US diplomat honored for change to Japan policy (AP)

WASHINGTON ? An American diplomat who successfully lobbied for the end of a U.S. boycott of Japan's annual Hiroshima peace commemorations is to be honored at the State Department for pressing his dissenting opinion and improving U.S.-Japanese ties.

Joel Ehrendreich will be given an award for "constructive dissent" on Thursday. He persuaded higher-ups that the U.S. ambassador to Japan should accept, rather than decline, the annual invitation to attend the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony. Ehrendreich had argued for five years that the department should end its 59-year practice of refusing to attend the event, which marks the anniversary of Hiroshima bombing by the U.S.

Last year, the ambassador attended the ceremony, a move that helped strengthen U.S.-Japanese relations, according to the citation Ehrendreich will be given by the American Foreign Service Association.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110623/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_japan_diplomacy

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Stranded penguin moved to NZ zoo, set for surgery (AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand ? A stranded emperor penguin was moved to a zoo Friday and scheduled for surgery as the young bird's health worsened in the New Zealand winter that is much warmer than its species' Antarctic home.

The penguin appeared healthy after it was first spotted Monday but has appeared more lethargic as the week progressed, and officials feared it would die if they didn't intervene.

The penguin has been eating sand and small sticks of driftwood on North Island's Peka Peka Beach. It may have mistaken sand for snow, which it eats for hydration in the Antarctic climate where emperors usually spend their entire lives.

Wellington Zoo staff said the bird was dehydrated and suffering heat exhaustion. High temperatures in Wellington recently have been about 50F (10 Celsius).

Zoo vet science manager Lisa Argilla said the bird was spirited and zoo staff didn't want it to suffer. They manually tried to clear debris from the bird's throat, but it still seemed to blocked, so the staff scheduled surgery for Saturday.

"I'm hoping its just a piece of driftwood that we can reach down and pull out," Argilla told the Dominion Post newspaper.

For the penguin's journey to the zoo, three experts lifted it from the beach into a tub of ice and then onto the back of a truck for the 40-mile (65-kilometer) trip, said one of the participants, Colin Miskelly, a curator at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand.

Ideally, the bird will heal enough it could be released into the wild. But returning it to Antarctica, about 2,000 miles (3,200-kilometers) away, wasn't feasible. There is no transportation to the continent in the harsh winter.

Miskelly also noted no facilities in New Zealand were designed to house an emperor penguin long-term. It's the tallest and largest penguin species and can grow up to 4 feet (122 centimeters) high and weigh more than 75 pounds (34 kilograms).

Often sick birds require rehabilitation for a month or two before being released, zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said, adding that some creatures with severe injuries remain in captivity.

The rare venture north by the Antarctic species captured public imagination. Sightseers came to the beach to see the bird and photograph it from a distance.

Christine Wilton, the local resident who discovered the penguin Monday while walking her dog, was back at the beach Friday to say goodbye.

"I'm so pleased it's going to be looked after," she said. "He needed to get off the beach. He did stand up this morning, but you could tell that he wasn't happy."

The penguin is estimated to be about 10 months old and is about 32 inches (80 centimeters) high. Experts haven't yet determined whether it is male or female.

It has been 44 years since an emperor penguin was last spotted in New Zealand.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110624/ap_on_re_as/as_new_zealand_emperor_penguin

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William Holman: Axed on The Bachelorette, Cast on Bachelor Pad!

William Holman, who was sent packing by Bachelorette star Ashley Hebert on last night's episode, will have a shot at redemption on Bachelor Pad this summer.

He becomes the first of the three "mystery men" to join the Bachelor Pad cast, which was unveiled last week, sans fellas still competing on The Bachelorette.

No word if Bentley will join William on the August 8 premiere.

William's stint on The Bachelorette can best be described as up and down.

The 30-year-old nice guy from Ohio went on an awesome first date with Ashley, but stumbled hard soon after, making her sob during a comedy roast.

He somehow survived that debacle, but shot himself in the foot Monday, sabotaging Ben C. for no reason at all and coming off as beyond immature.

Note to guys: If you describe yourself as a "30-year-old boy" who wants a girl you can "act silly" around "not grow up" with ... you're gonna get dumped.

On the flip side, Bachelor Pad is probably the perfect fit for you.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/06/william-holman-axed-on-the-bachelorette-cast-on-bachelor-pad/

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Tips For Improving Ping Pong Skills

Ping pong is a game that's simple to play, yet difficult to master. Then again, if you are looking to just play with some of your friends, you really don't need to have a tremendous amount of skill to grab a paddle and play for fun. The thing about table tennis, is that just about anyone can enjoy it as it takes a tiny amount of hand eye coordination, and some follow through.

If you'd like to get a bit better at ping pong, though, you may want to get a bit more serious about the sport. Are you seeking to train for a tournament, or you just want to feel a bit more confident at your friends table. Regardless, you must do a great deal of practice, and concentration considerably more on the individual portions of the overall game.

If you ever watch pro's play ping pong, the initial thing that you typically notice is always that they do not so much hit the ball as they do kiss it using their paddle. Determined by where they want to hit the ball, they either go up into the ball or down onto the ball to give it some sort of spin. This way, the bounce that their competition would play the ball on is different then it was before.

Ping pong is a lot like tennis in that there's different ways to hit the ball. It isn't just about hitting the ball fast, but also angling it on the table in a certain way. Learning how to do this takes time, but when you do it becomes muscle memory whenever you play.

Table tennis is one of those rare sports where the tools that you use don't really effect how you play. With that in mind, there are several paddles that are better then others, so you always want to make certain you will have a good grip, but for the most part you can play good ball with any paddle that you choose.

That being said, you also need to find out the best way to hold said paddle. It's not as simple as just picking it up and swinging it, there is a particular way to hold the grip that provides you the very best opportunity to make the shot that you want. This really is something that you have to do if you are planning to get seriously interested in playing.

As with most skills, training makes perfect in terms of ping pong. Take every possibility to play and even minus a ball practice your grips on your paddle. For anyone who is minus one person to play with however, you have a table, place the other half of the table up to enable you to practice your shots against the board.

It might appear somewhat severe for something as fun as ping pong, but like anything else, if you are going to get good at it you need to ensure that you know what what you are doing. The more you practice, the better you will become.

Athletes know that endurance and strength are key. Powerbalance bracelets are available in many colors. Get the info to help you make the best decision.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6215711

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