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Norio Matsumoto was born in Japan in 1972. While studying at a Japanese college, he came across a photo book by the late Japanese photographer, Michio Hoshino, and aspired to become a nature photographer himself. Matsumoto bought his first camera, went to the university of Alaska, and started to pursue the career.�

Read the entire story here

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In 1935, the collaborative satirical writers Ilya Ilf (1897-1937) and Evgeny Petrov (1903-1942) traveled to the United States from the Soviet Union on assignment as special correspondents for the newspaper Pravda. Shortly after their arrival in New York aboard the French luxury liner Normandie, they purchased a Ford automobile and embarked upon a ten-week road trip to California and back. Ilf and Petrov visited America as literary tourists, stopping at major attractions, staying in tourist motels, consulting with AAA for travel advice, and relying upon Russian-speaking tour guides to smooth their way. Like a good tourist, Ilf extensively recorded his trip with his Leica camera. Shortly after their return to the Soviet Union, the popular illustrated news magazine Ogonek� a Soviet analogue to Time magazine�published a series of illustrated articles entitled “American Photographs.”

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A hoaxer has emailed relatives and friends of people missing since the Asia tsunami disaster, saying their loved ones have been confirmed dead.

The hoaxer, claiming to be from the Thai “Foreign Office Bureau”, targeted people who placed appeals on the Sky News website.

The Metropolitan Police said it was treating the messages, which came from one e-mail address, very seriously.

It added that the government would not use e-mail to inform people of a death.

The bogus address used is ukgovfoffice@aol.com.

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A 10-year-old British schoolgirl saved the lives of hundreds of people in southern Asia by warning them a wall of water was about to strike, after learning about tsunamis in geography class, British media reported.

Tilly, who has been renamed the “angel of the beach” by the top-selling tabloid The Sun, was holidaying with her family on the Thai island of Phuket when she suddenly grasped what was taking place and alerted her mother.

“Last term Mr Kearney taught us about earthquakes and how they can cause tsunamis,” Tilly was quoted as saying by The Sun.

“I was on the beach and the water started to go funny. There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden.

“I recognised what was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told mummy.”

Her intuition was enough to raise the alert and prompt the evacuation of Phuket’s Maikhao beach and a neighbouring hotel before the water came crashing in, saving hundreds of people from death and injury.

According to The Sun, no one on Maikhao beach was seriously hurt by the tsunamis that have left more than 125,000 dead and millions homeless around the shores of the Indian Ocean.

The girl’s geography teacher, Andrew Kearnay from Surrey in northern England, told the paper he had explained to his class that there was about 10 minutes from the moment the ocean draws out before the tsunami strikes.

An overturned cargo ship is seen in this aerial view of the town of Meulaboh in Aceh province, Indonesia

This combo photo taken 26 December 2004 shows (top-L) Phuket’s Chedi resort staff preparing for the day as the first swell edges toward the lawn followed by the arrival of the second and third waves (top-R and bottom-L) respectively, which engulfed the hotel restaurant and its surrounding gardens and the final photo showing the water at its crest, flooding the whole area.

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The Bush administration is preparing plans for possible lifetime detention of suspected terrorists, including hundreds whom the government does not have enough evidence to charge in courts, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

Citing intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials, the newspaper said the Pentagon and the CIA had asked the White House to decide on a more permanent approach for those it would not set free or turn over to courts at home or abroad.

As part of a solution, the Defense Department, which holds 500 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, plans to ask the U.S. Congress for $25 million to build a 200-bed prison to hold detainees who are unlikely to ever go through a military tribunal for lack of evidence, defense officials told the newspaper.

So “lack of evidence” results in “life imprisonment” now?

I know some of you have stock portfolio based on “Green policies” for example, renewable energy companies. Here’s a stock you need to kick out:

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Solar intends to acquire two separately classified blocks of mineral claims known as the Tambogrande Property and the Lacones Property in addition to the assignment of an option agreement to acquire up to seven concessions known as the Papayo Joint Venture (“Peru Properties”). The sale of assets is to include all existing claims, mineral exploration rights, exploration results, consulting work and reports concluded by Manhattan in connection with the Peru Properties. Solar is aware that Manhattan’s interest in the Tambogrande Property and the Papayo Joint Venture are in dispute.

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Solar has traditionally been a research and development company focused on producing renewable energy and low cost potable water. Due to financing constraints, all ongoing research and development efforts in this area have been suspended. Solar’s current focus is to identify, acquire or option a broad range of business operations or opportunities that may prove beneficial to Solar’s shareholders in the near term.

Solar is a public company; its common shares trade on the OTCBB under the ticker symbol “SLRE”.

And here’s what the Peru community thinks about it. Solar is facing an uphill battle…

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Republican leaders are considering a change in House ethics rules that could make it harder to discipline lawmakers.

The proposal being circulated among House Republicans would end a general rule against any behavior that might bring “discredit” on the chamber, according to House Republican and Democratic leadership aides. House members would be held to a narrower standard of behavior in keeping with the law, the House’s rules and its ethics guidelines.

Other proposed changes to the ethics committee’s rules being circulated in a “Dear Colleague” letter from House Rules Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif., would let House members respond to any admonishment before a letter goes out from the committee, and would end an investigation if there is a tie vote.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., plans to bring the proposal before a meeting of all House Republicans next week “and see what they think,” said Hastert spokesman John Feehery.

The broader ethics rule in question was used this year to admonish Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, though the committee said he did not break House rules.

Democrats and government watchdog groups denounced the proposed change.

“It would lower the standard of official conduct, and if that’s the case, it would be the first time that it has been done since 1968, and it would be done on a completely partisan basis,” said Jennifer Crider, spokeswoman for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, on Friday.

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Our money is not the government’s to give.

As the death toll mounts in the areas hit by Sunday’s tsunami in southern Asia, private organizations and individuals are scrambling to send out money and goods to help the victims. Such help may be entirely proper, especially considering that most of those affected by this tragedy are suffering through no fault of their own.

The United States government, however, should not give any money to help the tsunami victims. Why? Because the money is not the government’s to give.

Every cent the government spends comes from taxation. Every dollar the government hands out as foreign aid has to be extorted from an American taxpayer first. Year after year, for decades, the government has forced American taxpayers to provide foreign aid to every type of natural or man-made disaster on the face of the earth: from the Marshall Plan to reconstruct a war-ravaged Europe to the $15 billion recently promised to fight AIDS in Africa to the countless amounts spent to help the victims of earthquakes, fires and floods–from South America to Asia. Even the enemies of the United States were given money extorted from American taxpayers: from the billions given away by Clinton to help the starving North Koreans to the billions given away by Bush to help the blood-thirsty Palestinians under Arafat’s murderous regime.

The question no one asks about our politicians’ “generosity” towards the world’s needy is: By what right? By what right do they take our hard-earned money and give it away?

Perhaps this rather hard hearted and yes, stingy, writer ought to look at the “rights” enjoyed by people here, here, here, here, here, here, and look down at what brand of shoes he’s wearing. Then open his big fat mouth and try to talk about extortion.