MYANMAR...
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ In the eyes of Myanmar's military rulers, everyone is a potential enemy. Even foreign aid workers.

As the international community waits to deliver desperately needed aid to Myanmar's cyclone survivors, it is getting a lesson in the mind-set of the country's military rulers: reclusive, xenophobic generals who despise the Western world.

Six days after Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar's western coast, killing more than 22,000 people, the impoverished country's needs remain enormous. After initially pleading for urgent help, the junta now seems in no rush to welcome it.

``The military regime is extraordinarily xenophobic. They are afraid of everything,'' said Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Australia's Macquarie University.

Among the junta's fears are internal uprisings, a U.S. invasion, globalization and its capacity to dilute traditional Burmese culture. In the aftermath of Saturday's cyclone, the junta appears to be afraid of losing face with its people.

``If they can't handle the situation and they let Westerners come in with helicopters, this will demonstrate to their own people the shortcomings of the military,'' Turnell said. ``They are more concerned with control and maintaining an omniscience in front of their people than saving lives.''

Myanmar's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that it wants relief supplies but not foreign aid workers in the country. It said the government ``is not yet ready'' to receive foreign rescue workers or journalists and was capable of delivering emergency aid ``with its own labor to the affected areas.''

After days of stalling, the junta gave clearance Thursday for the first major international airlifts carrying aid to cyclone survivors. But it was not allowing U.S. military planes to fly in critical relief and continued to withhold visas for several U.N. teams seeking entry, said Richard Horsey, a U.N. spokesman in neighboring Thailand.

A foreign military's presence in Myanmar would mark a major concession for the junta.

``They're afraid that if foreign soldiers come in they are the spearhead to overthrow the government,'' said Josef Silverstein, a retired Rutgers University professor who studied Myanmar for more than a half century.

From the junta's perspective: ``Aid workers could be carrying weapons to give to the people, they could give them ideas of how to overthrow the government.''

Aid agencies say efforts to rush relief supplies to large-scale disasters are often slowed by red tape, but Myanmar's foot dragging has a deeper, historical context.

The junta has long mistrusted the West because of more than a century of British colonial rule that ended in 1948. A parliamentary democracy survived until the ruthless dictator Gen. Ne Win seized power in a 1962 coup. During his 26-year rule, Ne Win's regime curtailed human rights and political opposition and closed the country off to outsiders, earning Burma, as it was then known, the nickname ``Asia's hermit.''

Tourists were, for the most part, not allowed in for years until the 1970s when visitors were given strict, seven-day visas.

These days, tourists get one-month visas but journalists are welcome only during carefully scripted occasions, such as the annual celebration of Armed Forces Day to commemorate the military's might.

Over the years, ruling juntas have imposed a variety of laws designed to keep Burmese culture strong and block the influence of the outside world: It is illegal for locals to hold foreign currency and to host foreigners in their homes overnight. Foreign diplomats are required to seek government permission to travel outside Yangon, the commercial capital.

The junta despises detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, partly because of her connection to the West. Suu Kyi spent time living in Britain and was married to a British man, which the junta says makes her a traitor, even though her father, Gen. Aung San, is a national hero who founded the army and led the fight for independence from Britain.

One of the junta's main foes is the United States, which has imposed economic sanctions against the generals and is a strident critic of Myanmar's human rights record. Washington is a regular target of contempt in Myanmar's state-controlled media.

The U.S. invasions of Iraq in 1991 and in 2003 reportedly spread panic among the junta and high hopes among the people.

Some analysts believe the junta's abrupt decision in 2005 to relocate the country's capital from Yangon to the remote city of Naypyitaw, which it carved out of dense jungle, was driven by fears of a U.S. invasion.

President Bush said Tuesday his message to military rulers was: ``Let the United States come help you.''

On Monday, first lady Laura Bush described the junta as ``very inept'' on several fronts and accused leaders of failing to give citizens some lifesaving warnings about the cyclone.

That kind of language is not helpful, said Monique Skidmore, a Myanmar expert at Australian National University.

``It's actually making it a lot more difficult for the U.S. agencies because Bush must be enraging the generals,'' said Skidmore. ``That's not the thing to be doing if he wants to get aid there as quickly as possible.''

Awaiting a decision from Myanmar, the U.S. stepped up preparations Thursday for a humanitarian mission there, readying some navy ships and Air Force planes in the region, said Eric John, the U.S. ambassador to Thailand.

``We are in a long line of nations who are ready, willing and able to help,'' John said. ``But also, of course, in a long line of nations the Burmese don't trust.''

LAPTOP THIEVES CAUGHT...
The Journal News reports a woman helped catch laptop thieves by remotely using the stolen computer's camera and taking one suspect's picture.

the link for the story:

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805090392

MARIJUANA & DEPRESSION...
Drugs, teens, pot are dangerous mix

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed _ 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

``Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years,'' said John Walters, director of the office. ``This is not just youthful experimentation that they'll get over as we used to think in the past.''

Smoking marijuana can lead to more serious problems, Walters said in an interview.

For example, using marijuana increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers, it said.

The report also cited research that showed that teens who smoke marijuana when feeling depressed were more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become addicted to pot _ 8 percent compared with 3 percent.

Experts who have worked with children say there's nothing harmless about marijuana.

``I've seen many, many kids' lives negatively impacted and taken off track because of marijuana,'' said Elizabeth Stanley-Salazar, director of adolescent services for Phoenix House treatment centers in California. ``It's somewhat Russian roulette. There are so many factors, emotional, psychological, biological. You can't predict the experimentation and how it will impact a kid.''

The drug control policy office analyzed about a dozen studies looking at marijuana use, including research by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Overall, marijuana use among teens has decreased 25 percent since 2001, down to about 2.3 million kids who used pot at least once a month, the drug control office said.

While the drop is encouraging, Walters appealed to parents to recognize signs of possible drug use and depression.

``It's not something you look the other way about when your teen starts appearing careless about their grooming, withdrawing from the family, losing interest in daily activities,'' Walters said. ``Find out what's wrong.''

OIL PRICES...
Survey says executives see oil prices falling
   
HOUSTON (AP) _ Consumers or drivers across the U.S. are hoping they are right.

Many oil and gas industry executives say they expect the price to fall significantly by year's end.

A new survey finds fifty-five percent of more than 300 petroleum industry executives surveyed say they think the price of a barrel of crude will drop below $100 by the end of the year. Twenty-one percent of those responding predicted a barrel of oil will end the year between $101 and $110, while 15 percent forecast the year-end price to be between $111 and $120 a barrel.

Nine percent said they expect the price to close the year where it's been this week _ above $120 a barrel.

What's more, 44 percent of the executives said their companies plan to increase capital spending on exploration and production by
10 percent during the next year.

The survey was done by KPMG, the audit, tax and advisory firm.