Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe THE TWIN TOWERS New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is predicting there would never be anything of the sheer size of the World Trade Center built to replace the twin towers, which were destroyed Sept. 11. Advertisement "We shall not see anything of that scale again," said Bloomberg, citing economic reasons for not building another set of 110-story office towers. The Republican mayor, a billionaire media mogul, noted in a speech to the National Press Club Wednesday that famous towers had not been that successful economically. Bloomberg said the cleanup of the downtown site destroyed in the terror attack is proceeding ahead of schedule, but added that bodies are still being recovered. The cost thus far of the cleanup has only been 40 percent of the more than $2.7 billion allocated by the federal government for this part of New York City's overall recovery efforts. In total, the government allocated $21.5 billion for the rebuilding and economic recovery of the city in the wake of the September attack, which claimed more than 2,800 lives in lower Manhattan. Advertisement Meanwhile, Bloomberg said the economic recovery of NYC was proceeding at a quick pace, noting that the city's famous travel and tourism business was bringing visitors back to New York, adding that "Broadway is coming back" in reference to the city's storied show business. Should the twin towers be rebuilt? Why or why not? If not, what should be built at the site, and why? BOOK BANS Harry Potter and books on witchcraft, ghosts and social issues are on a list of more than 50 books a teacher's prayer group in Kentucky wants removed from the Russell County High School. The Russell Springs, Ky., group -- which includes both parents and teachers -- asked in a letter last month that a special committee review library books that "may need to be removed." The letter said God had revealed the presence of the troubling books. "God spoke to my spirit and we must do 'HOUSE CLEANING!'" it said. "He cannot come into a place that is corrupted. We must not allow for these books to continue polluting the minds of our teenagers." Other than author J.K. Rowling's four best-selling Harry Potter titles, books challenged by the prayer group include "World's Most Famous Ghosts" by Daniel Cohen, "The Witchcraft of Salem Village" by Shirley Jackson, "Satanism: Rumor, Realty and Controversy" by Allen J. Ottens and Rick Myer, and "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou. Advertisement "Harry Potter by far has been the most challenged book for the past three years," said Beverely Becker, associate director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom in Chicago. "Most of the complaints involve kindergarten through sixth grade elementary schools and school libraries." Becker said her ALA office tracked more than 6,300 challenges to books in the past decade -- more than 500 last year -- but estimated only 20 percent to 25 percent of such complaints were reported to the library association. "The biggest complaints have been about sexual content, offensive language, witchcraft, the occult and Satanism," she said. Mark Twain's American classic, "Huckleberry Finn," "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, and "Ordinary People" by Judith Guest are among the most challenged books in high schools, the ALA said. Russell County High School has a policy that permits people to request a review of library books, but Principal Roger Cook said no one had complained about a book in more than 20 years. He said the high school council had asked the prayer group for more information and told them how to form a fair review committee. The Lexington Herald-Leader said the group failed to present a proposal at a council meeting Tuesday night. Advertisement "Personally, I think none of the books should be taken away," businessman Donnie Wilkerson told the newspaper. "Leave that to the parent's to make that decision." -- What do you think? (Thanks to UPI's Al Swanson in Chicago) HOUSEWORK Men are doing 33 percent more housework today than they did in 1965. That's according to a survey by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, which found American men performing 16 hours of housework a week -- compared with 12 hours in 1965. Researchers analyzed data from time diaries and questionnaires asking men and women to recall how much time they spend on housework in an average week. Housework included cooking, cleaning and doing other work around the house. Women are still doing much more housework than men, about 27 hours a week. Said ISR researcher Frank Stafford, "Our research shows that most people rate routine housework as the least enjoyable use of their time." Despite beliefs that Americans are working more hours than ever, the time diary data indicate total work hours decreased substantially from 1965 to 1985 for both men and women. From 1989 to 1999, the questionnaire recall data indicate paid work in the labor market increased by 10 percent for men and 17 percent for women, reflecting the decade's strong job market and the increasing labor market participation of women. Advertisement Men seem to work more hours overall -- market labor plus housework -- than women in countries with high levels of income, the study found, while women work longer hours elsewhere. Swedish men put in 24 hours a week on chores, more than men in other countries, while Japanese men do the least housework, about four hours a week. Hungarian women do the most housework while Russian women do the least. "Cross-national comparisons of the gender gap in housework hours indicate that Americans are less gender egalitarian than the Swedes but more egalitarian than the Japanese," ISR researcher and sociologist Hiromi Ono said. Leisure time is greatest in Japan, Sweden and the United States and lowest in Hungary, for both men and women, with television viewing substantially higher in Japan than elsewhere, especially among women. -- How much time do you spend on housework each week? If you are married or in a live-in relationship, how much help does your mate provide?
