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May 26 China Vows Action on Trafficking2009-05-21Parents of missing children in China call for a more thorough investigation as the number of kidnappings grows. 
AFP A young Chinese girl takes a break during a dance class in Hefei, in China's central Anhui province July 9, 2006. HONG KONG—China says it has rescued more than 400 kidnapped women and children from human-trafficking gangs during a crackdown last month, but parents of missing children say government efforts have barely scratched the surface of a growing social problem. Public security vice minister Zhang Xinfeng vowed last week to extend the anti-trafficking campaign, which ran from April 9-May 4, calling on police at all levels to seek more information from the public in missing persons cases. He said police had already rescued 196 children and 214 women during the campaign and broken up 72 human-trafficking rings, mostly in Guizhou, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi provinces, the official Xinhua news agency reported. But parents in the southern city of Nanning said 200 children were still missing in their region, and police had prevented parents from staging a public protest to draw attention to the problem. "On the day we planned to hold the protest, the police kept watch at the bus terminal and intercepted us," said a parent of a missing child surnamed Mo.
Mo, who is a member of a nongovernment group set up to support parents of missing children, said police figures from last month's campaign were suspect. "Those are all old cases," he said of the reported success stories. "They were reported a long time ago." "They re-reported the found children," Mo said. "We have several hundred missing children in the Alliance but not one has been found by police." Mo said many parents who tried to report their children missing met with refusal by police even to open a case file, while local media had failed to publicize information about lost children. Southern protests Parents of missing children in the southern province of Guangdong said they were also planning further protests but faced surveillance from their neighborhood security committee. "The police dispatched the neighborhood committee to monitor us," one parent said. "Whenever we go anywhere, they will follow us." "Two days ago, a Hong Kong TV station tried to interview some parents of missing children, but had to do it secretly in a hotel. Once we contact any strangers or try to leave Dongguan, they will question us immediately," he added. Vice police chief Zhang called for the speedy completion of a nationwide DNA database to help parents and police identify trafficked children. Police departments at all levels should be ready to collect blood samples from parents whose children were confirmed missing and parents who actively ask to donate blood samples to aid investigations, he said. Blood samples should also be routinely taken from rescued children, children of unknown origin who may have been trafficked, and homeless street children, he said. Demand for children Liao Tianqi, deputy publisher of the U.S.-based Chinese-language online magazine "Observe China," said the trafficking problem was fueled by a huge demand for children in China, regardless of their source. "There is a huge market in China for children," she said. "China has a one-child policy, and yet a lot of families want to have a boy. Of course it's not just male children who are being trafficked. It's girls as well." She said boys were often sold to people as sons, while the girls ended up filling a traditional rural role, that of daughters-in-law who are raised in the same household before marriage to one of the family's sons. "With the women, they are sold to rural families as wives, and in the worst cases, young girls and women are forced into prostitution," Liao said. "Another reason is to do with [deteriorating] social morality." Paid airtime China has published a list of the top 50 most-wanted names for human trafficking, with two arrests made so far. A mother from Dongguan, in southern China's Guangdong province, said her six-month-old boy was snatched from his sister's arms just outside the family's house in November 2007. "My son was playing with my eight-year-old daughter. My daughter was holding him," the woman, surnamed Deng, said. "Then some men snatched the baby from my daughter’s arms and got away in a van with a few other men inside," she added. She said the local police had refused to support the family's plans to air a paid commercial appealing for information. "The TV station demanded a note from the police station proving that our child was really missing," Deng said. "But the police station said this was a big criminal case and as such cannot be publicized," she said. "They said it would have a bad effect on society." She said her family planned to continue protesting in the face of apparent inaction by the authorities. Parents' support groups say around 1,000 children have gone missing in recent years from Dongguan and surrounding areas, although official figures only show 400 missing child cases. Original reporting in Cantonese by Ho Shan and in Mandarin by Xi Wang. Cantonese service director: Shiny Li. Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated and written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han. May 04 Dr Pepper artifact may reveal soft drink's origin
He bought it for $200, suspecting he could resell it for five times that. Turns out, his inkling about the book's value was more spot on than he knew. The Tulsa, Okla., man eventually discovered the book came from the Waco, Texas, drugstore where Dr Pepper was invented and includes a recipe titled "D Peppers Pepsin Bitters." "I began feeling like I had a national treasure," said Waters, 59. Dr Pepper's manufacturer says the recipe is not the secret formula for the modern day soft drink, but the 8 1/2-by-15 1/2 inch book is expected to sell between $50,000 to $75,000 when it goes up for auction at Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries on May 13. "It probably has specks of the original concoction on its pages," Waters said. Waters discovered the book, its yellowed pages stained brown on the edges, underneath a wooden medicine bottle crate in a Shamrock antiques store last summer. A couple months after buying it, he took a closer look as he prepared to sell it on eBay. He noticed there were several sheets with letterheads hinting at its past, like a page from a prescription pad from a Waco store titled "W.B. Morrison & Co. Old Corner Drug Store." An Internet search revealed Dr Pepper, first served in 1885, was invented at the Old Corner Drug Store in Waco by a pharmacist named Charles Alderton. Wade Morrison was a store owner. Faded letters on the book's fraying brown cover say "Castles Formulas." John Castles was a partner of Morrison's for a time and was a druggist at that location as early as 1880, said Mary Beth Webster, collections manager at the Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute in Waco. As he gathered more information, Waters took a slower turn through the book's more than 360 pages, which are filled with formulas for everything from piano polish to a hair restorer to a cough syrup. He eventually spotted the "D Peppers Pepsin Bitters" formula. "It took three or four days before I actually realized what I had there," Waters said. The recipe written in cursive in the ledger book is hard to make out, but ingredients seem to include mandrake root, sweet flag root and syrup. It isn't a recipe for a soft drink, says Greg Artkop, a spokesman for the Plano-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group. He said it's likely instead a recipe for a bitter digestive that bears the Dr Pepper name. He said the recipe certainly bears no resemblance to any Dr Pepper recipes the company knows of. The drink's 23-flavor blend is a closely guarded secret, only known by three Dr Pepper employees, he said. Michael Riley, chief cataloger and historian for Heritage Auction Galleries, said they think it's an early recipe for Dr Pepper. "We just feel like it's the earliest version of it," he said. He hasn't, however, tested that theory by trying to mix up a batch. Neither has Waters; he's thought about it but would need to find someone to decipher all the handwriting. Jack McKinney, executive director of the Waco museum, surmised that Alderton might have been giving customers something for their stomachs and added some Dr Pepper syrup to make it taste better. "I don't guess there's any definitive answer. It's got to be the only one of its kind," Riley said. McKinney said the ledger book was bound to be popular with Dr Pepper collectors because it's from the time the drink was invented. Riley said the book was probably started around 1880 and used through the 1890s. It's not known who wrote the Dr Pepper recipe in the book, but they don't think it was the handwriting of Alderton or Morrison. Some of the formulas have Alderton's name after them. At first, Alderton's drink inspired by the smells in the drugstore was called "a Waco." "People would come in and say, 'Shoot me a Waco,'" Riley said. Soon renamed Dr Pepper, the drink caught on and other stores in town began selling it. Eventually, Alderton got out of the Dr Pepper business and Morrison and a man named Robert Lazenby started a bottling company in 1891. Flipping through the pages of the ledger book takes one back to a time when drugstores were neighborhood hubs, selling everything from health remedies to beauty products mixed up by the stores' chemists. And among the formulas being mixed up in drugstores were treats for the soda fountain. A two-page spread in Waters' book has recipes for "Soda Water Syrups," including pineapple, lemon and strawberry. "There were very few national brands," Riley said. "Their lifeblood was all their formulas." April 27 Gov't advises against unnecessary travel to Mexico
Dr. Richard Besser made the disclosure during a news conference in Atlanta, saying the advisory was being released "out of an abundance of caution." Besser also reported 40 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States, including 20 in New York City. He said people can help keep the disease from spreading by taking everyday precautions such as frequent handwashing, covering up coughs and sneezes, and staying away from work or school if they're not feeling well. Before the CDC changed its advice to travelers, U.S. airlines were reporting that some passengers have already changed or canceled their plans to fly to Mexico. Spokespeople for US Airways, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines said Monday passengers have requested travel changes, but none of the carriers would say how many. The three airlines said their operations are proceeding as normal and they have not canceled any flights to Mexico as a result of the scare. "The loads are a little bit less than they normally would be for this time of day, but we are not seeing mass bookings away," said Michelle Mohr, a spokeswoman for US Airways. The carrier does not fly nonstop from Europe to Mexico, but it does offer European travelers the ability to connect to Mexico through U.S. airports. The top European Union health official urged Europeans on Monday to postpone nonessential travel to parts of the United States and Mexico because of the swine flu virus. American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said his carrier has not had a lot of requests for travel changes, though there have been some. Delta continues to follow CDC and government agency recommendations, spokesman Anthony Black said. "We have seen minimal changes to customer bookings," he said. Several airlines are allowing passengers to change their travel plans to or from Mexico without any fee or penalty. Airline stocks, meanwhile, were pummeled Monday. Shares of Delta, US Airways and American parent AMR Corp. were down double-digit or high single-digit percentages in midday trading in New York. Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Linenberg said in a research note Monday that news of Mexico's outbreak of deadly swine flu is likely to pressure U.S. airline stocks in the near-term as investors fear a replaying of Asia's SARS episode, which impacted the global sector in the spring of 2003. "Airlines with large international operations, especially to/from Mexico, are likely to be perceived by the market as having the most downside risk in the event that the swine flu becomes a pandemic," Linenberg said. April 23 Chewing gum may raise maths grades in teensCHICAGO (Reuters) – In a study likely to make school janitors cringe, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday that chewing gum may boost academic performance in teenagers. Many U.S. schools ban chewing gum because children often dispose of the sticky chaw under chairs or tables. But a team led by Craig Johnston at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that students who chewed gum during math class had higher scores on a standardized math test after 14 weeks and better grades at the end of the term than students in the class who did not chew gum. The study was funded by chewing gum maker Wrigley. "For the first time we've been able to show in a real-life kind of situation that students did perform better when they were allowed to chew," said Gil Leveille, executive director of the Wrigley Science Institute, a research arm of Wm Wrigley Jr, which is now a part of Mars. Leveille said Wrigley has gotten feedback from many of its gum customers who say chewing gum helps them stay focussed. So, four years ago the company started the science institute to see if some of these claims have merit. The researchers at Baylor studied four math classes or 108 students aged 13 to 16 years old from a Houston, Texas, charter school that serves mostly low-income Hispanic students. About half got free Wrigley's sugar-free gum to chew during class, homework and tests. They chewed at least one stick of gum 86 percent of the time they were in math class and 36 percent of the time they were doing homework. The other half went without. After 14 weeks, the gum chewers had a three percent increase in their math scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills achievement test, a small but statistically significant change, according to Johnston and colleagues, who presented their findings at the American Society for Nutrition scientific meeting in New Orleans. They found no difference in math scores between the two groups in another test called the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement. However, the gum-chewers did get better final grades in the class than their non-chewing peers. Another Wrigley-funded study found that college students in a lab who were given difficult computer tasks had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol when they were chewing gum compared to when they were not. Leveille said he thinks chewing gum helps reduce stress so students can do their best work. And while he is aware that many schools have a dim view of students chewing gum in class, he hopes the findings may change that a bit. "It's not a matter of chewing. It's a matter of gum disposal," Leveille said, adding that that can be overcome by teaching proper disposal behaviours. If that fails, he quipped, "We'll have to provide the janitors with scrapers." April 22 A scary nightIt was a dark and stormy night. I was about to go to bed when I heard a tapping sound on my window.
I peeped out of my blanket but it was too dark to see anything. Then I heard footsteps. They were getting louder and louder. It was dark but I knew the way to my drawer where I kept my camera. I ran there and took out my camera and started to take pictures in the direction of the window. Soon the footsteps died off.
When I reached home I told my father the whole incident and he started to laugh. I started laughing too when he told me that he had dressed up as an alien for the party. Today, I am still amused to think I was so afraid of my own father. April 21 FBI's newest 'Most Wanted' terrorist is AmericanBy DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writer – Tue Apr 21, 3:09 am ET
WASHINGTON – For the first time, an accused domestic terrorist is being added to the FBI's list of "Most Wanted" terror suspects. Daniel Andreas San Diego, a 31-year-old computer specialist from Berkeley, Calif., is wanted for the 2003 bombings of two corporate offices in California. Authorities describe San Diego as an animal rights activist who turned to bomb attacks and say he has tattoo that proclaims, "It only takes a spark." A law enforcement official said the FBI was to announce Tuesday that San Diego was being added to the "Most Wanted" terrorist list. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the announcement ahead of time. San Diego would be the 24th person on the list, and the only domestic terror suspect. FBI spokesman Richard Kolko declined to comment on the pending announcement. The move to add a domestic, left-wing terrorist to the list comes only days after the Obama administration was criticized for internal reports suggesting some military veterans could be susceptible to right-wing extremist recruiters or commit lone acts of violence. That prompted angry reactions from some lawmakers and veterans groups. An arrest warrant was issued for San Diego after the 2003 bombings in northern California of the corporate offices of Chiron Corp., a biotechnology firm, and at Shaklee Corp., a nutrition and cosmetics company. The explosions caused minor damages and no injuries. A group calling itself "Revolutionary Cells" took responsibility for the blasts, telling followers in a series of e-mails that Chiron and Shaklee had been targeted for their ties to a research company that conducted drug and chemical experiments on animals. Officials have offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to his capture, five times the reward amounts offered for other so-called eco-terrorists wanted in the U.S. In February, the FBI announced San Diego may be living in Costa Rica, possibly working with Americans or people who speak English in the Central American country. Law enforcement officials describe San Diego as a strict vegan who possesses a 9mm handgun. On his abdomen, he has images of burning and collapsing buildings. The FBI's "Most Wanted" terrorist list is distinct from the much longer-running "Ten Most Wanted" list. Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is on both. There is another American already on the list, but he is wanted for his work overseas for al-Qaida. Adam Yahiye Gadahn grew up in California but moved to Pakistan and works as a translator and consultant to al-Qaida. Experts Watch for Spread of Chikungunya, a Highly Painful Virus People get chikungunya fever when they are bitten by mosquitoes infected with the disease. For many years, the disease has been found in countries in Africa and Asia. The symptoms are increased body temperature, pain in muscles and joints and stomach sickness. The disease is not usually deadly. But the muscle and joint pain can last for weeks or months. There is no vaccine to prevent the disease and no special drug to treat it. Doctors advise taking medicines like aspirin or ibuprofen.
The name chikungunya means "that which bends up" in the Swahili language. People infected with the virus walk in a bent-over position because of the severe pain in the joints. Malaysia reported more than one thousand one hundred cases of chikungunya so far this year. In Indonesia, about two hundred people in central Java became sick from the virus last month. And about one thousand people near Yeshwanthpur in India also showed signs of the disease in March. But the disease also appeared in a cooler climate in two thousand seven, causing concern about its spread. Italy reported about two hundred cases during warm weather. The medical journal Eurosurveillance Weekly said it was the first time mosquitoes carried the virus inside Europe. Two kinds of mosquitoes carry chikungunya fever. One is called Aedes albopictus, or Asian tiger mosquito. It has been reported in many European countries including France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands. It also lives in the southern United States. The other mosquito that can carry chikungunya, Aedes aegypti, also is present in the United States. Ann Powers is an expert on viruses. She works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colorado. She said the disease spread is not directly connected to climate change. But she also said C.D.C. scientists are preparing for possible cases of chikungunya in the United States. People around the world can prevent diseases spread by mosquitoes by removing standing water from their property. They should try to keep mosquitoes out of their homes. And they should wear clothing that covers the arms and legs when they are outside. DEET and other chemicals that work against insects can keep mosquitoes from biting. The Lady, or the Tiger?Written by Frank R. Stockton
Long ago, in the very olden time, there lived a powerful king. Some of his ideas were progressive. But others caused people to suffer. One of the king's ideas was a public arena as an agent of poetic justice. Crime was punished, or innocence was decided, by the result of chance. When a person was accused of a crime, his future would be judged in the public arena. All the people would gather in this building. The king sat high up on his ceremonial chair. He gave a sign. A door under him opened. The accused person stepped out into the arena. Directly opposite the king were two doors. They were side by side, exactly alike. The person on trial had to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open whichever door he pleased. If the accused man opened one door, out came a hungry tiger, the fiercest in the land. The tiger immediately jumped on him and tore him to pieces as punishment for his guilt. The case of the suspect was thus decided. Iron bells rang sadly. Great cries went up from the paid mourners. And the people, with heads hanging low and sad hearts, slowly made their way home. They mourned greatly that one so young and fair, or so old and respected, should have died this way. But, if the accused opened the other door, there came forth from it a woman, chosen especially for the person. To this lady he was immediately married, in honor of his innocence. It was not a problem that he might already have a wife and family, or that he might have chosen to marry another woman. The king permitted nothing to interfere with his great method of punishment and reward. Another door opened under the king, and a clergyman, singers, dancers and musicians joined the man and the lady. The marriage ceremony was quickly completed. Then the bells made cheerful noises. The people shouted happily. And the innocent man led the new wife to his home, following children who threw flowers on their path. This was the king's method of carrying out justice. Its fairness appeared perfect. The accused person could not know which door was hiding the lady. He opened either as he pleased, without knowing whether, in the next minute, he was to be killed or married. Sometimes the fierce animal came out of one door. Sometimes it came out of the other. This method was a popular one. When the people gathered together on one of the great trial days, they never knew whether they would see a bloody killing or a happy ending. So everyone was always interested. And the thinking part of the community would bring no charge of unfairness against this plan. Did not the accused person have the whole matter in his own hands? The king had a beautiful daughter who was like him in many ways. He loved her above all humanity. The princess secretly loved a young man who was the best-looking and bravest in the land. But he was a commoner, not part of an important family. One day, the king discovered the relationship between his daughter and the young man. The man was immediately put in prison. A day was set for his trial in the king's public arena. This, of course, was an especially important event. Never before had a common subject been brave enough to love the daughter of the king. The king knew that the young man would be punished, even if he opened the right door. And the king would take pleasure in watching the series of events, which would judge whether or not the man had done wrong in loving the princess. The day of the trial arrived. From far and near the people gathered in the arena and outside its walls. The king and his advisers were in their places, opposite the two doors. All was ready. The sign was given. The door under the king opened and the lover of the princess entered the arena. Tall, beautiful and fair, his appearance was met with a sound of approval and tension. Half the people had not known so perfect a young man lived among them. No wonder the princess loved him! What a terrible thing for him to be there! As the young man entered the public arena, he turned to bend to the king. But he did not at all think of the great ruler. The young man's eyes instead were fixed on the princess, who sat to the right of her father. From the day it was decided that the sentence of her lover should be decided in the arena, she had thought of nothing but this event. The princess had more power, influence and force of character than anyone who had ever before been interested in such a case. She had done what no other person had done. She had possessed herself of the secret of the doors. She knew behind which door stood the tiger, and behind which waited the lady. Gold, and the power of a woman's will, had brought the secret to the princess. She also knew who the lady was. The lady was one of the loveliest in the kingdom. Now and then the princess had seen her looking at and talking to the young man. The princess hated the woman behind that silent door. She hated her with all the intensity of the blood passed to her through long lines of cruel ancestors. Her lover turned to look at the princess. His eye met hers as she sat there, paler and whiter than anyone in the large ocean of tense faces around her. He saw that she knew behind which door waited the tiger, and behind which stood the lady. He had expected her to know it. The only hope for the young man was based on the success of the princess in discovering this mystery. When he looked at her, he saw that she had been successful, as he knew she would succeed. Then his quick and tense look asked the question: "Which?" It was as clear to her as if he shouted it from where he stood. There was not time to be lost. The princess raised her hand, and made a short, quick movement toward the right. No one but her lover saw it. Every eye but his was fixed on the man in the arena. He turned, and with a firm and quick step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating. Every breath was held. Every eye was fixed upon that man. He went to the door on the right and opened it. Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady? The more we think about this question, the harder it is to answer. It involves a study of the human heart. Think of it not as if the decision of the question depended upon yourself. But as if it depended upon that hot-blooded princess, her soul at a white heat under the fires of sadness and jealousy. She had lost him, but who should have him? How often, in her waking hours and in her dreams, had she started in wild terror, and covered her face with her hands? She thought of her lover opening the door on the other side of which waited the sharp teeth of the tiger! But how much oftener had she seen him open the other door? How had she ground her teeth, and torn her hair, when she had seen his happy face as he opened the door of the lady! How her soul had burned in pain when she had seen him run to meet that woman, with her look of victory. When she had seen the two of them get married. And when she had seen them walk away together upon their path of flowers, followed by the happy shouts of the crowd, in which her one sad cry was lost! Would it not be better for him to die quickly, and go to wait for her in that blessed place of the future? And yet, that tiger, those cries, that blood! Her decision had been shown quickly. But it had been made after days and nights of thought. She had known she would be asked. And she had decided what she would answer. And she had moved her hand to the right. The question of her decision is one not to be lightly considered. And it is not for me to set myself up as the one person able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the open door – the lady, or the tiger?
April 03 Blogs clash over whether Google could buy TwitterNEW YORK (Reuters) -
Two prominent technology news blogs clashed on Friday morning over a report one of them issued that said Google Inc may try to buy Internet start-up Twitter. TechCrunch proprietor Michael Arrington, citing three unnamed sources, said on Thursday night that Google would pay for Twitter in cash, stock or a combination of the two. The companies are also considering working together on a Google real-time search engine, he wrote. Hours after Arrington's blog entry, Kara Swisher reported on her Boomtown blog said the story was inaccurate, citing "a number of sources." "In fact, Twitter and Google have simply been engaged in 'some product-related discussions,' according to one source," Swisher wrote. Arrington could not be immediately reached for comment. TechCrunch stands by its story, said Robin Wauters, a blogger for the site who answered an e-mail directed at Arrington. Twitter is a service that allows people to send short text messages to a network of friends. Its popularity is growing, particularly among journalists looking for new ways to get people to read their news and commentary. The San Francisco, California-based company has yet to make any money. That has not stopped the technology world from speculating on who will scoop up the company, though co-founder Biz Stone told Reuters in March that it is not considering a merger or a buyout. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment. Twitter could not be reached for comment. Boomtown is a blog on the website All Things Digital, which is owned by Wall Street Journal Dow Jones & Co. That company, in turn, is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. March 30 FISH is the order of the day at the Cafe de Spa, where punters are queuing up to have their FEET cleaned.
The Thai spa uses an outrageous form of fish therapy, first developed in Turkey, which leaves customers feeling fresh-footed. Clients soak their stompers in a tank with up to 1500 swimmers, which are said to nibble dead skin on the feet and legs to soften rough and cracked skin. ...................... TEXAS ban on fish pedicures means salon customers can no longer enjoy the pleasure of hundreds of small fish nibbling away the dead skin from their feet. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation spokeswoman Susan Stanford said the agency was concerned about salons using the same fish to clean the skin of multiple customers, leaving them open to possible infections. She also said the foot baths and holding tanks, because they’re home to live fish, cannot always be properly cleaned and disinfected. Although she admitted she had not heard of anyone becoming ill from a fish pedicure, she said the decision “erred on the side of safety”. The US fad caught on after a Virginia salon began offering the fishy foot treatments. One salon owner still has 500 guppy-like fish she had bought for $2,500. She said: “I guess we will either keep them as pets, or send them back.”
March 28 The White House GhostsIt is said that Lincoln's ghost haunts the White House. He appears in the room where the Lincoln bed is kept. Harry Truman once responded to a 3 o'clock knock on his door and found no one there. He attributed the knock to Lincoln.
Lincoln is said to return to the White House when the security of the country is at risk. He strides up and down the second floor hallway, raps at doors, and stands by certain windows with his hands clasped behind his back. One staff member claimed to have seen Lincoln sitting on his bed pulling on his boots. A bodyguard to President Harrison was kept awake many nights trying to protect the president from mysterious footsteps he heard in the hall. He grew so tired and worried; he finally attended a séance to beg President Lincoln to stop so he could get enough sleep to properly protect the president! Abigail Adam's ghost was seen drifting through the closed doors of the East Room to hang the laundry during the Taft administration. A gardener claims to have spoken to the ghost of Dolly Madison, who reproved him for trying to remove the rose bushes she had planted over a hundred years ago. In the 1930's Andrew Jackson's ghost could be heard laughing in the Rose room. In 1952, extensive repairs were done to the second floor of the White House. Since then, the ghosts have not walked so actively. February 16 Dairy cows head for slaughter as milk prices sour
Dairy farmers say they have little choice but to sell part of their herds for slaughter because they face a perfect storm of destructive economic forces. At home, feed prices are rising and cash-strapped consumers are eating out less often. Abroad, the global recession has cut into demand for butter and cheese exported from the U.S. Prices for milk now are about half what it costs farmers to produce the staple, and consumer prices are falling. Unless the market can be bolstered, industry officials project that more than 1.5 million of the nation's 9.3 million milking cows could be slaughtered this year as dairy operators look to cut costs and generate cash. "This could destroy our dairy infrastructure," said Mike Marsh, CEO of the United Western Dairymen trade association. Three months ago, mature milkers would sell for $2,500 to another dairy, but with nobody buying, dairymen are selling them on the beef market for only $1,100 each. It is not just elderly cows that are going to slaughter, said Jon Dolieslager, owner of the Tulare County Stockyard in the heart of California dairy country. The 262,500 slaughtered nationally in January is 43,500 more than in January 2008. Since September, federal livestock reports show that dairy cow slaughter is up 30 percent, while beef cow slaughter is down 14 percent. "If milk was worth something, they'd be keeping them," said Dolieslager. Some dairymen have become so desperate that they are not even bothering to haul to feedlots the newborns whose births keep milk flowing at higher levels. Investigators in San Joaquin County are trying to determine who dumped 30 dead bull calves on country roads to avoid rendering costs or hauling them to auction, where they fetch $5 each but cost hundreds and hundreds more to bottle feed special formula. The group Farm Sanctuary is offering a $2,000 reward for the culprit. "Apparently it was someone trying to save money who just dumped them," said Susie Coston, the group's national shelter director. As of Feb. 2, the price farmers receive for a gallon of milk has been 80 cents a gallon, less than half the $1.65 a gallon the California Department of Food and Agriculture estimates it costs to produce. "I don't ever remember being able to produce milk at that price," said dairyman Ray Souza, who got into the business in 1963. The new price was the biggest one-month drop in 54 years in California and doomed cow No. 4424, a fat Holstein who instinctively lumbers to her place in the milk line but has become an economic liability at Souza's dairy. "She's not giving enough milk," Souza said as he scanned computer records showing output for each of his 900 milkers. "She can't stay here." The price is set by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and is based on the price paid for powdered milk, where 37 percent of California's milk is sold. Only 14 percent goes into sales as liquid milk. U.S. milk, butter and cheese, which enjoyed record worldwide sales last year, no longer are in demand because of the triple whammy of decreased international consumption in a falling economy, a stronger dollar that makes exports less attractive and the scare over melamine contamination in Chinese milk. Those trade issues have coincided with a three-year California drought that has increased the price and availability of alfalfa hay, and corn costs that have doubled because of competition from ethanol producers. "We need to get supply and demand into alignment as quickly as possible so this economic trainwreck isn't strung out," said Marsh of the industry association. February 09 A horse that fell through the ice on a pond Pencil, a horse that fell through the ice on a pond on a Melbourne farm, stands up after being pulled from the water and onto the bank on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009 in Campbell County, Ky. Nearly 40 firefighters worked in frigid temperatures for more than an hour to rescue the horse. Doug Oldiges,owner, says the horse might have gone to the pond looking for water to drink because the heater on his water trough had stopped working.(AP Photo/The Cincinnati Enquirer , Patrick Reddy) MANDATORY CREDIT February 02 Potomac River
The Potomac is the wildest river in the world that flows through a heavily populated area. It supplies water for more than eighty percent of the four million people who live in the Washington area. Millions of people use the river and the land nearby for recreational activities. These include boating, fishing, hiking and bird watching. The area is home to important birds such as the great blue heron and the American bald eagle. The Potomac River has played an important part in American history. For example, America's first President, George Washington, lived for many years along the Potomac in Virginia. He urged that the river be developed to link Americans with the West. We will explore the Potomac River in a small boat called a canoe that we move through the water using sticks called paddles. Our trip will take seven or eight days. The boat has only enough space for two or three people. But we will not be alone on the water. Other canoes float nearby. We start in the calm waters of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. A guide in the boat next to us says people lived here fifteen thousand years ago. The Potomac River was a meeting place for American Indians long before Europeans arrived. The Indians gathered to trade food and furs. Today, people often find objects that the Indians left behind. We work hard to paddle our canoe, and are happy to stop and rest at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. During the nineteenth century, this village was an important transportation center for the river, a smaller waterway and a railroad. At Harpers Ferry, the Potomac flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Here it meets the Shenandoah River. From our boat we can see the water flowing toward huge rocks. Green trees cover the mountains on either side. Round white clouds hang low against a blue sky. It looks very peaceful.
John Brown and eighteen of his supporters captured the weapons center. However, federal troops recaptured the center the next day. John Brown was later hanged. But his name was made famous forever by American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson wrote that although Brown had died, his spirit would march on. Harpers Ferry became a national historical park in nineteen forty-four. Today the park welcomes visitors who come to learn about life along the river. The park also operates a program to restore an important bird, the peregrine falcon, to the area. About fifty years ago, the use of the insect-killing chemical DDT had almost killed all these large birds. DDT was banned in nineteen seventy-two. Wildlife experts now bring baby peregrines from the Chesapeake Bay area. Then they place the birds in rocky areas high above the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry. The baby birds wear a device that sends signals telling where there are. The devices let wildlife experts follow the birds' movements. They hope that before too long, many peregrines again will fly in these skies. Most of the time we paddle smoothly over the Potomac. But sometimes the river is wild. George Washington understood that the Potomac was difficult to travel on, even for much bigger boats than ours. He proposed a waterway to avoid dangerous places on the river. But he did not live to see it built. Washington died in seventeen ninety-nine. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was built more than twenty-five years later.
The area between the Potomac River and the canal is called a towpath. The towpath extends about three hundred kilometers from Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland. Today we see families walking their dogs along the towpath. Other people are running or riding their bicycles. Still others are fishing. Now we are getting close to Washington, D.C. Here the river begins to look dangerous. Signs warn boats away from the twenty-four kilometers of the Potomac Gorge. So we leave our canoe to walk along the towpath. Water moves fast in the gorge. There are many rocks and waterfalls. The gorge begins above a large waterfall called Great Falls. Here the water drops to sea level. The gorge then extends to Theodore Roosevelt Island, named for America's twenty-sixth president. Here we get a quick look at a blue heron. This beautiful bird stands for a minute on a rock on one long, thin leg. An eagle spreads its wide wings in the sky, but does not land. We take land transportation to follow the river into America's capital. Washington, D.C. was built on a low wetland area in eighteen hundred. The British burned the city in eighteen twelve. But Americans soon rebuilt it. While in Washington, we decide to continue our trip on the Potomac River in a larger boat for visitors. This will take us past George Washington's home in Virginia. He helped design the big white house, called Mount Vernon. George Washington and his wife, Martha, are buried on the property. Today we see sheep and goats eating grass on the hill between the back of the house and the river. This sight probably looks about the same as it did when George Washington supervised his beautiful riverside farm. After passing Mount Vernon, we end our trip on the Potomac River as it flows toward the Chesapeake Bay. By now, we have a deep feeling for the beauty of the river. But the beauty always exists under threat. Over the centuries, industry, agriculture and human development severely damaged the environment of the Potomac River. By the nineteen seventies, people described the river's condition as sickening. Then Congress passed the Clean Water Act in nineteen seventy-two. The river has been improved greatly since then. Still, coal mines in West Virginia drop harmful acids into the water. Waste material from the Anacostia River floats on the Potomac. Sediment material that falls to the bottom prevents traffic on some areas of the river. Pesticides and fertilizers pollute the water. Many environmental activists worry especially about the building of new homes and businesses along the Potomac. The Potomac River faces many environmental problems as a result of population growth and its resulting pressures on land and water resources. The river flows through land controlled by developers, private owners and state and local governments. These groups often have conflicting ideas about what is good and bad for the river. Several organizations work to protect and improve the Potomac River and the land near it. The Potomac Conservancy is one of them. It carries out a land protection program, develops land and water restoration projects, and provides education programs for adults and young people. We have enjoyed our trip on the Potomac River. The trip was sometimes peaceful and sometimes exciting. We learned a lot about the river and its history. We hope that Americans will always take good care of their historic Potomac River. February 01 Yosemite: One of the Most Famous National Parks in the US
Up in the mountains are clear lakes, quick-moving small rivers, and huge formations of rock. One huge rock is called Half Dome. It rises more than two thousand seven hundred meters into the air. Yosemite has a beautiful slow-moving river and large grassy areas where you can see wild animals. More than sixty kinds of animals live in the park. Deer are very common. You can see them almost everywhere. They have little fear of humans. You might even see a large black bear. You can also see two hundred different kinds of birds. The story of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the area that is Yosemite National Park begins about five hundred million years ago. The area then was at the bottom of an ancient sea. Scientists believe strong earthquakes forced the bottom of the sea to rise above the water. After millions of years, it was pushed up into the air to form land and mountains. At the same time, hot liquid rock from deep in the Earth pushed to the surface. This liquid rock slowly cooled. This cooling liquid formed a very hard rock known as granite.
Many centuries of rain caused huge rivers to move violently through this area. Over time, these rivers cut deep into the new mountains. During the great Ice Age, millions of tons of ice cut and shaped the cooled granite to form giant rocks. Millions of years later these would become the giant rocks called Half Dome and El Capitan in Yosemite Park. Humans have lived in the area of Yosemite for more than four thousand years. The first people who lived there were hunters. Most were members of a tribe of Native Americans called the Miwok. They lived in Yosemite Valley near the river.
The first white Americans may have been hunters looking for fur animals. A famous American hunter and explorer named Joseph Walker passed through the area in the eighteen thirties. He reported about the huge rock formations and said there was no way to reach the valley below. Citizens who had formed a military group were the first real modern explorers of the valley. They were at war with the local Indians and came into the valley. The white soldiers called the Indians Yosemites. The valley was named for the Indian tribe. Soon, reports of its great natural beauty were sent all the way back to Washington, D.C. In eighteen sixty-four, a United States senator called for legislation to give the Yosemite Valley to the state of California as a public park. The legislation said the valley should be preserved and protected. President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill after Congress approved it. This event was extremely important in the history of the United States. It was the first time that a government had approved a law to preserve and protect land because of its great beauty. The land was to be kept for the public to enjoy. Yosemite became the first state park. It was the first real park in the world. In eighteen ninety, it became a national park. The National Park Service is responsible for the park today. It is preserved and protected for all people to enjoy. No major roads lead to Yosemite National Park. Visitors must leave the highways and drive their cars over smaller roads. Yosemite is about three hundred twenty kilometers east of San Francisco. It is deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The roads leading to the park pass over lower parts of the huge mountains. Then the road goes lower and lower into the area of the park called Yosemite Valley. Visitors can stay in different kinds of places in Yosemite Park. Several beautiful old hotels have been built on the property. Some are very costly. Others cost less. Many people bring temporary cloth homes called tents. It costs only a few dollars a day to place a tent in the approved areas. Visitors can walk through many areas in the beautiful valley and the mountains. These walking paths are called trails. The National Park Service has improved more than one thousand one hundred kilometers of trails. It is fun to explore these trails. Some take only a few minutes to walk. Others can take several days to complete. People come from all over the world to climb one of the huge rock formations at Yosemite. The most famous of these is called El Capitan. People who climb it call it "El Cap." Climbing El Cap is only for experts. This activity is called "hard rock climbing." It is extremely difficult and can be very dangerous. A climber must have expert skill and great strength. The climb is straight up the face of a rock wall. Experts say it can take about three days to climb to the top of El Cap. The climbing is very slow. In the summer months, Yosemite Park is filled with visitors. Large buses bring people from San Francisco to spend the day. They leave San Francisco very early in the morning and arrive back late at night. They drive from one place to another to see Yosemite. Other visitors come by car. Some even come by bicycle. Some visit for just a few hours. Others take several days or weeks to enjoy the park. Many visitors come to Yosemite again and again. About four million people visit the park every year. In the winter, heavy snow falls in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Yosemite. The snow usually begins to fall in the month of November. Heavy snow forces some of the roads into Yosemite to close during the winter months. The National Park Service works hard to keep most of the roads open. Drivers must use special care because of ice and snow on the roads. They enjoy a special beauty never seen by the summer visitors. Many winter visitors come to Yosemite to spend their time skiing at Badger Pass. Badger ski area is the oldest in California. It has a ski school for those who want to learn the exciting sport. Many visitors come to enjoy the park with its heavy coat of winter snow. In some areas the snow is many meters deep. Some of the tall mountains keep their snow until the last hot days of summer. Whenever visitors come to Yosemite, they experience great natural beauty. A visit to the park provides lasting memories of what nature has produced. Most people who come to Yosemite usually bring a camera. They take many of pictures of the huge rocks, the beautiful Yosemite Valley, the waterfalls and the giant trees. But you do not really need a photograph to remember its great natural beauty. Yosemite will leave its image in your memory forever. (Paul Thompson) Swas-stickerA CHILLING book of soccer-style “stickers” showing Adolf Hitler has been unearthed by the family of a
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DALLAS – Poking through antiques stores while traveling through the 
ROME – 
Yosemite National Park is a place of extremes. It has high mountains. It has valleys formed by ancient ice that cut deep into the Earth millions of years ago. Water from high in the mountains falls in many places to the green valley far below. There are thirteen beautiful waterfalls in Yosemite Valley. One of these waterfalls, Yosemite Falls, is the fifth highest on Earth.
During the extremely cold winters, these people would move to lower, warmer areas. They would return when the winter months had passed.
Climbers must look for cracks in the rock. They place their hands and feet in the cracks and then work their way up. They also use ropes and special equipment. From the bottom of the valley to the top of El Cap is about one thousand one hundred meters.
British soldier. 
A tall black woman is singing in a concert hall. Her eyes are closed. She is not looking at the crowd of people sitting silently before her. But she feels their presence. She tries to make the music touch their minds and hearts. Her deep, powerful voice reaches out to all parts of the concert hall.
Marian Anderson grew to love opera, because it joined singing and acting. But Mister Boghetti advised her not to choose opera as a way to make a living. He knew that black singers in America were not permitted to sing with white opera groups. Instead, he told her she could be successful by singing in concert theaters. She followed his advice.
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