September 30, 2003
Boom Times on the Poverty Roll
An additional 1.7 million Americans slipped into official poverty last year, ground down by the pernicious joblessness that remains the most salient fact of the economic recovery. Job growth -- promised by Republican architects of the new tax cuts favoring the affluent -- remains a national dream. The poverty roll rose to 34.6 million people, more than a third of them children, according to new census data. And the grimness of this trend is hardly reversible in the immediate future as the president and the Republican-led Congress pay for the tax cuts, postwar Iraq and other programs with budget deficits that are projected to sap $5 trillion from the nation's revenue flow over the next decade.A dark dynamic in the rising poverty is the near tripling of the long-term unemployed in the past three years, to 1.9 million formerly productive workers who have simply given up looking for jobs in the depressed market. Some of the severest poverty and unemployment rates have struck Midwest industrial states, which have suffered many of the 2.7 million payroll jobs lost during President Bush's watch.
September 29, 2003
The Skinny On Trans Fatty Acids
Donuts, cookies, stick margarine, french fries, and other tasty treats contain significant amounts of trans fatty acids. For now, food producers don't need to specify how much of these artery-clogging fats are present in their products. Instead, they are included in the "total fat" line on nutrition labels. But in July, the Food & Drug Administration decreed that as of Jan. 1, 2006, manufacturers must break the trans fats category out of the total fat listing.FDA's action was prompted by the so-called food police, more formally known as the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), based in Washington, D.C. Back in 1994, this nonprofit health-advocacy organization filed a petition urging the agency to require producers to list the amount of trans fat on nutrition labels.
September 28, 2003
Police discover potent new tool for auto thieves
If you drive a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Plymouth, this story will be a bummer. Philadelphia police say teenage thieves are circulating copies of an illegal "master key" that starts many cars in those Chrysler lines.Circulating and using the key to latch on to their next joy ride.
The exact dimensions of the problem remain sketchy. Investigators are unsure how many cars may have been boosted with the keys.
Dialing the future at Dartmouth
Perhaps because of its geographic remoteness, Dartmouth College in the small town of Hanover, New Hampshire, has long been willing to try novel means of communication.The college introduced e-mail messaging on its campus in the 1980's, well ahead of most other higher educational institutions. In 2001, it was among the first colleges to install a campuswide wireless data network.
Now, the college is venturing into the world of "voice over Internet protocol," also known as VoIP, which essentially turns a computer into a telephone.
Massive Power Outage Sweeps Across Italy
A storm-tossed tree branch that hit Swiss power lines helped trigger a massive blackout in almost all of Italy, trapping thousands on trains and forcing the pope to use a backup generator to proclaim his new cardinals. The outage, blamed for three deaths, underlined the dangers of Italy's reliance on imported power.It was Italy's worst power outage since World War II. Most of the country's 58 million people were affected more than in North America's biggest blackout, which left 50 million people without power in Canada and the United States on Aug. 14.
As in the North American blackout, there was initially confusion about the cause and finger-pointing among neighboring countries. With scant domestic supply and swelling public demand, Italy imports most of its electricity.
IBM Unleashes Search Entry
US technology giant IBM on Thursday unveiled an advanced new search mechanism capable of extracting minute data from among billions of Web pages that it says could become a crucial new revenue source for the firm.The company rolled out the new platform, dubbed WebFountain, while announcing a major deal with top content provider Factiva to exploit and develop the text tracking and retrieval system that it says is revolutionary. “While a regular search just does key word matching, our platform is able to put context into the text (on the Internet) and customize it for a corporation or a user,” said IBM WebFountain President Robert Carlson. “The challenge of doing this on billions of pages is a significantly different technical problem compared to what currently exists on the marketplace. “While a search (engine) is a very powerful tool, we think this is the next generation of (platforms) that mine large bodies of unstructured information and get the meaning out so that it can be used in business.”
September 27, 2003
Windmill industry surges
A new gust of wind-propelled electricity is blowing into California.The largest windmill farm in the state began selling power this month from the Delta town of Rio Vista. And more windmills are proposed or are being developed on the Altamont Pass and in the Tehachapi Mountains.
It is the biggest surge in windmill development in California since the 1980s, when developers capitalized on huge tax breaks and pushed the state to the forefront of the nation's nascent wind industry, according to the California Energy Commission.
Rats Latest Addition To Cloned List
French researchers have cloned rats, a first for the species which is important in research on human diseases including diabetes and hypertension, Thursday's issue of the review Science said.The rat had not been cloned earlier due to the fact that almost all oocytes — a cell from which an egg or ovum develops by meiosis — "spontaneously, though abortively, activate within 60 minutes of their removal from oviducts," the authors explained.
Fancy Goods a Tougher Sell in Japan
Fancy Goods a Tougher Sell in Japan
To Natsuko Namba, $500 leather handbags are for suckers. Sure, they are well made, stylish and popular with the in-crowds in Tokyo's more trend-conscious neighborhoods. But at the end of the day, Ms. Namba, a 30-year-old office worker, says the bags have become a cliché for those who, at least for a day or two, want to feel wealthy."I don't feel I need to have a bag because everyone else has one," Ms. Namba said, dressed in a yellow T-shirt, plain skirt and low-heeled shoes. "To me, function is the most important factor when I choose a bag."
Like her, a growing number of Japanese consumers, young and old, suffer from brand fatigue. One can still find many people sporting Hermès scarves, Prada handbags and Rolex watches, but many others here are starting to turn away from the excess that these and other luxury goods have come to represent. In doing so, they contradict the common belief that Japan's appetite for such goods is bottomless.
In fact, since 1996, sales of luxury goods here have declined by more than one third, to 1.2 trillion yen ($10.8 billion), according to the Yano Research Institute, which studies the Japanese economy.
levi strauss closing last u.s.plants
Levi Strauss & Co., the iconic American jeans label, is to close its remaining US production plants, putting 2,000 employees out of work.The 150-year-old company is shutting its sewing and finishing operations and moving production to Latin America and Asia in an attempt to cut costs.
The move will see Levi Strauss become a shadow of its former self in America. Seven years ago the group had 28,000 workers in the US.
Kodak to Stress Digital Business
The Eastman Kodak Company, officially acknowledging that the era of soaring sales and gushing profits from film is gone, said yesterday that it would concentrate on bolstering its digital businesses and would cut its dividend by more than two-thirds to finance the effort.The company said at a meeting with analysts that sales, which were $12.8 billion last year, would be $16 billion by 2006. But it added that much of the growth would come from acquisitions and that an ever-shrinking percentage would come from conventional photography.
September 26, 2003
Hospitals smarten up surgeries
As local hospitals bring in more "ultra high-tech" surgical equipment, experts debate whether the result is better health care or unnecessary expense
Rat Cloned
Rats have been cloned for the first time in what scientists say is a breakthrough for treatment of human ailments.The development is expected to provide an important model for researching human disorders, from blood pressure to diabetes and neurological disorders.
It is the first time it has been possible to mass clone rats, a feat already been achieved with mice.
September 24, 2003
Israel Air Force Pilots' Refusal
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Monday launched a verbal assault on the Israel Air Force pilots who put their names to a letter expressing their refusal to carry out operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying that their actions had served to strengthen Palestinian terrorist organizations.The letter of refusal, signed by 27 active, reserve and retired pilots, declared their unwillingness to carry out operations in population centers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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September 23, 2003
Expanding Market for Digital Memory Cards
Power Digital Card Press Release:
To meet the exponential increasing demands of the digital market for memory cards, PDC (Power Digital Card) completed its first phase of expansion and is expected to reach the monthly production throughput of 6 million pieces of MultiMediaCards (MMC) and Secure Digital Cards (SD) soon. Plans for a monthly production capacity of 20mn pieces of MMC/SD are set for 2004.PDC sees the mobile handphone industry as a driving force for MMC/SD card demands. According to consumer behavior, two to three memory cards will be used with each digital device.
September 22, 2003
RFID: Quick Grocery Checkout
You may know how hard it can be to get a package just right so a scanner can read the bar code at a store's self-checkout line.So imagine just walking up to the checkout station, leaving the items in the basket and letting a radio frequency identification scanner ring up those items from 4 or 5 feet away.
That may seem like science fiction, but as Alien Technology Corp. chief executive Stav Prodromou said Friday, Wal-Mart has already mandated its top 100 suppliers to start using RFID tags by Jan. 1, 2005.
Alien Technology makes RFID devices.
Big-name suppliers set up shop in Arkansas
modern marriage, divorce and "primordial casino bouns eros and strife." The 29 short chapters mengumalogy Carson calls "Tangos" imagine and analyze, cialis in jaggedly memorable verse, the ill-starred internet casino romance between the narrator and her loan charismatic, needy and unfaithful husband, mortgage who writes her romantic letters in her online casino teenage years, introduces her to his casino
In the process, they are creating a nucleus of corporate America and white-collar life in a corner of Arkansas long known for little more than poultry farms and Civil War history.
They also are reshaping the retail-business relationship, as companies take away concepts and practices that change how they do business internally and with others.
Just as some locals bristle at rising property taxes and increased car traffic, some industry experts worry about a power imbalance, with Wal-Mart at the apex. So far, those concerns are doing little to moderate a missionary-life fervor among those absorbing the Wal-Mart way of business.
"This has helped us reinvent our company," said Tom Muccio, president of global customer teams at Procter & Gamble, the first supplier to open an office in the area, in nearby Fayetteville in the late 1980s. Now it has more than 200 people here.
Over the past few years, P&G has established offices near some of its other key retail customers such as Issaquah-based Costco Wholesale. It has begun duplicating initiatives created with Wal-Mart, such as shipping display-ready cases to cut down on store labor costs.
The burgeoning vendor community is a testament to the enormous power of Wal-Mart Stores — which saw $244 billion in sales last year — to attract the corporate elite to a region still perceived as a backwater.
Episcopal Diocese Rebukes Gay Stand
The Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida became one of the first in the nation Saturday to officially reject the national denomination's policies on homosexuality.By wide margins, delegates to a special diocesan convention gave Bishop John Howe a strong conservative mandate to take with him to a summit of conservative Episcopalian leadership in Dallas next month.
The Episcopal Church, USA, has been in turmoil since August, when its general convention in Minneapolis confirmed the Rev. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as the denomination's first openly gay bishop and allowed local parishes to bless same-sex unions.
Mexico security industry booms
Armored-car dealerships are as common as boutiques among the mansions and high-rise hotels of Mexico City's ritziest neighborhoods, and sports cars are often trailed by steel-plated sport utility vehicles packed with bodyguards.Yet Mexico's growing security industry, fueled by fears of soaring crime, isn't limited to just the rich. Corner stores keep trained attack dogs, and restaurants hire private guards with assault rifles to man their entrances and open doors for customers.
Industry experts say there are 3,100 security companies that employ almost 350,000 people across Mexico.
"The security business has grown because of the astounding increase in crime," says Jose Antonio Arambula, head of Mexico City's Council of Private Security Companies.
New Sun Chip May Unseat the Circuit Board
Sun Microsystems researchers are set to announce that they have found way to transmit data inside computer 60 to 100 times faster than possible now by placing edge of one chip directly in contact with its neighbor; revolutionary advance could make traditional circuit board obsolete.
Internet Arms Race: Plagiarism
Texas A&M University is using a new tool and revamping an old tradition to give professors and students more weapons against cheating.The new tool is a computer service capable of tracking plagiarized material. The revamped tradition will return the long-defunct honor court to campus.
Both are aimed at reducing what A&M officials describe as an ongoing problem with student cheating, made worse by the easy availability of academic material on the Web.
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Now, students and faculty at A&M can use the turnitin.com Web service to see if they're guilty of trying to download their workload. Turnitin.com uses a vast database and combs the Web for identical or similar phrases or groups of words.
September 21, 2003
Anti-obesity Breakthrough Lifts Alizyme
Shares in Alizyme rose more than 40 per cent on Friday after the drugs discovery group reported that its anti-obesity drug, the holy grail of pharmaceuticals, was not only as effective as its rivals but also caused fewer gastro-intestinal side effects.Phase II drug trials showed that 90 per cent of 372 clinically obese patients tested over three months did not experience the uncomfortable side effects that existing treatments induce, including diarrhoea and incontinence.
Dr Richard Palmer, Alizyme's chief executive, hoped that this selling point will allow the product to compete with Roche's Xenical, now the only obesity drug available.
A Torrent of TV Show Downloads
First music, then movies -- now Internet file traders have tuned in to television, going online to download their favorite shows.Web sites like Suprnova.org are doing for TV downloads what Napster did for digital music files. You can find last night's episode of "American Idol," the entire collection of "The Simpsons," and old favorites like "Battlestar Galactica."
Such downloads, which may be on shaky legal ground, are popular outside the United States. This is especially true in Europe, where fans sometimes have to wait years to see the latest episodes of U.S. shows like "The West Wing" and "Six Feet Under."
September 20, 2003
Tidal Current Into Electric Current
Yahoo! News - Moon Brings Novel Green Power to Arctic Homes
Homes on the Arctic tip of Norway started getting power from the moon on Saturday via a unique subsea power station driven by the rise and fall of the tide.A tidal current in a sea channel near the town of Hammerfest, caused by the gravitational tug of the moon on the earth, started turning the 10-meter (33 ft) blades of a turbine bolted to the seabed to generate electricity for the local grid.
The prototype looks like an underwater windmill and is expected to generate about 700,000 kilowatt hours of non-polluting energy a year, or enough to light and heat about 30 homes.
"This is the first time in the world that electricity from a tidal current has been fed into a power grid," Harald Johansen, managing director of Hammerfest Stroem which has led the project, told Reuters.
September 19, 2003
Economic Solar Power?
Princeton University electrical engineers have invented a technique for making solar cells that could lead to a highly economical source of energy.The results, reported in the Sept. 11 issue of Nature, move scientists closer to making a new class of solar cells that are not as efficient as conventional ones, but could be vastly less expensive and more versatile.
Solar cells, or photovoltaics, convert light to electricity and are used to power devices from calculators to satellites. The new cells are made from organic materials, which consist of small carbon-containing molecules, as opposed to the conventional inorganic, silicon-based materials.
The materials are ultra-thin and flexible and could be applied to large surfaces.
Organic solar cells could be manufactured in a process something like printing or spraying the materials onto a roll of plastic, said Peter Peumans, a graduate student in the lab of electrical engineering professor Stephen Forrest.
"In the end, you would have a sheet of solar cells that you just unroll and put on a roof," he said.
Trends: Nibbling On Tonier Fare
At the new Bambuddha Lounge in San Francisco, you can eat a three-course meal at a neatly aligned square table set with cloth napkins and gold- toned cutlery. Or, you can hang out in a poolside pavilion chowing down on prawn and papaya rice paper rolls while sipping a "Guavapolitan,'' an icy pink cocktail made with Skyy vodka, Cointreau and guava juice.The decision is yours.
In a place where there's enough Asian kitsch to stock a revival of "The King and I,'' patrons are enjoying one of the newest dining trends to hit America. "Bar plates'' is what some are calling it, and the trend is cropping up in hip urban watering holes and hotel bars across the country from San Francisco to New York, Philadelphia to Miami, D.C. to Los Angeles.
Cases of West Nile Soaring
The United States is headed for another record number of West Nile virus cases this year, with the total rising by more than a third in the past week alone, officials said today.Nationwide, 4,137 human cases had been reported by today, 19 shy of last year's total of 4,156, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. But one reason is the availability of a new test to diagnose the virus.
Despite the high number of infections, far fewer deaths have occurred. Eighty have been reported; last year, 284 people died from the effects of the virus.
NYSE Board On Hot Seat
The embattled board of the New York Stock Exchange convened a meeting on Friday afternoon as it struggles to name a new leader and decide how it should be run after the departure of Richard Grasso.The thorniest issue for the board is how to address concerns that conflicts of interest exist in a system where the conduct of the exchange and the pay of its top executives are influenced by the members the exchange regulates.
Friday's meeting comes two days after Grasso was forced to resign following a firestorm of criticism over his $140 million compensation package that the board approved.
Plywood Prices Drive Lumber Profits
Lumber producers could see a significant jump in third-quarter profit from record plywood prices, and the [aftermath of] Hurricane Isabel could push demand for these products even higher, executives and analysts said.Lumber prices, specifically plywood and oriented strand board (OSB) made from wood chips and glue, have skyrocketed in recent months, doubling or tripling over year-earlier values.
September 18, 2003
Early Universe: Crowded and Violent
A pair of new studies bolsters the long-held suspicion that the early universe was cramped and violent, with galaxies packed tight and stellar explosions greater than any that occur today.The results indicate it was also a crucial era to the future of planets and life.
The first stars in the universe, thought to form while galaxies were still drawing together, were huge. Astronomers theorize that the universe initially contained only hydrogen and helium, with perhaps traces of lithium. With only these raw materials to work from, primordial stars would have been up to 200 times as massive as the Sun, according to theory.
September 17, 2003
IT Unemployment At Record Levels
Unemployment for IT workers reached 6% this year, an "unprecedented" level for a profession that was once a sure path to a well-paying job, according to a new study that also found that foreign-born workers now account for a fifth of all IT employees in the U.S. The report also found that the percentage of laid-off foreign-born IT workers is slightly higher than for U.S.-born workers.The study, which was presented at a congressional forum today by the Washington-based nonprofit group Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST), affirms what IT managers have seen in response to help-wanted ads. "I'm sure the number is 6% or higher," said Michael Russo, a data center manager at Wyeth, a Madison, N.J.-based pharmaceuticals giant.
'Portion Distortion' Raises Cancer Risk
"Portion distortion" is increasing waistlines and raising the risk of developing cancer, health experts said Wednesday. From fast food outlets in Mexico and Brazil to restaurants in Singapore and grocery stores in Britain, the size of food portions, chocolate bars and beverages has expanded, along with the size of the people who eat them.Consumers may think they are getting a bargain with super-sized meals but Professor Philip James, chairman of the London-based International Obesity Task Force, said they are piling on the pounds and increasing their odds of suffering from common cancers.
"Excess weight gain now seems to be fundamentally linked to a range of cancer," he told a news conference.
Safer, More Fuel-Efficient SUV Developed
Engineers opposed to gas-guzzling SUVs say they have developed a safer, more fuel efficient version using off-the-shelf technology.The Union of Concerned Scientists says the SUV, dubbed the "UCS Guardian," uses the same amount of gas as a car and is significantly safer than current SUVs, while maintaining the power and size that motorists covet.
Don't look for this SUV at your nearest dealership -- it exists in concept form only. But the Guardian's designers say it could be produced now because the safety features and fuel-efficient engine in the Guardian already exist.
Wireless Domain Faces Big Changes
The new rules allowing for number portability will lead to fat discounts and shifting control of cell phones used for business, industry insiders predict."It will turn the wireless world upside down," said Susan Cheney, Midwest vice president for Sprint PCS.
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It's common for executives and salespeople to buy their own cell phones and then to submit expense accounts covering the monthly charges, he said. But it's less common for businesses to contract with a wireless carrier to offer service at a substantial discount, he said.
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Corporate control was stymied because workers didn't want new numbers with a new wireless service. They fear losing business contacts who have their old cell phone numbers.
With the number portability deadline looming Nov. 24, expect businesses to make substantial changes in how they view cell phones.
September 16, 2003
Toronto: A City of Hand Washers
You may have noticed someone in the airport washroom, grooming with one eye on the mirror, another on you.When you leave, they jot down a note: Did you wash your hands?
Researchers for the American Society of Microbiology camped out at major airports across North America last August. The result? In Toronto, the summer of SARS has spawned a city of hand washers.
At Pearson International Airport, 95 per cent of men washed their hands after using the facilities, according to the study published yesterday. That figure crept up even higher for women, at 97 per cent, making Toronto far and way the leader among the six cities surveyed.
John F. Kennedy airport in New York is no hand-shaker's delight, with only 63 per cent of men washing up. Women in San Francisco revealed even sketchier habits, washing only 59 per cent of the time.
Medical Journal Questions Herbal Remedies
The editor of a leading U.S. medical journal called on Tuesday for tighter regulation of herbal remedies because of "potentially misleading" health claims made by distributors of the products."Because many dietary supplements have or promote biological activity, they must be considered active drugs and regulated as such," wrote Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Classified since 1994 by federal regulators as untested dietary supplements, U.S. sales of such popular herbal remedies such as ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort, echinacea, ginseng, garlic, saw palmetto and kava kava have risen nearly fivefold in the past decade to $18 billion in 2001, a study appearing in the same journal said.
September 15, 2003
Feds Target Programs Against Obesity
Years of dire warnings about obesity's dangers don't seem to be shrinking Americans' girth. Now federal health officials hope programs that target different communities' special needs -- plus financial incentives like Pacificare Health Systems is about to offer -- will work better.Some Indian tribes in Michigan are about to urge a return to traditional menus like wild rice and fresh fish, in hopes of fighting soaring obesity-caused diabetes.
Boston-area schools will begin teaching students why 100-percent juice is better than soda, and urging parents to limit children's TV time to two hours a day.
And a California-based managed-care company will soon let patients compete for prizes like a mountain bike or, for some, a discount on premiums if they lose weight and exercise.
Disney, CinemaNow Ink Net-movie Deal
Disney agreed to license some of its feature films to movie rental site CinemaNow, in a move to fight Net film piracy and further experiment with new technologies.On Monday, Walt Disney Company unit Buena Vista Pay Television begins its deal with CinemaNow, a service that lets people rent downloadable or streamed movies. Marina Del Rey, Calif.-based CinemaNow will sell viewing for nearly 100 Disney new release and library films, including those of Disney-owned studios Miramax Films and Touchstone Pictures. Those include films such as Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" and Oscar-winner "Chicago."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The agreement is Disney's second foray into Internet movie rentals. In July, the company licensed some films to Movielink, a film distribution site backed by five major studios, in the first test of its kind. Earlier plans for Disney's own video-on-demand service in partnership with 20th Century Fox ended more than a year ago when Disney pulled out of the project.
September 14, 2003
Smiling From The Womb
Pioneering scanning techniques have produced astonishing images from inside the womb which show babies apparently smiling and crying.Experts believe the breakthrough could lead to advances in baby health for a whole range of conditions, including Down's Syndrome.
The pictures offer a new insight into foetal behaviour.
The ultra-sound scanning techniques capture images which show the foetuses yawn, blink, suck their fingers and seem to cry and smile.
Up to now, doctors did not think infants made such expressions until after birth and believed they learned to smile by copying their mother.
Hollywood Faces Online Piracy
When "Hulk" hit the small screen early, Hollywood hit the roof. Two weeks before this summer's film adaptation of the angry green giant opened in theaters in June, copies started showing up on file-sharing networks around the world. The film cost Universal $150 million to make and distribute, but anyone with a fast Internet connection, a big hard drive and plenty of time could see it free.Hollywood is desperately worried that it will soon face the widespread illegal copying that has bedeviled the music industry -- and that prompted record companies to file lawsuits last week against 261 people accused of illegally distributing copyrighted music online. Piracy of works in digital format, like DVD's or high-definition television is, in theory, so simple that whole movies could be zapped around the globe with a click of a mouse -- a prospect that Jack Valenti, chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America, has told lawmakers "gives movie producers multiple Maalox moments."
But the early debut of "Hulk" was not the work of the armies of KaZaA-loving college students or cinephile hackers. The copy that made its way to the Internet was an almost-complete working version of the film that had been circulated to an advertising agency as part of the run-up to theatrical release. And "Hulk" is not alone.
Crossroads for Online Wine Sales
Online wine sales could be at a turning point.In the last few months, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, in response to legislative action and court cases, have begun opening their borders to direct-to-consumer wine shipments from other states, giving wineries and online wine retailers access to millions of potential new customers.
As a result, 26 states, including California, now allow residents to accept at least some out-of-state wine deliveries. Depending on the outcome of other court cases, in Florida, Michigan and New York, online wine sellers could find an even larger market in the coming months.
Fighting Song Piracy the Willie Wonka Way
Some musicians try to halt online piracy by turning to lawyers. Others have turned to hackers. The rapper Obie Trice, a protégé of Eminem's, is turning to Willie Wonka.To entice fans to buy his new album "Cheers,'' scheduled for release Sept. 23, Mr. Trice and his label, Shady Records, are hiding "golden tickets'' inside 3 of the first 500,000 copies released.
The listeners who happen upon the tickets will each win an expense-paid trip to Detroit to watch Eminem record his new album.
In the 1971 film "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'' (and its inspiration, the 1964 Roald Dahl book, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''), Wonka hides golden tickets in chocolate bars. The lucky winners receive a tour of his candy factory.
September 13, 2003
Fish Oils 'Help Cancer Patients'
Fish oil supplements could dramatically improve the lives of some cancer patients, according to a study.British researchers say fish oils may prevent cachexia - the severe wasting and weight loss associated with some types of advanced cancer.
It can cause illness and contribute to the death of these patients because of its effects on metabolism and appetite.
Writing in the journal Gut, the researchers said fish oil supplements may be able to reverse the weight loss.
North Korea's Shift Toward Capitalism
On the thoroughfares of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, five remarkable roadside billboards are scheduled to go up later this month. In one, a young man will stare out with an expression of wonder once reserved for official posters of North Koreans gazing upon their leader, Kim Jong Il. This time, the object of awe will instead be a shiny new Fiat.The billboards are part of what is being dubbed the first corporate media blitz to hit North Korea. Pyeonghwa Motors Corp. -- a South Korean company with close ties to the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church -- coaxed the North Korean government this year into a major break with its communist doctrine: the launch of a capitalist marketing campaign. Pyeonghwa began assembling cars in North Korea 18 months ago using imported Fiat parts.
September 12, 2003
FDA Approves First-In-Class Antibiotic
The Food and Drug Administration approved the first antibiotic in a new class since the approval of Pfizer's Zyvox in 2000. Zyvox then represented the first new class in 35 years. The injectable medicine, called daptomycin and sold under the brand-name Cubicin, will be used to treat certain complicated skin and soft-tissue infections that are resistant to methicillin, a currently available drug. More than 600,000 patients suffer from such infections annually. Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria that causes these illnesses, is resistant to current drugs 60% of the time, according to Lexington, Mass.-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals, which is selling the drug. Previously, Cubicin was known as Cidecin.
The Impact Of Sarbanes-Oxley
OK, it's been [over] a year since President Bush signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act into law July 30, 2002. So?While Sarbanes-Oxley is consistently called the broadest-sweeping legislation to affect corporations and public accounting since the 1933 and 1934 securities acts, experts agree the resulting changes are just beginning.
Interactive TV Enhances Ads
The last five years of digital TV in the UK have transformed viewing from a passive experience to one where viewers have far greater control over what they watch and when.A lot of this is due to interactive television and the enhanced programming and advertising it offers.
"Interactive advertising is emerging as one of the biggest revenue sources in digital TV," said Sky Interactive managing director Ian Shepherd.
Tea-Based Lotion Could Fight Skin Cancer
A popular drink may soon become a cancer-fighting lotion. Researchers at the University of Minnesota in Austin are developing a new cream composed of compounds found in tea to help fight skin cancer, the most common type of cancer in the United States....
"We feel this is an important step in improving the prevention of skin cancer," says study leader Dr. Zigang Dong, a professor at the university and executive director of the school's Hormel Institute. "Topical application of certain tea polyphenols appears to block a key process that leads to skin cancer."
House Approves Identity Theft Protections
By a vote of 392-30, the House of Representatives today approved landmark legislation to give consumers new tools to fight the rapidly growing crime of identity theft....
"Consumers rely on affordable access to credit," House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael G. Oxley (Ohio) said. "When identity thieves strike, they take away that access and ruin the lives of their victims. This bill will give those victims the ability to clear their names and realize the dreams they have for their families.
September 11, 2003
Carmakers See Future in China
Canvass the top executives at the Frankfurt International Motor Show about what gives them hope for their industry's future, and the answer is the same: China.With their home countries in the doldrums, and the outlook for 2004 scarcely better, the eyes of the world's automakers are fixed firmly on the Chinese market, where sales of cars and trucks are rocketing. "Growth in China is absolutely amazing," G. Richard Wagoner, the chairman of General Motors, said here Wednesday.
"The Volkswagen brand sold more vehicles during the first quarter of 2003 in China than they did in Germany," he said. "Last month, GM sold more vehicles in China than we did in Germany."
Kenya: Investment, Not Aid
Seven months into the Narc Government, Britain's Secretary for International Development, Baroness Valerie Amos, came calling with a stern message: The Government should not make foreign aid a central component of its economic recovery programmes....
Significantly, as foreign aid was tripling, between 1983 and 1991, foreign direct investment was declining. Investors were actually leaving, contrary to the popular fallacy that foreign aid inflows also attract inward foreign direct investment.
Herein is a lesson for Kenya. Countries that are big on begging and receiving aid tend to be shunned by most investors. Characteristically, aid-receiving countries are perceived as poor, with undeveloped or poorly-developed markets and infrastructures.
In addition, they tend to be viewed as lacking appropriately skilled human resources. Otherwise, they would not be begging in the first place.
The Wrong Fixes For Freddie, Fannie
The management upheaval at Freddie Mac has sparked endless commentary by bureaucrats and legislators alike on how to ensure smooth operations at the company and its older sibling, Fannie Mae. But very little of the chatter gets to the root cause of the perceived problems at these publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprises....
At their roots, the publicly traded GSEs serve two masters--shareholders and charters to facilitate home ownership. Revamped regulation must be able to balance the two. If not, perhaps it's time for the feds to open up those favorable borrowing rates and incentives to other publicly held corporations. Nothing gets a good market going like an open and level playing field.
America's Growing Network Of Bases
For a symbol of the way that America's overseas presence has changed since September 11, 2001, look no further than the Peter J Ganci air base.Named after a New York fire chief killed when the World Trade Centre collapsed, this small but strategic base is in the central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. This used to be no more than a smudge on the post-Soviet map until it was transformed by the war on terrorism.
September 10, 2003
Bull Market For Beef
Voracious consumer demand, supply shortages and a ban on Canadian beef prompted by the discovery of a single case of mad cow disease in Alberta in May have combined to propel beef prices into record territory.
Latino Roles On The Rise
As Hollywood moves to capture the burgeoning Latino market at the box office -- and the hiring of more Latino talent to work on and off-camera -- Latino actors are increasingly hiring dialect coaches.Indeed, the numbers show a slight rise in available roles for Latino actors. A recently released Screen Actors Guild report shows the total number of available parts in TV and movies for Latino actors climbed from 4.8 percent to 6 percent, from 2001 to 2002. That, the report said, represents a gain of nearly 400 roles, the biggest improvement of any ethnic minority group.
"Being Latin is a hot thing right now," Weber said. The Spanish market is getting a lot bigger. Look at artists like Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz and Eva Mendes.
Apple Sells Ten Millionth Song
Apple today announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over ten million songs from the iTunes® Music Store since its launch just over four months ago, averaging over 500,000 songs per week. The ten millionth song, "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne, was purchased and downloaded at 11:34 p.m. (PDT) on September 3.
The Death of the CD, DVD: RIP
In the 1950s, the revolution was all about rock 'n' roll. The 70s brought punk and disco. And sometime this decade, the rebellion shifted from the music genre to the digital domain....
"On-demand services are the future of entertainment delivery," said Josh Bernoff, principal analyst at Forrester. "CDs, DVDs, and any other forms of physical media will become obsolete."
Fantasy Sports Boom Online
Once considered a closeted hobby for numbers geeks, fantasy sports leagues are booming online, where they've become both a fast-growing business and an unlikely demonstration of Web publishing at its best. Fantasy sports leagues are now offered on major Web sites such as SportsLine.com, ESPN.com and Yahoo Sports, which covet the loyalty of the fans and their willingness to pay for services that greatly simplify what was previously a laborious pen-and-ink exercise.
September 9, 2003
Fat Cats and Dogs Need Better Diet
Overweight Americans and Europeans are overfeeding their pets, too -- and putting their health at risk, according to a report issued on Monday.The report, from the National Research Council, finds that one-quarter of the dogs and cats in the western world are obese. As with humans, this puts them at risk of diabetes, heart disease and other health problems.
It's often said that pets resemble their owners ...
-Tim
Comcast to Double Net Speed by End of Year
Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable operator, on Monday said it planned to double the downloading capability of its high-speed Internet service by the end of this year to distinguish its product from competitors."Our job No. 1 is increasing speed -- increasing from 1.5 megabits (per second) downstream to 3 megabits (per second) downstream," said Steve Burke, president of Comcast's cable division, at a Morgan Stanley media conference in Boston.
Health Costs Skyrocket
Faced with the largest price hike since 1990, firms pass more insurance costs on to their employees.The results are in, confirming what a lot of American workers may have already figured out for themselves. Health insurance costs continue to climb.
Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance increased almost 14 percent between spring 2002 and spring 2003 -- the highest increase since 1990 -- according to a survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Heath Research Educational Trust.
Women Dominate Fall Movies
Say goodbye to the boys of summer and say hello to the ladies of the fall: Julia, Renée, Meg, Nicole, Sharon, and Uma.From Julia Roberts and Halle Berry to Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger, box-office expert Paul Dergarabedian says this fall is all about girl power. He says, "It's about getting noticed, about doing work that's good, and critically acclaimed."
Watershed Reached for RFID
Earlier this summer, Wal-Mart Stores announced that by Jan. 1, 2005, radio frequency identification technology would become a requirement for doing business with the world's largest retailer. A line was drawn in the sand: RFID was going to happen....
Wal-Mart's pragmatic decision to start with RFID tags in the warehouse at the pallet and case level is quite prudent. Instead of rushing into things, Wal-Mart's more measured approach toward RFID offers a good model. Businesses can give suppliers the capability to produce RFID pallet or case labels with minimal technology--a browser session and a remote label printer.
September 8, 2003
Asian Mobile Phone Makers Push Nokia
Daily Express, Sabah, Malaysia:
Asia's mobile phone makers are mounting an aggressive campaign to build their presence in the region but challenging the dominance of heavyweight Nokia will be tough, analysts said....
Asian mobile phone makers, already major domestic players, are well-placed to make a big push in the region, where the device is increasingly considered a must-have consumer item with high-tech features such as cameras, radios and sharp colour screens the standard.
September 7, 2003
Islamic Foods Find Wider Audience
Driven by the fast-growing Muslim population, halal foods -- often described as "kosher for Muslims'" -- are headed toward wider popularity....
The surge has many people believing that the American halal food industry, now in its infancy, will follow kosher foods into the mainstream, pushed not only by the faithful but by non-Muslim consumers seeking clean, healthy foods.
The Rise of the 'Metrosexual'
[Ken] DeLeon may not know it, but he is a metrosexual - one of a growing number of urban guys (make that straight urban guys) who indulge in personal niceties that used to be mainly the purview of women. These guys get facials. They get their hair styled and colored. They get massages, manicures and pedicures. Some of them even shop for designer clothes -- and like it!They also occasionally get scorn heaped upon them by other guys. But apparently that's happening less and less, as guys wake up to two important facts about all this:
1. A lot of it makes you feel good.
2. A lot of women like the effect. They really, really like it.
Terror War Just Beginning
What is clear, analysts say, is that the nation is closer to the beginning than to the end of a global anti-terror campaign that some now liken to the Cold War, the simmering U.S.-Soviet conflict that divided the world along ideological battle lines in the second half of the 20th century."It is reminiscent, I think, of the late 1940s, early 1950s, when we recognized there was this herculean challenge before us that would not be resolved in a short period of time,'' said global security analyst Bruce Hoffman, vice president of the Rand Corp., a private research and consulting firm. ``It's many battles, in many places.''
The New Digital World of Film Stunts
"I'm very concerned about the sort of career my son is going to have," said Leonard, as he picked over a plate of biscuits and gravy at a restaurant near his ranch home in Agua Dulce. "There could be a time when all the stunt work is done on computers."Leonard is no Luddite. He knows that the growing use of digital technology is a boon to the industry, drawing audiences with the kind of death-defying scenes that no stuntman could ever perform. But at the same time, the ability to create stunts on a computer screen clouds the future of a community already struggling from the effects of runaway movie production and fierce competition for jobs. If that's not enough, makers of movies such as "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and the "Lord of the Rings" series increasingly are turning to actors to perform tasks that traditionally were handled by stuntmen.
SmarTruck: Future Army Wheels?
When James Bond decides to upgrade from the slew of BMWs that he's been driving, instead of tapping Q for a new vehicle, he might consider placing an order with the U.S. Army's National Automotive Center (NAC) for its latest creation: the SmarTruck.Based on the Ford F-250 platform, the SmarTruck features a plethora of high-tech innovations that make it ideal for the Army and for constantly changing battlefield locations. While the Humvee, which served the Army so well during Desert Storm, is a go-anywhere vehicle, it doesn't perform in urban environments as well as a more conventional vehicle does due to its wide stance and limited agility.
Making room for men
Once the almost exclusive domain of women, nursing is undergoing a masculine transformation. Lured by higher salaries, more job security and career flexibility, more men are becoming nurses.
September 5, 2003
Internet to screen first premiere
The writer of Oscar-nominated movie "The Full Monty" is premiering his latest film on the Internet, in a world first.Simon Beaufoy's latest film "This is not a love song" is being streamed online as it debuts simultaneously in a handful of cinemas.
The release of the new low-cost movie, which was made for under $800,000 and shot in less than two weeks, will be closely watched by filmmakers who find it difficult to find distribution deals for their productions.
September 4, 2003
Minorities' MCAS scores show big improvement
Boston minority students showed significant improvement on the latest round of MCAS tests, giving school officials hope that the achievement gap is closing.Although individual district and school results won't be released for another two weeks, Board of Education Chairman James Peyser said the most dramatic progress will likely be reflected in the urban schools, which have a high concentration of minority students.
'New Luxury' Players Soar in First Half of 2003, Despite Sluggish Economy
As the overall U.S. economy grew modestly during the first half of 2003, "New Luxury" players, whose high-quality products are targeted to middle-market consumers but cost more than traditional items, scored big gains. According to new research from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), New Luxury companies logged, on average, 18% sales gains."This new research reinforces that it's the American consumer's increasing
desire -- and willingness to pay more -- for quality and something special
that provides continued buoyancy for the economy," said Michael J.
Silverstein, BCG partner and co-author of Trading Up: The New American Luxury....
September 3, 2003
Friendster: A little cash goes a long way?
With a million members and counting, servers for six-month-old Web site Friendster are staggering under demand. Copycat competitors to the site are cropping up, and rumors of imminent subscription fees are riling members....
[The company just closed an angel investment] amounting to just more than $1 million. The investors include former Yahoo Chief Executive Tim Koogle, who will join the Friendster board of directors; former PayPal Chief Executive Peter Thiel; and former Amazon.com and Netscape Communications executive Ram Shriram.
...Friendster, still in its test, or beta, phase, has grown to its current size by creating permission-based individual networks of friends and acquaintances through which members can trade messages, view each other's home pages and write testimonials.
Universal Music to Cut CD Prices to Under $13
Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company, on Wednesday said it will cut list prices on compact discs by as much as 30 percent in an effort to boost sales that have been stymied by free online music-sharing services such as Kazaa....
"Our research shows that the sweet spot is to sell our records below $12.98," said Universal Music president Zach Horowitz. "We're confident that when we implement this we will get a dramatic and sustained increase."
Hormone Found to Suppress Appetite in Obese People
An extra dose of a hormone [YY 3-36 (or PYY for short)] produced by the digestive system can apparently curb the appetite of obese people, a study has shown.Volunteers who were given infusions of the hormone before a meal ate about a third less food than they did without it, providing the first direct evidence that the substance may provide a potent new weapon in the fight against obesity.
Urban Planning and Obesity
Further bolstering the argument, the advocacy group Smart Growth America has released a study of more than 200,000 people living in 448 counties that links urban sprawl with obesity, high blood pressure and lack of regular exercise.Portland has long been the darling of so-called "New Urbanist" advocates of mass transit, denser neighborhoods and strict design controls to promote walking. But it now may find itself at the forefront of a movement by public health advocates to consider -- or actually reconsider -- urban planning.
September 2, 2003
Growth of Edamame (Soy)
If you've been grocery shopping lately, you may have noticed something different-sounding among the frozen foods: edamame. Eda-what? Edamame (pronounced ay-duh-MAH-may) is the Japanese word for edible soybeans, and it's cropping up in the frozen section of supermarkets everywhere.Available in shelled or unshelled varieties, edamame is a quick-cooking snack that's loaded with nutritional value. Not only that, studies show that soybeans can help reduce the risk of strokes.
More companies help workers battle obesity
With two-thirds of U.S. adults overweight or obese, many businesses are offering workers weight-loss programs to try to reduce their hefty costs for obesity-related problems, from heart disease and diabetes to arthritis, stroke, certain cancers, depression and lost productivity.The cost of obesity to U.S. businesses -- for health care, sick leave and life and disability insurance -- is estimated at $12.7 billion, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Laptop Fuel Cells -- Ready for Takeoff?
Fuel cells that can run laptops for 10 hours or more without plug power have captured the imagination of computer junkies. But first, backers must prove that they are as safe to fly with as a cigarette lighter or a duty-free bottle of vodka.
September 1, 2003
The Quest for Cool
Cool may be our country's most precious natural resource: an invisible, impalpable substance that can make a particular brand of an otherwise interchangeable product -- a sneaker, a pair of jeans, an action movie -- fantastically valuable. And cool can be used to predict the future.The theory goes as follows: when cool people -- a group known to marketers as alpha consumers -- start talking or eating or dressing or shopping a certain way, noncool people (a group that most marketers belong to, by the way) will follow them. Watch the cool kids, the alpha consumers, today, and you can see what everybody else will be doing a year from now.
Rising Obesity in Children Prompts Call to Action
Prevention has always been a cornerstone of pediatrics, more so than in almost any other medical specialty. Pediatricians vaccinate and screen. They counsel parents on ways to keep children healthy and safe. One area that pediatricians have not typically focused on, however, is preventing young patients from becoming overweight. Yet in the last 20 years, those who work in the field say, obesity has become the most prevalent chronic health problem among American children....
"If you look at the number of kids who are overweight or at risk," Dr. Krebs said, "you're talking over 25 percent of our kids. If some infectious disease was affecting 25 percent to 30 percent of our children, you can be sure we'd be looking for some kind of vaccine.
China to cut 200,000 troops by 2005
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting:
China plans to cut 200,000 of its 2.5 million troops by 2005 in the next phase of its military modernization, military chief and former President Jiang Zemin announced on Monday.The move is part of the ruling communist party's long-term plan to streamline its people's liberation army, following a reduction of some 500,000 troops from 1996-2000, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Jiang as saying.
Car That Can Park Itself Put on Sale by Toyota
A car that can park itself without the driver having to touch the steering wheel, said by maker Toyota Motor Corp. to be a world first, went on sale in Japan on Monday.Toyota's new hybrid gasoline-electric Prius sedan uses electrically operated power steering and sensors that help guide the car when reversing into parking spaces.
Toyota President Fujio Cho sat in the driver's seat at a demonstration laid on for the press, surprising reporters by holding his hands up as the car quickly parked itself.
What's next? Automatic pilot? Wow!
-Tim
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