Watercooler Stories

Black conductor has no optimism for future

LONDON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- A British-educated conductor and one of few blacks found in classical music, says he has "no optimism for the future" for black children in his field.

"To be a conductor you have to start very young and the awareness that that is a possibility for black children is not encouraged in schools or in the media," Kwame Ryan told Britain's Guardian Tuesday.

Added Ryan: "It's a question of exposure and it is a deficit that is passed on from generation to generation. Seeing droves of black people in opera houses and concert halls is the exception, and that means the seeds have been planted for the next 20 years. I am afraid I have no optimism for the future.".

The Canadian born Ryan is making his British debut at the opening concert of the Edinburgh international festival this week.

Ryan, who studied music at Cambridge University before continuing his education in Germany, currently lives and works in Germany.

Olympic chief expects to see more doping

ATHENS, Greece, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Olympic chief Jacques Rogge told the BBC he expects to see more positive dope tests turning up in Athens than in Sydney four years ago.

"In 2002 we had seven positive tests as opposed to five in the previous 18 games," he said. "We might see the same effect in Athens, and I won't be sorry."

Calling each positive case a victory in a speech to the International Olympic Committee Monday night in Athens, Rogge said if the number of positive tests did not rise, it would be seen as a sign that testing procedures were not strict enough.

"Paradoxically, this is an encouraging sign that the fight against doping is gaining ground, and that it is becoming increasingly hard to cheat," Rogge said. "We have doubled the number of testers and the more we can target the cheats, the more effective we become."

South Korea investigates Samsung

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- South Korean prosecutors are investigating Samsung over concerns it illegally tracked union workers by duplicating their cell phones.

In July five employees of Samsung SDI and its union leader, Kim Sung-hwan, filed a complaint after discovering they had been tracked through location-tracing services with mobile phone operators, the Korea Times reported Tuesday.

The workers suspect Samsung's management used the scheme to monitor the activities of the union members.

The union's allegations concerning tracking have angered labor activists as well as the public, who have called on law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to confirm whether Samsung engaged in illegal activities to monitor its employees, especially union members.

Prosecutors said they have yet to secure evidence that Samsung's management was involved in the scheme.

South Korea investigates Samsung

NEW YORK, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- More U.S. brides and grooms are breaking with tradition and turning to "manmaides" and "groomswomen" as attendants, TheKnot.com reports.

The wedding-planning Web site estimates 9 percent of engaged couples are considering opposite-sex attendants, up from just a trickle a few years ago, the Wall Street Journal reported.

However, both the terminology and the wedding ceremony can provide some awkward moments.

Many of the bridal attendants are called "dude of honor," "manmaid," or "honor attendant," while the female counterpart on the groom's side seems to have settled on "groomswomen" or "friends of honor."

Some of the traditional duties can become sticky. One bride handed her bouquet to her honor attendant, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot who felt awkward holding the bouquet and quickly passed the flowers to a bridesmaid, prompting titters from the crowd.