Sunday Gazette-Mail back issues from December 2003:
'Rights of the Child' spotlight new semi-postals issued by Swiss Postal Service
Dec 07, 2003; ... Children take over the latest release of stamps from Swiss Postwith the annual Pro Juventute (for youth) semi-postals that focus onrecreational and leisure activities. The block of four semi-postals issued this month inaugurates achildren's-rights theme that will appear for the ...
A real shaggy dog story
Dec 07, 2003; ... I'VE written before about the perils of life with a big, shaggydog. Those perils continue. And they change with the seasons. "It drives me crazy," I told my friend Susan over the phonerecently. "Every time Murry comes in, his paws and belly-hair pick upso much of our yard ...
Iraq Diary
Dec 07, 2003 ... E-mail from Capt. Ted Kleisner All, Arrived last night in Kuwait City. Drove out to camp Udairi thismorning and spent the day settling in amidst a dust storm, not a badone. This area is pure flat brown desert. Nothing to look at. Reallydirty. Went through Camp New ...
The day before: Doomed lives novelized in 'Pompeii'
Dec 07, 2003; ... Pompeii is a potboiler. How could it not be? Here's the cauldron of a Roman seaside city, simmering under thehot August sun. And just to the north lies Mount Vesuvius, smolderingjust beneath the surface, the magma rising. As the volcano heats up,so does the tension in Robert ...
'Black Sunday' has parallels to 9/11
Dec 07, 2003; ... Thomas Harris' "Black Sunday" sparked a wide-ranging discussion atMonday's Book Talk. Obviously, its terrorism-centered plot bears manyparallels to the tragic attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which led BookTalk participants to explore these similarities and discuss at lengththe novel's ...
Two names, two lives,: Searching for self between different cultural identities
Dec 07, 2003; ... "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other namewould smell as sweet." - William Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet" (Act II, Scene 2) INDEED, what's in a name? In Shakespeare's famous tragedy, theyoung lovers struggle to overcome the mutual family hatred ...
Sean Penn's intensity burns brightly
Dec 07, 2003; ... It wasn't long ago that Sean Penn publicly contemplated quittingacting, much as he quit smoking. Too much stress. Not enough fun. Toomany mindless scripts crossing his desk. He got out of Los Angelesand moved his family north, to serene Marin County. Some thought hemight actually walk ...
Life & Style notes
Dec 07, 2003 ... Debut delayed The debut of At the Plate, by Marina Hendricks, has been postponedto the Dec. 14 edition of Life & Style. At the Plate, which willappear every two weeks, will take a look at interesting developmentson the area restaurant scene. Suggestions from readers are ...
Horoscope
Dec 07, 2003; ... Sunday, Dec. 7, 2003 Your birthday today: Your reward for being so patient andinventive could be a partner. You may attract the perfect person tohelp you carry the load. If you get somebody who's good at the thingyou've found the most frustrating, you'll be blessed in ...
Gift Notes
Dec 07, 2003 ... Holiday bazaar B'nai Jacob Synagogue will host a Holiday Gifts Bazaar today from10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the synagogue's gymnasium. It's open to thepublic and it isn't essential to be Jewish to enjoy the shopping.Gifts for the Jewish home are often appropriate for use in otherhomes ...
Hotel offers many pillows for many needs
Dec 07, 2003; ... People rarely bother to test-drive a pillow. Maybe we should. Because in a world of side sleepers, back sleepers, stomachsleepers, down lovers, down haters, foam fans and foam foes, findingthe perfect pillow is a personal pursuit. Still, there are a few things to keep in mind ...
Pillow-to-go ensures happy snoozing on the road
Dec 07, 2003; ... They have lost sleep trying to squish hotel pillows into comfysubmission and spent restless nights at relatives' homes where guest-room pillows were as lumpy as lousy mashed potatoes. They have given up finding comfortable pillows on the road. They are the people who pack ...
Northern visitors arrive in time for the holidays
Dec 07, 2003; ... Of all the winter birds that visit my back yard, tree sparrows areamong the least conspicuous. They usually arrive shortly beforeChristmas and quickly find the white millet, cracked corn and black-oil sunflower seeds that fall from the feeders hanging overhead. Despite their name, ...
Brand-new poinsettias grace Clay Center for holidays
Dec 07, 2003; ... Larry Gouer, owner of Mary's Greenhouse in Elkins, has broughtalmost 100 exciting varieties of poinsettia to the Clay Center inCharleston for public viewing and evaluation. Last December, when we visited the poinsettia trials in hiscrowded greenhouse, he said he hoped to bring ...
Garden gifts
Dec 07, 2003 ... Bulbs in a sack, $11.99 Valley Gardens in Charleston has red, pink and white amaryllisbulbs, great for indoor winter bloom, attractively packaged in red-and-green burlap bags. The burlap bags can be rolled down to act asdecorative covers for the plastic pots you plant the bulbs in ....
Ways to save your wallet when you ski
Dec 07, 2003; ... With peak-season lift tickets now selling for up to $65, the words"cheap" and "skiing" are rarely found in the same sentence thesedays. But take it from a tightwad - there are a number of ways to easethe sticker shock of spending a day at West Virginia's snow resorts. One of ...
Born to ski, Snowshoe's Rob Mahan trying for spot on national instructor team
Dec 07, 2003; ... SNOWSHOE - Rob Mahan literally has grown up on the slopes, makinghis first trip to Snowshoe at age 8 or 9. "I was kind of turned loose on the mountain at a young age," herecalled. "My dad found me at the bottom of Ballhooter. A friend andI had ventured off Skidder." With ...
DVDs, CDs, books don't have to break the bank
Dec 07, 2003 ... DON'T have much cash for the holiday season? There are severalplaces in the Kanawha Valley where you can find secondhandentertainment merchandise for a fraction of what the items would costyou brand-new. The quality of items varies, as they are pre-owned,but many are quite suitable for ...
Holiday feasting can be unkind to animals, too
Dec 07, 2003; ... When it comes to overeating, the holidays are just as treacherousfor pets as for their two-legged owners. Fluffy and Fido look so-oooo cute and pudgy, just waiting for youto hand over that piece of turkey or bread or pumpkin pie. So you do. Bad owner, bad owner. A ...
Can I write this off?,: Gift giving in the office can really get out of hand
Dec 07, 2003 ... Last week, Mind Your Manners took on the hazards and challenges ofthe holiday office party. This week, our manners columnist tacklesthe equally challenging holiday spectacle of office gift giving. Dear Pam, Help! With the holidays just around the corner I am quicklyreminded ...
Other West Virginia gifts
Dec 07, 2003 ... Mountain beauty No one who appreciates the scenic beauty of West Virginia can failto be impressed with "Mountain Memories: An Appalachian Sense ofPlace" by Jim Clark, published in October. Clark is a noted outdoorphotographer whose work is already familiar to many from his ...
Address book changes without erasing
Dec 07, 2003; ... IT'S that time of the year again. It's that time for buyingpresents and mailing Christmas cards to friends and family. My cardsare addressed and almost ready for mailing. There are about 60 or so,and I still have to lick the envelopes. I'm procrastinating on thatyucky part just a ...
Tips to keep heirlooms safe
Dec 07, 2003; ... The holiday season offers a great excuse to haul out Grandma'sfinest tableware and linens. If they haven't been used in a long time, though, they might belooking a little bedraggled. Here's how to spiff them up so you canshow them off. China and crystal Delicate ...
On `Stage' and in print,: Story of radio music show told in words and pictures
Dec 07, 2003 ... YOU'D better hurry if you want a copy of "20 Years of MountainStage," West Virginia Public Radio's retrospective picture book ofthe popular live music program's first two decades on the air. "We did a really small printing," program producer Andy Ridenoursaid. "There are only ...
A sweet-smelling dollop of luxury,: Let the women in your life pamper themselves with skin lotions
Dec 07, 2003 ... AN elegant yet practical gift is yours for $12, plus tax. Crabtree & Evelyn's Hand Therapy is a heavy-duty lotion that wasfirst packaged and marketed to gardeners. The London-based chain haslong since expanded it to match many of its clean, floral scents inLaura Ashley-inspired ...
Step exercise creator pushes Ramp workout
Dec 07, 2003; ... CHICAGO - After a decade of encouraging people to step up and downin the name of fitness, Gin Miller has another deceptively simpleidea: Step forward. Step backward. And do it on a fancy, rubber-covered incline. Called Ramping, Miller's new cardio workout complements ...
Fitness trends of 2004,: Shorter sessions, smarter machines, blending of exercise styles expected
Dec 07, 2003; ... Dear Cindy, In a race to stay ahead of the game, what fitness trends do yousee in the coming year? - Gary Dear Gary, Keep your workout gear next to your Palm Pilot and you should beat the head of the pack. The busier we are, the more we tend to seekout a better or ...
Don't feel guilty for traveling without the children
Dec 07, 2003; ... Mrs. Mitchell, my Scottish baby sitter, was as austere and dull asthe traditional Scots porridge she served me for breakfast. No milk,no sugar, just boiled oats with salt that congealed in pallid slabsin the bowl. I hated Mrs. Mitchell's porridge. I hated the 7 p.m. bedtime ...
Tag game rules
Dec 07, 2003; ... Members of the Tag Institute play many kinds of tag. Here are afew. * Sideways tag - Much like regular tag, but you can move onlysideways. * Zombie tag - Similar to regular tag, only players must shufflelike zombies and put out their arms like zombies and make zombienoises ...
Buying a bottle: Go into a store and ask questions
Dec 07, 2003; ... BEGINNERS often find one of the most intimidating aspects of wineis taking the first step: buying a bottle. There is a lot to decide, after all: color, price, vintage, styleand producer. Getting recommendations from a wine store employeeisn't always reassuring, however, if the ...
Put star power in your recipes
Dec 07, 2003; ... THERE are two types of star anise: One's a perfectly wholesomespice, and one's a poisonous neurotoxin. The trouble is, nobody - not even experts - can tell them apartjust by looking at them. Star anise, although important in Asian cuisines, has been largelyignored in the ...
For the kitchen,: Choice gifts satisfy specialty needs
Dec 07, 2003 ... Dip and roll Drug Emporium's Healthy Life Markets sell a variety of elegant andwell-made, yet inexpensive, tea strainers by The Republic of Tea.This sturdy model ($1.89) features a handle coiled to form a spring.As you squeeze the handle, the infuser ball opens to accept a ...
Tag keeps adults in touch with life
Dec 07, 2003; ... KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On a moonlit night on the Country Club Plaza inKansas City, a slender young lady darted in the dark just south ofthe J.C. Nichols Fountain. Other players moved away from her likepolarized magnets, running in circles and at right angles. They were the hunted, she ...
By the Way
Dec 07, 2003 ... The 'Green Book' Children can be more susceptible to environmental hazards thanadults, says a new book from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Parents who wonder about the amount of mercury in fish, whetherthere could be arsenic in their backyard playset, or whether theyneed ...
Lean days for Daymark, Social-services organization merging programs to stretch budget
Dec 07, 2003; ... AS Dennis Pease sees it, Daymark's plan to consolidate two of itsprograms for troubled youth is a way to make the best of a toughsituation. Daymark's board of directors decided in September to consolidatetwo of the nonprofit social-services organization's three programs ...
NRA wants news outlet,: Radio or TV ownership seen as; political move
Dec 07, 2003; ... WASHINGTON - Hoping to spend as much as it wants on next year'selections, the National Rifle Association is looking to buy atelevision or radio station and declare that it should be treated asa news organization, exempt from spending limits in the campaignfinance law. "We're ...
Readers offer compassion, help after Boston paper highlights McDowell
Dec 07, 2003 ... Boston Globe reporter John Donnelly recently spent two weeks inMcDowell County, studying the effects of poverty on the area. His report, which is featured on Page 8E, served as an installmentin the Globe's ongoing series on world health challenges. The story prompted nearly ...
Schools struggle to offer healthy lunches
Dec 07, 2003; ... COHASSET, Mass. - Worried about all the fatty foods children wereeating, town health officer Joseph Godzik recently ordered junk foodpurged from the local school lunch menu one day a week. No pizza. No burgers. No fries. No way, school officials said. Eliminate such ...
Steel chiefs mull future
Dec 07, 2003; ... Faced with the reality of an end to steel tariffs, steel workers,union leaders and company executives are considering the industry'sfuture. The United Steelworkers of America, based in Pittsburgh, and theIndependent Steelworkers Union in Weirton expressed dismay atPresident ...
Couple struck by car in Dunbar
Dec 07, 2003 ... A husband and wife were hit by a Cadillac in Dunbar Saturdayevening. According to Lt. G. L. Utchek of the Dunbar Police Department, thecouple was about to cross the street at about 6:30 p.m. when theywere struck. The husband was apparently ...
U.S. accused of involvement in Georgian leader's resignation
Dec 07, 2003; ... MOSCOW - Russia's foreign minister has accused the United Statesof playing a role in the resignation of Georgian leader EduardShevardnadze last month, according to an interview published Saturdayin the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. "I think there are enough facts proving that ...
Today's News
Dec 07, 2003 ... Congress wants to spend $3 million this year to introduce moreyoung Americans to the game of golf. It wants to set aside $200,000to subsidize a documentary movie about Kalahari Desert bushmen. Italso wants to build a $50 million indoor rainforest in Iowa.Scattered throughout a massive ...
Snowstorm wallops Northeast
Dec 07, 2003; ... Highways and sidewalks turned treacherous Saturday for themillions of people living in the Northeast as the region's first bigstorm of the season piled up a foot of blowing snow, groundingairline flights, taking a bite out of pre-Christmas shopping, andcanceling SAT exams. At ...
Iraq commanders tell Rumsfeld offensive is paying off
Dec 07, 2003; ... BAGHDAD, Iraq - Taking a fresh look at postwar Iraq, DefenseSecretary Donald H. Rumsfeld met Saturday with senior Americancommanders and was assured that a recent switch to more aggressiveanti-insurgency tactics has begun to pay off. "It improves - every month it gets better," ...
Miranda cases under review this term
Dec 07, 2003; ... * Whether police improperly interrogated Patrice Seibert in a 1997mobile home fire. Police said she arranged to have her home burned,with one of her sons helping light the fire, to cover up the death ofher 12-year-old son, who had had cerebral palsy. The fire killed ateenager who had ...
Miranda being tested once again, Justices to consider validity of 'delayed' rights warning
Dec 07, 2003; ... WASHINGTON - Patrice Seibert was asleep at the hospital bedside ofher badly burned teenage son when police came and took her away. The tactics used in the 3 a.m. arrest and interrogation of themother of five, suspected of plotting with the injured son to setfire to her house ...
Dems vow to win Fla. at convention
Dec 07, 2003; ... LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Rekindling bitter memories, Democraticleaders and presidential candidates accused President Bush ofstealing the 2000 election in Florida and pledged Saturday to avengethat loss next year. "Florida is the place where America's democracy was wounded,"White ...
Group protests U.S. treatment of foreign journalists
Dec 07, 2003; ... VIENNA, Austria - Austrian journalist Peter Krobath had come toLos Angeles to write about a Hollywood movie, but instead, he feltlike he was in one. Krobath was handcuffed by customs officials and detained overnightin a cold room with about 45 others for trying to enter the ...
Special spending
Dec 07, 2003; ... WASHINGTON - Here are a few of the eye-catching projects buried inthe "omnibus" spending bill that was patched together by House andSenate Appropriations Committees and that Congress will consider nextweek: * $50 million to build a giant indoor rainforest in Iowa, at therequest ...
Spending bill contains golf, rainforest projects
Dec 07, 2003; ... WASHINGTON - Congress wants to spend $3 million this year tointroduce more young Americans to the game of golf. It wants to setaside $200,000 to subsidize a documentary movie about Kalahari Desertbushmen. It also wants to build a $50 million indoor rainforest inIowa. Scattered ...
S.D. congressman testifies on crash
Dec 07, 2003; ... FLANDREAU, S.D. - U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow testified in his owndefense at his manslaughter trial Saturday, crying as he talked aboutthe man who was killed in the traffic accident he is accused ofcausing. The former governor and state attorney general said he remembersnothing about ...
Poverty may impair child IQ
Dec 07, 2003; ... CHICAGO - Impoverished children struggle under an invisible weightthat often crushes their intellectual potential, according to agrowing body of research that gives new insight into how environmentshapes the developing brain. A recent University of Virginia study shows that ...
Medicare law won't benefit all
Dec 07, 2003; ... WASHINGTON - When President Bush signs legislation Monday torevamp Medicare and help the elderly pay for prescription drugs, it'sa safe bet that he'll tout the financial boost it provides olderAmericans. But not everyone comes out ahead under the Bush ...
A different class of people,: Welfare recipients 'trashed' cars, program officials say
Dec 07, 2003; ... When West Virginia legislators started to ask questions about theWheels-to-Work program last month, Human Resource DevelopmentFoundation executives struck back. At a public legislative committee meeting at the state Capitol,they passed out information about welfare recipients who ...
Contrasting cafeterias
Dec 07, 2003; ... HUNTINGTON, Vt. - Two schools. Two pasta dishes. Two totallydifferent takes on the cafeteria line. The menu at Brewster-Pierce Memorial School during a recent visitwas unexpectedly appetizing, and maybe even a bit too healthy. Couldkids who surely live on Coke and Ding Dongs ...
What hath Wrights wrought?
Dec 07, 2003; ... KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. - No one knows who first harnessed theawesome power of fire. No date is recorded for the first spin of awheel. But here where the turbulent Atlantic meets the dunes of NorthCarolina's Outer Banks, on a blustery Dec. 17, 1903, man firstconquered the air ....
Iraqi symphony prepares for Washington concert
Dec 07, 2003; ... BAGHDAD - To create their musical miracle, they pass through fourcheckpoints, endure body searches and watch as soldiers and securityguards comb through cases that carry violins and trumpets. And then the part-time musicians - who have endured years ofhardship - arrive inside a ...
Iraqi police saved agent from lynching, Spain says
Dec 07, 2003; ... MADRID, Spain - The sole survivor of a deadly attack that killedseven Spaniards in Iraq escaped a group lynching when Iraqi policecame to his aid, Spain's National Intelligence Center said Saturday. Jose Manuel Sanchez was one of eight Spanish intelligence agentstraveling in a ...
9 children found dead after U.S. attack in Afghanistan
Dec 07, 2003; ... KABUL, Afghanistan - Nine children were found dead after anAmerican air raid in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, the U.S.military said. An American A-10 aircraft struck a site south of Ghazni where a"known terrorist" was believed to be hiding at about 10:30 a.m.Saturday, Army ...
Rural Mich. residents, farmers fight over water
Dec 07, 2003; ... LAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - The slightly crooked words scrawled inblack paint read, "Pray for farmer who drains my well." Sticking out of a front yard a couple of miles away another signsays, "Good Christians know the difference between legal andethical." In Saginaw County, ...
Responders warn 911 calls from cell phones hard to track
Dec 07, 2003; ... MADISON, Wis. - It may be a good deal for cost-consciousconsumers, but emergency responders say people who use new FCC rulesto transfer landline phone numbers to cell phones are giving up acritical advantage when calling 911. A call to a 911 dispatch center from a landline ...
Demand for minerals threaten gorillas, Coltan used in making cell phones, laptops
Dec 07, 2003; ... KAHUZI-BIEGA NATIONAL PARK, Democratic Republic of Congo -Chimanuka is a shy, bamboo-chewing black mountain gorilla with big,soft eyes - one of the precious few gorillas that have survivedCongo's wars. But his worst enemy isn't the militias who've turned his jungleplayground ...
Suspected sites
Dec 07, 2003; ... Major suspected mass grave sites in Iraq: * Hatra, 200 miles north of Baghdad: U.S. troops found remains ofwomen and children with bullet holes in heads; residents said up to5,000 sets of remains are in area mass graves. * Mohammed Sakran, 25 miles north of Baghdad: Human ...
Forensic teams to dig up mass graves in January, Satellite photos reveal disturbed sites in Iraqi desert
Dec 07, 2003; ... MAHAWEEL, Iraq - The killers kept bankers' hours. They showed up for work at the barley field at 9 a.m., trailed bybackhoes and three buses filled with blindfolded men, women andchildren as young as 1. Every day, witnesses say, the routine was the same: The backhoesdug a ...
Fallen warriors treated with respect, dignity at Dover Air Force Base
Dec 07, 2003; ... DOVER AFB, Del. - They come night and day, holidays and weekends:steel-gray military cargo planes bearing America's war dead. A chaplain says a prayer, and six soldiers march aboard the plane.They straighten the flag that drapes each coffin, then carry thedead, one by one, over ...