Short Takes: News From All Over: May 27, 2004

Staff Utne.com

Childless Couple Told to Try Sex
By Staff, Ananova
A German couple attended a fertility clinic at the University of Lbeck and discovered why children weren't popping out after eight years of marriage -- they weren't having sex! Northern Germans are known for their conservative ways, but this is ridiculous. 'We are not talking retarded people here, but a couple who were brought up in a religious environment who were simply unaware of the physical requirements necessary to procreate,' a clinical spokesman said. How's that for Realpolitik? -- Jacob Wheeler
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_957945.html

Game Theories
By Clive Thompson, The Walrus magazine
Economist Edward Castronova had very little luck as a traditional economist. So, he used his video-game-playing prowess to uncover the diversity and nuance of economies found in cyberspace. -- Sara V. Buckwitz
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/article.pl?sid=04/05/06/1929205&tid=1

You Can't Mock the President or Say 'Balls'
By Billy Wilson, Counterpunch
The most important thing Billy Wilson, a high school sophomore from Freyburg, Maine, learned in school this year is actually pretty profound: 'The worst thing you can do is draw a picture that shows President Bush's head on a pole with blood gushing out of his bulging eyeballs. If you do something like this, it means you're probably going to blow up the Oklahoma Book Depository, or fly remote control planes into the White House, like the CIA did on 9/11.' Smart kid! Billy's teacher sent his essay to CounterPunch as 'an example of the uprightness of modern youth.' -- Jacob Wheeler
http://www.counterpunch.org/wilson05202004.html

Monsanto Prevails in Patent Fight
By Kristen Philipkoski, Wired News
The biotech giant Monsanto narrowly defeated a Saskatchewan farmer in a case over patent rights to its genetically modified canola seeds. But the farmer, 73-year-old Percy Schmeiser, will not pay Monsanto a cent, despite the $200,000 sought by the company to cover court costs and profits Schmeiser allegedly made by using its seed, which the farmer says he used inadvertently after it blew into his field. -- Jacob Wheeler
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,63555,00.html

The Micah Sutra, Vol. XIX: The Shakespearean Sutra
By Micah L. Issitt, BullyMag.com
In celebration of Shakespeare's recent birthday, sex advice columnist Micah Issitt explores topics such as love and testicular abuse in verse. -- Sara V. Buckwitz
http://www.bullymag.com/4.15.04/sutra-041504.asp

One Day of War
By Staff, BBC News
Where do you think the action is these days? Iraq, Israel/Palestine, maybe Afghanistan? Actually, those conflicts are only part of the story. This fascinating BBC News website gives you the scoop on any war happening on planet Earth on any given day. Every minute two people are killed in conflicts around the world. Did you forget about Nepal, Burma, Laos, the Philippines, Chechnya, Georgia, Columbia, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, the Congo and Nagorno Karabakh? Nagorno who? -- Jacob Wheeler
http://tinyurl.com/2hm7d