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| Khapra Beetle Bugs U.S. Border Patrol Posted: 24 Aug 2011 02:34 PM PDT by Claudine Zap As if hurricanes and earthquakes weren't enough, there's another menace to worry about: the discovery of one of the world's "most feared" pests, now on U.S. soil. Meet the Khapra beetle. The bug, in larva stage, was identified by Chicago customs officials in a 10-pound bag of rice that came from India. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol describes the bug as "one of the world's most tenacious and destructive stored-produce pests because of its ability to damage grain." And worse, "Infestations can result in up to 70 percent grain damage, making products inedible and unmarketable." There's more. The creepy critter, 2 to 3 millimeters as an adult and 5 millimeters long as a larva, is described as "one of the 100 worst invasive species worldwide." The bugs originated in South Asia, but have also invaded parts of northern Africa, the Middle East, and even Europe, Asia, and South Africa. Think of it as anti-beetle mania. The bug has been here before: It first invaded California back in 1953, which resulted in a massive effort to eradicate the infestation, successfully accomplished by 1966 at a hefty cost of $15 million. The bugs have been intercepted at the border 100 times this year, compared with just 15 times in 2009. They're certainly causing an infestation on the Web: In the last day alone, the beetle has seen lookups on Yahoo! increase 1,125%. The Baltimore Sun points out that grain shipments don't even have to have a live one for the entire supply to be rejected. No other species is treated this way. The good news, despite the increase in bugs at the border, is that the pests haven't made it into the grain supply of the U.S. But plenty of invasive species are already here, like the stink bug, Formosan termites, and Rasberry crazy ants. And by the way, if you're planning on travel to any of the countries where the khapra bugs live, don't bother bringing back grains as a souvenir. They will be taken away at the airport.
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| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 02:29 PM PDT by Mike Krumboltz  Former Vice President Dick Cheney kept a secret resignation letter in a locked safe in case he ever became incapacitated while in office. Cheney wrote the letter because of his history with health problems. He had already suffered four heart attacks when he signed the letter in March 2001 (he suffered another in 2010). In an interview with NBC to help promote his upcoming memoir, "In My Time," Cheney said that few people knew of the letter's existence. President George W. Bush was one. The other was a member of Cheney's staff. "I did it because I was concerned that - for a couple of reasons," he told NBC's Jamie Gangel in an interview that will air August 29 on "Dateline." "One was my own health situation. The possibility that I might have a heart attack or a stroke that would be incapacitating. And there is no mechanism for getting rid of a vice president who can't function." Apparently the letter isn't the only bombshell in the memoir. Cheney told NBC, "There are gonna be heads exploding all over Washington." There have long been rumors that Cheney's memoir won't hold back when it comes to his boss's second term in office. "I didn't set out to embarrass the president or not embarrass the president," Cheney said. "If you look at the book, there are many places in it where I say some very fine things about George Bush. And believe every word of it." Cheney's memoir (which hits stores on August 30) isn't the only Bush-era memoir. Donald Rumsfeld released his autobiography "Known and Unknown" back in Februrary to considerable hype. President George W. Bush published his own memoir, "Decision Points," less than a year ago in November. And former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice published "Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family" last year, and is set to release another memoir later this year. And just several months ago, former first lady Laura Bush published "Spoken From the Heart."
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| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 11:42 AM PDT by Mike Krumboltz  Rose McGowan is best known for her butt-kicking roles in "Scream," "Grindhouse," and, most recently, "Conan the Barbarian." But in the recent issue of People magazine, the outspoken actress went into detail about a real-life battle far scarier than any movie. McGowan, 38, spoke with People about how she spent her childhood in the Children of God cult. The sect is a "polygamous cult that blended free-love attitudes with Christian proselytizing." At age nine she escaped the cult with her father after he became fearful that Rose might be sexually abused. While in the cult, McGowan tells People she was often either angry or terrified. "You weren't allowed to have imperfections," she explained. "I had a little wart on my thumb, and I remember walking down this hallway -- a door opened and some adult grabbed me and just cut it off with a razor blade and stuck me back out in the hallway with it still bleeding." McGowan also describes watching how the men in the cult treated the women. "At a very early age I decided I did not want to be like those women. They were basically there to serve the men sexually -- you were allowed to have more than one wife." The cult's women would sometimes travel to area bars to try to recruit, an act known as "flirty fishing." McGowan's father realized he had to leave when he was asked to draw cartoon literature that advocated child-adult sexual relationships. Soon after, Rose, her father, and some siblings left the cult in the middle of the night. They hid in a stone house, and avoided the cult members who came looking for them. "I remember a man trying to break in with a hammer," McGowan said. The Children of God sect has since been renamed The Family International and has "renounced its advocacy of sexual sharing" and adult-minor sexual relationships. Eventually, McGowan settled with her father in Washington, where they worked on their relationship. "We became really close when he was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis at age 60," she said. Her father died in 2008. Today, she is close with her siblings, who she describes as "the most together, offbeat, funny, regular-ish people." Her mom is also happily married. But McGowan has no illusions that things could have ended very differently. "As strong as I like to think I've always been, I'm sure I could have been broken. I know I got out by the skin of my teeth." For the full article, pick up the September 5, 2011 issue of People magazine.
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