The renowned investor Warren E. Buffett often speaks animatedly on television about financial responsibility. Soon he will actually be animated for a children’s series on the same subject.
The Web series, called the “Secret Millionaire’s Club,” will make its debut on AOL’s Web site in the fall. Mr. Buffett said in an interview that the short episodes would aim to “entertain kids and deliver a message.”
A new children’s media company called A Squared Entertainment is producing the series. Andy Heyward, a longtime creator of children’s entertainment, and Amy Moynihan, a veteran of brand marketing, founded the company this year. They are working with AOL to introduce a number of celebrity-backed Web shows for children, including shows with Mr. Buffett, the supermodel Gisele Bündchen and the planner extraordinaire Martha Stewart.
In “Secret Millionaire’s Club,” the animated Mr. Buffett will play a mentor to a group of children who go into business (a candy store, naturally). It is a revival of a project Mr. Heyward tried to develop several years ago.
So far Mr. Buffett has recorded the audio for the first episode. It’s pretty easy lifting; Mr. Heyward “never gives me very difficult parts,” Mr. Buffett joked.
Mr. Buffett said the objective of the series — to instill healthy financial habits in young people — “appeals to me enormously.”
“Kids are forming habits, and habits are strong things,” he said, recalling a quote attributed to the poet Samuel Johnson: “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”
“Certain financial habits are not necessarily intuitive,” Mr. Buffett said. “If a young person is exposed to the logic of certain behavior, you’re going to get through to some of them.”
Among other topics, the episodes will address the value of patient investments and the risks of credit cards. “The most important message, really, is that the best investment you can make is in yourself,” Mr. Buffett said. The episodes are intended for 6- to 11-year-olds.
The investor said he spoke with one of the animators Friday morning. He said he asked him to “make me look like George Clooney, but I think that’s too difficult for them!”
Conservationists are delighted at news that Lonesome George, the last remaining giant tortoise of his kind, may soon become a father … at the age of 90.
Last Tuesday, amazed keepers discovered a clutch of unhatched eggs in his “bachelor” pen in the Galapagos Islands.
No wonder they were amazed - a team of scientists have been doggedly coaxing the sullen creature to mate since 1993, when they introduced two female tortoises of a different subspecies into his pen. Until now, George, the last known Pinta Island tortoise had shown little interest in his companions. But at age 90, George, now said to be in his sexual prime, was finally spurred into action.
Officials at the Galapagos National Park said the five eggs were “in perfect condition” and have been transferred to an incubator.
A spokesman said, “Now we have to wait for the incubation period of 120 days to find out whether they are fertile.”
Galapagos Tortoises, among the species Charles Darwin observed to formulate his theory of evolution in the 19th century, were hunted for their meat by sailors and fishermen to the point of extinction, while their habitat has been eaten away by goats introduced from the mainland.
Some 20,000 giant tortoises still live on the Galapagos, and are subject to a determined conservation effort.
Yeah, that already happened last year. Lonesome George mated for the first time with some female tortoises of a similar species to him, but the eggs were infertile. It's interesting because George is the only known member of its species, so even if these ones are fertile, it would take years of selective breeding to bring back the species.
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian soccer fans have been told to drink whisky on their trip to Wales for next month's World Cup qualifier to ward off the H1N1 swine flu virus, the head of the country's supporter association (VOB) said Monday.
"We urge our fans to drink a lot of Welsh whisky as a form of disinfection," VOB head Alexander Shprygin told Reuters.
"That should cure all symptoms of the disease."
Russia's Health Ministry has issued a public warning against traveling to Britain because of the spread of the H1N1 virus but Shprygin said he expected at least several hundred fans would go to Wales for the September 9 qualifier in Cardiff.
"Health officials say this virus is very dangerous but being a fan myself I can tell you that for a real fan nothing is more important than the well-being of the team," said Shprygin, who also sits on the executive board of the Russian FA.
"Russian fans don't fear anything or anybody so this virus will not stand in our way of supporting our team."
The Russian FA also said health issues should not prevent fans from traveling.
"We don't want our team to be without any support for such an important match so we urge our fans to go to Wales despite the health warning," a spokesman said.
Germany lead European Group Four with 16 points from six games, one ahead of Russia, with Wales in fourth place on nine points from seven matches.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Botanists believe they have discovered one of the world's largest carnivorous plants in Southeast Asia.
The giant pitcher plants were located in Palawan, central Philippines by a team led by UK botanist Stewart McPherson.
The second largest species, now called Nepenthes attenboroughii has been named in honor of the UK's world-renowned natural history presenter Sir David Attenborough.
The new discovery measures about 30 centimeters in diameter and are formed in the shape of a large cup, which McPherson says is full of water and acidic enzymes.
Prey is attracted by a sweet-scented nectar and once captured in the cup is prevented from escaping by the slippery, waxy leaves and, as a consequence, drowns.
McPherson discovered over 20 new varieties of pitcher plant on the trip and made two rediscoveries.
Nepenthes deaniana was first discovered in 1907 but was subsequently lost when the Philippine National Herbarium in Manila was bombed towards the end of World War II.
McPherson and his team believe they have located the plant in the wild for the first time in over a hundred years.
The Nepenthes deaniana produces a spectacular, football-sized, red pitchers that are large enough to catch insects and small animals.
In many of the traps, the botanists found giant centipedes and 10 centimeter-long spiders.
The Botanical Society of America says that there are around 600 species of pitcher plants. Most familiar, perhaps, is the Venus Flytrap. But bigger species like the Nepenthes attenboroughii and the Nepenthes northaina are able to capture animals as large as rats, as can be clearly seen in the picture above.
A French security adviser seized by Islamist militants in Somalia has escaped his captors, officials say.
The Frenchman, who was kidnapped from a hotel in Mogadishu along with a colleague last month, reportedly killed three militants as he fled.
French foreign ministry officials confirmed that he had escaped but denied there had been any violence.
They also said the second hostage was still being held. An earlier report that said he was free was retracted.
The pair were part of a team who are in the country to train forces for the UN-backed interim government - who are battling Islamist rebels for control of the country.
Ransom denial
A spokesman for the interim government, Abdulkadir Hussein Wehliye, said the escaped Frenchman was in the presidential palace and "in a good mood".
A government military official, Farhan Asanyo, said the man had approached government soldiers early on Wednesday, identified himself and said he had escaped.
"The man told them that he was one of the French officials held by militants," Mr Asanyo said.
"He said he escaped after killing three of his captors, and we sent him to the presidential palace."
However, witnesses suggested that the rebels had allowed the Frenchman to go free, prompting speculation that a ransom might have been paid.
France's foreign ministry denied reports of any money changing hands or of violence taking place.
"The hostage held by Hizbul-Islam was able to escape his kidnappers," spokesman Eric Chevallier told reporters.
"Despite certain allegations and rumours, this happened without violence and France did not pay a ransom."
Hours after the first hostage was released, French news agency AFP reported that Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gele had said the second hostage was also free.
But AFP later retracted the report, after Mr Gele confirmed only one hostage was free.
Mr Chevallier reiterated that the second hostage was still being held.
Foreign reinforcements
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan, in Mogadishu, says the two French captives were being held by different factions.
While fighters from the Hizbul-Islam group were holding the man whose release has been confirmed, their allies from al-Shabab were thought to be holding the other man.
The two groups control much of southern Somalia, but analysts say al-Shabab is known for being the more radical of the two groups.
Al-Shabab fighters care little for their public image and they have carried out killings on camera.
Both groups are said to have links to al-Qaeda and have been reinforced by foreign fighters.
Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991.
Moderate Islamist Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was sworn in as president in January after UN-brokered peace talks.
While I'm sure it actually sucks for people in Australia, this picture is pretty awesome.
Largest dust storms in 70 years cover Sydney
A vast dust storm that blew in from the deserts of Australia's red centre has blanketed the country's largest city and eastern coast in a crimson fog, causing widespread traffic chaos and severe flight delays.
Residents from Sydney in New South Wales to Canberra inland and towns in southern Queensland awoke to a red sky and greatly reduced visibility after the country's worst dust storm in 70 years blew in overnight.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House were shrouded in the red fog and hundreds of people reported breathing problems to the health authorities.
Children, the elderly and those suffering from asthma or heart or lung diseases were advised to stay indoors as even healthy adults reported "itchy throats" and a metallic aftertaste in their mouths after walking through the thick haze.
Commuters used face masks, originally intended to protect them from the spread of swine flu, to negotiate the clogged streets on their way to work. Some schools were closed and sports activities were called off as the conditions pushed air pollution levels to 1500 times their normal levels – the highest on record.
Passengers at the busy Sydney Airport faced delays of up to six hours for international flights and three hours for domestic trips, and some international flights were cancelled as visibility was reduced to just a few feet.
Sydney ferries were also suspended for several hours for safety reasons.
Cars were cloaked, inches thick, in the orange dust and yachts on the harbour, usually gleaming white, had a dull yellowy sheen.
Locals, ringing in to radio stations to express their shock at the red dawn, compared the quiet streets and general sense of bewilderment to "Armageddon".
"It's like a nuclear winter morning," tourist Peter Wilson, 53, at Circular Quay in central Sydney told Reuters. "It is so eerie." Daniel Hall told the Daily Telegraph that when he awoke in the Sydney suburb of Paddington the sky was "bright red" and "all the cars were covered in dirt".
The atmospheric anomaly, which measured more than 310 miles wide and 620 miles long, was caused by dust clouds blowing east from Australia's dry interior, which has been parched by the worst drought on record. It covered dozens of towns and cities in two states as strong winds snatched up tons of topsoil, threw it high into the sky and carried it hundreds of miles.
The dust hanging over Sydney had largely cleared by midafternoon, although national carrier Qantas said severe delays would last all day because of diverted and late-running flights.
Further north, in the Queensland capital of Brisbane, the sky remained red into the early evening.
The storms visible as a huge brown smudge in satellite photographs of Australia on Wednesday were the most severe since the 1940s, experts said.
"These dust storms are some of the largest in the last 70 years," said Nigel Tapper, an environmental scientist at Monash University. "Ten very dry years over inland southern Australia and very strong westerlies have conspired to produce these storms."
HAYWARD, Wis. — Shoppers in a Wisconsin grocery store got an unexpected surprise when a 125-pound black bear wandered inside and headed straight for the beer cooler.
The bear stopped Thursday night at Marketplace Foods in Hayward, about 140 miles northeast of Minneapolis, sauntering through the automatic doors and heading straight for the liquor department.
It calmly climbed up 12 feet onto a shelf in the beer cooler where it sat for about an hour while employees helped evacuate customers and summoned wildlife officials.
Officials from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources tranquilized the animal and took it out of the store. Store workers say the bear seemed content in the cooler and did not consume any alcohol.
Feds to issue new medical marijuana policy
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal drug agents won't pursue pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers in states that allow medical marijuana, under new legal guidelines to be issued Monday by the Obama administration.
Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.
The guidelines to be issued by the department do, however, make it clear that agents will go after people whose marijuana distribution goes beyond what is permitted under state law or use medical marijuana as a cover for other crimes, the officials said.
The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.
Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
California is unique among those for the widespread presence of dispensaries - businesses that sell marijuana and even advertise their services. Colorado also has several dispensaries, and Rhode Island and New Mexico are in the process of licensing providers, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that promotes the decriminalization of marijuana use.
Attorney General Eric Holder said in March that he wanted federal law enforcement officials to pursue those who violate both federal and state law, but it has not been clear how that goal would be put into practice.
A three-page memo spelling out the policy is expected to be sent Monday to federal prosecutors in the 14 states, and also to top officials at the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.
The memo, the officials said, emphasizes that prosecutors have wide discretion in choosing which cases to pursue, and says it is not a good use of federal manpower to prosecute those who are without a doubt in compliance with state law.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the legal guidance before it is issued.
"This is a major step forward," said Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "This change in policy moves the federal government dramatically toward respecting scientific and practical reality."
At the same time, the officials said, the government will still prosecute those who use medical marijuana as a cover for other illegal activity. The memo particularly warns that some suspects may hide old-fashioned drug dealing or other crimes behind a medical marijuana business.
In particular, the memo urges prosecutors to pursue marijuana cases which involve violence, the illegal use of firearms, selling pot to minors, money laundering or involvement in other crimes.
And while the policy memo describes a change in priorities away from prosecuting medical marijuana cases, it does not rule out the possibility that the federal government could still prosecute someone whose activities are allowed under state law.
The memo, officials said, is designed to give a sense of prosecutorial priorities to U.S. attorneys in the states that allow medical marijuana. It notes that pot sales in the United States are the largest source of money for violent Mexican drug cartels, but adds that federal law enforcement agencies have limited resources.
Medical marijuana advocates have been anxious to see exactly how the administration would implement candidate Barack Obama's repeated promises to change the policy in situations in which state laws allow the use of medical marijuana.
Soon after Obama took office, DEA agents raided four dispensaries in Los Angeles, prompting confusion about the government's plans.
Comments
Do not fear Tim Hortons. They have great, well priced selections for breakfast and lunch, is why I go there. I love the soups.
In fact, during one of my dEUS concerts Nandrin Festival, August 97, Tom said that there was the last time they played Via, for ever.
Can someone confirm if he has kept his promise? Or not...
Largest dust storms in 70 years cover Sydney
A vast dust storm that blew in from the deserts of Australia's red centre has blanketed the country's largest city and eastern coast in a crimson fog, causing widespread traffic chaos and severe flight delays.
Sounds familiar, except we killed our adorable, furry customer.