The James Logan Courier

By Cassandra Spratling
Detroit Free Press (MCT)

DETROIT — The hustle and bustle of Christmas is over, but in the Wardford home one of their most treasured holidays _ the seven days of Kwanzaa — begins Tuesday.

The Wardfords are among many families who celebrate the holiday that centers on principles dear to the heritage and hope of African-American people.

Historian and social activist Maulana Karenga started Kwanzaa 40 years ago in his home state of California. It rapidly spread from a little -known occurrence there to multi-faceted festivities celebrated by millions of African Americans and others throughout America and beyond.

Visit Dr. Maulana Karenga's Official Kwanzaa Website.

By Barry Wood
Washington, D.C., VOA News

The Internet, as we know it, is only 15 years old, but already it has transformed the way people work, communicate and even shop. Still, experts believe the pace of technological innovation is poised to advance at an even faster pace. The San Francisco Bay area and the Silicon Valley are well positioned to maintain leadership during a period of accelerating change.

High tech entrepreneur Kevin Jernigan is convinced that the pace of technological innovation is speeding up. A Harvard computer science graduate, Jernigan says there are computers in unexpected places.

By Rosanne Skirble
Washington DC, VOANews

A new satellite system will give the world's poorest countries unprecedented access to environmental and health data from a globe straddling network of satellites and weather stations.

The new system is relatively inexpensive and easy to use, and should help managers in remote corners of the world to respond more effectively to natural disasters and epidemics.


A view of South Africa from EUMETSAT.

By Elise Young
The Record (Hackensack N.J.) (MCT)

White House photoHACKENSACK, N.J. — President Bush last week signed into law the Combating Autism Act, authorizing a $1 billion effort to wipe out a devastating neurological condition.

The law calls for screening every child in America, $643 million for research, tens of millions of dollars more for public education and the presentation of an annual report to Congress.

Mary Somerville (December 26, 1780 – November 28, 1872) was a Scottish science writer and polymath, at a time when women's participation in science was discouraged.

Read Mary Somerville's book, Mechanism of the Heavens, free from malaspina.org.


Mary Somerville