| World's suicide capital — tough image to shake
Japan has attained a reputation as the suicide capital of the world. A 2007 international comparison of suicide rates (per 100,000 people) by the World Health Organization ranked Japan sixth for females, at 12.8, behind Sri Lanka, South Korea and Lithuania, and 11th for males, at 35.6, well below Lithuania, Belarus and the Russian Federation. Although total suicides actually dropped slightly last year, entrenched cultural mores, the pressures inherent to a modern economy and alarming rates of youth depression are likely to continue driving tens of thousands of citizens to self-destruct every year. Following are questions and answers about Japan's struggle with suicides: .
Lindsay's Jail Stint
Lindsay Lohan's been one busy celeb recently. First she was in rehab - now she's been to jail too. Lindsay checked herself into Lynwood jail in Los Angeles at 10:30am yesterday, to serve her minimum 24-hour sentence for two drinking-under-the-influence charges clocked up earlier this year. But before you wonder how Linds is coping behind bars - she's no longer there. Unlike her one-time pal Paris Hilton, Lindsay served a mere 84 minutes of hard prison time. In line with prison policy of releasing non-violent prisoners due to overcrowding, Lindsay was released at 11.54am that morning - no doubt savouring the sweet smell of freedom as she went. A prison spokesman told People: "Lindsay was fingerprinted, photographed, and put in a holding cell, but was let go due to our early release policy." Lindsay was sentenced to four days in jail back in August, though prosecutors agreed she could serve 10 days of community service to replace two prison days.
On the outs
With no place to go home to and no desire to go to the shelters, countless numbers are living ...
12:00 AM CST on Friday, November 9, 2007 By SCOTT FARWELL and KIM HORNER / The Dallas Morning News
Larry Wells looks like a crumpled up piece of paper. .
Information should help prevent suicide
MOST suicides go unreported by the media out of respect for privacy, so the high occurrence of people taking their own lives is surprising to many people. A two-day conference last week was a needed step to spread information and increase suicide prevention. In Hawaii, a suicide occurs an average of once every three days, a rate that nears motor vehicle fatalities as the state's leading cause of death by injury. An additional 870 people a year are hospitalized in the state after attempting to take their own lives. Individuals from the public and private sectors, including a survivor, formed a committee two years ago to serve in an advisory role to the state Department of Health. A task force was launched last year to accelerate the activity, including planning last week's first Suicide Prevention Conference in Waikiki attended by more than 200 people.
Liquor panel turns to Legislature
Agreeing that they are dealing with a new form of alcoholic beverage, not just exploring how to more accurately label flavored malt beverages, members of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission decided Thursday that they need directions from the Legislature. Although at least one commissioner believes adamantly that doing so abdicates the right and responsibility of the board, a 3-2 majority decided that the question calls for new legislation not agency rule-making. "It seems to me that the proposed labeling rule and the classification rule force us to create a new legal definition for flavored malt beverages," said Commissioner Gordon Strachan, citing what he considers ambiguous language in the beer-labeling statute. Flavored malt beverages, such as Mike's Hard Cider, are different from those that the statute is intended to regulate.
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Hospital tech charged with stealing, stashing narcotics
A York man was arrested today and charged with illegally obtaining used narcotic drug vials from two local hospitals and injecting leftover drugs found in them.
Lee M. Gilbert, 25, took partially empty vials from medical waste containers in the operating rooms at Lancaster General Hospital and Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center from fall or winter of 2005 through spring of 2007, according to his arrest warrant filed today.
After he used the drugs, he hid the empty vials above ceiling tiles at both hospitals, the affidavit states.
Gilbert had been working as a radiology technician at both hospitals while some of the thefts occurred.
He also allegedly talked his way back into the operating area of LGH more than a year after he was fired — for performance reasons — to continue to steal the vials.
Buy teens booze and you lose
AZTEC — An Aztec man was sentenced to 18 months in prison Wednesday for providing alcohol to teenagers, including one teen who later died of alcohol poisoning. The sentence was the maximum Alan Stiles, 50, could have received for the crime. "We were pleased that (the judge) sent the guy away for the whole time," District Attorney Lyndy Bennett said. Stiles faced additional prison time for a charge of contributing to the delinquency of minors, but District Court Judge Thomas Hynes ruled the charges actually were the same crime and merged the sentencing. Ashley Harmon, 16, was found dead April 1 at a campsite near Cedar Hill where she had been drinking with five friends. The night before, three of the teens went to Aztec to obtain alcohol for their group, which included Harmon.
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