Countries Aim To Return From Disaster, Disruption

Natural disasters and political unrest have devastated the tourism industry in countries such as Japan and Egypt. Tour operators are doing what they can to bring a few people back ? hoping real-life stories from adventurous travelers will convince others that conditions are safe.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/01/136818483/countries-aim-to-return-from-disaster-disruption?ft=1&f=1004

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Susan Dormady Eisenberg: Author Interview: M.J. Rose Talks About The Hypnotist (Huffingtonpost.com)

"Reincarnation is just another form of therapy. In my books, instead of going to a traditional shrink, my characters go to a therapist who practices past- life regression." Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/96553310?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Doubts Rise Over Virus As Cause Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

New research findings suggest that a mouse virus thought by some to cause chronic fatigue syndrome is instead a laboratory contaminant. The results led a leading scientific journal to ask for a retraction of an earlier paper proposing the viral link.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/05/31/136828197/doubts-rise-over-virus-as-cause-of-chronic-fatigue-syndrome?ft=1&f=1007

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Seductive Beliefs

Thomas Sowell, Investor's Business DailyOne of the painfully revealing episodes in Barack Obama's book "Dreams From My Father" describes his early experience listening to a sermon by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Among the things said in that sermon was that "white folks' greed runs a world in need." Obama was literally moved to tears by that sermon.This sermon may have been like a revelation to Barack Obama but its explanation of economic and other differences was among the oldest-- and most factually discredited-- explanations of such difference among all sorts of peoples in all sorts of places. Yet...

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/05/31/seductive_beliefs_110016.html

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Activists In Bahrain Lay Low After Crackdown

For the past two and a half months, the government of Bahrain has brutally targeted opposition figures who led massive anti-government protests in February and March. Human rights groups say the government has now ruled it a crime to be against the government.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/31/136810728/activists-in-bahrain-lay-low-after-crackdown?ft=1&f=1004

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Egg Freezing Puts The Biological Clock On Hold

This story is part of an occasional series.

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

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Saudi Activist: Woman Driver Freed From Detention

A Saudi woman detained for defying the ultraconservative kingdom's ban on female drivers was released Monday after growing international pressure for her freedom, a rights activist said.


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

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