Fair Proxy Web

Setting back clocks can be a killer

WASHINGTON (AP) — This weekend is the time to turn back those clocks, and according to two scientists, time to be extra careful when walking during evening rush hour.

At 2 a.m. local time Sunday, standard time returned. That means clocks should have been set back an hour.

It also means that pedestrians walking around dusk are now nearly three times more likely to be struck and killed by cars than before the time change, the researchers calculate.

Ending daylight saving time translates into about 37 more U.S. pedestrian deaths around 6 p.m. in November compared to October, the professors report.

Their study of risk to pedestrians is preliminary but confirms previous findings of higher deaths after clocks are set back in fall.

It’s not the darkness itself, but the adjustment to earlier nighttime that’s the killer, said professors Paul Fischbeck and David Gerard, both of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Fischbeck, who regularly walks with his 4-year-old twins around 6 p.m., is worried enough that he’ll be more cautious starting Monday.

A three times increase in the risk is really dramatic, and because of that we’re carrying a flashlight, he said.

Fischbeck and Gerard conducted a preliminary study of seven years of federal traffic fatalities and calculated risk per mile walked for pedestrians. They found that per-mile risk jumps 186 percent from October to November, but then drops 21 percent in December.

They said the drop-off by December indicates the risk is caused by the trouble both drivers and pedestrians have adjusting when darkness suddenly comes an hour earlier.

The reverse happens in the morning when clocks are set back and daylight comes earlier. Pedestrian risk plummets, but there are fewer walkers then, too. The 13 lives saved at 6 a.m. don’t offset the 37 lost at 6 p.m., the researchers found.

The risk for pedestrian deaths at 6 p.m. is by far the highest in November than any other month, the scientists said. The danger declines each month through May.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of Arlington, Virginia, in earlier studies found the switch from daylight saving time to standard time increased pedestrian deaths. Going to a year-round daylight saving time would save about 200 deaths a year, the institute calculated, said spokesman Russ Rader.

Benjamin Franklin conceived of daylight savings time as a way of saving candles, Rader said Friday. Today we know it saves lives.

The risk at 6 p.m. in November, after daylight saving time ends, is 11 times higher than the risk for the same hour in April, when daylight saving begins, according to the Carnegie Mellon researchers.

Fischbeck and Gerard used federal traffic fatality data that they’ve incorporated into a searchable database for different risk factors. Their analysis was not peer-reviewed or being published in a scientific journal.

But it does jibe with other peer-reviewed studies that looked at raw fatalities.

A 2001 study by John M. Sullivan at the University of Michigan looked at national traffic statistics from 1987 to 1997 and found that there were 65 crashes killing pedestrians in the week before the clocks fell back and 227 in the week after.

Fischbeck and Gerard found the increase in fatality risk after the end of daylight saving time is only for pedestrians. No such jump was seen for drivers or passengers in cars.

Once everyone springs forward to daylight saving time in April, there is a 78 percent drop in risk at 6 p.m., they said.

But overall for the evening rush hour, turning the clock back is a killer. In seven years there have been 250 more deaths in the fall and 139 fewer deaths in the spring.

This clearly shows that both drivers and pedestrians should think about this daylight savings adjustment, Gerard said. There are lives at stake.

The time change does not apply in Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

found here.

U.S. to Musharraf: Cut army ties

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) — The United States has urged Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf to sever his links with the military and reinstate civilian rule.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at a news conference in the West Bank Monday, said Musharraf, who imposed emergency rule Saturday, should stick by his previous pledge to step down as the country’s military chief.

We believe that the best path for Pakistan is to quickly return to a constitutional path and then to hold elections, Rice said.

It is also true that President Musharraf has said that he will take off his uniform. That would be an important step.

President Bush is scheduled to address the situation from the White House on Monday.

By imposing a state of emergency, Musharraf suspended Pakistan’s constitution and put elections that had been scheduled for January on indefinite hold. Musharraf says it is part of a phased manner to move towards complete democracy, according to a statement from his office.

But Rice disagreed.

So much has happened over the last several years to try and pull Pakistan away from extremism, to try to launch Pakistan on a democratic path, to launch Pakistan on a path toward the return to civilian rule, Rice said. And our disappointment is that this is a setback for that path.

U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson and other senior ambassadors — including Britain’s — met with Musharraf on Monday to raise Washington’s concerns with the heavy-handed measures taken in Lahore on Monday, senior U.S. officials told CNN.

President Bush is scheduled to address the situation from the White House on Monday.

Rice’s comments came as police, wielding batons, clashed with lawyers and journalists Monday outside the courthouse in Lahore.

Video showed plainclothes security officials herding protesters onto large buses, sometimes dragging them through the streets, as uniformed officials shot tear gas canisters in an attempt to control the demonstrations

The confrontation took place as more than 1,500 lawyers were arrested across the country — 1,200 in Lahore itself and more than 300 in Faisalabad and Karachi — with police blocking roads leading to courthouses in major cities.

The Pakistani government, a nuclear power and key ally in the war against terror, denied that Musharraf had been placed under house arrest, dismissing rumors widely circulating throughout the country.

Senior Pakistani officials have told CNN that the figure of 1,500 detainees is an underestimate and that several thousand lawyers across the country of 160 million people have been picked up. They added that police stations are packed with the detainees, forcing the government to use schools as temporary holding cells.

Political opposition figures have also been rounded up. Qazi Hussain Ahmad, president of the country’s largest Islamic party, told CNN that he has been placed under house arrest. Ahmad, a prominent opposition leader and head of the Religious Party Alliance, is confined to his home in Lahore. Others under arrest include more than 60 members of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party, a senior police official said.

Bhutto’s spokesman called Musharraf’s declaration an act of terror against civil society and predicted it marked the beginning of the end of Musharraf.

Britain called on Pakistan’s government to release all political prisoners detained under the emergency. A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown told CNN that Britain is reviewing its aid program, worth $493 million over the next three years. The comments came as around 120 demonstrators gathered in London in front of the Pakistani High Commission to protest the declaration. But Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told CNN that the elections would not be held until things become normal. Interior Minister discusses the emergency with CNN

While President Musharraf said the suspension of the constitution was made necessary by the growing threat of terrorism and out-of-control judicial activism, opponents said Musharraf was trying to avoid a Supreme Court decision expected in the coming days that could have ruled that he was not eligible for another presidential term.

The United States, in reaction, postponed a Pentagon official’s visit to Pakistan this week for a yearly meeting with his Pakistani defense counterpart.

The U.S. ambassador to Pakistan and several other senior diplomats met with Musharraf on Monday to discuss the crisis, the U.S. embassy said. It did not disclose what was said.

Crackdown on judiciary continues

The scene outside of the Lahore court turned violent Monday. Police used tear gas as they arrested at least 1,200 lawyers gathered there. CNN’s Mohsin Naqvi, who was in the crowd, said police were brutally beating the lawyers and the journalists who were covering the story. Naqvi was coughing from the tear gas as he spoke. CNN’s Mohsin Naqvi describe the scene

Naqvi counted at least two dozen lawyers in Lahore who were injured by police and required hospitalization.

Police sources told CNN over the weekend that they had a list of 1,500 lawyers and political activists who were to be arrested. The round-up, which started Saturday night, continued Monday morning with 205 lawyers taken into custody in Faisalabad, a city in Punjab province.

Another 30 lawyers were arrested in Islamabad and Rawalpindi as they gathered for a demonstration, police said.

Police raided the lawyers’ bar association office in Karachi Monday morning, arresting several dozen lawyers, police said. Supreme Court Justice, under house arrest, talks to CNN about crackdown.

Police blocked all roads leading to courthouses in Pakistan’s major cities Monday morning, preventing access the protesters and the news media. Several journalists — including a television news crew — were detained and their equipment taken near the courthouse in Quetta, police said.

Paramilitary forces and police Monday raided the Karachi offices of the Jang Group, a media conglomerate that owns Pakistan’s largest English newspaper and Dubai-based GEO TV. Thirty-five independent TV stations are still off the air in Pakistan; only state-run stations continue to broadcast.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Sunday that the media in Pakistan would have to abide by a new code of conduct that is not designed to curb dissent.

Under the emergency measures, newspapers and broadcasters are forbidden from expressing opinions prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan or integrity of Pakistan. In addition, they are restricted from covering suicide bombings and militant activity and could face a three-year jail term if they ridicule members of the government or armed forces.

The interior minister, in a CNN interview Monday morning, said that the detained journalists would be released in due course. Except for a few lawyers protesting, he said his country was calm and quiet so far.

The parliamentary elections will be held as soon as things become normal, he said. Musharraf is now consulting all the stakeholders and that the elections will be held in due course.

Bhutto — who returned to Pakistan last month after eight years in exile — will likely travel to Islamabad on Tuesday to meet with other opposition leaders to discuss strategy, her spokesman Farhatullah Babar told CNN.

We believe that the beginning of the end of Musharraf is now in sight, Barbar said.

He said Bhutto’s power-sharing talks with Musharraf, which Bhutto has said would have provided him a political and constitutional solution to Pakistan’s present crisis — were off because of the emergency declaration.

Opposition parties had petitioned the Supreme Court to declare Musharraf ineligible for a third term as president because he remains the head of the country’s military.
found here.

Rose now looking for a first major

SOTOGRANDE, Spain — Justin Rose’s next target is to win a major.

The Englishman claimed the best win of his career at the Volvo Masters on Sunday and the victory earned him the European Order of Merit and shot him up to seventh in the world rankings.

The 27-year-old was in contention for all four majors this year and after his latest tournament triumph he said: I’m going to set my goals even higher.

I don’t think I’ve got to change anything, which is the exciting thing. I’ve just got to keep getting a tiny bit better.

Golf’s getting to a stage where it’s the tiny improvements are going to make the biggest differences at this stage obviously at moving onwards and upwards.

My goal at the start of the year was to get inside the Top 20 in the world, and I’m into the Top-10.

But certainly before next year starts and in the coming months, I’ll reset my goals.

Ultimately I want my career to include a major championship, or more than one hopefully.

Rose first came to prominence when he tied for fourth at the British Open at Royal Birkdale 10 years ago as a 17-year-old amateur.

He turned professional immediately but had to endure a prolonged bleak period with plenty of missed cuts.

His maiden European Tour success came in South Africa at the start of 2002 but his career really blossomed when he decided to play most of his golf in America.

This year he has moved into the top echelon despite having to cut down his schedule because of chronic back problems.

I think this year’s been so much more comfortable out on the golf course, he said.

I’m not out there shaking like a leaf anymore. I’m out there pretty calm, pretty collected. I feel like I’m in control of my body and in control of my emotions, and that’s when you can enjoy the occasion.

You need to be able to enjoy it down the stretch and at least I feel like I’m backing myself.

Rose feels he has the potential to reach number two in the world. The presence of Tiger Woods puts the number one sport out of the reach for most challengers, Rose believes.

I think number two is a legitimate goal. I think number one is a fair way off right now. But for the rest of the normal guys, number two is a good goal. E-mail to a friend

found here.

Punk chameleon Mick Jones is back on song

LONDON, England (CNN) — Punk’s master of reinvention, former Clash guitarist and songwriter Mick Jones, returns to form this fall with a raucous and upbeat album from his latest band Carbon/Silicon.

Joining him is former Generation X bassist and Sigue Sigue Sputnik driving force Tony James, the group’s computer buff who is the silicon to the carbon of the more instinctive, earthy Jones.

The pair, close friends since the mid-1970s when they were briefly in notoriously named London SS, have been making music together in their recording studio, incongruously based on an industrial estate in west London, and giving it away as free downloads on the band’s Web site for the past 5 years. Now the veteran rockers release The Last Post, on CD and to promote it they play a couple of concerts in the United States in December and more in Britain next year.

But fans of Jones, who was inducted with his former Clash band mates into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, or indeed James, will be disappointed if they are hoping to hear their hits of yesteryear. The point of this band is that it is two middle-aged musicians going back to basics and trying to produce something fresh, in this case, a garage sound tinged with electronica and glam. If we played the old stuff people just wouldn’t be interested in anything new, Jones, 52, tells CNN at the studio.

James, one year older than his friend and now without the shocking pink, sky-high hair of his Sputnik days, agrees: If we wanted to get played on the radio, we could just call ourselves ‘Clash X’ or something like that, but we don’t want to become cabaret versions of ourselves.

Although former Oasis manager Alan McGee memorably described Carbon/Silicon as the Rolling Stones jamming with a laptop, in fact very few samples apart from a few drum loops are used on the album, in contrast to much of the music of Jones’ last band Big Audio Dynamite.

We used samples at the start of Carbon/Silicon so we had a full canvas but our music ain’t about that, says Jones. It’s about an emotional connection so we’ve taken most of that stuff out ‘cos it’s not us.

We found that the samples became a constraint ‘cos you always knew where you were going to go, so you were never free. It somehow took the heart away. The important thing is to have a contemporary rhythm section that informs the music but without slavishly using other people’s stuff. Now we’ve seen the light.

The strident politics that distinguished The Clash from their 1970s contemporaries is never far away either on The Last Post but Jones preaches an optimistic message.

On Oilwell, he pleads: We’re trying to make a humanitarian case, for dropping some love on the human race. And on National Anthem, possibly the most personal and emotional song Jones has ever written, he asks: Who loves you enough to tell you right from wrong … to give you hope and care.

James appears grateful to be given a further bite of the pop cherry and to have the chance to work with Jones whose songwriting partnership with the late Clash frontman Joe Strummer was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine last year as the third greatest after Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards. I believe that Mick has a particular genius for seeing a song in its entirety, he says.

On ‘National Anthem,’ I came in with a loop and Mick just wrote and sang the vocal straight off. The first take he did was the one we used on the album. Or he can play a bassline from start to finish without hearing any of the other instruments.

Jones though himself seems unbothered by his musical legacy or expectations on him, putting his positive outlook down to his determination to keep looking forward. I’m always thinking that tomorrow is going to be the day. I want to be in the moment … always cautiously optimistic about the future but with no expectations. It’s only chasing an illusion.

I try to be fresh by ignoring everything I’ve done up ’til now. I don’t find it hard to be original … I just do what I do instinctively and don’t even think about it.

One high-profile fan of Carbon/Silicon is Elton John who urged his own management to lend their business acumen. They have more to say, they are more relevant and I like them better than most young bands today, the singer told The Telegraph recently.

Both Jones and James are dripping with enthusiasm for their music, despite the many years of relentless touring and recording under their belts, and more Carbon/Silicon releases are assured. Asked what they would sound like, James says, only half-joking, that he wouldn’t be surprised if Jones started writing jazz. But one thing is guaranteed, with these two at the controls, anything is possible. E-mail to a friend

found here.

Oprah matron charged with abuse

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) — A matron at Oprah Winfrey’s school for girls in South Africa was formally charged Monday with 13 counts of abusing and assaulting students at the school.

Dressed in a black and white football shirt, the woman, Tiny Virginia Mokobo, 27, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include assault, indecent assault, and crimen injuria, which involves verbal abuse which violates the victim’s dignity.

The state alleges there were seven victims. Six are between the ages of 13 and 14 and one was 23.

The prosecutor said that as a dormitory parent, she (Mokobo) was in a trusted position, and that Mokobo abused that trust.

It is not clear when the abuse happened and only some of the allegations are known. Police have confirmed that one instance involves Mokobo allegedly grabbing a girl by the throat and throwing her against a wall.

Inside the courtroom at Sebokeng Magistrates Court, which deals with family violence, child protection and sexual offense cases, Mokobo appeared overwhelmed and spoke in a soft voice on the witness stand. She was close to tears at times, and a friend who was in court said Mokobo cried after the proceedings.

Mokobo was released on bail of 3,000 Rand ($460). Her next court appearance is January 13.

Conditions of her bail mean Mokobo must report four times a week to the local police station and may not leave her district without permission. She is also barred from returning to the school or having any contact with the employees or alleged victims.

Police said they arrested Mokobo last week after a criminal investigation into the allegations, which have sparked a scandal at Winfrey’s vaunted $40 million academy. Winfrey opened the school in January to great fanfare, saying she hoped it would provide opportunities to girls from poor backgrounds.

Winfrey — who has spoken publicly about the abuse she suffered as a child — has said she is devastated by the allegations. The U.S. talk show host approved each of the 152 students herself and has said she feels close to each one of them.

In a written statement issued last week after the arrest, Winfrey said, It is my deepest hope that the accused is brought to justice and that this serves as a reminder that any time a child has the courage to step forward, it is our duty as adults to listen and take immediate action.

Police have said Mokobo, who is suspended from her job, is the only person being investigated in the case.

A news conference was scheduled for later Monday with police, the school’s chief executive, and Winfrey, who planned to appear via satellite from Chicago. E-mail to a friend

CNN Correspondent Robyn Curnow contirbuted to this report.

found here.