$200 Bill
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Sunday, September 21, 2008
Man Successfully Used a $200 bill
87 Million Year-Old Praying Mantis Found
87 Million Year-Old Praying Mantis Found
It is a rare find indeed and its true significance is still to be deciphered.
Discovered in January of this year by Kazuhisa Sasaki, director of the Kuji Amber Museum, the fossil mantis measures 0.5 inch (1.4 centimeters) from its antennae to the tip of its abdomen.
It was found buried more than six feet below the surface of an amber mine in a part of Japan that is famous for producing large amounts of amber, the northeastern Iwate Prefecture.
“I found it in a deposit that had lots of other insects—ancient flies, bees, and cockroaches—but this was the only praying mantis” said Sasaki.
According to Kyoichiro Ueda, executive curator of the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History, it is the oldest mantis fossil ever found in Japan and only one of seven in the entire world from the Cretaceous Period.
Even more unique is the fact that this mantis is different from the other six, in that it has two spines protruding from its femur and it has mysterious, tiny hairs on its forelegs.
No mantis from this particular time period has ever been found with spines, although modern mantises have five or six on their forelegs, which help them catch prey.
“The years of the late Cretaceous period were a kind of transition phase between the ancient and modern worlds, and this fossil displays many intermediate elements between the two eras” said Ueda.
Time alone will reveal the significance of this important find.
Illinois police arrest woman accused of bartending in the buff
DELHI, Ill. - Here's a tip: Bartending nude can get you arrested.
Sheriff's deputies doing a routine check this week at a southern Illinois bar say they discovered a not-so-routine sight.
Authorities allege that 33-year-old Janet Brannon was naked while serving bar patrons at the Cabin Tavern in Delhi.
Brannon was arrested and charged with misdemeanour public indecency. She was freed on $8,000 bond.
She was the only bar employee working at the time, so the tavern was closed ThursdaySaturday, September 20, 2008
DNA test exonerates Dallas man jailed for 25 years
DNA test exonerates Dallas man jailed for 25 years
By JEFF CARLTON, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 19, 5:57 PM ET
DALLAS - A 56-year-old man who spent 25 years behind bars for a rape he says he didn't commit walked out of court a free man on Friday after a judge recommended his aggravated rape conviction be overturned.
Johnnie Earl Lindsey said he wrote six letters to a Dallas County court seeking post-conviction DNA testing that could prove his innocence. All six were ignored, he said.
"I couldn't get nobody to hear my case," said Lindsey, 56. "Once I could get someone to pay attention to what's going on, there was no doubt in my mind I would be exonerated."
That day came Friday, about a week after testing on DNA evidence from a rape kit taken after a 1981 sexual assault of a Dallas woman excluded Lindsey as the source.
He becomes the 20th man in Dallas County proven innocent by DNA testing since 2001, although one of those men will be retried by prosecutors. Those 20 cases are a national high for one county, according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based legal center specializing in wrongful conviction cases.
State District Judge Larry Mitchell released Lindsey on a personal recognizance bond and recommended the state Court of Criminal Appeals overturn the rape conviction. Lindsey will be considered officially exonerated once the higher court accepts the recommendation or if Gov. Rick Perry grants a pardon.
Mitchell, who was credited by Lindsey for being the first court official to take an interest in his case, delivered an impassioned apology from the bench.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am this happened to you. Your freedom was taken away from you for all these years," Mitchell said. "There's a saying that justice delayed is justice denied. Justice was delayed for too long in your case."
Christian magazine sold under the counter like porn
Christian magazine sold under the counter like porn
Retailers remove Gospel Today after women on cover stirs controversy
Posted: September 19, 2008
1:06 pm Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
 Gospel Today's controversial cover |
In some bookstores pornographic magazines are stored under the front counter to shield customers from their provocative covers, but in the more than 100 Lifeway Christian Bookstores across the country, the current issue of Gospel Today has been pulled from shelves and likewise tucked away because of the cover story.
The five ladies on the front of the magazine are all dressed in black, not because they are models, however, but because they are clergy.
Lifeway Christian Bookstores has pulled the magazine from its shelves because the chain's owner, the Southern Baptist Convention, reserves the role of pastor for men.
Chris Turner, a spokesman for Lifeway Resources, which runs the stores for the Southern Baptist Convention, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the September/October issue of Gospel Today was pulled because "it is contrary to what we believe."
While individual churches within the denomination are independent and may hire female pastors if they choose, Southern Baptist national polity discourages women from serving as senior pastors, based on the application of various New Testament Scriptures.
Teresa Hairston, owner of Gospel Today, which describes itself as a magazine for the urban Christian community, told the Journal-Constitution she was shocked by the bookstore's decision.
"We weren't trying to pick a fight," Hairston said. "We just did a story on an emerging trend in a lot of churches."
Pastor Tamara Bennett, one of the featured pastors on the magazine cover, talks in the feature article about her perspective on women in ministry.
"God's assignment is that no souls are lost and all are saved," Bennett said. "Gender is not how God sees it. We are about winning souls, periodFriday, September 19, 2008
World's oldest man has 113th birthday in Japan
AP Photo: Tomoji Tanabe, left, the world's oldest man is congratulated by Miyakonojo Mayor Makoto Nagamine on...
By JAY ALABASTER, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 19, 2:58 AM ET
TOKYO - The world's oldest man celebrated his 113th birthday Thursday in southern Japan, telling reporters he wants to live another five years. Tomoji Tanabe, who was born Sept. 18, 1895, received birthday gifts, flowers and $1,000 cash from the mayor of his hometown of Miyakonojo, on Japan's southern island of Kyushu.
Tanabe told reporters he wants to live "another five years or so," according to city spokesman Akihide Yokoyama. That was a slight downgrade from last year, when he said he wanted to live "for infinity."
The former city land surveyor, who lives with his son and daughter-in-law, is in good health and sticks to the habits that have gotten him this far. He rises early and reads the newspaper each day, drinks milk every afternoon and eats regular meals. He also avoids alcohol and does not smoke.
On Tuesday he woke up early in the morning to eat breakfast before walking out to meet the mayor and members of the press at his home, Yokoyama said. The cash gift he received is given annually to the city's oldest resident.
Japan has one of the world's longest life expectancies, nearly 86 years for women and 79 years for men, which is often attributed to the country's healthy diet rich in fish and rice.
The number of Japanese living past 100 has more than doubled in the last six years, reaching a record high of 36,000 people this year. The country's centenarian ranks are dominated by women, who make up 86 percent of the total.
Japan's centenarian population is expected to reach nearly 1 million — the world's largest — by 2050, according to U.N. projections.
The world's oldest person is 115-year-old Edna Parker, who was born on April 20, 1893, and lives in a nursing home in Indiana.
New York's top restaurants plagued by tip trouble
New York's top restaurants plagued by tip trouble
By Christine Kearney Thu Sep 18, 10:05 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Seasoned travelers know that waiters in the United States expect tips of 15 to 20 percent -- $60 on a $300 dinner for two at one of New York's top restaurants.
What is less well known is that the money doesn't all go to the waiters and more lowly staff.
In lawsuits filed in the last three years, staff have accused dozens of New York restaurants, including many well-known ones, of stealing tips and cheating them out of wages.
Among those named in the suits are celebrity haunt Pastis; three New York restaurants co-owned by actor Robert De Niro in the global Nobu chain; Jean Georges -- which has three Michelin stars -- and other restaurants owned by French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten; and hip hop star Jay Z's 40/40 Club.
Peruvian Ivan Arias said he was happy just to have a job when he came to New York and found himself working as a busboy at the Redeye Grill, an eatery in midtown Manhattan where eight of its signature "dancing shrimp" cost $39.
But Arias, 36, said he soon realized he was being cheated out of overtime, breaks and promotions, and denied a fair share of tips.
"The conditions were not OK. They did not pay me tips. They did not pay me overtime," Arias told Reuters.
In June, a New York judge approved the first payment in a settlement totaling $3.9 million for workers at the Redeye Grill and five other restaurants owned by the Fireman Hospitality Group.
As part of the settlement, Fireman agreed not to let managers share in tips.
A spokesperson for the company did not return a call seeking comment. A spokesman for the New York State Restaurant Association was not available for comment.
Carolyn Richmond, an attorney representing several restaurants, blamed decades-old workplace labor laws, as well as state and federal laws that do not clearly state who can share in tips and how they should be divided.
"It is a result of these antiquated laws and regulations that plaintiff class action lawyers have been able to swoop in and take advantage," she said.
CELEBRITY CHEF
Indeed, the suits, filed mainly by low-paid immigrants who work as dishwashers and busboys, has emboldened usually white front-of-house staff to file their own suits.
The restaurants have also accused a nonprofit group called the Restaurant Opportunities Center, which organized protests outside the Redeye Grill, of orchestrating a campaign based on unfounded accusations.
But an attorney for the center, Rekha Eanni, said the lawsuits show that poorly paid immigrants were losing their fear of speaking up.
"It's really significant that this is the first time -- this meaning in the past six or so years -- when workers are really coming forward," said Eanni.
Since the suit was filed against Fireman, dozens of similar ones followed. Some are still pending while others have settled.
Vongerichten has agreed to pay $1.75 million to eight waiters who filed suit on behalf of all staff at Jean Georges and four of his other New York restaurants, pending final approval by a judge.
And last year celebrated chef Daniel Boulud agreed to settle for an undisclosed amount with immigrant workers at his restaurant, Daniel. They accused the restaurant of promoting white French workers ahead of nonwhites.
Arias, married with a young daughter, now works as a busboy at Craftbar, an offshoot of one of the city's top restaurants, Craft. Whereas at the Redeye Grill he earned $400 for up to 60 hours a week, he now earns around $600 for 35 to 40 hours, he said.
"Now I am happy, with my tips, with my check, every time," he said.
Julio Anzures, who received a payout of $20,000 in a settlement with a restaurant owned by Smith and Wollensky in 2003, said conditions have improved since the lawsuits started.
"I feel good not about the money but about the change of conditions," said Anzures, who has since moved up from dish washer to line cook and who sends most of his money home to his family in Mexico. "After these campaigns there are now breaks and overtime."
But he and others say there is still abuse.
"The people that make the laws, they know what is happening in the industry," Anzures said. "They need to make more changes."
(Reporting by Christine Kearney; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Eddie Evans)
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