"An aid official in Burma says the death toll from Cyclone Nargis may be 80,000 or more."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/07/2238323.htm

"ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said coastal developments had resulted in mangroves, which act as a natural defence against storms, being lost."

"A study of the 2004 Asian tsunami found that areas near healthy mangroves suffered less damage and fewer deaths."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7385315.stm

"LOS ANGELES - An Iraqi man sued two U.S. military contractors, claiming he was repeatedly tortured while being held at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison for more than 10 months.

Emad al-Janabi's federal lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles, claims that employees of CACI International Inc. and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. punched him, slammed him into walls, hung him from a bed frame and kept him naked and handcuffed in his cell beginning in September 2003."

"The lawsuit also claims the contractors conspired in a cover-up by destroying documents and other information, hid prisoners during periodic checks by the International Red Cross and misled military and government officials about what was happening at Abu Ghraib."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080506/ap_on_re_us/abu_ghraib_lawsuit_6

"BAE Systems is developing electronic spiders, insects, and snakes to help soldiers gather information without exposing them to dangerous situations on the battlefield, according an announcement the defense giant released this week. The effort is being funded by a $38 million agreement with the U.S. Army."

"A promotional video released by BEA depicts some of the prospective designs and how soldiers might deploy and process the information the robots gather. The video shows robot spiders scurrying around corners and mechanical dragonflies hovering in windows, with images transmitted to wrist-mounted monitors and command centers, warning them of potential threats."

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9935339-7.html

>>	Junior Field Reporter 08/05/06(Tue)19:04 No.6442   File: 1210125869860.jpg -(12778 B, 310x240) Thumbnail displayed, click image for full size. >>6420 Good point. We'd better stick to watching our own citizens.

"NEW YORK - The number of city teachers yanked from their classrooms because of accusations of wrongdoing has doubled in four years, and some spend years collecting their salaries while awaiting disciplinary hearings, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Their pay costs the nation's largest public school system an estimated $65 million a year, not including the cost of hiring substitutes or renting space for the so-called "rubber rooms" where accused teachers spend their work days"

"As of Jan. 29, one teacher accused of sexually abusing a child had been assigned to a rubber room for five and a half years"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080504/ap_on_re_us/teachers__rubber_rooms

>>

Sling!XD/uSlingU 08/05/05(Mon)04:51 No.6415   File: 1209988266723.jpg -(88852 B, 399x320) Thumbnail displayed, click image for full size. "A padded cell is a cell in a mental hospital with cushions lining the walls; this is done for the patients who want to commit suicide.[citation needed] The pads prevent the patients from hurting themselves by hitting their heads on the hard cement walls. A padded cell is sometimes colloquially known as a 'rubber room'[citation needed]." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padded_cell

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Saddam Hussein feared catching AIDS or other diseases during his U.S.- supervised captivity, a leading Arab newspaper said Monday in publishing excerpts of his prison writings.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D90FNFF80&show_article=1

"BAGHDAD — The ugly daily fight for ground in the poor Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City unfolded Saturday at a small mosque next door to a hospital, damaging the hospital and a number of its ambulances, and near a group of children who were wounded as they gathered tin cans to sell for salvage.

The missiles that hit close to the Sadr General Hospital were American. After a night of clashes in the neighborhood, the Americans fired at least three “precision-guided munitions” at the small building next door to the hospital. Neighbors said the building was used as a place of prayer for pilgrims, hospital employees and neighborhood residents, but the military identified it as a command center for the Shiite militias that it is battling."

"The military announced Saturday that an American soldier was killed Friday when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in eastern Baghdad."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/world/middleeast/04iraq.html

"Hydrogen sulfide gas suicides are becoming an even greater problem, with daily news reports of new suicides by gas. Last night’s news broadcast contained the following chart, which shows the number of people who committed suicide by gas in April"

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=4171
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/24/detergent.suicide.ap/

"US rock band the Nine Inch Nails are giving away a second new album online, just two months after the first.

The 10-track record, called The Slip, is available for free from the band's website "as a thank you to our fans for your continued support", they said. "

"Singer and songwriter Trent Reznor has attacked his former record label Universal for "ripping off" fans, and once told a crowd to "steal, steal and steal some more"."

""For those of you interested in physical products, fear not. We plan to make a version of this release available on CD and vinyl in July.""

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7384324.stm

"More evidence is being put forward that breastfed babies eventually become more intelligent than those who are fed with formula milk.

Canada's McGill University found breastfed babies ended up performing better in IQ tests by the age of six.

But the researchers were unsure whether it was related to the breast milk itself or the bond from breastfeeding."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7385097.stm

"LONDON, May 6 - A digital satellite television service from broadcasters ITV and the BBC launched across Britain on Tuesday, offering high definition programming and more than 80 channels for no monthly fee.

The service, called Freesat, will be available in 98 percent of households, as Britain continues the process of switching off the analogue signal in favour of digital. "

"Set-top box prices will start from 49 pounds ($96.25), with a high definition box available from 120 pounds, plus installation costs from around 80 pounds."

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSL0647231620080506