Myamar Protest.

The United States said Wednesday it was "very troubled" by Myanmar's deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters and urged "a peaceful transition" in Yangon from military rule to democracy.(AFP)



"The United States is very troubled that the regime would treat the Burmese people this way. We call on the junta to proceed in a peaceful transition to democracy," said White House national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.


Asked whether Washington considered earlier reports of violence in Myanmar to have been confirmed, Johndroe replied: "Yes."


Myanmar security forces used batons, tear gas and live rounds Wednesday in a violent crackdown on mass protests against the military junta, killing at least four people including three Buddhist monks.


Up to 100,000 people defied heavy security to take to the streets of the main city Yangon, marching and shouting abuse at police despite blunt warnings from the ruling generals who are facing the most serious challenge to their rule in nearly two decades.


Two of the monks were beaten to death while another was shot when he tried to wrestle a gun away from a soldier and the weapon discharged, two senior Myanmar officials told AFP.
They said the monks were killed near Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's holiest site and a key rallying point for the clergy leading the nine days of protests which have spread across the Southeast Asian nation.



A fourth man, who was not a monk, was shot dead, a hospital source said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070926/pl_afp/myanmarprotestuswhouse_070926173920;_ylt=ArYiXwd5DStNkuSFr0QbSvQKO7gF

Flooding In Africa.

Aerial view of the floods effecting the Katawki district of eastern Uganda, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007. Across Africa, torrential downpours and flash floods have submerged whole towns and washed away bridges, farms and schools. More than a million people across at least 17 countries have been affected by the rains since the summer, according to the United Nations. At least 200 people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands are displaced. (AP Photo/Katy Pownall)

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070919/481/5d1a4ab735034b34973835b8357d1599

Severe floods hit 17 countries in Africa

By KATY POWNALL, Associated Press Writer Wed Sep 19, 3:26 PM ET

SOROTI, Uganda - Fish swam alongside the dugout canoes residents were using to flee their flooded homes, riding the water gushing through the streets of this town in eastern Uganda.

Other affected countries include Somalia, which is struggling to quell an insurgency and to recover from a seemingly endless cycle of drought and flood.

Interior Minister Mohamed Mohamud Guled said this week that southern Somalia faced a "humanitarian catastrophe," because rivers had burst their banks, flooding farms and destroying crops. The rivers began flooding in late August following heavy rains in neighboring Ethiopia, he said.

On the other side of the continent, Ghana has also been heavily hit. Three regions in the north, the country's traditional breadbasket, have been declared an official disaster zone after whole towns and villages were submerged. Torrential rains between July and August killed at least 32 people and displaced a quarter of a million, the U.N. said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070919/ap_on_re_af/africa_floods_1;_ylt=AmuxAUGlCUIb9ihSRhXchFTlWMcF

Stunning Solar-Powered Homes

This is a story about living well and living smart. It is about having a beautiful home which is also good for the environment and the owner's pocket book. I love beautiful homes and when the home is good for the environment, I even love it plenty more.
Jeri

Real Estate
Stunning Solar-Powered Homes
Matt Woolsey 08.16.07, 6:00 PM ET

In Pictures: Stunning Solar-Powered Homes

Read the whole article on Forbes web site:

http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/16/solar-energy-homes-forbeslife-cx_mw_0816solarrealestate.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=15000

Owners of solar-powered homes sleep easy all summer. And it's only in part because they can keep their houses cool without paying obscenely large electricity bills.

Rather, by opting for a photovoltaic (PV) solar-power system, which relies on roof-top solar panels to convert sunlight directly into electricity, a homeowner can, depending on the time of year and the climate in which he lives, cover his monthly energy bill and in some cases, even sell surplus energy back to the grid.