It’s A Skill Not A Pill

Surviving strokes and heart attacks are a marvel of medical science. What needs to be addressed though is the second phase recovery. These advances come at a cost, brain injuries require rehab so patients can return to their lives.

Oxygen starved brains are damaged. There is no silver bullet that will reverse the damage that has taken place. Time is the only ‘cure’ and even that is not a guarantee. Between the time it takes for the brain to heal and the time that a person no longer needs to be in an acute medical centre is rehab. What are the challenges that face both the staff and the patient at this phase of recovery? The over whelming majority of both sides that I have interviewed have stressed communication as both the problem and the way to help patients get their footing back.

Acquired brain injury happens when a sudden, external, physical assault damages the brain. Often this assault comes from a phyical cause like car accidents or physical assaults. Some brain injuries though are the result of infection, lack of oxygen, poisoning, tumors, ruptured aneurysms or other medical conditions.

Rehabition is needed for those facing the issues that a brain injury causes. Memory problems are a key factor when treating a patient for a brain injury. Concentration, making decisions, understanding others and communication are all skills that may be affected when the brain is injured. One common trait among those with a brain injury is that they often can not see what others do, the patient believes all is fine and that those around them are making a ‘mountain out of a molehill.’ And there lays the most difficult part of treating patients with this type of injury.

In the medical world there is often a magic pill or procedure that will fix the problem. That is not the case when dealing with a brain injury. Time and learning to adapt to new skills are the only way to handle these types of cases. There is not one ‘rulebook’ for all patients, each patient has to have a specialized treatment plan to deal with the issues that have risen from their personal injury. It’s not an easy branch of medicine.

The primary goal of a rehabilitation centre is not to get the person back to where they were prior to their injury. While that would seem to be the answer the fact is once a person has suffered this type of injury a 100% cure is almost a fantasy. What is possible for many is being able to handle everyday activities with a new skill set.

After interviewing both staff and patients at one such institution the challenge is to break down barriers in communication. The staff may know exactly what the problems are but to be able to get the patient to understand the issues is a hurdle. When dealing with patients that don’t understand they have a problem the staff has to try to find a way in.

The reward though is when the challenges have been met and the patient overcomes their disability, becoming independent and having pride in their accomplishments. The road to that victory though is a long and hard challenge.

The patient has to deal with the loss of who they were and face who they are now. Without being able to see that reality at times can make the recovery process a hurdle for both the patient and the therapists working together. Ed, a social worker expressed that the person looks like they understand what’s going on and yet they no longer have that ability to so.

“When someone’s first language is not English we get an interpreter, with brain injury that’s the one language that we can’t interpret.”

To get the message across to someone who doesn’t understand is the biggest challenge. Often the staff has to talk to the family for insight.

Because of denial and avoidance it is difficult to understand the issues of brain injury. That goes for the family and friends who deal with the patient. There is no magic bullet. You have to balance not taking away hope but also face the reality of the situation.

A speech/language pathologist named Heather found that the most difficult aspect was finding the thing that motivates a patient. When a patient does not have the insight of their own problem it can take it is difficult to have then understand what the therapist is doing is actually beneficial. Getting buy in from the patient is needed to proceed. Her motto of it’s a skill not a pill quickly became the title of this article, because it sums the rehab process all up. Skills have to be learned without the use of a prescription pad.

One of the nurses, Elsie, at the centre told me that the language barriers can be a huge problem. Most brain injury patients are agitated because of their injury. Another nurse stated that it is hard to combine the fact that their brain isn’t working properly with what has to be done. Communication and cognitive issues make it difficult to treat some of the patients. With the vast array of issues that these nurses deal with; speech, hearing, behaviour issues and confusion they have the difficult task in helping the injured find their way back into society. One nurse said that more staff educational training would be of benefit for the nurses.

One of the patients Henry said that having to deal with people treating patients not as an adult is a problem. He also said that the process would be better if the ‘owner’ of the brain was consulted more. When asked about the fact that many brain injured patients often do not understand they have a brain injury, how that would change his ideas of delving into the working of the brains on what has been injured he responded it would be a difficult challenge to address. He still felt that the professionals should do more to delve into the core problems of a brain injury.

Craig and Chris are both patients but with physical disabilities that noticed the communication problems with those with brain injuries. Chris said that communication has been a problem for those patients. The biggest problem is not being able to communicate because of speech issues like language displacement. Chris related a story of a man who was asked what month it was and responded with the number one. He knew that it was January but the word could not go from his brain to his voice.

Craig believes that the staff is doing the best that they can. “They work out of a book” adjusting the needs for each patient.

And that is the crux of the rehab journey. The care has to be formulated for each patient. Each new case brings forth challenges. Communication is the way through the barriers. And sadly often communication is the larges barrier to break down.

Opinion: Those Funloving Guys At Citigroup Are Still Traveling in Style

itigroup may be suffering in the pocketbook but that’s no reason not to whip out $50 million for a new corporate jet. Don’t worry its not all their money, United States taxpayers are helping to foot the bill in a jet very few will ever travel in.

The bank’s stock is in the dumps. That’s A-okay though when it comes to Citigroup. Uncle Sam just handed them a $45 billion rescue obtained from the common man’s pocket.

After all those turning to frozen pizzas and Kraft dinners want the top cats at Citigroup to travel in style, don’t they? And style is how these execs will be traveling when their brand spanking new Dassault Falcon 7X hits the skies. Twelve of the top men at the company will work hard in the air sitting in leather seats and sofas. Everyone needs a break from time to time so the jet comes equipped with an entertainment center.

The Dassault Falcon 7X can soar at speeds of 559 mph and only needs refueling every 5,950 miles. The French made jets are rare in the United States. Only nine of the top-of-the-line aircraft grace a runway in the US.

Now granted the order for the jet came two years ago when Citigroup was swimming in cash but how is it right that the order wasn’t canceled when the cash flow dried up?

The New York Post reports:

“Why should I help you when what you write will be used to the detriment of our company?” replied Bill McNamee, head of CitiFlight Inc., the subsidiary that manages Citigroup’s corporate fleet, when asked to comment about the new 7X.

“What relevance does it have but to hurt my company?”

The company is quietly selling their older versions of the new plane. Worth an estimated $27 million each they are listed for sale on Aviation Professionals.

France Will Remove Ads From Prime Time TV

Television viewing has one constant — commercials. In France though that will soon be a thing of the past in the evening. In Canada though those commercials will remain on your television screen.

French television viewers used to sit down in front of the boob tube in the evening to watch the news and then 15 minutes of solid commercials before prime time shows hit the airwaves at 9 p.m. Last week the 15 minute ad time was taken off the air by the five national public broadcasting channels. There will be no further advertising on television after 89 p.m. In 2011 the French public won’t have to deal with commercials at all.

Don’t expect commercials to leave North America though. That all mighty dollar helps produce your favorite shows.

The CBC in fact is looking to increase their ad revenue.

“If we were to drop advertising, it creates an enormous financial problem,” said Richard Stursberg, vice-president of English services. “And my general sense is there’s very little appetite in Canada to increase money to the CBC from government sources.”

French television cites that creativity was being marred by that almighty buck. The audience will not be getting as many blockbuster movies but will have more culture on their screens.

In Canada the audience tends to want what is going on in the States to be on their own televisions. The Globe and Mail reports:

“The difference between English Canada and France is that the French prefer French shows, and here historically they prefer foreign shows and entertainment programs,” he said.

France also has different requirements for programming than Canadian television. At least 70 percent of what is programmed most be European and 50 percent of that programming most come from France itself. A reform bill is underway to make it so the majority of the European programming takes place during prime time.

The BBC airs its programming without ads. That isn’t reason though the French are taking out the ad dollar.

“Look at the BBC. They don’t have commercials. But at the same time, they run shows that would have no place on our stations,” said Alain Belais, director of international relations at the French broadcaster. “Not having advertising doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t be paying attention to programming that attracts an audience,” he added.

That means that the French will not be subjected to hours of reality shows like the Brits are. Just a few hours. Heck, like the silly cousins across the pond are. Of course those silly cousins don’t have the flair that the French have either.

The French debate is conducted in the language of ‘culture’ and ‘creation’ rather than in terms of the audience, where in Britain it’s seen as important that the BBC offers something that appeals to everyone,” said David Levy, director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University in London and the only non-French member of the commission that proposed the France Télévisions reform.

Last year the top audience grabbing shows in France’s France 2 was a French movie Camping, Without a Trace, a television movie about a Maupassant story and the French-British rugby match.

In France only 30% of broadcasting budgets come from advertising revenues. The bulk of its $733 million funding comes from a tax of $189 on television sets. The French are also debating on using different sources to fund productions.

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to start taxing Internet providers and the private TV stations’ ad revenues to help make up that 30 percent that will be lost.

“I think advertisers are going to invest less overall,” said Rémi Babinet, the head of BETC, France’s biggest ad agency. “So there won’t be a transfer of the public television advertising spending to the private channels.”

The CBC is also looking for ways to supplement ad revenue that has been lost due to economic crisis.

“I’ve been in the TV business for a long time and in my life I’ve never seen a fall as precipitous as this one,” said Richard Stursberg, vice-president of English services. “We won’t get more money [from the government] so we’re trying to figure out a smart way through these challenges.”

Eliminating Recess Does Not Benefit School Children

There is a growing trend in public schools to take away recess from primary schools. Adults would scream loudly if their coffee breaks were removed yet recess is an easy target in primary schools. Children, like adults need time to regroup and socialize.

The time is needed by younger children to let off stream and learn to get along with others.

Dr. Romina Barros and a team of colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York recently published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics their findings from a study of more than 10,000 children. They concluded that children aged 8 and 9 need at least 15 minutes of recess per day to function better in class.

The benefits of recess are wide spread. Health, learning and social development each benefit from even the smallest amount of free time.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has lead many school districts to reduce time for recess, arts and physical education so that they can focus on reading and mathematics.

Recess has taken the hardest hit with this program focusing on test scores and not the human element. Educators argue that shaving time from the playground is not in place in an instruction devoted to academics.

Education World reports:

“The big thing in this country now is standards,” Marie Diamond, president of the Connecticut Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, stated in a recent Hartford Courant interview.

“We’ve raised the bar; our standards are higher,” says Diamond. At the same time, she adds, “The majority of kids need some time for recess, just like people in offices need coffee breaks.”

These schools tend to be in poorer areas, have a larger black population and inside the inner city.

Reuters reports:

“This raises concern in light of evidence that many children from disadvantaged backgrounds are not free to roam their neighborhoods or even their own yards unless they are accompanied by adults,” the team said. “For many of these children, recess periods may be the only opportunity for them to practice their social skills with other children.”

There are also realistic fears that the children are in danger while on the playground from outside sources.

Another factor on eliminating recess is the sheer size of the average classroom in these areas. With overcrowding the spaces that the schools once used for recess or physical education are now being needed for additional classroom space.

Not only do the children suffer from lack of social skills but their health takes a back seat. Childhood obesity needs to be addressed by offering more instead of less activities where children can be physical.

The amount of free time at school has reduced since the 1970’s. While the children in the United States spend more and more time sitting at a desk children in Asia are spending more time relaxing. Asian schoolchildren tend to have a 10 minute break for every 40 to 50 minutes of education. Asian children are also topping the school test scores.

US Customs Refuses Family Chance To Visit Dying Father

With his father dying in Los Angeles Fazle Rabbi and his young family rushed to be by his side. They never got the chance to be with him. Customs agents at Los Angeles International Airport detained the family and then sent them packing.

Fazle Rabbi, his wife, Rokeya, and their two sons, Rakin, 14, and Raiyan, 8, rushed from Sydney, Australia on Tuesday to be with his sick father. As they went to leave LAX they were detained by US Customs and Border Protection officers. For the next day they were treated as criminals. After being sent to an area hotel at 2:30am the family was woken just two hours later for a flight back to Australia.

The family are citizens of Australia and had valid visas to go visit Rabbi’s father. They believe they were targeted because they immigrated to Australia from Bangladesh four years ago.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

“They treated us like terrorists,” Mr Rabbi said. “We are Australian citizens. Why did they have to keep us in a detention centre? Why did they have to lock up my kids?”

The officers accused the family of attempting to stay in the United States illegally. This in spite of the fact that Rabbi produced the $6400 tickets to return to Sydney.

The family knows that they are unlikely to ever see Mr. Rabbi’s father before he dies.

The US consulate-general in Sydney said that US Customs and Border Protection authorities reserved the right to refuse entry to the US.

Amador Bernabe Got A Pink Slip For Not Using Toilet Paper

Amador Bernabe was working at Townsville Engineering Industries in Australia on a working visa when he was fired. He didn’t get his pink slip for his job performance, it was the way he uses the loo. Bernabe of the Philippines does not use toilet paper.

He uses water instead to clean himself, like many from his native country.

The Townsville Bulletin reports:

“I went to go to the toilet and I took a bottle of water when my foreman saw me and he said `you can’t bring the water in there’,” Mr Bernabe said.

“I asked why and he said it wasn’t good but I said it’s our way and he followed me into the toilet.

“I said it’s my personal hygiene. I didn’t break any law, I didn’t break any rules of the company, why can’t I do this, and he said he would report me to the manager.

That single act resulted in Bernabe being let go the following day. When he reported to work he was informed that his manager wanted to see him. He was told unless he started to use toilet paper the way others in Australia did he would be let go. Bernabe responded with “sir, then you better terminate me.”

And that’s just what the manager did.

Rick Finch of Australian Manufacturing Worker’s Union is shocked by the incident.

“I think it is atrocious, an invasion of a person’s rights and cultural beliefs,” he said.

“The paradox of the toilet and a person’s actions is something that no boss can even think about interfering with and the thought that bosses think they have the control to get involved in the toiletry is a gross invasion of an employee’s privacy.

“If it wasn’t so disgusting it would almost be laughable.

Bernabe is being praised for standing up for his cultural beliefs.

The Waters In Patancheru, India Are A Medication Chemical Soup

Don’t drink the water in Patancheru, India unless you feel like taking in more medicine in a glass than most take in their lifetime. The Iskavagu stream runs along about 90 Indian drug factories. Those factories dump their residues into the stream.

Looking at Indiamart’s pharmaceutical page one gets a quick grasp of the types of medicines that are flowing down the stream.

Researchers checking vials of the water have been shocked. Ciprofloxacin has been found in the water, enough to treat every person in the city of 90,000. That is the average amount of the drug in the water per day. That’s not all, the streams have a drug cocktail with 21 different active pharmaceutical ingredients at any one time.

Those chemicals are used to treat high blood pressure, heart disease, liver problems, depression, STDs and other problems.

The drug factories make much of the world’s medicine. The waters that flow pass those factories may seem like the perfect water to keep people extra healthy and that water flows straight to the poor in India. The only catch is the water is not healthy and in time could lead to a Superbug that will kill. With people drinking so much unneeded medicine in their water when they do become sick their bodies are likely to be resistant to standard medications.

The Associated Press reports:

“If you take a bath there, then you have all the antibiotics you need for treatment,” said chemist Klaus Kuemmerer at the University of Freiburg Medical Center in Germany, an expert on drug resistance in the environment who did not participate in the research. “If you just swallow a few gasps of water, you’re treated for everything. The question is for how long?”

Waste water down stream from these plants contain 150 times the highest levels of pharmaceuticals anywhere in North America.

Joakim Larsson, an environmental scientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, could not believe it was possible to have 100 pounds of ciprofloxacin flowing down the water each and every day. He even sent samples to another lab to test the results. The first round of tests were correct. Not only is the water used for villagers to drink but also their livestock.

Before the research it was believed that the drug factories were not in error in this situation. After all medicines come out of people when they use the bathroom. Hospitals and other medical centers flush millions of pills down the drain every year. That idea has changed though. It is now known that the refuge of drug factories do indeed change the chemical compound of the waters that they dump into.

That water then changes the environment around it. In the waters in India that are drug infested tadpoles are 40 percent smaller. Factor in the other contaminates of human sewage and you have a bacterial time bomb.

Taiwan News.com reports:

Not only is there the danger of antibiotic-resistant bacteria evolving; the entire biological food web could be affected,” said Stan Cox, senior scientist at the Land Institute, a nonprofit agriculture research center in Salina, Kan. Cox has studied and written about pharmaceutical pollution in Patancheru. “If Cipro is so widespread, it is likely that other drugs are out in the environment and getting into people’s bodies.”

The people that live in this poor area are being polluted and set up for Superbugs so that those in the West can have their medications at a cheaper price. That’s short term, in the long term the entire world is affected by these waters.

As ABC reports:

“People might say, ‘Oh sure, that’s just a dirty river in India,’ but we live on a small planet, everything is connected. The water in a river in India could be the rain coming down in your town in a few weeks,” Renee Sharp, senior analyst at the Washington-based Environmental Working Group said.

The drug factories started popping up in the 1980’s. The United States, India’s largest medication customer, spent $1.4 billion on the medications produced in the region in 2007.

At the Patancheru water treatment drug an outdated process filters the waste water of the 90 drug factories with raw sewage to break down the chemicals. That water once treated runs into the Isakavagu stream that feeds the Godawari River.

How high a cost are we asking for these drugs? In the end will it be worth it?

Khalid Duhham Al-Jawary Set To Be Released Next Month

Thirty-six years ago a man, Khalid Duhham Al-Jawary flew into New York with one thing on his mind, to destroy. His target was Israelis. He built three bombs. Thankfully that plot failed. He was caught and is in prison. He is also about to be released.

Al-Jawary, 63, was captured in Brooklyn a long time ago. He was sentenced to 30 years on April 16, 1993. He’s served his time and will be released in the middle of February. It’s not sure where he will be sent. The chances are strong that he will be deported. But where is his home country and who will take him in?

Al-Jawary has had his fingers in many different terror plots, much more than the courts have used to convict him. His name is well known though to the underworld of terror.

While his lawyer, Ron Kuby may have insisted last year that his client isn’t a threat his past doesn’t show that to be the truth.

In November 1972 Al-Jawary walked into Beirut’s U.S. Embassy to apply for a visa using a fake Iraqi passport. He got it.

On January 12, 1973 flew into North America via Montreal. Final destination: New York City. Five days after he had landed a tip from the Tel Aviv office had investigators locating Al-Jawary in New York. When questioned why he was in the US Al-Jawary told the gentlemen that he was going to take flight training at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. He also said he was nonpolitical. He told the agents that he would be leaving the States after the training was completed in a month to obtain work as a commercial pilot.

In the meantime Al-Jawary befriended a woman named Carol and her young son. They went on trips into Manhattan. It turned out those trips had a motive other than getting to know each other. Carol and her son were merely decoys. Al-Jawary used those trips to scout locations to bomb. He picked his targets, two Israeli banks and the El-Al cargo terminal at Kennedy Airport.

Al-Jawary rented three cars and built three large bombs in them. Two of those bombs used alarm clocks but the third was more sophisticated with an “e-cell.”

On March 4 he and possible others got the cars ready. Golda Meir was due in the city. Each of the cars had a Hebrew newspaper that contained news about Black September in them. For some reason though the bombs did not go off. Two of the cars had been towed from their spots on Fifth Avenue in front of the banks and the third was located at Kennedy Airport after the FBI was called.

Terence G. McTigue, who worked on the New York Police Department’s bomb squad was on the case. He knew these bombs. They contained a plastic explosive called Semtex. It was often used in letter bombs that had targeted Jews and Israelis. One person had already been killed by those bombs. He knew who used that chemical also, Palestinian guerrillas that were thought to be controlled by Yasser Arafat.

The Associated Press reports:

“The explosive material found in the rental cars was imported and found to be identical to that used in the recent worldwide letter bomb campaign,” according to declassified State Department documents obtained from the U.S. National Archives in College Park, Md.

The FBI got lucky. Al-Jawary had left behind 60 fingerprints. They also found a fake Jordan passport in a hotel room near Kennedy Airport that Al-Jawary had rented. They issued an arrest warrant. They were to late, Al-Jawary had left the country.

Years went by and no Al-Jawary. He reappeared in 1979 at a border crossing in Austria at the German border. He and another man were in a car loaded down with 88 pounds of high explosives, electronic timing-delay devices and detonators hidden in a suitcase. His passport said he was “Yousif Salim Sejaan.”

After taking to Al-Jawary authorities discovered there were plans to bomb targets in the country. Eleven Palestinians in Germany were arrested. And one man was released. By the time the FBI heard about it Al-Jawary was out of sight once again.

And that was the middle of a long twisting cat and mouse hunt. It ended in with his conviction in 1993 when after only 3 hours jurors convicted him.

And on February 19 that cat and mouse chase by just begin again. He’s served his time.

“What is he going to do when he gets out?” McTigue said. “He’ll be deported and received as a hero and go right back into his terrorist activities. He’s had years to think about nothing else but causing havoc and destruction.”

Maybe it’s time to be afraid.

Facebook May Have the Users But MySpace is Getting the Dollars

Facebook may be a traffic jam when it comes to social networks but the ad sales aren’t as wonderful as that traffic. MySpace still is at the top of the heap when it comes to getting the wallets out.

MySpace is still the largest social network going but that could change quickly as Facebook keeps growing. That’s not really worrying the execs at MySpace. Being big in ad numbers is much more important.

As adage.com reports MySpace has certain goals for its business:

“We are laser focused on building a sustainable global business which we measure by profits and revenue — not just eyeballs. In a tough economic climate, our international revenue is up 30% year over year and we continue to focus on those markets with the strong monetization opportunities.

Facebook may focus on getting more and more users but that may not be as profitable as the motives that MySpace has.

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“Additionally, MySpace continues to dominate the U.S. market — where the bulk of online advertising revenues reside — both in terms of monetization and user engagement with more than 76 million unique users and a 40% spike in engagement year over year.”

As for Facebook the news is pretty impressive as well. Twenty-two percent of all Internet users are members of the network. That is including Chinese users. More than a billion global users have been at the site.

UN Wants Thailand To Answer Questions About Burmese Refugees

Thailand has sent 126 from Burmese Rohingya from Bangladesh seeking asylum back to were they came from last week. Thai forces are sending those hoping for freedom back to the sea with little food or water and no hope.

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There are thousands of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas who fled from Myanmar seeking freedom in Thailand.

Hundreds have been rescued by India and Indonesia but hundreds more are lost at sea.

Those who have survived are telling a harsh tale of the Thai military they hoped would save them. Reports are coming forth that the military sends the refugees back to sea in boats with no motors and little other than a few bags of rice to survive on.

The United Nations has been attempting to get information about the 126 refugees that landed on Thailand’s shores last week. Those effects have failed. The government admits that getting information from local military units is difficult.

While new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has told illegal migrants that they will have humane treatment he has shown to have little control over the way his military carries out those orders. He has launched an investigation on refugees found on a small island left to starve and others that tourists have taken photos of.

Could Canada Have An Outbreak of Avian Flu?

A possible outbreak of avian flu on a farm near Abbotsford, B.C. may result in the culling of up to 60,000 turkeys. The first tests has shown that birds at E & H Farms are carrying a strain of avian flu.

Sandra Stephens, a disease control specialist with CFIA, has stated that plans are being made on how to destroy the birds and dispose of their carcasses while awaiting more tests. Since Wednesday night 22 other commerical farms in a three-kilometers radius have been under quarantine. Until poultry products have been tested they can not leave any of the affected farms.

The quarantine will last three weeks past the time the turkeys at E & H Farms have been culled.

The farm is about 75 kilometres from Vancouver. A worker noticed that some of the birds were experiencing respiratory distress.

There are two barns at the farm that have had sick turkeys. The mortality rate has been at a normal to “perhaps slightly elevated” level. First tests have shown that the birds have H5 strain which is similar to the H5N1 virus. World-wide more than 250 people have died from the H5N1 strain of avian flu.

Canada.com reports:

“It’s possible that we could have an H5N1, but it would appear, just by the way this virus is acting, that it’s not a highly pathogenic form, so it wouldn’t be the Asian strain,” she said.

One of the farms employees may have taken ill because of contact with the birds. The public is not said to be at risk at this time.

Those who have had direct contact with the birds will begin a course of anti-viral drugs as a precaitionary measure.

Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall is reported by Canada.com:

“The risk is really remote that the avian influenza would move to humans or infect a human,” he said.

“We’ve got rapid communication and if we need to, we can very quickly get out and assess who might be at risk,” Kendall said. “We have protocols in place for the protection that we think is needed for the people who would be exposed if they did a cull.”

There was a avian flu outbreak once before in Canada. In 2004 B.C. had to cull more than 17 million turkeys.

The deadly Asian strain has yet to touch down in North America.

US Company Set For Summer Stem Cell Study

Geron Corp. has been given the thumbs up to go forward on a study of stem cells and spinal injuries by the federal government.

This week the company was granted permission to inject up to ten patients with stem cells obtained from embryonic cells. The test group will be paraplegics who can’t walk but have arm movement. Doctors will be looking for movement in the legs or sensations returning.

The study will begin this summer.

In other nations stem cell research has taken place but this will be a first in the United States. Doctors have long wanted to further research the use of stem cells in the human body. Human embryonic cells can be used to make any cell in the body. Research has been stilted though because to obtain such cells an embryo has to be destroyed.

Boston.com reports:

“It’s a milestone, and it’s a breakthrough for the field because Geron passed the safety hurdles for getting federal clearance to launch the study,” said Ed Baetge, chief scientific officer of Novocell Inc.

Opinion: What To Do About A Problem Like Gitmo

Once upon a time there was a place in the no man land of Cuba. It housed a military prison. One ruler decided that those who he and his friends said were evil and mean from other lands had to go there. Another man came riding in on a white stallion….

And there the fairy tale ends.

Closing Guantanamo Bay is a problem. Those that have resided in it’s walls for the past six to seven years aren’t all innocent. Those who were innocent when they arrived may have lost that innocence a long time ago. What we have now is a prison filled with men who were never convicted and probably just a bit ticked off.

And no one really wants them back.

The United States sure doesn’t want the former detainees walking down Main Street.

Why would anyone else want what could be a person hardened by years of being detained walking down their streets.

But these detainees have to go somewhere. And that’s where Obama and crew comes in. Too many years late. Too many years of torture by a nation that used to stand on freedom. Too many years of terror visited upon those that terrorism was already a way of life.

Are these men too damaged to return to a ‘normal’ life?

As the Christian Science Monitor quotes Mark Denbeaux, a law professor at Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, N.J.

“Everyone is looking for a perfect solution to an intractable pair of choices,” Mr. Denbeaux says. “There is no magic bullet.”

Gitmo is the opposite of what the Geneva Convention said to do with war criminals. These men were not given due process. These men were tortured. So now what to do with the real criminals after they suffered criminal actions? How do you separate the confessions that came from hours of torture and the truth? How do you justify the utter lack of the Constitution when now trying to use that same Constitution to process those stay behind the barbed wire?

Take Khaled Shaikh Mohammed. He admitted to being the mastermind behind 9/11. He was admitted that after waterboarding. So when was he telling the truth?

What about the alleged 20th hijacker of 9/11, Mohammed Qahtani. He faced severe isolation, sensory deprivation, stress positions, and sexual humiliation at Gitmo. How do you counter that with a legal processing?

George Bush said he was a dangerous man. That could be the truth. His lawyers say let him go to a rehab program in his native Saudi Arabia. He still sits in a cell at Gitmo even after Susan Crawford, the top military commissions official at the Pentagon, refused to authorize military commission charges against him.

At the end of the day these detainees have to go somewhere. If they are returned to their countires they will have to be tracked. Mark Denbeaux, a law professor at Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, N.J. believes that may be the best solution in terms of national security. If these men really are the terrorists that have been claimed that they are they will return to their roots. If there are trackers on them then the trackers will be able to obtain real time information from those terror groups.

“To me, released detainees are a window into the world that is out there, and if we are not looking through that window it is a waste,” Denbeaux says.

No Bible Used For Obama’s Second Oath

When Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States the second time there was no Bible used. While some may question if he’s still the president, the Bible isn’t the key factor in the oath.

Of course critics will undoubtedly use the lack of the Bible as a trump card. But those critics will latch onto anything they can. Is the lack of the Bible though something for American’s to worry about?

Considering that the United States claims to be a secular nation it shouldn’t. That said most in the nation cling to the Christian faith. That faith was a major factor in the past presidential campaign.

At least one group is happy about the lack of the holy book as Times Online reports:

“The retaking of the oath went without a hitch and Obama was successfully sworn in, a second time, as president of the United States Of America. But this time he done it without his left hand on the bible,” reported the Atheist News weblog.

“Obviously this is not that much of a big deal and the second taking of the oath was just, as the White House lawyer put it, “out of the abundance of caution”. But it is refreshing to see that Obama doesn’t attach much important to religious pomp and ceremony.”

Opinion: Blackberry Stays, Obama Can Breath Again

There’s a huge chance that President Obama was doing a victory dance when he got the word: The Blackberry can stay. He gets to keep his beloved mobile because of Sectera Edge technology.

President Barack Obama has been trying to figure out how he would survive without his Blackberry. Once a man becomes a president they have to give up certain things. He knew that the Blackberry was one of them. Turns out he was wrong. As News.zdnet.com reports:

Barack Obama, though, is a serious e-mail addict. “I’m still clinging to my BlackBerry,” he said in a recent interview with CNBC. “They’re going to pry it out of my hands.”

Sectera Edge from General Dynamics has saved the day. The company allows for encryption above the standard TOP SECRET voice conversions.

Now Obama will only have to deal with having the Blackberry out of his hands long enough for the encryption to be installed. The cost is $3,350 and comes with a two-year warranty.

“It’s not just the flow of information,” Obama said in the recent interview. “I mean, I can get somebody to print out clips for me, and I can read newspapers. What it has to do with is having mechanisms where you are interacting with people who are outside of the White House in a meaningful way. And I’ve got to look for every opportunity to do that–ways that aren’t scripted, ways that aren’t controlled, ways where, you know, people aren’t just complimenting you or standing up when you enter into a room, ways of staying grounded.”

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The encoding is acceptable with three separate modules. It works on the Wi-Fi, GSM, or CDMA networks, and is dust-proof, waterproof, and rugged enough to survive repeated 4-foot drops onto concrete.

The GPS feature may have been disabled on Obama’s Blackberry also. That positioning feature can create security concerns. Bush’s White House aides are said to have done the same.

James Atkinson, president of Granite Island Group, an engineering firm that helps the government protect classified networks and equipment, pointed this out as a possible security vulnerability.

“You can identify where a person is without gaining access to the cell phone network just by the timing of the signals, Atkinson said. “You can identify who is sitting in which seat in a conference room from a couple thousand feet away.”

Obama and Cabinet now only have to deal with not using Instant Messaging in the White House itself.

I think they will cope.

Opinion: Palin Wants The Media To Stay Away From Her Kids

Sarah Palin is telling the media to stay away from her kids. She is tired of what she calls malicious gossip about her and her children. Political observers counter that the Alaskan governor can’t have her cake and not let the media eat.

The governor has trotted her kids out on political functions allowing them to be snapped by the media. While she didn’t give many interviews during the presidential election she did make sure that there were plenty of photo ops involving the children. She had no problem at that time in allowing her pregnant teenage daughter being pictured during that time.

When the media said that Bristol and Levi Johnston were high school drop outs she fired back that they were enrolled in correspondence classes.

The Associated Press quotes Palin.

“It’s all about the family,” she said. “I’m wired in a way that I can take the criticism. I can take the shots. But any mother would want to protect their children from lies and scandalous reporting.”

She is saying that the media is targeting her and her family. She is also saying that she is being singled out. That’s not the case. Political families are often under the microscope. They are media fodder, just ask the Bush girls whose antics were often front page news in their father’s early days as president.

Already the Obama girls are being photographed as they venture out to school.

Right or wrong when one chooses a political career the media will look deeper. It’s one of the prices a family pays for being front and center for their country.

Israel Admits Use Of Phosphorus Shells

Israel is admitting that perhaps they used white phosphorous shells in areas where civilians were. That announcement comes after international rage over the use of the deadly shells.

On January 15 three white phosphorus shells hit the UN compound in Gaza City. It was later used the same day at the al-Quds hospital.

Army sources are stating that up to 20 of the shells were fired into Beit Lahiya.

The internal inquiry of the use of these shells is being conducted after human rights groups demanded answers. Israel for weeks insisted that the use of white phosphorus was within international laws. They are proving themselves that those claims were deadly wrong.

Doctors treating civilians in Gaza already know that. They have shown dozens of suspected phosphorus burns on their patients.

180 shells were fired on Hamas fighters and rocket launch crews in northern Gaza. 20 more though are being investigated by Alkalai.

The Guardian reports:

“They obviously could not have gone on denying the use of phosphorus,” Donatella Rovera, Amnesty researcher for Israel and the Occupied Territories, told the Guardian yesterday. “There are still phosphorus wedges burning all over Gaza including at the UN compound and at the school.

“It is clear they are not using it as smoke screen as they claimed. They used it in areas where they had no forces, and there are much less problematic smoke screens that they could have used.”

On Monday Amnesty International warned that Israel is facing charges of war crimes from the use of the shells in civilian areas.

Judge Offers His Own Type Of Torture Chamber For Noise Offenders

If you want to make others listen to your music in Fort Lupton, Colorado you may have to face Judge Paul Sacco. Those who blare their music are sentenced to spend Friday night at the courtroom listening to Sacco’s choice of music, including Barry Manilow.

The teens are not allowed to pay their way out of an evening of Sacco’s music either, no fines are excepted.

Sacco has been issuing his own brand of cruel and unusual punishment for the last decade.

Teens in the town know that if they are caught making others suffer their music they will be suffering too. After all Judge Sacco often starts his Friday night music time with the theme song from Barney. The teens often get a bit of opera and Boy George in their musical torture chamber time.

After Sacco figured out that most parents have to cough up the bill when he fined their kids for noise crimes he latched onto his current mode of punishment.

Sacco selects the playlist that he believes will most annoy the youthful offenders. His young charges also know that he likes them and cares about their future. Plus this is a great way to make sure kids understand others don’t always want to hear their kind of music blaring.

Once in the ultimate act of ‘torture’ he played a song he wrote and performed.

Those who are ‘granted’ the special tickets for an evening of Sacco Music often start cringing even before the first notes are played. After all they have heard from others who have visited the torture chamber. For the next hour they will be listening to Barney, Bing Crosby, Barry Manilow and whatever else is on the playlist.

Offenders rarely make a return visit.

The LA Times reports:

It works in the short term, said Grannis, the police chief. “They go back to doing what they’re doing,” he said, but they’re more cautious about it.

“As soon as they see you, [the blaring car stereo] shuts off,” said Grannis. “I really think it’s a deterrent.” He counts himself a fan of the program, though as a country music fan, he doesn’t think Willie Nelson belongs on the playlist.

Obama Stops All Bush ‘Midnight Orders’

President Barack Obama has blocked the ‘midnight orders’ that former president George Bush may have issued. This is a common practice of any new president regarding orders that a former president made between the election and Inauguration Day.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel signed the memorandum sent to all agencies and departments stopping all pending regulations until the Obama administration has a chance to review them. The statement was issued just hours after Obama took the oath of President.

Some of the regulations that will be under review include allowing concealed weapons to be carried into some national parks and prohibiting medical facilities from being able to have federal money if their doctors and nurses refuse to assist in abortions or dispense contraceptives based on religious grounds.

Because Federal law requires a 60-day waiting period before any regulatory changes becomes law outgoing presidents will try to ensue their causes go into effect before the incoming president takes the oath on January 20.

Opinion: It’s Time To Prepare For A Total Cure

The world has changed as words were exchanged and a man took the reins of a battered country today. Barack Obama is now in charge of the United States, a nation in sore need of healing.

As a American living on foreign soil I wonder what this next years will bring to the world. Will Obama be man enough to heal the nation? Will his administration fail to live up to the dreams that the world has or exceed expectations? Will being American still be a black mark while walking down another nations streets?

Watching the change in atmosphere has been exciting. I am generally a glass half full person but there’s a part of me looking at the empty glass. With so much hope is the nation and the world at large putting to much faith that in a short time the United States will be visibly on the mend are we setting ourselves for failure? Is it possible to undo years of damage in days, weeks, months?

Each step in the right direction will be a healing balm. The cure though is years away. The United States has been ’sick’ for such a long period that the recovery time will not be quick.

As in any long term illness there will be many steps back for every step forward. There is no quick fix. While the hopes and dreams say tomorrow will be wonderful, reality has to pass rose coloured glasses.

In time though the United States will heal. The poor will not fear a knock on the door saying they have to leave their homes. Mothers will take their children to the doctor when they first become ill instead of when the child is struggling to survive.

Americans will once again proudly walk down other nations roads not fearing that they are hated.

But that is many tomorrow’s away. Tomorrow is the start of the cure. Tomorrow the first prescriptions will run through the veins of Congress changing the course of the illnesses that affect the nation.

Today is for celebrations. Tomorrow is when the hard work begins.

Let the cure come soon, but let the cure be a total cure and not a bandage. Bandages fall off. They are a temporary measure.

The time has come to change the course. It’s time to find happiness, health and over-all wellness.

No shortcuts. No settling for less than a total cure.

Opinion: The Falling Down Of A Puppet On A String

Right after the 9/11 attacks George Bush could do no wrong. Americans praised his actions in the days that followed the attacks that took the lives of 2,974. What happened?

A leader is only as good as his help. In Bush’s case he didn’t have the best help around. Think Progress listed the top 43 appointees that turned what could have been one of the best presidents of the United States into the worst. Here are some of those trophy case losers.

The right hand man: Dick Cheney. Before Cheney VP’s were in the dark public wise. Nice guys that were patted on the head and pretty much only on call if the Big Cheese died. Cheney changed all that. He liked the power and making his ideas known. His side gigs got feature play, we have all heard of Halliburton.

Plus this guy shot one of his best friends and got away with it.

With friends like that it’s best never to turn your back or hand over your arms.

The man of scandal Karl Rove comes in next with how to be a cruddy president. Name a scandal during the Bush terms and you can bet good ole Karl had a part of it. The deputy chief of staff helped get the federal finger in almost every agency of the federal government, leaving sticky crumbs that will take years to brush away.

With a Attorney General like Alberto Gonzales you better make sure to hide your phones. Gonzales is the ‘nice’ guy who went to former Attorney General Ashcroft’s hospital bed to get him to sign off on that fun little wiretapping program.

That lovely wiretapping program as we all know now was and is illegal.

Aren’t lawyers expected to know the law?

Speaking of John Ashcroft he’s not in the clear either. The Attorney General at the beginning of the slippery slope, Ashcroft gave the okay to use waterboarding to get detainees to shout out the ‘truth’ in the early days. He is also one of the architects of the Patriot Act. You know that little act that has taken away basic rights from the American people.

Donald Rumsfeld. Let’s see where to begin with this cabinet prize. There’s the weapons of mass destruction, that was a lie. There’s the ‘come on George, let’s play war in Iraq too!” Gee, that one went over so well. We’re still there, we’re still bringing coffins home and there’s still no real changes. Oh, yes there’s one. There’s a larger sentiment of dirty Americans worldwide.

Thanks Donald.

FEMA’s Michael Brown helped slide the Puppet down the slope in 2003. That year there was a little storm called Katrina. The former commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association showed just how little knowledge he had in coping with a crisis. Five and a half years later New Orleans is still in trouble, people are still living in toxic FEMA housing and celebs are holding funding drives for the area just like the 1980’s drives for Africa.

Paul Wolfowitz was Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2001 until 2005. He is one of the guys that pushed for Iraq to be invaded. He started that drive on September 15, 2001. He helped make the term weapons of mass destruction something that was on the tip of everyone’s tongue.

Wolfowitz eventually admitted that “for bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction,” as a justification for war, “because it was the one reason everyone [in the administration] could agree on.”

Have you heard of David Addington? He’s the leader of Bush’s legal team and Cheney’s cheif of staff. He backed good ole George on any illegal activity he could; wiretapping, waterboarding, warrantless surveillance.

Remember OJ’s dream team? He’s the opposite.

The EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson helped turn the United States over to big business when it came to environmental issues. He suppressed staff recommendations on global warming, mercury poisoning, lead paint, smog, pesticides and the like all in the name of the dollar sign.

We can’t forget the pretty girl in the mix, Condoleezza Rice. She is Bush’s national security adviser. She’s always loved that term WMD, so much so that she spouted it out to the media over and over without proof.

“we don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.”

Oh and the attacks on 9/11? She had been warned about them by the CIA but thought it was best to ignore those warnings.

There are more names that can be held responsible for part of Bush’s slide down. The thing is a man can’t hold others accountable for their own actions. George Bush will soon be leaving the Oval Office but his unwise choices will haunt the United States for decades.

In the end the toppling of this man lays in his own hands. He hand picked those who made horrible choices. He allowed for illegal acts to take place within his administration. He allowed the American public not to be informed of what was really going on.

George Bush can’t hide behind the men and women who sullied the name of the United States worldwide. And that is why Bush is the worst president to govern the United States of America in history.

The Other Side of the ‘Kidney Divorce’

The husband wants his kidney back but Dawnell Batista, the woman in what is known as the New York Kidney Divorce, would like to be out of the media’s light.

Dr. Richard Batista and Dawnell Batista have spent the last four years trying to end their marriage. Just as their divorce hearing was about to begin Dr. Batista announced that he wants the kidney he gave to his wife back or be paid it’s value of $1.5 million. The doctor also made sure that the media would get wind of his demand.

The New York Daily News reports that Dawnell Batista’s life has turned into a reality show that she never signed on for after her estranged husband’s demands.

“Now the paparazzi are outside our house,” Dawnell says somberly. “My children are afraid to go into the bathroom for fear their picture will be taken through the window.”

Ms. Batista has enough on her plate to begin with. She has returned to work as a nurse after undergoing three kidney transplants and a double mastectomy. She claims that the marriage was not happy early on. Still she stayed hoping that it would be better. Four years ago after a counseling session with her husband a phone call ended those hopes. Her husband had left during the counseling session early saying that he was stressed out. So was Ms. Batista who was still recovering from surgery at the time. That phone call was from a friend telling her that Richard was dining with a young woman.

Dawnell has good friends. Those friends split up, some watching the couple’s young children while one stayed at the diner and then followed the doctor to a strange house. That’s where Danwell and another friend took off towards. Shortly before midnight Dawnell knocked on the door to that house. Dawnell asked the woman who answered the door if she knew that the man standing behind her was married. She didn’t.

Dawnell filed for divorce the next week.

Dr. Batista has stated that the reason for the divorce is infidelity. He has not admitted though that it is his own.

When Dawnell was pregnant with the couple’s third child her second transplanted kidney began to fail. Her husband donated his kidney in a generous act of love. Now though he wants to have either the kidney back or $1.5 million. No judge would ever demand a person risk death to ‘give back an organ’ so in reality the good doctor just wants a ton of money. He claims it’s part of the division of assets.

Dr. Batista claims that Dawnell refuses to allow the children to visit him according to journalist Joan Firstenberg’s report. He says she has tainted them against their father. Dawnell counters that their children have busy schedules and sometimes getting all three kids free at the same time is impossible.

“We have a teenaged daughter in high school, another girl who’s nearly in middle school and a boy in elementary school,” Dawnell said.

“By the grace of God, they are very active, busy, into school and sports. They have different interests, different activities. It’s hard for them to drop everything and find one block of time and one thing they all want to do together.”

Dr. Batista also told the court that prior to the divorce action he was a “24/7″ father. He may have forgotten to admit though he’s been annoyed with his brood after picking up the kids and returning their after a mere fifteen minutes.

This divorce case may take some time to sort out. There are a lot of he said/she said issues to tackle.

Toronto’s Cheese and Wine Hot Spot Cafe Taste Is A Delight

Three and a half years ago Jeremy Day, a self confessed “Wine Geek” opened up Cafe Taste in Toronto’s Parkdale Village area. A place for cheese and wine lovers to sit back, relax and soak up the atmosphere.

Cafe Taste is located at 1330 Queen Street West. It’s a quaint little spot featuring over 30 wines and cheeses on any given day.

The first thing you notice when you enter cafe Taste is that it’s not stuffy. Some wine spots cater to the snob crowd, not Cafe Taste. This is the place to hit if you enjoy gathering with friends or want an intimate spot for a date. With a relaxed staff the ambiance is far from high brow, it’s more hip yuppie zen-like.

Speaking of staff, these guys know their stuff. If you’re not sure of what kind of cheese or wine you would desire ask.

This isn’t a cafe to go for a full meal. The focus is on it’s cheeses and wines. On Saturday night we tasted the bread platter with olives. The bread is home made and tastes it. I will be returning to pick up a few loaves. We also nibbled on the cheese tray. There are four sizes featuring one to four types of cheese, bread, fruit, nuts and olives. Once you’ve tasted the cheeses you have to dive into the desserts. Their featured cake is a two man tower of yum. The trick with this one is to make sure every delicious layer makes it on your spoon.

Cafe Taste is a green business. They use Bullfrog for 100% green power. Their commercial products come from Greenshift. All of their cheeses, bread and organic meats are available to take home with you. If you’re into the green movement you’ll be happy to note these guys love it when you provide your own containers for food stuffs to take home with you.

You were in luck Saturday night to also be able to hear live music starting with a set by Ania Z. The set was rounded out by Toronto native Blair Packham. The songwriter was once the lead singer of The Jitters. Blair is now the co-host of CFRB1010’s Rock Talk playing Sundays in Toronto.

There are Wine Tastings and seminars every month. Every Sunday Cafe Taste has a free movie night. After the film a lively discussion takes place.

One exciting feature is their IceWine parties in the winter. The staff required 72 hours to host these private get togethers featuring Ice wine, Ice shots, Ice cocktails and Ice beer, all served out of ice glasses.

Cafe Taste is definitely a Toronto night spot to check out.

Christopher Dotson Endured Days Of Being Beaten Before He Died

A 6-year-old Dallas boy is dead at the hands of a live-in boyfriend. Christopher Dotson died Tuesday after being beaten throughout the day and then pushed underwater. The mother did not report the beatings the little boy endured for days before his death.

The Dallas police arrested Anthony Lamar Beckett, 24, on Tuesday for the child’s death. Late Thursday evening Erica Dotson was charged with injury to a child in the case of Christopher Dotson.

The Dallas County medical examiner has ruled that the child died from blunt force injuries and possible drowning.

Christopher was found covered in bruised and not moving on Monday afternoon. Beckett told the paramedics that he had punished the child by dunking him underwater for seconds at a time. The child’s beating began on Sunday evening. On Monday the child attended school for the day. He was struck again when he returned home. Beckett used fabric and a leather belt to hit him all over his small body.

Beckett is in the Dallas County Jail on a $1.5 million bail. Dotson has yet to be processed at the jail.

Opinion: It’s Time To Prepare For A Total Cure

The world has changed as words were exchanged and a man took the reins of a battered country today. Barack Obama is now in charge of the United States, a nation in sore need of healing.

As a American living on foreign soil I wonder what this next years will bring to the world. Will Obama be man enough to heal the nation? Will his administration fail to live up to the dreams that the world has or exceed expectations? Will being American still be a black mark while walking down another nations streets?

Watching the change in atmosphere has been exciting. I am generally a glass half full person but there’s a part of me looking at the empty glass. With so much hope is the nation and the world at large putting to much faith that in a short time the United States will be visibly on the mend are we setting ourselves for failure? Is it possible to undo years of damage in days, weeks, months?

Each step in the right direction will be a healing balm. The cure though is years away. The United States has been ’sick’ for such a long period that the recovery time will not be quick.

As in any long term illness there will be many steps back for every step forward. There is no quick fix. While the hopes and dreams say tomorrow will be wonderful, reality has to pass rose coloured glasses.

In time though the United States will heal. The poor will not fear a knock on the door saying they have to leave their homes. Mothers will take their children to the doctor when they first become ill instead of when the child is struggling to survive.

Americans will once again proudly walk down other nations roads not fearing that they are hated.

But that is many tomorrow’s away. Tomorrow is the start of the cure. Tomorrow the first prescriptions will run through the veins of Congress changing the course of the illnesses that affect the nation.

Today is for celebrations. Tomorrow is when the hard work begins.

Let the cure come soon, but let the cure be a total cure and not a bandage. Bandages fall off. They are a temporary measure.

The time has come to change the course. It’s time to find happiness, health and over-all wellness.

No shortcuts. No settling for less than a total cure.

Israeli Troops Fire On Civilians Waving White Flags

On Thursday Israeli military went deeper into Gaza City. Palestinians were ordered to leave their homes and wave white flags to ensue safety. It’s being reported that those white flags did not stop the military at times.

The Belfast Telegraph is reporting that at least people waving white flags in Gaza City are dead after the Israeli military fired into a group of residents obeying those orders.

In Khuza comes reports that a group consisting of a woman and three men waving white flags were fired upon. ‘B’tselem’, the Israeli pacifist group, said that Israeli soldiers deliberately shot the woman was first to be hit. Ravhiya al-Najar was shot in the head and died at the scene. Ambulances were unable to reach her as she laid on the ground with her relatives.

Ynet News reports:

“The gunfire was meant to kill, not as a warning,” he said. “With the help of the Red Cross, we tried to coordinate our arrival at the scene with the IDF, but they granted us permission to evacuate the woman only after several attempts; this was at 8 pm, more than 12 hours after the incident.”

The IDF has denied these reports saying that the accusation is “without foundation.”

Palestinian hospital officials have stated that the death toll is now at 952. Half of the dead are women and children.

Israel’s government is claiming that only a “few hundred” of Hamas’s 20,000 men have been killed. They also claim that the group still have a large supply of rockets.

Opinion: Shouldn’t We Be Asking Where Is the Money?

Back in April 2003 a small fortune was being sent to Iraq by the United States Federal Reserve. The U.S. military delivered the bank notes to the Coalition Provisional Authority. It was earmarked for Iraqi reconstruction.

There was a total of $12 billion sent over seas each month, $9 billion of it is unaccounted for. Where did the money go?

Twenty million dollars of the initial money came from Iraqi assets that had been frozen since the first George Bush invaded the area in 1990. The rest of the money came included billions in Iraqi oil revenues that had been controlled by the United Nations. The money was to be of benefit to the people of Iraq. The United States created the Development Fund for Iraq. The United Nations handed over the reins of the billions of Iraqi money.

The military handed the money over to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Now guess who created the CPA? That’s right boys and girls, the Pentagon. Congress believed that the CPA was a US government agency. Boy were they wrong. They also thought that the United Nations had authorized the group. Wrong again.

The CPA operated outside the framework of the American government. Because of that no one was responsible for that massive amount of money. It was ‘off the books.’ More than $23 billion was filtered through the CPA. One problem, no one knows where most of it went.

In May 2003 President Bush put L. Paul Bremer III as CPA administrator. He got $1.6 billion to administer the CPA by Congress.

Granted it was a short lived operation. It had a payroll of 8,206 so called guards. There were only 602 that walked on the ground though, the rest were ghost employees. Those ghosts were making a helluva lot of money in their afterlife. Guess what company those guards worked for.

Wow, you’re a smart one if you guessed Halliburton. Those good ole boys of Halliburton used some of that money to give out 42,000 meals. Now only 14,000 were given to people that walked on the soil. Ghosts seems to eat a lot.

Those contractors had to exercise. That’s why they used bricks of shrink-wrapped $100 bills worth $100,000 to play football. It was a rough game, but someone has to play it.

It helped that the CPA had Bush on their side. When those boys got into trouble because of some tattletales, aka whistle blowers, the Bush administration tried their darnedest to stop a lawsuit against Custer Battles. Custer Battles, LLC is a defense contractor headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island, with offices in McLean, Virginia founded in October 2001. It was founded by Scott Custer and Michael Battles. Those two have a few ins in the government. Custer is a former Army Ranger and defense consultant, while Battles is a former Army officer and CIA intelligence officer.

Ole Custer Battles is considered to be the worst case of fraud in US history. The Bush boys tried to say it wasn’t really fraud since the CPA wasn’t really a government agency. When that didn’t work and the lawsuit hit the courts, Custer Battles said hold your horses, they didn’t steal the money. After all the they had government approval for spending it any way they saw fit.

Now a little company was called into audit for CPA. North Star. There’s only one tiny, weeny problem here. North Star is run out of Thomas Howell’s house in La Jolla, California. Howell is not an accountant. He is a business man though with a post office box in the Bahamas. Nice little set up.

Want to guess who set the company up with CPA? That was almost to easy, of course it was the Pentagon.

Do you remember L. Paul Bremer III? That crafty man issued an order prepared by the Pentagon saying that all coalition-force members “shall be immune from any form of arrest or detention other than by persons acting on behalf of their Sending States.”

Yep, Uncle Sam was busy handing out real Monopoly game cards. Those get out of jail free cards were extended to contractors also. The wording was so crafty that it made the Iraqi people have no say over any illegal conduct Americans did. They are a clever bunch.

Project Censored.org reports:

Matt Taibbi says, “What the Bush administration has created in Iraq is a sort of paradise of perverted capitalism, where revenues are forcibly extracted from the customer by the state, and obscene profits are handed out not by the market but by an unaccountable government bureaucracy.”

He concludes, “What happened in Iraq went beyond inefficiency, beyond fraud even. This was about the business of government being corrupted by the profit motive to such an extraordinary degree that now we all have to wonder how we will ever be able to depend on the state to do its job in the future. If catastrophic failure is worth billions, where’s the incentive to deliver success?”

‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Soon To Be Achieved

The don’t ask, don’t tell era may well be ending for the United States military. It’s been speculated that when Obama takes the reins of Commander and Chief sexual orientation will not be an issue.

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said last Friday that the plan was to get rid of the policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

While the policy will not change overnight it will change. “The question isn’t if we do it, and the question isn’t when we do it, it’s how we do it,” said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, whose 2006 bill to repeal the ban earned broad support among Democrats in Congress but did not move forward in the face of a near-certain veto by President Bush.

“I’m going to reintroduce the bill in the next few weeks,” Tauscher said. “We’ve got the American people behind us.”

In 1993 only 44 percent of Americans supported an open policy in the military. Times have changed. The results of an ABC poll in July found that 75 percent of Americans were now in favor of the change.

The United States in general is more tolerant of those with different sexual orientations. During the 1990’s it became more common for people to come “out of the closet.” That openness now will change the way the military runs in the future. Once the policy changes there will not be dismissals of key players simply because they have a different bedroom preference than the norm.

Howie Gives The Scoop On Fainting And His Heart

Howie Mandel says he fainted like a ‘little girl’ Tuesday evening. This was following a procedure on his heart earlier in the day. He was well enough to report back to work Wednesday after a night at Saint Michael’s Hospital.

It was discovered on the set of his latest venture “Howie Do It!” that the actor, 53, had a irregular heart beat. When he had an electrocardiogram it also showed the irregular heartbeat. At that point doctors suggested that Mandel have a cardio inversion. He had the treatment on Tuesday.

The Associated Press quotes Mandel on the treatment.

“I think it’s called cardio inversion,” Mandel said. “They put you under and they take the defibrillator and they shock you and zap! Your heartbeat goes back to normal because you changed the electrical current. . . . Like a reboot.”

It is fairly common for people to have an irregular heart rate. The Heart and Stroke Foundation says that the treatment is used to restore a normal heart rhythm from an abnormal rhythm. While atrial fibrillation is not life-threatening it can cause the heart to pump to fast. The day of the procedure patients are asked not to eat or drink for eight hours prior to the treatment. Patients are also told not to use lotion before the treatment.

Most patients are sedated for the treatment for comfort reasons. It is an outpatient procedure. For the rest of that day patients are asked not to drive or operate heavy equipment. Patients need someone to give them a ride home.

Hospital Scrubs Carry Bacterial Bug on Uniforms

Entering a hospital you are faced with sanitizers. It`s common knowledge that washing your hands is a barrier to germs. But what about the scrubs the medical staff wears?

While you would expect hospital attire to be clean the truth is it is carrying germs right to a patient`s bed. And those germs can be as deadly as the illnesses that brought a person into the medical center to begin with.

Clostridium difficile (C. diff) causes almost a half a million people a year in the United States to fall ill. At the University of Maryland hospital staffers confessed that many don`t bother to change their lab coats more than once a week. That`s a week`s worth of germs carried around the medical center and often out to eat.

Staph can live on polyester coats for 56 days.

Until 20 years ago hospitals throughout the United States cleaned their staff`s scrubs. Now some medical centers are returning to that policy.

In Saint Louis, Mo. when St. Mary`s Health Center started giving their staff laundered scrubs cesarean birth infection rates were lowered by 50%.

There is a near zero hospital-acquired infection rate at Monroe Hospital in Bloomington, Ind. If you guessed that the hospital foots the bill for clean scrubs you`d be correct.

Saint Michael`s Hospital in Toronto provides the staff with scrubs.

In Britain the British National Health Service is providing nurses with `smart scrubs.`These garments have short sleeves because long sleeves have been proven to spread germs from patient to patient.

In a British study more than 20 per cent of nurse’s uniforms had C. diff on them. The germ can cause extreme diarrhea, dehydration, inflammation of the colon, and even death.

Hospitals are crawling with the germ. C. diff is spread when traces of an infected person`s feces get into another person`s mouth. Touching anything in a hospital without washing your hands puts a person at risk for the infection.

The germ is also difficult to control outside of hospital walls. It`s not called a Superbug without reason. The germ is difficult to kill. Standard cleansers don`t do the trick.

At Case Western Reserve and the Cleveland Veterans Administration Medical Center researchers found that even after standard cleaning 78 percent of surfaces still had C. diff on them.

Now consider the quick swipe that your local diner gives a table. Do you see medical employees there eating lunch? In their scrubs?

I think I`ll pass on that sandwich now.

Denise Dawson Deemed Too Honest To Be Fair Witness

During a driving lesson in 2007 instructor Denise Dawson of Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, was assaulted. She picked her attacker out of a ID parade and was set to testify in the trial. The only problem is Denise is just to darned honest.

Judge Jamie Tabor QC praised Dawson for being honest, decent and brave. Those qualities should be considered key elements in a trial but they are the reason the court proceedings were canceled.

The Mirror reports:

Judge Tabor stunned Bristol crown court as he said: “Denise Dawson was a particularly impressive witness because she showed courage, clarity of thought and was undoubtedly honest. The jury may lend more weight to her evidence than her facts allow. You cannot be sure she got it right … had this been the Archbishop of Canterbury’s son, would I have allowed the trial to go on? The answer is no.”

Dawson is disgusted. The judge had even rewarded her with s250 for her courage in testifying against Liam Perks, the man who she claims broke her nose in the attack.

This isn`t the first case where Judge Tabor QC has made a `kick in the teeth`choice in favor of the criminal. Last May he freed a woman who had tried to poison her husband. The judge said that the lady wasn`t a criminal even after she admitted to doing the deed.

Last year he let a teacher off who spanked a 11-year-old boy because Tabor deemed the boy seemed to enjoy it.

UN Compound In Gaza City Is Burning Out of Control

The United Nation’s central storehouse in Gaza for humanitarian aid is on fire. Three workers have been injured as the fire rages out of control.

It is not known which of the armed forces were the ones that hit the compound in Gaza City on Thursday. Hundreds of refugees were inside the compound when it came under attack. The compound had only just this morning been opened to the hundreds of Gaza City residents seeking sanctuary.

Staffers at the building have told CNN that Israel used white phosphorous shells in the attack.

CNN reports:

It’s a very big fire, and we’re not able to get it under control at the moment,” Ging said. With gun battles going on around the facility, “the emergency services are not able to get to us.”

During the shelling a hospital, five apartment buildings and a media outlet center were struck. Several journalists have been harmed in this pounding by Israel.

The Associated Press offices had bullets swirling where two staffers were working. Those workers were not injured.

The Foreign Press Association has demanded that Israel stop the attacks on press buildings. Both sides have the locations of all press buildings.

The Al Quds hospital found itself under attack trapping its 400 patients and staff inside the main building. A pharmacy building was set on fire during the shelling. Gunfire was also observed around the building. It is not clear how many people were wounded during that attack.

Earlier thousands of residents, many in sleeping apparel, fled their homes in the Tel Hawwa neighbourhood as Israeli ground forces raided. Some of the residents pleaded with ambulances and journalists in armored cars to take them into a U.N. compound.

On Thursday CARE, a private relief agency, announced that they are canceling distribution of food and medical aid until the fighting has seized in the region.

Ricardo Montalban Dead At 88

Ricardo Montalban died Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles. The Mexico native was one of the most sought after Hispanic actors during the 1950’s and 1960’s. He went on to star in the television show “Fantasy Island” during the 1970’s.

Ricardo Montalban had a air of power, class and kindness about him.

In 1947 after starring in 13 Spanish-language films in Mexico, Montalban went to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood. He achieved his dreams. He was part of the MGM stable that often cast him as the steamy male lead with stars like Esther Williams and Lana Turner.

During the time he worked on “Across the Wide Missouri” with Clark Gable,Montalban suffered an injury to his spinal cord. He suffered pain from that accident even after surgery.

CNN quotes the actor on his desire to change the stereotype of Hispanic actors during the period of film.

“When I first came to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer under contract in 1945, that’s when the image was at its worst,” Montalban said. “They didn’t realize that by trying to be colorful, they were very insulting.”

Montalban served as the president of an organization that worked for the advancement of Hispanics in the entertainment industry. For 20 years he was devoted to Nosotros, the group he founded.

No cause of death has been reported for the actor.

Montalban’s wife of 63 years, Georgiana Young passed away in 2007. He is survived by their four children; Laura, Mark, Anita and Victor.

Opinion: Ice Age Alert, Toronto Is Shivering

Something is wrong in the world today, Toronto is colder than Yellowknife. Temperatures have dropped to the -20 C range in the GTA with colder weather coming before the balmy -6 C temperatures we can expect this weekend.

Now granted Toronto is in Canada so cold weather is expected during the winter. Going out and being hit by a wind chill of -30 C is not. That’s for the Arctic isn’t it?

I think the polar bears in Yellowknife are laughing while dealing with their mild -13 C temperatures expected for Thursday.

The only good thing about freezing like a Popsicle is the chance of a heavy snowfall is slim.

As CBC reports:

“You know when you get really cold temperatures there’s not a lot of moisture in the air, so any systems that do come through usually don’t hold that much in the way of snowfall,” CBC meteorologist Nick Czernkovich said.

When it’s this cold snuggling up with a cup of tea and a great book is the only sane option. Still we brave Canucks trudge on wearing our mega layers of sweaters to brave the chill.

So here’s to you Toronto! Spring is only a couple of months away.

Researchers Make Breakthrough in Heart Repairs

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s researchers have found a way to grow new blood vessels. That breakthrough may lead the way to repairing heart damage.

The biomaterial adds a molecule to a collagen protein
that already exists in the body. That process allows cells to be attracted to the blood vessel long enough to grow according to Dr. Erik Suuronen.

When the biomaterial is placed into the thigh muscles of lab rats new blood vessels grew. Once in the body itself repair cells go to the biomaterial allowing cells to remain alive and regenerate.

In heart disease this biomaterial would be injected into the heart muscle. That process could target clots and other damaged areas.

The study is online at the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

What’s In A Name? Adolf Hitler Campbell Removed From His Home

Last week Adolf Hitler Campbell and his siblings were removed by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services from their home. This removal came even without any reports of abuse or neglect. Or were they?

Heath Campbell has said that the children haven’t been removed while Holland Township police chief David Van Gilson said they were.

The family came into the news when a local grocery refused to add little Adolf’s name to a birthday cake.

The parents of Adolf Hitler have given their other children equally unique names; JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, 1, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, who turns 1 in April.

A hearing is scheduled to decide if the children should be placed in another home on Thursday before Superior Court Judge Peter A. Buschbaum at the Hunterdon County Justice Center. An earlier hearing was postponed after Heath Campbell requested a private attorney.

After a story appeared in The Express-Times about the children’s names and the refusal of a supermarket to pen Adolf Hitler on a birthday cake another Campbell family in the area received death threats. Those threats were meant for Heath Campbell. Police are investigating that threat.

The website lehighvalleylive.com
reports on the letter sent to Melanie Campbell in December. The letter was meant for Heath Campbell.

“Your hateful thoughts will cause your death and the deaths of your children,” the letter reads.

“You will not be able to prevent this, you will not know when it will happen, you will not know how it will happen,” it reads. “Your children will die. You will all end up like your Nazi friends: dead.”

The typewritten letter was followed by another in December. Melanie Campbell gave both letters to the police.

Mailing a death threat is punishable with a three to five year prison sentence.

Opinion: Struggling With Religious Editorials And Tolerance For News Sites

Do opinion pieces with a religious or total non-secular bent belong on news source sites? These type of articles bring out the claws of those who do not believe in the same world view.

That’s great for getting comments but in the long run does it taint the image of a news source?

While places of worship are free to discuss social issues with their viewpoints that can not always be said of the media.

Religious freedom is a right in the United States. That does not carry through to every nation in the world. In fact some nations will use any means possible to silence opposing viewpoints. News sources online have to consider that fact.

During the past presidential election in the United States religious view points were the news. Church and state did not have the widest divide as it had in times past. God and Christianity at times seemed to be on the campaign trail as much as other issues. Each candidate’s religious views were news fodder.

Was that the fault of the media and news sources? By allowing it to take center stage did that allow those who have a narrow world view believe that only one view point was viable.

At times one side or the other can believe that the editorial staff of a news source is biased if a person’s views are slighted. Instead of tolerance of all view points a news source is then labeled as leaning to either the right or the left.

At times Digital Journal.com has been accused of this. In reality the staff is not biased, rather allowing for all views to be seen. That action, or rather as it could appear to others, non-action, can lead to some viewers believing that the staff is leaning in a way that it may not be.

So what is the answer? Is eliminating any material other than straight news in religious issues the way to go? Is limiting religious based editorials to only certain groups right?

Each view point deserves to be observed and commented on. The trick is doing this in a way that over-all tolerance is also observed. When the news source site becomes a playground of name calling it sullies the name of that site. While this is a difficult task it is the only way these type of editorials do not tarnish a site.

In the end it’s up to both those who report for a news source and the editorial staff to ride the fine line between the right for religious free speech and the overwhelming need of tolerance. For without that tolerance such editorial pieces only bring a negative view of the news site.

Carol Bartz Named New Yahoo CEO

Carol Bartz, 60, has been named as the new CEO for Yahoo. The Silicon Valley legend is expected to bring in a no-nonsense style for the Internet company. For the past three years Yahoo has been in slump.

Bartz was lured from Autodesk Inc. after a two month search to replace Jerry Yang. Yang stepped down from his position after the death of deals with Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. last year.

While company heads are positive about the choice of Bartz in control shareholders may not be. Yahoo stock when down 12 cents after she was named CEO. It recovered though by end of trading 15 cents.

Yahoo Tech reports:

“She is able to see the essence of things because she doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about how people are going to feel,” said Nilofer Merchant, a former Autodesk manager who is now CEO of technology consultant Rubicon. “She is driven by doing the best thing for the business.”

She did a good job of turning struggling Autodesk around when she took the reins in 1992. Now the company has grown from a single software product to design software and computer programs that add special effects to the Boob Tube and Silver Screen. She achieved all of those while dealing with breast cancer. Just a short time after she was hired in 1992 she was diagnosed. Within four weeks she had a mastectomy and was back to work.

Ken Blackwell Compares Homosexuality With Arson

Another political figure has come down with foot-in-mouth disease. Ken Blackwell, one of the front runners for running Republican National Committee, has compared homosexuality with arson and kleptomania.

That’s right folks, Blackwell has made it known that he believes that homosexuality is a compulsion that needs to be contained.

He is likely to be popular in some circles but there’s this little bit of information, he’s been said to be of ‘questionable sexual orientation’ himself.

Back in September Michelangelo Signorile interviewed Blackwell at the Republican National Convention.

Part of that interview goes as follows:

KB:Where you and I disagree is that I do not think homosexuality manifested in behavior is a behavior that should in fact make us change the laws of this land.

MS: But many laws have been changed already. The Supreme Court says that homosexual behavior is not illegal. Arson is a crime. If somebody burns your house down, that’s hurting you, hurting other people. The Supreme Court has said if it’s in your bedroom it’s not hurting anybody else.

KB: If in fact you would feel better for me to say to you that, one, I believe homosexuality is a compulsion that can be contained, repressed or changed, and that makes you feel better, then that is what I’m saying in the clearest of terms.

To hear the interview follow the link.

Yu Fahai Ordered To Drink His Own Urine By Airport Security

A retired police officer was ordered to drink his own urine by airport security at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai. Yu Fahai, 58, was carrying an urine sample in his pocket when the incident occurred.

Yu must test his urine often for infection after receiving a kidney transplant several years ago. Because of that he was carrying a bottle of the liquid in his pocket. Carrying liquid aboard a flight is against national regulations.

This was the first time Yu had ever flown. He was attending a TV awards ceremony in Shanghai.

Ananova reports:

“The checker asked me what was inside, and I told her it was my urine. She said: “Urine? Drink some to prove it”,” said Yu at his home in Chibi, Hubei province.

Yu has filed a complaint against the airport.

The security guard claims that the man’s pronunciation was difficult to understand and mistook ‘beverage’ for ‘urine.’

Once the guard understood what the liquid was he apologized and made an exception allowing the liquid aboard because of Yu’s medical history.

Getting Up And Walking Could Be Future for I.C.U. Patients

Some revolutionary doctors are revising years of practice by getting their I.C.U. patients up and about as soon as medically possible. The hope is by starting physical activity it will shorten the time it takes to recover.

Researchers tracking former patients in I.C.U.s tend to take years to recover. Some of those have post-traumatic stress disorder and memories of nightmares they had under heavy sedation.

Researchers have started to believe that it’s not just the illnesses that landed a patient in an I.C.U. that leaves them weak for months or years. They are now convinced that being on life support for days, weeks or months have long-lasting effects.

That research has lead to new policies. Getting patients, even those who are gravely ill, out of their beds and walking as soon as possible.

Immediately after been taken off a ventilator patients had difficulty moving their arms to raise themselves into a sitting position. Many could not push back against a researcher’s hand. Those results came after just days within an I.C.U. bed according to Dr. Naeem Ali of Ohio State University.

The research is focusing on why an I.C.U. stay can be so devastating and what changes need to take place to lessen that risk. As more medical advancements come forth, more patients are surviving their I.C.U. stays making this a real concern.

The New York Times reports:

“We had thought these patients just heal up,” said Dr. Peter Morris of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. “But now so many of these reports from different universities say they are not really O.K..”

Dr. Dale Needham of John Hopkins has been tracking patients for the past five years. He has discovered that many former I.C.U. patients have a hard time recovering their prior strength and some never regain it after time spent in the I.C.U.

“We are asking ourselves, what can we do on Day 1 to get you out of the hospital and back to work sooner, without problems with weakness, mood and thinking? What can we do for you?”

The difficult part of this research is weeding out which future disabilities come from the illness itself and which come from the time spent in an I.C.U. bed. The fear is that mechanical ventilation along with the sedatives needed for that machine that would stop even a healthy person’s lungs from working is why patients have permanent strength loss.

Some doctors are wondering if the medicines used to help keep patients comfortable during this period are responsible for a reduced recovery.

Dr. John Kress, director of the University of Chicago’s medical I.C.U. tried experimenting with patients. The experiment consisted of waking patients every day for a brief time and turning off their infusion of sedatives.

Some people did not approve of this study believing that patients would be in a state of fear, dread and anxiety. The research team found that was the opposite of the result.

“We found, to the contrary, that patients actually did better” and even had a significantly lower rate of post-traumatic stress disorder, which is manifested by such things as mood disorders, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, shortness of temper and frightening memories. It is not clear why there was less post-traumatic stress but, Dr. Kress said, “My opinion is that maintaining some awareness of reality is better for your psyche.”

Ramona O. Hopkins, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, had the same idea as Needham and Dr Morris. Dr. Morris found that the patients that were in his pilot program recovered faster and left the I.C.U. and hospital at a quicker pace than other patients.

“Our biased impression is that mobilization is helpful,” Dr. Needham said. “A typical patient may not even be able to walk when they leave the I.C.U. or even the hospital. When we see them walk in the I.C.U., we believe that has to be better.”

Dr. Morris concludes that clinical trials ongoing and in the future will be the proof that is needed to change the way I.C.U.s operate, “there’s lots of room for improvement.”

The Birth Of A Foundation

This past weekend the beginning stages have taken place for a new foundation called Helping Henry. The grassroots group’s goals are to help patient families within the first days of dealing with a patient in ICU.

Those first days are a critical time for all involved. Trying to install a positive outlook while keeping the facts and possible negative realities is a very thin line. What has been observed though from my own eyes is a positive outlook by family and friends helps the patient overcome insurmountable odds. This the idea for Helping Henry was born.

The time my family spent pacing the floor in the ICU waiting room we observed how the patients whose families remained positive generally had a fighting chance to make it out of the unit. That can not be said for families with a negative attitude.

Researchers at Duke University have shown that this belief is viable. A study in 1992 of 1,368 heart patients found those without a spouse or confidant were three times more likely to die within five years of diagnosis compared to those with a close friend or spouse. The leader of the study said that “in some cases a support group may be as effective as costly medical treatment.”

While research dollars focus mostly on the different lifesaving techniques family care is often overlooked. That care and the outcome is an uncharted study field.

Sometimes simple observation and common sense though tells the story. If the family can remain positive in the light of severe crisis then it can go on through the periods of recovery easier. If there is a death the family is strong enough to survive it.

The foundation will be a first step in helping families understand that there is hope and that positive energy breeds hope. Simple items; a locker system, blankets, tissues and hand lotion may seem very small in the face of a crisis but they are items that can help the family get on when everything is spiraling out of control.

Can You Read This? Many Can’t

If you have to have someone else read you this article you’re not alone. One in seven United States adults are illiterate. That is the finding in a federal study released earlier this week.

In the United States there are an estimated 32 million adults walking around who are unable to read. The lack of that skill can make everyday functions impossible. Filling out an employment application requires basic reading skills.

Being able to read simple safety precautions is a key way of preventing accidents. When someone is faking it they put others at risk. Reading the side effects on the prescription bottle and paperwork is key to staying healthy. Helping your children do their homework requires being able to read.

Some states are tackling the problem. Mississippi the levels of illiteracy dropped from 25% to 25% since 1992 when the last survey results came out.

That’s not the case in California, New York, Florida and Nevada where the numbers rose.

The survey took place in 2003. Being illiterate in the United States a person can not read nor understand any written information in English.

The results of the latest survey differs from the 1992 one in regard to testing those who English is not the native language. That may have been the cause of such a high number of people deemed illiterate.

Mexico Is Considering Banning All Toy Guns

Mexico is considering banning toy guns in an effort to lower aggression among Mexican children dealing with the wave of criminal violence throughout the nation.

If the Mexican parliament does ban the guns it will be a wide hand ruling. The ban will include production, import, sale, rent and use of plastic weapons of most kinds.

Last year the death toll because of guns was over 5,300. Drug wars have made Mexico a deadly battleground.

The Guardian reports:

“The nation’s serious problem of violence means it is urgent to take measures to control these kind of toys that do nothing to contribute to making a peaceful and aware society,” the bill states.

In 2002 a ban came into play for all realistic replicas. The penalties though only are limited to confiscations. Other than a few police sweeps during the Christmas holiday season the ruling is not taken seriously. Some local programs do offer children the chance to hand over their toy guns in exchange of educational toys. Those promotions though don’t do well.

In Mexico most children receive most of their toy gifts on January 6, Three Kings Day. Reporters from La Jornada easily found toy Kalashnikovs and other toy assault rifles along the many street markets in Mexico City just days before the holiday.

Palm Springs Piggy Ninja Tries To Nab ATMs

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in Florida is on the lookout for a heavy weight ninja. The man has tried to steal two ATMs in the past two weeks.

The would be thief has been filmed wearing his ninja gear with only his eyes in view.

The two locations are the Colonial Bank at 152 South State Road 7 on Dec. 29 and outside a Walgreens at U.S. 441 and Okeechobee Boulevard on Tuesday.

The police aren’t sure how effective his ninja skills are. They do know that his belly is rather large.

If you know of any husky ninjas with a hankering for cash in Palm Springs, Florida please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS.

The Plight On One Boy, Prince Jelom

When the times are tough it is always the children who suffer. Such is the plight of Zimbabwe ’s children fleeing to other countries for some kind of future. Prince Jelom is one of those children.

He has sold eggs, carried bags and other menial work to survive. He is 13.

The young boy knows where to grab a few hours shut in in a bus shelter, how to work harder than many adult men and can bluff his way across the border.

When he’s not having to be a street wise kid though he thinks of home. Back at home is a loving grandmother that he left behind.

He now lives in a church shelter in the border town of Musina. There he dreams of becoming a pilot, a job his father also wanted. He may not have the education yet, but he still has his hopes and dreams.

He is like many of the other 100 or so boys seeking refuge in the shelter. Big dreams, little plans. They want to find their families. They want to escape poverty. They want to be free.

Both of Jelom’s parents are now dead. AIDS made him an orphan, war made him a refugee. He hopes to remain in South Africa. He’s one of more than one million Zimbabweans with that dream.

He is just the beginning. Inflation in Zimbabwe is in the trillions. Most of the population is in need of food. Cholera is at an epidemic stage.

But young Jelom has his dreams. Perhaps in time he will be flying a plane. But that time is a long ways away.

800 Buses Spread the Atheist Bus Campaign

Comedy writer Ariane Sherine was confronted with an advert on a bus that saying she and all her nonbelieving friends are going to “spend all eternity in torment.” That moment a new type of ad campaign was thought up.

Starting this past week 800 buses in London carry a Atheist message.

“There’s probably no God,” the advertisements say. “Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

The Atheist Bus Campaign has put forth a godless message on the side of London buses since Tuesday. When the group made the announcement of their effort in October they hoped to raise about $80,000. They were off a bit. In four days $150,000 came filtering in. There is now $200,000 to use for the 800 bus advertisements going across Britain.

The new signs are not getting all positive feedback but many appreciate the freedom of speech aspect.

The American Humanist Association ran bus ads in Washington during November. The message featured a man in a Santa suit and the words, “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness sake.”

A similar campaign was forbidden in Australia. That group had wanted to put the ad: “Atheism: Sleep in on Sunday mornings” up on buses.

As for the London based group all is going well. Next week there will be 1,000 advertisements placed in the subway system. Those ads will be featuring quotes from the likes of Emily Dickinson, Albert Einstein, Douglas Adams and Katherine Hepburn.

The group knows that it is walking a thin gray line. By using the word “probably” is more agnostic than atheist. That word though, being an element of doubt, is how the group could meet the guidelines for British advertising.

The New York Times reports that Tim Bleakley, managing director for sales and marketing at CBS Outdoor in London, understood why the group would want the ads that have been placed on his buses.

Mr. Bleakley said he had no problem with the atheist bus ads. “We do have religious organizations that promote themselves,” he said. “If somebody doesn’t believe in religion, why wouldn’t we carry an ad that promotes the opposite view? To coin a phrase, it’s not for us to play God.”

Texas School Steriod Testing Program Has Cost $6 Million

As school budgets are being slashed around the United States, Texas is spending $6 million to test for steroid use in the school. Students have been pulled from their classes to pee in the cup for this steroids testing program.

After the first 10,000 tests the results are in. Texas spent $6 million to find four out of 10,000 students to be using steroids. This is after removing both genders from classrooms to have their urine tested. All sports were included in the randomly selected testing program.

By the time this school year ends it is expected that between 40,000-50,000 students will have been tested for the hormone enhancers. The four positive tests were as follows; two of the drugs identified were the anabolic steroid boldenone and a steroid called methylandrostandiol. Those results are according to the University Interscholastic League’s report released on December 1 from the first 10,117 tests.

Twenty-two other tests were deemed positive because the students broke the rules. Those students either refused to take the test, were not in school that day with an excused absence or left the testing area without approval. Students will positive results were suspended from play for 30 days.

There were 195 schools involved in that round of testing.

In Florida a similar program was discarded after only one positive test result came from 600 tests. That program cost tax payers $100,000.

Prince Harry’s Mouth Gets Him In Trouble Again

Last night Prince Harry humbly apologized for using racist remarks and mocking his grandmother the Queen. The incidents took place in 2006 while Harry was training to be an officer.

A video was captured of the prince showing him to utter some racist comments about an Asian army colleague. Prince harry referred to the colleague as “our little Paki friend.” Another member of the group was said to look like a “raghead.”

Last night came a statement from Clarence House. Times Online quotes the aide of Clarence House:

“Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offence his words might cause.”

“On this occasion three years ago, Prince Harry used the term without any malice and as a nickname about a highly popular member of his platoon.

“There is no question that Prince Harry was in any way seeking to insult his friend.”

The footage was filmed in Cyprus just a year after Prince Harry has dressed up at a party as a Nazi soldier. That incident also saw the young man apologizing for his actions.

Harry was the one who was behind the camera this time around. As he panned the departure hall of the airport he is heard to be saying, “Anybody else around here? Ah, our little Paki friend, Ahmed.” The second comment was made while filming a night exercise. One of his fellow troop members was wearing camouflage headwear, “It’s Dan the Man,” says Harry. “F*** me you look like a raghead. Look at me, look at me.”

Harry is also observed smoking cigarettes in the video diary. Harry also shows his sense of humour with a playful bit with his friends on ending a call with his grandmum, The Queen. “I’ve got to go, got to go. Send my love to the corgis. Send my love to the corgis and grandpa.” He then adds: “God Save You . . .”

The Ministry of Defence’s spokeswoman said that they were not aware of any complaint being made by the individuals involved. They do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said that they will be asking the Ministry to look into the matter and state their plans for dealing with it.

In The Future Ultrasound May Help Repair Nerve Cell Transmission

A new approach to treating brain disorders may be blasting them with noise sounds. In effect it’s like kicking the TV in order to get it to work right. Using ultrasound machines are a treatment for brain injuries looks to be a future treatment.

William Tyler and his team at Arizona State University are exploring how to use the device on brain tissues.

Using high-intensity ultrasound can have devastating effects which makes this research a bit challenging. When cells are exposed to the high intensity they tend to be heated up and die. By lowering the intensity the team hypothesized that it may be able to manipulate nerve cells without the damage.

Using the cells of a living mouse brain they placed slice into an artificial version of cerebronspinal fluid. That is the fluid that protects the brain by cushioning it. They then beamed the tissues with different frequencies of low-intense ultrasound. Using dye molecules they were able to monitor the results.

The goal was to get the cells to release neurotransmitters. That the the molecule that carries information from nerve cells to one another. That transmission can be altered in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression and epilepsy. The results used that it could boost those releases.

Actual treatment of humans with this method is years away.

Andre Thomas Ate His Last Remaining Eye Sitting On Death Row

Andre Thomas is sitting on Death Row in Texas missing an eye. The 25-year-old, known for mental problems, pulled out his only good eye and ate it according to authorities.

In March 2004 Thomas was arrested for stabbing his estranged wife, their son and her 13-month-old daughter to death. He also ripped out their hearts. He sits on death row for the death of infant Leyha Marie Hughes.

While he was awaiting trial Thomas plucked out his right eye in 2004. He was ruled after that incident to still be competent to stand trial.

On December 4 he was treated at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, Texas for plucking out his remaining eye and then eating it. He has since been moved to Jester Unit, a prison psychiatric facility near Richmond southwest of Houston.

His trial attorney Bobbie Peterson-Cate says that her client will finally be the given mental health care that he has requested since day 1.

The Associated Press quotes Peterson-Cate:

“He is insane and mentally ill. It is exactly the same reason he pulled out the last one.”

Defense lawyers argued during his trial that not only is Thomas mentally ill but he suffers from alcohol and drug abuse.

On March 7, 2004 he killed little Leyha Marie Hughes, his wife Laura Christine Boren, 20, and their 4-year-old son Andre Lee. He reported the murders himself after he walked into the Sherman Police Department. He told a dispatcher there that he had murdered his family and then stabbed himself in the chest.

Thomas went on the tell the police that he had put the hearts of the victims in his pocket. He then went home and put the hearts in a plastic bag before throwing the bag into the trash.

Documents from court described his victims having “large, gaping wounds to their chests.”

There has yet to be an execution date set for Thomas.

Obama Is A Cheap Dream Come True For The Makers of BlackBerry

If Barack Obama wasn’t going to be the leader of the United States his devotion to his BlackBerry could have made him a mint. Big name endorsements fetch millions. Jerry Seinfeld just pocketed $10 million for a Microsoft campaign.

The Seinfelds of the world are great for advertising firms but the biggest endorsement is being got at a basement bargain price.

Obama and his very public love affair with his BlackBerry is a marketing exec’s dream.

The New York Times quotes Obama on that love;

“I’m still clinging to my BlackBerry,” Mr. Obama said Wednesday in an interview with CNBC and The New York Times. “They’re going to pry it out of my hands.”

Those words are pure poetry to marketers. If Obama wasn’t a public servant he could get upwards of $50 million for those words. Instead the endorsement is coming in free and clear.

Somewhere a BlackBerry ad exec is sighing in pure bliss.

“This would be almost the biggest endorsement deal in the history of endorsements,” said Doug Shabelman, the president of Burns Entertainment, which arranges deals between celebrities and companies. “He’s consistently seen using it and consistently in the news arguing — and arguing with issues of national security and global welfare — how he absolutely needs this to function on a daily basis.”

Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry has started a ad campaign that positions BlackBerry as a consumer product much like the iPhone. With the new touch-screeen Storm the market is wide open. Using John Mayer to be one of the front faces is also a decent move. Just not as great as it would be if Obama’s smiling mug was on an ad blitz poster.

All of this endorsement doesn’t just help BlackBerry. Obama has profitted also with being seen as a man on the edge of the future. He is viewed as a man who is in touch with the reality of the real world and not just some stuffy politician.

“The BlackBerry anecdotes are a huge part of Obama’s brand reputation,” Fran Kelly, the chief executive of the advertising agency Arnold Worldwide said. “It positions him as one of us: he’s got friends and family and people to communicate with us, just like all of us. And it positions him as a next-generation politician.”

UBS Closes Some Accounts After Increasing Pressure From I.R.S.

The Swiss Bank UBS has closed the hidden accounts of about 19,000 wealthy American clients after being pressured by the I.R.S. It is suspected that those clients have undeclared money and Uncle Sam wants its piece of the pie.

The assets will be sent to other banks or divisions of UBS. Some account holders will have a chech for their accounts mailed directly to them. Thus a paper trail is in place for United States prosecutors looking to see if the monies were placed into an account to avoid paying taxes.

Those checks put the wealthy in a bind. If they do nothing they are throwing away money. If they are guilty and cash the checks then the I.R.S. has a paper trail leading them directly to prosecutors.

The New York Times reports:

“You can either take that check and throw it in the woods, or deposit it somewhere and get busted,” said a UBS client, who asked not to be named because of the investigations into UBS and its clients. “There’s nowhere to hide.”

It’s not illegal to use offshore accounts in the United States as long as citizens report them and pay their taxes. In July UBS announced that it would no longer be offering private accounts to American clients that went undeclared to the I.R.S. It’s believed that the world’s largest bank, UBS helped the upper tier of Americans to hide about $18 billion. That would mean keeping about $300 million out of Uncle Sam’s hands each year.

The United States Justice Department is putting a damper on UBS’s policy of Swiss banking secrecy.

Some Americans have found after being approached by the IRS that their accounts have been not been closed for up to three months. This could help those under the microscope as the I.R.S. is more suspicious if offshore money is moved just as the acount holders come forward.

William M. Sharp Sr., a tax lawyer who represents several UBS clients, said, “UBS has been very supportive of their American clients who have chosen to undergo disclosure.”

Still, he added that “our view is that if the account is closed and funds are moved to another institution, here or abroad, it could make the case tougher for the clients before the I.R.S., because it could be new violations of money-laundering controls.”

Derik Bonestroo Asked Victim If He Was A Christian

Derik Bonestroo walked into a building at his work in Boulder, Colorado firing a gun into the ceiling. He told those in the building if they weren’t a Christian they were about to die.

Bonestroo was employed as a ski lift operator at Eldora Resort. On December 30 he killed general manager Brian Mahon after asking him if he was a Christian. Mahon replied he was Catholic. That answer bought him a bullet in the chest and head. Mahon is thought to have died instantly.

After murdering Mahon, Bonestroo fled in his car. He was chased by a Boulder sheriff’s deputy. During the chase Bonestroo fired at the cruiser hitting it several times. The chase ended on Highway 119 where the deputy returned fire. Bonestroo was hit several times. He ended his own life shooting himself.

The police have revealed that Bonestroo was donning holsters on both of his thighs. A Glock handgun was in his right hand at the scene.

The police have since recovered several items from Bonestroo’s apartment. They discovered a cat that had been stabbed several times. It is thought that the dead animal was the gunman’s pet.

The police also found medication.

The police are not commenting on the mental state of their prisoner citing privacy laws.

What is The UNRWA?

As the Gaza Strip becomes to dangerous for humanitarian efforts some have questioned if the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) is a front for Hamas. The program begin after the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.

“I have been authorised to say that in private briefings with diplomats, the Israeli army has admitted that the rockets from Jabalya (two days ago) came from outside the UNRWA school compound, not from inside it. Therefore the allegations against a neutral UN human development organization were entirely baseless. This increases pressure for an independent investigation. “

Chris Gunnes, UNRWA spokesman

UNRWA was established by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 302 on December 8, 1949. The goal was then and remains true today to carry out direct relief and works programs for Palestine refugees. The program has been extended until June 30, 2011.

Since its beginning the Agency have helped refugees in times of calm and in times of conflict. Tens of thousands of refugees have been fed, housed and clothed because of the group. Young refugees are given education and heath care by the UNRWA.

As the needs change for the Palestinian refugees so does the program. Over 4.6 million registered Palestine refugees in the Middle East rely on UNRWA for their education, health, relief and social services.

The UNRWA has 59 recognized refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Prior to 1952 it also provided relief to those in Israel who were displaced.

The agency has been accused by Israeli officials of supporting terrorism. Shmuel Katz, an Israeli historian has claimed that the agency is deceptive.

In 2006 the United States criticized that the agency was being mismanaged. Wikipedia reports:

“After an exhaustive review of the UN’s own audit, it is clear UNRWA is wrought by mismanagement, ineffective policies, and failure to secure its finances. We must upgrade UNRWA’s financial controls, management and enforcement of US law that bars any taxpayer dollars from supporting terrorists.”

from a letter sent to Condoleezza Rice from US Congressmen Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Steven Rothman (D-NJ)

In response the UNRWA gave the results of students in syria and Jordan whose performances were over that of host-government schools. It also made it clear that the budget and the sheer refugee load do not also match.

Others have taken issue that it is the only United Nations project that works with only one specific group of refugee. It was stated in these claims that the Palestine refugees should have the same treatment as that of other refugees world wide. These claims state that it is an exampe of the United Nations anti-Israel bias.

Still other countries like, Bangladesh, Canada, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam, and the Palestinian Authority praise the work that they have done. If donor countries, including the United States who gave $135 million in 2006, is any indication the work done by the agency is useful and meaningful.

Because the people in question, the Palestine refugees, are without a homeland they do not fit in a standardized refugee textbook.

The recent conflict in the Gaza Strip with Israel is bringing the UNRWA under the microscope.

On Wednesday two workers were killed by Israeli tank fire when they were driving a marked truck to pick up aid supplies.

On Tuesday a sanctioned school was bombed resulting in 40 civilian deaths. The UNRWA has called for an investigation on this incident to see whether the attack was a violation of international humanitarian law.

The Israeli army has admitted that the attack on the school was unintentional and any footage of militants firing from inside was taken from 2007.

Haaretz quotes Spokesman Chris Gunness:

. “There are no up-to-date photos,” Gunness said. “In 2007, we abandoned the site and only then did the militants take it over.”

He was referring to the shelling in Jabalya that did not originate from the school.

John Ging, UNRWA Director of Operations in Gaza spoke on Tuesday saying that there is no where that is safe in Gaza. He is requesting a full ceasefire instead of the three hour ceasefires that Israel has given the past two days.

Opinion: It’s Time For The Kiddie Version of the Sims, Military Style

The Department of Defense has come up with a nifty way of keeping little boys and girls in touch with Mommy and Daddy serving their country. Only the whole thing just seems to be even more traumatic for the tykes.

Because of the six years of year the DOD has finally figured out that lots of little kids don’t have a parent around. Have no fear now kids, Mom and Dad’s image can come to a computer screen in front of you. Now mind you it’s just their image and that feedback they are giving you is pre-programmed. It’s fine though, after all it’s the thought that counts, right?

The program will allow a child to have a simulated conversation with their parent about everyday topics. It’s kind of like the Sims but scaled down to good nights and I miss yous.

Yep, you read right. The DOD is making a computer program that looks and sounds like Mommy or Daddy but isn’t. I guess now it’s okay to teach the young that the government doesn’t mind a little white lie here and there.

The program is aimed at three to five year olds.

Opinion: Hey Kids, The Arnold Is Giving You Another Week Of Vacation Time

California is facing budget cuts. The situation is so bleak that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is wanting to slash five days of school.

According to the figures slashing those five school days would save $1.1 billion. As it stands now kids in California go to school 180 days a year. That is lower than most other countries. In Korea children attend 225 days, Japan 223, China 221, Australia 196, Russia 195, The Netherlands 191, England 190 and Canada, the closest to the U.S. is at 188.

When it comes to actual class time Chinese students spend 1,374 hours in a school setting compared to 1,061 hours for a student in the United States. The United States student though tends to be in class longer than most other students around the world.

Instructors are angry at this turn of events in California saying that the five day cut will further the achievement gap of at risk students. Already Kentucky and North Dakota have shortened their school years.

As the standards of education increase the dollars going into the school system is decreasing. Children are the ones that are paying the cost.

Other choices to amend the educational budget proposed included closing schools, laying off more teachers and doing away with sports and arts programs.

The LA Times reports:

“We put this forward knowing we were heading into what is clearly the most challenging fiscal environment California has ever faced,” said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for Schwarzenegger’s finance department.

“When you have to put forward a budget that closes a gap of more than $41 billion, criticism is going to be implicit in any proposal, whether in the education area or in health and human services or on the revenue side.

“That’s why, before we came out with this proposal, we wanted to engage the education community at the front end of the process to get their views on how we can try to . . . do the least amount of damage possible,” he said.

Educators are rightly saying that this would be a huge step backward for the students in California. During the 2006-2007 school year California ranked a dismal 47 in a smartest state award. Taking away even more of their children’s time in school is not going to help raise that level.

Schwarzenegger does have problems with the budget. There is a projected $41.6-billion budget problem. There’s already take of a sales tax increase. The cuts will hit not only education but also health care for the poor. Another key cut in the budget is in the favor of the criminals. Parole will be eliminated for all nonserious, nonviolent and non-sex offenders. More good-time credits will be given to convicts to help reduce the prison population.

So the basics of the new proposed budget is if you’re already poor you’re not going to get any help. Those who have money will make sure their kids are in schools that have the funds in place to educate. If you’re poor you have another week of trying to scrap up daycare money because the streets are about to get crowded with people that would still be in jail or being watched over by the system. And don’t bother getting sick. There isn’t any money for that.

Happy New Year California.

International Red Cross Finds Many Wounded In Gaza Forbidden Area

The International Committee of the Red Cross has found at least 15 bodies and several starving children in an area that Israeli military forbid ambulances.

The find came after the Red Cross received reports of casualties in a neighbourhood south of Gaza City in Zaytoun. The Israeli military refused to allow the international humanitarian group to enter until Wednesday afternoon.

The Washington Post reports that a public statement on the incident was issued by the Geneva headquarters of the group.

The Red Cross called the episode “unacceptable” and said the Israeli military had “failed to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded.”

In one of the homes 12 corpses were on a mattress with four young children too weak to stand up laying next to their slain mothers. Those children were rushed to hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces would not comment on the incident Thursday but did say in a statement that the military “has demonstrated its willingness to abort operations to save civilian lives and to risk injury in order to assist innocent civilians.”

The statement went on to say that any allegations made against the conduct of the IDF will need a formal investigation once there has been a formal complaint.

Israel also stated that they have returned fire on a rocket-launching site in Lebanon. The site has reportedly fired several rockets into western Galilee landing around the city of Nahariya. Eighteen wounded survivors were taken by donkey carts for medical attention. Rescue workers were chased by Israeli soldiers but refused to leave.

This is a shocking incident,” Pierre Wettach, the Red Cross’s head of delegation for Israel and the Palestinian territories, said in a statement. “The Israeli military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestine Red Crescent to assist the wounded.”

There is no official comments from Lebanon on this incident. Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah has stated though that Lebanon would attack Israel for the action ongoing in Gaza.

Journalists reporting from within Gaza have confirmed large numbers of survivors are arriving at the Red Cross hospitals in Gaza from Zaytoun.

Of the 680 Palestinians that have died since the conflict began last week one third have been women and children.

Eight Jewish Women Arrested At Israeli Consulate In Toronto

Jewish women were arrested and later freed after a protest at the Israeli consulate in Toronto Wednesday afternoon. A spokeswoman for the group stated that they were treated fairly by the Toronto police force.

The RCMP arrested and handcuffed eight women who were staging a sit-in protest against the conflict on the Gaza Strip at the Israeli consulate in Toronto. They wanted it to be known that not all Jews are approving of the military action.

Judy Rebick, professor; Judith Deutsch, psychoanalyst and president of Science for Peace; B.H. Yael, filmmaker; Smadar Carmon, a Canadian Israeli peace activist and others were part of the protest. A group of more than thirty supporters were carrying signs outside of the consulate.

During a phone interview with Cathy Gulkin, spokeswoman for the group, she stated that she was not surprised with the arrests. She noted that it appeared that the RCMP did not appear to want to be there and were only doing their jobs. They asked the supporters to take two steps back to be off of the consulate property to avoid arrest. The group did as they were instructed so that the media would be able to have a voice. Those on the inside faced the same treatment from the Toronto police. That can not be said for the youngest member of the sit-in group who was pulled by Israeli security. She was not injured in that movement.

Ms. Gulkin said that the group wants it to be known that not all Jews are behind the Israeli mission on the Gaza Strip. She said that those having to live in Gaza are in the world’s largest open air prison.

“Not all Jews are for this and Israel does not represent all Jews.”

Ms. Gulkin also noted that the Jewish people who are against this military action are not getting the media voice nor support that they would like.

The women were released within one hour according to Gulkin and there were no charges issued over this incident.

The group does not more planned protests for the future.

On Saturday there will be a teach-in at the Jewish consulate for anyone who is interested.

There Were No Hamas Militants At Gaza Bombed School Says UN

United Nations investigators have uncovered no evidence of Hamas fighters being holed up in a Gaza school where 40 civilians were killed on Tuesday. Many of the dead were children.

The Israel Defense Forces Spokesman’s Office is claiming that they only fired at the school because they were in pursuit of Hamas fighters. They also claim they were returning fire.

Chris Gunness, a spokesman of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says that after a preliminary investigation of the Fakhura girl’s elementary school is not turning up any militants. Gunness said the UN was 99.9% sure of that finding.

Before Israel bombed the school 400 Palestinians had taken refuge there. They had fled the shelling of the Jabalya refugee camp believing that Israel would heed the U.N. flag flying at the school. The U.N. also believed that the school would be safe after they had communicated its coordinates of all its schools and buildings to the Israeli military. The goal was to that the military would spare humanitarian missions.

They appear to be wrong on that assumption.

30 people who had sought help died as the mortars or artillery shells hit the school. Ten others have since died last night from their injuries in hospital. Three other civilians died at another school on Tuesday that was bombed by Israel.

Israel is insisting that the mortars were fired from within the crowded schoolyard. It also claims that Hamas is using civilians as human shields. The IDF has listed Imad and Hasasan Abu Askar as the ones who fired the mortars. IDF has not though explained how they were able to identify those two among the many casualties. The IDF has not visited the school nor do they have access to a casualty list from Gaza’s hospitals.

Woman Goes To Hospital For Kidney Stone, Comes Home With Baby

A Newfoundland woman went to the hospital on New Year’s Eve in severe pain. She figured she had a kidney stone. She was wrong. She delivered son Nicholas early in the morning.

Juanita Stead had no idea she and husband Terry were adding on to their family. She admits she’s plus sized but she had no signs that she was carrying a full term baby. She is a rare breed of lady who never skipped her period.

Stead had been at a New Year’s Eve Party when her back started to hurt. When the pain increased she and brother-in-law Wayne Broughton of Broughton’s Ambulance Service figured she was dealing with a kidney stone. Broughton insisted that she go to the hospital and drove her there. After a series of blood tests the woman went into X-ray. That’s when the doctors got a surprise, a baby was in clear view.

The Compass Reports:

“The technician looked at me and said my dear you’re pregnant with a full term baby,” says Juanita. “And I said no sir, you got the wrong woman and you’re looking at the wrong screen. There is no way I’m pregnant. I can’t be.”

“This is some kidney stone isn’t it,” she says cuddling her newborn baby. “We’re all still in shock. We just can’t believe it.”

Nicholas was ready to make his appearance and wasted no time in doing so. Six minutes after Juanita had been taken into the case room Nicholas was delivered bum first.

Two years ago when big brother Cameron was born Juanita didn’t have time to make it to the hospital. He was born at home two months early. Cameron though was not a healthy baby like little brother Nicholas. Last year the toddler underwent bowel, liver and pancreas transplant.

While seven pound, 12 ounce Nicholas is healthy the same may not be said of Daddy Terry. Juanita joked that when he heard that the baby was on route he almost had a heart attack.

The family now scrambles to get the clothes a newborn needs. Juanita admits she once scoffed at stories where mothers didn’t know they were pregnant. Now she knows that it can happen.

“I said it was impossible, there was no way it could happen. They would have felt something, some movement. However I know the difference now because I’m one of them.”

Holding Nicholas out for his big brother to kiss she adds: “He’s a little miracle, that’s what he is. Both my kids are.”

The Purple Heart Will Not Be Given To Those With Mental Issues

The Pentagon has decided that those suffering for post-traumatic stress disorder will not be eligible for the Purple Heart. The decision was just announced this week but has been in the books since this past November.

After months of deliberations the Pentagon decided that those dealing with stress disorders from serving their country do not deserve the Purple Heart. Had the ruling gone the other way thousands of soldiers would have been in line to obtain the medal after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan according to stats at the Pentagon.

CNN reports:

“The Purple Heart recognizes those individuals wounded to a degree that requires treatment by a medical officer, in action with the enemy or as the result of enemy action where the intended effect of a specific enemy action is to kill or injure the service member,” according to a statement released by the Pentagon.

“PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event; it is not a wound intentionally caused by the enemy from an ‘outside force or agent’ but is a secondary effect caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event,” the statement continued.

In the past the Purple Heart was given to those who had bodily injuries from “an outside force or agent” during war times. The panel though decided that psychological conditions have never been a component in giving the Purple Heart.

The panel did not rule out a future change in this decision. They may re-examine the issue in the future if medical science advancements change the way PTSD is diagnosed.

The Most Important Question

As 2008 draws to a close I have a question for you: Did you enjoy it? Yes, that seems like a simple question but in the long run it is one of life’s most important ones.

Each year a person faces challenges that shape them. Each year there are many different pathways to take or refuse to walk. Each year we look back and at times question are choices.

But did you enjoy your time?

Each person has a different way of looking at that question. Some will answer it in great detail, stating what they should have, would have or would not have done. That’s not a true answer though for this question. There are only two true answers; Yes or No. It almost seems to simple.

While some of the tasks we have set before us seem to difficult to handle the way a person answers this simple question can almost pinpoint how they will respond to a crisis.

Some will go round and round to answer the question. In the end no one, including the person trying to answer will know the real answer. Those people may also go through life asking so many questions that they fail to jump in with both feet and just live.

Some people will look to the ground and sadly shake their heads no, they didn’t enjoy their time. They haven’t worked at changing their path, simply walking the same road each and everyday towards the end.

Some will not be able to commit to a simple yes or no, saying that their answer is too complicated.

Some though will think back, reviewing quickly their fate and smile back with a hearty yes. Those are the ones that took life with both hands and danced. They may not have had the best times compared to others but they took it for what it was worth.

So again, I will ask one little question:

Did you enjoy it?

I hope your answer is a positive yes.

As for me, my answer is yes. While the year was trying at times the positives outweighed the negatives by far.

I hope your new year is filled with the sense of adventure that the gift of life deserves.

Lottery Is Sorry That It Made Mistake But Isn’t Going To Pay Up

It looked like this was going to be Thomas Noftall’s year. The 27-year-old man from Toronto won $135,000 on four scratch-off lottery tickets New Year’s Eve. The only problem is the printing company had screwed up.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that they were printing mistakes and no prizes will be given out.

On New Year’s Eve Noftall scratched the four tickets and was elated to see that he had won big time.

He called the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. in Toronto and a claims rep said he would be paid but first he needed to come to the lottery headquarters.

That’s when he found out that his happy days were about to be dashed. It seems that the lottery printed out 1,000 tickets that aren’t any good and have been recalled. Noftall was one of the unfortuant winners that isn’t.

The game that is affected is the $3 Fruit Smash lottery ticket. The OLG has fine print saying that it will protect itself against misprints and void tickets for a variety of reasons.

Noftall has not disclosed what he’s planning on doing over the tickets.

UPI reports:

“I’ve gone from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in the past few days,” Noftall said.

Was It A Pink Slip Or Too Much Sushi For Piven?

While Jeremy Piven may say that mercury poisoning lead to him leaving Speed the Plow others say he was fired. The star claims that he left his run early because of mercury poisoning. The word out though is he was booted off the show for being a diva.

Some of the reasons a player on Speed the Plow stated were showing up two minutes prior to the curtain call, having his understudy go on if he didn’t like the size of the audience and diva like behaviour that alienated the cast and crew.

Insiders say that the mercury story is how Piven is saving face after his contract was torn up. The fact is he had been trying to get fired for over a month according to those tipping tabloids like E Online.

The Piven camp though is standing firm on the mercury story. They deny that the star of Entourage was fired.

Hooters Waitress Awarded Benefits After Being Fired For Bruises

A Hooters waitress was awarded her denied benefits in court. Sara Dye had been fired from her job after recovering from an attack because her bruises did not maintain a ‘glamorous appearance.’

Hooters officials say that Dye abandoned her job. They also admit that her bruises made her temporarily ineligible to work as a “Hooter’s Girl.”

The administrative law judge that heard the public hearing recently on the behalf of Dye’s request of benefits ruled in the 27-year-old former Hooter Girl’s favor. Her “inability to work due to bruises” was not a matter of workplace misconduct.

During 2008 Dye had been the victim several times to domestic violence. On September 3 she was badly beaten and some of her hair cut off after she left work for the day.

The next day Dye and her employers talked, agreeing that she should heal for a few weeks before working in the restaurant. General Manager Gina Sheedy said that the bruises that Dye had would have been visible outside of the Hooters uniform.

As reported by the Des Moines Register she was then asked if Dye had asked to work immediately would she been allowed to Sheedy replied:

“No, probably not,” Sheedy replied. “She probably would not be able to work because of her black eye and the bruises on her face. … Our handbook states you have to have a glamorous appearance. It doesn’t actually say, ‘Bruises on your face are not allowed.’ It does talk about the all-American cheerleader look.”

Sheedy then went on to say that Dye could now resume working,assuming that she maintained a glamorous appearance.

Michelle Duvall testified that Dye talked to her about returning to work after she had been recovering for a week.

“She told me that she was very badly beaten, she (had been) unconscious, she was in the hospital,” Duvall said. “She was like, ‘I really want to work next week. …’ I said, ‘You need to come in and speak to Gina and let her see your appearance.’”

Judge Teresa Hillary asked Duvall what would happen if a waitress had to have her hair cut because of an injury from an accident. Duvall answered that the employee handbook states that a waitress’ hair must be styled in the manner as if they were going out on a big date or appearing in a photo shoot.

Dye testified that Hooters management had been supportive during her previous ‘personal problems’ but that when she called the restaurant about returning to work in late September she was told by a co-worker that she had been fired. Dye understood that she couldn’t work because of her appearance immediately after the attack because her body appearance wasn’t up to par.

Live Journal Slashes Staff Down To 8

Live Journal has slashed its staff of 28 employees to a mere 8. Those being given a pink slip are not receiving a severance package either.

LiveJournal was founded by Brad Fitzpatrick in 1999. Some of the software he created is used on Facebook and other sites. Fitzpatrick wasn’t able to turn the blog into a big business so he sold it to Six Apart.

Six Apart wasn’t making a bundle either. Not until they sold it for to Andrew Paulson, the founder of Sup, for $30 million a little over a year ago.

The eight left behind are finance and operations workers.

Other Web publishing groups that recently laid off staff include Gawker, Nielsen and Crain Communications

Levi Johnston Quits Oil Field Job

Levi Johnston has quit the oil field job after allegations that the position was offered because of Sarah Palin’s pulling strings. Father Keith Jonhston says he’s the one who pulled strings.

The program that Johnston was in requires a high school diploma. That is something that the young father of Sarah Palin’s grandchild does not have.

This past fall the 18-year-old began working with the Milne Point oil field. He was an employee of ASRC Energy Services Inc., a major Slope contractor.

On Sunday Dan Fagan, an Anchorage radio talk show host, wrote a column in the Anchorage Daily News about how Johnston was in the program without his diploma.

On Monday Palin denied that she had any hand in getting Johnston the position. That is also the stand of Keith Johnston, Levi’s father. He said that his position as an ASRC construction engineer is how his son got in. Keith Johnston and Sarah Palin both say that Todd Palin, also an employee with Slope for BP played no part in getting the teen a job.

Because of the media attention the Johnston men decided that Levi would step down from his position and concentrate on his education. The elder Johnston admits that his son struggled in school and has not graduated from high school.

When Levi and Bristol Palin discovered they would soon be parents the father counseled his son to work on his GED and get a job. In early September Levi got a job as a roustabout on an ASRC project. That job ended. It is said that ASRC then offered him a choice of two other positions, one in Cook Inlet and the other through the electrical apprenticeship program at Milne Point oil field. Johnston took the gig at Milne Point in November and decided to work on obtaining his high school diploma rather than get a GED.

The Anchorage Daily News reports:

“You guys are watching him so tightly,” Johnston said, referring to the media. “He’s being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now.”

He added: “Sarah had nothing to do with him getting hired on the Slope. If there was any help getting him on up there, it was because of my associations and no one else’s.”

Palin says the only help she gave Levi was a letter, one that she has written for other youths that asked her for one.

The June 23, 2008, letter for Levi says in part: “I have known Levi and his family for many years and am most impressed with Levi’s work ethic. Levi is organized, efficient, extremely competent, and will prove to be an excellent employee. Also, Levi’s physical strength and determination are assets that will be useful to your company.”

On Monday Fagan said that he’s not out to take potshots at the governor.

“I’m just doing my job,” he said.

Israel Bombs UN School In Gaza City, Kills 34

Israel has bombed the United Nations school in Gaza that was set up as a refugee camp. As the international community has demanded a ceasefire, Israel has marched on killing more civilians.

The Palestinians have also launched a rocket attacks, one of which killed an infant Israeli.

The United Nations said 34 people died in the attack on the school. The school was being used as a refugee camp for hundreds of people in Gaza City. The missile landed in a courtyard late Monday.

The Associated Press reports:

“There’s nowhere safe in Gaza. Everyone here is terrorized and traumatized,” said John Ging, the top U.N. official in Gaza.

“I am appealing to political leaders here and in the region and the world to get their act together and stop this,” he said, speaking at Gaza’s largest hospital. “They are responsible for these deaths.”

The United Nations had provided the location coordinates to the Israeli army to avoid this kind of attack. There are no comments on this attack coming out of Israel. In the past the government has alleged that Hamas leaders and militants are using schools, mosques and neighbourhoods to store their weapons and launch attacks from.

Those at the school for their safety were evacuated to other places after the strike.

The United Nations is providing refugee camps in this densely populated area to try to protect civilians. The Guardian reports:

Adnan Abu Hasna is an official with the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency who visited several of the schools yesterday. “I found hundreds of people are fleeing their homes just in the Jabaliya area. There’s a lot of fear, a lot of panic. You can see it with the children too,” he said. “We are talking about Gaza as a very tiny area. Where do they go? We are talking about very poor areas. People arrive without anything. We are providing them with mattresses, blankets and certain amounts of food. We try and give families privacy where the schools are not too crowded. But there are huge numbers coming in some areas.”

Of the 500 people killed in the Gaza Strip, over 100 have been civilians.

Nine Israelis have died since the conflict began.

Opinion: There Was A People

Once upon a time there was a people who were victimized during a war. These people were civilians. The ruler decided that they should all live in a ghetto, cramped and crowded.

The ruler also decided since they were sub-human that they didn’t deserve food nor medical care.

Weapons were used on these people to kill them. Medical experiments were performed on their children.

And the world wasn’t allowed in to help them. Until it was almost to late. Millions died. At the end of that war they formed a nation. They would be free.

There once was a people. Another people had formed a nation taking over their land. They were understandably a little miffed at this.

The other people had been their enemy for thousands of years. They fought. It was the way things had always been.

A little over 80 years after that first year the little nation of those who had been the victims decided they could take no more.

There is a people not allowed to have medical aid come in to help them. There is now a people who aren’t allowed to have food delivered to them. There is now a people that fear that one nation will kill it’s children.

About 75 years ago, give or take, the world proclaimed never again.

History. It has a way of repeating itself.

Sad isn’t it?

Did You Hear About The Kids Who Wanted To Honeymoon In Africa?

Three German children decided that they were tired of being cold. It only made sense that since Africa would be warm that they should take off and go get married there. The three plotted and took off when their parents were asleep New Year’s Eve.

The three kids, aged five, six and seven, lived together with his father and the girl’s mother.

The six-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl had dreams of being Mr. and Mrs. and the youngest girl at a mere 5 was going to be their witness to the affair. Off the trio trekked from their home in Hanover to the train station early New Year’s Day. They almost made it. A tram had been taken to the central station and they were almost aboard a train to the airport when the police stepped in.

Reuters reports:

“The children wanted to do something really special for the New Year,” said police spokesman Holger Jureczko. “They had it all planned out. They had three suitcases, filled with food, swimming costumes, a lilo and even sunglasses.”

They kids picked Africa because the boy figured it would be even warmer than Italy where he had once visited.

The police took them to the police station for a tour after convincing them that a trip to Africa without money may be a bit hard to do. After the tour the trio were handed over to their parents.

Is Israel Honest When It Says It Is Not Using White Phosphorus

Israel is believed to be using phosphorus shells to screen it’s assault on the Gaza Strip. The weapon has been used by British and US troops in Iraq.

White phosphorus shells are no illegal if they are used as a smokescreen. For those unfortunate enough to be hit by them receive severe burns.

The smoke from this type of weapon can screen the approach of advancing troops. Those who are hit by the burning blobs of phosphorus would suffer severe injuries. In 2006 Israel used the weapons during its war with Lebanon.

Because of the dense population of the Gaza Strip the move to use this type of weapon is highly controversial.

Charles Heyman, a military expert and former major in the British Army is quoted by Times On Line.

“If white phosphorus was deliberately fired at a crowd of people someone would end up in The Hague. White phosphorus is also a terror weapon. The descending blobs of phosphorus will burn when in contact with skin.”

Last night Israel denied the use of this weapon. It also refused to admit to the weapons that have been used during the conflict with Hamas.

“Israel uses munitions that are allowed for under international law,” said Captain Ishai David, spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces. “We are pressing ahead with the second stage of operations, entering troops in the Gaza Strip to seize areas from which rockets are being launched into Israel.”

During the first 24 hours of ground offensive there are reports of 64 civilians killed. This is on top of the mass civilian causalities during the previous week of combat. Doctors at the main hospital in Gaza City have said that women and children are among the dead and injured.

Israel is not allowing for a ceasefire to allow for humanitarian aid into Gaza. Medical supplies, which are needed for the injured civilians are running short.

Some facts about white phosphorus:

When white phosphorus is exposed to oxygen it bursts into a deep-yellow flame and then produces a thick white smoke.

It is capable of producing severe burns, almost always second to third degree. This is because the particles do not stop burning on contact with skin until they have entirely disappeared. It is known that the burns have reached the bone level in the past.

Geneva conventions have banned the use of phosphorus as a weapon against civilians. It is allowed as a smokescreen though.

Since it was used during World War I the slang name for white phosphorus is “Willy Pete.” It was used often during the Vietnam Ear.

Opinion: Was The Sherry Johnston Case Delayed For the Federal Election?

There is more coming out about the Sherry Johnston drug case. One of the allegations coming into light was the investigation was delayed because of the federal election.

Let’s go on a little back journey. There was a woman in Alaska who is charged with selling the drug OxyContin, that woman is Sherry Johnston. Sherry Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston. Levi Johnston is the father of Bristol Palin’s baby. Bristol Palin is the unwed mother of Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin was running as vice president on the John McCain ticket for president.

The search warrant for the investigation on Ms. Johnston came December 18. She was arrested the same day. Now that in itself isn’t big news. What is big news is the fact that the search warrant was delayed. A Mat-Su drug investigator and the union that represents the Alaska State Troopers are alleging that the case was delayed because of the November 4 election.

In normal circumstances this may sound like sour grapes but considering in the past Sarah Palin’s administration has been accused of using political power get things done the way she likes it reeks of a new level of corruption.

Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters and troopers director Col. Audie Holloway are saying the case was handled correctly.

Kyle Young though is shouting out a different tune. He sent an e-mail last week to all members of the Public Safety Employees Association last week that the case of Johnston has been anything but normal.

Anchorage Daily News reports:

“It was not allowed to progress in a normal fashion, the search warrant service WAS delayed because of the pending election and the Mat Su Drug Unit and the case officer were not the ones calling the shots,” Young wrote.

Executive director of the union, John Cyr is agreeing that the investigation was handled differently because of who Johnston is in relation to Sarah Palin.

“This really does smack of political favoritism. And if that be the case, it’s another example of the Palin administration’s direct influence on the public safety unit,” Cyr said

The reason Cyr is so sure that Young is telling the truth is that the union president spoke to the entire drug unit and they concurred with Young.

The official word is that the search warrant came after Johnston sold the drugs to undercover agents.

The question though is why the sell couldn’t take place before. It may be due to the fact that the secret service was at the home of Johnston, not protecting her but watching over her son. The affidavit has a line in it about the Secret Service.

“It is true that Sherry was not directly under Secret Service protection, but it is true that when Levi was at the house, that he and other household members were under their protection,” Young wrote in his e-mail to union members.

“Text messages from Johnston to the informant indicated that she was afraid to meet and conduct one illegal transaction, because of Secret Service presence at her home,” Young wrote

But the Secret Service was never protecting the Johnston family, only Bristol Palin.

“There is no reason for the Mat Su drug unit to lie or to falsify the record in this regard. And there is reason, political reason, for the commissioner and other members of the command staff, if you will, to distort what actually happened,” he said.

So what is the truth? Is this a witch hunt to smear Sarah Palin or another case of her using her position to make things go the way she likes it?

Man Dies Same Day He Buys Winning Lotto For Family

Donald Peters died the same day he unwittingly provided financial security for his wife and family. On November 1 the Connecticut man bought two Lottery tickets like he had done so for the past 20 years with his wife Charlotte.

On the afternoon of the same day Mr. Peters had a fatal heart attack while doing yard work.

On January 2, 2009 Charlotte Peters cashed in one of those tickets. she had put the tickets aside after his husband of 59 years death. In fact she almost threw out the ticket before checking to see if it had any value.

Donald Peters generally bought tickets for 10 weeks at a time. When he bought his tickets on November 1 no one could have guessed that the December 2 drawing would be a winner.

Mrs. Peters took the ten tickets to the grocery where they told her she was a winner. She thought the ticket was worth $6 million but the lottery officials told her to up that amount 4 million.

Mrs. Peters has 60 days to decide if she wants a lump sum of $6 million pre-tax or 21 yearly payments of $477,300.

One of the couple’s children joked with the media about how their father would have reacted reports the Associated Press.

“He’d be very mad, he just passed away and she won a lot of money,” said Brian Peters, one of the couple’s three children. “He’d say, ‘Figures!’”

Opinion: A Habitat for Humanity Neighbourhood May Be Falling Apart

Eight years ago Jimmy Carter and 10,000 volunteers built Fairway Oaks in Florida. The 17 day building event was organized by Habitat for Humanity. Funded by Hollywood celebs this should have a happy ending. It doesn’t for many of those living there.

Today the homes are known for skin rashes, mildew and cockroaches. Some of those residents are in the beginning stages of a legal battle with Habitat for Humanity. That battle could taint the reputation of a charity that has provided hundreds of homes around the world for low income people. There are reports of mildew and cracking walls. Rats and roaches live in some of the homes.

The case is examining if using volunteers to build the home instead of professionals, which Habitat does, is causing more problems than it solves.

The 85 residents that reside in Fairway Oaks have no problem with taking on the charity giant. April Charney, lawyer for many of those involved in the lawsuit, says that the people who were given the homes should have been told that their houses were built over a former rubbish dump.

Judy Hall, the local development director of Habitat is dealing with about 30 complaints. She wanted it to be known though that all skilled work is carried out by professionals.

I have lived in Florida. If you do not keep up with your home the environment will do a job on it. Roaches are commonplace in the state. To keep them away one has to be diligent. yes, if their homes were built on an area that is toxic that is a crime. but in eight years if a home is not maintained in warm climates then it will start to fall apart. It’s just common sense. As one of the residents Diennal Fields, 51, says;

“It’s simple stuff: if there is mildew, don’t get a lawyer, get a bottle of bleach.”

Opinion: How The Heck Is Levi Johnston An Apprentice?

Sarah Palin made it clear earlier this week that her daughter and future son-in-law are not high school drop-outs. In fact Levi Johnston is now an electrical apprentice according to the Alaskan governor. That’s sweet.

There’s just one problem with the young man being in the program. He doesn’t have the required high school diploma that others need.

It’s this little federal regulations thing. All members of apprentice programs, union or otherwise, have to have that little piece of paper saying they finished high school.

Unless you just gave the lady in charge of Alaska a bouncing baby grandson it appears.

Bo Underwood, the man in charge of ASRC’s electrical apprentice program, confirmed that Levi Johnston is enrolled into the program. He claimed that he wasn’t sure if the youth needed a high school diploma or not.

Yeah, right. He’s in charge of a program that has staunch requirements and he doesn’t remember them? Something smells fishier than salmon coming upsteam to spawn.

There’s more to this quickie enrollment to an electrical apprentice program. The executive director of Associated Builders and Contractors, Rebecca Logan says that there are always waiting lists to get into these programs. At this time Logan’s program has at least 100 people on that waiting list. Her program is one of only three in the entire state.

So how did Johnston get into his program? Who pulled the chains? It’s a question that needs to be answered.

Father Kills Child So He Doesn’t Have To Pay Child Support

When Danny Platt of New Orleans was told he had to pay child support he vowed to kill either his wife or child. On Saturday he was arrested on killing his 2 1/2 year-old son Ja’ Shawn Powell.

Platt kidnapped the child and later told the police where to find the body. Police are calling it an “extremely hideous” murder.

Police Superintendent Warren Riley of New Orleans did not know the amount of child support that Platt had been ordered to pay. He would not reveal to the media how the little boy died. He did say the coroner would talk about it once the autopsy was completed.

Riley said the mother was in a safe place.

Platt, 22, had visiting rights but until Friday had never seen the child. On Saturday police put a notice out asking for people to look for the child. His father had said three men in dreadlocks and AK-47 rifles have kidnapped the boy before midnight Friday.

The Associated Press reports:

“His story never really added up,” Riley said. “He was a suspect from the very beginning.”

Platt had a couple of minor arrests before he was arrested on Saturday.

“How does an individual — because he’s ordered to pay child support to take care of a kid … believe that this is so much pressure that he would face — he would do this hideous act to his own child, or to any child, and think that is a remedy to paying child support?” Riley said. “I mean there are some sick individuals in this society, and this gentleman is clearly one.”

Follow-Up: Pardo’s Victims Are Named

The names of the dead from the ‘Santa Claus’ shooting Christmas Eve have been released. Bruce Jeffrey Prado’s former wife Sylvia is still listed as missing along with two others.

The remains of three of the victims were so badly burned that they are listed as either “missing” or “unidentified.”

Prado targeted his former wife and her parents at their annual Christmas Eve bash. Opening fire at the door he shoot an 8-year-old in the face before going on a rampage. He also used a homemade device to start a massive blaze. That device was his undoing as his Santa suit caught on fire leaving him with second and third degree burns. Prado escaped the home to drive to his brother’s and there he committed suicide.

The list of the dead is as follows:

# Joseph Ortega, 80, Sylvia Pardo’s father, multiple injuries

# Alicia Ortega, 70, Sylvia Pardo’s mother, gunshot wound to the abdomen

# Charles Ortega, 50, Sylvia Pardo’s brother, multiple gunshot wounds

# Cheri Ortega, 45, Charles Ortega’s wife, multiple injuries

# Teresa Ortega, 51, Sylvia Pardo’s sister-in-law, smoke inhalation, burns to the body and gunshot wound to right leg

# Alicia Ortiz, 46, Sylvia Pardo’s sister, multiple injuries

The last three remaining people that are known to have been in the home at the time of the rampage are Sylvia Pardo; her brother James “Junior” Ortega, 52; and Michael Ortiz, 17, Sylvia Pardo’s nephew and Alicia Ortiz’s son. Although there are three remains left unidentified it is impossible to say which is any of these three suspected victims.

The shootings and fire left 10 children orphaned. Three others lost one parent in the rampage.

Paramedics Allegedly Decided Man To Dirty To Live

When paramedics were called to Barry Baker, 59, a civil servant living in Patcham, U.K. they were allegedly heard that they could not be bothered to help the man.

As Baker laid on the floor having a heart attack he called an operator for help. That line was open when help did arrive in the form of two paramedics.

When the paramedics saw the state of the home they used words to the effect that the man was not worth saving according to a police source. Those words were captured on the phone’s taping system. They then were heard to tell the ambulance control room that Baker was “already dead” when they arrived.

Twelve years ago Baker’s arthritis became so bad that he had to give up swimming and tennis. The Department of Work and Pensions employee was too proud to hire a cleaner and too disabled to be able to keep the place tidy.

The two paramedics, aged 44 and 35, that responded to the call were arrested on December 5 on suspicion of neglecting to perform a duty in public office contrary to common law. They both have been suspended from their jobs after they were bailed out of jail. The investigation in ongoing.

No Boob Shots For Nursing Moms On Facebook

If you are a member of Facebook and want to show off your baby’s mug just make sure junior isn’t attached to your boob. That’s right breastfeeding pictures are not allowed on the site.

A massive debate is underway about if breast feeding photos are in violation of the terms.

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt is quoted on Stuff.co.nz as saying:

“Photos containing a fully exposed breast (as defined by showing the nipple or areola) do violate those terms (on obscene, pornographic or sexually explicit material) and may be removed,” he said in a statement.

“The photos we act upon are almost exclusively brought to our attention by other users who complain.”

One mother, Kelli Roman is a bit miffed that her picture was removed by the site’s admin. She has started an online petition called “Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!” Protesters on the site organized a virtual “nurse-in” on Facebook and have had a small demonstration outside of the Palo Alto, California office of the social networking giant.

More than 80,000 have signed their virtual John Handcock’s to the petition.

Some women have been warned that they are not to repost their nursing photos unless they want to be kicked off of Facebook.

Rebekah is one of the mothers on Facebook upset that her photo was removed.

“I find it offensive that (Facebook) can remove my photo but not the close up picture of a thonged backside I (have) seen on a friend’s page or remove the “what kama sutra position are you?” quiz application,” she wrote.

Facebook has more than 120 millions. The site is standing by its decision to bar the pictures.

Bigger Paychecks Could Be Appearing In A Wallet Need You Soon

Barack Obama’s plan to stimulate the economy may mean a heftier wallet come pay day. Using a tax break system for American’s earning under $50,000 paychecks during the first quarter of the year will be larger.

The calculations say that increase could be an extra $83 to $166 per pay period. This is also expected to be part of the permanent tax cut he’ll have in his upcoming budget.

During the past year Obama promised to help middle- and low-income homes. Another promise includes an increase to the earned income tax credit for families and an increase in the Hope credit to pay for educational expenses.

There is also a promise to seniors that have incomes under $50,000 to stop having to pay income tax.

The most likely promise to have immediate impact though is the Make Work Pay Credit. The proposed credit would equal to $500 a year for individuals and $1,000 for couples. The delivery of the credit comes in the pay check with employers reducing the tax withholding.

Those making over $75,000 up to $85,000 would get a partial credit while the full credit will be there for those making below that amount. This credit will also be refundable, making sure that the low-income worker would not be given a tax liability at the end of the year.

If the tax break is given in full during the first part of the year the average worker would get more than the expected extra $19.23 per check. (based on a two week pay period) In that scenerio the average workers check would have an extra $83 per pay cycle as long as they recieve six paychecks between January and March.

National Parks Are Reporting More Suicides In 2008

National parks are becoming the place to commit suicide. In 2008 33 people choose to end their lives in one of the United States’s national parks. Although the park system doesn’t track the number of suicides it believes it is a high number.

In 2007 there were 26 probable suicides in the parks. More suicides occur at the Grand Canyon than any other park, last year it had 3 deaths.

At Colorado National Monument 26 people attempted to kill themselves with two being successful. Nearby Mesa County has a suicide rate twice the national average.

The rangers who come upon those who kill themselves face an emotional toll. Recovering bodies that have plunged over cliffs are not only expensive but dangerous. Law enforcement rangers are trained in emergency medicine with strategies with dealing with those in a crisis situation.

In some parks, including Colorado National Monument the rangers are trained to keep an eye out for notes taped to steering wheels. Certain areas of that park may soon be closed in certain areas at night.

Rangers prevent several suicides a year but can not be in all places at all times.

The Associated Press reports:

“I think anybody that does the kind of work that we do would like to offer hope to anybody that’s at that point of despair in their life,” said Lane Baker, the Park Service’s chief of law enforcement, security and emergency services. “But I’m not sure we can do anything to change that.”

Studio Brings Music to Texas Cancer Ward

The Purple Songs Can Fly recording studio is set up in an unlikely place, Texas Children’s Hospital. Since March 2006 it has produced 116 songs that may not be mainsteam but do a world of good.

The children at the hospital who deal with life and death have the studio to take their minds off of their everyday troubles. Founder Anita Kruse knows that music’s creative edge can help the kids soar.

The Houston based songwriter raised $10,000 to start Purple Songs. Since then it has been funded by donations. As she told MSNBC the studio gives the kids a creative outlet.

“Seeing someone going through something really difficult let that go, even if it’s just for the moment, it’s beautiful.”

The studio is part of the cancer center’s Arts in Medicine program.

Many of the young patients write about pets or their families like one of the latest recording artists Jalen
Huckabay. Jalen recently recorded a song about her puppy after writing the lyrics with the help of Kruse. Within two hours the pair came up with lyrics and the finished tracks.

Jalen’s works may find airplay like the ones being featured on audio tracks aboard Continental Airlines flights. Some of the children’s work have even made it to space, being played aboard the space shuttle.

Opinion: The Young Pay The Cost

The law of nature is that a child buries their parents. That has been reversed in many war zones. The Gaza Strip is no different. Instead of targeting the governments and military the way to fight a war is bombing areas where children live.

The Gaza Strip is mourning its young. Children running along siblings coffins tears flowing is not the way it should be.

Children dumping garbage in an empty field died on Tuesday. A missile fired from a warship snuffed out two of three sisters and a young brother from the Hamdan family.

Samar Hamdan is just one of those children. This week she has seen three of her siblings laid to rest.

While Israel has said that the targets they are attacking are Hamas militants more than 30 children have paid the price.

When Nizar Rayyan died during Thursday’s attack so did nine children aged 2 to 19. all of Rayyan’s wives also perished with their husband.

It’s not just Israel. Hamas is guilty as well of putting those too young to figure into the politics of these actions. Add in Iraq, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Columbia and other nations that war has touched. It’s the children. They pay the price.

In Croatia the lingering death toll from weapons related child deaths carried on five years past the end of the war. Children have become desensitized from the constant death and destruction waved in front of them. Weapons are commonplace. Children have to grow up before their time.

UNICEF reported that the nations that are at war have the highest child mortality rates in the world.

Worldwide in 2006 almost 9.7 million children died before their fifth birthday. While disease made up a high percent of that number so did war. In times of war health care is often unavailable for children. All medical services are focused towards the wounded.

And the children pay.

Something is wrong with that picture.

Creator of Pell Grants Dead at Age 90

Clairborne Pell, a senator from Rhode Island and the creator of the Pell Grant has died after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 90.

His former assistant Jan Demers said that Pell died just after the New Year began at home in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1995 he revealed that he had Parkinson’s, leaving his office in January 1997 after six terms.

Pell always believed that his greatest achievement was the creation of the Pell Grant. In 1972 the grant was passed aiding college students directly. It was renamed the Pell Grant in 1980 from the orginal Basic Educational Opportunity Grants. Since its beginnings it has aided more than 54 million low- and middle-income Americans gain secondary education.

After graduating in 1945 from Princeton, Pell went into the Coast Guard serving during World War II. Following that time he served in foreign service for seven years. In 1960 he was first elected into the Senate. During his six terms he received an average of 64 percent of the votes from his fellow Rhode Islanders.

During the Vietnam War Pell was a staunch opposer.

When he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in December 1994 he waited to disclose the information until the spring. He said that the disease had nothing to do with his retirement two years later.

“There is a natural time for all life’s adventures to come to an end and this period of 36 years would seem to me about the right time for my service in the Senate to end,” he said in September 1995

He is survived by wife Nuala O’Donnell and three of their four children.

Want To Sleep Comfortably On A Plane? Here’s Your Chance

Are you looking for a quirky place to camp out in Stockholm? As you hit the highway after leaving Arlanda Airport a jumbo jet is in view from the left. Welcome to the Jumbo Hostel is opening mid-month.

Appearances aren’t deceiving in this case. Oscar Dios bought the plane after its last owner went bankrupt and decided to turn it into the Jumbo Hostel.

Crews are feverishly working to met the January 15 grand opening. The plan is for 25 rooms furnished with a bunk bed, overhead luggage compartment and a TV. The entire 3,800-square-foot floor space is being turned not only for guest rooms but also a reception area and small cafeteria. The cafeteria will have the look of the ‘glory days’ of air travel.

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The crowning glory of the Jumbo Hostel will be the conference room featuring first-class flight seats.

Wedding parties can have the thrill of being exchanging vows of the left wing. A small party can take place in the conference room before the couple check into the cockpit. The only room with private bath, the cockpit is now the bridal suite.

Rates will range for a spot in one of the 4 bed dorm style rooms are set at $40 going up to $170 for a private room with a twin and single bed. The bridal suite will run for $420.

Hostel staff will be decked out in cabin crew uniforms.

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The hostel’s web site has been open for booking since December 3.

Yongesterdam Is A Thriving Pot Friendly Area In Toronto

Welcome to Toronto’s marijuana scene mostly happening on “Yongesterdam” in quaint little smoker clubs people will be trying out a new pipe at a hemp store to relax. As long as there isn’t a scene there’s no need for ID or the police.

Vancouver has a thriving pot scene but Toronto is starting to rival the hip town of Canada. These smoker’s club stayed under the radar of the mainstream until police raided Kindred Cafe on November 20 for allegedly trafficking marijuana. The Kindred’s owner, Dominic Cramer, will face the judge on January 13.

Those in the know have no trouble locating the areas in Toronto that are pot-friendly. Each summer Matt Mernagh, a pot activist, leads a weekly tour to bring others up to speed about the cannabis community.

Starting at Vapor Central the tour goes through various seed and hemp stores ending for those energetic enough to make the trek to Hot Box Cafe in Kensington Market, home of the famous backyard ‘potio.’

While owner Abi Roach doesn’t sell weed it does allow its customers to smoke. The Hot Box and the Kindred regulate those toking on their premises. It’s an adult only activity in designated areas. The Kindred’s mission on the letterhead is to host medicinal marijuana use. That doesn’t mean that it requires customers to show their government-issued licenses.

These establishments are illegal but operating in the public eye. The police tend not to crack down on places that don’t have any complaints flowing out. Det. Sgt. Paul MacIntyre of the Toronto Police drug squad says unless there are complaints these places go unnoticed by the police. Once an officer is aware of a free toking place they have to investigate and arrest anyone found there that has pot on their person. That doesn’t mean that the venue will be closed.

As the Star reports:

“If the people who own the business aren’t involved in the sale or distribution of drugs, they won’t be charged,” MacIntyre said. At the homey three-year-old Kindred, business has fallen by about a third since the raid, said spokesperson Chad Cooke.

For those with marijuana licenses because of medical reasons there are no federal laws where not to light up a joint. An information package is sent to license holders but it only warns about smoking in public areas and the dangers of second hand smoke.

It’s illegal to smoke tobacco in an enclosed business but marijuana isn’t tobacco and that loophole changes things.

Tour guide Menagh says that he sees shocked tourists amazed at the marjuana laws being broken in coffee shops or stores.

The Damage Your Cell Phone Could Be Doing Is Scary

Could your cell phone cause heart and kidney disease? That’s the claims to a new study by the European Research Institute for Electronic Components in Bucharest.

The Institute found that heart disease and kidney stones can be a problem for those pocketing a cell phone.

The study found that cell phones emit radiation. Radiation has been proven to cause red blood cells to leak hemoglobin that is accumulated into the body. That process has in the past lead to both heart disease and kidney stones.

This is only one of many research projects gauging the medical risks of using a mobile phone. One study from Lund University in Sweden has concluded that exposure to cell phone radiation can cause proteins and toxins to leak into the brain. This can cause several types of brain disorders including Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.

Iraqi Palace Digs No Longer Under US Control As Of Midnight

On New Year’s Day the ‘keys’ to the Green Zone will be the responsibility of the Iraqi government. The United States will keep troops in the nation but only because Iraq is allowing that to happen. From now on they are in charge.

Baghdad’s palace has been occupied by the United States since 2003. That was before today. At the stroke of midnight the palace is back under Iraqi authority.

On January 1 the 140,000 strong United States force in Iraq will no longer be sanctioned by the United Nations. From this point on the U.S. troops in Iraq are there with authority granted by the iraqi government itself.

The pact between Iraq and the U.S. requires that the troops are gone in three more years. No longer with the U.S. be allowed to hold Iraqis without charges. Contractors from the U.S. and off-duty troops will be living under Iraqi law, not under the laws of the military.

British troops have also made a pact with Iraq. Their troops have until the end of July to depart. Other NATO alliance troops will also vacate during 2009.

In the past few weeks U.S. diplomats have been moving from the palace to new digs. A newly-built compound, the largest U.S. embassy will now be home.

As Of January 1 No More Free Pens For Doctors From Drug Companies

Doctors are used to a slew of gifts from drug reps. The present parade has closed now that drug makers are saying no to the freebies.

Starting January 1 pharmaceutical companies have agreed to stop giving gifts they say were meant to foster good will. Others say that those freebies given to doctors helped slant the medical industry in their favor.

Pens, coffee mugs and t-shirts are gone from the drug reps tool kit. Still many are skeptical that this ban will make for big changes considering the larger freebies that the drug companies use to lure doctors.

The New York Times reports:

“It’s not just the pens — it’s the paper on the exam table, the tongue depressor, the stethoscope tags, medical calipers that might be used to interpret an EKG, penlights,” said Dr. Robert Goodman, a physician in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

In 1999 Dr. Goodman started No Free Lunch, a group that encourages doctors to reject the drug company’s gift bags. The group believes that health care providers should steer more to the information side of the drug company reps than the gimme something cool side

The new voluntary industry guidelines want to disprove the motion that goodies are used to influence doctors from writing their products on the prescription pads. The code was written by the y to counter the impression that gifts to doctors are intended to unduly influence medicine. The code, drawn up by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. It bars drug companies from handing out branded pens, staplers, flash drives, paperweights, calculators and other like items.

Larger ticket items were banned in 2002. those big ticket items included tickets to sporting events, resort stays and other expensive services.

Now the drug companies have to make due with educational type of freebies. Those can include free lunches and sponsored dinners as long as the talk is about the products.

Last year almost $16 million was given to doctors in drug samples. That little detail could be more influential than all the pens in China.

The industry is also still allowing for doctors to be paid tens of thousands a year as consultants.

“We have arrived at a point in the history of medicine in America where doctors have deep, deep financial ties with the drug makers and marketers,” said Allan Coukell, the director of policy for the Prescription Project, a nonprofit group in Boston working to promote evidence-based medicine. “Financial entanglements at all the levels have the potential to influence prescribing in a way that is not good.”

While 40 drug makers, including Pfizer and Eli Lilly & Company have signed on the code others have not.

Doctors scoff at the notion that getting a free pen turns the ink towards a certain drug company though. Some doctors even display the massive collections they have received over the years. Dr. Jeffrey F. Caren has a pillar in his office with more than 1,200 freebie pens. He doesn’t remember most of the drugs though, like others who use the free pens. They are just nice to have on hand.

NASA Says The Columbia Crew Had Zero Chance Of Survival

On February 1, 2003 the Columbia disintegrated when the spacecraft was on its return from a 16-day mission. NASA has just completed the report on the incident saying that the crew never had a chance.

In August 2003 it was concluded that Rick Husband, William McCool, Mike Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon died from the trauma and loss of oxygen.

New details of that report were released by NASA on December 30, 2008 that will lead to safety improvements on future flights. The 400 page report was complied by the spacecraft crew survival team. Recommendations run the gamut from additional crew training to pressure suits. Spacecraft design also featured in the report.

It has been determined that the astronauts quickly lost consciousness from lack of oxygen. While it was also considered that the members of the spacecraft would not have regained consciousness their seat restaints failed and their heads were tossed about inside their helmets. That movement would have proven lethal.

The shuttle heated up from the friction with the Earth’s atmosphere as it plunged downward at approximately 200,000 feet. Although some of the crew members had closed their helmets their suits were not strong enough to give protection at altitudes over 100,000 feet. The crew module shattered at 140,000 and 105,000 feet over a 24-second time span.

The Chronicle reports:

“This (report) adds the big picture of what happened,” said Johathan Clark, the husband of Columbia astronaut Laurel Clark and a former NASA flight surgeon.

“If you look at any aircraft mishap, you will always see a component.of it that deals with the human factors,“ said Clark. ”That is what did the crew know, when did they know it and when did they respond, and how did they die.“

The findings were worth the near six-year wait, he said.

“I think it was very well done,” he said. “It was very thorough. Because it was not constrained by time it was as thorough and analysis as you could possible do.”

Two years after the loss of the Columbia NASA begun shuttle operations again. President Bush has directed that NASA retire the remaining shuttles in 2010 after their missions are completed. The missions include finishing the assembly of the International Space Station and one mission to work on the Hubble Space Telescope.

The shuttles will be replaced with the Orion moonship and the Ares I and Ares V launchers. The first launch of the moonship is set for 2015.

Bruce Pardo Had Planned Out Murders At Least A Year Ago

New evidence shows that had Bruce Prado not caught himself on fire more murders would have taken place. He was also targeting his own mother and the attorney for his former wife. The ‘Santa Claus’ shooter had been plotting the crime for some time.

Prado believed that his mother was siding with his wife Sylvia Pardo during the divorce proceedings. When he found out that she was invited to his former in-laws party he had intentions to kill her. She did not attend because she was suffering from the flu.

A car belonging to Pardo was parked outside of attorney Scott J. Nord’s home. Police are unsure how the man was planning on using the car to kill Nord and his family.

This was not a spur of the moment attack. Evidence shows that Pardo began preparations since June 2006. At that time weapons and ammunition was obtained from out-of-state dealers.

At least 13 children are now orphans following the Christmas Eve shooting. Two others have lost one parent.

If you wish to donate to the children of these families a family fun has been set up at Ortega Family Fund, C/O Law Offices of Scott J. Nord, 500 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 550, Glendale, CA, 91203.

Lifelights Aims To Light Up Orphaned Households In Rwanda

With the help of Tom Hanks and other donations 10,000 orphaned households in Rwanda will be receiving Lifelights, a lantern that is powered with renewable energy.

Instead of lighting homes with dangerous kerosine lanterns the Freeplay Foundation is planning to distribute the Lifelights lantern to 10,000 homes. The homes of orphans have been targeted by the non-profit group.

The lanterns are designed to help the poorest 90 percent of the world’s population. They are charged by solar power and a wind-up technology designed by Freeplay Energy. The light that is emitted by the lanterns is comparable to what the more dangerous kerosene lamps give off.

Redding.com reports:

“Westerners take for granted having a day as long as we want,” says Miclelle Riley, Freeplay Foundation’s director of external affairs. “Millions of people in developing countries don’t have the ability to extend their day to do income-producing things like beading or sewing.”

The lamps last for thousands of hours. Compared to fluorescent lighting these models are non-toxic. As it is now, thousands of children in the poor nation of Rwanda die believing that the kerosene that is fueling their home is actually water.

Some of the funding for this project has come from US Ambassador, Tom Hanks. The project will cost about $295,000 to provide 10,000 lifelights. Each lamp costs about $30. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause the donation page is here.

Man Whose Wife Set His Genitals On Fire Dies

Twenty days after having his genitals set on fire, Satish Narayan, 47, has died. His wife, Rajini could be facing a murder charge for the act added on to the charges she is already facing.

On December 7 at about 5:30 a.m. the woman is accused of dousing Mr. Narayan’s genitals with methylated spirit and then setting him on fire.

Rajini Narayan was charged at the time of the incident with causing serious harm to her husband, arson and endangering the couple’s children. She is being held in Australia’s Adelaide Women’s Prison.

The couple’s children are left without a father and a mother who is likely to spend their childhood behind bars. The couple moved to Adelaide from Canberra just months prior to the fire. Mr. Narayan was working on the Air Warfare Destroyer project.

What is believed to have happened the morning of the fire that Mr. Narayan knocked over the bottle of methylated spirit after he had been set ablaze. The bottle cause a fire that resulted in about $1 million of damage to the Narayan home and an adjacent property.

Narayan suffered for almost a month with burns covering 85 per cent of his body. The couple’s three children and their mother escaped the home uninjured.

Six Bodies Recovered In Canadian Rocky Mountains

Rescue workers made the grim discovery of six bodies while searching for those missing from two avalanches in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Seven men were buried by one of the two avalanches, another four who had gone to help them were buried by the second rush of snow.

Three of those who had been missing were able to pull themselves of the snow. Two are still listed as missing. There is no immediate information as to where the six bodies had been located.

Rescue workers on Monday dropped explosives into the slopes from a helicopter to loosed the snow and make searching safe. Trained teams using search dogs then begin to search the scene.

The three who had been able to free themselves had tried to find their friends but had to give up. One of the men was injured and the trio feared another avalanche.

Bristol Palin Gives Birth To Son

Bristol Palin, 18, daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, has given birth to a son named Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston on Sunday.

According to People magazine, the baby weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

The governor’s office did not release information on the birth stating it was a private, family matter. John McCain also would not discuss the birth.

Bristol Palin came into the spotlight when her mother announced that the unwed teen was pregnant on the first day of the Republican National Convention. The campaign then issued a statement saying that Bristol and the father of the baby would get married. It was later revealed that the father was Levi Johnston by his mother. Johnston was with the family when Palin accepted the vice presidential nomination.

Johnston has since dropped out of high school in order to support Bristol and the baby.

Watch Out Katie, Tom Wants 10 Kids

In an interview with The Sun tom Cruise said that he wants to have ten kids. That may mean Katie Holmes is in line to have seven more babies. The 46-year-old actor is promoting his latest movie Valkyrie.

Tom says: “It’s a great responsibility to the Germans, for whom a man like Colonel von Stauffenberg means so much. And playing the role, I felt a responsibility to the man himself.

“The more I learnt about him, the greater my respect and admiration.

“The moment I read the screenplay, I knew it was an important story. It’s a true tale of heroic resistance to one of the great villains of history.”

During the interview with The Sun, Cruise stated that he is no longer discussing his belief in Scientology. Instead he directs those with questions to the group’s website.

He is admitting in the past he may have come off sounding a bit arrogant when dealing with the press. The past couple of years the Cruise image has been tarnished by his media antics, including a heated debate on the Today Show where he said dissed the use of medicine when dealing with postpartum depression. He is also well known for jumping like a wild man on Oprah’s couch during an interview proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes, 30, now his young wife.

During the Sun interview Cruise talked about his love of danger. He enjoys flying and motorbike. In fact he’s now teaching son, Connor how to ride.

Cruise and wife Katie Holmes keep in the public eye because they refuse to live in seclusion. He attends children’s groups like any other parent. He is determined to be a better father than his own. Thomas Cruise Mapother III left his family when Cruise was 12 years old. From that point on there was little communication between them.

He says that Nicole Kidman, whom he was married to prior to Holmes and mother to child Isabella and Connor is committed to sharing and parenting their children.

As for Holmes, he hopes to increase his brood with her.

Tom grins: “I want ten children. I love kids. I feel really fortunate to have the teenagers and a two and a half-year-old. It’s a great dynamic.”

His only fear with the 16-year gap between the two is that she may not be able to keep up with the active man. He appears to be just as smitten with Katie as when he jumped up and down on Winfrey’s sofa in 2005.

“Married life is very good, very lovely. I feel lucky to have Kate as my wife. She’s an extraordinary woman. She is funny and smart and she likes the same things that I do.

“She’s a very strong, gracious woman, and a great comedian. “