Diarists over the years, and a request for your comments (and critiques)

80 years

●Starting Dec. 4, we’ll run an old column from each of the eight decades. Over the course of two weeks, Dec. 4-7 and Dec. 11-14, one column will be online at washingtonpost.com/
federaleye.

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Myanmar police fire water cannon at mine protest: activist

YANGON: Riot police fired water cannon to disperse people protesting against a controversial Chinese-backed copper mine in northern Myanmar, an activist told AFP on Thursday.

"While we were sleeping riot police came to the site and fired water," said Yaywata, a monk who was among hundreds of people demonstrating against the mine, which has seen months of protests over complaints of alleged land grabbing.

Several monks were arrested and around 30 others "suffered burns to their body" after police also fired an unknown gas at the group, Yaywata, who goes by one name, added without speculating what the gas was.

"We are now gathering at a monastery nearby. We haven't decided what to do yet," he added.

Villagers, monks and students had been warned to vacate protest camps near the mine -- a joint venture between military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings and Chinese group Wanbao -- by Tuesday, but had vowed to defy authorities.

Protesters are demanding the company stops work until it releases environmental and social impact studies.

During a September protest activists said some 8,000 acres (3,200 hectares) of land had been confiscated from local farmers without consultation, and in some cases without compensation.

- AFP/xq

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Indira Gandhi lent Indian politics the dynastic shift: Ramachandra Guha

BANGALORE: The Congress led by Indira Gandhi fostered a generation of hero worship and dynasty politics after 1969. This inspired many others like Muthuvel Karunanidhi, who started off with noble intentions to fight against caste discriminations, to do the same and has led to a centralization of politics in present India, said Ramachandra Guha, on Wednesday.

He was speaking during the launch of his latest book, Patriots and Partisans.

The 54-year-old historian went on to add that Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the most charismatic leaders of Indian politics, has been slowly losing his popularity because of the Congress's dynastic politics.

"Sins of seven successive generations have been bestowed on Nehru," he said light-heartedly.

The highest paid non-fiction writer of the country also slammed the phenomenon called the 'Congress chamchagiri'. "I saw a long queue of Congress party members waiting outside Rahul Gandhi's house during his birthday, a couple of years ago, braving scorching sun. Nevertheless, Rahul didn't come out to greet them while the 100 kilogram cake they had brought for him disintegrated leaving a trail from the Congress general secretary's house till the Indira Gandhi circle," he said.

He said that scientific institutions in Delhi couldn't achieve the success of ones in other parts of the country as officials chosen in the capital-based institutions are often selected on the recommendation of politicians.

Guha went on to add that massacre of Muslims in Hyderabad during the annexation of the state by the Indian army happened before the constitution came into being in 1950, but it is sad that the perpetrators of 1984 Sikh massacre and 2002 Muslim massacre in Gujarat, which were initiated by Congress and BJP, respectively, haven't still been punished.

He slammed right and left wing politicians, saying that the citizens have allowed the Hindu rightists' claims to be truly patriots of the country because the left is often considered anti-patriotic because their fatherland has always been a different country - depending upon the prevalence of Marxists movements in these countries, like China, the USSR, Cuba and currently Venezuela - and also due to the high decibel levels and angry outbreaks of the saffron brigade.

"Violence unleashed by left ( Naxalites) and right (Hindu fundamentalists) is against democracy, liberalism, religious plularism and tolerance, the idea that our Constitution promotes. Citizens should protect the country from these extremisms," he said.

TOO EARLY

Guha had a word of advice for the Arvind Kejriwal-launched Aam Aadmi Party, saying that it's too early for them to participate in the 2014 general elections. "Their current economic policies are a bit naive," he added.

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Caterpillar Fungus Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties

In the Tibetan mountains, a fungus attaches itself to a moth larva burrowed in the soil. It infects and slowly consumes its host from within, taking over its brain and making the young caterpillar move to a position from which the fungus can grow and spore again.

Sounds like something out of science fiction, right? But for ailing Chinese consumers and nomadic Tibetan harvesters, the parasite called cordyceps means hope—and big money. Chinese markets sell the "golden worm," or "Tibetan mushroom"—thought to cure ailments from cancer to asthma to erectile dysfunction—for up to $50,000 (U.S.) per pound. Patients, following traditional medicinal practices, brew the fungal-infected caterpillar in tea or chew it raw.

Now the folk medicine is getting scientific backing. A new study published in the journal RNA finds that cordycepin, a chemical derived from the caterpillar fungus, has anti-inflammatory properties.

"Inflammation is normally a beneficial response to a wound or infection, but in diseases like asthma it happens too fast and to too high of an extent," said study co-author Cornelia H. de Moor of the University of Nottingham. "When cordycepin is present, it inhibits that response strongly."

And it does so in a way not previously seen: at the mRNA stage, where it inhibits polyadenylation. That means it stops swelling at the genetic cellular level—a novel anti-inflammatory approach that could lead to new drugs for cancer, asthma, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular-disease patients who don't respond well to current medications.

From Worm to Pill

But such new drugs may be a long way off. The science of parasitic fungi is still in its early stages, and no medicine currently available utilizes cordycepin as an anti-inflammatory. The only way a patient could gain its benefits would by consuming wild-harvested mushrooms.

De Moor cautions against this practice. "I can't recommend taking wild-harvested medications," she says. "Each sample could have a completely different dose, and there are mushrooms where [taking] a single bite will kill you."

Today 96 percent of the world's caterpillar-fungus harvest comes from the high Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan range. Fungi from this region are of the subspecies Ophiocordyceps sinensis, locally known as yartsa gunbu ("summer grass, winter worm"). While highly valued in Chinese traditional medicine, these fungi have relatively low levels of cordycepin. What's more, they grow only at elevations of 10,000 to 16,500 feet and cannot be farmed. All of which makes yartsa gunbu costly for Chinese consumers: A single fungal-infected caterpillar can fetch $30.

Brave New Worm

Luckily for researchers, and for potential consumers, another rare species of caterpillar fungus, Cordyceps militaris, is capable of being farmed—and even cultivated to yield much higher levels of cordycepin.

De Moor says that's not likely to discourage Tibetan harvesters, many of whom make a year's salary in just weeks by finding and selling yartsa gunbu. Scientific proof of cordycepin's efficacy will only increase demand for the fungus, which could prove dangerous. "With cultivation we have a level of quality control that's missing in the wild," says de Moor.

"There is definitely some truth somewhere in certain herbal medicinal traditions, if you look hard enough," says de Moor. "But ancient healers probably wouldn't notice a 10 percent mortality rate resulting from herbal remedies. In the scientific world, that's completely unacceptable." If you want to be safe, she adds, "wait for the medicine."

Ancient Chinese medical traditions—which also use ground tiger bones as a cure for insomnia, elephant ivory for religious icons, and rhinoceros horns to dispel fevers—are controversial but popular. Such remedies remain in demand regardless of scientific advancement—and endangered animals continue to be killed in order to meet that demand. While pills using cordycepin from farmed fungus might someday replace yartsa gunbu harvesting, tigers, elephants, and rhinos are disappearing much quicker than worms.

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Huge Jackpot Looms, but Can Money Buy Happiness?

Nov 28, 2012 1:02pm

Can money buy happiness? If you’re clutching several Powerball tickets in one hand as you thumb through yacht and pony catalogs with the other, you’re probably betting yes.

We’re all told the odds of winning are abysmal — about 1 in 175 million — but let’s assume you win the $500 million jackpot. Experts say the initial euphoria will wear off relatively quickly and you’ll be left with pretty much the same dismal outlook on life you’ve always had.

“Winning will release some pleasurable chemicals in your brain over the short term,” said Scott Bea, a clinical psychologist with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “Unfortunately, your brain will likely revert back to the same old same old before too long.”

Bea conceded that the extra bushels of cash would ease any anxiety over paying the bills, and you’d probably get an additional rush of those joy-boosting neuro-hormones when you went on a shopping spree, but ultimately the basal ganglia, the part of your brain that tends to dwell on the negative, will kick in and you’ll be back to your usual miserable self in no time.

Why? Because in its dark little heart, the brain is a pessimistic organ. Studies show bad memories tend to be far stickier than pleasant memories. And as Bea pointed out, complaints are the topic of nearly 70 percent of all conversation. So according to this logic, you’re less likely to relive the glory of your jackpot moment than you are to grouse about all the fifth cousins suddenly friending you on Facebook to ask for a handout.

Bea also said big winners who aren’t careful to cultivate happiness skills such as optimism, a charitable attitude and savvy money management habits often wind up in more wretched circumstances than where they started. History is certainly littered with such examples.

Back in the 1980s, Evelyn Adams won the New Jersey lottery not once, but twice. She quickly gambled away all $5.4 million and today she’s flat broke, living in a trailer park. Then there’s Billy Bob Harrell Jr. a Pentecostal preacher who was working as a stock boy in 1997 when he scored a cool $31 million in the Texas lottery. The stress of winning so overwhelmed him that he divorced his wife and committed suicide.

Does this mean you should hope the odds work against you when they draw those lucky numbers at 10:59 ET tonight? According to Bea, not at all.

“For most people, purchasing a ticket and fantasizing about what life will be like once you’ve won is the most pleasant part of the lottery experience,” he said, “You could probably flush the same amount of money down the toilet and get much the same result — but then you wouldn’t have the dream.”

SHOWS: Good Morning America

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Keeping the financial regulators on their toes

When members of Congress need factual information and insights into the effectiveness of the financial laws put in place after the 2008 economic crisis, they regularly turn to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Orice Williams Brown.

Initially as director and now as managing director of the GAO’s financial markets and community investment section, Brown and her staff have issued dozens of reports examining the flaws and offering recommendations to improve the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout fund, the Wall Street regulatory reform law and the initiatives to prevent housing foreclosures.

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Some SMRT bus drivers involved in illegal strike return to work

SINGAPORE: Some of the SMRT bus drivers from China involved in an illegal strike over salaries returned to work on Wednesday.

A driver from China who had completed his shift on Wednesday morning told reporters at Woodlands dormitory, where some of the drivers are staying, that all drivers from his room went to work.

He said staff from the Chinese embassy spoke to the drivers at about 11:00pm on Tuesday.

Another driver from China said most of the drivers had returned to work.

The drivers were reported to have boarded buses at about 4:00am on Wednesday to be ferried to the bus depots to start their shift.

A police car and an ambulance were at Woodlands Dormitory for about half an hour on Wednesday morning. Another ambulance is still at the dormitory.

SMRT said late on Tuesday night that 171 drivers staged a sit-in at the workers' dormitory in Woodlands. And, on Tuesday, 88 remained defiant and refused to work.

- CNA/ck

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Mamata to decide on voting over FDI

KOLKATA: With the Congress likely to garner a majority in Parliament over the FDI issue, the Trinamool Congress is yet to carve out its strategy in Parliament, in case Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar allows the debate under rule 184.

Trinamool leaders have left it to Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee to decide whether the party will stage a walkout along with parties such as Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party or record their dissent during voting with the BJP and the Left.

"We still believe that no-confidence motion is the only way to remove this minority government and stop this unethical political charade being played out. Even now this can be done.

Only one MP is required to move this motion. It doesn't matter which political party it is. Let those, who're so vocal on price rise, FDI in retail and removal of subsidy cap on domestic LPG, come forward and vote on it. If one is convinced that these are anti-people policies, what stops them from nudging the government out of power. Why resort to rules to save them?" said Trinamool all India general secretary Mukul Roy.

Roy was more keen on nailing down Left Front chairman Biman Bose's recent argument that the Left didn't support the Trinamool's no-confidence notice because parties reluctant to bring down the government would vote against the government if the debate is allowed under rule 184. Roy, however, didn't want to foretell the party's strategy in the fast changing situation.

While Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray held that the party will fight FDI tooth and nail, senior party MP Sultan Ahmed said, "Whether to vote or not will be decided later by the Trinamool parliamentary party and the party supremo Mamata Banerjee, let the Speaker decide it first. The government will never agree to a discussion under rule 184 without majority. Our leader in the Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandopadhyay, has already cleared our stand on the matter. There is nothing more to add to it." Domestic compulsion is also weighing heavily on Trinamool Congress before it is seen aligning with CPM and BJP.

Left parties, on the other hand, have dumped the number game getting a whiff that the Congress might gather the numbers. Asked whether the CPM is heading towards a situation similar to the confidence debate on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, CPM Rajya Sabha MP Shyamal Chakrabarty said: "Not at all. We have been trying to forge the broadest possible unity against FDI entry in multi-brand retail. I am confident that we will be achieving our target to a great extent. The Trinamool's no confidence move would have given the government a leeway to continue with their anti-people policies on all fronts for a period of six months instead," Chakrabarty said.

Trinamool leaders, on the other hand, believe that a debate under rule 184, will give Trinamool an opportunity to expose the Opposition "double-speak." "Biman Bose had argued if the government survived our no-confidence motion, they will get a parliamentary mandate to introduce FDI in retail. So if a vote under rule 184 does take place and the government wins it, would it be any different? The CM had made it clear that we believed in moving a no-confidence for it wasn't a half-measure. What is happening now only vindicates her belief," a Trinamool MP said.

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Pictures: Falcon Massacre Uncovered in India

Photograph courtesy Conservation India

A young boy can sell bundles of fresh Amur falcons (pictured) for less than five dollars. Still, when multiplied by the thousands of falcons hunters can catch in a day, the practice can be a considerable financial boon to these groups.

Since discovering the extent of Amur hunting in Nagaland this fall, Conservation India has taken the issue to the local Indian authorities.

"They have taken it very well. They've not been defensive," Sreenivasan said.

"You're not dealing with national property, you're dealing with international property, which helped us put pressure on [them]." (Related: "Asia's Wildlife Trade.")

According to Conservation India, the same day the group filed their report with the government, a fresh order banning Amur hunting was issued. Local officials also began meeting with village leaders, seizing traps and confiscating birds. The national government has also requested an end to the hunting.

Much remains to be done, but because the hunt is so regional, Sreenivasan hopes it can eventually be contained and stamped out. Authorities there, he said, are planning a more thorough investigation next year, with officials observing, patrolling, and enforcing the law.

"This is part of India where there is some amount of acceptance on traditional bush hunting," he added. "But at some point, you draw the line."

(Related: "Bush-Meat Ban Would Devastate Africa's Animals, Poor?")

Published November 27, 2012

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Petraeus Scandal: Socialite Jill Kelley Fighting Back

Tampa socialite Jill Kelley is fighting back. Today, sources close to the woman who was caught in the media crossfire during the David Petraeus sex scandal have released new letters aimed at reclaiming her reputation.

In a letter released to reporters by Jill Kelley's spokesperson, Kelley's attorney goes after a New York businessman who claimed Kelley was using her connections to Petraeus to broker a deal with the South Korean government.

"It is impossible to overlook your attempt to get your '15 minutes of fame,'" attorney Abbe Lowell wrote to Adam Victor, the president and CEO of TransGas Development Systems. "…You have the right to do that to yourself, but you do not have the right to defame our client.

"This letter is notice to you that statements you have made are false and defamatory and are intended to portray Ms. Kelley in a false light," the letter continued.

Victor has claimed that Kelley asked for $80 million in commissions to arrange a deal between Victor and the South Korean government. Kelley was an honorary consul for the Republic of South Korean.

"While it is certainly true that Ms. Kelley communicated with you about a potential business deal, it has nothing to do with General Petraeus or other military," Lowell wrote Victor.

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The dealings between Jill Kelley and Adam Victor were detailed in a series of emails between the two made public earlier this month. The emails appeared to confirm the New York businessman's claim that Kelley wanted a huge fee for brokering a transaction with the South Korean government.

But in his letter to Victor, Lowell denies that Kelley wanted anything close to $80 million, and says the full chain of emails reveal that "it was you (Victor) who were trying to capitalize on her contacts, and not the other way around."

Kelley and Victor were introduced at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August by Kelley's friend, Tampa real estate developer Don Phillips. In an interview with ABC News, Phillips said he suggested that Kelley and Victor should meet because Kelley could help Victor land a deal for a coal gasification plant in South Korea.

Phillips claimed that Kelley said that Victor tried to "proposition" her "almost immediately," and said he had to cajole her into flying to New York for a second meeting with Victor.

After she met with Victor in New York, Phillips said, Kelley reported that she was no longer interested in pursuing the deal. According to Phillips, she said, "As a result of my personal investigations and business intelligence this is just not going anywhere, Don, and you just don't want to associate with this guy."

Victor, who denies propositioning Kelley, claimed she continued pushing for the deal after their meeting in New York. But sources close to Kelley say that telephone voice messages Victor left for Kelley reveal that he was the one who continued to seek Kelley's involvement, even after the Petraeus affair came to light.

Victor also claims that Kelley told him Petraeus arranged for her to be named honorary consul, and that she could use her connections with high-level Korean officials to help land the coal plant deal.

None of the emails that Victor showed to ABC News mention Petraeus. Kelley's friend Don Phillips told ABC News that Kelley has not "in any way tried to profit" from her relationship with Petraeus.

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