Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Iraq Aftermath; Dasani Water in Britain; Diabetes; Internet Spam

Aired March 03, 2004 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli helicopters fired at a car in Gaza today. Palestinian sources say three senior Hamas members were killed. Israel says the activists were involved in several attacks against civilians and were planning more strikes.
"USA Today" reports baseball commissioner Bud Selig is putting a gag order on the topic of steroids. The move follows a report that several major leaguers are implicated in a growing steroid scandal, among them, San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds and Yankee Jason Giambi. Both strongly deny any steroid use.

And a colorful figure in baseball has died. Marge Schott is the former owner of the Cincinnati Reds. She was suspended from Major League Baseball for racial remarks and praise for Adolf Hitler. Marge Schott was 75.

Iraq began three days of mourning today for the scores of people killed in yesterday's attacks in Karbala and Baghdad. The explosions and suicide bombings targeted Shiite Muslims celebrating the holy day of Ashura. Iraqi and U.S. officials blame the attack on a wanted extremist trying to incite sectarian violence.

CNN's Brent Sadler has more in this report. But we warn you, you may find some of the images disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day of terror, followed by a night of subdued anger and sorrow on the streets of Karbala. Sorrow for their seventh century martyr, Imam Hussein and sorrow for victims of Tuesday's deadly bomb attacks.

Bodies are laid out in the grounds of Karbala's main medical center. Officials here say at least 100 pilgrims died in Karbala alone. Some of these plastic bags contain the pieces of yet more victims who may never be identified.

Survivors were brought to the same hospital. Many are badly burned. Their faces blackened by intense heat when explosives detonated. In this ward, a mother has collapsed at the shocking sight of an injured relative, while this frantic woman searches in vain for a missing neighbor.

"God punish them," she says. "God take revenge for the innocent people."

Dr. Hassan Al-Nassery led efforts to save lives, describing the injuries as horrific and the bombers as indescribably evil.

DR. HASSAN AL-NASSERY, DIR., AL-HUSSEINI HOSPITAL: I don't know what definitely is not human, but what is political backgrounders (ph).

SADLER: Ali Sahib (ph), a Karbala businessman, was knocked unconscious by a bomb. He woke up covered in other people's body parts and knows who to blame.

"They're from al Qaeda," he says, "or maybe members of the previous regime."

Iraqi investigators here claim the attacks may have been carried out by a group of suicide bombers, but improvised explosives may also have been used to kill and maim.

(on camera): In the cold light of the day after, the bloodbath in two cities is being blamed by Iraqi Governing Council and coalition officials on militant extremists bent on sparking sectarian conflict to wreck an unpredictable transition to democracy.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Karbala, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: The head of the U.S. Central Command today also pointed the finger at Muslim extremists for the attacks in Iraq. General John Abizaid told a House committee that militants like Abu Musab al- Zarqawi are behind the violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR., U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: These attacks are despicable and they show the clear lie of the idea that Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden, Zawhari, and their like are fighting for Islam. They are the enemies of Islam. They have killed more Muslims in the past month than anybody could ever imagine for no vision other than to cause destruction and to cause civil war to take place in Iraq. It is a bleak vision that could only result in the Talibanization of the Middle East, should they succeed. The vast, vast majority of the people in the Middle East do not want that to happen and they join us in the struggle against these extremists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: General Abizaid says there are more people trying to hold Iraq together than tear it apart.

U.S. Marines are planning to increase their presence around Haiti today after a rebel leader declared himself in charge. Guy Philippe says he's running Haiti's security forces and set up shop at the country's former army headquarters. But the Bush administration rejects that. The State Department says Philippe is in charge of nothing but a ragtag band of people.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court was installed as the interim president. President Aristide fled to Africa last weekend.

Well the Coast Guard has returned 21 Haitians to Port-au-Prince. They were stopped off the Florida coast a week ago. President Bush says Haitians trying to flee the turmoil in their homeland will be sent home.

A controversy over bottled water is simmering in Britain. Is it the real thing? Turns out Coke's Dasani London tap -- is London tap water.

CNN's Matthew Chance joins us.

To be clear about that, so Coke says it is selling bottled water and it is really the same stuff that people can get out of the tap?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well basically that's the -- that's the story. It's a bit of a bizarre story, but it's turning into quite a big consumer issue here. Because it's emerged that Coca-Cola, of course the world's biggest soft drink manufacturer, is using mains water, you know tap water that everybody can get here in the London area, as the raw material for its new, sort of purified bottled water, which it calls Dasani.

Now, in the United States, of course, it's very common for this highly technologically advanced filtration process to be used on tap water in order to produce a more purer product. But here in Britain, people either drink water out of the tap, which is considered by most people to be pure, or increasingly they buy these sort of premium brands of bottled mineral waters and spring waters from places like the French Alps and pay the money for that sort of extra quality instead.

The idea, though, of putting tap water through a filtration process and then selling it in a bottle, as if it were one of these premium waters, has not really taken root here. It's a new idea. It's not altogether welcome.

In fact, the National Consumer Council, which is a government watchdog, which has been set up here to look at things affecting consumers in the marketplace, has called this a marketing scam on the part of Coca-Cola. They say, though, Coca-Cola, that it's the level of purity achieved in their Dasani water product that justifies its high price -- Carol.

LIN: How much is a bottle over there?

CHANCE: It's about $1 for half a liter. But, you know, there's a lot of flexibility on the price. The point is will people like it or not? I've spoken to a few people in the streets, some of them say it's fine. But when they hear it's tap water, it turns a lot of people off here in Britain.

LIN: Yes. All right. Thank you very much, Matthew Chance, reporting live in London.

Well if you are one of the millions living with diabetes, a hidden danger could pose a threat to your feet. Up next in your 'Daily Dose' of health news, how to keep them safe and avoid a frightening outcome.

Also, want to buy Viagra or maybe refinance your home? Whether you do or not, offers like these pour into your e-mail. Coming up, a look at who is sending all that spam.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: As many as 18 million Americans suffer from diabetes. And many diabetics experience foot problems that can result in infections or even amputations.

CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer shows us how to avoid those problems in our 'Daily Dose' of health news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Jason Curtis (ph), who was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes when he was 12 years old, taking care of himself means eating well and exercising.

JASON CURTIS, DIABETIC: It's all about activity. It really is. And, you know, weight control and activity, along with -- along with a good diet.

FIRFER: He exercises for enjoyment and for his health.

CURTIS: If I don't exercise, if I don't keep up that lifestyle, I'm going to suffer in the long run.

FIRFER: And because he's thinking about the long run, Curtis also makes regular trips to the podiatrist.

CURTIS: Hello. Jason Curtis to see Dr. Julien.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

FIRFER: He and his doctor are looking for signs of foot problems that can stem from diabetes.

DR. PERRY JULIEN, ATLANTA FOOT & ANKLE CENTER: Jason, how are you?

FIRFER: A common symptom of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy where patients experience a numbness, tingling or loss of sensation in their feet. The lack of feeling means that even a small foot ulcer may go unnoticed or ignored and lead to a serious infection.

JULIEN: Ulcers typically develop when something is ignored. And that break in the skin then becomes infected with bacteria. Our biggest concern in diabetic ulcerations that remain untreated are the possibility of amputation or even death.

FIRFER (on camera): In fact, the American Podiatric Medical Association says foot disease is the most common complication from diabetes leading to hospitalization. One study showed that more than 80,000 lower limbs are amputated in the U.S. every year due to complications from diabetes.

(voice-over): Some of the signs a diabetic patient should look for in their daily foot inspections include skin color changes, elevation in skin temperature, swelling of the foot or the ankle, pain in the legs, open sores that are slow to heal, ingrown or fungal toenails, bleeding corns and calluses and dry cracks in the skin.

JULIEN: Yes, our feeling is with annual foot check-ups and with daily foot inspections, that you can avoid diabetic complications and there is no limit to the activities and endeavors that somebody with diabetes can undertake.

FIRFER: He is determined to stay active and healthy and to share his message with other diabetics.

CURTIS: It's not a terrible disease, but it can be a terrible disease if you don't deal with it in the right way. And I just let people know that this is what I do and I've been living a good life since.

FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: For your 'Daily Dose' of health news online, check out our Web site. You'll find the latest medical headlines. There's also a health guide from CNN and the Mayo Clinic. The address is CNN.com/health.

Sick of spam? You're not alone, and neither am I.

Daniel Sieberg is here to show us where it's all coming from.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: This just in to the CNN Center, the judge in the Martha Stewart case has finished reading the 70 pages of instructions to the jurors. The jurors now officially have the case. They are considering eight criminal counts of lying, obstruction of justice in the Martha Stewart trial. She could get as much as 20 years if convicted.

In other news, though, it's like cholesterol for the computer, clogging e-mail boxes daily. But where does all that commercially generated spam actually come from? Well just look around, the answer is as close as your mouse, according to our technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg who is here to talk a little bit about how we can protect ourselves.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol.

This is a new study that the anti-virus and spam company Sophos in the U.K., they decided to look at where all of this spam is coming from. Now of course lots of people are sick of it, but they may not know where it is coming from in the world. So they decided to poke around and see where it's all coming from. And you might be surprised to learn the results.

So we decided to award some rather dubious ribbons. The third place ribbon goes to South Korea and that's a tie with China, actually, for 6 percent of the spams, this according to Sophos. Those are the third place ribbons.

In second place, always in second place, and I can say this because I'm Canadian, Canada with 7 percent of the spam.

Now the majority of it, though, is coming from the U.S. That's right, 57 percent of spam, Sophos is saying, comes from the U.S.

There are some honorable mentions we can point out here, a number of different countries, including the Netherlands, the U.K., Brazil, Australia, Mexico and Spain, all kind of lumped together into this honorable mention category. Again, a rather dubious distinction.

Now you might be wondering why is it all coming from the United States? Well, Sophos looked at that and they have a few reasons. First of all, there are just simply a lot of computers in the United States. Some of them or many of them are on broadband. Meaning that they could be hijacked by spammers, whether it's with a virus or something else, using these consumers as essentially a zombie spam machine to send them out to people. And unbeknownst to that person, their computer is being used as a spam machine. As well, there are -- it is considered to be sort of a small number of spammers that are in the U.S. that are responsible for a large number of spam that goes out on the Internet.

Also, although a country like Russia actually came in at number 28, this study didn't look at where the spam may have started. In other words, although it was sent from computers in the U.S., those computers may have been hijacked by somebody in another country, say in Russia, to use those computers to send them out.

So in some ways, it's a little deceiving. It thinks that all of these computers people are sending out spam from all these computers in the United States whereas a lot of them may be doing it unknowingly, not as though they're participating in this spamming that's going on.

LIN: Right. So how do you block the spam?

SIEBERG: Yes, that's a great question, Carol. And basically we have some tips for people. We can talk about how to block spam from getting on your computer. You know there are some laws in place, but some people say they don't go far enough. So if you want to do this on your own, we've got some tips for you here.

Basically, don't post your e-mail address on the Web, especially in a public place like a message board or Web site. That's where spammers go to harvest these e-mail addresses and try to find out who you are. Don't open or reply to a spam message, because obviously that tells these spammers that that's a legitimate computer and they are just going to start sending you more spam.

These unsubscribe links you see at the bottom of the message are very deceptive. Oftentimes, that's just another way for them to know that you're a legitimate person. So if you click on that, you might think you're unsubscribing, but you're not. You're just telling them who you are and that you have got a computer.

Also, you know you can set up a secondary or a junk e-mail account. Basically, where if you want to use it to say log into a site or even to do some online banking, set up a temporary account where these spam messages can go.

Always use an e-mail filter. You know there are a number of different products that are out there that you can use to try and limit the amount of spam coming in.

And read your privacy policies that are out there. You know you never know what a company might be using your e-mail address for.

LIN: Right.

SIEBERG: Even if it's not for spam, you'll be getting unwanted e-mail and essentially that's what spam is.

LIN: You bet.

SIEBERG: Yes.

LIN: All right, thanks -- Daniel.

SIEBERG: All right.

LIN: Good advice.

In the meantime, we want to check with Darby Mullany with a stock market update. It is coming up midday there -- Darby.

DARBY MULLANY, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol, good to see you.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

MULLANY: CNN LIVE TODAY continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: The presidential primaries may still be going on, but in many ways the general election campaign has already started.

CNN's national correspondent Bruce Morton previews the race between Senator John Kerry and President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As his string of primary wins grows, John Kerry sounds more and more like a man who can't wait to run against the president.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have three words for him we know he understands -- bring it on.

MORTON: The president sounds ready, too.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Come November, the voters are going to have a very clear choice.

MORTON: They disagree about everything. The economy...

BUSH: It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving the economy forward or putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people.

KERRY: He's not multiplying the jobs, he's trying to divide America.

MORTON: On Iraq and terrorism...

BUSH: It is a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger.

KERRY: There is a better way to make America safe than this president has chosen. This president has, in fact, created terrorists where they didn't exist.

MORTON: They are alike in some ways. Both grew up in comfort, went to private schools, went to Yale, joined the secret society Skull and Bones. George Bush paints Kerry as someone who waffles on the issues.

BUSH: For tax cuts and against them; for NAFTA and against NAFTA; for the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act; in favor of liberating Iraq and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from Massachusetts.

MORTON: They differ in that John Kerry went to war, saw combat, killed. George Bush did not. Kerry mentions Bush's aircraft carrier appearance in a flight suit in just about every speech.

KERRY: Old George Bush thought he could dress up on an aircraft carrier and he thought he could stand in front of a big sign that said, "mission accomplished." And he thought you wouldn't notice that people are still dying in Iraq.

MORTON: Hmmm. Maybe the general election campaign has already started. These two seem ready.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Hot on the campaign trail and cool across parts of the country.

Orleon Sidney checking the weather for us this morning.

Hey there -- Orleon.

ORLEON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: Will do. Thanks, Orleon, you have a great day.

SIDNEY: You too.

LIN: I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center. And I'm leaving you in very good hands, Wolf Blitzer, our senior anchor.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Internet Spam>


Aired March 3, 2004 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli helicopters fired at a car in Gaza today. Palestinian sources say three senior Hamas members were killed. Israel says the activists were involved in several attacks against civilians and were planning more strikes.
"USA Today" reports baseball commissioner Bud Selig is putting a gag order on the topic of steroids. The move follows a report that several major leaguers are implicated in a growing steroid scandal, among them, San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds and Yankee Jason Giambi. Both strongly deny any steroid use.

And a colorful figure in baseball has died. Marge Schott is the former owner of the Cincinnati Reds. She was suspended from Major League Baseball for racial remarks and praise for Adolf Hitler. Marge Schott was 75.

Iraq began three days of mourning today for the scores of people killed in yesterday's attacks in Karbala and Baghdad. The explosions and suicide bombings targeted Shiite Muslims celebrating the holy day of Ashura. Iraqi and U.S. officials blame the attack on a wanted extremist trying to incite sectarian violence.

CNN's Brent Sadler has more in this report. But we warn you, you may find some of the images disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day of terror, followed by a night of subdued anger and sorrow on the streets of Karbala. Sorrow for their seventh century martyr, Imam Hussein and sorrow for victims of Tuesday's deadly bomb attacks.

Bodies are laid out in the grounds of Karbala's main medical center. Officials here say at least 100 pilgrims died in Karbala alone. Some of these plastic bags contain the pieces of yet more victims who may never be identified.

Survivors were brought to the same hospital. Many are badly burned. Their faces blackened by intense heat when explosives detonated. In this ward, a mother has collapsed at the shocking sight of an injured relative, while this frantic woman searches in vain for a missing neighbor.

"God punish them," she says. "God take revenge for the innocent people."

Dr. Hassan Al-Nassery led efforts to save lives, describing the injuries as horrific and the bombers as indescribably evil.

DR. HASSAN AL-NASSERY, DIR., AL-HUSSEINI HOSPITAL: I don't know what definitely is not human, but what is political backgrounders (ph).

SADLER: Ali Sahib (ph), a Karbala businessman, was knocked unconscious by a bomb. He woke up covered in other people's body parts and knows who to blame.

"They're from al Qaeda," he says, "or maybe members of the previous regime."

Iraqi investigators here claim the attacks may have been carried out by a group of suicide bombers, but improvised explosives may also have been used to kill and maim.

(on camera): In the cold light of the day after, the bloodbath in two cities is being blamed by Iraqi Governing Council and coalition officials on militant extremists bent on sparking sectarian conflict to wreck an unpredictable transition to democracy.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Karbala, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: The head of the U.S. Central Command today also pointed the finger at Muslim extremists for the attacks in Iraq. General John Abizaid told a House committee that militants like Abu Musab al- Zarqawi are behind the violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR., U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: These attacks are despicable and they show the clear lie of the idea that Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden, Zawhari, and their like are fighting for Islam. They are the enemies of Islam. They have killed more Muslims in the past month than anybody could ever imagine for no vision other than to cause destruction and to cause civil war to take place in Iraq. It is a bleak vision that could only result in the Talibanization of the Middle East, should they succeed. The vast, vast majority of the people in the Middle East do not want that to happen and they join us in the struggle against these extremists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: General Abizaid says there are more people trying to hold Iraq together than tear it apart.

U.S. Marines are planning to increase their presence around Haiti today after a rebel leader declared himself in charge. Guy Philippe says he's running Haiti's security forces and set up shop at the country's former army headquarters. But the Bush administration rejects that. The State Department says Philippe is in charge of nothing but a ragtag band of people.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court was installed as the interim president. President Aristide fled to Africa last weekend.

Well the Coast Guard has returned 21 Haitians to Port-au-Prince. They were stopped off the Florida coast a week ago. President Bush says Haitians trying to flee the turmoil in their homeland will be sent home.

A controversy over bottled water is simmering in Britain. Is it the real thing? Turns out Coke's Dasani London tap -- is London tap water.

CNN's Matthew Chance joins us.

To be clear about that, so Coke says it is selling bottled water and it is really the same stuff that people can get out of the tap?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well basically that's the -- that's the story. It's a bit of a bizarre story, but it's turning into quite a big consumer issue here. Because it's emerged that Coca-Cola, of course the world's biggest soft drink manufacturer, is using mains water, you know tap water that everybody can get here in the London area, as the raw material for its new, sort of purified bottled water, which it calls Dasani.

Now, in the United States, of course, it's very common for this highly technologically advanced filtration process to be used on tap water in order to produce a more purer product. But here in Britain, people either drink water out of the tap, which is considered by most people to be pure, or increasingly they buy these sort of premium brands of bottled mineral waters and spring waters from places like the French Alps and pay the money for that sort of extra quality instead.

The idea, though, of putting tap water through a filtration process and then selling it in a bottle, as if it were one of these premium waters, has not really taken root here. It's a new idea. It's not altogether welcome.

In fact, the National Consumer Council, which is a government watchdog, which has been set up here to look at things affecting consumers in the marketplace, has called this a marketing scam on the part of Coca-Cola. They say, though, Coca-Cola, that it's the level of purity achieved in their Dasani water product that justifies its high price -- Carol.

LIN: How much is a bottle over there?

CHANCE: It's about $1 for half a liter. But, you know, there's a lot of flexibility on the price. The point is will people like it or not? I've spoken to a few people in the streets, some of them say it's fine. But when they hear it's tap water, it turns a lot of people off here in Britain.

LIN: Yes. All right. Thank you very much, Matthew Chance, reporting live in London.

Well if you are one of the millions living with diabetes, a hidden danger could pose a threat to your feet. Up next in your 'Daily Dose' of health news, how to keep them safe and avoid a frightening outcome.

Also, want to buy Viagra or maybe refinance your home? Whether you do or not, offers like these pour into your e-mail. Coming up, a look at who is sending all that spam.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: As many as 18 million Americans suffer from diabetes. And many diabetics experience foot problems that can result in infections or even amputations.

CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer shows us how to avoid those problems in our 'Daily Dose' of health news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Jason Curtis (ph), who was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes when he was 12 years old, taking care of himself means eating well and exercising.

JASON CURTIS, DIABETIC: It's all about activity. It really is. And, you know, weight control and activity, along with -- along with a good diet.

FIRFER: He exercises for enjoyment and for his health.

CURTIS: If I don't exercise, if I don't keep up that lifestyle, I'm going to suffer in the long run.

FIRFER: And because he's thinking about the long run, Curtis also makes regular trips to the podiatrist.

CURTIS: Hello. Jason Curtis to see Dr. Julien.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

FIRFER: He and his doctor are looking for signs of foot problems that can stem from diabetes.

DR. PERRY JULIEN, ATLANTA FOOT & ANKLE CENTER: Jason, how are you?

FIRFER: A common symptom of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy where patients experience a numbness, tingling or loss of sensation in their feet. The lack of feeling means that even a small foot ulcer may go unnoticed or ignored and lead to a serious infection.

JULIEN: Ulcers typically develop when something is ignored. And that break in the skin then becomes infected with bacteria. Our biggest concern in diabetic ulcerations that remain untreated are the possibility of amputation or even death.

FIRFER (on camera): In fact, the American Podiatric Medical Association says foot disease is the most common complication from diabetes leading to hospitalization. One study showed that more than 80,000 lower limbs are amputated in the U.S. every year due to complications from diabetes.

(voice-over): Some of the signs a diabetic patient should look for in their daily foot inspections include skin color changes, elevation in skin temperature, swelling of the foot or the ankle, pain in the legs, open sores that are slow to heal, ingrown or fungal toenails, bleeding corns and calluses and dry cracks in the skin.

JULIEN: Yes, our feeling is with annual foot check-ups and with daily foot inspections, that you can avoid diabetic complications and there is no limit to the activities and endeavors that somebody with diabetes can undertake.

FIRFER: He is determined to stay active and healthy and to share his message with other diabetics.

CURTIS: It's not a terrible disease, but it can be a terrible disease if you don't deal with it in the right way. And I just let people know that this is what I do and I've been living a good life since.

FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: For your 'Daily Dose' of health news online, check out our Web site. You'll find the latest medical headlines. There's also a health guide from CNN and the Mayo Clinic. The address is CNN.com/health.

Sick of spam? You're not alone, and neither am I.

Daniel Sieberg is here to show us where it's all coming from.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: This just in to the CNN Center, the judge in the Martha Stewart case has finished reading the 70 pages of instructions to the jurors. The jurors now officially have the case. They are considering eight criminal counts of lying, obstruction of justice in the Martha Stewart trial. She could get as much as 20 years if convicted.

In other news, though, it's like cholesterol for the computer, clogging e-mail boxes daily. But where does all that commercially generated spam actually come from? Well just look around, the answer is as close as your mouse, according to our technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg who is here to talk a little bit about how we can protect ourselves.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol.

This is a new study that the anti-virus and spam company Sophos in the U.K., they decided to look at where all of this spam is coming from. Now of course lots of people are sick of it, but they may not know where it is coming from in the world. So they decided to poke around and see where it's all coming from. And you might be surprised to learn the results.

So we decided to award some rather dubious ribbons. The third place ribbon goes to South Korea and that's a tie with China, actually, for 6 percent of the spams, this according to Sophos. Those are the third place ribbons.

In second place, always in second place, and I can say this because I'm Canadian, Canada with 7 percent of the spam.

Now the majority of it, though, is coming from the U.S. That's right, 57 percent of spam, Sophos is saying, comes from the U.S.

There are some honorable mentions we can point out here, a number of different countries, including the Netherlands, the U.K., Brazil, Australia, Mexico and Spain, all kind of lumped together into this honorable mention category. Again, a rather dubious distinction.

Now you might be wondering why is it all coming from the United States? Well, Sophos looked at that and they have a few reasons. First of all, there are just simply a lot of computers in the United States. Some of them or many of them are on broadband. Meaning that they could be hijacked by spammers, whether it's with a virus or something else, using these consumers as essentially a zombie spam machine to send them out to people. And unbeknownst to that person, their computer is being used as a spam machine. As well, there are -- it is considered to be sort of a small number of spammers that are in the U.S. that are responsible for a large number of spam that goes out on the Internet.

Also, although a country like Russia actually came in at number 28, this study didn't look at where the spam may have started. In other words, although it was sent from computers in the U.S., those computers may have been hijacked by somebody in another country, say in Russia, to use those computers to send them out.

So in some ways, it's a little deceiving. It thinks that all of these computers people are sending out spam from all these computers in the United States whereas a lot of them may be doing it unknowingly, not as though they're participating in this spamming that's going on.

LIN: Right. So how do you block the spam?

SIEBERG: Yes, that's a great question, Carol. And basically we have some tips for people. We can talk about how to block spam from getting on your computer. You know there are some laws in place, but some people say they don't go far enough. So if you want to do this on your own, we've got some tips for you here.

Basically, don't post your e-mail address on the Web, especially in a public place like a message board or Web site. That's where spammers go to harvest these e-mail addresses and try to find out who you are. Don't open or reply to a spam message, because obviously that tells these spammers that that's a legitimate computer and they are just going to start sending you more spam.

These unsubscribe links you see at the bottom of the message are very deceptive. Oftentimes, that's just another way for them to know that you're a legitimate person. So if you click on that, you might think you're unsubscribing, but you're not. You're just telling them who you are and that you have got a computer.

Also, you know you can set up a secondary or a junk e-mail account. Basically, where if you want to use it to say log into a site or even to do some online banking, set up a temporary account where these spam messages can go.

Always use an e-mail filter. You know there are a number of different products that are out there that you can use to try and limit the amount of spam coming in.

And read your privacy policies that are out there. You know you never know what a company might be using your e-mail address for.

LIN: Right.

SIEBERG: Even if it's not for spam, you'll be getting unwanted e-mail and essentially that's what spam is.

LIN: You bet.

SIEBERG: Yes.

LIN: All right, thanks -- Daniel.

SIEBERG: All right.

LIN: Good advice.

In the meantime, we want to check with Darby Mullany with a stock market update. It is coming up midday there -- Darby.

DARBY MULLANY, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol, good to see you.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

MULLANY: CNN LIVE TODAY continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: The presidential primaries may still be going on, but in many ways the general election campaign has already started.

CNN's national correspondent Bruce Morton previews the race between Senator John Kerry and President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As his string of primary wins grows, John Kerry sounds more and more like a man who can't wait to run against the president.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have three words for him we know he understands -- bring it on.

MORTON: The president sounds ready, too.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Come November, the voters are going to have a very clear choice.

MORTON: They disagree about everything. The economy...

BUSH: It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving the economy forward or putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people.

KERRY: He's not multiplying the jobs, he's trying to divide America.

MORTON: On Iraq and terrorism...

BUSH: It is a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger.

KERRY: There is a better way to make America safe than this president has chosen. This president has, in fact, created terrorists where they didn't exist.

MORTON: They are alike in some ways. Both grew up in comfort, went to private schools, went to Yale, joined the secret society Skull and Bones. George Bush paints Kerry as someone who waffles on the issues.

BUSH: For tax cuts and against them; for NAFTA and against NAFTA; for the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act; in favor of liberating Iraq and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from Massachusetts.

MORTON: They differ in that John Kerry went to war, saw combat, killed. George Bush did not. Kerry mentions Bush's aircraft carrier appearance in a flight suit in just about every speech.

KERRY: Old George Bush thought he could dress up on an aircraft carrier and he thought he could stand in front of a big sign that said, "mission accomplished." And he thought you wouldn't notice that people are still dying in Iraq.

MORTON: Hmmm. Maybe the general election campaign has already started. These two seem ready.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Hot on the campaign trail and cool across parts of the country.

Orleon Sidney checking the weather for us this morning.

Hey there -- Orleon.

ORLEON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: Will do. Thanks, Orleon, you have a great day.

SIDNEY: You too.

LIN: I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center. And I'm leaving you in very good hands, Wolf Blitzer, our senior anchor.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Internet Spam>