NY TIMES 11/25/05 FRONT PAGE NEWS - So what is the connection between a 515lb. helium balloon shaped like a giant M&M crashing into a light pole in Times Square and the disappearance of 30 street lights in Baltimore? Probably none, except for the fact that both stories appear in today's newspaper.
Sure, it's a simple coincidence that we have two stories about light poles on the same day in the NY Times (unless you are a Satan's-face-in-the-mushroom-cloud-over-the-Twin Towers- theorist), but long ago, the ancients might have thought that an accident caused by a sudden wind was really the breath of mighty Zeus maneuvering objects to get our attention. They might conclude that he smashed the balloon into the light pole in order to highlight the mysterious light pole thefts in Baltimore.
In reality, yesterday during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a sudden wind blew a giant M&M balloon into a light pole near 43rd street in New York at 11:40am, injuring a 26-yr old woman and her 11-yr old sister, both of whom were released soon after. Neither suffered serious injuries. NBC was criticized for ignoring the accident, and for cheerfully re-broadcasting last year's tape of the M&M balloon while this year's balloon was being dragged off the scene. (Is there not something just a little surreal about that?)
In Baltimore, thieves have very carefully stolen 30, 130 ft tall light poles with a replacement value of $156,000 each, presumably for scrap metal. A talk-show host on WBAL Radio asked, "What's next? Someone taking a downtown building?"
On the front page today is a story about an Iraqi wife in search of her husband, who has become one of a rapidly expanding group of suspected insurgents being rounded up, Sadaam Hussein-era style, and sent to detention centers: "While the scandal in Abu Ghraib prison ushered in new reforms in American-run jails, the mushrooming Iraqi detention facilities operate virtually unchecked."
Apparently, many states are experiencing a surprising increase in tax revenues right now, but experts warn that this is a temporary state of affairs. Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers says: "The problem is that the states are like the guy who had been laid off and his income went way down, and now he's got a job again. But in the meantime, he put a lot of expenses on his credit card, his kids' tuition went up and he tapped into his retirement fund. That's exactly what a lot of states did."
From Slidell, Louisiana comes a beautiful, heartwarming story today about a woman named Liz LaBue, once known as "The Queen of Sheba," back in her belly-dancing days. Obviously still a lovely, talented woman, her former acquaintances include Sonny & Cher, Janis Joplin and Barbara Streisand. As she awaits the rebuilding of her hurricane-ravaged home, LaBue practices an open-door policy, welcoming visitors of all kinds, even allowing the construction workers to live on her property. One roofer says: "I've been on the road for a year, and she is the nicest person I've met." Good news about good people. Refreshing.
Bad news for the scientific community and profoundly sad news for those of us suffering from incurable diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's, is the resignation of dr.Hwang Woo Suk, the South Korean researcher responsible for extracting stem cells from the first cloned human embryo. Dr. Hwang Woo Suk stepped down because he admitted to lying about the source of donor eggs for his research. The article states that the egg donations were not considered a legal or ethical violation and while Dr. Hwang Woo Suk initially knew nothing about it (the female junior researchers donated under false names in 2003), he did lie after becoming aware of the situation, in May 2004, in order to protect the women. He said he lied because they asked him to protect their privacy.
It sounds like the women are the ones who should be resigning from their joONG>(author's note: the above sentence has been corrected by me no fewer than six times since original publication. Somehow, the wording keeps getting changed.)
While according to the principles of Confucianism Dr. Hwang Woo Suk has failed to manifest the moral perfection that is expected of individuals seeking to actualize their full potential, he has, via his spectacular scientific contributions, achieved the honorable goal of ensuring the continuation of his influence upon the thoughts and values of succeeding generations.
Dr. Schatten of the University of Pittsburg said, "I continue to believe in the scientific accomplishments of Professor Hwang and his team at Seoul National University." The Health Ministry plans to continue funding his research.
His lie, in our society, would seem so small.
NEWS NOT IN THE NY TIMES YESTERDAY - the arrest Wednesday of Daniel Ellsberg, famous for leaking the Pentagon Papers after Vietnam, at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, along with a dozen or so other protestors, two of whom had to be carried away because they refused to go on their own volition. Cindy Sheehan was not there on the day of the arrest, but she has since returned to Crawford to continue protesting the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Sheehan's son, Casey, was killed in Iraq last April.
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