Sinlung: August 2009

From Giant Onions to Sour Grapes

In the highly-competitive world of amateur horticulture green-fingered Barry Micklethwaite really knows his onions and has a full trophy cabinet to prove it.
But the veteran gardener was left in a stew after he was banned from top shows because his rivals are fed up by him winning all the time.

Angry: Gardener Barry Micklethwaite, with a super-size onion and some of his many medals, is planning to fight a ban on him entering vegetable competitions

Former steelworks manager Mr Micklethwaite, 66, is well known for his giant onions, monster parsnips and huge beetroot.
After 30 years of being South Yorkshire's undisputed King of the Veg , the pensioner, from Barnsley , was told he is no longer welcome at local shows.
Now Mr Micklethwaite has vowed to take his fight to the courts after being blacklisted by the South Yorkshire District of the National Vegetable Society.
At his home in Birdwell, Barnsley he said : 'I was looking forward to the next show in Sheffield so I phoned up for a schedule so I could decide which categories to go in for.
'But the association secretary said told me I couldn't have one. When I asked why he said: 'Because we won't want you showing... and if you turn up you won't be allowed in.
'I was gobsmacked but when I asked for a reason he just said that according to the society rules the committee could ban who they wanted without giving a reason and that's what they were doing.
'But I know the reason it's because I'm too successful. I win too much so it's all sour grapes, they're just looking for a way to keep me out.
'They don't want me there because I might be a bit too good.
'If they had been honest and said they wanted me to step down and give somebody else a chance I would have done that but they just refused to give a reason so I am determined to fight the decision.'

Top grower: Mr Micklethwaite with his prize leeks and huge onion, which will not be shown in South Yorkshire horticultural shows following the ban

Mr Micklethwaite said he had won 50 trophies in 20 years and his winnings were just £10 per category.
The secrets of his success include using top quality seeds and 'spending time with the veg'.
He added: 'I enter in quite a few classes so at the average show I might win up to £80 so maybe they think I'm winning too much cash.
'It's all a bit petty and silly. But I'm not taking it lying it down .. I'm taking legal advice.'
Officials who slapped the ban on Barry claimed he has been outlawed from regional competitions because he is a sore loser and complains about decisions.
Show secretary Brenda Neumann said: 'I don't want to put people off showing their veg in our show because we have got quite a of novice exhibitors and I want to encourage them.
'His vegetables are phenomenal. He is a very successful grower and he could exhibit in the top national shows and win prizes but he doesn't like to lose so he won't show there.
'The main reason is that he just can't accept a decision.
'The fact that if he loses he objects and I don't know why because he is such a good grower.'

Mother flies out to serve in Afghanistan... alongside her soldier son

Many service families face an anxious time wondering how their loved ones are faring thousands of miles away on the front line.
For Elaine Howlin, however, things will be very different. The 55-year-old mother of three is about to join her son in the Afghanistan war zone.
The NHS sister will be 50 miles from the front line as her son Martin serves with the Grenadier Guards.

Call of duty: Nurse Elaine Howlin is following her son to Afghanistan. He will fight on the front line, while she will be working in the Camp Bastion hospital

As the 32-year-old Colour Sergeant takes on the Taliban, his mother will be helping wounded Nato troops at the main hospital at Camp Bastion.
Martin will fly out next month for a six-month tour of duty, while his mother will start training next month before her three-month deployment in October.
Mrs Howlin comes from an Army family. Her husband, two other sons and a brother were Grenadier Guards while her other brother was in the Royal Signals.
Martin, a married father of two who has been in the Army for 14 years, is the only son still serving.
Mrs Howlin joined up ten years ago after a Territorial Army recruitment drive at Epsom General Hospital in Surrey, where she works. She joined the 256 (City of London) Field Hospital and is now a Major.

Soldier son: Martin Howlin and his mother Elaine will be serving in Afghanistan at the same time

She said: 'I joined because all my sons were in the Army as was my husband and brother and I had got used to military life but I was always being left behind. They were getting such a lot of job satisfaction that I wasn't, and the Forces do such a great job, I decided it was something I wanted to be part of.'
She added: 'As an Army wife and mother, you think about them every minute of the day.
'In some ways being at Camp Bastion might make it easier for me. In one respect I would be really close to him but I will still worry about him - as I would do if I was at home.'
Mrs Howlin, who served in Iraq in 2004 at a field hospital, will deal with casualties from all the allied forces as well as local civilians.
She said: 'I am looking forward to it but I am a little nervous because you don't know what it's going to be like out there. But because I have been to Iraq, I sort of know what to expect.'

Ready to serve: Mrs Howlin will treat wounded soldiers at the main hospital at Camp Bastion, just 50 miles from where her son will be fighting on the front line

Plane That can Fly Non Stop for 5 Years

It might look like alien technology but this aircraft is no UFO. It's an Odysseus solar-powered aircraft that aims to be able to stay in the air for over five years continuously.
It has a Z-wing configuration that spans almost 500ft (150 metres) so that the aircraft's shape can be adjusted when in sunlight to absorb as much solar power as possible.

Then when it is in darkness, it flies flat in a straight line for aerodynamic efficiency with the energy collected stored in onboard batteries used to drive the aircraft's electric motors.

Shape-shifter: The Z-wing configuration allows the aircraft to absorb solar power when in sunlight

The aircraft is designed to fly at altitudes of 60,000-90,000ft so it could be used for surveillance, communications and environmental monitoring such as climate change research.

US company Aurora Flight Sciences have developed the unmanned aircraft under a programme called 'Vulture' with the support of BAE Systems, CS Draper Laboratory, and the Sierra Nevada Corporation.
Now they have revealed the design of the aircraft, they will next create a half-size example and then a full-scale prototype within five years.

Flat out: When in darkness, the aircraft flies in a straight line to conserve power

Gates Foundation seeks education's magic pill

Ever since Americans sent their children to one-room schoolhouses, parents have known what makes a good school: an inspiring, organized, creative teacher. But researchers haven't been able to quantify what exactly makes a teacher effective and how to tie that to student achievement.
Now the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation — an influential voice in education policy today — hopes to end that confusion. Nine years and $2 billion into its work to improve America's public schools, the Seattle-based foundation is turning its focus to teacher effectiveness.
"We've been sort of looking around for the silver bullet for education reform, and actually the answer has been right under our feet the whole time," said John Deasy, deputy director of the foundation's education work.
Over the next five years, the foundation plans to spend another half a billion dollars in its quest to figure out what qualities make the best teachers and how to measure those qualities in the classroom.
The project has two parts: research to develop and test methods to rate teachers and experiments at a handful of school districts around the nation to try out new ways of recruiting, training, assigning and assessing teachers.
Among those asked to submit proposals for a share of the money were school districts in Atlanta; Denver; Hillsborough County, Fla.; Memphis, Tenn.; Omaha, Neb.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Prince George's County, Md.; Tulsa, Okla., and a group of Los Angeles charter schools.
This week, the foundation chose five finalists: Hillsborough County, Memphis, Omaha, Pittsburgh, and the Los Angeles charters. Final decisions will be made this fall.
The other five districts will be considered for smaller grants to pay for parts of their effective teaching plans.
Their ideas, which were presented in Seattle earlier this month, focus on teacher training, putting the best teachers in the most challenging classrooms, giving the best teachers new roles as mentors and coaches while keeping them in front of children, making tenure a meaningful milestone, getting rid of ineffective teachers, and using money to motivate people and schools to move toward these goals.
"It really is about an effective teacher for every student every year of their school career," said Vicki Phillips, director of the foundation's K-12 education program. "If we did that, we would make the kind of progress that we have all long dreamed about in this country."
Foundation officials said they were impressed with how thoughtful the districts were in their proposals and how clear it was that teacher's unions, school officials and elected school board members worked together to come up with the ideas.
Pittsburgh Superintendent Mark Roosevelt said the process propelled his district forward.
"I'd say we made almost 10 years of progress with our union in three months," he said. "It was like a door had been opened that we didn't know was in the wall any more."
Before getting involved in the Gates grant proposal process, Pittsburgh had focused on other school reforms like closing troubled schools, improving principal training and fixing curriculum to make it more rigorous and more consistent across the district. Teachers were next on the agenda.
Roosevelt speculated the transformation would continue with or without money from the foundation, although some of their ideas would take considerably more time to accomplish without the cash.
Districts chosen for the project will agree to use the foundation's research findings to influence their reform efforts, said Tom Kean, a Harvard researcher and foundation deputy director who is in charge of this part of the project.
Among the research ideas the foundation wants to explore is one that involves making digital videos of teachers in thousands of classrooms. Researchers will track elements of teacher performance and compare that information with student test scores.
The nation's largest teachers union expressed cautious optimism about the foundation's efforts.
John Wilson, executive director of the National Education Association, said he was glad to see someone putting money into research about teacher effectiveness, since there hasn't been much independent analysis combining teacher pay and student achievement.
"We all want great public schools for every student. It's rather complex how to get there," Wilson said.

PACT Earth Friendly Underwear

PACT underwear, a San Francisco based company, was founded by UC Berkley students Jason Kibbey & Jeff Denby who’s motto is “CHANGE STARTS WITH YOUR UNDERWEAR.” They try to make an impact with every step in the production of these unmentionables. I am also impressed with the level of transparency they have in their production process. Not everything is environmentally ideal but they do a lot to make their product footprint as small as possible...

Facebook connect and shortend urls

Our latest feature release includes a way to connect Facebook and Current. Get all the details after the jump:

http://blogs.current.com/currentdotcom/2009/08/18/feature-release-facebook-conne...

A green home addition that Is literally green

http://www.sincerelysustainable.com/buildi...

As more people get turned on to sustainability and try to make more environmentally responsible choices, the usual starting point from which they begin is in their own homes. This home addition in Venice, CA takes green home renovation to the next level by making a majority of its exterior cladding literally green with vegetation.

Lots more pics after link

Jenny Sanford To Vogue: "I'd Like Somebody 5,000 Miles Away I Could E-Mail"

South Carolina's first lady Jenny Sanford is profiled in Vogue's September issue, where she offers a pretty intimate glimpse into her feelings about her husband Mark's infidelity. Vogue isn't a particularly surprising venue for her considering she garnered praise for her post-affair fashion (see a slideshow here).
Excerpts from the interview and photo below.
On her and Mark's courtship:

“We weren’t madly in love, but we were compatible and good friends,” she says. “I like to think we balance each other out. I am a conservative at heart, but I’m not passionate about ideas like he is. I am better at making the trains run on time...At heart, I am an old-fashioned woman. If the Lord blessed me with children and family, I knew that would be my calling.”

On her husband's affair with Maria Belen Chapur:

"Over the course of both pastoral and marriage counseling, it became clear to me that he was just obsessed with going to see this woman. I have learned that these affairs are almost like an addiction to alcohol or pornography. They just can't break away from them."

On her own desire to escape:

"Everybody would like an escape sometimes. I'd like somebody 5,000 miles away I could E-mail. It's not exclusive to men, but I know that isn't realistic."

On how she feels sorry for her husband and his mistress:

What the world saw in that press conference is someone who is struggling. None of us are perfect. We are all trying to do the best we can. I also feel sorry for the other woman. I am sure she is a fine person. It can't be fun for her, though I do sometimes question her judgment...All I can do is pray for her because she made some poor choices. Mark made some poor choices."

Jenny Sanford was photographed at the Sanford's Sullivan's Island beach house by Jonathan Becker for Vogue

Schumacher to test drive old Ferrari

Frankfurt Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher plans to test drive an old Ferrari model again as he prepares for his planned comeback later this month.

Schumacher is planning to drive Tuesday and Wednesday on the Mugello track in Italy using the 2007 Ferrari racing car, his spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said Monday.

Rules prohibit Schumacher from testing the current model. The 40-year-old German retired at the end of the 2006 season but is preparing to step in for the injured driver Felipe Massa, who is recovering from life-threatening injuries suffered in a crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix last month.

Schumacher's first race is slated to be the European Grand Prix in Valencia on Aug. 23.

He has already driven the 2007 Ferrari model and has also practiced on a kart track.

Schumacher has been also working on his fitness but he hasn't yet said whether he has received the green light from his doctors to come back.

Last week, Schumacher said he was still feeling some pain his neck, the result of a motorcycle crash in February.

Like the fist of an angry god

Deep in the outer realms of our solar system, well over a billion kilometers away, something bizarre happened at Saturn’s F ring.
I mean, seriously: what the hell happened here?

Cassini image of something punching through Saturn’s F ring

This is one of the latest pictures returned from the remarkable human achievement that is the Cassini spacecraft, a probe the size of a school bus that has been orbiting the ringed planet since 2004. It’s returned one incredible picture after another, and lately — as Saturn’s orbit has brought it to a point where the rings are nearly edge-on to the Sun — things have gotten not only spectacular but also really weird.
The rings are incredibly thin, only a few meters in thickness despite being hundreds of thousands of kilometers across. Over the past few months, as the Sun shines almost straight into the rings (instead of down on them), every bump and irregularity sticks out like, well, like a tree in the desert. Weird gravitational effects from Saturn’s fleet of moons tune and resonate the countless particles making up the rings, creating beautiful waves and ripples.
But this, this is something new.

Zoom of Cassini image of something punching through Saturn’s F ring

It’s not exactly clear what’s going on here, even in this slightly zoomed shot. But it looks for all the world - or worlds — like some small object on an inclined orbit has punched through Saturn’s narrow F ring, bursting out from underneath, and dragging behind it a wake of particles from the rings. The upward-angled structure is definitely real, as witnessed by the shadow it’s casting on the ring material to the lower left. And what’s with the bright patch right where this object seems to have slammed in the rings? Did it shatter millions of icy particles, revealing their shinier interior material, making them brighter? Clearly, something awesome and amazing happened here.
My first inclination (haha! Inclination! As always, I slay me) is to say that there isn’t enough material in the rings to create what amounts to a hydrodynamic wake behind a moving object. When you move through air you leave a wake behind you, but there are gazillions of particles per cubic centimeter in the Earth’s air at sea level. I would think that even in Saturn’s ring, the density of particles wouldn’t be enough to support a phenomenon like this.
But apparently, I’m wrong. Without doing a full-blown hydrodynamic calculation it’s hard to say what’s possible and what isn’t. Cassini scientists are currently doing just that, in order to better understand what this odd image is trying to tell us.
And I have to wonder: is this a common occurrence? Is this object on an orbit that intersects the rings so that it plunges up through them and then again down into them every time it circles Saturn? If so, how does that affect the rings overall, especially over millions of years?
Or was this a singular event, some small object whose orbit was affected by a nearby massive moon, changing its path, putting it on a collision course with Saturn’s mighty and vast ring system? That seems awfully unlikely…
… but when it comes to this weird, weird place, I’ve learned my intuition is monumentally inadequate. Nature, it turns out, has a far greater imagination than any mere human. We are fated, I think, to watch Nature unfold before us and try to figure it out after the fact.
But oh, isn’t that the joy of science?

Radioactive rays photographed from Nagasaki nuclear 'death ash'

NAGASAKI (Kyodo) A team of researchers has succeeded in photographing radioactive rays coming from the cells of people who died in the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki. News photo

Can't be shaken: Evidence of radioactivity is present in preserved cells taken from people who died in 1945 following the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. / KYODO
The pictures are evidence that the nuclear "death ash" continues to emit radiation from a corpse even after 60-plus years, according to Kazuko Shichijo, an assistant professor at Nagasaki University, a member of the team.

Little progress has been made in the study on the effects of internal exposure to radiation. The team's success is the first of its kind in proving that atomic bomb victims were exposed to radiation from the inside as well as from outside.
"We have succeeded, from pathological perspectives, in proving that people were exposed to radiation internally," Shichijo said.

"It may help pave the way for unraveling its effect on health," she said.

The team studied anatomical samples of seven people in their 20s to 70s who had died by the end of 1945 from acute conditions after being exposed to the bomb between 0.5 km and 1 km from the hypocenter.

The team succeeded in photographing alpha particles, emitted when radioactive material decays, appearing in the picture as dark lines radiating from near the nuclei of the cells in bones, kidneys and lungs of the victims.

The team concluded the alpha particles were almost identical in length to those emitted from the plutonium used in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

"Plutonium passes through the human body when people are exposed to it from the outside," said Nanao Kamada, professor emeritus of radiation biology at Hiroshima University. "But the study shows that it enters cells and emits radiation from inside the human body.

"The effects of internal exposure to radiation have not been taken seriously in Hiroshima and Nagasaki," he said. "The study is important as it visibly captured the effects."

Mount Fuji protest

ATOP MOUNT FUJI (Kyodo) Danish Ambassador to Japan Franz-Michael Skjold Mellbin called for nuclear nonproliferation Thursday as he staged a protest march to the top of Mount Fuji over an ever-present nuclear proliferation threat on the 64th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Brandishing a banner that ironically said, "Have a nice doomsday," Mellbin and 25 other climbers who advocate nonproliferation offered a one-minute silent prayer from 8:15 a.m., the time of the atomic-bomb attack on Hiroshima, and then shouted the slogan.

Although this slogan does not have any religious connotation, it is meant to ask people in the world whether they have made any effort to stop nuclear proliferation, he said.

Following a demonstration near the crater of Japan's highest mountain, the Danish ambassador said, "The world is one and we are one with the world. It's true for the environment but it's also true for peace.

"This march was just a perfect opportunity to show the strength of cooperating and doing something together actively," he said. The protesters called for nonproliferation after an overnight climb to the top of the 3,776-meter mountain, which is considered the symbol of Japan.

The ambassador told reporters at the summit that time is crucial now because danger comes from the governments of such countries as North Korea and Iran that try to "stay in power by acquiring nuclear weapons."

Homeless Holocaust Survivor Leaves $100,000 Gift

JERUSALEM — Hebrew University has received a surprise donation of more than $100,000 from an unexpected benefactor – a woman who survived the Nazi Holocaust and appeared to be destitute, a university official said Sunday.
Upon her death two years ago, a homeless Holocaust survivor living on the streets of New York City willed the gift to the university. The Jewish woman lived out of a shopping cart in Manhattan and had no known relatives, said Yefet Ozery, Hebrew University's director of development and public relations.
"She lived as a very poor woman. And when she died at the age of 92, it was discovered she had accumulated close to $300,000," Ozery said.
The university first learned about the gift three months ago but did not receive the money until this week. It will be used to fund scholarships for medical research students, according to the woman's wishes, Ozery said, refusing to disclose her name. The story was first reported by The Jerusalem Post daily.
Not much is known about the woman, who had no known connection to the university. She left the other half of her savings to various causes and beneficiaries, though Ozery said it is unknown how she amassed the small fortune.
"No one knows where she got it from. But she probably lived penny to penny. She probably saved it to do good for the world and for the Jewish people," Ozery said.
The woman's last known employer was a Jewish man in New York, who hired her to move his car to avoid parking tickets in exchange for a hot meal and a room, Ozery said. The woman also left that employer a portion of her savings.

Children should not be given Tamiflu, Oxford researchers

Children should not be given the antiviral drug Tamiflu for swine flu because its harms outweigh any benefits and the Government should review its policy on dealing with the pandemic, researchers have said.

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor

Tamiflu boxes: Tamiflu side effects outweigh the benefits in most children, researchers warn.

Tamiflu side effects outweigh the benefits in most children, researchers warn. Photo: REUTERS

Anti-viral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, reduce the length of time children are ill with flu by about one day and can cause vomiting as a common side effect, Oxford researchers found.
Vomiting is more dangerous in children than in adults as it can rapidly lead to dehydration and admission to hospital, they said.

Also the drugs had little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, ear infections or the likelihood of a child needing antibiotics meaning on balance the medicine does more harm than good in otherwise healthy children, the authors said.

It comes after research last week showed that Tamiflu reduced the length of flu in adults by just half a day.
Together the findings will question whether the Government's policy of stockpiling enough antiviral drugs for 80 per cent of the population was a waste of money. The exact cost of the stockpile has been kept secret for 'commercial reasons' but is expected to run to tens of millions of pounds.
Countries around the world have stockpiled around 50m doses of Tamiflu, made by Roche, for use during a flu pandemic.
Tamiflu has also been linked to side effects such as insomnia and nightmares in children.
Dr Matthew Thompson, a GP and senior clinical scientist at Oxford University and Dr Carl Heneghan, a clinical lecturer at Oxford University, said the findings review of seven research studies should prompt the Department of Health to reconsider its policy.
The study, published online in the British Medical Journal, reviewed trials where children aged between one and 12 were either given Relenza or Tamiflu to treat seasonal flu or where one of their family had flu and they were given medicine to stop them becoming ill.
The researchers said although the studies were carried out on seasonal flu the findings are relevant to the current swine flu outbreak.
The drugs may still be of some benefit for children who have underlying conditions such as cystic fibrosis or whose immune system is compromised because they are being treated for leukaemia, for example, but there was not enough evidence to be conclusive about this, the researchers said.
Dr Thompson said the Government's current policy of giving Tamiflu to all symptomatic people was 'inappropriate'.
GPs are using their clinical judgement and providing anti-virals to severe cases of flu but the National Pandemic Flu Service is handing out the drugs to anyone who fits the criteria for having a flu-like illness. Data from the Health Protection Agency has suggested only one in four of those with symptoms will actually have swine flu.
The Flu Service handed out 150,000 doses of Tamiflu in its first week as cases peaked at around 110,000 in seven days.
Dr Thompson said: "Reserving these antiviral drugs for children who are more likely to have complications may be a more sensible strategy and would take some of the pressure off the current public demand for anti-virals."
Dr Heneghan warned that prescribing the drugs so widely will encourage flu to become resistant to the medicine.
He said: "Going forward we have a treatment which is ineffective because we've given it to everybody."
He also warned that people were relying on Tamiflu, 'like a magic bullet', and this meant that serious complications of swine flu could be dismissed in those on the drug.
Parents should treat flu in children with paracetamol and rest but watch carefully for complications and contact their GP if they are worried, the authors said.
The research trials which were reviewed have been available for over a year and the Government could have carried out its own study in this before the outbreak of swine flu began, they said.
The findings also showed that when using antiviral drugs in children who have been exposed to flu but do not yet have symptoms, as preventive treatment, they were of limited use. They found 13 children need to be treated to prevent one case, meaning onward transmission was only reduced by eight per cent.
Government data released on July 30th suggested that by then one in 77 children aged between one and four had already had swine flu along with one in 95 of those aged between four and 14.
Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrat health spokesman said: "An urgent review must be carried out into whether the benefits of prescribing certain antiviral drugs are worth the risks when it comes to our children’s health.
“Parents will now need urgent guidance and reassurance about what exactly they should be doing to look after their children. This is even more crucial given that health experts are predicting a surge in swine flu cases this autumn.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: "The BMJ review is based on seasonal flu and not swine flu. As the authors note, the extent to which the findings can be applied to the current pandemic is questionable - after all, we already know that swine flu behaves differently to seasonal flu, and past pandemics have hit younger people hardest.
"Whilst there is doubt about how swine flu affects children, we believe a safety-first approach of offering antivirals to everyone remains a sensible and responsible way forward. However, we will keep this policy under review as we learn more about the virus and its effects.
"For those who experience severe symptoms, the best scientific advice tells us that Tamiflu should still be taken as soon as possible - and to suggest otherwise is potentially dangerous.
"If people are in any doubt about whether to take Tamiflu, they should contact their GP."
The latest figures have suggested the first wave of the swine flu outbreak has peaked with officials saying around 30,000 new cases were diagnosed in the week ending August 1st but a second wave it still expected later in the autumn.
So far 36 people with swine flu have died.

Human Tests Begin on H1N1 Vaccine

by: Jonathan Serrie

DECATUR, Ga. -- Human trials of a vaccine against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus begin today at Emory University's Hope Clinic.

Researchers plan to inject roughly 25 volunteers per day over the next five days. They hope to determine not only the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, but also whether one or two doses are required to produce full immunity to the disease.

Emory is among eight research institutions around the country testing H1N1 vaccines. According to the Word Health Organization, a vaccine could become available to the general public as early as September.

The vaccine trials begin on a day many American children return to school. And while experts predict a resurgence of H1N1 cases in the fall, there will likely be fewer school closings than there were during the initial outbreak in the spring.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines discouraging the practice:

"Based on the experience and knowledge gained in jurisdictions that had large outbreaks in spring 2009, the potential benefits of preemptively dismissing students from school are often outweighed by negative consequences, including students being left home alone, health workers missing shifts when they must stay home with their children, students missing meals and interruption of students’ education."

Instead, the CDC recommends schools focus on routine cleaning, basic hygiene and, in the event of a more serious outbreak, active screening of students and staff for fever and other symptoms of flu. The CDC also recommends children who become sick with H1N1 be allowed to return to class as early as 24 hours after their fever goes away.

According to CDC figures released Aug. 7, H1N1 has been responsible for 6,506 hospitalizations and 436 deaths in the U.S. To put this in perspective, it's estimated more than 1 million Americans may have been infected with the disease -- most of them experiencing symptoms no more severe than seasonal flu (which, according to CDC data, is responsible for approximately 36,000 U.S. deaths each year).

But some health experts are concerned the H1N1 virus could mutate into a more serious form. Which is why the human trials beginning today are so important.

Meet the Russian Obama; Not yet but could be

Russia’s Obama: No, he can’t, at least not now

SREDNYAYA AKHTUBA, Russia — An African-born farmer is making an improbable run for office in Russia, inspired by President Barack Obama and undaunted by racial attitudes that have changed little in decades.

Joaquim Crima, a 37-year-old native of Guinea Bissau who settled in southern Russia after earning a degree at a local university, is promising to battle corruption and bring development to his district on the Volga River.

In Russia, a black man running for office is so unusual that Crima is being called “the Russian Obama.”

“I like Obama as a person and as a politician because he proved to the world what everyone thought was impossible. I think I can learn some things from him,” Crima said, sitting on his shady verandah in this town of 11,000, where he lives with his wife Anait, their 10-year-old son and an extended clan of ethnic Armenian relatives.

In truth, Crima’s quest to become head of the Srednyaya Akhtuba district is highly unlikely, not least because he lacks the political capital and connections to make it happen. He faces the reality of being a black man in Russia, a country where racism and racial stereotypes are deeply ingrained.

“They are often taunted on the metro and in the market,’” said Lydia Troncale of the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy, a nonprofit organization that works with African immigrants.

Crima gets along well with his fellow townspeople, but to play it safe he is accompanied almost everywhere by his muscular brother-in-law.

Last December, a black American exchange student was stabbed and badly wounded in Volgograd, the nearest large city, in what was believed to be a racially motivated attack.

Crima, who came to Russia in 1989 and holds a degree from Volgograd State Pedagogical University, believes he has what it takes to fix problems in his district, where some residents still lack potable water and use outhouses. Unpaved streets, where goats graze, turn to mud after a rain.

About 55,000 people live in the district’s 18 villages and towns.

“The current district head has been in power for 10 years, but he hasn’t done anything for people here,” said Crima. “There are young families that need housing, who need opportunities. This town and Russia are ready for a change.”

Crima wanted to come to the Soviet Union because it supported his West African homeland when it gained independence in 1974. He describes Russia as a “great power” and admires Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He married a local woman, learned to speak fluent Russian and earned his citizenship.

He farms 50 acres (20 hectares) of land, growing watermelons and other melons, which he and his wife sell along the town’s main road. He employs about 20 people to help.

But for many of Crima’s neighbors, that’s not enough.

“He hasn’t lived all of our issues and he didn’t grow up around us; he’s not a kolkhoznik,” said produce vendor Vladimir Kachenko, using the term for people who work on collective farms. “If I need help building a house, he can’t help me get the required permits because he hasn’t gone through it himself.”

Still, many in town admire Crima’s audacity. When he walks down the street in a crisp white shirt and tie, residents shake his hand and congratulate him on his decision to run.

“I haven’t heard his platform, but he’s a nice person,” said Dennis Duma, 27. “I would change my party affiliation for him.”

Privately, however, some laugh at what they see as Crima’s naivety. A department store saleswoman who refused to give her name said she would not vote for him because she doesn’t want to “live in Africa.” Another said she would not vote for a Negro.

In Russia, such baldly racist sentiments are common. Crima himself put up billboards that read: “I will toil like a Negro” — a phrase Russians use to mean they will work hard.

The billboards were up for only a couple of days before being replaced by ads for the main pro-Kremlin party’s candidate, Yuri Khrustov, a former teacher.

Crima is a member of Russia’s main party, United Russia, but is running in the Oct. 11 election as an independent. There are five other candidates.

His candidacy is part of a standard tactic in Russia used to draw the protest vote and allow people to vent frustration while posing no threat to the government’s favored candidate, said Anna Stepnova, editor of Delovoye Povolzhye, a newspaper in Volgograd.

Crima’s campaign manager, Vladimir Kritsky, acknowledged that a victory for his client was close to impossible, but said the Kremlin has promised Crima a seat on the district council in 2011.

“He will be able to do a lot of good for the region,” said Kritsky, a 33-year-old former special operations commander. “He’s a very smart guy, he speaks five languages … this is an experiment that the Kremlin will be interested in supporting.”

There is deep dissatisfaction with the current head of the Srednyaya Akhtuba district, who locals say sold a lot of land to out-of-towners while purchasing a large villa and a plane for himself. The incumbent is not running for re-election.

Despite that, many in Srednyaya Akhtuba see no point in voting in elections they say are already predetermined.

“I’ve lost hope in our system and our people,” said Taisya Kirilova, 64. “He can want to change things, but alone, he can’t accomplish anything.”

Crima shrugs off voters’ cynicism.

“If local residents want a change, they need to vote for it,” Crima said. “Plus, I like surprising people.”

Two-year-old tennis prodigy hailed as future champion

Jonah Ziff is being hailed as a future Wimbledon champion after mastering tennis aged only two.

The toddler, who still wears nappies and sucks a dummy while he plays, has already mastered forehands, backhands and the over-arm serve.
He has beaten players four years older than him and has even been known to ace his opponents.

Jonah takes lessons four times a week and is being tipped as a future talent to hit British tennis.
Father Jonathan, 45, of Stoney Stanton, near Leicester, said: "I'm told Jonah is some kind of wonder kid, which is pretty amazing.
"He just picked up a racket that was lying around and he started whacking a ball against a wall.
"Most kids his age wouldn't know how to hold a racket, let alone hit it like he does. They just don't have that level of co-ordination.
"Apparently his technical ability is way beyond his years."
Jonah was first spotted at his parent's local David Lloyd Leisure Club in Leicester in May when they took his brother, Hugo, five, and five sisters aged between six and 15 for tennis lessons.
Parents Jonathan, a dentist, and Danielle, both 35, gave Jonah a racket to play with and were stunned by the results.
Mrs Ziff said: "We were totally gobsmacked. The ball came to him and he swung a perfect shot right over the net and past our eldest daughter.
"We thought it must have been a fluke but he did it again and again. He was a natural.
"People were stopping their games and watching in disbelief and Jonah pottered round the court hitting the ball all over the place."
Henry Newball, 36, who coaches Jonah's whole family, praised Jonah's "natural ability".
"At two it's hard to even get a child's concentration for 10 minutes," he said.
"Jonah is obsessed with tennis, which is very unusual for a child his age.
"He started off watching his brother play and wanting to copy him.
"People may see him play and put it down to me but at two it's very difficult to tell them what to do.
Jonah now plays in short 'best of three' games against other youngsters at the club.
He is expected to compete at a junior competition later this year.

'UFO' photographed 'tracking' RAF Hercules

An amateur photographer believes he captured a UFO tracking an RAF Hercules as it approached RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.

The mystery silver shape was spotted tracking the military craft as it came to land at RAF Lyneham Photo: SWNS.COM

John Powell, 56, claims an unusual silver orb was following the military craft as it came in to land at the base.
The retired school teacher was gardening at his home in nearby Westbury when he noticed the sun glinting off the circular surface.

"I don't believe in things from outer space but that thing was definitely tracking the plane," he said.
"My neighbour was in the garden at the time and I wanted to shout to them, but I didn't want to say 'there's a flying saucer in the sky' so I didn't say anything in the end."
Mr Powell, who taught computer sciences in Belfast for 30 years, added: "I thought at the time this is too good to miss but I didn't think the picture would come out as good as this.
"If I were to say it was a shot in a million I don't think I'd be exaggerating. I'm desperately curious to find out what it is.
"Since I've taken the photo I've been on some UFO websites and there's nothing remotely like this with an RAF plane being tracked."
The incident happened as John was gardening at 3.45pm on July 22.
RAF Lyneham is the military base where the bodies of fallen British soldiers are flown back into the UK on Hercules planes but there were no repatriations that day.
Ministry of Defence bosses said they would not be investigating because they so not consider it a "potential threat".
A spokesman said: "The MoD examines reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity.
"Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported."

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An amateur photographer believes he captured a UFO tracking an RAF Hercules as it approached RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.