Living Today: Issues of modern living

FASHION POLICE

Fashion makeovers in the United States have long been a staple of cable channels and daytime talk shows, but a British program that begins this week on British Broadcasting Corp.-America pushes the genre to another level.

The show features sartorially sad cases, mostly women, whose friends and families have nominated them for fashion makeovers and who are secretly filmed, in various unspeakable outfits, as they go about their daily lives, The New York Times reports.

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine gather the damning evidence and swoop in to present the startled subjects with clothes-buying checks for $3,000, provided they agree to submit to a "What Not to Wear" overhaul.

The women argue everyone has bad points and good points and the trick is to conceal the one while flattering the other.

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION PLAN

A new generation of black leaders is planning to assert itself in the race for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, Newsweek reports.

Under a plan assembled by Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, black leaders would run in their respective states as "favorite sons," potentially locking up the African-American vote and going to the convention with what Brazile estimates could be up to 1,500 delegates.

Brazile, who was a top official of Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000, says the 1,500 delegates would be enough to influence the platform, and perhaps even the choice for the ticket, according to Newsweek.

BRITISH ID CARD

Experts in Britain say there's likely to be a backlash to government plans to introduce compulsory identification cards in the United Kingdom, the BBC reports.

"There is growing unease about the need for a national ID card," says Simon Davies of the civil liberties group Privacy International.

Failure to disclose a card may result in denial of access to services such as healthcare, welfare, education and housing, the BBC says.

The ID card likely is to be backed up with a national database of biometric information such as digital photographs, fingerprints and retina scans, according to Davies.

ZOO GIFTS

In the hunt for truly distinctive holiday gifts, the Oregon Zoo in Portland offers unique gifts that help the zoo raise funds for its conservation and environmental education efforts.

Starting at $25, adopting "parents" receive a personalized certificate, animal fact sheet and a one-year subscription to the zoo's newsletter, Oregon Zoo Tracks. The money raised through the tax-deductible gift funds conservation programs for endangered and threatened species.

The zoo's gift shop, Cascade Outfitters, provides a wide variety of animals to hug, puzzles to solve, books to read, and collectibles gifts for the holiday gift list.

All can be accessed through the zoo's Web site at oregonzoo.org. Or contact one of the other 100 zoos nationwide for similar programs.