Countries Aim To Return From Disaster, Disruption
Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/01/136818483/countries-aim-to-return-from-disaster-disruption?ft=1&f=1004
Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/01/136818483/countries-aim-to-return-from-disaster-disruption?ft=1&f=1004
Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/96553310?client_source=feed&format=rss
barak obama hillary clinton george w bush nancy pelosi harry reid
Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/05/31/seductive_beliefs_110016.html
bill oreilly fox news hamid karzai barak obama hillary clinton
Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/31/136810728/activists-in-bahrain-lay-low-after-crackdown?ft=1&f=1004
As more women postpone motherhood into their 30s, even 40s, they're hitting that age-old constraint: the biological clock. Now, technology is dangling the possibility that women can stop that clock, at least for a while.
In a Manhattan office building on a recent evening, two dozen women — all in their 30s and 40s — sit in folding chairs, balancing cellphones and glasses of wine. They're gathered for a seminar called "Take Control of Your Fertility."
Dr. Alan Copperman of Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York wastes no time laying out this harsh reality: By the time a woman hits her 40s, 90 percent of her eggs are abnormal. The chances of a typical 40-year-old getting pregnant in any given month? Ten percent. Unless, that is, she gets pregnant with her younger eggs — eggs she had frozen years before.
Copperman explains the procedure, introduces someone who has gone through it and takes a flurry of questions.
Afterward, women crowd a counter to set up appointments with Copperman's clinic, which offers egg freezing. Sally Montgomery is among the youngest here, and the most upbeat. Her mom had trouble conceiving, so she wants to be proactive.
"I'm 31, your typical New Yorker," she says. "I'm single, I'm bouncing around, and I'd like the opportunity to have a family, so I just figured, 'Why not?' I don't think it's a guarantee, but it's a nice insurance policy, and I think it takes some of the pressure off."
Others, though, slip out quietly. One 40-year-old says she wishes she'd learned about egg freezing earlier. Esther Montoro, a 37-year-old photographer, looks a little stunned.
"I think it's fantastic," she says, "but I think it's so incredibly expensive."
The whole process — a week of hormones, plus the procedure to collect the eggs — runs $12,000 to $14,000. And because it takes 10 to 20 eggs for a reasonable shot at success, some may need to do this several times. Plus, there are annual storage fees. Then, when you're ready to use your eggs, you'll need in vitro fertilization, another pricey procedure. All told, costs can easily exceed $40,000, money Montoro doesn't have.
Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/31/136363039/egg-freezing-puts-the-biological-clock-on-hold?ft=1&f=1003
The 32-year-old woman, Manal al-Sherif, became the center of a growing Internet campaign that also served to draw attention to plans for a June 17 rally calling for a mass driving protest to challenge the restriction.
The Saudi activist, Waleed Aboul Khair, credited al-Sherif's release on "pressure from inside and outside" Saudi Arabia, which follows an austere brand of Islam known as Wahhabism that is enforced by morality police.
Al-Sherif had been detained since May 21 after posting an Internet video of her driving as part of a campaign for the planned protest next month. She was ordered to remain in custody until at least early June.
The reason for the early release was not announced by authorities, but Aboul Khair said al-Sherif signed an agreement not to attempt to drive again or speak to reporters.
Even so, Aboul Khair said he still plans to press ahead with a petition asking Saudi authorities to lift the driving ban on women, the only such rule in the world.
There is no written Saudi law banning women from driving only fatwas, or religious edicts, by senior clerics. They claim it protects against the spread of vice and temptation because women drivers would be free to leave home alone and interact with male strangers. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers or rely on male relatives to drive.
King Abdullah has promised some social reforms, but he depends on the clerics to support his ruling family and is unlikely to take steps that would anger the religious establishment.
Al-Sherif's Facebook page, called "Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself," was removed after more than 12,000 people indicated their support. The campaign's Twitter account also was blocked. Hundreds of other sites have sprouted to support her and the protest call.
Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/30/136800382/saudi-activist-woman-driver-freed-from-detention?ft=1&f=1004