Rabbi Urges Pig Fat on Buses to Stop Bombers
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A prominent Israeli rabbi has proposed hanging bags of pig fat in buses to deter Muslim suicide bombers who may want to avoid contact with an "unclean" animal, an Israeli official said on Thursday.
The idea -- suggested by Rabbi Eliezer Fisher, a rabbinical judge, in a letter to police -- signaled the extremes to which some Israelis may be willing to go to stop Palestinian bombers who have killed hundreds of Israelis in recent years.
Judaism, like Islam, considers pigs unclean. But the ultra-Orthodox rabbi has ruled that special dispensation can be given for placing bags of lard in buses and public places in an effort to prevent attacks.
Police had no immediate comment on the proposal.
Asked about the deterrent capability of pig fat on Israeli buses, Palestinian sources called it an exercise in futility.
Islamic militants are told by those who send them on bombing missions that their souls enter Paradise instantly after they explode despite any contamination or defilement of their bodies.
"It's not a problem if it saves lives," Israeli Deputy Public Security Minister Yaakov Edri said, referring to the breaking of Jewish religious law.
"I personally support it," Edri told Reuters. "If it can deter even one suicide bomber -- then wonderful. Security authorities must consider it."
An article on the rabbi's proposal published on the Web site of the Israeli newspaper Maariv drew dozens of e-mail responses from readers ranging from incredulous to complimentary.
TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES
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Gambler Faces 'Indentured' Servitude?
Gambler Faces 'Indentured' Servitude?
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who failed to settle a gambling debt called police after his dentures were seized as collateral, police said on Thursday.
"He called us saying he was afraid he might have to live off liquid food for the next few days," said a police spokesman in the western city of Dortmund.
Police persuaded a 51-year-old local man to hand over the dentures after the owner promised to settle a 150 euro ($186.6) debt.
"He gave us a great big smile at getting them back," police said.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who failed to settle a gambling debt called police after his dentures were seized as collateral, police said on Thursday.
"He called us saying he was afraid he might have to live off liquid food for the next few days," said a police spokesman in the western city of Dortmund.
Police persuaded a 51-year-old local man to hand over the dentures after the owner promised to settle a 150 euro ($186.6) debt.
"He gave us a great big smile at getting them back," police said.
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Comedians' View of the U.S. Election Campaign
Comedians' View of the U.S. Election Campaign
WASHINGT0N (Reuters) - With the U.S. presidential election campaign under way, late-night comedy television show hosts are taking a humorous look at the candidates.
Here are some lines broadcast on Thursday:
NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno":
"One critic says today one thing missing from the film (The Passion of The Christ) is they don't show enough miracles. ... We still have miracles today, like Dennis Kucinich beating John Edwards in Hawaii."
"John Kerry beat John Edwards in all three primaries this week. He has now won 18 out of 20. Edwards has one win and 19 losses. I can't tell if he is running for president or playing for the Orlando Magic."
CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman":
"We had a scare down in Washington at the White House. A man hopped over the fence surrounding the White House and he was tackled by Secret Service. I believe this is the first person to get into the White House unlawfully since Bush."
WASHINGT0N (Reuters) - With the U.S. presidential election campaign under way, late-night comedy television show hosts are taking a humorous look at the candidates.
Here are some lines broadcast on Thursday:
NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno":
"One critic says today one thing missing from the film (The Passion of The Christ) is they don't show enough miracles. ... We still have miracles today, like Dennis Kucinich beating John Edwards in Hawaii."
"John Kerry beat John Edwards in all three primaries this week. He has now won 18 out of 20. Edwards has one win and 19 losses. I can't tell if he is running for president or playing for the Orlando Magic."
CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman":
"We had a scare down in Washington at the White House. A man hopped over the fence surrounding the White House and he was tackled by Secret Service. I believe this is the first person to get into the White House unlawfully since Bush."
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Baseball Fans Say Goodbye to a Bad Ball
Baseball Fans Say Goodbye to a Bad Ball
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A flash of explosive charges shredded an infamous baseball into a spaghetti-like heap on Thursday as fans of the Chicago Cubs publicly demolished the ball that may have cost the team its first trip to the World Series in 58 years.
With an international cable-TV audience on hand and beer-drinking fans cheering in a tent set up on a closed city street and in bars around town, the ball was exploded inside a clear protective case by an Oscar-winning special effects expert.
The destruction of the ball followed weeks of hype that also raised money for juvenile diabetes research.
Not present was the Cubs fan who bobbled the ball out of play during the National League playoffs last summer.
The "execution" was arranged by Harry Caray's Restaurant, founded by the late Hall of Fame Cubs broadcaster. The restaurant bought the ball at auction for $113,824 from another Cubs fan who ended up with it during the game.
The long-suffering Cubs were leading 3-0 and five outs away from their first trip to the World Series in 58 years when a Florida Marlins pop-up in the eighth inning of game six sealed their fate. Cubs outfielder Moises Alou said he had a chance at the ball but for a fan who tried to grab it, sending it into the seats and out of play.
The Cubs collapsed, allowing eight Marlin runs in the inning and the win. Florida went on to take the deciding seventh game and later to win the World Series against the New York Yankees.
Umpires ruled there was no fan interference, but the man who deflected the ball was showered with abuse, had to be escorted from the stands for his own safety, and remains an object of ridicule on Internet sites to this day.
The lifelong fan, Steve Bartman, issued a blanket apology saying he had no idea the ball was playable and would never have done anything to stop the Cubs from getting to the championships, which they have not won since 1908.
The ball wound up in the hands of a 33-year-old lawyer who was seated nearby.
Thursday was chosen as the date for the ball's destruction because the restaurant founded by Caray holds a worldwide toast to him on that day, which falls between his birthday and the day he died in 1998.
The restaurant said the destruction occurred along with a simultaneous toast to Caray at drinking establishments in all 50 states and viewing parties were also planned from Uganda and Pakistan to Tokyo
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A flash of explosive charges shredded an infamous baseball into a spaghetti-like heap on Thursday as fans of the Chicago Cubs publicly demolished the ball that may have cost the team its first trip to the World Series in 58 years.
With an international cable-TV audience on hand and beer-drinking fans cheering in a tent set up on a closed city street and in bars around town, the ball was exploded inside a clear protective case by an Oscar-winning special effects expert.
The destruction of the ball followed weeks of hype that also raised money for juvenile diabetes research.
Not present was the Cubs fan who bobbled the ball out of play during the National League playoffs last summer.
The "execution" was arranged by Harry Caray's Restaurant, founded by the late Hall of Fame Cubs broadcaster. The restaurant bought the ball at auction for $113,824 from another Cubs fan who ended up with it during the game.
The long-suffering Cubs were leading 3-0 and five outs away from their first trip to the World Series in 58 years when a Florida Marlins pop-up in the eighth inning of game six sealed their fate. Cubs outfielder Moises Alou said he had a chance at the ball but for a fan who tried to grab it, sending it into the seats and out of play.
The Cubs collapsed, allowing eight Marlin runs in the inning and the win. Florida went on to take the deciding seventh game and later to win the World Series against the New York Yankees.
Umpires ruled there was no fan interference, but the man who deflected the ball was showered with abuse, had to be escorted from the stands for his own safety, and remains an object of ridicule on Internet sites to this day.
The lifelong fan, Steve Bartman, issued a blanket apology saying he had no idea the ball was playable and would never have done anything to stop the Cubs from getting to the championships, which they have not won since 1908.
The ball wound up in the hands of a 33-year-old lawyer who was seated nearby.
Thursday was chosen as the date for the ball's destruction because the restaurant founded by Caray holds a worldwide toast to him on that day, which falls between his birthday and the day he died in 1998.
The restaurant said the destruction occurred along with a simultaneous toast to Caray at drinking establishments in all 50 states and viewing parties were also planned from Uganda and Pakistan to Tokyo
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Hamlet Tires of Thieves Stealing Lost Property
Hamlet Tires of Thieves Stealing Lost Property
LONDON (Reuters) - A tiny Scottish village called Lost is to change its name because souvenir hunters keep stealing its road signs.
"For many years now, the sign has continually been taken because all it says on it is 'Lost,'" local councilor Bruce Luffman said on Friday.
Seven signs, each costing around 200 pounds ($400) to replace, had been stolen in the last five years, Luffman said. He said signs had been spotted as far away as Montreal and Brazil.
"Many people want to have their photograph taken by it looking bewildered, and every so often it gets taken," Luffman added.
As well as the cost, people in the hamlet, which will be re-named Lost Farm, were fed up with the confusion caused by having no signs, Luffman added.
"Deliveries get lost because they've got no idea where 'Lost' is, and it's very confusing," he said
LONDON (Reuters) - A tiny Scottish village called Lost is to change its name because souvenir hunters keep stealing its road signs.
"For many years now, the sign has continually been taken because all it says on it is 'Lost,'" local councilor Bruce Luffman said on Friday.
Seven signs, each costing around 200 pounds ($400) to replace, had been stolen in the last five years, Luffman said. He said signs had been spotted as far away as Montreal and Brazil.
"Many people want to have their photograph taken by it looking bewildered, and every so often it gets taken," Luffman added.
As well as the cost, people in the hamlet, which will be re-named Lost Farm, were fed up with the confusion caused by having no signs, Luffman added.
"Deliveries get lost because they've got no idea where 'Lost' is, and it's very confusing," he said
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U R Fired
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's third-largest credit card issuer fired a quarter of its workforce via mobile phone text messages on Friday, after negotiations with striking unionized workers broke down.
KEB Credit Service Co sacked 161 employees, a spokeswoman for the company's parent bank said.
"The layoff date is February 28," the message said, according to a member of the union. "We will receive applications for voluntary retirement package until February 28."
The firm said it had no method for contacting striking staff other than using the short message service (SMS).
Unionized workers, who make up nearly 90 percent of the firm's 662 staff, have been on strike since mid-December over a takeover by Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), fearing job cuts.
"Marathon negotiations with the labor union fell through early this morning and we had to go ahead with the job cuts," said Lee Nahm-yon, a spokeswoman for KEB.
The latest sackings take the number of workers set to leave the company to 266, including 105 who had previously applied for voluntary retirement.
About 300 workers continued to protest outside KEB Credit's headquarters in Seoul on Friday. Some of the protesters were singing or shouting, but others could be seen sobbing.
"The management sent messages early this morning, only to those being fired," a union member said over the telephone. "What a convenient world we live in -- for the management that is."
KEB Credit, which ran out of cash late last year, will be taken over by KEB at the weekend. KEB is controlled by U.S. investment fund Lone Star.
Apart from staging protests, the union also filed a lawsuit at a local court last week in a bid to block Lone Star's acquisition of its parent bank.
Meanwhile, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the country's financial regulator, approved on Friday the acquisition of KEB Credit by KEB.
KEB, the country's fifth-largest lender, had sought to cut up to half of KEB Credit's employees, but scaled down the layoffs after discussions with the union.
"There will be no change to this number. But those notified today can still apply for the voluntary retirement scheme," said Lee at KEB.
South Korea's credit card companies have struggled to cope with the aftermath of a credit boom that has left one in 10 South Korean adults with overdue loans. Roughly 70 percent of South Koreans own a mobile phone.
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's third-largest credit card issuer fired a quarter of its workforce via mobile phone text messages on Friday, after negotiations with striking unionized workers broke down.
KEB Credit Service Co sacked 161 employees, a spokeswoman for the company's parent bank said.
"The layoff date is February 28," the message said, according to a member of the union. "We will receive applications for voluntary retirement package until February 28."
The firm said it had no method for contacting striking staff other than using the short message service (SMS).
Unionized workers, who make up nearly 90 percent of the firm's 662 staff, have been on strike since mid-December over a takeover by Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), fearing job cuts.
"Marathon negotiations with the labor union fell through early this morning and we had to go ahead with the job cuts," said Lee Nahm-yon, a spokeswoman for KEB.
The latest sackings take the number of workers set to leave the company to 266, including 105 who had previously applied for voluntary retirement.
About 300 workers continued to protest outside KEB Credit's headquarters in Seoul on Friday. Some of the protesters were singing or shouting, but others could be seen sobbing.
"The management sent messages early this morning, only to those being fired," a union member said over the telephone. "What a convenient world we live in -- for the management that is."
KEB Credit, which ran out of cash late last year, will be taken over by KEB at the weekend. KEB is controlled by U.S. investment fund Lone Star.
Apart from staging protests, the union also filed a lawsuit at a local court last week in a bid to block Lone Star's acquisition of its parent bank.
Meanwhile, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the country's financial regulator, approved on Friday the acquisition of KEB Credit by KEB.
KEB, the country's fifth-largest lender, had sought to cut up to half of KEB Credit's employees, but scaled down the layoffs after discussions with the union.
"There will be no change to this number. But those notified today can still apply for the voluntary retirement scheme," said Lee at KEB.
South Korea's credit card companies have struggled to cope with the aftermath of a credit boom that has left one in 10 South Korean adults with overdue loans. Roughly 70 percent of South Koreans own a mobile phone.
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Doonesbury's Bush Contest Yields No Winner Yet
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A $10,000 reward offered by the "Doonesbury" comic strip for proof that President Bush served in the Alabama National Guard during the Vietnam War has elicited over 1,300 responses but turned up no credible evidence yet, the cartoonist said on Friday.
With so much controversy surrounding Bush's National Guard service, a credible witness would have turned up by now if there was one, said Garry Trudeau.
"You can be sure some very motivated people have tried to find a witness who can establish Bush's presence at Dannelly Base beyond a reasonable doubt," said the creator of the politically irreverent and satirical daily cartoon. "Anyone who could do so would almost certainly have surfaced by now."
"Doonesbury" first posted the award on Monday.
The White House has released documents from Bush's Vietnam War-era service record in the Texas Air National Guard they say show the president fulfilled his duties at the Dannelly Base. But Democrats accuse him of skipping duty.
The documents offered no new evidence to show that Bush actually turned up for duty in Alabama during the latter part of 1972 -- a period when Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe says he was absent without leave.
Earlier this week, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee denounced the contest as a "silly stunt." Trudeau agreed.
"She's right," he said. "But as a simple investigative cartoonist, I don't have a very big tool kit."
Trudeau also said he doubted proof of Bush's service -- or lack thereof -- would affect his support in the November presidential election. "For me, stunt cartooning is mostly about keeping busy. If it tips a national election, well, that's just gravy," he said.
He said he planned to pay the $10,000 from his own money.
"What else am I going to do with a huge tax cut I didn't need? One of the unintended consequences of Mr. Bush's generosity toward the Great Un-needy is that I'm now a fat cat," he joked.
He also said he realized it was "counterintuitive" for him to support Democrats because he considered Bush to be "God's gift to cartoonists."
A doonesbury.com Web site features a Witness Registration Form for submitting online testimony. The prize money will be paid by Trudeau in the form of a donation to the United Service Organization, or USO, which entertains U.S. troops.
A cutoff date is still in the works, he said.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A $10,000 reward offered by the "Doonesbury" comic strip for proof that President Bush served in the Alabama National Guard during the Vietnam War has elicited over 1,300 responses but turned up no credible evidence yet, the cartoonist said on Friday.
With so much controversy surrounding Bush's National Guard service, a credible witness would have turned up by now if there was one, said Garry Trudeau.
"You can be sure some very motivated people have tried to find a witness who can establish Bush's presence at Dannelly Base beyond a reasonable doubt," said the creator of the politically irreverent and satirical daily cartoon. "Anyone who could do so would almost certainly have surfaced by now."
"Doonesbury" first posted the award on Monday.
The White House has released documents from Bush's Vietnam War-era service record in the Texas Air National Guard they say show the president fulfilled his duties at the Dannelly Base. But Democrats accuse him of skipping duty.
The documents offered no new evidence to show that Bush actually turned up for duty in Alabama during the latter part of 1972 -- a period when Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe says he was absent without leave.
Earlier this week, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee denounced the contest as a "silly stunt." Trudeau agreed.
"She's right," he said. "But as a simple investigative cartoonist, I don't have a very big tool kit."
Trudeau also said he doubted proof of Bush's service -- or lack thereof -- would affect his support in the November presidential election. "For me, stunt cartooning is mostly about keeping busy. If it tips a national election, well, that's just gravy," he said.
He said he planned to pay the $10,000 from his own money.
"What else am I going to do with a huge tax cut I didn't need? One of the unintended consequences of Mr. Bush's generosity toward the Great Un-needy is that I'm now a fat cat," he joked.
He also said he realized it was "counterintuitive" for him to support Democrats because he considered Bush to be "God's gift to cartoonists."
A doonesbury.com Web site features a Witness Registration Form for submitting online testimony. The prize money will be paid by Trudeau in the form of a donation to the United Service Organization, or USO, which entertains U.S. troops.
A cutoff date is still in the works, he said.
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Euro 2004 Fans to Be Tested for Drunkenness
LISBON (Reuters) - Fans at the Euro 2004 soccer championship will be tested for drunkenness and those over a certain blood alcohol limit barred from games, Portuguese authorities said on Friday.
Fans who show a blood alcohol level of 1.2 grams per liter will be turned away from stadiums, said Lieutenant-General Leonel de Carvalho, head of a government security committee for the 16-team tournament in June.
"The test won't be made on everybody, but in exceptional circumstances," he told a news conference after a meeting with UEFA organizers on security.
Portugal's legal blood alcohol limit for motorists is 0.5 grams per liter. A level of 1.2 grams per liter is considered a crime.
Carvalho said tests would be made at stadium gates with equipment similar to that used to check drivers' sobriety.
Portugal is hosting the tournament at 10 stadiums and organizers expect about 500,000 fans to attend.
Jacob Erel, director of UEFA's competition operations, said the main challenge was crowd control, such as access, transport and alcohol bans.
Portuguese authorities needed better coordination, especially since many of the stadiums were new, he said, before adding he had "confidence about the competence of this country to perform in the best way during the Euro 2004."
LISBON (Reuters) - Fans at the Euro 2004 soccer championship will be tested for drunkenness and those over a certain blood alcohol limit barred from games, Portuguese authorities said on Friday.
Fans who show a blood alcohol level of 1.2 grams per liter will be turned away from stadiums, said Lieutenant-General Leonel de Carvalho, head of a government security committee for the 16-team tournament in June.
"The test won't be made on everybody, but in exceptional circumstances," he told a news conference after a meeting with UEFA organizers on security.
Portugal's legal blood alcohol limit for motorists is 0.5 grams per liter. A level of 1.2 grams per liter is considered a crime.
Carvalho said tests would be made at stadium gates with equipment similar to that used to check drivers' sobriety.
Portugal is hosting the tournament at 10 stadiums and organizers expect about 500,000 fans to attend.
Jacob Erel, director of UEFA's competition operations, said the main challenge was crowd control, such as access, transport and alcohol bans.
Portuguese authorities needed better coordination, especially since many of the stadiums were new, he said, before adding he had "confidence about the competence of this country to perform in the best way during the Euro 2004."
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Leading Canadian Politician Repeats Columbus Error
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A contender for the leadership of Canada's opposition Conservative Party was unflatteringly compared with Christopher Columbus this week and reminded that aboriginal Indians and people from India are different.
The politician, Stephen Harper, had to apologize after his office sent a letter to a native group, the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centers, congratulating it on a holiday celebrating India's independence from Britain.
Wrong Indians. And the mistake prompted a stinging rebuke from federation president Rick Lobzun, who said Harper's letter, sent in January, recalled Columbus's error of mistaking America for India.
"This is 2004, Mr. Harper, not 1492 ... the last time a man got lost looking for India," Lobzun said.
Harper's spokeswoman, Carolyn Stewart-Olsen, said his office had used student interns to compile a database of Indo-Canadian and other groups as part of an outreach program and had got this one wrong.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - A contender for the leadership of Canada's opposition Conservative Party was unflatteringly compared with Christopher Columbus this week and reminded that aboriginal Indians and people from India are different.
The politician, Stephen Harper, had to apologize after his office sent a letter to a native group, the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centers, congratulating it on a holiday celebrating India's independence from Britain.
Wrong Indians. And the mistake prompted a stinging rebuke from federation president Rick Lobzun, who said Harper's letter, sent in January, recalled Columbus's error of mistaking America for India.
"This is 2004, Mr. Harper, not 1492 ... the last time a man got lost looking for India," Lobzun said.
Harper's spokeswoman, Carolyn Stewart-Olsen, said his office had used student interns to compile a database of Indo-Canadian and other groups as part of an outreach program and had got this one wrong.
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Woman Reports Neighbor for Disturbingly Loud Sex
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German woman took her male neighbor to court for noise pollution after he repeatedly kept her awake through half the night and had at least one four-hour sex session, a court spokeswoman said Friday.
"Four hours of sex noises. What was I supposed to think? It was nothing but groaning and banging," the woman told the judge, a Bild newspaper report said.
The woman told Berlin magistrates that her 25-year old neighbor Andreas G. was disturbing the peace by keeping her awake early in the morning.
Andreas said his 26-year old neighbor had complained in the past, calling at five in the afternoon, but that he had not felt obliged to respond. "I can have as much sex as loud as I want then," he said.
The judge dropped the case on learning that the man had since moved out of the apartment.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German woman took her male neighbor to court for noise pollution after he repeatedly kept her awake through half the night and had at least one four-hour sex session, a court spokeswoman said Friday.
"Four hours of sex noises. What was I supposed to think? It was nothing but groaning and banging," the woman told the judge, a Bild newspaper report said.
The woman told Berlin magistrates that her 25-year old neighbor Andreas G. was disturbing the peace by keeping her awake early in the morning.
Andreas said his 26-year old neighbor had complained in the past, calling at five in the afternoon, but that he had not felt obliged to respond. "I can have as much sex as loud as I want then," he said.
The judge dropped the case on learning that the man had since moved out of the apartment.
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Serial Tire-Stabber Gets Prison Term
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who punctured around 2,000 car tires in a 16-month spree of criminal damage was sentenced Wednesday to three and a half years in prison.
The 32-year-old unemployed carpenter cut into the tires of 669 cars in the eastern city of Chemnitz from July 2002 to October 2003.
Police only caught the man after they formed a special team and until then had been warning people who parked in and around the city to check their tires before driving off.
An expert witness at the trial said the accused wanted to gain attention through his attacks.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who punctured around 2,000 car tires in a 16-month spree of criminal damage was sentenced Wednesday to three and a half years in prison.
The 32-year-old unemployed carpenter cut into the tires of 669 cars in the eastern city of Chemnitz from July 2002 to October 2003.
Police only caught the man after they formed a special team and until then had been warning people who parked in and around the city to check their tires before driving off.
An expert witness at the trial said the accused wanted to gain attention through his attacks.
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Author Turns Love of Rats Into Book
NEW YORK (Reuters) - They push and shove their way through narrow subway entrances, they are creatures of habit and they love going out to eat at night in a big crowd. They are the other New Yorkers: rats.
Robert Sullivan was so taken by these creatures that he went out ratting -- as he likes to call it -- in dirty alleys of Manhattan to watch them work and play day and night.
Sullivan has parlayed those experiences into a book, "Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants," which quickly became a bestseller after its April publication.
"People all around the U.S. are interested in rats," Sullivan said in a recent interview, adding that on a book tour he also searched for rats behind Chicago blues clubs, San Francisco's tenderloin district and in Beverly Hills trees.
Sullivan's study of rats allowed him to explore overlooked and sometimes messy nooks and crannies -- something encouraged by his father, who often took Sullivan and his family to explore New York's South Street Seaport.
He spent nearly a year of evenings from the summer of 2001 to summer 2002 watching a colony of rats as they feasted on garbage from a Chinese eatery in Eden's Alley, a tiny, cobble-stoned alley in New York's downtown financial district.
Armed with infra-red night-time goggles, Sullivan monitored rats at night while the city dealt with the World Trade Center catastrophe not far away.
New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani called the book "Engaging ... a lively, informative compendium of facts, theories and musings."
The New York Observer noted that the book goes beyond rats alone to give people "a deeper understanding of both the history of New York City and the essence of mankind."
His research, he said, "was just kind of messing around in the back yards of the city. What is neglected is fascinating to me ... What is neglected is maybe more telling in some ways than what is universally embraced and lauded."
PARALLELS BETWEEN RATS, PEOPLE
Sullivan recalled that he could not get to his alley "for a while right after 9/11" but he found parallels between rat colonies and people in New York after the attacks.
"There were groups of people who helped people, people who screwed people, but people wanted to be with (other) people. They wanted to pick pockets or fleece you or they wanted to be together with people just because it is good to be people," said Sullivan, adding that "rats are similar."
Nocturnal with an excellent sense of taste, rats can detect minute amounts of poison, down to one part per million. By one estimate, rats are behind 26 percent of all electric cable breaks in New York because of their attraction to wires.
Their front two teeth grow five inches (12.5 cm) a year and allow them to gnaw on concrete and steel. Their skeletons can collapse so they can squeeze through holes as small as three quarters of an inch wide -- the average width of their skulls.
New York subway workers call them track rabbits, and Sullivan writes that when rats are not foraging for food they are having sex. Rats, writes Sullivan, have sex 20 times a day with as many females as possible. Also, rats in all-male colonies will have sex with each other.
These are just some of the tidbits of data Sullivan discovered in his research. He relies on rat catchers and bits of scientific research like that of William B. Jackson, a professor at Bowling Green State University, and the Environmental Protection Agency as well as Johns Hopkins University.
The commonly held belief that there is one rat per person in New York, or 8 million, is a myth, Sullivan said.
"There are definitely a lot of rats, but not one per person," he said. "If there was one per person we would be tripping over them."
According to his book, published by Bloomsbury, the one-rat-per-person stems from a 1909 study of rats that estimated there were 40 million rats in England, one for each of the country's 40 million acres and 40 million people.
"There was one rat per person in England because of a coincidence of population and acres," said Sullivan.
"It is a number people just love. Subconsciously they want to believe there are as many rats as people."
While he does not estimate how many rats live in New York, he offers an alternative task.
We could go and figure out how many there are but it would take a long time. You would be better off going and spending money on neighborhoods where there are problems with rats, trying to help people," Sullivan said.
Sullivan's book tracks the history of rats, describes such oddities as the promoters of rat fights in the 19th century and details a convention of exterminators.
While he once captured a rat, Sullivan says he has never brought one home nor is he likely to adopt one as a pet.
"No I never kept a rat. I'm married," he explained.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - They push and shove their way through narrow subway entrances, they are creatures of habit and they love going out to eat at night in a big crowd. They are the other New Yorkers: rats.
Robert Sullivan was so taken by these creatures that he went out ratting -- as he likes to call it -- in dirty alleys of Manhattan to watch them work and play day and night.
Sullivan has parlayed those experiences into a book, "Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants," which quickly became a bestseller after its April publication.
"People all around the U.S. are interested in rats," Sullivan said in a recent interview, adding that on a book tour he also searched for rats behind Chicago blues clubs, San Francisco's tenderloin district and in Beverly Hills trees.
Sullivan's study of rats allowed him to explore overlooked and sometimes messy nooks and crannies -- something encouraged by his father, who often took Sullivan and his family to explore New York's South Street Seaport.
He spent nearly a year of evenings from the summer of 2001 to summer 2002 watching a colony of rats as they feasted on garbage from a Chinese eatery in Eden's Alley, a tiny, cobble-stoned alley in New York's downtown financial district.
Armed with infra-red night-time goggles, Sullivan monitored rats at night while the city dealt with the World Trade Center catastrophe not far away.
New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani called the book "Engaging ... a lively, informative compendium of facts, theories and musings."
The New York Observer noted that the book goes beyond rats alone to give people "a deeper understanding of both the history of New York City and the essence of mankind."
His research, he said, "was just kind of messing around in the back yards of the city. What is neglected is fascinating to me ... What is neglected is maybe more telling in some ways than what is universally embraced and lauded."
PARALLELS BETWEEN RATS, PEOPLE
Sullivan recalled that he could not get to his alley "for a while right after 9/11" but he found parallels between rat colonies and people in New York after the attacks.
"There were groups of people who helped people, people who screwed people, but people wanted to be with (other) people. They wanted to pick pockets or fleece you or they wanted to be together with people just because it is good to be people," said Sullivan, adding that "rats are similar."
Nocturnal with an excellent sense of taste, rats can detect minute amounts of poison, down to one part per million. By one estimate, rats are behind 26 percent of all electric cable breaks in New York because of their attraction to wires.
Their front two teeth grow five inches (12.5 cm) a year and allow them to gnaw on concrete and steel. Their skeletons can collapse so they can squeeze through holes as small as three quarters of an inch wide -- the average width of their skulls.
New York subway workers call them track rabbits, and Sullivan writes that when rats are not foraging for food they are having sex. Rats, writes Sullivan, have sex 20 times a day with as many females as possible. Also, rats in all-male colonies will have sex with each other.
These are just some of the tidbits of data Sullivan discovered in his research. He relies on rat catchers and bits of scientific research like that of William B. Jackson, a professor at Bowling Green State University, and the Environmental Protection Agency as well as Johns Hopkins University.
The commonly held belief that there is one rat per person in New York, or 8 million, is a myth, Sullivan said.
"There are definitely a lot of rats, but not one per person," he said. "If there was one per person we would be tripping over them."
According to his book, published by Bloomsbury, the one-rat-per-person stems from a 1909 study of rats that estimated there were 40 million rats in England, one for each of the country's 40 million acres and 40 million people.
"There was one rat per person in England because of a coincidence of population and acres," said Sullivan.
"It is a number people just love. Subconsciously they want to believe there are as many rats as people."
While he does not estimate how many rats live in New York, he offers an alternative task.
We could go and figure out how many there are but it would take a long time. You would be better off going and spending money on neighborhoods where there are problems with rats, trying to help people," Sullivan said.
Sullivan's book tracks the history of rats, describes such oddities as the promoters of rat fights in the 19th century and details a convention of exterminators.
While he once captured a rat, Sullivan says he has never brought one home nor is he likely to adopt one as a pet.
"No I never kept a rat. I'm married," he explained.
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AussieMark
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Tourist's Trinkets Really Ancient Statues
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch tourist's souvenir Hindu statuettes will be sent back to Indonesia and put on show in a museum after they turned out to be valuable 13th century works of art, customs officials said on Thursday.
"The individual bought the statues on a roadside while on holiday in Indonesia, thinking they were new and made to look old," Rotterdam customs press officer Kees Nanninga said.
Rotterdam port customs stumbled across the stone statuettes, one of the elephant-headed god Ganesh, the other a male torso of another Hindu deity, in a spot check late last year.
The statuettes, estimated to be worth 15,000 euros ($18,230) together, were handed over to the Indonesian embassy in the Netherlands on Thursday and will eventually be exhibited in Jakarta's National Museum.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch tourist's souvenir Hindu statuettes will be sent back to Indonesia and put on show in a museum after they turned out to be valuable 13th century works of art, customs officials said on Thursday.
"The individual bought the statues on a roadside while on holiday in Indonesia, thinking they were new and made to look old," Rotterdam customs press officer Kees Nanninga said.
Rotterdam port customs stumbled across the stone statuettes, one of the elephant-headed god Ganesh, the other a male torso of another Hindu deity, in a spot check late last year.
The statuettes, estimated to be worth 15,000 euros ($18,230) together, were handed over to the Indonesian embassy in the Netherlands on Thursday and will eventually be exhibited in Jakarta's National Museum.
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AussieMark
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Lawmakers in Catfight Over 'Sex Kitten'
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Debate in Canada's parliament degenerated into shouts and catcalls on Wednesday when an opposition legislator committed what others saw as the sin of mispronouncing an Italian movie star's name.
The disturbance erupted when Jason Kenney of the Conservatives claimed that a former government minister had been "rubbing shoulders with aging Italian sex kitten Gina Lollobreegeeda" -- whose name is in fact Gina Lollobrigida.
Politicians from the ruling Liberals, anxious not to annoy Canada's large Italian community in the run-up to an election, argued that the mangled pronunciation of her name was an affront and an insult.
"It's Gina Lollobrigida, idiot!" bellowed Human Resources Minister Joe Volpe, prompting Kenney to say he was sorry for "offending the aging sex kitten community."
Speaking afterward, Volpe made an apology of his own.
"I'm sorry I called him an idiot. I should have referred to him as an imbecile," he told reporters.
Lollobrigida, nicknamed "La Lollo," is 76 years old and was at the height of her fame in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in dozens of movies including "Trapeze" and "Beat the Devil."
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Debate in Canada's parliament degenerated into shouts and catcalls on Wednesday when an opposition legislator committed what others saw as the sin of mispronouncing an Italian movie star's name.
The disturbance erupted when Jason Kenney of the Conservatives claimed that a former government minister had been "rubbing shoulders with aging Italian sex kitten Gina Lollobreegeeda" -- whose name is in fact Gina Lollobrigida.
Politicians from the ruling Liberals, anxious not to annoy Canada's large Italian community in the run-up to an election, argued that the mangled pronunciation of her name was an affront and an insult.
"It's Gina Lollobrigida, idiot!" bellowed Human Resources Minister Joe Volpe, prompting Kenney to say he was sorry for "offending the aging sex kitten community."
Speaking afterward, Volpe made an apology of his own.
"I'm sorry I called him an idiot. I should have referred to him as an imbecile," he told reporters.
Lollobrigida, nicknamed "La Lollo," is 76 years old and was at the height of her fame in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in dozens of movies including "Trapeze" and "Beat the Devil."
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AussieMark
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U.S. Campaign Provides Fertile Ground for Comics
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the U.S. presidential election approaching, late night television comics are poking fun at the candidates. Here are some of the lines broadcast on Wednesday:
NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno":
"It's May sweeps, which is a big dilemma for the White House, I mean should they bring out Osama bin Laden now, or wait till November?
"June 30 is the day we're handing sovereignty back to the Iraqis; hey forget sovereignty, I think they'd be happy just to get their clothes back...."
"I'm sure you know President Bush has been driving across Ohio in a huge campaign bus with 'Bush-Cheney' written on the side of it; and I guess yesterday the president really got startled when another bus went by, and he said 'Hey, is there some guy called Greyhound in this race?'"
CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman":
"President Bush by the way ... he was interviewed on Arabic television. His interview went very well, lasted about five minutes, he raised $3 million.
"And then, John Kerry spent the day reading to preschoolers ... and the kids said Kerry actually lacked warmth and failed to articulate a clear message.
"And then, Bush also read to preschoolers and he raised over $3 million."
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the U.S. presidential election approaching, late night television comics are poking fun at the candidates. Here are some of the lines broadcast on Wednesday:
NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno":
"It's May sweeps, which is a big dilemma for the White House, I mean should they bring out Osama bin Laden now, or wait till November?
"June 30 is the day we're handing sovereignty back to the Iraqis; hey forget sovereignty, I think they'd be happy just to get their clothes back...."
"I'm sure you know President Bush has been driving across Ohio in a huge campaign bus with 'Bush-Cheney' written on the side of it; and I guess yesterday the president really got startled when another bus went by, and he said 'Hey, is there some guy called Greyhound in this race?'"
CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman":
"President Bush by the way ... he was interviewed on Arabic television. His interview went very well, lasted about five minutes, he raised $3 million.
"And then, John Kerry spent the day reading to preschoolers ... and the kids said Kerry actually lacked warmth and failed to articulate a clear message.
"And then, Bush also read to preschoolers and he raised over $3 million."
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AussieMark
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Cyprus or Crete? Stamp Seems to Blur EU Map
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland, current president of the European Union, has issued a postage stamp which appears to confuse new EU-member Cyprus with the Greek holiday island of Crete.
The stamp shows a map of the enlarged EU with the old member states colored blue and the new states in yellow.
Cyprus is positioned just south of Greece and looks suspiciously like Crete in shape. It is longer and thinner than the real Cyprus and has a rectangular bump on the bottom of it, just like the Greek island.
"The shape is closer to that of Crete than Cyprus although, to be fair, the designer does seem to have taken some artistic license with the other countries too," said Peter Geoffrey, a Dublin philatelist.
"I suppose it might be a little insulting if you were from either Crete or Cyprus."
The Irish Post Office insisted on Thursday there had been no mistake but conceded the designers had to move Cyprus from its position in the eastern Mediterranean to fit it on the stamp.
"There is no way they could have left Cyprus where it was," a spokeswoman said. "It's quite a crowded stamp as it is.
"This is not meant to be a "to-scale" map of the EU," she added. "It's like an image taken through a photographer's fish-eye lens. I know some people are saying it looks like Crete but it's not. It is quite definitely Cyprus."
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland, current president of the European Union, has issued a postage stamp which appears to confuse new EU-member Cyprus with the Greek holiday island of Crete.
The stamp shows a map of the enlarged EU with the old member states colored blue and the new states in yellow.
Cyprus is positioned just south of Greece and looks suspiciously like Crete in shape. It is longer and thinner than the real Cyprus and has a rectangular bump on the bottom of it, just like the Greek island.
"The shape is closer to that of Crete than Cyprus although, to be fair, the designer does seem to have taken some artistic license with the other countries too," said Peter Geoffrey, a Dublin philatelist.
"I suppose it might be a little insulting if you were from either Crete or Cyprus."
The Irish Post Office insisted on Thursday there had been no mistake but conceded the designers had to move Cyprus from its position in the eastern Mediterranean to fit it on the stamp.
"There is no way they could have left Cyprus where it was," a spokeswoman said. "It's quite a crowded stamp as it is.
"This is not meant to be a "to-scale" map of the EU," she added. "It's like an image taken through a photographer's fish-eye lens. I know some people are saying it looks like Crete but it's not. It is quite definitely Cyprus."
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AussieMark
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Cow Suffers Bags and Bags of Indigestion
TIRANA (Reuters) - No one could figure out why Lara the cow stopped giving milk until an Albanian veterinarian pulled plastic from her guts as heavy as the average woman.
Veterinarian Agim Nelaj has a video of him wrenching the oozing brownish plastic out of the anaesthetized cow to back up his claims that the bovine had ingested masses of the plastic litter that has become a blight on the Albanian landscape.
"I extracted 60 kilos (132 pounds) of plastic material from the left pre-lumbar area," Nelaj told Reuters.
A month after the operation Lara was doing fine in the southern town of Sarande and being kept away from the kind of litter she has been ingesting for about five years, mostly flimsy bags used for everything and jettisoned freely.
"She is giving up six liters of milk a day," Nelaj said.
TIRANA (Reuters) - No one could figure out why Lara the cow stopped giving milk until an Albanian veterinarian pulled plastic from her guts as heavy as the average woman.
Veterinarian Agim Nelaj has a video of him wrenching the oozing brownish plastic out of the anaesthetized cow to back up his claims that the bovine had ingested masses of the plastic litter that has become a blight on the Albanian landscape.
"I extracted 60 kilos (132 pounds) of plastic material from the left pre-lumbar area," Nelaj told Reuters.
A month after the operation Lara was doing fine in the southern town of Sarande and being kept away from the kind of litter she has been ingesting for about five years, mostly flimsy bags used for everything and jettisoned freely.
"She is giving up six liters of milk a day," Nelaj said.
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AussieMark
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Taxi Driver Convicted for Ferrying Bomber
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli taxi driver who unwittingly drove a suicide bomber to an attack was convicted in a precedent-setting case that could make drivers responsible for their passengers' crimes, judicial sources said Thursday.
A district court convicted Ofer Schwartzbaum, 38, of "causing death by negligence" after he ferried a Palestinian bomber to Tel Aviv where the man blew himself up, killing four people in an attack at a bus stop last December.
Schwartzbaum maintained during his trial in Tel Aviv that he was innocent because he did not know his passenger, whom he drove for 6 miles, had planned to carry out a bombing.
"We have set a norm that any driver, not only a taxi driver, should be aware that in the current circumstances whenever they take a passenger from such a location there is always a chance that the person might want to carry out a harmful action (against Israelis)," a Justice Ministry source said.
"The circumstances (in which we live) dictate that an average person should be aware of the possible dangers of his actions," the source added.
Schwartzbaum will be sentenced within the next few weeks. A plea bargain has been agreed with the prosecution in which he will serve six months of community service, although the court must still give its stamp of approval, the source said.
Schwartzbaum also had his permit to drive a public vehicle revoked for life.
In at least two other cases, drivers who ferried suicide bombers with full awareness of their passengers' intentions were convicted of more serious crimes and given heavier sentences.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli taxi driver who unwittingly drove a suicide bomber to an attack was convicted in a precedent-setting case that could make drivers responsible for their passengers' crimes, judicial sources said Thursday.
A district court convicted Ofer Schwartzbaum, 38, of "causing death by negligence" after he ferried a Palestinian bomber to Tel Aviv where the man blew himself up, killing four people in an attack at a bus stop last December.
Schwartzbaum maintained during his trial in Tel Aviv that he was innocent because he did not know his passenger, whom he drove for 6 miles, had planned to carry out a bombing.
"We have set a norm that any driver, not only a taxi driver, should be aware that in the current circumstances whenever they take a passenger from such a location there is always a chance that the person might want to carry out a harmful action (against Israelis)," a Justice Ministry source said.
"The circumstances (in which we live) dictate that an average person should be aware of the possible dangers of his actions," the source added.
Schwartzbaum will be sentenced within the next few weeks. A plea bargain has been agreed with the prosecution in which he will serve six months of community service, although the court must still give its stamp of approval, the source said.
Schwartzbaum also had his permit to drive a public vehicle revoked for life.
In at least two other cases, drivers who ferried suicide bombers with full awareness of their passengers' intentions were convicted of more serious crimes and given heavier sentences.
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