Reuters: Oddly Enough: Lawmakers cry "fowl" over move to help lesser prairie chicken

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Lawmakers cry "fowl" over move to help lesser prairie chicken Dec 1st 2012, 00:23 A lesser prairie-chicken is seen in this undated handout photo from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The USFWS on Friday announced a plan to consider having the lesser prairie-chicken listed as ''threatened'' under the Endangered Species Act. The move by U.S. authorities to consider placing the bird native to parts of the oil and gas belt on the Endangered Species List has drawn the ire of some western lawmakers. Credit: Reuters/US Fish and Wildlife Service/Handout By Ros Krasny WASHINGTON | Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:23pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A move by U.S. authorities to consider placing a small grassland bird native to parts of the oil and gas belt on the Endangered Species List has drawn the ire of some Western lawmakers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday announced a plan to consider having the lesser prairie chicken listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The lesser prairie chicken is a medium-sized, gray-brown grouse, smaller and paler than the greater prairie chicken, its close relative. Once found in abundant numbers across much of Southeastern Colorado, Eastern New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, Western Oklahoma and Western Kansas, the lesser prairie-chicken's historical range of native grasslands and prairies has been reduced by an estimated 84 percent, the service said. Lawmakers in major oil and gas producing districts immediately cried foul. "A listing will have permanent economic consequences for the people of Texas who live and work in the Permian Basin and the Texas Panhandle," said Representative Michael Conaway, a Republican. Conaway's sprawling West Texas district produces much of the state's oil and about one-quarter of its gas. Protecting the lesser prairie-chicken "could drive ranching families and energy producers out of business," said Republican Representative Randy Neugebauer, whose district in East-Central Texas is a large agricultural area. New Mexico's Steve Pearce, chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, said federal species regulation was being "driven by lawyers for extreme interest groups." "Listing cannot come soon enough for the lesser prairie chicken," said Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate for WildEarth Guardians, a Santa Fe environmental group that at one point sued the federal government in an attempt to protect the birds from oil and gas drilling. The Fish and Wildlife Service has opened a 90-day comment period on the lesser prairie-chicken and is seeking input from the public and from the scientific community before making its final decision. Four public hearings will be held in February. In the meantime, a number of state and federal agencies are working on a voluntary conservation planning effort to conserve the bird's habitat. "Regardless of whether the lesser prairie-chicken ultimately requires protection under the ESA, its decline is a signal that our native grasslands are in trouble," said Benjamin Tuggle, Regional Director for the Service's Southwest Region. "We know that these grasslands support not only dozens of native migratory bird and wildlife species, but also farmers, ranchers and local communities across the region," Tuggle said. Lesser prairie chickens are considered "vulnerable," a step short of endangered, by the UK-based International Union for Conservation of Nature, whose "red list" tracks the conservation status of various species worldwide. (Editing by Leslie Gevirtz) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: More than 100 graves robbed in Benin for voodoo rituals

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More than 100 graves robbed in Benin for voodoo rituals Nov 30th 2012, 12:01 By Samuel Elijah COTONOU | Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:01am EST COTONOU (Reuters) - Tomb raiders have dug up more than 100 graves at a cemetery in Benin since Saturday for what authorities suspect is a black-market trade in human organs and skulls for voodoo ritual fetishes. The incident is the most serious case of grave-robbing in the West African state, the world capital of voodoo where most of the country's 9 million residents practice a benign form of the official religion. Authorities in Dangbo, a village 10 km (6 miles) from the capital Porto-Novo, began an investigation after a mason working at the cemetery said he spotted several masked men digging up the graves, from which organs and skulls were removed. "The desecration of graves is about money in this region," said Joseph Afaton, director of the cemetery. "It is for sacrifices, or for bewitching." Body parts of humans and rare animals are prized by some people in central Africa for their supposed supernatural powers, and are used in occult ceremonies. Traffickers often obtain human remains from grave robbers, but a recent spate of killings has also been linked to the gruesome trade. Authorities in Cameroon in September arrested five people suspected of trafficking human body parts after they were discovered at a checkpoint carrying a severed human head. (Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: Read all about it: Pope has not cancelled Christmas

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Read all about it: Pope has not cancelled Christmas Nov 29th 2012, 12:08 Pope Benedict XVI leaves at the end of the general audience in Paul VI's Hall at the Vatican November 28, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Max Rossi By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY | Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:08am EST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - And so it came to pass that in the eighth year of Pope Benedict's reign, some tabloid and social media decreed that he had cancelled Christmas. The day after Benedict's latest book "The Infancy Narratives - Jesus of Nazareth" - was published on November 20, Vatican officials found some headlines they were not expecting. "Killjoy pope crushes Christmas nativity traditions," read one tabloid headline, claiming that Benedict had snubbed traditions such as animals in nativity scenes and caroling. "Pope sets out to debunk Christmas myths," ran another. Holy Scrooge! Some blogs unceremoniously branded Benedict the new Grinch that stole Christmas and one rocketed him to the "top of the grumpy list for 2012." And then there was this zinger headline from a web news site: "Pope bans Christmas". Coming little more than a month before Christmas, it was the last thing the Vatican needed - another image problem for the pope. Alarmed by some of the headlines, the Catholic social network XT3 felt compelled to run a blog that dissected the media's coverage of the book. It was headlined: "The pope has not banned Christmas". So what was all the fuss about? In the 137-page book, the pope states a fact: that in the gospels there is "no reference" to the presence of animals in the stable - actually, it was probably a cave - where Jesus was born. Bloggers had a feast with that, with one calling it "Bombshell number one". What some neglected was that just a few sentences down, the pope states that even today, "No representation of the crib is complete without the ox and the ass". He explains: The tradition of the ass and ox came from reflecting on parts of the Old and New Testaments. Christian iconography then adopted the motif early in Church history to show that even animals knew Jesus was the son of God. KEEP ON CAROLLING In other words, the tradition that has developed over the centuries matters more than an unverifiable fact, at least as far as the case of the ox and ass in the stable is concerned. "I think that what people need to realize here is that the pope is trying to be as historical as he can be," said Father Robert Dodaro, professor of patristics, or the study of early Church writings, at Rome's Patristic Institute. "He wants to see the biblical narratives as history where possible but he is also trying to explain details in the narratives that cannot be historically verified," he said. Some bloggers, taking their cue from television and website headlines, even wrote that the pope had spoken out against Christmas carols. In the book, the opposite was true. Benedict says the evangelist Luke wrote that at the moment of Jesus' birth the angels "said" the well-known phrase "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased". But in the next line he explains that "Christianity has always understood that the speech of angels is actually song", that "the angels' song of praise has never gone silent", and that it is "only natural that simple believers (even today) join in their caroling on the Holy Night". So, no need to cancel any school performances. Another section of the book that irked some bloggers is where the pope restates what biblical scholars have known for decades, if not centuries - that Jesus was born several years earlier than the first century AD. Benedict writes that since King Herod died in 4 BC, Jesus was probably born "a few years earlier". He attributes the erroneous fixing of the year of Jesus' birth to a miscalculation by the monk Dionysius Exiguous some 500 years later. "No one's faith should be shaken by this book," said Dodaro. "On the contrary, it should be fortified by this account. This is a believable account of the birth of Christ," he said. And in St Peter's Square, workmen have started building the Vatican's larger than life nativity scene, which is expected to have animals and singing angels. (Reporting By Philip Pullella) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: Japanese man's childhood dreams give birth to giant robot

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Japanese man's childhood dreams give birth to giant robot Nov 29th 2012, 03:03 1 of 4. Japanese artist Kogoro Kurata, inventor of the giant ''Kuratas'' robot, climbs out of its cockpit at an exhibition in Tokyo November 28, 2012. The four-meter-high, limited edition, made-to-order robot is controlled through a pilot in its cockpit, or via a smartphone. The four-tonne (4,000 kg) ''Kuratas'' can be customised in 16 different colours, and is armed with a futuristic weapons system, including a multi-rocket launcher that fires plastic rockets filled with compressed water. Credit: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: British farmer hunts buried Spitfires in Myanmar

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British farmer hunts buried Spitfires in Myanmar Nov 28th 2012, 17:50 By Peter Schwartzstein LONDON | Wed Nov 28, 2012 12:50pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - A British farmer and flying enthusiast who has spent the past 16 years scouring the jungles of Myanmar believes he has finally found what he was searching for - a horde of buried Spitfire fighter planes dating back to World War Two. Rumors of a huge treasure trove of buried aircraft in Myanmar have circulated for years but now geological surveys of one specific site have lent credibility to the idea and David Cundall plans to start digging as soon as possible. "I've been digging up dumpsites and crashed military aircraft for 35 years, but this is something else," Cundall, 62, told reporters. Why an estimated 36 planes - and possibly more - should have been buried in the tropics of southeast Asia, is a source of much speculation. But what is known is that after four years of brutal battles against the occupying Japanese forces, the victorious British buried much of their inventory in 1945. And at Mingaladon airfield, just outside the former capital city of Yangon, Cundall thinks he's found the exact location. Cundall first caught wind of the tales of buried British airplanes in the late 1990s. He spent two years grappling with visa restrictions, and after amassing eight matching eyewitness accounts of the exact location where U.S. and British servicemen had dug a massive trench, he devoted himself to the project. Long encumbered by unhelpful local bureaucrats and beaten to the initial contract by an Israeli bid, a thaw in the West's relations with Myanmar - formerly known as Burma - facilitated the excavation process. British Prime Minister David Cameron is believed to have discussed the recovery of the aircraft during a trade visit to Myanmar earlier this year. In the event, with a 50 percent share in whatever is dug up, Myanmar's cooperation is not entirely altruistic. There are only about 40 airworthy Spitfires left in the world, and with models in good condition commanding prices of several million pounds each, Cundall is potentially sitting on a fortune. However, what condition the haul will be in after decades immersed in tropical soil remains to be seen. "Unlike some aircraft which suffered terribly from the heat and humidity, Spitfires had a very good reputation for reliability," said John Delaney, collections manager at Britain's Imperial War Museum in Duxford, eastern England which has several vintage military aircraft. "But what kind of condition they're in now depends on how well they were packed." Cundall says he's unconcerned by their exact state. "It's like opening a can of 67-year-old beans. It's not going to be at its best, but if you're hungry, you'll eat it." Project archaeologists are at pains to point out that no physical evidence has been uncovered yet. Neither is there any obvious reason why an air force should take the trouble to pack and bury a near-obsolete model of aircraft. Even lead archaeologist Andy Brockman concedes it might all turn out to be an elaborate wild goose chase. "It's a story that needs investigating," he said. The monsoon season rains ended in late October, and after a two month hiatus to allow the water table to drop, Cundall and his team hope to start digging in earnest in early January. (Reporting by Peter Schwartzstein, editing by Paul Casciato) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: China party mouthpiece ridiculed after missing "sexy" Kim joke

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China party mouthpiece ridiculed after missing "sexy" Kim joke Nov 28th 2012, 09:59 1 of 2. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his wife Ri Sol-Ju attend the opening ceremony of the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground on Rungna Islet along the Taedong River in Pyongyang in this July 25, 2012 photograph released by the North's KCNA to Reuters on July 26, 2012. Credit: Reuters/KCNA SHANGHAI | Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:47am EST SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tongue-in-cheek clearly doesn't come naturally to the Chinese Communist Party's official mouthpiece and the stodgy People's Daily may have to eat crow for it. The newspaper's website published an extensive photo spread of pudgy North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday, apparently falling for a spoof report by the satirical U.S.-based website The Onion naming Kim the "Sexiest Man Alive for 2012". It certainly amused readers - though perhaps not as intended. The photo spread - here - was re-posted and commented on more than 25,000 times by Wednesday afternoon on the Sina Weibo microblogging site. "Now I understand our party's aesthetical standards," said a blogger by the name of "butterfinger". The People's Daily website, run separately from the print version, did not mention in photo captions or text if it understood the satirical nature of The Onion, and an editor reached by telephone declined to comment. "This was just a normal report. We covered The Onion's report objectively and factually," he said. If the spoof article was mistaken for being genuine it would not be a first for China's tightly controlled media. In 2002, the Beijing Evening News ran a story quoting The Onion about the U.S. Congress threatening to leave Washington D.C. for Memphis or Charlotte unless the city gave it a new Capitol building with a retractable dome. To some readers the Kim spread - which showed him riding horses, shaking soldiers' hands, clapping, waving - was an embarrassment. "The People's Daily congratulates Mr. Kim Jung-un as the sexiest man in the world and the whole world is laughing," microblogger "Fu Laidi" said on Weibo. "I just want to know if the editor was fired or not ... according to China's news rules, this is a very serious accident ... all the foreign media are laughing at us," wrote "Zhen Ye Ku Shami". At least one user took pity on the People's Daily. "You know how hard it is to pick positive news about North Korea?" wrote "Hacintosh". "When they finally find one, no matter what, they just put it on online." The People's Daily print edition feeds readers a steady diet of pro-forma propaganda, including reports on the activities of China's leaders, texts of state policies and feel-good tales of model workers. But the website has been given a long leash in some sections to pull in readers. Other items in the photo section where the Kim report appeared, included "Stunning video: boa pukes out cow", "Celebs and their kids", and "'Sex Tape' official at work". The Onion, meanwhile, updated its story with a link to the People's Daily photo spread, calling the paper "a proud Communist subsidiary of The Onion, Inc." here,30379/ "Exemplary reportage, comrades," it said. (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Writing by John Ruwitch; Editing by Jason Webb and Robert Birsel) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: Pot-protecting alligators greet U.S. police probing gunshots

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Pot-protecting alligators greet U.S. police probing gunshots Nov 27th 2012, 23:56 By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington | Tue Nov 27, 2012 6:56pm EST OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - Detectives who responded to reports of a shooting at a home in Washington state found a floor-to-ceiling stripper pole, 15 marijuana plants and two angry, five-foot alligators guarding them, police said on Tuesday. The alligators were kept in a room with the marijuana plants and hissed at detectives who opened the door, said Thurston County Sheriff's spokesman Lieutenant Greg Elwin. "This was a fairly atypical event," Elwin said. "We see brass poles from time to time, but there were alligators." A resident of the house in Olympia, 41-year-old Darren Shore, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after telling detectives he had fired at a car on his property in self-defense out of fear it would run him down, Elwin said. A 30-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds to the arm and back was treated at a nearby hospital for non life-threatening wounds. Elwin declined to release the man's name. Shore's story didn't match up with the evidence at hand, which suggested he fired in a premeditated attack as soon as the car arrived on his property, Elwin said. Before being taken away, Shore offered to help the detectives secure the alligators. The three of them lured the reptiles into a bathroom with raw chicken parts, Elwin said. The alligators, which Shore owned legally, were left with a bathtub full of water and the chicken for food. "It was one of those frier assortments, with legs and wings," Elwin said. "The alligators seemed to like them." With Shore in jail, the reptiles were left in the care of a woman who also lives at the house, who Elwin identified as an exotic dancer. (Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Todd Eastham) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: Gimme shelter and light therapy at Swedish bus stops

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Gimme shelter and light therapy at Swedish bus stops Nov 27th 2012, 16:33 STOCKHOLM | Tue Nov 27, 2012 11:33am EST STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Commuters in the northern Swedish town of Umea are being treated to ultra-violet light therapy as the long, dark winter for which the Nordic state is renowned draws in. Energy company Umea Energi has decided to install ultra-violet lights at about 30 bus stops for people, which will be in place for the next three weeks. "This is so people can get a little energy kick as they are waiting," said Umea Energi marketing chief Anna Norrgard. Umea is about 600 km north of capital city Stockholm. The company also wanted to highlight the fact that its energy comes from environmentally sound sources, she said. Any harmful rays from the light have been filtered out of it, the company said. Much of Sweden is plunged into long, dark winters, often with lots of snow. The sun in Umea currently rises at about 8 a.m. local time (02.00 am EDT ) and sets at 3 p.m. The daylight hours are shortest in December, when the sun comes up at about 10 a.m. and disappears again at about 2:30 pm. Some towns north of the Arctic circle have no daylight for several weeks in the winter.

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: China's top paper goes to town with "sexy" North Korea's Kim

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China's top paper goes to town with "sexy" North Korea's Kim Nov 27th 2012, 17:18 BEIJING | Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:18pm EST BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top newspaper went to town on Tuesday with a 55-page online picture spread of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un being named The Onion's "Sexiest Man Alive for 2012", appearing to fall for a spoof by the U.S. satirical website. Seemingly clueless as to the real nature of The Onion's tongue-in-cheek award for Kim, the People's Daily splashed full-page photographs of the portly young leader riding horses, clapping his hands, waving and clasping children's cheeks on his tours around North Korea. "With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true," the English online edition of the People's Daily quoted The Onion as saying. here "Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile." The People's Daily is the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party and because it is widely believed to broadly reflect thinking within the Chinese government, it is among the better regarded newspapers in the country. "He has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time," the People's Daily quoted Marissa Blake-Zweiber, an Onion editor, as saying. A time stamp on the Onion website suggests it had published its satire piece on Kim earlier this month. The Onion said previous winners of its "Sexiest Man Alive" award include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is fighting an uprising against his rule, and financial swindler Bernie Madoff, who is serving a 150-year prison sentence. China is Pyongyang's only major ally, with Beijing concerned a political or economic collapse in North Korea could send a wave of refugees to its poor northeast. (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; editing by Jason Webb) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: Police probe how Romney security data became NYC parade confetti

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Police probe how Romney security data became NYC parade confetti Nov 27th 2012, 16:31 By Peter Rudegeair NEW YORK | Tue Nov 27, 2012 11:31am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Police are investigating how shredded documents revealing confidential information, including details about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's motorcade, wound up as confetti on a Manhattan sidewalk during the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Bits of shredded paper from the Nassau County Police Department could still be found on Monday afternoon in the cracks of the sidewalks along Central Park, according to Saul Finkelstein, the eyewitness who first alerted authorities to the problem. Thousands of pieces of shredded paper were scattered along the parade route at 65th Street and Central Park West shortly after the parade began on Thursday morning, Finkelstein and his son, Ethan Finkelstein, 18, told Reuters. Upon closer inspection, the confetti contained information from Nassau County police incident reports plus the names, social security numbers and bank account information of Nassau County police officers and employees. Other scraps included information about Mitt Romney's motorcade to and from the October 16 presidential debate at Hofstra University in Nassau County, which borders New York City to the east on Long Island. "It was everywhere," Saul Finkelstein said, estimating the scraps piled three inches off the ground. The Finkelsteins scooped up and took home several handfuls, a small percentage of what was on the ground, Ethan Finkelstein said. The Nassau County Police Department on Monday reiterated its statement from Saturday that it was very concerned and would investigate how the documents got to Manhattan and review how it disposes of sensitive documents. Authorities could not say how shredded paper from a Long Island police force ended up along the parade route. The confetti Macy's uses in the parade is multicolored and commercially manufactured confetti, not shredded bits of printer paper, a Macy's spokesman said in an email. Parade spectators often bring homemade confetti to the parade. Both spectators in the crowd and participants in the parade were throwing the shredded Nassau County documents at each other, Saul Finkelstein said. Two internal affairs officers from the Nassau County Police Department visited Finkelstein's home on Sunday to recover the shredded documents and take a statement, Saul Finkelstein said. Revealing shreds of Nassau County police documents were still on the ground on Monday, Saul Finkelstein said. (Reporting By Peter Rudegeair; Additional reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Paul Simao) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: Japan school trains wannabe "Santa-sans"

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Japan school trains wannabe "Santa-sans" Nov 27th 2012, 10:35 TOKYO | Tue Nov 27, 2012 5:35am EST TOKYO (Reuters) - Magic tricks and straight answers are all part of being Santa in Japan - at least according to Tokyo's Santa Claus Academy, which trains St. Nicks in a country with little Christian tradition and a Christmas that's far more retail than religion. On a recent weekend, 88 Santa wannabes packed the school in Tokyo's fashionable Roppongi district for a crash course in how to behave as "Santa-san," as the man in red is known in Japan. "There are many children who don't believe in Santa Claus anymore," said Masaki Azuma, head of the school. "So I said to myself, 'Let's bring Santa Claus back.'" The morning session began with Azuma training students in the mindset of being Santa Claus, such as not to reply to anything unless addressed as "Santa-san," along with teaching them magic tricks, which Azuma recommends as a good ice-breaker for often shy tots. The rest of the session was devoted to answering the difficult questions that children have a habit of posing, such as "My house doesn't have a chimney and we also have a security system, so how will you be able to come in and deliver my present?" The academy's answer is that Santa, whose job is to deliver presents no matter what, will find a way. Also, the home security system should recognize him and let him in. After this, the students dressed in their Santa outfits to stroll streets in the busy Omotesando district, exchanging high fives with shoppers and occasionally stopping to pose for pictures. "Not only were we able to attract attention, we also interacted and made each other's days," said Kazuko Iida, who visits local preschools and retirement homes during the Christmas season. Despite nearing 70, Azuma has vowed to press on with his school, believing it has a key role to fulfill. "Even as times change, Santa Claus is a figure that needs to live in the hearts of everyone," he said. (Reporting by Kimiteru Tsuruta, editing by Elaine Lies) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: South Korean church to end car venture with North: source

Reuters: Oddly Enough Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

South Korean church to end car venture with North: source Nov 27th 2012, 09:47 Reverend Moon Sun-myung, head of South Korea's Unification Church, takes part in the awards ceremony after the 2007 Peace Cup Korea final soccer match at the World Cup Stadium in Seoul in this July 21, 2007 file photo. Credit: Reuters/Jo Yong-Hak/Files By Ju-min Park SEOUL | Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:47am EST SEOUL (Reuters) - One of the more bizarre joint ventures in car-making is set to come to an end following the death of the head of South Korea's Unification Church which it is to give its stake in the Pyeonghwa Motors operation to North Korea. Pyeonghwa, which produces models based on ageing Fiat SpA designs as well as those of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, is the sole carmaker in isolated North Korea, although few of its impoverished citizens are able to afford its products. "Pyeonghwa Motors' South Korean side is planning to pull out from the joint automaker and donate its 70 percent stake to the North," said a source familiar with the transaction, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Spokesmen for the church were not immediately available for comment. Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church and a sprawling business empire, died in September aged 92. He was born in what is now North Korea The church's joint venture with North Korea, set up in 2002, was one of the few to survive a freeze in relations between the North and South following the shooting of a South Korean tourist in 2008 by North Korean troops. "The Unification Church's Moon made a will to give back the auto business with the North before he passed away. It is not because its business wasn't doing well," said the source. Pyeonghwa produces about 2,000 vehicles a year, according to the source, in a country where most independent estimates say that gross domestic product per capita is less than $2,000. Other estimates put Pyeonghwa's output at 1,000 cars a year or less. While many North Koreans can only dream of owning a car, it appears that the country's top leadership prefers something a little more upmarket. When leader Kim Jong-il died in December last year, he took his final journey atop an aged Lincoln Continental, which was accompanied by a fleet of black Mercedes sedans. Pyeonghwa is based in the North Korean city of Nampho and the company says on its website (www.pyeonghwamotors.com/eng/) that its 10.76 million square foot factory has the capacity to produce 10,000 vehicles a year. It listed sales as 1,873 vehicles in 2011. North Korea has vowed to become a "strong and prosperous nation" by 2012, although initial expectations that its youthful new leader Kim Jong-un would open the country for more business appear to have been dashed. Investors from China, the North main diplomatic and economic backer, have complained that they have been shaken down while doing business there. (Writing by David Chance; Editing by Robert Birsel) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: World's first toilet park flush with success in Korea

Reuters: Oddly Enough Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

World's first toilet park flush with success in Korea Nov 27th 2012, 03:28 By Jane Chung SUWON, South Korea | Mon Nov 26, 2012 10:28pm EST SUWON, South Korea (Reuters) - Rodin's Thinker is pondering even harder than usual as he sits astride a toilet at what has been dubbed the world's first theme park dedicated to the humble restroom - a monument to one South Korean man's vision. The park, located about an hour outside of Seoul in the city of Suwon - otherwise known as the home of Samsung Electronics - centers around a toilet-shaped museum building that was once the home of Sim Jae-duck, founder and first president of the World Toilet Association. Legend has it that Sim, a former Suwon mayor who made his fortune with a metal products business and was dubbed "Mr Toilet," was born in his impoverished grandmother's outhouse. "He is a man whose life literally began in a toilet and ended at a commode-shaped house," said Lee Yeun-sook, manager of planning at the "Mr Toilet Sim Jae-duck Foundation". Sim, who died in 2009 at the age of 70, shot to fame in South Korea when he provided loos for soccer fans when the country hosted the 2002 World Cup. The organization he founded has as its mission spreading the benefits of hygienic toilets around the world, joining the like-minded World Toilet Organization based in Singapore. Before Mr.Toilet's house was donated to Suwon city, visitors could book it for an overnight stay, but at the cost of $50,000 a night - the charge to raise money for a toilet building charity. There were no takers. Other exhibits at the park include Korean traditional squat toilets, European bedpans, and Marcel Duchamp's sculpture "Fountain," a porcelain urinal. Suwon has since dubbed itself the mecca of toilet culture and has pushed to get toilets recognized as a central part of everyday life. It has funded toilet building programs in developing countries such as the Philippines. At home, toilet conditions have rapidly improved as South Korean living standards shot from poverty to riches in a generation. "For our generation, a toilet was a very dirty and smelly place where you never wanted to go," said Kim Gye-soon, a 52-year-old tourist at the theme park. "But now it is totally different." Suwon will continue the life-work of one of its most famous sons by constructing a toilet culture center in 2014 near the current park, which has attracted about 40,000 visitors since it opened in July. Like many of the best things in life, the toilet museum is free. "Going to the restroom is as vital as eating. In a sense, nations and governments should work to make sure everyone has an equal access to toilets and feels happiness in there," said Lee. (Reporting By Jane Chung, editing by Elaine Lies) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: Three from California family drown in ocean trying to save dog

Reuters: Oddly Enough Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Three from California family drown in ocean trying to save dog Nov 26th 2012, 22:56 By Ronnie Cohen SAN FRANCISCO | Mon Nov 26, 2012 5:56pm EST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California mother and father and their 16-year-old son were swept out to sea over the weekend after a deadly chain of events set off when the teenager jumped into frigid waters to save the family dog from turbulent Pacific Ocean waves. The dog escaped on his own from the water off the Northern California coast. But Howard Kuljian, 50, and Mary Scott, 54, of Eureka died while their 16-year-old son, Gregory Kuljian, remained lost at sea, said Deputy Ariel Gruenthal of the Humboldt County Coroner's office. "The dog was able to get out somehow," said Dana Jones, a state parks and recreation district superintendent. "It's very sad, and we just always have to be aware when we're around the ocean that nature is sometimes out of control." The tragedy began on Saturday afternoon while the family, including an 18-year-old daughter who was unharmed, was walking with Gregory's girlfriend along a steep beach at Big Lagoon, about 270 miles north of San Francisco, Jones said. Howard Kuljian threw the dog a stick, she said, and a wave, possibly as high as 10 feet, pulled the animal into the water. The son went in first to try to rescue his dog, Jones said. "Then the father went in to save the son. The mother was swept in at that point," she said. "The waves are big and powerful, and that's a very steep beach. The waves pound the beach. When the waves are pounding like that, you don't have a chance to breathe." A bystander summoned help while Olivia Kuljian, 18, and Gregory's girlfriend, Lily Loncar, 16, watched in horror, Gruenthal said. Rescuers found the bodies of Howard Kuljian and Scott close to the shore, Jones said. The U.S. Coast Guard searched by air and sea for Gregory, but fog, darkness and the impossibility of survival prompted them to quit on Saturday evening, said Lieutenant Bernie Carrigan of the Coast Guard. He estimated the water temperature at between 55 and 57 degrees, so cold that hypothermia would rapidly set in, though a dog's coat would protect against it. "It's kind of a reminder to never turn your back on the ocean," Carrigan said. "It's neat to see that kind of power. It's also dangerous." (Editing By Cynthia Johnston and Andrew Hay) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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Reuters: Oddly Enough: Grandfather takes China by storm - as women's fashion model

Reuters: Oddly Enough Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Grandfather takes China by storm - as women's fashion model Nov 26th 2012, 20:39 1 of 12. 72-year-old Liu Qianping, also known as ''MaDiGaGa'', poses during a modelling shoot in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou November 24, 2012. Liu was visiting his 24-year-old granddaughter, Lu Ting in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou one day when the women's clothes Lu was packing into boxes caught his eye. His visit came as the model that his granddaughter and four friends had booked for a photo shoot to promote their online fashion business suddenly cancelled, so, Liu, a 72-year-old former farmer visiting to escape the chilly winter of central Hunan province, stepped in to help. Picture taken November 24, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Tyrone Siu By Stefanie McIntyre GUANGZHOU, China | Mon Nov 26, 2012 3:39pm EST GUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Liu Qianping was visiting his 24-year-old granddaughter in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou recently when the women's clothes the aspiring fashion entrepreneur was packing into boxes caught his eye. His visit came as the model that granddaughter Lu Ting and four friends had booked for a photo shoot to promote their online fashion business suddenly canceled, dealing a setback to their new venture. But Liu, a 72-year-old former farmer visiting to escape the chilly winter of central Hunan province, stepped in to help. "I walked into the room and saw them packing up some clothes and I thought they looked quite interesting and quite cute," Liu told Reuters. "So I tried on a jacket and they found it really funny, and I thought it was quite funny. So they asked if they could take pictures of me and post them on the Internet to sell the clothes. And I said, 'why not?'" It was at that time two weeks ago that a star was born. Liu, known affectionately as "MaDiGaGa" - funny elderly - is now one of China's most recognized models. Delighted with his new fame, Liu says he now sometimes looks at fashion program on television for ideas on how to pose but generally relies on Ting's team for direction. He does, however, have his own opinions on styling. "He will tell us which items should be stronger and what should be improved," Ting said. "He really likes bright, contrasting colors while I prefer more tone-on-tone combinations. So he gives lots of advice when we try different combinations, so we have some very different styles." Since her grandfather became involved, visits to their online site have increased four-fold and continue to rise. Liu, who traveled to Shanghai with his daughter for the first time last week after they were invited to appear on television, said he had been approached by other companies to model for them but had turned them down. "I never dreamed of lucky things like these happening to me. Now, my name has spread to everywhere in the country," he said. Ting has been criticized on the Internet and accused of using her grandfather, but he insists the experience has put a spring in his step and she says they are now closer than ever. "We have no firm plans on how long we will continue, it depends on my grandfather," Ting said. "If he is happy and his health is fine, we will keep using him as our model." To see our TV version of this story please click on: http://here . (This story has been refiled to fix link to TV item) (Reporting by Stefanie McIntyre, editing by Elaine Lies and Anne Marie Roantree) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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