The Hong Kong government has launched the "IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) Scout Badge" to promote respect of intellectual property among youngsters. The government announced Wednesday that Boy Scouts qualify for the badge by attending seminars and other activities on the topic. The program will initially target scouts between 11 and 16 years old.

Devoted fans of elusive soft drink Surge have started a letter-writing campaign to Walmart Inc. and Coca-Cola bottling executives in hopes to get the beverage back on the market. The "fully loaded citrus soda" is no longer sold in bottles or cans and on rare occasions is spotted in soda fountains across the U. S. Fan site- www. savesurge. org offers Surge lovers' 500 pages of testimonials, photos of Surge memorabilia, even a recipe for making a surge-like drink at home. Two Arizona women have said they plan to head a petition signing at a country music festival this month. While a Norwegian man offers shipments or Urge, a Surge-equivalent sold in his country. Coca-Cola debuted the drink in 1997 to compete with the ever-popular Mountain Dew, offering a flavor that bordered between lemon-lime and orange and containing more caffeine than Coke or Pepsi. Sales of the drink began to dwindle around 2002. That's when web designer and surge devotee, Eric Karkovack started the website, which averages 500 hits a day. "I never expected when I started the Web site that it would still be going three years later," said Karkovack, 27, who hasn't had a swig of the bright green liquid since 2003. "I just figured that, like most of these sites that want to save something, that it would be a fad. " Twelve-packs of the drink have been know to sell on eBay for as much as $152. Coke spokesman Scott Williamson said Coke has no plans to raise Surge's profile. "If there were to be increased demand for Surge, we would consider making it more widely available," he said. In 2004, Surge sold 200,000 cases, a major drop from 69 million in '97. It's rival, Mountain Dew, sold 650 million cases in '04. If savesurge. org ultimately fails, Karkovack said the effort would not have gone to waste: The cause brought together a disparate group of people who, at least for a while, had a good time. v "It's more like a community than a Web site," he said.

A Mississippi politician in the midst of his city council candidacy finds himself fighting to keep his campaign signs from being stolen or defaced by fans of a Comedy Central's "The Chappelle Show. " Rick James, the 50-year-old candidate for city council in Hattiesburg, Mississippi not the late "Super Freak" singer, was unaware of comedian Dave Chappelle's satirical routine in which he repeats the phrase, "I'm Rick James, Bitch," until recently. The aspiring politician's "Vote Rick James" signs have become wall decoration for local college dorm rooms and cause for complaints by locals who have the signs in their yards with the B-word scribbled across it. According to James, Chappelle is aware of the incidents but has yet to contact him. Comedy Central responded with a statement apologizing for the missing campaign signs. The statement was sent via email to a friend of the network's at The New York Post after James' wife, Diane, wrote to the channel lightheartedly requesting $700 for the stolen and defaced signs. With less then three weeks left before the May 3rd primaries, James is down to his last 10 signs, and can't afford anymore. "People don't realize I don't have the money to start this up," he said. "If I did, I'd be putting them out in the yard, because my main goal is not to make money off this, but to actually win this campaign. " Despite the local controversy and losses, the James' have kept a good attitude about the whole incident. Their answering machine features music by the legendary pop singer, "Super Freak," and James has joked that his popular name would increase his chances of winning the presidency some day. James said he's in talks with "The Daily Show" to appear in a potential sketch. "I told the producers it would be funny if they sent somebody down to follow me around as I knock on doors campaigning," he said. "I usually say, 'Hi, I'm Rick James,' and it'd be funny if there was someone there to insert that B-word. I'm not going to say it, but if someone else did, that'd be as hysterical as you can get. "

A 58-year old woman is arrested for allegedly causing headaches and insomnia for her neighbor after blasting loud rock music virtually continuously for nearly two years. Miyoko Kawahara's 64-year old next-door neighbor says the suspect played loud dance music on her stereo almost 24-hours a day every day since November 2002. A police investigation reveals doctors diagnosed the neighbor with headaches and insomnia attributing the problems to the loud music. The two women have had minor arguments over the years, but no definitive motive is known for the alleged harrassment. If convicted on charges of inflicting injury on another person, Kawahara could face $2,800 in fines and up to 10-years in prison.