most Southeast Asia nations budget around 2% or 3% of their GDP for infrastructure development. To fend off such disasters in the future, Jain says that figure ought to be closer to 5% or 6%. It's a deficit that few governments can afford to make up overnight.

But given the looming specter of climate change, they may have to find a way sooner rather than later. The prospect of another typhoon this week underscores environmentalists' concern that shifts in global temperatures may mean increasingly extreme weather patterns for coastal cities like Manila. "[Ketsana] was a startling, unique event," says Herminia Francisco of the EEPSA in Singapore. "But then I think this is going to happen more and more frequently in the future."

For today, as international aid pours in from organizations like the Red Cross and the World Food Program, Manila residents are slowly retrieving their homes and livelihoods from the mud. Thousands of volunteers have donated food and rushed to help those who were worse affected. "Filipinos are used to crisis," says Celdran. "We've gone through a lot over the years, but we've managed. We're a resilient people."

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Britney Spears 3 release and lyrics







The big page one news in the music world today is the release of Britney Spears' new single, 3.



Britney Spears today releases her new single, 3. It's the only new song that will be on her upcoming greatest hits package to be released later in the year (well in time for the Holiday season of course).



It has to be said that the lyrics to 3 aren't exactly one of Shakepeare's sonnets:



1, 2, 3
Not only you and me
Got one eighty degrees
And I'm caught in between
Countin'
1, 2, 3
Peter, Paul & Mary
Gettin' down with 3P
Everybody loves ***
Countin'

Babe, pick a night
To come out and play
If it's alright
What do you say?

Merrier the more
Triple fun that way
Twister on the floor
What do you say?



Maybe the reference to it being more fun with three is something to do with her supposed (OK, there was a very short lived rumor about it) dalliiance with Shannon Funk? And didn't Kevin Federline try to say something similar?



Or is this really stretching about what is, after all, simply another piece of bubble gum pop?



You can listen to Britney Spears' 3 (and see the full lyrics) here.



The background to the song and boxed set is:



Britney Spears released her new single, "3," on Tuesday morning (September 29). The song will be featured on her greatest hits album, The Singles Collection, due out on November 24. She's releasing the collection to celebrate her 10 years in the business since the release of her seminal first single, "... Baby One More Time."



And if you want the top end version for the holiday season you'd better start saving up now. Doesn't look like it's going to be cheap:



The Singles Collection will be available for purchase as a standard set and a packaged box set. The standard set will include 17 of her biggest hits, plus "3." The ultimate fan box set will contain all 29 of Spears' singles individually packaged in slip sleeves with their original artwork and B-sides or remixes. The box set will also include a DVD with all of Brit's videos from past to present and a photo booklet with various photos spanning her career. Spears released her first greatest-hits collection, My Prerogative, back in 2004.

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Joe Scarborough – Surgery





The latest trend is to climb the corporate ladder with the help of plastic surgery. Today, more and more, people are opting to go under the knife as a way to get ahead at the office. If your features start to droop, the theory is, your career will go sour.
Why do people take such desperate measures to get ahead? Joe Scarborough discussed this with Dr. Anthony Griffin (Plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills) and Dr. Robi Ludwig(Psychotherapist).

According to Dr. Anthony Griffin being in a competitive, youth-oriented, visual world right now, everyone needs edge over others. He further said that its quite common, in fact the the statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons has shown that, over the last couple of years, men have been actually one of the fastest-growing groups of getting plastic surgery. Dr. Anthony Griffin further said that he often comes across who are quite sure that they are psychologically ready for this. There are many technologies such as fillers, collagen, Restylane, lasers which don‘t even actually involve a surgical procedure.

Robi Ludwig on the other hand said that it is the Hollywood effect. According to him people today compare themselves to billboards and visions of beauty that are altered by cosmetic surgery. Looking at these images, they tend to look at themselves differently in a more negative way. He said the whole perception is that if you want to be competitive and well received in the workplace, you need to look good. It’s basically a desire to look beautiful which is manifesting in a slightly different way because of medical technology.

Ludwig mentioned two stages of plastic surgery, one is the vanity surgery, where somebody who‘s attractive, want to be more attractive and the other is the self-esteem surgery for the people who have a distraction or something that doesn‘t allows to focus on them or what they have to say. The biggest increase is in the area of Self- Esteem surgery that helps the person to build the self-esteem.

The conversation ended when all of them agreed that if surgery helps someone feel better, and it‘s safe, there is no harm in it.

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Sports Fix! Heisman Watch - NFL Power Rankings Week 4







NFL Power Rankings Week 4 for 2009 and the Heisman Watch dominate a football themed Sports Fix! Tim Tebow may have been knocked out of last week's game but he still leads the Heisman race. ESPN lines up a panel of their 'experts' and they try here to guess the winner.
NFL Power Rankings Week 4 - are the New York football Giants the number one team in the NFL? It is only week four and they are as good as choice as any where in an odd season start that has the New York Jets at 3-0 and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals (weren't they in lat season's Super Bowl?) at 1-2.

The Tennessee Titans are at 0-3 and many thought they would be a powerhouse. And each week, I keep reminding folks, don't forget the New Orleans Saints and that amazing offense. They are winning (and covering Las Vegas folks).

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Khloe Kardashian: Wedding Pictures a $300,000 Bankroll








Khloe Kardashian's wedding pictures are worth a six figure sum, according to Celebglitz.com. Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian's manager-mom brokered a deal with OK! magazine to sell Khloe Kardashian's wedding pictures for $300,000.

Lamar Odom, Khloe Kardashian's husband, will not get one cent from the deal. Khloe Kardashian's wedding photos will land an easy $300,000 in the youngest Kardashian sister's pocket.

You have to admit that Kris Jenner does a good job managing her daughters. Khloe Kardashian's whirlwind relationship with LA Laker's Lamar Odom was announced to the world just a short week ago. In the meantime, rather than freak out over her daughter's decision, Kris Jenner jumped on the ball and sold Khloe Kardashian's wedding pictures for $300,000.

I know I would really like to see Khloe Kardashian's wedding pictures. What type of dress did Khloe wear? Did Lamar wear a tux? Who was in the wedding party other than Khloe's sisters Kim and Kourtney?

Khloe Kardashian's wedding pictures will make issues of OK! magazine fly off the shelves. The Kardashian sisters have become a household name, as many people enjoy popular E! series Keeping up with the Kardashians and Kourntey and Khloe Take Miami.

There's no doubt that Khloe Kardashian's wedding pictures are beautiful. Khloe shares the same exotic Armenian features as her sisters, making her very beautiful. As for Lamar Odom, I am sure that Khloe would not let her beau look any way but fabulous on their big day.

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Posted by worldissues Sunday, September 27, 2009 0 comments

"The National Parks" Concert/Celebration at Central Park | Shelton Johnson interview

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Yosemite park ranger, legend of John Muir star in Ken Burns' national parks documentary



Ken Burns was well along in making his much anticipated national parks documentary before he had the experience that for many crystallizes why the parks have such a hold on the American consciousness. He saw Yosemite for the first time.

"I've never in my life felt the way I felt at that moment," Burns says recalling his first look at Yosemite Valley. Weary from a promotional appearance in San Francisco, the East Coast native had driven to the California park to catch up with his camera crew there.

"It was like losing your virginity, or becoming a parent for the first time. You think you know what it's like to make love, or be a parent, and then you come to realize you really had no idea."

So it is no surprise that the legend of John Muir — the naturalist credited with preserving the now iconic landscape — and a Yosemite Park ranger play major roles in the 12-hour "The National Parks: America's Best Idea." Ranger Shelton Johnson, who is being hailed as the film's breakout star, pops off the screen the way historian Shelby Foote did in "The Civil War" and former ballplayer Buck O'Neil did in "Baseball."

But had it not been for Muir, who lived in Martinez, where his home is a national historic site, Yosemite and other natural treasures might now be gated communities or tacky theme parks.

"You could see Ken gravitating toward Muir the whole time we were making the film. He was captivated," said Dayton Duncan, a producer and lead writer on the project. "What Ken sees in Muir is what he sees in Louis Armstrong and Jackie Robinson — individuals with great enthusiasm for life and the ability to channel that enthusiasm in a way that has a profound impact on other people."


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U.N. War Crimes Allegation Won't Change Israel's Calculations








Anyone waiting for Israeli generals and political leaders to face war crimes charges at The Hague over January's Gaza invasion ought not to hold their breath, despite a new report by a U.N. Human Rights Council accusing both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the confrontation. And despite Israel's disquiet over losing the battle for international public opinion and growing criticism over its actions in Palestinian territories, the Israeli military is unlikely to do much differently the next time it goes into Gaza.
The U.N. investigation concluded that Israel's January offensive in Gaza had been "a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population." It also slammed the Jewish state's economic blockade of the territory. At the same time, it accused Hamas of war crimes for firing rockets at Israeli civilians. Israel, which refused to cooperate with the probe, slammed it as biased and accused it of "rewarding terrorism." That follows the pattern of Israel's dismissal of a steady stream of similar assessments of the Gaza operation by Israeli and international human rights organizations.


On the basis of its own internal inquiries, the Israeli Defense Force insists its forces took extra care to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza. But the U.N. report is potentially more damaging, and the fact that its key author is the widely respected Jewish South African Judge Richard Goldstone makes it more difficult to dismiss his work as an anti-Israel smear. Goldstone has ties to Israel and a reputation for honest exploration of politically sensitive subjects built in the course of his work at the head of the his country's Truth Commission and, later, of the Hague tribunal for war crimes committed in former Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, his report is being read as a smear in the Israeli mainstream.

Unlike the charges by the various human rights groups, the U.N. report could potentially carry legal consequences. It is scheduled to be discussed on Sept. 28 at the U.N. Human Rights Council, where member countries might seek to have the matter taken up by the Security Council — which can, if it chooses, refer the matter to the International Criminal Court at The Hague. Although political factors make such a course of action highly unlikely at the moment, Israel's foreign ministry is taking no chances. It is launching a diplomatic push focused on the veto-wielding five permanent Security Council members (Russia, China, Britain, France and the U.S.) to prevent it being taken up.

The report's release coincides with a deadlock in the Obama Administration's efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell is currently in Israel, struggling to bridge the gap between the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' insistence that he won't talk to the Israelis unless they halt all construction on territory captured in 1967 (a demand echoed by the U.S.), and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offer of only a partial freeze that exempts projects already approved and does not apply to East Jerusalem.


The Administration had hoped to cajole Abbas and Netanyahu to join Obama for a meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York later this month where they would relaunch direct talks, but right now the differences between the two sides make such an event unlikely. And at least one Israeli commentator, Haaretz's Aluf Benn, wondered whether Obama might use the help Israel will need in getting Goldstone's report shelved as leverage on the settlement question. That, too, is highly unlikely for a variety of reasons, including the fact the the Administration may have concluded from Netanyahu's surge in popularity for resisting Obama's settlement-freeze demand that publicly holding the conservative Israeli leader's feet to the fire doesn't get the desired results.

Although Israel is aware of having lost the Gaza battle in the court of international public opinion — and has warned officers involved in the operation of the danger of arrest in third countries while traveling in their private capacities — the operation enjoyed overwhelming domestic political support. And Israel's heavy-handed approach in what it called Operation Cast Lead, which inflicted heavy casualties and widespread damage to Gaza's infrastructure, has been embraced as a model of effectiveness by the Israeli military, because it is seen as having ensured that Israeli forces suffered hardly any casualties while operating against a dangerous guerrilla force in a hostile urban environment. Should Israel deem it necessary to launch a new offensive in Gaza, it's tactics are likely to be unchanged despite the international criticism.

Hamas, for its part, was similarly dismissive of the report's findings on its rocket fire. "This report equates the victim with the aggressor," said Hamas Gaza spokseman Ismael Radwan, a statement that sums up the Israeli position, too. At the very heart of the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate, after all, is the question of just who is the victim.

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Posted by worldissues Thursday, September 17, 2009 0 comments

Teen Acne and Depression: Can Mood Worsen Skin?






Acne is a diabolically cruel thing: somehow it strikes your most visible feature just at the age when you become most vulnerable to a gaze. Not surprisingly, acne is often accompanied by serious depression among teenagers. In fact a 1999 study found that kids with acne bad enough to prompt a trip to the dermatologist reported having emotional and social problems as severe as those reported by patients with disabling diabetes and epilepsy.
Other studies have shown similar, if less extreme, reactions to bad cases of acne. And so an international team of researchers — including scientists from Harvard Medical School in Boston and University Medical College in Tibet — decided the acne-depression question needed further investigation. Their intriguing new paper, published this week in the open-access journal BMC Public Health, not only confirms that acne goes hand-in-hand with depression and anxiety but further suggests that teens' mental distress may in fact be worsening the condition of their skin.

Led by Jon Halvorsen, a dermatologist at the University of Oslo in Norway, the researchers launched their study in 2004, inviting every 18- and 19-year-old who was finishing high school in Oslo to answer some questions about zits and other things. Of the 3,659 students invited, 90% participated, along with another 467 18- and 19-year-olds who were not graduating. The teenagers completed questionnaires about the severity of their acne as well as how much anxiety and depression they were experiencing, what they usually ate and whether they smoked and drank. Separately, the researchers' collected socioeconomic data on the teens from the country's central information-gathering agency Statistics Norway.

The results show that the level of mental distress kids reported was strongly associated with how much acne they said they had, independent of other factors like diet or lifestyle. Roughly 19% of all kids who reported symptoms of anxiety and depression said they had acne, compared with only 12% of those who reported no mental distress. Among boys, those with depression and anxiety were 68% more likely to report acne than their happier peers; among girls, those with mental distress were twice as likely as those without to report acne.

The study found, for the first time, a linear relationship between mood and pimples: the worse the mental-illness symptoms, the worse the acne. It's possible that the association simply means that kids who feel depressed are more likely to report they have bad acne, even if they don't — but previous studies have shown that dermatologists independently agree with teens' self-reports of acne severity about 75% of the time. Some of the depressed and anxious kids in the Norwegian study may have exaggerated their acne, but in
a sample as large as this one, it's unlikely that most did.

So, how could mental-health problems actually exacerbate acne? One theory is that people with mental distress eat more junk food. Dearly held teen lore says that overindulging in chocolate and potato chips — which can make greasy fingers and, consequently, greasy faces — spawns pimples. This is mostly myth, according to the study's findings, although they offered a bit of support for the notion that diet plays a role. Girls in the study who consumed few vegetables tended to have more zits than girls who ate lots of greens. But diet was entirely irrelevant for boys.

The authors also discount other lifestyle factors. The Norwegian adolescents who said they regularly use alcohol and cigarettes were no more likely to report acne than those who were abstemious. Only mental distress was strongly correlated with acne in both boys and girls.

But that still doesn't answer the question of what mechanism might be at work. The authors offer a few hypotheses. For instance, stress may somehow stimulate the growth of nerve fibers near sebaceous glands, which in turn contributes to the increased production of sebum — the fatty substance that combines with cell debris and dead skins cells to form those familiar
blackheads and pustules. (All together now: Eww.) That theory is unproved, but previous research on the effects of depression and acne drugs suggests the authors may be onto something: we know, for example, that antidepressants can improve acne. We also know that a widely used drug that treats acne, Accutane (isotretinoin), has been associated with an increase in depression, although no causal link has been established.

The new study has some obvious shortcomings, particularly that it relies entirely on self-reports from a self-selected group of respondents. Much more rigorous research needs to be conducted to understand the relationship between mental illness and pimples — as well as the root cause of bad cases of acne. But in the meantime, drug companies might want to start working on a Clearasil-Prozac miracle cream.

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The CIA Comes Calling for Arab-American Help














Leon Panetta knew it was going to be a hard sale and so the CIA Director dished out some serious hard-sell as he tried to drum up support for the Agency from Arab-Americans in the most Arab city in the country. On Wednesday, the CIA invited 150 community leaders in Dearborn, Michigan, to a lavish iftar, the traditional evening feast at the end of each day's fasting during the month of Ramadan. The CIA and the FBI have made strenuous efforts to sign up Arab-Americans in recent years, but the suspicions and recriminations since 9/11 have not made it easy. Panetta's appearance in Dearborn is the highest-profile recruiting effort to date.

The CIA Director delivered a stirring speech, appealing to the audience's sense of patriotism. "Your nation needs you," he said. "It needs your ingenuity, it needs your wisdom, it needs the skills of your communities to help protect the way of life that all of us hold dear." Faced with multiple challenges in the Middle East, Panetta said the Agency desperately needed people who spoke Arabic and understood the culture. Besides, it would help bring much-needed diversity to the CIA. "We have to reflect the face of this nation," he said.

Many in the audience, and in the larger Arab-American community, gave Panetta credit for audacity. Arab-Americans make up more than 30% of Dearborn's 100,000 residents, and few CIA directors have visited here, much less sought to recruit. "If you had told me some years ago that the boss of the CIA would come here and asked for our help, I would not have believed it," said Baha Saad, a local restauranteur. "To do that takes some balls."
Panetta's message, however, was greeted with skepticism. Speaking after Panetta, Osama Siblani, spokesman for the Congress of Arab American Organizations, asked the CIA director to bring a message to President Obama: "It is time we were treated like Americans."
Siblani was referring to the profiling of many Arab-Americans by intelligence, law-enforcement and homeland security agencies. Other skeptics expressed anger with U.S. policies in the Middle East, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the treatment of Arab and Muslim detainees by CIA interrogators. For these reasons, "there is a big gap between the U.S. government and the Arab community," said Imam Hassan Qazwini, head of Dearborn's largest mosque. "And that gap will not be bridged by formalities like iftarbanquets.

Many first-generation Arab-Americans regard intelligence work as a deeply dishonorable profession. After all, most of them fled to the U.S. from countries where intelligence agencies or mukhabarat, in Arabic, are instruments of repression, used by unpopular regimes to brutally suppress dissent. And the CIA's reputation is doubly dubious: it is tainted by association with many Arab mukhabarats, and has a history of interfering (often ham-fistedly) in Middle Eastern politics.

Younger and second-generation Arab-Americans may not be so reflexively opposed to intelligence work, but few would be willing to risk ostracism by their elders. "If I even hinted to my father that I was considering becoming a spy, he would disown me," said one young man at the dinner, who asked not to be named. "He would be ashamed to tell his friends that his son was working for the CIA."

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Why the Taliban is gaining ground in Afghanistan.....




The Taliban today in Afghanistan is a markedly different movement from those warriors whose one-eyed leader, Mullah Omar, riding on a motorcycle, escaped capture from American forces in Kandahar in December 2001. Mullah Omar is still their leader, even though, as a senior Afghan intelligence official told TIME, he is thought to be hiding across the border in Pakistan, moving between the towns of Quetta and Zob in the scorched Baluchistan desert. Nowadays, though, the Taliban encompasses a vast and disparate array of players. A look at who they are is key to understanding why they are gaining ground against 63,000 U.S. troops and their NATO partners after eight years of guerrilla war.


The Taliban is not monolithic. It is comprised of several layers: a hard-core group of former Taliban commanders (including Mullah Omar) who operate out of sanctuaries across the border in Pakistan and who maintain ties with Pakistan's ISI intelligence services (though Islamabad vehemently denies this); bands linked to al-Qaeda whose ranks have recently swelled with Arab, Chechen and Uzbek fighters operating in the craggy, northeastern ranges of Afghanistan; and, a last group, probably the largest, made up of local tribesmen who have allied themselves loosely with the Taliban as a result of President Hamid Karzai's often corrupt provincial officials pitting one tribe against the others. Mullah Salam, a tribal elder from Helmand province, scene of heavy fighting between Taliban and NATO forces, told TIME why he switched to the Taliban: “Karzai's people made promises to me, and I in turn made them to my tribe, but these were never honored.” This last segment of the Taliban is also made up of those seeking justice against NATO forces, a roster likely to grow after coalition jets killed over 30 villagers in Kunduz who were filling up fuel from hijacked NATO tankers.

Western military officials, diplomats and Afghan officials interviewed by TIME all agree that the battle with the Taliban is entering a critical phase, especially after the Aug. 20 presidential elections marred by fraud. Karzai's credibility is now damaged. After 30 years of war, Afghans have developed a sixth sense about survival: they can detect subtle shifts of power. Rarely do they have qualms about changing to the winning side, even in mid-conflict. In an essay on the Taliban for Foreign Affairs magazine, Afghan expert Michael Semple and MIT political scientist Cristia Fotini write: “Changing sides, realigning, flipping -- whatever you want to call it -- is the Afghan way of war.”

And right now, that Afghan sixth sense is telling them that the U.S. and the other Western nations are losing the heart for battle. In the Pashtun strongholds of Afghanistan, it is now perceived to be a good idea for a tribe to start siding with the Taliban, even though members of the tribe may not agree with their harsh medievalism. A critical mass is gathering, experts say. Elders who belong to once neutral tribes in Kandahar province are now telling their youths to take up arms against the foreign invaders, as their fathers did back in the 1980s against the Red Army. In Tahkt-e-Pul, on the edges of Kandahar city, an influential mullah recently refused to preside over the funeral of a dead Afghan government soldier, a local boy; meanwhile a Taliban, who died fighting the Americans or the British, was honored as a brave martyr. It is a disturbing change among Afghans who in 2001, after the benighted years of the Taliban, welcomed foreigners bringing aid and progress.

The Taliban is surging into the vacuum created by Karzai's government, which is based on patronage rather than competence, coupled with the international community's often bungled and chaotic distribution of aid. One indication of how far the Taliban have come: this summer, Mullah Omar tried to consolidate his grip on his unruly commanders with a 13-page Code of Conduct (among the rules: no senior government officials are to be executed without his say-so, and civilian casualties must be minimized when attacking foreign troops.) In larges swathes of the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Zabol, Oruzgan, Paktia and Paktika, a shadow Islamic republic of the Taliban already exists, with governors, a radio station, law-enforcing militias and courts. In recent months, the Taliban opened a northern front in Kunduz, Baghlan and Badakshan provinces, with a strong contingent of al-Qaeda foreigners among them, according to senior Afghan officials. In all these areas, a new saying prevails: “Government courts for the rich (because the judges are bribeable), Taliban justice for the poor.” And Taliban justice, they say, is usually more swift and fair.

But a Taliban win is not necessarily inevitable. Non-Pashtuns like the Tajiks, Hazaras and other minorities are certainly resisting a return of the Taliban; the parts of the country that they dominate, including sections of central and northern Afghanistan, are relatively peaceful. Also, while American and European casualties may be rising - 810 U.S. servicemen have died so far in the eight year conflict - so have the number of Taliban deaths. Dozens of Taliban are killed every week.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani comrades of the Afghan Taliban are now locked in battle with the Pakistani army, and this has slowed the number of Pakistani volunteers infiltrating across the border to kill American soldiers. These frontier Pashtun tribesmen, who once provided the Afghans with a steady flow of weapons, young fighters and suicide bombers, are suddenly too pinned down to give anything but a trickle of support. Mullah Omar and the other members of the so-called “Quetta Shura,” or military council, have stayed on the sidelines for fear of losing their covert support from the Pakistani military and the ISI, who hate Karzai and his northern allies and want to see the Taliban back in power and the NATO forces gone from Afghanistan.

Says one top Afghan official, “We and the Americans gave the Pakistanis the addresses of medrassas (religious schools) where the Taliban are training young recruits and suicide bombers, but the ISI refuses to act.” Now that Pakistani authorities are finally realizing that support of an Islamist revival in Afghanistan comes with its own risks at home, that attitude may start to change. Only with the loss of his Pakistani sponsors can Mullah Omar and his Taliban be coaxed into striking a truce with Karzai.

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Posted by worldissues Wednesday, September 16, 2009 0 comments

Talks begin to determine Iranian representative for Oscars 2010






Discussions began on Thursday by a Farabi Cinematic Foundation committee to determine the Iranian representative for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Films category.
The Committee for Selecting a Film for the Academy Awards will select the Iranian representative from among four films: “Penniless”, directed Hamid Nematollah, “Twenty” by Abdorreza Kahani, “Hesitation” by Varuj Karim-Massihi), and “About Elly” by Asghar Farhadi, said director of the International Department of the Farabi Cinematic Foundation Amir Esfandiari.

The committee members are filmmakers Kamal Tabrizi, Kianush Ayyari, Mohammad Davudi; and producers Iraj Taqipur, Morteza Razzaq-Karimi, Jamal Sadatian, Ali Moallem, and Esfandiari.

The films were selected out of 44 Iranian movies approved by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and were screened in Iran during the period from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009.

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Some things to do before you get swine flu






The H1N1 flu, commonly called swine flu, is expected to make many people sick this flu season. And if you're one of them, you're in for some serious at-home time, recovering and sparing other people from your germs. To make that time a little easier on yourself, consider taking these 10 steps now, before you come down with swine flu.


1. Make a backup plan. Let's say you get sick, or you need to take care of someone with swine flu. What's your plan for missing work, college, or school? Do you know your company's flu leave policy? If you're in school, how will you keep up with class work? Ask now, so you're not surprised later.

2. Bolster your flu supply stockpile. How are you set for tissues and fever-reducing medicines? Do you have a thermometer to check your temperature? Don't forget about liquids so that you stay hydrated. And if you choose to use face masks if you get sick and can't avoid close contact with other people, remember that each face mask should only be used once, not over and over again.

3. Stock up on comfort foods. Check the fridge, pantry, and stack of order-in menus. Stock up on those special foods that comfort you when you're not feeling well -- tea, chicken noodle soup, crackers -- whatever works for you. The last thing you're going to feel like doing when you get swine flu is grocery shopping.

4. Be good to your hands. Even if you don't get swine flu, you'll be washing your hands a lot to help prevent catching it. Treat yourself to a really nice soap or gel, and lotion, too. You'll be lathering up a lot, so leave your hands feeling good, not raw, afterward.

5. Stock up on DVDs and books. But don't select ones that need tons of concentration. You're going to feel pretty rocky with swine flu, so it's not the time to tackle War and Peace.

6. Know your risk. Pregnant women, children and young adults, and people of any age with a chronic medical condition (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease) are more likely to have severe illness from swine flu. Read about swine flu and pregnancy and swine flu and chronic conditions, and be swift to seek care if you come down with flu-like symptoms.

7. Dig out your tape measure. If you get swine flu, you should stay at least 6 feet away from others to help them avoid getting sick. Check out how far away that is.

8. Put your doctor on speed dial. Nothing personal, but unless you've got a severe case or are a high-risk patient, they'd rather you didn't just show up in their offices, spreading your germs. Call ahead first; you might not need to come in.

9. Know when it's an emergency. Most cases of swine flu have been mild. But there have been hospitalizations and deaths, too. Learn the danger signs and seek immediate medical care if they arise. Children should get medical attention if they:

Have fast breathing or trouble breathing, have bluish or gray skin color, are not drinking enough fluid, are not waking up or not interacting, have severe or persistent vomiting, are so irritable that the child does not want to be held Have flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough, have fever with a rash, have a fever and then have a seizure or sudden mental or behavioral change.

Adults should seek urgent medical attention if they have:

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, severe or persistent vomiting and flu-like symptoms that improve but then come back with worsening fever or cough.

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Tom Cruise Cameron Diaz - How do you rate their Jay Leno interview?






Last night Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz appeared on the new Jay Leno show. The segment wasn't quite what I expected. It wasn't the typical Jay Leno interview from his former late night show. The two movie stars were a part of the new 10 at 10 segment in which Jay Leno interviews stars from anywhere in the world via satellite, asking them 10 questions.
Tom and Cameron on their new movie set in Worcester, MA. Since there were two stars, they split the questions, answering five each. In one, Jay asked Tom if he'd ever been to a strip club. He said no, and the audience booed. Come on, people! If Tom Cruise wanted strippers, he could just pay for them to come to his home. Cameron was asked which TV show she is embarrassed to say she watches. She said "embarrassed" isn't really the word she'd use, but she picked "The Real Housewives of Atlanta". I'm high-fiving her now. I love it!!! The final question was whether Tom Cruise was better at flying or sex. He seemed flustered for a moment. He indicated he was good at both, but finally said, "It's like flying". Kinda clever.

All in all, I give the new 10 at 10 segment a "C". It wasn't very funny...or interesting for that matter. I don't just blame the interviewees. The questions that Jay Leno asked weren't that interesting. How do you rate it?

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Farah Pandith sworn as first US Spl Rep to Muslim Communities





Farah Pandith, an Indian- American, has been formally sworn in as the first US Special Representative to Muslim communities as part of the Obama Administration's efforts to reach out to the Islamic world.

At a ceremony held at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department, Farah's mother held the Quran on which she took the oath administered by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday.

41-year-old Pandith, whose family migrated from Jammu and Kashmir in the late 1960s, is the first Special Representative to Muslim Communities of the United States.

Wishing Pandith success in her new job, Clinton said she was best suitable in this position. "It is apparent now more than ever that we have to do more to promote dialogue and diplomacy, and Farah will play a key role in that process for us," she said.

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Obama takes heat from other side of immigrant healthcare debate





President Obama has proposed barring illegal immigrants from a possible government-arranged health insurance marketplace -- even if the immigrants pay with their own money.
The move has surprised some of Obama's fellow Democrats and infuriated immigrant advocates, who on Tuesday attacked the position as political pandering and bad policy.
The White House revealed its stance Friday, after a renewed debate over illegal immigration that was triggered when Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) heckled Obama on the issue during the president's televised address to Congress.
Wilson yelled out, "You lie!" when Obama said that illegal immigrants would receive no benefit from his healthcare proposals.

But some on the political left say that the White House -- wary of more damaging battles with the right -- has given in to Wilson and other conservatives.

Wilson "acted like a buffoon, and everybody criticized him -- but then at the end of the day he sort of got his way," said Brent A. Wilkes, national executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

"It rewards bullying in a way that begets more bullying," said Frank Sharry, who directs the pro-immigrant group America's Voice and has been advising the White House and congressional Democrats on broader immigration issues.

After a sharply partisan debate Tuesday, the House voted 240 to 179 to formally rebuke Wilson for his outburst.

A White House official said that Obama's stance barring undocumented immigrants from participating in the insurance marketplace did not reflect a change of heart after Wilson's outburst -- only that the specific question had just come up in recent days.

"The president has been clear since the campaign that he does not intend for health insurance reform to cover undocumented immigrants," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity while discussing official White House policy.

But several White House allies said Tuesday that the policy was a shift designed to position Obama to the right of his critics.

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.), an early Obama ally, said Tuesday that members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus were reevaluating their support for the healthcare overhaul.

Wilson's outburst, Gutierrez said, was "said in a mean, ugly way. And what the president did was create an even meaner, uglier public policy to accompany it."

Congress is working on plans to give low- and moderate-income people subsidies to buy health insurance in an effort to reduce the number of uninsured in the country.

None of the measures would allow illegal immigrants to receive subsidies.

Obama's proposal, circulated in an e-mail to reporters, would go further, barring undocumented immigrants from an insurance marketplace designed to make it easier for consumers to find coverage.

As they can today, undocumented immigrants still could buy insurance in the private market. But the White House e-mail noted that if the Democratic legislation passed, private insurers could be expected to sell more insurance through the so-called exchange and less coverage outside of it, leaving the private market to shrink over time.

The White House also has embraced a verification system to validate that people buying insurance were in the country legally. That idea had been rejected by House Democrats, who cited studies showing that such systems were costly and prone to mistakes.

The White House has not, however, proposed changing the law that requires emergency rooms to treat people who need care, including illegal immigrants.

Immigrant advocates said Tuesday that the insurance issue could be a political headache for the White House if members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, after hearing from their constituents, felt pressured to vote against the healthcare legislation.

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