| South China Villagers Slam Pollution From Rare Earth Mine
HONG KONG—Villagers in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong are battling an illegal rare earth mine in their neighborhood which they say has poisoned the local water supply and wiped out their fish-farm stock and rice crops. Around 600 residents of Shangmankeng village, near Heyuan city in the northeastern part of the province, have had their lives devastated by severe pollution from the mine, according to one campaigner, identified only by his surname, Li. “Local officials, corporations, and triads [Chinese criminal organizations] are all in cahoots on this, otherwise this project would never have gotten off the ground," Li told RFA's Cantonese service. 'We can't work' “The rice crop that was already sown has totally failed. We can't work.
Wild Card/Vacation Day 11 of 12
Only two more shopping days until I return to the final days of the City Council campaigns. Then, we'll have fun taking apart the campaigns. Any dirt yet? Any mudslinging. You know, the good stuff. Or is everyone behaving? My wife is now looking over my shoulder -- literally -- so I have to pretend that I'm just checking ball scores. See ya in two days. Here's Wild Card ... .
Hollywood Still Plagued by Prejudice
Otis Boykin invented the electronic device for guided missles, IBM computers and the pacemaker. Garrett Morgan invented the gas mask and the traffic signal. And what would we have done as kids in the cafeteria without George Washington Carver? He invented peanut butter and 400 other plant products. .
Golf Gift Do's and Don'ts
Save the receipt, however, and don't take the shrink wrap off the clubhead. At some shops, doing so will instantly reduce the club's return value by 30%, even if it never strikes a ball. (Feel free to buy clubs for kids or beginners, though, since they haven't yet had time to build the full-scale equipment neuroses that avid golfers develop.) Another generally safe golf-gift category is books, if only because they aren't wildly expensive and the recipient can easily store (or hide) a golf book on a bookshelf -- read or unread, you'll probably never know. Golf books come in two categories: humongous and those actually meant to be read. The former, usually filled with lush photographs of exotic courses taken either 30 minutes before sunset or 30 minutes after sunrise, are essentially golf pornography.
Inside Iverson's block party
Before surrendering to the authorities Tuesday morning, Allen Iverson threw one last shindig for family and friends at his house Sunday night. So, what happened that evening at the estate of the Sixers star? The following timeline was gathered with the help of surveillance cameras, audio bugs and eyewitness accounts. .
Engineered Mosquitoes Could Wipe Out Dengue Fever
Scientists at a British biotech company said they have evidence that their genetically modified mosquitoes, which are programmed for sudden, early death, can control the spread of dengue fever. Dengue is carried by mosquitoes and is the scourge of urban areas in the developing world, much as malaria is in rural regions. The company, Oxitec, said it can decimate mosquito populations by breeding genetically modified male mosquitoes, then releasing them to mate with wild females. Their offspring contain lethal genes that kill them young, before they can reproduce. Company officials told Wired News that their latest test results show that the genetically modified bugs can breed just as well as wild ones. "We will be able to control dengue through controlling the mosquitoes that transmit it, especially in large urban areas," said the company's chief scientist Luke Alphey.
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