Americans willing to have robotic surgery: poll

By Patricia Reaney
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Trust and reliance on the Internet have increased so much that nearly half of Americans said they would have robotic surgery conducted via the Internet, according to a new poll.
Americans are so accustomed to shopping, paying bills and banking on the Internet that they didn't baulk when asked in a survey if they would have robotic web-based surgery or use electronic tracking units to keep tabs on young children.
"Many Americans are now ready to trust their lives and the safety of their children to the Internet," Zogby International, which conducted the poll, said in a statement.
Nearly half of the 3,030 Americans questioned in a survey said they would have Internet-based, life-saving, robotic surgery performed over the web by an overseas surgeon.
"It makes sense because there has been a progression in almost everything else," John Zogby, the CEO of the company, said in an interview.
"The most amazing thing to me, really, is the growing facility and acceptance of the Internet as part of our daily routines," he added.
The majority of people questioned also approved of using tracking devices for children under 12 years old if it transmits signals on a password-protected website they could track.
Women were only slightly more likely than men to approve a tracking device, with 55 percent backing it, while 51 percent of men favored use of such a device.
"This is a spontaneous result, so that just the concept wasn't shocking," said Zogby.
Older Americans were more likely to approve of the tracking device, while younger people, particularly 25 to 34-years olds, were more open to Internet surgery. People 70 years and older were the most reluctant to trust a robot with their life.
Although Americans are becoming more dependent on the Internet for a variety of services, they are also concerned about its uses. Thirty percent believe the Internet should be regulated.
The Zogby survey, done in late May and early June, showed that 84 percent of Americans have Internet access, including 90 percent of likely voters.
"We're getting close to universality, as far as Internet penetration," Zogby added.

Source: Reuters

Ballet dancers aim for glory at Moscow competition

By James Kilner
MOSCOW (Reuters Life!) - One of the world's most prestigious ballet competitions opened in Moscow's Bolshoi Theater on Thursday, with dancers hoping to pirouette their way to fame.
Held every four years since 1969, this is the 11th international Moscow ballet competition and about 120 of the top aspiring ballet dancers from across the world are in competition for the gold medals.
Andrey Pisarev, 23, who dances at Ukraine's national ballet had finished practicing his moves in a rehearsal room.
"For me, this is the biggest and most important ballet competition in the world," he said.
"It's like the World Cup of ballet."
His father, Vadim Pisarev, won the competition in 1985.
"He became famous around the world after that win," Pisarev said.
On Thursday, dancers as young as 14 glided and jumped across the stage of the Bolshoi's second theater -- the New Stage -- where the competition was being judged.
The Bolshoi's main stage, located in a different building, is under long-term renovation.
School children and middle-aged women dominated the audience and clapped intermittently during the performances which lasted a few minutes each.
In the wings, though, the atmosphere was tense. In silence, parents and trainers made last minute adjustments to the dancers' outfits, while the competitors stared stony-faced at the stage as they waited to perform.
During the lunch break, Zoya Danilenko, 22, watched the competition practice on the stage. The Moscow-based Ukrainian was due to dance on Friday.
"I'm nervous, but my parents will be far worse when they are watching," she said.
And standards are high.
Italian ballet dancer Margarita Parrilla, who has danced the lead roles at the Rome Opera House, was one of the judges. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Just a Minute With: John Krasinski on "Away We Go"

By Iain Blair
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Thanks to hit television show "The Office," John Krasinski has become one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood -- in demand for TV and movies.
In his latest film, "Away We Go," he plays an earnest, expectant father on a cross-country road trip with pregnant girlfriend (Maya Rudolph) in search of the ideal place to call home.
Directed by Oscar-winner Sam Mendes, and co-starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney and Catherine O'Hara, the film opened to mostly good reviews.
Krasinski, whose movie credits include "Dreamgirls," "Leatherheads" and "Shrek the Third," spoke to Reuters about making the film and why he'll stay on the hit comedy "The Office."
Q: How would you describe this film?
A: "It's about belonging and figuring out who you are, not only geographically but emotionally and mentally. It's not a pregnancy movie, but as Sam (Mendes) says, 'it's the catalyst to make us rethink where we're at and where we're going.' I think it's very timely -- rethinking who you are and who you want to be is something everyone's going through.
Q: Is it true the role was written with you in mind? That's very flattering for an actor.
A: "That's what they tell me. (Laughs) I keep telling (screenwriter) Dave Eggers, 'You know I'm not Ryan Gosling, right?' It's a great compliment. I remember reading the script and thinking, when 74 people pass, maybe I'll have a shot."
Q: You worked with Sam before on war film "Jarhead." This must have been a very different experience for you?
A: "One hundred percent different, especially as I have hair in this. I've seen Sam do two types of movies - the huge budget production with enormous sets and design and so on, and then the smaller, more intimate film like this. In my opinion, he's the greatest storytelling director we have, and there's plenty of great directors out there."
Q: How surprised were you to then get a call from him saying he was only considering you?
A: "I was on the set of "The Office" and my agent told me he wanted to talk, and we'd kept in touch a bit since "Jarhead." When he called and told me he couldn't imagine anyone else in the part, I really thought I was in the middle of some huge prank. I thought maybe George Clooney was behind it. It was totally surreal to get that call. If I read something like this, I'd be, 'Yeah, sure, that never happens.' But it did and I'm still amazed."
Q: How much of you is there in (lead character) Burt?
A: "I hope there's a lot of me, only because he's such an incredibly sweet guy. He's very earnest, and I hope everyone strives to be earnest. I hope I'm an earnest guy. I also hope I'm a little more focused and complex than Burt."
Q: You and Maya have great chemistry together. Any surprises working with her? Continued...
Source: Reuters

Anne Frank diaries to be moved to Anne Frank House

By Ben Berkowitz
AMSTERDAM (Reuters Life!) - Anne Frank's diaries are coming home for what would have been her 80th birthday had she survived the Nazis.
The Dutch government, the institute to which Otto Frank left his daughter's famed diaries and the foundation that runs the Anne Frank House said on Thursday that all of her writings will go on display at the house from November.
"Anne is coming home, her work will return here," Dutch Culture Minister Ronald Plasterk said at a press conference before the signing of the permanent loan agreement.
Anne Frank became famous posthumously for the diaries she kept while in hiding from the Nazis with her family in Amsterdam during World War Two. First published in 1947 and now translated into more than 70 languages, her diary remains one of the world's best-selling books.
The Jewish teenager and her relatives hid in a warehouse annex until they were betrayed and arrested in August 1944. Anne Frank, who died the following year in a concentration camp, would have been 80 years old on Friday.
When he died in 1980, Otto Frank left her papers to what is now the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation.
The institute has regularly loaned parts of the diaries to the house for display, but the full collection -- including the original chequered diary in which she began to record her thoughts - has been elsewhere.
The collection will be displayed in a new exhibit hall at the house, which is one of the major tourist draws in the city.
But J.F. Westra, director of the Anne Frank House, told Reuters the agreement was not intended to necessarily increase business for the museum, but rather to educate those who already plan to come.
"We think it will be an inspiration for our visitors," Westra said.
(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: Reuters

New, superheavy element to enter periodic table

BERLIN (Reuters) - A new, superheavy chemical element numbered 112 will soon be officially included in the periodic table, German researchers said.
A team in the southwest German city of Darmstadt first produced 112 in 1996 by firing charged zinc atoms through a 120-meter-long particle accelerator to hit a lead target.
"The new element is approximately 277 times heavier than hydrogen, making it the heaviest element in the periodic table," the scientists at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The zinc and lead nuclei were fused to form the nucleus of the new element, also known as Ununbium, Latin for 112.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), confirmed the discovery of 112 by the team led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Helmholtz Center. IUPAC has asked for an official name for the element to be submitted.
John Jost, executive director of IUPAC in North Carolina, told Reuters that creating new elements helped researchers to understand how nuclear power plants and atomic bombs function.
The atomic number 112 refers to the sum of the atomic numbers of zinc, which has 30, and lead, which has 82. Atomic numbers denote how many protons are found in the atom's nucleus.
Scientists at the Helmholtz Center have discovered six chemical elements, numbered 107-112, since 1981. The remaining five elements have already been recognized and named.
In 1925, scientists discovered the last naturally occurring element on the periodic table. Since then researchers have sought to create new, heavier elements.
Proving the existence of atoms with such a high mass, the so-called superheavy elements, is a complex procedure because they exist for only tiny fractions of a second and then decay radioactively into other elements.
(Reporting by Jacob Comenetz, editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: Reuters

Stalin residence symbol of Abkhaz independence

By Amie Ferris-Rotman
KHOLODNAYA RECHKA, Georgia (Reuters Life!) - Army green and nestled amongst lemon trees, the luxurious dacha once belonging to the Soviet Union's most notorious leader is hidden on a cliff top overlooking Abkhazia's lush Black Sea coast.
It was here that the mustachioed, hyper-paranoid Josef Stalin plotted and entertained party officials and his mistresses for 20 years. He hung chandeliers absconded from murdered Czar Nicholas II and watched Charlie Chaplin films in an airy, wood-paneled cinema.
The dacha has become emblematic of this sub-tropical strip of land. It belonged to a Georgian, is now inhabited by an ethnic Abkhaz and has piqued the interest of Russians.
Over the past few years wealthy Russian businessmen have offered millions for the three-floored mansion, Abkhaz government sources said. But they were dissuaded when Georgia claimed everything in the breakaway region was its property.
Now Abkhaz self-styled president Sergei Bagapsh lives on the top floor, while Stalin's shortened beds and netted ceiling lamps -- he was embarrassed by his stout stature and had a deep fear of shards of glass -- lay as he left them.
A 250 rouble ($8.09) bribe slipped to one of Bagapsh's guards will get you in to Stalin's favorite dacha -- he had up to 70 across the Soviet Union -- which is officially closed to the public.
It is encircled by scores of orange-roofed huts, where thousands of guards protected the man behind the Great Terror of the 1930s and the notorious Soviet labor camps, who was obsessed by the fear of assassination.
"It is one of Abkhazia's gems and it belongs to us," said one of the guards, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Russia recognized Abkhazia, which has a population of around 250,000, as independent last year after its war with Georgia's other breakaway region South Ossetia.
Bagapsh has repeatedly said Abkhazia will not be absorbed into Russia, though aid packages and a steady flow of tourists from the motherland have made the former playground of the Soviet elite dependent on Moscow.
"We are a small republic without our own currency and dependent on the Russian rouble," the region's Economy Minister Kristina Ozgan told Reuters.
Though pockmarked from the separatist war with Georgia in 1992-93, this sub-tropical strip of land attracts tens of thousands of Russian tourists drawn by prices long gone in the motherland and a longing for Soviet nostalgia.
Russian-backed shiny hotels and restaurants have sprung up along the winding promenade in the region's capital Sukhumi.
The economic crisis, however, is shattering Abkhazia's tourist ambitions.
Fifty-one year-old Ashot, who sells plots for vineyards inland and south of Sukhumi, blames the drop in custom on Russia: "They have a crisis in Russia, so now we have one. They are Abkhazia's lifeline." (Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: Reuters

Rebel Abkhazia's tourist dreams hampered by crisis

By Amie Ferris-Rotman
SUKHUMI, Georgia (Reuters) - Burned-out Soviet tower blocks loom over the Black Sea coast of Georgian breakaway region Abkhazia, whose ambitions to become a tourist hotspot are shattering as the global crisis cripples Russia's economy.
Though pockmarked from the separatist war with Georgia in 1992-93, this sub-tropical strip of land attracts tens of thousands of Russian tourists drawn by prices long gone in the motherland and a longing for Soviet nostalgia.
Russian-backed shiny hotels and restaurants have sprung up along the winding promenade in the region's capital Sukhumi.
Filling such places, though, is getting difficult.
"I fear this crisis, and it's making it hard to say if people will come or not," said Nikolai Chekhalin, a 26-year old hotel manager from Nizhny Novgorod in western Russia.
He runs the Inter-Sukhum in the capital, which charges 1,200 roubles ($38.47) for a single room and was revamped from a crumbling Soviet eyesore last August.
New buildings clash with bombed out health resorts across the 8,000-square km (3,088 sq miles) strip that was once the playground of the Soviet elite.
Rates at the hotel will be slashed by a fifth beginning next month if demand slumps as expected, Chekhalin added.
Fifty-one year-old Ashot, who sells arable plots for vineyards inland and south of Sukhumi, blames the drop in custom on Russia: "They have a crisis in Russia, so now we have one. They are Abkhazia's lifeline."
While it is difficult to gauge the health of the economy -- the government will not start calculating its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) until 2010 -- total trade more than doubled in the past four years to 7.1 billion roubles ($228.7 million) in 2008, Abkhazia's Economy Minister Kristina Ozgan told Reuters.
Citrus fruits, persimmons and hazelnuts are sent to Russia, while Turkey, home to half a million ethnic Abkhaz who fled before and during the separatist war, buys up timber.
"We are a small republic without our own currency and dependent on the Russian rouble," Ozgan said.
This means fewer tourists, she said, but more worryingly: "Prices have shot up on building materials, making it difficult to construct and putting off investors."
This year, the government expects to make 1.55 billion roubles ($49.92 million) in revenue from tourism and trade with Russia and Turkey.
Russia and Georgia's war last August over second breakaway region South Ossetia have also scared off investors who fear violence could also befall Abkhazia, hotel manager Chekhalin said. Continued...
Source: Reuters

WITNESS: Third time lucky in crime-ridden Johannesburg

Serena Chaudhry, Johannesburg correspondent for Reuters, moved to South Africa from Britain in 1995 and joined Reuters full-time in 2008 to report on companies in Africa's biggest economy. In the following story, Serena writes about her experiences in one of the world's most dangerous cities.
By Serena Chaudhry
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - When the white sports utility vehicle pulled up as we backed out of our driveway, I thought it was the delivery man my mother was waiting for.
Until one of the passengers jumped out, pulled a bright orange mask over his head and ran toward our car: in seconds he stood in front of us with his finger on the trigger of an AK-47 rifle, pointing it directly at me.
It was just days before the election and African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma was telling millions of South Africans the party had accomplished many things, including its fight against crime and how it would make the streets safe before hosting the 2010 World Cup.
"Oh no," I said to my father, who first thought it was some kind of practical joke. I froze. It was only when the man trained his weapon at my father that I ducked. The thought of watching my father getting shot through the windshield was too much.
Zuma has promised stepped-up efforts against crime, particularly organized crime and offences against women and children. So far little has changed since 2000, when two men appeared outside our house with pistols as we waited for the electronic gate to open.
My mother, her friend and her daughter and I managed to run into the house just after the barrier slid open, but they stole the car, our handbags and a goldfish in a plastic bag filled with water which was supposed to be a pet for my younger brother.
There are very few people I know in South Africa who have not fallen victim to crime. Over the years, I have heard many stories about murders, rapes, robberies and car jackings. The country has one of the world's highest rates of violent crime, with 18,487 murders, 36,190 rapes, and 14,201 reported carjackings in 2007-8, according to police.
About 50 people are murdered a day -- slightly more than the rate in the United States, which has six times South Africa's 50 million population.
I wonder if my relatives from London, or millions of other tourists for that matter, will be safe when they attend the World Cup. It's not just the crime: it's how brazen the criminals are.
BROAD DAYLIGHT
In the most recent incident, my father reversed out of the driveway and sped off, beeping the horn, as the gunman and three others, including a woman driver, pursued us in broad daylight.
Another time, we woke up to gunshots from policemen firing on armed men who had broken into our kitchen.
I try to stay calm when I am on assignment, although covering company news is not nearly as stressful as the slightest bark from my dog at night, which makes me jolt up, wondering if this time my luck might run out.
I may be overreacting -- after all, crimes are far more frequent in poor black areas. There is something called township justice -- when criminals are attacked by residents who don't want the added burden of crime in their poverty-stricken life. Continued...
Source: Reuters

MTV uses anime to fight human trafficking in China

By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - One of China's most sought-after actors is starring in an animated short-film about human trafficking and sexual exploitation, issues that have plagued the country, and Asia, for decades.
Zhang Hanyu, who won the Chinese equivalent of an Oscar at the Golden Horse awards in Taiwan last year, lends his voice to the Mandarin version of "Intersection," will be shown on Music Television (MTV) China this weekend.
Thai and English versions have already been broadcast on MTV's Southeast Asia channels, and versions in other Asian languages are planned.
The film is told from the perspective of five people, including a brothel owner, a trafficker and the victim. Both humorous and darkly depressing, "Intersection" is designed to put its message across in a medium young people can relate to.
"I hope the animation will stir meaningful conversations among youth about how we can fight against this tragic form of modern-day slavery," Zhang said.
Chinese actress Yuan Quan and Taiwanese singing and acting veteran Alec Su also give their voices to the film, described by MTV as an "adrenaline-fueled animation."
The United Nations estimates that out of the two million women and children trafficked every year, 30 percent are in Asia. "Intersection" was produced by MTV EXIT's (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign, which works with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to raise awareness about human trafficking.
MTV EXIT has previously worked with such international stars as Angelina Jolie and South Korean pop sensation Rain.
"We're using a different medium, animation, to alert young people about the risks of human trafficking," said Olivier Carduner, USAID's Mission Director for Asia.
The film is also meant to be used by non-governmental organizations and even schools to spread its message.
Trafficking is an issue in China, which has said it was making progress in fighting the problem, both domestically and from Southeast Asian nations such as neighboring poverty-stricken Myanmar. It has resorted to harsh punishments to deter it, including the death penalty.
The trafficking of women into China in particular is driven by poverty and a skewed sex ratio in parts of the countryside, which makes it difficult for many farmers to find wives.
Poverty also forces many desperate Chinese to try to illegally enter other countries by paying traffickers known as "snakeheads," who often charge their victims exorbitant sums of money and force them to work as virtual slaves when they arrive.
In April, state media reported that Chinese police had broken up a ring trying to smuggle about 300 mainly young people into Costa Rica.
(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Source: Reuters

South Korea's box office king returns with "Mother"

By Angela Moon and Kim Junghyun
SEOUL (Reuters Life!) - The South Korean director whose movie about a mutant river monster became the country's biggest box office hit has a new film on what might be an even more terrifying subject -- an maniacally obsessive mother.
The movie from Bong Joon-ho, simply titled "Mother," is about a parent with overbearing love for her son, who has been charged with murder. The film was warmly received last month when it debuted at the Cannes film festival and has quickly become one of the biggest films of the year in South Korea.
"Many mothers out there may want to go out for a drink after seeing this movie," Bong told Reuters. "I wanted the story tragic. My previous movies all had a sense of comic relief, but I wanted this to have a different tone."
The mother at the center of this crime drama, who will go to any length to prove her mentally fragile son with a spotty memory is innocent of murder, is played by veteran actress Kim Hye-ja.
The widow has a special and disturbing bond with her son who is incapable of leading a normal life: she feeds him, guides him through the day and sleeps next to him at night.
Critics highly regard Bong, 39, and his ability to produce movies with mass market appeal that mix humor and pathos to explore dark and complex themes.
Acclaimed films include "The Host," the first local movie to top $100 million at the box office, and which told of a dysfunctional family bonding together to defeat a mutant monster that terrorized Seoul and kidnapped one of their own.
Bong said it was a nerve-rattling thrill to have a debut for "Mother" at Cannes. It was not in competition.
"As a director, or just a film fan who wants to enjoy the festival, Cannes is the worst place to be. But it must be a paradise for distributors and importers," said Bong.
"But then at the same time, it's the hottest place to unveil my work, I must admit. It's hard to resist Cannes."
(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Source: Reuters

Sick but at work? Study finds it's worse in the long-run

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Sick but still going to work? You'll probably end up taking more sick days in the future than colleagues who stay at home when unwell, according to a Swedish study.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet of Stockholm found that employees who often go to work feeling sick -- termed "sickness presenteeism" -- have higher rates of future work absences due to illness.
Gunnar Bergstrom, who led the study, said these findings suggest that measures attempting to decrease work absences could inadvertently have the opposite effect and show that taking sick-leave when appropriate benefited the workplace.
"Discouraging workers from staying home when they are sick could lead to increased sickness presenteeism, and thus inadvertently increase sick leave," Bergstrom said in a statement.
"This underscores the importance of sickness presenteeism in the evaluations of such interventions and considering the effects from a long-term perspective."
The study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, was based on research involving two groups of workers -- about 3,750 public sector employees who were mainly female, and 2,500 private-sector employees who were mainly male. In the first year of the study, 19 percent of public sector workers and 13 percent of private sector workers had more than five "sickness presenteeism" days.
For these workers, the risk of having more than 30 days of sickness absenteeism the following year was 40 to 50 percent higher that for employees who had less days sick in the office, after adjustment for other factors.
Bergstrom said recent studies have shown that sickness presenteeism is common, with most employees saying they go to work sick at least sometimes.
Poor health is one likely risk factor for sickness presenteeism, but other job-related and personal factors could also play a role, according to the researchers.
(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Source: Reuters

Dismal job market for graduating U.S. students

By Erin Kutz
BOSTON (Reuters) - Facing the worst job market in a generation, students graduating from America's universities say they are willing to do just about anything for work.
Some are taking unpaid internships, publishing blogs to document their troubles, applying to nonprofit organizations instead of more lucrative private-sector jobs or even moving back with their parents.
Mike Rubino, who studied public relations at Boston University, had never considered a career as a teacher. But as the end of his final year of college neared with the U.S. economy in a tailspin, he had a change of heart.
After watching his classmates scramble for the same limited pool of jobs, Rubino sent his resume to Teach for America, a nonprofit AmeriCorps program that enlists graduates to teach in low-income rural and urban public schools for two years.
He got the job a month before graduation.
"I realized how lucky I was that I had a guaranteed two-year salary," he said.
Only 43 percent of employers in a survey by online job website CareerBuilder.com intended to hire new college graduates this year, down from 56 percent in 2008 and 79 percent in 2007. The site surveyed about 2,500 hiring managers and human resource officials from February 20 to March 11.
The survey also showed that one in five employers plan to reduce starting salaries for college graduates from what they were last year.
"A lot of students think, 'I may not get the job I want right now so I might as well do this and put that other job on hold,'" said Dick Leger, director of Boston University's career services office.
Rubino is not alone. More than 35,000 people applied to Teach for America jobs this year, up 42 percent from last year, said Teach for America spokeswoman Kerci Marcello Stroud. Even graduates from America's most elite schools applied.
Eleven percent of all seniors at Ivy League schools such as Harvard University and Yale applied to the program.
Nationally, less than 20 percent of graduating college seniors who applied for a job this year have one, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That's down more than 30 percent from two years ago when more than half of those who applied for a job had one by the time of graduation.
'NOT GOING TO LAND MY DREAM JOB'
University of Missouri journalism graduate Carrie Bien has taken an innovative approach to youthful joblessness by documenting the trials of finding work on a blog, "The Final 30 days," that illustrates a big shift in expectations among many graduating American students.
"I have now come to terms with the fact that right out of college, no matter how hard I worked in undergrad, I am not going to land my dream job," she wrote in one entry. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Aboriginal kids get free laptops to fight illiteracy

By James Regan
ELCHO ISLAND, Australia (Reuters) - Soon after getting a green laptop distributed free to Aboriginal school children in hopes of combating illiteracy and truancy, Jericho Lacey learned his computer was good for more than just homework.
From his home on Elcho Island, an impoverished tropical outpost, Lacey writes school essays and occasionally plays "maze games" and surfs the net.
"Hopefully, my children will become digitally connected to the rest of the world," Jericho's father Marcus told Reuters. "This island is not very close to anything."
In the middle of the Arafura Sea and about 2,000 kms (1,200 miles) northwest of Sydney, the former Methodist mission island is no paradise for its inhabitants.
Peanut and banana farming was abandoned decades ago, leaving little or no work on the island for the 2,000 or so adults.
Alcohol is banned to stem domestic violence and cars run on a type of petrol that can't be inhaled after gasoline sniffing became a popular and dangerous past-time for the island's youth. Pornography is also banned on the island.
Organizers behind the program hope to combat the monotony of island life with new-found interests such as surfing the net and offering the 1,200 school-age children opportunities to learn of the world beyond the dense mangrove swaps that surround the sea.
"We're trying to gives these kids a shot they might not otherwise get growing up here," said Barry Vercoe, who heads the Asia-Pacific arm of One Laptop Per Child, an international charity he says has so far given away 1.5 million computers.
To date, about 2,000 laptops have been delivered to three schools in indigenous communities in Australia, where illiteracy can be multi-generational and English hardly, if ever, spoken.
The charity was founded by Nicholas Negroponte, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher, and has given computers to school-age children as far afield as Cambodia, Rwanda and Papua New Guinea.
Through private donations and corporate sponsorships Vercoe hopes to donate 400,000 computers in Australia over the next two or three years, all directly to indigenous school children.
"When we have the opportunity to inoculate against ignorance and illiteracy we must take it," Vercoe said.
Studies indicate that illiteracy among Aboriginal children has long been underestimated. A report by education ministers in Australia estimates one in three indigenous third grade students failed to meet a minimum reading standard established by the government for all Australians.
Australia is less than two years into a nationwide initiative to intervene in communities heavily populated by Aboriginals, in some instances sending in police and the army to enforce alcohol bans and conduct health checks for children.
A report by the Australian Education Union commissioned to examine government intervention in the Northern Territory found that about $1.6 billion is needed to ensure Aboriginal students have the same opportunities as non-Aboriginal students. Continued...
Source: Reuters

U.S. college grads shun Wall Street for Washington

By Wendell Marsh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wall Street may be losing its luster for new U.S. college graduates who are increasingly looking to the government for jobs that enrich their social conscience, if not their wallet.
In the boom years, New York's financial center lured many of the brightest young stars with the promise of high salaries and bonuses. But the financial crisis has tainted the image of big banks, and with fewer financial jobs available, Uncle Sam may be reaping the benefit.
"Some grads might have seen two of their older siblings go through the dot-com crash and the emptiness of that, and now the Wall Street crash, just chasing after the big bucks," said John Challenger, chief executive of job placement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Some of the appeal of Washington simply reflects the grim reality of graduating in the midst of the worst recession in decades. The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in May, which means new graduates are competing with a large pool of older unemployed workers for a limited supply of jobs.
A report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers projected a 21.6 percent decrease in new hires among college graduates. Almost every sector was hit, with banking taking the biggest blow, dropping 70.9 percent.
"Students don't see the private sector as being as viable this year," said Edwin Koc, director of strategic and foundation research for the Pennsylvania-based NACE.
Of the roughly 1.6 million students who recently graduated from college, only 19.7 percent had secured jobs upon graduation in May, according to NACE's 2009 student survey.
But Labor Department data shows employment in the Washington area has increased since early 2008, even as other regions have lost jobs.
"D.C. is the only place where we can point to that is actually adding jobs right now, and we also know that the government is hiring thousands of people to oversee both the (economic) stimulus package and all the associated projects," said Marisa Di Natale, Senior Economist for Moody's Economy.com.
GIVE BACK
Challenger said the excitement surrounding the election of President Barack Obama, who enjoyed huge support on college campuses, was also attracting young graduates to government and government-service contractors.
Britini Wilcher is one of them. Wilcher, a recent graduate from Spelman College in Atlanta, spent two summers as an intern for Merrill Lynch, which was hard hit by the financial crisis and taken over by Bank of America Corp last year.
When it came time to look for full-time employment, Wilcher wanted to do something with a bigger social impact.
The California native will be working in Washington for a government consulting firm where she will specialize in economic development.
"It's becoming trendy to take your community into your hands and give back, which is a good thing," Wilcher said. "People are empowered by the current political climate." Continued...
Source: Reuters

Carrie Prejean fired as Miss California

By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beauty queen Carrie Prejean, who ignited a furor at the Miss USA pageant by taking a stand against gay marriage, has been fired as Miss California for violating her contract, officials said on Wednesday.
Prejean, who nearly lost her Miss California crown last month following the same-sex marriage flap and revelations that she had posed topless at age 17, failed to fulfill her duties, a pageant spokesman said.
"This was a decision based solely on contract violations including Ms. Prejean's unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA organization," Keith Lewis, the pageant's executive director, said in a statement.
The pageant said owner Donald Trump, who had stood by Prejean, 22, despite the uproar over her same-sex marriage remarks and racy photos, backed her dismissal.
"I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss California USA organization and I gave her the opportunity to do so," Trump said in the statement.
"Unfortunately it just doesn't look like it's going to happen and I offered Keith my full support in making this decision," he said. "Carrie is a beautiful young woman and I wish her well as she pursues other interests."
Pageant officials said first runner-up Tami Farrell would assume the crown and take over Prejean's duties as Miss California.
Prejean's remarks at the Miss USA pageant came after judge and Internet gossip Perez Hilton asked her if every U.S. state should legalize same-sex marriage.
She responded that "in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised."
Her views, and the strident reaction to them, came in the midst of heated nationwide debates over same-sex weddings which have recently been legalized in five U.S. states but banned in a California referendum in November.
Prejean defended her answer while acting as a fill-in host on the "Fox and Friends" program on the Fox network. She said her position was similar to that taken by President Barack Obama.
(Editing by Xavier Briand)

Source: Reuters

U.S. seniors hunt jobs as retirement hopes fade

By Carey Gillam
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Jean Johnson is 81 years old and suffering from diabetes. But instead of relaxing in retirement, she recently started a new job.
"I need money. My social security check just doesn't make it, with rent and the gas bill to pay," said Johnson, who took a job in March at a library in Danforth, Illinois. "I need to work."
Amid the economic downturn, shrinking retirement accounts, increasing costs for food and medicine, and stiff competition for even entry-level jobs, evidence is building that the dream of a comfortable retirement is dying for many Americans.
The ranks of the elderly looking for work has swelled more than 120 percent to more than 1.8 million in the last year. Among that group, those who were 75 and older increased by 80 percent, according to data from the National Council on Aging.
There are some 29 million seniors - those 55 and older - employed or actively looking for work in the United States, which is about 18 percent of the civilian labor force.
And their numbers are expected to grow.
"This economic crisis has had just a horrible impact on the entire population, but it has had a very severe impact on older people," said Sandra Nathan, workforce development vice president at the National Council on Aging.
Nathan said her organization was seeing a record number of people seeking assistance with job training and employment.
"Before people used to retire and stay retired. Now what we have are people 75 years old and older who are still in the workforce," Nathan said.
With a national unemployment rate at 9.4 percent, the highest in more than 25 years, the odds are stacked against older Americans seeking work. An array of new or expanded programs, however, are aimed at leveling the playing field.
The U.S. government has allocated stimulus dollars to bolster programs targeted at getting older workers onto private payrolls and off of the shaky U.S. social security system. Even individuals over 75 are being encouraged to get training and job hunting help.
"The recovery act funds came about at exactly the right time," said Judith Gilbert, who heads the older worker program at the U.S. Department of Labor.
STIMULUS MONEY
The department is funding efforts in all 50 states that employ low-income earners who are 55 and over and employed in government or nonprofit jobs that are considered to benefit communities.
The goal is to provide these workers an immediate source of income and ease entry into similar jobs in the private sector. Continued...
Source: Reuters