The junk drawer

Talking points

And three things you can’t:
1. Michigan’s dismal economy
2. Graduation at EMU
3. Hannah Montana’s body double

Quotes of the week

“Matthew knew he shouldn’t be taking his AK-47 to the 7-Eleven.”
– Laura Andersen, a Las Vegas homicide detective, about Matthew Sepi, a veteran of the war in Iraq who experienced mental trauma after serving there. When Sepi left the store, he opened fire on two gang members and later said his trauma made him snap

“I felt really, really scared inside the coffin and also thought a lot about my mom.”
– Lee Hye-Jung, a 23-year-old South Korean student, on her country’s mock funerals, during which people are nailed into coffins for 15 minutes in order to reflect on their lives

“There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967.”
– George Bush, during his first visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah, referring to the war in which Israel seized the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Golan Heights. Bush used the trip to renew calls for a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians

Theme party suggestion

Primary cool down – Michigan’s primary was confusing. What was the point of casting an uncommitted vote? What’s the situation with Michigan’s Democratic delegates? We recommend you get together with some friends and hash it out. It’ll be too late to do anything about it, since voting happened Tuesday, but it’ll feel good to finally have it figured out.

Throwing this party? Let us know. TheStatement@umich.edu

YouTube video of the week

Don’t tease Baby Charlie

In an attempt to amuse his father, the older brother of the clip’s star, a baby named Charlie, proclaims in his already well-developed British accent, “Charlie bit my finger!”
After the father convinces the brother to show just how it all went down, the boy forces his finger in Charlie’s face. The boy’s true motives are unclear, but it appears that he intends to make a fool of Charlie on camera.
But it is Charlie, not his older brother, who shapes the rules of the game. For a moment, the boy seems to be kidding when he talks about how painful Charlie’s bite is, but after a few seconds, the smile is wiped clear off his face as Charlie continues to latch onto the finger.
“Ouch, Charlie,” he yells. “OUCH!”
Charlie finally lets go, but not without getting a chance to gloat. After a moment of silence, Charlie throws his head back, laughing maniacally. As his older brother fights back tears, Charlie continues to laugh.
It ‘s too early to tell what the brothers will grow up to be, but perhaps a violent future is in store for young Charlie.
– Bridget O’donnell

See this and other YouTube videos of the week at youtube.com/user/michigandaily

Study of the week

International survey finds 15-year-olds have sex

A “substantial minority” of 15-year-olds worldwide have engaged in sexual intercourse, according to a study published this month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

The researchers surveyed 33,943 15-year-olds from 24 countries in Europe and North America in an attempt to gauge sexual activity and contraceptive use among adolescents. The data were gathered in 2002 from a questionnaire administered to students in their classrooms.

Percentages of students responding that they’ve had sex varied. In Croatia, 14.1 percent of students said they’ve engaged in sex, while in England 37.6 percent reported they have. The United States was not included in the study.

The researchers discovered that 82.3 percent of the students who are sexually active used a condom and/or birth control pills during their last intercourse experience. In Greece, 89.2 percent of students reported using a condom when they last had sex.

– Brian Tengel

By the numbers

240 – People who died of a prescription drug overdose in western Virginia in 2006.

270 – Percentage increase in overdose-related deaths in the region from a decade ago.

60,000 – Dollars one coal miner spent on prescription painkillers over a span of two years.