Two Killed in Clash Over Tibet As Chinese Police, Activists Spar

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'Dancing With the Stars' Cristian de la Fuente get's injured cramp

She'll be out really soon!

Giant Squid has biggest eye in the world

While the giant squid itself was a remarkable discovery, in the short time since marine scientists defrosted the animal, they've already been even further amazed.

Marine scientists studying the carcass of a rare colossal squid said Wednesday they had measured its eye at about 11 inches across -- bigger than a dinner plate -- making it the largest animal eye on Earth.


One of the squid's two eyes, with a lens as big as an orange, was found intact as the scientists examined the creature while it was slowly defrosted at New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa. It has been preserved there since being caught in the Ross Sea off Antarctica's northern coast last year.


"This is the only intact eye (of a colossal squid) that's ever been found. It's spectacular," said Auckland University of Technology squid specialist Kat Bolstad, one of a team of international scientists brought in to examine the creature.


"It's the largest known eye in the animal kingdom," Bolstad told The Associated Press.
The squid is the biggest specimen ever caught of the rare and mysterious deep-water species Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, or colossal squid. When caught, it measured 26 feet long and weighed about 1,000 pounds, but scientists believe the species may grow as long as 46 feet.

"This is the largest eye ever recorded in history and studied," said Swedish Professor Eric Warrant of the University of Lund, who specializes in vision in invertebrates. "It has a huge lens the size of an orange and captures an awful lot of light in the dark depths in which it hunts."

The squids can descend to 6,500 feet and are known to be aggressive hunters.

Dean says either Clinton or Obama must drop out in June

So which is it? Should Clinton or Obama drop out?

Liberian Rice Shortage Looms

When discussions turn to the issue of rice shortage in Liberia, they usually blurt out with equivocation of strong views.

These discussions usually target the power-holders, who are taken as brazen schemers with profiteering merchants to intensify the plight of their hungry population.

Whatever the merit of such categorization, rice remains a cardinal commodity to survival in Liberia.

Any shortage of the commodity or an increment in its price is always tantamount to a declaration of war on the people, a phenomenon that has usually led to popular discontentment.

This was the case of the bloody April 14, 1979 chaos that finally filtered down to the putsch of April 12, 1980.

While these lessons of history remain eternally printed on Liberians memories, the government has given signal to the effect of a looming rice shortage in the country. According to Commerce Minister Cllr. Frances Johnson-Morris, a shortage of rice on the Liberian market is imminent and that this shortage must be blamed on international suppliers.

But as The Analyst Reporter J. Ebenezer Daygbor reports, the contending question is what mechanism is understudy to undercut the diabolic plan of the scapegoats?

The newly commissioned Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Minister Cllr. Frances Johnson-Morris, has disclosed that within a time frame of one month, there will be rice shortage on the Liberian market.

In a news conference in Monrovia yesterday, she said the country will face a huge rice shortage in less than a month ecause one of the main suppliers of rice has said it can't no longer import rice into the country.

Though she could not give reasons why the Indian government is stopping the export of rice to the country, Cllr. Johnson-Morris said her ministry received the information on the internet.

She didn't provide details on the website where she got the information, but she said government has received the information as a serious embarrassment, and is yet to find an alternative mechanism to redress the situation.

The ex-Justice Minister didn't give the percentage of rice imported from India, but said the importation of goods to Liberia is growing on a daily basis. She said this trend will greatly influence the prices of commodity on the markets including rice.

But pundits say the declaration by the Commerce Minister is a ploy to increase the price of rice, especially when the shortage occurs and there is no alternative route located to redress the increased demand for rice.

Some of the pundits referred to the pending rice shortage as unnecessary in as much as several Liberian business enterprises have vowed to import the vital commodity into Liberia.

One of their contentions is been that Liberia is noted for receiving rice from Mainland China, Palestine and Vietnam. But the Minister assured the public that they're exercising vigilance on rice price increment within this time frame and will take punitive measures on vialoators.

Already in the country, some importers are selling rice on a ticketing system, which is creating room for increment in the local market.

But Cllr. Johnson-Morris stressed that the 200,000 metric tons of rice enjoyed will be reduced greatly if nothing is done within the month long time frame.

It appears that since the disengagement of gurus like the Lebanese community headed by George Haddad, and the K&K Corporation, the importation of rice on the Liberian market of rice including the shortage and hike in price have become the order of the day.

Sinkor Trading Corporation, Gateway International and Fouta Corporation which took over from the Lebanese Community are now experiencing the full weight of importation. Reports gathered by this paper indicate that Sinkor Trading is no longer interested in importing rice to the country.

The Commerce Minister also disclosed that three businesses are continuing to sell copybooks at the normal price, despite the reduction of tariff from 45% to 5% by the 52nd National Legislature some time ago.

Cllr. Johnson-Morris said businesses involved in what she called "exportation from the Liberian people", include Liberty Trading Hassan Brothers and Arun Brothers.

She stressed that the business houses will be compelled by government to pay the extra tax collected or face legal action from the prosecuting arm of government.

How to make suicide gas

ike any living organism, the web is a mesh of cells primarily working with each other toward a goal. But, not every cell is healthy and not every cell agrees on how to contribute. On the web, a cell happens to be a bit of information that can be interpreted as good or bad–accurate or bogus. And, some cells on the web think they can help by sharing information on how to commit suicide “easily” using hydrogen sulfide gas.

Apparently Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, “30,000 Japanese . . . kill themselves every year — the second-highest suicide rate in the industrialized world. Japan’s suicide rate per 100,000 people stood at 25.5 . . . compared with Russia’s 38.7, according to World Health Organization figures.” And using hydrogen sulfide to end it all is growing in popularity.

It certainly puts things in perspective to learn that so many people find everyday life too much to bear.

And it’s also a testament to how easy it is to find information on the web, regardless of its moral flavor.

Hydrogen sulfide gas is the latest trend of suicides, following a prior trend of using the carbon monoxide given off by burning charcoal, according to the Australian.

Ad hoc internet sites that function as suicide bulletin boards have “advertised” hydrogen sulphide as a quicker, less complicated method of ending it all. In one recent posting, “Mr Nameless” advises: “A new suicide method has been developed as an alternative to charcoal suicide.

“You don’t have to light a fire and it’s easier than charcoal. All you have to do is buy two different brands of liquid (which he names) that are easily available from the drug store.”

So what is Hydrogen sulfide? It’s the “chemical compound with the formula H2S. This colorless, toxic and flammable gas is responsible for the foul odour of rotten eggs and flatulence. It often results from the bacterial break down of organic matter in the absence of oxygen, such as in swamps and sewers (anaerobic digestion). It also occurs in volcanic gases, natural gas and some well waters,” according to Wikipedia.


Dozens hit by Japan 'suicide gas'


A Japanese teenager has committed suicide by mixing common household cleaners, releasing fumes that made dozens of people sick, officials said.

About 100 people in Konan City, in western Japan, fled their homes after smelling the toxic hydrogen sulphide the 14-year-old girl had made.

There has been a spate of similar suicides since details of the technique were posted on the internet.

Japan has one of the developed world's highest suicide rates.

At least 30,000 people have killed themselves every year since 1998, according to national statistics.

Toxic chemical

The unidentified girl in Konan City left a note on the bathroom door of her family's flat saying "poison gas being produced", Japanese media said.

About 90 neighbours went to hospital feeling ill, including the girl's mother, who was out of the flat during the suicide but later returned.

Most people complained of sore throats but none was severely ill, officials said.

Police said the teenager mixed detergent with a liquid cleanser to make hydrogen sulphide. The gas is colourless but smells like rotten eggs and is highly toxic, leading to suffocation or brain damage.

In small doses, it leaves people with sore throats, nausea and irritated eyes.

Japanese authorities have set a goal of cutting the country's high suicide rate, through counselling programmes and blocking websites that offer suicide tips.

Grizzly bear attacks, kills his trainer bites neck

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — When friends Linda Carter and Cherrie Giles booked a three-day retreat in a remote cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains, the proprietor told them not to be startled by the roar of lions and bears from the exotic-animal training center nearby.

The women fell asleep to the roars the first night, but on Tuesday they were startled by a different sound — an urgent yell. About 30 minutes later, sirens wailed as paramedics rushed to an animal trainer who had been bitten on the neck by a 700-pound, 7{-foot-tall grizzly bear. Stephan Miller, 39, died at the scene.

On Wednesday, friends and neighbors tried to make sense of the attack, which from all accounts involved a well-trained and gentle bear and an experienced animal trainer.

"We heard a man yell; it was like he was yelling for help," Giles said of the attack. "We knew something was going on, but we didn't know what it was. Our dogs were going crazy."

A 911 recording documented desperate efforts to save Miller before paramedics arrived.
"He's bleeding heavily from his neck. ... We need someone here immediately," a woman told the operator, who directed emergency procedures while determining that the bear was contained.

"We gotcha; holding on to you, man," a male voice said before it was clear Miller was no longer breathing.

The recording ended with the woman counting as she performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Harry Morse, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game, said Miller was killed by the 5-year-old bear during the making of a promotional video for Randy Miller's Predators in Action center. The bear's fate has not been decided.

The bear, named Rocky, recently appeared in the Will Ferrell sports comedy Semi-Pro. Center owner Randy Miller, the victim's cousin, was a stunt double for Ferrell in a wrestling match with the bear. The center's animals have appeared in many other movies, documentaries and TV shows, including Gladiator and The Last Samurai.

Ferrell's publicist, Matt Labov, said the actor was working on a film and was unavailable for comment.

The remote Predators in Action campus is tucked off a private, rutted dirt road high in the snow-capped San Bernardino Mountains, a two-hour drive northeast of Los Angeles. Its only neighbors are a few vacation cabins and a campground.

Yellow police tape blocked the narrow trail leading to the animal cages on Wednesday.

A bear lounged in the distance in a small cage at the top of the road, while a lion with a fluffy mane sat on top of a wooden platform and a cougar and tiger paced in their enclosures.

Two women at the center's office declined to comment or give their names and asked a reporter to leave immediately. Randy Miller did not return calls left on his cellphone.

Just up a rutted dirt road, Matt Wilson, 18, said Randy Miller went to his parents' house after the attack for comfort. Wilson said Miller told the family they had been filming an advertisement when the bear attacked.

"They were filming it and the bear started licking his (Stephan Miller's) face and then all of a sudden it just bit him," Wilson said. "He was just really upset and didn't know why it happened."

Pepper spray was used to subdue and contain the bear, and there were no other injuries, San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said. Paramedics arriving shortly after the initial emergency call around 3 p.m. were unable to revive Stephan Miller.

The state Department of Fish and Game investigated but will not decide whether the bear will be euthanized because the attack occurred outside its jurisdiction on a private site, Morse said.

State occupational safety officials were sending an investigator to determine whether they have jurisdiction, said Kate McGuire, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Industrial Relations.

The Sheriff's Department was conducting a death investigation, but it is not a criminal probe, said spokeswoman Jodi Miller, who is not related to Randy or Stephan Miller.

The center had its permits and was up to code, so it will be up to the owner to determine what becomes of the bear, the spokeswoman said.

The center also houses two brown bears and a black bear, along with various snakes and reptiles, an alligator, crocodile, leopard, a mountain lion, four African lions and four tigers.

Friends of the Millers praised Randy Miller as a top-class trainer dedicated to safety and the care of his animals. Stephan Miller was also an experienced trainer, said Chemaine Almquist, founder of an exotic animal center in Phelan called Forever Wild and a close friend of the Millers.

"He has a perfect safety record. He's always on the ball, making sure everything is extra safe," she said of Randy Miller. "He's always the one who says, 'You've got to do this, check the locks twice, you gotta wear pepper spray.' When I first found out, I was ready to throw up."

In a February interview, Randy Miller called Rocky "the best working bear in the business," The Sun of San Bernardino reported on its website. But the newspaper quoted him as saying, "If one of these animals gets a hold of your throat, you're finished."

Denise Richards, who works with wild animals at Moonridge Zoo, a sanctuary for injured and homeless wildlife at Big Bear Lake, said it was hard to know why Rocky attacked.

"You can train them and use as many safety precautions as you can, but you're still taking a chance if you're putting yourself in contact with them," Richards said. "It's still a wild animal. Even though it may appear that the bear attacked for no reason, there was a reason. ... They're not cold-blooded killers."

In 1999, Randy Miller came under fire from animal rights groups for arranging a wrestling match between an 800-pound Alaskan grizzly and a 290-pound weightlifter at a public event.

'Dancing with the Stars' partners Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough caught kissing

"Dancing With the Stars" has brought together another couple through the magic of dance floor chemistry.

Actress Shannon Elizabeth, 34, and Derek Hough, 22, haven't spoken about their romance, but that hasn't stopped their colleagues from commenting to TV Guide.

Sixth-season couple Derek Hough and Shannon Elizabeth were photographed on Thursday canoodling and kissing on a Malibu beach, Access Hollywood reported Friday.

During a video package prior to their performance last Monday night, Elizabeth hinted that she and Derek were creating ballroom chemistry that was making their personal relationship stronger.

While a Dancing with the Stars romance is uncharted waters for Derek -- who performed with the married Jennie Garth during his first season on the show last fall -- his sister is no stranger to romance rumors.

Julianne captured Dancing with the Stars' fourth-season title with Apolo Anton Ohno after the judges gushed about their ballroom chemistry during the competition, after which the pair denied they were ever a romantic item.

The fifth season was much of the same story for Julianne.

Romance rumors surrounding her and Helio Castroneves also surfaced after the two won the show's title and Castroneves revealed the end of his engagement to Aliette Vazquez the morning after the fifth-season finale. Both Hough and Castroneves denied the rumors.

Motorola Motokrzr k1 specs specifications

Motorola's MOTOKRZR ("crazer") K1 is the company's first major overhaul of the RAZR family of clamshell handsets. Formerly known by the code name Canary, the K1 has a narrower body than the RAZR family handsets, to better fit in smaller hands, and is a wee bit thicker than the original. That's right, I said "thicker", not thinner. While Motorola can be credited with starting the entire "thin is in" trend in the industry, it seems quite content in moving the other direction when it creates a better overall experience for the user. The narrower and thicker body of the K1 does just that.

The MOTOKRZR K1 feels very solid in the hand; much more so than the RAZR handsets do. The front of the device has a high gloss glass face that looks very good, but is a bit of a finger print magnet. The back of the K1 is covered in Motorola's lovely soft touch paint that gives the K1 a somewhat rubber coated feel to it. On the inside, the keypad has a simplified, and improved, layout and is covered in a color coordinated blue coating. Key feel has been improved a bit over that of the current family of RAZR handsets as well.

In terms of displays, Motorola has chosen to stick with the current RAZR family's 176x220 resolution standard. The display is clear and bright, just as it has been in older models. Like the MOTORIZR Z3, the K1 gets a new 2 megapixel camera that takes nice quality photos. Also like the MOTORIZR Z3, the MOTOKRZR K1 gets Bluetooth 2.0 support with A2DP stereo profile support, so that music loaded onto its microSD memory card can be accessed with wireless stereo headphones.

Other highlights include Motorola's MotoSYNC support for contact and calendar synchronization with Microsoft Exchange servers, as well as Motorola's Screen 3 standby screen. Screen 3 allows for information such as news or sports scores to be automatically downloaded and displayed on the standby screen of the phone. The MOTOKRZR K1 also supports speaker independent voice command and dialing, and the enhanced contacts system allows for more information to be stored (birthday, street address, URL, IM).

Motorola expects that the K1 will be available in this half of the year. One source was quoted as suggesting "late Q3 or early Q4" as being likely. Pricing should be comparable to what the RAZR sold for when first launched.

You'll find more live photos, screen shots, and a a video of the Motorola MOTOKRZR K1 on the following page.

(ZOOM) Motorola MOTOKRZR K1
Motorola MOTOKRZR K1 (ZOOM) RAZR V3 and MOTOKRZR K1
RAZR V3 and MOTOKRZR K1 (ZOOM)
Specifications for the Motorola MOTOKRZR K1
Band GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Data GPRS/EDGE
Size 16mm x 42mm x 103mm
(0.6" x 1.7" x 4.1")
Weight 103g (3.6oz)
Battery Life 8.25 to 14.5 days standby time
3.25 to 6.5 hours talk time
Main Display 1.9" 260k TFT, 176x220 resolution
Sub-Display 65k color CSTN, 96x80 resolution
Camera 2 megapixel w/8x digital zoom
Video Video capture/playback at 15fps
Messaging MMS/EMS/SMS
Bluetooth Yes (A2DP stereo)
Infrared No
Java Yes
Polyphonics Yes
Memory 20MB, microSD memory card slot
Availability 2nd half 2006 (manufacturer's estimate)
Other MP3/AAC/AAC+ music player, pre-loaded J2ME games and screen savers, enhanced phonebook, Screen 3 technology, airplane mode

Harry Potter Lexicon

Come on JK Rowling! Let people make money, don't you have enough already?

Some Classical stuff.

Water is Wide

Sevilla

I'm the cellist playing the higher part.

Cello Samples

Just a few songs I've been on.

"131" by Rose Robbins

"Good Morning Jesus" by Bryan Wood

"Heart of the Heartland" by the Montana Mandolin Society